Behind Cold Metal
Chapter 13: Back at the Tower
Meta Ridley was rather distraught. The following day they had returned from Ether and Meta Ridley was on his throne, slamming the armrest, cursing himself and asking himself a flurry of questions.
"Why am I feeling like this towards Samus!?!" he said to himself angrily. "She is my enemy! I can't treat her like this, it...it doesn't make any sense! But every time I look at her I feel as if she's someone good, I feel as if I should be fulfilling some sort of obligation to protect her, to make her happy......why do I feel like this!?! I can't feel like this!!! I'm Meta Ridley! I don't have any emotions! I'm the ruthless leader of the Space Pirates!! If I should be feeling anything towards Samus, it should be hate!!!" he said to himself. Then, he thought again.
"No...I don't want to feel hate like this...I've had enough...I...I need to talk to her" he said. "Perhaps tonight, I can go to her cell and...No, I can't do that. The security levels down there aren't as high as they are up here. I need to bring her up here somehow..." he thought. He began to brainstorm ideas, until he thought of something good.
"That's it!" he thought. "I'll invite her for some dinner, up here in my very own throne room!" he said. But then, he looked around. There was a bit of blood on the floors; all dried up from his past experiences of attacking Space Pirates for their incompetence. He then looked worriedly at the walls, were large axes, swords and other medieval weapons were hung. It wasn't what was hung up, but it was how they were hung, lazily and esque. There were crates of things he wanted delivered to his room, some unopened. Plus, there were a large arrangement of them on the balcony.
"...This place is a mess..." he thought. Then, he took a deep smell of the room. "It smells like crap as well. Samus would be put off by all of this. Guards!!!" he shouted. Two Space Pirates walked in.
"What is your command master?" they asked.
"Get the cleaning force to report here at once" he said.
Two minutes later, a team of twenty Space Pirates wearing white frocks walked inside. It looked rather funny, and Meta Ridley always had fun making fun of how they looked, but for once, he understood their importance.
"What are your orders master?" the one in the front asked.
"I want the whole lot of you to clean my room by the end of today! I want the ornaments hung up nicely on the walls, the crates cleared off the balcony, the blood washed up on the floor and that stagnant smell to be eliminated at once! If you stall, I'll cut your rations for the next week! Understood!?!" he yelled.
"Yes sir!" the group said. Instantly, they set off to work. Meta Ridley sat down and thought a little. He then clapped and called for two guards to come in.
"What do you need, my lord?" they asked. Meta Ridley turned to look at the one on the left.
"I want you to go down to Samus's cell and give her this message" he said. He picked up a hologram messenger and tossed it to the guard. The guard then scanned Meta Ridley and gave a thumbs up, indicating he could give his message.
"This is Meta Ridley speaking" he said. "Tonight, you shall dine with me in my throne room. There are pressing matters to discuss. Relay to the guard your wishes of what to eat and drink. I will not accept your absence, so be up in my throne room five hours sharp. A guard will come to pick you up. End transmission" he said. The cleaners didn't hear the message, but the two guards did.
"Dinner?" they asked.
"Her life is on the line" he said. The two guards fell for the excuse.
"I understand sir. I shall go down to her quarters now" the guard said. A salute later, the guard left. Meta Ridley turned to the other guard.
"You, call my tailor. Tell him to meet me in my armour room to take my measurements. I want a suit ready for me with a cravat by the time I have dinner. Failure to comply will result in death" he said.
"What's the suit for?" the guard asked.
"A dragon must look his best when discussing someone's life expectancy" he said.
"Very wise sir" the guard said. "I shall get the tailor. Where shall I send him?" the guard asked.
"To my armour room" Meta Ridley said. The guard saluted and left the room. Meta Ridley held his hands and thought for a second.
"...One more thing grunt" he said. The guard turned around.
"Your wishes?" he asked.
"Send the tailor's assistant to Samus's quarters to measure up. I want a black sequin dress made for her. I will grant her the luxury to dress and look nicely once more before she dies..."
"Of course sir"
The guard walked out of the room. Meta Ridley didn't want Samus to die, but he needed to put on a face for his men, to ensure his personal wishes would be fulfilled privately.