Emergency generator online. Initiating auto-repair sequence.
Samus slowly stood up, her head pounding and her vision blurred. Smoke billowed from every corner of the ship, making her already poor sight twice as bad. She stumbled over to the cockpit, unable to stand straight due to the angle at which the ship crashed.
"Activate distress beacon," Samus said.
Sending distress signal... Error. Atmospheric disturbance prohibiting broadcast.
"Wonderful. It's Aether all over again," Samus scoffed. She pulled up the auto-repair UI on the ship's computer. "Estimate auto-repair completion."
Auto-repair completion estimated to be in approximately six days.
Samus scowled. "What's next? Alternate dimensions? Parasitic abominations?" Deciding it would be best to scout the area outside, she activated the ship's landing gear, lifting the vessel just enough to straighten its horizon. The hatch at the top of the ship opened, and Samus leapt out with an unnecessarily stylish somersault. As soon as she came into contact with the planet's surface, a hand and a knee to the ground, her suit bombarded her with data readings.
Lower atmosphere analysis complete. Eighty point two percent nitrogen, nineteen percent oxygen, point eight percent other gases.
The atmosphere was nearly identical to Earth's, meaning Samus could potentially survive outside of her suit. But why was her distress beacon blocked?
Upper atmosphere analysis complete. Phazon gas detected. Likely source of signal interference.
"Well, that would explain it…" she muttered. The phazon coating her ship's hull and the projectiles the Leviathan fired must have burned up in the atmosphere, creating the gas. Samus looked up, and she noticed a deep blue cloud overhead where she and the Leviathan entered, confirming her suspicions. "I'd better find that Leviathan before it has a chance to do the same to the surface."
Before Samus could make another move, her suit's radar picked up something behind her. She turned around, arm cannon at attention. In the bushes was a humanoid figure, wearing clothes reminiscent of that of an ancient Chinese warrior, made complete by a black satgat that hid its eyes from view. She noticed the creature was clutching something in its hand, and guess that it was supposed to be some sort of weapon. Still aiming at the creature, Samus activated her scan visor.
Target is a member of an unknown mammalian species. Three distinct energy signatures detected; two coming from the creature itself, and a third from its weapon.
"Odd…"she whispered, noting the unusual quality of the creature. Samus turned her attention to the sword the creature held. Runes were carved into its blue tinted blade, occasionally glowing softly.
Target is comprised of an unknown alloy of high density. The blade is quite sharp, and it has the potential to deal heavy damage to your suit. A distinct energy signature has been detected; the weapon is likely augmented with internal systems. Caution is advised.
A computerized sword. Curious, but not impossible. Deciding the creature was a potential threat, she raised her cannon into the air and fired three warning shots. The creature stood its ground, almost entirely unmoving. Perhaps she needed to make her message more clear.
Samus fired a shot at a tree close to the creature. It flinched, and then slunk back into the shadows, apparently receiving the warning. Before she could turn to walk away, however, the creature leapt out of the forest with blinding speed, landing a heavy blow with the side of its weapon and sending Samus tumbling backwards. She landed on her feet, and then looked up to face her attacker. Its sword was poised in an unusual fashion, but judging from the creature's posture Samus could tell it was ready and able to put up a battle.
"If it's a fight you want," she said, taking aim at the creature, "It's a fight you'll get!"
Dust had followed the smoke trail for about three miles through the forest, finally arriving at the crater it had created. Broken trees and scorched earth surround the object in the center, which Dust was now able to clearly identify. It was a large, round, saucer type thing made of an orange metal. It lay at an angle within the ground; no doubt a direct result of its landing speed.
"Do you know what that is, Ahrah?" Dust asked, observing the object from behind a bush.
"I do not, but it appears to look similar to one of General Gaius' airships," Ahrah replied.
Dust frowned, eyeing the object over once more. "It does look like an airship, but not one of Gaius'," he said. "His ships had a very… unique look to them."
"Is this not unique?"
