"He plucks the threads that make us dance. Finger and toe. We surrender, in joy, to the lowest of the foul and rank. We submerge through Darkness, and rancid filth. Hour by hour, we move downward, ever closer to Hell in a slow, steady gait"-Arkham, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening

It was late. Darkness filled the night sky as Mark drove home after taking a ride to get away from everything for the moment to clear his mind from YouTube, family, and friends. He sighed heavily as the radio was silent in his car as he drove on. He wasn't really focusing on his work as much as he should. He wasn't sleeping much either, and it worried his roommates, his fans, his friends, and his family. He didn't want anyone to think he was going insane, but he figured a few days away from YouTube would do him some good. Deep inside he felt…loneliness. Even though he had friends and people there for him, something was missing. 'God, what is wrong with me?', he thought, 'I feel like crap' His body felt weak from lack of sleep and eating when he suddenly felt a wave of slumber hitting him. "I better get back", Mark mumbled, "Maybe this time I'll get some sleep"

He made it back to his house and opened the door to be greeted by Chica, his beautiful Golden Retriever. Her tail wagging happily as he petted her, ruffling her fur a bit as she licked him a bit before running into the living room. His roommates, Matt and Ryan, were on the couch watching The Walking Dead reruns when Matt looked over to see Mark. "Hey, Mark", Matt greeted, "Did driving around help out?" "A little bit", Mark replied with a frown, "A few of my fans have said that it's probably a random depressing stage that I'm going through or insomnia. I'll call a doctor and see what they can do in the morning, but for now, I'll talk to a few friends" Matt nodded his head as Mark walked upstairs with Chica behind him. He closed the door as Chica jumped onto his bed and lied down.

He looked at his computer and opened Skype to talk to someone. He figured Jack might be up, so he contacted him. Luckily, Jack answered, "Mark?" "Hey, Jack", Mark replied to the Irish YouTuber. Jack smiled as he ran his fingers through his dye green hair and said, "It looks like you're doing well now" "Yeah, I figured a drive around town would help me", Mark replied with a small yawn.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. Everyone's worried about you"

"Yeah, I know. I wish I knew what was bothering me though"

"I hear a girl was kidnapped a few weeks ago from one of the States. The thing is what is mind boggling is that she was home, in her room, and there is no trace of her at all"

That's right. Mark had heard about it on the news the other day. The kidnapper had somehow gotten in without making a sound, and the girl's room was on the second floor. There were no signs of a break-in. So, how was it that someone was kidnapped? Mark ran a hand through his dyed red hair that was turning orange instead of the pink he thought it would, but his fans still liked it as he said, "Yeah, it is" "I'd better not keep you for too long. Get some rest", Jack said.

They said their good-byes and they closed out Skype. It felt nice to hear from Jack as he texted his mom, brother, and step-mother. Like Jack, they were glad to hear from him, even though he promised that he would talk to them later on in the day tomorrow. He finally decided to hit the hay as he took off his shirt and changed into his pajama pants. He looked over at Chica who barely wagged her tail as Mark climbed into bed, yawning a bit. He could barely hear the TV on downstairs as he quickly got into a comfortable position. "Goodnight, Chica", Mark yawned and his only response was Chica laying her head onto his ankles as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Mark opened his eyes. He didn't feel Chica by his feet anymore nor the feeling of his bed, but he could feel grass underneath him. He slowly lifted himself up to look around. There was nothing. Only the grassy plain with a few hills here and there. Standing up, Mark got a better look of his surroundings as he mumbled to himself, "The hell am I?" It wasn't anything like he remembered from his childhood in Cincinnati as he started to walk. All that Mark was expecting was a lion or something to jump out and attack him as he walked but nothing. "What is going on here?", he asked himself before shouting, "Hello!" His voice echoed as he suddenly heard a voice that wasn't his or anyone he's known.

