Chapter 26: Showtime

Sans couldn't shake the feeling Lou was hiding something. Sure there was the shadow thing the past month, but he hadn't seen figurative hide nor hair of the thing since that time he threatened it in the human's room. Had it gotten the hint and decided to leave them alone? Unlikely. Things like that rarely just left because someone threatened them. He hadn't caught Lou talking to herself in her room much either, but that didn't mean much. It was only this past week that he'd noticed something was off. She was quieter, spent even more time in her room than before, and was constantly away from home. Sometimes he caught her hanging out with Napstablook, but before he could get close to talk to them, someone or something always blocked him and they were gone. Now he trusted the reclusive ghost, sure he was quiet and wasn't particularily outgoing, but he was a sweet guy. Since befriending Lou, he came over to visit and hang out more often. Frisk certainly enjoyed seeing him.

The problem couldn't be Blooky, so what? Why was Lou so...distant? Had they done something wrong? Today was Friday and he still had no idea what was going on. She'd left earlier than usual that morning, even before Papyrus was awake. Somehow she must have gotten the early bird shift, because he saw her at Grillby's that morning when he came in, talking to the flame monster himself behind the counter. He wasn't able to hear the conversation, but she seemed to be on her way out. What shocked him the most, was that she kissed him. Most humans didn't touch him, for fear of getting burned. Same thing with most monsters, but she did. She jumped from her toes, pecking him on the temple while using a hand on his shoulder for extra height. Sans had flinched immediately, freezing in place. Surely her lips and nose would have burns. what was she thinking?!

Grillby just blushed a flaming blue, his fire hair flaring up and smoking a little while placing a hand to where she kissed him. The human girl turned away from him, giving a cheerful goodbye and heading for the door, past Sans. She didn't notice him, as he purposefully hid in a booth. As she went by he caught a glimpse of her face. No burns. Her hair wasn't even frazzled, nothing! It was like she'd given a kiss to any of her other friends, to him or even Blooky or Undyne! Not a mark on her sweet, smiling face.

• • •

Sans couldn't get any of this out of his head as he lounged on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Papyrus was running around, doing a few chores around the house, occasionally yelling for his lazy brother to do something he knew he wouldn't do. Like pick up his sock. His sockets were blank as he sighed out a breathe he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. what the hell...why do i care so much about this human anyway? she's barely been here two months...what's so... He didn't even finish the thought. He knew exactly what the answer to that last part. She was special, different. Kinda like Frisk but...in a completely new way.

"Sans? Have you seen Lou? She had the early shift at work today and she's on Spring Break...shouldn't she be home right now?"

"i dunno bro...maybe she's at Undyne's house again?"

There was a knock at the door he had no intention of answering, but Papyrus was already halfway there when the front door was kicked completely off it's hinges. Both skeletons jumped, materializing bones and going on the defensive. "ANSWER THE DOOR ALREADY YOU NERDS!" They dropped their guard as Undyne burst into the room, a very flustered Alphys under her arm. Something must be important or exciting if she had kicked the door down so quickly. Normally she at least gave them 30 seconds.

"I-I-I'm s-so sorry! I t-t-told her t-to w-wait!"

"TURN THE TV ON! NOW! WHY AREN'T YOU WATCHING?!" Undyne moved swiftly to the coffee table, snatching up the remote and flipping the television on. Sans barely had enough time to move before the fish sat down, a huge toothy grin on her face.

"normally i'd say some kind of joke here, but...what are you two doing here?" Well, the theory of Lou being at their house was out the window.

"No time for that! You gotta watch today's episode on MTT Channel!"

"But you don't even watch Mettaton's show, and this is an unscheduled time slot. You won't get anything but sta-"

"M-Mettaton's got a-a n-new face on t-today. T-they agreed to sing f-for the time slot today."

"Wowie! Really? Is it anyone we know? A human or a monster?" Papyrus sat on the floor in front of the TV, eye sockets going wide as his favorite robot star stood posing under a spotlight. If it involved his favorite robot or his channel, Papyrus was most likely all over it.

