I struggled a bit with this one, so I hope it's good enough for all of you. This chapter is based on the episode "A-Capella-Lips Now", suggested to me by AA.


Chapter 52

Storm-Hearted

"With mega-storm, Bill Junior preparing to terrorize Tranquil Town, Mayor Swellow is acting tough!" Destiny Providence said on the news.

Grojband and Jackie were sitting on the couch in their garage, watching the report on TV. Lightning struck and thunder boomed from outside.

"Real tough!" Buster Newsworthy continued. "Tough as a nine-cent steak!"

The news cut over to Mayor Swellow.

"Town up Tranquilians!" he ordered. "If you're afraid of a few rain drops, move to Coward Town!"

Laney turned off the TV and picked up the poster promoting Grojband's gig that day.

"Well, looks like our outdoor gig is cancelled."

Corey took the poster from her. "Look closer Lanes. It says with every purchase from Outdoor Billy's, free admission to Grojband's show at High Ground Park. Rain or shine!"

"I got my free ticket when I bought this raft!" Kon inflated an orange raft, which crushed him immediately.

Jackie giggled. "Kon, you always get in for free because you're in the band, silly!"

MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PERKS!

Tracy was in her room, using her laptop. Since Rick Salary had gotten a new blog, she had been watching it constantly.

"Rick just updated his status to: Rick Salary is inhaling!" Tracy informed Macy. "Now exhaling!"

Macy nodded. "Yeah, he's great at keeping a steady rhythm."

"Like, I know right?" Tracy gasped. "Ooh! Inhaling again!"

"Well Tracy, the internet also lets us watch cute baby videos! I like their laugh!"

"Ewww! I hate babies!" Tracy gagged. "They're nothing but needy, noisy, slime piles! Like when my sister was a baby!"

Then suddenly, lightning struck the Matthews' residence and the power went out. Tracy's laptop shut off completely.

"Gasp! Look what you did Macy! The internet is like, totally outernet! Now I'll never know if Rick is still breathing! This couldn't get worse!"

Kon, meanwhile, was still trapped under the raft.

"Help! I can't see! I'm raft blind!"

Kin removed the raft from his brother's face.

"Phew…"

"There's no such thing as raft blindness." Kin told him. "It's called a power failure."

"Aww, Kin that was so sweet!" Jackie said.

"What?"

"The way you helped out your brother by taking that raft off his face and reassuring him he had nothing to worry about."

Kin blushed. "R-really?"

"Uh-huh! I think it's cute when older siblings look out for their younger siblings. It shows just how kind and caring they are. And I love guys who are kind and caring."

"Y-y-you do?"

"Sure. In fact, I think Kon is very lucky to have a brother like you. I wish I had an older sibling who kept me safe and actually cared about me."

Kin smiled big and he hugged Kon tightly.

"Uh, yep! That's right! I just love my baby brother! I love him sooo much!"

"Baby brother?!" Kon was offended.

Kin pinched Kon's cheeks.

"That's right! And I promise nothing bad will ever happen to you as long as I'm around!"

"Kin! Stop that! Put me down!"

"Aww…c'mere you little rascal!"

"Hello?" Laney snapped her fingers. "Can we please focus on this power outage right now? Rain or shine is one thing Core, but we need power to play our instruments!"

"All we need is the power inside us!" Corey insisted. "We're gonna strip things down to the bare essentials!"

Kon pushed Kin off of him.

"We're going to play naked?!"

"Uh…no. What I mean is, we're going unplugged."

"Oh yeah. I knew that."

The thunder boomed loudly.

"Eek!" Kon got scared and jumped into Kin's arms.

Kin noticed Jackie was watching, so he patted his twin on the back.

"There, there bro. It's just a little thunder and lightning. Nothing to be scared of."

"Scared? I'm not scared!" Kon heard the thunder again and shook with fear.

Just then, Tracy and Macy entered.

"I'm just saying, maybe it's not a super great time for a drive." Macy said.

Tracy got into her car and started charging her laptop battery.

"What with the torrential downpour and all." Macy continued.

Tracy crossed her arms. "Maybe open the garage door without talking Macy. Maybe that!"

Macy did as she was told and opened the garage door. Unfortunately as soon as she did, the entire place filled with rainwater and everyone in the garage was flushed outside.

As it turns out, the storm had flooded the entire town. The rainwater had risen so high, that Jackie and Grojband had to sit on the roof of their house. The good news was that the storm was pretty much over so the water levels couldn't get any higher.

