"Revenge is Bittersweet," Chapter Three
by VTBots and DragonShadow83
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"Lammy, is there something wrong?" Katy asks the next day at MilkCan's studio.
"Yeah," says Ma-san, "you look like a wreck. Your hair's a mess, your pants is on backwards, your shirt is nearly showing your..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." grumbles Lammy, who looks like all the things Ma-san just said. "I didn't sleep too well last night... I kept scoping my house for that dog."
Ma-san shakes her head. "I told you to do something about him, Lammy. If you keep getting scared and chicken out, he'll probably invade you while you're undressing next."
"After last night I don't doubt it."
"This isn't like Parappa," muses Katy. "He was never like this with Sunny. I wonder why?"
Lammy shrugs. "Maybe he's gone off the deep end."
"Well, how can we keep him from 'going off the deep end' so he'll be himself again?" Ma-san asks.
"I wish I knew..."
"How about bashing his head in with your good ol' guitar?" suggests a grinning Ma-san. Katy opens her mouth to protest but can't for some reason.
"N-N-No, I don't like violence," stutters Lammy, twidling her fingers.
"Well," says Katy, "I would say 'ray for it,' but..." she looks to Lammy, "that's not your forte...." Lammy smirks.
Ma-san frowns a bit. "Well, I still suggest beating him up, but," she sighs, "I guess you could just give in and ask him out. I think that's what he really wants."
"No thank you!" says Lammy, backing away and shaking her head quickly.
"C'mon! He'll probably stop stalking you and stuff like that if you two would just go on a little date."
"Ummmm, Ma-san..." says Katy.
"What?"
"You're nuts," Katy replies plainly.
"And I suppose you have better ideas?" frowns Ma-san.
"... uh... no?"
"Then be the heck quiet," smirks Ma-san. Katy simply sweatdrops and does as told.
"I'm not going on a date with him!" persists Lammy, obviously still upset about last night's incident.
"Well, how else can you get him to stop?"
Lammy thinks about this for a moment and, shrugging her shoulders, mumbles, "... guitar-hit?" Ma-san grins. Lammy sighs, "I have no idea..."
"Well... maybe it's a temporary thing," says Katy, trying to play her optimistic role again. "He's probably still shocked over being dumped by the person whom he thought was his love."
"Maybe," says Ma-san. "Though that still doesn't explain why he's only chasing Lammy. It must be the guitar. Or something else..." she smirks as she looks toward her lamb friend, expecting her to know what she's talking about.
"Hmph," Lammy obviously does.
"Hey, I know!" Katy suddenly speaks up with a smile.
"What?"
"Let's give him a taste of his own medicine."
Lammy cocks an eyebrow. "Wouldn't he LIKE that?"
"Not if it invades his privacy..." says Ma-san, rubbing under her chin interestedly.
"How?"
"I dunno," shrugs Katy. "Do the same thing he's been doing to you. Stalk him everywhere. Bust into his house when he's sleeping or dressing or whatever, anything before he does it to you. That may teach him a lesson, and it's non-violent, too."
'Awwwww, I wanted a guitar-hit...' complains Ma-san under her breath.
"I don't know..." says Lammy with a shake of her head, "wouldn't that send a signal that I'm interested in him?"
"Hm, the lamb could be right," Ma-san agrees.
"Maybe... Maybe not," shrugs the cat. "We're running out of options."
"I guess..." Lammy says in a low voice, seemingly close to considering Katy's idea.
"Well, it's that or be stalked forever," nods Ma-san. Then she smirks, "But hey, there's still the head-bash... Or you could date him."
Lammy frowns. "I'm not dating him Ma-san." Suddenly, a thought comes into her mind. But she is reluctant to bring it out... for she knows that the victim could get hurt even more. But she feels that she has to do this, to calm down her dog friend and teach him some manners, to end this whole mess for good so she can concentrate on more important matters. So, setting away any more reluctancy aside, she perks up and says, "Hey, maybe if he thinks I'm taken he'll give up!"
"Taken?" asks Katy curiously. "Like if you already have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, dear..." Katy replies in worry, shaking her head, "lie to him? I don't know about that..."
"Besides," adds Ma-san, "where are you going to find a boy that would like you anyway?" Then, realizing how terrible that came out, she quickly adds, "Not that I mean that in a bad way, of course!"
"Well... how about that Joe guy?"
"Joe!?" exclaims Katy.
Ma-san's face suddenly flares up at the mention of the name, pairing her drumsticks together and swooshing them around like mad. "JOE! I HATE him!"
