Metroid: Dirty Money (for Crooked)
 

In the dark depths of space, located far within the deep depths of the Galaxy was the planet known as Zuhul. This planet was an average size for a recently discovered planet, the ground was a dark gray color and the sky was a bright red. But the oddest thing about the planet was that only specific parts of the planet had breathable air according to scanners. It was mostly considered a wasteland except for a few mountain that sporadically appeared across the map.

Shortly after the planet was discovered, a small team was formed and entered the planet’s atmosphere with the mission of setting up scanners on the soil so they can scan any valuable mineral or material. They were also tasked for local out for other life forms, whether they were hostile or not.

Headed by Captain Marion Hanson, a senior space commander with plentiful experience in fighting dangerous creature, the small team quickly began working on sending probes and sticking scanners into the ground as soon as they landed.

It all seemed to go to well at first, the scanners were working perfectly and were quick finding what could be very valuable metal deep beneath the planets crust. Any they began work on sending out a new drone. A medic thought she heard something coming from a cave in the distance.

“It was probably just some ruble, let’s get back to work Stephens!” The hardened Captain Hanson ordered through her helmet, which the subordinate quick followed.

It was just when peace swept over the team that IT happened. A small remote drone was being sent out and as everyone was focused on looking at screens to check on their progress. It was then that their security system went haywire, which only happens when an unknown life form was need by. All four of them looked aimlessly into wasteland, baffled and stunned that they can’t see anything.

“Everyone calm down! It was probably a malf-“ The Captain’s mouth stopped moving from under her helmet when suddenly something began to materialize in front of her, bending down so they were literally face to face. The creature gave a hearty laugh and quickly moved into action.

After a few minutes, the only thing left in the area where the ship landed was rubble from a bunch of miscellaneous metal, a small fire from where the ship used to be and finally the broken helmet of Captain Hanson; which was rolling on the ground nearby. Besides that, there are no signs from the crew anywhere to be found.

The last Metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace.

Which was exactly the problem. The galaxy was too at peace. Meaning self-sustaining bounty huntresses like herself didn’t have much to do. No intergalactic wars requiring ‘political disappearances,’ no space pirate takeovers, no foreign enemy aliens putting the entire known universe at risk. In short, nothing the Galactic Federation had any use for under-the-table shenanigans for; the few disruptions they did come across were handled in an orderly fashion.

‘Orderly fashion’ wasn’t the name of her preferred method of handling things, though. Usually, when a planet is blown to smithereens, an unprosecutable criminal disappears, or a cargo ship suspected of conspiracy vanishes into thin air, there was the same woman behind the crime; Samus Aran.

Right now, though, the universally feared huntress wasn’t adorning her bulletproof megaton armor, nor was her blaster pointed towards an unfortunate alien about to become history - she was laid back in the seat of her ship, head back against her chair, dressed in a high-cut t-shirt and leggings.

Samus was bored out of her mind. Normally, that wasn’t a problem, just an inconvenience - but she was also dirt-poor-broke thanks to the absence of good bounties in the air lately (or, more specifically, ones that wouldn’t damage her ties with the Galactic Federation.) Airships weren’t easy to maintain, especially when she had very few better living options. Samus sighed, crossing her arms as she drifted aimlessly through space, just hoping work would fall out of the sky for her.

And lucky her. Right as she thought as much, a beeping light popped up on her radar. Springing into action, Samus rolled her seat up closer to her dashboard and inspected the little map. A distress signal! Her eyes lit up with opportunity. Not out of pleasure that someone was in distress, but signals like that usually meant one of two things; A, someone willing to pay good credits if it meant getting their hides saved, or B, a bunch of leftover loot from the aftermath of whatever she missed.

Either way, it’s a payday! Also, justice, peace-maintenance, et cetera.

Turning her ship on its head, Samus traced the nearby coordinates not very far at all - right onto a little, dark gray planet she’d never heard of before. As her ship sunk through the red clouds of the Zuhul skyline, it took a mere glance to see the place was uninhabited. Which was even better for her, since it means no natives could come to the rescue before she could.

A quick jump across the planet’s surface, and the dot began to close in. Samus kept her eyes peeled for any signs of life, any explosions or flaming wreckage to show what she could be looking for…

Closer… nothing.

