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'I have the absolutely-worst luck for starting new adventures of any bounty hunter in the entire galaxy, I swear,' Samus thought as she lay there on the sand, gazing at the sky intently for traces of her pursuers. She had to hand it to the Galactic Federation, they fulfilled her expectations for a dangerous opponent. 'A pinpoint ambush strike on me just as I enter warp? Not even the other Hunters and I would've been able to pull off a maneuver like that.'

Her eyes flicked to the eye-piece connected to her Power Suit and sighed. <Repairs in progress: 2%> It had been a half day and she hadn't seen much progress or hope for rescue. Normally, she'd go off adventuring, but her Gunship had been forced out of warp in an unknown vector and crashed onto this lone deserted island with barely any life to speak of. Well, there was that cave near her crash-site, but losing her Power Suit's functionality in the crash made her question her luck with such an endeavor.

With her luck, Ridley himself would be down there with a shit-eating grin waiting to kill her. The Paralyzer was an effective tool, but not even in combination with her rocket-boots would she be able to take him down in such a powered-down state.

Samus muttered angrily to herself as the sun was lower on the horizon, the sky changing color to indicate the approach of dusk. Her Power Suit was still only at 2%. At this rate she wouldn't be out of here for over a month and a half at best! And not to mention that the temperate weather was steadily falling into a freezing nightmare. She had no shelter and there were no trees or flammable materials.

Yep, fate was definitely trying to aim her at the cave.

Samus sighed with a light shiver as she kicked her feet up, jumping nimbly to her feet and grabbing her Paralyzer. Looks like she was going in a la Zero Style, much to her chagrin as she set off for it. She only had done so one other time, and that was during her first mission. She had sworn to never let herself get that cocky again, but she supposed she never thought the GF would ever tail her like this.

'Maybe when this is all over, I should think about retirement,' Samus wondered as she neared the cave. It was a nondescript cave with nothing to really warn of any potential danger. She ducked under its low entrance and descended into its depths. Her Gunship had gotten a scan in before its final moments in one piece, and it revealed it went way beneath the ocean floor with a veritable network far below. But her map only revealed the long entrance shaft and a hint of the complex cave network, thanks to her limited radar on her head-piece. 'I'm getting sick of all this running and adventuring, and losing all of my upgrades at the start of every adventure. At this point, I don't even care if Ridley IS hiding in this hole.'

She soon arrived at the aforementioned drop-off into nothingness. Her head-piece came with a convenient lamp, inspired by the Old-Earth movies. 'Was it the movies? No, it was the game, "Isolation," I think. I can't remember... if I ever get back, I'll have to re-watch all the classics... Ancestors, when was the last time I ever stopped and just relaxed?'

Her answer went unanswered as she found a ledge further down. With an ingrained agility she knew since early childhood, Samus leapt over to the ledge and began her gradual descent. Again, if her Power Suit had been functional, she would've simply leapt down its entirety. As it were, however, there only was her two-piece Zero Suit protecting her, and the only thing it protected was her decency. As things stood now, it was merely her, the darkness, a sheer threat of falling to her death, and her rambling thoughts.

She wasn't sure which was the most frightening, right now.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Samus lost track of ledges after the twentieth leap, and she would've lost track of the time had her head-piece not had a built-in clock that automatically tracked the time of her current planet. Or, it would've, had she landed on a known planet. But lo and behold this was an UNKNOWN planet, one of oceanic tendencies. Earth was 71% water, last time she had checked... and that had been in her pre-Zero Mission days. 'Ancestors, has it really been that long?

A sudden thump sounded as she hit the ground of the next ledge, causing her to trip and stumble face-first into the wall. She caught herself with a gasp, her heart leaping in fright remembering that it was a pretty damn distant drop to flat ground. She needed to be more careful if she wanted to get down to the bottom in one piece.

As she turned to gauge her next jump, however, Samus realized that she had already done just that. It was no ledge she had crashed onto, but the actual ground itself.

