A/N: And here we are the final chapter! It is finally time to reval the truth of the Dark Master's identity. Ready? Then let's go!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Metroid or Legend od Spyro series. I only own my original ideas.

Chapter 15: Upgrades, and Finale

Samus' POV

We arrived back at in Warfang, and entered the Temple. We immediately found we had a guest… make that two guests! Sitting next to the Pool of Visions were the Chronicler Ignitus, and Sab Liath.

"Welcome back, all of you," said Ignitus, "I see you were successful in stopping the Dark Master".

"For now at least," I said, "we destroyed the body it was using as a host, but he escaped through some sort of portal".

"No matter, we have it on the run," said Sab Liath, "and the scan data you managed to get of it will likely prove invaluable in tracking it down".

"But we don't even know what exactly it is!" said Ridley.

"True, even I don't know that," said Malefor.

"Nevertheless, the group I represent has in vested interest in stopping these things," Sab Liath said, "tell me have you ever seen anything like… this?"

With that, he raised his left foreleg, which still had that strange computer strapped to it. He pushed a few buttons, queuing up a hologram. I sort of looked like some strange half organic spaceship, which was shaped vaguely like a squid… or maybe a claw? I recognized it immediately.

"That's one of the Leviathans from the Phazon War," Ridley and I said.

"That's the creature I fought all those years ago… that is the Dark Master's true form!" said Malefor.

"That looks like the creature Malefor is shown fighting in that mural in the Old City," said Gneiss.

Sab Liath considered all our answers before responding.

"Samus and Ridley are correct, in this case," said Sab Liath, "but the other answers you gave, this confirms for me what I'd already suspected: these entities are working across multiple dimensions. This is not good at all. We need to track them to their source, to keep them from spreading any further than they already have. Samus, I have a job offer for you".

"Really?" I said, "What kind of job?"

"I would like you to help the investigation into the source of these dark entities. Of course, you'd be well funded, but I'm fairly certain that you'd want to take it up no matter what," said Sab Liath.

"And if I simply wish to return home?" I asked.

"You can do that if you wish," Sab Liath replied, "but please consider the facts: do you really think your Galactic Federation would take you back with your oldest enemy at your side? While I'm sure you still have people who you can trust amongst the Federation, they are only a few voices amongst the many. Besides, do you really like the path the Federation has been taking recently? Engaging in those highly illegal experiments? At this point, considering you complete disappearance for an entire week, and your theft of Federation property, do you they'd take you back willingly? And given your current genetic arrangement, they'd likely be more interested in detaining and dissecting you than hiring you".

"Hold on," I said, "What Federation property have I stolen?"

"Your ship's A.I.," Sab Liath said, "even if it is an old friend of yours, it is still technically property of the Galactic Federation. Listen, I'm really not attempting to force you into anything, I just think it's best to put your skills to proper use, wouldn't you agree?"

I thought on everything he'd said, realizing that he was just trying to appeal to my logic. And that everything he had said correlated to my own thoughts.

"Alright, I'll take the job, though I still have to complete the mission I'm currently on," I said.

"Of course," said Sab Liath, "there are a couple things I need from you, though. First, I need a copy of the scan data you retrieved to the Dark Master".

"Wait… how do you know she has scan data on the Dark Master?" asked Ridley.

"I was talking to the Chronicler just now," answered Sab Liath.

"Okay," I said, "Let me just transfer the data to you".

His wrist computer beeped quietly as it received the data. He glanced at it and nodded.

"Next, I need access to you ship," Sab Liath, said, "I'd like to give it a few upgrades to help you in the future".

"Okay… but I don't think you'll fit inside," I said, "Do you want me to help you?"

"I appreciate your offer," Sab Liath said, "but I think you've earned yourself some rest. As for size, that shouldn't be a problem since…"

There was a flash of light, and in Sab Liath's place was a human-sized bipedal anthropomorphic dragon!

"… I can do this," Sab Liath finished.

"Uh… okay," I said, "Follow me".

We stepped outside to my ship, and we boarded.

"Welcome back Samus," said Adam, "and greetings to our guest as well".

"Adam, this is Sab Liath," I said, "he's going to give the ship some upgrades. I'm allowing him access to the ship so that he can complete his task".

"Acknowledged, Samus," said Adam, "access has been granted".

"Samus," said Sab Liath, "why don't you take some time to explore the city? It's been some time since you've gotten to rest. From what I can tell, you've been fighting almost nonstop since you arrived in this world. Everyone needs a break now and then…"

"Thank you," I said, "I'll do that".

I exited my ship, and returned to the interior of the Temple. The Guardians were there waiting patiently for me.

"Ah, Samus," said Cyril, "I believe you were going to tell what transpired in the depths of the mountain?"

"Yes I was," I said, then recounted the full events of the battle. From the Dark Master's appearance to when I obliterated its body with the Oblivion Cannon, to when he vanished through the portal. Ridley filled in the parts that only he saw, such as his journey through the interior of that overgrown imitation of himself, and of course about the surprise he pulled on the Dark Master. He also mentioned about the mutated Pirate who gave him the Portal Control, and what it told him.