"Yeah, Joe Chin I think his name is... Parappa doesn't like him so maybe if he thinks I'm seeing him, he'll back off."
"What if Joe thinks you like him (Joe) for real, though?" Katy asks.
"No no, I'll tell him flat out the truth."
"... then we'll just have to be lucky enough that he'd go along with the gag," nods Katy, still reluctant to let Lammy go along with her plan.
"...hate..." growls Ma-san, clutching her 'sticks tightly.
"Why are you so against him anyway, Ma-san?" Lammy asks her curiously.
Ma-san nearly explodes. "Because he's a stuck-up, two-faced, big-headed, oxymoron, son of a--!!"
"Well, I still need his help... try to be civil, please?"
"Whatever..."
"I'll go try to find Joe, you guys can stay here and rehearse."
"All right," Katy nods, "good luck."
"He'll need it, if he doesn't want to be found by me!" growls the little whatever.
* * * * *
Joe Chin is peacefully resting in his little pool at the top of the building where the pizza place is at, blissfully relaxing and glad to not have a 'freaky little midget' destroy another one of his products today.
"Joe! Joe Chin!" a girly voice suddenly breaks his semi-slumber. He yawns and looks down to see a red-headed figure calling to him frantically. He squints his eyes to get a better focus on it and finally recognizes the girl guitarist from some months ago.
"Is there something you want!?" he shouts. "Come up here and tell me!"
Lammy climbs up the long, long ladder to the pool quickly and steps in front of him. Always one to feel self-conscious in front of people, she twiddles her fingers and shyly speaks, "Um, hi, I'm not sure if you know me, but I need to ask a favor."
"Ah, anything for a pretty face such as yours," grins Joe Chin.
"I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend," Lammy says simply.
Joe pauses for a long time, blinking his eyes confusedly. "... um... what?"
Lammy talks slower, "Pretend... to... be... my... boyfriend."
"I heard what you said, miss. I meant why would you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend? Not that I'm complaining and all..." he smirks.
"I just want to make a friend of mine think you are," says Lammy in a low voice; his smirk sure isn't making her feel comfortable.
"Why?" asks Joe curiously. "Are you planning to make that person jealous?"
"No, I want him to leave me alone."
"Ahhhhhh," the muscle-bound dog nods, before smirking, "Let me guess, is it Parappa ol' boy?"
"Yeah..." Lammy blinks, "how did you know?"
Joe Chin lets out a long sigh and shakes his head. "That boy, he once fought over me for the lovely Sunny Funny when I, too, had a crush on her. He just does not deserve to have any girl by his side-- He's such a... a... dirty commoner.
"Riiiiiight," Lammy responds with little interest, "will you help me then?"
"If it would teach him for messing with me then sure, miss. Though I do not understand why he would bug you when Sunny is his dreamgirl."
"Sunny dumped him..."
"Really, now?" says Joe Chin, his eyes widening with interest and half-surprise. "Ha, finally got tired of him, I suppose. Can't say I blame her."
"Just help," smirks Lammy, not even bothering to tell him the real reason why the sunflower girl broke up with her former boyfriend.
"All right, pretty thing. Just let me get dressed into more... public-worthy clothes."
"Okay." Lammy climbs back down the long, long ladder to the ground. She can't help but feel happy that this nightmare will end soon. But that stupid feeling begins attacking her again. Guilt. She quickly shrugs it off and waits for Joe Chin to come down.
* * * * *
Minutes pass, and Joe Chin, fully dressed, joins the redheaded lamb on the ground. "Now where would that womanizer rookie be?" he asks.
"I don't know," Lammy says as she looks around, "but he's found me a lot the past few days."
Joe Chin suggests to her to turn around and start walking. She does as he instructs, walking down the sidewalk, and sure enough, as if on cue, she bumps right into Parappa, who falls down on his bottom. Joe smirks.
"OW! Not again..." the floppy-hat hero complains.
"Hey..." Lammy tries to pretend to be glad to see him. In a way, she is, but at the same time, she isn't...
"Hey Lammy. Um, what's up?"
Joe walks up to hold onto Lammy's paw, smiling but also hiding a smirk, "Why, this fair lady and I are going on a date to Pizza Palace."
One ear of Parappa's quickly perks up, "Date?"
"Uh... yeah," says Lammy, "sorry Parappa, I'm kind of taken."
The rapper's mouth hangs wide open, and he shakes his head in disbelief, turning to look at the bigger, stronger dog beside the girl.
"You heard her, Lammy is my girlfriend, I am her boyfriend."
