A/N: Well…it's certainly been a while, huh?
Honestly, I'm a little ashamed this particular chapter came so late. But I guess there are some things in life you just can't control.
Anyway, this chapter's been a long time coming, and I hope I've done right by it.
Also, this chapter is non-canon to the story obviously.
Enjoy.
Regular - Story narration
Bold - Video narration
Bold/Italic - Game characters talking
Bold/Italic/Underlined - Markiplier and/or other people talking
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY nor any material from Markiplier.
In Memory of Daniel Kyre
Weiss, Blake and Yang were just returning from a trip to Vale. They had needed to get…girl stuff…yeah, girl stuff. Ruby had stayed behind in the dorm room fiddling with her weapon and totally not watching Markiplier videos without her teammates.
Nope. She would never do that.
So now WBY has finally returned to the dorm room. They expected their leader to do one of many things:
Stuffing her face with cookies.
Performing maintenance on Crescent Rose.
Taking a nap due to falling asleep studying.
They even expected her to be using the computer, possibly watching some Markiplier videos.
They wouldn't really be upset. They'd just let Weiss give Ruby an earful.
The little reaper was, in fact, using the computer…but she was crying.
"Ruby?!"
Yang was quickly at her sister's side. When Ruby looked up, one could see the tear stains on her cheeks, her eyes red from the crying.
"Oh…h-hey Yang."
Weiss and Blake walked up to the two, concerned for their leader.
"Ruby, what's wrong?" Weiss asked.
Ruby sniffled a bit, wiping her eyes before answering.
"W-Well…you know how Mark hasn't been uploading videos in a while?"
Five days wasn't really a while, but it was strange, seeing as Mark uploads a video or two every day. So to see no videos pop up all of a sudden was disconcerting. They had thought about what happened.
Best case scenario, he was simply busy with real life, which was understandable. Mark may make a living off being a DustTuber, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have other responsibilities outside of that.
Worst case scenario, he was dead…wait.
"R-Ruby," Yang asked with hesitance. "M-Mark's not…dead, is he?"
The little reaper shook her head. "N-No, he's f-fine. But…."
"Ruby?" Weiss asked.
"It's just…he uploaded a video recently, saying why he hasn't been around his channel as of late."
WBY looked at the screen to find that Ruby had watched a video called "Lost a Friend"….
It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant.
"Oh," WBY said in unison.
With a sniffle, Ruby replayed the video from the beginning.
(A/C: It didn't feel right to write this video into words. This was raw emotion on Mark's part, and I didn't feel right about it. It felt like it would be taking advantage of his state of mind during that time, and I just couldn't do that. So we're skipping to after the video.)
There were various reactions from RWBY.
Ruby was once again in tears, Weiss had a hand to her mouth in shock, Blake wiped a tear from her eye, and Yang….
"How could he…."
RWB turned to Yang, whose eyes were crimson red.
"That bastard!"
Yang stomped towards the wall and punched it, a very much visible crack forming.
"Y-Yang?" Ruby asked hesitantly.
"HOW COULD HE JUST GO AND OFF HIMSELF LIKE THAT?! DIDN'T HE REALIZE HOW HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS WOULD REACT WHEN THEY FOUND OUT?!"
Okay, Yang was getting out of line here.
"Yang-!" Blake tried to say, but was interrupted.
"IF HE WAS HAVING ISSUES, HE SHOULD'VE GONE TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO TALK IT OUT. BUT NOOOOOOOO, HE TOOK THE COWARD'S WAY OUT!"
"YANG!"
This shout had come from Ruby, who was visibly angry at her sister. Weiss and Blake were stunned silent, while Yang simply turned to glare at Ruby.
"What?!"
Ruby met Yang's glare with her own for a few seconds…before walking up to her sister and giving her a hug.
"I know you didn't mean what you said…and I know you regret saying it."
She looked up to Yang with teary eyes. "Please don't be angry at Daniel."
…
…
…
Yang fell to her knees, returning the hug as a few tears fell from her eyes.
Weiss and Blake stepped towards the two half-sisters and joined in on the hugging. They stayed like that for a good minute or two so that the tension would fade away….
And, eventually, it did.
Yang let go of Ruby and wiped her eyes. "Y-You're right. I didn't mean it, and I regret saying that…I'm sorry, girls."
She looked outside the window to the sky. "I'm sorry Daniel."
The window flew open due to a sudden gust of wind. If they didn't know any better, they'd think that that was a response from Daniel.
Weiss got up and closed the window, then turned to her teammates.
"As saddening as it is to hear about this, I have to ask…did any of us really know who Daniel was?"
Huh.
