"Veaning, have I ever told you about Hatchling?"

"You are Hatchling."

"Well, yes. But I had a metroid which I named Hatchling once."

"Oh yes, I remember now. The elders have spoken about it before. They found it rather ironic how you named the metroid your own name, for you were both survivors."

"So you know the story?"

"Not all of it. Just what was on the comm unit and what the elders had learned from ghosts. And that was a long time ago. I certainly don't know your perspective."

"Then want me to tell you?"

"Please do."

"It was after the first war on Zebes that the Federation hired me to exterminate the metroids. You know that the Space Pirates tried to breed an army of them using that beta ray cloning technique. Ugly stuff."

"It was our mistake to create the metroids with such erratic DNA. It makes their metamorphasis easier, but they are susceptible to nearly all forms of radiation."

"You mean more than just beta rays. Even phazon."

"Yes."

"Anyways, I landed on the SR388 and I found it more of a barren wasteland than Zebes was. You have to admit, Zebes was once a lush paradise before the Space Pirates came by, but SR388 was a hellhole by nature. Nothing there but mineral caverns and lava and such twisted life unlike any I've ever seen, and trust me, I've seen a lot. One by one, I eliminated every metroid I found: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta and Omega. I didn't come across any larvae until I nearly got to the Queen's chamber, where they emerged from eggs. I finally found the Queen."

"Such a pity that you had to destroy it. The Queen may have been alive long enough to remember the Chozo when they lived there. Metroids live indefinitely."

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask, how did the Chozo die out on that planet anyways?"

"They didn't. They simply left."

"Why would they leave? They put so much work into their statues and temples there, not to mention the metroids, and then they just go away?"

"Our ancestors thought they could unite with the land as they have with other planets, but they found that they could not. Troidemis was a world of predator and prey. No plantlife at all. Below was rock and fire while above was teeth and blood. Children of the orignial settlers would never know a being that could exist without killing to survive. And that was no way for Chozo to live."

"No plantlife? That doesn't make sense. All food chains must have some sort of primary source, something that gets its energy not from eating. I mean, if one thing eats another as prey, then eventually, one of the prey must eat something other than just more prey."

"I understand. That type of setup was extremely unstable. The only way it managed to exist was through the Eaters, who would mutate a species every few generations so a nearly extinct prey animal would suddenly thrive as a predator."

"So what happened when the metroids came along?"

"The Ultimate Warriors not only suppressed the Eaters, but they stabilized the planet's erratic evolution by providing an efficient energy distribution cycle. Did you know metroids also excrete energy? There were some species that began to rely on the Ultimate Warriors for sustenance. Metroids were the top and bottom of the food chain at the same time."

"Damn it, and I killed them all. And then the X returned. Well, I thought I had killed them all when I offed the Queen, but as I was searching for a way back to my ship, a metroid egg hatched right under my feet! For some reason, I did not shoot the little larvae. To this day, I still don't understand why."

"Could it have been divine intervention? Some Chozo would be very saddened if their creation became extinct. They might have stayed your hand."

"Maybe. But the little critter imprinted upon me, and hell, I became hopelessly in love with it. It was the sweetest thing, that metroid. It would never hurt me, and even healed me with its energy once. I knew it was dangerous and that I couldn't keep it forever. But I wanted to keep it, to take care of it. I think I was lonely all those years by myself, so much that I even needed the companionship of a metroid."

"I think it was just your maternal instinct speaking. It's telling you to get a child."

"Pppht. Yeah right. And what about you? How's your search for a mate coming along?"

"Oh, my father brought in lots of prospective males from the other Sheltering Trees. Remember that one archivist that was managing the audio equipment in your house the other day? He was wearing duratine wristbands. I think his orgin name was Hendah, but I will call him Round Eyes! I like the way his feathers cross along his shoulder blades and have you noticed..."

"Anyways..."

"Oh sorry. You were telling me about your metroid?"

"Yes. My metroid. I named it Hatchling, simply because it hatched and the name sounded cute. But in the beginning, before I became attached to it, I had decided to take it to the Federation for study. I brought it to Ceres laboratory and left it for as long as I could bear to be without it. I think that was where they managed to preserve a metroid DNA sample for that vaccine they later injected into me. And of course, they used it to clone metroids when they really shouldn't have. In any case, I returned to the space station. And then I received a distress signal."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A localized distress signal coming from Ceres. The main alarm must had been deactivated, and somebody had the opportunity to activate a handheld signal. I sped towards the station, not sure what happened, but knowing all the same. There had been an attack on the laboratory, a large scale, organized attack. Hatchling was in danger.

I rushed into the docking bay and entered easily, even without authorization. The alloy gates had been blasted open. All the ships and escape pods had been destroyed, save for my own, of course. But I guessed from the lack of enemy ships that the attackers had already left. That struck me as unusual. It had been barely three hours since the last live feed from Ceres, and to dispatch a station of this size usually takes somewhat longer. But these were professionals. If they could get to the station's center and disable the main alarm without setting it off, they could certainly manage to be quick.

