"Lammy...wake up...girl do you not sleep at your house?...ugh...I should fire you, but Katy would just rehire you…" Niles crosses his arms after giving up on trying to wake the lamb up.
Lammy opens her eyes weakly, no motivation to wake up whatsoever "Sorry Niles…"
"What in the name of music happened to you?...these past two weeks you've look as if you've been mugged in a dark alley then tossed into a grinder…"
"H-Honestly...that's probably a better f-fate than what actually h-happened…"
"Girl look at me. Look. At. Me." Lammy begrudgingly obliges "What do you see?"
"A-A blue and pink m-mosaic stained g-glass man yelling at m-me…"
"Smart ass little...no. What's engrave in my body?"
Lammy groans, clearly not wanting to deal with this "It says 'learn to leave all the problems behind'...sorry N-Niles...but that doesn't really apply to me...because I can't really...leave any of this behind…"
"And why the hell not? What on earth could have affected you so much that you end up like this?...Your meek exterior aside, you're usually a hardened gal of rock and roll!"
"You wouldn't get it..."
"Ohohohoho...Try me."
"Sorry boss...but the answer is s-still n-"
"It's a boy isn't it."
"..."
"Oh for the love of...what is wrong with the youth of today I swear…" He rests his fingers on his forehead before looking back towards her "Alright, out with it. Who is it and what did he do."
"Why would I t-tell you?"
"Well for starters your current state of being is not only affecting your working standards, but you look like you just got out of a pigsty!"
'Gee...t-thanks…" She slams her head down onto the counter.
"Cut that out, I want to try and help you so you can return back to your...slightly less upset self."
"Ugh...it's...a friend...who I a-always wished could be...just more than a friend...but he seems to h-have fallen...for my d-double…" a puddle of tears manifest under her face as she still keeps it pressed to the counter "I can't say I don't deserve it...I did p-push him away and ran from my problems...and because I d-didn't opt to fix it...I guess I lost him to her as well as any progress towards asking him myself I may have had…"
"Oh woman up!" He peels her face off the counter. Her makeup is smeared off from her tears as she looks like a flat out mess "Ew…" He lets go as her head drops back down.
"Ow…"
"Whoops...my apologies…" He wipes his hand clean with a tissue, he then places the entire box next to her "Said friend wouldn't happen to be the rapping dog our town is well known for would it?"
"The v-very same...man people can r-read me like a book…" She gets up as she begins plucking tissues from the box to clean her face off with.
"What a mess. Honestly I was never a fan of his work, but I'd be a liar if I didn't call him endearing enough to grow on me." He grunts "He is the reason you're upset? The guy doesn't seem like he could upset anyone…"
"He kinda made out with my doppelganger…signifying they fell in love...on the night of my return...that's...kinda a big kick in the stomach…It shows that he got by pretty well while we were gone..."
"This sounds like it needs more context...did you talk to EITHER of them during the two weeks you spent moping?"
"Zilch...couldn't bring it in myself...I just ran and ran...to my old apartment...it was still vacant and so I decided to go there for the time being…"
"How long is the time being?"
"Forever…"
"My god you remind me of my sister…how annoying…"
"Niles…"
"What?"
"What do you do...when your hearts broken...and there's nothing to put it back together with?..."
"Well naturally I fully break being a man of glass an all that. So if one thing breaks, so does the rest. So because of that, I become hardy, not to let things scratch me up at all. Any frailty means it all comes crumbling down if you make a single mistake. Of course that probably makes me a hardass, but I could care less. Now naturally this way of living isn't for everyone. So MY personal advice towards repairing that broken piece of yours is...do what you always do. Rock out on a guitar."
"I don't have it in me...to play my guitar this time…"
"Oh joy you're really serious about this...how sad...agh...if only Katy didn't call out for the day...she'd probably be better at handling this than I can!..."
"I'm...k-kinda the reason as to why she didn't want to come in…"
"Oh great...so she has no idea what to do. I never thought I'd have to put my foot down in manner of being soft on an employee but I guess there's always a chance for everything...Alright...explain the full on scenario. Your emotions. The emotions you feel emanating off the mutt and black ewe."
"Why…"
"I have a few ideas for a solution. But to single it out. I want to pinpoint the exact room I have to read in order to come to that conclusion. As in from when this ALL started."
"...K."
As the explanation went forth, nearly two blocks down two construction workers were loading up a truck.
"Say man, the back door of this truck seems a little loose. You shake to much and you'll lose your cargo. Think we should do something about that?"
"It'll be fine man! Besides we're in a hurry, we don't really have the time to fix it right now." He starts inputting something on his phone.
"Whatcha doin now?"
"Setting the location we gotta go to into the GPS inside the thing!"
"Why? We know where to go."
"Man did you forget that this truck is from the newer models...the ones were they can drive themselves? All I gotta do is set the spot while we're inside and it drives on it's own! We just moderate to see it doesn't do anything stupid. Watch I'll show ya."
"Wait but shouldn't we be inside first-" The truck begins rushing off on its own as he drives down the street wildly and out of control "That uh...doesn't seem good."
"You're telling me…"
"What you set the coordinates to?"
"I didn't finish...I just typed in PaRappa Town…"
"But we're already here...and it's still going...you don't think that things gonna wildly drive around the whole town constantly until it runs out of fuel right?"
"Now you know we both know the answer to that, but I'm gonna be the optimist and say that, that might not be the case."
"That's fair, we're less liable that way." He lifts his hard hat and scratches his hair "Say uh...with that thing moving crazily as it is...won't it end up losing the steel beams we put in it?...Cuz of the faulty back door?"
"We only put three, but still you're right. And to that I say, we didn't see or do anything."
"Roger that man." The two quickly hightail it out of there.
"LEO!...Open up...I need your help with this…" Katy repeatedly bangs on the door of Club Rainbow, but no response "Come on...please...son…"
"I take it you didn't read the 'Closed until further notice' sign on your drive here?"
"W-Wha?!...Oh...PJ...and Sweety?..."
"Yes I'm in on it to...heh…" Hell I know more than the two of you...but I promised not to tell… "Also not to upset you or anything, but so is Ra-"
"I know...Rammy also knows…"
"Oh?...Leo told you?..."
"Nope...she told me herself."
"Ah...I'm actually surprised that-" Sweety flinches at being cut off again.
"We talked at all?...Well...after the initial few days it wasn't exactly like that, hell before we left for this tour we finally started talking...only...for things to go south immediately...When we came back to try and make things right...things just got more or more wrong. Were it not for Parappa and Rammy explaining the whole thing along with a few witnesses in the area…yikes."
"I'm in the same boat, I tried to contact you over the explanation, but you never answered mine or Sweety's calls…Parappa came to us on his to explain it the very next day." PJ tilts his head "So then the whole kiss scenario...does LAMMY know the truth of the matter?..."
"Not a one...and she won't even TALK to the two...and she won't even listen to me let alone BELIEVE me if I ever manage to get the word in...or anyone for that matter. Ma-san, Paula and Matt can't even reach her...she only pops in to work, but just stays silent…after that...POOF...she's gone for the day again..."
"This is such a headache inducer...you know I figured Rammy would be here trying to get help as well seeing as the air between you two is moderately cleared…"
"She's kinda...busy with Ma-san in trying to convince Parappa that there's still a silver lining…"
"Crap...right...this entire thing is probably murdering him...but i'm just happy he hasn't relapsed…" PJ sighs as he clutches his heart "I'm honestly worried how long he's gonna hold out for…"
"No kidding...my heart has been killing me all the while these past two weeks…"
Sweety frowns as she stares at the two of them. The sight reminds her of Europa's breakdown as he started dissolving at the seams. Clutching his heart in pain. If they feel this much pain...I can only imagine how he's feeling… Sweety clutches her own heart "Hey Katy...how did you and Rammy get to erm...see eye to eye?..."
