Lammy stay on a bench as she stares at the sky, wondering why she ran away and if there is anything she could say or do. comes to mind "Man...w-what do I do…"
"What do you think you should do Lammy?"
"EEP...W-Who are you?..." Lammy panics upon seeing the disguised Leo.
"Uh...cousin of Katy...names Leonora."
"Oh...Katy n-never mentioned you..."
"Do you think she'd ever want to talk about her family?"
"...Good p-point...what brings you h-here?..."
"Wanted to visit and see the sights. Then I got caught up in seeing what happened with you and Parappa."
"Ah...i'm...s-sorry for that...I take it you saw me run off then...seeing a-as you're here right now…" She rubs her left arm "Things h-have just been a huge m-mess recently…"
"Don't worry, I opted to tag along. I even chose to follow you out of my own free will. Speaking of which. You dropped this." Leo hands her the music player.
"OH!...I-I didn't even notice that I dropped it!...T-Thanks Leonora…"
"No problem. You seemed to have been deeply locked within the song when you almost got run over. Why is that?"
"Well...my boss recommended the song to me to cheer me up. Well the instrumental since he couldn't find the full copy of the song...and it worked!...then I bumped into Parappa and my negative emotions seeped out and vented towards him by accident...by the time I wanted to undo what I said...it was to late...so I tried listening to the song again to try and cheer up...but it was taking a bit longer than the first time as I had him on the mind…" she rests her face on her hands "It almost worked...till I had to be saved by him...then I just felt the guilt even more."
"Well you really shouldn't. He wouldn't want it that way would he?"
"No...he wouldn't…" She places the earbuds back in her ears "I just don't know...I wanna fully calm down before I can try to hear him out and fix things up...and maybe he can help me finally get along with Rammy…but I just can't bring myself to..."
"Why?...She hasn't really done much to affect you all right?..."
"She's with the guy I love...she TOOK the guy I love...And...it's just...to much...look I may have always beat her by chance when it came to our competitions...but...she's just...so much better than me in everything else...she can speak her mind...she's stronger than me...doesn't need to hold a guitar to build that up...Confident...headstrong...prettier than I...everything…"
Leo was astounded to hear what Rammy would tell him in the future come from Lammy's mouth as well "...would you like to know the name of the song you're listening to?"
"Y-You know it?..."
"Yes! And my cousin told me that you know the guy who sang it! So you could go to him and ask him about it. He'll be more than happy to perform the song to you. You could even go now! I'm sure Katy would be overjoyed in taking you there!"
"Are you sure?..."
"I know I am." Katy speaks up, drawing Lammy's attention to the fact that she had been sitting next to her the entire time.
"W-WHA...W-WHEN...H-HOW…" Katy sticks her tongue out with a nod of her head.
"Who's to say it wasn't my cousins idea as she kept you distracted?~"
"..." Lammy looks to the ground "So you…"
"Heard all that?...yeah...but I'm not gonna FORCE you to fix things if you feel you aren't capable of it yet. I know how you are, and I'll only help once I know you're ready to ask for it. Just make sure to ask me alright?"
"Alright...r-right now counts to that?..."
"Exactly!" She winks "I clearly see how much that song was of a big help, and if my cuz here knows what it is, it'd make sense for you to listen to it firsthand from the guy who sang it right?"
"Right...um...Leonora?...Mind telling me the song?..."
"Of course! You two just go on to Leo and tell him to play for you the song. 'Instant Crush'! Don't forget!"
"T-Thank you!..." She get's off the bench and bows.
"Oh! You don't need to do all that, i'm just helping out with how I can. Now I suggest going now! Leo might not be waiting in his club for much longer!"
"Right!...L-Let's go K-Katy!..." Lammy runs off while Katy scoots towards Leo.
"How exactly are you waiting at the club?! You're right here!..."
"Simple. Just call or text PJ and tell him to meet me at his flat, I'll change my clothes and jetpack my way back in a jiffie! I'm certain i'll be able to beat you there!"
She pulls out her phone "You better son...You gave her such big hope...don't break it…"
"I won't! Just make sure that once I do help her out, that you help Parappa think up a way to get the two ewes to get along! Like how it happened in the regular timeline!"
"I will. Now go! I messaged him and he's on his way."
"Roger!" Leo runs off to fulfill his end of the action.
"Katy...you sure your cousin was right with Leo being here?...That sign says the club is closed till further notice…"
"Uh...ignore that. Leo just doesn't wanna accept people for now. But I know he'll accept us!" Katy's eyes glance by her left wing mirror, in the distance she sees what looks like a jet flying towards the club. Upon closer inspection it's Leo sputtering by in a hurry.
"Are y-you sure?..."
"Totally!" She looks back to the mirror and sees that he vanished. She then looks forward and see Leo zig zag across the sky poorly, before ultimately crashing through a window in his establishment. This causes Katy to floor it.
"W-WHOA!...W-What with the sudden speed boost?..."
"J-Just uh...w-wanna help you ASAP…" You didn't need to risk your safety in order to beat us here you idiot…
"O-Oh...t-thanks!...B-But please keep it manageable...y-you're causing everything to f-fly everywhere back h-here!..."
"Sorry…"
The duo arrive and knock on the doors. They open with a dizzy Leo barely managing to stand up behind them.
"Yooooo…"
"Leo!...what happened to you?..."
"Oh nothing much Katy...just took a small tumble is all!...hahah...ow…" Leo turns his neck as his helmet emits a sad face "So what brings the two of you here?"
