For A Want of Meaning
Chapter I
Summary: Newly crowned Brawler of Brawler's Samus Aran finds herself drawn into the enigma, Princess Zelda. Curious, she pursues her in hopes of finding what it is that draws her so. In doing so she finds answers to questions, and a side of her she'd long forgotten.
Smash City: grand central metropolis of glorified gladiatorial combat.
Warriors from across the cosmos and dimensions gathered to compete in the Super Smash Brothers League. Heroes and villains alike, drawn together by the powers of Master and Crazy Hands, pitted their skills against one another for whatever reason that drove them. For some it's the thrill and rush of battle and the roar of the crowds, the ever beating drums of war. For others it's a grand test of their skills against the abilities of others. For others it's the money. Or merely for the sake of the good fight.
Regardless it was here these warriors competed in war games and duels, flaunting their capabilities in grandiose arenas for the entertainment for the masses. Of these events, none could compare to the most common and most famous event of them all: Brawls. The primary event of the city and staple source of entertainment, all competitors regularly find themselves in the middle of the various rings that dot the city, staring down foes who all vie for the same thing; prize money, a person, or even some object in dispute in a glorious Trial of Possession.
Today was no exception.
"COMPETITOR DEFEATED!" Mario careened across the sky in a fiery blaze.
The last two days played host to a special event: a grand tournament between the top 16 fighters in the entire league's history. In bouts of sudden elimination combat, they fought furiously up to the top of the tree for a chance to the championship battle and claim the prize and the title: "Brawler of Brawlers". Among them were warriors of legends, champions of longstanding reputations and popularity. Venerable warriors such as Link of Hyrule, Samus Aran the bounty hunter, Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Pikachu from Pallet Town fought in this very ring, alongside newcomers, such as Solid Snake of America who'd taken the scene by storm, who joined in on the competition. By the end of it all, it had narrowed down to a climatic match between the four greatest of them all: Link, Samus, Mario, and Snake.
But due to unfortunate circumstances, Mario had been the first to be eliminated.
The arena was teeming with excitement, alight with tension the mass watched Samus, Link, and Snake stare down one another. Money constantly changed hands as people betted against one another. Who would win? Who would lose? How would one or another be taken out? How long would the match last? Many were on the edge of their seats as they waited with bated breath. Across the arena loyal fans sat in their corners, waving the colours of their favoured champion. Lights flashed as banners and advertisements scrolled across the screens.
It was just another day in Smash City.
All three suddenly leapt forward in a mad dash for the prize. Link let a war cry, raising his sword to strike down Samus. She ducked down into her morph ball rolling under Link's slash and charged straight on towards Snake. He drew his knife and lunged forward, hoping to catch the mesh under her arm. She quickly parried the attack, then grabbed Snake by the scruff of his neck and threw him aside like a ragdoll.
Hearing Link's battle cry, Samus tossed out her grapple beam behind herself. She felt it latched to his leg. And then she threw him across the arena as well. Her momentary distraction cost her as she stumbled back from a punch to her head before Snake slapped a charge of C4 against her torso. The explosion knocked her off her feet. Instincts took over as she flipped in the air and landed in a crouch. She glared at him and ran forward.
Pulling a smoke bomb from his belt, Snake tossed it ahead to screen himself. He quickly unstrapped and shouldered his RPG and prepared to fire only for the barrel of Samus' power beam to suddenly cut through the smoke. He barely registered the hum Samus' weapon before hearing, "You lose." His vision flashed as he was engulfed in a ball of light, ending his attempt for the prize.
"COMPETITOR DEFEATED!" the PA boomed again.
Samus suddenly ducked, Link's sword narrowly missing her head by millimetres. She fired a missile in response only for it to harmlessly deflect off his shield. It hadn't had time to arm. Rolling away from his next attack she quickly swept his feet out from underneath and hammer fists his stomach, flattening him.
Grabbing the fallen warrior she tossed him high into the air and then launched a super missile after him. She scoffed in minor disbelief as Link recovered in time to block the missile with his shield. The resulting explosion nearly ringed him as he skidded to a stop at the edge of the ring. Samus advances to press the advantage.
