Chapter 16: HellBound
Second day in Hell
A wicked laugh came from the alarm clock, startling Lammy awake, looking to her side before slamming her palm down on it to get it to stop, but it didn't. She blinked and hit it with her palm again, and it still didn't stop. This repeated, no matter how aggressive she got with it, it just wouldn't stop. Unsure what else to do, she just chucked it out the window.
"There's spare clocks in the closet." She heard Kitty's voice from the other side of the door. The lamb blinks and gets up, approaching Rammy's closet. Opening up, she saw shelves filled with the same obnoxious alarm clock.
"Why does she have so many of these?" She asked, grabbing one and winding it up.
"That's just how they're made. The assholes who made those things designed them so they can't shut off until they're completely destroyed. It's stupid, but they're really damn cheap." Hearing this, Lammy curiously looked out the window. On a few of the shorter buildings, she saw massive piles of not just similar clocks to the one she tossed out, but several other clocks. Seems like every alarm clock in Hell was like that. She looked up at the sky, seeing more dark red clouds completely filling it. If it weren't for the alarm, she wouldn't have figured it was morning time. She coughed a bit, waving a hand in front of her face. It felt like the air was just filled with smog, despite the fact she couldn't see any factories nearby. It seemed this was just how the air quality in Hell was to begin with. A sigh escaped her lips as she sits the clock on the stand.
"If you're done, breakfast is up and ready." Kitty said before walking away from the door. Hearing the call for breakfast, she stepped out of Rammy's room, seeing the Hellcat putting a few plates of pancakes down on the table. Sa-Man, a gray, quiet mouse, was playing on her phone as she ate. Kitty's ear twitched to the sound of her phone going off, and she pulled it out.
"I told you, Sa-Man. She's going to stay with us until she's able to get home." The mouse blinked and started texting again. Another notification sound went off and she looked down. "About half a year. May at the earliest." Another notification goes off. "I know it sucks, but there's not much we can do about it. Now shut up and eat your pancakes."
Lammy quietly sat down and started eating, not wanting to get in between the two and what seemed to be an argument of theirs. She didn't really want or need to get involved. After breakfast, the trio left the apartment, having to stop and pry the lamb off of the ceiling of the elevator. The two Hell girls began showing her around the town, most of the venues, showing which places she should just flat out avoid, and which were mostly safe for her to hang around. Club Bummer being one of the safer places she could be at. The two then headed off, letting the lamb go about her own business. Unsure of what else to do, she went right for Club Bummer.
It was more or less the same it was last night. A few crowded tables here and there, the skeleton band playing their music, and of course, there was the lone bartender ant. Unsure where else to sit, she just picked the same seat she grabbed last night, just to have some form of familiarity.
"A little early for the adult milk, isn't it, miss?" He asked, putting the glass he was cleaning down.
"I-I'm just taking a seat." She tells him. Though he wasn't wrong, it was a bit early to be doing any form of drinking.
"Well, you just make yourself comfortable then." He nods to her before stepping away to take a break. Lammy just relaxed against the counter, sighing.
"Lammy?" Her ear twitched at the sound of a familiar voice, and when she turned around, she saw her adventurous grandmother, Queen Liliana.
"Liliana!" She hopped up from the bar stool and hugged the other sheep woman, who laughed in response before hugging back. "It's so good to see you!" She paused a bit before pulling back. 'Wait…what are you doing down here in Hell?"
"Me? My dear, what are YOU, doing down here?!"
"I asked first." She crosses her arm, tilting her head. "You're one of the greatest heroes in history, why are you in Hell?"
"Well, I wanted to spend my afterlife with Kathrine." Lammy gives her a bit of a confused look. "I suppose I should explain…when I took my rule as Queen, I had to get married, however, I didn't have much of a choice in who my other would be. Met a decent sheep man and settled with him…but my mind was still on Kathrine…after my passing, I was not allowed access to Heaven because my heart belonged to her…I ended up here, and after a short time, I ended up reuniting with her." She smiled softly, looking over at one of the tables, seeing the blue feline, who was quietly watching the band on stage, and leads her granddaughter over to said table. "Now, what are you doing here?"