Katy sighs as she throws her arms behind her head "Well to call it a peaceful bond would be a lie since I nearly tried to claw her eyes out...once the truth came out though and even more explanations of the time while we were gone...I progressively started feeling more and more like an asshole…" she hugs herself "I realized I was the bitch I was making her out to be...and it...wasn't a fun realization…It went down like this…"
"K-KATY STOP IT!..." Parappa struggles to keep Katy restraint and away from Rammy, who simply stands stationary, not even trying to defend herself.
"STOP? HAHA OF COURSE I'LL STOP!...ONCE I TEAR HER TO PIECES!..."
"I'D RATHER THAT NOT HAPPEN THANK YOU VERY MUCH…"
"THEN WOULD YOU RATHER TAKE HER PLACE?! BECAUSE I'M PISSED AT THE BOTH OF YOU CURRENTLY."
"WHY?!..."
"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHY!"
"NO...WE DON'T...CARE TO FILL US IN FOR WHAT WE AREN'T AWARE OF?"
"YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU DID!"
"BUT WE CLEARLY DON'T...WHAT GOT YOU SO ANGRY?"
("You know, as mad as I am at them as well, you could at least explain your anger to see if they have an explanation for it.") Ma-san turns red from anger ("Not like any excuse is WORTH listening to, but eh…")
"I don't even know what happened...did you guys only come back to just complain about me further?...gah my eyes still sting…" Rammy doesn't speak up, but hands a napkin towards him "Thanks…now come on and tell me what happened…"
The accusation came swiftly and landed on them like a brick to the head, this finally got Rammy to speak up "YOU SAY WE DID WHAT?!..."
"You heard me. And it got to Lammy, which in turn got to me, Ma-san and PJ…"
"That's complete and utter fallacy! Me and Parappa did nothing of the sort!...I was busy cleanin his face cuz he tried showing off and got hit in the face with his own hotdog! I tried getting the ketchup and mustard off!"
"I can attest to that...my eyes still sting...and will probably smell like a fast food restaurant for about a week…"
"I'm not buying that!...you two clearly could've made that up!"
"But we didn't! Why would I make up something like that!"
("Mutt, that sounds supremely ridiculous to be fact.")
"Now while you make a great point there, the fact still remains that we're telling the truth!..."
The argument goes back and forth between both sides, eventually people start crowding around to which they have to cease in order to get them all to back off.
"This is getting us nowhere, just ADMIT to what you did and we can just end this with much less retaliation…"
"Why the hell would we admit to something we didn't do?...Like seriously...even in hell we gather evidence before we hecticly perform the blame game…"
"And where do you plan on getting evidence huh?! We're out in the goddamn open! Now like you have a camera that caught everything!"
"No...but we do have something better! Witnesses!"
"Oh for the love of…"
("As mundane as it may be, mutt has a point. With all these people around, their story has an alibi.)
"...Alright! Who can you attest to being a witness!"
"That's simple. We go to where the food booths were. EVERYONE saw my...rather unfortunate accident…"
"Calling that an unfortunate accident is really pushing it on the boundaries of guilt…"
"I'M REFERRING TO HITTING MYSELF IN THE FACE WITH A HOTDOG AND NEARLY BLINDING MYSELF…"
"Mhm…" Both Katy and Ma-san stare at him and Rammy with little remorse.
"Just...come on…"
They all head towards the section where the alleged accusation took place. And Katy immediately retorts "Alright. We're here, now go gather your 'witnesses' so that we can end this lie once and for a-"
"Yeah saw him get hit in the face with his own hotdog. Didn't think anyone would ever be that dumb."
"Oh hey! It's the dope who nearly took his eyes out!"
"How dumb can you be? Didn't your parents ever tell you not to play with your food?"
"Ouch man. Saw the whole thing happen and all I could do was feel bad...and laugh...like a lot…"
"Yeah I saw his dumb accident. But he should look on the brightside. His eyes are now temporarily yellow and red! He can use that as a distraction from that fact that he ended up hitting himself in the face!"
"I am so sorry that you have to deal with him on a daily basis…" The last witness pats Rammy on her shoulder as both Parappa and Rammy turn towards Katy and Ma-san with their arms crossed.
"How's that for evidence?" They say in unison.
"..."
("...")
"Thought so…"
"But L-Lammy saw-"
("S-She said it was you two-")
"Way of...g-getting back at...us…" As they say this in unison they are simply staring at remorseless faces similar to how they stared at Parappa and Rammy. The instant karma was not fun.
"As you can see. We told the truth and didn't do the sort...Lemme guess...my double saw us doing...this pose…" Rammy grabs Parappa as to reenact the pose.
"H-Heh...yeah...that's what she described…"
("D-Down to the money...oh boy...Lambs was at a bad angle to see what actually happened...Great…")
"Where is she? I wanna clear up this mess…"
"We...don't know...once she told us everything she just ran again...and by then we lost her...I...really doubt she's gonna be going back to our home for the time being…"
"WHAT?!...B-But!..."
("Look man...while we now know what really happened...you gotta understand that what Lammy saw and felt probably isn't gonna go away as easily as just explaining it...Hell I don't even think you'll GET to explain it…")
"Or if she'll believe you…"
("Luckily...we do now, at the very least right?...")
"...Yeah...that's...true I guess…" Rammy glances at Parappa as his condition deteriorates at a rapid pace, instinctually trying to ease him up.
"Come on man. My double may be a mess from time to time, but she comes through in the end doesn't she? I'm sure she'll wanna chat with you again in no time! I'm sure once this is all cleared up you'll just laugh it off in the future! And you know that's true given her track record that I KNOW you've kept up with. Am I right or am I right?"
"Heh...yeah...yeah you're right. I guess I should put that into perspective, but it's just such a big mess that keeps getting bigger…" He shakes his head "But you're absolutely right with how Lammy is. I just...hope it is soon…"
"Atta boy. Look. Right now with Lammy gone on the...well...lamb. You just go and try to enjoy yourself at this here festival to not get anymore upset. Today's the day they finally came back right? We just got into a little mix up that will cease before you know it. Now go out there and enjoy yourself! If not for your own sake then for mine!"
"R-Roger!" He hightails it away from them. Katy and Ma-san stare at Rammy in disbelief.
"How…?"
("And so easily no less…")
"I got to know him as much as he got to know me. He was there when I wouldn't let anyone else be...and he really helped me out...I wanna be there for him whenever he needs help...always…You told me of how bad a state he was in prior...Like hell I'll let him get to that point again." She places her hands behind her back as she looks over towards where Parappa ran off to "I'd do a lot for that little guy you know?..."
"..." Katy swallows roughly from guilt "...Hey Rammy?..."
"What."
"I'm...sorry...for everything…"
"Much appreciated...but...I'm not the only person you should apologize to."
"I know that...and...one more thing…"
"I've already accepted you as a friend. Since before you even left on your elongated tour."
"B-But I was a complete and utter bitch to you!"
"Yeah. You were. Fucking hurt. But shit happens and you had your reasons. Do I agree with them? Fuck no." She nods "But I mean given the shit i've done? I'm in no position to criticize. Just...no more catfighting? Pardon my pun." She extends her hand.
"..." Katy looks towards Ma-san.
