Metroid: Mission Alpha
Episode 17: Danger of the Dark
Last time, Samus and Alpha came to the mysterious planet Noctre, where they were captured by Dusk and Twilight in the Noctran Research Center. After escaping the center with two Etecoons and two Dachoras they freed, they strangely found themselves all alone in another area. Can they find their way out of this mystery?
"If we want to find those Etecoons and Dachoras, we'll have to look for them," Samus said. Alpha, though unsure what was ahead, followed her across the open field. It wasn't long, though, before the silence of the area was suddenly broken by a loud, piercing cry neither of them recognized. Samus and Alpha turned around quickly to see something huge and dark flying at them! Just in time, they ducked.
Samus and Alpha looked up, but nothing was there. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, some rocks fell. "Alpha, look out!" Samus cried, seeing some rocks heading straight for Alpha. But there was no time, so she threw herself on top of him. Several rocks pelted her Power Suit, causing it to spark. Knowing the suit was still working, however, Samus turned around with Alpha in her arms. "I'll be fine," she comforted the Snacanid when he looked up at her worriedly.
Samus and Alpha looked up then, seeing that there was some kind of creature far off in the sky. For a moment they watched it in silence, each of them hearing nothing but the beating of their own heart. Then, the creature swooped at an impressive speed. Samus reacted instantly, setting Alpha down and firing at the creature. The dark figure flinched at first, but then continued to dive. Samus and Alpha dodged its attack, but the powerful wind caused by it swept them away.
After landing, Samus stood up and looked around. "Alpha! Alpha!" she called out, noticing her ally was not there. No answer; Alpha must have been far away. Falling silent, Samus watched and listened carefully; she felt she was not alone and did not want to draw any attention to herself. But, it was too late. From behind her there was a sound of movement.
Samus turned around-and gasped. Standing there was a black, menacing dragon-like creature that towered over her. It stood on its back legs and roared, its golden eyes glowing in the faint light. Samus realized it resembled a creature she had seen an image of before. "This is Subject 10," she exclaimed, "only it's had a tremendous growth spurt!"
Subject 10 slashed with its long, sharp claws, but Samus jumped out of the way. "Whatever species this is, it certainly is aggressive," she thought, "I've got no choice but to fight." She launched a Wave Beam, which caught the creature off guard. It roared and slashed again, but Samus rolled out of the way and shot a Charge Beam from behind it. Furious, Subject 10 spun around and swung its huge, pointed tail into Samus.
Samus fell back, her Power Suit sparking again. She checked its energy reserves only to find them dangerously low; the suit could not take much more. She had to finish this battle, and fast. So Samus jumped into a spin and activated the Screw Attack. At the same time, Subject 10 swung its tail again. Both attacks collided at once, with explosive impact.
Both Samus and Subject 10 fell back, the latter growling and not hurt much. Samus stood across from it; her Power Suit had reached its limit. It flashed and then vanished in a white light, leaving her unarmored.
Though Noctre's environment was not harmful to Samus, she was still in great danger. She knew that without her armor, her offense and defense were greatly reduced. Also knowing this, Subject 10 roared and became even more vicious. Holding her Paralyzer tightly, Samus fought even more carefully, watching her enemy's every movement.
Clearly aiming to kill, Subject 10 attacked continually, targeting Samus's head and heart. Fortunately, the agile bounty hunter was able to avoid all the attacks. She used her Paralyzer like a whip to defend herself against the sharp claws and pointed tail. However, both she and her opponent eventually sustained minor injuries from the battle.
After evading another attack, Samus was beginning to grow tired. Panting, she looked up at Subject 10, who did not seem at all tired. How can I get out of this situation? she thought, This creature appears to be extremely powerful, and my Paralyzer is incapable of doing much damage. But the next attack could be dangerous, even deadly, for me. I just have to give it all I've got-I have no other choice! So she prepared to send a plasma beam from her Paralyzer, but right then Subject 10 swiped at her. She jumped but was slightly too slow this time, and the tips of the creature's claws barely connected with her left arm, just below the shoulder. Involuntarily, Samus cried out in pain.
Alpha, from another spot, heard his friend's cry. His ears twitched, and he raced toward the sound. A minute later, Samus backed away from Subject 10 and glanced at her arm-the scratch had ripped the clothing there but appeared only to be a minor scrape-when she heard growling. She looked back to see Alpha, his eyes blazing with fury and his expression as ferocious as he could make it. "Alpha!" Samus said.
Despite being at a disadvantage due to the size difference, Alpha pounced at Subject 10. He used his Thunder ability, slightly paralyzing it, and struggled to overcome it. The creature roared and flailed, but Alpha fought bravely and fiercely. However, he was soon thrown off. Though her arm was still stinging, Samus tried to help Alpha. She dodged Subject 10's tail and kicked at its side. The creature flinched in pain as her heel struck it, and it attacked again.
Alpha got back up. His instincts were telling him to run, but his desire to protect his friend was even stronger. So he ran at Subject 10, shocking it before it could harm Samus any more. It fell over, but managed to get up. Despite its injuries, it swung its tail at a surprising speed, throwing Alpha into a large rock nearby. The Snacanid fell to the ground. Samus gasped at this, then looked back ahead-Subject 10 was about to attack!
At that moment, there was a different cry. Samus looked over to see the two Dachoras, each with an Etecoon on its back, running at high speed. The Etecoons jumped excellently, as they were able to do, around Subject 10, distracting it. Then the two Dachoras charged forward at a blinding speed, their special ability, right into it. Subject 10 roared once more in pain, then fell over, defeated.
Silence once again fell on Noctre; the danger was over. Everyone stared at the fallen monster for a moment, then Samus went over to Alpha, seeing that although he was hurt, he was all right. Her heart still pounding, she hugged him tightly. "We did it…we all did."
Dusk and Twilight came and stopped short. "Is that…Subject 10?" Dusk said in awe.
"I believe so," Samus replied, "It attacked us, but we stopped it." Everyone noticed that the mysterious fog was lifting, revealing glittering stars in the sky, and Subject 10 vanished in darkness.
"That explains everything, somewhat," Twilight explained, "We found Subject 10 on an unknown planet and were unable to identify it. It seemed an innocent child at the time, but since we brought it here, our planet was covered in even greater darkness, and there were many strange happenings in the Noctran settlements."
"We may never solve this mystery, but because of you, peace will return to Noctre," Dusk added, "Thank you, Subject-er, I mean Samus and Alpha."
"In fact, I think we'll try to research creatures in their natural habitats from now on, instead of holding them hostage," Twilight smiled.
Samus started to relax. "That's wonderful! Good luck to both of you," she said.
Despite their injuries, Samus and Alpha made it back to the Gunship with the Etecoons and Dachoras. The Power Suit was in its capsule. "My Power Suit will need some time to restore itself," Samus said, "In the meantime, I think we should go to Headquarters and tell Michael, Tim, and Carol about what happened on Noctre. Then we can return the Etecoons and Dachoras to Planet Zebes. Are you ready?" Everyone agreed, and so the Gunship left Noctre for its destination.
(Original story from March 2017)