The quartet simply finish breakfast and immediately exchange their words of encouragement as they slowly walk towards the stairway door.
("You three enjoy yourselves!")
"You sure you can't convince your dad to let you go with either of us?"
("I could. I COULD do that, but is it worth going through his elongated spiel over the importance of communication? Nuh uh, I'll take my lumps thank you very much.")
"Well that's about as grown up a response as we'll get from her."
("Sticks and stones.")
"Whatever. Well Lammy! Hope you and Parappa enjoy yourselves while you learn about the nerd gear!"
"It's not nerd gear Katy!"
"Of course you would say that, you're a nerd! It's in your blood!"
"Just because I come from a lineage of inventors doesn't make me a nerd...d-does it?"
"I h-honestly don't mind...i-it'd be nice to learn about technological t-things...w-who knows. Maybe y-you'll be the next b-big name to join t-them with mind blowing i-inventions…"
"You think? Parappa the inventor...doesn't have that same ring to it...But i'll still give it a go! After all that's why I decided to go with my dad in the first place! Aside from...you know...trying to apologize to my family for being a menial shut in for a year."
"I know y-you'll get the i-inspiration you n-need!...But why b-bring the guitar?..."
"Oh uh... "
"Yeah why are you gonna take that with you?"
"Just...because…"
("Just let him. Maybe he just wants to show off to his dad and sis.") Ma-san scoffs ("I tell ya, they just learn how to play and already they're off thinking they can perform like an angel!") She turns her back, snickering below her breath.
"P-Parappa isn't l-like that!...Right?..."
"Uh…" well that reason IS technically more sensible than just saying 'a girl in my dreams told me to!' Of course that isn't really saying much…Alright lemme fix this… "I...had…" He sighs "A weird dream…One where this weird...enigmatic person appeared in it...she was in a rather...sorry state..."
("Weird dream?")
"Enigmatic person?"
"S-She?..."
"Yeah...see...she's...actually a real person! Apparently...I made contact with THEIR subconscious in the dreamscape and well...She wants uh...help."
"H-Help? With w-what exactly?"
"That's...the thing...she didn't specify...only told me that I would need a guitar to start the process of helping."
"That clarifies nothing."
"You're telling me. She said that the guitar was apparently meant to 'get through her thick skull'? From that point onwards it's on me with what I need to do to help her. Thing is I don't know WHO she is or WHERE she'll be…"
("So long story short, you plan on carrying that thing around until you find this chick and help her?")
"Well it's not like I could say no! Dream or not, she's still a person in need of help!"
"Parappa…" Katy sighs "You do realize that you maybe...DREAMT it all up? Because this WAS all a dream after all… For all you know, this girl doesn't even exist!"
"I thought so to! But she spoke rather...out of line for a dream...it was all serious...and sad...And she looks...so familiar…Maybe it's a friend I made and they're in need of big help!...I just gotta do this!" As he says this, Lammy recalls what he said to her the morning prior.
Say...you uh...don't need help with anything...guitar related by any chance do you?
Could he have dreamt about...no...no that's crazy...then...maybe he dreamt about me? I don't need help...or...was it my feelings subconsciously reaching him?...It did make me really happy when he said he wanted a guitar… Her eyes turn to spirals as her face glows red "O-Oh maaaaan…"
"Lammy you aight? You ain't lookin to good…"
"H-Huh?...OH!" she quickly tries to calm down "Yes! I w-will be! E-Especially now!" Definitely now. This means that me asking to tag along WILL actually lead to something!...I hope...please tell this will end well for me…
"I still have my doubts Parappa...but I can't stop you from taking the guitar-"
Lammy quickly intervenes "I'll t-take mine as well!"
"...Why?..."
"I c-can give him a f-few extra l-lessons along the drive t-to the place!..."
"You are encouraging...nevermind. Fine just...try not to let that get in the way of Parappa and his family's trip."
"I w-won't!"
"It will all be fine Katy!" Parappa starts strumming his guitar, creating a gentle melody.
"Good!" Her phone vibrates "Oh! That's Leo! Gotta go!"
Ma-san takes her opportunity to spark some more fun ("Enjoy your date!") The gentle melody quickly spikes down into a scratchy mess, similar to nails on a chalkboard. Ma-san mentally fist bumps. Booyah! Katy should've definitely noticed that!
"Parappa? You alright?" Katy quickly turns to face him. He simply stares at the ground as his hands tightly clutch the guitar, any tighter and he would either snap the strings or the entire neck of the thing.
"...Yeah...I'm good...just uh...fingers still...sensitive from last night is all…"
"Really? You were playing such a nice tune then all of a sudden-"
"I'm GOOD! Everything's GOOD!" His head forces itself upright as a very fake smile grows on his face. He speaks through his teeth as to maintain the smile "Have. Fun. On. Your. Date!…"
Her ear twitches "Yeah...I uh...will. It's not a date though." She laughs awkwardly "Anywhoooo...I should go! Later you guys! Have fun with your respective time passers!" She bolts out the door and out the exit.
"U-Uh...Parappa...M-Mind easing up on y-your guitar?...Y-You'll break it if y-you hold it like t-that for much l-longer…" Lammy says as she tries to get him to calm down.
"Yeah...you got a point there...I'll just...ease...up…" His fingers begrudgingly peel off from the guitar neck, as if they were rusty hinges that went without oil for ages.
"Y-You feeling ok y-yourself Parappa?..."
"I'll be fine...just...need to get my mind off of things…"
("While you do that Mutt, I really should be heading off now. So you two try to enjoy yourselves! Be on the lookout for dream chicks in need of guitars!") She cackles as she walks down the stairs and is seen through the window heading down the street.
"We should probably wait outside as well. My dad will be here soon to pick us up."
"R-Right!" She taps her fingers "Y-You...gonna need a-any help c-calming down?..."
He takes a deep breath to calm down, her words bringing him back to a neutral state of mind "I'll be fine Lammy, but thanks for the offer!" this time he smiles sincerely as he grabs her hand and tugs on it "Well come on. Can't just wait up here!"
"R-Right!...h-heh…"
As the duo head outside, they spot Katy speaking to Leo while in his car.
"You're gonna be needing these." Leo hands Katy some dark sunglasses.
"But isn't the place we're going to completely void of sunlight? Why do I need the shades?"
"Ohoho trust me...the neon lights may be pretty, but the deeper in town we go, the stronger they get. And boy howdy will they burn off your retinas if you're not careful."
"Yeesh, how do you deal with that?"
"You get used to it. Of course I also have this helmet." He laughs to himself as Katy notices Lammy and Parappa, she waves goodbye to them as Leo begins driving off, only to see Parappa merely eye Leo with a smile that gave a heavy air of passive aggression. Once they were out of sight and hearing, Leo tries to speak up, only to nearly have his ears blown out by Katy squealing in delight "Well now I'm gonna need some context…"
"He got JEALOUS! Over me being with another guy! Can you believe that?!~"
"I'm sorry what."