"I'll leave it to Lammy to answer that!" Katy pushes Lammy forward to reply, much to the lambs dismay
"O-Oh...y-yeah...I guess I d-do...h-heh…"
"Well i'm all ears!"
"W-Would you mind...s-singing a song?...I found o-one that h-helped me calm down...b-but I didn't know the n-name...now I do a-and would appreciate it if you c-could sing it!..." She shuffles in place, embarrassed to even be asking.
"Well i'd be glad to! What's the song you wanted me to sing?"
"I-Instant...c-crush if that's..o-ok!..."
"Oooooh...that song. Man I only like...sung that once and made it like literally impossible to hear. Reason being was that it was meant for specific ears that it just didn't reach. So I tried to cease the places it could reach. Course if you're asking. How can I say no?" He motions for them to come in "You'll have to give me a bit though to prep my voice."
"O-Of course! T-Take your time."
"Thank you! Now if you excuse me...I'll need her assistance!" Leo grabs Katy and drags her away.
"W-WAIT! I CAN WALK ON MY OWN!..."
"Now you know how it feels!" Katy groans as she's tethered away like a plastic bag while Lammy watches, lost without context.
"Sounds like we missed a lot…" Matt as as he looks down to Parappa.
"No kidding...sucks that we had to work rather than try and help you out…" Paula sighs after hearing what they missed due to being the only ones working at the cafe.
"Well...someone had to hold the fort down while we were kinda...occupied." Parappa moves his fingers around from feeling guilty "Sorry we couldn't really uh...help out as much."
"Don't worry over, trying to patch up things is probably the better thing to do right now." Matt shrugs with a half hearted smile "Just wish the attempt was a success."
"You and me both. But I mean she doesn't full on hate me...so I can try to fix it I guess? Gotta wait till she decides to wanna see me though what with her saying she kinda wants to keep her distance."
"Again man, I still don't think that's the case given how she acted after you saved her from being flattened…" PJ stops walking "Honestly you should do something about it while ya can, but I understand you wanting to respect her choices. However i'm sure she'll probably call that off before you know it! Hell it may even be today, because you never know! She might have only said that from hurt feelings alone!" Hopefully Katy and Europa can pull that off...but we can only wait and see.
"And I thought I was the optimist of the group!" Parappa elbows his gut gently "With a guy like you around Peej, I can certainly attempt looking at the brighter side a whole lot more in an easier manner."
"I am a coping toy after all."
"You calling me a little kid?.."
"Well you fit the size."
"Stooooooop…" Everyone laughs lightly, including Parappa himself "Gotta keep reminding myself to be around you all more often whenever I start faltering in the joy department. The more of you guys I'm around the easier it is to recover and stay like it."
"Yeah you really should Paraps. I don't want this to become a regular thing." Rammy frowns "Granted I'm technically the reason any of this happened at all so…"
"No. It's mine. I guess I didn't properly handle it as well as I thought I could. Had I tried to see how I could better connect all of you it would've gone better."
"Don't toss yourself out with that assumption. After all look at how MY first encounter with her was. I was slammed into the ground with ease! From that point on I stubbornly went to get at her back! I even changed my lifestyle temporarily to do so!" He smiles the same way he did as when he played the dj at Club Fun "So it shows that sometimes things are better left handling on their own."
"Same here. Were it not for her saving my ass, I'd probably never give her the chance."
"Me and Ma-san were sensible enough to just give her a go from the get go!" Paula fistbumps Ma-san as the guys roll their eyes.
"As you can see, there are moments when your help will be needed, and there are moments when it's best to see things handle themselves. Isn't that right you two?" The both of them smile and nod "Exactly!"
"Heh...I'm just glad you all managed to accept her with ease. And hey, that just shows that once this is all over. Lammy will as well."
"Uh...yeah!" Europa said that you're gonna actually need to help there...I hope you can think of something. "Everything will go by smoothly, but maybe you should help her out once she decides to talk to you again. It'd probably make things easier."
"I'm gonna have to agree with him there Paraps, Lammy and I just struggle when it comes to seeing eye to eye after things started getting worse between the two of us… So I openly welcome the help here." She scratches her nose as a single sweatdrop falls across the side of her face.
"Then expect me to help as much as I can!"
"So I gotta do what again?..." Katy pats her chin with her tongue stuck out in recap.
"I'm gonna need effects to bring across the bigger emotional feel that i'm planning on showing! But I won't be able to control that many backup dancers. You hide along the back and summon yours to help along! You still have your belt right?"
"Of course! I always carry it on! Never know when it'll come in handy~ Like now!"
"Good! Also…" He rummages in a instrument rack and hands her a bass guitar "Here!"
"Whoa whoa hold up!...I don't know the song you gotta play!"
"Listen first. Look my hands are kinda….in heavy pain. I can't hold my guitar up properly let alone play it. So along with the music that i'll have playing, I want you to play along with it in order to give more of a power output to the back up dancers, my suit and the club effects!"
"This seems so flashy and over the top…do you really need all this?..."
"Look...I have...several doubts that the song itself will full help her...so...I'm gonna be showing who I am…" He removes his helmet. His body finally able to take the lamb form again "If she sees me it'll probably help out her thought process. And then I'll explain the whole dealeo once the song's over."
"That could work! Having Lammy see a chance that she can still win him over will certainly pick her up tremendously!"
