Googleplier x Reader: Technologic

Chapter Ten: The Room

  "M-Mark... I r-remembered... I-I..."

"J-Jack...?!"

Mark choked harshly as he began to wake up, holding a hand over his mouth to muffle his coughs slightly. The words replayed in his mind as he struggled to think of where he might be, slowly pulling himself up from being laid face-down on the floor and instead sitting up so he could actually look around. Not that he could see much in the pitch black room he was in, honestly. It took a minute or so for his eyes to light up, although they flickered slightly and were dimmer than they were the last time he used them. Even so, he could at the very least get a look at just where he was.

... Actually, looking around barely helped him at all. He was in some sort of bleak, dull room, with only a few piles of blankets and boxes scattered around the place. There was a door to his left but it was closed, the only light peering from underneath the door and barely reaching him. Mark watched the light for a moment for any signs of movement from the other side of the door, shadows, just about anything would be useful at this point. The only thing he could hear was his own muffled breathing and--wait, muffled?

Placing a hand over his mouth, Mark silenced his breathing as much as possible and listened carefully, glowing eyes widening as he heard faint breathing over the sound of his own. 

Someone else was in here.

Wonderful. This was just goddamn perfect, wasn't it? He was going to die here, wherever here was. Mark was going to die away from everyone who he cared about, and he couldn't do a single thing about it. The more he thought about it, the more his restraint on his emotions faded. Then, a single tear trailed down his face, hitting the ground as he leaned forward with his hand still clasped over his own mouth. Another fell. Then another. Soon enough Mark had to move his hand just so he could breathe, quiet sobs echoing through the room and causing the muffled breathing to go silent. 

Then, something from under one of the blankets began to glow. It was barely noticeable at first, a circle of light only faintly being visibly from underneath the fabric. Then it brightened, flickering for a moment as whatever was under the blanket squirmed; it was only then that Mark glanced over to it, staring without a word as it moved and seemed to scramble in confusion. The Google prototype hesitated before he slowly moved forward, trying to make as little noise as possible so he didn't end up freaking it out, whatever 'it' was.

"E-Easy there, okay?" Mark spoke quietly, internally grimacing at the stutter yet throwing the thought aside as he watched the blanket. It had stopped as soon as he spoke, panicking far less at the sound. Hesitantly he reached forward, grabbing a handful of the fabric before waiting to make sure he wouldn't be attacked immediately by whatever was underneath. Once( at least vaguely )sure that he was safe, Mark carefully pulled the blanket off of the creature underneath and froze as he recognized it almost instantly. With their left eye and half a leg missing, along with their usually tall body curled up to seem so small, it would've been easy not to realize who it was. But with the heartwarming grin and and the fluffy gravity-defying hair, it couldn't be anyone else.

"Holy shit, you're alive." Danny whispered as he edged forward and hugged Mark gleefully, pleased when the hug was instantly returned and the both of them clung to each other for a moment, being careful of each other's injuries as they simply enjoyed the comfort for a few seconds. "Wait--what are you doing here? Didn't you get away?" The taller man questioned worriedly, sitting up straighter and placing his hands on Mark's shoulders as he impatiently awaited answers. Mark simply stared back in confusion, his glowing eyes flickering as he blinked for a moment at his friend's words.

"What do you mean 'get away'? What're you talking about?" He asked back as he attempted to understand, trying to think back to when this all happened but his memory being irritatingly foggy. There was something missing that he just couldn't grasp, no matter how hard he tried to. His head thudded as he attempted to remember, causing him to wince and lift his hand cautiously to the patch of dried blood at the back of his head. When did that--

Oh right. Aaron.

"I don't really know too much of what happened, but I do know that you ran out when the rest of us were caught. That's what Arin told me." Danny explained as best as he could, struggling to remember exactly what he'd been told. Mark watched him for a moment without a word, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

"Where is Arin?" He regretted asking the question as soon as he saw the sullen look on Danny's face, the other man moving his gaze to a being in the corner of the room who sat previously unnoticed without a word. It was him, of course; not that he seemed anything like the Arin that Mark knew. His eyes were closed and he didn't breathe, or move at all actually. It was almost as if he was sleeping, but he was in the middle of having a nightmare rather than enjoying his time peacefully. He... Wasn't right.

"He'd been like that for... I dunno, three days? Maybe four. Hard to tell from in here." Danny mumbled quietly as if he was scared of waking him, observing his friend solemnly. "The first time they took him out of the room, he couldn't talk when they brought him back. The second time... He didn't open his eyes." He slowly looked away, not wanting to stare at the body that he'd been sharing a room with for the entire time they'd been trapped down here.

"He's not... Dead, is he?" Mark couldn't pry his eyes away from Arin, becoming increasingly disturbed and downright shaky at the sight of someone he cared about being taken like that. If they could just delete Arin, then what could they do to the others? What had they done to him when they brought him out of the room?

Wait, they came into the room to get him? They actually opened the door and pulled him out when he was awake?

"No, he's just not in there. They removed everything that made him... Well, him. I think so at least." Danny glanced to the empty shell of his friend before quickly closing his one eye, not wanting to have to face him. He'd already tried waking him up, he didn't need that again. Meanwhile Mark was silent, although a plan was forming in his head as he understood how they could get free. At least, out of the room. It was absolutely impossible, of course. It was ridiculous. It was the downright the dumbest thing Mark had ever came up with.

It had to work.