What Monsters Do
Chapter 1 – A change of plan
Intense.
That was the only word that could describe her.
Fast, agile, and brutishly strong felt like an understatement; at least they felt like an understatement to Zelda as she and a few other competitors stared up at the screen. The battle looked fierce, but the cheers of the crowd assured that Samus was definitely the one to bet on.
It was down to the armoured maiden against Fox and Falco - all three of them clearly exhausted – and Zelda was almost surprised that the huntress' armour hadn't given out under all the scratches and dents. It never looked completely healed even outside of battle, and she couldn't help but wonder if Samus preferred to fix it herself rather than trust the staff. Word also had it that it was the same suit she'd worn since the day she first became a bounty hunter, although considering she'd also heard rumour that falco was part duck... the Hylian wasn't really one for believing such silly ideas. She wondered about it so much that it was only the strained, startled cry of Fox as he was launched out of the field that snapped her back into reality just soon enough to see Samus land effortlessly; wielding her arm cannon in the air for balance.
Whether it was purely out of awe or spurred on by the crowd, Zelda sure enough found herself cheering along.
"Pi-Pi, Pika~aa chu?"
She turned to the familiar voice, greeted with Pikachu's proud, almost smug grin as he hopped up to settle neatly on the handrail before her. In any other case Zelda would be clueless to what on Earth the small creature was saying, but Pikachu having been one of the first and firmest friends she had made since joining the arena (with the help of the tri-force, of course) the princess had learned to translate fairly fluently. The small rodent had in fact asked, 'So, you're a Samus fan, eh?'
"Pika-pi, chuuu. Pikaa~aa!"
'Wouldn't blame ya. She's quite something.'
They laughed together for a moment, and she nodded definitively.
"I cannot say I have seen her in action for a long time, but I suppose I am!" A calm but bright smile lit up her face, and she relaxed; glad to see a familiar face amongst all the strangers and new competition. She had never really considered taking up combat as a full time hobby before the smash arena was introduced, but new challenges outside of the castle walls were something that she was always welcoming to.
Granted, this was only her third visit – the first being very fleeting where she was too reclusive to get to know many fighters at all, and the second absolutely hectic to the point where she barely had a chance to even greet the new fighters before she was pit against them. This visit, although she had only arrived early that morning, had already been a grand success. She'd gotten to know almost the entirety of the fighter cast, made plenty of friends too, but the iron maiden that was Samus Aran had managed to slip her grasp as always. It was almost no surprise that Samus was already participating in matches, and it almost seemed as though she cared for nothing more than soundly beating her opponents into the stratosphere.
Pikachu nodded, almost knowingly, and turned half his attention to the screen. Samus was brushing off her cannon, taking a swift exit as the announcer called out the next set of fighters. He chirped something under his breath before looking back to the young woman, tail swaying confidently as he rocked back to sit on his rear legs. If anyone knew Samus, it was Pikachu.
"Pipi, kaa~aa chu. Pika-pi?"
'Just don't get too peppy with her. Bad dogs bite, y'know?'
Zelda's smile faded very slightly. "Bad dogs bite?" She echoed, "Samus does not strike me as an animal... Just very sure of her position."
Pikachu only shook his head, peering over his shoulder as the elevator rung out that it had reached their floor.
"Chuu~uu,"
'Speakin' of the devil,' He gestured briefly towards the doors with a flick of his tail and leapt from handrail, scampering off towards the bathrooms with what Zelda saw as a flashy smile,
"Pikaaaaa!"
'Be careful, friend!'
She was about to press the matter further, but her attention was quickly drawn to the elevator as Samus stepped out, helmet held tightly under her free arm. She decided against approaching the huntress, the blonde already looking hot and bothered enough, but that didn't stop the wordless stare.
It was the first time she'd seen Samus up close - even if she was mostly covered by the Varia. It looked well worn to say the least, yet still appeared unbreakable, but the woman inside the suit is what had caught her attention.
Tall was an understatement - Samus easily rivalled many of the competitors for height, and she was well built too – and despite having only just come out of battle her hair wasn't particularly messy; though that was most likely thanks to that tight ponytail.
Their eyes met for a long moment, broken abruptly as Samus let off a throaty huff, eyes squinted suspiciously, and turned away to head towards the dorm rooms.
Perhaps that wasn't as subtle as planned.
Despite her efforts, Zelda couldn't seem to find Samus anywhere for the rest of the day. She had a lot of questions revolving around everything from battlefield technicalities right down to how her day had been - but it seemed as though she'd hidden herself away with her own business. Regarding Samus' job it'd make sense if she were busying herself, but the gunship remained parked neatly outside of the arena without any signs of interference. She had to be inside the building somewhere, but no matter where she looked and no matter whom she asked there was simply no sign of her.
