Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

A Few Days After Samus Destroyed Bradley

Samus opened her eyes and stretched her arms, letting out a yawn. It's been a few days after the Galactic Federation's demise… and a few days into her legs not working anymore. Sure, she could simply drain Ridley over and over again until she was back in business, but… where was the rush? The peaceful serenity she was in felt wonderful to her.

She got up from her bed and walked to her drawer… or at least, she tried to. She was wobbling and felt like a ragdoll getting out of bed. Sure, she's been doing physical therapy to get her legs working fine, but it was still rather embarrassing that she had to physical therapy with some of her friends watching her, including her own teammates.

She pulled out her towel and wobbled her way through to the shower. She felt a hand touch her as she looked to the side to see Chell smiling at her. "Thanks Chell." She smiled as they walked into the bathroom together where Samus took her clothes off and Chell helped her into the shower where Samus turned the water on and let the hot water hit her, soaking her head and let the water rush down her breasts and the rest of her body.

Once she finished, she toweled off and Chell helped her out as she put on a simple black hoodie and blue shorts on. Chell looked at her curiously. ["You don't want to wear your Zero Suit today?"]

"Nah… i'm good." Samus said as she hobbled out of the room with Chell right behind her.

"Hey Samus!" Falcon waved her over. "How you feeling today?"

"Meh…" Samus shrugged it off and looked to Chell. "Shall we just get this over with?"

Chell nodded. ["Right behind you, girlfriend."]

Later, at the physical therapy…

"I'm surprised you wanted to get this done right away." Peach said.

"Eh… just wanted to get it over with, I suppose…" Samus mumbled.

"You feeling okay?" Peach asked. "You sound a little miserable."

"I'm fine." Samus told her as she walked along the parallel bars.

"Well, you seem to be doing better… have you been draining Ridley a lot lately?"

"Honestly, it got old fast…" Samus admitted. "I just got bored to the point where it wasn't fun anymore."

Peach nodded. "That's understandable. How many times have you done it?"

"Like… five times before I realized how tedious it was? I'd rather heal up normally at this point. Give the guy a break despite what he's done."

"That's fair, I guess." Peach nodded. "At least you're walking better!"

"My legs are still numb and I can barely feel anything aside from the occasional tingle and every time I wake up, I feel like those inflatable tube things you see at car dealerships."

"Progress~!"

Samus sweatdropped. "I guess…" She mumbled, walking away from the parallel bars and fell, but Chell and Peach caught her. She let out an annoyed sigh.

Later…

Samus sat on a chair, watching Chiaki play games while eating a bag of potato chips. "Soooo, you want to try it out?" Chiaki asked.

"Mmm, why not." Samus shrugged as she hobbled over to the couch. "What game is this again?"

"Halo Reach."

"I see." Samus grabbed a controller as Chiaki went into co-op as the two proceeded to play against each other.

…Unfortunately for Samus, she sucked at it and kept getting herself killed, mostly by not understanding the controls and accidentally Plasma Grenading herself or jumping off a high ledge and either falling to her death or Chiaki finishing her off.

Samus's eye twitched after she lost several rounds. "Who's winning?" Akira asked as he walked by.

"She is…" Samus grumbled as Chiaki headshotted her, giving her another twenty to nothing victory.

"Hmm…" Chiaki rubbed her chin in thought. "Maybe we ought to play the campaign so you can get used to the-"

"Forget it." Samus walked off, putting the controller down. "This was a waste of time." She said as she walked off grumbling.

Chiaki sighed. "Well, I guess video games aren't for everyone…"

Throughout the day, Chell would keep an eye on Samus, noting that she's looking a lot more miserable. Samus was out in the shallow end of the pool, looking absolutely annoyed that she couldn't swim in the deeper end. Sure, she was keeping Pichu company but she'd rather dive off the deep end and swim to her heart's content.