She let loose a sigh she didn't realize she was holding as she allowed herself to relax at the continued absence of hungry wildlife. She activated the whip functionality of her Paralyzer and set off down the only path present, still yet to encounter any signs of life besides herself. She would find a secluded spot to go into a meditative rest to allow herself to recuperate. Her Chozo genes had for a long time allowed quick and efficient healing, but usually she had her suite on her ship to facilitate the best means of nightly rest. Not like she rested easy anyways, with the nightmares. It had been so long since she had to rely on the old Chozo trick of regenerative meditation, a state very much like sleep, but only requiring three hours for her enhanced body.

Then again, that had been well before the Phazon Crisis and the BSL Incident. While Phazon was gone, that didn't mean it left her biology un-altered, and being infused with Metroid DNA definitely had done something to her genetics outside of the obvious vampiric ability and aversion to cold.

While it was warm down here, the thought of the weather top-side made Samus shiver. So wrapped up in her thoughts, though, Samus didn't see the data-bank until she tripped clumsily over a power-cord.

She caught herself against the cave wall with a surprised huff as she turned to look upon the whole ensemble of computers. It was a small terminal, but the design of the machines were evident enough that she widened her eyes in slight fear at the implication. The hard, wicked geometry alongside the harsh yellows and reds of the screen's and key's glow. It had been years since any concentration of organized group of this species, but she had spent enough time on their Homeworld to know their design philosophy and grow sick of it:

Space Pirates.

Immediately, she whipped her gaze to the small visor-clip screen for an update. <Repair progression: 2%> Dammit, the universe was mocking her! She should've turned back and found a way out of that sheer shaft. Samus trusted her Paralyzer's durability, but that had been a lot of jumping down, and she was sure that a climb up would exhaust her well before it was done!

She stopped the train of thought before it could run wild, Samus closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had grown complacent, thinking she had vanquished Ridley once and for all at Zebes, then again killed his clones on both the Bottle Ship and the BSL. She thought that had meant the Space Pirates were extinct, or far too scattered to organize a front again. However here she saw the proof of their continued existence, not just the one terminal, but further in she saw more lights, signifying more banks of computers and servers.

With a careful glance down the ways, she quickly sat down at the terminal and keyed it online from its resting state. 'Might as well find out what I can from these... these...' she started, before her train of thought was derailed at the station.

These logs were written in Federation Standard, not the slashes and gouges of typical Pirate language. She cast another glance around her for signs of patrols, but when none were forthcoming, Samus re-focused on the terminal to discover its secrets. She still kept a keen ear open for interruptions. That focus was ripped to shreds at the first entry she read.

>>They are known colloqially as either "space dragons" or simply "Ridley's species," but neither are actual species names. We've spent a long time in a similar predicament, not knowing what to call them until one of our cells in the field had hijacked the ship which incidentally was carting several specimans of the species. One of them woke up the day after in our labs and confessed to possessing all of Ridley's memories, but he didn't feel like Ridley. He then clarified that his kind is known as 'Pterodactylus Volantiens,' or 'Volantosaur.' It'll certainly make identification easier, which will be needed with the studies to be conducted on Ridley's progenitor. I use "progenitor" ironically, for the Volantosaur that was meant to be the new Ridley has made it a point at every opportunity to state how much he despises his previous incarnations. I don't trust his words, for he can talk the talk, but whether he can actually commit to changes remains to be seen.<<

Samus blinked once, face set like a stone and lips drawn into a thin line. Ridley was alive. Again. But, somehow, he wasn't? She read it and re-read it a third time. Her mind struggled to comprehend the words concerning this merciless killer of many reborn. No way this could be real; this had to be a trap. That resolution brought organization to her thoughts enough to be able to move to the next entry with slightly more preparation.

She wasn't prepared enough.

>>im mass o kissed aparuntly, cuz i wanna bang that sweet ass hey fug you who are you to tell me whose butt i apreesh and whose butt i tap huh? theres a special love for those that kill you repeatedly and you die so much to em ya gotta apreesheeate the sexy way they murder your face. gods i want that huntress to tie me down and...<<

Samus averted her eyes, a blush blooming across her face as she wished for some form of bleach to cleanse her eyes with. Okay, she had expected many things from a journal log she suspected of being manufactured for her sake. She had NOT expected a very thorough detailing of one's sexual fantasies with such a high word count. She had stopped at a mere fraction, just before it went into greater detail for an entire page.

