A/N: Hello, everybody. :) It's been a long time coming, but now, here is a new episode of Regular Show: A Cloud in the Sky! I hope you all like it.
Chapter 2: The Parkie Awards
It started the next night after Mordecai and Rigby's date with CJ and Eileen. CJ had asked Benson if she could apply at the park and undertake the trials necessary to be deemed worthy of it, barring the paperwork that goes prior to it. The idea intrigued the park manager, and she couldn't blame him. He has been in need of more worthwhile park members, especially with Mordecai and Rigby involved.
"What? You really want to apply for a job in the park?"
CJ nodded as she answered him. She was wearing a light blonde jacket with a light brown skirt while sitting in a chair in front of the desk.
"Well, yeah. I mean, it's safe to say I've got some experience."
Benson had no doubts about that. He had a feeling it would be the case, seeing that she happened to be Mordecai's girlfriend. All the same, he stuck with the procedure.
"Well, do you have any references I should know about?"
CJ was about to speak, but Benson continued.
"Besides Mordecai?"
CJ immediately kept her silence, already confirming his answer. To be fair, Benson did see that one coming.
"Okay. And I've heard that you had an extra job. One as a city crossing guard?"
CJ nodded once again to answer him.
"Yeah. Mostly on the weekends. It can be a bit mundane, though. I did deal with a bunch of jerks before, but I've been taking some classes to get me through that."
Benson tapped his pen under the bottom of his dome. The manager did find that helpful to know.
"That's good. Very good, in fact. Because as history suggests in the past, you have been known for certain… outbursts."
CJ blushed at the way Benson put it. To call them that would be an understatement. She nearly killed Margaret over Mordecai, she almost got him killed, and she vaporized someone for trying to get them to break up. That last one was more poetic justice, but it reminded her how scary she was all the same. She's beginning to think he might not accept her after all.
"Yeah…"
Benson noticed the flushed look on her face and tried to reassure her.
"Look, it's not really anything to be ashamed of. I yell at Mordecai and Rigby all the time."
CJ personally had her doubts.
"Yeah, well, no offense, but it's hardly the same."
Benson made a light scoff at her denial.
"Pssh. One time I yelled at Mordecai and Rigby so loud, I went off like an atomic nuke. Literally."
CJ immediately widened her eyes. She knew the Park was known for some crazy stuff, but this! CJ had no idea Benson had that in him. How did Mordecai survive under that?!
"Wait, what?"
"Yep. Held my anger in for too long, and boom went the dynamite. True story. Anyway, I'm a work-in-progress, just like you. You've got nothing to worry about with me."
CJ didn't know what to feel about Benson. She knew he could get tough on the two slackers, but to go that far must've been pretty scary looking on the other side. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to let it scare her away. She's been through something like that before.
"Um… thanks? So, am I… in?"
Benson saw the hesitation on her face. He can see right away that she was anxious. He had a feeling it was for good reason, especially concerning her outbursts. But like he told her, she didn't have anything to worry about with him.
"Well, we usually do an initiation before we hire someone to the Park. But since you've shown a lot of experience with what went on–"
Benson paused for a moment to speak under his breath.
"Mostly because of Mordecai and Rigby– the job's all yours."
CJ stood up almost excitedly once she heard that. It was almost too good to be true.
"Really? I got it?!"
Benson stood up proudly as he shook her hand with a smile.
"Yes, CJ. You got it. You'll start on Monday."
A joyful smile came over CJ as Benson walked away from his desk. She never knew Benson would be in a good mood. It could be because he's hiring someone who can keep an eye on the two. Although, she figured it wouldn't hurt to check.
"You know, I've never seen you so happy. What's the occasion?"
On his way out, though, Benson turned to her with a grin.
"Funny you should ask. There's actually the Annual Parkie Awards Ceremony tonight. I've recently been nominated for Best Park Manager."
CJ felt proud of him, given how often he's had to put up with their shenanigans.
"Oh. That's great, man."
"And, seeing as you are soon to be an employee next week, I figure maybe she should get to see her future boss be known as the best boss."
CJ heard the confidence in his voice. He seemed almost certain he'd be it.
"You seem really sure of yourself, Benson."
Benson got out his shades and put them on his face with a smirk.
"Oh, trust me, CJ. It's in the bag…"
Later that evening, CJ told Mordecai that she got in. She also told him how she was invited to attend the Parkie Awards Ceremony with the others. The two of them were in Mordecai and Rigby's rooms at the time.
