Well, this is it. The last chapter. Thanks for staying with me this long. For recommended listening, nothing other than the Ridley theme would be appropriate. Honestly, any of the many remixes will do, but I prefer an OCremix called "Dragonfood". Anyway, let's get right to it.

Ridley hadn't felt this happy since his death at the hands of the Queen Metroid. When the Federation scientist had restored his mind, he felt trapped, and only grew to hate the Federation more. He perked up a little bit when they informed him he would be deployed to hunt Samus, and he had gotten a bit of a thrill out of controlling Algor and restoring his forces.

But now, his victory was complete. He was back at the height of his power, and knew exactly how to destroy galactic peace once and for all. He soared through the air, relishing the war-stricken rubble beneath him. Even the sight of his Frigate burning and gradually descending couldn't deter his mood, for he knew Samus was onboard. He flew between the ruined buildings, content that they contained nobody who could pose a threat to him.

"Samus, what's wrong? Respond!" a hint of panic was noticeable in Adam's synthetic voice. Samus' breathing was extremely erratic, and her eyes seemed to dash around, never focusing on anything. He pleaded, "Samus, you have to snap out of it. I know you have a history with Ridley. I know what he did to your family."

Samus finally spoke up, "It's not just my family. He took the Chozo, the Baby, and even you from me. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, he always comes back. He never dies, and never loses anything while taking everything from me." she sighed, and then said, "What's the point in even trying? Even if I win this time, he'll always be back."

Adam thought for a moment. He would have to choose his next words carefully, and emotional discussions were never his strong point. He said, "I know it seems hopeless Samus. I know you feel like you let the Chozo down, that you let me down. But that couldn't be further from the truth. You have overcome insurmountable odds on many occasions. The casualties that would have resulted if you had been even a fraction less efficient in your missions would be unimaginable. The Chozo had absolute faith in you, which is why they braved extinction to let you lie. That's why the Baby gave itself up for you. That is why the last memory I retained from Adam before his death was of satisfaction.

Adam continued, "He knew that even though he wouldn't live to see it, you would save the day and go on to continue to protect the peace throughout the galaxy."

Samus stood up, shaking the remaining coating of ice from her armor. She asked, "How long do I have until this place goes down?"

"Less than a minute. It took you two minutes to get in here. Are you ready to face insurmountable odds again?"

Samus nodded and ran at full speed. The entire ship shook and flames were visible in almost every room. A slight sense of vertigo set in, caused by the fact that the ship was now falling toward the ground. Samus barreled down the halls, jumping over and sliding between the collapsing rubble. At last, the beautiful blue sky of Espan XI was visible.

Unfortunately, Samus had no ship, and nowhere to jump to. She saw Ridley circling in a distance. He hollered, "Where are you going to now, Almighty Huntress?" He cackled to himself. "You're up a creek without a paddle!" Samus stepped back as far as she could, the rolled into the Morph ball.

She rolled along the flaming hull of the ship, building as much momentum as she could. The second she rolled off the edge, she Boosted at full speed. Samus shot through the air like a bullet, speeding directly at Ridley. She hit him directly in the chest, then grinded against his body with a Screw Attack. Ridley roared in pain, and then slapped her off of his body. She fell through the air, and felt a brief moment of panic. But she saw his snakelike, spiked tail and Grappled on to it. She was now flailing through the air wildly, but at least she was attached to something.

Ridley dive bombed into the side of a building. Samus last her grip and was flung through a wall. As she staggered, Ridley crawled out onto the side of the building. He poked his head through a window and spewed fireballs all across the room. Samus walked through the onslaught of flame and fired a Super Missile at his exposed head. Ridley pulled his head back and the projectile careened off into the distance. Samus switched to the wave beam and fired a few shots through the ceiling. They passed through it, the floor above her, and the window before finally striking Ridley.

Ridley was knocked from his perch but recovered, using the momentum to propel himself upwards and towards Samus. With a look of madness and determination on his face, he grabbed her and swept her off into the sky. He tightened her grip and looked her directly in the eye, saying, "Prepare for death, you wretched little…" Samus fired a volley of missiles into his open mouth before he could finish his undoubtedly profanity laced sentence.

Ridley recoiled in rage and brought himself and the Bounty Hunter crashing onto a rooftop. Ridley swung his tail at Samus, tossing her across the roof and towards the edge. The gripped onto the very brim of the roof and brought herself back up. Ridley had taken to the air, and was raining fireballs upon her. Samus endured the flames and emptied her Missiles at the Pirate Lord.

