When the boarding ramp was lowered, Marth was the first one to get onto the gunship. He breezed by Dedede, who had asked him what happened. He walked straight past Peach and Little Mac as well, deciding to walk towards their living quarters on the other side of the ship. The ones who stayed behind looked at the others.

"What happened to Marth?" Dedede asked, "He's broodier than he was before."

Sighing, Samus answered, "He was attacked by a Metroid in a facility west of here. We're going to move to get closer to the facility, so that we can continue our investigation."

Suddenly, Marth came roaring back towards the other crew members and yelled, "No we're not! You are going to get us the hell off this planet!"

"Marth, you need to relax," Peach interjected, trying to calm him down with a smooth voice, "Just take a breath—"

"TAKE A BREATH!? I ALMOST DIED!" he yelled, his voice louder than before, "I will not stay here while there are those… Those monsters out there!"

Frustrated, Mario stepped closer to Marth aggressively, "You didn't even want to be here. You're the one who thought Samus' job as a bounty hunter was a joke. Now, you want her to abort her mission because you're scared!?"

"Mario, that's enough," Samus sighed, removing her helmet calmly. She looked Marth straight in his eyes, her expression disappointed and angry, "It's fine. We'll be off this planet in an hour at the most. I'll just come back here alone."

As everybody looked at Marth with anger, the boarding ramp closed behind Samus. She pushed past Marth, stomping her boots on her way to the cockpit. When Samus was out of sight, Mario looked at Marth, who did not return his gaze. "I hope you're happy," Mario said, gritting his teeth.

Upon leaving the solar system, Samus set the ship to auto-pilot and went into her room, which was just down the hall from the cockpit. While she took off her Varia suit, she heard the memory stick hit the floor. When she was back into her Zero Suit, she picked it up and walked back to her cockpit. Locking the doors behind her, Samus also dimmed the lights. It was nearly pitch-black in the cockpit; now, she could focus.

After she plugged the memory stick into her main console, several screens appeared on the giant windscreen. "Adam," she said, sinking into her chair, "Open all the files starting with the earliest-created."

The console responded, opening a document that originated from the Galactic Federation. Samus read over it a few times closely before moving onto the next document in the file. Her worst fears came to light; the Federation, using some left-over DNA, followed through with their plans to create and weaponize Metroids. They synthesized over a thousand Metroids in the lab before they finally created the prototype desired. This Metroid was incredibly formidable, even in its infant stages. The planet PM-18C was chosen due to its similarities to SR388—again confirming one of Samus' suspensions—and the new Metroids mutated under the harsher atmosphere. Eventually, these Metroids were not satisfied with regular prey, and the Federation began making weak Metroids for the new ones to feed on. Hours of research later, Samus came across a video file, the first one in close to a hundred files.

"Play the video, Adam," Samus ordered, leaning forward studiously, "Turn the lights off completely; I want to see everything."

After he left the shower, Marth scrubbed his long hair with a towel. He changed quickly and grabbed his belt. When he drew his sword, Mario and Dedede looked over at the sounds of it. Mario rolled his eyes and left the living quarters, annoyed. Marth obliviously took his spot, making Dedede roll his eyes. Marth placed his sword carefully on the table, displaying the gooey blue substance to Dedede. Disgusted, Dedede stood up quickly with his book still in hand.

"Why haven't you cleaned your sword yet?" Dedede snapped, "We've been flying for at least four hours!"

"I had to clean myself up first," Marth said, thinking the answer was all-too obvious, "I felt sticky and sweaty from our investigation. I'm not going to clean my blade before I clean myself."

"Whatever," Dedede shook his head. He sat back down, leaning away from the table and continuing his book. While Marth wiped down his sword with a small towel, the blue liquid spilt onto the table.

"You know, Dedede, I got some of this in my mouth," Marth commented, trying to start a conversation due to boredom.

Trying to ignore Marth, and the smell of the blue substance, King Dedede muttered, "Uh-huh?"

"It was crazy," Marth said, leaning into each of his wipes. His voice become deeper and braver the longer he spoke, "That creature attacked me—had me on the ropes, too—but I was able to fight back. I pinned that beast against a table and just let my instincts take over; I didn't stop thrusting my blade into it until Mario pulled me off it. By then, it's blood flew everywhere; onto my clothing, into my mouth, onto the tables, chairs… You name it. Strange, really; it's blood was two colours."

"Yeah?' Dedede muttered, still sounding extremely uninterested.

"Blue and yellow. It was rather odd, if you asked me," Marth grinned before cleaning his blade further.

"I just don't understand why Marth is the way he is," Mario shook his head as he looked into the hall that lead to the cockpit. It was dimly lit, like the rest of the ship, to encourage sleep; after all, Samus has told them that sleeping was the best way to pass time on a spacecraft. However, Mario had something to get off his chest, "He acts so tough until he's confronted with a situation that demands action; what kind of Prince talks so confidently then, the next minute, crumbles under stress?"

