So there I was, witnessing the last breath of the last metroid. A fitting end to a formidable species. The metroid queen screamed and sputtered in her death throes, thrashing in a pool of blood and plasma from her own body. I stood nearly motionless, trying to catch my breath from the preceding battle. I felt like I needed to watch this. To witness the death of the metroid species.
Finally, the metroid queen lay still. I thought she was dead and began to leave the room but when I turned for one last look, I noticed one of her three remaining eyes watching me. What emotion could be contained in those bright orbs of eyes? Pain? Probably. I took a step closer. Fear? Regret? Hatred? Probably not. The metroids are an emotionless species, only able to distinguish between the edible and inedible.
I aimed my right arm at her and switched my beam cannon to the missile launcher. Then I ended her misery.
I left the queen's chamber, leaping over the rocks in my way. At the top right corner of my visor, I glanced at the faint metroid count meter which now stood at an unblinking '00'. I suppose I should have been proud of my victory where many others have failed. The bounty that I'm going to receive from the Federation could buy me a small moon if I was ever inclined to purchase one. I should have been happy.
I sighed. But the killing of innocent creatures had never made me happy. The metroids were innocent, and dangerous, yet, innocent creatures. If species like the Space Pirates or abominations such as Mother Brain didn't exist to abuse them, then there would be no need to sacrifice the metroids in exchange for galactic peace. Hell, I was so giddy when I killed Mother Brain that I could have been doing cartwheels if I wasn't so busy running for my life.
But ruthless genocide... That just leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Argh, I must be getting soft.
Suddenly, the metroid count meter flipped back to '01'. What the...? I tapped my visor once with the barrel of my beam cannon but the digit remained as it was. There was no mistaking it. Another metroid was alive, somewhere.
I held my cannon hand at ready, fully expecting a metroid attack to come from any direction. Any direction but down. In fact, if it wasn't for its mewling squeaks, I might have stepped on the little metroid which was hatching right at my feet. Against my better judgement, I crouched down and leaned my face close to the dawning lifeform. I had never seen a creature so... new, so delicate, so fragile. I was fascinated by the faint pulsing of its tetranuclei and by the intricate detail in its tiny fangs. Those fangs chewed through the membranous eggshell confining the metroid, spilling out egg fluid.
The tiny metroid didn't fly at first but rolled onto its dome back, squeaking piteously. It was trying to remove one last stubborn piece of eggshell stuck to its body that it couldn't reach with its fangs. It looked so silly and helpless, rolling around in frustration. Resisting the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl, I plucked the shell off the baby. Now comfortable, the metroid rolled back into an upright position and stood still, as if observing me. I couldn't tell if it actually was, for it had no eyes. But it seemed to be watching me as curiously as I was watching it.
Suddenly, the infant leaped into the air, making me back away in shock. A previously ignored voice in my head now screamed, "Samus, you IDIOT!! It's a metroid! Kill it before it kills you!"
Hissing a string of curses, I held my cannon steady with my left hand and aimed. I fired two shots, both of which missed due to the little metroid's incredible agility and small size. Or maybe I wanted to miss; I don't know.
The metroid lunged. In the blink of an eye, it was too close for my weapons to hit. I crouched down and prepared to roll into a morph ball, which was the only way to escape a metroid attack. I felt the impact of the larva metroid on my chest and braced myself for the excruciating pain which would begin when it started draining my energy. But the pain never came.
"Huh?" I said.
"Squee!" The little metroid answered.
I had a hard time looking down at it since my power suit wasn't designed with much of a neck. But I could see the top of its dome body which, surprisingly, was not glowing with energy acquired during feeding. It was still attached to my chest, content there. I plucked it off me and its mandibles wiggled in weak protest.
It would be so easy to simply stuff the baby up the barrel of my gun, making it impossible for me to miss with the ice beam. Or I could just squeeze my fingers, although I'm not certain if physical pressure would hurt a metroid. Infanticide and genocide, all in one shot.
But...maybe it's a defective metroid, unable to absorb energy. Why else was it attached to me but not hurting me? It would die if it wasn't able to eat; I could just let nature do the job for me. With a tinge of hesitation, I released the infant, who floated off chirping. It'll die soon enough, I told myself.
Now, how the hell do I get out of here? The tunnel that I used to enter had caved in during the battle with the metroid queen. The only way out was blocked by a thick layer of crystalline rock. I've already tried to break that type of rock with everything I had: missiles, bombs, beams, I've even punched it once, all to no avail.