• • •

"Well hello, beauties~! I hope you're all doing well on this lovely afternoon!" The robot struck another pose, the live audience around the stage cheering. The show seemed to be in the concert hall area of his hotel, the perfect place for a concert and a large live audience. The seats were likely filled with humans and monsters alike. "Now we've been hinting at a veeery special guest appearance this past week, a good friend of mine who agreed to help me out just this once~. Who knows though, if we give them a good time they may just become regulars!" He winked, a few girls and even some boys swooned. "Enough stalling, my darlings! It's time for you to meet the stunning, talented, lovely, one and most certainly only, miss Karma!" A pop of confetti fell from above as the lights suddenly went out and Mettaton was off the stage.

They all blinked, the skeletons looking at each other curiously. That had been a pretty short cameo from Mettaton. Normally he hogged as much spotlight as possible. Whoever this guest singer was must be pretty important and he must be very excited to show them off.

A light finally came up on the stage. A small spotlight starting at the very end of a catwalk, revealing a pair of small black ankle-high boots on small feet as the music began to play. The shoes lead up to a set of slender legs clad in striped thigh-high stockings in white and a dark navy blue. Whoever it was, they planned on revealing who it was painstakingly slowly.

I can hold my breathe...

Sans rose a brow, the spotlight revealing more of the outfit. Black and blue, with a puffy skirt and some kind of white pom-pom tail feather puff thing in the back. So far, it reminded him of a dress from some anime Lou watched once while she thought he was sleeping. She'd watch anime while he 'slept' and while her back was to him he'd peek at whatever it was, watching her expressions as it went along. She was always so involved and animated while watching those things. This particular dress he remembered, but it seemed to be a combo of a few, bits and pieces from a more or less nearly identical set of dresses to begin with in an episode where the chatacters had to do a pop idol preformance in front of a demon in an attempt to destroy it. Kyoukai no kanata, if he remembered the japanese name correctly. What episode he wasn't sure, but it had been a favorite of Lou's so he did his best to remember it's name.

I can bite my tongue...

The spotlight had reached the human's lower face, showing the headset mic and what looked to be some kind of lip gloss on their lips. Fingerless gloves that were practically identical to the stockings reached up to the middle of the girl's biceps, or lack thereof. She was healthy, but not particularily strong looking. The camera angle changed, showing from the side and zoomed in on the face, blocking off the upper half of her face and focusing on her lips for the most part. Whoever it was, they had some sort of a-line haircut, so there was no possible way it could be Lou. She still had that shoulder length mess and wouldn't be caught dead on live TV in such a getup.

I can stay awake for days if that's what you want...be your number one. I can fake a smile.

She smiled softly at the audience.

I can force a laugh.

She gave a tiny giggle, a small hint of emotional pain lacing the sweet sound.

That laugh made Sans wince. Her voice was familiar. That forced smile reminded him of someone, and that pained little laugh...

I can dance and play the part, if that's what you ask. Give you all I am.

The girl flashed a bitter sweet smile as she gently swayed her dress and gave a small spin. The camrea had zoomed out again, but still cut off her upper face. Only those in the live audience could see who it was, while those at home were left guessing.

• • •

Grillby looked up at the TV screen hanging above the bar. By request from an anonymous patron, he'd turned a few of them to the MTT channel. He watched curiously at the screen, as did most of the other customers in the bar. One or two were even requesting that more of the TVs be switched to that same channel, to get a better look at who this mystery guest singer was. Whoever they were, they sang with the perfect melody for the song. Sweet, but somber.

I can do it... I can do it... I can do iiiit~

With each 'I can do it' the camera angle changed. First it focused on the small hands clasped against the girl's small chest, head tilted up slightly to imply that her eyes were gazing up towards the rafters. Next, it moved to a previously hidden bow before, one tied from a ribbon of orange and red that resembled a glowing flame that was...strikingly familiar. Finally, it revealed her face.

Half of the bar spit their drinks. Grillby dropped the glass he'd been cleaning.

