Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid.


"Hello Colleen," A whispery voice greeted her. Colleen turned to see Bill standing in the doorway behind her. She crossed her arms and stared at him, a look of displeasure crossing her face. She had just returned to her apartment building after realizing that the mission that Bill sent her on was a phony one. Perhaps it was a trap or maybe he was just messing with her. But there he was now, standing in the frame of the lobby's entrance. "Home so soon?"

"What's going on Bill?" She asked sharply. He smirked.

"Why aren't you polite. No hello? Hi, how are you doing, perhaps?"

"Stop wasting my time." Colleen said. She spun around and strutted to the elevator. She pushed the button, tapping her foot as she impatiently waited. Bill laughed.

"You're so amusing," He mused, striding over to her. "You try to act like I don't know Eric's little secret- your little secret. I heard Eric and Miranna speaking one day, and that's how I found out about you. I looked into Eric's past, and boy, was I surprised. Tell me, Colleen. Did you ever meet his wife?" Colleen shook her head while biting her lip.

"I saw her briefly at my parent's funeral before they were engaged," Colleen mumbled. "I don't even think he knew I was there. I don't even know why I went. My brother was so infuriating sometimes; sent me an invitation even though he knew I would not come. So I did, just to spite him. No one recongized me; I had gone brunette by that time. There one moment where Eric looked in my direction, but I don't think he actually saw me. Now, I kind of wish I did. It was the last time I saw him alive." She stared down at her feet as the elevator door opened with a ding! She stepped inside, but Bill reached in and pressed the door open button.

One day, you should tell Samus about her father's past," He said, his face close to hers.

"I'm going to, don't worry," Colleen said, her voice sounding more confident than she felt.

"Good," He released the button. "But if I ever catch you speaking to her ever again, I will kill Rick and Amber," He warned her as the doors closed. Her heart pounded. She knew what was at stake when she took the job, but that was the first threat she ever heard from him that was directed towards her. She gulped nervously, then realized she never pushed her floor's button. She slammed down on it a few times to release the tension inside of her.

Colleen knew it was time to give her up her job. She was becoming too old, and besides, there was too much at risk.

XXXX

"Are you sure you're alright?" Samus asked Rista. Rista nodded, her eyes bloodshot, though she only let a few tears escape. She sat in the room by the kitchenette, a mug of cold coffee in her hands, still full to the brim. "What happened back there?" Rista shook her head.

"Nothing, it just reminded me of a trumatic childhood event," Rista said. "You know, we knew Bill when I was young. Me and my sister called him our Uncle Bill, even though we knew he was not blood related. He was kind and jovial and loved to give us puzzles. He gave us all nicknames, even my cousins. My m-, I mean my father and his sister were close and they had been friends with him since they were all young." She smiled sadly at the old memory. "I absolutely hated mine. He called me blood-sistah."

"What? How you did you come upon that one?" Samus asked, slightly amused.

"He loved anagrams," Rista said, ignoring Samus or so the bounty hunter thought. "He would always give us anagrams and have us solve them, even though we were all too young to figure them out. Our nicknames were based on anagrams that had something to do with us."

"What was Constance's?" Rista turned to her with a confused look on her face.

"Huh? Oh, Constance's nickname," She stammered nervously. "My sister. Her's was, let me think." She then mumbled to herself, "Constance Olivia Nevaria... Oh yes!" She exclaimed the last part in a louder voice. "It was Con artist. She didn't know what it was, and au- Mother would always slap him because he thought he was a bad influence by calling her that. Mine was the most difficult to understand. He made an entire riddle for it once." Once she realized what she said, she shut her mouth and looked down at her lap.

"What was it?" Samus asked, not out of curiosity but as a response to Rista's strange reaction.

"N-nothing," She muttered. "I-I forget what it was. Only remember that he made one." 'Good save,' she thought to herself. Rista took a deep breath to calm. "I need some rest. If you don't mind, I think I'll go to my room now." Samus nodded and watched her stand up and walked away. There was something odd about Rista and something strangely familiar about what she said. Nicknames.

She had several as a young girl. Samus thought back to what the Chozo said when she was in her teens and plagued by a strange dream. 'Your childhood still beckons to you. Open the possibilty of your mother and father, and your brain will remember you had parents once. Once you remember it, it will no longer bother you. That is the secret to remembering your past.'

Samus remembered she knew Bill when she was younger. One reason she wanted revenge so badly. He misused the trust of a little girl, betrayed her after promising so much, then killed her family. Samus wondered how Rista knew him as well. Then again, she said her father was close friends with him. As a little girl, she knew that visited all the colonies, and Samus assumed he was close with other families with children.

"I've meet a lot of little girls, but you got to be the cutest Scully," Bill's warm and friendly voice told her. Of course, Scully! SKA were her initials, and he always commented on how they sounded like Scully Morris, the main character one of the numberous HV shows he watched. However, he did not just give them out based on initials of the person. Samus remembered how she told him the address of her friend Veronica.

"She says she lives on Theodore Rex Evan Everett street," Samus told him. "Have you ever heard of a name that long?"

"Hmm, tree street, eh?" Bill said, his finger on his chin as if he were thinking. "Is she a squirill?" Samus giggled.

"No silly, she's a girl."

It was a completely useless memory, but still it was comforting. Ever since that day, he called Veronica "squirill" when she came over. At the rediscovery of the long lost memory, she felt like a tiny burden was lifted. She would have to unlock more of her past.

A beep came from the control room. Samus walked in and saw a message on the screen. "Colleen has returned to her home. Pity, you just missed her. Perhaps you ought to go over and have a nice little chat with her." There was no identity to whom the letter was from, but Samus had a good idea. It was probably a trap, but at the moment, she really could not care less. Still, she decided it was not a good idea to leave right now. She'd wait until tomorrow.


Authors' Note: Don't you think herrings are beautiful birds? I especially like the red ones. Anyways, something shocking about Colleen will be revealed next chapter and part of the puzzle will make so much more sense. (PS, I like reviews just as much as red herrings so please drop a note that at least says you were here.)