9. Gathering Storm
A duality shall be created through malice… the Hatchling now lives as two, each with her own destiny. This rift must be sealed at all costs, lest her shadow spread its ethereal wings, suffocating the future of the Galaxy.
Metroid Equis II: Duality
Section 9
Gathering Storm
[~Two Months Prior…]
“H-Hey Samus?” came Twilight’s hesitant question, breaking the gentle tranquil of the falling rain.
The Hunter looked over and replied:
“Hmmm?”
Peering up at the human from her prone position next to her, the lavender alicorn fidgeted in place and finally worked up the courage to get that burning question off her chest.
“If you’re up to it… I’d like to know about your family?”
As for the Hunter, dressed in little more than her blue, fuzzy pajamas which were decorated with repeating patterns of her personal runic insignia, a slight inquisitive tilt of her head was the only indication she had even heard the question.
Her usual silence felt much more profound this time, cutting into Twilight’s patience like a knife and producing some of the longest moments of her life as the alicorn awaited the fateful response.
Sitting close and comfortably to one another with some blankets and pillows on the observation balcony of the Library, Twilight felt that their little quiet bonding—combined with the gorgeous view of the porcelain white firmament letting loose its torrential payload over the Ponyville expanse—would be the perfect opportunity to bring the question up again.
Her tail flicked from side to side in anticipation of Samus’ ultimate answer, especially since the blonde-haired woman had not been very forthcoming on that subject for the tenure of the two’s friendship. Often she would politely direct conversation elsewhere, or just outright say ‘no’ or ‘not right now.’
Samus took a sip of her tea and adjusted her legs under the blanket, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand whilst still staring out at the sea of white, lushness, and falling rain.
“Okay.”
Twilight’s ears perked up immediately.
“Really??”
Samus nodded, clearing her throat before delivering a cordial forethought.
“Just… bear in mind that these are the memories of a three year old, many things most likely distorted, exaggerated, or outright lost because of... succeeding events.”
Twilight nodded deeply once.
“Of course.”
Samus then took a modest breath before turning her face to Twilight.
“As you know, I was born on K-2L. It was a small mining colony planet whose closest neighbor was Zebes,” she began.
Samus then averted her gaze slightly upward, a fraction of a nostalgic smirk gracing her stoic, yet still soft, beautiful features.
Speaking with the gesturing aid of her right hand, she continued:
“It was… quaint. Terraformed—Earthlike. We didn’t need pressure suits or breathing rigs, and we grew our own food, but make no mistake: it was no Equestria. Mostly dirt, a few trees, and a mine that spanned the entire planet wasn’t all that conducive to tourism.
Twilight bobbed her head, returning a soft smile as she took in the valuable, if vague imagery.
“Still. It sounds nice. Home is home, after all.”
Samus huffed, nodding in kind.
“Oh yes. Home it was. I was born into a working-class family, pretty typical, all things considered, actually.”
The Hunter continued, still gesturing with her free hand.
“Had a mom, a dad, and then there was me. That was it, really.”
She then recalled a rather important detail.
“Oh! And my pet rabbilis, of course.”
Twilight cut in with an expected question.
“What were their names?”
There was more than a little apparent hesitation in Samus’ response, but Twilight was put at ease with just how… wistfully she spoke:
“Pyonchi was my pet, the first real friend I ever made on my own. My dad was Rodney Aran, and he was the chief officer of the mining operations on K-2L. He was kind of a workaholic, but my mother, Virginia, kept him grounded. She was a rather standard housewife, though she would directly aid my father in the more administrative duties as well as the physical aspect of the mining ops…”
Her words seemed to fail her at that moment, trailing into nothing, and she gazed upward bemusedly.
“At least… I think so? Ugh, I honestly… don’t remember entirely. I’m surprised I remember as much as I do.”
Twilight pressed her right cheek into Samus’ fuzzy-coated arm, tenderly nuzzling her. Out of longstanding habit that continually surprised them both, Samus then responded by wrapping her arm around the alicorn’s neck, pulling her comfortably into her side.
Twilight’s cheeks burned something fierce initially, though once she got over that initial surprise, she glanced up at her human friend and raised her right eyebrow.
The impending cheek was imminent.
“Sheesh… somepony’s really open today,” she teased, but leaned into Samus more nonetheless.
Further, she refused to relent:
“Besides, you gotta buy me dinner first.”
Samus fixed Twilight with a flat stare, then remarked in a rather timeless deadpan:
“Oh ho ho. Look who’s the funny mare today. Don’t push your luck, or I won’t tell you any more stories.”
It was Twilight’s turn to exaggerate her voice and response, gesticulating wildly with her left hoof.
“Oh noooo~ the horror! Samus never talking again, by the Sun it’s not like she ever talks anyway!”
She then swiftly rested her head back against Samus’ side and looked up to her, locking her impish eyes with those of a stoic Hunter and fluttering them oh so innocently.
“Oh but please, do continue.”
“Uh huh,” Samus uttered, rolling her own teal-blue orbs.
“Mom was… she was a great mom from what I can remember. Dad was stern, but I knew that he loved me. And…”
Samus’ next words were shaky, and Twilight glanced upward, half-expecting to see Samus in a more emotional state. But, instead of sorrowful recollection, the human’s face seemed almost… disappointed.
“Samus?”
“No, I’m fine it’s just… I used to remember more than this. I-I can’t anymore, and, well,” the Hunter moved a small bit of her loose, flowing hair back into place, tucking it behind her ear.
She angled her head downward and furrowed her brow pensively, clicking her tongue.
“As you know, I never really discussed this with anyone for obvious reasons… maybe that was a bad idea. I would talk to myself sometimes and imagine that they were still with me when I was beginning training, when times would get particularly lonely.”
She reaffixed her look back down at Twilight, who was staring back up with rapt attention.
“It helped keep me sane until I could move on and...come to accept it. I think… I think I’ll start doing it again,” Samus continued, bobbing her head thoughtfully as she considered her actions going forward.
“If not that, so I don’t appear entirely off my goddamn rocker, then maybe I’ll talk to you and the girls and Spike about them. If not for my sake, then to just keep whatever fading memories I still have alive.”
Twilight was stunned into silence. This was one of Samus’ most open moments, and she would treasure this for a lifetime.
And then, after a brief aversion of her telling face, Samus again looked back to her but not with stoicism...
...but with a subtle, yet very tangible fear in her eyes, one which Twilight felt was rarer than extreme elation coming from this girl.
“Twi, I’ve never asked much of you or any of you girls before… but, I’d… I think I’d like it if you brought up my parents from time to time.”
