Chapter 17: Don't Deal with a Demon

The holiday season came, as well as the new year, and while other citizens of the town were able to celebrate with no worries, PaRappa and his friends weren't able to be in the same boat. Celebrating Christmas was a bit rough without their guitarist friend, while everyone had at least one gift for each other, they each had two or so gifts for Lammy, and they weren't able to see her open them, not yet anyways. The New Year's Eve party was pretty silent, everyone else at least tried to celebrate, while Katy stayed back, a bottle of champagne in one hand, a party streamer in the other that she only used once when the clock hit midnight.

Lammy was a bit surprised when the holidays came around. Not only did people celebrate the holidays around this time of year, but the occasional falling ash had been changed to snow. Kitty and Sa-Man had even given her a couple of gifts, mostly a couple of handmade wooden figurines that looked like her. A lot of detail was put into them, even down to being hand painted without the colors running or mixing into each other. It might not be much for anybody else, but she did appreciate the effort her temporary roommates put into the gifts. She even got a chance to spend time with the rest of their friends for the holidays, and it felt normal, as normal as she could get in this situation, at least.

Still, she spent her new year's eve the same way Katy did; alone, champagne in one hand and a party streamer hanging out of her mouth for her to blow once the clock hits midnight. Cheers to a lousy end to an otherwise good year. The fireworks went off just outside her window, and she tiredly blew into her party streamer before dropping it, then pops the champagne bottle open, taking a few swigs out of it as she watched the fireworks.

Valentine's day would pass soon after, with nothing really notable happening. No activity from Gaster and his band of merrymen in the past few months, if anything they've been really quiet, aside from the occasional rumbling from the sewers of small explosions. Katy and Lammy spent the holiday alone again with a few boxes of chocolates and a few drinks to numb their aching hearts. The day after, was going to be a startling discovery with Katy's new bass guitar.

PaRappa groggily opened his eyes to the sound of his phone's notifications going wild. He quickly sat up and swiped it in his hand and saw Ma-San was the culprit of blowing his phone up with missed calls and text messages.

"PaRappa. Seriously. We have a problem. Katy…Katy's in trouble?! Get your dad and get your asses over to our apartment! Dad!" The young pup quickly scurried to his feet and got dressed as fast as he could. Soon, after explaining the texts, father and son got in the family car, and floored it for the city. Once at MilkCan's Apartment, the two rushed inside and saw everyone inside, Matt and Joe were trying to barge down Katy's door, which was now a thin wall of ice, an ice puddle forming out from under it. Paula and Sunny were with General Potter, trying to figure what was going on, PJ and Sweety were sitting on the couch, and Ma-San was pacing back and forth, the dynamite in her head flickering over and over.

"Rgh! Almost…got it!" Joe grunts as he rams his shoulder against the thick block of ice.

"You've been saying that for the last five minutes, Joe!" Paula crossed her arms in annoyance.

"I'm telling you guys we should go with my idea." PJ said.

"We're not using a flamethrower and risk burning the apartment down, dear." Sweety shook her head.

"Then let's use Ma-San to blow the door open."

("Bite me, teddy bear!") The mouse snarled at PJ.

"Woah, wait! Everybody calm down!" Papa said, putting his hands up. "What's going on?!"

("That's what I want to know! I woke up to the sound of Katy shouting, and when I went to check on her, I found this!") Ma-San pointed to the block of ice of a door keeping them from getting to Katy. They all turned to the sound of a loud crack and saw Joe and Matt had made a decent dent. The two nod at each other before ramming their shoulders again, making a bigger crack.

"Okay, one more time!" Matt nods. The two counted down from three to one before ramming their shoulders one more time, breaking the door wide open before falling to the icy floor. Everyone watched them before stepping into the room to see Katy on the bed, shaking while the entire room was covered in a sheet of ice. Her fur was purely white, with charcoal looking eyes, and her new guitar in her hands. It took a few minutes, but they were able to get the guitar out of her grasp, and the ice began to fade as Katy's appearance reverted back to normal.

