Despite their best efforts to not waste a single second, Sans two weeks' home was over unfortunately quickly. Between hotdogs and spaghetti, puzzles and pranks, helping with homework and helping with Gaster's projects, the time slipped away fast as sand through their bony fingers.

They stood together in a crowd of Monsters at the ferry dock. Sans wasn't the only one who had been visiting home, and now he wasn't the only one returning to the War.

Sans was wearing his purple army fatigues again, and had his jacket tied around his waist by the sleeves. He sighed as he watched monsters, soldiers, filing onto the boat. It would carry them down the river for the next day, and by the morning, they would be at the Pure army camp in Waterfall.

"Promise me you'll be careful?" Papyrus took his brother's hand.

Sans knelt down by Papyrus. "i promise." He pulled Papyrus into a hug, holding him tightly. "for you, i promise."

After a moment, he stood. Gaster set a hand on his shoulder with a small smile. "Win the War for us, alright?"

Sans reached up and grabbed Gaster's arm. "heh. i'll do my best."

Time enough for one more hug, and then Sans found himself on the boat, standing near the stern, waving as the boat pulled away from the shore. Gaster lifted Papyrus onto his shoulders, high above the crowd. They both waved, and Sans could've sworn he heard Papyrus shouting to him that if he didn't come back, then Papyrus would come to the warfront himself and hunt Sans down.

He stood at the stern long after the dock had disappeared from view.

~o0o~

What had seemed to start off as a good day for Colonel Undyne had steadily turned into a horrible one.

First off, Commander Sans had returned to the camp earlier that morning. That in of itself was always a good thing. Then the canine members of her unit had reported that their section of Waterfall was completely clear of the Corrupt, without any sort of skirmish taking place. And finally, Commander Sans had summoned her to his quarters, no doubt to promote her from Colonel to General.

Of course, it had been right as she was walking across the middle of the camp that the alarm had been sounded, and all hell broke loose. Corrupters swarmed from everywhere, and now Undyne was holed up with Lesser Dog and Greater Dog in a crevice in the cave wall, chucking attacks at every Corrupter in range, while others did the same from various other locations around the camp.

"Alright," Undyne murmured to the two dogs, "listen up. On my mark, I'm gonna run over to those rocks over there, while you two cover me. Once I'm over, Lesser, you come next while Greater and I cover you. Then Greater. We'll make our way over there." She jabbed a finger towards where a few more Pure soldiers were hiding. She had seen them take the brunt of a number of Corrupt attacks, receiving quite a few injuries, and they were having trouble fending off their attackers.

"Ready?" She glanced at the dogs. They both nodded. "Go!" She charged. As her boots pounded against the ground, she heard a HHHHHSSSSSSSH!! and saw a blur of dark, almost black purple out of the corner of her good eye. Then one of Greater's Pure attacks slammed into the Corrupt one, shattering them both before Undyne could be hit.

And then she was diving for cover, landing behind the outcrop of rocks. She pulled herself up, took half a second to steady herself, and gave Lesser a thumbs up. The dog ran forward, dropping onto all fours.

When Undyne saw the Corrupt tendril of Magic burst from the ground near the dog, she didn't hesitate to throw a barrage of spears at it. It took a few good hits, but after a minute, it shattered.

And then Lesser was next to her. Greater came next, and made it over without injury.

Like this, they made their way around the perimeter of the battlefield, over to where the other soldiers were sheltering.

They found that only two monsters were left, and badly wounded at that. Undyne and the dogs assumed a defensive position, fending off the attackers. Undyne got in a good hit or two on some of the Corrupters, and couldn't help but smirk as one of them dissolved into black dust.

But even as the dust was dropping to the ground, two more Corrupters took its place. Undyne cursed. "They just keep coming!" She threw out a few more spears, then ducked behind the sheltering rock as a barrage of corrupt darts shot towards them.

Then there was a loud GUOOOAAAAHHH!!! and a blueish light tore through the air, the Magic slashing apart the Corrupters. Commander Sans staggered into their hiding spot.

"Commander!" Undyne shouted. "Where've you been?!"

"a group--" he panted, "stranded-- three tunnels down-- had'ta get-- get 'em out."

Undyne glanced at the Commander. He was breathing hard, struggling to stay focused. It looked like the bones in his right hand were cracked, and there were several blotchy stains on the front of his clothes, some red and some the light blue edged with yellow of the Commander's Magic.

