Warnings for this chapter: alcohol abuse, child abuse, medical/scientific abuse, implied age difference relationship.

Undyne's search into the Royal Guard records had given her nothing, no raid on a lab full of children being experimented on, no scientists being charged with any criminal activities, not even anything on Papyrus's birth. She had assumed when Sans had somehow gotten out that he'd gone to the authorities for help, but if he had there was no evidence for it. That's what she got for looking for clues without compiling her evidence first.

She knew whatever sick degenerate had gotten their hands on Sans as a child in the first place was unlikely to still be around kidnapping children or whatever, there probably wasn't anything she could legally do at this point. But she still needed to know. Too many questions, too few answers.

Undyne walked briskly through the snow field next to Papyrus's house, glaring angrily at the trees on either side. No one seemed ready to jump her today, which was almost a shame, she could use a good fight to blow off some steam. She didn't even bother knocking on the door, simply burst into the house and slammed the door closed behind her.

"Papyrus! I couldn't find anything! Not a single mention of scientists or monster test subjects anywhere in the Royal Guard records!"

"REALLY? THAT'S A SHAME… FOR SEVERAL REASONS." Papyrus was sitting at their dinner table with his reading glasses taped to his head, which could only mean he planned to be reading for a long time. Spread out around him were a couple file folders with their contents splayed out, a glass full of swirling purple liquid, and a half full brown bottle. "HELLO UNDYNE."

"Hi Papyrus," Undyne said more as a formality as she walked up to the table. Then she frowned and looked at his face again, it seemed to be… sagging? A little? There were dark circles under his eye holes and the lights within seemed dimmer. She immediately went on guard. "Find anything interesting?"

"I FINALLY KNOW HOW SANS GOT THE SCAR AND GOLD TOOTH."

"That's… good?"

"THERE'S EVEN VIDEO, I FOUND A BUNCH OF TAPES YESTERDAY. I'D JUST WATCH THOSE INSTEAD BUT I COULDN'T TAKE THE SCREAMING."

Undyne flinched, Papyrus usually had a high tolerance for screaming. Well, not really. He would roll his eyes and tell whoever was screaming to suck it up already, but it didn't usually bother him the way it did some new recruits.

"DID YOU KNOW SANS WAS BORN WITH HIS SHIT STATS?"

"What?" That was a subject change abrupt enough to give her whiplash.

"SANS'S SHIT STATS, YOU KNOW OF THEM, RIGHT?"

"Of course I know of them!"

"WELL HE WAS BORN WITH THEM, THE SHITTIEST POSSIBLE STATS."

"I uh… I didn't know that part."

"NEITHER DID I, BUT I SUPPOSE IT MAKES SENSE. EVEN WITH 7 LV HE STILL HAS THE SHITTIEST POSSIBLE STATS, HOW'S THAT FOR LUCK? EVEN BOGGLED ALL THESE SCIENTISTS." Papyrus tapped the papers in front of him to emphasize his point.

"Papyrus…" Undyne started.

"OH, YOU SHOULD COME WATCH SOME OF THE VIDEOS WITH ME. NOT ALL OF THEM HAVE SCREAMING." Papyrus pulled his glasses off and carefully set them on the papers on the table. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, then came back out into the main room and picked up his glass and the bottle before shoving everything at Undyne. She scrambled to keep any of them from falling. Without another word Papyrus headed out the front door and Undyne hastily ran after him.

Once down in the basement Papyrus led Undyne past the filing cabinets to a door she hadn't noticed last time. He opened it, revealing a small space crowded with floor to ceiling shelves crammed full of old cassette video tapes with peeling, hand written labels. A single TV screen sat on its own shelf in the very center of the far wall, under it was more shelves with of a black box with a rectangular slot and then more cassettes. Papyrus squinted as he browsed the cassettes, plucked one off its shelf, and put it in the slot. He plopped heavily on the floor, then motioned for Undyne to join him. She sat down and let him take his glass from her before he pressed a button, the TV's screen jumped to life.

The camera was focused on the same small, too young skeleton from the picture attached to Sans's paperwork, his bruises standing out all the more against his now clean though still far too thin bones. He was standing in the middle of a concrete room, there were a few training dummies out of focus in the background.

