MISSION 0

FIRST CONTACT

Blake Belladonna still remembered the day that Planet V0676, designated "Vale", had fallen at the hands of the Grimm. The emotions were still raw in her mind; the terror of watching the mass of black and red aliens descend upon the land in droves, the desperation of trying to drive the hordes back, even after realizing it was hopeless, and the guilt that came with retreating, knowing that she was abandoning countless people to their fates.

She had hoped to never feel that overwhelming dread again. Yet now it was all coming back to her as she stared out her team's gunship, the G.F.S. Oum, at the void of darkness that lay within the vast expanses of space. They were at the very edge of the galaxy… and it felt like they were looking at the end of the world.

The planet Evernight, Blake thought, shuddering as she looked at it. The source of all Grimm.

"You alright?" She looked to see a young woman wearing golden Federation-issued power armor, with large cannon gauntlets over either arm. "Wouldn't be great if you decided to go scaredy-cat right before an important mission like this."

"Yang, I'll be fine." Blake smiled at her partner, noting that her armor suit seemed to be as good as new again. Yang had a tendency to break and destroy things during their missions, which was helpful, until those things were her own friends and equipment. "If anyone, you're the one worth worrying about."

Yang laughed. "Worrying about me getting more kills than you? Yeah, I'd be pretty concerned too." She turned to look out the window, where Evernight stood waiting for them. "This is it, uh? This is where we're gonna avenge everyone we lost that day."

"Yes," Blake nodded. "Pyrrha, Penny, and all the others… it's silly, but I like to think they're watching us right now. Cheering us on."

"It's not silly at all. I feel the same way." Yang removed her helmet with a soft click, letting her long, golden hair flow down to her back. She smiled warmly at Blake, who marveled, not for the first time, at how pretty her girlfriend's lilac eyes were.

The blonde placed her arms around her and gave her a long, indulgent kiss. Blake closed her eyes and responded in kind, wanting to savour every moment. As she felt her heart pounding, she slowly ran her fingers through Yang's soft hair, taking advantage of her position as the one person in the universe who had that right.

She wanted it to last forever, but only a few seconds passed before Yang pulled away, her expression resolute. "Get suited up and let's go," she said solemnly. "It's time we ended this war, once and for all."

Blake nodded. Taking a deep breath, she activated her Aura, causing a wave of bright purple energy to flow to ripple across her body. She felt the comforting sensation of her special powered armour, Gambol Shroud, encased her entire form. Her visor formed last, and she felt the built-in scanner automatically analyze her surroundings.

WARNING, it sent to her as it traced the signature of the planet below. DANGER LEVEL: EXTREMELY HIGH. CHANCE OF SURVIVAL: BELOW CALCULABLE PERCENT.

"Very reassuring," Blake muttered under her breath. She smiled and nodded at Yang, as her visor scanned the young woman's form. YANG XIAO LONG, it sent. Wielder of the Ember Celica suit. Former Space Pirate. The greatest woman in the known universe.

They made their way to the gunship's hangar, where two others were waiting for them. One girl was wearing a sleek white power suit, in the style of classical knights from thousands of years ago. The other was significantly shorter, and her armor was made of jagged, crimson steel with black tints. Covering her arm was a massive scythe, on which a miniature cannon was mounted.

WEISS SCHNEE, the visor sent as it scanned the girl in the white. Wielder of the Myrtenaster suit. Former heiress to the SDC. Total bitch, except when she's being nice.

RUBY ROSE, it sent after scanning the other. Wielder of the Crescent Rose suit. Leader of Team RWBY. Young and naive, but a talented warrior.

"There you are!" Weiss said indignantly. "We've been waiting for you both! What in the world took you so long?"

"We'll leave that up to your imagination," Yang laughed. Blake was glad her helmet masked the redness that was spreading across her face.

Ruby nodded at her teammates as they gathered around her. "Looks like we're all here now," she said softly. "I guess there's not much that needs to be said, huh? But it's probably better to say some things anyway. In video games, there's always a big, rousing speech right before the final boss, right?"

