"All rise, the Honorable Judge Dolner presiding!" a bailiff said. This bailiff was a brown bulldog, not Officer Kat this time. Everybody got out of their seats in respectfulness to the judge. The familiar red fox walked into the courtroom, dressed in his black cloak. As he sat down in his seat, he called out, "You may be seated."
Everybody sat down as the lawsuit continued. "The case of the state of Rodneyana v. Parappa the Rapper will now come to order. Quite shocking, it seems, since earlier this month, I saw your faces here, Parappa and Mr. Hedgefirth. You're just on different sides of the room. Now, Parappa is accused, and Mr. Hedgefirth is now prosecuting. When did you switch your perspective, Kyle?"
Through gritted teeth, the human lawyer said, "It's not important, Bruce. Let's just get on with the case!"
Judge Dolner's eyes bucked. "Wow, Kyle, there's no need to be rude. Anyway, your opening statement, 'Prosecutor' Hedgefirth?"
Hedgefirth put on an arrogant smile and stood up again. "All right. Where should I begin? Well, the state of Rodneyana is investigating the murder of Mr. Livington that happened on October 23. After painstaking analysis, it has been concluded that Parappa is guilty of murder of Livington, what with forensics, profile checks of Parappa and Mr. Livington, and even video evidence of the event during the night in question. I believe that after today, people will realize that Parappa is guilty. I have no further statements, since the evidence can speak for itself."
Parappa would have just let the court case continue on, when he noticed something. "I have a question, Your Honor," he announced. Judge Dolner turned toward the rapdog. "What is it?"
"Who the heck is my judge? I was never able to contact Mr. Peavis Knight and assign him for this case..." In the corner of Parappa's eye, he found the end of Hedgefirth's mouth curling slightly into a smile. When Parappa turned to face him on the opposite side of the room, his smile disappeared.
Suddenly, the doors to the courtroom swung open. It showed a walrus-like creature walking on two legs and in a wrinkly, partially unbuttoned suit. "Uh, sorry I'm late, guys. I'm here to defend Parappa in this case, and uh," the walrus creature began. He paused as he got a look of his opposition. As soon as he saw that he was going against Kyle Hedgefirth, he dropped his suitcase and yelled, "OH SH-" and started to run off. Guards who were around the courtroom starting chasing him down the halls of the judicial building. It would seem suspicious to anyone who found somebody running away like a madman in a judicial monument.
A minute later, two guards dragged the walrus in against his will. He was kicking and screaming, saying, "NO! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! THIS IS JUST MY FIRST CASE! I CAN'T WIN AGAINST HEDGEFIRTH! MAYBE PEAVIS KNIGHT, BUT THAT'S IT! NOOOOO!" The guards eventually dragged him to the defendant's side of the room. The doors slammed as the guards went back into the halls.
"Might we have your name, Mr...?" Dolner asked.
"Uh, m-m-m-my name is G-g-g-greg B-b-b-bolderson. I'm a reluctant defense attorney," the walrus finally managed.
Parappa was filled with despair. Not only was this Bolderson's first case, but he came to the court tardy and unprepared, mentally and physically. He facepalmed in his despair.
. . .
Meanwhile, PJ, Sunny and company were watching the entire lawsuit on television. The gang stopped their training for this specific moment in time. They were all on the edge of their seats as they watched the event unfold. But, as soon as they first witnessed Parappa's lawyer for all of this, they all facepalmed at the same time as Parappa did.
"No! Who decided to get Parappa this lawyer! He's a rookie, and this is a serious case, especially one involving a well-known celebrity around the city! You'd think that he'd get a lawyer that was at least not a greenie! This case is freaking fixed!" Sunny complained.
"Every day, we are getting more and more evidence that there is a group that's controlling the city's events. That's why we're training in combat," PJ responded.
The group watched as the chances of Parappa's liberation became slimmer and slimmer. Kyle Hedgefirth, first off, showed the video that was posted on WorldStarHitPops. He pointed out that the video clearly showed Parappa completely murdering Mr. Livington and him and Sunny assaulting two other cats present. The assault and "murder" part of the event was explicitly pinned on Parappa, even though everybody could see that Sunny also was involved with everything. What Sunny did was self-defense to everyone, since she was a female, and she would have been grabbed by men. But, everything that Parappa did was completely wrong.
The video's audio was altered a bunch so that it made it seem like Parappa threatened all three of the cats in the beginning, so it looked like Harvey was trying to protect his friends. And the fact that the video didn't show Mr. Livington dropping his gun in the beginning or picking it up at the end didn't help Parappa at all, either.
