video; what's gonna be left of the world if you're not in it

[skelebro]

[Sans has something in his hands. It's a bolt of fabric that he runs between his metacarpals with a distant, unfocused precision, something to idly turn between his phalanges as he speaks. Might take a moment to realize that the backdrop to his video ain't the typical one. It's not his room he's sitting in, after all. He's reclining atop a racecar bed. The sheets are perfectly made, as though the owner were planning on returning at some point. On the bedside table, there's a small stack of belongings that clash rather astutely with the layout of the place. A snowglobe, a binder, an ECHOcomm, and at the very far right of the frame, a folded-up sweater vest.

He dropped in to visit some pals of his, you see. Only to find they ain't around anymore.]

For those of you who knew 'em, seems the docs've gone home. You know the ones. Newt and Hermann. [A pause.] Dr. Gottlieb.

[Being a pain in the coccyx suddenly gets to be less funny when there ain't anybody to yell at you about it, huh?]

Hope it's home they went, and not, uh...wherever it was before they got here. Yao know what I'm talkin' about.

[He folds up the cloth in his hands and stands up, grinning at the camera without a lick of despair. Maybe there's somethin' a bit tired to the whole facade, but who can say? He's always tired.]

I hate to tell ya, but it looks like my bro might'a been the guy to slack off for once. Funny, right? Takin' that hard-earned title from yours truly. Here I thought I was supposed to be the guy who nips off without a word.

[Those with sharp eyes might pick up that the cloth ain't just any old thing. It's Papyrus's sash delineating him as an official member of the City Guard - twice torn, twice mended, and now without an owner. Like hell Sans is cut out to wear a thing like this.]

'Pologies to the Guard. Looks like you're one member short. 'Fraid I can't help ya there either; Papyrus, he's got some big shoes to fill.

[He winks at the lens before reaching for the communicator and then, almost as an afterthought, adds:]

Someone ought'a take care of the lab the docs built. Lotta their stuff's still in there, too, and lyin' around my place. Figure it should go to the people who knew 'em best.

[Y'know, whoever that is. But you all know who you are, don't ya?

Yeah. He'd think so.

He cuts the feed.]

Comments

voice;

[hasitsthorns]

Just leave me some of their clothes.

[ Something that still has their scent, something that she can hold onto.

She's too torn up about them leaving for video. Her eyes too bloodshot and face too splotchy. She's especially upset at the mention of 'Yao' and the distinct possibility the door had sent them into cold storage instead of home, where they belong.

It'll bring on a fresh batch of tears later but for now she remains composed albeit stone cold. ]

I'm staying in House 1 too still, so.

voice;

[skelebro]

[He, uh, hasn't chatted with Rosie since that whole kerfuffle with the doubles. Can't say if she remembers the words he exchanged with that shadow of hers. That ain't really a priority now anyhow.]

Sure thing. Most of their stuff's at the lab, but there's a, uh...one of the doc's vests here. Got little skulls on it.

[That'd been funny. He'd made a joke.]

Always might come back, y'know?

Re: voice;

[hasitsthorns]

[ Rose is aware her double crossed paths with him. Ignorance is bliss though, isn't it? She'll ask, eventually, but for right now it's one less thing she has to think about. And after all that happened, she's going to take any opportunity to lighten the load that she can. ]

S'not the first time they vanished on me. It's actually more a possibility than I would have thought before.

[ Or they could be deep frozen, never to return. ]

I'll keep the place nice for them, at any rate. Just in case.

[skelebro]

That's a good plan. Real nice of ya.

[Notably, he don't make the same sorta guarantee where Papyrus is concerned. What's the point, right? He's better off where he is now anyway - livin' it large and happy on the surface. Gets himself a real racecar instead of a bed or one of these dinky mopeds.]

Lab's got most of their stuff. Pretty sure they knocked out there a coupl'a times.

[text]

[somuchlove]

[Chara's more than half tempted not to respond to this. Apologizes for this may ring hollow considering where and when Sans comes from in the timeline and is absolutely tasteless coming from Chara. From where they both stood, Papyrus wasn't coming back unless another Reset happened.

So yeah, no. Apologizes wouldn't work out here. And while Chara ignored certain social cues for a laugh - definitely did during that shipping chart business - they learned in various ways that there are lines you shouldn't cross.

They just send a text with something unrelated. He could ignore it or not. This way it didn't matter if he did.]

Knock knock.

[text]

[skelebro]

[He'd ignore it. But, uh...that'd probably be rude. They been gettin' on so well, despite the murder. 'Cept that murder went and mucked things up again. Still - no call to just leave off and leave a joke hangin'.

He's crashed out on Papyrus's racecar bed. Rumpled the sheets. Messed up the meticulous organization. Peers at the text blearily for a second before finally, finally punching out a response.]

who's there

[text]

[somuchlove]

[Sometimes it's better to do mindless things. They won't make Sans talk about anything, at any rate.]

Etch.

[Sans may see the punchline coming already but Chara will keep going if he wants to.]

text;

[oversear]

My condolences about your friends. I know how hard it is to lose 'bros'.