"Good grief, Ruby." Weiss shook her head in disbelief. "I don't even know how I've survived this long following you."

"I wonder how you've survived, too," Blake said. "A lot of luck, if I had to guess."

"C'mon guys, we're fighting the Grimm, not each other," Yang laughed.

Ruby cleared her throat, and they all went silent. "It's been a long two years," she said, her gaze moving to Weiss, Blake and Yang in turn. "They've been hardest, most painful two years of our lives… constantly fleeing from planet to planet, fending off Grimm, trying to remember all the people we lost. Trying our best to not let them down."

She raised her head. "But there's been a lot of good times, too. We all got stronger. We found happiness in places we'd never have expected. And in the end, it's all led us here. To this moment." She pointed outside, at the distorted black mass that was Evernight. "That right there is the source of all our suffering… where all the Grimm came from. But it's also the key to our victory.

"We all know the plan by now. Infiltrate the planet, and then take your designated route to the Core. With all four of us coming at it from different directions, it won't be able to focus all of its forces in one place. The Grimm will be spread out thin, and that'll make 'em weaker. Whoever reaches the Core first, and destroys it, will bring about the end of the Grimm race…" Ruby smiled through her visor. "...and get the highest points, too."

Everyone cheered. No matter how dire or hopeless the situation seemed, Ruby Rose always found a way to bring hope into their hearts. And this time, even as they charged into the home of their greatest enemy, was no different. They all raced to their individual gunships, each one colour-coded to their armour suits.

Blake ran for her ship, a sleek black affair resembling a cat's head, complete with large ear-shaped antennae for greater sound detection, matching the feline ears on her own head. Fiddling with the controls, she felt that familiar rush as she took flight, bursting out of the G.F.S. Oum and into the expanses of space.

Gods, this never gets old, she thought, watching as her teammates flew off in different directions. Gritting her teeth, she slammed on the gas, and pushed forward.

Blake closed her eyes as she entered the planet's atmosphere. The air was suffocating; she felt like her ship was sinking into an endless ocean, and the walls began shaking uncontrollably. Soon, all was darkness, except for the light of her ship's navigation screen.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally landed. Exiting the gunship, she saw that Evernight was even more terrifying than she'd imagined. The dark clouds above blotted out any and all sunlight, and though there was no wind, she felt a harrowing chill running through her. Everything was covered in jagged sheets of obsidian, and the only sign that wildlife had ever existed here were the withered trunks of dead trees.

I can't wait to get out of here, Blake thought with a shudder. She activated her suit's weapons - an arm cannon over one hand, and a sleek, ribboned katana in the other. She saw the towering structure in the distance, which almost looked like a princess's castle. The Core. Without hesitating, she ran in its direction.

It wasn't long before the Grimm came at her, but Blake was ready for them. Aiming her cannon, she obliterated at least ten of the foul beasts before they could even reach her. A few tried to leap at her from behind, but her suit's system alerted her to their presence. Swinging around, she sliced two of them apart with her katana.

Her visor was working overtime, scanning the various creatures she slew. Beowolves, Ursai, Creeps, Boarbatusks, Griffons. Blake didn't pay attention to its words at all. She'd seen every single one of these beasts before, memorized each and every one of their vile faces. And she'd slain just as many, too.

She continued to slice and shoot her way through the horde, but their numbers were far too great. And in the skies above, a large Nevermore was making its descent towards her, bringing its brethren with it. I'm wasting time here! Blake swung her ribbon, grappling onto a high cliff some distance away.

As Blake flew, her heart dropped as she saw a Griffon's maw emerged from the dark clouds. Scrambling to escape, she activated her suit's special ability, summoning a shadow clone to take the hit for her. She propelled herself forward, faster than before.

That was a mistake. She struck her ankle on the cliffside, tumbling over onto the dirt. She screamed as her leg flared up with pain, and her armour began working overtime to fix the injury. Damn! I think I might have sprained it.

