At first Samus thought they were somewhere else on Earth, but the local architecture suggested otherwise, with plenty of broken stained glass windows around where they had landed. That, and the sky was like nothing else. Off to the right was a...red and black sun? Or was that sun currently being eclipsed? Samus couldn't tell. But what was also impressive in that direction was the MASSIVE demon, laying dead near a waterfall. As well as its killer, an equally large mech, holding a giant spear with the tip firmly in the demon. What was shocking was that the entire scene, along with the architecture both near and far, looked really old, post apocalyptic even, yet the demon she saw clearly hadn't undergone any normal form of decay. An odd twist, considering that most demons faded away into nothing right after death.

The Slayer had also looked around at the scenery, before making his way across the gap ahead, via two sections of climbable walls to where something green that upon getting closer, Samus realized it was a ghostly dog that howled, then faded into nothingness. Ghost dogs? What IS this place? The next section had a different type of zombie, one with a strange bony growth over the top of the head as opposed to the ones she had seen prior. But these zombies went down the same as the rest. The music playing from the Slayer's suit was eerie, with a few wailing voices as they crossed a gap, the Slayer punching through a wall on the left.

To the left was another lore page that Samus wanted to read after collecting, though to the right was a courtyard with more demons. Zombiemen, regular zombies, imps, a cacodemon, and something that could fly that her own scans told her was called a gargoyle, a native of this world, and after those all died, a door opened to reveal a big boy, which her scans told her was a hell knight. Why do I get the feeling that big guy's only the beginning, of the really big monsters?

Continuing on, there was something large and glowing yellow, that resembled the Slayer's fist. The Slayer touched it, and it vanished with a power surrounding his left fist, as the platform in the cage it was in lowered with the two of them on it. There were some zombies ahead, which the Slayer punched, a wave of energy coming from his fist so that he killed them all in one punch.

"VEGA has informed me about this new ability," ADAM said into her helmet as the two of them jumped down. "It is called a blood punch. It requires two glory kills to activate, and only one can be stored at a time. I am currently working on a suitable upgrade based off it." They continued on, past some demons they killed and some arcing lightning, to a floating cross the Slayer touched, gaining an energy from it.

"He has also told me about this. The Slayer has just gained a rune. A passive buff, if you will. Called 'Punch and Reave,' he can now get health with blood punches," ADAM told her. "Update. I have developed an upgrade based on the blood punch. The blood counter," he adds, as an energy glows around Samus's arm cannon. "It's like the counter you're used to, but with a shockwave." Nice, I'm eager to test this, she thought.

Heading down, the Slayer punched through a wall to collect a toy arachnotron, then the bottom level had some more low-tier demons, which Samus got to try her new counter on, to great effect. But it was after crossing a broken bridge, with a big demon fight ahead, that she got to really test it out, as there were plenty of imps, zombies, gargoyles, and even an arachnotron.

Continuing on was more light demons, an explosive barrel to deal with them, and a lore page after a wall climb, with said page talking about the ghost dogs but not shedding much light on them, only that they were superhuman. Or supercanine, as it were. Up ahead was a strange machine that the pair made their way to the top of via a block the Slayer punched into place. They then made their way around the machine, the Slayer punching chains as he went while Samus picked up another lore page, taking the time to quickly read it while the Slayer did his thing.

Oh wow, Samus thought after reading the page. So these Sentinels fall under the tough SOB category, huh? And this world became space Australia. All those old stories about humans being space orcs, the ones written prior to first contact? Nah, THESE guys are the space orcs. And this page just details their ORIGINS. All because of this "Cosmic Spear." And they even had their own Conan the Barbarian moment, though they call it the secret of the sword, not the secret of steel. Makes me wonder what these guys'd think of that movie. On the one hand, Samus was eager to learn more of these Sentinels, as they ticked off every checkbox in the badass list. But on the other hand she was afraid to, as clearly they had been brought low, likely by Hell.

Her reading was interrupted by the machinery retracting, revealing a glowing yellow figure resembling the Slayer. When he touched it, it vanished like normal, energy forming around his feet. A portcullis opened, with another ghost dog showing the way towards another door across some broken terrain. Jets of fire emerged from the Slayer's feet, causing him to dash in the air as he made his way over.