As if that wasn't enough, there was another cat, a Burmese cat who was apparently married to Mr. Livington gave a sobstory that was deftly convincing to the majority of the jury. It went a little something like this:
"I love my husband. Notice how I say love, not loved. Because I believe that his spirit is still here with me today, even though a sick, twisted, canine murderer decided to take his life..." Mrs. Livington sniffled. This caused many more people in the courtroom to pull out handkerchiefs and wipe away tears and blow their noses in sadness. Even Judge Dolner empathized with her by sniffling a little and wiping away a tear. In Parappa's viewpoint, it was sad that she lost a loving husband, but he was one of the only people with dry eyes, with the only other one being Kyle Hedgefirth. He was smiling, knowing that he was getting this lawsuit in the bag. And Parappa's eyes were dry because, well, why do you think? He had a legitimate reason to shoot and kill Mr. Livington. Otherwise, who knows what he would have done?
Greg Bolderson, surprisingly, wasn't doing anything to defend Parappa. His suitcase only contained one picture of Parappa, not even a full dossier of him, and a pornographic magazine that he forgot to take out one day. Him coming unprepared was adding more nails to Parappa's proverbial coffin. If Bolderson couldn't speak for him, then Parappa would have to speak for himself to have a chance. But he couldn't do that, since he was a convict doing time in jail. Anything that he said that was supposed to help him wouldn't be accepted, since his opinions are completely looked upon as biased.
As if the situation couldn't get any worse, Kyle Hedgefirth started ripping on Parappa's previous social status, from the beginnings of his life in the ghetto to now.
"Thank you, Mrs. Livington. Now, another point I'd like to make is that Parappa has had a terrible history growing up. In his official dossier, we find out that until he was around eight and a half, he has been living in the north side of Parappa Town, and any seasoned citizen of the city knows that that's a very poor part of town, what with cracked cement, gangs running through the streets, prostitutes prancing in the parkways, it's a mess! It has been told that Parappa learned a couple things about guns and shooting them whilst living there. Now, we wouldn't even have to worry about this pugnacious pooch if he just stayed in the horrid part of town like he needed to! I never thought that North Parappa Town would cause any bad influence inside central Parappa Town. But, it appears that I was mistaken. Now, I ask of you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, to make the decision that you feel is right for our society." Kyle paused for effect for his next words. "Please, good citizens, think of the children!"
Parappa, on the other side of the courtroom, was breathing heavily in frustration. Not only was he being insulted publicly, but he was also the only one who saw past Kyle's lies, it seemed like.
"Aren't you going to say anything, Greg?" he rasped to his lawyer.
"What should I say?" the lawyer responded.
"You're the lawyer, I would think that you knew! You seriously have no idea what to say right now?"
"Uh, I could try some-" Greg began, before Parappa stood up from his seat..
"Your Honor?" Parappa asked. The rapdog could feel all of the eyes in the room viewing him.
"Eh? What is it, Parappa?" Judge Dolner said with a glazed expression in his eyes. He showed genuine disinterest in anything Parappa would want to say.
"Am I permitted to speak anything on my behalf? Because, my lawyer sure as heck isn't going to do so, and I believe that every person has the right to express themselves, especially if they were threatened to be sent to jail for the rest of their lives."
Dolner shrugged and yawned. "I suppose so..."
"Thank you, Your Honor. Now, let's delve deeper into a subject I'm involved in. Yes, I was raised for eight years in the north side of Parappa Town. Yes, I am aware that that part of town is shanty, crime-ridden, and dosed with destitution. But, for most of my life, I have been living in central Parappa Town. Ever since I came over here, I haven't had a criminal record for ANYTHING. Not at school, not at anywhere else. I always paid my taxes on time. I registered for the selective service for our nation. And, another thing to think about is, remember the bank-"
*WHAPISH! WHAPISH!*
Kyle Hedgefirth produced a whip out of nowhere, it seemed, and whipped at the direction of the judge and Parappa, nearly hitting them. "Judge Dolner, may I remind you that a prisoner's opinion on anything in a case is ignored by everyone else? I could see it in his and every other criminal's eyes, this man is a liar! And, since Greg has nothing to say, I'd say we go to the jury decision right now!"
This guy isn't serious. I can handle parodying von Karma's daughter, but a LAWYER deciding the rules of a case is utter bull-Parappa thought.
"You're right. Now, we shall let the jury decide on the case. Two choices, fifty-fifty chance of Parappa's survival, blardy-blardy-blar," Dolner replied.
Are you serious, Dolner? You're just going to let Kyle decide on the rules? This mafia is affecting more and more people every day...Parappa thought.
. . .
Meanwhile, Sunny was nearly kissing the TV with her proximity to the object. Everybody else held their heads down in despair. They pretty much knew that the jury decision would be the final nail to the coffin.
"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Dolner said unenthusiastically.
