Author's Note
Wow, wasn't expecting to write this in a day. Oh, I really hope everyone enjoys this one.
Uploaded
05/28/2023
LEGEND BELOW
"Chief, that's not a good idea..." = Normal speech.
''You're you, don't let it control you...'' = Normal thoughts/Receiving coms.
Chapter 20
KIA
Rated-M
M rating for blood, and language.
Music of the day
Metroid Other M - Title
"Come on! Go go go!" Ernst shouted, ushering all the Spartans in through the portal. The entire facility was coming down around them, they had no time to sit on their asses.
That being said, with the Promethean's firing at them as they ran, it made escaping a bit tricky.
But they were Spartans.
This was what they were meant to do.
"I've got you, Spartans! Move, now!" The Chief grunted sharply, throwing up his hard light shield he'd stolen from a dying Knight to cover the other Spartans as they made a hasty retreat.
Bullets flashed down the halls, Prometheans dropping like flies as the Spartans that had reached the portal laid down covering fire.
Ernst threw his last grenade down the hall, blowing away a gathering of Crawlers that were being too nosy.
Then the walls started crumbling down the halls, the explosions from the plasma mortars leveling the building. "This whole tower is coming down around us, move your ass!" Ernst shouted over his coms.
Then he saw them, the Bounty Hunter's children as they came flying frantically around the corner far down the hall. He's seen those things annihilate Elites in seconds, and tried not to let the sight of them charging for him give him lead feet.
Right after the Metroids had cleared the portal, the Chief stepped back up to him. "Go on! I'll be right behind you." The man in green grunted, motioning towards the portal. "Secure the area outside the portal, I'll be right behind you."
Ernst seemed unsure, but didn't argue as he passed into it.
Now it was just the Chief that remained behind, waiting for her as the world came crashing down around them all.
Then he saw her, her feet kicking up sparks as she came flying around the corner at a hundred miles an hour, nearly slamming into the wall as she suddenly sped forward, her momentum carrying her forward.
He threw his hand out, as if waiting for her to grab it so they could all leave this desolate place behind for good. "Come on!" He shouted, urging her on.
Everyone else had already made it safely to the other side.
It was just her now! And out of everyone here today, she was the very last one he would even consider leaving behind.
Hell, if it weren't for her, he'd be dead right now. She'd saved his life more than once now, and even brought him back from the other side. He owed her his life for what she'd done for him, and he planned on one day repaying her for it.
Because, out of everyone he'd ever known, she was truly someone special. People said that about him, that he was the special one.
He never thought the same, but after meeting her, he knew in his mind that the words better described her.
And then she fell, the floor collapsing underneath her, and he felt a part of his heart sink just a bit.
"Samus!" He reached out, but there was nothing he could do. In that moment, he remembered that she had a grapple beam sort of technology, and threw his arm out to give her a better target. She must've thought along the same lines, as she took aim at him and fired her shot.
The energy beam connected to his forearm, and he yanked her back to his side. "I've got you!" He shouted, almost to himself. He ran back through the portal, confident that not only had they all made it out, but no one had died.
It was quite the feat, especially considering the odds.
And then…
Just as she began to pass through the portal, it closed. He watched it in Spartan-Time, akin to slow motion as her arm cannon which was connected to his arm via beam came through, only for it to close on her upper bicep.
It…
He had no words to describe the feelings that hit him, the thoughts that slammed into his mind in that moment, just as her bloody weapon arm slammed into his forearm, sending her blood all across his visor.
He stumbled backwards, eyes wide behind his helmet. In the distance could be heard the sound of the corvette as it careened into the facility where he just was…
The facility where she still was…
The Forerunner complex that was now flattened entirely underneath thousands of tons of metal and rock.
He froze, the sounds of battle raging on somewhere in the distance entirely muted from his mind. He glanced down at his hand, at the green blood splattered all over it, barely able to see past the same blood that covered his visor. Numbly, he bent down, picking up the bloody limb, mind running a mile a minute.
It was surreal, the fact that he was holding her amputated arm in his hand, knowing she was gone now. It just didn't seem possible, that after everything, this was how it ended. He'd been confident that they were only a day away from bringing down the Didact.
From there, she would continue helping the UNSC on their mission, likely staying by the Infinity's side, as it was the only foothold she had to stand upon. Without him by her side, she was an outsider that had no place in this universe.
He'd often wondered if that was the reason she stayed so close to him. She was powerful, more powerful than any single human or alien, including the Didact. He was certain if she faced him she'd win in a heartbeat if she put her mind to it.
She didn't need him, she didn't need to stay by his side for safety. She didn't need anyone like that, not with how strong she was. So it was odd that she chose to anyways, choosing his side over anyone else.
