So I've noticed something over the past week or so: a lot of people have been unfollowing/unfavouriting this story. It leads me on to ask…are people enjoying it? I've lost about a quarter of those who had this tale on alert over the last few days so I can't help but wonder. I'd really like to hear if people are with me in the direction I am taking this.

Special thanks for reviews: Subtle Shenanigans

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.

Chapter 10: A Steep Learning Curve

The rest of the day passed quickly, all of them hard at training. After their initial session Mark and Matt had split off to different corners of the massive hall, each trying hard to improve their technique. Matt's natural instinct with the bow was making life much easier for him – all his videos made with NERF and Zing bows was proving to be a very fortunate aid – but he was still not confident about firing on the move. In an effort to gain confidence, he'd enlisted Mark's help. They'd set up a target range along one wall, hanging various items from the pillars, wall, rafters and setting up some on the floor too.

With everything ready, Matt and Mark started their practice. Mark was giving chase with his weapons, learning how to move much easier in his armour, was Matt tried to shoot down all his targets. As Mark was right on his heels the whole time, Matt couldn't really afford the time to stop and aim. The first few runs resulted in a lot of misses on Matt's part, and Mark was steadily getting closer with each of his swings. Every time they ran through it both of them gained confidence and knowledge not only of their weapons, but their individual capabilities and limitations. Mark was realising that his physical stamina has increased dramatically: probably programmed in to make sure anyone who was a Knight wouldn't have an instant advantage or disadvantage depending on their natural stamina. Not only that, but he was gaining a sense of when to strike with his sword and shield, depending on his tactic. Alix had been right, the Knight class was very diverse, and he hadn't really made up his mind just how he would function in a battle yet.

Matt was realising there was much more to his class than just being an archer too. His enhanced senses were his greatest asset, and with it he'd discovered that his reactions were now almost instantaneous. The words from the description of the Sniper came back to his mind and he'd began thinking of ways to strategize with their unit. After having seen some of Dark and Anti's capabilities, he was thinking of ways to neutralise them and strike back. During their training he'd gained a good knowledge of his own and Mark's skills, but thus far he hadn't really had a chance to see Alix or Jack in any great detail. When they were finished with their own training, Matt made a note to himself to study their other two companions closely.

After three hours of solid work, Matt and Mark decided to all it a day. Their last two runs had consisted of Matt switching his aim between the targets and Mark, hoping to increase Mark's natural defensive instinct. He'd got one lucky shot to Mark's shoulder when the other man hadn't been braced for Matt to spin back and fire in mid air off a table, but he wouldn't fall for the tactic again. Just because he had a shield didn't mean Mark could hide behind it all the time, he needed to be smart with it. After they were all healed up they switched their attention to the opposite side of the room, having heard the efforts of Jack and Alix for the past few hours, but not really having seen it.

The hall was all but destroyed on the opposite side. Scorch marks could be seen throughout the area, and even some stone had fallen from the great pillars keeping the roof aloft. There was one large hole in the roof, showing them that it was now completely dark overhead, and some of the shutters keeping the windows blocked had crumbled under the force of the magic hurled at them. Mark and Matt's eyes widened at the scene. They hadn't realised that Jack's power could do quite this scale of damage.

Training Jack had proven to be quite a challenge. As she had no practical experience of magic in Glaysha, with magic being a skill only given to bosses and players (the only NPC with magic was Ayala, and with Alix having assumed her identity it now left no NPC's with that skill set available), it meant that Alix hadn't truly known how it had translated through their programming. She'd seen Dark wield magic, but that was it. She'd really been wishing they hadn't put such a limitation on a mage's stamina once it became obvious just how detrimental it was to Jack.

At the start of their training Alix had taken swings at Jack was just the axe half of her halberd, hoping that the lighter weapon wouldn't tax him too much, but it had only taken three attacks before she could see the strain on his face. Another five assaults and Jack had crumpled to one knee, his vision swimming. Now seeing the true sacrifice of wielding such power, Alix had changed the direction of their practice, helping Jack to become more proficient with accessing and using his inventory in tandem with his magic. She'd began using her full halberd, coming at him in steadily more powerful swings as Jack blocked. He'd learned quickly to keep the shield up just long enough and then retreat, using the time between attacks to flick through his inventory and gain a stamina serum. Three attacks gave him enough time to pull one out to begin with, but tat had soon changed. A bit of fiddling with his inventory and more practice with the control meant that not only was it the first item he came across, but he could retrieve the item without looking. By the end of the first hour he could now pull one and inject himself within the same attack, even gaining enough stability to inject himself while keeping his shield up.

