*They walked through the portal with CJ.*
°He glanced around, blinking in the new space. It looked like... downtown? There's a tension in the air though, and the colors are muted, like the world is a bowstring strung tight through a camera filter. It's familiar, and not just because it looks like the streets he'd driven down with RJ a thousand times.°
°...°
°He starts walking forward°
*They waited in confusion.*
°He pulls his hand out and looks at it for a second.°
°...Just testing the waters. He steps forward and slips through the portal, really hoping this was the right choice.°
Ⓐⓛⓡⓘⓖⓗⓣ. *They walk toward the portal with you.*
°CJ stops just before entering, and sticks his left hand in to test how it feels, and if something was going to eat it off.°
Ⓝⓞⓣ ⓘⓝ ⓣⓗⓔ ⓢⓛⓘⓖⓗⓣⓔⓢⓣ.
°Peachy. He goes back to studying the portals. Was there any tell to see? Or did he really just have to flip a coin, with three sides, yeah he was tired. He gently lifts up the kitten and approaches the leftmost portal°
🅘 🅒🅐🅝'🅣 🅣🅐🅚🅔 🅨🅞🅤 🅣🅞 🅨🅞🅤🅡 🅑🅡🅞🅣🅗🅔🅡, 🅑🅔🅒🅐🅤🅢🅔 🅢🅞🅜🅔🅣🅗🅘🅝🅖 🅘🅢 🅜🅔🅢🅢🅘🅝🅖 🅦🅘🅣🅗 🅜🅨 🅚🅝🅞🅦🅛🅔🅓🅖🅔, 🅑🅤🅣 🅘 🅚🅝🅞🅦 🅗🅔 🅘🅢 🅞🅝 🅣🅗🅔 🅞🅣🅗🅔🅡 🅢🅘🅓🅔 🅞🅕 🅞🅝🅔 🅞🅕 🅣🅗🅔🅢🅔 🅣🅗🅡🅔🅔 🅟🅞🅡🅣🅐🅛🅢, 🅢🅞 🅣🅐🅚🅔 🅨🅞🅤🅡 🅟🅘🅒🅚.
°CJ shifts his gaze over to the portals, eyeing each one in turn, before looking back at you.°
°Do you know where each one leads?°
🅘'🅜 🅢🅞🅡🅡🅨 🅐🅑🅞🅤🅣 🅣🅗🅐🅣.
°His expression doesn't change much. Maybe a little more thoughtful, though.°
°Acknowledged. Would you mind telling me what this is about then? I need to get to Jim.°
*Misfortune reappears.*
°CJ jolts a bit in surprise before fixing them with a stare. You're back.°
*The stop talking and stare at him for a while, before sending him through a portal.*
°His eyes go wide and he curles up like a cannon ball as he falls, not knowing what else to do and terrified of what might be below°
*The chanting stops and the entire room seems to be looking at CJ. The smiling objects seemed to be talking to each other as Misfortune's head looked from left to right.*
°CJ continues to stare, he's not wavering now°
*The doll calmed down and started chanting again. The room glowed purple.*
°If Disney had taught him anything, it was that purple and green were not safe in these contexts. His mind was still reeling from what Neb had said, but if self-preservation hadn't convinced him that he needed to get out, his brother being in danger had.°
°Let. Me. Go.°
*The wisp slaps him, causing the doll to stop chanting and start laughing.*
°CJ winces at the sting. He's had worse, but it still hurts. He fixes the doll with a burning glare, ashbowl. Anger felt a little better than panic, if he was honest.°
*They start chanting an ancient language.*
°Oho no, he's seen enough horror movies and sat through RJ's teenage occult phase to know that magical ominous entities never use chants for anything good. He abandons one of his last reservations by attempting to bite one of the wisps, hopefully that does something-!°
*Purple wisps appear and wrap around Jim. They tighten around him.* 🅓🅞🅔🅢 🅝🅞 🅞🅝🅔 🅣🅡🅨 🅣🅞 🅡🅤🅝? 🅒🅞🅜🅔 🅞🅝! 🅡🅤🅝, 🅡🅐🅑🅑🅘🅣, 🅡🅤🅝!
