The morning arrives faster than anyone's real anticipation and still Lammy seems to be the only one who ran late.
"I can't believe I'm late! I had my alarm and everything! H-How did it not wake me up!...What's worse is that they left without me! They probably thought it was for the better that I rest...oooohhh…" She taps the sides of her head "I'm such a bother...ok so they're going to the place Katy took them that was at the park...but I don't know the way!..." She frantically runs in place "I'll call Katy- w-where's my phone?!..." she begins emptying her pockets only to come to the conclusion that she left her cellphone at home "G-Guess I gotta wing it!..." She runs towards the park and immediately books it towards the mini forest "Okokokok…" She takes a deep breath "H-Here we go!..." She runs in and traverses where she can, she recalls hearing Joe bring up footprints along the ground, but she sees none anywhere, and even worse, she can no longer find her way back.
Where am I?...where's the way out?... she stumbled around, no matter which direction she ran, she couldn't get out "N-No…" Is this it for me?...am I just gonna wander around here forever? "W-Why didn't I just wait…" She immediately just huddles into her knees onto the ground, trying to do her best not to cry even though she knows, it's all she can do given her brash decision making.
As she stays on the ground, her tears simply leave her eyes, she doesn't bother calling for help as no one would hear her. And even if they could, they'd probably get lost as well while trying to find her. Then she felt someone grab one of her hands.
"H-Huh?..." her waterlogged eyes and the slight beaming sunlight from the mini openings amongst the tree leaves blocks her vision from seeing who the person is.
"Here you are!..." The voice she hears rings in her head, it was Parappa's "Don't cry...you're gonna be ok! You just got a little lost is all, i'll help you out!" his words actually manage to get her to stop sobbing as he helps her up, now that she's not staring at the sunlight, she can see that it really is Parappa and not her mind fooling her. Upon getting up he immediately begins running off while still holding onto her "Come on! I'll get us back on track!"
"B-But what if we just get even m-more lost!..."
He doesn't stop running, nor turns to look at her as to not run into trees, he simply replies with "Then at least I'd be lost with you! That wouldn't be as bad."
"O-Oh b-but y-you would-"
"Don't worry ok? No matter the end outcome, it's all gonna be ok." she feels him squeeze her hand tighter "I just know it will be, you make it feel that way." He glances towards her "You believe to right?" Her face glows red as she also grips onto his hand much more tightly, but she feels at ease, she doesn't feel anxious, and when she replies she no longer stutters.
"I do believe!"
"That's all I needed to hear. I promise you that it will always be ok, I know it always is cuz I have you by my side to guarantee it! Do you feel the same?"
"I do! I really really do!"
"Do you promise?..."
"I do promise!" She soon sees in the distance a gleaming white light, signifying that they found an exit, was it the way to the pond or the way out? She didn't know. And she didn't really care, she was more attentive to what was happening now.
"You look like you're getting so worked up. What's wrong?" he resumes looking forward.
"I-It's nothing it's-" her stuttering tries to return, but she manages to break on by much to her own amazement "It's just that…"
"That?"
"I'm here! With you!"
"Is that a problem?..."
"N-No! Never! Of course not!...it's just that I…"
"You what?"
"L-LIke you!"
"Well of course you like me! It'd be awkward being best friends if you didn't…" he still keeps his vision forward which adds on to her difficulty in saying what she wants to.
Noooo...t-that's not it!... "I-I mean I…"
"Hm?..."
"L-L…"
"L?" she feels his grip on her hand loosen.
D-Don't let go!..."L-Lo…"
"..."
P-Please!... "I LOVE YOU!..." They stop in their tracks, right by the path opening, but still back enough to not see what lies beyond the blinding white light. Parappa simply turns his head to the side slightly with a smile beginning to form.
"That's a relief…"
W-Wha?... "Why's that?..."
He fully looks at her, with a slight blush across his face, his smile beaming almost as brightly as the light before them "Because...I love you to!" He pulls her in for a hug as they fall past the barrier of light.
The alarm blares heavily in Lammy's ears as she wakes up in a panic screaming fest.
"I LOVE YO-..." She quickly covers her mouth resulting in muffled screaming. As her hands rest on her face, she can feel the intense heat radiating from her face.
"LAMMY ARE YOU OK?!' Parappa bursts through the door, his eyes appear to be red with black shadows under his eyes.
"Mmph!..." Lammy manages to pry her hands off "I-I'm fine!...just uh...a dream is all."
"Oh...phew...man I was caught off guard by that scream…"
"I'm sorry!...wait…" She notices his appearance "D-Did you even sleep at all?..."
"Ah...not really...after seeing my mother again I kinda got to jittery to sleep... hehe...whoops…"
"P-Parappa! Doctor's orders were to NOT do t-that!..." he flinches at her bringing it up causing him to whine like a puppy.
"You're right...my ba-" Parappa is tosses aside as Katy sends him flying when she arrives "LAMMY ARE YOU OK?!..." Lammy could see her shirt was on backwards, meaning she was trying to get dressed before going to figure out if she was ok. She also noticed her own sleepless eyes, meaning she probably stayed away for the same reason Parappa did.
"I-I'm perfectly fine!...H-However…"
"Oooowwww…." Parappa slides off the wall and onto the floor head first.
"I don't think he is…" She hops off her bed and rushes to his side as Katy does the same.
"I'm sorry Parappa! I didn't see you as I was rather...still groggy…"
"It's fine haha...ow...You weren't groggy enough to get dressed this time though heh…"
"Eheh...instinct...I know we're supposed to be used to it but I guess I panicked through my tired state…"
"I take it seeing my mom again didn't let you sleep either?"
"Exactly!-...wait...you didn't sleep either?! Parappa!..."