"Exactly! Quick thing though, do you remember how to change the shape of your backups like I told you?"
"Nope!"
"Oh boy...Ok lookie here because this is how you can make it so these guys don't look like the one wearing them. Have the image of what you want them to look like in your mind and then touch the belt. Otherwise it just makes a clone of yourself." A back up of Parappa appears in between the two of them "Recall how you know they're like in your heart…" The Parappa shakes his head, as if waking up, before looking up at Katy and speaking up.
"Hi Katy! Where are we? Oh...Leo's club..."
"Wow!"
"Perhaps a bit to accurate…" Leo sighs before continuing "And lastly have the beat flowing through you and the belt will pick it up and fill the clone in on what it's gotta do, based on what you're already trying to do!" Leo starts humming as his helmet lights up with a small simple beat. The Parappa's eyes widen.
"LAMMY!...S-She's still not upset with me is she?!...W-What can I do to help! Need me to sing? I gotcha covered!"
Katy smiles before looking back to Leo "Well clearly I remember the first and last part! But the second part caught me by surprise. I'm amazed I didn't need to do that for the clones of me…"
"Well you answered that yourself. Why would you? No one knows you better than yourself! So you already had the answer subliminally. Like I said, it'll create a clone of you if you don't really focus on a specific person before creating them. And the acting portion is all apart of the mind, and you already have your own personality built in! So for that, the steps aren't needed in that regard. Like I said, this is only in case you wanted to change the shape. Never know when you want diverse back up dancers or vocals or anything of the sort during a gig!" Leo snaps, sending the clone Parappa away.
"'Neat! That will certainly come in handy~ Alrighty, so what clones are you gonna need specifically?..."
"Ok, this might get a bit tricky...I want you to create clones that look like me, but with the helmet on."
"Uh-huh?"
"Then during a certain point, the clones are going to have to take their helmets off. I want you to instead replace my head with Parappa's, Rammy's and Lammy's heads on them instead."
"You really thought this through…" Katy taps the side of her head "That's a lot, but it doesn't sound difficult to do. Alright!" She picks up the guitar and strums it, multiple clones are brought up in the shape of Leo "WOOO! Let's do this!" She starts jamming in place. The clones mimicking her pose until she throws her arms in the air. The clones toss their helmets and show different heads of Parappa, Rammy and Lammy.
"Excellent! We're ready to go!" They both fist bump the air before heading off. Leo lowers the lighting to the entirety of the building.
Lammy notices the darkening area and immediately panics "U-Uh...is...this part of the song?...I m-mean I understand atmosphere and everything, b-but at least warn a g-girl first…" The light on the stage illuminates as it starts changing in shape. The floor around her also starts moving around "W-Whoa!...h-how flashy is this g-gonna be?..."
A green light illuminates the stages as it appears to look similar to the festival that happened two weeks ago. Smoke emanates as the green and violet strobe lights appear all over the place. As the smoke becomes slightly clearly Leo appears as the melody begins to play with a snap of his fingers.
"Whoa…" The beat was the same that Lammy was listening to when given to her by Niles. However witnessing the effects that seem to compliment the beats made her mind clear as she just listened on as Leo began to sing.
"I didn't want to be the one to forgeeeet...
I thought of everything I'd never regreeeet...
A little time with you is all that I geeeet...
That's all we need because it's all we can take." Two clones spin from behind Leo as they begin dancing on instinct.
"One thing I never see the same when your 'round
I don't believe in him… his lips on the ground...
I wanna take you to that place in the 'Roche'
But no one gives us any time anymore..." More back ups appear, but not on the stage with the main three. These dance with the light effects to add a more psychedelic feel.
"He ask me once if I'd look in on his dog…" Leo waves his hand in a circle, creating a light image of Parappa's head.
"You made an offer for it, then you ran off…" A red line floats around the image of Parappa, ending up as a heart.
"I got this picture of us kids in my head,
And all I hear is the last thing that you said..." An image of Lammy's head appears in his other hand, the heart however vanishes.
"I listened to
your problems. Now listen to mine!
I didn't want to anymore, oh oh ooooh..." The small Lammy head had mini fumes emit from its face as the Parappa face turn to a frown. The Lammy head frowns as well as they both vanish.
"And we will never be alone again...
'Cause it doesn't happen every day!" Katy's bass is heard as the Lammy image returns with a full body this time, a heart held within her hands.
"Kinda counted on you being a friend...
Can I give it up or give it away?..." The image sadly looks down as it lets the heart go.
"Now I thought about what I wanna say
But I never really know where to go…" More clones start appearing for the areas higher up, these dancing differently than the rest. The Parappa image reappears as well, also with a full body as it stands in front of the Lammy one. The Lammy images fails to speak a word to him as it struggles with what to say.
"So I chained myself to a friend...
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door." The Lammy image is suddenly yanked away from the Parappa one. When it tries to run back to him, she is tethered back by an unknown force. The Parappa image runs up and tries to tug the image free, but no luck.
"And we will never be alone again!
'Cause it doesn't happen every day." Suddenly the Parappa image ends up getting dragged back. However the duo reach out to each other as the binds snap, the images crash into each other and vanish.
"Kinda counted on you being a friend...
Can I give it up or give it away?..." The Lammy image reappears flat on her face. The heart she dropped earlier within her grasp, she reaches out for it, but it floats away.
"Now I thought about what I wanna say.
But I never really know where to go...