• • •

Sans and Papyrus stared at the TV with slacked jaws and wide eye sockets. Alphys and Undyne were grinning like madmen, both recording their reactions on their phones. The skeletons didn't disappoint. They looked at each other, then the screen, then each other, then back to the screen. Each time they looked back they sped up until it seemed like their heads would pop off. Finally, their gazes finally rested back on the small brunette human on the screen, standing in the middle of the stage surrounded by awed Mettaton fans. The very same human they lived with.

"LOU?!"

But I'm only human, and I bleed when I fall down. I'm only human, and I crash and I break down. Your words in my head, knives in my heart. You build me up and then I fall apart 'cause I'm only huma~an.

She acted out every line. Had going to her head, then to her chest. As the human continued to sing, she continued to act out the lyrics of the song, now recognized as Human by Christina Perri. It was when she got to the chorus near the end. Never had they ever believed she could speak let alone sing with such volume. She even dropped to her knees, head downcast as the little spotlight faded to half of its previous brightness.

I...can take so much. 'Till I've had...enough. 'Cause I'm only hu~man! And I bleed when I fall down! I'm only hu~man! And I crash and I break down! Your words in my head, knives in my heart. You build me up and then I fall apart, 'cause I'm only huma-a~an...

The crowd went nuts. Her expressions were spot on with the intesity of how she sang such simple words. The light went out as she sang that last line.

It was barely visible, but they could make out her small shadowed form getting up and taking a flustered breathe, then moving back to the actual stage for the next song. Sans couldn't help but give a small smile of relief. Even like that, she was still the same, shy girl. Sans could only assume she was thinking of this as what it was, a show. An act. Play the part of a performer. then again, knowing her, she'll probably get hyper at some point and won't need to act. The skeleton smiled, sitting back to enjoy the show. When he looked at Papyrus, he didn't need to guess what he was thinking. His brother was most certainly starstruck. careful, kiddo. i think you just gained your first fanboy.

Papyrus was more than just starstruck, he was smitten. He'd always thought Mettaton was amazing and confident, a great performer and a good friend since leaving the underground. He'd always be a huge fan of the sexy rectangle he'd admired since before ever meeting Frisk and Lou, but now he had another. The skeleton already really liked the new human. She was kind, a little shy and easily embarrassed, had a slight temper, and seemed to genuinely enjoy their company. Since she moved in...no, since they met, not once did he regret walking up to her in the bowling alley and inviting her to join them. In a short amount of time, she'd not only found a spot for herself in all of their lives, but also filled a space that neither of them even realised was missing. He thought she was an amazing person and ever since they met he'd made a personal vow to make sure nothing bad ever happened to her, which he'd immediately think he'd failed had he ever learned of all the fights she'd gotten herself into. Now? She was on his favorite channel, in an adorable dress, singing in that pretty little voice of hers with the cutest haircut he'd ever seen! The only time he'd ever get to hear her voice was that one time during movie night and a few times while she was taking a shower. With the new hair, he could actually see her face now! No more hiding! He could see her face clearly without overgrown bangs obstructing his view. Nothing could make this better. Until he noticed the bow. She was wearing his ribbon. A bright orange glow rose on his face, little hearts suddenly popping into his eye sockets. "W-wowie..."

Lou took a deep breath, steeling herself for the next song. Her first one had been emotional, a little dramatic, which was what Mettaton loved about her using it as her debut. Now, she was ready to flip the mood to something a little more happy and fun.

When the new music started up, almost the entire audience recognized this one. Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. The whole stage was lit up now, showing a bashful Napstablook with his headset and DJ table. Those who recognized the little ghost from his other minor appearances on his cousin's shows cheered loudly, one or two girls even screaming. He blushed, having no idea he had fans like that. Lou looked back to give him an encouraging smile and a nod. He could do this.

I stay out too late! Got nothin' in my brain! That's what people sa~ay, mm mm...that's what people sa~ay, mm mm.

She whipped around to face the crowd, a big smile on her face. True to the high beat song and pop idol outfit she was in, she played the part of the peppy hyper singer.

