Near the end of a busy and hectic day!
"I'm really really sorry! I got caught up in a lot of mess!" The three girls say together as they open the door to the concert hall.
"There you three are! Oh man and with barely any time to spare! I helped get your stage ready, the rest is up to you three to carry out!" Parappa escorts the three to where they need to be before heading off to join the audience.
"Ok, this is it. Are you ok?"
"Oh yeah. MilkCan is always on my mind!" A spark gathers between the three girls.
"LEAVE IT TO...MILKCAN!" the curtains rose and the audience roar signified the start of the show.
Nooooo cuttin' corners!
She's on the border, NOWWWWWWW!
This was the night of MilkCan's first live concert and to say it was a hassle to get to their final destination is an understatement, but at the end of the day it's safe to say that it was worth it. The near endless crowd cheering, as well as support from people who may or may not have been obstacles along the way. Nevertheless the night was perfect.
"COOL! We really REALLY Jammed!" She claps with the crowd before extending her arms towards Lammy "Thanks to our fabulous guitarist Lammy! Thanks a lot, everybody!" both Katy and Ma-san shout from delight.
("WOOHOO!")
"WOO!"
"YEAH! We really rocked the house!" Lammy says as she holds her guitar up in the air, glancing down towards the crowd, gazing upon the cheering masses that applauded them. Staring at the people who may have stunted her progress on getting here, but still offered help in one way or another by either helping her get to her destination, begrudgingly, or by bolstering her confidence and helping with personal anxiety. Her eyes then gathered towards two specific people who were standing side by side miraculously, being Parappa and Rammy, both of which seemed to not notice the other. Lammy then turns back once Katy calls for a group bow, causing the curtains to close.
"That's my cue to help move the stuff back to their dressing room!" Parappa then tries to run off, only to crash into the girl next to him. "Oof!... My bad-" he glances at the girl, both the lights and the impact of running into her leave him dazed. He calls out to what he assumes is a familiar face "L-Lammy? How'd you get here? Weren't you just up there?" The girl quickly became angry at the the rapping pup once she heard her name being mistaken for the other ewe "That's NOT my name!"
"H-Huh?..." Parappa rubs his eyes and his vision clears up, showing that he was half right "O-Oh!...uh...my apologies! W-Won't happen again! Uh...later!" He runs past her to carry on what he was doing leaving the angry girl to just simmer in place "Dumb mutt...who does he think he is, being able to mistake me for her…" Rammy glances back towards the empty stage "She was pretty good though…Was that a compliment?..."
Parappa arrives behind the stage with a dolly, catching up to the girls in the process "And here are the ladies of the night!"
"Oh you~" Katy just winks at him.
("Flattery gets you nowhere dude.") Ma-san huffs, refusing to let the praise get to her, poorly as her dynamite ignites with a pink flame.
"Heh...T-Thanks~..." Lammy utters out as she stares at her newly made guitar.
"You girls were fan-freaking-tastic! I mean you're always great, but here at your first live concert, there was just some magic that I just can't explain! Only react like a fanboy would!" Parappa begins piling on Ma-sans drums and the speakers onto the dolly.
"I think you reacted beyond how a fanboy would Parappa!"
("No kidding! I don't think anyone surpassed your cheers! You got so loud you almost started howling!") Ma-san laughs recalling the thought, embarrassing the pup.
"H-Haaaa...sorry bout that, but can you blame me?" he smiles like a dork as he scratches the back of his head but then quickly speaks up as he recalls something important "OH! Lammy!
Lammy nearly trips in place as her name is called out by him "Y-Yes?" Even with her guitar in hand, Parappa still made her fumble anxiously "Mr. Fussenpepper wanted me to give you this!" He hands over something familiar to her "M-My guitar!" she quickly grabs and hugs her recovered guitar, with Parappa in the process.
"Hrkk...to tight...can't...breathe…" Lammy quickly realizes that she's hugging Parappa and begins malfunctioning on the spot "Hiiiii….g-gcckkk...w-weeeh…" she drops him and the guitar, and begins to fall over backwards.
("Here we go again…") Ma-san rolls her eyes at an even she's clearly seen happen many times before already.
"L-Lammy!" Parappa drops everything he was currently holding and manages to catch her before she fully crashes onto the ground "W-What happened?"
"Oh!...She's uh...just so happy that our concert was a major hit as well as getting her guitar back! She nearly fainted on the spot!" Once Katy says this, a tomato faced Lammy just mumbles out "Uh-huh…"
"Oh...well you should probably sit down in your dressing room then! I'll pick up everything and bring it over to your room soon enough ok guys?" they all nod.
"Thanks again for the help Parappa!" The three of them then begin walking off, leaving Parappa to begin packing up.
("I still find it funny we basically turned him into a lackey.")
"He isn't a lackey!"
("Really, you're gonna look at that mess, and not call it a lackey? Would packmule be a better word for it?")
Katy sighs, unable to retort against the truth "Ok...we may have...taken advantage of his kindness...just a smidge…"
("A smidge...really now.")
"Yes! You got nothing on me!" as she says this, Ma-san pulls out a tape recorder and presses play on it, speaking out in Katy's voice.
