Hello readers and welcome to my novelization of Hearts and Heroes.

Now, for those of you who don't know, Hearts and Heroes is a fan game created by an amazing team of people for a truly incredible YouTuber, Markiplier. When I saw this come up on Mark's channel, I looked it up and found it on Gamejolt. And since Mark's video was over four hours meaning that he played the full game, I decided to download it for myself and see what it was like before watching his video. My response at the end was "Oh my God, these people have created a masterpiece!" And seeing how Mark reacted to it was amazing, too.

This story is in no way intended to advertise Mark's channel; he doesn't know me at all. It's simply a way to express my appreciation to the developers of this game and to put a few little spins of my own.

DISCLAIMER: The rights to this game belong to the developers, Team Hearts and Heroes. The only things I own are the names of the six main characters.

WARNING: The story will contain spoilers to the game. Please play the game for yourself, or watch Mark's video of it, before you continue.

FURTHER WARNING: The characters in the game will bring up some heavy topics. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 1: A Hero is Chosen

Heroes. Everybody loves cheering for heroes; on TV, in movies or video games, even in real life. We all love heroes. But what exactly defines a hero? For some people, it's hard to say. But I believe that a true hero is someone who decides to be brave when others cower, someone who's willing to risk their safety to protect others, someone who doesn't get over their fear but acts in spite of it.

Now I know what you're thinking, "You must be a hero yourself if you know the qualities of heroism." And you'd be mostly right. But I wasn't alone in my adventures. Let me tell you the story of the craziest week in my life, starring five other people like me, a miniature talking box, and, of course, my absolute favorite YouTuber of all time…

I woke up from a strange dream to find myself in darkness. A noise had startled me from my sleep and I looked around the room, my eyes adjusting to the gloom. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out. But nobody replied. "Guess not."

Nervously, I climbed out of my bed, except it wasn't my bed. And the room I was in was not my bedroom; it looked like an old storage space. "I need to get out here, wherever here is."

A window caught my eye and I peered at outside for a moment. "I see… nothing?" Leaning back, I took in my reflection. I was still wearing my light green-gray shirt and blue Demin dress. Two yellow ribbons held up my hair in ponytails. I then saw something different on my left sleeve; a red heart shape. "Huh? Where did that come from?"

With nothing in the room to help me, I carefully walked out the door and explored the rest of the house. As I entered the kitchen, I spotted something lying next to a pile of crates. It was a small box no bigger than my fist with two spindly appendages ending in a hand. I moved closer to examine it, and a thought struck my mind. "Wait a second… this is-"

Suddenly a bright light flashed out in the darkness and I fell back in shock, covering my eyes. Then a voice spoke out to me, a very familiar voice. "Hello there."

"What the hell?" I snapped, lowering my hands. "How did yo-" My words caught in my throat when I saw the person who'd spoken.

He was a young Korean man in his late 20's with black floofy hair and a kind look in his eyes behind his glasses. His black shirt bore a big white M and a pink curly moustache in the middle, and the same heart-shape on its sleeve. Instantly I recognized him, having seen his face hundreds of times on YouTube. "Oh my God," I breathed, getting to my feet. "You're Markiplier!"

"In the flesh," the man beamed. "Well… sorta…" His smile faded as he looked around the kitchen. "So, I know this isn't the best way to meet, but I need you to come with me."

"What? Where are we?" I asked, still unsure about what was going on.

Just then, I got another fright as the little box jumped up next to me and hopped over to Mark. It was then I saw that the box had an adorable face on its other side. "Hiya, Mark!" it cried out in a cute squeaky voice.

"Tiny Box Tim!" Mark cried in joy, scooping up the box. "There you are, my lil' biscuit! Thanks for letting me know she was here."

Still recovering from both shocks, I turned to Mark for answers. "What's going on?"

Mark placed Tiny Box Tim on his shoulder and smiled again. "Well for starters, you're dreaming right now!"

"Well, I guess that explains things," I sighed in relief. "None of this is actually happening."

"Well, not exactly," Mark admitted. "It's not just you who's dreaming. I'm dreaming too." He held out his hand. "All of this will make more sense if you come with me."

