In Space With Markiplier
Warnings: None
Characters: The Captain, Head Engineer Mark
Once upon a time, they felt fear, and confusion.
Repetition. A loop. Their heart in their throat, wild looks cast through the bridge as the events repeated—again—again.
Gradually, it turned to anger.
That infernal droning of the computer—each utterance of "absolutely catastrophic"—bringing their blood to boil. Bringing their fist to pound at the glass encasing them, at the screen in front of them, aiming to break something—anything. Multiple times, they even launched themself into the dead of space, hoping to all hell that it would finally be over.
Anger, into exhausted desperation.
Save them, their mind repeated over and over. Figure it out, they're you're responsibility! They'd run. They'd try everything they could think of. It was never enough.
Then, numbness.
Tired eyes would open to the glitching screen—again, and again, and again. They'd press the emergency release, step out, try again. Again. Again. Over and over, again, again, again.
The infernal looping held them prisoner just as much as anyone else.
But…did anyone else remember?
Their eyes shifted to meet their loyal Head Engineer's. Yes. Yes, someone did. He was trying, just as much as they were. Which of them had died more? Which of them had woken up more times to the blasted computer droning on and on? Which of them…
The Captain's shoulders slumped. Even as the Invincible II jolted violently as, yet again, the ADS was offline, their eyes instead found the window that looked out into open space. The window, that had shattered more times than they could even remember anymore. The window, that had sucked both them, and Mark, out into dead space countless times, in countless loops.
"How long..?"
They didn't speak much. Their actions spoke far louder, and it was never really questioned. Perhaps at one time, that voice had been firm, held an air of authority that could silence a room and draw all eyes on them. But now…
Now that voice was soft, barely a whisper. The edge was gone, chipped away by time and hopelessness and exhaustion.
Mark, always ready to try again, to try something new that maybe, just maybe, could get them down a path to fix all this, paused with his hand hovering at the ADS door's controls. Neither of them were in any particular rush, not anymore. They had all the time in the world and more, it seemed.
"I… I don't know, Captain."
Both glanced down at the crystal in their palm. They'd gotten it, not long ago. It had allowed them to find new paths, new people, but… It still wasn't enough. All it had offered was less repetition to the endless loops.
"We'll solve this." Mark's hand on their shoulder. They breathed in. Out. Slowly. Closed their eyes but a moment, then nodded. "We have to."
