Fall In Line

Chapter 31: Claws And Wits




No one was able to stop Kairos in time. His body slammed against the frozen, terrified centipede. The force of the impact sent Barney sprawling across the ground. Kairos landed on the ground and sneered at him for a few seconds. He did not give Barney any time to get up before he dashed forward swiftly.

Barney let out a scream as Kairos grabbed him by the face with his left foot. The talons pressed against his head. He twisted the head to one side, making the insect whimper in pain. He then thrust his face against the ground, making the zoner cough up dirt. He pulled his foot back and slammed it against Barney’s side.

And he was able to do all of that before the others had been able to help. He turned his head to see that they were only now getting close to him. This had been because Kairos moved too quickly. Everything happened so fast, they had no time to counter. And now here he stood in front of them, only a few feet away from Barney. He raised his wings up, allowing the blades to glint in the light.

Penny froze at the sight of them. She watched as King Mumbo Jumbo attempted his move against the foul bird. Rudy was moving in as well. She wanted to help, but at the moment, she was holding onto Snap and giving him support. Even if Snap didn’t need help, and wasn’t in so much pain, she wasn’t sure if she could just dash out there.

This wasn’t the same as fighting Cychreides. He was certainly dangerous, yes. But with him, they had something of a size advantage. They had a comparatively easier time dodging the dragon’s attacks.

Kairos on the other hand... He had more speed and more agility. And he was closer to their size than the dragon. This meant that, to him, they were larger targets. They would have to be a lot more careful with avoiding being attacked by him. Especially since he was likely a lot more intelligent than the dragon.

This intelligence was being shown quite perfectly as Kairos managed to side step King Mumbo Jumbo as the tortoise tried to punch him. He immediately struck him in the leg, causing him to buckle. Kairos struck him in the back with his metal feathers. This did little more than dent the shell, but the impact forced the tortoise onto his stomach.

Rudy attempted to kick the bird zoner out of desperation, an act he normally wouldn’t do otherwise. Kairos would around and looped his wing around him. Penny watched in shock as Kairos pulled a startled Rudy close to him. She didn’t like the way he was looking at her friend, especially with how his eyes lowered and his grin spread further. At least this didn’t last very long and the bird zoner immediately thrust Rudy to the side. Rudy did not give up and he charged again.

Kairos kept jumping out of the way. He would either simply jump or he would take to the air, but remain low to the ground. Rudy swung his fist at him, but the bird simply dodged it easily. Kairos wasn’t even trying to get away too fast; he was toying with Rudy, allowing him to try to punch and strike him, all the while keeping one step ahead of him. For a while, he didn’t even try to strike back himself.

Only after about a minute of him taunting Rudy by moving gracefully out of his way did Kairos hit him. He struck out with his foot and ‘backfooted’ Rudy with it, knocking him into the ground.

“Rudy!” Penny cried.

Snap began to struggle against her grasp. “We have to help him!”

“Snap, we can’t just rush in there! He might...” Penny bit her lip, not wanting to think of what could happen. She looked down at Snap. “And you’re still hurt! If you rush in there...”

Snap shot her a glare. “We either act now, or we might lose Rudy!”

Penny’s eyes widened at this. She wanted to answer, but Snap gave her no time. The zoner managed to jerk free from her. She attempted to grab Snap, but she was not fast enoug. In a matter of seconds, he was rushing towards Kairos.

Penny felt her heart skip a beat as she watched him go. She could detect a slight wobble in his gait, indicating the pain he was feeling. Snap’s expression showed he was still clearly afraid, but he wanted to face his fears to help Rudy. Penny had to admire that of Snap. It was never easy facing someone who hurt you so badly. A part of her wanted to join him and help.

But...no, she had to stay put. She had to watch Kairos first and note his attack pattern and what he does. She had to figure out a weakness they could exploit. If they all rushed in, then they would all get hurt, and soon they would not be able to fight the dragon.

The thought of the dragon make her blood run cold. When was that beast supposed to return? She looked left and right, seeing no sign of it. She wasn’t sure if King Zander was going to bring the dragon in while they were fighting Kairos, or if he was just going to allow Kairos to have his fun for a while and then bring in Cychreides when they were weak and tired from the fight.

But regardless of when the dragon was going to show up, right now, they had the issue of Kairos. For now, he was just playing with them. Other than tossing Barney around like a ragdoll, he did not make any serious attempts to hurt any of them. It was as if he was so confident he was going to win, he didn’t really take into account the possibility that he might have the situation turned against him.

Hmm...perhaps they could use that to their advantage. If they could catch this zoner off guard, just once, they might be able to stun him to the point where he can’t even fight back. He’d be too startled counter quickly enough, leaving him open for another attack. Maybe they might be able to subdue him.

Penny began to move around. She kept her distance, her eyes glued on Kairos. She could hear the cheering all around her. She hoped that none of the audience members got wise to what she was about to do and warned him. Otherwise, that could put this whole thing in jeopardy. Her making this move counted on the element of surprise.

As long as she made it quick, she may be able to succeed before anyone had a chance to warn Kairos, or before Kairos had any time to see that she was coming.

She watched in horror as Kairos struck against Snap, knocking him into the ground. The zoner let out a loud cry of pain while Kairos laughed at him. Penny gritted her teeth at this cruel treatment of her friend. She picked up the pace, moving in closer. She watched the bird intently, noting his moves, the way he struck, and she mentally recorded it in her head. She soon began to notice a pattern.

Every time Kairos was about to attack, he seemed to give slight pause, as if hesitating. She doubted that he would hesitate, and she began to think there was another reason. Perhaps his metal wings were a little heavy? And slowing him down to some degree?

Her eyes glinted. Yes, that was it. That was his weakness. If she could move in and time her attack just right, he wouldn’t be able to attack her. She just needed to keep quiet and move in closer. She hoped the others would be able to hold out long enough.

sss

Snap hissed in pain as he lutched his side. The stupid bird had managed to strike him before he had a chance to react. Now he laid on the ground, feeling just as helpless as Rudy.

He turned to look at his fallen friend. Before he had been able to arrive, Kairos had struck him again. He hit him in his broken arm, creating long gashes and tearing the makeshifit cast up. It was still on and able to support the arm, but now there were deep, bloody cuts. Rudy was curled up on the ground, whimpering in pain from it. Snap wanted to help, but he was unable to get up. He, too, had been incapacitated.

His side was burning in agony. He couldn’t even press his hand against the wound without crying out in pain. He gave involuntary shivers as he tried to cope with it. He looked up and glared at Kairos. Despite his attempts to look brave, some of his fear for the zoner seeped through, and Kairos took immediate note of that.

“What seems to be the trouble? Can’t handle a little pain?” Kairos smirked. He circled around Snap and Rudy quickly. It was almost amazing how fast he was on his toes. He folded his wings behind him like they were hands. He eyed them with a furrowed, almost curious expression. “Is feeling pain really that bad...?”

Snap stared at the zoner in shock. He tried his best not to gasp. Despite his efforts, some of it still came out. He was not able to tear his eyes away from the zoner. He kept staring at him, wondering if he had heard right.

Was Kairos joking? Why would he say something so stupid? None of the other villains they faced had ever asked such a dumb question. Why would Kairos even begin to think that... What was wrong with this guy? Was he really more messed up in the head than they ever could have imagined?

The fact that he asked such a question seemed to contradict what he had said before. Didn’t Kairos tell them that pain was the ultimate suffering? That he wanted them to wish that they were only merely trapped? Then why in the word would he ask such a stupid question? It seemed to go against what he had stated before. Unless...was there something about Kairos that they didn’t know about?

Snap looked over at Rudy. The boy likely did not hear the zoner’s words. He was still clutching his broken arm, trying to ride out the pain. Snap bit his lip at this. Poor boy’s mind must be filled to the brim with pain.

He turned to glare at Kairos. “Why the fuck would pain be good?!” He found himself snapping at him. He flinched when he saw Kairos’s eyes narrowed, but what happened next was completely unexpected.

Kairos pulled his head back and started to laugh. Not from malice or anger. But a genuine, almost light-hearted laugh. Considering what he had done to them before, this behavior was out of the blue. Kairos looked down at him, giving him something similar to a gentle smile. Yet Snap could still tell there was something off about it.

“Oh you don’t really know, do you? Well I never bothered to tell you... So I suppose I cannot blame you.” Kairos paced around in front of him for a few moments. He titled his head down, cocking it to one side. It almost reminded Snap of an owl. “After all, how could you know that I am unable to feel pain?”

Snap’s eyes widened in shock at this. “You...what...?”

Kairos’s smile became distorted. “Oh looks like the cat’s out of the bag now.” He raised his head up, turning it to one side so that he could stare at Snap with one orange eye. “But yes, you heard me right, little boy... I cannot feel physical pain.” He stretched his wings out. “Go on and strike me with your best, sharpest sword, and you will never get a scream out of me!”

Snap stared at the zoner in shock, letting this information sink in. Kairos was..unable to feel pain..? He could have a machete take off a wing and he would not feel any pain from that...? Snap felt his breathing increase rapidly. Suddenly, Kairos’s behavior was starting to make sense.

His fascination with pain, how he regards pain was the worst thing, why he had tortured Barney... It was all out of this zoner’s misguided attempt to understand pain. It was not possible for him to fully understand it. He would know that it is uncomfortable and most hate it. But he would not understand how it feels. As a result, this meant that he was even more calloused to his victims than he thought. It was one thing to understand pain and inflict it on others, but it was another to never know what pain feels like and yet still inflicting it on others for the main purpose of self satisfication and experimentation and self education. Kairos was using victims to understand pain, and he never could, so he kept on hurting...

Snap tried to hold his anger back. He tried not to snap at the zoner again. Slowly, ignoring the pain he was in, he crawled up to his feet. He gritted his teeth as he glared at the heartless zoenr. Kairos simply smiled back at him, acting as if he had said or done nothing all that horrible. Snap formed a fist with his hand, shaking it.

“Was...was that why you hurt Barney...?” Snap growled through his teeth. “You just wanted to...experiment to understand....?”

Kairos blinked at this. He looked a little surprised, as if he did not expect him to be able to put all the pieces together that fast. The smile soon returned and he gave a look that showed that he was impressed. Snap wasn’t sure how to take this.

“I see you learn well. I’m surprised. I didn’t think you could realize it that fast.” Kairos placed some of his metal feathers underneath his chin. He leaned in, giving Snap a creepy looking smile. “Would you like a...reward...?”

Snap’s eyes widened at this. He brought his fists up, preparing to fight. His panicking mind was not able to figure out how he was going to stop him if he couldn’t feel pain. Yet, he was still getting ready to defend himself as the bird zoner raised up one of his wings, spreading out his metal, glinting feathers.

Suddenly, something struck against the bird zoner. Kairos let out a grunt of surprise as he was pushed forward. He regained his footing and glared at who had grabbed onto him. “You...?!”

Snap was stunned to see Barney going up against the bird zoner. He had never expected that the centipede would go after Kairos, especially after what the zoner had done to him. He would have thought that Barney would have stayed away, perhaps help his friend up or something. He never would have thought that Barney would swallow his fear and lunge at his torture like this.

Yet here he was, holding onto the bird zoner tightly. His long, segmented body wrapped around Kairos tightly. His wings were partially pinned, only being able to move a small portion. Kairos jerked himself from side to side as he tried to get the centipede off of him. Barney was not relenting, no matter what threats he tossed at the orange zoner. Soon, Barney opened his mouth and bit down.

Kairos, however, did not even flinch. There was a momentary shocked expression, but even as blood started to seep out of his shoulder, Kairos continued to look as if he wasn’t even pricked. He glared down at Barney, whose eyes slowly widened in confusion.

“Get off of me, you stupid bug!” Kairos raised his foot up and kicked backwards. The claws raked against Barney’s side. The centipede let out a scream and his grip on the bird loosened. Kairos took this chance to toss Barney off. He glared down at him and said, “You...need to pick your battles more wisely...”

Barney scrambled to his feet. His body trembled. “How... How is it that you...?”

Kairos gritted his bronze beak. “I cannot feel physical pain...” He raised his wings up as he stared intently at Barney. “But I know you can...” His smile grew dark as he let out a low chuckle. “Maybe you need something else torn off. How about one of your legs..?”

“No..please..” Barney waved his hand out in front of him in desperation. “I...”

But Kairos did not listen. He immediately took charge, racing towards him with an insane grin on his face. Barney scrambled to get back, but it was clear that he was not going to be able to dodge this attack.

Not unless someone intervened.

Kairos was so focused on going after Barney, he did not notice that King Mumbo Jumbo had gotten back up. He didn’t notice that the king was ignoring his own pain and charging towards him, choosing a strategic point to cut him off.

Snap watched this intently. His eyes bulged as the tortoise rammed against Kairos, knocking him into the ground. He watched as King Mumbo Jumbo let out a howl of pain as his leg was bent, damaging it further. Snap couldn’t stifle his gasp of horror as Kairos struck him with the back of his foot, forcing the old tortoise on his back. Kairos then pinned him down, putting his full weight on him, his claws pressing against the shell firmly.

King Mumbo Jumbo immediately retracted his head and limbs, pulling them in the safety of his shell. Kairos let out a squawk of surprise at this and he began to furiously peck at the shell’s openings.

“Going to hide from me?! Is this how the king of the jungle reacts to threats?! What a joke! You’re just a joke!” Kairos wailed at him as he desperately tried to claw him out. He pecked at the openings, occassionally grabbing the edge of one of the openings in his beak, as if he thought that he could break off a piece. “Surface dwellers must be stupider than I thought if they allowed a weak coward like yourself take over!”

Snap was about to rush over towards King Mumbo Jumbo to help him when he heard a groan behind him. He rushed over and looped his arm around Rudy’s unbroken arm and helped him up.

“What happened...?”

“Take it easy, Bucko.” Snap told him softly. “Don’t move too quickly. You’re injured.”

Rudy looked at Snap with an exhausted, pain-tinged expression. He let out a moan and then turned his head to look around. Upon seeing King Mumbo Jumbo’s predicament, he started to move himself forward. “We...have to help him...!”

Snap pulled him back. “I’ll do it! You stay here!”

Rudy stared at him with a confused expression. “You’re injured, too.”

“I’m...fine...” Snap flinched as he felt a rush of pain go through him. “Now stay here and...”

A loud scream behind them caught their attention. They looked over and gasped in shock and horror as they saw that Kairos had managed to grab onto one of the tortoise’s arms. He had yanked it out, keeping it firmly pressed in his sharp, metallic beak. The tortoise was struggling to get free, pushing against Kairos’s head, clawing at him. But the lack of pain sensation caused the tortoise’s moves to go roughly unnoticed by Kairos, who began to drag him back.

Barney, who had gotten up from his attack, had begun to run over towards him. He did not get far when Kairos took notice of him. With a dark smile, he lifted the tortoise into the air and tossed him towards Barney, causing a rip to appear along his arm. The tortoise screamed as he crashed into his friend. The two rolled across the ground and landed in a heap on the floor.

Kairos stared at them for a few seconds. Then, looking bored of toying with them, he turned to face Snap and Rudy. The cheers of the zoners all around them continued, seeming to compliment Kairos’s present expression.

“Hmph.. I would have thought you lot would have put up a better fight. I suppose I asked too much..” Kairos began to walk towards the two boys. “Oh well, maybe you just need more of a...motivation?” He flexed his metal claws in front of him. “Like say... Maybe if I threaten to cut off one of your legs slowly...would you fight better then...?”

Rudy and Snap glared at him, but they could not hide their expressions of fear. They involuntarily took a step back. Snap flinched as he felt the pain in his side increase. He wasn’t sure how well he was going to be able to fight with this wound. Yet he was still compelled, still driven, to at least try.

He tried to ignore the disgusting cheers all around him. He tried to ignore the fact that these zoners actually think this is a form of entertainment. He focused his eyes on Kairos. He scanned around him as he tried to figure out an opening, some way he could knock him off his feet and give them more time to prepare.

But with most of them injured in some way, how were they going to be able to dodge this guy for long? Kairos was clearly holding back, and who is to say he’ll do that for long? Unless they figured out something soon, they were toast.

It was then that Snap took notice of a shape moving behind Kairos. He leaned his head to one side, staring intently. Was...was that Penny...?

To his horror and guilt, Kairos realized what he was doing. He immediately turned his head and saw Penny. The girl froze in her tracks, her eyes bulging. She stared at Snap, giving him something of an accusatory look, before looking back at Kairos. The bird smiled at her before raising his wing and swatting her to the ground.

“Penny!” Rudy howled in horror. He tried to move forward. Snap had to hang onto him to keep him from getting too close.

“So clever you think you are. But you wouldn’t last for long against me I’m afraid.” Kairos placed his foot on her body. His talons pressed against her soft belly, threatening to pierce it. “You know... It is quite a shame you aren’t a zoner. You don’t get to experience things the way I do. And...I don’t get to experience you...”

