This is My "Bounty Hunter" story series. The series is about two Bounty Hunter rivals who must work together for the greater good of themselves and unwilling from a more powerful threat. This series will contains Cameos or main appearances from video game characters, along with possible references from other shows, games and movies. 

Bounty Hunters Part 1: Partners

In a sea of mostly empty space and stars that laid in space was a stall grey and large moon-sized planet. However this planet isn't lifeless, it was one of the many breathable planets across the vast reaches of space and galaxies. This planet happens to be home to various large mining stations around its planet's surfaces, it also has a massively constructed space station that works more like a mini defensive city. On this space station there lies a big shipping bay, it was one of the many docking ports for goods or transport ships to land and go as they please. One of these platforms was docking quite a terrible looking ship. The ship was an old, beat up and rusty frigate class ship that had just arrived on the platform. A docking worker had just walked up to the frigate holding up a clipboard so he could give the owner of the frigate an expectation. The Frigate front doors creak loudly open showing the ships clearly old age, a figure emerged out of the creaking doors whose clothing wear was as similarly worn out as the frigate. The figure was a female Cerberus hybrid who wore torn and dirty shorts, shirt and jacket. The dock worker however knew who this messy girl was.

"Ay Cerbrina, I knew I'd recognize those dirty clothing from someone Ay, though the ships are different...what happened to your normal ship eh? I was about to tax you thinking you’re just a fool who park in this private docking yard." Cerbrina ignored his words completely and walked by the dock worker shifting her face towards him showing a stern, death stare at him. The stare kept the worker quiet letting Cerbrina go by without extending the need to use words or violence. She continued to walk away from the worker and then soon to the end of the docking bay before finally turning her head back at the worker. "It got destroyed." She quietly spoke under her breath then continued walking down a long metal corridor that led to the hustling of workers roaming about on platforms and mending ships. Cerbrina paid no attention to them, she walked out of the corridors to a bubbled dome that surrounded a large building with several defensive turrets on several ledges. Cerbrina knew this area all too well, the structure was originally an abandoned shipping storage facility but was repurposed by Bounty hunters and Mercenaries to become a Bounty hunters hideout, which includes smaller ship repair bays, storages sections and a medium size bar. Cerbrina swung the doors open that lead to the bar and walked towards a seat rested by the bar stand. Everyone inside paid no mind to her as if she was a simple nobody, what she was, a nobodies bounty hunter.

Cerbrina snapped her finger commanding the bartender by her. "Hey Shiro, get me my usual." Cerbrina said in a similar stern tone as the two workers. "Huh alright Cerbrina." Shiro took no time getting her order and placed the beer mug down by her, Cerbrina grabbed it with a hard sigh guzzling the beer down before snapping her fingers for another which Shiro applied swiftly and went to pour her another. Cerbrina went to grab the next beer when the bar doors opened again, the people in the bar grew loud and sprouted out "hey" and "Hi" to this comer to the bar. Cerbrina clutch her fist up and her beer mug handles firmly. She grunts with her ears flicking gently, her eyes shifted to the shadow of the visitor. The shadow showed a silhouette of slim feminine body type with a long ponytail that reached out of the top of the silhouette head. Cerbrina knew this bounty hunter from the sheer praise she got from entering, it was Samus Aran the galactic federation soldier turned galactic bounty hunter. Samus was a house home name for bounty hunters, everyone knew her as the best bounty hunter in the galactic system, well everyone but Cerbrina. Cerbrina had a deep hatred for Samus, not only because she was famous but she liked to show it off. Samus shows her reward from hunts but it wasn't the money, she brings back helmets, clothing or other remains of her catches like trophies and claims each time the bounties were ever easy and from what she's heard the bounties she does are similar to Cerbrina's but they are never easy and takes a lot of skill for her. The unnecessary gloating and praise for Samus was truly annoying to her and Samus knew it. Samus herself turned her attention to the blue hair Cerberus that sat by the bar stand and quickly sat by her with a small smile.