"Update: VEGA has informed me that the Slayer has a dash ability. One that he can use twice in a row, including in the air," ADAM informs her. "But in the air, he needs to touch the ground before recharging. He can use it for both terrain, and in a battle. I have managed to devise two upgrades from it, based on abilities you've possessed previously." Two abilities? Just from this? "First, and easiest to understand, the screw attack is now online. But second, I was able to make an instaneous variation of the shinespark, that does not require running fast. It's not as useful for navigating terrain, but is useful for combat." Oh, now THAT is useful. Let's try this!

She was able to shinespark around to test that, and then tried screw attacking to where the Slayer was waiting. Oh yeah, good to have this back.

The Slayer then pushed a set of double doors open, and the pair walked in, torches springing to life with blue fire as they entered, walking to the right to a throne room, empty as she expected. But the big shock was the voice.

"Why are you here?" A ghostly voice whispered, as the Slayer walked to the center of the room. The red light on his armor glowed blue, as well as some lights in the floor as it opened up, with something rising up out of it. "It is not yours to take," the voice whispered again, as the Slayer took something from the pedestal, something large with a floating sphere in the center.

"You cannot kill the priests," the same voice as before said, but clearer, and Samus noticed a blue glow behind her. She spun around to see a blue ghost of a king sitting on the once empty throne, dressed in Viking-esque armor that revealed much of his chest. Great, this place is haunted. Ghost dogs were one thing. But a ghost KING? "You know our laws - despite their transgressions against the covenant they are still of Sentinel blood," the king further said, and to Samus's surprise, the Slayer knelt before this ghostly king, so Samus mimed his action, though she was already upset with this king. "What you interfere with now, is bigger than you can imagine. It is their time to give penance – if you continue you will bring down the heaven's wrath." The Slayer then got up and walked away, and Samus followed him. Fuck off. In case you haven't noticed, you're dead your majesty. "You are but one man with a companion from another world. They are no longer your people to save!" The Slayer turned back towards the king, clearly pissed off at that statement. "And you! Go back to your world before you get too deep," the king further said, and Samus had to resist the urge to flip him off. Excuse me, but Earth is, to use the scientific term, mega-fucked. And WE are going to unfuck it. But the ghostly king had already vanished, and so too did the object in the Slayer's hand, into his own pocket dimension.

Another lore page nearby revealed the king's name was Novik, though at this point Samus cared not, though it revealed that only the warriors got to rule the Sentinels. Figures. Place this tough, of COURSE only the big strong guys get thrones. Crossing a gap to opening doors revealed the same arena from before, only now with an electrified floor. Fuck. REALLY? Well, we can both dash/'spark now. Should make things slightly easier.

And indeed it helped, though the hell knight was problematic. A portcullis opened, and while the Slayer could've gone straight this time, he made a right turn, making his way over a gap via dashing and monkey bars. Awaiting them, alongside yet another giant statue, was something that to Samus resembled a giant mouth, complete with one eye.

"VEGA has informed me that this is a challenge task," ADAM told her as the Slayer walked up to the "eye." "There will be a limited amount of time to defeat the monsters that will spawn." Oh wonderful, she thought as the Slayer shoved his fist into the "eye," pulling out something. Immediately, two cacos spawned, but those were easily brought down, and the pair made their way back over.

On their way to the giant thing that Samus assumed was a portal, the Slayer picked up something large and glowing, VEGA saying "This Sentinel Battery can be used to provide additional power to your ship. Several modules remain unused, finding more batteries will enable you to utilize the full functions of your command station." Wait, so find these batteries, and access more of his ship? Nice. I had a feeling there was a lot more to the Fortress of Doom.

Now the portal was active and glowing blue, and the pair both touched a jump pad, which launched them into the portal. What was beyond was something else. Lots of red, including the sky which had some glowing runes. But ahead was another weapon, that when the Slayer picked up, a scan showed it was a plasma rifle. Though there wasn't too much time to think, nor observe where they were, as there was a fight directly ahead.

There was a new enemy, that the scan called a revenant, a flying skeleton with rocket launchers on its shoulders. Launchers that were easily destroyed, but it was still a bony bastard without them. There was also a hell knight and plenty of the fodder demons as well, and the Slayer's new plasma rifle showed its worth, dispensing the blue balls of death everywhere the Slayer pointed it.