Now that they thought about it…well, they've heard about Daniel before, and they know what he looks like, and there was that one video they watched where Mark announced he had gotten a part of his hair dyed pink, which in turn led them to watching the video of Mark and Cyndago getting their hair dyed together in the first place.
And yet….
"Oh god," Ruby whimpered. "We don't…not really, anyway."
It was a sad truth. They had heard of Cyndago, and that Mark had done some work with them up till this point…but they had never bothered to watch those videos.
Ruby cleared her throat. "Well, I think it's time we rectified that."
Ruby sat back on the computer and went to Cyndago's DustTube channel.
'We have some time before our final class, so I think we can spare some time for a Cyndago video or two."
Ruby scrolled down the video list until one had caught her eye.
On one of Mark's videos, he had announced he did a collaboration with Cyndago for one of their videos.
It was called "The Mormons".
And now they were going to watch it.
Ruby looked to WBY. "What do you say?"
Yang shrugged. "I'm up for it."
Blake smiled. "I wanted to read…but this is just as good."
Weiss sighed. "Oh, alright."
Ruby smiled. She turned back to the video and clicked it. The screen shifted to the video….
And so it played.
The video begins with someone riding a bicycle as the words "CYNDAGO PRESENTS" appears and music plays.
"This music seems nice," Weiss noted…then deadpanned. "Wonder what will go wrong?"
Ruby scolded her. "Weiss! You can't just assume something's going to happen!"
"I can, and I will."
It is revealed that a man (Markiplier) is riding the bicycle with a smile on his face while carrying a book.
If RWBY were being honest…that was a rather creepy smile on his face.
The title of the video "THE MORMONS" appears later, along with "FEATURING MARKIPLIER".
Oh joy. Mormons. How Ruby and Yang just loved it when Mormons came knocking on their doors and asking if they heard the good word.
Strangely enough, some stuff of theirs had gone missing after the Mormons left….
It was probably nothing.
Weiss felt the same…only she couldn't even fathom how those Mormons got passed security and the guard dogs.
As for Blake…well, the White Fang had its share of Mormon problems.
Strangely enough, none of those Mormons were ever seen again. Maybe because they were humans walking up to the White Fang?
Blake chose not to think about it.
The man stops the bicycle and steps off. With a step, he marches up to a house with the book in hand. As he nears the door, he takes off his helmet and holds it to his side. He then proceeds to ring the doorbell. The door is opened by the owner of the house (who is not shown).
And so it begins.
Mormon 1: Hi~, how are you today~?
The owner simply looks the Mormon up and down as he talks and holds out his book, which is titled "GOOD NEWS BIBLE".
Mormon 1: Have you heard the good wo~rd?
The Mormon flashes a rather…creepy wide-eyed and open mouth smile.
"O-Okay, Mark," Ruby stutters. "Please stop with the smiling."
The owner shakes his head (either in answer to the Mormon or in annoyance) and proceeds to close the door. The Mormon has different ideas as he stops the door from closing and forces it back open.
RWBY sighed.
Yup, this is exactly what they dealt with when Mormons showed up on their doorstep.
Mormon 1: Wa~it a minute! Hang on there! My name is Elder Jeremiah of the Church of Jesus of Latterday Saints.
"Sounds made up," Yang commented.
"It is," Weiss confirmed.
When the other three looked to her for clarification, she continued.
"Mormons constantly showed up on our doorstep, so my father made sure to memorize all Mormon Churches so that he could contact them and "politely" ask them to leave us alone. He made sure I knew the names as well for when I took over the company."
Huh…made sense.
Mormon 1: And you are here to learn all about our church and what we do here-
A crash is heard behind the owner.
"What was that?" RWBY asked.
The Mormon ("discreetly") looks behind the owner. The owner himself begins to turn around, but his attention is quickly returned to the Mormon.
"Something's not right," Blake noted with narrowed eyes.
RWY agreed…and now that the four of them thought about it, there were sounds like that whenever they were visited by Mormons….
Quite the coincidence.
Mormon 1: W-We do! E-E What we do here is teach you all about the good news in this book here-.
The Mormon pats the book for emphasis.
Mormon 1: -and make your life so much better with all of our teachings that we have to learn about today-
The Mormon "discreetly" backs up and looks to the side of the house.
"Why is he-?" Weiss asked, but was answered by what came next.
Another Mormon (Daniel Kyre) pops out from a shrubbery and gives Mormon 1 a thumbs up, as though confirming something. Mormon 2 disappears behind the shrubbery.
Mormon 1: But it seems you're doing okay so thankssomuch! Haveagoodnight!
Weiss grit her teeth. "Oh, they did not!"
They did.
