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Post by Bluedramon on Sept 27, 2014 8:08:49 GMT -5
CHAPTER 15:
That battle with Rudy was a rush. Exciting, invigorating. Finally, the so-called protector of ChalkZone was starting to fight back more effectively. Mint was a little worried that Rudy's past efforts were the best that he had to offer. He was glad to see that he was wrong. There was more to this boy than he previously believed. He had a lot of determination; he can give him that.
It had looked like Mint was going to win again. He was pleasantly surprised that Rudy put up more of a fight this time, and had actually managed to take his chalk this time, instead of the usual way around. Now that he knows Rudy could be a worthy opponent, he looked forward to facing him again. He wanted to see what more this boy was a capable of doing. Who knows? Maybe Rudy will win another round against him if he tried hard enough.
It was annoying having to go all the way back to Skrawl's without magic chalk, though. He could see why Rudy would be upset with him taking his. It was so much easier going places when the ability to draw and create in the air was at hand. It took longer to get back to Skrawl's place than usual. But he wouldn't be chalkless for long; Skrawl had a huge sac full of the stuff. He would have a new piece when he got back.
Although it was frustrating to see how serious those two ten year olds were taking this game, he was starting to get a little used to it. There was nothing he could do to convince them it was a game, and it wasn't really of his concern. If they wanted to make fools out of themselves by pretending all of this was real, then he wasn't going to stop them. Besides, it could make them fight harder, if they really believed something was at stake here. Yes, their delusion might help this game become more challenging. He just needed to exploit it a little more, in the right way. Maybe he'll get even better results than he did today.
Who knows? Maybe Penny will eventually do something. It was true that he might have missed some stuff, that maybe Penny did do more than just run away. He did not pay too much attention to what Rudy says when he speaks to his friends. He was just focused on starting the round and waiting around for Rudy to finish saying what he does to those other two was a little infuriating at times. He just wanted to get the round started. But because he doesn't pay attention, he has no idea if Rudy is telling those two to run or if there was something he was missing.
But as it stands right now, he did not think too much of Penny. When he had called her 'worthless' in front of Rudy..he kind of meant it. He did not believe Penny should be playing this game if she was just going to run away and hide. All she manages to do, it seems, is slow Rudy down. With her there, Rudy can't just jump into battle. He had to stop and tell her to run before he could do anything. Mint was upset by this and attempted to correct it by more or less telling Penny to leave. She didn't belong in the game world. She was worthless, at least as a team member.
He was a little surprised, though not entirely shocked, that his words had angered Rudy and Snap. He had to admit, he may have gone a little too far. But he had to put his foot down. Penny's cowardice was getting on his nerves. He had hoped that she would show some guts and fight back. So far, though, she hadn't attempted to do that, leaving all the fighting to Rudy. Mint believed he'd be doing Rudy a favor by forcing Penny to leave.
Snap standing up to him the way he had was a little surprising. The game sprite reacted like a real person. Angered, offended, Mint was impressed with how real it was. The small amount of pain he felt was pretty neat. The simulation was quite accurate. It really did feel like the game sprite had hurt him. When Snap demanded he take back those words he said to Penny, Mint thought it was amusing. A game sprite, who wasn't capable of real emotions, telling him to take back an offensive term used against someone acting like she's his friend... How pitiful.
It was a close call, though, when Rudy attempted to take him out of the game world. He felt that was a pretty jerkish move. Not that he himself had been an angel to those two, but he would have thought Rudy would have behaved a little better. It was rude of him to try to drag him out of the world and keep the game all to himself. There were other people who would love to play a game like this. It wouldn't be fair if Rudy didn't allow anyone else in.
He didn't like how he was dropped in the water, though that was his fault. He had struggled against Rudy, forcing the boy to release him. It was either drop in the water or be taken out of the game permanently, and he had his doubts Rudy or Penny would give him magic chalk and be let back in again. For the chance to keep on playing, a little water didn't bother him that much.
He did lose his magic chalk. But again, that wasn't a problem considering how much Skrawl had at his disposal. And according to the jellybean, more could be taken from the Chalk Mine located somewhere in the virtual world. So it was all good.
When he had arrived at Skrawl's hideout, the jellybean looked pretty satisfied with himself. The game sprite had apparently collected half of the artifacts thanks to Mint's distractions. There were only six left to find, if Mint remembered right. Mint felt a little disappointed, but also excited. Disappointed that, after Skrawl wins, he isn't sure if the game would reset or if he would be kicked out because of the game still being in beta stage. But excited because he did want to see how this game would end if the bad guy won. He wanted to see what Skrawl was programmed to do with all those artifacts.
Mint had tried to ask Skrawl before what the artifacts did. The jellybean never gave him a straight answer. He would often just say 'you will see' with an evil smile. The way he'd say those words, Mint could tell the jellybean was excited. The game mimicked emotions very well, so when a sprite acted angry or sad or what, Mint believed it, almost thinking it was real until he reminded himself that it was not. He couldn't allow himself to be fooled. He did not want to end up like Rudy and Penny, who had gotten so far beyond the pale that there was no going back for them. No hope for those two. Sense of reality had left them completely.
Out of the artifacts Skrawl managed to collect, there was one that stood out to Mint. One that sent chills down his spine when he looked at it. It was a golden sword with a couple red jewels in it, matching the crown very well. The word had some silver linings on the blade itself, and the handle had some pointed, though not very sharp, edges to it. He didn't see a point to the handle being shaped like that, other than to be decorative. The sword was pretty long, about four feet long, and the metal of the blade was thick with a very sharp edge. Skrawl could hold it up with ease. It was amazing how strong the jellybean was.
Mint asked him about the sword. Skrawl said that the sword was made of very strong metal and was one of the hardest, sharpest swords in all of ChalkZone. Skrawl went on to gloat about how the blade is said to be so sharp, it could slice right through bone with a single strike. Mint flinched at this, unnerved about a sword being that sharp. Subconsciously, he grabbed his left left, imagining the blade cutting through it. Skrawl wanted to try the sword out sometime, but he would have to wait until he got the remaining artifacts.
Skrawl's happy exterior quickly faded when it was Mint's turn to explain what happened that day. This did not surprise Mint. Skrawl had been expecting him to say that his mission was a complete success and that he had defeated Rudy yet again. But today had been quite different. The tides had turned a little, and this time it was Rudy who had defeated him.
And Skrawl was not very happy to hear that.
"He defeated you?!" Skrawl growled, his mismatched eyes narrowed. "He's supposed to lose! You're supposed to fight him and defeat him! You can't lose to...to him!"
Mint raised an eyebrow. Looks like Rudy and Penny weren't the only ones taking this game too seriously. "Chill out, Skrawl. So he beat me once. Big deal. You still got the artifacts, didn't you?" Mint made a gesture towards the tanks where the artifacts were being kept. "So my mission was still a success."
"No no no!" Skrawl shook his head vigoursly. He pointed a claw in the kid's direction. "Listen, if Rudy keeps finding ways to defeat you, he'll do it faster, and faster, and faster! Soon he'll be able to stop you and come to me before I'm done grabbing the next precious artifact! It is imperative that you keep defeating him! Don't allow him to get an edge on you!"
Mint shook his head. "This is just a game, Skrawl. I know you're just my AI guide, but you are still aware this whole world is a game. You know that it is meaningless in the end if you win or lose. The game will just reset and you can try again...if I'm allowed to play again that is."
Skrawl growled at Mint. At first, Mint thought the jellybean was going to explode. That was going to be amusing to watch. Seeing this AI guide lose his temper would be fun to watch. But to his disappointment, Skrawl had quickly calmed himself down, and he started to smile again.
"Yeah, you're right. It is just a game." Skrawl said in a calm voice. "But..." He raised a finger in the air. "..it's also a competitive game. And it's not really competition if you don't take it seriously enough, and don't give it your all. You should know that, Mint."
"Yes, I know. And I've been having a blast playing this game." Mint said. He stretched himself and folded his arms behind his head. "But unlike Rudy and Penny, I still know this is just a game. Nothing here can be taken seriously. This game could come crashing down tomorrow and there would still be a sunrise."
"Regardless..." Skrawl said, his voice a little more stern. "You must keep defeating Rudy so I can get more artifacts. It's not just a matter of keeping him busy. Take his magic chalk each time. Leave him defenseless. He must not be allowed to start winning against you."
"I know this is a competitive game and all, but..." Mint said, folding his arms against his chest. "But you're still taking this a little too seriously. It wouldn't really be fair or competitive if I won all the time, right? Besides, Rudy is a determined kid. He was bound to win sooner or later. It would be even more unfair if I was pitted against Penny, who probably can't draw her way out of a paper bag. I'd end up defeating her ten times over before she has a chance to draw a single line."
At this, Skrawl narrowed his eyes and growled. "Do not underestimate her."
Mint was surprised at this. "Why?"
Skrawl shifted his head away, his teeth bared in anger. "I've had two brilliant plans of mine ruined because of her meddling..." He looked down at Mint, his face still contorted in anger. "Trust me, you do not want underestimate her. If you do, it will cost you a game round, and me, an artifact. And I cannot allow that to happen."
Mint stared at Skrawl for a few moments. He was confused by how upset the jellybean had gotten at the talk of Penny. The girl hardly did anything. What could she have possibly done that ruined any of Skrawl's plans? What did she do that made him this upset with her? He wasn't sure if he should take the jellybean's words seriously. After all, he was just an AI. He might be exaggerating about Penny.
But he also did not want to upset him. There was a fear he had that if he upset his AI guide too much, the game would boot him out. It was best to just go along with what he says and do what he was told. If Skrawl wanted him to take Penny a little more seriously, well he suppose he could try to do that. But it was going to be hard to take her seriously when all she ever does is run away. But maybe she would grow a spine later on and try to face him. Doubtful...but hey, it could still happen.
He gave a nod. "Well okay. Whatever you say, Skrawly."
At this, Skrawl shouted at him, "Do not call me Skrawly!"
Mint laughed and put his hands out in front of him. "Okay, sorry! I think the programmers did a little too good a job at the emotional simulations."
Skrawl ignored this comment. He started to pace back and forth in front of Mint. His angered expression was replaced by a thoughtful one. Mint wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but he decided to let the AI do whatever it was programmed to do. He took a few steps back and leaned against the wall. He watched as Skrawl continued to think about...whatever it was he was thinking.
Probably had something to do with the next assignment. Mint wondered where he was going to be sent to next. He hadn't been to too many places in ChalkZone yet, and already he was quite fascinated with the place and looked forward to seeing more. He wanted to see what other bizarre locations there were. He wished he could just hop on Ripclaw and spend the day running through the virtual world and seeing more of the detail put in this game. Each location definitely looked as though someone put a lot of thought into it. He couldn't wait to see more.
It was disappointing that Rudy and Penny wanted to hog the game all to themselves. He wished that they would wake up and see how selfish they were being. This was something that should be shared with more people. This game had a lot of potential and he could see it becoming very popular. The only thing keeping him from spreading the word is Skrawl's words on it being still a glitchy beta. If it weren't for that detail, he would have gotten more people to go into ChalkZone and try it out. Maybe his parents would be first.
The jellybean suddenly stopped pacing. His eyes brightened a little. Mint knew this meant that he had an idea. Skrawl turned and looked at him. That smile, the one he usually gives when scheming, appeared on his face. Then Skrawl gestured for Mint to come closer. Tilting his head to the side curiously, a slight frown on his face, Mint took a few steps towards his AI guide.
"Did you figure out my next assignment?" Mint asked.
"Oh did I ever..." Skrawl said, giving a chuckle. "Your next assignment..." Mint leaned in a bit, excited to hear what his next task was going to be. "...tomorrow, while you are at school, I want you to find Rudy Tabootie..and get him in trouble."
Mint's eyes widened in shock at this. He snapped his head back, staring at Skrawl in disbelief. "You want me to do what?!"
"You heard me. Get Rudy in trouble. Enough trouble that he can't come back into ChalkZone for a while. Even just two days would be fine." Skrawl said, his teeth exposed in a twisted smile. "That would buy me enough time to get more artifacts, and I won't have to worry about him possibly defeating you in time..."
Mint was in absolute shock. And for more than one reason.
The first one...he didn't think it was fair. Yeah, he played dirty in the game before, but only in the game. Doing something to keep Rudy from entering when he hadn't beaten him fair and square... Well he didn't see the fairness in that. It would be such a low blow. He wasn't sure if he could do such a thing. To go in the real world and do something so he couldn't enter... That couldn't be part of the game rules, could it? No.. It wasn't. He was certain of it.
And the other thing that came to his mind... Why was Skrawl giving him orders about the real world anyway? He was just an AI guide. He should only be concerned about the game world, this digital place. He shouldn't be able to give orders regarding the real world. Yet, he obviously was, which was pretty advanced. But Mint still felt like it was cheating. He would rather kick those two out playing within the game. It just didn't feel like a victory if he did something in the real world to keep them from entering. That was no different than winning some racing game by punching the opponent unconscious. It was dirty playing.
"Are...are you sure that's fair?" Mint asked, his eyes still widened.
"Fair? Who cares!" Skrawl said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll do whatever it takes to defeat Rudy, and if I have to have something done outside the game world, then I will!"
Mint shook his head slowly. "No, I don't think I can..."
Skrawl seized Mint roughly by his arm. Mint winced slightly as the pain simulation took hold. There wasn't that much pain, but it was enough to make him feel a little uncomfortable. "No! You listen to me! I am your AI guide and when I give an order, you follow it! If you don't, the game will kick you out! Do you want that to happen?"
"No." Mint said softly. "I don't.."
Skrawl released him and smiled. He took a step back from Mint to give him some room. "Good, then... Now, be a good little gamer..." He pointed in the direction outside of the hideout. "...and go get that wretched child in trouble!"
Seeing that he had no choice, Mint nodded his head quickly. He went over to Ripclaw, who stood idly by, waiting for him. He got on top of her, slinging his arms around her neck. He paused and he looked back down towards Skrawl.
"What should I do?" Mint asked.
"I don't care. Just something that would ensure he can't come into ChalkZone for a while." Skrawl replied.