"I-I don't know what h-h-happened!" Katy sputtered, gripping at the blankets she was curled up in, pausing a few times to sip the hot chocolate Sunny had made. "I-I-I was in one of my funks again, and I started playing with the new guitar I got…n-next thing I knew, e-everything's a w-winter w-w-wonderland!"

"You're saying the guitar has something to do with it?" General Potter taps his chin before looking to Papa PaRappa. "Patrick, do you have any ideas what could be causing this?"

"…You got me, Potter." The dog said, shaking his head before tapping a finger to his chin. "But it sounds like it's similar to those vinyl's PJ has…possibly part of the same set…and you said you found it by complete chance?"

"Y-Yeah. F-Fleaswallow said it didn't m-m-m-make any noise, but when I played it, it sounded f-f-fine." Katy nods, shivering still.

"…Say Joe, that microphone you gave me. You don't think it would have any magic abilities on it, would you?" PaRappa questioned.

"Did you try it?" Joe retorted.

"Yeah…and it worked how you said it would, but I haven't had anything crazy like this happen to me yet."

"Wait…" Paula paused to think. "Katy, you said it did that while you were in that bad state of mind right? It might have changed you into that because of you were in that bad of a mindset."

"It gave her what's basically superpowers because she was in a bad mood? Then why did the records give me the future vision right off the bat?" PJ questioned.

"Is there anyone who might know what these things can potentially do?" Matt questions. Everyone started to think, before PaRappa snapped his fingers.

"Miss Teriyaki Yoko! If anybody would know about magical musical instruments, it's gotta be her!" He says, pulling out his phone, and steps outside as he dialed up Paul Chuck.

"Chuck's Custom Guitars Sales and Repairs, this is Chuck Paul, got an order ya need to put in?"

"Hey Chuck!"

"PaRappa, little buddy! What can I do ya for?"

"Well…I got a question about a guitar Katy found. It's a bass, with an emerald color, and it even shines like one. Black neck, fingerboards and tuning keys are silver, and the volume and tone knobs are more of a ruby color. It even looks like her custom-made guitar!"

"…Lemme get back to ya on that one." He said before hanging up. PaRappa blinked and went back inside. Before he could say what happened, his phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, PaRappa."

"Miss Yoko! Please tell me you know about this guitar I described to Paul."

"I should. It sounds like you have one of the instruments that use to be in my collection. It sounds to me Katy has Beira's Bass."

"Beira's bass?" PaRappa questions as he switches over to speaker phone so everyone else could hear.

"Of course. And I'm assuming at least a few of you have some of the other instruments."

"…I have a golden microphone, and PJ's got some funky vinyl's." He informed the slug demon.

"The microphone of Aphrodite, and the Vinyl's of Kronos…those are very special tools of defense."

"Yeah, if you can get a read on what the vinyl's are trying to tell you." PJ rolled his eyes.

"Miss Yoko? Something weird happened with the guitar." Sunny spoke up. "Katy's entire room was frozen over when we came to check on her, and she looked like she was made out of pure snow." There's a pause from Teriyaki. "…Miss Yoko?"

"…Katy, what was your emotional state when it happened?"

"S…Sad." The shivering feline answered.

"That'll do it…These instruments only open up to those they feel are worthy to play them and will even give their players special powers. However, what you just experience was the instrument supercharging you…the powers come to you all at once and can be really hard to control, especially because the instruments use your emotions as a source of power. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the supercharging will be, and could even become lethal to not only the usuer, but those around them. Thankfully, it sounds like the guitar didn't get too much of your emotion for it to be dangerous, or overcharge, as I like to call it."

"S-So what? I-I have the power of s-snow, now?"

"As long as you have and use that guitar, yes, you will have that ability. Though, I do suggest you practice with it. Home in on those powers, and maybe one day, you'll be able to use these powers without the help of the instruments. Do any of you have any more question?"

"…H-How's Lammy doing, Miss Yoko?" Katy questioned.

