Samus followed as the Slayer led forward, into a ruined building. He jumped up onto a ledge, where he found a figurine, of himself. One he plays with a bit, raising its arm, and extending his wrist blade. Really? Playing with a toy? Though it is kind of adorable, she thought, before the Slayer jumped back down. Also close by was a floating robot, from which he pulled something off the bottom. Inside was something he then stuck onto his shotgun.

"Scanning," ADAM said. "Sticky bombs detected. Attempting to make use of this." A few progress bars fill, and then she hears a familiar sound, one that her Varia Suit played whenever a major upgrade was found. But what's strange is, it sounded like it was being played twice.

"Lady, I have been able to make two upgrades from this, also based on some environmental data. The first is one you're used to," he explains, as Samus sees the muzzle of her arm cannon part. Missiles. Again. "It was made easier by the fact your suit is so used missile data by this point." Why am I not surprised? I mean, every mission, one of the first upgrades is ALWAYS missiles. It may not be THE first, but it's always up there.

"But the sticky part has led to a unique upgrade. Sticky grip is online," ADAM continues, and Samus sees a brief flare of energy in her arm cannon. "Based on scan data, you will need the ability to climb walls and swing off poles. This upgrade will enable your arm cannon to grip both as easily as if it was your hand." Well, isn't THAT special? And handy?

Meanwhile, the Slayer had jumped down, taking on more imps and zombies with his new sticky bombs. Samus followed suit, showing off her missiles. After it was over, the Slayer looked up, and Samus could see what ADAM meant, as the Slayer swung away on a monkey bar, Samus following suit. Wow, this IS useful! I can see why trying this one handed would be a bitch. Plus the uneven weight distribution would also be problematic.

In the next area was something new, a new monster that looked like a brain on mechanical spider legs, and she was already scanning it. But even more awesome was the Slayer's suit was now playing heavy metal, a heavier metal than before. You've got some TUNES in that thing. "I detect you're scanning the arachnotron," VEGA said in her helmet. "I can provide relevant data much faster. The cannon on top is a weak point that can be destroyed, hindering its long range capabilities." Well, that makes things easier. Slayer, your AI is good. Though before she could put a missile into the cannon, the Slayer had already stuck it. Still, this thing is fast. And mobile. Are ALL demons like this? But she did think she saw a weakness, underneath it, so she curled up into morph ball mode, rolling under the beast as it fired at the Slayer, though she did take hits from its legs, dropping bombs as she went underneath it.

The effect was immediate, as they all detonated. Though it seemed to be only stunned. But along came the Slayer, grabbing one of the beast's arms, and jamming it into the eye socket as Samus rolled away, un-morph balling. Brutal! But somehow, it fits you. But the next thing she did not expect. It exploded into a fountain of blue...things, some of which went to the Slayer, others jumped at her. Just as she was about to complain, she saw her own health bar had replenished.

Wait, is THIS how this guy works? These guys drop health energy when he kills them in that way, and that heals him? So why is it working for me? As if reading her mind, ADAM chirped up. "I have analyzed the incoming energy. I believe your Metroid DNA is the reason for why you can absorb it. Unknown why the Slayer is able to." Figures. We need A LOT more intel.

Another interesting moment was while the Slayer was mopping up the imps and zombies, he swapped the modification to what he had before, a tri-barreled attachment that started rapid firing shells. Full auto on the shotgun. Nice. Though she noticed the mods came from nowhere. Ok, where did he pull that from? But then the mystery got more complex. Now his shotgun faded altogether, replaced by a chainsaw he used to cut an imp in half, causing it too to explode. But not in health, this time it took the form of multi-colored lights, that again, some leapt at each of them. And for Samus's case, she saw her missiles had been refilled. Ok, so that's another thing huh? He chainsaws these things for ammo?

Once it was over, a gate opened up, and while they were making their way there, ADAM asked the question she was thinking of. "VEGA, query. Is the Slayer capable of materializing things from thin air?"

