Kirby vs. Cecil: Simple Plan
By Daredevil3181 and Riceball
The paladin sat down in his room, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was deep in reflection, putting all fears and doubts he had about the coming match out of his mind. So many countless hours he had spent in the training area, fighting a wide array of complex and frightening monsters. There would be absolutely no way that he would lose this match and disgrace his honor.
Although Cecil Harvey was a phenomenal warrior in his own right, he was used to traveling and fighting in large groups. He could physically bash his way into most situations, but if the enemy showed some resistance to his attacks or inflicted a major wound on him, the paladin would falter. He had no offensive magic and no powerful healing spells. For the most part, it was just him and his weapons. And that was why he had trained intensively; to hone his individual strengths and find ways to compensate for his weaknesses.
Cecil finally cracked his eyes open and stared at the massive clock in his room. Most contestants had preferred to have a simple, digital alarm, whereas Cecil had requested an older grandfather clock. This world was so alien to him, that anything he could do to make himself feel more comfortable was worth the extra money it might cost.
'Time to go,' Cecil told himself. It was well over two hours before his match, but the paladin wanted to make sure he was there on time. He was not one to disrespect his opponent, no matter how strange, by showing up to his match late.
The knight was clad in only a plain white shirt and a pair of breeches. He didn't have much more in the way of clothes, as he was never a fan of excess materialistic things. There had been a time when he was bit more absorbed in those things as a Dark Knight, but those days were long behind him now.
He methodically began to put on his gleaming armor over his other clothes. He then strapped a few secondary swords to his person. His Ragnarok had served him well over the years, but there was no reason not to be cautious. He would hate to be caught unarmed if it was somehow knocked out of his hands.
When Cecil was done with his preparations, he took a good look at himself in the mirror. He wasn't vain, but did want to make sure he looked his best. He hated it how some of the contestants just rolled out of bed and ran to their matches. Certainly that behavior wouldn't be becoming of someone of his stature.
He was just about to step out, when something caught his eye. There was a dent in his armor. It wasn't big, but he could notice it. Unfortunately, he had no time to fix it and he had to head out.
"Oh, Rosa," Cecil chuckled, thinking about his wife back home. "You'd never let me go out like this. Please forgive me this once and I promise to repair it afterwards." He then grabbed his quiver, bow, and shield, and left the hotel room.
The knight was just outside of his door, when a voice called out to him. He hadn't gone out of his way to associate with anyone here aside from normal pleasantries, so he was a little surprised that someone would actually be seeking him out.
"Cecil!" the armored marine shouted. "Long time no see!"
"Oh, hello…Master Chief," the paladin responded. It took him a second or two to remember the man's name. "How are you today?"
"Me? I'm just fine. Thanks for asking. But more importantly how are you doing? You're the one fighting today, not me."
"I am perfectly in control of the situation," Cecil assured him. "I have practiced for so many hours in that training center that I'll be ready for anything my opponent throws at me."
"Is that so?" Master Chief asked. Cecil couldn't see it, but underneath his helmet, the soldier was raising an eyebrow. "My suit's AI reviewed the training exercises you set up. She doesn't think you're going about this the right way."
"I have no idea what this 'AI' is, but I know myself better than anyone else. What I did was sufficient."
"If you say so," Master Chief shrugged. "Just remember, for all intents and purposes, Kirby is just a cute little animal. Oh sure, he has sentient thoughts and all, but he doesn't plan ahead like you and me. He just uses his instinct to guide him through the situations."
"Are you saying he's this…robot?" Cecil chuckled. "If anything, I would think you would be the mechanized one, what with that suit and all."
"No, not a robot," the man corrected him. "An animal."
"I fail to see what the real difference is," Cecil huffed. He didn't need to be lectured, much less by someone who had spent as much time avoiding the other contestants as he did.
