"Samus Aran? Married?"

The infamous Bounty Hunter Sylux could not believe it eyes. Ever since it had taken the last living Metroid from Galactic Federation headquarters It had expected to hear news of that Samus Aran was in hot pursuit. It had prepared for the worst, arming his ship and armor with the most sophisticated and deadly weapons that it could find.

But after evading wave after wave of Federation Force troopers, with no sign of Samus Aran in sight, it utilized some of its connections within the Federation to gather intel. It had thought that Samus was still recovering from her battle, or perhaps the Federation thought to save some money by utilizing its own troopers rather than a freelance bounty hunter. But upon learning the truth… that the infamously single Samus Aran was finally settling down… Sylux was at a complete loss for words.

It turned to look at the little Metroid in its tank, which bobbed up and down energetically while emitting its strange alien cry. Ever since it had started feeding on downed Federation Force troopers, it had taken a liking to Sylux.

"You have no idea how makes me feel." Sylux said to it. Truth be told, it had no idea how it felt about it either. Its curiosity getting to him, he began investigating the wedding.

As he had expected, there were no proper details on official channels. Other than the fact that it was happening no one seemed to know anything about it. The chatter on the Net seemed to focus on the identity of the groom, who would be invited as guests, and the location. No one knew anything about the guy (Or even if it was a man at all) but it was commonly accepted that members of the Star Fox team of the Lylat system, alongside famed F-Zero Pilot Captain Falcon, would be attendance.

Its curiosity mounting, Sylux began an investigation into both individuals. The leader of Star Fox, Fox McCloud, was a renowned Mercenary from the Lylat System. He had been credited with the defeat of the Emperor Andross, saving the Dinosaur Planet Sauria from imminent destruction, singlehandedly stopping the Aparoid invasion, and one of the major players in the fight against the Anglars of the Venom Sea. He was married, with a wife and child.

Yet there was no official documentation of a real relationship with Samus Aran. They had never worked together in any official capacity. Samus had, as far as he could tell, ever set foot in the Lylat System. Yet Fox had issued a public statement congratulating her on her wedding… one of the very few to do so.

Perhaps the connection to Samus was through his wife, Krystal? Hailing from the planet Cerinia, a world just outside the Lylat System, Krystal was orphaned from a young age. She met Fox on Dinosaur Planet, and married about a decade later. Her history was not as colorful as her husband's. If anything Sylux thought that Fox was more likely to have met Samus.

Sylux was beginning to dig deep into the past of Captain Falcon, who was a notoriously reclusive figure, when it's communicator started beeping. He stared down at it, and pressed the button.

"Yes?"

A figure completely covered in shadow erupted onto the display screen before him.

"Hello, Sylux." The figure said. "It has been a while."

Sylux said nothing.

"We have a job for you." The figure continued. "One that I think will be very much to your liking."

"I'm currently in the middle of another job-"

"We will, of course, provide for the Metroid and clone it." The figure said smoothly. "That is, in fact, part of the reason We decided to contact you."

Sylux narrowed its eyes through its helmet. He had not wanted to admit it, but the thought of stashing the Metroid in a typical hideaway was not exactly desirable.

"What's the job?" it asked. "What do you want me to do?"

The figure leaned forward.

"To Kill Samus Aran." It said simply. The screen clicked off.

Sylux stared. Its armored hand clenched into a fist. It was laughing.

"You will never be a married, woman, Samus Aran." It rasped, as it turned around to the ship's controls. The Metroid, completely unaware of what was happening, continued to bounce up and down as the ship accelerated, heading to its new destination.

Elincia had enjoyed her time with Prince Chrom and his wife very much. She and Ike had spent what felt like hours talking among them. She had laughed more than she had in a very, very long time. Her eyes kept falling on Ike, and her heart melted whenever she saw him laughing too. It was an incredible feeling. Even after all this time, nothing had really changed.

"I have to say, Elincia." Chrom said, smiling. "I can't remember the last time I had such a good time conversing with nobility. I much prefer the company of the people."

Ike nodded in agreement. Elincia smiled.

"I feel the same way." She said. "I have… never gotten quite used to being Queen. I fear, sometimes, that I am not a good ruler…"

"How ridiculous." Chrom said, at once. "You've always put the people first. Isn't that right, Ike?"

Ike nodded. "I wouldn't have anyone other than Elincia on the throne." He said. Elincia smiled at him, but it was rather weak. If she hadn't been Queen…. She would have been able to follow her passion. If she didn't have to be Queen, she would be his wife.

"It's normal to doubt yourself sometimes, Elincia." Sumia spoke up. "But I can tell you have Ike's absolute trust, and that means a good deal to people."

Elincia nodded, but the praise kind of rang hollow in her ears. In truth she felt a little guilty. Instead of worrying about being a good ruler, she was more concerned with her personal feelings. Her love for a man that she now knew was completely out of her reach.

The tent flap opened, and little Lucina came bouncing back in, beaming.

"Daddy!" She chirped. "Look who it is!"

Elincia looked up, and was surprised to see a young woman that almost exactly looked like the girl before them, only much older. She blinked in surprise at the table.