"I-I know I know...Lammy already yelled at me for it…"
"Still! Even just doing it once can be harmful to you in this state!..."
"I know!...just...I'm to...overemotional!..."
"No excuses! Your mom wouldn't have wanted you to!..."
"G-Gah…" he stiffens up.
"You gotta hit the hay right now!"
"But we gotta go to the pond to clean it today! We'd be wasting time that could be-"
"Nu-uh, Look it'll be five people handling it this time rather than just us two. It'll be fine! Now march to your bed! I'll be keeping watch over you to make sure you fall asleep!"
"Isn't that a bit much?" She simply stares at him "You're right…"
"Actually Katy...you look like you could use the sleep to...mind if I watch over him?" Katy gets caught off guard by this, both because, Lammy said it so calmly, but also because she wanted to try some advances of her own. But she shook those thoughts off. "Um...ok! You have a point, I might nod off and not know if he's sleeping or not! I'd probably end up asleep quickly while he's the one watching over me!"
"Oh come on I wouldn't do that…" She crosses her arms and stares at him again "Okok I'll do my best to get some shut eye...but before I go, Lammy you said a dream got you to scream that loud, what the heck kinda nightmare was it? No dream would cause that type of terror screaming."
"O-Oh uh...y-yeah it was a nightmare through and through...heh…" It's more of a nightmare to come clean about what it actually was that caused me to scream...and at the same time…
"Because...I love you to!"
I'm almost upset I can't...because it didn't really happen…"But I'm fine! It's not real...only just...a dream…"
Both Parappa and Katy look at each other before looking back to her "You...still seem upset though…" Katy says as she tries to look into her eyes.
"A-Ah! It's nothing r-really! I rather not e-explain as to not remember it! T-The sooner I forget, the faster I p-perk back up!"
Parappa grabs her hand causing her to tense up "Are you sure you'll be fine?..."
"Of course!"
"Do you promise?…" Him saying those words simply made her body go on autopilot.
"I do promise!" Her hand tightly grips his.
"Well...Don't worry ok? No matter the end outcome, it's all gonna be ok." his grip also tightens "I promise!...you...believe me?..."
She notices him beginning to wobble, his eyes struggle to keep open "Uh oh...seems like the exhaustion kicked in…" as if on cue, both Parappa and Katy yawn as they both fumble in place, Katy nearly topples over "W-Whoa! Easy there!...Uh...Parappa mind waiting here for a bit while I help Katy to her bed?..."
"Sure!..." He gives a thumbs up before releasing another yawn.
"Good! Alright come on Katy…" she gets Katy to hold onto her for balance support as she carries her over.
"I'm sorry...I'm just so...tired…all of a sudden..."
"I can see that! Doesn't help that you two are just yawning at each other causing more drowsiness!"
"Sheeh… Sorry...mom…" Katy's head flops onto her shoulder as she falls asleep, making it a bit more of a hassle to carry her.
"Man...this reminds me of our early days starting out! You always tire yourself out in one way or another...and I have to carry you to bed...at least this time you're not vomiting everywhere…" she can't help but laugh at remembering the first ever time this happened as she stops advancing towards Katy's room "What were you even thinking when you got those drinks? We weren't even of age to drink, and second off, you cannot stomach any form of alcohol whatsoever! One sip and you're instantly a mess!" Katy grumbles in her sleep as if she knew she was being talked about "Heh...oh boy...I'm actually glad this happened...remembering those days where we were more so off as loose cannons was a lot more fun, now here we are struggling to pay for this place! At least we were...Parappa really helped out so much with that...but I can't help but feel guilty you know?" Katy's only reply is drool dripping from her mouth "Ehehehew! Ok let's get you to bed." she enters her friends room and places her onto the bed, then takes a moment to glance around the room. Photos of MilkCan's events and concerts all hang up on the wall.
"To think that this all started from one single jam session...then Parappa encouraged you to start a band...and now...five years later here we are! A big hit...but man is our daily life way different from our MilkCan one!" she laughs at the fact "I'm really happy I got to meet the three of you...I feel like I blossomed into my own person way more than I ever would have had I not decided to continue practicing my guitar…I know I probably say this a lot, but thank you guys for being there when I needed someone the most."
"You're welcome...and thank you to Lammy...~" Katy mutters with one of her eyes half open surprising her.
"Sleeeeeeep~" she tosses the bed sheet over her.
"Yeah yeah…~" She snuggles into her pillow before resuming her sleep.
"You're the best friend a lamb could ever ask for!" She turns off the room lights and shuts the door as she returns back to her own room, only to see Parappa gone "W-Wha?...D-Did he walk back to his room on his own?...I hope he didn't bump into anything…" She walks over to her own bed "Well, I think I might as well get some extra shut eye since they'll be needing the sleep...and hey, I might be able to continue that dream some more…" as she attempts to lay back, she lands on something lumpy under the bed sheets "Oh no…don't tell me…" she lifts up the sheets and spots a sleeping Parappa, she nearly screamed on the spot, but managed to shut her mouth in time. D-Don't scream! Not again!...remember what happened his first night here and literally just moments ago… she takes a deep breath "Ok...I'll just carry-..." she places her hand on her chest, the same hand he held while in the dream and while awake. Her other hand grabs the beanie still on her head, she would've panicked over forgetting to take it off but instead she smiles as she instead decides against it "Sure...let's just roll with it...~" She slides into the bed in a manner as to not bump into him or wake him up and adjusts the sheets so that it covers the both of them "There we go…" She looks at his sleeping face and simply smiles "I still believe you~..."
Parappa mumbles a bit before huddling up closer and nuzzling her face turning her into the equivalent of a volcano.
