From War to Science {UNDERTALE}

Battle

                By the time they reached the edge of the forest, there were five in their group—a very young girl and a very old man had joined halfway through the night. He couldn't help but think what a sorry group this was—and this was all that was left of their village. But there was no time to wallow, no time to grieve. They needed to reach the monsters' kingdom by nightfall, lest they be ambushed.

Lucida, despite everything, chattered away as they walked. Though strained, her voice still carried a note of optimism in it; her words must have been even more so. Even though W.D. couldn't understand a word of what she said—he suspected it was Serif, but how could he know—he had to admire her tenaciously upbeat attitude. Palatino and the other two remained silent; W.D. had tried to sign "hello" to the old man, but the blank look on his face said far more than his hands could. W.D. stilled his hands for the rest of the walk, instead focusing on potential threats as they made their way through the forest.

The last of the Gasters was good enough for that, at least.

Luckily enough, they reached the Monster Kingdom before the sun had set. The small group drew even closer together as they entered the borders: the old man carrying the girl and Palatino's arm protectively around Lucida. Already, the city—well, really, little more than a village—was bustling with activity. No doubt word had spread about the attack on the skeleton village. They knew the humans were coming. Even so, the odd monster would send a suspicious glare their way—after all, it could only be assumed that skeletons were in some way related to humans. But there was no time to waste worrying over a relatively minor threat; if the monsters wanted the slightest chance of surviving this last battle—and it would be the last, they all knew—they needed to work quickly.

W.D. watched with a furrowed browbone as monsters either dashed in houses or prepared their magic. Even so, the energy didn't seem...right. There was not the frenzy of fear that had been in the village. Just...reluctance? Of course, there was the chance that he wasn't reading them right; he didn't know much about monster culture or warfare, to be honest. But...one thing he did know is that monsters did not like fighting.

That was a purely human trait.

A loud voice echoed through the streets, speaking with urgency. He looked back at the other skeletons, who, surprisingly, looked just as confused as he felt. Oh, of course. Monsters didn't speak Arial. Now they were all just as lost as he was.

He stepped back as the monsters around them charged forward. A call to arms, then. W.D. looked after the last few to run forward, then glanced back at the little group. He clenched his jaw, then turned to follow after the monsters. He heard Palatino and Lucida call for him, but he kept running. He had to help. He could not stand idly by during this. Not with these murderers coming for more death.

He reached the edge of the city, swallowing as he saw the distant smoke of his ruined village over the top of the trees. But he had to focus on the moment. Even now, he could see the red glow of the humans' torches. His hand clenched into a fist as the sound of their war horns filled the air.

The sight of the human army approaching the city's edge, it filled him with...

Rage.

Seething, white-hot rage filled his chest cavity, his abdomen, the gaps between his ribs, everywhere. He would kill every human that came their way if he could manage it. He would make them pay for what they had done. True, monsters didn't like to fight, but he was not a monster.