See Through, See You

This takes place in the same universe as In His Shoes (the title I gave the 100 Theme for Skrawl), and also takes place after the end of Beanie Boys To Men.





"Oy Caloy...me and my bright ideas..." Snap mumbled to himself. He could be laying down, enjoying TV. He could be playing a game with Blocky. He could be out on a date with Rapsheeba. But instead he was here, despite his friends' warnings. "Stupid! Stupid!"

He didn't dare look behind him. He already knew that Skrawl and his Beanie Boys were catching up. He was glad that the jellybean hadn't brought in all of his boys, but even the number he did bring with was a bit overwhelming, especially since it was just one person they were after.

Him.

Oh why did he decided to do that stupid TV special on Skrawl? Why did he invade Skrawl's property to get some inside scoop on him? Why didn't he just leave him alone and do something a lot safer? He knew the risks with trying to get information about a villain. Yet he was still dumb enough to do it anyway. He would have thought he learned his lesson with Bullynerd.

Soon Snap couldn't run any further and his feet started to ache. He slowed down, inhaling quickly as he tried to catch his breath. His heart was pounding so fast, he thought it was going to burst from his chest. But he knew he couldn't completely stop unless he was safe. He didn't want to, but he eventually worked the courage to turn his head to see where Skrawl and the others were.

Hmm, they were gone. Snap looked left and right, but he didn't see the jellybean anywhere. He blinked a few times, and then gave a small, relieved smile. Maybe Skrawl had given up and went back to his place. The zoner gave a small sigh of relief and went to turn back to head home.

He didn't get that far. After walking only a couple yards down, he suddenly felt someone grab onto his arms. He let out a yelp as he was hoisted into the air and suspended there by the Beanie Boys.

"You stupid blue insect!"

Snap felt his heart freeze as he saw the large jellybean walking towards him slowly, his arm placed behind his back. Skrawl had a rather mean look to him. Well that's how he always looked. But this look, Snap knew right away that Skrawl meant business.

"What were you doing trespassing on my property?!" Skrawl snarled at him. He held his hand out in front of him and curled his claws upwards into the air. Snap could see it shake in rage. "No one is allowed on my home except me!" A pause, a few coughs. "And my Beanie Boys.." He murmured, rolling his eyes. He turned his attention back down to Snap. He pointed a finger at him. "The point is... you trespassed on my home. You invade my privacy and for what?" He raised his hand up into the air. "Some stupid reality show?!"

Snap grinned nervously and chuckled. "W-Well...It's more like a news cast and..."

Skrawl put his face close to him, placing his hand against his chest. "Am I some kind of entertainment for you?! Do I look like someone who was created just to amuse all of you maggots?!" Skrawl's face turned a slight red, making Snap cringe. "Oh that's all I am ever good for you, is it?! You all get on my case about taking over ChalkZone! But at least I honor your privacy!"

Snap narrowed his eyes at this. Was Skrawl really trying to say that what he does is nowhere near as bad as what he did? Was he really that dense? That arrogant? That... oh he wasn't sure of what word he could describe him as. There were just too many to choose from.

Of course, this was Skrawl he was thinking about. The same zoner who still decided to drown Rudy and his creations by dropping them into the Wait 'N Sea even after Rudy helped him. Should he really be surprised by this kind of hypocritical statement?

Of course not.

"Hey hey hey! Who do you think you are?!" Snap found himself shouting. Skrawl glared down at him, but Snap ignored the unspoken warning. "You tried to kill Rudy! You tried to destroy the Chalk Mine! You tried to take over ChalkZone! And yet you are trying to say that one innocent visit to your place is somehow so much worse?! How?!"

"Because you are trespassing on my property!" Skrawl shouted.

"And you want to enslave everyone! Isn't that worse?!" Snap bared his teeth. "You truly are a hypocrite, Skrawl! I wonder if you inherited a little too much from Reggie Bullnerd..."

"Shut up!" Skrawl shook a fist in the air. "I have only one creator!"

"There were many children who..."

"I don't care! Rudy started to draw me, so he's my only creator! And look what he did to me! It's only fair that I claim this world for myself! It's what I deserve after I have been through!"