"He's a coward," Peach added, taking a seat next to Little Mac, "I'm sure Samus would have let him stay here with me, Little Mac, and Dedede. Maybe she would've even let one of us replace him."

"I'd fight with Samus until my face turned blue if Marth stayed behind," Little Mac commented, looking around the main hold, "I don't think I could stand him for that long."

"You and me both," Peach agreed.

When she heard a knock on the door, Samus stood up from her chair and unlocked the door. There, she saw Rosalina standing curiously outside it. "How can I help you, Rosalina?" Samus asked.

"I wanted to ask about the Metroid that attacked Marth," Rosalina said, looking into the cockpit. When she saw the documents and files on the windscreen, she said, "I could see that you're hard at work."

"Come in," Samus nodded as she stepped to the side. Rosalina walked into the cockpit as Samus quickly pressed a button on the door-frame, making the door close quickly. When she locked the door, Rosalina looked closely at the documents on the screen.

"I locked the door for a reason," Samus began, returning to her seat. While she spoke, Rosalina sat in the chair to her left, "I didn't want to be bothered by anybody."

"Well, sorry to be the one," Rosalina said.

Closing the documents currently on the windscreen, Samus spun her chair to face Rosalina and leaned back, "At least you have competent knowledge of the Metroid species, even if you've never actually seen one in person."

Nodding again, this time in thanks, Rosalina looked outside the windscreen, "Tell me about the Metroid we encountered."

Almost frowning, Samus pressed a button on the console. A document appeared on the screen, another Federation one. "PM-18C housed a Galactic Federation testing facility that conducted experiments on a weaponized Metroid. The planet was chosen specifically for it's similarities to SR388. However, the Federation didn't realize the harsher atmosphere of PM-18C…"

"I'm guessing that the Metroid that they created… It became stronger than they anticipated?" Rosalina asked, slightly surprised.

"Unfortunately, it did," Samus responded, shaking her head as she pulled up another document, "The new Metroids are extremely formidable and hard to kill, even in their infant stages. When they grow into their older phases, their skin is basically impenetrable."

Both interested and frightened, Rosalina quietly asked, "What about in the Queen stage?"

"The Federation never let them get that far," Samus sighed heavily, "The scientists roasted them alive before they reached that phase. Then, the Metroids adapted to this; their skin weakens, but no longer burns, under flames, and their infancy only lasts a couple of hours. It seems that they also changed the genetic make-up of their blood."

"How so?"

"Acidic. To prevent the scientists from collecting their remains, and creating more of them, the Metroids made their blood extremely acidic," explained Samus, pressing another button on the console. After the documents vanished from the windscreen, Samus continued, "The scientists even gave the Metroids a nickname based on this development; Blood Metroid, I believe that's what it was… Before they could see the mutation in the blood, a Zeta Metroid broke out and destroyed the facility."

"My goodness… That's awful…" Rosalina said, leaning forward into her seat. As Samus continued to talk, Rosalina felt her stomach turn.

"That's not all," Samus said, "Because the scientists started to kill the Blood Metroids so frequently, another genetic mutation occurred: Blood Metroids can use other organisms as their eggs and produce a larva. All they need to do is get their gametes into any orifice of their host."

"That's… That's disgusting," Rosalina said, straightening up in her chair, still feeling her stomach turn, "What do their gametes look like? You know, because Marth completely eviscerated one of those creatures back at the lab."

"It's blue and gooey, but I'm sure none of us were contaminated," Samus quickly dismissed, standing from her chair, "I saw the gametes myself; they were spilt all over the ground and the Blood Metroid, but none of it was anywhere near Marth's mouth."

While they ate some preserved food in the main hold, Peach and Mario saw Dedede walk down the hallway. He just came from the living quarters, having finished reading his book. After he put the book down on the table, he asked, "Where'd you get the food?"

"In one of those compartments just over there," Mario answered, pointing across the room, behind the other table, and stuffing some food in his face. As Dedede waddled over to the other table, Marth slowly came from the same hallway. When he entered the room, Peach rolled her eyes, obviously agitated.

"Perfect. I'm starving," Marth commented, either ignoring Peach or being oblivious to her.

"Here. Have mine," Little Mac said, sliding his food in Marth's direction, "I just lost my appetite."

Marth took the food and sat down at the other table. He began eating quickly and loudly, annoying everyone else even more. When Dedede found a white box, he headed towards Mario's table. However, Marth, with a mouth full of food, called, "King Dedede! Come; sit with me."

"I'm… I'm good," Dedede replied as some food fell from the corner of Marth's mouth. He placed his box next to Mario's and sat down.

