"We can feel the magic, now that you're here!"
"Together we'll make the good times right here"
"When it comes to keeping the groove,"
"We're Munch's Make Believe Band and we're gonna make you move!"
"We've got it! Together we've-"
"Okay, guys! Cut!" a northern-accented mouse's voice sliced through the jam session like a pizza cutter. The music immediately died and a quartet of faces stared blankly in confusion. "That was pretty good, but it wasn't great, y'know? We need more energy! More excitement! You've gotta' sing it like ya' really mean it!"
Chuck E. and his friends has been rehearsing one of their most famous songs on repeat for the last hour, and according to the mouse who's name was on the door, it still didn't sound up to his standards. This was pretty odd to everyone. He'd always been a perfectionist when it came to entertaining the guests, but never to this extent. They'd been practicing for so long that they were beginning to become restless.
"But we are singin' it like we mean it, Chuck!" Jasper replied. There was the slightest hint of frustration in the bass guitarist's voice, as this was what felt like the billionth time he'd stopped to give them notes.
"Yeah!" Munch agreed. "All of this rehearsing and such is starting to make me hungry! You promised that after the third run-through you'd order me two extra large pepperoni pizzas, remember?"
"I have-a to agree with Munch!" Pasqually chimed in. "If I bang on these drums anymore, they're-a going to break!" The chef shook his head.
"Is everything alright Chuck-E?" Helen Henny, the lead vocalist of the group asked worryingly. "You're never this strict when it comes to rehearsals, usually. What aren't we doing right?"
Chuck E. stood up from the chair he was sitting in and took a deep breath before placing both of his hands behind his backwards, purple cap. He was pretty stressed out and tired himself.
"Sorry gang, I didn't mean to get ya' all worked up. It's just that I really want this performance to blow people away. What I mean is, I want it to make a huge impact. To leave our mark on the world!" he explained.
The band exchanged confused glances at each other before directing their attention back to their boss.
"I don't get it Chuck!" Jasper began. "Our performances are always hotter than a hog on the Fourth Of July! What's different now?"
"You didn't forget about those pizzas did you?" added Munch.
"No Munch. I didn't forget about your pizzas. Just give me a second, okay buddy?" Chuck insisted before taking a seat again. He massaged where his temples would have been if not for big, black nose.
Helen set her microphone back on its stand before walking over to him and placing her wings on his shoulders, comfortingly.
"Chuck E.? What's going on? You've been acting funny all day. I'm- I mean, we're all worried about you," she quickly corrected herself.
"Yeah boss!" Pasqually came to his side as well. "Something is-a definitely different with you today!"
"If it's about Munch eating the frosting off those birthday cakes in the walk-in a few days ago, I made him promise that he'd never do it again!" said Jasper.
This made Chuck E. crack a weak smile. "Nah, it's nothin' like that. But I hope that neva' happens again either. If we didn't have a backup cake, that guest would've been real upset." He shook his head.
"Then what's the problem?"
The mouse looked at all of his friends that shared faces of worry and took a huge breath before finally sharing what had been on his mind.
"Well, remember when we had that talk a couple a' years back as a group? The one where I told you guys that Chuck E. Cheese's was gonna be doing some renovations really soon? You know, with the dance floor and all that? They call it the 2.0 remodel project. You guys have already seen some of it unfold when they took away tokens and replaced them with the new Play Passes."
Helen nodded. "I remember!"
"Me too!" said Munch. "That was the same day that you let me eat up the All-You-Can-Eat buffet since we were so slow!" he smiled in remembrance. Jasper rolled his eyes in obvious annoyance.
"I know! I had to clean up after you!"
"Cool it, guys, cool it." Chuck E. calmed them down. He didn't really know how to say what he was going to say next. He, himself, had only known the news for about a week and he'd spent most of it in disbelief and utter shock. As the leader of the group, everyone looked to him for the answers and for clarity. Something being completely out of his control like this was extremely difficult to accept, and even more difficult to handle. But, there was nothing he could do to change it- and boy did he want to. He knew that their fans would always stick by them and support them in whatever they did, and that they would always cherish the amazing memories that they've made together. But things like this just made him upset, no matter how hard he tried to look on the bright side. He took a deep breath and looked down.
"Well, corporate has come to the decision that with the new dance floor fallin' into place next week, they..." he could barely finish his sentence. "They won't really need us around anymore..."
"What!" everyone exclaimed at once. There was a moment of pure silence which Chuck E. could only assume was out of disbelief, before Helen broke it.
"What do you mean they won't need us around anymore? We're the entertainment! Chuck E. Cheese's wouldn't be Chuck E. Cheese's without us!" she squawked, a strong hint of hurt in her voice.