"Whoa, really? He hired you and invited you over to the Parkies Awards?"
"Yeah. I didn't even have to do the initiation, either."
Mordecai could tell that his boss must be very eager to do that. He must feel really lucky about tonight, he assumed. That said, he was still proud of her for being able to be hired. He went up to her and hugged her almost excitedly.
"That's great, CJ! I knew you'd fit right in."
CJ hugged him back as she laughed with him.
"Thanks, Mordecai. I really like my chances right now."
Mordecai's face ended up scrunching a little bit, however a few seconds later. CJ noticed the tension in no time at all.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just that I realized something. Being at the Parkies Awards means you'll have to sit there for four hours until Benson gets called."
CJ merely scoffed it off.
"Come on. It can't be that long, right?"
Unfortunately, it was no exaggeration. At the City Theater where they held the Annual Parkies Awards, Benson, Skips, Pops, Muscle Man, Hi-Five Ghost, Mordecai, Rigby, and CJ were at a table in the back watching the whole affair. The newest recruit of the park was wearing a light tan jacket over her blue dress. She had to pick the fanciest dress she could think of for this occasion. And as Mordecai put it, she "knocked it out of the park". It was a clever quip on his part, and it did help ease her spirits despite the impending long wait as the announcer got up and spoke to the mic.
"Yes, yes! Thank you and welcome to the annual Parkie Awards. Heh. Now, we have a truly staggering, even grueling, number of awards to hand out tonight."
As expected, Mordecai and Rigby groaned, clearly not thrilled about having to wait. Everyone else but Benson, who held tightly onto his paper, was smiling at the proceedings. Although, CJ might be as anxious as those two were.
"Those are gonna be the longest four hours of my life, aren't they?"
"So let's jump right into the fun, huh? Our first award is for best raking."
As the hours passed, the announcer held out the trophies for best raking, the cleanest pond, and even for most well-behaved children. CJ found that part of the category hard to believe. Sure it would be nice, but what did they have to do with how well the park has been managed? All the same, she sat through them… at least for a while. Then, CJ's stomach growled at her. With how long the ceremony was going, she'd forgotten all about her hunger.
"Huh. I guess I haven't eaten anything yet…"
Luckily, it gave CJ an idea. Of course, she had the courtesy to keep herself quiet for the sake of announcements.
"Hey, is anyone else hungry?"
Everyone nodded and murmured softly in agreement, especially Mordecai and Rigby.
"I'll go and get some for everyone."
CJ stood up and was about to go, but Mordecai followed suit.
"Don't worry. I'll help you out."
CJ smiled at her boyfriend for offering to go along with her. Although, she suspected that he had an ulterior motive for it.
"You just didn't want to sit through it for four hours, didn't you?"
"No, I did not."
CJ laughed at his honest answer as the two of them walked together to get the food. What they had to offer were wings from Wing Kingdom. It actually worked out a lot better than CJ thought it would. Who wouldn't like wings from Wing Kingdom? Another hour had passed when the announcer had gotten down to the last Parkie Award remaining, having just given his semifinal one to someone.
"Let's give it up to Harrison Lake Park for Most Fertile Land! How do they do it?"
As the audience applauded, Rigby groaned and placed his head on the table. Mordecai gave him a nudge in the arm. He would have agreed with him, and he still would, but thanks to the wings he and CJ brought over for everyone, he knew better than to act like a child.
"Come on, dude. Don't be like that."
"But it's been four hours…"
It didn't take much for Benson to chime in. He spoke up at the raccoon with a hushed, stern tone.
"That's no excuse, Rigby. I'm up for Park Manager of the Year. This is the big leagues."
CJ noticed Benson's game face. It reminded her of what Benson told her earlier, that he was likely going to be named the Best Boss.
"Wow, Benson. I knew you were nominated for best boss, but I didn't know it was that big a deal for you."
"Of course it is. Gene usually sweeps the awards, but I know for a fact that I have a chance this year. I mean, after that embarrassing fertilizer fiasco East Pines had?"
Benson gave Skips a nudge with a smug grin. He chuckled with an equally smug grin as he added to it.
"It's in the bag."
CJ began to get curious about the subject.
"What fertilizer fiasco?"
Benson leaned into CJ's ear and whispered the whole thing to her. After hearing what he had to say, she was astonished.
"Whoa. That's pretty hardcore, Benson. Even for you."