"She's doing fine, Katy. Your and Ma-Sans doppelgangers are watching over her, and she has a job playing with a small swing band at one of the city's clubs. And, as for the transportation device, it's coming along nicely. I still don't know if we'll be able to get it finish before the show, but she'll be back to you in no time."

"…Thank you, that's all I needed to know…could you tell her I miss her?"

"Heh…next time I see her, I'll let her know. I'll talk to you all later."

"Likewise, thanks for the help Miss Yoko!" PaRappa smiled before the call came to an end.

Lammy's birthday came around, March 18th. PaRappa Town was now adorned with signs, posters and billboards advertising the big SNOG concert, with MilkCan opening up. Time was running out, and Katy and Ma-San didn't know if Lammy would return before the concert would start, if she were going to just barely cut it, or if she would miss it completely. For them, it was time to just cut their losses and find a temporary replacement guitarist. Katy and Ma-San sat in the old theater, and outside was a line of people who were hoping to get the spot.

"I'm still not sure about this, Ma-San…" Katy said, looking at the list they had gathered. There were a lot of names to go through, and they didn't have a lot of time to practice.

("I know, Katy…but what choice do we have? Look, we'll just find someone who's at least able to get as close to having a sound that's close to Lammy as possible, bring them on, and if we're lucky, Lammy will pop up early in the morning of the concert. Let's just get this over with and try to get some practice in with them. We can't exactly call them and cancel with the concert right around the corner, that, and we already have the backstage tickets, so we can't really drop it.")

"You're right…" She sighs, rubbing her eyes tiredly before picking up the megaphone by her side. "Would the first audition please take the stage?" She called out, unbeknownst to her or Ma-San, a shadowy figure was watching everything unfold in the unlit areas of the auditorium.

Hours would pass into the late afternoon, and their luck wasn't going to well. So many auditions, the majority of them brought the wrong instruments, and the ones who did, were nowhere near to what they were looking for. One dude had an accordion, one girl had a kazoo…one person was just a straight up mime! Katy was starting to get a bit fatigued at this point.

"Sixty auditions, not a single one who has what we're looking for." She rubs her temples before resting her head on the table.

("Don't worry, we have one more person…") Ma-San said, tossing the rejected papers they had into a bin by her side. Katy grabbed the megaphone and sat up.

"Will the last audition take the stage please?" She asked, crossing her arms. The two froze a bit when they saw who took the stage: Rammy, the sole reason they were in this situation to begin with. "No." Katy said, turning the megaphone on again, glaring at the ram with death in her eyes. "Hell no. Get out of here." Katy growled, pointing to the doors.

"What? I haven't even performed!" The Hell girl argued.

("Don't care. We don't need, nor do we wanna hear you play.") Ma-San crossed her arms, her dynamite flickering to life in annoyance.

"Why do you even want to play with us? Just to screw with us or something?"

"Heh, a little bit, but come on, you two are looking for a new guitarist, I'm hoping to get out of being a solo freelance guitarist, and I'm as good of a guitar player as Lammy. You'll never find anyone as good as me."

"I think I'd rather have the dude with the accordion…" Katy gagged before leaning back in her seat, crossing her arms. "But fine…show us what you got."

Rammy smiled and put her guitar strap over her shoulder, before she began playing a few chords, playing a few lines Lammy would play. Ma-San and Katy sat there silently, waiting for her to finish. After a few moments, she finally stopped and looked at the two before they turned away to talk amongst themselves.

"She's good…best thing I've heard all day…" Katy whispered.

("Yeah, but it feels dirty that we're considering hiring her.") Ma-San murmurs back.

"We can't perform without someone who has the same sound as Lammy…"

("And she's the closest we're going to get until she comes back…")

The two went back and forth for a bit, debating on whether or not this was the right choice, and after a moment, they slowly turned back to the gray ram.

"Well…begrudgingly, we're going to let you in…" Katy sighs.

"Awesome." Rammy smirks as the shadowy figure leans in to get a better grasp on what they were saying.

