Mystdragon: The first time I posted this story, the one you responded to, never appeared on the main page. So I deleted it, reposted, and now its on the page. Yay!
Alleycat: Thanks for the review…I think. In response, I could've called Samus an array of other, more colorful terms, but I didn't want to offend anyone. Bitch is much more excepted than some other terms I try to keep out of my writings.
Chapter 2
"Watch your fire," Ridley snarled into his communicator. "Hit the Afloralite and this whole place will go up in smoke."
"Yes sir Ridley," said a grunt over the radio.
"What of the opposition, sir?" asked another of the pirates.
"Kill those that resist. Have some fun. This planet is far too quiet without us," the dragon cackled.
Gliding over the city, high in the air, Ridley surveyed the battle. Humans, the majority species of this colony, fought valiantly against the pirates. Ridley had to admit these strange creatures could fight, but they were no match for the dragon's men. Satisfied victory was at hand, Ridley glided to the outskirts of this city, where he settled down on the grass.
He turned when he heard a small voice behind him. "Mommy?" the girl called out. "Daddy? Where are you? Mommy please." The little human stopped her cries when she noticed Ridley, who twisted his neck to face her. "H-hi," she whimpered. "I-I'm Samus, t-three years old. C-can you help me find my mommy?"
Ridley said nothing, though he understood this human's langue.
"W-who are you?" she asked.
Still, the dragon said nothing.
Samus found her eyes wandering up to meet Ridley's eyes. They were not the cold and mindless eyes of a reptile. These eyes were thoughtful and cunning and careful. Samus suddenly felt a pressure on her back, and realized the dragon's tail had circled her and was now nudging her towards him. Samus's father always said she had more guts than brains, so the young human ceased resisting and moved within a few feet of the crouching dragon. Closer now, Ridley examined the human. For a moment, he thought of killing her like he had countless other warriors, but he quickly dismissed that thought. She was not a warrior, she was a child, and Ridley knew he'd gain no enjoyment from killing something so adorable and innocent. He actually liked her, like he may a pet.
"Samus!" screamed a woman's voice. Both the child and the dragon turned to face the female soldier who darted towards them. The adult lifted her rifle and fired, a beam of energy lancing inches from Ridley's head. In retaliation his tail lashed out in a flash, piercing the tender flesh of the soldier's neck.
Samus screamed. The young human broke away from Ridley and ran to the soldier. She embraced the woman, sobbing and pleading to a higher power not to let her mother die. Then, with a gurgled cry, the woman's life came to an end. Samus lifted bloodied hands to her eyes as she began to cry, Ridley merely stood there, dumb struck and confused at the emotion. Sadness quickly succumbed to blind rage. Samus grabbed her mother's blaster and fired, wounding Ridley in the shoulder. Acting out of instinct; his tail shot forward and impaled the small child from through her stomach.
Samus could never forget that day. The sensation of warm, hot blood trickling down her waist and that cold feeling in her stomach as the tail retracted and left her stomach a gaping hole. But it was Ridley's eyes that she still saw whenever she slept. The fact that they weren't cold and emotionless, but filled with thought, made the pain worse. That another living, thinking creature could hurt her so bad only to fly off as if nothing had happened left her with a hate in her heart that she could never overcome. On that day, her life bleeding out through a wound in her belly, her mother lifeless at her side, she made a promise. Someday, she'd kill that thing responsible.
The hunter finally reached the top of the mountain and gazed down into the chasm beneath. Floating up into the planet's atmosphere was a trail of black smoke, one that had lead her to this wreckage. Beneath her helmet, Samus chuckled. "At least I got that son of a bitch better than he got me." She adjusted the settings of her visor and skimmed over the wreckage of the ship. First the hunter used the thermal imaging, but then switched to magnification. She smiled. There were claw prints in the loose sand, moving gradually away from the crash. There was still something to kill.
Meanwhile
The wildlife of this planet was strange, but Ridley guessed he could eat it none the less. Even if the meat was poison, a thorough cooking and his natural immunities should protect him. The dragon had killed something that resembled the human's boar. Admittedly it very large, had two extra legs, and was covered in scales, but he kept thinking of the pigs he'd seen on human colonies. Hopefully, this meat would sustain him until he could figure out how to get off this planet.
He froze when he reached the remains of his ship and ducked into the underbrush of the forest, flattening to the ground so not to be noticed. "It can't be," he growled. He peeked his beak out of the forest to confirm the sight. There, donning Chozo battle armor and a cannon that encompassed her right arm, was Samus Aran!