"Look, all I'm saying is, no matter how complex your simulations were, it wasn't enough," Master Chief explained. "Because when it comes right down to it, Kirby is just an incredibly simple creature. Just watch out, because when you're thinking three steps ahead, he'll have already beaten you with a swift kick to the gut in that moment."
"And to what do I owe this uncharacteristic advice?" wondered Cecil.
"Let's just say that I know what it's like to be upset in these tournaments. The winner isn't always the person who is strongest. And I would hate to have to settle on my round to victory. I'd rather actually earn it with some true competition, so I'd rather you stick around."
Cecil smiled. Maybe the two of them weren't as different as he initially thought. Maybe there was some honor and decency among this rabble.
"May the best man win," Cecil proclaimed. He then extended his hand out toward the other man, in what had to one of his first genuine acts of camaraderie since he had arrived here.
Master Chief just stared at the hand for a few moments. Finally, he brought his own hand up and clasped the paladin's tightly.
"Agreed."
---
Out of all the competitors in the contest, Kirby was probably the easiest to understand. Sure, he was known as a great hero, but in daily life, he was rather boring. He slept when he got tired and ate when he got hungry. That was pretty much it. At least until he found himself on yet another adventure across Dreamland.
Thanks to his child-like behavior, most of the other contestants wondered if the little puff ball even really knew what was going on. Whether or not Kirby actually did know, it didn't matter much to him. What did matter was that when he got hungry there was enough food nearby, since Kirby really did like to eat. A LOT. He was often found taking advantage of the hotel's free buffet, which was offered to all the tournament's competitors. It was all you can eat and Kirby definitely made them regret those words.
The hotel really didn't know what it was getting itself into when it offered the complimentary food. They thought that they had prepared enough for all the contestants to eat their fill, but what they didn't count on was the combined forces of the hungry Kirby, Yoshi, and Pac-Man. Each of them alone was known for their massive appetites, and when combined with the other guests, the hotel ended up having a chronic shortage of food no matter what they did.
Kirby, after having demolished that morning's breakfast, found himself still hungry. He decided to take a walk down the city streets. With the hotel out of food, he'd have to find another place to get his sustenance.
Unfortunately for Kirby's child-like brain, the city was massive and pretty easy for him to get lost in. He suddenly got a whiff of something yummy and proceeded to turn down an alleyway. The little blob headed behind a blue, grimy looking dumpster, where he miraculously found a freshly thrown out pork roast. He also found a not so fresh alley cat, ready to defend what was probably its first real meal in days.
Kirby just looked on in wonder as the cat hissed at him. In response, Kirby gave a confused mumble and smiled at the feline. Kirby didn't really talk, so it came out as a basic "Mumah" sound. The cat looked as if it was preparing itself to strike, obviously not willing to talk it over. Kirby was hungry though, so it looked like he'd have to take drastic measures.
As Kirby left the alleyway, he found himself slightly less hungry, while said alleyway found itself with one less pork roast...and one less cat.
After much searching and waddling around, Kirby finally managed to find a restaurant. It was a fairly decent looking establishment. Not too fancy, but it was the type of place that most people would go and take their families to. As Kirby walked in, he could smell the aroma of all the tasty morsels that were just begging to be eaten inside.
Where Kirby was from there was no need for money, so its use was basically unknown to him. Because of this, he simply walked right past the receptionist, his small stature allowing him to pass unnoticed, and ended up following some customers to the table they would be seated at.
It was a small family, consisting of a father, a mother, a small boy and an even smaller girl. They where seated at a booth table. As the waiter explained the buffet to them and assured the children's separate orders would be out in about five to ten minuets, Kirby walked right under the table undetected. As the waiter headed toward the kitchen, Kirby got a close look at the children's feet, and a nice demonstration of their kicking power. Like most small children who liked to kick their feet as they played, these two were no exception.
"Baumph!" squeaked the pink puff ball.
"Hey, there's something under here!" the small boy exclaimed.
At this response, Kirby jumped up from under the table, joining the two children on their side of the booth.