This wasn’t an ordinary request by any means, and Twilight’s understandably cautious reply worked its way out of her mouth.
“A-Are you sure?” she asked.
Samus nodded solemnly.
“Positive. It’s nowhere near as bad as it may sound, but I want you girls to help me keep these memories of mom and dad alive,” she said, tapping the tip of her index finger on Twilight’s nose.
“I don’t want to one day, several years from now, wake up and not be able to piece their faces together in my mind,” she concluded.
And to that, Samus leaned the side of her head against the observation balcony wall.
The mighty Daughter of the Chozo shut her eyes as she took a deep breath of the ozone-scented air that she loved during heavy rain, and breathed a sigh.
“I’ve done things in my life that I’m not entirely proud of. I have more than my fair share of regrets. But, if I ever forgot my parents, my birth parents… I don’t think I could ever forgive myself for that. The only time I ever want to forget is when I’m dead.”
Samus glanced back to Twilight.
“You think you can do that for me?”
To those words, Twilight only had a warm smile—one that meant the world to Samus—with an accompanying, determined nod.
“You got it. We won’t ever let you forget.”
Samus reciprocated that gesture, and even included some teeth in that return-smile. Though her stoicism—as if elastic—soon returned, her reply came uncharacteristically soft and emotion-laden.
“Thanks, Twi. For asking, and for your help,” she said, and then pulled Twilight even more snuggly against her.
The alicorn had little to say to that, and opted to just relish in Samus’ atypical (though gradually becoming more typical) closeness. With a gentle sigh, she adjusted herself to comfortably lean into the human’s side, and the two soon let the sound of the pattering rain and feeling of comfort in one another gradually weigh down their eyelids.
Almost simultaneously, a Hunter and a princess let their conscious minds escape the physical realm of tranquility and rainfall, passing into the nap-scape without a single care.
A best friends’ embrace certainly didn’t detract from the experience.
[Canterlot | 49th Army Headquarters Weapons Research and Development, Block A | Present Time]
The helmet-less Samus wasted no time when Luna gave her the go-ahead, and she promptly reached forward and grasped the obvious, beaming-blue power-up in her armored hand.
All ponies currently in the room stopped what they were doing to bear witness to their over-two-year’s-worth of laboring finally get tested… and on Samus’ end, things went just as she had come to expect.
First, the object lost cohesion and broke up, dissolving under her grip before it promptly diffused throughout her upper arm and then her entire body. All parties watched with rapt attention as its ethereal manifestation orbited the Hunter’s torso, then coalesced directly in the center of her chest.
Samus felt nothing out of the ordinary as she let the magic condense brightly, it humming and gradually expanding in size and luminosity as something was undoubtedly being created. Even her previous thought of ‘not feeling anything’ was soon voided when she felt a familiar presence begin to creep its way into her metaphysical form.
Her chest exploded brilliantly.
A magnificent display of magical power was ejected harmlessly from the Hunter’s chest in all directions, and in its receding wake remained a pulsating disk right on her breastplate, identically colored to Samus’ curious eyes. From this luminous disk were birthed harnesses which attached themselves securely to the Hunter’s form.
The coruscating light finally dimmed.
In its place, presented proudly on her chest was a new armor modification, one altered her suit color scheme to bear striking resemblance to the aesthetics of the PED Suit. Rather, instead of a Federation insignia at its center, there stood a glowing insignia of that of Equestria, namely of the common flag. Further, it actually rotated at a slow, crawling pace.
Other than this change, as well as a familiar blue color being essentially strapped onto Samus’ Unidentified Suit, not much else had rendered events unexpected.
Luna grinned knowingly, pointing to Samus’ chestplate.
“Oh, and I hope you don’t entirely mind being… ‘branded.’”
[Scanning…]
Samus lifted her arms a tad to look herself over. Indeed, her suspicions were confirmed: it was identical to a PED Suit ‘modification,’ though much less intrusive, as she did not develop any new pauldrons or other miscellaneous parts.
That Grapple Beam was still on her wish list, though.
Nevertheless, Samus nodded, and a soft smirk broke upon her face; one of pride.
“I don’t mind at all, actually,” she revealed. “I… well, let’s just say that our flag is growing on me.”
Luna held her head high with a prideful smirk of her own, but Samus did not have much chance to share a small moment with her on account of her systems completing their preliminary scans of the new technology.
[Equip helmet for full diagnostic.]
“Alright, lemme read up on this quickly…”
Samus did just that, and once her unchanged helmet took form on her head, her HUD was quite prompt with the alert.
[Magical Enhancement Device Acquired!]
[The Magical Enhancement Device (MED) is a modular add-on to your Suit which allows you to absorb and utilize both ambient and directed magic. The MED allows you to call upon this stored magic to replenish your energy tanks, reload weapons, and utilize magical technology.]
[More Info]
Samus recoiled visibly at the monoliths of text that suddenly spilled onto her visor in a torrential flood.
[Following the destruction of Phaaze, the Federation's Phazon Enhancement Device program was forcibly terminated. However, Fleet Admiral Dane recognized that the PED program served Federation troopers admirably during the Norion campaign, and instructed Federation scientists to preserve the design. While Equis was joining the Federation, joint Federation-Equisian science teams uncovered files from the PED program, and attempted to replace the Phazon workings with Equisian technology. The result is the Magical Enhancement Device.
[Relying on Equisian aetheric cells, the MED permits its users to interface, in a limited sense, with Equis' ambient aetheric field. Users do not gain the ability to cast magic; however, any devices they possess which are inherently magic-sensitive can utilize the MED. Recharging the MED's battery may be accomplished in several ways; first, exposure to a high-density aetheric field will cause the device to charge through simple exposure. Second, an individual able to actively project magic is able to recharge the device using directed energy. Finally, the Magic Recharge Station can directly interface with the MED to provide high-speed recharging.
[Further, when magic potential is maximized, injection of an energy tank into the MED activates Harmony Mode, allowing the wearer to use the Magicka Beam.]
“You guys really put a lot of thought into this,” Samus mused, dismissing her logbook and disengaging her helmet.
Luna chuckled, stepping next to the Hunter and stating proudly:
“I was the head of the project. Of course too much thought would have gone into it!”
The Princess turned and gestured towards a single firing lane.
“Would you care to test the Harmony Mode?” the alicorn inquired, the corner of her mouth upturning in a knowing smirk.
This was further helped along when, through Samus’ usually stoic visage, she saw the subtle, childish gleam in her blue eyes.
“Yes, Luna,” the Hunter said pointedly. “I would very much like to test out the Harmony Mode.”
A girly giggle escaped the Lunar Princess’ lips.