"Lucina!" Chrom said, surprised, as he got to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

The girl smiled. "Hello Father." She said warmly. "I-"

She caught sight of Elincia, and she went bright red. She turned her head away. Chrom, as if understanding something, waved his hand over to her.

"Elincia." He said. "This is Lucina. Lucina, this is Elincia, Queen of Crimea."

"H-how do you do…" The girl said, a bit awkwardly, as she bowed her head respectfully. Elincia frowned, looking between the girls and Chrom. They all bared an uncanny resemblance. And Lucina had…

The tent flap opened again and a blonde young man stepped through, deep in conversation with Lucia. Lucia, Elincia was surprised to see, seemed a lot happier and more girlish than usual. She was actual giggling as the boy told her some story or other.

"Oh, Link." Chrom said, surprised. "You're here too."

"Yeah, yeah." The boy, Link said, casting a look around the room. He caught sight of Ike and beamed.

"Hey, it's the man of the hour." Link said brightly, as he made his way over and took Ike's "Congratulations, man. Congratulations!"

"Thanks." Ike said. "You're looking well."

The boy's attention turned to Elincia.

"Oh, and you must be Queen Elincia." He said brightly. "Ike's told me a lot about you… About how you took your country back, and stopped a civil war. Pretty grand stuff. Our little Princess hasn't done half of what you've done."

Elincia smiled, but Sumia frowned.

"Link, don't talk about Zelda like that." She admonished. "She's a nice girl!"

Link laughed. "Did I make it that obvious?"

"Daddy!" Little Lucina said, tugging at Chrom's cape. He bent down to get a good look at her. "Auntie Lucina has something to tell you!"

Chrom looked up at her. Lucina, if possible, turned even redder.

"Oh?" He asked. "What is it?"

Lucina blushed, turning her head downward. There was an awkward silence. Link smiled widely and made his way over to her.

"Come on." He said, patting her on the shoulder. "It's okay."

Lucina nodded, bit her lip, and then blurted out.

"Link asked me to marry him!"

There was a stunned silence. Little Lucina gasped, her hands over her face. Sumia's eyes widened. Chrom looked shocked.

"Wow!" Little Lucina said, getting over her surprise. "You're really getting married! Wow!" She began to twirl and do an awkward little dance. She didn't seem to be the most coordinated on her feet, and tripped within a couple of seconds. Her parents, however, were staring at Link and Lucina.

"Is this true?" Chrom asked, quietly.

Link nodded.

"Yes." He said. "I love her, sir."

They stared at each other. And then Chrom smiled.

"She could have done a lot worse, I suppose." He said. Sumia gave him an exasperated look, and then turned to Link.

"You're going to be part of the family!" She squeeled, as she dashed forward and wrapped his arms around him. "Oh, we need to tell Lissa… and the rest of the Shepards, I suppose…"

"They might already know." Link told her. "We accidently told Zelda before we found you."

Sumia suddenly looked alarmed. "They better not!" She said. "We need to have a little party… We need to celebrate your engagement!"

Lucina suddenly looked very alarmed. "During Samus' wedding preparations?"

"Well, why not?" Sumia demanded, hands on her hips. "Samus won't mind… would she, Ike?"

"She didn't want a big party to begin with." Ike said lazily. "She'll probably be glad to have a little less attention on her."

Sumia turned back to Lucina and wrapped her arm around hers.

"Come on, Lucina." She urged. "We need to talk about your own plans… you'll want to be married where Chrom and I got married, right? We'll need to get a dress made… and don't you DARE try and pick one for yourself, I'll do it…"

"But-"

Before Lucina could answer, Sumia dragged her by the arm and out through the tent flap. They could make out a faint protesting from her as she was dragged away.

Chrom and Link looked at each other. Before they could speak, however, Little Lucina had made her way over to Link.

"You're really going to marry Auntie Lucina?" She asked. "Really really?"

Link bent over, smiling. "Why yes I am." He said. "Sorry I had to keep it a secret. But Lucina wanted your parents to know first."

Little Lucina smiled widely. "It was a surprise, huh?"

Link smiled at Chrom. "A good surprise, I hope?"

Chrom smiled back. "The best."

Elincia smiled at them. "I wish you both the best." She said warmly. Link laughed and nodded at her.

"Thank you so much!" He said. "That means a lot." He turned to Ike. "Hey, your soon to be wife is being tortured by Princess Peach at her place… they're having a party there and I think Peach is grilling her on what she wants to do for the wedding. You might want to go and check up on her."

"Samus can handle herself." Ike said, amused. "But I suppose we may as well go… We got caught up here and haven't had a chance to."

"I'll come with you." Link said. "Chrom?"

Chrom shook his head. "It's getting dark, and Lucina needs to study."

Lucina's look of elation turned to that of horror.

"Daddy, no…." She said. "We're on vacation…"

"You'' want to get up bright and early to go play with your friends tomorrow." Chrom told her. "So now is the best time to do it."

Lucina sighed. "Yes, Father…"

Ike and Elincia got to their feed as Chrom and Lucina bid their goodbyes and walked out, hand in hand. Link watched them go, smiling.

"He's such a good father." Link commented to them once they had left. "I always really admired that about him."

Ike and Elincia were quick to agree.

"Well, shall we go?"