As she struggled to her feet, Blake saw yet another horde of Grimm emerge from the darkness before her. This time, she swore there were twice as many. There was no way she could take all of them on - not in her current state.

Is this… the end? She thought, falling to her knees in despair. All she could do was watch as the Grimm got closer and closer…

Suddenly, a golden light filled her vision, as showers of bright rockets rained down upon the Grimm masses, annihilating them in droves. Someone landed in front of Blake, their entire body glowing with energy, and extended their hand to her. "Looks like you needed my help."

"Yang?" Blake gasped, taking her partner's hand. It was warm and comforting, just like the rest of her. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"Just felt like checking on you," Yang chuckled, hoisting her up onto her shoulder. "Haha. For someone who always likes to be alone, you're really, really bad at it."

"That's not what I meant! Our orders were to go in separately, remember? To split up the Grimm?!"

"Well, the Grimm might be weaker alone," Yang said. "But we're stronger together. And that's more important to me. Now let's go - I wanna be the one to land the final blow!"

Blake's leg had healed now. The two of them charged towards the Core, killing about a hundred more Grimm with a barrage of lasers, rockets, and occasionally punches and slashes. Yang's right, Blake thought. When we fight together, we can accomplish things that none of us could do alone. That's what she taught me.

A loud screech came from somewhere behind them. "Something's coming!" Yang shouted, bracing herself for an attack. The bright energy around her was fading; her Semblance was beginning to wear off.

Suddenly, Blake received an incoming call on her visor - from Ruby. "Hello?" She yelled, firing her arm cannon into a sea of Beowolves. "Ruby, what's the situation on your end?"

"Blake… this… careful…" Ruby's voice sounded horribly distorted on her end. "More… too many! Have to… now…!"

Blake heard a loud crash from right behind her. She whirled around to make sure Yang was alright, but her partner had completely disappeared. All she could see was a sea of Grimm approaching her, with a massive Goliath leading the charge, standing where Yang had been less than a minute ago.

Yang? She was confused for a moment, and then she was horrified. YANG!

In that same second, her leader's voice became loud and clear. "WE HAVE TO RETREAT!" she yelled. "THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM! WE NEED TO REGROUP!"

Blake wasn't listening. She ran at the Grimm, screaming as she sliced through their ranks like butter. "Yang!" she yelled hysterically. "Yang! Where are you?!" She received no response. Desperate, she had her visor scan the area for the blonde's presence, but all she got was radio silence. No, no, no, no…

She continued to slay the Grimm, killing dozens in a second, even as twenty seemed to replace every one that was slain, hoping to find some trace of Yang, anything, rise from the sea of black and red. Before long, though, she began to lose hope. Then I'll go down fighting, she thought. I'll fight until my last breath, and then I'll see her again.

That was what snapped her out of it. No. Yang wouldn't want her to die in a place like this. She would have wanted her to live. Holding back her tears, Blake swung her ribbon and grappled away from the Grimm, back towards her gunship.

Thankfully, it seemed relatively untouched. She felt a sorrowful pang as she saw Yang's gunship, a golden dragon's head, parked mere feet away from her. She must have gotten here right after I did. It hurt like hell, having to leave it behind, but there was no other choice. Already, more Grimm were closing in on her.

Seated in the cockpit, Blake immediately took flight, desperately trying to reach their communications channel. To her immense relief, Weiss and Ruby's helmeted faces appeared on her screen as she propelled herself out of the planet's atmosphere. "Ruby! Weiss! Are you alright?"

"No!" Weiss sounded uncharacteristically distressed. "There were so many - even more than we expected! I-I couldn't take them on!"

"Same here," Ruby said. "Looks like we really underestimated the enemy. Don't worry though, we'll come back refreshed and as strong as ever." She paused. "Where's Yang? She should've also gotten the message."

Blake felt her voice catch in her throat. "Yang…" she whispered. "Yang's… she's…" She felt horrible. Yang wasn't just the most important in her life, but also to Ruby, her younger half-sister. And Blake had failed to protect her, just as she'd always feared she would.

