Kirby Short Stories

11: Crime

"Chief Bookem, crime is through the roof and you've chosen to sit on your keister and eat donuts all day!" The Mayor complained.

"But the statistics—"

The Chief was cut off by Mr. Curio. "Just last week, my five most expensive pots were stolen!"

"Yeah, and my allowance was stolen too!" Tuff exclaimed.

"Tuff, you spent that money on toys," Tiff huffed.

"Ahh, you're no fun," Tuff grumbled.

"You need to stop this problem, Chief Bookem!" The Mayor cut in.

"Alright, alright. Can you tell me the description of this criminal?" Chief Bookem groaned as he took out a small booklet and a pen, standing as he did so.

"No! I mean how will we punish these criminals?"

"Oh! Throw the bas— I mean criminals in jail!"

"But that's not working! There was a man in that cell just before I came, and now he's missing!"

"What— ah ffffffffffffffiddlesticks," Chief Bookem groaned as he turned towards the cell, which was now most certainly empty. He turned back to the crowd. "Well, any ideas?"

"Build a more secure prison!" The Mayor yelled.

"Trap the criminals on islands with no way back, and just enough food and water to survive, then bring 'em back after a while!" Buttercup, the Chief's wife, chimed in.

"You could always outcast them," Meta Knight suggested, keeping all eyes on him for a short period of time.

"When'd you get here?" Tuff asked.

"Throw 'em in the dungeon!" Sword Knight piped up, Blade Knight nodding as he spoke.

"No! These are all horrible solutions! We need to rehabilitate these criminals back into society, so they can choose better paths! Not everything has to be a punishment, but sometimes people just need to be pointed in the right direction," Tiff yelled.

"Throw 'em off a cliff," Tuff said, whose words were followed with silence.

"Can I change my answer?" Sword Knight asked after a minute or two.

"Jes, I think that is the right direction," Meta Knight mused. Blade Knight said something unintelligible, but it sounded like agreement.