"That is quite a tale," said Ignitus, "These events will certainly earn a place in the Books of Time".

"Yes," said Terrador, "Young warriors, you have done our world a great service. Your aid in our time of need will be remembered for ages to come".

"But... I caused all this to happen," said Ridley, "If I hadn't come here the Dark Master would never have escaped!"

"You don't know that," said Gneiss, "for all we know, the Dark Master would have escaped no matter what. It's also possible that even while sealed away, the Dark Master was able to exert some level of influence on you, pulling someone to release it. The point is, there's no sense in beating yourself up for the past".

"Anyway, now that the current threat has ended, it's time to rest… and rebuild, again," said Tempest, "Samus, Ridley, what will you do now?"

"I still need to complete my mission for the Luminoth," I said, "But until our gray-scaled friend finishes upgrading my ship, I'm not going anywhere. So, until then, I thought I'd take some time to see the sights".

"I… you know, I haven't gotten a chance to plan very far recently," said Ridley, "With everything that's occurred… everything I've learned since I've arrived here, I don't wish to go back to the Space Pirate, not that they'd likely in follow me in this state. Samus, I don't know exactly how to say this, but… are you interested in having a partner?"

"Ridley, are you asking to join me?" I asked, "And continue to fight at my side?"

"Well… yes," said Ridley.

"Ridley… I'd be happy to allow you to work alongside me," I said.

"You would?" asked Ridley.

"Of course I would. Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble," I said "Well… now that's been sorted out, who's going to show us around the city?"

"We'll do it, but how about we wait until tomorrow? It's been a long day" said Gneiss.

I realized I was tired as well, so I let the Guardians lead me to a bed.

The next morning, I prepared to set out to see the city.

"Quick suggestion," said Gneiss, "It might be a good idea to assume your other form: you'd stick out less then".

I agreed, and switched into dragon form.

With that he, Tempest and Jolt lead Ridley and me out of the Temple, and we began our tour. We saw many interesting sights, including the Great Bazaar, the city's main marketplace. After that, we passed through the Monument to the Heroes of the Realms: a picturesque, statue filled park. I saw several familiar figures among the statues… including our current guides. There were also some Moles hard at work on a new pair of statues.

"Before you ask," said Gneiss, "we didn't ask for those statues to be made, the citizens of the city did that of their own accord".

Before long, our guides lead us into the ancient ruins beneath the city, and showed us that mural they mentioned earlier. It was exactly as they had described: It depicted a purple dragon, likely Malefor, in combat with some strange creature… It was true… that creature that did bear a strong resemblance to the Leviathans. I scanned the text beneath the mural for translation.

Translation: This Mural was commissioned to commemorate our greatest hero, Malefor, who defended us from not only the threats prevalent in our lands, but from ones from places beyond what we ever could have imagined. He shielded us annihilation at the hands of the Reaper.

This was interesting and valuable information… it seems that I now had a name for our foe. After this, we returned to the Temple. I saw that the modifications to my ship weren't quite finished yet, so I followed the others inside.

"So Samus, did you enjoy your tour?" asked Ignitus.

"Yes, it was quite interesting," I said, "but I've got a question: What do you know about a being called a 'Reaper?'"

"Wha… what did you say?" stuttered Ignitus, "That's…"

"Congratulations," Said Sab Liath as he entered the room, "You've done what most would consider impossible: You've managed to surprise the Chronicler. So the Reapers, is it? That gives me a good lead to pursue. I'll need to look up any information I can find on that name. Anyway, I've finished the upgrades to your ship. Come outside and I'll show you its new features".

I switched back to my human form and followed, with Ridley trailing along behind me. We quickly came upon my ship. It looked exactly the same.

"I managed to preserve your ship's external appearance," said Sab Liath, "but rest assured, internally I've made some major improvements".

We stepped onto the elevator platform, and we entered the ship. As soon as I saw the interior, I knew he wasn't kidding. It seemed that somehow he'd managed to make the ship's interior larger that the exterior. In fact, I could move around easily around in here in dragonform, and have plenty of extra space.

"The cockpit is pretty much the same as you left it, though I added a Dimension Shift module. You'll need it in the future," said Sab Liath, "As for the rest of the ship… the interior of the ship is now its own pocket dimension that is permanently bound to the hull of the ship, thus allowing the increase in interior space. Both of you have your own private quarters to the aft, and even better, these rooms are adaptive to your wants and needs".

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ridley.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Sab Liath as he gestured to the left door.

Ridley stepped up and opened the door. The revealed room had a comfortable looking bed, along with a computer terminal, a storage rack for his armor, and several other features.

"Of course, this is just the default setting," Sab Liath said, "but using the control panel just outside the door, you can adjust the appearance to be anything you want, by use of semi-solid holography. For example…"

He closed the door, types a series of commands into the console, and the re-opened the door. The room was now a small cave, complete with a 'window' overlooking a forest outside.

