Here I Stand
The Spectator Area was now standing room only. Millions more watched from the comfort of their homes via TV. All eyes were fixed on the action unfolding on Final Destination as one of the Smashers attempted to complete Melee's toughest event yet—Event 51.
Kirby was the Smasher in question, he was pitted against the deadly trio of Mewtwo, Dorf, and Koopa in his Giga form. A lot of people didn't think the pink puffball would win—but more people believed otherwise. Including Kirby.
His first course of action was to Inhale Mewtwo and copy his Shadow Ball attack, giving himself a projectile to prevent himself from being triple-teamed. From there, he concentrated on one opponent at a time, relying on his Smash attacks, throws and Hammer to rack up damage on his stronger, larger foes. Kirby reasoned that Mewtwo would be the easiest to KO, and that Giga Koopa would be the hardest.
The Star Warrior's top supporters had been the first to show up, and they all sat in the first row, cheering their throats raw. There was DDD, his advisor, Escargoon, and his bodyguard Waddle Dees. There was Sir Meta Knight and his right-hand man, Sailor Dee. There was the tomboyish Tiff and her rough-and-tumble brother, Tuff. There were the twins Lololo and Lalala. There was Chef Kawasaki. And there was Luigi, flanked by his big bro, Ness, the two Links, Zelda, Peach, Pikachu, Pichu, the Ice Climbers and Jiggs. Over half of them were armed with motivational signs, which they hoisted high enough for Kirby to see.
"C'mon, Kirby! Give them the ol' one-two!" shouted DDD as his frenemy continued to battle his three opponents.
"Yeah! You've got this—we know you do!" Luigi joined in.
Kirby heard them loud and clear, dodging Giga Koopa's claws and sending a Shadow Ball into Dorf before cutting the giant Koopa down to size with his Stone and Final Cutter. He buzzed furiously around the hulking reptile, serving up a smattering of aerial kicks and ending the combo with a forward Suplex. He launched more Shadow Balls at Giga Koopa's teammates before discarding Mewtwo's ability in favor of Dorf's.
He smiled. "Poyo," he said before winding up and sending a Warlock Punch into Giga Koopa. Now he could really take chunks out of that turtle's HP!
Giga Koopa attacked with a stream of fire, only for Kirby to take to the sky and fly to safety behind him. Dorf was waiting for him there and tried to kick him, but the Star Warrior dodged and retaliated with a low kick, a scorpion kick and then his own Warlock Punch, knocking him offstage. The Gerudo grabbed the ledge and tried to pull himself back up, only for Kirby to use Stone and drop down on his opponent's fingers. Dorf shouted in pain as he let go, and then Kirby ensured his KO with a downwards kick while using his Final Cutter to safely recover to the platform.
A slash from Giga Koopa's claws ripped across Kirby, but the latter hardly felt it. Smoothly, he turned around and disoriented Giga Koopa with his Vulcan Jab, smashed his face with a flip kick and cannoned a Hammer strike into his fleshy underbelly. Giga Koopa staggered, but Kirby was merciless, making him see stars with a reverse Warlock Punch.
DDD whooped. "Stings, doesn't it?" he asked.
Mewtwo leaped between Kirby and his downed teammate, but the super tough pink puff easily took him down with three triple-spin kicks and the Final Cutter. The downward slash meteor-smashed the psychic Pokémon into the blast zone, leaving Giga Koopa as the sole opponent.
Kirby breathed deeply as he stared into Giga Koopa's face. "Poyo poyo poyoyo," he whispered.
The enlarged Koopa King charged at Kirby, who met the charge with a loud "POYO!"
Kirby's friends and fans hardly dared to breathe at the metallic sounds of Giga Koopa's claws swiping and slicing. But Kirby coolly and fluidly evaded the strikes, shrugging off those that managed to connect and counterattacking quickly and aggressively. He still had the Warlock Punch he'd copied from Dorf, which gave him that competitive edge. However, he didn't rely on it too much, the abilities he used in his first showdown with DDD making up the meat of his strategy.