Snap felt his heart clench at that statement. He had no idea just what this guy was alluding to, but he did know that it was nothing good. As Kairos reached down and began to trace his very sharp metal wing tip along her cheek, Snap looked left and right, trying to find something that could help.

sss

Penny grabbed onto the bird zoner’s leg and tried to pry him off of her. He was so heavy, despite being a bird. She kept on pushing and pulling, but all she could manage to do was nearly ripping her arm from the socket. She stopped trying, but she did not take her glare off of him. She gritted her teeth.

“Experience me...?” Penny formed a fist with her hand. “How about you experience this!” She attempted to strike out against him. Kairos turned his head to the side, allowing Penny to miss. She clenched her teeth at this.

Kairos chuckled at her vain efforts. “You really don’t know when to quit, do you?” He tilted his head to one side. “Well I do admire that about you. Sometimes the feisty ones are the most fun to break and toy with.”

Penny seethed at this. “Lives are not some kind of game for you!”

“I know that. I am fully aware.” Kairos waved his wing dismissively. “It is not their lives I toy with.” He grinned. “It’s their bodies, and their mind.”

“That’s the same thing!” Penny cried.

“If you say so.” Kairos shook his head, shutting his eyes. “Besides, the only thing I am interested in is pain. Pain is...quite fascinating to me. I do not understand why people hate it so much. Is it not just another form of touch? Like a pressure?” He lowered his head closer to her, his bronze beak soon inches away from her face. “Or is it something special? Maybe you can help me?”

Penny glared nervously at this. She recalled that Kairos had stated that he could not feel physical pain. The thought had sent a chill up her spine and caused her to reevaluate a lot of things the zoner had done and said. It put him in a new perspective, and it wasn’t one that she was liking very much.

She tried not to think about it too much as she focused on the bird zoner before her. So far, he hadn’t tried too much to hurt her. But she knew that would change in a heart beat. She had to think of a way to get out of here and fast.

Her mind raced as she struggled to figure out a way. She did not show it, but she was actually feeling a lot of fear right now, which was preventing her from fighting back affectively, or remembering how she had gotten close to Kairos. She felt some anger towards Snap for giving her away, and yet she knew that he did not mean it. It wasn’t like she could have told him before. She shouldn’t focus on her anger towards him too much; she had to keep all of her focus on Kairos.

The zoners around were still reacting positively to what was happening. She had tried to ignore them before, but now it was getting really hard to do that. Their voices had grown louder and they practically echoed in her mind. She tried to shake it off, but they bounced inside her skull constantly.

Kairos noticed her discomfort. “I see the audience members are enjoying this. How cute...” He raised his head up higher, opening his mouth partially to let his tongue slip out and lick along his metallic beak. “I suppose we’re all the same in some ways...”

“I’m not like you!” Penny shouted at him.

“Oh but you are...” Kairos laughed at her. “You killed the manticore, did you not?”

Penny felt her blood turn to ice at this comment. In the back of her head, she could see images of herself striking the manticore in the neck, and how it fell into the ground right after. Its dead body still infected her mind, and she was not able to look away.

She shook her head. No, she couldn’t allow this insane zoner psyche her out like that. She had to keep her focus. She could not let her emotions control her. She glared at him, baring her teeth. All instinct was telling her to try to bite him, but she knew that it would do no good if he couldn’t feel it.

Kairos raised his wings above him, allowing himself to balance on one leg. Penny grunted as she felt the bird’s full weight being pushed on her. He then raised his other foot into the air. He flexed his toes and talons above her head. Penny looked up, trying her best to hide her fear as the talons were positioned over her head. She could see the sharp tips of the talons very clearly and as Kairos stretched his toes out, poised to strike, Penny shut her eyes and waited for the blow.

Suddenly, Kairos gave a jerk as something struck against him. Penny gasped in shock when she saw it was Snap. The blue zoner had his arms wrapped around Kairos’s neck, holding on tightly.

Kairos remained still, unaffected by what Snap was doing. He merely turned his pupils down and stared at the small blue boy. “Are you really that eager for more? I thought you had enough before.” Kairos flung his head to the side, forcing Snap to crash into the ground. “Of course, you want another round, I don’t mind.”

“Snap! No!” Penny struggled to get up. She struck against the zoner’s leg repeatedly. “Leave him alone!”

Kairos gave her a downwards glance. “Eh..okay. I am flexible.” Kairos pressed his claws against her. Penny yelped as she felt the claws nearly break her skin. “I can always try a bite of your friend later.” At this, his eyes glinted with insanity.

Penny took in a sharp gasp of air at this. She could feel her blood turning to ice at this comment. This zoner...he was...going to eat her friend... This registered in her mind painfully and she could feel her body start to shake. Were there no lengths that this monster wouldn’t go?

She began to struggle against him. She resumed striking him. Yes, it did no good, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t allow him to have a chance at her friend. She did whatever she could to keep his attention on her in case he had changed his mind. The bird zoner did not seem bothered by her efforts, and seemed to, in fact, enjoy them. She tried not to cringe as Kairos raised his foot in the air and prepared to strike her. The foot came down. Penny involuntarily let out a scream.

A loud clang rang through the air. Penny opened her eyes to see that the zoner’s talons were stopped by something long, thin, and metal. Her eyes trailed up the metal thing to see where it originated. She let out a gasp when she saw Rudy standing there.

“R-Rudy...?” Penny whispered.

Kairos looked down, gritting his beak. “You come in at the most annoying time. You could not choose a better one?” He was about to say something else when something clearly caught his eye. “I-Is that...?”

Penny looked at where Kairos was and she saw that it was one of Kairos’s metal feathers. The sight of this shocked Penny. How did this happen? When? She looked from Rudy’s face, to the metal feather, and then to the space on Kairos’s wing. She saw there was a small, bloody hole there now. Penny quickly began to piece the puzzle together.

Rudy had taken advantage of Kairos’s lack of pain sensation. This had allowed him to yank out one of his feathers quickly without Kairos noticing. Snap...he must have been the distraction. Rudy must have done it then, while Kairos was too busy shaking off his friend to notice a small pressure on his wing.

Kairos looked surprised by this turn of events as well. He stared at Rudy, his eyes mostly focusing on the metal feather. His metal feather... Soon, Kairos’s face contorted in anger and some of his feathers started to fluff up. “That was mine! How dare you steal it from me!” He yelled in rage. He released Penny as he struck at Rudy with his left wing. The boy barely managed to dodge. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”

Rudy hissed in pain, his teeth clenched in fear. He nodded his head slowly, holding the metal feather out in front of him protectively. “I... am protecting my...friends...”

“Rudy!” Penny rushed towards Kairos to try to stop him.

The bird zoner did not allow this. He turned himself around and rammed his head against her chest and stomach. She screamed as she was sent flying across the arena. She landed in the ground with a loud thud, a cough, and a wheeze. The dust blinded her for a few moments. When she was able to see again, she looked over and watched what was going on.

Rudy was fighting Kairos... He was holding the bottom part of the metal feather. There was a stem that could be used as a handle. Rudy held it up and used it to block Kairos’s attacks. Again and again, the bird zoner would strike at him, with either his talons or his remaining metal feathers. Each time, it resulted in a clang that echoed across the arena.

Penny took in a few shaky breaths. How long was Rudy going to be able to hold out? She could see that Kairos was trying to attack his broken arm. Rudy was thus far able to defend it. But that wouldn’t last forever.

Suddenly a cold thought went through her mind. Her eyes bulged in realization.

Where was the dragon...?

As soon as she thought this, there was a loud thud. Then another, and another. Everyone stopped, including Rudy. Well almost everything. Kairos took advantage of this distraction and struck him with his wing. Rudy watched in horror was Rudy was slammed against his broken arm.

Kairos cackled as Penny and Snap rushed to their friend’s side. Penny knelt down beside her friend while Snap stood beside her, staring down worriedly at Rudy. Penny grabbed onto him gently and pulled him so that he rested against her lap.

King Mumbo Jumbo and Barney, who had finally recovered from their blows, had moved towards them, the tortoise’s limp looking much worse than before. They stared at the children, and then turned their heads towards the sound of the rumbling. Their faces paled in horror. They knew, they all knew, they were about to get into huge trouble.

With a loud, mechanical roar, Cychreides burst through the door. The crowd cheered louder with his appearance. The beast moved swiftly forward, its claws clanging against the ground with each step, its tail wriggling eagerly behind it.

The group huddled together as the beast moved in even closer, and then arched its body around to almost encircle them with how long its body was. It stared at them intently. Despite its eyes being made of glass and metal, it seemed to portray a sense of recognition in them, as if it remembered what they had done to it. It moved its one leg more cautiously than before. They recognized it as the same one that they had broken before.

Kairos jumped into the air, taking flight. He began to fly circles around the arena, his body tilted sideways. After his third spin around the place, he dove down towards the dragon and landed on top of its head. He took position there, his claws ripping into grooves in the head, likely designed for such a thing. Kairos moved his wing outward, and gave a single cry. The dragon obeyed and began to move forward.

The group, including Rudy who was on his feet now, backed up slowly. Rudy, despite his pain and trembling, raised the metal feather up in front of him. The sight of this must have looked so pathetic to Kairos and Cychreides.

At first, all the pair did was circle them. The metal dragon’s heavy footsteps seemed to fuse well with their pounding hearts, which threatened to jump out of their chests. They kept their eyes on them, not daring to look away, their eyes refusing to leave.

Penny did not like the way Kairos was looking at them. He had a sneer, but it was worse than the others. It seemed to have hidden promises behind it, as if he was threatening to do something worse than ever before. The thought of that chilled her blood, causing goosebumps to raise through her arms. The thought of this zoner doing worse than what he had already done was not something she could fathom. Yet, given his personality, she would not put it past him.

Soon, the dragon stopped, taking position in front of them. Penny and the others arched their backs and tightened the muscles in their legs as they prepared to run. But at first, Cychreides did nothing except stare at them, and Kairos made no attempt to speak to them.

But all of that changed in a heartbeat.

Despite being prepared, the group was still taken off guard as the dragon suddenly swung its tail out. The tail, now armed with a large spear-like hook that must have been added during repairs, struck the ground near where they had originally stood. The sharp tip clumped at the ground, scratching it.

Penny took in several quick breaths as she stared at the others in shock. They had narrowly missed getting hit then, but how long would they be able to keep this up?

Penny got her answer in the worse way possible.

Without warning, the pressure of the dragon’s claws wrapped around her body. She was hoisted high into the air. She let out a scream of surprise and began to struggle, her ams pinned at her sides.

“Penny!” Snap shouted as he started to limp towards the dragon.

“Let our friend go!” Rudy exclaimed, holding up his metal feather as if that would intimidate them enough to let go.

“Hold it!” Kairos immediately took to the air and dashed towards Penny. He hoved next to her. “Do not make an unplanned or hasty move. Otherwise...” He pressed a metal finger against her throat. He was careful not to apply too much pressure, but Penny still flinched as she felt a slight knick in her neck. “I will be forced to take...certain liberties with the girl...”

Penny stiffened in horror at this. Down below, she could see the others were horrified as well, neither daring to move for fear of quickening her death. She couldn’t help but moving her head to stare at Kairos the best she could, her face laced in fear. What were they going to do now?

sss

King Zander watched the spectacle in silence. He had no smile on his face, just a blank expression. He looked like he wasn’t feeling anything. But in truth, there were many thoughts running through his mind at the moment.

He had known that putting Kairos in the arena would have made things more interesting. But he had no idea it would be this big of a turn out. Kairos had spent most of the time fighting alone. King Zander permitted him to be alone in the arena with them for a little while longer as he was curious as to what he could accomplish.

He had performed quite well. In fact...it was a little too good. King Zander couldn’t help but feel a level of disappointment. He had hoped that Rudy and his friends could hold up better. Then again, that was his fault for sending his general, who had fought before. Perhaps he was being a little unfair with that.

Oh well. Things didn’t always turn out the way one wanted, and he was just going to have to live with that. He allowed the dragon to approach and now Kairos had them cornered. With a single step forward, the bird was going to slice their friend’s throat.

King Zander considered allowing this to continue. His citizens loved it, and it would be nice to finally be rid of those little fools. He could move forward his plans to go to the surface, instead of having to keep waiting. He would not go up there until he took care of that captive group. Especially Rudy and Penny. Their status as creators would complicate things too much for his liking.

But he soon gave pause to this. He thought back to how Rudy and Penny had drawn something using the tiny pieces he had Kairos give them. He remembered feeling impressed by what they could accomplish with so much pressure and so little to work with. Perhaps...he could see it again.

He would be prolonging things, yes. But there was nothing in the proposed plan that said he couldn’t do this. There was nothing wrong with a little fun. Besides, Kairos and Cychreides could easily crush them afterwards. And it wasn’t like they could draw too much; his winged guards were armed and would be able to electrocute them when he felt it was time to stop them.

King Zander decided to act now, before his general made any hasty decisions. He raised up his hand, his other gripping the mic.

“Hold up, General Kairos!” At this, Kairos loosened his grip on Penny and turned his attention to the king. “I have an idea...”

Everyone in the arena, minus Cychreides who was keeping an eye on the group, turned and looked up at King Zander. He gave pause for a few moments, letting himself figure out what he was going to do. Soon, after he was able to collect his thoughts, he motioned towards the one-armed boy and began to speak.

“Rudy Tabootie... I have decided that I will...give you a sporting chance...” King Zander watched as the expressions around him became confused and uncertain. Then they turned into utter shock as he raised up a piece of magic chalk. A full piece; not a fragment like before. “Do you...” He leaned his head forward, his ears pricking up. “...want this...?”

Rudy and the others remained silent as they continued to stare in shock. Murmurs occurred all around him. King Zander ignored them as he focused on the group, waiting for an answer.

Chapter 33: Exposure Of Lies



Coming out here seemed like a mistake at first. It was too dangerous, and he knew it. The king was not to be trusted, and he had no idea what would happen to him if he had set foot here.

Yet, he was still compelled to come here. Ever since he had seen Rudy, Penny, Snap, Barney, and someone he didn’t recognize being taken across the land, going in the opposite direction than he had recalled them going, he just had to follow them. It might not be with the wishes of the chief, but...he still had to do this. After all, they helped him; it was time that he returned the favor.

Well he was aware that he did help them out of the jungle, but a part of him felt that perhaps he owed them more. And even if he didn’t, he still would have come here anyway. Hiding and following, careful not to make a sound.

A part of Theron wished he brought along Aris. She would have been great for travel. Or at least one of the hippogriffs. But...no. That would have been too tricky. He had to do this alone. He was more than capable. He had been trained by the chief himself and he knew how to watch his back. He placed his hand against the long spear that was attached through a loop in his belt. If any of King Zander’s guards were to show up, he would give them something to remember him by.

He positioned himself behind one of the buildings. A dangerous spot; he might get noticed. But there was hardly much of a hiding spot around here. He kept himself pressed in the shadowy portion of the wall, keeping himself hidden.

He glared ahead at what he recognized as an arena. A colosseum. He narrowed his eyes. So King Zander decided to make another one of these, eh? He thought that he was finished long ago. What had compelled him to make another? Perhaps it was related to Rudy and the others? King Zander never did like visitors all that much, especially with all the problems they had so long ago, when creators ran amok in this world.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure of Rudy himself at first. He hadn’t seen a creator himself and could only rely on accounts from zoners who did. He wasn’t sure how trustworthy the boy was and he had considered capturing him and his friends on the spot.

But he didn’t want to be like King Zander. He wanted to give them a chance first. A chance to prove themselves. And they passed. Rudy and Penny both could have easily killed Aris’s daughter when they had the chance, or make off with her, or even just take the hippogriffs and flee. But they didn’t. They came back with Althea unharmed and the hippogriffs were all returned. They had earned his trust at that moment.

But King Zander...he was a rather stubborn fool. He seemed to operate under the belief that all creators were dangerous, and lately it spread to all surface dwellers were dangerous, too. He wasn’t sure how far he was going to take it. Was he going to invade the surface? That was farfetched, but still within the realm of possibility.

He shook his head. He couldn’t psychoanalyze the king right now. He had to focus on a way of getting Rudy and the others out of that arena. But...how was he going to do that? He needed to think of a plan.

Something flickered before him, in the corner of his eyes. He turned his head to see what looked like some kind of light zipping around. Small, pale yellow, and hovering. He stared at it in confusion, wondering what it was. He was about to go towards it when he remembered that he was supposed to be hiding. He pulled himself back and just watched as the thing zipped away.

What was that? It almost looked like some kind of...probe. Could Rudy have drawn it? Maybe. But there was no way to really know, unless he asked Rudy himself, which he could not right now. He shook his head and looked around the corner. His eyes narrowed slowly. Now...how was he going to do this...?

“Can I help you?”

