DISCLAIMER: This is the last time I'm tellin' ya'll! I don't own Halo or Metroid, there are spoilers for Metroid Prime 2, 3, Halo 2, 3. Any more questions?

CHAPTER 3
RETURN

The bounty hunter in question was strolling through a town of crumbling homes that were smothered in long vines of ivy. The whole town seemed alien and as if it were holding it's breath, waiting for the residents to return. Pausing at the intersection of two streets, the bounty hunter knew better.

But how badly she wanted to believe they'd be back.

Even after 22 years of waiting and returning each year, she never lost hope that one year she would return to the bustling town she had once known.

In two years, Samus Aran had changed quite a bit. She seemed more somber, as if life was finally hardening her to the world. Yet at the same time, she retained her youthful personality, giving her a timeless appearance. Her long blonde waves, which once reached down to the middle of her back, now just brushed the bottom of her shoulderblades. In a fit of frusteration in the last mission, she had decided to shed some of the hair. Now it was growing back, but it still felt different than before.

Now she returned, as she did every year to the one place that had a strong pull on her. In her arms she carried a boquet of white lillies and a letter tucked into the stems. Turning to look at her destination, a breeze picked up and tugged at Samus's knee-lenght cream skirt. A deep russet colored sweater kept the hunter warm despite the slight chill.

The house itself hadn't changed much over the years. It was faded, but at one time it was a light, buttery yellow color. The entire east side of the house was covered with ivy that grew in snaking tendrils around the holes that were forming in the roof.

Rather than walk around the remains of her former home, Samus opened the front door and stepped through fallen pieces of debris and dust. She passed through the front hall, then into a kitchen area where she paused to remember family meals and birthday cakes.

Sliding open the back door, Samus breathed in the sweet scent of the maples and oaks her home backed up to. On one a rope swing rocked, as if inviting her to swing for a spell. But that was not what she was there for. She came for the two stone tablets set into the ground in the middle of what used to be her yard. One read the name of her father and the other, her mother's. No bodies lay beneath the slabs; Scott and Virginia Aran didn't have any to bury.

Kneeling, Samus lay the flowers and letter between the tablets and after a moment, spoke quietly.

"It's been another year. I'm still getting by...but it's been rough. This past year has put my mind and body to the limits...and I miss the guiding hand of a parent. I hope you are proud of me."

Hugging her knees to her chest, Samus bit her lip, then continued. "I don't know if I'll be back next year...I hope to be, but I'm going on another adventure...one that will take me very far away from here. That man I told you about last year...I want to go find him. I need to find him. I think...I think there's something there and I need to know for sure what it is. So if I'm not back...I am searching. But don't worry about me. I promised to make you proud, and I will."

Standing up, Samus brushed a tear from her eye and turned, not trusting herself to look back.