Another ten chapters and the end of another arc. Don't know if it'll continue like this for the whole story, but for the moment it works.
You've doubtless noticed we've been largely following the Metroid prime trilogy up to this point. That's not going to happen for a while. Indeed, the next ten chapters I have planned don't follow any particular game at all.
Also, in case you're wondering, yes. I am playing Metroid Dread. Yes, I do plan to work it into this somehow.
Happy new year to all. May it be the year we finally get this pandemic under control.
The warriors were pulled into a dark chaotic void crackling with lightning and swirling dark clouds.
The darkness pushed and pulled on them all, trying to tear them apart. Screams emanated from them all. Save Teresa of course who looked about with awe. Not an emotion they'd ever expect to see on her. The closest they'd ever seen to fear from her.
Not that they could really focus on it with everything else. They were caught between an increasingly distant bright light in one direction and a growing colorless void in the other.
No matter how much they reached for the light and its warmth, it grew further and further out of reach.
Only Miria could withstand the pain enough to speak over the sound.
"When we land on the other side, stay near me and follow! Stay in the light form the crystal! Don't stray out of it for too long if you can help it!"
Everyone in that moment wanted desperately to ask what she meant.
Before they could however, the light faded completely as the darkness enveloped them and spat them out onto another world.
….
The instant they emerged from darkness and hit the ground face first, they began coughing. Choking even. Wherever they were, the air was toxic and corroding their lungs. Only the phazon enhanced women and Alicia seemed unaffected. Merely groggy from the darkness assaulting their senses.
Miria with significant effort strode over to a nearby luminoth cache and typed in a series of digits. These boxes were nearly entirely indestructible and thus were ideal for storage in so dangerous a place.
Within the crate lay a collection of staffs with glowing crystals at the end. A crucial aspect of survival here.
With little time before she coughed her lungs out, she grabbed a stick for every sane warrior. If this plan worked, they'd have no need for them anymore.
She quickly made her way over to her crew choking and stood above them. The crystal emitted a protective barrier from the toxic air and soon enough they found their breath again.
"No time for questions. We need to move. Now. So, on your feet. Take a crystal each and run."
They did as she said with Sophia carrying the weak Tabitha over her shoulder.
At this moment, Teresa sighed and began to rise to her feet.
"You want to play cat and mouse again? Honestly, this playing hard to get game is getting- "
Alicia swiped at her yet again. Teresa smirked.
"You girl are insufferable. Time you learned your place."
She cracked her head and spoke to her three followers without looking their way.
"Retrieve them. I need some time to stretch my legs."
Hysteria's eyes gained a frightening glint and she quickly rose to her feet. Roxanne clenched her teeth and grabbed Cassandra's hands.
"Come on Cassie! We can't let that lame o have all the fun! Let's go!"
"Lame o?" The timid warrior asked.
"Don't think too hard on it! Come on! Let's go!"
Teresa cracked her head and grinned savagely at her opponent.
"Ok, girl. You want to play? I'll play."
Meanwhile down the hallway, Beth felt her sister's rage. Her inner pain. Her mind raced. What she was considering was a suicide mission. But she didn't care. She would not abandon the only thing she loved.
"Go without me. I'll buy you some time."
Ilena/ Irene's eyes widened, and she gripped Beth's shoulders as her eyes turned gold.
"What are you doing? Stop this! If you both awaken- "
"I know. And I don't care. Stay strong sisters. Live long."
Before her comrade's horrified eyes, she then turned into an elongated cat with a long spiky tail and her upper torso protruding from the back.
"Beth….
She turned their way. It must have been a trick, but they thought they could see a hint of…. sadness? From an awakened being?
"They're just through here! Come on Cassie! Let's show them that ugly trick of yours and watch them recoil in disgust!"
Beth wasted no more time and ran her tail along the ceiling, causing it to cave down and separate the monsters from the warriors.
"Well," Miria interrupted them from their shock. "There's nothing more to do about that. She's made her choice and we must make ours. Come along. We've got a lot of ground to cover."
….
They ran under the protective aura of the light barriers through many halls and corridors. Without the phazon drunk lunatics immediately behind them, the warriors had time to observe their surroundings. It looked like the sanctuary fortress they had just been spirited away from. Except…. Purple. And empty. Noel of course broke their usual silence to ask the obvious.
"Where the fuck are we?"
"The Ing Hive on Dark Aether."
"Uh huh. Right. Sure. And is that supposed to make sense?
Miria sighed.
"Hey don't sigh! This is all crazy shit!"
"Yes. I suppose you've a point. Very well. Long ago, a meteor composed of Phazon struck Aether. The impact caused the planet to split, creating another version in another dimension. A diseased corrupted version of Aether. One with toxic air and hostile inhabitants."
Noel's jaw dropped. Samus shrugged.
"I've heard weirder. Though I find it odd that the luminoth would send us here."
"The luminoth have made various expeditions to this world through rifts in space. Portals if you prefer the less descriptive term."
"Which they can apparently carry around on their person?"
"Temporary rifts that dispel after use. There's another larger portal down in the city. Hidden from the prying eyes of the inhabitants here. If we can get through it and destroy the portal on the other side, we can seal Teresa away here forever."
"What about the other portals?"
"They've already been dismantled. All as part of this final containment strategy."
Samus pondered this.
"So, we strand them on this dead world with no escape? That's… that's a terrible fate."
"A necessary one. You've tried and failed already to contain them on Tallon IV. We cannot risk the poison spreading any further."
"Hey! You said- "
"Noel," Sophia admonished. "Not so loud please."
"Sorry. You've mentioned inhabitants a few times just now. I don't see anyone besides us, however. Where are these losers?"