Theron nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a feminine voice behind her. He rubbed his head and turned around to see a humanoid zoner standing behind him. She was staring at him in confusion, her head tilted slightly. Theron took a step back, moving his head around to see if there was anyone else with her.

“Who are you?” The woman asked him. “I don’t ever recall seeing you here before.” She turned her head, eyeing the arena for a few seconds. “Did you come to see the fights?”

Theron shook his head. “I..I was just passing through.” He rubbed the back of his head nervously. “My name is Theron.”

“Calista.” The woman eyed him up and down. “Judging from your outfit...you live somewhere away from the civilization, don’t you?”

“I....yes.” Theron wasn’t sure why he said that. Then again, this woman could have found out easily he didn’t live here. If she were obsessed enough, she could search around, ask people about him. And she would eventually figure it out. “It’s my first time coming back here in...such a long time.” He took a moment to look upwards. “Some things have changed. Others have not.” He leveled his head. “The colosseum is new.”

“Yes, it is.” Calista nodded her head. “King Zander thought of it himself.” She looked over at the arena. “She had those two creators build it for him.”

“I see...” Theron gave pause. Then he continued, “Do you know where I can talk to them?” Calista swiftly turned her head and looked at him. “I had never met a creator before. I was wondering if you could help me meet one of them? It would be quite fascinating.”

Calista stared at him for a few seconds. It was hard to tell if she was convinced or not. Her expression was merely a blank. Maybe a slight eye narrow, but not enough to give away exactly what she was thinking. Then she soon gave a sigh and nodded her head once. She motioned with her hand and said, “Come with me.”

Theron watched as the woman began to slowly walk away, towards the entrance of one of the stores. Perhaps it was the one she run. But why would she go in that direction instead of the colosseum? He placed his hand gingerly over the spear. He was going to need to take cautious steps. Slowly, he began to follow her.

She led him into a store that had all kinds of plushies being sold. They were all pretty nice, some better than others. But he did not allow himself to get too distracted by them. He didn’t come here to window shop. He continued to follow the woman as she led him towards the back.

“Why are we going in here?” Theron asked softly.

“I need to get something in here.” Calista said.

Theron wasn’t entirely sure if he believed her or not. But he still followed her; if he left too soon, she might get suspicious. Plus, she might be getting him something that he could use to help the others. He just needed to be cautious and aware of his surroundings, and everything would be fine.

Calista led him further into the back and he noticed it wasn’t too well lit here compared to the rest of the store. There were some lights of course. But many were starting to die and at least one was flickering. But Calista moved through like it was nothing. Perhaps she was used to the dim lighting. Theron found himself following closer behind her just to avoid tripping over anything.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and he had to avert his eyes for a second. He reopened them slowly and he saw that Calista had turned on one of the lights in the room. He couldn’t even remember when they had gone through those doors. He took a moment and looked around.

This seemed like a pretty strange room. Some shelves, but mostly empty. Oh and there was some kind of seat. Strange... Why would Calista need a chair like this in here? It looks more like what he’d see in a doctor’s office.

His eyes slowly widened and he felt his body stiffen up. He had a pretty good idea on what was going to happen. He remained still at first, only taking a few steps forward, his eyes locked onto the chair. But his senses were all over the place. His hearing was scanning the area for any sign of sound.

As soon as he heard the slightest sound from behind him, he immediately pulled out his spear and swung himself around. He held out the spear at each end and pushed upward. This prevented the cinder block from being brought down onto his skull. However the force was still enough to knock him off his feet and he found himself pinned down.

Calista gritted her teeth, one hand gripping his and trying to push down, the other weilding the cinder block. She lifted it up again and tried to move it over his head. Theron kicked his legs harder as he tried to get himself out, but the position he was in, there was no way he could get out of the way in time.

“Why are you...doing this...?” Theron asked, trying to hide his fear.

Calista narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re one of them... You’re a sympathizer. You’re a threat to King Zander!”

Theron pushed against her as hard as he could. But despite her being thinner than he was, she was still able to keep him pinned down. He grunted as she slammed a foot against his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. This caused him to loosen and Calista fell forward. She rested on top of him for a second before pushed herself up, raising the cinder block over his head. Theron’s eyes widened and he tried to get away.

“Do not fret...” Calista mockingly, her mouth ticking into a small, dark smile. “I will make this quick. Once I crack your skull open...” She readied to strike. “You won’t feel a thing...”

Theron gripped her arm and shook his head, his eyes wide in horror. He frantically kicked at her, trying to make her get off. But Calista only laughed at his attempts and raised the cinder block even higher, threatening to bring it down on his face. Unable to get away, Theron’s wide, horror-filled eyes locked onto the cinder block.

“Please! It didn’t have to be this way!” Theron pleaded. He wished he could pull up his spear and defend himself. But in this position, that was impossible. “You have to stop this!”

Calista snarled at him. “And all how you to conspire with those...those creator filth and those surface dweller inferiors...?” She bared her teeth. “I don’t think so...”

Just then, two large hands appeared from behind. One hand grabbed onto Calista’s head while an arm looped around her neck, pressing against her throat.

“What the...?” Calista turned to see who was behind her, but she never had a chance to complete the turn.

With a quick twist and the loud crack of bone, Calista’s head and neck was forced to once side. The resulting force caused her body to twitch, sucking in an involuntary gasp of hair. Then her body was released, the life having faded from her eyes.

The cinder block, no longer held up, began to fall towards Theron. He let out a scream and turned his head away. One of the large hands reached out and grabbed onto it just before it hit him. It was lifted up and then tossed to the side like it was nothing.

For a few moments, Theron couldn’t say anything. He stared up at his savior. A large, female centaur. Same height as Calista, but a lot stronger. She was staring down at him with a glare, yet she was making no move to hurt him. Theron took in a few breaths, and then he slowly turned to look at where Calista had fallen.

Her eyes were wide and dull and glazed over. Her mouth was open partially, laying on her side with her head resting in a more normal position, as if it wasn’t twisted. Yet the indention in the neck would tell anyone there was something wrong with it. Her body was still twitching, going through the death throes.

Theron stared from her and then slowly looked up at the centaur woman. He licked his lips nervously, his hand reaching over towards the spear. “Wh-Who are you?” He demanded.

“Hmph...” The centaur woman folded her arms against her chest. “I think I am the one who just saved your scrawny life.” She stared down at the spear. “Going to stab your savior with that?”

Theron froze at this. He knew he was taking a risk. But, slowly, he pulled his hand away. “Who are you?” This time, he asked it in a less frightened or uncertain tone.

The centaur woman looked at her hand, turning it around as if it was some fascinating thing to be examined. “I am Bronte. I helped to run this store with Calista here.”

Theron blinked a few times. He slowly looked over at Calista’s deceased form. “If she was your partner, then why did you...?”

“Ever since she attacked that little blue fellow, I knew she wasn’t any good.” Bronte said. Despite her glare and overall tough exterior, her tone of voice seemed to hint at some level of remorse. “When I saw her leading you in here, I knew I had to follow.” She looked at the cinder block she had tossed. “Good thing I did.”

“Y-Yeah...” Theron rubbed his head, feeling an ache in it as he imagined that would have happened if that thing had struck him. He looked back at Bronte. “Thanks...”

Bronte nodded her head, giving a soft grunt. “So...what were you doing here?”

“I came to see if there was any way I could help Rudy and...”

“Oh..the creators and their surface dweller friend?” Bronte cut him off. Wordlessly, Theron confirmed this with a nod. “I went to one of those.... ‘shows’ as they call them. I believe I have a solution to your problem..”

“Oh...?” Theron wasn’t entirely sure if he could trust Bronte. But...she did save his life. Perhaps he should be willing to give her a chance. “What is your idea?”

Bronte gave him a mischievious smile. “How good are you with animals?”

Theron stared at her, confused.

sss

So it had come down to this. Watching his enemy being reduced to this. It was quite a spectacle. It was too difficult to look away, and yet it was not easy simply staring.

Rudy found it hard to believe that this whimpering mess was Kairos. The same Kairos that had helped to torment him and his friends. The same Kairos that had attacked them, tortured Barney, and threatened to eat his friends. Just a short time ago, he had been flying around, taunting them, threatening them. And now here he laid, a broken shadow of his former self, helpless and shaking. His cries highlighted the transformation.

Rudy’s thoughts were mixed. On the one hand, Kairos was no longer a threat. He wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone in that condition. Yet he still couldn’t help but feel some level of pity for him. Having a broken back and broken legs wasn’t fun, and he couldn’t help but feel some sympathy towards him, even if he was a monster.

Now he was stuck between two choices. He could allow him to stay alive, and let him feel as trapped and vulnerable as his victims, to make him see what it felt like for them. But his more good-natured side was screaming at him to just end it. Put him out of his misery instead of allowing him to suffer, for that would make him just as bad as Kairos.

All the while, Kairos was whimpering and sobbing on the ground. He occasionally tried to flap to get away, making him look like a fallen bird struggling to get away from a predator. For a brief moment, Rudy nearly forgot who Kairos was, and soon reminded him that he was not some innocent, sickly bird. He was a major creepazoid who had crossed the line so many times.

Yet.. He didn’t know if he could bring himself to allow him to suffer further. He didn’t want to be the monster. That would not reflect well on him or his friends. They did not need to give these zoners another reason to want them dead. He knew what he had to do.

He had to be the bigger person.

But before he could make any such move, there was a swift motion, a blur of color, and he was knocked off his feet as he struggled to get back. At first, he thought it was the dragon, but when he turned his head, he saw that Cychreides was just...standing there, doing nothing except stare at them. Penny, Snap, Barney, and King Mumbo Jumbo were staring up in confusion.

Rudy felt perplexed as well. Why wasn’t the metal dragon attacking anymore? And if it wasn’t the dragon who swooped down, then who...

Rudy’s eyes widened as they locked onto King Zander.

“I think I’ve seen quite enough...” King Zander spoke in a low, growling voice. “Take one step further, and I will twist your legs backwards until your knee caps shatter.”

Rudy felt his heart clench. He knew the king meant every word. He took a smell step backwards, refusing to take his eyes away from the king. He clutched the piece of magic chalk tightly in his hand, fearing the king would try to take it from him.

King Zander regarded him with clear disgust. “I knew you creators were all the same... Hurting and killing innocents. Spreading pain and chaos and mayehm. Biclops was right to banish creators from ChalkZone, but now that you and your human friend are here... That rule needs to be...reinforced...”

Rudy took in a few quick breaths as he stared at King Zander. All around him, the zoners were telling the king to get it over with. Many expressed rage at what had happened to Kairos. Either they weren’t aware of what kind of zoner he was, or it was just the principal of it; a creator hurting a Chalklantian.

“But...But I didn’t hurt him!” Rudy called out. “The dragon hurt him!”

“Which you and your comrades still led towards him.” King Zander hissed at him through bared teeth. He looked down at Kairos, flinching as he looked at his crushed spine. He then turned back to Rudy, clutching a fist tightly and shaking it. “You...are going to regret that...”

“But...that’s not fair!” Penny cried out as she limped towards him. “I-It was my fault the dragon trampled him! Please...If you’re going to want to punish someone...let it be me!”

“And me! I helped, too!” Snap joined in. “Just...leave our friend alone!”

“G-Guys...!” Rudy cried out as he, Barney, and King Mumbo Jumbo stared aat this in shock. What were they thinking? They...They couldn’t...

King Zander was at first surprised by their offer. Then his eyes narrowed, looking as if he didn’t believe them. “Well then...if you would rather you get the punishment...” His eyes glinted. “Then I know the perfect one..”

No... He couldn’t allow this to happen. Rudy raised up the magic chalk to draw something to help his friends, momentarily forgetting that Penny also had her own piece.

Suddenly, King Zander rushed in his direction, moving too fast for the boy to see. He tried to turn around and face him, but the king had grabbed onto him. His arm pressed against his chest, his arm just missing pressing against his broken arm. He jerked a few times and then stopped when he suddenly felt something cold and pointed press against his throat. He realized it was part of Kairos’s metal wing, the one that Kairos had thrown earlier.

“I will punish your friend for what you have done...” King Zander’s eyes twinkled in insanity as he gave a deranged smile. “That would be a fair trade, right?!”

Penny, Snap, Barney, and King Mumbo Jumbo gasped in horror at this, their eyes bulging so wide, it almost looked like they would fall out. Rudy felt his heart skip a beat, his blood turning to ice as he stared at his friends, and then looked up at King Zander. He wanted to struggle, but he dare not move, fearing that a single jerk was all it was going to take to force the sharp blood to slice his skin.

Rudy was only partially aware of the zoners cheering the king on, telling him to ‘slice the monster’, obviously referring to him. At the moment, Rudy’s mind was too clouded with rapidly moving thoughts to pay attention to that.

He looked left and right, his eyes constantly darting around. He tried to think of some way to get out of this mess. When he couldn’t find any, his heart beat even faster. He pulled on the king’s arm with his hand, trying to force him to let go. The king only tightened his grip.

“Please...” Penny begged. “Y-You can’t do this...!”

“For crippling my general and unleashing that dreaded head deflator disease... Yes I can!” King Zander pressed the metal feather further against Rudy’s throat, threatening to slice it open. “You all brought this on yourselves!”

“We...didn’t....release....the....disease....” Rudy gagged as King Zander squeezed him tighter, affecting his ability to breathe.

“More lies..” King Zander gritted his teeth, his pupils shrinking. “I think you need to be taught a lesson..” He turned his head up slightly and looked over at the audience. “What do you all say? Shall I give this monster exactly what he deserves?!”

The audience’s decision was virtually unanimous.

“Kill him!”

“Rip out his throat!”

“Make him pay!”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror as King Zander smiled down at him. “Well...looks like my people have spoken..” He bared his teeth in a wicked grin. He whispered softly, “Say goodnight...”

“No!” The others cried out in unison.

Rudy trembled. “No..please...We really didn’t...” He yelped as the knife began to press further against his neck. He felt horror wash through him as he felt blood start to seep from the presently shallow cut. “Please.. Why won’t you listen...? We didn’t....We didn’t release the disease!”

“Why do you continue to lie even when you’re about to expire..?” King Zander’s mouth was next to his ear as he spoke softly into it. “You have nothing left to lose right now if you speak the truth. Yet you continue to spill your disgusting lies. Tell me...is everyone on the surface like this...?”

Rudy didn’t answer. All he could do was stand there, frozen in terror, too afraid to even try to struggle, lest he get himself cut worse. He looked up at King Zander pleadingly, his teeth clenched. “P-Please..don’t...”

King Zander narrowed his eyes. “You...disgusting little...” His body started to shake slightly in anger. Rudy feared that the king may unintentionally cut him on the process. “Many of my people had been lost because of you! Do you have any idea how many people died because of the head deflator disease?!”

“I...” Rudy yelped as the king moved the knife to one side, creating a small, thin, red line. His friends cried out in horror at this.

“Countless! And I traced the source to you!” King Zander’s voice was tinged in rage. It was clear that if he were sufficiently angered a little more, then he would just stop talking and go in for the kill. “And if you need proof that this has been happening...”

With a nod of his head, the winged guards moved in and began to active the screens again, just like before. This time, gruesome imagery of zoners infected with the disease began to pop up.

“Take a look!” King Zander wailed. “Look at what you have done!”

It was difficult looking away from the images. Rudy couldn’t hide his gasp of horror. Even in his position, he could see how horrified the others looked. Penny with her hands to her mouth. Snap taking a step back. King Mumbo Jumbo and Barney moving close to each other for support. These images...they were horrible...

The poor zoners who got infected by it slowly began to lose their brains. The images showed the process, and the zoner began to lose more and more functions. Then at the final state, the skull had caved in on itself, making it look like someone took a hammer and smashed it.

Rudy could feel his heart clench, his heart racing. Those poor zoners... Just what was it like for them...? How did it feel to slowly lose their minds, and then their life when their brains no longer had the function to control vital organs? The thought of it... It was too horrible...

“Why would you....” Rudy whispered softly. He tried to fight back the tears. “Why would you think that I would do something like that..? That’s horrible! I-I would never...”

“I don’t know. Maybe you got bored and wanted to experiment?” King Zander said coldly, uncaring of Rudy’s expression of sorrow. “I know how you creators can be...”

“Please... he... we didn’t do this...!” Penny called out to the king. “You have to believe us!”

Snap raised his hands in the air. “We would never do anything so awful!”

King Zander glared at them, and then he stared down at Rudy. He remained silent, as if waiting for Rudy to speak. So Rudy took this opportunity. “They are... telling the truth. I’m telling the... truth. We...didn’t release this...disease. We had nothing to do with it. Please... if..if you release me... I p-p-promise we’ll help find out what happened... Please... Let us make this right. Let us stop this illness. Please...”

King Zander stared at Rudy, his narrowed eyes regarding him coldly. The murmuring and whispering around him caused him to lift up his head and look around. Some of the zoners were speaking to each other. It was hard to say if they were taking up the offer or what.

