Hey!

Now this story will start kicking up through the gears. A little bit of explaining here, but its about to kick up in pace. Hope you're all still enjoying it, I would love to hear back from more people who are reading it to know what to improve/what you like etc.!

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.

Off we go again!

Chapter 3: Enter the Dreamscape

Once they realised they were in the right place, Matt, Mark and Jack all grabbed their luggage from the car. Damien showed them to their accommodation for the next two weeks and the trio were all delighted with what they found: each of their rooms consisted of a large bedroom with double bed, a small living room complete with kitchenette, and a bathroom. Plenty of space for them to unwind. Each room had a nice computer setup, though there was very limited internet access. They soon realised that Digitalia was serious about keeping its secrets to the point where almost every website which had any form of chat or communication was disabled. All social media platforms were also blocked. Even emails had to be unlocked, and could only be done so with a code received from a member of Digitalia staff. While it meant there was no chance of them managing to check up on their channels, it did not bother them too much.

They all went with Damien on a tour of the small facility, who then proceeded to explain a lot about the company. "Digitalia was set up by myself a few years ago with the aim of breaking through the barriers which exist in integrating technology with our everyday lives," he began as they toured through the communal areas. "Our team is very small, only seven members, but we are all highly experienced and experimental thinkers. We are not afraid to push the boundaries. It was one of my staff which came up with the idea to revolutionise VR technology, and I was more than happy to follow on her idea. Three years later we are finally ready to begin the testing phase. It has been a lot of hard work, a lot of trial and error. We've made more than our fair share of mistakes along the way." As they walked through the main lounge Matt spied some photographs on the wall.

He soon realised what wasn't right. "Damien, you said your team was seven members? Then why are there eight photographs on that wall?"

Damien's eyes shadowed slightly. "Ah…we lost a member of our team about a year ago. There was an…accident with the technology. We have since ensured circumstances will not repeat themselves, and we learned our lessons well."

All three of the Youtubers stopped dead in their tracks. "Wait, what happened to them?" asked Jack, suddenly concerned.

Damien sighed. "We were not careful enough, and she volunteered to test the technology before any of us were confident of it being ready. She never recovered. Since then we have been much more careful. Millions of simulations have now been run, and that same issue should now not arise again." His focus shifted to one photograph in particular; the others turned their attention to it. They saw a young woman who could be no older than her late twenties, smiling gently at the camera. Curly brown hair was gathered over one shoulder and her eyes were a vibrant green. "The Dreamscape was her vision, and after we lost her…it took some time for any of us to focus on it in the same way again."

Mark, Matt and Jack followed as Damien began to walk back through the facility, leading them back to the room they first met. Their eyes took in the structure in the centre, with Matt and Jack beginning to take a closer look at it. "This was her idea?" asked Mark softly.

Damien nodded. "Yes, she wanted to create something far more immersive than your simple Virtual Reality. This was her solution: a Digital Reality as she called it."

"What does all this equipment do?" asked Jack as he tried sitting inside ones of the pods.

"Ah, well that is a long story. I will give you the simplest version I can, or I may be here for several hours explaining the intricacies of this technology." Damien walked over to where Jack was seated and opened a panel next to the pod. He pulled out two small discs, about the size of a quarter, and allowed the Youtuber to examine them closer. "These are the secret to the whole process." He pulled out another two sets and showed them to Matt and Mark.

"The Dreamscape is, in essence, an incredibly complex computer simulation. Layers upon layers of programming woven together to create a new world. The power required to run it is immense, and this whole facility is the conduit. Without such a structure, it would overload and endanger anyone inside."

Matt's eyes narrowed. "Wait, what do you mean…inside?"

Damien smiled. "The discs you are holding emit specially designed supersonics. It slows your brain to a very low level, and your body mirrors it. It is the closest state a human can reach to hibernation. Your heartrate drops to only around 10 beats a minute, your respiration becomes almost undetectable and your normal body functions are just…suspended. You don't need to eat, we make sure you are fully hydrated before you go under. With your body in the correct conditions we then, for lack of a better word, upload your brain to the Dreamscape."

All of the Youtubers' eyes widened, and Jack's mouth hung open. "I didn't think such a technology was invented yet!" he exclaimed as he regained some of his bearings.

