To Lose Control

Part 5 of a series about Rudy dealing with a more cunning Terry.




Two months.

It had been two long months. Or could it have been longer? It was so hard to tell...

But regardless, it had been way too long. So much time wasted waiting by the phone... So much time wasted asking people around... So much time wasted going down to that damn police station, only to get the same answer over and over again.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we haven't found anything yet."

The same old story, over and over again. Mrs. Tabootie found herself gritting her teeth tightly, seeing through the spaces. Those fucking cops... Couldn't they do anything right? She had been waiting so long for any word about her missing son, and not one of them had figured out a thing about it. Not one of them found any clues, any sign that might lead them to where he is.

And when they suggested that he might be dead... She recalled how she wanted to strike them so badly. She did manage to keep herself from doing that, but man, it was so hard... She refused to believe that her son was dead. She refused to believe that he'd go down so easily. He was still alive out there somewhere. She knew this to be a fact.

He just had to be alive... He just had to...

Then, as she stood there, her fists clenched tightly, the array of emotions that swirled inside of her had begun to take their toll on her mind. She could feel tears welling up inside of her eyes and she could not stop them from streaming down her cheeks. She released a few small sniffles as the salty fluid dripped down from her face and onto the ground. She could feel herself suddenly losing strength and she dropped down onto one knee.

This hadn't been the first time she had done this. She could not begin to count the times that she had raged on inside of her mind, trying to shift the blame somewhere. In the end, she would remember that she, too, had some blame for it. She was the one who hadn't went with her son. Perhaps if she had...

But would it have changed anything? Joe had been trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that no one could have seen this coming. She tried to take comfort in that to ease her mind. But...it was just no use. She still could not stop herself from thinking of what could have been and how things could have happened differently.

If only she had...

She shut her eyes tightly, her shoulders shaking as she began to try. She whispered her silent apologies to her son over and over again. She knew that he could not hear them, but she felt better doing this. Perhaps, somehow, she could will him to hear it, and he would keep moving forward to find them, wherever he might be. And then everything would go back to normal and...

She let out a trembling sigh. She had been hoping for that off and on, but there was absolutely no change. Nothing to indicate that things were going to get better. Nothing to say that something positive was about to happen. All she could sense ahead of her was more harsh times.

Heh, since when was that any different from the norm anyway? She had gotten used to that at this point. She was almost feeling...numb to the whole thing.

And that terrified her. She did not want to think of what could happen if she stopped caring. She fought against her mind's urge to numb her. She tried to prevent herself from moving too forward. After all, what if they do find him? What if she turned around and her husband was there, coming in with good news?

As if expecting a change already, she found herself looking over her shoulder. She flinched when she saw nothing. Just the open door, the one that she pushed open as she had entered her son's room. Sighing softly, she moved foward, delving deeper into Rudy's bedroom.

It had become hard to enter here since his disappearance. A part of her wanted her to leave, wanted to prevent that nothing bad was happening, to act as if this was just some kind of dream. And yet here she was, silently walking further into the now empty room, devoid of any life except for herself. She hugged her arms to herself as she looked around, her eyes darting about left and right. The fact that it still looked like Rudy's room stung her horribly.

And there was his chalkboard. She reached over towards it and placed her hand against its rim. She bit her lip, imagining her son standing there and drawing something and showing it off. She smiled a little before she ran her finger under her eye, catching her tears. She sniffled and tried to calm herself down. Not that this was all that possible.

Her poor son... Why did this have to happen to him? Why did he have to disappear? He had already suffered hardship after hardship. Why did this have to be added onto it all? The same stinging emotions she had felt when Rudy had to learn to adjust to the pacemaker came back, now intensified and swirling inside of her mind at a more rapid rate.

She gritted her teeth at this. She knew something had to be done soon. She could not just sit here and allow her son to just... She had no idea what was going on. She just knew she had to find him somehow. And if the police aren't helping...

...then she'd do it herself.

But where would she even begin to look? Where could she go in order to find any signs of her son? Even if she went back to the forest where they camped out, she might not see any signs that he was there.

But still...she had to try something, right? She couldn't just sit here and do nothing. She was his mother, for crying out loud. She had been there for him before. When he rode his first bike, when he had his first accident...

...when he had been shot by Ms. Bouffant...

The large woman's stomach churned at that memory, burning up internally. She clenched her teeth tightly and she struggled to get the image out of her mind. But it was impossible. It just lingered there for several moments, and she was treated to a highly detailed iamge in her head of Rudy's face when he was shot, and how he fell into the ground in a pool of his own blood.

That damned woman... It was all her fault that Rudy had to wear a pacemaker. She wished that she had strangled her when she had the chance. Or at least do something to leave a permanent mark.

She forced herself to exhale deeply, trying her best to purge her mind of those thoughts. At least she could rest assured knowing that Ms. Bouffant was locked away in jail, where she could never hurt anyone again. Especially not her little boy.

Then she recalled, with a twisting gut, that Terry had escaped jail. She had almost forgotten about that, and she felt angry with herself that she did. She realized what this could mean, but... Would Terry even try something like that again? Would she...

"Hey dear! Dinner's ready!"

Mrs. Tabootie swiveled her head in the direction of her husband's voice. He had volunteered to make dinner when it became apparent that she was too emotional right now to think of cooking. She gave a small smile at this. Usually she was a bit annoyed by his interruptions. But today, it was welcomed.

She took one more glance at the chalkboard, feeling a sting in her stomach. Then she gave a small smile. She would find her son sooner or later. She just knew she would.

Without another thought, she turned her head and she proceeded out of the room.

sss

Snap couldn't stop himself from pacing back and forth, his arms folded behind his back. He didn't care if this got him looks from the other zoners. He needed to keep walking. He had too much energy built up inside of him. If he stopped now, he might...

"Snap... This isn't helping." Rapsheeba spoke up. "You need to try to relax. I'm sure that..."

Snap shot her a glare. "You're sure that what? Penny will come in and tell me that everything is fine? That they finally found Rudy?" Rapsheeba flinched at this before taking a step back. Snap narrowed his eyes further. "I bet you that she will come in and tell me that they still haven't found him." He shook his head slowly. "What makes you think that today will be any different?"

Rapsheeba hesitated, remaining where she stood for several moments. This did cause Snap to feel some level of guilt, but he just could not express it. Not when he had so much going on in his mind. So many thoughts... So many things to worry about...

His eyes widened when he felt a set of arms move aroud his body. He could feel the warmth of Rapsheeba's body coat over him as she pulled him into a tight embrace. He gritted his teeth and attempted to struggle, only to force himself to settle down after a few moments. He shut his eyes tightly as he leaned against her, silently seeking out her support. He could feel her immediately start rubbing his back, an attempt to help him feel better.

"I know how you must feel. We are all worried about him." Rapsheeba's voice was weak and tinged with sadness. "We all wish for him to be okay. But...you can't beat yourself up like this. You can't act this way. You're pushing us away, Snap. We want to help you..."

Snap forced a small sigh to exit out of his mouth. "I know I was really hard on you guys lately. I-I didn't mean to..."

"Of course not. We don't blame you. Just please...try to stay with us, okay? We are your friends. We want what is best for you." Rapsheeba whispered as she pulled him close, pressing her chin against the top of his head.

Snap furrowed his eyes at this. "Should I just forget about Rudy, then?"

A sharp gasp eminated from Rapsheeba's mouth. "No, of course not! We just don't want you tearing yourself up emotionally over this. We all need to be strong. I'm sure someone will find Rudy eventually."

Sap felt his heart sting at that word. Eventually... Yeah, they would find him all right. In some gutter in the middle of fucking nowhere with a knife to his heart... Okay that was pretty dark and grim, and he knew that the possibility of that may not be as high as he'd think. Still, the fact that it was a probable scenario still weighed heavily on his mind. He could feel tears burning against his eyes, despite his efforts to control them.

It had been too long, way too long, since he had last seen his best friend, his creator. How long? He would imagine at least two months. Regardless, it was just...so long since he had first heard the news of Rudy's disappearance. He felt his heart sting as he remembered that wretched memory.

And in the weeks that followed, Penny could only bring more and more bad news. It was usually the same. The police never found him. As Penny kep telling him this over and over, it really weighed down on his mind, putting pressure upon his shoulders. It had recently began to take its toll on him and he recalled all the times that he clutched his chest as he tried to control his emotions. The other zoners helped in any way that they could, but it didn't always work.

Especially lately.

"Please let me go..." Snap spoke through gritted teeth. He wriggled himself away from Rapsheeba. "I...I need to be alone..."

Rapsheeba stared at him sympathetically. "Are you sure, Snap?" She reached her hand out towards him. "I don't mind keeping you company if you..."

Snap raised his hand up, stopping her in her tracks. "No, I'll be fine on my own. Really. I'll... I'll be fine..." He lowered his head a little, emotions swirling around in his mind. "I will be okay.."

Rapsheeba curled her fingers inward and pulled her hand back. She stared at Snap for several moments. She bit her lip, clearly looking reluctant to leave him. She soon gave a small sigh as she turned herself to the side. "Very well, Snap. I'll leave you bee." She began to walk away. She soon paused and she looked over her shoulder. "But...call me if you need anything, okay?"

Snap nodded his head silently. He watched as Rapsheeba left the apartment building, leaving him all alone.

Well except for the other zoners, his neighbors, who simply stared at him. Most of them didn't bother asking him if there was any word on Rudy. They were only curious about his increased aggressive attitude, a side effect of the tension and stress that he's had to deal with.

He paid these zoners no mind as he made his way up into his bedroom. It was not his time to sleep, but he felt so emotionally drained right now. If Penny were to try to relay him any messages today, he trusted that Rapsheeba or Blocky would take care of that for him. He just...didn't think he could take hearing more bad news. Not today.

Snap had strong hunch that Terry Bouffant was behind this whole thing. There was just nothing else that made sense. He recalled how badly she wanted to control him, how badly she wanted to expose ChalkZone, and how she had shot him in the chest with a gun during court.

His blood heated up at that memory. Rudy didn't deserve that. He hadn't done anything to deserve that, and yet Terry still went out of her way to harm him. A little child... She had shot an innocent little child... He was glad when she had been locked away. That bitch deserved it after what she had done to his best friend.

And yet something told him that it wasn't over yet. That Terry was not yet finished. He couldn't help but feel as though she had escaped somehow. Penny hadn't mentioned if this was the case or not. But he knew...somehow, she had gotten out. And she was the reason Rudy was missing. She had taken him or even...

...or even killed him...

Snap shuddered at that thought. He didn't want to think that it was possible. He didn't want to accept that Rudy was...dead...

But he knew how desperate Terry had been at the court. He knew that she hated Rudy so much that she'd be willing to take him down by whatever means necessary. He knew that she would not hesitate if given the chance for revenge. They all knew how she was. They all knew what she was willing to do in order to get what she wanted.

But for now, the best thing for him to do was get some rest. A little bit of sleep would help him clear his mind. And if Penny came... Well even if she did bring only more bad news, at least he could rest assured that she was still okay.

And sooner or later, they would find Rudy. He wanted to believe that they would. And if Terry really was behind it, he would see to it that she paid for it. He would not let her get away with what she had done. A part of him almost hoped that Terry was involved just so that he could get back at her. He still had something to give her to 'thank' her for how she had blown his friend's heart apart.

Struggling to push those thoughts aside for now, Snap climbed up into his bed. He rested against the sort comfortableness of the blanket before laying down on his side. He tugged the blanket and moved it over his body. He snuggled up in his bed and forced himself to close his eyes, his heavy lids almost burning as they moved over his visual orbs. He took in a deep breath and he sighed.

Tomorrow is another day.

sss

"They still haven't found anything yet. I'm sorry."

The same old news. Penny couldn't really feel all that surprised anymore. While before, she would have reacted with some sense of numbness, at this point, she had gotten so used to this answer that she couldn't even feel her body responding. It was just the same old, same old to her. As if things there completely normal.

She just said there, numbed up, her heart still beating as normal, only with a slight weight added onto it. She stared down at her plate with a level of disinterest. Even if her stomach growled, she could not feel hungry. Kind of a strange paradox, eh? She would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious.

She wondered how Snap would feel once she told him the so-called 'news'. He would probably just shut down like before. He had been responding worse each time she told him. And it got harder for her to tell him as well. She began to wonder if she should just stop telling him. Not like it was going to change anything anyway. Rudy was missing,a nd whether or not she says the police hadn't found anything yet or not...Snap would still be up to date on the situation.

Though mostly numb, Penny did still feel, every so often, a brief chill rushing up through her body. She flinched at this, especially when it surged through her spine, sending jolts to her nerves everywhere. These weren't as bad as she made them sound, but at the same time, they were enough to make her freeze. In addition, her heart would twist a little. Very brief and only lasting a split second. Sometimes she doesn't even register that it happened.

What were they going to do at this point? Well, what could they do? There was not really a lot of options other than just sit here and wait for some good news. She almost scoffed at that. It seemed like good news was no longer a possibility...

She shut her eyes and turned her head away for a moment. Her mind flashed brief images of Rudy, and she felt herself shiver as she mentally watched him scream and struggle about, begging for someone to come and save him. Then he would look diredctly at her, causing her to jolt back and take in a sharp breath of hair. She breathed in and out quickly and it took her a few moments to settle down.

She looked upon the plate of food again. Just like before, it did not look very appetizing. She just wasn't really in the mood to eat. She fiddled around with her fork a little bit, nudging the peas around. But she made no attempt to eat what was on her plate.

"Penita, I wish you would eat." She could hear her mother say. "You have barely eaten the past couple of days. That's not good for you."

Penny flinched at this. She knew that her mother was right. She had been eating poorly. She just couldn't help it. How could she eat when her best friend was out there somewhere, alone, hurt, possibly dying..? A part of her wanted to eat; she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Besides, it's only been about five days. She would be fine without much food for a little while longer, right? She wanted to wait to hear some good news. She wanted to know that Rudy was safe and sound. Then she would eat.

Just a little while longer...

Her mother, however, was not going to have it. She could hear her getting up from her seat and heading over in her direction. Penny lowered her head, attempting to avert eye contact. She was aware of her mom's shadow over her. Even then, she still did not look up at her. She could soon feel her mom's hands on her face and force her head to be tilted up.

Then her eyes got in contact with her mother's. Penny could feel her body stiffening as she saw an upclose view of her mother's eyes. They looked at one another for several moments, silent messages sending back and forth between each other. It took Penny a few seconds to notice the glistening in her mother's eyes. She looked really worried for her. But all Penny could do was just grit her teeth and try to look away.

This prompted her mother to tighten her grip on her. "Please... Just eat, Penny. Please... I can't stand to see you like this." She began to gently caress her daughter's cheek a little, her right hand going up and down. "I know you are worried about Rudy. We all are. But you are not going to do anyone any favors if you just sit here and not eat anything. So please.. Eat."

Penny growled softly and made another jerk to get away. She tensed up her neck muscles and moved about from one side to the other. After a few seconds, she managed to free herself with a strong jerk to one side. She leaned away from her mother and attempted to put a little distance between the two of them. "I'm fine, mom..."

"No, don't give me that." Her mother cut her off before she could finish. "You have been telling me that one too many times. I am not going to take no for an answer." The woman gripped her shoulders tightly, to the point where it almost caused a little bit of pain. "Now please.. Just eat. I'm telling you this because I love you. Eat your meal. I'll let you leave if you just...eat."

Penny gritted her teeth in response to this. She wasn't sure if she could make herself eat. And the food had gotten pretty chilly at this point. Would she even want it anymore? Part of her mind just wanted to tell her mom to leave her the fuck alone.

But...that wouldn't solve anything, would it? And her mom had every right to worry about her. She couldn't keep starving herself like this. If something happened to her and her mom grieved, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. And what of Snap? Who was going to bring him the good news that Rudy was found, at some point in the hopefully near future, if she was not around to tell him?

Penny loosened herself, giving into her mother's embrace. Loose, with no more tension, Penny just leaned against her mother. She could feel tears burning against the back of her eyes. She released a series of low himpers, her lip quivering slightly. The emotion that she had been partially lacking in had come back strong in a vengeance.

"I'm so sorry, mama... I really am... I just.. I'm just so..." Penny shut her eyes. She could feel a few tears trickling down her face. "I miss him so much..."

"I know, Penita... I know..." Her mother embraced her firmly. She ran her hand up and down her back, whispering a few soft, comforting words to her. "I'm sure they will find him soon. Now please..try to chin up." Her mother pulled back and gently cupped her chin. "You wouldn't want to have Rudy come back and see you like this, would you?"

Penny shook her head slowly. "N-No..."

Her mother smiled at this. She leaned in towards her and pressed a quick kiss against her forehead. She then stroked her cheek gently and said softly, "Please try to eat some of your food. I'll be happy if you eat at least half." She gave a pause, and there was a flash of something more solemn on her face. "We'll go down to the police station again if you want. Who knows?" She smiled. "Maybe something's changed already."

Penny could tell that her mom was just trying to comfort her. She could see how she was really feeling. Her eyes gave it away instantly. Her mom had doubts that anything changed this fast. She just wanted to try to cheer her up by trying again. Well, she could not blame her mother for trying anyway.

With a quick nod, Penny looked back down at her food. She smacked her lips a little bit. The smell of the food invaded her nostrils. She had to admit, it didn't smell all that bad. And she was a little hungry, even if she was reluctant to eat anything. She had to at least try to make herself eat something. Surely if she took one bite, the rest would follow suit...

And sure enough it did. Slowly but surely, Penny began to eat her food. She too smell, tentative bites at first. She shuddered at how cold the food was at this point. Once she managed to push that aside, however, it became easier to eat faster and faster. She had almost forgotten how hungry she was.

As she continued to eat, her thoughts began to drift. She once more began to wonder just what kind of situation Rudy was in. It had to be awful if he was gone for this long with no attempt of contact. The first thing that came across her mind, that caused her to nearly freeze and choke on her food, was the idea of his heart having some more damage done to it.

Rudy's heart was already in poor condition thanks to what Terry Bouffant had done to him. Penny could feel her mind burn in hatred at the memory of that wretched woman. She would never get that awful image out of her head, of how she shot Rudy in cold blood...

It was a miracle that Rudy survived at all. But he unfortunately never recovered completely. And now he was stuck with a pacemaker and a reduced physical life. They just couldn't chance him getting his heart too worked up; who knows what would happen? And it was for this reason that she was a little iffy about the camping trip. But she thought that, since he was not alone, it would be fine. But then...

She tried not to let herself get too locked up in that. At least the police were trying to find him, and Terry was not that likely to find him first. If the police hadn't yet found him, there was little chance that she did. And besides, after the trouble she had gotten into, would Terry really take that chance?

...then again, she had before...

