Twin Parasites
By Dominus Princeps
A.N. This is the second-to-last chapter. I wish it could last forever...but have fun while it lasts. I hate to say that.
Note to J-boy: I actually did plan that out. Your idea was great! ...Unfortunately, I had already had an idea of what I wanted to do with this fic. I toyed with a similar concept near the beginning of this fic, but tossed it in favor of other things. Sorry.
Final Chapter: So Many Ways to Die...So Little Time
1:00:00.
Samus winced as the craft hit turbulence in the sky. It was rickety enough; the readouts told her that (44 percent armor integrity). She didn't need it getting rocked around by buffeting wind and pressure differences. Samus checked her map as she flew the craft. John was fleeing across Tallon Overworld...toward the Phazon Mines! If he wasn't careful, he'd end up in the very worst place to find safety! She knew she had to pick him up before he got in too far...or Ridley held him up. Something beeped on the ship's radar.
"Oh, what now?" Samus grumbled, glancing at the alien script. It was auto-translated in a text box in the middle left side of her Visor.
"INCOMING SHIP...SCAN...INFIDEL 'PELICAN' GUN AND PERSONNEL DEPLOYMENT VESSEL...D-CLASS—HEAVIER WEAPONRY...INCOMING FROM PORT, WILL INTERCEPT IN APPROX. 3 MINUTES 20 SECONDS. DETAILS..." the text box read. Samus yanked the craft to the right to avoid an air-to-air missile that streaked past her ship and curved for a return attack. Samus activated the anti-missile systems and watched in mild amusement as several other missiles along with the first were slagged and detonated by the two plasma turrets on the underside of her craft. The sound of metal being pounded with metal almost made Samus jump. What was that sound? She then recognized it as—what had John called them?—bullets. A window popped up on her visor to correspond with the one on the ship's monitor. The armor integrity was at 42 percent and dropping at a rate of .5 percent every five seconds. Deciding to fight back, Samus activated the auto-turrets and tried to avoid the heavy fire she was taking. The turrets on her craft sent purple bolts of plasma streaking at the enemy ship. The turrets, being computer-controlled, had near perfect accuracy and sought critical points on the enemy ship—namely, the large engines on the wings and tail. The olive-drab ship chasing Samus erupted in gouts of flame before nose-diving. Samus wiped her brow and found her way again from where she had deviated in an attempt to dodge.
0:49:29.
ooo
The Master Chief dove through a waterfall and inwardly groaned as he fell twenty feet into a deep lake. The rocket launcher was now useless, as its rockets were waterlogged, and the shotgun was equally dead. He was unsure about the Energy Sword, but decided to keep it anyway. It held sentimental value, if not combat purpose. The human discarded the two useless weapons and ran as best he could through the lake.
"Chief...that dragon is behind the waterfall. Get to the lowest point in this lake; it's murky, and unless he's got extremely good vision, you'll be invisible," Cortana advised. Deciding to trust her judgment, the Spartan made his way to the bottom of the lake. He saw a huge red blob on his motion tracker appear, then just as quickly vanish. Ridley was waiting. The human crouched on the lakebed. The blob moved away and left the motion tracker display. The Chief headed for shore and surfaced, water running down his shields.
"Aha!" Ridley screeched, leaping through the waterfall and swooping down at the human.
"Whoops...he wasn't gone, was he?" Cortana gulped as the Spartan literally tore a hatch open.
"And you're the clever one?" the Master Chief muttered, sprinting down the corridor.
"You've gotta stop him somehow, Chief—you can't keep running forever!" Cortana said.
"When you find me some weaponry, I'll fight him. For now I'll keep looking for a place to hide or a powerful weapon myself," the human growled. He reached an elevator, pressed the activation switch, and jumped onto the platform as it shot downwards. Ridley peered down the shaft, grinned, and leaped down the shaft. The Chief reached the bottom, saw Ridley blazing down the shaft, then had an idea. He pressed the activation switch and ran away through a hatch. He heard Ridley screech in surprise, then heard a crash and a pained roar, and then he heard the sound of Ridley decimating the remaining platform. But by then the Master Chief was already dashing across what appeared to be a chain-link bridge. Below the bridge was a strange, pulsing, and eerily blue material.