“Heh well it's raggy Cerbrina, word on the street is on your last bounty your ship got rekt...Bummer huh?" Samus said to Cerbrina then after order herself a light beer and started drinking it. Cerbrina stayed silent and glanced down at the bar table. "Hm...Silent today? Well i think you'd be happy to know on sector 17 I went to that old city and killed that traitorous king who was a driving his out realm into despair. Everyone there calls me a hero, even wanted me as a queen but you know duty calls first heh “Samus swiftly finish up her beer and sigh in a refreshed relief. Once again Cerbrina stay completely silent and ignore her, Cerbrina did take a quick look at her however and saw Samus was in her tight blue jumpsuit which she normally doesn't wear in public, with this Cerbrina thought up a comeback to Samus comments. "Where is your suit?" she simply ask Samus who took a bit to respond then sigh gently shaking her beer before softly sipping it- "Re-epairs.." Samus quickly said under her breath drinking." Oh Broke it did we?" Cerbrina got her, finally she had Samus shut up for once which Samus of course didn't like so she had to retaliate. "N-no!...Just. A good cleaning that's all.." With Samus tone drawing near levels of nervousness Cerbrina knew she was clearly lying, Cerbrina grew a devious smirk and glanced at Samus. "Girl don't play with me, even a kid would know...you’re lying" Samus place her beer down on the table with a thud and left out a long sigh. ".....Got destroyed" Cerbrina smirk grew to a devious smile, Samus now went quiet looking away from Cerbrina showing she was quite embarrassed that she even had to say that to her. Cerbrina lean a bit up to her face and reform her smirk.

"Look who lost something to Huh, small world after all." Samus just rolled her eyes trying to think of something to combat Cerbrina like a little kid would do to another after they've been insulted. "Well unlike you I can get my destroyed thing back and last I check that beat up frigate isn’t your normal ship so I assume your ship wasn't just destroyed it was obliterated beyond usage." Samus softly snickered thinking she finally got back at Cerbrina. "Yeah ya right…but all I need to do is get enough money to buy another which i can do, I already got myself another bounty to pay off for the ship I'm looking for, so there." Cerbrina bop Samus nose before she got up from her seat and threw some money on the bars table to pay for her drinks. Samus blinked several times after Cerbrina comically bop her nose and got up along with her, also paying for her drink. "What a coincidence…So do I, doubt you'll even get to your job in that rust bucket frigate." Cerbrina just rolled her eyes and softly laughed seeming a bit amused while she turned to walk out the bar. "Please without your Iron man suit you couldn't finish a bounty for a common day civilian" Cerbrina left the bar with the last laugh and left Samus completely hanging. Samus quietly gasped at Cerbrina's comment then grew a stern face. "I'll show that dog I'm more than a suit.." Samus then left the bar going the opposite way of Cerbrina who was already heading back to her ship. Cerbrina shoved her hands into her shorts still smirking as she walked down the metal corridor. "Heck...Samus thinks she is something…well let's see how many people will ask for work from a zero suit Samus Hah.." She let out another hardy laugh before re-entering the ship dock and running to her ship to quickly board it, her next bounty hunt meant a lot to her since it was getting her a new ship but it also with this large success she could rub her it all in Samus face if Samus failed her mission. Without a second to lose she boarded her beat up frigate and lifted off to start flying to her destination. "Have fun in my company for now, rust bucket, you won't be for long" Cerbrina pat the frigate's front viewing window while she pulled a lever and hyper jumped out of the space station system.

It took a good two hours journey but she finally warp in the next system she needed to be in for her next job. She flew down to the realm below being a large mountain covered area with a blizzard going about but an obvious large landing pad on a flatten mountain top and by it was a large man made looking structure that resembled a mountain. Cerbrina gently landed the frigate on the landings pad as two people came to confront the ship, Cerbrina head out her frigate which of course didn't want to open its half broken doors. "Uugh…open up you..." she started to bang on the doors but to the nature of the beat up frigate the doors simply fell off after two hard blows revealing Herself to the two people awaiting her. "Ah...you must be Cerbrina…We’ve been expecting you, come our boss has been waiting for his final asset to arrive." One of the workers said while leading Cerbrina to the mountain structure doors which open to reveal an elevator. Cerbrina was a bit lost, they said "final asset" seeing that she isn't the only bounty hunter they hired for the job which they didn't tell her before the took the job over their holochat. "Um pardon my intrusion but did you say final Asset? Like there another person h-here for the job other than me?" Cerbrina ask the two workers who both simply nodded. "Yes, the master recommend after some thinking you'd need a partner for the mission, do not worry Ms. Cerbrina your reward shall not be split both of you will be given the same amount."

