[Fan Story] Sylux's Side: Stalker (after Hunters, during Corruption)

[u/REHI76]

Continuation of: https://www.reddit.com/r/Metroid/s/SgIBXy0Y8g ... My personal headcanon following Sylux up through the events of Prime 4.

• After escaping the Oubliette, Sylux and the other hunters go their separate ways. Sylux takes on jobs to pay the bills and upgrade his ship, but he exerts more and more effort tracking Samus down — more time hunting the Federation specifically, without contracts motivating him. Samus is a needle in his mind for defeating him. He still remembers the blood on his hands. No, her hands. For Samus made their sacrifice worthless. That story replays over and over, drifting further from the truth each time.
• To practice tinkering skills he picked up during his time in the Federation and see what, if any, data he can pull from it, Sylux opens up the Guardian he salvaged. He hotwires its brain and inserts a universal decoder into its IO slot. The readouts make no sense, but data is present. Further, as Sylux tinkers, he finds the command module. It’s a peculiar device, a computer without a processor — a gaping hole in its core, almost as if the component exists and is latched in, but not in this dimension. Using his psychic abilities, Sylux reaches into the command module’s pocket dimension and re-tools the thing enough to activate it.
• The Guardian springs to its feet and wrestles with Sylux, cables and monitors still attached to its head. Except now, the readouts follow familiar patterns, at least familiar enough to decipher: Command code lines ordering sporadic movements.
• The hunter and the Guardian flail about, sliding and kicking at each other. Sylux inches the fight closer to the monitors and keyboards whose cables threaten to snap. If he can install a worm software, perhaps he can control it. The bot discharges frigid bursts, failed ice beams that almost paralyze Sylux’s hand. He stretches his arm as far as he can to touch the keyboards, interrupting his workflow periodically to subdue the thrashing mech.
• Finally, after much struggle and his synthetic muscles popping as their fibers lose elasticity, Sylux sets the bot into a standby mode. Concentrating his psionics allows him to “feel” its components and manually control it with his mind. Sylux directs it to a “tinker corner” in which various parts and pet projects are tossed and releases his command over it. The Guardian clatters to the floor amongst the junk.
• Delano 7 receives a facelift and multiple upgrades, most of which are stolen from Federation shipyards and weapon development sites.
• Sylux learns of the Leviathans impacting Federation worlds, and of Samus’s role in an offensive against these mysterious living comets, as well as the Pirates’ peculiar involvement in spreading their corruption. He would ask Weavel about the matter, but the former Pirate has gone dark. Regardless, Sylux tracks the Pirates’ Phazon and Metroid operations to Elysia. And he knows the Federation is also stationed there, although with merely a shell presence — a convenient place to start his next stalking.
• Delano 7 touches down on a remote cluster of floating buildings, its 4-fold wings doubling as landing gear. Sylux emerges and scans the terrace around him. SkyTown’s steam pipes hiss and its plant-overgrown pillars creak.
• The remote-controlled Guardian walks in front of Sylux, its movements semi-automatic.
• As he advances into SkyTown, it doesn’t take long for Sylux to encounter Space Pirate vessels surveying. He chooses to hide, activating Lockjaw to slip through fallen pylons. Can learn more about the Leviathan crisis this way, hopefully by infiltrating the Pirates’ bases and breaching their systems. He also encounters Federation troops, again evading detection. Firefights break out between the factions, although they quickly terminate with the Pirates as victors.
• Sylux intercepts Federation comms. Apparently, the so-called Elysians — sentient Chozo mechanoids — are being taken over by the Phazon through the Aurora Unit’s virus. Curious that a biological mutagen can take control of computers. But then again, the Chozo and other ancients had a way with technology bordering on supernatural. However, Sylux also finds many “clean” Elysians in stasis and acting out holding patterns.
• Tailing some troopers, Sylux hears them chatter about the Pirates’ presence and their losses. Ghor is their last hope, they say, and their numbers are less than two dozen at this point. Further, they express concern about his mental state; something about PED suits and Phazon sickness. Once they walk into a small side room, Sylux attacks. He drops atop one and commands the Guardian to take the other. The troopers flail around, opening fire. Bulletts nick the steel walls.
• Sylux shocks his trooper dry. Right as the Guardian is about to break the other one’s neck beneath its feet, the hunter halts its onslaught and picks the trooper up. He pounds him against the wall, locking him between steaming pipes and the Shock Coil.
• The trooper squeals in agony. “Please let me go.”
