The location this tournament was taking place in was much smaller than Ness originally expected. When he received the invitation a month prior, he had to admit, he was expecting something much grander. Instead, he currently faced an average house, two stories high. It was a pale blue colour, with shingles on the roof that perhaps once may have been black, but were now a soft gray. The path leading up to the front door was made of stepping stones. Briefly, the psychic wondered if that strange car had dropped him off at the wrong place.
No, it had to be right. There was a plaque on the door that had the same symbol his invitation was sealed with - a circle with two slashes, one horizontal, one vertical. Well, Ness didn't mind this being the place. Somehow, it made it seem more inviting for it to look much like his own home.
Ness walked up the stone path, and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door swung open with a creak.
"Hey, kid. I think you have the wrong house. This is the Smash House, headquarters of the Super Smash Bros. tournament - not whatever you're looking for." A muscular man had answered the door, wearing a helmet with a falcon crest on the front. Ness's face flushed with anger.
"That's what I'm here for." He said, clenching his invitation in his fist.
The man looked as though he couldn't believe it - something between disbelief and outrage. "They invited a kid to the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy?! There's no way!"
"What's-a going on-a here?" From behind the muscular man came a voice. A short, plump man wearing red glanced at Ness, who returned his gaze coolly.
"This kid claims he's in the tournament!" The first man growled.
The short man stroked his mustache. "Well, it-a appears he has an invitation, and we're-a only waiting on one person. Are you-a Ness?"
"That's me." Ness replied. "I may be a kid, but I'm in this!"
"Let him-a in, Falcon." The short man said briskly, turning around and walking down a hallway. "Don't-a keep us waiting!" He called back as he walked. The muscular man, apparently named Falcon, muttered something inaudible, but left the doorway. Ness stepped inside, suitcase in one hand, letter in the other.
"Leave your suitcase next to the stairs." Falcon grumbled. "Then come to the living room - down the hallway, the door to the left." With that, he exited down the hallway.
Ness placed his suitcase down at the end of the stairs, then headed down the hallway. At the end was the door, which was ajar. Opening it fully, he crossed into the living room.
A brown couch was against the wall, with three people sitting on it - a young man dressed in green who looked quite elfin, a person in some sort of futuristic body armor, and Falcon. Two recliners sat in opposite corners of the room. The short man from earlier sat in one, and a taller man in the other. They wore similar outfits, however. Perhaps they were related. On the armrest of the taller man's chair sat what appeared to be a bright yellow rodent. On the floor, two pink puffballs sat together, as well as a dragon-like beast. Leaning against the couch was a fox standing on its hind legs, fully clothed. Finally, a gorilla wearing a tie sat near the puffballs.
And Falcon thought a kid being invited was strange?!
But the most bizarre thing of all? In the center of the room there was a giant, floating hand. Ness realized he was staring after a moment, and took a seat on the floor near the couch, crossing his legs.
A disembodied voice spoke, seemingly coming from the glove. "It seems we have everyone now. I would like to formally welcome you to the first ever Super Smash Brothers tournament. I have selected the finest of warriors from all worlds to complete. You are all here for a reason.
"My name is Master Hand. I am the organizer and head of this tournament."
"Actually, I'd say you're the hand of this tournament." Ness couldn't help but mumble. There were muffled snorts around the room at his comment.
The floating hand seemed to ignore Ness's remark, carrying on. "I would like you to stand up, one at a time, and say your name and a fact about you or your journey. We will start with you." The hand pointed at the short man in the recliner.
"I'm-a Mario, and I-a rescue the princess of the Mushroom Kingdo m from-a the evil Bowser!" The man exclaimed enthusiastically. He had a pleasing accent that somehow made what he said more interesting, in Ness's opinion. The taller man looked up.
"I'm-a Luigi, Mario's brother." He spoke quieter than his sibling, but still bore a smile.
"Pikachu! Pika pika!" The rodent cried. Ness tried to translate, as he could with animals, but its thoughts were too jumbled, too fast. It would take practice before he could understand it. The same was the case for the other animals, and the puffballs. The only exception, he found, was the fox, who spoke perfect English, and was named, well, Fox. He was apparently a space pilot.
When it was Ness's turn, he stood. "My name is Ness. I'm thirteen, and I saved my world from aliens." He could feel some of the emotions in the room - curiosity...doubting...ridicule. Just because he was thirteen, and only 5"1.
He'd prove them wrong. He'd show them he was a force to be reckoned with.
Ness barely heard the other three's introductions. All he really caught were their names - the elfin boy was Link, the robot - looking one was Samus, and Falcon's full name was Jay Douglass Falcon, but preferred his surname only. After everyone was introduced, the hand spoke again.
"There are a number of rules in the Smash House to ensure everything runs smoothly. There will be no fighting outside of scheduled fights. You will show up for meals ontime, everytime. Stealing or blackmailing is absolutely forbidden. You cannot miss your fights without a valid reason. And finally, you will preform your assigned housework with your partner."
A small bit of grumbling broke out at the mention of housework. Master Hand snapped his fingers to regain attention.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all thrilled. We all have to do our part to keep this house running. I will read out the names of the partners, and your respective chores." Another snap of his fingers, a list appeared. "Mario and Luigi have cooking dinner. The other two meals, you all will alternate. Link and Fox, you have vacuuming and dusting. Kirby and Jigglypuff will clean the bathroom. Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon have yard work. Samus and Ness, you will do the laundry. Finally, Pikachu and Yoshi will gather dirty laundry and put it in the hamper. As for doing dishes, like cooking breakfast and lunch, we will alternate between all you.