The king himself, however, didn’t seem too interested. If anything, the offer seemed to only anger him further. But why? Why would King Zander be upset about an offer to help his people? If he really cared about them, shouldn’t he be willing to take his offer for the benefit of his people? Or was there something else going on that they didn’t know about?

“I would have considered before...” King Zander’s voice was soft. Then it raised in volume quickly as his flat teeth were bared. “Until you monsters blew up the power plant! How can I trust you after that?!”

“We didn’t do that!” Barney took a few steps forward, his antennas curled in fear. “We had no involvement with what happened!”

“And yet you were spotted fleeing the scene of the crime!” King Zander declared, lowering his head. “And it exploded sometime after you left. Coincidence? I think not..”

The mention of the explosion made Rudy remember a small detail from before. He and his friends had discussed the confusion regarding how King Zander knew about the explosion when there was little chance that news of it couldn’t have reached him in time. How did the king know about this?

There were the videos... But they were likely taken by Kairos himself, and given to the king later. But even then, there was no way that even Kairos could have flown back that fast. The announcement had come a bit too quickly, considering the distance. The explosion had occurred long after they had left; they had not heard any explosion, which meant they had to have traveled far enough that the explosion could not be heard.

That made this whole thing seem to make less sense. There was no time for Kairos to reach King Zander to inform him of the news. Not fast enough to match up with when the announcement was made. The only other possibility is that King Zander...lied.

Rudy’s eyes flickered in realization. King Zander had lied about the disappearances to lure him and his friends down here. Was it any stretch that he lied again about this? Maybe he only just saw them enter, and he made up a story about how it exploded after they left. But... was this a case of coincidence? Was there a malfunction that the king decided to blame them for? Or did he....?

A sudden rage and adrenaline rushed through Rudy’s body, causing it to quake. He glared up at the king, any sign of fear gone. The king was confused by this change of demeanor, as were Penny and the others. Before the king could say anything, Rudy lifted up his leg and struck backwards, striking the king against his shin. King Zander let out a yelp of pain and staggered back.

“The fiend has struck our king!”

“Somebody, do something! Before he strikes again!”

Rudy glared at the king, his breathing coming in seething breaths. King Zander stared at him in absolute shock, unsure of how to take this. He panted a couple of times before he let out a low growl.

“How dare you...”

“Shut up!”

Everyone, even King Zander, was shocked by this. They stared, wide-eyed, at the boy as he formed a fist with his hand, shaking it. He stood in front of the king, his eyes glowing in absolute rage.

“It was you!” Rudy shouted at the king. He pointed an accusatory finger at King Zander. “You’re the one who caused the explosion in the power plant!”

At this, there was an immediate reaction from everyone. Penny, Snap, Barney, and King Mumbo Jumbo all reacted in shock. They stared at each other, unsure of what to think about this. The zoners in the audience around them were shouting profanities and anger-filled comments at such a preposterous idea. The guards were arching their backs, poised to strike. Cychreides was just standing and waiting for orders. Kairos, despite his fear, looked up in surprise at this, but also worry. And King Zander himself looked shocked and appalled by the accusation.

“You... You dare say such lies!” The fur on the back of King Zander’s neck raised up. “It’s bad enough that you spread lies about you did... But now you dare do it about me?!”

Rudy glared at the king. He didn’t care that King Zander was pointing the metal feather at him as a warning to shut up. There was no way he would keep quiet about this. The truth needed to be revealed, and no matter what the king threatened to do to him, he would tell it.

“Yes, I do dare.”

There was a brief, stunned silence, and then a mix of responses. Rudy ignored them all as he glared directly at King Zander.

sss

Snap couldn’t believe what he heard. This was not something he had expected Rudy to do. Accusing the king like that... That had been a really risky move. Snap was surprised that Rudy would even risk doing such a thing.

“Do you...think he’s right...?” Barney whispered softly. Snap turned to him. “Do any of you believe King Zander could have done that?”

King Mumbo Jumbo narrowed his eyes slightly. “He is a jerk... But I’m not sure if he would go that far. These are his people after all. Why could he do anything to hurt them just to get to you guys?”

Snap could see his point. It did seem strange, after all his talk about caring of his people and doing this for his people, that King Zander would deliberately cause an explosion that would injure so many zoners. Why would he risk such a thing? Why would he even consider that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just claim a wild, random explosion was caused by them, instead of risking hurting his people in the process?

But then again... It did seem that explosion was a little too perfectly timed. They were already gone when it happened, but...what were the odds that an explosion like that would occur on the same day they had gone in? And the news did get to King Zander a little too quickly...

Snap’s thoughts were broken when he heard the king shout at Rudy.

“What makes you think I was involved with that explosion?!”

Rudy, despite the metal feather being pointed in his direction, was standing firm, his eyes narrowed. “That announcement you made. It came way too early! It doesn’t fit the time frame!”

“You’re mistaken! My source had come to me and told me what happened!” King Zander took a step towards Rudy, his ears flattening. “You better stop your lying, boy!”

This time, Penny spoke up, making Snap and the other two look over at her. “Well, if that’s the case, then how come we didn’t hear any explosion on our way out? If it occurred because of us, we would have heard it well before. By the time the explosion would have happened, that meant that your source could not have possibly gotten to you before that radio message was aired. There was just not enough time!”

The king widened his eyes at this. He turned his head to look around. The zoners in the audience looked a little confused, but most of them were disbelieving of what Penny was saying. Looking satisfied with this, King Zander turned to look at Penny. “Are you quite done yet?”

Penny shook her head. King Zander growled at this. “You were also the one who was dropping magic chalk off! You would have your crony here..” She motioned towards the crippled Kairos. “...drop off pieces! You played a part in what happened!”

Rudy nodded his head. “You played us just so you could convince your people that we were the bad guys! You lied to them to make us look like monsters! But the most disgusting thing of all...” He gritted his teeth. “You willingly allowed some of your own people get hurt...even killed... all just so you could turn around and blame us!”

There was a confused and shocked murmuring in the audience. The zoners were looking at each other. Shrugging, nodding heads, shaking heads, overall looking confused or angry. They stared intently at King Zander.

“Is that true?” One zoner asked tentatively.

“No!” King Zander sliced his hoof hand through the air. “Of course not!” He spread his hands out as he looked up at his fellow zoners. “Come on! Do you think that I, your king, would do something that crazy?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you lied!” Snap found himself saying, boiling anger making him feel sick as he remembered how the king got them down here in the first place. “You sent up a letter and told us that you were having disappearing problems around the city, and you wanted our help!”

“But it turned out to be a lie!” Rudy chimed in. “You tricked us into coming down here! We came here only because you invited us! We only stayed because you said you needed our help!”

Penny narrowed her eyes into slits. “Instead, you lied to us! You trapped us here and you abused us, even when we offered to help you!”

This made some of the zoners’ frowns disappear. It was clear that none of them had been told about this letter, or about the lies regarding the disappearances. There was less anger in the citizens now, and much more confusion. They stared at the king, waiting for him to retort that.

King Zander didn’t pay attention to them. His body was quaking, and his nostrils flared wildly. He looked like he was about ready to charge them and impale them with his antlers. He pawed the ground furiously and snorted, adding to this effect. It must be taking all his willpower not to chase after them right now.

“You told them there were disappearances...?”

“Why would you do that?”

“We don’t have any random disappearances going on! What was the point of lying to them?”

King Zander lifted his head up and glared at his citizens. “Be quiet!” The zoners stared at him with surprised expressions, cringing away a little at the volume of his voice. He then turned his attention back to the group. “Listen here... I am sick and tired of you trying to derail the issue and spread more of your lies... If you don’t cease this immediately...”

But they weren’t done. Not yet.

“Not until you answer our questions.” Barney said, taking a step forward.

“Yeah!” King Mumbo Jumbo folded his arms. “Just how did you get the message when you did? A hidden camera? Magic?”

Penny stepped in. “How come your citizens didn’t know about your disappearance lies? Don’t you think they deserve to know all the details on how you caught us?”

Rudy pointed a finger at him. “And tell all of us why you set us up killing those zoners to make us look bad!”

For a while, there was silence. Well almost silence. There were several zoners murmuring and wondering if they were speaking the truth. But their comments were soft; none of them dared to speak up. Their eyes were on the king as they waited for an answer.

King Zander was glaring at them, his hands still clutched in fists, still looking enragered. Yet Snap and his friends did not back down. They simply glared back at him. They, too, were waiting for him to provide an answer. Knowing him, he might have a backup plan, but perhaps, for once, they got him boxed into a corner.

“I am...impressed with how you manage to keep up such deceit...” King Zander finally spoke through clenched teeth. “But..it’s not good enough! You still have no proof to back up your claims! How do I know you didn’t just pull that out of your ass to try to save your skins..?!”

“And how do we know you aren’t making up stories yourself?” Rudy asked, his eyes narrowing even further. “Face it, King Zander. You’re the bigger monster here! You were the one who is using his own citizens just to get at us so you could go forth with whatever it is you’re planning!”

There was a series of gasps at this. Not just from Snap and the others, but from the zoners in the audience as well. Even though no proof was provided, there was a genuine shock in the citizens’s eyes. Either they believed Rudy and they were horrified, or they were shocked at the idea of the kind doing such a thing to them.

King Zander’s eyes seemed to glow in anger. He glared at Rudy intently, his lips curling up in a snarl. He looked ready to rip Rudy apart, and given his distance, he would be able to do some damage to the boy before Snap or the others could reach him. Even with the magic chalk, they were helpless to move that fast.

“You... Why you...” King Zander seethed at Rudy. He raised the metal blade into the air. “I should have done this as soon as you stepped foot on my grounds...!”

Snap widened his eyes and reached his hand out. “No! Stop!”

“Rudy!” Penny cried out. Behind her, King Mumbo Jumbo and Barney began to move forward, their wide eyes on the king and Rudy.

Suddenly, there was a bright light shooting down towards them. It zipped between Rudy and King Zander, and then flew straight up. It gave a few sparkles, as if trying to get everyone’s attention. Then it moved down again and hovered above the ground. Everyone stared at it in confusion.

Snap whispered, “What is that...?”

King Zander growled. “What sort of trickery is this?!”

At this, Rudy couldn’t help but smirk. “It’s my probe.”

King Zander looked down at him. “Your...what?” He tilted his head to one side, his teeth bared.

“My probe.” Rudy said, continuing to smile. “I drew it earlier. I programmed it to find something that could help us. And judging from how its acting...” He looked up, grinning as the thing beeped a few times. “I think it found something...quite special.”

“What?!” King Zander cried. “What did it find?!”

“I’ll be honest. I don’t know.” Rudy shrugged. “But if it came back here so quickly, it must be something...important.” Seeing how everyone around him, including his friends, were staring at him in confusion, Rudy turned his green eyes up towards the device. “Activate!”

At this command, the probe began to open itself up. The sound of gears churning and hissing could be heard as the thing began to transform. Now it resembled come kind of helmet. It then shot down towards Kairos and grabbed onto its head. The zoner flapped in desperation, but was completely helpless as the helmet lifted him up. It forced him to face one of the screens. Then, with a loud beep, Kairos’s eyes widened and began to glow brightly, flashing rapidly as if part of a movie reel. In a few seconds, a picture began to form.

sss

Penny put her hands to her mouth and took a sharp intake of breath when she saw what the probe had found.

Displayed before her, before everyone, was an image from Kairos’s point of view and he was clearly talking to King Zander. There was no mistaking that voice. It was surprising enough that this thing could make them watch Kairos’s memories like they wee on a video tape. But what shocked her the most was what was being discussed.

Rudy’s accusation had been correct. They were discussing plans to cause an explosion in the power plant. This caused Penny to struggle to stifle a gasp. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The things being said... There was no way this was an accident. The explosion had been intentional.

And King Zander himself had caused it.

“An explosion? Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s perfect.”

“But..what about....?”

“If they get hurt, it’ll be for a worthy cause. Besides, Rudy Tabootie and his ilk are a much bigger priority right now.”

“Well if you say so. I’m not entirely sure if this is the greatest thing to...”

“Just cross those wires!”

Everyone watched as the video showed Kairos tampering with the wiring. They watched as he flew off and then turned around, watching the explosion begin to tear through the building. They watched as he took off a few moments later, not even bothering to take a look back before the video fizzed, got staticy, and shut off.

There was a stunned silence for a few moments. People looked at other people. People stared at Kairos. People looked at King Zander. Mouths were open in shock. Teeth were gritted. Stunned expressions were on everyone’s faces.

None of the zoners in the audience even attempted to speak or call out to them as liars. In fact, none of them were looking at them. They were instead focusing on King Zander, their mouths dropping open, looking hurt and shocked and even angered by what had been displayed on the screen for all of them to see.

King Zander looked the most stunned. His mouth was open and his pupils were a little shrunk. His eyes were wide as he stared up at the screen. He looked almost mortified by this turn of events. And this time, he didn’t even bother trying to cry foul or defend himself. He knew he had been found out, and that nothing he said or did was going to change anything. Even Kairos was unable to say anything to defend his king. Some of the glares were towards him, too.

At first, King Zander glared angrily at them. He snorted a few times, looking ready to charge through them and crush them with his body. Penny arched herself and raised up her magic chalk, as did Rudy, both indicating that they weren’t afraid to use it if they had to.

Then, without warning, King Zander’s body began to shake. Not out of anger, but out of laughter. The king was laughing at them. An insane cackle as he leaned his head back his eyes shut and his mouth wide open as a demented smile distorted his face. Despite the laughter, there was still something bitter about it.

King Zander turned his head and looked at them. “Well...congratulations.. You’ve figured it out. Maybe you aren’t as dumb as I thought...” Penny, Barney, and King Mumbo Jumbo widened their eyes at this while Snap and Rudy glared. “Yes..I admit it!” He spread his hands outward. “I did it!” He forced a hoof finger against his chest as he leaned in towards them. “It was me!”

Penny took in a few quick breaths, trying her best to control her anger. “And the head deflator disease...?”

King Zander appeared to falter at first. Then he said, “I was the one to unleash it!”

There was a roar of protest coming from the citizens. This time, it was all geared towards King Zander. The deer looked up at them and bared his teeth for a few moments. Then, after he got sick of hearing them, he pointed towards them and began to shout at them.

“Oh shut up! You don’t know what I’ve been through! You don’t know what’s going on! You don’t know why I’m doing this! If you knew, then you would understand my motivations! I didn’t do this to hurt you! I did this to save you!”

But none of the citizens were believing him. They kept calling him a traitor, a monster, and a hypocrite. They kept demanding to know about what else he had lied about, and demanded for him to step down as king.

Their refusal to listen caused King Zander’s body to shake in rage. “Of course you won’t listen! You’re too closed minded to consider that there’s something deeper going on here than any of you can possibly realize!”

“We all know that’s a load of bull!” Rudy yelled, his voice overflowing in anger and hate. “You’re just making up excuses so you can continue to exploit people!”

“Why are you doing this?!” Snap’s body shook. “Why would you treat your own people that way?! Don’t you care about them?!”

King Zander’s eyes widened at this. “Of course I do! That’s why I had to do this!”

“What then?! Why are you doing this?!” Penny took a few steps forward. She pointed at the king accusingly. “Give us one good reason why you ‘had’ to do this!”

For a few brief seconds, there was a flash of...something in the king’s eyes. Penny could not pinpoint exactly what it was. Before she could figure it out, the king was back to glaring at them. He no longer seemed to be in the mood to talk. He just seethed at them before he bolted off towards Cychreides, his rage making him forget about Kairos’s condition.

In a matter of seconds, King Zander got on top of the metal dragon. He rested on its back, his legs pressing against protrusions obviously meant for feet. He pointed towards the group and shouted, “Attack!”

Cychreides immediately unleashed a beam that the group was barely able to dodge. The impact wasn’t far from them, and their feet wobbled. King Zander didn’t like this close call, having wanting a direct hit. He hissed as he pressed something against Cychreides, and there was a loud biiing type sound. The wings on the dragon were activated, causing the membrane to fill the spaces of the long digits. The metal dragon immediately took to the air and began to fly around.

Penny and the others watched, their heads following as the dragon circled around the arena. The citizens were getting up, though it was hard to say what they were going to do. The king’s guards, both winged and non-winged, were pointing their electric sticks at them, making them stay put. It was as if the king wanted them to bear witness to this.

Penny gasped in horror as Cychreides charged another beam and fired. “Look out!” She cried as she dove into the ground.

She and the others grunted as they hit the ground. The beam shot above them, grazing them with its warmth as it crashed against a wall. This one came much closer to hitting a citizen than the last one. A sign of increased carelessness from King Zander.

Penny looked up and watched as the dragon circled the air. She bit her lip as she stared at the others. Horror and shock was shining in their eyes. King Zander was a far bigger monster than they could have possibly imagined, and now he had them pinned down with his metal dragon, and the guards blocked all the exits. How were they going to get out of this?