'Ancestors, it's like reading the journal of a college student.' Samus grumbled as she keyed for the next entry without looking. Thankfully, this one was short, but managed to get an amused snort from her.

>>It's been scarcely a year since the first Volantosaur awakened, and it has been a busy one indeed. Recalling back to my last journal log (well over a year ago) it was noted that I did not trust this Ridley incarnation until he followed through with actions. He did. And I've fully trusted their word since. The first thing they did was march down to the genetics and biology labs and demanded our leading geneticist to commit him to a full gender transition. Thankfully, the Volantosaur species also possesses the Urtraghian genetic modularity. Coming out from the gender-reassignment surgery, he-now-she proclaimed her name to be Lonia, only acquiescing to taking on "Ridley" as a surname when she couldn't think of a surname for herself. I dare say, she has quite the... generous figure. A voluptuous Volantosaur, one could say... Gods I hope no one reads that.<<

'Unfortunately for both of us, I did,' Samus thought, keying in for the next journal.

>>But, back on subject, Lonia has progressed well. She's willingly allowed studies on her, given samples, volunteers regularly for test trials, stress training, physical fitness, the whole nine yards and then some! Senior Chief Minister Ultaz is pleased with the results, but has brought my attention to a concerning hobby that Lonia has developed in her off hours, which she has plenty of. It's not harming anyone, not by any means no, but it does worry us about her mental state. One needs only to walk into her room to see why, since every spare inch of her walls and furniture is plastered with paraphanelia concerning the great enemy of Space Pirates, Samus Aran the Hunter. While we technically have nothing to fear, since we've splintered from the Pirates years ago, it does still make one worry with how much Lonia has taken to this super-human bounty huntress. It's puzzling, as well, with how taken Lonia's heart seems to be with this human. Further studies will be needed.<<

Lonia had fallen for Samus? This was concerning, but surely it couldn't be so. Samus wasn't one to fall for tricks so easily, which this most certainly was. They had written it in Galactic Standard instead of the Pirate (or she supposed it was called "Urtraghian" if her memory of the Phazon Crisis served her well) language. Their intention was clearly for someone who spoke it to read it. And most humans were native speakers of it.

The next entry only confirmed it.

>>Ultaz wants to accelerate project ERIS. The Federation won't know what hit them. Lonia is more than down for the plan, now we only need the last piece to fall into place. The Urtraghian Enforcers have hidden in the distant shadows for too long. It's time we reveal ourselves to the galaxy.<<

She read enough as she pushed herself away from the terminal and her hand fell onto her Paralyzer. But she froze as a thought entered her mind: what if it wasn't a trap? This place was so out of the way and there were zero indications they even knew of her arrival, much less had set up plans for it. Save for... *that* journal log.

She hurriedly stood and began marching between the data-stacks further in. Unsure of what her goal was, Samus cast her eyes about in a search for... something. Was it this Ridley-clone who had a crush on her? Was it the means by which these "Urtraghian Enforcers" had facilitated the reincarnation of her greatest nemesis into her greatest fanboy? Or perhaps she was searching for an upgrade... Yes, an upgrade, she could work with that! That could speed up her Power Suit's repairs significantly, possibly even bypass the repair time entirely. She needed her Power Suit NOW, she realized, as her breathing started to come in short, shallow gasps. Every time she had been to a Pirate base, there had been some sort of tech that she could upgrade her suit. The decided majority of her visits to Pirate holds had turned up whole suit upgrades, so odds were in her favor that the Enforcers would follow the norm.

The servers eventually gave way to a hallway, which had marked doors at regular intervals, signifying living quarters. Samus paused, her ears straining for sounds of alerted individuals. The only thing her augmented listening detected was multiple sounds of Urtraghian breathing, but incredibly rough albeit in regular intervals. A smirk pulled at her mouth despite the danger; they were all snoring sound asleep.

