All right!! Let's keep going! So, we rejoin our amnesiac Rundas, now back through his eyes and perspective. I thank all my reviewers for reading thus far, because, well this is the longest story I've ever written. Anyway, hope you enjoy this next chapter! It's got a bit of love in it...

I stared at the human man, with his tough chin and even tougher voice. Nothing of his composure fit him. His fully honored outfit, proud, bold face and rugged features. He was... extremely short. I had a hard time not laughing at his shrimpy form, and listened as intently as I could to what he had to say in his panic. "Out there-" he pointed through the window, at the writhing blue streak that emitted miniature ships. "-Is the horde of aliens on Phaaze II. You guys may have killed Dark Samus-"


"W-wait, what? Dark what?" I asked before 'Dane' could go on, waving my hands to make him stop his speech. "I have no idea what you're talking about, dude."

The woman named Samus (whom I was completely head-over-heels for, the reason I didn't know) looked up to me. "What are you saying? You don't recall the huge battle we had?"

I snorted. "I think I'd remember something as awesome as that." Dray and Ghor shrunk in on themselves, looking guilty. "What's with you two?"

Samus glared at them scrutinizingly. "Your secret?"

Ghor twiddled his thumbs. "Well... we knew that after Rundas pulled that Chromia from his neck... it would... erase all of his memories..."

"What?!" Samus cried. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"We didn't think you could handle it! I meant you no anger! I'm sorry!" He hid his face as Samus advanced on him with an enigmatically acquired pistol.

"I can handle anything, if you haven't noticed, Ghor!!" her perfect teeth were bared as she slid the pistol's cover off, a long, glowing whip of energy emerging from the open slot. I couldn't imagine her so angry--

Something flashed in front of my eyes, bright and swift. I suddenly found myself not watching a soon-to-be massacre in the hallway, but rising up through a tall shaft with someone cradled in my arms. Confused, I looked down, where a personage was glancing up at me. They had on themselves a copper/orange, shiny suit, with large circular shoulder pads and smooth cut armor on their arms and legs. The helmet that disguised their head was ruby colored, with an emerald tinted visor that covered their face. I traced up and down their body with my eyes; the being was cuddled perfectly into my biceps and chest. This position felt familiar and welcoming... Like I knew it from somewhere--

I was jolted away from the vision right when my thoughts were forming, hitting my head on something hard. Numbness prickled my limbs, and my eyes were rolling in a daze as the corridor whirled. I looked up at Dane, Samus, Dray and Ghor, who were all strangely taller, their surprised expressions shadowed from the lights overhead. "How'd you guys get up there?" I asked stupidly, Ghor reaching down with his hand for me to grab. I took it, standing a little shakily and holding my head.

"Are you okay?" Dray worried, Samus closing the hatch of her revolver hastily.

"I think so..." I rubbed my skull, it throbbing as I tried to picture that illusion, wanting desperately to hold that elusive figure. My hands longed to embrace the elegant curves... "What were we talking about?"

Dane was giving me a confused face. "...We were discussing how we're going to stop the invasion. Our count of the vessels show that only half of the army from Phaaze II is attacking. So, that must mean the other half is on the planet, protecting something. That's there you come in," he paused as I blinked. I recognized that sentence... "You four are going down to the planet to find out what they're guarding. Plus, since Dark Samus was killed, we believe the flock are under the influence of somebody else. We want you to find out who and kill them, so we can finally get rid of this Phazon problem for good. Got it?"

I held up a finger. "One thing," the company listened. "I need a detailed explanation of everything that's happened."

"Why?" Dane wondered.

I gawked. "According to these two, I can't remember anything. I want to know what we're going up against-"

The ship rumbled, and dozens of fighter vessels whooshed past the window in immense groups. "No time, Rundas. Maybe they'll explain on the way." Dane turned, about to leave, but stopped. "Also, you'll each need to get Hazard Shields on the planet. The acid rain on the Pirate Homeworld now is mixed with Phazon. It won't kill you, but you will get so sick from it that you will fall into a coma and never wake up." My jaw dropped. "You didn't get hurt the first time there, because the storms weren't present, but now, since Dark Samus is dead, the clouds are raging." He saluted, giving us a small smile that hoped for our safety. "Be careful out there, hunters. These are the darkest hours in Galactic Federation history. Farewell!" The man bolted down the hall, shouting commands to a jump-suited human.