"…It's a long story…" She admits as she sits down, explaining everything that had happened to the two of them, all the painful details she wished to remember. "…And that's pretty much it. Now, I'm stuck here for months on end until the transportation device is ready."
"That's…that's rough." Kathrine shook her head. "Well…if you'd like, you can stay with us. That'd be alright, right Liliana?"
"Of course! I'd be more than happy keeping one of my grandkids around!"
"I-I appreciate it, but I'm already crashing with someone else." Lammy admits before standing up and starts to walk away. "I should probably go find th-" Before she could finish that thought, she had bumped into someone and fell on her back. When she looked up, she saw a Meerkat woman who looked straight out of an old thirty's cartoon: Pie cut eyes, black fur, white muzzle and gloves, a white dress shirt, black pants and shoes, and suspenders…and she now had a drink stain on her shirt.
"Oh, damn it! This was my favorite shirt!" She groaned before looking to the lamb, who was quickly scurrying up to her feet, shaking. "You gotta be careful where you're going, TopSider!"
"Easy, Carol." Kathrine said, standing up to defend the younger lamb. "It was an accident; she didn't know you were behind her. Besides, the kids been through a lot in the last few hours, she needs a break."
"I-I'm sorry!" Lammy squeaked, backing up a bit. The Meerkats anger subsided when she noticed the guitar on her back.
"Hmm…you know what, I might just overlook this." She says, waving a hand over the stain, making it disappear, before reaching into her shirt and pulls out an old school radio microphone. "Tell you what, kid, I happen to be musically inclined, myself! You play against me and do well, I'll forget this incident happened, and I won't kick you out."
"U-Uhhh…A-Alright!" Lammy nods. With the challenge accepted, Carol leaped for the stage, waiting for her to join as the skeleton band changed up their instruments. She quickly got on the opposite side of the stage.
(Stage 4: The Sinner's Swing)
"Three, Two, One, HIT IT!" One of the skeletons counted down and the band began to play. Kitty and Sa-Man had entered the club, surprised to be hearing…such an upbeat melody coming from the club. That's when they saw Lammy on stage with the place's manager, dread seeping into their minds as they thought the lamb was going to get herself killed. People who were just walking by could hear the music playing inside and decided to see what the excitement was themselves. That's when Carol took the lead and did what she was best at when she was alive; Scat singing.
"Ooh-wa, Ooh-wa, sco-be-chu! Do-ba-dooo-wa, doo-wa, skipitty-bop!" She grinned at the lamb who just stared back, nervously. She had never heard anyone sing like that before! She shook her head before she started playing her guitar, mimicking what the woman was playing.
"Chu-chu-wuwu! Chu-Chu wuwu, Chu-Chu-booo-La! Chu-chu-wuwu! Chu-Chu wuwu, Chu-Chu-be-de-be-da!" Lammy licked her lips before following the others lead again, throwing in a few more notes to mix things up. Then, Carol began to sing.
"Coming out of retirement,
"Gonna show you my thing!
"Not the devil's grooves or any demon moves,
"Just the good ol' Sinner's Swing!"
Lammy smiled, mouthing her words as she copied them on her guitar.
"Run on the luck of the draw,
"Runnin' the oldest club of Hell!
"Vocal skills brimming in my paws,
"But tell me kid, how'd you fell?"
Lammy copied her words again on her skills. More people began to enter the club as the two continued their show. Some were bopping their heads, others were clapping or hitting their hands against the table to the beat the band was giving, and some were humming along to the music or dancing on the dance floor as the two leapt off the stage and started hopping around on the tables.
"It's rough down here, being honest,
"But don't get me wrong!
"We enjoy having fun around here,
"That's why we're performing this song!"
Lammy copied her words again as they started hoping around again from table to table until they reached the bar, making the bartender hold his hands up to avoid getting them stepped on.
"Everybody coming around,
"Here to enjoy our little fling!
"The band's kicking it up a notch,
"For this, our little sinners swing!
"No longer on the livin' stage,
"Golden age has gone away,
"Sketchy souls, out to play,
"Sing along to what I say!"