So I chained myself to a friend..." The image gets up and runs after it. She ends up finding another image of her. The other Lammy had her wrists in chains, the chains were attached to the heart she's been chasing.
"Some mooooore agaaaaain…." The free Lammy image looks down sadly as they both vanish.
"It didn't matter what they wanted to see...
He thought he saw someone that looked just like me!" Lammy reappears as she sees the Parappa image reappear. She chases after it, only for it to be speaking to an image of Rammy.
"The summer memory that just never dies...
We worked too long and hard to give it no time." As the Lammy image walks away, a younger image of her and Parappa run by. They looked like the age of when they first met at the age of fifteen. Three more versions of the duo run by representing their time at the ages of sixteen through eighteen. The visualization at the age of nineteen has only Lammy staring at a hospital bed before vanishing. The original Lammy image then turns around towards the Parappa and Rammy image and runs back to them.
"He sees right through me, it's so easy with lies...
Cracks in the road that I would try and disguise." The light on Leo's helmet dims as the Lammy image returns to where the other two were. She stops, unknowing of what to do now, but the Parappa image simply extends his hands. He grabs the Rammy image's hand in his left, and the Lammy image's hand in his right. He then brings them together, causing their hands to meet.
"He runs his scissor at the seem in the wall...
He cannot break it down or else he would fall..." The ewe images shatter as they end up getting trapped within a heart. The Parappa images grabs one of the stray shards and tries to slice it open to free them, but struggles to do so as he fears damaging the heart. He drops the shard and falls to his knees, holding his head in pain. He along with the heart that contains both the Lammy and Rammy image pieces simply vanish again.
"One thousand lonely staaaaaaars…hiding in the coooooold...
Taaaaaake iiiiit... Oh I don't wanna sing anymooooore..." The light on Leo's helmet fades entirely as Katy's playing takes over. All the backup Leo's grab their helmets and remove them. They toss them away revealing the faces of Lammy, Rammy and Parappa. All of them appear sad, but they continue dancing. Except for the real Leo who stops dancing entirely, and only sings from this point onwards.
"I listened to
your problems. Now listen to mine!
I didn't want to anymore, oh oh oh…" The original two back ups remove their helmets. The one on Leo's left had Parappa's head. The one on his right has Rammy's head.
"And we will never be alone again!
'Cause it doesn't happen every day...
Kinda counted on you being a friend...
Can I give it up or give it away?…" The two backups grab Leo's arms and begin tugging on him. Yanking him as if they were trying to pull him apart.
"Now I thought about what I wanna say.
But I never really know where to go...
So I chained myself to a friend...
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door." They tug harder before letting go and watching him drop to the floor.
"And we will never be alone again!
'Cause it doesn't happen every day...
Kinda counted on you being a friend...
Can I give it up or give it away?..." They walk up to him and pick him back up.
"Now I thought about what I wanna say.
But I never really know where to go...
So I chained myself to a friend.
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door…" They look at his helmet and then grab his hands.
"I don't understand... don't get upset...
I'm not with you…" Leo let's go of their hands and grabs onto his helmet.
"We're swimming around,
It's all I do, when I'm with you…" Leo takes it off. Revealing a face similar to Lammy's. However much to Lammy's awareness. His head was severely different from the other Lammy heads that the clones had.
"And we will never be alone again
'Cause it doesn't happen every day
Kinda counted on you being a friend
Can I give it up or give it away…" The lights go from green and violet to a deep fuchsia as Leo's entire outfit turns pink as he drops onto one knee.
"Now I thought about what I wanna say
But I never really know where to go
So I chained myself to a friend
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door…" Light swirls around his wrists as they materialize into chains.
"And we will never be alone again...
'Cause it doesn't happen every day.
Kinda counted on you being a friend.
Can I give it up or give it away..." The Parappa and Rammy backup grab the chains and hoist him back upright.
"Now I thought about what I wanna say…
But I never really know where to go...
So I chained myself to a friend...
'Cause I know it unlocks like a door..." Rather than chain him away, they walk up and release the locks on his wrists, setting him free. As the song ends all the backups except for those two vanish. The remaining two hop over to Lammy and extend their hands out, wanting to escort her over to Leo. Lammy warringly grabs on as she walks up with them. Once next to him. The final backups vanish and Lammy simply stares at Leo who struggles to maintain eye contact back.
Katy hops down from where she was perched and runs up to the two "Heh...this will be one hell of a thing to explain to you."
"..." Lammy pulls out her phone and simply begins typing on it.
"You know I always wondered…" Parappa stares at a vacant lot "I wondered if we could...you know petition to rebuild or remake places. Such as that large place that went down in a fire ten years ago. Or that warehouse we used to hang out in…" He snaps his fingers as he thinks up something better "Or to reopen club fun!"
"Well...you gotta recall that the reason they haven't been rebuilt by now is that there's no real interest in them anymore." PJ becomes slightly disheartened "You'd think the club would've managed interest, but after Mushi heading on out and with us doing our own things...guess the hooks the place had were lost. Plus now there's a lot of clubs EVERYWHERE in places around. Like with Club Rainbow for us. So with situations like that we don't really have much...not unless we got lucky with people with interest…"
"PJ makes a point...we can't really manage with just us…"
"Shame to...i'd love to go back there...so many memories…"
Parappa sighs after Matt, Paula and PJ end up saddening themselves, but before he can speak up his phone vibrates "Huh?..." upon checking his phone, he smiles "Well. I'll find my own way to bring attention to that, but for now let me get your attention with this. Lammy forgave me!"