Even though I was keen to get away from this place, I was still a little apprehensive. I mean, wouldn't you be if you suddenly found yourself in a creepy old house and your favorite YouTuber ever appeared before you, telling you to go with them? "Where are we going?"

"A place where you'll be safe…" Mark replied.

"Safe?" I asked. "From what?"

Mark glanced over his shoulder for a second. "I'd really love to tell you, but we really should get a move on."

"But why?"

"Just trust me, okay?" Mark insisted in low tones.

Now, having watched practically all of Mark's videos, I always felt soothed when he lowered his voice. There was something about it that calmed my mind and removed any bad thoughts. And it was that voice that made me forget my concerns now and reach out to take his hand.

As I did, the light appeared again, surrounding me, Mark, and Tiny Box Tim. I looked up with a gasp to see the dark mansion dissolving around me…

When the light faded again, I stumbled back and shook my head. "Whoa! Feeling a little dizzy…" I then turned back to Mark. "Now can I know where I am?"

"Of course," Mark smiled, raising his arms. "Welcome to the Markihub!"

I looked around me in amazement. We were standing in the middle of an auditorium next to several rows of chairs. A few people about my age milled around the room, chatting to each other or standing in the corners. "This area is basically 'home base' for people like us," Mark explained.

"Like us?" I asked.

"You, me, and many others were chosen to join the fight against the Terrorlings," Mark replied.

"The what?" That name sounded very made-up to me.

"Hear me out on this, alright?" Mark replied, waving his hands. "Terrorlings are like demons that feed off of negative emotions; sadness, fear, anger, grief. They can only affect people's dreams as of now, but the damage they can cause is very real. And if they grow strong enough, I'm afraid that their darkness will begin to seep into the waking world."

I gulped at the explanation. "That sounds… not good."

"Yeah, it's definitely not good," Mark agreed grimly. "But that's why we're here to help. This, as I mentioned, is the hub or Markihub as some people call it."

At the name, I let out a snort. "Seriously?"

"Hey, I'm staying on brand, alright?" Mark scowled, folding his arms.

I cleared my throat to stifle my laughter. "So what do you do here?"

"Well, people come here to train for battling the Terrorlings," Mark said. "They can also gather supplies and meet up with their teammates before missions. Then when the third shift bell strikes, a portal will open to take you to the person that needs to be saved."

Right on cue, a dull ringing tone sounded out around the Markihub.

"Speaking of, that's the first bell," Mark added, lifting Tiny Box Tim off his shoulder. "You've still got a lot to do, but first, follow me to the training room."

He led me down a corridor while Tim hopped away in a different direction. In the corridor, I looked up at two adorable portraits on the wall before entering the door on my left.

I walked into a room with weapons lining the wall and training mats on the floor. Other people were fighting with each other or with training dummies. Mark waved me over to a corner of the room.

"Okay, now that we're here…" Mark smiled and raised his fists. "Let's fight!"

"Wait, what?" I was so shocked that I almost failed to see Mark strike out at my face. I quickly raised my arms, barely deflecting the attack.

"Come on," Mark cried. "Let's do this!"

"But wait, how do I do this?" I cried.

"Just hit me as hard as you can," Mark called.

"I don't want to hurt you!"

"Don't sweat it, I've been doing this for a long time. I can take whatever you throw at me!" Mark kissed his bicep. "So go on, hold nothing back!"

Taking a breath, I threw out my fist to punch Mark. He grunted a bit as I hit his chest then he punched back twice as hard, knocking me off my feet. "You holding up there, buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm doing good," I panted.

"Here, take these." Mark threw out a small pink object and a bottle of liquid at me. "The pink thing is a Heart Fragment; it will heal you up if you get too badly hurt. And the Bottle of Rum and Dr. Pep will recover your mana for your spells and special attacks. FYI, it's not really rum, it's actually just Dr. Pep and grenadine. We just say it's rum to make it sound cool. There are all sorts of items that can heal you, restore your mana, boost your strength and defence, and all sorts of other cool stuff as well."

"Wow, thanks!" I ate my Heart Fragment, feeling my strength return. Then I struck out again with a double punch that Mark easily blocked.

"Alright then, not too shabby," Mark beamed.

