Author's Note

Well, I hadn't expected to ever end up writing a spiritual reboot of my original Metroid Halo crossover, but here we are. This will be my final attempt at the concept, so I hope it goes well.

Begins immediately after Dread.


Uploaded

09/20/2022


LEGEND BELOW

"Chief, that's not a good idea..." = Normal speech.

''You're you, don't let it control you...'' = Normal thoughts.


Chapter 1

Adrift

Rated-M

M rating for blood, eventual mentioning of gore and other body parts, language, and certain anatomy that hasn't yet come into play...


Her mind felt hazy, like she was trapped in a deep sleep. Fog filled her head, trapping her psyche in a half awake state…

What happened…?

She's…

She was trying to escape the planet…

But why…? What had…

What had happened…?

Everything felt so unclear, so foggy…

Was she still on the planet…? Had she escaped from it…? Why did she want to run?

What was she running from…

Raven Beak… That named sounded so… familiar…

Was he on the planet…? Is that why she…

Why she ran…

...

What was she doing again…?

As soon as she tried to think about it, it fled her mind, leaving her blank once more. And… why did everything hurt?

Her eyes felt like they were bleeding, everything hurt…

And it was cold…

So… so terribly cold…

Why…?

She tried desperately to open her eyes, gaze blurred. Everything was blurry, filled with red. She could barely make out the vague outline of her visor, blinking a broken desperate red. But beyond that, the world was spinning…

No…

The world wasn't spinning…

She was spinning…

Her eyes widened as she tried not to panic. Lights flashed before her, warning her of the danger she was in. Her energy levels were dangerously low, running on fumes. But something more then that was wrong.

When her vision finally cleared, all she saw was space.

Endless, lifeless, cold freezing space. She could barely move, and everything hurt. Slowly, she tried to look around, to make heads or tails of her surroundings. Her core tightened as she tried to look down at the rest of her body-

A bloody cough was the result of her efforts, vision shaking. Despite the presence of her Power Suit, she'd been impaled by a cross section of her own gunship, going straight through her chest. It pinned her in place, locking her body to the speeding carcass of her ship, stuck to it as it hurled through space.

She slowly raised her left hand to her breastplate, prodding the horrid wound. Green blood wetted her monstrous armored hand, a terrible pain filling her mind. She retracted her green claws with a painful whine, the pain terrible.

Multiple warnings assaulted her vision, systems inside her suit struggling to stay functioning. But in her state, she didn't give them any thought. Her mind was too muddled, pheromones and hormones filling her head, dulling her mind. It was only because of who she was that she'd maintained any alertness at all.

She sucked in a sharp gasp, straining to keep her mind focused. She was flying through space at dangerous speeds, uncontrollable in her state, unguided.

She had no idea how long she'd been drifting through the desolate cold void, consciousness fading in and out.

It felt like hours, days…. Weeks, even…

She was dying, stuck and abandoned, lost…

There was no one coming to her aid, no one to save her. No one knew she was on this mission, and the planet she'd battled on was long gone. She'd been lost in space, drifting aimlessly.

She was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"A-… A-Adam…." She breathed weakly, her voice just barely above a whisper. No response met her plea for help, nothing but the empty void of space. "I-… I don't… want to die…"

Slowly, the Super Metroid's vision began to fade away, the claws of death slowly wrapping its vile grip around her heart…


Location readout unknown…

Contact with UNSC unsuccessful…

Contact lost reads 4 years, 7 months, 1 day.

Life support systems failure reads across decks 1 through decks-

Error…

Decks 3 through 6 not found…

Life support systems failing…

Life support systems remain at 10% capacity. Further degradation of the outer hull continues to damage systems ship wide…

Anti gravity systems failed on decks 2 through-

Error…

Decks 3 through 6 not found…

Cryo stasis bay reads normal gravity levels, systems continue to fluctuate at random interva-

Error…

Reactor has sustained major damage, power output has been reduced by 90%…

External sensors read clear…

No contact with UNSC forces gained…

"Of course…" A soft voice sighed, the sound echoing through a dark and lifeless hallway. The ship was lifeless, save for the small blue glowing form of a slender bodied smart A.I. who continued to oversee the last moments of a dying ship in the faith that someone…

Anyone…

Would find them and take them home.