Once again, the guitarist copied the Meerkat's words, now getting more into it as they started hoping their way back to the stage to wrap the song up.
"Bo-da, bo-da, bo-ba-bo! Ba-ba-bo-da, bo-da, dappity da!" Lammy copied the last few notes as the two began to harmonize, their guitar and vocals flowing together surprisingly well. "Bo-Bo-dooo, dooooo-dooooooo!" just as the song ends. The entire place was now roaring with applause, which, caught the Meerkat woman off guard.
"Woah…This has got to be the most active this place has been in a long time!" Carol said before looking to Lammy, approaching her before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You were pretty good! What's your name, kid?" She asks, moving the mic closer to her.
"Lammy, Miss Carol!" She answered, nodding her head.
"Let's give it up for Lammy, folks!" The entire club was in an uproar again, chanting her name.
"You're grandkid's pretty talented, Liliana." Kathrine smiled as they applauded.
"Where do you think she got it from?" The queen smirked a bit. Kitty and Sa-Man just stood there, a bit shocked that Carol didn't destroy the timid lamb…that usually happened when someone was screwing around in the club, but right now? This was the most excitement the club has seen in years. For a while the place was starting to die down, the only people who'd perform were the skeleton band, but it just attracted less and less guests, outside of the few sad sacks that would return just to listen to the band. And it seems Carol had an idea pop in her mind.
"Say, Lammy…How would you like to perform with the band for a while? I'll make it worth it!" She offered, patting her on the back. A blush grew on the lamb's face, though, she wasn't going to deny it. At the very least she'd have something to do to help pass the time.
"S-Sure! I'll do it!" She nods, smiling at her.
"Perfect! Hope you don't mind, but you'll need a bit of a wardrobe change…" As Carol said this, Lammy twitched a bit and started spinning around at a ludicrous speed, no one can see what was happening. Once she stopped, she was suddenly wearing a similar outfit to Carol's, aside from the blue bowtie and red vest. She was holding her hands out as her eyes spun, soon coming to a stop, giving her a chance to look around to try and process the moment. "Huh…that'll do!"
"…What just happened?"
Meanwhile in PaRappa Town.
"So, what do you guys think?" Joe asked, holding up Lammy's body, who was now wearing dress clothing, a blue tie and red vest.
"…You put her in a suit?" Paula questioned. "How does that help anything?"
"It doesn't, but…c'mon, anyone can look good in a suit." There was a moment of silence before everyone started to murmur in agreement.
"I mean…yeah, she does look great, but…it's not quite bringing her back any faster." Katy shook her head, a soft sigh escaping her.
"I wouldn't worry too much, Katy." PaRappa said with a smile. "She still has her guitar after all! As long as she has it, she's not stuck down there with the demons; the demons are stuck down there with her! She's kinda like Doom Dude, but with music!" Hearing that, everyone just pictured their friend in an overcoat and sunglasses, along with her new uniform, fighting back hordes of demons by unleashing sound blasts with her guitar. They at least got a small kick out of the thought of her being a badass in Hell. Joe threw Lammy up, resting her on his shoulder as they walked about. Katy stopped when she saw the Maxi-Music store across the street.
"Hey, you guys go on ahead, I gotta get some equipment cleaner." She points to the store, seeing everyone nod before she ran across the street. The store's greeting chime rang, getting Prince Fleaswallow's attention as he was ringing someone out.
"Hey there, Katy man." The frog greeted with a smile. Katy was about to return the greeting but stopped when she saw he was ringing Rammy out, some strings, guitar cleaning products and a couple of pics. The Ram smirked as she turned to look at the Kat, who was standing there, mouth slightly agape.
"Hello again, Kat." She said, handing Fleaswallow some cash before turning her attention to the blue feline. Katy clenched her fists at the sight of the Hellish sheep. "Still carrying your girlfriends' body around, huh? How sad…You should consider burying her before she starts to fester." She smirked before walking by, bumping her shoulder against Katy's before walking out. Katy turned around to see her join up with Gaster and the others, who were waiting for her in the alley.
