A/N: HOPE YOU GUYS ARE ENJOYING THE STORY SO FAR. i'M TRYING REALLY HARD TO INCORPORATE METROID'S STORY ELEMENTS INTO MY STORY WHILE ALSO INCLUDING EXPOSITION ABOUT MY CHARACTER. TELL ME HOW I'M DOING SO FAR IN THE REVIEWS AND AS ALWAYS THANKS FOR READING. :)

Chapter 3

Previously: our favorite bounty hunter just had a little run in with Kuroske. Needless to say it wasn't exactly how he planned on meeting her, but whatever works, works. Though unfortunately after their little encounter Samus had to fight Ridley and became severely injured. Thankfully Kuroske was able to defeat Ridley and get Samus to safety, but she's far from safe as her injuries needed immediate medical attention. Not wanting to lose his wager he decided to look into the space pirate's medical lab. Hopefully with their advanced technology they have some useful equipment on hand.

Kuroske was prowling through the jungle, it was wet and grimy all around and the plant and wildlife was far different than on earth. The sky was a sickly reddish color which suited his style of moving around; quietly and unseen. He was using clan trademark technique known as shadowblend. A passive ability that requires no ki and when submerged in a dark shadow, he becomes one with it; completely undetectable by any means including sonar, inferred, even heartbeat sensors cannot locate him. Though a simple shed of light can disperse the shadow and negate this ability.

He eventually came upon the main entrance of their base were a gate blocked the way. He climbed atop a nearby tree to get a better look. The whole base was so gigantic it could be seen from miles away. It was surrounded by a huge wall, was a plain grey color with many different entrances and windows. Inside were lots of space pirates who were patrolling. Sneaking in was going to be rather tough even for him; he would have a better chance at night, but he didn't have that long nor did he know when night time would come. He doubled checked his satchel for supplies; he had some kunai, shrunken, a few smoke bombs, and only two lethal bombs.

"Guess I won't be killing anyone. They're armor is too thick and without my dagger I can't do much."

He thought it through and decided to be completely covert; meaning no killing and no fighting. He'd have to get in and out quick and clean. He saw that they were transporting goods though the gate and decided sneak aboard one while guards were distracted. As the floating ship passed through the base, he got out and looked around, no one in sight. He pulled out the map on his wrist comp.

"Looks like the medical lab isn't too far away from here."

He started walking cautiously making sure coast was clear and that no stray guards were lurking about. It was rather dark inside so he took advantage of it using his shadowblend ability to sneak around unseen. He arrived at the medical lab. It was a simple electronic sliding door with a blue button on the side to open it. There was no other way in so he opened the door and held a kunai up preparing for any space pirates that may be inside. There was no one.

"Out to lunch?"

It quickly disregarded his fortunate luck and started to rummage through the crates and tubes lying around. The lab was a simple set up, lab benches, many different test tubes, and the thing that stood out the most was a large glass cylinder at the back of the lab hooked up to a computer. He took out his scanner and started examining the different items. Most of them were useless, except for a drawer full of syringes. The scanner read Hyper Regeneration Serum Warning: do use more than twice in one hour. Side effects vary from person to person.

"Hmm this might do the trick." he said to himself

He reached to grab one, but stopped when he heard footsteps coming from beyond the door. He looked around; the room was too open there were no places to hide. Then he saw a darkened area at the ceiling corner.

"Perfect."

He wall jumped up to the corner and blended with the shadow, completely erasing his presence. A space pirate entered shortly after a bit smaller than the ones he saw before. It was mumbling something as it walked by. Kuroske thought that it shouldn't be a problem, but then he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. The pain was like hundreds of needles piercing his muscle with every move; must have been fractured. It was from the fight before; he must have not notice due to the adrenaline rush. He struggled to stay stationary and watched as the space pirate took something from the large cylinder and left. Kuroske dropped to the floor grasping his arm and wincing in pain.

"*pant* That was close, now let's take a look at those meds."

He walked over and took one of the syringes. It was a simple design with s short needle and a cylinder surrounding the needle to insure that it did not go too deep. The pump at the top was like a button one small push was enough to inject the full dose. He put it up to his neck and pressed. Instantly the pain in his arm ceased and his injuries started to disappear.

