SoulBound - Undertale AU

Chapter 3 - Dark Matter (Part 21)

"Ok so let me see if I got it straight" Amber interrupted Asriel whom was recounting to her what had happened back in the court house
"Your dad gets framed for murder after the 'bazzangoes' told him everything would be fine"

Asriel nodded as Amber numbered the things which had occured the day prior.
"...and you got yourself snacks with Max and Undyne without me?! How dare you. But nevermind that last part." the redhead shook her head as if shunning away childish thoughts and revenge plots for being post-poned by them... Of course these plots would revolve around pranking the three friends in the stupidest most efficient way possible.
"That officer you talked about... He mentioned dark magic right?"

"Yep. And that got me a little preocupied and I guess I can say flabberghasted at his dumbness. Like, no monster can use dark magic. The power would consume the monster's body and soul and poof!" He made a gesture as if simulating a form of explosion" "nothing but the dust at the end of the day."

The twosome was heading over to Alphys' lab after Asriel got a call from her. It was urgent apparently and since Undyne was on duty that day, he could pay a visit. Of course he didn't mention Amber would be coming along

As they arrive, they could see that the lab door was open. It was in a remote area without much movement and the lab was certainly well hidden too. Under the guise of an abandoned factory on the outside, inside was so much more. The last time Asriel had admired how massive yet incredibly small the laboratory was Alphys had just been settled in with minimal supplies. Peeking through the open door, Asriel took a good look inside before calling out for his lizard friend.

"Alphys? Alphys, are you here?"
He didn't get a response for a few brief moments until he saw his friend running over to the door with a bunch of files in her arms

"T-there you are Y-Your Hi- err I mean, A-Asriel... Oh this is so awful..." the dino monster was clearly nervous and with a closer look the lab looked very clear... Too clean for Alphys' standards.

"You were robbed weren't you?" the prince asked, already seeing that things were missing, including the necklace he had seen a few days before.

"Pff ya think?" Amber blurted out as she took a look around the lab. It was not a huge place after all though it was not a little shack in the woods either. Alphys was still grabbing what she could from what was not stolen and placed it on the table. She was clearly distressed from this.

"Al, what else was taken? It's like some annoying dog just came in here and took everything" Asriel crossed his arms while Amber threw him a funny glance. Although he had to admit his remark didn't make much sense, at least to humans that it

"T-they took the schematics for a new power core I was developing... They took plans for a new lab... t-they also took the soul anatomy books including Dr. G-Gaster's research... They really swiped this place clean... Or almost..." The yellow lizard spoke in a defeated tone, rummaging her pockets to reveal the amulet Asriel had seen a few days before on the table
"The only thing that was not taken was this... T-then again this does not have any u-use..."

"Yeah... What is that anyway?" Asriel questioned, curious about it save for Amber who was looking for any clue on the burglars. She had a good eye for finding things.

"I-it looked like some kind of artifact found in the Underground... T-though I thought this would be an infusion stone it t-turned out to be nothing more than a gem... No human here who has picked this u-up was able to manifest any p-power whatsoever..."

"Uh hey guys! I found something" Amber called out while both the prince and Alphys hurried over to where the redhead was. She had found what looked like a business card. Asriel took the card from her hands, in a gentle manner, reading what was written on it

"Kronnos Medical Labs Inc. ... Who the heck named this company, my father?" This earned a chuckle from Amber while Alphys paced around thinking to herself on the matter

"W-why would any medical team be here at the lab? M-makes no sense" She said. It was a strange thing indeed however no one knows what Kronnos does exactly. Only what is laid bare for all to see. What *they* want people to see

"Yeah... It's pretty weird if you ask me. Though this could be a coincidence... Or maybe there is something else brewing up in here that rubs me off the wrong way. Have you checked the video feeds from the cameras? Maybe there is another clue leading us to the culprit... or culprits" Asriel asked while he glanced at Alphys who just sat down at the table looking like she had just lost a friend

"Y-yes... Though you can barely make out anything. Just some shadows and silhouettes... N-not much else"

"What a nutcracker..." Amber slumped down onto the floor with a huff
"The question is why would people just straight up steal from you. I mean, it makes no sense at all. What could they possibly want from here?"

A sudden silence fell in the room while everyone just looked defeated. That was until Asriel gasped.

"I think I know why" The girls looked a the prince
"Last time you invited us here Al, there were a few scientists working about. We were talking about humans being able to do magic. You know, the research on the infusion stones. We weren't exactly being very hush-hush so I think someone eavesdropped on us"

"B-but they knew about the project as much as us... W-why steal the research?" Alphys asked, trying to make sense of what he was saying

"Maybe... Maybe that person was not a regular scientist... Someone from the medical corporation... Hmm..." The prince remarked, pacing around while rubbing his chin
"You know what?"

"What?" Amber tilted her head as she watched Asriel turning to them, his eyes indicating he was onto something

"I think this so-called medical corporation is hiding something... And something big. I mean, why would they even want to do anything with soul magic?"

"To uh repair damaged souls? Wait no, that's stupid." Amber shook her head "They are a medical corp not a witch in the woods."

"T-then what might it be?" Spoke Alphys this time while all eyes were on Asriel, whom gave them a grim look

"I don't know but I intend to find out. I think this is barely even the beginning of something big... And I reckon it's not a good thing..."