Hiro sat next to Markiplier in the center of a long table as they waited for the spectators to fill in and settle in their seats. Excitement and anticipation was building by everyone in the room the closer it got to the start of the panel. The tournament had wrapped up for the day just a little bit ago, and people were still buzzing about it.
Hiro already knew that Jack and Hiccup were backstage and they'd texted him that Crow had arrived already as well.
"You ready to get this thing started?" Markiplier asked him, beaming from ear to ear in excitement.
Hiro nodded and sat up a little straighter. "As I'll ever be! You're announcing, right?"
The youtuber nodded and adjusted his mic up, signalling to the audio crew before tapping on the mic and doing a couple testing checks which got the entire room to quiet down.
"Hello everybody, my name is Markiplier!" He called out, much to the crowd's delight.
Hiro pulled his mic a little closer and joined in, "Heyo, audience! How is you? Tis I, TheLittleHiro!"
"Welcome to the Marking the Heroes panel!"
A rumble of laughter and cheers echoed from the audience upon hearing the name.
"Why and how we picked that name is beyond me. Really, it sounds like a ship name or something." Hiro remarked, garnering more amused responses. Especially when Markiplier mockingly acted surprised and muttered out a dramatic 'oh God, that's true.'
Meanwhile, behind the curtains, Sebastian sat on the ground with his knees to his chest and his chin on his knees, eyes closed while he listened to music to pass the time. He briefly wondered if his brother would be joining them tonight. He'd invited him to the panel as well after the tournament had wrapped up for the night. Yami had said he'd try, but, as usual, there were no guarantees because of his boss. Everything always relied on Kaiba. He was getting sick of it. That ridiculous human always acted like he owned Yami.
When he heard a voice through the music, he lifted his head and turned off his music, putting his headset around his neck so he could hear. He could hear Markiplier and Hiro explaining the rules for the panel and the dare jar, so he got up and dusted himself off before adjusting his mask and joining Hiccup and Jack by the curtain leading out to stage.
Through the curtain they heard Marikiplier start their presence. "Now, as the story goes, Jack and Hiccup couldn't come for a few reasons."
"School, mostly." Hiro interjected. "Didn't think they'd have time... But! Due to a friend of theirs being super awesome and generous, all that's changed!"
"Also! They found a fellow gamer that a lot of you most likely know. He's absolutely fantastic, by the way. Respect."
"Respect indeed. So-"
"Yo, Hiro, dude! Enough with the intros!" Jack complained into his mic, causing the audience to gasp and cheer. "Can we come out now? I wanna see the people!"
"Yeah, please?" Hiccup chimed in, eliciting screams of excitement this time.
It was all a bit loud for Sebastian, but he'd already agreed to be here, so when the mic was offered to him, he straightened up and leaned over. "Honestly, they're practically vibrating in excitement back here. Though I must admit, I am feeling a bit cramped as well."
Even more screams and cheers nearly drowned out any other sound, but still Markiplier and Hiro managed to be louder still.
"Uh, excuse you, but we're trying to do a panel here." Hiro taunted.
"Anyway, without further ado! Come on out, guys!" Markiplier invited and without skipping a beat, the curtain was drawn back.
Sebastian let Jack and Hiccup enter first, watching them wave to the audience before taking their seats; Hiccup next to Hiro and Jack beside him. Sebastian followed shortly after, greeting the audience as best he could before claiming a seat on Jack's other side. It was all so loud, it was almost overwhelming.
Markiplier turned to face them, "Just in case these people don't know who you all are, please introduce yourselves."
"Yeah, just go down the line." Hiro encouraged.
"Sup, everyone. NorwegianDragonMaster here, at your service." Hiccup smiled for the flashing cameras. "You can call me Hiccup."
Jack practically jumped out of his seat to introduce himself. "Why hello there, snowflakes. How you doin'?" He winked at them. "IceWarrior1700 here! Just call me Jack."
Sebastian waited for Jack to sit back down before putting forth a charming smile. "Good evening, I'm simply Crow. It's a pleasure to be here."
They all waited for the crowds to quite back down before continuing on.
"Alright. So, for a little while, we'll be taking some questions. And I'm gonna be running around with the mic to come to you guys so no one has to ruin their vocal chords even more by shouting." Hiro announced.
Before they could continue; however, the doors at the back of the hall swung open and a regal figure clad in gold stepped in. The door clanged shut behind him, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"Do any of you mind me barging in?" Yami called, putting a hand on his hip and grinning cockily as the audience once more lost their minds over the new arrival.
"Of course not, my good man!" Markiplier sounded breathless, but at lesat he wasn't speechless like the other three beside him. It seemed like Crow was the only one who wasn't stunned into silence. "Come on in. Join us on this two hour adventure."
Yami strode down the aisle and placed himself beside his brother, looking to Markiplier for direction.
"So, for the possible few out there who don't know who you are, please introduce yourself."