Once the immediate area was quiet, Samus took a good look around. There was spiky architecture everywhere, pentagrams, corpses on spikes, and much, much more. Not to mention it was HOT, enough that Samus was thankful for the Varia suit. Wait...is this actual Hell itself? Actual, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," Hell? Well, now I can say I've literally been to Hell. If this was a planet, and not its own dimension...I'm sure it would blow up once I'm done, and join the pile of planets I've destroyed.

But then some realizations came to her, both good and bad. If this is Hell...shouldn't I be able to meet people down here? Where exactly are they keeping Hitler? Napoleon? Stalin? And beyond? Though, would I even recognize them if I did meet them? Speaking of...is Hell universal, or just for humans? If it's universal...there should be plenty of Space Pirates here. Ones that I have sent here personally. So what would happen if I killed them again? Now if only Ridley was down here, but those fuckers won't let him die. Always got to mechanize him, or clone him, or something. Oh fuck, I hope I don't meet anyone I actually KNOW down here. Rundas, Ghor, Gandrayda...I hope you weren't sent here due to phazon madness. There were others, like her parents, she hoped weren't down here as well. She didn't think they were, but she didn't know the details of how Hell worked. Nor Heaven, if it existed, which she assumed it did. So anything could go, to her knowledge.

Meanwhile the Slayer punched a block away from a hole, and Samus saw he followed a path to pick up, of all things, an old style vinyl record. Wow, you like it old school huh? And what exactly is a RECORD doing in Hell? And then he walked over and examined a giant robot hand, palm facing a yellow crack in the wall in a way that made Samus think of Iron Man. The pair also noticed a hole in the wall nearby leading to a small cave, and another battery of some sort, clearly not the same as the sentinel battery they met earlier. And Samus also noticed a slot in the hand that looked like it would accept it, and so pointed to the cave, the battery, then the slot. The Slayer nods, giving a thumbs up as they went in the hole.

Inside the cave was DISGUSTING. Fleshy growths were everywhere, not to mention the purple goop on the floor that slowed movement, and prevented dashing and jumping. And the smell was horrible as well, as if something foul and unspeakable had vomited here, while regular Hell had a fire and brimstone smell, mixed with some death. It was enough for Samus to seal off external air and switch on the onboard O2 and recycler. Though another surprise was in store, as tentacles came up out of the goop, surprising the pair, but the tentacles were still easily taken down. Good thing Hell isn't Japan. Or else these tentacles would be ESPECIALLY interested in me, Samus thought with a shudder. The good news was that just before the end of the purple goop was another map station for them both. There was also another mod bot for the Slayer, from which he attached something onto his new plasma rifle.

"There is a Sentinel Power Core nearby. You can use it to activate the mech and clear a path forward," VEGA told them as they approached the object. Well thanks Captain Obvious, she thought as the Slayer picked it up, and the...teeth retracted to allow them to jump down. Oh good, I HATED having to walk on the piles of the dead. The Slayer then plugged the power core into the hand, and it fired at the wall, to reveal a gap beyond to a climbing wall, and Samus noticed lots of lava, and even torture cages. Yep, this is Hell alright. Also, the way that hand fired...seems EXACTLY like how Iron Man does it. Was this meant as a flight stabilizer at first? Though...likely not, based on what these guys seem to be about, she thought as the pair made their way over.

It was nice to have the screw attack again, she had to admit. Crossing the gap would likely be problematic otherwise. Once on solid ground, there was another lore page that Samus quickly read, though it could be summarized as "Maykrs came to the Sentinels, and thus did the Sentinels adopt the Maykrs as their new gods, because they promised a heaven if their ways were adopted." Though Samus recognized the Khan Maykr in the included picture. So...was she ALWAYS evil? Or did she fall? Because this DOES look like a case of being careful about surprise gifts, and things like that.

Meanwhile the Slayer was standing on some platforms with green rings hovering over them, moving to the next one as each platform activated, one of the platforms he had to drop down to activate. Once he had activated them all, some doors opened, three in a row right after the other, giant gates that wouldn't look out of place in any description of the gates of Hell, not that Samus thought that's what these were.

Beyond was more sights, like some giant tower off in the distance, the source of the pillar of light she had seen, and thus the glowing rune in the sky. Closer still was yet another of the giant demons, dead, with another mech nearby. But the main attention grabber was the fight ahead. They were on a high ledge, so the Slayer sniped the cannons off a revenant, while Samus sniped off an arachnotron's main gun, before they jumped down into the fight proper.