"Parappa! He is super jealous!"
"That explains the feeling of murder and death I felt off of him...but why though?"
"He thinks we're on a date and that must've triggered something in him!"
"But this isn't a date though…"
"That's what I told him! But I guess Ma-san's teasing jokes might've been taken a bit to far that now he thinks otherwise! Last night she told me that she noticed him get jealous, but I didn't believe her. Now after WITNESSING it…" she trails off as her tail curls into a heart.
Leo chuckles "Well, it's nice to see you so happy over a rather inconvenient way of finding out your crush is even more into you than you thought." A frown appears on his helmet screen "I just wish I wasn't the guinea pig that invoked his anger…"
"Oh come on it's not like Parappa's the kind of guy to assault another one over something like that...I think~..."
"Hey there. My safety with the truth matters more than your wacky ways of finding out just how much he's into you."
"Relax~...This was enough to lift my spirits up…~ After what happened last night…"
"That being?"
"Well Lammy out of the blue asked to tag along with him on his trip to a science expo!"
"That's today?! I erm...mean...really now?"
She looks at him with a questioning gaze, but quickly gets over it "Yeah...and he said yes. And that really just...hit me hard…"
"Why didn't you just ask to join them?..."
"Because...Lammy worked her courage to the max just to ask him...She clearly wants to start something...and...if I go as the third wheel she won't do anything…" She reels back as realization hits her face "Oh no…"
"What now?"
"He does have some emotions for me...but also her...ugh...this is hard… A lot of good having a chance is when she has just as big a chance…"
"Why not strike while the iron's hot then?"
"And intervene on something Lammy's trying to do on her own?! Hell no! I'd never forgive myself!..."
"Fair enough, just try when you can."
"Who knows when that will be…"
Parappa and Lammy watch as Katy drives off with Leo.
"L-Lammy…"
"What?..."
"I change my mind...I think I will need your help c-calming down…" Parappa's eye twitches uncontrollably, like a malfunctioning machine.
"R-Right!" She ponders at what to do until her instincts innately kick in. She wraps him in a tight hug, as much as she wants to slink away from doing so. She can't help herself, and luckily, neither can he.
Parappa returns the hug as he starts calming down, his tail wagging with glee. "Thanks~..." Nothing beats a great hug from a dear friend and a pretty girl~...wait...what was that last part? Before he can fully question himself Lammy speaks up.
"No problem~...Glad that it worked!..." She tries to let go, but Parappa refuses.
"A bit longer please?..." He stares with sad puppy eyes.
"...Ok." Who could say no to a face like that? Not like he needed the face to convince me to not let go~...
After a while of waiting, Parappa's dad eventually arrives. To which they break the hug.
"Well you ready to go?"
"O-Of course! I just hope they aren't u-upset with me intruding on w-what was basically a family only outing…"
"Please! My family would never! My dad was ecstatic to have you along! I'm sure Pinto is the same!"
The door to the car opens up, Papa Rappa waves to them to come in. From the inside of the car he along with Pinto are seen, but there is also another guest with it being Guru Ant.
"Guru! Why are you here?" Before Parappa can get an answer, his father intervenes.
"He's back to staying with us again and he offered to help as an exchange for staying with us."
"But I thought you and Takoyama were living together? Did you two hit rocky waters?"
Guru immediately waves his arms in defense "No maaaan...TK-YO kinda messed up and now the place needs renovatin...So in the meanwhile we can't be there what with it bein kinda...blown up…"
"What d-did Takoyama-san d-do?..." Lammy says wary of the octopus hairdressers ecstatic streak.
"All you really need to know is that he got...way to into the groove...and before you knew it, the place was a wreck...At least he still has a backup home. It's a really small place though so I couldn't tag along with. And the only other place I really know of was technically your place. After all, when I was small I kinda just stayed around with no one really noticing. Can't really do that since I'm BIG now…so rather than just bum about for free, I figured I'd help your dad. Course I forgot he creates a lot of wild things that pose a rather incredible risk to my health…" He shakes his head "But I already offered so, what can you do. It guarantees a roof over my head till this all gets resolved. Besides, I missed you guys, you're like a second family to me."
He wasn't wrong, after the whole noodle incident, shrinking Guru Ant was a rather...puzzling task. The device that Papa Rappa had that caused the whole size predicament in the first place met it's untimely demise at the hands of a overused remote. And trying to recreate it wasn't exactly a simple process. To a point that the attempt was given up. Guru Ant had to adjust to his new life. And so he stayed at the Rappa household, seeing as it's where he was to begin with, and just integrated himself into their life. He became that of an older brother/Uncle figure to Parappa and Pinto and it stayed that way until he and Takoyama hit it off. It was rather unexpected, but heartwarming nonetheless. Eventually he moved out because of it and it was a rather upsetting moment for the Rappa siblings, so seeing him back again is a rather exciting thing, but also a shocking one for Parappa.
"Well it's nice to see you again nonetheless because the feeling is mutual!"
"I'm glad, now you two get in! We are in a rather hurried moment aren't we?"
"O-Oh right!" Both Lammy and Parappa hop into the car.
The drive was as long as they expected, but it certainly wasn't monotonous as the two older adults talked between themselves while the two young adults sat in the back with Pinto. Pinto had chosen to sit directly in between the two of them however, cutting off any chance Lammy had at making advances "Um...Pinto...missed your bro?..."
"Yes." The response was quick, flat and sharp. All the things pointing to one obvious thing, Pinto was not happy with Lammy.
Lammy simply recoils in her seat as her arms wrap around her stomach. Parappa notices this and tries to chime in "Lammy yooooou...feeling alright?"
"Oh, I guess I could be better…"
"What's wrong?..."
"N-Nothing!...Just a little...anxious is all...the usual…"
"...Mind givin me another lesson about now?..."
"S-Sure!" As Lammy replies she begins sensing a sharp burning gaze looking at her. She doesn't look towards the source, she already knows who it is. She struggles to keep her composure "B-But maybe not right n-now? H-Heh…"
"Nonsense! Wouldn't hurt!" He grabs his guitar "Let's go!"
Lammy swallows roughly "O-Ok…"
Before Parappa gets to pluck a chord, Pinto tugs on his arm "Hey bro?"
"What is it?"
"Why didn't Katy choose to join us?..." Pinto's words cause an emotional dagger to jab itself into Lammy's heart.
That explains the hostility...makes sense...Katy is like her sister figure given their history...to a point it would make sense that she would want her actual brother and her to be together… Lammy whimpers. What's worse is that Katy doesn't even feel that way about Parappa!...if she found that out she'd be heartbroken...and probably blame me…that's a terrifying thought. Luckily she won't find out about th-
Parappa's hands tightly coil around the guitar neck once more "Oh...she's...gone with...another friend to enjoy the day…"
Lammy flinches. Oh no...
