Rei woke up and noticed Zelda was not wrapped in her arms, as she was the night before. Rei could here rustling and movement, along with sizzling and the smell of bacon, in the other room. She climbed out of bed, threw on on some clothes for the day, and walked out. Zelda was cooking away at the stove, obviously nervous about the day. "I've never been this nervous about anything in my life, I don't understand it. I've been scared plenty of times, but ever really nervous." Zelda yammered on while concentrating on the food. She yelped, startled, as Rei came from behind, wrapping her arms around Zelda's waist. She gave her sweetheart a kiss on the cheek, and sighed lovingly. They had breakfast, and packed their things for the trip to the tournament. They would be gone from their room for almost a week, but there wouldn't be any real need for room care. Zelda sat down to the conrols of their ship, and looked out the window. There were just a few other ships leaving the city, and maybe one of them was a competitor. "We ready?" She asked Rei. "Ready as I'll ever be at 5:30 in the morning. I'll probably snooze while you fly." she replied. Zelda nodded, and lifted the ship off the ground. They were soon flying out of the atmosphere. Out in space, there wasn't much activity, even with this big event happening half a galaxy away. Zelda picked up only one other ship, which was a cargo ship. Nothing was happening. Still, Zelda flew on, anxious to get to the place where they held the tournament. It was a planet, with hundreds of different terrains, climates, regions, etc. The perfect place to host a full sized combat event. There was a space station accompanying the tournament, which was in orbit around the planet. Dozens of satelites were in aligned orbit around the planet, and were all linked to the station, allowing them to view any section of the planet. In addition to all of this, there was another space platform, a massive one, where the semi-finals, and the finals would take place, The arena that would decide who the best of the best fighters was. Zelda had a feeling she might reach that platform, but she wouldn't hold her breath. Samus as well, was heading towards the tournament's station. She had finished up with a huge group of pirates not 1 hour before now, and had not slept for many days. Her new suit was beyond incredible. "I've never felt so alive before. This suit has more surprises and tricks than that princess. I don't need to sleep as long as I wear this suit, and fight." Never mind that she was feeling really hungry. She hadn't slept for many days, nor had she eaten or drank anything for those days. The suit supplied her with the energy she needed for her activity. By fighting the pirates whenever she encountered them, she could restore her lost energy, and keep going. She was afraid though, of what would happen if she lost all her energy. This was not a time to think about this though. She had to concentrate on the tournament, and how she would soon become victorious over her rival, Jigglypuff. She wasn't going to get cocky, just because she had a new, powerful suit, but she wasn't going to be cautious either. Caution had gotten her in trouble before. She flew through space at almost light speed. One of the pirate's bruiser ships had a powerful engine, so Samus copied it to her own ship. The planet, nor the station, were anywhere near yet, but she would arrive soon. She stood up from her seat, walked to the back of the ship. Her suit was getting low on energy, and her ship had great amounts of it. She walked to the wall and turned around, with her back to it. A section opened up, roughly shaped like her body. She stepped in and relaxed. Her suit was locked into the charger, and she went unconscious. When she came to again, she felt lively as ever, though still extremely hungry. No attacks had been made on her ship after she deactivated. This meant that Samus was probably near the station at that moment. Looking out her ship window, she could see a large planet, the likes of which looked like a child splattered paint all over his painting. There were hundreds of natural colors everywhere. The planet was a perfect habitat. Looking up from the planet, she saw a huge station. The Tournament HQ. That was her destination. As she approached the station, she could see hundreds of other ships flying towards it as well. They all looked very alike, with a few exceptions. There was Captain Falcon's ship, a small fast ship, used for racing. There were two Arwings, Fox's and Falco's ships. Mewtwo's personal ship was also different. Behind this mass of contestants she could see a huge cargo type ship approaching the station. It was the Tournament's ship, but this one was surprisingly large. "Must have wanted to make this one special." She said. Samus never noticed Zelda's ship passing by, for it was one of the similar kinds. "Look at all these people Zelda. I don't think there's ever been quite this