"That's not what I meant. It doesn't look like something Gaius would have made…" Dust looked intently at the ship. "It seems almost… alien. Like it doesn't belong here."
Without warning, the ship rose a short distance into the air, making Dust jump. "It can still fly? After that sort of landing?" he breathed, quite impressed. Whatever that thing was made by, it seemed to have known what it was doing.
The ship hovered softly above the ground, and then landed once more in a more upright position. A bright green light then shot out from above, and to Dust's astonishment, he saw something leap out of the light, somersaulting down to the earth and landing with one hand and one knee to the ground.
"Rather unnecessarily stylish, though impressive," commented Ahrah.
Dust quietly observed the strange beast that had emerged from the ship. It was larger than he was, with a subtle feminine air about it. The beast's back was turned to him, but he could tell it was clad in some sort of armor. It was primarily orange, though it had a yellow midsection, a red helmet and a red breastplate. The shoulder pads were large and bulbous, seeming more decorative than functional.
What caught Dust's attention the most however were the beast's hands. The left looked rather ordinary, except it too was covered in armor, but the creature's right arm was another story. In place of a hand, its entire forearm was made up of a large mass made of a dark green metal, which to Dust seemed it would be more of a hindrance than anything else.
"What in the world is that thing?" Dust asked Ahrah.
"I… I have no idea…" the blade said, sounding concerned. "Be careful, Dust. We have no idea what it is or why it's here; it could be dangerous."
Dust grunted in agreement, yet curiosity compelled him to move closer. As he carefully inched forward, the beast paused. Dust felt his heart skip a beat when the beast turned around, revealing a bright green eye at the front of its helmet as it pointed the mass on its arm toward him.
"I think it sees us…" Dust whispered.
The beast stared at them, almost motionless. Its attention was entirely focused on the two of them.
"It seems to be observing us…" Ahrah noted.
Dust and the beast stared at each other for what seemed like hours, quietly watching each other for any sign of aggression. Finally, the beast raised its right arm toward the sky, and fired three bright flashes of light from the end.
"That green thing's a weapon…" Dust realized.
"If the shots are anything like Fidget's, we should be fine," Ahrah said, completely serious.
Dust couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "If she were here…" he began, but was interrupted by a flash of light flying past him. Dust felt the heat radiating off the projectile as it narrowly avoided his face and hit a tree nearby, scorching its bark off completely.
"I don't think diplomacy will be an option," Dust said, looking at the tree with a worried expression.
"Back away Dust…" Ahrah said. "Look for an opening."
Dust did as Ahrah said, backing away just enough so that the beast would lower its guard.
"Now!"
Dust leapt from the ground, striking the beast forcefully with Ahrah's blunt side, sending it tumbling backwards, though it immediately landed back on its feet.
"If it's a fight you want…" the beast said in a feminine voice as it raised its weapon. "It's a fight you'll get!" It fired rapidly at Dust, but he easily dodged the projectiles as they came. He dashed toward the beast, intending to land a few swings on it, but rather than continuing to fire, the beast lunged toward Dust and grabbed him by the neck. It then slammed him on the ground with massive strength and pinned him down with its foot to his throat. Dust struggled to free himself, but lack of oxygen and the beast's weight combined was simply too much. The a golden orb of light began to grow on the end of the beast's weapon,
"Dust! Kick the back of its knee!"
The beast seemed bewildered for a moment, releasing some pressure and giving Dust just enough time to flip himself, hitting the its leg and sending it to the ground. He grabbed Ahrah again and slashed the beast down its side before it could react, then leapt back to catch his breath.
"I think we may have a problem, Ahrah…" he wheezed.
Samus had to admit, the talking sword surprised her. The fact that it spoke English of all things was just as, if not more surprising. It wasn't an excuse though; she could have killed the creature then and there, but she let her guard down. The creature had managed to do a good deal of damage too; nearly two of her energy tanks were drained by that single blow, and a sizable gash had appeared down her thigh. She hated to think what damage it could do if the blade had struck a bit further in; there was little doubt in her mind that it could potentially severe limbs if she wasn't cautious.