Damien smiled knowingly. "It helps to have a member of your team who has been involved in military simulation work. You'd be…amazed at what technology is in development. Working together, we managed to adapt it for the purposes of the Dreamscape. What it boils down to is: you go to sleep, and you wake up inside the Dreamscape. What situation you enter is entirely down to what you are looking for."

"So, you could program literally anything…" said Mark in a slight daze.

"Yes, and as you are all aware, what happens in a dream feels real. That is what it feels like. You'd scarcely be able to tell the difference."

Matt was still wary. "What went wrong before then? When you lost a member of your team?"

"She entered the Dreamscape no problem and completed the test. But when it came to exiting…something in the code was broken. As that part of the development was her own construction, it was difficult for us to see what was wrong. Eventually too much time had passed. Your body can't stay in the hibernation forever, it becomes dangerous and without the mind…"

"She died."

Damien nodded. "She was a great loss to us, and it took many weeks before we even had the heart to return to work. In the end we all agreed to finish it in her memory, so that she wasn't lost in vain."

It was then that something occurred to Jack. "Hey, how come we haven't seen anyone else yet? Where are the rest of your team?"

"Now that was have reached the testing phase, not everyone has to be based in the facility anymore. Most of the others have gone back to their families and are working from home. I still have one member of staff onsite, but he is on vacation for the week. He'll be re-joining us next Tuesday."

"So, it's just you for now?"

"I hope this is not too troubling for you all. It does mean that we can all work in relative peace." Just then a ringtone broke through the atmosphere. Damien retrieved his phone from his pocket and look at them all apologetically. "I'm sorry, gentlemen. I should take this. Please feel free to examine the room all you like." With that Damien turned his attention to the incoming call.

Now left to their thoughts, the three Youtubers gathered in the centre of the room. "What are you guys thinking about this?" asked Matt. "I'm not the only one who is slightly…unnerved by the danger element here, am I?"

"No, you're not, but this technology is blowing my mind…" answered Jack. "I mean, to literally jump into a computer? Live out a simulation as if real? That's incredible!"

"It is, and you could see that losing a member of his team affected Damien greatly. I believe that he's taken more care now, and I can't see us being the very next ones to jump into this thing. I'm sure he and his team have taken their turns at trying it out. We've all still got questions, so let's ask him more." The three talked amongst themselves for a few more minutes, making their opinions clear. Mark was still open-minded about the technology while Jack's enthusiasm hadn't dimmed, sure that they wouldn't have invited outsiders without being absolutely certain of its safety. Matt, however, was now much more sceptical. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to become involved with a project which had already resulted in someone's death.

Damien ended his phone call and turned back to his guests. "You have my sincerest apologies, gentlemen. That was my second, Simon, ensuring that you had arrived safely and were settling in. He says he looks forward to meeting all of you when he comes back next week." He noticed the cautious looks he was receiving from the trio. "You have more many more questions, I can see it written all over your faces."

Mark took the lead. "We do, and we are all in different mindsets regarding the testing. I hope you would not mind answering a few more questions?"

Damien's smile was friendly and accepting. "Not all, fire away."

By the time they were all ready to turn in for the night, most of the issues were resolved. Matt was still not one hundred percent on board, but Damien offered to demonstrate the technology with a basic simulation the following day before they all had to commit to something more complicated. Jack and Mark were both willing to try, and they'd all agreed on Mark being the one to go inside, trusting him not to get too overexcited. They'd started out in Mark's rooms after leaving Damien for the night, but Matt soon left. He was anxious to talk to Amanda, needing her reassurance that it was worth the risk. Mark and Jack could both understand his reluctance: he always put his family first, and he wasn't going to chance putting them through any pain if anything went wrong, not without being sure.

After he left Mark was half expecting Jack to leave as well, especially as he hadn't fully adjusted to the time difference yet, but was surprised to see him sprawled out on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. His face was scrunched in concentration, something that was quite out of character. "You okay, Sean?" Mark asked as he sat down next to his friend.

Jack nodded but didn't change his focus. "Just thinking."

"What about, man?"

For a few seconds Jack didn't say anything, debating on whether to let Mark into his thoughts but eventually sighed. He sat up and changed his stare to the floor instead. "I'm excited for this thing, I really am, but I can't get what Matt said out of my head. What if...what if something does go wrong? He said he wasn't sure he wanted to risk putting his family through anything like that. I just can't shake the thoughts of what my family's reactions would be."

