"Wow…this place isn't in very good shape." Samus said to herself as she walked through the remnants of Tourian, the central lab of the Space Pirates and Mother Brain. Tourian had exploded after Samus killed the corrupted AI known as Mother Brain.
Samus entered a very familiar area. It was the rocky caverns of Brinstar. She looked to her right and discovered an item, one that would help her traverse small spaces. The Morph Ball. She collected her prize and continued forth, and she noticed some sort of spotlight.
"What in the world…?" She looked closer. It looked like some sort of security camera. "Just great." she sighed and continued forth. She found a couple packs of missiles and then went through a red door.
"A Chozo statue… could it be…?" she walked over to the statue, opened the sphere, and discovered her bombs. "Awesome. This will help a lot. Time to get out of here." Samus went to exit, but the door would not open. "What's going on? Why can't I leave?" She turned around and saw the statue come to life and stand up.
"Ok, so it's you that's not letting me through. I'll have to do something about that!" she yelled as she aimed her arm cannon and started blasting at the statue with her power beam.
The statue returned fire and knocked Samus backwards. "Oh, so you want to play hardball, huh?" she yelled as she gathered a few missile refills and armed her missiles.
The statue fired at her again, and Samus jumped up and fired five missiles into the statue's face. It crumbled into dust.
"Phew, that was easy. Time to get going." Samus left the chamber and continued her exploration.
"Huh…where are we?" Aran asked as he and Ryuden woke up after being knocked out.
"I dunno…what does the scanner say?" said Ryuden as he sat up.
"Hmm…for one, we are a few thousand light years away from Alterra…approximately seven years at full speed…dammit. The warp zone is closed off from this end." said Aran as he did a face palm.
"Are you kidding me? Seven YEARS?" exclaimed Ryuden as he looked at the computer. "FRACK! What are we supposed to do here?"
"I don't know…this seems to be charted territory, owned by the Galactic Federation…I've read about them in our textbooks. They haven't expanded to our quadrant yet…I guess that technically, we are the G.F. of our quadrant." said Aran, crossing his arms. "I guess we need to start asking around…we should land on that planet down there and see what we can find out."
"Ok well…what planet is that?" asked Ryuden.
"Planet…Zebes. We better be prepared for a tough journey…" Aran said to Ryuden as he heaved a big sigh. "It's a good thing we have our ultimate weapons…we're gonna need them."
"Oh my gosh…isn't that where…M-metroids are?" said Ryuden with a fearful expression on his face. "I r-read about those things…they are like Margine's monsters…except much stronger…my Ultima magic wouldn't touch them…I think I'm going to be sick, Aran…you're crazy if you plan on us going down there…"
"Of course I plan on going down there! Did you not pay attention when we learned about other-world bioforms? Metroids are weak against…wait for it…COLD!" said Aran, with a wise cracking tone. "Ooh…and guess what else…CONCUSSIVE BLOWS! A black mage and a monk. That's what makes up our team of two. I think we will be ok, my fearful friend! Quit being a baby!"
"I guess I was absent that day…so it's that simple. I cast Blizzaga and you pound them afterward. Ok, I feel quite sheepish now. Ok then, lets land." said Ryuden, shrugging his shoulders.
The two men landed on the planet Zebes. They were surprised to discover another ship had landed already. It was orange, yellow, and green, and somewhat funny looking.
"That ship…it's a hunter-class gunship, registered to bounty hunter Samus Aran. Cool last name." said Aran as he pointed his scanning device at the strange gunship. "This rain…it stings." he continued as he extended his arm outward. The rain was leaving red spots on his skin and steaming.
"Aran! This is acid rain, you fool! Use the special umbrella that Markas's parents made for you before you disintegrate!" yelled Ryuden, who already had his umbrella opened. Their high-level armor offered resistance to acid damage, but Aran had short sleeves.
"Oh…yeah. Of course." said Aran as he shrugged and opened his umbrella.
Ryuden rolled his eyes and shook his head, then said, "I wonder if we will find Samus here…"
"Only one way to find out. Let's go, into that cave up ahead." said Aran as they walked into a cave which sheltered them from the harsh climate of Zebes.
"There's a round blue door up ahead. Let's go through it and see what's in there." said Ryuden.
"Yeah." said Aran. They walked right up to the door, and it did nothing. "Hmm…not an automatic door. Where's the switch?" Aran examined the hatch, then sighed. "Dammit…I don't see any kind of locking mechanism. No keycard slot, no code pad, nothing. It's a dead end."
Ryuden pointed his scanner at the door. "It's a high-security hatch. Only beam weapons or concussive blasts can open this hatch. Just great. Where's Markas when you need him?" he said as he sighed.