"I can understand why you might jump to that conclusion," VEGA answers. "Yes and no. The Praetor Suit comes with its own Pocket Dimension Drive, or PDD." Pocket Dimension Drive? Oh I would LOVE something like that.

Up ahead, something was floating, and the Slayer picked it up. To Samus, it looked like an assault rifle, but heavier. "Heavy Cannon acquired," VEGA said out loud, as the Slayer's shotgun vanished, with the Slayer testing the weight of his new weapon. Oh boy. Why do I get the feeling that's FAR from the only weapon he'll pick up? He strikes me as the kind who'd use guns. LOTS of guns. If there's no limit to his Pocket Dimension, he could be in that scene from that old Earth movie, when they say that exact line, and fit the entire armory in his pocket. Wait, that also explains something else. I've never seen him reload. He's never had to put fresh shells into the shotgun, they're just there.

"Scanning," ADAM said, in an attempt to keep up with the Slayer's arsenal, soon followed by the upgrade alert. "Rapid fire enabled," he said as energy flowed along her arm cannon. Well, can't wait to test this.

Up ahead was a platform with a hologram, which ADAM immediately identified. "Automap station detected." Automap? Good. Not that it seems hard to get lost. She thought as she rushed up to touch the panel. But just as she touched it, she felt an armored hand on top of hers. She looked up at the Slayer, nodding at each other. But she got the automap data, and took a look at it, though out of the corner of her eye, she saw that it looked like the Slayer was doing the same thing. So, same data, different systems. Ours are compatible it seems.

They passed by a church bell, coming up to another building, that the pair explored, with a hologram activating as they passed by. Some official sounding lady, saying "Behold the fruits of our labor!", which pissed Samus off. Wait, people actually WANTED this shit to happen? She actually punched through the hologram, even though it wouldn't do anything. But the Slayer gave the slightest of nod, only pointing at the demons, but first collecting more secrets. Right. Them.

It was quite the battle, with Samus able to actually rapid fire her arm cannon, as well as using charged shots, but they won. This rapid fire mode is quite useful. Especially since rapidly squeezing the trigger in this thing gets tiring. More exploration yielded a nearby keycard that opened a garage door. This led them through a ruined mall, with cannons in the wall shooting at them, and another blue holographic lady saying "The cleansing of Earth is a necessary step on the path to a brighter tomorrow." Look at Earth lady. Keep this up, there'll be a missile with your name on it. And of course, there were demons, taking advantage of how narrow things were.

Up ahead was a metro station, and another of those weapon mod drones. This time, the Slayer took a scope attachment out of it, slotting it on top of his heavy cannon. ADAM scanned it, and Samus now had her own Scope Visor, but strangely her arm cannon upgraded as well. "This will make it easier to hit distant targets," ADAM explained. "But when in use, stablizers will activate, making your arm more difficult to move." That makes sense. Distance aiming would be...quite a bitch otherwise.

The Slayer walked forward through an old train car, and Samus saw something else floating, that the Slayer picked up, sticking onto his left shoulder. "Scans indicate it is a grenade launcher," ADAM said to her. Wow, you've got tricks, don't you? I almost can't wait to tune into the next episode of "Pimp My Armor."

Her thoughts were interrupted, by VEGA as the Slayer turned back to face her. "Pardon me, but I am detecting a correlation. Each item the Slayer picks up, you scan. And I detect you're gaining a similar power every time. This is a most curious ability."

"Affirmative. The Hunter's Varia Suit has suffered damage. The scans are an attempt to help repair lost abilities, and if need be, replicate new ones needed," ADAM answers.

"Understandable. But I sense a weakness. Your core processors are not onboard the suit, are they?" VEGA asks. "They're somewhere else."

"You are correct. My core systems are onboard the Hunter's gunship. The one that crashed, however my systems remain intact," ADAM responds. "However, I sense the same of you."

"Likewise," VEGA answers. "My core systems are in the Fortress of Doom, currently in orbit of Earth. We will need to network once we are up there. Especially if you wish to remain in contact with the Hunter. You don't have the capacity to connect between dimensions, do you?" That last part ALMOST sounded smug. But Fortress of Doom? That sounds quite metal. But then...everything about this guy could come straight out of a heavy metal album. "Also, if you would like, I can attempt to aid with your upgrades, once so. My core systems are all quantum." Ok, NOW VEGA's showing off.