As if to mock her, a high-pitched screech suddenly rang out, followed by a chorus of similarly sounding wails.
"Boy, the universe really has it out for me, doesn't it?"
Off in the distance, glowing eyes emerged from the darkness accompanied by the scuttling of something large yet agile.
"They'll try to hit us with beams of light! If they go gaseous, dodge, and wait for them to become solid! You can still damage them if they become liquid!"
The warrior's normally stoic countenance faltered for a moment at this strange advice. Even with whatever lay in the dark bearing down on them.
"Woah, woah, woah." Noel pushed her hands forward in a stopping motion. "Slow the fuck down. Beams of light? Go gaseous? What the fuck are you- "
As if to mock her again, a beam of light did indeed emerge from the dark and cut right through her right arm.
"Son of a bitch! Fucking shit! What the hell?"
Sophia moved to get her out of harms' way, but Miria held up a finger to stop her.
"You're already carrying Tabitha and you don't strike me as a healer."
"I'll get her," Samus volunteered and stepped out of the light barrier.
Immediately, she was reminded why she tried to step into the light at first. The toxic air pressed in all around her. Her armor reduced some of the strain, but not much. It still took everything she had not to fall as she gathered up Noel and her arm.
"Shit! Behind you!"
She barely had time to see what hit her. Some purple mass rolled into her and splattered apart into dark thick liquid.
To her horror, said liquid moved and rolled off her onto the ground where it joined the growing dark puddle.
Noel despite her pain, drove her sword into the mass from which emerged another inhuman shriek.
It quickly sloshed away which gave Samus the opportunity to carry Noel back into the comparative safety of the light zone.
"Let's see your arm. Now don't squirm too much. I know you can take it."
Noel watched with surprise at her skill with healing.
"Well, would you look at that? Didn't take you for a healer!"
"I've had a lot of practice with Priscilla. She doesn't exactly need much help in battle. So I'm usually there to patch her up when she makes a mistake or… Loses control."
Sophia picked the light crystal up with her free hand and motioned with her head to continue moving.
"Can't let these things slow us down. Not with what's behind us catching up! Come on!"
"Sorry Noel," Samus said as she hosted her arm over her shoulder. "I'll have to heal you as we move."
"Awesomeness," Noel said with glee. "Spice it up! Add a little excitement!"
They began moving forwards through the darkness. More shrieks. More spider-like monsters swinging their sword feet their way. Too many.
"Damn these fuckers," Noel cursed. "Why can't we sense them?"
"They don't have yoki aura," Miria explained. "These are beings born of pain and rage. Unless you can sense that, use your eyes."
Easier said than done with their purple skin blending in with the background. And the limited space provided by the crystal gave them no room to maneuver. They thus formed a circle to see in all directions and prevent any back attacks.
"God," Noel cursed. "We're not moving anywhere! In any time, those zombies are going to catch up and…" She trailed off as she cringed from the pain.
"Don't move or get too worked up," Samus admonished. "It makes it harder to heal. Wait. Where's Miria?"
The woman in question had vanished and reappeared again on the other side of the room. In her wake lay purple bodies torn asunder and left to rot in the dark.
"Well…. Shit. And I thought you were agile. Looks like you may have some competition Noel," Sophia teased.
Given the harrowing nature of their predicament, Noel did not retort and simply grimaced and hurried along with the others through the bloodbath.
"Maybe a little," she grumbled as they pressed further into the dark.
"Not that it's going to help. There's too many."
Suddenly familiar voices rang out from the other end of the room. The creature's heads turned at the sound of something else attacking from the other side of the horde.
"Hideous," Hysteria shouted out. "Disgusting! Vile! Not fit to stand before me!"
"Looks like for this brief moment, our enemies are our friends," Ilena/Irene muttered bemused as they followed Miria.
….
"What is this shit? Get it off me! Get it off!"
Roxanne chuckled at Hysteria's panic as she scrambled to get the purple sludge off her face. She never did like the bitch, and it amused her to no end. Hysteria. Truly no better name for her.
"Sheesh, girl. You're a number one, right? Can't you take a little sludge?"
"This is not sludge! This is putrid slime from the bowels of hell itself!"
After shaking the stuff off, she glared at the monstrosities and suddenly vanished in a flash.
Roxanne smirked at this display of power. Of grace. For all her faults, this arrogant missy, had a very impressive technique. She could move at breathtaking speeds and cut an opponent's head off before they could even blink.
It was certainly the kind of technique she could get behind.
Come to think of it, she really was the sight moving like that.
"What do you think Cassie? Neat trick she's got, don't you think?"
Cassandra looked up from the ground where she'd been trashing about and cutting the bugs to ribbons.
"Sorry?"
Roxanne sighed and shook her head while still retaining a grin. Powerful, innocent, clueless Cassandra was the exact opposite of Hysteria. And to her in some capacity. She hated attention, never raised her voice, and had a technique that was anything but graceful. She flailed about on the ground attacking by the legs, bringing them down to her level and then tearing them apart in a bloody gory mess.
Hysteria would never resort to such a messy tactic that got her delicate features so marred. Nor would Roxanne. She wanted everyone to see her in action. Watch in awe at her prowess. Watching her rolling about in the dirt would only scare them away. What Hysteria was performing was much more up her alley.
"Roxanne. Watch out," Cassandra spoke up softly. If Roxanne hadn't been used to her low volume manner of speech, she wouldn't have heard it. As it was, she heard her warning, and managed to dodge the beams of light.
"Thanks a bunch, Cassie! I got lost in my memories a second there! You sure are useful to have around, you know?"
"Do I know?"