Mark thought for a couple of seconds. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I couldn't imagine someone telling my family if there had been an accident. I wonder how Damien handled having to tell someone's loved ones they are gone… But remember what Damien said? They've all been in the Dreamscape well over a hundred times since then, there are countless safety features built in now. There is no foreseeable risk to us, and you're right in what you said earlier: there is no way they would have invited us, three well known and famous Youtubers, had they not been sure it was safe. Could you imagine what the negative publicity would do to them?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, you're right, dude. Guess I'm just nervous. Some of what Damien was saying just got me thinking. I mean, he said that we feel everything in there as real, including pain. I wonder whether it dampens the magnitude of it slightly?"

"I imagine it would, I don't think this thing would be a bestseller if they made the participants feels the real pain associated with something like a broken leg."

Jack laughed. "Totally. Or worse, that ninja simulation he brought up earlier. Imagine getting a shuriken star thrown at you and landing!"

"Especially if it was your ass. You'd never be able to sit again!"

"Oh gads, no thanks! I'd rather keep my ability to shite unhindered!" The pair dissolved into laughter, feeling lighter after talking out their fears. "I hope Matt comes around, I think this could be something really special. Digitalia have invested so much in this and you can feel how much Damien wants this to succeed. This could change the world."

"Yeah, it really could. I think Matt just got himself slightly wound up. He's a lot more methodical than us, he looks at all the angles before he commits. It's a pretty good trait to have when you run a business like he does. I'm sure Amanda will help him see clearly again." Mark's eyes shifted to the computer in his room. "Hey, want to see what sort of stuff there is on this computer? I'm sure we could find something to help take our minds off it for a while."

A smile broke out on Jack's face. "I'm all over this dude! Let's go have a looksie!"

The pair stayed up half the night playing various multiplayer games, glad to see that they had enough internet to access various websites which didn't have any chat features and were not blocked. Slipping back into their normal lives helped to reassure them that the whole situation was more than they were making it out to be, and they were just testing out an enhanced VR. It was gone 3am by the time Jack started to fall asleep sitting up, Mark not far behind him. Jack didn't even make it back to his rooms and crashed on Mark's sofa, out for the count. The American chuckled and didn't have the heart to move him, fetching a spare blanket from the foot of his bed and draping it over the Irishman before he too fell asleep.

The next morning the three were all ready to start testing. Just as Mark suspected, Matt was prepared after speaking to Amanda. She'd assured him to go with his gut feeling, but not let the opportunity slip him by because of fear. With her words of wisdom he was at last comfortable enough to commit and had met Damien early to try and look through some of the code, curious behind the inner workings.

Jack and Mark had appeared late morning, sharing a smile at seeing Matt and Damien chatting animatedly in the testing room. With a few greetings they soon turned their attention to the main feature of the morning. "Right, Mark, are you ready?" asked Damien, handing out two of the discs he had shown the trio the previous day.

Mark smiled at him. "Sure, let's give it a whirl."

Damien showed him how to place the items on his temples and activated them. Matt and Jack both watched in fascination as they glowed a deep yellow colour. "That's the uplinks on standby mode. Once we get Mark settled we'll switch them on. How do you feel, Mark?"

"It's…a little weird. It's like I've got a permanent echo of static in my ears."

Damien laughed. "That's the supersonics. Don't worry, you'll get used to it quickly." Mark soon sat inside one of the pods and leaned back. The outer casing was metal, surrounding what looked like a padded deck lounger. At the ends of each arm were rests for their hands, and specially designed slots for their fingers. "We use these to monitor your vitals throughout the simulation, while the uplinks will track your brain activity. There are monitors above you, they show everything for whoever is in control: if I find you are under any duress I will switch off the machine and pull you out." Mark looked up and saw three computer monitors attached to the main column. "The top one will show your respiration and heartrate, the middle one tracks your brain activity while the bottom-one is your in-game vitals. Jack and Matt will notice they will be markedly different from your state out here."

As Mark got settled Jack noticed Mark's heartrate was quite high: 106 "Nervous, man?" he asked reassuringly. "I'm still happy to do this instead."

Mark smiled back gratefully. "Nah, I'm good, Sean. Just eager to get going." He turned back to Damien. "What do you need me to do?"

Damien gave a quick smile. "Just sit back, relax, and let me do all the hard work. You'll just feel very sleepy before waking up again in the Dreamscape. It's as simple as that." A few minutes of fiddling with various equipment found them ready to go. Jack and Matt both watched from behind the main workstation as Damien brought up several screens, booting up a few programs before he turned his attention back to Mark. "Okay, Mark. I'm just about to start the uplink. Let me know when you're good to go."

