The Main Attraction

Chapter 16: All A Part Of The Plan

I find a sense of satisfaction.
-Darker Side Of Me, The Veer Union





Skrawl had no idea just what Sandra was so darn happy about. There was nothing to celebrate here. What she should be doing is trying to cut her losses and figure something else out that she can do. Something that was going to turn things around for her.

Not that he cared anyway. He was a prisoner of hers. He could care less if she failed or not. But he would think that she herself would give some kind of fuck about how things were going. Did she not realize that she had just made things far worse for herself? Did she not care that she may have just ruined her one chance at getting back at Rudy and his miserable friends?

And yet... he did not see an ounce of worry in her eyes. She was just smirking all the way. Smiling from ear to ear, like this was the best news that she ever could have come up with. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at this. If she could not figure out a way to get him to tell her about the Beanie Boys, what in the world made her think that she could accomplish anything else?

He knew that she didn’t figure out a damn thing for the Beanie Boys, or anything to make him more liable to obey her. He knew this because despite what she said before, she never actually carried out anything. This most likely meant that she really didn’t know what she was going to do and she was just trying to scare him, hoping that he’d cave in or something.

Well it wasn’t going to happen. She could try all she wanted to. He would never cave in and let her use his Beanie Boys. They were his, after all. His only, his to control. No one else was allowed to boss them around, and he would be damned if he allowed anything to change that.

His mismatched eyes continued to follow Sandra as she paced back and forth, her arms folded behind her back. He couldn’t help but let out an irritated growl at this. How many times had she paced around here? Too many. He could feel his ears aching from how much her feet and talons were hitting against the ground. It wasn’t so bad at first, but as it just kept on going and going....

Sandra at last seemed to stop. She remained positioned several feet away, her head tilted upwards. Her tail swished from side to side, her eyes looking towards what seemed like nothing in particular. Skrawl grumbled to himself on just how weird Sandra was being. Sure he himself had some weird habits, but this was just...

At last, Skrawl just couldn’t take it anymore. He had to speak up now, otherwise he wasn’t really sure what he was going to do. “You know, you hadn’t really had much of a success.”

This finally made Sandra stop pacing. Skrawl let out a sigh of relief as the tapping and thudding finally left his ears. But they were soon replaced with confusion as he noticed the way Sandra was looking at him. No sign of anger or even much emotion, despite the smile. She was just looking at him, as though mostly curious.

“Oh really now? Is that so?” Sandra asked. She gave a short pause. Skrawl was not able to think of a response before Sandra turned herself all the way around and looked at him intently. “Exactly what makes you say that?”

Skrawl spluttered. Was she joking? Did she seriously not see the problem? Or was she pretending, just wanting to drive him insane? If that is the case, then she was certainly doing a good job on that. He struggled not to let his teeth grind together too much before he gave his response.

“It should be quite clear! You just...released utter chaos into ChalkZone! Even I am not dumb enough to do that!” Skrawl flinched as he realized he had just insulted himself. He shook his head a little to recover and he continued, “Now they know you are out and they are going to build up a defense and you won’t be able to...”

“And that is going to be a problem how?” Sandra tilted her head to one side, grinning broadly at Skrawl. “You know about my powers, Skrawl. They won’t be able to do much.” She turned her head, her eyes facing backwards, grinning darkly. “They will only be sealing their fates...”

“And what of Rudy and his bratty friends?!” Skrawl raised his hands up at his sides, his claws spread out. “They are going to try their damnest to find you now! If you had just tried to keep a low profile, you might have been able to hide for a while, come up with a better plan, and unleash your fury on them!” Skrawl slapped himself in the face, shaking it. “I just..never thought you’d be so stupid..”

Sandra didn’t seem to flinch at all at the ‘stupid’ comment. She just continued to smile. A low chortle was unleashed through her mouth. “I had actually wanted that to happen.”

Skrawl immediately froze. “What...?”

Sandra smirked at him. “I wanted to make a scene so that they would try to find me.” She pulled something out from between her sharp teeth. Bacon? Hamburger? It was difficult to tell from this distance. “I wanted to ensure that they would try to follow me. I have a surprise waiting for them.”

Skrawl stared at her long and hard for several seconds. “So...this was all...”

Sandra cut him off, finishing what he was about to say. “All a part of the plan, yes.” She picked at her teeth with another feather finger. “You see...” She flicked off what looked like a piece of food. “I am a lot more clever than you give me credit for...”

“Oh really now?” Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this. On the one hand, it did seem clever. But on the other, it was still risky. He wondered just how far she had planned ahead for this. “Okay then...” He raised his hand up, making a sideways gesture. “And just what will happen afterwards? What is the next step that you have in mind?”

Sandra simply remained silent. Skrawl gritted his teeth at this. This hadn’t been the first time that Sandra had pulled the silent treatment on him. And he was quite frankly tired of it. If Sandra didn’t tell him what he wanted...

He gave out an exasperated sigh. What was the point, really? It wasn’t like she was going to tell him anything. As much as he hated to admit it, he really was under her control right now. There was not a blasted thing that he could do to get her to do what he wanted. Even the act of getting out of this cage was not an option. Like hell she was going to release him so easily. All he could do was just glare at her while she walked away, that smug smirk clearly spread across her face.

Skrawl snorted as she disappeared down the hallway. Off to do...whatever it is that she does. He never really knows where she disappears to after she speaks with him. And frankly, he didn’t care. He was enjoying, on some level, some of the time that he had to himself. At least he didn’t have to stare at her ugly mug anymore. For now.

He still could not believe that he had been dumb enough to agree to help her. That had been a trap the whole time, and he should have known. Why didn’t he pick up on it sooner? How could he have been so stupid?

He seethed through his mouth as he breathed heavily, trying to get himself to calm down. He reminded himself over and over that there really wasn’t much that he could do right now. He was trapped here with no way out. He will just have to be patient and wait. A time would come when he could be able to escape this hell and he would be able to break free of Sandra’s control.

And when that happened, he would give Sandra the ‘payback’ that she deserved. He smiled twistedly at the thought. Yes, he would make sure that she was sorry that she ever screwed with him.

sss

Why hadn’t she made a move against that stupid jellybean yet? She had planned for it. It was what she was going to do in order to obtain the information from him. She had it all planned out in her head. She could just see it now...

So why didn’t she do it?

Sandra wasn’t sure if she would ever figure it out. She decided to chalk it up to just...being distracted. Because quite honestly, the Beanie Boys had been mostly a secondary thought to her mind. Not of as great an importance. Her main focus was...well cliche, but quite affective. She was busy planning her revenge against those meddlers who had gotten in her way five years ago.

Of course, anyone who knew her well enough would have known this. That had taken top priority in her mind and she was fully intent on carrying it out. Just..not yet. It had to be perfected first. She couldn’t just waltz out there all willy nilly without some sort of plan. Otherwise... well, wouldn’t she just cause herself unnecessary trouble? That was the last thing that she wanted to do to herself. She was not about to go back to that jail. Oh no... They will not lock her up again. She would see to that.

Although... her plans did undergo a shift recently. She was rethinking a few details. Nothing that can’t be handled in a short period of time. But they were still things that she did not see coming, or realized she had to go about a different way.

The Beanie Boys were one thing. She had thought about using them as a sort of weapon. After all, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to resist her. Not after that ‘display’ she had given to everyone in ChalkZone City. Surely they would have known about that. But....that all changed when she happened to listen to the radio and heard something...rather interesting.

The Beanie Boys had attacked the ChalkZone hospital. And all just to look for and rescue Skrawl himself.

She had not spoken about this to Skrawl, but it had her pondering. Replaying the details over and over in her mind, she realized just how devoted the Beanie Boys were to Skrawl. She wanted to avoid mind manipulation as much as possible as she was a little new at it. She had hoped she could convince the Beanie Boys to work for her, but since they have shown just how violent they can be... Perhaps it was time to think of...alternate plans.

But the one change that was the biggest was what she was going to do with Rudy. This was the one that sent the biggest shock through her system. She would still find a way to punish him, but, the way she would do it would probably be altered somehow.

There was just something about seeing him in a wheelchair that...made her rethink things. Maybe it made her realize that, in a way, they were even. After all, she had been trapped for years in that prison, just like Rudy had been trapped for years in that wheelchair. She knew that he had survived, but she did not realize that he might be crippled. And unlike her, Rudy’s condition was permanent.

...that is, unless...

Sandra felt her mouth corners curl up into a darkened smile. Her plan was being alternated again, and she could feel it forming in the back of her mind. She knew exactly how she would get even with him, and who knows? Maybe she could provide a litte... ‘education’...

A part of her was disgusted with the idea. After all, Rudy was a promise breaker. But on the other hand, she had been wanting to have ‘fun’ with him, and his damaged spinal chord did provide oh so many possibilities.

But that was still just with Rudy. What was she going to do with the rest? She hadn’t yet decided about Penny and Mint. They had offended her the least. True, they helped to lock her away. But they hadn’t offended her as deeply as Rudy and Snap had. At the moment, her focus was on those two. She would figure something for Penny and Mint soon, however. Perhaps their punishment would be relegated mostly to watching everything going down. That would be a harsh enough punishment.

As for Snap... She was going to enjoy breaking him the most. She could already see it in her mind’s eye. It replayed for her over and over again. She could see herself biting into him, eating a chunk of his sweet-tasting meat... And then she would heal him up again just so that she could bite into him once more. A food source for her to last however long she deemed necessary. A fitting punishment for the one who betrayed her.

And Snap would have no one else to blame but himself. If he hadn’t been so stubborn and actually listened to her, none of this would have happened. She had been fair to him and she had explained herself in an understandable way. She thought that he would have understood... But instead, he turned against her, broke her heart and stomped on it. He was a monster, and he deserved a punishment as harsh as the one she was going to bestow upon Rudy.

Sandra stared down at her hands, her smirk spreading across her face as she thought of these plans. Having her powers back had been one of the most wonderful things to happen to her recently. The power to heal can be a benevolent power indeed....or one of the most terrifying weapons that one could possess. There were so many ways that she could screw someone over this ability. And Rudy and Snap were about to witness just what she can fucking do with this power.

At this point, she had gotten out of the castle and now stood on the edge. She peered out ahead of her, looking at the desert all around her, giant cacti everywhere. She scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of those wretched children coming.

To her disappointment, she didn’t see anything yet. But she didn’t have to worry. Knowing them, they would figure it out soon enough. And when they did, she would be ready for them. This time, it will be she who will surprise them. She let out a small chuckle. She wondered if they were going to enjoy her little surprise.

She recalled that she still had some things to do at her real hideout. This one with Skrawl was just a distraction; she was not stupid enough to do all of her important deeds here. No, she learned the importance of a decoy years ago. If she had just done her operations somewhere else, and not in her restaurant, maybe she could have derailed them and...

Well how would she have known that they would all be so fucking unreasonable? She was not a mind reader and frankly, she thought they would have been more sensible than that.

But before she headed back there, she was getting a little hungry. But getting food was a little trickier than it had been before. When she was an accepted citizen, no one bat an eye about her going into a store and buying something. But this time around, they wouldn’t let her anywhere near the city without freaking out. And she was not yet about to back there. She will at some point, but not now. Not until she was ready for that stage of the plan.

So instead...perhaps a little hunting was in order. She ate mostly meat before anyway, so this was not really much of a change for her. And somehow, she found herself enjoying hunted meat more than just buying it in the store. There was just something about the thrill of the hunt and obtaining the meat herself that just made it all taste...a lot better. Plus, it allowed her a way to relieve some stress, which helped her keep herself under control until the time came to really have some....fun.

So, with that in her mind, she spread out her arms and took off into the sky. She flew outwards towards one of the nearby forests, far away from ChalkZone City, and began to hunt for her next meal.

However, luck had been on her side when she managed to locate a zoner long before she hit any kind of forest. Down below her as she flew, she could see something large and dark grey flying about. The zoner was quite massive in size. Even larger than Skrawl, she’d reckon. And it still somehow soared through the sky like a champion.

It looked like some kind of...vulture or condor. She wasn’t sure which. She never really understood if those were meant to be the same type of creature or if a condor was something entirely different. Either way, that perfectly described this creature. The only thing that seemed rather strange was that hat on its head. Quite a strange thing for such a magnificent bird.

Oh well. She mentally shrugged. It didn’t really matter. In a matter of moments, it was about to become her dinner. She flapped her limbs harder and moved down closer to the bird so that she could get a better range with it. Her powers worked better the closer she was to her victim. Something that she had learned years ago.

Once she got close enough, she shut her eyes for a split second and she could feel her forehead heating up slightly, the triangle mark activating her powers. She made sure that she wasn’t close enough that this large condor could see her or even attack her should it realize where the source was coming from. And she focused heavily on the creature’s heart, seeing it in her mind, feeling it pound quicker and quicker despite not actually physically touching the creature.

Suddenly, after a few seconds of doing this, the condor started to show a reaction, letting out a loud, garbled squack laced in pain and agony. It struggled, trying to keep itself aloft. Sandra only tightened her hold on it, forcing its heart to overwork itself again, putting a few more blocks in its blood tubes to make it pump increasingly harder. And soon the bird was panting, floundering around in the air, looking like it was going to fall at any given moment.

And soon, it did.

Sandra watched as the massive bird fell into the ground, crashing heavily against the jagged rocks below. She could hear a sickening crack as the spine broke in two, and the legs went completely limp. The front part of the bird still showed activity, the wings flapping about weakly, the creature’s mouth open and struggling to take in a breath.

Sandra flew down and stood in front of the bird. The condor thing did not seem fully aware of her presence. Its eyes looked mostly unseeing and unfocused. Blood dripped out of its mouth, indicating internal damage.

Yet somehow, it was still breathing. Sandra was amazed that this thing, with how broken its body had become as a result of her little ‘help’, could have survived that. Oh well, it was not going to live for much longer. She would put an end to that.

She moved slowly towards the creature’s head. By this point, it seemed to finally realize that she was there. It lifted its head up weakly and tried to bite her. Such a pitiful attempt. It nearly collapsed the moment it tried, and its efforts were...rather lacking to say the least. All Sandra had to do was side step and the creature missed her entirely. Did not even get close. Sandra just kept moving forward, and the creature lost so much strength trying to bite her that it could hardly move. This just made it easier for Sandra to get to her targeted area: the neck.

Once she was close enough, Sandra raised her foot into the air, spreading her long, sharp talons outward. Tensing the muscles in her foot up, she struck down as hard as she could. Her talons easily slashed through the flesh of the large bird, ripping out its large neck veins with ease. Blood immediately splattered all over, creating a large puddle underneath her. She took a few steps back and watched and waited for the thing to expire.

Obviously it wasn’t going to die right away. It flapped about madly as it tried to get away from the pain. It tried to let out cries of pain, but they only came out as wet and gurbled, blood rapidly pooling out of its neck even more. This lasted for only a few seconds before it collapsed completely. Its body gave into the death throes, its feet kicking out. And soon even this stopped entirely, leaving behind a large, dead, and very tasty looking corpse.

Sandra licked her lips slowly. She anticipated the taste of this creature. She was one to try new things. This was why she designed her restaurant the way that she had. She felt everyone would enjoy the experience of a new flavor each time.

Taking a few steps closer, she opened her jaws and she bit down onto the creature’s neck, where she had ripped into it. She tore off a chunk of flesh and chewed ont it a couple times before swallowing it whole. She could feel it sliding down into her stomach. She licked her lips, getting the blood off of her lips. Just as she hoped. This creature tasted quite good.

Not as good as Snap. But still...delicious. She turned her head and shot her head back against the neck, resuming her consumption of it.

sss

“That place? You are sure?” Rudy stared intently at Penny. He could feel his heart racing inside of his chest. “You sure it’s nowhere else? There? From that place?”

“Positive, Buckette?” Snap joined in. His voice was laced with as much disbelief as Rudy’s. “There are no mistakes?”

Penny narrowed her eyes softly as she stared down at the needle that she held in her hand. “There is no mistake about it. I’d bet my life that this is from the same desert where Skrawl had tried to make me his queen.”

Mint spluttered. “Skrawl tried to do what?!”

“Didn’t we tell you?” Snap frowned at him. “About the time that Skrawl kidnapped Penny and tried to make her do his dirty work for him? And how she had to pretend to be evil to save our hides?”

Mint frowend at this, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “I’m honestly not sure... I mean... A lot has happened around here.” He raised his hand up in gesture, giving a small grin at the blue and white zoner. “I don’t really mean to be rude or anything. I apologize if I came across as too...”

Snap sighed and shook his head. “No, no, you’re all right.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Anyway, let’s move on...” The zoner paused for a moment, and then he shuddered, rubbing his arm up and down. “Boy, it’s going to be spooky going back in there again...”

“Yeah, I’ll say...” Penny muttered under her breath. Mint said nothing, but of course, he wasn’t there when this all went down. He did not understand the magnitude that this had on the rest of them.

Rudy flinced at the memory. He did not like to be reminded of what nearly happened back then. He hated to remember of how he felt when he thought Penny really did betray him, and just how close they had come to losing Snap over that plan of hers... Rudy fought the best that he could to push aside his angered and horrified feelings about the situation into the back of his mind. He couldn’t let himself get lose in those emotions. Not right now.

Shifting his mind back to the manner, he started to wonder just why Sandra would pick that place of all places. It didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Well maybe Skrawl did not tell her.... though it seemed unlikely. If they were working together, he’d imagine that Skrawl would boast about it and Sandra would inquire and Skrawl would end up, even backhandedly, admitting that he lost and that they knew of that place. It just seemed like utter suicide to use that place.

He wanted to think that there was just no way, that Penny had to be wrong, that there had to be some other desert out there somewhere that Sandra was using. It was really the only thing that made any sense to hi whatsoever.

But...the testing didn’t lie. Penny had insisted that she had tested enough times to know that this was a fact. He couldn’t just call her a liar or say that her testing was wrong. No... he would be an idiot if he did something like that. The only option that he had wasj ust to accept that Penny positively concluded that Sandra was located in that hideout. And that this was likely where Skrawl was as well, plotting and scheming with Sandra.

So...the next question that they had to figure out was...

...exactly how were they going to handle this situation?

“What do you guys propose that we do?” Rudy asked as he looked over at his friends. “Now that we know where she is.... What do you guys think our next course of action should be?”

Of course, his friends did not answer right away. He did not expect them to. This was a bit of a heavy question that would require a little thinking and planning. He was prepared to give them time. They still had some time, and he had faith in them; he knew that they’d figure something out soon. Or at least, he hoped that they would.

His eyes mainly focused on Mint, as he was the one who looked like he was in the most thought. He might be the first one to give an answer. So he watched him and waited patiently. He was a little amazed at how the older boy managed to keep focus even with Ripclaw nibbling at his hair the way that she was. Determined dinosaur, she was, with how she kept on leaning forward and trying to get more of his hair, no matter how many times Mint pushed her back.

After a while, Mint did seem to think of something as he opened his mouth to reply. Just like Rudy thought that he would. He and the others leaned in towards him, intently listening on him to see just what he had to say on the matter.

“Well..I’m honestly not really sure.”

Rudy felt a small pang in his chest. He thought for sure that Mint had figured something out. It looked like that he did not. Well, maybe if he continued speaking, they could pick up on something that would be useful for them.

Mint continued, “I mean, we have to remember just how clever Sandra is. Remember how she tricked all of us before?” He looked around at his friends nodding their heads slowly. “I thought so. And that is something that we should keep in mind. We must never forget that. Otherwise...” He turned his head down, staring at the ground. “..we will only land ourselves in a bigger mousetrap.”

Rudy shuddered to think of what happened before. Sandra had played them all for fools. She had easily, and so remorselessly, toyed with their minds and their emotions. She had them believing that she was a friend, when she was really a monster the whole time. She had pretended to be Snap’s friend, and then had the gawl to act as if she had cared about him.

Rudy would never forget that. Nor could he ever truly bring himself to forgive her for it, either. She had gone way too far, and the only place that she belonged was jail...or even death. He could feel his blood freezing at that thought. But honestly, that seemed to be a more appealing option, since it would at least stop her from causing so much trouble.

Either way worked for him, honestly.

“Just..where is this place, anyway?” Mint held up his hand in gesture. “I don’t think you guys elaborated on that.”

Rudy blinked a few times. That was correct. They hadn’t filled him in. Well, time to change that. “It was a large castle kind of place, situated on top of a large cactus.”

“A gigantic one!” Snap spread out his hands, indicating the size of it. Mint’s expression suggested that he wondered if they were exaggerating. As if sensing Mint’s possible disbelief at this, Snap continued, “I’m not even joking about this.”

“I never thought that you were.” Mint told him. After pushing Ripclaw back for what was probably the twelfth time, he added, “I just wanted a little bit of a clarification.” He rested his chin on one hand, rubbing it carefully. “Hmm...do you know if the cactus was part of the building?”

“I...we...” Rudy and Snap exchanged looks. They did not really see a lot of that place while they were there. They had only gone there to rescue Penny. All they could do was offer Mint a couple of shrugs.

But Penny was different. Rudy wasn’t sure if he should be surprised or not. “Yes, I can say for a fact that it is.” Penny furrowed her eyes deeply, as though recalling those wretched memories. “The main entrance is indeed at the top, but he did use the cactus itself for something. I’m not honestly sure what. An emergency exit I suppose.”

“How do you know about this?” Snap looked over at her. One of his eyebrows was raised up. “I thought there wasn’t a lot of time for...”

“How did you think I got myself prepared?” Penny stared over at Snap, giving him a similar expression as he was with her. “I wasn’t about to get myself dressed in front of Skrawl, even if I didn’t exactly have to take my clothes off.” Penny scrunched up her face in disgust for a second, as though thinking about doing such a thing. Rudy could not blame her for her reaction. “Well anyway, there is something in that cactus. At least that one room where I went to in order to change for my ‘Chalk Queen’ role.” She narrowed her eyes a little. “I’m just not sure how far down it goes.”

“Well, we should try it anyway.”

The others looked at Mint in confusion.

“I mean, think about it.” Mint made a few gestures with his hand. “We all know that Sandra would be ready for us. She knows that we know that she’s there. She knows that we may try to find her. And she would be expecting us to come from above.”

Rudy realized that Mint was right. He looked over at Penny and Snap. He could see the expressions on their faces as well. He could tell that, they too, had come up with the same conclusion as Mint. There was no doubt in their minds that this was indeed correct. They just knew Sandra way too well. Even Ripclaw, who did not understand the situation on the same level that they did, seemed to realize this, judging from her slightly changed expression.

They could come up with the best plan that they ever could think of, but if Sandra really did expect that they were coming, if she had wanted them to come and had prepared for it, they might as well be walking into a trap. And since that was the main entrance, and if Skrawl told her enough, Sandra would expect them to come in through there. She would be waiting there for them to arrive.

So...what Mint was suggesting was...

Mint gave a small, sly smile. “What if we came in from below?”

Rudy widened his eyes at this. He once more glanced at the others before looking back at Mint. He could feel the gears in his mind turning as he processed this plan. It was so...simple. Just a bit of a chance in the trajectory that they would take. But still likely leading to a completely new outcome. Something that none of them had thought of before, and possibly something that Sandra herself didn’t think of.

Which made it the ideal plan.

His eyes narrowed in determination, Rudy leaned his head back, pressing himself against the back of his wheelchair. “Okay guys... Let’s draw up a plan.”

sss

Dr. Gelcro leaned himself against the wall of the nearby building, his eyes unable to look away from the horrible sight of the hospital still showing signs of smoke. The fire had been long put out, but signs of it were still present. The creators had been able to minimize some of the damage and there were obvious signs of improvement. But...that wasn’t really saying much, considering the damage.

True it was not as damaged as it could have been. He will be the first to admit that. He would not lie. But still...the hospital hadn’t suffered damage this bad since...

Dr. Gelcro clutched at his chest as he recalled when Snap was brought in here years ago, when his back had been broken. Or...wasn’t it here? Yeah, he was certain that it was. And Skrawl had come and laid seige to get him and... Dr. Gelcro tried to bury those terrible images, but it just wasn’t possible. His mind just would not allow him to forget.

And by extension, how he and the other doctors treated Snap five years ago when he was framed by Sandra...

Dr. Gelcro flinched at this, sucking in a sharp breath. He didn’t know why he continued to allow that to bother him. He and the other doctors involved had done what they could to make it up to Snap and he felt that they did a lot of improvements to their relationship with him. Yet at the same time, it was just too hard to forget. The things that they had said, how they had him arrested without any way for him to defend himself... It was things like these that made it hard for him to sleep at night.

And to think, they had almost sentenced him to death. That still haunted him to this very day. He hadn’t gone through a month of sleep without a dream reminding him of this fact. If he hadn’t listened to Mosaic on that day and done the research that indicated Snap was innocent, they really would have killed him.

His heart skipped several beats as he began to wonder how things would have gone if he hadn’t figured out the truth in time. What if Snap had been killed before they realized that it wasn’t him the whole time? Would he be able to live with himself? What would he and his fellow doctors do in response to that?

Dr. Gelcro stared down at his hands, watching them tremble. He wouldn’t be surprised if he himself decided to try committing suicide. Not something that he was proud to admit. Yet...that would have been something to have crossed his mind. He had never harmed an innocent before, and he had come pretty damn close with Snap. And he did strike Penny...

Dr. Gelcro shook his head rapidly as he struggled to get those thoughts out of his head. Thinking about this stuff now wasn’t really going to help him, now was it? He needed to focus on what was going on now. He turned his attention back to the hospital, narrowing his eyes softly.

He wondered if Dr. Crobat had gotten out of there. He hadn’t seen his bird friend in a while. He could feel his heart twist. He wanted to rush back in there to find him, but he had been ordered to stay outside. It was quite irritating; he was a medic and he knew how to treat injuries. With his doctoring experience, shouldn’t he be inside helping the injured? Well he did understand if they just wanted to avoid getting more people hurt. But still..he felt so useless out here, doing nothing but watch.

He had been lucky, they said. He wasn’t inside the building when the bombs went off. He was close enough to feel some of the impact. The worse he got were a few very slight burns that didn’t really bother him much. They were hardly worth mentioning. But the others who were inside... They hadn’t been so lucky. And this included Dr. Crobat.

He wanted to know how his friend was doing. He wanted to know that he was all right. The rescue team that came in to rescue anyone trapped inside hadn’t made a mention about Dr. Crobat yet. He didn’t really know if this meant that they didn’t find him or if they did and he was all right. He wished that he knew. He didn’t like not knowing. No, not knowing was driving him insane.

But for now, all he could do was wait. He didn’t really have much of a choice. The rescue team was not going to allow him to go inside to try to help Dr. Crobat, or anyone else inside. So the most that he could do right not was just...sit and wait. And hope for the best.

As he kept himself leaning against the wall, his mind began to wander. He started to recall something unsettling that he found out about earlier. He had momentarily forgotten about this after seeing the bombing of the hospital. Understandably, it had been pushed into the back of his mind, and he clenched his teeth as he felt it crawling its way back in. He wished he hadn’t allowed the memory to be pushed aside like that.

What Snap had witnessed... What he had witnessed...

Dr. Gelcro was not even entirely sure what to make of what he had seen. He had informed Penny about it, and he was certain that she had told her friends about it. He would have told Snap as well, but he had run off too fast, and he didn’t want to make himself known too quickly. He didn’t know how many eyes were out there. He didn’t know...just where was safe to speak and where wasn’t. Though Snap had heard enough of the conversation so it probably wasn’t necessary.

Dr. Gelcro had heard a little more of the conversation, however. He had been on his way down to one of the local stores when he had overheard them speaking. He had hidden, like Snap had, only in a different place, and he had watched them carefully.

He didn’t really know what to think at first. He didn’t want to judge them too harshly and he had wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they wouldn’t be so bad.

But when they started talking about things regarding Bell and some kind of plan and how Rudy and the others could not know... That was when he had gotten suspicious. He didn’t attempt to approach them; he knew damn well that would have been foolish. And he was glad that Snap hadn’t been stupid enough to run after them and had immediately gone to report it to someone. Or at least, he thought that’s what he did.

He replayed that incident over and over in his mind. He just couldn’t fathom for any reason why Bell would be doing this, or for whom. He hadn’t gotten that far. The only thing he did know was that Bell had some kind of plan set up, and it was to be kept secret from them. Or at least the creators. And in that case, he would bet his tail on it that it wasn’t anything good.

At least the creators now know of this. He had seen to that. So whenever they were able to, they can investigate this issue and hopefully correct it before it manifests into something worse. He wasn’t sure when they’d have the time, though, considering this attack and Sandra’s return...

He shuddered at the thought of her. That little monster who had tricked them all into thinking Snap was a cold blooded murderer... He could not believe that she was back. And he knew, from the get go, that she was going to keep them all quite busy for a while. Research about Bell will have to be put on hold, so long as Sandra remained free. Even Skrawl was a lower priority compared to her.

He had no idea how they were going to handle this. He didn’t feel like they fully prepared for the chance of Sandra’s return. He’d admit, they did get pretty cocky. They had thought for sure that she wouldn’t have escaped...and yet here they were. They should have better prepared themselves. They should have tried harder. They should have...

“Excuse me.”

At this, he lifted his head up and he looked over to see that he was being approached a police man. He immediately stiffened up at this, recalling how the suspicious zoners were also police men. Or at least, associated with The Speculum prison. He forced himself to relax. No, he couldn’t let them know he was onto them, if this guy happened to be involved with..them.

“Yes, officer?” Dr. Gelcro spoke in a soft voice as he turned himself fully in their direction. He folded his arms against himself, pressing his shoulder against the wall. “Can I help you with something?”

The officer stopped a few feet in front of him. He noticed that it looked to be a tall, thin penguin of sorts. The same ones who spoke to Rudy and the others earlier, if he remembered right. He had witnessed some of it from a distance, when they were trying to ease the riot against Haney.

Dr. Gelcro stiffened for a brief second at that. He struggled not to allow that memory to get the better of him. It was over now. There was no need for him to get so worked up about it. It was in the past. Not like feeling guilty about it was going to change a damn thing. Yet..he just could not help it. That riot...so much like what happened to Snap...

The officer broke him out of his train of thought. “Yes, I’d like to ask you about the Beanie Boy’s attack.”

Dr. Gelcro widened his eyes slightly. “Why?” That was the only word he could get himself to say.

The penguin officer took a small step forward. “Well, it is my understanding that you had witnessed the bombing.”

Dr. Gelcro felt an immense wave of relief strike through him. He wasn’t really sure why; he hadn’t actually been worried that he was falsely accused. It just...happened. “Okay. What are your questions?”

“Would you mind coming with me?” The penguin officer asked. “I think it would be best if we discussed this back at the station.”

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head slowly. He made his way towards the penguin zoner. Despite his reassurance earlier, he still wanted to keep himself on edge. He didn’t really know what to expect from this guy. For all he knew, there might still be something going on, and he’d be damned if he let himself get caught off guard.