I go on too many dates, but I can't make 'em stay! At least that's what people sa~ay, mm mm...that's what people sa~ay, mm mm.

But I keep crui-sin, can't stop won't stop mo-ovin', it's like I got this mu-usic in my mind sayin' it's gonna be alright!

The human was practically bouncing on her toes as she danced to the beat, doing a shoulder brushing motion each time she said 'shake it off'. Everything she did, was improvised. One condition she'd had when agreeing to do this; she got to do her own thing. Mettaton was unsure at first, but seeing how the crowd was having fun it was most certainly worth it.

Hey hey hey! Just think while you been gettin' down and out about the liars and the dirty dirty cheats of the world, you coulda been gettin' down to this. Sick. Beat.

Lou model-walked her way down the cat walk towards the very end of it, using emphasizing hand motions as she walked.

My ex man brought his new girlfriend, she's like "Oh. My. God." but I'm just gonna shake and to the fella over there with the hella good hair won't you come on over baby? We can shake, shake, shake...

By the time she got to the end of the stage she had this seductive look on her face as she pointed randomly to those in the audience and did the 'come here' motion with a finger before turning on a heel and heading back to the main stage. She could almost swear she heard a guy/girl faint and a few fan-girl-like screams and just the thought of her doing that brought a huge blush to her cheeks.

By now, every patron in Grillby's bar had their eyes glued to the screens. Anyone who'd been there before knew the girl on that stage and had their jaws dropped down to the floor. They knew she could play it cool at work but had no idea she was capable of something like this.

"Did you know she could move like that?"

"Move?! I didn't even know she could sing!"

"Did she cut her hair? About time! It looks good!"

"You guys know that girl?" A new customer asked one of the regulars.

"Know her?! She works here!"

"No way! Since when? I don't remember anybody named Karma on the payroll."

"That's just a stage name, dumbass! That's Lou!"

"What?! THAT'S Lou?! Bull crap!"

"I didn't even know she had eyes..."

"Of course she has eyes, stupid! All humans have eyes!"

Grillby just stood there, frozen to the spot since the camera first showed her face. So, that's what she meant when she said she was busy today...

"Kid? What are you watching, sweetheart?" Monster kid's mother came over, looking at the human dancing on the TV. "Honey, not so close to the television, it's bad for your eyes!" She moved them back, noticing the awed look on her child's face.

"Momma! I know that girl! That's the girl I told you about! The one who walks me to school everyday! That's Karma!" They bounced up and down, jumping small circles around the room excitedly before turning back to the screen. "She's so cool!" Their tail wagged, stars shining in their wide eyes.

Muffet looked up in surprise as one of her customers spit their cider all over a newspaper they'd been reading for the past few minutes. Every now and then they'd check through their phone before going back to their news. Normally she wouldn't pay them much mind and clean it up, but a few of her spiders had stopped to stare at the phone screen over the monser's shoulder. What's going on?

A spider trailed down from a web string and waved it's little legs. Normally they'd whisper in her ear about little bits of news and gossip from around the small café, but this one seemed unable to wait or keep quiet. "Hurry! Turn on MTT right now! Lou's on TV!"

"What? Lou?!" The spider woman couldn't grab the remote fast enough, holding it with all six hands and smashing down the button to turn the single small TV that usually just flipped with little advertisements for local businesses to the appropriate channel. Every single one of her eyes widened as she saw the smiling face of her most recent regular pop on, shaking her hips in a brightly colored dress singing her heart out to a live audience. "Oh my prophecy...!" As the spider put her hands on her cheeks, everyone in the little shop turned to look at the girl on the screen. Those who'd seen or talked to her, even a few that remembered her saving their hide, hooted and hollered congratulations for the little human.

Asgore blinked as he walked into Toriel's house timidly. He'd knocked a few times, even rang the doorbell, but nobody came to the door. "Hello...? Tori? Frisk? ...Flowey?" Had he done something wrong? Their date had gone pretty well, hadn't it? So why wasn't anybody there? He was nervous to go any further than the doorway, not wanting to get a fireball to the face from his ex-wife for trespassing.