"Wow, these'll definitely come in handy."

He grabbed a bunch of them and put them in his pouch. He teleported back to where he had left Samus, holding his dagger in a combative stance. He took a quick look around; there was no one. He breathed easy knowing that their location wasn't compromised, but resumed his heavy breathing when he remembered that Samus still needed medical attention. He kneeled down and injected the serum into her neck. He checked his scanner.

"Well this stuff really works wonders. She did come with a crew right, guess I'll save the rest for them if we find them."

He went to wake up Samus, but she still has yet to respond. He sighed and took a seat beside her. He deactivated his helmet and expected to gasp for air, but it seemed as if his body had adapted to the environment, pulled out a cigarette, lit it and blew out a puff of smoke.

"Whatever, *blows out a puff of smoke* not like it'll kill me. Guess I'll wait till sleeping beauty here wakes up. "

He waited for a while, about an hour passed and he fell asleep as he grew bored of just sitting around. He was awakened by his shadow senses. he looked up as he saw a foot about to drop down on his face.

"Woah!" he said as he quickly rolled out of the way

Samus was up and kickin' again in a literal sense. She tried to punch him, but he was able to catch her fist.

"Wait a minute sleeping beauty, I'm not the enemy." said Kuroske trying to convince her

"Why should I believe you?!" she retorted

"Who do you think tended to your injuries?" he replied

She looked down and put her hand on where her once fractured ribs were. They were no longer broken in fact she felt good as new. Next she put went to make sure her weapon was still at her side and just as she did Kuroske held up a gun.

"Looking for this?" he said as he tossed her weapon back

"Who are you?" she asked as she inspected her weapon

"I'm the Shadow Merc however I'll give you the honor of calling me Kuroske." he said while brushing he hand through his long black hair "I was hired to find out what had happened to you and your team speaking of which where is your team?"

"We were captured. I was the only one that managed to escape." explained Samus "I had a plan to free them until you and Ridley shoed up; I'm sorry that I mistook you for an enemy."

She bowed her head while profusely apologizing seeing as how her spontaneous decision inconvenienced the both of them. Kuroske hadn't noticed before because she was lying down, but she was rather tall for a woman at least four inches taller than he was.

"Relax no harm no foul." replied Kuroske "So what exactly was your plan?"

"It was simple enough; each of my team members has a tracking device on them just in case we were separated." she pulled out a mini pad and pulled up a map "It looks like they're still there. Quickly let's go."

"Ladies first." he gestured her to go on ahead

Samus rolled her eyes as she turned to take the lead. Kuroske stood there for a moment only to stare at her backside; his eyes trailing up and down taking in every ounce of her perfect, slender body.

"This may be more entertaining than I thought." he murmured to himself

"You coming?" she called back noticing that he wasn't following

"Hm? yea coming." he replied back as he started walking

They walked through the jungle like area and eventually came upon the space pirates' base. It was just as they both remembered it, crawling with space pirates. Samus no longer thought of Kuroske as an enemy, but still there was something offsetting about him to her, so she remained suspicious keeping him at arm's length.

"So how do you plan on sneaking in?" asked Kuroske "I've got myself covered. You?"

"Just do whatever it is you do." she answered "I'll meet you at that platform." she pointed to a balcony with an open doorway on the second floor

Immediately after setting the destination she took a huge leap over the wall surrounding the base. Kuroske was impressed even he had to climb a tree to hop this wall. Once Samus reached the floor she darted from cover to cover hiding behind hover carriers and bushes. Once she reached the location she wall bounced and shot out a whip like beam from her gun. It latched onto balcony above and she whisked herself up. Atop the ledge she saw Kuroske patiently for her to arrive.

"How did you- When did you get up here?" she asked blatantly surprised

"I did whatever it is I do." he replied jokingly as he gestured her to lead the way again

She ignored his pompous attitude and continued to lead the way. Unbeknownst to her once he was in range he threw his dagger up to the balcony and teleported to it. This dagger is no ordinary weapon it his is keepsake and the only thing he has left to remember his clan. Infused in the dagger is a piece of his soul; he must simply will it and it will appear by his side or vice versa.