Closerrr… still nothing.

Finally, Samus hovered her ship right above the spot the distress signal traced back to. A plume of smoke rose past her windshield, implying there was certainly ‘distress…’ but she wasn’t seeing where the ‘signal’ part could’ve come from. With a pout on her face, Samus hovered her ship back down to the ground, letting the landing gear tripods extend and plant themselves in the gray dirt while she left to get changed into her combat outfit.

From the roof of her ship opened up a small porthole, an elevator-like platform rising to the top with a much more better prepared bounty huntress standing on-top. Dressed in a skin-tight, blue uniform, Samus’ left hand was wrapped around a static pistol while her other was balled into a fist. She looked over the wreckage in front of her…

No bodies, no evidence, no technology, and most importantly, no loot. Just a small few pieces of shrapnel and a small fire. Samus’ shoulders dropped, but if she came all the way out here for the promise of credits, she wasn’t about to leave empty-handed, damn it!

Hopping down off her ship, Samus rummaged rather lackidasically amongst the broken spaceship, searching the dust for anything salvageable. In her half-hearted study, she had to notice the small chunks of metal and torn space-suits leading back to the nearby cave opening. Running her lip under her teeth, Samus didn’t give her own safety a second thought. She kicked the discarded helmet under her feet like a soccer ball before approaching the open cave.

Deep within the deep confines of the dimly lit cave, which the entrance will show a long corridor which spirals downwards for a mile or two beneath the earth surface until you finally reach a long open room. A room that someone or something had made its home. It has no official name but those how saw it before they die allegedly call it Cluznoth.

This bipedal creature was quite the sight to behold. It was a tall and lanky alien creature with dark red skin, long tentacles like hair appendages with lighter red tips. It was unable to speak or comprehend human language but understood body language very well. The hands and feet of the creature are very large, about double the size of a normal human mostly do to its long fingers and toes. It’s face was not comparable to any animal but if you had to compare it to anything, it would be a wolf. Seemingly unable to smile, it would just open its mouth and exhale greatly when it’s not attacking anything.The creatures snout It’s eyes held an intimidating and evil stare, which was currently fixed on its current prize.

Captain Marion Hanson has been in active combat for over 30 years, most of those she was a commander for various teams. During that time she fought in countless battles against giant monsters and large armies. Most of the time she was lucky to make it out alive. But this, was the worst pain she has ever been in.

There she was, the tough, mature “hardass” captain, laying on the warm floor and completely naked. Having her armor and under clothes ripped off properly destroyed, the creature apparently loving to make its prey flustered and completely break their will before finishing them off. Capt. Hanson had no idea what happened to the rest of her team after she blacked out and woke up here but she refused to think about it.

She had little time to think about anything ever since she awoke. As soon as she got her bearings, she saw the creature looking down at her with an intense stare and panting mouth that occasionally let a drool fall down on her face. It held both her wrists together with one hand while pinning her ankles with his foot.

Without a second to let her think or call for help, the creature flipped her onto her stomach while holding her wrists and ankles in a similar manner. A split second later, it’s warm and scaly hand came forth and smacked her left butt cheek with incredible force. The force and shock wave caused the left side of her mature bottom to collapse and jiggle in response. With one smack, her left cheek was already a light pink in response.

“Ahhh!” The team leader’s eyes went wide and her mouth opened by its self and the noise that came out was forced out by the rough it. The thought of her being tortured briefly entered her mind but she never expected anything like this. She had no time to ponder this as the hand came down again on her right cheek.

After what felt like hours, Captain Hanson laid prone on the ground and couldn’t find the strength to struggle anymore with her wrist and ankles aching from being held to the ground for so long. But the main cause of the pain that she’s in, the reason why tears have soaked her face, she was now sporting a extremely sore and freshly spanked red bottom. It radiated in pain uncontrollably and it felt like the pain would never stop. But it won’t end for her right there.

The Cluznoth raised it’s foot off her ankles and replaced it with it’s other hand. Now with two feet on the ground it turned its head to her exposed feet, which laid soles up on the warm ground. Without a moments warning, it’s tongue extended into a long, whip-like appendage and drew it back before crashing it onto the soles of her feet and left a long stinging welt across it.