Roxanne tilted her head in amusement and confusion.
"Well, sure. Don't you? I mean, you've had my back for a really long time, you know that right?"
"I… don't."
Another curious piece of the puzzle. Somehow, Roxanne retained her memories from before her time as a corpse full of blue liquid. The other two? Not so much.
Not that it was a terrible thing. It would be near impossible to work with her dear Cassie if she remembered certain things. And she hadn't lost any of her old personality, so no fun lost.
Still, she had to focus her attention on these freaks for the moment. She should have been angrier about this distraction than she was. It was thrilling to kill again. Regardless of the species. And it was a unique challenge to fight things she couldn't sense. Things that could rapidly change shape yet broke apart quite easily on the edge of their blade.
Roxanne's grin grew. Even on this dead bleak world surrounded by horrific monsters far more attuned to the environment, she was still top of the food chain.
"What in the world?"
Hysteria had turned around and got a look at Cassandra's unsightly movement. Roxanne took savage delight at her shock.
"Gruesome, isn't it? I call it the dust eater. Too much for your sensitive eyes?"
"What in the world is she doing? I've never seen such horror…"
Wait'll you get to know me, Roxanne thought.
The creatures were numerous, but no match for the three of them working in mostly harmonious conjunction. As they wrapped up the last who hadn't fled, they stood over the carnage with different expressions. Cassandra: Indifference despite the gore marring her features. Hysteria: Revulsion at the carnage around and on her. Roxanne: Glee at the death. Proof of her power. Confirmation of her right to wear the title of number one.
"Well, that was fun! It sure is nice to play with you again Cassie! And you're not too bad yourself dreadlocks. I can see why the boss revived you."
"Finally, some appreciation! Of course, she revived me! Who better than me? Nobody!"
"Not in your generation, obviously. In our time though, you might have had some competition from me and Cassie here!"
The redness developing over Hysteria's face only made her happier. She was too easily flustered. Just like good old Cassandra.
"Well, this has been a good warmup, but I'm hoping for some real blood. Let's give our sisters some love."
In that moment, something else decided to give them love. Tentacles sprang up from the ground and through their chests.
"What…." Hysteria gasped through the blood raining down her chin. "How did we not sense…...?"
"No aura…." Roxanne grinned despite the pain. "Should be fun…."
Cassandra said nothing. Merely raised her head to face the body rising from the black puddle. A single eye atop a fleshy pillar. Even without an aura to sense, its proximity sent shivers down their spines.
But they were number ones. Three of them. And would not be brought down so easily.
Cassandra immediately twisted her head in circles and sliced off the tentacles holding her and her comrades.
"That's my Cassie! You, dreadlocks! Cut the tentacles apart and keep them at bay!"
"I loathe the idea of a lesser warrior giving orders. So, the fact that I'm complying is due to the sense in your suggestion. Not any respect on my part."
"Touching. Come on Cassie! Let's go for the head!"
Hysteria moved about the field with blinding speed. While she did intend to draw the implausibly substantial number of grabbers away from her "comrades," she also hoped to tear into the hideous flesh with savage glee.
While the beast's appendages grasped for the lone warrior, the other pair struck at the pillar of flesh that made up the main body.
Cassandra's rapid attacks easily cut through the few tentacles the creature had left that were unengaged with Hysteria. In an act of desperation, the creature's head began to split in two, revealing a red lighted core.
Roxanne's superior hearing let her make out a pulsing emanating from said head like a heartbeat. In its desperation, the dumb bastard had revealed its Achilles heel.
With practiced precision, she jumped on Cassandra's back and used the momentum to leap up and thrust her sword into the red sphere.
The shriek shook them all to their core. But the damage was done. The abomination reduced itself to a purple puddle and slinked away.
The three took a moment to compose themselves, panting and heaving from the exertion so soon after their awakening from long slumber.
Roxanne stared into Hysteria's eyes for a moment. Neither said anything. She merely grinned and turned her attention back to Cassandra who she leaned down to help up off the floor.
"We're unstoppable together, aren't we Cassie? Always have been, always will be."
Cassandra stared back up into her eyes.
"Who are you? How do you know me?"
Roxanne kept grinning.
"I'm your best friend. Forever and ever."
….
"So, Phazon created this world?"
"A meteor made of Phazon from what we can tell," Miria replied. "Its impact was so great. It caused a rift in space. The amount of Phazon was not split evenly, however. The majority has managed to thrive here."
As if to prove the point, a pile of the blue matter lay to the side of the corridor when they emerged from the elevator. Somehow, the machinery worked on this dead planet. Something Noel questioned.
"I don't get it. This place looks almost entirely like the fortress we just left. How'd those monstrosities back there build any of it? Where's the opposable thumbs?"
"This place is… How did the luminoth describe it?" Miria paused. "It's an echo. A flash of the old world. Corrupted in the Phazon's image. The sanctuary fortress already existed. So, this world transferred an image of said fortress to its memory. The Ing didn't need to build anything. They can move about in other means, as you've probably noticed."
"Yeah, speaking of… Where are those losers? They swarmed us a minute ago but haven't given chase or anything."
"I fear Teresa's resurrected warriors might be giving them the fight of their lives," Ilena/Irene frowned. "Which makes an exit all the more crucial."
"Well, in that we at least have good news."
Miria gestured to what looked like a tram without the line. Rockets jutted out from the back, giving it the appearance of a flying box.
"We have to get in that?" Sophia pursed her lips. "Are you sure it can fit us all?"
"You just don't like the look, do you?" Noel placed her hand on her shoulder and moved her toward the transport. "Come on sis. Let's take a ride. That girl on your back needs a hand."