"Another friend?..."
"Yes...one we met...at a new club we went to...he decided to take Katy to traverse the town over…"
"He?..."
"Yes...so she agreed...and are currently at their date…" The final sentence mortifies Pinto as multiple thoughts begin entering her head, shattering a collection of happier thought she created involving a future with the two people she'd hope would get together. With this new, albeit incredibly incorrect info, Pinto began panicking on the spot until she squeals in devastation before collapsing onto her seat. Her eyes faded and a comical little spirit version of her leaving her mouth, signifying that she was out cold. This turns Parappa's resentment and anger over Leo into worry over his little sister "P-Pinto?!..." He drops his guitar.
Papa Rappa quickly calls out "Everything alright back there?..."
Parappa fumbled with what to tell him, but before he could even try, Lammy spoke up for him "Nothing Mr. Rappa! Pinto just fell asleep! And…she looked so adorable I just couldn't contain the squealing!..." Hopefully that was believable…
"Oh...well alright then carry on! But uh...try to keep the squealing down? Kinda need my ears drums to not be blown out while I'm driving..."
"Will do!...S-Sorry Sir!..." After he quiets down, Lammy turns her head to Parappa and Pinto.
"W-What happened?!...Why did she just up and faint!..."
Oh you lovable ignorant goof… "I...couldn't tell you if I knew!...which I don't!...All I do know is that she'll be fine...she won't be happy, but she will at least be ok…"
"Oh man...maybe it was something I said?..." He quickly gasp "D-Do you think she picked up that I was upset over a friend and that got to her? Because I'm usually NEVER upset at a friend!...And that triggered bad flashbacks!"
How is THAT a conclusion you reach?! Wait...upset over a friend?...Leo or Katy? Why? "Upset over who?..."
"Oh it doesn't matter now! Not anymore at least! I can't be letting things like this get to me! Otherwise I'd just be back at square one." He whimpers "i'm sorry Pinto...Big brother should've known better…"
I don't know who to feel bad over more...Parappa or Pinto... "Well...while I don't think that's the case, it's good that you caught yourself and are now putting an end to it before it became an actual problem." Doesn't exactly do much for Pinto, but I'm sure she'll get over it once she figures out they're not really dating. Now how am I gonna cheer YOU up now though? She closes her eyes until it hits her. Well...Pinto is out for the count...making this a lot more easier… "Hey Parappa?...Still want those lessons?...It might help you ease up for the remainder of the ride."
"...Yeah, that'd be nice…" He picks up his guitar "Know any nice uplifting beats?"
"Do I! This is me you're talking to. You should know that I have ways to help myself calm down with a guitar~"
"Heh. Let's have at it then." He glances once more at the knocked out Pinto before they begin to play for the remainder of the ride.
"And shades on!" Leo announces to Katy so that she can take cover.
"Yikes it really is a luminescent glare." Katy says as she struggles to watch even with the shades on.
"Told you. And at the same time it's still quite dark. And it's not even noon yet!"
"I can see that…" She looks around the sides of the car "Soooo...what's there to do here?"
"You name it. This place prides itself on having the most out there things you can ask for. If you got a specific yet ridiculous request. Chances are, this place can hook you up."
"Really?..." Katy looks up to the non visible sky "Hm...place got a roller rink?"
"Didn't peg you as someone who'd be into that."
"You wouldn't be the first to say that." She smiles "Well?"
"Yes it does!" He makes a quick left turn before parking outside a building adorned with blue neon lights "And it's right here!"
"Huh. Convenient. So anything I should be aware of doing or not doing?"
"Just enjoy yourself. That applies to every place here!"
"Anything to expect?"
"Just expect a lot of cheesy music to be blasted. As well as people who never skated in their life acting like they're born professionals."
"So a classic rink feel. Phew." She claps "Well, no point standing outside! Let's go!" She grabs Leo and drags him in.
The duo quickly rent out their skates and waste no time getting into the main point of the place, the rink itself.
"WOOHOO!" Katy leaps into the air with a triple spin before landing flawlessly on her feet "Man I haven't been in one of these in like forever! But I still got it~"
"I'd certainly say so, you're catching everyone's eyes!"
"I have that effect on people~"
"Doesn't seem like you have modesty though!"
"A little guilty there~" She twirls "But I mean. I'm not wrong~"
"Ain't denying that. No matter how you perform, it's a treat."
"Thanks doll~" as the duo skate about Katy decides to question Leo "Hey how come you haven't removed your helmet?"
"I've told you, I can't do that."
"But you've clearly done it. How else do you eat?"
"When no one's around."
"But clearly your fans have seen you helmetless, Niles saw you helmetless, and now I'm sure even PJ saw you helmetless."
"E-Eheh...what makes you think PJ saw me…"
"Well when I was waiting for you, I saw you two arrive and you tried to take your helmet off, but PJ stopped you." She huffs "So clearly he's in on it! I wanna know!"
"No."
"Whaaat. Are you ugly or something?" As Katy says this, Leo nearly trips and falls.
"E-Erm...no...i'm not ugly...my mom and aunties told me I was quite the handsome young man...as do the fans who saw me before I donned this headgear."
"Then what's the deal man! Take it off!"
"No, now please stop asking…"
"Fineeeee…" She rolls her eyes. They stay in silence until Katy speaks up yet again "So you were really shocked when you heard about the expo. Why's that?"
This time Leo does collapse onto the ground "Ow…"
"Whoa! You alright?" Katy skates towards him and helps him up.
"Ugh...yeah I'm ok...the helmet helps! And the jacket and jeans I have are well padded!" He taps his shoulder "Still stiffs up my shoulders and back quite a bit though… Anyway, I wasn't shocked! Well...maybe just a little...but it was because-" A spinning hourglass appears on his monitor "I wanted to go there myself! But I guess I forgot when it was…"
Katy crosses her arms as she continues skating while dragging him along with her tail "Your helmet gave away your lies, but whatever…"
The duo skate like professionals compared to everyone else. They leave everyone else in as they glide along the rink in tune with the music that was playing. It began appearing as if they were dancing while the were skating, but whatever it was. It was captivating to all who saw them. After a small while longer, the duo leave the skating rink and are in the car once more "Where to next?..."
"How many places can I choose to go to?"
"As many as you want. The day doesn't end until you want it to."
"Wow really? Man talk about the deluxe pampering treatment."
"Like I said, I owed that much and then some." His helmet emits a thumbs up.
"Well alrighty...before I think up a place I wanna go to...how about we check….Ooooh! That place over there!"
"Uh...you sure?"
"I ask for it, therefore we go to it!" She fists bumps the sky repeatedly.
"Aight…" The duo arrive to the interior of the building Katy chose, walking down a hallway as they near a large door..
"What is this place?"
"The place you decided to go to was a giant amusement playground!" Leo pushes the door open, only for the two to be enveloped with a wave of laughter.
