(Author's Note 7/10/2018: YO RIDLEY IS IN SMASH BROS! I really cannot believe it. I've wanted Ridley in Smash since like 2000-2001. Almost TWO DECADES of waiting for something I thought would never happen. Seriously, still blown away that he's a character to begin with. FINALLY we have the one Metroid rep we needed in Smash. I actually cried when he was revealed, that's how much it meant to me.

I wanted to make this post earlier to celebrate Ridley's reveal but I just haven't had the time. I've been traveling a ton since Ridley was revealed, pretty much haven't been home in almost a month! Unfortunately I couldn't get this chapter out to coincide with his reveal, but better late than never. The goal is still to finish this story by the end of the year, so now that I'm home I'll keep cranking out chapters the best I can.

To celebrate Ridley's reveal in Smash, I've worked hard with the small amount of time I've had to pump the next few chapters out. If you like Ridley, I think you'll really enjoy this chapter and the ones that follow.

Anyway, RIDLEY IN SMASH. LET'S GO BABY. Legit I never thought Ridley would ACTUALLY be in Smash when I first started this story, but I always hoped for it. Now it's reality. What a time to be alive.)

Chapter 26

The Battle of Elex

Part 1: Acceleration

How can Ridley be so persistent? Even his ghosts chase me beyond the grave.

Min Bassa's directory and hub of all things bounty hunter wasn't a flashy splash page with a dizzying amount of advertising - it was a real place, hanging somewhere in the cosmos. A truck stop alongside the highway of a hunter's journey. We wanted to speak to Min Bassa directly, so an inquiry through the internet just wouldn't do.

But the trip, even through hyperspace, was a long one. Even Excolo's individual invite into the area was dodgy and incoherent at best. The coordinates were a range, not a specific location, and how to gain access was far from discernible.

My mind wandered for a bit. Memories, faces, moments - they are popped into my psyche here and there, as they are often to do.

Ridley. There's an individual I hadn't seen in a while. I was hoping our paths would cross again.

It was like waiting for an invitation for a family barbeque at the beginning of summer. You knew it was coming and it'd likely be usual fare, but you eagerly anticipated seeing how everyone had changed from years previous. I was curious what kind of shape he was in.

The information I had at the time of his whereabouts was limited. Hindsight, however, is 20/20. The space pirates, following their defeat on Zebes and the experimentation done on them aboard the Bottle Ship and BSL by the Federation, were in an existential rut. The few free pirates that escaped Zebes and the Federation had no leader, no artillery or resources, nothing. They were limping by in a scrapped together fleet that was less sound than wet tissue paper.

Then suddenly, they bounced back as if they hadn't been almost eradicated. New ships, rivaling the size of Federation carriers. Weaponry, communications, computation - they miraculously had a surplus of it all. Reinforcements brought it all in like it was no big deal. The former survivors just assumed they were a branch of space pirate they hadn't interacted with before, and that they had somehow not only survived the events previous but had flourished. Nobody had the time nor will to question it.

I didn't know it at the time, but the space pirates had been planning their return long before I had even step foot on the BSL, let alone driving it into the surface of SR-388. Ever resilient, the surviving space pirates (before the sudden reinforcements arrived) had some numbers left to form a recovery team much like they did after their initial defeat on Zebes. Except this time, instead of one large group rebuilding on Zebes and another re-colonizing Tallon IV, this group was small and wayward. There was no Zebes to rebuild on. There were no Chozo Ruins nearby to discover or Phazon to mine. And there was no leader to direct them to the next solution.

Ridley, like the rest of Zebes, had been entirely obliterated. But that didn't stop the Federation from somehow recovering a sample of his DNA in order to recreate him the best they could. They served me up to him like dog food, then let the X get away with stealing his DNA, too. Irresponsible fools.

The space pirates might've stumbled a bit had they known the Federation was toying with one of their High Commanders like a lab rat, or that they were experimenting on their fellow Zebesians. But it wouldn't have been enough to deter them from resurrecting Ridley yet another time. The pirates had Ridley's DNA too, and also intended to resurrect him by creating a new clone, just like the Federation did.

Except, they failed. They had not nearly enough tech and energy to execute a successful attempt, unlike the Federation, which was bursting at the seams with available resources.. They had no home base to establish permanent operations dedicated to the research and development needed to do so, either. They were nautical miles away from creating a beast like the Federation's clone or the primal caricature of the Ridley-X mimic.

