All three from the group of total three? Feels a bit off syntax wise.
Some Pirates with a working brain see that Samus is also there:
Pirate 1: Damm she is here? Nobody said anything about that.
Pirate 2: You are right. I didn't sign up to be blown up together with the planet.
Pirate 1: Lets go back.
Pirate 2: Good idea...
Both go back through the portal.
Pirate 1: Damm she is here? Nobody said anything about that.
Pirate 2: You are right. I didn't sign up to be blown up together with the planet.
Pirate 1: Lets go back.
Pirate 2: Good idea...
Both go back through the portal.
- Location
- Colorado
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ziz has made space Pirates... Oh fuck... What if she makes other shit Samus has seen? Fuuuuuuck...
JmonsterNEO
Spouter of nonsense
- Location
- The quest forums
She's teleporting them in with the device she's making, not making them out of nowhere, so no Dark Samus, Metroids, or the SA-X, thankfully. But knowing him, that purple bastard Ridley has probably been put back together again in time for this.
Great Greedy Guts
Ceterum censeo Vigilam esse delendam.
I mean, he's pretty dead, but they've managed before so there might be another clone of him around despite everything.
That said, just the Space Pirates are bad enough. They can kill a lot of people with their weapons, including a lot of capes. Or pin them down long enough for the collars to detonate.
- Location
- California
'Space' Pirates or X-Pirates….
- Location
- The deathworld-in-miniature that is Australia
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The Space Pirates also have some kickarse weaponry, if Ziz happens to teleport the right ones through. I mean, their infantry-scale stuff is terrifying enough when you're anyone but Samus or someone vaguely near her tier (witness how it was only in Prime 3 while juiced-up on Phazon that a Feddie Marine had anything like a chance against a bog-standard Pirate one-on-one, and that wasn't even any of the big buggers like Alphas or Omegas, and we know how bad Phazon is for you...), but their big stuff is... well, let's put it this way. They successfully laid siege to multiple Chozo planets. Including at one point using a black hole (can't remember if artificial or harnessed and weaponised) to burn out Chozo planetary shields, iirc.
JmonsterNEO
Spouter of nonsense
- Location
- The quest forums
Every time I learn something new about the Metroid series, the more I realize that Samus really is Nintendo's doom slayer, in the sense that a character who existed before Doom 1 was even started on can anyways.
Now how many people will need brown pants after this
- Location
- California
Best Kosh voice: "Yes."
It probably would be easier to count those that won't need brown pants after this.
It's true so very very true
- Location
- Wisconsin
Wave beam might shoot through Ziz as well. It is a crystalline machine after all.
JadeKaiser
Uninspired Custom Title
- Location
- Under Your Bed
Plasma actually. Plasma already applies the Wave effect to enemies so that she can shoot through groups, even before you get Wave to shoot through walls as well. Though if you meant "shoot through Ziz without hurting her," the answer is no. Wave doesn't prevent you from damaging robotic enemies, though in Dread you do need Plasma to damage robotics or bosses without Charge or missiles.
EDIT: OTOH, if you meant "shoot through outer layers to hit the core..." Maybe. Doesn't really work on bosses with armored parts and weak spots in Dread (i.e.: Golzuna, Chozo Soldier shields), but it's up to the author.
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Comeback 2.5
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
Comeback 2.5
The last time I had seen Zebesian Space Pirates was a bit after I had caused the destruction of Planet Zebes. A Federation research team had decided to try and clone them with their intelligence suppressed, leaving them only with their instincts, to allow them to be guided by the artificial intelligence that they had created in the image of Mother Brain, MB. As with most biological experimentation done by any race I'd encountered, this had proven to be a bad idea. Left to their own devices, with no Mother Brain to guide them, the Zebesians running only on instinct would tear themselves apart rather than do anything the Federation wanted them to. Space Pirates were a highly aggressive species by nature, and with what they had been trying to do on that station… I wasn't really sure I wanted to know.