"Hey! It's Kirby!" the little girl said enthusiastically.
"Oh, wow. It IS Kirby!" the boy agreed, scarcely believing that he was seeing an actual contestant up close and in the flesh.
"This'll be quite a treat," the father said. "To actually dine with one of the contestants is certainly a welcome change!"
After a bit of fawning over the little pudge ball, the parents got up to gather their choice in food. While the children waited for their parents to return and their own food to arrive, they kept themselves busy by playing around with the happy, round Dreamland creature.
Soon enough, the parents returned and the children's food arrived. As the family prepared to dig in, they noticed Kirby was staring at the meal in awe, his eyes going wide. Apparently someone had forgotten to take his order, and now we was left without any food.
"Oh, Kirby dear…did you not get to order anything?" asked the mother.
Her question was met with a bit of a blank stare from Kirby, when he suddenly opened his mouth and sucked in all the food on the table, along with the entire table itself.
"Hey! What was that! We paid for that!" the father shouted in protest, but Kirby simply ignored him and started hopping from table to table, sucking up all the food in his path and leaving angry customers in his wake. After he made his way to the buffet tables and had cleaned them dry, nearly the whole restaurant was ready to have Kirby's neckless head on a stick.
As he twirled his spaghetti, one of his favorite dishes, onto his fork, Mario Mario was startled by the racket that was happening behind him. As he peered over at the back section of the restaurant, the plumber spotted an angry mob surrounding a familiar little puff ball.
"Kirby!" he shouted, running to the thing's side. "What are you-a doing here-a?"
"He ate all our food, that's what!" was an angry man's response.
"Well, I'm-a sure we can-a work this out-a," Mario said, as he tried to calm the crowd down and defend his little friend.
This was all cut short by a sudden rumbling from the puff ball's stomach. He clutched himself as if he had acquired a nasty stomach pain.
"Oh-a, well. I think he might-a be a bit-a sorry. Look at-a him, he feels-a really bad. Right, Kirby?"
Suddenly, Kirby jumped up and spit out a wet, food-covered alley cat, which, between the crowd's panic and its own delirium, ended up mauling just about anything that came between it and its escape from this insanity.
Mario then grabbed Kirby's hand...fin...appendage, stating, "Now's our-a chance!" Without waiting another second, the two then bolted out the door.
Arriving back at the hotel, Mario sat down on a nearby bench to catch his breath. They had ran the entire way back. He was just thankful that he was in slightly better shape than the tourists, or else things could have really gotten ugly.
"Whew. Kirby, you've-a got to be a little more-a careful," the plumber warned the puff ball.
Kirby simply smiled in response, mumbling more gibberish.
"Well, for your-a sake, I-a hope the contest officials take-a care of-a the bill."
Mario looked over at the creature, only to find it fallen asleep. He sighed and picked the cuddly thing up to take it to its match. He contemplated waking Kirby up on the way, but then decided against it.
'No-a,' Mario thought. 'When it-a sleeps, it can't-a eat anymore. Best to-a just let it-a rest for now.' He quietly walked to the contestant's entrance and handed the little puff ball over to a very confused attendant. It was all in their hands now.
---
Cecil looked over the crowd and gave a little laugh. 'Are these the people I'm fighting for? Just another competitor in this macabre gauntlet for their amusement?'
There were arguments breaking out all over the place. He even caught a glimpse of a few more unsavory spectators pickpocketing the belonging from others. When he brought his gaze over to the area where the other contestants usually sat, he was a little shocked to find that it was a good deal emptier than usual.
'Am I not good enough for them?' he sighed. 'They can't even give me the common courtesy of watching my match? I mean, it's not like they had anything better to do that kept them up most of the night.'
Kirby then came out from his entrance and blinked in the harsh sunlight for a little bit. The little puff ball looked like he had just woken up from a nap. He tentatively stepped out on to the carefully manicured grass. When he finally decided that the ground wasn't going to hurt him, he took off and made a beeline for the judges' stands, much to the crowd's delight.
