Meanwhile, as Katy and company were discussing escape plans for him, Parappa was busy. He faced the black human inmate with caution as he planned out his first move. A legion of inmates spectated the event, surrounding the two prisoners, and the spotlight was on the two combatants.
The crowd cheered on both of the rappers, chanting both Parappa's name and the name of the other inmate, who was colloquially known as Bryce-G. Bryce-G took out a microphone and began the rap battle.
You know who it is, it's your brother Bryce-G
About to slap up Parappa by rapping not so nicely,
You're trying to live it up? I'll kick you out with my Nikes,
Cause I ball so hard, undercovers wanna find me,
Better get an umbrella, cause I'm bringing the thunder
My rank is the place where you'll be going under,
You think you deserve respect because of a huge blunder,
How your career got success is really such a wonder!
I'm worse than Joe Chin, I'mma rip you up
A dog with a flower just seems ri-dic-u-lous,
I doubt she would ever fix you up,
It's a wasted desire when people say they wish you luck!
My rhymes are flammable, I leave mikes on fire,
Your immolation is my desire,
Somewhat robotic, you could say I'm slightly wired,
It was a mistake to want to fight me, sire!
"OOOOOOHHHH!" the crowd cheered. You have to admit, reader, those were some excellent bars. You'd be cheering as well if you were there. Parappa tried thinking of something that would work against Bryce. He barely knew who Bryce was or what he did other than rapping. He did know that he was an aspiring gangsta rapper who was arrested, for, wait for it...
...Tax evasion. It was doubtful the mafia tried to get Bryce in jail as well, but you never know. Soon, Parappa came up with 16 bars to combat the other battle rapper.
U.O.E.N.O. it, but I have some advantages,
88, MPH, man, let's go back in this,
In two straight game roles, I have been in protagonist's,
Let me tell you why in this battle, you should not rap in this
Why you think they call it Parappa Town?
It's not just because I've the best rap and sound,
I'll show you what will happen now,
You're in jail, so you think you're higher trappin' now?
What you know about the "M" shoes and the beanie?
I am the person that they have on your Wheaties,
You see everything you couldn't be, every time you see me,
You have the tough-guy facade, but inside you have heebie-jeebies,
I'm out here tryna help people, you just rap about money,
I don't need prostitutes, cause I'm marrying Sunny,
At the end of the fight, your nose will be bloody,
You have as much respect and authority as Sandusky!
"OOOOOHH!" the crowd cheered again. It was a very worthy set of bars to cheer to. The amount of applause was equivalent to Bryce-G's. So, the decision was that the two rappers tied in the rap battle.
Parappa was surprised at the result. He knew he didn't go hard in his rhymes AT ALL. It was a casual rap battle, so he didn't think to go 100 percent. And yet, he tied with Bryce-G without even trying hard. This was a boost for his self-esteem indeed.
As for Bryce, he was equally shocked. Parappa was his inspiration for him being in the rap game, he just took a different approach to rapping. Parappa was more of a positive-role-model, encouraging type of rapper, while Bryce was the polar opposite. Since he was at the same level as his idol, Bryce felt more confident in his rapping ability.
They could detect each other's surprise and dapped each other up in sportsmanship.
. . .
The next day, outside of any prisons, PJ and company were at Officer Kat's residence. They were in his backyard outdoor shooting range, each of them holding a Glock. They have all been instructed on how to shoot a handgun, from how to hold it to safety lessons to loading the clip to aiming down the sights. Now, it was all up to the gang to show their efficiency and accuracy with handguns.
"Okay, we'll do this one by one. Lammy, you're up first. Shoot five shots at the target. Let's see how well you do."
Lammy squeezed the trigger five times. With every shot, she blinked. Even with ear protection, the shot was still loud, and the shell flying away in front of her face was also a cause of it.