Still, they pressed on. Wasting valuable, non-renewable resources on experimentation. Unfortunately for them, a few of their experiments developed beating hearts, and were soon enough being tested and examined by pirate scientists.

One such creation barely sprouted wings. Its skull was oblong and awkward, not even shaped well enough to house a decent-sized brain. It drooled with unawareness and unbridled hunger.

They burned it in disgust.

Another was spun into an endless range in a moment's notice that was as uncontrollable as it was incoherent. It would inflict self-harm, cursing itself for being the unnatural, illegitimate offspring of such an evil creature.

It too was burned.

Then, out of the blue, the fortunes of the space pirates changed. They went from starving on a single ship to an entire fleet of vessels. Additional troops with eyes burning for warfare and tongues lapping for blood. And upon the empty bridge of one of those ships, a squadron of space pirates patrolling its innards stumbled upon the bony frame of Ridley, perched in his commanding position with all the confidence he'd ever had.

The pirates were stunned, but Ridley was nonplussed. He issued orders like it was any other day. He had the same expectations of the pirates as he ever had - steal, destroy, consume. And looked as if he hadn't aged a day since he robbed the Ceres Space Colony of its infant Metroid specimen.

"Is there anything wrong with that order, Lieutenant?" Ridley barked.

The pirate inched back. "H-how…are you alive?"

This was the start of what I could only assume was a spiral down the rabbit hole for not just the pirates, but Ridley himself. The pirates, unbeknownst to this returned Ridley, performed secret tests on bodily samples acquired off him while he was unaware. His genetic make-up was identical to that of the actual Ridley, but his cells were clearly modified.

He was a perfectly manufactured clone - results that the pirates were desperate for new Ridley not to hear. Whether he was the original or not didn't matter to them. They had their leader back, and that was enough for them.

Meanwhile, Ridley wracked his mind, torturing himself over the prospect of whether or not he was the true original. His memories told him so, but his suspicions told him otherwise. That pirate's reaction that day might have seemed like just an odd statement. Then Ridley killed a scientist who attempted to procure a sample from his flesh. This was not only the first unsuccessful attempt, but the very last of all the attempts. Ridley skewered the pirate with his tail and made the rest of the crew watch as he ate the bug alive, piece by piece.

Ridley chalked it up to attempted mutiny, but always considered the motive behind it as possible testing. Maybe the pirates wanted to clone him for military purposes. Maybe they wanted to reengineer his natural fighting capabilities. But he always kept in mind that maybe he was a test subject, and not really one of them. He was convinced that something wasn't right.

That's why that thought bounced around in the back of my mind. It wasn't a matter of if Ridley would appear, but when. It had to be him in charge once again. And I knew he was coming for me. Now I know why.

The only way he would know for sure that he was the real deal was if he killed me once and for all.

Only the true Ridley could do that.

Outside Pirate Carrier Absolute - Arriving at Elex

Flanked by several pirate Interceptors and Corvettes, the carrier Absolute punched into realspace just outside Elex.

The Federation mining caravan hung lifelessly in the planet's orbit, mangled and torn like a bear had ripped through a hiker the size of a meteor. Sure enough, the area was riddled with X parasite activity. In fact the clouds of X had seemingly increased tenfold since we left it last.

Commander Veron watched the field with a virtual, top-down isometric map. One of the many blips before his eyes was Weavel, commandeering a pirate Corvette in the middle of the pack. Strapped to its underside - several cylinders strapped together in a bundle, tipped by chrome ends reminiscent of spark plugs.

"No splitting hairs, Weavel. Take the garbage out and that's it," Veron spit into his receiver. Weavel tightened his grip on the controls.

"Report to me IMMEDIATELY if you encounter anything out of the ordinary." It was Ridley, instantly jumping into the feed.

"Yes sir," Veron said.

The cloud continued to bob and bounce, streams of X growing and splitting off again and again. As the ships approached the cloud, getting ahead of the carrier Absolute, the cloud lashed out with spires and tendrils several miles long.

The ship formation broke immediately, everyone dipping and diving through the barrage of lashes.

"Get them to hold their places!" Veron shouted.

"We're following the direct orders, sir." Weavel hung right with a small pack of fighter jets, hooking a long turn along the broadside of the cloud.

Two other packs got ahead, trying to draw attention from as many parasites as possible. The sheer size of the thing made it practically hopeless. Ships were being gutted second by second.