Although Mint still felt it was unfair, he did as he was told. Riding on Ripclaw, he headed back towards the portal. And as he ran, thoughts ran through his mind on what he was going to do. A thought came to his head. It was nasty and devious... But if he wanted to keep access to the game, he didn't feel he had a choice.
Besides, it was just going to be for a few days. Rudy would be fine, and he could come back later. It wasn't like the world was going to end or something. Yeah, it wasn't going to be that bad.
sss
Mint stood in the hallway. He leaned against the wall, his arms folded against his chest. He looked left, and then right. So far, no one else was in the hallway. Classes had not yet been dismissed. In order to get here at this time, he had to tell his english teacher that he was feeling sick and wanted to go to the nurse. He was lying of course, but it was the only way he could get by one of hallways near the cafeteria. No one could see him anyway.
It wouldn't be too long now. Mr. Wilter's class was going to be dismissed to go to lunch soon. Rudy and Penny would be coming down the hallways in no time. He had to make the perfect timing. If he did this wrong, he was going to screw up big time, and it would be he who landed in trouble.
He had it all planned out. He replayed it over and over in his head. He had overheard Rudy say that he and Penny are staying a little longer before they go up to recess. That would mean, by the time they get up here, the other students would be in the cafeteria, eating lunch. That meant that he would be able to get the two alone. That was perfect. He didn't think he could do this if there were other students in the hallway. For this to work, he had to be alone with them.
He still felt guilty about doing this. He still felt it was a low blow and wasn't fair. He was going to feel like a real jerk doing this. But it wasn't like it was going to damage Rudy and Penny's view of him. They already thought of him as a jerk. So might as well go all the way, right? And besides, it was just a game. Some time away would do Rudy some good. He could use a bit of time to reflect on how irrationally he was behaving, and cool it a bit.
He quickly realized how hypocritical that made him sound. If it was just a game, then why was he so concerned about getting kicked out? Yeah it meant that he couldn't have fun anymore, but it wasn't life and death or anything. He spent time wondering why Rudy and Penny would care so much about the game and yet here was, doing something similiar, though different. He was so worried about being kicked out of the game, he was willing to resort to cheating, although not something he was proud of, just to keep access to it.
How could he get so obsessed with the game that he'd be willing to cheat just to keep access to it, but then turn around and act like Rudy and Penny were the ones taking it seriously. In the end, he was just as guilty as them. And he was a real hypocrite to believe that those two should be fine with staying out the game, but then freak out himself at the thought of the same thing happening to him.
Oh well. He was here now. There was no turning back. He had taken the time to plan this whole thing out, to get out of class at the right time and lay in wait. He might as well go all the way with it. He might as well get this over with.
He heard the sound of multiple footsteps. He watched as several students flooded the hallways. He pressed his back at the corner, keeping himself hidden. He did not look back until the chattering and stomping of feet had died down. He peered over, careful not to be seen. The other students had already gotten in the cafeteria. The door was further down, preventing the students from noticing him. The hallways were filled with the chitchatting of the fifth graders and sixth graders. He stayed where he was, waiting for Rudy and Penny to show up.
Then he saw them. They were walking side by side down the hallway, coming up to have lunch. Mint watched them carefully, keeping himself pressed against the wall to avoid letting them see him. He waited as they walked closer to the door to the cafeteria. They were talking amongst each other. About what, he didn't know, nor did he care. Narrowing his eyes, he waited until Rudy was in just the right spot for this to work. Then he made his move.
Mint rushed over, moving as fast as he could. Rudy and Penny saw him, their eyes widening in shock. They didn't have time to react. Mint pushed himsef against Rudy, grabbing his shoulders. He swung him around so he was facing him and slammed the younger boy against the wall. He made sure to push him in the right spot. He kept him pinned against the wall, smiling at the boy.
"What are you doing?!" Penny demanded. She grabbed Mint by his arm and pulled on him. "Let him go! Are you crazy?!"
Rudy pushed back against Mint. "What do you think you're doing?! Release me now!"
Grinning, Mint let go of Rudy and took a few steps back. He had pulled off his task. Now all he had to do was wait for Rudy to do the next. He folded his arms and smirked at the two younger students. He acted as if he had done nothing wrong.
"Oh me? I didn't do a thing." Mint said as innocently as he could. "It is you who did something."
"What are you talking about?" Penny asked, narrowing her eyes. "You were the one who attacked Rudy for no reason!" She pointed an accusing finger at him. "And don't try to say that isn't true. We both saw you!"
Mint's grin widened.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, Mint," Rudy started to say. He began to walk over. Mint's eyes brightened as his plan started to come into fruition. Rudy was so focused on him that he did not notice that his sleeve was caught on the fire alarm. And as he moved forward, he was tugging on it. "..but it's not going to..."
Then, when Rudy move close enough to him, the caught sleeve pulled the alarm all the way down. Loud ringing spread throughout the hallways in an instant. Crying out in surprise, the three students covered their ears, trying to block out the loud noise. The students in the cafeteria were panicking and they could hear the sound of students running around in the large room. It became noisier than usual and the clatter of footsteps echoed the hallways.
The ringing did soon die down, much to everyone's relief. Sighs were emitted from the previously startled students. Rudy and Penny slowly relaxed. They uncovered their ears and looked around. Mint took a step back, staring at them with the same smirk on his face. Yes, so far the plan was working very nicely. Now he just had to wait for one particular person to show up and it would be complete.
And speak of which, there she was. Principal Stringet was rushing down the hallways, heading in their direction. As she came, the hushed whispers of various students in the cafeteria gathered around the door. They looked at each other, making soft comments on what might have happened. They then watched Principal Stringet as she approached the three students standing outside the cafeteria, curiosity and some fear etched on their faces.
"Okay, who is responsible for this?" The principal demanded. She folded her arms and stared at Rudy, Penny, and Mint. She tapped her foot a few times. After a moment's silence, she said, "Well? Which one of you pulled that fire alarm?"
Mint did not hesitate to raise his arm and pointed directly at Rudy. "He did. I saw him grab it."
"What?" Rudy and Penny cried in unison, staring at Mint in shock.
"Yeah." Mint nodded his head. Any sign of a smile was gone, putting on a show that he hoped the principal would buy. "I tried to stop him, but he pushed me away."
"Is that so?" Principal Stringet turned to glare at Rudy. She took a step towards him and said, "Rudy Tabootie. Come into my office."
"But..." Rudy started to say.
"Now!" Principal Stringet seized Rudy by the arm and started to drag him down the hallway. "You're in a lot of trouble!"
As Rudy was being dragged away, Penny shot a glare at Mint. "That was really low, you know that...?"
Mint shrugged his shoulders, fighting off the feelings of guilt. "Yeah, I know. But whatever, he could use some time out of ChalkZone, don't you think, 'genius girl'? He said mockingly, prompting a snarl from the girl. "I'm going to have lunch now. See you later!" Penny glared at him as he walked away.
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Post by Bluedramon on Sept 27, 2014 8:09:02 GMT -5
CHAPTER 16:
"Rudy Tabootie! Do you have any idea how serious pulling the fire alarm is?" Principal Stringent said sternly to the boy. "Did you have no idea what kind of trouble you would be in when you pulled it?"
Rudy cringed back in the seat. "But, Principal Stringent..I-I didn't..."
"Don't try to lie to me." The large woman waggled her finger disapprovingly.
Rudy held his hands out in front of him. "I'm serious! It wasn't me! It was Mint Zandophen! He..."
But Principal Stringent didn't give him a chance to finish. She pointed an accusing finger in his direction. "Trying to push the blame onto others..for shame, Rudy Tabootie! You should take responsibility for your own actions! You should count your lucky stars that no one got hurt in that ruckus you caused!"
Rudy couldn't believe the mess he had gotten into. It wasn't even his fault. It was Mint. He was the one who did this to him. He was the one who pushed him into the fire alarm. Yeah he kind of pulled it himself, but it was an accident. He didn't realize that his shirt got caught on the fire alarm, and when he took a step forward, he pulled it. But it was Mint who got him into that position. He had shoved him against the wall. So it was really Mint's fault the alarm was activated. But that kid was going to get off scott free. It made Rudy so angry.
He had tried to defend himself to the principal. He tried, on the way down, that he did not do it. He attempted to explain what really happened, but he couldn't get a word in edge wise. She kept going on and on about how much trouble he was in and how much ruckus he had caused with his little stunt. He had never seen her so worked up and angry before. Considering how strict she is, he couldn't really be surprised by her behavior.
He wished the principal had slowed down a little. He wished that she didn't start dragging him right away. Penny had seen what happened. She could have defended him. But the principal didn't let her say anything. She just grabbed him and took off. It wasn't like Penny could run after her, either. Principal Stringent might have done something to make sure she headed back into the cafeteria. Well at least she would have a second chance. Rudy trusted that Penny would try to explain to Principal Stringent what really happened. Maybe she'd be willing to listen to Penny.
Rudy rubbed his arm. The large woman had grabbed him a little too roughly. And when she was dragging him through the hallways, it wasn't a comfortable feeling. She was treating him like he had destroyed a part of the school or something. It was hard to keep up with her. She was moving so fast. He tried his best not to trip over his own feet. If this was how she treated students for simple felonies like pulling a fire alarm, he didn't want to know how she'd react to a student that did something more serious, like badly injure another student.
And now here was in the principal's office, getting chewed out for something he didn't even do, at least not purpose. The principal would not let him try to explain. She believed that he was lying to try to get out of trouble. He didn't know what would give her that idea, but what it did mean is that he wasn't going to get out of this unpunished. He knew the principal was going to lay down some form of punishment for him.
It was all because of that Mint kid. Rudy tried his best to hide his anger. He didn't want the principal to be suspicious of him. That was the last thing he needed. If she was given any reason to give him a harsher punishment, it was a given that she would. There was a reason why she was called 'stringent'.
Rudy didn't know why Mint pulled such a stunt. But it must have something to do with ChalkZone. The way Mint behaved, it was like he was deliberately waiting for him and Penny to show up. It was a planned move. He knew exactly what he was doing. He had purposely pushed him against the fire alarm so his sleeve would get caught on it. He was up to something, but what?
"As punishment for your childish behavior, Rudy," Principal Stringent said, narrowing her eyes further as she glared at the ten year old. "You will serve two recess detentions. Mr. Wilter will stay in the room to keep an eye on you."
"What?!" Rudy cried, his eyes wide.
"I would give you a harsher punishment, but seeing as this is the only time you pulled the fire alarm, I'll go a little easy on you." Principal Stringent folded her arms against herself. "If you try to argue with my decision, however, I'll increase it to five detentions! Do you understand me?"
Rudy let out a sigh of defeat. He nodded his head slowly. "Yes, Principal Stringent."
"Good." The woman said.
Rudy realized, with a chill in his blood, that this is what Mint had wanted to do. He was attempting to restrict his access to ChalkZone for a while. The thought filled his heart with dread. Without being able to get into ChalkZone during recess, that left a huge opening for Skrawl and Mint to attack ChalkZone. Even though it wasn't a huge window of opportunity, it was still there. A lot could be done in that amount of time. Penny could still defend ChalkZone, but it was going to be so much harder without him there. They worked better as a team.
At least she wouldn't have to fight alone for very long. Not being able to head into ChalkZone during recess was troublesome, but at least he had other opportunities to go in there. Waiting until he got home from school was going to be hard, especially with all long the school day lasted. But getting there at some point was better than nothing. If nothing else, he could at least repair the damage that Skrawl and Mint would inflict. And maybe, in the morning, he could get into ChalkZone and find some way to catch wind of their plans and react accordingly.
He could see that working out. If he could figure out where Mint was going to strike and where Skrawl was headed, he could inform Penny. She could head into ChalkZone during recess and try to stop them herself, or at least put a big kink in their plans. It would definitely help if she managed to get to the place Mint was going to strike before he did and lay in wait for him. And then after that, Rudy could come in whenever he was immediately available and try to help out in any way he possibly could.
Yeah, that could work out as a temporary solution. Maybe he could even have another chance at booting Mint out of ChalkZone. Mint might have restricted his access to ChalkZone, but he wasn't completely locked out. And when he would face him in ChalkZone later today, he was going to give him a few choice words for having him blamed for a crime that wasn't his fault.
Principal Stringent placed her arms on her desk, her fingers interlocking together. "I am also going to call your parents."
Rudy felt his heart skip a beat. "You're going to...call my parents...?"
Principal Stringent nodded her head. "Yes, I am. They need to know what you have done. I trust that they will give you an appropriate punishment when you get home."
Oh no, this wasn't good... Not good at all... Rudy had no idea what kind of punishment his parents would lay out, but it might cause even more problems with ChalkZone. His access might be even more restricted than he thought. His parents would not go easy on him. If they believed the story that he pulled the fire alarm, they were definitely going to punish him in some way. And they would give him a harsh enough punishment to 'teach him a lesson'.
He remembered how harshly they reacted when they found out he went to a concert when they told him he couldn't go. They were furious with him and they were going to ground him for a long time. He couldn't imagine how they'd react if they found out he pulled the fire alarm. No, not if, when. The principal was going to call them and tell them what he did. And when he got home, he was going to be greeted by two very angry parents.
He tried to think of some way to get out of this. He wished the principal would listen to reason. He wished that she would let him explain what really happened in the hallways. But when she was dead set on something, she would stay that way and nothing would change it. She had a stubborn mind. Once she decided something as fact, there was no way to make her change her mind.
Already, he could see her reaching for the phone. He bit his lip, his heart beating fast, as she began to search through the numbers to call his parents. He gripped the seat tightly, staring at the phone with great anxiet. As she seemingly found the right number, he was helpless to stop the woman as she reached over to begin dialing the number.
Then Principal Stringent stopped. Rudy thought maybe she decided against calling his parents, and a bit of hope started to rise in him. But that hope was shattered when the principal gave him a glare that caused a shiver to go up and down his spine. There was something about that glare that he didn't like. He cringed back further against the seat, staring at her like she was going to breathe fire on him. From the way she was looking at him, that wouldn't have come as a big surprise.
