(Chapter One revised on February 19th, 2017)
Hello everyone! This is Paradigm of Writing, the author of Cross Examined. It's been four years since I wrote this story and I feel that it is time to now go through it and change it. Not the plot, not the characters, but update everything and make it a whole lot cleaner, glossier etc... so on and so forth as seeing this story in my inbox wants me to update it. For some reason above all others, this is the most famous, most views, most reviews, even though it is only my fifth longest story word count wise. I hope you all appreciate some of the changes I am going to be making and want to say to those who perhaps will be coming across it for the first time, this will take a long time as there are 47 chapters to comb through, something in which cannot be done in a fortnight. Thanks so much for reading Cross Examined. The largest update is the switch from 1st person to 3rd person, which means that now the story is told through Ness's eyes in a different way than before.
Enjoy Chapter #1: Arrivals Gone Horribly Wrong.
It was Ness's time to give a small inward groan. This time he wasn't the only smasher to do so. Among the 'furious' growls were Marth, Link, Samus, Zelda, and Fox to name a few while the representatives Mushroom Kingdom simply frowned. "Do we really need new smashers? I mean sure, Brawl is going to be a huge hit but, seriously? A new goodness 14 characters or so! And I probably get the duty of showing some of them around the mansion." he thought angrily. Master Hand, which was at the podium rolled his eyes or fingers or whatever the heck Master Hand rolled when it was angry.
"Since all of you idiots are grumbling, I guess this council is officially adjourned and will have a new time till further notice," Master Hand gruffed. A lot of cheers came from the vicinity and then they dispersed, each going to their respective rooms.
Ness threw his blue and red baseball cap on the back of his head, slid down from his seat and hobbled up towards the ornate stairs to his room. Luckily for him the door was already open with the Ice Climbers, Popo and Nana already sleeping away on the bunk beds by the far back wall. Those two were always sleeping in, missing mandatory Smash council meetings. Ness loved them for just about as much as he loved Brussels sprouts, which wasn't very much. They gave him a wary glance when he walked in. Popo actually got up and swung his stubby legs over the side. That was a first.
"What's on your mind Ness?" Popo asked him, his brown eyes wanting an answer.
He shrugged, swiping my black hair back behind my ears. "I don't know Popo; I mean I really don't want a new person in the house, especially in this room. I liked it when it was just us," Ness said. Popo raised an eyebrow, not understanding. The darker haired teen huffed, elaborating. "You, Nana, Young Link, and myself. However, Master Hand says that the new tournament needs new fighters and he's dropping all these new people off here. We're sharing a room with someone else, a completely new stranger. I can already tell I'm not going to particularly enjoy it."
Ness was sixteen years old, had seen a lot of crap, and wasn't about to be humiliated by 'newcomers', as Master Hand had deemed them during the meeting.
Nana frowned. "I actually want to meet people Ness, unlike the latter." Nana gave an amused glance up towards her brother, which Popo stuck his tongue out at her. He rolled his eyes, ignoring the simplistic fact that he himself was still a child in some regard.
Such children the hearty group was.
"I'm going to take a shower. I'll be all right back you guys," Ness said out of the blue, as if truly needed to be stated, and as if anyone had actually cared. Popo and Nana didn't look at him, instead going back to sleep, mumbling incoherent things such as clouds and eggplants and walking polar bears. He rolled my eyes. Whatever. Who needed friends anyways, right?
Entering the bathroom, Ness threw his hat onto the sink counter, and took off his shirt, balling it up and throwing it into the hamper. He turned on the shower, the cold water streaking down his back, the shivers beginning to crawl up Ness's arms. He felt relieved, dreaming of sitting in a pool with a golden rainbow, the light alluring the pool. The smells of coconut drifted up to his nostrils and the sweet scent lavished his hair. Ness sat there for a moment, hanging in that precious moment of nocturne, that precious moment of clarity and prosperity. Master Hand said that he'd be introducing the newcomers by the hour, and Ness certainly couldn't tell time. He wouldn't want to be late, as it'd set a terrible precedent. Ness turned the water off, the chilliness in the air starting to feel uncomfortable. He threw a towel around his waist, and grabbed the hat. Leaping out of the bathroom door, he quickly went into my closet, where he had five more outfits to pick from. Ness took his yellow shirt with black stripes hanging over in the corner and he knew he was going to get called a bumblebee later today but, Ness wasn't going to care. Then, after brushing his teeth and tying his shoes, I was presentable.
He felt completely stupid.