"Oh puh-leaze!" Snap rolled his eyes. Who was Skrawl kidding? Chances were he chose this path because of his own greedy, selfish needs. He had seen all kinds of bizarre zoners, some weirder than Skrawl. And none of them were mistreated. Just what was Skrawl talking about? "What could you have possibly have been through?"

Skrawl narrowed his eyes into slits. His crooked, yellow teeth were exposed. His body trembled harder, and his face grew redder. Snap gulped nervously and cringed back. The Beanie Boys were starting to look nervous as well. Snap wondered if he had taken a step too far.

"Hey Skrawl...?" Snap said, hoping to diffuse the jellybean's temper before he did something crazy. "I was just..."

Skrawl's mismatched eyes met his and Snap froze, feeling his heart freeze when the rage-filled eyes met his. "You don't get it, do you?! Of course not! No one ever asks what I've been through! No one ever asks me what drives me to do this! No one ever asks me about my needs!" He grabbed onto his antenna and squeezed them tightly. "You're all the same! You're all just like her!"

Snap widened his eyes slightly. He tilted his head. "L-Like who...? What are you...?"

"Like Scarlett!"

The scream was loud and long, making Snap shiver. He had never heard Skrawl yell that loud, or with that much emotion. He stared, speechless, as Skrawl yanked on his antenna hard, his head pulled up as if he were going to howl at an invisible moon. His body trembled harder as emotion rushed through him. Then, when he looked a little closer, he noticed something strange.

Tears.

Skrawl was starting to cry.

Snap couldn't stifle the gasp. He had never seen Skrawl cry before. He ahd seen him scream and yell and be angry. But...for him to cry like this... Snap started to wonder if there was really more to this jellybean than met the eye.

The green and purple jellybean dropped down onto his knees. He squeezed his eyes tightly and was clearly fighting back the tears. His attempts failed. Snap could clearly see wet streams moving down the jellybean’s face. This sight was so unbelievable, Snap couldn’t help but wonder if he was dreaming. This...this wasn’t like the Skrawl he knew. This was someone...different. Someone whom he had never met before in his life. Just who was this zoner standing before him?

Skrawl reopened his eyes and he focused on Snap. He let out a few soft cries before he realized what was going on. He spluttered and he shook his head. He attempted to regain his composure and pretended as if the crying never happened, even though Snap had clearly seen it already.

“Skrawl? Are you....?” Snap started to say. But Skrawl rounded on him before he had a chance to finish. He could feel the jellybean’s breath against his face.

“Don’t patronize me!” Skrawl snarled at him, a quick, low growl eminating from his throat. “I know exactly what you and everyone else wants to do! You want me to be a ‘model citizen’ just so you can use me and stab me in the back! Just like Scarlett did!”

“Hey, you can’t compare us to her! I don’t even know what she did!” Snap glared angrily at Skrawl, unable to believe his words. “If you weren’t so arrogant, so...monstrous, you wouldn’t have people treating you badly! Why don’t you get an attitude adjustment and...”

Skrawl suddenly seized Snap by the throat and pulled him away from the Beanie Boys. This act surprised the floating plumps with spinner caps and horrified Snap. He pushed against Skrawl’s hand, but nothing would deter Skrawl from holding onto him. He began to shake him violently.

“You don’t think I tried that?! That’s what I attempted when I was first created! Do you think that anyone cared? Do you think that anyone tried to help me?! No! And when I finally did get a job...Just when I thought I had finally found my calling...”

Snap let out a cry of fear when the zoner yanked him towards him. He dangled in front of Skrawl’s broad head, his wide eyes staring directly at him. He stopped trying to struggle, his body partially paralyzed under the glare of the angered zoner. He watched as Skrawl lifted up his hand. Snap gritted his teeth and pulled his head back as he watched for the jellybean to strike him.

But instead, Skrawl did something else.

Much to his confusion and curiosity, Skrawl reached over to his head and hooked a claw around the purple stuff. His hair. He slowly lifted it up slowly, exposing the skin underneath. Snap widened his eyes at what he saw hiding underneath there.

There was a long scar. It was faint, but still there. He could even make out the indentions that he knew was the stitch line. With how faint it was, and how far underneath the hair it was placed, it was little wonder that he and his friends never noticed the scar befeore.