"Just so you are aware, Rudy, you have been suspicious to me for a while." The principal said. Rudy stared at her in shock. "I know you are, somehow, the one responsible for that strange water that flooded the quarry. The same water that made mature, responsible adults, even...me... act like a bunch of kids."
Rudy's heart rate quickened. She...she knew about that? How did the principal find out? Did Terry tell her? No...it couldn't have been Terry. She didn't see him anywhere near the chalk water. She couldn't have known. But then, if Terry didn't tell her...who did?
He wanted to say something, anything, in his defense. But all he could do was stare at the woman with an opened mouth. He stammered a little, but no coherent sentences would come out. The principal clearly took this as a confession. Her eyes narrowed deeper and he flinched, turning his head to the side. He tried to make himself say something, but he was in too much shock to effectively defend himself.
"If you are wondering how I know it was you, remember, I saw you and Penny head down to the quarry." Principal Stringent said sternly. "It was empty before you two headed down there. Then, only minutes after I sent the police officer after you, the weird water appeared." Her glare intensified slightly. "I do not think it was a coincidence. I don't know what you were trying to pull with that strange water, Rudy. But rest assured you won't get away with it. I have wanted to issue a punishment out to you before, but no one would believe me and I did not have evidence."
So that was how she had known. Rudy had almost forgotten that the principal had seen him and Penny run straight to the quarry. They hadn't thought that she would have gone down there a short while after the officer did, though. Rudy wanted to mentally slap himself in the face for not realizing this. He should have known that the principal would believe he and Penny were somehow involved in the chalk water that he accidentally let into the real world.
Then he realized something. If the principal believed he and Penny were both responsible, then she might not believe Penny when she would try to explain to her that Mint was the real reason the fire alarm was pulled. Principal Stringent might find a way to punish Penny if she felt that she is a 'co-conspirator' and had helped Rudy bring all that chalk water into the quarry, and she might blame Penny for 'helping him pull the fire alarm.
"So, since you were caught red-handed, I'll just use this as my chance to punish you for that, too." Principal Stringent said.
Rudy couldn't believe it. A realization had struck him hard. There was an ulterior motive here. The principal wasn't punishing him just for pulling the fire alarm. She wanted to get back at him for the chalk water that he accidentally let in. She had her suspicions that he was responsible, and she had been wanting to punish him for it. When she admitted that, and Rudy let it sink in, he realized the actual reason why she had believed Mint so quickly and why she did not let Penny try to defend him.
This was a case of being biased. She wanted to believe that he pulled the fire alarm, no matter how unlikely it was, just so she had a chance to punish him for the chalk water incident. She had been waiting for him to slip up, waiting for someone to point the finger at him, so she could jump onboard and punish him for 'filling the quarry with weird people', thus causing it to 'fill with weird people'.
That..that was low... He thought Mint was the only one who pulled a low stunt today. But Principal Stringent...she was just as sneaky and nasty. Was this even legal, what she was doing? Was it professional? No, it couldn't have been. He was certain it was against the rules to pull something like this just to punish a student for a 'crime' that there was no evidence for. Rudy knew that Principal Stringent was harsh and strict, but he..he never thought she would sink this low.
What makes it worse is...there was nothing he could do about it. Who was going to believe him when he said that Principal Stringent was abusing her power to get at him? She would simply deny it and say that the punishment was for the fire alarm only. She would deny any claims that she had been waiting for him to slip up just to seize this opportunity. He was just a ten year old boy. Who would believe him? The only thing he could do was sit back and take the punishment he did not deserve, just to avoid getting a harsher one.
As soon as he could, he would have a talk with Penny. She might have an idea of what to do. Principal Stringent may have made a mistake in voicing her intentions with him, and maybe he could use that to his advantage somehow. Penny might have an idea of how to expose the low deed she imposed on him in a way that she could not defend herself.
But for now, he would have to put that on hold. A more urgent matter was ChalkZone. He wondered what was going to happen once his access was restricted. And if his parents do something drastic, that was going to make things harder. His mind filled with dread as he thought about all the things that Skrawl and Mint were going to get away with. How many artifacts did Skrawl have now, anyway? The fact that he didn't know sent chills up his spine. He had to find out how many he got, and fast.
Rudy's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the clicking of the phone being dialed. He looked over, his eyes widened, as Principal Stringent dialed his parents' number. He could hear it ringing. He cringed when the principal gave him a devious smile, clearly satisfied with what she was doing.
"Hello? Mr. Tabootie. It's Principal Stringent. It seems your boy got into some trouble at school today." Principal Stringent said. The smile never left her face, and she kept her gaze locked on Rudy's.
Rudy gulped and lowered his head in submission. A nagging feeling in his gut told him that things were about to get bad. Really bad.
sss
Rudy had been right to worry. His parents reacted just like he though they would. They were absolutely furious with him. And just like the principal, they didn't believe a word he said about him not being responsible. This hurt more than the principal not believing him. They were his parents. They should trust him. But they were taking the word of the principal over their own son.
He stood in his room, his back against his bed. His parents were standing in front of him, glaring angrily at him. They were still scolding him on how stupid and reckless the stunt he had pulled was. He tried a few times to talk, but he could not get a word in edgewise. And now he was going to recieve another punishment. He was certain of that. And now, of all times, was the worst time for such a thing. He...he needed to be in ChalkZone to protect it, but instead he was stuck out here, being yelled at for something that wasn't his fault.
At least he got to talk to Penny before he went back home after school. He told her about how he was going to serve two recess detentions with Mr. Wilter in charge of keeping him in the room. He told Penny to use his portable chalkboard to tell Snap about what was going on. He had a feeling that his access to ChalkZone would become so strict for the next few days that he might not have a chance to explain to Snap in time. He gave Penny his magic chalk before he left. She promised she would check on ChalkZone as soon as possible.
"I can't believe you did that!" His dad said, rubbing his head in frustration. "I mean...garsh tootin' Rudy, what were you thinking?!"
"B-But I..." Rudy tried to say.
His mom wagged her finger back and forth disapprovingly. "Don't try to worm your way out of this, young man! You're in serious trouble! Do you have any idea the mess you could have caused?"
Rudy lowered his head. He wished his parents would listen to him. But he knew they wouldn't. The principal said some things to make sure they would not believe him when he said it wasn't his fault. She had made sure that they would be angry enough with him to dish out another punishment on top of the one he had already recieved from her.
"I would have expected better from you, Rudy!" His mom said. She shook her head in disappointment. "I thought we raised you better than that!"
His dad took a step towards Rudy. He pointed a finger at him. "You are hereby grounded until your two detentions are served. Once you come home from school, you will report to your room and stay there except for dinner and if you have to use the bathroom. Other than that, I expect you to stay in your room. You understand me, son?"
Rudy nodded his head. "Yes, dad..."
"And to teach you a lesson, we will be confiscating your chalkboard." His mom said, narrowing her eyes. "It, as well as all the chalk you have for it, will be locked up in our closet for the full duration of your two detentions. You will not be allowed to use it in that time frame."
Rudy's eyes widened in horror at this. "What?!"
"Now, now son. It's not the end of the world." His dad said. "You will get it back after your two detentions are served."
Rudy shook his head. His heart beat quickly. No, they couldn't do that. If they took away his chalkboard, and if he had to serve recess detentions, how...how was he going to get into ChalkZone? No, this couldn't happen. They couldn't do this to him... Not now. Any time but now...
"No, you can't... Please don't do it." Rudy pleaded with his parents. "Not my chalkboard.."
His dad walked over and grabbed his chalkboard. He folded up its legs and hoisted it into the air. He held it against his side with one arm. He began to walk towards the door. Rudy rushed over, reaching out his hands in desperation. His dad glared down at him. "If you didn't want to lose your chalkboard for a few days, Rudy, you should have thought about that before you pulled that fire alarm." Rudy looked at him pleadingly. "Don't give me that look, son. You will have this back in a couple of days. You'll survive without it for a while."
Helpless to stop his parents, he watched as they carried out his chalkboard and towards their room. He could hear the sound of the closet door opening and he heard the chalkboard being tossed in. Then he heard a click sound and he knew it had been locked. As the realization sunk in, he slowly slumped to the ground, his heart filling with dread and fear.
This...this is what Mint had planned the whole time. He wasn't trying to simply restrict his access. He was cutting off all access completely for a few days. He must have known, somehow, that the principal was going to call his parents and that his parents were going to ground him. And now, because of Mint, Rudy was trapped out of ChalkZone for two days. And without a chalkboard, there was no way he could do something as simple as communicate with Snap. He couldn't use his own portable chalkboard; he gave it to Penny to use and if she tried to give it back, no doubt his parents would take that from him as well.
Rudy couldn't believe this was happening. He was locked out of ChalkZone and there was nothing he could do about it. Now trapped outside, there was nothing he could to do protect ChalkZone at all. He wouldn't be able to re-enter it for a few days. Who knows what kind of damage Skrawl and Mint would do while he was gone? Who knows how many artifacts Skrawl would try to get knowing that he couldn't enter ChalkZone? Things have gotten worse...
At least there was some hope. Mint may have locked him out of ChalkZone, but there was still another creator who could stand up to him. There was still someone who could go into ChalkZone and fight against Mint and Skrawl and try to protect ChalkZone. And that was his friend, Penny. She had the magic chalk right now. She had a chalkboard at home. She hadn't been punished. She could still get into ChalkZone. And as of now, for the next couple days, she was the only creator standing between Mint and Skrawl and ChalkZone itself.
sss
"So you pulled it off, didn't you?" Skrawl asked.
Mint nodded his head. "Yes, Skrawl. I did what you asked me to. And according to what I found out, Rudy is not going to be able to enter ChalkZone for at least two days."
Skrawl's grin widened. "Excellent. This is perfect!" He gave an evil laugh. "Now with him gone, you and I can begin to have a little...fun."
Skrawl was impressed with how well the boy had performed. He hadn't been happy with Mint when he said he lost to Rudy the other day. It was just one loss, sure, but it could have gotten worse. If Rudy learned how to beat Mint faster and faster, he could neutralize Mint fast enough to come and stop him. This plan, keeping Rudy outside of ChalkZone for a while, was the perfect way to ensure he could get more artifacts without possible interruption.
And Mint made up for his loss here quite well. Forcing Rudy to pull the fire alarm was a stroke of genius. He had to admit the boy was clever. That intelligence of his served him well in the fights against Rudy and Penny. And it worked for him really well then. Knowing when to charge him and what to say to get the principal to believe Rudy was responsible... It amused Skrawl just how well it had worked.
Now, with Master Tabootie gone for a few days, he had his own ideas of what he and Mint were going to do. He was still going to steal the artifacts, but Mint... Well he was going to do something a little different. Similar to what he was already doing, but on a larger scale. Something that, even if Rudy came back, would keep him busy for a long time. That would buy him even more time to get all of the remaining artifacts. Skrawl grinned. He was getting so close to victory, he could almost taste it.
Mint's intelligence was really helping him out. But he did realize that it could cause problems. If the boy was this smart, it would be a matter of time before he began to see through the video game lie. So far, the boy hadn't shown any suspicions, and Skrawl hoped it stayed that way. The minute the boy realized that this was all real, he would lose his allegience and gain another enemy. He had to keep Mint under control and under his command. And if, later on, he had to use force, he would.
"I still think it was a rotten trick." Mint said. He folded his arms and glared at Skrawl. "There is no thrill or joy at besting an opponent by cheating."
Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this. This was why he had to keep Mint under control. He did have morals and a conscience. He didn't like tricking the principal like that to keep Rudy out of ChalkZone. He had wanted to do it by the 'games' rules', which meant inside the game itself. Mint was only acting like a villain because he thinks this is a game. He couldn't let him find out the truth. He was not going to let him find out that all this was real.
Mint belonged to him. And he was going to keep his hold on the boy. He was not going to lose his grip on him.
"Who cares if it wasn't fair?" Skrawl hissed at the boy. He clenched a fist tightly and pointed a clawed finger at Mint. "Now listen up! I have a new assignment for you."
Mint sighed and said, "Is it more cheating?"
Skrawl rolled his eyes. Again with the cheating comment. He wished the boy would open his eyes and expand his view a little. This isn't cheating. It was just taking another road to victory. He got out a scroll and pulled it out, looking at the words written on it.
"This is a list of designated locations around ChalkZone I want you to destroy." Skrawl said. He stared intently at the boy. "I know how much you love destruction. Attack and destroy each target. I don't care what you do or how far you go. Just obliterate those places!"
Mint took the list and stared at it. He turned back to Skrawl. "Well...okay. If you say so."
"And if Penny tries to stop you..." Skrawl hissed in a low voice. "Stop her at all costs... I don't care what you do to her. Just get rid of her..."
Skrawl knew how much of a thorn Penny was. She had made a fool out of him when he tried to make her his chalk queen. He had hoped to use her creator skills to take over ChalkZone. But instead, he was taken a long for a ride, and he had fallen for it. And then she created a remote for Robot Rudy, forcing him and Craniac 4 to flee Future Dome. She had foiled two of his beautiful plans. He was going to be certain she couldn't stop this one. The little genius girl was not going to get the best of him this time...
He would see to that.
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Post by Bluedramon on Sept 27, 2014 8:09:26 GMT -5
CHAPTER 17:
As Rudy took his tray of food and headed towards the table where Penny was waiting for him, he couldn't help but overhear what the other students were saying about him. Some were pointing at him, making hushed whispered comments about him. They watched, Rudy feeling their eyes bore into his body, as he headed over to the table.
He hated this. He hated the fact the other students were talking about him, staring at him suspiciously like he was going to pull the fire alarm again or do something else crazy. And it wasn't like they would believe him if he tried to explain what really happened. They all believed Mint's story. He didn't know why...they just did. And now, because of Mint, he was having students giving him looks. Some were frowning at him, or looked at him disapprovingly. Others were smiling mischieviously, no doubt thinking Rudy did a good job at causing trouble.
He didn't want this kind of attention. He didn't want to be seen as the boy who pulled the fire alarm. He didn't want to be the usually good kid that turned bad. He didn't want any of this. But as he walked towards Penny, he had to accept reality. They weren't going to believe him. He couldn't prove his innocense. All he could do was take it and try to ignore what they were saying about him.