"Look at that little thing go!" shouted one man.
"I wish my husband had moves like that," laughed another woman.
Cecil merely trudged over toward the direction his opponent was headed. When he got there, he looked the three square in the eyes.
'One is naive, one is lazy, and one is as fake as Edge's bravado,' Cecil observed. 'Not a scrap of honor among them. I guess it is my duty to take this situation into my own hands.'
"I have already chosen on a particular terrain," the paladin announced. "I would like a maze similar to the one Mario and Joanna Dark fought in. However, instead of the floor being grass, it will be plain white stone. And the walls should be composed of thick mirrors."
"That's quite a request," Sephiroth cooed. "Hopefully you won't get lost in there yourself."
"I found my way long ago," Cecil responded, "and I don't stray from it. I suggest you do the same."
'Just because our "ways" differ, doesn't mean I don't have one of my own,' the silver-haired champion grinned. 'And I'm tired of all this "holier-than-thou" attitude. I sincerely hope you lose here today.'
The stadium's operator merely did as the warrior told him. He tapped on a few keyboard keys and the stadium transformed itself exactly as Cecil had requested. After it had finished its metamorphosis, he looked over toward his opponent for him to make the next move.
Kirby was seemingly oblivious to what was going on. It was only when he felt everyone staring at him that he realized it was time to do something. Not quite knowing what that something was, though, he merely did a cartwheel and then clapped his hands together over his head.
"I guess that means he wishes to start on this side," Cloud said. He really had no idea what Kirby meant by that, but he wanted this match to start as soon as possible.
"That is fine. Good luck, Kirby. May you fight with honor," Cecil said to his opponent. He then walked off to the other side of the arena.
"Byyyeeeeeee!" Kirby shouted behind him. Cecil wasn't sure if the Dreamland being was trying to annoy him or not, but that was certainly that statement's effect.
"Laugh all you want," Cecil muttered. "The battlefield will prove who the superior warrior is."
Securing his position, he pulled down his helmet's visor. It would help to cut down the mirrors' glare and show him where the true path was. Now all he had to do was wait.
"BEGIN!" shouted the announcer over the loudspeaker. Cecil then marched into the maze, determined to show his opponent that he was not someone to be taken lightly.
----
Kirby entered into the maze, though he basically just moved forward because that was the only option open to him. He didn't know why this structure was here, but one thing he did know was that the area was simply amazing. There was a shimmering white floor and mirrors all around. Those things combined with the sun shining down produced an extremely bright environment. In fact, if he looked at without being careful, it was almost blinding.
Through the bright shine, Kirby made out an image. As he moved closer, covering his eyes to block out the sun, he was surprised at what he saw.
It was another Kirby. Just like him. This wasn't the first time he had seen a creature exactly like him before. In fact, Dreamland was full of them. He was, however, surprised and a bit happy, to see one here.
He smiled and waved to the other Kirby. It returned his greeting with a warm one of its own. Mumbling in delight, Kirby also noticed another similar creature off to his side. And then another a little bit from that one. And then another…And another…
Kirby wondered where his new friend was going, and turned in the direction he last saw him. When he noticed just how many there were, he became a little confused. Why where there so many, and why where they all looking at him? Off in the distance, he could see one that seemed to be looking the other way. He happily dashed toward it in an effort to get its attention, but as he drew near, the other Kirby seemed to run away.
WHAM!
Kirby backed off a bit and looked in front of him. It looked like just another corridor, but he had definitely hit into something. He didn't see anything though, so he decided to make another approach, this time moving more slowly. He smacked into whatever it was again, though not as hard this time.
He reached out and could feel a glassy barrier in front of him. Not knowing how to get around it, he decided to find another way. He turned around, walked forward for a bit and...
WHAM!
Kirby held the front of his face in pain as he looked forward. He reached out, only to feel another glassy surface. He then turned to his right, feeling around to see if there was anything there. It was clear, so he began walking again, only to run into yet another wall a few seconds later.