How strange a scenario it was for Noel to draw attention to the injured. Tabitha throughout the whole ordeal had remained strewn over Sophia's shoulder. Though her eyes remained open, they stared blankly without a shred of awareness.
Miria placed her hand on her forehead and looked into her eyes.
"Stay with me, my love. We'll save you. I promise-"
Before she could finish, most of the crew fell onto the ground, coughing blood.
Sophia alone stood with wide eyes as the warrior Hysteria reached down and pulled Miria up by the collar to glare at her face close.
"How lovely! My "compatriots" are still running to catch up and your pathetic friends are having a little nap! Which leaves you all to me!"
"And why would you want me all to yourself?"
"Don't be coy with me, you little bitch! You're a thief! You stole my technique! You polluted it with your own inferiority! And for that…"
Before she could even blink, Miria found herself back on the ground looking up at her opponent.
"You are an undeserving little shit, and I'm going to drill that into your thick skull!"
Miria attempted to stand, but a strong hand grabbed the back of her head and forced it into the ground.
"Shh, shh," Hysteria cooed. "I don't need to kill you. The boss wants you for herself. But even when our minds are linked, I will always be better than you. And you need to learn that."
No matter how much Miria struggled, she couldn't get her head off the ground. Not even as she felt Hysteria…. Lower herself onto her back.
No! No! She was supposed to keep her at bay. To defend her comrades. Defend Tabitha…. Not be used like this….
"Stop!"
Hysteria paused and looked up at Tabitha weakly reaching her hand out.
"Hurt me. Not her."
Hysteria raised an eyebrow.
"Camaraderie. No. It's more than that. Could it be…. Affection? You feel for her?"
"I'd do anything… for her…."
Miria smiled a little at this. She would have smiled wider if not for the great effort with the blood. Hysteria by contrast snarled and dug her fingers into her throat.
"You care for her? This little copycat? Why? What's so great about her?"
Samus' visor met Ilena/Irene's eyes. Ilena/Irene slowly reached for her sword. Samus meanwhile did something she hadn't used for some time.
Among the strangest aspects of her armor was the morph ball. It allowed her to compact her entire being into a single sphere without the slightest damage to her spine. She still giggled at Priscilla's initial reaction to it. It defied logic.
And Hysteria in her pettiness and desire to hurt Miria couldn't sense it.
"What isn't… great about her…. Tabitha coughed from the stress of speech."
"Tabitha…." Miria interrupted. "Don't push yourself."
"Shut it," Hysteria hissed. "Look at her. I took her down before she even knew I was here. She can't defend you. She can't help you. She can do nothing."
"She can do anything," Tabitha coughed back in response. "She saved my life. Kept me warm and safe through peril. She's a great leader. A kind mentor. And the best friend I could ever ask for."
"She's a thief! She uses my technique! She has no talent of her own! Yet you sing her praise! She doesn't deserve that! I do! I deserve your affection! I deserve to live!"
Everyone stared at her confounded. Well, almost everyone…
"I…" Tabitha coughed again. "I can't help but sense that you're angry about something other than Captain Miria's fighting patterns. It sounds like you want recognition. Like others don't love you enough."
Hysteria didn't respond. Samus hesitated near her feet in ball form.
"Maybe…. You could come with…."
"With you? Abandon my duty?"
"We'd… Really like you for it…."
That certainly got Hysteria to pause and think. Honestly, Samus thought she might have agreed if not for…
"What's going on?"
Hysteria snapped out of her trance and grabbed Miria's throat.
"Nothing. Just proving why I'm the best warrior. I mean I've already caught them all, while you-"
She never finished since Samus took that moment to deploy the miniature bombs this form allowed her to utilize. They weren't powerful on her own, but they were great for knocking enemies off their feet. Arrogant claymores for instant.
Hysteria cursed and dropped Miria who Sophia managed to pull to safety before she could get stomped to death.
"What the hell is that" Hysteria wondered aloud at the sight of Samus' retreating morph ball form. "Did the organization make that shit while I was sleeping?"
Samus revved the ball up and boosted it forward, aiming at the fearsome woman's feet. But this time, she was prepared.
Samus' morph ball technology could propel her forward for sudden bursts of speed. But it was nothing compared to Hysteria who warped out of the way easily.
"What a cute little toy!"
Samus rolled out of the ball and ended up upon her feet. Without breaking stride, she tuned about with her cannon pointed at her opponent. But again, Hysteria was too quick and closed the distance.
"What are you wearing? It's so unfashionable! So bulky! How do you walk around in that?"
Samus swiped her sword with her left hand, but Hysteria grabbed it with her free arm and yanked it out of her grip.
"Or can you only walk around in that? Are you so hideous that you can't bear to be seen outside of that style less metal suit?"
Instinct compelled Ilena/Irene to rush to her friend's aid. But she knew when she was outmatched. She would only become another body to carry.
Out of the corner of her eye, the short-haired warrior still stood. Her body language betrayed uncertainty. A creature out of her element. Perhaps she could use that.
Samus retook her morph ball free her neck. Hysteria hissed and thrust her sword to pierce her. Another sword met hers.
"You look like you can throw down well," Noel grinned. "Wanna go a few rounds?"
"Arrogant bitch," Hysteria moved behind her and tried to strike from behind. Noel quickly moved with Stormwind and got out of the way.
Hysteria's eyes widened.
"Another thief! Is everyone trying to copy my success?"
Ilena/Irene would very much have liked to witness this dance to the death. Noel and Hysteria moved almost identically to each other. But she knew it was only a matter of time before Hysteria's skill overwhelmed her. Hence, she focused her attention on Cassandra who fortunately for them still appeared uncertain what to do.
