Chapter 3: Emmet's Special Party and Performance

Unikitty was excited. No…excited wasn't quite the word for it. It wasn't quite strong enough. Joyful? No…ecstatic. She was ecstatic that after five long arduous years, she would at last be able to start rebuilding her long, lost home of Cloud Cuckoo Land. She wasn't alone either – her good friends and fellow Master Builders were along for the ride, fetching colorful bricks to place here and there, following her directions and input. Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi and Sweet Mayhem were also helping out, along with their subjects – Unikitty had promised them that her kingdom was a place that was welcome towards everyone, no matter how strange or different – and they knew that their people would fit right in Unikitty's domain.

Lucy had come rushing to their building site as they were constructing the rainbow bridge that would lead the way to Unikitty's kingdom. It would likely take many days, if not months before completion, but the bridge was the first promising sign that things were right back on track to how they should be.

"Wyldstyle! It's so good to see you!" Unikitty greeted her cheerfully, and leapt down her overseeing perch to meet up with her. Benny, Metal Beard, and Batman stopped working when they saw her as well. They hadn't seen Lucy a lot recently, which made sense; Lucy and Emmet were off doing their own thing and helping the reconstruction process in the heart of Syspocalypsestar, whilst the others were busy expanding their kingdoms and realms, building them back up to how they were before the war – and making them even better than before, too!

"Good to see you, too, guys," Lucy returned. "Listen…I know you're all really, really busy with your projects…but I need to ask you for a favor. To help me out with something."

"What is it, Wyldstyle?" Benny asked, while showing off his brand-new jetpack that he had been using to help with the harder-to-reach places for the higher levels.

"Yarrgh, we've not be seeing you as much. What ye and young Emmet be up to nowadays?" Metal Beard growled, hankering his claw in his newest body that Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi had presented to him as a gift.

"Emmet and I have been helping out in the main town area, building the new homes for everyone after the Systarans came to join us," Lucy explained to them. "And it's been going very well so far; we've gotten through a few blocks, and the people moving in seem to really be liking it."

"That's great!" Unikitty cheered. She moved aside to show Lucy their own progress. "We've been busy here too – the new Cloud Cuckoo Land is right on track!"

"Wow! It looks amazing so far, Unikitty!" Lucy complimented.

"Uhh…I don't know," a deep, gruff voice muttered from the side. "Could use a bit more black. Especially on the tower. And the doors. And…windows. Actually, everything could use a bit more black." Batman entered the conversation, sucking the joy that Lucy had previously felt when she first came to meet them.

"Looks like even marriage can't cut the Dark Knight out of his brooding place," Lucy muttered to him. Seriously, how were we ever a thing together…? She asked herself with shock and annoyance.

"Oh, not to worry, Wyldstyle," Queen Watevra slid in between the two, coaxing Batman to relax. "Babe was just trying to imprint his own style, so that ya'll can appreciate it, too." She turned to her husband. "Baby, I'm touched that you think of your friends that way. But don't forget, you get the decorating say-so back at the palace."

Batman's eyes raised in anticipatory excitement. "…The throne room, too?"

"The throne room, too, baby. Darken it to your heart's content...after we finish helping Unikitty here first." She blew a kiss at her Dark Knight.

That was enough to finish him, and invigorate him at the same time. He ran back to project at hand. "More rainbow bricks coming up, Unikitty!" he called, with more gusto in his voice than before.

"Whoa-oh…I guess marriage really did change him after all," Lucy exclaimed in a surprised tone.

"Mm-hm. It'll take him a bit, but Bats and I are really looking forward to spending our honeymoon together, after we're done helping here at Cloud Cuckoo Land."

"Oh…that's right! You never did finish the ceremony the entire way, did you?"

"Yeah…no thanks to Emmet," Batman called from his current vantage point. His voice was pointed, and Lucy knew it was directed at her. He still hadn't forgotten almost losing his Queen back when Ourmamageddon was happening, and it seemed to Lucy that he wasn't quite ready to forgive the unknowing construction worker that had caused for it to happen.

"Hey, no – that wasn't Emmet's fault!" she snapped back at him.