Everyone is immediately elated while PJ breathes a relieved sigh before smiling.
"T-This...explains why the song c-correlated to me so much...I...g-guess I taught you it…d-didn't I?..."
"Eheh... once told me a song that you had in your heart that you could 'feel' during your struggles in love. It wasn't until much later that you turned it into a song that could be heard…" Leo shuffles in place "You...never sang it in public though...the only time you did was to me only…Heh...sorry for uh...using it for my own gain...but if it makes you feel better...I only sang it live once and made it really hard to get…" He bashfully rubs his head, but Katy speaks up, ignoring that portion of what he said as she instead is caught interest by.
"Huh...I figured you'd sing it to me to at the very least…" Katy's ears drop in disappointment.
"Eheh...she didn't wanna upset anyone with her sadness!...I mean she got over it...it was more of a vent thing that she would do every once and awhile…"
"I guess I can understand that. Sometimes some things are better left to the person themself to handle…"
"I-I'm still s-sorry…"
"Don't be! That's future Lammy's decisions! You're clearly not future Lammy yet! But even still, you have your own rights on how you wanna handle things. It may sadden me, but I as your bestie I understand!" She winks as she grabs Lammy's hands.
"Well...I guess s-seeing the whole e-explanation via dance and s-storytelling...Do I have a chance?..."
"Of course! You clearly see my face don't ya?"
"But...am I your real m-mother?..."
"Ah...can't spoil that...but have the comfort in knowing right now...you may be. And i'm alright with that...Mother." He looks towards Katy "And...also mother...this is already awkward…" Both giggle before hugging each other "Aww! Now that's just sweet~" They quickly pull him in for the hug "AIEEE…Alright fine...~"
Once the hug ends, Lammy stares at the duo and meekly asks "Um...I...really w-want to get along with Rammy...h-honestly...my feelings aside...I just wanna stay friends with Parappa if it means I can interact with him at all...and that means with her to...S-She seems like a nicer person after all...and y-you say we get along really well…" She shrugs "I wanna s-see how that goes...but I need help…"
"I can help there!" Katy bounces with determination "I think I can manage something! I just need to make a call! I have an idea and it involves a certain someone! Also you!" She grabs Leo and yanks him away as she runs off to the backroom.
"H-HEY!..."
"Oh m-my...I hope it does help me…"
Once the duo are away from Lammy, Katy begins calling Parappa "Why do I need to be apart of this?"
"Well. I saw how that song clearly got to her, and I thought 'Hey! Why display a performance for Lammy AND Rammy showing that it is easy for them to get along!"
"But that was a song that was literally meant for her!"
"And I doubt that it's the ONLY song you've heard! I'm sure the two of them have had plenty of songs that symbolize their friendship that you can use!"
"Eh...I mean...I guess...but I don't know if that'll work…"
"You don't know if you don't try! Now shush! He picked up!"
"Huh?...Now what…" Parappa pulls out his phone again "Oh it's Katy. You guys keep walkin, I'll catch up when I'm done."
"Alright, don't take to long!" They all carry on as Parappa answers the phone, hearing some slight arguing on the other end "Hello?...What happened?..."
"So I take it you see that Lammy forgave you?"
"Yeaaah?..."
"Great! You can thank me and Leo for that~"
"What?! How? When?-"
"We'll tell ya later! You mainly gotta thank Leo for it, that's all i'm saying! Now this is why I'm calling. Lammy wants to get on better terms with Rammy, but wants help doing so because she's still the tiny bit doubtful over givin her a chance. Mind helping out?"
"Of course! Ironically mere moments ago Rammy asked for the same thing!"
"Wow really?...What luck!"
"My thoughts exactly! But uh...how do we help?..."
"Gotcha covered there. See here's what we gotta do…"
The call went on to a point the others wondered if Parappa would ever catch up to them, and just when they were about to turn back he appears.
"Gaaah...that went longer than expected…"
"What the heck did she want?..." Paula asks as she stares at the exhausted Parappa, tired from running all the way to them.
"Let's just say...we're gonna have to head over to Club Rainbow this Friday!"
"That's in two days...what the heck did you you two set up?..." Rammy tilts her head in heavy curiosity.
"A joint gig. And so she wants you guys to join in and watch!"
"Huh…alright." Rammy shrugs it off.
"I have no qualms. If anything this is good!" Very good even, that means we can finally cut this to a close...man "How bout the rest of you?"
"Count me in. Everything can finally go back to normal now."
"What Matt said, and we can party while that happens!" Paula stampers in place happily.
("If it's a gig she's asking for, chances are I'm gonna be needed. Either to play or for moral support. I couldn't miss it even if I wanted to. Which I don't because I also wanna relax and see this end to.")
"I'd be happy to join since I'm invited!" Sweety smiles as she clasps her hands together.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world man!" Rammy nods happily.
"Perfect! Then in two days! We go!" Parappa points forwards as the sun beacons off of him for dramatic effect.
"What are you pointing at?..."
"Ah...sorry...just wanted to...nevermind." He rubs his arm as his face glows pink from embarrassment.
"And that's that!"
"So what was supposed to be me singing and dancing, became YOU two singing and dancing?"
"Hehe...I might have gotten way into the moment and forget the full gist of it…"
"No worries Katy. After all it was you two alone that helped them originally."
"Well I still want you as apart of it for the effect dealeos! What you did now was to good to pass off!"