Perhaps it was a good thing!
"Well, how do I look?" he asked Popo and Nana who were now reading, the two sitting up on their bunk beds, stubby little legs hanging over and kicking out as if the ice siblings were in a pond.
Popo gave him a small look and the burst into raucous laughter. "You look hilarious, like a bumblebee took a crap on your clothes!"
Nana suppressed a giggle. "Okay, I wouldn't necessarily say that, but yeah, you look really funny."
He scowled. "Real smooth guys, real smooth," Then there was a gentle knock on the door. "Come in!" Ness called.
The door opened to Princess Peach stumbling forward, the poor lady looking disheveled as she had apparently been trying to judo kick the door down. Ness raised an eyebrow at her, frowning. "Ah sheesh Ness, I would expect at least a warning that the door swings open violently."
He gave a small chuckle, immediately put a hand over his mouth. It was never good to be so impudent and rude to royalty. "Well... I'm waiting Miss Peach, what is the news you need to tell us youngsters?" Peach's eyes flared, and Ness felt the dagger deep down sink in. Hot waters for him, truly. He had no idea why he was being such a brat today, he normally wasn't that on edge about things. It wasn't the time to have anyone psychoanalyze him, however.
Peach widened her eyes in small shock as a response yet didn't say a word about his snarky attitude. "Well, Master Hand wants all of the Smashers to meet in the conference room. I believe our new friends are here."
Popo leaped down from his perch on his bed. "Oh boy, I can't wait to meet them."
Ness gave him a look. "Was that sarcasm I detect?"
Popo shrugged. "No, at least I didn't want it to be." Nana closed her small book she was reading and got off her bed.
"Well Popo, follow Miss Peach. Master Hand wants us there," Nana ordered swiftly. Ever the sister, who thought she was always in charge. In a different world, Ness might've felt an attraction to her, with her bossy attitude.
Ness rolled his eyes again. "This never gets old." He loved the constant bantering of siblings, even though he bickered himself with nearly everyone in Smash mansion as a prick teenager going through life with hormonal rages and influences.
Popo and Nana shared a glance. "What doesn't get old?"
Ness gave a deep chuckled this time. "Don't bother." With that he gleefully sat on the banister and slid his way down to the conference room.
Chuckling, Ness took his seat and ignored the obvious glares from some of the older Smashers there. A few of them didn't appreciate humor at times when it wasn't necessary. All Ness had in his defense was shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Sorry, I'm a teenager. What do you expect me to do?" Master Hand was wearing a bow around his pinkie, which he guessed is his chest or whatever. It was hard telling the differences on a huge white hand. Master Hand gave a loud thump with his pointer finger which was supposed to silence the Smashers up. No one in the entire congregation had been talking.
"I've just been told that we have had our newcomers arrive here at the mansion. All of you are to be courteous to them, no name calling, no rude language..." he gave Marth and Link a severe look, if Master Hand could be attributed with the gift of look giving, "and no bullying of any kind will be tolerated, because then you'll have to deal with Bowser." The turtle grinned evilly. Master Hand swung the doors opened and some people and non living things piled in.
Out of the people Ness saw, there was an angel; he made sure he hadn't done anything wrong, a silent teenager who Ness personally named 'Red' because of his clothes, and a wolf, who looked by his namesake name of, well, Wolf, which got Fox and Falco's eyes to rise. Also entering the room was a smaller ape that looked like Donkey Kong, although Ness particularly didn't care. No one else looked important to him, as Ness got bored and starting looking at the stencil etchings on the roof. He pinpointed a heart, a knife, even a flower in the pastel crowning. A small tap on his shoulder broke him from the pleasing daydreaming session. Ness turned around to be face to face with another boy, akin to him in age. He wanted to guess no younger than fourteen.
"Hi, I'm Ness," he said, outstretching his hand for a greeting. Ness waited for a few seconds, trying to brighten the look in his eyes to where it wasn't a full deprecating black.
"I know who you are, no need for you to introduce yourself," the other boy said curtly. Ness's hand faltered, his smile vanished, and very much so did the look in his eyes darken. "I'm Lucas. I'm fifteen." Odd... but Ness didn't want to already make things more awkward than what was there.
He regained his composure although Lucas's manners weren't the best he had ever seen, barring his own, which Ness would store in the back of his mind for safe keeping. "Nice to meet you Lucas, do you want a tour of the mansion or hotel or whatever it is?"