"But... but..." Parappa's ears droop dramatically.
"Sorry Parappa..." Lammy says in a quiet voice, becoming interested in her shoes all of a sudden.
After a long, long pause, Parappa finally pipes "I see..."
"Yeah, you see, finally you do," says Joe Chin, unsincerely. "Face it, my dear boy, you and Lammy were just not meant to be together." Then he smirks-- Right here, right now is the perfect opportunity to take out his tensions against him, and Joe is more than glad to seize it. Seeing Parappa clench his fists in nearing depression only makes this little form of vengeance sweeter for the rich canine. "In fact, I doubt you are meant to have any girl by your side anyway. Why, I would not be surprised if any old girlfriends of yours left you like trash."
Parappa grumbles, "...one did."
"Oh?" Joe exclaims in mock surprise. "Well, then, that ought to tell you something. Now, run along little boy."
Once again, Parappa feels his heart torn in two. He whimpers and turns around, walking away, heartbroken and angry once again. One could have seen a tear fall down an eye......
Lammy silently watches him go. She opens her mouth to call to him but the words just won't come out. She looks down on the ground... those guilty emotions bashing her insides again. She pushes them away again and clenches her fists. Then she turns to Joe Chin; the smirking, satisfied Joe Chin. She shakes her head at his unsympathetic smirk incredulously. "... You didn't have to be so cruel..." she says to him.
"Only releasing past tensions, my fair lady," Joe Chin smiles, bowing respectfully. "I am quite happy to have gone along with this... play, my dear. And besides, now we're assured that he would not bother you anymore. He knows a real man when he sees one." He proudly points to himself.
"Whatever..." Lammy mutters, storming away from him.
"Leaving so soon?" Joe asks Lammy, who ignores him. "Okay, forget about me buying you pizza, then..." Joe says with a shrug, heading back to his 'private' pool.
Lammy grumbles to herself as she heads back to MilkCan's studio...
* * * * *
"...very good, Ma-san," says Katy Kat, "but you shouldn't bang on the drums TOO loud; it may even drown out my singing or Lammy's guitar. Did I mention my singing?"
"Sorry, I'll get it better next time."
"It's okay. Practice makes perfect, after all."
Lammy walks into the studio, looking mighty down. "Hey..." she says to them, barely above a whisper.
"Hey Lammy..." Katy studies Lammy's expression curiously, "Um, how did it go?"
"Well, I don't think Parappa will bother me anymore..."
"Oh, so the plan worked?" Ma-san asks.
"Yeah..." Lammy sighs, "... a little too well, maybe."
"What do you mean?" Katy asks her. "Did something bad happen?"
"Parappa looked about to burst into tears," replies Lammy, sadly.
"Gee," Katy frowns, "did you tell him off that bad?"
Ma-san also frowns. "I don't think it was Lammy, more like that Joe Chin!" She growls viciously.
"Yeah," nods Lammy slowly, "he went wild with it."
Katy lets out a long sigh and idly strums a feew strings of her Bass, "That Joe probably hurt his feelings. I knew I should not have let you go along with this."
"Told you Joe is a son of a whatchamacallit."
"Well, he did what I wanted at least..." says Lammy. "Parappa will be fine."
"I hope so," Ma-san says with serious concern. "Sure I pick on him a lot, but I like the guy."
Katy Kat tries to be optimistic, though this time finding it hard to stay that way, "Lammy's right, I'm sure Parappa will be just fine. I betcha soon he'll be happily rapping against people as if nothing happened."
"Yeah, of course," replies Lammy with a nod.
"So, what should we do now? Rehearse some more or just go on home?" yawns Ma-san.
"I'm not really in the mood to rehearse anymore today..." Lammy responds sadly.
Katy smiles sympathetically. "I understand. Let's call it a day, girls." Ma-san yawns happily with Katy's decision.
* * * * *
While that MilkCan scene is happening...
At the local burger shop, Beard Burger, Parappa is sitting in his lonesome at a table far from the other customers with three empty cups. He is lying his arms on the table and resting his chin on them, sighing ever so deeply. He barely notices Colonel Noodle walking up to him with his fourth drink.
"What's your problem?" the large-haired boy asks.
Parappa takes the drink gently and sips on it slowly before responding, "Everything."
"Like?"
