Ariel, only half awake, followed after Google with her hand clasped tightly onto his as he led her down the stairs to the front door. She was barely functioning, her body wanting to collapse and go back into slumber, but her brain wouldn't allow it as it kept reminding her how much danger they were in for being in that particular household in the first place. Her brain... and the psychopath following them to their car kept her reminded of this. She didn't understand why Google allowed Wilford Warfstache, out of all the Egos, to be informed of their presence. Wasn't he one of the most dangerous Egos that lived here, the insane one that found every death he caused to be merely just an accident? She found her grip tightening on his hand as the thoughts rolled in, feeling more secure realizing she had the robot on her side. At least that's what she was hoping...

"Your heart rate has increased rapidly and your grip on my hand has tightened. Something is troubling you and causing you to act out of fear when there is no threat nor any danger present at this place and time. What is the cause to this effect, might I ask?" Googleplier spoke up with his voice low to make it only audible for her to hear. Ariel took in a sharp breath as she hadn't realized that he had been paying attention towards her actions. "I-It's nothing-"

"Sh-Shock Lie Detector C-Commencing, now in prog-gress." Google stated with a cocky smirk plastered on his face. The teenager glared up at him, not sure if this was some trick he was pulling and was just messing with her to get the truth out or if this "shock lie detector" was the real deal. Either way, her tired mind told her not to test her luck and to be cautious for if this was something he actually ended up activating it could cause her pain if she spilled the smallest fib.

"Jerk."

"Scanning... Truth. I'm just merely a helpful assistant caring for your mental health as I am designed to do. Now, what has made you afraid?" he repeated his question with his smirk never fading but instead growing in size. He knew he had won this round, and she had to sadly admit to that.

"I... Your tertiary objective... you said you had to protect us but now you're allowing the killer to walk with us? You're allowing him to know what we look like- allowing him to know that we were here in the household to begin with! You said it was dangerous if anyone noticed us here! I don't understand i-is all... I..."

The McLoughlin paused before looking to the floor in silence, her grip tightening once more on him. Google looked to her with a tilt of his head, scanning her vitals as he witnessed her heart rate increasing yet again.

"If you're implying that what you're afraid of is if I lied about protecting the two of you from any threat or danger and at this very moment I may be 'stabbing you two in the back,' then you don't have to be afraid any longer. It is in my programming to look after you two whether I wish to do so or not; the fact of the matter is that I have to keep you both safe against my own will or opinion. I understand you have your doubts because I allowed William to join us, but the only reason I did so was because I have to protect him too, seeing as he is apart of my family and the Fischbach's. You may be questioning why exactly I'm having to protect him and why bringing him along is supposed to help him, but to put it briefly... he's losing his mind. He's losing his sanity, and this household can only take so much of his psychotic behavior. For now, he cares for us, but if we were to lose anymore of him, we may become his next victims, and we will have no other choice but to terminate him. I thought allowing him to see his niece may help him mentally, even if it was just for a moment."

Ariel's gaze softened as she looked up at the robot. This was so odd and out of place, being here to begin with, especially with a character that was never supposed to exist. Yet... she couldn't help the fact that she was completely comfortable with this idea. Could it be his soft, buttery tone that made her calm when he wasn't glitching out? It was the same voice that brought her out of her depression... When she felt alone and saw life as nothing truly meaningful anymore with no one who loved or cared for her well-being... Mark Fischbach was the one who found her.

Mark took her in, treated her as though she were his very own child. And though they would never share a father-daughter relationship, they shared their own special bond where they respected one another, helped each other when either of the two were just feeling down. When an anxiety attack arose, it was his voice that brought her back to reality, allowing him to guide her out of her panicked state. He was always gentle towards her; she hadn't felt that much love ever since Seán had passed away. He was the first person out of all her foster homes to actually care for her well-being. Ariel found it difficult to trust people after the way a few foster homes treated her, looking down on her as though she were a piece of garbage that they could toss around and crumble. Yet the moment Mark helped her after her first anxiety attack, everything changed in her perspective. She figured out that there were people out there who could be kind and love others, that there weren't just cruel, malicious creatures that only wished to play with her emotions in the world.

The Fischbach's helped her view the world differently, and for that, she was forever grateful.

That might've been the reason she just felt so safe standing next to the machine. The tone of voice, how he spoke to give her reassurance... all of his actions made her think of her Uncle. The one she failed to find this time... but instead found a new branch of the family that was also wishing to watch over her.

"Thank you, Google... but for your information I wasn't doubting you-OW! Hey!" she screeched as a small shock hit her hand. Ariel listened as the droid hummed, opening the front door. "My scanners indicated a lie, thus activating my shock method. I believe I had warned you previously that I had activated it."