Officer Kat looked at the target. All she got were sixes and sevens, which was all right for a beginner shooter. The results of everyone else was similar, and Officer Kat corrected the way they looked down the sights, or held the gun, or how long the gun was held by the people. Everyone, except Sunny. When she picked up her gun, all she could focus on was Parappa. No, not in the way that she saw Parappa's head on the target. But, her mind was so fixed on the thought of saving Parappa from his captors, she tuned out everything else about the world. It felt like the world changed around her, so that she saw Harvey holding Parappa in a headlock again. They were in a white hallway inside the prison, and Parappa and Harvey were both
Sunny became in the zone. She shot all five bullets to where Harvey's head was, making him fall dead. As Sunny pointed her gun down, Parappa ran toward her, arms open, wanting to hug her for saving him. As soon as Parappa touched her, she snapped out of her fantasy and saw the shooting range again. She then heard everyone exclaim in surprise and impression.
"Whoa! Sunny, how'd you just become Lara Croft like that?" Ma-San praised.
"Yeah, Sunny, have you been living a double life?" PJ joked.
Even Officer Kat was quite impressed. He put his hand on Sunny's shoulder. "Sunny, do you know what just happened?"
"What?" Sunny inquired.
"You hit the bull's eye five times in a row! In my twenty years of working in the force, I've NEVER seen anything like that! How'd you manage to do that?" Officer Kat replied.
Sunny squinted as she tried looking at the target thirty meters ahead. All she saw was one gaping hole in the very middle of it. "Uh, I don't know."
Officer Kat just squinted in thought. What was it that could cause her to shoot so well out of the blue? As much of a mystery as it was, he didn't have time to think about it. He needed to train them more things about the operation. He taught them different martial arts techniques, of which Sunny shined in, stealth aspects, of which Katy killed it in, and even went on workouts with them, of which Ma-San mastered it in. Quite an eventful day it was for everyone there, and at the end of the day, everybody was panting. It was 10:54 when they officially finished training for the day. When everyone was about to leave to their personal homes, Officer Kat was one step ahead of them.
"Hold up. Since we are training you to be effective in possibly lethal situations, we're going to run this like the military. I have three tents set up here in the backyard. I want all of you here to be in tip-top condition early tomorrow. To make sure you're here on time, I'll house you here.
PJ and company witnessed three tents already set up beside the firing range. Surprised at how fast he could set up tents, everybody settled in them, while Officer Kat went to his bedroom.
PJ, being the only male, took one of the tents for himself. With the other two, Lammy and Ma-San took one, while Katy and Sunny took the other one. It was a good thing that the ladies brought extra clothes for sleeping and for the next day. As Katy and Sunny laid down in their tent, all Sunny could do was lie on her back, thinking about Parappa.
Katy took notice of this and put her hand on Sunny's shoulder to reassure her. "Still thinking about him?"
Sunny held Katy's wrist. "How could I not? Here we are camping in your dad's backyard, on hard ground, somewhat embarrassed because someone's seeing me in nightclothes, and yet, what makes it worth it is the possibility of saving Parappa and holding him tight again...Sorry about that, but yeah, he's plaguing my mind...When he's not in jail and he's here with me, I don't think about him this much, even when we are cuddling and we are in each other's faces...I can't explain it."
"Well, I think that what we're doing is right to a degree. We know that something is up with the police. If the police were actually doing what they were supposed to, I highly doubt that they'd arrest Parappa and automatically convict him for murder. They know that. But, the world seems to be getting more corrupt with every new day. They say that violence never solved anything, but here, right now, it seems like the only suitable answer to get Parappa out is to break him out. I never thought it would come to this either."
Katy and Sunny stared at each other, not knowing what the other one was thinking. Sunny realized what she was doing and called out, "Author, I know you're not trying to make a yuri scene!"
"What are you talking about-Oh, yeah, the author of the world we're living in," Katy remembered. "If it makes the burden easier to carry, just blame the author for this mess. He's the one controlling everything here."
"You're right. Let's just hope Parappa doesn't get hurt. Good night, Katy," Sunny said before turning over.
"Good night, Sunny." Katy turned over as well. At this night, they had a much easier time sleeping for some reason. To counteract this peacefulness, Officer Kat pulled up a contact in his phone and said, "I need your help with something...I got these kids sleeping in my backyard..."
. . .