"Thanks," I breathed heavily. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

"You'll get the hang of it in no time," Mark chuckled. "But now that you've gotten a bit of a feel for fighting, you should go ahead and choose your class."

"My class?" I asked.

"Everyone has a different fighting style," Mark replied. "Go across the corridor to the armory. The weapons dealer there will help you choose what class you want to learn. I have some other things to do real quick. When you're finished, I'll tell you a little more about the Terrorlings and your first mission."

I placed a hand on my head. Everything was happening almost too fast. "This can't be real! You even said this is all just a dream!"

"Oh trust me, this might be a dream, but you'll see soon enough how powerful one's dreams can be."

Still reeling at the thoughts, I walked towards the door but as I opened it, Mark called me. "Oh, before you go, you obviously know my name, but I haven't asked what yours is."

I looked back with a smile. "It's Taryn."

Mark nodded. "Welcome aboard, Taryn! It's good to have you on the team!"

"Thanks," I smiled back, before stepping out.

Following Mark's advice, I went into the door opposite me. The next room was a shopping area loaded with various weapons and armor. A few patrons walked through the shop, comparing swords and shields or trying on pieces of armor.

I walked up to the counter where the weapons dealer had his back turned, examining a dagger uncomfortably close to his face. "Excuse me," I called. "I'm here to pick my class."

The man spun around and I jumped back in surprise. He could almost have passed as Mark's identical twin, save for the pink hair and moustache. "Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, readers, and all other configurations of being," he announced like a weird radio announcer. "My name is Wilford Warfstache and this is my weapon shop! I'm in charge of sharp objects. Are you ready to choose your class?"

I took a step back to avoid the dagger pointed at me. "What are my options, Wilford?"

"I'm glad you asked, missy," Wilford replied with a waggle of his moustache. "There are three main classes to choose from, each with different stats, pros, and cons, with subclasses for each one. Do you want to be a Warrior, a Defender, or a Mage?"

I thought it over for quite a while. I haven't played many games myself, preferring to watch Mark play them, but in those games, I liked to pick classes that had strong attacks. Mages had some good spells, but their defenses tended to be lower. And Defenders had high defense but low agility. With that, I made my decision. "I'll take the Warrior class."

"Popular choice…" Wilford reached under the counter and handed me a wooden sword, a leather belt, and an iron shield.

"Sweet!" I quickly tied the belt around my waist and hooked the sword onto it. Then I fitted the shield on my back. "I'm ready to destroy those Terrorlings!"

"Good luck!" Wilford stated. "And be sure to come back for an upgrade the next time you're around."

With that done, I left the armory and returned to the auditorium. I found Mark waiting for me on a seat. "Hey, you ready?"

"I think so," I smiled, sitting next to him.

"Great! Now I'll explain things a little bit more." Mark turned to look at me. "Every person has their own Terrorlings. In a dream, they can manifest themselves into entities that are familiar to the victim. In those forms, they can invade the person's head and attack them, slowly scraping at their sanity. Our job is to go into their dreams and save them before the Terrorlings can do too much damage."

Just then, another loud tone rang out through the hub.

"There isn't much time left before the portal opens," Mark noted. "And there's just a couple more things you need to do. Sometimes, I like to do a quick send-off before the shift starts. It can get tough out there, so a few words of encouragement are always good. For now, you'll need to stock up on some supplies." He took out a bag of coins and handed it to me. "Here are some Dream Points™ to get you started."

"Dream Points?" I looked at the coin bag and shook it, hearing the coins jingling inside. "Did you just say trademark out loud?"

Mark looked away for a moment and coughed. "It's our form of currency. You can get supplies from the shop over there." He pointed to another corridor on the opposite side of the hall. "Let me know when you're done."

The shop was similar to the armory except it was filled with supplies. I quickly noticed that the shopkeeper was actually an octopus dressed in a blue suit. He waddled awkwardly up to me and made burbling noises that sounded welcoming.

"Hello, shopkeeper who is completely normal in every way." Yes, I did know it was really Octodad, but I didn't want any else to get suspicious.

I used my Dream Points to buy five more Heart Fragments, five Rum and Peps, and two horns known as Markihorns.

Octodad waved his tenta- er, arm and burbled a goodbye.

