Chapter Three: The School

Jack wasn't in the office like he had been the last couple times he came to the mind, nor was he in the area he left. He spawned to a door that lead to an empty street, a nice looking neighborhood coming to his view. No one was around that he could see, not to mention there weren't any cars parked on the sides either. The sky was a dark grey, clouds covering any patch of sun that tried to shine through, and it made Jack think. If he was supposed to be in the mind of his friend then this would probably represent how he always felt. This very conclusion made Jack's heart ache for him, loathing how little he actually knew about him and the fact he had the audacity to freak out over a little glimpse of what Mark had to go through every day made him start to feel ashamed of himself.

The Irishman walked down the road and made his way closer to a school, his nerves wracked with anxiety and fear coursing through him. But he was determined to do whatever he could; that nightmare really made him realize how easily he actually can lose Mark. As he got to the gates, he noticed a girl with red dye on the top of her hair and the bottom part dark brown, exactly like how Mark's used to be and surmised it might be another personality. Although he was a little confused that this one appeared to be female, she was sported in one of those school girl uniforms, possibly Japanese? Being brave or just incredibly stupid, Jack got closer to the girl who's back was to him and hadn't seemed to notice him.

"Um, hello?" He started, hoping this personality was nice.

The young girl turned her head to him and in a split second it went from normal to wide eyed and smiling.

"Seonbae!" She squealed, latching herself onto him excited.

"S-Seonbae?" He stuttered, not understanding what she meant by that

"Yes, you're my Seonbae, Jack. Don't you recognize me? It's Mariko!" The red headed girl replied, holding onto him so tightly it hurt.

"Could you please let go? You're kinda cutting off circulation in my arm," He politely asked, pulling away from her. Her face flashed a distraught expression, looking up at him like he had done the most terrible thing in the world.

"D-Does Seonbae not like me?" She whimpered, tears bridging the sides of her eyes. He was at a loss for words, raising his hands up in surrender as he tried to console her.

"No no, you were just hurting me," he soothed, smiling a little nervously. She immediately brightened up and hugged his torso in a strong grip.

"Good! Cause I don't want Seonbae to hate me. I love my Seonbae~" Mariko giggled, grinning up at him. It made Jack feel incredibly unsettled, lightly tugging her off him and taking a step back.

"That's great.."

You fookin psychopathic pox.

The red haired girl quickly saw the dismay in his demeanor, her face growing grim and solemn.

"I'll make you love me soon enough," she growled, eyebrows furrowing. She spun away and ran off, leaving the baffled Irish YouTuber on his own on the school ground. He wasn't sure if he felt safer with or without anyone around, but regardless he continued on, making sure to check for Mariko. She was freaky that one, the way she changed moods at the drop of a hat. Sort of reminded him of this game he played once, but that wasn't important right now. First objective was to try and find Markus or Arthur; though he supposed but the last few conversations with Arthur weren't too pleasant so he'd likely much rather find Markus. He diligently crept inside the locker room and snuck to the halls, examining the parameter for any threats. Once he found no such thing, Jack made him way to the nearest open door and hid along the wall just next to the entrance, checking once again in the long, empty hallways.

"Sean."

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin with an inaudible gasp, putting a hand to his chest when he only saw Markus in a doctor's uniform.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack ya bastard!" He hissed, making the older man chuckle.

"I apologize, I didn't mean to."

"Why are you in a school nurse's uniform anyway?" He asked, smirking a bit.

"Huh? Oh, I'm a doctor. I forgot to tell you didn't I?" Markus smiled, pulling at the white coat and scrubs for emphasis.

"I can see that actually," Jack finished, looking him up and down.

"I'm glad you're here, I was getting worried you'd not want to come back after last time."

"Wait, how did you know..?" The smaller green haired man asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. Markus just smiled and sat next to Jack, whispering to him.

"In a sense we can all see what happens in here. We can't always do anything but I watched you fight. I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything to intervene," he apologized, his voice soft and deep in a way that made Jack's insides melt.

"I-It's alright. I was pretty selfish. Mark wouldn't wake up after a few days and… I kinda felt like it was my fault. And I had this nightmare that he died and… I don't want that to happen," Jack confessed, rubbing his neck. Markus stared at the younger, placing an arm around his shoulders and bringing him close.

"That won't happen. Not with you here at least," he assured. His eyes full of kindness and adoration for the Irishman. It made Jack hide his face away so Markus couldn't see the pink tint to his cheeks. God dammit if he didn't look so much like the original Markiplier.

"We should get going…" He coughed, averting his eyes from the doctor. He slowly got up and repeated his scouting, rushing out with Markus close to him. They skulked to the vacant rooms just to be sure that the coast was clear, and explored more. Jack noticed the subtle fluctuations in the older man's face on their journey, the most prominent of the emotions he showed being grief and sadness, as if reminiscing.