"Oh, my God...the radiation emanating from this substance is unbelievable. There are so many alpha, beta, and gamma particles that your nuclear battery for your suit is actually recharging...and that shouldn't even be possible," Cortana gaped disbelievingly. The Chief barged through a hatch and was greeted by a patrol of Space Pirates. He pulled out his Energy Sword and pressed its activation button. The cool blue blade hissed as it appeared.
"Durable," he remarked, dodging a barrage of green plasma. The Spartan stabbed a nearby Pirate and took his blaster. He turned the technology on the Pirates, gunning them down one by one. By this time, Ridley had already burst through the hatch that Master Chief had used to enter.
"Nowhere to run, human! It's time for you to die; I'll deal with the Hunter later!" Ridley roared. The Chief took a deep breath and, with his two plasma blasters, opened fire at Ridley's chest. The dragon roared and lowered his head. The hot plasma bolts struck it in the mouth, and Ridley reared back in pain, exposing his chest. The Spartan dropped his blasters, pulled out the Energy Sword, activated it, and sprinted at the vulnerable mecha-dragon. He took a broad leap and landed on Ridley's chest. The human brought the Sword high above his head, then slashed a quick double-diagonal slash, making a white-hot X on the dragon's chest. Ridley howled in agony, stumbling backwards. The Chief lost his footing and fell down, but quickly recovered and jumped back onto Ridley's melting chest armor. He stabbed Ridley in the chest, causing the dragon to writhe in pain. The Master Chief stabbed the dragon again, and a third time, and a fourth. Ridley gasped, struggled to breathe, then toppled over. The Chief stepped away and deactivated his Energy Sword. Ridley lifted one claw and stretched in an attempt to grab the human's leg. The Spartan stomped on Ridley's claw, slamming it to the ground and crushing it. The feral crimson of Ridley's eyes faded. The Chief breathed out a sigh and turned back toward the hatch. In his haste, Ridley had near destroyed the bridge, but the human could still use it. He walked into the elevator room and saw a small piece of the elevator still attached to the mechanism that raised and lowered it. It looked large enough to hold him, so the Chief pressed the activation switch and dove for the fragment before it shot upward. He caught onto it and hoisted himself up as it ascended. When it peaked, the Chief leaped toward the edge of the shaft and hoisted himself up. He walked through the hatch but whirled when he heard a horribly twisted screech. It sounded almost like Ridley's...but that was impossible!
"There's no way...we watched him die!" Cortana breathed. The Spartan watched in horror as Ridley's wings appeared, then the rest of his body. His eyes weren't red...they were dead black. The Master Chief looked at Ridley's mutilated chest and realized with horror why the dragon had reanimated. A tiny Infection Form had lodged in the chest cavity.
ooo
0:31:59.
"They've changed direction again! They're headed for where we originally landed!" Adam informed Samus.
"Right. I see them," Samus replied. She continued her flight. Soon, she could see the Overworld. Samus banked to intercept John and Ridley. She saw the pair running through a rain-soaked plain and dropped altitude. She accessed John's radio.
"John! It's Samus! I'm right over you!" Samus cried.
"That's you? A little help would be appreciated!" John growled, ducking a Meson bomb explosion. He leaped over a stream and jumped up some rock ledges. Samus banked the craft again and brought it lower. John took a running leap and dug his fingers in the side of the craft, punching holes in its armor. Samus took off. She could hear him climbing along the craft's horseshoe-shaped levitators. The sound of screeching metal announced his entrance as he peeled the armor back so that he could enter.
"We're going to get to my ship and get the hell out of here!" Samus informed him.
"Why the rush?" John asked.