The mere presence of the scar sent several questions through the zoner’s mind. The most prominent one was... how did this happen? Snap had not heard of any incident in ChalkZone about this. When could this have happened and just how did Skrawl get injured? And did this scar have any kind of significance to him being a total, well, creepazoid?

Although Snap hadn’t asked about the scar, Skrawl could see the look in his eyes. He could see the hidden question shining in his facial expression. He was a bit too happy to answer.

“That, you little blue louse, is a gift from the bakery!”

“The bakery?” Snap couldn’t stifle a chuckle. “You were a cook? I never knew that!”

He would have continued, but he held his tongue when he saw Skrawl growling at him. Snap gave a nervous smile and gulped. He really needed to learn how to keep his lips zipped up.

“I was...until I nearly died choking on the batter!” Skrawl’s eyes flickered at this. “Have you ever fallen into a giant batter mix, and struggled to get out but you couldn’t and then you started to breathe it in? Do you know what it feels like to have batter in your lungs?!”

Snap could only shudder at this. He didn’t attempt to answer, but a look of horror stretched across his face. Oh if Skrawl only knew...

He flashed back to when they had to deal with Robot Rudy. Snap remembered clearly how Robot Rudy had chased him and Penny into the bakery. He had gotten Penny out of the way when the robot struck, but he ended up getting taken in the process. The robot tossed him into better, and he became quickly submersed in it.

He remembered the struggling. He remembered the spinning. He remembered trying to breathe.

He could never forget it.

“I see you don’t understand.” Skrawl hissed. Snap shot him a glare and opened his mouth to speak. Skrawl simply shook him once and said, “I should have known. No one would ever understand what I went through! That day changed me forever! How well would you function if thirty percent of your brain was gone?!”

Snap froze at this. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. Did Skrawl just say that he lost thirty percent of his brain mass? He wasn’t entirely sure what this meant, but he knew losing any part of the brain was devastating.

But the thing that startled him the most about this was... He just made an unsettling revelation about Skrawl.

He head learned that he was brain damaged.

Those last two words rang through his head multiple times. The zoner wondered if this was all a dream, that he was just hallucinating somehow. But the longer this went on, the longer he stared at Skrawl, the more he realized that this couldn’t have been any sort of dream or nightmare. He had be awak.e This had to be reality. He really had learned something new about Skrawl. He let it all sink in.

Suddenly, some of Skrawl’s behaviors were starting to make a little sense. Skrawl’s personality was different compared to the average zoner. He had always thought that this was due to him having many creators. And while that may have played in a factor, if he was brain damaged.... He remembered learning from Penny how that could be very devastating. Just from that detail alone, millions of questions hung over the blue zoner’s mind. He knew Skrawl wouldn’t be able to answer them all, even if he did manage to ask them.

Skrawl narrowed his eyes further as he glared at Snap. It felt almost as though the jellybean was trying to see straight into his soul. This made Snap feel uncomfortable and he would have moved back if his feet touched the ground. “Don’t you ever try to tell me I never tried to fit it! I tried my damnest to please you all! I tried to find a purpose in life! I had even found a friend! ...well...so I thought...” His voice grew darker. “You know, Snap...do you think you’re so lucky to have so many friends? Do you know what it’s like to be betrayed? How would you handle it if everyone turned against you?”

Snap gasped at this. A shot of anger moved through him. “They wouldn’t do that to me!” Snap clutched his hand into a fist. How...how dare Skrawl even think of indicating something like that. “They love me and I love them! Nothing would tear us apart!”

Skrawl gave a bitter laughter at this. “Oh you really think so, do you? Well then, you little sapphire bug you... maybe you could answer this question...”

Snap glared at the jellybean. He wasn’t sure what Skrawl was planning, but he had to keep his guard up. If Skrawl planned on turning him against his friends... He couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Scarlett used to be a good friend of mine. We did everything together.” Skrawl paused for a moment. “Okay, not everything. Still... we had so much fun together. She had been there for me when I was trying to fit in. She did what she could to help.”

Suddenly his grip on the zoner tightened. Snap’s eyes bulged and he opened his mouth to try to breathe. His legs started to kick in the air.

