Chapter 2 Part 1

They made sure not to bring up the incident from a few nights ago. "Samus, what to you have to eat?" she tried to hide her emotions but he knew what she wanted.

"Nothing you could eat. It is mainly vegetable matter with some dehydrated meat."

He snorted. "Then why don't you land on a planet. Every place has a type of animal on it. Or didn't you think that far ahead?"

She landed on the closest planet with a breathable atmosphere. "Go and… be careful."

He opened the cargo hold and walked into the forest, careful to keep his rebuilt wings protected. He walked into a clearing and came across a creature the size of Aran's ship. A burst of laser and it was down. He slashed at the dead carcass belly, and slowly began to feed on the warm, bloody flesh.

"Ridley," Samus said to the empty ship. "Why can't you see? I spent my entire life hunting you down to kill you… and now I love you." She started pacing. "What a vindictive fate; to love someone not even human, but dragon. There is a way I could solve this predicament but it is risky." She stopped pacing and stared at the floor. "I would risk my life to be with you!"

"What are you ranting on about Samus? " He lay heavily down in his corner of the ship. With deliberate slowness he cleaned his bloody claws and maw, while in complete silence. When he finished, he said "I will be asleep for a few days with what I have eaten, so try not to kill me human." He closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

"For now dragon, I am human for now. Now sleep, and when you wake we will never part." She kissed him on the brow; he snorted but didn't wake. She set the computer to auto-pilot, planet Sirus, and went to here chamber to rest. A few hours later her pod opened and she blearily began the descent towards Sirus. Once she landed she was awake and began putting on a loose outfit. It was a black pair of pants and a tank-top. Around her waste she put a holster and a small pistol. She exited the ship and locked it, using her remote transmitter. She put the transmitter into her and walked into town.

She avoided people by using back alleys. As she walked, she saw an enormous billboard displaying her name, description and last known trajectory. A large bounty was splayed along the edges. "Damn, I didn't know I was that popular." She slunk into a different alley and entered the building she was hunting for. The bell clanked as she walked in.

"Come to the back please."

She walked into the semi-dark room where a pale man was sitting at a desk hunched over some documents. He looked up and, if possible went, even paler. "Well, hello Doctor."

"Samus Aran! What are you doing here! You aren't here to arrest me are you?"

"Don't worry." I am here for your… services, not to arrest you."

His eyes widened as he heard this. "You want a physical body change? Why?"

She sighed. "There is someone I love, and he is not human. He won't even talk to me because I am. Can you help me?"

He swiveled for a better view and his eyes squinted in thought. "It depends. What kind of creature are we talking about? There are only a few none humans who can talk."

She looked around to make sure no one was around and settled on his eyes. "Dragon."

"Dr… dr… dra… dragon! You're in love with your mortal enemy! You love Ridley! What a joke." He started pacing, looking at her frantically; trying to determine if this was a setup. "How did this happen," he said to himself.

"Are you going to do it or not?"

He stopped pacing. "I don't know. I see nothing in it for me." She pointed a gun at him. "Fine." She put it back in the holster while he went to a cabinet inlaid in the wall. "Lets see. Dragon… dragon…. Ah!' he pulled out a vile the size of her fist and set it on a desk. "Take only a sip for a temporary transformation of a few hours. But I warn you, don't drink it all at one time!"

She turned and pulled out her pistol and put it her behind her back. "And why can I not?"

"You would probably have no hope of becoming human again. Now as for payment…" He turned around reaching into a drawer.

"No, we can't have that now can we?" She shot him between the shoulders. "I also can't have you telling were I am either." She walked to the cabinet and saw an empty space labeled… poison. "Trying to kill me are you? Just to collect a bounty. Let's see." She scanned the shelves looking for anything labeled 'dragon'. She found one and it looked dusty; no telling how long it has been there. She put it in her pocket and planted a small explosive in the middle of the room and walked out.

When she reached her ship, she noticed someone trying to open her ship; the complex A.I. proved too much for them, but they didn't give up. She tapped a few keys on her panel and a small stun gun lowered and hummed to life. It shot him once and he was down. She opened the door walked through it and closed it behind her. She set the computer to auto-takeoff with a random flight pattern.

Ten minutes later the planet was all but gone, lost in the depths of space behind her. She pulled out the small vile and took a sip then downed the rest. It burned going down like overly strong alcohol. After the little room she felt unclean so she took a shower. She relished the hot water running down her back and legs. She stepped out and dried off. She didn't bother getting dressed yet considering her guest was asleep. She reached the middle of the room and lost conciseness not ten feet from Ridley.