So here is the second chapter for you guys.
Nothing much to say about this one, really, except that it is fail.
Who in the land...
Flippy has seen many weird things in his life, really.
And ... you know, there is always at least one point in your life where you say 'Okay, now I've seen it ALL.' Or maybe 'This is the strangest thing ever.' And just now, he has reached this point.
The second he laid eyes on this...whatever it was, his instincts kicked in.
So he forces aside his utter confusion about this whole situation and carefully inspected this look-alike to check if it poses a threat. Besides, he can't even be sure if this is really a replica, since he can't see the face.
With a deep breath, he buries his hand in the hair that is so much like his own and tightly grasps it. With one, powerful yank, he rips the person's head up and stares into a pair of green-yellow eyes.
They make a strangely crazed, animalistic impression and Flippy involuntary shivers as he recognizes the face.
Did the fall damage his head?
A snarl erupts from the copy and before he can do anything against it, he feels how his body is pressed against the hard marble. The air in his lungs is knocked out by the sudden impact and no matter how hard he tries to breathe, it just won't really work. He can only take a few breaths.
Ice-cold fingers close around his throat and a vice-like grip slowly squeezes the life out of him. His own hands lie at his sides and for some reason, he has no desire to lift them and see if he can survive this. It's like he lost any common sense and feeling. Not to mention some weird, funny feeling that tells him that everything's gonna be just fine.
While his vision clouds, he looks up to see...himself? himself with a completely insane grin spread over his (own) face.
"I don't know how you did it", giggles Evil (because who else would it be, if not him?) and the giggles grow into maniacal chuckles "but thanks to you, I'm free! FREE!
See, you are weak!
You can't defend yourself against me, you f*cking wimp!
You're pathetic!"
These words stir the anger in him, but his body won't respond.
How stupid. First he falls down a rabbit hole because of those damn bootlaces, just to find out that there is some weird underground place, next he discovers that he's been apparently split into two different bodies and then is strangled to death by Evil? He had heard of better stories than that.
Suddenly the maddening laughter ceases and as Flippy mobilizes his last strength to clear his sight once more, the hands that had nearly killed him slip away from his neck.
With the pressure gone, he can finally breathe freely again. As he sucks in ragged breaths, he looks up to his almost-murderer and a weird feeling takes over. It's satisfaction, amusement.
Evil is choking, he grips desperately at his neck and his sharp nails cut into his skin and leave bleeding scratch marks. His eyes are wide open and he clenches his sharp teeth.
Flippy doesn't know what is happening, but he isn't stupid enough to just sit and stare there. He quickly jumps to his feet and takes fighting stance, far away to be out of Evil's fighting range and close enough so that the chain doesn't interfere, while his eyes never leave the twisting figure on the ground.
An unexpected pain tears through his jar and in a slight panic, he presses his hands on his neck and feels something sticky there. As he retracts his hands to look at them, they are covered in blood.
There is blood trickling down his face and all of a sudden, it's everything he can see. Everything around him is red.
He screams and his body starts to tremble.
Somewhere in the chaos that now reins his mind, there is this little bit of sanity left and this sanity realized something.
The man knows what to do to make the bleeding stop, though, and with the little consciousness left, he jumps onto the look-alike and pries his claws away from his flesh. "What-are—you-doing-?" chokes out Evil and the fury is evident on his face.
"I'm just kind of saving our lives! Self-destruction isn't gonna get us anywhere!" replies Flippy and pins his opponent's wrists against the floor so that he can't mutilate them both further. Then his evil side suddenly wheezes and starts breathing again. For a few seconds they stay like that and it's hard for the former soldier to ignore the warm feeling of his own blood running down his neck.
Find your happy place...
He expects Evil to attack him again, like he'd done before (though back then, he had only existed in his mind and Evil never gives up that easily), but nothing happens. He simply stares with wide eyes at him and seems completely speechless.
"Don't you get it?" Flippy whispers as sharp nails dig into his arms, cutting through the fabric of his shirt. "I don't know what the f-"
Whatever Evil intended to say, it is interrupted by a yelp. "What the f*ck is happening?" screeches the psycho and stares in a mixture of horror, amusement (?), disbelief and plain rage at the red stains that form on the sleeves of his own uniform, just where he had pierced his counterpart's skin.