Chapter 35: Going Home



Theron’s eyes were wide in shock. He stared down below, unable to believe just what he was seeing. He knew things were going to get intense. But he never thought it would have been quite like this.

The metal dragon, Cychreides, had just exploded. It had several holes ripped into its metal hull, and some pieces were laying on the ground. The whole beast was mostly in tact, save for those openings. Some fire was licking up along it, mostly around its wings and feet, some on the body too.

He replayed in his head just what had happened. He never expected it to go this fast. He had thought that he would have had to fight the king a lot longer before he could get a strike in. He had come prepared, and had all kinds of inner plans and tricks in mind in order to get in close enough. And while it wasn’t exactly easy and he still needed to be careful, it was still not exactly what he was expecting.

He had flown around the king, trying to keep away from him. The hippalectryon he rode on was able to stay out of the dragon’s range. This hadn’t been an easy task. Cychreides was able to move pretty quickly despite his size. And the blasts....they were quite hard to avoid. He couldn’t believe how frequently he had fired, and the intensity of each blast.

He had started to get a little dizzy from all the flying around. Diving, twisting, turning, dodging. It was not easy fighting in the air like this. He wasn’t used to it, especially in a confined space. He needed to be constantly on his toes to stay out of the dragon’s way and try to find an opening.

King Zander had attempted to get him to surrender and make things easier. Theron of course refused. Why would he surrender to a coward like him? He wasn’t kidding when he said he was waiting for this for a long time. He had no intention of backing down, and he made sure that the king knew this.

Some moves had been harder to dodge than others. The king was quite good for a coward. He attacked with great ferocity. Cychreides was quite a handful to deal with, and he had to admit, he did break out in a sweat.

But despite the trouble, he was still a lot easier than he thought he was going to be. Though confused, Theron had a feeling he knew exactly why it seemed so easy for him to defeat King Zander and his metal dragon.

He had more experience. King Zander was obviously not used to fights. He was used to commanding others to do the fighting for him. Rarely did he himself ever step up to the plate and do something on his own. Now there he had been, riding on the metal dragon and fighting directly that way. King Zander’s inexperience is what ultimately cost him. He was good at planning, but when it came to reflexes, he was a little on the handicapped side.

Living in that forsaken jungle must have played a key role. Theron was used to having to go up against beasts, and the dragon hardly acted any different from them, minus the beam shooting of course. All he had to do was treat Cychreides like he was another animal in the jungle, and he had become quite a lot easier, though still quite a challenge.

He felt a small pang of disappointment. He had hoped that the dragon would have lasted longer. He had hoped that King Zander would have put up a better fight. He had wanted to fight him longer, rub it further into his face on how he had lost. He wanted to do so much more to him. There was so much that the king needed to answer for.

And now he was dead. There was nothing that could be done now. He couldn’t help but shake his head. Such a waste. A dead body could not pay for anything. It would stop the carnage, yes, but it wasn’t good enough for some people, like himself. He had wanted to see the bastard’s eyes when he saw that his people had turned against him. He wanted to see that look of defeat as King Zander realized that this had been all his fault, that he could have stopped it if he wasn’t such a douche. Now it was too late for that.

Theron let out a soft sigh. Well there was nothing more that could be done about that. He was just going to just going to have to make do. The most important thing was that King Zander was stopped; whether or not he was brought into a trial shouldn’t really matter all that much. He had to worry about the welfare of everyone else. Not whether or not the king suffers for his mistake.

Besides, there was still someone who could take the brunt of that punishment anyway. He was certain that General Kairos was still alive. And if he was, then he would be the perfect scapegoat. He was the closest to the king from what he recalled, and he was as big of a monster, if not more. He could take the king’s punishment as well as his own.

He didn’t see Kairos anywhere in the arena, however. He couldn’t help but feel a level of confusion. Why wasn’t he here? Where did he go? He guessed that the fight in the arena may have caused him to flee. No matter. Without his precious king to hide behind, Kairos couldn’t hide forever.

But at the moment, there was something more urgent on his head.

He could see some unconscious bodies down below. He recognized most of them as the same people that had been in the jungle earlier. Penny, Snap, and Barney. There was also someone else. Ah, King Mumbo Jumbo, he believed. He winced at their wounds. They looked like they had gone through hell. And Snap’s leg was all bandaged up so thickly, and it looked like some of the bandages had been torn off. His leg was either badly sprained or broken. It was hard to tell. And the others had bad injuries of their own, such as Penny’s arm gashes and King Mumbo Jumbo’s badly swollen leg.

They weren’t the only ones he could see either. All around the colosseum, he was aware of several bodies on the ground. Blood stained the ground near them, matching the cuts on their bodies. Some of the bodies were breathing shakingly, and others were just still completely, dead. The remaining were awake and quivering in pain, and looked so completely helpless.

It appeared as though King Zander’s guards had started a riot. He was aware of the fighting when he had come in, but he did not bother paying much attention. His eyes were solely on King Zander.

And it would seem that the guards did not notice their fight, either. They were too focused on each other. Blade against blade. Claw gainst claw. Staff against staff. The remaining guards were still fighting one another. He dare not try to make a move; he was not able to tell which was which. How could he attack any of them when he wasn’t sure which one was a side that he’d want to choose?

Plus, he didn’t even know what they were fighting for. Were they fighting for King Zander or themselves? He had little reason to believe that any of them were possible allies, and he was better off treating them as enemies. But for now, he would keep his distance.

As the fighting continued on, he looked down and saw Rudy limping in one direction, holding the piece of magic chalk. He winced when he noticed some blood on his arm and realized that his broken limb had gotten burned, likely from Cychreides’s attack. He immediately dove down with the hippalectryon and landed on the ground. He had the beast walk forward swiftly and it didn’t take them long to reach Rudy.

Rudy took immediate notice of him. “Theron? How did you...?”

“It’s a long story.” Theron patted the side of the hippalectryon’s neck. “What is going on here? Why are the guards fighting?”

Rudy turned his head and looked up at the guards, his eyes narrowing. “King Zander slaughtered one of them, and it caused kind of an uproar.”

Theron didn’t need to know any more. He could already picture in his head what was going on. He just moved his head back and nodded his head slowly a few times. That...would certainly explain a lot. He could see the guards getting all in a huffy when one of their own was taken.

So this fight was between loyalists and deserters. Those still loyal to King Zander, and those who left his side. That didn’t make it any easier to tell which side was what, and he doubted that Rudy would be able to know. It wasn’t like the deserters did anything to distinguish themselves physically from the others.

Theron stared at Rudy for a few moments, then he slowly narrowed his eyes. “Just...what were you going to do?”

Rudy turned to glare at the fighting around him. “I was going to stop this fighting.” He looked down at the magic chalk. “I still have some left. I need to draw something to...”

“No.” Theron cut him off.

Rudy stared up at him in shock. “What are you talking about?” He moved his chalk-wielding hand over towards the dueling guards. “We can’t just leave them like this!”

Theron nodded his head. “Yes, we can.”

“But...”

“Let me explain, kid.” Theron raised his hand up to silence him. Rudy went silent, but still gave him a worried and shocked frown. “It doesn’t really matter which side wins. It would have should King Zander still be around. That would have caused some kind of shift. But...the king is dead now. Those that still follow King Zander now cannot take orders from him, and those who are against him can no longer rebel against him. Their fight is pretty meaningless at this point. It is best to just let this sort of thing handle itself.”

“But, if it’s meaningless...shouldn’t we try to...” Rudy bit his lip nervously. “I mean...we can’t just let them kill each other...”

“They won’t. At least, not anymore.” Theron spoke up. “True, there had been some unlucky ones, but if you notice, the fighting isn’t as intense as it was, and there hasn’t been any further deaths.”

Rudy looked around. The look in his eyes seemed to tell Theron that he understood where he was coming from. After a few moments, Rudy looked back up at him, waiting for a continuation of his answer.

“They will settle things on their own. The losing side will concede and they will negotiate on their own. The king’s guards have their own internal system from what I recall. It’s...complicated, but do not fret, Rudy. They will calm down and order will be restored.”

“And the citizens?”

“So long as they don’t try to interfere or leave and get in the middle of the fighting, they will be fine.”

Rudy looked towards the ground. There was a look of reluctance in his eyes. Understandable, considering this child had no experience with this place. He wasn’t even sure if there was anything like this in the Real World where he came from. He just hoped that the boy understood enough that he wouldn’t try to intervene.

Theron couldn’t feel completely content himself. A small portion of him was a little worried that this might go too far. But the slowing down that he could see happening gradually was a good sign to him. He felt it was best to just let the guards take care of their disgruntlement on their own and not try to get in the middle of it.

Theron took a moment to look over at the unconscious forms of the boy’s friends. They hadn’t shown any sign of improvement, and out here in the colosseum during the fighting was not the best place for them. They would need to find a way to get out of here and avoid the flying guards in the process. The citizens might be trapped for now, and there was little they could do about that. But that didn’t mean that Rudy couldn’t at least get his friends to safety.

“You need to get them out.” Theron told him. “Try drawing some form of transportation for them.”

“But...” Rudy again turned up to look at the citizens. “I can’t just leave them behind.”

“They are going to to be fine.” Theron began.

Rudy shot him a glare. “How do you know?! What if something terrible happens and I’m not there to be able to help them?! What if the guards go crazy and...”

“Relax, kid.” Theron returned the glare. “They will...”

“No! I won’t leave them!” Rudy shouted.

“And what of your friends?!” Theron hissed at him. “Would you feel better if they got more hurt?!”

Rudy’s eyes widened. “N-No...” He looked away. “But...I just..can’t leave these people behind... I’m the protector of ChalkZone. I should be able to do something to stop this..”

Theron wanted to slap himself in the face. Rudy was such a stubborn little boy. He couldn’t even understand when it is best to stay out of things. He seemed to think that he had the right to butt himself into situations that weren’t his problem, nor did he seem to understand that doing such things may actually make it worse.

He could feel himself growing frustrated with the boy. He was making the situation worse for his friends by hesitating to try to think of helping the citizens here. There was nothing he could really do to help things alone. The guards just needed to duke this out on their own. All Rudy would accomplish by trying to stop them was delaying help for his friends. And he knew, based on his interactions with him, that he loved his friends too much to let something happen to them.

He didn’t want to waste anymore time. He was tired of hearing the boy’s excuses. He walked over towards him and gripped his shoulders. He applied pressure, making Rudy wince. He then lowered his head and moved it towards his face. Rudy turned his head to the side, looking at him with a single eye.

“Listen here, Rudy Tabootie. If you try to stay here and try to take care of this yourself...all you will do is make things worse. You don’t even know which side is which. What are you going to do? Ask them politely? What if one of them lies to you? What if they trick you so they can get close and kill you? No, Rudy, you must stay out of this and let them take care of it. And do not worry about the citizens; they will be fine.”

Rudy took in a few breaths. He looked uncertain of what to do. He could practically see the boy shake with adrenaline as he looked left and right. “B-But..what if they aren’t...?”

Theron paused for a moment and gave an exasperated sigh. “You are really pushing my buttons here, Rudy. I am wasting time with you trying to explain this when we should be helping your friends...” He moved his head back, glaring at him. He really didn’t want to do this, but it was either this, or he wasted more time trying to convince Rudy to just leave this place behind. “Either you help me transport your friends to safety, or I will be forced to euthanize them.”

Rudy’s eyes bulged. “Y-You wouldn’t...”

Theron leaned forward, narrowing his eyes into slits. He did his best to hide his feelings of guilt as he said, “Try me...”

Rudy looked at him in horror.

sss

Rudy rested on the outside of the wall, his back leaning towards it. He stared down at the ground, looking at how his friends were bandaged up.

Well the zoners at least. Penny didn’t have much; what could he give her made of chalk that wouldn’t dissolve with the blood leaking out of her burns? She needed to get to the Real World for that. But sadly, that wasn’t going to happen just yet. He hoped that Penny could hold out.

They were all at least secured. He had drawn a contraption that was able to hold them securely and move around via remote control. It looked a little strange and it was difficult to describe. A walking frisby kind of? He didn’t really worry too much of the description; it at least works. He was going to need this to travel across the land so he could get to his submarine. It was the only way out of here.

Theron said that he was going to need to wait, though. Since the fighting was dying down, it shouldn’t be too long. But it was best to wait until it stopped completely and the guards and people helped to appoint a new leader. Otherwise those up in the watch towers were still going to shoot them regardless. With no king to tell them know, they would just shoot no matter what they said.

Rudy still felt some level of anger towards Theron. He couldn’t believe the low, dirty move he had pulled on him earlier. He had felt so frightened and scared for his friends. And for Theron to say such a thing...

But he couldn’t really blame him. He could tell the guy was getting annoyed, and yet he continued to argue with him anyway. Theron probably wasn’t going to actually hurt his friends; he was just trying to motivate him to get a move on. He doubted that Theron enjoyed what he said, either. He didn’t look like he was particularly liking it.

Rudy did feel guilty about slowing things down. He had been so worried about trying to help everyone, and the fighting around him... He felt a strong compulsion to try to stop it and bring some peace back. But by doing so, he was just wasting time. He should have trusted Theron more, who understood how things were run here better than he did. And he was right; how would he know who was who? How would he have kept himself from being tricked?

At least they were out here now, and he was able to treat his friends’ wounds the best he could. Theron helped, as well as the hippalectryon. Theron recommended they stay nearby; the guards would not bring the fight out here. They would be safe.

It was strange seeing the hippalectryon again. He didn’t recognize it at first, but when he saw how it approached him and the way it moved, he knew it was the same one from before. It had remembered him. Maybe that was why the hippalectryon was so eager to help. Maybe it had sensed that Theron was an ally as well, and wanted to help him out in helping them.

The hippalectryon was laying down next to him at the moment, its head resting up against him. Rudy looked down and smiled at it. He was glad that Theron was able to get it out of wherever King Zander had placed it. He had feeling that the creature was horribly mistreated afterwards as ‘punishment’ for being nice to him and his friends.

The thought of King Zander boiled his blood. The fact that he had used his citizens like this, that he had killed them in cold blood... He just found it hard to forget. No matter how much he tried to push the thoughts of the king away to focus on the now, it was hard to just let go of that anger. He didn’t think it would be possible to ever let it go anytime soon. King Zander had done a lot of damage to his kingom, and for what? What got him the most was that...he didn’t fully understand the king’s plans. He was never completely up front about what his goal was, and even when asked to elaborate, he refused.

That was partly why it stung him that the king was dead. He was never going to get the answers now. He was never going to understand what was running through that awful king’s mind.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. Although it was hard, he needed to focus on what was going on right now. That was all he could do.

He looked over at where Theron was. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. Why was Theron looking at the ground like that? Was there something wrong? Had Theron spotted something important? Moving away from the disappointed hippalectryon, Rudy walked towards Theron slowly.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked.

Theron didn’t lift his head up or answer at first. He just continued to stare towards the ground. He was rubbing his chin thoughtfully, his eyes furrowed. After a few moments, he turned to look over at Rudy. “These tracks... They weren’t here before.”

“Tracks...?” Rudy looked at the ground. He scanned it carefully, but he didn’t see anything similar to what Theron was describing. He shrugged his shoulder. “What are you referring to? I see nothing.”

“Of course not. You haven’t done a lot of tracking.” Theron stated. That hadn’t meant to be an insult; just a statement of fact. Theron lowered his finger and pointed at the ground, motioning towards what looked like some really faint lines. “Something was dragged off here.” He lifted his head and looked towards one direction. “And they headed off in that direction.”

Rudy frowned at this. “Do you know who it might have been?”

Theron shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. The track is muddled up; I can’t make out enough detail. The only way to find out is to follow the tracks.”

“I see...” Rudy stared at what Theron claimed to be tracks. He wasn’t too sure if they were or not, but he didn’t want to call Theron a liar. After all, living in the jungle, he would indeed know more about this than he would. He turned his head to look at him. “What do you suggest we do?”

For a few moments, Theron was silent. He stared at the tracks long and hard, his eyes narrowed. He looked as if he was trying to debate whether or not he should go after them. This was clearly not going to be such an easy decision.

Rudy could understand why, too. The thing that made the tracks might be important in some way. Dangerous, perhaps an ally, perhaps someone who could be in danger. They could benefit from trying to find out who this was, and if there was anyone else dangerous, capturing them and stopping them from causing further damage.

But on the other, they did have urgent things to take care of right now. They needed to move his friends to safety, which they won’t be able to do until after they could get back to the submarine, and they can’t do that until the situation with the guards was stabilized. It was almost funny how it seemed that, after the king was defeated, things appeared to have gotten harder; not easier.

“I will go alone.” Theron finally said after a few moments. He turned to look at Rudy. “I’ll leave the beast there with you for protection.”

Rudy stared at Theron, his eyes widening a little. “What do I do when...”

