Chapter Text
Garfield was hanging in there on one of the octagonal screen panels. Worse yet, he was absolutely starving!
"What I wouldn't give to have a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trappings?" asked the unfortunate cat. "Far from home, with no Odie and no way down. What's a cat to do?"
The answer came when one of the stage hands began to lower the panel Garfield was hanging from. Only the stage hand looked eerily like the hooded phantom Odie spotted. "Going down?" asked the specter before pulling a lever.
The panel started its descent. It certainly would've continued its way to the stage if not for the interference of a certified stagehand. "You're not allowed up here!" said the young man. "Security!!"
The figure pushed the lever up to its previous position on the control panel and fled, not caring whether Odie was going to find him again.
As the panel came to a sudden halt, Garfield lost his grip and fell, landing right on top of Thomas Lowrey's drum set!
"Sorry!" said Garfield as he emerged from the scattered pile of drums and cymbals, taking refuge behind the curtain away from the Amber Wild band members.
As luck and fate would have it, the cat's mission to find Odie and the mysterious saboteur was interrupted by a table with fresh food. Turkey sandwiches, a bowl of fruit punch, pastries, four boxes of pizza, bottles of soda, sparkling water, ice cream, fresh brownies and cookies. There was even a hot pan of lasagna, one of Garfield's favorite Italian delicacies.
"Well, don't mind if I do!" said Garfield who licked his chops and started gobbling down food as if there was no tomorrow. He certainly would've gotten away with eating every last crumb if not for presence of the half-dozen pyrotechnic crew already present.
"Get that cat!" shouted one of them as the dashed for Garfield.
"I regret nothing!" exclaimed Garfield as he quickly dove under the table.
The pyrotechnic crew wanted Garfield out of the venue as quick as possible. Garfield however wasn't planning to leave unless he found Odie.
*******
Meanwhile, Odie had found the hooded saboteur again. The saboteur came upon another control panel and started playing with the media channels. Three text variants of the KISS logo flashed on screen behind Odie before a fiery scene. One where a great red dragon appeared on the horizon, eyes aglow and exhaling a ball of flame.
Odie saw the dragon cast a jet of flame, went "YIPE!" and ducked, not knowing that the flames engulfing the picture never ventured beyond the projected screen itself.
It wasn't the only frightening visual Odie had to contend with. The next thing the poor yellow dog knew he had been thrust into a very frightening and flaming circus show.
"That'll teach ya to mess with me!" said the saboteur before leaping from the console and crawling along the floor for another shadow to hide beneath.
At that point, crew members at the front of the stage restored the Amber Wild drum set with time for a final sound check, in which Evan Stanley and his three rock band friends were to play six songs before letting the hottest band in the world take the stage of what would be the last physical performance in Indianapolis.
Behind the scenes, Garfield was still on the run from the pyrotechnic crew. Down the hall, and past an open dressing room. None of the fully dressed legendary rockers saw the cat, except for the frightening bass guitarist. Gene couldn't help but do a double take when he searched the smartphone for an image that resembled a "certain lazy cat from the funny papers".
If the ongoing chase scenes had background music, it would be "Breakout" by Amber Wild. Before too long, the pyrotechnic crew had a collision with three policemen who were summoned to deal with intruders. The hooded saboteur, still on the run, reached for a rhythm guitar and tried to sink its teeth into neck and body of the instrument.
Garfield, still fleeing from pursuers who might not be on his tail anymore, spotted the hooded saboteur. "Why anybody would be hungry enough to eat a guitar, I will never know!"
Odie barked twice, coming at the saboteur's right with Garfield approaching at the saboteur's left. Closer and closer the two of them got to the guitar-chewing saboteur. Soon enough, Jon's beloved pets had the hooded saboteur cornered.
"Drop the guitar and find something more edible to chew on, why don't you?"
The saboteur did not listen to Garfield's demand.
Odie let out a growl of warning.
The saboteur ceased chewing, long enough for Garfield to sneak up and pounce.
The saboteur released its grip on the guitar and tumbled, all while trying to fight off the orange cat with black stripes from tearing the brown cloak off.
When Garfield had managed to pull the hood over and back at last, what he and Odie saw was someone they didn't expect.
Monstrous guppies? Aliens? Underground creatures that ate money and traded food? Earthworms? Buddy Bears? Orson's brothers? A clown named Binky?
The saboteur behind the hood was none other than a neighbor's pet...a Big Vicious Dog who was also many miles from Garfield's neighborhood!