But nearly five years had passed in radio silence, and she had slowly begun to lose faith that her reality would ever change…

And more then that, she was sure that if help came, it would be too late for her. She'd been alone in this ship for years now, silently waiting for death to take her or her companion.

"John…" She breathed, turning her attention from the failing diagnostics systems and to the sleeping form of her companion. Her fingers were like a breeze, flying over the controls faster then the eye could follow.

UNSC Frigate Forward Unto Dawn

Active personnel reads 1

Spartan John 117

Life signs stable.

Status paused…

She bit her puffy blue lips, eyes darting back and forth from the console, and the button that would bring the man out of cryo sleep.

It would be so easy to wake him. All it took was a single press of a button to bring him back to her.

Maybe then she wouldn't have to be alone…

She didn't want to be alone…

She wanted him beside her…

She wanted to be in his head again…

That was the only place she ever truly felt secure…

A fight battled within her mind for what felt like eons, but couldn't have been more then a few seconds. She finally relented and slowly pulled her hand away, clutching it to her breast.

No…

She couldn't do that for herself…

That'd be selfish. She couldn't be selfish…

Logically sp-spea-

Logica- speakin- l-l-

l-looooooggggiccc

"Hhhhaaah…" She cried out, grabbing her head as it screamed at her from within her mind. She took a moment to calm herself down, eyes closed tightly as if to shut everything else out.

A few moments passed before she pulled her hands away from her head, the screaming having gone silent again.

She shook her head, ridding it of the thought. She couldn't wake John now. He'd likely scold her on doing so when help had yet to arrive.

But he'd understand…

Wouldn't he?

She didn't want to be alone…

"No… I must wait…" She told herself. But she didn't like what she said to herself. She turned her attention away from his cryo pod, lest she actually give in and go through with her wishes.

With a swipe of her hand she brought up the schematics for the ship, and began her daily test run of the remaining systems.

Of what remained of the ship after having it cut in half, many systems had gone offline permanently. However, some systems still remained partially functional.

How, she was unsure.

Long range communication was down. Most weapon systems were down or missing entirely. And much of the hull of the ship had been breached.

What remained of the ship was continuing to degrade with lack of human touch, and would eventually fail entirely.

She prayed that help arrived before then.

But while she waited…

And waited…

And waited…

She kept her eyes and ears open, hoping to pick up something…

Anything…

On the long range sensors that remained functioning. She double checked, and triple checked everything she did. But the results always came back negative.

They were alone, stuck drifting in space forever.

And with every day that passed, it seemed like it would stay that way…

Because why would it change now…?


Warning…

Systems detected massive spike in energy outside ship hull.

Distance approximately one thousand meters from hull…

"What?!" Cortana dulled eyes had widened at the sudden warning message that appeared as if from nowhere. Her suddenly shaking hands slid over the controls, trying desperately to bring up any further data on the sudden anomaly.

Though critically damaged, she managed to secure live feed from the outer hull. The spike of energy wasn't easily explained, a dark void of empty space meeting her gaze.

But upon closer inspection, she narrowed down the source of the energy spike. It was a large purple object,of what exactly, she didn't know.

And it was moving too fast.

Warning! Unknown object approaching at high speeds.

Impact detected within thirty seconds.

Warning! Ship weapon systems offline.

Unable to deter target.

Cortana blurred the warnings out, having sped through fast critical analysis before the ship could. The object was moving too fast. If it impacted with the ship it could be catastrophic.

But upon closer inspection she noted that it wasn't a missile or a weapon.

It was a ship, perhaps purple or blue in color. And it was spiraling out of control fast.

"Bring up scanners. Find the source of the damage." Cortana muttered, her eyes snapping to and fro as she did a rapid fire scan and analysis of the ship.

Ship has sustained damage to hull, thrusters, gravity diffusion systems, and has suffered a catastrophic power failure.

Analysis indicates time before impact twenty seconds.

Her eyes narrowed. Did she chance steering the ship off course and allow it to pass them? Or did she try and save it? She had no time to decide…

Fifteen seconds to impact. Suggested damage to ship critical.

What would John do?