Suddenly, I heard the shrieking of the metroid again and turned just in time to see it rushing at my face. I ducked, causing it to overshoot my head and smash into the wall. I was about to shoot it for attacking me when I saw that its real target was the wall itself. In fact, once I took a closer look, the infant was eating the crystalline rock!
I activated my scan visor and sure enough, found that the rock contained some sort of organic energy mineral. Sugar to a metroid, I suppose. The rock easily crumbled without its energy components. I gingerly stepped through the gaping hole and squinted my eyes in the poisonous yellow light of this planet's sun. Now the baby circled endlessly around my head, squeaking as if searching for my approval.
"Hey, you're quite feisty for a newborn, aren't you." I said to the metroid. I caught it in midair. "What's wrong with you? You can suck energy, but you're not eating me. Then why are you following me?" I didn't expect it to understand my words at all, but it squeaked excitedly at the sound of my voice. I made a face of disgust. It seemed as if the universe was mocking me for my reluctance to kill this metroid by making it friendly towards me. But what might a bounty hunter do with a tame metroid?
I tossed the infant back into the chamber and ice beamed the entrance shut, trapping it inside. It threw itself against the ice in attempt to follow me and shrieked in pain upon impact with the cold surface. I could see it hovering left and right, looking for an opening in the rock but finding none. Then it started crying. It was a mournful, high-pitched whimper that made me shiver despite the heat. Of course, I had no idea what a metroid cry sounded like, but what else could that desperate keening be? I made my way to my ship with the child's cry haunting me until I was too far away to hear.
Once inside the safety of my ship, I took off my helmet and tossed it aside. God was I tired. All of SR388 was an inferno. I could feel the effects of the sweat sticking to my body. My power suit regulated the homeostasis of my body, including sweat output, but I was still dying for a shower. I yanked my hair out of its ponytail, letting it drape around my shoulders. Then I felt something grab onto my head.
"AAAGH!!" I clawed at my hair in an attempt to get it out. Damn it, whatever it was, I couldn't shoot the thing at such a close range!
I heard a familiar squeak and instantly froze. Oh my God! It's the metroid! Without my helmet, I couldn't roll into a morph ball! If it decided to drain my energy right then, I would be completely defenseless.
Images of what would happen to me flashed through my head in terrifying vividness. There have been better ways to die than to die as the victim of a metroid. I could see myself screaming and thrashing as the thirsty fangs found my neck, draining me of my life's energy. I've felt it before, the immeasurable the pain as every cell in my body screamed in agony. The only mercy would come in a quick death.
Stupid, stupid Samus, I said to myself. What little compassion I had was going to be the cause my death. How ironic for me, the person who spared the last metroid to be killed by that metroid itself.
A minute passed. Two minutes. I was barely breathing. I was beginning to shake from staying in one position too long and from the adrenaline assaulting my body. What was the metroid doing?
Slowly, carefully, I angled myself slightly so I could see the metroid on a reflective surface. It had made a little nest in my hair and clung to it motionlessly, softly glowing the color of inactivity. The little devil fell asleep in my hair! I pulled it out quickly and slapped my helmet back on.
"What is your problem!?" I demanded of the infant. It stirred from its slumber, a little ball cupped in my hand with its fangs curled up.
"Miii..." It purred sleepily, completely oblivious to all the trouble it caused me.
I'm not a big believer in God or destiny. But I knew that one of those two powers was at work today and deposited this infant into my arms. And like most cosmic powers, it took special pains to make the situation as ironic as possible, entrusting me, the one who destroyed metroids, with the responsibility of caring for the last metroid.
I could still kill the baby in cold blood if I wanted to and the universe would be that much safer. A single metroid could destroy galactic peace if it's in the wrong hands. But was that really what I wanted? The metroid did not deserve this; it had hurt nothing in the short time since its emergence into life. And...sleeping quietly in my hand, it looked so harmless. Harmless and helpless.
Wasn't I also once in a similar situation as this infant? Yes, the Chozo told me that they found me years ago, the only survivor of the pirate attack on space colony K-2L. I would have died if the refugee Chozo from Zebes didn't come to rescue me. Who would rescue this metroid infant? I felt my resolve melting for the little creature.
I sucked in a deep breath and made my decision. "Alright, hatchling. You can come with me." I said to the sleeping metroid. Yes, I was definitely getting soft. I placed it carefully in a glass tube and screwed on the lid.
But still, I couldn't keep the metroid with me forever. Perhaps the Federation would be willing to raise the metroid. I'm sure they would love to study it. I took another look at the infant and removed my helmet. "I'll find someone to take care of you."