But before he would continue further, he did have something else he wanted to ask.

“And just...what kind of information do you need from me, anyway?” Dr. Gelcro asked. He noticed the look in the penguin’s eyes. He realized his error and he backtracked a little. “I mean, what is the question that you want to ask?”

“Oh... I just need to discuss with you about where the attack came from.” The penguin zoner stated. “That’s all. I’d like to use the information so we can try to figure out where the Beanie Boys went to.”

“Ah I see... Well that does sound like a good idea. Those little punks did go way too far in attacking a fucking hospital.” Dr. Gelcro growled softly, this teeth grinding against each other. He still could not believe it himself. Those wretched Beanie Boys were going to have hell to pay once they found where they had gone.

“Come on, let’s get going.” The penguin zoner made a motion with his flipper. “We need to figure out something before they get too far away and the trail runs cold.”

“I understand.” The dog zoner nodded his head up and down. With that, he moved along behind the penguin officer and the two disappeared down the sidewalk, heading for the station.

Chapter 18: Discovered

..and stop fucking with my mind!
-No One’s There, Korn





The small pile of torn innards laid in a heap in the middle of the cage. The stench was so strong, the ‘scent lines’ seemed practically noticeable. They wafered in the air in a distorted fashion. All around them, a thin puddle of red blood, spreading out and staining the ground.

It was not along. A pair of mismatched eyes stared down at it. Eyes that were bulging wide in a mixture of horror and disgust. A large shadow spread over the innards, the pair of eyes unable to be torn away from the gruesome sight. Gagged sounds filled the air, and there was a narrowly missed chance of vomiting.

“Y-You’ve got to be kidding me...” Skrawl raised his hand up, placing it over his mouth. “Y-You’re just...”

Sandra took a few steps towards the cage. She swished her tail from side to side. She stared down at the ground where the organs laid. She simply sneered at the sight of them. Torn apart with her teeth and claws, they looked almost like spaghetti, though anyone with a nose could tell that this was not the case. The fact that they were colored quite differently also helped.

She lifted her head and stared intently over at Skrawl. She merely shrugged her shoulders, as if this was no big deal. Because to her, it was not. If anything, she was actually being quite generous. It was not her fault if Skrawl wanted to push this away.

“Eh, suit yourself. I just thought you would be hungry.”

Skrawl gritted his teeth, forming a tight fist with one of his hands. “You disgusting freak!” He slammed his fist against the cage bars. The screeching echo did irritate Sandra’s ears, but she pretended that it did not. “Why the fuck would I want to eat this stuff?! I don’t eat raw meat!”

Sandra feigned a surprised expression, placing her hand against her chest and snapping her head back. “Oh, you don’t? Oh my, dear me...I didn’t know!” She tilted her head to one side, spreading a twisted smirk across her face, her eyes widening. “You should try it sometime. It is delicious!” To drive her point home, she turned her head down and began to lick a bit of blood that clung to her hand.

“That is so disgusting!” Skrawl curled his lip up. He looked like he was struggling not to throw up. “I’ve done a lot of twisted things...but I’d never do something like that!”

Sandra shook her head. “Of course you wouldn’t, Skrawly boy.” She ignored his low growl at that remark. She turned herself around, putting her back to him. “I just though that you would be willing to take chances.” She turned her head to the side and then upwards. She raised her hand up in gesture and said, “...to get messy...”

She lowered her hand and she closed her eyes, tilting her head downward. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She turned her head back towards him, looking over her shoulder.

“But I suppose I was wrong... You’re just pathetic.”

Skrawl widened his eyes at that comment, his teeth gritting tightly. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the moment, he had been stunned into speechlessness. It was pretty obvious to her this was because anger had taken a hold of his mind, and he wasn’t able to think well enough to form a coherent sentence. Well aside from a few ‘you’ comments floating here or there.

Sandra did not really care if Skrawl ate the meat or not. She had not given it to him for pleasantries or out of kindness or generosity of course. It had been merely a power play. Skrawl had caught onto it quickly, and he refuses to give in. Eventually she’d have to force feed him so he did not die too early. But for now, teasing him like this was just as fun.

That condor she had killed earlier had produced a lot of meat. It did not taste as good as a sentient zoner, though. That was a tad disappointing. But despite not being on par with zoners like say Snap, the condor was still pretty good. It had been tasty enough that she had wanted to save its meat for later. True, she was not in the restaurant business anymore, but fuck, why would she waste all that meat?

Transporting it had been a problem. It would have taken her so long to make multiple trips and she was too small to carry the meat all in one go. Fortunately, however, she did have a little bit of help.

She had noticed four of Skrawl’s Beanie Boys in the vicinity. She had seen them before, fleeing ChalkZone City as if they had done something horrible. This had already piqued her interest, as she had wondered what the Beanie Boys were willing to do. And she would love to find out just what they did to the city to make the zoners chase them out...

But that could wait. Instead, she had opted to just take a hold of those four. It was not as many as she would have liked, but they would still do just fine. So long as they listened to her and obeyed her orders, it would be all good.

For now, they were only working for her to keep Skrawl safe. She had made them a deal. Help her out and she would spare their leader. Or at least, not hurt him or try to kill him. Of course, it was a lie; she did eventually plan on putting tumors in their head to make them forget that Skrawl was their leader, making them a little more moldable into working for her. But for now, this arrangement worked just fine.

Most of the condor’s meat was stored in the freezer, separated as she had informed the Beanie Boys. This would keep the meat fresh for her long enough so she did not need to hunt for a while. She wanted to release the rest of her pent up rage and anger against something much more...deserving...

“This isn’t going to last, you know.”

“Hmm?” Sandra tilted her head back enough so that she could see Skrawl’s face, though upside down. “What did you say?”

“You heard me!” Skrawl clenched his fist tightly, baring his teeth in her direction. “Don’t you dare try to fucking pretend that you have no idea what I’m talking about!”

“Really now? Perhaps you should tell me then...” Sandra flipped herself around, facing against Skrawl once more. She adopted a dinosaur-like posture, leaning forward, although this time, her arms were folded firmly behind her back. A small grin quickly shifted its way along her snout. “I am most happy to listen.”

Skrawl growled at his, his body trembling. “You can’t possibly have forgotten about Rudy and his little friends!”

Sandra’s eyes flickered at this. “Of course not...”

Skrawl hissed softly. “Then you should know that they will stop you.” He turned his head swiftly to the side. His face contorted further into disgust. “I may not like them that much, but I will admit, they are...pretty tough.” He looked back at her. His expression was a fusion of a dark smile and twisted rage. “They will ultimately be your downfall.. And I will stand here and laugh.”

Sandra did not answer. She merely stared at the jellybean, her expression never changing. Of course she fully aware of what Skrawl was talking about. She fully expected those nasty children to try to stop her. She had been planning on it.

But the one thing that Skrawl here got wrong is... It was not her who was going to fall. But it would instead be them.

“Whatever you say, Skrawly boy.” Sandra shrugged her shoulders, her hands postured at her sides. Nothing about her body language indicated she realized any sort of threat. Not that she was going to take those children lightly. She just liked to irritate Skrawl, who did not look happy that she seemed to be underestimating them. “I think I will do just fine, really. After all...” She placed a hand against herself. “I do have an advantage over them.”

“Yeah, your super healing powers. I know that!” Skrawl rolled his eyes. “But you still lost to them before, even with your precious powers!” Skrawl pointed a pointed, accusatory finger in her direction. “What in the world makes you think that they are going to be fooled again?” He tilted his hand up, curling his claws inward. “They will see your dirty little tricks coming...” He formed a fist and he shot it out to one side. “..and they will stomp all over it!”

“Uh huh... True...perhaps...” Sandra placed her hand against the side of her cheek. “That would be quite the problem...” She lowered her head, her hand dropping down as she smirked darkly. “...if I were going to use the exact same strategy as before.”

Skrawl raised an eyebrow at this, looking largely unconvinced. “So you are capable of making proper alterations to your plans, I see...”

Sandra decided to ignore the blatant insult against her as she waved her hand dismissively and said, “By the time that I am done with them, they will all be at my mercy, pleading me to end their suffering!” She folded her arms against her chest, unable to stop herself from sneering. “And all I will do is laugh!”

“Until something trips you up. Like, say, that little blue idiot jumping out of nowhere and knocking you off your feet?”

Sandra felt her blood boil at this for a moment, her body practically ruffling. She did manage to catch herself and got settled down quickly before she did anything crazy. She merely smirked at Skrawl, pretending as though that sentence had not had any impact on her whatsoever. She could see how confused Skrawl looked. He had noticed, but she did not care.

Yes, she was quite aware of the problems that Snap was going to provide. He was the one who threw the kink into her machine, so to speak. He was the one who set everything into motion when he had wrecked her beautiful machine. And quite on purpose, too; she did not care what he said otherwise. Things would have been different he had admitted his wrongs and sought forgiveness from her. She would have forgiven him and they would have moved on.

But nope. He had chosen to say on this wreckless path. Now he was nothing more than an enemy in her eyes. An enemy that needed to be annihilated as soon as possible. But not without a little play time, of course...

“Snap...heh..” Sandra grinned more broadly, her lips lifting up so that Skrawl could see more of her sharp teeth. “I can guarantee you...” She deliberately avoided the use of ‘promise’, as this comment was not to be taken entirely seriously. “...by the end, he will have changed his name to Snacks.”

Skrawl snarled, “We’ll see about that.”

“Yes. Indeed we will.” Sandra nodded her head.

She would have continued, but she had gotten a little tired of speaking to Skrawl. She would prefer heading out somewhere on her own for a little while. Perhaps head outside to see if those brats were finally coming. Or at least, check out her monitors. Yeah, she should really inspect her monitors and see if they picked up anything of interest.

With that, ignoring Skrawl’s shouts behind her, the blue dragon zoner turned away from him and began to head over towards the exit. Her monitors were located not here, but in her other hideout. Her main one. It shouldn’t take long to get there. Not like much can happen, and the Beanie Boys wouldn’t dare try to help Skrawl escape now. She had promised to hunt them all down if they dare try to leave with him; she had ways of finding out.

She had gotten pretty close to the door when something caught her attention. She stopped, her ears twitching a little. She looked left and right, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Footsteps...? She thought it was the Beanie Boys, but that could not be the case.

Could it be..?

Sandra felt her teeth grit at this. A part of her hoped not. She had set things up according to what she thought would happen. Those brats weren’t supposed to come down from that way.

But what if they did? Or what if someone else had come in?

Well at least she knew this. She smirked at this realization. If it was someone trying to get the jump on her, they were so sadly out of luck. They had already given themselves away. She was quite glad for how echoey things can be in certain parts of this cactus that this castle was situated upon. It made it so much easier to tell if something was amiss.

Changing direction, she soon headed down towards another part of the castle. She made her way towards the stairs situated where Skrawl was caged. She heard him shout at her, trying to strike at her with his claws. She ignored him, shoving a confused Beanie Boy to the side as she continued her way down the steps. Round and round she went along the spiral staircase until she came upon the bottom level.

Here she began to tread more lightly. She moved slower, careful not to allow her talons to hit against anything. She did not want to give herself away. Not now. Not when she was trying to sneak up upon whoever was down here.

She could hear voices now. Heavy panting. She lifted her ears up. These voices did sound so familiar. Was it really whom she had been waiting for? Could she finally start to put everything into motion?

And when she saw the familiar shadows cased upon the wall, right where the next set of spiral staircase laid, there was no doubt about it. Nothing else that it could possibly be.

It was Rudy, Penny, Snap, and Mint.

Sandra hunched her body and pressed herself against the wall. She watched intently as the shadows got larger and larger. A part of her was curious as to how they figured out a way in here, and another part of her was curious about how they had gotten up here with Rudy’s little wheelchair problem. It was tempting to stay and listen just to see if she could figure this out. She was dying to know.

But...no. Not now. She would much rather wait until later. She had to keep herself hidden for now. She would act as if she did not know that they were here. Let them pass and think they were getting the upperhand. Then she would spring the trip.

She grinned broadly as she took several steps back, coating herself in the darkness. It was going to be fun to toy with her victims.

sss

“Hey, did you guys hear that?”

“Hear what? I didn’t hear anything...”

“I thought I heard footsteps. Maybe we should..”

“That was me!”

“Sorry...”

Snap had to struggle not to allow himself to be pushed down by mistake. He had made the error of being behind everyone, and they were moving so slowly, even suddenly stopping at random. This made it so much harder for them to be making any sort of proper progress. It was really getting quite annoying having to constantly be on his toes.

But at least they were making some progress anyway. They were getting close to the top, thank goodness. He could already see the light from where the door was. He almost quickened up his pace...until he remembered that his friends were blocking the way. Especially Rudy.

“Come on, Rudy. You can do it.” Penny said gently. She stood next to Rudy, an arm hooked around his. “Just one step at a time...”

“It’s like riding a bicycle.” Mint froze when he saw the way that Rudy was looking at him. “Well it has been a long time... Well anyway, you can do it.” He had Rudy’s other arm, providing more support. “Just keep going, nice and easy...”

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly. It looked as if each step took so much extra concentration...which it did. “There wasn’t an...easier solution for this..?”

Penny shook her head. “Sorry, but we need to get up here without causing too much commotion. Having you walk on your own was the best way.”

“As much as I had always wanted to walk again...” Rudy hit his foot against something and nearly dripped. “...but this is not how I imagined that...”

Mint down at him sympathetically. “We know, Rudy. We know. Just...try to hang in there, okay?” He moved himself closer to Rudy, offering better support. “It will just be until we reach the right level. Then we’ll draw you a temporary wheelchair for you to use and...”

Rudy shook his head. “I’ll just stick with this. A wheelchair would make more noise and I....” His voice trailed off. There was no response to this. They all knew exactly what was on his mind.

Snap still couldn’t help but feel amazed at how Mint and Penny had managed to even create that contraption for him. It did not look the most comfortable, he had to admit. And a part of him wondered just how deeply it was pressed against Rudy’s leg. Was it piercing the skin at all?

It still seemed to be working, though. The metal straps around his legs, segmented in a few areas where it could be bent, stretched up both of his legs. Wires ran up his sides and were attached to a band around his head. Rudy controlled it via his thoughts. Concentrating the best that he could so that he could make each leg move when he wanted them to. This all seemed like it would be so easy...but it came with its own challenges.

Rudy had to be very careful not to lose much concentration for very long, for the slightest alteration in his mind would cause the legs to wobble and falter. This had already happened at least three times on the way up the steps. And this was not exactly the best place for him to lose the ability to walk. Luckily, Rudy seemed to be able to do well enough that this wasn’t an issue most of the time. But they still had to be very careful with each step.

The fact that they were getting closer to the top was a relief. Once they got up there, they would be able to let Rudy relax for a little bit. Give him some time to sit and regain some of his strength and leg his aching legs relax. This would then provide them a little bit of time to decide just what next course of action that they should take.

And pretty soon, after a little while of walking, they seemed to finally reach the top. It was such a relief to them all, including Snap, to not have to strain their bodies to keep going up; they could finally relax more. Snap nearly collapsed against the wall as he leaned against it to relax a little.

Rudy didn’t stop right away. He walked a little more forwards. Then he looked at Penny and Mint, gesturing them to release him. Though clearly reluctant, they did give into his wishes and let him go, each taking a small step back. They watched Rudy intently to see what would happen.

At first, it looked as if Rudy was going to try leaning against the nearby wall. But instead, he remained standing. His head was tilted downwards, staring directly at his feet. He remained like this for a while, taking in slow, steady breaths. His eyes seemed fixated on something that they could not see, and they could not read his expression. It was as if Rudy were struggling with something internally and he wasn’t really sure just how to best handle it. Or something like that.

Eventually, he did start to take a few steps forward. It didn’t seem like he was going to walk too much. But when he kept on taking slow, steady steps, Snap and the others stiffened up and watched him with more caution. They hadn’t expected him to try something like this. True, he was able to handle himself well it seemed, but they all prepared for something to happen. Rudy was taking a huge risk. He hadn’t used his legs in years; he shouldn’t be pushing himself like this.

But it seemed as though there was something inside of Rudy that was urging him to do this. Something that made him scream inside ‘hey keep moving, don’t stop’. And the boy’s actions were reflecting this. He kept on moving himself forward, step by step. His teeth gritted, eyes narrowed, huffing and puffing. Rudy just kept on moving forward, no matter how wobbly and unsteady his steps were getting.

And then it finally happened. Before any of them could react, Rudy tripped up against something and he started to fall forward. He let out a cry of surprise as he nearly plummeted against the hard ground beneath him. Penny and Mint immediately dashed to his side as quickly as they could. They seized his arms and lifted him up gently, each one having a good hook on his arm. They watched him with wide, concern-filled eyes as they steadied him, giving him some time to recover mentally from what had happened.

“Rudy!” Penny spoke after a few moments. “Are you okay?!”

Snap took a few steps towards them. His eyes scanned Rudy’s body up and down, looking for any injuries. “You nearly took quite the fall there, Bucko!”

“Y-Yeah...I’m fine...” Rudy hissed through clenched teeth. “I just...need a little more practice... That’s all...”

“I think it’s best if Penny and I continue to hold onto you. It’s clear that you are so out of practice with using your legs, and this method that we provided you is draining you mentally.” Mint narrowed his eyes a little as he stared at the head band that was strapped around Rudy’s head. “We probably should have thought of something a little easier for you.”

Rudy shook his head. “No, I’m fine...”

Penny placed her hand against Rudy’s cheek, causing the boy to freeze. Rudy stared over at her, blinking his eyes slowly as he tried to stare at Penny at the same time that he should be concentrating on the contraption on his legs. Even the act of just holding them still was enough to require a lot of concentration to keep from creating any sort of trouble.

Penny bit her lip firmly. Then she said, “Rudy... I don’t want you to overwork yourself. Let me and Mint help you. It will be easier on you. Trust us.”

“Yeah, Rudy. You need to take it easy.” Snap looked at him sadly, reaching his hand out towards them. “Please, don’t try to strain yourself...”

Rudy still seemed so stubborn. He still shook his head and he still looked rather resistant. “I don’t want...” He swallowed hard, licking his lips. “I just don’t want to be a burden to you...” His eyes widened a little as he said this. “I don’t want to...trouble you...”

At this, Snap, Penny, and Mint exchanged worried expressions. Poor Rudy... He must feel so guilty, having to rely on them for help. He must really wish that he could do all of this stuff on his own, just like how he used to. He hated having to rely on others, and he hated having to make others help him. They could understand why he felt this way.

Still, however, Rudy needed to take it easy. He shouldn’t have to feel guilty about accepting help from them. They were his friends after all. They didn’t mind helping him out if he really needed it. They didn’t mind offering the aid. He needed to stop being so hard on himself. It was not his fault that he was in a wheelchair. It was not his fault that he lost the use of his legs. He should not blame himself at all for this. And he certainly should not feel guilty about asking for help from them.

But it didn’t seem like this was going to get through to Rudy anytime soon. Despite him becoming more accepting of his fate and just being glad that he could still move around at all, there had always been a part of him that felt guilty. And this probably wasn’t going to change any time soon. And especially not now, when he really did have to rely on them for transportation, now that he was no longer in his wheelchair. Of course, that decision had been made because they could not bring the wheelchair up with them along the steps, so there had been little choice in that regard.

Snap had to wonder, though, just how Rudy was feeling right now. On the surface, it looked as if he were tasting freedom again. But in reality, it was more of a vale or illusion, whatever the proper term was. A false promise. Rudy only looked like he was walking again when he was just being guided by a machine, and even that he could not control easily without the utmost concentration.

Perhaps they...

Snap suddenly stiffened up when he thought he heard something. He whipped his head over and stared towards the shadows. Not head on, of course. Just with one of his eyes. He remained still, watching carefully out of that solid white eye of his, looking for any sign of trouble. For a moment he thought he had heard or seen something vaguely resembling Sandra.

The moment he thought of her name, he could feel his hands shooting for his back. He recalled how she had mentioned that she figured out about his prosthetic. The thought brought a cold shudder to his body. It was unlikely that she’d forget about that, no matter how much he hoped that she forgot. And the next time that they meet, what would stop her from targeting this area?

For a moment, he briefly imagined Sandra taking away his ability to walk. The thought caused him to shiver, and he struggled not to gag. He was not going to allow that to happen. He just...had to remain on his toes.

“I think we should keep moving...” Mint spoke up, breaking the small silence. Everyone looked over at him. “I know that we had intended on a slightly longer break, but we cannot stay here.” He furrowed his eyes and looked left and right. “You know who might be lurking somewhere nearby...”

Ah, so it wasn’t just Snap who had sensed something sort of resembling Sandra’s presence. A part of Snap was relieved. Though another part of him was even more on edge than before. He found himself looking around, wondering if Sandra really could be behind them or...

No, he couldn’t let himself look as if he was trying to find her. If she was there, it was best that they act as if they never saw her or suspected that she was there. Or else, they could end up making the situation worse for themselves. Sandra may be like a predator. Try to run too fast, and you are only asking to be attacked.

And it seemed that the others were agreeing. He could see them nodding their heads together. Their expressions told a lot more than what they were murmuring. There was clearly mutual agreement among them of the risk that they were taking. And they all knew that, if they wanted to have a chance to succeed, they needed to keep moving.

With them each giving each other one more glance, the group of friends did not remain where they were for long. They each turned their attention towards the next flight of stairs. They paused for a moment, each taking in a deep breath. There was still a long way to go, and this thing seemed to spiral upwards for a while.

Well...they might as well start.

Penny and Mint kept a tight grip on Rudy, making sure that he did not slip and fall. They guided him towards the stairs, allowing Rudy to make the steps but providing support so that he could not fall down. Snap followed closely behind. He paused and looked behind him, and then he resumed following his friends.

sss

Sandra remained where she was, watching the group as they disappeared up the steps. She had to admit, it was pretty clever of them the way they had drawn Rudy that walking machine. She wondered why they hadn’t thought of it before. Maybe it just never came to mind.

She had her doubts, though, that Rudy would be using it for long. The thing could never be used in the Real World without causing such a fuss, and it looked like it took a lot of concentration for the boy to use. It was just less practical overall compared to the wheelchair. So she imagined that, after this, he’d ditch it and get his wheelchair back.

Or at least, have a new one drawn in case that contraption wouldn’t work anymore. Either way, Rudy would get his wheels back.

And that is exactly what she wanted. Part of her plan with Rudy would involve that wheelchair. She could not have him using that contraption. It would ruin all the fun. When she got a hold of him so she could toy with him, she would be sure to crush that stupid thing into small pieces so that Rudy had no chance of fixing it.

She took a pause and wondered what her next step would be. She did not really worry about them freeing Skrawl. The Beanie Boys know what will happen in that case. They would ensure that they did not get that far into it. This gave her time meanwhile to figure out just how she was going to launch her little fun.

Perhaps she should just let the Beanie Boys have a little fun. Yeah, why not? They did deserve some kind of relaxation after all the hard work they had gone through. And she was certain that they each had a bone to pick with the children anyway. She had her doubts that they would really protest to this. Indeed, she was certain that they would take to the idea right away.

And while they took care of them, she could head down into another part of this castle and set up their... ‘accomodations’. What kind of host would she be if she did not prepare things for her dear ‘friends’? They would thank her for it, really. And if not, that was fine. She can always just tease them and pretend that they were so grateful towards her. All just to drive them a little bit insane.

With her mind made up, Sandra moved up the steps slowly. She could still hear the children ahead of her. She kept her footsteps slow and deliberate. She soon realized that it would take too long this way, so she opted instead for flight. With her arms stretched out, she took off into the air, heading straight upwards to where thetop door was. She still kept herself out of sight; she did not want the children to know that she was onto them. Not yet.

She hovered in one spot, flapping her wings steadily. Her narrowed crimson-colored eyes watched as they headed towards another door. Not the top one like she thought they’d take. Pretty strange... A part of her almost wondered if they knew she was following them and they were just laying in wait.

Well if that were the case, she was not going to buy into their little game. She flew underneath the spiraling staircase and she moved along this way. This kept herself hidden in the shadows, those idiot children unable to see her. She smirked to herself. They were going to need to try a lot harder than this to get the best of her.

She did not get out until she knew she was too high for them to see. Once she did, she took to the air and flew straight up towards the top door. She zipped through the door’s opening, ignoring Skrawl’s surprised shout at her sudden appearance. She landed on the ground and brushed herselsf off.

“Okay, Skrawl, where are those Beanie Boys?” She aked, her hands still moving along her chest and stomach. “I need to have a word with them.”

Skrawl growled softly at this. “And just what do you need them for?” She turned his head to one side, his lip curled up in disgust. “To bring you more of that disgusting bird meat?”

Sandra chortled at this. “No. I have a much better assignment for them.”

“Oh? And what kind of assignment?” Skrawl inquired.

“That is not something that you need to be worried about.” Sandra told him, her mouth still stretched in a smile. “I will just say...it is quite important for this mission. Now...” She looked left and right. She still not see the Beanie Boys anywhere. She continued to smile as she lowered her head slightly, taking a step towards Skrawl. “...where are they...?”

Before Skrawl could speak, another voice called out, “We’re over here...” A defeated tone, but she knew exactly who it was immediately.

Sandra whipped her head and looked over her shoulder. “Ah, Beanie Boys... So glad that you could make it...”

The Beanie Boys did not return her ‘friendly’ smile. Not that she expected it. They looked like they would rather tear her apart. Which was fine...because she was the one in control. The only thing their angered faces did was just amuse her. After all, it wasn’t like they could do anything to stop her. She was holding all the cards now.

“What is it that you want?” One of the Beaie Boys asked in a disgruntled voice.

“Oh I just want you to have a little...fun...” Sandra took a step forward, tapping her feather fingers together in an eager fashion. She tilted her head to one side and eyed them with a single red eye. “I’m sure you will be quite interested in what I have to say....”

She began to relay the plan to them. The plan that, no matter what they felt, they would still have to help her achieve. They had no choice in the matter. They were her little playthings and this was something they will just have to accept.

Of course, eventually...she will make it more...pleasant for them.

sss

Snap had struggled not to say anything. He didn’t want to make himself sound like he was complaining or anything. He also didn’t want to do or say anything that could possibly give them away. But there was just no way that he could keep quiet about this for too long. He struggled for a while to remain silent, but the question inevitably spat out.

“Why did we go this way instead of continuing up?”

At this, he did not get any of his human friends looking at him. Not that he was surprised. They were busy holding onto Rudy, and Rudy himself still had that contraption on his legs; he needed all the concentration that he could get. But he did still end up getting an answer.

Penny was the first one to speak. “You know why, Snap.”

“Yeah...we had seen that shadow on the wall. And you know full well who it looked like.” Mint gave a shudder. It seemed to take him a little more concentration to keep himself focused on moving forward. “At least if we go this way, we might be able to lose her.”

Snap couldn’t really argue with that logic. After all, they did spot what they believed to be Sandra not too long ago. Maybe it was someone else, but the shadow looked too much like her not to be. And she was heading up the stairs... They all knew they had to get moving in a new direction at that point, otherwise she would have spotted them.

At least they were safe for now. If Sandra truly had seen them, then she would be on their tail right now. She had little hinderance holding her back. Nothing to stop her from using her powers to subdue them. But she did not try to pursue them and she just continued up nonstop. Or at least, that’s what their assumption was, considering they did not see her again after that.

Either way, they were free of her for the time being. Of course now they were stuck going down this hallway that they were not familiar with. Who knows how far down this went? And who knew if there was another way back up from this place?

At least Penny knew what this place was. She mentioned that this was the level she had gone to when she had changed herself into her costume for the ‘Chalk Queen’ ruse. She had not traveled that far in, however. But she knew enough to be able to tell them to avoid opening any of the doors. Something about how Skrawl probably rigged the place with booby traps or something. For what reason, they didn’t know. But this was still Skrawl they were talking about, so it wouldn’t surprise any of them if he did something like that.

The place was mostly deserted. Well not mostly. Completely and utterly. They didn’t even hear any Beanie Boys around this place. They didn’t know whether or not this was a good thing. If Skrawl really did join forces with Sandra, then surely his Beanie Boys were around here somewhere. Waiting and watching...

But at the same time, they didn’t even know if Sandra had bothered hooking up with Skrawl at all. They really had no proof of this. Just an assumption. Sandra might not have wanted to have anything to do with Skrawl. That was a very real possibility. There was nothing they learned about her before that suggested that she would have desired a partner to help her out. So maybe she really was ‘flying solo’, in a sense.

Regardless, they still to keep moving along. If they stood around here for too long, they might risk getting themselves captured. So they just kept on moving forward, keeping themselves at a nice, easy pace, looking left and right to make sure that no one was around.

“Do you think there’ll be another way up?” Mint asked. “Or do we have to go back eventually?”

Penny seemed to pause for a moment, rubbing her chin thoughtfully with her free hand. “I think we might find something. If the main staircase suffered damage, I’m sure Skrawl would have wanted to put in another...”

“But Penny... we don’t know if Skrawl is here. Sandra is who occupies this place now.” Mint let out a small grunt as he struggled to keep Rudy from falling. “What if she had taken out these extra stairs or something?”

Penny shook her head. “Unlikely, Mint. Why would Skrawl or Sandra do that?” She stared over at him. One of her eyebrows was cocked upwards. “That would seem like a waste of their time, wouldn’t it? I would think that they would both concentrate more on catching us.”

“Hmm...maybe you are right.” Mint turned his gaze down. His eyes furrowed in concentration. “But still, I...”

Without warning, there was a loud, clanging sound that echoed off the walls all around them. They all froze immediately, looking all around them. That scraping sound.... So loud and seeming to come from all directions... It sent ice through their blood as they huddled closer together, clenching their teeth tightly. None of them could even dare to speak a word. All they could do was just look in all directions, trying to figure out just where that sound was coming from.

Snap was struggling not to pant too heavily. Though he knew it was silly, a part of him couldn’t help but fear that, if he breathed too hard, Sandra or someone might hear him and come jumping at him. That scraping sound that filled the air, it reminded him too much of when Sandra had gone after him, scraping her claws along the wall. The sound was just too shrill for him to forget, and it forced him to relieve the horrific flashbacks plaguing the back of his mind.

Slowly, everything around him seemed to dissipate. He was no longer aware of anything else in this area other than that sound, and he could see the pathway ahead of him, mostly shaded in darkness. He licked his lips and tried to calm his racing heart. It was no use. It just continued to beat faster and faster. And the sound was only getting louder...

Soon it had become booming. It was like a lightning bolt strike everytime that he heard it. His heart was a race car at this point, and he was surprised that it hadn’t burst open yet. He huddled himself together, wrapping his arms around his own body, trembling. He thought he could hear his friends’ comments to him, wondering if he was okay. But he could not bring himself to even say anything to them. He could only stand there and shake.

Then he heard the voices. That horrible voice. He couldn’t tell if he was just hearing things or not. It still felt so real to him.