many participants before." Rei was wide awake, and staring out the window, while Zelda piloted the ship. Zelda glanced around as well, spotting Fox's ship, along with who she presumed to be Falco. None of the other Starfox people were around. "Hi Fox!" Zelda opened an intercom with Fox. "Huh? Oh hi. You made it, early." "We like to be on time to things." she replied. "Good to see you both. A bunch of my other buddies are around here. Bowser's ship isn't here yet, he's probably late. I haven't seen Samus yet though." Fox reported. "Hey Zelda, look at that." Rei pointed to a barely visible, black ship. "I've never seen a ship like that before." Zelda said. "Where? There's nothing on my scanners from where you're pointing." "Fox you idiot! You can't use technology for EVERYthing. I can see it plain as day. That is one crazy ship." Falco's voice sounded through the intercom. "It must be partly biological or something, if it doesn't show up on scanners." Fox said. "Can you see who's inside the ship?" "Um..." Falco started as he looked. "You're not gonna believe this, but there's no pilot. I don't see anyone in... wait. Yes there is someone there." The voice of the navigator rang through Fox's and Falco's ships. Soon the two girls would be instructed. "Gotta go girls. See you inside." Fox said, before cutting the transmission. Falco did the same. A moment later, they heard a voice through the intercom. "Pilot of ship. Please identify yourself, and any passengers." "This is Zelda, the pilot. Rei is my passenger." "Alright. I see both your names on the combatant list, so you are clear. Procede to section 131, and await docking instructions." "Yes sir. Thank you." Zelda replied to him. She steered the ship towards a hangar with the number 131 above it. She brought the ship to the entrance, behind another ship. It was a long, black and silver ship, with black feathery wings. There were two blade like objects protruding from it's topside near the back. "Cool design. Interesting with the cloak though." she said. The ship moved forward and docked inside. "Zelda, give us a moment and we'll scan your ship, then you can dock." A new voice sounded. The computer made beeping and whirring noises, and then dinged. "You are clear for docking. Just fly towards the next open space, and approach slowly. The machinery will take care of the rest." "Thank you." Zelda said. She flew in. After everything was locked down, and Zelda and Rei had loaded their stuff into their bags, they exited their ship and walked down the ramp towards a large door. They saw a map, and looked at it, figuring out where they needed to go. "We should probably go to Information and Registration Checks first." Rei suggested. Zelda nodded in agreement, and the two proceded to the nearest check-in desk. Samus flew to her own docking space as well, and locked in. She had no items to take with her, her suit was her luggage. She walked down the ramp and towards a check-in desk. "Samus Aran, checking in." She said simply to the person behind the desk. "Samus Aran. Okay, you are here. Here's you room key, you'll be in room 52 in section 4. It's on floor 3. Have a nice day." There was no reply from Samus, just a silent leave. Samus found an elevator and went up. There were 5 floors to this station, and 4 sections each, with 120 rooms in each section. This totalled 2400 rooms. The qualities ranged from simple, traveler's rooms, all the way to multi-trillionaire rich, fancy rooms. It was by far the largest housing station in this universe. All the sections had a variety of restaurants, cafes to fancy sit-down places, and every conceivable style of food. There were weapons shops, armor shops, equipment-for-every-situation shops. Among these were Bounty Hunter and Mercenary guilds, but Samus would not be visiting these places for a while. She opened up her room, and went inside. It was a relatively nice single person room. One large bed, and an entire section for equipment. Bathroom, and mini kitchen were also included, along with TV. She plopped down onto the bed, not taking her suit off. She would have to remove it soon though. She was starved, enough to have to kill something if it got in her way. Maybe she'd eat whoever she killed, and then the buffet. If I'm this hungry, but I can still operate, then how tired would I be if I removed the suit? Suddenly, she felt a surge of intense pain throughout her entire body. Her body cringed and twisted from the pain. The suit was acting up, but this was different. She was then pulled, backbent, and the suit retracted, uncovering her body. She was back in her clothes taht she was wearing the day she got the suit. She stood up from the bed, and looked around. The suit was gone, completely disappeared. She felt a sensation on her back, and felt around her spine. There it was, somehow compacted, retracted, into her backside, stretching up her spine, and into the back of her head. She could only feel little bumps from