Parappa, you can help us carry the equipment, buy snacks, and give us foot massages!
"...I-I…"
("And may I remind you this is like the 30th time you asked him to do those exact things, that now he just does it out of habit for us.")
"N-No he doesn't-" Ma-san presses play again to continue where it left off, cutting Katy off again as it speaks in Parappa's voice.
Sure. Like always.
"I...I'm horrible…"
("Whoa there, I didn't say that. I just showed you that you were involved in turning him into our own personal butler is all!")
"And I feel horrible for it…"
("Why? He doesn't mind! Look at him! Following orders like the good boy he i- ok yeah now I can feel the guilt.")
"S-Should we tell him to stop?"
("We could, but I don't think he would.") the two of them sigh as they reach their dressing room, and enter the inside to escape the shame and relax.
"Well...what do you think we should do Lammy?"
"O-Oh!...I-I uh...I'm i-indifferent r-really…"
"Really? I'd figured you of all people would want him to stop." before Lammy can speak up however.
("Maybe she enjoys having him tend to her calls on a whim!~") Ma-san laughs as she says this causing Lammy to blush and bury her face in her hands, and Katy to slap Ma-san on the shoulder "Quit it!"
("OOF...Sheesh grow a sense of humor will ya?") Ma-san scoffs and mutters below her breath ("Not like I was wrong anyway…")
"I don't find it funny, you know Lammy likes him! Why tease her over it?"
("Maybe it's cause I see it as a lost cause. And this is probably the only way she can get close to her precious Parappa~") this time Ma-san gets conked on the head by Katy's bass ("OWOWOWOWOW...POINT TAKEN!") her fuse nearly explodes on the spot as she turns from orange to red.
Lammy sighs "She may have a point…maybe it's just my subconscious a-agreeing with this..." Ma-san calms down as she sees Lammy actually agreeing with her.
("W-Whoa now!...I really was just joking!") Lammy just hugs her knees.
("...ok...I admit I took it to far…") she walks over to Lammy ("Look, I'm sorry...I may have gotten a bit pushy...the bravado of the crowd got to me…")
About half a week after MilkCan was formed, Katy and Ma-san caught on to Lammy's crush on Parappa. Katy immediately and instinctively became her own personal love cheerleader, but Lammy lacked initiative to take a chance. Her fear for the worst always got her giving up last second. And then worse came to worst when him and Sunny became a couple at the same time Parappa's singing career took off. Leaving her feeling that he had skyrocketed past her league. It hurt, but what could be done? She wished she could've done something...she even subconsciously wished she could win him over, at least in her dreams. But all that was six months ago already. It was around that time that Katy slowly started turning Parappa into MilkCan's personal "butler", but was it for her sake? Seeing as the other two clearly had no recollection of what they were truly doing until the brought it up.
Lammy just groans as she places her face into her knees.
Ma-san sighs ("...I fucked up…")
The three of them are interrupted as a knock at their door is heard. "C-Come in…" Lammy says as she sits up properly.
"And the snacks are-" Parappa stares at the trio as they express nothing but sadness "Here...yo whats wrong? You girls just performed quite possibly the greatest concert ever heard! Why are you all upset now?..."
They struggle to find words until Lammy speaks up "H-Hey P-Parappa...how d-do you feel a-about having to do our b-busy work that we could b-be doing ourselves?..."
Parappa tilts his head "Huh? Well...At first I was upset, basically just being a monkey boy, but I shrugged it off. It was still an excuse to be near my favorite band! And eventually it just grew on me. I enjoyed doing all this as it was an excuse to chat and learn more about you guys! I knew a lot about Katy, but nothing about you two. And that's when I started learning! Learned to understand Ma-san and speak in her language. And learn more about you Lammy and your amazing moments! As well as how your already high coolness gets doubled when you have a guitar in hand! I don't even mind the work I gotta do, I always find it worth it!"
He was sincere, always has been. That factor did not help keep her love for him at ease, only amplify it. Now was one of those moments. "So y-you'd keep d-doing so? Even if it w-was unfair to y-you?"
"Well it's not exactly unfair to me. At least, not anymore. Now, I'd do it on a heartbeat without needing to be asked! That's something i'd never give up!" he then ponders for a bit realizing he may have worded that wrong "E-Erm...unless you guys want me to stop… D-Don't wanna come off as creepy, or overbearing or anything…" All three of them immediately speak up in unison "YOU'RE NOT!..." Parappa yelps and flinches at the sudden shout by the three of them before catching his composure "O-Ok!...g-glad to hear!
All three girls simply look away with their faces red from the dogs mushy speech then Katy tries to change the subject "S-So...You brought snacks?~..."
"Oh right!" he brings in a bag of different snacks "Loads a little light today, but I have a good reason for that! But I'll save that for the end." he walks up to each girl individually "Alright Katy's usual is the strawberry cheesecake with the light fizzy drink and a side bag of chips!"
"Thank you!~"
"Ma-san's usual is Is the salt and vinegar chips, diet soda and a big pretzel!"
("How do you manage to remember all this? Thanks dude.")
