This is the third chapter of the story, and the third chapter of the chronicles, enjoy.
Deep within the confines of the Beatrix III, Rod Aran could hear the massive explosions and the cries of his world being ripped apart. As he clutched his blaster to his chest he began to sweat profusely as he could hear many footsteps coming his way and they were not human.
"Damn, they've entered the freighter." He cursed, breathing hard, his heart beating against his chest rapidly, "What do I do now?" he asked himself, raking his mind for ideas
He looked about the freighter, noticing the stockpiles of afloraltite in their cases.
"All they want is the afloraltite…" Rod thought, "But the federation troops won't get here in time…" he deduced, "What do I do?" he asked himself again
His mind was going a mile a minute and the only thing he could hear was the beating of his heart. Death was breathing down his neck and he knew it would only be a matter of time before the Space Pirates found him and destroyed him. But if he was going down he was making sure these bastards went right along with him.
"Hey, bitches! Over here!" he yelled, gaining the attention of two Space Pirates
One gasped in surprise while the other pointed out the obvious.
"You don't belong here." The pirate hissed
As the two pirates charged him Rod tried desperately to get his broken blaster to fire.
"Ha ha ha ha!" laughed one of the pirates, "Why even try fixing that blaster!?" he cackled, "What do you plan on doing with that toy?"
However his partner knew the dangers of setting off that blaster with all the afloraltite around.
"No, wait. You'll detonate the afloraltite!" the pirate screeched
His partner had yet to realize the dangers of what the human was planning on doing, closing in on his prey, cackling the entire time.
"I get it bastard." Rod chuckled, "You're not too bright, are you?" Rod asked
Rod pressed tightly on the trigger, forcing the gun to overheat due to its inability to fire, his hand shaking as he did.
"Idiot, what are you doing!" yelled one of the pirates
"You'll kill us all!" the other shrieked
"I'm sorry Virginia…" Rod murmur, knowing he was at Death's door, "It was all I could do."
Finally the gun could take no more and exploded, and in turn the explosion detonated the afloraltite, which in turn detonated the freighter.
"I LOVE YOU! SAMUS!!"
The battle between the Smashers and the Space Pirates was heating up as more and more of the Space Pirates did battle with them. But the Smashers were no pushovers and the Space Pirates had their work cut out for them. Pikachu cut swathes through the ranks of the pirates with his electrical attacks, blast after blast ripping through the despicable creatures every time he launched an attack. There was so much electricity flying around that the air was heavy with its presence.
"Pi…ka…CHU!" smashing into a Space Pirate, sending hundreds of volts of electricity through the unlucky alien
His tail smashed into the head of another Space Pirate, dropping him where he stood while he fired a bolt of electricity at another one who tried to use the fall of his ally to ambush Pikachu. Sliding skillfully under a fourth Pikachu tripped a fifth before tackling the fourth and frying a sixth with his powers.
"CHU!"
The resonating sounds of a frying pan making forceful contact with an alien skull could be heard as Peach fended off waves and waves of Space Pirates. The fierce pirates tried with all their might, but Peach's quick and flowing movements kept them unbalance as she delivered painful smashes to their armored hides.
"Take this and this and this and this and this and this!" she yelled, dropping Space Pirates one after the other
A Space Pirate tackled her, but she threw him off, smashing the frying pan over his head before blocking another's claw strike. She spun, making the pirate lose balance and cracked the frying pan along the side of his head, then hopped over an advancing pirate, letting his stumble to the ground. Charged by yet another she pulled her club out and swung wildly, catching the pirate in the side of the face, causing him to spin away in a daze. More pirates joined the fight, but kept their distance from Peach's arsenal of "weapons".
"Come on, who wants some of the princess?" she goaded
Meanwhile, the Terrible King of the Koopas was doing battle with the Vicious Commander of the Space Pirates. The two monsters went claw-to-claw, the ground beneath them buckling under their combined weight as they smashed one another. Claw marks could be seen on the sides of ships that had landed earlier and burns marks along the ground due to both of their individual flame attacks. Just as Ridley was unloading another blast of plasma fire on Bowser he noticed a bright light in the sky. Averting his gaze slightly he also noticed that the bright light in the sky was an explosion of a ship, his ship.