“Then kindly step into the firing lane and we shall demonstrate it,” Luna suggested, and Samus moved into the fairly typical weapons testing lane; it wouldn’t be far out of place on any GF installation, save for obvious concessions to anatomy.
Luna then explained:
“First, I shall charge the device to full. It should feel little different than when you were magic sensitive, save for one caveat: it will not feel as profound since it's not coming from within. Further, the weapon should be no different than when you natively possessed it.”
Samus nodded, equipping her helmet and placing her left hand on her hip. She keenly noted the placement of another meter just under her defensive shielding integrity: Magic; it was at 1% and ‘charging’ due to the heavy magical presence in the room.
“Got it. Let's do this,” she declared.
Scientists crowded at a distance to observe the fruits of their labor, and Luna illuminated her horn brightly, filling it with lambent magic, ready to cast.
A small batch of reflective targets sprang up at the end of the firing lane, and Samus got into her usual stance, aiming her cannon and placing her left hand atop.
She scoped out her first target and called over her shoulder:
“Ready when you are.”
Luna nodded, then spoke aloud via the same gesture.
“Prepare for the live fire test!”
And at Luna’s words, Samus locked onto the first target of the group that she selected at random. All she needed was the final part of the equation, which Luna would graciously provide.
The alicorn’s horn glowed even brighter.
“Beginning MED charge. Supersaturation!!”
On her cue, she zapped Samus with raw magic, targeting the MED module itself (though it did not really matter).
In the heat of the moment, time slowed down and Samus was suddenly overwhelmed with the familiar sensation of magic coursing through her body… and it was a feeling that she truly had no idea how much she missed until she felt its presence again just now. How the ethereal force touched her insides… her soul in the most intimate of ways nearly had her slacken, caught in a heavy sense of nostalgia.
It was not the same as when she was a magic-sensitive, but it opened her eyes as to her latent longing for it again.
But in that same moment that she was overcome with an enormous tingling sensation that superseded all other feelings. Raw power was filling her body to such a degree that even the mighty Hunter was feeling jittery and needing to move around immediately.
What kept her in place was when her magic meter instantly shot to 100%, then displayed a bold, pulsating ‘OVERCHARGE.’
Her arm cannon responded just as quickly, whirring to life as visible, rainbow-colored magic coursed kaleidoscopically over Samus’ entire form. Her arm cannon swelled, gaining length as its internals appeared filled with prismatic energy.
[Harmony Mode Active!]
[Magicka Beam Active!]
What everyone failed to notice for a multitude of reasons, was that Samus’ eyes also pulsed brightly from under her visor, widening considerably as she felt the most ‘pumped’ she had ever felt in a long time.
And without further instruction or exhortation, Samus engaged the targets before her, lashing them with pulse after pulse of kaleidoscopic power and laying waste to them in a matter of seconds.
Princess Luna and her entourage of some of the greatest Equestrian minds watched with knowing pride and all-consuming awe, respectively. After all, Samus laid down a one-person fusillade of the magical equivalent of the plasma beam in one deadly accurate shot after another.
Even when there were no targets left, Samus wasted the excess magic that had collected within her with indiscriminate fire, much like she had with Hyper Mode and the Phazon Beam of what she dubbed the ‘Corruption Incident.’
Old habits died hard.
Once the last of the aetheric overchargehad been exhausted, her arm cannon returned to default orientation, and Samus was left standing as she was not even thirty seconds prior.
She nodded once and turned to Luna with a simple phrase quintessential to her personality:
“I like it!”
Luna donned a rather placid smile and nodded knowingly in response.
“As I knew you would. But tell me, how do you feel?” she asked.
Samus had to pause for a brief moment to formulate a response to that. Disengaging her helmet and averting her eyes, she had to easily concede to herself that it was a wonderful feeling. That is, feeling magic flow through her body once more. While the excess had drained out from the firing of the Magicka Beam, she keenly noted before removing her helmet that the magic meter still read ‘99’ to match her energy shielding.
“I feel… pretty awesome, actually,” Samus finally said. “The magic feels nice and the weapon system works flawlessly. I can definitely use this should I need it… though hopefully I won’t, at least for a good while before I can safely go on missions again.”
But before anyone could speak further, Samus blinked a few times, remembering a certain battle in The Gateway Temple against a certain Sunfire Vigilant… and a consolation prize that could not be applied due to the lack of a magical connection.
“Wait a minute… hold on!”
Luna looked on curiously as Samus re-equipped her helmet to check her suit diagnostics for current scans.
Her intuition was right.
[Diagnostic Scan Complete. Unknown Item identified. Integrating with MED. Analyzing....]
[Celestial Beam Acquired!]
[The Celestial Beam alters the properties of your Arm Cannon, lining the internal surface with an aetheric bottle, allowing the weapon to suspend small globules of superheated, magical plasma in isolation. Upon exiting the barrel, the plasma disperses in a wide pattern, suitable for room-clearing or dispatching foes in a wide area. Firing the weapon in this mode consumes a single unit of magical charge.
Charging the beam alters the bottle; instead of multiple smaller globules, the weapon’s payload combines into three large ones fired in a high arc. The forward choke accelerates the globules and destabilizes the individual containers; on impact, they explode, immolating a wide area. Safety interlocks in the design prohibit use of the Cannon in any mode for five seconds to allow the internal temperature to cool to safe levels. Firing the weapon in this mode consumes ten units of magical charge.]
Shotgun and Plasma Launcher. Nice.
Samus read the results aloud so Luna could weigh in with her own thoughts, and Luna was certainly impressed to hear of the weapon system’s recovery.
She took a much more explanatory tone, gesturing with her hoof as an aid.
“The Celestial Beam is a group of offensive spells that the Solar Alicorns imparted onto their most skilled warriors. Celestia is the only one who still knows the group, and I do not believe even Twilight Sparkle is capable, at least yet.”
Luna still couldn’t shake off her surprised look, though she physically tried to, as she shook her head clear of her previous thoughts.
“You have a powerful weapon in your arsenal, Samus. Further, I’m working on an enhanced version of the Night Beam to which I shall impart onto you. At this point, I believe your ‘re-armament’ has been quite successful.”
Samus was more than inclined to agree and accept.
“Awesome! I’ll look forward to when that’s do—”
Her suit chimed in with another notification.
“Oh for… what now?” Samus huffed, re-engaging her helmet.
She was immediately greeted with the last thing she expected.
[Charge Beam Combination Detected.]
[Coronal Ejection Acquired!]
[The Coronal Ejection is the Charge Combination of the Celestial Beam. It uses twenty-five missiles and thirty units of magical charge! The Coronal Ejection fires an explosive, ultra-heated flare over a wide area which will vaporize targets not protected by heavy armor.]