Tracy and her car floated to the surface and Macy hopped into the passenger seat.

"Tracy! Are you okay?"

"No! Why would I be okay when Rick is missing?! He may need mouth-to-mouth! And my mouth needs to get there before someone else's does!"

"He'll probably head for High Ground Park." Macy guessed. "Just because it's high ground."

"Then what are you waiting for Macy?! Paddle us to High Ground Park! I'll steer."

Macy jumped out of the car and started pushing it.

"Hey Tracy!" Jackie called from the roof. "Can we get a ride?"

Tracy purposely honked her horn.

"Sorry! I can't hear you over my totally loud horn!"

Kon shivered from being wet. Kin immediately began drying his hair off with a towel.

"Dude! What are you doing?"

"Drying you off of course! The last thing I want is for my baby brother to catch a cold."

"I'm…not…A BABY!"

Kin whispered to Jackie. "He's always cranky before his nap."

"Core! This is a total disaster!" Laney cried. "I don't think anyone's gonna show up to the gig now."

"Don't panic Tranquil Town!"

Jackie and the others looked down and saw Mayor Swellow floating in a raft and talking into a megaphone.

"Just head to Outdoor Billy's and get yourself a raft and a free ticket to Grojband's show at High Ground Park! Gonna be a whole mess of fun! And attendance is mandatory!"

"Hey! That must mean our show is sold out!" Corey claimed. "And our lyric machine is already headed to High Ground Park!"

"This water ain't going nowhere!" the mayor took out a box full of jars of applesauce and dumped them in the water. "So stay calm and let some emergency applesauce float your way!"

APPLESAUCE TRANSITION!

Meanwhile, at Play Pen Max Security Daycare, a certain group of delinquent babies were making their escape.

"I told em they couldn't build a play pen that could hold Junior Junior!" Junior Junior said as he and the other babies crawled onto the roof of the building. "C'mon guys! Let's baby up to some fool and hitch a ride to High Ground Playground! We can take over the joint and nap anytime we want!"

"Can I bwing my bwankie?" a baby girl asked.

"Course you can! I'm not a tyrant!"

The babies then heard the sound of a car horn.

"Our ride's here!" Junior Junior jumped off of the roof and into the water.

Macy was still pushing Tracy's car to High Ground Park.

"Hurry up! Rick could be turning totally blue or something!" Tracy worried. "Seriously Macy, you can be so selfish!"

Macy just sighed.

"Hey old lady! Baby wanna go on the slide!"

The red-head looked up and saw Junior Junior sitting on the trunk of Tracy's car.

"Okay, sure. We're going to High Ground Park." Macy told him. "But keep it quiet! Tracy doesn't like helping babies. Or anyone."

"Thanks lady! Can my fwiends hitch a ride too?"

Macy looked behind her and saw Junior Junior's crew giving her bambi eyes.

Jackie and Grojband were on their way to High Ground Park too. Corey was using a hockey stick to row the raft.

"Wow, this is really nice." Jackie noted. "And so relaxing."

"Yeah. But we're moving soooo slow." Kon whined. "Hey! I got an idea! I'll go by Outdoor Billy's and buy a motor! That'll make this thing go way faster! I might even get a free ticket for our show!"

Kon was about to jump off the raft but Kin stopped him.

"Oh no you don't mister!" he scolded. "You're not going anywhere! You could get lost if you go out there all by yourself! Right Jackie?"

"Uh…" Jackie didn't know what to say.

"Dude! Why do you keep fussing over me?" Kon demanded. "I can take care of myself!"

Kin pulled him aside and talked quietly.

"Weren't you listening before? Jackie likes guys who look out for their baby brothers."

"I'M NOT A BABY!" Kon screamed.

"Shh!" Kin covered Kon's mouth and gave Jackie a nervous smile. When Jackie looked away, he went back to Kon.

"Look, this could be my chance to make Jackie fall in love with me! So I need you to go along with it for just a little bit longer! Now hold still while I wipe that stain off your shirt."

"THAT'S IT!" Kon dove into the water and swam away from the raft.

"Kon! Where are you going?" Jackie shouted.

"Away from here!" Kon called back. "If Kin is gonna keep treating me like a baby, fine! I'll be a baby!"

As the drummer swam away, Jackie, Corey, and Laney gave Kin a glare.

"What?" Kin shrugged. "It was just a little syrup stain. He's had it since breakfast this morning and he never bothered to clean it."

WICKED COOL TRANSITION!

Finally, after a long swim, Tracy and Macy reached High Ground Park.

