Disclaimer: Even if Samus married me, Nintendo would still own Metroid. If Sakura married me, I'd shoot myself.

A/N: This story takes place after the Sasuke retrieval arc and after the events of Metroid Prime(Not the series, just the first game.), which comes before Metroid II (for Gameboy).

PLEASE REVIEW!! I need to see how well (or not) I'm doing; please review!!

Thank you to S J C, Helcion Pheonix, Blaine2, netbreaker0, rikku92, BlackRoseFire, and Dracomancer1 for reviewing!!Holy Crap that's a lot of reviews! Thank you so much! Also, if you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to say them! They help immensely and really could add to the reading enjoyment. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Special Thanks to Dracomancer1!! Your encouragement is very helpful and was pretty much the driving force that helped me get this next chapter out so quickly (a month later, not bad). This chapter is Fing long, so there may be a few more mistakes than usual. I apologize.

This chapter is going to be a lot of description, please bear with me.

Description is not my strong suit…PLEASE please bear with me.

If there are any areas where you think something may be better a different way, please tell me. Suggestions always help!

Thanks again!!

PLEASE REVIEW!

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XI: SR-388:

-Dr. Burish-

"Burish."

"General." Ridley eyes the human in the container behind me. "What do you need?" Ridley walks past me.

"I find this species…fascinating." He circles around the stasis chamber, analyzing. "It's the ultimate paradox! It has 'ears' that don't hear, a protrusion that supposedly offers smell, no protection whatsoever anywhere! Everything about these meat-bags makes no sense!" His wings twitch, his arms shake. "Yet, our operations are plagued by them. Somehow, they created an alliance to rival ours, convinced our council that WE should have one, AND…" His eyes gleam as murderous intent fills the room, "That half-breed Samus is always pestering us!"

His fierce gaze focuses in on Naruto, "And now we have these anomalies to add to the list." His rage boils for a few moments; then he turns to me, "Preparations are complete."

It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"You have forty-eight hours. If there are no results," he leans in as close as he can, "You're Fried."

Ridley storms out, not even waiting for a reply.

I wasn't really panning on giving one anyway.

…

I am not finished with preparations. I have not started them

I will not begin experimentation soon. I have no intention to ever do so.

I check the space traffic reports, and, unfortunately, nothing is different. Where are Naruto's companions? Are they coming? Is space too large an obstacle for them?

Are they even trying?

…

Naruto still floats in the gel stasis chamber, idle, asleep…helpless.

I still wait; I wait as long as I can.

If no one comes…then…

…

I will have no choice…

-Sakura-

Donning our new suits, Sasuke and I enter Samus's ship. We take our seats and strap ourselves in as Samus spins her chair to face us.

"Seems like they fit, good. Now, let me give you an idea of how dangerous this mission is." She slides her seat so we can see the screen behind her. It flickers to life, and a picture of a strange jelly-fish like creature appears. "This…is a Metroid. Our mission is to capture one and bring it in for Federation study." Memories of a certain cat pop into my mind.

"There's more to this than it seems, isn't there?"

"If it were that easy, the Federation would probably have captured it themselves." Sasuke adds.

"These Metroids feed on life energy, and only recently have we been able to identify this…essence in life forms."

"By life energy, do you mean Chakra?" seems similar enough.

"Yes, most believe that what the Metroids feed on is what you call Chakra."

"Just how dangerous are they." Sasuke jumps to the point, as usual. Samus pauses before she answers.

"They can kill nearly any life form in a matter of seconds." She pauses, "Your suits will protect you a little from their…feeding, probably giving you a good minute-and-a-half to break yourself free." The screen blips off, "We are going to stick together as best we can, however, should we get separated, make your way back to the ship. We will land by night, when the Metroids are least active."

"Any questions?"

"Why are we doing this?" Sasuke asks.

"To find a cure, that is all. We leave shortly."

-Gaara-

A white room. No, it is not a room, the place I am in is simply white, blank, nothing. I must be dreaming…

Four figures walk up to me, all of them the same race.

Chozo.

I turn to see if there were any others. Black Dove stands behind me, but otherwise there are no others.

"Are these the four you have chosen?" one of them asked. His voice commanding and enthusiastic.

"I am satisfied with all but one." Another comments in a serious, professional tone.

"Just one? What about the silver-haired boy?" A lower gravelly voice adds.

"We can not judge, all of them are fine choices." The last one kindly scolds.

"Why are you here?" I ask. The first of the four replies.

"We must breathe life into these new warriors of Chozo."

The second continues, "For one who is not Chozo cannot wield our suits at all."

The third Chozo folds his arms and looks away, "Nor can we trust them with so much power."

The fourth chimes in, "We have to see if they deserve the suits, that's all."