Luna deadpanned at hearing Samus read out her further ability.
“I wanted you rearmed… not with enough power to overthrow a star system!”
And while that comment earned a hearty chuckle out of the Hunter, it did little to soothe her worried yet curious mind. Adam’s four words over the Admiral to whom she was recently introduced still weighed heavily on her.
Even when retiring back to her temporary lodging in the castle with admittedly ‘good loot’ in tow, to her, this was no time for rest. It was time to have a little heart-to-heart with Adam, as well as gather some information.
Having shed her Zero Suit and swapped it out for a more comfortable T-shirt and sweatpants, Samus let her hair down and took a seat on her bed. She was about to commence some research on her tablet (which had survived the incident) when a familiar little chirping and gurgling entered her ears.
Samus lifted her head and spied the resident metroid floating through her open balcony window, membrane as blue as could be.
Without a second thought, Samus greeted the creature.
“Oh. Hey Sapphire,” she said, turning back to her tablet and bringing up some databases.
“Hi Samus!” came Sapphires boisterous reply.
As she floated in the middle of the room to just see what was up, a third voice promptly entered the room, one much deeper and mischievous.
“Yes. Helloooo Samus,” Discord cooed as he slithered out of a dimensional void, the malformed draconequus overlooking the Hunter.
“Ugh. Bye Samus,” Sapphire muttered, her membrane snapping to orange..
She then promptly floated back out the window with nary a single word, and Samus, more or less unfazed by both Discord and his arrival, watched her go before remarking calmly:
“Jesus… she actually doesn’t like you.”
Discord quickly found his place, splaying himself out along Samus’ bed, willing a fan into existence as he made himself comfortable.
“Sapphire and I have an… understanding,” he corrected delicately.
“I, however, merely wanted to pay the ‘Great Hero of Equestria’ a visit to see how she was doing in light of more recent events,” the draconequus added.
Samus nodded, her eyes having not once strayed from the screen of her tablet.
She had only spoken to Discord on a handful of occasions, and while the others often found their mutual, ‘composite’ friend somewhat abrasive, he never really got under her skin. In fact, Samus wholeheartedly felt that being good friends with Pinkie was more than enough training to deal with someone like the Lord of Chaos.
Ergo, he often came and went as he pleased, which ended up being fairly infrequently, and with Samus’ limited exposure to him not yet testing her patience, she was usually okay with it.
Usually.
Samus’ answer came swiftly and succinctly:
“I’m fine. Thanks. But considering I had to dispatch five people in Twilight’s Library, I’m sure you could imagine I’ve been better.”
Discord nodded.
“Quite. Which is why I’d imagine you buried in a book with a cup of tea like Purple Smart in the other room… or fast asleep, to be honest. Not attempting to conduct boring research,” he droned, extending his back over the edge of the bed for emphasis.
“Yeah… well, something tells me something’s not right here. There’s an odd set of coincidences that make no sense. Intuition hasn’t failed me once in my travels, so I’ve got my work cut out for me to make sure shit doesn’t spiral outta control,” Samus replied, performing multi-touch gestures with the fluid grace of an expert in her field.
And for the first time this evening, she flicked her eyes up to meet Discord’s… who rolled his in response with a scoff.
“The same placid arrogance, the same cynicism… the resemblance is uncanny,” he began, sitting up straight and earning a cocked eyebrow from the Hunter.
Discord shook his head, his mad eyes looking quite sane as he locked her gaze.
“All this talk of ensuring ‘natural peace and balance’ in the galaxy while at the same time,pursued even more destructive weapons, built their armies, and expanded their influence. While you harbor little similarities as far as that behavior goes, their habit of whining and worrying about literally everything was passed onto you clear as day.”
“You certainly are their daughter.”
The woman’s eyes widened for the briefest of moments.
“Excuse me?” Samus was quick to reply, though not born of snark… but curiosity.
“All I’m saying is that I find it amazing how the Chozo, though they had such powerful prophetic abilities that they were able to predict you, could still be so worried about the future,” Discord mused.
Samus wasn’t concerned about that, though. In fact, she ignored his last comment and for even the fewest moments following, she decided to forget her troubles and pursue an odd conversation with an equally odd individual.
Perhaps that heart-to-heart with Adam could wait for half an hour.
“Discord… did you know any of the Chozo personally?”
[G.F.S. Oculus | Deep Space]
Sam lay stretched out on a long couch in one of the many lounges of the capital ship, garbed in her usual pseudo-Zero Suit. This evening, the clone was celebrating yet another milestone in her training, one which had proven her a cut above Federation Special Forces.
Ergo, this was her time to just veg out and do whatever she pleased, with Conway’s blessing, of course.
With one hand folded behind her head and the other cradling and idly juggling an apple, she snacked at her own pace, her eyes lidded in comfortable fatigue. Sighing out, she recrossed her legs and took another, satisfying bite of her fruit, letting its juices run messily down the sides of her face. Her hair was out of its natural ponytail state, splayed around her head discordantly.
She cared little for propriety at the moment; her muscles pleasantly ached and she was just enjoying some time to herself.
That’s all that mattered.
A few other Federation personnel, usually marines, came and went at their leisure and said hi to her if they happened to know her; Sam had made a couple of friends since her impressive victory back on the Silber Beach exercise, so she had been occasionally joining them for meals or on her own time… but not now.
This time was just for her.
Sam finished her snack, and then to her annoyance, realized that she would have to actually get up from her comfy enclave to dispose of the core. To her, this was not an option, and she elected to just hold onto it, perhaps hang it lazily in her right hand as it drooped off the side of the couch.
Her eyelids became heavier with the passing seconds, and suddenly a nap did not seem like a bad idea… while actually exerting physical energy to properly toss out the remnants of her snack, by contrast, seemed like the worst idea in the universe.
Fuck it.
She did just that, sighing out heavily as she closed her eyes. Her mind escaped to the realm of dreams… after all, it would just be for a little nap.
Right?
Sam opened her eyes after what seemed like a most relaxing cat nap… only to realize that everyone had left the lounge, and the large clock that was right in the center between two window panes read almost four hours later than when she knocked out for supposedly only a few moments.
Adrenaline surged through her system at the sudden, irrational thought that she was late in reporting to Conway… and she instantly sat up groggily on the couch while accidentally crushing the apple core in her hand.
Then she grasped the idea that that wasn’t the case… and all that startling herself accomplished was to make a mess out of her hand with the apple’s remains.
“Son of a bitch…” she cursed, flicking some of the remnant juices off of her covered hand.
She then came to terms with the fact that someone would have to clean up this little mess of fruit.