"Yep. Like Skips said, it's all in the bag."
Before the final announcement, however, there was one last thing: the honorable mentions.
"Well, this seems like as good a time as any that we remember the fallen. Our park-manager brethren, none of whom had won an award but will still be missed, despite their lack of excellence."
As sentimental music started playing in the background, the spotlight turned itself off as the TV behind him turned on and showed "In Memoriam" in cursive. Following them were pictures of a man with a brown goatee who was apparently mauled by hummingbirds (if one can believe it), a man in a sweater who died by chocolate, an Australian man holding a snake with his wife behind him who died of quicksand, and an elderly woman who held a bucket over a pipe that poured out the sap from it. She had died from log rolling. The audience sighed and gave soft applause before the announcer finished up.
"And now a moment of silence."
After two seconds, however, a banner dropped from Wing Kingdom in front of the TV screen, and the spotlight turned back on.
"I'd like to thank Wing Kingdom for sponsoring this event! Before you get your angel wings, come by and get some spicy ones."
He chuckled at his joke before clapping to himself as the audience joined in. Then, came the big event. One that Benson, in particular, was the most excited for.
"And now the award we've all been waiting for… the park manager of the year award! The nominees are…"
The TV showed a woman with ponytailed red hair in a red sweater holding a life-size model of the park she works from.
"Kimmy Gehbert from Micro Park."
Next up was a man wearing a veteran's jacket over his tank top and in an alleyway, pointing over to the alley behind him.
"Slicer Ericson from Alley Way Park."
Then, the TV showed a living calculator in a fancy suit and slicked-back hair in a pool as he replied.
"Gene from East Pines Park."
CJ had a feeling she knew why he went through a Fertilizer Fiasco.
"Oh, yeah. Good call with the fertilizer. He looked like he deserved it."
Benson laughed eagerly beside CJ as the audience applauded. That was when his picture came up. He was dressed in his pajamas as he ate a cup of yogurt with a rather surprised look on his face.
"And Benson from Park."
Benson did not really take to that picture well at all. He turned to Mordecai and Rigby and whisper-shouted at them.
"What? That's not the picture I told you to send!"
"Don't you want them to know the real you?"
"Yeah, it's honest."
As much as she thought the picture was weird, she knew they had a point somewhere.
"You have to admit, they may have a point."
Putting aside the photo conundrum, the gang watched with bated breath as the announcer opened up the letter.
"And the Parkie goes to…"
Benson waved his hand, urging the two to keep quiet as CJ noticed how jittery he was.
"Shh, this is it!"
When he opened it up, he began to read it aloud, seemingly confirming Benson's hopes.
"Ben…"
Benson gasped, knowing his dream would come true… However:
"...jamin Smith! He's another guy who passed. That's food for thought. Anyway, get up here, Gene! You won!"
Benson was immediately crushed. His mouth dropped down in shock as Skips, Pops, Mordecai, Rigby, and CJ showed pity for him while Muscle Man and High-Fives expressed disappointment in the announcer through their faces. All the while, Gene went up on the stage laughing heartily like a pirate as the announcer went on.
"This is Gene's ninth nomination and ninth win in this category. It's his 18th win tonight."
CJ was completely stunted by what she had just learned.
"18th?! No wonder Benson was looking forward to this…"
Gene took the trophy from the announcer and spoke into the mic himself.
"Hey, I needed another back scratcher, am I right?"
As Gene laughed, CJ began to growl, her puffy white skin turning dark grey. Mordecai saw what was about to happen and tried to stop it from happening, only for CJ to catch herself and calm down, her skin returning back to normal.
"Keep it down, CJ. Keep it down…"
"I'm runnin' out of room for these things! Well, thanks, I guess. Here's to another 18 wins!"
Gene walked down the stairs with pride as he laughed to himself before the announcer spoke into the mic.
"The best of the best certainly won tonight, huh, folks?"
CJ ended up mumbling to herself on Benson's account. She may not be allowed to explode in anger, but that didn't deny her the right to be angry.
"Hardly…"
"Another big thanks to Wing Kingdom, and we'll see you next year at the annual Parkie Awards!"
As everybody applauded except for Benson and the others, CJ tried to support her new boss.
"Sorry you didn't win, Benson. You totally deserved that award."
Benson tried to deny it at first, trying to let her know he was alright despite the outcome.
"It's okay, CJ. So I didn't win. It's an honor to even be nominated."
