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"So, let me get this straight." Achilles said, messing around with the tuning pegs on his bass. "You, Kendo, the animal with the largest stage presence and most responsibility out of all of us, forgot to make a setlist. Meaning we have to string something together within the space of two hours and hope that the crowd doesn't completely lose it."

For a second, the wolf had a bewildered look on his face, which soon shifted to an expression of pure guilt. Kendo shook his head, stress building up within him. The rehearsal room was claustrophobic enough. The last thing he needed now was Achilles talking down to him again. Even though the coyote hated his guts, none of it mattered when everyone was on stage.

"You, Sari and Carolie are veteran members of the band, Achilles. We'll be okay, since you all know how to play most of our songs off by heart." Kendo said.

"That's not the problem." After jamming for a moment, the coyote set down his bass on a nearby table. "We know how to play most of the songs, but you don't. You only joined last year, and we've been part of the UnderDogs for well over a decade now."

"I know pretty much everything from our first two LPs, including the ballads-"

"And we're sick of playing the ballads. We're sick of everyone calling us sellouts. Our new material is heavier for a reason, you know." Achilles went over to the other side of the room, where Carolie and Sari were rehearsing together. "Girls, we've got bad news." he said.

"Something to do with Kendo, isn't it?" Sari looked up from her drum kit. She was a short red fox wearing a winter coat with a faux fur trim -- admittedly not the best choice of wear for a concert. Drumming was much more intensive than it looked, and outside of the band, hardly anyone gave her credit for it.

"Jeez, how could you tell?" the coyote said with an air of sarcasm. "Honestly, we should've listened to Andras's advice before he quit. There's no way we're letting this new kid fuck up our performances any longer."

"You're not giving me any chances." the wolf broke in. "You never did -- all because I'm not Andras."

The unfortunate truth of playing in a band was that some members naturally got more attention than others. If anyone brought up the subject of the UnderDogs in a casual conversation, then they'd probably mention Kendo or Andras before any of the other members. The latter had quit the band last year to recover from depression and alcoholism. Andras hadn't done it out of any animosity, either, which had made his decision all the more shocking. Currently, he was attending rehab in Taramaca City and seeking to stay away from the press (which hadn't stopped the tabloids from constantly invading his privacy even to this day.)

Over the past few decades, the City's music scene had changed drastically. After the turn of the millennium, rock's popularity was well and truly eclipsed by pop and hip-hop, forcing heavier acts to put a more experimental, mainstream spin on their music. The UnderDogs, however, had always stood out from their peers, deciding to stick to their heavy metal roots, a strategy that'd turned out to be a double-edged sword. Their fanbase stayed loyal to them, but any new releases received hardly any airplay on a wider scale.

"Getting a new frontman wasn't part of the plan. It never was. Andras was irreplaceable. He innovated metal in the City, and what did you do, Kendo? Play in a few clubs after you moved here from the north?" Achilles growled, his grating voice echoing off the plain grey walls of the tuning room.

"Give him some rest, won't you? We're losing precious time here." Sari said.

Just like his predecessor, Kendo had dedicated his life to music -- to the point where he skipped out on any proper college qualifications or skills that'd land him any other kind of job. The reason he hadn't got noticed was not his lack of skill, but rather the same pressures that'd caused Andras to turn to alcohol and eventually leave the band entirely.

"Andras falling into depression wasn't part of the plan, either, was it?" Kendo said. "If we're going to succeed, we're going to have to expect the unexpected, whether that means having to audition new members or accounting for a missing setlist. I'm sorry I keep messing up, I really am -- but there's nothing we can do about it now. We need to get down to business and play something. Because then, at least we can say we did our best to get everything back together again."

The next two hours were intensive, to say the least. After much debate, everyone agreed that a mix of older and newer material was the best way to go. Much to Achilles's annoyance, Kendo was the one who decided most if not all of the tracks for the gig. Consequently, the impromptu setlist they'd (or rather, he'd) settled on was rather inoffensive and radio-friendly compared to the majority of their most recent songs.

Kendo and Carolie came up with a few new riffs, and Sari subsequently played some drum accompaniments, resulting in a new framework for a potential future song.

In the end, almost no day for the UnderDogs went exactly according to plan. There'd been times when one or more band members were too drunk to continue with gigs, and times when shows had to be cancelled entirely because of admittedly petty reasons. Everyday life had a tendency to screw everyone over, no matter how much they tried to avoid it.

Now, the only thing left to do for tonight was to see it through to the end without any more missteps. And even if I do mess everything up again, there's still tomorrow, Kendo thought.

As he walked onto the stage, he was reminded of why music meant so much to him. It was an ever-changing art that evolved with the times, and encouraged all those practicing it to develop a creative mind. It helped strengthen the bonds between him and others, no matter if they turned a little sour sometimes.

Regardless of what came next, Kendo Arctos would carry on somehow. He couldn't always be prepared for what tomorrow would bring, but in the end, neither could anyone else.

"So, Taramaca City, who's ready to rock tonight!?" he said into his microphone.

And then, even if just for a moment, the world was his.