Pain. Deep reaching pain. Scalding pain. Unforgettable pain. Plaguing pain. Awful pain. Wretched pain. Deathly pain...

"Why are you hurting? This is for the better of the galaxy. Fighting me will only result in your permanent end... The Hunter comes for bait, thus practically lying in wait... Evil shall come, once glory is done... Hunter or Hunted? The price remains the same, death is the outcome... Why do you provoke it? Why do you thrive? 'You brought this upon yourself,' it sayeth. 'you are doomed to die!' "

"NO!!!!" I screamed myself awake from that horrid dream, abruptly sitting up and knocking monitors that were above me to the side. I smacked my forehead on the biggest one welded to the ceiling so hard, I was blown back onto the bed I was lying on. "Ah..." I mumbled hoarsely to myself in more of the ridiculous pain that was draped over me heavily. My body was aching everywhere, but my chest was the worst. It felt like somebody was banging a red hot sledge hammer against my heart. I could hardly breath I was suffering so much.

My sudden outburst startled the other people in the room, and each of them ran over to my bedside. I writhed and moaned, blearily opening my eyes once my name was frantically called.

"Rundas!" I recognized the voice, and glanced at the beings who were gathered around me in worry. Gandrayda, with her anxious eyes, Ghor, who was twiddling a package of band-aids in his palms, Admiral Dane, who was pumping more air into the oxygen mask over his mouth, U-Mos, who looked uncomfortable, and finally Samus, kneeling next to me and trying to alert me by saying my name. "Rundas!"

I didn't look at her, only looked around the room lazily. I was in some sort of medical area, which was crowded with healing equipment. I knew with numb thoughts I was on a Galactic Federation ship.

"What's wrong with him?" a voice spoke to another, once they realized I wasn't paying attention.

"Why's he bleeding so much?" a different voice asked.

"We do not know..."

The conversation above me faded -along with my sight- as another voice talked, louder than the rest. "Whatever you do, Rundas. Don't tell them anything!! If you do, I'll awaken the Chromia inside you to make sure you have no free movement whatsoever!" I knew the tone, which was hissed and malevolent. I felt a presence in the back of my head, which was weighted and throbbing, along with a tightened pinch in my neck. Something shifted once the wicked voice quieted, and a shiver ran up and down my spine.

I was jerked back to my agonizing state, my vision clearing slightly, and my head swimming less. The man I knew as Clark was shining a flashlight in my eyes, checking my pupils. "Well his vital signs are stable," he said as everyone listened. "But I have no idea why he's gushing blood."

I tried to sit up, but lowered myself back down again from a torrid sting through my stomach. I grunted, pinching my eyes shut and clenching my fists. Why did Dark Samus hurt me this much? On Bryyo, I wasn't in this much pain. This was the worst I've ever experienced. Had I gotten weaker?

"Hold him still while I fetch some painkillers. Make sure he doesn't move!!" Clark ordered, leaving the bed area. I looked to Samus, who seemed uneasy and fearful. She raised her arm to hold my hand, but thought better of the idea, bringing it back down to her side. I felt sad. Why did she hesitate to touch me?

I exhaled a pang breath, my lungs feeling like they were being pricked with needles. Ghor gave me a weak smile once I glanced at him, and Gandrayda turned her head away and refused to look at how pitiful I probably seemed. The once proud, strong Phrygisian, now suffering, bleeding and fragile on a bed. Admiral Dane leaned against the wall, fumbling with the cords on his oxygen mask.

Clark returned, a fat jug in one arm and a syringe in the other. He uncapped the flask, sucking up the narcotics into the barrel through the needle. Then he sealed the container, placing it with a swishing noise on a table. He looked at me, leaning over and parting a few of my arm platings and sliding the thin tube beneath it. I winced, watching as the medicine drained into my body. I felt instant relief, the pain vanishing immediately. I relaxed, sighing with content and easing the tension that was constricting my muscles. I lay down, sinking into the sheets and feeling cold and numb.

Clark easily pulled the syringe out of me, setting it onto the nightstand next to the painkiller bottle. "Are you all right, now?" I gave a feeble nod. "Good. Well there's some news, Rundas." I peeked at him as my company lessened their worries, the atmosphere lightening as they each stood calmer than before. "The armies called in a full retreat. All of the invading ships are gone. We took a butt-load of damage, but made it. Only losing two ships." I smiled, but had an unfriendly ache in my chest, because I knew why they had withdrawn from the battlefield. "We're lucky we found you when we did. Apparently, there was a combustion fire in the hangers and you were caught in it. U-Mos and the others had to carry you here."

I looked towards the Luminoth. "Thank you," I credited with a scratchy tone.

U-Mos smiled almost invisibly, turning and preoccupying himself with some task.

"He knows something is wrong..." Dark Samus whispered from inside my head, a hint of worry in her voice. "He can sense it."

I acknowledged that he knew. But I wanted him to. I wanted to be saved from this. If only he could act sooner...

"How are you feeling?" Samus asked me, and I turned my head to her.

"Empty," I responded, the Chromia in my neck twitching again. I shivered, uttering a quiet moan.

"You're hungry you mean? I could get some food..." Clark said, turning and making towards the door.

"No! I'm just... sad..." I quickly said, not wanting to consume anything. If I did, I would probably throw it back up.

"Why?" Gandrayda wondered, and I saw Ghor hang his head.

"Raein didn't make it, did she?" He mumbled, eyes softening. "She was too young."

