Time flowed like a sluggish river. Slow. But in a constant stream.

What could Sans and Papyrus do? They couldn't go outside for awhile, so they spent their time inside doing things together. Usually cuddling, the two craving physical, comforting touch. They finished a few shows they hadn't before, and read a few books Sans never got around to reading. After that, Sans helped Papyrus design a few traps.

One thing he realized was that Sans might have to get used to being drugged. A fact he never thought he would have to consider. But Jandle was trying to get Papyrus used to doing it, out of her own relationship with Gaster. Papyrus hadn't done it, resisting every time. But after constantly being drugged by his Mother, he had leaned over and grasped his bros hand.

"It's okay, bro," Sans whispered quietly, leaning against him. "If it's you, I trust you."

Sans had no interest in drugging. Not out of any hidden desire, and not for a sexual or power play - or whatever other people liked out of it. But Papyrus was going to succumb to their Mother eventually. Sans would rather this happen on their own terms while they still had some sanity left.

Their parents found out about their relationship quickly. Sans wasn't exactly sure if they were trying to hide it or not, but their parents knew. And seemed to be just fine letting Sans and Papyrus have little dates within the mansions walls.

He barely even realized how much time had passed until he checked a calendar twice. Looks like this really was it. All of those years running, and for what? Only to end up trapped once more.

And his parents had a lot more control than Sans realized.

Muffet, the girlfriend Grillby had mentioned Underground with such a happy and love struck expression was a part of the cult. Her initiation was what Sans had witnessed the night he discovered everything. He just had blocked out any memories of her after he made it to Snowdin, much like he had done for the other members of the family he had met.

She was the one who told their parents where the two were that night. Gaster and Jandle had eyes everywhere.

Both his and Papyrus' faces had fell when they saw the two dragon monsters from the hospital attend the family dinner. That made them realize, as the two grown ups cooed over Sans and Papyrus, that Undyne was fucked from the start.

In total, there were only a mere nine "aunts and uncles". So he knew one third of them, at least.

That wasn't a good thing.

They started slowly entering their lives more. Always cooing over how cute the skeleton boys were, and how much they deserved to be protected. Soon, Sans realized, they'd likely become just as common as Jandle and Gaster were back when the brothers lived with Toriel and Frisk.

In a way, the two were raised on a pedestal above their extended family. As if the two were so precious that they wouldn't dare to even do anything other than worship them.