the suit on her spine, but she could tell that it was there. "You just keep popping up with new...." Samus collapsed face first onto her bed. She blacked out before she could think of anything else. Zelda and Rei opened the door to their room, and looked around. They were on the 3rd floor as well, in section 4. Their room was number 12. They chucked their luggage into the room. It was a medium sized room, meant for two people, who shared the same bed. The girl at the check-in desk had smiled when they told her they wanted one bed for both. They left their room without actually settling in. Zelda wanted to get food. Rei wanted to look at some of the weapons they had. Zelda, with her meal, made her way towards the weapons shop Rei said she would be in. There was Rei, gazing longingly at a beautiful curved razor sword. They had enough money for it, but the only problem was, Rei would be pinned to the ground with that sword. It was nearly twice as big as she was. 'It's soooooo beautiful." Rei droned. She could have been drooling. "Calm down love, it's too big for you." Zelda told her, patting her shoulder. "But... but..." "No buts. We should get back to our rooms." "Right." Rei nodded, she turned away reluctantly from the sword, and they went back to their rooms. A knock was heard on their door, only a minute after they returned. Zelda got up and walked to the door. "Hello ma'm. You are Zelda I presume?" a medium sized thin man was at their door. "Yes I would. Who are you?" "I am just a simple messenger. I have this notice to give you and Rei. That's all. Please, enjoy your stay." He bowed, and left. Zelda closed the door and walked back into their room. The paper she had was about the tournament. "What does it say?" Rei asked. "Let's see. It's a schedule for the events. We have tomorrow off to prepare ourselves. The day after that, we begin excecutionary trials." "Huh?" Rei questioned. "They're events we do test our capabilities, to see if we can qualify for the actual tournament." "Like..." "Races, puzzles, judgement, aim, and strength test. Don't worry. You won't have any trouble getting through." Zelda said, hugging Rei. they sat on the bed for a while, until it started getting late, in which they fell asleep. Samus came to, with a built in alarm. Her stomach. She was experiencing stomach cramps because of her hunger. She couldn't tell how long she had been out, but it was morning. That she could tell by the clock. She sat up on her bed, her head, and stomach, aching. "What happened." She asked to no one. Last she could recall, she was standing in her room here, her suit on. Then pain, and then this. Her suit was no longer equipped. "Wait..." She felt her backside. There she felt then suit's location, all compacted into her spine. "That's right. The suit retracted into my body, then I fainted." Her stomach growled at her again, loudly. "Food." she said, and stood up. When she opened the door, she found the notice/schedule. Picking it up, she read it, and walked towards a food place. It was very early morning, and there were hardly any people around, save for employees, guards, and an occasional contestant. She walked to a cafe, not wanting to waste time in picking a place to eat. Soon, a waiter walked up to her, ready to take an order, or help in any way. "Good morning milady. I see you're an early riser. Couldn't wait for the trials today?" "Today!? I though we had a day off." Samus yelped, looking back at her paper. "You did. That was yesterday." "I must have slept in." Samus half joked. Her suit must've made her that tired, and hungry, that she was asleep for the rest of the arrival day, and the preparation day. "Can I get you anything to drink milady?" "Um..." Her stomach roared. "The biggest pitcher of water you can find." "Alright. I'll be back with that, and in the meantime, you decide what you would like to eat." the waiter bowed and walked away. Samus had passed out for a day and a half, at least. This suit was extremely dangerous. If Samus wasn't careful, she might die. It's childlike instincts were a concern as well. What if it got out of control? A child who possesses a great power can easily become the most dangerous creature. Now was not the time to think on this. Samus was hungry, and the people next to her were staring at her. Appearantly they heard her stomach. Samus looked at the menu, and decided on about 5 dishes. Long after Samus, and Rei and Zelda, had gotten breakfast, and gotten ready for the trials, they were in one of the meeting rooms. Both their names happened to be in the same group. There was an anouncer talking to everyone about the tests they were going to go through. "First is the speed test. You will all run as fast as you can, while avoiding the racing ships on the track, and collect trophies you find. You will have your trophy count and time combined to create your score." Samus stood nearby Rei, but neither of them knew who the other was. Zelda was at the