A lone Zeta metroid wandered the claustrophobic halls of the B.S.L. station, invisible in the shadows save for its six gelatinous eyes. It took a cautious step into the light, awkward on its new hind legs. It might have hovered rather than walked, but the corridors were too narrow for it to float freely. If it had stretched to its full height right then, its head would graze the ceiling. The metroid tested the air with a sense much like smell, but had nothing to do with odors. After all, metroids do not have a respiratory system, meaning they do not need to breathe. But they could still communicate using sounds, somehow emitted from the nuclei deep within their bellies. The metroid made one of those sounds now, a mournful keening, low and high at the same time. It waited but received no answer. That was to be expected. It would be the last metroid in existence.
Ever since the restricted sector had been jettisoned out into space with its fellow metroids, the Zeta had been deprived a companion, forced to wander the unfamiliar landscape alone. It felt abandoned and scared, a mighty predator reduced to the insecurity of a child. Despite appearances, metroids are highly social animals. They require companionship from another like themselves or risk the loneliness and despair of sentient creatures. When all the metroids were freed from their glass prisons, the Zeta, then but a mere larvae, had sensed an odd kinship with Samus Aran. It followed her out of the restricted sector and escaped the fate of the other metroids. But it became separated from her when a hatch locked behind the bounty hunter. By the time the metroid penetrated the door, Samus was gone, and the larvae found itself surrounded by X parasites. It gorged itself on the plentiful food, forgetting its solitary state if only for the moment. As the metroid ate its fill, it shed its skin, growing larger and smarter with each evolution. And hungrier. But the joy of feeding was only temporary. When it could not find any more X to be devoured, it again became overwhelmed by a feeling of absolute loneliness.
The Zeta metroid eventually found the docking bay. There was a single ship parked there, but it flew away at the metroid's approach. The Zeta stared after it, then looked ahead and realized it had reached a dead end. Frustrated and confused, the metroid clawed at the floors and ceilings of the docking bay, almost as if it believed there would be relief from its suffering on the other side. Exhausted, it finally crouched down in a shallow pit of twisted metal of its own making, silent and subdued. It might have stayed like this, motionless, for hours, even days if not for a sudden tightness and irritation on its belly. Following ancient instinct, the metroid flipped itself onto its back, allowing its nucleus to expand and split open the transparent belly membrane. A new creature crawled out of the shell of the Zeta, dripping with fluid from the transition. It flexed its new heavy-duty claws and found that it could turn its neck, a feature which it didn't have previously. It now had a seventh and eighth eye, which swiveled around to admire its thick, armored tail. The newly reborn Omega metroid rolled itself upright, struggling, recovering from the exhausting process of evolution.
As the Omega waited for its full strength to come, it sat quietly, thinking. It thought about all sorts of things that never occurred to it as a Zeta. As the bodies of metroids evolve, so do their minds, which would very suddenly become able to understand things it couldn't even comprehend in its previous form. The Omega was able to understand abstract and complex ideas; it was able to think into the future. It realized that yes, it was the only metroid left, but as long as there is food, then it would eventually evolve into a Metroid Queen. And as a Queen, the energies it gains through eating will no longer be used for evolution, but towards the making of new baby metroids. The Omega dwelled on this vision of the future, happily anticipating a time of contentment as a Queen, surrounded by its many children. It would never be lonely again.
Samus's scent was picked up by the Omega metroid, who eagerly lifted its head. There was something peculiar about her taste, something that discouraged the metroid from thinking of her as food. It thought of her as an equal, or a rival. It might have thought of her as an ally, even a friend, if it had a few more hours to grasp the very concept. As soon as Samus entered the docking bay, the Omega metroid leapt onto its feet and shrieked a challenge at her. Though startled by the appearance of a metroid, the bounty hunter did not back down. Instead, she tried to attack, but her attempts did nothing but convince the Omega that this was a battle for dominance. With a single swipe of its lethal claws, it knocked her clear across the room.
The Omega instantly felt a pang of regret for its actions. It saw how much damage it had done to Samus, so much that she was on the verge of death. It hadn't meant to kill her, only push her around a bit. The metroid jumped backwards and wondered what it could do to to help her in this situation, perhaps as a gesture of forgiveness. Almost as if in answer, a raw CoreX suddenly appeared in front of the Omega and took on physical form. The metroid might have smiled if it was able to do so with the circular ring of teeth which constituted its mouth. The X tried to attack the Omega with damaging ice beams, but it was reduced back to its gelatinous form with a vicious downwards swipe of the predator's claw.
