She was gone. Just like that.

Sans could not move, or even utter a single word upon watching his friend die in front of his eyes, albeit from a recording. His mind replayed that scene over and over, how Alphys stepped into the Throne Room only to be mercilessly stabbed with a thorny vine moments later.

He could not see her face due to her back facing the camera, but he could almost imagine the fear and horror plastered all over it. Instinctively, denial came into action.

This can't be true...

Yet, deep in his soul, he knew that it was real. No technology in the Underground was capable of fabricating such a horrific scene.

Sans turned his head to face Frisk, who had done the same. In that moment, the same thought ran through their mind.

How are they going to tell Undyne?

Undyne had been pretty optimistic about finding Alphys, strongly believing her to be alive. Instead of fretting, she channelled her energy into fulfilling her job while also looking for her. He expected that much of the Captain of the Royal Guard, though she was not subtle in showing her increasing worry due to her constant pacing.

The skeleton, of all people, knew that feeling of having your hopes up, only to be crushed, all too well.

"Sans." It was Frisk who got him back to reality. They sounded as defeated as him. "We have to find out why it happened."

Sans swallowed the lump in his metaphorical throat. "Right... I'll check the other recordings."

He felt hollow. Despite being rather close friends, he could not help Alphys. He knew the failed experiment with determination, but he said nothing as per her request.

If I was a true friend, I would have done something instead of letting her hide her mistakes for the rest of her life.

I'm sorry, Alphys... I am a terrible friend.

Remembering that Frisk was waiting for him to check the recordings, he turned his attention back to them. A quick scan through them did not reveal much, except for a perculiar instance where the colour of Asgore's golden flowers changed to a dark purple colour.

That's not something you see everyday... he thought, unsettled.

Frisk frowned at this, probably finding it perplexing as well. "Could you check the Lab's camera footage?"

"Yeah... give me a moment." Sans went to the "Hotland" folder and clicked on the first one that came out. Located near the door of the bathroom, it showed Alphys scurrying out frantically, disappearing in the direction of the back door.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that she went out of the Lab some time after the flowers changed," the human pointed out plainly. There was a pause before they spoke again, facing him with a level stare.

"What is in there, Sans?"

Sans knew what they were referring to. If he were to tell them, it would mean that they would eventually discover Alphys' greatest secret that she was so desperate to keep it unknown to the world.

I guess it doesn't really matter... now that she's gone...

"It... actually leads to an elevator that brings you to a section underneath the Lab," he told them reluctantly. "Come, I'll show you."

Oddly enough, Frisk did not seem surprised at all, much to his uneasiness. They simply nodded and followed him to the elevator.

He felt too tired to brood over it at the moment. Normally, he would be taking a break by dozing at one of his sentry station, but he forced himself to stay awake. Apparently, his exhaustion was evident to Frisk, who was giving him a weird look.

"Do you want to take a break?" they asked.

"No," Sans responded quickly, now wide awake. "Alphys was my friend, it's only right if I do something for once."

"Okay then."

The skeleton took the lead, putting his hands into his jacket pocket. The basement - he dubbed the "True Lab" - always gave him chills; the dark green and gloomy atmosphere only added to its creepiness.

With some luck, they did not encounter any of the Amalgamates, though it put him on edge. Those half dead monsters always acted strangely and a certain one tended to be rather violent; running into them could cause a bunch of complications.

Plus, Sans was lazy to entertain any questions.

Frisk, who had went up ahead, stopped abruptly. "There's a hole up ahead," they observed. "Was it always there?"

Sans blinked. There was a medium sized hole by the side of the corridor, gaping darkly towards the ceiling. "Well... it wasn't there a couple of days ago."

"We have to check it out," Frisk said, walking towards it without waiting for his response.

"Hey, wait up!" he called, but they were already climbing down the hole through the use of a convenient ladder.

He scratched his skull, sighing inwardly. "Jeez, that kid is going to give me a headache," he huffed, running after them.

As Sans lowered himself down the ladder carefully, he took a quick glance of the area, much bigger than what he initially thought. Other than a single lamp that emitted a warm yellow-orange glow from a table, there were pieces of paper strewed all over the hardened stone floor.

"What does it say?" he asked Frisk, who was reading one of them intently.

"Remember that video clip? All the golden flowers in Asgore's garden changed to a dark purple colour, and this talks about it," they responded. "There's one in this room."

Sans turned his gaze. In that moment, he could have sworn that Frisk hid something in their pocket, but upon seeing that, his previous thought vanished completely.

What... what is that?

A single flower, a carbon copy like the ones they saw in the video, was floating in a transparent jug. Just looking at it from a considerable distance away gave him the chills, down to his spine.

"Sans. Step away," Frisk said sharply. "Why those flowers changed colours, that is the cause of it."

"It doesn't just change colours, does it?" Sans backed up, cold sweat dripping from his skull.

"That's right. It manipulates the emotions of those who stand near it, and every single of those dark purple flowers will do the exact same thing," they spoke solemnly.

A horrible thought dawned on the skeleton. Based on what they had seen, only the golden flowers were affected. Other than Asgore's garden, the only place where golden flowers were in abundance of was the capital, the biggest producer of the king's favourite tea.

"We have to warn Undyne."

------------------------------------------------------------

Fun Fact: That dark purple flower in the jar is known as the Crux.

Also, here's a question to think about. With Alphys dead, what do you think Frisk felt about it?

As always, votes and comments are appreciated. :)