Penny shook the thought out of her head. She had wanted to maintain more positive about the situation. Getting worked up for the chance that Terry had Rudy was not going to help, especially if it wasn't that likely of a scenario. Rudy probably just got lost somewhere in the woods. The police just need to try harder to find him.

But then, it wasn't really that hard to believe that Terry would take him again. She had a personal vendetta against him. If she was willing to shoot him, then what more was she willing to do to him? She shuddered to think about it.

She resumed eating her food. A lot slower than before, but still steadily, at a constant rate. She chewed her food slowly and deliberately, each swallow feeling like it took an extra effort. She could feel it go down into her stomach like a rock falling into a lake. She didn't stop eating her food and drinking her drink, hoping that, if she kept this up, she would be able to calm her nerves.

But she knew that she wouldn't be able to rest until they found Rudy. She would not be able to relax until she was able to rest assured that he was back home where he belonged. For now, all she could do was just sit here and pray that something good will come. And she hoped that Terry was not involved with Rudy's capture. If she was... She tried hard not to think about it and she forced herself to focus on eating.

sss

Things were rather quiet as the two friends sat next to each other. They leaned up against the bench and looked up at the sky. Neverchanging, never moving. And yet they found themselves staring as though the sky was going to deliver to them some kind of good news.

Yeah, like that was going to happen. They both knew that it was pointless excepting something as stupid as that. No matter how long they did this, nothing was going to change. Slowly, the two of them lowered their heads and stared at the ground.

Rapsheeba wished that there was something that she could say or do to cheer up Blocky. The poor guy hadn't really been feeling himself since Rudy disappeared. Not that she could blame him. Blocky cared so much for the boy, just like Snap and her and so many other zoners. To think that he could really be gone... Well, that was not something that any of them wanted to think about too much.

Rapsheeba tried her best to be more positive. She tried to convince herself that, so long as she remained positive, something good will come out of this. One day, they would find Rudy and things would be fine. They just had to be...

And yet, with how much time had been passing with no change, she really began to worry. She could feel herself starting to lose hope, despite her efforts to remain more vigilant. She licked her lips slowly as she tried to keep her mind focused on more optimistic thoughts. It was hard, however, especially with how her heart twisted and weighed down. She clenched her teeth and seethed through it. Wasn't anything right going to happen soon?

She looked over at Blocky. The rectangular zoner was hunched over, his flat body stretching downward in an arch. He fumbled with his fingers a little bit, slipping over one another. His eyes were part way open and quite dull. He hardly spoke, remaining eerily silent most of the time. The only sound that he'd made was an occasional shaky gasp or sigh.

Seeing Blocky like this hurt her so much. Rapsheeba missed the way that he laughed and giggled and tried to have fun. She wanted to see him play around with Snap again. She wanted to see him having a good time. She wanted to see him be himself. Not this...depressed state that he had himself trapped him for the past two months since Rudy vanished from the scene.

But she did not want to rush it. Blocky was grieving and she'd feel awful if she forced him out of that state just because it made her feel uncomfortable. She just hoped that he knew that she would be there for him in case he needed help. She would be more than happy to do whatever it took to help him out.

She let out a sigh and she looked up towards the sky. She wondered just what could have happened to Rudy. Snap believed that it had to do with that Ms. Bouffant person. The thought did terrify her, especially knowing what she had done to Rudy before. But she did not want to jump to that conclusion so quickly. Perhaps something else had happened instead. Perhaps it was... She was not able to think of anything.

Well despite their hardships at the moment, she knew that, sooner or later, something would change. Something positive would come out of this and they would be fine. It would be all right.

Blocky let out a trembling sigh. "Th-This is getting so much harder... Day in and day out.. Always the same. Always..." He shut his eyes and shivered. There were few noticeable tears that went down his face. "Wh-Why can't things just go back to the way they were...?"

Rapsheeba wished that she could provide him an answer. She wished that there was something that she could say to help him understand what was happening. But what could she say? She could only try to reassure him. But she could not tell him anything that wouldn't be a repeat of what she had already told him.

She breathed in and out slowly. There was only one thing she could think of to help him. And even then, it would only settle down his nerves for a little while. Still, even just a small bit of calmness would do him some good. He was not going to be able to function for long if he let the burning acid of stress hurt himself from the inside out.

Rapsheeba reached over and she gently touched Blocky's shoulder. She gently gripped it, squeezing it carefully. The zoner flinched as though he had been hurt. Then he forced himself to look up at her. "Come on..." She gave him the best smile that she could muster. "Why don't we go through a walk outside of town? The nice scenery may do you a little bit of good."

Blocky sniffled for a bit and then wiped his tears. "I-I suppose.."

Without saying much of a word, the two got up from the bench and began to make their way out of town. They did pass by a view zoners who asked about Rudy or asked about Blocky. The rectangular zoner did not bother talking to them. Rapsheeba gave them quick responses, trying not to be rude but at the same time trying not to spend too much time answering them. Some of the zoners were annoyed by this while others were more understanding.

At least it didn't take them too much longer to get outside of town. Not that they would fully escape zoners here. There were still some that roamed around these parts. They might end up getting caught in another question and answer situation. But for now, at least they could concentrate on the generally peaceful silence of this area. Standing side by side to each other, the two zoners began to make their way along the grassy hills.

Rapsheeba could already feel herself getting better. A nice walk outside of town was exactly what she needed to settle down her nerves. She sucked in a deep breath of fresh hair. And then she exhaled slowly, feeling her anxiety drift away with the breath. For a few moments, she had almost forgotten that she had been upset at all.

She turned down to her friend. Blocky still didn't seem all that happy. He might be a little calm, even if it was difficult to tell for certain. But still, it was quite obvious that he needed more help. The walk alone was not going to work. She would need to come up with something else instead. But what could she...

Up ahead, she could see what looked to be a pool of some kind. That was it. Maybe this could help Blocky feel better. He did like going into the water every so often, didn't he? Ever since he got lessons, he did enjoy the occasional swim or two. Yeah, this would be perfect to lift his spirits up a little. Grabbing onto his hand, she began to move in that direction quickly.

The pool itself wasn't that large. And it was rather simple in design. It looked as if it were designed by someone a bit younger than Rudy. At most, there was a diving board, though the pool itself was small and round. Still, it was a pool regardless and it was still large enough for her and him tos wim around in.

Thankfully there was no one else here. Either this place was brand new or whoever as here had decided to leave. Well that left more room for her and Blocky then. Giving the flat zoner a smile, she quickened her pace and soon they were on the small hill that contained the swimming pool.

At this point, Rapsheeba didn't really care if she didn't have a bathing suit on or not. That water did look really inviting and she could use a bit of anxiety relief herself. She released Blocky and she rushed over to where the pool was, her feet pounding against the ground. She soon reached the steps that took her up to the top of the diving board. She pressed her feet against it and, once she gained her balance, began to walk towards the front of the floppy board where she would jump from.

Looking over, she could see that Blocky hadn't yet attempted to jump in. Rapsheeba was about to say something, but when she caught the look in his eyes, she realized that something was off. Blocky didn't look upset; he looked scared. Nervous about something regarding this board. But why?

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Rapsheeba cupped a hand to her mouth, calling out to him. "Why don't you come over and jump into the water? I'm sure it's fine!"

Blocky fumbled his fingers together nervously, his teeth clenched slightly. "I-I don't know... I-It doesn't look like it's safe..." Blocky took a few steps closer to the pool. He grimaced as he stared down at the pool, as though there was some kind of monster waiting for him there. "Th-This seems too strange.. Wh-Why aren't there any other..."

Rapsheeba had a feeling she knew what was going on. Blocky was so shaken by Rudy's disappearance that he felt...vulnerable was the only word that she could use to describe it. He was put on edge and was extra cautious about things now. He felt as if he didn't have a choice. If even Rudy could disappear, who was to say that he couldn't?

But he was being a little silly right now. Even if he had a good reason to act so tense, so worked up, in the end, he was only hurting himself with this attitude. If he didn't lighten up soon, she could only imagine what that would do to his psyche. He needed to try to relax more. He was only going to cause more self damage if he kept this up. Not to mention, worry everyone else, especially her.

"It's all right, Blocky. Nothing is going to happen. Everything will be fine." Rapsheeba told him, trying to sound as comforting as possible. She gave him a gentle smile and reached out towards him a little. "You can trust me. Come on over.." She motioned with her hand. "It's only water. It's not going to hurt you."

Blocky bit his lip. He looked up at Rapsheeba for several moments before he looked back down at the pool. "It's not the water I'm worried about..."

Rapsheeba let out a soft sigh. It was clear that Blocky was not going to move from that spot. The only thing that would get him in there was if she showed him that there was nothing to be scared of. And to do that, she needed to jump into the water. Once she came out of the water and everything was fine, Blocky would forget about his fears and follow suit.

Or at least, she hoped that he would.

The singer zoner walked closer to the edge of the diving board. She tensed up her leg muscles and she began to wobble up and down. She ignored Blocky's pleas with her to stop. This was something that needed to be done, otherwise he was just going to keep himself locked up in fear forever. He needed some kind of wake up call or something, and if this was soemthing she had to do to help him, then so be it.

With one more tightening around her leg muscles, she lowered herself down and released herself in a single spring. She could feel her feet leaving the cold hardness of the diving board and up into the air. For a few seconds, she practically levitated in the air, as though she was flying. Then she arched her body forward and brought her hands out in front of her. She began to dive downward. She could feel the rush of air pushing up against her face. Then, a couple seconds later, she hit the water.

She could feel the cold water swirling all around her as she sunk a little into the pool. She opened her eyes and she looked all around. The water here was so crystal clear. The design of the bottom did look a bit odd, with all the jagged markings. But otherwise, it was just fine. Turning her head up, she swan her way towards the surface. It took her only a few moments before she broke out of the water's surface.

Coughing and spluttering, eventually Rapsheeba was able to smile in Blocky's direction. "It's fine, Blocky! You can come on in!" She raised her hand up and motioned to him to come over. "Everything is all right!"

Blocky moved closer to the water's edge. He clenched his teeth as he stared down at the waving water before him. He gritted his teeth and seethed. "I-I'm still not so sure about..."

Rapsheeba swam over towards the edge of the pool. She grabbed onto it with her hands, helping herself float here and relax as she attempted to comfort her friend. "It's okay. You're not going to..."

Suddenly, Rapsheeba could feel something rumbling all around her. She jerked herself back a little and she looked around. Something was very wrong here. Why was the ground shaking like this? Why was...

Then she realized, in horror, that the pool itself was starting to close. It moved at an increasingly rapid rate. Her eyes widened in horror and she tried to pull herself out. But despite her best efforts, despite Blocky trying to help her out, it was of no use. The water around her had turned into some kind of stucky substance and held her in place.

No.. No... This couldn't be happening... Rapsheeba didn't want to believe that something like this could really be taking place right now. She licked her lips rapidly and she tried once more to free herself, only to somehow make herself even more stuck.

Soon the edges of the 'pool' pressed up against her neck, submerging her body but giving her some form of air. She jerked herself from side to side as she tried to escape. But it was not working, and soon she wore herself out completely. She panted heavily as she leaned herself against one of the edges of the former pool. She could feel her muscles burning and aching as she looked around, trying to figure out just what was going on.

Blocky looked at her in horror, his mouth having dropped open and his body shaking. "S-See...? I-I told you something was wrong...!" He took a small step back. His wild expression looked all around as he tried to find whatever enemy had done this. "They must be around here somewhere... Waiting to strike..."

Though Rapsheeba did not like the idea of making Blocky head out on his own, she had to do something and fast. She did not want him to become stuck in here like she was. Even if she got caught, Blocky still had a chance at freedom, a chance to warn everyone. "Run! Get out of here now! Before they get you, too!"

Blocky hesitated. He bit his lip nervously as he stared down at her. He shook his head slowly. "I don't want to leave you..."

"I know, but you have to warn everyone about this! You're the only one who can!" Rapsheeba took a moment to try to struggle some more herself. But of course, she was making literally zero progress. She gave Blocky a comforting smile. "I-I will be okay. I promise. Just..get out of here... I don't want to see you get captured too."

"But... Rapsheeba..."

"Blocky, please. Just...go.. Please."

Blocky looked at her, his eyes widening in horror. He clearly didn't want to leave her, and kept staring at her pleadingly. He kept jerking himself forward and then back, struggling to figure out just what he should do. He licked his lips slowly, and his eyes almost seemed to get dull as he realized that there was nothing that he could do. Without saying a word, he turned himself around and he began to run off.

Rapsheeba watched as he left with a sad yet hopeful expression. At least he stood a chance to get away. At least there was some chance that someone could be warned about this, before something could...

She could feel a shadow being casted upon her. She stiffened up as she could practically feel it crawling straight through her soul. She didn't look dare move, not even breathe. She just remained still, shutting her eyes tightly.

Then she could hear the footsteps approaching. She could feel her body shaking and trembling as she whimpered softly. She did not want to appear weak or anything. Yet she could not even muster up an attempt to glare at her captor or even say anything. She just...never felt so terrified before. She flinched as she felt her blood turn into solid blocks of ice. Even breathing became rather painful.

"I am so sorry..."

Rapsheeba widened her eyes at this, stiffening up. Such a sickly sounding voice, and yet she recognized whom it was. She could feel her heart sink down lower. No...it was impossible. It couldn't be him... He wouldn't have...

"But they did promise that they would not hurt you. They only want to talk to you." The voice continued. "Please...don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be..."

Rapsheeba felt her body give a few shudders. She forced herself to look behind her. The Day Zone sun blocked some of his face, darkening it up. But she could still easily recognize the person that stood before her. She felt her brain awash with a horrific sense of disbelief. It took her several moments before she could even dare utter his name.

"Rudy...?"

sss

"I'm starting to think that maybe Terry really is behind this..." Penny spoke softly. She kept her gaze averted away from Snap, her teeth clenched tightly. "I-I didn't want to think it was possible. But it seemed that everything else was exhausted..."

Snap nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. Trust me, I'm not comfortable with the idea either." He raised his hand up in gesture. "But like you said, there isn't much else it could be. If the police hadn't found a trace of him even in that forest..."

Penny grimaced, obviously remembering all the bad news she got regarding that. Then she gave a small sigh. "A part of me wants to think that he's just lost. But most of me is starting to agree that this has to be foul play."

Snap didn't say a word. He didn't need to in order to express to Penny how much he agreed with her. He nodded his head up and down slowly, allowing the information to slowly sink into his mind. He couldn't help but grimace as he began to process it all, feeling a cold shudder go through his body. To think that something like this could really have happened...

He was a little surprised that Penny was starting to agree with him. Not that she never agreed before, but he just didn't expect her to change her mind this easily. Just the other day, she wanted to believe that Rudy was just lost, not wanting to think of the horrible alternative. Then again, just how long had she really been thinking about this?

Regardless, the fact that they now both agreed on what happened, that was partially a blessing. At least now they could concentrate on trying to move things forward, come up with a better plan and all that. Before, it was hard to think of anything as they had little idea of where to start. But since they now both agreed on what the cause could be, they could work towards preparations, and get a more solid plan.

But...hmm...where to start? If Terry really was behind Rudy's missing status, then they had a huge job ahead of themselves. At the very least, they would have been able to pinpoint him in the Real World. Rudy would not willingly take Terry into ChalkZone, so that ruled out this place.

But that only made things so much harder for themselves. If they were forced to go into the Real World, wouldn't they have less of a chance? Penny could not draw anything to life in the Real World. There was simply no option for that. And what of Penny's mom? Getting to these places? Trying not to raise suspicion? Sure they could use the portals wisely, but it was still a risk.

At least in ChalkZone, Penny would have been able to create something that could help them. Specifically, they could have created a scanner of some kind to hone in on, say, body heat, and then they could have used that to help them get closer to finding Rudy.

But as they were now? It would be so much harder to pull this off...

But Snap wasn't ready to give up. Neither was Penny. They would figure out some way to help out their dear friend. They would try to figure out a way to help him escape whatever madness he had himself trapped in. They just needed to figure out a way to locate Terry. Once they did that...

That brought out another issue, however.

"Where would Terry even go...?" Snap whispered softly. He could feel how his voice trembled at that question. It was bothering him even more than he thought it would. And it was already a huge issue to begin with. "We know that she got out. But where could she have gone...?"

Penny winced at this. She pulled her head back, slowly turning it to the side. "I...really have no clue... I mean... That woman could be anywhere..."

Snap nodded his head solemnly. "And last I checked, she hadn't been found. The police are obviously still looking for her. She had given them the slip so far."

"And if Rudy has been trapped with her this whole time..." Penny's voice trailed off as her eyes widened in horror.

Snap could feel himself freeze at that statement. He could feel a rush of cold go through him and he couldn't help but tremble. He really didn't want to think that this could have happened. But he and Penny both knew how Terry was with Rudy. If that nasty woman got another chance against him, she would take it. And with Rudy's heart being so weak...

"He might still be alive..." Penny added quickly. She used a more hopeful tone this time as she spoke, even if she was still uncertain herself. "I-I mean... She probably would have left his...his...corpse...around somewhere for someone to find..."

"Y-Yeah... She may have done that..." As much as what Penny said squicked him out, it did bring him some level of hope. "After all, she didn't care if people saw her shoot him earlier... A-And she seems like the type who would want to flaunt when she got things to go her way..."

It was a small light in the dark. A chance of hope that Rudy was still alive. If that Ms. Bouffant woman still had that ego of hers with her, then she would likely still have Rudy alive, if she had him at all. Even if she turned out to be innocent this time, she was their biggest suspect. Even Vinnie Raton wouldn't have gone this far, as far as either of them could tell. And they both laughed at the idea of Reggie or Mr. Wilter doing anything. Especially after the concern they both showed Rudy when this whole fiasco began.

But the issue was still that...they had no idea where Terry could have gotten off to. None of them had an idea where she could be hiding. They had some ideas, but nothing concrete. With a few locations in mind, they would need to try them all, but just...how would they go about it?

The blue and white zoner realized that they would likely need some form of help with this. They would need to gather up a couple other zoners to help them figure out what they could do about this. He was fully aware that ther were other zoners who were greatly worried about Rudy. He knew that many of them would be more than happy to lend a helping hand for the Great Creator.

Especially after his ordeal with Ms. Bouffant...

The first zoner tha he thought of could help was Rapsheeba. She was a well known zoner around these parts. She could early spruce up a massive group of zoners that would be willing to help any way that they could. Even if there wasn't much that they could do while in ChalkZone, every little bit counts. Perhaps they could find a way to contribute or even willing to dare to enter the Real World to...

Suddenly Snap stiffened up when he could hear screaming coming his way. It was faint at first, but rapidly grew in volume. He and Penny moved closer together as they looked left and right, trying to figure out just which direction this sound was coming from. It took them a few seconds to realize that this shout was not out of rage or anything; it was fear.