"I've activated the Halo-thing. We've got...
0:27:22.
"Less than half an hour to get off this planet!" she finished.
"Are you serious?" Cortana asked.
"Dead serious. Now we've-" Samus began. The craft shuddered, and a red-orange beam of plasma sliced through the craft.
"We're dead in the air! Bail!" Samus cried. The Master Chief jogged to a wall, tore it open, and leaped out. Samus followed. They fell five hundred feet into a lake, creating an enormous splash. The two of them dashed out and burst through a hatch. Meson bombs rained around them as the Flood-Ridley opened up on them.
"So explain to me what happened here?" Samus asked as they dashed through a rock hallway.
"I killed him, but the Flood got into him. I've got a bad feeling that that just made him a lot stronger," John replied. They entered an elevator shaft and found that it had a huge hole in it.
"Ridley burst through this when he was chasing me earlier. It leads to-" the Master Chief began.
"Magmoor Caverns. It'll bring us to where we wanna go—Wraith Desert," Samus remarked.
"You have such nice names for your places," Cortana chuckled.
"Geronimo!" the Spartan cried, leaping down into the hole. Samus jumped down after him. She looped her arms around his waist as they dropped.
"There's no way you'll survive this fall without my help," she explained.
"Keep it clean, you lovebirds," Cortana snickered. The Chief rapped his helmet with his knuckle.
"Alright, already," the AI shrugged. Thirty feet from the bottom, Samus activated her Space Jump thrusters and dumped energy into them from her power cell. The jets roared with power and slowed their fall...but didn't stop it. The two of them crashed to the ground.
"Hurt?" the Chief asked.
"I'm fine. You?" Samus replied.
"Fine. Let's go," he answered.
0:22:43.
They leaped across islands in the lava and reached a hatch across a lake of lava.
"This way!" Samus pointed. She led John by the hand through a room full of more lava and also gigantic red serpents.
"I fought one of these earlier," the Chief muttered.
"They're called Magmoor. Nasty creatures," Samus responded. She opened a hatch and was faced with a legion of Flood.
"We don't have time for this!" Cortana warned.
0:19:09.
Samus overcharged her Space Jump thrusters again and pulled John with her high into the air.
"Hang on!" she said, maneuvering toward the hatch at the far end of the room. Suddenly, her jets faltered, and the two of them tumbled into the lava. Red covered the Master Chief's vision, and his shields drained steadily away. He looped one arm around Samus' waist and leaped up onto a nearby island. The woman seemed to be unconscious, so the Chief set her on his shoulder and sprinted at the hatch. He rammed it open and dashed down the hallway. An elevator came into view. The Master Chief hit the activation switch and jumped onto the elevator. Samus groaned and opened her eyes.
"Where...what happened?" she murmured.
"You blanked on me when we hit the lava. We're headed for the surface. You ready to run again?" the Master Chief asked.
"Let's do it," Samus said as he set her down.
0:15:55.
They burst through a hatch and were greeted with a blast of sand. They sprinted out into the desert, following Samus' directions to reach her ship. Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by Flood that had mysteriously appeared out of the swirling sands. The Chief brandished his activated Energy Sword, and Samus equipped her Plasma Beam. She charged it up and let loose with the Flamethrower at the same instant that her partner began hacking at the Flood forms. When an opening appeared in the mob, they dashed through it. They reached the cave where Samus' ship was parked...but it was gone!
"Where in the..." Samus began.
"Lady, I had to take off, as Flood had begun to attack the ship. I'm five miles downwind from you; start running and I'll pick you up!" Adam informed Samus.
"On our way! Let's go!" Samus grabbed the Chief's hand and tugged him with her.
0:11:17.
The pair ran with the raging winds at their backs. They heard a roaring and looked up. A black shape was over them.
"That's him!" Samus cried.
"I...don't think so," the Spartan said. The shape landed and screeched over the wind.
"That's Ridley," the Chief grimaced, holding his Energy Sword in a ready stance.
