A.D. Sorry for how long it's been guys. Been a little busy with college and whatnot, but on the bright side I haven't stopped writing this. I've written up to chapter 11 those chapters just need edited, and once again thank you all for the advice on my grammar and punctuation. I try my best to fix these chapters up, but I'm still not the greatest at it(I'm down right terrible at itXD). Anyway I'll keep trying to get better so the story is easier to read. Enjoy the chapter party people, I'll try to post on a more regular basis.^^
Chapter 8 A Day at the Park
Pikachu's ears flicked, searching for any noises rustling among the trees. Subspace hosted a large park big enough to allow various flora to grow. The yellow pokemon stopped trotting on his four little legs, clutching the frisbee he carried with him tightly in his jaw. Looking around he found no one around, leaves blew gently in the wind, and crickets chirped happily to their midnight tunes.
It was rare for Pikachu to be out this late, he was not a nocturnal pokemon. Normally he would happily be asleep at the pokemon center resting for the coming battles, but there was an exception to this normal routine.
Walking deeper into the park trees hide most of the area from view, and like the pokemon knew there was the person he was searching for deep with the woods. Under one of the larger trees sat the warrior clad in metal, Samus. Unlike most Pikachu felt no fear as he trotted over to the hunter.
Pikachu could smell the fear and anxiety that others gave off when around the hunter, but the pokemon had long stopped having such feelings himself. It was not that Pikachu was foolish, no if anything Pikachu understood how dangerous Samus could become more than anyone. Their relationship was one Pikachu could only compare to pokemon and trainer. Though Pikachu loved his trainer back in his own world. Samus had proven she was someone Pikachu could turn to and follow if he needed to. Pokemon were just like that, they needed someone to partner themselves with. It was the only way that they could truly become stronger.
During the first tournament Pikachu had felt lost without his trainer backing him up. The yellow pokemon had stumbled upon Samus training one day, and he attempted to join her sensing how much he could learn from her. At first the huntress denied him, but Pikachu was persistent. He could feel the strength behind the hunter, and he wanted to better himself under such a powerful force.
It was slow, but eventually Samus began letting him stick around as she trained. At first she wouldn't allow him to join. She would give him a snack she bought from some store, and continue her own practicing. With time though the pokemon began practicing with the battle hardened huntress. Samus was just as strong as he thought she was, Pikachu discovered. It was clear since the first day that they began training together. That if Samus wanted to she could completely destroy half of the fighters present at the tournament.
After battling against the huntress for so long the pokemon was able to tell the metal warrior was holding back. Even in the real matches she was always holding something back.
It was something no ordinary human would notice. A fist losing momentum just before impact, a slight adjustment to where a projectile was going to hit. Pikachu's instincts told him just how close the huntress was to making a killing blow, but she would always stop short of doing it. It was in the huntress' own instincts to go for the kill. Whatever went on in the hunter's dimension, caused her to become the battle harden warrior she was, ready to make a kill at the drop of a hat. She always held back though never truly becoming the machine that the other fighters made her out to be.
Except for the newcomer to the ring Pikachu had noted. The pointed ear woman that smelled of ink and paper with a hint of lavender, she had been paired to fight alongside Samus for the beginning of the tournament. Pikachu had been disappointed it wasn't him to be paired with the huntress, but the royal looking woman proved to be a friend. Unlike everyone else, there was no fear coming from her when Samus was around. If anything Pikachu could feel the hylian relax whenever in the huntress' presence. It made the pokemon extremely happy knowing the newcomer could see the huntress meant no harm.
Before fully approaching the hunter, Pikachu dropped his frisbee. Lowing his form closer to the ground, he slinked over to the metal warrior. Samus was sitting unmoving under the tree. With her legs crossed arms resting on her legs the hunter sat unmoving, not acknowledging the approaching pokemon. Pikachu knew the hunter was aware of his presence, the visor did not move from its forward stare to look at him though.