He was wrong. "No-" Dark Samus cut my speech off, my words choking in my throat. "-she was taken by some Wotans who attacked the bay. I didn't have time to save her because of the fire." She spoke through my voice, but the sentences were entirely hers. Lies. Untruths. Deceptions. Were all the things that escaped her mouth.

Correction: my mouth.

"Those dirty Wotans! Kidnapping a child for no reason!" Ghor spat, tightening his fists violently till they shook. "When I get my hands on those filthy-"

"Wait. Aren't you a Wotan yourself?" Gandrayda interrupted, tilting her purple head to the side.

"Shut up, Gandrayda. I'm not heartless like them." His voice was savage and ruthless. He was extremely angry. Did he take a fancy towards Rae-- Dark Samus? Sure hope not... I thought.

Samus was studying me. I felt her gaze and turned at her in question. "Yes?"

She turned and walked to U-Mos, who was sitting and toying with a tuning fork. She leaned towards his double plumage on his head, which I guessed were his ears and whispered softly, "I think something's wrong with Rundas. I scanned him, and.. well... he wasn't entirely right..." I was glad I could listen to their conversation, as was Dark Samus, and she heightened my hearing to eavesdrop. I couldn't help but look at the duo.

"What do you mean, hunter?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I picked up abundant traces of Phazon in his bloodstream. And then there's this thing..."

"Continue?"

After a pause, she said, "Chromia imbedded beneath the armor of his neck. Hooked to his spinal chord."

U-Mos's red eyes widened. "He is being controlled?"

"I'm afraid so. And this Chromia's a pretty dang good actor."

"Should we alert Clark?"

"Absolutely. We need to get this thing out of him before he causes any chaos. Let's run a scan, then, once they know, we'll ambush him in a way. After that, we'll see what happens. Ready?"

U-Mos stood. "As you wish, hunter." They approached, and I looked towards the band-aid box Ghor wielded as an alternative to listening to their chat. "Clark," the Luminoth said, and the blond haired human turned his head to him. "I suggest you run a scan on Rundas."

"Why? He seems-"

"Just do it. We need to see if he's okay to get back on his feet." Samus quickly interrupted his question, pressing the button for the scanner to start.

With a hum, the machine glowed to life. I watched in panic a small overhead light lower itself from the ceiling, a green lamp extending to the width of my shoulders. Panic build up inside me as it traveled up and down my body, a bright, jade beam reading the data my physique had to offer. On a monitor, a model of my figure appeared, showing my bones, organs, and the Chromia inside me. The monster appeared as a miniature white smudge, only it had a curved form with four fins, a head, and a long tail. A red spot signified the heat signature its eye gave off.

The others peered at the screen, squinting and staring at the Chromia, trying to find out what it was. I looked down. I wasn't strapped to the bed. "This will be the simplest escape I've ever seen. They didn't even think of closing the door!" Dark Samus laughed, and I felt her humor. I giggled on the outside, quickly shutting up so I wouldn't give anybody the idea that I was crazy.

Clark's eyes went circular. He and Gandrayda sucked in a gasp, with Samus and U-Mos tensed and already staring at me. Ghor murmured aloud, "No!" as he covered the lower half of his face with a hand. Admiral Dane's gaze flicked to me in shock, and a muscle in his jaw worked.

Clark dashed away, and all remaining heads snapped to me in disturbance, with four pairs of eyes turning from worried to astonished. "What?" I asked falsely oblivious, but I knew perfectly well the situation I had been tangled in.

The yellow locked man returned, carrying a tray filled with sharp medical tools. He slapped it onto a table, face pale and his hands shaking. "Did you know there was a Chromia inside you, Rundas?" I went stiff. "Well, if you didn't don't worry, we're going to take it out of you."

Clark raised a vicious looking scalpel, along with abnormally large tweezers. They winked at me callously. "You'll need to hold-"

I quickly sprang from the bed, not in control of my actions. Dark Samus commanded my limbs as I leaped from the gurney, landing in the middle of the floor and holding my ice sharpening hands to my sides. I watched as the hunters and Admiral Dane hold their weapons at the ready, their faces serious and prepared.

"Rundas," Samus cautioned in a stern voice, aiming her power beam at me. "Don't make us hurt you."

A crooked grin cracked across my face, and I hollered from Dark Samus's cruel voice, "Ha! I'd love to see you try!" I sent out sub-zero blasts and ice shards that froze everything in the room. But, my fellow bounty hunters were quick to react, and dodged my projectiles. I turned and dashed out of the room, speeding down the hall on a trail of ice that I sent out below my feet. I was practically flying. I felt a little disappointed. The dark hunter knew how to use my powers as well as I did...

"Come back here!!" Gandrayda called from far behind me, but I didn't look back. I heard the three of them sprinting after me, but soon enough, their footsteps faltered and died.

I soared through the halls of the unknown spacecraft I was on. "Where are we going?" I asked Dark Samus. This had been the first time I'd actually spoken to her out of pure wonder. Maybe it wasn't my last...

"Simple. Your ship."

I was confused. "Why?" I zoomed past an elevator and glided down a stairwell, landing on a floor and continuing my mad speed through corridors.

"We must go to the Pirate Homeworld. Or... I should say Phaaze II. My armies are expecting us."

"Us?"

"Precisely, minion. The hunters won't just give up on you. They'll follow us down, and will fall directly into my trap."

I swallowed. What was the plan?

And why did she speak of it so solemnly?