#metroiddeadzone

Even though he was infected, Ridley was still ferocious as he always was. The infection turned him feral. Samus kept on her toes. She wasn’t at full strength and couldn’t fight him with her current weapons but that wasn’t going to stop her. All the damage Ridley caused to the ship to lose orbit and plummet toward the planet. The place was falling apart around them but Ridley didn’t care. It was like he had a hunger he couldn’t control.

Samus had no idea if anyone on the surface was alive and this crash was going to leave a dent. She couldn’t stop it either. All she could do was try and survive the crash when it happens but Samus wasn’t sure she was going to. Ridley kept attacking. It was like previous battles before so she had the rhythm down. Falling debris helped as well. It kept them separated and he couldn’t really fly around. Samus used that to her advantage and Ridley was pinned down. The ship started to tear apart now and Ridley fell out of the ship and burned in the atmosphere. She wasn’t sure if he was dead, but she could check later.

The rest of the ship stayed intact but was going to hit the planet soon. She quickly scanned a console to see if there were escape pods left and luckily found a few that were unused so she rushed to get to them. Right before she did, however, she was confronted by U-Mos. He had cuts and marks all over him. She couldn’t tell if it was from their fight or from the ship collapsing. “You aren’t leaving,” he growled. His voice was becoming more feral. “I will not let you.” U-Mos tried to attack her but was having trouble. The virus was warping him even more than before. Whatever was making him different than the rest of the infected, it only seemed to slow the infection down. U-Mos couldn’t stay standing and almost fell on her. But he kept fighting. Finally Samus ended it and made sure once and for all.

U-Mos’ ship finally crashed into the planet and killed most of the infected below. The rest of the planet was untouched but they all felt the impact. A group of survivors gathered around a different area, though. They had no idea what had happened or if the infected were still around but came out of their hiding spots to get a glance. It was a small piece from the Luminoth ship; an escape pod. The survivors didn’t know what to make of it but suddenly were joyful when they saw Samus climb out of the pod. She looked around the area and at the destruction.

“This isn’t an army,” Samus responded bitterly. “This is just a group of mindless monsters. You are killing innocent people.”

“What I’m doing is helping them. You’ll see it soon, Samus.” Samus pushed back against U-Mos and opened fire. His abilities were strong but it wasn’t as strong as she remembered. The virus weakened him, though Samus was surprised they were even still there. Something separated U-Mos from the rest of the infected. He was unique and could even control the other infected. He even was gaining back his powers. Samus overpowered U-Mos and he staggered back.

The ship started to shake. It seemed that the Space Pirates must have started to target the ship. But something seemed different. Samus’ attention was taken away as an infected jumped her from behind. She couldn’t see him but knew it wasn’t a Luminoth. She grabbed the infected’s collar and tossed him over her shoulder. Samus pointed her arm cannon and was ready to shoot him but then she saw who it was. It was Keaton. He was mindless and vicious. She kept him pinned down as he struggled to bite or scratch Samus. Even though she fought it, Samus knew what she had to do and fired. When Samus looked up, U-Mos was gone and Samus cursed. He couldn’t have gotten far.

Samus piloted the same ship she took back but even with the space between her ship and Ridley’s, Samus felt he was still too close. She felt as if he was watching her. But she needed to focus on the task at hand. It didn’t take long for them to finally reach the planet. Samus felt her heart sink when they reached the planet. She knew she didn’t have much time, but this was too soon. U-Mos was already attacking the planet. Once they noticed the Space Pirates, they engaged. Samus took note that Galactic Federation ships were mixed into the new fleet. His army grew even more and was laying siege to the planet.

“Very. I’m sure you heard about what happened on Diaban?”

“Just murmurs. Nothing more. It was attacked, though?”

“Yes. And the ones responsible are not going to stop until they kill every living thing in the galaxy.” There was a pause. Mother Brain continued to focus on Samus. After a short while, she replied. “And you didn’t stop them? My, my, Samus. You are slipping.”

“These aren’t normal creatures. The Luminoth... they have been infected with some sort of virus.”

“I’m intrigued. Go on.”

Samus told Mother Brain everything that had happened. All the while Mother Brain didn’t move. Samus couldn’t tell what Mother Brain was thinking. There was nothing to go by. After Samus was done talking, Mother Brain went silent again. Samus took a quick glance at the number of Space Pirates around them as well as the exits. She wasn’t sure what Mother Brain was going to do with this info, but she also knew that Mother Brain was smart. And if there was a group that was force capable of taking down the Galactic Federation capital planet, she couldn’t afford to ignore it. “So you want to join forces and fight back the infected Luminoth?”

“And the many species that were also on Diaban, yes. Or at least something like that. You’re smart enough to realize there isn’t any other choice.”

“Very well. We will team up for the moment. But after we defeat this threat, you and I both know what’ll happen.”

“We don’t have a chance on our own and this is something that threatens the Space Pirates just as much as us. I know I can convince them.”

“Even if you do, Samus, what would keep them from turning on us after we beat this?”

“I will deal with them.” Some of the members actually laughed after that. “You don’t expect us to believe that, right? We’ve all heard the rumors about how you drove the Space Pirates out of Zebes, but even you can’t do this.”

“I can and I will. Either way, we are out of options. Like it or not, the Space Pirates would be our best hope.”

