Once through the portal, Samus noticed architecture similar to the FOD itself, or anything Argentan, but it looked to be inside of a cave. Or something, as it looked ancient and buried. Except the roof had collapsed in, exposing it to the elements. Though the main element was snow, and it was everywhere. Samus wouldn't mind normally, in fact some snow areas she had been to were pleasant. Phendrana Drifts on Tallon IV came to mind. But, one of the unfortunate side effects to Metroid DNA was cold sensitivity, which prompted her to double check the Varia systems in her suit, which were working perfectly, keeping her nice and toasty. And I get the feeling he's got heaters too. OR, also likely, he's somehow the type of BAMF that ran out of fucks to give, a LONG time ago. OR, an idea that just came to me, is that pure rage alone heats him up. Though any combination of the above, including all three, is likely.

The Slayer then made a turn to grab a floating lore page, all about the cultist base they were infiltrating. Samus had a quick look. Oh, so you know this guy huh? And Agaddons? Did these people find dinosaurs? They've known of Earth before? This almost feels like this whole thing is some ancient conflict between Hell and the Argenta, and Earth suffers the unfortunate fate of being in the middle. Now I have to ask how the Chozo'd fare. THOUGH, their ghosts were driven mad by Phazon on Tallon IV.

The pair continued on, navigating past a climbable wall, and defeating a few gargoyles, jumping from some exposed creature's spine onto a bounce pad that sent them to another wall, and from there to another wall with hazards to avoid. I am REALLY glad I have that sticky mod for the arm cannon. I don't even want to imagine going through all this without it.

He then closed his fist in her vision, making a left turn to punch through a wall. Samus waited, but took just a few steps forward to see him jump onto the hanging skull of...something, coming back with a toy version of a gargoyle. Ah, gotta collect all the secrets. She could hear fighting from beyond the wall ahead, and the Slayer got ready to punch through, though counting down on fingers. Samus nods as he does so, getting ready for anything once the wall was down.

On the other side was a decent fight with zombies, and some flying, rocket-shouldered skeletons her scan visor called "revenants." And once they were dead, VEGA saying "The Hell Priest is somewhere within this facility. I cannot pinpoint his location at this time." The Slayer then had her wait again, as he went over to a ledge that was easily missed, so Samus took the time to examine her surroundings.

Off in the distance, she could see how polar it looked, with a bridge in the distance to her right, some...thing off in the sky that could've been a gun, but there was nothing mounting it to the ground. Sure, it was big enough for planetary defense, but it seemed to hover there. Off to the left looked like a road that led away from the water, though Samus could tell it was HUGE, though she couldn't tell how huge, but it looked big enough that some mining vehicles, or even one of the old crawlers NASA used for rockets, could've used it to get into or out of the water. And speaking of the water, deep within she saw the skeleton of something with horns. Well, the skull, ribcage, and one limb. What is THIS thing? Or is THIS an Agaddon? Why isn't THIS thing in the fossil record? Where did IT evolve from? Her thoughts were interrupted when the Slayer came back, heading to a now exposed bounce pad that sent him up to a small cave where he picked up another Sentinel Battery.

Once back on the ground, the pair continued past an energy bridge that activated when they got to it. And past that, a grate opened to a hallway that went left and right, going forward after killing some zombies. But they continued forward, towards a skull switch that glowed green. The Slayer pressed it in, causing the wall behind the switch to open up, revealing a massive window overlooking what resembled a courtyard, with a portcullis at the rear.

"Welcome, Slayer and Hunter. Is my time at an end? Let's see if you're strong enough to survive this cursed citadel," Samus heard the Hell Priest say, who's name she had already forgotten. As they turned back, a grate rose, and two side rooms opened to reveal zombies, and eventually a Hell Knight.

"The Slayer has arrived. All mortally challenged personnel please be advised," a female voice said. Oh you bet your ass be advised. After he picked up some loot, the pair made a left turn, then a right, leading them back to the main hall, with zombies at the other end. The Slayer shot a glowing button hanging from the ceiling, causing axes to pop out of the walls and kill them all in one swing. Holy shit. I'm keeping THAT in mind. There was also a platform the Slayer stood on, which slowly opened the door ahead.