An idea occurred to the metroid. Instead of eating it, the Omega stepped back from the remains of the X and allowed Samus to absorb it. That was a fatal mistake. The bounty hunter was healed instantly and her armor transformed into an orange version of her purple gravity suit. Unexpectedly, her beam cannon was also upgraded to include the ice beam, the only weapon capable of hurting a metroid as powerful as an Omega. She started shooting at the metroid's vulnerable nuclei, freezing the transparent flesh of its belly. The Omega backed away, screeching, all of its eight eyes fixated on the sight of its frozen stomach membrane, shattered and weeping out vital contents. It might have cried if it was able to do so. But there was no time for that, no time for anything but to try and fight back.
........................
Samus was roused awake by a beam of light. At first she ignored it, covering her head with a pillow, keeping herself in the dark although she was unable to return to sleep. Then she realized that the light was natural and quickly sat up. She looked out the front window and saw alien fronds and ferns and even a passing insect crowded on what usually displayed a scene of endless stars. She was no longer in space. Where was she?
There was no immediate danger to her or the ship, so she figured she might complete her morning routine before exploring this place. She got out of bed for the first time in days, curiosity replacing listlessness. Her legs felt stiff from disuse and her mouth tasted stale after days of not brushing her teeth. She stretched and cleaned herself up, starting with one of her long-missed showers and ending with a quiet breakfast. She felt much better after that, much more energized and refreshed. She felt no effects of the weakening disease lingering within her, thanks to the energy acquired from the Space Pirates.
Samus quickly shook that thought off, willing herself to forget about it. She's spent too many days moping in bed to let herself become overwhelmed by regret and confusion again. Besides, the memory...the memory of what happened was already fading in her mind, like a bad dream. If she tried hard enough, she might even be able to convince herself that it never happened.
The bounty hunter suddenly stood up. "Hey!" She called out loud. "Where is everybody?" Her voice echoed slightly in the deserted passageways of her ship. Still not quite with it, she only just noticed that the Etecoons and Dachoras were nowhere to be found. She became increasingly worried about them as she peeked into room after room, calling, hoping they would reply. Visions of what might have happened to them flared in her imagination. Maybe the ship got hijacked and the animals taken and killed. Maybe there was a gas imbalance on the ship that a human can survive, but a Dachora and Etecoon couldn't. Or maybe they found her hidden supply of liquor and were sleeping off the side-effects. In that case, they were soon to be dead anyways.
There was a thump on the front window and Samus instinctively pointed her gun arm at it, although that looked pretty silly without the beam cannon attached. She relaxed when she saw that it was only one of the Etecoons, clinging to the glass with his arms and legs splayed out like a stuffed toy stuck to the back window of a car. It smiled and waved at her. Samus made a face of irritation and cocked her first and middle finger, indicating that he should come back inside. He obliged, crawling up the screen and dropping down through the hatch.
"Alright, spill." Samus demanded of the alien-monkey, putting her hands on her hips. "What's going on? Where exactly are we?"
"Ho oh?" The Etecoon replied. He jumped onto the computer keyboard and pressed a touchpad. The monitor lit up with a million tiny lights, each one representing a single star that made up the extent of the known galaxy. The little alien made the map go 2-D and zoomed in twice on a corner of the screen. He pointed at one inconspicuous little planet.
"Ah. So this is where we are?" Samus called up more information on the planet from the Federation Navigation banks. There wasn't much to see. She found that this world was discovered by a survey ship which simply noted its location and but never bothered to land. It went nameless, referred to simply by its system and its order around its sun. Nothing else was listed.
Well, that wasn't much help. Getting information out of the aliens was always a challenge, especially since they couldn't speak Universal. The bounty hunter had to limit her questions to ones that can be answered through hand motions or simple mime. She turned back to her animal friend. "So where are the other Etecoons? And the Dachoras?" The monkey jumped out of the hatch again and waved and hooted, clearly wanting Samus to follow.
She hesitated, wondering if she should wear her power suit outside. The air was clearly breathable and at a comfortable density, otherwise the Etecoon would be in a state of pain or light-headedness. The gravity seemed tolerable, even optimal, judging from the monkey's easy leaps from tree to tree. Maybe she'll be fine clad with only jeans and a T-shirt. Plus, she was not very enthusiastic about donning her fusion suit again. Even looking at it right now makes her sick to the stomach, what those quivering mandibles did...no, she'll be alright without it today. But she did bring with her a remote for her ship and an all-purpose laser, just in case.