"Hmm…maybe if I hit it hard enough it'll open." said Aran as he cracked his knuckles.
"It's worth a shot." said Ryuden
Aran stood for a moment, concentrating and charging his Fazium. "It'll be just like that time I got us out of that Valharian Sumestris prison. Here goes!"
He ran towards the door and slammed his fist into it. Sure enough, the hatch opened and Aran went sailing through, tripping and falling flat on his face. "Dammit, I didn't expect it to be that easy! Oh well, at least we're in." he said as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Next time I'll try the stun pistol. Hehe!" He then began healing the acid burns on his arm.
"Nice job, Aran. Now let's see what's in this place." said Ryuden, after he regained his composure after laughing at Aran.
"Damn, I can hardly see a thing in here! Guess we need to use our night vision goggles…thank goodness for Mr. and Mrs. Weston!" said Aran as he fastened the strap around his head, holding the goggles in place. "There, that's better."
"Much better…how strange. There's a little bit of plant life growing down here." said Ryuden as he noticed the moss-covered stone in the cavern. "Where are we, anyways?"
"Hmm…this area is called Crateria. It's the overworld of Zebes." said Aran as he read his scan data.
Just then, they heard a strange squeaking sound.
"Ugh…Ryuden, we have company." said Aran as they were greeted by a few porcupine-beetle looking creatures. Aran scanned them and said, "Zoomers. These creatures are weak. Let's just use standard melee attacks against them."
"Yup." said Ryuden as he armed his staff and whacked a Zoomer, causing it to explode. "Oh, that's nasty…"
"No kidding…but it's kinda fun to watch! Hehe!" said Aran as he kicked two more.
Aran and Ryuden quickly killed the Zoomers and continued onward. They saw three bat-like creatures hanging from the ceiling. "Shriekbats. I'll run through and they should all dive and hit the ground." said Aran. He bolted under the bats, and sure enough, they darted hastily into the ground and burrowed, sending rock shrapnel flying.
"Phew, I'd hate to catch one of those with my head!" said Aran after witnessing the strength of those creatures.
"No kidding!" said Ryuden as he brushed some rock dust off of himself.
"Ry…what was that? Did you hear that?" said Aran after he heard a door in the distance open and shut. They also started hearing shots being fired and creatures squeaking and exploding. Then they heard footsteps, then a few small explosions then a hatch opening and shutting. The noise had ceased.
"Oh yeah…we are not alone. Could that have been…Samus?" Ryuden asked with genuine curiosity.
"Only one way to find out. Let's go." said Aran as they continued walking forward. All of a sudden, Aran screamed and said as he fell and landed on a ledge several feet below him, "Ugh! Ry…there's a pit right in front of ya…I'm ok. I think this is where the sounds came from. There are all kinds of hatches…there's even one on the ground, several feet below me…"
"Thanks for warning me!" said Ryuden as he climbed down into the pit. "Glad you are ok, Aran!" he said as he helped him to his feet.
"What was that sound? Sounded like a man screaming…" Samus thought to herself after she collected another missile expansion and heard a deep, gruff scream. "I wonder if it's someone who is after me…I better go investigate."
Samus headed back through the hatch through which she came, and she heard a noise from above her. She pointed her arm cannon diagonally upward and fired off a missile. "UGH!" she heard another man scream.
"RY! Are you ok? What was that?" shouted Aran after Ryuden received a massive blow to his back and was sent barreling forward, landing face first on the stone ground.
"I-it felt like you just pounded me in the back…" squeaked Ryuden as he struggled to get up. "I'm so glad we have this armor…that would have done it right there."
Just then, something zipped right by Aran's face and exploded against the stone wall. Both guys ducked for cover.
"Who goes there?" Samus shouted as she prepared to fire another missile at the intruders. She was across from them at this point.
"I could ask the same thing of you!" yelled Aran.
"CAST DEMI!" shouted Ryuden after he consumed a potion. A large black hole engulfed their attacker and a female scream could be heard.
Samus saw her energy being reduced by 25%. She started firing her power beam, but before she knew it, she felt herself being knocked backwards with incredible force. Her energy alarm started chiming. "Ugh!" she screamed after Aran punched her square in the chest of her armor.
"Who…are you?" said Samus as she pointed her arm cannon at Aran. She was rather shocked by the strength of the strange man. He was somewhat tall, had long, black hair, reddish brown eyes, and fair skin. He was wearing all black. He looked like some kind of vampire. She saw him reach for something. "Sir…I will shoot…" she said.