"What!? Why's my ship burning!?" he said in shock, watching as his ship crashed
"It's coming this way!" Bowser shrieked, "You guys better move if ya don't wanna get toasted!" he roared
Pikachu and Peach looked up to see what Bowser meant and the moment they didn't their eyes went wide. Without wasting a second the Smashers ran for cover while Ridley slumped in disbelief over the destruction of his ship. When his ship crashed there was no explosion, for most of the ship was in flames at this time. The flames from the ship roared as the smoke reached for the sky, the commander of the ship crying out in disbelief over what was happening.
"Is this some kind of joke!" he screeched
However, seconds after proclaiming this his mood seemed to do a 180. He stood up calmly and stared at the Smashers as they came out of hiding. A grin appeared on his face as he looked at them.
"Heh." He chuckled, "It seems everything's going as I predicted. The dream is still in full swing, even with your interruption." He said
"Somethin' ain't right." Bowser thought, "How's a dream suppose to know that it's a dream?"
"Don't think this is over, we'll meet up again soon enough." Ridley said, before disappearing into a large dark circle that appeared beneath him
"What's going on?" Peach asked
Bowser shrugged, something was off with this dream.
"What happened to Samus?" they heard in their heads
Turning to the sky they saw Mewtwo and Young Link make their entrance. As they landed Mewtwo quickly came to the answer to his question.
"You lost her, didn't you?"
"Yes…and?" quipped Bowser
Mewtwo sighed. It would be pointless to argue. What was done was done, now they had to find her again.
"Hey kitty, somethin's not right with this dream." Replied Bowser, "The dream knows it dreaming."
"I know." Replied Mewtwo, "I sensed an anomaly as we arrived." He said, "We should be more careful from this point on. If it is what I think it may be then even my incredible powers may not be strong enough to handle what is coming next."
"So what do we do now?" Young Link asked
"Let the dream play out." Mewtwo replied, "That is until this anomaly makes its presence known again."
The Smashers took this in and understood. If they were going to figure out anything they'd need to wait. Looking toward the burning colony their hearts sunk a little over the senseless destruction.
Later that evening…
As the sun set on the colony two figures wandered through the hell-hole that was once Planetary Colony K-2L. The two figures were Old Bird and Grey voice. Having picked up on a distress signal from the colony earlier they came, but it seemed as if they had arrived too late.
"Now what…?" Old Bird asked in dismay
"Send a signal to Federation troops to come to K-2L, though I doubt they'll believe it." Replied Grey voice in a downtrodden tone
"Everything is gone…" muttered Old Bird, heartbroken
"Perhaps it was the pirates." Replied Grey voice, "Wiped out…not single soul left."
However, before all hope was lost a noise startled Old Bird from his depression.
"Papa." a small voice said, "Mama…" the voice said again
"Oh, oh." Gasped Old Bird, "I-It's…I can't believe it!" he gasped
"B-Bird Grandpa?" The small voice said, confused
The figure slowly approached and as she did, a feeling of joy mixed with bewilderment spewed forth, ushering in a loud call from the elder Choujin.
"SAMUS!!"
(Samus will be narrating again)
Zebes, second planet from the sun FS-176. After the Space Pirates attacked and left only me alive, the Choujinzoku brought me back here.
"Old Bird!! What were your intentions in bringing that earth girl back here?"
"And what do you have to say, Grey Voice?" asked Old Bird, "Is it that you could not leave the child to die, as is the way is should have been!?" he bellowed
"N-No, that's not it…" Grey Voice replied, solemnly "But…"
"Humans lack the ability to adapt to Zebes." Replied a robotic sounding voice, "They are limited to either Crateria or Brinstar." The voice replied
"Mother Brain." Old Bird murmured, staring up at the floating metallic ball as it floated down to their positions
"R-Right. We don't have the means to care for her here…" replied Grey Voice, his voice reflecting how startled he was with Mother Brain's abrupt entrance
"Grandpa…" called the small voice of Samus
"Oh." Old Bird gasped slightly, "Samus." He murmured
"This is no place for a little girl." Samus said, clutching Ponchi firmly, "Where are my friends…?" she asked
Before Old Bird had a chance to explain, Mother Brain appeared in front of Samus, its camera eye analyzing the startled girl intensely.