These Zebesians, however, from the limited observation I had of them, seemed to be a lot more organized. I witnessed familiar hand signals between them along with tactical movements as they started moving through the streets. That meant that more Zebesians survived the destruction of Zebes than I knew. This was the first I'd encountered any Space Pirates since the X-forms that had been on the research station. I didn't see any civilians in the street with them, but from what I understood, every city had Endbringer shelters. The civilians would be hiding from the Simurgh, assuming they hadn't been able to evacuate. Some of the initial wave of capes, however, were already beginning to engage with the Zebesians.
"Go, now!" Eidolon's voice came over the radio. "Blasters, when you get into range, target the Simurgh's portals. We want them closed before too many of these 'Space Pirates' get through. Those of you on the ground, follow Hunter's advice. Kill them. Those of you who can, engage the Simurgh. Just keep an eye on your time."
"Lady, in this fight, collateral damage of buildings is not something that you should be worrying too much about," Adam said.
"Space Pirates, Adam," I muttered as I engaged my Speed Boost, ready to run down the straightaway into the city. There was a brief moment of discomfort as I felt the booster rockets engage, and I started to run. Within seconds, my speed boost had fully engaged, and I accelerated to my top speed. The whole while, I focused on my objective. Above, Legend, Alexandria, and Eidolon flew toward the fight. The city ahead of me may have been different from other battlegrounds I'd fought in, but I wouldn't let that stop me from doing what needed to be done. "Did you know that any Zebesians were still around?"
"No," Adam said. "Though it is possible that the Simurgh opened a portal to an alternative version of our universe, similar to the Aleph/Bet split for this Earth."
I nodded, glancing at my HUD. Strange. A signal using Federation protocols emanated from ahead of me, near the portals. It was as if the signal was coming from the other side of the portals, where the Space Pirates had come from. Where had the Simurgh opened the portal to, and why were the Space Pirates just going through it?
Curiously, I accessed the signal, directing any imagery to the bottom-right of my HUD while I continued my run to the city.
"This is Federation Base MB-22854, and we are under attack by Space Pirates. They have killed half the crew already, and they have made it to the biological labs…" I didn't recognize the woman's voice, and there was some noise in the signal that was being cleaned up automatically by my suit. However, that didn't account for signal loss. "—ites. That sound it keeps getting louder! I need to…" The signal faded again.
"Adam, do you have any records of a base with that number?" I asked, charging up my arm cannon. I was nearly in range of the Simurgh. The armband gave a warning beep just as something sounded. What was that? It vaguely sounded like someone screaming or screeching, but I couldn't place it, like it was in the back of my mind. I needed to focus. Push the noise out of mind, focus on the Simurgh and the Zebesians. There she was, a little over twice my height, nude save for her many massive wings. She was pure white, almost like marble, and what little glances I could see of her actual body made her look more like a doll than a human.
"Looking for it now," Adam said. "Are you okay, Lady?"
"Fine," I said sharply as I spotted a nearby Zebesian group. Three of them were there.
The Space Pirate pointed a claw at me and cried out in its language. It recognized me. I knew the Space Pirate term for "Hunter."
I didn't even wait, and I fired my charge shot. The Wide Plasma Beam slammed into the first Zebesian, melting through its armor and passing through it into the next two. They died on impact, and then I stopped, storing a Shinespark. I jumped into the air, using my Space Jump twice before sparking toward the Simurgh, floating above the portals she'd opened in what my map told me was the governmental square.
A fountain flew up instantly in my way, stopping my forward momentum, and the Simurgh locked her gaze on me. The noise in my head seemed to get louder, and suddenly, I felt something grasp my body, holding me mid-air. Two beams struck the Simurgh from behind, and I saw Legend and Eidolon floating there, and the grip loosened enough that I could get my arm cannon free. I leveled it at the Simurgh's face, and I activated my missiles. I shot four times, but the Simurgh moved her wings in front of them before they could strike her face.
I bit back a curse as the feathers iced over without much damage otherwise. Instead, I unleashed a flurry of plasma shots as more beams struck her from the sides. Debris rained down on capes below, and I could see blaster rifle shots going off, striking capes. Blood spattered across the battlefield below me.
"Lady, you have turned off your armband's radio frequency," Adam said, his voice bursting in. "Switching it on."
"Jizo down, E-14, Minmouth deceased, R-12." Dragon's voice was impassive over the radio frequency. The map on my HUD plotted those two points automatically.
