(Chapter Two revised on February 19th, 2017)
Hello everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with the second chapter of Cross Examined, #2: Lucas's Beach Charade. Once again, I'm going through and combing for errors, revising the story and its mistakes... plus changing the view from first person to third. Hope that last chapter has you somewhat hooked as recalling correctly, every chapter in this story is a huge downhill slide.
Ness looked around the concrete slab warily, the exit to Smash Mansion just ahead of him. A few yards from the back entrance of Smash Mansion, down the long, floral path was the beach. Ness could feel the crystalline waves lapping the shore underneath his feet, the feeling glorious and reminiscent of older times. His guess was sure as nothing, pertinent to the matter as to why Lucas would be down there. Ness withdrew from the wall and walked out into the blazing sunlight. He covered my eyes to see Lucas, that blonde bastard, down the hill standing on the sand. He was staring intently at something on the horizon. What in Master Hand's name was he staring at?
He decided to take his chances and strolled down the floral hill. Ness stopped after walking only a few steps before brokering into a run. The violets, the amethysts, and the bubbly orange colors of the flowers raced by the PSI user as he came barreling down the hill. Ness stopped dead in his tracks, sand filling up the socks in his sneakers, his feet digging in deep. Lucas was standing there, a great sphere of golden aura floating in the air. What was he doing? Then the aura became bigger and bigger till it was the size of Ness's head, tendrils of something swamping in and out as Lucas continued to speak. An eerie calmness washed over the beach, causing Ness to sway before Lucas screamed a loud reverberating shriek, the aura flying into his body. The raven haired boy lost it, vaulting forward.
"Lucas!" he yelled, tackling the kid to the sand. Heat flushed across both boy's bodies, the blonde's head hitting the sodden Earth with a slap. Ness maneuvered himself so his knees weren't kneading Lucas's crotch, expecting an emotion other than the riveting anger directed at him by the turned in eyebrows or the vicious scowl. Maybe he expected gratitude?
"Ness? What the hell?" Lucas suddenly yelled at him, the anger so shocking it flung the raven haired boy off the kid. What was he doing cursing like that? Had Ness completely hallucinated what he just 'saw'?
"I'll tell you what I was doing when you give me a good damn explanation of what the hell that yellow sphere was doing inside your body!" he yelled back at him.
Lucas's face softened. "It's nothing. Nothing."
Ness scowled, not buying it that easily. "Nothing? Nothing? Lucas, you screamed as if your head was getting ripped apart! Not to mention, the erroneous thing flew into your body as if it possessed your soul. Now, tell me what that was. If it's something truly horrible, I promise that no one else will find out. You can trust me!"
Lucas gave me a glare. "I can't tell you!"
Ness feigned surprise. "Why not?"
The blonde balled his fists. "Because I can't trust you. You are like every PSI I've ever met," he growled. "They've all betrayed me. My brother betrayed me. His best friend betrayed me. I've betrayed myself, and most of all, you'll betray me. You're no different."
"Well if you think that- wait what? Did you say PSI?" Ness asked, train of thought interrupted.
Lucas nodded feverishly. "Yes, aren't you a PSI user?" the raven haired boy gave a feeble nod, the former running a hand through his hair. "I am. I'm told that PSI users can identify others if you've met enough of them in their life."
Ness took a step back, completely skipping over the fact that his new 'friend' possessed the same power as him, rather jumping a few... steps ahead. "That would have been nice to you before you go wandering off and get possessed by some magic. Cause I can tell you that was not PSI powers."
His companion shuddered, Lucas turning his head somewhat to face the aquamarine waves of the ocean. "Sorry. I can't tell you Ness, even if I trusted you. I just met you, and that won't work either way.
"Lucas, you can tell me anything." Ness looked into Lucas's diamond eyes from his own obsidian ones, the emotion of pleading reflecting through. He gripped the latter's wrist, not hard, but enough to try and wane out the feeling of comfort.
Lucas stopped his glaring, letting go. He turned his back to Ness, going over something the PSI user couldn't make out, before reeling on his heel, walloping a well formed punch to Ness's nose. "No! I won't tell you anything!" The blonde yelled, kicking up sand, racing away down the beach line.
Ness tentatively drew his hand to my nose, luckily not feeling any blood seep through his fingers. "Dude, what are you hiding from me?" he said aloud. Ness watched the blonde blur disappear off into the distance. Whatever it was that had Lucas distressed surely was enough to have him go injure innocent strangers on beaches. The raven haired boy didn't want to allude what just happened up to a hallucination. He saw something that Lucas possessed or knew and bonded with it. He understood somewhat the hostility with telling secrets, but just as for the reason where Lucas had no reason to trust Ness, there was nothing yet for him to distrust Ness either. What would Ness gain from telling Master Hand about a golden power?