"We have, Your Honor, and we find Parappa's sorry behind guilty of all charges!" the same literal fish out of water mentioned in Chapter 2 said. Dolner's gavel pounded the table. Parappa's fists clenched at his eventual fate. A town that he thought would back him up through thick and thin betrayed him in a Parappa Town minute. He had no idea how fast things turned sour for the city. It was all because of the mafia messing things up.
"NOOOOO!" Sunny said when she witnessed the result. She hung her head low and expected the tears to be falling, but nothing was expelled from her eyes. All she could feel was anger, resentment, and determination. She turned off the TV and began going through the final break-out plan, studying the overhead map of the prison as if it was finals week. Sunny led by example, as everybody else studied diagrams, got in their target practice and reenacted what they would do in certain situations they may face. It was the only other thing they did all day. Everybody's minds was focused on one thing: if Parappa would die, then they would die fighting against the mafia.
. . .
"Well, I am sorry to hear of this, Parappa. You are a great student of karate, and a great citizen at heart. I personally don't think that you committed murder on anyone, but, the jury has spoken. All good things must come to an end," Chop Chop Master Onion mourned. Parappa was sent back to his cell to recollect some thoughts. The rapdog had the opportunity to be interviewed by Ree Porter, but he felt that if these really were his last days on this earth, he wasn't going to waste them on interviews with Action News or anybody else. He was denied talking to anybody on the phone, so who else did he have to talk to?
"Thanks, Chop Chop. I don't know what to do now. I guess, during my final hour, I'll just hope for a higher power..." Parappa answered. "Wait just a second. How do I usually get out of situations like these? Come on, reader, you know you want to say the three word phrase..." he said, to you, it seems like.
I GOTTA BELIEVE!
Parappa then rushed out of his cell and ran to join Scott's crew. The plan for escaping was set on the next day, Halloween, but that was when the electrocution was set up. He needed to see if Scott and company were planning anything different since there was an abrupt change of plans.
As soon as Scott first noticed him, he called out, "Parappa! We need to make some changes pronto! They are executing you at midnight, not tomorrow morning! So, we have to bust you out by tonight! Gentlemen, we need to work swiftly in order to save him, and get ourselves out of Dodge! We need to start and finish this like a celebrity relationship; get up close and personal with everyone, cause trouble with the law, and be in and out of here promptly!"
"Right!" everybody else in the crew said.
"Okay, they are not going to let us all inside the execution room, just Parappa. Most likely, they will be using the electric chair on him, so we need to cut off all the power inside the prison, which will save him and deactivate all security cameras. From there, we knock out the guards surrounding the room, scavenge some flashlights, and exit the path. Now, the station has reserve energy that automatically kicks in ninety seconds after it cuts off. We need to make as much progress as possible before the lights come back on. Sure, our original plan included cutting off power, but we need to stress the cutting off of power in the beginning. This is our only chance gentlemen! We either go hard or die. Let's start studying the schematics of the prison, with all of us split up. We'll meet with each other by dinnertime."
Everybody verbally agreed and separated. Parappa investigated the workout areas and found out certain exit points in the area. He even found a large black SUV with bulletproofed windows. His eyebrows raised in interest. Maybe that could work out for his new crew.
Manuel was the arrowheaded person mentioned in Chapter 6. His muscle needed to be sufficient enough to get the crew out of the scraps they might come across. Donnie was a black Labrador retriever, renowned for amazing driving skills. He got a lot of his money for winning street races. Sergio was a slightly tall Scottish Fold cat, specializing in stealth. Customary for a feline, Parappa thought. Scott's niche seemed to be planning, as it seemed like it had the greatest chances of escape. It was quite in-depth, requiring painstaking precision from the participating prisoners. If there was one flaw, one mistake, one step made too loudly, they would most likely die. All of them knew this though.
When the dinner siren rang, all of them discussed what they were to do at midnight. With every passing minute, Parappa's heart accelerated. None of them even got any dinner that night. They wouldn't be hungry as they discussed a plan that only had a forty percent chance of working. They found new entrance points and found out about a new guard rotation.
The dinner period ended, and all Parappa could do was wait for his final hour. His crew watched the clock in the living room area with TVs and ping pong tables and whatnot. Ten o'clock. Eleven o'clock. At 11:30, the group separated to start the operation. It was also at this time where three human cops escorted Parappa through the halls to take him to the execution room. There was a line of three prisoners guilty of multiple serious crimes and about to be...
Wait, are those guns that I see inside the room? Well, the door closed quickly, so I didn't get a good look inside. But, I thought this was the electrocution room! NOW WHAT?! Parappa thought. Maybe the plan could still work with the turning off of all power inside the prison, but these guys possibly had guns in the execution room! Parappa's mind raced again. This time, his thoughts were interrupted by the man in front of him. There were only two people in line. The man in front of him was a middle-aged black male, with a goatee beard and a small afro. He turned around to face Parappa.