"Hm…let's see…" Tracy began to think. "If I was Rick Salary, where would I be? Ugh! What a stupid question! I'd be looking for me, of course!"

That's when the teenager heard tiny fits of laughter coming from outside. She looked out the car window and saw Macy taking Junior Junior and his crew out of her trunk.

"Did you help those babies?" Tracy scowled.

"They were floating in the water!" Macy defended herself. "Please don't be mad at me."

"You shouldn't tell people what to do! It's an unflattering quality Macy! Get rid of them!"

Macy noticed some shark fins in the water.

"Um, I can't really send them back."

"Well I don't want them! They stink!"

"Suits me fine!" Junior Junior said. "C'mon gang! Let's turn that playground into a nap time kingdom!"

This was enough to give Tracy a wicked idea.

"Or better yet, how bout you stink buckets turn that playground into my Rick-time queendom?"

Junior Junior glared. "And what makes you think we'll do anything for you?"

Tracy just smiled and snatched Junior Junior's nose off of his face.

"Got your nose!"

"Hey! Give it back!" Junior begged.

"You want it back? Too bad! Now shut up and listen! I'm your new leader! A leader with a hundred rules and a grajillion punishments!"

The teen let out an evil laugh and it wasn't long before the babies started constructing her queendom.

Back with Jackie and the others, Jackie was scolding Kin for what he did.

"I can't believe you Kin! Without Kon, the gig is totally ruined!"

"I'm sorry Jackie." Kin felt guilty. "I was just trying to help Kon out and be a good brother."

"By treating him like he's two? If you ask me Kin, an older brother who makes his younger brother feel bad, isn't a very good brother at all."

Kin's eyes filled with tears.

"Hey guys!" Corey pointed ahead. "Look! High Ground Park! We made it!"

The leader rowed the raft to shore and the four friends hopped out. The first thing they saw was Junior Junior's crew carrying logs to build Tracy's throne.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Jackie wondered.

"You guys came here too?" a voice said below the manager.

Jackie looked down and smiled.

"Hey! Junior Junior! Shouldn't you be in Play Pen Daycare?"

"I'd rather be taken back there! That nutty sister of yours has my nose! And my crew! She's got us prepping her queendom while she waits for King Rick or something."

Jackie noticed one of the babies shining shoes.

"What's that kid doing?"

"Building a shoe store." Junior explained. "Since Queen Tracy can't wait for the one in town to open. She's also making us build her a place to get her hair did, high-speed phone networks, and a jail."

"For what? Fashion crimes?" Corey remarked.

"Yep! And stinking. That'll get you in the hole."

"But your crew were the toughest tykes in town!" Jackie pointed out. "Why listen to her?"

"She's got my nose sweet stuff. She owns me until I can get it back. She keeps everyone else in line with TV." Junior gestured to a group of kids watching the Bubble Bunch Band on Tracy's laptop.

Jackie then spotted her sister sitting on a throne attached to one end of a seesaw. Macy was holding down the other end to make Tracy's end go up. The selfish black-haired girl was using a tin can telephone to communicate with the toddlers.

"I don't care how tall the trees are!" she yelled. "If you climb them, you'll be able to spot Rick! Now climb! Ugh, Macy? Get me one of these that can text. I don't wanna hear their squeaks anymore."

"Tracy! What are you doing?" Jackie asked.

"You will address me as Your Highness!"

"Right…" Jackie pulled out her phone. "I'll update your contact info. In the meantime, you might wanna stop bossing babies around. It's kinda creepy."

"Never! Babies need a queen! And my queendom will be ready and awesome when Rick finds me in it!"

"Well, could you do us all a favor and move Toddler Town somewhere else? My band's got a sold-out show to play and their fans will be here any minute."

Tracy clapped her hands twice, signaling to Macy to lower her throne to Jackie's level.

"Oh, they won't be playing a show today, tomorrow, or any time in the near future! Because I know for a fact, you're missing the biggest and totes most important member of your lame band!"

Jackie and the remaining three band members heard loud stomping coming towards them.

"Jackie? Grossband? I'd like you to meet my new bodyguard…the Crib Crusher!"

Jackie and Grojband were shocked when they got a look at Tracy's bodyguard, because they recognized him right away.

"Kon?!" Jackie went. "But-but-how? And-and-why?"

"He wanted to join our crew." Junior Junior explained. "Said his brother kept babying him. So I figured if someone can get treated like a baby, they can be one!"