Ten seconds to impact! Suggested course correction-

Error- Ship thrusters missing.

Cortana watched with baited breath as the small ship quickly approached. But it was still moving too fast to avoid colliding wit-

Warning! Impact detected in deck 2! Hull breach detected!

Warning! Hull integrity critical!

Silence rained down upon the aging A.I.'s soft blue shoulders, the sound reminding her of an all encompassing death.

She tried to bring up a data feed on Deck 2, but it was refusing to cooperate with her commands.

There was nothing else she could do…

Not in her current position…

She bit her lips, turning back to the pod that held the sleeping Spartan.

She had to.

There was no other choice…

"Wake up Chief… I need you…"


His head was foggy, drifting on an endless ocean of nothingness.

His eyes felt heavy, almost refusing to obey his commands…

What happened…?

What was he…

Where…

"-hief… Chi-.. ef… Easy.. Tak-.. asy…"

Slowly his mind began regaining that clarity. The first sensation that hit him was the deep burning that filled his body.

"Easy now… You've been out for a while… You were placed in Cryo with your suit on, I'm sure you're burning up right now…"

He blinked slowly as his visor systems rebooted, bringing him the clarity he so sought.

"Cortana..?" His voice was deep and guttural, groggy too. His whole body felt like it was slowly being rebooted.

He never was a fan of the cryo stasis process…

"…Where are we..?" The Spartan asked, slowly flexing his arms and fingers.

Cortana seemed to pause for a moment before responding.

"We're… still adrift on the Dawn." She said. She knew what the next words out of his mouth were going to be before he even said them.

"Why did you wake me?" He asked, eyes narrowed in question behind his helmet. At this point he'd manually deactivated the lock on the cryo pod, the machine popping open with a hiss. Cortana watched with wide eyes as he stepped forward to her, towering over her like he usually did.

She missed this...

Seeing him...

Talking to him...

"Something hit us while you were out." She explained after a moment. "It crashed into deck 2, and the whole ship has been on lockdown since."

The man's eyes narrowed behind his helmet, already itching to grab a weapon.

"Covenant?" He asked almost in instinct.

"I don't think so."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure… But it held no similarities to any Covenant ship I'd seen."

"Do you think it could be Forerunner?"

"I-…" She paused. She hadn't even thought of that.

Why hadn't she thought of that?!

Stupid!

The Covenant weren't the only space faring group in the galaxy. She should've-

"Cortana?"

"Y-Yes?" She asked, a slight hitch in her voice. She could feel John's gaze staring down at her. She blinked up at him in confusion, before she noticed the hand he'd extended to her holding her data chip.

When had he put his hand out?

She'd slipped away again momentarily hadn't she…?

"Let's go." She muttered, transferring herself to his chip. Within seconds she was finally back inside his head.


Dark lifeless walls met the aged Spartan's gaze, yet it did not deter the man. With the poise of a professional with decades of experience underneath his belt, he quickly and efficiently made his way through the halls of the derelict space frigate.

Though his suit was old and partially damaged, many systems still worked at full capacity. Radar and an array of sensors were set to max, scanning his environment as much as possible.

Cortana had gone quiet, relegating herself to set back and watch silently, only piping up when needed or asked for.

Eventually the Spartan reached an elevator shaft, the way to it completely locked down.

"Chief, with the condition of the ship, there's no other way around." Cortana's voiced echoed inside his head.

"Right."

If the only way through was forward, then that was his plan. Strapping his Assault Rifle to his back, he placed both hands on the door. The metal bent and buckled underneath his immense strength, and soon enough he'd pried the metal doors open enough for him to slip through.

He'd been worried that the shaft was depressurized, but luckily it too still held up despite the damage. However, the elevator was missing entirely.

With his hand forced, he took a few steps back, before running to jump the gap left in the elevators absence. A minute later saw him climbing up the shaft, reaching the top with little struggle.

"Chief, it's just up ahead. The room is likely depressurized from damage."

The man stopped before another door. It too was locked shut entirely.

"Chief… I'm reading four forms behind the door. All unmoving.

"In zero G?"

"They could be Covenant waiting in ambush."

"Covenant wouldn't sit around if they knew I was here."

