Chapter Text
If K_K asked Sweet and Cap'n to stop playing, they'd always stop, no question. It was no secret that the CD player's hearing was far more sensitive than theirs, meaning that they'd often catch sour notes or strange rattles in their equipment that the other two simply didn't notice. And this sometimes extended to things beyond the music, things that no melody could obscure from their sensors...
That day, K_K stopped the trio's practice for their upcoming show, calling for silence, normally something he couldn't stand so Cap'n and Sweet knew it was for good reason. Watching K_K closely as he searched for the source of whatever he alone was hearing, they followed him into the back of the junk shop, where he poked around boxes of scrap and peered behind the ratty couch, ultimately coming up empty.
"What was it, K_K?"
"Sounded like..." They thought for a moment, considering how best to describe it to Sweet. Eventually, they adjusted their pitch, and mimicked a low rustling and scraping of metal on metal.
"You heard that while we were playing?!"
"It was really quiet, but yeah." Finally deciding that it was probably just the wind, despite them being indoors, K_K shrugged, returning to the studio and to their melodica, ready to retry their song.
Only two seconds into the four-second melody, though, K_K stopped again, their head whipping back towards the boxes of junk. "I heard it again."
"Ya sure it's not just, like, the pipes or nothin'?" Crossing his arms as he looked up at his bandmate, Cap'n scoffed, but at K_K's insistence agreed to help investigate again.
The two pieced through parts and rifled through crates of old records, desperately searching for the noise only K_K could hear, but once again came up empty, a fact which Sweet couldn't help but point out. "Hey K_K, remember that time my system glitched and I kept hearin' things? Maybe it's like that, and you just need a quick tune-up!"
"Or the shop's haunted."
"...What?"
"You heard Cap'n," K_K giggled. "Shop's haunted!" Smiling, they watched Cap'n retrieve an old pipe and give it a few practice swings, ready to defend their home from any errant digital specters.
Sweet exaggeratedly rolled his eye, motioning for the trio to return to their practice already, ghosts or no. They had a show only a few days away, after all, and had to be ready! Though, as he plugged himself back into his turntable, even Sweet couldn't help feeling a strange chill in the air, an eerie sensation of being watched by unseen eyes crawling through his wires. He shivered, glancing around the room, as K_K once again paused, and Cap'n's grip on his pipe tightened, all three finally hearing the sounds coming from deeper inside.
"Cap? You guys put everything back where it wouldn't knock around like that, right?"
"'Course we did, Sweet."
"Is it a ghost?"
"Gotta be, K_K..." Tiptoeing as they led the way back to where they heard the noise, Sweet motioned to the couch. "Do you think...our couch could be haunted?"
"Only one way ta find out." Readying his weapon, Cap'n stood by while K_K lifted up the couch, to reveal...
"EEK!!" It wasn't a ghost underneath, only a simple Maus who'd been chewing on the couch springs, hence the faint metallic noise, but Sweet still shrieked all the same, setting off a very quick, but very destructive, chain of events as he ducked behind Cap'n for safety. At first not noticing the source of all the commotion, Cap'n swung blindly a few times, one of which happened to connect with K_K's waist and knock them off-balance. Their arms buckling from the impact, they dropped the couch, causing Cap'n to yowl in pain as it landed right on his foot, and the Maus to panic and skitter out from its hiding spot in response -- with it out in the open, Sweet finally began to calm down, checking that Cap'n was alright before kneeling down with K_K to address their unwanted guest.
"Hey," K_K started, at first reaching out a hand to the Maus but immediately withdrawing when it cowered in fear from the massive green robot. "We're sorry to scare you, but we thought you were a ghost! Do you want some cheese?"
The Maus squeaked in agreement, and Sweet dashed into the kitchen to retrieve some as well as a couple carrots, as K_K gently cupped it in their hands and deposited it outside along with their snack.
"You shouldn't be inside the shop, we're really busy right now!" Smiling, K_K and Sweet both wished it well as it scurried off across the metallic field towards Cyber City, and happily returned to their studio, where Cap'n waited with his bass guitar and a suggestion to finally get a pet Tasque on his lips.
"Why not just invest in some Maustraps?" Sweet retorted, starting up his beat.
"I've always wanted a Tasque!"
"Uh...yeah, it's a great idea, K_K! Way less hassle than Maustraps!" Cap'n shook his head at Sweet's sudden 180, smirking, as he strummed, and the four-second song took form once again. But three seconds in...
CRASH! BOOM! BANG! A sinister, ghostly laugh echoed through the shop, making even K_K's handle stand on end, with Sweet and Cap'n huddling close. Cap'n passed his pipe up to them, his bravery gone.
"Shop's haunted..."