"And Lammy is just the fruit and veggie mix salad with an orange soda!"
"T-Thanks~..."
"Ok so the reason I was light on the food today was cuz-"
"ACK!..." Parappa was halted when he, Katy and Ma-san looked towards Lammy, whose soda had sprayed all over her, forcing a rather awkward situation as Lammy struggles to cover herself.
"WHOA WARDROBE MALFUNCTION!" Katy hops over to Parappa, forcing his beanie downwards, blocking his eyesight "W-WHAAA. W-Watch it! Why the sudden assault? What I do? Lemme go!" Katy was having none of it and refused to budge "Can you at least tell me what happened so that I can help?" Katy just sighs "Fine, but I'm not letting go. The soda you brought for Lammy seems to have exploded into her face as well as the rest of her body. Causing her to become a tad...see through."
"W-WHAT?! O-OH GOD L-LAMMY I AM SO SORRY!" He fumbles in place. It must've happened when I bumped into that other girl! It caused the cans to get to shaken up! He tries to turn around and help, upon seeing this Katy pins him to the floor "Whoawhoawhoa hold it there. That's a rather quick to look action now isn't it?"
"Are you kidding? I'm already faithful to another gal!" Parappa could easily break out of her grip thanks to Chop Chop's teaching, they all knew this, but would rather not as she was in her right to keep him down as all of it was his fault "Look. i'll keep my beanie over my eyes, I promise you, just let me help! I caused this mess by accident! I wanna fix it!"
Katy reluctantly agrees "If I see you so much as peek for even just a second, I'm letting Ma-san handle you." Ma-san simply cracks her knuckles in response resulting in a small gulp from him.
"Look! I'm not lying!" He forces his beanie even further down, enveloping his entire head before uttering out a muffled "See!"
Parappa stumbles over to the bag where he pulled out the snacks until he finds his way, then pulls out paper towels. "Ok which direction is Lammy in?"
"Over h-here…" Parappa stumbles his way in the direction of the voice and hands over the paper towels slightly off by a few inches, but nevertheless he hit his mark.
"T-Thanks…" as she begins cleaning herself off she immediately notices something "This...isn't really helping…"
"Guess you're gonna have to change. Good thing you still have your regular clothes."
"Yeah, but...I don't know where the bathroom in this place is…"
"But I do!" Parappa speaks up again, earing a rather angry gaze from Katy that he could feel, even through the beanie "And yes i'll keep my beanie down!"
"All of this is rather convenient for you...isn't it Parappa?" Parappa immediately shouts…at a sofa "Are you seriously accusing me of planning all of this?!" Katy turns him around towards where she actually was "Well if the guilty shoe fits…"
"It was an accident! I swear!"
"I-I believe h-him…"
"THANK YOU!" Parappa hugs a lamp post that he mistakes for Lammy.
"N-No problem…" she also turns him around to her actual direction.
"I promise I didn't mean any of this…"
Katy just sighs with Ma-san silently snickering behind her "I believe you…"
("I have no grudge, it gave me a good laugh from start to soon to be finish!") she whispers to Katy ("And honestly, a good timing on some incentive for Lams to make a move, or atleast relish in the attention.") Katy's reply is only shoving Ma-sans own pretzel into her mouth to shut her up.
Parappa goes back to the bag and pulls out a jacket, one about his size "Glad dad made me bring this just in case it got cold! You can wrap this around your torso or waist to lessen how much you gotta cover on your way there!" He says as he talks to a mirror.
"O-Oh!..T-Thanks for t-that!..." She plucks the jacket from his hands prompting him to realize he was facing the wrong direction, then wraps it around her waist, and holding the bag of her other clothes around her chest.
"Ok let's go!" He runs towards to door, but forcibly runs into a wall, and falls onto his back, dazed.
("GAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!") Ma-san rolls on the ground, howling with laughter from Parappa's faceplant.
"Ow…" Parappa feels around the wall to find the door, then walks out once he finds it "Ok so...that was the entrance. So that way leads to the stage...then...that way's the restrooms!" At least with this he was correct with this assessment.
"T-Then lead the w-way please!.." Parappa hobbles off with Lammy walking after leaving the other two band members on their own.
("Think he'll lift his beanie up?")
"He won't. He's usually not one to lie. Plus he figures Lammy will tell us if he does even try."
("I don't know what you both see in him.")
"Well from what she said- Both? What do you mean both?"
("I'm not an idiot, I see you going gaga over the guy as much as she does, just not as blatantly obvious. Which she could stand to learn on how to do!")
"H-Hah! I do not!"
("Your tail curls into a heart whenever he compliments you in anyway way, shape or form.")
"A-Ah…" Katy couldn't deny that as even Parappa himself noticed that, but mistook it as her just being really happy for her band and whatnot "That's..heh...something against my control…"
("What I don't get is why you're keen on helping her try to get him rather than helping yourself.")
Katy sighs as she's forced to repeat something she told to PJ a long while back "I've felt the unrequited love hard, so I really rather not have a close friend suffer...it just sucks...that both Sunny AND Lammy are close friends...who both happen to love the same guy…"
("Who you're also in love with.")