"Wow...look at everything here! Look at those slides! And that humongous jungle gym! It stretches to the roof and goes all the way down there! It's like the length of three football fields and the height of a windmill!" She gasps "Is that a laser tag arena!"
"Uh...yeah?" Leo stares at the girl as she acts like a smitten child who had never seen a playground or amusement park. Or this case a combination of the two "You do realize they have more things here than just the ones you pointed out ri-"
She grabs Leo and drags him along as they head off to the arena. Once they arrive, her joy greatly multiplies "They have set types of it to increase the fun!"
"Uh-huh…"
"There's one where you play as cowboys against outlaws!"
"Katy you're a grown woman…"
"A grown woman who wants to be a cowboy!"
"Wouldn't it be a cowgirl?..."
"I say cowboy, I'm gonna be a cowboy!" Her tail cracks on the ground like a whip.
"Meep!...yes ma'am!..." Still a child at heart, should've figured as much. She IS the same in the future after all.
Katy uses her tail as a lasso and ensnares Leo as she drags him along "C'mon Pardner! We gotta show y'all how great cowboys are compared to all them yellow bellied convicts!"
"Whoa heyheyheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!"
Lammy and Parappa stop their playing as the car comes to a halt, immediately they garner applause from Papa Rappa and Guru Ant "That was an ode to the ears you two!"
"Man Parappa, you astound me everytime I see you. Truly mature indeed. But I hope this doesn't mean you're givin up rappin!"
"Of course not! Just learning to play for someone's benefit!"
"Well whoever that person is, they certainly got you to branch out in a great way son!"
"Well honestly I gotta thank Lammy for giving me lessons!"
"O-Oh it's no real b-biggie!...I-I'm sure you'd d-do fine w-without me!..."
"Of course not! When we return home, I gotta make sure I begin helping you gain confidence in your singing!"
"E-Ehehe!...ok!"
Parappa, Guru and Papa Rappa all leave the car. They converse over who'll carry the sleeping Pinto. Lammy was about to do the same but jolts up and flips around when she feels someone tug on her sleeve. When she looks down she sees Pinto awake, but with a sad expression this time.
"At least take care of him…" the small puppy stares at the confused lamb, who only looks in fear of what she would say next.
"W-Wha-"
"You also make him happy...I could hear it in the music...Please don't break his heart like Sunny did…" She hops out of the car, leaving Lammy stunned. She comes to when Parappa calls her over.
"You aight?"
"Yeah! I just...got caught off guard is all…"
"By?..."
"I-It's nothing!" Just the fact that I think your sis gave me her ok to hook up with you?... When you think about, Lammy is right and wrong at the same time.
"Well...if you say so! Come on then, let's head on in! Pinto woke up and got Dad and Guru to move on!"
"R-Right behind y-yo-" Lammy is silence when Parappa grabs a hold of her hand.
"Let's go!" he dashes off, dragging her along.
"S-Slow d-down!..." It wasn't the fact that she couldn't keep up, no her legs could easily keep up and surpass what he was currently running, it was more so the fact that the simple hand holding had removed what little air she had left in her lungs "I-I can walk on my own!..."
Parappa obliges and lets her hand go free "S-Sorry…"
Wait!...NO!...darn it!... "I mean!...Um…"
He stops and turns to her "Yeah?..." She struggles to lock eyes, it just makes it more difficult to get her point across "You can tug me along...just...um...ask first?"
"Gotcha!..." He extends his hand "Well...may I?..."
"...You may~..." She extends her own hand to which he gently grabs. And rather than pull her along, he slowly guides her to the main area "Honestly you certainly can run with ease, even with pants that sag so much! How do you manage without them sagging constantly?"
"Uh...w-who knows! M-Maybe I just learned how to run better?..." The real answer is a secret, but I ain't telling anyone that! It's to embarrassing! He awkwardly fumbles his free hand around, mustering a halfhearted giggle.
Lammy catches on, but doesn't add on, the way he turned down the question is similar to how she does when she rather not answer either "Ok."
"Yeah- wait huh?..."
"If the real answer is too much to wanna say, then you don't have to say it. I know what it's like to want to keep things to yourself." She feels his grip tighten.
"Thanks, Lammy. It's nice to have someone who doesn't try to get everything out of me!"
"Well I wouldn't want it happening to me! I can only assume you are the same."
He giggles again, this time with actual emotion within it "Well, you'd be correct! Now come on! Let's go see what there is to see in a varied place like this! I already see so many out there inventions! I don't get why my dad didn't bring in anything…"
"Maybe it wouldn't be fair."
"Eh? Whatcha mean?" He stops in place.
"Can't be hogging all the attention!" Both share a laugh.
"When you're right, you're right!"
"Well pardner, I'd reckon you're a good shot~ Guess that fancy schmancy hat o' yours isn't an obstruction to your vision after all!" Katy tips her hat towards Leo.
"Course not sheriff~ I can see clear as day!" Leo twirls the toy pistol and slips it into the holster.
"Clearly! You were shootin convicts left and right before they even came into field of view! One moment fit as a fiddle, the next, boom! Tagged on that their marker on their chest with our laser toy pistols! You sure that noggin gear o' yours ain't helping you out?" the cats sticks her tongue out as she playfully accuses the helmeted boy of cheating.
"Have mercy! I would never! Them crooked folk simply could muster the ability to stand up to me! And what's more, you sure you ain't guilty of foul play either? You sure are one helluva crack shot. Moreso than me I'd say!"
"Can't be blamed for pure innate skill pardner. Y'all could've done the same ifin ya didn't rely on that hear fancy hat~Why not take it off and get a breather?"
"I'm not removing my helmet Katy." Leo grabs the laser toy and quickly fires to the left, eliminating another member of the convict team.
"Pleaseeeeeeeeee." Katy grabs Leo's and her own laser toy and without looking, quickly fires them behind herself and eliminates two more "You look ridiculous with the cowboy hat on top of the helmet! And the cowboy clothes OVER your jacket and leather jeans! You look like a mess…" She hands Leo his laser back.
"Ok, first of all, rude. Second of all, it's because I can't take it off!" Leo fires off above as another contender simply bellows out a sad 'Aw…'
"What is it glued onto you?" She fires off behind Leo, but the voice that replies simply gets upset 'Hey I was on your team!...Ah whatever...not like I would've actually managed.'
"No! I mean that as in, you aren't supposed to see me!"
"But whyyyy...PJ got to see...that fact alone is offending meeeee…"
"It's not like I WANTED to show him!"
Before Katy could add on, the speaker turned on and informed the duo that they were the last ones left "That means we win!"
'The remaining two will now have a duel against each other! The victor will be the last one to not be tagged!'
Both of them stare at each other, then quickly vanish into the terrain to hide. The lights in the arena began to turn on to both give away their cover as well as make it a bit more difficult for their lasers to hit their mark. At this moment they kept firing the moment they noticed the other peek out from one cover to another, but neither one could hit each other "Just throwin this out there, you may wanna give up now Leo!"