[NOW,] a voice instructed from off screen, [SUBJECT ONE-ZERO-TWO, YOU ARE TO…]

"Who's talking?" Undyne asked as she sipped the drink she had poured herself, the voice continued to dole out instructions.

"I THINK IT'S THIS WDG GUY THAT HAS HIS INITIALS ALL OVER EVERYTHING," Papyrus said skeptically. "I HAVEN'T FOUND OUT WHAT HIS ACTUAL NAME IS YET, BUT HE SEEMS TO BE IN CHARGE."

"He sounds a lot like you."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Papyrus suddenly yelled, Undyne flinched at the volume in such a small space. "I DON'T SOUND A THING LIKE THAT ASSHOLE," he added before sullenly taking a swig of his drink.

"Okay, I take it back…" Undyne said carefully.

[YOU DID VERY WELL, ONE-ZERO-TWO,] WDG said as Undyne started paying attention again.

[i couldn't s'mon ev'n a s'ngle bull't…] a child's small, weak voice said shakily.

[CONSIDERING YOUR CURRENT CONDITION, THAT IS NOT VERY SURPRISING. THIS SESSION WAS MERELY TO ESTABLISH A POINT OF COMPARISON. NOW SINCE YOU BEHAVED SO WELL IMPACT HAS A REWARD FOR YOU.] The young Sans nodded slowly before tiredly walking off screen, a skeletal hand briefly appeared at his back before the video cut.

"A LOT OF THE EARLY VIDEOS ARE LIKE THAT." Papyrus pushed some buttons and a whirring sound started up. "JUST THEM SEEING WHAT HE CAN DO." Papyrus's voice turned very nasal as he sneered out an imitation, "'ONE-ZERO-TWO CAN YOU MAKE A BONE? CAN YOU MAKE TWO BONES? MAKE AS MANY BONES AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. NOW THROW THEM ALL AT THAT LAB MOUSE.' AND SO FAR THIS WDG GUY IS ALWAYS OFF SCREEN. OR AT LEAST IN THE VIDEOS THAT AREN'T DAMAGED OR FADED, WHICH IS A LOT OF THEM."

"That seems… weird?" Undyne had no ideas on any of that, the basement seemed very clean and well taken care of, the stuff inside shouldn't be damaged.

"HERE, I'LL SHOW YOU." Papyrus quickly put away the now rewound tape, then ran a finger along the shelves until he found the one he wanted. It was quickly placed in the TV, Papyrus sat back down next to Undyne as the tape started to play.

The camera was focused on a chair with an older, though still far too young, Sans sitting in it while two people in scrubs strapped his arms and legs down. The chair itself looked to be bolted down to a concrete floor, with similar concrete walls behind it.

The voice that still sounded suspiciously like Papyrus started speaking in a clear, precise manner, [SUBJECT ONE-ZERO-TWO BIWEEKLY EMITTER SESSION NUMBER ZERO-NINE-SIX TAKING PLACE ON TUESDAY THE FOURTEE-…] there was a sigh before WDG started speaking again, this time his voice sounded very annoyed. [SANS, YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD REPEATEDLY NOT TO WEAR THAT SILLY COLLAR TO ANY FORM OF SESSION.]

[oh, oops. guess i forgot,] Sans said as a shit eating grin spread across his face. Despite his head also being strapped down, he angled it back to expose his collared neck the best he could. [and i'm already aaaaaaaaall strapped in, guess you'll just have to come take it off yourself.] Sans waggled his brow bones in what Undyne could only assume was meant to be a suggestive manner. She glanced at Papyrus, but he was too busy downing his drink to pay her any mind.

There was another deep sigh and undecipherable muttering from the video as a person in a white lab coat walked in front of the camera and towards Sans. There must have been some damage to the tape as the image started to flicker and a few lines appeared. After fiddling with Sans's neck, the person turned towards the camera. A burn spot bloomed from their head and across the screen until it was completely dark. The muttering continued, getting louder but still undecipherable. Then the muttering stopped, followed shortly by the video returning. [AS I WAS SAYING, TUESDAY THE FOURTEENTH OF…]

"That was really weird," Undyne said over WDG finally giving the full date.

"YEAH," Papyrus agreed as he reached for the TV.

"What? Don't I get to see the ending?"