"Now, finally, there are three rooms upstairs, and three downstairs. You will each have a roommate. In room one downstairs, Mario and Luigi. Room two, Fox and Captain Falcon. Room three, Donkey Kong and Yoshi. Upstairs is as follows: room four is Kirby and Link, room five is Ness and Pikachu, and room six is Samus and Jigglypuff. The bathroom for each set of rooms is at the end of the hall, along with the hamper. The opposite doorway across from the living room is the kitchen and dining room. A door next to the stairs leads to the basement, where the laundry is done. With all that out of the way, I congratulate you on making it into this tournament. Fighting will begin tomorrow, and each day's schedule will be written on a whiteboard in the kitchen. Finally, breakfast is at eight thirty, lunch twelve thirty, and dinner at six." The hand finally ended his long speech, much to Ness's relief, as he was getting restless.
Master Hand dismissed them with a wave, and a buzz of talking broke out. Some of it was complaining about the chores, others in frantic excitement over the tournament. Ness wondered briefly where they were going to fight. That would probably be explained later. Standing, he exited the room, picking up his suitcase and heading up the stairs.
He located room five, and pushed open the door. The room was very small, with two beds on either side. One dresser sat in the middle - Ness supposed he didn't have to share that, since his roommate was a rodent. A clock sat on it, displaying the time in red numbers. He took the bed on the right, and sat on it, looking around. The walls were a cream colour, and the carpet was powder blue. His bedspread was a blue and green plaid. Opening his suitcase, he began to unpack.
Falcon had called this the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy, and yet it didn't seem very elaborate to Ness. There were only twelve of them, sharing a two story house, for Pete's sake. But, perhaps, like most things starting out, it had a limited budget. Yes...that must be the case, Ness decided, as he stuffed a shirt into a drawer.
Finishing unpacking after a bit, Ness pushed his suitcase, now empty, under his bed. Giving a glance at the clock, he saw it was 5:45. He decided to go downstairs, since dinner was relatively soon. He briefly wondered if Mario and his brother had cooked tonight, or if they didn't have to, seeing as it was the first day.
Walking down the stairs, Ness entered into the dining room, where a few others had already gathered. A glance in the kitchen told him that even though it was the first day, Mario and Luigi were indeed cooking. The shorter man noticed him looking in. "Ness, was it? Can you-a set the table?"
"Sure." Ness said with a shrug. "Where are the dishes kept?"
"The left cabinet is-a plates, the right glasses, and that-a drawer holds utensils." Luigi told him as he stirred with one hand, gesturing to the drawer with the other. Ness pulled open the drawer and got out enough utensils for them all. Reaching up, he balanced on his toes to reach the plates. Exiting the room, he set each set of utensils and plates around the table, doing the same with the glasses after going back to retrieve them, taking several trips. "I better not be setting the table every night..." The raven-haired psychic thought a bit grumpily.
The others entered the dining room as the clock drew near six. Taking a seat, Ness watched as Mario and Luigi brought out the food. As everyone seated themselves, one chair remained empty.
"Who are we missing?" Fox asked, glancing around.
"Kirby will not be joining the rest of you for meals. He is a bit of a...special case...when it comes to eating, and would likely leave no food for the rest of you." Ness jumped a bit in his seat. Somehow, Master Hand had entered the room without him noticing, which was quite the feat in Ness's opinion, considering he was gigantic, as well as the fact Ness could usually sense people nearby.
"Well, then...let's eat." Falcon declared. "What did you make, anyway?"
"Mushroom casserole." Mario replied, serving himself some. Ness, recalling them cooking in a pot, wondered how they made casserole in it. He decided not to think about it.
No one spoke much as they are, awkwardness thick in the air. What did a group this varied even talk about? Ness simply watched as everyone ate, occasionally eating a bit himself. He noted that the person in the robotic suit (Samuel? Samson? For some reason, he was blanking on their name) wasn't eating - they hadn't even taken off their helmet. The animals didn't use utensils, aside from Fox, which made sense, Ness supposed. Every once in a while, Falcon would look Ness's way and smirk. Clearly, he still thought a kid shouldn't be here.
Ness got an idea, and nearly smirked, barely keeping his grin in check. As Falcon reached for his water glass, the psychic, using his telekinesis, dragged it barely out of reach. The look on the racer's face was priceless. Again, he reached, and again, Ness moved it farther away. The others watched as Falcon's hands chased the glass, missing each time. Finally, the muscular man slammed his fist on the table. "Whoever is doing that, STOP NOW!" He bellowed.
"If you insist. Have your water." Ness thought, and as Falcon picked up his glass, Ness spilled it all over him. The man roared in outrage as various snickers and laughter broke out around the table. As the racer stood covered in water, Ness met his eyes and grinned tauntingly.
"That'll teach you to underestimate me because of my age." Ness thought gleefully as people began clearing away the table.
Maybe he would get them to take him seriously after all.
Hey guys! Welcome to my new fanfic, Way Back When! This will be a story from Ness's point of view, being a slice-of-life story taking place in the 64 days. As usual, updates will be completely random depending on my motivation.
Yes, I made Falcon a complete jerk. I don't really like him very much.
I have so much trouble writing Link and Fox, and Samus to an extent. This is going to be a bit of a challenge for me, but I'm ready.
Tell me your thoughts! Review!
-EBC