"…Bitch…" She mutters under her breath before going back to focusing on her shopping, trying not to think about it. She grabbed some cleaner, then looked to the wall of guitars…one of the bass guitars were sticking out to her like a sore thumb. It was an emerald color, even shimmering like the gem itself. The neck was black, the fingerboards, tuning keys and head were silver, and the volume and tone knobs were a ruby color. To her surprise, the body was in the same shape as her custom bass guitar. "…Say, Prince FleaSwallow? Where'd you get this?" She looked to him, pointing at the guitar. The frog got up, lifting his hat slightly upwards as he approaches her, looking at the instrument with that casual half-asleep look of his he was known to have.
"Ya know what? I'm not sure. It showed up during one of the shipment deliveries." He explains. "I don't plan on keeping it though, The poor thing doesn't have any noise to it. I've played it, tried tuning it, but I can't get any tunes out of it."
"…Can I try it?" She questioned.
"I suppose…heck, if you can get it to make some noise, you can keep it." He picks the emerald guitar up from its place on the wall and grabs a strap for her to use. He got it hooked up to an amp, and hands it to the feline. She turned the knobs till they were on the settings she had on her regular bass guitar. Her tongue sticking out, she strummed once, and the note she played came out, taking Fleaswallow by surprise as she continued to play.
"…Thought you said this thing didn't have any noise. This sounds beautiful!"
"Huh…Guess it just needed the right hands to play it." The frog smiled, going back to the counter. After she finished playing, Katy smiled and moved the guitar over her back and went back to shopping, grabbing the cleaning supplies she wanted to grab, and paid for it, thanking Fleaswallow before leaving the store to catch up with the others with her new guitar on her back, and another curiosity item amongst the ones her friends had also found. The odd mic in PaRappa's possession, thanks to Joe, and those odd vinyl's in PJ's…they weren't sure where these things were coming from, or what they were. PJ had to come clean about the vinyl's and the visions he saw from them. He couldn't keep hiding it after Lammy got trapped. He even checked with them that night, to see if there were any answers if they could bring her back, or what'll happen when she gets back, but he couldn't get a good read on what they were telling him. He had to stop after an hour of it, because the constant flashing was giving him a headache.
It sucked, it really did, but there wasn't a whole lot else they could do, other than just try random solutions.
A week in Hell.
A storm was raging through PaRappa Town, and at the Rappa's residence, Papa had turned the garage into a mad scientist lab, PaRappa, Colonel Noodle and Guru Ant were there, decked out in lab gear. Lammy was prepped on a table and covered in a sheet. PaRappa and noodle we're pulling on a chain, making the ceiling open up and the table Lammy was on began to rise up high till it was in the rain. Then, after a couple of moments, the table was hit by a strike of lightning.
"And with a little luck, she should be alive!" Papa said as they began to lower the table. Once it was low enough, he removed the sheet. All that was different was that her hair was all frizzled up, and black smoke was escaping her nose.
"…It didn't work." PaRappa blinked.
Back in Hell, Lammy was stepping out of Rammy's room, ready to go to work, but before she got to the door, she suddenly felt a massive electric shock flowing through her body. Kitty and Sa-Man watched as she flailed about, her skeleton becoming visible every now and then until it finally stopped, and she was flat on her back. She blinked before she started coughing up a few puffs of black smoke. Sa-Man started typing away on her phone, and Kitty picked her phone up when she heard the notification.
"I think her friends tried to Frankenstein's Monster her back to life…It didn't work." The cat shook her head as she put the phone away.
"That's the last time I take inspiration from classic literature." Papa sighed as they closed the roof. "Thank you all for helping me with this, at least.
"And thank you for not screaming "IT'S ALIVE! ALIVE!"" Guru Ant shouts, following it up with a mad doctor laugh for added affect.
"It just seemed like an overdone cliche. Didn't want to do it unless it actually worked." He says as he takes his lab coat off.
"Well, guess I should get back to the restaurant." Noodle sighed, hanging up his lab jacket just as the storm passes on. "The new hires are probably struggling…you guys wanna tag along?"
"Sure, I could go for a beard burger right now." PaRappa said, smiling.