"How?"

"Simple," Black Dove states, "A test." She faces the other Chozo as they fade. We are silent. The room is silent.

"A test?"

"You shouldn't worry, you will receive no such test." She puts a talon/hand on his shoulder. "You are Chozo by blood and a demon by birth; your life is a test."

-Samus-

Of all the things that could have cured me of this…parasite, it had to be this.

Metroids. The most infamous, nearly invincible, life-sucking leeches in the galaxy.

I shouldn't have brought Sasuke and Sakura…they aren't ready for this. I've only faced Metroids on two missions; both times, it took my complete concentration to defeat them. I never faced more than five or six at one time; where the thought came from that these two could handle this, I'll never know, but I should've left them on the ship.

There are simply too many of them, and none of them were targeting me. It was always Sasuke or Sakura, I don't know how many Metroids I destroyed, but it wasn't enough.

We landed smoothly, and ventured out onto the planet. Less than fifteen minutes pass before a swarm of Metroids charge us; Thirty to Forty Metroids, all attacking us. Like a trained pack, they separated me from the other two, keeping me busy while they feasted.

Luckily, those two ninja know how to run, and soon the swarm was out of my sight.

I have already completed the objective, I am returning to my ship.

Why the hell did I bring them here? Nothing about my decision makes sense. They're walking tubs of energy, they're inexperienced, I work better alone, and they have only Galactic Federation suits, which probably won't last long against the Metroids. What was I thinking?

A glint of light catches my eye. I whirl around and aim at…the head of a statue.

A Chozo statue.

…

I have to get to the ship and find them.

-Sakura-

From one branch to the next, we rush…uh…somewhere. With these Metroids chasing us, we haven't been able to run to the ship. Every time we change directions, more Metroids appear and then we run away again. We can't keep running.

Sasuke jumps ahead of me, sword drawn, with goop from Metroids sometimes dripping off. He leaps from one alien tree to the next with ease, using his Sharingan to try and find a place to hide or run. He slices through a Metroid that appeared in front of him mid flight and lands on the ground. Pushing chakra to our legs, we speed out of the forest and into the plains.

"We need a plan, Sasuke!" I look back at the cloud of jellyfish behind us. No trees to slow them down, "At this rate, we won't last much longer!" He doesn't answer.

The plains turn into a rocky wasteland. In the distance, I see a chain of jagged mountains towering above the horizon, and the terrain begins to incline. I look back once more.

We just might be able to outrun them!

I turn back to Sasuke, only to see him skidding to a stop. "Sasuke, why did you--" I look in front of him.

I don't have time to comprehend as the half-dozen Metroids ambush us. Sasuke is able to slice through one, but another Metroid catches his sword with its fangs. Before Sasuke can even get it off, one latches on to his face!

"Sasuke!" I rush to him, and grab the Metroid and try and pull it off, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, a Metroid flies straight toward me fangs first; my ninja instincts kick in. Not having any other weapon that I could draw in time, and not wanting to leave Sasuke, I punch it.

It latches on to my fist. I see the energy readings of my suits decrease rapidly, and the Metroid slowly grow.

Wait…

…It's a long-shot, but it's all I can think of.

Focus…focus…

NOW!

Using Tsunade's training, I burst my chakra out of my fist. The Metroid explodes.

…It worked! CHA! IN YOUR FACE, JELLYFISH! WHO ELSE WANTS SOME?!

I punch another Metroid to oblivion, then one more, and then I blast the Metroid on Sasuke's face. Only two left, I take care of them easily. I'm feeling pretty confident…until I notice that the swarm has almost caught up with us.

"Let's go Sasuke!" I don't hear him respond. I see him on the ground. I don't have time to check if he's alive. Any confidence I had before has turned into desperation, Sasuke's down, Metroids are chasing us, and just beating five took almost all my chakra. I push the rest I have left to my legs.

At least he's breathing…

Soon after, I pass through a gate of sorts into the ruins of a village or city. Could I hide here? There are so many Metroids, they'd find me no matter where I hide. Oh, this is hopeless.

I have to stop and catch my breath.

"Here."

What?

"Come Here" Whatever voice was calling me came from inside one of the ruined buildings. I don't see the Metroids…I won't know if I can hide from them if I don't try. Passing a couple more birdlike statues, like the ones near the entrance; I run to the voice.

…I'm wasting time. The room was smaller than my room back home, small round and with a domed ceiling. This is a horrible place to hide. I must be hearing things.