"Point being is that I just...wanna help Lammy more since she's also a band mate as well as a best friend...seeing as Sunny and Parappa kinda snowballed without my help…"
("If that's the case then why cover the mutt's eyes when that little 'show' happened.") Katy just stares at her wide-eye'd "What do you mean why? He's still a boy about to peep on a girl!"
("Mhm. Ok. Now answer me this.") She pulls out the tape recorder again and switches to a different clips and presses play.
(So why exactly to we need to order only soda cans from him when asking for snacks?)
Because Ma-san! I'm looking forward to starting something out of nothing!
(I fail to see what scenario can come from soda.)
The obvious one! There may be that one chance that the can will gush out the soda creating a mess that Parappa will, obviously, want to help out with! And with that, they're forced into being right next to each other, face to face! The awkward air forces the tension to rise as the moment happens! Causing Parappa to, probably, feel feelings he didn't even know he had for Lammy! And at that moments sparks fly as the lean in forward and-
Katy grabs the tape recorder and crushes it within her hand. Her face beet red from being called out with heavy evidence.
("You're buying me a new one.")
"Why did you record THAT!"
("Why not. Besides you proved my point.")
"What point is that?"
("That your words are biting you in the ass right now seeing as you're internally unable to fully help Lammy.")
"What? I am so helping her!"
("Then why didn't you let that situation play out by itself? You acted like a jealous girl who was trying to stop her boyfriend from cheating with another woman who wasn't even trying to cheat.")
"Y-You didn't exactly help either with you cracking your knuckles as you agreed with me!"
("I was playing along, that was way to funny NOT to.")
"...You're right."
("And that's not- Oh you're agreeing with me...aw...I thought you'd deny it some more.")
"Look I just had another friend of mine tell me the same thing a while back and...I chose to not believe him...then he decided that I should do things to take my mind off of it...I begrudgingly agreed and decided to pick up the bass...and that all led me to meeting the two of you and forming this band...and at that moment...I was relieved. Like I actually got it off my mind."
("Then Lammy fell in love with him.")
"And the emotions came back…I guess it's subconscious jealousy? I dunno. I just wish it would stop…"
("Why? It's nice that you wanna help Lammy out, but that also doesn't mean you shouldn't have a go at it either. Granted right now neither of you exactly have much of a chance since he's all gaga over that daisy. And that doesn't seem like it's ending anytime soon.")
"I know I know. Next time I end up blocking off Lammy, mind smacking me out of it?"
("Hehe...gladly!~")
"I immediately regret asking...oh well thanks."
Back with Lammy and Parappa, we have Parappa still fumbling about.
"You know y-you can l-lift your b-beanie up if you need t-to…"
"No! It's not fair for you or Sunny that I look! That and Katy and Ma-san would kill me."
Lammy wanted to say so badly that she didn't mind. She really didn't as he was the only boy she'd be willing to show. But she couldn't muster up the courage. So she only just said "W-Well...that's up to you really...I-It doesn't m-mean anything...y-you're just f-fixing a problem that w-was out of your c-control…E-Either way you're as strong as Ma-san, if not stronger recently. Why be afraid?"
"I can't just fight back if I'm clearly the guilty one! That's what sensai taught me!"
"You learned a lot at that dojo didn't you?"
"Yeah! Shame it closed down though."
"Huh? Who was your teacher?"
"Chop Chop Master Onion! His dojo just became a run down old place! No clue what happened with that…" Upon hearing the name she could only mutter out "Ah…" as she didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.
"Well it's n-nice that you k-know not to use your t-teachings wrongly!.. Strength s-should never be a-abused…" She pets his head out of reflex, as if to say good boy. "Of course! Only for necessary occasions!" his tail starts to wag on it's own. Lammy realizes what she's doing, but before stopping, she clutches onto to the beanie. "Maybe I-I can just…" she begins lifting it up.
"H-Hey what're you doing!" The second she sees his nose poke out from under the beanie she immediately forces it back down.
"OOF…"
"S-Sorry!..."
"N-No worries...kinda deserved that for what I did…"
"H-Heh..y-yeah…" Lammy mentally kicks herself for her lack of bravery. Now he probably thinks i'm really upset at him over this…
"U-Um...Do you see sign hanging on the wall saying ' Welcome to-' with the rest of the sign broken off?"
"Y-Yeah right up a-ahead!"
"Great! Then we turn to the right from there and on the left is the bathroom!" And as he said, there it was.
"T-Thanks!" Lammy rushes in at a speed that forces Parappa into a topspin. As he stop he pulls his beanie back up. "Phew…" he reclines on the wall then speaks up again "Hey...um...I wanna explain myself for that whole mess back there…"
"I don't b-blame you a-at all Parappa!..." Lammy shouts from the inside.
"I know but I still wanna say what happened...When you guys finished your show, I immediately tried to go back there to help with move the stuff, but I kinda...bumped into someone next to me and got toppled down...shaking the cans in the process.
"Oh!...y-you're not hurt a-are you?"
"No I was fine!...kinda spooked out though...the girl I bumped into looked alot like you!" As he said that, silence was his only reply until.
"D-Did she happen to b-be all black and gray?..."