"Let's get this over with," Samus said, irritated by her own negligence. "I have a Leviathan to destroy, and friends to avenge." Her arm cannon morphed into a longer, slightly thinner shape, purple energy coursing within its crevices. She fired several rounds, watching in slight satisfaction as the creature attempted to dodge the homing projectiles, only to be knocked down by the blast. "The Wave Bean will be your undoing," she said quietly.
Dust watched in confusion as the beast's weapon changed shape, elongating to reveal lines of purple light from within.
"The beast is changing tactics; don't let your guard down!"
The beast fired, only this time the projectiles were purple. Dust dashed off to the side, but to his surprise the shots followed him. Each one hit him, sending spasms through his body as the energy passed through him.
"Damn… that hurt…" Dust gasped, barely able to get the words out. "There's no way I can avoid that…" The beast seemed satisfied by its handiwork, but wasted no time firing one again.
"Use the Dust Storm before they hit you!" Ahrah said as the creature fired a few more shots. Dust quickly obeyed, spinning Ahrah around at high speed as the shots came toward him. As the projectiles hit the blade, the split up into smaller fragments and turned against the beast. Dust smiled as the beast attempted to dodge as he did, only to find itself bombarded by the tiny projectiles.
Not wasting the opportunity, Dust dashed over to the beast and attempted to strike it while it was down, but it had already recovered, and swiftly countered his attack with a kick to the chest.
Relatively unharmed, Dust backpedaled away from the beast, now aware that melee combat wouldn't be an option. "How did you know that would work, Ahrah?" he asked.
"The shots are remarkably similar to Fidget's, only they are extremely powerful," the blade replied. "I only had to put the pieces together. We can use any of its projectiles against it."
Dust smirked. "Well, now we have an advantage over this thing. Let's see it try and shoot us now!"
That was… most unexpected. Samus shook her head and glanced at her energy level. She lost an additional two energy tanks from the reflected Wave Beam. This creature was much more powerful than she anticipated; the fact that it adapted to every move she made was unbelievably frustrating, especially since the creature managed to defy basic physics. She couldn't fathom how her Wave Beam projectiles were cut into smaller shots, or why they suddenly gravitated towards her. Perhaps his species had energy manipulation capabilities, like the Chozo or… That was it. The sword.
Samus chided herself for not realizing it earlier. The sword was a tool that the creature used to manipulate her shots; it would explain the energy signature she detected within it. If she could separate the blade from the creature, it would be powerless.
Raw energy wasn't an option anymore, but condensed energy might be volatile enough to prevent the creature from redirecting it. Samus smirked as she switched back to her Power Beam and loaded a missile into the chamber. If things went according to plan, the fight would end right here, leaving her as the victor,
Dust watched worryingly as the beast morphed its weapon back into its original form. He dared not approach it directly after last time, knowing that it could easily counter him. The beast had also proven extremely resourceful, and obviously was not utilizing its full arsenal. Dust could only hope that whatever it had up its sleeve he could handle.
The beast took aim and fired a large, brownish orange projectile that trailed smoke as it traveled toward Dust. He attempted to dodge it, but noticed its change its trajectory in time to pull off a Dust Storm. When the projectile hit, however, it exploded with great forced, nearly knocking Ahrah out of his hands and Dust himself to the ground.
Dust clenched his teeth in pain as a burn spread across his fingers. "Ahrah, I can't do anything against those things!"
The blade paused for a moment, pondering the situation. "Those projectiles seem to be of a different nature than those we've encountered before. Rather than pulling them in, why not blow them away?"
"It's worth a try." Dust watched closely as the beast reloaded its weapon, prepared to fire again.
Samus frowned. The missile apparently didn't have the force to dislodge the sword. She hated to resort to it, seeing as the weapon consumed five of her standard missiles, but the creature forced her hand; she would fire a Super Missile.