"I'm gonna go on a limb and say you're not gonna take no for an answer?" Leo immediately dodges a light that was aiming for him "I'll take that as a yes."
"Sorry doll! Can't be spendin mercy to any convict on the battlefield!"
"This is sheriff abuse!"
"This cowboy ain't hearin it! She's the queen of laser tag and has been since as far back as I can remember! Almost as instinctual as dancin on the dancefloor! And you're the queen's next victim!" She dives to another cover while firing a beam to hit Leo, but he quickly runs away. While he runs off, she takes the opportunity to go to a mini hiding spot in the higher ground. Alright, since I made it seem like I'd be chasing him, he'll be expecting me to strike from the low path and try to sneak around and catch me off guard! Unfortunately for him, I'm up here! And I have the vantage point of the entire place from here. If he pokes out for even just a second...BANG! He's done for! She hears a shift in spot not to far off "Hm?" She sees something move "Gotcha!" She pokes out from the hiding spot and attempts to fire, but as she pops out she herself is hit in the chest by the laser toy.
"Bang! You're out pardner." Leo says from underneath Katy's hiding spot.
"W-Wha-...how did you...how COULD you?..." Katy fails to pronounce anymore words, she is completely dumbfounded by how he could've possibly found her out.
"Confused as to how I figured you out? When I was young I had someone who was close to me ALWAYS do that as one of her finishing tactics. She would always expect the runner to anticipate her creeping along the ground level with them. And she was right, they never expected her to be ABOVE them! And so I took that knowledge with me. And wouldn't ya know it? It worked to my advantage~"
"But you were over!..." She looks towards the spot where she saw something move, but upon closer inspection, it was Leo's cowboy hat attached to the scenery "N-No...t-that's not possible…No one ever knows how to deal with that tactic...because I thought it up!...how is that…-"
"Don't think to hard on it and just accept it. The queen's…" He blows the tip of his toy pistol before holstering it again "Been dethron- h-hey...d-don't cry!...I-It's just a game!..." He quickly starts panicking once he sees tears leaking down her eyes "Uhhhh...U-Uh...i-is there anything I can d-do that'll get you stop crying?..."
"C-Can we get ice cream…"
"S-Sure!..." So that's who I got it from...I thought it was from dad… "Let's go, there's a place down the street that has some great ice cream!..."
"Any good burger place here to?..."
Yep...it was definitely her...heh, I'm glad. "Yes there is, it's in this building though. So what do you wanna get first?"
"The ice cream...that way when we come back here...I can get on the slides and climb the way high up monkey bars once I'm done eating the burger!..."
"I'm starting to question if you're really upset and are just using this to get more pampering out of me." she stares at him with sad eyes "Okok. Let's go." She stops the sad face then looks at him cutely. It taunts him in an impish manner.
"Let's!"
"What's this thing right here sir?" Parappa says as he hovers over an oblong device.
"That my impressionable young lad is something akin to a fax machine, but it's actually something more! With help from an odd fellow who claimed they were from hell of all places, very strange, this device can actually send people to far off distances! At least that's what the fellow told me it would do once he helped me make it…" the inventor of the device, a walrus man, says as he scratches his head.
Huh...that sounds a lot like the thing Yoko had...I wonder… "S-Sir...a man with a pumpkin for a head w-wouldn't have been the one to help you make this now would he?" Lammy asks, already knowing the answer.
"Why yes it was! You happen to know him?"
I'm guessing this is either to have a spare one in case they end up getting stuck up here and need to get back to hell...or they broke the original one and plan of claiming this one eventually as 'theirs'... "U-Um...vaguely. J-Just happened to hear this h-happen before is all."
"Sir how does it work?" Parappa says as he gets near the machine and stares at it rather closely.
"Like this!" the inventor pushes Parappa into the machine, and immediately he gets sucked in.
"W-WHAAAAA-…" Parappa's voice fades into nothingness as the machine stops whirring. His voice is soon then again heard from the air as he was transported to the ceiling "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He plummets downwards like a cartoon character careening down a cliff.
"Oh...that wasn't supposed to happen...he was supposed to be sent to the side hallway. Oh dear this is bad…"
"I-I GOTCHA!..." the distressed lamb skitters along the ground with her arms held out as she tries to catch the falling Parappa. She closes her eyes, and in split second after, she is slammed onto her back. Parappa is safely in her arms as she holds him tightly. "Owowow...c-caught you…~"
"Phew...yeah...thanks a bunch Lammy!... Are you ok though? I landed on you pretty hard…"
"I don't m-mind! I'm ok k-knowing that you're o-ok."
"I'm terribly sorry dear boy...it seems this device is currently malfunctioning… I don't understand, before I came here it was working just fine…" he helps the two of them up "I didn't anticipate that to happen...I hope you can forgive this old fool...he should've done a few more test checks before gleefully giving you that test run…" He bows in sorrow.
"Well...logically I should be upset...but for the most part we are fiiiiiiine?" he glances over to Lammy, the lamb nods "Yep! Both fine, so it's all good sir. Neither of us got TO hurt from this!"
"Thanks you both. I was one of the main presenters later today what with giving demonstrations on what my invention does...now I definitely need to make sure what's wrong…"
"Whoa...glad we could help prevent what would've been chaos!"
"Y-Yeah...to think what ELSE c-could've gone wrong…only w-wish we weren't the t-test dummies that figured that out, b-but like Parappa said! W-We weren't to hurt from it so w-we'll look it over!" She rest her hands on her hips "I still suggest you get it working before you hit the demonstration floor, otherwise drop out to prevent any more accidents!" He stuttering fades away as a more stern air emanates from her. No guitar needed as her mind was already instilled with anger, or rather what the equivalent of anger to her was with what she could muster, let's settle for really strong upsetness, over Parappa's little tumble.
"Y-Yes of course! Right away!" He quickly begins working on the device to put in full working order.
Parappa stares at her with slight awe as they walk away from the inventor of the fax machine esque device "Wow. No guitar needed for that!"
She huffs up steam from her nose as if she were a bull "Guess I was just very miffed at him! I know he didn't mean to do that. By all means he expected that to fully work and that's understandable, but would it have killed him to test it first?!"
"Well I mean he is rather old...a fall from that height probably would…"
"Ok but regardless! That put you in harms way and I just won't stand for it!" She closes her eyes, stops walking and just sits on the ground with her arms crossed. Realizing that her body would follow her words literally, the action simply causes her to turn red, but she doesn't get up.
"Lammy."
"Nope."
"Lammy…"
"Not getting up."
"I get that and all. And while flattering to be so defensive of me...you kinda chose to start sitting in the middle of a doorway…"
"Say what." She opens one her eyes slightly to peer around and spots that he's telling the truth. She opens both her eyes fully and turns her head to see a crowd of people have built up behind her, wanting to go through "O-OH MY GOSH…" She gets up and scoots out of the way "I-I'M SO SORRY E-EVERYONE!..." She bows apologetically as the people resume walking on by.
