I'm So Sorry

Chapter Seventy-Four- THE PLOT THICKENSSSSssssSS

"...So... He took you...? He started... This all started because of him?"

Blue fell to the floor, knowing this to be the truth. She had really almost murdered Dark for Mark... Or whoever that bastard was.

"He never planned to let the dark kingdom go. Even when the war was over, and my blood stained the battlefield... He wasn't going to stop. And he most certainly was not going to spare William... As for Anti... Well, in my days locked in that cage... Let's just say I have a very clear picture of what the bastard's planning for him." Dark shook his head, not sure what else to say.

"I... What's wrong with him?" Blue asked, practically speechless. "I can't tell you. Not yet... But just know that it's not his fault... I've been looking for a way to save him, but I just... I'm so fucking sorry." Dark sighed, leaning down to help Blue back up.

"Don't apologize. I... No matter what's going on with him... It's... It's very selfless for you to still try to save him. If it were anybody else, he probably would've been left to rot... But you... You have nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry, to you and my team, for not listening. In terms of being a hero... I still have a lot to learn." Blue smiled up at Dark, "I guess being self-taught really isn't all too reliable... It's about time I just watch and learn." 

"What do you mean by that?" Jade asked as Sean pulled Dark to the side to discuss more on the situation. Blue answered...

"I think we're witnessing a legend in the making." 

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"What- you can't just- what do you mean?!" 

While the heroes were being 'informed on their situation'- aka being manipulated by Dark- you had more important matters at hand. You ignored the scenario playing out in your head, pushing it to the side to focus on Mark's words.

"What I mean is literally what I said! She's not supposed to exist! AT ALL! There are so many issues with her existence! First off: how the absolute fuck is she real?! Like, a real child from the real world! And furthermore, how is she alive?!" Mark snarled, "I need to see her for myself!... Tomorrow. I'll go tomorrow. I don't have enough time right now... But I will figure this out." 

"No matter who I have to go through... I will get to her." 

And so, you would have to wait for the next night for any proper answers.

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The next night...

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Dark was in his office, a place he hadn't been for... He didn't even know the last time he stepped foot in his actual office. 

Con was on Dark's shoulder, purring and nuzzling him gently. Why? Probably because Rev was too busy to play with the cat. Con liked Chica, too, but she was always busy. Pestering Dark was the only thing he could do to cure his boredom at this point. 

As for Dark himself, he scratched the cat behind the ear while looking over some files. Until a knock came at the door. "Ah. Sara, come in." Dark looked up from the files, seeing Sara enter the room.

"Sir, your apprentices are here as you requested." Sara gave a slight bow. "Good. Send them in and tell Char that we'll be heading out. Don't keep her waiting too long, she might get lonely~" Dark teased slightly, tilting his head playfully at the beast-man. "Hah. Hah. My lord, you are just so... Funny." Sara said with a straight face, "if that is all..." She left Dark to his own devices for a few minutes, sending the girls his way. 

"Sup, old man!" Scarlet barged into the room first, a wide grin on her face.

"...Okay... Whatever. I need you both to come with me. Since our cover is completely blown, you might as well come to the HQ and train there." Dark more of informed than requested. He opened a portal and escorted them through. To Sean's HQ.

"Teal! I'm so sorry!" Blue was the first to notice them, bowing her head apologetically. "No need." Teal answered simply, looking around the place, "huh... I expected it to be... More colorful." Dark tilted his head, "what, did you expect to see pride flags everywhere? Or people wasting their time on painting instead of saving people? Or maybe you thought we'd just pop up in the 80's?" 

A few children giggled at that, including Teal herself. 

"WOW! GEEZUMS! Old man, you need to stop homeschooling us! This place has a library, a training center, and a hospital all in ONE building!" Scarlet had been running around the place, looking in all of the rooms. She was panting now, looking like a child at their first big party. "We have libraries and hospitals at home! And the only training center you need is the forest!" Dark hissed defensively. 

"'We HaVe LiBrArY aT hOmE!' Uh-huh, and-" Scarlet was about to give Dark some sass back, but a sudden crash interrupted them all. "WHAT THE HELL?!" 

Dark barely had time to react, it all happened so fast. Time seemed to slow down for him, and out of the corner of his vision, he saw the wall next to them- the back wall- start to cave. He quickly shielded the girls with his body, not having enough time to use magic. Debris and burning sparks rained down on him, but he held strong. Even with his bad back, leg, neck... Entirety of his body-

When it was over, he let go and managed to teleport them away from the former back wall, turning to face it now. The black void in the background made three figures stand out greatly. 

"Now, now, Dark... I can't believe that you'd be so cruel as to put barriers up to keep us out! To think that you would try to keep me out of my own homebase... Tsk, tsk... How utterly disappointing. It seems that I'll have to mark this place down as an enemy stronghold and your main base of operations. Pity." And to nobody's surprise, one of those figures was Markiplier. 

"Goddammit Mark! What-" Sean started, but Mark's burning red eyes swept over him. And this time... The change in color was not only obvious, but the malice behind it too. "Shut it. This doesn't concern you. This is between me and him... And Scarlet, of course." "What?" Teal startled, looking over to Scarlet.

And Scarlet looked terrified. She had heard terrible things about this 'Mark', and she had learned about everything the bastard had done... But she never thought that this man- this YouTuber... Would be Markiplier. But it made so much sense, thinking about it... Why hadn't she seen it before? 'Mark', a murderous scumbag that killed a child, committed mass murder, and erased an entire universe... And all of those identical to him- that also 'happened' to look like MARKIPLIER- were called 'Ipliers'... Yeah, she definitely should've seen that sooner.

But if that really was the case...

"Welcome home, Scarlet! Now tell me... How are you alive? Moreover... How did you come from the real world?" Mark glared, his eyes dilating. "Whoa! Wait a minute, how do you know my apprentice?!" Dark snarled, standing in front of the child protectively. "The better question, my dear, would be how the hell don't you know her?" Mark still looked at Scarlet, demanding answers with his gaze. 

But Scarlet could only choke out one word, more like a question... "D-... Dad?" 

And the room went still.

"...Excuse my language, but the fuck?" Dark chuckled nervously, realizing where this was going. But that was impossible. For several reasons! Celine gave birth over a century ago! How would Scarlet still be so young? And furthermore, this Scarlet was in Mark's world! This Scarlet couldn't be Dark's daughter. 

Teal raised a finger, "...I'm starting to understand the whole 'my dad's a murderer' thing."