Next chapter! It's not the end yet. I've still got a lot in store for Samus and Caern before it's all over! Muahahaha!

PixieGirl-Haha! Do I ever have more to do to the humans… You wait and see!

Warior- Home free? We'll just have to see about that…

Well, on to the story, and don't forget to leave a review:D

Home

"This isn't Chozodia!" Samus cried in despair as the elevator came to a stop. They stood in another small, underground room. The walls were covered with lichens and a foul-smelling fungus.

The room was silent and heavy with the feeling of defeat. The silence was only broken by the distant sound of water dripping somewhere in the cave. For what seemed like hours, the two humans simply stood there, trying to figure out what to do next. They were so close…

"Who knows where we are now…" Samus muttered disgustedly.

"Guess we'd better move on," Caern said dejectedly. Samus nodded in agreement, her hope squelched.

Emotionless, Samus opened a door. Her reaction to the next room's contents was simply a sigh. She saw a tangled web of metal pipes, many of them broken or burst in places. The entire floor was flooded, and there were some rather large, menacing looking fish swimming about.

Then something sparked Samus' hope once again. She realized that this must be a long-forgotten sewer system used by ancient chozo. This used to be just under the old Chozodia. New Chozodia was built only a short distance North of this area after an earthquake and wildfire ravaged the city.

"Caern! We're really close! Look, on the other side of the room is a door: I'm sure that it will lead us to Chozodia!" Samus shouted, excited again. Caern looked up, in a bit of disbelief that their journey was coming to an end.

"We have one last trial, I think," Samus announced happily. "We simply have to crawl across these pipes to the other side. Once we've done that, we're home free!" Caern gave a slight smile, but it quickly faded. He had no home anymore.

Trying to take his mind off of home, Samus encouraged him, "Come on! Let's just do it, and get it over with." With that, Samus jumped to a large, horizontal pipe and started to shimmy across. Caern followed her, noiselessly concentrating on staying balanced.

Caern realized that before he had met Samus, he never would have even tried this. He would have turned around, and went back into the cave. He wouldn't have even made it that far without Samus' guidance.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as he quickly slid from the top of the pipe to the bottom. He was now hanging upside-down, clinging to the bottom of the pipe with all his might.

"Caern!" Samus yelled. "Hang on!" She frantically tried to find a way she could help him. She glanced down, and noticed that the fish she had seen swimming in the water were circling around the spot Caern was dangling above. Cursing, Samus realized that they were skultera: Large, plated, carnivorous fish, powerful enough to tear though thin metal.

Clutching the pipe with her legs, Samus sat up and pulled her gun from her belt. She knew it would have little effect on the skulteras' thick armor, but it may be enough to deter them for some time.

She fired madly, sending water into the air. When it cleared, the skultera were swimming away. They would be near, but for the time being, they were keeping their distance.

"Swim, Caern!" Samus commanded.

"What?"

"Just do it."

Taking a deep breath, Caern let go of the pipe. Immediately, two of the skultera swam towards him.

"Swim for the door, Caern!" Samus shouted, firing insanely at the open-jawed fish. Caern did his best. Samus followed him on the pipe, shooting at any fish that got too near. Slowly, Caern made his way to the door. He quickly pulled himself up, his clothes soaking wet.

Samus jumped down to the platform. Both she and Caern were breathing heavily from the experience. "We… We made it," Samus said between breaths. They both turned to face the door. Eager with a longing to be back home, Samus opened it.

This door led to a long tunnel. They slowly walked down the dark tunnel, seemingly never reaching an end. After a while, the walls began to close in on them. The darkness was overbearing.

Samus was startled when she ran into a ladder, nearly losing her balance. Both humans looked up the tunnel.

"This could be it!" Samus exclaimed, bursting at the seams with excitement at being home. She quickly started to climb the ladder. Caern followed behind her.

At the top, she pressed into the ceiling. With a little effort, she managed to lift it and slide it aside. She found herself emerging from a manhole cover in a street in Chozodia.

"I'm home!"