To her credit, Ruby seemed to remain calm. "...I see," she said quietly. "Let's hurry back to the Oum. We'll discuss things there." Then the communications network shut off.

Solemnly, Blake looked back at the planet of Evernight. Once again, she thought bitterly. Once again, I'm running away when it matters most. Except this time, it felt even worse. Because she was leaving someone she loved behind, too.

She looked to her side, and was relieved to see the red and white of her teammates' gunships, piercing out of the planet's atmosphere. And then a moment later, a large fireball followed them, striking Weiss' ship point-blank. The aircraft sputtered in mid-space for a second, before flying off-course.

Blake's heart froze. "NO!" she screamed, and then an army of Sphinx Grimm burst out from the sea of clouds, unleashing a barrage of bright, fiery comets in their direction. Ruby's ship did its best to avoid the strikes, but soon one managed to blow off one of her wings with a sickening explosion. Pillars of smoke leaking from its side, the ship was blasted away, and was soon lost in space.

Blake didn't have to wait long for her turn. She felt the unmistakable rumbling that meant she'd been hit, and then all of her ship's screens began flickering violently. Warning signs popped up the display, and soon they were her only source of light besides the faint glow of the stars outside.

SYSTEM COMPROMISED. 40%.

She desperately steered her ship away from the advancing Grimm, towards the Oum, but she knew the controls were no longer her own. As it turned and twisted in all directions while tumbling through space, Blake began to feel nauseous.

SYSTEM CRITICAL. 10%.

The last of her engines gave out, as did the sounds of machines sputtering and dying.

SYSTEM OFFLINE. 0%

Blake closed her eyes as the whole world faded into darkness.

The twin suns rose on Planet D-478, as they did every day without fail. This planet had no real name, only the designation that had been assigned to it by the Galactic Federation. It was a forgotten planet, on the edge of colonized space. It bothered no one, and was bothered by no one. The perfect place to get away from everything.

As the bright light shone through her window, Samus Aran yawned as she slowly rose out of bed. Pushing her messy hair away from her eyes, she squinted to look outside, admiring the view around her apartment. It was another beautiful day; a calm, normal day. She nodded approvingly.

One long, cold shower later, she began to get dressed in front of her mirror. Samus felt that her Zero Suit was all the attire she needed, but she knew it would make her stand out among the people here. Besides, she was on vacation. She may as well give her uniform a rest, too. Eventually, she settled on something suited for the scorching sun of the twin-sun planet.

She ate bread, scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast - not the most extravagant meal, but more savoury than the rations she was used to. A holographic device delivered to her the day's news: hot weather as always, some concerts happening in the city, the premiere of a new movie. Nothing too exciting.

Samus made her way outside, feeling a sudden rush of intense heat on her skin. She was used to intense heat, but she'd always had her Varia Suit to protect her body even in the hottest temperatures. Now though, she'd have to remember to apply her sunscreen.

She wandered down the streets of the town, aware of the many faces that were turning to stare at her. It was perfectly understandable, of course. They saw a tall, fit woman with wavy blonde hair, blue eyes and smooth, fair skin, wearing a form-fitting blue tank top and matching shorts. She was a sight for sore eyes in the best of places, and particularly in a back-alley town like this one.

What should I do today? She thought. Free time was something she wasn't very used to, and now she had more than she could possibly know what to do with. Every since the X-Parasite threat had been vanquished, the galaxy had been at relative peace. There were rumours about threats that lay in the uncharted corners of the universe, but for the most part, the world no longer needed Samus Aran.

It was a comforting thought, knowing that peace had been achieved, but it was sobering, too. Fighting was her whole life. How could she just suddenly leave that all behind?

She passed by a gym during her aimless trek, and took a curious glance inside. The people inside were in the middle of some training, with some punching and kicking their sparring partners while other lifted gigantic weights. She was tempted to go in, but stopped herself. No. Your mission now is to relax. Reluctantly, she walked away.