At least some of the students appeared to have some doubts he did anything. Both Reggie and Michelle were two such students. He didn't hear them say much. But what he did hear told him enough how they felt about the situation. Neither of them believed he would pull the fire alarm. Michelle thought he was too nice of a kid to do that, and Reggie, well he didn't believe Rudy would have the guts to pull such a stunt. But despite the fact that some students did have doubts, it wasn't enough to offset the large number who did think he was responsible. And it wasn't going to make Principal Stringent or his parents believe him to be innocent.
It still came as an unsettling shock that his parents refused to believe him. They still would rather believe the principal because she was the ultimate voice of authority in the school, whose job it was to keep the students in line. His parents would have little reason to think the principal was wrong or lying. Still, he wished that they would have listened to him. He had tried to tell his side of the story, but they didn't believe him.
And now he lost his chalkboard because of it. He hadn't been able to go into ChalkZone yesterday and he couldn't contact Penny either. Lunch time was the only time he had a chance to talk to her. He had to serve today's detention and then tomorrow. Then he would be able to go back into ChalkZone. Until then, he was stuck outside of it. He would have to inform Penny of this so she was aware he couldn't go into ChalkZone for a total of two days. At least she still had access.
He took his seat next to her, setting down his tray. Penny had chosen a spot away from the others, thank goodness. It would be easier talking to her this way. With all the students talking about him, he wouldn't doubt that some of them would try to eavesdrop and see if he was up to no good again.
"Hello, Penny." Rudy said softly.
Penny turned her head towards him. "Hey, Rudy." Her smile faded into a frown. "How...how did it go with your parents?"
Rudy sighed and shook his head. "Not good. They didn't believe me when I tried to say it was Mint's fault. So they grounded me until my detentions are served."
"That's too bad..." Penny said sadly. "But at least you can still..."
Rudy shook his head. He looked at her, noting her confused expression. He wished it were that simple. He wished he could still access ChalkZone despite being grounded and serving detentions. But he will have to deliver the bad news, and best do it now as he might not have a chance to later on.
Rudy took a small bite of the pasta the school was serving today. He swallowed and gave a soft sigh. He said, "My parents took away my chalkboard."
Penny's eyes widened. "They did what?"
He nodded his head in response. He looked down at his tray. He used his fork to push around his food, playing with it a bit. He wasn't too hungry right now. His gut was filled with intense feelings and it was hard for him to eat anything. He had to force himself to take some bites, almost worried that if he didn't, the students would find something else to say about him. He managed to force another bite, his gaze still down towards his tray.
"Yeah. They took it away in addition to me being grounded. They think it will teach me a lesson so I'll behave better in school." Rudy said sadly. He gave off another sigh, this one filled with disappointment and disbelief. He looked back at Penny. "That means, until the detentions are served, I will not have any access to ChalkZone."
"But..." Penny tried to think of something. Her voice stammered as she struggled to find an idea. "What about the portable chalkboard? The one you let me borrow?"
Shaking his head, Rudy replied, "No. They will take it away if they see I have it. They meant it when they said I couldn't use any chalkboards. They know how much I enjoy using chalkboards, so they're using that as punishment."
Penny looked at him worriedly. She looked down at her tray. Her eyes slowly widened as realization seemed to dawn on her. "So...that means..."
"I can't enter ChalkZone for two days." Rudy said, confirming the bad news. "So I can't do anything to stop Mint while he is in ChalkZone." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "And just when I was starting to get an edge over him too... He pulls crap like this and shifts the blame all on me. I know he did this on purpose. He wanted to keep me out of ChalkZone."
Penny nodded her head in agreement. Her eyes narrowed. "That was a low move..."
"Yeah, I know." Rudy said. He looked around the cafeteria, trying to locate Mint. But in the crowd, he couldn't see him. Plus the students that kept looking at him made him feel uneasy, so he turned his gaze back towards the table he was currently sitting in. "And I can't do anything about it. No one will believe me when I say that Mint pushed me into the fire alarm."
"And of course, why should they believe you?"
Rudy and Penny tensed up at that voice. They raised their heads and they saw Mint approaching them. They gritted their teeth and narrowed their eyes as Mint took a seat in front of them. He had no tray with him. He either was done eating or he had just arrived and he wanted to speak to them before he got a tray for himself. He sat right in front of them and crossed his arms on the desk. He stared at them with that same smile he gave to them when they first encountered him in the cafeteria. A somewhat friendly, though still unnerving, smile.
Rudy and Penny glared at him, their bodies tense and frozen. They did not make a move. They did not shift their gaze from the boy. They watched him carefully, wondering if he was going to pull another stunt like that. They kept their bodies still just in case Mint did something to cause them to trigger something else.
Rudy wondered what this boy wanted. He had sought them out for a reason. What more was he going to do? Was he going to try to get Penny in trouble? Was he going to do something to make his parents extend his 'chalkboard banishment' punishment? Or maybe he was going to taunt them on what he was able to accomplish without Rudy being there. Penny said she and Snap didn't notice anything, but that didn't mean that Mint didn't do something in secret.
"They have no reason to believe you." Mint said, a smirk on his face. "They did not see me anywhere near the fire alarm. You were the closest one to it. So they were more willing to believe me because that was all they saw. Many of the students here can't think enough for themselves to question situations like that." He let out a soft chuckle. "It is really quite amusing...but also frustrating. They don't think for themselves. They don't stand up for themselves."
Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. Who was Mint to insult a large group of people like that? Who was he to practically declare that he was the smartest student here? Who was he to mock the others for being tricked so easily? He was the reason they believed it. He was the reason he himself got into trouble. He was the reason he got grounded.
Mint took notice of Rudy's deepened frown. He just looked at him and his smile broadened. "You and Penny...you're among the few whom I noticed take things into your own hands. Congratulations..." He interlocked his fingers together. His smile darkend ever so slightly. "A shame that you haven't been able to use your intelligence to stop me when I destroyed Mondo Desert City."
Rudy and Penny gasped in horror. Mint had done what in ChalkZone?
"You...how...when..I..." Penny said, speechless. "I was there and I..."
Mint said, "I see you are confused. I am not surprised." He held up his hand in a gesture and turned his head to the side. His eyes closed. "Considering that you aren't a real creator..." At this, Rudy and Penny glared at him. Mint reopened his eyes and looked at them, still smiling. "Well of course you would fail to notice what was going on."
"Why you..." Rudy started to say.
Mint cut him off. "Relax, Rudy. I didn't delete any of your precious zoners. I had them chased out before I destroyed their buildings. And if you're wondering why Snap didn't say anything..."
Rudy's eyes widened, his heart filling with dread. Penny started to look horrified herself. Both of them were clearly thinking the same thing. Mint might have done something to Snap while they were away. Their shocked expressions were soon replaced with angry ones. Mint widened his eyes slightly, almost as if he were surprised by their reactions.
"If you hurt Snap, I'll..." Rudy snarled.
Mint laughed at him. "You really need to settle down and not jump to conclusions so easily. Of course I didn't hurt your...friend as you would call him." He shrugged his shoulders. "I just made sure to attack when I knew your friend would be sleeping." The way he said 'friend' was laced in sarcasm. "And besides, at least I'm generous enough to inform you two of what is going on. I could just keep it all a surprise. But that wouldn't be fair, would it?"
"Since when did you care about being fair?" Penny asked, gritting her teeth. "You never shown yourself a fan of being fair before."
"Whatever you say." Mint shrugged his shoulders, holding his hands out. "If that is what you think of me, hey, fine okay. But..." He narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger in their direction. "Keep in mind the only reason I even told you what I did is because I did not enjoy the fire alarm trick as much as you two think I did. I wanted to offset that unfairness a little bit by giving you two a warning. Skrawl wants me to destroy a few places in ChalkZone."
Rudy and Penny's eyes widened at that. How..how many places did Mint plan on to destroy? How many lives was he going to ruin or inadvertantly kill with all this destruction? What was the point in all of this?
Rudy felt his anger and hatred towards the boy rise even higher. He didn't believe the boy was the least bit sorry for what he did with the fire alarm. No, he was trying to get him out of ChalkZone just so he could do something like this. And now the boy had the audacity to flaunt his plans in front of them. The nerve... Rudy couldn't wait until Mint was defeated for good.
"So be prepared for a lot of destruction." Mint said. The smile returned and he got up from his seat. "I look forward to seeing how you will fix the problems, Rudy. It's going to be mighty boring without you there."
As he walked away, Penny spoke up. "I will stop you."
At this, Mint froze. He stood there, his eyes widened slightly. He looked over at Penny, staring at her in disbelief. The two stared at each other for a few seconds. Then Mint scoffed, sneering at her. "Don't kid yourself..." With that, he walked away, leaving the two alone.
sss
Penny wasted no time. As soon as she got home from school, she rushed up into her bedroom, telling her mom she was going to be busy for a while. She didn't say why, but her mom didn't press her any further. Penny was grateful for that. She didn't wait much longer. Every second counted. She had to get into ChalkZone and fast.
Mint's words in the cafeteria were disturbing. He didn't bother telling her or Rudy just which places he was going to destroy. He only said that he was. True he could be lying, but why take the chance? They had already seen that he was willing to go through with it anyway. And without Rudy there, he would think he could get away with more. There could be many places that were already attacked and destroyed. Penny had to get there before the destruction spread too far.
She was not happy with what he said as he left. It was clear Mint did not look too fondly upon her as a 'fellow gamer' as he would put it. His words stung, no matter how hard she tried to fight it off. Despite the fact that he thinks this is all a game and he thinks he is just playing as the bad guy, the words still hurt. Probably because, on some level, it seemed he really did think lowly of her as an artist. He did not think that she stood a chance against him, and this clearly showed when he only got Rudy in trouble, but left her alone.
Well she was going to prove him wrong sooner or later. She would show him what she was capable of doing. He was going to regret underestimating her. She was just as much of a creator as Rudy. She would show Mint what she could accomplish. And after this, he wouldn't dare take her lightly again.
She got out her magic chalk and went up to her blackboard. Looking around to make sure her mother wasn't nearby, she drew a portal. Once it was opened, she climbed through. She hung there, grasping the edge of the portal, for a few seconds. She looked down, judging the distance. Then she let go. She landed on her feet, her knees bending a little. She then straightened herself up and looked around.
She barely stood there for a few seconds when she suddenly felt the ground around her shaking a little. It wasn't much. Just a little vibration, but she knew immediately something was wrong. Her heart started to squeeze. With how short the vibration was and how sudden it had come on, the first thing that came to her mind was that there was an explosion somewhere. A big one, enough to send some form of shockwaves out this far. She looked around the horizon, looking for the source. And soon she spotted it.
She gasped in horror, putting her hands to her mouth. In the direction she knew would lead to ChalkZone City, there was a large dark grey smoke pillowing out of the ground, similar to what they had seen with Wiggie Island. The smoke rose high in the air, intermixing with the white clouds high above. She was too far away to tell if it was ChalkZone City or not. And she couldn't see any other signs of damage except for the tower of smoke. But it was enough to tell her something was seriously wrong.
Mint was attacking that place. She was sure of it. Although it could just as easily be Skrawl, she had no doubt in her head that this was Mint's doing. She stared in shock at the smoke for a couple seconds, and then she narrowed her eyes in determination, clenching her fists tightly.
How dare Mint do such a thing... How dare he terrorize innocent zoners in this way... She would put a stop to it. As she clenched her magic chalk in her hand tightly, she declared mentally to herself that she would find a way to stop him. She was not going to allow him to get away with this.
She took a few steps forward. She then stopped when she heard someone calling out for her. She put a hand over her eyes, shielding them, as she saw Snap rushing in the opposite direction she was heading. He was coming straight for her. He was waving his arms up and down anxiously. His eyes were wide with dread and fear. Judging from a few small dark marks, she guessed hat he couldn't get far enough away from the explosion and got mildly injured.
When Snap got close enough, she could see the marks more clearly. There were a couple tiny burns. Not severe ones, but enough to be uncomfortable. She saw a couple small cuts too. Again, not too bad. Not really any bleeding. Maybe a little red speckling here or there. But he was otherwise fine.
This still made her shiver a little. The realization that Snap could have been hurt so much worse dawned on her, and filled her with horror. What would have happened if he hadn't gotten away fast enough? What if he had suffered more severe injuries? She stared, her teeth clenched tightly together, as Snap came up to her, standing a foot away. She wanted to say something to him, but her mouth remained shut. Her mind kept swimming with dreaded thoughts of what could have happened to her friend.
"Penny! You've got to..." Snap's voice trailed off. He looked around Penny as if he was expecting something else. Or someone else in this case. He looked back at her expectantly. "Where's Rudy? It's after school. I thought he'd be here with you."
Penny said, "Snap, Rudy can't come into ChalkZone for a couple of days."
Snap gasped at this. "What?! Why?!"
"I'll explain it to you later. I'll just say it was something Mint did." Penny said, narrowing her eyes. "He did something to make sure Rudy had no access to ChalkZone for a while..."
Snap shivered at this. His eyes grew big. "Well see that's not good..." He looked back behind him, looking at the large grey smoke still climbing into the air. "Because we could really use his help right about now!"
Penny noticed how worried and scared Snap looked. Judging from that, she deduced that the damage from the explosion was greater than she thought. Just what had happened down there? How many zoners were injured or even killed from this?
She wished she could say something to calm Snap down. But he doubted there was anything she could say that would help him feel better. Not when the danger was still present. She guessed that some of the fear was from Mint himself. She recalled the night Snap slept over at her house, how he had clung tightly to her the whole night, not letting her go. And now, with Rudy gone, half of his line of defense against Mint was gone. To make matters worse, that also meant ChalkZone had, for a while, less of a defense against Mint. So many zoners could be hurt or killed... No wonder Snap was so scared.
Penny took a step forward and placed her hand on Snap's shoulder and gently squeezed it. He looked up at her. Penny said, "Snap, what happened? What's going on over there?"