Parappa sighs again. "Like I said, everything. First Sunny Funny, who I thought was my 'true love', dumped me like yesterday's news just because we're different lifeforms... Then PJ and I have nowhere to start our band 'cause we have no money to buy any studios... Next, I scare Lammy when I keep acting weird around her for some reason... I thought that maybe it's 'cause I like her.... But now I find out that Joe Chin of all people is her boyfriend! And he said a lot of stuff to me too, like I will never have a girl, I'll always be alone, yadda yadda. 'I gotta believe,' I say. Oh yeah, I gotta believe all right. I gotta believe that from the start of this week my life's turned into a piece of horsecrap!!" He ends his melodrama with a slam of his cup, spilling juice all over his shirt. "Aw (BLEEP!)" he howls.
Colonel Noodle simply blinks for a long time. He's certainly not used to hearing anyone other than himself give out long speeches. Not having much to say about the dog's problems, the human boy simply says, "... Good luck." He gives him a thumbs up and walks off.
Parappa looks after him and wrinkles his nose curiously, sipping the remainder of his drink. "What does he mean by that?" he whispers.
* * * * *
While those two scenes are going on...
In Teriyaki Yoko's Theater, Rammy is once again following the evil Teriyaki Yoko in her sneaky way, wondering if Yoko will blab more of her plan. She just needs a bit more information from the woman and then she'll finally find a way to trash her enemy, Lammy, before Yoko can do anything about it.
"Why do I always talk to myself?" Teriyaki Yoko says to... herself. "I need someone to talk to!"
Suddenly she crashes into a guy with a pumpkin for a head with stylish glasses. He blushes when he sees the sight of this unknown-species woman. "Oh, Ms. Yoko!" he stutters. I.. I am... very sorry..." He helps her up, blushing even further.
'It's that guy in love with Yoko,' Rammy mutters to herself with a frown. 'What does he see in her?'
"What are you doing bumping into me, Jack?" the woman asks the nervous guy darkly.
Jack can feel himself sweating. "Uh... I felt that you would... want someone to talk to, Ms. Yoko... Uh... yes..."
'Pathetic,' mumbles Rammy. 'She would never blab her plans to that loser.'
As if to back up Rammy's claim, Teriyaki Yoko cuts off his head with a swipe of her hand and continues on her way. "Annoying brat, I have things to do," she grumbles venomously.
"Oh, not again..." says the detached head of Jack.
Rammy shakes and nearly vomits as she continues to follow the mistress of evil.
"Hmmm. What should I do now?" Yoko says to herself.
"Why not check up on Lammy?" whispers Rammy, almost daring herself to say it out loud. "Maybe then not only would you more likely rant, but also I can see if she'll have a weakness I can exploit."
But instead Teriyaki Yoko responds, "Maybe I should punish Rammy again..."
Rammy backs away further into her hiding place, shakes her head and says to herself, "How can she punish me? I'm supposed to be 'fired.' Something tells me she's not going to blab tonight. I better get away for now."
The sleepy Yoko yawns and... well... what happens if you're not burping. Rammy nearly breaks out in laughter, but to her dismay Yoko nearly hears. "Huh? Who's there?" the woman demands as she looks around quickly, feeling not too good at the moment.
The source of the voice sneaks away quietly, grinning. 'Guess I'll have to find out on my own,' she thinks.
* * * * *
We finally switch back to the 'present' as MilkCan exits out of their studio, carrying their speciality instruments with them (Ma-san using her incredible strength to carry her entire drumset), say their good-byes and go their separate ways. Lammy turns to head to her own home, slinking her guitar over her shoulder. All is quiet under the setting sun other than the typical sounds of people going about their business. Of course, all this is familiar to Lammy as she walked down these streets before. But, now... there's one particular element missing...
...no Parappa...
She sighs deeply and heads up to her apartment complex. Before entering, though, she looks back down on the ground. She remembers those two spots where Parappa bumped into her the past few days. The way he looked into her with those big, apologetic eyes, and the way he stuttered as he spoke...
She shakes her head and goes inside. 'You had to do it, Lammy,' she attempts to convince herself in her mind. 'He kept stalking you, so you had to teach him.' But as she steadily closes the door, she looks to the couch. She suddenly remembers the time when Parappa somehow entered her home and surprised her while casually watching television. And she remembers all too well how she practically exploded at him, and how he walked away with puppy whimpers. She felt bad about it then, but set those bad feelings aside later.
She kicks off her shoes and silently rests on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. She tries to enjoy the first peace and quiet she has for days, with no rapdog suddenly barging into her or scaring her out of her wits... And she does... for minutes. But then memories flash back to earlier today, where Lammy tricked Parappa into thinking that Joe Chin is her boyfriend... and where Joe Chin said all those horrible things to his face. Poor Parappa left the scene the most hurt person Lammy had ever seen in her life. His slow, heartbroken walk, his face drooping in the deepest of hurts, his tears falling steadily down his large puppy eyes... -- She's certainly not used to seeing the usually happy-go-lucky, energetic rookie rapper like that... -- ...And all this because she merely wanted him to stop following her.