My repeated beam shots slammed into feathers, burning several off, and then some even passed through the wings, striking the Simurgh's body. Damage seemed minimal though. I wasn't sure what the Endbringer was made of, but she was able to take plasma shots better than Chozo armor. I didn't even see her flinch. Still, she had blocked my Shinespark, and something about Eidolon's beam had made her loosen her grip.
"Eidolon to Hunter, can you move?"
"I'm stuck," I said. Then I paused for a second. I could still move my feet. Whatever was grabbing me had me around the torso. If this worked…. "I have an idea."
The scream changed in pitch, but I just curled up. Despite the grip upon me, I was able to curl into my Morph Ball.
"What?" Legend asked as he formed next to me. I hadn't even seen him move. He leveled his arms at the Simurgh and fired some multicolored light beams at the Endbringer. The lights curved around the Endbringer's wings, slamming into her face.
The grip on me loosened some, and I used a Morph Bomb. The explosion knocked me looser. I repeated the process and got out. Freefall was comforting for a few seconds, and I unfurled. Then I jumped. Space Jumping let me get closer to the Endbringer.
I charged my next shot as I jumped. Unfurling again, I fired at her while in freefall.
"Hunter!" Legend called, and he was at my side, grabbing my free hand. "How heavy are you?"
"Two thirty in the suit," I said, and I shot a wall of concrete heading straight for us. It exploded into dust. I looked around. The entire area was being torn up by a mix of beam shot and missile explosions along with what appeared to be a telekinetic cyclone. The Simurgh was focusing her efforts on those attacking her, seemingly protecting the portals.
"Croc Hunter deceased, I-4. Dingo down, B-7. Boomerang deceased, J-12."
Legend set me down on the roof of the Canberra Museum. The portal was set up at the fountain right next to city hall, and I was well in view of it now. "You can't really fly, Hunter. Focus on the portal, and those coming out of it."
"Fine," I said. I didn't want to argue the point right now. I'd faced flying enemies before, and I'd come out on top, but without being able to figure out the Simurgh's weak points, it would be difficult. Especially since she could focus on more than just me at the same time.
Legend nodded, and he took back to the air. I would need to see if there was a way to upgrade my power suit to add actual flight rather than just the Space Jump. Don't get me wrong, I liked the Space Jump, but flight would be useful at times like this.
I then focused on the ground, flicking to the Federation frequency once more. This time, I made sure not to mute the armband's frequency.
"The sound, it's getting even louder!" The same Federation woman from before was still broadcasting. "I don't know what… I know what to do!"
"Federation base, this is Samus Aran," I said. "What is your situation?"
"Aran!" The woman's voice had a bit of glee to it. "Did you retrieve the EMMI?" She then giggled over the radio. "No, no… no? No nono no no no!"
"Repeat, what is your situation?" I asked.
"Space Pirates attacked, took biological samples," said the woman. "The base is compromised. Aran, it's too late. The noise… it's already done so much…"
"What sorts of biological samples?" I asked.
She giggled again, and then the signal cut off, followed by a wave of blue energy coming out the portal. The energy immediately glassed a group of capes and Space Pirates fighting right outside the portal.
I ignored Dragon's announcements of the dead, and instead I locked onto the edges of the portal with my missiles. Six points, six missiles, six locked on, and then I released them. All at once. One missile went wide at first, slamming into a piece of debris on the way. I quickly fired another volley, blasting the portal's edges.
As the portal began to collapse, I jumped down to the edge of the energy, running over the scorch marks with my scanner. Good. No residuals from the self-destruct of whatever that base was. The color of the self-destruct was too disturbing for my liking.
Then I heard it. Louder than the Simurgh's scream in the back of my mind. It was a shriek that had haunted my nightmares since I was three years old, the second time. The sound of something that should have been dead. That I had killed thrice over. But the Federation base had been working on biological samples, and unfortunately that sometimes meant weapons.
"Adam. I need a better look at the battlefield. Can you access any CC TV in the area to get me visuals on what's happening where?" I asked. I knew Space Pirates were facing off against capes, and some of the capes were faring better than others. The Simurgh was also fighting off her attackers while also getting potshots off on other capes. Her telekinesis was very versatile. But if that shriek belonged to the being that I thought it did… He wasn't going to get away. I wouldn't let him.