The ground collapses beneath me…I can't grab on to anything without dropping Sasuke. The floor is hard and wherever we are, it was really dark. The only light coming from the hole we just fell through, but even that disappears with the sound of grinding rock. I hear the swarm pass over us, and even scrape at whatever sealed us in. The Metroids moved on, and I sighed, setting Sasuke down. I want to check to see if he's alright…but I'm out of chakra…

-x-x-

I hear someone…running, breaths flowing in time with the footfalls. The sky is a clouded white and yellow; trying to block out the sun, but not really succeeding. The sky connects to the ground closer than I think…when I realize the floor is the same as well.

Am I…in a cloud? I must be dreaming…or genjutsu. No…not genjutsu…at least not any I can break out of.

Sasuke and Naruto are running in toward me…but they aren't going anywhere, as if they were on a treadmill.

"Sasuke, Naruto…what are you doing?" … "Sasuke?" I walk toward him, he doesn't even notice me. Neither does Naruto, who is running a few paces behind Sasuke. They're saying something…

"Must…Kill…him…Must…Kill…him."

"Must…Save…Sasuke…Must…Save…Sasuke." This doesn't make any sense. If this were a dream, something would've happened by now. If this were genjutsu, the user doesn't seem to know what he is doing. I walk around the two runners; how can I get out of here?

Bright orange is interrupted by red. How did I miss that before?! The side of Naruto's jacket is soaked with blood! Going instantly into medic-in-training mode, I try and get close. I want to remove the jacket, but he isn't really cooperating. Why did they have to be running? Why not walking…or sleeping…at least then he would be quiet so I could help him.

His movement isn't hindered at all by whatever injury he has there…if any. Knowing Naruto, it's probably already healed anyway. Sigh…

"Why am I here?"

"Would you look at that? We have a guest!" a high-pitched, grating voice echoed. It was answered by another deep, shrewd one.

"I know, I know, we never have an audience!"

"How do I look? Oh this is SOOo exciting!"

"You look fabulous, darling. Come now let's not keep her waiting!" The ground shakes; I turn around, and a bulge appears a few yards in front of me. Two snakes burst from the ground, covered in white scales, their yellow eyes glared down at me.

"We're so happy you could come!" The one on the left, the higher-pitched one exclaimed.

The other continued, "It's not often we have visitors." They were smiling…constantly.

"Who are you?" I keep my voice as firm as I can.

The one on the left shakes her head, "Ah, excuse US, Introductions were never my strong suit."

"This is Suecha, and I am Saikuh, pleased to meet you."

"Okay…"

"You must be Sakura! The Pink hair is a dead giveaway; have you ever thought of growing it out? I think you would look delectable if your hair flowed down your back, like a pink…fairy!"

"Fairy?" My eyebrow was twitching.

"HA, a fairy, good one Sue. Honestly, I wouldn't like it so much if SHE wasn't dead in the first place." Wait…she?

"Too true, too true."

"Who?"

"Who what? Who is SHE?"

"Or who KILLED her?" What? "Well…" He was waiting. I could just ask for who they are talking about, but I might learn more if…

"Who killed her?" They responded in unison, a creepy, seductive unison.

"Itaaachiiiiii." They both burst into a fit of giggles. Wasn't that Sasuke's older brother? What does he have to do with these…snake siblings?

"Who is she?"

"She asks again; shall we amuse her?" Suecha stoops her head next to mine.

"No…we can't muddle her head with such things."

"I'm getting hungry, can we eat now?"

"Sure. Well, I LOVED talking with you, but Sai must eat. Perhaps you can entertain yourself with Antrou over there." I turn to where she was mentioning. Antrou…was essentially a zombie in armor…

How am I taking this so well? Perhaps it was because he still had some facial features. No bones or guts were showing, just his skin was a dead green and peeling off. He held a pitch black sword (which was currently stuck in the ground in front of him) that matched his aging armor. He spoke in a deep, serious tone, pleasant compared to Sue and Sai.

"This is unexpected." He walked past Naruto to me, sheathed his sword, then kneeled, "It is an honor to be in thy presence, m'Lady." I definitely like him better than the other two. "Have you already greeted our Lady?"

"Of Course, we were just as surprised as you were when she arrived!"

"Indeed, I thought we would never get to actually MEET her! This IS a treat."

"Um…what do you mean?"

"You do not know?" I shake my head, "Why, you are the reason we exist. We come here solely because of you."

"Why do you come here?" I'm getting tired of asking questions…

"To do our duty" He unsheathes his sword, "In your name, dearest Sakura." And proceeds to cut the still-running Naruto with it, slowly, reverently, methodically.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I grab his wrist and pull, trying to stop him.

"Something upsets you, m'Lady?"

"Yes! I'm not going to let you do that to Naruto!"

"Honestly, who are YOU to tell US what to do?"

"Quiet, Saikuh. Dearest Sakura, what are you asking me to do?"

