Sonic Legends: Dimensional Destruction.

Chapter XXVII: Pest Control

"Watch your step," Samus advised Rouge, Shade, and Metang as they traveled through the B.S.L. Station. Though the X Parasite was eradicated, the place was still treacherous to walk through, as there were several other hostile creatures lurking about. "How many different organisms inhabit this place?" Shade wondered as she shined the light on her armored bracelets around in the pitch-black corridor. "Last time I was here, every creature was an X Parasite. There's no telling," the bounty hunter replied as they inched along the wall. "This place shouldn't even exist, and yet, it does. We destroyed Nightmare, but he's not the only threat we needed to worry about." "You mentioned something about Space Pirates earlier," Rouge asked. "Do you think they're behind all this?" "I thought so at first, but the X Parasites were just as much a threat to them as I was," the woman explained. "They themselves were nearly wiped out by the X, so it's unlikely that they'll be here. Then again, I destroyed their leader on many occasions, yet he still keeps coming back, so my battle with them may never truly be over..."

As they wandered through the facility, Shade caught sight of something crawling along the floor. "What's that?" she asked, shining her light near the creature. It looked like some kind of grub, and quite a big one, too! "Ugh! It's a bug!" the bat cringed, backing up at the sight of it. "That's a Zero, the larval form of an extraterrestrial insectoid beast known as a Kihunter," Samus pointed out. "These things are never alone; they're always in groups." As she spoke, they were soon surrounded by a whole colony of these creatures, some of which were curling up and fidgeting. "What are they doing?" Shade asked, concerned. "Those are beginning to transition from larvae into adults!" the blonde beauty gasped as one made crunching sounds. "They're very dangerous! Crush them, quickly!" "No need to tell me twice!" Rouge exclaimed as she flew towards one and unleashed a powerful kick, crushing it. "Ick! Bug guts!" The bat winced in disgust as she dragged her boot across the floor to wipe off the innards of the larva. "It's too late! They're already maturing!" Samus gritted her teeth as the Zeroes morphed into their adult vespine forms. The Kihunters were a teal color with golden yellow mandibles and stinger as well as blood-red wings. They had sinister red eyes as well a set of purple lens on their foreheads that served as special eyes.

"They can spit acid!" Samus added as one began to rear its head back. "Stay clear!" They leapt up to dodge the corrosive projectile the wasp monster expelled from its jaws. "Anything else you want to tell us about these creeps?!" Rouge grunted as she avoided the swarm. "Metang!" the Pokémon exclaimed as it held a group of Kihunters in place with its psychic powers and pushed them into the wall, making them splat on contact. "If only we had better weapons," Shade grunted as slashed one of the bugs with her energy blades. "There has to be some way to open the doors here!" "Hey! That's it! The bugs!" Rouge exclaimed. "Have them spit acid at the doors to melt through them!" "Of course!" the human remarked as she struck one of the Kihunters with her Plasma Whip, making it reel back in pain. It then spit a blob of acid towards her, but Samus dodged it in time to avoid getting burned. The acid melted through the door, letting the group explore the new sector, while still having to watch out for the Kihunters. "Is my stuff in here?" Rouge wondered as she flew inside. She looked around, then gasped in excitement as she spotted her secret weapons; Bat Cracker Bombs. "Come to Mama!"

She grabbed the explosives and looked around for any possible jewels, but sadly found none. She did, however, hear a harsh buzzing sound nearby. She turned to see a bright green insectoid creature with big claws, scary red eyes, and massive wings. It flew towards her and attempted to slash her with its dreadful claws, only for the bat to roundhouse kick it, ending its assault. Rouge then headed back out to join the others, unaware that more of those bugs were chasing after her. "Hey, you dumb bees! Why don't ya buzz off?!" she huffed as she tossed a bomb at one of the Kihunters. The mini explosive detonated in the insect's face, causing it to screech in pain and fly around aimlessly in confusion until it ran smack dab into the wall. "Find what you were looking for, Rouge?" Shade asked as she tossed a Stasis Grenade at more of the bugs. "No gems, but I did get my Bat Cracker Bombs," the secret agent smiled. "Oh, and there was this ugly green fly with claws that tried to gut me." "A Reo. Carnivorous insects," Samus explained, holding an object that resembled a scope. "Does this belong to either one of you?" "My Treasure Scope!" Rouge beamed as she took the device out of her hands. "You're a real doll, Sammy! Thanks!"