"Oh you know her?"
"Y-You could say t-that…" If she already didn't blame Parappa for anything, now she certainly knew none of it was his fault. Just a bad place at a bad time moment "Well you couldn't have controlled the outcome. She was just in the way at a bad time."
"I still should've been wary. I could've knocked over and hurt somebody!"
"B-But you didn't. A-And you w-wouldn't have m-meant to. It's not your f-fault at all Parappa. And no o-one can find an excuse t-to say o-otherwise!" Lammy leaves the bathroom with her clean clothes now on and walks up in front of Parappa to his surprise "Understand?"
Parappa's heart skipped a beat for no understandable reason as she said that while staring him down "Y-Yeah…" He could feel something in him heat up "I getcha…" He snaps out of it once she speaks up again "G-Good! Now let's h-head back to clear y-your name to t-them! Oh and I kinda got soda over your jacket...so i'll be cleaning it if that's ok? I'll hand it back to you when I get it cleaned!"
"R-Right! And o-ok!" they both head off while Parappa thinks to himself. What the heck was that about? Why i'd just freeze up? Do I still feel guilty? He shakes his head to clear his thoughts as they arrive back at the dressing room.
"There you guys are, took long enough."
("Something kept you guys busy?~") Ma-san chuckles as Lammy speaks up "G-Get real! Y-You know he h-had to struggle with b-being unable t-to see where he was g-going!"
"Can't be helped. It was in the name of decency!"
("I wouldn't go thaaaaat far.")
"It's n-not like h-he meant for t-that to happen t-to me…"
"To you! For all you know-" Katy feel's a strong punch hit her in the back of the head "Oof...I mean, for all you know, maybe Parappa got unlucky in picking soda's. Maybe some jerks shook the cans beforehand!"
("Better.") Ma-san whispers to Katy.
"That's a-also a p-possibility! D-Does this mean you b-believe him?"
"Yes…"
("I'm with her.") Parappa jumps in joy at his cleared name until he remembers something important "OH WAIWAIWAIT!..." the girls turn to him with confusion "I ALMOST FORGOT WHAT I WAS GONNA TELL YOU AFTER THE SNACKS! THE OTHERS!"
"Others?...Hey wait that brings up a good point...where are the rest of our friends? Last you told me was that Paula and Matt were busy helping out at some place. Sunny was with her dad on errands. And PJ was off on a banana hunt! But you said they'd still catch our show! And I see a big lack of the four of them "O-Oh that's because...uh...have to...ask them that! They're currently off somewhere and I was tasked to bring you there!"
("Hey wait you skipped out on the foot massages!")
"Ma-san not now!" Katy then turns to him with arms crossed "Why?..."
"I...uh...d-dunno!" Hope they bought that... "I was just told to bring you gals there! To the other side of town!"
The three girls look at each other then shrug and in unison say "Ok."
"Great let's go!"
Upon leaving the place, the three girls get ready to run to the destination until Parappa stop them as he drives up to them "Wouldn't it be easier for me to just drive you there?..."
"Oh right! S-Sorry we all just had a real long day, and running, and...yeah.." They say in unison as they get in the car.
"Alright then! We're loaded up with MilkCan's equipment, MilkCan themselves and the need to get there fast!"
"Just be careful Parappa!" Katy shouts from the back.
"That one crash was an accident!"
"Yeah sure…~" She rolls her eyes playfully before laughing.
"H-Hey wait a m-minute...h-how'd I end up in t-this seat?!" Lammy whispers realizing she's in the seat right next to Parappa. She then hears a high five between Ma-san and Katy before sighing and accepting her fate.
After a Leisurely paced ride, they arrive at the destination. "We're here!" Parappa shouts as he turns to the three of them who all look out the window.
"Oh!...wow…"
"W-What a unique a-area…"
Ma-san was the only one who refused to tip toe around the problem at hand ("The heck did you bring us to this run down place for?!")
"Look I know it looks like an abandoned shoddy warehouse, but trust me! We have to go in there!" The girls uneasily look at each other.
"I-I'm starting to f-feel less safe…" Lammy says with a shiver.
Realizing what the girls were mistaking the whole thing for Parappa facepalms as he admits the poor conditions as well "I told them you'd mistake it for that…" he then sighs as he explains the entirety of what really was going on "Look, inside there are the others who were planning an after party in celebration for your concert!"
"Then why the heck inside that run down thing! You realize the big wrong idea we got out of that?"
"Yes I did and I warned them about it, but they just said that you three wouldn't! The point of that was so that no one would interrupt or bother you three. Because no one would ever expect a great band being celebrated within an old warehouse!"
"That sounds like they just didn't wanna deal with the cleanup for the outside of the building…" Katy says as she scoffs at the poor planning.
"Aye dios mio…" Lammy says as her head falls back into the seat, agreeing with Katy.
("Eh some other celebs I read about love these sorta appearances to secret parties, so i'm cool with it.") Both Lammy and Katy look at Ma-san with the greatest concern.
"Look trust me you two. It's gonna be fine! I'd never let anything happen to any of my friends on my life! Mark my words!" Each girl had their own remark to that.