"Did you- really?! Again, you're a jerk!"

"Scanning... Truth." he replied smugly as a smile grew. The teenager didn't know whether to be mad or impressed, so instead, she stayed silent, which caused him to chuckle. That simple action made her heart sting, yet it also brought a smile out of her.

She missed that laugh.

~~~

"So... here we are! Your vehicle that plans to take you far... far away from here." Wilford announced, trying his best to sound cheery though he felt as if his one chance of happiness and sanity was being taken away. He looked to his niece, sadness consuming him, yet still he chose to hold his smile for her to see. Hannah, however, couldn't hide her sadness as well as he could. Tears were glossing over her ocean blue eyes as she stared at the Ego of her father.

"I... I have so many questions I want to ask, so many conversations I want to share with you... I... Do I have to go? Do we have to leave n-now?" Hannah stumbled as she hugged her arms tightly.

No. You don't have to go. Stay. You can stay with me. Complete. We can finally be a complete family. Just stay right here with me... These were the immediate responses that Warfstache wanted to give to her but stopped himself before the words could escape. Would his niece staying be good for her or would he just be risking her safety for his own selfish reasons? He scratched the back of his neck as he remained silent, trying to figure out how to respond to her without making it seem as though he was trying to push her away. Because in all honesty, that was the very last thing he wanted to do.

"Hannah... I never thought I'd get the chance to ever meet you. I wasn't allowed to see what you looked like, I wasn't allowed to see you on social media- Googs restricted it from everyone. I was never allowed to say even a single word to you! Well... oopsie poopsie, here you are! And here I am... talking to you." Wilford sighed, lowering his arm to place it on her shoulder as he immediately felt her flinch, a tear spilling from her eye. He sucked in a sharp breath due to this action, this was gonna be harder than he thought.

"Look, what I'm trying to... to say is... this was never supposed to happen. We were never meant to meet nor talk b-but that's BECAUSE we aren't safe for you! It's safer this way, kiddo. It's just... you're less likely to die if you leave now- and you're my niece and I love you and I want to protect you so... I-I want you to go! I want you to go live a safe, happy life with Amy and the adopted leprechaun here... because I love you and would rather you be safe than... than here! And- I'm really bad at this, ha... Umm... If... If you need a-anything, Uncle Wilford Warfstache is always here to help you- but... for now... you... you have to go. I'm not safe for you."

He tried to keep up the tough persona but it began to falter as Hannah's face grew more remorseful. He really, REALLY didn't want her to leave him. He wished she could stay with them, and they could become a happy family! They would be happy, they'd be complete... he didn't want Hannah to leave him. But then he watched as she nodded, understanding what had to be done. It made a lump grow in his throat as he bit his lower lip.

Wilford looked to Google who had been comforting Ariel in a hug, his eyes fixated on him however to make sure he said what needed to be done. He did... and he regretted it. "I wish I didn't have to go..." Hannah whispered under her breath as she rested her head on his chest. Warfstache sighed before wrapping his arms tightly around his niece, resting his head on hers. "I know, Gumdrop. I-I wish you didn't have to either... but you know where we live now, surprisingly, so if you ever need us for anything at all th-then you could always hop on over here for a quick visit! Definitely would have to be a quick one, heh. Since... y'know, you can't stay and all." Hannah didn't respond except for burying her face deeper into his yellow t-shirt. Wilford tightened his grip on her for a second before releasing her, turning to face his brother.

"Welp, time for you two to go."

Hannah walked over to the passenger's side before her Uncle opened the door for her to get in. Ariel took her spot behind the wheel as she gave one more wave to Googleplier before shutting her own car door. She placed the key into the ignition, starting the engine as the car burst to life. Before she decided to pull out of their front lawn, however, she rolled down her window while signaling Warfstache over. He skipped to her side of the car as Hannah looked towards her sister in confusion. "I just wanted to know- do you remember Mark coming here to Raspy Hill on September 3rd?" the McLoughlin asked as her sister's eyes widened, completely forgetting that had been the reason they came here in the first place.

Warfstache cocked an eyebrow as he began to play with the end of his mustache in thought. The two girls waited patiently as the man seemed to rack his head in search for an answer. "I'm not exactly good with dates... but... that's the day Mark went... yeah, yeah that's the date. But I don't recall seeing him that day or anytime close to then... Why do you ask?"

"You don't remember if you had sent an invitation to him that day to meet him here or anything? ...Nothing?"

"Invite him over? I probably would've if it had been a holiday or somebody's birthday but the closest event to September 3rd in this household... would've been Dr. Iplier's Birthday- but that fool is all the way in October! October 27th to be exact! Ha... huh... hmm, I'm sorry, I'm afraid not. I probably wouldn't have sent an invitation out to him anyway; Mark and I never were on friendly terms to start a chat for kicks and laughs. If there had been some meeting that day revolving around him, maybe he would've been invited... but that would've been done by Googs or- Hold up... Google, your birthday!"