other end of the room, crowded by a number of fighters. Soon after the man's speech though, everyone shuffled around, moving to friends. A number of referees with lists came around, asking for different people. "Can I get Rei please." Shouted one. Zelda wished Rei luck, and they hugged. Rei dashed off, following the ref. Not long after, Samus was called. "Samus? I need Samus next." Samus turned her head to the ref, and followed him. Zelda looked around, searching for Samus. There she saw her, walking away, but they caught each other's eyes. It's her. Thought Samus. Samus? Zelda stared at her. Something about Samus right now made Zelda feel different, and she couldn't be angry at her anymore. She gave Samus the thumbs up, and Samus smiled, returning the hand gesture. That was odd. I didn't expect her to be at the tournament, but okay. She gets around I suppose. Samus was brought to the planet surface in a small ship, with her ref. "You will run the racetrack below. It's a simple track, just a long stretch, with multiple jumps. Don't fall off any of the platforms, and watch out for the racer ships. They move extremely fast." He told her, soon before she landed on the platform that was to start her run. She hopped out and awoke her suit. It slipped over her body. Samus set her position ready to run. The ref would start the time once she started. Looking ahead, she saw a group of racer ships, moving terribly fast. Too fast for her to read or absorb. She waited untill they blasted past her, and then she took off. Running full sprint, she could see she had a ways to go before a jump or platform. No trophies could be seen yet. She noticed her suit scanning the ground as she ran, observing the structure of the track. "Dash" read in her mind, and she started. The suit could find every slight nick or dent, which would allow Samus exrta hold on the ground, allowing extra traction. Her boots had also changed to give a push, efficient only on this surface. Before she knew it, the first jump arrived. Up she went, finding a trophy on the platform, which she grabbed as she went. She leapt to the next platform, and felt the rush of the racers passing under her. She felt like they were going to take her with them. They passed, much to her relief, and she jumped back onto the track. Up ahead was a slope, which she was well prepared for. After what seemed like an endless game of running, grabbing, and jumping like madness to avoid being swept up by the ships, Samus crossed the finish line and jumped to the platform. The ref's ship came to pick her up. "Congrats, you have 1 minute, 34 seconds. lets count your trophies." Samus had a decent score in the end, and they flew back. Zelda had finished her trial not long after Samus returned. Rei was waiting eagerly for Zelda to return, and jumped on her the moment she stepped through the door. "How'd you do?" Rei asked excitedly. "I'm pretty sure I'm in for this part. I got every trophy, but my time wasn't super." The girls continued chatting, while Samus watched. Who is that girl? Zelda seems... The next trial was a test of strength, where the contestants would stand on a platform, facing a large bag. They had about 10 seconds to prepare the bag, and at the end of the count, the person had to have hit the bag with a special weapon. The distance would be recorded, and they would be done, ready for the next trial. Rei flew down to the platform on her ref's ship, and jumped out when tehy set down. "We'll give a countdown, and then you have ten seconds to prepare. Hit it with all your might before the count is up, otherwise you won't get a score." Rei nodded to him, and faced the bag. It stared at her, knowing how much pain it would be in soon. Rei couldn't help but laugh a bit, but apologized to it. She set herself up, ready to draw on energy. The ref gave her the signal, and then started the count down. Rei focused some energy through her and into the bag, weakening it's defenses. When 3 seconds remained, she grabbed the bat, the special weapon, and focused her energy into it. "Here we go!" She shouted, and let loose her swing, connecting the bat to the bag, energy surging, and sent the bag flying off the platform. She watched as it flew, farther and farther away. It finally landed, and the ref zipped to it. On returning, he picked Rei up, and flew back to the station. "This is astounding for one of the first in our section." He said. "You have the greatest distance yet." "Alright!" was Rei's reply, and she wore a smile all the way back to the station. Samus and Zelda achieved great scores on the strength section as well, but Samus's was superior. She had used her claw to drain the bag's energies, almost sucking it's life out. It could no longer resist the hit, and Samus could hit it as far as she wanted, almost. The next trials were accuracy tests, for those who had long range attacks, and a search and destroy like test for melee fighters. Then they all went thorugh a