"But once Lammy gets back, you're gone.." Katy said, unaware that they were currently being watched by Scratch, who was watching through the vision of her talent seeker, the figure who was hiding in the theater.

"Ohhh…this is perfect." The demon wolf clapped her hands, chuckling as she stood up from her desk. Time to pay the lamb a little visit again. "This should be enough to push her into signing with me."

Lammy sat at the bar, scratching at the base of one of her horns. They had been growing again and were slowly curling backwards.

"You really shouldn't scratch at those, Hun." Carol warned, shaking her head.

"I can't help it…! These things get so itchy when they're this long!" She whined a bit, sticking her tongue out as she scratches the other horn.

"You don't let those get this long, do you?"

"No…I use to get pretty agitated whenever they got so long. Plus, they get obnoxiously itchy after a certain point."

"Hmm…when you get home, make sure you get some lotion around the horns. It should help a little bit." The meerkat smiled at her before looking up, seeing the gray wolf enter, and her smile faded when she started approaching. Lammy blinked and turned to follow her gaze, ears folding back when she saw Scratch. "I thought I told you not to talent search in my club."

"Not without any reason…but this time, I do." She says as she sits down next to the red-haired lamb, a sharp toothy grin on her face, which made the lamb nervous.

"I-I told you, I'm not interested in signing a deal with you." She said, slowly standing up.

"I know, but what I'm about to show you…you might just reconsider. Your friends? They found themselves a new guitarist." She smirked, seeing the dumbfounded look on her face.

"…What?"

"Here…" Scratch held her hand up, a mirror appeared in it from a puff of smoke, and she held it up so Lammy could see her reflection. The glass slowly shimmered to show her what was going on in the living world. The lamb leaned in once she saw Katy, Ma-San and…Rammy, sitting together in Beard Burgers. Rammy was signing a few papers, and once she finished, she and Katy shook hands. "Seems they were getting a little antsy waiting for you. I can't blame them with that important concert just around the corner. Young upcomers like you and your friends can't just skip out on opening for a band as big as SNOG…that's just a once in a lifetime opportunity. Waiting for you is just holding them back…must be heart breaking to know they're letting you go."

Lammy blinked, staring at the glass in the mirror as it continued. She couldn't hear what they were saying, as Katy put the papers away, and a few burgers were delivered to them.

"N-No…no, i-it's probably just a temporary thing, it has to be.." Lammy shook her head, they wouldn't just straight up replace her for…for Rammy!

"How long have you been here, again?"

"S…Since November?"

"And it's March…I think that's plenty of time for a band to move on and get themselves a new guitarist." Scratch smirked before looking away to order a drink. "So, I think now is a good time for you to start looking for someone to sign you up for your own record deals…you'll be bigger than MilkCan ever will be if you sign up with me. Just imagine, your own albums, people lining up just to see you wail on that guitar of yours, you might even make it to Hollywood! What do you say kid?" She looked to her side and saw that the lamb was gone. Eyes widened, she quickly looks around and saw her going out the door. "H-Hey, I need that mirror! I…only have one of those…" She sighs, knowing the girl was now out of hearing range.

"I keep telling ya, you gotta stop talent searching in my club. They always walk out on ya." Carol shook her head, sitting a few fireball shots down in front of the wolf, who sighed and turned to face the meerkat.

"She just needs a little time to process…She'll come around…"

Lammy walked through the empty streets back to the apartment complex, staring into the mirror, watching Rammy and her bandmates. The sounds of the city around here had faded out, a faint, droning hum replaced it all as her mind began to race with questions. Why would they choose her of all people? Were they really just moving on from her? They really couldn't wait until the end of April? They had to do it on her birthday of all days? She felt a heavy weight on her chest., like her heart was being jabbed with a sharp pencil. She felt hurt. Betrayed. She felt…she felt…

Numb.

Kitty and Sa-Man were sitting down on the couch, watching a cheesy horror movie marathon, Kitty had her feet propped up on the coffee table with a few gifts for Lammy next to them. Her ear would twitch at the sound of the door opening, and she smiled softly.