"Are you okay?" The 27 year old asked the personality. He heckled sheepishly and nodded, giving him a genuine smile.

"Don't worry, there's just a lot of memories here. Unfortunately none too happy.. But it's nothing to dwell on, let's continue."

Jack wasn't convinced but decided it wasn't worth making a huge fuss over if the other was reluctant to talk. They both heard shuffling and rapid squeaks on the ground, Markus yanking the younger male into a room as a small shadow sipped right by them. The Irish gamer was compelled to follow after them, starting to head out when the personality snatched his arm.

"Sean I don't think it's wise to do that, we don't know if it's safe enough out there for you," he warned, using his authoritative voice.

"Yeah but it looked like a child was running, they could be hurt!" Jack argued, pulling himself away and waiting for Markus to come with. The doctor stubbornly obliged to his whim, grumbling under his breath something about this being a bad idea. But he couldn't have said no to the green haired boy even if he wanted to.

They chased after the little shadow as fast as they could, the child panting like he was scared and running for his life which concerned Jack. It was possible that the kid was scared of them but he was sprinting long before the older men pursued him. It was strange how there really wasn't anyone to be seen in this giant school, not even those terrifying creatures he encountered before. What was a little kid doing when there was a possibly insane chick somewhere inside the building, waiting to make Jack "love her" or something like that? When they lost track of the kid, Jack searched around until he was sure he couldn't see him.

"I'll go this way and you go that way, okay?" He instructed, looking to Markus affirmatively.

"I don't feel comfortable splitting up when one of the other's is directly targeting you.." he protested, shaking his head. The younger man sighed and took the doctor's hands, staring straight at him.

"We'll cover more ground if we do this. It's stupid and I absolutely know it, but if there's a little child that might be hurt I'm not going to fookin stand around watch it happen."

Markus internally slapped himself and huffed, glaring a hole to the ground.

"Fine.."

He was letting his feelings get in the way.

Jack smiled and hugged him, bolting down and taking a sharp left, leaving the personality standing there to watch him leave.

The little boy, he found out it was, was running amuck in random spots in the school, leading Jack on a wild goose hunt with no means to an end that he could foresee. He was getting frustrated with the kid, wishing he could go around and stop him if only he knew what the pattern was. But he came upon a classroom, freezing up when he managed to catch up with the child and was horrified to find he looked like a young Mark getting beaten up by older elementary boys.

"Hey!" He shouted, attempting to move and soon found he wasn't able to, which incensed him. Mark was wailing in pain, each punch getting harder and him holding himself tighter into a ball, causing Jack's jaw to shake in rage. He wanted so desperately to save him, get those little shits away and stop hurting Mark. Soon enough the scene faded, making Jack realize it was just a memory. He sucked in a deep breath, calming himself by saying it was just an illusion, even if it had been real at one point. The screaming had luckily stopped, until on his right he heard more children yelling, perplexing him to prowl after.

"What are you gonna do now faggot? We saw you kiss Chance the other day, you gay piece of shit," The biggest one sneered, kicking Mark in the stomach and knocking him back into the wall.

"N-No! I was dared to…" he quivered.

"You wanted to kiss another boy, didn't you? Your dad a faggot too?"

"Don't talk about my dad like that!" Mark screamed, pushing the biggest boy away from him. This only resulted in him getting clobbered even harder than prior. The second one in the group grabbed Mark by the hair and pulled his face up, taking his glasses off and throwing them on the ground.

"Do you need these to see?" The first one taunted, lifting a foot and squishing them.

They resumed their jeering and there wasn't a damn thing Jack could do to stop them. The small brunette tried his best to hold in the tears as they deemed him not worthy to pick on at the moment anymore, cackling as they went away. It was just a memory he had to keep telling himself, not that it stopped him from feeling horrible for not being able to help at all. Soon enough this one dispersed into mist and left him alone.

Jack hadn't realized he was being followed, not initially at first. By the time he had noticed the things slinking in the dark not far off had caught up to him he wasn't prepared at all. The first one was dragging itself with its thin arms, its whole body a dark sickly green colour with a disfigured head and beady eyes, much like the first one he faced. It was smaller than the second one, but looked quicker despite it not having any legs. It's friend was giant, oozing almost purple coloured goop with every step it took and it's face, although completely blank, was just as drooped as everything else about it. They staggered toward the Irishman, causing him to be backed into a corner and frantically scoured for something to defend himself with. He managed to slip by them and stumbled into a room, spotting a sword placed on a holder. It looked like some sort fencing club room, except that the said sword wasn't a rapier. It was a katana, as predictable that might have been considering how Mariko was dressed, but the rest of the school looked like a normal american establishment. Not having any time to decide, he grabbed it and unsheathed it, feeling it pulse strangely in his hand. The two beings came crawling into the room, clicking and growling at the younger man as he waited for them to attack. As soon as he swung his weapon a glowing flash sliced through the green creature, making it shriek out in pain and limp.

