Samus found herself walking to the Transporting Room. She hadn't been invited to anything before; Zelda must've just been trying to be nice by including her. Not a big deal.
Something bothered her, though.
Olimar was afraid of her. She knew that the others didn't see her as very friendly and that on the battleground they were probably were afraid of her. But she was just in the Mansion, spending time with the others. She wasn't a threat. Why was he afraid?
And, as confusing as it may be, she was irritated that it bothered her. Why would she care? She didn't want to connect with anybody, so fear shouldn't matter to her. In fact, she probably should be feared by everybody.
But then why aren't Peach, Zelda, and Nana? So what if they were all girls, that didn't automatically give them a bond. Are the other guys afraid of her?
Before Samus could think about it any further, she had arrived at the TR. She saw Zelda, Yoshi, and Marth all standing on platforms behind the glass, ready to be sent to the arena. Samus walked to the Spectator Room. The Spectator Room was a black room with a big screen in front that displayed the battlefield the current round is happening in. There were four smaller screens surrounding the big screen. Each of those smaller screens would focus on one fighter, allowing you to keep on eye on your choice to win. There were three rows of 10 chairs each for people to sit down and watch.
She poked her head inside and looked around. She saw Link, Ike, and Toon Link sitting down together in the front row right in the center. Pit was there, sitting with Popo in the back row. Finally, she saw Peach and Nana sitting together in the middle row, slightly on the left side so they could see Zelda's screen better.
Peach's eyes widened and a smile spread over her face when she saw Samus. "Samus!"
All heads in the room turned to the doorway. Samus felt everyone's eyes on her. She walked in without saying a word and took the seat right by Peach.
"I'm so glad you came!" Peach said, beaming.
"I said I would after all." Samus said, uncomfortable that a big deal was being made of it.
"We weren't sure if you actually would though!" Nana spoke up.
"Shush!" Peach scolded Nana. "I knew you'd be here."
Samus simply nodded in acknowledgement. The guys in the room had all gone back to their conversations, letting Samus feel more at ease. She looked at the big screen and saw each fighter would have three knockouts before disqualification. The match wouldn't be determined by a time limit, so it could be over quickly or drag on.
"Zelda should do pretty well against these two." Peach commented.
"But Marth is pretty fast." Nana reminded her. "And he's a good swordsman."
"But Zelda can still use Sheik. That should give her the upper hand." Peach pointed out.
"Can't forget about Yoshi."
The three girls turned around and saw Pit smiling at them. "He may look silly, but he's a pretty good fighter." Samus, saw Popo standing beside the angel warrior.
"Popo!" Nana yelled at her brother. "Go away, this is girl time."
"Nonsense! You guys, sit down, join us!" Peach said, friendly as ever.
Great, Samus thought.
Popo sat beside his sister and Pit jumped over the chairs into their row and took the seat on the other side of Samus. Nana was noticeably displeased by her brother sitting right next to her. Pit had to shuffle around a bit to sit comfortably on his wings, but he seemed to have no problem sitting by Samus. She wondered if maybe only Olimar is afraid her?
"Hey Samus." Pit said, smiling at her.
"Hello."
"You left right after our match, but I wanted to say that you put up a good fight. And congratulations on winning."
"Thank you." She replied.
"Why are you here, anyway?" Popo asked, leaning forward to see her past Peach and Nana.
Samus raised an eyebrow. Peach, Nana, and Pit all glared at the blue ice climber. "No, no, not like that!" He said, waving his hands. "I don't mind that you're here, it's great! I just mean you usually don't watch other people's matches. Why are… What brought you down here?"
"She's here with us to watch Zelda fight." Peach said.
"Awesome!" Pit said.
"Do you fight her later?" Popo asked.
Nana punched her brother's arm. "No she doesn't! We're just here to support our friend!"
Our friend… Samus thought.
"Why are you guys here?" Nana added.
"We just came down here to kill time." Pit said. "Hey Samus, you know, you should come down here more often! Some people are really funny to watch."
"Anyone I should look for?" She asked.
"Well…" Pit said, thinking. "For example, Diddy and R.O.B. Diddy is kind of confused by a machine, he isn't quite sure how to fight it." Samus had noticed something similar when fighting the chimp while in her power suit.
"A Pokemon battle of any kind." He went on. "Those often just end with the person with the better strategy winning."
"Anything with Mr. Game and Watch!" Nana spoke up. "That guy is just a lot of fun to watch, no matter what!"
"That's true!" Pit said, with a chuckle.
"What about you Pit?" Peach asked, with a smirk. "You against Olimar and his Pikmin."
Pit began laughing. "Those little guys are the worst to fight! They always grab onto my wings!"
The group went on talking for a bit, retelling fights they had seen and experienced. Samus sat quietly, listening in to all of their stories. Were these people her friends? Did they consider her a friend? If they did, would she have to as well? She didn't want to risk that again, for her sake and theirs.
"Oi, guys."
The group turned to the front row. Ike had turned to face them. "The fight's gonna start."