Frustrated, he decided to go back to the entrance and leave, and turned to run back the way he thought he came, only to run right smack into another wall. At this point, Kirby had become quite flustered, and was quickly moving around, trying to find the right path. This place just wasn't right for a Kirby.
---
Cecil moved slowly, taking great care to silence the sound of his armor as he walked. The glare in the area was quite bad, but his visor kept it out for the most part. Still, he moved with his hands outstretched along the walls, just to be safe.
He stopped as he heard a loud bumping noise. He glanced around a corner and found his opponent running through the maze, bashing into the camouflaged walls as he went. Cecil double-checked to make sure he wasn't gazing at a reflection. After a moment or two he decided it was the real thing and he turned back to face his opponent.
Now would be the perfect time to strike. While his opponent was disoriented, he could make a long range attack, so as not to reveal his location. He didn't like such a dirty tactic, but if this small creature was indeed a true warrior, he would easily be able to overcome it and then face the paladin head on.
Cecil took out his bow and drew back an arrow. It flew silently through the air as it headed straight for the little puff ball. The aim was dead on, but at the last second the creature tripped over itself and the arrow whizzed over its head. It then ricocheted a bit, but not before leaving a large crack in the mirrored wall.
The Kirby creature quickly picked itself up and frantically looked around to see what had just happened. It was only then that it noticed the large crack in the wall. Cecil fired another shot down toward the round thing, but it quickly dived out of the way and rushed back down the corridor, as if it had seen it coming.
'Well, at least it knows I'm here,' Cecil observed. 'Maybe now we can stop this running around and fight like two honest warriors.' To his chagrin, however, it appeared as if Kirby was running even further away.
"Fine. If that's the way you want to fight, then so be it," Cecil sighed, as he drew another arrow. "This isn't the most honorable way to end the fight, but then again, you haven't done anything to make me want to bestow any respect upon you."
The paladin pulled the arrow back as far as it would go. The bowstring was about to snap from the strain. Just when it seemed as if the weapon would break apart in his hands, Cecil released the missile.
Cecil's aim was impeccable, as the arrow flew straight and true. There was absolutely no way Kirby could dodge this one. The warrior smiled as he watched his projectile approach his opponent with such tremendous velocity. Expecting to hear a satisfying "Thunk!" and then a squeal of surrender, Cecil was shocked when his arrow instead produced the sound of shattering glass.
'How could I have missed?' Cecil wondered, his eyes frantically darting back and forth to find his now elusive opponent. It was only when his gaze went toward the heavens on a whim that he spotted Kirby's true location.
'So it was your reflection,' the paladin realized. 'The mirror had been knocked off balance by you before, so it was actually reflecting what was in the sky, not on the ground. Very clever.'
Kirby, on the other hand, wasn't being clever at all. The mirror maze had caused him enough frustration for one day. He had simply grown tired of it and decided to leave by the one method that he was sure to work: flight.
"You can't stay up there forever, though," Cecil said. "Especially when you're being fired upon." The paladin punctuated this statement with an arrow aimed right at the little pink puff ball.
Kirby nimbly dodged to the side, as the arrow grazed him. He now had a frown on his face, as he didn't enjoy being shot at. Cecil paid his opponent no mind, however, as he fired another arrow. This one again missed, but it grazed Kirby a little more than before. In addition to his cheeks filled with air, Kirby now had a deep scowl on his face.
"I wouldn't have never thought it to be true," Cecil laughed, "but it appears others are indeed correct. He IS cute when he gets angry."
The paladin then fired his third airborne missile. This one was aimed much better than the others and Kirby would have no room to maneuver out of the way. He didn't even try to, though. Exhaling his stored air into the sky, the Dreamland creature then shocked the knight as he proceeded to inhale Cecil's projectile.