“What’s the matter, Snap? Don’t like my taste?”

“I’m sure you will love it. I quite enjoyed your flavor after all.”

“It’s not going to be so bad....just close your eyes...”

Snap clutched onto his head, letting out a loud cry in response. He shook his head from side to side, trying to get that horrible, dreadful voice out of his mind. He had to get away from here. He had to get out of here, or else he was going to die. The back of his mind screamed at him to run. That was the only way for him to be safe. He just..had to run...

He reopened his eyes and looked out ahead of him. He stared at the pathway in front of him. How inviting it seemed... Yes, this was the way out, his mind told him. This was how he could get out of here. Away from that hideous monster...

Before he realized what he was doing, he bolted forward.

“Snap!”

“Come back here!”

“No! Stop! Snap, you can’t go out there alone!”

These calls fell on deaf ears. Snap hardly acknowledged them. He was too busy concentrating on running forward, trying to push himself as hard as he could. He didn’t attempt to stop and look back. All he could do was just keep running.

He wasn’t even sure where he was going. He didn’t now how far this tunnel went. He didn’t know what laid on the other side of it. But with that scraping sound getting closer and closer... He really didn’t have much of a choice. He had to keep running in order to protect himself. In the moment, his racing mind could not even think about his friends; he was just too locked in fear and desperation to really notice if they were following him or not.

Down and down through the tunnel he went, his mouth open and panting, his heart still finding ways to beat even faster. His tongue hung out of his mouth and he could feel how dry it was becoming. His eyes, so wide he was surprised they didn’t roll out of his sockets, constantly scanned the land before him. Just darkness and a bright path that seemed to be leading him somewhere. Safety maybe? Or somewhere else? He wouldn’t know unless he continued going down this way.

There, up head, he could see a new path to turn on. This one looked even more inviting than the other way had been. Surely this would lead him to safety, right? Yes...it had to be.

Behind him, he could hear Sandra’s scraping getting closer and closer. He thought for sure he could hear her roaring at him. He could hear more of her calls to him. Taunting him, trying to get him to stop and face her. He chose to ignore her; he couldn’t allow her to get to him like that. No, he had to keep moving on. As soon as he came up to the turn, he immediately veered himself to the side...

...and found himself tripping right into something thick and light, yet strong. Before he had a chance to realize just what had happened, he was yanked upwards into the air. He grunted as he was knocked askew and spun around, dangling up high upside down, his body encased in what he realized was rope.

His heart immediately clenched tightly, nearly bursting wide open from the pressure alone. His mind raced faster, his whole body shaking and burning with adrenaline. He was trapped. His mind screamed at him that he was trapped and that he had to escape. He started to struggle wildly, trying to dislodge himself from this rope. He couldn’t let himself get captured by Sandra. No... this couldn’t happen. He had to get away somehow. He just had to get away...

“Heheheheheh... Look what we got here...”

Snap immediately froze at that voice. It was not Sandra. The voice was too masculine for that. But it still was not a welcome thing for him to hear.

“Looks like we caught ourselves a little pest.” Another voice joined in. “What do you say we do with him...?”

Snap managed to lift his head so he could glare at the Beanie Boys that had surrounded him. Four of them. He did not know if these were the same ones who attacked the hospital or not. Still, he bared his teeth at them and raised up his fists to prepare to fight. If they were going to take him, he was not going to let them get near him without him defending himself.

“Want to fight?!” Snap said quickly. “I’ll fight you! Come on, I dare you!” Snap hardly noticed how desperate he was sounding right now. The only thing that he was aware of was staring off against the Beanie Boys, fully prepared to fight if he had to. “Come on!”

The Beanie Boys glanced at each other, exchanging knowing expressions with each other. They all wore smug smiles and darkened, amused looks on their faces. They then started to laugh coldly, as if this was the funniest thing they had ever seen.

Snap immediately tried to take a swing at them. He missed entirely; as his punch swung upward, he could see that the Beanie Boy that he was trying to target merely bent his head and body backwards and avoided the strike.

The Beanie Boy in question chortled. “My..he is such a little firecracker, isn’t he?”

“Yeah... This is quite entertaining.” Another Beanie Boy commented.

The third one elbowed the fourth one, giving a sneering smile. “I know, why don’t we take him to see Sandra?”

“Yeah! I’m sure they have a lot of catching up to do.”

Although his heart was racing, although every bone in his body was wanting to run off away from them, Snap tried his best not to show any fear. He just glared at the Beanie Boys as they approached him, their hands outstretched as they prepared to grab him.

Chapter 20: Taken Prisoner

...I'm frozen but what can I do?
-Frozen, Within Temptation





Everything was dark. Pitch black. She couldn’t see anything around her, and she could feel some kind of tightness around her eyes. At first, she thought that something had happened to her face, like she had been struck by something or... She wasn’t really sure. But whatever it was, the fact that she couldn’t see caused fear to rise up inside of her.

Where was she? What had happened to her? This and many more questions swirled through her mind as she struggled to make sense of everything. For a moment, she couldn’t really remember much. She recalled something falling and...

Her friends... What happened to her friends..?

Penny struggled to look around. But all she could see was more pitch blackness. It was as if some kind of curtain had been pulled over her eyes, not allowing her to see anything. She could feel her breathing quicken, her mouth feeling as if it was going to go dry at any moment. There had to be something that she could do. She just couldn’t...

She felt something move on her face. After a little bit of experimentation, she realized that they were her eyelids that she was moving. And following that came another realization: she had her eyes squinted shut.

Penny ignored the feelings of stupidity as she forced her eyes open, instantly being greeted by the image of a large, open room. Most of her vision was obscured by something large and kinda blurry. She felt a strange warmth as well, and her breathing had been joined in by a few hours. Moving her eyes along, she soon realized just what had happened.

Mint had used himself as a shield.

The boy had his body hunched over her and Rudy. The two of them had been pressed down lower towards the ground. She and Rudy were pressed up against one another as Mint shielded them with his body. Penny could see how tightly his eyes were clinched shut, his teeth gritted. For a few moments, it looked as if he had been injured and Penny could feel her heart skipping a beat.

When she moved her head to the side a little to try to see more, she felt a wave of relief strike her when she realized that Mint hadn’t actually been hit; he only thought that he was going to be. But given what she was seeing all around them, that sense of relief did not last that long.

It didn’t take her very long to realize that they were inside a large cage. Not exactly the best looking cage; it looked rather makeshift, as if put together at the last moment. But nonetheless, it was still a cage of some kind. And quite heavy; she could see where it indented into the ground from the impact. They were completely surrounded by the metal rim and metal bars that stretched upward, banding around like some kind of jigsaw puzzle. There was nowhere for them to escape.

Slowly, she and her friends began to rise up to their feet. Mint let out a groan as he stretched out his aching back while Rudy let out a grunt as he tried to regain his balance. Penny remained silent as she looked around, hoping to find something that they could use to get out of here with. But she could see nothing.

She could no longer see the Beanie Boys. She couldn’t tell if they were hiding the shadows or if they had truly left. Not that she cared; she was not interested in seeing their smirking faces. No, instead there was someone else she was more interested in seeing.

She moved herself up towards the nearest set of bars and gripped her hands on it. She looked left and right, struggling to find where her friend was. Which direction had Snap been in? Looking all around, she didn’t see him here. Was he on the other side?

Moving herself to the other side as quickly as she could, she was soon able to see a flash of blue on the ground. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw Snap squirming on the ground. She could hear a few small whimpers coming from him and her eyes focused on the red marks on his back. She felt her heart tighten in her chest. Just...what had happened to her friend...?

Her mind immediately began to burn when she realized just what had happened. She was already aware that she and her friends had been lured into a trap. But what made her feel sick was just..how they had been lured. Because it wasn’t as simple as them being led down here by the Beanie Boys. No, these fucking monsters, Sandra or Skrawl or both or whatever, they just had to go a step further, didn’t they? Instead of keeping it simple, something that would have worked, they decided to fuck with their hearts and minds by targeting Snap...

Their poor friend... He had been through enough in the past, and yet they still found the time to tear open his back and leave him in the middle of a room to draw them in. Snap was out there, all alone, quivering in pain, and she and her two other friends were trapped and they could do nothing to help. Every time Snap let out a groan, Penny really wanted to do something to help him, but she could not fit in through these bars. It was just...impossible.

She gripped onto the bars and tried to pry them apart. She wasn’t really sure why she was even attempting to do this. There was no way that she would be able to break through. But still, here she was, trying to rip her way out of here. No matter how strong she was, she just could not break open those bars and she found herself nearly collapsing from the shere burning exhaustion in her arms. She released the bars and panted a couple of times.

“Aww... is the little girl wanting out..?” A voice called out.

At this, Penny immediately lifted her head and looked around frantically. She could see that Mint and Rudy were also trying to find the source of the voice. But other than Snap, all they could see around them was just darkness and emptiness. Where was that voice coming from then...?

Then they happened to look up. Craning their heads back, they could see a shadow descending upon them swiftly. A shadow moving swiftly about, a shade of blue, flash of azure, and then they could see a pair of eyes staring at them. A pair of familiar red eyes...

“You...” Mint gritted his teeth. “Let us out of here, you dragon freak!”

“Is that any way of greting your host?” Sandra tilted her head to the side. She raised up an eyebrow. “And really, my dear creator... I would have thought that you’d come up with a better threat than that. Are you running out of ideas or something?” She raised her hand in gesture, motioning towards him. Mint said nothing, just glared at her. Sandra just shrugged her shoulders. “Well I am very interested in seeing how all of you are doing.”

“Why the fuck would you care...?” Rudy hissed softly. “You have already shown that you don’t care about any of us! Wouldn’t you just much rather see us all dead on the ground or something?”

“Yeah, why do you care if we’re fine or not?” Mint narrowed his eyes. “Or are you just trying to find ways to torment us more? You seem to be quite good at that...”

Sandra gave another passive shrug. “Think whatever you want. There is really no crime in curiosity. And I am so curious about you all...” Sandra gave a grin, spreading it across her face. She gave a quick chuckle, placing her hand towards her mouth. “I mean, what kind of idiot would fall for such an obvious trap...?” She looked over in the direction where Snap was. “I mean... you didn’t see that coming? You honestly didn’t see that coming at all?”

Rudy gripped his hands against the bars, pressing his face close as if he were going to try crawling out through the very small opening. “How dare you use Snap as some kind of bait!”

Sandra curled her lip back in a partial grin. “Hey it worked, didn’t it? And at least I was able to find some kind of use for the little runt. I mean..” She moved closer to Snap and stroked his head back and forth. “At least he got one good use out of him before I...”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Penny found herself shouting. “Just..don’t you fucking dare try to...”

“Try to what?” Sandra’s voice was quite passive. It was clear that she didn’t have a care in the world about this. She was just...way too calm about the whole thing. With the dismissive gestures that she was making, it was all just casual to her. “All I did was give Snap a purpose. A brief one. But why are you upset?” She narrowed one eye in the glaring teenagers’ direction. “You know, I easily could have just killed him...”

Penny was struggling so much not to say anything. She was trying not to allow her emotions get in the way. She wanted to just remain quiet and calm and try to think her way out of this. But how can she with the way this dragon zoner was talking about her friend? It was just...so disgusting and disrespectful and yet Sandra still dared to act as if it was fine, as if she hadn’t done anything wrong. The same kind of dismissive behavior that she had years ago.

Sandra just won’t change...

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Sandra lower herself towards Snap. The blue and white zoner seemed to almost come to life upon seeing Sandra there. He started to squirm and struggle more wildly at her presence. But he was otherwise just...trapped there and unable to do anything. He could only stare up at Sandra, his wide fear-filled eyes locking onto the blue dragon, watching as she drew herself closer to him.

Upon seeing just how close Sandra was getting, Penny could feel her heart skipping several beats. A sense of helplessness clutched at her just and just...could not tear her eyes away. No, Snap... What was Sandra going to do to Snap? Hadn’t he suffered enough already...?

Sandra raised her foot up and placed it against Snap’s back. She pressed the tips of her talons into his back, causing the zoner to start flinching. Penny and her friends let out a series of shouts, hoping to discourage Sandra from attempting to press the claws in deeper. But it was useless, nothing they did or said would get Sandra to relent.

More blood started to seep down Snap’s injuries, staining the ground. The claws hadn’t really penetrated that deeply thankfully. But that didn’t really mean much. Especially with Sandra’s super healing capability...

“Stop that! Let him go!” Rudy shouted when he couldn’t take it anymore. “He didn’t do anything! Just let him go!”

Sandra lifted her head up and she glared in the direction of Rudy. She curled her lip back into a snarl. “This little fucker betrayed me... He shattered my trust... He ruined my reputation...” She tilted her head to one side. “If there is one thing that I would appreciate from you, stupid child, it’s you not trying to fill my head with lies....”

“But he’s telling the truth! You’re the one who tried to..”

Sandra raised her hand up. “I know where this is going and let me save you all the trouble. A bunch of promise breakers aren’t going to make me change my mind...”

Penny and her friends growled at this statement. It was so easy to try to tear into her verbally for that. There was just so much that they could and would want to say to her. The mere fact that she stell held onto that disgusting belief... Sandra was a disgrace to real promises everywhere. She would deny that to her grave, but they all knew that it was true. She is the one that ruined the so-called ‘sanctity of the promise’, not any of them. She was just too stubborn to see that.

Though it was so tempting to say something, Penny forced herself to remain quiet. There was little that they could do, really. Their best bet was just to stay quiet. It was difficult, but Penny managed to do it. She was glad that Rudy and Mint also managed to keep thesmelves silent. In this particular situation, trying to argue with someone who had absolutely no intent in listening to them was not going to yield them any results. It was just best to wait and see if an opportunity presented itself. They would get out of here. It just might...take a while.

Penny’s eyes rested upon Snap. She gritted her teeth. What about their friend? There wasn’t anything that they could do from within here. Even if they got out the magic chalk now and drew, Sandra could see everything; they weren’t that well hidden. And she was too close to Snap. Those claws digging into his already bleeding, injured back... No doubt she would drive them further in should they try to do anything to help him.

Penny held some confidence that Sandra was not going to try killing Snap just yet. She remembered how she was at the trial, how insane she had acted when she got her sentence. There was no doubt in her mind that, if Sandra really wanted Snap dead in that moment, she would have just bit out his throat or something and be done with it. The fact that she hadn’t tried that yet suggested that she might want him alive for at least some time.

But exactly how long...she wasn’t sure. And honestly, she had her doubts that her keeping Snap alive was that much better. She knew just how cruel and unkind Sandra could be. And now that she was unhinged... Who knows just what she might have planned...?

Sandra gave a small chuckle as she lowered down a feather finger and traced it lazily along the top of Snap’s head. The zoner let out a small whimper at this, cringing at the mere tough. “I am still amazed that you all were able to even get here so early... Oh I had been expecting you, but not this fast.”

“You were expecting us...?” Snap managed to say, his voice having a pained tone to it.

“Oh yes, Snacks. I have...” Sandra sneered.

“It’s..Snap...” The blue and white zoner replied, his teeth gritted. He looked as if he was going to say something else, but Sandra merely applied pressure to his back, making him scream.

“Snap!” Rudy called out.

Sandra just smirked down at Snap’s screaming, and then continued to speak as though nothing happened. “And I am amazed that you all fell for my trap so easily.” She closed her eyes, smirking as she raised her hand up in gesture. “I mean, I thought for sure that you all would have noticed....at least something.... But you were all just too easily misguided. It was too easy luring you here. Just like a bunch of cattle...”

The three humans growled at this. They wanted to say something so badly, but in that moment, they couldn’t really think of anything. Their minds were too focused on Snap. Sandra had let up on him for now, but those claws were still set on his back. At any given, moment, she could make another move...

Penny could feel her heart racing against her chest. Her mind swirled with rapidly moving thoughts, and she struggled to control her breathing, not wanting Sandra to get the benefit of knowing that she was making her uncomfortable.

But that did little to settle down the thoughts in her mind. The fact that Sandra had referred to them as ‘cattle’ was bad enough. It already gave them a good, clear idea of just how she thought of them. Especially Snap. But what chilled her mind the most was...in some ways, Sandra was correct. They really had fallen for her trap and they really should have been more careful. They probably could have avoided this whole mess, but instead, they just...

She shook the thoughts out of her head. It was too late right now to do anything about that. They were here now. All they could do at this point was just move forward. They needed to figure out a way out of here. But the question was....just how...?

She could feel her mind’s gears turning as she struggled to think of a plan. At first, she couldn’t really think of anything that could help. She tried and she tried, but...nothing seemed to come up. It was as if her mind had been stripped bare of any and all thought. Just...nothing would come to her mind. She struggled to fight against the horrible feeling in her stomach as she continued to think as hard as she could. There had to be....something they could do, right? Anything...

But right now...there really was nothing. They would have to wait even longer to try to figure something out. Sandra was in too precarious of a position for them to risk taking out the magic chalk and drawing anything. And she had a feeling that she would do something if they so much as reached out of the bars to try to stop her. Their only option right now as just...wait. Wait for the right moment.

Of course, would they even know the right moment?

Sandra turned her gaze back down towards Snap. She eyed him carefully, as if trying to debate on just what she wanted to do. After what felt like several minutes, she lifted her head up and she stared over at them. Her expression was...unreadable. Almost any thought could be on her mind right then, and none of them would really know what she was thinking of. This alone was enough to put them all on edge as they waited to see just what she was going to do.

“I can sense you all want to leave. Isn’t that a shame?” Sandra’s expression altered a little, and she looked almost disappointed. “I had hoped that you would have wanted to stay here longer and...” She brought her hands together, tapping her feather fingers against one another. “...chat..”

“You fucking monster!” Mint blurted out. He moved himself closer to the front of the cage, gripping the bars tightly. “Why the hell would we want to chat with someone like you?!”

“After the way you killed those innocent zoners...!” Rudy’s body quaked in rage.

Penny felt a sting in her chest as she remembered the way those zoners had been so heartlessly killed. Sandra was clearly showing no remorse for her actions, and this caused her stomach to swirl in disgust. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “What you did was absolutely disgusting, Sandra... Have you no shame in what you did?!”

“Shame in what?” Sandra asked in an innocent tone.

Forming a fist with her hand, Penny shot it out at one side swiftly, a token of just how angry she was. “You killed countless innocent zoners who hadn’t done a fucking thing to you!”

Sandra rolled her eyes at this. “All of them were, in a way, responsible for me being wrongfully sent to jail.” She lowered her head and gave a snarling smile. “They deserved what they got...”

Mint pounded his fist against the bar. “You’re a fucking monster!”

Sandra stared at the three of them with cold, red eyes. “Not as big of a monster as you all are..” She tilted her head slightly to the side as she raised it up. “None of you try to see things my way. You all advocate ‘open-mindedness’, based on what I knew of you before. But you don’t give me the same treatment. Just a bunch of hypocrites, you are...” She lowered her head, her ears twisting backwards. “...I had hoped to get treated fairly, but I guess from you lot, that is too much to ask...”

Snap spluttered a little before he managed to say, “W-We do try to see others’ points of views, Sandra... I-It’s just that...” Snap tilted his head and he stared up at Sandra. “Your beliefs were hurting people. I mean, really hurting people. And y-you’re one to talk...about not giving others’ views a chance. Y-You don’t try to see where we came from with...”

“Shut up, Snacks!” Sandra raised a fist and she struck down against the back of Snap’s head. “Keep your spluttering treachery to yourself!”

The gasped in horror at this harsh treatment of their friend. They gritted their teeth as they narrowed their previously widened eyes. They could feel their bodies trembling in rage as they watched just how cruelly Sandra was treating their friend. Calling him ‘Snacks’ was just the tip of the fiery match of the whole thing.

Penny could feel her heart twist as she watched Snap shut his eyes and let out a whimper. The poor little guy couldn’t even bring himself to fight back. Not while he was in that position. So close to the one who nearly killed him... Her heart nearly burst open when she saw the way that he lifted up his head and stared out at them. He looked so afraid and desperate... And there was nothing that they could do to help him.

Penny could practically see the desperation shining in Rudy’s eyes. She could see how every inch of his body looked ready to jump out of the bars and scoop up his friend and cradle him. She could see how Mint wanted to, so much, strike out against Sandra, if he could only fit through the bars sealing them inside.

And as for herself... She just wanted to get out of here. She wanted to take down this cage, grab her friends, and just run. Get out of here as quickly as she could. They were not prepared to fight Sandra yet, she realized. They needed to get away, regroup, and think of something better. Something that would...

“Don’t you dare hurt Snap again!” Rudy shouted, breaking through the silence and interrupting Penny’s thoughts. Penny watched as Rudy momentarily forgot about his own fear of Sandra in favor of trying to defend Snap. “You hear me?! You try to hurt him again and I’ll tear off both of your ears!”

Sandra looked over at him. Upon her red eyes connecting with his, Rudy seemed to freeze like a statue. His facial expression did not change, but his body was starting to show another emotion. Sandra gave a small, wry smile at this. “Oh really now, Rudy? You would do that to me..? Why, I never would have imagined!” She placed her hand to herself. “I would have thought the ‘Great Creator’ would have had more self control than that..”

While Rudy looked undoubtably nervous, he still managed to hold his ground, which impressed both of his friends. “I know that I do not condone violence, but for you, it’d be fucking worth it!”

Sandra widened her eyes for a brief moment. Then she just smiled once more. “I see... Well I suppose if you get your chance, we will see what will happen...” Sandra shrugged her shoulders as she said this. “Only time will tell. Oh and speaking of time...” She turned her head as she stared down at Snap. “I think it’s time that I started showing you all to your cells. Well, at least Snacks here...”

“His name is Snap!” Rudy’s voice sounded as though it was practically bleeding over in rage. “Stop calling him ‘Snacks’, you asshole!”

Sandra gave another shrug of the shoulder. “Eh, details. I can call him whatever the fuck I want.”

Penny gritted her teeth at this, unable to believe just how Sandra was behaving. She was looking down at Snap like he was some kind of food for her to eat. Just a hunk of meat that deserved no special treatment. This was their best friend she was talking about. How fucking dare she treat him like he was lower than dirt...

Snap started to struggle on the ground, trying to get away from Sandra. She applied pressure to his back to secure him in place, her narrowed eyes staring right at him, looking somewhat annoyed. At Snap’s angle, he wasn’t able to turn himself around to strike at her. All he could do was just try to crawl away, which he was entirely unable to do.

Seeing their friend try to crawl caused their guts to wrench up tightly. It was so difficult to watch Snap try so hard to get away, them not being able to do anything about it, Snap looking at them in both pain and fear...

Sandra let out a soft hiss, narrowing her eyes down at Snap. She leaned herself further against him, pressing her foot more firmly on his wriggling form. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Snap as if he was being so unreasonable. The sight alone was enough to make their blood temperatures heat up. But the way that she spoke a few moments later only made them feel worse.

“Of course, you squirming around isn’t going to make this process any easier. So...why don’t I....”

“Wh-Why do you bother doing this, Sandra...?” Snap spoke up. He managed to lift up his head and turn it just enough so he could stare at her. There seemed to be the smallest hint of a smile on his face. “I mean...don’t you think that, if the others find out that we are missing, they will...do something about it...?”

Rudy’s eyes flickered in realization. He offered a sneer himself, this one more broad and noticeable than Snap’s. “The zoners know about what we’re doing. The moment they see that we aren’t returning, they’re going to try to find us! And then you...”

“...will kill every single last one of them...”

Penny’s hushed whisper was enough to make the others look at her in horror. She didn’t want to see their faltering expressions. She hated being the bearer of bad news. But it was true. That’s exactly what would happen.

Sandra smirked at this. “Oh my, you are so accurate, little girl!” Penny flinched at this as she turned her head away. “You really are the smart one, aren’t you?”

Penny did not say anything. But Mint had something that he wanted to say. He took a step forward, closing whatever remained of the gap between him and the bars in front of him. “I do believe that you are underestimating those zoners, Sandra. Do I need to remind you that it was those zoners, and not us, who eventually captured you?” Mint ignored Sandra’s snarling as he pointed a finger at her. “You cannot deny that truth, Sandra. You and I both know that I am right about that.”

Penny stared over at Mint, slowly blinking her eyes. Had the zoners really...? Oh yes, they did. It was kind of hard for her to remember sometimes. She had been injured by Sandra at the time, and gotten so weak so fast. She was not aware of what happened after her throat injury. She had been told, of course, and she remembered feeling proud. A part of her wasn’t really sure how she could have forgotten. Then again, there was a number of things going on. It was impossible for her to keep up.

Still, that did not mean that they were home free. Those zoners might outnumber Sandra and they might have caught her before and they might now know her weakness.... but Sandra was fully aware of all of this. She’d be better prepared. None of them could fully count on being rescued just yet.

And judging from Sandra’s dark smile, she was fully aware of this. “Either way... I left them a little...surprise...”

“Surprise...?” Mint tilted his head, his eyes widening. “Wait a minute.. What surprise?”

“What the fuck did you do..?” Rudy demanded.

Despite their efforts to get Sandra to tell them just what the hell that she was talking about, all she did was just...shrug her shoulders. She then turned her attention back down to where Snap was. Her dark smile spread further. Completely dismissing what they were talking about, she changed her posture so that she stood back parallel to the ground over the blue and white zoner.

“Anyway, as I was saying..” Sandra turned her head around, bending her neck to one side. She gave Snap a downwards glance, her teeth gritted in a dark smile. “I need to make sure that you don’t struggle too much. I won’t be able to get you to where I need you to go if you fight me too much.”

Snap looked up at Sandra in fear. The dragon zoner seemed to press her claws a bit more firmly against him, causing Penny’s heart to twist, along with Rudy’s and Mint’s. Snap stared at Sandra with a silent pleading expression.

Which Sandra ignored completely.

“So...let me help you...relax...!”

Without warning, Sandra suddenly pressed her claws into Snap’s back. There was a loud, sickening crack and Snap’s screams echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. It was difficult to say how long the scream lasted, but for the horrified humans, it seemed to last for an eternity.

That scream... that horrible, terrifying scream... Penny’s whole body froze as she realized just how familiar this scream was. She had heard it before. This was the exact same scream as Snap made all those years ago, back when Mint had broken his back. That, coupled with the sickening crack she had heard before, led her to the same conclusion.

Sandra had rebroken Snap’s back.

No..she didn’t just rebreak it. She made it worse.

She and her friends couldn’t think to say or do anything for several seconds as they watched their friend squirm on the ground. Or at least, try to. His arms were flailing and he was trying to turn his body this way and that. They could see him constantly throw back his head, releasing more screams or shouts of ‘why’, the same question shining in his eyes whenever they weren’t clinched shut tightly.

But his legs... They weren’t...They weren’t moving.. Penny swallowed hard at this, feeling a lump forming in her throat as this news swirled through her mind. She found it difficult to control her breathing. She panted heavily as tears strolled down her face. Her heart was frozen in horror at the realization that Snap’s back was not only broken, but he was paralyzed from the waist down, just like how Rudy was.

Sandra’s claw... It had broken through the prosthetic vertebrate... There was no other explaination. There was nothing else that it could be. She knew that he had the prosthetic...and she broke it. That...That monster....

“Snap!” Rudy shouted after he recovered enough from the initial shock. “No...please... Snap!” He had rushed over upon seeing what happened to his creation and best friend. He reached out with his hand through the bars, as if somehow he could grab onto Snap and pull him out of that situation. “Give him back to us, Sandra! Please...give him back!”

Mint watched for a few moments as Snap squirmed on the ground, his body wracking in agony. For a few seconds, his face held nothing but horror-filled realization. It was as if he was remembering when he himself had broken Snap’s back. It was all flooding back to him, and it was written all over his face. But soon his eyes narrowed and his fists formed tightly, shaking at his sides. He looked as if he was going to speak...but instead he did something else that they did not see.

Mint began to ram himself against the bars. Again and again, he would stroke, hoping to tear it down. Rudy hardly paid attention, his eyes focused only on Snap. Penny managed to look away from Snap, despite how difficult it was, and watched as Mint tried in vain to get them free. She wanted to say something to him, abut how pointless it was to try to break something that none of them were strong enough for. But she could not think of anything to say. So she remained quiet and allowed Mint to continue this action.

Penny managed to turn her gaze down and she watched Snap continued to whimper and cry loudly. His face was stained red with tears as he quivered and tried to cope with the horrific pain that was surely sweeping through him. Penny felt her own eyes water, her vision blurring. Oh Snap... What did he do to deserve this...?

Sandra gave a soft growl as she turned her head towards Mint, watching him as he continued to ram against the bars. “Stop that incineous banging!”

“No! Let our friend go first! Give him back to us!” Mint shouted as he pounded the bars again and again with his fist. “Give him back! You hear me?! Give him back!”

Rudy joined in. His sorrow had given away to rage and his body trembled. “If you don’t give Snap back to us, Sandra...” He paused for a moment, his face scrunching up as if trying to figure out a good threat to throw against someone who could tear him apart on the inside at this very moment. “I will make sure that you...”

“Hold up!” Sandra raised her hand up. “Why don’t I give you a better offer?” She leaned her head forward a little, her narrowing red eyes focusing on Rudy’s hand. “I see you reaching for the magic chalk there, Rudy. I wouldn’t try that if I were you. Someone could hurt themselves.” She reached out with her hand expectantly. “Why don’t you just give me the magic chalk to hold onto, and no one will get hurt..?”

“You already hurt our friend!” Rudy shouted.

“Eh..details...” Sandra waved her hand dismissively. She seemed unaffected by Snap’s whimpering underneath her. “Now...give me the chalk...”

“Like hell we are going to do that!” Mint snarled. “We’re not giving you the magic chalk!”

“Oh isn’t that a shame? I guess you don’t care about your little friend here...”

Snap lifted up his head and stared at her fearfully. “Please..don’t hurt me...”

Rudy and Mint stiffened at Sandra’s comment, their eyes widening in horror. Penny shared the same expression, feeling her heart skip several beats at Sandra’s clear threat. She didn’t need to say anything further for them to understand just what she was getting at. They looked at each other, exchanging facial expressions, none of them at all happy about this. But....they all knew exactly what needed to be done.

Before any of them could make a move, however, Sandra decided to ‘encourage’ them into making the ‘right’ decision by activating her powers on Snap. Not much, it would seem. But it was more than enough to make Snap let out a few pain-filled whimpers and increase his squirming around more.

That was more than enough to make them all give in.

“Please stop that! Don’t hurt him anymore! We’ll give you our magic chalk! Just please...stop hurting him!”

Sandra smirked as she watched the three humans hold out their magic chalk in clear desperation to help their friend out. She looked...almost amused with the idea of them giving up so easily. “I see you really do love him so much... I knew that you would do the right thing...”

“Just take the damn chalk and give us our friend back!” Rudy shouted.

Sandra gave a dark chortle, her shoulders trembling in motion. “Oh..of course...!”