"Oh yeah? I don't remember Banarnar being the one to smash the temple from the top, causing us all to be separated and sent into dark stasis. Nuh-uh! Nope!"

"…It wasn't his fault," Lucy repeated, in a quieter tone. "He didn't know what he was doing then. And I'm sure if he were here, he would apologize. He thought that he was saving everyone from being brainwashed and that everything was a trap."

"Ha. Someone didn't get the memo," Batman spat out.

"Babe, please," Queen Watevra moved in between the two before her husband could lash out again. "That was in the past. Now, I know Emmet must be remorseful for what he did, and I think we can work with him to let bygones be bygones. It's what our marriage is all about – why not give him a chance to make it up to us, by letting us reach out to him first?" She batted her eyes at him, hoping her soothing voice and their mutual affection would be enough to pacify Batman into following through with her idea.

"…Ugggghhhh. Ffffffiiiiiiiinnnne," Batman finally snarled, releasing much tension. He ran turned his back to them all and began hammering away at his current project with his various Bat-tools, deliberately making as much noise as possible to drown the voices of the others.

Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi chuckled and put a tentacle/hand (Lucy wasn't really sure which) on her shoulder. "Give him a bit of time, Wyldstyle. Bats is the type that tends to whole grudges…it's who he is, after all."

Lucy nodded. She didn't have to elaborate; being Batman's girlfriend at one time had allowed her to see the Dark Knight in his various levels of personality and emotion…which were on a different plane of childishness from Emmet's overall. She hadn't been able to help him move on, but Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi could.

A thought suddenly entered Lucy's mind. "Oh! Your Majesty!" She knew she had to tell her what was on her mind before she forgot again. "It's about what happened at your wedding."

"Did something happen?"

"…Actually, there's something you need to know. But I need to tell you privately. It's very important."

"Yarrgh! Can it not be said in front of yon friends?" Metal Beard asked, irritated by the secrecy.

"Yeah! What can be said in front of the Queen can be said in front of us…right?" Benny also inquired.

"I'm sorry, guys, but this is just going to be between the two of us for now. You'll find out yourselves soon enough."

With that, Lucy pulled the Queen away to a private corner, whispering secretly, while her friends watched from a distance, confused by being left out of something seemingly important.

It wasn't until after her friends had completed their marks for the day before Lucy divulged what she had in mind to help cheer Emmet up and show their appreciation for him.

"It's got to be subtle enough so that he doesn't catch on right away, but not so obvious so that it's not a surprise. Any ideas?"

Benny tapped his foot and his eyes wandered upward, clearly in deep thought. Unikitty bobbed her head side to side, humming and sighing as she too brainstormed ideas that would give life to Lucy's idea. Sweet Mayhem looked lost – out of them all, she knew Emmet the least and wasn't sure in what way she could be of any help.

"If ye scally-wags were a sorry sort!" Their thinking was ceased by Metal Beard's outburst after a good long, awkward silence. "Master Builders and Defenders of all, and ye even can't think of an idea for a party?"

"Well, what did you have in mind, Davy Jones?" Batman snapped back at him.

"Yarrgh, I will choose to ignore yon insult and say that the obvious solution is one we pirates have done to entertain ourselves over and over again for eons." Raised eyebrows and another awkward silence. "A treasure hunt!" Metal Beard finally snapped, thinking it were the most obvious thing of all time.

A quiet murmuring of voices slowly reacted:

"Oh…yeah."

"That makes sense. Why didn't we think of that?"

"A treasure hunt would be different than all of the other parties we've had here so far."

Metal Beard grinned, proud of having come up with an original and awesome idea.

"…But what kind of treasure could we put for Emmet to find?" Unikitty asked.

Lucy pondered…that was a good question. It had to be something special…to show Emmet that he was special. To them. That he mattered.

Sweet Mayhem finally cleared her throat. "You know…when someone's throwing a party just for me, I like hearing from everyone something that they like about me. That makes me feel good, and better about myself. It shows that I have really good friends that look out and care about me."