She sped past in eager haste, maintaining her previous speed, but with footsteps near complete silence. Her eyes darted side-to-side in apprehension for one, just ONE, Urtraghian to walk out and sound the alarm. But it seemed her luck was holding out this time, for she made it past the lengthy hall without even a single hiccup of alarm.

'That seemed a little too easy,' Samus sighed as she entered the next room of the cavern-bunker.

The sprawl of machinery and testing aparatus immediately set it apart as a laboratory. But it wasn't like the ones Samus was accustomed to seeing among any species, least of all the Space Pirates. She moved a little slower through the lab this time as she took it all in, allowing her fingers to brush lightly along equipment here and there.

An involuntary shiver traveled up her spine as her eyes traced the lines of a specific piece of equipment sitting in a nondescript corner. It was otherwise indiscernible from other machines or testing pieces. Save for the fact that it was a vat that very easily could fit one specific person in there:

Ridley. Or "Lonia Ridley," Samus supposed.

She walked up to the clear glass of the vat and keyed the console, eyes only marginally widening at the confirmation of her suspicions:

>>This strain of Metroid is unruly, but docile. Much like canine pups the humans often keep as pets. The men have taken to calling them Nuitroids. They listen to us and display an evident attention not seen in any other breed. By no means are they the attack dogs that the Pirates employed, but neither are they without their bite. They're more... tamed? I dare not jinx it. They definitely still possess their energy absorption capabilities, and even display a certain level of TRANSFERRING that energy. The applications of this in standard life will prove... revolutionary.<<

Metroids, yet again, were alive and well, and all signs pointed to this tank being the one that contained them, yet Samus saw no such presence of them within. A panic arose within her as she felt her breath shorten. Where were these "Nuitroids" and what new power would they grant to this branch-off of Space Pirates? What were they planning?

She needed to get out of here. She needed to leave. The walls were closing in and the shadows lengthened. Fear filled her as flashes of Zebes, BSL, Tallon IV, other missions flew before her eyes. 'Run, run, run, run,' was all that remained in her mind as her chest began hurting as that familiar fear began to settle in.

She barged through the doorway and charged down the hall, only to feel the ground suddenly vanish from beneath her. Samus yelled in fright as she began to plummet, but she gasped as she felt her body impact water. She hadn't passed by any underground lakes or ponds, had she gone the wrong...

She shrieked as fire suddenly pierced every sense of her being and then swiftly turned ice filling her entire nervous system. Her scream cut off as her body suddenly ceased responding to her commands and began to sink to the bottom of the pond. She didn't sink far before hitting the bottom, and the one small part of her mind not aflame with alarm realized that this was no naturally occurring lake, and this was not water. It was far too viscous to be such. Stuck as a prisoner in her own body, Samus could only silently curse her idiocy. What had possessed her to abandon her cool like that!?

Her thoughts were interrupted with a sensation breaking through the numb that had overtaken her. Feeling was returning to her, but the first sensation made her wish that it hadn't.

Samus would've screamed had she not been submerged into the vat of strange chemicals. The pain continued to spike as she felt her lungs grow more desperate for air. As it were, she could only suffer in agony as she felt her breath slipping. But soon a new sensation joined in, and this time Samus was able to let out a grunt, spewing a bubble of precious air. Reflexively, she coughed and gasped as an agonizing fire pierced every inch of her. She froze as she felt no stabs signifying asphyxiation, feeling more sensations return to her. She could start to move her fingers, and the black of unconsciousness was starting to fade as she breathed in another mouthful of the liquid.

Crackling bone and shifting joints made muffled pops and snaps through her limbs as her body suddenly convulsed. Samus flinched and curled in, fright piercing her mind as she felt this new fire. But it wasn't in her lungs, she immediately realized. She could breathe this strange liquid fine without fear of drowning, it seemed. Any thoughts for its purpose were discarded as another fresh wave of needles pulsed through her nerves, an increasing intensity of feeling as if she were being pulled apart.

