Metroid: Mission Alpha
Episode 22: An Urgent Rescue, Part 2
Last time, Samus, Alpha, Michael, and Eta all traveled to the planet Faunora in search of the cause of the planet's distress. Samus and Alpha had found Sapphire and Ruby, two missing Faunoran children, and came to a building housing planes and spaceships. Then, they had heard Michael and Eta's cry…
Samus, Alpha, Sapphire, and Ruby ran until they saw Michael and Eta hanging from a ledge above in the distance, while lasers fired around them. Samus gasped. "There they are! We're going to need my Gunship for this." She pushed a few buttons on her arm cannon, and a moment later the Gunship came down gently through the open roof. Motioning for the others to follow her, Samus went inside, followed by them. Then she flew the Gunship toward the ledge.
"Whoa! This is so cool!" Sapphire marveled, looking around the ship.
"I've never been on a spaceship before," Ruby remarked.
As the ship came nearer to the ledge, it came within range of the lasers, but Samus and Alpha were unafraid. Samus piloted the ship to avoid the lasers. "Michael, Eta, hang on! We're coming!" she called out, "When I say 'Now', let go and you can land on the ship!" Samus kept a careful eye on her ship's radar, and the others watched anxiously. Then, Samus called out, "NOW!" Michael and Eta trusted her, so they let go of the ledge and landed on the top of the Gunship as it flew beneath them.
Samus pushed a button, opening the Gunship's entrance, and Michael and Eta came inside. "Thanks. That was too close!" Michael said. Then he noticed Sapphire and Ruby as Alpha and Eta greeted each other with barks. "You found the missing children!"
"I'm Ruby, and this is my brother Sapphire," Ruby said, "It's nice to meet you."
"Samus and Alpha saved us from a Voltaursa in the forest," Sapphire added, "We were looking for our pets Floppy and Rosy." Ruby and he giggled as Eta licked them.
Suddenly, more lasers were fired. "Hang on tight! We're in for a wild ride!" Samus warned. The Gunship moved about to evade the lasers, but Samus remained focused and the others held on tight. Finally, the lasers were out of range and stopped firing, so Samus landed her ship in a safe corner. "We made it," she said as she led the others out of the Gunship, "Michael, what happened to you and Eta?"
"Well, we came across this place while we were searching for the EnerDrop," Michael replied, "We soon found the EnerDrop on that platform, but when I had Eta use her Thunder ability on it, it began shooting lasers at us! The lasers caught us off guard, and while we were trying to avoid them, we nearly fell from the platform."
"So the EnerDrop is here," Samus said, "Michael, can you keep Sapphire and Ruby in the Gunship where it's safe? Alpha, Eta, and I will take care of the EnerDrop."
Michael nodded. "Good luck."
Samus, Alpha, and Eta went back to where the EnerDrop was and looked carefully ahead. The machine was no longer firing lasers, but it was still taking energy from the other machinery on the planet. Samus led the two Snacanids toward it, staying at a safe distance. "Alpha, Eta, try using both of your Thunder abilities at once," she told them. They obeyed and shocked the EnerDrop.
"Warning: enemy attacking," a mechanical voice said as the EnerDrop sparked. Lasers began shooting everywhere, and Samus, Alpha, and Eta had to dodge them.
"I was afraid this would happen," Samus said, "If we try to attack together, maybe we can overpower this thing!" She used the Wide Beam to destroy the lasers in her way while Alpha and Eta shocked the EnerDrop. The machine began to spark wildly and fire more powerful lasers. Samus had to fire rapidly and constantly to keep them at bay.
From outside the building, a group of Voltaursa could be seen charging toward the window. The creatures, appearing to become more aggressive, growled and tried to break in. Samus, Alpha, and Eta noticed this but kept their focus. However, Samus knew that Alpha and Eta could not keep up their attack forever. It's time to finish this! she thought. She charged up her beam, causing it to penetrate the lasers and strike the EnerDrop. The machine sparked one more time before exploding.
As the electric waves from the Electrical Machinery Center returned, the Voltaursa suddenly calmed and looked around before running away. "We did it. Great work, you two," Samus said, patting Alpha and Eta's heads. The Snacanids barked happily.
Samus, Alpha, and Eta returned to the Gunship, where Michael, Sapphire, and Ruby were waiting. "The EnerDrop has been destroyed," Samus said, "Faunora should be safe now."
"I'm glad we won't be bothered by any mean Voltaursa now, but what about Floppy and Rosy?" Ruby asked sadly.
"Don't worry, we'll look for them now," Samus reassured her. She flew the Gunship out of the building and into an area with a few trees and plenty of grass. Next to the field was a tall, rocky hill.
Everyone left the Gunship and looked around. Samus, Alpha, and Eta looked on one side while Michael, Sapphire, and Ruby looked on the other side. "We should be careful," Sapphire said, "I've heard that pieces of rock sometimes fall from that hill."
"Floppy! Rosy!" Ruby called out. A squeak and a bark were heard, and two creatures bounded onto the field. One of them was Floppy the Rabient, a rabbit-like creature with white fur, floppy ears, antennae, pale yellow neck fur, black eyes, and pink wings. The other was Rosy the Serenine, a dog-like creature with white fur, brown spots, turquoise eyes, and a fluffy tail. "There you are!" Ruby exclaimed with delight. Sapphire and she ran to their two pets and hugged them, laughing with joy.
Suddenly, there was a great rumbling. Sapphire, Ruby, Floppy, and Rosy all looked up and shrieked in terror. A huge boulder was rolling down the hill straight at them! In a flash, Samus raced onto the scene and grabbed onto the boulder, slowing it to a stop. The others stayed out of the path of the boulder and watched helplessly and worriedly. The boulder was tremendously heavy, and Samus was not strong enough to move it an inch; she could keep it in place, however, though she struggled under its weight. "I can't…keep this up…much longer!" she said.
"What can we do?" Michael worried, "None of us could move that boulder, but if Samus stops pushing, she'll be crushed!" At that moment, everyone heard a cry. They looked over to see a group of Voltaursa standing on a small hill. The Voltaursa ran over to the boulder and pushed it up the hill as if it were only a small rock.
"Wow! The Voltaursa are really strong!" Sapphire said, "And I guess they're not so bad after all."
"As long as there are electric waves to calm them," Samus added.
The sun was setting as the Gunship landed by the Faunoran town and its eight passengers came out. Many of the Faunorans were outside, celebrating. When Emerald and Amethyst saw Sapphire and Ruby, they ran to them and hugged them tightly. "Sapphire, Ruby, we were so worried!" Amethyst said, then turned to Samus and company, "Thank you for finding our children!"
"We had to find Floppy and Rosy, but we promise we won't run off again!" Ruby said.
"You've saved us all as well," Citrine said, "You're amazing!"
"Just doing our job," Michael smiled, and Samus and he removed their helmets, revealing their faces. Sapphire and Ruby ran over to them. Sapphire gave Michael a high-five and rubbed Alpha's fur. Ruby hugged Samus and petted Eta's head.
"Thank you, Mr. Michael! Thank you, Ms. Samus!" Ruby said.
"Thank you, Alpha and Eta!" Sapphire said, "Will you come back and visit us sometime? We loved going on an adventure!"
"We will," Samus smiled, "Best of luck to all of you, and may Faunora remain peaceful." Everyone said goodbye as Samus, Michael, Alpha, and Eta boarded the Gunship and left in search of their next adventure.
(Original story from June 2017)