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markidarker · 2 years

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We Meet Again; Part Five

Eventual Pairing: Dark x OC (Merrick)

Warnings: There be lots of angst here, with some fluff

Words: 4k+

A/N: This chapter contains a lot of dialog from WKM and DAMIEN, which belongs to Markiplier and his team. I used snippets in order to work my OC into the story. While in the memory sequence, Merrick speaking will be in purple and Dark will be in blue.

Everything starts to come into focus, and she sees…a door.

Merrick was expecting the neverending darkness of the Void, inhabited by the unfortunate souls they had been. She gets the distinct feeling that she isn’t alone, which is only confirmed a moment later.

Off to the side, she hears a slap against the banister. “Damn it, how are we all just going along with this nonsense?!” It was a lifetime ago, but Merrick recognizes the voice; it was Abe, the brash and overbearing, but probably well meaning detective.

A sigh that isn’t hers escapes her body, but the gaze does not move away from the door.

“They’ve made their choice, sir. There isn’t much to be done,” the voice of the Butler chimed in.

“Well I don’t know this Celine, and I don’t trust her, and she has MY partner in there doing who-“

A groan rumbles in her throat and suddenly her vision is spun around to the detective. “You aren’t the only one that cares about her!” Damien’s voice bursts forth as Abe and the butler stare at him in mild shock. His hand reaches up to run through his hair. “Celine is my sister, and I trust her. You aren’t helping the situation by-“

Loud, muffled shouting from behind the door cuts him off, and Damien’s vision turns to the door once more.

Abe practically growls. “Nope, this ends now.” Before anyone else can move, he shoves his way past Damien and bursts into the room.

“-go back! Go back now!” It’s Celine yelling, and Merrick knows what point in time she’s seeing now as she hears her voice next.

“I-I did what I could, I don’t know what you-“

Damien’s body moves forward to fit into the room next to Abe. He looks between Celine and Maria, and the table between them covered with items of the occult. It was jarring for Merrick to see her past self through another’s eyes, she looked so…scared, but determined.

“What the shit is this?!” Abe said angrily.

Celine gets to her feet and points toward the door. “Get out! We are not done here!

Damien’s gaze goes from the table to his sister. “Celine, I think this is quite enough.”

Celine slams her hands down on the table. “It’s enough when I say it’s enough!”

Merrick hears Abe urging her past self out of the room, while she protests for him to let her go.

“Hey!” Damien said, appearing torn on what to do as he watches Maria being pulled out of the room. He sighs and looks at his sister once more. “Celine..what is going on, what is all this?”

“I told you, my work could not be interrupted! I need to get to the bottom of this.”

“Then let me help you,” Damien said, near pleading at this point. “I’ll do-“

Merrick hears shouting from the hall behind them, intensifying by the second, and Damien and Celine leave the room.

“-he could be the murderer!” Abe is in the middle of yelling, then the strange black and white thunder crashes through the manor.

“For the last time, stop saying that word!” Celine said sternly as her and Damien rejoined the group.

The Chef is there now, defensive. “Look. George…just tends to the grounds, man. He’s a fuckin’ hermit!”

“I don’t care what the fuck he is!” Abe shouts.

“Look, all this arguing is getting us nowhere!” Damien interjects. “Just go outside and talk to this George, and be done with it!”

“Hold on a sec. You’re not coming with us?” Abe asked.

Damien’s vision looks between the worried face of Maria, then back to the detective. “I-I need to stay here with Celine.”

Maria tries to jump in. “I’ll stay, I can try again-“

Celine glares at Damien. “I don’t need help, especially from you!”

“OUR FRIEND IS DEAD!” Damien yells, frustrated. He takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out, trying to calm himself. “I’m sorry. I just need answers to all of this. I already lost one friend today; I don’t want to lose another.” He looks around the group, but his gaze ends up on Maria. She offers him a brief, reassuring smile.

Celine sighs. “Fine, but I need to stay here.”

“Fine by me.”

“Fine, good, yeah, whatever, who cares.” Abe said, then points to the chef and the butler. “Alright, you’re coming with me.” Then he points at Maria. “Partner, you too.”