"I'm telling you to BACK OFF!" I am so ready to knock this guy's head off. My fist flies for his rotting face. But he grabs my wrist with his free hand.

"I have made a promise to you m'Lady, and I will see this mission to its end. For it is a promise of a lifetime." Tossing me aside, he positions his blood stained blade and cuts him again. I get ready to charge Antrou again when I notice what Sue and Sai have been doing…to Sasuke. Both had their fangs imbedded in his neck…

"GET OFF OF HIM!" My vision blurred as I pulled myself up to try and help Sasuke, But I am smacked away by the snake's tail before I can. I hit a wall and slump there, tears rolling down my face. I open my eyes, hoping that they would disappear; that I'd wake up or die or something. But no…Sue and Sai continued to suck on Sasuke, while Antrou ritually sliced Naruto.

"Why are you doing this?"

"This is all for you, Sakura. All for you. All for you." They all chanted, the white cloudy floor soon turned red with Naruto's blood that flowed straight toward me, like I was the drain of some demented bloodbath.

"no…No…" "All for you" "Nononono." "All for you" "NOOOOOO!!!"

Silence.

"no…"

They're gone. Naruto and Sasuke are still running, even after all that…I walk over to Naruto, I've got to help him somehow. Control yourself, steady flow of chakra, heal the wounds. Easy.

"Sakura." Naruto! He's talking to me! Now we're getting--, "This is all for you, Sakura." No, it can't be true! Why is he doing this? It can't be just for me, he must have other reasons! It doesn't make any sense!

I back into the invisible wall, right back where I started. Naruto still runs after Sasuke, neither gaining any ground. I turn toward the wall. At least it was more inviting.

"huh?" In the cloudy pattern of the wall, I swear I see two little hands. Like they were pressed up against a window. I hear something…from beyond the wall, but I can't make it out. The hands disappear until two pairs of hands come, one of the pair's shifts and I see them shaped as if someone were trying to see inside a dark room.

Are there people on the other side of this…wall? I try and see myself, but I all I see is white and yellow. But just because I can't see something…

Naruto and Sasuke start up their chant of 'musts' again. For the moment, I don't care. There's a wall begging to be knocked down.

Ever punched a slab of steel before? The only thing that kept all the bones in my hand from breaking was the cushion of chakra that I had built up around it. The wall shook, but other than that nothing happened.

Like one punch was going to do it. I reel back to try again. And again. And again. The pain in my fists makes me lose count. But I could see a crack, small, but it was there. It grew with each hit it took.

The snake and the zombie appeared again, as my blood slid down the fractured wall. One last punch, and the wall finally tumbles down. I see grey dirt, devoid of life, on the other side. Jagged mountains rip into the smoking sky, choking out the sun, leaving a dark red hue to light this world. Withered trees are scattered across the desolate wasteland like discarded toothpicks. The wind howled; pushing its way into the room she was in. It was cool, like the winds of an early autumn.

"Saku..ra" Naruto weakly called. I look back…He wasn't running, he was lying in a pool of his sweat and blood. I noticed dust on the ground…could the snake and zombie have…I shake myself back to reality, and before I could move to help Naruto, another voice came from outside.

"um…" He couldn't have been older than seven, what little he was clothed with were rags that may have well been paper judging how ineffectively they stopped the wind. He worked up a little courage and spoke up. "…Could you help him? He's dieing…please?"

"I know, I was just about to." I start to run to Naruto.

"Not" I stopped, "not him, my…my brother…"

"Sakura…" Naruto called again. I almost out of chakra…if I use it to heal Naruto…then I won't be able to help…this boy. This boy I don't even know…who may be over exaggerating about whatever is wrong with him…

No! How can I think that? I have to trust him, if I don't, and he's telling the truth…but how can I save them both? Argh…Naruto might do okay if I just stop the bleeding, but even still I'd be wasting time! Me thinking is wasting time!

"Sakura?" Naruto called again, the boy stayed silent stepping inside the room to get out of the wind. I don't have time for this!

"Naruto." I kneel down and look him in the eye, "I can't help you right now. Can you hang on for a little longer? I'll be back as soon as I can."

"But…I need--"

"I know you need help, but I know you, you aren't going to let this beat you."

"I can't…"

"Naruto, you need to be strong, for me, okay?" I begin to bandage his wounds, "This is all I can do."

"But…"

"But nothin', what kind of Hokage would you be if you always whined for help? Just keep it together until I get back." I run back to the boy, when Naruto calls out again.

"I'll be waiting…Sakura." I don't turn back, I pick up the boy and focus on getting there and back again. He guides me through the wasteland and I run as fast as I can without chakra, storing up as much as I can.

