8: 15th Birthday.

It was Samus' 15th birthday, it had been all that time since she had been reborn and 10 years since she had regained the memory of her past life, and although she didn't know what she was like in her past life, she liked what she had become in this one. 

She was a tall girl now, standing 6'2", and even though it seemed like that would be the limit, she was already satisfied with that. She might not be as tall as her mother, but she was certainly stronger than her mother. All her physical training had left her with a rather slender body, full of dense, but quite aesthetic and pleasing to the eye muscles.

Samus had also found a way to train her mind through meditation, inspired by her knowledge of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy. She was not looking for something lofty like enlightenment, but to keep her mind clear and steady, to know how to control her emotions, not to let them dominate her, but not to dull her feelings. 

She found satisfaction in sitting for several hours and contemplating simple ideas in her mind, anchors that she used to meditate. She meditated on geometric figures, threads of red and blue, and strangely enough, the best image to meditate on was an inexhaustible flame. She seemed to have a special affinity for fire or heat, preferring high temperatures to cold environments. 

Her research into alchemy had paid off as she created potions, amulets, and talismans for various purposes, in addition to creating four auxiliary objects. She replicated through technology a suit inspired by the Zero Suit, a work of nanotechnology whose sole function was to protect her body from environmental hazards, in addition to boosting her body by 10%.

This suit, according to her intentions, emerged from her back, where she had a tattoo where the nanobots that made up her Zero Suit were stored. It would undoubtedly allow Samus to fight without worrying about suddenly being naked. But that wasn't the only thing she had developed.

She created two special gloves that were like a training crutch and amplifier, allowing her to develop greater sensitivity and control over the energy in the universe and use it to perform alchemical work. It took her nearly four years to develop and create these gloves, but once they were complete, she never took them off her hands.

The creation of this pair of items accelerated Samus's research and development to the point where many things that had been moving at a slow pace were completed in a short period. Like the third item, she created an alchemical wand. If her gloves were crutches to train her affinity for energy, this staff was an energy controller.

With the staff, she could create symbols, rituals, and alchemical matrices much faster, as well as serve as a weapon to fire energy beams and a device to deploy an energy shield in times of trouble. Its main function, however, was to channel large amounts of energy that could not otherwise be channeled. It also served as a blunt weapon. 

The fourth object she created was a space bracelet, for every self-respecting reincarnated protagonist has a space object, whether gifted, found, or made. She needed Ciri's help to make it, which left them with a space the size of a standard room. 

Finally, what she had to work so hard for, was a specific object so special that it didn't fit into any of the above categories. Just yesterday, after organizing an alchemical ritual with her staff, gloves, and suit, she managed to create an object capable of exploring other universes, marking them, and opening portals to them.

She had to create not only objects but potions, amulets, and talismans for them, her poor personal space was crammed with objects and now it was empty, demonstrating the consumption made.

Why not? Because this object was as complicated as creating a philosopher's stone, not only did it require an inordinate amount of energy that could turn her to ashes, but it also left her mentally and physically very stressed. Fortunately, she bridged the gap with the work she worked so hard to research and create. 

The move was so big that she had to do it on a wasteland planet, but it still attracted the attention of many alien civilizations and other beings, luckily she was able to flee the planet before it was blocked, but the move she made shook the universe, and even God took a quick look at her before returning to his own.

But all was well now, and soon she would have her first trip into the multiverse, but for now, let's focus on the party. As Samus obsessively looked at herself in the mirror, wearing her trademark Zero Suit, the sound of someone knocking at the door brought her out of her self-congratulation. 

"Coming," Samus replied, and after a few seconds of fixing her hair for the last time, she opened the door.

Behind the door was Amy Wong, an engineering student from the University of Mars and an intern for the professor; although her father was skeptical at first, the girl was quite hardworking and intelligent, earning the old man's appreciation.

Not only that, but she became friends with Samus and Ciri and even had a not-so-surprising romance with Ciri before they realized that they were not compatible and that it would be better to keep things friends. That, and maybe a jealous Samus pulling some strings here and there, but those are details.

"The Professor sent me to fetch you, he said in his text that he had to get you out of your self-centered four o'clock moment," Amy greeted with a gesture and blunt words, while an amused smile appeared on her face, making Samus click her tongue.

"That old man! Is it bad that I appreciate my beauty in front of the mirror for a few hours? I don't have any projects to do, and it's my birthday, so I think I deserve some time to myself," Samus replied, leaving her room and walking next to Amy.

"You know, he's a parent and an old one, parents are like that. At least he's not forcing you to get married," Amy complained, remembering how insistent her parents had been on the subject of marriage; it didn't help that the suitors they got her were the stereotypical arrogant young masters.

Understanding Amy's situation, Samus burst out laughing, remembering a particular story her friend had told her, in which she had to defeat not only a young master in Mino Golf, but also her father, her grandfather, and even her ancestor, who was only a head. 

"I don't think my father will ever pressure me to get married, you know my hobbies," Samus said as they entered the meeting room, her eyes falling on the figure that appeared in her dreams whenever she allowed herself to sleep.

Ciri, who was now 19 years old, seemed to be completely adapted to this era, her gray hair was cut short, which accentuated her facial features and her beautiful green eyes. Her clothes consisted of a green blouse and black pants, and she seemed to be ready for action just like Samus, carrying a pair of swords on her back. 

She was leaning against the balcony of the briefing room, her back to the ship in the hangar. Next to her was Hermes Conrad, who seemed to be having a conversation with the girl, but Samus' attention was only on Ciri, ignoring everything else, even Amy.

The Asian girl had already noticed Samus' distracted look and recognized the emotions in it, but she didn't speak, this situation had to be solved by Samus herself, but she would be there to support her if needed. 