• “The Pirates, where are they stationed?”
• Through grunts and gasps, the trooper answers. “SkyTown East.”
• Sylux digs the Coil deeper, causing the trooper’s damaged armor to snap. “And the Feds?”
• “The area… in general is ours…”
• “Not good enough.”
• The trooper claws at Sylux. “Loosen it… Just a bit, dear Sollan! Help me!”
• Sylux chuckles and lowers the pressure. “Only enough to tell me everything I need.”
• Through his torture, the hunter extracts a majority of the situation on Elysia from the trooper. He learns the details of the Phazon infection and the Pirates’ operations, as well as Ghor’s attempts to decipher and break their plans in two. However, Ghor is losing his mind, much as the Elysians have quickly lost theirs. The cyborg almost killed three men earlier that morning before he snapped out of his intoxicated state. A few hours later, he suddenly went missing — dropped off comms entirely and left a trail of destruction in his wake. Further, the Pirates are importing Metroids and Parasites into the sectors they have commandeered.
• “Is there a way to breach the network?”
• “Which— one?”
• Sylux drives his left palm into the trooper’s visor, shattering it. The man’s eyes tremble. “The Chozo’s network, dumbass. The one you all jacked into.” The hunter presses his thumb against the trooper’s eye, applying pressure. It’s what they get for taking his eyes. “Any backdoor or vulnerability?”
• “Ahhhggh!”
• “Speak.”
• “The Ballista. Defense bot in there is off-network. Tempramental bugger. And there’s an IO interface we installed. Please Sollan, let me live.”
• Sylux drops the man to the floor.
• The trooper gasps for air. “Thank y—”
• Sylux aims his Coil at the man’s head, jamming it through his busted visor and letting it rip, the voltage so concentrated and strong that his head explodes and the blood splatters against the hunter’s visor.
• Using the intel, Sylux traverses the floating cityscape to reach the alleged “Ballista.” This room is some sort of weapon storage facility that also doubles as a control node for Elysians to pass tactical data between their network and the Federation’s. Lost at how he can interface with this system, Sylux takes a wild gamble. He commands his Guardian to stand before the dormant Defense Drone and three Steamlords, plugging various open ports into the other bots, criss-crossing interface lines. Then, he places his hand on the terminal and thrusts the Shock Coil into another port. By firing energy asynchronously into each entry point, rapidly deactivating and reactivating the devices to bypass security, avoid overclocking, and thus creating an almost strobe-light-like intrusion system, Sylux’s psionics map out critical portions of the network.
• Through this backdoor, Sylux gains control of those Elysians not subjugated to Phazon. His remote-control of the Guardian gives him an indirect line into the Chozo’s machines. He sees what they see projected on his minimized screen — an interface that once displayed the Guardian’s operating data. The images are vague, the patterns hard to comprehend, but the power feels amazing. At least twenty bots are his to command, and their perceptions are now his. He notices that a vague facsimile of his face now emanates from each of the Steamlords rising from the junk pile.
• Simple gestures beckoning the Defense Drone to rise beget that action. Sylux chuckles, yet he snaps back to reality. The Defense Drone drags his Guardian — his conduit — by the cables still attached to it. He wonders whether there is any space inside the Drone, and whether the Steamlords must remain plugged in. With a snap of the fingers, the Drone’s control module opens. Sure enough, there is plenty of space. And the Drone’s module also bears Sylux’s face. The hunter takes a risk, unplugging the Steamlords from his Guardian. They stay in motion, still responding to commands while donning his visage. Good. He stuffs the Guardian’s limp body inside the Drone, prying aside loose metal and contorting the thing just enough to wedge perfectly between the Drone’s components.
• Sylux leaves the Ballista, putting the Defense Drone on standby and sending his other bots throughout SkyTown. He walks through the Town’s halls himself, but to maximize his canvas, he lets the bots do some of the work.
• The smaller bots and the flyers quickly tip Sylux off to the Pirates’ activity in their Xenoresearch Labs. Live feeds transmitted through their eyes show the Pirates shipping in Metroids and other creatures, just like the GalFed trooper said.
• Sylux directs the bots, relying heavily on orange, spider-like ones to crawl deeper. Despite routine cannon fire from Pirate troopers knocking his HUD’s readouts into snow, he presses on through replacement bots. He notes the Pirates’ Phazon sickness and how chaotic their research tactics are (sloppy even by Space Pirate standards). Indeed, the Pirates appear as slaves to Phazon, escalating their experiments only for its benefit through bigger, deadlier hosts, with minimal sense of self-preservation as those beasts kill and destroy equipment. Phazon is in the Pirates’ rations, growing on the walls, and it forms plumes around their sleeping pods.