Link dug the Master Sword into the ground, using it as a crutch. Samus had become so much stronger. A feral grin crossed his features as the armoured warrior quickly approached him. It felt like he was starting down an entire legion of armoured knights. He couldn't help but be amazed by how much more ruthlessly efficient she had become. But despite his admiration he didn't plan on losing. This would be his victory; not Samus's. With renewed vigour, Link forced himself upright and immediately drew his bow and arrow and took aim.
Samus hardly had time to react before the bolt exploded against her amour before Link's Master Sword cut through the smoke. The field ringed as the Master Sword struck Samus' armour. Kicking off, Link ripped the blade free from wherever he struck and charged again. A hand suddenly shoots out from the clearing smoke grabbing the blade and tosses him towards the edge of the ring. Samus runs up and kicks him into the air, following up with another super missile, trained straight for Link as it exploded on contact, denying him victory.
The entire arena erupted in an explosion of cheers and applause, endlessly chanting her name.
Samus! Samus! Samus!
On and on the crowd chants as the new champion rose to her full height. She seemingly looks at them, taking in their applause and adoration. But in reality she sneers at them from behind her visor. What they reaped were the benefits of twenty years' worth of pain and hardship. All the skills and abilities she gained through suffering. Suffering that they would never know. And it only intensified as a small platform materialized in front of her. From there the presenter of the belt and prize money would appear.
Samus' irritation was masked behind her visor. She didn't care for pomp and ceremony. But it was par the course to her chagrin. She would bear it as best she could. But she would keep it short. No speeches. No special ceremonial presentation. No delays. She would take her prize, and leave. And at times she wondered why she bothered to compete. And always she'd remind herself why she fought.
Money.
She'd almost declined when she first got the invitation. There were hardly 16 warriors who were that strong. And after today's performance in the ring, she could say with absolute confidence that the league did not have 16 warriors of comparative rank. For that matter, she noted some of the warriors she expected didn't compete. Clearly they had either retired or were eliminated in their home worlds. What had once been a challenge was nothing more than a boring past time. Her hand had stilled when she noticed something in the invitation.
A grand cash prize.
Hosted by Princess Zelda of Hyrule, she'd been cordially invited to compete for the title of "Brawler of Brawlers", and a cash prize of 100,000 rupees. Converted into Federation Credits, the resulting value supplemented a massive portion of her yearly income. What good bounty hunter could resist such an amount? Add on to the fact her gunship needed repairs from her actions on Phaaze and she couldn't say no.
That was how she ended up here, impatiently waiting for the Princess to present her the reward.
The plan was simple: Enter and win the competition, claim her reward and cash it, and leave. That was all there was to it.
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Zelda took a steady breath as she prepared to step on the teleport platform that would take her to the arena center where she would present the champion her title belt and prize money. That was there was to it. Or at least she initially thought.
She had watched entire the competition from beginning to end. And throughout it all Zelda found herself enthralled by the champion known as Samus Aran. She'd mistaken Samus as male until reading the registration forms that clearly stated female. The knowledge fuelled her curiosity of the armour-clad warrior, who'd yet to reveal her face. She was in awe with what she'd seen. She was fast. And she was strong. Samus stood out among all the competitors. She clearly stood on a different level than everyone else; even that of her champion Link.
But what stood out even more than her impressive performance, was what she saw in Samus' profile picture. One of the few rare documented occurrences she'd been forced to take off her helmet. The moment Zelda had laid eyes on it she felt something towards the blond warrior. The feelings the image invoked had her wonder if it had something to do with recent dreams. The feeling only continued to grow more through the passing days, nagging at her like a persistent fly. Catching her momentary lapse Zelda shook her head clear of the thoughts. There were better times to dwell on it than now.
Zelda smiled to herself as she stepped onto the platform. It was time to meet Samus.
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Samus watched as Princess Zelda materialized. She recognized her, remembering she hadn't been impressed with her both as a fighter and as a princess. As a fighter, her combat capabilities were amateur at best. Nearly everyone she knew surpassed the princess in skill and experience. Her only real advantages were the alternate form she saw her used, and her magic. But even then Zelda's utilization was dismal at best. She recalled that the 'princess' relied heavily on that alternate form. It was more of a crutch than an ability.