"Eheh...sorry y'all." Parappa also bows as the people head on.
Once they're all gone Lammy fumbles in trying to word an apology "I-I...-"
"Chill Lammy, no harm done there! Just a bit of an awkward scene is all."
"Y-Yeah but I greatly e-embarrassed you!..."
"Eh...i'm more used to that scenario than you know of."
"T-That doesn't make me feel the least b-bit better at all!... If a-anything it makes me feel worse that I p-put you back into that scenario a-again!"
Parappa holds both his hands up in front of her to the best he can manage given their height difference "Re. Lax! As I said, i'm used to it! Besides in a situation like this? I tend not to let it get to me since I won't really be seeing the people here again. Their opinions on me don't break me, and it shouldn't break you either. And if by chance I do end up seein em again…" He pulls out his microphone "I just let em see-" He pulls over his guitar "The better side of me!"
"T-That's one mature thought process P-Parappa..."
"I didn't struggle to be mature for nothin after all! But in all actuality I have PJ and Katy to thank for that. Along with two others."
"T-The other two being?..."
"Sunny and, believe it or not, Joe." Lammy doesn't speak up, she simply blinks twice in disbelief "I'm serious! It was...a weird circumstance...see...remember how I said he was a good sport when I was the one who ended up with Sunny?..."
"Vaguely…"
"Well during that time he was a bit more...uh...conservative with his words." He glances left and right "He was still typical Joe, but there was some good intent mixed in with his endless spiel now and again. Like with this. On the day after the duo rap with me and Mushi that won over Sunny…"
"Oh man oh man...today marks the first day of me and Sunny as an actual couple!...And I am FREAKING out...I might have been over my head with all this...I mean I do want to be with her, but what do I do to make sure I STAY with her? Aw man datings hard…" The young pup skitters back and forth out on the sidewalk "I'm supposed to be meeting her today at her house to see what we should do for our first date...but what if something goes wrong? What if EVERYTHING goes wrong? Would people judge us for being a couple?...W-Would they judge her for picking someone like me?..." he stops in place and begins whining as he pulls his beanie over his eyes "Her life's gonna end up filled with constant stares and ridicule and it's all thanks to meeeeee…."
"Sheesh, you make it sound like if she was dating me in the end!"
Parappa quickly turns around and lifts his hat to see who spoke up, it was Joe Chin "Joe? Why are you here?..."
"Can't a guy take a simple walk along the town on a nice sunny day?"
"Joe we're at the edge of town in the rural home portion, it's incredibly cloudy, and we're literally steps away from my front yard." Parappa crosses his arms "You clearly wanted to see me."
"And is there any harm in that dear friend?"
"Considering what you've been putting me through all day yesterday and the day before? Yes, quite a lot actually. And i'm being generous in not counting what happened before those two days!"
"Ouch, that's some venom you're hitting me with old friend!"
"We're not friends Joe…"
"Oh that's just rude! Why would you go and say such a thing Parappa? Is it because I'm two years older than you?"
"Age has nothing to do with it! Did you seriously not hear what I just said? It's pretty self explanatory as to why we aren't friends…"
Joe scoffs "Alright alright, I get it. And I apologize alright? Look I came over here to…" he sighs "Congratulate you…"
"I'm sorry wha-"
"The better man, won the fair lady's heart in the end!"
Parappa stares at Joe with confusion before speaking up "Sunny's not a prize to be won ya know…"
"And yet you competed for her much like I was, were you not?"
"Moving along...it's not like you to flat out admit this sorta thing...what's up?..."
"I am seriously just here to congratulate you!...I don't have a reason...only shattered pride…"
"Alright...well thanks. It takes a big man to own up to the mistakes he's been doin."
"And there is no bigger man than I!"
"And immediately I take it all back."
"Sorry...force of habit…" Joe scratches his signature chin "Carrying on, what about you? Why aren't you continue YOUR walk? You clearly have somewhere to be, but here you are all gloom and doom over your new relationship!"
Parappa sulks "I really wish you didn't hear all that…" with a quick roll of the eyes he resumes "Yes I am worried over this...why wouldn't I be? I don't know the first thing about dating! Especially when it comes to keeping Sunny happy!"
"I'm sorry I'm in a bit of loss for words here."
"That's a first. Why?"
"Well for starters, everything you just said is...well it's really a big fat lie."
"How?!"
"Well you say you don't know how to date, but all your actions in trying to improve yourself to be the girl you love say otherwise. You chose to want to make her happy in that regards through odd means. Ruffians came to her face? You learned to fight. She seems happy at the prospect of travelling? You learned to drive. And when it came to her birthday, you bought her a cake you picked from your heart rather than your brain."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Don't be a fool! I saw with my own eyes! When you saw the two cakes, rather than pick the flashy expensive one. You bought the classic daisy one. That alone is another innate touch! It also put me in a bind as there were no more flower themed cakes!"
"...I did do that didn't I?"
"And when I…'accidentally' ruined it. What did you do?"
"I learned to make one."
"Atta boy! You do know what to do with dating, because it just will come to you, like all this did! You can and will make her happy. Just make sure she also strives to do the same for you! It isn't fair if just ONE side of the relationship is piling on the love!"
"I know she will!"
"Good!"
"But…"
"But?..."
"What about any onlookers? What if they just...don't like us being together? Don't like her being with me?"
"Now this is where I draw the line and have to call you an idiot. Which is really bad considering it is I, who is calling you an idiot. Parappa old boy, WHY should any of that matter to you?"
"Well it's just...they could make her life hell over me...and just plainly berate me at the same time…"
"And again, the thoughts of others should affect you, becaaaaause?"
"Well they-"
"They can't break you. They will never break you. Words are sharp yes, but I must ask you this. What do you think of the daling Miss Funny?"
"I love her with all my heart!"
"And what did she tell you after your performance with the MC yesterday?"
"She loved me with all of hers…"
"And that's?"
"Real love…"
"And love is strong enough to not heed the words of others. No. YOU are strong enough to not let any words affect you as is she. Being together simply increases this fact! What another thinks of you is nothing that should keep you up at night when the fact is...Will you really ever see this person again?"
"No...but...what if I do?"
"If you by chance DO meet those rather rude fellows. Then you do the obvious thing."
"What's that?..."
Joe pulls out a microphone with a ribbon on it to make it seem like a present. It is incredibly expensive and flashy, but with all the glamour and adornments, it's more of a trophy than an actual microphone. It doesn't seem like Joe noticed that fact. On the end of the handle there is a tag that says 'I'm sorry for everything'. Joe then hands the microphone to Parappa "You let them see the better side of you!"
"Wow...to think something so confusing yet sweet could...come from a guy like him…" the shy lamb tilts her head in slight disgust "Where did THAT Joe go?..."