“But...but then I make one stupid mistake and she throws all that away! I apologized to her, and I thought she had forgiven me...but then she tried to kill me! She made my injury worse! She deliberately targeted my head injury!”

Through the choking, Snap opened up one eye and he could see Skrawl had started to cry again. His body was shaking worse this time, to the point where Snap was shocked that he could still stand up at all.

“It wasn’t fair!” Skrawl shouted. “If she wanted to hate me forever, then she should have done that instead of lying and deceiving me, tricking me into thinking everything is okey dokey, and then try to off me when I wasn’t looking, like some...some despicable coward!”

Skrawl glared down at Snap, rage covering his face, his teeth bared. Snap couldn’t even let out a whimper as Skrawl tightened his grip even more, as if he was really trying to kill him. This realization made his eyes widen in fear, and he struggled to get himself free. He attempted to plead with Skrawl, but all that would come out were gagged noises.

“So, Snap... If friends really do mean that much, then how come my friend tried to kill me?! How do I know that all friends aren’t like that?! How do you know if one of your friends aren’t plotting against you right now?!” Skrawl shook Snap violently, ignoring Snap’s choking. “Friends are worthless! Friends are nothing but a bunch of backstapping liars! Friends always have an ulterior motive! They are always hiding something!”

Snap’s mind raced as his lungs started to burn from a lack of oxygen. His raspy voice intermingled with Skrawl’s growly statements. He could sense darkness starting to come in all around him as his body was beginning to break down from the lack of proper air. He tried to kick at the jellybean, but it didn’t work.

Skrawl raised him up a little higher, looking at him up and down. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth contorted in utter contempt for him. “This is all Master Tabootie’s fault... If that stupid chalkboy hadn’t allowed me to be erased in the first place, none of this would have happened! He should have been more diligent and actually done his job as a creator! But he is a complete and utter failure!” He paused for a moment, growling and seething heavily. Then his facial expression softened up suddenly, a bitter smile spreading across his face. “But if you care about Rudy Tabootie so much... If you really do value your friends...”

Snap quickly became aware of air rushing past him as Skrawl threw him into the ground. He let out a scream as he collided into the dirt and grass. He gave a few coughs as he began to push himself up to his feet. “Why...”

Skrawl didn’t allow him to finish. “Well go on then! Go crawling back to them like the puppy dog you are!” He pointed a sharp tumb against himself. “But...don’t come crawling back to me when you find yourself thrown in a dumpster like yesterday’s tissue papers! Because I warned you, Snap!” Skrawl glared at Snap intensely, his mouth curved into a dark grin. “I warned you...”

Snap brushed himself off as he got back to his feet. He had finally caught his breath while Skrawl was yapping away. He turned to face him, glaring softly at the jellybean. His mind raced with several thoughts as he processed what Skrawl had told him. A part of him could feel for Skrawl, as he did sound really frustrated and angry at what had happened to him. He could sympathize with that.

What he could not sympathize with was his attitude. Skrawl had let one incident control his life and the way he acted from that point on. He was using it as an excuse to hide away from his problems and never seek help. He tried to pin the blame on Rudy, who hadn’t meant for this to happen at all, instead of trying to analyze the actions he himself had done wrong. Besides, Rudy had helped him in the past. It was Skrawl himself who had decided to reject Rudy’s help and still try to kill them all. If he had just accepted Rudy’s help, he would have been fine.

But then...could he completely blame him?

Skrawl’s early life sounded as if it had been hell. Snap wondered how well he’d have functioned if people had constantly treated him like monster, and if the one friend he ever had betrayed him. Just how messed up would he be?

Although it was against his intuition, he realized that if he was ever going to understand more of where Skrawl came from, perhaps he should talk to him. If he got a better understanding of him, perhaps he could figure out something that could help him. Yeah, he must be dreaming; Skrawl would never change.

But if the reason he didn’t change was because he never had a real friend who actually cared about him.. The little zoner just had to wonder how much a difference one person could make.

He doubted Skrawl would ever agree to it. But why not? At least he could admit that he was the bigger zoner by offering him a chance. Whether or not it goes anywhere depended on Skrawl himself.

“So...you think I don’t understand?” Snap asked softly.

