A/N: Next chapter is up! I added a few terms to the glossary, too.

MakoAnima- Well, I wasn't really trying to disguise Url-Krym's identity as the leader of a crime ring, so yeah, I guess you could say that his name was a dead giveaway on purpose. :)

Pursuit

On the way to Url-Krym's bunker hidden in the basement of an apartment complex on the other side of town, Samus stopped at the Galactic Federation Police office. She brought her prize into the building behind her.

The people inside the office stared at the strange sight that met them: An orange, metallic figure was leading the famous criminal Drepp Bliem into the station, bound in an old rope. Samus took him to the front desk.

"I'm here to turn this criminal in," Samus said, still wearing her helmet. "Are there any bounties on his head?"

The officer behind the desk, obviously shocked, nodded slowly. "Do you know who this is?" He asked Samus, not waiting for an answer. "This is Drepp Bliem, the right hand man of Url-Krym! We've been searching for him for years!"

Samus drummed her fingers on the desk impatiently. "I really have somewhere to go. I just want to know if there are any bounties on his head, and if so, I want to collect my money."

The whole situation seemed surreal to the officer, but he nodded his head and turned to his computer to look up the amount of the bounty. After a few minutes, he wrote out and handed a check for 50,000 GFSCs to Samus.

Samus didn't have time to process the money in her hand. She folded the check and headed back outside, in the direction of Url-Krym's bunker.

-X-

The apartment building was an old, run down place that seemed to have layers of dirt and grime covering the outside. The inside wasn't any cleaner. Samus wandered around until she found a door that led to the basement.

As she made her way down the steps, Samus wrinkled her nose at the strong, musty smell that greeted her from below. It was the last place she could imagine anybody hiding, as it was so repulsive, but that was probably why Url-Krym had picked it.

Samus reached the bottom of the steps, and could see very little through the darkness. After thinking for a moment, Samus charged her gun. The slight glow that it gave off when charged was enough for her to see by. The basement was relatively empty. There were pipes everywhere, and a few boxes here and there. There was a large circuit board on one wall.

Suddenly, shots rang out from Samus' left. The energy tank display read 73 units left. Samus jumped back and took cover as best she could on the steps. More shots rang out, but they all landed somewhere above her head. This was the difficult part: Samus had to apprehend Url-Krym without killing him to get her one-hundred grand.

Samus released the trigger of her arm cannon, sending the charged blast in the general direction of the attacker. She hoped fervently that it did not make contact, as it could easily be fatal to an unprotected foe. She heard no cry of pain, so she hoped for the best. She waited for more shots to be fired in her direction.

Nothing. Just silence.

After several minutes, Samus could wait no longer. She peered over the steps in the general direction from which she had been shot. It was useless, there was not enough light for her to be able to see anything. She charged her gun, but still could not quite tell if Url-Krym was there or not. Carefully, and ready for an attack at any moment, Samus made her way to the corner in which she believed Url-Krym to be.

She had made a fatal mistake: She left the stairs unguarded. As soon as Samus was far enough away, Url-Krym came dashing out of the shadows and up the stairs that led outside. Samus cursed and impulsively shot at him as he made his way up the metal stairs. Then an idea came to her.

Quickly, Samus switched her arm cannon to missile mode and fired a missile at the supports holding up the stairs. It exploded and brought the stairs crashing down. Url-Krym tried to jump for freedom, but couldn't make it. Instead, he dropped to the floor, hitting the hard metal remains of the stairs head-first.

Samus drew in her breath sharply. It was clear that Url-Krym was knocked out. Samus only hoped that the injury wasn't fatal.

Now Samus was faced with another problem: How was she going to get out? She had been thinking quickly when she brought down the stairs, but perhaps she hadn't thought far enough.

Not knowing anything better to do, Samus switched to her scan visor. The visor identified Url-Krym as something she could scan, so she read what the visor had to say.

"Morphology: Gyrak. This organism has suffered trauma to the head and is unconscious, but stable." Samus was glad to hear that Url-Krym was still alive. She turned her visor on various other objects in the room, looking for a way to get back outside, but to no avail. Dejectedly, Samus turned off her scan visor and sat down on part of the newly-mangled stairs.

Frustrated, Samus picked up a twisted shard of metal from the stairs. She pounded it against the ground angrily, frustrated at her problem. How could she get back outside, with Url-Krym on her shoulder? Scowling, Samus threw the shard of metal across the room. It hit one of the boxes sitting on the floor.

Suddenly, an idea came to her. She grabbed Url-Krym and tied him up with the rope that she had brought for just that purpose. Then she dragged him far enough away from the doorway that he couldn't get hurt if she fell. Then she grabbed one of the boxes and balanced it against the wall on the tangled remains of the stairs. Carefully, Samus stepped on the box, and reached up and tried to reach the ledge that would lead her to the room above.

The box crushed under the weight of Samus' armor. Furious at her misfortune, Samus kicked the box out of the way and looked for another solution. Scanning the room, Samus noticed something that she hadn't seen before: An old, abandoned washing machine sitting next to a long-forgotten dryer. Samus walked over to them and did a little estimating in her head. If she were to stand on top of one of these, she might be able to reach the doorway above.

Bracing herself, Samus hefted the washing machine over to the doorway and placed it against the wall. She tested it, and with a little work she got it stable. Carefully, she climbed on top of it and reached for the doorway above her. If she jumped, she could get herself high enough to pull herself up. She turned to look at the unconscious body of Url-Krym. She would be able to get herself out of the basement, but how would she be able to get him up? She wouldn't be able to jump high enough with him on her shoulder.

Then she got an idea. She turned back to face the wall, and jumped up to the first floor, pulling herself up with both arms. Then she left for the nearest payphone.