"Someone heard me?", Mark said as he started to run, "Maybe I can find-WHAAAA!" Mark nearly fell off an edge when he practically threw himself backwards and onto his back to keep from falling. "That was too close for comfort", Mark said, "But who was that and how do I get across?" If Mark jumped then he would fall to his death, but he needed to get across and find that voice he heard that vanished. He soon heard the sounds of rattling behind him, making him look back and see snakes slithering their way towards him.

"Stay back!", Mark shouted, "I'm like a wild animal when I get cornered" He mentally scolded himself for saying that to wild animals as the snakes suddenly attacked each other, making Mark look confused at them. They soon morphed into one of the snakes as it got bigger and bigger until it was as tall as a four story building. "Oh crap", Mark said when the snake lunged at him. He quickly jumped back and away from the ledge leading deep into the darkness below, and as soon as he realized what he had done, gravity took over and he screamed loudly. Falling into the dark, Mark held out a hand when voices all around him began to speak.

Mark shot straight up in bed, panting heavily as sweat began to roll down his face. He looked over at his clock and it was almost noon. "It's noon already? I must've been a heavy sleeper last night", Mark said, "Hell, what time did I go to bed?" He then stood up and gathered some clean clothes and went to the shower to clean himself up. When he was finished, he went over to his computer and checked his social media. A lot of his fans wished him well, some demanded him to play more games, and others asked him what was up with his hiatus. He finally decided to make a video of what was going on and how he was feeling. After making the video, he sighed heavily and fixed it up a bit before posting it.

Seeing the comments pouring in, he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed once more. He never felt so tired and yet he wanted to do something. He looked over at his clock and got up to go to the kitchen for some food. He couldn't help but wonder who's voice it was he heard in his dream. From what he could tell, the voice was across the gap, but what was with the snakes. 'Something's not right', Mark thought. "Of course, something's not right", a voice much like his but demonic spoke. He whipped around only to have a hand around his throat and shoved against the counter. He saw himself, but paler and his eyes were black to the point that if light entered, it would never escape. "There's no way…you exist", Mark choked out, "The fans..made you up" "Yes, your fans portray me, but they never made me", the darker half of Mark replied, "You made me, Mark. The day you were born was the day I was created. For every light, there is a dark side" Mark felt the hand around his neck get tighter before it let go, making him fall to the floor and let out some rough coughs. "I could kill you myself, but I have better plans", the dark half said, "But where are my manners? I could introduce myself, but you know who I am"

"What the hell do you want, you emo vampire?", Mark growled. The smirk on Darkiplier's face vanished before he replied, "When the sun sets on the final day of the dead, the darkness that lies within the heart will spill blood" "What the hell are you talking about?", Mark asked. Darkiplier just laughed evilly before vanishing into the darkness, leaving Mark panting heavily as he massaged his neck. He knew that Dark had left an imprint.

Later on that day, Mark decided to record some videos for his fans, but what Dark said kept on repeating in his head over and over again. "'The darkness within the heart will spill blood'", he mumbled, "What does that mean?" Did that mean his heart? Or someone he knows heart? If so, then whose heart? His mother? His brother? Step-mother? Jack? Wade? Bob? He didn't know anyone who had a bad heart. At least he did, so then who was he talking about? After a whole day of thinking, Mark gave up and decided to get some sleep. "Whatever the hell he meant", Mark said to himself, "I have a feeling it's not good"

Mark went to the bathroom to check his neck and saw the handprint was somewhat there when he heard a chant being made by Darkiplier. Mark suddenly felt his head begin to spin. He was panting heavily as he was losing his balance. He tried to yell out Matt and Ryan's names, but his voice wasn't working for him. He fell to his knees as Darkiplier continued the chant in an ancient language while Mark fell to the ground. His throat felt like it was closing on him as he curled into the fetal position, trying to slam a fist, a foot, something to make noise.

Darkiplier soon appeared with an evil grin hovering over Mark. He soon bent down and said, "You are right about one thing, it's not going to be good. I'm going to take you somewhere. Somewhere you will never escape nor where anyone will find you" As Mark began to lose consciousness, he could hear it. The voice in his dreams was calling out to him. His right arm slowly reached out and as his eyes closed, he simply whispered, "Help me…"