An hour later, though, that honor wasn't enough for him. Benson was bitterly chewing on his chicken wing, his mouth covered in wing sauce.
"Judged by a jury of my peers. With peers like these, who needs friends?"
If this wasn't a telltale sign of disappointment, CJ wouldn't know what was. She couldn't exactly ignore the piles of stripped-to-the-bone wings in his plate.
"I think you've had enough wings, Benson."
"I don't care. My life is like a fart!"
Skips tried to ease Benson out of his bitterness with a suggestion.
"Hey, uh… Why don't you go get some fresh air?"
Benson snapped, though he had to agree with Skips on that one.
"I'm gonna get some fresh air! Jokers wouldn't know a good park from a hole in the park."
As Benson walked away, CJ's worry only grew worse.
"Wow… I've never seen Benson like that before."
Skips and Muscle Man couldn't agree more.
"I know. Benson took that pretty hard."
"Yikes. I'm embarrassed for him."
Even Mordecai knew his boss didn't deserve to be passed over for a blowhard like Gene.
"Man, Benson's 10 times the park manager Gene is. Look, he doesn't even care that he won."
Gene was talking to two of his assistants near the trash can as the gang all looked on.
"Hah! They give awards for anything these days. I floss twice a day. Nominate me for that!"
He and his cohorts laughed before a waiter came up to him.
"Hot wings, sir?"
"Definitely!"
As Gene accepted, he set his award on top of the trash can near the bin. Even Pops knew that he was an utter disgrace for thinking so lowly of an award at all where Benson tried nine times and failed to achieve it.
"There's just no justice in the world."
Skips had a feeling that Benson being exposed to such carelessness and insult was the last thing he needed.
"Let's grab Benson and get out of here."
"Agreed!"
Everyone all stood up and went to look for Benson. But Rigby stopped and looked back at the trophy as Gene enjoyed his wings. Looking at the opportunity, Rigby had an idea as a smirk came on his face. Before he could move, however, CJ spoke up behind him.
"You're thinking about swiping the trophy, aren't you?"
Rigby turned to CJ and tried to come up with an excuse.
"Listen before you say anything–"
"Do it."
"Benson really deserved to– Wait, what?"
Rigby was not prepared for that. His ideas were often shot down before they even took flight. He wasn't expecting CJ to go with it.
"I'm serious with you, Rigby. Go for it."
Rigby smiled at her with a smirk, happy to know that she was on the same page.
"Aw, yeah-uh."
Not much later afterward, everyone was in the van, on the way back to the park. Mordecai and CJ were sitting beside each other in the middle seat with Pops sitting next to Skips, who was driving. Rigby was in the back with Muscle Man and Fives. As for Benson, he sat on the far left of the middle seat, too depressed over the fact that he didn't win like he'd hoped. For a good while, there was some awkward silence before Skips tried to cheer him up.
"Hey, Benson, how about we have a fun night out? How's that sound?"
Muscle Man and CJ pitched a few ideas to him.
"Yeah, we could do it up! We'd just need some wings, some slo-mo explosions, a sweet ride."
"Oh, and maybe we could make some smores over at the canyon."
Benson appreciated the ideas, but he still wouldn't get over it.
"That stuff's for winners. Winners like Gene. He's probably out having the time of his life."
Rigby had a smirk that told a different story.
"We'll see how good a time he has when he figures out this is missing!"
Rigby pulled out Gene's Parkie Award beside him, making everybody but CJ gasp in shock and surprise.
"What the-?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, my!"
Of course, Benson was the most shocked out of all the group.
"Rigby, what are you thinking?"
Rigby tried to explain to Benson as he held the award in his hands.
"What better way to feel like a winner than with a real award? Besides, he didn't even miss it."
"It's the principle of the thing!"
Rigby assumed it was because of a certain detail: the lack of ownership.
"Is it because it doesn't have your name? Here, I'll fix it."
Rigby tried to draw on it with a permanent marker, but Benson snatched the award from his grasp.
"No! We have to call Gene now! We'll tell him we have his award, and it's all a misunderstanding."
But when he attempted to make the call, he got sent to voicemail. He ended up having to make one himself.
"Gene, it's Benson. Call me back. It's important."
Benson ended the message as he relayed the news.
"I got the machine."
As Benson held onto the award in his hands, CJ tried to change his mind.
"Dude, even if you give it back to him, he's not gonna care. Do you really want him to rub it in your face again?"
Benson couldn't believe what he was hearing out of her.