She walked over to the humans, removing her foot from Snap’s back at last. The blue and white superhero zoner gave a loud gasp of relief, but soon delved into more whimpering. Sandra reached over and she snagged the three pieces of magic chalk all in one go. She stared at the three pieces before she looked back at them.

“Thank you for your kind service...”

This comment made the three teenagers bristle in disgust. Rudy and Mint growled at this, while Penny narrowed her eyes. She said, “Okay Sandra...give us back our friend. A deal is a deal.”

“Oh? I don’t remember making any sort of deal...” Sandra casually commented, pressing her cheek against her palm a little. “Though I suppose you could...”

“We gave your our magic chalk! You have to give us our friend back!”

“Have to? I don’t recall that I had to...” Sandra raised her hand up in gesture. “I do believe that we have some sort of miscommunication going on here...” She looked down at Snap. “I still haven’t punished the little fucker for what he did to me...”

Mint’s body quaked at this. “You said that you’d give him back to us if we gave you the magic chalk!”

Sandra just sneered as her smile grew twisted. Her red eyes stared down at Snap’s squirming form before she lifted her gaze up and stared at the three teenagers. “I lied...”

sss

“Dr. Crobat?” Dr. Gelcro called out as he opened up the door. “Are you in here?”

It had been a while since he set foot in this office. He couldn’t really remember the last time that he had been here. It really hadn’t been that long, honestly. A few months. Dr. Crobat had been away for a while on some important business, and he had only returned relatively recently.

The very act of being in his office did bring back all kinds of memories. Not all of them good. Dr. Gelcro still shuddered to remember how he had temporarily turned against his friend over the whole ‘Snap incident’ thing. A part of him wished that he could just go back in time and slap his past self for being so stupid. How could he have so easily accused Snap like that? Even if Dr. Crobat didn’t really blame him for what happened, that didn’t lift his spirits all that much.

But so far, he didn’t see his friend anywhere. He wondered if he had just caught him on a bad day or something. That was possible. He imagined that Dr. Crobat was more than busy, with his hands full, after what happened before. He was so relieved to hear that Dr. Crobat made it out okay, but quickly became concerned when he realized just how close he had come to...

He shook the uncomfortable thought out of his mind. At least Dr. Crobat had survived. Maybe a little injured, but no worse for wear. He was certainly well enough to try to mend whatever patients that he could. He would undoubtably come in here at some point, however. He needn’t worry. All he had to do was wait. He placed himself in the nearby spinning chair and sat down and just...waited.

His mind wandered a little as he thought about what he had done previously. He had been at the police station for a short time not too long ago. He forgot how long he was there. Definitely longer than he had imagined he would be. But he couldn’t really feel all that surprised or upset by it. After all, there had been a good reason why he was called there. He did witness the Beanie Boys’s attack.

He had provided whatever information that he could. From the reactions that he got, it seemed like he wasn’t able to give them exactly what they were hoping for. He did feel a little guilty about that. But...at least he was able to tell them something at least. He hoped that they would be able to use this information to help track down those rotten Beanie Boys and stop them before they managed to do something like this again.

He gritted his teeth, his ears flattening against his skull. How could those Beanie Boys have done such a thing? How could they have attacked those innocent zoners? What the fuck did they ever do to them...?

Oh why was he even bothering to ask himself that? He knew that the Beanie Boys weren’t exactly the most reasonable bunch. In some ways, they were just as bad as their leader, Skrawl. As soon as they were able to, he looked forward to locking them up again.

He looked left and right. Still no sign of Dr. Crobat. Maybe he should go look for him. He might...

Suddenly, without warning, he felt something collide with the back of his head. His eyes bulged as he was thrust forward. His face hit against the desk painfully and he thought he heard a snap, something popping loose. He collapse to the ground, tasting blood in his mouth.

He laid there, quivering violently, pain wracking through his body. He let out a series of pathetic, pained coughs. He couldn’t understand it. Just..what happened...? Who had...? He tried to lift up his head to see, but for some reason, his body just woudl not obey. Instead, he trailed his eyes upward and he caught a glimpse of the shadow standing before him.

A familiar shadow...

“D-Dr. Crobat...?” Dr. Gelcro whispered weakly before he passed out.

Chapter 22: Desperate Attempts

It’s all in my hands. What can I do? Don’t let it fall apart!
-A Shot In The Dark, Within Temptation





“No! Let us out of here!” Mint pounded against the bars again and again. “I’m telling you for the last time! Release us!”

Despite how much this hurt his head, Mint just could not bring himself to stop. There was a small part of him that felt that...if he kept this up, maybe the Beanie Boys would listen and let him and his friends go. It was a stubborn, stupid belief, sure, but...someone had to keep trying, right?

Rudy and Penny were sitting in the back, leaning against each other. A part of him was irritated. He had hoped that they would be here with him, trying to find a way out, not cowering back there. But..no, he couldn’t say that about them. It wasn’t like they had given up. They just...didn’t know what to do right now.

And honestly, neither did he. The only reason he kept on yelling was..he had no idea what else he could do. He wanted to get them all out of here. But he just..had no idea. And without the magic chalk...

“Oh be quiet and sit down!” One of the Beanie Boys snapped, glaring at him.

“Yeah! You aren’t going to leave here any time soon! So you might as well get comfortable!” Another Beanie Boy growled at him.

“Or maybe the ‘Enemy Creator’ is just too stupid to realize what those words mean!”

Mint hissed at this. Despite the somewhat weak nature of that insult, it still struck a chord with him. Of course the Beanie Boys would still be heartless enough to bring that up. It was just like them.... It was bad enough that, even now, a few zoners still insisted on calling him that. He certainly didn’t need past wounds being reopened by the very things that he had used to call his allies.

He once more looked back at Rudy and Penny. He took in a deep breath and he sighed. Perhaps they had the right idea after all. It seemed like it really was just a complete waste of his breath and time in trying to figure a way out of here. No matter what he did or said, it wasn’t going to change a damn thing. All he was going to do was just..make himself even more irritated. The Beanie Boys were quite good at that. It would be quite hard to formulate a plan if he was getting too worked up..

..and of course the Beanie Boys knew this rather well. Why else would they be talking like this? Oh yes, they were rather certain that they could use his emotions against him, keep him from figuring a way out. He couldn’t let them win.

So rather than continue pounding against the bars, he finally got himself to stop. He ignored the stinging pain in his fist as he looked at the ground, letting out low, soft growls. He clenched his teeth tightly, each breath feeling like it was taking more and more effort. Then, with a quick shudder, he started to feel himself relax a little. With that exasperated sigh, he turned and he made his way towards his friends.

“Looks like he finally gave up!”

“I’m glad. I was tired of hearing his stupid voice!”

Mint gritted his teeth at those comments, but he chose to ignore them. He slowly made his way over to his friends and he sat down next to them. He felt some sense in comfort in being so close to them. True, he was nowhere near getting an idea of a way out of here. But...at least he could take some comfort in knowing that he wasn’t alone. And who knows? Maybe Rudy and Penny could figure something out.

So far though...he wasn’t really sure what any of them could do. This situation did start looking rather...bleak. None of them had any magic chalk on them. They had been forced to give it all to Sandra...

The very thought of that caused Mint to grit his teeth. Oh how could he have been so stupid...? He should have known what Sandra was up to. He should have known that it was all just a trick. He should have known that she never intended on giving Snap back... But instead, he fell for it, hook, line, and sinker... and now Snap had been seperated from them. Stolen, locked away with her. And none of them had any clue what was being done to him.

That was honestly the worst part. Not knowing what was happening to their friend. He wished there was a way that they could find out. Good or bad, he and the others would feel better just..knowing what was going on. They wanted to know what was being done to Snap. They wanted to know if he was okay, if he was not okay, or what. Not knowing was going to drive them all insane.

But he would try his best to hang in there. He didn’t want to worry his friends further. Rudy and Penny were worried enough as it is. He didn’t need to add onto it.

He watched them as they were in deep thought. He wondered what they could be thinking of. They had been silent for a while after they were locked up. He imagined that they might be trying to figure a way out of here. They weren’t the types to just give up. But the expressions that they were giving... It was honestly difficult to tell if this was truly the case or not.

“...so...do you guys have any idea what we’re going to do?” Mint cautiously asked. He was getting a little tired of the silence and he wanted a better idea of how Rudy and Penny were feeling. “Like...anything...?”

Rudy shrugged his shoulders. “Not right now. I mean... I’m not sure if there is much that we could do...” Rudy flinched at his own words, as if he was shocked with himself for saying them. “I’m sure that we can figure something out...eventually. I just...don’t know what we can do.”

Penny nodded her head in agreement. “It will take some time before we can figure something out.”

“But we don’t have a lot of time! Snap could be...!” Mint protested.

Penny raised up her hand to silence him. “We are quite aware, Mint. Rudy and I are equally as desperate as you to save Snap. But...we need to be careful with this.” Penny narrowed her eyes as she gazed into the ground. “If we go in too swiftly into this.. We could end up making things so much worse.” She let out a sigh before looking back up at Mint. “We need to plan this perfectly. You and I both know how Sandra can be...”

“Yeah...I know.” Mint couldn’t deny those words. It really would be best to wait and make sure that everything was solid before making a move. They just had to be a little quick about it.

Rudy gave a soft murmur. “At least we won’t have to worry about Skrawl...”

At this, Mint felt a mixture of emotion go through him. He found himself slowly turning his head towards Skrawl, who was situated in a cage not far from them. The jellybean hadn’t really spoken a word to them since they arrived; he just sat there, his arms folded, looking rather grumpy.

This was the only amount of comfort that they had in this situation. Skrawl really wasn’t paired up with Sandra after all. Maybe he had been, but it was clear that he was her prisoner now. For what, Mint wasn’t sure, and Rudy and Penny couldn’t figure it out either. Sandra wanted him for something; why else even bother keeping him alive? And the Beanie Boys were being controlled by her, using Skrawl as leverage.

Mint had mixed feelings about this whole thing. On the one hand, Skrawl might make a useful temporary ally. He knew this place better than Sandra, he would imagine. So many he could tell them something that they don’t know.

But on the other hand...they were still enemies. He didn’t think that Skrawl would be all that interested in helping them out. He certainly didn’t look interested. And there was the fact that he himself was..still rather terrified of him. He did not bring it up often, but he still felt a tinge of fear whenever thinking of that jellybean. After all, he was the reason that...

Mint found himself looking down at his prosthetic leg. Even to this day, he could still remember how Skrawl had flung that sword into his leg, how it clanged against the ground, how his leg had been chopped off... He could feel a dull pain spreading throughout his leg at this, and he wanted to clutch his limb to himself.

No doubt Skrawl would take advantage of his fear. That seemed like something that the jellybean would do. Go out of his way to frighten him and be a total asshole about the whole thing. Skrawl just needed to say the right thing and he would have Mint cringing. Even though the teen tried not to let Skrawl get to him, it was just....he could not stop the flashbacks from moving through his head. And it didn’t help that he still had nightmares about that horrible scenario...

But, despite his fear, it might be worth a short. After all, he had a feeling that Skrawl hated Sandra as much as they did. Perhaps it would only be best if they at least trie dto talk to him. What was the worst that could happen? It wasn’t like the jellybean could get to them from where he was.

But first, he neded to speak to his friends about the idea. It seemed outrageous and he had no idea if they would like it or not. But...it was worth a try at least.

“Hey guys..?” Mint spoke up. “I...I think I have an idea..”

Rudy and Penny immediately lifted their heads and looked at him.

“Oh? What is your idea, Mint?” Rudy asked.

Mint paused for a moment. He still wasn’t sure how to approach this. He turned his head and he stared over at Skrawl for a few moments, and then he looked back at them, licking his lips nervously. “W-Well...I...”

Rudy had seen what he did and his eyes immediately narrowed. “No...No, you are not thinking that, are you..?”

“I mean...”

“Mint, you know he’d never help us!”

“I know, but I think that...”

“He’s the one who chopped off your leg! Why would you want his help?!”

Mint bit his lip. He should have known that he and Rudy were going to get into an argument over this. He should have known that Rudy would not like the idea of working with Skrawl. Maybe in the past, but after the shit that Skrawl had pulled, like cutting off his leg, Rudy had been less..inclined in wanting to work with the jellybean.

Which he understood full and well. He couldn’t really blame Rudy for not liking the idea. He wouldn’t be surprised if Penny as well had some reservations against the idea. He didn’t want to force them to try the idea. They both had good reasons for hating it...just as he himself had reasons for not wanting to do it himself.

But he hoped that they would at least listen to the idea. After all, they did need a way out of here. And having Skrawl on their side temporarily could help tip the scale a little bit. Skrawl wouldn’t be dumb enough to resist help if it meant getting back at the person who had wronged him...right?

“And further more...” Rudy started to say before Penny put her hand on his shoulder. “Penny...?”

“Let him explain.” Penny said gently.

“But...Penny...” Rudy started to say. “That plan... we can’t...”

“I know it sounds rather desperate. But Rudy...we are in a desperate situation. And if Mint thinks that this idea could work... We should let him try it.” Penny explained to him. Her eyes were furrowed softly. “I don’t like it anymore than you do. Trust me on that. But right now, it’s more important that we figure a plan out and get out of here. No time to let our emotions get the better of us.”

Rudy opened his mouth to speak. But he soon closed it. It was clear that he couldn’t really think of anything to say. He just turned his head away, lowering it and giving a sigh. “Oh all right..” He lifted his head up and he stared over at Mint. “What did you have in mind, Mint?”

Mint paused for a moment, and then he started to speak. “I know it won’t be easy. But if we can convince Skrawl to help us, then I think that he can tell us more about this place. He knews this place better than Sandra I would imagine... So maybe he can tell us things like...secret passageways, or anything else that we might not know about.” He raised his hadn up in gesture. “I know that it would take some convincing, but I think we’d be better off with Skrawl as a temporary ally...don’t you think?”

Rudy and Penny glanced at each other. He could see the nervousness in their eyes. He knew what they were thinking. The idea of Skrawl being an ally, even if there were some benefits, was not something to take lightly. Skrawl was still a dangerous foe and he was hardly trusthworthy.

“Oh and of course, we would take precautions. I’m not stupid.” Mint raised his hands up. “I never intended that we jump into this headfirst without thinking. Of course we would have a plan in case Skrawl were to betray us.” He lowered his hands and he leaned in towards his friends. “But...I truly do think that we may stand a better chance if we at least...try.”

“Well...I’m still not liking it.. But..” Rudy rubbed the back of his head nervously. “It..does seem like our only option right now.” He looked over at Penny. “What do you think?”

“I don’t like it, honestly. But...you’re right. It might be our only shot.” Penny stared over at Skrawl. “After all... the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?”

Rudy gave a bitter chuckle at that. “If you can call it that...”

Penny decided to ignore that as she addressed Mint, “Why don’t you try talking with Skrawl, Mint?” Mint blinked his eyes in surprise. “It was your idea, after all. And you have actually worked with him.” She flinched as she said that. “M-Maybe you could think of a way to sway him...?”

“Me? I-I don’t know...” Mint stammered. “I’m not sure that I can...”

Rudy cut him off. “Go on, Mint. At least...try.”

But Mint still remained unsure. Was he really the right person for this job? After all, Skrawl was still Rudy’s reaction. Shouldn’t Rudy be the one to try to talk Skrawl into temporarily helping them?

But...Penny was right. He did work with Skrawl for a time. That wasn’t a time that he liked to remember. But...he might have the negotiating skills required to get Skrawl to listen. He did have to deal with him on a regular basis once. He might be better suited to this than Rudy or Penny, despite knowing Skrawl the shortest amount of time.

Then again...would Skrawl really want to talk to his former ally? Would he really want to speak to the person who betrayed him?

Well...there was only one way to find out.

Without much more hesitation, swalling hard, trying to work up the courage, Skrawl made his way over to where the front of the cage was, over towards the bars that separated them from the room aroun them. Mint gripped onto the bars and leaned in. He paused for a moment, licking his lips once more, trying to figure out the words to say. He looked over at his friends, who offered him supportive, encouraging smiles.

Then he turned his head to Skrawl and, after pausing for a moment, he said, “Hey, Skrawl! I’d like a word with you!”

At this, Skrawl slowly turned his head towards him. Mint tried to ignore the menacing glare that the jellybean had given, the way his teeth were bared in a snarl. “What do you want...?”

Mint swallowed nervously for a moment, feeling his heart pound in his chest. He fought against his twisting gut feelings and he managed to speak. “...I have a proposal for you...”

sss

Snap’s mind instantly became alive with several buzzing thoughts. He couldn’t comprehend what was going on. He couldn’t get his mind to settle down. There was just... was this some kind of nightmare or something?

But he wasn’t waking up. Even as he shut his eyes tighter, hoping that he would wake up at any moment..just, nothing was happening. He was still here, in this present time. He could still feel the unwelcome warmth, himself pushed up to something he never wanted to be. This was real.... and he was horrified.

Sandra’s lips were upon his. As soon as his mind clicked, as soon as he realized that this truly was the case, the small blue and white zoner began to struggle against her, kicking his legs out. He struggled to pull himself back, placing his hands and trying to push her away. Nothing he did worked and he found himself remaining locked in the kiss.

He couldn’t help but let out muffled whimpers and cries at this. None of this made any sense. His head ached as he tried to search for an answer. How in the world could Sandra go from trying to eat him...to kissing him like this? It just had no sense of logic to it whatsoever. And he found himself feeling even more terrified than he already was. He had to try to get out of here, somehow. He just...

Then he felt something that made him nearly gag.

Sandra’s tongue in his mouth.

Almost instantly, his eyes bulged wide open. He felt an almost immediate urge to throw up. He could feel his stomach lurching in his stomach, and he could feel the bile start to rise up. He fought against the feeling, eventually managing to get it down to more manageable levels. But the sense of nausea was still there.

All the while, his mind continue to swirl and ache from trying to understand just...what the fuck was happening. He felt a whole wave of emotions as Sandra kept holding onto him like this, keeping her lips pressed against his. His heart raced against his chest. The mere fact that she was this close was enough to make him want to scream in horror. But now she was doing this and.... how was he supposed to take this? He kept asking himself over and over the same question: Just what was Sandra doing?

In all the times that they had spent together, even back when he had foolishly considered her a friend, he never thought she’d be the one to do something like this. And it made even less sense knowing what kind of person she truly was and knowing that she hated him. He knew that she hated his guts. So..why was she kissing him...?

Sandra’s tongue was moving around inside. It was o disgusting, almost like he had swallowed some kind of worm or something. Snap shut his eyes tightly and he tried to ignore this feeling as he struggled to pull his head back. He tried striking at Sandra, jerking his head from one side to the other. Whatever he could to get himself free.

Yet Sandra’s grip remained tight on him. Sandra pulled him closer, keeping him locked even more deeply against the unwanted kiss. She showed no signs of letting up any time soon. Snap soon realized that there was only one way that he could get out of this.

Forming a fist with his hand, Snap twisted himself around so he could get a good angle. Then he pulled back his fist and, mustering as much strength and courage as he could, he struck out against Sandra. His fist collided with the side of her head, knocking it askew. Sandra let out screech at this, her mouth parting from his, her grip on him loosening.

Snap took this chance to try to get away. With Sandra momentarily distracted, he pushed back against her, managing to knock her clean off of him. He did not bother watching her collide with the ground; he just immediately turned himself around and he began to run towards the door. He moved as quickly as he could, knowing that he could just get the door open somehow and get out, he might be able to..

But he was never able to get that far. Before he even got half way towards the door, all of a sudden, there was a sharp pain in his leg. His eyes widened and he immediately began to trip over himself. He let out a yelp of pain as he fell into the ground, his leg bent slighlty awkwardly. He pulled his leg close, feeling as though a thousand saws had crawled up inside. But almost as soon as the pain started, it ended...

Snap heard low chuckling behind him. He turned his head and he saw that Sandra was already back on her feet. She smirked down at him, her lips spread in a...strange smile to say the least. She had her hands folded behind her back as she moved closer to him, her tail swaying from side to side. Snap’s whole body tensed up, preparing to defend himself if he needed to.

Though Sandra never tried to attack a second time. She merely walked over towards him, keeping a slow, deliberate gait, as though trying to drive him nuts. Snap gritted his teeth fearfully as Sandra approached him quickly, soon standing over him. Her smile gained a tint of amusement. Though she rubbed her cheek where he had struck her, she did not seem too angry with him.

“Nice shot... I must admit, I am impressed.” Sandra’s voice was surprisingly calm. “I never thought someone of your...stature would be able to knock me down with a single blow. Actually, I never thought anyone as scared of me as you are would have been able to strike me at all.” She lowered her hand and she tilted her head slightly to one side. “Congratulations... Though do please try to keep that at a minimum.”

Snap growled softly. There were so many things that he wanted to say to her right now. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t trust himself to be able to say a damn thing without triggering a potential attack from Sandra. She might be in a somewhat of a ‘peaceful mood’ right now. But who knows how long that will last?

In her current state, Sandra was not the predictable sort.

“I hope you do not think that you’ll be leaving so soon.” Sandra looked over towards the door for a moment. Then she turned her head so that she could look at Snap with one eye. “You have only just gotten here. Why don’t you stay and just...have some fun? Loosen up for a change...”

“I want to be with my friends!” Snap shouted at her, his fists shaking at his side. “Just take me back to them!”

Sandra held her chin in her hand. “So you don’t like being here with me, do you?” She shook her head slowly, feigning a sad expression. “Well isn’t that just a shame...” She took a step forward, lowering her body a little. She reached out and she gripped onto Snap’s lower jaw. “Am I not good enough for you...?”

Snap shuddered at the tone that she used there. He grabbed onto her hand and yanked it away. He started to crawl back away from her keeping his teeth bared. “J-Just stay away from me!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Sandra’s red eyes gave a twinkle. “You see, I have no intent on losing my hold over you, dear Snap..” She moved in even closer, making Snap let out a yelp as he tried to get away from her. “You will be staying with me...for a long time...”

Snap struggled to keep away from her. He tried to move as quickly as he could. But no matter how hard he tried he just could not stay away from her for long. Sandra moved too quickly, even when she was down on all fours. Her body, low to the ground, managed to catch up to him quickly and he soon found himself pinned against the ground. Sandra’s face became close to his.

“Whether you like it or not...”

Snap whimpered and he turned his head to the side. He half expected her to try biting him again. Instead, the only thing that he got was her tongue moving along his neck and up his cheek. The sensation caused him to whine and shudder. He struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. Despite the surprisingly gentle sensation, he did not feel that this was much better than her simply biting him.

“J-Just let me be with my friends, Sandra... Please...” Snap whispered softly. He couldn’t bring himself to try striking her again, despite the temptation. “Please... That’s all I want right now. I just want to be back with them. Rudy, Penny, Mint... Please...”

He opened up his eyes and looked up at her pleadingly. But there was no sign of sympathy from her. Just a narrowed gaze and a look that was...mimicking disappointment yet was not. It was so difficult to pinpoint just what kind of face that this was. But in the end, it was still making him feel uneasy, especially with how she was leaning in closer.

“You are staying with me. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You better get used to it. Because you are never leaving this room...unless I will it.” Sandra narrowed her eyes further. “If you try asking to leave again, I will personally see to it that your little friends will have a... ‘great time’...” Her mouth twisted into a dark smile as she turned her head to one direction. “Do you understand me?”

Feeling a cold shudder rush through his body, Snap whimpered, “P-Please..y-you can’t..”

“I can and I will. If you try leaving or if you try asking to leave one more time, Snap...I will.” Sandra’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Don’t think I’m joking on that. I hold all the cards. I am not going to let you go. I made that mistake before. I will not do it again. Am I clear?”

A wave of confusing, intermixed emotion swirled through Snap’s body. He found it impossible to tear his eyes away from Sandra. They drew him in, keeping him locked on the ground, utterly frozen. He wanted to get away somehow, yet he could not even bring himself to move. And the emotions that her glaring was elicitating did nothing to help his situation.

He could feel himself breathing in and out quickly, struggling to figure out just what the heck he was going to do. What move should he make? Could he really just give in like this? But what of his friends? He didn’t want to see them getting hurt. Oh..what was he going to do...?

His brain was bombarded with these confusing emotions that just wouldn’t let him go. He could feel a burning sensation in his rounded hands as he tried to figure out just what choice he should make. He wanted to do...something, anything, to get away from here. Yet he knew that if he did try, Sandra would go through with what she said. She might not have said ‘I promise’ there, but he could tell that she meant every word. She would indeed take action if she felt it necessary.

And his friends... No, he could not permit them to get hurt. In the end, their safety was more important than his own. If him staying here with Sandra would keep them safe, then...he didn’t have much of a choice, now did he?

The idea disgusted him. The idea terrified him. There was no amount of his core that wanted to be here. His chest twisted and his mind swirled, the burning emotions of fear and disgust intermingling together in a large cloud inside his skull, making him feel worse. This all served to make it even harder for him to make the decision. Yet the feeling of what could happen to his friends resonated more strongly with him.

So, licking his lips nervously, feeling his heart skip a few beats, Snap forced himself to lower his head in submission, his eyes closing softly. He did not want to see the smirk on Sandra’s face when he spoke. “...okay.. you..you win... I’ll stay..”

“Excellent. I knew you’d make the right decision, my little Snacks.” Snap shuddered at that comment, and at the caressing hand that touched his face. “I promise that you will not regret this.”

Snap opened his eyes and looked up at her. He wasn’t really sure why she bothered saying that. Not like there was anything she could do that would make him love it here. Only her not hurting his friends made this decision even slightly worthwhile.

He didn’t bother saying that to her, though. He couldn’t bring himself to do that. Not now; it was too risky. The only thing that he could do was just lay there and turn his head to the side. He didn’t want to look at her anymore. He didn’t want to see her ugly mug. The only thing he wanted to do was just shut his eyes and pretend that this wasn’t happening. He wanted to mentally take himself away, and hope that, soon, he would get out of this mess.

Sandra seemed to take note of this. He could hear her chuckle and mumble something under her breath. He couldn’t really tell what she said. Not that it really mattered. For before he could even start to think of what she meant, he started to feel a sharp pain in his head. His whole body started to stiffen up and he struggled to take in a breath.

“Shh...it’s okay, Snap. You are just going to...take a little nap is all.” Cooed Sandra. “Just close your eyes and go to sleep....”

Snap struggled to keep himself awake. He opened his mouth and let out a few strained gasps as he tried to handle the pain. He jerked himself from side to side. The agony in his head only grew stronger. His whole body trembled and he made a few jerky motions as he tried to push her back from him.

But it was useless. No matter how hard he pushed, she just shoved him back. Her powers overtook him and he felt something feel as though it was snapping inside of him. With a sharp stiffening of his body, Snap collapsed completely to the ground. His vision rapidly blurred and darkened. He shut his eyes and he became unaware of the world around him.

sss

Bell’s mind was constantly racing. He wasn’t entirely sure how he should feel about the situation. He was unable to stop acing back and forth, his arms folded behind his back. He kept his teeth gritted, in a constant state of just wanting to growl, even bite something.

What was he going to do? He asked himself this over and over again. It wasn’t something that he could stop asking himself. There was so much at stake here. He needed to keep himself on his toes. He needed a better understanding of just what the heck was going on here. A part of him wished that...he had only been imagining this.

But..he knew that he wasn’t. No matter how hard he struggled against himself, he couldn’t really forget what was happening. He could not dismiss what he had been told. Those two, he had a lot of trust in. They had proven themselves time and again. They wouldn’t lie to him. Not about this. Not about something that was so incredibly important to them. They knew better than that.

But to be fair, this was one of those few times where he just...wished that this was indeed all a lie. He didn’t want to think that this was happening. This just...would nearly ruin everything. There was still time, of course. But if they did not hurry...

He felt glad that no one was around to see this. Him pacing back and forth like this, the last thing he needed was anyone staring at him, wondering just what the heck was wrong with him. He didn’t want, nor did he care to, have anyone commenting on this or asking questions. No, now was not the time for that. He needed to keep himself focused on the task at hand.

At the same time, he needed to keep his emotions in check. He couldn’t let himself get too worked up over this. He was certain that everything would still work out. But they would not if he let his emotions get in the way too much. He needed to keep himself calm and steady, and try to think of a solution to this. If he concentrated hard enough, maybe he would figure something out and everything would be just fine.

Still...this whole situation was just..unprecedented. He had never thought that the Beanie Boys would actually attack the hospital. That hadn’t been... He shook his head. It was partially his fault. He should have been more specific. And maybe...he should have been a little more truthful...

Well, there was nothing that he could do about that right now, now was there? He could only move forward and hope that he could figure something out to correct this little oversight.

The rest of the police department were already out there. He didn’t need to worry about them finding the Beanie Boys too soon. But the fact that they were out there at all... It really was worrying. What if they found...that location? He didn’t want to begin to imagine what would happen if word got out. The only reason that he was even allowed to know was because he had promised not to tell. And then this happened and...

The only solution that he had before was just to send in a few of his own men. Act as derivatives. Lead them in a different direction. But he knew it would not be good enough. Suspicions would rise too fast, and the whole thing would be blown. Everything that he had worked hard for lately would all be for naught. He couldn’t allow it all to go to waste. It just...wouldn’t be fair...

But what was he going to do now? Not only did the police start heading of in that direction, but he also had to worry about Rudy and his friends as well. They had overheard what had been said. That was what he had gotten out of those two he spoke to before. It was this that he had wished had been just a sick joke or something. Out of all the people he didn’t want knowing about this, those blasted four were the ones that he struggled to keep everything from.

He knew exactly how they were going to react to all of this. He knew that they would not let up until they got all the answers, until he told them what they wanted to know. They would not be reasonable. They could not be negotiated with. They would stand against what he wanted. And if that is the case...

..then he supposed he had no choice.

The bull zoner turned his attention towards his desk. His real desk anyway. He did not consider the front desk where he met Rudy and the others to be the place wehre he did his real work. That was more of a...well, not really a front per say. But more just...a face? After all, someone has to sit there and speak to people who come in.

He was glad that someone else took over for now. He often switched with this other guy. Amazing person, really understanding... but he could hardly think of him right now. He wanted to figure out a solution to this problem first. And he would find the answer with his own desk. Not that there was anything in there that would help. It was more that...he felt like he could think better sitting down here, where he did his real thinking and his real work.

He felt himself start to relax as soon as he sat down. Yes, this felt so much better. He leaned himself back, feeling the cusion of the spinning chair, feeling it squeak slightly under his weight. He placed his hands on the thick metal table before him, the coldness spreading throughout his hoof-like hands. And then he just...started to think.

Rudy, Penny, Mint, and Snap. Four individuals. Four problems. Four things that needed to be taken care of soon. Four obstacles that stood in his way.

But of course, going about this was going to be rather tough. There was no easy solution to this. He already knew what kind of influence that this kid had over ChalkZone. Well all of them. If he did something too suddenly, he might end up making things worse. He could not simply just... He just had to tread lightly. One false move and...