In the other gaming room, Samus didn't have the energy to play a round of foosball and she just let Sienna win, which concerned Chell greatly since Samus usually put up more of a fight. Hell, even when she was doing yoga with Wii Fit Trainer, she half-heartedly did the poses she was able to flawlessly do.

Chell rubbed her chin thoughtfully before pulling out her phone and started to text.

Hey, meet me at Sojiro's. Make sure to bring the Strike Team, Anthony, and the other Bounty Hunters too.

What for? - Blake

It concerns Samus. Bring the rest of BPRR too.

Okay…

Later, at Sojiro's while Falcon switched places with Chell…

BGM: Beneath the Mask (Persona 5)

"Okay, what's going on with Samus? Is she okay?" Blake asked.

["She's miserable."]

"Ah, that'll do it." Adam nodded. "Not being able to walk around and do her athletic capabilities would do a number on her."

"She can't be that bad, right?" Mustang asked.

["She's half heartedly doing stuff she typically enjoys doing like yoga, foosball, hell, she doesn't even find reading a book enjoyable like she usually does."]

"Well, it's not like she can go out and enjoy herself. Her Metroid DNA isn't letting her enjoy the fresh cold air." Anthony said.

"Pika Pi…" Pikachu's ears lowered.

["She's also not enjoying letting her hair down and… well, she didn't really enjoy playing a game with the Gamer Girl."]

"She's not much of a gamer, to be fair." Rosalina mentioned. "I've heard from her that she stopped draining Ridley because it made her bored."

"Can't say I blame her… where's the fun in it if you keep doing it over and over again?" Blake pointed out. "Even I'd go crazy."

"Boop bop beep bop."

"You think she's depressed?" Blake asked where ROB nodded.

"She lost her legs, it's understandable that she'd be depressed over it." Riza said. "Although, you'd think she'd enjoy retirement."

"She actually retired?" Sojiro spoke up while he was cleaning a mug.

"Yeah, just the other day, I told Samus that Rundas, Gandrayda and Ghor set off into space and called upon every intergalactic bounty hunter to help so we wouldn't have another intergalactic situation on our hands. The Federation Force stepped in too. Hell, the folks who surrendered at Norion volunteered to help out." Mustang said. "All so Samus wouldn't have to do it as often as she used to."

"The princess was touched by this that she said, and I quote: "Oh, what the hell, I might as well retire if everyone's pitching in to give me a break"." Anthony explained. "Though, she did say if the galactic situation was bad enough, she'll temporarily come out of retirement to help out if it's really serious. She also said that even though she's retired, she's never going to disband SPBRR."

"Heh, how about that. What's the name of this new fangled band?" Sojiro asked.

"Galactic Federation Neo." Olivier said.

Sojiro smirked. "Sounds catchy."

"After everything she's been through… K2L being razed by the Space Pirates, Mother Brain, hunting Metroids, befriending Newt, Mother Brain again, Newt dying, Zebes blowing up, the whole Bottleship thing, Dark Samus, fighting her fellow bounty hunters, the whole Subspace thing, Ridley being Ridley and refusing to stay down, almost dying to the X-Parasites, the SA-X, Shou Tucker, the Queen Metroid, the Phazon War, K2L blowing up, ZDR, Raven Beak, the SA-X again, fighting the Galactic Federation and losing her legs despite killing Bradley…" Blake shook her head. "Honestly, I don't even know how someone like her could stay sane after all that."

"She's definitely a trooper. Any normal person would go insane halfway through all of that." Adam said.

"So… how do we get her perky again?" Anthony asked.

"Honestly, your guess is good as mine." Mustang responded.

["...There's one possibility."] Everyone turned to Chell in curiosity.

End BGM

Back with Samus…

Samus lay on her back on her bed, looking absolutely annoyed. Sure, retirement sounded pretty good, but without her legs, she couldn't do anything that she could. The exoskeleton helps, sure, but it felt like a nuisance to her at this point. On top of that, draining Ridley wasn't fun anymore, she's not into video games to pass the time, she's half-heartedly doing everything she normally likes to do…

What was a bounty hunter to do? It was driving her crazy, and it was starting to piss her off as she grabbed a pillow and screamed into it in frustration.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in…" She mumbled as a larval Metroid opened up the door, letting out a few chirps as Newt and a few other Metroids walked in. "Oh… hey…" She said, forcing a smile as Newt put down a card for her. "Hmm?"