("Don't look at me. I've been her friend. I've acknowledged I fucked up. She knows I'm sorry for it. This is all on you now and what you decide to reply with.") She casually walks away from the duo. She sighs then turns her head to them ("Although I will apologize for not trying to have a bigger say on the matter. Had I spoken up a bit more I probably could've prevented all this...or made it worse...who knows. All I do know is that it's time to stop. I'm like that mutt, tired of conflictions that last more than they need to. So if you don't mind. I'll do what he's doing and enjoy the remainder of the day while I still can…") She calmly walks away into the crowd.
Katy looks back to Rammy before frowning "...I feel like this isn't enough...to make up for the shit I piled on the two...three...ALL of you…"
"Maybe not…" she scratches her nose "But fuck it, it's good enough for me!" She smiles, her time with Parappa had truly rubbed off on her as her smile is slightly glimmering. The action causes Katy to tear up a bit before grabbing her hand and shaking it "Heh...see. In the end, Leo was right." Rammy's words caused the poor saddened cat to flinch "Oh yeah...probably should mention to you as well that I'm in on it to…"
"And well...that's what happened…"
"That explains why Parappa didn't try explaining it to the rest of us on that very same day...he was trying to keep cheery...gotta thank Rammy for that one…"
"You and me both…" She wipes a stray tear from her face "The following days I just heard more and more things of what Rammy's been ACTUALLY doing rather than what I thought she was doing...Helped Parappa at his cafe...Saved Matt from an emergency room visit...so much!...and well...I don't know...I'm currently a mess after realizing what I put her through...and it doesn't help that she's just...OK with it...but yeah...Leo was right...she is a sweetheart...heh...who knew…"
"Well...since he was right on that front...maybe he has a way to help us out of this?..."
"I...don't know about that dear...after all Leo kinda vanished on you all after that whole ordeal don't you remember?..."
"That is true, but I thought it was just to think of something..."
"Maybe you're right, but all I know is. He must be feeling as down as you all. Wherever he currently is…" The trio sigh until Katy glances at the view of the rest of Neon Heights from where they're positioned.
"..." She stares at the enormous building "Hey you two…"
"Yeah?..."
"What is it?"
"Follow me will ya? If he ain't here. He's either trying to keep himself cheery in Neon Heights or is probably sulking in his apartment. We won't figure that out if we stay here doing nothing!..." The duo nod as they rush towards PJ's car "First off, to the hectic place he calls a home!..." She heads to her van and immediately floors it, the bears following suit.
"So that's it huh?"
"Yeah…" Lammy tosses the last of the tissues into the garbage "I don't know if I should deal with him or not…"
"Well that's up to you personally. After all I can only assume you're...still acquaintances correct?..."
"I don't know…after this he probably doesn't think of me as such…"
"Well. That aside, I did manage to think up a solution to your downard state!"
"I'm all ears I guess...w-whatever makes the pain go away...or at the very l-least...hurt a lot less..."
"The answer is to listen to music!"
"And now my e-ears as no longer listening…"
"Listen you little smartass...I'm serious. Believe it or not. Music usually does soothe the mind when in situations like this! Why do you think people who suffered break ups, lost a loved one or are just plain miserable always listen to music?"
"...Alright there's s-some truth to that...ok...l-lay it on me…"
"Well the reason I asked you for the full synopsis was to pinpoint what would be the best to get you out of your slump. I had a full group of songs in mind from different artists that are usually the perfect ones to listen to in a scenario like this. As you explained I was able to pinpoint down a better song! And now I know the exact one you gotta hear!" He enters his back room "Now where is it...Over here? No that's a different genre...right here? No...that's a different time period...Here?...No I don't even know why I have this…" Things start to fly out of the room "Where is it? I could've sworn I had it...gah...maybe I am a bit of a pack rat hoarder...Wait!...Here it is!...No...wait...feh...it'll have to do."
"That's a perfect thing to hear when needing h-help…" Lammy rolls her eyes.
"I heard that…" NIles leaves the room and walks up to Lammy with a CD case in his hands "Alright. This is the song. At least the instrumental of it." He hands it to Lammy.
"What's this?..."
"It's a song called erm...what was it...well the point is this is the song! Well...the music of the song. The vocals version is nowhere to be found...I could've sworn I had it in my personal bought collection but no...perhaps I left it at my home or it's just buried under all the other songs! But I don't have the time or patience to look."
"Why don't I just look up the song?..."
"Oh that's impossible."
"Whyyyy?..." She glances at the CD case to see a familiar person. It was Leo alongside a backup holo clone, their helmets however were rather different. The clones was gold while the real one was silver "This song's from Leo?..."
"Yep! And what I meant was that it's literally impossible to hear! It was only sung live once, but no one was allowed to record it. And when it came out on cd, only a really REALLY limited amount were made...so good luck finding that...I was one of the lucky patrons, but alas I can't find THAT version…" he facepalms "I really need to organize my things better, but woe is me! The point is that what you described about your past leading into today, fits the bill on the feeling of the song! Why it's almost as if the song was MADE for you! And that's the best part of music, It almost always is! Except this one is more so!"
"It c-can't really be that good or helpful…"
"Girl, the instrumental alone should be enough to get into your very soul to trigger some recovery vibes."
"Let me give i-it a go then…" She pops the CD into a player nearby as she plugs in some headphones and awaits for the music to begin once they're in her ears "Wow...silence...if t-this is a joke Niles it's certainly n-not fu-" Lammy stops once the soft yet entrancing melody begins to play. It sounded futuristic yet spacey...and all the while it was as Niles said. She felt slightly more calm then she did the past few weeks and could only stare into the distance from sheer enthrallment towards the song. It left her speechless as towards what exactly she was feeling. "Wow…" Is all she could manage to say.
"Mmmmmhmmmmmmmm." Niles smiled in a pompous manner as Lammy simply turned the volume up to continue listening.
"Good day and welcome to the town's pride and joy and why we got the namesake Heights! Oh! You're that girl that was with Leo that other day! You here to visit him?"
"Uh..yeah! Me and a few other friends of his are here to see how he is."
"Well that's good. He kinda holed himself up. Hasn't really gone down the main exit. But I assume he has left the building...probably not on my shift, but I can't tell! Surely you'll be able to help him out?"
"We'll see what we can do, won't we guys?"
"Of course!"
"Yeah, and maybe he can help us out of our own problem in return." Katy and Sweety elbow PJ in the gut "ACK...yes yes...him first…"
The trio walk up to the elevator before being stopped by Katy "Now with proper knowledge of this thing, I gotta warn you to hang on tight. As well as ask you both. Neither of you ate much did you?"
"Whyyyyy?" They say in concerned unison.
"Answer the question."
"Well I didn't...but he's another story…" as this is said Katy pulls out a paper bag and hands it to PJ.
"Wha-"
"Make sure you keep as far away from me and Sweety as possible."
"...Katy this is an elevator…"
"You won't be saying that for long…" the trio head on in and up they go. The screams lasted about as long as the launch itself. Once on the top floor, the doors open, and the trio peel off from the ceiling of the elevator. They hobble out in nausea as they stop by a wall to regain balance and ease on their stomachs.
"What...the everloving...hell was...that…" PJ says as he tries to catch his breath from fear.
"I...think my...organs got rearranged...on the way up…" Sweety dizzily feels around her stomach and chest.
"I...told you...to hold on tight…" Katy covers her mouth for a second before sighing and resuming "Ugh...I didn't eat at all this morning and I still felt like I was gonna vomit something out…PJ how the hell did you manage?..."
"Oh I didn't, I just didn't open my mouth and had to forcibly swallow it back down...twice…"
"Ew...could've gone without knowing that…"
"You asked." He shrugs "But that aside. Leo lives on the top floor right?"
"Yeah...only room on this floor to."