"Hey, there's the birthday girl. We're watching some dumb classic horror films, ya wanna…" She paused at the sound of sniffling and looked up to see the lamb walk pass, ears drooping, hand still clenching the mirror she took from Scratch, and it looked like she was forcing herself to not get upset. The two watched as she went for Rammy's room and slammed the door behind her with her foot. Katy blinked as she heard her phone notification go off…a text from Sa-Man.

"Something happened…yeah, no shit." She sighed, grabbing a few of the gifts before standing up to go check on her guest. She gently knocked on the door before opening it, seeing Lammy laying on the bed, facing away from the door. She sat the gifts down on the dresser next to her before sitting down, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Lammy…you okay? You look like…well, Hell…" She leaned over, seeing Lammy was looking in the mirror she had brought with her, and…saw Rammy with her top side counterpart and her friends. And her eyes widened a bit.

"…They moved on…" She mutters. "They don't think I'll be able to come back and replaced me…" Kitty blinked when hearing this and leaned in closer to look in the glass.

"…You gotta be shitting me." Kitty huffed out her nose before gently taking the mirror out of Lammy's hand, which caused her to curl up a bit. "Lammy, get some rest…I'm going to go talk with Teriyaki…" She said before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Lammy's eyes wondered till she was looking at the poster of BloodBank, and she focused on Rammy. Slowly, her eyes closed, and she started to drift off to sleep.

When Lammy came to, she could hear the sounds of birds chirping above. A few grunts, and rubbing her face tiredly, she looked around, processing what was happening…blue skies…music playing, not a single sound of somebody getting into a fight? She was in some kind of alley by a few empty trash bins, and when she stepped out, she realized where she was.

She was home! Back in PaRappa Town! She didn't know how, but she was home! A smile grew on her face as she began racing down the streets, passing by familiar looking townsfolk, some of Chop Chop Master Onion's kotamanegi assistances, the yellow and green shirted bullies, the beard burger employees, the entire time as she ran, she looked down and up the different streets until she finally spotted who she was looking for. PaRappa, Katy, PJ…everybody! And they were walking away from her.

"Guys!" She called out to them, smiling when she saw them stop, turned to look at her, then turned away to keep on walking. Her smile faltered a bit, and a brow was raised. "G-Guys? It's me, Lammy! I'm back!"

"Yeah, we can see that." PJ comments as they stop again to turn to her. They looked, uninterested, which wasn't the reaction she was expecting to get.

"Y…You don't look all that thrilled to see me…" She chuckled nervously, looking away from their gazes as she rubs the back of her head.

"Should we?" PaRappa and Sunny questioned, crossing their arms. Lammy looked at them, surprised…these two never acted like that before.

"Yeah, we haven't exactly been missing you." Matt crossed his arms.

("We already got somebody new to play with us. We don't really need ya anymore.") Ma-San squeaks as they step aside to reveal Rammy, who was smirking as she walked towards her. She couldn't move…her legs were feeling numb.

"Your friends don't need ya anymore…don't worry." She grabs Lammy's shoulder. "I'll take real good care of Katy for you…besides, she deserves someone better than some weak, spineless, cowardly, unfocused…" As the insults continued, Lammy began to shrink in size, and she could feel her skin slowly changing to fabric, a forced smile grew on her face, as if her lips were stitched shut. "ADHD ridden, anxiety petrified, runt!" Lammy became limp and fell over, the smile still on her face…she had become a ragdoll, a child's plaything. She couldn't move, or say a word, even as Katy grabbed her by the torso, her limbs dangling like a ragdoll toy would.

"I don't think we can play together anymore." She says before tossing the toy lamb over her shoulder, and over the group. She lands in a trash can filled with other Lammy toys, Rammy standing over it with a grin before reaching out, pulling massive van doors with the MilkCan logo on it shut to reveal she was back in the alley she woke up in as the van floored away. The second it was gone, Lammy was able to blink her eyes, and she was trying to force her body to move, with no luck. She looked upwards, seeing the lid of the trash can falling directly above her, forcing her into darkness.