As a princess, she didn't like what she saw. Hosting a tournament instead of running her kingdom and funding it from her land's coffers lowered Samus's opinion of her. While arguably her coffers were deep, it was such a wasted expenditure. Of course Samus had no issues about where the money came from; money's money. So what did she care?
She gave Zelda a once over. Her dress wasn't particularly ordinate or special. It looked like an overly embellished nightgown. But noting the amount of ornate patterns, trimmings, and jewellery that embellished it, it was definitely a princess' dress. No ifs ands or buts. It was merely simple; by royal standards. And it didn't look overly restrictive. Whoever tailored it had considered comfort and a certain degree of usefulness in its design. And it looked like she wore boots for daily wear, instead of something elegant such as heels.
She eventually glanced at Zelda's face. She wore an expression Samus often associated with those of royal background. Demure. At least it wasn't haughty like a lot of young women's she's met over the years.
The princess wore no makeup, which was different. But the way she wore her clothes and held herself, and the way her violet-blue eyes stared at Samus spoke volumes behind whom and what she was: a princess. She could almost be considered human, if it were not for her pointed ears. Her first impression had been an Elf, but that was quickly dispelled with a bit of research.
Stepping off the platform, Zelda took a moment to appraise Samus as well. The armoured warrior towered well above her. Zelda only reached up to Samus' chest. She was an embodiment of solid metal, save for the large gash on her chest left by Link's Master Sword. No signs of organic life could be seen, all hidden behind the red and orange armour that had protected her throughout the battle. A green visor stared blankly at her, hiding the person within behind a veil of cold glass and steel.
"I congratulate you on your victory, Samus Aran," Zelda politely greeted. Samus said nothing waiting for Zelda to hand her the prize money so that she could finally leave. Zelda pondered momentarily on Samus's lack of speech, but thought nothing on it. She had heard she wasn't much of a talker in any case.
Of course, there were ways to get even the most stoic of characters to acquiesce and speak. "Samus, may I ask that you at least show your face to me, before I present to you your prize."
"What difference does it make?" Samus answered in return.
Unfazed by the huntress' distorted voice Zelda smiled lightly towards the taller woman and said, "I wish to meet the warrior behind the suit."
"I could simply take the prize money from your hands," she stated.
The princess seemed to consider it a moment, but then strangely smiled and said, "You could try."
Samus fell silent; considering her options. She glanced down at Zelda's hands, noting a belt and a data pad. Behind her visor her eyes narrowed at the electronic device. An electronic invoice. She scoffed realizing that Zelda could easily cancel the transfer. Leaning back she looked around, seeing the crowd's eyes were on them. They most definitely heard Zelda's request. She glared at the princess again. She hadn't planned for this, but there was nothing else she could do now. She'd have to give in. Closing her eyes she accessed the commands to deactivate her suit.
Zelda watched as the armour lightly glowed and then shattered into tiny pieces, breaking away from Samus' body. The armour slowly disintegrated up along her arms and legs towards some point on her chest. Samus' hands and feet were the first to be revealed. Through the haze Zelda could see a blue jumpsuit underneath. More and more of the armour continued to recede until it all finally disappeared into a sigil on her chest, revealing the athletic form of one Samus Aran.
Much to Zelda's surprise, Samus's appearance was nothing like she had imagined. Without her armour it was clear her height was not exaggerated, standing at 6'3" she was incredibly tall by many standards.
From the appearance of the armour, Zelda had believed that underneath her metal exterior was a massive brute that could match the strength and power that she brought forth. Her assumptions were dashed away as she studied the woman before her. Despite her masculine stance she could still see feminine traits hidden beneath her cold exterior. Her body was perfection, elegance, and athletics incarnate. Flowing curves in all the right places, taut muscles, lithe form; Samus was a shining example of womanhood. And the jumpsuit she wore failed to hide her assets, leaving very little to the imagination, further accentuating her femininity. But despite it all, Zelda was glad of what Samus truly looked like was nothing of what she and many others thought her to be.