"That's both nice and sad...Get to have the highest floor of a lovely place all to yourself...but be alone in the process...plus he has to deal with that death machine of an elevator…" As he turns around the sun peers in through the hallway window "GAH...What the hell?...I thought this town couldn't GET sunlight…"
"He's at the top floor. Literally so high up that all he gets to SEE is sunlight."
"That just adds another reason towards the sadness!..." PJ pulls out two extra sunglass and hands them to Sweety and Katy "Even WITH these on it still to bright…"
"Let's just head on in." Katy walks up to the door and begins knocking on it "Leeeeoooo! You in there?...Open up!..." Silence is her only reply. Then they hear minor shuffling from behind the door.
"Go awaaaaay."
"Hey you can't just tell your mother to go away!..."
"You're not my mom yeeeeeet…hell you're probably not the one who'll be my mom."
"There's a chance! And that's all I need to talk sense into you!"
Sweety nearly chokes up. Well...that didn't take long...it would make most sense for her...but I wonder how the others would react if they saw they had a chance? How would they treat Europa?
"My reply stays the same. Go awaaaaaay…"
Katy takes a deep breath and walks away from the door. PJ notices and immediately speaks up "What. You're just gonna give up that easily?..." Katy stops after she reaches a certain distance and turns back towards the door "Oh…uh oh…" Katy braces her shoulder as she charges for the door. Upon impact the door flies away and knocks Leon off his bed and onto the ground.
"GACK…" He gets up and rubs his head before turning towards Katy "I'll have you know this is an invasion of privacy!"
"I'm your mother. I respect your privacy, but I have to insert my parental dominance by coming in anyway."
"One fifth mother…"
She stares at him, he's currently a mouse "Despite the fact that you look like Ma-san's son. You're still mine to me!"
"I've been swapping between Ma-san and Rammy only these days…"
"Yeah that's thanks to them trying to keep your dad as chipper as he can get. You could use some of that help as well."
"Ugh...what do you want…"
"What WE want-" PJ and Sweety walk on in "Is to get your assistance with-"
"I can't help with the Lammy/Rammy thing."
"What do you mean?..."
"I've done my part to aid both you AND them and look what happened. I ain't intervening anymore...my body can't handle it."
"Well in all honesty...he does have a point Katy…" PJ motions his hand in a motion to imply 'there's only so much one can do before failure hits hard.'
"But it's my fault because I ASKED you to meddle!...Surely you can think of someway to fix this!...How'd it go in the actual way it was supposed to go down?"
"Lammy and Rammy got along on their own accord with slight help. After a full month since her arrival, but now we're a month and A HALF past that...They supposedly saw eye to eye after Parappa and you set up something, but neither of you ever told me what it was...so I'm at a standstill there…"
"Can't you think of anything?!..."
"Look currently I can't think up of anything period. My mental state has deteriorated far more the past month than what i've suffered the entirety of my twelve years. Trying to think about anything just gives me a migraine...I'm just way to out of it…"
Sweety walks up "What if we...cheered you up and calmed you down?...Think you'd be able to manage something then?..."
"Probably...but Auntie I'm really not seeing that as a possibility…"
"Come to Parappa town with us!"
"What?"
"What he said. What?" Katy and PJ look at Sweety, absolutely puzzled as their faces turned into a confused blank.
"Well our town is never a slouch in keeping it's people upbeat and cheery whenever we aren't in the middle of the crises of the week. Surely it should be simple to cheer up Leo there!"
"Well you're not wrong dear, but currently we kinda are in the middle of our crises...of the month…" PJ grimaces at the thoughts of what went down.
"Oh but Lammy's sure enough keeping herself calm along with Ma-san and Rammy helping Parappa do the same! So there's not THAT much to interrupt our attempt at helping him calm down."
Both PJ and Katy nod in agreement as they glance towards Leo, awaiting his reply "...Well alright then...guess I got nothin BETTER to do…"
"Great! Then let's move it son! Down that demented elevator we go!" Katy heads out the busted door with the bears.
"You all do that, I'm taking the scenic route as to avoid letting people know I left."
"What scenic route? There's only the eleva- what are you doing…?" She watches as Leo grabs his helmet and puts on his jacket as he opens the glass doors to his balcony, he stands on the railing of the balcony and then turns to face them.
"See you at the bottom!" He falls backwards as he plummets downwards.
"LEO?!" All three of them scatter to the balcony he just dropped from as they all frantically look everywhere to see where he fell only to get knocked onto their rears once Leo flies back up.
"Chill outttt. I have this jetpack after all, remember?" He floats around the three as they each reply with their own emotion.
"Oh right...all this made me forget you had that...DON'T DO THAT…"
"YEAH WE DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT! ONLY SHE DID AND SHE DIDN'T TELL US!..."
"WE SINCERELY THOUGHT YOU JUST DOVE DOWN LIKE A LUNATIC!...YOU ALMOST GAVE THE THREE OF US HEART ATTACKS..." after Sweety says this, anger fumes puff out of their heads as Leo rolls his eyes.
"Why would I dive off like a madman if I didn't have something to ensure my safety?...How else did you think I get down AND back up whenever I wanted to leave without being seen leaving?..." They stay angry "Come on...i'm fine...if it really is that big a deal for you three…I'm sorry..."
"OF COURSE IT IS! WE THOUGHT YOU BLATANTLY ATTEMPTED TO KILL YOURSELF…"
"Oh relaaaax…" Haven't attempted to do that in five years… "I'd never do that. I'm not that pessimistic...yet." They still stay angry "Fine...i'll go down the elevator with you three…"
"Thanks for letting me borrow the song Niles."
"No problem. Anything to stop your bad work ethic. Once you feel like you've gotten better you make sure you return it alright?"
"I will. Don't have to tell me that constantly."
"Can't be to sure. Already gave you that guitar of mine. Can't have you taking all my lovely things!"
"Alright, I get it. Thanks again."
"Remember not to let anyone get to you! Not even the two of them!"
"I won't." Man, I know he's only doing this to prevent me from dragging the place down, but he can be surprisingly nice when need be… Lammy places the small headphones back in her ears as she heads off, meanwhile the rest of the group arrive in Parappa town as they escort Leo about in an area not to far from her.
"So why not take your helmet off?..."
"No. I have no clue who these people are and having them see me will be-"
"But they don't know you are. They don't know what you are. We can hide 'Leo Steps' because they don't see you as that. They're aware of who the guy is, but now what he looks like under the mask. As long as you don't really talk that much you can pass off as just a friend we've known and are just trying to get to have a good time."
"Auntie that's…"
"Sweety has a point son!" Leo covers her mouth as she nearly shouts out her line.
"Careful!..." He lets go "Well...the idea has some merit but...it's still risky...what do you think PJ?..."
"Honestly? Let's give it a go...As long as we don't bump into Matt, Paula, Lammy, Ma-san or Parappa you'll be fine."
"Exactly what he said! Plus your body's more feminine without all that clunky leather clothes on hiding everything! So you can pose as the girl you're the son of! Especially given how big your hips and butt are! And currently you can either play off as Rammy or Ma-san as they have Parappa's attention for the time being!"
"But Ma-san doesn't have wavy black and blonde hair and Rammy definitely would never have a long blonde portion of hair connecting to her base black hair.. That might be tricky to explain if people get curious." PJ taps his chin.
"Relatives! We can pose em off as a sister!" Katy's tail whips to and fro from her constant solution finding.
"That could work…"
"I agree with her, it'll definitely work!"
"WHY ARE YOU ALL TREATING ME AS A GIRL RATHER THAN A GUY?!..." The simply stare at him as their eyes scan him from head to toe. They end it off by staring directly at his face with the expression of 'Have you SEEN your body?' "You all upset me…but I still love all of you nonetheless..."