“When the guards come out? Do not worry. You will know.” Theron raised his head up and stared over at the arena. “I sense the fighting is almost done. They will come out and you can talk to them.” He paused for a moment. “...hopefully...”

Rudy felt his heart skip a beat at this. “Hopefully?! What does that mean?!”

Theron didn’t bother to answer him. He had grabbed his spear and he rushed off in the direction the tracks went in. Rudy called out to him again, holding out his unbroken arm towards him. But no matter what he did or shouted, the zoner simply was not responding to him. He just continued to run until he was out of sight completely. Rudy bit his lip and lowered his hand.

Of course Theron had to go and leave him alone like this. He turned to the hippalectryon. Okay so not completely alone. But still... The way he said ‘hopefully’ did cause a string of cold fear to move through him. Before, the zoner had been confident that things would settle down with the guards. But now, with that single word, Rudy realized how badly things could backfire.

His heart began to race. Was Theron referring to those still loyal to King Zander’s ways? If they were the ones who won the fight, what would happen if they came out and saw him? Would they try to kill him and his friends?

Now Rudy really regretted not doing something earlier. Even though there may not have been anything he could do in the end, he wished he could have done something to help turn the tides against the loyalists so that they no longer had to worry about anything King Zander related. He wondered if Theron had been so confident that he just forgot about the possibility of the loyalists still winning. Now the fight didn’t seem as ‘meaningless’ as the zoner had told him.

Theron was probably lying to himself, and to him, in order to make it easier to leave the colosseum to help his friends. Rudy gritted his teeth at this. He wished that Theron had been more honest if that were the case.

He sucked in a deep breath and sighed. Well it was pointless to go against what Theron said now. He would have to continue doing what was asked of him. He moved towards the hippalectryon and kept his eyes towards the colosseum, waiting for any sign of the fighting ending. He could still hear the fighting on the other side. No sign of ending just yet.

He occasionally looked over at his friends to see if any of them were waking up. So far, they stayed still and quiet. He bit hsi lip. He hoped they would wake up soon. The longer they stayed like this, the more worried he got. What if... What if they don’t wake up...?

Rudy shook the thought out of his head. No, he couldn’t think like that. Everything was going to be fine. Soon they would be on their way leaving and they would be able to return home.

Then they would never have to set foot in this place ever again.

sss

Theron wasn’t sure how long he had been following this trail. He didn’t know where it was taking him or how far it was. All he knew was he just had to keep going. If he didn’t follow it and find out what was going on, then he could never be fully at peace.

He did feel guilty about leaving Rudy behind. He wished he could have done something more than just leave the hippalectryon with him to defend himself and his friends with. The boy was out of magic chalk, and if the guards did try to still hurt him, then Rudy was going to have a hard time.

And his friends... What would happen to them...?

Theron shook the thoughts out of his head. Rudy should be able to hold up just fine. He was able to before without magic chalk, right? He was chalkless when he had first run into him, if he remembered right. Rudy was resourceful enough. He should be able to make do without it. He needed to have more faith in the boy.

Plus, this trail could lead to something important. For all he knew, it might be General Kairos. If that were the case, then he needed to find him and capture him before he could do anything to cause more damage. If it was him, well it was a good thing that he brought his spear. He may be in for the fight of his life in that case. He had never fought against Kairos before, but he knew, generally from rumors, how nasty that guy could be.

If there was anyone he wanted to kill right now, it was Kairos. He was such a sociopathic monster, he doubted that any amount of imprisonment was going to make him change his ways. And keeping him locked up was only going to invite future danger. No, he needed to die so that he could never hurt anyone ever again. As soon as he found him, he would drive his spear right through his chest. Then it would all be over.

He continued to follow the trail, noting how it seemed to take random turns. There wasn’t a whole lot of blood either. None where he and Rudy were and only small amounts after. Maybe the person being dragged banged against something and started to bleed? A possibility. But he wouldn’t know until he found them. Then he would need to...assess what he should do with them. Help them, or kill them.

He kept on walking, unsure of exactly how long this was taking him. He didn’t have any way to tell the time, and of course, Chalklantis doesn’t have those...what did the surface dweller call them? Ah yes. Day Zone and Night Zone. None of that down here, nor did they have cycling days like in the Real World. It had never bothered him before, but now, as he moved through the land, following this trail, he really, really wished he could see just what time it was.

Nonetheless, he kept on moving. Sooner or later, he would figure out where he was and figure out where this mystery person went. Even if he had to keep on walking for possibly hours, he would find them. It was just a matter of time.

He was starting to get a little exhausted. He had been walking at a fast pace for a while now. He had wanted to try to catch up as quickly as he could without exerting himself too much. Well that turned out to be a failure. He needed to slow down before he exhausted himself further.

He rested himself against a tall, rocky wall, panting a few times. As soon as he managed to catch his breath and get his heart rate back to normal, he looked around the rocky wall to see where he was.

He couldn’t help but feel a level of shock when he realized he was getting close to the edge of the open field. He could see the beginnings of his jungle home in the distance. He took a few moments as his mind reeled form this. Had he really traveled that far? He found it quite difficult to believe. He knew he had walked quite a ways, and for some time, but still...

He looked down at the ground. Yep, the trail was still going. He looked out a head, taking in a deep breath and sighing. He had no idea how much further this was going to go, or how much longer he was going to be out here. But..he still needed to follow this trail. He needed to see where it goes and find out who was on the other end of it. If he didn’t... He didn’t want to think about what might happen if he didn’t.

So he continued on his way. He did his best to ignore the frustrations of how long this was taking, the worries of what might be going on with Rudy and the others. He had to focus on this task. Then he could go back and help Rudy if he needed it.

After what felt like a long time, he was able to reach the edge of the jungle. He could feel a sense of familiarity and comfortableness as he stepped on its grounds once more. For the first time in a while, he did feel safe and secure. He knew this place better than he knew the city. He would rather deal with the wild animals around here than deal with the zoners of the city. He was more of an animal person, really. Animals were just, by comparison, a lot easier to control.

He could see that there were a number of animals around, but none of them made a move towards him. They were too busy with something else. Their young, hunting easier prey, perhaps finding a mate, which ever. Only a few really paid attention to him, and all they did was stare at him.

That was the reward for living here. The animals grew to...well not respect, but they know to keep their distance. It was still dangerous, and he would not ever walk through here without his trusty spear. If any of these animals decided to attack him, whether it before territorial reasons or they wanted to eat him, then he was going to make them regret it. It only took one strike in a single location to bring most of them down, or wound them enough to make them flee.

The trail continued through here. How curious. Just how far did this zoner drag this own zoner? And why through here? He guessed that it may have been purposefully chosen; whoever this was obviously wanted to murder this guy. If they were left in here, they would not last for very long. There was a strong chance that he would not find a zoner; just a ripped up body.

Eventually, he started to hear soft groaning. He froze for a moment, turning his head from one side to the other. He didn’t recognize who it was, but whoever it was, it...didn’t sound like they were in pain. The groan was more like...effort? Yes, he could hear the scraping now. However it was, they were trying to get away from something. He continued to move towards the sound, moving slowly, trying to listen as best as he could.

Soon he started to hear a panicked voice.

“No! Please! Let me go! I-I can’t stand it! I don’t want to be trapped here! Please..somebody help me! I-I don’t want this... Please...”

Theron froze at this. Then his eyes narrowed into slits. He knew exactly who this person was. His lip curled up into a snarl. He readied his spear as he walked towards the sound slowly. He went around one of the thick trees, stepping over a small stream of water, and rounded the corner.

Just as he thought. It was General Kairos. The bird zoner was located a few feet in front of him. He rested on the ground with tall rocky pillars on either side of him, covering much of his body. Someone had deliberately pushed them in like that, and there appeared to be another slab of rock placed on his back to weigh him down. There was also some kind of heavy stone that his legs were attached to, which prevented further movement.

Whoever had done this was clearly trying to induce some kind of claustrophia with Kairos. And it was working. This horrid zoner, who had deemed being trapped as nothing that bad, was now freaking out because of it. He could see the utter terror in his eyes, the way his body wriggled, trying to escape. Allowing him to see out only added to his torment. Seeing freedom yet not being able to get to it.

Kairos was so panicked, he did not notice him at first as he approached. Theron walked around Kairos, eyeing him up and down. He took notice of how mangled his legs looked, and he could see, even in the shadows, his back appeared to be broken.

Theron couldn’t help but smile at this. It would seem that justice had finally caught up with this monster. What a fitting punishment for this general. To go from being so in control, to having all of that taken away. With a broken back, he could never harm anyone ever again.

He moved around towards the front and made his presence known by stomping on the ground. Kairos jolted a little in surprise and raised his head up. He widened his eyes when he saw Theron.

“Looks like karma decided to pay you a visit...” Theron said, his teeth gritted as he struggled to hold back his fury. “I had been hoping it would strike you at some point. I just never thought it would be like this.” He motioned his hand towards him. “Look how pathetic you are... Trapped and unable to go anywhere. I could do so much to you right now and you couldn’t do a damn thing to stop me..”

Kairos shivered at this. “P-Please...just kill me...” He whispered in a cracked voice. “Just finish me... I would rather die than face this. P-Please...”

Theron was at first tempted to ‘honor’ Kairos’s wish. But he stopped himself. He had wanted the death thing to be a punishment, but it won’t be if that’s what Kairos wanted. No, he had a much better idea. He shook his head and said, “No...I think you’d be fine remaining like that. I think this suits you quite well. A little bird in his cage.”

Kairos let out a wail at this and shook his head. “No! Please!” He shook harder as he stared at Theron pleadingly. His eyes were glassy with tears, which stained his cheeks. Low cries escaped his throat. “Please kill me! I-I can’t take it!”

Theron narrowed his eyes coldly. “Why should I show you any mercy? After all that you have done?” Theron’s voice was laced with disgust. He stared at the zoner in contempt as he listened to him sobbing on the ground. “You deserve this, you know. If you hadn’t been such an asshole, maybe you would have been given spared a harsh punishment.”

“I-I’m sorry!” Cried Kairos. “I know I shouldn’t have done those things! I-I understand now! Please...either kill me or help me!”

“Help you?!” Theron was appalled by the very idea of General Kairos asking him for help. He raised his spear up, poised to strike. “I have no reason to help someone like you!” He noticed the way the bird was shutting his eyes, as if in anticipation for the blow. Not wanting to let him off easy, he lowered his spear. “You don’t deserve my help. And you sure don’t deserve to die.”

Theron moved in closer. Kairos cringed away, his body trembling harder as he got near him. His cheeks shined with his tears, and Theron could see the flow was not going to stop any time soon. He reached out and roughly grabbed him by his lower beak. He lifted it up, listening to Kairos whimper and sniffle as they locked eyes with each other.

“You deserve to live like this, knowing exactly what you have done.” Theron whispered to him harshly. Kairos whimpered at this and shut his eyes tightly, letting the tears flow. “You deserve to spend every minute here, knowing that you had brought yourself into this position. You deserve to rot here...”

Kairos’s body wracked in sobs at this. “N-No... Please... I-I’m begging you...”

Theron was tempted to smash Kairos’s head in the ground, but he refrained from doing so. He remained quiet, listening to the bird zoner continue to sob like this. It was so gratifying seeing him like this after all the trouble he had caused.

But he knew that this wouldn’t last for long. Now he had a decision to make. He could just leave Kairos like this, but he would end up dying. Yes, a slow, painful death. But that is what Kairos wanted. To die so he didn’t have to endure being trapped like this. Theron didn’t want that. He wanted him to suffer for however long possible.

Yet he didn’t want to help him. He didn’t want to lend any sort of helping hand to this monster. He didn’t deserve it, and it was, again, something that Kairos wanted. He either wanted help or to die. In his position, Theron could not do anything else except what Kairos requested. He could just leave him, but that would doom him to die, which is, again, something Kairos wanted.

He needed to think of another option. And fortunately, such a thought did cross his mind. He smiled down twistedly at Kairos. He watched as the zoner looked at him in fear, cringing in anticipation of what he was going to do with him.

“I know exactly what I could do with you..” Theron said, chuckling. “A way to keep you alive...but trapped like a rat in a cage forever...”

Kairos’s eyes bulged in horror at this. He shook his head. “N-No..please...a-anything but that...!”

Theron ignored him. He turned his attention in one direction, the twisted smile remaining on his face. He looked down, giving Kairos a look of grim glee. “Now just stay right here. I won’t be gone for long...”

With that, he started to run, leaving behind the frightened and crying Kairos behind him, ignoring his pleas as he disappeared further into the jungle.

sss

Rudy turned his head when he heard the sound of the doors openings. He immediately tensed himself up, readying for a possible fight. He wished that he had brought out that sword with him. Even though he wouldn’t really want to use it against someone if he didn’t have to, it would make him feel safer.

He felt the hippalectryon stand behind him. He would hear its low growling and noticed that its ears had been flattened against its head. The beast was glaring over at the door. Its fur was hackled, a clear indication that it would attack any of the zoners that tried to hurt him.

Rudy hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He hoped that Theron’s words might have held some truth to them, and that these zoners wouldn’t actually hurt him. There was still a chance that everything was going to work out in the end.

But he still could not rule out the fact that King Zander’s followers might have won the battle, and they might be the ones to now take charge of the situation. Even with no king to follow, despite Theron’s attempted reassurances, Rudy had a feeling that things might not be as over as he thought. He may need to fight longer before he and his friends could go free at last.

He took a step back as a small group of zoners came out slowly. It was a handful of the guards. He noted that they were covered in blood, and many had bruises, cuts, and chipped armor. They took immediate notice of him and they began to walk towards him. Rudy took another step back, gritting his teeth nervously. This seemed to go unnoticed by the zoners as they kept approaching him.

Rudy could feel his body start to shake a little. He tried not to be afraid. He tried to keep glaring at the zoners, but he just couldn’t help it. Even with the hippalectryon at his side, he could see that these guards still all had their weapons. They could easily subdue them, and he was left without any defense. He was bitter at Theron leaving him at first until he remembered that he would likely not stand much of a chance against these zoners if he was forced to go up against them.

He didn’t try to run. He couldn’t move his legs. The fear inside of him was growing stronger, and it forced him to remain where he was, unmoving. It felt as though his feet were caught in quick drying cement and he was knee deep. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t move.

The hippalectryon growled lowly, baring its teeth. Rudy grabbed onto it with his one arm, looping it around its neck. He leaned against the hippalectryon, hoping to try to control it a little before it did anything hasty. He still wasn’t sure of these zoners’ intentions. He did not want to soil anything in case these zoners weren’t actually going to attack.

Soon the guards stopped and stared off in his direction. They all held soft glares on their faces, but none of them showed any obvious signs of aggression. They remained silent as they stared at him. Rudy stared back, breathing heavily as he waited for them to say something.

The silence was unbearable. Rudy could feel his heart pounding in his chest. When were they going to say something? How long were they going to keep him waiting? Rudy felt his body shake more, anticipation intermixing with the fear. What should he do? Run? Hide? Remain here? Fight?

One of the guards started to walk closer. Rudy held onto the hippalectryon as it began to growl. Rudy couldn’t help but bare his teeth nervously. He didn’t try to make a move or say anything as the guard got close.

Soon, the guard stopped in front of him. They stared at each other for several moments. Silence hung strongly in the air, making the situation feel increasingly tense. Rudy looked at the guard up and down, looking for any signs of a possible attack from him.

The guard finally spoke. “Rudy Tabootie...” The voice was stern and gruff, but not exactly aggressive. “We would like to...offer our most humble apologies.” The guard placed a hand against his chest and lowered his head. “We were wrong about you.”

Rudy watched as the other guards followered suit. They lowered their heads in his presence, a sign of respect that they had never given to him before. Rudy didn’t need to ask to know which side had the most voices now.

“We were wrong to follow King Zander. He claimed he wanted what was best for his people, but it is clear to us now that he was a corrupt bastard who may have had good intentions in the beginning, but he had lost his way.” The guard’s expression softened up, a hint of regret staining it. “We are sorry for what we helped King Zander put you and your friends through.”

Another guard nodded her head. “We would like to...make it up to you. If it is at all possible.”

“Yes. Tell us what you would like, and we will give it to you.” Another male guard said.

While Rudy did feel a level of relief that these zoners were finally starting to see reason, and he was glad that they felt bad about what they did, he still couldn’t feel entirely safe around them. He couldn’t fully let go of his anger towards them. They had all played a part in his and his friends’ suffering during their stay here. And it was because of them that their parents were worried sick about them right about now.

Rudy winced as he thought about his parents. It must be really late in the Real World now. His parents would now he was gone. They would know he ditched school. They were going to be so worried about him. At least he was finally going to be able to return home to them soon.

He couldn’t stay too angry at these zoners for long. After all, how could they have known what a bastard King Zander was? It was likely that only General Kairos had gotten the whole story, or the most of it at least, and he of course had kept it away from the guards. They had simply been wielded like puppets, and had only done what they truly thought was right. That was more than what he could say for King Zander.