More screams of pain escaped the woman’s mouth upon every hit, try to slightly move her feet but it was no use. The welts guaranteed that even when the monster would let go of her, she would be unable to stand for a while much less walk.

The whipping continued and continued which, like the spanking, the sound of contact hitting her flesh and her cries expanded and could be heard throughout the cave. This would be key for a anyone to find them.

The broken helmet skipped across the surface of the gray dirt like a stone, slowly floating from impact to impact thanks to the planet’s lower gravity. Samus, meanwhile, approached the cave without much a hint of caution. She wasn’t close enough yet to hear the sounds of whipping, snarling and crying - so her gun stayed down in her hand, her finger not even over the trigger as she walked into the cave mouth.

Inside of the cavern, the walls pulsated through rusty red hues, stalactites hanging from the ceiling with the occasional drop of water dripping onto the cave’s surface. Every drip echoed down into the deep abyss, becoming louder every time. Samus stopped. Her eyes scanned the darkness of the cave’s entrance; the natural sunlight kept the opening fairly well-lit, but the further things went, the more bleak they became. It was a matter of a few steps until it became hard to see.

So, lifting her pistol up, Samus frowned as a flick of her finger activated a flashlight, one that wasn’t quite big enough to show her all of her surroundings, but at least guaranteed she wouldn’t be tripping over any bones or walking into any deep pits with no escapes. Every time her suit’s gray heel touched down onto the ground, it created the softest ‘tip, tap’ that echoed down the halls until it turned into a booming indicator to whoever was down there that they weren’t alone anymore. She walked slowly, but undeterred by whatever was down here with her.

After a few more steps through a quiet, boring cave, Samus was about to make her assumption that she was alone in this cavern. Lowering her gun, she stopped and began to turn back - but the temporary absence of her heels clicks helped her hear something coming from deeper in the cave. First, a loud, pained moan. Then, a… crack of a whip?

Alerting her gun back up in front of her, Samus quickly positioned herself behind the cave wall, keeping her back to the surface as she approached the entrance. Every second brought the sounds of whipping and screaming closer. Samus’ eyes narrowed with anticipation.

The Cruznoth was just as vicious as it looked, if not even more. The screams of pain grew louder and louder with each whip to the her wrinkled but sensitive soles of her feet.

After her soles were turned red and covered in welts, the creature retracted it’s head for a second and used it’s tong to whip the woman’s already sore and battered backside, which she responded with even louder screams of pain.

Captain Hanson allowed tears to freely run down her cheek, sizzling on the ground when it made contact with the floor but see will NOT start sobbing. Even though it became increasingly more impossible, she had to remain strong. For her team. Marion doesn’t know how but she has to make it out of this. She has to!

The creature seemed to take great satisfaction in watching her cry and squirm under its grasp, reviling every swat it made with its tongue to her plump bottom. The panting only grew louder and louder from its mouth the more the reactions grew from the girl. The worst part is that it doesn’t seem to have limits.

It won’t stop until it has completely its prey... or until death.

“Thwip.” The sound of a brutal implement cutting through air, followed by the shrill scream of a woman in pain narrowed Samus’ eyes. It wouldn’t be fair to say she was afraid, but she was certainly cautious. If this was a band of neo-Space Pirates she was approaching, torturing their prisoners, then she would be unwise to approach without her suit. In just her Zero-Suit, she was confident she could handle a single, sadistic enemy. Not like she hadn’t done it before, as if she didn’t have enough unsettling Draygon memories to repress.

While one hand held her gun still, the other felt the walls down as she moved through the dark. Unbeknownst to her, a single stalagmite was waiting for her under her boot - small enough that her foot crushed and toppled it with easy. ‘Crack,’ went the rock, a simple sound… that echoed off the walls. Grew louder. And louder. Until it almost sounded like an earthquake by the time it met the other side of the cave. The whipping stopped. Samus cursed her luck.

“There’s the dinner bell…” Samus muttered under her breath, “Come get me…”

She reached the final dip in the cave. The sound of a woman’s panting was on the other side, but no whips, no cracks, no screams. Only deep breaths. Ready to face whatever was waiting for her, Samus took a deep breath, readied her pistol…

And turned the corner, barrel facing the room ahead of her.

The simple crack of a small rock was all that was needed to completely stop the Cluznoth in its tracks. The beast immediately retract its tongue and released the woman before it menacingly waltzed towards the cause of that sound.