puzzle, where they had to find ten platforms, and board all of them. The platforms were located in a number of places, some out of reach, some hidden, and some even moved. The task was to push your abilities to their limits to be able to land the platforms. Zelda jumped out of the ship, and onto the starting point. She looked around to where some platforms were, but could not see them yet. "We'll give you the countdown, and then the clock will start. You have unlimited time to find all ten. The time will end when you fall, or you give up." Zelda nodded and readied herself. The ref counted down, and then the clock began. Two platforms appeared above her, and Zelda easily jumped onto one, and then the higher. She looked around to see a tunnel, a series of higher ledges, probably leading to more platforms, and a room below her, filled with numerous flying objects. They were intended to bash her around a bit, keeping her from reaching a platform. She headed down there first. There were three smaller platforms in this area, one which moved around. She barely noticed two bumbers flying her way, and shielded them. She then proceded to drop down to the first of the three. Right as she landed, a bumper came out of nowhere and slammed her across the room. By chance she landed on the moving platform, which carried her right by another whizzing bumper. She got up, and looked down. There was the limit line, where she would be stopped if she dropped below it. She stood up and looked up the platform she was aiming for just a moment before. The platform she was on however, moved her right to it, and she hopped onto the first one. The last one in this room seemed especially guarded. There were never fewer than three bumpers zipping around it. She dropped down towards it, avoiding another bumper as it zipped up at her. After that, three more came. "You sure you're not bleeding anywhere else?" Rei asked frantically. Zelda had been hit hard, knocked unconscious, and rushed back to the station and the infirmary. She had been badly bruised, and some gashes. Appearantly, one of those bumpers was bladed, and cut Zelda. "I'm fine Rei. Just a few scratches." Zelda comforted rei, even though she had more worse than scratches. Zelda winced in pain as the medic tightened the bandage around her arm, tightly. He gave her the okay, and Zelda stood up. Back in the group meet room, the rest of the trials were being finished. Everything was complete, and the refs were calling everyone back. After everyone had taken their seats, the leader of their section stood up at the front of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, competitors and fighters alike, everyone here. You should all feel proud of your performance today. This is the first time we've had people go through all the trials in one day, and this is the first time we've had enough referees to do it." An applause from the audience. "You have all performed impressively today, well enough to be worthy of a champion's stature, but only 8 of you will procede to the tournament battlefield." A disappointing groan from everyone. "However, we need the time to sort out who those lucky warriors will be. You will all return to your rooms for the night. You will need a good rest." With that, everyone was excused. Friends moved to other friends, conversation began, and slowly everyone filed out the door. Zelda met up with Rei, and they hugged each other. "You think we're in?" Rei asked excitedly. "No, I don't think we're in." Zelda replied. "I KNOW we're in!" "Exactly!" Rei shouted, attracting the attention of curious passerbys. They let them pass, and then the two walked towards a restaurant, holding each other's hands. So that's it. Those two are in love. Samus observed them as they walked away. "I'm glad she found someone else, though she fights just as much as I do. Still, that girl will be a safer bet than me." Samus said aloud, then slapped her hands over her mouth. She flinched and did a double take as she saw what she could have sworn was Sephiroth walking out of the meet room. She blinked her eyes to look again, and there was nothing. What in the universe was that? Sanus shook off the though and walked off to her room. Fox and Falco found Rei and Zelda devouring food by the plateful at a cafe. The girls motioned for them to sit down with them, and the boys did so. Soon after, Bowser came along, and joined in as well. "How did you two fare in the trials?" He asked in his booming voice. Zelda and Rei both nodded with a smile, as they had a large piece of some food in their mouths. Bowser laughed loudly, and Fox and Falco inched away in thier seats. They were all having a pleasant chat when a green clothed figure stopped behind Zelda. He looked at her for a moment, then shouted in shock. "ZELDA!?" Zelda whipped around in her chair, a piece of meat crammed in her mouth. She ripped the rest of the piece off and swallowed what was in her mouth. "No. It can't be you. You