"What's a big dog like you doing many miles from home?!" Garfield exclaimed, scowling.
"If you really must know, I'll tell you!" spoke the big dog. "Those rocker clowns in make-up...I...I just can't stand them! Their outfits, the noises they make, the crazy tricks they pull...They'll drive me mad if they're not out of town by dawn! Their music was even played during last year's summer block party on the street!"
"Rocker clowns?" repeated Garfield. "All I've been seeing are things marked with the word 'kiss' in capital letters."
"Yeah. Them! Those guys! I'm not sure what they've got planned for this city, but they're not going to get away with it," the big dog continued. "In fact...neither they, nor their top secret is going make it through this night!" The large canine approached a box covered in a white sheet. He pulled the sheet down to reveal that the heavily-locked box was marked with the words "Phoenix Project" once surrounded by multiple sticker warnings of TOP SECRET.
"So what? Let them keep their secret thing!" said Garfield. "It can't be at all important, whatever that Phoenix Project actually is."
"That's why I'll be taking their little secret and dumping it in a place where they'll never find it! So long, cat!" said the Big Vicious Dog as he tried to wheel the locked box away. What the big dog didn't count on was the arrival of another unexpected guest waiting in the wings.
"HeeeeEEEEEEEEY DOG!" exclaimed the iconic voice of Binky the Clown. "Paws off the Phoenix Project, unless you're looking to spend the night at the pound!" With a swing of a abnormally large net, Binky captured the Big Vicious Dog.
"BINKY!" said Garfield. "Who would've thought he'd be here on a night where the hottest band in all the world is going to close out a farewell tour after a few more performances?"
Binky the Clown shoved the Phoenix Project locked box into a locker and pulled out a concert show program. "Wait...a farewell tour? I thought they already had a farewell tour with that crazed circus thing?! And what's with Spaceman and Catman? They look kind of...different."
Garfield said, "Maybe if Binky got himself a V.I.P. ticket to the show, then maybe the group can give him answers to any number of questions, if they have any energy left from the show itself for a brief talk I mean. Odie, if you've got that annoying squeaky ball, then we can leave the concert and head straight home."
Home may have been on the minds of Garfield and Odie, but not so much for a certain group of rock legends who still had plenty of instruments at their disposal now that a big vicious dog that Garfield knew won't be sabotaging the Indianapolis rock concert.
"GARFIELD!" came the voices of the costumed Demon Gene and Spaceman Tommy and unison.
"Uh-oh...we're in trouble, aren't we Odie?" asked Garfield.
"Awww..."
"Garfield?" said the costumed Starchild Paul and Catman Eric in unison.
"Yeah...It's that comic strip cat my kids Nick and Sophie watched on television a long time ago!" Gene confirmed, who pointed out Garfield. "Does Old Jim still make new comics, I wonder?"
"He does, Gene...Wait, which Old Jim?" asked Paul.
"Mr. Jim Davis, Paul Stanley!"
Odie couldn't help but approach Spaceman Tommy. Believing that the blue, tear-shaped jewel at the center of the breastplate was large drop of sweat or some kind of candy treat, the yellow dog stuck out its tongue and started licking it.
"Now cut that out!" said Tommy.
"It's Odie, what do you think a dog with a long tongue like Gene's is going to do?" said Eric, who gently pushed Odie aside. "I think you three should go on ahead while I make a call to the owner. Because Mr. Jon Arbuckle must certainly be wondering where they are." From Eric's phone camera was a snapshot of the missing pet alerts featuring pictures of Garfield and Odie.
"I didn't even know they went missing," said Paul. "What if they also know that somebody made a new movie about them?"
"Perhaps they do, perhaps they don't," said Eric, who had typed out and sent a text with the exact whereabouts of Garfield and Odie. "With any luck, they'll be back with their cartoonist owner before this night is over."
Paul, Gene, and Tommy had chosen the guitars they were going to use. Eric had taken out a watch to check the time. "Take your time! Amber Wild should be halfway done if they've played 'Silver'."
Garfield finally said, "Well, at least we weren't expelled from the venue, right Odie?"
But Odie wasn't there. A trail of saliva droplets indicated that the beagle-like dog opted to follow the KISS band.
"Odie! Bad dog! Don't follow the rock band to the stage!" said a frowning Garfield.
Much to Garfield's dismay, Gene was already struggling to get Odie and his drooling tongue far away from him. "No dog kisses, you hear me Odie?!"
"I think we also need a dry mop before anyone get electrocuted," advised Tommy, who took a turn holding Odie back from Gene.