"Get well soon, mother/Metroid Queen"

Samus opened up the card and saw several badly drawn smiley faces, Metroid murals, hearts, and Samus was practically an ugly stick figure with a smiley face looking… very un-smiley.

"We love you!" She could barely make out the legible writing.

And yet, despite the poorly drawn pictures and hearts, it was enough to warm Samus's heart as her eyes got a bit misty. "Thank you…" She said, reaching over and hugging them all, planting a kiss on Newt's cheek.

"Hey." Rosalina telepathically called to her.

Hmm? Oh hey Rosie, what's up?

"Come outside, where the makeshift grave is at."

…Okay?

Samus slowly rose, trying to hobble her way through but nearly stumbled. However a Zeta Metroid snagged her wheelchair and placed her on the seat. She let out an annoyed groan. She hated sitting on this, but what could she do?

Once she was rolled out, she made her way to the personal grave that Anthony had made for her. They stopped her at the grave and read the list of her personal heroes.

Here lies Samus Aran's personal heroes:

Rodney Aran

Virginia Aran

Old Bird

Gray Voice

Henkin Maradis/Quiet Robe

Samus gave a soft smile and looked to Rosalina who walked over to her. "Is this it? You wanted to show me the grave?"

"Oh, thought we could show you something else instead~!" Rosalina said.

"Like what, a billion flowers?"

"Something more special than that."

"How can something be more special than-" Someone poked her behind the shoulder as Samus turned her head. "Oh, hi mom." She turned back to Rosalina. "As I was saying, how can something be more special than flow-..." Her eyes widened and slowly turned her head again.

"Hi honey!"

"M-muh… mom?!" Samus exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm here too!" A man came up from behind.

"Dad…?!"

Samus slowly rose, fighting her jellified legs. "How… what…?"

"You can thank Chell for the idea." Blake said, as Chell smiled while Maya cheerfully waved.

"Nuwalo heutra vora, berunto kolipia?" (What are we, chopped liver?)

She recognized those voices anywhere as she saw two Chozo walking to her. "O-Old Bird… Gray Voice…" Her voice started to crack.

"Inkara justorna pointera." (You're forgetting someone.)

BGM: Family (Super Mario Galaxy)

Samus put her hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks by this point as she saw Quiet Robe approaching her, with a smile over his beak. "Hen… Henkin… M-Maradis…"

"You're welcome!" Maya smiled.

"Thought you could use a pick me up." Anthony said.

Samus reached out to both her parents, feeling their cheeks as more tears streamed down her face and hugged them tightly. "I… I don't know what to say…"

"You've been through so much… look how big you've grown." Virginia smiled.

"We're so proud of you kiddo." Rodney said.

"I…" Samus rubbed her eyes. "I never thought I'd ever have the chance to speak with all of you again…"

Old Bird smiled. "Inka jifa polo jersa mita pita." (You can thank her for that.) He said, referring to Chell.

"And I have to say, you've grown quite into a fine young lady yourself, Chell." Virginia smiled, causing Chell to blush and scratched the back of her head.

"Honey, we just want to say… we're sorry for leaving you so suddenly." Rodney said.

"No… I don't blame you for any of it. You tried to save the colony and you… you saved me from Ridley." Samus said and turned to the two Chozo. "And I want to… thank the both of you for raising me."

Quiet Robe frowned a bit. "Tamus, annaman irstora ghara anna qrutstoki rindto-" (Samus, I am sorry that I couldn't stick around-)

Samus sniffed. "Grotsta jina. Listo jerntra onstra verunta." (Don't be. It wasn't your fault.)

Quiet Robe faintly smiled. "Herstono." (Indeed.)