"It's okay, Samus. It won't hurt you." Old Bird assured her, "It's part of the planet's interface."
Even though Bird Grandpa had assured her of her safety, Samus felt uneasy with the penetrating glare that Mother Brain was giving her and turned away from the calculating machine.
"This weak creature can not possibly live in Zebes' natural environment." Mother Brain stated, "Existence is possible, but only for a few days."
"I know Mother…" replied Old Bird, stoically "But there is a way."
Later…
Attached to a strange device that connected with the very room a small sphere filled with an unknown liquid held a small figure. Standing a ways off were Old Bird and Grey Voice, watching intently as the liquid worked its wonders.
The Choujinzoku boosted my body's ability to adapt to the planet. They transfected me with their DNA. A gift…
11 years later…
"Attack Samus! What are you doing!?" yelled a voice, near an ancient temple of the Choujinzoku
Standing atop a small stone protrusion, Old Bird and Ponchi watched Samus train while Grey Voice barked his disappointment at a battle-armored ready Samus Aran who grunted in discomfort as she aimed the blaster of her Power Suit at her enemy.
"Hurry! Attack!" yelled Grey Voice, "Your enemy's closing in!" he barked, "Samus!"
The small clunking assistant robots closed in on Samus, slowly waddling their way toward the blaster-toting Aran.
"B-Back off!!" she yelled, backing up as she fired her cannon
The shot veered horribly off target, clipping the side of a nearby rock face.
"…"
Grey Voice said nothing at first because there were so many things he could have said about how much that shot officially sucked. Finally though he settled on reprimanding her for her bad aim.
"Entirely wrong again." He said, "Don't move while you aim!" he barked
A few minutes later an armor-less Samus Aran hit the dirt, thoroughly worn out from her workout.
"Your powered suit is linked to your genetic information. If you fail, it fails." Mother Brain stated, appearing out of nowhere
Samus hated with the Mother Brain did that and it made it all the worst that she was reprimanding her.
"Whadda you know!" growled Samus, shaking the egotistic machine for all it was worth
Eventually Mother Brain worked its way out of Samus' grip and flew away to safety. Without the know-it-all machine telling her how much she sucked Samus relieved her exhaustion with a drink of water, just as Old Bird, Grey Voice, and Ponchi arrived.
"Samus." Called Grey Voice, "What are you doing?" he asked, "Don't let your emotions take control of you." He told her
"Grey…" she muttered as Ponchi did his best to comfort her
"Fine, if you don't want to see the Federation prosper…" Grey Voice interrupted, "Even now, violence and calamity stride alongside them." He told her, "You of all people, should know that the most.
Flashbacks of Ridley and her mother's fate flashed in her mind as Grey Voice continued.
"Will it take a second time? A third?" he asked, "Understand…!?"
Samus stood and turned away, but Grey Voice continued on.
"You're a protector of the galaxy now. You're a member of the Choujinzoku. It's your duty to fulfill that destiny." He told her
"…"
Samus was silent for some time after that, many thoughts and memories surfacing after what Grey Voice had said.
"I understand…" she finally said in a stoic manner, before breaking out in a run
"Ah, Samus!" called Grey Voice, "Where are you going? You're not done training!" he yelled
But by then Samus had already used the assistance bots as stepping-stones to leap clean up a rock structure to take off. As the two Choujin watched Samus leave both understood one thing.