Then Lammy sits up quickly and sighs. She says to herself that it isn't totally Parappa's fault and reminds herself that crushes can do that to people sometimes. Parappa was merely being manipulated by his... attraction towards her... He even sincerely apologized after each goof-up. But she wouldn't listen; she was too miffed at his 'goof-ups' from the past few days, and did a cruel thing to get back at him. But now she realizes... just not like herself she was. She's supposed to be kind, caring, all-around nice... at least, that's how she wants to be. But the way she treated Parappa... her friend.......
"Oh no... What have I done?"
* * * * *
Later that night, Parappa finally sulks himself to sleep on the living room couch. Earlier he tried to talk about the recent events with his folks, but his father interrupted him, saying that he and his mother have "important business to do" upstairs. 'Yeah, right,' Parappa thought.
So now he's asleep in the darkened living room, an anime sleep bubble hanging out of his nose. However, he hears the faint sounds of a door knocking. Thinking it could be just his parents' "business" he drifts back to sleep. But then the knocks get louder. He slowly wakes up and discovers that they're coming from the front door.
"Uhhhh... (snort) who is it?" Parappa sleepily calls out.
"Lammy."
Parappa instantly shoots fully awake. Lammy? What is she doing here? He frowns deeply as he clearly remembers what she did to him earlier today. With a snort he asks, "What do you want? You're going to boast how you had a wonderful date with Joe Chin?"
"I just wanted to make sure you're okay... I didn't wanna hurt you."
"Too late," says Parappa emotionlessly.
Lammy sighs, "Come on, open the door..."
Sighing, Parappa reluctantly opens the door for Lammy. Feelings of attraction no longer stir within him when he looks at her... "What?" he asks.
Lammy can just see the hurt expression of his face, and is immediately sorry for her cruel trickery. She pauses, sighs, and says sincerely, "I... just want to apologize."
"Why? You didn't want me following you anymore, so now I've stopped. Aren't you happy?"
"I still want you to be my friend, though..."
Parappa shakes his head. "How can I be your friend if you don't even want me around?"
Lammy looks at him incredulously, "I do want you around, just not EVERYWHERE I go."
Parappa opens his mouth to say something else, but quickly closes it as he thinks about what she just said. He nods as he realizes that she's right-- He HAD been following her a little too much. After all, if the same thing were happening he'd probably freak out too... Now he sees that he shouldn't be too angry with her...
So, reducing his anger towards her to worthless dust, he looks to her with those sad puppy eyes and says, "I... wanted to apologize, too. You know, I really didn't mean to invade your house. It's just that... that...."
Lammy simply nods, "I know, it's fine... just don't do it anymore."
"I wont, definently... Unless you ask," he winks with a smile.
"Uh-huh," mutters Lammy, smirking a little.
Then, seriously, he asks, "Um... You and Joe Chin aren't still going out, are you?"
Lammy shrugs and replies, "Mmm, we kinda... broke up," which is true, in a way.
"Ah," nods Parappa with a little smile. 'Got tired of him, I suppose,' thinks Parappa. 'Thank goodness, I was really beginning to wonder what she sees in that jerk.'
"So," Lammy says, "can we be friends again?" her shy side suddenly invades and she looks to him nervously, wondering if her trick did send the rap rookie to the state of not wanting to be her friend anymore.
Fortunately, Parappa smiles and says honestly, "Well, if that'll also make you happy, then I'll be happy too...."
Lammy smiles back. "Good." Silence. A quite uneasy silence. They simply stare at one another... as if newfound feelings are stirring inside... But quickly, they shake it off. "Um, I guess I should head home then," says Lammy, suddenly shy.
"Okay. See ya around, Lam."
"See you later."
Lammy waves goodbye to him and leaves. Parappa waves back and slowly smiles, glad for things to be back to normal between them. But he still won't give up on her, though. The recent incidents were just a setback, but eventually he and she will be together-together someday... 'I just know it,' whispers Parappa optimistically.
But unknown to both him and Lammy, a dark figure has escaped from a faraway island to keep a close eye on its rival... Hiding in the shadows, Rammy grins evilly and snickers madly...
"So... that dog is her weakness, eh? This could work out better than I thought. The time for revenge is closer than ever......."
* * * * *
TO BE CONTINUED...