"Ooo, this is exciting!" Peach said, clapping.
"I think Zelda has a pretty good chance." Pit said to Samus.
"Yeah, she's strong." Samus agreed.
As the fight began, Samus thought back to what Nana said. Samus never had friends quite like this. These people were pretty much strangers to each other. They knew each other for a few weeks and are already act so close to each other? It didn't make much sense. Plus, they were all here to fight each other. Why purposely befriend someone you know you're going to fight? It doesn't make things easier.
And why did they want to be her friend? Weren't they afraid? She didn't want them to be scared, but she didn't want them to be friendly with her either. What did she want? Is something missing?
"Holy Palutena! Did you see that?" Pit yelled, tugging on Samus's arm.
Samus gave a small smile. "Yeah." She hadn't seen it, but she didn't want to be rude.
"Zelda is so good!" Peach said. Samus nodded.
What does it matter if they think she's mean? Isn't that what she's been telling herself this whole time, that it shouldn't matter what they think of her? She should just stop trying to think so deeply about it. It could be over by the end of the day anyway.
"Yoshi's out!" Pit cheered. "You got this Zel!"
"Cheering for Zelda, are you?" Samus said, amused.
"Yeah." Pit smiled. "I'm just here to pass time, but I'll cheer with you gals!"
"Thanks Pit!" Peach said, joining their conversation. "I'm sure Zelda would appreciate it, too!"
"Come on man!" Ike yelled, standing up in the front. "Take her down! She's just some princess!" Ike looked over at the Links. "Why aren't you guys backing me here?"
Toon Link shrugged. Link just grinned. "I really don't care who wins at this point." Ike just groaned and slumped back in his seat.
Yoshi walked into the room, panting heavily. He walked into the back row, to see the rest of the match.
Peach turned around and gave him a sympathetic smile. "You did great Yoshi." Yoshi gave her a tired, but thankful look.
Peach can talk to anybody, can't she? Samus thought. Peach had spoken to her freely. And the same happened with Pit and Popo when they came over.
Zelda had two lives left, while Marth had only one. Zelda became saying something to herself. They couldn't hear her, but they could tell she was casting a magic spell. Suddenly, she became shrouded in light. The light lasted a few seconds, but soon faded and revealed Sheik.
"Oh boy, here we go!" Pit yelled. He was leaning forward with his hands curled into fists. Samus noted how into it he was getting.
Marth charged at Sheik and thrust his sword forward. Sheik bent over so her body went below the sword. She readied two needles and threw them at Marth's right hand, making him drop his weapon. Sheik wrapped one of her legs around the prince and used it to throw him to the ground. In one fluid motion, she then spun around, grabbed him by the collar, spun around, and threw him off of the platform. Marth's counter went to zero and a voice called the end of the brawl.
The 4 people around Samus began cheering as loud as they could. Both Peach and Pit stood up and began clapping as they cheered. The Ice Climbers jumped out of their seats and began jumping in unison. Seeing everyone celebrate made Samus herself smile.
Ike began shouting at the screen, while the Link's just laughed. "Our princess beats your prince!"
"Shut up!" Ike yelled.
Peach grabbed Samus's hands and began tugging to make her stand up. Samus got up and, when she saw how happy everybody was, actually began laughing herself.
"Let's go meet up with Zel!" Peach said. The group left the Spectator Room, followed by Yoshi and the Swordsmen.
Zelda and Marth both got out of the transporters. Zelda held out her hand and commended Marth on a good match. Marth was noticeably embarrassed, but nodded and shook her hand. The 5 began clapping for Zelda. The Princess of Hyrule walked over to them with a smile.
"Thanks for coming everyone." She said.
"Zelda, that was incredible!" Peach screeched, wrapping Zelda up in a hug.
"Phenomenal!" Pit said.
"Thank you." Zelda smiled. She turned her head to Samus.
"Good job, Princess." Samus said. "That was fun to watch."
"Thank you Samus."
"Is anyone busy right now?" Peach asked.
"My schedule is clear." Zelda replied.
"I'm free for the day." Pit said.
"We have a match in a half hour." Popo said.
"We'd like you guys to watch, but we're against Wolf…" Nana added. Samus knew Wolf was never one to talk to others, it wasn't surprising that he didn't like people watching him fight.
"That's too bad…" Peach said. "Samus?"
Samus was caught off guard again. She saw all eyes on her, eagerly awaiting her response. She did have some free time before her fight, but she wanted to spend it by herself.
"Oh, sorry. I have a brawl at 5. I'm going to warm up for it." She told them.
"Ok. Good luck, though!" Peach said, slightly saddened.
"Hey, maybe we'll come by to watch it!" Pit added.
Samus hesitated for a second then said, "Sure. Sounds good."
The group went into the hallway. Samus went one direction to her room, and the others went out to the lobby area.
She wouldn't have to warm up for the brawl. She was facing Luigi, Pikachu, and Fox, She knew all of their techniques well enough to hold her own in a fight. She just needed time to think things over.
She did want to be included. She just couldn't be.