Oh please for the love of love, don't tell me this is just another dream!...please let me have this!... she decides to nuzzle him back to see if she'd wake up. Instead, she simply ends up nuzzling his fluffy face. It's real!...I'm fully awake and this is really happening!... she stares at him while he just rests there "You are such a cute little guy aren't you?...heh...clearly you're more than just cute...and boy did it snatch my heart in an instant...I wish you knew…"
"Because...I love you to!"
"I wish that was the truth...but for now...I guess I can just enjoy being here…~" and idea then pops into her head "H-He is rather close...and...deep into his sleep...I could…" She stares at his lips "Very easily…" She touches her own lips "If I wanted to…" she rubs his face, he nuzzles her hand on instinct, not wanting her to let go "Let's...g-give it a shot…" She moves in closer, feeling the heat of his breath as she gets ever so closer...so near...right about to…-
I CAN'T DO IT…. she rears her head back with a heavy sigh "I'm pathetic...oh well…" she simply adjusts herself into her pillow to try and fall asleep, once she succeeds, she is immediately forced awake once she feels Parappa lick her on the nose. Upon opening her eyes she sees that he is still asleep. She just latches onto him in a hug while cuddling him. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!... "That's technically a kiss for a dog~..." She resumes going back to sleep.
"L-L-LAMMY?!..." Parappa says as he opens his eyes, only to see the sleeping lamb.
"What is it…" a groggy Lammy says as she opens her eyes, once fully open she sees a red Parappa looking her straight in the face, with little distance separating them. Him waking up completely slipped my mind…
Both scuttle over to the opposite sides of the bed, doing their best not to scream.
"A-Ahaha...someone w-woke up…"
"Yeah heh...sorry it seems I...just knocked out on your bed...my bad...heh…"
"It's fine!...you at the very least look rested now!..."
"Yeah, thanks for letting me sleep here...and sorry for giving you the chore of making sure I slept…"
Right...I was supposed to do that...well...luckily he stayed asleep!... "It's perfectly ok! I-I just nodded off myself after a bit is all…!"
Both refused to look at each other as they simply laugh awkwardly, until Lammy speaks up to break the awkward air.
"S-So what woke you u-up?..."
"I uh...felt...that I was brushing into something super soft...it wasn't the pillow...and when I opened my eyes...well...heh...the rest should be obvious...I-I'm sorry!..."
ME super soft? Have you felt your fur? It's like hugging a cloud! "I-It's all good! T-Thanks for calling me super soft to…"
"O-Oh uh...right!...N-No problem!...I uh...b-better get going back to my room so that-" Lammy's hand quickly coils its fingers with his "U-Uh...L-Lammy?..."
SAY SOMETHING...ANYTHING!... "...thanks for getting some sleep. I'm glad you're doing your best to take care of yourself…" Not what I wanted to say...but hey it's still nice and the truth…
"Oh...well, I really have you and Katy to thank for that. I probably would have just laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling! Thanks for helping me."
"It's what a best friend would do."
"Hehe, when you're right you're right!" Lammy lets go of his hand.
"Now take care, I assume the other two are awake by now. If not, you're helping me make breakfast!" Why did I say that.
"Hm...sure!"
"Great!" Why did you agree to that.
"Well I'm off to get a fresh set of clothes for today. I'll be back if they are still asleep." He leaves her room and once he does she falls onto her back.
"Oh mannnnn…now my stomach decides to hate me…" she clutches her stomach to try and contain the butterflies "Ohhh…"
"I dunno how you could sleep for just an hour and still turn out fine!"
"I guess with how nonexistent sleep was to me for a year, my body will take what it can get!"
"That's...not a good thing…"
"Relax Katy! I'll make sure to sleep incase I get tired today and I won't miss out on sleeping tonight! I'll be fine! How was your sleep?"
"Mine was fun, dreamt about MilkCan's past and it's future and it was just lovely all around! How was yours?"
"Ahh...mine was nice...Although I did have a dream of some fluffy thing hugging me and nuzzling me…I did lick it and it tasted like cotton candy." Lammy nearly chokes on her coffee "Don't know what it was but all I do know was that it was a nice dream! Hope I have it again sometime!"
"You're weird and simple when it comes to dreams Parappa."
('Agreed.")
"Not everything has to be an out of the park hit with me! Besides not like I can control my dreams! I've tried!..."
"Re-laxxxxxx, I'm just teasin'. And hey you and Lammy should cook more often, the dishes are always so tasty!"
"Well after learning to start cooking thanks to PJ and Tamanegi sensei and a good chef teacher in Lammy. It only makes sense! Of course it's all still mainly thanks to Lammy."
"I-I really am no different than any other cook!...but thank you! I guess I'll take the compliment~..."
("Barf. Get a room.") after Ma-san says this, the two grow red in the face ("P-Pfft...oh you have got to be kidding...you have GOT to tell me what happened!") they sigh now that they've been caught.
"And that's pretty much it…"
("Man that's laaaaaame, I thought something much more risque happened.')
"H-Hey!..."
("Yo Lammy what's your side of the story?")
"J-Just...you know...pretty much the same. Just watching over him sleep…"
"While in the same bed?"
"W-While I was lugging you to your bed he fell asleep on mine!...and I guess I nodded off to…"
("Was he grabby?")
"N-No!...he was an ok sleeper!..."
("...were YOU grabby?")
"W-Wha- I...no!..."
("You got more defensive over that part, so that means Lil bo peep here took advantage of a snoozin mutt~")
"I-I didn't!..."
"I believe her! Lammy's not the kind of person to do that!" Parappa says as he crosses his arm, huffing in Lammy's defense.
