Hi everyone! I'm back!

I'd like to just say a big thank you to everyone who got in touch with me after the last chapter. Hearing back from people helped reassure me to stick with my instincts on this story. I've uploaded a couple of days later than I planned as I couldn't decide where to end this chapter. Now that I've had some time to think on what I'm going to do with the rest of the chapters, I'm happy.

Special thanks for reviews: NZP Broz, Subtle Shenanigans, sarahlucylu

Extra special thanks has to go to Subtle Shenanigans for making my first ever fan art! I am beyond touched, and I adore it. Please check it out!

h t t p: (slash slash) ins ta gram (do t) co m (slash) p (slash) BhpsvdHDKkE (slash)

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 11: Into The Wild

Mark and Jack were all but frozen to the spot, afraid to make any move that might doom their trapped comrades. Jack's focus was rooted to Anti and Matt, glaring at the glitch as he held their friend captive. Anti smirked at the barely repressed anger on Jack's face and pulled on Matt's pinned arm, eliciting a pained gasp from the older man. Mark, meanwhile, was staring down Dark, deeply unnerved by the confident and composed exterior of the creature which wore a stolen version of his face. He just didn't understand why…Why take on the image of his alter-ego, Darkiplier? Why would a computer program copy something like his supposed dark side? Was it a ploy of some kind to get inside his head? If it was, it sure as hell was working.

He cursed under his breath, his eyes drifting to the struggling Alix. The shadow vines were keeping her stranded in mid-air, her limbs all pinned in place as one continued to constrict around her neck. She was completely helpless. Mark and Jack were both aware of just how dangerous this situation was to Alix and Matt; they needed to find some way to break them free of Anti and Dark's clutches.

As Jack watched Matt struggle against Anti, his attention was caught by Matt gesturing with his free left arm. He was pushing his forearm out as a hint, one which Jack caught on to fairly fast. He began thinking through the contents of his inventory, trying to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. Then it hit him. They didn't need a different weapon. They needed a distraction.

Mark felt as Jack nudged him with his elbow but kept his focus ahead on Dark and Anti as he spoke to him. "I hope you've got an idea, Sean, cause I'm stumped," he said softly. He didn't want to risk Anti or Dark overhearing them.

"Thank Matt for the idea, not me," answered Jack quickly. "We've got a couple of those smoke bombs in our inventories. Let's use one to mask us as we rush 'em. You charge Anti and I'll fire at Dark."

"You sure?"

"I can't risk hitting Matt with my lightning, but I can take a clear shot at Dark. I'm hoping that if he has to dodge it'll break his concentration or buy us enough time to cut Alix free." Mark nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Jack then leant partially behind Mark, making a show of whispering into his ear; except what he was really doing was finding a smoke bomb in his inventory, using Mark's body as a natural block so that Anti and Dark couldn't see. Once that was done Jack slyly passed the bomb into Mark's left hand, which was hidden behind his lowered shield.

"Gossiping isn't going to solve anything here, bitches," taunted Anti, drawing Jack and Mark's attention again. Their eyes drifted to Matt briefly and they could see he was in a fair amount of pain. If they were going to do this, it had to be soon.

Dark scoffed as Mark and Jack remained the same and took a couple of steps forward. Realising that standing together made them a much easier target, the pair separated – Jack wandered slightly towards Dark, but kept the distance between them the same and Mark managed to creep closer to Anti and Matt. The shadow stared at Mark intensely as he spoke. "Well, this is quite the predicament, isn't it?"

Mark swallowed hard before he answered, saying a silent prayer in his head that their plan was going to work. "Let them go, they're not the ones you want." He hoped his voice sounded as strong as he intended it.

Anti laughed mockingly. "Look who thinks they're soooo important," he sneered while wrenching harder on Matt's pinned arm. The pained gasp in response drew Mark and Jack's gazes to him, and Matt could see in their eyes that they had something in mind. His eyes skimmed over them and he realised that Mark was holding something in his left hand. Matt winked at them, cueing them to his knowledge of their plan. Neither of them acknowledged his action, though Mark did shift his stance slightly so that his shield arm was hanging in front of his body, rather than to the side.

"It's not exactly rocket science, you sick fuck," Jack spat back. "All you have ever been after is to kill me, and after the show Dark made in the Ancient Castle, it isn't hard to figure out that he wants Mark. Matt and Alix aren't part of this, let them go!"