The atmosphere outside was tropical: warm and so humid that you can almost breathe in clouds. Samus's T-shirt clung to her form as soon as she exposed herself to the enviroment. Lush forests of alien design rose to the sky with occasional clearings of mossy growths, one in which the ship was parked in. The air smelled fragrant, not from flowers because there doesn't seem to be any, but apparently from odd cone-like plants that grew wider in circumference as they grew taller. A green, feathery blur ran by the bounty hunter, screeching excitedly. It turned out to be the younger Dachora, who stopped and chirped a welcome to Samus, giving the Etecoon who was chasing him a chance to tackle the bird and win at the game they were playing. The Dachora squawked indignantly and nipped at his playmate's ear.
Samus couldn't help but smile at their antics. Her animal friends seem very much at home on this planet. Perhaps it reminded them of Zebes before the Space Pirates mutilated it beyond recognition. To the bounty hunter, it reminded her mostly of Talon IV but with tamer flora and fauna. In fact, after wandering a bit further, she even ran across a Chozo statue.
What the...!!
She stared at the statue in shock, mind racing yet moving as slow as tar. The statue stared back, silent and regal, with a stone crown of feathers to disguise the wearer's balding head from old age. She noticed that the moss under her feet were actually carpeting a layer of fitted stones, perhaps used as a walkway at one time. Some of the plants have been manipulated to form chairs and bridges, although most of those had grown so wild with disuse that they blended right into the background.
So once again Samus's path crossed with the ghosts of her half-race. First in Zebes, then Tallon IV, then SR388 and now here. It suddenly dawned on her that she had marked this planet as a possible location for Chozo ruins. That must be the reason her animal friends brought her here. But what good would that do...? Maybe there's some upgrade for her suit hidden in these ruins. Maybe it would cure her of her disease.
She neared the statue, gingerly placing her fingertips on the ancient stone, testing it for power. No, it was just a regular statue, serving no function other than decoration. Other sculptures hold incredible powers and others trigger secret passageways. Some of them even come to life and attack if provoked. She let her hand drop to her side.
The forest was so peaceful. For the first time in her life, she was out in a virgin wilderness without the safety of her power suit. She could hear birds and insects without the constant droning of her ventilation tubes and see them without her visor analyzing their vital statistics. She could feel wind tugging at wisps of her heat-dampened hair. The atmosphere coaxed her to relax. Yet, she was aware that she had to keep a sharp watch for danger. Well-honed instincts warned her that something was about to happen, soon, hidden in this scene of serenity.
A little insect floated into Samus's field of vision and she backed away from it. The bug had a transparent dome-like body with two dish-like antenna and six rubbery legs. It reminded her too much of a metroid to be comfortable around it. She followed it with her eyes as it drifted precariously on the air currents, about to disappear behind the Chozo statue.
A beak suddenly shot out of the bushes and caught the bug midair, killing it with one snap. Samus jumped back in surprise, but relaxed when she saw that it was only the mother Dachora. Her green feathers blended in perfectly with the dense undergrowth; detected by neither the bounty hunter nor by the insect hanging limply from her beak. She trilled loudly, calling out to her chick. The younger Dachora scampered over and received a mouthful of insect as a reward, swallowing it in one hasty gulp and mournfully chirping for more.
The adult Dachora turned away from her offspring and faced her human friend, staring motionless with her piercing ruby eyes. The bounty hunter blinked in confusion. "So. Are you going to explain what we're doing here?" The bird lowered her head and crooned enigmatically, not exactly answering. Samus became annoyed with the Dachora's behavior, as well as with the other animals. She's been basically bedridden for the past several days, brought to this strange planet, and now the animals are acting abnormal around her, refusing to answer her questions directly. She didn't care for that. "Well?!" She demanded more forcefully. The alien did not move.
From the dense undergrowth, taloned hand suddenly appeared over the mother Dachora, looming and so silent that the bird was oblivious to it. Samus gasped and she immediately reached for the laser, preparing to fight for her friends. To her surprise, the hand came down gently, stroking the plumage of the Dachora, careful to avoid hurting her with its claws. The bird fluffed up her feathers, obviously pleased with the attention she's receiving and certainly not feeling the least bit threatened. Samus relaxed about three hairs, but still had her laser aimed at the hand.
"It is too difficult for the Dachora or Etecoons to answer your questions, so I will do so in their stead." A slurred voice spoke from within the bushes. It spoke in very broken Universal, as if the language was not one it had the chance to use very often. Its hand was now comfortably scratching the Dachora's neck.
The bounty hunter lowered her laser. The voice was hauntingly familiar to her, but she could not quite understand why. It awoke some desperate yearning in her heart.
"You won't need your weapon. I'm unarmed, see?" The owner of the voice finally stepped out of the bushes.
Samus cried out and nearly fell to her knees when she saw the creature. The laser dropped to the floor, forgotten.
"Oh my God...!"