Virginia caressed Samus's cheek. "You've been through so much after all these years… we're so proud of you."

"...Even if I'm disabled? I mean, I can hardly walk and… honestly, I'm not proud of it."

"But we are. You're a hell of a trooper and despite what you've been through, you've done all these amazing feats that we can't help but be proud." Rodney said.

"Ruluka irdstana kita bedtorna illa gruno jetsa. Poloa tralla-" (You shouldn't be ashamed of your legs. After all-) Gray Voice began.

"A disabled warrior is an honorable and respectable warrior to the highest degree… yeah, I remember that well." Samus repeated before sighing. "Even so, I never thought it'd happen to me of all people. Hell, I know I can speed up the process by sucking up Ridley's energy, but… it stopped being fun that I just… stopped."

"Aw, cheer up. What's the rush of restoring your legs? You got your friends, your new family, your exoskeleton… just take it easy and relax." Rodney smiled.

"Easy for you to say…"

Virginia wrapped her arms around Samus. "It's going to be okay, baby girl…"

"Buh-baby girl?" Samus blushed a deep red. "Mom, not in front of everyone…"

"Oh, let me have this~" Virginia giggled. "You're an amazing young woman, Samus. We're proud of what you've done… you should just let your hair down and enjoy yourself. It won't be easy, but I think you'll get used to it."

"Yeah…" Samus nodded.

"You've done so much for the galaxy… we can't explain how proud we are. Sure, it stinks that our old planet blew up but, what can you do?" Rodney chuckled.

"Buthera gerosonta likka ruluka." (We are proud of you.) Old Bird and Gray Voice said together.

"...Speaking of blowing things up…" Virginia furrowed her brows. "Where's Ridley? I have a few words for him."

"Okay, what is the meaning of this?" A voice asked as they saw Ed and Al pushing Ridley with a blindfold on. "Why am I being escorted?"

"Okay, you can take it off now." Ed said as Ridley took it off and saw the sight in front of them.

"What on-"

"YOU!" Virginia marched straight to him.

"...Can I help yo-... wait, that facial structure." Ridley narrowed his eyes.

"SAMUS, LOOK OUT!" Virginia's voice rang in his head.

"Ah, now I remember, you're Samus's mother who protect-... wait, Samus's mother? OH SHIT!" He yelled.

"You have some nerve!" Virginia said, angrily pointing a finger at the space pirate. "You dare invade our home and made my baby girl's life a living hell! Because of YOU, she was an orphan and went through all of this hell!"

"Wait, let me explain! Raven Beak-"

SLAP!

"Ooooh!" Everyone winced.

"I can see where Samus gets her slap from…" Adam grimaced.

"Is Raven Beak here? No, otherwise I'd chew HIM out too!" Virginia growled. "You are the most disgusting vile creature I have ever met! You destroyed our home, made Samus's life miserable, you constantly got after her, you teamed up with Dark Samus, you KILLED her own child, scarred Blake's face, abdomen and back-"

"Why is she dragging me into this?" Blake sweatdropped.

"And even though it was a clone, you gave my girl a major case of PTSD, and on top of that, you made my daughter cry in the BSL station. Dark Samus and Raven Beak are LUCKY that they're dead, but you know what? You're lucky you killed me."

"How is that considered lucky?"

"Because! If I had changed places with Samus, I would personally hunt down all the Space Pirates, strangle them alive, shove one of their corpses in your mouth, RIP your damn tail off and force feed you said tail and when I'm done with you, I would drag you to Zebes myself and FEED YOU TO KRAID MYSELF! Oh, and after I was done with you, I'd march straight to Mother Brain and rip her damn eye out and beat her to death with it before shoving a Power Bomb into her eye socket!"

As she was explaining this, Ridley got more and more disturbed by this as he was comically shrinking. "...And I thought the Doom Slayer was morbid."

"Consider that slap a taste of what I could have done to you." Virginia said as she turned around and walked back to Samus who looked both disturbed and amused, while the Chozo simply had their beaks open in shock.