"I wish I knew…" Parappa sighs "Unfortunately we'll never know now...what with him...well you know…"
"Heh...y-yeah…" She rubs her arm before she lets go an extends her hand "W-Well...why not get your mind off of it by helping me see more t-things around here?..."
He smiles weakly "Sure~..." He grabs her hand and they continue walking off. They stop when they see another inventor holding a weird device with multiple screens.
"Oh hello! Are you two young lovebirds interested in what my little side project is?" Says the female crane inventor as she looks towards the two.
"L-Lovebirds?!" the two shout as the separate their hands.
"Y-You misunderstand Miss! I was just escorting my friend around!..."
"Y-Yeah t-that's all it is!..." I mean I'd like it to be that, but not like this...I rather it be by my own way...really struggling to find an opportunity though…
"I see. I'll tell you, the newer generation of people sure are much more lenient with their friendships! Back in my day you even stand next to the opposite gender and you were automatically in a shotgun wedding!" She cackles at her own joke "So I take it you two are curious in my little device here?"
"H-Heh...yes Ma'am…"
"Well it's nothing TO extraordinary. Just a little uh…" she taps her beak with her finger "Quality of life, obscure convenience? I guess is a way to word it."
"W-What is it M-Miss?..."
"Well my young miss! This is simply just a multi scale reader! It's pretty much multiple scales in one! Balance scale, weight scale, richter scale, geiger scale and so forth! Any type of scale you require. Guarantee it'll be on this here device!"
The two young animals stare at the crane before Parappa decides to speak up "Wow that is an obscure convenience."
"It really is, it's only for the working lehman in the field of science or mathematics such as engineering!"
"I can see that! My dad could've surely used one of those back in his hay day."
"Well that's the hilarity of having something you'd never know you needed until you don't need it anymo-...huh?" She quickly notes the device shaking like crazy within her grasp "This is odd…"
"What happened?..."
"The richter scale is going crazy…"
"W-Wait...d-does that mean t-there's gonna be an e-earthquake?!..."
"That's what I don't get...by the readings it's a force from way underground...but not one that's as threatening as an actual earthquake would be...it's as if something was trying to dig out from underneath the ground...we should be feeling the shockwaves right about...now!" as she finishes the ground starts shaking hecticly. The people start tumbling over as they struggle to maintain their balance. Lammy and Parappa hold onto each other to prevent the other from toppling over "And it should be finished...right about...now!" The sudden violent ground movement comes to an immediate halt just as she says "Whew...what a ride! Strange though...earthquakes don't ever happen around here...wonder what could've happened…" she glances at the two shaking animals before her "Oh! Are you two alright?"
"Y-Ya huh…"
"S-Sure we c-can call it t-that…"
"Good! Well everything's all fine and dandy now! I suggest you carry on watching what others have made!" the duo simply nod before forcing their feet to move on "Such a joy to have such young people interested in the technological field!"
Back with the old walrus inventor, as he's trying to fix his device, it starts to violently bounce about "Ah bugger...looks like I'll have to drop out from the demonstration time after all." He grabs the fax machine device and holds it steady "C'mere you! We gotta put you under lockdown until this event ends. Don't want you causing any trouble to the others here!" He heads to the main room and converses with the people hosting the event, within moments he then places his device in the back room and straps it down so that it doesn't bounce away "I'll be dismantling you by the end of today! I only wonder what could've caused the malfunction...it was going so well…" He leaves the device as he sadly walks away.
Back with Parappa and Lammy the two finally shake off the fear from the earthquake as they try to talk to regain composure "So...that was uh…"
"T-Terrifying?"
"Yeah it could've gone better…but she was kinda right! It didn't hit like an actual destructive earthquake would! It still shook the ground like one though…"
"S-She could've given it a b-better description though… S-Something trying to d-dig its way o-out? No t-thank you…"
"Oh relax Lammy! What on earth could be below us, besides hell, that would want to burst through! Let alone here at a science expo?"
"Well I dunno...still off putting…"
"Well don't let it get to you! Oh! Gimme a sec, shoes untied."
"A-Alright. I'll just keep g-going onwards. C-Catch up when you're d-done."
"Roger that!"
Lammy glances around to see what manner of inventions there are. Would that be safe to check out with Parappa? No...to sharp… How about that? No to disproportionate it size...it might topple over judging by our luck so far… Oh! That seems sa- The device she's currently staring at uppercuts its inventor out of the building, mortifying Lammy. And I immediately eat my words… she places her hands in her pockets as she keeps on looking about, huffing defeatedly when she can't pick a thing to visit. Just then from the corner of her eye she sees something spark from the distance. "Wha?..." the spark grows brighter "T-That doesn't seem safe...I should probably w-warn someone who works here to check on that…" she looks around but no luck "Oh man...maybe it's nothing b-bad?...I-It could just b-be someone finishing u-up their invention b-before unveiling it!...Oh...even I don't believe that...maybe if I s-see it it'll calm me down…" She heads on over to the main room and walks towards the source of the spark in the backroom.
The door opens slightly allowing the anxious lamb to spy on what's inside. Immediately she spots the device the walrus was trying to fix. She aggravatingly rolls her eyes.
"I should've figured…" She turns around and tries to head back over to Parappa, but not a second after, the device begins making a noise as if it was going to print something out "That...does not sound good…" She returns to staring at the machine and her fear was well warranted as the machine prints out a large piece of paper. The paper soon gets upright as someone all to familiar peels herself off from it.
"Man I HATE havin to do that again...wish the damn path connecting Hell and the overworld wasn't busted...UGH. Just my fucking luck…" A black sheep says as she begins stomping on the ground aggressively.
"No…"
"And why the hell did I end up here?! I set the thing to send me to where that walking anxious mess of a redhead was! But all I see is a nerd's supply closet! Man I'm gonna carve that idiots pumpkin head wide open when I get my hands on him…" she cracks her knuckles angrily as she pictures the one who told her the path would work flawlessly.
"Nooooo…"
"Someone there?! Show yourself!" she pulls out her guitar and begins walking towards the door.
"Eep!..." Lammy quickly backs off from the door and runs off "NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONOOOOOO…" she runs to different rooms trying to hide away from the girl she just saw, who she believes is following her. Why is SHE here?! Why NOW?! I don't want go through ANOTHER battle right now...wait… Lammy immediately recalls what happened earlier today, something she was sure was not gonna be the case.
"And she looks...so familiar…"
She looks like me, she plays guitar and it's the only thing she responds to before listening to reason...they've even MET...no...it IS her...why…What could YOU possibly need help with?!...and from him no less...wait...maybe I can keep him away from her?...He doesn't know it's her that he has to help, but if he SEES her it might tip him off… Lammy tries to calm her thoughts until she feels something tug at her shirt "Huh?..." She turns around and sees a downtrodden Parappa "Parappa!...w-wait...what's w-wrong?..."
