"Damage reports coming in. We've lost 37 of the fleet. Half of the surviving ships are reporting heavy casualties."

"Sir, we've confirmed the wormhole has disappeared. All the Leviathans are gone. The crisis is over!"

Admiral Dane listened to the news with a mixture of sadness and elation. The universe was free of the intergalactic scourge of Phazon, but so many had died…and the one who had been fighting the organic substance for the longest…

"What about Samus?" he asked, fearing the worst.

There was a long silence, and then, "Negative, sir. No contact."

The leader of the Galactic Federation troops frowned. He knew he should be used to this kind of thing, but…

Suddenly his face broke into an unexpected grin, as the familiar orange-colored ship flew past the flagship. He saluted the bounty hunter, managing to keep his composure.

"Sir, we're getting a transmission from Samus's ship." A blue panel slid down on the bridge window, triumphantly displaying the large words "Mission Complete" across its surface.

The gunship soared away from the Federation fleet until it was no more than an orange dot in the distant depths of space.

Samus Aran smiled satisfactorily, imagining the looks on the troopers' faces at her sudden appearance. It had been a bit too dramatic for her tastes, but she couldn't resist.

The Bounty Hunter leaned back leisurely. Her evil bitch of a doppelganger was gone, along with, presumably, all the Phazon in the universe, and there were no missions for her to carry out at the moment. All evidence at the moment pointed towards a well-deserved vacation. Where to go?

First, she decided, she'd pay a visit to SkyTown. The mechanical paradise was the closest thing to a home she had had in the last few months in the battle against Dark Samus, and Samus needed some time to simply think. She hadn't had a lot of that lately. After that…Well, after that, she'd go (metaphorically speaking) wherever the wind took her.

She typed in the coordinates for Elysia on her ship's dashboard and closed her eyes. No Leviathans to destroy, no corruption to worry about, no Ridley to hunt down…Samus Aran finally felt able to relax.

Light-years away, a lone Reptilicus prowled the ruined architecture of Bryyo. His tribe had been even more wary than they usually were, since the arrival of the Hunter. Whenever it looked the demoness was finally gone, she was back to stick her helmet where it didn't belong yet again.

This time, however, it seemed as though her absence was permanent. The glowing blue stuff the Hunter was always trying to destroy had mysteriously disappeared, and she had collected every last hidden item known to the tribes.

The Reptilicus sniffed the air and licked its scaly lips with a long, forked tongue. No longer would its tribe's ribs be poking through the skin of their chests. No longer would they be listening closely for the sounds of laser fire. It was safe once again to begin the hunt.

The Reptilicus's celebration was short-lived. It ran forward a few steps before an extremely painful sensation lanced through it, as if the creature's blood had been replaced with plasma. It could feel its energy being drained…all it wanted in the world was for this horrible pain to stop…it had to end sooner or later…

Finally, the Reptilicus's wish was granted. The feeling went away, and the creature lay on the ground moaning weakly.

"There was a Hunter here," said a voice. If the Reptilicus had had enough strength to shudder, it would have. The voice sounded as if it had shattered into pieces, and then slowly pieced back together by a craftsman of extremely poor quality. If there was any word for the sound of the voice, that word was wrong.

"This Hunter went by the name of Samus Aran. I would like to know where she went." The Reptilicus fervently wracked its primitive brain for any possible information on the subject of Samus Aran's whereabouts. Suddenly it had a flash of memory; a cool female voice echoing from inside the ship—Destination: Elysia.

"Elyssssia," croaked the pathetic creature. "Hunter…desssstination… Elyssssia…"

"Thank you," the voice grated. "Your assistance has been greatly appreciated." Any hopes that these words were sincere quickly evaporated as a blaster leveled at the Reptilicus's head. One shot and the creature was no more.

A figure emerged from the shadows. It was humanoid in shape, and wore armor that slightly resembled that used by the Galactic Federation. However, this model was blue-violet, and the build was considerably bulkier.

The figure lifted a hand to the side of its helmet, and the visor flashed dark green. A large X-shaped gunship hovered down from the sky. It was obviously Hunter-class, the same color as its pilot, with the small words DELANO 7 printed on one wing.

The cockpit on the craft opened up, and the Hunter jumped agilely inside. It closed again, and a gloved hand with fingers like blades tapped in the coordinates. Destination: Elysia.

Inside his helmet, Sylux did his own twisted imitation of a smile. This time, Aran wouldn't get off so easily.

The premise of this fic is based off the 100 ending of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, where a ship resembling the Delano 7 is seen following Samus's gunship. Though I never actually played Metroid Prime Hunters, Sylux seems like a very interesting and mysterious character, and so this fic was born. I plan to provide my own explanation of Sylux's backstory, an inevitable Ridley appearance, and a crossover with another game series which you probably wouldn't expect. Stay tuned (and please review)!