But that only made them feel even more worried about what was going on. What could have happened to make this zoner so scared? And just who was this zoner anyway? As the sound got closer, however...

"That's Blocky!" Cried out Snap. He stiffened his body up as he looked left and right frantically. "S-Something must have happened to him!"

"Or to someone else." Penny pointed out. She didn't bother dwelling on the specifics for now. There was no need for that. She gave him a small nod before she stated, "Come on! Let's go catch up to him!"

Snap didn't need to be told twice. Within moments, the two of them immediately dashed off in the direction where the scream had come from. They pounded their feet heavily against the ground, trying to move as quickly as possible. Their tongues hung out, flapping a little against the rush of air. They ran around anyone who was in their way, any object that stood in their path, and continued to head to wherever the scream was originating from.

It didn't take them that long to find Blocky rushing towards them. He was breathing heavily, his eyes wide as though he had seen some kind of ghost or something. Almost all color had faded away from his face, making him look almost like a white triangle. If it weren't for the unique way he was drawn, it would have been easy to mistake him for someone else from this distance.

It took a few more moments, but they were soon caught up to him. They stopped a few feet in front of him and watched him in shocked silence as the zoner panted heavily, his hands placed on his thighs. He stayed like this for several moments, attempting to catch his breath. Snap and Penny exchanged looks of concern before they looked back at Blocky. They stared at him silently, waiting for him to become more relaxed and settle down so that he could tell them what was going on.

Poor Blocky... It hurt Snap to see him like this. It was bad enough when he was in a depressed mood and barely talked. But now he was screaming and shivering and looking like he had seen a ghost or something. Snap bit his lip tightly, trying to figure out just what had his friend so spooked. There had to be a reason he was acting like this. But..just what could that be...?

"Blocky...? Blocky, what's wrong?" Snap whispered as he moved forward towards his friend. He raised his hands up, motioning them up and down as he tried to settle down his friend. But so far, the flat zoner didn't even attempt to settle down. Snap grabbed onto his shoulders. "Blocky, it's me! Your friend! You're safe now!"

Penny moved in closer, noticing that Snap's words weren't enough to settle him down. She lowered herself slightly so that she could be eye level with him. "Snap is right, Blocky. You're with us now. You are safe. Please... you do not need to be scared."

Blocky still didn't settle down. It took several attempts from Snap and Penny to get him to start calming down. And it took a ton of effort to do that. Repeated calm words and gentle gestures eventually began to work. They started to get through to the zoner and they watched as his body started to relax a little, his screaming dissolving into whimpering.

But even when he appeared to have become calm, this was not entirely the case. His eyes were still wild, darting left and right. His body still shook as though he were still being threatened. He hudled in against himself, his fingers fumbling against each other, his teeth gritted slightly. Barely noticeable, but it was still there. And even when he looked at thim, there was no flicker of safety in his eyes. The poor guy still thought he was in danger, despite their reassurances.

When Blocky did settle down enough to speak, his voice was low and raspy, likely due to the screaming that he had been doing earlier. "I-I saw... I saw..." His voice trailed off for several moments as he panted, struggling to keep himself from hyperventilating again. Whatever happeend, it had clearly traumatized poor Blocky. "R-R-Rapsheeba.."

At this, Snap immediately froze, his heart skipping several beats. He exchanged a look of horror with Penny before looking back at the shivering, triangular zoner. "What about Rapsheeba...?" He asked softly. He licked his lips nervously, afraid to hear the answer, and yet still longing for the answer. When Blocky didn't answer right away, Snap found himself gripping Blocky's shoulders tighter, to the point of nearly causing him pain. "Blocky, what happened?!"

The rectangular zoner looked from him, to Penny, and back to him again. He licked his lips slowly, his lower lip trembling. It looked as if it was taking him a lot of energy to even try to speak. Snap struggled not to shake Blocky; he didn't want to frighten him further. But the urge was getting stronger and if Blocky didn't tell him soon...

"Sh-She was captured..."

Penny gasped at this, putting her hands to her mouth. "She was...what...?"

Blocky lowered his head. "I-I saw it happened... Sh-She told me to run... I wanted to help her but I...I was too scared, I..." He looked over at Snap. "I'm so sorry..."

Snap felt as though the world around him had shut down. He could feel his heart stop beating, his mind racing with several thoughts. He struggled to control his breathing, hyperventilation threatening to take over. He couldn't speak for several moments. All Snap could do was just...stare out at the ground, into nothingness, as his mind slowly processed this dreadful information.

Rapsheeba had been...captured..? Oh gawd no... Not someone else that he cared about.. Not Rapsheeba... No... This couldn't be true. Oh gawd, please let this be some kind of horrible nightmare...

He looked over at Blocky as he finally managed to get his breathing under control. Then he managed to say, "Take us there..."

"W-What...?"

"You heard me..." Snap spoke firmly. "Take us to where this had happened."

sss

Rapsheeba let out a groan as she slowly opened up her eyes. Everything was kinda dark and blurry for a while, even though she could detect the presence of something bright hitting against her face. It was such a confusing contrast, she had no idea what to think of it. She licked her lips slowly and let out a soft moan, slowly turning her head from side to side.

Her vision began to slowly sharpen. As it did so, she began to see more blurs and colors come into view. She blinked her eyes slowly, allowing more things to become clear and sharp to her. She let out a small yawn, trying to drive off some of the grogginess that had a hold of her. Then she attempted to move...

...only to realize that she could not. There was something thick and strong holding her against some kind of solid surface. No matter how much she squirmed about, there was no loosening herself up. At first, she did not react too much to it, feeling a bit too groggy for that. But once she was able to regain more of her senses...

The singer zoner could feel her heart start to skip beats. She blinked her eyes rapidly, each time causing her vision to get even sharper, the shadows and blobs being replaced with more exact shapes and colorations. And as she looked around, she began to quickly realize that she was not back at home.

But where was she? This place... It was nothing like anything she had seen before. It was not anything remarkable at first. A log cabin. She had seen those before. But this was...just way too detailed to be any one she had been to before. There was just something about this that was...different. Something that was...not necessarily off, but told her this couldn't be from ChalkZone. No log cabin she knew of was this remarkably detailed and sharp.

But if it wasn't ChalkZone-based, then the only other thing that it could be...

...was if she was in the Real World.

As soon as she had that thought, she could feel her body stiffen up immediately. If that is where she was indeed, if she was in the Real World... That did not solve as many issues as it did create more questions. Her head became alive with many questioning thoughts.

How did she get into the Real World? How did she end up in this place? Did someone bring her here? And why was she hooked down? Did...Did someone capture her...?

And that was when she started to get flashbacks in her head. Flicker after flicker, each one bright like the flash of a camera's light, she could see images in her head. She could not see too much and there was too much muddling. But she was still able to see specific images. Ones that caused her blood to freeze inside her body, turning into a burning ice.

Rudy had something to do with this... She didn't want to believe it. She tried to figure out some other possibility. But...she knew it to be true. That was one image that remained the strongest in her mind, due to how shocking it had been when she found out. Rudy was the one who captured her.

But...But why would he do that...? She didn't want to think that he had turned traitor. And he did apologize when he captured her, right? Didn't he mention someon else? Rudy must have been forced into this, but still...

Rapsheeba could hear the sound of a door opening up. She swung her head over, narrowing her eyes slightly as she watched a shadow stretching along the ground. It seemed a bit too tall to be Rudy. Or Vinnie for that matter. Rapsheeba gritted her teeth as Terry Bouffant emerged into the room.

Rapsheeba hadn't really encountered Terry directly herself. But from what she had been told, she was a nasty, disgusting woman and she should take caution when talking with her. Indeed, the woman's twisted smile and her very gait gave away her menacing, calculating demeanor. Rapsheeba could feel her heart nearly stop beating as the red-haired woman made her way closer towards her. Rapsheeba could only pull herself back as far as she could go, wondering just what this woman wanted with her.

"I see you are awake. That is good. I would have hated to have to wait longer." Terry's predictable statement had an eerie tinge to it, making Rapsheeba shudder. "I see Rudy was a good little boy and got you for us. He has become..quite cooperative..."

Rapsheeba narrowed her eyes at this and growled. So...she was right after all. Rudy really had been forced into this. And by Terry. Of course it would be Terry. Rapsheeba jerked herself from side to side as she attempted to get free. When her attempts kept failing, she collapsed against the large board she had been tied to. She panted a few times before she hissed out, "What the fuck have you done to Rudy?!"

The red-haired woman tilted her head to the side. She raised her hands up at her sides. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Rapsheeba hissed. "Don't you dare lie to me! Rudy would never do something like this! And you just admitted that..."

"Take it as you will. I don't care." Terry moved even closer. She paced back and forth in front of Rapsheeba, eyeing her up and down like she was just some toy she had found somewhere. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she scrutinized her. "I would have preferred someone larger. But I can understand if you were the only one that he could get a hold of..."

A larger one? For what? Rapsheeba was almost tempted to ask. But the fear of the answer caused her to keep silent. She simply gritted her teeth and snarled in the woman's general direction.

It was so hard to believe just how fast everything was moving along. After a couple of months with very little progress, now it felt as though everything was happening at once. Not only did she figure out where Rudy was, but she also learned, in these past couple minutes, that Terry had been his captor and that she had done..something to him to make him work for her. A threat? Brainwashing? She wasn't sure, but that didn't change the fact that Rudy was now working for Terry.

That part did make her heart sting and twist. But she didn't let it bother her too much. She couldn't really be that upset with Rudy over this. It wasn't his fault that this was going on. It wasn't his fault that Terry had him in her possession again. And at least he still had remorse. Which was more than she could say for a certain bitch.

It was so tempted to punch that smug, smirking face of hers. If only she could free one of her arms, she would give Terry something to smile about. She would ensure that she would never forget what happens when you mess with her friends like this.

"I am sure you are wondering why you are here. I could tell you... Yeah, why not? Not like you can tell anyone anyway. And I feel you have every right to know why you were captured, right..?"

Rapsheeba merely snarled in response. Terry chuckled and continued on as though nothing happened.

"If you think I am going to hurt you, I can safely say that you can put your mind at ease. I had already promised that boy I wouldn't hurt you. This was the only way I could get him to agree to let me speak to one of you...zoners I believe you are called?" Terry waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, I want you to answer a few questions."

"Why don't you ask Rudy?" Rapsheeba immediately regretted telling her that. She didn't want to draw Terry's attention on Rudy more than it already was.

But all Terry did was shrug her shoulders. "I feel that these questions are easier to ask a zoner directly than the boy. I mean sure, he's already provided us with some interesting information about ChalkZone..."

Rapsheeba could feel her hear twist at this. Even though she wanted to believe that Rudy was forced into this, it still hurt nonetheless that he gave away such information to someone like this. Just what could he have been thinking? And just what did Terry do to make him relinquish said information?

But she tried not to let it get to her too much. Her attention returned to Terry; she had to keep her eye on her. She never knew what she was going to do. This woman had become unpredictable, and she could only imagine what kind of information she wanted her for.

"I know this is pretty personal and all..." Terry paced from side to side in front of her. She tilted her head to one side a little, one of her eyes looking directly at her. "And I know this might be a little personal of me to ask you. But...I really do have to know, and you..." She gave a quick chuckle as she shifted herself around. "...I'm sure you would be good enough to provide the answers to these questions..."

Rapsheeba did not like the way this woman was saying these things. She cringed herself back further, baring her teeth at her. She released a low growl, a weak attempt to make Terry back off. All it did was make her chuckle even more, irritating the singer zoner. With a low hiss, she grolwed, "And just what kind of question were you thinking of...?"

Terry gave her a sick, twisted smile. One that shot something sharp and cold through the singer zoner's body, making it tremble a few times. Terry had not yet said anything, but she could already detect the thick tension in the air, and how everything just suddenly began to feel so much heavier.

Terry reached over and she placed her hand against Rapsheeba's cheek. This sudden gesture made Rapsheeba squirm about, struggling to pull her head away from Terry. She seethed through her clenched teeth and she growled, threatening to bite the woman. When Terry did not let up, that's exactly what the zoner attempted. But her teeth only clanged against air.

"Such a feisty little zoner you are." Terry looked down at her hand, examining it as though Rapsheeba really had damaged it. "I have to wonder if this is how you zoners attract mates."

That sudden comment out of nowhere caused Raphseeba to freeze. Her eyes bulged wide as she began to realize just what Terry was alluding to. She cringed back, unable to fully hide her fear, as Terry smirked at her. The way she was looking at her...

"I think you are starting to catch my drift, are you not?" Terry placed her hands on either side of Rapsheeba, leaning in a little closer. Rapsheeba was so tempted to spit at her. But reminders of her predicament caused her to remain still. "I mean, after all, if we were to put you zoners in a breeding program..."

Rapsheeba shrieked, "Breeding program?! What in the world do you think we are?! Animals?!"

Terry tapped a finger against her chin lightly. "Well, you are technically another species. So to us, yes, you would be animals." She gripped Rapsheeba's shoulders tightly, holding her in place. The singer zoner struggled harder, but could not free herself. "I did tell that boy I would figure out a backup plan in case something were to go wrong..."

"He..He agreed to this...?" Rapsheeba spoke softly. She could feel burning waves of betrayal shoot through her body. How could Rudy be okay with this?

Terry turned her head to the side. "Oh don't feel upset, you stupid little zoner..." Rapsheeba shot a glare at her, but remained quiet as she waited to hear what she was going to say. "Rudy does not know about my idea. I am still unsure myself." She patted the top of Rapsheeba's head. "And that's where you come in."

"Like hell I would help you with something like that.." Rapsheeba hissed at her.

"Oh I don't know... I can be very...persuasive..." Terry leaned in closer. She moved her hands up and began to stroke along Rapsheeba's cheeks, slightly rougher than she would have liked. "You can just ask Rudy. He was so resiliant at first. But now.." Her voice grew a little deeper and quieter. "He trusts me. If I could get even the protector of ChalkZone on my side..." She tilted her head. "...then I am sure I can convince you to relinquish some of you zoners' more...private details..."

Rapsheeba could feel her face lose several shades of color. She struggled to keep herself under control, not wanting to hyperventilate or show any further strong signs of fear to the evil woman. She tried to remain hopeful, tried to believe that she would be freed before Terry could do any damage. But...she knew that Terry was right. If even Rudy could fall under her control, did she really stand that much of a chance...?

sss

"It happened over there!" Blocky spoke up. His voice was quiet, but still loud enough for them to hear him. "Right in that spot!"

Snap and Penny moved forward as quickly as they could. They went up the hill, following closely behind Blocky. The rectangular zoner led them up the grassy surface as he made a beeline over to the pool. It was quite amazing to see him dart over here fast, despite his fear before of coming back. His desire to help Rapsheeba was stronger than his own fears.

Penny gritted her teeth as she tried to mentally prepare herself for what she and the others might see. Blocky really didn't have any idea of what happened after he fled; only that he thought he could hear Rapsheeba give out a scream. That alone was enough to fill her and Snap with horror. What could have happened that Rapsheeba would have cried out like that...?

The only way to know was to keep going. Even if Penny feared what the answer might be, at least they were all in this together. She quickened her pace, moving out a little in front of Snap as she tried to get a better view of what laid ahead. She licked her lips nervously as the pool began to come into view...

Upon arriving at the top, she and Snap were greeted with...nothing. Just...nothing. It was as though this place was never really all that special. No sign of a pool anywhere. They all looked around, confusion sifting through their minds. There was a metal rim that made it look like a pool, but that was it. Where the water would have been was filled with just grass.

Snap frowned slightly at this. "Blocky, are you sure this was the place?"

"I'm positive! I wouldn't have forgotten about the location! Not after what happened!" Blocky cried out. He looked around frantically. "I-I know it was here somewhere... I swear it!"

Snap tapped his foot a little, his hands on his hips. "Unless that swimming pool took a walk and left part of it behind..."

"No, I'm telling you! It was right here!" Blocky rushed forward. He looked left and right, breathing in and out rapidly. Small sweat beads moved down his flat cheeks. "It was all right here..." He then pointed in one direction. "A-And Rapsheeba was there, trying to get out. She was trapped and..."

"Okay, Blocky. We understand." Penny reached down and placed a hand on his shoulder. Blocky took several moments before he could even try to settle down. "What else do you remember? Anything specific?"

"That will hopefully bring us one step closer to finding Rapsheeba. We can't afford to have more missing people." Snap said as he took a few steps towards Blocky.

Penny gave him a small glare. Though she could not really be that angry at him. Snap did speak the truth. Having someone else missing would only make things worse. And if Blocky had any information at all that could help them find where Rapsheeba could have been taken, that would make things so much easier.

But it was looking as if Blocky really didn't have much else to say. The flat zoner had fallen utterly slightly, looking left and right, having a solemn expression on his face. Not that Penny was surprised. If he really had turned and ran when Rapsheeba told him to, then there wouldn't have been much time to gather information. The zoner may have heard a scream, but that wouldn't really tell them much of where Rapsheeba was taken. They would need to try something else...if they could only figure out what that something else was.

Snap stared at Blocky long and hard. There was a lot of emotion that raced through him. Penny felt herself immediately jerk forward a little before managing to stop herself. She didn't really know what Snap was going to do or say, but she prepared herself for the worst. Judging from his connection with Rapsheeba and the expression on his face, it would be very easy for the zoner to snap at the poor rectangle.

To her surprise and relief, however, Snap did no such thing. She didn't know if it was because he was never mad at all, or if it was because he had self control. Either way, Snap's stern expression was soon replaced with a more compassionate one. Blocky's whole demeanor seemed to relax upon seeing Snap looking at him in a much more loose way.

"Hey, it's okay..." Snap cooed to Blocky. There was a sense of guilt in his voice. He clearly felt bad for scaring Blocky a little earlier. The small blue and white zoner put his arms around the trembling rectangle, attempting to comfort him. "We'll figure this out. You'll see."

Blocky didn't answer him. He just leaned further against Snap, putting his arms around him and pressing himself against him. The rectangular zoner just began to cry against Snap, who proceeded to rub his back and tried to soothe him.

Penny could feel her heart skip a few beats at the sight of this. It was already a given that Blocky was much more sensitive lately. They had all seen proof of that. But there was just...something about seeing him in this state that made her feel sick. To know that Blocky's sense of safety had been diminished because of the sudden disappearance of not one, but now two of his best friends...

She formed a fist wih her hand. She didn't know exactly who was behind this for certain or what they wanted. But mark her words, she would make sure that they regretted what they did. No one got away with hurting her friends like this. No one...

She soon took notice of something sparkly on the ground. She frowned at it, tilting her head to one side. She looked over at where Snap and Blocky were. She didn't want to disturb them. No, she'd rather they continue having their moment.