"Sweetie, that is a great idea!" Queen Watevra exclaimed. "We can make one-of-a-kind-friendship-letters for Emmet! And add things that we think he would like from us or that remind us of him!"

Lucy smiled. "I really like that idea, Sweet Mayhem," she complimented. Sweet Mayhem blushed – underneath the bravado she had shown in their battles, she really was just a sweet girl that wanted everyone to be happy and get along.

"So now that we have the idea for the treasure…how do we set up the hunt?" Benny asked. "Do we just want a map?"

"Yeah, a really, really complicated map. With lots of arrows and obstacles in the way..." Batman tried to get in edgewise.

"Any other ideas?" Lucy asked. Not that an obstacle treasure hunt didn't sound fun, but she wanted this time to get to their quarry to be more intimate, especially after all their years of building themselves to be ready for any obstacle. A more laid-back puzzle was what she had in mind.

"How about riddles?" Unikitty suggested. "They can be creative but tricky…you'd have to use your wits to solve them and move along to the next point."

"Yarrrgh!" Metal Beard roared in approval. "We can each create our own riddle and puzzle to go along with it. That will be the obstacle!"

"Maybe we could even make them rhyme!" Benny chimed in.

"I've got a good one already cooked up! Ooh, let's get started!" Unkitty squealed.

"Yeah, we probably should…I, uh, told Emmet the party would be tomorrow," she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "So…it's kind of a rush-job."

"Then we don't have time to lose!" Benny yelled, leading the charge. He signaled the others to follow him into one of the other rooms for their brainstorming and creation to begin. It would be a long evening, and it would probably take all night for the others to get it ready, but if they pulled everything off right, Emmet would be ending that day feeling the love they really did have for him. That was Lucy's intention, anyways.

"Wow…Lucy, everything looks amazing!"

"Yup…all part of our brilliant plan. Now the people of Syspocalypsestar can come together for the first time for a real get-together."

Lucy and Emmet walked along the path of the new park in the city the next day; to the right and left of each of them were various booths and canopies filled with people eating, selling, and laughing.

Emmet was under the impression that the party was a way for everyone to bond with each other, which he was all for after the last five years of struggle and strife.

Lucy, however, knew that the real reason for the celebration was meant for her Special Best Friend…he just didn't know it yet, and she didn't want to ruin the surprise for him yet.

Let him soak everything in, she thought. Her plan was to lead Emmet to get some snacks to eat together, play a few of the games set up (and hopefully win prizes from a few of them), then move on to the special treasure hunt/puzzle game that she and her friends had set up for them. Once they solved the riddles and followed the map, Emmet would find his treasure…and then, Lucy would reveal to him the real purpose behind setting up the entire thing. She would give him a toast that the whole town would be listening to and watching. They would all cheer for him and continue partying until everyone was quite tired and ready to call it a day.

Lucy was adamant that everything would happen exactly like the way she planned it to be. Sure, the townsfolk didn't know that this was all in celebration of a particular person, even if that person was 'The Special'…that no one could seem to remember.

Lucy shook her head. It didn't matter what other people thought, in the end. As long as she could make sure that Emmet felt special by the end of it all, it would have all been worth it. She was by his side now to see to that.

"Oh! Oh, oh, Lucy! They have one of those ring tosses!" Emmet suddenly brought her back from being deep in thought. He pulled her closer to the booth. It was a typical ring toss, some of them closer than others, where the object was to throw the rings one after another on the targets in order to get a prize. "Let's give it a try," Emmet said.

"Okay," Lucy agreed half-heartedly. Hopefully this won't take too long…I don't know how long everyone can be waiting for us.

Emmet offered the operator of the booth a token and took a hold of five rings. "If I get them all, what would you like, Lucy?"

Up above were different stuffed animals and other prizes for the taking. "Oh, um…it really doesn't matter, Emmet," Lucy replied bashfully. "I'm fine."

"…Okay, but if you had to choose one, though?"

"It's…whatever you like, Emmet."

Emmet grinned, and turned around, ready to start showing off his ring-throwing talent. "Watch this – I used to be a pro back in the day!"

