On a bright and sunny spring morning, Fox McCloud and Samus Aran were walking together outside the smash mansion. The sun peeked over the eaves of the mansion as they walked.

"Hm?" Fox blinked, puzzled.

"What is it?" Samus looked confused as well.

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Samus, do you have any idea what's on the other side of this house?"

"Huh? Nah, I mean…" Samus shook her head.

Fox did a double-take. Samus' head poked out from behind the door. They saw a trio of mechanical Diddy Kongs scampering up the porch steps. Samus looked back at Fox and she laughed.

"Hey! Look!" Samus yelled. She then got a big smile on her face. "Wow, our neighbors are nice! This is one happy place!"

"Samus?" Fox asked. He really hadn't expected to see his good friend here.

"Samus! What a wonderful surprise!" Samus smiled. She reached out with one of her limbs to shake his hand. Fox got a little nervous. It took a few seconds for him to finally take her hand.

"Samus, this is Fox McCloud. You're the Space Pirate and we're the Scout platoon.

"Well, you're all very… friendly," Samus replied. She waved his hand off. "Now, what do we have to do today? Don't tell me you're all going to dig me up in the desert."

"No, no, of course not," Fox smiled. He shivered slightly. "Just, um, making sure you're okay."

Samus giggled. "Are you afraid I might pull some serious ugly tricks on you? I'd think it's rather stupid to be afraid of someone who can warp space around them."

Fox shrugged. "Doesn't it kinda bug you that you're the only one capable of doing this?"

Samus gave him a warm smile. "The thought of being a giant robot, even by tiny comparison, makes me a little uneasy, but then again I have no idea what the difference is between a human body and a Metroid's body."

"No," Fox said. He glanced out his window for a moment. "There are only two places I know of in the universe where the amount of gravity has changed." He gestured to the sky. "Sleeping Forest. The ballast point from their homeworld is a part of that. But I'm unsure about any of the other changes, and I've never heard of anyone actually getting lost in the cosmos."

"I'd imagine some kind of wilds – other than spaceships and planets – could be beautiful icescapes, if only because the space can be so wild."

"We know that," Fox answered. "There are caves as big as the Green and Rainbow Mountains in Mount Aleph, you know."

Samus took a breath and closed her eyes. "But you do know that someone – someone stupid, perhaps – could imagine out a far harsher fate for a traveler."

"It's no more likely than you dying," Fox answered. "In fact, I'm surprised you're not more annoyed that I have this surprise for you."

Samus blanched and looked away. She knew he was right, but still, the idea of having no warning was distressing. She sighed and felt her spirits lift. "Do you have my backup copy?"

Fox nodded. "It's in the drawer beneath the console, next to your sword. Grab it and let's get to Area X. You might be taking my advice too literally."

~*~ 

Samus hummed along to the album that she had pulled from her bag, and looked out the window of the reanimated American Truck Stop as she waited for the ship to land at Pioneer Station. "Sitting here for hours," she mumbled. "What the hell is going on with this stupid cruise? It was just supposed to be a quick run to the nearest corporate research station, and it's now taken us hours to get here. I thought I was supposed to go to the research station tomorrow."

Samus shook her head, her blond hair swishing across her face.