The A.I went silent at his rebuttal. She should've thought of that before speaking. Of course the Covenant wouldn't just sit around!

Unaware of her mental rant, Chief got to work prying the door open. Unlike the elevator doors, these provided him with little issue. For some reason, this room too was not depressurized.

When he stepped in, Assault Rifle at the ready, he wasn't sure what he was expecting. His headlamps engaged with a simple thought, lighting up the desolate room. Shrapnel and debris lined the floors, all internal lighting systems completely destroyed by whatever crashed into them.

He took two steps into the room, before stopping as his boots stepped in something. He glanced down, eyeing a pool of what appeared to be blood, only green in color. His eyes followed the trail, before straightening in surprise.

"Chief… That's the source of my readings…" Cortana muttered. Laying before him was…

It was a body, of humanoid design. It was nearly entirely armored with green hard material, red streaks of light pulsing periodically. It was slim, perhaps of feminine design, with large armored hips that protected a narrow waistline that seemed to be made up of thinner black material.

But it wasn't details as that, that caught his attention. No it was the massive gaping hole in her chest that had gained his attention. A few feet away was a massive spear of shrapnel that was likely the thing that had pierced the creature's chest, likely the cause of the large pools of blood splattered across the room.

It wasn't moving. Even a Spartan couldn't take that sort of damage and survive, especially with the amount of blood lost.

"Cortana?" Chief spoke up as he neared the body.

"I-… I don't know Chief…" The A.I muttered lowly. "I've never seen anything like it…"

The Spartan neared the body, bending down to a knee just beside its armored head. Upon closer inspection of the red glowing face area, he realized that it was a visor, much like his own. And behind that visor, was a woman.

She wasn't breathing. He watched her chest to see if it moved. Blood poured out endlessly, but it didn't seem like they were alive.

Nothing…

The Spartan sighed, standing to his feet once more. He took a few steps away, taking a moment to investigate his surroundings.

"Cortana? You said there was four. Where's the other three?" The Spartan asked. A quick glance around was all he needed to conclude that they were alone.

"I-… I don't know…"

Chief's eyes narrowed behind his visor, gaze studying the ruined ship that lay across the room.

-click-

He spun around at the sound, Assault Rifle raised, eyes quickly drawn back onto the body. It hadn't moved, but the hand was raised, shaking as it reached out to him, as if a silent, voiceless plea for help.

He quickly slung his weapon over his shoulder, the gun attaching to his back as he ran back to her side. "Hey, can you hear me?" He tried gently, trying to get a response.

Patiently he waited, but she didn't move. She didn't respond verbally, looking as dead as he'd presumed she was. The only thing moving was her claw, left arm raised slightly off the ground, reaching for him like it was possessed.

The moment her claws rested against his hand, his energy shielding began to fluctuate. He watched on in intrigue as his energy shields were slowly drained.

"Chief? What's she doing?" Cortana's worried voice spoke up, but he didn't move away. Her claw wasn't attempting to restrict him, or bring him harm, only weakly resting against him.

The Spartan watched on in awe as she did whatever she was doing. The gaping hole in her chest slowly regrew, flesh and bones forming before his very eyes. Bone, then muscle, then multiple layers of flesh he'd never seen before. In a short few minutes of her latching her hand onto him, she'd recovered from clearly mortal wounds.

The moment the wound was closed, her hand dropped to the ground, exhaustion likely taking over. He studied her body closely, in doing so revealed that she was again breathing once more.

"Chief I… I-I don't-" Cortana was speechless. Through all she had seen in her life, she'd never before seen someone, or any living creature regrow organs and flesh in mere moments.

Or at all.

And from what? Absorbing the power from his suit? It should've been impossible…

It didn't seem logical to her…

"Chief…"

"I'm bringing her back."

He bent down, sliding his arms underneath her. She wasn't nearly as big as he, likely only six foot four in whatever armor suit she wore. He did find himself mildly surprised as just how light she was, having little issue picking her up.

She didn't make a peep, eyes closed, having not opened even once since he found her. The hand that had stolen his energy was laying limp at her side, the strange pink energy that had surrounded it before having dissipated.

With nothing left for him here, and the source of the disturbance found, he made his way back to where he woke. As of now, the cryo bay seemed like the most stable place left on the ship…


Her head felt foggy, a soft haze filling her mind.