"What do you want?"
Cassandra stared at her like she was nuts.
"I- What?"
"It's a simple question. What do you want?"
Cassandra blinked a few times. As if she were trying to convince herself this was reality.
"Ask yourself. Why do you want to fight fellow warriors? What have we done to you?"
Cassandra placed her hand to her forehead as she pondered it over. Samus took notice and rushed over.
"I- Why am I doing this? Why am I fighting?"
"What are you doing," Samus asked.
"I- I don't know why. It makes no sense! Why am I doing this!?"
"Do you know how you wound up like this? Why you're here?"
What seemed like such a harmless question appeared to have an enormous impact on the poor woman who now had her head in her hands and paced about while looking at the ground.
"What are you doing," Samus asked again. "Do you really want to upset her?"
"I don't know. I don't know. Why am I here? Why am I doing this?"
"Think about your past. You're supposed to be dead. How can you be here, talking with us?"
"Dead? I'm… Dead?"
How could that be? How could she be dead? She was living. Breathing. Wasn't she? Wasn't she?
"That's what the records say. You're Cassandra number 1, right? The records indicate you died by the hands of your fellow sisters after you went rogue and attacked them."
" Attacked? Me?"
In truth, she'd thought about that for some time. The dream that kept finding its way to the forefront of her mind. A horrible dream filled with frightened faces. Blood. Swords. Laughter.
That part frustrated her the most. Who was laughing? Why was she laughing? Why did she sound familiar?
What was happening? Who was she? Why was she here? WHY?
"Hey Cassie! You sure are quick! I got held up with some more purple freaks, but I couldn't leave you to- "
Cassandra seemingly exploded. Heads larger than a claymore's entire body came out, screaming and crying.
"Woah, Cassie! Whatcha doing there?"
Cassie responded by biting off Roxanne's arm.
Hysteria and Noel finally stopped their fight to observe the horror unfolding before them.
"What the fuck?"
Sensing opportunity, Samus transformed back into the morph ball and rolled at Hysteria's feet, tripping her up.
Noel didn't catch onto the message, but Ilena/Irene did and pushed Hysteria into the path of one of Cassandra's massive heads.
The warriors took a moment to take in the grotesqueness of Cassandra's awakened shape. Even by the standards of what they'd seen, this took the cake. But she kept the others at bay.
They took that moment to run for the tram and descend into the city.
Miria lay against the edge of the tram. Her eyes widened when Samus rolled in and emerged from her morph ball form.
"That's… Chozo technology, isn't it? Incredible. They really were spectacular."
Samus looked out the window, debating that statement in her head.
"Were they?"
….
"Naughty naughty."
Teresa wagged her finger at the twins condescendingly. It was sad really. She'd hoped for a good workout after her long sleep and these two weren't providing it.
"You're both very skilled, no doubt. But I was hoping for…. I don't know. A challenge. And you're not providing it."
Alicia tried to draw her attention for a surprise attack by Beth, but she was it coming and dodged it easily.
"Are you two tired? Just having a dreadful day? Should I give you a little break to regain your strength?"
Both came for her at the same time. She stopped them in their tracks with a hand around each of their throats.
"Or is this your best? Seriously? Guess I really am that strong, huh?"
They struggled to get out of her grip. No avail.
"Well, you did your best." She shrugged and stuck a finger into their necks.
Blue spread through their bodies. They stared at each other.
With their limited strength, they raised a claw and wrapped it around their sister's.
Whatever happened from here on out, they would be together. No matter what.
Screw the organization. Screw everyone else.
Only they mattered.
….
"Thought we'd be encountering more of those freaks," Noel commented. "Guess I should be partly glad, but I dunno. I'm more at peace when fighting. This quiet. Too unsettling."
"I rather enjoy it," said Ilena/Irene. "A break from the blood. A chance to see the galaxy. Breathe it in."
She frowned a moment as she took in the surroundings.
"Well maybe not here. But the dimension we inhabit. The quiet. The calm."
"You can enjoy that again as soon as we leave." Miria pointed to a nearby building.
"The last portal off this planet should be there. I'm going to send through the code to the other side. Permission must be received from them to prevent just anyone using it."
"And who would be waiting on the other side at this moment?"
"Hopefully, Isley."
"Hopefully!?"
"He's resourceful. He'll pull through. I'm sure of it."
She did not sound sure.
They entered the building adorned with luminoth symbols. And Chozo symbols.
In the center lay the portal. A golden structure with red crystals surrounding an archway in the center. An empty hole where the rift would presumably lay.
"I'll need some time to send the message through. Keep an eye out. We need to hold this position."
"What if they overwhelm us?"
"Then we destroy the portal."
"What!?"
"We can't let these monsters leave. Above all else, we are protectors of the innocent. We must do whatever is necessary for the survival of the galaxy. Are you all prepared to do this?"
Everyone nodded save Noel who looked at them all like they were mad.
While Miria sent the notice through, Noel watched the front for any sign of pursuers: Sophia sat down with Tabitha's head on her lap: And Samus looked at the markings and scribbles on the walls.
"Chozo and Luminoth," she muttered. "They built this place together."
"They appear happy," Ilena/Irene mused. "These scribblings of theirs suggest anyway."
"Yes. They do seem happy. They always preached peace. A devotion to life."
Samus stared for a moment in silence. Then she punched the wall in anger..
"Samus!" Ilena/Irene rushed to her side and knelt beside her.
"I… I can't believe it…. How could they? They promoted peace and yet gave us the exact opposite of peace? How could they? Hypocrites…."
"Hypocrites? You don't think they practiced what they- "
"Obviously not! Not if they would make all this! Was everything they told a lie? Did any of it mean anything? Should I believe anything they taught me?"