Cerbrina felt a bit uneasy over the idea of a partner, she's never had one herself knowing most bounty hunters aren't the most trustworthy people so she never took that risk but it looks like she'll have too. "Um...well then who's my partn-" the elevator doors open up revealing the bottom level being a large research room, filled with scientists and workers and their laboratory stuff and research tables. Cerbrina went with the workers down a hall to a room with a glass door which she clearly saw a woman in an extremely skimpy and tight doctors or nurse outfit on. They enter that room and one working walk up to the woman. "Ms. Valentine. The final asset has arrived." The woman now named Valentine turned to face Cerbrina who was the final asset. "Ah you're here, a bit late though so the first asset made it before you. I am Valentine, a member of the Last Hope…But current worker here at lab zero or the anti-skull girl labs. We called you and your partner on this mission that we've promise to pay you both handsomely if you finish the job." Cerbrina nods but still wasn't a hundred percent with Valentine just yet she wanted to know who this partner was. "Yes, yes I know however...Who this partner is anyways?" Valentine gave a soft smirk and folded her arms up. "Well I'm glad you ask because she was wondering too." Valentine moved a bit starting to reveal the person she was talking to originally being the first asset. Cerbrina awaited for this reveal of who her partner would be but as Valentine moved out the way she revealed practically the worst possible person to be her partner, Samus.

The two bounty hunters' eyes lock at each other with quite surprised expressions following.. "What are you doing here!?" Cerbrina yelled pointing at Samus. "And what are you doing h-here?! I’d like to know how a waste of a hunter like you even found this job!" Valentine simply looked at the two a bit shocked at their reactions, it seemed they knew each other. "You two happen to know each other?" She asked the two of them, who instantly glared at her. "Yes…not on good terms however...” Samus replied as Cerbrina simply folded her arms up. This isn't at all what she wanted to happen for the job that practically handed her a new ship if she was able to complete it, However with Samus now it changes things. "Not good terms? Well I must say that will have to change, because you two are the two best hunters for the job-”. "I'm sorry but, Ha. This is all very flattering how I'm one of the specific hunters that you want and all, but there is no way in the world am I working with this dog!" Samus cut off Valentine to instantly slander Cerbrina and her useless inclusion on this mission. To which, clearly sparked some anger in Cerbina as the “dog” comment was quite the insult. Cerbrina softly snarled under her breath, snapping right after. "And you think this suit less mess can do anything but smack someone with her electric whip or whatever" Samus softly gasps and walks right up to Cerbrina, leaning in her face with her face flaring up in red tinted anger.. "At least I still have something, your ship housed your weapons right? Bet their all gone now" Cerbrina smirks and instantly pulled out a red two barreled shotgun up out of seemingly nowhere and pointed it to Samus face. "Nope" Samus glared at the weapon, completely in utter shock.\” How she pulled a gun from nowhere?!”| Samus thought to herself, but her mind wouldn’t drift for long, as she was raring to grab her whip and was going to start a brawl--Valentine walked in the middle of the two and used a ruler to gently push Cerbrina gun down. "And for These reasons exactly, are why I ask for you both. Samus, with the lack of your big clanking suit, you can move swiftly and soundly with your jumpsuit on. Cerbrina, you can summon any of your weapons at will and you can faze into a shadotic world of the existing area and become a shadow within darkness. These abilities are exactly what I need for this mission so you must work together."

Once again Samus and Cerbrina just stared at each other in awe, them working together? How did Valentine knew Cerbrina's powers..this all seemed physically impossible for them to ever get along but it might just happen today. "Hm...And what if we won't work together?" Cerbrina reluctantly asks Valentine, trying to see if there is an optional way to escape this forced partnership. "If you don't and fail the mission, neither of you will get paid…and worse will come of it. If you even say no right now-...well... you just won't get paid." Valentine seemed to have cut herself off from something she was going to say but didn't. Cerbrina and Samus both knew they needed this job, it was the only job that was available that could pay them both enough for their desires. It was they're only chance which they both sadly had to take. "I'll…do it" Samus said softly sighing while Cerbrina nodded in agreement as well. "Yeah same…" Valentine grew a small smirk knowing they ultimately had to agree with her demands. "Good. Now Follow me." She turned away from the two and went towards a table which Samus and Cerbrina did follow. On this table there was a largely sized blue hologramic layout that showed an area with several pyramid structures. Valentine pointed to the hologram pyramids with her ruler. "This is the Sarude Realm. Very sandy and hot desert Realm but it's known for its many wars amongst gems that's harvestable in the desert badlands. However we are focusing on these three pyramids structures here.” She used her ruler to point at three marked tall pyramids within the blue hologram. “An X employee of ours recently paid us a visit and took um…our latest live experiment several weeks ago. You see this old worker had a unique power to disassemble and reassemble her body from a gem of life that she swallowed to make her unable to die from simple body part dismemberment. During her time under our employment she helped us deal with the powers of a mysterious gem called the skull heart. The skull heart could take any common girl and make them into an unholy threat without mercy or thought. Our employee was last seen with the skull heart, and undoubtedly used it the skull heart for herself...I knew she didn’t mean to at first, but such a power can draw in the minds of even the most changed people; and she was ultimately corrupted by said power..". Valentine finished with a soft sigh. "And who is this girl exactly?" Cerbrina asks, she was a bit intrigued from all this exposition. Valentine pressed upon a button on the table that showed a girl with stitches over her body and an orange shirt with long black leggings, then to top it off with her orange hair. "This is Nadia Fortune. Or now codename as Ms. Fortune. She was corrupted by the skull heart and now lust only for powerful weapons or people for an unknown task…but recently about four weeks ago she kidnapped an experiment that the body of was enhanced by our lab research for creating the ultimate counter against the Skull Girl. Our only guess why she took it is to extract its powers from the experiments body and empower herself. To which we can't let that happen; because not only will Ms. Fortune become more powerful from extracting the power essence from the experiment. But with that combined power she could wipe out all life if she wished. And we can't have that."

