Hi everyone!

So, here's the second chapter of Mirror, Mirror. I'm so glad to see that people are intrigued by this idea! As you've all seen from the description, I intend to make this a series: 3 parts in total. I don't envision any of the individual parts being that long (currently, I have no idea how long this will be, but I'm thinking around 15 chapters).

Special thanks for reviews: Allaboutme7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to Markiplier, JackSepticEye or Matthias/Hi5 Universe. If you wish to use anything relating to my own universe, please ask first.

Here we go!

Chapter 2: We're Going On An Adventure!

It took about two weeks of correspondence for Mark, Jack and Matt to agree a meeting with Digitalia. Firstly, they had to sign lots of non-disclosure forms regarding the technology and agree to keep their dealings with the company out of the public eye, until such time as a full release was arranged. Then they had to wait for Damien to pass on more details of the intended testing. It turned out he was asking for their help for only 6 days initially, but that if they were open to an extended stay, he would like their company for two weeks. The trio agreed to two weeks, as that would be much easier for Jack with travel arrangements. With that sorted, they set their first face-to-face for three weeks afterward. Then came the hard work of them all preparing videos for their absence.

With two days to go until the meet, Mark was standing in LA International Airport, waiting for Jack to arrive. The Irishman had decided to come over a couple of days early to adjust to the time difference a bit better before going to Digitalia; as well as to record a couple of surprise collaborations with Mark. He'd explained in his videos that we would be in the States for three weeks, but hadn't said any more than that. Mark and Matt hadn't stated that they were taking a break from their channels, having managed to record enough to last the 16 days which they would be away. It turned out that Digitalia was based in a disused USAF base about 200 miles north of LA, Matt would be driving them there the day before they began 14 days of solid work. After five weeks of planning, all three of them were becoming excited.

Mark's eyes skimmed over the crowds, trying to catch sight of his favourite Irishman when he felt a presence next to him. A young couple were smiling at him shyly before one of them gained the courage to ask Mark for an autograph. He smiled back, loving when he managed to meet some of his fans, and took the pen and paper. After asking for their names he scribbled a small note along with his signature. When he looked back up he spied a familiar face a few metres away, but his attention was then stolen when one of the two young women asked Mark if they could get a photograph. Mark took her phone and switched it around to take a selfie, smiling as he realised they were about to have a fourth person join them.

"Mind if I photobomb?" came a voice from behind them, leading to the pair screaming in delight at seeing Jack appear. Mark chuckled as he took a few snaps, including their shock at seeing Jack join them. The pair then swiftly asked Jack for his autograph too, before leaving with beaming smiles. Jack and Mark both watched them walk away with matching grins. "That was awesome," said Jack as he turned to face Mark again.

"Yeah, their faces when you appeared behind them were priceless," laughed Mark. "I'm guessing they didn't twig it was you with the glasses."

Jack shrugged. "I couldn't be arsed wearing contacts today, not with all the travelling. Besides, it'll make life easier when we get playing a few games later."

The pair collected Jack's luggage and were soon on their way back to Mark's house. They left Jack's suitcase in the car, all he needed for the two nights he would be staying at Mark's in his backpack. Once they were inside Jack dumped his gear in the spare bedroom and swiftly crashed on the sofa in the living room. Mark chuckled. "You'd better not be wiped for what I've got in mind for you," he stated teasingly.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he smiled knowingly. "Mark, I thought we agreed to keep the Septiplier for the fan girls only? I don't think Amy or Signe really fancy sharing us," he replied with a wink.

That earned a laugh. "Very funny, Sean. Nope, I've got a better idea." Jack looked at him inquisitively. "We're going to go on VR Chat at the same time and just cause havoc."

Jack's eyes lit up at the prospect. "That sounds fucking awesome, man! Come on!"

Mark smiled fondly at him as Jack began setting everything up, the expression turning slightly melancholy. He really wished the two of them didn't live at opposite sides of the world. Jack was one of his best friends and they didn't spend nearly as much time together as he wanted them to. I hope we'll get to spend some quality time together at Digitalia. I'd hate for us to spend every day working our asses off only to be too tired to enjoy each other's company.