And that someone was not going to be her.
Sam looked around conspicuously, finding that no one had witnessed her little spaz episode, and she quietly slunk out of the lounge.
Meandering through the corridors of the monstrous ship, Sam stopped by a restroom to wash off her hands before figuring out what to do next; her little nap had staved off any bit of imminent sleepiness she would have, so as a result, she wasn’t tired in the slightest.
Continuing her search to occupy her time, she heard what sounded like synchronized marching farther down the hall. Stopping in her tracks to confirm this, something was definitely going on; so, letting her curious side get the better of her, she sprang forth to investigate.
Sam found the source of boots and shoes hitting and skidding against the floor to be from an empty recreation room.
Hmmm…
Peeking in cautiously, she found the room to be shrouded in darkness save for the center, a few lights turned on to illuminate the room’s occupants and the source of the noise. Five soldiers, all in their casual PT wear, appeared to be dancing in routine; three men and two women—one of the former whom Sam was not sure whether or not she recognized—were present.
“Alright, let’s take it from the top, with music this time!”
The moment the tunes started and the group began their opening moves, Sam was already enraptured. Struck by the coordination and graceful, deliberate movements synchronized to the beat, Sam’s eyes went wide and she gave into the compelling urge to quietly enter and take a seat in the darkness.
As said routine went on and the quintuplet’s dancing became much more complex and sophisticated, the clone smiled brightly and leaned progressively more forward in her seat.
Something about this performance—she could not place it—made her feel wonderful, as well as, ironically, question how any human could have such skill and coordination.
Amazing!
“Nice! That worked out better than last time!”
One of the men, however, stopped in his tracks and focused right on Sam in the darkness, startling the poor girl.
“Whoa hold on there… looks like we’ve got a little audience.”
Sam immediately stood up straight, smiling awkwardly and fidgeting in place as she marshalled her thoughts to properly explain herself.
“Oh! Heh… sorry!” Sam replied, beginning to gradually face the door. “I’ll umm… I was just watching, I’ll go.”
“Whoa there, wait a minute,” another man stepped forward, ceasing abruptly Sam’s attempts to get out of their hair.
He was a fair-skinned, short-haired blonde, but looked like he had a light suntan. He had green eyes, a stature just a couple inches above Sam, and a lean build most typical of the soldiers of the Federation. Something about his face, however, his features, stirred recognizance in Sam.
“Sam, is that you?”
The clone faced him and narrowed her gaze inquisitively… then her expression suddenly lit.
“Connor?!”
It was the man’s turn for his face to brighten.
“Ha HA! She remembers me!”
Connor strode up to her and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, facing his comrades.
Both had smiles on their faces and he gestured to her pointedly.
“This girl, right here, was the one who pretty much dominated the frontline drop wargame two weeks ago. She’s unstoppable, lemme tell ya!”
“No shit! That’s her? The Samus Aran lookalike??” the right-most woman spoke, almost starstruck.
“You bet it is!” Connor confirmed.
“Damn, Connor, you didn’t tell us you were friends with a supersoldier!”
“And she’s so pretty! Fuck, some people really do get it all.”
“Dude, and she doesn’t chill with us? Not cool, man. Not cool.”
Truth be told, Sam had stopped taking in their words after the first input from the others, as all the praise was starting to get her red in the face… something she was not so keen on putting on display. Admiral Conway (and to a lesser extent, Eisen) had always lavished her with genuine praise (and scathing criticisms), and after a while she got used to it, though their appreciation for her efforts never dwindled.
Hearing it from others, however, was humbling yet thrilling at the same time.
Sam shifted on her feet idly, pointedly avoiding all of the unfamiliar yet giddy gazes.
“Heh, well… just a soldier is all,” she said.
Connor interjected with a sudden change in topic, nudging her arm deliberately with a hopeful inflection lacing his tone:
“I see you snuck in and watched us from the shadows all mysterious-like… what’d ya think? Were we any good?” he asked.
The others fixed their gazes on Sam, seeking her answer in kind.
With the subject being drawn away from her, Sam breathed an internal sigh, but the new topic brought her original reasons for being in this predicament to the forefront.
Even so, she had little trouble answering his question with the shimmering-eyed enthusiasm that she had become somewhat known for on the front lines.
“You guys were amazing! I mean… heh, the way you moved in ways that matched the music so perfectly,” she began, stopping herself from going on a tangent.
Chuckling awkwardly at her little outward display, Sam simply ended with a shrug:
“I was enjoying the show, in case you didn’t notice.”
One of the women, dark-skinned and sporting some stylish, shortened black hair, stepped forward with a bright smile, offering her hand.
“Damn, that feels awesome coming from you! Corporal Denise Greer. It’s so awesome to meet you!”
Sam took her hand with a giggle and shook, though she retreat somewhat behind a few of her bangs.
“Heh, I’m Sam. Nice to meet you, too.”
Denise cocked her head with a prodding smirk.
“Is ‘Sam’ short for something? And no rank or last name?” she teased.
Oh boy.
Sam took a deep breath as she prepared for what she was about to say, the same, rehearsed speech she had memorized since her first weeks.
“I’m actually new here and reporting directly to Conway,” she explained tentatively…
...then as she earned everyone’s attention at her words, she continued confidently.
“I’m technically a Corporal on paper, but Conway’s got something in mind, so he told me to stay away from identifying myself by rank. Sorry to say, it’s classified. Oh, and my last name’s Kerwin.”
Sam cleared her throat, excitedly yet curiously relaying the next part:
“And… no, I don’t think it’s short for anything? Everyone’s just called me ‘Sam’ for as long as I remember. But please, ‘Sam’ is just fine.”
At the mention of Conway’s name, all five of the others donned much more impressed looks, as well as garnering a few ‘oohs.’
“Well, excuuuuse us, Corporal Kerwin,” Denise replied, exaggerating her words to everyone’s amusement.
“Say, Sam…” Connor cut back in, drawing everyone’s attention. “We’re looking for a sixth person to join us on our routines on downtime. And you’re pretty cool. You interested?”
Sam, understandably blindsided by the question, subconsciously backed away from the group as she felt crowded all of a sudden.
“W-What? I umm… I couldn’t. I don’t even know how to dance, and I don’t think I’d be able to keep up with you guys at all, especially with my training,” she politely declined.
Though deep down, something screamed at her to accept. A combination of her normal duties as well as her lack of social skills contributed to her not being able to do so, in good conscience.
Denise, however, had other plans, evident by she gripping Sam by the hand.
“That’s a great idea, Connor! And don’t worry about it, Sam… we’ll get you up to speed!”