"THEY SHOOT A LASER BEAM AT HIM FOR A WHILE, THEN CALL HIM A GOOD BOY AND SEND HIM OFF TO BUY A CAKE OR A BURGER OR SOMETHING."

"A cake?" Undyne raised a brow at Papyrus.

Papyrus sighed, then moved his finger to push a different button. The tape began to move faster, which Undyne could only tell because of the way Sans's hands were moving. There was a laser pointed right at his chest, she thought she saw a faint glow that could be soul shaped. Papyrus took his finger off the button and the video resumed normal speed.

[-eally good this session,] Sans was saying as he rocked back and forth on his feet.

[YES, YES, YOU MANAGED TO NOT PASS OUT THIS TIME.] WDG sounded bored as he spoke, accompanied by frantic scribbling.

[i think that means i deserve a reward,] Sans said with a cheeky grin.

[I SHALL INFORM THE CAFETERIA YOU AR-]

[aw, come on!] Sans said as he threw his hands up in the air. [i don't want any of that gross cafeteria food! just give me some g, this new bakery just opened up in hotland and i've been dying to try them out.]

[YOU DON'T EVEN LIKE SWEETS.]

[i like anything that isn't from the cafeteria.] Sans's comment was met with another deep sigh, then the jingle of coins as a skeletal hand came from off screen to drop some gold into Sans's hands. [thanks, ga-] The video stuttered for a moment, then came back into focus just as Sans said, [i'll bring you back a slice,] before he winked and simply vanished from sight.

Undyne barely heard a quiet, [THAT CHILD WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME,] before the video cut out altogether.

"Okay, that was really, really weird," Undyne said as Papyrus pressed another button and the cassette began whirring again. "And a lot of the tapes are damaged like that?"

"YES, AND A LOT OF THE PAPERWORK TOO. FADED SPOTS, INK SPILLS, DIRT AND SMUDGES, A FEW EVEN LOOK LIKE THEY'VE BEEN CHEWED ON. MAKES ME WONDER WHERE SANS GOT ALL THIS FROM. AND WHEN."

"He obviously escaped at some point, none of those baby pictures look like they were taken anywhere near that lab. I suppose he went back later to grab his own files?"

"THAT MAKES SENSE, BUT WE WON'T KNOW FOR SURE UNTIL SANS WAKES UP AND CAN ACTUALLY EXPLAIN ALL OF…" Papyrus gestured vaguely to the room around them, and likely the basement as a whole, "THIS."

"Speaking of," Undyne said as she leaned closer to speak more softly. "You should go visit him. You've been down here the whole time, right? That's not healthy, man."

"LIKE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS FUCKED UP SITUATION IS HEALTHY."

Undyne took the drink Papyrus had refilled from his hand. "I mean it, Sans wouldn't want this. Go visit him in the hospital, get an update from the doctors-"

"THEY SAID THEY'D CALL IF THERE WERE ANY CHANGES."

"So? Go check on him anyway, make sure they're keeping their word about not shipping him off to Alphys."

"OH, SO WE'RE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE ROYAL SCIENTIST NOW?"

Undyne shrugged, "I figured scientists would all know each other, and this WDG guy seems like a scientist. A mad one, but a scientist."

"YOU… YOU DIDN'T TELL HER ANYTHING ABOUT… THIS," Papyrus motioned around them again, "DID YOU?"

"Of course not! Well, not directly anyway, certainly no names were mentioned."

"UNDYNE I THINK… I THINK SANS DOESN'T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO KNOW. SO UNTIL HE WAKES UP AND CAN TELL US EVERYTHING MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST… NOT TELL… ANYONE."

Undyne sighed, she had never intended to mention Sans or Papyrus by name, and the implication that she would be so unprofessional hurt. Just a little. Still, Papyrus had a point, if the investigation could hurt either of them or any other surviving victims in any way she needed to be very, very careful how she went about it. That didn't stop her from adding conditions onto an action she already had every intention of following through on. "Alright, but only if you promise to actually go visit Sans in the hospital."

"I PROMISE."

I don't put as much stock into "collaring" being a big deal the way a lot of the fandom likes to make it. I don't know, some people just want to wear collars to look tough or because they're furries or whatever. I do have a reason for Sans wearing a collar here, but I'm not sure how much a spoiler it'd be.

And guess what, we're half way through! So next week a lot is going to happen!