Wow, over two years? I really left this, didn't I? Well, I have ideas for big projects, but I dislike having unfinished ones, so I'm going to focus on this for a while. I'm shooting for a chapter a week until it's finished (which, really, won't take that long). So yeah, sorry for the super long hiatus, but if you're still following this, it's finally done. That said, let us continue!

…I'm thinking this story will get a massive edit once it's finished. Holy shit, I hate the earlier chapters.

Chapter 7: Pressing Forward

"Okay, this is seriously deep," Ridley muttered as they finally reached the bottom of the shaft a full ten minutes later. "I had no bloody idea this planet was so large. Could you imagine climbing back up this thing?"

"Actually, you're raising a point I've been mulling over," Kraid spoke slowly while Samus examined the door before them. "I don't suppose either of you have given any thought as to what might happen if we succeed with destroying Mother Brain?"

"Her guts spill out all over the floor?" Ridley replied with a smirk. Off to the side, Samus gave a quiet chuckle. Kraid rolled his eyes and continued.

"I mean, what'll happen to us? We're in the Pirate base at Zebes' core, where almost every Pirate is currently situated. I'm guessing that they'll find out that Mother Brain's been killed, and then we'll be swarmed by own allies."

"Fine," Samus remarked, walking back over to them. "Then we blast the brain, run like hell back through Tourian, get up to the surface and blast off of this miserable rock. Guns blazing, if we need."

Kraid sighed. "I suppose," he replied, "but, assuming that works, Ridley and I will be stripped of our ranks and court-martialed for treachery. We'll have bounties on our heads so large that no one within a light-year would pass them up. We'd be hunted wherever we went until we were dead."

Ridley frowned as the lizard's work sank in. "Mm, I guess I never thought that far ahead," he said quietly. "The largest criminal group in the galaxy would be searching for us. How long would we really last?"

"Hold on," Samus interjected. "Why would this be an issue? How hard would it be to hide from the Pirates?"

"The Space Pirates have eyes and ears everywhere," Kraid told her solemnly. "Besides heavily occupied Federation systems, there are informants who are paid to relay any information that could be useful to the organization. Ridley and I would likely have to hide on some backwater planet just to avoid detection, and even then there's hardly a guarantee of safely."

The Hunter fell silent, thinking carefully about her allies' options. "That's a tough one," she mused. "If that's the case, turn around and leave me here. I'll deal with Mother Brain alone while you two get back to your positions. The Pirates wouldn't have to know you were involved with getting me here. You would keep your positions and your lives."

Ridley snorted. "No offense, but I hate that plan. I'd rather live in hiding from those bastards than continue to serve them. Mother Brain imprisoned us and lied to us for years. Who's to say High Command wouldn't try the same thing later on? Or at the very least realize our involvement here at some point. I say we press on and don't look back."

Kraid slowly nodded his affirmation. "I have to agree. I can't serve in the organization anymore if I'm just to be manipulated into being a lifesaver. I'm staying too."

Samus opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again as they stared at her intently. There was no way they would be changing their minds on the matter. Nothing she said now would persuade them, so she simply nodded and gave a small smile. "Alright then. I'm not sure how well I would do against hundreds of Pirates anyway."

The Pirate duo smiled back, and they all turned to the door. "I can't say I've seen a lock like this before," Samus commented, glancing over the yellow shield. "You think it's strong?"

"Undoubtedly, if we're this deep," Kraid answered. "They wouldn't take chances on a foreign world like this. My guess is that it'll take an absurd power to get through here."

"Ha! Coming up!" Ridley exclaimed, launching a flurry of fireballs at the door. They made contact before dissipating harmlessly against the shield. "And… disappearing." He turned to his comrades. "Well, as usual my one idea didn't work. Who's up?"

"I am," Samus replied, "but I need you two to take some cover."

The dragon and the lizard shared a look before glancing back at the woman. "…Why?"

"Because I have an absurd power, and I don't want it to obliterate you two," she answered with a smirk. The pair was silent before deciding this was valid reasoning. Hopping up to a platform overhead, they squatted as low to the ground as they could, making sure they weren't near an edge. After confirming that they were out of the line of fire, Samus dropped into her morph ball and released a power bomb. There was a moment of silence as the energy charged before unleashing itself in a devastating wave throughout the room. The ex-pirates both felt the shockwave as it blew by them, wondering how the Hunter could have possibly survived that power.

When the energy had faded, they stood up and hopped back to the ground as Samus unmorphed. They were all just in time to see the energy shield disappear from the door, which sprung open a moment later. Ridley simply let out a slow whistle, while Kraid furrowed his brow. "Don't get me wrong – I'm glad that worked. But how is it that you weren't annihilated by that?"

"It's a failsafe of the suit," she responded with a shrug. "It won't release a bomb if my energy signal isn't loaded as an exception to the destructive energy. It's simple technology – or at least that's what the Chozo always told me. They really were ahead of the galaxy in more ways than one."

"I'll say," the dragon commented, glancing around at the scorched walls. "Anyway, I feel like we've sat here long enough. Can we please move on now?"