When was that? Lucy thought incredulously. No doubt he was over- exaggerating. Still, Emmet was sweetly trying to show off to try to make her proud of him; she couldn't fault him for that, or even for trying. She grinned, signaling to him that she was interested in his at least trying to win her a prize.

The first ring was tossed – a miss. It tapped the target by the side, but it fell to the floor regardless. Undeterred, Emmet sucked in a deep breath and tensed his body, leaning forward a little bit – Lucy was afraid after a few seconds that he would pass out, he was trying so hard. Another miss…and another…one by one, the rings fell to the floor. At last, all of them were gone.

Emmet stared ahead, stunned for a moment. Then he sighed and turned around to face Lucy, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry about that Lucy; I guess I won't able to get you that prize after all."

He started to head off to continue their walk when Lucy grabbed him by the shoulder. "Wait." He turned around to see her grab a token for the booth. "Why don't I give it a try this time?" Emmet grinned and nodded. He couldn't wait to see Lucy's amazing throwing skills, which she had demonstrated to him time and time again.

Lucy exhaled deeply, setting herself up to relax and concentrate on her targets. Slowly but deliberately, she aimed and tossed each ring; one by one they met their target, sliding gracefully on each one. At last, the rings were gone, and the targets no longer empty. The operator congratulated her. "Well done!" he said. He pointed his cane above at the various stuffed animals. "You deserve a prize – please, tell all your friends to stop by our booth!"

Lucy turned to Emmet. "Which one do you want?"

Emmet eyed the prizes then back at Lucy. "Which one do you want?"

"Emmet, I'm asking you."

"…I was going to try to win you that lion up there." He pointed at the stuffed lion with the wiry mane. "I think it fits you."

The lion sure was nice…but Lucy wasn't particular to any prize. Really, though, any of these prizes would suit well with Emmet. That puppy…that bear…that dolphin…

She could imagine his disappointment, though, if she ignored his wishes and gave him the prize she earned anyways. That would spit upon the effort he was trying to make to impress her…and the last thing she wanted to do right now was embarrass him.

She grinned after an awkward silence. "The lion it is, then," she said softly.

The pair of Special Best Friends soon stopped by a concession stand for some corn dogs, popcorn, and lemonade. They watched as Banarnar from Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi's court tried to perform his latest stand up routine…until he kept tripping over his banana peel.

Everyone laughed, despite his efforts. He just couldn't keep standing and do what he had planned to do. After the initial burst of humor however, Emmet stopped laughing, listening to the roar of the audience members around him. He stopped and looked at Banarnar – he looked incredibly frustrated that he couldn't get this one simple thing right.

Emmet felt bad for him in that moment, and felt ashamed for thinking it was funny in the first place. He was trying to do what he wanted to in front of all his friends…wasn't that enough? The others certainly didn't see it that way. They just saw someone who kept messing up…who couldn't be taken seriously.

Emmet knew how that felt like.

Without any second thoughts, Emmet hopped over from where the audience was to come closer to Banarnar. "Emmet! What are you doing?!" Lucy whispered, shocked by his sudden impulse to run, wondering what he was doing now.

For once, Emmet ignored her.

"Hey…it's Banarnar, right?" Emmet called out.

Banarnar looked up at the construction worker from the ground. "Oh…it's you…" he looked perplexed for a moment. "Eric…?" he tried.

"Emmet," he corrected.

"…Right. That guy that crashed the Queen's wedding party."

Emmet flinched, hurt by the sudden accusation. An accusation that was true, and all too recent. "That was…I wasn't…" he whispered, almost inaudibly.

"What?"

"I didn't know what I was doing then. Before." Emmet inhaled a deep breath and was silent for a moment, trying to will the memory of Ourmamageddon away. "…I'm sorry," he finally squeaked out.

"You're sorry? Sorry's not going to help me fix my act!"

Emmet perked up. "Your act?"

"I'm a performer. These legs weren't just made for walking!" Banarnar struggled to stand back on his feet; Emmet helped support him so he wouldn't trip over himself again. "Thanks…it's these peels!" he screeched. "Sometimes I just wish I wasn't a banana. A slippery banana. I'll never get to perform…not after they're all laughing at me like that." He gave a deep sigh. "Even the Queen laughs at me sometimes…" he muttered.