"I think a break from being a mad scientist would be nice." Papa nods, putting his hat on.
"I would, but I gotta go check on Takoyama. Make sure he isn't having another meltdown." Guru stretched his arms after taking his lab outfit off. He smiled to the three, and waved his hand, releasing some of his 'magic'. "I'll catch you guys later." He said before stepping out of the house, the three followed shortly after, going the other way to Beard Burgers.
Aside from the quick passing storm, it was at least a beautiful day: Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and there was an odd commotion coming near the park. There was a strange mouse man rambling to a group of people who chose to listen to him. He had spiked up bleached brown hair, had bushy eyebrows and mustache, thick green goggles, wore a lab uniform with a striped, green tie, green shorts, and a pair of loafers. By the looks of it, he hadn't gotten any proper sleep in a long time either, or bathed properly, judging by the dark spots on his gray fur. It seems he was giving some kind of presentation.
"I'm telling you all, it's possible to use music to keep is from aging!" He whacks his presentation board with the stick in his hand. "If given the proper funding and research, we'll all be able to live past a hundred and still look under the age of thirty! It'll work out a lot better than my theories on genetic alteration, I promise, it'll have better results than that!"
"Genetic alteration?" Papa raised a brow, thinking why this sounded familiar, before his eyes widened in fear. "Oh no… please don't tell me…"
"What, you know him?" Colonel questioned, his own brow raising.
"Dr. Irwin Muto. Me and him use to be schoolmates, and I think it's best if we just leave it at that and keep going. Hopefully, he won't notice us…" The older dog said as he started pushing the two forward. Unfortunately, the mouse spotted them.
"Patrick Rappa!" The mad man called him out, pointing a finger at him before approaching. "It's been quite some time…didn't expect to see you here!"
"I live here, Muto…" He sighed. "What are you doing here, exactly?"
"I'm trying to gain support and funding for my research! I've visited several towns in the last few weeks, and my luck has turned up fruitless!"
"Maybe because no one agrees with the idea of splicing two different strands of DNA and mashing them together." Papa shook his head.
"It works, I tell you!" He growled. "I'm not even focused on it anymore, but I proved it works in our junior year science fair!"
"The one you burnt down?" Papa rose a brow. "Besides, that creature you made died during your presentation!"
"At least my inventions work, Rappa!" The mouse let out an annoyed growl.
"After one use from what I heard, then they just fall apart."
"I created the first flying car prototype!"
"You sent the principal of our school into outer space!"
"He got back safely!"
"After a month of being trapped out of the Earth's atmosphere!"
"So? He still got back, and I proved flying cars are possible!"
"That's not the point you eccentric mad man!"
The two geniuses continued growling at each other, sparks clashing from their eyes as PaRappa and noodle just looked at the two before at each other. Noodle than points his thumb in the direction they were walking in, and PaRappa nodded his head before they walked off, letting the two continue to biker.
"So, any updates on the whole Hell situation?" Noodles asked.
"Not much to say…gave Paul Chuck the cartridge we found in the transport device just the other day, he said Teriyaki should know what to do with it. Till Then, we just gotta wait."
"And as far as you know that cartridge was the only way to contact Lammy?"
"Pretty much, though I'm pretty sure if we kept using it, it might've destroyed the headset machine. It just wasn't made for interdimensional viewing."
"…This is rough. You guys talk about what you're going to do about the Snog concert?"
"…We're going to hope that she's able to get back a lot sooner before that, but if worse comes to shove, Katy said they'll have to find a substitute lead guitarist for the show." He shook his head as they continued on their way to Beard Burgers, Papa doing his best to catch up.
"Stupid Rappa…" Muto grumbled, carrying his case in his hand. "confounded townspeople, denying progression…they'll rue the day they mocked Dr. Muto…" He growled, soon stopping in his tracks when he heard someone whistle. Looking to the alley closest to him, he saw a purple rabbit and a group of oddballs around him.
"Couldn't help but overhear ya. People mocking you for your genius research, right?" Gaster smirked, relaxing against the wall, arms crossed. "How'd you like to join our little group of societal outcasts? We have plans to knock this town down a peg!"