And with a shrill yelp from the clone, she was forcefully dragged by the group of overly-friendly Federation troopers that were so eager to become her friends.
Well, at least that’s what she eventually found out.
[The Bridge | Some Weeks Later]
The steely, ever-calculating face of Fredrick Conway stared out into the open void of space from his perch at the forward viewport, where he could usually be found if someone were to come looking for him.
The bridge’s staff buzzed to and fro, doing their duties to keep the Oculus on station, though the place was a little more awash with activity. Preparations were underway to ensure the entire Sixth Fleet was ready to make a jump to hyperspace.
Among the activity of his subordinates, Conway’s stillness stood out. Arms folded comfortably behind his back, his always clean face and neatly pressed uniform gave him one of the most imposing presences when combined with the odd lighting. Few of his fellows dared approach him in this position, though Conway tried to convince them it was okay. Everyone aboard his ship, from vice admirals down to the greenest trooper, were permitted to seek him out should they need him..
He figured this had to do with how stoic he looked, how every time someone laid eyes on him, the edges of his lips were curled down in a soundless snarl. A ‘resting commander’s’ face, he liked to refer to it as, but he had his reasons for having such a natural complexion.
Still, the only one who would approach him without any regard would be Commander Eisen.
Conway let his mind wander as he waited for some final diagnostic results and confirmations, taking a deep breath and exhaling.
He recalled vividly how when he made the rank of Captain, his wife, Anne, had surprised him by leaving him. With this excitement expertly dashed by a single note, this was the spark that drove him into a simultaneous spiral upward in rank and achievement, yet downward in sheer bitterness and cynicism at the galaxy.
He was merely a captain, then. Since that day, he had raked in the praise of higher officers and even the Chairman himself for his tireless efforts in making the Federation safer and more secure for all sentients—with the help of Admiral Dane, of course.
Yet now, here he was: on the verge of uniting the Galaxy under the Federation’s rule and exterminating or expelling every remaining threat to Federation dominance. His efforts may have be unorthodox, yes, and some might call his practices unethical, he conceded… but under his command, the Federation would flourish, and the Chairman would grant him a Fleet Admiralship when Dane retired.
Overseer of the entire, greater Armed Forces of the Galactic Federation.
If only Anne could see him now.
“Fredrick?”
Conway stiffened his posture and turned on his heels with a smirk; there was only one person who had the right to call him by his first name. In doing so, he found exactly who he expected, though with the smooth, authoritative voice that rang out, he did not expect anyone else. He found her in her usual uniform, hair tied up neatly in a bun under her visor-cap, with that same tablet cradled in her arm since the first day he met her.
“Tess. How’re you today, adjutant?” he asked, raising the corner of his mouth.
Eisen scowled.
“Ugh, you know I hate that title.”
Conway chuckled, tilting his head briefly to relieve some tension in his neck.
“I’m well aware, which is why I continue to use it once in awhile; gotta keep you on edge,” he replied.
Then he took a much more familiar stance and crossed his arms under his chest.
“I trust you have good news for me?”
Eisen sneered at him jokingly, to which Conway inwardly giggled at having riled her up.
“Have I ever let you down?”
“Not to my knowledge, unless there’s something you’d like to tell me now that’ll break this trend,” the Admiral suggested, cocking an eyebrow.
Eisen rolled her eyes, unlocking her tablet and navigating appropriately.
“Oh ye of little faith, Admiral… but at any rate, it looks like the last ship’s engineering team made ready a half hour ago. CIC reports fleetwide navlock; the Fleet is prepared to jump on your order.”
Conway nodded, then placed his chin in the crook of his thumb and index finger.
“Very good. And Sam is doing well? With these preparations, I haven’t been able to check up on her as personally as I’d have liked this month,” he inquired.
The Commander beamed.
“Certainly is! She’s getting stronger every day and her skills only continue to improve. Her mind is like a sponge right now, too… and her ability to speak and formulate sentences gets better by the day. It’s like she’s rapidly catching up to where she should be as a naturally born adult in the span of a few months!” she reported.
Conway relaxed his stance, then leaned back against the bridge railing.
“Is that so? And she’s not burning out in the slightest or showing any negative effects from her constant training and knowledge building?”
Eisen shook her head, her complexion never changing.
“Nope! In fact, at my recommendation, she’s taken up a couple of hobbies to help relax her mind. These include reading, weight training, and most curiously… dancing.”
The admiral recoiled at the mention of the last word, and as if it would help him hear properly, he adjusted his visor-cap out of habit. He averted his face but kept his eyes squarely trained on Eisen.
“...Dancing?”
“Mhmm!”
He caressed the cleft of his chin, eyes donning a thousand-yard stare for a brief moment.
“Interesting… well, whatever helps keep her focused on her purpose and missions is alright in my book, I suppose. At any rate, on the topic of missions, once we jump into hyperspace I would like you to give Sam a preliminary briefing on her first real deployment once we arrive at Planet Equis,” Conway instructed.
His posture righted once more in the face of business. The first die had been cast with the perfectly planned ‘deployment’ of Spectre Squad, and their consequent failure to return. The next phase of the ruse would necessitate more covert operations before the actual objective would be revealed.
Eisen’s eyes widened briefly.
“Is it time?”
“Yes,” Conway reaffirmed resolutely, his eyes playing host to that soulless stare that Eisen had become so privy to when assumed his rightful ‘commanding’ role.
“She’s come a long way since her ‘birth.’ The moment we enter Equisian orbit is when we start sending teams out. Working with intelligence, we shall brief her more formally when the time comes, but this first mission will be critical to our objectives.”
Eisen took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a couple seconds, exhaling solemnly. It was difficult knowing that eventually, something you had to create and that you hold so dearly, experiment-wise, would be put into harm’s way. Still, this was balanced out by knowing she would get incredible data to work with.
SA-2 would also survive and perform optimally. There was no question about this.
“Yes, sir. I’ll speak to her tonight when I’m able.”
Conway patted her shoulder with a friendly smirk, one which Eisen herself couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“It can wait until tomorrow. Take the rest of the night off, you look exhausted,” he almost ordered, eliciting a light-hearted chuckle out of the Commander.
“Then I’ll do just that. Thanks, Fred,” she replied, snapping to attention and delivering a more formal salute.
Conway’s return salute was militarily perfect, and static nearly crackled from his uniform. Dismissed, Eison hurried from the bridge, with extra urgence from the Admiral. Conway suspected she’d disobey and continue to work before retiring, but her unwavering work ethic was what earned her her place by his side.
Hence, the reason Conway usually gave her free reign.
Facing back towards the viewing pane, Conway decided it was time to make the announcement:
“Aurora 192!”