"Let's just get you to my place so we can give you a change of clothes man." PJ cargo holds Europa, who doesn't even struggle as he just crosses his arms. As they head off, Parappa wanders the streets in an area away from them with Ma-san and Rammy right behind him.
"This is nice. Just walking down the streets, taking in the tranquility." He sighs "To bad it's pretty much short lived."
("Now you don't know that for sure mutt.")
"Yeah, things can pick up rather quickly for you."
"Thanks for the emotional boosters, but I'm just starting to wear a little thin towards how much I can truly believe that…" He stares up at the sky "But hey...at the moment it's all I got. So why not try my best to keep with it. What you two wanna do now?..."
Rammy and Ma-san quickly huddle up ("I'm all tapped out on ideas...clearly it's getting to repetitive for him…")
"Same here…"
("We gotta think up something…")
"I mean he's fine with anything...what do you like to do?..."
("Honestly...with him? Anything. As long as he isn't a sad sack…")
"Same...man we're bad at this...hm…" She walks over to Parappa "Yo. What do you like to do for fun for yourself man? No obligations of help or anything of the sort. Just you on a normal, calm, no problems of the sort, day."
"Well...either play basketball...sing...or just chill with all of you guys if y'all are able. I'm pretty boring heh…" He bashfully sticks his tongue out as his tail wags meekly.
"Well for anyone else, that would be a bit boring. However for a guy like you? It's understandable." she picks pats him on the head like one would with an actual dog "Nothing wrong with that, just think of something you'd like to do and we'll hang. Right?" Ma-san nods "See?"
"Hm...Guess we could go to...oh! The pond! Haven't really been there since the whole...pocket world incident. You remember the one I told you about while I was helping you learn Ma-san's language?"
"Yeah I recall. One where you got stuck with a bunch of rock people and fire people. Sure. That good with you Ma-san?"
("Sure, would be nice to see that place without the threat of being tossed in the middle of a group fued. It really is a sight to see.")
"Great! Then let's go!"
"Gah...these don't fit me…" Leo struggle to fit on the next set of pants he is handed.
"It's not my fault ya got a big ol booty!" Katy sneers as she watches her partial son fail to wear any article of clothing handed to him.
"Mother I could do without your added quips…" He gives up trying "Look. This idea is clearly not gonna work. So I'm just gonna go back to wearing my regular clothes."
"Oh no you don't! Me and Sweety are gonna make sure you get out of here in a nice casual incognito apparel! And that's final!"
"Oh yeah? How you gonna manage that huh?" he smirks as he crosses his arms and closes his eyes in a pompous victory sense, but upon opening his eyes he sees something that freaks him out "U-Uh...why are you two getting closer?..." They giggle maniacally as they approach him with an onslaught of clothes "H-Heh...we don't n-need to do this...r-right?..." They lunge at him "UNCLE PJ HE-" Help wouldn't arrive as PJ was asleep on his couch a few rooms over. The whole ordeal shakes the entirety of the flat. This goes one for what feels like forever, but in actuality took about a half hour. Once finished, Europa is ejected into the room PJ is in like a cannonball. As he crashes into the floor, PJ wakes up startled.
"Wazzappahuh?...Oh hey...looks like they had to use drastic measures in order to get you to wear anything." PJ's only response was a pain groan as Europa refused to remove his face from the floor "Well if it makes you feel better. You look nice. Girls clearly managed to find both a fitting outfit in the figurative sense and literal one to!"
"Thanks…" Europa dejectedly gets back up. His new attire consisted of a purple and blue one off shoulder top. yellow sweatpants and pink legwarmers. His shoes were now blue ankle boots. The entirety of the blonde portion of his hair was tied into a ponytail as to hide the fake dog ear appearance the hair gave to better build his facade.
"The only slight problem is that I dunno if Ma-san or Rammy would wear this combo of clothes."
"That's the thing. They're deciding on whether or not I should just act as a relative friend now given my limited clothing options. They wanted your feedback."
"Well you pull of the girl look flawlessly for obvious reasons." he chuckles.
"Get to the point."
"We'll try that. You could make it work if you, again, don't talk that much. You open your mouth and the charade shatters instantly...your voice may be pretty girlish, but it's still an obvious give away that your a guy if you keep speaking."
"You are seriously not cheering me up in the slightest. You expect me to help you guys come up with a solution like this?..."
"We're just thinking ahead. Now come on. You have your outfit all set. Go tell em the new plan is a go and we'll be off to properly cheer you up."
"As you wish...I don't really see this working out all too well…"
With everyone instructed, they head out.
"Alright son don't forget this!" She places a hat on top of his head.
"A giant sun hat?..."
"To hide your horns or dynamite stick! In case we accidentally bump into our friends who DON'T know your secret! We can play you off as a different person!"
"Well...that oughta help a bit more...thanks."
"I do know best after all~" She smiles as she grabs him by the arm and drags him off "Come on! The faster we help you, the faster we help everyone!"
"H-Heeeey! I have perfectly functioning legs!..." Europa is dragged away as Katy refuses to let go.
Both bears simply chuckle at the scene before them.
"It didn't take long for him to grow on her now did it? Even if the chance is up in the air that SHE'S his actual mother in the end."
"H-Heh...yeah...up in the air…W-Well why wouldn't he grow on her? The chance of seeing your child just up and walking in front of you is just an emotional experience in its own right!"
"But he's not her guaranteed kid."
"W-Well you uh...don't know that for sure...h-heh…" She notices him become wary of her stuttering "I-I mean how would you feel if it were our future daughter who came back i-instead!"
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm." She sighs once he gets caught up in deep thought, completely
forgetting his concern over her faltering chat.
Boy it sure is hard making it believable that I don't know who is mother is...especially when we're talking about his mother right now!... "Well?..."
"I dunno honestly. It'd be weird, but I guess I see where you're going with it. I'd feel inclined to get along with her and see how they are like and what we are like in the future." He looks back to her "Of course I know for a fact that you'd be just like Katy with Leo."
"Oh shushhhhh! You can't blame me for being a happy mama bear!"
"Yes I can, now come on before we lose em."
"Fine fine let's goooo!"
"Wow...never thought an empty borin place like this could be sooo…" Rammy glances at the water as Parappa and Ma-san continue her sentence for her.
"Entrancing?"
("Invigorating?")
"Uplifting?"
("Relaxing?")
"Enoooooough. You made your points. And yes all of the above." Rammy lays on the grass with her hands behind her head "How'd you guys even find this place?"
("Don't look at me. I found out about this place somewhat recently. The only ones who knew about it were mutt here and Katy.")
"And I gotta say it was all Katy. It's pretty much cuz of her that we even FOUND this place. It's how we met even!" He smiles as he also reclines onto his back "The entire encounter was rather hectic, but I got to meet someone who was also struggling and needed a good friend. Like you believe it or not. And she would become someone really special in my life. We may not always see eye, we may not always enjoy what the other does at times, and we may even butt heads here and there. But in the end she's someone I hold dear and depend on and vice versa. Just as I hope you can as well. Even you as well Ma-san."
"Heh...ya big sap."
("Get used to that, cuz it all he does whenever his mouth feels like it.") they both share a laugh with the happy dog.
The small group of four leave a music store after checking out it's wares and head on over to an open fast food joint before they notice something bugging Leo. Leo sighs as he looks towards the happy people walking about "I wonder how dad's doin right now…"
"Oh, i'm sure the other two have Parappa at ease. Judging by your fa-..."
"What is it Katy?..."
"N-Nothing...just...give me a hug…~"
"Uh...oka- OOF…" He is quickly silenced by her latching onto him "Man what got you in an affectionate mood?..."