("Oh you're no fun when you bring up facts!...") She rolls her eyes as she reclines her face on her hand ("Yeah you got me there, sorry Lambs.")
For once i'm glad that people think I'm to vanilla… "It's ok, I still have yet to get used to your jokes…"
("A fact I for one and glad for!") She grins as she reclines on her chair ("But quick thing...why are you wearing his hat again then?")
"O-OH!...I...uh...I...sleep...with it...on…"
("Pffft that doesn't really help your case now does it? But whatever! I still believe what the mutt says! I'll just keep this to myself whenever I need a good laugh!")
"I n-noticed...like usual…" She takes off the beanie and then heads of to her room to leave it off, after a minute she returns "Well...we going to fix up that pond or what?"
"Of course! You lot ready?"
"Yep! Already contacted Paula!"
("Sure. I wanna see how great that place can really look like!")
"Then let's clean up and go already!" Katy runs towards the kitchen sink to finish her part quickly.
"Hey!" Parappa follows suit.
"D-Do we have to make it a race?..." Lammy reluctantly follows.
("Whatever gets us there quicker…ain't getting me running for this though.") Ma-san just takes her time catching up.
"For the last time Ma-san, I wasn't gonna use the van to drive us from the house to the park...that's just flat out lazy…"
("We still had to walk quite the way…") Ma-san groans as she falls face first into the grass ("Carry me the rest of the way there…")
"Seriously?!...I'm not dragging you all the way there!"
"M-Ma-san come on…"
("If you two won't, then Parappa will you?")
"Fine…whatever to get you to move…"
("Ha! At least someone has common decency!")
"Ma-san! Don't abuse Parappa's kindness!"
("Neither of you wanted to help me.")
"YOU DON'T NEED HELP! YOU'RE JUST FLAT OUT BEING LAZY…"
("Eh...tomato, tomahto.")
"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CURRENT SITUATION…"
"Katy it's fine! I don't mind it."
"Parappa don't encourage her!...It's not fair for you in the slightest."
"Yeah but I don't necessarily mind. It's all just a mini hurdle in getting to where we wanna be."
"B-But still Parappa, Katy has a p-point…"
"Eh, then I guess this is of my own free will."
"Ah...fine…"
With that said, Parappa lifts Ma-san onto his back, immediately she climbs up to his neck.
"W-Waaah!..."
("Much better.")
"Ok Parappa, THAT has to be crossing SOME boundaries…"
"It's all good...ow…She's pretty light so I don't mind…!"
"You are stubborn...ugh where's Paula? I wanna get there as soon as possible so she can get off of you…"
"I'm here! Was making a few new uniforms for tomorro- what's going on here?"
"Ma-san got lazy and took advantage of his kind nature."
"Ah… well, have fun with that...not like Ma-san would've made it to the pond without help anyway."
("What was that?") her dynamite flickers.
"Oh you heard me...you wouldn't be able to find the spot on your own~"
("OH IS THAT SO?") She hops off of Parappa ("BET I CAN FIND IT BEFORE YOU CAN!")
"Please, i'd win flawlessly~"
("Prove. It.")
"You're on!" They both run in screaming like lunatics.
"Ha, that actually got her to get off your head!...wait...neither of them know the way there...H-HEY WAIT! PAULA! MA-SAN!" She runs in after them with Parappa following.
"H-Hey wait for m-me-" Lammy stumbles and falls face first into the dirt, upon looking back up her friends are gone "Oh no...n-no! It'll be different this time!..I-I can find the way!..." As she heads in, she immediately panics and attempts to turn back only for a hand to grab hers.
"Hey! We almost left you behind! Man now that would've been bad wouldn't it? Glad I noticed and quickly ran back!" Parappa says as he pulls her forward "Come on Lammy, don't want you getting lost on us!"
"...Thank you~..."
Paula and Ma-san land through the clearing at the exact same time, both shouting "I WIN" upon doing so, only to get angry at each other and complaining that they were the first one there until Katy catches up and attempts to yell at them, but struggles to do so as she needs to catch her breath.
"You...guys...really...suck…" She takes a deep breath "What the hell...is wrong with the two of you?...You could've gotten lost!..."
"But I didn't!"
("Neither did I!")
"YEAH CUZ I WAS SHOUTING WHERE TO GO!..." Paula and Ma-san simply scoff and look away "You are both...c-children…" She stumbles and falls over until Parappa and Lammy catch her.
"Whoa!"
"C-Careful!"
"I'm fine!...but i'm gonna need a few minutes…"
"That's fine! We'll just start!"
"Thank you...here are the trash bags…"
"O-Ok! P-Paula, Ma-san...are you ready?..."
"I guess…"
("Yeah whatever…") both take a few bags and begin trying to clean the area along with Parappa and Lammy, they rarely get much done as they stay aggravated with each other.
"Sheesh Joe sure turned this area into a pigsty…"
("Well I mean those builder dudes are also partly to blame due to bringing those big machines in here...how the hell did they get in with toppling the trees?")
"Yeah how DID they?..."
"I rather not think about it...come on guys let's just keep fixing this place up…" Parappa notices all his bags are already full "Hey anyone have new bags? Mine are already full."
"Here you go man."
"Thanks PJ!" As he resumes cleaning, he quickly catches on "PJ?!"
"Yo." PJ waves as if he were there the entire time.
"What are you doing here?"
"I saw you and the others running towards the pond and decided to tag along, I figured it involved cleaning, so I brought Matt and Sweety."
"Sup man!"
"Good morning all!" the mentioned duo poke their heads from behind PJ.
"Oh wow... thanks for the consideration! This makes things go by even quicker! And we really need that since Katy already exhausted herself by making sure Ma-san and Paula didn't get themselves lost and with said duo still bickering with each other...we aren't getting much progress..."