That night found them both sat in the living room, playing some Overwatch as they both munched on pizza they'd had delivered. The two of them were intensely focused on the game when they heard the doorbell go. After sharing a puzzled look with Jack, Mark stood up to get the door, tossing his controller to Jack in attempt to stop him from causing too much chaos in the match. He spied Chica wagging her tail at the door and realised it had to be someone she knew. Who would be coming over at this time?

Mark should have realised who would be waiting on the other side. "Matt?"

Matt waved as Chica began to beg for attention from their new arrival. "Hey, dude. Bad time?"

"Nah, not at all, I'm just a little surprised. I thought you would have messaged me first?"

"Amanda and Luna are out for the night, so I thought I'd drop by to see whether you've killed Jack or not yet."

"Well, let's find out." Mark looked over his shoulder as he shouted towards the living room. "Sean, you dead?"

An angry Irish voice echoed through the house. "I've died twice trying to save your ass, ya shite! I'm dying more than you!"

The pair laughed at the response. Mark spun back with a smile. "That answer your question?"

Matt shook his head. "I thought you guys would be fed up of games in your spare time given your channels, but you're still at it now?"

Mark shrugged. "Some things you can never get enough of." Once Matt was inside the pair wandered back through to the living room, Chica racing ahead of them and taking her place back between Jack and Mark. Since discovering she now had someone new in the house, she'd barely left Jack's side.

Jack turned to face Matt in surprise. "Hey, man! Wasn't expecting to see you until Monday! What's the occasion?"

Matt smiled as he sat down. "Was on my own tonight, so decided to check in. The flight over wasn't too bad I take it?"

"Pah! As if! Twice the plane went into a mini freefall cause of turbulence! Safe to say I swore rather a lot, the one consolation was that other people were doing the same. Was just a tad relieved to touch back down on solid ground." Both Mark and Matt chuckled at Jack's storytelling, and before long the three of them were playing together on some party games Mark had installed on his PlayStation. They'd been at it for roughly an hour before conversation turned to the reason of why all three of them were working together. "So, what do you two think of this whole Digitalia thing? I'm pretty stoked now that we're here. It seems strange to think we got that email 5 weeks ago!"

"I know, and it was a lot of back and forth for the first week," continued Matt. "A few of the guys at the office are intensely curious about where I'm heading off to: the only person who has any idea where I am going is Amanda. I told her I'm working with you two on something to do with VR, I didn't say any more than that."

"That's pretty much what I told Signe. She says hi, by the way, and wishes she was here too. If it weren't for the fact we had to keep everything so quiet, I would have happily had her come with us." Jack turned to Mark. "I'm guessing you told Amy something similar?"

"I said a little more than that; she's taking Chica for the next couple of weeks." The dog's ears perked up at her name and she wagged her tail as she stared at her master. Not that it encouraged her to move from Jack's lap in the slightest. Mark glared good-naturedly at Jack. "You know, when I said you could stay here, that didn't mean you could steal my dog. She's barely moved from your side since we sat down!"

Jack smirked and cuddled the retriever, who began begging for more attention. "Not my fault I'm so lovable, is it?" he shot back. He quickly felt when Chica's demeanour changed, however, and yelped as she kicked his stomach while she leapt away. "Fuck! Chica, that hurt!" All three men watched the dog as she went tearing to the patio doors and started barking, scraping furiously in an attempt to get free. Jack and Matt both gave her a strange look when she began snarling, the expression intensifying as Mark sighed and stood. "Ummm, what? I've never known Chica to be aggressive."

Mark opened the door and watched as she bolted out, standing at the bottom of the same tree she had been for the past few weeks and making her anger known. "She's not, and this is why I'm so confused. Chica's been doing this for about five weeks now, it's what woke me up the morning we got that first email from Digitalia."

"What's got her so worked up then?"

"No clue, but she does the same thing every time. Something catches her attention, and then she sits at the bottom of that tree and barks at it. She can be at it for hours sometimes."

"Maybe she doesn't like that tree?" suggested Matt.

"Or you've got a ghost," chipped in Jack.

