Sans felt cold.

Staring at the bare and empty landscape before him and looking at the mud and destruction, he couldn't help but feel cold inside. His bones felt the invisible chill of the moment, as he stood there and gazed at what was presented to him. It was not a pleasant sight. Shell holes were everywhere, mounds of dirt and mud high, the stench prevalent in the air, and life nowhere to be seen. This was what the field in front of him looked like, for it was nothing but a dead place, a complete wasteland.

So it was hard to imagine that such a place was fought for so brutally, with lives loss in order to secure such useless land.

What a lovely was this had become, he thought bitterly, a smile plastered on his face, as he allowed his mind to wander.

They attack, the enemy defends. The enemy attacks, then they defend. That was the cycle that they followed for half a year now in these muddy fields, a cycle that was made by this war and has become the very definition of it. Mass attacks and counter-attacks, massive formation to break the line of the opponent. The more the numbers, the likelier the chances of winning in the long run.

It was a war of attrition, a war for numbers. Whoever lasted the longest, whoever had one more individual or artillery shell than the other, would win this war.

Shaking his head, he felt a bit sick at such a thought. Why would they resort to such a tactic? Why would they allow themselves to go that low? For both sides, why would they do such a thing? What kind of war where they fighting were victory would justify the extinction of the enemy's species?

In truth, Sans didn't even know what this war was truly about.

Sure, he had head the propaganda, but none of them tell the real truth or the entirety of the truth. Instead, such devices only trapped the narrow minded into thinking in a way the creator of the piece wanted them to think. It was a great tool in influencing the weak minded, to getting them to do what one wanted them to do. But as a way of spreading out information, it did a terrible job.

What was this war really fought for? Why were they supposed to hate the humans?

This war had been going on for so long that almost no monster remembered the true meaning for this war. It's been centuries since this war first started and only the ancient monsters who managed to survive through it all could really tell. And there weren't many of them left, while those who do remain choose to keep their mouths shut.

All Sans really knew about the war was that the humans wanted to exterminate them, so monsters set out to exterminate the humans before they can do their will on them. But as to why the humans wanted them exterminated, he didn't know why.

Besides, that small piece of information he had could or could not be true at all.

It's not like he fully believed that the humans really wanted to exterminate them, since he knew that the magic of propaganda may have transformed that meaning. So he never really used that as a motivation for fighting. But whenever asked why he fought, he always gave them a simple reply: "Cause I'm here to protect someone."

And so he fought on, from battlefield of afar, to the one he was at right now. Sometimes he just wihed that it could all stop, that he could finally get a real rest and not small breaks in the fighting. But he knew that such a thing would never happen till the war was over or until he dies.

So fight on he shall.

It has been months since the first shot here was fired here and the once green grass that proved to be a perfect bed during naps was nothing more than just a memory. Only mud, dust, and soulless bodies remained here, and such things would never become a comfy bed. Instead, this place was more like a graveyard now, a large graveyard with remains and dust scattered throughout miles of land.

Pulling his trench coat tight as he felt the chill again, Sans began to look away from the field, hoping to move his thoughts away from it and the negative sight. Everything about it was just too depressing, and he already had enough depression for a lifetime.

Closing his eye sockets and homing in his powers, he focused quietly on himself before suddenly disappearing in a blue flash, leaving behind only a lingering aura of blue magic.

Reappearing again inside a ruined old building, Sans popped up so suddenly that he managed to surprise everyone who was inside the room. Stopping what they were doing and jumping a bit in place, they all felt shocked and surprised as he suddenly appeared out of thin air.

No matter how many times I do it, they still don't get used to it. He thought to himself, his usual grin a bit bigger.

"Sans!" A voice called out from one end of the room. Recognizing the figure and turning towards him, Sans placed his full attention, as he gave a lazy look towards him. "Can't you use the door like everyone else?" The figure asked, asked he gestured at the door less entrance of the company headquarters.

Dressed in a fine, although a bit ragged, green uniform and proudly wearing the marking of his rank, Sans watched as his skeletal brother Papyrus made his way from the other side of the room and towards him. Walking stiffly and tall, as if on parade, Sans couldn't help but lightly chuckle at the sight before him. Papyrus always liked to do things by the book and was always prim and proper, such a sight always made him an odd and amusing look. It was a good thing that he was also flexible and capable of understanding most of the situations around him and was able to break the routine when needed too.