"You're actually agreeing with this, CJ?"
"Of course, I am. If Gene isn't gonna give a damn about the one thing you tried to get for nine years, then he doesn't deserve one at all. I mean, what has that blowhard ever done to earn it, anyway? You worked your butt off a long time for it, and you certainly didn't bother coming over tonight just to be passed over for a snob like that. So it's time my boss felt like a winner for once! You deserve that after all you've been through."
Benson's shocked expression faded as he took CJ's words in. A small smile crept on his face, beginning to see things her way.
"You know what, CJ? You're right. I guess we could have a little fun."
With that, Benson, Mordecai, Rigby, CJ, Muscle Man, Fives, Skips, and Pops both shouted with excitement at the top of their lungs as they drove by.
"Ooh!"
Play Black Sabbath Music: "Paranoid"
Per Muscle Man's earlier suggestion, they all decided to hit up the night. Their first stop was Wing Kingdom, where everyone put on some shades to go with their outfits. They got their own buckets before going over to the wing dispensers, where Benson, Skips, Rigby, CJ, and Mordecai filled them up to the brim. By the time they were done, everyone apart from Muscle Man carried two buckets of wings on a balancer each for them where Mitch carried only the one in the picture as Benson held his Parkies Award in his left hand to the air.
Their next stop was at Just Stick It. It was a Stick Hockey convention where everyone tried to play against Benson in it. Benson was on the blue team while Mordecai and Rigby were on the red. It was really no surprise that they weren't a match for him. Score after score, Benson was winning so fast, the counter can't even begin to keep up. Then came the finish. Benson did a finger point as the puck flew into the air and went clean through Mordecai and Rigby's goalie, setting it and their goal on fire in the process! Everyone was blown away by his skills, even CJ, who eventually cheered and took the next picture as she stood beside Mordecai while he patted his boss on the head.
All day long, I think of things
But nothing seems to satisfy.
I think I might lose my mind
if I don't pacify.
For the third stop, they decided to play in a band together. Skips, Mordecai, and Rigby, were on the guitars while Muscle Man held his mouth at Fives' trumpet. Pops was on the keyboard, of course. And, to most of the gang's surprise, CJ was on the mic. She was in a band before back in her goth phase. She was even wearing her old Goth shirt under her leather jacket. But of course, the real showstopper was Benson, the drummer.
Having played the 150 Piece Drum solo, this was a walk in the park for him, no pun intended. As CJ sang her heart out, she went close to Mordecai and Skips as they held the base up high with Rigby going on top to swing his hand down on the strings. At the end, Benson stood up from his drum set and jumped into the crowd with Skips, CJ, Mordecai, Fives, and Rigby joining in on the crowd surfing in their picture.
Can you help me
Occupy my brain?
Oh, yeah
In their next picture, the gang were all together with everyone enjoying their instruments as CJ held onto her mic behind the riffing Rigby. The next picture showed CJ taking one very close to the camera as the others behind her did a pyramid. Another one showed them jumping in an indoor trampoline park before they were seen riding in a limo with Skips at the wheel while Benson held on to his award. The gang rode up to a cliff where they ate their wings and hung out together, looking up at the full moon.
End Black Sabbath: "Paranoid"
The gang all sat on the cliffside as Benson gave his thanks to his associates.
"Man, guys, what a night! I really just don't know what to say."
CJ gave him a little nudge. She knew Benson better than that.
"Are you sure?"
"Well, heh, I know what I would've said if I'd won. It was a show-stopper speech. I had to edit down three paragraphs I'd written about this guy."
Benson pointed at Skips with a proud smile as he then pointed at Pops, Muscle Man, and then to Mordecai, Rigby, and CJ.
"And you were in it, and you were in it– And even you guys are in it."
Mordecai and Rigby both cheered simultaneously as CJ expressed her surprise.
"Whoa!"
"Really? I was in it, too?"
Benson gave them an honest answer, mostly to keep Mordecai and Rigby from having a big head about it.
"Well, not in the original, but I added you in after how much fun we just had."
Mordecai and Rigby both hmm'd in agreement as CJ Gabe her boss a smile.
"Wow. It really would've been some speech, huh?"
However, Benson sighed in resignation, his smile diminishing.
"Yeah… Too bad I'll never get to say it."
Muscle Man had an idea come in his mind as he replied.
"Maybe it's not too late, bro."