Skrawl looked infuriated that he would even ask that question. “What do you think, you little termite?!” He twitched as he raised his hands into the air. “Did you have a daydream while I was explaining it all to you?!” He pointed a finger at him. “Suits you well! You realy are just like the others, ignoring anything that I say! You will never understand what my life has been like!”

Snap stared at him for a few moments. Then he took a few steps towards Skrawl. “Then...why don’t you help me understand?”

The Beanie Boys looked at each other in confusion while Skrawl dropped his mouth open, flabbergausted. “Wh-What...?” He asked, his hands handing loosely at his sides.

“I mean it.” Snap said, moving a little closer. Each step was taken with great caution. He knew that one wrong move would be all that it’d take for him to end up paying some sort of price. “I want to know more about you.”

Skrawl blinked a few times at him. Then he bared his teeth and growled, “That is none of your business! You have no right to know anything about my past!” He shook a fist in the air. “You hear me?! Keep your nose out of my...”

“Then why were you so open before?”

Skrawl stopped his ranting and stared at Snap in confusion. He glared softly. “What are you talking about?”

“Well you’re telling me I don’t have the right to know...” Snap held up his hand in gesture. “And yet you still told me quite a bit of your backstory there. Is this because you had always wanted to tell someone? Did you always want to vent out your frustrations?” He put his hands together and gave the best friendly smile he could to Skrawl. Such a feat wasn’t easy, considering what Skrawl had done in the past. “If that’s what you want, I could lend an ear.”

Skrawl looked genuinely shocked by this. It was as if no one, aside from maybe Scarlett, had ever bothered to ask the jellybean how he had felt. Having someone reach out to him like this must seem so foreign to him. Snap could see the confusion in Skrawl’s eyes as he struggled to find an answer. Snap kept on smiling, hoping that he could get Skrawl to settle down and speak to him instead of trying to wring his neck.

At first, Skrawl didn’t try to answer. He just stared at Snap as if he had just told him how to create magic chalk out of thin air. Snap kept quiet, giving Skrawl all the time in the world he needed to reply. They had time. He didn’t need to be anywhere soon. He knew that, sooner or later, Skrawl would give some kind of answer.

And he did.

Skrawl’s signature snarl reappeared, making Snap tense up. He kept his feet firmly planted despite how Skrawl was storming up towards him. The shadow of the green zoner casted over him, blotting out the sunlight. Skrawl was so close, Snap could see some rather uncomfortable details regarding his teeth.

“How do I know you aren’t going to use the information against me? How do I know that you don’t plan on yanking the rug out from underneath me?” He pressed a claw against Snap. “How do I know that you aren’t trying to pull a fast one on me? How do I know you won’t end up being like...her...?”

Snap wasn’t sure exactly what to say to that. He knew there was very little he could say that would convince Skrawl of any good intention. He couldn’t really blame him. It wasn’t just because of his sad backstory either; they had been enemies for a while now, and for him to suddenly lend a helping hand like this, it would seem like anyone to be a trap.

But he couldn’t just stay silent. That would only further convince the jellybean that he had something planned behind his back. So he forced himself to try.

“I know it’s hard to believe. I would be skeptical too if I were you. But I give you my word that I won’t misuse the information. I just want to better understand you. That’s all.” Snap smiled again, despite the increased snarl that Skrawl was giving him. “I mean...it’s not good to keep things pent up inside. All I’m asking is for you to explain to me how you feel. It seemed like you and Scarlett had been...”

Suddenly Skrawl struck Snap with his hand. The zoner let out a cry of pain as he was flung backwards. The small zoner rolled across the ground painfully before he coughed and slowly staggered onto his feet.

“Don’t you dare mention her! I want nothing more to do with her! We’re through! She can never bother me again!”

Snap glared at the jellybean, but he couldn’t help but be confused. “What makes you think she...won’t try to...”

“Does it really matter, blue boy?” Skrawl hissed. “The point is, she will not be able to hurt me again.” He took a few menacing steps towards Snap. He grabbed him by his cape and hoisted him up. “I’ll be damned if I let you get that chance.”

“B-But I...”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear another word!” Skrawl pulled his arm back and threw Snap as hard as he could across the air. “And stay away from my property!”