Mormon 1 quickly finishes what he says and closes the door. He steps away from the house, quickly nods, puts on his helmet, and rushes back to his bicycle. Mormon 2 reappears from the shrubbery, this time with a flat screen TV in hand….
It becomes apparent that these Mormons (if they ever are) planned the whole thing so they could steal that guy's TV.
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang could only gawk at what just happened.
The Mormons robbed that guy…wait.
All those times that Mormons showed up…and stuff went missing….
RWBY shook there fists in the air. "MORMOOOOOOOOONNNNNSSSS!"
Meanwhile, at a random Mormon church….
"Jeffery."
"Yes Elder?"
"We've been getting complaints that possessions have gone missing whenever members of our church visit houses. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Jeffery shrugged. "No idea, elder."
"Huh…well, carry on then."
The elder left.
…
…
…
Jeffery chuckled evilly. "Fool. Once I usurp your throne, I shall lead this church to a glorious future, one where we spread the good word and rob the people blind!"
He cackled madly. "It shall be glorious!"
Nora suddenly sat up from her prone position, eyes narrowed.
Ren knew what was about to happen. "…Nora?"
"Mormons," she growled.
Ren facepalmed. "Nora, for the last time, Mormons did not steal your explosives!"
"They did!" she insisted. "But now I must prove it!"
She grabbed Magnhild-.
"Nora, no-!"
SHATTER!
And jumped through the window.
"NORA SMASH!"
Meanwhile, in another universe, the Hulk sneezed.
"Someone used my catchphrase…NO ONE USES MY CATCHPHRASE!"
"Um, Hulk?" Captain America asked hesitantly as Iron Man began calling for the Hulk Buster. "Are you alri-?"
"HULK SMASH!"
And so the Hulk rampaged through Avengers Tower.
Ren rubbed his eyes, somehow feeling that Nora caused a problem he couldn't fix….
Oh well. No time to think on that.
After Nora he went before she caused too much damage.
For some reason, RWBY felt that justice was at hand, yet they didn't know why.
They chalked it up to karma and continued the video.
The "Mormons" run down the street away from the house, the first on his bike and gesturing for the other to hurry up, while the second runs alongside with the TV at hand.
"Yeah, that's right!" Yang shouted with a shaking fist. "You better run!"
The video ends with "YOU'RE THE BOMB, CYNDAGO!", "THANKS, MARKIPLIER!", and "click here to subscribe" with an arrow pointing to a link.
…
…
…
Well, other than the need to interrogate the next Mormon that decided to knock on their door, the found that video rather funny.
"That poor man," Ruby commented with a giggle. "He didn't even realize he got robbed!"
"He probably will once he sees his TV is missing," Weiss added.
"…Fair point."
"I admit it was funny," Blake said. "…Though I can't help but wonder if this gives Mormons a bad name."
Even though the White Fang had its share of Mormon problems.
Yang shrugged. "Eh, it's not like these videos are meant to be taken seriously."
Though she and Ruby were still angered at the Mormons that apparently robbed them when they were little.
Ruby was scrolling through Cyndago's channel.
"Hey! Look at this."
The other three looked to find a video called…The Miracle of Life.
…
…
…
Oh, they could already tell this was going to be a messed up video.
"Shall we?" Ruby asked.
WBY nodded in unison
Ruby played the video.
The video begins with "CYNDAGO PRESENTS" and the title of the video, "THE MIRACLE OF LIFE" appears as happy music plays.
Team RWBY could tell that this video was going to be anything but happy.
"Well then," Weiss says sarcastically. "I can already tell this will be anything but a miracle."
Why must Weiss be so cynical? Can't she tone it down for once?
A father (Daniel Kyre) is singing to his newborn child.
Dad: You're so exciting and new!
A rather…odd-looking baby (Ryan Magee) is shown giggling and waving his little arms (which appear doll-like) around.
…
…
…
Weiss deadpanned. "That is the ugliest child I've ever seen."
"WEISS!" Ruby exclaimed, mortified.
"I'm with Weiss on this one," Yang agreed.
"YANG!"
Blake cleared her throat. "Ugly indeed."
"BLAKE!"
Weiss regards her skeptically. "Do you honestly believe that baby is anything but ugly?"
"All life is precious!"
"You said precious, not beautiful."
"…"
"That's what I thought."
It was agreed. The baby was ugly.
Dad: You're almost too good to be true!
"Don't you mean too ugly to be true?"
Ruby frowned. "Weiss, we get it. The baby's ugly. Now leave it be."
Weiss let out a humph before crossing her arms.
The baby continues to giggle.
Dad: I cannot wait to see-
Back to the baby, then back to the dad.
Dad: -all the surprising things that you are going to do.