"We're close…" The boy says as we enter a canyon that looked just as dead as the rest of the world. "There." He pointed to a cave on a ledge above us, I use a little chakra to avoid the long way up. I set the boy down and he leads me inside. I see their mother tending to his brother. He was a couple years older, if that, lying on a couple blankets on top of rock. He has a burning fever, and is struggling to breathe. I don't have much time. The Mother holds her youngest child close as I begin. I haven't had much practice yet, hopefully…

I clear out the mucus buildup and strengthen his white-blood cells. With my chakra quickly depleting, I locate the pathogens infecting his system. Quite frankly, I've never seen this strain of…whatever this is before. It certainly isn't an illness found on my planet…I hope.

Luckily, I finish eliminating the last of the disease, just as I run out of chakra.

"Finished…He should be fine now…"

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much." The mother says through tears as she hugs her elder son.

"I have to get back to Naruto." I walk out and prepare myself to run back, when the younger boy meets me at the entrance. "Oh…Did you need something?"

The boy stares up at me.

"Um…"

With eyes that seem far deeper than they should.

"Congratulations."

"…huh?" A moment later, the world around me melts away into a blank, white void. Where the boy was standing, a new creature stood now. Only slightly taller than me, its head reminded me of the bird statues back on SR-388…or am I still on SR-388?

"You've passed." The creature said in a youthful voice.

"……What?"

"You passed the test."

"……It…was all…a test…"

"Yep, and you passed with flying colors!" He started chuckling, then he started choking.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT EVERYTHING I HAVE JUST BEEN THROUGH WAS A LIE?!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Oh dear. Let me explain myself."

"NO! YOU listen to ME!! I have just been through one HELL of an experience and you just show up and tell me that none of it actually HAPPENED!?!?" I throw him aside and try and rant more, but all that comes out are incoherent grunts and shouts.

"Calm down. Let me just--"

"CALM?! I'LL show you CALM!" I go for his throat again.

"Wait just a moment!" He struggles to hold me back. "The test was simply to see if I could help you in your upcoming quests!" He quickly explains.

"What exactly were you testing for?" I ask as calmly as I can.

"I couldn't tell you…" I feel my blood-pressure rising, "but I can tell you what it all meant!!"

"…Go on." He catches a breath.

"Alright. Here's how I see it. The test was to see if you could break out of your own little world and still function. You were in essentially a snow globe, while you were faced with your two teammates. One consumed by hatred and a twisted sense of friendship towards you, the other desperately trying to fulfill your wish for the other not to walk down said path. The first obstacle was acknowledging another being outside your surroundings, next was to find the resolve to break free from your enclosed world, then to believe in your friends and go out alone into the world to help others in need."

"Then what was the point of having Sasuke and Naruto there; shouldn't I have had to figure out a way to save them?"

"You did. By not worrying about them so much as breaking free, the monsters you saw were no more. Had you tried to defeat them, you would have exhausted yourself and failed the test entirely."

"Uh-huh…" Not convinced.

"How can I say this…By not relying on your friends for constant comfort, you proved yourself separate from them, rather than tied to their fates. The way you reassured your friend when he was sure he was doomed is also proof of the fact that you can make your own decisions, while not forsaking your friends."

"But I left Naruto…he could've been dead by the time I returned."

"You seemed to believe that he would survive long enough for you to help him."

"But I didn't know--"

"Yes you did. You firmly believed in Naruto…even when his confidence was faltering." I thought about that…then chuckled.

"Which would never happen."

"…At any rate, you passed the test, and your reward is…this" He stepped aside and gestured to a bright light behind him. "Should you choose to accept it, of course."

The orb approached me and stopped arms-length away. Well…here goes nothing...

Moments later the white space around me turns a shade yellower, and a little extra weight falls on my shoulders.

"huh?" I look down at my hands, now covered in a smooth, white metal glove that allowed my fingers to move freely. I am now wearing an elegant white robe that extended down to my ankles, slit at the sides for greater movement. My legs are covered with a material similar to my gloves; from the knee down, I guess I am wearing armored boots, though they are not heavy. Now I realize that the robe is not cloth but metal…or maybe a little of both, I can't tell. The slender belt is crimson and matches the trim of the robe, as well as the few other creases in the armor. The belt has several compartments, though they weren't very noticeable.

"You have passed the suit's test, may you use it well." He smiles and continues, "The suit augments your abilities, giving you even greater chakra control and even a little more chakra to work with. While the suit may not look like it could stand much, it is much more resilient than it looks. Though if need more defense, the suit will provide."

"How?" As if answering my question, I felt my suit shifting itself. I look back. I almost want to cry…

"Those wings give you enhanced movement and defense, however, they require energy to use when used near a large gravitational mass." I have wings…wings!!

