Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid.

Author's Note:Sorry for the wait, and I am not likely to get the next chapter out for a while. I'm going on Vacation, then I'll have to get ready for school; so, I'm going to be busy.


"So where are we going again?" Rista asked, slung over the chair in the control room. Samus leaned over to check the signals the computer was reading.

"Petronis." She replied.

"How do you know that they are headed that way?" Rista bugged her. "Last I heard, we had no leads."

"Space Pirates ships tend to leave trails of raditation waves from the fuel they use," Samus explained, standing back and wiping her forehead. "Only sensitive equipment can pick it up; equipment this ship has. The computer says the trail leads straight for Petronis." Rista 'humphed'.

"What doesn't this ship have?" She wondered aloud. It was a rhetorical question, and Samus knew it. She just gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the feeling bursting up inside of her.

Somehow, Rista Nevaria did sound right. It did not fit into the Nevaria family she had pictured so vividly. For some reason, every time the name 'Nevaria' was spoken, Samus saw a family. A tall, confident man with rich brown locks and merry green eyes standing to his petite dark-haired wife. A little girl stood there also, bearing no resembleance to Rista. A mop of black curls on her head, chocolate eyes and cheeks still lined with baby fat. Along with this vision, something lingered at the back of Samus' mind.

"My babies," The woman sobbed. "T-they said they didn't w-want to go." Tears rolled down the face of the hysterical woman. "I should've listened. It's all my fault." Another woman stood by and comforted her.

"Teresa, relax. It's all right." She cooed. Samus' mother turned and gave her a look of defeat. "Run along sweetie. She's very upset right now."

"But mommy-"

"No buts," She said firmly. She kneeled down and circled Samus with her arms. She whispered in her ear, so that the grieving mother would not hear, "Just remember how much I love you. Because I do love you, so much."

"Earth to Samus," Rista said. Samus had not noticed her stand up, and she was now waving her hand in front of Samus' face. "Thought you died on me for a second there."

"I just got lost in thought." She mumbled. Well, it was true. She turned her attention back to the panel display, but her eyes blurred together as she watched the signals. What had happened to make that woman-Teresa- so upset? Where had they been at that time? Everything around them seemed to be a black void, and all she saw was the two adults standing in front of her. Actually, Teresa was laying in a white bed...

She had known it for a while, but it hadn't really struck her until now. Something was amiss in this quest for revenge. And Samus would just have to figure out what that was.

XXXX

"And who are you?" The saleswoman leaned over on her knees to adore the little girl front of her.

"My name is Rista," She said, smiling shyly. "This is my Mommy." She tugged at her mother's pant leg.

"She is just precious," The Sales lady told her mother. She stood up, straighting out her crimson uniform. "She must be the cutest little darling in T08." Her mother laughed.

"I don't know, her sister could compete," She said teasingly.

"Uh nuh. She is not cuter than me." Rista protested, stamping down her little foot. The two woman laughed.

"Wish I had a daughter," The Sales Lady reflected as she rung up their purchases. "I have three boys at home. I love them but every woman should have a daughter. That was my mother's belief." She handed them two plastic bags. "Bet your husband wants a boy."

"No, he loves the girls. We don't judge by gender; we're just happy for what we got." She began to leave the counter.

"Have a nice day, Ms. Nevaria!" The Saleswoman called out. Her mother froze and turned back towards the lady.

"Excuse me?" She asked, slightly taken aback.

"Nevaria, that is your name, is it not?" The woman looked confused.

"Well it wa-," She dug through her purse her credit card. She breathed one word. "No."

Rista would always remember the look of fear and panic that crossed her mother's face. She had only been six at the time, but the memory was fresh within her mind. What was the problem anyways? Rista would never find out, but it started the problems with her family and Bill. Though she would not realize it until it was too late, it was the beginning of the demise of her family.

The ship landed on Petronis, landing in the general target the wave trail left them. Rista volunteered to explore the area.

"Get your suit on and follow me when you're ready," She told her, for once taking charge of things. "Your suit stands out, and trust me, an unarmored body such as mine will prove to be much stealthier in this type of enviroment." Petronis was famous for it's rain forests, and Rista was confident that she could slip in between the trees and climb through the thick canopies without much notice. There was sure to be plenty of surveilence hidden among the bushes.

Samus nodded her agreement, which surprised Rista. She had seemed to be the boss of everything, and Rista could tell she liked being in control. Yet she submitted to Rista's suggestions without conflict.

"Good idea. There are some things I need to check up on here." Samus said. "If you're not back in a few hours, I'll leave expecting the worst and find it on my own. Is that ok with you?"

"Um, sure." Rista said. She armed herself with her weapons, also agreeing to take along a small stun gun Samus had aboard.

"Remember, you are not out there to kill them. You want to find their new base and report back. You won't stand a chance against them without my help."

"Thanks for the support," Rista said sarcastically with an obvivously fake cheery smile on her face. She left the open hatch and ran off until she was a good distance away from the ship. Finally, some action.

Rista grabbed a low-lying tree-branch and hoisted herself up. She stood on it, steadying herself with the tree. Once she found her balance, she reached for another and climb up. The trees on Petronis were towers of wood and leaves, standing taller than many buildings in the cities. Scratchy bark rubbed off on Rista's hands, and after a short while, they began to sting. The vibrant colors that thrived at the base of the tree was soon replaced with moss green and drab brown. Fungus stained her clothing, and the wood began to dampen as she ascended, making it hard for her get a grip.

The top of the tree offered a magificent view, worthy of it's nearly hour and a half long climb. Rista rested on a thick branch, swinging her legs under her as she enjoyed a well deserved break. She was carefree, nearly forgetting that she wanted to spot any possible areas that a base might lay in. After about fifteen minutes, she slipped out a pair of binoculars and view the area.

Trees tops clouded her view. Nothing but green leaves surrounding her every which way. Bright spring greens melted with dark forest and evergreen, with little spots of yellow-green dotting the sea of, for lack of a better word, green.

Boy, was she getting sick of that color.

The wind whipped through the air, rustling the foilage. A light cry reached her. Rista strained her ears to hear it better. There was nothing for a few moments, but then she heard it again.She turned her head ever so slightly to see what might have caused it, but she lost her balance and slipped.

Next thing she knew, she was falling through the air, the tiny specks on the ground growing larger with passing second.

She was going to die.

Then, a whistle and a hum shot through the air, and a grimey talon clutched her shirt and clawed at her backside. She cried out in pain as the skin on her back tore, and she felt blood rushing out. The creature that grabbed her landed on a soft patch of dirt. Rista felt dizzy from the bloodloss, but she rolled over with agony to face the beast in front of her.

It was a metal bird, twice her size. With a shrieking cry, it opened it's steel beak and came down towards Rista's face.

Her terrified scream was cut short.


Author's Note: Cliffie! Review! Review! Review!