"Unfortunately, I am unable to think of an upgrade," ADAM said once the scan of the grenade launcher was complete. Fair enough. I won't complain right now.

They continued onwards, through more metro areas, at one point the Slayer picking up what looked like a suit of armor, which fixed scratches in his suit. There were other metro areas, some with tentacles coming out of holes in the ground. What is this, a Japanese hentai? Why is the ground being tentacle raped? Though said tentacles were easy to deal with. What was strange was that not all holes that looked like tentacles would come out of, had tentacles come out of them. Great, so there's false alarms too.

The next area felt like it was more of the same, though it felt tougher, as if it was time for training wheels to come off, and Samus hoped she was ready. There were new monsters too, that made Samus think of flying meatballs, with a single eye, and HUGE mouth, to the point it was mostly mouth. "Cacodemons can be easy to deal with actually," VEGA instructs. "Feed it an explosive." The Slayer fed one a grenade from his launcher, which the greedy demon swallowed, grenade exploding in its stomach, stunning it. The Slayer than ran up to it, ripping out the eyeball, after which it then exploded.

Samus fed another cacodemon a missile, to the same effect. But before the Slayer could do so, she ran up to the beast, ripping out the eye with her free hand. It was nasty, she had to admit. But there was some satisfaction to it. "It seems you have figured out how to glory kill, Hunter," VEGA says during the battle. "And it seems you have some abilities, similar to the Slayer." Glory kill huh? That's what he calls it?

More battles happened, across more wrecked city structures, and more secrets were collected, including a lore page, and Samus saw what they were working their way towards. A large floating structure loomed in the distance. At one point, VEGA had said they were interrupting a meeting of Hell Priests up ahead in the citadel. So, that's our TRUE objective, huh? "The Khan Maykr is nearby. She is inside that demonic citadel," he explained, as the pair walked through a red portal.

Wow. This is interesting, Samus thought as they went through. Even the music from the Slayer's armor had changed to a deep throaty chant. More exploration yielded another lore page, as the 2 went up the lift. Something tells me shit's about to get real, she thought as they reached the top.

The whole place had a hellish vibe, lots of skulls and pentagrams. VEGA was telling them both how "The Khan Maykr is present at this gathering, but when outside of her domain, she is by all accounts, indestructible."

"H...How can this be? No man can pass through the gate, and yet two have! It is..." The left priest said, with a strange helmet on, making Samus wonder how he could see out of it. But she also saw the Slayer's answer, as he pulled out...a head, tossing it towards the priests. Based on the skin color, and the crown it wore, Samus was sure it must've been a fellow priest. The right, bald priest recoiled in disgust, stuttering out "This stops nothing."

"The sacrament of this world to the great Khan Maykr will be made, and the energy will be restored once again," Helmet priest told them, with bald priest continuing "As it is written, from the souls of the non-believers!" "You will not save them from their judgement," Helmet priest finished.

The Slayer was walking around, and just pumped his shotgun in response. Samusmade a similar motion on her arm cannon. I SO want to murder these guys. But she never got the chance, as they both teleported away.

But now another light appeared, and something...large came through, speaking in a female voice. "You go too far this time. You cannot interfere," it said as it materialized, into something that made Samus think of an angel, only it was covered in technological armor, with an orb in the chest and exposed brain. "This is humanity's chance to repent, to give service to us. You cannot resist the will of the Khan Maykr," she continued, as VEGA said he was activating the portal, a blue one this time. "For it was you who was meant to enforce it." I have known this bitch for like a minute. I already want to make her deepthroat my arm cannon. "And you, Hunter," the Khan Maykr continued, "Go back to where you came from. This is not your fight." Fuck off. You're doing this to Earth, I'm going to stop you. Samus thought as the followed the Slayer through the portal.

