Prologue: A Dream worth Fighting For

Breathtaking. The only word she could fathom while stepping through the large gates. The first word to enter the mind of young Samus Aran when she entered the great structure of the Smash Dome. And that it was. The dome itself was massive. There were four hallways branching off from the great center plaza, one in each cardinal direction. Each path led to a large battlefield where the main events took place. Hundreds of people were strolling throughout the plaza, ducking in and out of shops and restaurants, watching the fights on a large monitor propped up in the middle of the building, or simply taking in the beauty of it all. Even though the establishment wasn't entirely finished (as evidenced by the many maintenance crews fixing glass panels into the ceiling or constructing new walls), it did have a serene feeling and look that made almost all patrons feel relaxed, which was quite ironic given the events that took place within these walls. Not only was the dome beautiful to be in and look at, but it was surely massive as well. The glass dome above the plaza had to have been at least 100 meters tall, making what the construction workers were doing quite a nauseating challenge.

It wasn't often that Samus' summer class took field trips. In fact, the only time they ever really left the school building was for the occasional recess every few days. Even sleeping took place within the dorms inside the school building. So getting out of that dank, smelly building was the highlight of Samus' week.

It's not that she hated school. In fact, Samus excelled in almost every subject and was essentially the best student at the school. She figured this was because of two reasons: 1) Her years of discipline and training with her adopted Chozo family made her more adept at acquiring new information and taking studies more seriously, and 2) All the other students were half-brained jackasses. Samus wished daily she could just return to her home instead of being forced to attend a summer school every year to "build relationship skills." While her trainers back home were strict and left her with hardly any free time, at Mrs. Jankey's Summer Program, the curriculum was far too easy for her and she found the whole ordeal rather monotonous. Even so, she did her best to build better relationships, but wasn't all too good at doing so. So, she stuck to her studies and ignored most of her classmates.

But today was different. Today, Samus was going to actually enjoy herself and see what being a fighter really meant.

Ever since she was five and witnessed her first Smash Battle, Samus had been obsessed with becoming a fighter. Back then, the Smash Dome was little more than a pizzeria that had been converted to have a boxing ring out back. Nevertheless, the way the fighters fought in both a graceful and violent manner intrigued her. She wanted to develop her skills to be able to fight along with, and eventually beat, the best of the best. She was already extraordinary in combat skills, so her desires only grew, and she knew that fighting champions would be her ultimate goal in life.

Finally snapping out of her state of awe, Samus hustled over to her classmates, who were dining on some suspicious looking curry for lunch. On her way over to them, she saw two combatants on the monitor. One was dressed in a red hat with an "M" emblem upon it and denim overalls (which could not have been easy to fight in). The other also wore odd clothing; a green tunic and pointed green hat. The red one seemed to be able to conjure fire from nothing and the green had a vast assortment of weaponry at his disposal, though where he kept it all was unknown to the young girl. They seemed to be fighting on a very small, very empty arena. Of course the emptiness was to be expected with construction still nowhere near completion. Samus figured the Dome wouldn't be full completed until she was a young woman. It appeared the two fighter were simply sparring to test their skills. Why these fighters had been hired years before the grand opening of the Dome was beyond her. As she watched the two duel, she couldn't help but hope she would be able to kick the shit out of them one day. She smiled at the thought.

Samus could've kept daydreaming for hours, had it not been for the long, pink obstacle that rudely awakened her from her daze by making her fall to the floor.

"Oh, that's it!" Samus yelled. She was done with this kind of shit. She couldn't take it anymore. So what if she wasn't as popular or slutty as other girls in her class? That did not give these jackasses the right to tease her, insult her, and, in this case, trip her.

"What do you want this time, Froakie?" Samus asked in a rage. "Why must you always do this kind of crap to me for absolutely no reason?"

"No reason?" the little toad said, feigning confusion. "You're the one who took the liberty of beating my posse and me to a pulp two days ago. This is simply just evening the scale."

"You started that fight and you know it, you bulbous-eyed freak. Just leave me alone and you won't have to go to the infirmary again."

"Look, I'm only doing this because you let me. The teach thinks you started that fight the other day and she's got you under close supervision. Meaning, if you lay a finger on me, you're done. I can do whatever I want, and you can't stop me. Now go get me a bowl of that curry, or I'll make a scene."

Samus was outraged, but knew the frog was right. He was untouchable; protected. "But you won't be forever," she mumbled to herself. "One day, we'll meet again, and you won't be protected. So God help me, I will beat you so hard, you'll never forget me, you little worm."