"I'm sorry, bro-" Sans said, a somewhat apologetic look evident by the look of his eye sockets, though his grin remained on his face. "-I didn't mean to scare you a skeleton by suddenly barging in here."

"Ughh." Papyrus groaned, as he shook his head in annoyance. "Sergeant, this is no time for you foolish puns, we have serious matters to talk about!" Then, moving a bit closer and saying in a whisper: "Also, I told you to stop calling me 'bro' in front the company. It's 'Captain' whenever we're in front of the other."

"Whatever you say, Captain." Sans said, in a loud enough voice that everyone in the room could here.

"There we go, much better." Papyrus said in a low tone, happy that his rank was fully reminded, before continuing with a slightly louder one. "Now, sergeant, follow me, we have important matters to talk about. I had just sent out about a dozen couriers to look for you, but had I know that you would end up popping out here, then I wouldn't have bothered those poor lads."

"And what may those matters be, Paps?" Sans asked, as they were now far enough from the rest of the monsters, so that no one else could hear their conversation.

Gazing at his brother and seeing the expression on his face turn serious, Sans knew something important was up. Taking a deep breath and meeting the gaze, he prepared himself for what was to come next.

"The entire division is retreating, falling back to better ground and defenses a couple of miles from here. I can't give you more details, but the entire army is in retreat, heading back to a place more favorable for us, where we can finally wear down those humans and defeat them. True some trickery, they have managed to prevent their defeat here, but the General has reassured us that they will fall before our new defenses. Now, getting to the point, our battalion would be the last unit in this town we're in and Major Undyne has decided that a small unit from our company is to hold the town and act as a rearguard in order to cover the battalion while we fall back."

Pausing for a bit, Papyrus held back his words before continuing.

"I have chosen you to command the rearguard."

"Oh, well, we might have a problem about that…" Sans began with an apprehensive voice. "…because I'm no sketch artist."

"What?" Papyrus said, a baffled look plastered on his face. "I don't understand, what does not being a sketch artist have to do with what I told you."

"Well, you see, it's because you seem to want me to draw the enemy's fire." Sans told him, a long chuckle following his words.

"Sans!" Papyrus shouted, loud enough in which some of the other monsters in the room glanced towards their direction for a moment. "What I'm telling you serious. I need you to hold the line, while we move out. I know you can do it, and although I would like someone else to do such a dangerous task, you're the only one I trust to do it."

Looking at Papyrus and keeping a smile that betrayed his deep thoughts, Sans knew the gravity of the task given to him. The humans were sure to attack, he knew it. Once they saw them falling back from the line, they would take the opportunity and assault their weakened positions. Whoever would be assigned with the task of the rearguard would have a hard job, as they would be facing a superior force with low numbers.

But it wasn't like it was something he couldn't handle, he thought to himself with a bit of arrogance.

"Paps, don't worry, I understand what you mean and I'm willing to accept the task. But I have one condition, I'm going to do it on my own."

"On your own?" Papyrus said, a hint of concern on his face. "Sans, did you hear what you just say? Why would you do such a dangerous task on your own?"

"Well, there's quite simple explanation, really." Sans said with a smile. "It's because I would be better off doing it alone. Doing it all by myself would mean that I wouldn't have to worry on the safety of other monsters, while at the same time lessening the chances of heavy casualties for the force. And don't worry about me taking them on by myself, I have my blasters remember?"

Sans could see Papyrus' eye sockets study him and he wondered what he could be thinking. Fearing for my safety most likely. Sans thought, knowing that he would be thinking the same thing if their roles were reversed.

"Well, I guess you're right…" Papyrus soon admitted. "Beside, you'll probably give them a blast.

Seeing the small smile of his brother's face and unable to stop a wide smile of his own, Sans shook his head in amusement as he patted Papyrus on his bony arm.

"That, I will, bro, that I will." Sans said. "They'll have nothing but a bad time."

The silence of the empty town was broken by the loud clunky sound of tanks rolling down the broken streets, making their way with the speed of a turtle as their metal bodies presented an ugly yet deadly war device. Large, bulky, dirty, and looking more like two gigantic tracks than a battle machine, the tanks pushed their way forward through the ruins of buildings and walls, as mud coated soldiers flanked and followed them.

He was alone now here, all by himself with no other monster to be with him. The company had left only half an hour ago, with Papyrus leading them to safer grounds in the rear. Knowing that his brother was safe and far from here eased his mind a bit, as he now didn't have to worry about his safety.

It was only he and the enemy left and he was prepared to fight.

