Who Killed Markiplier?

Chapter 16

You had already accepted that the Mark you knew stopped existing a long time ago. The things he had done less than 24 hours earlier showed that he had changed to the point where his personality was almost unrecognizable. He had been driven mad by jealousy and what he saw as betrayal. His wife left him for his best friend, and he failed to realize that that was Celine's choice. William wasn't to blame.

The entire time, the question had been "Who killed Markiplier?" The answer? He killed himself. While the Colonel had physically pulled the trigger, it was Mark who had loaded the gun and cocked it. He had been planning this whole thing for a long time.

The Colonel was innocent in your mind. You were aware that others- mainly the detective- might not agree, but you were determined to get all of your friends out of this. Everyone in the house deserved a happy ending. You'd be damned if you didn't make sure they got it.

"Hey, are you sure you want to do this?" Damien asked as he pulled you aside in the dining room.

You had left the kitchen with your head held high after you finished your inspiring speech. Even the Colonel expressed his support in your plan. It had given you the confidence you needed to go face your friend the detective, but here Damien was stopping you.

"Of course I am. What are you talking about? Do you think I can't do this?" you responded, maybe a bit harshly. You were excited and nervous and slightly panicked at the same time. You knew you could do this. It wasn't like him to doubt you.

"Well, I mean- I'm just... I guess-" You were the only person you knew who could get Damien all flustered like that. You were, of course, proud of that fact.

"I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you. I'm just a little nervous." You grabbed one of Damien's hands and rested your forehead on his chest. You felt and heard him let out a small sigh before he pulled you into a proper hug.

"We're going to get out of this," he assured you. "I believe you can do this. It's just... you shouldn't have to. None of this should have happened. If you want, I can go out there and interrogate the groundskeeper myself. I can be very convincing, you know," he finished with a small laugh, but even that didn't sound convincing. He was just as nervous as you.

"No, I can do this. Abe is counting on me to help him with the investigation. I'm just worried I might fuck it up somehow. I want everyone to be okay." Your voice cracked and tears threatened to fall as you confessed your doubts and fears.

"Everyone is going to be fine," he said, then kissed the top of your head. Your heart skipped a beat and you found yourself smiling as a tear slid down your cheek. Fortunately, part of your face was buried in Damien's shoulder, so he couldn't see anything. "We're going to get out of this," he repeated.

"I really, really like you," you mumbled. You felt him chuckle.

"I really, really like you, too. This will all be over soon and we'll get to go home. I'll take you out for coffee and we can have a proper date, how's that?"

That stupid mayor, he always knew what to say.

"That sounds amazing."

The next few minutes passed in silence. Neither of you moved.

"Are you going to head out there, or would you rather stay here?" he eventually asked.

"You're so warm and comfy and nice," you said, your words muffled by his shoulder.

He laughed, then pushed you away until you were at arms length. His hands were on your shoulders and his beautiful eyes were on yours. "You'll be fantastic, I know you will. Now go get 'em, tiger."

You gave him a quick kiss before you left the room.

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"You doin' alright?" the detective asked when you walked into the living room. He raised an eyebrow, but thankfully didn't say anything when Damien followed you in. However, you had a feeling he would ask about it later.

"Yeah, um, I'm feeling a bit better now. Thank you and I'm sorry for the wait." For some reason, you couldn't meet his eye. He gave you another suspicious look, but again didn't say anything.

"... Alright. If you're ready, then let's head out. I want this to be over with as soon as possible."

You and me both, you thought to yourself.

"Lead the way, Cookie," he said to the chef.

"Cookie? I'm not your 'Cookie'! I went through culinary school, I earned the right to be called a chef!" Of course the chef would cause a scene. This is exactly what you didn't need.

"I'm very impressed," the detective rolled his eyes. "Just tell us where we're going."

The chef opened his mouth to argue, but you cut him off.

"Quit acting like children! Abe, enough. Chef, please just lead the way." They could tell from the tone of your voice that you really weren't in the mood to deal with their bullshit. They glared at each other one more time before the chef turned to open the door to the back patio.

You hesitated to follow when you saw Damien start to walk away in the direction of the stairs.

"And where do you think you're going?" You out your hands on your hips and tried to look confident and intimidating.

"I'm going to help Celine?" he said. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

"No, you're not. She'll be fine, she's working through some things right now. She can handle herself." You lowered your voice so the detective and the chef couldn't hear you. "Also, I really need you to be here with me. You're at least 85% of my confidence."

He hesitated. You could tell he was thinking it through.

"Please?" You gave him your best puppy dog look.

"...Okay. I won't be able to help much, though. Remember, I'm a mayor, not a cop."

"Thank you so much. Now come on, I think they're waiting outside."

When you walked out, you saw the detective had his arms crossed. "I would like to get this over with some time today, if you don't mind."

"I'm so sorry, Abe. I really didn't mean to keep you waiting. Damien wanted to help, so I hope you don't mind that he's coming along."

He sighed, then rubbed his face. "Whatever. You're in charge of him. Make sure he stays out of the way, partner."

"Thank you, detective. I promise you, I'll do my best not to impede your investigation," Damien said thankfully.

He grunted in response. "Let's get on with this. Keep walking," he said, pointing to the chef. Without another word, everyone followed the chef toward the garden.

[Originally, this chapter was going to be 2000 words long. My usual goal is only 1000, but I just kept going and going. I've decided to split them up and post the second part of this tomorrow! I'm really sorry for the lack of updates, and I promise they'll get more frequent. Thank you all for sticking around this long. I hope you enjoy!]