"You mean like losing a beauty pageant? Not much of a surprise, really."
RBY's eyes twitched.
If she made one more comment about that ugly baby….
The baby giggles as the dad holds out some shoes.
Dad: Like taking your first steps and learning to talk-
The baby is shown wearing glasses, reading a book, and trying to talk.
"He's smart…for an ugly-."
Ruby, Blake and Yang had their weapons drawn and aimed at the ice queen, daring her to finish that sentence.
Weiss raised her hands. "Okay, I know when to stop."
Dad: -and then learning to tie your own shoe!
The dad struggles to tie a shoe. The baby is shown to have the other shoe, the shoelaces splayed on his face.
Ruby giggled. "How's he supposed to teach his son how to tie shoes when he doesn't know himself?!"
Weiss shrugged. "Who knows? One thing I do know is that I'm recommending him for worst father of the year."
RBY just stared blankly at Weiss.
…
…
…
"Why?" Blake asked.
"Just a hunch."
Dad: But first there are some things in life you must know-
The baby makes a sound.
Dad: -so just shut up and let me tell you!
RWBY stood shocked. Had he just told his own son to shut up?
Weiss smirked. "My hunch was correct."
"M-Maybe he's just stressed," Ruby suggested.
Probably…but that's not what's happening.
The baby smiles and makes another sound.
Dad: Like…
RWBY was in for a rude awakening.
Suddenly, the happy baby music turns into heavy metal rock.
Dad: School sucks!
Daniel is shown look out at the sunset, possibly on the rooftop of a school.
Dad: Life's a bitch!
Daniel is walking down a street.
Dad: You'll get depressed!
Daniel is shown kneeling back on the wall of a building shivering. When a car passes, he is standing with his hands in his pocket.
Dad: Wanna die in a ditch!
Daniel is shown laying in a ditch near a street sign somewhere.
Dad: Marry a whore!
A photo of some people is shown.
Dad: Change her name!
Daniel stumbles on something terrible.
Dad: Get cheated on!
It is revealed that his wife is cheating on him with someone.
Dad: And wallow in shame!
Daniel is shown sitting in a bathtub, crying as water rains down on him.
…
…
…
The only reaction from RWBY were dropped jaws, with Weiss having the same expression she had when they had found out that they were going to shadow Oobleck.
"I…I have no words," Weiss said.
"I think I lost my innocence," Ruby stated.
"Blake lost hers when she read Ninja's of Love," Yang said.
Blake glared.
Dad: You'll go in debt to pay for your EDUCATION!
Daniel cries as a stack of money is burned. A stack of books pops up.
Only Weiss won't have to worry about that…then again, in Volume 3-.
Nora suddenly opens the door and shouts, "NO SPOILERS FOR THEM!"
She then slams the door shut.
Damn hyperactive pancake lover…but damn it, she's adorable, almost as much as Ruby.
RWBY stared at the door where Nora had just did…whatever she did. They shrugged and went back to the video.
Dad: Get arrested FOR PUBLIC MASTURBATION!
Someone (possibly Daniel) is getting arrested in front of a car.
Yang quickly covers Ruby's eyes as Weiss shouts, "MY EYES! MY EYES!"
Blake simply shakes her head at her teams antics.
Dad: One night stand with a girl unknown
Someone (possibly Daniel) is hurryingly taking his pants of so he can have the "one night stand" mentioned.
Yang once again covers Ruby's eyes.
"Yang! Stop doing that!"
"Never! Whatever innocence you have left must be retained!"
Blake and Weiss simply stared at the two sisters, with the latter wishing she had been able to have that kind of sisterly bond with Winter.
Dad: Then raise her child and have to show-
The baby is shown laying there and…dancing(?) to the song.
"Worst. Dance. Ever." Weiss said. "Of all time."
RBY agreed.
The dad begins to calm down as the music calms as well.
Dad: Him…
The music returns to normal, and so does the dad.
Dad: How to avoid all the strife-
The baby giggles…despite what just happened.
"How is that baby still hap-?" Weiss paused. "…Wait a minute."
RBY turned to Weiss, curious as to what she thought of.
"Didn't he say he had a one night stand?"
RBY nodded.
"And how he had to raise the child?"
Another nod…then realization.
That baby was from the one night stand mentioned.
…
…
…
"The mother must've been ugly then," Weiss said.
Goddamn it, Weiss.
Dad: -that we all encounter in life!
The baby "gaa's".
Dad: Like how to get over all humiliation and useless high standards of life!
"The high standards of life are not useless!" Weiss argued. "They are what every person should strive for!"
"Not everyone can be perfect like you, Weiss," Yang countered.