"…What's in it for me?" The mouse mad man rose a brow.
"Think about it; you stick with us, a bunch of thieves, and you'll have all the funding for your research as you need." The rabbit smirks, crossing his arms. Muto crossed his arms, thinking about it, his moustache twitching back and forth as he pondered the decision. "We could always more brains on the team, anyways, we have plenty of brawn."
"…Oh, what the hell, what else do I have left to lose? Count me in!"
"Great! Come on, we'll get you set up." Gaster smirks before running into the street to kick a manhole cover open. Everyone started to jump down, though Muto hesitated given how unsanitary the idea was, but quickly followed everyone down before Gaster jumps down, covering the hole again on the way down.
"So, who was that guy, dad?" PaRappa questioned, taking a sip of his soda. "You guys seem to have some kind of history together."
"That's…one way to put it, son." Papa sighed, a shake of his head. "We've went to the same academy of science back in the day, while I went to harness my inventing skills, he was out to study biological science. And I don't know when, but he started focusing hard on that, genetic alteration science. Nobody else really did and wrote him off as off his rocker. One day though, he cemented everyone's feelings on that when he presented a creature he spliced with their DNA, a bizarre hybrid of a weasel and a rabbit. The poor thing died during his presentation…"
"…Wow…" The pup blinked.
"After that day, Muto became the laughingstock of the entire academy, to the point he just up and vanished without so much as a trace. I'm assuming he's been working on his studies ever since in some attempt to show genetic alteration works. Though, by the looks of it, he seems to have changed how he's approaching his research."
"…I don't know why, but he seems like someone Gaster would be interested in." The two felt a sudden chill in their spines when PaRappa brought that up. This could not be good for anyone in town.
"We're going to have to be careful from here on out…" Papa taps his chin. "If they partner up, things could get dangerous."
"No kiddin' dad…" PaRappa let out a shaken sigh, the idea of Gaster's group getting bigger with the addition of a looney scientist was a little scary.
It was the end of November, just about a full month since Lammy got trapped, and PaRappa and his friends had run out of ideas of what they could do to try and bring her back themselves. They tried the mad scientist approach again, tried to jumpstart her with jumper cords and PaRappa's dad's car, even a Satanic ritual, robes and all, but nothing was working. It was time to just throw in the towel, wait, and practice for the show. Though, Katy was struggling, and everyone could tell. She was off beat, eyeing the floor, occasionally playing the wrong notes, and she seemed to be just waiting for the lamb to rock out, and she looked stressed whenever that sweet guitar didn't ring out. PaRappa and PJ would flinch a bit when she played the wrong notes, even spotting when she was falling more and more behind with Ma-San's drumming, and Sunny, just looking at the cat's eyes, she could tell she wasn't getting proper sleep lately…though, who could when someone you love isn't in the same plane of existence as you?
("Okay, stop…stop.") Ma-San sighed, pulling her sticks away from the drumset, scratching her forehead with one of them as Katy turned to look at her.
"What? Is something wrong?" She cocked her head.
("Yeah. You're clearly not in the right headspace to play right now…")
"I-I'm fine, Ma-San, really. Let's just keep practi-"
("No, we're done for a bit, Katy…you can't focus, you aren't getting enough sleep and you look ready to pass out on us at any moment.")
"She's right, Katy." Sunny says, taking a step forward. "I know this whole thing has been hurting you, but you need to take care of yourself…"
"Yeah, what would Lammy think if she saw you doing this to yourself?" PaRappa questioned. Katy looked at him quietly. She couldn't say he was wrong, and the idea of the lamb seeing her like this hurt a bit.
"Why don't you head out for a bit, get something to eat, then come back and get some rest?" PJ suggests. "You might sleep better with a full stomach." Katy looked at the bear for a moment, thinking it over, and without a word being uttered, she shuffled out of the room, grabbing her fall jacket by the door before stepping out of the apartment. The others looked amongst each other, concerned, unsure what to do. PaRappa, PJ and Sunny decided to head out and head home, as it was getting pretty late. Ma-San sighed and went to check on the lamb.