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Mark eventually nodded slowly. "I'm ready."

Damien started inputting various commands to the keyboard. "Initializing Mental Matrix, simulation is running. Starting uplink…now." With that final keystroke Jack and Matt watched in fascination as they saw the discs on Mark's temples change to a pale blue glow. Mark's breathing became noticeably slower and they saw his whole body relax. On the life monitors above they watched as his brain activity slowed right down and his heart rate dropped steadily. It eventually held at 9 beats per minute as Mark's brain activity began to increase again. The third monitor then booted up, showing Mark's heartrate as a steady 60 beats.

"Holy shit," whispered Jack as he came to stand next to his friend. Even from that distance he could barely tell Mark was breathing. "This is fucking freaky dude…" A thought then occurred to Jack. "Wait, can he hear us?"

Damien shook his head. "Nope. His body is now completely dormant. Externally he appears as if in a deep coma, but his mind isn't in his body any more. He's inside the Dreamscape. Have a look." Jack wandered back over and stared with Matt as Damien pointed out another screen. "This is the Mental Matrix. This is what allows your mind to travel freely between your body and the Dreamscape. It converts your conscious and subconscious thoughts to data streams, and vice versa. Without this, the Dreamscape would be nothing more than a simulation. Add this element…and you can make it come alive."

Matt stared in wonder. "So Mark's mind is literally in this computer. Right now?"

"Yes, in fact we should hear him come through the headsets any second. Here." Damien handed one each to Matt and Jack before tapping away on the keyboard again. "The simulation is finished loading, Mark should be waking up inside it any minute."

"I wonder what he sees in there…"

Damien smiled at Matt. "You'll find out soon. Ah, here we go. Mark, can you hear me?"

Mark felt decidedly groggy as he opened his eyes, a slight headache forming at his temples. "Yikes, where'd this come from? I thought Damien said I wouldn't notice anything." He squinted at the brightness for a few seconds before taking in his surrounding fully. When he did, his breath was taken away.

He definitely wasn't in the real world. This was…far more incredible.

A green field spread for as far as the eye could see, but at the end he saw mountains stretching far into the sky. A sky which was currently streaked pink from the sunset…except the sun was still high in the sky. His gaze turned to the left and saw a glow at the horizon, confirming that it really was sunset. Two suns… A gust of wind then caught him off-guard and he shivered at the cold burst, before his breath froze in his lungs.

It that a fucking dragon?!

Not willing to take test his and Jack's theory about pain levels in the simulation, Mark dove for cover behind a nearby boulder. A fire blast soon shook the ground a few metres away from him, and even from there he could feel the intense heat. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, watching as the dragon flew off into the sunset. Sure that the threat was past, he stood, staring in complete awe at the world around him. How can this be a computer simulation? This is fucking incredible! No wonder Damien feels so strongly about this. It- It…

This really feels like another world. It feels real.

An echo started in Mark's head and it pulled him away from the scenery. "Mark, can you hear me?"

Mark about jumped out of skin. "Damien, is that you?"

"Nice to hear you, how's it looking in there?"

"It's…It's utterly amazing."

"Mark, is it really that convincing?"

Mark smiled at hearing Matt's voice. "Guys this is…I really can't describe it. It's literally like being in a fantasy world. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference were it not for the two suns and dragon flying around."

"Wait, a dragon, seriously?"

"Damn it! Knew I should have gone in!"

Mark couldn't help but laugh at Jack's tone. "Don't worry, man. You'll get to try this out soon enough."

"Mark, take a look at your left arm for a second." Mark did so at Damien's instruction and saw it was covered in a strange futuristic gauntlet. As he held it up a holographic screen appeared, showing various boxes, all empty except for one. "That's your inventory. You should see an apple inside it. Click on it and it should appear in your right hand."

He did so and was utterly amazed as the object appeared. Utterly enthralled, he took a bite. "It tastes fucking real!"

"I'd hope so. Ready to try out a few things?"

"Dude, you say the word and I'll do whatever you want. This is amazing!"

Mark heard Matt's laugh. "Careful, man, that could be a dangerous offer."

Half an hour later found Mark waking up again, back in the real world. He had a slight headache, but beside that, wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Jack helped him sit up as he regained his bearings. "You okay, dude?" The Irishman asked.