Her face was just as equally elegant. Long blond hair held up in a high ponytail adorned her features, with strands framing either sides of her face that reached down to her chin. She had a pale complexion from lack of being out of her suit. However, what took her attention most was the gaze her ice blue eyes held. It radiated confidence, and cold indifference. Gazing up at the powerful woman, Zelda felt that if Samus wanted to she could easily snap her in two without a second thought. She had the eyes of someone who had seen so much war and bloodshed. But at the same time she felt it was a façade, a gateway to a different Samus; the real Samus. She blushed when she realized that she had been staring for some time, and took a moment to recompose herself.
Samus let out an internal sigh. Yet another person who made assumptions of what she looked like underneath the suit. Although it was no different than any other person who had never seen her true body, it still bothered her to no end. Perhaps it was because of the way she carried herself or never really disclosed her gender, but somehow, she was always the opposite of what people expected.
"Are you done staring?" Samus quietly asked the princess, a bit irate that she was being held up a lot longer than she planned or expected.
Once again Samus took the princess by surprise. She sounded almost nothing like she expected. While Zelda had expected a deep voice, she had thought it would take on a much more masculine quality. Instead Samus' voice held a deep rich sound. There were no other words that could really describe the pleasant sounds she heard coming from the blonde before her.
"Forgive me but…you're quite different from what many say you are," Zelda commented. Samus gave her a flat stare, impatiently waiting for Zelda to give the prize. The princess' expression relaxed as she lightly smiled and said, "I'm glad."
It took a moment for the words to sink in before Samus finally responded. "'xcuse me?" She was unsure what Zelda meant saying she was glad Samus was different. Samus also noted that this was private, as it didn't sound like this was being broadcasted.
"People say you're a freakish brute with monstrous muscles," Zelda elaborated, maintaining a calm composure and presence. "I for one am glad you're nothing like they say. It makes me feel at ease to know there are still beautiful amazons out there."
Samus couldn't keep the look of surprise off her face. She'd been called it many times, often uttered by those who've earned her ire; particularly by women who lived in such pampered lives, living the perfectly good life because they had the money to do so. Far too many time she's heard it used in such a derogatory manner. And yet somehow, from Zelda it sounded something soothing, something akin more to a compliment than an insult. Although puzzling she put the thought aside. Soon she would be gone and this matter would be forgotten. She wouldn't see Zelda ever again after today.
"Samus Aran, for your stunning performance and display throughout this tournament," Zelda proclaimed, her voice booming across the stadium, "it is my pleasure to present you the title, Brawler of Brawlers." Almost instantaneously the crowd exploded again into joyous uproar for the champion. Zelda held out her hands, passing the belt and prize money to Samus. She accepted the pad and tossed the belt over her shoulders.
Wordlessly she called up a teleport platform and left, leaving the stadium stunned and surprised from her sudden departure. Recovering from her surprise, the princess gathered her composure and left the stadium as well, leaving the crowd to their own devices.
Returning to the waiting room, Samus let out a tired sigh and quickly headed towards the exit. She would leave within the hour.
She hardly took more than five steps from the door when someone suddenly called her out. "Samus, could I have a moment please?" She slowly turned around to see Zelda catching up to her.
"Yes, princess?" Samus calmly answered as Zelda approached.
"I wanted to know if you would like to join me for dinner," she proposed.
"No thank you."
Zelda stared at Samus dumbly for a few moments having not expecting her terse response. She took a moment to recompose before responding. "I see. I apologize for taking up your time. I wish you the best of luck on your future endeavours." Zelda nodded respectfully, and offered Samus one last smile before turning around.
Samus watched princess' retreating back as she lightly pondered about her. She was definitely different from the ones she'd seen and encountered. She still thought that the princess was a fool to squander her treasury, but Zelda definitely didn't behave like a spoiled one. If anything, she was one of those rare one-in-a-million princesses that were raised well, or had gone through some hardships that imposed a certain sense of modesty and control within them.
Looking down at her prize, Samus raised an eyebrow reading the account number the 100,000 rupees was coming from. She knew that the Hyrulian kingdom had its own galactic account number to keep track of trade, but if she read this correctly, this was not from the kingdom's coffers.
This was from Princess Zelda's personal funds.