"...Damn, that's quite impressive. What would you do with Raven Beak?" Samus asked.

"Oh honey, I'd do something way worse to him."

Rodney pinched the bridge of his nose. "Babe, I told you a million times. You have got to stop reading horror and gory novels. It gives you ideas such as that!"

"Oh, like you wouldn't have done something similar."

"...Well, yeah, but-"

Virginia giggled, turning to Samus. "Proud of you, my darling~!"

"Um… thank you." Samus said. Goodness, was my mom always this scary?

Virginia looked over to BPRR. "Take good care of her, alright?" She said as they nodded, although everyone seemed a bit unnerved by Virginia.

"You're leaving already?" Samus asked.

"Yeah… we just wanted to cheer you up."

Samus gave a genuine smile, her eyes getting a bit misty. "It definitely worked."

With a nod, Virginia walked over to Newt and gave him a hug to where Newt returned the hug, patting her on the head. "Have to say…" Rodney walked over to him. "You're a hell of a grandkid, I'll give ya that." He said as the Omega Metroid roped him into a hug as well. "Oh! Heheh… love you too, big guy!"

Samus gave Old Bird and Gray Voice a hug, kissing them both on the cheeks. "Thank you… for everything."

"Lortra tirstona." (Our pleasure.) Old Bird said as Samus turned and hugged Quiet Robe, the latter returning the hug as Samus turned around and nearly lost her balance while heading over to hug her parents, but they caught her and hugged her, both of them kissing her on the cheeks.

"If you ever feel lonely and want to give us a call to chat, we're only a summon away." Rodney said.

"We love you." Virginia said softly as she turned to Maya, giving her a nod as Maya clapped her hands and chanted, as one by one, the Chozo and the Arans disappeared, where Samus watched them disappear.

End BGM

"So… how do you feel now?" Rosalina asked.

"How do I feel?" Samus undid her ponytail, letting her hair flow freely as she turned to them, a genuine happy smile on her face. "I feel a lot better." She started to walk back to the Smash Mansion with a spring in her step, despite her nearly losing her balance a few times.

Back with Chiaki…

3

2

1

START!

BGM: Waluigi Pinball (Mario Kart DS)

Chiaki started racing on her DS, watching Luigi come out of the tunnel. "I wonder if this track will ever make it into a future wave in the Booster Course pass…" She said, humming along to the song.

"Hey." A voice said as Chiaki looked up to see Samus approaching.

"Oh, hey Samus."

"You think you could teach me a few pointers in that Halo game of yours?"

Chiaki's eyes widened, closing her DS.

End BGM

"Whoa… where'd that come from? I thought you weren't interested."

"Thought I'd give it another shot, with the resident gaming expert to help me out." She winked.

Something's different about her… and I'm not referring to her hair down. Chiaki thought as her eyes sparkled. "Sure!" She said as Samus sat down where Chiaki handed her the controller. "Okay, so Halo Reach's campaign is pretty straight forward… you got your standard four difficulties, you got Easy, Normal, Heroic and Legendary. Legendary is the hardest difficulty in Halo, and it's a lot worse if you decide to do a LASO run."

"LASO?"

"Legendary, All Skulls On. Trust me, it's not for the faint of heart."

"Eh… i'll try Normal." Samus said, selecting normal mode as she started the campaign. "So… am I this… Master Chief guy I've been hearing about?"

"Oh no, you're Noble Six. It'll make sense later."

"Ooookay, if you say so." Samus chuckled as she played the game while Chiaki told her about the controls while Chell watched on, happy that her best friend was happier than she ever was.

For a while, I've been trying to figure out how to make this Gaiden work for the past while, putting it off until I could think of something for Samus and her disabled legs. Then, last night as I was trying to sleep, ideas poured into my head and I was like "Great! ...Now let me sleep!"

Ibuki: *giggles* You sometimes get the best ideas when you're either sleeping or taking a shower.

Pretty much.