"So, unintended nightmare scenarios aside," Velvet cut in, "what was Sector 6 like?"
"Dark," Samus replied readily. "Sector 6 (NOC) was specifically for the study of nocturnal creatures, and as such large portions of it were kept in absolute darkness. Only the light our armor gave off even let us see."
"That and my flame breath," Spike added. "I...admit I went a little overboard with it..."
"A little?" Samus countered with a raised eyebrow. "Spike you roasted anything that moved, and half the things that didn't! I had to dodge a panicked discharge five times."
As Spike rubbed the back of his head nervously, Twilight spoke up. "Well, you can't really blame him for being cau-"
"In the first dark room," Samus added in a growl.
Twilight froze, her hoof raised and her mouth hanging open. "...sorry Spike," she admitted as she unfroze. "I've got nothing for that."
"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" Spike demanded. "I couldn't see the X in the dark!"
"But you could still feel unusual heat sources," Fluttershy pointed out. "Why not use that to sense any unusual cold spots to aim?"
Spike stared at Fluttershy for a time, then brought his claw to his face with an audible smack. Several listeners stifled giggles. Ember laughed openly.
"So other than almost being roasted, how did things go in Sector 6?" Rainbow asked once the laughing stopped.
"Pretty straight forward, actually," Samus replied. "In addition to being completely dispersed by Spike's flame breath, the Blue X could also be stunned by my beam weapons. Although...there was one point..."
Samus and Spike raced along the corridor they'd entered, only to find the path blocked by a solid wall. Scans showed that it could only be broken down with a Power Bomb. They started to turn back, only to hear the approach of footsteps. "What do we do?" Spike whispered desperately.
Looking around, Samus noticed that the floor was vulnerable to ordinary bombs and quickly dropped one. Finding a passageway underneath, she dropped into it, Spike quickly shrinking down and following. As they hid, they could hear the footsteps directly above them, making their way to the wall. Hearing a familiar beeping, Samus rolled as far down the passage as she could, Spike racing after her just ahead of the blast of a Power Bomb.
When the blast passed, Samus and Spike carefully made their way forward, the entire floor above them missing. They could see the SA-X walking ahead, simply marching, behaving very differently than it had when last they'd seen it. It stepped on one of Spike's shed scales without even noticing before leaping down to a lower level, making its way through another door. Samus and Spike waited a while to let it move ahead, before leaping down to make their own way through.
Samus paused, glancing worriedly towards Pinkie, remembering how discussion of the SA-X had affected her earlier. Pinkie, for her part, was munching popcorn. "You okay, Pinkie?" Samus asked softly.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Well...last time the SA-X came up..." Samus began.
"That was then, this is now," Pinkie countered. "Completely different issue." She tossed more popcorn into her mouth.
Chuckling, Samus turned back to the others. "Well, the Data Room wasn't long after that, and we didn't really encounter much in the way of dangers beyond the Blue X...but the Data Room was covered by an Eye Door."
"Wait...a Large Core X was in the Data Room?" Shining asked, stunned.
"What was it doin' in there?" Applejack demanded.
"Something that was rather frightening..." Spike murmured softly.
As Samus and Spike burst into the Data Room, they found the Large Core X settled in the download capsule, information transferring from the device into the X. Before either of them could fully react, the download finished, and the X destroyed the download capsule as it phased through the opposite wall. Realizing the X had stolen the Varia Suit data, Samus and Spike raced after it into the next room.
The chamber was quite tall, filled with water at the bottom with only a few platforms above it. As they entered, a massive, bulbous creature flew in, covered in spikes and surrounded by smaller versions of itself. It was like no creature they had ever seen before. "What is that?" Samus demanded.
Spike sniffed at the air as the creature passed. "I...I think that's the biological components of your Varia Suit," he explained. "It downloaded the data...and used it to create a form to fight us with."
Growling, Samus charged her beam. "I'm taking my suit back."