She shot herself up, panting frantically, trying to get her breathing under control again. She looked around, finding herself surrounded in darkness, a faint white light shining above her. She looks around slowly, getting up to her feet. Where was she…and why did it feel familiar? Familiar in a comforting way?

"It's been a while since you've been here." She froze the second she heard…her own voice. She turned and saw a figure with an eerie gray glow behind it. It looked like herself, but she couldn't make out any details other than the piercing white eyes. "Your personal little comfort zone…nobody to bother you, you can just take your time to think…Let me guess…a group of 'friends' were ready to ditch you?"

Lammy said nothing…just staring silently at the other.

"…The silence speaks volumes, Lammy…" The figure said, stepping towards her, causing the white light she was under to shrink. "Aren't you tired of this happening?"

"…Tired of what?"

"Think about it!" The figure looks out into the darkness as Lammy followed it's gaze, nothing. But she could hear the sounds of laughter…filled with vile hatred and cruelty. and Lammy found herself surrounded by tall shadowy figures of her friends, glowing white eyes, and fake plastered smiles as they pointed at her, laughing. "It's happening all over again!"

"I…It doesn't feel real…"

"But it is. "You know it, and I know it…it was bound to happen sooner or later, them just abandoning us…probably just using us to get their names out there…Katy and Ma-San? That arcade game Joe made? PaRappa? They've all been using us in some way to just…boost their precious popularity numbers…"

The shadows began laughing again, their laughs growing harsher as they spun around her. Lammy grips her ears before falling to her knees, forcing her eyes shut…but the laughs just got louder, viler and crueler…She took deep breaths, feeling tears bursting through. She just couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't fight it back and let them flow, crying as the laughter began to fade until she was trapped in the silence again. The figure sat beside her, still staying in the darkness.

"Shit, Sa-Man and Kitty? Carol? Who's to say they won't turn their backs on us either? I think it might be time to move on…when we get back, we should just leave PaRappa Town…or…maybe you want to stand your ground…?" The figures words seem to have gotten the lambs attention, as her crying calmed down a little bit and she looked over to the shadow lamb.

"I mean…sure, we can run…and keep running, spending our entire lives being a hermit and living in alleys…but on the other hand…" The light around Lammy slowly dims as the eyes of the figure slowly shifts into a deep red. "We can fight, back! Rammy can't get away with this…taking your place? Your friends? Your life? Your girlfriend? You're the superior guitarist! All of that belongs to you! You are the queen of Rock in PaRappa Town! You're the one's who's face is on the MilkCan Posters! Hell, you ARE, MilkCan!"

"Y…" Lammy pauses to sniff, clenching her fists a bit. "You're right…"

"What are you?"

"…I am MilkCan…" She said, getting up to her feet.

"Louder."

"I am Milkcan." She gritted her teeth, fists shaking.

"LOUDER!"

"I. AM. MILKCAN!" She screams, stomping her foot, causing a ring of fire to spread out and illuminate the area around her, showing she stood above a pool of a strange, dark, boiling liquid. It didn't do much to reveal more of the other lamb. She was just a slimy oil black figure with white eyes.

"That's right. Make sure they knows it…" The lamb grins before sinking into the floor. Lammy felt something wrap around her wrists and looked down, seeing tendrils made of ink before they slowly started to pull her downwards into a puddle of the substance she was standing in. She struggled to get out, but it wasn't enough, another tendril wrapped around her neck as she was pulled down under.

Lammy shot up from her bad, hand on her neck as she gasped for air and taking deep breaths. She looked over at the BloodBank poster again, staring at Rammy…she felt something burning inside her. Something she tried hard to keep down. A deep, burning rage. She blew steam out of her nose and looked around, seeing a knife on the stand next to her. Grabbing it, she hurled it right at the poster, nailing the drawing of Rammy in the forehead. She took deep breaths as she got up and approached the poster, ripping the knife off of it.

