Alex opened his eyes, exhausted. He wasn't sleeping well and, honestly, he wasn't trying to. He scratched at his scruff slowly turning into a beard as he pushed himself upright. The yellow flower was back on his nightstand and he had the growing suspicion that it hadn't been placed there by Toriel or any of the others. He ran his hand over the base of the flower, fingers brushing over what he was assuming was a camera tucked close into the soil and stem. He couldn't see it, didn't dare try and pull the object free. Instead, he dragged his fingers up the stem to the large yellow petals. He wondered if the quaking was from his doing, his imagination, or from the plant itself.
"Time to wake up, little buddy," he spoke, even if he was only speaking to himself. He rubbed at a petal affectionately. It grounded him, for whatever reason. "Got a lot of work ahead of us."
He clambered out of bed and went about his morning routine. By the time he focused on the flower again, it had perked up from its hunched state. He picked the potted plant up and tucked it under his arm. "Think Toriel would bring you to me again if I left you behind?"
There was no response, not that he ever expected one. Toriel seemed to be rather adamant that the plant stayed with him. Alex had tried questioning it but he got more answers out of the flower than her and the flower didn't talk. Ten days without the brothers was driving him nuts. Thankfully, his personal lab could not be entered by anyone but him, now. As soon as he had been able to, he had redone the lock program, erasing any other input codes.
Except Sans's.
Even with the risk of someone else finding Sans's code, Sans's lab had yet to be breached. There was still caution and hazard tape all over that set of doors and Alex knew it was because no one could get in. Otherwise it would have been cleared out by now and changed over. This way he was certain no one could get into his as well.
He stepped into the lab far enough to close the door. Once the door was sealed, he placed the flower down on a table next to the door. He clipped the pot to the table – most likely out of paranoia – like he did most days now and started making his way through the maze of rolling whiteboards all covered in notes and such of what had been on the far wall before the brothers had vanished. He made sure to keep all the notes that had any of Sans's script on them on the back sides so that the camera the flower held wouldn't see them; so that whoever was watching believed he had forgotten Sans too. He had even gone through and meticulously duplicated notes so that he had enough to fake it for a while.
Beyond the whiteboard maze was his true project. It wasn't heavily displayed seeing as he didn't have much to go on, but it was very clear on what he was trying to do.
A map was pinned to the wall that had once been covered in notes. It wasn't overly large but it was a map of the surrounding area. Shortly after he had woken up, he had gone on a wild goose chase and ended up extremely lucky. The map was marked with the pockets of residual magic he had come across and recognized as Sans's magic. He wasn't sure how or why they had remained even after four days, but they had. The only downside was that it was all a dead end. At the last spot – some tiny clearing in among the trees – his trail ran dry and he was forced to figure something else out. Beneath the most current map of the grounds around the Lab and Snowdin itself was a desk laden in mounds of archived topography maps. He was looking for discrepancies, someplace that someone would think no one else would know about and he had yet to come across anything.
Along with the maps were notes upon notes of speculations on how everyone gained acute amnesia and how to break it. He wasn't having much luck on the latter, but his lead theory had something to do with the yellow flower sitting next to the door. He had it circled on the page, even. He just didn't know the how quite yet.
Beyond that and pretending to work on the projects he was supposed to be focusing on, he wasn't doing much. He rubbed at his face, knocking his glasses askew as he did so. He had gone back 30 years and still nothing stood out in the direction he needed. He didn't feel up to battling with maps today so he picked up the stack of notes he had set aside to put up when he returned and walked back to the maze. He started on the ones in front of the flower, pinning things here and there with magnets, taking his time to consider what was where, jot down some made up notes every so often.
It didn't take long for the few pages he wanted to post to get up and things to look messed with. He reached back to touch the plant, rubbing a petal affectionately. "I'll be back, buddy. I need a smoke break and see if I can't scour up some new resources."
He left his lab and crossed through the halls feeling restless under the stress of finding the brothers. Sidestepping a small group passing by, he found his back against Papyrus's door and slipped in as the group passed without paying him any mind.
He flicked the light on when the door clicked shut behind him. The bed was still a wreck from when Papyrus no doubt flung himself out of it on that morning, worry for his brother driving his actions. He leaned back against the closed door, fighting the crushing sensation settling over him.
