Metroid: Mission Alpha
Episode 13: Trouble in the Temple
After traveling through the jungle of Foreterna, Samus and Alpha came to the Foreterna Temple to continue looking for the last Eternal Orb. Now it was time to find out what awaited them inside the temple…
The first thing Samus and Alpha noticed upon entering the Foreterna Temple was that it was very dark inside the first room. Without her Power Suit, Samus couldn't see a thing. "We need some light," she said, "Your Fire ability should help us, Alpha." Alpha used his Fire ability, providing a little light. Samus could just make out something on the walls. "I think there are torches on the walls. Can you light them?" Alpha breathed fire at the wall, lighting all the torches consecutively. Samus and he watched the torches light. "This is a mysterious place," Samus said.
"Indeed it is," Michael's voice spoke up just then, "I know very little about the Foreterna Temple, but I'm continuing to research it. I'm not sure who could have built it since there are no capable creatures living on Foreterna. My guess is that it was built by either an extinct creature or a foreign visitor. Either way, it may be designed to protect the Eternal Orb, so you'll probably find some traps there."
"Do you see anything suspicious near us now?" Samus asked.
"Not particularly, but there is one thing I find strange-I can see energy existing throughout the temple. I would expect for you and Alpha to be the only living sources of energy, but I can see more coming from deeper within. Even stranger, there is even more energy in multiple other rooms coming from nonliving sources. I suspect you'll find these sources on your mission."
"We'll look out for anything unusual," Samus replied. Alpha and she went through a hall, then came to a huge, empty room with a high ceiling. They were on one level of the room, and another, larger level was below. At first the room was quiet, but then Foreterna suddenly began to shake again. Samus and Alpha looked up when they heard a dreadful rumbling from above them. Rocks began to fall from the ceiling! "Look out!" Samus shouted, and Alpha and she leapt in opposite directions.
Fearing that Alpha could have been hurt, Samus ran up to the pile of rocks after the rumbling stopped. "Alpha!" she called out, her voice echoing through the room. A faint whimper came from the other side. The rocks took up too much space for Samus to go around them, so she quickly used beams from her Paralyzer to break through them. When a path was made, she hurried to the other side of the rocks, where Alpha stood. He looked up at Samus, who could see that he was somewhat shaken but fortunately not hurt. Her pulse slowed. Relieved, she petted his head. "I'm glad you're all right. Let's keep moving."
At that moment, however, another huge rock fell from the ceiling. Samus sprang to her feet. "Run!" she said, and she ran with Alpha. At the edge of the upper level, she noticed a hook-like shape on the ceiling, so she sent a beam from her Paralyzer at it that wrapped around it. Then, Samus lifted Alpha with her free arm. "Hold on!" she told him, and she leapt from the platform, using her Paralyzer to swing to the lower level. When she landed, she set Alpha down and they both ran out of the room.
Now that they were safe from the rocks, Samus and Alpha slowed to a walk as they moved through another hall. Somehow all the torches in the temple were still burning, which the two allies guessed was just another mysterious attribute of this place. They moved in quiet, studying the unique patterns all around on the walls.
Soon, Samus and Alpha came to a room that was small and empty except for an orb on a pedestal and a door. "The next few rooms contain orbs that have to be activated in order to open the doors," Michael's voice said.
Samus thought for a moment, then walked up to the orb. When she came close to it, it suddenly burst with energy, causing her to fall back. "That orb seems to sense the energy of your very life force!" Michael's voice said, "Now it just has to be put in an area of the door!"
Samus got back up and carefully picked up the brightly glowing orb. Noticing an area of the door that curved inward, she fit the orb into it, and the door slowly opened. But beyond the door was an identical room. This time, nothing happened when Samus came near the orb, but when she picked it up, it started to glow. "This one appears to sense thermal energy," Michael's voice said, "but it needs more power."
"Alpha's Fire ability should take care of it," Samus said, putting the orb on the door. Alpha used his Fire ability and breathed small flames near it, causing it to glow more brightly and the door to open.
The next room held yet another orb, which did not glow when Samus went near it or when she picked it up. So she sent a shot from her Paralyzer at it after putting it on the door, and it began to glow. "This one must sense electrical energy," Samus remarked, and so Alpha used his Thunder ability to send sparks near the orb. The door creaked open, revealing another hall.
When Samus and Alpha entered the hall, Michael's voice said, "Be careful. It appears that the mysterious energy in the temple is growing stronger as you move deeper." So they moved ahead carefully, looking out for any danger.
Suddenly, Alpha stopped and whimpered. "What is it, Alpha?" Samus asked him. The Snacanid ran to a large door he'd spotted and barked. "What could be behind this door?" Samus wondered, running up to the door. She pushed it open and Alpha followed her into the next room, which was unusually flooded in light. "Another room, but…why is it so bright?" Samus said. Then, she saw a familiar villain digging in the center of the room. "Master Greblai!"
Master Greblai uncovered the Eternal Orb right then, which was enclosed in a small case. "Heh heh!" he laughed evilly, holding it up.
Samus ran to him and tried to pull the Eternal Orb away from him. "The Eternal Orb must stay here! Put it back where it belongs!" she said.
"Never!" Master Greblai pulled back.
Suddenly, a large door on one wall opened slowly. Samus gasped and looked back. Master Greblai growled and looked back. From the darkness within the door, a shadow revealed itself as a Dartiger-an extremely large one. It towered over Samus and Alpha and was even taller than Master Greblai. It roared loudly. Grabbing her speaker, Samus said, "It looks like a very large Dartiger is in the Foreterna Temple! What do we do?"
"It's the Guardian Dartiger! It guards the Eternal Orb!" Michael's voice responded, "Samus, you've got to get out of there!" Master Silhouite appeared next to Master Greblai at that moment. Retreating, Master Greblai dropped the Eternal Orb, and then Master Silhouite teleported both of them away.
Now the angry Guardian Dartiger lunged at Samus, mistaking her for the enemy. She dodged. "You don't understand! I'm not trying to-ah!" she tried to explain, but the Guardian Dartiger hit her with dark energy from its tail. Samus fell back, but Alpha ran in front of her, growling and glowing with his Fire ability. "Alpha!" she said. Alpha breathed flames, causing the Guardian Dartiger to back away. When they came to the wall, he barked repeatedly, apparently talking to the other creature. Its expression softened and it nodded, seeming to understand. Then it walked up to Samus. She quickly stood up in case the Guardian Dartiger still felt hostility, but instead it licked her apologetically.
All of a sudden, Foreterna shook even more violently than before. "This must be happening because the Eternal Orb is out of place!" Samus exclaimed, "We have to get it back where it belongs!" She tried to get the Eternal Orb, but the quake caused it to bounce along the ground. Fortunately, the Guardian Dartiger kept its cool. Its eyes flashed, and the Eternal Orb glowed and floated back to its place. Immediately the shaking quieted.
Everyone looked down at the softly glowing orb. "I guess Eterna will be all right now," Samus sighed in relief, "but Master Greblai and Master Silhouite still have the other four Eternal Orbs. Farewell, Guardian Dartiger. We'll do what we can to get the Eternal Orbs back." Alpha yipped. The Guardian Dartiger nodded and went back into its door while Samus and Alpha left the room.
Samus and Alpha went back through the Foreterna Temple and the jungle, and eventually came back to the Gunship. Once inside, Samus said, "Mission accomplished! Returning to Headquarters."
"Great job to both of you! I knew you could do it!" Michael's voice replied. Samus smiled and started up the Gunship, glad to have saved Eterna after all.
(Original story from January 2017)