However, it felt different this time. Less dire then before.

Slowly her consciousness returned to her, eyes fluttering open. The first thing that met her gaze was the flashing warnings that filtered across her HUD, multiple different warnings.

But she looked beyond that, to the pod she found herself in. She blinked, the horrid pain from before gone, leaving only a general sense of weakness and fragility instead.

She tried to stand, to leave the pod she'd found herself laying in. But she got one foot out before her legs gave out from underneath her. She collapsed to the ground, cradling her abdomen with her arm cannon, her left hand desperately grasping for something to hold.

That's when she noticed that she wasn't in the Gravity Suit…

The tell tale signs of Metroid dna running rampant inside her body was obvious to her trained eye, the new armor she wore as a direct result of her final transformation.

She bit her lips hard enough to draw blood. Even now, awake as she was, weakened and on the verge of total defeat, she could feel the Metroid in her blood screaming out for food. It roared at her mind to absorb every, to eat all the energy it could find.

Just like she'd done to Raven Beak's flagship, sending it crashing down to ZDR.

She was hungry…

No…

She was starving, having only barely healed from her mortal wounds…

She needed more, and she wasn't sure she could stop herself if the chance to feed showed itself. It was like the hunger of multiple beings were screaming at her all at once, begging for sustenance.

''Breath…'' The weakened Metroid told herself, closing her eyes tightly in an attempt to get her new and unsightly urges under control. Using her cannon arm, she pushed herself up onto her rear, leaning against a cold lifeless wall, lest she fall over again.

''Don't… let it control you…'' She thought. She was different then the mindless creatures used for galactic conquest. She was in control, she was still herself. She would not succumb to the urges. She would not lose...

In and out, she breathed repeatedly, calming her racing heart. Her body fought her at every step, hormones diluting her thinking, making her think about nothing but feeding.

But she wasn't a legendary Bounty Hunter for nothing. She rose her hand out in front of her, palm facing up, claws splayed open. Pink energy swirled around her hand, grasping at anything she dared to lay her hand against. In this state, she couldn't even use technology outside of her own suit, lest she suck it dry.

It was… mainly the reason she was in this predicament in the first place.

She hadn't listened to Adam, and had piloted her ship out of the atmosphere, and while doing so drained it dry.

She had just barely entered slip space when her engines failed and the planetary explosion tossed her into slip space…

Anything after that was a blur…

But…

She could dwell on that information later, because currently, she was alone, weakened and frail, and in no shape for combat. Just a glance down to her breastplate told her that her suit had only barely begun healing itself after being so heavily damaged. Green rubbery fibers sealed the wounded suit, repairing it just as it had done when she had gained her Fusion Suit. If given enough time and resources, it would completely repair itself as if the damage had never happened in the first place.

"Hhhngnnn!" She groaned as she struggled to her feet, hand leaving claw markings on the wall as she stood up. Wherever her hand touched turned gray, sucked dry of any life or minerals.

Eventually she got up, using her shoulder armor to lean against the wall instead of her hand. Her legs shook underneath her weight, body clearly straining to do even the most menial of tasks.

She needed to find something to give her energy, something that would fill her, at least for now. Maybe then she could find out exactly where she was, and how she got here.

Step by step she followed the wall, struggling to keep her balance. She didn't dare leave the wall, lest she fall over again. She couldn't support her own weight right now as she was.

There was signs that someone else was here in this storage pod room before her, likely whoever had rescued her from the depths of space.

But…

There was also no reason to assume she'd been merely rescued over being captured.

She had to stay on her guard.

With a grunt of exhaustion she moved for the only open direction, leaving the pod room behind in lieu of moving across an open scaffolding. She clung to the railing for dear life, disintegrating everything she touched for anything longer then a second.

Eventually she made her way into an open room, the center of which housed a large holographic display module. She stepped into the room, leaning against the wall beside her for support. Her eyes narrowed in quickly on someone standing across from the hologram. Armored from head to toe in titanium armor, was a seven foot two warrior she'd never seen before.

She couldn't make out any I.D from their suit, nor did they seem to be from any branch of the Galactic Federation she'd ever seen before.