Maria crosses her arms. “No, I’m staying,” she said forcefully. “You’ve questioned suspects before, you don’t need me there.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Abe said, then he reached for Maria’s arm once again.

“Touch me in that manner again, and I’ll break your hand!”

Damien quickly moves forward and pushes the detective's hand away, standing between them, not taking his gaze away from Abe. “Go. Give us a moment.”

The detective opens his mouth to say something, but the look on Damien’s face must give him pause because he decides against it. Instead, he huffs, then turns around to usher the butler and chef to the stairs. Once he’s a few feet away, Damien looks back at Celine, who only nods before heading back toward the room.

“Damien, if you’re going to tell me to go with that jerk detective, then save it. I’m not leaving.” Maria said once it was just them.

“I…” Damien sighs. “We’re the level headed ones here, right?” He chuckles before continuing. “Well…trying to be. He needs your help, and Celine needs mine. Even if she doesn’t want to admit it.”

“And what if I need you?!” Maria immediately appears shocked at her own outburst, a hand going to cover her mouth. All she can do is stare at him for a moment.

Damien’s hand slowly comes up to cup her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing against her cheekbone. Merrick can almost feel the action herself as she watches through Damien’s eyes. Maria’s own eyes close, a few tears running down her cheeks. “Maria…I need you, too.” He says softly, as Maria lets out a shuddering breath. Damien moves forward and presses his lips against her forehead.

Any kind of decorum they had between them went out the window as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, her head on his chest. She took a deep breath. “Please…be careful.”

Damien lays his cheek on top of her head, holding her firmly against him. “It’ll be alright…I promise.”

They part, and Maria quickly moves away from him, Damien watching her as she leaves. She glances over her shoulder one last time, then she goes down the stairs. The world around him shifts and starts to fade, as he turns around and begins walking down the hall.

I remember this…why did you start here?

Merrick doesn’t get an answer as a new memory unfolds. Once again, she’s seeing everything from Damien’s point of view, including her very scared and confused past self as she looks around the emptiness that is the void.

“Maria…I’m so sorry.” Damien’s voice echoes through the space.

“I…the Colonel, h-he…shot me. Am I…?” Maria frantically looks at Damien and Celine. “Are you-“

“In a sense, yes.” Celine answers the unfinished question.

Damien sighs angrily. “He took everything from us. He trapped us in here with this broken shell and no way out.”

“It’s true,” Celine said. “This whole time I thought it was the house, but…I never thought he’d fall this far.”

Damien continues, his voice increasingly rising with his anger. “And we played right into his hands. He’d been planning this for years and now that son-of-a-bitch is out there walking around in MY body-“

“Wait, what, who has your body??” Maria asks.

Mark…has your body? Why didn’t I remember this?!

“Damien, we CAN’T do this right now,” Celine said, and once Damien nods in acknowledgement, she focuses on Maria and continues. “Look, I know you have questions and I can’t answer everything right now. Just know that Mark took everything from us for his twisted quest of vengeance. But death does not mean the same thing here.”

Damien puts his hand out. “What Celine means by that is…this doesn’t have to be the end. You’re trapped in here just the same as us, but your body…broken as it may be, it’s still out there.”

“Mark’s not the only one that can use this place to his benefit. The same way that I brought you here, is the same way that I can send you back.”

“But, what about you guys…?” Maria speaks up, her worried gaze moving from Celine, to Damien.

“That’s just it, darling,” Damien said quietly. “You can’t survive on your own. You’re dead, after all…the Colonel saw to that.”

Celine sighs sadly. “You can’t blame him. Honestly, he’s a good man. But he’s dangerous now…”

“I…I don’t blame him.” Maria said, looking at the ground. “It was an accident.”

It’s silent for a moment, Damien’s gaze is locked on Maria when he speaks up. “I know this all sounds crazy. Honestly, I don’t know what the fuck is going on. But I know that I trust Celine. And if you trust us, just…let me in. We can fix this, darling. Together.”