Mark nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. That was fucking awesome! You've got to try that out!"

Matt approached and smiled. "It looked amazing. Jack and I were talking it over with Damien, and he says they've got an RPG simulation which is pretty much finished. He recommends we all tackle that one first to get a taste of the Dreamscape."

"An RPG?! That sounds great! Do we get to choose our classes?"

"Well, that's where this could get interesting," started Jack. "Damien says we can either pick them from here, or we can get the Dreamscape to pick them out for us. It's meant to choose something which matches our personalities."

"Oooo, that sounds cool. I'd so be an assassin or something!" exclaimed Mark excitedly.

"Nah, dude, I'm the king of knives," chuckled Jack. "You've seen me as Anti."

"I could picture Mark with a massive hammer, actually," added Matt. "And tripping over it constantly."

"Hey!" Mark shouted indignantly as both Matt and Jack dissolved into laughter.

The three settled as they saw Damien approach. "All good, Mark? Do you feel up to going back in straight away?" Mark nodded excitedly, seeing beaming smiles on both Jack and Matt's faces at the thought of entering the world. "All right then. Matt, Sean, if you could get settled in the other pods I'll fetch you each a set of uplinks."

Soon all three were ready. "Right, gentlemen," began Damien. "You're all agreed on allowing the simulation to pick your own classes, yes?" The trio nodded. "Excellent. Now, this simulation will end when you complete whatever task you've been set, you'll have to search around a bit to find out what it is, however. Once you've done that the exit portal will open up, and you can all come home. If I see anything go wrong from here, however, I'll pull you all out. I'll be present throughout, so if you need anything let me know." He watched the trio as they all got settled. "Are you all ready?"

Jack was trying to stop himself bouncing in place. "I'm so stoked for this! Let's go!"

Mark laughed at him. "I dunno who's more excited, me or you. And I'm the one who's seen the Dreamscape. You have no idea what's coming, dude."

Matt smiled and relaxed into the seat. "We're good. Hit it, Damien."

Damien smiled at them before turning his attention back to the screens in front of him. "Enjoy, gentlemen. Starting the simulation now. Initiating uplinks in 3…2…1."

As he said the words he noticed all three Youtubers begin to slip into their hibernation-state. All trace of joviality left his face and he began furiously typing on the computer in front of him. He isolated Jack from the other two and paused his uplink, starting another program to analyse his brain patterns. He kept glancing at Mark and Matt's progress, making sure they successfully uploaded as he kept analysing Jack's data stream. It's in here somewhere…

"Um, Damien, what happened? I seem to be…nowhere. It's just a sea of white."

He smirked at hearing Jack's confused voice, keeping his focus on the data skimming on the screen. "Sorry Sean, looks like you got stuck in the Mental Matrix. Give me a second and I'll restart your pod. That should solve the problem."

"Er, okay. Do I…do anything?"

"Just sit tight, I should have this done in a moment." Now free of distraction Damien focused hard, finding what he was looking for. At last…This should be all I need. He booted up another program and set it to work. A few seconds later it was finished. "Good news, Sean, you're good to go. This might sting a little from there, just stick with it."

His task finished, he released Jack. "Ah, fuck! That hurts!" Seconds later Jack was also uploaded to the Dreamscape. Damien watched as the computer next to him continued to generate line after line of code, opening another folder in a separate screen. He analysed the active brain patterns in the game and smiled.

Active: Mark Fischbach. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Ancient Castle

Active: Matthew Fredrick. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Bandits' Forest

Active: Sean McLoughlin. Glaysha Simulation Running. Area: Bandits' Forest

His attention turned to his running program and his smile turned malicious at seeing it complete. He set about transferring his new creation over. "I'll have to thank you inside, Jack. Strange what you find inside people's minds. Now I have the perfect partner. I think my job here is done. Soon…I'll have my revenge soon."

Damien stood and rested his hand on the console. A black mist soon exhaled from his mouth and nose before the body collapsed to the ground, lifeless. The entity turned face the immobile form for several seconds before it moved towards Mark, seeping into his slumbering body. Seconds later it was gone, no trace of it ever having been there.

On the computer, a new command flashed on the screen.

Antisepticeye rendering complete. Initialising. Simulation upload in 30 seconds.

So…Don't all hate me for the cliff hanger, please! A longer chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed it! Please leave me some feedback, and I'll be back soon!

*Smooch*