"This has gotta be some kind of late April Fool's joke, right Chuck? They can't be serious!" Jasper.
"What about the music? Our fans?" Munch said disappointedly.
"We've-a been doing what we do for over forty years-a now! They can't just let us go!"
"I know guys, I know," Chuck E. replied. He felt the exact same way, possibly even stronger about the removal of the show. But he was trying to contain his frustration for the sake of everyone else. In reality, he was hurt. Kids came to Chuck E. Cheese's, not just for the amazing pizza or games, but for the entertainment. Without the stage, the music, or the band, it was literally just another pizza place. The show was what made them stand out from other establishments. He never would've guessed that in his years of making magic that something so monumental, something that made them so unique, would be the very thing to be removed. Needless to say, he was still in a state of disbelief and sadness. "Believe me when I say that I'm not for any of this. I can't believe they'd do this to us. I know you all are probably really upset and confused at it all, and I don't blame ya'. It's hard to take in."
"How long have you known this?" Jasper asked inquisitively.
"Only about a week," Chuck answered.
"You've known for a whole week, and you didn't tell us?!"
"Calm down, Jasper," Helen rubbed his back. "I'm sure that Chuck E. was just shocked and didn't know how to. I'm not sure that I would've been able to get the words out either."
"This is worse than the hungriest I've ever been in my whole life," Munch mumbled. Anyone who was anyone knew that Munch LOVED food, so that was a deep statement coming from a monster like him. "What're we gonna do now? How much longer do we even have here?"
"Three months," Chuck E. stated. "We have three months left to show the world who we are and what we were born to do. To leave our mark on the world and alla' the kids that believed in us and made our dreams come true. We owe it to 'em."
"But, Chuck E," began Pasqually. "How exactly are we-a going to perform if we won't have a stage to perform on in a week?" Mumbles of agreement with Pasqually's question were heard. For the first time in the entire conversation, Chuck E. cracked his signature smirk that held a sense of victory to it.
"We're not gonna be performin' on this stage Pasqually. Because," he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a map of the United States. "We're gonna be performin' in stages all over the country!"
Everyone gasped at once in surprise at the sudden announcement, looking at each other in disbelief.
"Wait-" Jasper's jaw dropped. "You mean!"
"Yup!" Chuck E. nodded. "If we're goin' out, then we're goin' out with a bang! We're gonna hit up every single CEC in America! All six hundred and eight locations! This is gonna be our final, farewell tour! I've already booked us a tour bus and everything!"
Hearing the news that they were going to be let go on such short notice had created a feeling of bitterness in the band's hearts, but knowing that they all would get to sing together on one last tour as a family, made it sweeter. This would be it; the very last tour. After this, all of their moments together would become memories. However, they all knew that their close friendships would live on forever.
"Oh, Chuck E! I can't believe it! All of us touring the country together! Getting to sing our songs for all of the children one last time! I couldn't ask for a better way to leave our legacy!" Helen brought him into a warm hug, and pecked his cheek, causing him to blush red. "You'll always be the best! As long as you're around, our band will never be over! We'll always have each other, and only the coolest mouse alive that gives fun it's meaning!"
"Aww, heh. Gee, uh, Helen, I don't know what to say," Chuck E. stuttered coyly.
"Say you'll fix those two extra large pizzas? All this talk about touring the country has made me hungrier than ever!"
"Oh, Munch!" everyone chuckled in unison and brought each other into a group hug.
"I'm gonna miss hugs like these," Jasper admitted with a small sniffle.
"Me too! And a-making Munch pizzas every fifteen minutes!" added Pasqually.
"Don't worry, guys. Those things won't ever change. It's like Helen said, we'll always have each other! Even if we won't be performin' together every day, we'll always be a family!" the mouse gave his friends a tight squeeze. "They can't get ridda' us that easy! Now, waddaya' say we start packin' up? We have a tour bus to catch tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow?!" everyone shouted.
"That soon? I haven't even began picking out my outfits yet!" Helen clucked. "What am I gonna wear? And do with my hair? What shoes should I bring?"
"Girls..." mumbles Jasper.
"And, I've got to start packing my snacks for the road! I'll need at least five suitcases full to make it to the first stop!" Munch joined in.
"Then we'd better get to it then, huh?" Chuck E. laughed. "I'm gonna go ahead and start getting a few things together that we'll need for our shows-" he noticed Munch about to speak. "Right after I get Munch those pizzas he's been goin' on about."
It was going to be a long three months, but the most significant three months that they would ever spend together.