Mark gave him a cynical look. "Seriously, Sean? That's your answer?"

"I've seen cats who are at opposite sides of a room follow the same thing move all around it! Ghosts are real, dude."

"Right, and I've got one stalking my house because…?"

"Bound to have a crush." Mark and Jack both turned to Matt at his comment. After a few seconds of silence, the three of them burst out laughing. Their attention soon turned back to their expectations for the upcoming weeks, but in the back of his mind Mark couldn't help but wonder whether Jack actually had a point. It certainly was weird.

Great, last thing I need is a haunted house. Hopefully with no-one here for a couple of weeks, this will all be back to normal.

The day of their trip arrived and the trio were all excited. Jack had been up earlier than Mark, which was a complete first: Mark was a morning person, Jack was definitely not. They'd had enough conversations at 4 in the morning UK time for Mark to work out that Jack was much more of a night owl. As Jack loaded the car with the rest of their gear Mark finished organising all his videos, as well as leaving instructions for his team on when to release everything. He knew all their fans would be surprised by the two vlogs he and Jack had recorded together, as well as the three challenge videos they'd done. He was hopeful of seeing the reception not too long after they went live, but he wasn't sure how much time they would have at Digitalia.

It was just gone 10am when they set off, Chica now safely in Amy's hands, as they headed to Matt's. He was standing outside, playing with Luna while chatting to Amanda when Mark and Jack appeared. They spent about an hour at their house before the trio departed, ready for the 200-mile drive to Digitalia's complex. "I am so stoked for this!" exclaimed Jack as they pulled away from Matt's house. "This feels like a road trip!"

"Well I guess you could say it is, except there's going to be a lot work involved," answered Matt.

"Woo! Adventure!" Both Mark and Matt laughed at Jack's enthusiasm, it was definitely contagious. Throughout the 4 hour drive the three of them talked animatedly about their thoughts regarding the project and what they hoped to see. As Damien had been so tight-lipped thus far, they didn't really have much to go on.

They finally pulled off the highway and into the desert, following the instructions sent by Damien the previous night to a plateau. On the horizon they could see a structure, an old military base just as he said. "This can't be right," began Mark, eyeing it with suspicion. "This place looks in complete disrepair; there's no way this is where Digitalia is based."

"Well, maybe it is," suggested Matt. "With all the secrecy involved in this, it wouldn't surprise me if the front is just for show. Damien certainly seemed paranoid about us not revealing anything."

"Makes me wonder why he picked a bunch of Youtubers to test this things out," added Jack. "We're not exactly known for being a quiet lot."

"Nah, that's just you, Sean," Mark threw in cheekily.

"This coming from the King of Screaming himself!"

"Hey, at least my screaming is from legitimate terror! Yours are just because you feel like it!"

"Not all of them! And some of my terrified screams are better than yours! And let's not forget, Matt's screams are pretty memorable too."

Matt turned to glare at Jack briefly. "Hey! Just cause my screams are high-pitched!"

"Matt, I swear dogs would cringe at some of yours."

"He's got a point," added Mark, "you did scare Chica with them before."

Matt sighed and pulled over in what looked like a former car park. "Well, I guess this is it. You want to take a look around first?"

The three of them exited the car, leaving behind their belongings for now as they wandered to an old door. It appeared severely corroded and looked like it hadn't been in use for years. Mark took a close look before attempting to turn the handle, amazed when it not only moved easily, but the door swung open without any effort. "Safe to say this door has been used recently. Come on, let's check it out."

Mark led the way, Jack and Matt close behind as they took a look around their surroundings: the walls were concrete, as were most of the floors, which were in a bad state of decay. Chunks were missing from multiple areas, and there were some sizable holes in the ceiling as well. The holes were fortunate, however, as there was no lighting in operation. All the illumination came from the openings above, giving the surroundings a very creepy feeling.

After sharing a look between each other, they began walking further in, looking around for any clue as to whether they were in the right place. "Hello?" called Jack, stretching around a corner to look down an adjoining corridor. Matt walked on ahead, trying to see if there was any sign of life. They continued into the complex for another couple of minutes, shouting to see if there was anyone inside before they came to what appeared to be an old foyer of some sort. The three of them split up to different areas of the room, looking for any clues. Jack growled after having looked through a file cabinet, not a thing left inside. "Anyone else get the feeling this is a bust?"