 

Both of them now knew this situation was suddenly real dire. They definitely didn’t think this would be their grouped mission.."Alright then...though you were talking about the Sarude Realm a bit, what's its significance to this?" Cerbrina asked once again as Samus simply rolled her eyes, already annoyed by Cerbrina constant questioning. Even she knew the Realm was probably the girls hideout or something.  "The Sarude Realm is where she was last spotted. We pinpointed via our scouts that pyramids in that area are meta and unlike the normal stones or concrete that are in the normal structures. With that knowledge it's probably a hide out of sorts for her, which is our only lead on where she could be." Samus turned to Cerbrina, now boasting a smirk, that clearly read: “I told ya soo” All over it. Cerbrina just groaned and tried moving on. "Okay.. but it seems like it'll be hard for us to just land there undetected in a flat sandy area." Samus quickly spoke instead, while Cerbrina was grumbling. Now Samus was right, but Valentine would smirk and walk right up to her. "That's where Cerbrina comes in. After we warp you there near the sited area via portal jump, Cerbrina will activate her shadotic magic. You two will go in there undetected while in shadow form. That is unless they've installed magic sensors; but magic usage isn't really common there anymore. Anyways, once you’re inside you’ll use this to track the experiment." Valentine hands Samus and Cerbrina both trackers. "This will track the experiments body from where it could be in the Sarude Realm, we implanted a tracking chip into the body so we won't lose where she is. However, once the distance is too far, it's out of our trackers range." Cerbrina and Samus nodded, putting their trackers away while Valentine went to a hollow metal circle structure. She pressed a button that activated a swirling orange portal. "This will take you on the outskirts of the Sarude Realm. Once you arrive you know what to do." Valentine steps aside from the active portal, allowing Cerbrina and Samus to set forward. "Good luck, because if you fail you’re going to need it." She swiftly striked a fearful reminder if they would fail the mission. Regardless of that thought, they both ran into the portal and exited out in the different realm, The Sarude Realm.

The portal swiftly closed behind them. The land that now surrounded them was completely a sandy desert land wasteland for most of the area; however in the short distance, several pyramid structures could just be seen nearby. Cerbrina suddenly dug her hands into the desert sandstone which fazed through it and black liquid started to ooze out from around Cerbrina remaining arms, quickly replacing the sand around it. Samus just jolted back, disgusted a little from this bizarre display. Cerbrina pulled her hands out of the black liquid that now had a pair of binoculars. She looked into the binoculars and enhanced its view from far to close. "Mhm...That’s the pyramids Valentine were talking about…Hm this job would've been easy for me, a simple faze and grab job; nothing crazy...don't know why they ask for you.." Cerbrina started to sprout her normal extraction motives for a job set up like this, only denying that Samus inclusion was just unneeded. "Oh really? Well with your furry hair I don't think you could stealthily do anything once we arrive inside!" Samus barked right back. Cerbrina gripped her binoculars hard and pulled them away from her eyes which now glared straight at Samus. "That's your only use! being stealthy...we can't even go inside within my shadow step!" Samus rolled her eyes softly grunting in annoyance, with everything that they blasted at one another, they both really wish that they could work alone. ”Grraaa...Fine! Just use your ability that you keep going on about to get us in!”  Cerbrina sighed loudly, but she knew what she was about to pull would shut that zero suit nut right up. She began to press her feet on the sand, shifting both of her feet the opposite way that they're supposed to be orientated. her eyes rapidly when dark, and her full body soon rotated the opposite way as well her shadow was growing at a rapid pace and engulfed the world in shadow. Though, back in reality for Samus' eyes, Cerbrina had simply faded into that shadow after she turned fully opposite. As unreal as it was to see someone twist their feet then their whole body around like they had no bones halting such action, Samus did not seem impressed...regardless she slowly backed up from the remaining shadow of Cerbrina. "How….the heck did she do that- GAH!!" Samus felt a cold hand grab her feet and sInk her right under the sand. Samus landed on what seemed right back on her original footing but it wasn’t normal sand, it was completely blackened. In fact, everything was dark and black..even the sky above was a grey lifeless husk of its former self. "W-what the heck...-" Suddenly Samus felt another disturbance, but this time, a cold chilling air touched her neck and she felt someone poke her shoulder. "Hey Samus, welcome to the shadow Realm~" Said a distorted voice but sounded very similar to Cerbrina's. Samus quickly turned around, despite everything in her telling her not to- In front of her was indeed Cerbrina, but it was just a shadowy figure of her, now her full body was deeply darken and her eyes were gone out of its sockets; replaced with small floating white pupils.