"I'll keep him busy; you go for the chest!" Samus said.
"Right," the Master Chief agreed. He waited as Samus shot Power Beams to distract the Flood-infested Ridley. When its attention was on the bounty hunter, the Chief ran at it and jumped onto its back. Confused, the ex-dragon swatted at the human on its back with crushed right claws. The Chief was knocked off Ridley's back and tumbled over in the sand.
"John!" Samus was momentarily distracted. In that moment, she was struck with a devastating bludgeon—Ridley's tail. Blood spattered over the inside of her visor, making visibility difficult. Not as if it would've mattered in the swirling sandstorm.
0:09:29.
Samus heard a battle roar at the edge of her consciousness. She was vaguely aware of a figure stepping over her carrying a bright blue wand of light. Samus heard the scream of something in her foggy consciousness...was it her own? She wasn't sure. A coppery taste filled her mouth.
0:08:57
The Master Chief slid under a slash from the Flood-dragon and swiped at its left leg. The limb was severed at the shin, but the dragon carried on, shifting its balance to its right leg. The Chief leaped up and wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck. It clawed at him but couldn't pry him off. When his shields fell, the claws gouged rivets in the titanium-A plate of the MkVI, but the Spartan hung doggedly on until the dragon halted its thrashing momentarily. In that moment, the human plunged his Energy Sword deep into Ridley's chest, vaporizing the Infection Form resting inside. Ridley suddenly went limp and toppled over. The Master Chief ran over to Samus' body.
0:06:36.
"John..." Samus croaked. He could see the blood on the inside of her visor. She had taken a brutal blow from Ridley's tail...and the muscles that were already incredibly powerful were exponentially intensified by the Flood.
"It's okay. We'll be okay," the Chief reassured.
"John...it's an angel..." Samus whispered. Her head lolled backward. John looked upward and saw what she had seen. The ship was landing. He leaped up, grabbed the edge, and pulled himself up with one hand, using the other to hang onto Samus. He dropped into the hatch and set Samus down.
0:05:44.
"Get out of here. Now!" Cortana said to Adam.
"Don't be so pushy; I was going," the ship AI huffed. The ship rocketed up out of the sandstorm, reaching turbulence as it hit the higher air.
0:03:12.
"Can you fly any faster?" John asked Adam.
"I'm flying as fast as the reactors will allow," the AI responded nervously. They reached the outer atmosphere, and then they were in space.
0:02:06.
The Master Chief took off Samus' helmet and then removed his own. He cradled her unconscious body in his arms, holding her close to his chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck.
0:01:01.
"How much farther till we're out of the radius of effect?" the Spartan asked.
"500 kilometers. But it isn't a straight shot...there's some debris from a frigate that we need to maneuver around..." Adam replied. Samus coughed; her eyes fluttered open.
"I'm...I'm scared," she whispered.
"It's okay. We'll be okay," John tried to sound strong. But, in his entire career he had never expected his death more than at this moment.
0:00:38.
"Almost at the edge..."
0:00:29.
The ship rocked as it hit a stray piece of black metal.
"We're losing speed!" Cortana cried.
0:00:14.
"Dumping all reactor power into engines..."
0:00:09.
"So close..."
0:00:06.
"John...I love you."
0:00:03.
"Samus, I..."
0:00:00.
At that instant, the planet Tallon IV and the approximate five-hundred kilometers around it suddenly glowed bright purple. The glow lasted four thousandths of a second and was suddenly gone. Tallon IV was dead. About the only things left on it were the plants and insects. There were no intelligent forms of life left on it, and no calcium-containing life forms large enough to sustain Flood left, either.
"...Love you, too," John finished as the ship drifted. Its reactors were shut down and cooling at the moment. Samus smiled weakly and then fell unconscious again.
"I swear our margin of escape gets smaller and smaller every time we do things like this..." Cortana mused. The Master Chief sighed.
"I'm getting too old for this..."