Ilena/Irene pondered that in silence.
"I'm feeling a similar way about the organization. For all their faults, I genuinely believed they were the sole chance for peace from yoma. To learn they had a hand in making them…. I mean…. What do I believe in now?"
Neither could respond to that. Their minds were a typhoon of torturous thoughts. Neither could comfort the other while consumed by their own despair.
"All right that's it!" Miria interrupted their silent sorrow with a rare smile. "The code is through. Now we need only wait."
"You mean wait and pray someone on the other side gets our message and doesn't totally abandon us?"
"Well… Yes."
Noel shook her head.
"Sheesh. That luminoth didn't really think this through, did he?"
"He had no time to think it through. Had he…. Well, no point in focusing on what might have been. We need to return to the other world. That's all that matters."
"And when we return to the other world? What then? Where do we go? What do we do?"
No one spoke. It was rare that Noel could get them all thinking.
"Well, I'm just going to state the obvious," she continued. "I'm assuming no one plans to rejoin the organization?"
Still silence.
"Fine. Let's say we do that. What then? What would you have us do, spiky?"
Miria took a moment to realize she was talking to her.
"Well- "
"Because if you expect us to just collaborate with you and your awakened beings' buddies… Well, that's going to prove challenging. That is what you're hoping for, right? Wage war against the organization? And likely the federation if this alliance of theirs goes anywhere?"
More silence. Miria seemed uncomfortable with the question for the simple fact that it raised an obvious problem.
Fight the organization? Them? The handful who knew the truth yet had no way to prove it? Fight their fellow sisters who still believed the lie?
How? How could they possibly succeed?
….
Atop the fortress, a battle raged on. Well, not much of a battle. More of an attempt by two desperate warriors to avoid death at their "friend's" inexplicable outburst.
"What gives Cassie? Come on! Let's talk this over!"
The lumbering mass stopped moving for a moment. All its heads stared her down deep enough to penetrate her soul.
Even through all the adrenaline, Roxanne found herself captivated by Cassandra's hideousness. Her main body resembled a naked woman with multiple enlarged Cassandra heads sprouting from it. In between the breasts on the main mass, Cassandra's upper body stuck out. Her normally stoic countenance was dripping bloodlust.
"You want to talk? Fine. Let's talk."
"No! Let's fight! Monsters have no place in- "
Hysteria's outrage blinded her to danger as another head hit from the side and pinned her against a wall.
"Damn, Cassie! Nice move- "
One of the massive heads suddenly came up from below her. Splitting through the steel floor like nothing. It gripped her feet in between its teeth while another pair of heads came in from either side to hold her arms.
Despite her easy-going expression, Roxanne couldn't contain a shudder and twinge of dread flowing through her as Cassandra leaned in. Try as she might, she was clearly out of her league against the Dust Eater.
"The way you talk, you speak as if you know. Knew me."
"Uh…. Yeah, that's right Cassie! You and me! We go back! Best friends for life! So, uh… Maybe ease up on the bites? Please?"
She did not ease up. In fact, she gripped tighter.
"Then tell me, friend…. How did I die?"
Roxanne's heart stopped. In another moment this would be something she longed to say. In this precarious situation however….
"Well, uh…. You lost a friend, went berserk, and attacked fellow soldiers. Then they had to put you down."
The head's eyes narrowed. Guess she had to put in a little more honesty. Keep her on her side.
"We had to put you down."
"We," she repeated matter of factly. "You were there."
"Yes. When you went berserk."
They stared at each other. She didn't like stoic business-like Cassie. She preferred easily flustered nervous Cassie.
And she especially didn't like psychotically grinning Cassie.
"I just thought of something. We're linked right? Mind and all? Why don't we have a look?"
For any other claymore, this would have been a death sentence. Cassandra would have read their mind and that was it. She'd grow berserk and flay them there.
But Roxanne was unique. She always had been.
She happened to have a case of split personality. Her mind was always at war with herself.
And while the phazon and the one controlling it had command over her body and dominant personality, her psychosis had another consciousness. Another dreamscape. Where she had full control. Where she could make Cassie see whatever she wanted.
And what she saw was her going berserk and killing her fellow sisters before being put down herself.
"I… I did that. I… I don't know what to say."
Neither did Roxanne. She had no idea what just happened. The phazon exposed all. So how was she able to… make this?
She smiled. A happy smile. Not of maliciousness or evil glee. But content.
She felt nothing here but Cassie. No other minds. No Phazon. No Hysteria. No Teresa.
She could sense it. She had a way to hide her thoughts from the bitch. A way to be free.
Fortunately for her, Cassie mistook her smile as one of kindness. She placed her palm in hers.
"You were right. I'm sorry I doubted you. Attacked you."
Roxanne's smile grew even more relaxed. This was turning out to be a great day.
"What's this? Having a little disagreement?"
Shit. The bitch was here. Time to go back to serving. For now.
She let her other personality take hold. Back under her command, Teresa immediately switched off Cassandra's awakened form. The head holding Hysteria released her from the wall.
The bitch stood there with her usual casual smile. And behind her stood the black insect from before and…. A cat. They both stood behind her like good little pets.
"Feeling better," she asked politely. "Got it out of your system?"
"Of course, Teresa. We're fully prepared."
"Good. Let's get moving then. We've more members to recruit."
….
"They've received the message! They can open the other side!"
"Finally," Noel groaned. "I've had enough of purple! So can we get moving?"
"Sending through the message! It just needs a little time to power up and we can head on in."
"I don't think we have a little time…"
Banging resounded from outside. The dead had arrived with their queen.