"EVERYBODY OUT OF THEIR TENTS NOW!" somebody commanded. Everybody woke up simultaneously. The voice they all heard was one that was quiet unfriendly, seemingly wanting the inhabitants of the tent to give their lives up so easily.
Sunny was sweating instantly. She had no idea what she or anyone else should do in response. Katy looked at Sunny with an equal look of shock. PJ, Ma-San and Lammy were also hesitant to get out of their tents. But what could they do? It wasn't like they could go Flinstones on their tents and run away, moving the tent with them.
"YOU THINK I'M MESSING AROUND HERE, PUNKS?! EVERYBODY OUT!" the same guy yelled, making his gun click. He even fired a warning shot in the air, it sounded like. Sunny was nearly hyperventilating at the thought of possibly never seeing Parappa again, this time because she might die today. Okay, Sunny, just focus. You've learned a bunch of tricks from Parappa and Chop Chop Master Onion. Just focus on surviving, she thought. She then opened the door of the tent slowly, as she knew that many armed criminals got jumpy if you did anything too quickly.
The cat and the flower climbed out of their tent to find PJ, Ma-San and Lammy outside, hands on their heads and standing up straight. They also found a man in a suit holding two 9mm pistols in the general area of the five submissive young adults. The man was a white fox with green eyes, and he had a mean-looking scar going diagonally across his forehead. The door in Officer Kat's house that led to the backyard was wide open, and the fox was standing right in front of it.
When the fox felon caught notice of Katy and Sunny emerging from their tent, his right ear twitched. "You two, join them!" he told the two girls. They walked slowly to their destination. "MOVE!" he called out, wanting to make sure that the plant and animal weren't planning on repelling him.
After lining up with their three other friends, the fox explained, "I know you've been training with that snitch-made Geoffrey Kat to try to help break out freaking Parappa. It's not going to work! You've made the wrong mistake in trying to cross the plot of the Charlatan! You thought we were just going to let him disconnect the wire and not do anything about it? Negro please! And just for that, he's dead! Dirtnapped, done for, doornailed! So now, since we're still allowing you to draw breath from this earth, you will either work with us, or get murked by us. What'll it be, squirts?!"
As much as it crushed everyone else, it still wasn't comparable to the emotional damage it did to Katy. Twenty years in the service to protect and to serve the cities in Rodney County, and he dies when, most likely, he least expects it. If this exact thing happened a year later, Katy and the others would have cried in mourning for a father of a friend. But, with the most recent crap happening to them, there were no time for tears anymore. In everybody, especially Katy, instead burned a barely controllable fury towards her father's murderer. If they kept the guns that Geoffrey gave them yesterday, they would have been wetting this guy up, not stopping until there was more blood than mafia member on the cement patio.
"Okay, okay, OKAY! Let's just get this over with! What do you want us to do?" Katy demanded back, now sporting a commanding facade. The fox turned to her, pointing one of his guns at her.
"Well, I know you're Geoff's daughter, so I'll start with you first. What did your father tell you about the mafia?" he said.
"Why would I tell you anything? Why would I want to tell the person who murdered my father anything he told me about one of the most potent organizations rising up in this city? Your chances of getting any answers from me are slim to none, Jack," she responded.
"Uh, Robin, thank you very much. And you've got quite the mouth for someone who doesn't have a gun on their person. If I were you, I'd watch my tone when talking to me."
"Whatever. You need information? Then ask me. You're going to force me to join the mafia? Force me, and only me if you're going to. Like you said before, I'm the daughter of Geoffrey Kat. And since he made a tie with the mafia, of course he would tell me the stuff he knew from 'the Charlatan.' He told me specifically not to tell anyone else, to make sure that if something like this happened, the majority of people here would make it out alive." Katy squinted.
Robin's countenance brightened up. "Now that is something I like to see; cooperation! I knew that he wouldn't be stupid to tell everyone here about our little operation set up here! Well, Katy, if you value your life at all, you will come with me to my car. And if any of you punks value your lives at all, you won't be following me to try to stop me. These bullets can hurt. Now, Katy, come here," Robin gestured his hand toward him. Katy walked in a normal pace. As she passed Robin, he turned around and pushed her, quickening her pace a little bit. Then, he followed her inside the house. He smartly closed the patio door behind him, making the "I'm watching you" sign with his fingers and pointing one of his pistols to the general direction of the four other trainees.
