Cunning God of Cuddles 3 (Patreon)

Cunning God of Cuddles 3 - Or ‘This Little Birdie is truly a Cuddly Bio-Weapon!’ (RidleyClone!SI Xover)

I think this detour took me to a secret sector.

Sure, I haven’t played this game enough to know if this was a place Samus was aware about, but I have all the reasons to doubt that was the case. Why? Well, while I wasn’t aware of this place’s name, the fact that most of its environment was a complete shift from the previous ones, and the grounds I was wandering resembled more those of SR-388.

The mere remembrance of that place got me some unease- after all, if this was a full recreation of the planet’s main habitats, it meant it was built to… well, train Metroids. It was why Sector 1 was a thing in Metroid Fusion- to allow Metroid created within Sector 6 to be then trained into stronger monsters.

It even got to the point where Samus’ Boosted Missiles were futile against an Omega Metroid, and the temporary use of the Ice Beam saved her ass. I was not fine with facing any Metroid right now, as the chances of anything post-Larval evolution may be nigh-impossible to destroy.

If my Fire Breath struggled against a Dragotix, then it was best to accept the notion of ‘running away’ rather than face that sort of threat. Grimacing over these thoughts, I barely noticed that I had stumbled on a ‘Briefing Room’. The large mechanic room was seemingly inactive as I entered it, so I didn’t exactly look around while strolling to reach the door on the other side of it.

Which is why I was tense when the door suddenly closed- so did the one that was right behind me. The room suddenly came to life as the terminals there booted up and- two mechanical arms rushed towards me. I dodged one, but the other swiftly took me into its grasp. I struggled a bit, panicking that it was soon going to squish me or something- but right as I was about to go Morph Ball, I saw the other mechanical arms approach… with a tiny harness with a visor.

Blinking, I was perplexed when both mechanical limbs carefully put me in said harness, the thing being relatively smooth to the fur and didn’t restrict me much. The visor was confusing to me for a moment, but then it ‘activated’.

EN: 99

Current Breath(s): Fire
Protection: Basic
Misc.Abilities: Morph Ball

Wut?!

As the limbs quietly allowed me to get back on the ground, new words flashed within the visor:

Objective: Proceed into the Advanced Biosphere.

…This feels way too ominous to be good.

Still, I had to go forward anyway. And the fact I had now something to tell me what I had at my disposal and my capacity to endure damage- well, I wasn’t too upset about it. This didn’t explain who or what had caused it, only that whoever or whatever it was had decided to ‘give me something to help’.

Shaking my head, I resumed my walk as the doors were once more active. Finally I was encountering some enemies. Green Hornoads that were swarming the area, soon screeching at me in challenge before rushing at me. Despite their numbers, fire was enough to deal with those weak enemies. And the overall process was surprisingly ‘familiar’ to dealing with those in Samus’ Return.

I had been rather restrained in seeing this as a ‘game’, since the threat of getting harmed was quite high but… then again, some monsters were dumb and thus some strategies used in games were relevant in this instance too.

The more Hornoads I faced, the more that was confirmed. I was slowly falling into that mindset, and while that was good in the current situation, I couldn’t help but feel nervous on how it was going to translate in the long-run.

In a sense, the irony of that thought manifested roughly ten minutes later. I had been exploring around for a while, getting a bit damaged, but recovering through the energy given away by the defeated creatures. I was getting a grasp over this sort of powers and-

Then I stumbled on a rather suspicious room.

It was quite large, had another door that led elsewhere but, on the deep right side of it was a Chozo Statue- with a sphere holding an ability in it.

Considering the fact that no Chozo had lived up to ally with the ‘ringleaders’ and thus gave this sort of stuff to them, I was quite sure it was a fake one- like the second boss in Metroid Fusion for the Charge Beam.

Nonetheless, checking out wasn’t expensive for me as I carefully approached the statue. For  some reason, it was giving me a good vibe. My belly felt warm as it could tell that whatever was held within the orb could be ‘eaten’. I am not sure from what logical development this came from, but I couldn’t ignore this sort of feeling. Still, the moment I got close enough, cracks started to appear in the statue’s head. I prepared for something like a Torizo guard but- The statue broke properly, revealing the one thing I had been dreading to encounter.