Watching from the top a battered Church tower and smiling as he stalked them, Sans kept a careful vigil on the tanks and the soldiers, as they made their way through the main street and headed towards the town center. Having placed roadblocks and obstructions on the other roads and having funneled these humans into the place he wanted them to go, they would soon fall into his ambush.

Things were going according to his plan and he was glad for it. Luck seemed to be on his side today.

Patiently waiting and gently humming as he kept his eye sockets trained on them, he observed the cautious formation as they made their way forward and moved into the town square. Counting the soldiers on the ground and trying to see how many there were, he noted that there were at least a company worth of humans on the ground, supported by at least three bulky tanks. The tanks were going to be a tough fight and may prove to be a challenge for him if they weren't taken out immediately. But if he managed to eliminate them early, then the vulnerable humans would be nothing but ragdolls for him.

Seeing the tanks slog forward and reach the town square, he noticed the metal beasts separate from the formation, as each one tried to move to different corners of the square in order to cover different areas. Smiling at the sight of this, he realized that each one of them presented a vulnerable isolated target for him.

Smiling broadly as his magic began to form up on his hands, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

The battle has begun.

As soon as the first tank stopped to cover its section of the square, a burst of magic flashed before its sides, as four large menacing skeletal faces appeared around it. Circling the tank and staring at it with glaring eye sockets, these skeletal faces lingered only for a moment before suddenly shooting out a bright powerful beam of heated magic.

Those soldiers standing nearby had to shield their eyes, as this burning ray cut through the tank and got to its armor, destroying the vehicle and annihilating its screw in the blink of an eye.

The nearby tanks were barely able to react when suddenly these boney faces disappeared and reappeared around the second tank. Following the same procedure, they too were soon destroyed in a blinding flash of light.

The third tank, which had a bit more time to react, began turning its body sideways, hoping to face its hull cannon towards the direction of the skeletal blasters destroying the second tank. But again, this action was too late, for the moment it had its guns trained on the attackers, they once again disappeared only to reappear around the third tank.

In an instant, it too shared the same fate just like the others tanks. After the blasters did their work, they were soon turned into nothing but a smoldering wreck of bits ad chunks of metal lying all over the dead hull. Then, just as suddenly as they came, the blasters disappeared, in an aura of blue magic.

Seeing that the way was now clear for a safe entrance, Sans soon decided to reveal himself to the panicked humans below. After all, it was rude for a host to throw a party without meeting his guests.

Popping out of nowhere and appearing a hue of blue, Sans stood in the middle of the town square, a lazy look plastered on his face as the humans around him stared with awe and fear. Smiling as they looked at awe and then panicked, he watched as the humans standing in the square began backing away from him and taking cover wherever they can. The frightened look on their faces made his smile wider, as the sight of their fear reinforced to him his strength.

"It's the Blue Phantom!" Came the faint cry of a soldier, as he and his comrades hid in whatever cover they could find.

Chuckling as he heard that, Sans shook his head as he moved forward towards the nearst cluster of cowering soldiers.

"You know, I never understood why you guys call me the 'Blue Phantom'." He said out loud for all to hear. "I'm a skeleton, guys, not a phantom."

Catching something in the corner of his eye sockets, he noticed a soldier hiding behind a shell hole pull out a grenade and toss it out towards his direction. Reacting quickly, he allowed his magic to grab that grenade and toss it back towards the soldier who threw it. Watching with a now glowing eye, he gazed as the grenade landed next to the soldier and propelled hi shrapnel riddled body off of the ground. Giving short laugh he said:

"Now, I certainly blue that guy away."

Meeting a hail of bullets as a reply to his pun, Sans immediately conjured up a wall of bones in order to protect himself from the shots fired at him.

"Geez, tough crowd."

Observing his surrounding and locating the source of the shots fired, he soon used his powers to raise deadly bones from the ground beneath those who fired at him, impaling them and killing them as the bones went through their weak bodies. Sans had always found human to be so fragile and it was no surprise to him that they stood not much of a chance to his attacks.

Then again, he too was as fragile as them.

Although powerful and capable of annihilating the humans who stood in his way, one bullet or one piece of shrapnel, could easily take him down, just as how easy he could take these humans down. He had to be careful, he to avoid any of those lucky shots aimed at him. He needed to keep safe for Papyrus, he needed to get back to him.