Some time later, everyone all headed back to the City Theatre. It was closed, but thanks to Muscle Man's connections with the security guard, he was able to get everyone back inside.
"Mega-cool of you to let us in like this, man."
"Eh, no problem. The set's getting trashed tomorrow anyway."
With that, the Park Gang went inside to the stage where Fives went to the booth and turned on the lights. It still had the Wing Kingdom banner in front of the TV screen. And the mic was still in position. Mordecai, Rigby, CJ, Skips, Pops, Muscle Man, and Fives banged their fists on the table, urging their boss to give a speech.
"Speech, speech, speech, speech!"
Benson chuckled excitedly as he got up on the stage. He could hardly believe that he ever had the chance to get to do this at all, even after what he had done during his time as manager.
"Wow! I can't believe I'm finally up here."
Benson had a bit of tears in his eyes for a moment before he got himself together.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll start."
Benson cleared his throat and was about to start when suddenly… the spotlight turned off. Benson was confused over what happened.
"Fives?"
"It's not me. I just turned on the lights."
But the weirdness didn't stop there. The mic itself started to glow green before it shot a bolt right at the screen. The TV glowed green as the banner fell and showed the memorial from before with sentimental music playing. After it showed the four managers who had died, the screen turned static green. Along with the others, Mordecai and CJ were especially worried about it.
"Huh?"
"What the-?"
Suddenly, the screen flowed so bright that Benson had to cover his eyes. But when he lowered them, he saw something that made him aghast with fright: it was the ghost of the Australian manager who'd previously died of quicksand grasping into his leg!
Benson screamed as the others gasped in worry. At that moment, three more ghosts came up from below the screen in a spooky green mist. CJ can only assume it was one of the weird things that usually happened in the park. Although, this one certainly took the cake.
"Huh. Should've seen that one coming."
The Australian ghost spoke to Benson in a peeved mood.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, mate?"
Benson had to admit, he was plenty confused with how hostile they were over him.
"I'm giving my speech? I'm just trying to have my moment."
"You've got plenty of moments!"
The elderly manager concurred, clearly not approving of Benson being up on that stand.
"Yeah! Isn't it enough that you're still alive?"
CJ didn't like how she was talking to her future boss. That was the kind of talk she heard during her crossing guard days. And she didn't like it one bit.
"Hey, that's going too far! He never got to give a speech; just let him have this!"
The elderly woman retorted at CJ, fed up with her defiance.
"So what?! I never got to give a speech, either!"
"Neither did I!"
The woman turned to the short ghost who had died of chocolate, his bulge still present in his throat.
"Jared, the adults are talking here."
Jared took offense to it and tried to justify himself.
"Hey, I passed the same as everyone else!"
The hummingbird ghost only pointed out his cause of death as if to poke fun at him.
"You just forgot to chew your food."
Jared pointed at the elderly woman to make a counterpoint.
"Well, Victoria just fell off a log!"
"Well, at least I didn't get killed by dirt, like old quicksand over here!"
Speaking of, Victoria was caught off guard to notice that the Australian manager's ghost wasn't there. And he was already up near Benson's leg, trying to grasp the mic.
"Give me that mic!"
"Hey!"
Victoria, Jared, and the hummingbird ghost went after him and dogpiled on the quicksand ghost. But in the process, they all knocked Benson off of the stage! After he landed hard on his back, Mordecai, Rigby, CJ, Muscle Man, Fives, Pops, and Skips all stood up from their table and decided to stand up to them for Benson's sake.
"That's it!"
As they all rushed over to the stage, the quicksand ghost pushed the other ghosts off of him and reached for the microphone, only for Mordecai to kick it away. But in the process, he ended up left open for Victoria to use her walker to choke him! CJ saw this and ran to save him.
"Mordecai!"
"You got to learn from your elders!"
CJ growled before she grabbed onto the walker and pulled it away from her with Mordecai caught in between them.
"I got you, Mordecai!"
Mordecai used the stalemate to go under the walker and escape before CJ glared at Victoria.
"Hey, Victoria, learn this!"
CJ let go of the walker, letting her tumble backwards. At the same time, Mordecai turned to his girlfriend and smiled at her.
"Thanks, CJ."
"Sure, dude."
Meanwhile, Skips was doing battle with the hummingbird ghost. He tried to land a hard punch to the face, only for his hummingbirds to shield him. When he tried to go for another one, they covered his right side again. Skips was utterly surprised to see this.
"Huh?"