"Her body's abilities have definitely improved." Replied Old Brid
"Yeah." Grey Voice said, agreeing
Later that day…
Sitting atop a lone protrusion, a young girl stared out into the vastness that was her home. Her mind a drift, she sat, simply content with the peace that was around her, simply trying to come to terms with the tasks she was told were her destiny. As her mind drifted, her beloved Ponchi sensed another presence with them and turned curiously to see just what had joined them. Floating not but a few feet away, a strange butterfly-like creature was quenching its thirst with Samus' water bottle, happily sipping away at the bottle's contents.
"Eh? A butterfly?" she mumbled, as Ponchi quickly hid behind her, "Oh." She gasped as the butterfly-like creature took off, "Wow!"
Looking up her eyes went wide in surprise as she saw a whole group of the flying creatures, their bodies giving off a bright light as they flew gracefully through the air.
"Iono Faria…" replied Old Bird, coming up to Samus, "They absorb moisture ions, giving them the power to fly." He told her
"Grandpa." Murmured Samus, watching as Ponchi hopped off happily to Bird Grandpa, hopping on his head to play with the many feathers that adorned it
"It's called the 'Minus Ion Effect'." He replied, "As they calm down they start to fade."
However Samus couldn't care for the scientific explanation. All she cared for was that the "butterflies" were pretty.
"Again with your difficult theories!" she whined, "Isn't just saying 'pretty' enough??" she asked
A far-off look appeared on the young girl's face and Old Bird knew that even though Samus was to be the protector of the galaxy she was still just a girl.
"My reply troubled you…" he commented, "Hmm…you humans have such interest in profound thought." He said
"Ah! Grandpa!" she squealed, "You're starting like that again??"
Finally night had come and the stars and moon of Zebes came into view. It was at this time that Samus had noticed something odd.
"Hm? Where'd that butterfly go?" she wondered, until she noticed a bright light, "Oh! Here they are!"
Turning around she looked down a small valley and beheld a wondrous sight. Filled with the most beautiful of flowers the strange butterfly-like creatures gracefully floated about, their soft glows illuminating the field with such vibrant color that the valley itself seemed to glow with an array of soft colors.
"And with such amazing flowers!" she squealed, taking in the sight
With a quick turn Samus was gone, but not for long as she quickly returned with large bags in her hands.
"Here's some juice!" she cried out happily, "For my friends!"
Upon her declaration the strange creatures quickly congregated on the small Choujin offspring, surrounding her in a swarm of glowing balls.
"Ha ha, cool down!" she giggled, handing each a small water bottle, "There's lots!"
Meanwhile, in one of the Choujinzoku's laboratories…
"Give me a report on SR3888, Mother Brain." Old Bird ordered
Within the large room that many of the Choujinzoku now resided a large cylindrical tube stood, holding the true form of the robot eye of the Mother Brain. The floating ball traveled among the Choujin elders as they went over the latest reports.
"Report: Metroid cultivation rate has reached a dangerous level…" it replied, "Unfortunate…"
"Hmm…" murmured Old Bird, "Well in that case, are our children growing as anticipated?"
"…Our Child'ren'…!?" Mother Brain asked bewildered
"Samus will fight the Metroids as well." Old Bird replied as if it were everyday news
"…"
Mother Brain thought this over for a few moments. Though one couldn't tell, the center point of the Choujin world was indecisive over something. Eventually though she murmured out a small response.
"I…see…"
Back outside, Grey Voice had gone out for some air, to simply enjoy the night sky. As he did so he noticed Samus fidgeting with something on the ground. Upon closer inspection he saw that she seemed to be picking flowers.
"Samus." He called, gaining the blonde's attention
"Grey, look." She said, holding up a handful of flowers, "The flowers from the valley have bloomed here!" she squealed, "How pretty!"
The moment Grey got a good look at the flowers the color left in his face and his eyes went wide in fear.
"T-That's Bajar Glove!!" he cried out, "Where did you find this valley?" he asked quickly
At the valley…
The field of flowers went up in a brilliant display of smoke and flames, filling the night sky with orange, yellow, and red as the assistance robots unleashed flames upon the land.
""W-What are you doing!" Samus shrieked
"Samus!! Those flowers are from another planet!" Grey Voice yelled, "They're horribly poisonous at best!"