Cecil braced himself for his arrow to be fired back at him, but what he saw next was shocking. Kirby apparently had swallowed the arrow and it was now having a profound effect upon him. Out of his body grew a set of wings. A bow materialized in his hands and a quiver of arrows found its way on to his back. Not to mention that Kirby was still angry.
He took off into the sky and began circling around Cecil, firing arrows at will. A lot of them did connect with the paladin, but his armor shielded him from any major damage. Still, it was all Cecil could do to bob and weave around, in a desperate attempt to escape Kirby's hail of missiles.
"This is ludicrous!" hissed Cecil. "How am I supposed to fight him now, let alone hit him? He keeps darting around like a maniac!"
Cecil ran and fired a few arrows back at the now Cupid Kirby in retaliation, but they had little effect. 'If I were a Dragoon like Kain then I would have no problem battling him in the air. But Kain's not here. It's just me. There has to be some way…'
Then it dawned on Cecil. Kirby was weaving around with seemingly reckless abandon. But only to the untrained eye. As the paladin looked at his opponent very closely, it slowly dawned on him that Kirby was moving around in a set pattern. A very complex and intricate pattern, but a pattern nonetheless.
Cecil very calmly reached into his quiver and pulled out an arrow. It was his last one, so he had to make this count. He pulled back on his bow and let the arrow fly, not at where Kirby was, but at where he WOULD be.
Kirby was very surprised. One minute he was flying around in his Cupid form and lazily flying at this weird armored man and the next he felt a sharp pain in one of his wings. He looked the damage out of the corner of his eye and saw an arrow through it. Then he began falling. Kirby flapped his wings furiously, but it was in vain. Next thing he knew he was crashing through a colossal mirror on his way to the ground.
Cecil very cautiously advanced on the quivering form. He had dropped his bow and quiver and now brandished his sword and shield. The paladin wasn't that desperate to rush headfirst into his opponent. Kirby still might have a few tricks up his sleeves and it was better to be careful.
Kirby shrugged off the busted bits of glass. A few had cut into him, but he didn't seem to mind. He squinted and saw the armored arm walking toward him, weapon at the ready. This just wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all. Kirby looked around and, not seeing anything else of use, sucked a few shards of broken glass.
Cecil instinctively raised his shield, fearing that his opponent would fire the glass shards back at him. Instead, Kirby just chewed them in his mouth a few times. After finally coming to the conclusion that tasted just fine, the pink puffball swallowed them whole.
The Dreamland creature lost his wings, bow, and arrows. His body then began to take on a polished gleam. He had changed forms yet again.
"What do you hope to accomplish?" Cecil asked, as he saw Kirby running toward him. The little creature was getting very close now. The paladin simply raised his sword, anticipating when he should strike. When Kirby got close enough, the knight swung his sword, only to have it swing harmlessly in the air.
Cecil looked in wonderment as Kirby was now ricocheting off the mirrored walls. The combination of the glass and arrows had turned him into some kind of reflective projectile. He zipped back and forth, attacking his opponent with every opportunity that presented itself.
'His attacks reminded me of that foolish game downstairs in the lobby,' Cecil concluded. 'What was its name again? Pin-something-or-other? No matter. Despite his form, I bet he can still feel the sting of my Ragnarok.'
Cecil slashed out a few times, but to his dismay, all of his physical attacks just seemed to slide right off Kirby. Meanwhile, the now shiny puffball was slicing into the knight. His form seemed to cut right through the knight's armor and was even making him bleed a little. These were minor wounds that the paladin quickly healed up with his meager white magic, but the fact of the matter was that Kirby was actually hurting him.
'I don't have enough white magic to keep this up,' Cecil reasoned. 'I need to end this stalemate once and for all.' His shield deflected the bouncing ball as best as it could, while his eyes watched the creature's motions. Kirby wasn't moving in a set pattern like before, but he wasn't moving on his own either. He was simply bouncing off the walls and letting his momentum and angles take care of the rest.