Exactly.
Nothing.
"Ness? Are you alright?" said a voice behind him.
He whirled around and surprised Marth half to death. "Oh. It's only you." The Altean warrior was dressed in his typical battle garb, the blue cloak, the beryl shade of his hair mixing around in the mahogany sand dunes and turquoise waves of the ocean.
Marth raised an eyebrow. "I heard screaming and came down as fast I could. What were you and Lucas talking about?"
Ness frowned. "To be honest, I don't even know. Lucas was talking to something and that particular something went into his body. I tackled him, asked some questions... I must have angered him because he punched me in the nose and then ran off down the beach." he jutted a finger down the beach where said boy in question had fled to.
The bluenette frowned. "He was talking to something and it went into his body? Like what? Aura?"
Ness shrugged. "Beats me."
Marth stuck a hand through his blueberry hair. "That confuses me. I'll talk to Zelda about it. Now... can you describe the thing."
The raven haired boy rubbed his chin. "Well, it was yellow, and it grew larger every time I took a step towards it. Then when I was a foot away from Lucas, he had screamed and the aura flew into his body."
The Altean rubbed his neck. "Gee. That's intriguing. I'll check back with you on that," he turned to leave back up the flower path to the mansion. Marth stopped to look at Ness, his cape snapping in the wake of the wind with the force of a whip. "You should go see Dr. Mario to get that nose healed."
"It's fine!" Ness protested. Well, that was until the deep stain of red appeared on his hand. "Oh great! See what you did to me Lucas?" he said angrily, turning down to the beach.
For Lucas's credit, he did not shout back anything smarmy or snarky.
Lucas sniffled a tear and wiped it away, however the action was futile given more crystal tears spilled down his face. He hated being so emotional, it always compromised him in seconds. Not even ten minutes after meeting someone, he already had them asking questions that were the kind he did not want to be asked in the first place. Oh well. That was such the order of the universe. "Why must Ness be so nosy, why must he care? He's not in my shoes, so he has not right infringing on my privacy. And why was he so surprised when I said I had PSI powers? Is it supposed to be a bad thing? I mean I know about Ness's past... well sort of, but mine is a lot worse! He shouldn't act like they can be prepared or anything..." he thought sadly.
"Lucas, my child, why do you weep?" The blonde stiffened, feeling the sense of change in the air by the way it slowed down, the chilling of the temperature. So, they were back, just like he expected they would.
The fifteen year-old looked up. "I thought I told you to go away!"
The air in front of Lucas wavered, turning in and around like a folding paper mache puzzle. A white, translucent figure appeared before the blonde, donned in a cloak the color of the rainbow. "You never told me such a thing," it responded sharply, a harshness in their voice. The figure seemed to hover above the sand, levitating like so at where their feet would've been, blowing dirt in the air somewhat.
Lucas stood. "Well, when you were giving me that aura, I made Ness go crazy and he wanted to know what it was."
"Ness?" the figure frowned. "Isn't that the other boy who possess the PSI powers that you do? Shouldn't you try and ally yourself with him instead of alienating yourself? You're going to need friends here, Lucas, in case they come after you again. I won't be here to protect you forever, you know that."
"How can I be allied with him if I just met him?" Lucas made a face. "This is why you died. You were too trusting, and look where it got you."
"And did you tell him what it was?" the figure asked, tilting their head. "Or were you irrational and reckless as per usual?"
"Of course I didn't tell him! Why would I?" the blonde threw his hands up. "He persisted, didn't get the hint, so I punched him in the face." In hindsight, that perhaps was not the best thing he could've done in the situation, but Lucas knew himself, and he was not known for making such amazing voluntary actions in regard to his impulsiveness. He would get better at it eventually, but it never sat on his mind as a 'prevalent' issue.
The figure frowned. "Lucas, you need to control your emotions."
"I can't!" More tears spilled down his face. "I thought the people here wouldn't care what I did as long as no one got hurt! Of course I can't get that satisfaction here! If I can't get it here of all places, then there's nowhere I'll ever be able to safely hide! The Smashers had to be so damn nosy and try to figure out what I was doing." he grumbled.
The ghost tried to sit, opting to hover more ever. "Lucas, anger never solves anyone's problems. I'm not always going to be here for you, and you will need to confide in someone else about this issue. I believe you can do it. Ness, from first glance, seems promising. You just met him."