The rest of their time they had dedicated to helping Jack gain control of his lightning. As they started he had all but no control, only able to give it a general direction. Jack had instantly refused to use Alix as a moving target, having seen the devastation he could cause, so she instead hurled items into the open for him to attack. It hadn't taken long for them to realise the attack was as much a blessing as a curse. While Jack could assault a large area at once, there was no way to choose what it struck in that area. In the heat of a battle if Mark and Alix were going to be involved in close combat, there was no way for him to be certain of not hitting them.

Trying out a new tactic, Jack had instead tried to concentrate the energy into a small ball using both his abilities in concert with each other: he used his shield in a small area to concentrate the lightning into a ball, and then fire it. Both he and Alix had been astounded at the results. When he'd fired it at one of the pillars to see the range of the attack, he'd nearly blown half of it away. Now realising the was a way he could control his lightning in a more focused manner, Jack and Alix had restarted their training. As time went on Jack's resistance to the weakening of his body grew, and he could take more of the strain before he needed a boost. At the end of their training, Alix had finally convinced Jack to try fighting her, assuring him that her illusions meant there would be a very small chance of her actually being struck. With great hesitancy, he had finally agreed.

Mark and Matt had decided to end their training just as they sparred, and were almost dizzy from watching them. Alix had seemingly split into ten versions of herself, scattering in various directions, as Jack braced himself. He was still really nervous about fighting Alix but reminded himself that she didn't have to attack herself. She could in theory just use her illusions. Two illusions came from opposite sides, one swinging with the full halberd as the other attacked with the two separate ends. Having been ready for such an attack, Jack cast his shield behind him quickly as he let loose a bolt of lightning. The illusion in front of him vanished as soon as the magic made contact, while the other's attack passed through his shield in a ghost-like fashion, the image of Alix vanishing soon after. Not resting on his laurels, Jack brought his hands together and quickly prepared an energy ball, holding the attack there as he watched for the next attack.

He soon came across a problem when he could feel the strain in his chest. His lungs began to contract painfully at the strain of holding the lightning within his own shield. Jack swore as he realised why Alix hadn't attacked again now: she knew that limitation and would be waiting for when Jack had to let the assault go. Changing his strategy, Jack fired the ball between two pillars and then released a bolt right behind it, hoping to generate the right effect. His guess had been right – when the second attack struck the first it broke the shield holding the energy ball, almost like popping a bubble. The contained lightning burst forth in a wide area, and Jack watched as three illusions vanished. He also saw Alix roll away from the danger, getting herself out of range. Trusting that she would be able to keep herself safe, he buried his reservations and focused on the battle ahead.

Three more illusions rushed at Jack and he used the same tactic again, quickly conjuring the mini lightning bomb and releasing it at them while following it with a bolt. The detonation was a lot closer to him this time and he had to raise his shield to stop some of the residual energy from bouncing back and striking him. He rapidly injected himself, not willing to push his limits any further as he heard two more attacks from behind. Jack raised his shield and tried not to wince when he felt it take the strain of Alix's halberd, the programmer having attacked herself this time. Not giving Jack time to gain the upper hand, she quickly spun and attacked him with the opposite end of her weapon, stabbing the shield hard. Jack couldn't help but physically recoil at the force, the sharpened blade causing him a great deal of pain.

Realising he was about to be at a serious disadvantage Jack backed away at top speed, but Alix was too fast. Her natural agility as a halberdier was keeping her close, too close for Jack's comfort. She could still swing her weapon in sweeping arcs even while on the move, and it was making life extremely difficult for Jack. He just couldn't get enough distance between them. Knowing he needed to take a risk he fired a small bolt at the ground, shocking the pair of them. Alix cried out in surprise in pain at the attack and retreated to safety as Jack injected himself with a healing serum. The lull in the battle gave Jack time to try and come to terms with the stresses on his body but he knew he was reaching the end. The day's events cumulatively were proving too much, and he knew it wouldn't take much more for him to crumble.

Then, out of the blue, it ended.

Jack watched in confusion as Alix appeared in the open, gave him a small smile, and reattached her halberd to her back. He relaxed his stance and approached her. "Alix? Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.

She nodded, exhausted herself. "Yeah, I'm fine: but you're not. You're dead on your feet," she replied knowingly. "Let's call it a day here. I think we've done more than enough. Besides…" She pointed upwards. "It's dark out. I know you say sleep is for the weak, but you'll need some tonight."

Jack laughed lightly and took a deep breath. He was more than a little relieved for the break, but he wouldn't admit that openly. "Whoa…" Both Jack and Alix turned to see Mark and Matt staring at them. "Dude…that was nuts!" exclaimed Matt.

"Yikes, that was intense, Sean," said Mark as the other two joined them. "You've got a fair handle on your powers now by the looks of it."

Jack and Alix shared a look. "Well…not really. I'm still getting drained a huge amount, but I'm slowly getting used to the strain. I really don't think we'll be able to do much more with focusing my lightning, I'm not designed as an offensive character."

