Chapter 5: %?$! Squad and The Papyrus Fanclub

A/N: Updates won't be as frequent, due to a mix of me wanting to make stuff that isn't as rushed, and school. I'll be a trying a different writing style this chapter, let me know if this is more preferable than the dialogue format I was using previously. If people like it way more, I might edit some previous chapters. We'll see. Happy reading!

The 4 outsiders hid behind their respective conveniently shaped lamp upon Sans' recommendation. The sound of crunching snow drew closer and closer, until a familiar skeleton appeared in front of Chara, Sans and Asriel. Like Sans his outfit was the same as it always had been, his so called "battle body". The only difference was the light orange Deltarune badge affixed prominently to his scarf.

"Nyeh heh heh! Well if it isn't the-" Before Papyrus could even finish, Chara ran over and pounced on him in elation.

"PAPYRUS! I've missed you so, so much!" After the nightmare she had yesterday, she couldn't be happier to see him.

"Of course you'd miss me! It's been 2 days since we last spoke. Any longer and you would have died from Papyrus deprivation!" He exclaimed. Chara and Papyrus got up from the ground and brushed the snow off of themselves.

"Sup bro." Sans said, casually walking up to his younger brother.

"Sans! Where have you been? And what's with these lamps? You don't need 4!" Papyrus yelled. "And you still haven't set up your puzzles!"

"Just thought I'd decorate the place." He said, pointing to the drab area around them. All that was here besides the snow were the weird lamps and his sentry station/hot dog stand. "People will be so enamored by them that they'll never progress."

Chara was a bit confused upon hearing about his puzzles. [He shouldn't know about the arrival of Kris, so why would he need to capture anyone?]

"Uh, who exactly are we using these puzzles on?" Chara asked

"You! Who else?" Papyrus said. "I'll prove that I can make a puzzle even you can't defeat! And then, I'll become even more popular!"

"Oh by the way," Sans whispered. "You, Papyrus and I are pretty close in this timeline. He's constantly failing at trying to defeat you with his puzzles."

"I heard that last part!" Papyrus said, yelling at his brother.

[I guess some things never change.] Chara thought to herself.

"Puzzles? I love puzzles, I'm great at getting stuck in mazes!"

"Heh, you got that right."

"Guys! Be quiet!"

To Ralsei's dismay, Susie and Lancer whispered loudly to each other, catching everyone's attention.

"Who's there?" Papyrus said, looking around.

"Oops. Looks like the jig is up." Susie came out from behind the lamp.

"I'm always jiggy!" Lancer and the others did the same.

"Whaaaat!? New challengers!?" Papyrus exclaimed, surprised by the newcomers. "Attention! I, the great Papyrus challenge you all to…"

His voice trailed off when he saw Kris. His eyes shifted back and forth, from him to Chara. And then to Asriel and Ralsei.

"I'm seeing double!?" Papyrus said, taken aback. "What is the meaning of this? You never told me you guys had twins!"

Chara remembered that Sans personally did not want Papyrus to be too involved in what was happening behind the scenes, so she decided to lie her way through this.

"Uhhh, you see Papyrus…" Chara said, trying her best to come up with an excuse. "Well, I thought I'd get my friends to help me solve your puzzles since they're getting difficult!"

The %$?! squad introduced themselves to Papyrus.

"Sans! What does their "squad" name mean? I've never heard that word before." Papyrus asked.

"Well bro, it's a word that makes you bad at puzzles if you say it." Sans replied skillfully.

"Oh no! We can't say it, I have standards!" Papyrus yelled.

[Well, that's one way to stop him cursing.] Chara thought.

"But that doesn't explain those 2…" He pointed to Kris and Ralsei.

"Um…" Before Chara could continue, Susie cut her off.

"Those nerds aren't good enough to solve your puzzles…so they CLONED themselves to beat you!" Susie proclaimed.

[She sucks at lying but she's got spirit.] Chara thought as she facepalmed. Kris decided to humor them. He nodded in agreement.