"The Luminoth and Chozo built these well," Miria observed. "To architect a building strong enough to keep out the likes of her. They really knew their stuff."
Too well, Samus thought.
The banging stopped. Silence reigned. That didn't sit well with the warriors.
"What's taking them so long," Noel hissed. "Get us through that fucking portal already!"
"Little pigs. Little pigs. Let me in."
They froze. They would have honestly felt better if she'd displayed anger. But the tone she used expressed playfulness. Not something any prey wanted to hear.
"Or I'll huff and I'll- "
"Get fucked!"
Everyone turned to Noel with the same expression. What are you doing!?
A sigh got in from outside.
"You might want to step away from the walls."
Silence reigned again for a minute. The paranoia set in hard.
"Well? You gonna do something, chicken?"
"Noel. Don't provoke- "
Half a building smashed through half their building. The warriors screamed and ran back up against the portal.
The women floated in the air. Teresa. The shrinking violet. The grinning lunatic with the curls. And behind them-
"Alicia. Beth." Ilena/Irene looked at them with great remorse. They did not even look her way.
"You're a true Chozo," Samus spat. "Destructive. Authoritarian. Cruel. You'd make them proud."
Teresa looked at her puzzled. She looked like she wanted to speak, but Hysteria interrupted her.
"Screw this!"
She rushed forward and grabbed Miria by the throat.
"No more running! You are a thief, and you will be- "
"Portal's opening!"
They stared alarmed. The way to the other side and Teresa's freedom. She couldn't contain her grin.
"I understand the organization's on Aether, no? I can only imagine the look on their face when- "
Twice in a row, the former number 1 found a face full of yoma rushing out the portal. Almost more than the construct could contain.
Hysteria let go of Miria's throat and barely had time to jump out of the way of the overwhelming tide.
"Stop interrupting! I'm busy here! "
Sophia barely pulled Tabitha off the ground and out of the way of the stampeding monsters.
"What madman dreamed up this," she wondered aloud.
"This madman! Hurry through!"
At the back of the pack, a familiar large horse-like awakened being came through.
"They'll buy us some time, but we have to leave now! Move it!"
For once no one had any real issues with Isley's orders. Though it was easier said than done with all the bodies pressing outwards from the portal.
"Looks like we're getting some more company," Noel shouted over the madness.
From the darkness, the purple spider monsters returned in gas form. Perhaps sensing an opportunity for vengeance. For blood.
Suddenly they began seeping into the yoma. Diving under their skin. Turning their skin purple. Making them even more demonic.
"Son of a- They can possess us too?"
Never mind," shouted Ilena/Irene. "Keep moving!"
This had suddenly become even more difficult with the possessed yoma now turning back their way and moving back towards the portal.
The situation had deteriorated from a horde pushing outwards against five extremely powerful monsters to yoma now battling yoma and dog piling each other.
Samus felt multiple claws digging into her arms, trying to pull her into the chaos. At least until the bulking mass of Isley stomped them into paste.
"Move," he commanded. Another order of his she had no issue with. This was a strange day indeed.
Unfortunately, this order became moot as more infected yoma began pushing Isley over and burying him. Even with all his strength, he had a significantly difficult time fighting them off..
Samus surveyed her surroundings, looking for her friends. Ilena/Irene stood before Sophia and Tabitha trying to keep the horde away. But even she couldn't keep them all at bay. Meanwhile, Noel had a difficult time fighting without room in which to move around.
And at the back…. The blue tentacles rising above the tide showed that Teresa was overcoming the initial shock of being run over by a tide and was preparing to cut them all aside.
She had no time to think. She needed to clear the way and do it now.
She went back into the morph ball and speed boosted her way under and through the sea of legs.
Once she got close enough to Teresa, she took a deep breath. She didn't like to use these, but what choice had she?
Amid the many weapons at her armor's disposal, there was one Samus dreaded and had used only a handful of times. Its risk was too great. But she didn't have the luxuries of time right now.
From the hatch at the back of the morph ball, a special bomb emerged. A deadly bomb. A power bomb. She checked one last time to determine her friends were far enough away.
She deployed the bomb. It exploded into a burst of light. In the center of the blast, she remained in ball mode. Unharmed. Around her though, screams rang out.
She quickly unrolled from her ball mode and didn't even look to see what damage she'd done. She just rushed past the corpses and to her stunned friends who were thankfully out of the blast radius.
"Time to go."
No argument there. They ran in full speed.
They found themselves within the darkness once again. The light growing closer.
And then from behind, a black mass flew from the abyss behind them. In its haste, it flew right past them, followed by more.
"Fucking Christ," Noel cursed. "Those things in the real world? Don't we have enough to deal with?"
As if on cue, blue tentacles shot out from the darkness and into the backs of Samus, Ilena/Irene, Noel, and Sophia.
Miria watched their screams of pain with dismay. The blue veins spread through their bodies. Tabitha began slipping from Sophia's grip.
Without thought, she pushed off Isley's body and pushed her way back towards the darkness.
"What are you doing," Isley shouted after her.
No emotion. No doubt. Strong focus on her goal. Her last phantom mirage as a claymore.
She sliced through the tentacles with her sword, severing their connection with her sisters.
She turned towards Tabitha. She opened her eyes enough to glance into hers.
Miria smiled. Even as the blue tentacle reached around her ankle.
Tabitha reached her hand out. Tears in her eyes
"No…. Don't…."
Miria reached out her own hand. Still smiling.
Another tentacle rammed into the back of Samus' head.
She found herself back in the blue. The voices. The monster placing her hand on her cheek.
"You're quite the fighter Tamus Arlan."
She froze.
