Binary Abyss

One

     Mark groaned as he pushed himself off the cold tiled floor, and upon looking up he spoke the only thought that came to mind, "where the hell am I?" His eyes adjusted to the dark lighting of the room, allowing him to make out the figure of a man laying unconscious a few feet to his right. He slowly pushed himself up and walked over to the sleeping figure and knelt beside him. The first thing he noticed was the man's blond hair, and that was all it took for him to recognize him.
"Ethan, wake up," he muttered, gently shaking his friend.
Ethan didn't stir. Honestly, Mark didn't know why he expect his friend to react, but he kept trying.
"Ethan, wake up. We've been kidnapped," he hissed, shaking Ethan a bit more violently than he originally had.
His friend still didn't stir.
The door of the cell suddenly let out a loud creak as it swung open, and Mark shot up, turning to face whoever had entered. The moment he made eye contact with the man in front of him he froze.

     "Glad to see you're awake," the man said, sarcasm bleeding through each syllable as he fixed his snow-white suit. He laughed seeing Mark's confusion and fear. "Yes, Mark, I'm not some crazy stan dressed in cosplay. I'm really standing here."
"That's not possible, I would know this," Mark finally broke his silence, stammering over his words. "You are a character I made for a murder mystery that I've only continued to use because my fans loved it. There is no way on Earth you are real, Dark."

     'Dark' smirked and quickly ran at Mark, shoving him into the hard stone wall in the back of the cell. He grabbed Mark's jaw and yanked it to the side, Mark growled as a sharp pain, which was accompanied by a pop, came from his jaw. "If I was fake, I wouldn't be able to do that."
Mark growled and shoved Dark off of him, and almost instantly, the two found themselves in an intense staring match. It... It isn't make-believe anymore. He found himself struggling to believe this new reality he found himself trapped in. Does this mean that Wilford, the Jims, Dark Chica, Silver Angel, and the others are real? How has this evolved? Mark struggled to try to comprehend his dilemma, that logically, Dark shouldn't be here. Yet when considering his current situation, it made perfect sense for him to be.

     "Well, are we gonna do something, or are we gonna keep staring one another down?" Dark questioned as he crossed his arms.
"I don't know, honestly, I'm not in any rush," Mark huffed, mimicking his alter's movements.
"Shame, I am."
"Why exactly?" He winced as each word sent a sharp pain through his head. "Well, you see, that's none of your—" He stopped talking as a quiet groan echoed throughout the cell. Both men turned to face Ethan, who was slowly waking. Without another word, Dark left the cell, and Mark quickly made his way back to his friend.

     Ethan turned so he was laying on his back and quickly made eye contact with Mark, "Mark?"
"Hey Ethan," Mark replied with a small smile, holding his hand out. "How was your nap."
"Terrible," Ethan answered, grabbing Mark's hand. Mark pulled him up as he continued, "where are we?"
"No idea. But, Dark is here."
"Dark?" Ethan asked, confused.
"Darkiplier."
Ethan's jaw dropped as he registered what Mark said, before laughing. "No- There's no way..."
Mark didn't laugh with him.
Ethan quit laughing, "you're being serious—"
Mark nodded, "I wish I wasn't, and I know it sounds crazy, but he's really here."
"I trust ya," Ethan muttered, walking over to the cell door. "And how exactly are we supposed to get out of here?" He wondered aloud, slightly pushing the door, which didn't budge. Mark sighed and leaned against the wall, rubbing his jaw with his hand.

     "Hey... You okay, Mark?" Ethan asked, turning to face him.
"I don't know. Right before you woke up Dark came in. I denied he existed so he decided to prove to me he was real by injuring my jaw," Mark explained, trailing off.
If Ethan frowned, then Mark missed it. He was silent for a moment before responding, "since we don't know the extent of the injury, just... Limit talking to only when it is necessary."
Mark nodded and he watched as Ethan mindlessly fiddled with the door. Ethan stuck his arm through the rusted iron bars and Mark guessed he grabbed the knob on the other side.
"Oh my god—" he laughed, causing Mark to tilt his head in confusion. "He left the keys in the door." Mark had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing as Ethan unlocked the door, he opened it slightly—

     The speed at which Ethan closed was surprising and confusing to Mark. However, before he could ask why, shouting echoed through the hallway.
"YOU SCOUNDREL!" A glitchy voice yelled as another door slammed shut, "IF IT WASN'T FOR LITERALLY EVERY REASON WHY I NEED YOU ALIVE I'D KILL YA RIGHT NOW!"
"YOU KNOW WHAT, ANTI! I AM SERIOUSLY BEGINNING TO ENVY THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD OF YA!" An Irish voice yelled in response. Wait— Anti's here? That means Jack is... Oh lord no. 
'Anti' supposedly stormed out of the hallway, and a few minutes later, Ethan opened the door again.

      "That was stressful, " he whispered, turning to face Mark as they both left the cell.
Mark nodded in agreement as he closed the cell door. Ethan for some reason locked it again, and when thinking about why the latter would do so, his only conclusion was to confuse the Alters. "We should go help Jack, shouldn't we?" Ethan asked, turning to Mark. He nodded, and the duo headed towards the cell where Anti had stormed away from. Once they arrived, Mark instantly noticed Jack wasn't the only one in the cell.
"Holy cow— Mark? Ethan!?" Jack whisper-shouted, walking up to the bars. The second person walked over with him.
"Yeah, hi," Mark muttered as Ethan fiddled with the lock. "Anti's here too?"
"Yeah he's— what do you mean 'too'? Who else is here?!" Jack quietly exclaimed.
"Dark's here also."
"Th-They're working together?" Jack muttered in disbelief.
"My reaction exactly."

     The door let out a soft click as it was unlocked, and the two quickly made their way out of the cell. The moment the second figure left the horribly lit room, Mark recognized him.
"AJ?"
He let out a quiet laugh, "yep, it's me."
Ethan closed the door and turned to the group. "We need to find somewhere to hide before we catch up."
"We do," Jack agreed. "But where the heck do we even go? And how did you two even get out!?"
"Dark left the keys in the door," Ethan explained. "And I don't know, maybe go out the way Anti exited?"
"Are we sure there's not an exit over there?" AJ implored, motioning to the direction Mark and Ethan came from.
"Yeah. Over there was our cell," Mark answered.
Jack walked over to the hallway Anti had disappeared to and peered into it. "Coast's clear," he announced to the group. "If we want to go, it is now or never."

     The group carefully snuck their way through the hallway, Jack took the front with Ethan and Mark took the rear with AJ. They walked in silence, neither of them wanting to catch the attention of Dark or Anti, and any other alter that was present... If there were any. The silence was interrupted by footsteps.
"Crap," AJ muttered as the steps came closer. 

     Mark quickly scanned their surroundings, spotting a door across the hallway, he carefully made his way to it and put an ear to it. Hearing nothing, he opened the door, motioning the others to follow. They did, and once they were all in, Mark entered and shut the door. A few seconds later, the footsteps passed by the door and echoed toward the direction of the cells. The group stood there in silence for a bit before AJ opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by one of the angriest exclamations Mark has ever heard...

"THEY'VE BLOODY ESCAPED!!!"