Like a cat Pikachu crawled onto Samus lap worming his way under her arms. The hunter didn't respond, and Pikachu whined. Pikachu like most knew little about Samus. As a pokemon he was quite smarter than your average animal, but even he understood little about what went on in that metal helmet. He did know one thing however.
Samus was in pain.
Not the kind of pain one got from an injury, but a pain that made the hunter come to this park nearly every night. And do nothing but sit and stare ahead lost to the entire world.
Pikachu nudged the hunter's palm trying to gain her attention. Samus' head twitched as if waking from a dream. Her bright green visor looked down at the pokemon in her lap.
"Pika!" The yellow pokemon excitedly cried, nuzzling the warrior's stomach. Some might think that would be uncomfortable for Pikachu because of Samus' cold armor, but Pikachu didn't care. Samus was in pain and the pokemon had no clue what caused it, or how to stop it.
Rolling over on his back Pikachu tried to get the hunter to rub his stomach. Though to an outsider it may seem like the pokemon was just begging for attention for his own benefit. In reality it was Pikachu's way of stopping the hunter from distantly staring again.
Samus responded giving Pikachu the attention he was demanding. Pikachu happily made an almost purring sound.
"Chuuuu," the pokemon flipped back upright now that Samus was firmly out of whatever dark state possessed her. Samus patted Pikachu's head gently, she was always gentle. Despite her appearance the huntress was always considerate of others space, careful to not hurt them or cause destress.
Then the hunter pointed up at the sky above. The moon shone high above, stars dotting the sky like a million fireflies. It was a silent scolding telling the pokemon he should be sleeping.
"Pika!" The pokemon's tone was harsh, scolding the hunter as well. Pikachu had watched his silent companion today fighting off the plumber and turtle creature. The metal clad warrior had to be tired, yet they didn't sleep. He had thought the huntress had retired to her ship, but apparently she still found herself out here. Pikachu knew it had to do with whatever brought the hunter out here any other time, but it was still frustrating since he had no clue what was bringing the hunter pain.
Pikachu was still just a pokemon, he just had his instincts to go on. The only thing he was able to understand fully was that Samus was in pain, and he couldn't fix it. The pokemon whined curling close to the hunter. Samus scratched behind his ears trying to console the pokemon not knowing Pikachu was upset because Samus was upset.
The metal warrior's head turned to see the toy the pokemon brought with him. Reaching over she grabbed the frisbee presenting it to Pikachu. The pokemon perked up immediately.
This was their routine nearly every night since Pikachu first discovered the hunter came here during the first tournament. Samus would come to this spot deep in the park, and sit under the tree. Pikachu would follow soon after with a ball or some toy. Then he would demand the huntress play with him. Samus would comply doing whatever the pokemon had in store for her whether throwing a frisbee or racing the pokemon through the park.
The two did this any night Pikachu found the hunter away from her ship. Pikachu may never find what caused the hunter pain, but the least he could do was distract the huntress from the dark thoughts that plagued her.
Samus threw the frisbee careful that it flew down the clearest path away from any trees. Pikachu raced after it his small legs quickly carrying him to run under the frisbee as it glided through the air. The pokemon easily jumped and caught the flying disk, bringing it back to Samus.
"Pika!" Samus took the offered toy before petting the pokemon's head. Pikachu made a noise of happiness. It certainly was a strange friendship, but Pikachu wouldn't it have it any other way.
"I don't get why the Master Hand would let Ganondorf in the tournament, did you see his last match?" Link's voice was tense showing the Hero's concern over the dark lord's presence. Zelda frowned she did indeed see the evil king's first match today. The Gerudo King dominated his opponents with his brute strength and dark magic. He didn't even need his teammate's aid.
It was clear that he was not at the level he was when Link faced him in their own world. However, he was still a forced to be reckoned with, and Zelda was sure that if she was alone she would have little chance against him.