"Jeez, Commander. You look like crap."

"haaahhhh-- ... i'll-- i'll be fine-- ...." He leaned against the rock, looking out over it for their next target.

Undyne knew he was lying. This wasn't the first time the Commander and she had been on a battlefield, and she had said the same thing to him multiple times before, although admittedly when he had various other ranking titles. Always, though, he had responded either with a pun or some joke about how it felt worse than it looked.

Now he was trying to reassure her. That couldn't be good.

She looked out over the rock. It didn't look like there were any Corrupters immediately nearby. She signaled to the dogs to keep watch.

"Commander. I think you should sit down a minute."

"c-- can't. gotta-- gotta keep watch--"

She grabbed his shoulders, forced him to turn around, made him sit, and looked at him.

It was so, so much worse than she thought. His right hand wasn't just cracked, dust was flaking off his entire arm. His shirt wasn't just stained, it was torn. The same glowing, red liquid that stained his shirt was dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Afraid of what she would find, Undyne carefully pulled at the edge of the rip in his shirt. She had seen a lot of grisly stuff on the warfront, but the mess she found almost made her sick.

Commander Sans' Magic and the red stuff was leaking from cracked, shattered ribs. The lowest right two ribs were already almost completely dissolved into dust, and each labored breath he took sent more dust slipping off his ribs. A Corrupt bullet was firmly lodged in his already cracked Soul.

"... Commander..." she breathed.

He waved her off. "i'll-- be-- fine-- ..."

One of the dogs barked. Both Undyne and the Commander looked over the rock. The entrance on the opposite side of the cavern looked considerably darker than it should have. That meant Corrupters were coming, and a lot of them.

Undyne swore voraciously. "Crap--" she took a breath. They had about two minutes to figure something out before this already-hell turned even more hellish. Then she looked at Commander Sans.

He was grinning as always, but he had a sad, tired look in his eyes. This was hopeless, he knew.

"D- don't you worry, Commander." She spoke just as much for herself and the other solders as the Commander. "Just sit tight. We'll get outta this, get you back to your dad. He'll fix you up; you'll be back on your feet in no time. Don't worry, I-"

"colonel." The Commander struggled to his feet. "colonel undyne--... listen."

"Please," she begged quietly, "stay sitting. Please."

He ignored her. "colonel-- this is-- a field promotion."

"Commander, no."

He struggled a step towards her. "i, commander-- sans-- of the pure-- army--"

"Please. Commander. Don't do this.

"--promote you-- colonel undyne--"

"No." Undyne felt something wet slide down her face from her right eye.

"to-- rank of-- acting commander-- as of now. you --" He ignored his own tears and gestured to the dogs and the two wounded monsters, "all bear witness--"

"Commander. Please stop."

"--to my words.-- commander--" He turned back to her, a pleading look in his eyes. "--as leader-- of this army,"

"Sans, you don't have to do this."

"--you are-- sworn to protect all-- monsters. do-- do your job well." He set a hand on her shoulder.

"Please."

"my-- final order to you-- is get these monsters-- outta here-- safely."

"Sans..."

"--i-- wish you the-- best of luck-- commander, and--"

"Sans!"

"--it's been-- an honor-- serving with you-- undyne."

It happened then in slow motion. Corrupters lunging over the rock, swatting the dogs aside. Commander Sans, blue light spreading from his eye, across his skull, over his whole body, giving him a blue aura. Reaching out his arm. Running through the first two Corrupters with bones. The next set crumbling at the assault of a set of Blasters. Sans vanishing for a shattered moment, reappearing on the back of a Corrupter, bone in hand, plunging it downward.

He looked at Colonel-- Commander Undyne.

Go.

She didn't know if he had said it, or she had imagined it.

He flipped backwards off the crumbling Corrupter, leaving a trail of dust, the black of the Corrupter's and the white of his own.

GO!! I'll take care of this!

Blinking back tears, she turned and scooped up the two wounded monsters, called to the dogs, and took off running.

One more glance, back at her commander, her friend.

He was glowing with Magic. Every gesture sent Corrupters flying, or bones spearing from the ground, or Blasters firing.

But even as he destroyed the Corrupters, he himself was dying.

