Getting used to a new household with people you've only just met wasn't the easiest thing one could ever do. It never becomes easy or simple no matter how many times you have to get used to a new setting or group of people. Instead, it merely becomes a routine, something that you know will occur and you'll have to mentally prepare yourself for; you have to learn how you will deal with this new family you've now become apart of.

At least, that's how Ariel saw it.

Since the age of six, she's mentally trained herself to become aware that where she was now wouldn't be the same place she'd be in a month or two. Her caretakers in her foster homes never did wish to keep her for long, kicking her out as soon as they saw an opportunity open for them or they'd come up with a reason as to why she was pretty much a menace if she were to stay in their household. It took six years until that pattern broke for her and she finally found a place she could call home, a group of people she could consider friends or even going as far as to call them family. But it was her mistake to think it would last forever. It was her mistake to think that the cycle had ended and she could finally feel comfortable with where she was...

A week passed and Ariel was only now starting to find herself comfortable enough to leave her shared bedroom, walk around the rooms of the household, and converse with her new roommates. Usually, it didn't take her a week to find her voice and start up a conversation, but it had simply been odd to imagine herself speaking to fictional characters who all had the same face as her sister's father. Also, she hadn't really gone to talk to the doctor since he tried to call her a liar and claim that the "real Ariel" was dead. So she simply took a step back, allowing her sister to step in and finally regain that smile and happy personality she had lost more than two months ago.

Hannah seemed to be taking all of this in better than Ariel had thought she would. All of the Egos welcomed her with open arms, having awaited for this moment to finally meet her for the past 17 years. The McLoughlin child had watched from the sidelines; she'd observed how each individual Ego, besides Dark, Wilford, and Google, would take turns to find time to get to know their niece. They'd either chat with Hannah in their spare time or ask for her help in some activity of sorts that they were busy doing just so they didn't waste any precious time they had  where they could be with her. They wanted to make up for the time they had lost, wishing to learn just who exactly their niece was, her interests, her dislikes, her personality, etc.

But she couldn't be completely satisfied with this; she still longed to talk to the two Egos she was forbidden to go near so long as she lived here...

It wasn't that the others were bad company; in fact, each different Ego had developed a trait of her father's that she had missed seeing for the longest time, and it was nice to have that reminder of the traits he had possessed. The more time she spent with them, however, she began to realize that even though there were ways these Egos could be compared to Mark himself, they were all their own person with their own lives. She stopped hanging out with them for the purpose of trying to make it appear as though her father had never gone missing, but instead, she spent time with them to try to learn about these new people that had entered her life so abruptly. Hannah wanted to hear their own individual stories, their own hopes and dreams of what they'd want to do if they could one day be free to go out into the real world. They were her father's characters, his own personas, but his personas weren't him at the end of the day.

Like how every square is a rectangle but not every rectangle is a square, Mark happened to be all, but not all were Mark at the end of the day.

Dark's new rule seemed to be permanent to Ariel and Hannah's dismay. Wilford couldn't enter a room that either of his nieces were occupying; he couldn't speak nor look in their direction. The master of the house had even gone as far as to not allow his brother to attend meals until Ariel and Hannah had finished up and gone somewhere else. It was heartbreaking; Wilford had prayed for his nieces' return but at the consequence of never getting the chance to speak or see them? They might as well had stayed away and had never come back because it was worse for him to know that they were so close, yet so far away. What happened to his second chance, his fresh new start? Was it really, truly not meant to be?

Since Dark had powered off Google, he remained in "shut-down mode," having been placed in the utility closet until further notice. He had no idea as to what was happening while he slept, and it pained both the McLoughlin and Fischbach that they could not go and retrieve him, the room having been locked with the key that only Dark possessed. Dark would sometimes find Ariel sitting in front of the utility closet door, not trying to pry it open or anything but simply sitting down and reading a book or playing on her phone. While Hannah was surrounded by the attention, Ariel was left to remain in the shadows and background of the story. She, again, wasn't complaining. Attention wasn't her strong suite and preferred to remain unnoticed. The only Ego that had shown worry and care for her had only been the Android, the one that had been taken from her. She chose to be as close to him as possible for comfort. Ariel had never once noticed that Dark had spotted her occasionally going to this spot to sit and relax, but he had numerous of times...

And for some reason, he had let her be and decided not to disturb her. She wasn't speaking nor confronting Google, just as the rules implied for her to avoid doing; therefore, she was meeting his expectations, and he had decided to allow this as he saw no harm coming out of it. If she knew that he was aware of what she was doing and was still allowing it even afterwards, Ariel would've been grateful for this small amount of kindness he was giving her.

