Metroid: Zero Mission Novelization

Arrival

"Planet Zebes... I called this place home once, in peaceful times, long before evil haunted the caverns below. Now I shall finally tell the tale of my first battle here... My so-called Zero Mission."

-Samus Aran
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The descent down to Zebes' surface was less than enjoyable. Sure, I'd faced atmospheric turbulence and even worse, dogfights in space and atmosphere before, but this was rough in the sense that I knew how horribly wrong this whole thing was. I had planned to pay a return visit to Zebes one day, but I never expected this to be the reason. Looking out the window to the surface of the planet, it looked different. I landed in a small valley of Crateria that I knew to be near an entrance to Brinstar. Ready to leave and expecting a quick in-and-out mission, I called forth my Power Suit and left the ship through the top hatch. I jumped down off the ship to the surface of Crateria. I felt chills go up my spine. Zebes was thoroughly changed. It was angry. For the first time since my home planet was razed, I felt true fear, unsure what lay ahead. Today could very well be my last day alive.

Then again, I used to say that last bit all the time, and nothing ever happened.

I moved up a cliff face and into a cave hidden in the rocks. I scanned over the ground with my eyes, looking for the hatch that was normally right there, in the floor. It had been covered up. If memory served, the door should have been right below my feet.... I stepped back and raised my arm cannon to where I had just been standing. Pulling the trigger, a beam shot off, shattering the ground. Not only did I find that the hatch had been removed altogether, but the tunnel had been mostly filled in where there was once a lift beneath it. I would have to jump, and I would barely fit the now quite narrow tunnel.

"Here goes nothing..." I whispered to myself, before jumping in. I pulled my arms and legs together, holding my body straight in a sort of pencil dive. Despite making myself small, my shoulder guards managed to nick the rocky walls a few times. A few seconds of falling and a very uncomfortable ride later, the area around me opened up into the massive, once-comfy cave system that is Brinstar. Free to move around, I looked down to find the ground approaching, and fast. I bent my legs on impact and lowered myself to one knee, setting my left arm on the ground to dispel the rest of the shock. The ground cracked beneath my impact, and the many Geemers that inhabit this particular room were awakened.... Only to converge on me, their eyes glowing fiercely. Fortunately, they are quite weak creatures, and a beam shot or two each dispatched them. This was less shocking than disturbing... Geemers are normally very docile, roaming the ground to feed on smaller creatures. They never attack larger organisms...

This is wrong. This is not the Zebes I grew up on. This Zebes is changed, enraged. A mixture of emotions ranging from anger to confusion bubbled up within me, threatening to break loose. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, dispelling my anger. I opened my eyes again, to find a message appear on my visor.

CHOZO TECHNOLOGY DETECTED

My eyebrows rose in curiosity. It was close. Very close. Just on the other side of an easily-scalable rock wall. I jumped up to the top and dropped down once a space opened up. Before me I found a glowing sphere resting on top of a metal pedestal, as if on display. It was the same color yellow as my armor. My visor to scanned the object automatically, returning an interesting message.

CHOZO TECHNOLOGY CONFIRMED: MORPH BALL. MAKE DIRECT CONTACT TO INITIATE SUIT INTEGRATION.

It's an upgrade compatible with the Power Suit... And it's Chozo in origin... Finding no reason not to interact with it, I placed my hand upon the glowing sphere, only for it to render down into small motes of light, which then integrated themselves with my chest armor. Panicking, I reached for my chest with my left hand, only for the armor to come into contact with, well, itself. For a few seconds, I hyperventilated, wondering if I was going to die. My worries were dispelled shortly afterward, however.