look just like her, but you can't be... She died, long long ago." The man almost fell to his knees. Zelda jumped up and grabbed him, hauling him up to his feet. "Link?" Zelda asked, almost in shock as well. "Link it IS you! What's going on?" "I hardly recognized you. It's been so long. What happened to you? Your hair isn't greying." "Excuse me!?" "It's been at least a millenium, but you aren't showing signs of age. Look at me." Link took off his cap to show his blond hair, which was now half greyed. "What? Why? What is this?" "Why'd you disappear? Ganon's forces descended on us that day, the day you disappeared. That was thousands of years ago, and now you reappear, looking no older than you did back then." "I didn't mean to disappear Link." Zelda was almost tearing, but kept it to herself. She had met up with Samus after her magic mishap, not even a month ago, but Link was talking about thousands of years. "What's going on here? Who is this friend of yours?" Fox asked. "This is Link, the Hero of Time." "Good day to you all." Link said to everyone, regaining his stand. "So... all of the Triforce holders appear at once again." A new voice from behind. Zelda turned to look, and began charging a fire blast. She saw Ganon standing before her, a massive sword sheathed on his back. "Don't even bother with it. I've no interest in fighting with you now." "Huh?" Zelda released her charge, and stood upright. "What? I don't understand. Link, why haven't you drawn your blade yet, and why isn't he going to attack?" "It's been so long Zelda. We're long over fighting each other. Ganon has no intention of taking over any kingdoms anymore." Link responded. Zelda, still confused, slumped into her chair, while everyone else stared. "I must be going, if I am to rest for tomorrow. See you all tomorrow." Bowser got up and left, and everyone said goodbye. "Let me get this straight here. I disappeared thousands of years ago, and reappear today. You guys are thousands of years old, and I'm not even in my 30s. Ganon has essentially become a goodguy here? The Ganon that you and I fought with our very lives to protect Hyrule, the one who tried to kill both of us numerous times in the past? That Ganon?" Zelda asked. Link and Ganon nodded their heads. "Don't call me a goodguy though. I'm nowhere near it, but... taking over kingdoms and such, that's old. I need a new challenge. But it has to be perfect. Not a fight that I wipe the floor with the enemy, or when he wipes the floor with me, but a fight where I am pressed to my limits, struggling for a higher goal, against a powerful foe. I will feel empty until I have this glory." Ganon made a speech that Falco applauded to, in mockery of course. Fox slapped him upside the head in response. "So why aren't you guys dead if you're thousands of years old?" Rei asked. "We hold pieces of the Triforce. This makes us essentially immortal, with the exception of things like our hair." Link replied, showing his palm, which glowed a faint structure of three triangles. One of the triangles glowed a bright gold. Zelda held out her hand, and it showed the same symbol, but with a different triangle glowing. Ganon had the symbol as well. "So... what happened to me?" Zelda asked. Samus plopped down onto her bed, a let out a huge breath of air. She was exhausted from the day, and sleep was beginning to feel like a welcome idea. Her suit was more or less happy about the day, not having felt the physical stress of the work, but being in the action. It seemed to thrive on fighting, and Samus feared it's taste reached to death. It would be good when it came to pirates, but for anything else, she would have to be careful. She still didn't know what the suit could really do. She became too tired to think on it much more, and soon drifted. Her mind started going everywhere. The suit was curious about Samus's emotions and was going through her mind. It was truly like a child, but there was one thought that Samus could not figure out if she liked, or feared. She wondered if the suit actually had a soul. Who's soul would it be? Why would it have one? It is a machine, not a living being. But it has many traits of a living creature. It can heal itself, it adapts to the surroundings, it is curious, and wants to learn. Why should it not be a sentient being? Samus finally drifted off into sleep. (Okay, even shorter chapter. AAAAGH!!! But the next one will be very long. Many many fights, and intense (I hope) combat and such. Are you confused yet about the tainted story of Samus and Zelda. I know what you're thinking. WHY ARE ZELDA AND REI STILL TOGETHER? THIS IS A SHOUJOAI ABOUT ZELDA AND SAMUS! I can assure you, the fate of Zelda and Samus.... Um... I actually don't know. I'm just reading this story. I mean, I'm writing it, but it's just flowing from my mind and all. I don't quite know what will happen next. More of the girls, and everyone else, coming up.)
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