Instead, she approached the strange object on her own. It was just sort of...laying there, as though someone had dropped it. It did not seem to match anything around here. It was so out of place, which was probably why she could spot it so easily. And it was so light in color to. A pale white color against green and...

Wait... White...?

Penny frowned at this. Why would there be white here? White and sparkly... That did look familiar, but... No, that was impossible, right? There was no way that...

Penny moved over to the object at a quickened pace, feeling her heart beat against her chest. It didn't take her too long before she managed to reach said object on the ground. She couldn't see it entirely clearly due to the grass. But that was easily remedied by lowering herself down and spreading the grass. And when she did, she had to immediately freeze, struggling to keep herself from falling over.

There, on the ground, was a small piece of magic chalk. There was no mistaking it. Even if all she could see was the tip of it, the way that it sparkled gave away that this was indeed magic chalk.

But if it was magic chalk, then that could only mean one thing: Someone else had gotten into ChalkZone.

Many chilling thoughts ran through her mind. What could have happened? Who had gotten in here? How could this have happened? There were so many possiblities that...

Then she realized something.

Terry may have had Rudy, and Rudy might have had magic chalk with him, even if he was rendered incapable of using it. Was it possible that Terry was the one who... Oh gawd...

Penny turned her head over to look at her confused and startled friends. She could see the way they looked at her, all scared and uncertain, confused as to why she was looking at them like that. She licked her lips slowly, wanting to bring them better news. But all she could think of to tell them was...

"We got a problem."

She had never seen her friends' faces go pale as quickly as they did now.

sss

This couldn't be possible, right? It had to be some kind of sick joke. There couldn't be a way that this was real. It made no sense. It just... No, this could not be true...

And yet Snap was fully aware of what he was seeing. His large, white eyes weren't lying to him. The more he stared at the ground, the more he realized that it really was there. No matter how many times he blinked his eyes, no matter how much he rubbed them, nothing would alter the image of what he saw before him.

A piece of magic chalk...

But...why? How could this be possible? Why would this be here? Penny couldn't have done it and Biclops was so careful with the chalk. He wouldn't have... But then, how would this chalk have gotten here?

There was only one thing that Snap could think of. And it caused his blood to turn into ice.

A creator had done this.

His mind immediately swirled and flooded with many thoughts. Images flashed in the back of his mind as he struggled to keep himself under control. Surely he was just overthinking this. Surely there had to be another way that this could have happened. And yet... That did not stop the horrible pictures in his mind from taking him over, forcing him to look at them over and over again.

There were a few people that he thought of when he saw the chalk. There was of course Rudy, but he was missing. It couldn't have been him. There was also Reggie, but he wouldn't be sadistic enough to do something like this..would he? No, he wasn't that bad of a kid, especially with how he had helped them bring Terry Bouffant to justice.

That left only Terry and Vinnie...

Snap gritted his teeth. Regardless if they were working together or if it was just one of them, the realization that they were the ones behind Rapsheeba's kidnapping boiled his blood. He seethed through his teeth, his fists forming tightly against his sides. He struggled to keep his mind settled, and yet he could not stop growling. His head spun and he felt like he was getting overheated. It was an absolute miracle that he did not pass out at this moment.

He needed to do something. No, they all needed to do something and fast. They couldn't just sit here any longer and just wait for whatever to happen. They had proof right here that at least one of those two creepazoids was behind his. Now they just had to figure out what to do about that. They just...

But what could they do? Even with this chalk on the ground, how were they going to use it to follow the trail back to the source? All they knew was that a creator had gotten in here and drawn this. It didn't even have to be Terry or Vinnie. Someone else could have... But that would mean another creator was in ChalkZone, and oh gawd, that was the last bit of news any of them needed to hear.

But if it was true, then...

Snap turned his head back to Penny. After he finally broke out of his little trance, he said, "...do you know where that chalk could have come from? Any idea how it got there?"

"No." Penny's eyes weren't facing him; they were looking straight towards the chalk on the ground. "I really don't know. I just spotted it a short time ago. I know about as much as you do."

Blocky shivered as he stared at the chalk. "D-Do you think this means that..."

Snap and Penny looked at Blocky sadly. The poor guy.. He was already suffering enough anxiety as it was with what else was going on. This was the last thing he needed added onto his plate. They exchanged glances with each other before looking back down. They sighed sadly, wishing that they could say something to help cheer him up. But they both knew that there was nothing that they could say. How could they cheer him up when they were just as horrified as he was?

Snap still held onto the hope that maybe they misunderstood something here. Even if he was so careful, Biclops might have made a mistake, right? Maybe he got a piece of chalk stuck in him and it happened to fall in this area. Or maybe one of the zoners did get a piece of chalk and tried to use it, only to discard it when it became useless. Both of those scenarios were favorable compared to the...alternative.

Snap struggled to put a brave face on. Despite its difficulty, he still wanted to try to help Blocky settle down a little. A rather difficult task and he had a feeling that it would take so much more to make him fully calm. A smile would be at least better for him to see than a frightened stare, of course.

"We should at least let Biclops know about this." Penny spoke up, raising a finger slightly. "He needs to be aware that something is going on." She paused for a moment, rubbing her chin gently. "I think he might also have an idea of what happened..."

"Oh yeah! He might have seen something!" Snap shouted with excitement. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about that. Of course, that giant might be able to help them with this. Just then a thought crossed his mind. "Do you think he's available right now? I know he likes to some time to rest and he doesn't usually like being disturbed then..."

"But this is an emergency. I don't think he'd mind. And besides..." Penny raised her hand up in gesture. "He's never minded before."

"That's true. I guess I was just..."

"Oh don't worry about it. Let's just go over and see Biclops now. We can figure out what to do from there. We can't just stand around and do absolutely nothing about this."

Snap and Blocky nodded their heads in agreement. They both knew Penny was right. It would be pretty stupid to just stand around like nothing was going on. They were only going to prolong things and the more they do that, the less chance they'll have to solve this. Biclops needed to know and if he did have information, the faster they got it, the better.

Snap felt his mind burn as he thought of what could be happening to Rapsheeba. He sucked on his lip, trying to keep himself calm. He hoped that she was all right. He hoped that she was hanging in there, doing whatever she could to stay alive and fine. He knew that she was rather capable and tougher than she looked. But he still worried for her. If she was captured by Terry...

He tried to push the thought out of his mind for now. For the time being, they needed to focus on getting to Biclops and tell him about this. They needed to get whatever information they could, if there was any, before they could try to help Rapsheeba. But he swore, no matter what it took, he would get Rapsheeba out of there, if it was the last thing he ever did.

Without thinking another thought, the blue and white zoner immediately took off, following his friends close behind. They all began to head out towards the Chalk Mine. They all hoped and prayed that Biclops would be able to help them. Surely there was...something that he could do...right?

sss

It felt so weird doing this. All of this was just so foreign. He never would have thought, in his entire short life, that he'd be doing something like this. It was quite strange the way life worked. You'd think it was heading in one direction. Then it would surprise you with a loop and just shift things around so dramatically.

Life was just so odd, so unpredictable. Who knew that, in this time frame, he would be here? A part of him wondered if it was some kind of dream. It could very well be. Or perhaps he just needed to be slapped awake or something.

And yet in the end, he knew this was all real...

Rudy sucked on his lip as he thought about some of the more...uncomfortable things that had happened. He did feel a strong wave of guilt strike him as he recalled what he had to do earlier. He had a feeling that Rapsheeba would not forgive him for a long time. But at least she had the comfort of knowing that she was not going to be hurt. Terry and Vinnie did promise that they wouldn't hurt her.

Rudy had some...confliction about those two. There was still a part of his mind that wanted to be cautious. Everyday, he could feel his brain trying to remind him of the danger that they represented. And he would still remember what they had done. Especially Terry.

But these thoughts had gotten weak over time, tot he point where he did not pay as much attention to them anymore. He would not lie; they were pretty nasty people in the past. But that was then and this is now. They had clearly changed, and he should be encouraging of that, shouldn't he? After all, they did help him out when they did not need to. He had broken his leg and they had taken him in.

He did feel grateful for that as well. He recalled how frightened he was when he started to lose consciousness. He hadn't been aware that he broke his leg at the time, but he did recall hitting the ground at least. He recalled how scared he was that he would not wake up and how the cold kept surrounding him in its dangerous aura. The thought still chilled him just thinking about it.

At least he was safe now. Terry and Vinnie had been working tirelessly in helping him feel better. He had grown more and more relaxed around them as he realized that they really did want to help. He wasn't sure what caused the change of heart, but that didn't matter. If they really wanted to hurt him, they would have; there was no benefit for them in what they were doing.

The whole 'wanting to learn more about ChalkZone' thing? That was nothing more than a byproduct of the continued trust building between them. They hadn't tried to force the information out of him before; they had only asked recently because they had gotten to know each other and they were just genuinely curious. Terry did make a promise that nothing would happen. And after all she and Vinnie had done for him, he believed her.

But would Rapsheeba? Rudy was aware that she...didn't have the best view of Terry. And that was understandable. Terry had done some awful things before. He still had some uncomfortable memories regarding how Terry shot him. That alone was enough to make him sometimes feel nervousness around her now, even though he tried to fight back against the feeling as much as possible.

Still, he did hope that Rapsheeba learned to relax some more. Terry was not going to harm her; she had only wanted to talk to her about...something. She did not delve into what it was. Not that he asked. He trusted Terry enough to know that it wasn't anything dangerous. She probably just wanted to know a little more about zoners. And what better way to find out than to ask a zoner themself?

Rudy felt a sting in his chest when he realized that he hadn't yet seen Snap or Penny. And he wasn't sure when he would. He was still snowbound. It was amazing that Terry and Vinnie had even stocked up enough food for this long. It was a wonder that he didn't start to develop cabin fever.

But there were other issues at play.

The first and most obvious is that he still couldn't walk that well. He had to use a cane to get into ChalkZone to move around. But his leg still hurt him so badly and even after taking some powerful painkillers, it still took a lot of effort to grin and bare it as he got everything ready.

He mostly sat around as a result. He only walked when he needed to. He opted to stay on the couch, feeling a sense of comfort by laying there. If he needed anything, Terry or Vinnie would help. Sometimes both at the same time. He was thankful for their selflessness. He must be annoying them on some level with all the times he asked for food or to use the bathroom, but they've been really good sports about it.

The other issue is that he felt so dizzy and cold. The fever hadn't gone away. He placed his hand against his forehead. It felt normal to him, but according to Vinnie, who had seen him a short while ago, it was burning hot. He wasn't sure how he had gotten a fever, but it was making things so diffcult.

This was another reason it was so difficult to walk. He felt so whoozy and dizzy. His walking was quite unstable and he almost always felt like there was a freezing cold breeze striking him, causing goosebumps to form. Trying to do too much thinking resulted in a sense of vertigo, and he had to hold his head and sit down, or if he already was, lean up against something.

It was for these reasons that he did not stay in ChalkZone for long nor did he try to find his friends. He really did want to see them again; they must be worried sick about him. But he did not want to put his health at risk and worry Terry and Vinnie, either. He knew that he had to take it easy.

Which was why, after taking Rapsheeba in to speak with Terry, he had decided it was best to just settle himself down. He rested against the couch, his legs stretched out. He tried his best to fight off the dizziness that had a hold of him. He wasn't sure how long it would take for the medicine to kick in. He hoped it was soon. He wasn't sure how much more of this dizziness that he could handle.

He could hear some kind of shuffling over in the kitchen. He turned his head and peered over there. It was so hard to see from this angle. He could only tell that Vinnie was busy searching through some stuff. Probably getting ready to make another meal. It was getting close to that time and Rudy could feel his stomach growling.

Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? At this point, he did not care. He just wanted to eat. It would help him feel better and hopefully fight off the bouts of dizziness that had struck him. And of course, push away the feelings of weakness that made him want to just pass out. It took so much of his energy just to stay awake and he didn't know how long that would last.

He could see that Vinnie had finally done whatever it is he needed to do in the kitchen. And when he came out, it was more or less confirmed that he really had been getting something for him to eat. In his hands, he held what appeared to be a sandwich. Simple, just meat and cheese. But food nonetheless. Rudy could feel his mouth starting to water as he brought it closer.

"Here." Vinnie said. His voice was a little blunt, but not entirely uncaring. "A little something f or you. I'm sure your brief trip into ChalkZone wore you out, when you're...uh, you know..."

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah...thanks..." Rudy moved to sit himself up. "I appreciate..."

He suddenly felt a wave of dizziness strike him. He let out a groan as he grabbed onto his head and tried to settle himself down. He seethed through clenched teeth, his whole body feeling as though it was being wracked around like crazy. And then he started to feel as though he was falling forward.

"Rudy!" Vinnie lurched forward quickly. He looped an arm across Rudy's chest and held onto him, stopping him from falling over. "Are you okay?!"

Rudy didn't answer right away. He could feel Vinnie gently push him back into the couch. He could feel those worried eyes scanning over him to see if he had been hurt further. The boy struggled to control his breathing, fighting off the dizziness that had a hold of him. Only when he felt like he had gotten control over himself did he speak.

"I'm fine... Thanks." He rubbed his head gently. "I just...moved a little too quickly, that's all..."

"I'll say. You need to be more careful, kiddo." Vinnie narrowed his eyes slightly. "You were already banged up before. You don't need another reason to lay down on the couch."

"Yeah...I know.. I'm sorry." Rudy said softly, lowering his head. "I promise to be more careful."

Vinnie gave him a small smile. "Oh forget about it." The short man lowered himself so that he was sitting down next to Rudy. He motioned the sandwich towards him again. "Here, why don't you eat something now?"

"Thanks." Rudy realized that he probably sounded like a broken record. But at the moment, he didn't care. He reached over and he took the sandwich from Vinnie, unable to stop himself from thanking him yet again. He took a few whiffs of the sandwich and then he smiled over at Vinnie. "It does smell really good."

"Why don't you take a bite? I'm sure it tastes better than it smells." Vinnie suggested, raising his hand up in gesture. "And besides, I think it's best if you finish that before Ms. Bouffant comes out to talk to you more."

Rudy tilted his head in curiosity at this. "There more questions she and you want to ask me? I thought Rapsheeba would..."

"Oh no, Rapsheeba would answer plenty of our questions." Vinnie waved his hand dismissively. "But there's still more we'd like to ask you."

Rudy raised an eyebrow at this. "You already know an awful lot.."

Vinnie looked over at Rudy with a slightly hurt expression. "Do you..not trust us..?"

Rudy could feel his eyes widen and he felt his gut twist as he realized what he did. Wanting to fix things before they got worse, he waved his hand out in front of him rapidly. "Oh no, it's not that. I do trust you.. I just..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

Vinnie smiled. "Oh don't worry. I'm not that upset. I mean...we didn't exactly have a good first time speaking to each other before, right?" He gave a small, nervous chuckle. "Me having you dragged down to the police station and all..."

Rudy nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I do remember that." He couldn't help but smile at what was such a distant and vague memory now. "You were so much nastier then.."

Vinnie flinched at that. "Yeah, I know..." He smiled once more, reaching over and gently patting Rudy on the head. The boy did nothing to cringe away. "Well that's all behind us now." He pulled back and the two humans exchanged small smiles to each other. Then he motioned his hand towards him. "Now...why don't you eat that?"

Rudy nodded his head. Without another word, he bit into the sandwich and he commenced with eating it.

sss

Blocky could feel a wave of fear crawling up in the pit of his stomach. He struggled to keep himself under control, but no matter what he tried or did, he just could not relax. Not right now. Not while this was going on.

Those words echoed over his skull again and again, refusing to let up. He sucked on his lip tightly, seething through his chattering teeth. He looked left and right as he tried to settle himself down. It was becoming an impossible feat to stay fully relaxed, however. And he couldn't help but shiver a few times.

"I am sorry, but I did not notice anything going on."

Those words... Biclops's words that he had told them moments ago... In the context of what was going on, these did not bring any comfort to him, but instead a string of horrific thoughts. He found it hard to believe that Biclops, who was generally aware of much of what was going on, didn't know anything about this. Well it was true that the giant was not a complete database and that he couldn't always see everything. But still...

He found himself huddling a little closer to Snap. The younger, more confident zoner attempted to cheer him up by holding his hand and putting his arm around him. Snap spoke some soft comforting words to him. But none of that was good enough. He could not allow himself to fully relax. Not with what was going on.

Penny had taken a few steps out in front, her head tilted up as she stared right at the giant. She had a small frown on her face. Not out of anger, but disbelief and curiosity. Blocky could not fully hear what was going on, but he could tell that she was attempting to see if there was anything that the giant knew. But as the giant shook his head, just like he had before, Blocky knew it was the same old, same old response.

Biclops did not know anything.

So they were back to square one again. The thought of not knowing still, of being forced into the dark like this... It made the flat zoner quite uncomfortable. He could feel his heart beating inside his chest and he struggled not to let out a whimper. The fact that Rapsheeba disappeared and earlier Rudy with no trace... What if it happened to someone else? Another friend of his? ...himself...?

Blocky shook his head. He didn't want to let himself delve in too deeply into despair, especially when he knew all he'd succeed in doing is further terrifying his friends. They were already so worried about him...

It was going to be so hard to remain calm, though. It was going to be just too difficult for him to be able to fully relax. He felt as though he needed to sit down and just let his body shiver itself out. He wasn't sure if he could even hang onto Snap for much longer. He was feeling that weak and it was only getting worse. And the temptation to throw up was getting stronger.

"Don't worry, Blocky. It will be all right."

Blocky looked over at Snap. Even though he's already heard those words several times before, hearing them again from Snap was a little comforting. It reminded the rectangular zoner that there were people on the case, and that there was at least a chance to set things right.

There was still some fear, however, and he wasn't sure if he could fully relax any time soon. Thoughts of Rapsheeba and Rudy ran through his mind swiftly and he was not able to keep them out of his skull. While both might still be alive, there was also the chance that they...they were... No, they were fine. They just had to be. They were tougher than that. There was no way that they would be...

"Are you absolutely sure?" The sound of Penny's voice caused the two zoners to look over at where Penny was still striking a conversation with Biclops. "You weren't out at all? You didn't see anything strange? That swimming pool that I described, it does not sound familiar?"

"For the last time, no! I have told you already and I will tell you one more time. I do not know what's going on either." Biclops placed a large hand against his chest. "Just because I know a lot does not mean I know it all." There was a sternness in his voice and even a sense of irritation. But not flat out anger. He sounded more understanding than that. "I am sorry about what's happened. I am worried as well. You don't think that the news of Rapsheeba's disappearance hasn't shaken me up?"

"Oh no, no, it's not that." Penny waved her hands quickly, taking a small step back away from the giant zoner. "It's just... You usually have a good idea of what is going on and you tend to see a lot of things and..." Penny licked her lips nervously. "I guess we were just hoping that you might have seen...something."