The fight itself wasn't too long, but it was stressful, Samus having to keep herself on a swivel. She had also learned that the attachment for the Slayer's plasma rifle was called a heat blast, allowing it to build up heat as it fired to be later released as a burst of energy surrounding him, and ADAM was able to creat something similar for her. Continuing on was a segment where she was REALLY glad for the screw attack, even as the Slayer had to use a floating yellow dash refill. They found another power core, as well as another secret encounter that spawned some floating skulls she didn't have the time to scan, as they kamikazied against the pair of them. Then there was some walking along the giant mech's spear, and the Slayer plugged the power core in, activating the tip made of red energy, piercing the nearby demon's flesh. Ok, on one hand, that's cool. On the other hand...now I'll literally be walking INSIDE a demon. The LAST thing I wanted right now. It was amazing how something made of pure energy could support their weight however.

Inside and down...something, likely an esophagus, was another pool of purple goop, complete with tentacles. Out a hole in the back was open air, but more goop, demons and...spinning fire bars? Wow, really? What is this, Mario? Except we can't jump nor dodge. It was problematic, dealing with enemies in the goop, but they were able to progress. They continued through another fleshy cave and across a monkey bar, picking up another power core on the way, which was used to activate a mech's shoulder cannon, putting a good shot into a dead demon's stomach. Inside the belly of the beast was more goop, a tentacle, and another pedestal that ADAM informed her was a Sentinel Crystal, just like the one on the Fortress of Doom.

They came out into a section that after one look, Samus thought Really? If Hell isn't having demons kill you, it's killing you via platforming. Good thing I'm used to this. One floating platform even fell when a zombie climbed on, but returned to its height soon after, but absent of said zombie. And there was lava below. Another lore page about the Sentinels revealed how they spread to the stars, and how there was a prophecy about a destroyer. Some jumping and dashing around later, they dealt with an arachnotron, and the Slayer made his way to a giant purple key, which he then used on a nearby gate, unlocking a small area with another mouth-like thing, but it was different.

When the Slayer ripped out this one's...eye, or heart, whatever it was, this time they were transported to some small arena, which Samus found to be QUITE the challenge. Along with all the enemies she was used to, there was a new enemy called a dread knight that was FAST, with blades for hands. But they went down soon enough, and afterwards the pair were teleported back, the strange mouth thing exploding to reveal a key the Slayer took, and they continued onwards.

"The Betrayer's life signal is nearby," VEGA told them, which piqued Samus's curiosity. Betrayer? Who...or what, are we going to meet? And why? I can't believe there might actually be someone ALIVE in Hell.

"That's not all," ADAM tells her. "I am detecting a faint energy signature, not native to Hell." Well that's interesting. I'd ask about how he can tell it's not native, but Adam, the human, once told me to "make friends with your environment," to learn what belongs and what doesn't. And for an AI, especially the AI version of Adam, by now he can tell that distinction. "Alert. Energy signature is a confirmed match to something you've encountered before. It matches that of Phazon." Woah woah woah, hold the fuck up. How did PHAZON get into Hell? She thought as they made their way down some platforms to a door the Slayer pushed open.

"There are motion sensors and artillery everywhere," VEGA said as they walked towards some lasers that deactivated themselves. Up ahead was a man sitting on a rock by a campfire, a nearly bald, tanned man dressed in armor that resembled that of the Sentinel statues Samus had seen, complete with the shoulder cannon like the Slayer's own, only on the other shoulder, and with a hammer behind him, with the face and the peen both made of glowing red energy. There were Sentinel energy cannons tracking them, and the Slayer also pulled out the device from Exultia out of his pocket dimension.

"I told you all to leave me here," the man that Samus assumed was the Betrayer said, in a gravely voice. "I am where I belong." The Slayer then put the device in front of him with a metallic clang.

"Saving your people will not bring you peace," the Betrayer told the Slayer as he got up, taking the device. "Only make the burden you carry, worse." He took the device over to a case that when opened had something glowing blue inside, that he then used to power up the device the Slayer had brought, so its lines glowed a bright blue, and the Slayer gripped it tightly when the Betrayer brought it over, but the Betrayer didn't let go.

"And now you seek to defy the Khan Maykr herself? It is your people's time now to give penance...just as it was mine," the Betrayer told the Slayer, who ripped the device from earlier out of his hand, walking away.