He already had some influence over people. There were some that looked up to him. Or at the very least, there were others that respected him. They saw him as some kind of voice of reason, even if he did have his...moments. He could not risk losing that out of desperation to keep Rudy and the others out of the way. So he would need to find some other way to deal with that...cripple.

And soon, an idea formed in his head. There was a little something that he had been working on. He had been wondering how well it was going. If it were indeed a success, then perhaps he could use this to his advantage. It would help him pave the way into bringing out a change to this world. The introduction of an already familiar person whom he believed would make a better leader for everyone, even if he was sometimes...moody.

Besides, it wasn’t like Rudy was going to be around forever, right? The teen was going to grow up, get old, and die. Regardless of his crippled status, this part always remained the same. The same was true for Penny and Mint as well. They would all perish in age. And Snap... Well not to rain on his parade, but he did not see Snap as the leader type. No, he was way too...impulsive.

But this guy he was looking into making leader, he felt he was just...better. He still had his moments, he would not lie. But he did still get things done. He did not waste time on nonsense. He was the kind of person they all needed. Of course, not many would agree, and if he spread this word out too much, he knew many would turn against him.

But things would indeed go down this path. He would ensure that it did. Not just because of what he was promised, but because he had already truly believed in this vision. Once this whole Sandra situation was settled down, he would then begin to proceed with the next phase. Everything would fall into place.

Indeed, he would see to it that this plan came into fruition.

Chapter 24: Out Of The Ordinary

Must be strangely exciting to watch the stoic squirm!
-Uninvited, Alanis Morissette



A part of Rudy had no idea why he agreed to run away. A part of him just wanted to turn back around and face Sandra. This part of him was constantly nagging at him, and he could almost feel a hand around his throat, wanting to slap himself in the face.

But the other part of him knew that they didn’t have much of a choice. True, he and the others would have loved to stay behind and try to deal with Sandra. They all had that burning desire in them. They all wanted to stop her permanently this time, making sure what she could not cause anymore pain.

And even if they hated Skrawl, they could not feel good about leaving him behind. He did not doubt that Skrawl could take care of himself, but...this was still Sandra they were referring to. A monster with no remorse for her actions. There was little to suggest that Sandra would go easy on Skrawl. And knowing just what she was truly capable of...

But all they could do right now was just..keep on running. They all hoped that they would be able to get far away from here before Sandra had time to get to them. They needed a place where they can regroup and discuss matters further. They stood little chance of figuring things out if they had that darn dragon on their tail. Even though he would not wish any fate Sandra could offer on Skrawl, Rudy did still hope that the jellybean would be able to keep Sandra’s attention long enough for them all to get away.

He and his friends continued to run as fast as they could. Their feet pummeled against the ground and their breathing became heavy and intermixed. He didn’t dare stop. Not even to look over his shoulders. He just kept going and going, hoping that they would be able to find a place to escape into.

But these hallways all looked the same. He couldn’t really tell one hallway from the other. They all had that stoney, castle kind of look, if that made any sense. This only added further confusion as to where they should go. Heck, for all they knew, they were headed in complete circles.

But none of them dared try to stop. There was no way that they could do something like that. Even as they were getting tired, panting heavily, they all knew the consequences of stopping too early. The last thing that they wanted was to make themselves potential targets. They might not have run into the Beanie Boys yet, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t out there. And Sandra...she could be coming after them at any moment. Any amount of rest just wasn’t worth it.

This hallway, however... How can they tell if they were even going the right way? How can they tell that they weren’t heading straight into a trap? Knowing Sandra, she probably had...something set up around here. If they weren’t careful, they may end up tripping the alarm and getting caught in something. And that would only...

Rudy felt himself nearly tripping into the ground. And these darn metal legs... He clutched his hand against them as he leaned against the wall. It was getting harder and harder to control them. A part of him wished that he had his wheelchair. At least he felt more secure and confident in moving around in that. Plus, it was really weird trying to walk with limbs that he could hardly feel anymore. He appreciated why his friends drew them for him. But in this situation, they felt more like a hinderance and a burden than anything helpful.

No time to stop now, though. He had to keep moving. Noticing that his friends hadn’t stopped, not noticing that he was resting, Rudy let out a grunt and he started to push himself to run towards them. He huffed and puffed, struggling to move quick enough to catch up to the other two. It was only when he was right behind them that they seemed to realize that he had fallen behind. They looked over behind them and noticed Rudy’s expression and their eyes widened.

“Rudy...?” Penny spoke softly. “Are you okay?”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me! Just keep going!”

“Are you sure? We can stop...” Mint started to say.

“No! We don’t have time for that! Just keep running!”

There was still some level of reluctance from his friends. He could see that they were both unsure about keeping up the pace, considering stopping for him. Not that Rudy didn’t understand why. It was quite clear the reason for this. But he didn’t want them stopping, even for him. They needed to keep moving until they found a safe place that they could rest in. Otherwise, they might as well just wear targets on their chests.

Rudy winced as he felt his legs start to falter again. Once more, his concentration had been too split, making him grit his teeth. He needed to push himself harder while at the same time still keeping attention to his legs. He can’t afford to let himself wobble too much. Not in this condition. Not now...

He could feel something grab onto his arms. He turned his head left and right and he could see that Penny and Mint had both gotten beside him and grabbed onto him. Rudy made a weak attempt to dislodge them, not wanting them to slow themselves down just for his sake. They would not be deterred, however, and they kept a firm grip on his arms as they continued to race down the hallway.

“G-Guys! Really...I can run on my own! Please just let me go...I...”

“No way!” Mint shook his head furiously. “We ain’t leaving you behind!”

“But I can keep up!” Rudy winced as he felt his leg nearly trip over something. “If you’d just let me...”

“Forget it, Rudy! We are not letting you go! We’re your friends! We’re going to make sure you are able to keep up with us!” Mint shouted at him. Not out of anger, but out of concern.

“Yeah, Rudy!” Penny adjusted herself so that Rudy’s arm was slung over her back more securely. “There is no way that we are going to risk you falling too far behind! We already lost Snap to Sandra. I...” She paused for a moment, her teeth gritting tightly. Then she continued, “I am not losing you, too.”

At this, Rudy felt his legs nearly give out as emotion raced through him. His eyes widened and he could feel his mouth dropping open. He stared at Penny, noticing the expression in her eyes even as she looked away to focus on what was in front of them. Even Mint carried the same expression. This caused a surge of emotions to race through Rudy as uncomfortable memories surfaced.

Poor Snap... He had no idea what had been done to his friend. Sandra stole him from them and didn’t bother telling them what she had in store for him. They didn’t know if Sandra decided to keep him alive for a while or if she had killed him off. Sandra hadn’t even allowed them to say goodbye to Snap. She just...took him..

Rudy could feel his heart twisting in his chest, intermixing with the pounding of his feet with each stride that he took with his legs. He could see Snap’s image in the back of his head and he could feel a sharp pain in his stomach. He couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of pain and misery that Sandra would put him through. He recalled all that emotional turmoil that she had forced him through five years ago. Just what more could she do to him now? He honestly didn’t want to know.

How much more was Snap going to have to suffer? How much more abuse was he going to have to take before it was finally over? Rudy wished there was some kind of countdown that he could turn to so he could tell Snap that it was finally over. But....that seemed like more and more of an impossibility.

Rudy shook his head and struggled to focus on running as quickly as he could. With his friends helping him, it was a little easier. His legs still tripped over themselves sometimes. At least this time, Mint and Penny were able to keep him from falling down. Their tightened grips enabled them to keep running as a single unit across the hallway.

This particular hallway was only slightly smaller than the others, but otherwise did not have much of a unique physical look to them. It stretched out ahead for a while, though he thought for sure that he saw a slight curve in front, bending to the left. He could see what appeared to be some kind of shadow, and he thought at first that it was some kind of staircase. This caused him to frown and made him wonder if they had somehow managed to get all the way back to the middle of the castle with all that running.

Then, as they made the slight turn, he soon realized that this wasn’t the case. Instead, there was nothing but a darkened shadow with a wall hidden past it. An incomplete corridor, looking like that it was recently recently worked on. Realizing that this was going to take them smashing into the wall if they didn’t stop, the three friends began to slow down...

...but as soon as they did, Rudy felt his leg hit against something and he heard a click. He immediately looked down, but though he could not see any button or tripwire or anything, he could feel the ground beneath his feet moving. He, Mint, and Penny barely had time to give each other glances before the parting ground made them lose their balance. They struggled not to fall, but they wobbled from one side to the other, their legs unable to remain planted. In a matter of seconds, they finally tripped.

And downwards, they all plunged. They released a series of screams as they were falling down the stone, makeshift slide around and around, twisting and turning and even looping. A complex structure hidden underneath the surface. None of them knew the purpose of this complexion, but at the moment, none of them really cared.

Rudy struggled to keep himself from falling down. There were no railings on this thing and there wasn’t much of an edge, either. He kept his hands on the sides, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation that this created, as they continued sliding down. He could feel his friends pressed up behind him as they went around and around. He started to feel light headed and a slight dizzying sensation. And all the while, they just kept screaming.

Then, at last, they reached the bottom. Rudy could feel his body being launched in one direction, his friends screaming and flailing behind him. He crashed into the ground painfully, his body doing a couple of flips before he finally stopped.

For several moments, he just laid there. He couldn’t even hear his friends landing nearby; his head was filled with the echoes of his own screams and groans as he struggled to push aside the pain. It took him several moments to even start to lift his head. When he finally did, feeling a slight crack in the middle of his neck, he slowly turned his head left and right, taking in the sight around him.

They were in some kind of...the only word he could think of to describe it is cave-like but... Had they really gone that far underground? Well they had been falling for a while, doing constant loops. It did make sense that they really had been pushed this far underground. But that still didn’t answer his initial question.

Where the hell were they...?

“This place is...huge...”

Rudy turned his head and he could see that Mint had already gotten up to his feet. He moved forward slowly, his prosthetic foot kickin against one of the loose rocks, knocking it askew and letting it roll forward.

“It’s almost like we entered a whole new place.” Mint whispered softly. “This..does not fit in well with the rest of the castle...”

“You’re right, Mint.” Penny said as she brushed herself off. “This does not seem to fit in with the rest of this place. I wonder if Skrawl had hastily built it for...”

Rudy swiveled his head towards Penny. “You really think Skrawl would make a place like this?”

Penny nodded her head. “Oh sure! The entrance was quite well hidden and this place is obviously deep underground. He could have built this to hide something.” She paused as she started to tap her chin thoughtfully. “..but what could that be..?”

“Maybe that will explain it?” Mint said as he pointed in one direction.

Rudy and Penny looked over at where Mint was pointing at. Up the pathway, where a few stalagmites and stalactites seemed to curve inward, they could see what appeared to be some kind of a door. The moment that they saw this, they immediately looked at each other, their eyes going wide.

So...this place had been built...or at the very least, someone had made a room down here. There was some kind of purpose to this place after all. And the only way for them to find out was to go through that door.

There was some hesitation at first. None of them really knew what to expect on the other side. They didn’t know if it was some kind of booby trap or not. They didn’t know if Skrawl had built this just to fool them. They didn’t know if some kind of vicious animal laid on the other side.

But in the end, they knew that the only way to find out was to head through. So, staring at each other for a moment, they all nodded their heads once and they turned to glare at the door. After preparing themselves mentally, they all took in deep breaths and, slowly, they headed towards the door.

sss

“You irritating piece of trash! I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

“Well you didn’t, and now look at where you are! This is what you get when you double cross me!”

“Stop this! Or are you looking for a far worse punishment?!”

“Like hell I’m afraid of you!”

“I know that you are afraid and I will make you admit it!”

Sandra couldn’t believe how things had turned out. She had thought it was all going her way. She thought that she had everything figured out... But in the end, she only got a reminder of why she shouldn’t jump to conclusions so soon. She wound up jinxing herself. It was, in some ways, her fault that this had happened. Now it was her responsibility to try to fix things before they got out of hand.

She was shocked that Skrawl had so willingly attacked her so quickly. She had thought that she had messed with his mind enough that he would think twice before that. She could still smell the fear on him, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t afraid. He just...wasn’t terrified of her enough. And here he was, wrestling with her, trying to pin her to the ground...

She was aware of what was going on, though. Skrawl certainly was acting out of vengefulness. He was allowing his emotions to get the better of him. But in doing so, he was providing those brats with a way to escape. The thought of them getting away after she had worked so hard to capture them all burned her blood, making her grit her teeth. She was not going to allow all her hard work go down the drain that easily.

The two continued to roll across the ground, fighting and struggling with each other. Sandra attempted to strike out with her leg, but Skrawl had grabbed onto it. She let out a screech as she found herself being slammed into the ground. She attempted to get back onto her feet, but Skrawl was too quick for her. Before she knew it, the jellybean managed to pin her against the floor.

She struggled to activate her healing powers. But the jellybean had become quite smart. His claws were pressing against her forehead. She seethed from the pain; she was quite sensitive there and feeling those claws press against her mark was...it was indescribable. She tried jerking herself from side to side. The jellybean’s larger frame made it difficult for her to affectively sway him in either direction. He managed to keep holding her down, his claws pressing deeper into her body.

Sandra seethed. “You are really pushing my buttons, Skrawl... We could have handled this in a more mature manner, but look at what you’re doing!”

“Don’t you dare pull that shit on me, you stupid dragon! You started this whole thing when you betrayed me! And now...I am going to make sure that you pay for that!”

Sandra let out a yelp when she felt Skrawl’s claws driving into her body. The sharp tips penetrated her flesh and she could feel blood trickling down from the fresh wound in her side. She tossed her head from side to side, trying to snap her jaws at Skrawl. Her jaws slammed shut several times, her teeth clanging together. But each time she tried to bite, she only ended up biting at air.

Skrawl had been quite clever. He was sitting down on top of her. Well almost; he was using most of his weight to keep her down. While one hand was holding against her side, the other held her head down, his claws pressing against her mark. Even when she squirmed her head around to try to bite, she couldn’t get to him from this angle. Skrawl was situated behind her; she had no way of biting any part of him like this.

But she was not about to give up. The jellybean might have her down for now. But he was not going to be able to keep this up forever. She just needed to find some kind of weak spot. An area that Skrawl had missed. Something that he did not think of...

And then it struck her like a lightning bolt. There was something that she indeed had been overlooking.

Her tail. Skrawl had forgotten all about her tail.

Indeed, Sandra could still feel it wriggling back there. And unlike her neck, her tail was quite flexible. She could manuever it around in more precise and extreme angles compared to her neck. And even if she broke her tail, at least her whole body was not going to come crashing down with it.

Keeping herself struggling so that Skrawl did not realize what she was doing, Sandra started to raise her tail up slowly. She tried to envision where Skrawl was in relation to her tail. She had to make sure she struck quick and true, no faltering, no mistakes. Otherwise Skrawl might decide to take this chance to...

Sandra let out a low growl as she tensed up the muscles in her tail. She moved it closer and closer, letting it stiffen up until it felt almost like a heavy brick. She moved her tail back a little, continuing to wind it up like there were a spring inside. She waited until the right moment, and then...

The tail suddenly sprung backward, moving like a cracked whip across the sky. She thought she heard it snap as soon as she released it. She then heard a crack when she felt it make contact with Skrawl’s back. She could feel her tail spikes raking against the jellybean’s flesh and she could feel the warmth of his blood even on her spike tips.

Skrawl immediately let out a scream of pain. She could hear him arch himself backwards, his back cracking in the process, his claws leaving her body as he tensed up from the screaming. Sandra took this opportunity to slip out of his grasp, racing forward on all fours before turning around, raising her back up and twitching her tail like an angered cat.

Skrawl had blood dripping down his back. From his position, Sandra could not see the full damage that she caused. But judging from how much blood was moving along onto the ground, she had to say that she did at least some damage to him. But she knew that this would not keep him distracted for long. But now that she was free...

Sandra didn’t have long to stand there. Skrawl had recovered quicker than she had imagined and already he was charging towards her. She stiffened up from the suddenness of his charge and she immediately jumped out of the way before the jellybean had time to strike at her. Sandra turned herself around and was about to activate her healing powers when she suddenly felt a set of sharp claws slash against her body.

The force of the impact caused her to fly backwards. She laned in the ground painfully, almost feeling as though her back was busted open. She shook her head and she looked up, baring her teeth. She gagged when she felt Skrawl holding onto her neck. He glared at her for only a moment before he raised up his hand and struck down, his claws slicing across her face.

Sandra howled and held onto her face, her body stiffening and shaking from the pain as she felt one of the claws cut across her triangular mark. It was not a deep cut, but oh gawd, the pain...

Sandra glared in Skrawl’s direction, her vision suddenly taking on a reddish color. She pulled her lips back into a snarl and she seethed in and out deeply. She opened her jaws and let out a loud, growling hiss like she was a snake ready to strike. Skrawl paused for a moment and then raised his hand up to strike her again. Sandra narrowed her eyes at this. No...not again.

With a rush of adrenaline and determination, Sandra launched herself at Skrawl. Freeing herself, she collided with the large jellybean, forcing him into the ground. She stood on top of him, pressing her sharp talons into his body. She spread out her limbs to keep her balance and she released another loud hiss at him. Drool dripped from her jaws as her pupils dilated into near slits.

“You...have made a very big mistake...” Sandra hissed at the fallen jellybean. Skrawl just glared back at her, acting as if he wasn’t afraid. But she could still smell the fear on him and this caused her to smile twistedly. “If you want to play so badly... Okay, I will play with you...”

Sandra did not waste any time. Before Skrawl had time to react, she launched her head forward and she bit down onto one of his antennas. Immediately, the jellybean screeched in agony. His body thrashed about and he struggled to push her away. Though she could feel his claws raking against her, she ignored this and she continued to bite him sinking her teeth into the antenna, threatening to rip it out.

All the while, Skrawl screamed and squirmed underneath her. He kept trying to slash at her or kick or whatever else. He even got desperate enough to try to bite her, but even that wasn’t working. Sandra just gave a dark chuckle as she got a good grip on his antennas and yanked back as hard as she could, causing Skrawl to let out a scream of agony.

Sandra dug her claws in deeper into the struggling jellybean, making sure that she had a good grip on him. Her tail swished down and slammed against his side, driving the spikes inside his flesh, providing more leverage and making Skrawl scream even louder. His body thrashed about on the ground and the jellybean threw a slew of insults and threats at Sandra. But none of this was enough to make the blue dragon let him go. She just continued to hold onto him, her sharp teeth nearly tearing off that stupid antenna of his.

That’s it... Almost there...

And...

With a loud tear, it was off.

Sandra fell backwards as the tension from the antenna was suddenly gone. In her jaws, she could feel the hard tip that made up the top of the antenna, and she could feel the stringy strucker flap against her mouth. She could feel a tiny bit of blood dripping from the tip. She looked up at the screaming jellybean.

On Skrawl’s head, there was a red pinkish tear from where the antenna used to be. It stretched from the top of his head and moved down. To her surprise, it nearly tore straight into his one eye. Looking down, she realized that some of the moistness she felt was from a bit of skin that had been removed in the process. Not that she cared. She tossed the torn antenna into the air and started to eat it right in front of Skrawl.

The green jellybean stared at her in shock, his eyes widening. Then they narrowed into slits and his teeth were clenched tightly, exposed so she could see them. She merely smirked back at him as she swallowed the rest of the antenna.

“Not too bad of a flavor. Though still kind of stale.” Sandra commented. She licked her feather fingers a couple of times. Then she tilted her head to one side. “Then again, you do live a really...stale life.”

She could see Skrawl’s body tremble at that statement. Even before Skrawl replied, his facial expressions alone were enough to tell her that she had hit a sore spot in him. The only thing that she did was curl her lips back into a dark, twisted smile. She folded her arms against her chest and just had such a smug look on her face.

And Skrawl reacted just the way that she wanted him to.

Skrawl charged forward as quickly as he could, letting out a loud yell. In the process, he had been too hasty. Too quick, doing little to try to think about what he was doing. In his eyes, the only thing that mattered was getting his claws into her.

Too bad that he didn’t stop to think. Otherwise, he could have avoided this whole mess. She stood there for several moments, waiting for him to get close enough. And when he did, that’s when she made her move.

Before Skrawl could get close enough to strike, Sandra took off into the air. The jellybean nearly fell into the ground trying to strike at her. He hissed and he looked left and right, trying to figure out just where she went. It took him a few seconds to finally spot her in the air. He opened his mouth and let out a hiss, raising his hands up and showcasing his claws to her.

Sandra struggled not to laugh at the sight of this. How pitiful... Did Skrawl really think that he could scare her so easily? Well, he was going to need to try harder if he was going to want to intimidate her in any way. Right now, he just looked so pathetic. There was so little that he could do to her from down there. Especially since...

Sandra’s eyes widened when Skrawl suddenly moved faster than she had anticipated. She struggled to react, move out of the way, do something. But this time, she had been too slow. She felt claws rake into her stomach and she let out a screech of pain. She toppled through the air, flapping hard, trying to keep herself aloft. Though she was able to succeed, this was short-lived and she found herself crashing into the ground.

She coughed and grunted as she pushed herself up from the ground. She shook her head and she looked over. She was just in time to see those claws rake against her face, covering her field of vision. She let out a loud screech as she held her hands against her face, collapsing into the ground and shivering from the agony. She couldn’t stop herself from letting out soft whimpers as tears of pain started to leak out of her uninjured eye.

“It doesn’t feel so good being on the ground, now does it?!” Skrawl stood over her in a triumphant manner. She just glared at him, her eyes narrowed into slits and baring her teeth. “Do you wish you hadn’t crossed me now, Sandra? I bet you do! I bet you feel so stupid right about now!” Skrawl spread his hands outward. “I bet you wish you had agreed to work with a genius like myself!”

Sandra glared at him with her one narrowed eye. She could still feel the warm, sticky blood leaking out of her right eye. She hardly paid attention to that, however, as her focus was entirely on Skrawl. She could feel her gut twist and burn as she listened to him rant. Such a smug, arrogant jellybean... It was going to be so much fun tearing him down.

While Skrawl was in the middle of boasting, she took this chance to lash him across his side with her tail spikes. The jellybean let out a howl of pain and he clutched his hands to his side where more bleeding came from. Sandra struggled up to her feet and she gave him a dark smirk.

“C-Come on, big boy... Want to dance...?” Sandra cooed at him.

Skrawl snarled at her, his teeth grinding together. “I will tear you into pieces!”

“Oh? Then come on now....” Sandra adopted a dinosaur-like stance, her back parallel to the ground, her spiked tail swishing from side to side slowly. “Let’s have a party...”

With that, the two zoners raced towards each other.

sss

Going through the door had been a difficult process. Not because it was hard to open. No, it was because, despite the fact that they knew they had to enter, there was still some reluctance among the group of friends. They had no idea what to expect, and if they opened the door too swiftly, with no plan...

But there was little time. For all they knew, a Beanie Boy might have heard them and was heading down towards them as they spoke. Or maybe Sandra had followed them silently. If they wanted to see what was in side, if they wanted at least a small chance of figuring something out, they needed to go through the door.

So taking in a deep breath, Penny gripped the door knob tightly. She paused for a moment, looking at her two friends beside her. They looked at her, nodding their heads once in approval. Both showed signs of nervousness, but their eyes carried encouragement. Something that Penny truly appreciated. So turning her attention back to the door, Penny managed to get herself to turn it and they all entered.

The door led into a rather small room. It was quite surprising. She had thought that this would have been much larger. Instead, they were greeted with a small, circular structure with a hard surface in the middle, perhaps something of a table, even if there was nowhere to really sit down at. The pathway itself was pretty narrow, and Penny almost felt a sense of claustrophia from the little space that there was. They could still move around, but they had to take extra care not to bang their knees up or anything.

All around, circulating along with the path itself, they could see a series of books. All kinds of books. They were pushed in so snuggly and there was so many of them... None of them were labeled and while there was some alternating colors, they were too close to the same color as each other, making them all blend in with one another. Some dust and cobwebs covered certain sections, making them realize that these parts hadn’t been touched in a long time.

“Books...? Who knew that jellybean loved to read?” Mint commented as he folded his arms against his chest, his eyes narrowing. “I would have thought that he kept some kind of weaponry here or something. Or...” He lifted his head and shook it. “I don’t know. Just...not books.”

Rudy nodded his head slowly in agreement. “I wasn’t expecting this, either. I would think that these belong to someone else, but...” Rudy took a few steps around, placing his hand on the rocky structure in the middle. “It just doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense.” He tilted his head back and peered upwards. “What would Skrawl want with all of these books?”

“That is a valid question. It doesn’t seem likely that Skrawl would collect all these books unless he had some kind of use for them.” Penny tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe if we were to look through one of them, we might get some kind of idea. I mean...” Penny raised her hands at her side. “None of these books appear to have any sort of label on them. If we were to look at one of them, we might get an idea of what these books are supposed to be.”

Rudy and Mint nodded their heads at this.

“That does make sense...” Rudy turned his head over to Mint, giving him a small smile. “Do you want to do the honors?”

“Me? Why me?” Mint asked as he placed his hand against his chest. “Why don’t you do it?”

“You’re closer to one of the books.” Rudy said bluntly. “And don’t argue with me on this, Mint. Just open up a book and tell us if there’s anything of importance inside.”

Mint let out a soft grumble, but he did what he was told. Turning his attention to the shelf, which he was indeed closest to, he grabbed onto a random book. No planning, no rummaging through. Just..grabbing a book and pullling it out. He wasted no time opening the book and looking inside.

Rudy and Penny watched as Mint turned the pages slowly, thumbing through with his finger, his eyes moving left and right as he tried to read through what was written. They watched as his facial expression kept changing. First confusion, then understanding, then utter shock. This all happened in such a short time span that it was difficult to even keep track of the changes. And when Mint looked back at them, wide-eyed, they couldn’t even see the movement.

Seeing the look in Mint’s face caused the two to gulp nervously and they exchanged brief glances with each other. What had gotten Mint so worried and shocked? Why was he looking at them like that? Why did he look like he was ready to drop the book? What was going on?

“Mint...?” Penny asked softly, forcing herself to speak. Seeing her friend standing there like that was starting to scare her, and she could feel her heart skipping several beats. “Mint..I....” She reached towards him. “Mint, what’s wrong? What is...?”

“D-Diary...”

Penny immediately froze at this. She yanked her hand back. “What?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes, looking as if he didn’t really believe what he just heard. “A diary...?” He tilted his head to one side. “A diary from...who...?”

Mint slowly looked down at the book again. He lifted it up slightly, looking as if he was giving it another brief examination, as if he himself could not believe it. He then looked back at them, and he licked his lips slowly. “It’s Skrawl’s diary...”

At this, Rudy and Penny immediately froze in shock. They stared at each other, their minds racing through their heads. They looked back at Mint, wondering if he could be making it up. That did not seem very likely, however. Their expressions told it all. No, there was no way that he was lying about this. And that only sent them into further confusion.

A diary? After all this time, Skrawl kept a...diary? It almost seemed too much to fathom. Skrawl never seemed to be the type to keep diaries with him. He wasn’t exactly the most.... Penny was not really sure what word to use to describe him. Ultimately, though, she just...could not see Skrawl writing in a diary. It didn’t really make a lot of sense. It just....didn’t fit his character. He...

Wait a minute... Perhaps it did fit. Maybe she and the others should not be so shocked about this discovery. Her mind reeled back and she thought about what happened when they first met Skrawl. He used to do some random song numbers, despite the lack of musical accompanyment. Speaking in rhymes about what he was feeling. If he could be that graceful on the fly with music, should it be that difficult to believe him writing a diary?

Slowly, she began to realize something. The idea clicked in her mind like a lightbulb being turned on. What if they could use this massive diary to their advantage in some way? What if there was something Skrawl had hidden here, within his archives, that they might find useful?

The idea of snooping around someone’s diary, even if it was Skrawl’s, did not settle well with her at first. And she knew that Mint and Rudy would not like it too much, either. But when it comes to this situation, where so much was at stake... There was little else that they could do. If Skrawl’s diaries somehow had information hidden that they could use to stop Sandra, or even figure out hidden passageways among this place, then it was worth the risk.

Besides, it wasn’t like Skrawl would have anything shocking written down. Penny imagined that most of his entries would revolve around his failed attempts at conquering ChalkZone or how much he wanted them all dead or something. So nothing that unusual; they’d all expect entries like that.

Turning her attention over to her friends, Penny raised her hand up in gesture and said, “Guys, I think I have an idea...”

sss

Skrawl let out a loud growl as he raised up his hand, his claws arching downward, and struck out at Sandra. He hissed loudly as his claws seemed to miss her entirely as she jumped to the side. He gritted his teeth at this, forming a fist with his hand. He wasn’t going to let her get away that easily. So he charged at her again.

He wasn’t really sure how long he had been fighting her. And at this point, he didn’t really care. The only thing that mattered to him was making Sandra pay for what she had done to him and his Beanie Boys. He had longed for this moment and he was not going to let it slip out of his grasp.

His claws missed yet again. He could see that smug little look on Sandra’s face. He could tell that, to her, this was all just some sort of game. And this infruriated Skrawl. It was almost as if she was unable to take this more seriously. Did she not understand the situation that she was in? Did she really not know, or comprehend, what happens when you mess with Skrawl, the future ruler of ChalkZone? Well...perhaps he should show her why she should be afraid...

Skrawl launched himself at the sky blue dragon. He spread his claws out, poised to strike. He attempted to strike at her, hoping to manage to hit her before she could get away. Unfortunately, that was not the case and Sandra managed to jump out of the way in time. Up in the air, she flew, smirking down at his form below.

Skrawl was about to try jump at her when he felt a sharp pain in his body. It was not from Sandra, he knew. It was from the injuries he had suffered during his fight with her. Most of the time, he was able to control himself and not give into the pain. And it had worked for a while.

...but now it seemed that the tides were finally turning. The pain wracked through his body in a rather painful fashion, and he couldn’t help but shudder. He could feel it crawling through him, burning at his sides and making his knees nearly buckle. He tried not to show his pained expression to Sandra, not wanting to allow her to see him like this.

But his effort to hide it was useless. He could hear that stupid dragon laughing at him, her body moving around in a small circle above him like a vulture finding dead prey. Skrawl glared at this, gritting his teeth. He would have to think of something and fast. If she were to try launching an attack now...

Skrawl turned his head to one side and noticed that, with all their fighting, he had failed to notice that they had gotten pretty close to the cage that he had been in before. He could see the cold metal bars on the ground, just sort of laying there. He stared from them and then turned his attention over to Sandra. Slowly, his eyes narrowed as an idea formulated in his head. If he could just get the timing right...

Sandra flapped above him for several moments, her mouth opened up into a twisted smile. Skrawl had no idea why she hadn’t tried using her super healing powers on him. Maybe she was getting cocky. Maybe she planned on doing it later. Or maybe she just wanted to make this more interesting. Well it was her funeral; this was only opening up the gateway to his victory over her.