"Then I'm glad I decided to intervene. You two ready?"
"Sure am dear!" Sweety says as she pulls out a few bags.
"I got your back man." Matt says as he pulls his own.
"Great! Then let's get to it!"
"Ready!" they say in unison as they raise their arms to the sky.
"W-We did it!"
"We really did!...and...it looks even cleaner than when we first cleaned the place up!...but…"
"But what?" Katy says, looking around to see if they missed anything, they removed everything they could see, including the cinder block Parappa threw. They even managed to help fix up the grass around the pond and still she saw nothing.
"The rock that Joe threw still has some bits in the middle of the pond!..."
"That's true...but we can't really do anything about that!"
"I can!..." Parappa tosses his shirt off and runs to the pond, as he runs PJ plucks the beanie off his head "H-Hey!"
"You just got a new one, do you already wanna ruin it?..."
"...Good point…" he carries on and runs into the water.
"P-Parappa you can't just expect to carry that while swimming back to land!..."
"I won't know unless I try!" Parappa shouts as he's already nearing the middle "Ok! Here we go!" As Parappa dives to try and pluck the rock from the bottom, he sees that he'll need to take it bit by bit from the top. I'd try breaking it more to carry more pieces, but I can't exactly punch or kick well while underwater… He brings his head back above water while holding a piece of the block in one arm "This might take a while!..." As he tries to swim back, he is immediately slingshotted back underwater "W-WHOA-"
"PARAPPA!" Katy gets a second wind as she runs into the water.
"WE GOTCHA MAN!" Matt tosses his own shirt aside as he immediately dives in with PJ following suit.
Upon getting dragged down, he sees that seaweed has wrapped around his leg, as he tries to untangle it he simply makes it worse. Seriously?!...Man what is WITH my luck?!... Parappa drops the stone and simply tries to pull the seaweed out of the ground instead, the seaweed however, starts tugging him, as if it were alive. W-WHAT THE HELL?...L-Let go of me!...
As Parappa starts getting dragged down deeper, he is immediately grabbed by Katy and Matt who try to pull him back up, however the 'seaweed' then latches onto them as well.
Gah! The hell is this?!...
Does this thing have a mind of its own?!...
The trio struggle to free themselves and soon begin to struggle with holding their breaths. As their actions start to slow, PJ grabs the three of them and yanks on them to the point he also uproots the 'seaweed'. The four are then launched above water. All of them gasping for air before Parappa speaks back up through the coughing.
"W-WE GOTTA….GET OUT OF THE WATER...N-NOW" The four waste no time in following that command as they strive to swim to shore, however as they near shore, the pond begins glowing as it soon starts trying to suck them back in to the middle "C-COME ON!..."
"H-HNGG...GAAAAH!.." Matt is submerged once again, until Parappa grabs his leg while PJ grabs him. While submerged Matt seas it's not the seaweed that was dragging them down and immediately speaks up the moment his head is brought back above water "PJ WHEN YOU REMOVED THE SEAWEED, I THINK YOU MIGHT'VE UNCORKED SOMETHING…"
"NO KIDDING!..."
"COME ON LESS CHATTER MORE SWIMMING!..." Katy says as she frantically tries to reach land. She is immediately grabbed by Lammy who tries to bring her back to shore.
"I-I got you! Now come on!..."
PJ is grabbed by Sweety, and Matt and Parappa are grabbed by Paula and Ma-san.
"Come on come on!..." Sweety says as she tries to help PJ get back onto land.
"H-HEY...YOU'RE IN MY WAY…!"
("NO!...Y-YOU'RE IN MY WAY!...") Both Ma-san and Paula resume clashing heads, this causes them to lose balance and get dragged into the water with the two they were trying to help.
"SERIOUSLY?!..." Katy Manages to grab Ma-san "YOU ARE STILL FIGHTING?! WE'RE CLEARLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A KINDA BIG SITUATION AND YOU STILL CHOOSE TO BICKER?!"
The weight becomes to much for Lammy as she gets dragged in with the five of them until PJ grabs her.
"NO!...NONONONONONONONO!..." PJ struggles to reel them all in "C-COME...ON…"
"I...CAN'T...HOLD...ALL OF...YOU!..." Sweety starts to slowly get dragged in as her feet are dragged through the dirt until she is just swept up with the rest of them.
The water starts to whirlpool them in as the vortex simply drags them down to the bottom of the center, as if being flushed.
"AAHHHHHHHHHH!" They all scream in unison until they are submerged into the abyss.
The light from the pond flashes leaving them all stunned as they get flung away from one another, and immediately after, it's silent. PItch black. Empty. There is no motions being made or voices to be heard. Just plain simple darkness.
"I wanna come back to this place as many times as I can! Don't you Katy?...Katy?"
"Huh? Oh sorry kinda distracted…thinking of happier things~..."
"You whispered something 'forever' and just stared at the stars…"
"PJ don't eavesdrop on what another person says!"
"I can do as I please. I'm older than the two of you!"
"You're only seven…"
"And you two are six. Point being?"
"You're still not that older than us. You're even shorter than us!"
"Not to mention lazier than the two of us!"
"I need to preserve my energy."
"For what?"
"Sleeping."
"Of course…"
"Oh just let him Katy, it's easier to deal with him that way."
"Ok...so what did you wanna tell me?"
"Just that I wanted to come back here as many times as I can for as long as I can with you!"
"That'd be nice...but we will get busy as we grow up won't we?"
"That won't be a problem!"
"Parappa, growing up isn't as simple as that you know."
"Oh hush up PJ!...hey why are you laughing Katy?"