They were his family. If he had gone missing, they would be doing this for him.
The feeling didn't go away but he was able to step into the room.
Papyrus didn't always live in the labs. The brothers had a cottage on the edge of Snowdin proper, some little subtown that was on one of the main roads into Waterfall. He had visited it a few times but the instances were so short and fleeting that he didn't really remember it well.
He paused as a picture caught his eye and he smiled softly, reaching out to pick it up.
The brothers were standing in front of their local library famous for its misspelled sign but the angle was enough to also catch the tail end of the one diner in the small subtown's sign: Grillby's. The brothers were grinning, arms wrapped around each other in a brotherly embrace, happy as can be. There were a few other folks in the photo, people Alex didn't know or had briefly met but lacked names for, and they were all happy, all smiling for the camera.
While Papyrus didn't always live in the labs, he had been told that Papyrus had always had a room due to being part of the Royal Guard and Sans working in the labs. Something about allowing the brothers to remain close even as they both worked far too long for it to be safe to head back to their little cottage. Papyrus had mentioned once that he had felt far too lonely in their house when Sans worked obscene hours at the lab and had been grateful when Asgore had offered him living quarters near Sans's own.
He put the photo back down.
Due to Sans's coma, Papyrus had been living exclusively in the labs, working as security for the building and surrounding areas so Papyrus's room was far more lived in than it probably would have been under normal circumstances.
He walked the circumference of the room slowly, partially taking in what was there and doing his best not to drown in the sorrow eating away at his soul. He misjudged the distance between himself and a bookcase and his elbow caught the spine of a book sticking out. A good number of books from the shelve thudded to the floor. Flinching, he knelt and started gathering books.
A few were pristine, a mark of how well Papyrus took care of his things, but a few looked worn and were far older than the others. He chuckled to himself as he picked up an old picture book, the same book he had no doubt clipped. The cover was worn and the spine looked fragile and yet the book shone proudly of its love and use. Sans had mentioned once of a book he used to read to his brother when they had been younger, of how Papyrus still had it and would still read it, sometimes even out loud to himself. Alex stacked the books already in his arm near his knee before he carefully let the book fall open.
His soft, fond smile fell away. Staring up at him was a page he had glanced a few times when he was checking in on Papyrus back when the lanky skeleton had stayed at his comatose brother's side. Had he thought that the old book would bring his brother back or simply give him a sort of comfort while Sans was unconscious?
He carefully closed the book and picked up the stack only to pause again.
There was something tucked against the back of the shelf.
Confused, Alex put the stack back down and reached for the dark object hidden behind the wall of books.
His fingers wrapped around a rather familiar material and, as he pulled it out, he found himself holding onto the strap of a camera case; a very dusty, very familiar camera case at that. Resting the bag on his lap, he unzipped the case and found within the very video camera he had been expecting to see. Astonished that the thing had been buried, he pulled it out and pressed the eject button. There wasn't a tape inside but that didn't mean much. Looking up, he reached behind what books remained and found a box. The lid had just as much dust on it as the video camera case and his touching left very clear marks as he pulled the lid free. Inside were a number of tapes but only one was labeled. He popped the labeled tape into the video camera, opened the preview screen, and pressed play.
At first there was no reaction as the camera came to life. Then, there was static before it focused non-too kindly on some angle. There wasn't any audio but Alex didn't care about that. He pressed the fast forward button and watched, looking for something specific.
He jumped when the part came up, the video pausing as his finger smashed the pause button. There, on the screen, were Sans and Toriel. Giddy glee filled him as he quickly pressed the rewind button before shoving the preview screen shut and stuffing the camera still rewinding back into the bag. He carefully replaced the box of tapes back where he had found it before he returned all the books to the shelf. Scrambling to his feet, bag in hand, he quickly left Papyrus's room and made sure the door closed completely behind him before he started his search for Toriel.
It seemed that fate was on his side because no sooner had he rounded the corner did he run into her.
"Oh, Alex!" she exclaimed, paws outstretched to catch him as he stumbled. "Are you alright, my child?"
"I'm fine, Toriel," he offered with a soft smile. She was potless, which was a bonus for him. "I was actually just looking for you."
She perked up at that. "You were?" Her gaze moved to the bag in his hand. "What is that, my child?"