Sandra dove right towards him. Her talons were brought forward, stretching out as if she was hoping to grab onto him. Skrawl narrowed his eyes and gave a dark smirk. He remained where he stood for several moments, his body slightly hunched as he prepared to launch his own attack. Sandra did not seem to notice him reaching for the metal bar on the ground. Either she was really determined and just didn’t see it, or she was being overly cocky. Well that attitude was going to cost her. He would see to that.

Before Sandra had time to collide with him, Skrawl had taken action. His hand tightening around the bar, he lifted it up with a single motion. The metal bar had a blurriness to it as he swung it as hard as he could. Sandra immediately froze, her eyes wide in horror as the bar was thrown directly at her. The blue dragon did not have time to react before it collide with her.

Skrawl flinched slightly as he heard the metal clang against the solid body of the dragon zoner. He did turn away for a moment, but this only lasted a second before he looked back and smirked darkly as he watched Sandra crash into the ground. Her body rolled around for a bit before it finally came to a stop several feet away.

He watched and waited for a few moments to see if she would get back up. But she just laid there, her body slightly curled, her eyes shut. It almost looked as if he had managed to knock her out. Skrawl wasn’t really sure if this was the case or not. He did hit her hard but...could he really have struck her that hard? It didn’t seem possible. Maybe he just...

Skrawl shook his head. He shouldn’t get his mind too carried away in his thoughts. Regardless if she was knocked out or not, he needed to take this chance to finish Sandra off before she could get up. He let out a soft growl as he started to approach her slowly, his claws flexing eagerly. He was so going to enjoy this.

Slowly he made his way closer and closer to the downed blue dragon. He watched as her form breathed heavily on the ground, shaky breath after shaky breath. He could see, even when she was laying down, she still clutched at her side, holding onto it as if feeling some horrific pain there, which was likely the case; that was where he had struck her, after all.

Soon, he was positioned right in front of her. He took a moment to stare down at her, his dark smile spreading over his face, excited to finally deal the finishing blow. He raised his hand up, the claw tips glinting, poised to strike. He did not hesitate for another second and he struck his hand down.

Suddenly, there was a wave of pain that struck him. His eyes bulged and he clutched onto one of his limbs. He could feel something start to push up underneath the surface. He clenched his teeth tightly and he seethed as he struggled to manage the pain. But it turned out to be impossible and, before he knew it, the skin in his leg started to rip open and he could feel blood seeping out. Immediately, he released a loud, echoing scream.

His scream was cut off when he felt something strike against his side. He howled in agony as he was knocked into the ground, his body landing in a heavy thud. He laid there for several seconds, his body trembling. He looked over and he could see Sandra was standing up again. How did she stand up so quickly? Did she...did she trick him...?

Skrawl didn’t have much time to dwell on that realization before Sandra started to chuckle darkly, approaching him with her arms folded behind her back. “Did you really think that I would be so easily taken down, dear Skrawl? My, you should try harder than that!”

Skrawl let out a low growl at this. “F-Fuck you...”

Sandra’s eyes twinkled, the redness almost seeming to glow. “I see you still have an attitude problem... But don’t worry, I know exactly how to fix it.”

“And exactly...” Skrawl let out a cough. “...how are you going to m-manage that?” He gave a weak smile. “You’re just...being desperate..”

Sandra merely shrugged at this, paying no mind to what he said. She just moved closer to him, her body becoming parallel to the ground. She began to circle him slowly, watching as his body twitched and he groaned. “I don’t think I should keep you waiting any longer. I think I should start the punishment now. I mean...no one is around and this is quite a special punishment.”

Skrawl struggled not to show the slightest bit of nervousness to the sky blue dragon zoner. “And just what do you have in mind...?”

Sandra sneered, “You’ll find out...”

sss

Everything was so dark. No matter which way, just dark and gloomy. It surrounded him completely, making it hard for him to even breathe. The shadow encased him securely, refusing to allow him to leave. No matter how hard he tried, there just seemed to be nothing that he could do.

Then he felt the pain come in. A strong pain that snaked along the back of his head. It felt as if someone was driving a hammer against it. He could practically feel the echoes move across his skull and he thought he could feel a little rattling. He clenched his teeth tightly and seethed, the rush of air feeling surprisingly chilly.

He felt a weight of grogginess push down on him. His eyes felt as if they couldn’t open. They were just too heavy for him to move. His mind felt so muggy, so muddled up nad he didn’t know why. Had he fallen asleep and just woke up? Then why did his head hurt so much? Did he bang it against something while he slept?

And why did his bed feel so hard and wooden?

Wait...

Hard and wooden..?

Though still struck down by mugginess, the sense of confusion that he felt did bring him to some alertness. It took him only seconds to realize that him laying on something hard and wooden was not normal. And as his ears twitched about, he began to realize that he was not positioned properly for a bed. He was too...straight. No, diagonal, a posture where he should be slipping off, yet he wasn’t. But why? Why wasn’t he...

He felt something cold against his arms and legs, and he thought he felt something across his stomach. Chilling, cold and hard. He tried to move his limbs a little. He quickly found that they were stuck. Those cold things...they were metal straps, and they were keeping him pinned this...this board that someone had...

His mind racing, he struggled to free himself. He kicked his legs forward, he yanked his arms, whatever he could to try to loosen himself up. He gritted his teeth tightly, turning his head from one side to the other. But nothing he did seemed to work; the only thing he managed to do was bang his limbs against the metal and cause them to ache.

Wanting to at least see where he was, he tried to open up his eyes. He quickly realized that this was an impossible task. With his heart skipping a beat, he soon realized that the actual reason he couldn’t open them before was not because he was so tired; it was because someone had put a blindfold over his eyes.

And with that realization came the panic.

Dr. Gelcro hated to panic. He hated to let his emotions get the better of him. He prided himself in being, usually, more rational than some of his friends.

But in this case, he just...couldn’t hold it in. How could he? He was strapped down, blindfolded, trapped somewhere by some unknown person. He had no idea how he got here or what was going to be done with him. He felt a sharp pain in his head. That alone told him that however had captured him did not exactly have the best intentions for him. He was in big trouble, and he couldn’t even begin to get an idea of what was going to happen to him.

He could feel his heart struggling to jump out of his chest. He took in several quick breaths, his mouth opening wide. He was thankful that at least that wasn’t tied shut. His tongue hung out of his canine-like face as he tried to get his breathing udner control. In and out, he breathed, trying to force his heart and breathing rate to return to normal.

He did manage to get his breathing mostly under control. But his heart was still pumping fast. Not quite as fast, but still at an abnormal rate. He could almost feel it quivering as adrenaline rushed through his body. Even with the strength he was given through this, that was not enough to break himself free. Those metal bars, they were too tight. Whoever wanted him to stay here, they were determined to ensure that he did not leave until they wanted him to.

But...who could have done this? He couldn’t think of anyone who would do something like this. Skrawl was an unlikely suspect. This wasn’t his style. And Sandra.... well she was more likely to have done this, but at the same time, this still did not seem like her. She seemed to be the type to be more...straightforward was perhaps the word? She did not need restraints like this. Maybe a cage, but not restraints.

But then who could have...

Dr. Gelcro’s ears immediately pricked forward when he heard some light tapping against the ground. Someone was coming towards him. His body immediately stiffened, his ears lowering. It had to be his kidnapper. There was no sense of urgency of a friend rushing to help him, or any cautionary sense of someone who was exploring for whatever reason. No, these steps were slow and deliberate, filled with confidence. Whoever these footsteps belonged to, they knew exactly what they were doing.

Dr. Gelcro kept his teeth gritted, his lips pulled back so that his captor would see them. He might not be able to see their reaction, but he would rather know that his kidnapper could see that he was baring his teeth at him than show any sign of weakness.

He hissed softly when he heard the loud squeaking of a door opening. He could hear someone coming inside. He could hear a soft curious-sounding sigh being released. He could hear the tapping of claws on the ground as the person kept walking further into the room. There had been no slow down during this. Dr. Gelcro had to guess that the room was pretty large if this person could keep walking without ending up that close to him after all this time. Or perhaps his perception of time was a little skewed.

Feeling a rush of scents strike him, Dr. Gelcro’s nostrils began to flare. He took in quick huffs of air through his nose as he struggled to figure out just who it was in the room with him. In and out, he breathed quickly, struggling to get some sense of who was walking in here. It was difficult to tell at first; the scent was intermixed with something.

Yet...there was still something familiar about one particular scent. Something that he knew that he should know. But..just what was it? Why did it smell so familiar...and yet so different to him right now? There was indeed something strikingly familiar about this smell, yet he could not think of just what that was. It just seemed to...strike home for some reason.

Then he felt someone touching him. Something light and soft grazed along his arm. Almost immediately, he yelped and he nearly jumped twenty feet. Or at least, he would have jumped if he had no restraints placed upon him. With his body stiffened up, he turned his head in the direction that hand went and let out a low, soft growl. The scent was even stronger. But still, he could not recognize it completely. He knew he should recognize this smell, but there was just something that...

And those fingers that grazed him...they didn’t feel like any ordinary fingers. There was something....unique about them. So...feathery...? Was it Sandra? No, it couldn’t be. This felt too long to be hers, and much softer than he knew Sandra’s would be. So...what could it be then? It almost felt like a...like a....

Wing...?

“I see you are awake now. That is good. I was getting a little tired of waiting.”

Almost immediately, Dr. Gelcro stiffened up at that voice. Even if it was spoken in a tone he was not used to, there was no mistaking who this voice belonged to. But he just...couldn’t believe it. No, he would not believe it. This had to be some kind of trick or lie. It couldn’t be that...

“I can see the look on your face. I can see how startled you are. You do not want to believe, do you? How could I do something like this? Am I right? I’m sure as heck I am. I saw you twitch there...”

Dr. Gelcro flashed his teeth. Despite how convincing the voice sounded, he still refused to believe that it was him. He knew this guy for many years. Never before had he ever done anything remotely like this, or even hint that he was capable of such an atrocity. There was just...no way that this could be true. He had to be imagining it, or at the very least, he was being tricked. His captor was just trying to confuse him, torture him mentally and get inside of his head. He was not going to let that happen.

The individual who had come in started to chuckle. The dog-like zoner’s blood immediately ran cold when he heard how similar that laughter was. So similar to...his... only colder, more chilly, as if someone else had spoken.

“It hurts me to see you like this. So full of denial.. Maybe if the blindfold wasn’t on, you would be able to see more clearly...”

Dr. Gelcro let out a low growl when he felt the fingers mess around his head, reaching towards the back of his head to undo the knot that held his blindfold in place. He opened his jaws and attempted to snap at the hands touching him. He was not quick enough and the hands released him and he could hear his captor give a sharp, surprised gasp as they moved back. Dr. Gelcro’s jaws slammed shut tightly, and it felt as if he had barely missed his captor. A shame they weren’t just an inch closer..

“Whoa there..! No need to get so feisty! Here, maybe this will help...”

Dr. Gelcro was about to give this individual the verbal smackdown that they deserved. But he was quickly interrupted before he had that chance when he felt something being pushed onto his muzzle. Something cool and leathery. Then he could feel straps being hooked behind his head, securing it tightly.

Dr. Gelcro twitched the muscles in his head, feeling something moving along his muzzle. He turned his head left and right, trying to get a feel for it. There was something strapped around there. It did not prevent him from closing his mouth, but there was still a restriction. Something keeping his mouth from opening up too far. And his nose was pushing up against some kind of a mesh. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was a muzzle.

“There, that should keep you from biting. Now let me continue...”

Dr. Gelcro lowered his ears and let out a low growl. He attempted to bite again. The muzzle prevented him from getting too far. He could feel it push up against something, pushing on his own mouth, keeping him from successfully landing a bite. He tried again and again, but each time, he had very little luck. Despite his frustrations, or perhaps due to them, he continued to let out a series of low growls at his captor, even if it did nothing to stop them.

He could feel those fingers messing around with his blindfold. He gritted his teeth as he felt a slight pinch, and then there was pressure relief as the cloth was untied. He kept his eyes shut even when the cloth was removed completely.

“Come on.. Open your eyes...”

The husky doctor zoner just hissed, baring his teeth a little, and doing nothing to open his eyes. He kept them shut. There was no way that he was going to do what they wanted. Just to be defiant, he would keep his eyes closed. If it irritated his captor, then good. He wanted them to be irritated. He...

He let out a small yelp and turned his head to the side when he felt some kind of light being shined on his face. He could feel some kind of heat burning against his eyes in the process and he couldn’t help but hiss as it kept on being shined on his face. Even if he turned his head away, the light was shifted and he kept on having to move as far as he could. It soon got ot the point where he could not turn his head any further and he could feel a neck ache forming in addition to the eye pain that spread across his face.

“Look at me.”

Dr. Gelcro still kept his eyes shut. Even if the light was hurting his eyes through his shut lids, he would not open his eyes. No, he would not give his captor the satisfaction of that. Even if it was going to be difficult, he kept his eyes shut as tightly as possible.

But his captor had other plans. Dr. Gelcro hissed as he felt one unusually soft hand grab onto his neck to keep his head back while the other pushed up against his face. Some of the fingers held his head in place while a couple of thin, soft fingers, or whatever they were, worked around his left eye. He tried to fight back against it, but the fingers, despite their seemingly frail shape, were relentless. They continued pushing against his eyelids, slowly forcing them open in a pretty painful fashion.

His vision was blurry at first. The stretching of his eyelids caused his vision to almost be smeared in a way. He struggled to blink, though his captor’s attempt to keep them open prevented this. His vision did eventually clear, however, and his eyes began to dart left and right, taking in the sight of what was around him.

The very first thing that he noticed was the room was in fact quite large. But also...what was the word he’d use to describe this? Medieval? Yeah, almost medieval-like in appearance. Dungeon structure with stones stacked all around, forming the walls, though still mixed in with concrete to make it more secure. He also could see torches on the wall, providing most of the light in here. The light was dull yet still allowed him to see some of the more specific details of this room.

And he wished he didn’t see it.

He could see bloodied chains on the walls. Cuffs where people must have been previously. He could see a few small blood stains on the walls and ground. Looking left and right, he became painfully aware of the torture machines that were present in several parts of this large room. That was why it was so big, it was to accomodate for all these machines...

And this thing he was hooked to... Looking down, he could see that he, too, had been strapped to a torture machine. From the looks of it, he was hooked to some kind of stretching machine. His heart skipped several beats at this realization, and he sucked in a shaky breath, licking his lips nervously. Even before his captor spoke again, he already had a good idea of exactly what his captor planned to do with him.

Then he froze upon seeing a set of feet. A set of very familiar feet. He could see the bird-like appendages, the claw tips, and how it all stretched upward into a leg and that traveled up further to a feathered body and...

Dr. Gelcro couldn’t take his eyes off of his captor. He could not turn his eyes away no matter how much he wanted to. His mouth dropped open, horror sweeping through his body. No...it couldn’t be possible...But despite wanting to deny it so badly, there was just...nothing that could change what he was seeing. Nothing that could prevent him from seeing the cold, harsh truth right before his very eyes.

His captor chortled darkly, a smile spreading across his pointed beak. “I take it you are surprised...?”

“B-But...” Dr. Gelcro stammered. “D-Dr. Crobat.. H-How can you... How could you have...”

Dr. Crobat threw his head back and gave an uncharacteristic dark laughter. It was enough to send dark chills through Dr. Gelcro’s body and he couldn’t help but shudder. Dr. Crobot soon straightened himself and he stared directly at Dr. Gelcro. “You really hadn’t figured it out? Oh you poor little thing...” Dr. Gelcro leaned himself forward, tilting his head to one side. “Perhaps I could get you something to help you jog your memory?”

“Memory?! B-But..there’s no memory of this! I don’t recall you ever...” Dr. Gelcro struggled against his restraints. But no matter how hard he tried to pull, they only seemed to tighten further. “Just let me go now!”

Dr. Crobot chuckled and shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m afraid that you have a little...date...”

Upon saying that, Dr. Crobat began to make his way over towards what appeared to be some kind of lever. Dr. Gelcro stared at it nervously, licking his lips slowly. Just what was Dr. Crobat up to? He... He wouldn’t try to...would he...?

Then he remembered what Dr. Crobat had done ot him so far. Knocked him out. Brought him here. Immobilized him to this torture machine. All evidence pointed in that direction. Yet at the same time, Dr. Gelcro couldn’t help but feel...a pit of denial in his stomach. A part of him hoped that this was all just some kind of bad dream. That at any moment he was going to wake up and...

He was swiftly broken out of that sense of hope when Dr. Crobat started to yank the lever back. There was a crank of some kind of wheel, and Dr. Gelcro could feel his limbs start to be stretched ever so slowly.

“Wh-Why are you doing this?!” Dr. Gelcro called out, horror twisting around his heart. “I-I thought we were friends!”

“Oh don’t misunderstand. We still are...” Dr. Crobat placed his hand agains thimself, giving him a dark sneer. “..I just can’t have you get in the way of...progress.”

“Progress?!” Dr. Gelcro shouted in shock.

“Yes. You see...” Dr. Crobat moved his hand towards him in gesture. “...there’s some...big things coming...and you are not invited.” Dr. Crobat folded his arms behind his back and leaned towards him. “That is all you need to know, my ‘dear’ friend...”

Dr. Gelcro stared in horror, his eyes unable to move away from the twisted from that had been his friend. He looked deep into his eyes, trying to find any sign of his old friend anywhere in there. A part of him hoped he wouldn’t find anything; he didn’t want to think that this was his friend. Yet at the same time, he knew this to be the case.

But.. Dr. Crobat wouldn’t ever do something like this on purpose. He was being put up to this, wasn’t he? Yeah there was no other explaination. Nothing else that would make sense. Something had happened to Dr. Crobat. And it was up to him to figure out what that was. He just hoped he could figure it out before it was too late for him...and for whoever else was being targeted.

Chapter 26: Rebuttal

Deep into you, they spread their roots!
-Minus The Machine, 10 Years





Dr. Gelcro struggled against the cuffs that held him down. His body twisted from one side to the other frantically. He had been doing this for a while, but with all the adrenaline pumping through him, he didn’t feel the least bit tired.

His wide eyes stared over at Dr. Crobat. The bird zoner whom he had considered his best friend for years... He had no idea what had happened to him. Something was seriously wrong here. Dr. Crobat wouldn’t do something like this. So..what was driving him to do something this cruel to him? What had happened to his best friend...?

He grunted, his eyes closing tightly and his teeth gritting, as he felt his limbs start to stretch beyond what they were supposed to do. Still the crank turned, the wheels moving about, and, with a loud constant squeaking sound, the machine continued to stretch his limbs away from his body. He struggled to pull them back, trying to prevent them from being stretched too far out. But he was no match for the machine and he continued to be stretched in this manner.

The machine was pulling painfully slow as well. Dr. Crobat was trying to make this as slow and torturous as possible. He didn’t want his limbs ripped off right away. No, he wanted to take his time. Savor this. Make him really plead for mercy, or whatever it was that he was hoping for. It had been several minutes and only just now was the dog-like zoner starting to feel the pain.

He kept his eyes closed as a few tears started to move down his face. He could feel the dull pain spreading throughout his body, concentrating on the joints where they were connected to his sockets. This dull pain only continued to grow gradually worse, spreading through his body, radiating outward and almost feeling as though it was converging at the center of his underside. His tail, which hadn’t been tied, swished from side to side rapidly as the pain continued to grow steadily sharper, steadily worse.

“I admit, I didn’t think this would be so much fun...”

Dr. Gelcro turned his still muzzled face in the direction of Dr. Crobat. The bird-like zoner hadn’t moved from his spot. His feather fingers were pressed against one another, tapping lightly. His head tilted to one side, his eyes narrowing. A grin was spread across his toothless beak.

“Watching you struggle so hard to get away... It is almost adorable.” Dr. Crobat rubbed his hard chin thoughtfully. “I almost wonder what would have happend if I had tried the water torture on you instead.”

Dr. Gelcro bared his teeth at the bird-like zoner.

Dr. Crobat chuckled at this. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.” He folded his arms against himself as his body leaned towards the nearest well. “You aren’t really going anywhere. So why should I care about what method is being used on you? So long that it works...” He raised up a wing-like hand in gesture. “..though I truly do thing that this was the more...entertaining option...”

“Let me go!” Howled Dr. Gelcro. He struggled against his binds. This only seemed to make the machine tug harder, and he winced at the increasing pain.

“Go on and struggle, my old friend.” Dr. Crobat tilted his head slightly to one side. “I really do enjoy watching how you keep trying to escape your fate...”

Dr. Gelcro felt his heart sting at that comment. It was bad enough to hear it at all, but to have it come from someone he had called a friend... That just made it hurt ten times worse. If he could just free one of his arms, he would be clutching his hand against his hurting chest right about now.

He still had no idea what could have happened to Dr. Crobat. So far, the bird zoner hadn’t attempted to divulge anything that he could use to pinpoint the cause. While the possibility that Dr. Crobat really had been an enemy this whole time was valid, he just...didn’t want to believe it. He simply refused to believe that this was the case. There had to be something more. Something else had to be going on. Something just...

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt the machine tug at his arm even harder, sending a shockwave of pain through his body. He couldn’t stop himself from pulling his head back and crying out, his mouth open as far as it could go with the muzzle on him.

“It sounds like the machine is finally getting into the real dirty work, eh?” Dr. Crobat took a few steps towards the torture machine. His eyes moved up and down, surveying the machine, concentrating mostly on the cuffs that held down the dog’s arms and legs, watching as they were continued to be stretched taut. “I imagine the machine is starting to pull on your very ligaments and tendons right now.”

Dr. Gelcro felt his heart skip a beat at this comment. Shutting his eyes, he struggled to fight against the binds further. He yanked them back as hard as he could, hoping to dislodge them in some shape or form. But just like before, he was having no luck whatsoever. The machine just...continued to real his arms and legs apart.

Dr. Crobat watched as Dr. Gelcro started to give a few whimpers of pain. His expression softened up slightly, looking almost concerned. But there was still a tinge of something there that showed that this was not as genuine as it appeared. “But don’t worry. Once the ligaments and tendons give away, the limbs will come off more easily. It will be a rough going, but you’ll get there. Everything will be fine.”

Dr. Gelcro’s ears lowered at this. His lips curled back into a snarl and he let out a loud roar at Dr. Crobat. The emotion-filled screech echoed throughout the room. But it did not have much of an effect on the bird zoner, who just continued to stare at him with a dark smile on his face. Dr. Gelcro released another one, but that one rapidly devolved into low whimpering and sobbing.

“Wh-Why are you doing this...?” Dr. Gelcro finally said. His eyes remained shut, his vision getting too blurry. “What have I d-d-done to deserve this?”

Dr. Crobat spread his wing hands outward. “Not much, really. It’s just... Well sorry, but this is just how things have to go.” He lowered his wings to his side. He stared down at Dr. Gelcro with a slightly narrowed expression. “You will just be in the way if something is not done.” He tilted his head to one side. “It is nothing personal. It is only business. You understand, right?”

Dr. Gelcro bared his teeth at this. He thought about responding to that. Every ounce of him wanted to shout at the bird zoner. He wanted to release his full emotions on him, give him all his fury...yet he could not bring himself to do so. He felt too mentally exhausted, his previous shouting having drained whatever energy that he had left. All he could do right now was just glare at the zoner before him, growling softly as though that was going to make Dr. Crobat release him.

His mind swam with several thoughts as he continued to try to make sense of what was happening to him. Just...why was Dr. Crobat doing this to him? Why was he hurting him? What could have happened?

He knew he had already asked himself this over and over again, but...he just couldn’t help it. He really needed to know what was going on. He needed to know why Dr. Crobat was doing this. Despite the fact that his mind was aching terribly, the questions still crowded up his mind, threatening to burst it wide open.

“Well I’m going to head out to grab something to eat.” Dr. Crobat commented in a casual tone of voice. He waved his hand in front of his mouth, looking almost a little tired, though it was hard to say what he was actually feeling. “I think you will be good for while I’m gone, right? You won’t try to escape?” Dr. Gelcro shot a glare at him, but said nothing. This was enough to make Dr. Crobat’s eyes twinkle. “I thought so. I knew I coud count on you.”

The bird-like zoner walked over towards the nearby door. Dr. Gelcro’s eyes never left him, watching as he continued to make his way over and soon stood by the door. He stopped there, staring at the door for a few moments with a wing hand on the door. Then he turned his head and looked over behind him, staring directly at Dr. Gelcro.

The way that he looked at him... Dr. Gelcro could not stop himself from shuddering. He could feel the cold shiver racing through his body and he felt like the air around him was freezing. Dr. Crobat’s eyes were just..cold. So freezing cold... It was like the very sight of them was enough to freeze water solid, to freeze anyone in their place. And as he kept on staring, he noticed something seemed to...flicker about them.

It was in that moment that Dr. Gelcro started to realize something. He hadn’t thought of it before, and now, realizing this, he couldn’t believe that he didn’t earlier. He would have slapped himself in the face if he could have.

Could this be related to...the Signal...?

The very thought of it rammed him with full force and he thought that his heart had stopped beating, almost. The idea was just....he didn’t want to fathom it. He was certain that Sandra’s machine was destroyed. But...he recalled what some zoners looked like while under the influence. And the look that Dr. Crobat was giving right now, that aura that he could almost sense... It was very similar to what he recalled of the Signal.

A part of him felt relief. If it was the Signal, or something like it, doing the work, then Dr. Crobat really hadn’t betrayed him after all. He was simply being controlled in some manner. Influenced on a level that he could not stop. In the end, Dr. Crobat was as much of a victim of this situation as he was.

But at the same time, this news brought him a sense of horror. He couldn’t help but try to clutch his chest despite his arms still being stretched outward. If Dr. Crobat was actually being influenced by the Signal, and if Sandra’s machine had been taken down, that meant that....that someone had to have recreated the machine. Someone was using the Signal for their own purposes. Someone who isn’t Sandra...

Dr. Crobat noticed the expression on his face and gave a dark smile. “Now, you be a good little puppy. Let the machine do its work and then it will all be over.” With that, the bird zoner turned and left the room, leaving Dr. Gelcro trapped on the stretching chair.

Almost immediately, Dr. Gelcro released a series of loud, panicked howls as he struggled to get himself free. The pain in his joints had only gotten worse, and it intermixed with the chilling horror on his mind. He could feel his heart racing against his chest, threatening to burst out at any given moment. He tossed and he turned his head about, letting out a series of increasingly loud and pain-filled cries, newfound adrenaline racing through his body.

He had to get out of here. He had to try to free himself. If he didn’t figure out a way to get himself out of this contraption, then.. He didn’t want to think of what would happen.

But...how was he going to get free? His arms were strapped good and tight and the machine kept on moving his limbs outward. The rate almost seemed to be quickened by his own actions. The more that he struggled, the harder the machine began to pull. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth tightly, biting his own tongue to try not to scream as the pain got worse. He failed quickly and soon another cry was released.

But it wasn’t just horror that dominated his mind. Worry, strong and true, also began to spread throughout his mind, clinging tightly to him and refusing to let go. He shut his eyes tightly as he tried to cop with the sharp pain of apprehension.

What was he going to do about Dr. Crobat? If he was truly being controlled... And why wasn’t he affected? Or maybe he was and he just didn’t realize it yet. The situation seemed to take a continuous dark turn and the more that he struggled, the more terrified he became. This made him struggle even harder, yanking back his already aching limbs.

But the machine was just too strong... No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t seem to get himself free. And as the machine continued to tug, he let out a yelp when he felt something start to break inside. He realized, in horror, at the machine was starting to snap his limbs off. It felt as though one of his ligaments had started to break off. And soon he could feel more of them, and tendons, start to lose their grip as well, giving up the fight against the machine to keep the limbs on his body.

Dr. Gelcro shut his eyes and let out a few soft sniffles as the burning pain spread throughout his joints, making it feel as though he had been lit on fire. He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, whimpers escaping his throat. He continued to fight as best as he could, but as his final bouts of adrenaline began to wear off, his movements started to die down.

It didn’t seem like he was going to get out of here... That seemed like an impossibility now.. This realization spread throughout his mind, making him shudder. The idea of dying here, without being able to save Dr. Crobat from being used, without being able to warn anyone of what was going on... That hurt him more than this machine’s actions. He wanted to keep trying to get out of here. There just...had to be a way that...

...but who was he kidding? He had already tried everything and still he could not get away. His attempts were failing utterly and he had lost even more of his strength. The pain was starting to dominate his mind more, making it hard for him to even think of a way to get out of here.

This...this really was it, wasn’t it? He was going to die here. Alone, afraid, in pain, seemingly betrayed by the one that he had trusted the most. No one was going to know where he was or what happened to him. Surely Dr. Crobat would see to that. Or come up with some kind of lie or something. And there was nothing that he himself could do about it.

And the person involved with what was happening to Dr. Crobat will get away with this, and be able to continue attacking other innocent people...

At this horrific realization, Dr. Gelcro felt a sea of emotions strike through him. He was almost glad that he was strapped to a table, otherwise he would be falling flat onto his face at this point. This mild relief was soon overcome with horror, and he couldn’t stop himself from letting out a choked sob. All those people that could be hurt...and there wasn’t a fucking thing that he could do about it...

He was so useless. He was worthless. He meant nothing to anyone right now. He was just a poor soul trapped in here, tied to this machine. In a matter of moments, his limbs were going to be ripped off utterly. He would have a sea of blood around him and he would slowly die. And no one would know or even care. He was just...so utterly alone...

Suddenly, without warning, there was a loud bang at the door. He swiveled his head over to see what the heck was going on. To his utter shock, he could see that there was already a split on the door from something ramming into it. Then there was another blow, and another. He could hear some kind of growl on the other side. A very familiar growl...

Before the dog-like zoner realized what was going on, the door was suddenly torn off its hinges as something massive and green rammed through it. The door went flying off to the side and crashed against another of the machines. It broke apart upon impact.

Dr. Gelcro blinked his eyes several times, wondering if he was seeing things. He shut them tightly and shook his head for a moment, and then looked back out. The image did not change and he could feel his heart fluttering slightly. “R-Ripclaw...?”

The massive green beast, which he had instantly recognized as Mint’s female utahraptor, turned her head to face him, her large body slowly moving along to match up with her head. Her eyes seemed to almost twinkle upon seeing him, instantly recognizing him. The dinosaur took a few steps forward before stopping. Her head bobbed up and down as she stared at the machine, letting out a loud, uncertain hiss at it.

“G-Get me out of here!” Dr. Gelcro cried out to her. He didn’t know how well she understood commands. But Mint did seem to be able to give her orders, so...perhaps it was possible that she’d understand that he wanted. “Please! Destroy the restraints! Before they...” He let out a scream of pain.