At the conference table sat the Professor and Zoidberg, the latter wearing a party hat on his head. When he saw Samus enter, he snapped his tweezers in excitement.

"Finally you're here, Samus, I want some cake!" Zoidberg shouted, attracting everyone's attention and causing the birthday girl to look at him with a bit of annoyance, but that disappeared as she realized her previous actions. 

'I'm still looking at her like a crazy stalker,' the blonde thought as she sat down on the seat next to her father, who gave her a sideways glance, his hands shaking for a moment but then becoming steady.

"Finally you're here, self-centered girl, how long did you want to keep your old dad waiting?" the Professor asked with a hint of annoyance, causing Samus to reach over and grab his arm, making puppy dog eyes.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist the mirror," Samus replied matter-of-factly, though to others it was a blatant expression of her narcissism, something that had grown on her as her features developed. 

"Oh, adolescence, you have taken my little daughter from me," the Professor said dramatically as he tried to pry his arm from Samus, but the girl had a strength far superior to humans, so his attempts were in vain.

"Leave her alone, Professor, young people have a right to enjoy themselves," Hermes commented, misunderstanding the situation, causing Ciri and Amy to burst out laughing as they sat down, and Samus to stick her tongue out at the Professor. 

When everyone was seated at the table, the Professor uncovered a container on the table containing a large birthday cake with some candles and the words 'Happy Birthday, Samus'.

"My problem isn't what she does in her private time, it's that she has no hobbies of her own besides looking in the mirror," the Professor said as he cut slices of the cake and served them on floating plates that moved to each participant present. 

"But she does have hobbies," Ciri defended to her friend, causing Amy to focus on Samus' reaction, and indeed, she saw that the blonde seemed pleased by Ciri's comment.

"Fighting in the moon taverns, stealing my booze, piloting the ship in illegal races, and going on a bender with the robot Hedonist are not hobbies, they are escapades," the professor complained, emphasizing the crazy moments of his daughter's adolescence.

Fortunately, his daughter had not brought home any boyfriends, or worse, a pregnancy. He found it strange that his daughter was still a virgin, not that chastity was a valuable thing in this day and age, much less for the Amazons who lived in a semi-wild state. So knowing that his daughter was 'pure' made him happy, even though he deeply disliked the savagery she was doing.

"Sometimes I needed to let go of stress to get new ideas, don't you remember if I hadn't seen that alien who turned invisible during one of my drinking binges, I wouldn't have gotten the inspiration for the invisibility potion? Besides, alcohol doesn't affect me unless it's made with honey or something," Samus said as she ate the rest of the cake with a small spoon.

Her affinity for honey was something she inherited from her mother, who was a beekeeper and always sent her huge jars of fresh, unadulterated honey, making her addicted to it, and even her personal space had several jars of honey and barrels of mead ready for her to drink in the future. 

"By the way, I noticed you have your special outfit, Samus, and Ciri has those swords they made two years ago. Are they coming out?" asked Zoidberg, who had long since finished his slice of cake and was looking intently at the large slice the blonde was eating.

"Oh yes, after a long time, Ciri will make a jump to another universe and I want to accompany her. I plan to record the coordinates of those universes with my 'Traveler's Path', I have to release it," Samus replied, still with a mouth full of cake, causing the previously animated table to fall silent.

"I still can't get used to the idea that Cirilla is a princess from another world," Hermes said, resuming the conversation.

"Was, my kingdom was destroyed by invaders, but that's over now, I'm stronger now," Ciri said calmly. 

The fact that she had stayed in one place for 5 years made her relax and overcome some of her old problems, or at least deal with them. And she was certainly stronger, thanks to the necklace around her neck, which she touched gently before speaking again.

"Samus and I will be exploring other universes, but don't worry, we will be able to communicate with you and even send you pictures and videos of what we find," Ciri continued, fully adapted to the new technologies and concepts that had been presented to her.

"I'd like to go with you sometime," Amy said with curious eyes, the idea of going to other universes appealed to her as a scientist, the possibility of meeting new people, learning different things and even seeing different technology caught her attention.

"If we find a safe world to travel to, we'll take you there," Samus promised, looking at the others present.

"Everyone, if you want to visit a new and interesting universe, I'll make sure it's safe first before I take you there," it was those words that removed the somewhat tense atmosphere that had been created.

Everyone enjoyed the talk and the cake, but when it was already six o'clock in the evening, Samus pulled a strange object out of her personal space that caught everyone's attention.

"I keep seeing it, and I keep saying it's beautiful," the Professor sighed at the beautiful techno-alchemical creation before his eyes, receiving nods from everyone, including Samus, the creator of this object. 

It was an object with the shape of a ball that fit perfectly in her hand, although it could float on its own. Its shell was metallic, but it had lines all over its body that glowed with a green light that seemed to flow slowly. 

"Traveler's Path at your command, Samus Aran Farnsworth," a mechanical and unfeeling voice was heard. 

The object was not intelligent by any stretch of the imagination, it only had an unresponsive voice assistant that responded to voice commands, mental commands, and touch commands. 

"Prepare to record the coordinates of the next universe we go to," Samus commanded, holding the T-Path in her right hand. She stood and approached Ciri, who was also standing and waiting for her.

"Daughter, Ciri... have a safe journey," the professor wished, causing the blonde to look at him and stick out her tongue before disappearing in a bright green flash next to Ciri.

"That girl!" cried the professor, partly worried about the future dangers his daughter might experience, partly happy to have such an amazing offspring. 

"I hope things go well between them," although it sounded like a wish for a safe journey, Amy's words indicated that she wanted to see another development, one between the two girls to be exact.