Lammy's was stammering around until she managed to say thank you, only in spanish however.
Katy's was also saying thanks, as her tail curls into a heart again, unbeknownst to her.
Ma-san just abruptly replies with ("Oh barf…")
As they reach the warehouse door, they hesitantly go against opening it, until they just sigh and push it open. As it opens the lights illuminate the place up greatly with a banner that drops down saying "CONGRATULATIONS MILKCAN!" with the remainder of their friends popping out shouting "SURPRISE!"
"Sorry we couldn't make it to your concert! Turns out decorating this place took a lot more time than expected!" Matt says scratching his head.
"I opted to freshen up the outside of this place to, but the others just shouted no." Sunny says with a shrug "Hope you didn't mistake this for a kidnappers hut."
The girls then laugh nervously "Haha...no of course not…"
"Why w-would we e-ever think t-that…"
Ma-san belts out in english "It's exactly what they thought."
Sunny then crosses her arms and stares at PJ, Paula and Matt angrily "Told you…"
"Ok so we may have skimped out from laziness…, but that's not the point! At least you can clearly see it's a party! And now you three should be celebrating over your success! After all that's what a party is for!" Paula states as she pulls Katy and Lammy in towards the snack table.
"You would not believe how much I struggled not to eat anything here...you're lucky...I had to stock up on banana's to satiate me…" as PJ says this, Lammy just adds on "Y-You don't say...I hope you threw the peels away in a garbage can…"
"Why? It's only a banana peel...not like anyone died from slipping on one." Silence was PJ's answer, forcing him to catch on "Oh...duly noted." Lammy just sighs in annoyance as PJ hands everyone a drink. "To MilkCan!" Parappa says holding his cup up to Katy who responds back in key "To MilkCan!" than following everyone else with one final group shout "TO MILKCAN!" They all share a group laugh as they begin enjoying the party for the remainder of the night.
Many Many months later, in the not so secret base of the leader of a noodle syndicate.
"Thanks brother, for lettin' me understand, that a man must understand to keep his options open!"
"You're welcome brother, for lettin' you understand, that a man must understand to keep his options open!" both Parappa and Colonel Noodle do one final spin as their rap battle ends with Parappa as the victor.
"See? Noodles aren't the only food around you know!"
"Yeah, you're right! I'm up for some noodle sushi!" Both laugh until Noodles adds on "But maybe without the noodles, just this once!." to which Parappa chuckles.
"Hey man, now that you aren't trying to noodleize the town and actually give other food a chance. How about a picnic?"
"A picnic?"
"Yeah with me and the rest of my friends. You don't seem like a that bad a dude! Just don't go forcing us to eat noodles this time!"
"I accept your offer! And I'll do my best!" the two then shake hands.
PJ lifts his shades and just stares with a smile on his face before speaking just out of everyone's hearing, as if to monologue to himself "You really grew up in many ways you know man? I dunno if it's the way you wanted to in order to be the man Sunny would want, but if she can't see the real grown up guy that you are, then she doesn't deserve you. I mean not a lot of people would nonchalantly invite the guy who nearly wrecked an entire town to a picnic! You truly are a great friend Parappa. I hope you never lose that spark."
"What are we standing around here for? I offered a picnic right?" And with that Parappa runs off to the exit with Colonel and the rest of his friends right on his trail. As both him and Noodles leave the building they meet up with Sunny and fill her in on what the rest of em are doing as they all carry on running with Sunny and Parappa hand in hand. Until the finally reach their destination.
"Man, this sure is the good life ain't it?"
"Yeah...and to think I almost got rid of it all!..." Noodle looks at his food dejectedly.
"I mean yeah it'll take a bit to apologize to everyone, but apologizing in itself won't be to rough. Like I said man, you don't seem like that bad a dude. Just one who needed to find the alternatives in life!" Noodle perks back up as he nods "Thanks man!"
"In fact...Hey Sunny, you still have the new spare beanie you made me?"
"Of course! Why asking?"
"I'm afraid it's not gonna end up being my spare anymore." Sunny giggles "I think I get you." She hands it over to Parappa who in turn hands it over to Colonel Noodles "I've only done this once as a sign of how strong our friendship was and could be. And I haven't done it again since, mostly cuz I didn't have enough beanies...but that's not the point. Here I offer it as a sign of friendship!" Noodles takes it "I graciously accept! Oh and I think I have something to give in return as my own sign!" He hands over a letter.
The letter reads.
Dear Parappa,
Please come and play at our concert.
Yours Truly.
Colonel Noodle.
"Cool! Colonel Noodles got us a stage to perform! How great!"
.
At the concert hall the next day.
"Hey Sunny, I've tried so many things to try and grow up, but I don't think I really did...So for today's show, I'm just going to do what I always do!" Sunny just smiles warmly before correcting him.
"Don't be silly Parappa. You're man enough already! If you keep trying and never give up, you're already a grown up."
"Yeah! I GOTTA believe!" with that said Parappa, PJ, Katy, Lammy and Ma-san head towards the stage while the rest head towards the audience.
"Well well well! Are you a sight for sore eyes dude!"
"Mushi!" Parappa runs up and fist bumps his four hands.