"You are now a warrior of the Chozo, may you fly true in the worst of skies. Oh, right! Also, since you are not Chozo by blood, the suit has a mind of its own. Misuse it and it will leave you, when it feels it is not needed it will deactivate and store itself inside you. It's kind of a way to keep you from relying on the suit. That and those who aren't Chozo can't handle the pressure for extended periods. Anyway, good luck!"

"Huh? Wait! How do I…leave?"

"We will be watching…" He says as he fades away…

"I didn't even get your name!"

He unfades, "Goodness, how rude of me. Rambling on all this time…It's Orange Swan." Orange Swan? I keep my laughter back as best I can…

"Well, hehe, I'll be sure to remember it. Oh, I'm Sakura Haruno, in case you didn't already know."

"Then Miss Sakura Haruno, I will take my leave." And he fades for the second time.

I wonder if I will see him again…

-Sasuke-

Black…

Red…

I've been here before…I've lived this memory too many times.

Too many…

The sun turns yellow, the sky, blue. Is this…it is…

Leaf village, Uchiha district. I still smell the blood in air…the motionless corpses of my friends, my family. All under one man. One man whose eyes burn with a hatred that none can rival…not even Gaara…One man whose blade is soaked with the entire clan. Except me.

They say that survivors of a massacre live on wishing they had died. They say that vengeance is older than any god or demon, save only the oldest. They say there is nothing like the love between brothers…

I say they are all imbeciles.

I merely wish to see my brother's head impaled upon a spear for all to see, as payment for his deeds. The love for my brother is now hatred. And vengeance is not ancient.

I AM Vengeance.

"Do you have enough hatred…little brother?" He stands there, looking down at me…like he always has. He must be feeling especially confident today, he doesn't even have his Sharingan activated. I draw my sword; he lazily reaches over his shoulder to draw his. His blade is stained, I can see from here…only reminding me of my objective.

I don't sound a battle cry…I simply charge, and we clash. We break away and clash again, and again. Our speed gradually increasing, the swords sing in the wind, and scream when they meet. Sparks fly, and we match each other blow for blow.

He is toying with me. My eyes spin, reading his moves, and he lets me read them. He underestimates me.

I dodge his last swing, and I cut through his arm and side, stopping at the spine. He falls to the ground and bleeds…bleeds. Too easy… As if answering my thoughts, Itachi's body 'poof's and is replaced by…by…

"Substitution is not limited to non-living things…the more chakra you put into the jutsu, the more…versatile it becomes…" Itachi explains nonchalantly at a safe distance.

"What have I told you…about revenge…" He coughs up blood and stays silent…

"You will die Itachi…" I dash in front of him once more, "DIE!" our swords clash again. I push him away, "Fireball jutsu!" He 'poof's again. I keep after him. I have him on the defensive, I will have my vengeance!

I slash out his heart.

I bathe in his head's blood.

I fly through his lungs and intestines.

He still taunts me. My sword misses its mark and stabs into his shoulder, I pull it out for the fatal blow.

"Wait!" Itachi pleads, such a sweet sound. I aim for his forehead. "Look at what you've done!" Finally.

What? He holds my sword back with his fingers. "I will not let you kill me until you have realized what you have done!" Why the resistance? He left me alive so I could kill him. Why? Why does he…care?

"Who are you?"

"He's your brother, little brother." Itachi's voice answers. But how? I turn to see my brother stand a few feet away.

"A clone?"

"In a manner of speaking…"

"So you are a copy." I press my sword down, I don't need to worry about two of him. He still resists.

"Why are you doing this Sasuke?" The clone struggles to say. "Why do you want to kill me?" I am getting annoyed…

"You killed my friends, my family; everything, gone in one night!"

"But…Sasuke--"

"If I may, little brother, I think YOU are the one who is guilty of that…"

"No, it was YOU who killed them, just to see how strong you were! YOU killed them and left me to kill you,"

"Perhaps you should listen to your brother's plea…" He chuckles, "Of course, you could just kill him and come after me again…" His chuckles turn into a laugh that ends in a few seconds. He then positions himself behind me, not any closer, he simply moved. "Did you even see them in your rage...little brother?" The village burned intensely, he walked through as if ignoring the flames. He knelt down and picked up a body…half a body. "Do you recognize him? He always was torn up about which son to love more." He walked further, but I could still see and hear him clearly. "Or her? I guess it was rather easy to break that 'mother-son' bond wasn't it? Or your teacher…remember him? Apparently teaching you nearly everything you know isn't enough to stop your blade. Well…you burned this one to a crisp, didn't she love you? Figures her passion would 'backfire'. And finally…Your OTHER brother…He was running to hell to stop you, you know that? No wonder you ripped his heart out. No one should stand in YOUR way…" He dragged their bodies through the village and threw them at my feet. "All that's left is your brother…and then you wouldn't have a soul to care about." He laughs again. I rip my sword from the copy's grasp. He needs to die…He needs to die

"WHY DON'T YOU DIE!!!" I leap over the corpses, and begin to attack.