"Let's get going. Time is everything, now." Samus said, beckoning me to follow her. I did so, running alongside her with Dray and Ghor at our heels. "I guess we're all going to ride in my ship?"

"Seems so. Do you have enough room?" Ghor said. "If not, I could always use my Ghor Fighter 2."

She looked at each of us with stunning blue eyes that made my head spin. "I think if we squeeze we could manage."

I made a puzzled expression. Just how small was her ship? Again, a small glint was before my eyes, but, since it was so quick, I didn't have time to decipher what the flare was. I shook my head, keeping my mouth shut from asking a waterfall of questions. What the heck is going on? Why in the world are we fighting against a huge herd of aliens? Why was I having strange little flashbacks? Why... what... who... when... how... The list was endless. I sighed internally.

The four of us continued running till we came through a square porthole, stepping out onto a dock that was solely occupied by a large gunship. The beak-like hull was polished gold, with a green hued windshield and dual turrets on the sides. Small, yet powerful rocket barrels were holding the vessel up, along with the cannons that were bent in half to touch the floor. Red stripes lined the firearms top, and streaked along the metal linking the wings to the main, aerodynamic body. It was very high-tech, and looked to weigh about a ton.

I froze on the spot, skidding to a stop as I stared at the machine. I winced as another glister broke through my mind, and this time it hurt. The three noticed me a second later, halting too and looking back at me. "Rundas? Are you coming?" Samus said.

After fluttering my eyes a few times, the brightness of the-all-too-real recalling withdrawing into the distant and foggy corners of my brain, I nodded once. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got... a wicked headache..." I stumbled over to them, each step sending thudding pain through my head. I was clenching my teeth together, trying not to show my weakness in front of the trio.

"I've got some medical supplies in the ship if you want," Samus offered, her eyes brimming with worry for me.

"Sure... sounds great. Let's just go, okay?" I grunted, wanting so badly to lie down and relax. Why was I suddenly so weak? Ah great... more questions... I couldn't stop thinking.

My friends agreed, and we all boarded the small circular platform that raised us up and into Samus's oddly familiar ship. The cockpit was dark, but when we entered, the consoles and buttons lit up. I saw a thruster switch, an encoding device, a few buttons that were labeled with peculiar symbols, and a single chair. A small, cramped space was behind it, with a door on either arched wall. There was a little window in the bottom of the back wall, which I could see was looking out over the dock and into the war zone outside.

Samus walked to the lone chair, sat herself down, and said to the computer, "Install Varia Suit."

In an orange glow, armor materialized around her body, and I goggled at the exact suit that I had imagined. I had been holding Samus Aran?! This was getting a little spooky. I continued to watch her as she looked back, offering me a smile that I could see through her translucent, green visor. "Make yourselves comfortable. This is going to be one heck of a flight." She reverted her attention to the many icons and switches on the HUD.

I shivered, and Ghor placed his hand on my shoulder, shoving me onto the floor. There I sat in the claustrophobic area, curling into a ball to let Dray and him have room too. My move didn't make much difference, and Ghor only had just enough margin to fit himself in between the back of the chair, walls, and me.

We both looked to Dray, who was pursing her purple lips. After a moment, she shrugged, smiling. "Ah well, I'll fit somehow." The girl seated herself in Ghor's lap, wriggling into a comfortable position. The robot turned bright red, and the floor became hot as he did. I followed with my eyes a small drop of sweat that trickled from the top of his head and down his metal face. "Am I disturbing you, Ghor?" Dray flirted, grinning wider. He giggled in a love-struck tone, shaking his head and trying to get rid of his glimmering blush.

"Everybody ready?" Samus asked, laughing a bit too. I nodded, as did the others with me, and we rose out of the bay, making our first skein through the battleground at near mock-speed.