She had to hold on. Follow orders, then hold on to the hope that when she came back, he would still be there.

She would be back to save the Commander.

~o0o~

When Papyrus got home from school, he found his father sitting at the kitchen table, a package in front of him. He was expressionless.

"Dad? Are you alright?"

For a long minute, Gaster didn't acknowledge Papyrus, just stared at the box. Then he sighed, shoulders slumping. "... no." His voice seemed unnaturally... small.

"What's wrong?" Papyrus walked over and saw the box was already open. He peered in. Gaster didn't try to stop him.

Inside were two things. First was Sans' jacket, the blue jacket he was always wearing or carrying or had tied around his waist, folded neatly and carefully. Second, resting on top of that, was a jar filled with a white powder.

"D- dad...? That's not-- ..." Papyrus felt like he was suffocating, suddenly needing oxygen and unable to get it. He looked up at Gaster.

He saw the tears pooling at the bottom of Gaster's eyesockets.

"Dad?" He pleaded desperately. It can't be-- it isn't-- there's no way Sans died. There isn't!

Gaster sucked in a sharp breath, a tear streaking down his skull, parallel to the lower crack. "Undyne said-- she said he-- saved them. Saved them all. But he was already-- hurt when-- when they came, and when she went back for him--" Gaster stopped, unable to keep going. Papyrus found himself being lifted into Gaster's lap. Gaster clung to him, holding him tightly, sobbing into his scarf.

Papyrus just stared straight forward.

Sans was...

Gone? Forever?

He was dead?

No, no that didn't make sense.

He was fine, Papyrus had seen him.

Papyrus had seen him just yesterday.

He couldn't be dead.

He couldn't be dead.

HE COULDN'T!!

Numbly, Papyrus turned and buried his face in Gaster's sweater. Together, father and son mourned the loss of their family.

~o0o~

There was a funeral. Two, actually. The one that Gaster and Papyrus held privately, just them, them and Sans.

And then there was the public one. The national one.

Papyrus didn't go to that one. He stayed at home, Alphys sitting next to him, hugging him.

Telling him she was so sorry.

He barely heard.

Gaster had to go to the public funeral. Afterwards, he had a speech. About how they couldn't give up. How yes, this was a devastating blow. How yes, it seemed as though everything was hopeless. But, how his son had given his life, paid the highest price of all, to keep them safe. How if they gave up now, his sacrifice would have been in vain.

Papyrus and Alphys watched the speech on tv. There was nothing else on. Throughout most of it, Gaster was calm. Composed. Five minutes from the end, he broke, and couldn't finish. Asgore said the rest.

Gaster came home. Sat down next to Papyrus as Alphys left.

He hugged Papyrus. Hugged him tight. Rocking gently back and forth. Hugging Papyrus. Didn't let go. Said he never would. Said he loved Papyrus. Said he would never. Let. Papyrus. Go. Hugging. Rocking back and forth. Wouldn't let him go. Loved him.

They didn't try to sleep that night. Just sat together, Gaster quietly sobbing. Eventually, exhausted, they both did sleep. Dreamed. Dreamed of Sans. Good dreams. More bad dreams. Woke up sweating, both of them.

It was getting lighter outside.

Neither felt like eating. They did anyway. Just cereal, with milk.

Went back to the couch, curled up together. No work, no school. Just each other, trying their best to comfort, when their own wounds couldn't be healed.

Queen Toriel came. Got them up. Made them move. Tried, anyway. Papyrus didn't want to help cook.

He wanted Sans.

He wanted his brother.

It finally, truly began to sink in. Sans was gone. Forever. Papyrus would never see him again.

Papyrus collapsed, sinking to the floor.

He was gone.

He hugged himself tightly, rocking on his heels.

Forever.

Toriel and Gaster were both there, sitting beside him, holding him.

He wanted his brother!

He screamed. Howled. Gripped Gaster's shirt tightly and shrieked against his chest. Cried and sobbed and choked to the point of making himself sick.

Sans was gone. He wasn't coming back.

He wasn't coming back.

...He wasn't...

        ...coming...

                ...back...

                       ......

§

A/N

Homework? Whaddya mean I "should be finishing my homework"? I've been struck by inspiration and filled with determination! I wanna write this story, dangit!

Anyway, thanks for reading! Remember, votes and comments are not only always welcome, but always appreciated!