I Do Believe In Egos

The Happily Ever After?

Mark nodded his head slightly, but he wasn't paying attention to what was being said to him at all. As camera Jim showed off their footage, Mark was watching the Googles across the room. "The poor alive again man." Reporter Jim mumbled, drawing Mark's attention back.

"Right... the zombie." Mark sighed, staring at the footage. "This is great stuff guys, and I can't wait to see the edited coverage of everything... but you'll have to give me a minute." He pulled away from them, slowly starting towards the Google units as he sent off a quick text to Jack. Looking up from his phone, he smiled. "Everyone seems to be here... but Yandereiplier. Have you guys been keeping tabs on him?"

"Not close tabs." Google Blue mentioned. "But Darkiplier has been watching over him as of late."

"He has, huh?" Mark looked towards the back door before smiling at Google Blue. "Thanks. How are your systems running now, by the way?"

Google Blue's eyes swirled with light a moment. "All systems online. No errors found. Battery at eighty six percent, with optimal efficiency."

"Good." Mark grinned, then slowly pulled himself away and headed towards the back door. A hand on his shoulder stopped him just before he could open the door and he swallowed hard, trying not to be frustrated. "I just have to-" He started as he turned, coming face to face with Ed Edgar.

"Great party." Ed smirked. "But you know what it could really use?"

Mark sighed. "Don't say babies."

"Babies!" Ed grinned. "And booze actually."

Shaking his head, Mark glanced around at the others in the room. "Only half the people here can even drink alcohol. If you want some, you can go out and get it, but I'm not supplying." He took a deep breath, forcing a smile. "And we've talked about the baby thing, haven't we Ed?"

Ed shrugged. "It's not a joke to me, it's my business. And a good one at that!"

"Right." Mark sighed. "Amy will show you the secret stash of alcohol." He promised in order to escape, feeling mildly bad for throwing Amy under the bus. He wasn't sure what she would say about the imaginary stash of booze, but Ed wasn't really the violent type, so at least he wasn't putting her in danger. He watched for a moment as Ed crossed the room to approach Amy and Bim in the middle of a conversation, and he quickly rushed out the back door.

Darkiplier was seated in the middle of the yard, beside King of the Squirrels. "He likes walnuts more though." King was explaining to Dark as Mark approached.

"Hey guys." Mark smiled, giving a slight wave.

King grinned, giving him a friendly wave in return. "Hi Mark! We were catching up with your squirrels."

Mark glanced into the tree, smiling. "Uh, yeah. That's good." He nodded, turning his attention to Darkiplier. "Do you know why Yanderiplier isn't here?"

"Other than the fact you almost let him die?" Dark rose an eyebrow.

King gasped, shaking his head. "No one... no one died Dark."

"Robbie the zombie did." Dark stated simply before glaring at Mark. "And some others in the past. Isn't that right Mark?"

Mark swallowed hard. "They were never re-" He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "I was never going to let him go. I had a back up plan if it didn't work and-"

"You cut it fairly close." Dark grunted.

King pushed himself up onto his feet and walked over, hugging Mark. "You care about us, don't you?"

Mark quickly nodded before finding his words. "Of course I do. Look at what I went through to keep you all here!" He patted King's back, then looked down at Dark, who was still sitting on the lawn. "Is it Yan's idea that it was my fault he almost disappeared, or yours?" Dark merely smirked in response, slowly turning his attention to the trees without giving an answer. "Alright." Mark grumbled, giving King another squeeze. "King, I have to go take care of something... and I think you probably have more squirrels to tell Dark about."