“I won’t force this on you. You have a choice here. Just know that this is the only way that you can escape.” Celine added.

“Yes.” There was no hesitation, not a shadow of doubt to be seen as Maria lifted her chin. “If it means we can get out of here…” Her eyes move to Damien and she nods once. “Then that’s all that matters.”

Celine raises her hands, pointing her palms in Maria’s direction. “Just relax…”

As the memory begins to fade, Damien’s voice is heard; “This’ll work, Maria…I promise.”

How did I forget so much of that…

Merrick hears Dark’s voice for the first time since she’s been in his memories. Your time in the mirror could have affected your memories. Being consumed by negative emotions is a tricky thing…

There’s more that Merrick wants to say, NEEDS to say, and she’s ready to pull back. But another memory starts to come into view. It’s heavily distorted, glitches moving through the figure before her and the wall behind them. She concentrates, and the face comes more into view; it’s Damien’s face, his body, inhabited by Mark. Wearing a red and black suit jacket and slacks. His face was twisted in a joker-esque smile that nauseated her.

I’ve seen him before…

The edges of the memory fracture and shake, but Dark remains silent as it continues.

“You…you murderer…” Damien said quietly.

Mark waves his hand dismissively. “Oh, please, you sound like that idiot detective. Come on, you’re better than that. I don’t need to hold your hand through all of this.”

“Through all of what? Just leave me alone.”

“You don’t realize this place is a dream! A never-ending starring role as the hero. But what is a hero without…a villain?”

“What…?” Damien asked.

“A villain! Every good story needs a villain!”

“You honestly think…that you’re the hero in all of this?” Damien asked in disbelief.

Mark lets out a laugh, sounding as giddy as a child getting just what they wanted for their birthday. “Well, of course I am! Who else could I possibly be? My humble upbringing, my tragic backstory. There’s no other role for me to play!”

Damien shakes his head, taking a step back. “You’re out of your mind…”

“Oh, you! You are going to make the PERFECT villain in my story.”

“Well, you can tell your story to the other prisoners, because I want no part of it.”

“Hmm…” Mark rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Even if I was thinking of, oh I don’t know…getting a certain DA friend of yours involved?”

Damien practically growls. “You stay away from her!”

“Yes, that’s what I’m looking for right there! I wouldn’t hurt her, of course. I mean, what would a hero be without his…leading lady?” Mark winks and the grin gets impossibly wider.

The memory is shaking, a ringing sound hitting an almost unbearable pitch. “If you lay ONE finger on her, I swear-“

The glitches fracture across Merrick’s vision as the memory becomes more unstable. It’s as if it's fast forwarding, and by the time it resumes normally, it’s almost impossible to see anything.

Do you want to continue?

Yes, I can still hear what’s going on…

“You can’t keep this up forever.” Damien spoke.

“Shut up! You have no idea what I’m capable of!” It’s Celine, sounding as angry as she does exhausted.

“LET ME HELP YOU!” Damien yells, it rings through the space before he continues in a quieter tone. “I remember now…I remember what he did. What we did…”

“Damien-“

“You lied to her, Celine! I…I lied to her.”

“There was no other way, I had to protect you and she had to say yes.”

“She deserved to know everything that would happen, it was her choice to make!” He shouts.

“You heard what Mark said, Damien. All he will do is use her to get to you, so you’ll play right into his hand! Is that what you want?!” The silence is heavy in the air, broken by what Merrick can only imagine is the sound of ice cracking and rushing water. “You have no idea what’s really going on here.”

“You’re right. I haven’t got a clue.” Damien said. “But I know that even you can’t protect me forever.”

“It’s not just about protecting you, everything is different now.” Celine sounds more frantic by the second. “The mistakes I’ve made, the-the people I’ve used, the things I’ve had to do to keep you alive!”

Damien moves closer to his sister, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. “Celine…some things just can’t be fixed.” A pang of sadness hits Merrick as she listens. He wasn’t mad, not even sad…just, resigned to his fate. “And I’m okay with that…but if you let me help you, then maybe, together, we can start to set things right.”

Celine lets out a sigh that’s heavy with exhaustion.