PJ and Sweety watch from afar as they look to each other "Should you tell him or should I?"
"Let the girl enjoy her moment with her currently clueless son!"
"Heh...alright. She deserves to be cheered up to."
"Man looking at the water makes me wanna dive in...but I didn't bring anything to do that."
"Just take off your shirt and dive in, isn't that what most guys do anyway in general?"
"Yeah, but i'm not like most other guys. Cuz then I either have to put the shirt back on when i'm done, or keep it off till I get home and I'll most likely get cold. That and I'll both smell and feel like a wet dog...blegh…"
"You are such a mixed bag."
(Ain't that the truth.")
"Hey I thought you guys were supposed to be on my side!"
("Can't defend you there mutt!") Ma-san motions her wrist ("As a friend it's in our best interest to show you when you're being a dunce.")
"Alright I'll admit to me being a mess with how I go about handling things, but you really should see where I'm coming from with this."
"What's there to see? You're just being afraid of the water for no damn reason!"
"I'm not afraid! I'm just thinking of the results after!"
"Sureeeeeeee." Rammy snickers as she looks away.
"Alright fine, i'll just dive right in right now to prove it to the two of you that I can to throw sensibility out the window!" He forcibly pulls his shirt and beanie off as he then takes a beeline for the water, but he stops right as he reaches the edge.
("Well...you goin in or what?")
"I will!...Just uh...admiring the water!"
"Why are you taking steps backwards then?"
"Cuz...my running start was messed up! I wanna try again!" as he resumes walking backwards. Four hands grab him by the scruff of his neck and back as he's hoisted into the air "H-Huh…" When he looks around, both Ma-san and Rammy have picked him up "H-Hey….w-what are you two gonna-"
"HELPING!" The rear back and fling Parappa towards the water as he flails about in the air before splashing down.
Parappa resurfaces as he spits water out of his mouth "THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR!"
"You weren't gonna budge."
("So we helped ya budge.")
Parappa just growls lightly as his head slightly submerges again, creating a bubble barrage by his mouth "Gee...thanks…" Once he leaves the water they help dry him off.
"Heh. Sorry man, but you gotta admit that you were basically asking for it."
("She's right, if you just either did it on your own or fully admitted to your dumb irrational thinking. This wouldn't have happened.")
"Yeah I know…my bad…"
("Tell you what, once all this is cleared and our friend circle is back as it should be, we'll help convince everyone to go to the beach. How's that sound?")
"That'd be nice!" He regains the happy smile he had before he was forcibly tossed into the water.
"Geez man...you got a lot of hair to deal with. Wouldn't it be easier to cut it?..."
"NO!...I REFUSE!..." He immediately recoils back as he grabs his hair in fear "I'd be lying if I didn't think about it myself...but then I think about the actual process and that's just gonna be a big no from me…"
Rammy rolls her eyes "Suit yourself Paraps." She turns to Ma-san as Parappa resumes drying his hair on his own "What's his deal?"
("Nothing! Just a bad incident with a certain octopus hairdresser. Left him with a phobia, can you believe it?")
"Not a one, but i'm seeing it in front of me so eh. I'll just nod my head and move on."
("You and me both sister.")
Once dried off, the trio decide to head off elsewhere. Once out of the grotto they begin discussing where to go next, to a point where it becomes Ma-san and Rammy insisting on going to a place the other prefers.
"No I insist, we go to YOUR pick."
("And I say, no we're going to the spot YOU picked!")
"Guys come on we can just go to both spots…" Parappa is ultimately ignored as they keep at it. The rapping dog groans as he facepalms and walks in place staring at the distance to see what there could be, and in the corner of his eye...he spots Lammy "Is...that really her?..." Without hesitation, he's off.
"Okokok, let's just ask Parappa how he thinks we should handle this!"
("I'm alright with that. Mutt what do you think we should do?") They both notice Parappa has left ("Parappa?...") They quickly scan the area around, only to find nothing on where he is or went.
"HOW DID WE LOSE HIM?!"
("GAH…HE PROBABLY LEFT WHILE WE WERE INDECISIVE...")
"What do we do now?"
Ma-san quickly pulls out her phone ("I'm gonna text Katy to see if she can help us find him…She's hopefully back in town by now…")
After visiting the scenic locales and meeting the quirky people all over, the group relocate out in the middle of a main crossing before Leo speaks up again.
"Gotta say, PaRappa Town's a nice place. Extraordinary faces all around. Fun locales…" Leo slumps over "I just wish I didn't have to play off as a girl to enjoy the area…"
"Aw but you make such a cute girl!~" Katy bounces around the tormented soul.
"That is not boosting my morale…"
"But you gotta admit you make a convincing girl." PJ says as he slaps Leo on the back of the shoulder
"I AM AWARE…" He plucks out a wad of papers from his pocket "At least sixteen dudes mistook me for one as they clearly tried to hit on me. Hell they all even gave me their numbers...BLEGH…" Disgusted, he throws the papers to the wind as the three around him laugh uncontrollably.
"Come on that just shows how good of an actor you are!"
"Of course I'm a damn good actor Katy! Paula made sure of that…" Leo scoffs "Probably TO good an actor…"
"Aw come on! The entire day was fun and you know it!"
"...Yeah...ok I will admit that. Through the hiccups, it was a very enjoyable day."
"See! My plan was a success!" Sweety nods solemnly with a victory smile. Immediately after Katy's phone beeps.
"Oh! A message from...Ma-san?..." She quickly reads the multiple messages sent. "If you are back in PaRappa Town, please help us find Parappa. We may or may not have lost sight of him and have no clue where he could have ended up."
"How do you lose sight of him?!...how distracted could they have been!" Leo fumes in place until static encases his body, forcing everyone to look at him once it stops "What?..."
"I think we found where Parappa is…" PJ rubs his head as if it started to ache again.
"Oh no no noooooo…" Katy begins panicking in place.
"Don't tell me…"
"Yep...He found her…" Sweety holds up a small mirror to his face, he was now a red sheep.
"W-We gotta go now! This will not end well if they try handling it themselves…" as Katy says this they all nod and run off.
"Ugh...Niles was right...this song is like an enigma...I can't find anything on it...even the name!..." Lammy sighs as her pacing slows "Maybe...I could call Leo?...No he might be unable to answer...should I visit?...I don't really wanna ask the others to drive me there...and my motorbike is in Katy's van...maybe I'll get a bus to take me there…" She turns the music up louder to stop her anxiety from building from overthinking. From the distance however she swears she could hear something faint.
"L..my!"
"It's probably just someone calling out to a person they see on the street…"
".am.y!"
"Wish they'd reply so they'd stop yelling…"
"La...mmy!..."
"Wait…" She turns down the volume.
"Lammy!..."
"Oh no…" She forces herself to turn around as she removes one earbud. To her dismay, it was him.
"Finally...whoa man...been calling out to catch your attention for the past two blocks…"
"..." Maybe...this will help me talk it through?...
"H-Heh...oh you're listening to music! That's why!" Lammy reinserts the removed earbud "Um...Lammy?"
"What is it…" Why did you have to show up again...
"I uh...have been trying to talk to you since the past two weeks...but you kinda...vanished…"
"I did do that I suppose...why bother yourself with looking for me?..." You cared enough to look for me...what for?...
"Because I wanted to see what happened and how to clear it all up! You see it was a mistake-"
"It's always a mistake isn't it…" Just like me...and trying to speak to you...
"What?..."
"My mistake of leaving...letting things go down...but then I made the mistake of wanting to come back...only for it to be late…" It hurt...but I didn't think leaving would undo all that i've been trying to build up...returning just made it hurt so much more worse...and yet I still want to be here...because you'd probably help make it go away...