[ Tactful. ]

text;

[skelebro]

hey, i'm sorry too, pal.
never easy to lose people.

[Unless you've simply gotten used to it.]

text;

[oversear]

Perhaps you should ask the gods to try and bring them back.

[audio]

[synthedick]

When it rains, it pours.

[Yep. That's a sigh on Nick's end. Not only are they down a member of the Guard, but he was fond of the doctors, particularly Dr. Gottlieb.]

You gonna be okay?

[audio]

[skelebro]

Me? Yeah, I'll be fine. Peachy, y'know?

[They lost a lotta good assets. A lotta good people.

What else is new?]

[audio]

[synthedick]

It gets harder every day to believe that when folks say it.

Video

[ushahin]

[For once, Ushahin looks kind, far kinder than at any other point he's known Sans. He knows all too well the pain of losing those that he loves. To lose all three in such a short amount of time must be quite a blow to the skeleton, even with how he tries to hide his feelings.]

They shall be missed. Do you wish to talk about it further or merely wallow in your own misery?

Video

[skelebro]

[Complicated as his feelings regarding Ushahin are, Sans ain't got the energy to go on a verbal sparring trip today. He can appreciate the sentiment, even if he don't appreciate the, uh, wording.]

Always figure I could count on you for sympathy.

[ushahin]

My mind might be unbalanced, but I know well the pain of loss.

[Pain like that never really went away, even if the people in question weren't dead. It just got a little better with time, like a scab healing over an open cut.]

Can skeletons cry?

video

[so_dark_a_road]

I'm sorry your friends have gone. And. . . your brother, did you say?

video

[skelebro]

Yeah. All three, up and skedaddled at the drop of a hat. What losers, am I right?

[ha ha hes Fine]

video

[so_dark_a_road]

My condolences, Sans. [ Sincere voice. Curufin means this. ] Do you know for sure that they left willingly?

[ Yeah sure he's fine! >.> ]

[action]

[sciencelizard]

[In the state they've both been in, waking up to find Papyrus gone was bad enough. Figuring out it's not even just him is even worse. Immediately, she searched around in databases, tried to contact phone numbers of friends... and a few of hers are missing, as well.

Well. At least they got to go home.

She hears Sans from her room, speaking, but it's faded, so she checks the network for the communication, and then wills herself upward. He should... talk to someone.

She should talk to someone.

So she goes past his door to Papyrus', knocks gently.]

... S-Sans? Are you, uhm... how're you doing?

[action]

[skelebro]

[Mostly just straddling the line between sleeping and awake, at the moment. He's still on his brother's bed, sullying the perfectly clean and well-made sheets and coverlet with his trash and his filth and his insistence on lounging worthlessly about.

He never did deserve Papyrus.

A knock on the door and - heh, who else would it be now? Of all the people it could'a been, Alphys is at the very top of the list. She gets it. He knows she does.

It's why she was wearing her one and only dress, her claw creeping up to the hem of her coat to pull it tight over the evidence like it was a terrible, vulnerable secret, and why seeing the kid was like seeing a ghost.]

Heya, Alph. C'mon in.

[A pause, and then he chuckles, softly.]

Floor's actually clean enough to walk on.

[action]

[sciencelizard]

[She presses the door open gently, trying to will her feet not to scrape against the floor and her tail not to drag. He doesn't need those big, obtuse motions right now.

Really, she's not the person he needs. Never has been. But Papyrus isn't here and someone should do something. It's high time it was her, at least once.]

H-Heh. Well, that's uhm, how you know it's not my r-room, either.

[She shuts the door behind her, as if it's some secret, as if someone's going to come disturb their talk. Mostly out of habit, but she can't shake it now.]

I, uhm, s-saw your post. And everything. I'm... I'm sorry. I mean, that, they all... y-you know.

[God, why did she even come in here if she couldn't do something to help?]

[Text] 1/2

[save_theworld]

[Oh.

There should be more that goes with that; an upset, an uncomfortable sensation in their stomach. But all they have, for some time, is an oh. Oh, Sans lost some friends. That guy and his dog. Sans lost some friends- and he also lost his brother.

Oh.

They vacate their apartment with a glance back at Chara, already texting away on their phone. They don't ask who to, but they can guess. Words aren't their strong point. Actions aren't their strong point either, but...

....

In any case, it's not until the "sun" in the cave has gone out that Frisk even tries to text. Tries, being the operative word.]

Knock kock.

[Text]

[save_theworld]

[............

Another text follows the first fairly quickly. Where's spellchecker when you need it?]

Knock knock.

[Text]

[skelebro]

[He, uh.

He kinda didn't even realize there was a typo at all until they followed up with a second text, seemingly exactly the same as the first. Until...nah, they made a mistake, he sees now. The lights in his eyesockets swing between the two with a distant, weary amusement.

It's nice of 'em to stick to text. That way he don't feel obligated to laugh when he ain't feelin' much like laughing.]

who's there