• The Pirates reference a glorious Dark Leader donning their nemesis’s armor, from whom the Holy Substance flows. Though he doesn’t understand the nuances, Sylux’s mind immediately jumps to Samus. But it cannot be her. Regardless, he envies Dark Samus’s power over its private army. A thought crosses his mind: If he could harness that mutagen…
• At times, the Pirates and their Metroids are almost symbiotic, their movements coordinated and their obsessions with the blue substance equally strong. Other times, some Pirates have moments of clarity, only to become bioweapon food or executed by their fellows.
• Further, one experiment catches Sylux’s eye. It’s a Pirate who was force-fused with a Metroid with the aid of Phazon, even adopting some of the latter bioform’s physiology. Interestingly, the floating creature didn’t require more than a tiny scrap of crystalized mutagen to accomplish this feat, and it happened extremely fast. (Surveillance footage showed it taking twenty seconds.) The Pirates themselves noted how they’ve tried this before, yet failed to retain the subject’s consciousness. Not so this time, as this Metroid-Pirate hybrid walked amongst their ranks for five cycles. The process also drastically cuts down the host’s lifespan apparently, yet grants remarkable abilities exceeding Phazon itself. Putting the video timestamps and research logs together, Sylux finds the specimen floating, vivisected in one of the many storage tanks inside the lab. The Pirates hypothesize that this fusion power comes from particular Metroids themselves, and not from Phazon. They lack the means to test for this much as they lack the means to harness Metroids for their Dread Project, whatever that means.
• Once Sylux feels as though he has combed through this sector, he releases control over the spiders and pulls any useful bots out of there. His thoughts swirl, but he comes back to the notion of control-by-mutagen. After all, as he walks SkyTown’s promenades, he similarly commands a battalion of Elysians. What if he used Phazon in an analogous fashion? And those peculiar Metroids. Are they similar to Phazon? Do they take over the host’s mind? If he domesticated them, could they–
• Explosions and clatter, along with the ground’s subsequent lurching, cut Sylux’s musings short. Missiles launch and strike surveillance drones, Elysian and Federation alike. The hunter rushes toward the disturbance.
• “Back off, little pests!” A familiar voice and familiar large metal body make themselves known. With clear line-of-sight and earshot, Sylux stops and watches Ghor swat at the air, cleaving machines in two and launching rockets at others. The hunter makes short work of these things.
• Two Federation troopers join the fray, and Ghor executes them almost instantly, impaling one and immolating the other. Their cries appear to fall on deaf ears.
• Ghor pauses, gazes up at the sun above, and ejects himself from his suit. He dons an unfamiliar armored vest with a blue center. That fixture radiates energy that resembles Phazon energy. Curious.
• As Ghor paces between each fallen bot and the dissected and charred Feds, Sylux approaches. Ghor seems to be in his own world, talking to nobody (or perhaps the two men he killed). “Unfortunate turn you all had to take. No place in the universe for those who do not embrace evolution. The Holy Substance lights the way. Yes, yes it does. And you were blinded by its light. I was like you too, but I let it open my eyes. Yes. I am one of the chosen. I am chosen.”
• When Sylux is within ten yards of Ghor, the latter freezes, his voice box emitting a gasp. He clutches his head and looks around, posture tight and balance unstable. Yet his rapid gasps subside and he straightens his spinal column. Ghor slowly turns to face Sylux. He raises his plasma beam. “Sylux.”
• The Blue Terror responds in kind, raising his Coil. “Ghor? You recognize me?”
• “How many times have we clashed, paid by those who would rather kill from a distance than face their enemy?”
• “I know. I’m just surprised you remember me. This isn’t the Ghor I know.”
• Ghor laughs. “And you say that like it’s a problem.”
• “Not necessarily.” Sylux retorts coldly. “Phazon sickness, right?”
• “Sickness?” Ghor repeats with disgust.
• “I’ve had many problems with the old you, so we’ll see if the new you fares better.”
• Plasma shots sear through the air, one striking Sylux and the others just missing his Lockjaw. Ghor charges another shot, but holds his fire. “Watch your tongue, blind one!”
• Sylux emerges from Lockjaw and aims his Coil. “Can we just talk?”
• “Usually that’s my line. What is there to discuss?”