"...I uh...I'm sorry...it's just...I gotta a text from Katy who was checking up on us to see how we were doing and...I got upset again...heh...already I fail at trying to keep Pinto happy by not getting upset at a friend…"
"W-Wait but why are you u-upset?..."
"...I couldn't tell you if I knew...just something in my gut is just...so angry right now…"
The heck does that mean?... "C-Can I try to help you calm d-down again?..."
"If it's alright with you, I'd like to calm myself down to get better used to this. Mind if we walk by ourselves for the time being? I wanna air out my thoughts on my own in the meanwhile."
"O-Oh...ok…" And there goes any chance I have at trying to set up any semblance of a date...well at least he's away from Ram- she looks around to see that Parappa had already left. She quickly spots him heading off in the direction of where she spotted Rammy You have got to be- she quickly runs after him "P-PARAPPA WAI- E-EEP!" She stops and hides behind a wall due to spotting Rammy again.
"Huh?..." Parappa turns his head, but continues walking, to see who called his name "I could've sworn I heard someone call my nam- OOF" He bumps into someone due to not paying attention to what was in front of him "Ohhhh...my head...I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention to where I was going…"
"No kidding! Pay more attention where you walk idiot!"
Parappa looks up to see who he bumped into "Geez I said I was sor-" the two stare at each other, Rammy's gaze squints into that of annoyance while Parappa simply stares like a goof. He sees a spark flare up in the corner of one of her eyes. It's you! You're the one that wants help!...
"Hey creep, why not take a pic? It lasts longer."
"I-I'm sorry, just...you're familiar…" The night of MilkCan's first concert flashes into his mind "THE NIGHT OF THE CONCERT!"
Literal fire ignites in Rammy's eyes "Tch..."
"U-Uhhhh…Y-You know...the o-one where I a-accidentally mistook you for my friend…?"
"I. Remember."
"E-Eheh...you don't sound to happy about that fact…"
"Oh. I'm sorry I'm not happy for the girl who people mistook for me, allowing her to take my place in things that were mainly mine…"
"...A-Ah...I'm uh...sorry...um?..."
"Rammy…"
"Yes!...R-Rammy!..." A name like that adds on to the irony…
"I'm aware of how her similar name also helped in her theft of my career."
"H-How did you know I was thinking that…"
"It's ALWAYS the same thing with everyone! The appearance! The names! The fact that we both are ace guitarists...EVERYTHING! ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHH" She holds her guitar over her head, a pose Parappa recalls all to clearly from his dream, and she slams it to the ground. The ground violently shakes as all the inventions in the building start stuttering and bursting with electricity whipping off of them.
"H-Hey hey hey! N-No need to get angry over it!... Um...R-Rammy why are you here?..."
"I was looking for that career stealer...the damn machine was supposed to take me to her...but instead it ejected me here in this dork utopia…"
She doesn't know Lammy's here...that's...probably for the better… "A-Ah...I see...that explains what happened to the old guys device...you were in the middle of using it yourself!...H-Haha…" He taps his fingers together nervously "S-Say uh...Y-You wouldn't happen to need help right?"
"What do you mean by 'needing help'..." Her voice grew sharp.
"I-I don't mean it like there's anything w-wrong with you! I mean l-like are you upset with anyth-"
"I'M UPSET WITH EVERYTHING THANKS TO HER!" she slams her guitar again "AND THEN I GET AN ANNOYING MUTT IN FRONT OF ME! TELLING ME THAT I NEED HELP!" She slams it once more, knocking Parappa onto his face.
"P-Please listen to me!..."
Rammy was about to hit him over the head with her guitar, until she noticed his guitar that was strapped to his back "Heh...you play guitar?...A miserable hound like you?"
This is what she meant by getting through her thick skull isn't it… "U-Um...well I wouldn't say that...I-I recently...like REALLY r-recently just learnt how!...H-Hehe...s-so I wouldn't say that I p-play nono! T-That'd be an insult to actual g-guitarists everywhere! S-So-"
"CAN IT!"
"Yes Ma'am…"
"You want me to listen to what you have to say?"
"I-It'd be nice y-yes…"
"Then play against me."
"W-What?"
"You fucking heard me."
"B-But I recently learnt h-"
"Don't give me that crap. I can see it off your face. You did just learn, but you learned…" She growls "From her…" She scoffs "So you're at a competent level at the very least…"
"You think I'm competent?..." He gets off the ground and stands upright.
"Don't even go there. I'll just say that she would make a decent enough teacher in getting even a poser such as yourself ready to go…"
"I-I still don't think it's f-fair-"
"ENOUGH!" She rubs her forehead "Fine, what can I do to make it 'fair' for you to accept my challenge?"
"S-Sing?...I-I'm mostly a rapper before I d-decided to g-get this guitar and-"
"Sing?" Rammy groans "Now I remember...you're also a big hit like my life stealing doppelganger...The dumb, town rapping hero or some shit like that…" She crosses her arms "Now I see why Raparra, AJ and Kitty hate this place."
"D-Did you just say Rapa-"
"Fine. I accept your dumb request…" She holds her guitar over her shoulder as she presses her index finger of her free hand against his nose "Normally I choose not to sing in public, but in this case. It'd be fun knocking you down a peg by flooring you in both playing the guitar AND singing!" She topples him onto this back "I don't want anyone hearing me though so we'll be jamming in that back room over there where I came from. It was empty enough for my voice to not be heard out of. And stable enough to bring the house down!" Parappa utters a pathetic gulp before nodding "Good boy. Let's go!" She picks him up by the neck of his shirt and carries him along.
Lammy quickly sees this and sneakily follows after the two. THIS COULD NOT GET ANY WORSE...LIKE SERIOUSLY WHY MEEEEE...POR QUE ME PASA TODO MALOOOOO…
Rammy opens the door to the back room and chucks Parappa in before walking in herself "Get ready Mutt."
Parappa quickly grabs his guitar and holds it ready in position. I can't do this...I can't do this… Parappa begins remembering his dream, he recalls the sad state that Rammy was in. The pure sadness and despair emanating off her locked away subconscious. Parappa looks to Rammy and sees the spark in her eyes again as if it was her subconscious final attempt at asking for help. "...I can do this. I-…"
Parappa regains his vigor as he stands in a pose similar to how Lammy stands when she's about to play with MilkCan "THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! HAHAH!" Rammy laughs maniacally as she dons the same pose, but mirrored.
Stage 3: The visitor from Hell
"JUST GOTTA BELIEVE!"
"RAVE IT TO RAMMY!" They both strum their guitars "MY GUITAR IS IN YOUR FACE!" They clash guitars before pushing each other off and returning back to their readied pose. Staring at each other with determination.
My mind, my heart and my very being. All of it. It can feel your true nature! I WILL breakthrough and help you with your sadness! Mark my words Rammy...