Perhaps it was because she'd known him the longest out of anyone in this dimension. Even then, he was aware that he wasn't the brightest when it came to social interactions with anyone, his childhood was to blame for that.
And yet…
She still stayed by his side, even going so far as to grow violent and angry when he was hurt on the battlefield. He was certain sometimes that she'd go so far as to kill anyone that stood in his way, and he'd feared her initial reaction to Captain Del Rio for that reason, knowing that the man had spoken loudly against his words, as unnecessary as his worries ended up becoming.
But that didn't matter now. None of that mattered now…
Because, for him…
He almost couldn't believe she was gone.
''C-Chief I…'' Cortana's words echoed in the back of his head, but he didn't seem to hear them, not over the deafening sound of his own heartbeat drowning everything else out.
He stepped back, turning back to the battle that was being waged far behind him, turning almost on autopilot. "Command, this is forward assault force leader. The particle cannons are offline." He spoke, voice more robotic than it had been in quite some time.
''I read you Chief, all iff tags are accounted for.'' Lasky's voice echoed out over the coms.
The Spartans of Fireteam Castle turned back to him, having moved ahead to secure the immediate area, returning to him once they had.
But what they returned to was…
Crushing.
"Commander, we've got a casualty." The Chief said, facing the Spartans of Castle. In his hands was the only remaining part of the woman responsible for having brought them this far, and it was still bleeding. "Samus didn't make it out… Acknowledge…?" The man sounded off, the words sounding hollow.
The infants seemed to notice something was up, and had returned to his side. They all began nudging him, making different cooing sounds and small hissing noises. But it was clear that he couldn't understand them, and when they noticed what it was he was holding, what it was that was splattered over his body…
They…
They froze, seizing up in the air, shaking with feelings that they couldn't verbally communicate to anyone. They all hovered around the green spartan, as if waiting for him to tell them different.
But not only could he not find the words to say, there simply wasn't anything to say.
And…
They seemed to realize that too, and cooed sadly around him…
"Don't you dare, Adam! Let me go in! I'm the only one that has a shot!" She hissed, tears stinging in the corners of her eyes. She stumbled forward, legs weak underneath her, yet she didn't let that stop her from trying to stop him.
"We have to take the chance!" She yelled, struggling for air. Why couldn't she breathe? Why did it all hurt? "Please Adam! You have to trust me!" She shouted again, the pain of staring at his back as he turned away from her too much to bear.
"You have to trust me! Just give me a chance!!" She wailed at him, begging him not to go.
She stopped suddenly, supported by his arms on her own. "Samus…" He began softly, finally speaking to her. He looked lost for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. But when he found them, he didn't hesitate to say them.
Maybe he was afraid that, should he wait even for a moment longer, he may never again get the chance to say what was on his mind. Maybe that's why he said what he said to her.
"I wish I could battle Ridley… but I can't…" He muttered lowly, his usually gruff voice surprisingly soft. "Unlike you, I'm no galactic savior." And then he pulled away from her, releasing that contact she wished she could've held for just a bit longer. "I'm merely human."
He took a few steps back, crossing that threshold she'd not noticed before. "But I can save you." He said firmly, as if finally realizing something. He looked back at her, a newfound fire in his eyes. "You should be completely healed soon. There isn't much time. We both need to get started on our missions." He said firmly, before his eyes softened, even if only slightly.
"I'm sorry for getting a little rough with you…" He admitted, his blue eyes shining with unshed emotions. "Good luck, Samus…"
Then he left her, turning away from her, putting his back to her. She wanted to scream, to yell at him to come back…
He didn't have to go!
"W-Wait!" She screamed, stumbling after him as she desperately tried to summon her armor. "Adam!!" She ran after him, moving just too late as the doors shut in her face. She slammed her hands against the doors, even knowing it wouldn't do anything in the end. "Adam! Wait, please! Adam!!"
"Adam!!!"
Her eyes snapped open, the world slowing to a crawl around her. The memories of a different time having come crawling to the forefront of her mind in these moments.
No…
No this couldn't be the end…
Not…
Not after everything she'd gone through, after everything that she'd done!
No!!
She couldn't die here, let this be the end of her legacy, the history of her life crushed underneath the weight of those that opposed her!
She refused!
This wasn't how this was going to end! She wouldn't let it!
Then she felt it, her own blood boiling beneath her skin, bubbling with ancient dna that, in that very second, in her last moments, was suddenly and violently brought to the surface.
She felt a terrible pain expanding underneath the surface of her back, before it violently and unexpectedly burst forth, sending blood and tissue everywhere. The pain was excruciating, the newfound nerves screaming at her in confusion.