"Lady, you have been exposed to the Simurgh for ten minutes," Adam said. "Recommended exposure time is no more than thirty. You will need to retreat out of range in twelve minutes to allow your mind to reacclimate. What are you looking for?"
"Ridley," I said, spitting the name like a curse. "He's out there. I heard him."
"Lady, the Simurgh is known to cause auditory hallucinations," Adam said. "There was nothing picked up by your sensors."
"He's out there, Adam," I said, looking over the battlefield. I could feel that he was out there. I just knew it in my bones. How would the Simurgh even fake something like that? Still, all I saw on the battlefield were Space Pirates and capes. I couldn't find… wait. What was that on the ground next to the portal's remains in the charred claws of a Space Pirate? There was a metal cannister, roughly three feet tall by one and a half feet wide. It was covered in warning labels, but they were too charred to make out any text. "Hold on…"
I lifted the cannister up with my left hand, but something must have been loose. The top of the cannister split open, and the rest fell to the ground. Immediately, an amorphous red blob floated out of the cannister.
I narrowed my eyes at the blob, and immediately, I thrust my left hand into it and pulled. The red X-Parasite quickly was absorbed into me, and I closed my eyes, breathing hard. The Space Pirates had gathered biological samples. How many of them were X-Parasites?
Were any of the Space Pirates?
"Adam, you saw that, right?" I asked.
"The X? Yes, Lady. You cannot allow any X-Parasites to escape this battlefield. Ridley, assuming he is out there, will have to wait." Adam's voice was harsher here than normal, but I couldn't help but agree with him. X-Parasites were too dangerous to leave unchecked on any planet. Still, so was Ridley. Perhaps I'd be able to kill two birds with one stone. If it was a Ridley-X, I would have to kill him again anyway. Well, I'd kill Ridley again no matter what if he was here.
I looked around, and I switched my visor to scan for X-Parasites. I knew the biological signature, and if there were any others around, I would be able to find them.
"Ratcatcher down, B-7."
Down. Not deceased. Down. That was my father, and I was not going to let that change. I ran enough to initiate my Speed Boost, and then I activated a Shinespark. I jumped in the air and sparked toward the University. As I went over each Space Pirate, I shot them with a single beam shot. Some died instantly, others just took some damage. The Zebesians here had variety. I continued my movement with a Space Jump at the right time, and I let myself fall.
A cape dressed in a Stetson armed with a bullwhip lashed out at a Zebesian. The whip electrified, striking true, and the Space Pirate fell to one knee. It fired its rifle at the cape, clipping him in the wristband. The beeping on his wristband grew insistent, sparks came around it, and then it exploded. The explosion took out the upper left quadrant of his body and half of his head.
I lashed out with my grapple beam, pulling the Zebesian close to me. I grabbed it with my left hand, and then in its native tongue, I spoke. "Talk." There was no X-Parasite within this one that I could feel, but the Zebesian started to go limp in my arm.
"Hurts… Hunter…"
I frowned, but I didn't let go. The Zebesian went completely limp in seconds, and I felt my own energy increase. I hadn't intended on draining it, but with the… X-Parasite possibility… I threw the body into another Zebesian nearby.
"Talk! Tell me where Ridley is!" I leveled my gun at the Zebesian. "Or if more parasites are here!"
The Zebesian snarled. "Never! For Master Ridley's life!" It activated something on its belt.
I didn't wait, and I Flash Shifted next to it, drove my left hand into the belt, and I drained everything from it. Then I shoved my arm cannon in the Zebesian's mouth and fired. Down.
I made it where I saw Dad lying on the ground, rats surrounding his body in what looked like a cocoon. The rats parted some when I approached.
"Dad…" I muttered. How was I going to get him out of there before the bomb exploded?
"Fast Pass Deceased, Z-23. Jolly Roger Deceased M-15."
I got on the radio override. "Can I get an evac to B-7? I'll keep them off you!"