Which revealed definition of obesity that her scanner called a mancubus, fat and slow, but packing some mean arm cannons the Slayer immediately shot off. Some imps appeared as well as two more mancubi once the first took the Doom Blade to the brain. The latter two mancubi went down when the Slayer fed each of them their own hearts. They were slow, but still tanky and tough. Wow, what all ELSE is Hell packing? I've learned about flying skeletons and some tons of fun. But they went down, along with the imps, though it left Samus panting a little.

Continuing on, a path on the right opened, leading outside where a Sentinel Ghost waited with a token. A left turn took them to a jump challenge involving a grate that needed to be shot then quickly dashed through to get to a climbable wall. On the other side were some zombies and an arachnotron, that went down easily enough. Continuing through the upper entrance, the Slayer picked up some armor under a corpse masher, and they continued on picking up the cultist key.

More demons spawned, Samus noticing a hell knight wailing on some zombies, with a revenant joining in on a ledge. Let's send a shiver down YOUR spine! She thought, as the Slayer sniped off one of his shoulder cannons. This made the bonehead fire a missile, easily dodged like it was nothing, and walk forward to get closer. Once he was in the axe zone, Samus shot at its trigger, obliterating the skeleton in one swing. I love it when the environment can work for you.

Once they jumped down, some flying flaming skulls manifested, and Samus barely had time to scan them before they hit, kamikazeing on her armor. The scan told her they were lost souls, which she barely had time to register before they killed the rest of the demons. Wow, so we have the skeletons, AND the shrieking skulls trying to shock the soul. Well, I don't feel like my doom is sealed yet, She thinks with a mental laugh as the pair continued onwards, past the door the cultist key was meant to open.

In the next open area, more zombies leapt up onto the platform, energy shields coming to life on their arms. Samus was about to wonder how tough the shields were, but the Slayer pulled out his plasma rifle to shoot at them. This caused the center zombie's shield to explode, sending his fellow zombies off the platform. OK, plasma plus energy shields equals explosion. Their strength is now their weakness. Well then, that's good to know.

Up ahead was another area that was clearly a combat arena, but empty, which Samus found suspicious. There was another platforming challenge involving walls, platforms, and bounce pads, they came to a closed grate, but with a floating weapon before it. The Slayer grinned as he picked it up.

Samus wasn't sure what it was at first, black with skulls on the side, and an open, ribcage-like section on top, where something in the back loaded something forward. But then her scan visor told her what it was. A rocket launcher, one that the Codex named the Paingiver. Holy shit. The perfect gift for the man who seemingly already has everything. Oh this will be some of the best news we've had all day. And I'm sure he'll bring its friends too, She mentally added, seeing what she realized now were clearly rockets on the other side. But soon enough it was her turn for an upgrade, as the Varia Suit was able to recreate the Super Missiles. Aw yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Makes me wonder what upgrades he'll get for the thing.

The next fight was a bit fun. A couple mancubi, gargoyles, and imps, nothing that was TOO difficult, but there were enough moments that required her to be on her toes, such as when lost a good chunk of health to one of the mancubi. But luckily it exploded into blue health pickups after a diet of its own heart, courtesy of the Slayer. Afterward he punched something, which raised a monkey bar, leading to an interesting platforming challenge for the pair, picking up a rune along the way. It was similar to before, except it gave speed after Glory Kills. They then picked up a hidden blue orb that refilled health and armor, before continuing on, dropping down to another skull switch the Slayer pressed.

At first, the only thing that happened was the gate ahead opened. Samus was suspicious at the lack of activity, but soon her caution was rewarded, when something that made her think of some depictions of lamias, or nagas, or anything else that had a snake lower half with a name she couldn't think of, though said lower half was mechanical. Things were FAST too, slithering around the place like they had too much coffee. Her scan visor called them whiplashes, and she could believe it, as the things enjoyed their whips. But they were weak to ice, which Samus was quick to take advantage of, setting up plenty of frozen snakes for the Slayer to finish off.

After standing in another set of rings, another grate lowered, leading to ammo and a weapon mod drone. Slayer took from it a mod for the rocket launcher, that after a scan, ADAM informed her she now had access to her seeker missiles, while Slayer himself had the lock-on burst. Oh nice. Yet another toy to play with.

After dealing with some shielded zombies, including chainsawing one for ammo, the pair jumped up to a ledge, Slayer punching his way through a wall, dropping down to another ghost carrying a Praetor Token. Samus noticed as her automap suddenly filled with all the secrets of the Cultist Base, which she had to admit, she liked. Oh, I could've used something like this in my adventures.

