Secrets Are Ba(n)d

Chapter 16: Celebratory Crushing

The crowd boomed with cheers, a mix of Mettatons and newly made Cold Souls fans filling the area with supportive shouts.

"We cant wait to see you.." Mettaton led, holding the mic to the lead singers mask.

"Oh- uh, Froid, and Core!" He stuttered through breaths, making 'eye contact' with his ghostly counterpart and recieving a nod of approval.

"You'll see Froid and Core on the next show! Don't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity!" He ended, signaling the show was over as cameras shut down and audience gathered towards the exits.

Rolling over quickly, the Robot wasted no time in flattering the two.

"May I say, you two put on quite the show! I've never quite seen such a moving performance, besides my own," he complimented in a much lower volume, posing dramatically to push the point.

"Yeah! Uh, thank you, Mettaton," Papyrus spat, hardly able to contain himself enough to keep his show voice.

Mettaton. The Mettaton, complimenting him, comparing them to his own performances! He could have fainted, and seeing the swaying, Napstablook quickly floated to his side, cords dangling behind him with small clicks.

"And those costumes! While not exactly my style, they're definitely a breath of fresh talent," he continued, taking one of the plugs closer to his sensors to get a better look.
"How about this, I hook you two up with my own personal designers, free of charge of course, and give you two a MTT Makeover™!" He offered as his various lights blinked, leaving Papyrus too mesmerized to reply.

Napstablook, however, wasn't left stunned by the offer in the slightest.

"We appreciate the offer, but we'll have to pass. Our style is an outlet we couldn't sacrifice," they spoke up, disguising their voice so much they almost surprised themself.

Though obviously disappointed, the star made no attempt to push back on the decision, dropping the plug and crossing h robotic arms.

"A shame then, I'll have my assistant tell you the details about the next gig. You two are going to be big!" He recovered, dollar signs flashing in his circuts.

"Yes.. thank you," The ghost gulped before the robot wheeled away gracefully, stage crew making room as he did.

"You uh.. ok?" Blook inquired worriedly, the skeleton taking a deep, unnecessary breath.

"That was THE METTATON!" He finally freaked, flapping his arms around joyously as he spun around the small backstage.

"yeah.. it was," the ghost monster deadpanned, reminded of his cousin's fame, the memory still sour.

"Oh right, sorry Napstablook," Papyrus apologized, recalling the sensitivity of the subject and correcting his flapping to a general rattling of bones.
"Still, he loved us! They all did!!" He decreed as he peaked back at the large stage, now occupied by monsters setting up for the next segment.

"They did.." Though masked, Papyrus could sense the joy on the ghosts face, their lack of transparency a dead giveaway.

"U-uh, excuse me? Froid?" A voice stammered from behind the skeleton, who turned to see the small lizard monster from the front desk.

"Oh, yes, hello," he replied with a low voice, slightly raspy from the earlier straining.

"Fir-firstly, I wanted to congratulate you both! Your music has been amazing, I've already got bookings for the ne-next show!" She chimed, the skeleton fiddling with his gloves bashfully. "An-and speaking of, I have the date and time for the show here," She said, holding out two small cards decorated with gold edges and pink accents, the MTT logo proudly on the back. Papyrus happily took both, saving Napstablook the trouble of being constantly reminded of his cousin.