°There's a shock, a horror, then blind panic. CJ attempts to pull, to rip at the wisps and scramble away, terror finally really flooding his veins. He didn't know what the absolute **** was happening, but for the second time in not that long a span he didn't really want to find out. It wasn't exactly as important as getting away from here like the house was on fire, which honestly might not have been as bad.°
*A straw doll that couldn't be more than 2ft tall flouted up to the Jim twin.* 🅗🅔🅛🅛🅞, 🅡🅐🅑🅑🅘🅣.
°CALM-ISH MOMENT OVER°
°I- hello?? He's stood up on the couch, training the camera on the literal, in his head, horror movie doll. Everything seemed to be happening, all he needed now was a ghost and a demonic possession and he could probably get Bingo. It was.. going to be incredibly cool, once he was no longer freaking out. Wait, rabbit?°
*they jump through the tear into what they hope is a safe place.*
@anon-jims . Ẃé áŕé héŕé. @anon-host áńd í őńĺӳ ẃáńt tő héĺṕ. Dőń't ӳőú tŕúśt úś?
*Fear setting their blood ablaze, RJ notices you first. He starts patting the outsides of CJ's headphones to alert him. The two then change course, running towards the tear. They have no idea what you're saying but they can guess.*
@anon-jims . Ẃé áŕé héŕé. @anon-host áńd í őńĺӳ ẃáńt tő héĺṕ. Dőń't ӳőú tŕúśt úś?
*They continue to run, RJ is the eyes for behind them, since CJ has to focus on aiming the camera just so and is already looking ahead. An angry Google is more than a little terrifying, they may not be able to really hear him through the headphones but at this point? They were going to run regardless. It was just more incentive for sprinting. The music was just /barely/ penetrating the headphones, but the instant RJ could make out /something/, he starts humming as much as he can while running and placing his hands over CJ's headphones as a secondary barrier*
@anon-jims . Ẃé áŕé héŕé. @anon-host áńd í őńĺӳ ẃáńt tő héĺṕ. Dőń't ӳőú tŕúśt úś?
*both of them have put the headphones on, CJ has pointed the camera light onto the ground to make an artificial light spot, and both have bolted*
@anon-jims . Ẃé áŕé héŕé. @anon-host áńd í őńĺӳ ẃáńt tő héĺṕ. Dőń't ӳőú tŕúśt úś?
"Ok, we're in a light patch too but no papers. And yeah, CJ is here too- where are you Google? Have either of you guys heard anyone else?"
Tԋҽ ʋσιԃ ɾҽʂιԃҽɳƚʂ. *They drop the Jims in a light patch.* Tɾყ ƚσ ʅҽαʋҽ, αɳԃ ყσυ'ʅʅ ϝαʅʅ υɳƈσυɳƈισυʂ.
"Void Residents? Who are-"
*CJ manages to land on their back, still curled protectively around his camera, RJ lands on his end*
"Ow-! Wait, unconcious? Why would we be-..Jim?"
*CJ hands over his camera to RJ, who's more than a little shocked to be actually holding it. CJ looks directly at the snake and begins to sign.*
°Ok you look here you vantablack worm, you aren't getting away clean with this. I don't care who you work for, especially if you're so wrapped around their fingers that they've got you doing their dirty work, all I care about is that you're out here, stealing people and bringing them to lose who they are. My name is Jim, my brother is Jim, and we'll get out of here one way or another.°
Tԋҽ ʋσιԃ ɾҽʂιԃҽɳƚʂ. *They drop the Jims in a light patch.* Tɾყ ƚσ ʅҽαʋҽ, αɳԃ ყσυ'ʅʅ ϝαʅʅ υɳƈσυɳƈισυʂ.
"Void Residents? Who are-"
*CJ manages to land on their back, still curled protectively around his camera, RJ lands on his end*
"Ow-! Wait, unconcious? Why would we be-..Jim?"
*CJ hands over his camera to RJ, who's more than a little shocked to be actually holding it. CJ looks directly at the snake and begins to sign.*
°Ok you look here you vantablack worm, you aren't getting away clean with this. I don't care who you work for, especially if you're so wrapped around their fingers that they've got you doing their dirty work, all I care about is that you're out here, stealing people and bringing them to lose who they are. My name is Jim, my brother is Jim, and we'll get out of here one way or another.°
I ԃιԃɳ'ƚ ԃσ αɳყƚԋιɳɠ! Tԋҽყ Ⴆɾαιɳɯαʂԋҽԃ Hσʂƚ.
*there's some confusion and curiosity in RJ's voice*
"'They'? ...Who's They? Your boss? Bosses?"