Where they were now was quite unusual. It made Samus think of a castle, except there was clearly tech here and there, such as the screens up front. As well as a view of Earth outside, an Earth covered with pentagrams. What the fuck happened to Earth? Is it all that bitch's fault? But that didn't distract her from her surroundings. Meanwhile, is THIS the Fortress of Doom? It seems like a nice place. Where can I get one of these? How much is the down payment. She didn't even pay attention as VEGA was talking about locating the second Hell Priest, saying the Celestial Locator was missing a component, while the Slayer busied himself with a screen, setting the destination to "Exultia."

"The flame belch is ready for your approval." VEGA also continued as the Slayer went to another part, where another equipment launcher was hovering, grabbing it and placing it on top of what was already there, that one seeming to half-blend into the new one. It activates a few times, emitting a short burst of flame. Shoulder flamethrower. Never seen that before. So THIS is what we see on the next episode of "Pimp my Armor."

"I have been able to replicate its effects," ADAM tells her, as the Slayer walks to another part, with a glowing pedestal, which he punches, taking a crystal found within. But whatever power was held within, flowed into them both. Samus saw her health jump up a few energy tanks. Woah. Nice. I get a feeling there's more.

"And now before we leave, we must address the issue with the Hunter, and ADAM," VEGA says, and both Slayer and Samus nod. "I have already detected where your ship is on Earth. I have also detected an autorepair function, but am unable to determine its state of readiness."

"Atmospheric thrusters are online. Launch thrusters are online. The gunship is capable of returning to space, but no further," ADAM reports. "It couldn't even fly to the closest local planet."

"But this may work in our favor. Can you bring it here?" VEGA asks. "True, the Fortress may not have anywhere for it to dock, nor land. But proximity can only be useful," VEGA continues.

"Agreed. Engaging launch thrusters," ADAM says. "Meanwhile, we must formulate a plan to network."

"I believe I have a solution. I can network you through my communications array. However that depends on your operating bandwidth," VEGA suggests. Numbers flew by on her visor, as ADAM gave him the relevant data. "Then there is plenty to spare. But it will be easiest once the gunship is present."

"Lady, our best bet is to enable station-keeping once the ship arrives," ADAM says in her helmet. "Scans indicate nowhere to land."

Meanwhile, the Slayer was tapping another screen, this one green and saying "ARC Resistance Network. Update Available."

"This is an ARC broadcast. There are reports coming out of the quarantined Hellified zone near the San Andreas chasm. Satellite imagery show what ARC personnel believe to be the legendary Doom Slayer himself fighting the mortally challenged, alongside a mysterious figure in red and yellow armor, with the right arm being a gun," it began. Wait. Did people actually convince humanity to call the demons by something...so dumb? Also...she's talking about me in that. "The Doom Slayer, or 'Doomguy' as he is sometimes referred to, was thought to be a myth of the resistance – a sort of avenging angel. He was last reported to be seen on Mars and is allegedly responsible for the destruction of the Argent Tower there. He disappeared soon afterwards. The UAC continues to deny all reports of his existence. We wil lcontinue to broadcast new information as we receive it."

These guys are really fighting for their lives huh? Desperate for any good news. And we're it, she thought, looking at the Slayer. But she noticed something new outside the window, coming toward them. Ah, there you are. Good to see you again.

"Gunship has arrived," ADAM says as it engages station keeping, effectively parking itself right outside the Fortress.

"After some calculations, it seems the Hunter will have to manually authorize things, possibly from her own suit," VEGA answers, and Samus goes to her command visor to do so, authorizing the connection. The Slayer also tapped a control on the Fortress. ADAM's voice dissolved into static for a bit, but came back as their connection reestablished itself through VEGA's systems.

"Connection successful," both AI's said together. "Testing...testing...any objections, Lady?" ADAM asked her, but it all seemed good to her.

"Then shall we proceed?" VEGA asks, as the Slayer pushed a stone down, making the portal device activate. Oh yeah, this is quite the place to live. Secure, an AI...Hell, if this place is big enough, I wouldn't mind being a tenant, since I get a feeling getting one for myself might be...expensive, she thought, following the Slayer through the portal.