Mark sighed as he moved to behind a reception desk, scanning through a few scraps of paper. He could just make out a few scribbles, and one thing stood out to him. "Hey, Matt. When was it that Damien said this place was abandoned?"

"1982, how come?" answered Matt, confused.

"Cause this little note here has the date, 18th March 1982. I think this may be the right place."

"But how can it be? The whole thing is a wreck!"

"Maybe you weren't wrong about the whole front thing. What if Damien is waiting to see whether we are interested enough to find him in here?"

"What, so it's some sort of test?" suggested Jack. "That's nuts!"

The three of them continued looking around, following Mark's hunch. Another five minutes later, Matt saw something down a corridor that made him stop abruptly. "Guys, I think I've found something." Jack and Mark came to join him, staring down the passageway to see what had caught Matt's attention: light was shining out from beneath a door. Light that was quite obviously artificial. "That doesn't look out of place at all, does it?" he continued with an edge of sarcasm

They approached the door warily, suspicious of what lay within. Matt was the first to reach it and was about to pull it open when, on a whim, he decided to knock instead. The three of them almost jumped out of their skins when they received one back, and a voice accompanied it.

"Come on in, gentlemen. I'm glad to see you found your way here."

Sharing a look of utter disbelief, they paused for a couple of seconds before Matt opened the door. The light inside was almost blinding, but they all looked around in awe. "Holy shit…" whispered Jack, and the other two couldn't help but echo that thought. To say the room was a surprise would be a colossal understatement.

The walls were covered in what looked like futuristic white tiles, as was the floor. The roof was covered in an assortment of wiring and pipes, all connecting to a device in the centre of the room. It looked like a tree crafted out of plastic and cables, with several human-sized capsules at the bottom. Monitors and what looked like medical equipment was set up next to each of the pods, and wires extended out from each of them to a series of computers along the far-right wall. Six screens were lined along it, all of them displaying a range of numbers and computer code. They were so focused on all the technology that when a chuckle sounded from their left, they all jumped. "I can imagine it is quite a sight given what you've seen of the complex thus far."

Now aware they were not alone, they turned to see a man in his early forties, long brown hair pinned back neatly and glasses framing a defined face. He towered over the three of them, unsurprising given Matt was the tallest out of the three Youtubers at a mere six feet, and was wearing a white lab coat over a shirt and trousers. His eyes were warm and welcoming as he walked over slowly. "Apologies for the whole charade outside, gentlemen, but in today's climate you can never be too careful. The technology in this building is cutting-edge and, in an effort to deter any rivals, we have made sure to only renovate a small portion of the base. Just enough to make life comfortable for our time here, nothing more. Makes it that much easier for an event where we have to leave," he explained, coming to a stop before the trio. "I'm sure you have many questions, and I will quite happily answer all of them. I just wanted to be certain you were quite committed to this endeavour, before we began."

Mark's eyes narrowed slightly. "So that was a test, to see whether we were invested enough to keep looking." The stranger's head nodded. "What would you have done had we not found this place?"

He chuckled. "I was keeping an eye on you through the security cameras, I would have left you a few hints had I believed you were giving up. But enough of that for now, I believe introductions are in order."

The three began to relax and shared unsure smiles. "I'm Mark." Mark offered a hand to their company, who took it easily.

"Matt."

"Sean." Handshakes accompanied each introduction, and the stranger's smile grew.

"Damien Villaire, at your service. I'm looking forward to working with the three of you."

Mark, Matt and Jack all smiled back as Matt answered. "Likewise, Damien. I think it's safe to say the three of us are all excited for what's to come."

Damien's smile turned slightly, taking a more knowing edge. "The feeling is mutual, gentlemen. I think there is much to come in the next couple of weeks."

So that's chapter 2! Things will really start picking up pace next time, and I can't wait to sink me teeth into it! See you all then!

*Smooch*