"Ahh! Sweet Metroid!!....C-Cerbrina...this you?" Samus screamed, and jump back from the Cerbrina shadow figure. Cerbrina would harness a chuckle and soon a white glowing grin. "Of course it's me you idiot!~ This is my shadow realm form...duuh" Cerbrina kept speaking in her distorted voice tone, which looks to just be an addon for her shadow form. This just kept Samus continuously unsettled. "Uh huh…anyways...let's just g-go now. This has weirded me out enough..." Samus spoke in a slow stuttering voice. Cerbrina nodded, though her grin would stay, as she had clearly won this round against Samus and was definitely happy about it. “Heh..bet you didn’t think I could do this huh? Sometimes it pays to know who’s your enemy, Samus. Because you’ll never know what trick they could..” While Cerbrina spoke her victory chant to Samus, she snuck up behind her again and whispered to her ears- “Pull~” Samus shrieked and jumped forward, making sure they had a far distance between them. “GAAAhh...Ugh! Just shut up and get to the bloody pyramids!” Samus shouted before instinctively running ahead. Clearly wanting nothing to do with shadow Cerbrina. Who just laughed horrifically all the way to the pyramids. 

Once they came to the front of the middle pyramid, Cerbrina while still in the shadow realm, walked up to the pyramid and pulled her tracker out and began to scan for the experiment that could be inside. "I'm...picking a strong signal...it has to be the experiment inside." Cerbrina looked back at Samus, who was still showing signs of not being used to Cerbrina form.. "...W-well that's nice and all... but how do we get in exactly?...Unless you somehow can faze in-" As on que,Cerbrina went up to  the pyramids and fazed herself right through the dense metal front of this fake pyramid. Samus immediately went quiet with a soft sigh. "Well...how do you suppose I get in?" She announced, to which Cerbrina grabs Samus by the hand and sucked her body fully through as well. Now Samus plop on the shadowy ground groaning as she got up. "Ouch...thanks for the warning...anyhow how's the tracking going?" After Samus spoke, Cerbrina pulled her tracker out and the numbers on the tracker blew up. "Oh...it's even crazier than outside, we’re close. we just need to go...to the left and down these stairs" she led Samus along the directed way to a steel lock door that their tracker led them to, but they both simply went through the locked door and entered this room. This room looked to be a lab of some sort; it housed enclosed clear cells filled with an odd light green liquid; despite being in a shadowy form of reality, this room defied the magic. In these cells, there was more the liquid within, as they could see bodies floating around inside. Cerbrina and Samus walked along this unsettling sight, now both of their trackers numbers were far higher than before, meaning the experiment is here. "Okay...w-we just need to check each cell..." Cerbrina commanded, now each of them Samus split off on each row of cells checking with their trackers to see which had the highest readings. Samus went down a row and looked at each cell's name. "Um...Pinwheel...no…Hornet…no..Wait...This one here has some c-crazy levels...um Cerbrina! I think I found it" Cerbrina turned to Samus and went up to her found cell, checking what she found; but once she saw, she completely froze. Her white eyes lock onto the cell; riddled with unclear fear and confusion all over. “....Uh...Cerbrina, you okay?” Samus asked, seeing for once Cerbrina was completely thrown off. "I...I…I know her..." Cerbrina spoke out softly while Samus tilted her head slightly confused. "How…?" she asked Cerbrina again. Cerbrina stayed silent for a moment and didn’t answer. Then she touched the cell, as best as her shadow form could handle the physical interaction. She was completely still mesmerized by this encapsed being. "..Certana…