Kon was wearing a giant diaper, holding a rattle, and sucking on a pacifier. He took the pacifier out of his mouth so he could talk.

"Did you miss me 'big' brother?"

"Dude! What are you doing dressed like that?" Kin exclaimed.

"What? I thought all babies had to wear diapers and carry rattles. Or is that too mainstream for you?"

"But Kon, why would you want to be a baby and work for Tracy?" Jackie questioned.

"It's like I said before Jacks. If Kin wants me to be a baby, then a baby I shall be! So I asked Junior Junior if he would let me into his crew. He said I could if I was willing to work for the enemy. But I figured it's better than living with a twin brother who is only older because of some dumb time traveling episode, but still likes to think he's the boss of me and acts like I can't take care of myself just so he can impress someone who isn't even into him!" Kon clenched his fist, causing his rattle to break.

Jackie, Laney, and Corey glared at Kin.

"Okay, okay. So I went a little overboard, big deal." Kin shrugged. "Look, we've got a show to do pretty soon and we need you to play with us."

"Sorry Kin. But babies aren't allowed to play the drums. Unless they're toys!" Kon pulled out a toy drum and played with it.

Tracy snickered. "Aww…what a shame! Guess you'll have to tell your fans that your bogus gig is cancelled! Power wasn't the only thing that failed today!"

"Great. We've got a show to do any minute, we have no lyrics, our drummer is working for the enemy, and there's a pile of babies standing in our way!" Laney recapped.

"Wait! I've got an idea!" Corey cried. "If Tracy hates everything about babies, then we gotta turn those babies into a noisy, sticky mob that actually need their queen! Good thing babies can't resist applesauce!"

"Good plan." Laney commented. "But what about Kon?"

"Getting Kon back will be easy Laney." Jackie gestured toward Kin. "I think an apology is in order."

Kin rubbed his neck nervously.

Corey took a jar of applesauce to Junior Junior and explained the plan to him.

"And I can get my nose back? And my crew?"

"Guaranteed!" Corey paused. "Well, there is a small chance Tracy gets to her car and runs everyone over…"

"Better that than live like this! I'll be ready!"

Corey whistled to Laney. She gave him a thumbs-up, opened two jars of applesauce and rolled them to a group of babies.

"Sauce!" the babies cheered.

Junior Junior dumped another jar on top of Macy's head. One of the babies tackled her, causing her to let go of the seesaw. Tracy and her throne fell to the ground. Tracy was mesmerized when she saw the toddlers covered in applesauce.

"What?!"

Laney opened up the hood to Tracy's car and removed the battery. This made her laptop shut off. When the babies saw that the Bubble Bunch Band was gone, they were angry. It was then Tracy knew she was in trouble, for the babies charged at her and pinned her down.

"Macy! Silence them!" Tracy begged.

But the babies had gotten ahold of Macy too.

"Save yourself!" Macy wailed as two babies licked the applesauce out of her hair.

"Ugh! Like, where's my bodyguard?!"

Kon was still playing with his toy drums.

"Hey! This is fun! I had no idea baby toys could be so stimulating!"

Kin came up to his brother.

"Kon! Listen, there's something I need to tell you."

"Hey Kin! Turns out being a baby isn't so bad after all! You get to play with cool toys, eat applesauce, and go to the bathroom without having to get up!"

"Yeah, that's great. I-"

Kon hugged his twin. "In fact, you can treat me like a baby all you want! I don't even care anymore! You can spoon-feed me all of my meals, burp me, and change my diapers! Then maybe Jackie will see how good you are at being a brother and finally fall in love with you!"

"Really?" Kin gained hearts in his eyes but then looked back at Jackie, who was watching them with her arms crossed. He sighed. "Kon? As much as I want to impress the girl of my dreams, I don't want to do it like this. I want my old brother back. The one who loved to play real drums and eat cheese with me. The one who sometimes brought me down but still loved me. The one Corey, Laney, Jackie, and I can't live without. But thanks to me, you've become this. And…I'm sorry. I promise if you quit being a baby, I'll never treat you like one again."

Kon was speechless. He began to think about what Kin said.

"…So?" Kin said. "Do you forgive me?"

"Babies don't know how to forgive Kin."

Kin frowned and hung his head.

"Good thing I'm not a baby." Kon removed his diaper and hugged his brother tightly. Kin squirmed.

"Uh, Kon? Do you think you could hug me later? You know, when you actually have your pants back on?"

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

Tracy, meanwhile, was still being pinned down by Junior Junior's crew.