“You look tired. I think you need to get some sleep.” He whispers gently.

“I…can’t remember the last time I slept.”

“Don’t worry…I’ll protect you.”

The cracking intensifies and echoes deeply around them, the water is a constant sound at this point and Merrick has to focus even more to keep the connection.

“You can’t come back from this, Damien. It’ll change you. Forever.”

“Well…he did say he wanted me to be the villain. Maybe he should be more careful with his wishes.” Bitterness seeps into the last of his words.

“Just promise me one thing: make sure that bastard stays dead.”

CRACK. Merrick already couldn’t see, now she’s pushed backwards by a wall of water, scrambling to keep her mental footing, when a strong hand wraps around her forearm and holds on tight. It slowly fades out, but the sensation of Dark gripping her doesn’t go away.

Dami…Dark…I had no idea. I’m so sorry…

You don’t have to apologize. Silence. Merrick was expecting the connection to break any moment. I…I need to show you one last thing…

The darkness fades once again, and it’s Dark, staring into the mirror. He cracks his neck from side to side, moves his head around, taking in his form. He breathes heavily several times before letting out a broken yell. The pain and anger being released causes the mirror to crack, and then it’s quiet.

Gradually, his breathing begins to slow and even out as he looks down, gripping the table in front of him. After a moment, his vision moves upwards and he’s looking into the mirror again, the anger giving way to that same resignation Merrick sensed before.

“If you can hear me. I’m sorry…that it had to be this way. That I’ve broken so many promises I’ve made to you.” He clenches his jaw. “But I swear…I will end Mark myself, I will get my body, and I will be back for you. I don’t expect forgiveness, and you have every right to hate me til the end of time. Just know…I only ever wanted to protect you.” His hand moves to the edge of the mirror for a moment. Then, with a look of determination, he quickly turns away and leaves.

Merrick’s vision fades to black as she is yanked backwards, and she’s back in Dark’s office. She gulps air into her lungs, her hands flying away from Dark’s head as if he had burned her. There was no pain, only a persistent buzzing behind her eyes as her brain was playing catch up, trying to process the volume of information she had seen. It was too much, she couldn’t…she didn’t even know where to start. Their lives before, the things she’d forgotten, what he’d gone through. Question upon question swirled through her brain, her breathing hitching as she tried to slow it down. Merrick isn’t sure how much time passes, but once she’s able to focus on her surroundings, her gaze lands on Dark.

He’s even closer to her, hair disheveled, slightly breathless, his hands gripping her upper arms firmly while his eyes move over her face. The pitch black is gone from the whites of his eyes, his brow furrowed as he studies her.

“Dark…I, ah…what-“

“Take your time. There’s no rush.” Dark said softly, his voice warm and enveloping her. “Was it too much?”

“No…n-no…I just need a moment.” Merrick closes her eyes, focusing on the cool touch of his hands on her bare arms, trying to breathe although she feels her throat begin to tighten. When she left the confines of the mirror, all she wanted to do was forget. Merrick gripped tightly to her anger, letting it fuel her to move forward and forge her new path. Now, seeing her and Damien…what could have been between them…a sense of mourning overtook her. For their lives, their loved ones, their friends. The ‘role’ that Damien was made to take.

The things she forgot in the void, now back in vibrant memory…if they only knew what she would have done for him. The lengths she would have gone to make sure Damien could go back.

The dam is shattered, a violent sob leaves her, then another, and she’s folding in on herself. Merrick would have fallen to the floor if Dark wasn’t still holding her arms, he leans in closer and her forehead lands on his shoulder. He’s rigid, unsure, waiting for her to pull away from him. Instead, she clutches the front of his shirt like it’s the only thing tethering her against oblivion, and she does something she hasn’t done since she left the mirror. She weeps.

Merrick has a moment of panic, like she shouldn’t be doing this, not in front of him. But as soon as she grabbed his shirt, his arms were wrapping around her, holding her to his chest.

“It’s okay…I’m here.” Dark whispered next to her ear. One hand held her firmly against him, while the other smoothed over her hair.