"Hear me, Slayer - when his heart is laid to rest...then his soul will be at peace," the Betrayer added, reaching behind him for something handheld Samus couldn't identify, tossing it towards the Slayer who expertly caught it. "And so will mine." Slayer then pocket both items in his pocket dimension, and the pair got ready to continue onwards up the stairs beyond the Betrayer.

"And you," the Betrayer said, looking hard at Samus. "You should not follow him. It will lead to your doom. Hell is no place for the weak, as I told your dark doppelganger." What the...? OK, first off, I am NOT weak. Second, dark doppel—And it was right there that it clicked in her mind. Dark doppelganger, and ADAM detected traces of Phazon. Is...is Dark Samus down here? I thought it died when Phaaze blew up. How did it survive? And make its way to Hell? What...what in Hell, literally?

The Slayer had paused upon hearing this extra bit from the Betrayer, looking at Samus. Samus could see one of his eyebrows raise beneath the visor, as they continued on up the stairs, Samus glancing at the large mech beside them, wondering what she'd do if she encountered Dark Samus. Every time, Dark had attempted to kill her, or infect her with phazon, or beyond. Truly her dark doppelganger, though she had to admit, the SA-X was worse. Those footsteps, combined with the music her suit had played during that time, would likely give nightmares for QUITE a while. Maybe even PTSD episodes.

A nearby lore page went into detail about the Betrayer, how it was for the sake of his son, yet got fucked over anyway. It also revealed his name and rank as Commander Valen. Well Valen, you made a literal deal with the devil. I guess Argent D'Nur doesn't have any warnings about that huh? A nearby jump pad sent them upwards, and the Slayer made a pit stop to grab a secret that revealed itself as a toy cacodemon.

Continuing on was another platforming challenge, complete with the floating platforms that would fall if stood on for too long, fire chains and beyond. Not to mention the phazon signature was getting stronger, Samus even noticing the blue particles in the air. Oh, this is not good. What's it doing here?

"The extraction point has been identified. I will mark its location on your HUD," VEGA told them, and Samus saw a waypoint in her visor, not too far away. The phazon trail also lead in that direction, as the pair navigated platforms and spinning fire chains that made Samus feel like she was dropped into a Mario level. For some sections she actually felt sorry for the Slayer, as he had to use monkey bars and dash refills, while she could just screw attack her way across the final segment.

Up ahead was another arena, and the pair caught site of a figure battling demons, that when they approached, was clearly Dark Samus. But she was losing. Phazon energy was powerful, yet it didn't seem to hold a candle to the demons of Hell. Samus was about to let the demons have her, when Dark Samus turned to the pair, even as the Slayer rushed to kill demons that were spawning in.

"Help," Dark Samus said to the pair in a monotonous voice devoid of identifying characteristics, but not without emotion as Samus detected a hint of fear in its voice. It floated over to Samus, who pointed her arm cannon at Dark, though surprise was all over her face as her dark doppelganger had never spoken before, only laughed evilly. "Danger," Dark continued, waving a hand around. "Lost. Scared. Lonely," Dark Samus continued. Samus herself just stared at the creature, the light blue segments from before were duller, the shoulders slumped, and overall demeanor was of someone defeated. Samus felt pity for Dark for the first time ever, and simply pointed towards the demons as she went to work.

Meanwhile the Slayer collected a purple orb, one that made his eyes glow purple under his visor, and Samus noticed his weapons were doing more damage. But she had her own problems to deal with. Dark Samus even seemed to have gotten a morale boost from the company as she resumed battling demons. Samus had to admit her new heat blast and instant shinespark dodge were quite useful here. Not that the fight was a cake walk. Samus took quite a few good hits, but her glory killing some demons helped. Dark Samus fared OK, but not great, and clearly had no way to heal from injuries.

After it was done, the portal opened, and Slayer walked over Dark Samus, pointing to the portal, then making his way over. Samus then glanced at her dark counterpart, making a wave around, then walking towards the portal. Dark Samus seemed to get the idea, rushing towards the portal with them like her life depended on it, which it probably did. So, Dark Samus got to Hell, and she's not trying to kill me? And she seems to be an ally now? One that talks only in simple, one-word statements? Well this is QUITE the development. A literal ghost from the past, come back to haunt me in a way I didn't expect.