"You know...you can do that as well...I can show you how to, it's really eas-"
"Uh uh! Why do that when I have you son!" She smiles in a manner that makes him unable to deny.
"Alright...come on Lammy's waiting. Go inform her on the day."
"Gotcha! Come on!" She grabs Leo and yanks him away again.
"WHY MEEEEE…"
After the duo inform Lammy on their planned 'gig' she simply sighs in relief that she'll finally get to relax again.
"I have to go and say that I'll no longer be staying at that other apartment...and I gotta return this disc to Niles…"
"You were at your old apartment the entire time?!...wait...NILES gave you that disc?..."
"Yes and yes...I-I'll explain o-once I'm b-back home…i-if you'll let me go ba-" Katy crushes the lamb in a hug.
"Of COURSE you can go back! It's your home as much as it is the rest of ours!" She lets go of her as they both turn to Leo "Well we'll be seeing you in two days!"
"And I'll be waiting! Although I'll be keeping my helmet on if you don't mind. Please be keeping this a secret ey Lammy?"
"I will!...um...can I...c-come back here to just...c-chat with you?...Like whenever?..."
"Sure, but may I ask why?" He raises an eyebrow with a calming but confused smile.
"Well...y-you clearly hung around me a-a lot...so you know my...v-vent tactics… I would l-like to know h-how to calm down during major struggles...i-if that's alright…"
"Of course it is. You're welcomed any time. After all you have my number." He gives her a thumbs up before they say goodbye and drive off.
Meanwhile in the distance, a few faces watch from beyond in spite.
"Gah…seeing him speak with them is sickening…" Bruter says as he speaks to the four that follow him after watching Leo disappear into the club.
"You know Bruter, maybe it would've been better had you not taken up Leo on his offer…"
"Don't ya think I know that? Honestly I thought that runt and his posse couldn't do shit… Now I'll admit getting caught off guard by him was the worst mistake I'll ever let myself make. Man if it was a challenge battle I'd best him any day...ah but fuck it. We can't set foot near that place anymore anyway." He growls as he walks off "Come on let's get out here…" As they five of them walk off. They are stopped by a large limo that drives up nearby them. The window to the seat way at the end opens up.
"Hello there you fine dressed fellows. Would any of you happen to be the proprietors of this magnificent specimen of a building over there?" It was Tycoon.
"Man if we were, why would we be standing way out here?" Bruter fumes as bubbles start rapidly overwhelming his fishbowl helmet.
"Because you may be leaving for the day. Is that so bad an assumption?" She smiles as he bow tie glows.
"No. But the answer is also no. We do not own the place. Unfortunately that position goes to an undeserving softy…"
"Oh? And you don't sound too happy to be talking about them."
"Why wouldn't I? Asshole constantly undid what I was doing for the benefit of the place...and then ended up getting us evicted from my own words with a lucky call...Needless to say I hate that guy…" Bruter's posse share his anger as they all grimace.
"Oh he's a fellow gentleman is he? I was planning on making him an offer to join my circle of...talent."
"Don't even think about it unless you want to lower your overall quality man. He ain't worth it…"
Tycoon laughs "Is that so?" He rubs his chin "You clearly despise the lad...but thanks for the heads up. You saved me from a poor business choice." Of course I don't actually believe these fools, but playing with their anger seems fun… I don't really like to have competition when it comes to establishments either. If I can use these fools to mess with him, I can play off as the hero in the end and offer my assistance when it comes to recuperation...two birds with one stone! "How about this? Since you helped me out, I'll help you out! You don't like him or his little club her correct?"
"Yeah...I'd like to bring him down a notch...or just flat out take him to the ground...him and his stupid worthless club!"
"I may be able to assist with that! Come on in and join me the lot of you! I'll be able to supply with objects you'll need to take him down a peg." The five of them think it over amongst themselves before Bruter turns back to him and nods. The doors open and they all hop in and immediately the car drives off.
After a moderately long drive they arrive to a building in the middle of nowhere, its size beats Club Rainbows, and even the hotel of Neon heights. The car drives in through the entrance as it stops in the center of the main room. Everyone exits and Tycoon leads them over to a specific direction.
"Careful where you walk. There are tons of twists and turns for the many rooms I have that you may get lost if you don't follow me."
"Sheesh man...talk about your overdone spectacle...you wanted to invite HIM into this? Talk about a dodged bullet."
"And that's precisely why I thank you for the warning! Now come come. This way right here through this large blue doors!" As the group walks through they are greeted by a man who wore an outfit similar to Tycoon's his hair was black however and did not wear and form of glasses.
"Ahhh big boss! You returned!...with strays? How odd you are never to pick up those without any semblance of talent!" He head extends from the body revealing him to be a cyborg and not an actual human. He hovers over Bruter "This one's so...scruffy and slimy...no good traits to work with whatsoever…" Bruter swings for the head, but the robot simply recoils back.
"HEY! Who asked you?!"
"Touchy touchy. Why if you can't handle any criticism then you aren't fit to be-"
"YISMUN!"
"Yes B-Boss man?" The cyborg recoils in fear.
"I didn't not approve for you to berate my guests of honor."
"G-Guests of honor?...THEM?..."
"Yes. For you see they saved me from a poor business decision and I opted to repay them by helping me...demolish a waste of talent!"
"Oh...OH! I see! Like Minded people! I am terribly sorry…" He bows before the others before retracting back up "So then Big boss I assuming you're wanting to give them the 'scout'?"
