//------------------------------// // BSL: False Dragon // Story: Another Hatchling // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// "Of course, even getting back to the regular station proved to be a pain and a half," Samus continued, not pausing for any reactions. Her quickness in continuing the story conveyed the urgency the group felt when the events had originally unfolded. "The other exit from the restricted sector led into an area that rather closely resembled Tourian in atmosphere and appearance. Exposed cold metal, maze-like corridors without path deviations, pools of acid..." "And X imitating the Mochtroids from Zebes, somehow," Spike added. "That was frustrating, especially since they were more durable." "Not to mention many other highly durable X forms," Samus continued. "Including the golden armored Space Pirates from Tourian that could only be damaged from behind. Apparently, Ridley wasn't the only cloned survivor of Zebes. Thankfully, the X mimicking them weren't as intelligent or fierce as the originals." "Which didn't exactly fill us with confidence when we encountered another Eye Door..." Spike explained, his voice growing hard. Spike and Samus dropped down into the large chamber, landing lightly on the floor...and finding themselves face to face with what looked like Ridley. Neither hesitated as they readied themselves for fierce battle. Before them, Ridley's eyes opened, glowing red...and his body warped. The form before them became bulbous and twisted, like a mockery of the mighty beast they were so used to fighting. The tail retained its strong striking power, but the claws and fangs were dulled. The wings were too small for the massive form, holding itself aloft by other means despite the flapping. The scales covering the body glowed blue, and the roar it let out was a shrieking cacophony without meaning. The fireballs it unleashed from its jaw were a pale echo of what the true Ridley had been capable of. In his mind, Spike refused to even give this mock up Ridley's name. Calling it the R-X, he lunged after it, attacking its wings with claws and fangs, driving it back towards the ground as Samus unleashed her missiles. Seeing it tried to use its tail to deflect the missiles, Spike caught it with his hind claws, holding it out of the way to let Samus fire away unabated. As the pair unleashed their devastating onslaught against the R-X, its scales slowly dulled from blue towards a deep red, its screams of pain echoing as it was slowly being torn apart. It attempted to put up a fight, but every time it turned towards Spike, it flinched back from the raw, unfettered rage in his eyes. Before long, the creature crumbled away, revealing the X Core inside. Like with all others, the membrane did not hold long before releasing the X. Samus quickly absorbed it, regaining her Screw Attack. Samus and Spike both paused in their telling to take a drink. Rainbow suddenly grinned wickedly. "So Samus, how did it feel to get Screwed and have some of Ridley inside you?" Samus and Spike both spit their drink all over the table as others gasped in shock, cried out in frustration, or burst into laughter as was their wont. Samus leveled flinty eyes at Rainbow and leapt across the table at her, hands outstretched angrily. "Yikes!" Rainbow yelped out, taking off at high speeds with Samus hot on her heels. It looked like she'd get away...until the Speed Booster kicked in. "Twilight, help!" Twilight scratched her chin for a time. "...she won't hurt you too much..." She glanced towards Spike. "Right?" Spike coughed cider out of the wrong pipe for a while before speaking up. "Nah, at worst she'll get her in a headlock or something." "Then I don't need to interfere," Twilight concluded. "So, until Samus gets back from making Rainbow say Uncle...there's one more thing I'd like to know. How come you were so angry about the X mimicking Ridley? I mean, I get there was some sort of...dragon respect thing going on or something? But..." "It's more than that," Ember spoke up. "A big defining quality for dragons is pride. Like the Metroids, we exist with a purpose. That purpose is ingrained instinctively in the mind of every dragon...in a way none of us can explain." She stroked the Bloodstone Scepter. "I can only really explain it this much...because the Bloodstone Scepter is made from the Bloodstone of our first leader, the first dragon to embody that purpose, and carries the wisdom of every dragon to wield it since. I...can't really come up with words beyond that, I'm afraid..." "Protect the planet..." Spike murmured softly. "I...I remember those words in my mind, when I first took up the Scepter. I think...I think dragons are supposed to protect the planet itself, somehow." "But from what?" Ember asked curiously. "How about Phazon?" Gandrayda offered, causing every eye to swivel towards her. "I mean think about it. Phazon is lethal, not just to creatures but to planets as well, and it's been around for a long time, even if it's all gone now. And yet the dragons of this world can eat it without harm, and are built in such a way that it becomes an instinctive urge to hunt down and devour as much as they can out of a desire to get stronger? That doesn't sound like something that just happens. It...it sounds like somebody specifically designed the dragons to protect this world from Phazon...like the Chozo designed the Metroids to protect the universe from the X..." "That...makes a frightening amount of sense," Samus spoke up as she walked back in, Rainbow trapped in a headlock in her elbow. "But there's never been a Chozo presence on this world, I checked. So the question becomes...who did that?" Nobody noticed Discord hiding behind the tree chandelier, whistling innocently. "Either way," Ember continued, "the idea of something pretending to be a dragon, and twisting that purpose...yeah, I can't really blame Spike for wanting to rip that thing to shreds."