But somehow Weavel found a gap, and within it he ejected his ship's payload. He and the rest of the pack skirted by the underside of the cloud at blistering speeds, leaving the beeping package behind. The chrome spark plugs began to glow-

-just as the cloud absorbed the payload. It became entirely consumed by X, and then that portion was cleaved off, leaving a small bubble of X housing the payload as it drifted away from the rest of the cloud. The payload exploded within the bubble with an uneventful, dulled THUD, as if someone had slapped a microphone with the palm of their hand. The explosion didn't even destroy the small mass of X bubbled around it.

"Damn it," Weavel said. He tapped at another communication dongle within the cockpit. "All groups, return to initial formation. Prepare to scramble within relative airspace."

The payload wasn't the main plan, but a test. Now the fleet had to execute a higher rate of damage output through their individual ships. One-off attempts at inflicting tons of damage in one instance was too easy to defend for the X.

Weavel and the rest of the ships grouped back up below the underside of the Absolute. Although this wasn't the entire fleet, it was a solid portion of it. One of the pirates' five carrier ships (which, by the way, all reported to the mothership, Ultimatum Ready, led by Ridley) was involved, plus a slew of individual ships (interceptors and corvettes). The rest of the fleet were the mothership, the other four carriers, several "semi-carriers" (basically the smaller carrier ships the surviving pirates had or scrapped together before being given their new carrier ships) and the remainder of their individual vessels.

Needless to say, the pirates were investing a lot on this mission, which seemed like a rudimentary clean-up job, at least to Weavel.

But he also knew, thanks to his outburst, that Ridley was readily waiting for the events to further unfold. He was waiting for something, and Weavel wasn't entirely convinced that he was simply prowling for some kind of exotic or endangered X parasite specimen.

The ships broke formation from out under the Absolute and began their scramble, taking short range high-energy shots to whittle away at the ever-expanding tendrils while the Absolute launched long-range volleys of plasma bursts at the main X cloud. For every tendril and chunk of X that shriveled up and disintegrated from a concussive blast, just as much grew and expanded to take its place.

As far as Weavel was concerned, Ridley was sending them as fodder. He spent his resources wisely, coasting and conserving ammunition without being too obvious. Veron was still watching.

Just as Weavel curled back for another run against the cloud, he caught something in his peripheral - a bright flash just outside Elex's orbit.

It was the Federation carrier Salachimorpha, and within it, Lieutenant Kelso reporting to Colonels Anderson and Lennings. Jumping out the hyperspace, the Salachimorpha turned toward Elex and the destroyed Federation mining caravan, and the X infection in all its gruesome glory. Hundreds of Ranger- and Response-class vessels spewed out of hyperspace as the Salachimorpha slowly approached the scene.

For a few moments, both fleets slowly inched closer to one another but otherwise barely had any kind of reaction. It was as if each side was waiting for the other to make a move.

In that moment, you could see the contrast of each fleet so explicitly. The Federation ships were specialized, organized, all clearly meant for specific roles and routes. Some had sleek firing modules and boosters, others had repair kits and towing utility. Opposing them, the pirate fleet, with every single ship outfitted to deal extreme damage or destroy itself in an effort to do so. The only apparent difference between one ship to the next in the pirate fleet was the size and how much firepower it had. The only exceptions were the pirate dropships, still as plentiful as ever, that had either one single cannon or entirely devoted themselves to delivering pirates who would pick up the slack with their own firearms.

Federation Carrier Salachimorpha - Bridge

With his hands firmly planted on the command center, Lieutenant Kelso peered out through the main vantage point of the bridge, taking only brief moments to scour the nearby panels and monitors surrounding him. He squinted and squinted, as if trying to nab the needle out of a haystack without ever diving into the hay.

He was looking for my ship, hoping to see an orange exterior or the purple shades of the ship I had left the B.S.L. with. As far as the Federation knew at the time, I was not piloting one of their own vessels but my Hunter-class ship instead.

Kelso was hoping to find me between Lennings and Anderson bothered him about it. It'd be a win not only to locate me, but to do so before they did or had something to say about it.

"No ship, no Aran," Lennings said, approaching Kelso from behind with Anderson in tow. Kelso clenched his fists, wanting to have told them himself.

"Just a bunch of pirates playing around in the dirt. How appropriate," Anderson said.