"You two bicker like brothers! It's so funny to watch!"
"Us brothers?"
"No way! We're totally different!"
"Why does that have to stop ya? If anything it just makes it seem like the more obvious thing...at least in my opinion!"
"Your opinion stinks."
"Agreed!"
"H-Hey! You meanies!...Don't tag team on the only girl here-...what's that?..."
"Hey don't change the subject-...oh...uh...is the pond supposed to do that?..."
"No pond i've ever seen did that, unless a toilet counts as a pond."
"PJ, now's not the time to be gross!"
"It was a serious answer."
"Whatever...wanna check it out?..."
"I-I dunno...looks kinda...scary and dangerous…"
"I'm with her Parappa, it might not be a good idea to jump in that…"
"Yeah...I guess you're right…hey...I hear...voices?..."
"What?...oh!...hey I hear them to! They're all grown ups!...are they...yelling?..."
"Sounds like a fight."
"Who fights underwater?...I don't see anyone...or anything! The lights to bright!"
"Fish people."
"I don't think it's fish people...maybe we're all just tired and imagining this?"
"Or we're all hallucinating from staring at the stars for to long."
"Can that even happen?"
"I dunno, I just made it up."
"Ugh...I'm just gonna ignore the noise and just keep staring at the stars…"
"I'm with you there Katy!"
"Eh fine. Majority and all that."
Parappa's eyes sorely open as he stares at the beating sun, he looks to his side to see PJ on his right and Katy on his left. In the same position as when they first sat together under the stars by the pond "What a weird...dream...couldn't see anything...only...hear…something...Guys...you two ok?..." he sits up to see that PJ is asleep, as evident by the bubble on his nose "Figures...did Katy get knocked out to?..." he nears her body and is immediately sent into a panic when he notes she isn't breathing Ooooooh that's not good...QUICK! I gotta do SOMETHING!...uh...uhhh...CPR! As he attempts to do just that, he realizes exactly what it is that he has to do. …actually...I'll do the other version! Where I press down on the victims che- he stops his thoughts nope, first type is way less creepy...and grabby… now come on!...don't even think of it that way you freak! You're trying to help your friend!... He sighs as he simply begins, after a minute she jolts up, ejecting water from her mouth.
"HRK...ugh…"
"Oh thank goodness…"
"Oh man that was not fun...ugh what happened?..."
"You're guess is as good as mine...I just woke up and saw the two of you out cold, PJ because PJ and you...yeah...had to kinda...save you there…"
"Wha?..." She takes note of the water she coughed up "OH...T-Thank you!...Man I would've been a goner..."
See? She didn't think of it in that way! I thought you said you ejected these thoughts from your head! "I had to do something!"
"I'm glad you did! Sure as hell know he would've stayed there asleep!"
"Of course! I want nothing to happen to my friends!...Now...where are we?..."
"Beats me...it looks like outside the pond except...there are no trees blocking the sunlight! It's an open field as far as the eye can see!..."
"This reminds of that other time we got transported somewhere…"
"Yeah but that was thanks to the necklace you fished up...this was thanks to the water itself…wait...where are the others?!"
"They were with us when we fell into the water...but...I dunno...they must've ended up somewhere else…Come on lets wake him up so we can go find them!"
"Let's!"
"But first!" He takes his hat from PJ's shirt pocket "It's a bit soggy, but it pulled through!" He places it on his head.
"Ugh...my head...where am I?..." Matt rubs his head as his eyes stay closed for just a bit longer.
"Thou are in our home camp!"
"Oh. Well that's nice to kno-" His eyes shoot wide open as he looks towards the source of the voice, he sees a tall red individual, closer inspection shows that he is made of stone "W-Who are you…"
"I am the the noble warrior Vermillion! I found thee unconscious out in the forest over yonder! I decided to bring thee back for a safe recovery! Pray tell, what was thine reason for being out in the middle of a battlefield?"
"I-I wasn't there by choice...wait...B-BATTLEFIELD?!..."
"Aye. The place is one of many unfortunate meeting grounds between the group I am apart of and vicious "Tempo Tantrum" over music! I have told thee my name, doth thou give me the honor of knowing yours?"
"I-I-I'm M-Matt Major...s-sir!..."
"Major? THEN YOU ARE A STRATEGIST!"
"W-What-"
"BLESSED DAYS! SIR PALLET WAS IN DESPERATE NEED OF ONE!"
"W-W-Wait you have the wrong- H-HEY! P-PUT ME DOWN!...H-HELP!... "
("Damn Paula getting in my way...messing me up...overly competitive smug little...WE'RE ONLY IN THIS MESS CUZ OF HER!...") Her Dynamite fuse spews fire like a geyser ("I SWEAR I JUST WANNA GRAB HER NECK AND!...") Ma-san is distracted by a voice calling out in her language.
("Who's there?")
("WHO WANTS TO KNOW!")
("Aye just me lass, calm yer sparks!")
("Don't tell me what to do!") She looks for the origin of the voice and sees a portly being. His body is coated in hardened magma as he wears a black set of armor in the shape of overalls. He holds an axe in one hand made of hardened magma as well. In his other hand he holds a few tree logs signifying he was a lumberjack. He's wearing a helmet that hides most of his head except for two yellow dots which she can assume are his eyes. She calms down her fire, still ignited just not as hectic, before speaking up ("Well you're quite the character!")
("I can say the same about ye lass! Tell me, what's a fellow Tempo Tantrum member doin out here by her lonesome? Needing to burn off some steam? If that's yer case then try not to burn the trees to! I'd be out of a livelihood if ya did!")
("How do you manage to chop trees down without melting them or setting them on fire?")
("THAT'S what got yer attention lass?") he shakes his head ("Oh dear...you're not from here are ya?")