Dark smirked. "I wouldn't say that. After all, hostages are a very valuable weapon. Now…" the shadow snapped its fingers and the vines around Alix constricted further, completely cutting off her air. She began to struggle harder, but there was nothing she could do. "Drop your weapons, Mark. Jack, walk over to Anti. A trade: their lives for yours."

The pair momentarily froze at seeing Alix in such distress but soon snapped back to the situation at hand. They looked at each other and nodded before Mark tossed his sword on the ground in front of him. Both began to slowly walk towards their alter egos, but Dark tutted before they got too close. "The shield too, Mark," Dark ordered. "That has to go as well."

Mark sighed and slipped his shield off his arm, subtly transferring the smoke bomb between his hands. He held it in place against the edge of his shield as he held it aloft. "Fine, have it your way," he snarled at Dark, before throwing both items forward.

From the angle they were standing, Dark and Anti couldn't see the bomb before it collided with the ground.

Black smog burst out and surrounded the whole area, catching the two alter egos off guard. Mark and Jack sprang into action, Mark speeding to reclaim his sword from the ground. Knowing his friends needed more time, Matt used Anti's surprise to slam his head straight back, catching the glitch square on the chin. Anti roared out in anger but couldn't recover fast enough. Before he managed to reassert his position on Matt, Mark had reached them and stabbed straight for the glitch's chest. He teleported away, freeing Matt, who swiftly collapsed into Mark's outstretched arm. He just had enough awareness to weakly reach into his inventory and inject himself with a health serum as Mark shook him to try and keep him awake. "Stay with me, Matt. This isn't over yet," the half-Korean urged.

Dark had stumbled backwards as he coughed, the bomb having gone off right in front of him, and not even three seconds later a lightning ball slammed into his chest. The shadow shouted in surprise as he was thrown back, tumbling a few feet away from the force as Jack sped towards the captive Alix. Just as Jack had hoped, his own attack had disrupted Dark's concentration and Alix crumpled to the ground, motionless. His heart leapt into this throat as he picked up her limp form, rushing back to Mark and Matt. Mark's eyes widened at seeing the horrific purple bruising around her neck and quickly injected her with a health serum, hoping it would at least help. Jack frantically felt for a pulse and was beyond relieved when he found one. She was alive, just unconscious.

Matt was shaking his head to clear the last of the pain as the serum finished its work. Following a hunch, he then injected Alix with a stamina boost. His suspicion proved right a few seconds later when she then jolted awake, heaving in deep breaths instinctively. Matt kept an eye on her as Mark and Jack both turned the focus back to their alter egos, knowing it wasn't over yet. Sure enough, Anti and Dark were all but recovered. The two of them were now visible through the clearing black smoke, together on the opposite side of the square. Their fury at having been thwarted was evident in their stances: Dark's shadows were flickering behind him while lightning was crackling from Anti's fingertips.

Movement flickered next to them and Dark snarled as he let loose a stream of black fire, intending on incinerating whatever dared stand in his way. As the attack ended he glared at the empty space – it had been an illusion. Having also been concentrating on the foe that had nearly surprised them, Anti turned his attention back to where the quartet had been standing.

The group had fled.

Anti hissed under his breath and was about to strike out at the area around him when Dark crossed an arm in front of his chest, stopping him. The glitch snarled at him, but Dark stared him down coolly. "Leave them to lick their wounds, they'll be ours soon enough," the shadow said.

From buildings either side of the pair, four sets of ears listened. Mark and Jack were hidden behind a set of destroyed double doors, while Matt and Alix were seated behind a ruined wall. All four of them were making sure to stay silent to not give away their positions; they could ill afford to continue the battle. "We're losing out on a good hunt here," hissed the glitch, the tone making Jack's stomach contents go sour. "I say we chase them down, it'll heighten the thrill when we end it."

Dark's eyes narrowed. "I will find no enjoyment in ending the remnant, she is inconsequential." Alix's face remained impassive, but when Matt looked over he could see the emptiness in her eyes. He suspected that statement had struck deep in relation to her own feelings about her survival. "Matt is fair game, whoever grabs him first can do whatever they want. Jack is of no interest to me, play with him however you like, Anti." The shadow's stance stiffened, and he glared at the glitch, his powers encircling him menacingly. "Mark is mine."