Rudy stared down at where his friends where, biting his lip. He thought about the guards’ offer. He knew exactly what he wanted.

“Is there a hospital nearby?” Rudy asked as he stared back at the guards. “Please...my friends...”

The guards didn’t need any further statement. They nodded their heads in understanding as they walked over towards his fallen comrades. The hippalectryon growled, but Rudy managed to hold the creature back and calm it down.

The first guard who spoke to him remained where he was. He watched as his fellow guards grabbed onto the device Rudy had created and lifted it up, carrying his friends with them. He then turned back to Rudy, giving him a sympathetic look.

“We will do what we can for your zoner friends.” There was some hesitation in his voice. Rudy guessed this was because of the awkwardness. It is a little hard to go from being nasty to someone to being nice, even just civil. “We won’t be able to do much for Penny Sanchez, however.”

Rudy nodded. “I understand. Just...can you help her however you can?”

Rudy was aware that this meant staying here even longer. He felt horrible about it, knowing that he was worrying his parents because of this. But he needed to make sure that his friends were treated enough to make the trip back up to the surface.

The guard nodded his head. “We will try whatever is possible.” He suddenly frowned as he stared at Rudy’s arm. “You need some help, too.”

“What?” Rudy glanced down at his left arm. He placed his right hand over it gently. “No, I’m good. Really, I...”

“Don’t try to lie to me.” The guard glared softly at him. “I can tell you are in pain, too. Come along.” He raised his hand and gestured for him to follow. “Come with us. We will get all of you admitted.”

Rudy wanted to protest. He was less interested in his own injuries, and more concerned for the condition of his friends.

But in the end, he knew he should go with them to the hospital and be admitted as well. His friends would be worried if they saw that he wasn’t getting some form of treatment, even if it was limited due to being in ChalkZone. He didn’t want them to worry, and he knew that it was best that he got some form of help as soon as possible.

He wordlessly nodded his head. He climbed on top of the hippalectryon. Trying to hold on with just one arm wasn’t easy, but he managed. He began to follow the guards as they began to lead them down the same path that King Zander had took them on near the beginning of this whole mess.

sss

Snap let out a groan as he opened up his eyes slowly. His mind was muggy, a pounding headache rippling through it. He grabbed onto his head as he tried to push himself up.

But for some reason, he couldn't move much. He felt some kind of pressure against his body. He didn't react in fear at first; he was just confused. He couldn't remember what had happened at first. All he could see was darkness around him, blurriness, and the only feeling he was aware of was stiffness, maybe a little ache.

He attempted to sit up again. No luck. He was just too weak. He let out another groan as he laid there, his mind pounding with the ache that spread through it. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

It took him seconds to become aware of some other stimulation. A bright light. Some faint voices. Footsteps. A low beeping sound. At first, they were all faint and distant. Soon, they spread, becoming more pronounced and accentuated. He was not able to ignore them anymore, and he opened up his eyes.

He immediately recoiled when he suddenly became aware of another sensation.

Pain.

Snap turned his head towards the source. His vision had brightened and sharpened at this point. He became aware of another sharp jab as his eyes settled on his arm. Was this where the pain was coming from? No... It was down lower. His leg... It had to be one of his legs. He needed to take a look. He needed to see what had happened to him.

He lifted up his head to try to find the source of the pain. As soon as he did, he noticed that there were straps holding him down. This had been the reason why he couldn't move earlier. He had been restrained.

His eyes bulged, his heart starting to tighten and race. He could hear the beeping sound increase. He hardly paid attention to it as his mind started to race dramatically. He turned his head from side to side, noting the bands that were restraining his arms down. He took in a few shuddering breaths as he tried to make sense of what happened. There had to be a reason he was here. But...where was here...?

And how did he get here? He couldn't ever remember coming to a place like this. Just..how was this possible? The last thing he remembered was..

King Zander.. He had a hold of him. He had grabbed him, and he had... The leg. That was how he had his leg broken... It was King Zander. That monster had done this to him. The king must have had him locked up afterwards. He had him fully restrained, unable to do anything to escape. No matter how hard Snap tried to pull and tug, he was not going anywhere. He was trapped here for however long King Zander wanted him. And then who knows what he would do afterwards.

Snap felt a jab of fear as he wondered where his friends where. He didn't see any of them here. They were nowhere in sight. What had happened to them? Were they also captured by King Zander? Were they taken somewhere else? What did the king plan on doing with them?

Snap tried to struggle again. He had to get out of here. He jerked himself from one side to the other. He fought against the binds. He didn't care how strong they were; if he kept on pulling, maybe he'd be able to break himself free. These restraints had to have some kind of weakness, right? There had to be a way to take advantage of that and get free. If he just kept launching himself from side to side, then maybe...

He was suddenly aware of a door opening up. He turned his head, and he could see a couple of figures rushing in. He noticed how they were both dressed in white. The designs looked familiar, like something he would see in his own home. But at the same time, there was something different about them. He couldn't quite put his hand on it.

"Looks like the patient is awake." One of the figures said.

"And he's going to try to break himself free." The second figure turned to the first one. "Tighten them! We can't let him get out!"

Snap took in a few quick breaths at this. These zoners, they must be working for King Zander. They were trying to keep him trapped. No, he wasn't going to allow that. He narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth as the first zoner approached him.

Waiting until she got close enough, he suddenly lurched forward, ramming his head against the zoner. She let out a grunt as she staggered back. Snap ignored the throbbing ache in his head as he snarled at the zoner.

"Do not touch me..." He growled at her.

The zoner rubbed her head as she took a small step back. She glared at him in annoyance. "Stubborn little fellow, ain't he?"

"Well he did just wake up. He is just confused." The other zoner said. "Just restrain his head and give him a shot. We don't want him trying to climb out of bed again."

No...he couldn't let that happen. He would never allow those two creepazoids get close enough to inject him with gawd knows what. He bared his teeth and let out a series of growls as the zoner approached him again, this time accompanied by the other.

He attempted to head butt again. They dodged the attack easily, leaning away to avoid getting hit. One tried to reach out towards him. He lurched his head forward again and tried to bite, snapping his jaws at them. The two zoners stared down at him, their eyes narrowed. He returned the glare, his mouth open and his lips curled back to show his teeth. Not something he'd normally do, but without use of his arms, he was desperate.

One of the zoners disappeared behind him. He hissed as he leaned his head back, trying to look at them. He could barely see them. He growled and tried to snap. He could feel hands slipping underneath his jaw. He tried to bite, but pressure was quickly applied.

With his mouth held shut, he was no longer able to bite, or even articulate words. His heart speeding up, he tried to struggle. The zoner managed to keep his head still as well as his jaws closed. No matter how hard he struggled, he was not able to break himself free. He let out a series of whimpers, his anger replaced with raw terror.

He opened ups his eye and watched as the other zoner came over towards him. His eyes bulged as they leaned towards him. He made a few more weak attempts to struggle, but he was not able to get himself free. All he could do was whimper softly as the zoner began to put the head restraint in place. He could feel the cool leather against his head, and then a click, and he knew it was hooked up.

As soon as he was released, he started to struggle frantically. With more vigor than before, he tried to get himself out of this situation. He pulled with all of his might. But soon, he banged his leg, where the pain was coming from, and he let out a scream of agony. He shrank down, shivering from pain. A few tears strolled down his cheeks as he stared up at the zoners, silently asking them why they would do this.

The zoner he had head butted earlier was coming towards him with a needle. She flicked the tip a few times, and he could see that it was recently filled with something. His heart rate increased as he watched her get closer with the needle.

Snap tried to shake his head in desperation. "N-No...please don't... I..."

Snap suddenly couldn't speak anymore when he felt a cloth against his mouth. He looked up and he could see it was the other zoner. He was not paying attention to him; he was looking over at the female zoner who was still approaching. Snap kept on trying to protest, but his attempts were muffled.

"I'm sorry, but this is for your own good." He said softly.

Snap let out a series of muffled whimpers as he tried again to struggle, despite the pain he was causing himself. He only stopped when he felt a sharp, shooting pain in his leg, and he screamed into his gag. His body gave a few thrashes and he let out more tears of pain, crying softly.

His eyes bulged as he felt the pinch of the sharp needle against his neck. He turned his eyes over and he could see the female zoner push her thumb against the needle, pushing the fluid into his body. Only after the whole thing was pushed in was he released. The zoners took a few steps back and watched him.

Snap's eyes bulged in fear, his breathing increasing. No...this couldn't be happening. He couldn't allow this to happen. He couldn't let himself fall prey to its effects. He struggled to fight against them. He clenched his teeth tightly, fighting with his mind not to lose control.

But a few minutes later, as the drug started to kick in, he found it increasingly difficult to fight back. The drug's effects were just too powerful. They stretched over his brain, coating it in its influence.

"N-No.." Snap's muffled voice came as he tried to shake his head. "I-I won't...No..."

No matter how hard he tried to fight, no matter how much he tried to regain control, it was just no use. The drug was winning him over swiftly, and he could feel exhaustion spread through him quickly. It grabbed onto his mind and pulled him down, and he couldn't do anything to get himself out.

As the drug began to go into full effect, Snap could feel his eyes start to close. He struggled to keep them open, but his eyes were just too heavy. His vision began to go, becoming blurry once more. No amount of blinking would clear it up.

Just before he fell into darkness completely, he looked up at the two zoners before him. He let out a few small whimpers, tears staining his cheeks. He could feel one of them take the gag off of his mouth as he was about to fall unconscious. Snap said one thing before he lost touch with the world around him.

"Wh-Why...?"

He suddenly shut his eyes and his body went limp. A few tears trickled out of his eyes and dribbled down his face.

sss

"What did you mean they had to knock him out?" Rudy's eyes were wide in shock. "Couldn't they just...talk to him?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Snap was delusional. Likely a side effect of the..."

Rudy cut him off. "But he is okay, right?"

The doctor gave him a slightly annoyed look. He took in a deep breath and sighed. He nodded his head. "Yes...he's okay. For now at least." He held his hand up in gesture. "If they didn't knock him out, he would have kept on struggling and hurt himself more."

Rudy could feel his heart clench at what it must have been like for Snap. To wake up in a strange place. Not knowing where he was, or how he got there, or where anyone was. He must have been so scared and frightened... And he hadn't been in there to help him. Maybe if he were in Snap's presence and he reassured him, maybe Snap could have calmed down more easily.

He was a bit unnerved at the idea of him being knocked out via drugging. But he did understand there may not have been much of a choice. If Snap really was convinced he was in the hands of the enemy, no amount of reassurances would have helped. He'd just keep struggling harder, and end up hurting himself.

He was glad that the nurses were able to help him without causing too much distress. Now Snap could relax and be calm while the doctors did what they could to help him a little. Enough that he could make it up to the surface without being in too much pain.

He wondered how the others were going to react. Snap had been the first one to wake up and now he was asleep again. Penny, King Mumbo Jumbo, and Barney, all in their own rooms, were still out cold. Rudy bit his lip. He hoped that they would remain calm when they woke up. Especially Penny. If she panicked the way Snap did, then they couldn't do anything given that she's from the Real World like him.

He had already been looked at. There was little the doctors could do for him, which didn't surprise him. The most they could do was give him a stronger cast for his arm. It would not last long, but it would be enough for now.

He stood beside Penny's bed. He had insisted on seeing her as soon as the temporary cast was in place. He stared down at her, watching her as she slept. He bit his lip, wondering when she was going to wake up. He looked at her up and down, wincing as he took note of her injuries. Very few had been covered up due to the blood.

"Will she..?"

"I don't know." The doctor said solemnly. "We couldn't do much with her." He looked down at him. "Or you for that matter. It's...hard for us to work with non-zoners."

"I understand..." Rudy nodded his head slowly. "Well..thanks for the help anyway."

The doctor stared at him for a few moments. He then looked down at his chart. "I am going to see how Barney is doing." He looked at him with one eye. "I will inform you when you can visit your other friends."

"Thank you." Rudy said softly. He said no more as he listened to the doctor walk away, leaving him alone with Penny.

Rudy continued to stare down at Penny, watching as she took in weak breath after weak breath. He couldn't help but feel tears form in his eyes. He felt guilty about what had happened to her. Why wasn't he more vigilant? Why didn't he try harder to protect her and the others? He should have been able to do...something to prevent this from happening.

He tried his best to fight back the tears. He was not able to stop a few of those tears from streaming down his face. It was difficult to fight back the guilty feeling that was twisting his gut into knots. No matter how much he tried to tell himself this wasn't his fault, the guilt just kept eating away at him. He still felt like he could have done more to help her, and the others.

But...there was nothing he could do about that now. All he could do was just be here for her, as well as his other friends. He could help them, and they could help each other, get through this.

At least the worst part was over now. They no longer had a crazy general or an evil king hanging over their shoulders. They no longer needed to fear getting chased or tormented or forced to fight. They could finally relax here, and actually begin to enjoy it instead of constantly worrying about some insane zoner rearing their ugly head at them.

Suddenly he could hear a soft groan. He turned his head down. He could see that Penny's eyelids were...moving. His own eyes widened and he could feel his chest fill with elation. Penny was finally waking up... He did his best to remain still, controlling his excitement as Penny's eyes began to flutter open.

Rudy smiled down at her. "Hello, Penny." The excitement was quickly replaced with concern. He furrowed his eyes and he whispered softly. "How...How are you feeling...?"

Penny looked confused. She looked up at him, her eyes unfocused. She pushed herself up, but soon fell back down, a rush of dizziness clearly striking her. She placed a hand against her head and rubbed it. She took a moment to look left and right, her blinking eyes barely registering where she was.

"Rudy?" She gave a small cough. "Wh-Where am I...?"

"You're in a ChalkZone hospital." Rudy said softly. He reached out and gently grabbed her by the arm. "It is okay. You're safe. We're all safe now."

"B-But..." Penny's eyes widened as flashbacks were starting to come forth. "K-King Zander..."

Rudy said, "He is dead." Penny blinked at him a few times. He couldn't tell if she was just confused in general, or if she couldn't understand how King Zander could be gone. Of course she'd be confused. She did not witness what had happened. "He was caught in an explosion."

Penny stared at him for a few moments. Her eyes blinked, her expression changing to indicate that the information was sinking into her head. She shut her eyes and lowered her head, rubbing it gently. She turned back to him, confusion plastered over her face. "How...did that happen..?"

Rudy paused for a moment. He wasn't sure if now was a good time to tell Penny. She was clearly still confused and muggy. She had just woken up now, and, judging from her flinches, she had started to register some pain. Her mind was to crowded to think clearly. She might not even remember anything that he was going to say now.

Yet...he couldn't just leave her in the dark. It wouldn't feel right. Even if she didn't fully remember anything he was about to say, he felt the need to tell her anyway. He could always explain again later if it came to that.

He grabbed onto Penny's hand as she began to writhe a bit in pain. The doctors couldn't give her any pain meds. She was going to suffer the worst out of all his friends. He held her hand in his, gently rubbing it as he tried to soothe her.

"It's going to be okay, Penny." Rudy whispered. "You will be fine. It's all right..."

Although he normally didn't like doing this with anyone except for family members, he made an exception with Penny. She was starting to feel so much pain, he just..needed to something to help her feel better. So he lowered himself down and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. Penny did not protest, and she appeared to relax a little.

As Rudy began to stroke her hair gently, he said, "Here's what happened..."

He began to relay to her what had happened at the colosseum.

sss

“And that’s what happened.” Rudy concluded the story.

In front of him, he could see Snap staring at him in shock. The zoner was clearly trying to digest the story he had been told. The look in his eyes suggested he was trying to figure out whether or not he should believe him. Rudy remained quiet, allowing Snap to think.

This had been the second time he told someone the story of what happened. Penny had been just as stunned as Snap was now. After all they had been through, it was hard to believe that King Zander could be dead that easily. It was hard to believe that it was finally all over. He wouldn’t blame them if they remained on edge; he kind of was too. It just seemed...too easy.

But life could be surprising like that. Life may be cruel at times, but there are moments when it just hands stuff on a silver platter. They had to learn to appreciate those moments instead of questioning them just because they felt ‘off’ or odd in some way. Questioning them only seemed to sap away their importance.

Snap had been the first of the zoners to wake up. King Mumbo Jumbo and Barney would wake up soon, he was certain. As soon as they would, he would go speak to them on what had happened. They deserved to know the story as well.

He was glad to see that Snap was feeling a bit better from before. This time, when he had woken up, they were able to calm him down without him freaking out and without resorting to injecting him again. After he finished speaking to Penny, one of the doctors had come and informed him that he would be able to speak to Snap now.

He had greeted Snap and asked him how he was feeling. The poor guy was still in some pain. It would seem the painkillers they gave him were wearing off and he needed more. Though he had been given some strong painkillers a little while ago, it would take some time for him to feel it’s effects and feel better. But at least for now, he was stabilized and relaxed. That was something.