They continued walking the second floor was no different than the first plain grayish color with different doors leading to god knows where. There weren't as many space pirates patrolling this area.

"Must be out searching for us." Kuroske thought to himself

As Kuroske was pondering on the space pirates' status he bumped into Samus who held her hand up signaling him to stop.

"What?" he whispered

She gave him a frustrated look and pointed around the corner. There were two space pirates standing guard at a door. Samus took out her mini pad just to confirm.

"They're in that room." she informed "I'll take them out."

She closed her eyes and started to focus. An orange suit began to materialize around her body, but stopped and then disappeared.

"Dammit my power suit's not ready yet." she whispered in a frustrated tone

"Whatta ya got on you?" asked Kuroske

"All's I got is my stun pistol." replied Samus

"Perfect." said Kuroske "When I give the signal stun the one furthest away from us."

She nodded and decided to trust in his plan even though she may regret it. Kuroske jumped out from behind the corner, threw his dagger, and gave Samus the signal. She jumped out and fired at the one furthest away. Before the guards had time to react the one Samus shot was stunned, unable to move, and Kuroske had teleported to the other one gouging his dagger in its skull. While the other one was stunned he did the same killing it instantly. Samus was awestruck at what just happened; it was just gone by so fast.

"Enough staring blondie. Hurry before someone wanders by."

"Shut up." she retorted back

She hurried to one of the guards and searched for the key card. She found it and opened the door. Inside was a simple holding cell made only to fit a few prisoners. There were six men in a holding cell most of them were injured. They looked up; their faces lit up with a spring of hope and joy.

"Samus is that you?" asked the man in front

The man was slightly injured and seemed to be the leader of the squad. His short dark brown hair was all ruffled up and tattered dark skin made it he look like he'd been through hell. He looked back and saw Kuroske entering behind Samus.

"Who's the little guy?" he asked

He stood up along with the rest of his squad. They were all towering over him at least 6'5 being the shortest one.

"That's Kuroske he was sent here to rescue us." answered Samus "Are you okay, Anthony?"

She went over and used the key card to unlock the cell doors. The beams creating the bars deactivated and they were free. The man in front helped the injured ones out of the cell, but didn't get far.

"Yeah I'm fine. What is he supposed to be, a ninja?" said Anthony

He hit nail right on the head. Anyone could see that he was one, though in this day and age people would just assume he was fooling around or cosplaying, but aside from the high tech suit he was wearing a similar getup was his normal mission attire.

"Yes I am." said Kuroske "and you're a freed prisoner. Can we get a move on before guards show up?"

He scoffed at his comment and proceeded to assist his men out of the cell. They were moving too slow and weren't going to get anywhere at this rate. The injuries they had were too much of an issue. Kuroske thought for a moment then remembered the doses of serum he stole from the medical lab. He took it out and tossed a few to him.

"Here use this they'll get ya up and running."

"You sure this is safe?" Anthony asked while examining the syringe

"It worked on Samus and I, I think you'll be fine." he explained

He acknowledged his comment and took a deep breath and told his men to inject the serum into their neck. They all did so and within seconds their injuries and pain melted away, completely vanished. They stood up straight and stretched their arms and legs feeling relieved as if they just had a good night's rest.

"Thanks." Anthony said coldly "Now let's go."

Anthony and Kuroske didn't seem to get off to a great start. In Anthony eyes Kuroske seemed nothing more than a joke; someone who shouldn't even be here on this mission. The suit and scarf may have been the tipping point of that judgement. Not to mention his only weapon was his dagger and a few projectiles that looked like they were from the stone age. Kuroske on the other hand didn't care about any of them they were just one big paycheck and perhaps something to entertain his should he get bored. They dragged the now dead space pirates into the holding cell and continued down the corridor.

"Hang on we gotta make a stop here." ordered Anthony as he was pointing to a room up ahead

"Why?" asked Kuroske

"We have to pick up our gear."