"Alright. Hi, everyone." Yami greeted, waving at them. "It's an honor to meet you all. For now, call me Pharaoh."
/You made it./ Sebastian greeted, smiling as the other came up to sit beside him. "Wow, I wonder where they got that name from."
"Hush you," Yami chided, rolling his eyes. /Of course I did. It just took awhile because… you know./
Once the room settled down from Pharaoh's arrival, they started off with a classic Q&A session. Poor Hiro ran around the floor with a wireless mic while the rest of them chose different people from the crowds. They asked the usual for the most part, favorite colors, favorite games and music along with tips on how to become a gamer or youtuber. They even received gifts from one person.
"My question is for Crow and Pharaoh," one girl, Demi, announced. "How do you two know each other and how did you meet?"
Yami sat up in interest at this question, "Well, Crow and I go way back. Why don't you tell em, Crow? You're better at storytelling than I am."
"Pharaoh and I first met at a game shop." Sebastian started, smiling at his brother. "Both of us were after the last copy of the new release that had just gotten out, but neither of us had pre-ordered it. One heated argument over who should have gotten it, a little girl taking it behind our backs and the store clerk threatening to kick us out later, we were the best of friends...or rather the greatest of enemies. We blamed each other for the game getting away for weeks until each of us finally got a copy. We then raced to see who could finish it first. When we tied, we agreed to start hanging out, and we even went to our first con together. We've been happy rivals and closest of friends ever since."
It was after that that Hiro announced they'd be moving on to the truth or dare questions, switching out with Jack to be the runner. This made Sebastian and Yami a bit more apprehensive. They'd each learned fans could have rather…strange requests or challenges during these games.
"This is for Mark. Truth or dare?" The first lucky fan piped up, humming in thought when Mark replied with truth. "Did you or did you not say girls can apply to be your girlfriend?"
Mark laughed at this and rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, yes, that is true, but! I only meant it as a joke. I didn't realize til after that that my fans actually wanted to be my girlfriend... So. I'm sorry, but I'm not accepting any more applications."
There was a lot of disappointed booing from some fans, but the mood in the room remained light as more tried to raise their hands to be chosen.
"Alright, how about the sweet miss in the back corner with the red shirt and white bow in her hair?" Sebastian chose, trying not to grin as Jack was forced to run from one end of the room to the next.
"I'd like to ask Pharaoh, truth or dare." She piped up once the mic was placed before her.
Yami glanced to the rest of the table before looking back at her. "I'm slightly scared. Should I be scared?"
"That all depends on what you pick." She laughed. "You'll just have to choose and find out."
"Alright… How about… Dare." Yami decided, sitting up straighter. Sebastian wasn't surprised by his brother's choice. The other loved a challenge, though he could easily see the regret starting make him rigid.
"I dare you to pick up Crow bridal style and carry him down the center aisle." The girl Sebastian now regretted choosing chimed with a delighted clap of her hands.
"Wait! When did I get involved in this?!" Sebastian sat up straight, turning to Yami in alarm as if the other could get them out of this. His outburst was practically drowned out by the cheering and squealing fans however and his brother's laughter joined it.
Yami stood up and got down from the raised stage, "Oh, I'm totally doing this. Come on you, let's get this done. Unless you're a chicken rather than a crow~?"
Sebastian grit his teeth at the jab and stood up, "I'm coming…" He was more reluctant and shy about getting down. This was humiliating. He hadn't been carried like that by his brother in years, but all the same it was almost more damaging to his pride to turn down the dare and let him call him a chicken.
"Please don't drop me," he muttered to him.
"I can't promise you anything. You are taller than me." Yami teased, turning to the crowd. "But before we do this, I have to know. How many of you guys actually ship King Crow, by raise of hand?"
There were several cheers and far more hands than Sebastian was comfortable with. He knew people shipped them together despite them being real people, but it felt especially strange to him since he knew they were related. Not that anyone would ever guess. They looked nothing alike.
"Oh Ra. You guys are awesome." Yami's eyes were lit up, having the time of his life with this. "Alright, well, this is for you guys. You're welcome in advance."
Without another word, he quickly and effortlessly swept his brother off his feet and hoisted him up with an arm under his knees and another behind his shoulders. He made sure he had a firm grip on the off chance the other decided to flail or attempt escape.
"You're not seriously going to-" Sebastian was cut off and he let out a shout of surprise as the ground disappeared from under his feet. He instinctively wrapped his arms securely around Yami's neck, clinging tightly to his brother. He did his best to try and maintain some dignity by not looking at the other whatsoever, but by the time Yami turned around to head back up the aisle, the crowd's cheering and the cameras flashing overwhelmed him. His face felt as though it were on fire as he buried his face into the other's neck instead, wishing for nothing more than a hole to open up in the ground and swallow him whole.
"There, all done," Yami purred, setting him down and patting his head.