Weiss's head sunk as she mumbled. "I'm not perfect.
"What?"
Weiss cleared her throat. "N-Nothing."
Dad: Sleep tight!
The baby giggles happily.
The dad suddenly turns back.
Dad: You piece of shit!
The baby is surprised as the skit ends.
RWBY could only gawk at what the father just said to his child.
…
…
…
"Ladies and gentlemen," Weiss announced smugly. "Here's your winner of the Worst Father of the Year Award!"
"It was just a video," Blake deadpanned. "It's not like he would've been like that to an actual child."
"My point still stands!"
A subscribe link appears, as does the baby.
Ryan: Yo! Okay. If you like the video, make sure you click the subscribe button. It's gonna be over there or something like that. Be like over there. Okay, now you sit there. The subscribe button's gonna be over there waiting for you to click it and some fu**ing sh*t like that, and watch me do my baby dance.
Ryan proceeds to do a…baby dance, which simply consists of moving his head and the arms around.
RWBY could only giggle at the terrible dance that was being performed.
Ryan: Baby dance. Ooh, get that baby dance. Baby dance. Gonna rock the world with my moves, bitch! F**k yeah! My baby dance, sto-!
The video ends.
…
…
…
RWBY erupted in full blown laughter at what Ryan just did.
"T-The baby dance is terrible!" Weiss struggled to say through her giggles.
"Come on, Weiss," Ruby tried to defend. "It requires an actual baby for it to work!"
"That's no excuse!"
"It's the perfect excuse!"
Blake and Yang could only watch the banter like they would watch a tennis match.
"Guys," Blake finally said, gaining Ruby and Weiss's attention. "I think their's time for one more video before we need to go to class."
They checked their scrolls to find that Blake was correct.
Ruby quickly scrolled through the video list to find a good video to watch before class….
One caught her attention.
It was a video called "The Afterlife", where the thumbnail was that of two people in drawing format. In the description, it read, "A more serious Cyndago venture."
A serious video?
That certainly seemed interesting.
Ruby clicked on the video. As it loaded, she talked with her team.
"How serious do you think it'll be?"
"It's called 'The Afterlife'," Blake pointed out. "It has to be pretty serious if it's called that."
Weiss smiled a little. "I'm actually excited to see how serious they get in this. And according to the description, this video won a local film festival."
Winner of a local film festival? That certainly made it more interesting.
"Yeah…." Yang frowned.
"What's wrong, sis?" Ruby asked.
"It's just…this video seems ironic, don't you think?"
Ironic? How could it be…oh.
Daniel.
Ruby felt tears begin to rise, but she wiped her eyes.
"Well…let's not think about that yet. Let's watch the video first."
WBY hesitantly agreed.
Ruby played the video.
The video begins with a man in work clothes (Greg, played by Ryan Magee) writing on some paper in an office as the title of the video, "THE AFTERLIFE" appears. Music (that sounds like something you'd hear in an elevator) plays throughout.
"They didn't use color in this?" Ruby asked.
"They probably wanted to give off a better atmosphere to represent the Afterlife," Weiss suggested.
All of a sudden, another man (Simon, played by Daniel Kyre) appears from nowhere in a seat across from the man in work clothes.
"There's Daniel…in the afterlife," Ruby sadly states.
"After the video, Rubes," Yang comforted. "After the video."
Simon is breathing heavily as he looks around in shock.
Greg simply looks nonchalant.
"How can that guy be so calm?" Yang asked. "I'd be freaking out if I was in the afterlife."
Blake shrugged. "He's probably been there for a long while."
"Unlike the guy played by Daniel," Weiss continued. "Who just got there."
Simon: Where am I?
Greg simply continues with what he was doing.
Greg: Where did you just come from?
RWBY suddenly had the feeling they were about to see something that would make them feel uncomfortable.
Simon begins to think.
He remembers trying to turn off the running eater in his bathtub. The handle breaks and Simon slips forward and hits his head against the wall.
RWBY winced at the sound of his head hitting the wall.
His head slumps into the tub full of water and is left there since he is unconscious. It is apparent that he drowned.
...
…
…
It was bad enough he had hit his head like that, but drowning?
That brought levels of uncomfortableness to a whole new level.
Especially since Daniel had….
Back to the video.
Simon has a realization.
Simon: Oh no! Am I-?
"Sorry, dude," Yang answered sadly. "You're dead."
Simon waits as Greg answers.
Greg: Dead.
Simon: What?
Greg: You're dead.
Simon: No!
Simon is horrified while Greg simply staples some papers together.
"Does that guy have no emotion or something?" Ruby asked.
"I think he's just accepted where he is and had moved on," Blake put in.