They open the electronic door. It was a simple room with metal tables and racks. It was filled with a variety of weapons all of different shapes and sizes. Clearing it was a room meant for storing stolen weaponry and armor. Anthony and his men grabbed their suits and weapons and fitted into them. It was a simple design with blue boots and body plate made out of some metal alloy, grey leggings, and holsters to hold his guns and grenades; complete with a blue helmet and orange visors. They had their plasma assault rifles drawn and ready to move out.

"Okay let's go." ordered Anthony as he pulled out a mini pad then began to lead the way

"What's our next move?" asked Kuroske

"We're gonna find Samus's ship and get the hell outta here." replied Anthony

"Why not yours?" asked Kuroske

"Ours was destroyed when they found us, though for some reason they kept Samus's" explained Anthony

"Huh I wonder why." said Kuroske

"It doesn't matter." Interrupted Samus "We just have to find my ship and contact the Galactic Federation when we get off this planet."

"Who?" questioned Kuroske

"The Galactic Federation." answered Anthony "We were stationed at Final Frontier Exploration Division on you planet. Anyways quite down we should be arriving at the ship's location soon."

They were now on the basement level of the base. As they walked they entered into a large room that looked like a mining area. The walls were a rocky exterior clearly not man made and there was a giant machine near the center that resembled a large cannon. There were many different mining tools lying around along with carts to transfer materials. At the far end of the mine was Samus's ship along with a bay door on the ceiling. Most space pirates were digging and carrying some blue substance out in the carts. Anthony saw this and froze in fear; he knew exactly what they were mining.

"Phazon?" whispered Anthony, fear obvious in his voice "I thought we destroyed it all. That must be why they're ambushing the trade routes they needed ships to transfer the phazon."

"What the hell is phazon?" asked Kuroske

"Long story short it's a dangerous substance." explained Anthony "We need to get to the ship and call in for back up. What's the plan Samus?"

Samus was not paying attention instead only one thing caught her eye. On a platform overseeing the min was a dark blue figure that resembled Samus. She was standing there watching everything then all of a sudden turned her head in the group's direction and took aim. Samus's eyes widened.

"Get down!" she screamed

A large ball of blue phazon energy shot from her arm and collided with the wall behind them. They dodged the bulk of the attack, but suffered from the collateral damage it had done. That attack was nothing like Samus's blast it was far more powerful and used much more destructive force as it made a large hole in the wall behind them. They all recovered from the blast, but Samus had a different look on her face not; a serious, fierce expression.

"Go to the ship I'll handle Dark Samus." she walked forward and rematerialized her power suit then ran at Dark Samus

"You heard the lady let's move!" ordered Anthony, but before they could take one step a barrage of phazon blasts were fired at them

They dove for cover behind some mining equipment and crates, but were indefinably pinned down and limited on options. Anthony and his men started to return fire, but they were outmanned and out gunned especially by the one manning the phazon turret. The space pirates realized this and slowly advanced on their position.

"Argh, dammit take this and make yourself useful." yelled Anthony as he threw Kuroske a gun

"That won't be necessary." said Kuroske as he dropped his dagger to the ground "When I give the signal run for the ship I'll cover you."

"What the hell do you think you can do by yourself, there's dozens of them, you're ill equip, and frankly I don't like you!" argued Anthony

Kuroske wasn't paying attention as he was focusing what little ki he had due to the four seals still being intact. After a brief moment a multitude of shadowy silhouettes of his dagger appeared around the entire mine; all of them in different spots. The daggers then took on the exact color, shape, and size of his dagger.

"Shadow Shaping: Multi-clone."

Without another word he disappeared and reappeared next to the space pirate manning the turret. It was taken by surprise and didn't have time to react to the dagger now buried deep in its throat.

"NOW!"

A/N: YUP KUROKO GETS TO SHOW OFF SOME OF HIS AWESOME POWERS WHICH I'M SURE YOU GUYS WERE DYING TO SEE (UNLESS O/C YOU READ MY OTHER STORY) AND SAMUS IS GONNA HAVE YET ANOTHER FATED REUNION WITH HER DARK COUNTERPART. UNTIL NEXT TIME. :)