Just as Hannah had explained, the news had gone wild with the story that Amy Fischbach had gone missing without any evidence to her whereabouts. The Egos had no other choice but to believe the girls now, as the facts were all there placed before them. YouTubers were becoming fearful, not knowing if anyone else were to go next, and if so, who would it be?

Youtube, Twitter, Tumblr, every social media platform seemed to reach out to the daughters of Amy to show their sympathy and their pity for them. Hannah understood the kind gesture they were attempting to give but was, in all honesty, fed up with the pity they would receive from their fans. It's not something she wanted to take from them, for it wouldn't be what gave her her father and her mother back. She couldn't show her annoyance or how upset she was with this, however, as it would be viewed badly by the public, as though she didn't appreciate their kindness or support. She simply had to place a smile on her face and thank everyone for their kind and concerned words, hiding the fact that they were only hurting her more through this.

Eventually, their recovery break had to come to an end, and they had to get back to their normal routine of living in the real world. It felt more like they were dying slowly with each day passing- but that's besides the point! Both Hannah and Ariel had made a video on their own separate YouTube channels, apologizing for having disappeared on their fans and updating them on their current condition and how they'd be returning with regular scheduled videos soon enough. They also had to start planning to attend school once again when the new week rolled in faster than they would've liked. Catching up on two weeks worth of work wasn't something either of the two were looking forward to; just because they had family members disappearing didn't mean they were allowed any type of special treatment according to the school board, sadly. They had to jump back in, and the two girls were expected to act as though everything was normal and nothing was wrong.

But it was hard to believe anything was normal at this point, when you're now living in a mansion filled with fictional characters that came to life...

Ariel woke up at 5 am on Monday morning, grabbing her clothes and locking herself in the guest bathroom. "The early bird gets the worm" is a term the young Irish girl believed in highly. She always got up earlier than others because she hated the idea of being rushed in the morning. She always liked to give herself plenty of time so she could work at her own pace and wake up slowly rather than having to bolt upright and be prepared to do clothes, hair, breakfast, etc. in less than 30 minutes. Once she had gotten dressed, washed her face, and straightened her hair, she headed back to her shared room with her sister and started to wake Hannah up... the most difficult chore she had to do at the beginning of every school day.

"How about we just... not go in today? We have so many videos we have to catch up on and start making, doesn't our job come before school?" Hannah Fischbach whined, pulling her blanket up and over her head to block the sunlight that peaked through the window.

"Right... let's just add another day's worth of work on top of the two weeks we still need to get done and just binge watch Legacies or Harry Potter." Ariel rolled her eyes, crossing her arms while death glaring the lump under the blanket.

"That sounds like a perfect plan to me~!"

"How about... no. Look, if you get out of bed right now so we can go to school... then we can stop by Starbucks and grab some coffee before we have to go suffer. Does that sound good?" Ariel offered, knowing now they would probably be thirty minutes late to their first period. If it was any other class, she probably wouldn't have even said this, as she didn't want to get on her teachers' bad sides. But this teacher, her first period teacher in particular, had to be the most cruelest man she had ever encountered and would love to avoid his class at all costs.

Same went for Hannah as she threw her covers off and sat up with a smirk plastered innocently on her fair skin. "You know me too well, girl! Starbucks, here we come! Maybe the line will end up being an hour wait and we'll miss first block altogether!"

"One can only hope..."

Once Hannah had finished up in the bathroom, the two exited their bedroom with their backpacks and headed downstairs. The Fischbach always loved to dress for success; she seemed to inspire other young girls with her choice of fashion and begin a trend for others to follow. For the first day back, she had a simple noodle strap burgundy shirt that went down to just below her stomach, a white ribbed cover up sweater over top, black jeans, and a pair of two inch black ankle boots. Nothing special for today; she wanted to go for simple and comfortable to not stand out. She already knew that with her dad and now mom missing that her situation would be the gossip that would spread all over school grounds. She wanted an easy day where the attention was off of her and she could be merely another student in the back of the class, just trying to survive and not pass out because of the teachers that wasted time lecturing the students.

Ariel never cared for what she wore or what others would see her in. If it was comfy and completely covered her body, it was a winner outfit in her eyes. She had decided that, today, she'd throw on a grey shirt with black long sleeves and printed words on the front that read: "THIS IS MY HARDCORE GAMER SHIRT," a pair of ripped blue jeans, black and white converse, and a grey beanie to top it all off. The perfect casual outfit; nothing too bland or plain but showed enough proof that she at least attempted to look nice for the world to see and gaze upon her with approving eyes. While, in reality, she really was too lazy to care, and it just so happened that her outfit looked like a decent one by complete accident today.