…Made sense.
Simon: Oh god!
Simon begins to think and has a realization while Greg simply continues with his work.
Simon: Wait….
Greg again continues his work, being nonchalant.
Simon leans forward.
Simon: Am I in heaven?
"Hey yeah," Ruby wondered. "Where is that place anyway?"
"I think we're about to find out," Weiss answered.
Greg seems amused.
Greg: Heaven?
Simon is eager.
Simon: Yeah!
Greg continues with his work.
Greg: No. You just came from heaven.
Simon is confused.
Simon (and RWBY): What do you mean?
What a coincidence that they asked the same thing. It's as though someone made it so they'd say it at the exact same time….
Heh.
Greg twirls a pen.
Greg: What was something that made you happy?
"Cookies!" Ruby answered. "And Crescent Rose…and being a hero!"
"My sister," Weiss answered.
"Books," Blake answered.
"Fighting," Yang answered.
Typical.
"But most importantly," Ruby continued with a smile. "My friends."
WBY smiled as well.
Sniff. Sniff….
What, no! I'm not crying! Er, back to the video!
Simon thinks it over.
Simon: Music…art…m-my girlfriend Sain.
Greg: That…that was your heaven.
That…actually confused RWBY.
What did he mean?
Greg staples another paper.
Simon (and RWBY): So this is hell?
Oh look, another coincidence.
Greg denies it and explains.
Greg: No, you've already been through hell as well. The, um, struggles you faced, the challenges you failed, pain endured. You've already been through all of that. Believe me.
…
…
…
"Dad shutting down on us when Mom died," Ruby mumbled.
"My father making my childhood a living hell," Weiss muttered.
"The discrimination I've seen and faced," Blake muttered. "And my time in the White Fang after the reform."
"My mistake in our childhood," Yang mumbled.
She of course was referring to when she had foolishly taken her sister into the woods when they were younger to search for Yang's biological mother.
Greg continues his work as Simon thinks.
Simon: So…wha-what you're telling me is that my whole life I worked towards an afterlife of sorts, and this is it? No heaven or he-
Greg interrupts.
Greg: Your life is over. Paradise is nonexistent. Happiness is gone. Sadness is gone. This "place" is void of all emotion.
…
…
…
Well…that's depressing.
"I think we need to reevaluate some things after this," Ruby suggested.
WBY agreed. There was much they wanted to do and amend before their time came.
Simon looks around.
Simon: So~ how do I leave this room?
…
…
…
"Simon," Weiss deadpanned. "You're dead. You're never leaving."
"Weiss, be nice," Ruby chided.
Greg looks exasperated.
Greg: Were you not listening to a single thing I just said?
Simon: I mean, of course I was listening to what you said. But what if you have to like piss?
Greg: You never have to go to the bathroom. Not here.
"That's convenient," Yang stated.
RWB agreed.
Simon: …How do you leave to eat?"
Greg: Never been hungry.
"Another convenience," Weiss stated.
Greg staples a paper.
Simon: Do you sleep?
Greg looks at him.
Greg: You don't get tired.
"Well," Yang said in a joking matter. "The perks of being dead keep on piling up, huh?"
RWB could only deadpan at Yang.
"Sis?"
"Yes?"
"Shame on you for saying that."
"I know."
Simon: So how the hell do you stay alive here if you can't-
Greg simply looks at him, silently daring him to finish that question.
"Care to finish that sentence?" Weiss asked sarcastically.
Simon realizes what he just asked.
Simon: Right.
"That's what I thought."
Greg goes back to his work.
Simon: So what are you doing anyways?
"Looks like paperwork to me," Weiss stated.
Greg sighs.
Greg: Uh, organizing documents. Signing them, and then stapling them together.
He staples another paper.
"Like I said," Weiss continues. "Paperwork."
Simon: That's it?
Greg: That's it…and I suggest you get started.
Simon raises an eyebrow.
Greg passes him a pen.
Greg: You can borrow my pen.
Simon: Me?
Greg: Yeah.
Simon simply shrugs.
Simon: Alright.
Simon gets to work as Greg goes back to his.
"Wait," Yang said. "That's it when it comes to the afterlife? Paperwork?"
"It's just an interpretation," Blake said. "…But yeah, it doesn't seem that great to me."
"Us neither," Ruby and Weiss answered.
Simon readies a staple. As he places it on the desk, a girl's voice interrupts.
Girl: Hey.
Simon looks up to see a girl in the place where Greg used to be.
Girl: Where am I?
It becomes apparent that Simon must now do what Greg did.
Simon: You are dead.
Simon returns to his work as the girl remains confused.
"Well," Weiss begins sadly. "Doesn't this seem familiar?"