"Yo Queenie!" Junior Junior called from the inside of a hole. "Over here for safety!"

Tracy used all of her strength to push the babies off of her and joined Junior Junior in the hole.

"Thanks!" she acknowledged. "Now go find your own hole!"

"Sure. Right after you give me my nose back!"

Junior Junior laughed creepily as he moved his applesauce-covered hands toward his former queen.

"What are you doing?! Get away!" Tracy demanded. "Did you hear me? I said get those stinky, sticky paws out of my face!"

Tracy blasted out of the hole surrounded by a jar of applesauce, a telephone can, and a raft. Her diary and pen floated into her hands and she began writing angry flames. Fire came out of the applesauce jars and Grojband's raft. When Tracy finished writing, she fell back into the hole. Junior Junior's nose landed back on his face and the diary landed in Corey's hands.

"Got it! And just in time too!"

Mayor Swellow was leading the citizens over to the playground.

"That's it folks! Right this way! Single file to see Grojband play!"

"Let's rock!" Corey shouted into a microphone.

"With what?" Laney whispered. "We don't have our instruments with us!"

"Improvise!"

Kon took out his toy drums. "I knew these things would come in handy!"

As Kon started playing, Corey started singing.

Corey: Rain is falling so gather round

We've got no reason to carry a frown

We're trapped in the best party in town

And we ain't gonna drown

Oh!

Laney/Kin/Kon: Stuck on the island

Corey: Stick the island in you

Laney/Kin/Kon: Stuck on the island

Corey: Stick the island in you

Cloud in the sky

Don't start to cry

I've got something for you to try

Curl your lips right up to your eyes

And you're gonna stay dry

Oh!

Laney/Kin/Kon: Stuck on the island

Corey: Stick the island in you

Laney/Kin/Kon: Stuck on the island

"Grr…" Tracy growled as she climbed her way out of the hole she was still trapped in. Unfortunately for her, one of the telephone cans was hanging down the edge of the hole and it blasted Grojband's music into Tracy's ear, causing her to fall.

Laney/Kin/Kon: Stuck on the island

Corey: Stick the island in you

Laney/Kin/Kon: Stuck on the island

Corey: Stick the island in you

As the crowd cheered, Tracy finally climbed out of the hole. She looked up and saw Rick standing next to her.

"Rick Salary thinks this show was worth the violent seasickness."

The teenaged hunk tossed a bag full of vomit and it landed on Tracy.

"Eww!" she gagged.

Junior Junior and his gang piled into Tracy's car.

"Thanks for helping me get my crew and nose back." Junior told Jackie. "We're gonna take off and watch cartoons while we poop in our diapers."

The young toddler stepped on the gas pedal and drove off.

"Shouldn't we stop those babies from stealing a car?" Laney asked.

"Nah. If they know how to talk, they should know how to drive." Kin claimed.

"You said it big bro!" Kon wrapped an arm around Kin.

"By the way Kin, I'm proud of you for what you did earlier." Jackie said.

"Really? Wait, what'd I do?"

"You thought of your brother first by giving up what you wanted, whatever it is you wanted, just to make him happy. That is, in my book, the best way to be an older sibling."

Kin gasped and hearts surrounded him. He pushed Kon out of the way and stared at his manager lovingly.

"Oh Jackie, you say the nicest things…"

Kon sat up from the fall and Corey and Laney helped him up.

"Ouch. Kicked to the curve again." Corey noted.

"Sorry the attention didn't last Kon." Laney added.

Kon shrugged. "It's fine. Being ignored is better than being treated like a baby. Besides, I'm sure this constant abandonment won't last forever."

Mayor Swellow joined the group.

"You kids ready for the encore? Cause the power ain't coming back anytime soon!"

"Not today Mayor Swellow." Corey gained a spotlight. "Maybe it's good the power stays off. Sure it keeps people in line and it's fun to abuse! But too much power can cloud your judgment and the next thing you know, you've been thrown in a hole for tearing noses off babies! And that's never a good thing. Thanks for coming out everyone!"


0 chapters until the new story...

Well, we did it. 10 more episode chapters are done, which means...it's time...the next chapter will be the first part of the multi-part story. I will try to get it done this weekend, but I can't promise it will be out tomorrow. Oh, and for those of you who are eager to find out what exactly this next story is about, I've included little hints in all 10 of the episode chapters. The hints are sentences that almost share the same words and these sentences are referencing something popular. Don't worry, if you don't end up finding them, I'll let everyone know in the author's notes. Until next time...