"You're the talk of the town and the star of the show once again! Ha, after this concert I'll be sure to make you my apprentice! You got what it takes to go real far, farther than me! And that ain't no lie!" He gives a big hearty laugh all while Parappa is just shocked by the amazing news, then he looks towards Mushi, his friends and his teachers and then up to his hat that he temporarily removes "Mom, if only you could see me now. I may not be as big a hero as you, but I'm sure I still became someone you would've been proud of!" He then places his beanie back on as Mushi calls towards him to tell him they're up as he heads to the rising platform.
"Yeah, yeah, y'all. This is it! Back once again, the final party! Is everyone ready to do this?" The crowd roars giving King Kong Mushi his answer as the song begins.
The crowd roars with cheer for both Parappa and Mushi as well as the four behind them playing amazingly. Flowing in sync with the two singers. And it was going great until Mushi surprises the crowd. "Hey now, look at Parappa and how he's become a MAN!" he ties a balloon around his waist and has him float above the audience "Enjoy the show!" The crowd begins following Parappa as he hovers over them, freestyling to the beat of the music. The audience cheering him on. However the cheering eventually evolved into the crown mimicking what he was saying, which got him thinking. And with that thought, he unties the balloon and lands back on stage and resumes singing.
"SAY ALRIGHT!"
ALRIGHT!
"SAY OH YEAH!"
OH YEAH!
"WHATCHA GONNA DO?"
WHATCHA GONNA DO?
"I GOTTA BELIEVE!"
I GOTTA BELIEVE!
After this Mushi, PJ and MilkCan joined in.
"SAY ALRIGHT!" Mushi and Katy shouted with Parappa's teachers following.
"SAY OH YEAH" Lammy and Parappa continued.
"WHATCHA GONNA DO?" PJ and Ma-san added on.
"I GOTTA BELIEVE!" Finished off the audience.
"Wow! Now this was surely a night to remember!" Mushi says to Parappa and the crowd "It sure was! I'll never forget tonight! Right Everybody?" The loud cheering was his answer, he couldn't help but wag his tail to it all that he repeated the final verse one last to the audiences joy. "Alright yeah!" Colonel noodles shouted as the song finally came to a close and everyone waved towards the audience.
After the audience had all left leaving everyone Parappa knew together they all just started chatting among themselves. "You were amazing up their Parappa! But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less!"
("Don't inflate his ego Katy!")
"A-Aw let him h-have this!"
"Not everyday you save the day and get a large party in your honor."
"I dunno PJ, I'm with Ma-san here."
"Aw Paula let Parappa be! He earned it this time!"
"What do you mean this time Matt?" Parappa crossed his arms as he rolled his eyes to that remark, but everyone just laughs "Gee thanks for that guys." Parappa says before joining the laughter. Before long they're cut off be hearing feedback on a microphone.
"Eep!...sorry! Haven't really used one of these in a while…" It was Sunny "I wanted to do something, but I need help with what it is I exactly wanna do...Can you four help me?" She motions towards PJ, Katy, Lammy and Ma-san.
"Sure thing." PJ hops onto the stage.
("I don't see why not.") Ma-san follows suit.
"Of course Sunny!" Katy zooms next to her.
"O-Oh you n-need my h-help?...Um, s-sure! I'll d-do what I can!..." With all four of them now up with her, she huddles them in and whispers to them what she wants to do. PJ snaps an ok as he runs off to do what he was informed and suddenly the lights began dimming. When it came to Lammy's required help, her heart sank. She, along with the rest of MilkCan were required to play a love song from her to Parappa. It stung, but Lammy did her best to hide it replying with a solemn "Leave it to Lammy!" As she holds onto her guitar. With that, the girls went to position as the lights dimmed further, with a pink blue spotlight enveloping Parappa "Whoa!...uh...talk about being put on the spot!"
A pink spot light turned on covering Sunny. As she looked up towards him, the music began to play. "This is for you." and she began singing.
It was...cold...that niiiiight
When you, came into my...troublesome life…
And it seeeeemed as though…
Everything's gonna be alriiii-hight, for the moment
Since then hereeee and thereeee,
My life's become…
Like a rollercoaster ride
Up and Down, round and round.
Bad times and Good times were on hand
We tried to live up to our feelings…
But then soon, we overcame them all! As she got to this part of the song, the girls sang out "Parappa para Parappa." and from here on they sang along with her.
The song was beautiful, there was no denying that. And that was the problem. As the song went on, both Sunny and Parappa were dancing together. Parappa even began singing along. This was a night no one would ever forget, for some it was probably the best night of their lives. For others, they could only wish the memories could go away. But for Parappa, it was the best day of his life.
….so why did it go wrong?
Parappa, age 19
"A-Ahah...I'm sorry...c-can you repeat that to me Sunny?..."
Sunny just sighed sadly "I'm leaving Parappa...by the end of today...i'll be far far gone…"
"I-I don't understand...w-why?..."
"My dad...he just...worries for me...everything goes hectic every once and a while to a point...My dad worries that something will end up happening to me…"
"But he knows I would never let that happen!"