Biclops let out a small sigh. His body appeared to relax a little bit. He shook his head slowly to one side, closing his eyes for a moment and then reopening them to stare down at the small child before him. "I am sorry. I really am." He straightened himself up. "I am glad you still came and told me, though. Thank you. I will inform the other zoners about this."

"Thank you..." Penny murmured softly.

Well so much for that. What were they going to do now? They still had no idea of where Rapsheeba and Rudy could be. They could be together, both captured by the same person. Or they could have suffered different fates. And in both cases, they had literally no idea of just where to go from here. They had no knowledge of how to pick this up or where to take things. What were they supposed to do wat this point?

Blocky tried to think of something, anything, that could help. But he was only drawing a blank. And the more he did, the more irritated he could himself get. He could feel his stomach starting to churn and twist and he struggled not to allow himself to throw up. It was a struggle, but he managed to swallow at least some of his anxiety. Remaining calm was very important here.

He looked over at where the others were, noting their expressions. Snap and Penny both looked disappointed and worried while Biclops looked saddened that he could not bring them better news. Blocky slowly lowered his head, his mouth partially open. And then he narrowed his eyes. If they couldn't figure something out then...

He'd try. Even if it meant burning his stomach from the inside out, he would try to figure out something. He needed to make an attempt at the very least. For worrying his friends, he felt like he owed it to them. And he cared deeply for Rapsheeba and Rudy as well. Even if they already knew this, he felt this urge to prove it to them.

Before he realized what he was doing, the small rectangular zoner broke free from Snap's grasp. He turned himself around and he began to run back to where the scene had happened. He completely ignored the cries and shouts for him as he ran. He just kept going faster and faster, going back to where Rapsheeba had been dragged off. Surely he would find something when he got there... He just had to.

But as he ran, his more negative thoughts started to cloud his mind. No...not now...please... But the more he tried to push them back, the harder it was for him to think clearly. He could feel these horrible thoughts surge around him, crowding him, pulling him down. He could not escape them no matter how hard he tried.

He began to realize that... The odds of him being able to find anything were slim to none. The odds of him being able to help turn the tides, to hopefully find Rudy and Rapsheeba... They were nonexistent. They had a piece of magic chalk but no leads as to where it came from. Him running back may only be wasting time, and that was not something that they could afford.

Slowly, the rectangular zoner began to slow down. The shouts for him became sharper and clearer, yet he still did not respond. All he could do was slow his pace, gradually going from walking to jobbing and then a brisk walk. And he continued to reduce his speed then until he just stood there, staring at nothingness.

"Blocky!" Snap shouted when he finally caught up to him. Penny was not far behind. Biclops, of course, had stayed behind for obvious reasons. "What were you doing?! Why did you run off like that?! You scared us!"

Penny stood next to Snap. Her expression was a cross between a frown and a concerned look. "Blocky, what happened back there? Why did you just..."

Blocky couldn't hold in it any longer. He couldn't suppress his emotions like this. He couldn't just stay silent. Otherwise, he was just going to tear himself apart from the inside out. The thought of that made him hiss softly, grittin his teeth.

He looked over at his friends and he could feel his gut twist at how worried they both looked. He lowered his head. He couldn't help but feel quite ashamed of what he had done. He hadn't meant to make them worry so much. That hadn't been his intention. He hoped that they would forgive him. He.. He didn't mean it...

"I'm so sorry you guys... I'm so sorry..." Blocky trembled, tears spilling out ofh is eyes rapidly. He sniffled loudlly, unable to make himself stop. This took Snap and Rapsheeba aback. "I didn't.. I wasn't t-tryign to..."

"Oh Blocky.. It's all right. We're not mad at you." Cooed Penny. She moved in closer, wrapping her arms around the trembling zoner. "We would never be angry at you."

"Y-Yeah, pal... L-Like I said, it'll be all right.." Snap joined in, gently patting Blocky, smiling shakenly at him. "Shhh.. It's okay.."

Blocky couldn't bring himself to stop crying. The only thing that he could do was just lean against his friends. A part of him was grateful for their understanding. But the other was just berating himself for being so weak, for 'forcing' them to comfort him. He felt at a crossroads of both disgust and fear.

Regardless, he didn't run away. He kept his arms wrapped around them and pressed himself against them, huddling himself further in their embrace. He whimpered softly, sniffling loudly. He wasn't sure how long he remained like this, but he didn't care. He just kept holding onto his two dear friends and sobbed, his cries practically echoing throught the area around them.

sss

Terry frowned as she stared at the small medium before her. She was quite a stubborn little thing, wasn't she? She had done whatever she could to be patient and appear understanding. She wanted the zoner to try to relinquish the information more willingly. But it would seem it was going to be harder than she thought.

Well, she did have the zoner secured. She did try to assure her that it was for her own good; she didn't really know what things in the Real World would have harmed her. She had some idea, thanks to her interaction with Snap. But she did not want to take any chances. It was difficult enough for Rudy to fetch a zoner; she did not want him having to go get another one.

But gawd, this zoner was making things so hard... Why couldn't she just give her what she wanted?

Because she didn't like her. That's why. She was a friend of Rudy's. That much she had gathered. And she knew what she had done to the boy. She knew about how she had kidnapped him and shot him in the chest. Now she knew that Rudy was under his control thanks to her influence. Rapsheeba had very little reason to trust her. So she supposed she could not blame her.

It shocked her to think this, but Rudy was much easier to make comply than this zoner. It took a long time, but it was really just a matter of treating him very sweetly as much as possible, and help him feel safe around them. Rudy was terrified of him at first, especially her. But now he feels no qualms about sleeping next to her.

Rapsheeba, on the other hand, was going to be more difficult to deal with. Time limit aside, there was the fact that, unlike with Rudy, Rapsheeba knew that she had planned for this. She and Vinnie had been so careful with Rudy, to ensure that he thought that this whole thing was coincidental. She had forgotten to ensure the same thing for Rapsheeba. It was too late at this point to make it look like it was an accident.

She would figure out something to do with her, though. There had to be some way of making her speak. And if sweet talking didn't work, then she supposed she had no choice but to get more aggressive with her. Not that she was complaining, of course.

"For the last fucking itme, I'm not telling you a damn thing!" Rapsheeba's body trembled as she shouted this. From fear? From anger? It was hard to say. But there was no mistaking the tension that radiated from those narrowed eyes. "So just go fuck yourself!"

There was a flicker in Terry's eyes. That, to her, seemed to warrent a more firm approach. With her teeth clenched tightly, a slight snarl appearing on her face, the red-haired woman moved in closer to the zoner. She adopted a slightly more hostile stance, her body crouched forward, her movements more rigid than they were before.

Rapsheeba appeared to notice the change in her demeanor and she began struggling to get away. She pulled her head back, pressing herself as far away as possible. She did not really get anywhere doing this. She was only making a fool out of herself. It would have made Terry chuckle if she weren't already irritated by the zoner's lack of cooperation.

She didn't want to get physical. She would have rather avoided that. But perhaps it was her only option now. If words weren't enough to get Rapsheeba to talk, then maybe if she got a little rougher, she might crack.

Not that Rudy could hear what was going on down here, anyway. Vinnie was to be sure that he did not come close enough to hear.

Once she closed gap between her and the zoner, she lashed out towards her and grabbed onto her face tightly. Rapsheeba let out a yelp of surprise and tried to yank her head back. Terry responded by keeping a tight grip on her face, her fingernails digging into her skin. She put her face close to hers, glaring at her, baring her teeth. Rapsheeba slowly froze in place and just simply stared up at her in fear and horror.

"I have been trying to be nice with you. I don't see what's so hard about answering my questions." Terry attempted to keep her voice calm. But this was a difficult task, considering just how much she was getting worked up already. "Oh don't look at me that way. You could have avoided this whole mess if you had just told me what I wanted to know."

Rapsheeba jerked her head back, making a weak attempt to free herself. "And I told you, there's no fucking way that I am going to tell you stuff like that! It's none of your business how we zoners..."

Terry growled at this and she pressed her nails further against Rapsheeba's face. The zoner let out a yelp as she practically pierced the skin at this point. She wouldn't be surprised if she started to draw blood any moment now. "I see you just want to continue making this difficult." She forced a sigh out through her nostrils as she shook her head slowly. "Typical... Rudy was this stubborn as well, but at least he sees reason now."

"That's because you brainwashed him!" There was a flash of anger on the zoner's face, showing mostly in her narrowed eyes. "I don't know how you did it, but you managed to rob him of his innocense! You monster!"

Terry shook her head. "He is here because he wants to be." She gestured towards herself. "Me and Vinnie did not harm a hair on that boy's body. All we did was take care of him. And he's come to trust us completely." She used her now free hand to gently stroke along the top of Rapsheeba's head. "And if he can come to trust us, so can you. Really now, it's not so hard to..."

Rapsheeba hissed at her before opening her mouth and lobbing a spit wad in her direction. Terry flinched as she felt it hit her cheek and stroll down slowly. It didn't feel all that damp. At least, not as much as it should have. But considering it was chalk, she was not surprised. Snarling, she wiped it away with her hand and glared down at the zoner.

She raised her hand up, getting ready to strike the zoner. Rapsheeba let out a small squeak and she, just like before, tried to struggle to get away. She pushed herself even further back away, her head twisting from side to side. Terry kept her hand raised, poised to strike her across the head. Rapsheeba looked up at her fearfully and soon froze altogether, squeezing her eyelids shit as she waited for the blow...

...which never came. Terry tried to release her fury against his zoner, but she just could not bring herself to do anything. Her arm remained frozen in place.

But the reason why she stopped had nothing to do with feeling sympathy for this zoner. Oh gawd no... It instead related to something else a little more...interesting. As she stared down at the zoner, her breathing becoming ragged and sharp, several thoughts raced through her mind. And then an idea popped in. Something quite devious and cruel, she would admit. But if it were to get results...

"I think you will end up staying with us for a while." Terry said softly, devoid of the previous anger that she held. Rapsheeba looked at her in confusion as the woman lowered her hand to her side. "I will make sure that Rudy is able to get you something to eat or drink." She raised her finger up. "But...!"

Rapsheeba cringed, as though she sensed the catch that went along with this.

"You won't be having any of it." Terry gave a small grin as she watched Rapsheeba's face start to lose some of its color. "I will keep the food stored in some place cold. Don't worry. But you won't be eating or drinking anything. Not right away."

"F-For how long...?" Rapsheeba asked, her ton relatively weak.

"Oh I'm not sure... Twenty four hours?" Terry waved her hand dismissively to the side. "But I think you will do fine for three days without any food or water. It shouldn't be..."

"Wh-What? No! Please..." Rapsheeba cried out loudly, her body shaking. "Y-You can't...!"

Terry gave her a sideways glance, raising an eyebrow. "Are you ready to tell me just how you zoners manage to reproduce, then?"

Rapsheeba looked as though she was struggling to speak. But ultimately, she just sealed her mouth shut and lowered her head. Still stubborn as always... Terry frowned at this, giving her an icy cold glare.

"Then starvation it is."

Rapsheeba's eyes widened in horror.

sss

Biclops furrowed his eyebrows. He wished that he could have been more of a help earlier. He wished he could have given some better information. Something to ease their minds. But..how could he when he himself had no information to give?

It was times like these when Biclops wished he was more vigilant. He sometimes would forget how much Rudy and Penny had relied on him in the past for information. And now that a zoner had gone missing and he still had no information to divulge... He had never felt so useless before in his life.

There was still a chance at least. If he were to just try something to gather information, maybe he could find something worthwhile. Even just the tiniest bit of information would be enough. He just needed to figure out the right method to do it.

That would not be easy, however. It would require really thinking about it and try to weigh in his options and what could be the best choice. He would have to sit down for a while and think...and yet he wasn't sure if he could do that. Not while Rapsheeba's life is on the line. And possibly Rudy's, if he was taken by the same person.

The giant flinched at the thought of Rudy. He had been missing for a long while now, and he was really starting to miss that little guy. He hoped that he was doing all right. Especially with his heart condition and...

Biclops grunted, gritting his teeth. He struggled hard not to think about that. He didn't want to be reminded of what he had been informed of. Even just the slight memory of Rudy's chest scar was enough to make his blood both boil and freeze at the same time. That was one of the few times where he really wished he could have gone into the Real World. He would have loved to make that woman pay for what she did to Rudy Tabootie.

But...that wouldn't solve anything, now would it? No, he was better off just trying to move beyond that and concentrating on the now. He needed to figure out how to gather information and quickly. But..how was he going to...

Then he paused, his eyes widening. Thoughts sifted through his mind fast. There was something that he could try...though he had rarely done it before. It was...something that he would much rather avoid. But if that meant a chance at finding Rudy and Rapsheeba... Well, anything was worth a risk at this point.

Even this.

Biclops turned his head and looked down the hallway, which dug deeper into the catacombs of the mine. He gritted his teeth, sucking in a sharp breath. Then he exhaled slowly. It was going to be hard to walk over there. But he knew that he had to. This could be his one chance to help Penny and Snap find their lost friends.

Feeling a stiffness in his muscles, the large zoner began to make his way down the corridor. Each step was heavy and rigid, and it took him a while to make himself move forward. But despite his troubles, he managed to maintain a good, steady pace as he headed down the hallway. At least this way, he would ensure an increased chance of finding Rapsheeba and Rudy. Or at least...he hoped so...

sss

"Okay, you can take a break."

Finally... Vinnie wasn't entirely sure how long he could have kept up the charade while Terry was gone. Not that he didn't do so bad, if he said so himself. It was just... He was getting increasingly uncomfortable around Rudy. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't dare mention it around Terry. They had more important things to focus on, anyway.

At least Rudy had fallen asleep. The boy claimed to have been really sleepy for some reason and wanted to rest. The truth was Vinnie had slipped him some sleeping pills, or rather, powder of sleeping pills, into the drink that he gave him. He just needed a break and the little brat was much easier to watch when he was sleeping.

The drugs would keep him out for a little while. Give him and Terry a little bit of peace. After all, they deserved abreak after how all they had done for the boy. He hoped that Rudy was genuinely grateful for their help; they could have easily left him for dead.

"I see Rudy decided to take a nap." Terry said, her voice having some kind of tone to it.

Vinnie flinched slightly before nodding his head once. "Yeah, the little tyke just passed out.." He didn't need to tell her what he did. It was not a bit of information that was all that important for Terry to be aware of. All she needed to know was Rudy was asleep.

But the look in her eyes suggested that she didn't buy it. Vinnie struggled not to swallow or do anything that would give himself away. He knew that Terry would not be happy to find out that he had drugged him just to get out of duty of watching him. To try to avoid getting into trouble, Vinnie tried his best to keep a straight face.

Terry soon looked away, focusing her eyes on the child. The previous look was gone. It was hard to say if she really had decided he did nothing, or if she was just choosing to ignore it for the time being. Vinnie figured it was best not to try to get an answer for that.

"After he wakes up, send him on another trip into ChalkZone." Terry stated.

"What? Already?" Vinnie looked at her in shock. He licked his lips a little as he stared down at Rudy before looking back at Terry. "I-Is that really a good idea? With his injured leg and fever..."

"He was able to do it before, wasn't he?" Terry raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, yes...but.."

"Then he can do it again. Don't worry, though. I won't be having him go that far. I just need him to draw some chalk food and water." Terry narrowed her eyes slightly. "We're going to need it for our little...guest." She gestured to one side. "We can't have her dying on us. It would be too risky to get Rudy to nab another zoner. And who knows how long that fever will last us."

Vinnie flinched at this. He was full aware that part of what is helping Rudy be more compliant was the fever. True, their actions have helped Rudy develop Stockholm Syndrome. But the fever is what was driving the 'okay I'll get a friend of mine for you' behavior. Rudy was not thinking clearly. Once the fever goes away...

Which was why they were better off keeping that Rapsheeba character here and try to squeeze the information out of her. They couldn't accompany Rudy into ChalkZone and if he were to recover when he was in there and flee... Vinnie shook the thought out of his head. At least they had Rudy back with them and under their supervision and they had a zoner with them now as well.

Which reminded him...

"Were you able to get anything out of her?" Vinnie raised his hands up to his side. "Like...anything that we could find useful?"

Terry sighed and shook her head. "Nothing. She is more stubborn than Rudy was before."

"Yeeesh..." Vinnie flinched at this. "That is hard to imagine..."

Terry nodded slowly. "Which is why I am going to attempt to starve her for a few days." She gave a small smirk as she tapped a finger against her chin. "I do think she will be more cooperative after day three when I bring her in some food. And if she refuses, she'll have to wait even longer."

Vinnie widened his eyes in horror at this. Starving the zoner? That seemed rather..harsh, didn't it? Not that he was too concerned. Zoners weren't humans after all. So it didn't really matter if they were hurt or not. But still, he couldn't imagine doing something as cruel to a zoner as making them go hungry. That was just excessive...

Terry noticed the look in his eyes, noticing his unspoken question. "And no, Vinnie. I am not going to let her die." She raised her hand up in gesture. "If she does not eat still after enough days have passed, I'll let her have a little something to eat. Just enough to prevent her from keeling over. Then the process will repeat."

Vinnie still didn't like the sound of this idea. It seemed a little too much. He was certain that there had to be a better way of getting Rapsheeba to speak. They didn't have to do anything cruel with Rudy before he divulged some information to them. They just needed to be patient and he ended up telling them himself.

Then again, maybe they don't have that much time. Getting information quickly would certainly be beneficial... And besides, he was not about to go up against Terry. He was fully aware of what she had done to Rudy before. He did not want to be on her bad side.

And once more, at least Rapsheeba was just a zoner. Doing this stuff to a mere zoner, something made of chalk and not human, or even an animal in the truest of senses, did not really seem all that bad. No one was really going to make a big deal of it. Who was going to care if a drawing was tormented? He and Terry could do whatever they wanted to her and it wouldn't matter.

He smiled slightly at the thought. Maybe it would be so bad after all. He did have a lot of pent up anger regarding Rudy. Perhaps he could take it out on Rapsheeba... He'd have to be careful not to hurt her so badly as Rudy made them promise they wouldn't hurt her. But that didn't mean that they could have some...fun with her.

Vinnie was almost horrified by some of the thoughts that swept through his mind. Thoughts that he'd never thought to do himself before until now. It was easy for him to realize just why he was thinking this stuff. With Rapsheeba being non-human, there was so much more he could do to her, get away with doing with her... And her being just a zoner took away nearly all the guilt that he'd have if it were a human.

Terry stared down at him, appearing to notice the look in his eyes. Slowly, she gave a small smirk to him, a twinkle glowing from her eyes. "Well I suppose that my way isn't the only one that we can try..." Terry folded her arms to her chest. "And we do want to know about certain...things with zoners..."