"Eh?" she muttered, watching as the flames consumed what she though to be the most beautiful things she had ever saw, "…"
Now that she knew the truth, she seemed lost in the twister of flames that was the burning of the flowers, seeing why their absolute destruction was a must.
"I see…" she murmured
"But where did they come from?" Grey Voice wondered aloud
"Report: Valley search…Alkaloid response…corpse found." Replied Mother Brain, finding traces of a dead body, "Attackers from earlier days on Zebes. Space Pirates."
"What!?" bellowed Grey Voice, "What was their reason for coming here…" he pondered
"Ah!" gasped Samus, "Space Pirates!? Here…!?"
"Someone came before you got here." Replied Grey Voice, realizing just what happened, "Just one…"
"…" Samus thought, before she too realized what this meant, "That one…"
Ridley.
"But it's strange…why would he come here just for that…?" Grey Voice wondered, "Just to seed those flowers…?"
"Report: the Iono Faria are emitting levels of alkaloid. Conclusion: Danger."
"What!? We need to clean it at once! Incinerate it all!!" bellowed Grey Voice, "The Bajar Glove and the Iono Faria!!" he yelled
After hearing that declaration, Samus couldn't believe her ears. How could Grey Voice kill off some defenseless creatures at the drop of a hat?
"Wait! You're just gonna kill them!" she screamed
"Of course." Replied Grey Voice, "Protecting our own ecosystem is naturally our top priority." He replied calmly
"AND YOU CAN JUST DO THAT!" she yelled, exhorting herself, "It's just that easy…!?"
"'Just do it'?" he asked perplexed by her sudden outburst, "What are you saying?" he told her, "I don't get. We do what we have to do." He told her, redirecting his attention toward the threat
"But why…!" she growled, but Grey Voice wasn't listening
"Aim at those butterflies." He ordered, although, the butterflies had other plans
Pulling from the safety of their wings the butterflies unleashed fully loaded laser rifles. They cocked their weapons and flew toward their attacks in a deadly swarm.
"What!?" Grey Voice cried out, "They have weapons? It can't be!"
"Their hostility is rapidly increasing! Space pirates seem to have brought them weapons!" Mother Brain quickly reported as the creatures began to fire
ZAP!
The blast was heading straight for Grey Voice, moving too fast for the Choujin to avoid.
"Damn…!" he barked as the blast closed in, ready to blow him out of existence
However, at the last second a ball of light emerged, grabbing hold of Grey Voice just before the blast could hit. Old Bird, who had just arrived, immediately knew what the spinning ball of light had to be.
"That's…" he gasped, "Samus!!" he said, watching Samus sail through the air, Grey Voice firmly in hand
As she landed she looked down at the hostile Iono Faria and with an voice of unwavering determination she called out the deadly butterflies.
"Fire at me instead!!"
With the focus of a true warrior Samus took aim and fired a beam of energy from her arm cannon, the shot flying straight and true toward its target. The shots made their way to the Iono Faria, popping their laser rifles out of their hands while simultaneously knocking the gun-wielding butterflies for a loop.
"If I…just aim at their weapons..." Samus thought, knocking each rifle to the ground with pinpoint accuracy
Old Bird watched in awe as Samus battled with the intuition and smarts of any of the Choujinzoku back when their race was at its prime. It didn't take long for the armored warrior to disarm all the Iona Faria of their weapons, leaving only one more thing to do. Charging her cannon, Samus aimed at the down rifles, her cannon humming with raw power.
KA-BOOM!
The blast released from her blaster annihilated the laser rifles, putting an end to the threat once and for all. With no weapons to fight with and with the poisonous flowers nothing more than ashes, Samus saw fit that the battle was over and was overjoyed that everyone came out of it with their lives.
"It's okay…" she told the flying balls of light, "No one will hurt you now…" she said, reaching up to pet one in reassurance
FAAAAWWWHOOOOSSSSHHHH!!!!!!
Intense waves of heat rushed past Samus, catching the Iono Faria in its devastating wake. The poor creatures didn't have a chance as they were roasted alive.
"KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they cried out as they were blown asunder
Samus watched in horror as the beautiful, dangerous, misguided creatures were burned into nothing. When there was nothing but ash, Samus turned abruptly to the source of the flames, seeing the flamethrowers of the assistance robots slowly cool off and Mother Brain floating a few feet above them.
"Cleansing complete. Damage minimal." Mother Brain replied, "Thanks to Samus' cooperation."
Rage took over the blonde fighter as she clenched her fist in anger, glaring daggers at the machine that ordered the senseless destruction of unarmed enemies. In a flash Samus was on top of Mother Brain, bringing her fist down with massive power to…smash the assistance robot that Mother Brain just happened to be floating near. The machine was obliterated on impact and fell to the ground in a pile of scrap metal. Then without a word the angered girl began to stalk off.
"Samus!" she heard Old Bird call, but Samus would not have it and continued to walk away, trying to hold back tears from within her helmet
Old Bird could only look on as the troubled youth took her leave.
Samus just had to get away, away from the destruction, away from Old Bird, away from Mother Brain.
"Mother Brain." She growled, clenching her fist once more
Had she'd stayed a second longer there was no telling what she may have done to the floating computer network. Samus just needed a place to cool off and collect herself. However, someone wasn't about to give her that opportunity.
"So this is the great protector of the galaxy?" someone question condescendingly, "I am not impressed." The voice said
Samus knew that voice, but it couldn't be him, no way it could be him. But as she turned to face her persecutor she as greeted with a face she only saw in her nightmares.
"Ridley!" she barked
"I'm glad you remember me. I had almost thought you may have forgotten." He cackled
Before he had a chance to continue a laser blast rocketed toward him, but the large creature simply opened his wings and took flight, avoiding the blast.
"Quick to the trigger are we?" he laughed, "My my, what rage you have."
Samus fired again, the blast once again missing the surprisingly agile creature.
"Well I must admit that all this rage isn't completely of your doing. I mean, I guess losing one's parents to the likes of me would give one unbelievable hate." He replied, matter-of-factly
That tore it; Samus began firing wildly at the despicable creature. But her rage made her throw off her shots, making her precise shots from earlier nothing more than a fading memory.
"Is this what the galaxy is waiting for!?" Ridley cackled wildly, "A protector of this caliber!? The galaxy is better off as it is!" he cackled maniacally before firing off a blast of plasma fire
Samus couldn't completely avoid the blow, but she managed to jump away and avoid the majority of the damage. However the force of the blow sent her into a boulder, cracking it on impact.
"Heh heh heh heh." He laughed, landing and watching as Samus struggled to stand, "Even without being hit with the full blast you can barely move. Some protector." He muttered, "I will do the galaxy a favor and blow you out of existence." He said, powering up once again
However, before he had a chance to fire a barrage of powerful attacks interrupted him.
"Shadow Ball!"
"CHU!"
A ball of shadow energy and a blast of electrical power flew toward Ridley, causing the dreaded creature to leap to safety. Just as he landed another attack came hurtling toward him.
"Koopa Claw!"
Ridley barely managed to avoid the claw swipe as it crushed a nearby boulder into dust.
"Well well." Replied Ridley, "You've come sooner than I thought." He said
"Well we didn't get a chance ta finish our fight the first time around and I was feeling a little antsy." Bowser replied, cracking his knuckles
"I tried to keep these fools in line, but they do not want to listen to my superior intellect so I am forced to fight." Replied Mewtwo, "So be it."
"Piiiiiiii..." growled Pikachu menacingly, electricity bouncing wildly from his cheeks
"We won't let you hurt Samus!" barked Peach, frying pan in hand, "If you want her you'll have ta go through us!"
Young Link nodded in agreement, brandishing his sword and shield and taking position next to Peach who was standing in front of Samus.
"So be it." Ridley replied, his wings shooting out, "I'll drag you all into the darkness!" he roared before charging them
And that's the third chapter of this story. Hope you like it so far and see the explosive conclusion next chapter.