Lucas nodded but once again didn't say anything. He was wearing a bright fluorescent yellow and red striped shirt similar to Ness's, and two sneakers that needed to be tied. His lemonade hair was slicked at the top, with grease or gel that combed it to a perfect spiral. Lucas's electric blue eyes skittered nervously to each person around, and Ness thought the newcomer had a nail biting problem.
He'd be happily assured that he was right on all four of those assumptions.
"So Lucas, where are you from?" Ness asked him.
The boy gave him a look. "Nowhere. I move around too much so I have nowhere I'm particularly from if that's the answer you want." Ness shut his mouth firmly. Who pissed in his cornflakes? Ness grimaced, furrowing his brow together, his mind urging to spill eleven million cuss words at his command. He didn't like to be disrespected by someone who had no right disrespecting him.
He pointed up the staircase. "Our room is right up there, shared with a brother and a sister although you would know them by Popo and Nana or the Ice Climbers," Lucas nodded, absorbing it.. "Down the hall is the cafeteria, which offers a great deal of food and drinks. However, for us youngsters, no alcohol."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Do I look 21 to you?"
Ness frowned. "No, just giving you some information." This kid seemed to be a big deal and he only knew him for two minutes. The raven haired boy could only imagine what four or five years was going to feel like. Actually, he didn't want to know what it would be like.
The blonde pointed after the two stood or in Ness's case, sat in awkward silence. "Who's that?"
Ness followed his gaze to see that his newcomer was so enthralled by Link, who was prancing around with Zelda locked arm in arm. "That's Link. He is one of the popular people around here."
Lucas frowned. "And why aren't you popular?"
Once more, the other boy bit his lip. "That wasn't what I was indicating at all Lucas."
The younger of the two shook his head, looking as if he wished to say something. He scanned the room, trying to distract himself, opening his mouth in surprise as he pointed further down into the room. "And who's that girl over there?"
Ness nearly burst out laughing. Lucas was pointing at poor Marth. It seemed like the Altean prince wouldn't be able to go by a single tourney without someone mistaking his gender for the other. "No, Lucas, that's a boy. His name is Marth."
Lucas blushed. "My apologies, Ness. He just seems so feminine."
The raven haired boy threw an arm around the younger boy and he flinched. "Yeah, he gets that a lot."
Ness moved his new 'friend', if Lucas could be even called that to the stairs, when a happy little yell came from behind them, stopping the duo. The PSI user huffed a tuff of hair out of his eyes, removing his arm around Lucas's shoulder. He turned and saw Samus walk up to him. The blonde interstellar bounty hunter looked gorgeous, moreso than usual, causing the raven haired boy to blush.
Heavily.
"Hey Ness, who's your friend?"
"This is Lucas," he said, nodding to Samus, motioning introductions. Lucas just waved, eyes spiraling to look at his shoes.
Samus smiled back, then leaned down to Ness, getting in his ear. "I need you to do me a favor," she said, her voice running shivers down the other boy's spine like he was thirteen years old again and discovered from a drunk Bowser what breasts were. Pubescent boys and their deluded minds... how they hurt them so.
Ness blushed. "What's the favor?"
Samus leaned in even further to whisper in his ear. The boy smiled. "They did that? Oh gross!"
She straightened herself back up. "Can you please do it? I would really appreciate it."
The PSI user nodded, smiling. "Certainly!" Ness turned around to Lucas, hand outstretched to resume the tour, pausing. Lucas wasn't there. Huh. Odd. He could've sworn the blonde had just been by his side not even two seconds ago. "Lucas, where did you go?"
Link, who had finished introducing himself and Zelda to the others congregated, caught Samus's eye. He jogged over, and Ness repeated his question. "Your little friend? I think went down to the beach," the Hylian answered.
Ness frowned. "Lucas, what on earth are you doing down there?" Frowning, he ran out the Smasher room, the others from Melee and the original getting acquainted with the gathered newcomers.
It was time to go find a weird, freaky kid.
Even if Ness kind of liked him. Maybe only a little.
(Chapter One revised on February 19th, 2017)
And there we are, Chapter One! In this revision, I think Ness is going to be much snarkier and ruder, as is Lucas, with their amped up age of sixteen and fifteen from eleven and ten, which is clearly wrong for them to talk back the way they do. I don't know what was going through my head at the time of writing this story, but oh well, glad to return. If there are any tense errors according to first or third person, please let me know so I can change 'I' to 'he' or some other form. Thanks again for reading! Hope to see you with Chapter #2: Lucas's Beach Charade. Please review! Love you all!
~ Paradigm of Writing