"Yes. It should pose simple for them to use. Lead them to it."
"Right away! Follow me please! Mind telling me your name you devilish man with an outrageous jawline and...jaw!"
"Cut the kiss assery... Name's Bruter."
"And what a fine name it is!"
"Whatever...the Shrimp, Crab and Lobster are Temp, Coco and Rocky respectively. The dame's name is Tundra." The trio all nod while the swan scoffs.
"A lovely bunch! Now if you look over here. You'll see the 'scout' right over there."
"You mean that weird lookin car?"
"Well yes it is a car, but that's for the mobility factor for...THIS!" The car extends as the back opens up and out pops out a mini cannon.
"Whoa...what the hell?"
Tycoon walks up "You see here, i've reverse engineered this device to be made in a model of vehicle from my product line while keep the schematics of the cannon. Granted the size had to be shrunken down to fit in the vehicle, and it still has the blasted restriction."
"Restriction?"
"The cannon can only gain power and fire if there is a steady income of music."
"Pshah! That's nothing! My boys, tundra and I can easily fit that quota with the greatest of ease! Ain't that right." All of them grunt in agreement.
"Excellent! I can as well, but I rather not trivialize myself with having to deal with that. But trying to remove the restriction is proving to be a problem in its own right. However back on topic. I will loan you the Scout! Simply do as you please in blasting the fools club down a notch!"
"Won't the authorities get in the way?"
"Will the authorities be able to stand up against your newly acquired firepower?"
"Good point…" Tycoon snaps and Yismun tosses Bruter a set of keys "Heh...got a target practice zone?"
"Drive the Scout to that room over there." Bruter nods as the five of them pile in the car and drive off. Once they're gone Yismun walks up to Tycoon.
"Boss...those five seem like the most inept people i've ever seen…"
"Oh believe me...they completely are!"
"And you're helping them?!"
"Of course. Because they'll be doing the damage, not I!"
"You think that club owner will take this lying down?"
"Well of course not, but it's either they die and prove to truly be worthless, or survive and show that I need to get them under my wing as soon as possible." He chuckles "I simply want to topple their establishment and then be the one to lend a helping hand as these fools take the fall."
"But with the Scout they'll link the crime back to you Big man!"
"If it comes to the fact that these bumbling imbeciles are to be captured. You are to make sure they get a clean getaway back here. They can become our menial labor and I'll work my 'magic' with that fresh face of talent and increase my dream's progression! The only problem will be if the lad from five years ago appears…"
"Oh but he dropped off the face of the earth Big man! I doubt he'd be anywhere nearby!"
"True, but one can't help but be wary...now hush up. Our guests return." The five of them drive back up to them with demented grins on their faces.
"This baby can pack a punch...and we'll be able to bring him down with ease! Way down...six feet under…"
"Good! Now do you plan to strike now?"
"No. Friday."
"Why wait?"
"He's planning something big from what I overheard! Him and the one that helped him swindle us...We're gonna strike when they all line up like sitting ducks!"
"I see...well then...you're free to take the car. And take this. Simply press the button to come into contact with me alright?"
"You got it...say...what's ya name?"
"Simply call me Tycoon! The gracious benefactor!"
"Got it Tycoon. Thanks for this lovely opportunity!"
"A pleasure my boy! Now drive off and prepare! You only have two days after all."
"Right! Come on let's get our vocal chords prepped guys!" They drive off with massive speed as they are watched by Yismun and Tycoon in disgust.
"Absolutely pitiful...but I do enjoy bending them to my will~"
"It truly is a glorious sight when you do so! Honestly who knew that strays could provide such a fun menial work force for yo-"
"Ah Tycoon! You've returned!"
"Speaking of which…~" Tycoon turns to look at a large dog man with a well built physique walking towards him.
"I must say old boy it is certainly nice to have you return early! Did the deal transaction go by smoothly?"
"No James my dear deskman it has not. But it will go better come Friday!"
"It's Joe old bean."
"Yes yes that's what I said Jeremy."
"Ah...nevermind. So why Friday and not today? I thought you'd said you'd be giving them an uh...what was it...offer...they can't refuse...right?" Joe ponders as to what Tycoon meant by those words.
"I was, but someone seemed to want to do it more than I. And I being the generous soul that I am! Offered them the opportunity! Like with me picking you off your feet and helping you out!"
"And help you did! After I ended up being cruelly evicted from my hometown...my wife to be and I thank you!"
"Exactly! I helped them out in a similar manner! Aren't I such a saviour?~"
"The best old bean!"
"Yes...the very best~..."
"WELCOME ONE AND ALL ONCE AGAIN TO CLUB RAINBOW! Now i know we had a little topsy turvy time with my scheduling, but I assure you things are BACK on track and ready to go! Why this is even supported by the fact that the masterful Parappa the Rapper and the lovely Katy Kat from Milkcan planned a duo performance! Are you all excited?!~"
"YEAH!"
"Then keep that excitement building!" Leo snaps, allowing music to play as he hops off the stage and heads to the back room to meet up with the aforementioned duo "Everyone's a waiting! And Rammy and Lammy are even close to each other! This is gonna work flawlessly!"
"I can only hope...and uh...Leo?"
"What is it my man?"
"I uh...gotta apologize for my hostility against you recently...I may have uh...simply let somethings get to me...I don't even know what those things are! And I took em out on you...but you really are just a cool dude...even if you are eerily mysterious."