Almost immediately, Ripclaw sprung into action. Her massive form rushed over to where he was, her feet pattering against the ground with each stride. It took her only a few seconds to reach where the dog zoner was. She paused in front of the machine, looking at it up and down. She moved her neck rather flexibly around like she were some sort of large bird, her eyes focusing intently on where the metal cuffs were located. She stood there for several seconds, listening to the dog zoner scream in pain, before she finally took action.

She started to bite down on one of the metal cuffs. Her teeth clanged loudly as she struggled to get a good grip on it. She gnawed and she chewed on it, doing whatever she could to try to break it open. But it soon became clear that this was not going to work.

Dr. Gelcro’s eyes widened as he felt something nearly snap inside of him. The bout of pain that this brought was enough to make him scream. The machine continued to turn its wheel, getting ever closer to fully ripping his limbs off. His vision went blurry and it became difficult for him to see anything clearly. He looked up at Ripclaw for a moment before the pain caused him to slam his head against the back of the machine, his body nearly going limp.

Just then, he heard a loud screech. He lifted his head up weakly and he looked over to see that Ripclaw had grabbed onto the lever in her jaws. She clenched her jaws shut tightly around it, letting out low growls. Her body was arched, tail raised up, all stiffened. Then, tightening her jaws, she started to tug it backwards, taking slow, steady step after slow, steady step. Her foot talons scraped along the ground as she nearly lost her hold, but soon, she was able to pull it back, and there was a loud click that went into place.

Then the machine just...stopped. Much to Dr. Gelcro’s relief, it just stopped, screeching to a halt. His arms and legs were still stretched and he was still in pain. But at least he wasn’t being stretched any further anymore. He took in several shaky breaths as he realized this, and then he managed to release a loud, low sigh.

When he found his heart rate returning to something close to normal, he turned his attention to Ripclaw. “Can you...get these off of me?” He asked tentatively. He had no idea if Ripclaw could do anything. But it was worth a try at the very least, right? “Please... I have to get out of here. Something is...” He seethed. “Something is wrong with Dr. Crobat...”

Ripclaw tilted her head from one side to the other. Her expression was mostly blank, though he thought he could detect...something in those eyes. Lowering her body a little, she began to make her way over slowly. Her large head hovered over one of the metal cuffs. She tilted her head this way and that, releasing a series of soft, uncertain cooing. Then she lowered her head and she gripped onto the metal cuff. Just like before, she began to tug as hard as she could.

So far, she was having just as much luck as before. That is to say, not a whole lot. But she was relentless and she refused to give up. She continued to bite at the thing and continued to pull her head back, doing whatever she could to try to rip the thing out of the strong bolts that held it down. She continued to gnaw and bit at the thing, continued to pull her head back, her neck muscles stiffening as he tried to get the thing off.

Then, with one hard yank, the dinosaur’s body went backwards, her feet slipping underneath her as she went. Her body rammed into the ground and there was a loud clang. It didn’t take long for Dr. Gelcro to realize what it was.

Ripclaw had managed to remove one of the cuffs.

With one of his arms now suddenly free, the first thing that he did was immediately yank it back. He felt a wave of relief as his ligaments and tendons were able to relax, his joint returning to its original position. He spent a couple of moments just relaxing like this, noting how great his arm felt. He never thought that it would feel this good.

He then turned his body a little so that he could work on the other hand cuff. His fingers fumbled through it and it took him a while. But eventually, he was able to unhook it. The metal cuff sprung upwards and he yanked his other arm to himself, rubbing them carefully with his hands, feeling how sore his muscles were. Then he lifted himself up and began to work on the cuffs holding his legs. As soon as he was finished, he felt a momentary splash of relief before he slid down, falling off the platform.

He pushed himself up from the ground, letting out a series of coughs. He could feel the dinosaur’s head pushing against him, letting him use her as a means of keeping himself balanced. He clung onto her tightly, his fingers gripping at her feathers. With his teeth bared, he started to pull himself up to his feet. After a little bit of slipping and sliding, he was soon standing up completely, feeling a swirling rush go through his head.

A part of him wanted to spend a little longer trying to figure out just what he should do. He wanted to think about how to approach the situation with Dr. Gelcro and maybe be able to come up with some sort of plan. But he knew that there was little time for that. He needed to take action before it was too late. Dr. Crobat couldn’t have gotten far. If he left now, he should bea ble to catch him.

He climbed on top of the green dinosaur. He adjusted himself and, once he found a comfortable position, he looped one arm around her neck and used the other to point forward. “Go find Dr. Crobat!”

As soon as he issued that command, Ripclaw let out a screech, pulled her head back for a moment as her body tensed up. Then she bolted forward, running across the ground as her feet pounded against it heavily. Dr. Gelcro had no idea if they would find the bird zoner in time. But...they had to try. Before something terrible happened.

sss

Rudy gave a small grunt of pain as he hit his head against the low ceiling. He cringed for a moment, letting out a soft growl as he rubbed his head a little. He wondered just why Skrawl would design tunnels with such low roofs. It’s not like it would have benefited him any. Maybe they were for the Beanie Boys? At the moment, he couldn’t bring himself to care too much about that.

He and the others continued to move along through the small tunnel. It had been the first one that they found, and it seemed to be leading them in the right direction. It was difficult to say, as it was pretty dark in here. This made it difficult to tell if they were going the right way or not.

Still, they pressed on, knowing that they would not be able to find their friend laying down like this. None of them knew if Snap was okay, something that made their hearts twist. But that only made them want to find Snap faster. They needed to figure out where Sandra had put him and pull him out of there before Sandra could...

Rudy’s mind went back to what happened with Courtney. The image of her skeleton was still burned deeply into his mind. It was something that he was never going to forget, no matter what he tried. He looked over at Penny, staring at her sadly. Though Penny was able to focus on the task at hand, he knew that she was still suffering from what she had seen. None of them knew just how that had happened to Courtney. But they were all determined to make sure that something similar did not happen to Snap.

He just...hoped that Snap could hang on. He believed in him. He believed that Snap would truly be able to hang on and resist the best that he could. He trusted that Snap would hang in there for them when they came, and resist whatever Sandra tried to do with him. He was a tough little guy. He...he could hold on.

At least, he hoped that he could.

Rudy could not help but remember momentarily what Sandra tried to do to Snap before. It was an unpleasant memory. Something that he would rather forget. But he just... How could he forget it? It was impossible. How could anyone forget how Sandra had partially eaten Snap...? And how she had tried to rip him open during the trial?

Rudy shook his head and struggled to focus on the task at hand. He didn’t want to let himself become too distracted by the emotional turmoil still raging on deep inside of him. He needed to keep himself focused on moving forward. They would find Snap. They just...had to.

So far, though, it was hard to tell if they were making any good progress or not. With how dark it was, they couldn’t tell just how far they had gone. For all they knew, they may have only gone a few feet, and they still had quite a ways to go to reach the spot where they think Snap might be. There was some light in there, but it was just barely enough to see some vague edges and each other.

The main way that they progressed was through touch. At least one of their hands touched the walls at any given time. The walls were quite cold and almost damp. Sometimes even a little pumpy and....ugh, it just felt so gross at times. Yet this was their main way of moving forward. They didn’t have much of a choice. Without being able to see...

Rudy let out a grunt when he felt himself collide with something soft and hard. He heard another grunt, this one not his own, and a small thud. He shook his head for a moment to recover and he squinted his eyes to try to figure out what he had bumped into. He couldn’t see enough to tell, but that grunt did have something of a masculine edge. And his suspicion was almost immediately confirmed.

“Hey! Be careful! It’s cramped in here!”

Rudy flinched when he heard Mint shout at him like that. “No need to be so loud, Mint. You want to give us all away?”

“Well you could have...” Mint stopped himself almost right away. He seemed to force an exhale through his clenched teeth. Rudy thought for certain that he was lowering his head, though it was hard to tell in the dark shadows of this place. “It’s quite alright. Let’s just keep going.”

Rudy nodded his head in agreement, even though Mint could not really see him. The two of them continued moving forward, walking with their backs bent forward, almost parallel to the ground as if they were dinosaurs. Penny was a little far ahead of them. Hard to tell by how much or if she had stopped. Regardless of that, they were all moving again.

Rudy reflected for a moment what he had felt earlier. It seemed so out of context to be thinking about this right now. But for a moment, his mind had shifted over to Mint. He could not help but think about what had happened before. Back in the city when they were dealing with the aftermath of the Beanie Boy attack. Or was it before...? He couldn’t really remember; some things just got muddled in his head lately.

The one thing that he did remember, however, was that strange feeling he had when he was around Mint. It was a familiar and yet still strange sensation. He didn’t get it with Penny; it was only with Mint.

What did it mean? Was it something he should be concerned with? Did Mint feel the same way? What was causing this? Did it have something to do with the Signal? But...that was impossible, wasn’t it? The Signal was gone. But then there was the strange behavior with Bell and...

Rudy’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard a skidding sound and then he found himself nearly bumping into Mint again. He ignored that strange feeling, which had returned, to try to focus on Penny further ahead. Oh man, he wished that he could see. It was just so hard to see...

Despite the fact that he could barely tell what was in front of him, Rudy managed, with the use of his hand on the wall for navigation, to move forward. He took slow, careful steps, until he was certain that he had reached Penny. It was a little hard to tell just how close he was to Penny. But the fact that he could hear her breathing did confirm for him that he was indeed close enough for clear communication.

“Penny...what is it...?”

Penny did not respond. Rudy couldn’t tell if she was even looking at him. He didn’t feel a set of eyes on him. He wondered if Penny was looking away, in some other direction. But where, he could not tell. Licking his lips nervously, Rudy took a step forward and tried again.

“Penny....” Rudy said softly. “What’s wrong? Why are you...”

That’s when he heard it. It was quite soft and barely noticeable. It was shaky and weak and yet still filled with some kind of energy, as strange as that sounded. The soft sound was not all that pleasant to hear, however, and he could feel himself clutching at his chest, feeling a small sting.

Strangely, this was not something Penny was doing. The sound was not coming from her. He could still hear her breathing. This new sound was coming from another direction. It was veering off away from where they were looking for Snap, going more towards the right, rather than left where they had wanted to go. And this sound..it was not from his friend, either.

But it was still so familiar. Why was it so familiar? Why did it sound, in some ways, like something that they had heard before? It just felt like...

Then it struck him. Almost like a sack of potatoes, it just struck him. The realization sent a wave of shock through his body and he was not able to hold back his gasp for long. He turned his head and he could feel the others exchanging expressiosn with him. No doubt shocked ones.

This sound, the one that caused them all to freeze...

He could not believe it. Never before had he ever thought he’d hear this sound. A part of him wondered if he was just hearing things. Yet the more he stood there and listened, the more that he realized...this was reality. He and the others had no choice but to face the shocking truth.

The sound that they were hearing...

It was Skrawl’s crying.

sss

Snap’s mind raced as he felt Sandra continue to hold onto him like this. Her arms were wrapped firmly around him, preventing him from wrigging himself away. Her body pressed up against his, and he could easily feel her body warmth. He could hear her breathing, feel her breath against him, feel her body press further against him with each breath. He could even hear the steady rate of her heart beat.

He could feel a cold chill run through his body as his mind began to contemplate what she had told him before. Sandra’s words buzzed through his head rapidly and he was unable to make it stop. The more he heard these words, the more his body started to shake and quiver, to the point where his teeth were nearly chattering.

The fate that Sandra intended to bring down upon him... It was much worse than he thought it would be. He could feel his heart going faster and faster and he thought that he could hear it pop inside of his chest. He wanted to struggle so badly, but he just...could not bring himself to do it. How could he even begin to struggle against a beast that could very easily make one of his internal organs explode?

He could feel his body shivering harder as he continued to think about the horrible fate that Sandra decided to bring down upon him. It was bad enough before, when she had threatened to make him her food for the rest of his life. And that was still a part of his fate, according to what she said. He was still going to provide her with sustainence. A food source....but he was also going to be her ‘companion’. The very thought caused his mind to chill. He had no idea what all that entailed, but based on this unwanted close contact, he knew it couldn’t be anything good.

Then he could feel her head lifting up away from him. He stared up at her cautiously, those red eyes boring through his own. He couldn’t turn away. No matter how hard he tried or struggled, he just...could not get himself to turn his head away. They were firmly locked in this direction and the only thing that he could do was stare at her, wondering what her next move was going to be.

The blue dragon zoner just peered down at him. Her eyes were half way closed as her mouth spread into a smile. It was an almost seductive look, though it was still tinged with malicious purpose. It was the sort of look that made it impossible to tell just what was going to happen, what she was thinking. It was like she was torn between giving him more ‘love’ or hurting him. And then she started to lower her head towards him...

Snap immediately began to panic. He struggled and squirmed as much as he could in her grasp. Sandra still maintained a good grip and he wasn’t able to stop her from planting another kiss against him. Her lips were pressed against his forehead, and she kept them there for several seconds before pulling her head back.

Snap could feel his stomach churning in disgust. He glared up at her, baring his teeth. He wanted to try striking at her, yet his arms wouldn’t move. The only kind of movement that he did with his body was shake and tremble. He might be glaring at her, but the dominant emotion in him right now was fear and terror. And it was clear that Sandra could tell that this was the case with him. Her smile broadened and she released a series of dark chuckles, causing Snap’s heart to race against his chest.

“Oh you are so adorable like that, my dear.” Sandra kept her head raised up, tilted somewhat to the side. “The way you keep glaring at me like that, trying to look all brave...” Sandra pressed her tail tip against his chin, taking care not to scratch him with her spikes. “Oh yes...that is so cute and adorable....!”

Snap let out a low growl at this and twisted his head away. He was lucky that he didn’t accidentally cut himself. But frankly, right now, he didn’t care if he did or didn’t. He just continued to glare up at Sandra, keeping his teeth bare and trying to do whatever it took to make him look more threatening to her.

Not that it had any effect on Sandra. The sky blue dragon was just amused by his attempts to look brave, and it prompted her to lower her head down and nuzzle him again.

“I don’t see why you are so upset, little Snacks. It’s not like you are going to die or anything. You should be thanking me. This is the best possible fate that you could have endured.” Sandra pulled him even closer, her face still firmly pressed up against him. “You get to stay with me, where you will be safe. You will provide me with food and company. And I will give you an experience that you will never forget. Doesn’t that sound like such a wonderful thing?”

Snap hissed at her, despite his fear. “G-Go bite your tail...”

Sandra grinned at this, chuckling. “I have far more...pleasurable plans for you.” She pressed her lips against his in another kiss, ignoring his protests.

Snap’s eyes bulged when he felt Sandra’s tongue moving around on the inside of his mouth. He gagged a little, struggling not to throw up, as he pulled his head back, trying to dislodge himself from Sandra, muffling loudly in protest. His attempts were futile as Sandra hooked an arm behind his head and pulled him closer to her, keeping him in place.

The kiss only lasted for a few seconds. But for Snap, it felt like hours. Time seemed to have crawled to a stop as he felt his nemesis’s mouth on his, her tongue exploring deep inside... He kept on fighting back the urge to throw up, his stomach churning. And when she had finally removed her mouth from him, he immediately grabbed onto his throat and started to cough and wheeze. He didn’t bother looking up at Sandra as he did this; he just kept coughing and spitting, whatever he could to stop the sensation. But even a minute after this, he still could feel her mouth upon his. It was a sensation that he doubted he would forget for a long time.

Snap stared up at Sandra in utter disgust and horror. He knew this would not be the last time that she’d do something like that. But that wasn’t what horrified him the most. The thing was...how far was Sandra willing to go with this...? How far would she take this? Would she stop at just french kissing, or would she...?

He gave a shudder at that, a burning feeling in the pit of his stomach. Not knowing how far she would go terrified him more than knowing. But as much as he wanted to shout at her and demand to know what she was up to, he just...could not bring himself to do that. He was quite torn, unsure if he really wanted to to know or if he would rather be ignorant. Which path would be worse? Which one would bestow the most horror? He honestly had no idea which way would be the most...terrifying..

“Even when I’m not biting you...” Sandra gripped Snap’s chin and forced it upwards. He felt himself stiffen and shudder quickly at how close Sandra’s face was. Almost to the point where she would kiss him again....yet she did not lean in to steal another one for him. She just...smirked down at him. “...you still taste good.” Her tongue moved along her lips slowly as she said this.

Snap let out a loud gasp at this, yanking his head back in shock. He felt a sharp tightness in his chest, irritating his stomach. He could feel his mind spinning and whirling at that. Such a simple little comment, and yet somehow it got a big reaction out of him. The context of what she said...

Snap couldn’t stop himself from struggling harder. He jerked himself from side to side as he tried to squirm his way out of Sandra’s clutches. He wasn’t even thinking of trying to get out of the kennel; he just wanted to get away from this insane dragon. He clenched his teeth tightly and seethed as he pushed against Sandra. Even as she tightened her grip, he only struggled harder to get himself free.

Then, after a few moments, through all the struggling, he did manage to dislodge himself from her. With a hunched body and his eyes never leaving her, Snap started to back away from her, letting out a low, constant growl from his gritted teeth. Sandra didn’t attempt to come right after him; she must be confident that she could stop him. And she could with those powers of hers, and Snap knew that. He knew he would not get out; all he wanted right now was for her to stay the fuck away from him.

“You look so adorable like that. I never thought of how cute you looked like you’re angry...and here it is.” Sandra pushed herself up from the ground, her tail swishing behind her. She did not sound at all upset that Snap had managed to squirm away from her. “I’m sure going to miss this attitude of yours after you are....tamed up a little.”

Snap hissed at this. “I’ll never....”

“I wouldn’t speak so soon if I were you, Snacks.” Sandra cut him off. She interlocked her fingers together as her shoulders were hunched. She gave Snap a small grin, releasing a low chuckle from her bared teeth. “You will become mine. I will see to that. Even you cannot resist forever. And when you finally break...” She took a small step towards the superhero zoner. “...I will be there to taste the victory...”

Snap shook his head furiously. “No you... I won’t give in! I swear it, Sandra! I will get out of here! I will never bow down to you!”

“Oh dear Snacks...I didn’t want you go bow down to me.” Sandra tilted her head up and back, a feather finger placed against her jaw. “I just wanted you to...stay on the ground. Beneath me like the little toy that you are.”

With that, Sandra started to move towards him. Snap’s body started to shake despite his efforts to stop. Yet he still glared at her, his eyes narrowed into slits, his teeth clenched tightly. He backed up, trying to keep distance from her. He had no idea where he was in relation to the kennel; the only thing that he could process was Sandra coming towards him, her body hunched like a dinosaur.

Eventually, Snap could feel his back pressing up against the wall. He let out a surprised yelp at this. He looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, he had been cornered. This realization caused his heart to skip several beats. He looked back up at Sandra, his narrowed eyes widening a little, his teeth continued to be bared defensively.

Sandra gave a small, quick chortle at this before she lowered her head and body further, creating a more dramatic slant to her body. She quickened her pace, coming up to Snap so fast that the blue and white zoner found himself jumping back what little space remained. With his teeth still bared, he pressed his hands and arms against the wall and cringed back as far as he could go. Sandra towered over him, keeping him in shadow. They stared at each other for several moments before Sandra seized him by his shoulders and pushed him roughly against the wall.

Sandra once more put her face close to his. Her nose was dipped down so that Snap got a good view of her triangular mark. But the thing that got most of his attention were her eyes. Those scary, crimson eyes looked as if they were staring right through his very soul...

“What is the matter, Snap? You look so tense.” Sandra’s head moved up and down as she examined Snap’s body in an almost casual way. “You should try to....” Sandra moved in even closer. Snap could feel her body heat against her, each breath splashing up against his face. “...relax.” Then she opened her mouth, her tongue rolling out, and then she...

Snap let out a loud, surprised gasp as he felt Sandra’s wet tongue moving along the side of his neck and up to his cheek. The warm trail rapidly became chilly as the air around him hit against it. Sandra took her time, purposely inhaling loudly as she licked him, as though to make him nervous. It worked; even when her tongue left him and she returned to just staring at him, Snap couldn’t stop staring at her with that mixed expression of shock and horror.

Sandra spent several moments just staring at him like this. No attempt to speak. No attempt to do anything else with him. Just...holding his shoulders tightly and keeping him firmly pressed up against the wall. Her tongue licked across her lips once more as her tail curved behind her, flexing about in some kind of terrifying rhythm.

And all Snap could do was stare at her, unsure of when or if Sandra was going to do something. There was just...no clue on her face anywhere on what she planned on doing next.

When she finally did make a move, Snap was almost...disappointed that she just grabbed his chin. Wait, disappointed...? Why would he be disappointed in that? He hardly had time to think about that before Sandra tightened her grip on his throat and lifted him up into the air. His feet dangled below him, and he tried to kick out against Sandra. His attempts were futile as she turned her head to the side, avoiding the blows entirely.

“Yes, you are much too tense right now. I don’t think that will do you much good. Your heart condition and all...”

Snap had no idea what she meant by that at first. But then that triangular symbol almost seemed to glow. And without warning, a wave of pain suddenly struck him in his chest. He took in a sharp gasp of breath, his jaws opening up as he weakly clawed at his chest with one of his hands. He stared at Sandra with wide, horrified eyes. Just..what..what the fuck was she doing to him...?

Snap could hear Sandra chuckle at this, as if she understood what he was thinking. Then he felt something press up against the side of his face. Turning his eyes over, he saw that it was one of Sandra’s feet. The dragon was balancing on one foot and gently gripping his face with one foot, her talons moving gently over his skin. Her tail was arched behind her and kept her balanced so that she did not fall over.

“Oh I know it hurts. Do not worry, though. It won’t kill you.” Sandra spoke as she gently trailed the tip of her foot talons along Snap’s cheek. She barely grazed the skin. “It will just...provide a reason for you to be more released. Don’t be so tense, Snap. It will hurt less if you just...relaxed.”

Snap wanted to say something to her. He wanted to yell at her, try to tell her off. He wanted to tell her that he wasn’t afraid of her, that nothing she did or said was going to make him fully surrender himself to her.

Yet he just...could not. The pain in his heart grew stronger as the seconds past. It felt as if, everytime his heart had to pump a little harder, it sent a jolt of pain throughout his body, making him stiffen. He shut his eyes tightly and lowered his head, seething. He struggled to cope with the pain, but it only got worse second after second. He could feel his chest tightening, a sense of panic rushing through him. That made things even worse, his heart pumping faster, hurting more, the longer he remained so tense.

He realized what he had to do. Such a task was going to be really hard. He didn’t know if he could even succeed, but...he just had to try. If he allowed this to continue... He let out a pained gasp through his open mouth as he felt another wave of pain strike against him, his chest feeling like it is close to bursting. He took in a few deep and quick breaths before he exhaled slowly and just...tried to let go.

It took what felt like several minutes. Snap wasn’t even sure of how much time actually passed. The only thing that he was aware of was this weird sensation moving around his body, down through his hands. And once it was gone, he just felt....limp. It was a sensation that he found difficult to describe. It just felt like his body had just...the only word he could use was ‘given out’, but even that didn’t accurately describe how he felt.

He felt the pressure around his neck suddenly release. His eyes widening, he felt himself being dropped into the ground. He let out a small grunt as he laid there for several seconds. He rubbed his throat gingerly, looking for any evidence of Sandra having done something to him. Then he looked up and stared at the two-legged sky blue dragon before him.

“Hmm...” Sandra moved her tail in front of herself. She pressed the tip of it harmlessly against Snap’s chin and lifted it up. “I guess you learn fast...with some things. Now if only you could be this relaxed with your fate.” She released him somewhat roughly, letting his chin bang against the hard ground. “But I’m sure you will learn in time.”

Snap gritted his teeth and let out a growl. He raised up his head and he felt his body tensing up once more, giving a few hard shakes. He felt a small burst of energy and, before he knew it, he had launched himself at Sandra, his body colliding with her. Sandra hardly fought back. With only a screech of surprise, she was on the ground, Snap on top of her. Without even realizing what he was doing, he bit down on Sandra’s shoulder. This prompted another shriek from Sandra, prompting Snap to bite down harder.

It didn’t take long before Snap started to taste her blood. The feeling caused him to want to lurch, but his mind was too focused, too intent on making her leave him alone. His jaws tightened up around her shoulder and he continued to bite into her.

He was confused as to why Sandra was not fighting back. He was certain that he was hurting her like this. Why wasn’t she...?

That’s when he saw that she was smiling. Flinching a little, showing that she was in some pain. But over it all, she was smiling, as if she expected this, liked it, or something similar. This realization made his eyes widen in confusion. He tried to comprehend what was going on, to make sense of it all. But Sandra just kept smirking at him. Almost knowingly...like...

Snap suddenly gasped when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He clutched at it, rubbing it carefully. In his shock, he eventually realized just what was going on. His heart rate had increased when he had attacked her, and that in turn caused his heart to... Oh gawd, it hurt...

“You really should have been more careful, poor little Snacks. You don’t want to keep hurting yourself, now do you?” Sandra looked down at him. Her expression was...it was hard to tell if she was being sincere or not. But her tone gave a more clear idea of what she was really thinking. “The last thing you’d want is a burst heart.”

Snap opened his mouth to breathe in heavily. He laid there on the ground, shivering, his hands clutching at his chest even more, struggling to cope with this pain. It took a little longer this time before he could relax himself enough for the pain to stop.

Sandra’s expression seemed to soften up slightly. It was difficult to tell if this was genuine or not, however. And with how she had been acting before.... Snap could not fully wrap his mind around how to interpret this expression.

“I think I toyed with you enough, don’t you think? I think you deserve a little rest.” Sandra paced herself back and forth in front of him. Her eye stared down at him sideways. “Besides I’m sure you are famished.” She stopped in her tracks. Her body straightened up, resuming its normal tripod stance. “Don’t worry. I will grab you something to eat. I won’t let you go hungry.”

Snap stared at her for a few seconds. Then, through the pain and fear, he hissed at her, “G-Go fuck y-y-yourself...”

Sandra took in a gasp at this, looking almost genuinely surprised by that remark. Her eyes narrowed deeply, her pupils shrinking. She growled down at him, her eyes piercing against him. She momentarily looked like she was about to strike him again. Snap cringed from her and turned his head away, waiting for the blow.

But the blow never came. Confused, Snap looked up at her again.

Sandra was smiling down upon him again, looking rather calm and collected, as if his words hadn’t done anything to phase her. Snap wasn’t sure what to make of this, and he couldn’t help but gulp. He could not stop the soft whine from escaping, nor could he prevent himself from shaking harder, especially when Sandra moved in closer towards him again.

Placing her hand against Snap’s cheek, she said, “I see that, even when you are in such a bad place, you have the courage to speak out against me. That is...pretty admirable.”

Snap did not respond to this. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. How was he supposed to respond to that? What did Sandra mean by it?

“Unfortunately, that attitude is going to get in the way...” Sandra gripped his chin tighter, causing a little bit of pain, causing him to fidget. “But do not worry, my dear little ‘friend’. I will find a way to...extinguish that part of you.” Upon seeing the look in his eyes at this, Sandra’s smile seemed to spread further. “I know, I’m going to miss it. I did not lie before. I really will miss it. But...” She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “Eh, what can you do? I need a smooth operation here. And you fighting back too much will just...get in the way...” She traced a finger along his chin with her other hand. “So I best take care of that little problem...”

Snap struggled not to allow his heart rate to quicken too much, not wanting to feel the pain from before. It was so difficult, however. He felt as though he was going to wear himself out before he managed to overcome his heart’s wanting to speed up. And even without that, he still felt a stinginess in his chest, chemicals being pumped through his body.

“So just...try to lay there and relax, okay?” Sandra spoke. She stared intently at Snap, as if hoping that this would push the message into his head a little more. Then she let out a soft sigh and she released him, taking a step back. She looked at him again, this time with a more stern expression. “Now just wait here while I go grab you something to eat.” She turned herself around. “I will be right back.”

Snap watched as she left him, moving slowly towards where the door to the kennel was. Snap could have tried to rush over, taking this opportunity. But he felt too...drained. He couldn’t get himself to get up. The only thing that he could do was just lay there and watch her as she left.

But then she gave pause. She stopped right as she was starting to step out of the kennel. She remained there for several moments, her tail swishing from side to side. She looked as if she were contemplating something. Then, looking over her shoulder, she stared down at Snap. After a few seconds, a creepy smile stretched along her light blue muzzle.

“By the way, Snap...” Sandra’s eyes twinkled. “...how did I taste...?”

Snap immediately froze at this, his eyes widening. He couldn’t speak, didn’t try to say anything. He just stared out at Sandra, horrified by this statement. He wasn’t able to stop his heart from racing. But surprisingly, he felt no pain. Or perhaps he was too locked in shock to be able to feel any pain at all. His was just...frozen.

Sandra did not stand there for long. She just offered a small chuckle as she stared down at him. Then she turned her head away and, with a few hard swooshes of her tail and the clang of the door, she left him behind. Snap didn’t even react when the door was slammed and locked again, and he didn’t move even when Sandra left the room.

The reason for this was... Oh gawd, he didn’t want to admit it. He really didn’t. He struggled to keep the thought from entering his mind. He struggled to keep him from admitting something so...so horrible... He knew it was what Sandra would have wanted him to say, and he did not want to give into her. He clutched his head tightly. Any bout of pain he felt anywhere, he tried to ignore as he fought against his own mind.

But...it was useless. Utterly useless... He could struggle and fight against it all he wanted to. But the end result was still the same. There was one thing that just kept surging through his mind over and over again. And there was nothing that he could do to stop it. The only thing that he could do was just...confess.

He.... He had to admit it...

....Sandra did taste good.

Chapter 28: Special Pet

Oh Marshall, dear. Can’t you see I’m winning...?
-Marshall Dear, Savages






“J-Jyker...?”

Rudy stared in shock at the trembling, limping form coming over towards him. The figure had stepped into the light by this point, making it easy for him to make out the details. It had only taken him a few seconds to recognzie this as Jyker, the hyena zoner who had stopped Sandra from hurting Snap further at the trial.

Several questions raced through his mind. Just how did Jyker end up here? When did Sandra have the time? And if he is here, was there anyone else? Was there some other things that Sandra did that he wasn’t aware of? These questions and more crowded up inside of his mind, making him shudder.

“I-I...I didn’t expect to have any..c-company..” Jyker’s weak voice stated. He gave a few weak coughs as he moved a little closer. Each step seemed shakier than the last. “H-How did you get here...?”

“The same way as you did, I’m sure.” Rudy replied in a low voice. He tried his best not to sound too bitter; he wasn’t really sure if Jyker really wanted, or needed, to hear that right now.

His eyes moved up and down Jyker’s form a few times, taking note of his injuries. Jyker was definitely not in tact. He looked pretty bad off. Multiple gashes and bruises. His expression looked rather defeated, and he looked as if he was going to cry at any moment. Even his voice sounded as though he had given up on life. It made Rudy wonder just what the hell that Sandra had put him through.

