The days were long as Samus-San Aran, a fresh Star Commando from the GF, sat in her room. It had only been 3 days since her return, but it was not a jovial one. Her adoptive father, Commander Ishuzu, had been killed during one of the search parties. It was quiet, and she heard nothing but the hushed voices outside in the village. During her training at Federation HQ, she was always looking forward to the day she would return, but when she did, she did not expect her father to be dead. Those 3 days were lonesome… She missed her father's voice… Samus looked outside. Night was drawing upon the village on Tallon IV. She could see the smoke from the torches rise to the sky, a hint of mint and lavender in the smoke to help the restless find rest. This was one of those nights she did not want rest. She went to her closet, pulled out a long dark cloak, looked outside to see if there were any guards, and slipped into the night. Even though she was gone for 3 years, she still remembered her promise in her dream. She ran straight for the temple, but there were 2 centurions guarding the entrance. She sat in a nearby tree, surveying her predicament through her binoculars.
"Hmm…" she thought. "This will not be easy, but I need to get in there! I made that promise and I cannot go back on it!"
Samus got up, put on a dark bandana over her mouth, and reached for a whip strapped to her waist. The guards were just meters away, but they took no notice of a cloaked human swinging above them to the temple balcony. Fully clothed in black with only her blue eyes glistening in the firelight of the altar, Samus reached out to grab a torch on the wall and ran into one of the corridors before the guards could see her. The path she had chosen was narrow, dark, and had the most unpleasant aroma dancing near her nose; it was the smell of rotting flesh of those who had tried to escape this certain passageway. She gave a shiver as thoughts of whatever killed these creatures bubbled in her mind… A great, horrible creature with fangs as long as her arms, eyes glowing with a poisonous green, and claws that could rip through anything imaginable. Her heart lurched at the thought of the beast that had attacked her that day when she was a young child. Her mother was running from the fire and threw Samus into the shelter. Behind her mother, she caught a moment's glimpse of the beast: a pterodactyl-like dragon with yellow eyes, its wings tattered probably from previous battles, its beak filled with poison-tipped fangs, and a fiery throat, where giant white-hot flames erupted and burned whatever it touched. A shiver ran down her spine as the flashback came to life for a second. She could hear the screams of the inhabitants of K-2L, each more horrifying than the last. She found a protruding statue and sat down to recollect herself.
"Come on, Sammy," she whispered to herself. "Now is definitely not to time to freak out… You have a promise to keep, remember? You have to keep on going! At least do it for both families!"
She got up and walked on for hours until she found a clear spring bubbling in the middle of the room. The sight of the water was enough to calm her, but her throat ached for the soothing liquid. Samus bent down and cupped her hands, filling it with the cold water. After glancing around, as if thinking that another presence was near, she drank until she was no longer thirsty. She looked around the room she was in as the soft bubbling calmed her even further.
"This must be the Hall of the Chozo Elders," she thought.
All around her were statues of the Chozo Elders of the past, each in a unique stance, each still filled with the spirit they had when they passed on. She walked around each statue until she heard a small growl. Samus got down on her stomach and looked around. For a second, there was no sound until the growling came again, but this time, she didn't turn away nor go after it. She knew what it was. She brushed off the dirt and climbed on to one of the statues. About 4 statues away was a Chozo holding a bowl of glowing objects. Curious yet cautious at the same time, she leaped on to the statue with the bowl and peered in. There sitting in front of her was a bowl of fruits. She looked around then carefully pulled out a pear. She expected it to be a trap, but nothing happened. She sat there quietly, perched on an overhanging vine, eating her pear. After finishing it, she found that the bowl was now empty and she was now full.
"I wonder who set that out… And how did they know someone would be here? Could it be that it was the Hatchling who set that?" She shook her head. "Nah… Why would someone with so much power like him do something for a worthless person like me?"
As though it was an answer to her silent question, one of the statues moved away and revealed an underground stairway. She took a newly lit torch and descended the stairway. She could feel a warm draft rising from whatever was inside the passageway. Deeper and deeper she went, the warmer it became. After taking a quick break from the now humid heat, she advanced forward and was met by a fork in the road. Both were dark, just like the upper corridor, but one had heat flowing out of the passageway while another had what seemed like cold fog. Her heart was the only thing she heard in the silence.
"Which way now? One is hot while the other is cold, each leading to Magmoor Caverns and Phendrana Drifts respectively…"
She closed her eyes and released all the tension she had. Samus remembered what the Chozo had told her whenever she got lost. All she had to do was clear her mind and listen for a small voice. The voice, whoever it was, would lead her out. This being the first time to do such a thing, she was afraid that something would go wrong and an evil would call out to her instead. After minutes of peace and quiet, despite the roaring of the Magmoor in the magma caverns to her right and the snarling of the Sheegoth in the icy caves to her left, she heard a voice call out. It was the voice she has heard 3 year ago and here it was to lead her again. She was no longer afraid and listened carefully.
"Take the path to Phendrana Drifts," it whispered. "The path through Magmoor Caverns is too dangerous without armor to protect you. Despite the conditions of Phendrana, you will see a cabin, where one of the Chozo guards will lend you his coat. Put it on then head to a cave marked with 2 Sheegoth shells. There, I will give you more instructions…"
Samus opened her eyes, grabbed the torch, and went into the tunnel with the fog. As she reached the entrance, it got colder and colder, and with every breath, she could see it hang in front of her for a few seconds then vanish, only to be replaced with another breath. She brought her cloak tighter around her body until she saw the firelight of the cabin. She ran through the snow and rapped on the door. A kind face greeted her as the door opened.