"Hmm…an interesting princess indeed," Samus smirked, making her way towards the nearest bank to cash in her prize. Perhaps she needed to slightly re-evaluate her opinion of the princess. "Interesting indeed…"
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After wading through crowds of fans and reporters wanting her autograph and comments about the match, Samus eventually made her way to the nearest bank teller to convert her prize into Galactic Credits.
As she waited for the converted credits, and thankfully in private, Samus glanced over at the nearby TV screen displaying the remaining matches for the day. Reading them over none of them held her interest. She did, however, note that some of the competitors from the tournament were already in the ring again. They were definitely tenacious.
"It seems Princess Zelda's up for a match," the teller commented, returning with her converted credits.
Accepting the pad and nodding in thanks, Samus glanced up at the display to see that Zelda was about to start a match. She noted who she was supposed to fight. Among the three opponents was none other than Captain Falcon. While quite the eccentric man, Captain Falcon was a bit of a wild fighter and would most likely dominate. Zelda's other two opponents were Bowser and Ike. Despite the fact they had just competed, they were more than likely well rested and ready to go for another match.
Curiosity nagged her as she quietly walked through the quiet halls. A part of her was interested to see the curious princess compete in this exhibition match, to see what she could do against such a match-up. However, the other part of her had already decided that she would lose. She lacked combat experience and competent training. She would be the first to lose, especially against two combat veterans and a monstrous creature that could crush her in an instant. Then there was her timetable. She got her money. She got what she came for.
Her walk took her by one of the gates that led to the stadium Zelda was fighting in. To her surprise, from the gates she could hear the crowd cheering for a name she had not expected.
"Zelda! Zelda! Zelda!" It was surprisingly deafening for someone she had deemed an ineffective combatant.
"Just what exactly is going on," she mumbled, walking through the door and looked out towards the stadium. To her great surprise, Zelda was doing well. Better than well Samus grudgingly admitted. The princess was holding her ground and surviving. Of her three opponents, Bowser and Ike were already eliminated. Glancing at the scoreboard, it was a 3-round Survival Match, and Captain Falcon was in the lead with 2 ring-outs left, while Zelda was down to her remaining one.
However, that quickly changed when Zelda suddenly fired off a spell sending Falcon clear off the ring and into the shielding around the stands.
Samus felt her jaw dropped in surprise. Falcon had her. He'd been ready to punch her right out of the ring and end it, but the princess pulled a fast one and quickly turned it around for herself. Around her, the crowd continued to cheer loudly for Zelda as they watched her square off with Falcon for the last round.
A few random items appeared before them but neither took thought of it. Falcon began to circle the girl looking for his moment to strike while Zelda simply maintained her cool composure, ready for his attack. Despite the cheering and noise of the crowd, tension mounted as the seconds passed. Neither warriors were ready to give ground, nor were they going to let their opponents take that ground. Both were determined to be victorious.
Samus watched the match closely. She realized that her knowledge on Zelda was now incredibly dated. Had she been matched up against the princess, she'd most likely have paid for her misguided confidence while in the ring; possibly even losing to her by some margin. Samus prided herself in her ability to be ready for any situation, which included studying those whom she deemed weak. A mistake she just made with Zelda by disregarding her completely. This was a new development she hadn't considered. From the stands, she carefully watched as the match unfolded. She would learn what she can.
Captain Falcon dashes forward, his arm reared back to unleash his signature attack. His fist, aflame with power, was aimed straight on for Zelda. Despite his respect for Zelda as a fellow fighter, there was no way he was allowing her to defeat him in combat. Not because he was a man and she a woman, but because it was a matter of personal pride as one of the strongest Smashers here. He could not lose. Not now.
"FALCON PUNCH!"
"What the hell?!" Samus gasped. Falcon's attack went straight through Zelda. She suddenly vanished, leaving behind a very confused and surprised Falcon. "How the hell-"
Words became lost to Samus as from behind Falcon, Zelda materialized and launched a fireball at his unprotected back, knocking him forward. She immediately followed with a levitation spell and threw Falcon high into the air. Drawing in the weapons strewn around her she telekinetically hurled them towards Falcon, barraging him with a plethora of objects and debris. Her ammunition spent, Zelda re-established her grip upon Falcon and hurled him straight down into a pillar of earth she summoned at the same time.