“Aurora 192 ready,” came the prompt, omnipotent reply from the ship’s controlling intelligence.
“Alert the Fleet!” Conway boomed. “We enter hyperspace in ten minutes! Destination: Planet Equis VK109H.”
“Acknowledged. Broadcast to: Galactic Federation Armed Forces Sixth Fleet,” the Unit began, in its slow, deliberate cadence.
“All personnel prepare for hyperspace jump. Hyperspace jump commencing in: ten minutes.” the Aurora Unit began broadcasting in one-minute intervals with updated time.
With the fleet officially set in motion, a galvanized Conway resumed gazing out of the window pane at space and the fleet before him. The final course corrections were being made and soon, all would follow along the three-day journey to Equis.
Operations would commence immediately.
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You mean we're not going to get to see the rest of Samus and Discord's conversation?
Still, loved Sapphire's bit. That was silly and adorable.
When a perfect copy with all the tech and knowledge she has (and better armor) can't put Samus down, what makes him think a genetic copy with less training and inferior tech can even come close? How is Conway that stupid and still an admiral?
Heh, even Metroids can't stand Discord's antics for long ^^
7633576 You don't get it, mate.
Her job is NOT to take on Samus head on. That's absolutely foolish and even he knows that. Everyone knows that. Her job is something else, to 'assist' in Samus' termination.
What this 'assist' means is still a mystery.
Glad to see you've update after all this time! Can't wait for more.
When you think about it, Samus is basically a human/Chozo/metroid cockroach. you can throw whatever you want at her, but she'll survive. I can't wait to see how it goes down when Melissa realizes her team was basically a human sacrifice.
So yay update.
And am I seeing a romance going on between Samus and Twilight here?
We need more interaction between Samus and Discord. Things might get interesting and funny at the same time.
Also I kinda warming up to Sam. I wonder if Samus will be jealous if her clone's a better dancer than she is.
7633622 Unless they want to glass the planet and use their grossly expensive pet-projects as cannon fodder, I don't see this going well for them.
7634683 We'll see about that
7634727 I also know you aren't the type for "everyone dies" endings. Moments of "Oh, shit" maybe, but not "and then they all died". At least for the heroes.
7634151 we can never see samus as a romantic. Well depends how you view it
Knowing what the insignia looks like, I'm guessing that rotation will make this thing double as a clock.
Oh my God, It's the Summer Sun Celebration all over again... Is this really what you're doing? This route? I'm alright with it, so long as it isn't cliche as fuck. Oh, and it'd be great if somebody died.
But that's, ya know, personal preference. Just do whatever isn't cliche that you like, I guess.
(INSERT "ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME MEME")
Alright! An update! I love this series!
Aww...I don't really hate Sam. It's not exactly her fault that her purpose in life (or so Conway would have it) is to kill Samus. But if she has to die, I don't know what else to do.
HELL YEAH, MAGIC HYPER MODE!
Oh, right! I forgot about that! Definitely curious to see where this goes. I like it when Discord's utilized for ancient knowledge, or things like that. Also, thank you, Sapphire (we really should get rid of the Alicorn Amulet. I have this terrifying possible plot, where Sam gets to Equis, puts it on, and becomes Nightmare Hunter).
7633576
Well the Special Forces need a special commander...
Much like the with special farces situation there is an easy answer, send down a single shuttle ask (using military orders) Samus to get on the shuttle for a meeting. Then simply destroy the shuttle when it reaches orbit, she cannot defend against this and if she refuses then you can 'officially' issue Equis with an arrest warrant for her...
/Edit
Being serious though, I wonder how he plans on doing away with Samus while somehow managing to NOT look like an invasion force bringing the entire sixth fleet to Equis on unsanctioned military action.
I'm assuming that he's using intelligence about Samus to ellict a reaction from her that he can exploit.
7634103
you forgot the bit of her that's X parasite
7638720 Samus is not X parasite. She has no DNA of it.
7638720 She's not part X parasite. Those metroid genes mean the X are her natural prey now.
7638723
7638765
Didn't the X parasite bond with her? Or was it just with her suit... I need to replay Fusion it seems.
7638773 I got ya my dude. What you're thinking of is that since she can absorb the parasites, especially the large Core-X, some of her abilities are restored this way. At the end when you fight the Omega Metroid, one of the SA-X comes in and attacks the metroid, but takes a hit, reverting it to its Core-X form, which you then absorb to get the new suit.
7636437
But Samus is a bounty hunter. She's under no obligation to take military orders. That's part of the whole reason she became a bounty hunter in the first place. Also, as far as I recall, she was pardoned for her actions on the BSL and isn't being held accountable for defending herself against Spectre Squad.
That being said, sending a pod to invite her to the flagship and causing it to "accidentally" explode half-way out of the stratosphere does sound kind of like something Conway would do . . . Just as equipping her powersuit just in the nick of time and riding the debris back to the surface of the planet sounds exactly like something Samus would do.
That being said, I think it's more likely that Conway is going to attack her reputation. He's going to paint it as Samus' actions, doing the typical good PR villain thing and calling her out for being essentially an overly powerful vigilante, claiming that especially after the BSL Incident, she's going to let the power go to her head. Then, Sam is going to be put to work running terror campaigns, which Conway will claim is Samus' doing while trumpeting "I told you so!" and calling for her arrest.
7639094
Whoops her free lance status slipped my mind for some reason. Not sure if he'll attack her reputation though (unless he has a redemption in mind) as I think he's trying to replace Samus with Sam and officially induct her (and the chozo tech) into the sixth fleet.
7639094 love the speculation going on here.
Also, the end of Fusion didn't canonically say that Samus was pardoned for her actions against Federation property. It pretty much just said that she and Adam took the midnight train going anywhere for a while. Kinda the interpretation I made here, that the actual Federation high command didn't actually have a clue what was happening, with the Bottle Ship and BSL being Conway's pet projects
7634683 I don't see an attempt to glass Equis going well for anyone - if you have entities powerful enough to raise and lower the Sun and Moon, and they're not even the most powerful beings around, then, well, how does that go? "the power to destroy entire planets is insignificant compared to the force"...
7639707
Oh, that's right. I was trying to remember why she wasn't in trouble for her actions on those stations, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Either way, she's doesn't really have any legal concerns given that the stations themselves weren't strictly legal anyway.
7639117
That's quite the interesting theory, and I honestly quite like it. Still, I'd imagine that Chozo tech is a little more advanced than mere genetic recognition technology. I'd think that if Sam managed to steal the suit, it would go "reading memories . . . What the Hell, you're not Samus. I'm gonna eat you now." Or possibly worse, given what happened to Space Pirate test subjects who were using duplicated morphball tech. Of course, I could be entirely wrong. After all, hand scanners don't even care what your hand is shaped like in the Metroid 'verse.
