Metroid: Mission Alpha
Episode 37: Fight Through the Forest
When Samus, Alpha, Michael, and Eta had returned to HQ, they had discovered, with the help of Alpha's dream, that Fantastar was the next destination. Now Samus and Alpha needed to travel there and prevent Master Greblai and Master Silhouite from finding a Fantasy Blossom.
The Gunship blasted through space, eventually coming to a green, brown, and white planet just like the one from Michael's map. "There's Fantastar!" Samus heard the HQ leader's voice, "Master Greblai and Master Silhouite are currently in the Verdant climate, so you'll want to go there first."
Samus landed the Gunship in the Verdant climate and came outside with Alpha. The area looked like a thick forest, with abundant greenery. "As you can see, the Verdant climate is a huge forest," Michael said, "It's home to some unique plants."
Samus looked around, seeing a field of plants waving in the breeze. They were short plants, with unusually shapes stalks that were a light lime green on the lower half and yellow on the upper half. "There are some green and yellow plants ahead," she said.
"Ah yes, that's a Fantastarish plant that grows in the Verdant climate…or at least I think it is. There's a creature called Terotops living in that climate that hops about in search of food. Its tail looks just like that plant, so it can use it to disguise itself from predators." As if on cue, a few of the "plants" jumped up right then, revealing they were really Terotops. The Terotops were a light lime green with small black eyes and five dull horns on their heads, two on top and three on the back. Instead of arms they had small pointed growths that faced back, and their feet were yellow and orange. The creatures hopped off into the woods.
"I see what you mean," Samus told Michael, "No sign on the two villains yet. Do you see their whereabouts?"
"They appear to be a distance away from your left," was the reply. While the two of them were speaking, Alpha walked about, exploring this interesting place. He saw a plant sticking out of some tall grass; unsure if it was really a plant or a Terotops, he looked closely and sniffed it. At that moment, it jumped up and a Terotops was facing the surprised Alpha. The two creatures stared at one another for a minute, and then Alpha began to bark. He chased the Terotops through the forest and over a hill, until it dashed into a hole in the wall.
Alpha stuck his head into the hole, but the Terotops was out of sight. However, now he could see that he had found a tunnel. It was very dimly lit by the sunlight yet beautiful-the walls were purple with a crystalline appearance, and a stream of water flowed gently inside. Alpha ran back to Samus to show her his discovery. She heard him barking and asked, "Did you find something?" Nodding, Alpha led Samus to the tunnel. "It's a tunnel! Good job!" she told him.
Alpha was able to walk into the tunnel's entrance, but Samus had to morph into a ball to fit in the hole. After they had entered the tunnel, they took a closer look at its contents. No Fantasy Blossoms were visible. "This tunnel is gorgeous," Samus remarked, "But it's not the one we're looking for." Then Alpha began sniffing at a spot on the ground. Samus came over and noticed some large tracks. "Master Greblai's tracks! There's no way he could fit in the entrance, so Master Silhouite must have teleported here. Let's follow them."
Samus and Alpha followed the tracks through the rest of the tunnel and found that the exit was much bigger than the entrance. Both of them were easily able to walk through it. When they were out of the tunnel, they came to more forest. This area was quiet and spacious, with some trees slightly farther away. It was covered in tall grass, with the leaves of the trees hanging in the sunlight, blown gently by the breeze.
Unfortunately, the tranquility did not last long, for Master Greblai and Master Silhouite stood in that same field! "Well, if it isn't Samus and her Snacanid pal, trying to spoil our fun as usual," Master Silhouite said, "Do you really think you can succeed this time?"
"We know what you're up to, and we won't allow it!" Samus leapt forward, prepared to fight.
"Foolish choice," Master Silhouite grumbled, and he also moved forward. The two of them then began to battle. Master Silhouite tried to ram into Samus, but she jumped out of the way and shot some Plasma Beams. Master Greblai and Master Silhouite had to move side to side swiftly to avoid the beams. The latter of the two swung one of his tentacles at Samus, knocking her down, but she got back up.
Morphing into a ball, Samus rolled around the villain since he was close to the ground and planted bombs around him. The bombs caught him off guard, but he was not giving up. Master Silhouite managed to grab Samus, but she came out of ball form right then, allowing her to fire right at him and escape his grip.
Falling back, Master Silhouite growled angrily. He teleported himself repeatedly, causing Samus's attacks to miss him. When the bounty hunter no longer saw him, she looked around confusedly but found no trace of him. Then, the villain appeared behind her and rammed into her. Samus turned around but was too late, and she fell back, crashing into a tree before landing on the ground.
Alpha was angry. With a step forward he let out a loud howl and activated his Earth ability. Tall vines burst forth from the ground ahead of him in rows. They reached Master Greblai and Master Silhouite, nearly tossing them in the air, but they moved aside just in time and fled from the field.
As the vines returned to the ground, Alpha stood growling and ready to give chase. Samus had recovered from the blow she'd received and walked over to Alpha. "They're getting away! After them!" she exclaimed. Alpha and she took off across the area, dashing past trees and bushes, over hills, and under branches. With their swiftness, they were catching up to the two villains.
Suddenly, Master Greblai and Master Silhouite came to a river and leapt over it before continuing on. Samus and Alpha, being smaller, could not make such a leap so easily, so they halted. For a moment they looked down at the water in thought, until Samus caught sight of a dead tree by the side of the river. "Alpha, try shocking that dead tree to knock it down. Maybe we can use it as a bridge," she said. Alpha obeyed and used his Thunder ability; he struck the tree's trunk with a bolt of electricity, causing it to break and fall down over the river. Samus and he were able to walk across it like a bridge.
Once past the river, the two were unsure where to go next. "Where could Master Greblai and Master Silhouite have gone?" Samus wondered. Alpha barked, watching a herd of Terotops moving across a hill nearby. "Maybe if we follow the Terotops…" Samus followed Alpha while he ran in the same direction as the creatures. Again they rushed through the tall grass, keeping an eye on the herd the entire time. Even if the villains were not in sight, they still were surely around; so Samus and Alpha pressed on after the Terotops had disappeared into the woods.
Eventually, the two adventurers noticed that their surroundings were beginning to change, so they slowed to a walk. The abundant green started to fade, and the grass and plant life grew scarcer while the air became hotter and drier. They knew they were nearing the next step of their journey. "I think we're about the leave the Verdant climate and enter the Arid climate," Samus said.
What awaits Samus and Alpha in the Arid climate? Will their mission be completed there? Find out in episode 38!
(Original story from February 2018)