Once everyone had calmed down from the intensity of the previous story segment - and older sisters and older sister figures had calmed and comforted the youngsters - Celestia turned to Samus. "So what happened after that?" she asked.
"Well," Samus continued, "after that, I was able to go to one of the chambers behind the Hall and acquire my Ice Beam, one of my more useful beam weapons. Afterwards, my map indicated somewhere new to explore via an elevator to the Tallon Overworld..."
Following a path around a great many tree roots, the pair came out atop a high cliff above where Spike had found his first meal of Phazon. The Pirate Frigate that Samus had explored in orbit had crashed there, and most of it was underwater. They made their way back to the ship after dealing with a few aeropirates, though Spike now had to sit outside as he was a bit big for the interior as he was. Samus made a mental note to figure out a solution to that. She certainly wasn't going to leave him behind.
While Samus was inside the ship, Spike decided to meditate as she had taught him. He tried to apply logic to the problem. If he had grown this fast, logic seemed to dictate to him that he should be able to shrink as well. He was probably on the wrong track, but it was worth a try to attempt. Remembering how it had felt to grow, he focused his mind on that sensation, trying to reverse it.
He hadn't made any progress by the time Samus came back out of the ship. "We need to get back to the Phendrana Drifts," Samus stated. "Scans indicate unusual gravity fluctuations there. In all likelihood, it's a Chozo Gravity Suit upgrade, which will let me handle water easier."
"Let's go," Spike agreed, standing back up.
Returning to the Drifts via the elevator behind Thardus' former lair, Samus and Spike made their way to another section of the drifts. Following separate paths, they began exploring a large underground section. The only new enemy was the Hunter Metroid, which actually proved to be even easier to deal with for Spike than the standard Tallon variant. A quick side step as it lashed out with its energy draining tentacle and a quick snap, and Spike's jaw closed on the tentacle itself. As only the teeth at the end of the tendril drained energy, this left the Hunter Metroid completely helpless as Spike dragged it towards him before eating it in a single bite, tearing it apart with his teeth. "Strawberry!" he said happily, licking his lips.
Underwater, they encountered another new hostile called a Jetzap...which proved inedible to Spike, as his teeth couldn't get through the tough hide, even after its two halves were forcefully severed in the center of the electrical current that kept them connected.
When they reached the chamber where Samus had detected the gravimetric anomalies, she clung to Spike's side as he swam through the massive underground lake. He was built for water far better than she was in her Power Suit without the Gravity Suit function. Thankfully, Spike was able to quickly find the upgrade, and once it had been applied to the suit, Samus was able to leap through the water as easily as she did in the air.
Surfacing, Spike posed a question. "So now we're headed back to the sunken frigate?" he asked.
"Yes," Samus replied.
"Can we take a detour on the way back?" Spike asked. "I...feel another artifact."
Nodding, Samus let Spike lead the way.
Once more in the Chozo Ice Temple, Spike used his high intensity flame to melt the ice on a Chozo statue, allowing Samus to activate it with her Morph Ball. She then entered the chamber opened beneath it the same way to acquire the Artifact of Sun.
The pair explored the crashed frigate carefully, maneuvering through the underwater sections in their own ways. It wasn't certain which of them was more suited to water. While Spike's swimming was faster and less confined by needing a flat surface to push off or land on, the water negated the flame breath that was his primary weapon, and he wasn't able to swing his claws well for striking. He was forced to fall back on ramming and biting, which had limited usefulness, especially against aquapirates with their hydropacks that let them fly underwater.
As they explored, Samus discovered that the easiest way to deal with the aquapirates was to freeze them with a shot of ice beam - unlike the aeropirates, aquapirates couldn't dodge sideways as fast - and then shatter them with a missile.
"That's actually one of the most useful techniques I've developed for fighting in my exploration," Samus explained to her intent audience. "Freeze an enemy, then shatter it. With smaller enemies, I've yet to find a freezable enemy that doesn't shatter with a single missile shot."
"And she doesn't even need missiles when we're out of water," Spike explained. "Once I got big enough, a single punch did the trick."
Spike's bravado got a chuckle from the gathered mares. "So why'd you have to explore the frigate?" Pinkie asked. "Doesn't sound like you missed anything from when it was in orbit."
Samus nodded. "I didn't. But...the frigate blocked a path to where we did need to go."
"Into the heart of Space Pirate territory on Tallon IV," Spike added.
"The Phazon Mines," they chorused together.
The gathered audience was dead silent...except for one.
"Ooh," Pinkie giggled. "Nice suspense!"
Thanks for having an enemy that Samus can fight better, that helps.
Dragon not op in water
Soon enough we find ourselves no foe that Spike can't face, and even then with his mothers help it will be wiped out quickly.
