The OK Orchestra (Part 2 of the Album Story series)

Chapter 9: Humpty Dumpty

Tibo's words echoed in Jack's mind:

Think of Humpty Dumpty! He fell down, but he smiled right through it! We can do that, too!

"Don't worry, Tibo. I'm gonna do more than smile -- I'm gonna fix this!" Jack looked down at the violin reassuringly.

"Yeah!" Ryan grinned, high-fiving Jack. "That's the spirit!"

"Let's find Adam and the others," Jack said. "Then we can tell them the plan. The plan that'll work this time!"

*****

"If they didn't want to come the first time, what makes you think the instruments will want to come to our second concert?" Adam asked. Instead of being angry or annoyed, Adam was genuinely concerned, pointing out the minor flaws in Jack's plan that the singer hadn't originally noticed.

"Good point, and to that, I say... MORE PUBLICITY! MAKE THEM AWARE OF JUST HOW BAD THE SITUATION IS!" Jack said, running outside before anyone could stop him.

"HEY EVERYONE, WE'RE GONNA DIE IF YOU DON'T COME TO OUR CONCERT!!"

"Ajajaja, NO!" Adam hissed urgently, grabbing Jack's wrist and dragging him back inside. "We can do that, sure, but not like THAT!" In the background, Ryan was trying his best to contain his laughter, but failing miserably.

"Alright, so, any other plans to solve this?" Adam asked once they were both inside.

"Uhh... I was thinking we could go from there, truthfully," Jack admitted. "I mean, I'm 95% positive that our music, plus a super-hyped crowd enjoying it, is the key to getting rid of those gray clouds."

"But who would ever watch the OK Orchestra?" one of the instruments spoke up.

"Everyone would! Remember how big our crowd was the first time? Imagine that, but with 1/3 more people!" Jack spread his arms as if trying to scale the crowd. "Even that would probably help us."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's spread the word," Mrs. Hoots chirped.

*Timeskip*

"These posters are cruddy."

"They're the best we have, Jack," Adam sighed. "How many times must I go over that?"

"Well hey, they get the job done," Ryan soothed them both, holding a large piece of cardboard that read: "Come To Our Show (Or We're All Gonna Die!)".

Jack cleared his throat, shouting a chant that they'd devised. "The end is near! But never fear, the OK Orchestra is here!"

"Never fear, the OK Orchestra is here!" Tibo chimed in happily. He and Jack were the most determined to get the word out... and hopefully save the town in the process.

Ryan waved the sign around more excitedly, but paused when he noticed Adam's furrowed brow. "I don't think this is working..." Adam frowned. "We just aren't getting enough attention."

"I think I can help with that." A deep voice answered him. Adam, Jack, Ryan, Tibo, and Ms. Hoots turned, their faces conveying varying levels of shock, to see...

"Joe?!" The AJR brothers stared at him, mouths open in surprise. The tuba gazed right back at them calmly. "Yes?"

"Where have you been?" Jack demanded.

"Attending to my duties as the mayor," Joe replied. He still was the only one who was unconcerned by his sudden appearance. "There's a surprising amount of paperwork to fill out -- forms to build new structures and stuff, all that jazz."

"Since when were you the mayor of this town?" Ryan asked.

"Since you younglings knew me," Joe replied bluntly. "I've been the mayor this entire time!"

"Really?" Jack frowned. "I didn't know that."

"I knew that," Ms. Hoots spoke up. As AJR and Tibo turned towards her, she held up a wing to explain. "I just didn't want you four to bother him too much about it. Like he said, Joe's a busy man -- er, instrument."

"Oh..." AJR exchanged a glance, realizing that was a fair assumption. If they'd known Joe was the mayor before, chances are they would have taken him away from his work to focus on their side project concert.

"But now, I can't just stand by anymore. This has become more than a silly orchestra," Joe said. "I'll help you all out." He hopped over to the middle of the small stage that they'd performed on before, closed his eyes, and let out a loud, deep blast from his head. The AJR brothers stumbled back in surprise, not expecting Joe to do that. However, the noise caught some of the townsfolks' attention, and heads began to turn towards them all.

"Everyone, listen up!" Joe shouted. "I know it may sound insane, but there is a massive storm cloud heading directly towards the town. We need your help -- I need your help -- to stop this. But to do so, you all need to attend the concert put on by the OK Orchestra, and I mean all of you. I hope you all believe me, because if not... truthfully, we're screwed."

"We believe you, Sir Joe!" someone shouted out. Jack exchanged a glance with Ryan. Of COURSE the citizens of Symphonia believed their mayor that danger was imminent, rather than believing three random brothers who weren't from their universe...

"Good," Joe's tuba head nodded. "Then please, spread the word as far as you can. Encourage others to do the same." He turned back to face AJR, Ms. Hoots, and Tibo. "As for you all, I encourage you to get ready for tomorrow night. This could quite literally decide the fate of Symphonia."

Adam, Jack, and Ryan grinned at each other. Maybe, just maybe, this could work...