Anti smirked as he drew his knife, flipping it in his hand. "You know, I don't get why you are so intent on killing him yourself. I can easy do it while I break Jack-a-boy."

Dark closed his eyes and stood still as a statue. "You couldn't understand." With that, Dark melted into a dark puddle, the shimmering pool condensing into itself until it vanished.

The glitch sneered at the display as he sheathed his knife again. "No need to show off, you arrogant fuck." With that parting statement he too vanished, leaving the scene of their destruction behind.

It was almost ten seconds later that any of the others wanted to venture out, fearing the whole display had been a trap. Jack and Mark walked out together, surveying the area around them carefully. Once they had reached an open space and were happy they were in the clear, Mark beckoned Matt and Alix over. The other two joined them, and all four were more than a little shell-shocked. "That was fucking nuts," started Jack.

Matt went into his inventory and pulled out a pouch of the purple powder. "No kidding, I really thought that might have been it for me there. Thanks for the save, guys," he said as he dumped the contents on his head, removing any evidence of their battle.

Alix nodded at them gratefully, but it was obvious that she was not fully concentrating on them. "What happened? I really don't remember much after Dark got me into that vice, I was struggling to breathe too much."

Jack smiled slightly. "Thank Matt for the idea, he tipped me off to looking for the smoke bomb in our inventories. Mark was the one who managed to find a way of using it when Anti and Dark were caught completely off-guard. I'm just glad we managed to get you two out of that trap safely."

Mark looked at him in disbelief. "Excuse me, but you decided how we were going to free Matt and Alix. Don't discount your own massive involvement in this, Sean."

The programmer smiled at the three of them. "How about we just call this one a team effort? Well, you three anyway; I was completely helpless."

Matt nudged her lightly. "Nope, it was a four-way. Your illusion gave us the time to go hide." Alix blushed at the praise, earning chuckles from the three men. Matt's face soon turned serious again, however. "I think we need to come up with a plan, though. We all heard what those two nutjobs said. We can't let them get the jump on us again."

Alix smiled slightly. "I have an idea."

The quartet had spent the next hour preparing, setting out for the wilderness. They had soon come to the conclusion that they didn't want to test their skills against Anti and Dark again if they didn't have to, which left them with one other option: escape. They had already found out their task of recovering the Overseer's staff, which was last seen in the Ancient Castle. If they could bring that back to Glaysha and return it to Eamon, then the exit portal would open. And once they were out of the Dreamscape, then Mark, Matt and Jack could figure out a way to rid the digital world of the psychotic pair plaguing it.

They had set out as soon as they were ready, walking through the woods towards a temple on the far end of the cliffs upon which the Ancient Castle was situated. Alix had informed them that in the original lore of the game, the castle was a ceremonial site dedicated to preparing the bodies of the deceased Overseers of Glaysha. Once that was finished, they were moved to the Tomb of the Forefathers - and they were shifted through an underground network of tunnels. The group hoped that Dark and Anti would not be aware of the YouTubers' exit conditions, and would thus not be expecting them to approach Dark's stronghold willingly.

Unfortunately, the Tomb of the Forefathers was not somewhere that Alix had ever travelled to, thus they couldn't use the teleportation stones. That meant they had to make the trek on foot.

By the time darkness fell, they were two-thirds of the way to their destination. It hadn't taken long for them to set up a working camp, and they had all settled in well. Jack and Alix had set about preparing food for an evening meal as Mark and Matt had pitched their tents. Not long after they had eaten Alix had fallen asleep wrapped in a blanket around their campfire. Mark had carried her through to one of the tents, hoping she wouldn't be too badly disturbed, before re-joining his friends by the fire. Now that the three of them were truly alone for the first time since their whole adventure in the Dreamscape had begun, they were open and frank with each other.

"So…" started Mark, "anyone else just barely able to keep up with all the crazy shit that's happening in here?"

Matt chuckled. "You're keeping up? You're doing better than me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that your evil alter egos have come alive and are trying to kill us. It sounds like a plot for a series of YouTube videos."

Jack laughed lightly. "It does a bit. To be honest, this whole thing is completely unbelievable." The three fell into silence for a short while, before Jack spoke up again. "What do you two make of Dark and Anti? Individually they are a mystery, let alone wondering why they are working together. It didn't exactly seem like a harmonious partnership from that conversation earlier."