She needed to get out of here, she realized. While this chemical clearly allowed one to breathe while submerged in it, it was beginning to have other effects that were severely disturbing, not to mention agonizing to feel. Her arms and legs stiff, frozen like she had spent an afternoon nude in Phendrana Drifts, but without any of the cold. A warmth of feverish nature had started to bloom in her head, making it feel far too huge. Her skin was a hardening carapace that felt far too claustrophobic, like it was a cocoon wrapped a little too tightly.

She lashed out with a hand, clumsily attempting to swim up, but it felt as successful as stopping the rain. Her hands just clawed uselessly, never attaining even a mote of drag. Something wriggled on the end of her spine and she suddenly shot upwards a far distance, but stopping soon after. Samus gasped, swallowing another gasp of the breathable liquid, bubbles flowing from her mouth as she moaned in pain, a fresh wave of crackles and snaps thronged her nerves and bones. Samus froze, arching her back and a disturbing sensation of something releasing from her filled her mind. The clamp of her two-piece Zero Suit abruptly vanished, the shreds falling from her form as she flailed for the surface. Her shoulders and back muscles contorted and flexed in a manner most unnatural and suddenly Samus was flung the rest of the way. Her head breached the surface and she took a breath of that clear, crisp air, the taste of sterile chemicals all too sweet compared to the gelatin creeping down her esophagus. But before she could celebrate, an all-too-familiar, ear-piercing wail rung in her ears. Desperation gripped her, as the panic renewed and she struggled for the edge. She could still feel the liquid seeping into her naked body and continuing to contort her in disturbing and terrifying ways. She threw her arm for the ledge and felt it grasp nothing but the damnable chemical.

'C'MON!' Samus thought, unsure if she actually said it as she flung her other arm, gasping as she felt it connect with someone's arm. "I got you!" came a shockingly feminine voice, free of growls or snarling present in the Pirate language. How had they snuck in here? It didn't matter, Samus pulled herself free of the noxious liquid with heaving gasps of air. She flailed and slid as she suddenly felt no more coordinated than a Chozo hatchling. Her hands and feet scrabbled on the ground as she crawled from the liquid. Her breath came in shallow, quick gasps as she curled in on herself.

"Hey, you're alright, just take deep breaths, nice and calm," said Samus' savior as they started to rub her back. She blinked blearily, taking shuddering breaths, but trying to take the stranger's advice to heart and focusing on calming her breathing while trying to not freak out.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Her entire BEING felt off. Samus still couldn't see yet, her eyes were still clouded over with the syrup-y goop, but already she knew something was terribly, horribly amiss. She could feel it in her bones, literally, as an unknown strength flowed through her, a fire deep within her belly that should be burning her, but comforted her instead. It felt like it belonged, and THAT WASN'T RIGHT!

"S-S-Samus?"

The gentle voice was most definitely feminine, calm and reassuring. But it came from over her. She was slouched against the wall, yes, but she felt far too tall. Her fingers were too elongated. Strange somethings had sprouted from her shoulder-blades and tail-bone.

"I'm going to need you to remain calm, Samus."

'Would that lady shut up already!?' Samus growled, cutting herself off as she let loose with a most inhuman growl, one not even she had ever been capable of.

"I kn-kn-know this is going to be h-hard to do... but I need you to keep yourself absolutely, totally, one-hundred-percent in control."

She was much bigger, as big as Ghor's armor suit... no... that wasn't a good comparison. Sight was returning to her now and she saw that there was a third limb lying snakily between her legs, coming to a point. She blinked again. She wiggled her toes. One, two, three, fo- three. One, two, three toes she felt moving and something on her... heel? No, it was off to the side. Another blink, and more came clearer and her eyes grew wider. Blue, scaley hide instead of peach skin. Three toe-claws with a spur-like back-claw made obviously for gripping stability in conjunction with her triplet of claws on each foot. She curled her digitigrade legs as her gaze pulled up her form, blinking faster as the picture became clear to her what had happened. The third limb? Her tail. Her hands and arms, covered in the blue scales as the rest of her form, had claws on her thicker fingers, but only two fingers and a thumb. Spikes sprouted from her elbows and shoulders, and a couple on her knees, with a few more on her tail. HER tail! Lighter blue scales like the sky covered her ventrals, namely her stomach and chest.