"W-What do you mean…"
Lammy sighs as she turns around to resume walking "What I mean is…" How...do I say it?... She turns her head to look at him "I don't...really wanna see you again...I don't know for how long...but I know that I don't wanna see you now..." Something...doesn't feel right...
"..." Parappa places his hands in his pocket and looks down, then after a few seconds he looks back up with a smile "If that's what you want, then I'll respect it. I'm sorry for bugging you." He turns around.
"..." Why does this feel like I said...the wrong thing?...
Parappa's calm walk turns into a heavy sprint as he runs. Running to get out of her sight. Out of anyone's sight. He didn't want to be seen, or talked to. This felt familiar to the ewe who was watching. The last part that finally connected the dots were tear stains on the ground were he was previously standing.
"...no...I-I didn't…" I...worded it wrong… "Didn't mean...to...s-say all that…" No...I knew what I was saying...but I was still upset...and… She chokes out the next words "Don't...go…" Why can't I move...why can't I run after him...I told him the wrong thing and… Lammy's body continues on its original destination. It's...to late...I already said it...I can't just apologize like nothing even happened after that… A sigh turn whimper escapes her mouth as she simply raises the volume once more. Crying as she walks off. Eyes closed, not caring where her legs took her. Ignorant to all around her.
"Come on...he could be anywhere…"
"Well we just gotta look ha-AAAGH…" Leo falls onto one knee as multiple jolts of electricity surge from his body.
"L-Leo?..."
"G-Gah...man this feels like...what happened...two weeks ago…only not as severe..."
"Two weeks...when you just left!...W-What happened?.."
"I...can fill in for him there…" Sweety helps Leo up before looking at Katy "When the whole incident went down...Leo's body here began...fritzing...heavily. He even said he felt as if he were being ripped apart…" She glances at the disguised boy "During that he violently swapped between all his appearances...which made me wonder what happened with you all...but I think Leo managed to figure out what the whole thing was…"
"I did...what happened to me was the timelines almost disconnecting...but the shift wasn't exactly a severe one guaranteeing it...no...it was a slight one that could be fixed somehow…"
"Sweety you knew about this and didn't tell me or Katy?"
"I couldn't!...I promised not to!"
"What was the shift…?" Katy watches Leo struggle to say the rest.
"Well...basically...for a brief time period I wasn't able to swap between three of my appearances...the reason for that was that you got so angry at Parappa that your answer towards his eventual ask changed to no...the three were you Ma-san and Lammy...but not long after that happened I could go back to being able to turn back into the child of either you or Ma-san's...but not Lammy's…"
"That's because...we were absolutely livid with him at the time…and she's still..." Katy rubs her head, gaining a massive headache "So a quick spur of emotion can change so much...but you were able to turn back into Lammy's potential child to now!..."
"That's right...I was...not anymore though. Currently...it looks like they met...and...as you predicted…" Leo sighs "It went south immediately...I don't know what happened but Lammy's future answer changed back to no…He's clearly got her on the mind, but my body ain't changing to that specific one."
"Oh man...we have to find them now!...are you gonna be ok?..."
"I'll be fine. What matters more is that we have to find the two of them! Now come on!" He runs off "WE HAVE TO GO N-AUGH…" He slams into Rammy and Ma-san, who were also running.
"Ack…"
("Oof…")
"Rammy! Ma-san!..." The duo look up to see Katy.
"You...wouldn't happen to have found him would ya?..."
"Sorry Rammy...no dice…"
"Aw fuck…"
("Dammit...this is our fault...we kinda got distracted and the next thing we know...he's gone.") Ma-san punches the ground.
"Don't worry. We know where he should be!...well...where he was supposed to be...not sure if he's there anymore…"
"WHERE?!" They say together.
"Eheh...he found his way to Lammy…" Dread envelopes their faces as Katy mentions that.
("GAH...DAMMIT…This is becoming a mess really quickly again…Huh?...Oh sorry, forgot we knocked you down uh...Who are you?") She stares at Leo, who is currently a blue cat, but the hat hides his eyes and his ears.
"U-Uh…"
"She's my cousin!...She came by for a visit and I promised her I'd show her around!...She even went as far as help as look for Parappa. Her name's...Leonora!"
Rammy immediately puts two and two together, she snorts at the made up name "N-Nice to meet you Leonohohohora…~"
"...Nice to meet the two of you as well…" He gets up and holds onto the hat "I'd uh...like to keep the formalities short...we got someone we're looking for right?"
("Right!")
"Then let's go!" Leo runs off with everyone behind him. Ma-san catches up with Katy.
("Didn't wanna be rude, but your cousin has a deep voice.")
"Eheh...tell me about it."
Through constant running and searching, the conjoined group eventually give up in trying to search for Parappa. It isn't until they decide to head back towards to the park that they find him on a bench.
"Found him…" They all huddle around him, but he pays no mind to any of them.
"Hey man...you ok?..." PJ gets no reply as Parappa stays on the bench, immobile.
("I take it you found Lambs?...") There is nothing but silence.
"Hey is there...anything we can do to cheer you up?..." Parappa sighs once Katy finishes.
"No...not really...If anything I think I wanna be alone." He covers his entire head in his beanie.
Everyone looks at each other before back to Parappa.
"You'll...feel better if you tell us what happened you know."
"Maybe I will PJ, but right now...I just don't feel like remembering what happened…"
"Would you rather return to the state you were in that hurt everyone just because only one person hurt you?" Rammy crosses her arms sternly.
"..." He hops off the bench "Fine...just talk, but I wanna walk back home as we speak…"
"Ouch...I...didn't take Lammy as the type to get that upset…or say that specifically." PJ scratches his head "I mean that's something I'd expect from Katy, Ma-san or Rammy, but not her.
"HEY!" Katy starts flailing in place.
"ALSO HEY!" Fire burns in Rammy's eyes.
("Eh that's a fair assumption.") Ma-san shrugs.
"But...I guess I deserve it…I'm the one who upset her so the least I can do is respect her wishes…" Parappa drops his head "No matter how hurtful it may be…"
"That's not true! Lammy isn't the type to just say that of her own true intent! She's just hurt. After all, recall how you were when you were hurt? And you managed to get over it with help! This situation isn't as severe as yours, but she'll still need some form of help."
"I know and I also know that help won't be from me…not until she says so anyway…" Parappa turns his attention to Leo "By the way...I don't think we've met...who are you?"
"Oh she's just a cousin of mine who decided to visit! And I uh...promised to show her around."
"Ah...well...sorry that this was your introduction to our town…"
"Oh no no don't worry over it! My visit was still enjoyable nonetheless and I chose to help everyone in finding you!"
"Well thank you kindly...also wow you have a deep voice…"
"H-Heh...yeah i'm aware…"
"S-Sorry!...That was insensitive of me...uh…"
"Leonora…"
"Huh...nice name."
"Thanks…" Everyone except for Ma-san and Parappa giggle profusely against their better judgement despite the tension of the situation.
The group continue their walk as they try to think up ways to help cheer the sad hound up. With varying results, but the end result the same.
"Man is their anything we can do to help you?"
"Not really PJ...again i'm not really in the mood to be helped right now…I just wanna sleep this off for today…"
"Sleeping is good. Would help you relax, but at the same time. Resorting to that instead of trying to uplift yourself beforehand isn't. Why not try thinking up ways to help out Lammy?"
"There's not really that much to think about if she currently hates me."
"For the nth time Parappa, she doesn't hate you." Sweety shakes her head at having to constantly bring this up.