"His... Birthday?" Hannah asked in curiosity, finding it interesting to see how easy it was for Wilford to become sidetracked.

"Why yes! The day we were created, or at least known by the public, is the date we Egos like to celebrate as our birthday. And what'dya know, this old tin can's birth was on Halloween! How did your birthday turn out? I know you hate us usually celebrating it with you."

Google rolled his eyes; would these two never end up getting the chance to leave? He didn't calculate the man's rambling into possibly being a problem for them. His mistake. "My birthday was fine, I had an update done on my software... and I even got a late-night present." The girls smiled brightly at the Android as he softly returned the gesture to them. "Alright, time for you two to head on out. You're wasting your time here. My apologies that we couldn't help answer any of your desired questions."

"That's alright," Ariel sighed as she placed the car into the reverse gear. "We'll keep looking. I'm not giving up on Mark because he never gave up on me."

"That's the spirit, lil leprechaun! Now too-da-loo! I'll... I'll miss ya, Hannah-Banana! Again, if you ever need anything, my door specifically is always open for you!" Wilford Warfstache cried out as his final goodbye, both girls waving to him in return as they drove off, finding the road once again and heading home once their GPS had enough signal to work.

Ariel and Hannah took this silence as a time to contemplate, to consider all that had happened. The Irish teen wished to find some reasoning behind it all, while the other was content with the fact they existed, making her feel less alone.

The characters her father worked so hard to create to be the heart of his channel were alive, breathing and existing! They had lives, they had a home outside of society where they may carry on with their days without ever being recognized- yet out of pure luck, Hannah found them when she wasn't even searching.

Sure, her father labeled them dangerous for her own well-being, but she greeted two out of his many Egos personally, and she couldn't help but feel safe with both at her side. Dangerous? She questioned that label on them... were they ALL dangerous? The Fischbach could understand why a few may be labeled such but if Wilford and Google had been at all like her father described, wouldn't she be dead where she stood? Neither of them harmed her in the slightest- scared her, yes, but not harmed. In fact, they were more concerned about her safety than ever once considering to give her any sort of pain.

Could there be more than just the one story Mark had told, another side to the one she had yet to hear?

"That... That just happened," Hannah whispered under her breath in awe.

"We don't know what exactly just 'happened'. It's not... logically possible, it's not realistic-"

"But it happened, whether we know how or not, it did occur, and we can't deny that! We just met two of my father's Alter Egos!"

"But... how?" Ariel questioned under her breath as her grip tightened on the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, she sighed and smiled at her step-sister. "I just like having answers to the things I don't understand... but... y'know what? I'm not gonna question it right now, I'm too tired to do so at the moment. I'll just... see it how it is- it was awesome, and I'm glad we got to meet two fictional characters that I wouldn't have thought to have existed. It was freaky that it happened, but it was... really, really cool to get to see and talk to them. And it made you happy, so I guess this adventure wasn't a complete failure."

"Failure? Ariel, you didn't fail me! I mean, sure, we were searching for my dad and didn't find anything about his whereabouts- but instead you allowed me to meet a part of my family I never knew existed! So don't you DARE think you failed me here. This turned out to be the best Halloween ever!" the brunette with ocean blue eyes exclaimed as she placed a hand on her sister's. Ariel's grip loosened as she saw her happy; she hated herself for not learning anything more on where Mark could've disappeared to, but it was true that they made an even greater discovery that made Hannah finally... smile. A month without her smile could make anyone fall into depression.

They went back to silence, a more comfortable silence rather than the eery one they had previously been in. That silence had been later broken, however, once Hannah saw them pull into their neighborhood, now being 9 o'clock in the morning, as she finally decided to ask the question that had been plaguing her mind, "You think... You think we'll ever see them again?" The other brunette remained silent to this question for the longest time and didn't answer until the car had parked within their driveway. "I don't know."

Locking the car behind them, they entered their house while calling out to Hannah's mother to let her know of their return, "Mom?! We're home!" With no reply, both teens searched the house only to find it empty. "She might've been called in to go to the studio earlier today," Ariel suggested as to not stress her step-sister out. And so, with it being the weekend, they passed the time playing video games and researching more info on Markiplier's Alters as they awaited for their mother's return.

Hours passed...

A single, 24-hour day passed...

A Missing Person's Report had been filed the next day...

One week passed... and Amy Fischbach remained missing and had yet to be found.