Alex found himself grinning. "The reason I was looking for you." He glanced about, piecing together where they were and where what he needed was at. He focused on her as he asked, "Do you mind following me for a short while? I have to show this in a specific room."
Her concern was clear on her face but she followed him nonetheless as he hurried back the way he had come only to bypass the corner he had rounded and continued on to the stairs. He paused regularly to let her catch up but his excitement of finally having a chance to getting someone on his side, someone to finally see through the bullshit they had been fed, was making him equal parts impatient and giddy.
Down two floors and through secluded hallways, it wasn't till they were nearly at their destination that Toriel voiced her concern. "My child, what could you have to show me that requires us to be in such a secluded part of the lab?"
Alex glanced back at her, the dingy hallway lacking any sort of upkeep due to the lack of use of this particular area. "What I want to show you is old and requires specific equipment." The lie sounded odd and he looked away, trying to play it off as embarrassment. "That, and I don't want to be disturbed. It's supposed to be a surprise for everyone but I wanted your input first seeing as I'll need your help."
She brightened at his half lie and he found himself relaxing. "Oh, Alex. Why did you not say so in the beginning?"
He came to a stop at an old door, smiling weakly. "It's a surprise, remember?"
The room was coated in a layer of dust and about the size of most of their supply closets now but it was very clear that the space had once been an office. Up against the wall was the thing he had been looking for. It was an old box tv with a VCR. He went about checking the wiring and the power as he asked, "Can you close the door and get a few chairs, Toriel? I'm going to get this thing going."
"You brought me down here for an antique like this?" she asked, incredulous. "Certainly you have equipment to play VHS tapes in your lab."
He beamed at her but his nerves made it feel weird on his face. "Trust me. Once you see this, you'll understand why I wanted to make sure we weren't interrupted." He focused back on his task, pleased when the tv powered on without a hitch. "It's supposed to be a surprise and I don't want anyone finding out."
He pulled the video camera out and ejected the tape as Toriel voiced her concern. "Alex, you are acting very strangely."
There was the whirring of the VCR taking the tape and prepping to play it as he responded as he stood. "I know it may look that way but I'm not, Toriel." He offered her a soft smile as the tape took and the screen turned from blue to static. "I promise."
The first video on the tape started. The entire screen was taken up by a blurry view of something brown but the audio came across as clear as day and Alex jolted at hearing Sans's voice after such a stressful week. He glanced at Toriel but she had missed his reaction as she frowned at the television.
"-to start recording. There's an indicator here-" the view swung a bit to the left "-and here on the camera itself." The blurry view swung back to the right. "There are controls here and here and if you press thi-"
The view abruptly changed, the audio cutting along with it. Now there is a shot of something colorful and very blurry. Sans's voice returns. "-cus should be here somewhere." The colorful thing shifted in view – or the camera did – as there was a clicking near the microphone. "Try these here and see if we can't get any focus."
There were a few seconds of the camera's lens was being focused, white objects that focused into bones only to defocus a moment later crossed the view field. Finally the screen was focused on what was now clearly a shoulder and chest covered in an ugly holiday sweater. There was the tail end of a pun meaning it was most likely Sans the camera was pointed at. It was confirmed when the camera moved to take in Sans's grinning face. Despite the smile, Sans looked exhausted. "Got a clear view of me, bro?"
"Yeah," Papyrus commented, the volume louder due to proximity to the microphone, though it sounded muffled despite that. "Say hi to everyone, Sans."
Sans waved, sockets closing as he offered a meek, "Hey everyone."
"Merry Giftmas!"Papyrus happily cheered and Sans's expression softened as the skeleton opened his sockets.
"Merry Giftmas, Pap."
The video cut out, leaving the screen full of static for a moment. Alex felt Toriel's gaze fall on him and knew she had questions but the next section of video started and Alex was grateful when her gaze returned to the television.
There was a brief moment of the view focusing, voices in the background. A shift, a loud thunk, and the camera focused on Sans and Toriel sitting at the other end of a table able to seat six. Movement on the left hand side of the screen doesn't come fully onto screen but Sans watched whatever was moving with a curious expression, Toriel's expression amused and fond as she watched the movement as well.
"All set, Pap?" Sans asked whatever had been moving, the smile on his face turning mischievous.