A right turn revealed that while beyond a grate, the courtyard Samus saw earlier was dead ahead, clearly the next arena. The Slayer meanwhile did a small puzzle involving punching a block, then jumping on top of it and other platforms to a couple of chains that lowered a drawbridge and raised a portcullis once punched. Damn, you're a strong boy to be able to move that block with just a left hook. But now there was nothing between them and that courtyard, and every fiber of Samus's being warned of major action.

In the center, a giant holgram of the masked Hell Priest appeared. "The beast draws near to me my brothers and sisters, but he is weak. Your hate must match his will, only then will you be truly saved. His companion should prove no match however," the hologram said before it faded, and the area got busy. And as Samus predicted, it WAS a big fight. Every type of demon she had encountered up to this point showed up at one point or another, and there were almost a few times she died, but a few Glory Kills on both her and Slayer's parts brought her back from the brink. Samus had to admit, she was expecting a big fight, and they delivered. A few things. First, there's GIRLS among this lot? Second, run that whole "no match" thing by me again.

Once it was finally all over, a drawbridge lowered, to take them deeper into the base. Once inside, there was an easily killed cacodemon, as well as a Sentinel Battery the Slayer picked up. Another large door opened, leading to a platform that took them forward past opening grates, into a LARGE room with a roof taller than some churches, and lots of metal skulls on walls and other surfaces, enough to make Samus wonder what the deal with skull imagery was.

"Your salvation lies in his destruction. The myth of the Slayer's strength is exposed to us, can you see it brothers? He has lost the resolve to continue. Eat his soul. I must survive this. Protect me in my time of need, and you will secure your place in the new world," another giant hologram of the Priest addressed a group of cultists bowing before him. The Slayer then proceeded to kill all the cultists, mostly to refill on the essentials. Though once they were all dead, a megahealth appeared, which Samus found useful.

Standing on the central platform caused a light bridge to appear on their right, leading to a lift that took them up. "Your Super Shotgun is nearby. A relic from your past – the Priests have kept it hidden from you in this remote location." That made the Slayer perk up, and Samus could see another wicked grin. Super Shotgun? What makes it super? And he already has one. What's this second one do?

They came to a blood-soaked room, where the Slayer punched a chain, causing the central pillar to open and reveal a skull switch and lost souls. A window opened, teasing the shotgun's location, before it closed, and the floor around the pillar dropped, spikes moving in on the walls. They dropped down, where a new demon spawned in, a Cueball according to Samus's scan, basically an exploding barrel on legs, and they were in the right position to try that out.

"Attention all mortally challenged personnel: The Slayer is inside the facility, and he is not alone. Please proceed with aggression," the female voice from before announced, as a big fight commenced, and even the floor was a hazard at times. Though for Samus, screw attacking helped with that.

Once that fight was done, the floor raised to another level. Nearby they found the map station, both taking a look once they had the data. Turning around from that was a platforming challenge with a "floor is lava" challenge, except not actual lava, and the Slayer made Samus wait. He reappeared near a skull switch he pressed, causing many grates to rise. First he went to the center, collecting a Sentinel Crystal that upgraded armor capacity. There was also a secret encounter gore nest to complete involving cueballs, a cacodemon and a revenant.

Onwards, there was more navigational challenges, though they dropped to a lower level, dealt with a cacodemon, and hopped over some boxes to collect another Praetor Token. Backtracking some, they climbed up a level to another challenge of monkey bars and dashing, coming to the true level above them, where a couple of revenants and zombies waited to test their mettle. The Slayer then picked up another Sentinel Battery, before they continued onward, Samus realizing they were at the top of the room with the dropping floor. More monkey bar swinging took them to an elevator that lowered them down to a revenant in an iron maiden, with a strange platform with pedestals the Slayer put his hands on.

Machinery activated, and eventually VEGA spoke. "Neural connection successful. You are now in control of the Revenant drone. You may use it to reclaim your property." So he's controlling that thing? Good for me, I get to sit and rest a bit. And so she did, leaning against a wall.

While she waited, ADAM gave her an update. "Dark Samus is developing well," he told her. But there was still a ways to go. She was speaking more coherently, but it would be a while yet. Not to mention that protecting her from Infernal Corruption was still going to take a while. Being energy-based gave Dark Samus a weakness to Hell like no being of flesh or steel had, not that Hell NEEDED much of an advantage. Still, between ADAM and VEGA, there was an estimate that Dark Samus would be ready before the mission was complete. As for temperament, that was still in the air. Sure, Hell was more than she could handle, and she was willing to play nice for now, but nobody knew how long that would last.