RBY sadly agreed.
Several seconds pass as Simon continues with his work and the girl thinks. The girl finally asks the same question Simon did when he first appeared.
Girl: So is this heaven?
The video ends with credits indicating those who were in the video and who was responsible for its making. It is also shown that this video was the winner for "Best Picture" at a film festival.
"And so it begins again," Ruby summarized.
"Indeed." (Weiss)
"Yeah." (Blake)
"Yup." (Yang)
Ruby leaned back on her chair and absentmindedly scrolled the comments on the video.
"So," Yang began. "Like I said, this is sadly ironic."
"It is," Weiss agreed. "He went to the afterlife in this video, and now…."
"Well," Blake put in. "We can only hope he found peace with himself."
Sniffling was heard.
WBY turned to see Ruby getting teary-eyed at some comments.
"Ruby?" Yang asked with concern.
Ruby wordlessly pointed to some of the comments.
Daniel may have gone through Hell, but he put us all through Heaven.
-Sam S
The sad irony of this...
-Luminee Luma Productions
I find it interesting how Daniel's death was written into many of Cyndago's sketches, including the now private video where Daniel commits suicide. I feel like maybe Daniel vented his demons into his creations, and we just saw it as comedy...
-223rockmaster
This has always been one of my favorite Cyndago shorts. That Daniel has now actually passed away makes this so strangely surreal, horrifying, and beautiful, all in one. I don't believe in an afterlife, but I hope that if there is one, he's happy there. I'm sorry you felt so lonely and depressed, buddy. You were, and are, loved.
-MitchSearches
WBY could only pat their leader's shoulder in comfort.
"At least these people cared about him," Blake said.
"Yeah," Ruby sniffled. "But…what if that one guy is right? What if Daniel did vent his demons into his work, and everyone saw it as comedy?"
…
…
…
"That's a question we'll never have answered, Ruby," Weiss said sadly.
Ruby looked down for a moment….
"In a couple of weeks, do you guys want to head out somewhere?"
"Where?" Yang asked.
"Just…somewhere."
They noticed her looking back to the computer…and understood.
"I'm not sure it would be right, Rubes."
"Maybe…but we should try anyway. Shouldn't we?"
WBY looked at each other for a moment….
"Well," Yang said. "If you want to go, then I'll go with you."
"Teams need to stick together after all," Blake added.
Weiss remained silent.
…
…
…
"This isn't really any of our business."
"You may be right, Weiss," Ruby answered. "But I feel that we should go."
Weiss sighed. "Oh, alright."
Ruby smiled. "Thanks. So…couple week's time?"
WBY nodded in agreement.
And so it was decided.
After finding the location thanks to connections Weiss had as the heiress of the SDC, traveling by airship, taxi, and then walking a great distance, Team RWBY found themselves at a cemetery….
A specific cemetery.
"I still don't think we should be here," Weiss repeated for the seventh time as Team RWBY made their way through the cemetery.
"Yes," Ruby said with grit teeth. "You've said that seven times now."
"It's just…how will it look that four strangers are visiting someone they didn't really know and are simply fans of his DustTube channel? If we can even be considered that."
"Sometimes," Blake said. "When a famous person dies, people, most of whom are technically fans, come to pay their respects."
"And that's all we're doing," Yang concluded. "Paying our respects."
Weiss sighed. "I know, but if his family and friends are there how do we explain ourselves?"
Yang shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
And so RWBY continued on, passing by several graves of people long past, before….
They found the grave they were looking for.
Daniel Kyre.
RWBY stared at the grave with sadness in their eyes. They couldn't help but wonder if Daniel had felt this way for a while before he took his own life.
What had been going through his head when he actually did it?
That was something no one would ever know.
Ruby stepped forward. "Hey Daniel."
Obvious silence greeted her in response.
"You're probably wondering why four complete strangers are here visiting you. Well…we found out about you a couple weeks ago through Markiplier. And before you ask, no, we never really watched your videos."
Ruby's head sunk. "Something I'm ashamed about, actually."
She shook her head. "Anyway…you were a funny guy. You've brought joy to a lot of people through the work you did. I hope you know that."
Ruby bit her lip. "I…I don't know what you were thinking about when you chose to take your own life, and honestly…I think you made the wrong decision in that regard."
She swallowed heavily. "Your family and friends miss you dearly. And those you and your friends entertained over the years are commenting how they miss you and that they hope you're resting in peace."
She blinked to keep tears from spilling. "And…I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. You hurt your family and friends in doing what you did. I hope you took into consideration what your family and friends would think after your death when you ki…ki…took your own life."