"Nothing is going to harm you, but you're really not going to like this."

Samus felt the subtle brush of her blond hair that she had somehow kept, which draped lower, somehow, on her back between her wings. (Those were WINGS on her back!) She clenched her eyes shut as she started shaking her head. No, this wasn't possible. This wasn't happening. This was some sick twisted nightmare induced by a hallucinogen the Pirates had given her. There was no way this was possible!

"Please understand, this project's intent was to provide a means of storable energy more-reliable than most back-up methods across the galaxy. It was never intended for sapient trials. Not like this."

Not like this. Those words repeated in Samus' mind again and again. The woman... she towered over her. But Samus didn't want to look. There was no way. This wasn't happening. Her chest heaved rapidly with panic-driven breaths. Her head, it felt far beyond the shape that was proper for Samus. The drone of the lady continued, but she didn't hear any of it. Faint click-clacks registered in Samus' mind as the lady walking. She was a clawed creature. Just like how Samus was now!

Samus suddenly burst forward as she leapt to the edge of the vat with a too-familiar screech. She didn't even register the woman letting loose a similar screech that could've been a yell of "NO, WAIT!" but Samus had only eyes for her reflection. She tumbled to the floor before the water and hoisted her head over the side. The disturbed liquid rippled and waved, but she saw her reflection resolving before her. It seemed an eternity before it was a more recognizable shape.

Samus let out a choked cry as she recognized herself for what she had become.

A pointed head, indentations instead of ears, a crest of spikes on her cranium, and a saurian snout like prehistoric Earth's Pterodactyls. What was most striking were the gold-red irises and yellow sclera of her eyes. They bore an incredibly striking resemblance to HIM.

Ridley. Samus had become a mockery of her whole life, a blue-scaled, golden-haired version of her life-long nemesis. Her humanity was gone. In the place of the damsel, she had become the dragon.

Gone was Samus Aran the Bounty Hunter. Now, she was Samus Aran the Volantosaur.

Any trepidations vanished as her memories of fight after fight, battle after battle trailed through Samus' mind. She was still in control of her faculties, but this was still the work of the one who had plagued her for so long. It had stripped Samus of her humanity and replaced it with scales, wings, and a tail.

"Samus, please, talk to me. You have every reason to hate me, me, the progenitor of the Ridley line. But you can't be helped unless you tell me-"

"You."

Samus' hiss was all it took to silence her helper, who she now looked towards and saw that it was no human woman. It wasn't even a woman of the Pirates' or Urtraghians' kind. No, the one who stood over her prone body was the very creature who she now shared species with. Her vision tinted red as she tried to pull herself up, but failed. She had to try.

"Yes... me, Samus. The one who was supposed to oppose you even better than my previous incarnations. I was grown and matured naturally, but only awoken mere years ago. I have all his memories and I know what 'I' have done, but that's not the me that now stands before you."

Samus' eyes narrowed and an angry hissing gurgled from the back of her throat at this female Ridley. Her eyes locked onto the other's, noticing their golden sheen in the sclera and crimson irises as well. She had less cranial skull-spikes than Samus did, with an odd pair of antennae sitting above and between her eyes. She had a distinct pair of eye-ridges that could've been another pair of antennae developed for eye-based expression, which were currently arching alongside the primary antennae expressing... concern?

"Ridley," Samus spat as she bore her claws and coiled herself up to strike.

Ridley seemed to sigh as she moved her three-clawed hand to her head to pinch the ridge of her snout. "Physically, yes, but I'm not--"

With a deafening war-screech, Samus flung herself for Ridley's throat. Her charge stopped short as she stumbled and fell at the purple Volantosaur's feet with a pitiful huff. But still, Samus attempted a weak swipe for Ridley's midsection which she caught. While they were the same size, it was readily evident that Samus was far too weak from her recent transformation to really present any sort of a threat.