"I'm more worried about what he is planning outside the arena." Zelda had yet to get a chance to tell Samus about her dream, or come up with a way to explain it to her that the dream could very well be predicting events to come. The Princess was finding that for an over six foot tall heavily armored metal clad warrior. Samus was very good at making herself scarce when she wanted to. Though they called each other friend now Zelda was still far from fully understanding Samus.
"Between him and metalhead I'm going to be spending more time fighting them off than in the actual tournament." Link's tone was joking, but Zelda gave him a stern glare.
"Samus would never hurt me, and please do not call her that." Zelda did feel a bit guilty that she wasn't telling Link everything that was going on with her silent teammate. The Princess has been so focused on becoming closer to Samus. That she hasn't taken the time to sit down and talk with Link. To make up for it since Zelda couldn't do any training anyway with her still injured side the two took a walk in the park today. Though Zelda's healing wound still ached, the Princess ignored it determined not to let it hold her back.
"Yah, yah, wait….her?" The Hero was about to brush off Zelda's defense of the metal warrior when he caught on to the pronoun Zelda referred to the hunter by. Zelda mentally cursed herself, she didn't know if Samus wanted her identity to remain a secret. She didn't seem like someone to withhold information if someone asked, but it still didn't sit well with the Princess.
"Just a slip of the tongue, I meant them. Don't call them that Link." Link leaned closer to the Princess, an accusatory look on his face.
"No, Princess Zelda doesn't have a 'slip of the tongue'. Samus is a girl?" Zelda sighed there was no use trying to lie.
"Yes, Samus is a woman." Zelda didn't even get to finish her sentence before Link was shooting off questions.
"How do you know?" The Princess shook her head in exasperation, Link really needed to learn to be patient.
"I asked her to show me what she looks like under the helmet, and she did." Link stopped walking at Zelda's simple statement, his eyes wide.
"You just asked Samus to take off her helmet and she did. We tried that last tournament and the robot just walked away!" Zelda's eyes narrowed she really was starting to hate it when someone called Samus a robot. It wasn't the fact that people believed Samus mechanical that bothered her. If Samus had truly been a machine it wouldn't change Zelda's thoughts about her. The huntress was kind, and probably one of the most calm people Zelda has ever met. What bothered the Princess was the tone people used when calling Samus that. An insulting note to their voice that said that they never stopped to actually prove the insult right.
"I somehow doubt you asked in the same context as me." The Hero gave Zelda a dirty look.
"Fine we were trying to get them to drink at a bar at the same time, but that's not the point!" This time Zelda stopped Link before he could continue.
"No the point is you need to give Samus a chance." Link crossed his arms frowning.
"Alright I admit I might be being a little unfair, but what do you really know about Samus? How can you be one hundred percent sure she's not dangerous?" Zelda frowned, why did everyone so firmly believed Samus was dangerous. Was it the fact nobody knew anything about her. Zelda wanted to know about Samus, but she didn't understand sign language well enough. It was so unfair Samus could be a noble hero in her world, but everyone believed her the villain.
"Samus promised me she would never hurt me. She has given me no reason not to trust her, nor you for that matter. All she did was beat you in a competition. Let it go." Her statement might have actually angered the Hero as his eyebrow twitched.
"She didn't just beat me! I stabbed her in the stomach Zelda, and she still kept going! If that was a real fight I would be dead. I know you want to see the best in people, but I don't think there is anything good about someone who fights like Samus." Link always believed one could tell a lot about someone by how they fought. Ganondorf was powerful and wild like the monster he truly was. Zelda was graceful, precise just like the wonderful ruler she was. To Link, Samus was just as much as a machine as she appeared to be. Cold and without care or regard for the life that was in front them.
Link stormed off in a huff frustrated that his friend would not see what he saw. Zelda sighed, continuing to walk alone. She hoped Link wouldn't have reacted so to her continued defense of Samus. It pained Zelda that she was causing them to be at odds, but Samus was no enemy. She refused to alienate the hunter like everyone else was happily doing.