"If we can't confirm that Samus Aran is here, then we need to rethink our approach," Kelso suggested, albeit naively.

"We've already approached, Leiutenant," Lennings said. "We're not turning tail and hopping back into hyperspace because the party already started without us."

"Besides," Anderson continued. "How often do we get both pirates and the X in the same vicinity? Usually only in a controlled environment."

Kelso straightened up. "You're not thinking of getting involved in this, are you?"

Anderson and Lennings felt like banishing him off the bridge that instant. How weak-willed could you be? Especially with all the men, women, and ships they brought with them all this way. This was something to finish, not to observe from afar.

"Ms. Aran was our primary objective," Anderson said. "But we had to bring appropriate resources knowing it wouldn't be easy to retrieve her. Now we're perfectly prepared for this new scenario. We're not squandering all this preparation nor this opportunity."

Lennings got right into Kelso's face. "How else should be approach this, Lieutenant? Let the X infect the pirates and gain a whole damn fleet? Or let the pirates secure the X and bolster their army with new bioweaponry. Which sounds more appealing to you?"

Anderson pulled Lennings back by the shoulder just enough to avoid Kelso getting hit by wayward spittle as Lennings berated him. "Whatever problem you have with entering combat needs to be erased now, Lieutenant. Not for our sake but for your own. We're moving forward on this."

"I don't have any problem with combat, sir," Kelso responded as soon as Anderson finished. He stopped, taking a breath before he said anything he'd regret. "Would it not be smarter to let them destroy each other, then cleaning up the mess afterward?"

"If you want to be a janitor, you're in the wrong part of the ship, Lieutenant," Anderson said.

Kelso had taken his position for granted, he was now realizing. The bridge was much bigger than himself and his ambition. He was one of the few, if not the only one, to work with Colonels on such a daily basis. He hated dealing with Anderson and Lennings, but he knew they must have had some kind of trust in him otherwise they'd have picked someone else. They were grooming him, and this was part of it. Kelso had no say in the matter.

Anderson and Lennings stepped past Kelso, and placed themselves right up at the command center. Anderson turned back to Kelso, who was still scanning the bridge, taking it in like it'd be the last time he would in a long time.

"We know the pirates will fight us directly. We can only assume that the X will attack anything without discretion. Consider all non-Federation or otherwise unmarked bogeys as targets. Prioritize pirate vessels but do not shy away from addressing the X as well. Just try to avoid using too many resources on them until we've contained the pirates. Once the pirates are taken care of, we have all the time in the world to contain the X."

On Weavel, Interior of Pirate Corvette vessel - Orbit of Elex

Upon Federation sighting, Commander Veron ordered all pirate vessels to group up back underneath Absolute to await orders. Weavel hadn't dropped his gaze on the Salachimorpha, a true technological marvel hanging in the midst of space right before his very eyes. He was still getting used to the new pirate carriers that dwarfed ships he was on when he first joined the pirate forces, and even still when he rejoined in his current state. The Federation carriers were such a spectacle they made the pirate ships look like children's toys, all except the Ultimatum Ready, which he knew was likely the only pirate ship of the same size and scale as what the Federation had to offer.

From the looks of things, the pirates would need a healthy amount of reinforcements and a miracle to defeat both the Federation and the X at the same time.

Weavel's communication line clicked on - comms incoming from Veron. But just as Veron uttered the first syllable, the line was again hijacked from Ridley. Weavel noticed Ridley wasn't communicating from the Ultimatum Ready.

"STORY TIME, CHILDREN…" Ridley shouted. "There was once a fleet of Federation hoping to find their precious bounty hunter. Instead, they found DEATH! And we were delighted to bring them such a happy ending!"

Weavel shook his head, tempted to turn the comm line off.

"The hunter isn't there," Ridley continued. "Commander, destroy every last Federation molecule in that area, then deal with the X. Ignore the parasites as long as you can fight the Federation. Destroying them is now your first and only priority. Only then will you deal with the X. Do not engage the parasites unless it becomes unavoidable. Is that clear?"

"Impossibly clear, sir," Veron responded from the Absolute's bridge.

No one should have doubted that Ridley was sending all that firepower and strength to Elex just to find me. He had to assume the worst. But especially knowing the Federation were likely to show up, it's no surprise the pirates brought so much of their fleet to the planet.

It's like they knew something on the scale of the mining vessel destruction would attract the Federation and the X like flies to a streetlight. And they had the fly swatter.