Snap crashed into the ground and tumbled doing a couple of flips as he eventually skidded to a stop. He let out a groan and rubbed his head, shaking it. He shot a glare at Skrawl, unable to believe this attude of his. In that moment, all of the sympathy he felt for the jellybean faded away as anger took over. He had offered a helping hand Skrawl dared to swat it away.

Skrawl just glared back at him, his fingers arched as if he was going to attack. Snap narrowed his eyes further. How typical. He was acting just how he would expect him to. And that was truly sad. Skrawl didn’t even try. He just immediately shot him down.

Unable to hold in his anger for long, Snap decided to tell Skrawl exactly what he thought of him.

“Fine! Be like that! Go and sulk in your hideout for all I care! That’s what you always do, am I right? Whine and mope about how no one will accept you, and yet you do not lift a finger to change anyone’s minds! Rudy tried to help you! I offered to help you! And you blow our hands back! Do you think that people are just going to suddenly one day change their treatment of you and accept you with open arms while you lay around and do none of the work?! You’re a pathetic grumpy pants, Skrawl, and you will never change!”

Snap panted a few times at the end of that verbal beatdown. A conflict of emotions surged through his body, their combined might making him tremble.

On the one hand, he did feel relieved to finally get that out of his system. It would have torn him apart if he didn’t unleash it. Pent up anger was never good, and it would have only gotten worse if he didn’t get it out before it could begin eating him alive.

But he also started to feel horrified. Realization began to claw its way into his head. Though he maintained a glare, he knew that there would be ramifications for what he had said. Not many were willing to tell Skrawl anything like this for fear of what he might do. And here, he was alone, no backup, and he still delivered one biting remark to Skrawl. He prepared to run.

Skrawl stared at him, absolutely shocked by his words. That shock didn’t last long. Just as Snap expected, the larger zoner was infuriated. No...enraged. He could practically see steam coming out of Skrawl’s ears, and Snap found himself backing away, despite still frowning, as Skrawl took a few stomping steps towards him.

He soon paused, stopping himself. Skrawl rubbed his head, seething heavily as if he were trying to calm himself down. He then turned to Snap, his eyes remaining narrowed. This lasted for several moments before Skrawl gave any kind of reply.

“You know Snap...you’re right.”

Snap widened his eyes in confusion at this.

“It is true. I do push people away. I do not try to change who I am. But you want to know why that is?” Skrawl placed a hand against himself. “It’s because I accept who I am. I made peace with my decisions long ago. You have no right to try to change me. Especially since you’re not such a ray of sunshine yourself.”

Snap growled at this. “What did you say?”

“You heard me!” Skrawl waved a dismissive hand at him. “You get on my case for expecting everyone to change, but you try the same thing on me! You trespassed on my home, recording my secrets just so you can entertain a bunch of people! Oh and let me guess, I’m not the only one you did this to, right? How many others have you recorded against their will, Snap? How much privacy have you violated just to get a good rating?”

Snap took a step back, his eyes wide. “I-I... Well I...”

Skrawl snarled. “You act like you’re everybody’s friend! You act like you care about everyone that you meet! But then you go behind their backs and record them without permission! You want to know why I’m evil, Snap?” He took a step forward. “It’s because good is often more hurtful than evil! Good can hide the most sinister of plans, while evil is more out in the open and direct! I am honest with what I say and everyone knows what to expect from me! But with you...”

Skrawl got close enough to Snap to grab him by the front of his shirt. He lifted up the squirming zoner with ease. He put his face close to him, his mismatched eyes filled with anger. Snap found it difficult to look at them.

“You are willing to go behind your friends’ backs just to get a juicy story!” Skrawl shouted.

“That’s not true! I...” Snap tried to say.

“Oh it’s not?” Skrawl laughed bitterly. “Then why do you use Spy Fly?” Snap froze at this. Skrawl tilted his head to one side. “I think the implications there are rather obvious.”

Snap tried to think of a retort, an explanation. But nothing would come. He could only stare at Skrawl in shock, his mind trying to process what was going on. He had never imagined that this situation would turn out this way.