Not wanting to run into Link Zelda went off the beaten path the park had laid out for people. The park was large enough to house a small woodsy area. Tall oak trees rustled as their leaves blew in the gentle wind. The Princess admired the calm atmosphere as she began making her way deeper into the hidden grove the trees offered.
Something caught her eye though, a familiar orange and red. Quietly Zelda crept over to the bright armored form sitting under a nearby tree. Samus sat her back leaning against the tree, her head leaning slightly forward. Was she sleeping? Zelda stepped lightly kneeling down next to the huntress, withholding a giggle when she noticed Pikachu curled up on Samus' lap snoozing away.
"Samus?" The Princess whispered still not entirely convinced Samus was asleep. There was no response not even the slightest twitch. Pikachu's ears did flick hearing Zelda's soft voice. He merely adjust his position however, continuing to sleep. Experimentally Zelda waved her hand in front of Samus' visor only to let out the most un-princess like squeak when Samus snatched Zelda's hand in mid air.
The hunter let go immediately raising her head to look at the Princess. Samus' helmet twitched, and Zelda felt that the huntress was silently laughing at the fright she gave Zelda. It brought a smile to Zelda's face thinking that Samus was becoming more comfortable around the royal.
Still the Princess huffed seemingly mad at the surprise.
"Not funny, Samus." Samus shook her head, it clearly was humorous to her. She adjusted herself to sit up straighter the pokemon in her lap stirred at the motion. Pikachu yawned stretching his small limbs. Looking around Pikachu hopped off the hunter greeting Zelda with a happy cry. He didn't stick around however, he must of realized how long he had been with Samus. As the pokemon quickly grabbed a frisbee Zelda just noticed was sitting nearby before running off.
With Pikachu gone Zelda looked to the hunter.
"May I join you?" Samus nodded moving over a bit so Zelda could sit against the tree as well. Zelda settled down next to Samus wincing a little as her wound flared up with pain.
Samus visor was aglow upon seeing the Princess wince. Zelda poked the hunter in the ribs looking stern.
"Stop that, I'm fine who knew the big scary bounty hunter would be such a worry wort." It was sweet that Samus was looking out for her. The huntress behind all that armor both the physical and emotional was truly a kind hearted person. If only everyone else could see that, Zelda mused.
Samus visor did stop glowing, and the hunter appeared to huff in an indignant fashion. Zelda grinned the hunter's subtle gestures never failing to bring a smile to her face.
"Were you taking a nap out here?" It was strange to think of Samus doing such normal things like sleeping. Zelda had yet to see Samus even take a drink of water. Though she knew the huntress was mortal and needed such things. Samus just seemed like an unstoppable force that didn't need such mundane things like rest. It was ridiculous of course Zelda knew Samus was not infallible, but it was the aura that surrounded the huntress that made her seem indestructible.
Samus shrugged signing out a simple reply.
"Just resting." The relaxing environment of the park did seem like a nice spot to unwind for a while. This must be where Samus disappeared to whenever she wasn't training or with her ship.
The two enjoyed each other's company as silence descended between them. The quietness was never awkward with the huntress. Samus could say a lot with a simple gesture, and just sitting with Zelda told the Princess that she enjoyed the royal's company.
Zelda became tense though remembering that she still needed to tell Samus about her dream. She toyed with the idea of leaving it alone, but Zelda trusted the magic that brought these imagines to her. She firmly believed they were trying to warn her to prevent the worst from occurring.
The hunter noticed Zelda becoming tense, her green visor looked at the Princess. Samus' unspoken question of what's wrong clear from her blank gaze. Zelda bite her lip embarrass Samus so easily read her.
"Samus has Ganondorf approached you at all since that first time?" There was a pause before the huntress responded by nodding. Zelda's blood ran cold not wasting a second she called upon her magic. The Princess didn't sense anything amiss about Samus. As far as she could tell there was no dark magic surrounding her. Samus looked confused at how worried Zelda had become. The royal sighed, Samus was ever calm, and Zelda wondered if the huntress ever worried about anything.