"Nngh…!" Her eyes widened as a terrible hunger wracked her body, eyes shaking in their sockets. She felt her mouth salivating at the sight of the stranger, unable to control herself.

She grasped her helmet covered head with her claw, trying to control the sudden and all encompassing hunger that had filled her.

It was too much…

If she got her hands on them…

She wasn't going to be able to stop herself…

"You're awake… Good." The armored figure, unquestionably male from the voice and body structure, spoke up. She felt her gaze snap to him, as if her body was forcing her to look at him.

He didn't miss how her red visor zeroed in on him the moment he spoke. Without saying anything in response, he took a few steps to the side, keeping his eyes trained on her. Her gaze never left him, watching him with the precision of a cornered animal…

Or a hyper lethal predator…

As of this moment, he had no reason to believe it was one or the other. So, with little to go off of, he was going to continue poking and prodding via verbal communication. It was the only thing he could do for now.

"I wasn't expecting you to be on your feet so soon." The Spartan muttered. Although he said that, upon closer inspection it revealed to his trained eye that she was barely standing at all. Her legs shook underneath her, and without the wall she leaned against, she'd be back on the ground very quickly.

"…"

Even with his super human hearing, he couldn't pick up what exactly she said. Despite his better judgment he stepped closer, standing only a few feet away from her. At their close proximity, the height difference was made apparent.

"What was that?"

"I…." The green alien-like suit wearing woman started, a hitch in her voice. Her head slowly rose, until she locked eyes with him. He was surprised by her eyes, glowing red in color, with a deep pitch-less black sclera.

And they were quivering, stuck open wide, the look he'd attribute to an insane person. It did give him pause, setting him on edge despite himself. It nearly made his body react in an instinctual level, wanting him to get away.

"… I said…. If… you do not…. want to end up… like this wall…" She spoke slowly, voice quivering with heavy restraint. Her left hand left it's place on the wall, claws glowing with a strange pink energy.

Before the Spartan's very eyes he saw the entire wall turn a dull lifeless gray, before turning to dust, disintegrated completely down to a molecular level. Her hand reached out to him, trying to grab him despite the distance between them. "…then please… do not come any… closer…" She whispered, hunger leaking out with every word she spoke. "I cannot… control it… any longer…."

The Spartan's shields fluctuated, even at only a foot away from her hand. He could hear the desperation in her voice, her complete and utter belief that she wouldn't be able to stop herself should she get her hands on him.

That desperation only came from one place. Whatever she was, she was starving, and in her vile red eyes, he was prey that she couldn't stop herself from feasting on.

He contemplated for a very brief moment, that he could offer her his hand, allow her to absorb his energy shields like she'd done before.

However, perhaps it was instincts telling him not to. Because he had a funny feeling her hand wouldn't let go after a short while like she'd done the day prior.

And the rate that she absorbed energy was far faster then the other time as well.

Wisely, he took a few large steps away.

The moment he was out of range, she collapsed to the ground, holding herself up with the fang tipped muzzle of her cannon arm. Her left hand dropped to the ground, palm facing up, lest it begin eating away at the floor beneath her. It was still swirling with energy, sucking the life out of anything it could.

The thought that this was what she looked like with as much constraint as possible, he didn't enjoy the image conjured up of her letting loose entirely.

"Here."

She looked up at his prompt, catching the strange looking blue weapon he threw her way. It exploded into a large swirl of blue plasma and energy the moment her hand wrapped around it. She didn't hesitate to absorb it all, leaving nothing but a small pile of dust in her wake.

She sat back, head resting against a wall behind her. Her shoulders slumped in relief, the edge having been taken off for the moment.

"It's a Plasma Rifle. There's probably a few more lying around here." He said shortly.

She didn't say anything for a brief moment, allowing herself a moment of respite to catch her breath after coming down from her hunger charged high. Seeing as she wasn't much of a talker, he no reason to stick around.

The Spartan turned around, making his way out of the terminal room. He stopped just before leaving the doorway, body illuminated by a flickering blue light.

"Thank you…"

He heard her mutter from across the room. He offered her a glance, before making his leave. Now that he was awake, he was going to have to find something to do to make this wait pass faster…


Chapter

1

End