The duel now became a war of attrition. Any semblance of strategy was abandoned as the two, fueled by rage, fired everything they had at each other. The explosions created a smokescreen, and the two warriors were unable to see each other. Ridley said, "Come out, come out, Sammy!" He began stabbing his tail randomly at the ground, trying to skewer his prey. Samus slid out of the way of his tail as it struck at her like a cobra. She grabbed it and pulled Ridley to the ground, ramming his head against the floor.

She charged an Ice Beam and prepared to fire, but he spat out a fireball first. It slammed into Samus, throwing her off the building and into the sky. Samus rolled into Morph Ball and laid several Bombs, using them to slow her descent, eventually landing on a rooftop at the edge of the city. A system of pipes ran across the roof, stretching down across the side of the building. Samus saw a frost-covered warning label read "Caution! Cryo-gel reaches extremely low temperatures and can damage unprotected skin."

Ridley landed on the rooftop with a thud and glared at Samus, his eyes twinkling with insanity. With an exasperated but ecstatic voice he said, "Before I kill you, I want you to know exactly what I plan to do. As I now control the last remaining X parasite, I intend to use their extraordinary capabilities to create a new army. A limitless, expanding array of troops will be under my control, and will be able to take any form they choose."

Samus asked, "What makes you so sure you'll kill me? The scoreboard isn't exactly tipped in your favor"

"Because I don't share your vulnerability to cold," replied Ridley, as he tore open one of the pipes. A glittering silver substance burst forth and coated the rooftop. Samus felt a surge of agony, and was petrified. Ridley showed no signs of slowing down, and stabbed at Samus with his tail. He shrieked, "You've never been anything but a minor nuisance, a persistent setback! Now I'm finally going to be rid of you once and for all!"

A pained smile grew on Samus' face as she said, "Isn't that redundant? If you finally do something, it has to be 'once and for all.' Didn't they teach you anything about grammar?" Ridley howled with anger and slashed her with his claws, then swung a back fist across her face. Samus couldn't take this much longer. She thought, I'm too cold, too tired, and he's too strong. The ice was too much, and Ridley seemed completely unfazed. Suddenly, and idea struck Samus.

She started firing wildly with the Tactical Beam. Ridley laughed, as the shot bounced right off him. He said, "What a joke! Is this your final stand, I expected more from the so-called 'greatest Bounty Hunter'. What a disappointment." He perched upon the longest pipe, and touched the end with his claw. If he scratched it, a flood of Cryo-gel would flood towards Samus.

Ridley took his time, relishing the moment. Just as his talon scraped the pipe, Samus fired a Super Missile right under him. A torrent of Cryo-gel struck Ridley, coating his entire body with frost. He was completely immobilized, and the only part of his body still free was his head. Samus walked up to him and aimed her Cannon at his face. Ridley asked, "Do you plan to kill me again? You know I'll just come back."

Samus smiled. "No, I don't. By the power vested in me by the Galactic Federation, I'm placing you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent." She charged the Ice Beam and fired. Ridley's face was completely obscured by ice crystals. Samsu climbed back down and breathed a sigh of relief.

Samus sat in a comfortable lobby as Federation troopers entered the room. About time, she thought to herself. A few hours had passed. A special team had begun dropping Ice Bombs, clearing the area of any remaining Metroids. A man in a military suit, brimming with medals, walked up to her. He said, "You did an exemplary job today. We'll handle the rest from here. Any remaining Space Pirates have been arrested and Ridley is being transported to a special cell on the prison ship Solitude. "

"Looks like you've done a pretty good job. It's hard to believe that this is the same government that was trying to arrest me for saving the universe from their mess a few hours ago." she said.

"I'm truly sorry about that. Expect a large compensation in the mail soon." replied the soldier.

Samus said, "No problem. Looks like I'll be on my way. Oh wait, before I go, I have something to return. Well, someone, I guess. I guess this is goodbye, Adam."

"Why?" asked the computerized voice.

"We did pretty well together, and both learned a lot about ourselves, but it's time to part ways. You're needed by the Federation to track down Graeme's conspirators." answered Samus.

"While you will be busy averting whatever the next big crisis is. I understand. Sayonara, Samus Aran. We made quite a team."

"We sure did. Thank you, Adam."

"Would you mind visiting every now and again?"

"Sure. See you next mission."

The End.

Well, there you have it. Thanks for joining me through this adventure/ungodly mess. I would like to thank everyone who gave me feedback; you were all so kind and helpful. I would also like to thank in advance anyone else who gives their opinion. It will only help future stories. So long and thanks for reading.