There was no energy going to the main hatches. I made my way down the vertical emergency corridor, where hatches always had auxiliary power. But the lights were not working. Past the faint illumination from my own armored suit, the darkness stretched on without end. I jumped down, never seeing my landing spot until it met my feet. Sometimes one second would pass before I met any resistance to gravity, sometimes five. The corridor turned horizontal unexpectedly, and I stumbled over fallen debris in my haste. How I wished for my thermal or X-ray visor. But I was working for speed. Nothing mattered more than reaching the control room as fast as I could.

Oh yes, I was concerned about the safety of any crew members still remaining. I wondered if Ceres would stay stable if it had been so damaged. I had the future of the Federation on my mind, considering what would happen if metroids were used against it. And I badly wanted to tear apart the perpetrators of this attack in the most painful way my imagination would allow. Yet, all of that came second. Second to my desperation over finding Hatching. I couldn't swallow a feeling of dread in my heart. It felt like a physical substance, like bile that choked me and made breathing almost impossible. The farther I ran, the more it seemed to well up in my chest, threatening to overwhelm and consume.

I skidded to a sudden stop. Ahead of me, computer terminals caused an eerie glow on their surroundings, blinking and hissing with static. I cocked my beam cannon and stepped cautiously ahead, wary of any danger. The relatively bright lights from the monitors caused me to squint as I emerged from the shadows.

I had been in this place before, when it was well lit and full of scientists. The glass chamber where they kept Hatchling was at the center of the room, connected to tubes and wires and scanners of all sorts, like the heart of some massive, mechanical organism. But the glass was broken, and no metroid resided there any longer.

For a moment, I wondered if it was Hatchling that was responsible for the disaster on Ceres, but that thought quickly banished itself. Ideally, metroids leave their victims undamaged save for the puncture marks of their fangs. But this room was still full of scientists. Some of them dead from a neat laser wound to their chest, lying face-up, eyes-wide, splayed in a pool of their own blood. And some of them were literally smeared across the walls.

I found a hand with only the thumb and first finger left. But in what was remaining of the palm, a button the size of a coin flashed alternating green and red. It was the distress signal I had followed. I stepped over the device, careful not to put my foot down on any other body parts or fluids. The massacre awoke some deep sense of nausea within me, but I suppressed it. Violence like this I had made a part of my life. But every time I saw a severed arm or spilt entrails, I would wonder what it would feel like, and be glad that it wasn't me.

"Is anyone alive here?" I called out. The metallic walls absorbed the sound of my voice, reminding me of my solitude. As expected, I received no reply.

The main entrance to the room had been forced open. I followed the trail of carnage, slower now, very conscious that whatever killed those humans could still be here, somewhere. I entered an empty chamber, probably used as a pressurization room. But at the far end, I caught sight of something shining green. And at the same moment, it noticed me and squeaked a happy greeting.

"Hatchling!" I breathed, and ran towards the metroid. Flooding with relief, I didn't question why my baby would be all the way here, contained in a tiny transparent tube. I didn't even notice that we were not alone in the chamber until a shadow passed over my Hatchling, snatching it beyond sight and reach. I stopped. I instantly braced myself for battle.

A pair of fiery eyes opened above me, and I found it incredible how I could have missed the skeletal head they belonged to. A great, spear-like jaw opened in a mocking smile, revealing a thousand lethal, two-inch fangs and a restless tongue. I bristled with hatred and recognition of this creature. It was his burning intelligence. His lithe flexibility and ruthless cunning. It was his very presence that ignited such a fierce enmity within me. But I dared not shoot him for fear of injuring my metroid.

"Ah, so Hatchling is this little creature's name, is it?" The Norfair dragon said in a mild baritone. His claws clicked restlessly on the tube container and he casually passed it from one hand to the other. He leaned his head down towards me on a seemingly inadequate neck. "How cute." He suddenly laughed, a screeching, guttural cry from his throat, jaws unhinged to their capacity. His wings snapped open with gale force, easily enveloping two of the four walls. I took an involuntary step back, but stood my ground as soon as I noticed my reaction. There was no way I was going to show any fear in front of this longtime enemy of mine.

"Ridley!" I hissed. "Scourge of Zebes."

"Samus Aran, Bounty Hunter." Ridley retorted in perfectly articulated Universal. It always amazes me how such a deep and colorful voice could be forced through that pencil-thin neck of his. "Now that we've established who we are, shall we proceed with business?"

"Give me back the metroid!" I yelled, not wanting to put up with his taunts.

"'Give me back the metroid!'" Ridley replied in a falsetto imitation of my voice. I gritted my teeth, seething silently. That dragon always had a way of getting under my skin. He folded his wings and settled onto his haunches. "I think not." He sneered, reverting back to a more masculine tone. "The way I see it, I am doing you a favor. You neglected to dispose of this abomination back on SR-388, so I shall do it for you." He held the tube to one of his eyes, examining its contents closely. "I have more use of it than you in any case." Those contents examined him back, with whatever senses it possessed.