"The stand doesn't really fit the camera but it will work for when I need it," Papyrus returned, voice coming from far left.
"Well, as long as it stands up to expectations, we'll be fine."
As the audio of the video Toriel and Papyrus laughing and chuckling respectively at the pun filled the room, Alex heard Toriel chuckling beside him. He glanced her way, finding heavy confusion written all over her face as her eyes shined and a smile fought to come forward at the joke. He briefly wondered what she must think, seeing herself yet potentially not remembering the moment.
"I'm sure it will all develop properly once we give it some time," Toriel added, her smile broadening.
Toriel guffawed beside him.
Sans fell into a fit of laughter as Papyrus commented, "Lady Toriel, that was horrible."
"At least her focus was on point," Sans countered between what remained of his laughter.
"And I shutter to think of such a fact," Papyrus countered, his words sharp and quick but the hint of enjoyment was there to speak loudly of the lack of true annoyance at the situation.
Sans and Toriel roared with laughter.
Alex found himself chuckling at that. It had been quite some time since he had heard Papyrus make puns like that and the last time he could actually remember one was before Sans's coma. He glanced at Toriel to see her laughing right alone with her videotaped self.
"Sans."
Alex focused back on the television as Toriel's voice came from the speakers.
"How are you clicking with Fatum?" Toriel asked, a mischievous glint in her eye. Sans chuckled but gave her a confused expression. Toriel nodded towards something and Sans looked behind him. He grinned.
"Fatum!" Sans called out, waving towards something out of view. "Come here a sec."
Alex watched himself enter the screen and felt a heavy wave of nostalgia for the moment. He knew exactly what was coming and, despite the lame joke, it had been the perfect way for them to break the ice.
Alex came to stand between Sans and Toriel at the end of the table, glancing at the camera before giving Sans a skeptical look. Before he could even get a word in edge wise, Sans was already starting his joke.
"Knock knock," Sans started, grin growing with the words.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Who's there."
"Alex."
Alex narrowed his eyes at the skeleton but Sans didn't let anything up. He asked carefully, "Alex who?"
"You'll ask but I don't think you'll find an answer."
There was laughter from even those not even at the table and Sans kept grinning at Alex as Alex gave him a very unamused look. Toriel was trying to suppress her laughter and was failing.
"Knock knock," Sans spoke again, next joke clearly ready to go.
Alex arched an eyebrow and spoke, "Come in."
Papyrus and Toriel lost it as Sans grew very confused. Alex, with a pleased smile on his face, patted Sans on the skull affectionately before walking away and off screen. Papyrus's face came into view, tears streaking down the laughing face as the video cut.
Static took over and Alex leaned back in his chair. He knew he had to look at Toriel, to see if it had worked, but he was scared. What if it hadn't? What else could he do to jog her memories?
Swallowing thickly, he shoved down the what ifs and looked over.
His eyes widened as his heart leapt in hope.
Toriel had her large paws pressed over her mouth, tears soaking the fur of her cheeks.
"Toriel?" he asked carefully, softly.
She jerked and looked at him, eyes wide. "Oh, Alex," she whimpered from behind her paws. "How could I have forgotten them both?"
Alex relaxed, sighing in relief as he offered her a weak smile. His eyes watered but he ignored them. "I don't know but I am so glad you remember."
She rubbed at her eyes, her cheeks, trying to free them from water as she spoke. "I do not understand, though. How could I forget them? I truly did not remember who they were."
Alex's face hardened. "I think-"
"I don't think there is anything wrong with it."
His head snapped around. He hadn't realized there was more on the tape, hadn't gone beyond what he had been looking for and hadn't thought on whether the camera had been used after the first video or not. However, his own voice proved him wrong and he stare at the screen to see himself and Papyrus standing in the brother's cottage kitchen with their backs to the kitchen table the camera was resting on.
Alex was washing something in the sink as Papyrus stirred something on the stove. Alex looked over at Papyrus briefly, smiling. "So. Do you have any wishes?"
Papyrus tipped his head to the side, his free hand going to his hip. "Hmmm...Just one," Papyrus conceded, "but it's kind of silly."
Alex snorted. "I doubt that."
"If I say my wish, you promise you will refrain from laughing?" Papyrus demanded, shaking a sauce covered wooden spoon at Alex.
Alex looked his way, a fond yet serious look on his face. "Of course."