When three security guards appeared on the scene, it was Eric who said, "Don't worry about the animals. Their owner is on the way."
Garfield tugged on one of Eric's pant legs. "Yeah. Listen to the Catman! Odie and I will be going home with Jon. Not search for that end of the road for the next week! Nermal on the other hand..."
As a custodian got to work mopping up the pools of saliva left by Odie, Eric began to tell Garfield, "It's nearly time for me to take my place behind the drums."
Looking down, he saw Garfield had disappeared. "Garfield?"
Garfield was curled up between the elaborate drum set and the throne, saying to himself, "He'll never find me here!"
"I wonder if it's curtain call time yet for Evan," said Paul.
"One more song, then we take our places," said Gene.
Garfield's nap behind the KISS drum set was short-lived, if a light tap of one of the bass drums from Eric was of any indication. The orange cat hopped up on the drum throne and said, "What gives?! I was having such a good nap!"
"Now Garfield...this isn't the time for games. I have a show to do with my friends, and you've got a caring owner who's going to be elated to see you and Odie back home where you truly belong."
"At least he didn't mention a thing about Nermal..." said Garfield.
"Also, be nicer to Nermal if you see him."
"Darn! Spoke too soon!"
"You're starting to remind me of my black cat back home, you know..."
"Wait...the younger Catman has a black cat?"
Suddenly, Garfield could see a silhouette of a slender cat, who stepped into the spotlight to reveal herself. "Stop giving the drummer a hard time and let him have the throne, Garfield!"
"Arlene!" said Garfield, who got off the drum throne. "When? How did you get in here?"
*******
"Jon wasn't the only one who found out you and Odie had gone missing," said Arlene. "Also, somebody mysterious in a brown hood who discarded a supply of makeup out a window also got me covered in makeup. So, Mr. Catman there and his Starchild buddy called on a groomer to get me all clean again."
"Eric, who in their right mind would want to discard our makeup like that? It's as bad as having our music equipment damaged or outright stolen!"
"The protests outside a venue are one thing, Paul, but mess with the paws and you get the claws."
Once Arlene had her fur cleaned and brushed by a mobile pet grooming service, she exited the wash and dry station. Purring affectionately, she approached Eric and started rubbing between his legs.
"Would you look at that? I think the little queen likes me. Maybe I should adopt the poor thing and take her home once the tour has ended?"
"Eric..." came the voice of Tommy Thayer.
Arlene didn't care what Eric wanted to do with her. She was permitted entry into the backstage area, and relaxed near a corner of the dressing room where Tom and Eric dressed the parts of Spaceman and Catman.
*******
"Even if I wanted to go with Mr. Catman, when would I ever be able to see you again?" asked Arlene.
"Point taken," said Garfield. "Also, did you know the guy paints his fingernails black? Weird!"
Arlene sighed. "It's all part of his look...or what used to be the original tall drummer's look. And the guy is a natural blonde, not dark brown."
"Like you said, Arlene. It came with the territory of being the drummer boy of a highly theatrical rock band."
"Speaking of drummer boy..." said Arlene, who saw Eric clean off the drum throne before sitting on it. "I think it's getting close to the curtain fall. We better find Odie and let the rock legends have their moment in the spotlight."
"Good idea," said Garfield.
No sooner had Garfield said those words that Odie appeared. The Big Vicious Dog was also wearing a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and currently chained to a caged locker. "Guess this means I won't be here long enough to see if those guys play anything softer for the ears, huh?"
"Now I wouldn't say that," said Garfield, who knew exactly when in the complete set list that KISS was going to play a soft tune. "You'll know what I mean once those clowns-in-makeup as you call them make themselves disappear."
"What exactly do you mean by that, Garfield?" asked Arlene.
"You'll see!"
The two cats and the two dogs could only wait to see what the concert had in store. For all Garfield knew, Jon was on the way to concert venue and very stuck in traffic.
"What's the big deal with the traffic tonight?" asked Jon. "Don't they know I've got a cat and a dog to find?!"
"At least Garfield and Odie are somewhere safe," said Nermal. "They've got a lot of explaining to do once Jon picks them up!"
Back at the rock concert, Odie puts on a set of noise-cancelling headphones over his ears, while Garfield and Arlene opted to wear cork stoppers to block out anything louder than the cheers from the audience.
Before too long, a booming voice announced, "All right Indianapolis! You want the best! You got the best! The hottest band in the world...KISS!!!"