I suddenly realized that Ridley had a reason for not attacking immediately. Yes, he loved harassing me like this, but now was not the time nor place for a verbal spat. He was vying for time. Time to figure out an escape. I believe he's afraid of the metroid. He figured that without the container keeping it at bay, Hatchling could very well suck him dry of his life force, although it might try to siphon mine first. If we were to fight now, the tube container could be broken in the struggle, giving him a 50/50 chance of survival. He had no idea that the metroid only considered one of us edible. I decided to play his game while searching for my own opening.

"So what happened to your fat ass, Ridley?" I spat. "You're looking more organic than the last time I saw you." Indeed, he was a creature of complete metal and alloy last time I fought him. But now I could see flesh and veins between the joints of metallic armor. His skin was scarred and uneven, crimson and black like almost-cooled lava. "Did it hurt when your limbs were torn apart and replaced? Or were you unconscious the whole time, not even knowing what they did to your body?"

Ridley dug his claws into the galvanized flooring, which yielded like butter beneath his feet. I saw the flesh under his alloy skin shiver slightly, temporarily reminded of the horrors of the surgery he had to endure. I smiled at that little victory.

"I'm surprised to see you concerned over me, for once." The dragon replied after a brief hesitation. I picked out a slight strain in his voice, but he quickly recovered back into that smug persona so characteristic of him. "So you really do care! Does this mean we can put aside our past differences and make up? Maybe my sexual charm is finally having an effect on you, Ms. Aran." He ran his tongue slowly ran over his upper row of teeth and growled softly in a gesture of animal lust.

"God, you sick bastard!" I recoiled, utterly disgusted. "What, are you so desperate that you're coming on to humans now?!"

"No, just you." He purred. "Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I've wanted to run my tongue over your defenseless, naked flesh." His voice was but a whisper, his eyes slitted. "But I digress. Like they say, 'business before pleasure'. However, once my business with you is finished, I will thoroughly enjoy fucking your dead body."

His taunt certainly produced the desired effect in me; the mental image was almost enough to make me vomit. I fought down the wave of nausea, but from the corner of my eye, I noticed Hatchling float to the bottom of its container. Without hesitating, I shot a single beam at the top of the tube, which I hoped would release the metroid. But my gun was hastily aimed, and Ridley jerked his hand so that the beam hit his wrist. Screeching, the dragon took to the air, wisps of flame escaping the sides of his mouth.

The dragon made a vicious head-first dive at me, snapping with his jaws. I leaped out of the way, shooting rapidly, still trying to free Hatchling and no longer caring if I stunned it with a few power beams. Metroids could easily shrug off such an attack. But Ridley quickly figured out what I was trying to do. He released the transparent tube for a brief moment and caught it again with his foot. Now he forced me to shoot exclusively at his upper torso, while his tail defended any shots to the container. Hatchling was knocked around inside its prison, and it shrieked with increasing alarm.

"DEATH TO THE HUNTER!!" The Pirate dragon screamed before releasing a volley of fireballs. I was hard pressed to avoid them, leaving me open to a blow from his tail that left me breathless. My vision and visor blurred for a crucial moment while I recovered. But no attack came at me while I was vulnerable. In fact, once I could see properly again, Ridley was gone!

I craned my neck upwards with some difficulty, and saw the Space Pirate escaping into the heating systems above.

"NO!!" I screamed, reaching out where I last caught a glimpse of my metroid, although I knew it was futile. "Hatchling! Come back to me!" A single squeal called out in response, echoing until it faded. My arms dropped uselessly to my sides. "Come back to me..."

"Emergency," An announcement blared in sync with a jarring klaxon. Shit! "Self destruct sequence activated. Evacuate colony immediately." The emergency lights suddenly decided to turn themselves on, flashing vibrant red, and the whole station began shaking.

Damn those Pirates! It was their hallmark to destroy the location of an attack, and Ceres was certainly no exception to that rule. I turned and ran, trying to retrace my steps back to the ship. It was harder now, with air seeping out of the sides of pressurization rooms, not hurting me but strong enough to blast me off balance. As I raced through the main laboratory, I felt a crunch under my boot. Without looking, I knew it was the distress signal I had stepped on.

Debris was falling from the ceiling. The whole station was beginning to tilt on one side, then the other, as Ceres began to rotate like it had in the past. It made my desperate scramble up the vertical corridor that much harder, but I eventually reached the wasted docking bay. I jumped into my starship and flew out of the doomed station, watching as it drifted almost casually into one of the neighbouring asteroids, and silently exploding into a fantastic ball of gas and fire.

"Computer!" I yelled. "Track bioform Ridley, Space Pirate!"

"Processing request..." The voice activation system on my ship said. I prayed that Ridley was still close enough to be traced.

"Target located." The computer said after an agonizing wait. "Bioform found in coordinates 243d, 414m, 176r degrees relative to local sun of system Furh Sa. Probable destination: class XIX planet, Zebes."