Vinnie nodded his head slowly, smiling back at her. "That is correct..."

Terry gave a quick chortle at this. "Well then..." She motioned her hand towards Vinnie. "Perhaps you should make your...attempt."

Vinnie was a little surprsed that Terry seemed fine with this. But of course, they needed the information and they were not bound by any moral codes regarding the fact that this was a zoner. So long as they did not do anything permanent and made sure that Rapsheeba spoke not a word about it, Rudy wouldn't know and they wouldn't have broken their promise with him. Perhaps later, they will tell the truth...but for now, it was best to keep Rudy trusting in them.

Knowing that Terryw as going to take over, Vinnie was about to turn around and leave. He really wanted to get started... But then he paused for a moment. He frowned deeply before he turned and stared at Terry. Licking his lips once, he asked, "...so what am I allowed to do with her...?"

Terry raised her hand to rub the bottom of her chin for a few moments. She stood there for a few seconds, pondering the question. Then she just shrugged her shoulders and stated, "Do whatever you would like to her. So long as it isn't permanent..."

Vinnie blinked at this, and then gave a dark smile at this before he slowly walked away.

sss

Snap wasn't really sure how he felt about this. Sure it's been two days and there hadn't been much of an incident. But still, it worried him deeply that Biclops would even consider doing something like this.

But he did say that the red chalk tends to be quite vigilant. Behind that aggressive behavior of theirs lied some rather keen senses, and an extraordinary ability to track. Why else would it have been able to locate a new creator in Reggie? And the fact that it could move around on its own could work...

Snap was still quite uncomfortable with the idea, and so was anyone else who had heard of it. Not many in ChalkZone were very fond of the red chalk, knowing full well what it had done before. The first incident was pretty minor, but when Reggie had the red chalk... Snap shuddered, not wanting to remember the kind of trouble that boy had caused everyone. At least they were able to stop it pretty quickly before things got too out of hand.

Snap was shocked that Biclops would even suggest that at all. Well the giant did make a good case, making it clear that so long as Penny did not hold the red chalk for more than a minute, it would be enough to prevent the red chalk from latching onto her. And to make simple drawings to reduce the threat level that they would provide.

Penny was eventually convinced that this might work. The red chalk would want to either find another creator, possibly Rudy as it had tried to control him before, or hunt down a zoner to attack. Both of these could be used to their advantage, they realized.

So what Penny ended up doing was draw a simple creature with a sense of smell. It was then provided with something with Rudy's scent and then Rapsheeba's scent. The red chalk creation immediately zipped off without attempting to attack anyone.

Despite what it seemed, this did not mean that the red chalk was tamed. It was still dangerous and anything created with the red chalk was equally as dangerous, if not more so. But its instincts could be used to control it on some level, and the red chalk's instinct to find humans to help it create things was strong. Sure it had Penny, but the red chalk would have remembered Rudy and likely favored him over her.

There was really no evidence so far that this was working. They didn't know if the red chalk was still even looking for Rudy. Snap knew just how determined the red chalk could be, considering that it waited months for Reggie to pick it up. So just two days wouldn't be enough for it to suddenly lose interest.

But what if it attacked someone in the meantime? What if something were to go horribly wrong with this plan? Biclops himself even admitted that this was highly dangerous and could result in an innocent zoner getting hurt. He was only willing to take the risk because Rudy and now Rapsheeba were missing. And the potentiality of another creator in ChalkZone did complicate things...

This realization made Snap's face go pale for several moments. What if this new creator is the one who gets the red chalk? What if the red chalk chose them instead of keeping looking for Rudy? So many horrible thoughts raced through his mind.

The only thing that helped him to settle down was the fact that, if anything really did happen regarding the red chalk, it would be all over ChalkZone news. Word spreads fast here, and if the red chalk creation did deviate from the plan, if it attacked a zoner or if it had found another creator, he would have known about it very quickly.

It also helped that Penny thought to input a tracking device deep into the red chalk zoner's body. This enabled them to keep tabs on the creature, knowing exactly where it was. He hadn't asked Penny yet where the red chalk creature was; she hadn't been in ChalkZone yet. But he assumed that it was still in ChalkZone; that's where it always was before.

But perhaps something changed. Maybe it did find something. Or maybe another zoner will locate something interesting. The odds were slim, but still there. Snap couldn't help but try to hold onto the hope that something will change very soon. He just...had to keep believing in that.

For the time being, he was just resting in his treehouse. He wanted to relax a little. Besides, Penny wouldn't be able to enter ChalkZone for another couple hours. School and all. Originally he was back in the city, but too many zoners were asking him questions and he just...wasn't in the mood for any of it. So he came out here to settle down.

He heard a small whimper beside him and he looked down at Blocky. The zoner was laying on the ground, curled up into a small ball. He had followed him earlier, quite frightened and unnerved by the whole thing. The fact that he was constantly hounded with questions as well did not do him any favors. It got worse when a few zoners even went as far as say that he was the one who took Rapsheeba. Snap wanted to slap those zoners in the faces, but right now, he wanted to focus on poor little Blocky.

At least here, he could get a little peace and quiet. Away from the clamor of the city and in a more isolated area where he had someone to comfort him. Normally, he'd hang around Rapsheeba during this time, or his other friends. But since Rapsheeba was gone and his other friends were scattered at the moment, he was the only one left.

Not that he minded watching out for Blocky. He was his creation mate, after all. Helping him was the least that he could do for him. And besides, seeing Blocky sleep somewhat peacefully was much better than how it had been before. Blocky needed the peaceful sleep for sure.

He still wasn't really sure what he was going to do when Penny got here, though. Aside from asking the question, of course. It didn't matter how she answered. Yes or no, he still wasn't really sure, and he couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration. If they could only get more information... Location would be nice, but there was still quite a bit they needed to know before they could successfully pull off a rescue.

And what of that creator who took Rapsheeba? They still didn't know if she was even with Rudy. This meant that there was the likelihood that they would find just one of them, but the other would still be missing.

And they didn't even know who was behind all of this. Terry was a likely suspect, but it could still be someone entirely new. The thought made Snap's blood run cold. The idea that someone else was behind this, someone whom none of them knew... He tried to shake the thought out of his mind, not wanting to think about it.

For the time being, he focused on just being here for Blocky. He reached down and he gently stroked along his head, helping to soothe him further. The rectangular zoner was still asleep and he hardly reacted to his touch, except with a simple stir and a small groan. Snap smiled slightly at this before frowning softly and looking away, staring out towards the window.

He enjoyed the sight of the permanent sunset sky. But it was not enough to make him forget what was going on. If anything, it only served as a cruel reminder to him. Seeing this part of the sky easily reminded him of Rudy, and he had been missing for so long and...

Now Rapsheeba...

Snap struggled to keep the burning tears from dripping down his face. He clenched his teeth, seething through them a bit. He did his best to keep his burning stomach in check, not wanting his stomach to accidentally release its contents or anything.

Perhaps he should try to rest or something. He was not going to do himself any favors if he just stayed up and worried so much about something he couldn't do much about at the moment. At least he and Penny were trying to do something about it. That was something at the very least.

So he tried to close his eyes and just settle down...

But then something caught his attention. His eyes opened a little wider when he could hear the sound of footsteps just outside. He looked over, blinking his eyes slowly. A part of him wanted to just stay with Blocky and go to sleep. But another part wanted to go over and see what was happening. Something was clearly going on.

Curiosity soon got the better of him. Moving himself away from Blocky carefully, the blue and white zoner headed over towards the window. He moved a bit sluggishly, not realizing just how tired he really was, so mentally exhausted from everything that they had done.

Despite this, he did make it to the window shortly. He positioned himself in front of it and laid his hands upon it. He pressed his head against it and he looked left and right, trying to see just what was going on. His eyes immediately widened at what he saw.

It was Lazlo, the bearded purple baker that had gotten his head stuck in that red chalk window that Rudy drew before. The zoner was wobbling about as though he was injured, but a quick analysis of his body showed that he was not hurt in any way. But the look in his eyes... It was as though he had seen a ghost of some kind. Snap watched the baker zoner stumble about for a few moments before he attempted to make contact.

"Lazlo?" Snap called out after he opened up the window and stuck his head out. "What are you doing here? And why do you look as though you witnessed something terrible?" When Lazlo did not respond, Snap pushed his head further out the window. "Lazlo, please answer me. Y-Y-You're scaring me... I..."

He stopped when he saw Lazlo lift his head up and look over at him. The baker zoner adopted a crouched posture, his hands fumbling over each other. His eyes were wide and angled in sharply in a somewhat drooping manner. Hard to describe, but it was a similiar expression he had given with that Vincent fellow before.

And that was enough to tell Snap that it was serious. Lazlo was usually more calm than that. Only something of real urgency would make him give that kind of expression. Snap licked his lips slowly and swallowed nervously. He could only begin to imagine what sort of things Lazlo had seen to make him look at him in such a manner. He was almost too terrified to know.

But he knew that he had to know. He needed to know what happened to him. What if it was of relevance? What if he had found something important? What if this could help in their investigation? And if there was another threat looming about, shouldn't they know about it?

Despite his nervousness at the answer, Snap said to the baker zoner, "Please...tell me what is going on. Why are you so scared...?"

Lazlo still looked uncertain of how to answer. He just stood there, looking left and right, his teeth gritted tightly. Snap understood if he was feeling scared. So much shit was happening lately and... But Lazlo needed to tell him what was going on. If he didn't, then...

That was when Lazlo finally opened his mouth to speak. And what he spoke next caused ice to shoot through Snap's head.

"I-I found Rudy..."

Snap's eyes widened in shock.

sss

"He did what?"

"I'm telling you, that's what he said!"

"But how is that even possible?"

"I don't know, but we should check it out!"

"I suppose you are right..."

A part of Penny wasn't entirely sure if this was a good idea or not. Something about it just...didn't seem right to her. Not that she felt that the baker zoner was untrustworthy or anything. There was just...something that was causing her body to fill with anxiety regarding this. It worried her deeply.

But what if he was telling the truth? What if he wasn't just seeing things? Maybe he really had seen Rudy in ChalkZone somewhere. Maybe he did spot him wandering around, creating something, and then leaving. Maybe Rudy really had run from him, even going as far as fight back against Lazlo to ensure that he couldn't follow him.

But that didn't make much sense. Why would Rudy try to hurt Lazlo? Okay not hurt, but push him back? What would he game from that? Wouldn't he have tried to at least talk to Lazlo?

And why wouldn't he have tried to reunite with them? If Rudy was in ChalkZone, then he should have tried to find them. He knew his way around this place. Even more so than her in some areas. Surely he would have been able to track them down. He was their best friend, after all. Why wouldn't he try to find them? Didn't he care about them? Of course he did... Which was what made this so confusing.

When Lazlo revealed that he and the other zoners in that area had noticed that Rudy was acting really strange and wobbly, Penny had a feeling it could be a fever. Maybe Rudy was delusional. Maybe he could not recognize who they were, or where he was. That would explain why he chose to run off like that. It did help put Penny's mind somewhat at ease. But not all the way. There was still the issue with the fever.

How could he have gotten it? Infection? The cold? Poisoned? So many thoughts raced through her mind on the possibilities. It was clear that something had happened to Rudy. And they needed to find out what it was.

Though a part of her was overwhelmed at finally hearing about Rudy after so long, she could not let herself delve into it too much. Now wasn't the time for her to be thinking about that stuff. She would have plenty of time later to really dwell on the fact that he was alive, if not sick. Right now, she needed to focus on finding a way to bring him back. If they didn't bring him to a hospital soon, he would end up getting even worse. And that was not something that they could afford.

And there was another problem. Just because they found Rudy wondering around in here... That didn't mean that... someone else hadn't caused this... What if that kidnapper was around here, too...?

Penny gave a cold shudder at this. She knew what had to be done. She turned her head and she stared down at Snap. He looked up at her in confusion, tilting his head to one side. She paused for a moment, trying to think of how to word it. Within seconds, she just spilled out what needed to be said.

"We need to tell the citizens of ChalkZone City about..."

Snap cut her off. "But, Penny, they already know." He raised his hands up at his sides. "What is the point in telling them again?"

"No, that's not it." Penny shook her head a couple of times. "I meant we need to tell them that there might be someone else in here." She frowned softly as she looked around, clenching her teeth. "Rudy's kidnapper, whoever it turns out to be... They might be here with him..."

"But how would they...oh..!" Snap put his hands to his mouth upon realizing just what Penny was talking about. The small blue and white zoner stared at Penny in horror for a few moments, letting this information settle in the back of his mind. Then he suddenly jumped into the air, waving his arms about. "Oy caloy! We gotta do something!"

"Shhh!" Penny motioned with her hands quickly. "Settle down! You don't want to draw attention to us, do you?"

Snap blushed sheepishly at this. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Sorry about that..."

Penny turned her head and she stared towards the city. They weren't too far away from it. It should only take a few minutes walking to get there. After they arrive, they could deliver the news to the zoners so that they were aware. They needed to know about this. They needed to be prepared just in case something...weird...happened.

From there, their only option was to go in the direction that Rudy had run. At least according to Lazlo and the few other zoners who had apparently noticed him. It was not a guarantee that they'd find him. But at least they would be able to get a better idea of where he was and just how far away. Perhaps she could even get the coordinates and map it out and hopefully match it up to something in the Real World and...

"Hey Penny, look at that!" Snap called out. When Penny looked, she saw that he had one of his arms moved upwards and his rounded hand now pointed down in one direction. "What's going on there?"

Penny's eyes widened when she saw a large group of zoners gathered not far from them. They weren't particularly angry or anything. But the way that they moved over towards them... It caused her gut to twist up inside, and she found herself taking a small step back. She wondered if this had anything to do with Rudy's sudden appearance in ChalkZone.

A few moments later, she learned that she was, in fact, correct.

"Why is Rudy Tabootie wandering around aimlessly? What is wrong with him?"

"Should we be worried?"

"Has he gone rogue like those past creators did?"

Penny and Snap narrowed their eyes at that last comment. The idea of these zoners thinking that Rudy had turned on them so easily... It made them burn up inside. How could they think for a moment that...

Another zoner spoke up, halting their thought process. "I remember seeing some kind of shape earlier, around when Rapsheeba disappeared. Could it have been him? Could the Great Creator be the one who kidnapped one of our own?"

At this, the zoners in the group reacted in fear, shock, and anger. They began to talk amongst each other. A few sounded as though they agreed with this, stating that maybe Rudy had changed far more than any of them realized due to Terry's actions. Others weren't so willing to think that, and argued back that it had to have been something else.

While this went on, all Snap and Penny could do was watch. They exchanged glanced with each other a few times, but kept most of their attention on the confused and frightened zoners before them. They nervously clenched their teeth, feeling their minds race as they listened to the zoners speak more on this.

To think that some of these zoners are so willing to think that Rudy had kidnapped Rapsheeba... They just couldn't believe it. Rudy had never done anything so horrible in the past. And considering the fact that he himself was kidnapped for a time, that made this statement make even less sense. Why in the world would Rudy even dream about subjecting another person to such a horrible fate?

But they couldn't be too angry with them. They knew that these zoners were just confused and frightened. There was so little information out regarding what was going on that... Well, of course they would be quick about making judgments. They just wanted an explanation is all.

After Penny managed to reduce the burning feeling in her mind and keep herself calm once more, she made her way over towards the zoners. They stopped their speaking and they turned their heads to her, waiting for her to speak. Penny was quiet for a few moments before she finally opened her mouth to respond to them.

"We are still trying to shed light on the issue. We apologize if we cannot give satisfactory answers to your questions. For now, the best thing would be to stay on your guard. If you spot anything suspicious, report it to us and the ChalkZone City police."

She paused for a moment and looked at each of the zoners in the small group before them. She wanted to make sure that they were following what she was saying. When she found that they were, she continued.

"In the meantime, me and Snap will follow the trail that the baker, Lazlo, had given us. We will try to see if we can determine anything from there. If we find anything, we will let you know." Penny raised her finger up. "Oh and before I forget, I should add this as well. If you feel that you are in danger for any reason, like if you feel as though you are being followed, get into your homes immediately." She lowered her finger as she frowned. "We don't want any further kidnappings if we can avoid it."

The zoners exchanged glances with each other before looking back at Penny. A few were frowning slightly, but overall, they seemed to approve of this plan. Most of them nodded their heads and even those that did not hadn't attempted to really contradict what she had said.

Satisfied that things have been worked out, Penny made a dismissive gesture to them. She did not need to tell them anything for them to understand what she was trying to say. The zoners immediately understood and they disbanded, even if a few of them were unsure about the whole thing. Penny watched as the zoners walked away, a few a bit more obviously reluctant, before she turned her attention to Snap.

"Which way did Lazlo say he had seen Rudy go?" She asked.

Snap paused for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He then pointed down in one direction slowly, a bit unsure. "I think...that way, maybe?"

Penny looked down where he was pointing to, noticing right away that it led straight out of town. She frowned her eyes a little, and then nodded her head. She looked back down at Snap and gave him a single command. "Let's go, then."

sss

Terry looked over as she saw Vinnie heading towards her. While she did this, she could feel Rudy's head push up against her on the couch. It rested upon her lap, his ribs rising and falling with each soft breath. She moved her hands along his hair and his side a little. Her eyes narrowing as she looked back in Vinnie's direction, she said, "Well? How did it go?"

Vinnie gritted his teeth and growled. Terry raised an eyebrow at this. That didn't really sound like much of a success, now did it? She had to wonder just what Rapsheeba had said this time. Did she just say no? Or did she get more physical?

"We need to try something else. This just isn't working. She's as stubborn as ever! I..."

"Shhh...!" Terry pressed a finger against her lips for a few moments. "You don't want to wake up Rudy, now do you?" She gave him a disciplinary glare. She glanced down at Rudy to make sure that he hadn't yet woken up. "We don't want him to overhear any of this."

Vinnie flinched for a moment, realizing what he had nearly done. "Oh... I'm sorry..." He gritted his teeth for a few moments, folding his hands behind his back. He gave another nervous glance to Rudy before he continued speaking, this time, making an effort to ensure that his voice wasn't too loud. "Anyway, I think we need to try another approach. Even with the threat of starvation, she is unwilling to divulge any information."

"Well it is of a private matter. So I can really blame her for that. Still..." Terry frowned at this. Although they could just forcefeed her in case she still refused to talk, she would much rather have things go much more smoothly than that. If the zoner refused to keep talking... "Rudy would be less likely to do anything if we take precautions to ensure that the zoners could be saved."

Vinnie rolled his eyes at this. "They can just be redrawn. I don't get why he's so worried about them." He motioned his hands forward, gesturing with them. "I mean... they are just drawings. Who cares if a few of them are offed? I mean, I'm not going to go out of my way to hurt them that badly or anything, but..."