PJ and company dropped their arms and tried to think of a way to stop Robin. They didn't want to say any words, as the sound of their voices might alert the criminal canine. Sunny then came up with a plan. She directed Ma-San and Lammy to go around the house on their right, and she directed PJ to go with her around the house on their left. Quietly and quickly, they made it to the front part of the house. Sunny's eyes bucked and signed everyone to hide behind the walls on the sides of the houses to not be seen by Robin.
Katy opened the front door, hands still above her head. For a while, they didn't see Robin come out. This gave the other four people a time to react. Somehow, Ma-San knew that her size would be vital for something. She nudged Lammy and pointed up to the roof. Lammy nodded as she picked her up and threw her up on the roof.
Sunny witnessed this and nodded. This was exactly what she had in mind. They never planned this sort of thing out before, but it was quick thinking that helped them communicate. With Ma-San perched on top of the roof, she waited to see when Robin was going to come out the front door. As soon as she saw that white canine tail erect in rage move a few feet away from the house, Ma-San jumped from the roof and landed on Robin's neck. The force of gravity and the weight of Ma-San was enough for her to take Robin down, wrapping her arms around his neck for a choke-hold.
Robin face-planted on the cement sidewalk as the two nine-millimeters flew out of his hands. Then, PJ and company, including Katy, ran over to Robin and started curb-stomping the mess out of Robin, kicking him in the ribs, shoulders and head. They turned him over to expose his face and started kicking him there, not even stopping when he started bleeding from his temples and his nose. When it became apparent that Robin wouldn't fight back, Katy picked up one of his nine-millimeter guns and pointed it at his face. Robin, half-blind from the blood getting in his eyes, plead, "Don't shoot, please! I was assigned to do it by the Charlatan-"
"You can Charlatan my tail. If you expect mercy for committing murder on my dad, you've got another thing coming," Katy fiercely replied. She shoved it on his forehead and pulled the trigger.
CLICK!
Katy's ear twitched in disbelief. "What?" Then she ran for the other pistol and pointed it at Robin. Another click sounded. Were both of the guns jammed? Maybe the impact of them hitting the cement jammed them. She pressed the buttons on the side of the pistols to inspect the chambers and clips.
There weren't any bullets left in any of the pistols. The chambers were empty as well. He must have emptied these on somebody else already, Katy assumed. The other four just watched and waited for the deed to be done. They would have finished Robin, but they didn't want to take away the glory of avenging Geoff Kat from her. But, if there were no bullets left, then they decided to use the alternative. Katy ran to pistol whip Robin when she heard a clapping noise behind her.
"Great job, guys! You've exceeded expectations!" a voice called out from the front entrance. It was the voice they thought they'd never hear.
"Dad?" Katy turned to look. It really was Geoff, wearing a white wifebeater shirt and shorts. The sight of the male blue muscular cat made Katy's mind a fountain of relief, a river of alleviation. She ran over to her father, arms open and dropping the guns. "I thought you were gone for good!" Katy rejoiced as she gave her father an embrace.
"Uh, what is going on here?" Ma-San asked, confused about everything. There were no bullet holes anywhere on Geoff's body. There was no blood present. Either no shots were fired in his direction, or zombies have been made present in this fanfiction. If the latter is the case, then screw you too, author! she thought.
"Well, after teaching you a fair amount of things in combat, I wanted to see how well you'd perform in this examination. And, seeing this, I'd say that you retained sufficient information from yesterday! By the way, that move where you jumped from the rooftop and landed on Robin was phenomenal! I never would have thought of that, guys. Good work!"
"That was all a test?" PJ and company said simultaneously. They looked at each other in response.
"Yes sirree, all of this was basically a real life simulation. It felt so real and perilous, didn't it? And it was all because of my dear friend's excellent performance. I commend you, Robin!" Geoff said. Robin was laying on his back, and when he heard his name, he lifted his head up a little to reply. "It was all a pleasure!"