Ruby felt some comforting hands on her shoulders, which helped her finish what she wanted to say.
"But…what's done is done. The past can't be changed. We don't know what demons you faced when you made your final life decision, but…all we can hope for is that you've finally found peace with yourself, Daniel."
Tears began to drop as she chuckled a little. "I just hope you're not actually stapling papers together in the afterlife."
This brought a sad chuckle from the rest of her team.
She turned to them. "Do you guys want to say anything?"
WBY looked at each other…before Weiss responded.
"You said all that was needed to be said."
Blake and Yang nodded in agreement.
Smiling, Ruby turned back towards Daniel's grave.
"Rest in peace, Daniel Kyre."
Weiss stepped forward and handed Ruby a glass vase that held four flowers, each a color representing the members of Team RWBY. Ruby placed the vase of flowers next to another vase.
As Ruby stood up…she could've sworn the wind picked up a little…just a bit.
She turned to her teammates. "Ready to go?"
They nodded.
And with that, they made their way out of the cemetery….
Only to bump into someone they didn't think they'd meet just yet.
"Oh! Um…hello?"
RWBY could hardly believe their eyes. Standing before them was none other than the one they watched on DustTube.
Markiplier.
"U-Um," Ruby stuttered. "Hello. S-Sorry for bumping into you."
Mark smiled. "It's not a problem. I was just here to…visit someone."
"S-So were we," Ruby said. "I mean, w-we already visited him, so we were just leaving."
"Oh…well, don't want to keep you waiting. Sorry for bumping into you."
He looked at each girl…then said something.
"You four realize you basically look like a color?"
Yang smiled. "We get that a lot."
"I bet…red, white, black, and yellow…black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow!"
RWBY let out a stifle of giggles, causing Mark to chuckle and smile.
"Well, it was nice talking to you four. Bye."
With a nod to each of them, Mark walked past and towards the grave he intended to visit.
…
…
…
"I didn't think we'd meet him at a time like this," Weiss commented.
"Well, this is Daniel," Blake added. "We already knew we might run into either him or Daniel's family."
"Yeah…."
They had always wanted to meet Markiplier, and now an opportunity presented itself….
But now wasn't the right time.
"We shouldn't interrupt Mark," Weiss stated. "I'm sure we'll see him again at a more…appropriate time."
Ruby nodded. "She's right…now's not the time. We paid out respects, and so we should let Mark pay his."
Fully agreeing with this sentiment, RWBY left for their journey back to Beacon.
Mark stood before Daniel's grave, a sad smile on his face.
"Hey buddy."
Mark shifted on his feet a little.
"I hope you're doing alright. Just checking to be sure your…resting place hasn't been messed with."
A sad truth was that sometimes kids messed with people's graves because they didn't know any better.
"I brought you some flowers."
He replaced the old ones that were dying with the new ones…then noticed the second vase.
This vase held four flowers, each one representing a color.
Red, white, black and yellow…wait a minute…did they?
Mark stood and turned to where he had seen those four girls from before, only to find that they had already gone.
…
…
…
Mark smiled a little.
Visited someone, huh?
Mark turned to Daniel's grave.
"You know, sometimes I never fully realize how much the fans care until moments like this happen."
The wind picked up a little, as though someone was agreeing with him.
Mark once again turned to the direction of the girls from before.
"Thank you."
A/N: And there you go.
There were certain parts of this I wasn't sure of writing, like how something written might be taken the wrong way by you readers, cause I certainly didn't want to cause that. I'll let you all be the judge of this.
Next chapter will be the Google IRL video with Penny along for the reaction. Back to the happy feelings we go.
Also, I want to be clear on something…this fic is meant to be a reaction fic to MARKIPLIER videos, as in only videos from HIS channel. If you all want RWBY to react to Pewdiepie, Smosh, Jacksepticeye, Smosh Games, or any other YouTuber (or DustTuber in this fic's case), feel free to write it yourself or ask someone else to do it. I only plan on doing Markiplier and that's it.
I won't fault that one guest (or guet) who suggested Duck Dynasty, since that's something I plan to do in the future (I have all eight seasons), as well as another popular YouTube series….
Oh you want to know what the other one is? Well, here's a hint….
WHO WON?! WHO'S NEXT?! YOU DECIDE!
Yes, I plan on doing that and Duck Dynasty (still not sure if it'll be a reaction fic or Team RWBY being stuck with the Duck Dynasty crew on Earth) in the future.
If you haven't, be sure to follow and fav for future updates. Leave any comments or suggestions for future reactions in a review.
I said this when I announced this chapter a long time ago, and it's been a while since his passing, but….
Rest in peace, Daniel Kyre.
And to all my readers:
LATERS!