The others nodded, and they made their way into the new passage, careful to travel in a tight circle to deter a potential ambush. Several unmarked doors appeared along the walls, but they were ignored as the trio headed straight on. It seemed painfully obvious to each of them that their destination was largely in a straight line. It certainly made the escape plan easy enough to follow, but a sense of foreboding began to loom over them. It seemed like Mother Brain had no intention of hiding from anyone who might be looking for her – what this implied could only be left up to the imagination.

As they moved past a small pool of lava, a familiar squee sounded nearby. They all froze and stepped back-to-back, searching for the source. The dimly lit passage made locating anything difficult, but Kraid's keen eyes were more tuned to seeing through darkness than his comrades', and it was he who spotted it a moment later.

"There!" he called, pointing. "Two of them!" He immediately launched a couple of his boomerang-like nails to distract the creatures. Ridley quickly followed suit and sent a scattered path of fireballs away from them to lure the jelly-like creatures while Samus crouched down and took aim. After a moment she fired two quick shots, and their foes fell loudly to the floor.

"Well that went significantly better than last time," Ridley remarked with a grin. Approaching one of the ice chunks, he lifted his tail and quickly smashed the creature to pieces. Kraid did the same to its comrade with a swift stomp of his large foot, and they were once again alone.

"Okay, they like to make noise," Samus noted as they proceeded on. "Let's keep the talking to a minimum and kill these things as soon as they squeak, before they latch on. Honestly, I would have no idea how you two would get them off of you. Especially you," she added with a glance at the dragon, who grimaced.

"Yeah, I'm a little upset with their whole 'attraction to heat' thing. I'd sooner stab them with my claws and rip out their little brain-stalks, but those suckers are durable," he noted while examining his talons. "Guess that means I get the special protection, that's all."

"So, no different than usual," Kraid countered, grinning. Samus suppressed a snort while the dragon let out a rather loud "Hey!", earning him a pair of shushes. They continued down the passage, quickening their pace when the next door became visible. Beyond a couple more of the flying lifeforms though, they met no opposition.

"This is odd," Kraid mumbled softly as they stopped before the door. "We haven't seen a single Pirate yet, and we've been down here almost twenty minutes now. And for that matter, why are these floating things loose like this? Surely Science Team would have them quarantined somewhere, if they're this lethal."

Ridley looked at him heavily. "You don't suppose… they got loose?" he asked slowly. "Do you think Science Team lost control of them? That would explain why the base has been deserted so far. Personnel are either hiding or dead, don't you think?"

Kraid was silent while Samus sighed. "Well that's just encouraging to hear," she said flatly. "I'm glad the Pirates have a weapon they can't even control." Immediately, Kraid flinched. Ridley seemed not to notice, but it didn't escape Samus' eyes. He scrunched up his face briefly before his eyes widened, a look of shock spreading across his face.

"Rid…" Kraid began, but trailed off. The dragon and the woman both looked at him while he focused intensely about something troubling. After a moment of silence he looked back up at them. "You don't suppose that these things are the Metroids that Mother Brain wanted?"

Samus raised a brow in confusion, but Ridley gasped. "Oh, damn. I bet that's exactly what they are! Here I thought it was a mineral or something Mother Brain was after, but an impervious lifeform! That would make perfect sense!"

"Hold on," Samus countered. "You think the Space Pirates came to Zebes to take these creatures? I grew up on this planet, and I've never seen even a hint of them before. Where could they have come from?"

"You can ask Mother," was all Kraid said as he shot open the door. "We have an entire list of questions to ask her at this point." He stepped through the opening, and Ridley followed suit. Samus hesitated, still lost, but finally shook her head and joined them.

The metallic chamber before them sloped downward before dropping off entirely to what appeared to be a similar slope in the opposite direction. They began to walk forward when a fiery glowing ring appeared out of the ground and headed straight for them. Kraid yelped and dived out of the way while Ridley swung around and smashed it with his tail. The ring dissipated, but several more appeared from the walls and ceiling around them.

Samus swore loudly as she began shooting. "We must have triggered a security sensor!" she called to the others as she switched to her Wave Beam. Firing off broader shots, she cleared the air around Kraid, allowing him to stand and participate in the assault.

"There's too many!" Ridley yelled as he breathed fire in a wide arc, destroying several rings at once. "They're not going to stop! Low energy output means these things will spawn by the thousands! We had similar security back at the training camps! They just overwhelm you!"

Samus gritted her teeth. They were horribly outnumbered; the rings were swarming them from every direction. Kraid yelled as one brushed against his arm, leaving a light burn on his scales. Ridley narrowly avoided another that would have left quite a mark on the back of his skull. They had no chance.

"Run!" she yelled, bolting forward and sliding underneath a group converging on her. The pair quickly followed, shooting a path for themselves in the process. They reached the edge of the slope and jumped, landing on the next one and resuming their escape. The ring dispensers adjusted their targeting systems, following the massive energy sources as they retreated further down the shaft. Ducking and weaving, the trio made their way to the end of the next slope and were about to jump when another squeal froze them in their tracks. Two Metroids floated up in front of them from below, quivering anxiously as they readied their attack. Ridley spun around only to find a barrage of rings heading their way, slowly but surely seeking them out.

He raised his claws at the rings while Samus and Kraid readied their own weapons against their new foes. "Alright, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," he said anxiously, as the fiery enemies fell upon them.