"Did he attack you again?" Samus didn't appear damaged, though there were a few scraps and scorch marks on the armor. But Zelda remembered those being there from their first match. It made Zelda frowned the huntress really should look after herself more.
Samus shook her head indicating Ganon didn't attack her. This made Zelda even more worried. What was Ganon planning? Looking to the hunter, Zelda wondered how Samus remained so unconcerned over the dark lord.
"How can you be so calm about this? Ganondorf is one of the most powerful forces in Hyrule." Samus tilted her head as if pondering the question. Zelda didn't think it was foolishness that caused Samus' lax attitude about the threat Ganon posed. The huntress seemed too logical to be so careless. Then the huntress signed a few simple words slow enough for Zelda to decipher them.
"I've seen worse." The Princess frowned, she had always believed Ganon to be the worse the world had to offer. His evils knew no bounds, to think that Samus has seen worse than him was a frightening thought. Then again Zelda remembered the scars she saw on the huntress' face the other night. Samus' armor seemed nearly indestructible, but something had to have broken through to give her those wounds.
"I shuddered to think what's worse than Ganon." She voiced her thoughts, Samus didn't give any response. With nothing coming from the huntress Zelda continued speaking.
"I'm worried about what Ganon is planning, and last night I had a horrid dream. I know it may sound crazy to you, but the piece of the Triforce I have sometimes gives me visions of certain events to come. I was able predict Ganon's takeover of my world before thanks to these dreams." Samus seemed to be listening intently as Zelda explained. She didn't give any motions as Zelda went on explaining her dream to huntress, knowing that it may sound silly to a person from a technology driven world.
The huntress didn't scoff at Zelda though, she merely appeared thoughtful thinking over what the Princess just told her.
"I just want you to be careful around Ganondorf, Samus. I know he's up to something, and since you've denied him twice he won't likely forget it anytime soon." Zelda felt guilty for getting Samus involved in her and Link's quarrel against Ganondorf. It was too late for regrets though. Samus was her friend now, and she would not let Ganondorf harm her.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Samus signed simply, though she didn't state she would be any more wary around Ganondorf. Zelda believed the huntress' word that she would be fine.
"I'd imagine you would. You are probably the strongest fighter here after all, but it doesn't hurt to be careful though." At the compliment of her skills Samus looked away shrugging. Zelda smiled the huntress' humble nature was quite endearing. Clearly Samus wasn't used to people praising her skills.
"Let's talk about some else. I'd rather my thoughts not be consumed with the threat of Ganon." Samus nodding agreeing with the statement. Silent as always though she left it to Zelda to pick a topic.
For almost half the day the two sat under the tree. Zelda enjoying the pleasant company the huntress offered, and Samus for once relaxing completely, listening to the Princess speak. It was such a normal thing to sit and relax with friends, but the huntress and Princess were both far from normal. A pleasant day under the shade of the woods what more could anyone ask for.
A.N. How I love writing Samus, among the many headcanons I have about her. Samus being an insomniac is one of them, I'd imagine Samus is used to going long times without sleep(plus she's not very fond of sleeping due to nightmares). Despite what speed runners of metroid games would have us believe. I don't think realistically Samus could trek around entire planets on foot while fighting monsters, and finish her mission within an hour or two. So she's bound to be used to being awake for maybe days while on a mission.
Anyway, this chapter I wanted to show Samus and Zelda relationships outside of each other for a bit. They're both people who value their friends very highly, so I don't want to leave out Link and Pikachu. Plus tension since our green hero is still mistrustful of Samus. I can't wait for when Link finally starts to trust Samus, because in my mind they would be good friends. Zelda will be annoyed though because she'll have two super protective heroes fusing over her safety.
Enough of my rambling though, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are loved as always and I'll see you guys next chapter.^^