He could see that he had been given a cast on his leg as well. Temporary just like his, intended for short time use so he could get to a hospital on the surface. Rudy had made it clear that he had no intention on allowing his zoner friends to stay here for much longer. They wanted to go back to the surface. They were only staying here for a short time, enough to provide some treatment before being taken to a surface hospital. And, in the case of him and Penny, a hospital in the Real World.

“So...that creepazoid finally got what was coming to him...” Snap’s voice was bitter. “Served him right...”

Rudy couldn’t really argue with that. King Zander really did have it coming to him, with the way he had acted and treated them and his own people. He was a complete and utter monster. He would certainly not be missed.

Snap’s expressions suddenly softened up. “I wonder who is going to run this joint in his place.”

Rudy hadn’t really thought of that. He had been so busy with other things that he hadn’t stopped to really consider what the zoners here would do about the king situation.

He was certain they had an idea, though. They must have some kind of protocol for this sort of situation. They might already have a king lined up and waiting to take the throne. And this time, he knew that they would be more careful about whom they put on that throne. Surely, they would pick someone much more noble and trustworthy this time.

“I wonder where that other creepazoid is...”

Rudy looked down at Snap. “You mean Kairos?”

“Yeah...” Snap nodded his head once. “Him...”

Rudy shrugged his shoulder. “I honestly don’t know. I hadn’t seen him since the incident in the colosseum.” He paused for a moment. “But with a broken back, he would not get far. I’m sure someone has found him.”

Snap said, “Good. I hope they can think of an appropriate punishment for him. Nothing I can think of seems to be good enough.”

“Having his back broken and being helpless was good enough punishment for me. But I can see what you mean.” Rudy said. “I’m sure whoever finds him will think of something rather fitting for him.”

“I hope so.” Snap growled softly.

Rudy lifted his head up and turned his eyes up towards the ceiling as he entered a thoughtful state. He, too, wondered where General Kairos might be. What could have happened to him after he was knocked out of the arena? There was the chance he was dead, but if he was alive...

He was not worried about Kairos getting too far. With that busted back and paralyzed legs, he wouldn’t really get all that far. He could try to flee all he wanted to, but he would not be able to put in a lot of distance. Once someone found him, they could easily catch up to him and capture him before he could get away. Then he would have no choice but to face justice.

He really wasn’t sure what more could be done to him, however. He was never going to be able to walk again. He would remain helpless. Even a wheelchair would do him no good as his wings could not grip the wheels properly for movement. He was completely immobilized. What more could be taken from him after that point?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a creak behind him. He turned his head and saw that the door had been opened up. A female doctor zoner peered her head in through the door and stared right over at him.

“Excuse me, Mr. Tabootie?” She asked.

“Rudy.” He corrected her.

“Yes...” She nodded her head once. “I just wanted to inform you that your other two friends are awake now, and you can visit them in a few minutes if you wanted to.”

What an odd choice of words. Of course he would go speak to King Mumbo Jumbo and Barney. He decided not to bring that up. He waved his hand at her and thanked her. She quickly scurried off, likely to give him some more private time with Snap, or to hurry to a patient that was in need of help.

Rudy would visit them in a few minutes. Right now, he wanted to spend a little more time with Snap. A part of him felt compelled to do this after learning of his panic attack earlier. He couldn’t help but fear that, if he left too soon, he would go ballistic and try to escape again. He wanted to make sure that he really was okay.

His eyes turned towards his broken leg. He could feel a sharp pang of guilt as he remembered how the injury came about. King Zander snapping it like a toothpick, Snap’s screaming....

“What’s wrong, Bucko?” Snap whispered softly. “Is something wrong?”

Rudy stared at his friend, then slowly he shook his head. “No... I just...” Rudy gritted his teeth, trying to think of how to put it in words. “I still feel really bad about letting King Zander break your leg.”

“Letting him?” Snap looked shocked by this. “What do you mean?” He held his hand up. “You didn’t let him do anything.”

“I know, but... It still feels like I...let you down.” Rudy lowered his head. “I’m the Great Creator. I should have been able to stop it.”

“Rudy. Look at me.”

Slowly, Rudy lifted his head and stared into his friend’s eyes. Snap was glaring at him. Not harshly, but an expression that was filled with concern and worry.

“You are the Great Creator, yes. But...you’re also a child. You cannot possibly be able to do everything all the time. Remember that.” Snap motioned to himself. “At least I’m still alive.” He then motioned out towards him. “We are all still alive. And soon, we are all going back home.” He smiled softly. “If that’s not worth celebrating, then I don’t know what is.”

Rudy smiled at this. Snap always seemed to know what to say to help cheer him up. He was right. It wasn’t his fault that this happened, and at least they had made it out alive. They had beat the odds, escaped a ruthless tyrant, exposed him for what he was, and turned the tides for Chalklantis. Everything else seemed easier by this point.

There was still the matter of his parents, however. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do about them. How was he going to explain where he was? Or Penny? How would she deal with her mother? Could they come up with any sort of convincing lie?

The fact that they were going to stay in the hospital for at least another two hours wasn’t going to help. They were already likely worried sick. A few more hours would be like torture for them.

But it was something that needed to be done. He and his friends needed some treatment as soon as possible, some more than others. Even if they might have made it to the surface just fine without any medical help, he would feel better knowing they got more professional help before heading back up and going hours through the water to get back to the continent. The sooner they got some level of treatment, the better.

Despite his worry, he did feel some level of confidence that he and Penny could work something out. It was going to be hard yes, but so was trying to escape this place. So was trying to keep a step ahead of King Zander and getting away from his hell hole of a trap. If they could manage that, then trying to convince their parents of whatever story they decided to weave could surely work.

“Hey, Bucko...?” Snap called out to him. Rudy looked down at him. “Why don’t you go talk to the others? Barney and King Mumbo Jumbo?”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah, good idea. I don’t want them to be in the dark for too long about what happened.” Snap bit his lip for a few moments, then he looked at Snap and smiled. “Get well soon.”

Snap winked at him. “Would you ever doubt me?”

Rudy gave a small chuckle at this. Then he got up from his seat to go see King Mumbo Jumbo and Barney.

sss

It was hard to believe that the moment had finally come. After all these long, grueling hours being trapped here, they were finally getting ready to go home. Penny thought it was too good to be true. She wanted to pinch herself. This couldn’t possibly be real, right?

But as they headed toward the submarine, which floated in the water, waiting for its occupants, he knew that it really was true. It was actually happening.

She and her friends were finally going to go home.

Well some of them. King Mumbo Jumbo and Barney decided to stay behind. She and her friends were confused by this decision. They couldn’t understand why they would want to live in the same place that had imprisoned them for longer than they had been here. Then again, most of that was caused by King Zander, and with him gone, Chalklantis had become a much better place.

King Mumbo Jumbo explained that his citizens in the jungle had gone for so long without a king, that they no longer really needed him. He had never really gotten the hang of ruling again. He had been so out of practice. He felt more comfortable as a citizen. That was why he removed the ‘king’ in his name, although he didn’t mind if friends like them still referred to him as King Mumbo Jumbo.

Barney wanted to stay because this place was one of the most isolated locations in all of ChalkZone. Sure there were zoners here, but there were sections that they wouldn’t dare go in. He could get some more privacy, and he would be out of range of anyone who may want to try to misuse his information. That, and he didn’t want to leave his best friend behind. He had no intention on abandoning him like he felt he had during the first balloonemia outbreak.

Speaking of outbreaks, she and her friends did want to help with the whole head deflator disease, but they had to get back before their folks worried too much. They had been gone for way too long. If they wanted to help, they would need to come back later, after they set things straight and after they did some research on the surface regarding the disease. Then they could come back and provide as much help as they could.

Soon, she and her friends stood at the edge of the water. She could feel her feet getting a little wet as the water splashed on them. She stared at the water for a few moments, taking her time to remind herself that, yes, this was real. They really were standing on the very ground they first came on hours ago, that they really were about to leave Chalklantis and return home.

She and her friends looked at each other, each letting all of this sink in their minds. It was hard to believe what had happened today. So much went on, it was unbelievable. They had come here for a visit, it was a trap, they struggled to survive, and they triumped over it all. They couldn’t feel prouder of themselves.

And now Chalklantis could finally be a place it was meant to be. A place of true wonder and joy, where anyone who ended up visiting could feel welcomed, and the Chalklantians could feel safe. It would take some time to get there, but with the new king, Penny and the others were certain it would get to that point.

Now they were finally able to go back to the surface. Snap would be able to go the hospital to get further help, and she and Rudy could go into the Real World for the same thing, and of course reunite with their families.

Right now, they were all bandaged up to some degree. Rudy had a makeshift cast and she had some bandaging, although parts of it were dissolved by her own blood. Snap was the most bandaged up of the three of them. Given his status as a zoner, they could do more for him. His side was all patched up and his leg covered in a cast similar to Rudy’s. He balanced himself using a crutch. His burns were also treated as well.

The thought of that made her flinch, reminding her that she and Rudy didn’t have much done with their burns yet. They weren’t too bad or too numerous, considering what had happened. But they still needed them treated as soon as possible.

At least they were near the submarine now. At least now they could finally be on their way and...

“Hey! Wait!”

The trio froze before they continued. They looked behind them. This served as a reminder that they didn’t come alone. They had been escorted by some of the guards. Some of them were the same ones that helped imprison them before.

The guard that had spoke was Cyd, the same guard that had brought them their meals. A supporter of King Zander. Or at least, he used to be until he had seen him attack one of his own guards. Cyd refused to follow a kind that didn’t appear to care for even those who were loyal to him.

Cyd stood before them, looking at them with mixed emotions. There was still some level of distrust in them, intermixed with awkwardness. It must be difficult for him to be civil with topsiders like this. The fact that he was trying at all was quite impressive. It must be taking all of his willpower to not treat them with contempt like before.

“I know it’s been said already, but I...we are really sorry for how we treated you. It had been wrong of us to do that. We should have never listened to that...monster.”

Snap gave him a smile. “Hey, do not fret. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Cyd contorted his face at this. “Yes, but not everyone’s mistakes nearly result in the deaths of innocents.”

“True, but you still admitted you were wrong and you are striving to change. That’s something, right?” Rudy said.

Cyd paused for a moment. Then he said, “Yeah...I suppose so.” He shut his eyes softly. “I..uh.. still wanted to give you something... To remember us by, and as an apology.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. It appeared to be some kind of solid, golden statue of a serpentine dragon. It wasn’t very large in size. He handed it over towards Rudy.

“Here. Keep this.” Cyd said. He worked up a smile, which clearly didn’t look very easy for him to make. “It is of great value here. Keep it. A token of our apology and gratitude.”

Rudy took the small statue from the boar zoner. He stared at it, his eyes wide in amazement. Penny and Snap also stared at the statue as well. It looked absolutely beautiful. All kind of engravings and details on it. This must have taken a long time to make.

“Thanks, but we...” Penny started to say.

“No, I insist. Keep it.” Cyd held his hand out in gesture. “It is yours now.”

“We...thanks..” Rudy whispered softly, his eyes not able to be torn away from the statue.

“What are you guys going to do about a king?” Snap asked. Rudy and Penny looked at him, and then stared at Cyd. They were all quite curious about this. “You can’t go on for much longer without a king to lead things, can’t you?”

Cyd shook his head. “No. This place was meant to be a monarch. A place ruled by a king or queen. We haven’t yet decided who will take...his place. But rest assured, we will find somebody.” He gave a small smile to them. “And he will not be like...him.”

A guard behind him spoke up in agreement. “You got that right!”

Another raised up her finger. “No way would we choose a king so foolishly again!”

Penny and her friends were glad to hear this. They wouldn’t want Chalklantis to fall under the horrible rule of another king like that. They wouldn’t want the citizens to be terrorized by someone who was supposed to be taking care of them. They were confident that they would pick someone more worthy of the throne, someone who could be trusted to do what a king or queen was supposed to do.

A third guard was approaching them slowly. “Do you...need any help?” The guard looked at Snap’s broken leg and his crutch and he gritted his beak. “It seems like you could use our assistance.”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah...that would be greatly appreciated.”

“I hope it’s not too big a deal or you....” Penny started to say.

“Oh no, not a trouble at all!” The third guard waved his hand dismissively. “We would be glad to do it! Right, guys?”

The other guards nodded their heads, saying things like ‘sure’ and ‘correct’ and ‘yes’.

“Thank you.” Rudy said.

With that, the guards approached them slowly. They began to assist them back in the submarine.

sss

No, it couldn’t end like this. This wasn’t fair. He had to get out of here, before that madman of a zoner came back. He didn’t even need to go that far. He just needed to crawl away a bit further, perhaps find a thick patch of foliage to hide in. Then he could wait to heal and...

Who was he kidding? He was never going to regain use of his legs. That was an impossibility. His legs were horridly broken and his back snapped in two. Even if the wounds heal, he would never be able to walk again. He would just be dooming himself to a slower death. Could he really doom himself to that, all just to avoid that zoner from before?

Perhaps not. But Kairos was desperate. All instinct was telling him was flee. Get up and run. But he could not run. Not anymore. He could only crawl. And that’s what his body was driving him to do. Just crawl away as quickly as he could.

The fact that he could not feel physical pain was hardly a comfort anymore. Before, he prided himself in that detail. Before, he would use it to taunt his victims just before making their own world explode in pain and misery.

But now...he would rather feel pain. He could not tell how much worse it was getting back there. He could not tell if he was doing anything to make the injury even more bad than before. Without pain, he was unable to detect the extend of the damage. And without pain, his broken back and limp legs suddenly became a whole lot scarier.

Was this what his victims felt? Is this how they viewed pain? Is this what they had gone through when he tortured them? Is this what physical pain was all about?

He pushed the thoughts aside. It didn’t matter now anymore, anyway. All that did matter was that he was injured and was about to recieve the most terrifying punishment of his lifetime. He knew that Theron was going to strike at his heart and mind. The way he had looked at him.... There was no doubt in his mind that, whatever Theron did, it was going to be horrifying.

Kairos could feel his heart race in his chest. He had a strong hunch of what it was going to be. The thought of it send cold chills through his body, making him shiver.

He... He didn’t want to be trapped. He didn’t want to be locked up. He didn’t want this. He had never thought too much of being trapped before, but now he saw just how terrifying it was. To be stuck in a single spot, unable to move, unable to get away... He wouldn’t want to wish that upon himself. Others, maybe. But not himself. He needed to get away.

Unfortunately, he was not able to move fast enough. He could hear footsteps approaching him quickly. He let out a soft groan as he lifted his head and turned it towards the source.

Not far away, he could see the rustling of foliage. It didn’t take long for the plants to part to the side, allowing for not one, but two figures to come through. He immediately recognized one as Theron. The second one, who had a limping gait and a somewhat pained expression in his eyes, he recognized even faster.

His eyes widened and his face paled. No..it couldn’t be... Not him... It’s not possible. How did he...?

Theron stopped a few feet in front. He was smirking down at Kairos, his eyes glinting with glee, his teeth showing in a smile. “See? What did I tell you? Exactly where I told you he was going to be.” He turned his head to the side, looking over at the other figure. “Since he is your brother, I think you should get to choose what we do with him.”

Kairos looked up at Cameo. The two locked eyes with each other, not daring to look away. The silence that followed was unbearable. Kairos wanted to fly away, run, anything. But he was helpless, and could only stare into his brother’s narrowed, icy blue eyes, which seemed colder now than they had ever been.

That look in his eyes... It was clear that Cameo was interested in a little payback. After what he had done to him, after how he had put him in this bandaged, limping position, needing a crutch to support himself, how could he be surprised with this?

As Cameo started to walk towards him, Kairos immediately let out a fright-filled shriek. He started to flap his wings furiously, desperately trying to get away. He must look so pathetic right now. Writhing around on the ground like a bird with a broken wing. Yet he still flapped, clinging desperately to the hope that he could get away and not give his brother any chance of payback.

But it was useless. He could feel his brother’s foot against his neck, the talons pressing against it. He immediately froze, knowing that, with just a little more pressure, his vital blood vessels in the neck could be severed. He looked up at Cameo, his bronze beak open and breathing in and out shakingly.

For a split moment, he could see a flashback in his head. He could see how he and him had similar looks back then, only now it was reversed. It was Cameo’s turn to stare at him coldly, with the sadistic intent of getting even. And there was nothing he could do about it.

“Say, dear brother...” Cameo finally spoke, his voice a low hiss. “Do you remember that thing you told me about before? About me feeling pain...” He tilted his head slightly to one side. “But you can’t...?”

Kairos nodded his head meekly. “Y-Yes...I remember that..”

Cameo’s beak twisted in a wicked smile. “Well then... This should make things quite...” He leaned in closer. “Interesting.”

Kairos widened his eyes in horror at this.