Snap took in a few quick breaths. Whatever happened over there, it still had him a little shook up. He did manage to find his voice. But when he spoke, it was a little more higher pitched than usual, panic clearly laced over his words. "It's..it's Mint! He just stormed ChalkZone City with some big dinosaur! And he's shooting his laser thing everywhere!"
Penny put a hand to her mouth. "What?!"
"Yeah! He's tearing the place apart!" Snap cried. "I was lucky to get away in time before that big explosion shattered through the middle of the town!"
Penny's eyes widened. So it had been an explosion that wracked the city. It was an explosion she had felt. Horror settled in her heart as she realized how massive of an explosion it had to be. She snapped her head in the direction of the rising smoke. She couldn't waste any more time. She grabbed Snap's hand and she started to rush in the direction of the smoke.
She could tell Snap was still scared. He was making some small noises strongly suggesting he didn't want to go back. She couldn't blame him. He did almost get badly hurt back there, and Mint was there as well. She was thankful that Snap was able to get away before Mint could target him. But despite his fears, Snap wasn't trying to pull away. He continued to run along side Penny, even when she let go of his hand. He was a selfless zoner and she admired that about him. Always willing to run headlong into danger even if it meant that he was putting himself in danger.
As they ran towards ChalkZone City, her mind swirled with thoughts of what the place was going to look like. She imagined toppled buildings, dead or injured zoners laying around, Mint standing there laughing as he road his large dinosaur through the city. She shook the thoughts from her head, not wanting to let her imagination scare her into slowing down. She continued running with Snap towards the big city.
When they got there, they both stood in frozen terror. The image before her was chilling. She hadn't expected it to be quite like this. Her body trembled as waves of emotion rushed through her. She rubbed her eyes to make sure what she seeing was reality.
A huge chunk of ChalkZone City was..destroyed. Gone, blackened, turned to dust. There was a large darkened hole, a crater in the ground that still had some smoke rising from it. The area of the explosion... It was massive. Penny looked at the scale of the thing and realized it had to have been twenty feet wide. She realized, with a pang in her chest, just how lucky Snap was to get out of the way. She hoped other zoners were just as lucky. So far, she spotted no signs of dead zoners, much to her relief.
The explosion wasn't the only damage. She could see many destroyed buildings. Broken pieces of debris laid everywhere. More smoke rose from them. There were a few flickers of fire, but none of them grew any larger and many were put out in a matter of seconds. Some buildings still stood, but there were chunks ripped out of them, like something big bit into them. And a few others, with very little support, could no longer stand and toppled over as she and Snap watched in horror.
The whole place felt very warm. The smell of dirt, smoke, and debris hung thickly and strongly in the air. Penny looked around slowly, her eyes widening as she took in more of the destruction in her head. It was unfathomable just how much Mint had managed to do in such a short amount of time. And as she heard the sounds of more buildings being torn apart, heavy stomping vibrating the ground, she knew that he was not yet finished.
She did see a few zoners at last. A handful of them were running down the streets. They didn't seem to notice Penny or Snap as they raced down the concrete sidewalk. They were screaming in fear and panic. Some of them were injured, some blood dripping from wounds they must have recieved from all the damage that was being done.
Penny couldn't stifle her gasp of horror when she she spotted another zoner laying on the ground, bleeding heavily from a wound to the stomach. There were a couple zoners surrounding him, trying to help him. She wanted to go help him. He was in immediate danger and needed medical assistance right away. But before she could even start to walk over in his direction, something large and dull brown stomped on the ground in front of her, knocking her and Snap away.
Snap helped her up to her feet. She brushed herself off and the two f them looked up. They jumped out of the way as the wall of brown moved past them. They were surprised when they weren't attacked. When the thing got far enough away, Penny could see what it was.
It was a large dinosaur all right. An apatosaurus if she remembered right. The huge creature was stomping its way through the city, crushing cars and any bits of debris that got in its way. Its huge tail struck against the buildings, scraping off bits of debris and letting them fall to the ground. A few pieces came tumbling down towards her and Snap. She grabbed Snap and threw herself and him out of the way as smaller chunks of solid concrete crashed into the ground behind them. The concrete pieces sliced into the ground at least a couple of inches, much to Penny's horror.
She and Snap watched with widened, fear-filled eyes as the apatosaurus opened its jaws and bit into another building. It yanked out a small portion, and it did this over and over until the building lost support and it started to fall down. Penny's body shook as she watched this, her mind racing with the thoughts of how many zoners were in that building.
That's when the scale of the destruction really began to sink down into her mind. Zoners were everywhere here. Every building had at least one zoner, though even one is hard to believe with how many zoners come here and how many zoners make a living here. So many buildings were torn down and toppled. And there was little chance that, if any zoners were in there, that they made it out alive. The city hadn't been evacuated; she still spotted a few injured zoners rushing to get away. That meant that there could be a death toll this time around. A massive one, uncomprehensible to her.
Even if it were indirect, it boiled Penny's blood. The realization that Mint was possibly indirectly killing zoners, even on a larger scale than on Wiggie Island, filled her with anger. She couldn't allow him to get away with doing this. He..he was a monster.. And he had to be stopped.
And speaking of Mint, there he was. He was sitting on one of the small undamaged buildings. He was smiling down at them, waving at them like this was just some sort of party or something. He acted like he had done nothing wrong. His smile wasn't evil in any sense, at least not by appearance. He looked almost genuinely happy to see Penny, like he had been waiting for her to show up.
"Greetings, Penny and..." Mint locked eyes on Snap. "...Snap."
Snap took a step back. Penny growled and put her arm out in front of Snap protectively. Mint looked amused by this.
Mint spread his arms out to indicate the vastness of what transpired here. "Do you like what I've done to the place?" Penny glared hatefully at him. "You know, I did like the way this place used to be...but a little remodeling wouldn't hurt, don't you think?"
"You...do you have any idea what you've done?!" Penny shouted at him. Mint raised an eyebrow and stared down at her curiously. She made a gesture towards the destruction the apatosaurus was currently causing. "You're hurting innocent zoners! Some of them could be dead...and it's all your fault!" She pointed an accusing finger at him. "Don't you even care?!"
Mint shook his head. "No I don't." Penny's eyes widened at this. Mint put his hand to his chest. "And why should I? They're all just data here. Nothing I do will actually hurt them. They can always be recreated and they will be fine." He turned his gaze to Snap for a second and turned back to Penny. "Which is why I don't see why you are worried if someting happens to your NPC guide there. He can be recreated. He's nothing but data. He's not really alive. He's just cleverly created to make you think he's alive."
"Hey...I'm real!" Snap snarled at him, showing some courage to the boy that had tormented him a few nights ago. He held up a fist challengingly at him. "Why don't you come here and face me? Maybe a punch or two will show you how real I am!"
Mint laughed coldly at this, causing Snap to shiver. "How amusing. An AI who thinks he is real. Well then..." Mint jumped off the building and landed on his feet without tripping. He straightened himself up. He stared intently at Snap. "Since you want to prove to me you are something more than data, and I want to see how the gibs works in this game..." He held up his laser pistol, a newly drawn one, staring at the tip intently before looking at Snap with an evil smile. "Maybe we can satisfy both needs today."
Penny kept herself positioned in front of Snap. She held out her arms, shielding him from Mint's sights. "I won't let you..." She growled lowly. Mint's eyes twinkled a little. "Mint, I challenge you!"
At this, Mint let out a cold laughter. Penny winced at how chilling it sounded. Mint stared at her, his eyes widened a little, an uncomfortable intense emotion radiating off of them. "Don't make me laugh! I'm not accepting a challenge against you!"
Penny narrowed her eyes, taking a step forward. "And why not? Are you scared that I'll win?"
At this, Mint scoffed, stifling more giggling. He put his hand to his face and rubbed it gently. "You really are something, aren't you, Penny? Honestly, I don't see why Skrawl is so worried about you." Mint pulled his hand away and stared at her. A sneer spread across his face. "I'm not accepting a duel with you not because I'm afraid you'll win...but because I'm afraid of how badly I might beat you."
"Who said you would win?" Snap asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Well of course I would win this duel!" Mint said, staring at Snap. "I've never seen her do anything except run away." He turned his attention to Penny. "So why don't you go ahead and do that, Penny... Run away like you always do. You stand no chance against me." He took a step forward, staring at her intently. "...because you are no artist. You are not a real creator. You are just an amateur. You're worthless, both as an ally and as an opponent. So why don't you..." His voice darkened. "..get lost."
Penny's eyes widened at this. She stared at Mint in shock. Then the initial shock gave way to anger. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. She bared her teeth, clenching them together. An amateur eh? She would show him how wrong he was about that. She held out her magic chalk, still prepared to fight him even if he did not see her as a worthy opponent.
Snap was also visibly angered by Mint's harsh words. He took a step forward, taking a defensive stance. "That's not true! You take that back!"
Mint smirked at this. Then, without warning, he rushed towards the duo. Before Penny and Snap could react, Mint seized Snap in his hands and put distance between him and Penny. He quickly put the tip of the laser gun against Snap's head, prompting Snap to freeze and stare at the gun wide eyed.
"P-Penny!" Snap cried. He turned his eyes to Penny. "Help me!"
"Yes, Penny. Help him." Mint said mockingly. He tightened his grip on Snap, keeping him in a tight headlock. His finger rested on the trigger. "Show me how much of an amateur you really are. Show me how cowardly you are." Penny stared at him, then at Snap, her eyes filled with worry and horror. "Show me!"
Penny narrowed her eyes in determination. She raised her magic chalk, clutching it tightly in her hand. She stared at Mint for a few seconds, then at Snap. She saw how scared he was. She knew if she slipped up, he would be done for. Then she looked back at Mint. She growled. Without wasting more time, she rushed towards him, holding out her magic chalk and preparing to draw.
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Post by Bluedramon on Sept 27, 2014 8:09:36 GMT -5
CHAPTER 18:
Penny raised up her hand to draw. She glared hatefully at Mint as she got closer. Her eyes soon locked onto Snap's. Her heart raced. She didn't have much leeway, very little margin for error. She had practically no time to decide what to draw. So she began to draw the first thing that came to her mind...
...only to be interrupted almost as soon as she started. Something large collided with her, forcing her into the ground.
"Penny!" Snap cried out to her.
Penny opened her eyes and saw that Mint's raptor, or utahraptor if she remembered right, was standing over her, snarling with teeth exposed. Her eyes widened in horror. Where does Ripclaw keep coming from? She seemed to always appear out of nowhere. This made her blood freeze. Did Ripclaw have some kind of cloaking mechanism? Could she camouflage herself? Or was she just that good at hiding? Either way, the thought sent chills down her spine.
She struggled to get back up, pushing against the utahraptor zoner's shoulders and chest. Ripclaw did not attempt to bite her and instead responded by applying more pressure. Penny winced as she felt the claws of her hand start to press against her skin. She was grateful it was not the foot. That sickle claw looked wickedly sharp.
She could hear Mint's cold laughter as she tried to get herself free. She did her best to ignore it, instead concentrating on getting herself free. She gritted her teeth and pushed against Ripclaw some more. The utahraptor, however, was not budging. She was too big to simply push away. Penny needed another plan. She glared up at Ripclaw. Her mind raced with thoughts of how she was going to get out of this.
She did recall how they got the tyrannosaurus to leave Mondo Desert City with the use of steak. Would it work on this dinosaur zoner? And what of the apatosaurus? Could she lure it away with food, too? Probably...though how simple it would be, she wasn't sure. Mint's creatures did seem to have the minds of animals, and food was a great motivator for them. But it was also dangerous and risky. The apatosaurus was huge and, despite it being a herbivore, it still had the potential of being vicious, if not even more so. After all, hippos and water buffalo were more dangerous than crocodiles and lions, and they are herbivores.
And Ripclaw was fast. Definitely faster than the tyrannosaurus, that was for certain. She could easily chase her down if she wasn't careful with her. If she were to go with the food plan, she would first have to get free. She would need a head start. If she started to run with food this close, Ripclaw would catch up to her in seconds. And she did not want to know what it would feel like when she clamped her jaws around her. She wasn't certain if Mint could stop that, or if he would even want to stop it.
Then she heard Mint give a command. And when he did, her eyes widened in horror.
"Perhaps we should give the amateur here a little reward for lasting this long." Mint said, his grin broadening. "Bite her in the shoulder. Not a big one. Just enough to slow her down."
Snap gasped at this. "No! Don't do that!"
Mint pushed the laser pistol further against Snap's head. He hissed into his ear, "You be quiet! Or I'll shoot you now!" Snap looked up at him in fear and gulped.
Upon Mint's command, Ripclaw pulled her head back. Her lips curling back into a snarl for a moment, she struck forward. Her mouth slit open wide. Penny let out a scream as she brought her hands up, the magic chalk dropping at her side. She gripped onto Ripclaw's jaws and started to push back. Drool dripped from the zoner's mouth and onto her chest, face, and arms, but she ignored it. She narrowed her eyes, baring her teeth, as she struggled to push Ripclaw back.
She didn't know how long it was going to last. Ripclaw was definitely a lot stronger than she was. She was managing to hold the dinosaur off for a little while. But as the seconds passed, Ripclaw's mouth was getting closer and closer to her left shoulder. She tried as best as she could to push her back, to get her mouth away from its intended target. Ripclaw let out low growls and hisses, looking annoyed that Penny was holding her mouth like this. But she did nothing to free herself. No attempt to jerk away or bite her hands instead. She did exactly what Mint told her to do and that was target her shoulder.
Penny's arms were starting to get tired. Once in a while, she'd loosen her grip for a second, allowing Ripclaw to get closer. She managed to push her back a little bit only twice, and both times, it wasn't enough. She could feel her grip starting to slip. As she realized she might not be able to get out of this, her eyes started to widen in fear. She started up at Ripclaw, those piercing yellow eyes boring into hers. She was intent on accomplishing her mission. She was not going to let go, and that determination shined in those golden eyes of hers.
Again, Mint's laughter swept through her mind, chilling her blood. She couldn't believe he thought this was funny. She couldn't believe that he was amused and entertained by this. She was about to get her shoulder ripped open by this beast, and he didn't even care. He doesn't understand just how real the injury was going to be. He has no idea what he had gotten himself into.