As Kirby and Giga Koopa continued to exchange attacks, Fox, Falco and Marth watched from the middle row of the Spectator Area. Here was someone they'd denounced months ago, powering his way through Event 51! Not a lot of people successfully completed that event; the only one who done so thus far had been Luigi after the three opponents had made the mistake of landing Mario, and later Peach, in the infirmary. But at this moment, someone they'd pooh-poohed as no good had a chance of becoming the second person to successfully complete this tough event.
"We were wrong about him," said Fox. "We were wrong about everything."
"I don't think he'll ever forgive us," said Marth. "I wouldn't forgive us."
"Well—maybe we shouldn't be so negative about this," said Fox. "I mean, if Luigi was able to forgive me and Falcon, then maybe Kirby can find it in his heart to forgive us. Can you imagine the lovable Star Warrior holding this against us for the rest of our lives?"
"No," replied Falco.
"Neither do I," said Marth. "We did a lot of despicable things, though."
"We shouldn't push it," said Fox. "Maybe—Kirby attempting Event 51, fighting in his other matches and doing all of his favorite activities will help him cool off. Like I said, we all should stay positive, because should there be a third tournament, I don't think Kirby would want this hanging over our heads, in case something happens."
"Hm," said Marth. "That's a good way to think about it."
They fell silent, continuing to watch as Kirby and Giga Koopa remained locked in battle. The latter was beginning to tire himself out, his attacks slow and sluggish against Kirby's sharp, crisp blows. The Star Warrior's bean-shaped eyes gleamed as he saw the proverbial finish line approaching. He was going to do this! He, the "filthy casual", was gonna beat the most difficult event Master Hand had dreamed up!
Winding up, Kirby delivered one last blow, sending Giga Koopa crashing onto his back. Then, he seized Giga Koopa's tail with both appendages and hoisted his oversized opponent a few centimeters off the ground. Luigi laughed heartily in realization as Kirby proceeded to swing Giga Koopa around and around, steadily gaining speed. And with a high-pitched grunt of effort, Kirby let go, pitching the giant turtle skyward and out of the stage's bounds.
"COMPLETE!" announced Master Hand. "Congratulations, Kirby!"
Kirby whirled to face the audience, a big smile splitting his face, as they cheered and chanted his name.
"Poyo!" he cried happily as he did a familiar victory dance.
…
The celebration continued in the Reception Area, where MH presented Kirby with a trophy and draped a medal around his neck.
"Well done, Kirby," said the Hand of Creation. "I made Event 51 difficult on purpose, and many of my Smashers have found themselves stumped on it. But you pulled through."
"Poyo poyo poyo," said Kirby.
"You really kicked [bleep] out there," Crazy Hand joined in. "Respect."
Everyone else applauded.
Then, Dorf and Koopa, now back to his regular size, stepped forward, their faces solemn.
"Wow," said Koopa. "You are the Star Warrior. I'd expect anyone who can last a round against my Giga form to fight just as fiercely in every aspect of their life." His eyes flicked towards the Mario Brothers.
"Forgive us," Dorf chimed in, "for what we've put you through. If anyone here has been 'low-tier trash'—it was us. It was in the way we acted."
It was about time they came around, thought Kirby.
"Is there any way there can be peace between us?" asked Dorf.
Kirby gave the two villains a crafty look. "Poyo poy," he replied.
"'We'll see', huh?" Koopa and Dorf exchanged a look. "It's better than 'no', I'll tell you that."
The house applauded as the Gerudo and the Koopa King shook hands with Kirby.
And then the puffball tottered over to Luigi, caught him by the hand and gently pulled him into the middle of the room. "Poyo!" he said brightly.
Luigi smiled. "I told you, didn't I?" he asked. "Things were gonna get much better."
And they did.
…
A week later, Kirby awoke to find a note on his dresser, summoning him to the Main Hall. The pink puff wiped the sleep from his eyes, rolled out of bed and puffed his way downstairs.
When he reached the Main Hall, his mouth dropped open and began to water. For there, on one of the tables, sat a colossal cake in the shape of the Great Fox, topped by figurines of the Star Fox crew.
"I knew you'd like it," said Fox as he and Falco emerged.
"Poyo poyo poyoyo?" asked Kirby.
"We made the whole thing ourselves," said Falco, "with some help."
Marth walked into the room, joined by Roy, Peach, Pikachu and Jiggs. The electric mouse held a bouquet of flowers, which he presented to Kirby.
