Metroid; Nightmares…

Chapter 4. The torture

Samus stood in her tank. She had lost track of the time, so she had no idea as to how long she'd been in there. Her only thoughts were of escape. She patiently examined her tank, every angle, every dimension. She could picture Ridley standing outside the tank, laughing, and a few times she could have sworn she heard his cackle. Now the tank was really small, and it was nearly impossible to stand up.

"I wonder how they made this thing." Samus thought to herself, trying to keep her emotions in check. No answer came to her, so she sat down and waited for something to happen.

Ridley Ridley had lost his interest in watching Samus days ago. Two weeks had passed, and there were still no signs of any changes. So it was no surprise that he had left the cage under small guard. There was no way for the hunter to escape her prison, so why waste valuable men? Ridley yawned and stretched, realizing he had fallen asleep attempting to focus his energy.

"Why did I even listen to those superstitious troopers? Focusing energy-ha! If you want power, just climb back in your stasis tank!" He grumbled, walking out of his quarters. He passed by the galley, swiping some feed and growling at the cook, who had been sitting at a table with his eyes closed. Ridley got even angrier when the cook said that he was focusing his energy. "Oh well. Smaller rations for him, then." Ridley walked into the room that held Samus' tank. "Good morning Samus. Have we had a nice rest?" Ridley asked, knowing Samus would not hear him. He stepped up to her prison and peeked in. Samus was sitting in a corner with her eyes closed. Samus' eyes opened suddenly. She stood up and stepped up to the side of the tank where Ridley was standing. "What the hell-?"

SamusSamus stared at the glass in front of her. For some reason, she could see a little better now. She saw a vague but familiar figure standing there. She smirked.

"Hello, Ridley." She said.

RidleyRidley backed away from the tank. Samus knew he was there! This was bad, very bad. And there was something different about her eyes. They had gone from blue to a yellow-gold, and her pupils weren't like a human's. They were slitted, like his or that of a Chozo. Ridley grinned suddenly. Now the real entertainment began.

SamusSamus could see Ridley back away from her tank. Satisfied, Samus sat back down in the corner. The water level got an inch higher. But now, the water felt thicker, more viscous. Samus looked down at her reflection, and saw what Ridley backed away from. Her eyes had changed drastically. They were golden! And her pupils were slitted! Startled, Samus stared at her reflection for a few minutes, then looked back at the glass. Her vision seemed sharper, more clearer. No wonder she was able to see through the glass! Then a memory came back to her.

Samus looked up at the Chozo that held her hand. It smiled at her.

"Come along, Samus. We're going to go see the Council of Elders. They all want to see you." Samus smiled at him and followed. His golden eyes shone with happiness…

Samus snapped back into reality. Determined to figure out what was going on, she scooped up a handful of the substance. It held its shape, like gelatin. It was very blue, and seemed to slightly glow. Puzzled, she held her other hand up to it. When she had been given the metroid vaccine, she found she could feel radiation without having to scan whatever had the radiation. This substance was giving off loads of radiation, even more than Phazon gave off. No wonder the mutations in her eyes occurred. Samus gasped, staring at her hand. Where the radiation had been touching, her hands had become clawed, and slightly scaly. She screamed.

Ridley"Yes!" Ridley shouted victoriously. "I thought giving her the substance undiluted would speed up the process!" Two pirates walked up to him.

"Is everything all right, sir?" One of them asked.

"Of course everything's all right! The torture is working! Now go back to your posts!" Ridley shouted back. The pirates scurried off, leaving Ridley alone with the prisoner. Knowing Samus would see him, Ridley stalked up to the tank. Samus sat in a corner, with tears trickling down her cheeks. Ridley grinned at seeing his lifelong rival suffer. The tears made it even better. He'd known that the mutations would be painful, but seeing the mutations hurt her emotionally made this experience a true victory indeed.

"Smile, my friend. It's going to get a lot worse."

End of chapter four…

Author's note; I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but I've been very busy with exams, homework, and other things. Hopefully, I'll get more of Samus' adventures out soon. And thank you to alleycat1312 for pointing out the comma issue to me. See you next mission!

Enforced Evolution