"If you'll let me continue," Ridley said with a deadpan tone and expression, "while I'm of Ridley's blood, I am NOT HIM. So I would appreciate if you called me by my actual first name, which is Lonia. Got it?"

Samus tried to jerk her arms away once more, but to no avail. Ridley (or "Lonia," despite Samus staunchily refusing to call her such) continued holding her wrists with impassive exasperation. On her third try to free herself, Samus felt the burn of exhaustion and found herself panting heavily, but fought to maintain some semblance of a glare. She knew she was clearly failing when Ridley's expression fell into, not triumph, but... pity?

"Oh, Samus," she said, her voice not condescending but genuine, grating on Samus even more. She didn't need pity, not from the likes of HER! "There are so many things I want to say to you right now to help. You don't know how I feel-"

"I read the log entries," Samus panted suddenly, cutting off Ridley. At this, her expression grew into one of shock, and then her muzzle colored a darker purple as she looked away and actually dropped Samus to the ground while she backed away with apparent shame. No, not shame, Samus realized, but mortification.

There was a long moment of awkward silence as Ridley repeatedly cleared her throat. "You, uh... saw that... stuff. I... I was kinda... drunk, and was just spitting out words... I mean there's not really any other Volantosaurs here on this colony and I couldn't stop thinking about you and it was really lonely because most of the Enforcers were visiting family on other colonies and none of those still here were really interested in hanging out 'cuz they were either drunken into a stupor or just don't like me and not because I mistreated them don't get me wrong I try to be super nice to everyone here because they've been nothing but kind and I guess I'm a little too forward and maybe even a tool at times and-"

"Stop." Samus had meant for it to come out stronger, but despite how the statement came out weakly, Ridley still heard and shut up immediately. "Just...dear ancestors...let me...get my thoughts in order, Rid...L-...Lonia." Her mental guard crumbled as Samus finally allowed Lonia the concession of using her name, and she felt the panic begin to set in once more.

This wasn't right, none of this was supposed to have wound up like this. Pirates always tried to lay some sort of trap for her in an attempt to kill her, many times the trap being laid by Ridley himself! It was a pattern played out time and time and time again, but Samus always came out on top as the conqueror. But now, here she lay limply in a tangle with a body both incredibly alien yet familiar, the latest incarnation of her life-long nemesis standing before her blushing and fidgeting like a little school-girl ("Ancestors, she's gotta be college age," Samus belatedly realized, her eye picking up details her human mind wouldn't have even registered before) all while she struggled to come to terms that, maybe, just maybe, this whole deal of changing her into a Volantosaur hadn't actually been planned.

That just maybe, both the Urtraghian Enforcers and Lonia Ridley were actually good people.

"Whoa, hey hey hey hey hey," Lonia's voice trickled over Samus' ears as the purple Volantosaur came near, intruding her personal bubble, but she found she strangely didn't mind, "it's alright."

"I need to lie down somewhere," Samus choked out, feeling her world crumble a little more by the second, "a bed... and food... and maybe some calzones..."

"Hm?" Lonia said as she hoisted an increasingly-incoherent Samus, "What's a calzone?"

"Don't you guys have access to the holonet?" Samus drawled as she let herself be draped over Lonia's shoulders.

"Well, yeah, that's how I read about your adventures, but..."

"And while you're at it, gimme wunna those...peanut butter and chocolate smoothies...ancestors I could just down a whole freighter of calzones right now...pepperoni and sausage, with lots of gooey mozz...mots...mozzarella..."

"Okay, I get it, Samus. You're hungry and naturally want something high in calories, but I should warn you that..."

"Nah, you don't get it...I'm starved, Lawn-yeah, I need...I need..."

Snores echoed through the chamber as the huntress-turned-Volantosaur nodded off into sleep. Lonia sighed and started lifting up Samus onto her shoulders. It wouldn't do well for their first guest to be sleeping on the hard metal floor of the labs.