He'd never had stage fright. And since Alphys completed the new body, he didn't think he'd ever have a reason to.

And yet here he was.

He'd been standing there, staring at the door for way too long. This shouldn't be so hard. There was a time where he'd practically lived in there. This was just as much his home as the room next door.

But. Things were different now, weren't they. No one lives next door anymore. That person left and never came back. No big loss. Pink was never really his color anyway. Honestly, it was rather gaudy.

Gah this was going all wrong! Mettaton is a star! Why wouldn't anyone be happy to see him? Besides, Blooky was a fan! That phone call still made him smile. It also broke his tin man's heart, but no one needs to know that. It made him smile.

He should really knock. Or should he barge in like nothing's changed? Actually, if nothing had changed he'd just phase in through the wall. He should knock.

...

...

He knocked.

...He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. That was new. He'd never had legs before. He smiled.

...

Blooky must have their headphones on again. How can a ghost be so...deaf? He sighed and knocked again. Louder. Apparently, some things never change. His shoulders dropped. He hadn't realized they were hunched. ...Some things do change. His shoulders rose again, seemingly of their own volition.

Maybe he should ju-Blooky came out. They still had the headphones on. Mettaton smiled. Showtime!

"Hey there! I can see from the look on your face that you're surprised, and well you should be! It is true, the great Mettaton is here in the shiny metal flesh," he flashed his most winning smile. "It's come to my attention that I've been neglecting my number one fan, and I thought 'well that just won't do!' So here I am!" Was he trying too hard? Probably. But he had to get this right.

Blooky still hasn't said a word. That's alright, he always knew how to pull them out of one of their moods. They were—are—they are family, after all.

"Are you still making music, Blooky? Can I listen? Your mixes are always the best," he leaned down to keep eye contact. Hard to get used to being so much taller.

That did it. He knew it would. Blooky mumbled a shaky little ok, but he could tell. They were excited. It was all in the eyes.

Blooky phased back through the door. Mettaton almost walked into it. Well, that was embarrassing. Did Alphys have cameras here? He hoped not. He opened the door to his cousin's house for the first time.

It was just like he remembered it. Blooky always did keep things neat. Actually, it may just be that they never did have too many things. Just stacks of albums. The real mess was on their PC, just...music everywhere. The desktop was overrun with MP3 files. He couldn't check if it was still like that now, though. Blooky had some kind of music player open and it dominated the whole screen.

Blooky looked at him from their spot in front of the computer. They didn't really think he'd come in, they said. Mettaton just stared. They'd had this conversation before.

"C'mon Blooky, we've talked about this before! Confidence! How are you ever gonna be a star if you don't believe in yourself?"

That got him the first smile he'd seen from his cousin in years. It was, unfortunately, aimed more towards the floor in Mettaton's general direction than anything else, but he'd take what he could get.

"you're right. i'll try to remember that..."

"Good. Now let's hear it! What've you got for me?"

"i just finished this remix of spook wave..."

"Go for it DJ!"

The music was good. Blooky's music was the best. They spent all day listening. Then they both laid themselves down on the floor and imagined a galaxy full of stars. Blooky's music had that effect. It reminded him of making wishes in the shining tunnels (he didn't have the heart to call those stars anymore, they'd get to see real ones soon enough). Blooky had talked him into it back then. He knew how much Mettaton's dream meant to him, and it couldn't hurt to have some insurance. You wouldn't know it to look at them now, but his cousin could be very persuasive when they wanted to be.

Now that he'd strolled down that particular path in Memory Lane…he'd never thought to ask what Blooky's dream was. He had an idea about that though.

"Blooky."

"yes?"

"Do you remember when we promised to stay together forever?" A lifetime ago. Still important.

Silence.

"I'm sorry. I broke my promise. I'm so sorry."

"you made your dream come true. you made a lot of monsters happy. Mettaton was always here for us all. it's...ok..."

Did Blooky ever speak that much in one go?

"It's not. I should have been there for you. I will be from now on."

"promise...?"

"Promise. For real this time. We'll be stars together out there on the surface, Blooky! We'll be so good, we'll bring humans and monsters together to see our show!"

"that sounds...fun. but i can't do anything..."

"Confidence Blooky! Confidence! You have me! And I'm the best singer, dancer, and entertainer around! And I've got the best DJ with me too," at this, he turned to his cousin and winked. The benefit of having eyes.

"huh...you mean...me…"

"Of course, you! A few more people and we can start a band!" He'd actually taken care of that already. Shyren was in for backup vocals, and he'd enlisted one of the MTT employees to round it out. "What do you say, Blooky? Ready to rock our way to the surface?"

"..."

Wait for it.

"..."

Come on Blooky...

"yes...let's...do it..."

And it's on! Mettaton laughed. So many new things today. And so many more to come. He was excited now. No more stage fright! The crowds won't know what hit'em.

He and Blooky stayed on the floor for a little while longer, just watching the stars burn bright.