She entered Lammy's room, and crawled onto her bed, where they last put her. She was still in that suit Joe put her in, but aside from the fact she wasn't decomposing yet, which to Ma-San was one big miracle, her hair was getting longer, and her horns seemed to be growing. She grabbed the measuring tape, just to check.
("Another two inches…and it looks like they're starting to come to a point.") She mutters, putting the tape away, letting out a sigh before sitting down. ("Shit Lammy…hope you're having a decent time down there.")
The fall breeze brushed past Katy as she walked about town with her hands in her pockets, alternate-colored leaves from yellow to brown, hovering by in the setting sun. Not a whole lot of people were out and about right now, which made sense, it was a Thursday evening. After a moment, she stopped outside of Club Fun, and while she did debate whether or not to go in, she decided to just do it. Not a whole lot of people would be there, she could get a drink and a meal. She walked down the ramp, stepped inside, and made her way to the bar.
"…Can I get a condensed milk and a menu, please?" She asked the bartender as she sat down at her regular seat.
"I'll have a condensed milk too, please." Her ear twitched at the sound of someone's voice, and when she looked over, she saw Groober sitting down two stools over. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't been getting any sleep in a while.
"…What are you doing here?" She questioned as the bartender put a menu down in front of her.
"Just needed to get out for a bit…that damn scientist Gaster decided to bring on hasn't shut the hell up about his theories on…thermodynamics or whatever his stupid obsession is…"He rested his arms on the counter, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Katy didn't respond, as the bartender put down a few shots of condensed milks in front of them before she put in the order for a burger and fries. The bartender nods before stepping to the kitchen, allowing the two to take their first shot.
"…Why do you do it?" She asked, looking at the purple cat.
"…Do what…?" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
"The things you do with Gaster. Why do you stick around with him? Why do you want to cause so much chaos and destruction? I mean…it's starting to feel like you don't want to be a part of it anymore." A moment of silence came up between them, as Groober took another drink of his milk.
"…I dunno, Kat…" He sighed softly. "I've always been a friend of his, ever since we were in school, actually. He didn't have a lot of friends, as you could imagine. He was always picked on for one thing or another. It was, fourth grade when I started going to the same school as he was, and he was eating alone. After school, I saw him getting ganged up by a bunch of punks, and I jumped in to protect his ass. We started hanging out after that…and as for what we do, I don't even remember how it started. He went to university, and I started working as an Ice Cream man, and everything was going pretty smooth. One day, Gaster showed up, said he was in trouble…and from the sound of cop cars in the distance, it was getting close. Next thing I knew, my life had become hiding in sewers and causing trouble."
"It sounds like you didn't even want to join him…why don't you just leave, go back to selling ice cream?"
"…I care about that idiot." He sighed, another shot of condensed milk going down his gullet. "A bit too much, if I'm being honest…Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm his only anchor from doing something really, incredibly dumb and dangerous."
"You see yourself as his impulse control? Still, it feels like you should just bail. You don't look like you're happy being his partner in crime."
"…To be honest, I'm not. But again…I feel like I'm what's keeping him from destroying the entire town. So, I'm just stuck…" He shook his head before gulping down another shot, tapping the glass against the counter. "If I can get lucky, and he gets arrested when I'm not around, maybe, but…even then, I can't just, abandon him. I've always had his back, and he's always had mine."
Another awkward moment of silence came up between them as a plate with a burger and some fries was placed down in front of Katy. Groober finished his last shot and got up, ready to head back for the hide out, but then he felt the blue feline grab his shoulder, and he looked at her. She wasn't looking at him.
"…Lammy's been in Hell for a month now."
"And you want to know if I feel any guilt about that?"
"…Maybe, but I know it won't bring her back faster."
"…Yeah…I do feel guilty about it…that probably won't make you feel better, but…yeah, I didn't even want to do what we did to begin with." He nods. After a minute, Katy lets go of him and goes back to her food. "And you know…he isn't all that bad. If it weren't for him, you and your lamb friend probably wouldn't have gotten together."
"…That I find hard to believe…"
"He told her if she didn't sing that song, she might've lost you to someone like Joe Chin."