"Whoa!" Jack blurted, grinning widely at the katana as it flickered a burning lime light, gripping it tightly. The boy confronted the beings, tumbling to the side as the green slug like one scratched him in the stomach. He choked a bit, but proceeded to charge at the bigger amalgamation and stabbed it in it's torso, finishing off the first of the two until both slumped to the tiles lifelessly and leaving Jack exhausted. The sword's glow diminished shortly after but the fight had drained the energy out of him. It seemed like hours before he was able to get up, albeit now weary, and treaded out of the room.

He heard soft crying in the hallway, peeking out to spot the small Mark once more with his knees to his chest and face buried in his arms. Jack slowly walked down, trying to be as quiet as he could. Stopping just at the feet of the boy, the 27 year old Irish Youtuber knelt down and offered a sympathetic smile to him, happy when he looked up with a sniffle. He blinked teary eyed in wonder, reaching a hand out to Jack who subconsciously held his out as well, the kid vanishing in a field of smoke from the contact. For some reason that made the young gamer sad, pulling himself back up. Not far off there was more grumbling crackling sounds coming from the right side, Jack heading left so to not cross paths with them. He compressed his rear side against the drywall and examined where the new creatures might be.

"Envy, self loathing, anger, hunger. These are just a few things that these wonderful minions are made of, Seonbae~"

The green haired 27 year old whipped him head to his blind side, nearly yelping when he found himself facing a wide eyed simpered Mariko, her hands behind her back as she teetered closer to him.

"Do you like them? I'm the only one of our group that can control them. I don't make them of course but they listen to me," she giggled, sounding hysterical. Jack stepped away when she advanced, pointing his weapon at her. Her grin fell and was replaced with a murderous lower, gritting her teeth.

"It's not nice to treat girls so roughly Seonbae. Why would you point a sword at a lady?!"

She lowered her head, her gaping eyes looking right through him. She lifted a hand and snapped, a trap door activated when she got him in the right spot, making him drop.

Drip drip drip.

It sounded far, like a leaking pipe which only seemed to annoy Jack to no end.

"Mm, shut it already…" he grumbled, his arms restricted above his head as he jangled them. The young Irish YouTuber was in a basement of some sort, a shrine just on the other side of him with a picture of himself in the front of it. Without his glasses he couldn't see too far ahead, but he made out a tuft of his green hair, some sort of bandaid and a rotted apple. It was dim and dank, the walls riddled with mold and ages of damp rot. He could hear the floorboards creak unevenly, dust snowing onto the ground as the came closer to where he assumed the entrance would be located. The door opened and Mariko walked down the steps, covered in blood from head to toe and smiling.

"Good morning Seonbae~" She sang, getting closer to him. Her uniform was torn up and dirty, the shirt just barely hanging off her shoulders. She stroked his cheek, sickeningly loving enough to make Jack's skin crawl with unease. He really didn't want her touching him, like at all because it made him feel intensely uncomfortable. She only oogled, letting out little creepy chuckles and muttering his name. This slag was insane.

"Why are you like that? Did you kill someone?" He dared to ask, regretting engaging in conversation with her.

"Not kill sadly, just a pesky old doctor who doesn't know when to give up. No one is going to take my Jack-seonbae away from me."

His eyes grew wide and thrashed against his binds.

"What did you do to Markus?!" He demanded. Jack might not have known the other for very long but the man had never done anything than be patient and kind to him. True he was a part of Mark which would inevitably mean they'd get along with each other but still.

"Like I said, I just played with him a little too hard. He hasn't gotten it through his thick skull that Seonbae isn't interested in guys," Mariko seethed, running a hand through her messy red hair and fixing it. Interested in guys?

"Anyway," she started, striding over to the corner leisurely, rummaging through a box. Tools fell to her feet as the girl dropped or threw them over her shoulder, letting out a small 'aha!' when she finally found what she had been searching for: a bottle. "These will help you relax while I finish preparing upstairs for you~"

The green haired Irishman didn't like the way she said that, coming back and digging out for two pills. He couldn't read what it said but he could only assume it was a drug of some sort. The psychotic young personality forcefully grabbed his head and harshly tried shoving the capsules into his mouth, growling when he locked his jaw shut.

"Take the damn PILL!"

Mariko cried out and slumped to Jack's knees, grabbing the back of her head in pain. He was relieved to see Markus, injured but alive, and rubbed his wrists once the doctor untied them. He pulled the younger away before frantically grabbing at Jack's face, checking his body for bruises or wounds. He grimaced at the claw marks on the other's abdomen but didn't say much of it.