The beast fired again, this time the projectile was much larger and traveled quicker. Dust barely had enough time to leap into the air to perform an aerial Dust Storm. When the projectile entered the cyclone the Dust Storm had created, it made a single revolution and then flung off into the beast's chest, creating a much larger explosion than before and knocking it back a good distance.
"I can't believe that worked!" Dust exclaimed once he hit the ground. "Now if only Blombs worked like that…"
"This isn't over yet, Dust. You've only managed to actually hit that thing twice without using its own weapons," Ahrah pointed out. "We don't know how many weapons it has at its disposal; it could have something we can't do anything to stop."
"It looks like it's running out of ideas, though," Dust said. "If we can back it into a corner, it'll be simple enough to destroy it."
"Be warned, Dust; a beast is at its most dangerous when it is cornered."
This was getting ridiculous. That thing dodged shots, reflected them, and now it could just blow missiles away like a scrap of paper? Samus felt herself become desperate to end the battle, considering the amount of time and energy that was being wasted. There were only two options: have the creature surrender, or utilize her most potent weapon… She lifted herself off the ground, and met her aggressor's gaze.
"Surrender now or I will be forced to resort to nuclear arms!" the beast announced. Dust smirked. He wasn't sure what it meant by "nuclear arms", but it was obviously a desperate attempt to end the fight.
"I don't think you're in any position to be asking me to surrender," Dust said. "If you are wanting to make a deal, leave now and I will spare your life."
"I'm afraid that isn't possible," the beast replied. "You back away and allow me to continue on my mission and you will have no further trouble from me."
"And risk having you hurt innocent people? I'm afraid I'm going have to refuse," Dust scoffed.
The beast glared at him. "The more you delay me, the more people will get hurt."
"Is that a threat?" Dust growled.
"It is a promise."
Dust scowled. "Do your worst."
The beast sighed. "You may not live to regret your decision," it said coldly.
Dust braced himself for some sort of projectile weapon, but instead, the beast morphed into something utterly… unexpected.
"Ahrah…?"
"Yes, Dust?"
"Did that thing just turn into a… ball?"
"I believe it did."
The ball had a similar color scheme to the beast's armor, only it had a bright white orb of light inside of it. Dust couldn't help but wonder if it was a "nuclear arm" or a beach toy. "That's it? A ball?" He found it difficult to hide his amusement. "Am I supposed to be afraid of a child's playthi-OOMF!"
Without warning, the ball hurtled into Dust's gut, knocking him the wind out of him. As he lay on the ground, gasping for breath, Dust saw the ball roll in front of him and drop a small device behind it. He thought nothing of it until it started beeping.
"It's a bomb! Get away, Dust!" Ahrah shouted.
Dust scrambled to get up and grab the sword, but he only managed to get a few feet away before the device detonated, sending a wave of hellish heat across the area. Ahrah was flung out of his hand, and Dust himself into a tree with a sickening crack as the bark splintered apart.
Dust moaned from a sharp pain in his side. Ahrah lay nearby, but just out of reach. Gasping weakly, he tried to reach for Ahrah, but as he was about to grab the blade's pommel, a heavy, orange boot stepped on his hand, sending pain through his entire arm. He looked up to face the intimidating glare of the beast, its weapon directly against his head.
"You should've surrendered, fleabag."
Dear Lord this fight scene is a mess... I tried to clean it up to the best of my abilities, but it just feels sloppy to me. Trying to find a beta reader who's a fan of both Dust and Metroid is not an easy task, so I'll probably be relying on myself and Spell-check for a while, if not for the rest of the story. This could potentially be remedied by some reviews telling what I did wrong, but I'm at a loss at where to find such things... Perhaps you, reader, could help shape this pile of words into a masterpiece!... or at the very least something less terrible.
***Update 12/25/14: Rewrote a few part of this chapter as part of an attempt to clean up some of the earlier entries of this story. Nothing major, just adjusting a few details and spelling fixes. Made the damage Dust does to Samus less absurd, and ret-conned Dust's broken rib (never mentioned it again, and it would just complicate things if I tried to implement it into the story).