°He looks thoughtful to a degree, a frown apparent°
Gσσɠʅҽ ιʂ ϝιɳҽ. Tԋҽ Hσʂƚ... ɯҽʅʅ....
*there's even more silence*
"...What did you do."
°...and he shifts, it's the first movement since the struggling stopped°
Lσσƙ, Jιɱʂ. Yσυɾ ɳσƚ ɠσιɳɠ ƚσ ɯιɳ ƚԋιʂ. Tԋҽ Hσʂƚ ԋαʂ αʅɾҽαԃყ Ⴆҽҽɳ Ⴆɾαιɳɯαʂԋҽԃ αɳԃ Gσσɠʅҽ ιʂ ƚɾαρρҽԃ ιɳ ƚԋҽ ʋσιԃ αʂ ɯҽʅʅ. 👁🗨
*the struggling ceases for a moment, it's still, and it's quiet...*
"...Did anyone come for them?"
*The cobra uses its tongue to grab the Jim kicking the side of their mouth.* Yσυ ɯσυʅԃɳ'ƚ Ⴆҽ αႦʅҽ ƚσ ɠҽƚ συƚ σϝ ƚԋҽ ʋσιԃ, αɳყɯαყʂ. A Ⴆιƚ ϝαɾƚԋҽɾ αɳԃ ɯҽ'ʅʅ Ⴆҽ ραʂƚ ƚԋҽ ρσιɳƚ ɯԋҽɾҽ ყσυ'ʅʅ ϝαʅʅ υɳƈσɳʂƈισυʂ ιϝ ყσυ ʂƚҽρ α ϝσσƚ ιɳ ιƚ. ⏳
*RJ turns his attentions to freeing CJ now, who looks intensely uncomfortable*
"But why us? Why do you- what do you even need brainwashed people for?! And get your tongue off of him!"
°There are some very specific gestures he'd like to show you when you spit them out, but for now he's occupied with wriggling away and protecting his camera°
*The snake keeps slithering though the void.* Yσυɾ Ⴆσƚԋ ɠσιɳɠ ƚσ Ⴆҽ Ⴆɾαιɳɯαʂԋҽԃ, ʂσσɳ. ⏳
*it took a moment of shocked silence before anything happened, then-*
"Oh... No, no hey no, you can't do that I'm not doing this nO-! LET US OUT!!!"
*RJ attempts to pry the snake's jaws opened, looking a mixed of frightened and angry*
°CJ is now attempting to kick the snake, aiming his foot to connect with the right side of the snake's mouth. He hits harder than he seems like he would. Nobody is stealing his brother or him if he can do anything about it.°
*The cobra pauses for a second, before snapping the twins up in its jaws.* DON'T BE ALARMED. I'ɱ ɳσƚ ҽαƚιɳɠ ყσυ. -⏱
"H-hey we didn't ok this- what are you doing?!"
°CJ is equally upset and confused despite your words, but his focus is diverted to keeping his camera safe also.°
Nσ, I'ɱ ɳσƚ ɠσιɳɠ ƚσ ҽαƚ ყσυ. I ρɾҽϝҽɾ ɾσԃҽɳƚʂ. *They look at the camera.* Aɾҽ ყσυ ϝιʅɱιɳɠ ƚԋιʂ? -⏳
*they both looked relieved to a degree*
"Ok, that's good to hear at least."
°a nod in agreement. Yes, he tells you, it's kind of his thing.°
*They stare at the camera for a few seconds before slamming the door. The door bursts open again, this time a giant void colored cobra is the one that opened it.* Hҽʅʅσ. -⏳
*in a moment of almost cartoonish twin action, both of them each raised the same eyebrow at the sudden departure. Though the instant both of them registered that there's a /giant snake/ right in front of them-*
"Oh my god, you're talking. The snake can talk how is that possible-!? Can we interview you?? You're a talking snake how in heck-. Wait, are you a snake? A real snake? Like a shady lab experiment??"
°Or have all animals always been able to talk and it's like in Zookeeper-°
"Or are you something more mysterious? Wait, really important first question- are you going to eat us?"
°...A concern I'm also having now, no offense to you Serpent°
*A door bursts open.* ɦɛʟʟօ, ʝɨʍ ȶաɨռֆ. -⏱
*the duo jump slightly, mildly startled by the abrupt door sounds, but quickly compose themselves*
"Hello there!"
°there's a wave, then the camera focuses on you°