As he looked from side to side and was about to simply try again later, Frisk came running over and tugged at his shirt.

*You yell for Goat Dad to hurry up and come to the living room.

Fearing the worst, he shut the door behind him and rushed to the small living room. "What's wro-" He skid to a halt. The former king had been worried that something happened to Tori, but it would seem his fears were misguided. Nothing was wrong. Toriel was watching the TV with furred paw-like hands clasped over her mouth. He knew that face, motherly pride. But of what?

"About time you got here, fur face! Where the hell have you been?! Look!" Flowey scolded the large monster, pointing to the TV with a leaf.

Asgore looked confused, but lifted his gaze to the TV. His eyes widened and his tensed arms, which had been ready to fight off an intruder or rush someone to the nearest hospital fell slack. Lou Snow. In a pretty puffy dress. On TV. Singing and dancing. Okay, now he understood the pride, because he was feeling it too. A big stupid grin stretched over his face and he squealed like a little girl, hands going to his cheeks. He couldn't believe it.

The show continued for the full half-hour, breaking for commercial now and then to give Lou a rest. By the end, she was exhausted and breathing heavy. Working out with Papyrus had certainly brought up her stamina, but this much dancing still left her drained. She met Metta and Blooky in the back, saying goodbye to the audience before she left.

Mettaton quickly scooped her up into his metal arms. "Oh Lou darling that was absolutely Fa-bu-lous!" He spun her around, nuzzling the girl's cheek. "They absolutely loved you! Today's ratings went through the roof after you came on!"

"R-really?" Lou was a little glad to be off her feet for a little while. They ached from all of that standing and dancing. As fun as it was, she was totally ready for a nap...and maybe a bite to eat. Paps' burnt spaghetti was sounding pretty good right about now.

"Th-that was a lot of fun..." Napstablook floated next to them, giving his trademark small smile.

"Oh you two simply must do another show sometime!" Metta held the human by her underarms at length, grinning wide with sparkling eyes.

"A-another show?! N-no way! Th-this was a one time thing, n-not a regular gig! I've got school a-and working at Grillby's! I don't think I can handle doing this regularly! I-it was fun, Ton-ton, b-but I'm gonna have to give a polite pass..." The human blushed, voice cracking a little from over use. Maybe she shouldn't have done the If I Had You (Radio Mix) by Adam Lambert. Too loud and too many notes to hold.

"Oh that's alright, darling! I'm not asking you to do it every day or even every week. If you feel up to it, we can always figure out gaps in your schedule for maybe once a month. But only if you're up to it, lovely." He winked, setting her down. "Come now, let's get you changed and back home. I bet the boys are just waiting to congradulate their little star."

Lou's face turned red, knowing he'd only say that for one reason and one reason only. He'd planned this. "Happstablook...what the fuck did you do?"

Author's Note: AAAAAAAHHHHHH! Oh my GOD you guys have no idea how long I've been DYING to finally write up this chapter. From the beginning I've been trying to figure out how, what she'd wear, if her hair was gonna get cut, EVERYTHING! -flop- omg...I really hope you guys enjoy reading this HALF as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope I covered everyone she's met so far in the reactions. Ifanyofyouaskwhygasterisnttheredontaskjustwait whew! For those of you that would like to see Lou's new look and maybe even the dress from this chapter, I'll have it posted on my tumblr page. Just search under Lou or skitz art and it shouldn't be hard to find. Also...um...I've been thinking about this for a while but...would any of you guys wanna hear some voice acting of Lou? I may be able to do it now that I have a computer and everything. Just send me a message over on my tumblr (I also go by Skitzylou there) on whether or not you would wanna hear that and maybe drop a request or two of what you'd wanna hear? I'd be willing to do lines from one of the previous chapters, something you'd just like to hear her say, maybe even sing one of these songs if enough of you wanted it? I'm gonna stop here now. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER AND HAVE A LOVELY DAY/NIGHT! See you next time!