She had no time to adapt, to understand what had happened or how it had come to be. She had no idea how or why her body had called upon such a hideous and hidden dna, the very wings of her old nemesis sprouting from her backside unexpectedly.
Then she flexed them, and she flapped, wings she'd never before owned suddenly propelling her out of the way as tons of rubble came crashing down from above. The sudden and uncontrolled muscles sent her free from being crushed, but tossed her into the cave wall, sending her spiraling tumbling downward into the fiery abyss.
She screamed, nearly breaking her left arm as she tried to grab onto anything to slow her descent.
The world was spinning, and she was rapidly approaching the flaming ocean below. If that wasn't bad enough, the corvette above her was gaining on her, the mountain it crashed through only slowing it somewhat.
She screamed again as thirty tons of metal came straight for her, a second away from cutting her in half. Her thrusters blared to life, and with the help of her newly acquired wings she managed to avoid a painful and excruciating demise.
But that future was still on her horizon.
However…
As she neared the bottom of the canyon, she spotted an opening. It wasn't much, but it might allow her to outrun the carcass of the ship that was approaching her.
It was her only shot.
And she was out of options.
She attempted to stabilize her fall, thrusters stopping her uncontrolled spin.
She was roughly two thousand yards from the bottom now, the lava bubbling closely below her.
She flapped her wings as hard as she could, overtaxing her thrusters to propel her forward, trying to outrun the ship that fell from the sky.
She was so close now, only a few hundred feet from safety!
She could feel it, she could see it!
It was so close!
And then she cleared it, the corvette crashing into the ocean of lava only a hundred feet below. Then came the title wave of magma, and before she could even attempt to fly away, it smacked her out of the air, throwing her into the wall of the cave.
She smacked into it, and momentarily lost consciousness, only regaining her vision as she fell into the flaming ocean. She tried to flap her wings to escape, but it was no use, as she sank to the bottom.
The undercurrent of lava pulled her along, pulling her deeper and deeper into its molten depths. Her wings were useless in the magma, and her bloody stump burned from the exposure. She screamed in pain behind her visor, slapping her palm over her stump to try and stop it from burning, before her suit compensated for the missing limb and adjusted her energy shields accordingly, protecting the exposed flesh from any further damage. Her suit was immune to lava in any form, her own flesh highly resistant to it as well.
But her open wounds, her insides, were not.
She huffed heavily, the pain and damage she'd taken up to that point finally catching up to her. Her vision swam, a cacophony of visual noise assaulted her bleeding eyes. Her suit was screaming warnings at her, HUD warned of her missing limb, warned of low level energy supply, critical suit conditions, excessive damage overload, missing weapons…
It was all too much, too fast…
She felt like she couldn't breathe, like she was drowning in it all…
She tried to grab onto something with her left hand, tried to stop herself from sinking further into the lake.
But she no longer had the strength, her claws barely able to hold onto the molten rocks that lined the edge of the lake. And when the last of her strength left her, she lost her grip, reaching out for the shoreline of the flaming ocean that seemed to get further and further with every passing second.
With no way out, and so little strength left to call her own, she curled up into a ball, and let the lava take her, hoping that she ended up anywhere but the bottom of the lake…
She wasn't sure where she was, how much time had passed since she'd fallen into the lake. She'd passed out at some point, leaving her fate up to chance, seeing as she no longer held the strength to continue on of her own volition.
When she finally came back around, she was aware that she was still alive, safely protected within the plated shell of her morph ball, the currents having moved her while she was out.
Her suit had been tracking everything since she'd lost consciousness, but this far underground and below the lava, she had no hope of contacting the UNSC. Even if she could, it wasn't like they could come rescue her either.
She was the only one that held the technology to survive underneath an ocean of magma, which now served as both a blessing, and a curse.
Yet…
Even then, she still tossed out a distress signal, hoping that maybe someone would pick it up.
If she could get free of the lava, find her way to the shoreline, then maybe she'd have a chance. But there was the very real possibility that she was miles below the surface of the planet, with no chance of survival possible.
Yet she still held on, clinging to life with whatever she had left. She refused to lose the little hope she had remaining until death took her…
She lost consciousness again, not sure when it happened as well. She only noticed when she awoke to find the distress beacon of hers had been placed an hour ago, not minutes.
Desperately she tried to stay awake, maybe someone would find her…
Maybe she'd…
Her eyes widened slightly, as that was all she was capable of, as her body bumped into something. From what little she could see, she saw a wall, her body having been caught in a rocky outcropping.
The thick current that had pulled her along had dispersed, and the lava she was in now was significantly cooler than before.
She breathed out a broken fragile sound, desperately clinging to life. She un-morphed, her left hand stabbing into the wall to keep herself grounded. Her looked past the plentitude of warnings on her HUD, seeing only the rocky walls. Thankfully, she was aware of which way was up, and she slowly began climbing.