"Thank goodness you're okay. I saw her tailing you as soon as we split up so I tracked her down and attacked her. She caught me off guard but I came as soon as I could," he explained, taking a hold of Jack's hand and dragging him away from the basement up into the actual house, shutting the door behind him. They trudged through all the items and furniture wildly spread about, jumping over a dresser that caught the Irish gamer's pant leg and made him trip into Markus, who gently helped straighten him and barreled on through. It hadn't taken long for Mariko to recover and barrage up the stairs, emanating an ungodly rumble, picking obstacles and slamming them aside. With a snap of her fingers more creatures formed in front of the two men, ambling their way to avoid the pools of reconstructing enemies and got to the main doorway. Finally the two managed to get free, but it didn't stop Mariko from catching up, a heaving mess of anger.

"YOU CAN'T HAVE SEONBAE. ONLY I CAN BE WITH HIM!" She screamed, gripping her knife tightly, intent on killing Markus no matter what it took. The amalgamations accompanied her sloppily, as if they weren't put together correctly and wobbled to attack, missing with their aim skewed.

"Ugh, you useless things!"

Taking this opportunity when she was distracted, Jack quickly found a broken pipe lying on the ground and swung it on her chest, Mariko falling on her bottom in surprise. She lunged at him and tackled him to the ground, raising the knife as she tried to cut him with the blade.

"Please Jack-seonbae, I don't wanna hurt your pretty face. You're my precious seonbae, you're mine you're mine you're mine!" She chanted maniacally, thrusting all her strength against him and manage to slash into his cheek

He saw no choice but to do it, so when the girl raised her arm to ram it down on him he shoved the bar inside her chest, piercing right through her heart. She finally lay still on top of him, her stare blank and dull now. Markus tossed her away and helped Jack up, hugging him tightly.

"I can't believe you did that.." he muttered, more out of shock than scolding. The green haired Irishman let out a breath and pulled his head to look up at the other, noticing a strange look on his face as he stared almost longingly back. His eyes were transfixed on the cut on the other's face, wiping his finger along it gently to clean up the blood before realizing what he was doing.

"Everything okay?" Jack asked, gulping nervously, wincing slightly. He wasn't used to this sort of attention, especially when he knew he wasn't, well, gay. Nothing wrong with liking guys, he was not into them however as Mariko had stated previously. But the weird spit in his chest wouldn't stop, coughing a little to ease the sudden tension. Whatever trance Markus was in he shook his head and smiled, backing away.

"It might be a good idea to head back out," he suggested, placing his hands together in front of himself neatly. Jack nodded in agreement and smiled, briefly hugging the doctor again before closing his eyes, pulling away.

He was in the hospital once more, evening still like time didn't move when he was connected to Mark's subconscious. To his solace all the monitors showed Mark wasn't in any danger, not at the moment for now at least, but it still made him feel a little more at ease. He felt so tired, fatigue sneaking its way in.

-"Hello Jack."

He jumped and looked through the dusky room, the man in the suit from before standing tall and powerful. He only smirked slightly at Jack, placing a large hand and stroking his tie to adjust it, his eyes scanning the other's entire body, critically and pleasingly. He only sauntered closer, breathing lowly as he leaned in and let a hot exhale that tickled the skin on Jack's neck, causing him to shiver. The smaller froze when wandering hands snaked their way lightly to his lower back, pushing him closer until his chest was pressed against the taller man's own. The ravenette breathed in deeply, fingers tapping his spine and running it up and down sensually. His other hand slithered down his shoulder blades and to the side to take a firm hold on his hip. The green haired Irishman felt extremely exposed, snapping to his senses and shoving the other away, hugging himself. The man chuckled as his expression grew elated, folding his hands behind him. This action made the green haired man realize this is probably the one whom he had first met upon his arrival in L.A., just by how he moved and acted. That still didn't make him feel safe, especially what just barely happened, the suited Mark acting as if he owned him.

"What the fook was that for?" Jack snapped defensively, glaring at the other with uncertainty and apprehension.

"I thought I had made that obvious. Or maybe you'd like me to do a demonstration," he purred, something really off about this man. Everything screamed 'entitlement' about him; the way he stood seemed to be as if he was making sure he over towered Jack to intimidate him, which was working accordingly. The Irishman was terrified of the dominant energy he emitted, not sure how to escape the situation. Either way, he moved backwards of him until he bumped the bed the real Mark lay comatose in. To Jack's dismay, this only made the gray-scaled Mark close the gap, trapping the younger.

"Jack, you're dreaming," Mark whispered into his ear, causing something to snap him out of it.-

Oh, that's right.

He groggily rubbed his eyes and breathed deeply to steady his pounding heart. Okay so another nightmare about that man again, he noted to himself he should probably talk to Markus about it to see if it was another personality or not. In any case, Jack stood up and checked Mark, ecstatic when he looked far better than before, his face a normal colour and breathing even. So he really was doing something to help his friend, the green haired thought thankfully.