("Of course not! I was with some people...got into a fight with an idiot...and next thing I know is that I'm all alone here!...")
("Well you can come back to the group village if you be needing a place outside of isolation! You speak our language so you'd be quickly allowed in lass!")
("Whatever...beats just walking around here…")
"Do you even know where you're taking us Paula?"
"Would you rather just sit out in the open? After hearing all that mess going on not that far from us?"
"Well no...but going blindly into what could potentially be a worse outcome isn't exactly better...plus I just want to find some place to set her down…" Sweety turns her head to look at Lammy, who's unconscious as she carries her about on her back.
"It'll be fine!" I hope…
Just then, a man made of magma, holding a hatchet made from a gong paddle and a shield made from the gong, jumps out in front of them ("WHO ARE YOU TRESPASSERS!")
"T-Trespassers? N-No we're just w-walking by!..."
("YOU LIE! YOU HEAD DIRECTLY FOR OUR CAMP!") he lifts his hatchet, but before he brings it back down, Katy and Parappa run in front of him.
("They're telling the truth!")
("None of them know the way around here. They mean no harm to you!")
The creature simply stops his attack upon hearing the two speak. He looks back and forth between them then the trio behind them and simply grunts before turning around and walking away ("It better not happen again…")
The duo sigh as he leaves "Man that was to close…"
"You're telling me...glad this one stopped as well the second he heard us speaking that way to…"
"Thanks SOOOO much you tw-" Katy cuts off Paula by slapping her across the face, shutting her up.
"YOU just HAD to fight when we were trying to get out didn't you?!"
"..." She just looks down, not immediately replying back as she holds her cheek "You're...right...that was incredibly childish of me...course she didn't help the situation...but I admit to being in the wrong…I'm sorry…"
"Right…" she turns to Parappa "I'm still steamed at her and Ma-san, so you talk to her till I calm down, I gotta go get PJ to catch up with us anyway…"
"Roger." He turns to them "I'd mad to if I wasn't so glad to see you guys ok!"
"Well...mostly ok…" Paula points to the passed out Lammy on Sweety's back.
"Lammy!..." He runs to Sweety "Oh man…"
"She's fine! She just will be out for a while…"
"Well that's something good at least…Are you two hurt?"
"No, i'm just dizzy is all…"
"You Paula?"
"Nah...I'm fine to I guess...I hit my head hard but I guess I do deserve it for being one of the reasons we're even in this mess…"
"Come on now don't think like that...Katy's just...really angry right now...she doesn't fully blame you...if it's anyone's fault it's mine alone for triggering whatever it was that took us in the first place!"
"I guess…"
"You know it's the truth! Now show me where you got hit…"
She turns her head slightly and lifts her hair to show him a spot around the side of her forehead where she took the hit "Here…"
"Oof...Well good news is that it's not severe...bad news is that it's still a rather bad cut...man looks like it hurts...especially if you were to touch it...but you still need it bandaged up…" He reaches in his pocket and pulls out some gauze bandages "Man I'm so glad they gave me spares in case I needed to replace the ones on my hands!" He wraps it around the top of her head, it stings painfully as he mentioned, but the bandages are already soaked thanks to the water and that alone slightly eases up the pain "There! I even put it under your hair so it doesn't look like something you wouldn't like being pointed out!"
"T-Thanks!..."
"No problem! Glad I was at the very least prepared for that!"
Paula smiles in gratitude for Parappa's help, the smile vanishes however once she hears someone speak up.
"We're back…" Katy returns to the spot with PJ behind her.
"Can't believe you just ditched me back there…"
"Heard something was up...had to check it out…"
"What if someone assaulted me?!"
"You'd be fine...look at you!"
"Ugh…" PJ simply shakes his head "Well whatever, I"m glad we at least found you girls! Sweety you doing fine?"
"I'm ok! Just dizzy, if you wanna worry about anyone, you should probably worry over Lammy." She turns around to expose Lammy.
"Oh boy…"
"L-LAMMY!" Katy runs up to check on her friend.
"She's fine! Just pretty much asleep till who knows when…"
"Oh…"
Paula looks down due to feeling responsible, Parappa walks up to Katy after he sees this. "Hey Katy...I think...you might've unfairly judged Paula...because recall...it's mainly my fault...you told me not to go out into the water and just leave the rocks alone...and well I didn't...exactly listen did I...and now...well...here we are…"
Katy knows what he's obviously trying to do, she sighs and just accepts it as to not cause more trouble "Alright...I'm sorry Paula…" She walks up to Parappa and taps him on the forehead with her knuckle "You are partially correct, but hey it's always like you to defend your friends even from one another...come on let's get out of here…"
"Man this forest and field just keeps on going...I hope we bump into Matt or Ma-san soon…but then what?..." Katy just sighs after realizing there's not much else to do to get back.
The five of them suddenly hear a shout from the distance.
"H-HELPPPP!"
"That's Matt!"
"It came from that direction! Come on let's go!"
They rush over to help their friend, only to immediately find themselves within a settlement out in the open.
"Uh oh...I think we're probably in the middle of something rather big…" before any of them can continue running, they see Matt running towards them.
"GUYS OVER HERE!..." behind him are more multicolor terracotta men trying to catch up to him. The sight causes the others to flee screaming "W-W-W-WAIT DON'T LEAVE ME!"
"WELL DON'T LEAD THEM IN A STAMPEDE TOWARDS US!"
"THAT'S AGAINST MY CONTROL!"
The seven of them keep running until they're blockaded off and surrounded.
"Well this does not bode well."
"Gee what tipped you off PJ?"