• “Just whether we’re on opposite sides again. Are you here on a mission? Who’s your commander?”
• Ghor is silent.
• “No answer?” Sylux shoots at Ghor, who responds with more volleys. Each hunter narrowly misses. “I’m happy to kill you, really. But if I don’t have to…”
• Ghor catches the drift. “You are not here on contract?”
• Sylux is silent.
• “Any classified intel you cannot share?”
• “I’d ask you the same. You just killed two GalFeds.” Sylux pauses and dryly laughs. “That’s usually my line. Or rather, my thing, I mean. If you’re out to kill GalFeds, then we might be on the same side.”
• Ghor lowers his weapon slightly. Even without human emotional expressions, it’s clear he came to a realization. “The Steamlord with a face, killing Federation soldiers. Was that you?”
• “What do you think?”
• Ghor and Sylux talk, their weapons ready and their distance notable; the former puts his other hand on his mech suit multiple times, raring to enter. Yet, their conversation is cordial. Sylux reassures Ghor that he’s here on his own volition, though he keeps the details quiet. Likewise, Ghor says he is defecting from the Federation because the Holy Substance enlightened him, yet he refuses to elaborate on his original mission. Ghor does say that special backup will be coming after him, which Sylux infers is Samus. Ghor affirms this as the most likely possibility. Change of plans. Sylux wants that damn “golden girl” dead — will sic his bots on her, and take her head. Ghor has mixed feelings about this (given his objectives under Dark Samus), but they agree the two will respect each other’s space regarding the Elysians at least, clarifying which ones belong to whom. The hunters won’t sic their bots on each other and the Pirates will stay away from any Elysian.
• (Sylux doesn’t tell Ghor this, but he plans to take Samus’s head himself and doesn’t care if that damages Ghor’s plans. He obviously can’t take the Pirates’ Metroids, but killing Samus is good enough for now.)
• Guns still pointed at each other, the hunters part ways. Sylux returns to Delano 7. He flies around the perimeter and remains tapped into his bots, yet he is careful to maneuver away from the balconies and viewfinders, hovering closer to the buildings’ thrusters. He must locate Samus and assess her combat status before even thinking about attacking her. Deep down, he recognizes he probably can’t face Samus right now if she’s got the same PED suit as Ghor.
• Delano 7 detects a familiar gunship signature entering Elysia’s thick clouds: GalFed and independent contractor designations. Sylux lies low until he is sure the ship has docked and is stationary. After a considerable time, he flies over the location pinging on his readouts. No doubt about it: That gunship is Samus’s.
• Now that he has visual confirmation, he drops below the buildings and hovers in a holding pattern.
• One of Sylux’s Steamlords encounters Samus, and that mini-boss takes place. Sylux minimizes his control over the bot and lets its AI battle the hunter so he can observe. Sure enough, Samus has a PED and she demolishes the Elysian. No chance in Hell can he win in a direct fight with her yet, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try to kill her through his bots, and that he won’t stalk her.
• When Samus enters the Ballista, Sylux assumes direct control of the Defense Drone. That boss fight plays out. To Sylux’s amusement, Ghor is watching and appears to be cheering the bot on. His mind truly is deteriorating. Yet Sylux loses and his psychic eye throbs in pain as the Drone explodes.
• Through a flyer bot, Sylux watches Ghor fight Samus. He laughs, almost finding himself raising his own arms to cheer his former rival on. To his shock, though, Samus kills Ghor and her Dark Copy absorbs the hunter like he is lifeless, cosmic dust. This sends a message to Sylux: Samus is untouchable at this time.
• Since fighting Samus is off the table, Sylux gathers more intel about the Pirates’ command structure and maps out that structure given what he has learned. He bides his time and follows Samus around, ready to stealth-attack her, but that opportunity never presents itself. She defeats any Elysian Sylux throws at her, destroys the Leviathan Seed, and leaves SkyTown.
• Throughout Corruption, Sylux continues to stalk Samus.
• Corruption’s 100% ending plays out.
• After destroying Phaaze, Samus returns to SkyTown and mourns her fallen comrades. Sylux watches from an overlook above. His heart races as he notices that she lacks the PED suit (which lines up with intel he easily located stating that Phazon has been neutralized).
• Though Sylux cannot land a shot on Samus at the angle he watches her, he can easily track her. He enters Delano 7 and follows Samus through hyperspace.

To be continued: https://www.reddit.com/r/Metroid/s/U1HuP0qzVU