Terry nodded her head at this. "That is true. And before, I wouldn't have cared, either. But..." She looked down at Rudy once more, biting her lip. "We both know how clever this boy can be. And we both know what would happen if we simply killed him off." She looked back at Vinnie. "Trying to ensure the zoners could be protected, preserved in a way, may help keep him from trying to fight back against us."

"We could still get locked up in jail." Vinnie said with a frown. "I wouldn't put it past the little brat to speak up as soon as someone managed to find him."

"I don't think so. So long as we treat him nicely and we keep him convinced we saved his life, he may not report us. If anything, he could make everyone believe that we really were trapped and that there was nothing we could have done to contact anyone." Terry smiled at this. "That would be enough to keep us out of jail...right?" She turned her head to one side. "Even if I get hauled back, maybe I could be let off early for good behavior."

Vinnie slapped himself in the face at this comment. "That's just wishful thinking and you know that." He moved his hand down slowly, stretching his face down with it. As soon as reached the bottom, he released his hand, causing his face to 'snap back', in a sense. "I mean...do you really think something like that would work? I don't think the police work like that."

Terry shrugged her shoulders. "There's no loss in hopeful thinking, right?" She slowly narrowed her eyes. "But you are right. We do need to be careful about this." She glanced down at Rudy once more. She stroked along his hair, her fingers running through the strands. She could feel each breath the boy gave, and she noticed the small smile on his sleeping face. "It would be easier to just kill him, but..." She narrowed her eyes further and gave out a sigh, turning her head away. "That would land us in more trouble if we were caught."

She noticed the look that Vinnie was giving her as she said this. She pulled her head back a little, feeling a sense of confusion. Why was he looking at her this way? Why did he look like he had seen something strange about her? She wanted to speak up, to say something, anything. But all she could do was just stare at Vinnie, clenching her teeth as she waited for him to speak up.

After a few moments of him not speaking, just staring, she asked, "Why are you looking at me that way?"

Vinnie continued to glare at her for a moment. Then he took a small step towards her. When he spoke, it was tinged with an accusatory tone, but mostly confusion and perplexion. "You're...starting to care about him, aren't you?"

Terry's eyes widened at this. She could feel a jolt inside of her chest. She seethed through her clenched teeth as she recoiled back. "No..Of course not... I mean, why would I care about him? He's just a little brat who had been getting in my way...our way...for too long. Why the fuck would I..."

Vinnie approached her yet again, taking slow, steady steps. "I've seen the way you look at him. And the way you speak when you said we can't kill him..." Vinnie frowned slightly further. "I'd say there's more reason you have not to kill him than just the fear of getting caught."

Terry spluttered at this. She could not form a coherent sentence after that. Her mind spun at Vinnie's accusations, and she could feel her stomach churning at the possibility. How... How dare Vinnie say that she would even think to... There was no way that she would ever... She struggled to keep herself under control, not wanting to do anything to wake up Rudy. It was a miracle that he hadn't woken up now. If they lost their hold over him...

Terry forced a sigh out through her partially open mouth. She could feel her body start to shake a little at this accusation and she couldn't help but flinch. She had to keep herself under better control. She had been able to fool Rudy all this time. It would be terrible if she ended up losing all of the progress they had made from the simple mistake of not controlling her emotions. If she could stifle it around Rudy, then there was no reason that she couldn't do the same with Vinnie.

Besides, right now wasn't really a good time to be arguing about this, now was it? It was so easy to do that... Vinnie could keep accusing her, and she could bring up the times she thought she had seen him start to care about Rudy instead of seeing him as what he really was to them: a tool.

For now, it was best to just focus on what was going on now. They needed to refocus their attention on what to do with Rapsheeba. They needed to get that information out of her as soon as possible. They could easily just forcefeed her in case she does attempt to starve herself instead of giving information. But that would only prolong her stubbornness. And she might even use that to her advantage, making them feed her so that she wouldn't end up dying. She could keep this up for a while and...

Her eyes then flickered. There was something that they could try. They had thought about it before and Vinnie had seemed ready to do it. For some reason, he had backed out and opted for more traditional interrogating instead. Obviously it hadn't wrked.

But despite the...moral issues involved with that idea, she did feel that they were really onto something there. Even if she was disgusted by the idea, and she knew Vinnie was too, and that they would probably never feel clean again after do it, it could be enough to jog something in that stubborn zoner. Maybe it would be enough to break her front and make her speak.

In the end, there was really only one way to find out. As much as it filled her with confusing thoughts, they would have to 'dive right in' as the saying goes. Take the risk. If it could produce a result, then it was worth it, wasn't it?

"Vinnie." Terry spoke up at last. "Do you remember what you said before? About that thing you were going to try?"

Vinnie glared at this. "Why are you jumping topics? We really need to discuss..."

"No, we don't." Terry cut him off, shaking her head from side to side. "We need to focus on that little zoner. So now.." She tilted her head to one side as she glared at him softly. "Do you or do you not remember about..."

"Yes, I do? Okay? Satisfied?" Vinnie let out a small groan, his fingers curling in against each other. He stayed like this for a few moments before he let out a small sigh. "Anyway, what about it? Are you going to suggest that I try it again? You know how we both feel about..."

"Yes, I know. Even knowing that we can get away with it, even if we both have the urge to slap that zoner, we both don't want to go to far. Even if it's just t o keep ourselves out of potential danger. But look..." Terry narrowed her eyes into slits. "We can't let this go on forever. I know that zoner is just going to force us in a state where we feed her so she doesn't die, and she gets to stay quiet. We can't allow that. We need to show her that things don't work like that around here." She closed her eyes for a moment before she reopened them. "And you know what that entails..."

Vinnie stared at her, his eyes widened, a slight hint of horror resting on his face. "Yes. I know.." He looked off to the side, licking his lips slowly. "I'm not...fond of the idea, I admit."

"Neither am I." Terry agreed. "But we need to try something and fast. If we don't, we could..."

Vinnie nodded his head slowly. "I know... I know." The short man stood there for a few moments, rubbing the back of his head. He looked as if he was trying to contemplate what he should do. He soon gritted his teeth and said, "...I think I'll just...give it a go. I don't want to waste any further time." He looked over towards the corridor that led to where Rapsheeba was being held. "I'll give it a try."

Terry gave him a sympathetic look, something that she rarely gave. This was going to be tough, she knew, but if it gave them results...

"Good luck."

Vinnie nodded his head. "Yeah...I'm going to need it for this..."

"Agreed."

sss

The female singer zoner groaned softly as she rubbed her stomach, smacking her dry lips. She could feel weakness spreading throughout her body. Her stomach growled loudly, causing her to flinch. It had gotten so unbearable, and she was tempted to try to bang up against her cage bars just to get to the food nearby.

The only thing keeping her from doing that is that she did not want to look like she relied on them for survival. She knew that, once she started to consume their food or drink their water, she was more or less surrendering to them. And from there, they could begin to control her more and...

No, she would not allow it. Even if it was going to be incredibly hard, even if she would have to bite her tongue so many times, she had to resist the temptation to eat. She wasn't really sure how long she could hold out, and she knew that she may end up giving into her more animalistic instincts eventually. But at least she could keep those two horrible humans from learning about...that stuff.

It still horrified her that they would want that kind of information. To know the more personal lives of zoners, whether or not they could have children and under what kind of circumstances... The thought caused her blood to chill. She didn't want to start thinking about just what they would do with that information.

When Terry mentioned the breeding program, she was disgusted. She had thought that she could feel her past lunch surging up in her stomach, and it was a miracle that she was able to stop it from spewing out all over the place.

She couldn't believe that Terry had wanted to treat zoners like they were some kind of wild animal or something. Rapsheeba gritted her teeth tightly at this. Zoners were not meant to be kept in cages like this. They were not meant to be kept like pets or caged like zoo animals. They were people. Fully sentient and fully intelligent and aware. They didn't deserve this kind of treatment. Not that these two humans cared. They had made that quite obviously clear.

Rapsheeba felt a sudden bout of dizziness strike through her and she wobbled a bit from side to side. She grabbed onto her head and she rubbed it gently, trying to help herself settle down. She could feel a trembling sensation rush through her body and she thought she could feel herself fall down, even though she was already sitting against the bars. The effects of going hungry was making itself known already, and she knew it was only going to get worse from here.

But she still had to hang on. She had to fight back. Even if it was very difficult, so long as she was able to maintain her dignity and her strong will, she would be able to pull through this. She was not going to surrender that easily.

She raised her head up at the sound of the door opening. She narrowed her eyes, expecting to see Terry this time. Instead, she saw Vinnie, whom she had already seen very recently. Either way, she would have been quite displeased. She hissed softly as she glared at him, showing her teeth. Vinnie just smirked at her as she approached, slow and steady.

Rapsheeba did notice that there was something...different about the way that he walked. It was difficult to tell at first, but as she continued watching him, she began to notice that he was not moving exactly the same as before. And this caused her to become incredibly nervous. She tried her best not to show her fear, but she wasn't able to stop her eyes from widening ever so slightly.

"I see you are surprised to see me again." Vinnie said, breaking the stiff silence that had a hold of them momentarily. "I am back sooner than I expected, I admit."

Rapsheeba nodded her head curtly, seething. "And here I thought I was going to get a nice nap without you and your ugly mug here."

Vinnie gave a quick shudder at this, his eyes widening, and then narrowing. Rapsheeba moved back only slightly, an automatic reaction taht she could not stop. Vinnie appeared to notice this, and it was enough for him. Smiling, he relaxed himself, leaning away a bit. "I have good reason to return."

Rapsheeba rolled her eyes. "Oh really now? That will be fun to listen to." She gave him a sarcastic, dry smile. "What is it? You going to try to sing me a song so that I will 'break'? Or are you going to try that lame tickle torture I've heard some kids do?"

Vinnie stared at her for a few moments, blinking a few times. Then he gave a dark chuckle, his shoulders shaking. "No, I have something very different in mind."

Rapsheeba frowned at him in confusion. "And just what is it you plan to do?"

The lack of an answer and the way that Vinnie looked at her painted a rather horrifying image. She didn't exactly know what he had planned, but she knew right away that it was nothing good. He looked at her like he had saved the 'best' for last. She felt her heart skip a beat when she remembered him talking about having something 'special' planned for her if she did not cooperate. Was this that special thing?

As he continued to draw closer to the cage, she began to notice some of the body language that he was exhibiting was very familiar. Something that she would only see if.. Her eyes widened in horror. No...he could not be thinking of doing that... could he...?

It took only a few moments before Vinnie stopped in front of her cage. She watched as he folded his arms against his chest and smirked down at her. That smile that spread across his face practically set everything around her on icy fire. There were so many hidden promises behind that... And Vinnie looked as though he meant every single one of them.

"Wh-What are you going to do?" Rapsheeba finally asked, licking her lips slowly. She could feel her heart start to beat faster against her chest, and she pressed herself further back against the cage. "Th-That is close enough..."

Vinnie just shook his head at this, his smile growing more twisted as the seconds ticked by. "Oh no.. I'm close enough. Here, let me help with that." Vinnie reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key. At this, Rapsheeba could feel herself pale. She listened to the rattling of the key as he twisted it, and the cage door flew open, hitting against the metal bars. He stood there for a few moments before he began to move further inside.

Rapsheeba scrambled to get away from him. She looked left and right and then she tried to rush past him. It was a slim shot, but if she managed to get around him and get out of this cage, then she might be able to...

But she wasn't fast enough. Before she knew it, Vinnie had grabbed a hold of her and shoved her against the ground. She grunted as she felt her back collide with the hard ground beneath her. She struggled and squirmed from side to side, but she was not able to free herself.

"There, isn't this so much better?" Vinnie asked as he tightened his grip on her, using his weight to hold her against the ground. "Try not to squirm around too much. That'll make this go a lot smoother."

Rapsheeba looked up in horror at Vinnie. She could see the look in his eyes. She had never seen such a complex expression before. Floating around in his mind, she could see that he was both excited for this, in a rather depraved way, but he was also horrified as well. It was as though it was taking so much of his willpower to push himslef through with this.

Not that this hesitation was of any comfort to her. With her heart pounding heavily against her chest, she struggled frantically, hoping to free herself. But it was useless. Vinnie chuckled at her attempts before he leaned in towards her. "Let's see if this persuades you."

sss

Rudy blinked his eyes a few times when he awoke to the sound of whimpering. He blinked his eyes a few times and rubbed them, his blurry vision slowly sharpening up. He lifted his head up, smacking his lips a few times, and looked left and right. For a brief moment, he struggled to remember where he was.

Oh of course, he was still in the cabin with Vinnie and Terry. Huh, what could be causing one of them to cry? That didn't really seem all much like them. Or was it even them at all? The tone was feminine, but something about it didn't seem like it belonged to Terry. But if it wasn't her own voice, then who could be...

Rapsheeba...?

Rudy could feel his heart clench, even with the fact that he was still pretty tired right now. He pushed himself further from the couch and looked at where she was being held. He took in slow, deep breaths as he struggled to calm down his racing mind. The last thing he needed was to get himself too worked up; he was not going to be of much help to anyone if he gave himself a heartattack. There was a logical reason for her crying, he was sure.

Not because of Terry or Vinnie. They had promised they wouldn't harm her. They had been truthful before, and he had little reason to doubt them. Since it couldn't possibly be them, he had to assume that Rapsheeba just had a nightmare. She was probably frightened about being here and he could understand that. It was never easy being far away from home. Even he himself had sometimes suffered a nightmare about his family and friends. Oh gawd, he missed them so much...

He wished that he could do something to help calm down Rapsheeba. He wished that he could just go over into that room and try to speak with her. Perhaps help her understand that she isn't in any danger and that Terry and Vinnie only wanted to learn more about her species. That was all. There wouldn't be any harm in her telling them.

Though a part of him felt hesitant to even try talking with her. Not that he wouldn't be glad to speak with her again. But what would she think of him now? Knowing that he now got along with Vinnie and Terry? How did she feel about the fact that he had to drag her out of ChalkZone? It was for a good reason, but he still felt horrible about it. He never did get a chance to fully explain to her that he hadn't meant any harm and that everything would be all right in the end.

Rudy lowered his head, feeling another tight twist in his chest. He realized that there was little reason for Rapsheeba to believe him at this point. He may have caused a lot of damage to their relationsihp at this point. He wasn't even sure if Rapsheeba could ever fully trust him again.

He bit his lip at this realization. He wished that one of those two were awake so that he could check up on Rapsheeba on his own. He lifted his head and he stared at Terry, who sat down next to him. Her closed eyes and partially open mouth suggested that she was still sleeping. It was hard to tell if it was light out outside or not, but either way, he didn't feel comfortable with waking her up.

And Vinnie was nowhere in sight. Rudy wondered what he could be doing. Maybe he was in the bedroom or something and he just...passed out from working so hard. Considering the fact that he cooks most of the time, it was a given.

Rudy flinched when he heard Rapsheeba give out a small, terror-filled scream. Must be a really bad nightmare. This was proven when he had heard her start sobbing again. And this went on for a while. The more he heard, he more he could feel his gut churning. Poor Rapsheeba... That had to be one intense nightmare that she was having. A shame that he wasn't in there with her. He could have helped her relax at this point.

The screaming and crying went on for a few minutes, and Rudy found himself growing more and more antsy. He didn't want to walk on his leg unless he absolutely had to. And given how he was pressed up against Terry, he feared if he moved too much, he could wake her up from her slumber. So he was placed in a position where he really wanted to move, and yet he couldn't. This was creating some internal fires shooting through every pore of his body as his body and mind fought to do two different things.

But soon, after a few moments, he could hear something start to change. The cries were starting to settle down. Slower, less energetic, more lethargic-sounding. Rudy tilted his head in that direction, trying to catch as much sound as possible with his ear. He could confirm that, yes indeed, Rapsheeba was starting to finally relax. Perhaps the nightmare had finally stopped.

He smiled at this. Knowing that Rapsheeba was calming down and becoming soothed made his heart swell up. Soon she would drift back to sleep and hopefully tomorrow, she'd come to a better understanding with Terry and Vinnie. Maybe they will be able to gain her truth and she could...

Well, that wasn't really much of a possibility at this point, now was it? He recalled that it had taken him a while to start trusting Vinnie and Terry. It was likely it would take Rapsheeba that long as well. She didn't have much of a reason to trust them at this point. They hadn't had enough time to really build trust with her. Not that they hadn't tried, but it was such a short time that... It didn't matter how great the method they used was; it was still going to take time.

...unless he tried something.

Rudy still wasn't sure if he liked the idea of meeting up with Rapsheeba so soon. She must have mixed feelings about him at this point. She might think that he betrayed her, and would ask him why should he trust anything else that he says. The thought hurt him, but he wouldn't really blame Rapsheeba if she truly felt that way.

But still, he'd have to try something. He might be the only one who could talk sense into her. Maybe if he sat down with her and really explained things to her and reassured her, maybe she would start to be a little more trusting. She would be able to return home if she'd only give them what they wanted. And while that sounded really horrible when he said it in his mind, it was really not going to be that bad.

He quickly made up his mind. For now, he would go back to sleep. But tomorrow when he woke up, after breakfast, he would suggest the idea to them. He wasn't entirely sure if Vinnie or Terry would like it. But at the very least, he had to give them the idea. He didn't want them to get too upset; Rapsheeba didn't need to be more frightened then she already was.

Rudy flinched as he felt a pang of pain in his head. Seething, he raised up his hand and he rubbed it against his forehead. He dug his fingernails on his other hand into the couch and held on tightly. He struggled to control himself as his head began to spin around in circles. This episode lasted for a few seconds before he finally settled down. He had to shake his head a couple of times before he could bright his blurred sight back to normal.

This wasn't the first time that this has happened. Darn, stupid fever... It was difficult for him to think at times. He had to sometimes struggle really hard with his mind before he managed to have a coherent thought about something. It was quite worrying, and something that he had brought up to those two before. They had done whatever they could, but the fever still persists...

Oh well, at least it was not at a dangerous level. He didn't feel as though he was dying or anything. He just felt a little weak and dizzy at times. And of course, chilly.

At that thought, he suddenly felt a wave of cold strike him. He seethed through his clenched teeth, gritting them against one another. He could feel a wave of goosebumps surge through his arms. He had to lift up one of his hands and rub them against his arm rapidly. The friction heat was enough to soothe the arm for the time being. But it didn't fully stop him from shivering hard a few times, his body practically jolting.

Looking over at Terry, he cuddled closer against her. He pressed his body against her side, his head resting on her lap. He laid his arm across her legs and curled his body inward towards her. His shivers felt as though they were increasing, and he shut his eyes tightly as he tried to endure it. Gawd, this stupid fever...