"What's happening?" he rages and grabs Flippy by the front of his shirt. The strange colored eyes had regained their animalistic spark, but right now, they don't scare him.
...Okay, they do.
But he still has some power over his opponent. He won't hurt him. No, he won't do that, at least not without some serious consequences.
It's like some kind of light bulb went on in Evil's head, because he lets go of the fabric again and he simply stares. Nothing else. He just stares. Then he gets up, outs on his hat, walks over to the walls and kicks against them with brutal force.
"All—" Kick "—Because—" Kick "—You—" Kick "—damn—" Kick "—idiot—" Kick "—can't—" Kick "—tie—" Kick "—your—" Kick "—f*cking—" Kick "—bootlaces—" Kick "—properly!"
Dirt lies on the floor and finally, the green-haired original (if you could say so) decided that enough was enough and yanked at the chain. To his surprise, it actually works and Evil growls angrily. "I don't know what about you, but I want to get out of here" the other one says and examines the bottle and the key on the little table further. He picks up the bottle and notices a small tag someone had attached to it.
Drink me, or you'll be stuck here for the rest of your pathetic existence
Well, those are some pretty clearly formulated instructions.
Hm...should he give it a shot? He eyes its contents skeptical.
The time he had spent as a soldier had made him cautious, paranoid almost, so he isn't really sure. This could be poison. "What are you looking at?" demands Evil and snatches the bottle out of his hands.
He opens it, sniffs and takes a sip. "Are you insane?" This was a completely needless sentence, but the man just can't believe what his mirror image just did. "As a matter of fact, I am" said maniac replies and a grin creeps on his face
Then, without a warning, Evil starts to shrink. He doesn't realize it yet for he has his eyes closed, but Flippy does, and for what he has learned, he will follow suit. So he quickly grabs the small key and witnesses as the world around him starts to grow. High, high above him, he believes he can see the exit, or entrance (depending on what you want to see it as). The dot of light diminishes to the size of a pinhead.
When the transformation is over, the currently confused male decides that he's been through enough shit today and falls unconscious.
Just like that.
Maybe the loss of blood from his still bleeding neck has something to do with it as well. Nah, but who cares about details anyways?
Awakening is always a little uncomfortable, especially when dreams sweep over into reality, like now.
It doesn't help that someone is shaking him awake, which can't be even described with the word uncomfortable.
"Huh...?" He blinks a couple of times and half-glares at the psycho he is chained to.
"Come on, I thought you were the one who wanted to get out of here so badly" snarls Evil and drags him up to his feet. He remembers the key and the door he had noticed earlier and strolls over there, magically with the cranky and cursing look-alike trailing behind him.
Anticipating and with trembling hands, he slowly unlocks the door that is now an acceptable size (or rather: now he shrunk enough to fit through it). He wonders what he will find on the other side.
He cautiously pushes it open.
Sun rays hit his face unexpectedly and the brightness of the light temporary blinds his eyes. Not only is there light, but also...wind. He tries to shield his dark eyes with his arms and when he is sure that his eyes have adapted to the light, he lowers his arms and takes a look at the place where he'd landed.
The sun is shining, the grass sways in the gentle breeze, birds are chirping, and in front of him, a whole world enfolds. He and Evil stand upon some sorts of hill from where they have a perfect view over everything.
Down the hill, there is a small village, near a forest. Smoke comes from the chimneys and when he squints his eyes, he can see people moving around. Farther away, there is a sea of colorful flowers and at the horizon, he believes he recognizes the silhouette of a castle.
The sky is a brilliant blue, only covered with few snow white clouds.
All in all, this place looks like some place out of a fairy tale, a lullaby.
"My, my! What do we have here!" laughs out his companion and throws his head back.
Ignoring this, Flippy continues to stare at this new world in wonder. Without really thinking, he starts walking down the grassy hill and drags his other side behind him. He's in a daze. Because this place reminds him awfully of one he'd seen before.
"This is..."
Evil is not the only look-alike, apparently.
"This is Happy Tree Town!"
Isn't he supposed to be underground? Isn't this place supposed to be a room behind a door? So why is the town he had just come from now right in front of him?
He takes another step and stumbles, once again, over his still undone bootlaces.