Even as the fighters piled in to eat at the end of the day Samus was nowhere to be found, and the kitchen staff denied the half hearted suggestion that she'd already been in.
As the sun set to rest and the last of the fighters were leaving the foot court to head off to their sector's dorms for the night, the princess shook her head and feigned a smile.
"I suppose I will not be seeing her any time soon." She mumbled to herself, arching her back with a stretch and a tired yawn.
She pushed open the door to the women's dorm, gave a few smiles to the Mushroom Kingdom's princesses as they still sat awake in the main room, and retreated into the bedrooms.
She read over the nameplates on each door, and quickly realised that fighters from the same area were in the same room as each other - the remaining fighters put into pairs.
Peach and Rosalina were in one, Palutena and Lucina in another...
'Samus and I are rooming together?'
She pursed her lips. Surely the Trainer and Samus should be rooming together? Zelda had been around far longer that she had; it would make far more sense to pair up a veteran with a newcomer so that she could show her the ropes.
Shrugging it off, she cautiously opened the door.
Empty, of course.
She sighed, almost disappointed to be the first one back out of the two, and perched neatly on her bed. Everything seemed to be just as she remembered aside from a neatly folded note on her pillow, which she quickly scanned through.
A map (Helpful, at least – the arena had been expanded since her last visit), a list of the staff, what times the food hall opened and closed... And a personalized note.
She hummed hopefully, and her questions were answered much to her relief.
' Welcome back, Zelda!
We apologise for the room change, however we believe that Ms. Aran will be the most suitable roommate for you during this tournament.
Newcomers have been paired up together this season as we would like to test if they find socialising less stressful when already introduced to others in their position.
Since neither you or Ms. Aran have fellow fighters from your region of the same gender in the field, we have decided to place you together.
We are aware that you may not be used to the building's new layout, so we have alerted her that you may need some assistance; please do not be afraid to approach her if you need to.
Best regards and happy fighting,
Master Hand'
"How thoughtful." She smiled to herself, lightening up at the thought of having Samus as some sort of guide - but Pikachu's words were still fresh in the back of her mind.
What if Samus wasn't as accepting as the letter implied? She didn't want to use Samus, after all - but she hadn't exactly felt approachable beforehand.
She shook it off, packing her things neatly away in the drawer by her bed.
It was a nice little bedroom, even if they did all look the same. Plainly designed walls and a boarded floor, a bed on either side of the room each with a small drawer by the head, and a few hangers on the wall. In each there was also an ensuite bathroom - also containing only the very basics. Bare necessities, but then again these rooms were purely for sleeping in.
"Oh, hey Sammy!"
Peach's voice rang from outside the door and brought her back down to Earth, as well as a strange feeling rising in her gut. Was it nervousness? Excitement? Fear, perhaps? Maybe even all of the above.
As the sound of metal-on-metal rattled outside the door, a sound which Zelda would soon learn to recognise as the Varia shuttering in on itself to leave the huntress in her zero suit, she barely had time to turn around before Samus blocked the light from the doorway.
Their eyes met, and the princess felt an almost electrical fear run down her spine.
Samus' eyes were burning, but there was something about them. There was something behind the fire that she immediately wanted to pursue, and Zelda found herself unable to tear her eyes away. It took a few long moments of silence between the two before Samus frowned, eyes narrowing slightly with what seemed to be irritation. Zelda cleared her throat and rose to her feet, quickly gathering composure and spoke as calmly as she could despite the embarrassment raging through the heat in her cheeks.
"Samus?" She asked almost in disbelief, but received a mere grunt in response from the blonde.
She swallowed inaudibly, glad to have at least gotten something in reply.
"There is a new system this year," She explained loosely, fiddling with the letter between her fingertips. "So I suppose that you and I will be in the same quarters for the entirety of the season."
Samus blinked, almost blanking the princess as she passed and dropped her bag onto the bed.
It was the first time she'd seen Samus out of her armour, so naturally the Hylian was more than slightly taken aback, but even so, she was a little offended at being so readily dismissed.
"So, I was-"
The door to the bathroom clattered shut, and Zelda was left stand in silence as the squeak of the shower took over. Samus clearly wasn't in the mood to talk, so she sunk down to sit on her bed again. She couldn't shake that look in Samus' eyes out of her head.
An old sadness, dulled over year after year of the same routine; likely so hectic that chaos meant nothing to her. It was sadness.