"What was that you were saying about stopping me, amateur?" Mint asked, a devious smile on his face. He watched with satisfaction as Penny struggled on the ground with Ripclaw. He tilted his head to the side slightly. "From what I am standing, it looks like you are already losing. You didn't even draw anything yet. How pitiful..."
Penny glared in his direction, though it was a little hard to see him with Ripclaw blocking most of her view. A large snarl from the utahraptor prompted her to look up. She realized, in horror, that her fanged snout was only inches away from her shoulder by now.
Mint took a few steps to the side, which allowed Penny a better view of him. Mint kept Snap caught in a tight headlock, the gun still placed against his head. "But this is what I had expected. I knew you didn't have it in you, Penny." His eyes narrowed slightly. "And now you know why I didn't accept the duel challenge with you. I would have beaten you quickly. Had this been a real duel, you would have lost already. In this short amount of time, I would have beaten you so many times. You never stood a chance against me."
Penny searched her mind some more, trying to think of some way out of this. Her eyes darted over to Snap. He looked frightened, trembling as he was being held by Mint. What would happen to him if she didn't get out of this? Would Mint let him go or would he shoot him?
Her heart raced at the thought. Snap was in big trouble, and so where the people in ChalkZone City. The apatosaurus was continuing its destruction. She could still hear the screams of the citizens as they were trying to run for cover. She had no idea how many were injured, or if any were killed. And Snap was still in the arms of the enemy. That gun was placed right at his head. Even if Mint slipped and shot something else, Snap was still going to get hurt, or even killed. And right now, she was the only one who could stand up to Mint.
That realization swept through her mind. Yes, she was the only one who could fight Mint. The zoners didn't stand much of a chance against a creator, especially one as psychotic as Mint here. Rudy was not around to help them. Unfortunately, he was not able to help them, and it was all because of that stupid stunt Mint pulled off. It was his fault Rudy was unable to come into ChalkZone for a little while. And now this guy thinks he can get away with anything just because Rudy isn't there to challenge him. Just when Rudy started to get the upper hand, this guy cheats and gets him locked out of ChalkZone...
But he failed to take her into consideration. It was clear he was underestimating her. He didn't know what she had been doing, or what she had done in the past. He didn't realize just how wrong he was about her. And she was going to show it to him. She was currently ChalkZone's only line of defense, and she wasn't about to let everyone down.
Tearing her eyes away from the menacing, grinning Mint, she looked up at Ripclaw, her eyes narrowed in determination. Her jaws were almost upon her shoulder now. As terrifying as this was for Penny to realize, there was something good that came out of it. Ripclaw's left eye was within reach.
A vulnerable spot.
Moving as fast as she could, Penny moved one of her hands away from Ripclaw's mouth. She formed a fist and, just before the dinosaur could bite her shoulder, she delivered a punch right into her eye. This caused the dinosaur to pull her head back and let out a screech of pain. With her grip on her loosed momentarily, Penny took this chance to wrench free. She grabbed her magic chalk, which still laid on the ground and moved back away.
She noticed Mint's eyes widening in surprise. She kept her attention mainly on the angry dinosaur that was approaching her now. Ripclaw snapped her jaws a few times at her, her pupils dilated in rage. She did not appreciate being hit in the eye like that. Penny gritted her teeth, holding up her magic chalk in preparation to draw.
What should she draw to stop Ripclaw? She had to think of something, and fast. Some way to disable her. She recalled what her mom does for a living. She was a vet, and she had to deal with animals on a regular basis, some of which weren't always that cooperative. Her mom always had some tranquilizers handy to calm down animals that were particularly uncooperative.
That could work in this situation...But the only problem was that she had no idea how much to give Ripclaw. Tranquilizing wasn't that easy or simple. It required knowing the size and weight of the animal and the right dosage. Too little would just piss her off. But too much would kill her... It had to be exactly the right amount, otherwise it would not work. But she had little time to figure out how much was the right amount, and she had to make an educated guess.
It was true she could end up really hurting Ripclaw, but she had little other options. Even though she did not want to kill the dinosaur, she would feel awful if she did, but it was either take that risk or let everyone in ChalkZone City, including Snap, die at the hands of this insane child standing not far from her. Yeah, the tranquilizer was the only thing she could think of that could effectively stop Ripclaw. After taking a few seconds to think about roughly how heavy the utahraptor was, she began to draw.
As she drew in the air, she heard Mint give out a soft chuckle. He said in a taunting voice, "Oh, so you do know how to use the magic chalk. Congratulations on that, Penny. But drawing is one thing... Let's see if you can utilize it well enough...amateur..."
Penny growled at being called an 'amateur' again, but she tried not to let it get to her. She focused on drawing what she needed. A large tranquilizer dart. She then drew a tranquilizer gun and pushed the dart inside of it. She pointed it at Ripclaw, taking careful aim.
But Ripclaw was not going to hold still for her. The dinosaur let out a roar and charged for her. Penny's eyes widened as the dinosaur closed the gap quickly. She jumped out of the way as the dinosaur zipped past her, almost striking her with her claws. The dinosaur turned around and came right back for her, mouth split wide open. Penny pointed the tranquilizer gun at her, again trying to take aim. But the dinosaur was too fast for her and she couldn't pull the trigger in time.
Penny moved to the side, feeling Ripclaw graze right by her, a rush of wind created from how fast she moved. Ripclaw, still so full of energy, turned around and came rushing at her again. Penny didn't waste anymore time. She held up her tranquilizer dart and pulled the trigger...just as Ripclaw pushed against her. Penny let out a scream as she was pushed into the ground, Ripclaw's hands pushing against her. Her claws poked against her skin again, causing the girl to wince.
"I thought so." Mint said, shaking his head. "You bit off more than you can chew, dear Penny. You should have just gone home and did your studying. You might be good at school..." He stared at Penny as she was being held on the ground again. "But that is of no use here. I tried to warn you that you didn't belong here. You should have heeded my advice and gotten out while you still could."
"I'm...not out yet..." Penny said as she pushed back against Ripclaw. "I...will stop you..."
Mint laughed at this. "And how? You're still pinned on the ground. You can't fight back. Your little plan failed. How do you propose you stop me?"
Penny gritted her teeth at him, then stared up at Ripclaw. She wasn't sure what she was going to do now. She was trapped again. And this time, Ripclaw was keeping her head back. She was smart enough to know that if she got too close, she would get hit in the eye again. She was not allowing the girl another chance at that move. Instead, the dinosaur was concentrating on just keeping her pinned down.
Penny struggled to get free. She pushed against the dinosaur, but she was not strong enough to push away the large dinosaur. She kept trying, though. She pushed harder and harder against her. It was no use. Ripclaw pushed her body against her, her talons gripping into her skin. Penny's look of determination was replaced with one of horror. She looked over at Snap. They locked eyes on each other, both very worried. Snap was silently pleading with her, begging her to help him. She wanted to help him so much...but she didn't know if she could even help herself.
She stared up at Ripclaw, her thoughts swimming. She felt defeated. She had tried to neutralize Ripclaw and she had failed. She was going to let everyone down. And there wasn't a thing she could do about it. She could practically hear Mint's cold laughter in her mind. His taunting words... As much as she knew he was wrong, it was hard not to be affected by what he said about her.
"This little game is over." Mint said, letting out a sigh of disappointment. "It was fun toying with you, Penny. But I think I'd like to move onto something..better..." Mint cast a quick glance down at Snap. "Especially since you failed to save your 'friend' here..."
Snap's eyes widened. "No..please don't..."
"I told you to shut up!" Mint snarled, tightening his grip to the point where Snap gagged. "One more word out of you and I will rip your body apart!"
At this, Penny's eyes snapped wide open. No...he couldn't do that... Snap... She had to help him. He was in trouble. She had to help him. With renewed determination, she started to push against Ripclaw. She still wasn't doing well, but she was at least holding her back a little better. She wasn't going to allow Mint to hurt her friend. She was going to save him. She was going to stop the apatosaurus.
She would win.
As she pushed back, she felt something laying down next to her. It was the tranquilizer dart. It must have been pushed out of the gun somehow. Perhaps she didn't secure it tightly enough. She glared at it with determination, looking back up at the dinosaur briefly before she let go and grabbed the tranquilizer dart. She felt the beast's weight suddenly press against her, forcing the air out of her lungs. As Ripclaw opened her jaws to screech at her, she pulled her hand back and struck the utahraptor in the base of her neck.
Ripclaw's eyes widened and she froze for a second. She then glared down at Penny, opening her mouth and letting out a menacing hiss. She raised her hand, claws poised to strike. Penny, realizing that the dart might not have contained enough drug to keep her down, closed her eyes and looked away. She waited for the claws to strike her.
But nothing happened. Confused, Penny opened her eyes and looked up.
Ripclaw still had her hand raised, but she looked...a little different. Her eyes were part way closed and she kept blinking, like she had trouble keeping them open. Her body was swaying back and forth. Her muscles were relaxing. Her hand lowered down. Then, seconds later, she fell to the ground. Penny grunted as the large dinosaur fell on top of her, almost crushing her under her weight. Penny managed to pull herself free. She took a few steps back and stared at what she was able to accomplish.
There laid Ripclaw. She was flat on the ground, on her stomach. Her legs stretched out behind her, her arms laid out at her sides. Her eyes were shut and her chin rested against the ground. She took in slow, somewhat ragged breaths. Penny reached over and gently pushed against her head to make sure she was out. When Ripclaw did not react, she moved a few steps away. She turned her attention to Mint.
To say Mint was surprised was an understatement. Words couldn't effectively described how surprised he looked that she managed to disable Ripclaw. She gave him a smirk and folded her arms against her chest. Mint narrowed his eyes at her show of triumph. But there was no denying it. She had shown him she was capable of wielding the magic chalk just as well as he or Rudy could.
Mint smiled again, giving a devious grin. "So you managed to best Ripclaw. Big deal. That was nothing more than beginner's luck."
Penny narrowed her eyes. So he was still going to act like she was an amateur, was he? He wasn't going to accept that he was wrong? Maybe he needed a little more motivation. She held p her magic chalk again. "It wasn't beginner's luck, Mint. It was skill."
Mint laughed. "No, it wasn't! Skill would mean that you are more knowledgeable about how to use the magic chalk. But no, you don't know. It was just a mere case of luck."
Penny growled. "You don't know anything about me..."
"No?" Mint asked, feigning suprise. He grinned wider. "Well then...why don't you prove that to me?" He smirked down at Snap. He gave her a sideways glance. "Can you save your little friend here before I pull the trigger?" This prompted a loud whimper of protest from Snap. Mint tightened his grip further and Penny could see he was having a hard time breathing. "Come on...try..."
Penny snarled at him, angry that he was threatening her friend. She wasn't going to let him get away with that. Recalling what she had attempted to create before Ripclaw interrupted her, she brought up her magic chalk and began to draw quickly. She did not waste any time, and now holding a whip in her hands, she took a step towards Mint.
She could see him start to pull the trigger. No, she wasn't going to allow it to happen. She pulled her hand back and struck the whip forward. The tip of the whip hit against Mint's hand, causing him to cry out in pain. He gripped his hand, releasing Snap, as the laser pistol dropped to the ground. Rushing forward, Penny took this chance to pull Snap back away from him. Keeping herself in front of her frightened friend, she glared at Mint.
She looked down, seeing his laser pistol on the ground. Before Mint had a chance to grab it, she used the whip to get it away from him. The thin line of the whip wrapped around the laser pistol. She yanked it back and pressed her foot against it. Mint stopped a few feet away from her, his eyes locked on his gun. He took in a few breaths as he slowly looked up and stared at Penny. Slowly, his eyes narrowed and he raised his magic chalk. Penny prepared herself, taking a fighting stance.
Mint suddenly turned his head to the side. Penny looked over to see what he was looking at. The apatosaurus that was rampaging through the city. "Hey you! Cease destroying! Head out of the city for now and wait outside..." He slowly turned his head towards Penny. "I have to teach this...amateur...a little lesson..."
Penny glared at him. "So do you know accept my challenge?"
Mint's narrowed eyes locked onto hers. He kept quiet for a few seconds. Then he took a fighting stance. "...yes."
"Good. Now you're learning." Penny said. She turned to glance at Snap. "You go and try to find if there's still citizens here! I know I saw some that were trapped. Find any that are still stuck here and get them out!"
Snap nodded his head. "Can do, Buckette!" He started to make his way down the city. He stopped and he looked back at her. "And can you do me a favor?"
"What's that?" Penny asked.
Snap grinned. "Kick the creepazoid's butt for me."
Penny chuckled a little at this. It was nice that Snap was able to give a little humor despite the predicament he was in just moments earlier. "Sure, Snap. Sure." She watched as her friend took off. She then turned her attention to Mint. "And as for you..."
"Oh spare me your pathetic little speech, amateur." Mint said. "I'm only doing this because Skrawl told me to get rid of you if you became a problem. I still don't think you'll be much of a challenge."
"I guess you still need a little lesson." Penny said, giving a bit of a devious smile herself. "I'm not as much of a pushover as you like to think. If Skrawl told you not to underestimate me...you should listen."
Growling, Mint said, "He's just a chunk of data. Nothing more. He doesn't understand the actual skill level of any player that enters here."
"Not like you?" Penny said sarcastically.
"Exactly!" Mint said, grinning evilly at her. "Now...let's get this over with. I can't wait until I send you crying back home."
Penny hissed, "Keep dreaming."
"Oh, but I'm not the dreamer here." Mint said. He raised his magic chalk and began to draw. Penny's eyes widened as she realized what he was drawing. "I think it's time we turned up the heat...don't you?" Now weilding a menacing-looking flamethrower, Mint pointed it in Penny's direction. "Come on, amateur. Dance with the flames!"
Penny let out a scream as Mint shot a torrent of fire in her direction. She jumped out of the way as the flames hit against the ground. She watched as the ground was briefly set on fire, only for the fire to die off quickly. She looked over in Mint's direction, her eyes still wide. He smiled evilly at her as he aimed the flamethrower at her again. She dodged a second time, but she knew she couldn't keep this up. She had to think of something, and fast.