Alix chuckled. "True, but you still pack a hell of a wallop, Jack. Your lightning stings. I think you'll be more helpful offensively than you think." She turned her gaze to Matt and Mark. "How did you guys get on?"

"Great, splitting off was a brilliant idea," answered Mark. "Matt and I learned a lot about our classes, and some of the passive skills are quite telling. I still feel like I could go another few hours, my stamina is now unreal. And Matt is stupidly fast. It's almost like he can see all of my moves coming and dodge before I've even taken a step!" Matt chuckled in response.

Alix smiled at them. "Excellent, I'm glad to know it went so well for you. Well…I have something I want to do, if you three are open to trusting me?"

Jack was the first to respond. "Safe to say we do by now. So, what is it that you want to do?"

She pulled a teleportation stone from her inventory and held it out between the four of them. "I want to show you something. So long as all four of us are in contact somehow, we can use the stone together." They all nodded in acquiescence and took a grip of each other's shoulders before Alix teleported them. All three YouTubers' heads spun as they stopped, the sensation completely disorientating. Matt and Jack actually staggered as they finished, trying to stop the world from turning around them as Mark shook his head. Alix smiled sympathetically before turning her gaze to the area around them, smiling gently.

One by one the others changed their focus to the young woman and followed her gaze, each of them in awe of what they saw. "Holy…" was all Jack could say, but Mark and Matt agreed with his sentiment. There really weren't words.

They were stood atop a mountain, overlooking the vastness of Glaysha in all its raw beauty. Pockets of light were dotted around the landscape, illuminating the otherwise darkened landscape while the moon shone down from overhead. In the heart of the plateau was Glaysha Town, glowing like a beacon in the darkness. Shadows played across the buildings as the torches in the town flickered, making it feel alive even in the middle of the night. The world seemed to stretch on endlessly to the cliffs at the far end, where a storm could be seen raging. Lightning crashed into the ground and beyond to the sea below, while the clouds almost seemed to whirl around the structure. Mark stiffened as he finally caught sight of the castle, realising instantly what it was. "Wow…" started Matt in awe, "it just keeps on going, doesn't it?"

"This place is enormous," spoke Jack quietly. "It's no wonder you've got those teleportation stones, I'd hate to traverse back and forth over this landscape! I still can't believe this is built in a computer…it's unbelievable." He turned his gaze to the swirling black clouds in the distance. "So…that's Dark's castle, is it?"

Alix nodded in confirmation. "Yep, that's the Ancient Castle. In case you were wondering, that isn't how were designed it. Dark changed that, along with everything else he messed up in here. I still don't know why he's here, or why he's now taken on a likeness of Mark."

Jack scoffed. "Well, my psychotic dark side is wandering round, maybe it liked the fact that Mark's dark side is called Darkiplier and decided to play the part."

Mark glared at Jack. "Not helpful, Sean. Dark tried to kill me in that castle, I don't care to relive that sensation any time soon."

Jack spun and raised an eyebrow at Mark. "And Anti tried to slit my throat. Do you thinkI want to relive that?"

Matt chipped in. "Can I just say I'm really glad I don't have a dark side? I don't think we could deal with three nightmares trying to kill us."

Alix laughed at that statement. "Yeah, small mercies, huh?"

The four of them had gone back to training the next day, eager to build on what they had developed the day before. At Matt's suggestion, all four of them had sparred together: Matt and Mark teamed up while Alix and Jack were paired. Battling as a foursome had been educational and they learned about each other's offensive and defensive frailties, using the knowledge to both exploit advantages and protect their teammates. As Mark and Alix became locked in close combat, Matt was trying to pick off Alix with his bow, while Jack was trying to not only keep Matt pinned down, but guide Mark into the right angles for Alix to strike.

The experience was well worth it, for what lay ahead.

Before their duel concluded a massive explosion crashed through the area, almost deafening all of them as the ground shook violently. They all shared a look, a suspicion in their minds of what was taking place before racing outside. Sure enough, the whole area was in an uproar. People were tripping over themselves in a blind panic, desperate to escape the latest attack on the town. Alix, having retaken the form of Cassie before venturing outside, climbed atop some nearby stalls to get a better look at the surrounding area. She could see smoke coming from a nearby area, and her gaze hardened at seeing the flashes of green lightning which struck surrounding buildings. "Jack!" she shouted backwards, turning to face the trio. "You ready for this?"

That one statement confirmed just who it was that was attacking: Jack knew he couldn't run from this fight, no matter how much his insides turned to ice. "Let's get that motherfucker!" he screamed, getting nods of encouragement from Mark and Matt. Following Alix's lead, the quartet raced to the right area of Glaysha, soon finding their target.