Now, drinking so much phazon... man, evolving like that is Alex Mercer levels of adapting.
Planet Phaaz
So, too tough to cut like normal animals but too soft to shatter like gems? (ie. Dragon chew-toy?)
I love it that you are the fastes author I'm following right now. I mean seriously, i am currently following this story and "the merch with a moth" and I'm tempted in starting "there's nopony I'd rather be then me" and i am impressed at how fast you update your stories. I couldn't be any happier at your progress but i have noticed that this fast updates also come with shorter chapters in both stories. I know I'm gonna earn the rage of a thousand suns from every reader out there for saying this but i'll say it anyways. Maybe you should slow down a bit and make the chapters longer. (not that they are any less good by being shorter its just that it lets us wanting more to an extremely annoying level)
I love you please don't kill me
6124253
Each chapter I write for a story is between 1k and 3k words, an average of 2k words per chapter.
I write a chapter for two of my stories each day, a total of one new chapter on six stories every three days.
That's an average of 12,000 words every 3 days, or 28,000 words a week.
This is my rate of comfort for writing.
...and that's fing scary spelled out like that.
6124268 oh... my...
6124268 Yup, very scary. But thanks for doing it anyway :D
Another enjoyable chapter. Well done.
I just want something cleared up. Exactly which other Metroid games is this story going to go through. I know that we'll at least be going through Fusion. I've personally never played a Metroid game, but I would still like to know.
6124611
The entire official timeline.
6124611 Never played a Metroid game. My friend, you have been missing out. Metroid and Castlevania are such great series that people actually named a whole genre after them. Metroidvania if I remember correctly. If you find joy and excitement in exploring and finding new secret, even beyond what is needed to complete a game, they are certainly worth it. In fact, if you have Nintendo WiiU, then you can get the whole Metroid Prime trilogy in one package from the eShop. That would be a near perfect place start with the series and would give you some more context on this story. Heck the old Metroid games found in the eShop are almost enough of a reason to get the damn console.
Nice chapter. I eagerly await seeing how Samus and Spike deal with the Pirates base, though I think in the end the Pirates will feel like this:
And just for kicks:
6124223 Now I have the image of the poor creature thrashing in Spike's jaws as he just walks along nomming it.
6124268 *looks at the numbers* HOLY S!!! Dang, that's impressive. I do like getting two chapters a day, they usually come up in my inbox just in time for me to read during my lunch break.
6124268
I actually had to take a while after reading that little bit of your writing pace to think of a way to express my joy in even distantly tasteful manner. Let's just say that I almost had to change my pants after I finally understood what you wrote.
6124268 do you even SLEEP?!
6124844 I would do it, but it would bleed me dry to buy a Wii-U and the games to go with it.
6124611
It doesn't matter which of the games this is going through.
They are all equally amazing!
Except for "Other M", that was trash
6124268 ... Totally should ask some animators to animate some of this stuff... This could toatally lead to an animation war between the sfm and the 2d ponymation community's... Which would lead to them competing to out preform the other... Which would solve the current video deficient!!!!
IT'S GENIUS!!!!!
6124223 Does it squeak?
Another enjoyable chapter! keep it up!
6124268
Personally, I'm impressed. I could never get myself to write that much, especially for more than one or two stories.
Shit! I caught up to the updates! Hopefully it won't be long till another comes out.
I only now realize the pun in the chapter title.
6124157 or James Heller.
6126269
Actually, based off of gameplay alone, Other M wasn't that bad. Sadly, the "plot", as well as the voice "acting" killed it. Dang near killed the series, in fact. And this Prime Federation spinoff isn't helping much.
6528974 It didn't nearly kill the series... It was an attempt to get the series back onto the ORIGINAL plot/track. Hence why it was 3rd person.
7129296
The two statements are not mutually exclusive. Other M was meant to get the games to align with the manga. However, the sloppy execution may or may not be the reason we haven't had a game since, and why Federation Force doesn't even star Samus.
Ominous much?
P.S: Please don't kill me if this is like the most deadly thing ever. I only came for Spike being a badass.
Darn so close.
This story is too interesting to not read on.
6124268 that's... 2.7 WORDS A MINUTE?!
I was thinking this as I played the game, but now I'm thinking it even more.
The Logbook entry has the Jetzap's brain in the top half, with the other organs- which I assume include the heart -in the bottom half. So how in the hell is the brain supposed to work like that?!
The only thing I can think of is that the creature has a primarily electric-based physiology; all food is essentially converted to energy, which replaces blood.
It's not the only creature in the Metroid universe that makes little sense from a biological perspective. I'd say that most are impossible; then again, there are bacteria that can live in hydrochloric acid.
6124253
I for one, like shorter chapters. Tats is my favorite author, right up there with Fusion Fool the Third and Autumn Breeze.