"Since this is my final hour, I'll hope for a higher power..." His voice matched something in Parappa's memory banks.
"Wreck-Rhymes?" Parappa inquired. He remembered hearing about the rapper Wreck-Rhymes, who made sociopolitical songs many times, while his other songs talked about his troubled past. He wasn't too bad of a performer, though.
"In the flesh. I recognize you as well. You are in the same game as I am in. Well, we WERE in the game anyway. Now, we have reached our final acts, and go to whatever higher power is true. What are you in for, since this is our last act?"
"I was ACCUSED of murder, even when I killed somebody IN SELF DEFENSE. And this town has failed to see my innocence. What about you?"
"I killed a few people, but I wasn't accused of anything. I know I did it. I know what I did was wrong! I knew what was happening since minute one, and yet, my psycho mind decided to take over and made some people take dirtnaps. I deserve to die here! Society would be less safer with me roaming the streets-" BAOW! BAOW! BAOW!
Wreck-Rhymes' dialogue was interrupted by three gunshots from the execution room. Yep, they took me to the firing squad room. They probably knew of the crew's intentions. Come on guys, work faster and harder to cut the power off, take out the firing squad, do something! But, are these just officers of the law, or are these guys ruthless killers in the mafia? I don't know...
The body of the poor soul was dragged to a coroner's room conveniently placed near the execution room. Then, Wreck-Rhymes walked in without any guards escorting him. Parappa reluctantly moved closer to the red door. All that was on it was a grey metal rectangle where the doorknob would be if there was one on the outside and a sign with a black background with a white skull and crossbones inside a white circle.
After about ten seconds, Parappa expected to hear gunshots from inside the room. But instead, he heard Wreck-Rhymes' voice.
"Yes I would like to make some final statements. I would like to say, take me to your mansion, Lord, and receive my spirit, for I know that I have landed in blood, and about to do so once again, but I know that you can somehow correct me of my-"
"It's taking too long! Kill him!" another familiar voice sounded. It was Vick Northrup, the guy who tried to milk information from Parappa earlier and tried to get the stuff he needed to convince the town that Parappa was guilty. Parappa didn't know if any video evidence was used in the news, but regardless, he would very likely die today.
What was the date? Parappa looked at a nearby clock. It was 11:58. Two minutes before his birthday, and a couple hours before Parappa would officially turn 19 years old. They could at least let me live nineteen-Parappa thought again, his thoughts being interrupted again by the sound of bullets being expelled by semi-automatic assault rifles. Three shots again were heard, so he figured that there were three people in the firing squad.
Well, it's been ten minutes, and no sign of the crew doing any work. Of course, with the crew operating an illegal operation, knowledge of this event occurring shouldn't just get out to any place in the prison to anyone. Parappa held his head in despair. Well, I guess it comes to an end, Parappa. I thought I'd see a Parappa 3 before I kicked the bucket, but, I guess some things just weren't meant to happen...
His eyes started tearing up as he reluctantly walked through the door. As he walked into the room, he found pools of blood and a separate pool of tears right beside a plastic chair. Northrup casually stood beside the chair and gestured for him to sit down. Parappa felt a tear fall down his face as he walked toward the chair. As he sat down, Northrup merely gloated, "You've lost this time, Parappa. You had this town in the palm of your hands, and it was all taken away. How does it feel to get the short end of the stick? This is probably what should have happened in the first place. This place was ripe for the Charlatan's picking, and all you really did was delay his endeavors. You had many a chance to step out and keep yourself safe, but alas, you have decided to get mixed up in affairs you really have no business in knowing. Since you are such a high target, I'll leave you to your last words. You have five minutes."
Shoes stained with blood and heart hurting, Parappa nearly sobbed for his imminent demise. He had reached his end. Usually, in bad situations, he could turn his attitude around with the common three word phrase. But, his attitude really couldn't be changed now. He was sitting in a bloodstained chair, about to be shot with three bullets, most likely to the head. Only one thing could come to mind. He let his head hang and started to sing a familiar song, his voice trembling with sadness and grief instead of happiness and enthusiasm when it was originally performed.
What you gonna do, when they come? I gotta redeem...
What you gonna do, when they come? I gotta relieve...
What you gonna do, when they come? I gotta receive...
You gotta do what? You gotta do what?
The five minutes were finally up.
"Ready! AIM! FIRE!" Northrup announced.
Parappa closed his eyes as he finished: I gotta believe!
Three gunshots were heard, and then there was the sound of a body hitting the floor. To Parappa, it was all dark, except for one bright light in front of him. He gradually approached the white light in front of him.