Anti was stood atop a monument, firing lightning in various directions at whoever was trying to run away from his assault. He occasionally threw a knife, the weapon embedding itself in whichever poor soul got in its path, laughing more maniacally with every death. Jack snarled at the display but was beaten to the punch when Matt fired an arrow straight at the glitch. Anti teleported away without so much as a glance, reappearing on the ground a few metres away from the group. Jack and Matt stood at the front of group, the older man ready with another arrow focused on Anti while Alix and Mark stood behind, keeping a close eye on the surrounding area. Jack took a couple of steps closer, separating himself from the others while Matt whispered to Mark and Alix. "Flank him, we need to try and get the jump on him."

The pair began to move, Alix to the right and Mark to the left slowly as Jack shouted at his alter ego. "Oi! Shiteface!"

Anti laughed. "Is that what you call an insult, Jack? I'm disappointed in you."

Alix shivered at the tone, the sound sending chills right down her spine as Jack continued. "No, I'm just stating a fact. Why the fuck are you here?"

The glitch just smirked. "Awww, not happy to see me Jack-a-boy? Or is it just the reality of seeing me in the flesh rather than being figment of your mind?"

The Irishman scoffed. "You ain't answering my question. What are you doing here?"

Anti glanced to his left and locked his gaze on Alix. She didn't flinch and instead pointed her halberd straight him. A derisory scoff was his thoughts on her action. "You shouldn't be here. I was told I'd only have these three idiots to deal with."

Alix kept her focus on Anti but could see Mark getting ready to attack further behind. "Hate to disappoint, but I'm not gone yet."

The glitch smirked wider, his eyes drifting to his right. Mark froze as he was made. Knowing their advantage was now gone, Matt took the initiative and fired his arrow straight at Anti. He teleported away and Matt jumped forward, taking a lucky guess at where Anti was planning to strike. Anti's swipe hit nothing but air. The oldest man then dove to the ground as he saw Jack charge and fire an energy ball, the attack zooming past overhead as Anti moved again. Alix and Mark ran to each other, going back-to-back to make sure Anti couldn't flank them as Jack and Matt re-joined them. The quartet had barely reunited when a lightning storm opened right above them. Jack raised his shield, the force slamming hard against him as Matt quickly injected him with a stamina serum. Alix used her illusions and sent them outside the protection of the shield: most were instantly struck and vanished, but three of them made it through unscathed, hunting the surroundings for Anti. They found him and charged in, forcing the glitch out of his spot. It broke his concentration, giving Jack a much-needed break.

Alix and Matt broke away and attacked Anti. The YouTuber fired arrows in a steady stream, keeping them just wide enough to encourage Anti to dodge rather than teleport. He took the bait and began retaliating with lightning strikes. Matt watched in slight awe as the green projectiles smashed into a barrier of light erected in front of him, sending silent thanks to Jack. Were it not for his shield, they really wouldn't be standing much of a chance. Alix then swooped in, several illusions joining her in an assault. Anti teleported away before he could be cornered.

Psychotic laughter began to ring out through the area, but none of the group could see their foe. They kept their eyes peeled, waiting for him to jump them at any moment. What they weren't braced for, was what happened next.

They had been so caught up in the battle with Anti that they hadn't taken note of the dark clouds swirling overhead. Nor did they notice the shadows which had began to snake their way along the ground towards their battlefield. By the time any of them discovered the entrance of another combatant, it was too late.

Matt spied the shadows which had been creeping towards Alix and fired towards the mysterious puddle behind her, but that only encouraged its advance. The shadows wrapped themselves around her like vines, ensnaring her whole body in vice. She cried out, but the sound was soon silenced as a vine clamped around her throat. The others were about to rush to her aid, but the distraction proved devastating to Matt. He screamed as a knife was dragged down his back and crumpled to his knees. Before he could even think straight again his bow was kicked out of his hand and the other was dragged behind his back in a painful lock.

Mark and Jack could only watch in horror as Matt found himself trapped by Anti, the glitch's knife poised at his throat while Alix was captured by the vines, barely able to breathe let alone move. While they thought furiously on what to do, they saw another collection of shadows begin to rise from the ground. It slowly took on a humanoid shape before what appeared to be a tar-like substance melted away, leaving the very physical Dark in its place. He smirked at Mark and Jack, knowing that the advantage most certainly lay with them.

Dark's smile turned sinister as he watched Mark and Jack's eyes darted across the scene, desperately thinking on whether there was anything they could do. The pair shared a look, both coming to the same conclusion.

They were in serious trouble.

So…an evil cliff hanger, I know, but I couldn't fit the rest of this fight in this chapter, it would have just become a monster. Please let me know if you enjoyed it, and I'll see you all again soon!

*Smooch*