The ghost took advantage of it and used his birds to turn into a fist which landed a hard punch at him back, sending him to the floor. At the same time, Pops was holding a cardboard statue of a child as he rushed at Jared.
"Child coming through!"
After smacking the cardboard on his chest, Jared spat out his chocolate that was stuck in his throat.
"My chocolate!"
Unfortunately it landed in Rigby, Fives, and Muscle Man's path, using the Wing Kingdom banner to trap the Hummingbird ghosts. One step on it from Muscle Man was all it took to undermine their efforts. They all collided into everyone, friend and foe, and started to brawl with each other in a big comical fighting cloud as the TV fell onto the stage and split apart.
Seeing the commotion, Benson had had enough. He went back up on the stage and shouted into the mic.
"Hey!"
Rigby was still mashing a broken piece of cardboard on Jared's face before he stopped a second later. Seeing the state everybody was in was too much for him.
"Look at yourselves! What are we doing? We all just want the same thing: to be appreciated. So why are we fighting?"
Everybody all began to frown, feeling bad for the whole mess, even the ghosts as Benson went on.
"We've all given speeches to ourselves: in the shower, in the car, so let's give them to each other, right here, right now, together."
A few minutes later, Jared was up first, holding the Parkie award as Mordecai, Rigby, CJ, Skips, Pops, Muscle Man, Fives, and Benson applauded for him. All the while, he was swearing nervously:
"Uh, oh, wow, jeez! This thing's heavy. I actually– I don't have anything prepared."
The hummingbird ghost went up next, going into a rant.
"And you can shove it! And you can shove it! What do you think about that, Coach Gunderson? And you can shove it! Oh, and you can–"
Up next in line was Victoria, who began to shed tears during her speech.
"And I said, 'Mom, you may not believe in me, but believe in my park!'
Victoria burst into tears as CJ felt her heart touched by it.
"It's just like my life… in… in a way…"
And finally, the Australian manager who perished from quicksand was up on stage.
"And me and my mates were in the Outback, down by the opera house, when this crocodile comes flying out of nowhere! Well, I got that croc in a headlock and punched him in the stomach!"
Everyone was waiting for him to continue when he paused before he added to it.
"That's the end of my story."
Everyone all applauded for him before Victoria, Jared, and the Hummingbird ghost went beside him and took a bow.
"Thank you. Boomerang."
After their bow, the ghosts all went up to the ceiling and into the green portal above before it vanished with a crackle. Mordecai and CJ took their cue to introduce him.
"Last, but not least…"
"The manager we all know we can trust and rely on,"
"Benson!"
Everybody all chanted for him as he went up to the stage next.
"Benson, Benson, Benson, Benson!"
After getting up on stage, Benson picked up the award and the mic as he spoke into it.
"Thank you, thank you! It's a great honor to have received this award."
Sentimental music started playing as Benson started to grow nervous.
"Uh, uh… They say the third time's a charm. I say it's the ninth!"
As Benson went on, the music grew louder and louder, forcing him to talk louder.
"Uh, I'd like to thank Pops, Skips, Mordecai, Rigby, CJ, Muscle Man, Hi-Five Ghost!"
Everyone else was appalled by the loud volume in the music, too. They all looked left and right for where it was coming from as Benson shouted.
"WHO'S DOING THAT?! CUT IT OUT!"
As an answer, the light in the booth came on, revealing an outline of a familiar figure. It was only when he stepped out that CJ recognized him.
"You!"
"And the award for breaking and entering goes to Benson! Too bad there's no trophy for it."
CJ was none too pleased that Gene, of all people, would be here.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I got your message! Thought I'd find you here."
That reminded CJ of the message Benson made prior to their whole night together. Benson was reminded of it, too. And he felt a bit ashamed.
"Oh…"
"Oh, right. This belongs to you. Sorry to worry you."
When Benson held out the award, however, Gene only laughed.
"Sorry. I didn't realize it was missing. Ain't life funny? Anyway, thanks!"
CJ grumbled with a scoff as Mordecai tried to help ease her up.
"It'll be okay, CJ."
That's when Gene brought up something to Benson with a rather dark tone.
"Oh, and I hope you didn't take your picture with it. 'Cause they say you'll never win an award if you do."
Benson was further crushed to hear this, making CJ immediately flustered.
"What?"
"What?! That's bullshit!"
Gene only made a laugh before he went back to his carefree attitude.
"Oh, that's probably just an old Parkies urban legend. I wouldn't worry about it."