"Sasuke, WAIT!" I'm only a few steps away from him, I feel the copy holding the back of my shirt. He's still bleeding from his shoulder wound. "Don't do this…you're doing exactly what he wants you to do. What will happen when you succeed?"

"That doesn't matter, my purpose in life…is to kill HIM!" my sword barely misses his nose.

"So, What? You're going to let him dictate your life?" I look down at Naruto, holding one of my ankles in place. With that idiotic smile on his face, even though there's a giant hole in his chest. "Bullshit! You're better than that!"

"Sasuke…" Sakura's voice comes from a charred and burnt face as she stands behind Naruto. "You can't let him control you…"

"How touching…" Itachi starts, "But let's get one thing straight…I've never controlled you. Go ahead, try and kill me, I've been waiting for you."

The copy lets go of my shirt, "Sasuke…I'm sorry…You're old enough to make your own decisions…I shouldn't have stopped you…" He takes several steps back, stopping in front of my parents.

"Wait, WHAT? Waddya mean, 'I shouldn't have stopped you', I'm not about to let him throw his life away!" Naruto protests…as usual.

"Naruto…" Sakura kneels down to Naruto's level. "Itachi's right…this is his choice…for better or worse." Naruto looks up at me a few moments more before letting go and joining…Itachi…

I raise my sword to the demon in front of me. "Finally, we can end this. You are ready, now, AVENGE YOUR CLAN!" His sword meets mine and I wait. A few minutes pass. "What's wrong? There's no way you can live a happy life with me around. Do you need another reason to kill me? If you don't kill me now, then I will kill you and everyone you hold dear. You will live the rest of your life looking over your shoulder and training for a battle you will lose. You have the power to kill me now, but this will be your only chance." His murderous intent bombards me, his malicious smile is out of character. Has he lost his mind?

I sheathe my sword. "Ever since you betrayed and abandoned me, the only thought that I have had was to get stronger…so I could kill you. I trained night and day, and tested my strength against others, just to see if I was making any progress at all. You torment me constantly, Itachi. I thought that if I killed you, the nightmares would stop. But…" I look back at my friends…my…family. "That isn't true is it…If I kill you…the nightmares will still be there, and I will have nothing to unleash my anguish upon."

"You are right, you have never controlled me…but I've never been in control of myself either. I abandoned my friends to find a way to kill you, and even tried to kill them when they wanted to reason with me." I take one last look at the Itachi standing with my friends…before turning to face the other Itachi.

"I can't say I will stop hating you, or that I won't kill you. But I will say this…"

"I will kill you on MY terms, not yours. I am in control of my life, now; nothing you say or do will change that."

He doesn't respond. The flames of the village behind him weaken and disappear. The village itself warps and vanishes, leaving a white void.

"Well, can't say that I thought you'd pass…but you did!" Where Itachi was standing, a bird-like creature stood now. "Congratulations."

"hmph…"

"Don't like that it was all fake? Tough. Deal with it."

"I don't mind that it was fake…what was this supposed to prove?"

"That the Chozo are some sick mo'fos…seriously, If you think I came up with this test, you're insane. But, you passed, which means that you ARE sane…I guess."

This is stupid…

"Look, I'm not very good at this whole 'be a mysterious mentor' thing, alright?"

"I can tell…"

"Anyway, the suit has accepted you, all you need to do if accept it and all will be right with the universe blahblahblah."

An orb of light appears in front of me.

"Well, yes or no?" I shoot him a glare and reach my hand out to the orb.

I find myself in a suit of armor, similar to those of the samurai. I notice the shape of the red-tinted visor I'm looking through bears a resemblance to the Uchiha clan symbol, only it was more of an oval shape.

"Don't think that sword hangin' at your waist is the only weapon you've got…though it is one of the few that doesn't require you to pour chakra into it." I pull a cylinder off my belt, I pour chakra into it. Nothing happens at first, until I get to the point of concentration that I need for Chidori. The cylinder channeled my chakra…into a blade. "You have several of those, just think of a shape and it will take it." The blades shifts from katana to broadsword as soon as he says this. "The energy won't hurt you, but it will anyone else." The broadsword shifts into a scythe and then back to a katana. There was not weight difference at all.

"As you think of new ideas, the suit will do its best to implement them."

"hmph." It was a good hmph.

