"Hey, Murphy. Check this out." Tikala handed his new friend a large .. thing, shaped like a crab claw. "I stole this from the chozo before we left. They... well, actually, they stole it from us first... well, not US, but, you get the picture. It's a special gun, designed to blend in with our exoskeletons enough that the birds wouldn't notice it.. they did. But, that's not the point. Daddy's pretty good with this kind of thing.. he might be able to..."
Miikha stepped closer and cut him off. "Pardon his rantings. Let me get to the point: if I could salvage some parts from the computers here, I might be able to attach this in place of your damaged hand. They were designed to replace the hand anyway..."
Murphy's eyes brightened at the concept. "Is that safe? Do you at least have anasthetic?"
"I was a biotechnician before the Chozo showed up. I can do it..."
Murphy's eyes narrowed, this time. "You didn't answer my other question."
Miikha chuckled nervously. "Uh, kind of..."
"I don't like the way you said that.. but I guess it's better than having only one hand..."
---
"Tilk? Where are ya?"
Silence. Antispa nervously looked around the ship. "Tiiiilk?"
A trail of blood caught his attention. "That's .. that's not the color of ki blood. And that wasn't there when I left. What happened while I was gone..?"
He followed the trail down into a dark passageway. A crushed ki-hunter, barely recognizable, lay prone on the floor. "Tilk.. oh, shit, please don't tell me that's Tilk..." Antispa continued following the trail, his twin hearts pounding crazily.
An unearthly growl emanated from the end of the passageway. Antispa froze in place. His eyes shifted about, searching for the source of the noise.
Slowly, a large shadow moved closer, as he slowly backed away. "Oh no.. please, no.. who let that thing out!.. no...!" He quickly whirled and took flight, as Phantoon roared loudly and dashed from the shadows. It emitted another screech and whipped its tentacles towards the ki-hunter. He dodged quickly to the side, flew up through the trap door to the passageway, and slammed the hatch shut. Phantoon smashed against it with a squishy thud, and Antispa breathed a sigh of relief. However, it was a short-lived relief.
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared right behind him. Phantoon slowly phased into existence. His single eye stared through his prey, and he began to drool.
This creature would make a fine second course. His tentacles slowly made their way towards Antispa.
The ki-hunter sensed danger and jetted forward, whirling and raising his claws defensively. "Oh, no you don't!" Muttering a curse in his native language, he fluttered backwards, spewing forth volleys of acidic fluid towards the spectral predator from his tube-like snout. He dodged sideways as a sizzling bolt of ectoplasmic energy shot from Phantoon's eye, and quickly responded with more of his defensive goop. Suddenly, he was trapped, backed against the exit door. "Oh shit.. oh, shit.. no, come on.." He pounded on the control pad's number keys, but his panic impaired his coordination, and he repeatedly botched the combination. The drooling Phantoon inched its way closer, preparing another volley of energy bolts with which to finish off his prey. He lunged, firing off a ring of said bolts.
Finally, fatefully, thankfully, the door slid open and Antispa toppled backwards through it, uttering a prayer he believed would be his final words--until the door slammed shut and Phantoon smacked against it again.
The creature growled, phased back through the trap door, and returned to pick for scraps remaining off his previous victim--a particularly unlucky Chozo advisor.