Her update was interrupted by the arrival of the Revenant, carrying a gun in its hands. A gun that as Samus looked from afar, made her think of a standard side by side double barreled shotgun from the Old West, a combination of steel and wood. Upon closer inspection she saw how the barrels were engraved with runes, and it had what looked like twin bayonets underneath it. The Revenant kneeled as it held out the gun with shaking hands, and the Slayer pulled his own hands off the pedestals. Taking the weapon from the skeleton's hands, he broke it open, putting fresh shells into the chambers, flicking it back closed, the twin bayonets opening slightly. The revenant remained there, even after no longer being controlled, and the Slayer rewarded his service with one shot from his newly acquired weapon to the demon's head.

The result was suddenly, no more revenant. There were now bits of it everywhere, and the Slayer reloaded with practiced efficiency. Holy shit. No wonder he wants this thing. The Codex made it even MORE badass, as it was a weapon the demons hated in particular, naming it things like the Diabolical Musket, and Lucifer's Bane. And it mentioned something called a "meathook" as an attachment. OK, so THIS is his most badass weapon? And he carries weapons that would count as more powerful, like a rocket launcher?

They backtracked down the elevator, where it dropped to a section with a pit with a zombie on the other side. The Slayer fired the meathook, which Samus now realized was a grappling hook, at the zombie, pulling him across the pit once latched. Samus was left to cross normally, but her suit gave an update, one she saw once on the other side, as the grapple beam materialized on her left arm. Nice. Let's see here, She thought as she checked her codex. Grapple points were mostly enemies, like with Slayer, but she was fine with that, for now at least.

The room ahead was full of pillars that rose when the Slayer punched away chains. Inside were various enemies, from a revenant, mancubus, hell knight, arachnotron and more. Once the room was clear, he went into the center, picking up an old floppy disk that was high up, before dropping down to another level.

"Attention all cultist base personnel: Please destroy the Slayer and his companion. The Priest must survive. I repeat: The Priest must survive." Fat chance lady, Samus thought as they made their way down a hallway full of dropping axes and zombies, picking up a zombieman figure along the way. An elevator lead them to a room with a mysterious floating platform, and the Slayer did a platforming challenge to open up the way to a launcher that propelled them both on top of it. Another challenge involving climbing walls awaited, with lost souls, imps, and floors that only hurt them sometimes thrown in for flavor. Once on solid ground, there was a nearby secret encounter Samus grew to HATE. A mancubus, zombies, and several whiplashes, all that refused to die within the time limit.

But eventually, it was complete, Samus breathing heavily, and mentally flipping off the area where the gore nest was. Fuck that challenge. Fuck it to Hell and back. Oh wait... But the Slayer didn't even slow down, as they went through a challenge with wall crushers. Ahead were the all too familiar signs of tentacle territory, with gargoyles for flavor. Afterwards the Slayer picked up another old record, the cover reading "Into Sandy's City." Another much needed megahealth, he punched away some webbing, then shot a button that raised a platform, taking them to the next arena. Nothing too challenging, especially not when compared to the secret challenge from earlier.

After a small puzzle to open the next door, another giant hologram spoke to them. "Are you growing tired, Slayer and Hunter? We will break you yet." And you really think that'll happen? I doubt it. Ahead was another hall that resembled the the one from the beginning, complete with axes, and a decent fight as well. After opening a door, there was another fight starring shielded zombies and an arachnotron.

The next room was large, with a four armed torso of...something, mounted in a pseudo crucifix position. There were also lots of chains, and Samus could see a Slayer Gate, as well as the key for it, not that said key was easily reached. She waited while the Slayer did his thing, sensing she could sit out this puzzle for now. First he went for the Slayer Key, and she met him at the gate. Well, I don't know how this will be. Sure, there'll be tough enemies. BUT, there'll also be no time limit, Samus thought as the Slayer ripped out the gore nest's heart.

