Chapter 13: Prelude To Finality (Room MW)
Samus lay on the cold steel floor on the verge of absolute exhaustion. Her lungs felt as though they couldn't get enough air. Her muscles burned and throbbed beneath her armor. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. She shut her eyes and gulped hungrily for air. But she couldn't rest, not until she saw for certain Adam was gazing upon her with his own eyes. Turning the General over onto his back, Samus promptly checked his neck for a pulse and felt her heart calm just a tad once her armored fingers were able to register a subtle pulse. That's good, she told herself before performing another scan of his body. Thankfully, there had been no worsening of his injuries in the time that Samus had been gone.
As much as she would have liked to leave him alone to wake up himself, however, they still had a mission to complete, so Samus gently roused him awake. "Adam. Adam, wake up!"
The hunter became encouraged upon hearing him mumble something incoherently. "That's it. Get up, Adam!"
More garbled sounds, except now he was slowly shaking his head from side to side while mumbling.
Samus continued to rouse his consciousness, placing her arms against his shoulders and issuing words of encouragement until the General finally opened his eyes, dazed and confused, sore, but nonetheless alive. "...Lady..." he croaked, his lips and throat parched. His normally stoic expression quickly turned into a grimace of pain as Samus attempted to help him slowly sit upright. He felt like he'd just got hit by a truck; his head hurt, it pained him to breathe, and his abdominal muscles felt tender and pulsed with a dull ache as if they were bruised.
Adam briefly glanced down at his armor, noticing the large dent that had been made was where he assumed his abdominal cavity to be, and quickly put two and two together despite his haze. "...I guess we are more alike than we realize." he coughed before a subtle grin curved one corner of his mouth and a dry chuckle escaped him. His steel gray eyes found Samus once more. "Touche, my Lady."
Samus felt herself smile behind her helmet visor, both relieved that he was alive and seemed to be in good spirits despite his injuries and the fact that Samus had willingly caused them. As much as she would have liked to bring him into her arms then, the hunter knew their reunion would have to wait in favor of far more pressing matters, namely completing their mission aboard this god-forsaken rust bucket and getting out of here alive. "Right, Adam. Whatever that means." she chuckled. "I'll apologize properly once we're off this station. Can you stand?"
Adam nodded. It wasn't the first time he'd been injured during combat. More concerning to him was the large hole in the left forearm of Aran's armor. "Your arm, Samus. What happened?"
Samus glanced down at the large hole. "Metroid just got lucky." she said simply as if it were no big deal. "I'll live."
"Will you at least let me take a look?" he asked, unable to quell his concerns and knowing she would likely protest his offer.
But Samus sighed in defeat. In truth, she was grateful for his concern and had always found it rather endearing, even if it did make her feel a bit uncomfortable. "Oh, all right. If it will make you feel better. But make it quick." she replied before reverting to her Zero Suit.
Adam gently took her forearm in his hand, noticing immediately the rather large, gaping wound on her forearm and promptly fetched what little was left of his First-Aid kit from his utility belt; after cleaning, packing and bandaging the wound, Samus again activated her Varia Suit. "Well, I'm ready when you are, Adam."
He calmly regarded her in silence as they stood there in the long corridor, marveling in his mind over the fact that she had yet again somehow defied the odds and did the impossible once again by eliminating Sector Zero, its Metroids, MB, and somehow save his life in the process. She truly was without par in the universe, his words unable to express how truly proud of her he really was, not only in this moment, but for as long as he lived. She really did never cease to amaze him. "Understood. We need to get back to Operations and figure out whether or not Madeline Bergman is still alive, and if she is, where she may be hiding. With Ridley's whereabouts unclear, it's very possible she could still be in danger. Once we find out Madeline's status, we'll go from there. Any objections, Lady?"
Samus shook her head in acknowledgment before resting her hand atop her Arm Cannon. "Lead the way."