"Good, you like it. So, I'm Red Hawk, I'll be around, so…yeah. I'll be going now…let's see, what was it again? Oh yeah."

"May you use the suit well, we will be watching." And he fades away.

-x-x-

"Finally!" Sakura? "Wake up already, we've got a problem" Was it all just a dream?

No. I have my suit, Sakura has hers (not surprising…except the wings…), and we're surrounded by Metroids.

"You can fly?"

"I've used to much energy, I think I could only glide at this point."

"Any word from Samus?"

"Sakura, Sasuke, can you hear me?"

Sakura responds, I take the chance to slice a few Metroids from a distance using my Chidori blades. "Yes, where are you? We're kind of in a bind right now…"

"I'm coming to you, hang on."

"She's on her way."

"You said you could glide, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Think you can make some mountains?"

"hm…We'll find out!" Her glove becomes an armored gauntlet, and with a shout, she slams her fist into the ground. The ground starts sinking, while around us, a circular wall forms. Some Metroids try and block the opening, I take care of them easily.

"Come on." I run up the rockface, hoping that her earth-moving made some mountains.

The debris that was pushed up barely cleared the treetops, but that's all I needed.

"Get ready." I grab Sakura's hand and jump, focusing my Chidori's power to my feet. Luckily, the suit gets the idea and launches us into the sky. "There's Samus!"

Sakura takes over from there, spreading her wings to slow our decent. Samus flies neatly under us and let's us in.

"So, I see you got new suits…" She starts. I notice the Metroid floating in a glass container nearby.

"And you got a Metroid."

A pause.

All of us release a sigh of relief.

"Let's…never come back here again." Sakura states as she slumps into her chair. Our suits disappear and we relax…

"You're going to have to tell me what happened." Samus breaks out of the planets atmosphere and heads for G.F.S Zeus.

"How long do we have?" I ask.

"About…two hours…"

"That should give us enough time…" Sakura starts, though she stops herself. Samus catches on quickly.

"When you're ready, of course."

The rest of the trip was spent in silence.

-Samus-

"Welcome back, Samus." Admiral Griel walks into the operation room. Though there was hardly an operation… "The mission was a success, then?"

"Yes…though there is the matter of the other two."

"We did give them suits…what happened to them?"

"That is precisely the problem…somehow…they obtained new suits." Griel pulled a chair up to the table I was sitting on. The 'operation' was simply an injection. Though there was the risk of being torn apart from the inside out, turns out the Metroid vaccination worked perfectly. The X Parasites are no longer a problem.

"The new suits…they are familiar to me…"

"They're not ours, but…could they be made…"

"By the Chozo, I think so. Whatever happened on SR-388…tells me that these two, have quite a future ahead of them."

A pause…

"Speaking of which, I am mainly here to tell you that the Federation representatives have arrived. They wish to speak to…your crew members very soon."

"You know they are not my crew."

"They may as well be."

"Where are they meeting them?"

"In meeting room number 42. They have also extended their invitation to you Samus, should you wish to accompany them."

"Thank You, I will consider it."

"I've got work to do, being Admiral and all."

"Right."

He walks out with a smile. He really does love his job. I activate my suit and head for Sasuke and Sakura's rooms.

I have no doubt that the Federation will approve of them.

-Dr. Burish-

24 hours…

I have twenty-four hours…

I pity you…Naruto…it seems that no one is coming.

…

I call for two lifting drones. I remove their data banks, then have them detach and lift the containment unit. I open a drawer and take out a smaller container. I fold his clothes and place them inside.

I enter the elevator with the drones…and Naruto. I make sure the camera feed is looping…can't have anyone noticing what I am doing.

I give Naruto his last dose of tranquilizer…I was not able to find a cure for the X Parasites infested inside you…I apologize.

I doubt it will stop you.

The elevator arrives at the hanger…MY hanger. Space Pirates are not the brightest bunch…not at all.

The drones load Naruto into my ship…when they are finished, I dispose of them.

Only a few loose ends to tie…

…

I can only wait a little longer…

If no one comes…then…

…

I will have no choice…but to escape.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

PLEASE REVIEW!!

Next Time: More Testing!! The Race to Zebes Begins!!

A/N: Please review and give feedback, what do you think?Holy Crap!! This is, by far (again), the longest freaking chapter I've ever written. Also, I know Samus' true identity, and now some others in the story know also!!

Tip for authors…Do what I didn't do! Finish your story completely before posting!! This allows for faster updates!!

New suits revealed next chapter!!

Garra's suit is based off of the Generals of the Fire Emblem series…only without the lance or sword or axe…HE'S GOT SAND for that. It pretty much makes him God of Sand. End of story.

PLEASE REVIEW!!