"I know I can't," Lucas argued, looking away. "You know it too, that Ness and I will not get along and that I sure as hell cannot trust him. Yeah, I know what I have locked inside isn't good to keep, but I need to hold on to some of my past. I care if others know about it before I'm ready to share. After that? They can do whatever the hell they want with it." the blonde said.
"But, your past can and will betray you eventually Lucas. Not everything that you believe to be good in this world is right, and not everything you believe is wrong is truly evil. You just need to know the moment of true peace and then you will find the courage to tell the truth to those you couldn't share it with before. It'll be a while before that happens, but you'll know, I can assure you that."
Lucas frowned. "How will I be able to tell?"
The figure began to disappear. "You just will Lucas. Now, if you don't mind, I feel like I've taken too much of your time. The others will try and look for you, so I must be off. Goodbye my spirit angel, and may my light guide you." Then the white shadow was gone and Lucas buried his face into his hands.
"My liege, please... guide me, make my thoughts less jumbled, let the poisonous flow of images and insults falter. My mind is now an intricate maze. If you are what you say you are, then guide me, or I shall be in torment forever." Lucas thought. He looked up, done praying or whatever he wanted to call it and began to watch the sun sink below the sea.
As he sat on the sand dunes and thought, the inner mechanisms of his mind dreamed of ice shards and earthquakes.
Ness gingerly touched his nose as Dr. Mario finished wrapping some gauze around it. Lucas had come back from his beach excursion, but he wouldn't talk to anyone. There was some sort of look in his eyes and it was raw fear. Ness figured that the newcomer would be as locked up about anything like a safe, but still felt the emotion of pity and curiosity. Everyone knew the saying, curiosity killed the cat. Ness still felt troubled by him, that Lucas. However, in the moment and time, his nose was the priority.
"There!" Dr. Mario smiled pleasantly. "You're good, Ness!"
He jumped from the counter, wobbling somewhat from the jelly feeling spreading through his legs. "Thanks Doc, it feels better already."
Ness gleefully raced out of the doctor's office, the echo of his sneakers ringing out around the halls like ghostly echoes of dying gunshots. He sprang up the stairs, bouncing into his room. "Hey Lucas!" Ness yelled happily. He paused, finding out that the always missing and ever so mysterious blonde was not in their room. "Where's Lucas?" he asked. "If I have to go through this whole bullshit thing again, I swear to Master Hand I'll kill Lucas before the week is up."
Popo looked at the raven haired boy from the small couch in the middle of the room. "He's not here. He came in dropped off some watch and then walked out."
The PSI user rubbed his chin. "Thanks, Popo. I'm gonna go out and look for him. Hold the fort while I'm gone!"
Popo waved him away. "I'm trying to watch something, go away."
Ness closed the door. "Now where are you?" The beach? No. Lucas seemed smart enough to not hang out in one place all the time. He must've had an amazing first day, with having the current staff of the mansion either not speak to him or be cold, to have someone in similar age tackle you into the sand, and for you to cry. Sounds like a great first day!
The raven haired boy had one more idea. Lucas had to be watching the moon out on the terrace. Every night, there was always a Smasher or two who would rest there either by themselves or with someone else to have small chat with, looking at the bulb in the sky that shone precious white light. He decided to look there. If Lucas wasn't there, then he truly had no idea where he'd be. Ness strolled down the second floor hallway, each door housing a room with other Smashers. One held Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, and the newcomer Toon Link, while another held Marth, Roy, and two other men because he was hearing some noisy laughter of two men besides Marth and Roy's. Then there was the terrace, which overlooked the beach, and gave you a perfect view of the sun or moon. Lucas was standing there, this time there was some yellowness shooting from his fingertips into the sky. Ness blanched. Was he getting possessed again?
"Lucas?" he called, his voice now louder. Lucas didn't turn.
This time there was no scream to Ness's question, which felt reassuring.
However, what Ness did get instead was a loud explosion.
To then further his horror beyond what could be initially thought of, Lucas toppled to the ground.
Scarlet spewed everywhere. There was so much blood spilling out onto the terrace, all of it coming from Lucas.
(Chapter Two revised on February 19th, 2017)
There we are ladies and gentlemen, Chapter #2. Damn, Lucas is one strange kid, huh? I'll tell you upfront that my original story did not hold back punches, cliffhangers dropped everywhere like pieces of candy, and I'll tell you, no one is safe. What do you think is up with Lucas? Clearly there's a past that he needs to explain, but I don't think Ness will be the one to find that out. Review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Love you all!
~ Paradigm of Writing