"…Okay, I was wrong…it is a little believable."
Groober stared at her for a minute, before leaving the club. Hopefully, the others were finished with expanding their little hideout and he can finally get some sleep.
"What's the matter, Lammy?" Carol questioned, a concerned tone in her voice as she rests her arms on the counter, looking at the sad lamb, who was quietly picking at her food. "You haven't touched your Spice pizza yet…and your usual energy's been lacking lately."
"…I miss being at home." Lammy sighed. "I miss my friends back in the living world…I miss doing fun stuff without some sort of Hell twist to it, and…I miss Katy…"
"She's a special someone for you, huh?"
"Mhmm…" She nodded, letting out a sigh, a gray puff of smoke escaping her lips before it turned into a heart with a crack in the center and evaporated.
"Heartbroken…hmmm…" The meerkat taps her chin before ducking under the counter, grabbing a few things. She grabbed some vanilla syrup, blue sprinkles, orange soda, a bottle of mountain dew, and some vodka. She mixed the liquids together, then rimmed one of the glasses she grabbed with blue sprinkles, then poured the mixture into the glass, showing the lamb a neon orange mocktail. "Here sweetie, just drink this, finish your food, and head home. Take some time off and try to relax."
"…Okay." She nodded before taking a gulp of the mocktail. She suddenly felt a little warm.
"And hey, look on the bright side, you're not here forever, right?" Carol asked as Lammy started eating, then nods at her question. "You'll be back and rocking with your MilkCan friends in no time."
"H-Heh, yeah…that's true." Lammy smiled sheepishly. "T-Thank you for the meal, Carol."
"Anytime, sweetie. You get some rest, now." The meerkat smiled back as Lammy got up and went for the front door of the club.
Little did they know, their conversation was listened in on. At the table behind Lammy, was a tall, slender gray wolf woman in a maroon suit, who, overhearing the situation, looked over at them. The lamb…her red hair, the guitar on her back. It took a few minutes before it clicked...this girl…the woman got up and followed her out of the bar.
"Pardon me, young lady." The wolf spoke up, getting the lamb to stop in her tracks before turning to look at her. Lammy's eyes widened when she saw how tall the woman was, who was easily about eight feet tall by the looks of it. Intimidating, to say the least.
"U-Uhh…hi." She responded nervously.
"I couldn't help but listen in on your conversation with Miss Carol. You fancy yourself a Rockstar, yes?"
"Y-Yeah? I-I play guitar, mostly."
"Well then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Scratch, Olivia Scratch, and I am the President of Daemon Records. You might have heard a few of the bands we work with, Rise In Girl, Washington Lane, just to name a few. Are you in a band right now?"
"Y-Yeah, and we're supposed to open for SNOG in PaRappa Town in May. At least…before I got stuck down here."
"Well, that's a shame…maybe we can help each other out. You see, I'm always looking for new talent, and I can tell you're just brimming with it!"
"Y-You want to MilkCan to work under Daemon Records?" Her eyes widened, in surprise. She wasn't expecting to get offered a record deal down in Hell, but at the same time, people like Olivia here were always considered to be the devil themselves.
"No no, just you, for now at least! The solo Rockstar life, just imagine it!" She kneels down, wrapping an arm around the lamb as she waves her hand outwards. "Opening up for the greatest bands around, until one day, they'll be opening up for you, your name in the brightest spotlights, access to only the most premium VIP areas, a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…wouldn't that be nice? You'll have to leave your little, small town band though, and I could imagine that might make you a little hesitant, but-"
"No way." Lammy ducked down to get out of the wolf's grasp. "Miss Olivia..."
"Please, you can just call me Scratch." She said, standing up.
"Right…Scratch. That all does sound nice, but I can't do that. My friends mean everything to me, and I have no plans to just up and abandon them like that for fame. I don't want that lifestyle without them being a part of it. Thank you for the offer though…" With that, Lammy started to hurry back for the apartment complex. Scratch sighed, taping her fingers against her jacket.
"Hmm…I should send some talent scouts out to the living world…maybe a little spying on her friends will give me something to help push things along…" She ponders a bit before walking in the opposite direction.