"Well…can I help?"

"What do you mean by help? What can you do?"

"…Well, you said your peels are the problem, right? Why don't I help you by holding on to them while you perform?"

Banarnar grimaced. "That would look kind of silly…"

"Isn't the whole point of your act to be silly?" Emmet grabbed one of the peels that Banarnar had been tripping over earlier. "See, if I hold them like this, that'll give you enough room and movement to work with, so you won't slip and fall."

"You're pulling me down though."

"I'll just match your movements as you move. Think of me as like your helper…your assistant!"

"Assistant, hm?" Banarnar fell silent, contemplating Emmet's idea. "…It could work."

"We could give it a try. Together." Emmet took his hand out for Banarnar to clasp.

"No hands," he returned, shifting his feet uncomfortably. "That was part of the problem.

"Oh…right."

Banarnar sighed. "Well…okay. Let's give it a shot. They're already laughing, so it can't get worse than it already has."

"That's the spirit!"

"Just follow my movements, and let's see how this turns out."

Emmet watched Banarnar give him subtle signals as he stood to try again. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he began. "I hope you enjoyed the previews…now let the show really begin!"

Lucy watched from afar as Emmet diffused the humiliating situation into something resembling an actual performance. Banarnar sang and danced on his long, lanky legs, whilst Emmet supported him by holding his peels so that he would not trip and slip over them. He waited and watched to move along with Banarnar's rhythm, gliding back and forth so that it looked like he was accompanying him instead of just trying to hold him steady. What it ended up looking like was Emmet waving and shifting back and forth as Banarnar danced, though that did very little to slow the giant banana down. For the first time in his long career, Banarnar was actually making a respectable performance, and his audience was taking notice. Polite claps and cheers were sung as each act concluded, until the show finally ran its course and the finale came.

Banarnar faced them with a bow. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for taking the time to watch our show." He gestured as best as he could to Emmet. "I want to give a special thank you to this…um…" he leaned forward. "What was your name again?" he whispered quickly.

""Emmet."

"This 'Emmet!'"

"Just Emmet."

"'Just Emmet!'"

"…Emmet's fine," the construction worker grinned patiently, knowing Banarnar was trying to show him some appreciation.

"Well, thank you again Emmet, for making this show a one of a kind!" With that, Banarnar bowed graciously and stepped forward towards his audience…landing on his face after stepping on his peel.

With a shrug, Emmet left to return to Lucy's side. She greeted him with a warm smile. "Wow, Emmet…I'm impressed! But I didn't think you would go to all of that trouble."

"I felt like I had to. He didn't look happy, everyone laughing at him." His smile faltered a bit. "I…kind of understood how he felt."

"…Like he wasn't being taken seriously?" Lucy offered softly.

Emmet nodded.

Lucy shook her head and wore a jubilant smile. "…Well, that's all in the past now! Don't worry, Emmet, I'm sure now that things are finally different, people will recognize you as a really special guy. You know, if they haven't already."

"You think so?"

"Didn't you see the way you were working with Banarnar? You were helping him fulfill his dream, to be appreciated. I think the others noticed that, Emmet. And it's thanks to you that they won't leave him alone now!" She laughed as she looked back, watching Banarnar being picked up by the crowd and cheered, finally being celebrated by his new adoring fans.

"I'm glad I was able to help," Emmet finally said, a satisfied smile on his face.

"You were a big help," Lucy replied. She grabbed his hand. It was getting late now – if they were going to pull off this treasure hunt thing, now was the time to do it. "Come on – we've got one more thing I want to try before we call it a day!"

"Lead the way!" Emmet exclaimed, following his Special Best Friend, completely oblivious to the surprise she had in store for him.

A/N: The next chapter will have to do with the treasure hunt! Also, when/if Emmet finds the treasure...will he react the way Lucy hopes he does? Lots of fluff for these initial chapters, but once this party is over...things are going to get a little bit crazy. ;) Hope you guys read, review, and enjoy this chapter - constructive feedback and thoughts are always appreciated!