"I know...we both do...and that's another reason...Both of us would never forgive ourselves if anything happened to you...My dad is your dad's life long friend...he knows what it felt like when you lost your mom...he would never want you to end up in that spot...and me...That feeling is multiplied… I never want to see you get hurt...Like what happened recently…"
"B-B-But i'm fine! S-See? I'm moving fine. H-Hahahaa….n-no problems whatsoever!..." Parappa starts moving his body around exaggeratedly to prove his point, but Sunny grabs his hand, to which he winces. She then pulls up his sleeve revealing bruises and cuts.
It was by no means a magnitude of disaster like what happened to his mother, but it almost became that way. The warehouse that celebrated MilkCan's first concert, almost became Parappa's grave. Ever since the party it became a hangout for their circle of friends, but two months before today's dreadful news. It started falling apart. Was it age? Was it Joe Chin? The bullies? Was it one of the passing villains of the time? Who could say. It was devastating and terrifying. As the building collapsed, they all froze from panic until Parappa snapped them all back to reality. Immediately thereafter they were all separated by falling debris. Parappa managed to break through each obstacle to get to his friends to help them escape, each destroyed obstacle wearing his strength down more and more. He chopped a rusty railing that was preventing Matt and PJ from leaving in half, he lifted off a big pipe that was keeping Paula and Ma-san cornered. As he kicked away broken bits of the roof to get to Sunny, Lammy and Katy, and soon he noticed that sharp metal parts began falling towards them. He wasted no time and picked up one of the pieces of the broken ceiling and shielding the three of them with it, then began escorting them to the exit. They almost made it were it not for area around the door, suddenly caving in on itself, almost trapping them. Parappa caught it just in time, but did not have the strength to keep the exit open, so he ordered the three to leave first and that he'd follow after they'd done so. However this was a blatant lie and he knew that, because as they left his strength finally failed him as what he was holding gave way like his strength to keep holding it up and fell all on top of him. Needless to say the screams were plentiful as everyone dug out the fallen building, hoping their friend was still alright. And miraculously they found his body, shielded just barely by a sign the group put on the inside of the warehouse claiming it as there's. There was still some things they had to get off of him. And once that was done, they wasted no time pulling him out. And thankfully he was still alive and breathing, only just unconscious.
"Sunny...t-this is nothing alright? As long as it wasn't you…" she just pulls back down his sleeve and holds onto his hand as if she was clinging to dear life. Most specifically his.
Parappa was immediately sent to the hospital, nothing was broken which was a miracle in and of itself, but it would sure feel like everything was to him for a while. He was unconscious for two days, until he woke up while it was Katy's turn to keep watch over him, and she immediately alerted the others. Their task from then on was to prevent him from moving, which was easier said than done. He kept trying to insist he was alright. But when he got his way, upon standing up, he collapsed onto the ground writhing in pain. Parappa was there for a month spending his birthday within, and upon leaving he was under house arrest by his friends and family's orders. This was absolute hell for him, he didn't wanna be a burden, and what his friends were doing surely weren't helping him avoid feeling that way. Now he's nearly alright, but the bruises and cuts are still taking their time to heal. If he overexerts himself, he'll just relapse through the pain again. So he wouldn't do anything to tasking, this even included rapping much to his dismay.
"I'm sorry Parappa...but I can't stay…"
"Please don't leave me…"
"H-Heh...I truly wish I didn't have to...to a point I even considered to my father if we could...bring you with us…, but I shot that idea down immediately...I could never do that...that'd be to selfish of me...I can't keep you." She lets go and dusts off her dress. "Our friends need you, your family needs you...this town needs you! Who knows what else...maybe even the world...I can't take you away from them…"
"B-But…"
"I'm sorry Parappa...but long distance relationships don't work out…" She walks up to a pulled up truck that her father is driving.
"S-Sunny!..."
She only stares at him with tears flowing like endless waterfalls, matching his. "It's time to move on Parappa Rappa…" she futilely wipes her tears away "Keep on believing ok? You'll find someone better…~ I'm sure of it, and by then you'll not only have moved on, but also forgotten all about me." She begins crying harder each word she says "Good bye…" she enters the truck and it begins driving off, Parappa fruitlessly tries running after it, only to collapse half way from forcing his body. Parappa, while trying to get back up just repeats the same phrase over and over "Please come back…"
"Please come back…."
"Please don't go…"
"Don't leave…"
"Please…"
Parappa's eye's open, bloodshot and tear stained. To another sleepless night.
"Time's were so much better back then…" Parappa rolls to his side "No troubles..no pain...only happiness and love…" he stares out the window at a rampant thunderstorm "But now my muse is gone. And i'm left with the feeling of decay." He curls up into a ball "I miss them...the memories…"
"Memories of Happier days..."
Current Parappa, Age 20.
(A/N)
Woooo this was something, with long planning and replanning over how to word things better or just flat out rewriting something for a better sense of what I was going for. I think this was worth it? I dunno this is just the prologue! There's alot more to come, if you have any feedback you'd like to add, i'd be happy to hear it and think of considering it depending on what it is! Unless it's spelling or grammar mistakes in which case tell me them ASAP.