"Pika pi," Pikachu said softly.
Kirby stared deeply into Pikachu's eyes. "Poyo," he said, and the two kissed.
"All right, Kirby," Marth said warmly, unsheathing Falchion and using it to cut a slice of the cake. "This cake looks good, but we wanna know if it tastes good, too." He took a fork, stuck it into the slice and handed it to Kirby.
Kirby shaved off a forkful of the slice and slid it into his mouth. Followed by another. And another. And another—until his face was full of frosting, icing and filling. "Poy!" he giggled.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'," said Marth. "Good work, team!"
Fox and his helpers high-fived, and then the vulpine turned to Kirby.
"Falco and I have to appear before the Lylat Disciplinary Council again in a few days' time," he explained. "They're gonna consider reinstating our pilots' licenses a little early, and I'm wondering if you'd be willing to back us up as a character witness."
Kirby gave him a cool look and polished off another forkful of cake. "Poyo?"
"We did terrible, unspeakable, f—ed up things to you," said Fox. "We can't lie about that. And we've spent these past months wishing we could take them back."
"Poyo poyo poyoyo popoyo poyo," said Kirby.
"We're not asking for your forgiveness," said Falco. "We just want you to see—we're not bad people. We just lost our way."
"Yeah," Marth piped up. "That tier list led us down the wrong path. We'll never let that happen again."
"Poy poyoyo popoyo poyoy poyo poyo," Kirby told them, his mouth full of cake. "Poyoyo poyo poyo poyo poy poyoyo poy popoyo. Poyo poy poyo popoyo poyo?"
"Well—it looks like MH and the others are finally listening," said Fox, "and they'll stop making such a big deal about it."
"Poyo poyoy poyo poyo poy," mused Kirby.
"We were bribing you a little bit," said Falco, "but mostly, we're trying to tell you how sorry we are for everything we've done. I don't want us to part on foul terms. Do you?"
Kirby thought it over. "Poy," he said finally.
"So what do you say?" asked Falco. "Will you tell your story to the Lylat Disciplinary Council and convince them to give us another chance?"
Kirby finished his slice of cake and then licked the frosting off his face. "Poyo poyo," he finally said. "Poyo?"
"Okay," Fox said, a little tentatively. "I hope you'll have an answer for us soon."
"Poyo poy poyoy poyoyo popoyo poyo poyo," said Kirby.
"You're welcome, Kirby," said Marth, cutting the Star Warrior another slice of cake.
Kirby gazed at Fox and Falco as he ate. Of course he'd appear before the council and ask for leniency on their behalf. It appeared that those two had learned their lesson. However, he wanted to make them sweat and squirm, keeping them guessing and pacing until the last possible second. They needed to be nervous about his answer; it would do them good. But in the end, their relationship would be repaired.
"We're a—holes," said Falco. "Selfish a—holes, and you suffered for it."
"And before you, Luigi suffered because Captain Falcon and I were selfish a—holes," said Fox.
"The world is full of selfish a—holes," said Peach, "but it's up to them to realize they've been selfish a—holes and turn their lives around before it's too late."
"Hear, hear," said Marth.
Jiggs opened up a liter of soda and poured the beverage into several cups, which she handed to the other occupants of the room.
The Balloon Pokémon then raised her own cup. "Here's to the selfish a—holes who eventually found their way," she said.
"Cheers," said Fox.
"Cheers," said Falco.
"Cheers," said Roy.
"I'll drink to that," said Marth.
"Ditto," said Peach.
"Poy," said Kirby.
"Pika," said Pikachu.
They all toasted and drank, and then Roy helped Marth lever out more slices of the cake for the others to enjoy.
Master Hand and Crazy Hand floated nearby, watching the heartwarming scene together. Just like before, several of the Smashers had let that tier list get to their heads, but they ultimately learned their lesson. And this time, the two Hands were confident that this time would be permanent.
I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since
It's been a long, a long time comin', but I know…
A change gonna come, oh yes it will
It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
'Cause I don't know what's up there, beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time comin', but I know…
A change gonna come, oh yes it will
I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep tellin' me don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time comin', but I know…
A change gonna come, oh yes it will
Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees
Lord…there've been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time comin', but I know
A change is gonna come, oh yes it will
-Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come"
Please R&R.