Her wings stretched out behind her, immune to the effects of the lava, also still under the protection of her shields. Her thrusters powered on low, helping push her upwards as she slowly scaled the rocky wall.
She almost passed out again, only her suit blaring another warning as it desperately tried to keep her awake preventing her from falling back into the lake.
She grunted and hissed in pain as she pushed up, her right arm useless to help her escape.
The color of the lava changed the higher she climbed, growing cooler and cooler as she neared the surface.
Until she hit a ceiling, a hard surface of cooled magma sealing her away.
"N-No…" She hissed, voice hitching. She pressed her hand to the ceiling, pushing on it with what little strength she had.
But it didn't budge…
"No no no…!" She breathed out weakly, panic starting to finally hit her.
She was so close!
It…!
It was right there!
She could almost see it!
"Let me out! D-Dammit…!" She cried angrily.
If only she had her arm cannon, she'd blow a hole straight through the ceiling and escape. But she didn't have it, almost all of her array of weapons remained in her missing limb. And the Screw Attack relied on her moving at speed, jumping through the air, neither of which she could do.
That…
That left her with one option, and down here, she was afraid of the possibility that it only made her situation worse.
But she had no strength left to try and punch a hole in the ceiling, something she was sure she could do given different circumstances.
She looked around the lava beside her, trying to find a spot close enough to the surface that had a spot for her to rest. Thankfully there was one, a small outcropping just near the hardened ceiling.
She crawled over to it, shoving her body into the tight space as she again transformed into her Morph-Ball.
What she did next was either the smartest decision left for her to make, or the dumbest. Either way, it was apparent that it was her only option left.
Her armored form began to glow a bright hot white, and a few moments later she let loose with a mighty Power Bomb.
The bomb went off, vaporizing everything around her, blowing the hardened ceiling of cooled lava away.
She rapidly un-formed, shoving her way to the surface. She could see it now, the light of the planet's artificial sun.
Then her left hand breeched the lava, exposed to fresh air for the first time in…
She wasn't sure how long she'd been down there.
But now that she was finally out, she was desperate.
Her claws desperately clawed for something to grip, finding a hard rock to support her weight. With all the strength left in her legs she pushed herself out of the lava, and onto the surface…
The cold, frozen surface of the planet. She'd resurfaced on an entirely different location, somewhere far from where she'd first fallen under.
Upon her exposure to the sub zero environment, all of her strength, what minuscule amounts she had left, vanished.
She only managed to pull her upper half out of the lava, everything below her upper thighs still hanging over the molten ledge she'd barely managed to clamber out of.
Her left arm shook as she held her upper body up, but then it gave out. She collapsed into the snow, unable to do anything more. The cold sapped her strength, and she could feel her newfound wings freezing from the exposure to the freezing elements.
Her breath hitched as her helmet covered face hit the ground, unable to move any further. The only thing now that stopped her from freezing to death was the magma that so generously cupped her legs, fighting off the effects of the cold on her Metroid body.
But…
Even then she could feel herself fading, this time more than just the exhaustion taking her…
This time…
If she fell asleep again, here and now…
She was certain that she'd never wake up again. It would be better for her to push herself back into the lava to survive, but she lacked the strength to do even that.
All she could do now was wait, and pray someone heard her call for distress.
Her breathing began to slow, becoming more and more labored with every passing second. She lost the feeling in her hand first, the sensation of her flesh cracking and splitting as her dna crumbled underneath the frozen exposure. Her Metroid body was far too susceptible to the cold, and without the hard outer carapace that grew down the evolutionary line, even such little exposure as this was lethal without her armor.
For, her armor was the outer carapace in her case…
And, that carapace was damaged, fractured. It had holes, and through those holes in crept that lethal cold, tickling her flesh and sucking the heat out from her.
Her suit, with its remaining energy diverted all power to restoring suit functionality and suit integrity, sealing and repairing all holes. Although she was no longer directly exposed to the frozen world, her temperature had already fallen far below a safe threshold.
She could feel the flesh on her face freezing, becoming stiff and hard like ice, cracks and splinters spreading down her body.
Her breathing slowed to a tiny, quiet crawl, only managing one breath a minute.
She'd lost her sight, the functioning parts of her eyes having frozen.
The only reason she knew she was still alive was the fact that she could still hear, and could feel the warm lava on her legs.
But, a few minutes later, and she lost her hearing too…
She was sure she wasn't breathing now, the feeling in her legs going fuzzy, the nerves in her upper body frozen…
The last conscious thought she had before everything went white was of the ground shifting beneath her…
Chapter
20
End