Rammy was going to pay.

"Mmm…y'know, I'll give you topsiders this, you guys can make one damn good burger." Rammy mused as she chewed on a beard burger, hanging out with Lammy's friends, who just stared at her, silently. She didn't even take notice till she looked up and saw all the eyes gazing at her. She started to chew slower before swallowing. "…What?"

"You know what…" Katy states.

"…Eh, whatever." She shrugs and goes back to eating. "You'll get over it." Hearing that triggered Joe, a bit and he slammed his hands down on the table, standing up.

"Listen here, Hell woman! You have no right to be talking to us like that! Taking a dear friend from us, taking her place, and you have the audacity, the nerve to say something as asinine as we'll get over it?! Do you even think of the possible ramification this'll cause, or what this is doing to Katy?! I promise, you aren't going to get away wi-" Before he could finish that train of thought, he felt something cold and wet hit him in the forehead, as Rammy shot a spit wad at him, getting him to stop talking.

"Well, what do ya know? It is possible to shut Joe Chin up." She smirks before standing up, grabbing her drink, then walks for the exit of the restaurant. "I'll see you losers for practice tomorrow." She waved a hand before kicking the door open, then strolled out.

"What a bitch…" Paula huffs as Joe cleaned the spit off his forehead, groaning.

"Disgusting too…" He groans, sitting the napkin with the other discarded napkins.

"…Thanks for what you said, Joe." Katy sighed, looking at him with a smile.

"No trouble…someone was bound to say it sooner or later." He sits down, just as a tall wolf woman enters the restaurant.

"Just wish there was something we could do about this." PaRappa sighed, drumming his fingers against the table. "Like, just having a guarantee that Lammy will come back would be a nice stress reliever." As if on cue, the sound of a clearing throat could be heard and everyones attention was drawn straight towards the wolf woman.

"Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to intrude, but I couldn't help but overhear your little problem. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Olivia Scratch, and I am the president of Daemon records, located in Hell itself. I've had the opportunity to run into your friend, Lammy, I believe you said. It's quite the unfortunate series of circumstances…however, I believe I can help!"

"For real? How?" PJ tilts his head.

"I can keep an eye on your friend, and with a little help, I can assure her body will not decompose while she's stuck down there, and the transportation machine will be finished on time, so your friend will come back before the SNOG concert. However, there is a catch, on your part."

"There always seems to be one…" Sunny sighs.

("What is it?") Ma-San rose a brow.

"In order to make Lammy's return a reality, I need power, and the only way I can get power, is through contracts." She flicks her hands, and a piece of paper appears in it. "And only the most talented of signups will do. Once Lammy returns, I'll return to collect my payment." Everyone looked at each other after hearing this.

"I suppose that seems right…" PaRappa taps his chin.

"Are you sure about this?" Sweety questions. Something about this doesn't sit right to her.

"I don't really see any other potential option…" Katy sighed. "You got a pen on you?"

"But of course." Scratch smiled, pulling a pen out of her shirt pocket, and puts it down on the table. In the end, PaRappa, Katy and Ma-San signed their own separate contracts.

"Three contracts…not a whole lot, but it should give me the power I need. Thank you three." She smiled softly, putting the contracts away in her suit jackets inner pocket. "Your friend shall return within time!" She bows before sauntering out of the restaurant. Once out of sight, she sighed to herself and steps into the nearby alley, opening a portal to home.

"It's not Lammy or her guitar as I hoped for…but these…" She pulls the contracts out, having them float before her as they opened up, the signatures glowing in different colors. Blue for Katy, red for Ma-San, and orange for PaRappa. "These'll do for now. After all, talents like these don't just come out of the blue every day…Still…I'll find you…I haven't given up on you just yet." She pulled out a gold locket with the name Luna engraved on it from under her shirt but didn't open it. After a moment, she stashes the contracts back into her jackets pocket and tucked the locket under her shirt again before stepping through the portal. The pieces were in place, and now, she just had to play the waiting game.