"Eheh...save it for when you guys are all fully patched up ok?"
"Roger that! Imma go hype up the crowd some more! Don't take to long Katy."
"Oh I won't be to slow! But you can't blame me for wanting to be a tad fashionably late." She winks cutely as Parappa rolls his eyes and walks off. Katy then speaks to Leo "You know...I worry how his emotions will handle this…"
"Currently?...I uh...dunno how to explain it…"
"...What do you meaaaan?..."
"Um...this…" He plucks his helmet off. As expected his head currently resembles Lammy. However it also resembles...Rammy. Leo's head is divided as half of it is red and orange while the other half is black and gray.
"Whoa...how-"
"He's apparently thinking of the BOTH of them equally at such a massive amount…."
"...Hey...why not take your helmet off?..."
"NO! Paula, Matt and Parappa don't know my face!"
"Why not let them in on it?..."
"I...I can't...Paula and Matt maybe...but dad himself?...I'm...heavily against that…"
"But think of how easy things could get if we ALL knew!"
"I mean yeah, but…"
"Look...just...expose your face! It'll be a massive help for Lammy and Rammy to get along...and after that you can just get Parappa in on it…"
"Mother I can't…" He places the helmet back on.
"But you won't even try to help us fix this?...it'd help so much...you don't even know..."
"Gah...I…"
"...Just play it off as a special effect then...we'll explain it to Parappa another time I guess…"
"I'm sorry…" He looks to the ground defeated.
"It's fine. Come on just get your guitar. Let's not keep everyone waiting." She sighs as she walks off.
"Ok…" He grabs his guitar and follows after.
The music they play rallys the building, their friends included. The duo play as they try to get the two ewes to get closer towards each other in an attempt to ease them, but it was easier said than done. Slowly progress was being made however as the duo started shuffling closer to each other. The music started getting more energetic as Parappa and Katy played as if they were children again whenever they would try to cheer up the children at school during dreary days with their singing back in the day. Eventually the duo begin speaking and dancing next to each other. Leo takes Katy's words into account and sighs as he stops playing his guitar and begins removing his helmet. The crowd's dancing slows once they notice what he's about to do as they gasp, but before he can fully remove it, the club violently shakes as if it was hit with something.
"WHOA…"
"W-What the hell was that?!..." After Parappa announces this, everyone begins panicking and scrambling about prompting Leo to speak over the microphone.
"EVERYONE STAY CALM! DO NO PANIC!" Another blast hits the club as it violently shakes causing the ceiling to begin to break apart "Ok...so much for calm…" Leo snaps his fingers causing a staircase to unearth itself from the floor of his stage "EVERYONE! DOWN HERE! FOLLOW THE PATH AND IT'LL LEAD YOU SAFELY OUT IN NEON HEIGHT'S MAIN STREET!" Everyone pours in without hesitation until it's Parappa's group left "You guys to. Get in there and run."
"What the hell will you be doing?..."
"Inspecting the damage." He runs to the outside of his club.
PJ grabs Leo mid run "LEO ARE YOU CRAZY?! DO YOU NOT SEE HOW STRONG WHATEVER THAT THING OUTSIDE IS TO BE SHAKING THIS PLACE?!"
"I'll be fine PJ. You guys, run now. As the owner of this club, the safety of its patrons is what comes first."
"And you?"
"I'll be fine. I promise you if the situation proves to grim. I'll be back to escape as well alright?..."
"You better…" PJ turns to the others "We gotta get out of her now!" They all nod and run down the stairs as Leo exits the building.
Once he's outside he sees a car wildly driving around the building and firing from a cannon perched on the back. Driving the reckless vehicle is a face that simply enraged him. He runs out to 'greet' the drivers.
Parappa meanwhile stops running midway as he turns back to look at where they came from.
"Parappa what are you doing?..."
"He's taking forever...I don't think he's gonna be joining us guys…" The ground violently shakes.
"He'll make it! Right now we gotta GO!"
"Yeah...i'll go alright…" Parappa runs back to where danger was as the rest watch.
"P-Parappa!" Lammy chases after him, but another tremor causes the roof of the tunnel to come loose. She's saved by Rammy who manages to hold the thing steady.
"GAH...H-HEAVY…"
"R-Rammy?!-"
"D-DON'T JUST LOOK AT ME LIKE A FUCKING IDIOT...G-GO!...Y-YOU GONNA HELP HIM AIN'T CHA?..." Lammy looks at her and nods with determination as she runs off towards Parappa "You better keep him alive…" PJ and Katy yank Rammy back as the ceiling crumbles. The path back towards the club is now blocked off "Heh...thanks...that was a close one you two…"
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!..." they both shout at her.
"If she wasn't gonna go help him, I would've. Hell you both would've done the same if you were much closer to avoid the falling rocks." She stares at the rest "All of you would've done the same...now come on. If we head out we might be able to snag a cab back over there to help them ASAP."
"We gotta hurry if we're gonna do that!..." Matt says as everyone continues running again.
Those two will manage...after all...they're the most extravagant out of all of us...
A/N
Well with this, it marks the amount of chapters I'm able to manage with ease on a computer. I'll be leaving for a long while and may not be able to update as frequently unless I can manage with a tablet which still may take a while even then. If I cannot manage then updates will resume come September. Thank you for reading!
Also I don't take any credit for the song. That honor goes to Guy and Thomas from Daft Punk and Julian Casablancas!