The captain just laid on the ground and let the tears run down her cheek, unable to move out of complete exhaustion. The pain in both her bottom and feet is currently unbearable and needs time to heal regardless. She then shut her eyes and drifted in and out of consciousness.

The creature was sprinting down the corridors, sniffing the ground for any trace of the cause of the sound. It didn’t know the exact cause but it knew it was cause by a human. It’s sense of smell being a truly incredible thing.

It wasn’t long before he finally found her, preped in a battle stance with a gun pointed at it. The Cluznoth found the previous human to be quite compelling with her stubborn and bossy attitude. But this one is already becoming irresistible for it. Just with the look she gave the beast was enough to make it go berserk, letting out a loud battle cry as a signal that it’s fully prepared to fight.

...a bare naked woman, with her entire lower back lined with red stripes. Even after having fought hideous ectoplasmic monsters, literal living statues and giant, sentient brains kept in jars, this was something unexpected enough to make even her flinch. Her pistol stayed raised as she thought about her options here. On one hand, it could be a trap, leading to a certain ambush if she tried to help this poor woman - on the other, it’d be wrong to take a gamble on whether this lady truly needed help or not. And if she was a mere booby-trap, she had taken a hell of a thrashing to set up the decoy.

Realizing the worst of her options was to stay put like a sitting duck and observe the finely-tuned curves of a nude stranger, Samus began to lower her gun right as that strategy seemed to pay off. The entire cave shook under the scrambling feet of something vile, hungry, and big. Her plasma pistol raised right back up, taking swift steps forward into the room and aiming in every direction to locate the source of the sound.

Her new company brought the fight right to her, though. Red, tall, and loud as all hell; Samus’ eyes narrowed with determination as the creature burst forward in front of her in all it’s ugly, ugly glory. Samus’ eyebrows lowered - if the distress signal didn’t reap any credits, there was still good money in big game hunting.

Also… ew.

With a sway of her hips, Samus casually raised her pistol up to aim for the head of this hulking mutant, right by its neck. So it couldn’t duck, but the prisoner wasn’t at risk of being hit, should it somehow miss. Her finger came down on the trigger and held it there, a small pulse beginning to spark from it’s cannon. Samus dug the back of her heel into the dirt behind her, shining her flashlight right in the Cluznoth’s eye as a ball of pure, static energy formed inside her pistol’s barrel.

Open fire! The beam darted out of Samus’ barrel, a mere stun bullet aimed straight for the Cluznoth’s neck… or lack thereof.

The Cruznoth stared at the blonde bombshell with malice intent before slow inching its was close to the bounty hunter. Mouth hanging wide open as it made its way to the girl.

The creature was able to skillfully dodge the blast going right for it’s neck and head. For a gigantic creature it sure is fast and agile.

Samus was about to get a first hand look and it sprinted at the girl in a faster pace that she could keep up with. It first slashed at the girl’s hand with the claws to knock the gun out of her hands. It then grabbed a firm hold of her arm and twisted it, staring deep in her eyes as it did so.

Sparks flew off the cavern walls as the charge shot ricocheted off the rocks, spiraling into mere fumes as the monster avoided it. With a hiss, Samus began the next charge to lay onto her moving target, but the vantablack surrounding them gave it a perfect advantage - even more so when a searing strike slashed Samus across her arm and toppled her pistol out of her hand, leaving her completely in the dark save for the little provided light from the weapon’s beacon. “Gah!”

Little enough light to see twisted, hulking hands that grabbed onto her own. If anyone had a shot at arm-wrestling a leviathan, Samus was the woman for it, but in pitch-blackness she had no way of guessing what it was planning. Squinting through the darkness was giving Samus a headache, but she fought back with all her strength - one-hundred ninety-eight pounds of straight muscle, that was - and even began to feel her resistance working. At least, slowing the monster’s twisting attack.

No way she was beating this thing by hand, not in this climate. Eyeing her pistol by it’s flickering light, Samus strained her arm painfully to try and slip through the Cruznoth’s grasp. “Grrrrrr…” The resistance was keeping her stable, for now, but any given moment she might break. Determined to not let that happen, Samus grit her teeth hard as she extended out a long leg to try and kick her gun back to her.