She looked around the debris, hearing more screams of zoners as they were trying to get away. The whole place looked like an obstacle course. It looked like it would take some skill to navigate through the mess. Her eyes widened in realization. Seeing the twisted metal and broken concrete littered all over the place, that gave her an idea...
She jumped out of the way as Mint tried to shoot her with fire again. The flames cackled against the ground, the heat from the torrent almost burning to Penny. She got out her magic chalk and began to draw quickly. Although she still didn't get the hang of drawing rocket shoes, these crooked ones she drew would have to do. She turned them on and rose in the air, a little shaky. She then turned and began to fly away, hoping that Mint would take the bait. And fortunately, he did.
"Oh no, you aren't getting away from me, you cowardly amateur artist!" Mint shouted, laughing almost insanely. "You wanted to play with the big boys! And that is exactly what you are going to get!"
She looked behind her and saw that Mint had drawn himself a jetpack. Her eyes widened as she realized that it had more power and speed than the rocket shoes she drew. And it appeared to be in bit of better quality too. She turned her attention up front and concentrated on her plan.
Penny dove towards the mangled debris. The twisted loops and openings created by the destruction would be perfect for this. She moved down towards them, moving through the openings. Mint followed close behind her. The flamethrower nearly grazed her side a few times. Penny tried her best not to let fear grip her. She couldn't allow herself to give into it, not now. She made a few turns in the open parts of the rubble. She heard Mint shout in frustration as he nearly collided with walls. With a whoosh of rocket fuel, she knew when he turned direction to go after her.
Penny went through a twisted tunnel of debris. Bits fell everywhere. It was hard to dodge them, especially with Mint trying to shoot her with the flamethrower. Again and again, she had to move quickly. She could hear Mint dodging the debris himself, moving back and forth. The two of them let out screams as some chunks of rock nearly fell upon them. Penny sped up and moved faster through the tunnels, chunks falling down at a faster rate. She reached the bottom of the tunnel and she flew straight up, right towards an opening with sunlight shining out of it.
Mint let out a surprised cry as Penny made that sudden move. He quickly changed direction, nearly slamming himself against the ground. He went back up towards her and it didn't take him long to catch up with her. Again he shot the fire at her. Penny barely dodged in time. She winced as she felt a tiny bit of flame burn her leg. Not a small portion, no bigger than the burns Snap suffered. But this small moment of triumph for Mint was enough to make the kid laugh at her.
"I'm going to get you!" Mint shouted at her. "I am going to win!"
Penny hissed softly. "Overly confident... You should really watch that ego of yours, Mint. You could get in trouble."
"Speak for yourself! I'm not the one running away like a coward!" Mint said, a wide grin on his face, his eyes big with glee.
Penny chuckled softly. "Oh...? Is that what you think I've been doing?" She said in a teasing voice.
She was not surprised that Mint did not pay attention to what she had been doing the whole time. She wasn't surprised that he hadn't noticed that she had been using the magic chalk as she zipped around in circles in the debris. He had been so focused on getting her that he did not bother watching what she was drawing. And now it was too late for that.
"What? What are you talking about?!" Mint cried in confusion.
Penny didn't reply. She just giggled at him and made another dive towards the rubble, back through the tunnel they had come out of. Growling in frustration, Mint chased after her, just like she hoped he would. She navigated through the tunnel, dodging the shots of fire being thrown at her. She stared at a lower opening, where she had entered this twisted cavern of debris in the first place. Then, she got close enough, she fly upwards suddenly.
Mint, unable to change direction in time, flew past her, out of the opening. It took him seconds to realize that Penny had been drawing a trap for him, the reason why they had gone around in circles for a time before Penny attempted to get out. The trap was simple, yet effective. A net wrapped around him, tangling him in it as he fell towards the ground. The net gave off a quick burst of electricity. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to shor circuit his jet pack, making it lose power.
He made contact with the ground hard. Luckily he hadn't been that high up and the crash didn't hurt him as much. No scrapes or anything, but it still caused him some pain. He cried out as he felt his body smash into the ground and he rolled across the floor. He started to struggle against the net, but it had tangled up so tightly around him that he didn't have as much range of motion.
Penny flew down and managed to land pretty decently, although she still almost tripped. At least she managed to turn off the rocket shoes this time. She walked over towards Mint slowly and deliberatey. A playful smile was on her face, her hands folded back behind her. She stared down at the tangled Mint, his magic chalk having been tossed from his hand and out of reach. She bent down and picked it up. She held it in front of her, letting Mint take a nice long look at it.
"Not bad for an 'amateur', huh, Mint?" Penny said. "Now..what was that you were saying about sending me home crying...?"
Mint looked up at her in absolute shock. His eyes were wide, his mouth dropped open. She could see he was shaking too. Not from fear or pain, but from the intense shock he was feeling from being defeated by whom he believed was an amateur. He shook his head from side to side slowly, in utter disbelief. He managed to stand up, though his movemens were still restricted by the net.
"No...it's impossible... You can't win... You're...just an amateur..." Mint said in a low voice. His wide eyes continued to stare at Penny. He refused to look away. He took in a few shaky breaths, his body still trembling from the shock. "This..this isn't possible!"
"Face it, Mint. I won." Penny said, her arms folded. "You lost. I have your magic chalk now."
Mint stared at her with a disbelieving expression. He took a step back. "You...you..." He couldn't continue, his voice trailing off.
Penny narrowed her eyes. She started to advance on Mint slowly. The boy started to back away from her. Soon Penny had him boxed up against the wall. She grabbed him by his shirt collar and some of the rope and yanked him forward. She put her face close to his. His expression shifted to something more like fear, likely from how suprised he was that an 'amateur artist' beat him in the first round, while it took Rudy a few tries before he got the upperhand.
"Listen, Mint. This is not a game! It never was! Look at all this destruction you caused!" Penny hissed at him. Mint trembled a little harder. "It's all your fault! I am not going to allow you to cause anymore destruction! And when Rudy gets back, we will get you out of ChalkZone!"
Penny was no fool. She could already see Ripclaw start to move. She wouldn't have time to get Mint out herself. But she did have some time to give him a little warning. As Ripclaw started to walk over towards them, her hisses and snarls filling the air, Penny grabbed Mint with both her hands and pulled him even closer.
"And if you ever threaten Snap again..." Penny hissed. Mint winced and turned his head to the side, gritting his teeth. "...I will make you regret it." She tilted her head to the side. "Do you understand?" Mint opened his mouth to speak, but instead nodded his head quickly. "Good...now get out." Penny said in a low voice. She released Mint and took a step back.
Mint wasted no time. He immediately rushed over to Ripclaw. After she tore the net off of him, he climbed on her back, wrapping his hands around her neck. He turned to look back at Penny. Before he left, he said one thing to Penny.
"It seems I was wrong about you..." And with that, he disappeared.
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Post by Bluedramon on Sept 27, 2014 8:09:46 GMT -5
CHAPTER 19:
Rudy was thankful to be back in ChalkZone. It had only been a few days, but it felt like he was gone longer. It felt so nice to be able to use his chalkboard again after his parents gave it back to him. He had immediately created a portal the first chance he got and went into ChalkZone to check how things were going.
He was able to catch up to Penny and Snap in no time. They weren't too far away. He ran up to them to greet them. They were happy to see him. Rudy gave Snap a hug. Even though it had only been a short time, he had missed Snap dearly. He had wanted to communicate with him while he was grounded, but he had no form of which to do so. Being grounded, he couldn't even leave the house to go see Penny, and she wasn't allowed to go see him after school. A part of the punishment and all. He asked his friends what had happened in ChalkZone while he was away, and they told him everything that they could.
Penny informed Rudy about Mint's attack on ChalkZone City. As she described the destruction, Rudy was absolutely horrified and disgusted by what Mint had done. All that destruction...and for what? Nothing. And when Penny told him about the injured, he felt a pang in his heart. He couldn't help but feel guilty, even though it wasn't his fault. He couldn't do anything about it. He was not able to get into ChalkZone. And it wasn't his fault that he couldn't. It was Mint's. That jerk pushed him into the fire alarm and got him in trouble. And he had the audacity to cause destruction while he was away.
She told him about how Mint had used an apatosaurus to destroy large portions of ChalkZone City and how he had grabbed Snap and threatened him. Both this angered Rudy. It angered up that Mint, most of the time, used other zoners to do the destroying for him. To him, it sounded like he saw his creations as nothing more than slaves. Obedient to him, his creations would do whatever he said, no matter how cruel it was. The apatosaurus only destroyed because Mint told it to. He couldn't be mad at it, or any of Mint's creations. They were all just intelligent animals; they don't choose what they do. Mint does. It was Mint he was mad at.
Mint threatening Snap yet again made Rudy's blood boil. What right did Mint have to treat his friend that way? What did Snap do to deserve being treated like that? Rudy was getting sick and tired of Mint treating Snap like he was a piece of dirt. He hoped that he would take Penny's warning to heart and leave Snap alone. But he had doubts Mint would listen. And when Penny told him how Mint had treated her, calling her 'worthless' and 'amateur', that just added to his already increasing anger. This kid had no right to insult her like that, and it pleased him that Penny was able to show him how wrong he was.
He was a little surprised Penny won in the first 'round', but it didn't bother him. Protecting ChalkZone wasn't a contest. It wasn't a game, despite what Mint thinks. He was happy she was able to protect ChalkZone in his absense. He knew he left the place in good hands. It got even better when she informed him she was able to stop him two more times when he had tried to attack, preventing too much further damage.
What did worry him, though, was the fact that Penny and Snap weren't able to locate Skrawl at any time. They had attempted to locate him a few times before and after Mint appeared, but to no avail. It would help if they knew the location of some of these artifacts. Penny had gone to the library to try to find information, but sadly they had nothing on these artifacts. But to Rudy's horror, it wasn't because they had no copies. It was because Skrawl had stolen the only copy there was. So only that deranged jellybean had access to such information.
It was worrying that there wasn't any reports of attacks anywhere. They would have thought that, when Skrawl would go for an artifact, that he would attack. Was he completely annihilating these places so no one would talk? Or maybe he wasn't causing too much destruction so he could avoid detection. Skrawl wasn't stupid. Rudy could see him being very careful and not damaging too much so that zoners outside the area, as well as inside, wouldn't report it.
Another thing that was just as worrying to Rudy is that Penny and Snap have no idea how many artifacts Skrawl has now. He could have nearly all of them by now. The only reason they knew that he didn't have all of them was that they were certain that he would use them right away as soon as he got all twelve of them. So there was still time to stop him.
But there was still the matter with Mint. What were they going to do with him? They needed to get him out of ChalkZone pronto. But how were they going to do that when all attempts before had failed? Penny said she tried to take him back in one of their confrontations, but he managed to get free of her grasp and he took off on Ripclaw. And Rudy had tried before he was grounded with no luck. Mint had to be taken care of, otherwise Skrawl would continue to have an edge. Mint could wreak havoc on a different part of ChalkZone and Rudy would be drawn to that location and try to help those zoners. That left an opening for Skrawl to dig for another artifact.
Rudy could go after Skrawl, but he would be searcing around forever. If Skrawl was being more stealthy about this and not outright attacking anyone, it wouldn't be reported. No one would come around screaming for help. And it wasn't like Snap could be everywhere at once. The odds of him spotting Skrawl at any time in ChalkZone was pretty slim. He could always get lucky and see him, but he hasn't been that fortunate yet.
Penny believed that Skrawl was going to be extra careful this time around because he knows that they can still split up and someone could go after him, or that Mint could be defeated before he could grab the artifact. They all agreed this made the most sense. Skrawl wasn't going to barge in on some place and demand them to give him the artifact. He would use a different method, perhaps asking where it is or using that book to find the exact spot and just take it, causing little destruction. He knows that attacking these places on a large scale could draw attention, and he wanted Mint's targets to attract Rudy to them so he wouldn't try to find him.
This was going to make things more difficult. They needed a way to find out where Skrawl was going to be. The only one who could possibly give them any information, however, was Mint. And there was no way he was going to tell them anything. Especially if he thinks this is all a game. He did tell them about targeting random locations in ChalkZone to make Rudy busy with cleaning them up, but that was more or less all he would tell them. He would consider it cheating to tell them what their plans were. They could strap him in a chair and interrogate him, but that would reflect badly on them. Mint could use that to get them in trouble yet again.
So what they needed is another way to locate where Skrawl is going to be. They needed a way to find out how many artifacts he has, what he has, and what is left. There was Biclops. He might have something that could help them. That was one option that they had. They could try other libraries and hope that one of them has a copy of that book. Maybe ask Barney if all else fails.
But finding Barney again would be a problem. He wasn't even sure if he was back in his Impenetrable Forest anymore. He might have moved elsewhere. He wasn't happy when all those zoners, after the Balloonemia plague was stopped, started looking through his databases without his permission. Apparently this had happend to him many times before. Zoners constantly harrassing him, looking through his data without his permission. It was no wonder he got frustrated and hid. And Rudy couldn't blame him for taking off like he had.
Penny admitted to feeling some guilt after Barney took off. She was one of the ones who had begun to search through him without asking him. She had joined in with the other zoners. She had been part of that crowd that pestered him. She had helped chase him away. Rudy didn't think she should blame herself. After all, the access to vast knowledge can be tempting. Still, Penny wished she could apologize to Barney for that, especially since she had come to understand his side of the story.
None of them had seen Barney since he took off. Not even Mumbo Jumbo knew where he was. Or perhaps he did know and he is just refusing to tell them. They wouldn't doubt that Barney would ask his friend to keep quiet about his whereabouts, even from Rudy himself.
So Barney might be out of the question. At this point, he did seem like the only one who would definitely have the information needed to know where the artifacts were, as well as other information, such as what they do, how dangerous they were, even why they were scattered all over the place. The only other zoner with knowledge of ChalkZone history was Biclops, but he was more recent compared to Barney, and he only had knowledge about what he himself had seen. Barney, on the other hand, had information even about things he never saw or encountered himself.