"You speak Chozo?"
"Of course. My Chozo name is Tres. You haven't spoken this since you left home, have you?"
Samus didn't respond.
"We can speak it all you want. Whatever you want. You and me. The last Chozo. Together."
"You a Chozo?" Samus laughed hollow. "You dishonor their name! What gives you the right to do what you do?"
Teresa paused a moment. She seemed unsure whether she should respond to that.
"Power."
"Power!? That's your excuse?"
"I have power. That gives me the right to do this."
"Power gives you no right! No right at all!"
Teresa slowly smiled again. This one seemed less genuine. More predatory.
"Power gives me every right. Power gives me the right to fix this broken shithole galaxy. It gives me the right to deny others their rights or grant them. It gives me the right to build or destroy. And it gives me the right to take you and all your little friends and make you my own."
Samus moved to run but there was nowhere to go, and Teresa was increasingly invading her personal space. Despite her inferior height, the demon seemed to loom over her.
"That is the beauty of power. It gives me the right to do whatever I want because I can. I have more power than everyone and no one can stop me."
She began squeezing Samus' arm hard. She was losing it.
"The Chozo understood this too. They understood peace, sure. but they could never achieve that without power. After all, Hadar Sen Olmen."
Samus' heart stopped. She must have misheard.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me. Power is everything."
Before, she could pull her closer, another hand grabbed her arm.
"Live, Tamus Arlan. And… I'm sorry I didn't love you more."
"Grey Voice," Teresa struggled to respond. "What are you- "
"Her light burns too bright. Too bright for this darkness. I cannot let the story of the last child of the Chozo end like this."
Teresa showed annoyance. It seemed out of place on her face for some reason.
"I am a child of the Chozo! Doing as the Chozo would want! Bridging all life- "
"Against their will. Violently. Cruelly. I'm sorry, Tres. Madness has already consumed you. I will not let it consume her."
Grey Voice shot one last sad smile Samus' way before pushing her away from the monster's grasp.
"No! What are you doing," the monster screamed. "She's mine! Do not- "
She woke up, back in the purple void. Miria and the tentacles faded into the darkness. Over the lightning and thunder, she could hear Tabitha's cries.
Then the light swallowed them up and they came tumbling out onto the cold hard ground.
Samus' head rang. Her whole world was blue. She could barely make out the shapes. There were too many. Making too many noises.
She thought she heard Clare before she passed out.
….
"It has been a trying time for this world. But the results speak for themselves! The Yoma have been driven off Aether. And our two organizations which have been at odds for centuries have finally united under a common cause!"
Rimuto showed more emotion than any claymore thought they'd ever seen from him. He seemed entirely in his element upon the stage.
"It is true that there have been setbacks. Many of our own have perished in the field. Even more of our highest elite warriors were killed by a malfunctioning of federation weaponry."
Admiral Dane cringed at that.
"But from such losses lies the opportunity for growth. From such- "
Most warriors weren't listening all that intently. They knew the summary. The organization was now recognized as a legitimate contractor and cooperator of the federation military.
It was a better speech than the hunter gave. No question.
The hunter whose picture was among the dead. Warriors and soldiers. All those who'd given their lives for this exercise of unity.
The soldier deaths were numerous. Evidence of how outclassed they were by the predators they faced. While warrior deaths were rarer. A few in the lower digits. And then many in the single. All because of the federation's incompetence.
Priscilla gripped her fist upon the stage. She knew she'd be chastised for it later. But she couldn't control herself. Her friends. All dead. Because of some stupid space cannon and some idiot engineers.
She never told Samus how she truly felt. And now she never would. She would never be happy again
Every warrior could sense the energy coming off her. But none dared approach.
Cynthia desperately wanted to. She was an empathetic soul and became a defender solely to lessen the pain of others. But Galatea wouldn't let her.
It was even harder for her. She could sense the despair emanating off all the warriors and desired to help them. But there was nothing she could do.
Yuma didn't even bother to hide her tears as she rubbed her hand across her armor. She didn't feel at all worthy to wear it. She was nothing compared to its original owner. Nothing.
Her eyes wavered back and forth across the crowd. More than once they settled on three men near the back.
Those same three men couldn't bear to look anyone in the eye. This was one of the worst jobs in recent memory. The loss of potential friends revealed to be more than beasts. The degradation of the federation from their cannon "misfiring."
And now the long-term relationship with the group who had unleashed these monsters upon the galaxy. And they had to just grin and bear it because the only evidence of their corruption had gone up in smoke.
What a fucking shitshow.
"Pardon? Mr. Higgs?"
"Rubel, right? What do you want?"
"You were close to Ms. Aran, weren't you?"
Anthony stared long and hard at the sinister looking man.
"What's it to you?"
"Only that we owe you a debt. Had it not been for her and the life she led; we might not be where we were today. Everyone she met had a role in making her like that, I believe. For better or worse, we all played a part in making her the woman we needed her to be."
"What do you want?"
Anthony's voice was harsher than he planned it to be, but he honestly had no patience for this twat's lies. Rubel didn't seem bothered though.
"I just wanted to cut past the bullshit. I know for a fact you didn't tell the whole truth."
The men raised eyebrows.
"Why do you think I suggested a visit to that fortress with its secrets? Why do you think I wanted you to see it with your own eyes?"
"What are you getting at, creep," Sid growled.
"I'm saying I want to help you. Let's make sure Ms. Aran's sacrifice wasn't in vain and bring down Rimuto's web of lies. Whaddaya say?"
They blinked. Rubel sighed.
"Best and brightest of the federation indeed. Fine I'll spell it out. I want to destroy the organization. Let's be best friends, k?"