When I came back to the auditorium, I saw that a crowd was starting to gather. "All set?" Mark asked.

"I'm ready to go, but I still don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing out there," I replied nervously. "I mean, I've hit people with a stick in lacrosse, but I've never been in a proper fight before."

"Don't worry," Mark smiled, patting my shoulder. "New recruits face the easiest enemies on their first shift. Even though everyone's dreams are different, we try to make sure that no one goes in facing enemies they can't handle." His face then became serious. "Tonight, your mission is to help a teenage girl whose family has been going through some pretty tough times. It's been giving her a lot of anxiety and she's starting to feel like a burden. And in this world, things like anxieties can take the form of Terrorlings. They start out small at first, but over time, they can pile up and cause some serious harm."

"So… I have to fight these Terrorlings before then?" I asked.

"Yup. Once she's been rescued, the exit portal will appear to take you back to the Markihub."

A worrying thought crossed my mind. "And… what will happen if I fail?"

"You'll be fine," Mark assured me. "This is your first mission, but I know you can do it. You were chosen for a reason."

Seeing Mark's friendly smile calmed me down a little. "If you say so…"

Before long, the auditorium was packed with people. Some of them were nervous to go, like me. Others were clearly more experienced and were chatting excitedly about their upcoming mission.

Then Mark stepped up onto the stage. "Alright guys, listen up." The noise didn't quiet down. "Hey now, come on." When the chatter still didn't stop, Mark got impatient. "Hey! SHUT! UP!"

Hearing his yell, the crowd fell silent. I held back a giggle; Mark's loud voice was always good at getting people's attention.

With everyone focused on the stage, Mark cleared his throat. "Now that I have your attention… We all know why we're here. There are dark things out there that are threatening the well-being of a lot of good people. But we're here to stop them. Each and every one of you gathered here has something in your heart that can shine through the darkness, allowing you to reach out to others. Some of you were saved, others were chosen. 'Chosen by what?' you might ask. Well, to be honest… I have no freaking clue.

"I've been doing this for a few years now and I still haven't been able to figure it out. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop fighting. Every night, the darkness comes to attack, but with each person saved, our numbers continue to grow. As many of you already know, helping people is what I'm all about, so I'm taking this as an opportunity to do just that. I want you all to know that even though things will get rough out there, I believe in you and I know you can do it! And if it ever gets too much for you, just know that we're all here for you and you can always ask us for help."

The crowd began to mutter in agreement, and I felt bolstered by Mark's bold words. At that moment, a third ring echoed through the hall. Behind the stage, a swirling vortex appeared in the wall.

"Before you begin your missions, I have one more thing to say to the new recruits," Mark went on. "See that heart everyone has on their sleeves?"

I glanced at the patch on my sleeve, as did many other people.

"That is the mark of a hero," Mark explained. "Not everyone you save will have one, but those that do have a chance to join our ranks in the fight against the Terrorlings. Alright, everyone, good luck out there!"

One by one, the crowd dispersed and ran into the portal, cheering as they went. "Woohoo!" "I'm ready, let's go go go!" "I'm so PEE-HYPED!" "I'll punch those Terrorlings right in the gabba, swear on me mum!" "See you guys on the other side!"

When the last person had jumped through, Mark leapt off the stage towards me. "Let's go!"

"Hang on a second," I said, getting to my feet. "You said that each person had to be saved from the Terrorlings, right? What about me? I wasn't being attacked when you came."

"Well, like I said, sometimes people get chosen," Mark replied. "That's what happened to me too. I don't know exactly how it works, but it was just one of those things where you get the chance to do some good and you've just gotta take it."

I had a strange feeling that there was more to it than that, but I just shrugged. "I mean, I guess? It's kind of like helping a stranger who dropped their books, right?"

"No…" Mark replied with a frown. "But if that helps you understand, then sure!"

"Hey man," I retorted with a scoff. "I've got enough sass on my own. I don't need any from you." I then smiled. "Well, I guess we should get going. Here goes nothing!"

Mark smiled and held up a fist. "You've got this. Taryn!"

With that, we both walked up to the portal and stepped through. My first mission against the Terrorlings had begun!

And that's where the first chapter ends.