The leader of the group simply walks up calmly to them. He is the tallest of all the rock made soldier, and is even made of diamond rather than other types of stone and gems. The entirety of his body, or armor if they are separate, is white "Please...we just wanted assistance…"
"I-I'm not your guy!...I'm not the strategist you're looking for!..."
"Matt a strategist?...sheesh you guys are honestly dodged a really bad bullet…" Katy says as she facepalms from the disbelief of what the current situation was actually about.
"Hey! I'm not THAT inept!..."
"But you admit you are in general."
"Way to have my back PJ…"
"Look sir, Matt here is kinda the last person you would want to help plan things out...unless the plan is get the opposite of the intended outcome, I wouldn't recommend getting his help."
"Then we are doomed…"
"Doomed? What's going on?" Parappa says as he walks up to the stone soldiers.
"Small canine one, I Sir Pallet will inform you of our troubles. We are in constant daily struggles with the group 'Tempo Tantrum' and it is one we are swiftly failing. It is a battle over ourselves for the peaceful people we are as well as for our music...saying that we do not deserve it if we simply stay as passive as possible...while they reign supreme with their music as destructive as their personalities... Naturally we as a group try to avoid struggles whenever possible, but it's not quite as simple when the people we are being forced to fight are war hungry heathens…our group...Mood Stones is simply not up to the bravado of willingness to just fight for the hell of it...it's not in our nature..."
"Geez that sounds awful...almost as much as the music war that happened years ago…" Parappa takes off his hat and glances along it's new symbols, when Pallet notices, he quickly kneels with the other knights doing the same.
"W-Whoa what I do?"
"You honor those who have fallen, while we just ran away…"
"I feel like we're missing some context here." PJ says as Paula, Matt and Sweety nod.
"Uh...long story...and Pallet, what do you mean by that?..."
"We were involved in that war of which you speak."
"WHAT?! But i thought those who survived just separated themselves entirely!"
"We have, but there were many groups, they all ran off and most certainly became more groups of their own to try and keep some memories of older times, but ultimately start a new. For us?...we ran like cowards...we found a pond made by Madame Lupe and we turned it into a gateway towards a simulated area. Peaceful, quiet and away from all the danger...no one would ever find us. However to our misfortune...The Tempo's had the exact same idea...once we met face to face a few days later...it's been battle after battle ever since...oh it's been about a year now...but you say it's been years out there have you not?..."
"Yes! Like decades even!...A-Are you telling us time goes by differently in here?"
"Well it would appear so, since this place doesn't exist per say. It was created by Madame Lupe and was given access to those she permitted...we thought it was only us...but that was a sorrowful fact found to be proven wrong…" He gets back up and lifts his helmet's visor revealing nothing but darkness and two beady rainbow dots "When we tried to leave...it was shown we couldn't…"
"Why not?..."
"Apparently for us to leave...we either need to come to terms with the Tempo's...or one group has to fall...as you see...the exit must be permitted when ALL quarries choose to leave. Not just one. So we either have to both agree to exit...or eliminate the other so that only we are the ones to decide...but we do not want that outcome…"
"Oh...this is real bad…" Parappa begins pacing forth "So we can't leave either…" he runs back to his group of friends "What do we do?!"
"What CAN we do!...we're not capable of fighting in a war!..."
"Katy's right, this is to much for the likes of us to handle."
"I guess it's safe to call this our new home…"
"Matt shut up! We WILL get out of here!"
"I'm waiting for you to prove me wrong Paula…"
"I'm afraid I'm with the rest of them Paula...we can't do much if anything at all…" Sweety walks up to Pallet "Excuse me sir, do you have a bed that I may put her on to recover?..."
"Why yes! Please follow Cobalt!" He motions his arms to a fellow knight cloaked entirely in blue.
"Follow me dear Miss to our medical facilities." He walks off with Sweety, PJ, Matt and Katy following..
"I'm not gonna sit back and just let the events unfold poorly...I'm helping!" Parappa runs back to Pallet with Paula following.
"I'm helping to! I still feel responsible for this mess…"
"You shouldn't, but I still appreciate the help!" They both look at Pallet "Sir Pallet! Is there anything we can do to provide assistance?"
"Well...we need people to scout about, but the Tempo's know what we look like so that'd be impossible...once we hear their voices we know it's already to late and that a battle will begin…"
("They won't get suspicious with me!") Parappa catches Pallet off guard as all the other knights gasp and stand in front of Pallet, weapons armed "W-Whoa w-w-w-wait!..."
"STAND DOWN." The knights disperse "You can speak like them?..."
"Y-Yeah thanks to a friend of mine...it's her native tongue so I had to learn it!"
"This...could very much help...but still one wrong thing and we won't be able to help you out…"
("Then I'll be there to help them out!") Katy runs up to Parappa and Paula while shouting in the same language as well.
"Hm...very well...but we will need to rethink our plans...the routing was thought up with us in mind...we are made of stone and therefore can take a thrashing...you lot...are not as lucky...we will have to adjust to take your characteristics into account. Please make yourselves feel at home in the meanwhile. MEN REGROUP AT THE PLANNING GROUNDS!"
"SIR!" They all run off.
"If you can truly help us end this, we are forever in your debt."
"We'll do our best! And seeing as we can talk like Tempo...maybe we can even form peace between the two of you!"
"That would be most excellent. I will return once we have our plan! Please inform Cobalt once he is finished helping your friends!" Pallet runs off as well.
"Will do! Alright guys, we'll have to do our best because….we are...in WAAAAAY over our heads to be perfectly honest...but I know one thing. We gotta believe! You two with me?"
"Of course! Can't cut corners here!"
"You can count on initial P!"
"Great! Then let's let our belief see us through!"
I really hope we end up ok…