Samus cast her free arm back, throwing her helmet at Ghor's face. It collided with a crack. "I'll take the two if you'll take U-Mos." she said, the robot recoiling and rubbing his split forehead. "I can handle them."

"Are you sure?" I asked, ducking below a massive missile that soared past me. "They've got weapons and everything!!" I had to yell to be heard over the boom of the projectile.

"Well so do we! Come on, just take U-Mos. I think you'll be able to beat him." Without further ado, Samus pounded Dray's mechanic chest with her Nova Beam, the metal turning green momentarily. The hulking suit and her controller stumbled back, grunting as the huntress continued her assault.

I turned, receiving a blow across the head. "Ow!" I looked just in time to see U-Mos bringing his arm down to smack me again. I dodged, saying quickly, "Come on, U-Mos! You're tougher than Dark Samus is! She doesn't have to control you!"

He didn't listen, only bellowed and kept swinging. I continued to evade, calling, "You can fight back! I did!"

"Shut up!!" my attacker screamed. "You don't know anything!"

"I know that you are the fifth sentinel of the Luminoth," I kept talking as I led him backward, still avoiding his swinging fists. "And that you lived on planet Aether-"

"Augh! Be quiet!" he cried, gaze piercing and fury-fueled.

"I also know that," I proceeded still, and aimed a knuckled, frozen punch on his stomach. Phazon spurted from his wound as I broke through the veins. His eyes went wide as he reached for his gushing abdomen, sucking in breath. "you shouldn't have been beaten by disgusting slop!"

I raised my foot and kicked him to the ground. He landed, sitting up immediately and glowering at me. "You tell lies, Rundas! I always join with the strongest side! Dark Samus and Phazon are the dominant force! You will fail in your useless attempts to bring me back!" he hissed.

I smirked. "It seems to me you've made a miscalculation, U-Mos..." I stooped down, returning his glare. "You chose the wrong side."

For a second, his face went blank, and he stared emptily at me. I watched in amazement the brightly glowing Phazon dim to deep blue, and then his chest shudder. The mutagen still coursed from his wound, however. He reached for his head...

I studied him. "U-Mos? Are you-!!"

His fingers were suddenly wrapped around my throat, and he was chuckling

darkly. "I am never wrong. You have made a miscalculation, boy." U-Mos's voice was cruel. "Dark Samus will destroy you!"

I was lifted high off the ground, fidgeting and stabbing his body with the tip of my foot. He disregarded my hits, smashing me into the computer consoles. Electricity exploded around me. "But just to save on her time, I'll do it myself!"

As I screamed in shock, he laughed and shot me across the row of computers, scraping my back and the screens. I collided with the wall head first.

I opened my eyes once I sunk to the floor, U-Mos approaching. I lifted my arm which held the pistol that Samus had given me. It was squirt gun sized in my hand, but it still packed a punch once I fired a plasma burst at his chest.

He roared, clutching the singed fur on his torso, and took a few steps back. I stood quickly, shooting him again, this time in the face. His scream was pained as the acid attacked his eyes and the Phazon that covered his entire head. Feeling awesome, I shot him for the last time, pummeled his stomach with more of the plasma. He doubled over, bleeding the sick blue gunk.

I used this time to rendezvous with Samus, who was taunting Ghor and Dray. She darted back and forth, ducking and jumping over the bolts that were flacking towards her. Her hair was miraculously in place after all of that dodging. "Samus!" I cried, standing next to her. "I-"

"Give me my helmet, quick!" she interrupted, her gun flashing and turning whitish. She fired a long beam of cream colored energy, which was striped with black. Ghor's breastplate melted. "I'm too vulnerable in the head!"

A bright idea flashed into existence in my mind. "I'll be right back!" I turned away, heading back to U-Mos.

"Rundas? What are you-? Ugh, I'll get it myself!" Samus groaned. I heard her roll herself into Morph Ball. Ghor and Dray roared as she retrieved it.

U-Mos had shaken off his pain, and was ready to resume our fight. His face and body was slightly charred, but the Phazon had started to heal him. "Come back, have you? Coward!"

I smiled, taking a fighting stance and waiting for him to begin the battle. "Well? Aren't you gonna hit me?"

He seemed unsure, like he hadn't heard me. But, he lashed out anyway. I bumped his wrist upward with my elbow, then grabbed his fingers and shoved them back. After he called out, I clamped my hand around his, thrusting his arm towards his chest. There came a series of pops and cracks, and I knew that I had possibly dislocated something in his limb.

Then I jumped up, ice below my feet for support. With a sweep of my now frozen elbow, I crashed my joint into his temple. I hit it so hard that it crunched, and bled more Phazon that ran down his face and splattered my arm.

U-Mos fell, knocked senseless. I dropped to the ground just when Samus had conquered Ghor and Dray as well. The giant robot was sparking and in pieces, metal scattered across the command deck. Clearly, despite being outnumbered, Samus and I had emerged victorious.

I came to her, giving her a high five. "Nice." I complimented, smiling. She grinned as well, looking to Dark Samus.

The boned adversary was gawking at her defeated minions, her three eyes wide. She walked slowly over to U-Mos as he stirred, groaning. She stood over him, fists balled and her face expressionless.

He opened his eyes and gazed at her, sudden fear overcoming him. "Master-"

"Don't. Speak." She said each word as if it were its own sentence, the syllables brimming with hatred and contempt. "You worthless, incompetent slug!" Dark Samus kicked him in the stomach brutally, sending him rolling easily over the floor. He gasped for breath as she continued battering his Phazon seeping body. "I wasted a perfectly good Leviathan Parasite on you!"

"I'm sorry- augh!" he grunted.

She had now knocked him to the opposite end of the chamber, Samus, Ghor, Dray, and I watching. U-Mos was trying to plead for mercy, but whenever he opened his mouth, she booted him without care. "And now I'm going to take it back!!"

Samus shot a huge sphere of her power beam at Dark Samus's head right when she was going to crush U-Mos. "Don't!!"

Her mirror turned, anger flashing in her eyes. "Do you want him? Well, come and get him." She stepped aside, creating an open path from us to U-Mos.

"Samus-" he tried to say.

"Silence." Dark Samus commanded, U-mos's eyes going wide as he threw up Phazon.

Samus had walked forward several feet, aiming her gun at her opponent. "I'll duel you for him. If I win, we take everybody back. But if you win, I'll give you permission to kill him."

"Please..." U-Mos begged, but was stopped again as his Master made him barf Phazon again. He moaned once it dripped from his lips.

"I'll come up on your offer, Chozo," Dark Samus raised her arms, and Phazon gates blocked us from interfering with the battle. "Let the games begin!"