Noticing a heavy machine gun being set up towards his right, the bulky weapon being worked on by a small crew of two humans, and knowing how bad things would be if it ever got off a shot at him, Sans quickly reacted by sending off a volley of bones towards their direction. Watching as they flew, he saw the bones hit the bodies of the crew, knocking them down in cold blood.

But unnoticed by him, as he was distracted by that group of humans setting up the heavy machine gun, another set of humans were trying to set up a light machine gun on his left. Failing to see this and able to load and lock their weapon, they were able to fire a burst of bullets at him.

The only sigh he had of them firing was the loud crack of the weapon, which made him glance towards its source. Sensing the bullets approach and knowing that there was no more time to create a wall, he quickly moved away from their path, dodging the burst fired at him as the bullets nearly grazed him.

"Bullet me know that you're going to shoot at me guys before you fire the shot." Sans said, a tone of annoyance evident in his voice as he allowed bones to rise from the ground beneath those who shot at him. "It's pretty rude shooting at somebody without asking permission, you know?"

Screaming in pain and howling out for help, those who managed to fire at him were unable to do so again, as they were hit by bones going through their bodies, hitting the internal organs and bringing agony to them. Soon enough though, their screaming stuff, along with the shot being fired, as the remaining members of the company chose to hide in fear, not wanting to attract his attention. It seemed that his reputation still preceded him, as no one wanted to meet the same faith as those who tried to attack him.

Feeling a bit exhausted at the magic he used through the fight and knowing the he can't constantly keep on attacking, Sans momentarily stopped firing bones in order to build up some more energy. He got bit worked out in this one and he felt a bit foolish for making that mistake. Luckily for him, there was a bit of a lull in the battle, giving him some time to rest a bit.

Looking around and noticing that there was silence, Sans chuckled as he shook his head. They were all hiding now, too afraid to face him. They wouldn't dare attack me now. He thought to himself, pleased at his work.

But unknown to him, one of the soldiers was willing to try.

Hiding behind the ruins of a wall behind Sans and cautiously popping her head up, this soldier stared at him with an uncertain look. Body shaking and afraid, she felt trapped and lost. She had lost her rifle in the initial attack and seeing her squad mates run in panic made her feel terrified. The soldiers she was with were experienced fighters, seasoned veterans and yet they hid in fear the moment this monster came. If such old hands ran away from the sight of him, then what chance would a rookie like her had? The best that she could do was hide and let it pass.

She had heard stories about this monster, tales on how he managed to wipe out whole companies. At first, she hadn't believed them, refusing to believe them out of fear. But now, not that she had witnessed him in action herself, she couldn't help but feel stupid for failing to believe the warnings.

They were all helpless here against him. He was a powerful monster and it seemed that the only way to survive was to hide and hope that he didn't find you.

But for some reason, she felt that she couldn't just stay still and wait.

She wasn't trying to be a hero, not at all. She didn't want to be praised for her actions, nor would she want any reward. She wasn't hero material, so she didn't feel like being one. That wasn't was driving her, no it was not.

Something else was driving her, some kind of determination.

Peering from the ruble and staring at the monster in the square, she noticed how vulnerable he looked. Although having just silenced to of the soldiers from her company, she could sense that he was getting tired from his own actions.

Scared, yet seeing an opportunity in this, she decided to take action and use the opportunity. She must take the initiative and hope what she had planned worked. Although hesitant in her actions, she felt that she needed to do this, as if this was the right thing to do. She needed to do this, she had to do this.

Removing her pack to lighten her load, she crawled a bit forward and pulled out her utility knife, keeping it firmly in her grasp. She needed to move fast, act quick and do the job. Her life depended on her doing this quickly.

Seeing that he was still distracted and that he wasn't looking towards her direction, she quickly made a dash forward, using all her strength to propel herself.

She felt scared, terrified to the point that her legs might give in and failing, forcing her to drop to the ground. But with every steep, with every moment that she got closer without him noticing her, she felt a sense of determination to continue. Riding on this feeling and giving a silent prayer, she pushed on, as she got closer and closer.

Lost in his own thoughts and tired from the various magical attacks he used, Sans had managed to let his guard down long enough for this soldier to get near him. Distracted and failing to notice her charge, the only time he realized that she was attacking him was when he felt an arm wrap around him, while a sharp object gently grazed his neck bone.

"Don't move a muscle." She threatened, as she pressed the knife along his bony neck.

Surprised at this and knowing that even a simple knife like that could take him out, Sans kept still. But he did let out one remark.

"Hey, buddy, I'm a skeleton, I don't have muscles."