After a lengthy and at times tumultuous trek back through the Cryosphere, the pair had finally reached the vessel's Main Sector once more via the Main Elevator and made haste for the Control Room where this nightmare had begun hours, or even days, ago – neither of them were quite sure at this point - with the discovery of the lab worker's corpse and subsequent showdown with the Brug Mass. This time through the Main Sector however, it was just the two of them, the General and the mercenary, the last hope against the Galactic Federation's twisted plot; though Samus had successfully destroyed Sector Zero and its abominations, both she and Adam knew they weren't out of the woods yet and wouldn't be until this station, its experiments – and themselves, if necessary – were all but wiped out from the universe.
Inside the Control Room, Samus promptly hacked into the database terminal that had formerly been Adam's post prior to the bounty hunter's fight with Ridley, and discovered, much to her anger and frustration, that the ship was on a collision course with Federation Headquarters. She hadn't been imagine things when she'd felt the floor jerk beneath her earlier. But why?
"Adam! This vessel is set to intercept Federation Headquarters – but what the hell for, and how?!" Samus asked. "If it's true what Madeline said, MB controls this whole station in a way similar to the Aurora Units...but the AI was supposed to be in Sector Zero... So how can this be if Sector Zero exploded?" she added with urgency.
Adam quietly pondered the sudden unease Samus's concern had piqued within his mind. "We can dissect this later. Right now, we need to divert the ship off its intercept course somehow, as well as secure Madeline's safety. See if you can find her last known coordinates, Samus. Quickly."
Samus discovered the results within mere moments. "Room MW, somewhere within the Bioweapon Research Center. According to this, it's a Class 5 Restricted Area. Her exact location is unknown."
"It will have to do," Adam remarked before slipping his helmet back on and standing at attention. His voice, though calm, was full of strict authority. "Samus, listen to me carefully. It's clear that this is the start of an attack by MB against the Federation. I have several missions for you. You are to secure Madeline Bergman's safety at any cost. Only with her assistance will we be able to neutralize MB. Proceed to the Bio-weapon Research Center and explore room MW. And defeat Ridley, should you encounter him. I'll take care of diverting the station. Also, you are hereby authorized to utilize any other auxiliary weapons you have at your disposal - proceed at your best discretion. Are these orders understood?"
Samus simply nodded.
Adam clutched his machine gun, the only other weapon he had at his disposal besides the freeze gun. "...Good luck, Samus."
"I love you!" she blurted out just as Adam was turning his back to her. A nameless fear suddenly made the bounty hunter's heart swell afterwards. Fear of never seeing Adam again, having to go on without him. Fear that she had betrayed all that had gotten her to this point by admitting her feelings for him. Fear of losing herself. It was a lot of reasons, really, the list of which was nearly limitless. But she couldn't fight it, not anymore. Samus closed the distance between their bodies, their helmets touching. She could barely make out his features behind the orange tint of his visor, her eyes half-closing. Her voice sounded soft and breathless, as if she were admitting a long repressed secret of her heart. "...I always have..."
Adam hoisted his machine gun on his back before bringing his arms around the bounty hunter and holding her close. He too could barely make out her features cast behind the green tint of her visor, but noticed what looked like a gentle smile that made him mentally grin just a bit. "Lady..."
Despite being blessed with a brilliant military mind, Adam couldn't say the same about being able to express himself in a way that didn't seem reserved or come off as uncaring. He'd never been very good at expressing his emotions. But with Samus, it was different. Because she was different. She understood him in ways his colleagues only dreamed of. And he felt just as safe and comfortable around her as she did with him. He could – and did – tell her things he'd never been able to tell others. She would merely look and listen intently, knowingly, as he talked about whatever was on his mind, good or bad. And when he was done airing his grievances, or talking about his hopes for the future, or even about the latest courtroom drama he'd read during a lazy weekend afternoon, she wouldn't mock or laugh at him, judge, degrade, or feign interest, but treat him as if he – and what he had to say – really mattered. Samus was able to see him for what he truly was beyond the medals, rank and prestige.