"Could've fooled me...look you guys weren't really there when she said it, so you can't tell the emotion that I felt from it. And it was not a happy one."
"Ok you have me beat there...dogs do perceive that better than anyone else…" She gives an awkward chuckle "Still, you can probably do better if you think up something rather than continuously moping around…"
"I tried that when the three of my roommates left for an extended tour, then when they came back this happened. So you can clearly see my fear of trying to handle this again…"
"Also fair...alright it's probably better if I stop trying to help...you seem to have a reply for everything..." Sweety dejectedly backs away towards PJ "Man I have no way of getting to him...how do you do it?"
"I tease him or just slap him up the head. If I change his emotion, it becomes really hard for him to try and pull this sort of thing constantly. He'll either be to angry or to embarrassed to properly think up a reply."
"Huh...so that's why you do that…"
As the group continue walking they make it towards an intersection in which…
"Uh oh…" Katy spots Lammy crossing the street. Completely slouched over and upset.
"What do you mean by 'Uh o-' Oh no…" PJ also sees the lamb.
"What the fuck are you two seein that's getting you to ta- aw hell…" Rammy quickly tries to go in front of Parappa to prevent him from spotting her.
("Ey don't leave us out of the loop yoooooou gotta be kidding me…") Ma-san goes on to help Rammy.
"What are you guys seeing that i'm noooooooot good..." Sweety immediately taps Leo's shoulder and points towards Lammy causing him to panic.
"Alright mind telling me what's up? Why are you all actin so strangely all of a sudden…" He shoves Rammy and Ma-san out of the way "Oh...that's why...well that's fair I guess…" He tries to go back behind the duo until Leo points out-
"Hey anyone else feel the ground beginning to shake violently all of a sudden? Almost like a-
"RUNAWAY TRUCK!" shout the people on the street as they scramble away from the road. All except for Lammy, who is lost into the music she's listening to.
"Yeah tha- WHAT?!" Leo spots the aforementioned truck. It drives crazily down the street towards Lammy "WHY ISN'T SHE RUNNING?!..."
"LAMMY RUN!" Katy jumps and flails her arms about to try and get her attention.
("LAMBS GET THE HELL OF THE ROAD!") Ma-san follows suit while also trying to ignite a fire from her dynamite
"SHE CAN'T HEAR IT OR US WITH THE HEADPHONES SHE HAS ON!" Sweety points out the things in her ears
"JUST HOW LOUD DID SHE PUT THE MUSIC?!..." PJ yells out as he to join Katy and Ma-san in trying to grab her attention.
Before they can all run to try and help, Parappa had already sprung past them all in a mad dash. He catches up to Lammy before the truck does as he tackles her away from danger, semi knocking the two of them out. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief followed by Katy rushing in on the two to check if they're alright. However as the truck continuously drives uncontrollably, it loses its cargo as the door holding them back breaks. Three large steel beams are let loose and begin tumbling down the road towards Katy's direction.
"KATY!" Everyone shouts to the cat who notices far to late as she's within the middle of the crashing beams path. Katy closes her eyes awaiting the worst.
"KICK! PUNCH! CHOP!"
Katy reopens her eyes to see the beams destroy and in pieces on the ground around her feet. After hearing those words she assumed Parappa helped save her, but he was still conked out on the ground with Lammy. When she looks forward she see Leo. The band holding his hair in a ponytail was broken so his hair returned into place as his hat flew off, completely exposing who he was.
"Aw man...my hands...aw but forget that, are you alright?!..." Leo quickly turns and scans Katy to see if she wasn't injured.
Katy manages to move again, the fear mostly gone "I-I'm fine...thanks...but…"
"But what?..." He goes back to scanning "Did one of the pieces hit you?"
"No..not that. Your...hat…" She points to the hat on the ground.
"My ha-...uh oh…" Thankfully everyone had left the area to avoid getting run over, but there was still the group they were in. Lammy and Parappa were currently out, but Ma-san was staring directly at him. Leo instinctively grabs the hat and places it back on "H-Heh...nothing to see here…"
("So can I get an explanation as to who this gal really is?...")
Everyone sighs with Leo being the first to speak up "Well for starters...I'm not a girl...and second off...it's me Leo…"
("That explains the voice...now, explain to me why you look like that…")
"We can handle that for him...right girls?" PJ says as the others huddle up.
"Yeah...we can." They say in unison as they all, minus Katy, approach Ma-san. Katy instead checks on her two passed out friends.
("I can see why'd you hide it, but in that case why not wear your usual get up?...")
"I'd still draw attention to myself. The helmet seems to always attract attention…"
("Can you blame them?")
"No...not really."
("Soooo...a chance to be my kid huh?...that's...wild.")
"Yeah...that's about an accurate response I'd expect from someone being told that." Leo scratches his neck as he fixes his hair back up into a ponytail after being given a new band "Anywho...these guys wanted me to be more casual so I could better hide in without being suspicious of anything. Could've gone without being a girl, but eh...I still enjoyed my time regardless...till this happened…"
("So that's how you knew where Parappa was. Man this must be quite the annoying mess to have to deal with.")
"Well...yeah it's cumbersome, but…" He flickers into the appearance of his red sheep form before flickering back into his blue cat form "I think things are starting to fix themselves…"
"Y-You looked like Lammy for just a sec! That means…" Katy looks between Leo and the two on the ground that begin motioning around.
"That she's starting to come around? Both the waking up sense and the whole, she wants to end this mess sense?" Once Leo says this, both Parappa and Lammy groggily begin to wake up.
"Oh thank goodness…"
Lammy rubs her eyes as the earbuds pop out of her ears. She then notices that Parappa is right next to her, doing the same action "W-WAH…" She looks around to see everyone. "W-What happened?...W-Why am I on the ground?..."
("Parappa here had to dive tackle you to get you out of harm's way. Your lack of attention almost made you roadkill at the hands of a runaway truck.")
"W-What…" She looks at the street to see skid marks all over.
Parappa lightly chuckles before speaking up "Heh...I know you said you didn't wanna see me for a while...but I couldn't just let that happen...my apologies…"
Lammy could feel the emotions kicking her in the stomach. Even with all that she did and said, he still went out of his way to do even THIS for her. Everything within her was doing all it can to get her to admit the truth of the matter. Lammy sighs as she tries to force it out "A-About that…"
"Hm?..."
"W-When I said all that...I wasn't…"
"Wasn't what?...it's all good you know...I understand that I fucked up and-"
"No it's just...I…I…" Parappa as well as the rest simply stare at her waiting for what she has to say "I g-gotta go…!" She quickly gets up and runs off.
"L-Lammy!..." Parappa extends his arm out forlornly before letting it drop to the ground "Well...guess she's still upset…"
"On the contrary man...it seemed like she couldn't find the words to say to either thank you or apologize."
"Maybe, but I guess the current result is still the same… At least I know...she doesn't flat out hate me…" He gets back up "Come on. I change my mind. Let's go find Matt and Paula. I wanna see if we can do something together, and try to cheer back up."
"Roger that. They should just now be leaving the cafe..." I feel bad leaving it to just those two... "You all ok with that?" Everyone nods with PJ as they all head off. Except for Leo who stares at something Lammy dropped. Katy notices and walks back to him.
"What's wrong son?..."
"Lammy was...really caught up in this song...Wonder what she was listening to…" He picks up the player and places an earbud in. Instantly, he smiles.
"W-What is it?"
"I know how to help fix this now!" The joy reanimates itself back onto Katy's face as well as Leo turns towards the direction that Lammy ran off to and sprints away.
Finally! The silver lining is here! All I need to do is get her to go see me...and then from that point on...it's all up to Parappa and Katy...here goes nothing!