"Suit yourself; just squish over there with the rest of them, then," Marth shrugged nonchalantly, his mouth still full of food. Just as Dedede began eating, Rosalina and Samus entered the main hold. Like everyone else, they wanted to get something to eat before going to sleep.

"We should be home in fourteen-to-eighteen days," Samus announced, leaning on the wall. Rosalina went to the compartment with the food, getting some of the food from it. Samus took a breath and began to speak again, but Marth interrupted her with a coughing fit. Every member of the crew stared at him as he caught his breath again.

"Slow down, Marth," Mario said plainly, "You don't want to choke on your own food."

"I didn't choke," Marth panted, wiping the sudden sweat that formed during his cough, "The food… There's just no flavour."

"Right," Samus commented before she turned back to the others, "When we get back, I need to refuel on supplies; gas, food, cleaning, toiletries, what have you…"

"Well, when are you going to go back to that place?" Mario asked, "Because, when you do, I'll come back with you."

"It's better if I come back alone, but thank you," Samus replied, still sounding shaken by the trip, "I appreciate the support, but things are easier to manage on my own."

Rosalina closed the compartment and walked over to Mario's table. However, she turned around when Marth began coughing again. This time, however, it was a much more violent bark; the cough was loud, causing Marth to lean forward, trying to breath. A second later, Little Mac said, "The food's not that bad, Marth. Get over yourself."

"It's… It's not the food," Marth panted, leaning back on his seat, "I… I feel sick…"

"It's probably because you let that thing bleed into your mouth, or whatever," Dedede muttered, playing with his own food.

Quickly, Samus turned to Dedede, her eyes widening and the colour draining from her face. "What did you say?"

"When Marth was cleaning his sword, he told me about his courageous act in killing whatever it is that you all encountered," Dedede explained, still looking at his food. Suddenly, Marth began coughing again. Rolling his eyes and raising his voice, Dedede continued, "I wasn't listening too carefully, though; I was reading."

"But, what got into his mouth?!" Samus said, nearly shouting. The fear in her voice caught the attention of everybody else in the room. Rosalina turned to Marth, who spat up some food onto the table. He was no longer coughing; those turned into screams. Mario, Dedede, Peach, and Little Mac rushed out of their seats, running over to Marth. When Rosalina tried to help Marth, Samus pulled her back violently.

"Don't touch him," Samus warned, stepping in front of everyone else, "He's contaminated."

"Contaminated by what?!" Peach screamed, trying to speak over Marth's cries.

Eventually, Marth flopped onto the table, pushing his food off it; it spilt onto the other chairs, the walls, and floor. Samus retraced her steps, running down the hallway towards her own quarters. As she was gone, Peach and Mario looked at each other, scared.

"What do you we do? How could we help him?" Peach asked, trying to look away from Marth.

Mario shook his head, looking down at the ground shameful, "You heard Samus; we can't do anything… He's contaminated by something."

Now frustrated, Peach screamed, at the top of her lungs, "BUT BY WHAT?"

When Samus remerged, she pushed past Rosalina as fast as she could and raised her pistol, the Paralyzer. As Marth began moving and jerking around the table, thrusting his chest into the air with every movement, Samus aimed it at his chest, waiting. Eventually, Dedede shouted, "For crying out loud, what are you doing with a gun—!?"

"Shut up and let me focus," Samus said through her teeth, tightening her grip.

Marth stopped flailing momentarily, and his screams dipped. Everyone, except for Samus, relaxed for a moment. However, a red and yellow substance, a mixture of blood, suddenly appeared on Marth's chest, under his armor, as he shrieked in pain. It was blood-curling; the pitch stung their ears and gave them chills. The blood quickly shot up from his chest again, nailing Samus in the face. She flopped back onto Dedede and Little Mac, and her gun flew across the room. As Dedede and Little Mac tried to get Samus back onto her feet, Marth screamed again. The room silenced as Marth's screaming stopped. Bursting from his chest were four maroon fangs, two large ones surrounding two smaller ones. Something suddenly popped in his chest, sending blood all over the room.

More blood spilt onto Samus' zero suit and onto the rest of the crew. Samus froze at the sight of it; a baby Metroid flew upside down from the wound, flipping in the air when it was at her head height. It was the biggest infant Metroid that Samus had ever seen, and, although it was covered in Marth's fresh blood, there was a natural red tint to it. While Samus watched it float in the air, she became limp in Dedede and Little Mac's arms; it all came back to her, all those horrible memories from her previous missions. Helplessly, she was paralyzed as the Metroid flew towards her but was stopped by a blast. Mario had grabbed her pistol from the other side of the main hold and fired it towards the Metroid. Quickly, it retreated down the hallway, flying out of sight.