Sebastian dusted himself off, still not looking directly at him. "Are you sure?"
His brother's amused smile almost made up for it all, "Quite. Now, come on and sit back down."
Once they were all seated once more, Hiro picked the next attendee to challenge them. A Jinx cosplayer towards the back. She seemed innocent enough, so when she announced her panelist of choice was Crow, Sebastian felt inclined to pick...dare. Her request was far from innocent; however, daring him to prank call someone with a sister and explain that he had gotten her pregnant.
"Now now, while I am all for a good bit of fun, I'm afraid that's a bit far." Sebastian declined, much to the protests of the room. "I will say though, please be smart children. Wear protection."
"Hey hey, nothing in the rule said we couldn't have boundaries, let's move onto the next person… Five Nights at Freddy's hat. Near the middle, yeah you!" Markiplier smoothly covered up and redirected the crowd, shooting a wink to the others at the table.
"Jack, truth or dare?"
"Aww, nuts… Okay, truth!" Jack chirped up proudly, smiling widely as he waited to hear his fate.
Hiro huffed and crossed his arms, "What?! Hey! What happened to being a man?"
"Oh shush, truth is manly." Jack rolled his eyes in amusement and waved for the girl to ask.
"Alright, if you could kiss anyone in the room, who would it be?"
That got everyone listening, many fans shouting out their preferences and some pointing to themselves excitedly until Jack waved his hand to quiet them.
"Aw, dang it. Ummm…" He laughed a bit as he thought this over. "Okay, so who here has been following me for the past 3 years? A fair amount, alright, for those who have watched my vlogs...you should know that I've already done this."
Hiro was hardly keeping his laughter to himself and the winter spirit saw Hiccup pinching the bridge of his nose, already beyond done with this.
"Yeah, they know. They were there. For those who don't know or remember, I made a collab with Hiccup over a year ago, and it was an Ask/Dare video, which I asked for questions and dares over Twitter and Facebook. One dare in particular came up…" He paused for effect and to hear Hiccup start to protest and tell him to shut up. "Well, long short, someone dared us to kiss, we did and it was weird. But! To technically answer your question, I'd probably kiss Hiccup again because I've known him the longest and we've done it before."
"Yeah… thanks to all of you who ship HiJack. Thank a lot." Hiccup groaned into his mic, rubbing his face to try and get rid of the embarrassed flush across his face. He shot an accusatory but good humored look at the three masked gamers. "You three have it made wearing masks like that."
The shenanigans continued on leading to Hiro making Markiplier impressions, Hiccup doing the "I'm a Little Teapot" skit and failing and many other truths or dares asked of the others. One of their last choices asked King, a truth.
"Who was the last person you said I love you to, and did you mean it?"
Once more a pregnant silence fell over the room as they waited on baited breath to hear, perhaps moreso concerned to know if their favorite ships were at risk of being sunk. Yami could have laughed, but he only smiled and shrugged. "That's easy. I told my brother yesterday, and yes. I meant it."
Sebastian couldn't help the mental side conversation, careful not to look Yami's way. /Aw, did you really?/
/Of course I did, you dork. /
One or two more later, they were taking a group selfie and bidding all the congoers farewell, before ducking back behind the stage to make their escape.
"It was an honor to meet you, Pharaoh," Jack gushed, offering his hand to shake and practically vibrating with excitement when it was accepted. "Really, I'm a big fan."
Yami shook his head, letting out a quiet laugh, "The honor's all mine. I'll see you guys at the signing. I'm definitely coming, but for now, I'm heading out. I need a break after all that."
"I don't blame you. I'm thinking the same." Sebastian groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. He heard his brother mentally warning him to be careful and shot a smile in his direction, reassuring him that he would be if the other was. When he looked to Jack to let him know he was heading back to the room for a minute though, he noticed the other was pale...well, more pale than before and was staring at his hand. "Something wrong?"
"It can't be…" Jack muttered, not even paying any attention to them. "There's no way."
"Jack? What's up?" Hiccup asked, putting a hand on the other's shoulder.
"I'll be back." Was all he said before taking off, running out the exit.
"H-Hey, Jack- wait!"
Sebastian called out as well, but to no avail. He looked to Hiccup in confusion before deciding to give chase, following the other out into the crowds of congoers milling about in the hallways. Just what had gotten him so worked up?
Kitana: An actual chapter to post as well. Woot woot!
I think this every time I write for this...but wow this was all so long ago and it's so crazy to revisit how these characters used to be and interact with each other. It was almost cringy to write this and edit it (sparingly obviously). Cutting out this and that as I tried to find what was actually relevant. LoL
The plot should pick up soon here after the tournament arc and things should flow much more smoothly which is why I'm kinda just pushing this one out there. I do not want to work through it anymore and I would very much like to get to other, better things in this fic which will start to be introduced next chapter.
Thanks as always for reading, favoriting, following and reviewing and all of it. Especially on this fic.