Once they got downstairs, they headed into the kitchen, only to be shocked to find an Ego awake and pouring himself a cup of coffee. Neither of the two had expected any of the Egos to be awake before dawn, but here he stood, Wilford Warfstache, in his pajamas, taking a drink from his mug without even realizing the two had entered the room. The Fischbach child did not hesitate to confront the man still in his pajamas, the other looking hesitantly around in fear that Darkiplier would enter the room at any moment now. Then they'd all be screwed...

"Hey, Uncle Wilf! What are you doing up so early?" Hannah raised her voice a few octaves to grab his attention, speaking toward Wilford's back. He immediately spat out his coffee all over the counter and his shirt, while jumping at least a foot into the air. He wheezed and coughed, trying to clear his throat, before deciding to turn around and face the one who had been speaking to him.

"Hannah Banana? W-What are you doing up so early?! You're never up until at least past noon!"

"I asked you first, Pinky!"

"Yes, but I'M the oldest here, which means my question overrules your question, this making you answer me first~"

"Could you two be ANY louder," Ariel screamed barely above a whisper as the two before her finally blinked and ended their stare off so they could glance back at the McLoughlin. "The only reason Han and I are up is because we have school to get to. Y'know, the place they lock up innocent children and brainwash them from any joy or happiness they once had, leaving them to only consider possible ways to end their suffering or maybe even fake their death."

"Well, bully, you two are still in school? But that means you have to leave for 6 hours a day, five days a week, when you could be here with us..."

"If we didn't attend then they would consider us kidnapped as well, which means double the search parties and double the chances of you Egos being found out by the public and/or media," Ariel explained to Warfstache, who appeared upset by her words, knowing how truthful they really were. Society couldn't know about them no matter the cost, even if the price to pay was to send the girls to Earth's version of Hell for 6 hours a day without their eyes on them to know they were safe and okay.

"Well, alright, looks like you have a valid excuse to leave us then... How were you two planning on getting there, might I ask?"

Ariel's face fell into an expression of uncertainty, glancing over at her sister to look for an answer she did not have. But Hannah seemed just as much in the dark on what their transportation to Starbucks and school would be as the Irish child before her was. They no longer had their car, and by the time they got there simply by walking, it would already be the end of the school day.

"Umm... Well... I guess we'll just be calling an Uber to come pick us up and take us. I think I have enough cash on me-" Hannah had started, only to be silenced by Will's finger being pressed against her lips, keeping her from speaking any further.

"Nonsense! I'm not trusting you two to be in a car with some possible psychopath or simply in an enclosed vehicle with any stranger that you nor I know nothing about. ...I'll drive you two to school!"

"Wait- What?" Hannah looked up at the Ego as though he had spoken to the both of them in another language, while he smiled with no notice of there being a problem in what he had just said.

"Wilford, you can't! If you take us and Dark wakes up before you're back and realizes that we have broken his biggest rule for us to follow- we're screwed! We're more than screwed, we're dead! He'll punish you, possibly even kick us out! We can't just risk that! We're already risking it by talking to you right now while he's asleep!" Ariel panicked, pulling at her beanie for comfort, every worst case scenario running through her mind.

"Oh pish posh- Darkipoo always tends to have trouble getting up in the morning after staying up all night long with work and then being forced to go to bed. And I know he stayed up late, me being the one to knock him out around 4:30 this morning just so he could have a few hours of rest. He won't be up before I get back, I can assure you. It's sad, really... he really needs to learn to take care of himself before worrying about everyone else..." Wilford trailed off in thought, looking off into the distance for a moment as he seemed frozen in time.

Hannah waved her hand in front of his face, which he gave no response to. She looked over at her sister who shrugged, never witnessing someone actually freezing in thought so they could, what she assumed he was doing at the moment, recall a flashback. Hannah rolled her eyes, moving to stand in front of him and starting to clap obnoxiously in his face. He blinked, jumping back while letting out a surprised scream, karate chopping the air while looking around for the source of the loud, sudden noise.

"We are so getting caught for this..." Ariel muttered, looking around fearfully for any sign that the dark entity had heard the two clowns.

Wilford looked over at her with a wide, mischievous smile. "And that, my little leprechaun, translates to you being in on the plan! Ooh, this will be so much fun! Getting to spend time with my nieces FINALLY and drop them off at their school!"

"And grab Starbucks!"

"Yesss! Coffee, who doesn't love to start their day off with a nice cup of coffee?! ...You know- one that doesn't spill all over yourself because your niece thought it'd be funny to give her uncle a heart attack...? ...Okay, I'm gonna go change real quick, and then we're off- got it? Get it?! Good!"