The Dark Ages [Dark Data]

[Samus Aran]

Samus eyed the hammer, that creepy grin still in her peripheral vision.

Playing such games. Was the Black Knight as prideful as Centaur Man? Would he really honor a bargain?

Not a chance. Centaur Man had been a lackey. A frothing, phazon …. dark power-addicted quarter-man. Whoever ran this verse had to have more cunning than that. This ‘Black Knight’, whoever he was, was a general – he ran an entire dark verse. No castle would stay standing for long when the owner was wont to let intruders in of their own volition.

Then again, the castle hadn’t been standing for long. And, general or not, any underling of Nebula was bound to be corrupted by dark power already. Perhaps the Black Knight really was that arrogant, that prideful.

She shared a glance with Madotsuki and Hiro. They hadn’t been together for very long, and they hadn’t even gotten on that well – but they had fought together, and come out successful. Some things could be said just as well with a glance when words were a bad fit.

Samus turned on the Watcher, chest puffed out and shoulders spread. “You speak to Samus Aran, saviour of worlds. None are more strong or worthy than I.”

The Watcher’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “I knew you wouldn’t disappoint, heroes.”

Samus stepped up to the hammer, testing its weight with her left hand. Gods, it was heavy. Even using her right arm’s cannon to brace it, her muscles trembled with the effort.

“Maybe it’d be easier if you took that cannon off?” suggested the old man.

Samus took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy.

With all of her might, she lifted. Her shoulders screamed, her HUD lit up with warning lights – maximum capacity exceeded!

... And then she pivoted, roaring, and flung the hammer into the old man.

“GO!” she bellowed.

And with that, Hiro and Madotsuki dashed around her, heading towards the castle through the trees.

The old man hadn’t taken a direct hit from the hammer – as sure as she was that he was a Nebula puppet, Samus knew she had not the strength to give it a proper throw, or even a proper lift. Sparing only a moment to assess that fact and make a decision, the bounty hunter willed her suit to transform.

She felt a flood of relief as the bulky armor melted away – at least the Nebula space hadn’t disabled that function. With Predator Mode engaged, she burst away from the scene as fast as possible.

“OKOR, YOU’D BETTER FINISH UP QUICK!”

Samus is in her alternate form, Predator Mode (see roster) and running to the castle.