“It would be a great way to keep our men from being killed,” suggested one of the members. After a while, the rest of the members finally agreed. There was only one condition. “You have to be the one to convince them.”

“Alright,” Samus replied. “I’ll do it.”

Samus was told the Federation had believed the Space Pirates went back to Zebes. It was also assumed that Mother Brain was alive. But since the Space Pirates didn’t do anything, Samus didn’t bother to check them out. Now as a good time as any to see if the rumor was true.

Zebes was roughly the same as she remembered it last time though the scars from her last visit was evident. Samus had gotten here with a small ship the Federation loaned her and she felt uncomfortable in the seat. The controls weren’t built around her arm cannon either. But she made it there and found no responses from the Space Pirates. She started to wonder if the Space Pirates were even here.

Samus made her way down to where Mother Brain used to be. She wanted to be sure just in case. The caverns were rundown and overgrown. This didn’t seem like a Space Pirate base. Then, suddenly, she was surrounded. Space Pirates were everywhere and she had to fight for her life. Taking care of the Space Pirates was easy though so there was no worry there. It seemed that the rumors were true. Leaving one alive, Samus got the info she needed. Mother Brain had set up a new Tourian and had it locked down tight but Samus knew that Mother Brain would open up once she heard what Samus had to say.

This planet was a resource planet. What it lacked in suburbs, it made up for in farms and other buildings of that nature. They littered the planet but would have enough room to hold most of the refugees. The rest would go to other planets.

Once things got settled, Samus found herself in a meeting room. She was surrounded by Galactic Federation members. Since news spread about Keaton’s fate, other chair members wanted to discuss who would take his place. Word also got around that Keaton named Samus as his replacement, more or less, but that didn’t sit well with them. Some didn’t think a bounty hunter would make a great leader of the Galactic Federation, while others thought it would be a better fit than those who were already being named to replace him. There was even a small number who didn’t even know that Samus existed.

Besides finding out the new leader for the Galactic Federation, another subject was what to do with the infected. It was an important factor since it was only a matter of time before the infected Luminoth, and now to be assumed Humans, found other planets controlled by the Federation. Or at least populated.

“We need to focus on defending what we have,” said one the members. “We need to focus on fighting them before they can continue to grow,” said another. Samus remained quiet throughout the meeting as they continued to bicker. “We don’t have the resources or the manpower to fight back against this threat,” replied the first member. Samus knew that was true. Most of the Federation died on Diaban. Finally, people looked toward Samus for an answer. Samus knew what would work but also knew that it wouldn’t be a popular idea.

“You are the only one who has a chance at stopping this! If anyone needs to live, it’s you.”

“I’m not going to run away.”

“Don’t make me force you on that ship, Samus! These people, they are scared and alone. They are going to need a leader. I want that leader to be you.”

“I’m not sure I can do that. You know I always work alone.”

“Yes I do, but I also know you can do this. You were probably the only one I trusted, Samus. Now go.” Samus felt her stomach turn. She wanted to stay but knew Keaton was right. “What about the others?” she asked, already knowing the answer. “They will fight to the bitter end. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The Federation HQ was almost out of ships but the majority of people on Diaban made it out alive and uninfected. That was good, Samus commented. She met up with Keaton at his office. She knew he would stay to make sure everyone who could get off, would. He was happy to see Samus, but also seemed a bit surprised. “I should have known you would have stayed,” he told her. “Same to you,” was Samus’ reply. “I heard you went off to see the ships, sorry if you were caught in the crossfire but I couldn’t hold off any longer.”

“It’s alright Keaton. Something has happened though. The infection seems to evolve somehow.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. How so?”

“The one who was leading the the attack was U-Mos.”

“Really? But I thought U-Mos was an ally.”

“He was. He got infected as well and says he is going to lead the whole new ‘race’ of infected.”

“Does he? Well I did some digging while you were gone and found out that this started from here. It was a last ditch effort to try and ‘cleanse’ the galaxy. Obviously it’s working too well.”

“And it is who you thought before?” Keaton nodded then pointed to a man in custody and surrounded by Galactic Federation officers. Samus felt herself overcome with rage and marched up to the man. It kept everything in her power not to snap his neck. “How dare you?” She asked him. “You saw first hand what they were capable of.” He didn’t sound a bit regretful about his choice. “That doesn’t give you the right to kill them! They were peaceful. U-Mos just wanted to rebuild his world.”

“And what would have happened if they decided to abandon their ‘peaceful ways’ and become an enemy? That seemed to have happened already.”

“That was your doing.”

“Ha! What I did only furthered my reason. No one race should have that much power.”

“Except for Humans?”

“That’s how it was until Humanity decided to branch out into the galaxy. But it doesn’t matter now. If you hadn’t shown up during the Phazon crisis they would have died then.”

“You knew what was happening and you didn’t send anyone?”

“Of course I knew. It was only by luck that a patrol found out. Even now, it was only by luck. This virus was meant to kill them off. They weren’t supposed to get a distress call out and spread the virus!”

Samus couldn’t deal with this anymore so she punched him in the gut. It didn’t kill him, but he was going to live with that pain for a long time. He fell to his knees before being escorted away. “I know it’s protocol to put him on trial, but I wouldn’t have been upset if you had killed him,” Keaton said coldly. “What’s going to happen?”