"Wait, who are you, and what connection do you have with Katy's dad?" Sunny asked Robin, turning toward him.
"My name is Robin Colton, local actor," Robin pulled out a business card from his jacket pocket. Sunny took it from his hand and examined it. The card had his name, picture, job title, email address and phone number on it. "Geoff paid me to act as a mafia member for this examination, which got a little rough, if you ask me."
"Yeah, it did. Sorry that it came out to be harsh, Robs," Geoff replied.
"Hey, it's all in the business. Reminds me of my days in customer service." Robin finally was able to get up and stand up. "I'll need a napkin for these wounds, Geoff, so uh, if you don't mind..." He walked into the house to treat his contusions.
"Wait, wait, wait, but there was still the gunshot from the very beginning of this sequence! Explain that!" Ma-San exclaimed.
"I specifically told him to put in one bullet inside one of the guns. I figured that if you disarmed him, you most likely would have killed him. And we don't want any of you arrested for murder, right?" Geoff said in a fake condescending voice. Everybody sighed. That last experience felt so real, so genuine, that they would have done anything to avenge the death of a friend. But, since there was nothing to worry about in that matter, they went back to focusing on learning new tricks to try to break out Parappa.
. . .
Over the next few days, Parappa went over the escape plan with Scott and the rest of the guys. He had gotten used to the prison, and started to know his way around the hallways and entrances. At the same time, PJ and company learned advanced gun tactics, cover tactics and martial arts. Parappa also tried calling up Peavis Knight to no avail. His head filled with angst as the day of his court hearing got closer with every second.
PJ and company never was able to stop to talk to Parappa what with their intensive training. And the fact that both PJ and company and Scott and company were plotting to get out of jail was completely unaware to both groups. This would potentially help or hurt both sides substantially.
. . .
Here it was. The moment of truth. Judgment day. October 30 has now come, the day of Parappa's court hearing. He was given specific instructions for what to do for the case. Early in the morning of this day, he was specifically called up to the main lobby, with a guard leading him and a guard behind him. They slapped cuffs on his wrists as they directed him to a limousine. With the guards at his side, there was no way that he was going to get out of the car here.
They pulled up to the courtroom at 8:30, and the entrance to the room had clusters of people there for his specific case. All of them yelled and screamed as Parappa got out of the limousine. Thankfully, there was a path made for the guards and the convict with two ropes separating the crowd. The crowd seemed to have an equal mix of people who wanted Parappa's continued incarceration and people who felt Parappa should walk free. People held up signs, chanted different things regarding their position on the case, and reporters from all over the town did live news shows on the event. If you have been reading this fanfiction for some time now, you already know the name of one of the reporters present.
"And here we are, live at the Parappa Town City Court, where we are about to witness the court case of The State of Rodneyana v. Parappa the Rapper. For those of you who don't know, Parappa has been convicted for claims of murder of a local businessman known as Mr. Livington, who used to work for Acme Animal Records before his unfortunate death. And here he approaches now, the rapdog in the orange!" The female reporter in a red business suit trudged through the crowd. "Parappa, what's going through your mind right now?" she inquired.
"Well, I know that I'm innocent, but I don't know if the jury will reciprocate the same thoughts. This case cannot be decided by myself. All I hope for is that the jury finds the truth and establishes justice in our society." As soon as he finished, the guards pushed him closer to the courtroom. "Well, there you have it folks. Parappa shows enduring faith in his fellow town members to make the right decision. I'm Ree Porter, Action News in the Morning."
It was the exact same courtroom that was observed in Chapter 2, with the jury being behind the prosecutor and the non-jury members being behind the defendant. When they walked in, Parappa noted the defendant's side on his right, and the prosecution's side on his left. So, naturally, he went to the right. He sat down in his section and waited for everybody else to pour in.
The news teams piled in eventually while the jury made their casual entrances inside the room. At 9:00, the rapdog's heart raced.
It would either be his hour of liberation or his hour of requiem.