Finally, she entered the local cinema, and watch a film that had recently released. It was an animated action movie about a group of spirited young girls fighting a race of unstoppable monsters. After their home had been destroyed, they had learned of their incredible destinies, trained to become strong, and finally rose up to defeat that horrible menace once and for all.

Samus decided that she enjoyed it. Rough around the edges in some places, maybe, but it spoke to her in a way she couldn't describe. Perhaps it reminded her of her own life experiences?

Unfortunately, afterwards she found herself with nothing to do once more. Wandering around the city for an hour or so, she found a small, sketchy bar on the edge of the city. I guess there aren't many other options.

The inside of the bar was as filthy as the outside implied, and Samus could tell at a glance that most of the people here were unsavoury folk. The moment she entered, she received several leery looks from men sitting at the counter, or gathered around a table. Not that she had anything to fear from them, of course.

"A small sunset rum," Samus said to the bartender, a two-headed alien with fingers that seemed far too long for handling drinks. Sighing as they walked away with her order, she took a more in-depth look at her surroundings. Even without her Scan Visor, she'd gotten quite good at analyzing the people and things around her.

Some of the people in the building were clearly part of some gang or crime ring, but a few seemed to simply be around for relaxation, like her. Plenty of attractive men and women around, with their loose-hanging shirts and slim, two-piece dresses. Samus nodded in approval. If her relaxation was going to last for a while, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to add some pleasure into the mix…

"You seem unusually comfortable, Samus Aran." A familiar voice caught her attention, and she turned in surprise to see an old man wearing an oversized Hawaiian shirt approach her, strawberry martini in hand.

"Admiral Dane?" She exclaimed. "I didn't expect to see you in a place like this."

"Well, I wanted a place to relax and get away from all the madness in the galaxy," said former Fleet Admiral Castor Dane. Samus hadn't seen him since they had worked together to put an end to Phaaze and the Phazon crisis several years ago. "It seems like you had the same idea, eh?"

"I guess so," Samus said, taking her drink as it arrived. She took a sip of it, feeling the strong sensation of rum going down her gullet. One of the benefits of being part Chozo, as it turned out, was that her body could handle as much alcohol as she wanted. "It's a small galaxy, after all."

Dane laughed. "Well, with Metroids, the Ing and the X-Parasites gone, and those damn Space Pirates going into hiding, things have really been calming down these past few years. I hope it lasts a long time, personally."

Samus nodded slowly. "Yes. Me too."

The retired admiral cast her a meaningful look. "Which means us soldiers can finally get our well-deserved rest. Try to live normal lives for once. I suppose that includes you, even if you're not really a soldier."

"That's right," Samus said.

Dane paused. "You're not enjoying this, are you?"

"Not really, no." She saw no reason to lie to him; and besides, Castor Dane was frighteningly good at discerning people's true feelings. It was one of the many qualities that had made him such an effective leader. "I'm not the sort of person who can just 'relax', unfortunately. I was raised by the Chozo for a single purpose. I'm a warrior - I will always be a warrior."

"A warrior, eh? I suppose that's just the way of a bounty hunter," Dane muttered. "Hmm, though I wonder if that's really all there is to it. Maybe it's not the lack of a good fight that's got you down, or not being on some mission of galaxy-wide importance. Maybe there's something else you're missing."

Samus' eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Maybe what you really need is… a teammate," the former admiral suggested. "You've spent your whole life fighting alone, Samus. Even when you work with the Federation, you've never been truly with us. I'd say spend some time with other people, get to know them better, and you might find it fills some hole in your heart you never knew existed."

Samus disagreed. She remembered all the people she'd been around in the past. Her mentor, Adam Malkovich. Her fellow bounty hunters, Rundas, Ghor and Gandrayda. Even the baby Metroid she'd spared during her purge of SR-388. Without exception, they all perished when they got too close.

The admiral doesn't know what he's saying, she thought, sipping her drink. The ramblings of an old man. Perhaps he has finally gone senile.