An Alpha Metroid, a hungry one at that as it didn’t hesitate a moment to rush in my general direction.

Goal: Defeat the Alpha Metroid.

Fuck!

I jumped away, swiftly snarling at the creature before hitting its belly with my Fire Breath. As it happened before, the attack yielded no result. So, I decided to test out if my claws and fangs could do anything with it. I had to try everything and… it didn’t.

As the flying beast tried to attack me again, I timed my legs to kick upward and make it flip. I jumped on its belly and sank down on its core but- it was too thick! Panic flashed in my gaze as I barely got away from some retaliation from the Alpha Metroid. I had aggravated it for sure and- I had no means to get out of the room. All doors had suddenly closed down, turning this in a death battle- someone had to die.

And I refused to be that guy.

Looking around for anything that could work in my favor, I spotted the destroyed statue and the item that it was still holding onto. The protective bubble had burst due to the Metroid’s attack, and it was now clear to me what it was. Charge Beam… how the hell am I supposed to ‘absorb’ it. Sure, I got the Morph Ball but that was not through one of those Chozo Upgrades.

I looked at the Alpha Metroid for just a moment, knowing that I had to make a decision. I could either be fucking myself over the upgrade as it could reject me or- or I fought to the very end of me. And would lose my chance to get these damn headpats!

Drawing a deep sigh, I bolted after the upgrade. The Alpha Metroid rushed after me, slightly faster, but I had some head start on it. Right as I grasped the ability, I dove down under it. The monster appeared surprised but-

Charge Breath acquired!

But not as shocked as it would soon be when I was done charging up the fire within my throat to then release it against it. A powerful burst of flames emerged from my mouth, blazing into the Metroid’s core and shredding into its thick cover.

It fell on the side, screeching in pain but I was soon upon it. My mouth was accustomed to my own fire, so it had no issues in devouring the exposed core despite it being a flaming mess.

The real disgust came to mind when my taste buds detected the gelatinous flavor of the Alpha Metroid.  I had been so ‘deep’ in the ‘devour mindset’ that I forgot that my brain was not accustomed to this sort of thing and I almost barfed mid-way with how disgusting it was.

Energy Tank Absorbed!

EN: 99 []

Not worth it. Not worth it at all.

The only thing that made this experience worth it was the idea that I was closer to those headpats. The notion that I could absorb abilities was shocking, but I couldn’t waste too long in these thoughts as I had to get back to Samus. I resumed my walk, focusing on getting somehow back upstairs but-

I had this feeling that someone was trying to piss me off. And they were fucking succeeding it by delaying my much deserved petting!

—------d-d-d-d—------

MB-276 would have smiled if she had a mouth.

The overall progress of the Little Pest was as astonishing as she had predicted- yet, it was clear this beast was more than it appeared to be. The way it dealt with the Hornoads and the Alpha Metroid was incredibly meticulous. Its capacity to understand Common Language was also impressive considering its lack of previous experiences with it.

Not too clever, but still displaying a degree of awareness and self-learning that made the experience worthy of wasting those resources. They had plenty of Hornoads and the Metroids in this sub-sector were not the ones she was ordered to protect- so those wastes were justifiable.

What actually got her ‘amused’ was a reaction from a creature within the Advanced Biosphere that had been tested in her recent ‘survey’. What the Little Pest hadn’t noticed was that the metallic tendrils that put on that harness had also retrieved some of its fur.

The survey itself was a quick check for any potential ‘clue’ on what it was cloned after. None in the database had any contact with where the DNA came from beyond being one of those prevalent in Samus Aran’s Power Suit.

Thus, she verified if this critter held some connection with any creature within the sub-sector. Most gave negative results, some showed familiarity- but it was one in particular that was reacting the strongest.

And while the creature itself was deemed by her superiors as a ‘protected creature’, the reaction itself was noteworthy. The anger and wrath it mustered from the monstrous beast of towering height confirmed some suspicions.

The only thing left to confirm her thesis was to let them meet…

And fight to the death~.

—------d-d-d-d—--------

AN

Little Birdie is on the verge of its first legit Boss Battle- luckily for it, after that there is a chance for him to get back to Samus.

Also… Stats!

EN: 99 []

Current Breath(s): Fire, Charged
Protection: Basic
Misc.Abilities: Morph Ball