Prologue
A drop of sweat rolled down Dr. Rockson's unshaven cheek. The room he was in was small, hot, and humid. A ventilation fan whirled around several feet above him. He looked at it, longing for it to spin faster. There was also a small hatch beside him, closed. He desperately wanted to open it, but the prisoner restraint pod he was laying in prevented him from moving. All he could do was twist his exposed head and stare intently at it, hoping it would suddenly burst open and let in a fresh, cool breeze. But of course, nothing happened.
He was nearly suffocating in the stuffy room when the door was thrust open. Dr. Rockson was relieved at the waft of air it sent his way, and he took a deep breath of the cool air. That satisfaction faded soon after, however, for he then realized what the opening door meant. Visitors.
A lone figure was in the doorway. Short, but misshapen.
"Master Ridley...wishes to greet you...doctor..." the figure said. Its voice was scratchy and low, with a deep breath taken every few words.
"Send- ahem. Send him in" said Dr. Rockson coolly, as if he were in charge. The figure grunted.
"You do not decide...whether Master Ridley...enters or not. I am announcing...his presence." It said strongly, clearing up the issue of who was in charge.
"Step aside, grunt. I wish to see the doctor." said an oddly normal voice, coming from beyond the doorway. It was a pleasant contrast to the figure's rough voice.
"We just...went through this,...Master..." the figure said grudgingly. The figure then stepped into the light, and it became apparent to Dr. Rockson that this was no ordinary kidnapping. The creature was bipedal, but its head was short, with no neck. The teeth lining its grotesquely large mouth were like needles, each at least an inch long. The arms were proportionally accurate to the rest of the body, ending in three thin fingers. Its legs were backwards-jointed. Like a Lucario, Dr. Rockson thought. It was a shade of beige all over, with a hint of red gradient here and there. This was nothing, however, compared to the source of the voice that had commanded it to move. Ridley entered the room in a grand fashion, like a president stepping up to a podium.
"Hello, Morrigan. I trust the Space Pirates have given you adequate lodging." he said in a formal tone. His glowing stare made you feel as if he were gazing deep into your mind. Dr. Rockson shuddered. Ridley wasn't your average captor. For one, he was reptilian.
Eight feet tall, Ridley's scaly, bat-like wings made him eleven. His bright purple body glistened in the light. His long head looked as if it were a pterodactyl's, and it was perched upon an eerily thin, jointed neck. The hands on the ends of his muscular arms possessed five fingers each, with fingernails to match the earlier minion's teeth. His lengthy tail looked like something out of Alien. Dr. Rockson examined Ridley's chest, which was bulging with muscle, and found that his beating heart was somewhat visible through the violet skin. He shuddered again.
"Where am I? And what are you people?" inquired Dr. Rockson. Ridley smirked.
"You are presently located on the planet Arrghu, homeworld of the Space Pirates. I am the leader of them all, and that is a pirate grunt." He pointed to the creature still standing in the room.
"Pleased to make...your acquaintance, worm." the pirate said to Dr. Rockson, smiling devilishly.
"Planet Arrghu? I'm on a different planet?" shouted the worried doctor.
"Indeed. We transported you here from Earth on a pirate frigate." said Ridley.
"A pirate frigate? What is this, Solrock Trek?" he said, referencing a popular sci-fi TV show.
"Space travel is not a fantasy, doctor. It is very real."
"Well, what do you plan to do with me? I have important business to attend to back on Earth!"
"Oh, no, Morrie. I think you'll find that you're needed here as well." said Ridley. He snapped his scaly fingers, and the pirate grunt immediately scurried out of the room. He came back with a holographic blueprint and handed it to Ridley.
"Here you are...Master. The Splitter...schematics..." he said to the purple monstrosity.
"Thank you, Mnghus. Now, doctor, do these schematics look familiar to you?" he said as he lowered the hologram to Dr. Rockson's eye level. He inspected them, then his eyes widened.
"What? How did you-" Ridley cut him off.
"That's right, Rockson. These are the blueprints for your Morality Splitter machine. We snatched them from your laboratory." he said. His voice was getting louder.
"My laboratory? What did you do to it?"
"Well, we didn't want to miss anything, so we just brought it along." he said, pointing to the hatch beside Dr. Rockson. The pirate grunt clambered over and cracked it open fully. Ridley moved Dr. Rockson's restraint pod to the front of the opening, giving the doctor a full view of the area outside. Sitting there, in the open, was Dr. Rockson's laboratory. The entire building was there; not a piece was missing. The neon 'Rockson Labs' sign was even on.
"Huh? But...how...my lab..."
Ridley laughed heartily. "Confused, doctor? Using advanced Space Pirate warp technology, we managed to take the entire laboratory to Arrghu. Pretty advanced, compared to your planet's primitive machines."
"We have enough technology to get by." said Dr. Rockson. He was surprisingly calm, despite what he had just seen.
"Perhaps you do. But there is one thing you humans have that the Space Pirates do not." Ridley said. He gestured to the hologram.
"My Morality Splitter? What could you people possibly want with a device like that?"
"We have our reasons," said Ridley, "but what we want is not the Splitter itself." He leaned in. "And that brings us to your reason for being here. See, we need you to reverse engineer the Splitter. To make it merge morality cores, not separate them."
"That makes even less sense." said the doctor, puzzled. "Why in the world would you need-" He stopped, suddenly aware of the reason.
"That's correct, Morrie. Remember me?" said Ridley.
"Ryan..." whispered Dr. Rockson. He suddenly looked shattered.
"It appears I've been found out. Very observant of you, doctor." chuckled Ridley.
"I'll...I'll never do anything of the sort! I'd never assist you with such a thing!" said Dr. Rockson angrily. He was quite assertive of his position in the matter.
Ridley laughed again. "I thought you'd say that, Morrie. That's why we've prepared this: Bring in the device!" he announced. There were a few seconds of silence.
Ridley turned to face the pirate grunt. "Mnghus! The device!"
Mnghus jumped as if he were alarmed. He then hurried out the door and returned with a small, spherical device. He handed it to Ridley, shaking.
"Sorry...Master. I was...regarding the architecture...of this corridor..." he said nervously.
"Leave, Mnghus! Go organize the Metroid eggs or something!" shouted Ridley. Mnghus dashed out of the room.
"I tell ya, minions these days..." pattered Ridley. "Anyway, this little device will take care of all your troubles. For now, anyhoo."
Dr. Rockson began to sweat as he observed the strange, spherical, metallic device. Ridley pressed a button on it, and then tossed it up into the air. At the apex of the toss, the device simply stopped moving and hovered midair. The doctor looked puzzled.
"What is that device's function?" he said to Ridley. Ridley continued to stare at the device, and simply smirked. The device came speeding towards Dr. Rockson, awash in visible electric current.
The last thing Dr. Rockson heard before slipping into unconsciousness was Ridley's taunting voice. "Welcome to the club…" he said.
End of Prologue