As Gene laughed and snapped his fingers, CJ began to get curious.
"Wait. So, you took pictures with your awards?"
Gene laughed heartily as he admitted.
"And if I did, what's your point?"
It was then that Benson began to remember when he thought he was called up, only to hear a different name.
"Wait. Wasn't there another manager who died? Benjamin Smith?"
CJ began to take that in account as well.
"Oh, yeah. How did that guy die?"
Suddenly, the award began to glow a bright green glow before it shot at the ground below, forming a portal that showed a man with his head having a broken skull, its shape appearing as though he was bludgeoned by something. And to their shock, it was in the same shape as the award itself. The ghost grasped onto it as he stared daggers at everyone else near him.
"You'll never take this away from me again! NEVEEEEERRRRR!"
The ghost fell down the portal with Gene's award as the trio looked on in shock and surprise before the portal vanished. Gene looked quite frazzled for a moment before he spoke.
"Well… that was truly a traumatic experience."
Despite it, though, Gene went back to his usual mood.
"But I'm over it."
Gene snapped his fingers and summoned his limo, which crashed through the theater and parked on the stage. When Gene opened the door and went inside, he turned to Benson and waved at him.
"See you at the next lodge meeting!"
Gene closed the door and the limo did a wheelie before crashing out of the theater near the corner. As Gene drove away, Benson sighed sadly. CJ tried to cheer him up to keep his spirits up.
"Well… at least we know Gene won't get an award, either."
"Yeah. But without one of my own, what's the point? Let's just go home."
Everyone all looked at their boss with sad looks on their faces. CJ had a feeling that he'd never be the same again.
"Well, looks like Parkie Awards night was a bust. It's not fair. He worked so hard for this."
Then, Mordecai had a smile on his face. An idea had popped into his head.
"Well, I think I might know another way to show our appreciation."
Back at the park, as Benson walked sadly to his car, Mordecai spoke up as he and CJ held up a miniature paper-mache Parkie Award in their hands.
"And the Parkie goes to…Benson! From Park."
"Come to the stage and claim your prize!"
Everyone all chanted for Benson, making him smile as he went up the steps.
"Speech, speech, speech, speech, speech!"
Mordecai and CJ gave Benson the award, making him smile brightly as they assured him.
"Here you go, Benson."
"Yeah. You deserve it."
Benson accepted the award and began to shed tears of joy as the couple walked down the steps. Benson got out his written speech and looked at everyone, starting to feel proud for everything he's done to get this far. In fact, he put his paper away. His speech was going to be different. Because this time… it was from the heart.
"This is really the best award I could win. I'd like to thank all of you guys. Not just for being the best staff I've worked with, but also being the best friends I could ask for."
Mordecai and CJ smiled brightly as they held onto each other's hands with a loving look.
"Because of you, every day I come into work, I feel like a true winner. I don't know how long we're gonna be together, but I'll not soon forget the time we have spent with each other. Thank you."
Everyone applauded for him as Benson gestured over to CJ.
"And, it's also my pleasure to announce to the rest of you that starting next Monday, CJ will be joining us at the park as our first Park Ranger."
CJ's mouth dropped in surprise as everyone all clapped louder for her. Muscle Man took off his suit and started waving it in excitement.
"Whoooo!"
CJ was at a loss for words.
"R-Really? You guys are okay with me being here?"
Skips tapped his hand on her shoulder with a big grin.
"Why not? It'd be nice to have a change of pace."
Mordecai even gave her a little nudge. The cloud girl turned over to him, her shock still evident on her face.
"It's like I said, CJ. You're one of the strongest people I know."
CJ started to have tears in her own eyes, but she showed no sign of crying. She leaned close to Mordecai and hugged him tightly with a blush.
"Thanks, Mordecai…"
CJ finished up her hug and turned to everyone else. She took a careful look at each and every one of them. Starting next week, CJ will get to know them all as her fellow workers. And for the first time in possibly a long time, she's surrounded with people she can trust. And this time, there's going to be nothing that can ruin this for her. Never again…
"And thank you, everyone. I can't wait to work with you guys on Monday."
Everyone all raised their hands with pumped fists as they cheered her on.
"Hear, hear!"
A/N: And that about finishes up this chapter. :) I know it's a lot shorter than my usual chapters, but It was nice to get back in touch with my Regular Show story after writing it a long time ago. I don't know when I'll make a new chapter, but I hope to work more on it soon.