"That's useful," I said, "is there anything else we should know about?"

"Let's see," said Sab Liath, "well, there's the new Comms Channel I added to the registry, so that we can contact you when we need your aid, and then there are the engines. They have been modified to be extremely efficient, meaning you'll almost never need to refuel. On top of they can be rapidly adapted to work with whatever the local technology is. As for everything else… in the main cabin, you can find a set of portal emitters. They are set up to generate a large enough portal to allow a full-grown dragon into the ship. The outer end of the portal will appear just outside the ship, thus allowing it to be used as a sort of 'back door'. Do you have any questions?"

"You said you would call us when our aid is needed," I said, "when will that be?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Sab Liath said, "It depends on how long it takes to fully process the data you provided".

"Where's Adam?" I asked, "He's been rather quiet".

"I am right here Samus," said Adam, "I had decided to allow our guest to complete giving you the tour before chiming in. All systems are fully operational we may depart when you are ready".

"Alright Adam," I said, "Give us some time, we just need to say our goodbyes to our gracious hosts".

"Acknowledged, Samus," said Adam, "I shall run a series of flight projections for our coming departure".

I nodded and we disembarked. I saw that the Guardians, Spyro, Cynder, Gneiss, Tempest, and Jolt had come out to meet us.

"Thank you… all of you for your hospitality," I said, "But we must be going now… we need to return to our home realm".

"We understand," said Spyro, "but you will come back to visit, right?"

"We will if it's possible," I said.

"Of course you can come back here," said Sab Liath, "You're already tied to this world so you can return here when you please. I've already programmed the coordinates for this reality into your ship's Nav system, along with the coordinates of several 'safe travel' worlds, which as long as you follow the listed guidelines for that particular reality, you will be just fine. Oh, one more thing… when you use the Auto-return function on that Portal Control Device your carrying, I strongly suggest being as close to your initial exit point as possible… the effect of activating the device will pull you back along the same path you took to get here, and it could be dangerous to use it from too far away. Oh, and before you ask… no, the dreadnought isn't going anywhere".

Just then, his wrist computer stared beeping.

"Huh?" said Sab Liath, "Well, well, busy day… It seems I need to be off as well. Goodbye to all of you…"

With that he took flight, suddenly accelerated to a seemingly impossible velocity, and vanished in a flash of light.

"It's time we were off as well," I said, "let's go, Ridley".

"Travel safely brave warriors," said Terrador, "and may the Ancestors watch over you".

With that Ridley and I boarded my gunship, and went to the cockpit. I sat down in the pilot's seat, while Ridley stood slightly behind me. I took the controls and plotted a course towards the approximate point in space where we'd first entered this reality. It wasn't long before we were at the correct location.

"Ridley," I said, "Activate the auto-return".

"Okay here we… go!" said Ridley.

I heard a series of quiet beeps from behind me, and suddenly a swirling hole in the fabric of space-time appeared, and we were gently pulled through.

Reality: MET-0596-Theta

We passed through the Rift Portal. It was a much smoother ride this time, most likely due to either the ship's new upgrades, or possibly because the portal wasn't actively destabilizing. In any case, we arrived back at planet Aeia safely. We disembarked, and I prepared to fight whatever Space Pirates were still in the base. That is until Ridley mentioned that when he'd fled through the portal earlier, he tripped the evacuation alarm.

We then retrieved and packed up the Portal Array, using the 'back door' to load it into my gunship. We then took off once again. We flew out of the abandoned facility and set the Hyperdrive to take us to Aether.

Once we arrived on Aether, I landed my ship in the courtyard just outside the Great Temple's South entrance, just north of the path to the Torvus Bog. Ridley and I disembarked, and were met by the lead Sentinel of the Luminoth, U-Mos.

"Greetings, Samus," said U-Mos, "you were able to recover the Prototype?"

"Of course," I said.

I then opened the 'back door' to my ship and, with Ridley's help, retrieved components of the Portal Array.

"Here you are," I said, "everything's there".

"Thank you Samus," U-Mos said, "and you as well, Ridley".

"You recognize me?" said Ridley.

"Of course I do," Said U-Mos, "but I can see you've changed in several ways… and you have as well, Samus. You may keep the Dark, Light, and Annihilator Beams, they are part of you now".

"Thank you, U-Mos," I said, "we would love to stay a while longer, but unfortunately we must be off".

"Farewell, Samus. Farewell, Ridley," said U-Mos, "and may the Light of Aether guide you".

Ridley and I climbed back aboard my gunship, and took off once again.

"So, Ridley," I asked, "Where to now?"

"I don't know," Ridley replied, "Vacation... then maybe destroy a few Space Pirate base?"

"An excellent idea," I said, "how about, for now, I select a random destination from this list of realities?"

I tapped a few commands into the console, and as I finished, the ship accelerated… taking us to our next destination.

Mission Complete

A/N: Cue Metroid series ending theme! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. I hope to see you again in the next story. Goodbye for now, and see you in the next story!