He did not understand their full story together. But he did recall that Jyker did know Sandra from before. In fact, he had known her for longer than they did. He had a confrontation with her before and he was the reason that she left her old town or something. But now it seemed as though the tables had turned...

Rudy crawled over closer to Jyker. He wasn’t sure why he kept on crawling closer. Something was just...compelling him to keep moving forward, to keep trying to get closer to the injured zoner. There was little that he could do while he was on the ground like this. But...he could at least try something, right? There was no harm in doing that, was there? And besides, he was the Great Creator. It was his responsiblity to...

“Please don’t s-s-strain yourself...Rudy.” Jyker finally spoke, raising his hand up. Rudy froze where he was, staring at Jyker with blinking eyes. “I-I...I don’t want to be a burden..”

Rudy shook his head, his neck still craned so that he could see Jyker’s face. “No, I..” It did pain him to see Jyker like this. He did not know him well, but to see him this way, when before he had been a lot more confident...it just caused his heart to twist. He was another testimony to Sandra’s cruelty. More proof that Sandra needed to be stopped as soon as possible. “It’s not a problem, really.”

But Jyker didn’t seem to want to have it. Taking another trembling step forward, he said, in a more stern voice, “I mean it. Please just... s-s-s-stop. D-D-Don’t try to help me. You can’t help me... You no chalk. We are t-t-t-trapped.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly. “How would you know if I had no chalk?”

Jyker gave a small chortle at this, his teeth slightly bared. “Because, if you did have it, you would have used it by now, wouldn’t you?”

At this, the teeanger stiffened up. That did make a lot of sense, he had to admit. Perfect sense. Jyker was right. He would have gotten the magic chalk out at this point if he had any. It was no wonder that Jyker caught on so quickly. He was quite the observant fellow. A part of him wondered if this was how he was able to see through Sandra’s lies before.

Reluctantly, Rudy stopped crawling over. Though disappointed and feeling some heartache at not being able to help, he did feel a sense of relief when he wasn’t forcing himself to crawl around like he did before. His arms were certainly grateful. Laying himself down on his side, he began to rub his arms, gently massaging them. Such a relief. He spent a few moments doing this before he stopped and started to think about their current situation.

He rubbed his head a little as he realized that he had remembered something wrong. Maybe it was due to all that was happening, and the tension and anxiety, but he realized that he hadn’t heard Jyker at the trial. He knew he was there and what he said based on what his friends had told him. But this had to have been during when he had been bed-ridden at the hospital. He recalled that he had actually heard his voice when he was searching around the city with Ripclaw.

...back when he could walk...

Rudy felt a sting in his chest. Almost any memory from before the Sandra incident made him shudder. It was just..so painful to recall the times back when he wasn’t ridden to the wheelchair. When he didn’t feel like a burden...when he was claim more freedom than what he had now.

Rudy looked down at his legs. His still in tact but utterly useless legs. He stared at them long and hard, noting the red marks on them from the dragging. He reached over and lightly touched one of the reddest spots. There was no reaction other than very slight pringle. And even that, he wasn’t really sure if he felt, or if he was just imagining it. Even as he moved his hand up and down the leg, trying to see if he could feel something...anything, there was just...nothing except for the very, very slightest of sensations.

He tried to move his legs. He stared at them, concentrating, and tried with all of his might to move them. Maybe if he kept on focusing on them, he might be able to move them at least a little bit. He just had to keep trying hard enough. He might be able to will his legs into moving. He...

But it was useless. His legs just wouldn’t move save for a few small twitches. Other than those small movements, his legs were just...they might as well be stumps. Or not there at all. They served his body no more purpose. A part of him almost wished that the doctors had removed the legs. What good were they for him if he could not use them? All they did was just bitterly remind him of what had happened.

He felt a surge of anger and bitterness rise up inside of him. He wasn’t able to stop it. He could feel it burning through his body, making him shake. He gritted his teeth tightly and he growled, staring intently at the bars that were keeping him and Jyker inside. With a low hiss escaping from his mouth, he just..had to do something. Anything....

Looking over, he could see a metal pole on the ground. It looked slightly bloodied. He realized that it must have been what Sandra used to hurt Jyker. He felt a brief moment of hesitation before he reached over and grabbed onto it. He yanked it forward and he held it up into the air. He stared at it for several moments before he turned to glare at the metal bars. Seething through his clenched teeth, he began to strike against the bars.

He repeated this over and over again. Despite the fact that striking the bars did not do anything other than make his ears ring, he still kept on hitting it in desperation. Maybe if he kept on trying to hit it, he would eventually be able to break something down. Over and over again, he struck, feeling vibrations shoot through the metal pole, racing up his arm. He ignored this as he kept striking out in vain.

“Rudy... P-Please stop it!” Jyker covered his flattened ears with his hands. “Please, th-that hurts!”

Rudy froze as he stared over at Jyker. He soon noticed the expression on his face and he quickly realized that Jyker had much more sensitive hearing than he did. All this banging, it must be excruciating to the hyena zoner. Feeling a pang of guilt, the teenager dropped the pole to the ground.

“I’m so sorry, Jyker!” Rudy called out as he raised his hands up. “I-I didn’t mean to...! I...” He paused for a moment, watching as the zoner rubbed his ears vigorously. He licked his lips for a bit and swallowed hard. “I’m sorry...”

Jyker stared over at him. No words were spoken. He just...stared at him. There didn’t seem to be much anger from those eyes, but he could tell that Jyker was still not entirely happy with him. But at least he didn’t press anything on and he was, seemingly, willing to move past it. The hyena zoner shook his head once, as if trying to shake off the sensations, before settling down on the ground, crossing his legs, flinching in pain as he did so.

After a bit of awkward silence, Jyker said, “It is...n-n-nice to see that your neck healed up.”

Rudy felt a flash in the back of his mind. That single statement was enough to send flashbacks through his mind as he was forced to briefly relive when he had his neck broken. He could still see it in his mind. He could still feel those teeth in his neck. He could still feel the dull ache were the crack had taken place. He rubbed his throat slowly.

Jyker’s expression softened up in pity. “I do apologize if I brought back s-s-sour m-memories.” He turned his head away, his ears lowering. “I sometimes h-have that effect on people...”

Rudy wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but he decided not to press it any further. “It’s quite all right.” He remained silent for a bit, staring at Jyker. He looked over at where Sandra had gone off in, licking his lips slowly. He was going to be here a while, and he might as well use this time to ask a certain question to this guy. “Hey, Jyker. Mind if I ask something?”

“S-Sure. G-Go a-a-ahead.” Replied the injured hyena.

Rudy took in a slow, deep breath. He exhaled, taking his time. He wasn’t entirely sure how to approach this. But he did not want to keep Jyker waiting. Looking over at the hyena zoner, hesitating for a few seconds, Rudy eventually asked the question that was on his mind. “Do you know what Sandra is up to?”

Jyker’s eyes immediately widened.

sss

“Come back here, you cowards!” Mint shouted as he struggled as hard as he could. But the more he struggled, the more he seemed to just...sink into the ground. Though his heart raced, he still gritted his teeth at the fleeing zoners. “Why don’t you just fight us?!”

“Mint...stop.” Penny told him quietly. “They’re gone.”

Mint ignored her and he kept on shouting threats at the fleeing Beanie Boys. He screamed and he shouted on top of his lungs. He only stopped when he realized that his mouth was getting quite dry, and he could feel a dull ache in the back of his throat. He took in a few heavy pants, but now even the act of breathing was painful.

This didn’t stop him from glaring at the Beanie Boys as they kept getting further and further away. They were rapidly disappearing, and it didn’t take long before he did not see them at all. That didn’t stop him from continuing to glare, however. He just...really wanted to tear into them. If only they would come back and face him like any brave zoner would...

He didn’t keep this up for long, however. Eventually the reality of the situation weighed down upon him, and he had no choice but to fully come to terms with what had happened.

Sandra had decided that she did not want to risk keeping them around. She had told Rudy that she’d leave them alone if he surrendered to her. But of course, she never used ‘I promise’, so as soon as Rudy was out of the way, she had ordered the Beanie Boys to dispose of them. He and Penny put up a good fight and they had even managed to strike Sandra before she had a chance to stop them with her healing powers. Though they were still caught, landing any kind of blow against that monster was well worth it.

But this did not deter him from realizing that he was completely and utterly screwed. Not just him, but Penny as well. They were both trapped in this quicksand like substance, the ropes binding their arms tightly so they couldn’t even try to get out.

Not that having their arms would have done them much good anyway. They were in the middle of this quicksand place. And everything looked the same here. It was impossible to tell just where the quicksand began and where it ended. All he could feel was just...smooth sand. It was impossible to get any good traction and he was left feeling as though he were trying to swim through one of those ball pits. Only this ‘ball pit’ was just too fine for him to even get a chance to push himself to the surface if he were to go below the ground.

His legs were at least free. He pumped them as hard as he could, kicking down, using what knowledge he had of swimming to prevent himself from sinking down further. He tried the best that he could to keep his head above the quicksand. It was getting increasingly difficult and he could feel his head start to go down a little lower. But despite his difficulty, he still kept kicking his burning legs to delay the inevitable.

Penny was struggling just as much as he was. She looked as though she was having a little more trouble than him, however. He really wanted to go over and try to help her out himself. But he was unable to do anything. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He felt so useless right now. A part of him briefly wondered if this is how Rudy felt when he was not able to do anything to help them because of what stupid Sandra did to him.

His heart immediately clenched at this, making him freeze for a moment before he managed to get himself to resume his leg kicking. Speaking of Sandra and Rudy, he wondered...what was going on with them? And Snap, too?

Sandra had taken Rudy away from them, just like she had with Snap. She did not tell them what she planned for Snap and she did the same thing with Rudy. She just...kept them in the dark, making them suffer the pain of not knowing. Mint growled to himself, wanting nothing more than to give Sandra a good punch on the nose. Or even tear off a piece of her ear again like he had before. But he knew that this could make things worse, and he would have to opt for a better solution.

He just...didn’t know what that could be. Of course, he wanted to help Rudy and Snap, but he didn’t even know where they were taken to, or if they were... He hesitated for a moment at the next thought. It took him a few seconds to actually finish what he was thinking.

He didn’t know if they were alive or not.

Sandra hated both of them. The reasons varied, but in the end, she hated the two of them and she would want to do whatever it took to get rid of them. She thought Snap was a traitor and she regarded Rudy as a monster. Rather humorous considering that she was the one who was actually both of these. But in the end, these reasons were, in her eyes, enough that both of them would surely deserve death. And who knows how long she’d allow them to live before she...

Mint shook his head, struggling to keep himself focused. He had to try to get out of here. He had to keep fighting back against this quick sand. He just had to. Maybe if he kept on fighting, he would be able to get out. He just...

Unfortunately, his legs just wouldn’t keep up. He tried and he tried, but they were getting too worn. With his muscles feeling like they were on fire, kicking out in desperation, he could tell that his movements were getting stiffer and stiffer. It was becoming increasingly difficult to do anything. He did keep trying, but it became increasingly obvious that he would not able to keep this up for long. With his mouth open and tongue partially out, panting, he was starting to slow down considerably. This realization did make his heart race and a flash of adrenaline allowed him to return to his original speed...only for him to get drained quickly and lose that speed just as swiftly as he had gained it.

“Mint!” Penny shouted. She gave a few coughs. “Keep...trying to hold your head up! Don’t quit!”

Mint turned his head and he gasped in horror at what he saw. Penny had already sunk quite far into the quicksand. It had already covered most of her neck and she was rapidly going down. She was wriggling her way about, trying to keep herself up. But he could tell that she was rapidly losing strength and she was going down steadily faster.

Mint tried to keep himself up. He tried to keep his stiffening legs kicking, pushing against the sloshy sand, trying to keep his head above the quicksand. But no matter how hard he tried, he could feel himself weakening even more. He could feel the quicksand already covering up his neck, and now he could feel it on his face.

His heart immediately began to race at this. He could feel each beat pounding against his chest. He took in faster breaths, trying to pull in as much oxygen as he could. He thrashed harder in the quicksand. This only seemed to make him sink faster, but his panicking mind refused to fully acknowledge this. It just wanted out, and it drove him to struggle increasingly frantically, even though this was only going to lead to his demise faster.

He could no longer tell if Penny was still with him or not. He was unaware if she was under the sands or still struggling like him. His racing mind was not able to process her. At that moment, the only thing that he could think of was himself, and getting himself out of here. If he were relaxed, more realizing what was going on, he might have felt guilt for only thinking of himself. Just, in those painfully long minutes, he just could not think of her, could not realize that she was still there.

Suddenly, it felt as though the only thing around him was himself and the sand that held him down. His eyes widened, going wild with emotion, as he felt more of his face be covered. He stared upward at the sky, the sun being the only source of light for him, everything else being pitch black. He breathed in and out quicker and quicker as he continued to pump his legs harder. He struggled to get his face further up. But it only continued to sink down lower and lower...

No, this couldn’t be happening. This isn’t how it should have ended. He had to keep fighting. He had to keep trying to get his face above the sand. This wasn’t fair... How could things have gone down this way? How could he have allowed it to end up like this?

With his heart still pumping fast, cold emotion burning through his veins, Mint did not give up on struggling. His legs felt as if they would break off at any point. But that did not stop him from continuing to try. He wouldn’t give up. He had to keep going, no matter what. He...

His face started to be covered up by the sand. This caused his heart to nearly explode as a wave of panicked emotions raced through his body. He could feel a final bout of adrenaline rage inside and he frantically tried to push himself up. But the sand kept covering up his face and he could feel it moving over his mouth. He coughed and he spluttered, trying to get a breath. But when even his nose started to be covered, he realized that his efforts...they might all be in vain. He might not be able to get out of here.

In what he felt were his final few moments, he closed his eyes and he could sense his life flashing before him. He sucked in a final, shaky breath as the sand over took him. And now his eyes were being covered. It would only be a matter of moments before he succumbed. And all he could do was just...wait.

Suddenly, he heard a loud shout ring through the air. It was a little distorted thanks to the sand covering his ears. But he could still hear it loud and clear.

“Hold on, you two! I’m coming!”

He had no idea who the voice belonged to. It sounded so familiar. But he just...could not quite pinpoint it. He shifted his eyes left and right as he tried to find this person. He did not get a chance to see before the sand started to get too close to his eyes and he was forced to shut them to keep the sand from getting inside.

This did not last very long. Before he could think of what was happening, he felt someone grabbing into him. He could hear the splashing sound of the quick sand being kicked as someone must have swum over and got a hold of him. Mint did not dare open his eyes, not even when he heard Penny grunt and splutter and cough as she, too, was grabbed. Mint just held still as the figure started to drag the two of them back.

It was only when he felt himself hit against hard, firm land, his body no longer coated in that wet, sandy mess, did he start to splutter himself. He coughed and wheezed on the ground, taking in several quick breaths. He could feel his body shivering once the emotions started to settle in, and he found it difficult to stop himself. Even when he felt something cut the ropes from his body, he still did not move.

Opening his eyes, he squinted for a moment as the bright light struck him. Then he shifted his head back a little and stared over at where Penny was. He could see her laying upon the ground on her side. Her arms, no longer bound, were splayed over each other on the ground as she took in rapid, painful-sounding gasps of air. His heart raced as he watched her suffer like this, and his mind started to have a few burning flashes when he thought about Sandra.

Pushing himself up onto his arms, he craned his head over to see just who had saved them. His eyes widened when he immediately recognized the bird-like figure before them.

“D-Dr. Crobat...?” Mint let out a loud, pained cough. “H-How did you find us...?”

Dr. Crobat stared down at them, his expression softened up with concern. “It doesn’t matter right now, does it? At least I found you in time.” Dr. Crobat leaned in closer, his eyes examining his body quickly. “If you had sunk in any further, you would have...”

“Yes, we know.” Mint cut him off. Right now, he did not need to hear the gruesome detail of how he almost died. There were other matters pressing into his mind, anyway. “We...We need to go back to... We need to save...”

“Shh...try to rest, okay?” Dr. Crobat laid a hand on his shoulder. “You need to spend a little while recovering first.”

Penny coughed and spluttered before she spoke, her voice a slight wheeze. “B-But you don’t understand. Our friends are...”

“I am fully aware of that. But we can’t argue about that now. First you need to rest. Then we will continue from here. I will help you. Don’t worry. But first, you need to recover.” Dr. Crobat’s voice was gentle but firm. He narrowed his eyes at them, showing them that he was quite serious in what he was saying.

Mint and Penny looked at each other. Their minds were still racing from nearly drowning in sand. At the same time, they were filled with confusion and impatience. They could not understand how Dr. Crobat could have known the situation, but their fear of what was happening with their friends overshadowed this fact. The only thing that was on their minds was trying to get out of here as soon as they could so that they could help.

But they felt so weak. Their bodies were too shaky. They realized that Dr. Crobat was right. They can’t really do much if their legs were so wobbly like jello, it was going to collapse the moment they tried to get up. They needed to wait. A few minutes, that’s all. Just a few minutes...

Then they could figure out what they were going to do from here. They could only hope that their friends could hand on. Just for a little while... They could do it, they were sure. Then soon, Sandra would pay.

sss

Sandra moved down the hallway slowly, taking her time. There was really no need to rush right now. She had plenty of time at the moment. Mint and Penny had been dealt with and Rudy was trapped. The Beanie Boys were still under her control and Skrawl was utterly broken. There was no one to really get in her way right now. Yes, she could take all the time in the world.

So she just kept on walking, her tail swishing slowly behind her, her eyes staring out ahead of her. She could see her destination rapidly approaching. Indeed, it would only take a short amount of time before she would reach her goal: the door that led to the room where Snap was trapped.

She had thought about delaying this a little longer. She had wanted to drag things out more. But she was getting a little impatient. She wanted to speed things along a little. Get the ball rolling, you know? She couldn’t continue wasting her time doing nothing. No, she needed to get shit done. If she was going to succeed in what she now wanted from Rudy and from Snap...

But..she would give Snap a bit of a chance. Speak to him for a little while as she tried to contemplate on what she wanted to do with him. It was only fair, right? They had been friends before. Surely she could be a little fair with him and give him a chance. And besides, that didn’t mean that she still couldn’t have her fun with him. Nothing wrong with that, right?

But she wouldn’t tell Snap what she had in mind. If she did that, it would only make him freak out more. She wouldn’t be surprised if he straight up punched her in the face once he heard. She knew it was best to just keep her mouth shut about it, and let him try to figure out just what she was talking about.

Admittingly, her plan might seem to go a little...too far, to say the very least. And a part of her was even a little disgusted by it. But hey, if it got her full control over Snap, she’d do it. Her end goals were most important; she should be able to handle any discomfort that she encountered along the way. Otherwise, how would she be able to save this world from such sin?

It didn’t take her that long to reach the door. She stopped in front of it for a moment, staring at it. She pondered what Snap was doing inside. This didn’t really require a lot of imagination. What could that blue and white zoner do other than just lay there and whimper like the coward that he was? With a small smile on her face, she pushed the door open and she headed inside.

After locking the door and making her way over towards the kennel, she could see that Snap was resting on the ground, curled up. It looked almost as if he were asleep, but she knew better than that. She could sense that he was still awake and he was just trying to pretend that he wasn’t here. Oh how cute.

“Greetings, Snap.” Sandra spoke up, breaking the silence quickly.

Snap immediately shifted himself around to look at her. His eyes bulged wide open and he cringed back away from her, letting out a low, soft whimper from his throat. Sandra smirked at how his body trembled from the mere sight of her. Snap sure learned quickly.

“Wh-What do you want...?” Snap spoke softly.

Sandra’s ear twitched for a moment when he detected that tone of voice. Snap wasn’t just afraid. There was something else. Something like..shock? She wasn’t sure why at first. But then she quickly figured something out. With her smile spreading further, she said, “I just wanted to say hello to my ‘dear little friend’.. Is that so wrong?” She took a step towards the shaking Snap. “Besides....there is something that we need to discuss.”

“I thought you were getting me food...” There was a sound similar to disappointment on the zoner’s voice. “I’m...hungry...”

Sandra turned her head and body slightly to the side, waving her hand dismissively. “Oh don’t worry about that! You will be fine for a little while longer, right?” She shrugged her shoulders. “And besides...” She lowered her head, her grin becoming slightly dark and maniacal. “You did enjoy my flavor, didn’t you?” Upon seeing Snap’s horrified expression, Sandra pressed on. “Oh you don’t have to be so modest, Snap. I know you liked my salty blood taste. Quite good, right?”

Snap shook his head. “N-No, I...”

“I can tell that you are lying, Snap. Please, do not lie to me.” Sandra’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I do not like liars.”

“B-But I’m not lying...” Snap licked his lips nervously. “It made me want to throw up.”

Sandra cocked an eyebrow at this. It was not hard for her to detect the lies on Snap’s voice. The hesitation. He did like how she tasted; he was just not willing to admit it. Snap did not want to ever admit that he was wrong. He was just stubborn like that.

But while she could ignore this before, not anymore. She was going to address this stubbornness one way or another. It was high time that Snap started to see things her way. And if she had to do it by force, then, well...so be it. She was not going to allow this to continue for any longer. She had all the time in the world right now, and she was going to use it to make Snap see just how wrong he had been. One way or another...

A part of her hoped that Snap went down easily. She would hate to do what she did with Skrawl, to Snap. Such an extreme measure. It did work in getting what she wanted. But it was such a demoralizing thing to do, something that even she would admit was going a bit too far.

But she could not allow things to fall down further than they already were. She could not allow this world to suffer any longer. If she were able to turn things around, then...

“I know you liked how I tasted, Snap. I saw the look in your eyes. And you should not be ashamed of that. That is the first time to realizing the honor it is to eat a friend.” Sandra paused for a moment. “Well, we may not be...friends...per say anymore, but we do know each other, so I suppose it counts. And of course, we could be something...more.” Sandra’s head was tilted to one side. “What do you say?”

Snap bared his teeth weakly, as if to try to scare her off. “D-Don’t you fucking dare...”

“Oh but you don’t even know what I’m talking about.” Sandra feigned shock and surprise. She quickly went back to smiling at him, her tail continuing to twitch about, feeling the muscles eager to strike something out of slight irritation. “Do not deny the truth that has been handed to you, Snap.” With her body hunching, Sandra began to move in closer towards the cage. “You know that I speak the truth. You like my taste and that is an honorable thing. You...”

“Go jump off a cliff!” Snap shouted suddenly, taking Sandra by surprise and even shocking himself. Snap still glared at her, however, panting heavily as his mind was surely swirling.

Sandra shook her head, eyes closed, giving off a small sigh. “It saddens me to see you like this, Snap. You have so much potential. So much to look forward to...” She reopened her eyes and glared at Snap. “But you still continue to hold onto this ridiculous beliefs.” She raised her hand up in gesture, ignoring Snap’s glaring. “I suppose you still think that promises are meant to be broken, right?”

Snap bared his teeth at this. “I never said that.”

Sandra raised her ears at this. “So you agree with me then?”

Snap shook his head. “I do think it’s a good idea to keep promises. But sometimes, they have to be broken. Sometimes things just come up and...”

Sandra found her foot kicking against the bars faster than she could stop it. The loud banging sound was enough to make Snap jump into the air and fall back onto the ground. On his back, he stared up at her in shock and fear, breathing shakingly as he put his arms in front of him, as if to protect himself from some kind of unforeseen attack.

“It doesn’t matter! Once you make a promise, you must keep it! The one you promised for, they trust you! And if you break that promise, you are breaking their trust as well!” Sandra felt her heart start to burn, her blood’s temperature rising up. “If they break one promise, they will break more! And if they have the guts to break a promise, then how could they be trusted outside of that?! Why should you bother to trust them anymore at all?!”

Snap didn’t attempt to answer. He just stared at her in fear, his eyes bulging wide and his mouth dropping open. He didn’t even attempt to get up; it was almost like he could not move.

And all the while, Sandra just kept ranting at him. She was not sure of how much time had passed; only that she was still yelling at Snap, even after a good while went by.

“No matter what, the sanctity of the promise must be held above all else! If something happened, you need to remember that you had a previous committment! There’s no way around this! In the end, you still made a commitment and your attention should be diverted there! Where it belongs! If you cannot do that for your dear friends or families, then you are worthless! And you should die on the filthy ground were all promise breakers belong!”

Sandra panted heavily after the end of her little rant. She did feel a little better in shouting like that. Not that Snap liked it; the little zoner was shivering in fright. Not that she cared, however. If the little fucker still thought that breaking promises are a good thing, then he most certainly deserved to get yelled at.

She shook herself off, feeling the sensation leaving her fingers. She leaned her head back and let off a long, deep sigh. She couldn’t let herself get too worked up over this. She wouldn’t be able to fulfill her mission if she was too angry. And besides, it was...almost humorous, the way that Snap reacted. Not just in fear, but the whole thing, how he kept on insisting that promises could be broken. How simply naive and foolish...

Sandra walked the rest of the way up to the kennel. She pulled the latch out and released it, allowing the door to swing open. As soon as it did, Snap, who was obviously desperate to get away, immediately bolted towards the door. He only stopped because of the thing that she did to his heart. He dropped down onto his knees, clutching his chest in agony.

Sandra walked towards him slowly, her red eyes boring straight through his soul. She grabbed onto his cape and lifted him up into the air. Snap dangled there helplessly, staring down at her in horror. Any attempt to look brave from before was gone, replaced with nothing but fear.

“It is amazing that, even after all this time, you are still so...resilient.” Sandra commented as she stared at his dangling form for a few seconds, her eyes moving up and down quickly. The desire she felt from before was getting stronger and she didn’t know how long she could hold out. But patience was a virtue. She’d get what she wanted soo enough. “I wonder, what will it take to break you?” She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as she said this.

Snap struggled at this, sensing the tone on her voice. Despite the pain in his chest, he kept on struggling. Sandra narrowed her eyes at this and she concentrated. She could not having him kill himself by mistake. So for now, her little ‘curse’ on him was lifted. If she needed to use it on him again, she would.

Reaching out, she grabbed his chin tightly, her feather fingers pressing up against his flesh. She pulled his head forward, putting her face close to his. Snap looked up at her in fear, a low whimper escaping his throat. “What will it take to make you see things...my way?” Upon noticing that Snap wasn’t trying to respond, she continued, “No answer?” She tilted her head to the other side, her smile broadening. “Oh don't worry, we have all the time in the world. I will find out eventually...”

Snap shook his head in desperation. “P-Please...let me go...! Let me go back to my friends!”

“Oh but Snap, you had exchanged yourself for their sake...” Sandra leaned in even closer. “Remember...? There are no take backs.” Sandra stroked his face lightly with her free hand. She felt the coldness of his tears, though showed no reaction to them. She just kept looking into Snap’s eyes, seeing a rainbow of emotions moving through those eyes. “You belong to me now...and don’t worry about having to wait too long. I think I know what will help you more willing to see things my way...”

“Wh-What are you going to do...?” Snap whimpered.

Sandra didn’t bother to answer. She just grinned down at him before she started to carry him over towards her bed. Though Snap couldn’t possibly know what she had planned for him, he started to panic. He squirmed about in the air, grabbing onto her hand and trying to push it back. This did little more than make Sandra chuckle and she continued bringing him ever closer to the bed.

Once she got close enough, she threw him onto the soft, blanket-covered mattress. Snap rolled once from the force, landing on his back, partially upside down due to landing up against the head rest. He opened his eyes and he stared over at her. Gritting his teeth, sucking in a sharp breath, Snap attempted to flee, getting up and trying to jump off.

Sandra narrowed her eyes at this. Only a few seconds later, Snap dropped back down onto the bed, clutching at his stomach, whimpering in pain. She kept this pain going long enough so that she could get up onto the bed herself. And once she was on the bed, when she stopped hurting him, her foot rammed up against his stomach, irritating that spot that she had been messing with. Snap struggled, but he was unable to get her off of him.

“You are still so tense, Snap. I thought I told you before to try to relax a little. But don’t worry. I think I know of a way that I could...help you relax.” Sandra grabbed onto Snap’s shoulders and held him down more firmly. “Now just close your eyes....”

Sandra pressed her lips against Snap’s. Even though this hadn’t been the first time that she did this, it still felt just as good as the first time she did it. She had no idea why she liked this. Wasn’t she supposed to hate Snap? Yet here she was, giving him another kiss...

Not that she was complaining all that much. It did seem to cause Snap some distress, so there was that. And if she could get him to shift to her line of thinking....

Sandra felt her head being knocked eskew when Snap managed to slap her. She froze up for a couple of seconds, her eyes widening at this show of defense. She looked down at Snap. Despite the fact that he must have been frozen in terror, Snap still found a way to fight back. She slowly narrowed her eyes, her smile broadening as it darkened. Of course he would still fight back. He still had some of that spirit of his left.

Which is why she had to take the next step. If it worked on Skrawl, it would work on Snap. Perhaps even more so than it did with the jellybean. She pulled her lips back into a grinning snarl as she thought of this action. As disturbing as it was....she did look forward to it. Such things had their uses in a time like this.

“Oh no need to get all feisty, Snap. It will be all right. It will all be over soon...” Sandra reached her head down and nuzzled him gently, her cheek pressed up against his. “Just let me do the work and you can just lay there like a good little zoner. And once I’m done, maybe you will be more..inclined into doing what I say.” She opened her jaws and she licked along Snap’s neck and cheek again like she had a few times before. “How about it, Snap?”

“F-Fuck yourself!” Snap’s desperate voice called out. His eyes widened as he said this, filled with raw terror as his heart must surely be pounding. “I don’t care what you do to me! I will never bow down to you!”

Sandra tilted her head to one side. “Are you so sure about that? You don’t even know what I have planned for you, my dear little Snacks.” Sandra could feel Snap struggle with what remained of his strength, the rest of it burnt out from struggling and emotion from before. “But I will let you find out...”

Snap bared his teeth at this. He squirmed from side to side the best that he could, letting out a series of loud shouts. But despite his attempts, Snap was just too weak to get himself free. His weak attempts to get away were just so amusing. And eventually he seemed to just run out as he collapsed against the bed. Sandra had a feeling that he would resume struggling once she started to do what she intended. The same thing that she did with Skrawl... But even then, Snap would not be able to get free. He had warn himself out too much.

And this was a good time to make her move. While he was still in a weakened, helpless state.

“Come on, dear Snap. Let’s go ahead and have a little...fun.” Sandra lowered her head closer towards his once more. Her eyes were half way open, a smug smile on her face. Snap resumed trying to struggle, though his efforts were a little weaker from before. Sandra chuckled at this. “Oh dear Snacks, it won’t be that bad. Just close your eyes...”

“No!” Snap shouted.

“Like you have a choice.” Sandra narrowed her eyes for a moment before she grabbed into his cape and yanked him forward, lifting Snap partially off the bed. Her tail wrapped around him lightly, pressing up against him. She lightly traced his cheek and chin. “Now...let’s get started, my little ‘guest’...”

The room soon filled with Snap’s panicked, horrified screams.