"Well, I think Anti is reasonably transparent, I think he just wants to kill Jack. This is just a guess, but I think he's probably wanting full control of Jack's body, and the only way he'll be able to achieve that is if he becomes the dominant personality," Matt suggested.

"And the only way that'll happen is if I'm not in the picture."

"Yeah. But Dark is an entire other story. I can't really wrap my head around what he said to Anti about not understanding…"

Mark waded in with his own suggestion. "I'm beginning to think Dark isn't simply a mimic of my Darkiplier ego. He goes way beyond that, and his motivation is puzzling me. I don't know what he wants with me so specifically. And what about the fact that he's actually existed in here for months? I think the whole parallel with Darkiplier is to get inside our heads. I'm beginning to suspect that Dark is closer to Damien."

Jack looked at him strangely. "Wait, you're thinking that Damien is controlling Dark in some way?"

"Maybe, I dunno. But I'm really wondering how Damien plays into all this. It's no co-incidence that we can't make contact with Damien the minute we got into Glaysha, and I can't help but wonder whether he deliberately steered us come in here. The question is why?"

"Well," interrupted Matt, "I think the only way we're going to solve this mystery is to get out of here in one piece. Alix might be on to something with the staff. There's a chance that Dark and Anti aren't aware that we know how to get out of here, Alix was an element they hadn't factored in. Dark even called her a 'remnant' earlier. They may not have thought that we have any way of finding out how to unlock the exit portal. Once we are free of the Dreamscape, we can confront Damien face-to-face."

Jack's face morphed into a scowl. "But, guys…what about Alix? We can't just leave her in here with these two psychos." Matt and Mark's faces both fell. "She's been through so much, she's lost her whole life for this place. The Dreamscape was her dream, and its turned into a nightmare which she has no escape. We can get out, but…"

Mark sighed. "Sean, I don't think we can do anything. Alix said herself that there's nowhere for her to go. When we get out we can look for some way that we can help her. We can't really help if we get killed in here though." Jack gritted his teeth in anger, knowing Mark was right but really wishing there was anything he could do right now. He stood and left their gathering around the camp, heading for his own tent. Matt and Mark both watched him leave in concern. "Do you think I shouldn't have said anything?" Mark asked in concern.

Matt shook his head. "I don't think whatever you did was going to make any difference, Mark. We know what sort of person Jack is: he'll do anything he can to help someone. I think Alix's situation is eating away at him inside, and the fact that we're now trying to escape is making him feel a hundred times worse. I hate myself for it too, but I know it's all we can do. This decision isn't easy for any of us. Give him some time, I think he'll be okay. The whole situation with Anti is messing with him pretty badly too." Matt gaze shifted from their fire to Mark. "How are you coping with all this? I think I'm the one in the least crazy position here."

The half-Korean turned his eyes to the stars overheard, thinking for several seconds before he answered. "I really don't know what to think, and I'm not trying too hard to solve it: I'll lose all my sanity if I do. Dark is a mystery I don't think I have any hope in solving right now, not until we find out what role Damien plays in all this. That's what I keep coming back to. Answers are not something we'll come by easily in here, not with the danger element hanging over us." Mark turned to face Matt again. "Honestly, I think you're going to be the best chance we have at solving all this. You aren't in the same position Sean and I are, you don't have some madman chasing you in a demented hunt. Think you can try?"

Matt's eyes widened. "You think I can figure this out? I think you're giving me too much credit, Mark."

A chuckle was his answer. "I said you've got the best chance, Matt." The two fell in a momentary silence before they turned their attention to less serious topics, hoping to unwind some of the stress of the past couple of days. As they continued their discussions into the night, electing themselves as their first watch for the night, they were unaware of their restless companion deep in thought.

Jack sat from within his tent, having heard everything they said. He knew they were right, there was nothing else they could do but try and escape the Dreamscape to find a solution from the outside. But…

I can't leave this place without knowing she'll be safe. Even if Mark is right that Damien is controlling Dark, Anti answers to no-one. And they know she's helping us… No matter what Alix says, she matters.

There has to be something we can do.

So…this chapter is slightly different, but I hope you all enjoyed it. I ended up having to change the end slightly for what I have in mind for the next few chapters, but I think it came out relatively well. Please let me know what you all thought, I'll be back soon!

*Smooch*