Papyrus turned back to the stove, hesitated, and then said, "Someday, I'd like to leave the Underground we're all trapped in and stand under the sky, looking at the world all around with the sun high above. That is my wish."
A sad chuckle came from Alex as the sound of running water stopped. Papyrus turned to him again with a defiant expression edged in hurt. He wielded the wooden spoon like a weapon once more, pointing it at Alex. "Hey, you promised not to laugh."
Alex brought his hands up. "Sorry. It's just...that's my wish too." Alex gave Papyrus a sad smile before he turned so that he was leaning back against the sink as he dried his hands. "What about you, Sans? Got any wishes?"
The camera was jostled and the image blurred till it settled a bit unfocused on what was clearly Sans's chin and mouth. The smile – blurred as it was – seemed a touch sad. "My wish is to be right beside the both of you when we get out of here." His head turned, the sad smile vanishing as it was replaced with a different one. "But I want to see the stars. The real ones."
The video ended and Alex sat there staring at the tv in disbelief, a fond, sad smile shaping his expression even as Toriel looked at him. He didn't respond till she touched his arm. He glanced over but the next video started and he looked away from her sympathetic gaze to see Papyrus's face filling the screen.
"Hello! I am the Great Papyrus and I am about to throw the most epic of birthday parties ever!" The camera was spun around to show one of the smaller conference rooms the lab had to offer. Papyrus turned the camera to the table nearest him that was laden with an assortment of snacks and hardier foods, though there was really only enough for about four people. "As you can see, I have prepared a plethora of snacks, plenty to keep us well fed till the upmost important dinner later this evening." The camera moved again, focusing on the small place in full for a moment before it was directed to another table. "I have gathered a variety of games and means of entertainment-" there were a few small stacks of videos in among the games that got focused on for a moment, "-so we will not grow bored in our merriment." The camera shifted about, finally taking in the whole of the decorations. Over the food table was a banner that was clearly homemade with streamers bounding their way along the top of the walls and balloons tucked here and there all over the place. "Over all, the decorations are set and we are now just waiting on my brother and Alex."
The door to the room opened behind the camera and the view blurred only to settle none too steadily on Sans who was standing in the doorway with a surprised expression on his face. Sans made a move to ask something but Papyrus was already speaking.
"Have you seen Alex?" the lankier skeleton asked off camera, voice coming across strained. "As much as I was expecting you to be late, Alex said he would be on time." The camera moved to show the wall as it was gestured with. "I had pulled this out to distract myself but it hasn't really worked."
There was a pause in the audio as the camera moved to show Papyrus's feet. Sans's voice finally spoke up. "Only reason why I'm late is because Alphys had asked for help on one of her projects. Alex had told me that he would be here when we went our separate ways earlier."
Papyrus took a step forward, his voice growing tighter. "Sans..."
There was a cut in the video as it changed to a blurred up and down motion, one that clearly spoke of Papyrus running with the camera still in hand. There's another cut in the video and the view is steadier though still shaky, the camera pointed at Papyrus's running feet. A final cut brought a still image of Sans's lower back and legs, a pair of shoed feet situated near the railing beyond. Sans's voice cut in, already in the middle of some sort of argument.
"-ver! You know we wanted to celebrate your birthday."
The pair of feet near the railing turned, facing Sans. Alex's voice snapped, "I never asked for you guys to celebrate my birthday. I never mentioned it because I never wanted anyone to celebrate it. You guys took it upon yourselves to celebrate it and you expect me to go and celebrate something that isn't a good memory for me. I have never had a good birthday and there is-"
"And that's the folly of others, not you," Sans cut in just a viciously. "I'm not leaving till you come and celebrate with us, damn it." Sans's body deflated. "You're family and we want to celebrate your fricken existence."
There was a heavy pause before Sans started speaking again. "Whether you want it or not, Pap and I consider you family. And while Pap doesn't know all your history - let alone a hardy chunk - I know your past and Pap and I agreed that you need to say 'fuck you' to the ghosts of your dead family and come join ours."
There was a heavy pause, one only broken by the distance sounds of Snowdin proper from beyond the edge of the balcony. Then, after what seemed to be an eternity, a watery laugh came from Alex. "Yeah," Alex spoke, voice shaking. "Ok."