7640189 Remember, even natural clones (identical twins) have different fingerprints, resting heart rates, and other unique features. A perfect bio-metric match on a body-wide and cellular level (what I'd assume the Chozo would put in something that powerful) would be all but impossible.
Also, even if he tries to bullshit her about the BSL Station, she can just say "Why not come down so we can discuss if I should be accountable for an illegal Metroid cloning operation?" back.
7640189
and now I'm thinking of this:
But no change the scale, pull apart and reverse engineer every piece of chozo tech you can find. Sam's existence indicates that they're already working to reverse engineer the biological side of things and once you put both sides together you have a Spartan/Space Marine programme.
Interesting development for Sam, can't wait to see how forging connections with others affects her final meeting with Samus.
Samus's new toys are wonderful, can't wait to see her get to use them. Can I suggest that charging the Celestial beam creates a glow that can light up an entire cave????? As in, once enemies can see Samus, she can see them and they are dead.
7639094 The problem with using Sam to frame Aran is that Samus Aran has an AIR TIGHT alibi. As a personal friend to both Princess Luna and the Bearers, and as DIRECT AGENT of the Solar and Lunar thrones, she's pretty much above reproach. You would need Luna, Sunbutt, or one of the Bearers themselves to witness the act of terror. And even then there is the fact that, thanks to magic, they could easily test Samus to see if it really was her. (Either a magical lie detector or possibly even direct memory scanning.) Given her close relationship with them Samus would certainly submit to a request for such by Luna/Twilight/Sunbutt, even more so if one of them were performing the test themselves. Suddenly we have solid proof that it CAN NOT be Samus. Now you have GF rogue agents who've already tried to murder Samus (not to mention Twilight & Fluttershy who were in harms way as well) and now a clear attempt at a frame job against a prized asset of the Equestrian Diarchy. That's going to leave some hard questions for the GF fleet currently in orbit who shouldn't be there at all...
7650825
Yes, but the Admiral doesn't know that. Even then, it will still cause internal conflict among the inhabitants of Equestria. Furthermore, his main focus may be on besmirching Samus among the Galactic Federation, and the GF itself would likely be far less convinced by evidence that relies on something as esoteric as (pony) magic.
7650937 Alright, I could see it. Still not a really good plan IMO. Even if he could smear her in the GF's eyes, what would she care? She's basically retired unless "BAD SHIT" happens and she has to go deal with it. She doesn't need the GF to provide her with a living. And if something big enough to hit the "SAMUS ARAN THRESHOLD" actually were to happen, they would call her in anyway. She's THAT GOOD. Causing internal strife among the Equis populations is probably the best bet. However that only works if Sam were to attack NON-EQUESTRIAN targets, gryphons, minotuars, dragons, ect. That could cause some damage. The Diarchy could claim "It wasn't us", since Samus is an agent of the Diarchy. But it would still cause strife between the other Equis races and the ponies.
7650978
I don't recall reading that Samus had retired, only that she was taking a break. She's usually portrayed as married to the concepts of justice and protection for the galaxy, so I doubt she would ever truly quit; at best, I'd imagine that she'd only ever stop actively saving the galaxy when she's grown too old and worn out for it, at which point she would have probably already groomed a replacement for herself.
Anyway, strife could still be stirred up within the pony population herself. After all, if Sam were to go in and devastate a village, then what are the survivors going to trust: the words of other ponies, or their own eyes? Granted, those other ponies would be nigh-immortal royalty, but the confusion and doubt created by such events could provide a myriad of useful benefits for someone who thrives off of those situations.
7638773 Nope, she ate the f
er.
7651014 Bounty Hunters such as Samus aren't technically employed unless somebody hires them to do something. Therefore they are technically "retired" after every completed mission until they are convinced to take on another job. (Possible convincing factors including but not limited to: running low on funds, getting bored of a peaceful lifestyle, potential clients literally begging on hands and knees for the Hunter to save their flanks, and, the most likely candidate here, fecal matter hitting the fan at universal destruction levels and the Hunter deciding they'll save the day now and figure out who to bill later.)
7661508
I think you're confusing "retirement" with "unemployment." Retirement implies that you've left the business entirely and don't intend on returning. Being unemployed is merely the state of not being on someone's payroll.
What I'm interested in seeing is what happens with the other potential Chozo facilities that might be holding X, since they thought there may be others, and I don't think Flammen would bring up X being on the planet without there being ramifications from that. Think of all the massive disaster stuff that could happen from it (even if the aetheric fields made them "lethargic" or less virulent). X infecting Sam after she gets deployed, X infecting Luna/Celestia/Twilight/Cadance, X infecting the Mane 6, or heck, even a massive X-pedemic across the planet. *shudder*
Should I keep holding on and believe that this story will get updated again at some point soon, or just delete my Metroid: Equis bookshelf? I don't want to stop reading it, but I also don't want to keep it faved if it takes too long.
7780875 Just realized it's been two months since I updated last. Fuck.
I should continue with this.
Alright, goodbye, bookshelf.
7781356 awesome chapter my friend please continue to upload more chapters for this story I'll be waiting my friend and keep me posted on the story
7781356
...and two months more since you made this post. How are things holding up?
Over 3 months and still nothing new. I wonder if something went wrong or if he just forgot about this story.
8057064 It's next in line after I publish one more thing this week. I lost motivation for a good while
8157417 Hell nah! Y'all gotta wait and see....
but first i need to get out of my motivational slump for the story
8194884
Relax Yo. It's coming, he just has to get motivated again is all. The same thing could happen to me or you, ya know. Still I get what saying waiting sucks but it is what it is. Not much we can do but try to help.
Finally got caught up, and I gotta say, I am loving every bit of it. The story is moving along nicely and you are still doing awesome with the quality of this masterpiece. And don’t worry about pushing chapters out in a sense of duty to us, post them at your own pace. Many of us don’t mind being patience, especially knowing we are getting something awesome for our wait. Keep up the epic work, but don’t work too hard and burn yourself out.
C&Cs for Ch. 6-9 will be PM.
8157459
I hope you are able to continue this, there are a lot of story points I really want to see grow!
What's amasing is how I always find stories to learn they are on life support.
Great story, but I really wanna see an update.
Hey, since Samus is getting back the night beam, does that mean that the Asteroid Bombardment is also returning? Reasons for that might include the fact that the suit lost its magical connection, but not the data for the charge combo, or some kind of magical intervention.
It would be nice to see that thing in action again.