//------------------------------// // BSL: Nightmare's Return // Story: Another Hatchling // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// "So did taking out that plant thing restore the station's power?" Twilight asked curiously. "It did," Spike confirmed. "It caused all the strange vegetation that had been swarming through Sector 2 and over the central silo to wither and die, which in addition to restoring power made various areas much more navigable. We did a bit of exploring to pick up a few extra expansions for Mom before checking back in at the Navigation Room. We had quite the interesting conversation there..." Samus hid her grin as she watched Adam struggle to maintain his composure after hearing about the restoration of her Plasma Beam and the added effect from the Dragon Auto-Fire with that beam. "Most impressive, Samus," he offered finally. "At this rate, you may just stand a chance against the SA-X when you encounter it again. However, you should still avoid it for now. It might be collecting expansions or power-ups as well." "That's a terrifying thought," Spike mumbled unpleasantly. "We have good news and bad news for you," Ghor spoke up. "The bad news is that during the power outage, a particularly dangerous specimen in Sector 5 broke free of its containment to rampage through it, including destroying the Data Room. If it isn't contained soon, the entire station may be at risk." "I guess that's where we're going next," Samus mumbled. "There's more," Ghor added. "From what I've been able to determine, it's a bio-weapon Spike has faced before...from BSL. Upgraded from the original schematics it had...when it was guarding Sector Zero." Spike growled under his breath. "The Nightmare..." "Affirmative," Ghor confirmed. "However, I have good news..." His voice trailed off. "...Ghor?" Samus asked in concern. "...I successfully applied the Diffusion Effect to your Missile Launcher," Ghor stated finally. "With the program downloaded, a charged missile will release a destructive wave of ice that will effect anything in range. However, while you will be immune to the effect...I can't guarantee that Spike will be as well." Samus frowned thoughtfully. "I...see..." "On top of that," Melissa spoke up, "the only Data Room we could send the data to was the one in Sector 4...the one behind the Level 4 Security Lock. And you know what happens each time you unlock a new Security Level." "Samus," Adam interrupted, "I leave it up to your discretion whether acquiring the Diffusion Missiles is worth the risk of unlocking Level 4 Security. For now, head straight to Sector 5." "Seriously?" Rainbow Dash demanded angrily. "They brought that thing back?" "That's more or less how we felt about it," Spike grumbled. "Only of course, now it was an X Host and running rampant rather than guarding, so we were expecting it to hunt us down." "How much of a rampage did it manage?" Ember asked curiously. "Just how strong was it?" "Pretty strong," Samus admitted. "Entire sections of Sector 5 were completely restructured from the damage, and nearly all of the previously frozen segments were thawed. The entire place was a shambles. Melissa couldn't give us an accurate location...so we just had to wander around." "And most of the paths we'd taken before had changed," Spike added. "On the plus side, new areas were available to explore." "On the minus side, they had a great deal of water in them, which made things difficult for me," Samus grumbled. "I was able to carry you through those parts, though," Spike offered. "That made things somewhat simpler." "Those 'mer-Pirates' were still frustrating to see," Samus growled. "Mer-Pirates?" Twilight asked, confused. "The X mimicking Space Pirates in the water mutated to be amphibious," Spike explained. "Lost their legs, gained a tail and fins along their sides, letting them move much faster underwater." "It was a relief when we found the Eye Door that it wasn't underwater," Samus admitted. "However, I get the feeling Spike didn't like encountering the Nightmare again..." As Spike and Samus dropped down into the massive chamber, they could feel something was approaching. Samus immediately switched to her Dragon Auto-Fire, hoping to make use of its special function with the Plasma Beam. Spike expanded himself as big as he could reasonably manage without crowding Samus. Before long, the creature arose from beneath a massive junk pile it had been hiding under. It hovered before them for a few moments...and immediately launched upward. "Shi'cho-kra!" Spike barked out, lunging after it before it could activate its gravity engine. He quickly grappled with one of its 'wings', gripping tightly and digging in with his claws. The creature attempted to shake him off, but Spike held on tight, expanding himself further in an attempt to drag the creature to the ground. Samus focused her attention on the struggle, trying to spot her opportunity. Eventually, she spotted it. As the Nightmare slowed to shake Spike off again, the joint where the Gravity Generator was attached became visible. Locking on, Samus opened fire. Her beam lanced forth, tearing through the joint and destroying the Gravity Generator. This caused a chain reaction within the creature's mechanical components that caused its face plate to blow off. Spike immediately clambered up the Nightmare's body to attack the exposed face even as the creature continued to attack with bulk and the lasers along its wings. Samus quickly moved to target the wing joints. When she got into proper position with her Space Jump, she was able to shoot each one off with her Dragon Plasma, as she now dubbed the new function. The Nightmare let off shrieks of pain and rage, trying to fight back, but Samus continued to target every joint and kink in its armor as Spike wailed on its face. Eventually, it collapsed in a massive explosion, revealing the X Core. Much like the others, it took barely any time for the membrane to be destroyed, allowing Samus to absorb it. Gravity Suit Effect recovered. Move freely in water. Samus smiled widely as her suit changed from a yellowish green to a dark purple.