"Ma'am, it's just a scanner. Oh! You're the hunter Samus Aran." said Aran calmly after he gathered info on his assailant.
"Yeah, and who are you? Answer my question before I shoot you! Are you here to kill me?" asked Samus, who still had her cannon aimed at Aran.
"Samus…that won't be necessary. I ain't here to kill ya. I was just defending myself and my cousin. Funny thing…your last name is my first name. Aran Maleigha." he said politely as he held his hand out to the armor-clad woman and helped her up. "The other guy is Ryuden Lenore. Ryuden, come on over here."
Ryuden jumped over and introduced himself. "Samus…I apologize for using my spell on you, but that missile hurt."
"Oh…sorry about that, guys. On this planet, you never know anyone's motives. You two sure are tough…and you look strange. Are you aliens? What was that black hole attack?" said Samus.
"Well…we're from a planet called Alterra. I'm human, and I was injected with DNA of an Alterran race known as Seiya. My cousin is half human, half Mirrasseinian, which is also an Alterran race." said Aran.
"That attack I used is gravity-based. It's called Demi. I'm a black mage. Aran here is a monk. He hits with his bare hands about as hard as your missile on any given day." said Ryuden.
"Is that so…" said Samus. "These guys could be useful…" she thought to herself. She continued, "So, you guys are from Alterra? That planet is extremely far away…how did you guys get here?"
Aran and Ryuden recapped the events of them being sucked through the warp zone.
"Wow…that's terrible. You have families? It would take seven years for you two to get back to Alterra at your ship's top speed? I'm so sorry, you two. Maybe when we are done here, we can figure out a way to open a wormhole and get you two home." said Samus, sympathetically.
"That'd be wonderful…I have a son who's almost five and a serious girlfriend. Not to mention the rest of my friends and family…" said Aran, somberly.
"Yeah, and I have a girlfriend as well. I was going to propose to her on her birthday in a few months." said Ryuden with a sad expression.
Samus heaved a sigh and placed her hands on each of the guys' backs. "I'll see what I can do. Until then, I will need to ask for your assistance."
"Well Samus, what can we do for ya? What brings you here?" asked Aran.
"I found an infant metroid on it's homeworld, SR-388. It saw me and imprinted on me as it's mother. Of course, there isn't much I can do for the hatchling, so I gave it to a group of scientists so they could harness it's energy, hopefully for the greater good. Of course, there's this monster named Ridley who invaded the space lab, killed everyone there, and took the metroid. I followed them here." Samus explained her reason for being on Zebes.
"Ridley…yeah. I've heard of him as well. Definitely bad news. I've heard of the terrible things he has done. We had to deal with a similar monster known as Ultima Weapon…he killed our parents when we were just little kids. I was four and Ryuden was two." said Aran. "Samus, we'll help you. You don't seem like ya need it, but we'll be glad to assist a lady."
Samus rolled her eyes at Aran's chivalrous statement, then she said, "Well, whatever makes my job easier. First of all, I need to collect some weapons and energy tanks. Do you two have means of restoring health?"
"Well…I just got my doctor certification and I can perform low level white magic, and we also carry several healing potions. Speaking of, let me heal you real quick. May I?" said Aran as he placed his hands on Samus's chest armor, near her shoulders. "This does not count…she's wearing some serious armor…" he thought to himself as he began healing Samus.
Samus watched her energy gauge increase and max out. She felt much better. "Ahh…thank you Aran. Let's get going. You kids just follow me."
"Huh! Samus, just how old, or should I say young, do ya think we are?" asked Aran, somewhat taken aback by what she called him and Ryuden.
"I don't know, nineteen? For both of you?" she said in a serious tone.
Both Aran and Ryuden busted out laughing. Samus cleared her throat loudly and snapped, "What is so funny, you two?"
"Oh, nothing. I think you are pretty awesome for thinking I'm that young…I'm twenty-six." said Aran, with a smile. "Ryuden is twenty-four." Ryuden nodded in agreement, still smirking a little bit.
"Wow…seriously?" asked Samus, with slight shock in her voice. "I'm twenty-four myself…I thought you two were younger. My apologies. It's a compliment. Now let's get going, for real…guys."
"Well, did you forget that I said I had a five year old son? I would have been fourteen when he was born if I were nineteen. Just think about that." said Aran as the three climbed out of the pit.
"Of course. That would be weird. Anyways, you two stand back a little bit so I can bomb those blocks." said Samus as she rolled into a ball. She laid a bomb and blew up a rock, then did it again. "This way." she said.
Both the guys crawled through the tunnel formed by Samus's bombs. The three ventured forth, prepared to face some of the toughest monsters they've ever dealt with.