“You can call me what you want. I don’t care.” Skrawl said in a low, growly voice. “But at least I am not dishonest openly.”

Snap narrowed his eyes. “You lied about letting us go when Rudy gave you a new look.”

At this, Skrawl shook his head. “No. I was telling the truth. I was going to have my Beanie Boys release you. Into the water.” He smirked at Snap. “Master Tabootie should have been more specific.”

Snap opened his mouth to reply, but he wasn’t able to get a word out in time before he was released. He let out a cry of surprise as he hit the ground painfully. He groaned as he sat himself up. He rubbed his shoulder, wincing. He wondered if it was going to bruise. He glared up at Skrawl.

Skrawl had his hand against his side, staring down at Snap as if to scrutinize him. Then he said, “I already told you what I think of friends. But I know what you think of them. Based on what you told me, I think you need to reevaluate how you treat them. Do you really think that you are so above it all, that you can go around spying on people like that? Is that how you feel friends would be treated? I would have thought you were better than that, Snap.”

The blue and white zoner was stunned at these words. He tried to reply, but he couldn’t get a word out edge wise. He couldn’t think of any kind of reply to that. Burning frustration seeped in, and he found himself forming a fist with his hand, a couple tears starting to form.

Skrawl didn’t bother to stay there long enough to see if he had any kind of retort in mind. He simply turned around and began to walk away. Snap watched him start to leave, his mind racing, his heart pounding. He gritted his teeth, seething in and out of it quickly. Skrawl’s words buzzed around his head like an angry swarm.

How dare Skrawl say those things.. How dare he try to tell him what he’s doing wrong when Skrawl did so much worse... How dare he try to judge him... What right did he have? Did Skrawl really think that he’s had it the worst? Did he not stop to consider that some other zoners might have had even more horrible lives?

For a moment, he did feel a pang of guilt in his stomach when he thought of what Skrawl said about his spying. But this was quickly pushed into the back of his mind as anger clouded his logical side. The very idea of Skrawl, of all zoners, to tell him off like that... It didn’t sit well with his stomach.

Just who did Skrawl think he was, anyway? The zoner who tried to kill so many others, and yet he dare try to place judgment upon him? Just how hypocritical could he get?

Snap was tempted to explode at the jellybean. He was tempted to find the harshest thing to say and really let him have it. He was prepared for another verbal beatdown. But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was too mentally exhausted, and right now, all he wanted to do was rest. So instead, he simply spoke softly to Skrawl a simple statement that spoke volumes about how he had felt.

“At least I strive to improve myself.”

Skrawl stopped at this. He looked as if he was going to turn around and say something. Instead, he just let out a frustrated growl and moved in, motioning for his Beanie Boys to come with him.

Snap watched as he went, keeping his narrowed eyes on him. It didn’t take long before Skrawl disappeared into the distance, leaving him alone.

Snap closed his eyes and let out a sigh. What a day... He never expected it would have ended up like this. How could anyone have predicted this? He sure wouldn’t have. He could not believe the things that Skrawl had said, both at him and about himself. Those words continued to plague him, making his head hurt.

He wiped his head and turned his head towards where his home was. He did need to get cleaned up. He was a tad dirty from being tossed around so much. He would feel better after a nice, hot shower or something. He needed to just relax and try to forget what Skrawl told him. Snap knew what he was like and he knew he would never betray his friends’ trust. And that was all that mattered.

He did still feel some sympathy for Skrawl despite what he had said. Skrawl having a horrible accident and then being betrayed by his only friend must have really messed with his head. It was little wonder he had such a skewed view of life. Despite his anger, a part of Snap did hope that, one day, Skrawl could change and try to find himself a new purpose in life.

But the odds of that were slim. He doubted Skrawl had any interest to change himself. He had made it perfectly clear exactly what he thought and Snap knew that, in the end, there was nothing he could do or say to change the zoner’s mind. Whatever happened with Skrawl later in life, that would be up to the jellybean himself.

Well that was enough standing around. He should really be heading back home now. It was almost time to make lunch anyway. He could always wait until Rudy and Penny get into ChalkZone and talk to them about the situation with Skrawl, instead of trying to figure it out all on his own.

Casting one more glance at where Skrawl was walking, Snap began to walk home.