'And if he's not in total control of his movements,' Cecil theorized, 'then that means I can just watch what he's doing, wait for a second, and then do…THIS!' The paladin slammed his shield down onto Kirby's hurtling form, sending him into the ground. Predictably, Kirby bounced off that surface as well, sending him into the sky.
Cecil ran over to where Kirby was falling. He reared his sword hand back and then rocketed it forward. With a sickening crack, he connected with his opponent, putting a crack in his exterior and sending him into the stone walls of the arena's base.
Kirby got up, obviously a little dizzy now. He shook his body around a few times, and with his newfound powers popped off him and faded away. Cecil saw his opportunity and charged at the pink blob.
"I have you now!" Cecil called out.
All this fighting was so very tiring on Kirby. He blinked his eyes a few times and then realized that he was once again hungry. And how convenient that a meal now appeared to be running his way…
Cecil had no time to react as was suddenly struck full force by the vacuum emanating from Kirby's impossibly large mouth. He tried to retreat, but all of his armor put him at a serious disadvantage. He planted his sword down into the floor and held on for dear life as Kirby continued to suck in everything around him.
A piece glass inadvertently came hurtling right at Cecil's fingertips. He tried to swat it away, but it was no use. The glass grazed his fingers and brought a searing burst of pain. That was all it took to loosen his grip, and the next thing the paladin knew he was knee deep in Kirby's stomach.
The little creature was finally happy once again. That annoying armored thing was finally gone and he could once again walk around without the fear of bumping into unseen walls. Now to just satisfy his hunger. He chewed around on the contents of his mouth for a few seconds before he realized that he wasn't happy with this thing's taste. Not at all.
Kirby sucked in a little more air and then spit Cecil out in a tremendous burst. The paladin crashed through mirror after mirror after mirror, until he finally came to a halt when he connected with the stadium's stone wall. Kirby waddled over to him. As a testament to his strength, the knight was still breathing.
The little puffball tapped on Cecil's helmet once or twice. This actually brought a groan from inside. The warrior put his hands down on the ground and attempted to push himself not, refusing to lose to this thing.
Kirby merely shrugged his shoulders. He was through playing around with this guy. He reached behind him and pulled out his huge hammer. With one mighty heave, he brought it down upon Cecil's helmet, knocking the knight out for good.
With this the crowd roared in approval. Kirby, not knowing what they were cheering for, but enjoying the sounds just the same, went into an impromptu dance on Cecil's body.
"HHHiiiiiii!" he shouted to everyone, as he waved his arms around and clapped.
"You know," Leon S. Kennedy said, "If it were anyone else doing that, I'd probably consider him or her evil. But when Kirby does it I can't help but think it's cute."
"That's just the thing," Chun Li agreed. "Concepts like 'good' and 'evil' don't apply to Kirby. He's simply who he is. But God help me if I just don't want to run down there right now and give him a big hug myself."
---
"They what!" Sephiroth fumed at the man. He knew the saying was "don't kill the messenger", but right now he was so angry that he was ready to throw that old adage to the wind.
"We've had a break-in to the medical facility last night," the man repeated.
"What was taken?" Sephiroth wanted to cut right to the chase.
"That's the weird thing," the man explained. "Nothing of importance was taken. I think one of the trashcans was missing a rotten banana peel or something, but that's it."
"Are you sure?" Sephiroth asked. He could scarcely believe that someone would violate the privacy of his contest grounds and not take more than simple trash.
"Quite. We've checked over the premises six times already. Aside from the damage we really can't find anything missing."
"Then check it again!" Sephiroth glared. "I want you to be so sure that by the time you're done I want your belief in this matter to rival gravity as a universal truth. Now be gone!"
"Yes, sir," the man said, as he exited the silver-haired swordsman's quarters.
When the messenger left, Sephiroth slammed his hand down on to his desk, rattling a few paperweights around.
"I'll find you," Sephiroth said to the still air. "Oh, no doubt that. And when I do, you'll pay for this intrusion. PAY DEARLY."