It was fun, in its own way. It kept her on her toes, but without the time pressure. The pair managed to defeat a few mancubi, arachnotrons, and a new demon her scan called a Prowler, resembling an imp, but loving to teleport all over the place. But they did it, and Samus's only regret was for the Slayer's sake, wishing he was able to police for ammo before they got teleported back, picking up the Empyrean Key. The Slayer then did another puzzle that lowered a block, and opened a bounce pad that allowed him to knock down the crucifix by punuching it right in the chest. Damn he's strong. And it doesn't even look like he's trying! How much could he bench press? Though I suspect it might take turning up the gravity for best effect.

Knocking down the crucified demon caused it to break open a wall, and Samus paused to look at the demon as she walked across it. Big, with something over the eyes, making it resemble a cyclops, and with the beast's entrails hanging out. Once, she might've thrown up at the sight. But she was getting used to it. Ahead was an elevator leading them back to the cultist room, where an all too familiar hologram spoke.

"I do not fear you. This match is not won yet. Come find me, Slayer and Hunter. I will be waiting," the priest said before vanishing. Samus didn't even want to think of a response, as Slayer stood in the center again, activating a different light bridge to a platform that first took them up, then forwards past opening grates. A quick detour to pick up a Praetor Token, and they dropped down to the final arena of the area.

And what a fight it was. Full of every type of demon. At one point the Slayer punched a chain, revealing a yellow orb that once picked up, Samus felt some effects too. "Onslaught" her suit called it, feeling herself zip around faster, and there was no end to her missiles. Which was good because she put a lot of them downrange, especially of the super variety. Not to mention getting boosts and dodges via grapple beam. This is almost a PSA, to be wary of the dangers of powerups. I could see how addiction would happen. Though ADAM told her she was only experiencing a drop, comparing it to a drop of brewed coffee in a cup full of water. The Slayer was getting MUCH more, more than she could handle. It made her wonder just how MUCH power was in those things.

"The Priest has stopped moving. I will lock in signal now," VEGA said once it was all over. A lift took them up to something Samus wasn't expecting, a train. Granted, it was unlike any train Samus had ever known, moving via rockets. Or rather, it did once Slayer pushed in the skull switch. It looked like an arena in itself, but Samus had a feeling they had time before it became one. Time enough to pause and think about what happened. OK, so I've got a few more upgrades, and so does he. Met some new monsters, and been taunted by this Priest dude. And we're about to kill him. And the big guy does not stop, or even slow down! Even I have had to pause every now and then.

Luckily for her, the Varia Suit came with some extras to keep her going, which she partaked in, sitting down on the floor while the train sped along. One multivitamin supplement, mixed with some calorie paste that tasted vaguely like meat, all went down well enough with the aid of recycled water with some stimulants added that made the water taste like it remembered being coffee. It wasn't much, but it got the job done. Sure, she was part Metroid now, and could feed off the energy of her enemies. But she wasn't sure how much that helped, and it didn't remove her stomach altogether. Also she didn't believe that she could just absorb vitamins or the like, nor did it help with water. It made her wonder what the Slayer's answer to the basic needs were.

He meanwhile also sat down next to her, with a look that still said he was all business, but was going to take a pause while he had the chance. Samus noticed his eyes wandering all over her suit, though mostly focused on her arm cannon, looking intently at it from multiple angles. Samus even raised it up so he could get a better look, which he did, examining it thoroughly. Though he stole a few glances towards the rest of her armor too, so she felt it was OK to examine his armor too. His was a lot...busier than hers, a lot more bumps, plates, bells and whistles. Not to mention the exposed biceps the size of some of the smaller breeds of dogs. But then, ALL of him was huge. She could feel his eyes on her, examining her, where her natural reaction would've been to say "eyes up here."

Though an idea hit her about that. She hadn't depolarized her visor for the entire mission. It was possible that even he, like so many before him, didn't know there was a woman inside the armor next to him. She even had to smile at that idea, wondering what he'd do if he knew. I'm willing to bet if he did know, he would've cleaned up. I wouldn't have seen his desk full of trash. And maybe his tools and such would all be organized. Though at the same time...entertaining guests is clearly NOT something he's ever intended to do. Would make things after the mission...interesting.

ADAM also gave another update on Dark Samus, doing some training in the one area of the FOD Samus hadn't seen, the Ripatorium. Samus watched the feed as Dark took down many of the weaker demons, sometimes with one of the bigger ones thrown in for a challenge. What in Hell, literally, happened to you? I was positive you were dead. Phaaze is destroyed. I thought that would've taken you with it. It was just one of the many thoughts that came to her, as the train sped down its track.