Time ceased to exist. Merrick cried until there were no more tears, only the sobs that shook her entire body. Dark whispered soothing words, hand moving over her back in comforting circles. Eventually, when her fingers ached with how hard she was gripping his shirt and the sobs began to slow down, Merrick slowly let go of him and leaned back. Even though she had just weeped against him for who knows how long, she can’t bring herself to look at him, keeping her gaze on her lap.

Dark gets up and leaves, returning in seconds with a box of tissues that he gently sets in her lap. She grabs a few, still not looking up but muttering a thank you.

“Merrick…” Dark said after a moment. “I meant what I said, in the last memory I showed you. I only wanted to show you what you were missing…and my side of the story, I suppose. It wasn’t to get your sympathy, or forgiveness.” He pauses, a sigh escaping him. “You have every right to hate me. If you tell me you never want to see me again, I will respect your wishes.” Even after what just happened, he was still fully prepared for her to leave him. But he can’t help the sadness that tinges his words.

“She d-didn’t have to lie.” Merrick said suddenly, looking up at him after wiping her eyes. Her voice was quiet, rough from emotion. “If she had told me, that t-the only way for you two to escape, was to leave me behind…and take my body. I would have said yes, w-without hesitation.”

“You still deserved that choice.” He replies, staring at her intently.

“Maybe. And even if I knew, I probably would have still tried to get out, but…I’m not angry anymore. I’ve spent so long being angry…but I understand now. She did what she had to do, to protect you.” She raises her hand, touching his cheek. “I would have done the same thing.”

Dark places his hand over hers, his breath hitching in his chest, and he closes his eyes. “Words cannot properly express how much I’ve missed you, darling.” He turns his head, placing a feather-light kiss against her wrist.

Goosebumps race up her arm and she smiles at him. “I’ve missed you, too…” she said, the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss him hits her strongly, her face flushes pink.

Dark chuckles, eyes opening slowly and he smiles. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the last time we saw each other,” he said as if reading her mind. “However…emotions are high, and I would feel like I was taking advantage of a vulnerable moment.”

“Always the gentleman,” Merrick said, smirking. “Except for reading my mind.”

“Only surface thoughts. They are rather…loud, at the moment.”

Merrick lowers her hand and turns away from him, trying to will her face to not get any redder and failing horribly. They both hum with amusement before Merrick stifles a long yawn, the emotions of the evening suddenly leaving her absolutely drained as her eyelids feel heavy.

“There’s more to talk about, but you should rest. We have plenty of extra rooms here…if you’d like to stay the night.” Dark said as he got to his feet and offered his hand.

Merrick sets the tissues on the table and nods. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

She takes his hand and Dark leads her down the hall to a spare bedroom, if you could call it that with how well it was decorated. The sight of the comfortable looking king size bed has Merrick feeling more tired by the second. Dark brings her one of his undershirts and a pair of sweats to change into in the attached bathroom. When she comes back out, his eyes move over her form as she drapes her summer dress over an armchair in the corner.

“Do you need anything before I depart?” Dark asked, hands behind his back as he stood up straight.

“Will you stay with me?” She asked bluntly, mildly surprised by her own forwardness but too tired to care. When Dark raises his eyebrows and appears to be in mild shock, she continues. “Just…at least until I fall asleep. If you’re not busy, of course. It’s okay if-“

“I’ll stay,” he interjects softly, beginning to toe off his shoes and place them by the chair. Merrick moves the covers back and crawls into the bed, it was even softer and more comfortable then she had imagined. Dark untucked his shirt as Merrick curled up on her right side, already fighting against sleep.

The bed dips behind her as Dark moves under the blankets, resting his arm gingerly over her waist. Merrick lifts her head so he can get his other arm in a more comfortable position. “Is this okay?” He whispers next to her shoulder.

“Mm-hmm,” she mumbles sleepily, holding the hand that was on her stomach and scooting a little closer to him. “Are you comfy?”

“Yes…” His chest is against her back and he whispers above her. “Goodnight, Merrick.”

“Goodnight, Dark…”

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