Nodding, Spike focused his attention. Varia Suit...that's resistance to temperature extremes, so my ice and fire breath aren't going to be helpful... Shifting his focus in his glands, he took a deep breath and unleashed his electric breath. As he'd expected, it tore through the smaller spheroids surrounding the main creature, pushing it back as it took damage. Samus took advantage of the opening created to fire off a few charged shots.
After a few volleys, the bright green creature began to dim towards orange, and then red, before the beast finally crumbled away. The Large Core X revealed had a thinner outer membrane, like the ones that had restored Samus Morph Ball and Jump-related abilities. Like those, missiles were able to damage the membrane at any time, and Spike was able to grasp the membrane to hold it in place for Samus to fire at. Before long, the membrane collapsed, and Samus was able to reclaim her Varia Suit effect, which changed her suit from a pale blue to the bright green the creature had originally been.
I don't know why that eye door didn't scare me at all, but once I saw what it was doing in the data room, I was pissed. "Get back here with that you thieving prick! DIE!!!"
Eh, 6/10.
At least you can dodge.
Nor do I.
... That could work.
I remember that. You can stay in the left corner and be completely fine.
Strange...
Fair point.
Yep.
Downloading the Varia Suit data making it immune to everything except Charge Beams.
That's about it.
Good shot!
More like yellowish green I find.
HA! Even Twilight can't make an excuse!
hmmmm hey Tatsurou any chance you might give us a chapter from the perspective of the SA-X.
7289229 Don't see how it would be possible. The story is entirely from Spike and Samus`s perspectives and the SA-X would have to be in the room to relay its perspective unless Spike absorbed its memories or something.
7289266
On the other hand, Samus does eat the SA-X at the end of Metroid Fusion.
7289618 That is a good point. Tats! We need a chapter from the SA-X's PoV!
7289720 Oh, indeed. It's also very adorable at times. The 5th episode was hilarious.
7289266 well spike does have a habit of eating things and the x do carry genetic memory
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
7278432 Ha. Ha. Ha.
You're twelve, aren't you?
I mean messing with her A.I. so badly that it broke.
Man, I wish Spike was in the game, if for no other reason than to hold enemies down so I could just unload my weapons on them.
7288943 Yeah, same here.
7289229 This would actually be interesting as long as it isn't just "walk walk hungry eat (repeat endlessly)" like the Dope Fish from Commander Keen
7289229 Hm, actually may be interesting--- unless it's too spoilery, concerning the thing Pinkie is/was worried about. Then it's a matter of how to put it in the narrative framework.
7290548 yeah. to me the SA-X is intelligent enough to have a inner life and possible monologue to its life.
7291301 i know exactly what pinkie is worried about that the SA-X is a sentient and intelligent life form with its own wants and desires which is exactly why i want a chapter focusing on its POV
oh boy next sa-x meeting will be the fun 1. i rly hated that running away moment.
7289896 It could be an interlude.
Yeah, I think Spike's reaction to the dangers of this sector is pretty reasonable.
7291873 Reading your comment and the ones you replied to made me have an idea. An SA-X, the intelligent one that tried to communicate with them, is still alive and is able to prevent itself from infecting others.
Ok I still don't get why Pinkie was sad about Sa-x the first time and not now. Can you please explain. I never played a metriod only watched rid bits
8380892
It will be explained in later chapters.
You know, I never understood that. It's Data, numbers, digital jibberish without something to read it correctly. So how did it 'Absorb' the data as a physical fleshy being that can only interact and take over organic stuff?
8670447
Because it was a program for Samus' Power Suit, which is a cybernetic construct equal parts technological and biological as far as how it functions. Assuming the X could download it, it could process it to do as it did.
The big question is how did the download work.
8670490
Electricity, perhaps?
Neurons in the brain transfer information by means of electric currents so, theoretically, the electricity powering the machine could have been used by the X as a way to “download” the data in a similar manner.
Wait, wait, wait. It was stated previously that he's weak to electricity but can also produce it? i'm confused.
9119512
He's vulnerable to the plasma beam, and has no specific defense to electric damage. Not the same thing as being weak to it.
I still dislike fusion's varia colors. I get wjy tjey changed it but, i wish it wasnt obnoxious.