Secrets Are Ba(n)d

Part 22: Behind the Scenes

"I..I don't know a-about this Sans, what if he refuses to t-tell you?" "He's going to." "Y-you say that, but we don't kn-know anything about-" "he'll talk."

"And you're sure no one will spot us?" Papyrus inquired once again, following his ghostly pal through winding tunnels. "Well.. mostly, no one's.. found me before." they responded with an echo, Papyrus humming contently. The way was dark, but soon, the tight squeezes opened up into a cave of sorts, echo flowers illuminating the dripping walls. "Wowie" was all Papyrus could mutter, taking in the damp air of the untouched area. "It's not much.. but I think it's soundproof enough to practice-" "It's perfect!!" Papyrus cheered, his voice echoing on the flowers that surrounded them. "This is going to be our best show yet, I can feel it!" He said with a giddy smile, though not noticing Blooky looking away with uncertainty. "Yeah.. let's get to practicing"

The cave wasn't gigantic by any means, but it had large enough practice stage that they could use, Papyrus and Napstablook setting up speakers on the raised ledge. They'd already talked about potential costumes, though the options now being limitless made it difficult, and they eventually landed on a rugged zombie/cyborg-esc theme. Some kinks needed to be ironed out, but so far, the costumes rivaled even Mettatons in design, with scratched metal plates, rusted bolts, and enough spikes to fill a tile puzzle. It took a moment to focus enough to conjure the costume, but after giggling at the echo flowers for long enough, the two were standing in position.
Fog filled the small space, just as planned, and the speakers started to play the music.

(That means you! the song is "Dead!" by My Chemical Romance [emo I know hardy har])

The song was loud and aggressive compared to the last ones, but they sang with their souls nonetheless.

"And if your 'heart' stops beating, I'll be here wondering: did you get what you deserve?"
The lyrics were hard to write, especially with the subject matter, but the two wanted to send a message one last time.

"Have you heard the news that you're 'dead?'" He winced, "no one ever had much nice to say, I think they never liked you anyway!" They sang together with soured memories, angry at the underground that rejected them.
"Wouldn't it be grand? It ain't exactly what you planned, and wouldn't it be great if we. Were. Dead."

"..oh dead"

"Tongue tied and oh so squeamish, you never fell in love, did you get what you deserved? The ending of your life!" They played on, smiles growing as the music became a part of them, colours now bouncing off the dark walls of the cavern.

"And if your life won't wait, then your heart can't take this! 'Have you heard the news that you're dead?' No one ever had much nice to say, I think they never liked you anyway!" Papyrus sang louder, Blook noticing the lights that surrounded them now. "Wouldn't it be grand to take a pistol by the hand, and wouldn't it be great if we.. were.." he hesitated slightly, voice lowering. "And in my honest observation, during this operation, found a complication in your heart, so long! Cause now you've got.. maybe just two weeks to live, I said 'is that the most the two of you can give?'" He ended, only to be shocked by the sudden ghostly guitar Napstablook was playing beside him, headphones connected and face full of concentration. With a smile, he gazed onto the crowd of flowers looking back at him, a sense of determination and pride fueling his lyrics. "One two, one two three four! La la la la la," they both sang, the echo flowers soon joining until the chorus rang loud in their 'ears,' repeating as the last few lines started. "Motherfucker, if life ain't just a joke, then why are we laughing!" "If life isn't a joke.. then why are we laughing?" "If life ain't just a joke, then why are we laughing, if life aint a just a joke, then why am I Dead!?" "Dead!" They both ended, speakers stopping as the last notes gently hummed through the flowers.

They took a few minutes to catch their breath, large smiles plastered across their faces. "That was amazing!! Your guitar solo was the perfect touch, everyone is going to love it!" Papyrus cheered as he sat, taking a sip from a water bottle he'd brought. Napstablook smiled bashfully, floating to 'sit' on the ground with him. "You.. think we'll win?" "I have no doubt about it! Well, maybe one or two, who did you say we were against?" "Someone named.. 'not a tteM?" "Strange name!" "..yeah, but.. isn't it familiar somehow?" "Not that I noticed, now how about we practice the other song?" "..yeah.. alright"

871 words
(Short-ish chapter, here's a song I really wanted to play in the finale! I didn't end up choosing it for the risk of being 'cliche' or too cringe, but I think the one I did choose is going to be a treat. And hey, I wonder who that NotatteM is? Happy reading!)