He pressed himself further against Terry, trying to get warm. Oh why did he ever decide to toss away that blanket? It was freezing outside, still. At least according to Vinnie and Terry. And his fever made him feel even more cold. Why in the world did he think it was a good idea to...

He opened up his eyes when he suddenly felt a wave of warmth move along his body, from his shoulders all the way down his back. Some kind of nice heating sensation, and he could feel his mouth curl up into a smile at this welcomed warmth. He turned his head to see what had taken place, and almost as soon as he laid eyes on Vinnie, he could feel the weight on the couch shift a little.

To Rudy's surprise, Vinnie decided to join him on the couch. Rudy felt a little confused by this. Normally, only one of them would stay with him on the couch and even then, they didn't always rest on the couch with him; he's been alone a few times as well. This would be the very first time that they were both on the couch with him.

And he felt a warm sensation of safety at this realization. A sense of security. He smiled in Vinnie's direction, even if he was not staring at him. The short man was leaning back against the couch, crossing one leg over the other. He held the remove in his eyes and turned the television on. The low sound was enough to cover up the crying that was still emitting from Rapsheeba.

With the low hum of the television caressing his ears, Rudy pressed his head against Terry's thigh further, cuddling up against her more tight and snug. He could feel Vinnie's hand running along down his side and back. He smiled at this as he took in a deep breath and he let out a small sigh. He shut his eyes and soon he drifted off.

sss

So sending out the red chalk creations wasn't as necessary as he had thought. If only he had realized that, he would have...

Well, how could he have known? Not like he knew about what Penny and Snap was going until now. They had stopped by earlier for some more magic chalk and he had been informed of what they had found out. While he was happy to hear that they finally had some kind of lead, it did make him feel more...embarrassed about his hasty use of the red chalk creations to find Rudy. All that risk that he did not have to take...

At least now he knew, and he could always round them up later. They didn't seem to be causing any kind of problem at the moment, anyway. No reports. They were just too busy trying to find Rudy or Rapsheeba. Though most likely Rudy. The red chalk was stubborn; even after not finding Rudy all this time, they were still looking. Quite relentless...

Which was what made them so terrifying. They simply did not give up. While that trait can be handy in some areas, it was used in the wrong manner with the red chalk. If only they were determined to do something more positive...

Well there wasn't much that he could do to change the nature of red chalk, now could he? That's how it always was. No matter how much he'd love for it to be different, the red chalk wouldn't change. It was primal, hardly thought about anything except about how to obtain power. There wasn't really anything that could grab the red chalk's attention unless it was a way to either spread its dominance or to obtain more power.

Licking his lips slowly, Biclops turned his massive head and stared down the hallway. Maybe he could try something else to... Oh no, he was not going through that again. He had already dealt with the huge risk that he felt he was forced to take. He was not going to risk another. Penny and Snap had things under control now. He should just let them handle it.

In the mean time, he would just... Hmm, he didn't really know what he was going to do. He wanted to help, but he didn't want to abandon the mine, either. He had to stay here, watchful and vigilant. If he left this place unguarded... He shuddered to think of just what might happen. He shook his head a few times as he attempted to push back those nasty thoughts.

But he didn't want to just stand around here and do nothing. He didn't want to be just a useless piece of chalk dust. He felt obligated to help protect ChalkZone, too. It wasn't just Rudy, Penny, and Snap. He cared just as much for the others as they did. So of course, he should at least try to do something else to help. Sure he had the red chalk out there and sure he told Penny and Snap to monitor them and report to him if they find anything. But he felt like he could do even more.

A part of him wondered if it was even a good idea to continue giving different types of help this way. What if he ended up making things more complicated? What if he ended up screwing up the mission somehow? He was well aware that sometimes, too much help can complicate things. They needed to be more organized and planned out. Otherwise, it was quite easy for bad things to happen.

But at the same time, maybe it wouldn't really hurt to put out extra help. The more attempts to find Rudy and Rapsheeba, the more likely that they were going to find them, right? So long as he wasn't too overboard with this, he might be able to...

He stopped himself when he heard the sound of some kind of pebble rolling across the floor. He turned his head and he stared down at the lone pebble. He narrowed his eyes at this as he lowered himself down and pinched the pebble in his fingers. He stared at it closely, narrowing his eyes. How very strange... What had caused this pebble to...

He then heard a scraping sound, and more pebbles rolling. He gritted his teeth as he saw the tiny rocks roll up by his feet. He turned his head, staring into the next chamber. It took him only a few seconds to realize that it was coming from one of his back chambers that held more white chalk. Someone was back there... The thought caused a burning sensation to surge through his body.

How dare someone intrude on his home... How dare they make a mockery of him by coming here, thinking that they could get away with it... How dare they defile this sacred place... He was going to catch them. And oh man, once he did, they were going to have a lot of questions to answer.

Narrowing his vertical eyes, Biclops made his way over to the next chamber. He didn't rush things, however. He made sure to go nice and slow. His massive frame could easily alert the intruder. It was hard to move around without shaking the ground with him this size, but so long as he kept his steps nice and soft, he should be able to pull it off without much problem.

Slowly and steadily, he walked over to where the sound was coming from. He could see more pebbles being rolled his way. He could hear a small grunt and the sound of snapping. Almost immediately, he seethed through his large, gritted teeth. A lightning bolt shot through his mind. It took him only a second to put the pieces together and realize just what was going on around here.

Someone was stealing some magic chalk. He narrowed his eyes dangerously. Not on his watch. Forfeiting any chance of being subtle, his duty-bound mind coming into play, he quickened his pace and rushed over.

"Oh no you don't! Put that stuff down before I..."

Biclops immediately froze at what he saw. He stared long and hard, a part of him not wanting to believe it himself. He licked his lips nervously, his tongue suddenly feeling dry. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene, even though the longer he stared, the more confused he became about the whole thing. Just...how was this possible...?

He knew it couldn't have been a dream, though. This was certainly real. No matter how lightly he pinched himself, he could still feel it. That meant that this had to be real of some kind. But that didn't make this any easier for him to understand. If anything, it only made it even more confusing.

Licking his dry mouth, the giant managed to squeaked out a small yet powerful word.

"R-Rudy...?"

When the figure before him lifted up his head, sure enough, it really was Rudy. There was no mistaking that face, or those features. Those green eyes bored into his eyes, almost piercing. Not out of malice, but out of shock, as though he did not expect him to see him like this. The boy froze upon noticing the giant staring down at him, hugging the back of chalk to himself.

Biclops struggled with the rapidly moving emotions in the back of his head. He breathed in and out quickly, his heart clenching and racing. He tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He tried to tell himself that there was a logical explaination for this, that it couldn't possibly be what he thought it was. No, Rudy wouldn't really have...

But the longer he stared, the more he realized that this had to be... it couldn't be anything else. No matter how hard he tried, no matter what he thought, nothing really changed what he was seeing. All he could do was just...stare as his eyes further confirmed his worst fears. He never thought that Rudy would really do something like this.

Or was he? Biclops quickly remembered that he had been kidnapped before. Could his kidnappers be putting him up to this? Was he being threatened? Biclops found himself momentarily frozen as his mind was filled to the brim of many thoughts, regarding what Rudy was doing, what could have been done to him, and the fact that this was the first time that he had seen him in along time.

Oh if only this had happened in better circumstances...

Before the giant had a chance to fully register what was going on, Rudy suddenly took off. No simple crouching or cringing, or even saying anything to him. The human child just got up and ran away as though some kind of monster had appeared to take him. Biclops was frozen in shock at this for a few seconds before he started to take off.

"Wait! Rudy Tabootie!" Biclops huffed as he ran forward. His footfalls shook the ground. His breathing became heavy. "Come back here!"

But Rudy wouldn't stop. He just kept running faster and faster, trying his best to try to lose him. Biclops struggled to keep up with him. A task that should be easy given how large he was, but for some reason, he found it almost impossible to keep up, and before he knew it, the boy was gone completely, along with that bag of missing chalk.

Biclops stood at the Chalk Mine entrance, his large hand pressed up against the wall of the entrance and he leaned against it. He opened his mouth a bit wider as he struggled to gulp in more breaths. His head spun around in circles, his tongue hanging out and becoming even more dry. He stared at the disappearing form of Rudy, and within seconds, he disappeared.

So many thoughts crowded through his mind, even more so than before. He found it difficult to really control his own thinking, or have any coherent thought. His mind was just blasting him with multiple questions regarding this, and a part of him wondered if he was even seeing things right. Or was this even real at all? Sometimes people do feel pain in their dreams. Maybe this was just one of those times wehn...

Well, regardless, something was going on and he had to figure out what it was. He needed to know why Rudy stole magic chalk from him and why. Biclops refused to think that he had done that on his own accord; someone was making him do it. And it had to be because of his kidnapper. And if it was his kidnapper, then...

There was no way around it. The culprits had to be Vinnie and Terry. Or at least one of them. Who else would even know about magic chalk? Who else would black mail Rudy into doing something like this? Yeah, it had to be them.

Biclops narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. It was truly sickening the way that some people tried to get what they want. But Vinnie and Terry? They take the cake. Especially Terry, who manipulated a small child to try to gain access to ChalkZone. He wouldn't be surprised if this was her dirty work yet again. He wondered just how she managed to do it this time. He gave a quick, burning cold shudder at the mere thought of that.

He needed to do something and fast. He had seen Rudy running around here. He had spotted him. He wasn't the only one from what he hurt. The others reported the sighting and so should he. And then tell those two how Rudy stole the chalk and how that would connect the kidnappers to, at the very least, Terry. Not that either of them would be surprised, of course. Almost everyone in ChalkZone City had suspected Terry.

And then from there.. Well Biclops was certain that they could figure out something that they could do.

He bit his lip as he felt a sting in his chest. He hoped that Rudy had been treated okay. But he couldn't imagine that being the case if he had been forced into this. What kind of horrible thing did Terry to do make Rudy do this? He could feel a few small tears burn in the back of his large eyes. That poor little child...

Suddenly, a small smile crept up along his face. Perhaps it wasn't a bad idea to send the red chalk out there after all. Now to get ahold of Snap and Penny...

sss

"Rudy was where?!" Penny cried out in shock. "Are you sure?!"

"Positive! I saw him in the Chalk Mine. He was stealing magic chalk." Biclops replied.

Penny widened her eyes at this. A part of her couldn't believe what she was hearing. Surely Biclops was joking, right? She had to be mishearing this somehow... But as Biclops continued to stare at her, his expression holding nothing but absolute seriousness, she realized that... he wasn't lying. He was being completely sincere.

Which only made this moment not only more confusing, but quite alarming. She exchanged a look of horror with Snap before she looked back at where Biclops was, his image being displayed on the upgraded homing beacon that she had lent them. She licked her lips nervously as she let her mind wander, fully realizing just what this truly meant.

Rudy, somehow, had access to keep coming into ChalkZone. But instead of going to them and trying to get back to his parents, for whatever reason, he was just...not. He kept leaving them and returning to wherever he was taken. And the fact that he stole magic chalk instead of simply asking Biclops... Something was very wrong here.

"That can't be right. Rudy wouldn't steal anything!" Snap raised his hands up in the air. "It must have been someone else! Maybe another human creator or..."

"No, Snap. It was Rudy Tabootie. I recognized him." Biclops cut him off. His eyes narrowed softly. "Or are you insinuating that I am blind?"

Snap waved his hands out in front of him, shaking his head as he grinned. "Oh no, not at all, big guy! It's just that..." He paused for a moment. He lowered his hands down at his sides as he lowered his head. His eyes furrowed a little, a sense of sadness strongly radiating off them. "I just don't want to think that Rudy would really...do something like this. It's just not like him..."

Biclops let out a sigh. He placed his large hand against his head, shaking it from side to side. "I'm not happy about it either, Snap. But...we don't have much of a choice here, now do we?" He lowered his hand a little, gesturing it towards them through the screen. "I'm telling you, it was him. He stole a few pieces of magic chalk and he just ran off with them."

Penny felt a sting in her stomach. "He was probably taking them to his captors..." Snap widened his eyes in horror at this, but couldn't figure out what to say. "That would explain why he was so secretive..."

"Exactly." Biclops's response was frank and to the point. Just enough for the two of them to fully understand what this allmeant.

Snap shook his head in disbelief. "N-No... He wouldn't do something like that.." Snap looked over at Penny. His eyes practically radiated in desperation. It made her flinch a little, seeing how worried he was about this. "Please, tell me this is some kind of a joke. B-Bucko wouldn't try to.."

Penny could only look at him with great sympathy before turning her head away. Her eyes closed lightly and she released a sigh from her partially open mouth. As much as she wanted to be more optimistic and think it was someone else, as much as she wanted to comfort him, she knew that she could not. She knew that Biclops was correct. From the description and how trustworthy the giant was... Yeah, there was nothing else that it could have been.

Reminding herself yet again of just how real this whole thing was made Penny bit her lip firmly, sucking it. She wasn't really upset with Rudy. She could not blame him for his actions; he was obviously forced into it.

No, her concern was instead with whoever was controlling him. Him stealing magic chalk more or less confirmed that it had to be Vinnie...or even Terry. Or both. She couldn't keep her eyes from widening further as the full realization struck her like a freight train. She could feel her gut twisting sharply, and she thought that her heart was going to burst wide open, spilling its blood everywhere.

Attempting to stop it only seemed to make it stronger. She put her hand to her chest and she could feel her heart thumping inside, trying to push against her chest. She breathed in and out shakenly, trying to do whatever she could to settle down. She needed to calm herself down and try to think about this situation. She would not be able to do much assessment if she allowed her mind to go haywire with emotion.

After a short time, she did succeed in calming herself down. But there were things that still needed to be addressed. The situation with Rudy was only one of them. Now they had something else to worry about. With Vinnie and/or Terry involved...

Her briefly calm heart suddenly burst into a strong, powerful torrent of emotion as she realized that if Rudy were taken by them and he was bringing over magic chalk, then... She sucked in a sharp breath of horror at this, taking a small step back. Oh gawd no...

"Buckette...?" Snap whispered softly, moving his hand towards her. "Are you all right..?"

Penny looked down at him. Almost funny that he was the one asking if she was okay when he had been the most outwardly fearful out of all of them. She wanted so badly to smile at him and reassure him, yet all she could do was continue staring at him in horror, licking her lips slowly. All that did was further worry the little zoner, making him even more ansty.

Penny looked down at the homing beacon. She noticed that Biclops as well was staring at her, waiting for her response. She could see the way his eyes were wide and how his teeth were clenched against each other. She felt a brief pang of guilt before she finally spoke. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"No, don't worry about it. We understand." Biclops spoke up, cutting her off. "Anyway, let's not dwell on that now. We have important matters to discuss." His eyes furrowed deeply. "I'm sure you're both aware of that."

Wordlessly, Penny and Snap nodded their heads. They both knew that he was right. As much as they wanted to discuss things further, that just wasn't an option here. They had to figure out what to do about Rudy and fast. If they allowed things to continue as they were...

Penny couldn't stop the flashes of images in her head as she wondered just how Rudy could have gotten to this state. What could have possessed him to do what Vinnie and/or Terry wanted him to do? Then she got a rude wake up call when she recalled how Terry forced Rudy into submission before. Perhaps something else like that had happened again? The thought filled her heart with ice.

"Some good news. The red chalk would most certainly have picked up the trail." Biclops's voice slightly wavered at that. It was unclear if he was just nervous, or if he really didn't know if he was speaking the truth or not. "That red chalk creature would likely have tracked him down. We can check the tracker and see where the creature is now and go there."

Penny couldn't believe she had forgotten about that red chalk creature. They had been so busy working this stuff out that it just slipped her mind. Normally, talk of the red chalk would freak her out, but in this case, it was more or less leading them to where Rudy was being held...or at least they hoped so. They could deal with the red chalk after; right now, it was important to let it go because if it was on the trail for Rudy, then they could... Well, at the very least, she hoped that it would work.

Penny didn't want to waste any more time. She realized that she would end up making everything feel rushed and all, but there was no point in standing around here. Biclops had already told them which way Rudy went and they did have the tracker. So why not just follow the red chalk creature to see if it'll take them to Rudy? They were much closer to where Rudy was spotted before. They should take advantage of this before...

Just then, she heard a distant snap. Far away, indicating that whoever did that was still a good many feet away. She turned herself around quickly, seething through her clenched teeth. She could feel Snap's and Biclops's eyes upon her, confused by her sudden change in disposition. Neither of them had heard what she did. She looked back down at them and pressed her finger against her lip to silence them before either them could even think to try to speak.

Grabbing onto Snap, she jumped to one side, hiding behind one of the cliff formations that they were standing near. It was a good thing that, despite this place being sparse of vegetation except for a few, there were still plenty of places to hide. She kept herself pressed in the shadows of his crevice, her hand placed over Snap's mouth to make sure that he didn't try to speak. Her eyes then focused on what was going on before her.

Snap struggled in her arms, jerking herself from side to side, trying to make her let go. He let out a serie of muffled cries, each one growing increasingly frustrated and annoyed. She could feel him try to yank down her arm, his hands tightly wrapping around her arm. Penny, however, kept a tight grip on him and she even tightened the muscles in her arm, pressing him more firmly against herself, making it harder for him to escape.

But eventually, Snap was still able to get away, yanking his head free from her grasp and giving her a harsh glare. He seethed through his gritted teeth as he raised up his arm to start his rant.

"Why did you..."

"Shh!" Penny immediately clamped both hands against his mouth. She pushed him back against the nearby wall, her desperate-filled eyes staring down at him. "Be quiet...!" She struggled to keep her own voice from sounding too loud. "I think I hear someone coming...!"

Snap widened his eyes at this realization. He stopped struggling against her, becoming a bit more relaxed. Once Penny was certain that Snap was going to to make another sound, she pulled her hands back, releasing him. The blue and white zoner stared at her for a few seconds and then he turned his head over to where they had run away from, looking for whatever she had heard.

Penny shook her head. "It was coming from a different direction." She motioned her head to the right of where Snap was looking. "A snap of a twig. Someone is coming this way quite hastily."

"Well it could be just Blocky trying to catch up to us or..." Snap suggested, raising his hand up in gesture.

Penny frowned at this. "Or it could be Rudy."

"But why would..." Snap's voice trailed off. "Oh..."

It was a long shot. It really could be someone else. It could be another zoner perhaps, or even another human, even if that wasn't quite as likely. They could be waiting around for what could essentially be nothing.

But what if it was Rudy? What if he was on his way here? If they could just catch him before he had a chance to return to Vinnie and Terry...

Penny and Snap hunkered down and stared intently, waiting to see if Rudy truly did show up. They remained quiet and vigilant. They glanced at each other for a moment and then looked back out at the scene before them. There was no telling if they would see what they wanted, but for the sake of possibility...of getting a chance to save Rudy before things got worse... It would be worth it.