Samus simply stared in shock at the armored man standing before her. Was this real? Was she just seeing things? She prayed that she was, but she doubted it sincerely. "How and why are you here, Sylux?" she demanded, despite her lack of equipment, her eyes narrowed. Sylux's mask prevented her from reading his expression – if he had a face capable of making expressions that is.

She heard a very faint chuckle come from her rival. "Easy there, Sammy," he said in snide tone. Samus raised an eyebrow at the nickname that she only allowed a select few to call her by. "I'm not here to fight you. If anything, I'm here to help."

Samus nearly did a double take. "Excuse me, could you repeat that? I think I might've gone insane just now."

Sylux laughed again, more heartily this time. "That's funny, Aran," he said as he began typing on the console that was linked to the stasis tank that contained her gear. "I admit, I really do want nothing more than to kill you, but I want to do that when you're at your best. No fun ending someone's life unless they know for certain that there's nothing they could've done to stop the inevitable."

"Charming," Samus replied as the stasis tank opened and her armor automatically melded itself into the familiar token-like device. Sylux took it and tossed it to her. The moment she grabbed it, it lit up, and she was quickly covered from head to toe in her Power Suit. She stretched in it a little, making sure that the suit was in proper working order. She eyed Sylux. "You know, I'm about half willing to thank you for this."

Sylux waved his hand as he made for the exit. "No big deal, Aran," he said with an unreadable tone. "I'm just a nice guy." Just as he passed Samus, he came to a stop. "That girl's going to die if you keep her you know. You have too many enemies, including me. You'll have to let her go at some point."

Samus narrowed her eyes at this, but she didn't face him. "You don't know anything about Ayame," she said back. "She's stronger than you know."

Sylux was quiet for several moments. Samus could only assume that he was currently deep in thought. This was easily one of his more disturbing qualities. Whenever they were together, and not trying to kill each other, they would both go silent for seconds that felt more like hours, both thinking deeply about whatever subject was at hand. It was a trait that they had in common. And that's what made it so disturbing for her.

Eventually, the cyan-armored hunter made to leave the room. Just before leaving, however, he said, "I guess we'll see about that." With that said, he left, and the door closed behind him, leaving Samus to her thoughts. She sighed after several moments. She really hated that guy.

Samus shrugged off the meeting and hurried to rejoin Ayame. She had a feeling that her daughter was going to need help.

-o-

Weavel's blade very nearly sliced Garnak's head off. If not for his training, the Gorast warrior would've been killed. Garnak responded to the attack with a slash to the pirate's chest, which he evaded with relative ease. Their blades struck each other in a deadlock that was held for several seconds before they both leaped away from each other. They sprinted toward each other again and swung the weapons at one another, sparks of energy flying each time their beam swords made contact.

This was a stalemate, Garnak realized. Neither of them was gaining an upper hand over the other. And he slowly growing exhausted. He needed to find an opening to end this fight as soon as possible. Otherwise, he may wind up slipping somehow, and that would lead him to an early grave. He was fairly certain that Weavel might have been thinking the same thing, but it was impossible to tell through that mask of his. As he fought, Garnak tried to analyze his opponent, trying to find an opening of some kind that he could exploit. Soon enough, he found one.

He ducked a slash that would've decapitated him and swung his blade with as much strength as he could muster, cleaving right through Weavel's waist, cutting the pirate clean in half. Weavel's upper half landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and his legs fell after him. Garnak took this as a moment of respite. He leaned forward, hands on his knees, letting himself take some time to recover.

That was when he should've had his guard at its highest.

Weavel's legs suddenly shot up, the waist shifting into a turret, the barrel glowing green. Garnak barely had any time to react when the turret fired off a large green sphere that he sidestepped. The ball of green energy exploded once it made contact with a nearby wall. That was when he heard Weavel's laugh. He turned his head to see Weavel's upper body held up by his arms, his hands having changed into foot-like appendages.

"Surprised?" the pirate said with an amused tone. "So was everyone else I had ever fought. I'm a cyborg, you oversized cockroach! I'm the best there is in this whole damn army! You should feel honored that your head is gonna be on my wall!"

Garnak would've sneered if he had a human facial structure. "You are an abomination," he said with disgust evident in his voice. "No creature should be reduced to your level. Not even a Space Pirate."

Garnak had the feeling that Weavel might've been scowling. "You think I actually wanted this? I have that bitch Samus Aran to thank for this! She nearly destroyed me and left me for dead! The only parts of my body that were salvageable were my spine and brain! Now I can't actually do anything without my superiors threatening to shut off my life support! I'm a slave because of that human witch, and I'll be more than happy to see her dead!"

Garnak gave the cyborg a glare. He was a vengeful, spiteful shell of his former self. It was utterly… "Pitiful."

"What was that!?"

"I pity you, Weavel," Garnak explained. "You are consumed by hatred, and that has blinded you irreversibly. You are simply pathetic."

Weavel roared at that statement. He didn't say anything. He let his turret do the talking. It fired round after round of explosives, all of which Garnak was forced to dodge. The Gorast cursed at this. He had to find a way to reach Weavel's torso. The pirate had said that his brain and spine were still intact, so maybe he could finish the battle by severing his head somehow.

An idea formed in his mind. He quickly pulled out his handgun and aimed the best he could while running. As his own gun lined up with the barrel of Weavel's Half-Turret, he squeezed the trigger, releasing a green bolt of lethal energy that lodged itself right into the turret's gun. Almost immediately, the turret exploded, one of its ballistic shells having been hit within. The death machine turned pile of scrap clattered onto the ground each piece scattering apart as they landed. Weavel could only stare in shock at what had just happened.

"You…" he said with evident anger. His head turned to Garnak, who had the distinct feeling that he was being glared at hatefully. "I'LL YOU, YOU WORTHLESS BUG!" He charged at the Gorast as fast as he possibly could on his two arms and leaped at him, his energy sword ready to cleave through something.

Garnak simply sidestepped the attack and then stabbed Weavel's torso right through the side with his own sword. Weavel gasped in what could only have been pain, a clear sign that Garnak had hit the pirate's spine somewhere. Garnak eyed the pirate as he turned his head to face him. "As I said already," he began as he aimed his gun to the pirate's face. "You truly are pitiful. Forgive me for ending it this way, but you do not give me much choice."

Weavel made a sound like scoffing. "You'd be doing me a favor, roach-boy," he said.

And with that said, the Gorast warrior pulled the trigger. Weavel saw black.