"That's right! We're here to um, defeat you!" Ralsei did his best to go along with it.

"Wowie! Guess That's settled!" Papyrus said.

[Why did he accept that so quickly!? I guess I shouldn't complain…] Chara didn't know if she should be happy or disappointed at his gullibility.

"Wait a minute! This isn't fair at all!" Papyrus yelled. "These teams are way out of balance, it's a 2 versus 6!"

"Why don't we split into 2 teams?" Sans said, turning towards Asriel and Chara. "They'd never beat us. Right guys?" He said with a wink.

"Oh! R-right!" Asriel said with excitement.

"Uh yeah…" Chara was unsure of how things would turn out.

"This'll be a good opportunity to keep an eye on them and see how things go." Sans whispered.

[Guess he's still skeptical. They seem pretty harmless to me...] Chara trusted both parties. [Everything should be fine.]

"Then it's decided! The Papyrus Fanclub will test the strength and wit of your squad Prepare yourself for japes! Puzzles! And-"

"My amazing jokes." Sans said, cutting Papyrus off.

"And!"

"Wait why are we the Papyrus Fanclub?" Asriel wondered, cutting him off yet again.

"AND!"

"Yeah, we should be The Chara Fanclub." Chara teased.

Chara and Sans relished in Papyrus' frustration.

"As I was saying…" he said, slightly irritated. "Our puzzles and strength shall prove to be too powerful. Continue…if you dare! Nyeh heh heh!" And with that, Papyrus ran off.

"Thanks for that." Sans turned towards everyone. "He seems pretty excited to test his puzzles on new people."

"Yeah, I appreciate the save there Susie." said Chara.

"It's no biggie. You guys are helping us, so we want to help you." Susie smiled. "This should be fun. I'm not great at the whole puzzle thing but I'll give it a shot. I'd like to see how strong you guys are too."

Kris nodded.

"The %?$! squad won't lose against you clowns!" Lancer laughed.

"Yeah! Our team would never lose to you dorks." Susie agreed.

"This sounds so fun!" Ralsei said. "I could make some cakes for everyone after!"

"How about…whoever wins gets a reward from the other team? They could throw a party or something for the winners." Chara suggested.

"Hell yeah! You guys and Ralsei'll make us some great food." Susie replied eagerly.

"Alright, alright. Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Chara said smugly. "Sans and I will be taking the cake."

"Hohoho! That's right, clowns! Reduce our caloric intake!" Lancer said, laughing.

" We shouldn't keep my bro waiting." Sans said. "Chara and I'll keep an eye socket out for you guys. Let's get moving."

Sans started walking in the opposite direction, confusing Kris and company.

"Just let him do his own thing. Follow me!" Chara lead the way.

Puzzles, japes and bad puns awaited them…and an unpleasant surprise.

"Sir, we've got eyes on them. I can't believe it, not just a human but 3 monsters as well?" The guard said, surprised at this new development.

"We can deal with those 3 later. They'll be an important source of information if they know about the surface. That human is our primary target." The monster smiled in excitement. "It's been a while since I've fought one."

"Undyne, what are your orders?"

"I'll handle this alone. I don't want to scare the residents of Snowdin. Just keep an eye on Alphys for me." Undyne said, looking at the metal door behind them. "She's been more reclusive than usual…Alright. I'll get going now, my armor is back at my place. Keep me updated on the situation. I'll end things today. We'll finally be free."

"Yes sir!" A large group of guards stood at attention as she walked out.

Undyne left for her house, bearing the intense heat of hotland on the way there.

"For the sake of all monsters, I'll take the human's soul, even if it means taking her down."

"All the pieces are in place now. Are you having fun?"

"AH, A TRUE CHAOS. TRUE CHAOS INDEED! I WAS RIGHT TO PLAY WITH YOU! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

They watched on, placing their bets. The darkness around them grew dark, yet darker.