"On my way," said a voice with an Australian accent. A hole opened up horizontally above the area next to me, and down dropped a man dressed in what appeared to be an outfit built more for a safari than an Endbringer fight. It was a drab khaki and he had a rather large knife strapped to his belt. Over his back, he had a Federation rifle. He must have liberated that from one of the Space Pirates. "Oh, the bloke needs evac does he? Keep those lobster bastards off me, Hunter, and ol' Wallaby will get 'im to safety."
I looked around for any nearby Zebesians, and I nodded. It surprised me that he knew who I was. I could still hear fighting in the distance, and I saw the Simurgh throw another wave of concrete at Eidolon and Legend. There! Four more Zebesians running across the green, two green, one blue, and one black. I picked off the two green ones with one missile, and then I fired a wide beam at the other two. The blue one faltered, dropping to a knee, and then I ran up, kicking it in the face. The Black one didn't even seem fazed by my initial shot.
I used the grapple beam on it, pulling it close, and then I threw it into the blue one, bouncing it off the ground. I followed it up with a Screw Attack, which cut right through the Space Pirate's armor. The creature fell to the ground. Still no X-Parasite.
I felt like there might have been more here. I glanced back at Wallaby, and he gave me a salute, before a portal opened up below him and my father, and the two of them dropped through.
That screech happened again, followed by another wave of death announcements. Something was going on with the pirates. Was Ridley rallying them? "Adam, how many pirates are left?"
"Thirty more, Lady," Adam said. "And there is still no sign of Ridley nor more X-Parasites. I do, however, see two broken Federation cannisters lying in the vicinity, and there is an alarming amount of radiation raising in the area."
"How long do I have?" I asked, jumping up to higher ground for a better vantage point.
"Sixteen minutes," Adam said. "Defeat as many pirates as you can, and if you can get the energy for it, use the Omega Cannon on the Simurgh, but get back to safety as quick as you can. You should have little trouble eliminating them, Samus."
"Keep an eye on things, Adam," I said. This wasn't the first time I'd had to operate under a time limit. It would hardly be the last. I'd remind the rest of these Pirates who Samus Aran was, and then I'd help the fliers with the Simurgh.
The radiation spike would be useful for that, wouldn't it?
- Location
- California
It feels stilted and jittery, but combat on this scale is jittery and confusing so if that's what you're unhappy about, I think the tone and flow fit.
Ellf
Apprentice Wizard
- Location
- Virginia
Honestly, I do want it to flow better, and I'm reasonably certain a rewrite will, but as it's NaNo, I'm not rewriting, I'm moving forward. I will probably come back and redo it after November.
X-Parasites, Space Parasites, and potentially Ridley too
Ol' Simmy's pullin out ALL the stops here, eh?
Ol' Simmy's pullin out ALL the stops here, eh?
- Location
- California
Taymus if she Evers gets back to the GF: "Feddie you have some 'splainin to do! What have we learned about bioweapon research by now?"
GF: "If you are not around to clean up…we're doomed?"
T:"Correct! So what does that mean?"
GF: "Clone you!"
T:Facepalm: "That's what Raven Beak tried…and the galaxy lost another planet."
GF: "If you are not around to clean up…we're doomed?"
T:"Correct! So what does that mean?"
GF: "Clone you!"
T:Facepalm: "That's what Raven Beak tried…and the galaxy lost another planet."
wingnut2292
<Verified Sugar Addict>
- Location
- Milwaukee Metro
Part of it is the Simurgh's absurd level of clairvoyance and multitasking that's giving Samus just enough "If I'm not wrong..." moments that she can't afford time to attack Ziz, but must spend time in the Scream Zone.
I'm betting that Rydley has some sort of cortical stack recording his memories. Explains how he and Karid keep coming back.
Watch, an analouge of the Hatchling will be sent by Ziz. Ziz will try to kill the Hatchling, only for it to Trigger using Zion's template for humans.
Now, after the fight, Samus needs to socialize a tabula rasa half-metroid daughter.
I'm betting that Rydley has some sort of cortical stack recording his memories. Explains how he and Karid keep coming back.
Watch, an analouge of the Hatchling will be sent by Ziz. Ziz will try to kill the Hatchling, only for it to Trigger using Zion's template for humans.
Now, after the fight, Samus needs to socialize a tabula rasa half-metroid daughter.
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