Suddenly, she received a signal in her ear implant. Incoming transmission, came a pleasant robotic voice. Distress call signal from planet designated A-276. Reports of Metroid sightings in the area.

Samus smiled to herself. "I'm going to have to cut this vacation of mine short," she said. "It seems there's trouble brewing in the galaxy once more."

"Hmph. I wish you luck," said Dane. "Don't overdo it, alright?" Then he laughed, knowing how ridiculous that question was.

She made her way back to her gunship, which was still parked where she'd left it. A few more days and dust would have started to cover it, Samus thought, revving up the engines. Finally back in her Varia Suit, she set the coordinates for planet A-276, and then she was off, back into the only life she knew.

Her destination wasn't too far away. Like D-478, it was located on the very edge of discovered space. When she landed, Samus could tell the situation wasn't good. Pillars of smoke were rising in the distance, where a village might once have stood. Exiting her airship, she raced towards the danger with her arm cannon raised forward.

Sure enough, a swarm of Metroids soon came into view. Samus wasted no time in bombarding the pesky aliens with ice missiles, freezing them solid before shattering them into pieces. She had to admire their tenacity; even after being driven to literal extinction, they had somehow managed to come back. They were incredibly resilient.

Like me, she thought. I've been through things I should never have survived, too.

More Metroids came at her, and though she dispatched them with ease, something was beginning to bother her. The Metroids' movements were unusually frantic, almost panicked. It was as though they were running away from something… but what? Metroids were fierce predators, and they ran from nothing.

Then she saw the darkness. At least, that's what they looked like, hordes of pure black energy charging from the smoking ruins of the village. Giant humanoid wolves, bears and other dark creatures, growling and snarling as they ran towards her like a sea of pure destruction.

"What are these things?" Samus muttered to herself. Raising her arm cannon, she fired missiles into the horde of black creatures, destroying several with each shot. As they fell dead, their bodies mysteriously dissolved, leaving not a trace of her existence behind.

But no matter how many she killed, they kept approaching, completely undeterred. It was as though they couldn't feel fear at all.

And they were fast. Before long, she was overwhelmed, as the creatures claws and bit at her Power Suit, causing its energy levels to drop rapidly. Struggling, Samus fired more shots into the horde, but killing just one or two at a time was futile when there seemed to be hundreds of them attacking her all at once. She tried to escape, but they pressing her on all sides, and she could barely move.

Damn! Samus shifted into her Morph Ball form and rolled away. She didn't get far, however, before one of the wolf monsters grabbed her in its jaw and clamped down hard. Grunting in pain, she forced herself to change back and continue her hopeless assault.

Soon, her power armor was in critical condition. I have to get back and recuperate. For the first time in years, Samus Aran was panicking. The panic was clouding her judgement, too. She was missing more often, and failing to defend herself from obvious attacks. One of the black bears howled and raised its fist against her. This next one will shatter my entire suit, she thought.

Suddenly, a bright red flash appeared behind the bear. When Samus blinked, she saw the creature's body split in half, falling apart pathetically. The red flash darted all around the horde, cutting up monster after monster with lightning-fast speed. Within a few seconds, before she could even comprehend it, the rest of them were all dead, their bodies fading into nothingness.

The flash stopped moving, and Samus saw it was someone wearing a Power Suit. It was not quite the same as hers though, as this one was fully red, and its right arm took the shape of a terrifying-looking scythe. It also looked very beat up, as if it had been in a grueling battle recently. The mystery person slowly turned to look at her.

"... You have my gratitude," Samus Aran said. "Thank you for your help."

The figure quietly removed their helmet, and Samus's eyes widened in amazement. Her saviour was a mere teenage girl, probably not a day over eighteen. She had short dark hair with red streaks, and a single bright, silver eye. A thick, bloodied bandage covered the other side of her face. The girl smiled at the bounty hunter.

"Hi there! I'm Ruby Rose," she said, extending a hand. "What's your name?"