The crowd reacted to the sight of the captain smashing into the pillar as he screamed in pain.
Focusing power into her hand, Zelda unleashed her final attack as a massive ball of energy struck Falcon, exploding on contact hurling him clear of the ring.
"THE WINNER IS ZELDA!" the PA roared.
"What the hell just happened?!" Samus muttered, dumbfounded. She had made a critical error in judgement. Relying on old data would've been a costly and embarrassing mistake. Skill wise there was still no comparison, but she had no data on Zelda's magic. Illusions, levitation, teleportation, summoning; it was very likely that Zelda knew a lot more spells than what she presented today. The bounty hunter had seen the princess use magic before, but not to this extent.
"Just what the hell is she?" she wondered aloud. Noting how rambunctious the crowd was becoming, she made a quick exit, lest she get caught up in the celebrations.
She knew she couldn't leave now, not with this new discovery. What started off as an interesting encounter quickly evolved into outright curiosity and a need to have her questions answered. Although she had cleared her schedule to make the tournament, she was somewhat glad she had no jobs waiting for her. She had all the time needed to answer her question.
But did she want to stay long enough to have her questions answered? She could look up Zelda's profile in the League's databanks; both the public and private files. It would be a lot easier to find her answers that way. But the problem was it was just data. Raw data. It'd only give her half of the equation that was Princess Zelda. She'd have to get to know her personally to find all the answers. She needed to know how she thought. How she viewed things. How she handled things. She needed to know what made the princess tick if she wanted to beat her soundly. She might even catch a glimpse of her training; see what she could do and what she was made of. Maybe even see who taught her the skills she used today.
Unfortunately, she couldn't decide. Both had their ups and downs. Learning the information was faster and streamline, but it was all technical data. Spending time with the princess and learning about the fighter over time would offer her more in-depth understanding of her, rather than a compilation of Zelda's bests and worst points. But it would be time consuming and it would take her away from her work.
The thought of work reminded her of extremely unpleasant events. Less than two months ago, she had finally destroyed one of her worst enemies to date: the Phazon beast Dark Samus. Another reason she decided to participate was to get away from all the demands for her work and forget those events and put it all aside. But even with the constant stream of combat these past few days, it still failed to distract her from the horrible nightmares that still plagued her during sleepless nights. Remembering the images made her skin crawl.
'Maybe I should just stick around,' she thought to herself. She pondered on it for a while more, deciding she needed more time to recuperate from dealing with Metroid Prime, Dark Samus, and Phazon. Perhaps staying here and learn from the real thing was the best thing she could do for now. Lost in thought, Samus stumbled back as she realized that she'd bumped into someone.
"Pardon me," the person she had bumped into apologized.
"No problem," she mumbled, taking a look at the person she had bumped into she realized was none other than Zelda herself. Smiling wryly, Samus said, "Funny running into you. I was actually looking for you."
"Oh? May I ask what it is you wish to speak to me about?" Zelda politely asked, curiosity flickering lightly in her eyes, along with something else Samus couldn't exactly figure out.
"Is your offer for dinner still up?"
A/N: Before you get worried that this is a plagiarized version of the story, I am Marine Brother Shran, under a completely different penname. This was done with the intent of rebuilding my reputation, and because I wanted to restart anew as an author. Essentially start from the ground, up.
For those who are familiar with this story you'll recognise a lot of the scenes, some of them you won't. Also some scenes I've completely taken out because it doesn't match the way I've imagined Samus would behave. I've also added new scenes, or expanded on them to really flesh out Samus and Zelda throughout my story.
You'll also notice in later chapters that I've altered the dynamics of their relations. I hope that you guys will enjoy this particular iteration of their relationship.
With the addition of Metroid Other: M, I've elected to incorporate certain aspects of the game. Most specifically the animation style of how Samus deploys her armour. And don't worry it won't be the semi-angst Samus that was portrayed in that game. However, I do imagine the way Samus was animated in that game to be like the eldest daughter of Samus if she were to have a kid.
Anyways, so begins a massive revision of my story.