Guess this was it. Their life now. Sans ducked into the space between Papyrus' skull and shoulder, feeling his body become heavier with the need to sleep each and every night. At least he could spend this eternal hell with his bro.

~~~~~~

It was weird, at first.

They had just asked for his phone once. Toriel and Asgore, despite the discussion they had when monsters first escaped the surface, were suddenly at each others throats again. It got to the point where a phone was broken. This phone was Frisk's, which Toriel didn't realize she had been calling on until it was already thrown and cracked the screen. It worked, but Frisk needed an upgrade anyways. So they tried to avoid using the screen, as the cracks were rather annoying.

Then, there was the curious case of Papyrus and Sans avoiding each other. Sure, the two had little squabbles, but not to the point where they ever avoided each other. That particular morning was the worst so far. Papyrus went outside at the crack of dawn with his Mother, both spending hour after hour tending the abandoned flower bed in front of their small and slightly crooked house. Frisk didn't want to bother all the way outside just to ask for Papyrus' phone while Toriel was out buying their new one, so they had asked Sans.

And curious little Frisk found some messages.

From Sans, to Undyne. Frisk had meant to text Undyne, so it was purely a coincidence that they found them. Undyne had their old sweater still at her house that Frisk wanted to get back, as Undyne was the one who picked it up after Frisk dropped it at a park one day. Anyone could have picked up that sweater and taken it home. But it was Undyne. And that led Frisk to clicking on her specific contact on that specific day.

They read over all of the messages. Every excruciating detail Sans had texted out to Undyne. And her response. The child had cocked their head, staring down at it. Before taking several screenshots and sending the images to their own contact before deleting any evidence of this on Sans' phone.

Then, had come Gaster's response to Frisk. Alone, in the living room. If Frisk hadn't found the messages earlier, they likely would have chalked this off to their parents being off since their child almost died. Everyone seemed ansty and angry lately.

But Frisk found the messages. And Gaster only cemented Frisk's belief that the words Sans told Undyne was true.

Undyne did not look thrilled to see Frisk. She opened the door with a firm hand, the wood almost breaking under her firm grasp. There were bruises on her neck.

"What happened to your neck?" Frisk asked, their original statement gone the moment their eyes laid upon those hand marks.

Undyne shifted her eye away. "Nothing. I'm... listen, what are you doing here? I know your not a part of the skeletons family so you don't have to worry about the restraining order, but still. You should just go back home."

Frisk took a glance at the driveway. Only Undyne's car.

"Where's Alphys?"

"She moved out and we haven't spoken since. We... we broke up." Undyne sighed. "Did you come to try and fix the relationship like you did Toriel and Asgore? That isn't going to work, kid. And I don't blame Sans for what he said. I almost killed the guy."

"What did Sans say?"

Undyne huffed before opening the door wider for Frisk to slip in.

As she brewed some tea, the same kind Frisk asked when the two went on their Underground date that resulted in her burned down house. Undyne had handed the child their phone to see the messages Sans sent Undyne.

And they were completely different from what was on Sans' phone.

Instead of a detailed, almost paranoid and scared explanation, Sans seemed to tear into Undyne. Calling her a bunch of names Toriel would never dare anyone to even mutter around Frisk before he told her if she ever contacted him again he'd send her to jail. His final message declared she was dead to him. Undyne responded with an apology, knowing full well she had messed up, and saying that he had every right to be upset because she almost got him killed.

Sans replied with a 'fuck you' before he blocked her.

"Yeah, I don't blame him for those messages," Undyne explained, setting the tea in front of Frisk. "And I don't blame Papyrus for what he uh..." She paused, hand reaching up to her neck. "Anyway, I'm working on my anger and shit. Broke up with Alphys so I could focus on myself. I'm repenting, doing all of that shit."

Frisk looked up at one of their closest friends.

"Sans didn't send these."

Undyne chuckled. "You don't need to try and comfort me, I'm not going to try and reconnect with anyone. I'd rather become a decent monster first. One that doesn't almost murder a friend of hers."

Frisk stared closer. The marks around their neck weren't as thick as fleshy hand would make.

"Did... did Papyrus attack you?" Frisk asked quietly, "I know he visited a week ago."

"I - I'm not going to court over this, I don't know what the poor dude was going for, but he's my friend, and I'm not going to say anything. Not like I didn't deserve it."

"This just doesn't make sense," Frisk said, turning away. "Papyrus and Sans have been acting really weird lately. They're avoiding each other all of the time. Gaster said something weird."

Before Frisk could continue, they noticed Undyne seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

"You know something."

"It's not like it's going to matter," Undyne said. "I learned my lesson. And what Papyrus said was personal. I'm not going to just say everything anymore -"

"Undyne, they could be in danger! You need to tell me now!" Frisk slammed their hands onto the table, moving to a standing position. "I think you were onto something when you didn't trust their parents."

"When I told everyone the first time, I almost ended up killing Sans! The second time I told what I thought about them, I was fucking strangled by Papyrus!" Undyne said, leaning forward. She paused, then sighed, returning to a more calm position. "So I'm not going to mess up again. I learned my lesson when my best friend almost killed me."

"Gaster called me a brat today. Not only that, he said..." Frisk gazed at Undyne. "Their Dad openly admitted to me that they tricked you into this situation."

That that brought out a reaction. Undyne's head jerked towards the child so harshly that her red ponytail smacked her in the face. "What?"

"He admitted it to me. Now, I need you to tell me everything that Papyrus said to you."

She pressed her lips together. "Okay, fine. Yeah. He admitted that he tried to drug Sans. I don't think it would'a worked, because you need that magical shit hospitals use which is kinda expensive for it to work on him, but Papyrus almost tried anyway. And he admitted he was... he's in love with Sans. Like, romantically. It caught me super off guard, but I mean, it isn't my business if two brothers fuck or not. That's their relationship. I guess my shocked face looked bad so he ended up strangling me."

Oh. That admittedly wasn't too surprising. Papyrus was not very settle on their play date Underground, when he had turned down Frisk's approaches and mentioned that their was someone else who held his heart. And he had said that while staring at Sans, who was downstairs and busy looking for the remote he had lost between the cushions. Kind of obvious, despite Papyrus' best attempts to hide it.

"I think their parents did something to the two of them, they've been avoiding each other, and it doesn't seem like Sans knew Papyrus tried to... anyways, I looked on his phone today, and his side of the conversation looks completely different than what is on your phone."

There Frisk handed over their phone with the screenshots they had saved. Undyne read over the true messages Sans had sent her, and started chewing on her fingernails halfway through.

"Shit, shit!" Undyne growled, leg bouncing under the table. "I knew they were suspicious but - fuck, they RUN the cult? Shit!"

Frisk nodded quietly. "I can't do anything with just Sans' admission to get them arrested, though, because -"

"Not enough evidence." Undyne tossed the new phone onto the table. "No wonder Sans didn't blab, that's not a good case against fucking rich people who were practically sucking Asgore's balls for generations! If the case wasn't dismissed right away, one single testimony from when he was a kid would have had him laughed out of the court. His credibility would have been ruined forever."

"And no one would believe me just because I'm still a kid," Frisk said.

It was rather frustrating when they had escaped to the surface. Monsters treated Frisk as a child, yes, but they listened to the child and understood their ideas. The humans, though, patted their head with a mocking, almost insulting smile and told the "kiddo to go grab some ice cream while the adults talk" despite Frisk being heavily involved with the monster escape. And Frisk couldn't even testify about them being in the cult, they could only testify to Gaster admitting he tricked Undyne into lashing out.

"We have to find evidence, I can't leave them both there!" Undyne said, standing up. "They're going to get hurt!"

"But your -"

"I know. But I'd rather go to jail than risk them being injured. And I don't plan on busting into their house and demanding answers. I'm going to break into their car and house to see if I can find anything." Undyne looked over, extending a hand out to Frisk. "Are you in?"