And as long as he had her, he needed no one else.
Samus dematerialized her helmet just as Adam raised the visor of his helmet to engulf her mouth in a slow, exploratory kiss, the slight sound of metal clinking together as their armored forms budged up against each other.
Silent moments passed before their eyes and foreheads met once more. "...I love you, too." Adam finally replied, his features atypically open and gentle. "Unfortunately, we still have our missions to complete." he grinned.
Samus took his commitment in stride even though she knew him to be right. Their matters of the heart could wait. For now, at least. "I know." she replied. "I...just wanted you to know that...just in case."
Adam claimed her lips once more, deeper this time and with gusto. His left hand traced down the smooth contours of her cheek. "The feeling is mutual, my Lady. Thank you for understanding."
Samus grinned and issued a word of mock warning while summoning her helmet. "Don't thank me; if you stand me up, it'll be your ass on the end of my cannon barrel."
Adam felt himself chuckle despite the pain in his chest, their bodies coming from each other before he drew the visor of his helmet down once more and reached for his gun.
Without so much as another word, they went their separate ways, intent on putting an end to this nightmare once and for all.
Once back inside the Bio-weapon Research Center, Samus immediately noticed that the door leading further into the complex was ajar, its control pad sparking. The mercenary gritted her teeth. Madeline had escaped, but to where? Samus continued deeper into the research center until coming upon a large room and discovering the mummified remains of Ridley just sitting in the corner of the room. Ridley's heavily mutilated corpse suggested he had been the subject of Metroid predation. And the way he was positioned, with his arms crossed limply on the floor and his mouth agape, suggested he had no means to defend himself and simply fell before the mysterious predator.
Samus gulped back the nameless fear rising in her throat at the sight of the space dragon's corpse before closing her eyes and taking several deep, slow breaths in an effort to maintain her focus on the task at hand. Her visor fogged over as she continued to breathe deep and slow, her heart, body and mind growing ever calmer, until she felt able to continue forward.
With one last glance at her enemy's corpse, Samus resumed her trek until coming to another large room with several empty tanks in the center; there were smaller tanks on opposite sides of the room, as well as two massive bay doors and several smaller rooms surrounding the perimeter. Room MW. It was eerily quiet, save for Samus's footsteps. As far as she could tell, nothing was amiss here. Still, instincts told her there was in fact something here, be it human or otherwise; the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end with anticipation and just a little apprehension. She decided to start with investigating the smaller rooms. Room after room came up empty... until she stumbled upon a red-haired woman cowering on the floor inside one; Samus knocked gently on the small window. The sudden sound jarred the woman from her curled up position on the floor and into a period of hysteria.
"N-no! S-stay away from me!" she stammered. The woman approached a terminal within the small equipment room.
"It's all right; I'm here to help you. Please, try to stay calm." Samus reasoned calmly. "Take a deep breath."
The hysterical woman refused to be swayed by Samus' attempt at soothing her and instead, pushed a button on the terminal that opened the room's large bay doors.
Samus tried again. "Please, listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."
"Go away!" cried the red-headed woman.
Knowing she was not going to get anywhere with the frightened woman, Samus focused her attention to the doors that had opened, and cautiously stepped through their gaping maw. The room was quite humid and damp, her boots caking over with sludge. Suddenly, to her complete shock, Samus saw what looked like a large egg and promptly scanned it.
Metroid eggs, at least twenty of them, scattered about in the dank chamber. Covered in amniotic fluid, they looked to be freshly birthed. Then, Samus heard something within the darkness breathing thunderously as the ground began to trembled beneath her feet.
Suddenly, the large, clawed foot of a monster ripped through the darkness and reached for the mercenary, intent on ripping the intruder to pieces.
A lone, almost feral scream soon pierced the darkness.