Whatever they decided to do, they had to do it fast. There wasn't a lot of time left. Skrawl had who knows how many artifacts at his disposal, and Mint was going around causing destruction. Even if Penny managed to stop the worse of it, Mint was still a threat. They had to get him out of ChalkZone. They had to stop Skrawl somehow, someway. They needed some kind of plan. Yet, so far, they couldn't think of a surefire way to go. They had never felt this lost before on what to do. They had never been so unsure of what to do before. They knew there had to be something they could do, an answer they weren't seeing, but when it would come to them, they weren't sure.
Rudy felt so frustrated. He was supposed to be the protector of ChalkZone. He was supposed to protect the zoners from threats such as this. He was supposed to be able to keep everyone safe. But now there's a looming danger that has been going on for days and he hasn't yet been able to stop it. He was worried he was going to end up being a failure, that Skrawl was going to win this time. He was worried that Mint would find a way to permanently kick him out of ChalkZone. Mint had already declared he was going to try to do that if he had lost the fourth round against him. If Rudy lost the magic chalk and was thrown out of the portal and that portal was erased...
He shuddered as he thought about it. It would be terrible if he and Penny were trapped out of ChalkZone while Mint and Skrawl did all sorts of terrible things in ChalkZone. The only way to get back in would be to go to Mint's place and sneak into his room somehow. But that would require breaking in and they could get into worse trouble. He hoped it would never come to that. As long as he and Penny remained alert, they probably would never have to worry about that.
He wished he could get Mint out of ChalkZone, though. He had been trying to for days to do this, and he always failed. Even when he got the upperhand in their last fight, the boy still escaped. Rudy had the chance and it slipped right from his fingers. If he had just held onto Mint tighter, he could have gotten him out of ChalkZone. Then Skrawl would not have been as big of a threat. They could then focus entirely on him, finding him, and stopping him before he stole another artifact. They could even try to find his current hideout and get the artifacts back.
But instead, Mint was still at large. He always manages to get away. They never once got him close to any portal. And the portal thing was a problem. They couldn't push him through just any portal. They could send the kid to Antarctica or something. As big of a jerk he was, they couldn't do that to him. They couldn't send him somewhere where he could get lost, injured, or even killed. They had to send him through a portal that at least had him end up in Plainsville, or better yet, near or in his house. A place where he would be both safe and harmless.
Rudy was briefly worried that he might erase dangerous things into ChalkZone, but Penny assured him that wasn't likely. That was one benefit of him believing this is a game. He does not understand that things erased on a chalkboard would end up in ChalkZone. So there was no way Mint could retaliate by drawing something dangerous to try to convince Rudy and Penny to let him back in.
It was still dangerous for this kid to believe this world was a game, though. In some ways, it was worse than knowing that ChalkZone was populated by erased chalkboard drawings. He thinks he can get away with anything. He thinks that zoners can't feel real pain, that it's all just simulation. He doesn't think they have emotions or real lives. He just views them as data. As a result, his actions towards them and ChalkZone in general were reckless. He was a real menace, one of the biggest threats ChalkZone has had. And he thinks it is all a game.
They had been able to repair as much damage as they could in ChalkZone City. Some places were still torn down. But at least most of the damage was repaired, or at least functional again. It took Rudy and Penny a while to clean things up and make those parts of ChalkZone City at least walkable again.
They had also taken the injured zoners to a hospital. Luckily no one was killed. At least, not from what they had found. There were no reports of casualties. No zoner came forth and told them anyone had died. And the injured, even the worst of them, had a good prognosis and had a strong chance of making it. The trio was glad to hear that. It was at least not as bad as it could have been. No casualties was a good thing. Rudy wasn't sure how he would have reacted if Mint had killed a zoner.
The apatosaurus had disappeared. Penny said that she went to take care of it after Mint fled, but the beast had disappeared. She had no idea where it had gone off to in such a hurry. It was hard to miss something that big. Yet she was not able to find it anywhere. Her only guess is that it got hungry and it went over to one of the nearby forests to feed. That didn't explain why she couldn't find it, though. As bizarre as it was that the beast just disappeared, Rudy was glad that it stopped destroying ChalkZone City.
The three friends gathered at Snap's place again to try to decide what to do next. They had already decided Mint was a bigger priority due to the higher level of danger he posed to ChalkZone. They had been here for a while, pitching ideas. So far, nothing seemed solid enough to try. Rudy knew it was going to be hard deciding how to deal with Mint. He just didn't know it was going to be this hard.
"We have to find a way to get Mint out of here." Penny said.
"Yeah, but the big question is...how?" Rudy asked. He let out a soft sigh as he turned his gaze downwards. "Even when you and I managed to take his magic chalk, he got away."
"It's because Ripclaw is always there!" Snap said, pointing a hand in Rudy's direction. "He never has her far behind him!"
Penny nodded her head. "And we never know when she'll arrive. It's like she lays in wait, just biding her time until she realizes she is needed. I don't know how she manages to hide so well, though. Camouflage maybe."
Snap said, "And that poses a problem. With that dino around, Mint will still be hard to catch. That raptor thing can just grab him and run."
It was true. Ripclaw did pose a bit of a pickle. She was almost always near where Mint was, and she acted as his mount and, to an extent, rescuer. When Mint had no magic chalk left, she would rush in and get him out of the situation, even when she was recovering from the tranquilizer dart Penny managed to get into her. The raptor showing up when they were trying to get Mint out of ChalkZone made it hard for them to complete their mission.
They could try to go after Mint and Ripclaw, but there was a problem with that. Penny had managed to notice it during one of her fights with Mint. She had taken off after Mint, but the chase wasn't a success. It wasn't that she couldn't keep up. Ripclaw kept turning in unexpected directions and she would eventually lose her. Penny guessed that Ripclaw deliberately took longer, more winding paths rather than run straight back to the hideout or towards the portal so that she and Rudy could not follow them so easily.
"We have to find some way to get rid of her." Penny said. "Some way to keep her from getting to Mint."
"But that won't do us much good until we get the magic chalk from Mint." Rudy pointed out. "Remember, he can still defend himself without Ripclaw by his side. I almost defeated him once, but he was able to draw a bunch of tiny dinosaurs, even with his arms tied."
Penny nodded in agreement. "So what we need is a carefully thought out plan. Something that would simultaenously take care of Ripclaw and Mint." She narrowed her eyes. "Unfortunately, it may take us some time to come up with such a plan..."
"Yeah..." Rudy replied sadly. He shook his head slowly. "And we would need to think it out thoroughly, and be careful not to make the plan too obvious. If Mint catches on, he would make sure that we couldn't pull it off a second time."
"I hope it doesn't take us long to figure something out. If we wait too long, all of ChalkZone will be in danger." Snap said solemnly.
Rudy and Penny nodded in response. Snap was right. They didn't have a lot of time to think this stuff through. Time was running out. At any day now, Skrawl could get the final artifact and they would all be in trouble. They had no idea, still, what these artifacts did. Rudy didn't know if his creator skills could help them if Skrawl got all the artifacts. He didn't know what Skrawl would be able to accomplish. It was a scary thing, not knowing.
They had to think of something, and fast. Somehow, someway, they had to get Mint out of ChalkZone. And if they couldn't manage that quickly enough, then there was always trying to find a way to get information out of him. Rudy still wasn't sure if interrogating him would work. But it might be a viable option if they thought it through some. They had so little options right now, so little time to think about all of this.
"We...we could always try getting the information from him, somehow..." Penny said.
Rudy lifted his head up towards her. He was a little surprised that she was thinking the same thing he was. "Yeah, but..how could we get him to tell us anything?"
"Yeah. I don't think think he'll just willingly hand over any knowledge we ask for." Snap said.
"Well...what else can we do? We don't have that many options here." Penny sighed softly.
Rudy frowned slightly, turning his head to the side. "Yeah, I know Penny. I was thinking the same thing, too. We really don't have many viable options. In fact, the only things we have are talking to Mint, trying to find Barney, and going to Biclops. We have a fourth and fifth one, but one will take us a while to fully figure out, and the other is a one in a million shot."
Snap held out a hand in a gesture. "I think our best bet is going to Biclops first. He might know something about these artifacts." Rudy and Penny nodded in understanding. "I don't think Mint will tell us anything. And even if he does, it could be false information."
"That's what I was thinking, too." Rudy told him. He straighted himself up a little, turning his head towards the ceiling. "I was thinking that, even if we got Mint to say something, well..." He lowered his head a little. "He thinks this is all a game, a virtual world. And because of that, he would believe it would be cheating telling us anything. He would likely give us false information, lead us away somewhere else in an attempt to aide Skrawl."
So interrogating Mint wasn't going to work out that well. Their best option now, after Rudy thought about it for a few moments, was going back to Biclops. The giant wouldn't lie to them. If he knew anything about the artifacts, he would tell them.
But then..what would they do if the giant didn't know anything? Their only options left after that would be to talk to Mint or find Barney. And both weren't going to be easy. They could either try to get Mint to tell them what they want to know, which the best place they could do that was in the real world during lunchtime, or they could look all over ChalkZone for elusive Barney. And both plans weren't likely to work any time soon.
Out of the two, talking to Mint was the better option. Looking for Barney would take much longer. Mint showed up in ChalkZone everyday at least once. That gave them multiple chances to speak to him. Barney, on the other hand, they didn't know where that centipede zoner was. They could waste days and weeks, even months, trying to find him, and by the time they did locate him, it would be too late to stop Mint and Skrawl.
Rudy made a decision. He got up from his seat. He looked down at his friends. They looked at him expectantly. He looked out the window and narrowed his eyes. At this moment, there was really only one thing they could do.
"Let's go talk to Biclops." Rudy said. His friends nodded in agreement. "And hopefully...he'll have some kind of answer for us."
sss
Mint was still in shock at being defeated by Penny. More than once at that. She had managed to hold her own against him. He had not been able to get the best of her, and he couldn't understand why. She was just an amateur...wasn't she? He didn't see her do much before. How could she have gotten so skillful? He didn't have a problem with besting Rudy. But Penny was a different story. He never thought that she would be the one to give him the most problems.
He started to have second thoughts about her. He had admitted to her that maybe he was wrong about her. Maybe he had misjudged her. He thought that her intelligence didn't help her much in a video game. Yeah, she could defeat him in a battle of wits in the real world. But video games require more skill than just reading a book or citing some complex formula. It wasn't like there was anything taught in school that would really help in a game like this...was there?
Perhaps he was wrong about that, too. Maybe he should have been more careful with Penny because of her intelligence. Rudy was smart, he didn't doubt that. But Penny was smarter. She was able to trick him easily in their first fight, causing him to get tangled up in that net trap of hers. But he had to admit, part of it was his own fault. She had been right. He should have watched his ego more. He might have won if he had just paid more attention to what she was doing than being obsessed with 'taking down an amateur'.
Hmm..amateur...he could definitely see where he was wrong on that, after some thinking of course. When he had told Skrawl of his defeat, the jellybean wasn't happy. He had told Mint that he should never underestimate Penny. Before he would have scoffed at it. But now he was taking the order more seriously. Penny had shown him what she could do, and he felt like a fool for doubting her capabilities. And his refusal to acknowledge she was a competent creator cost him the round.
After that defeat, he had spoken to Skrawl about what Penny had done in the past. He relayed to him some information that he knew that Penny was capable of doing. It was during these tellings that Mint realized the actual reason Penny had run away. She wasn't fleeing the battle because she was a coward. She had been helping the zoners, getting them to safety. And she would, if she could, aid Rudy and Snap.
This realization did make Mint feel bad about what he had said about her. He had accused her of something she didn't even do. He had jumped to conclusions about her even though he hadn't been in this game world as long as she had. He had passed judgment on her, as if he were somehow master of this game world. And there was no excuse for that. He didn't like underestimating his opponents, and he had done that on so many levels with Penny.
He would be sure not to let it happen again.
And there was something else that happened. Something he didn't bother telling Skrawl. It involved Snap. He had threatened him again during his first real clash with Penny in ChalkZone City. He had him in a headlock. He had his laser pistol pointed at his head. And he was going to shoot. He really wanted to shoot him, but to be fair, gave Penny a fighting chance to save him.
Before, this wouldn't have been a big deal to him. It wasn't like he hadn't threatened or tried to hurt Snap before. Heck, he did succeed in attacking him in their first encounter. He kicked the zoner aside and he didn't really care then. After all, Snap was just a bunch of data cobbled together to look like and act like a sentient being. He wasn't real, and he thought it was foolish how Rudy and Penny treated him like he was a living, breathing person. They were taking this game's realism a bit too far. It was just a game after all.
But this time, something different had happened. He didn't show it. He hid it very well. But as he held Snap, as he threatened him, he did feel a pang in his chest. There was something about how Snap was behaving, the determination Penny had, that made him start to have some second thoughts. Something that was telling him...maybe shooting Snap was not a good idea.
He had tried to shoot him before Penny reached him. The delay was not intentional. He had tried to shoot him well before Penny hit him with that whip. But something in his brain was stopping him. That nagging feeling wouldn't go away. He was hesitating to shoot, and he didn't know why. Snap was just data...why couldn't he just shoot the thing? It wasn't like he was going to be gone forever. Rudy could always reconstruct him and it would be like nothing happened. So why was it so hard for him to shoot Snap? What had changed?
He started to realize that maybe he had been in this game world long enough and interacted with those three enough that maybe he started to see Snap as something more than data. And the idea frightened him. No, he couldn't allow himself to become delusional like Rudy and Penny. No, he would prove to himself that he's stronger than they are. He was not going to get an attachment to something that isn't even alive. And in their next encounter, he would prove it.
When they meet again, he was going to finish off Snap for good. He was going to take him away from the two and make sure they can't get to him. Then he would shoot Snap and get it over with. He would prove to them that this was just a game. He would prove to himself that he was not going to fall for the same delusional trap that Rudy and Penny fell into.
Maybe seeing their friend burst into data or simply vanish would open Rudy and Penny's eyes. Maybe then they would realize how wrong they were to treat this world like it was real. Maybe they would stop taking it so seriously and they could have some real competitive fun. He genuinely wanted to have fun with them. Harmless fun, but it was hard to do that when they took the game so seriously. He hoped that, by shooting Snap, he could snap them out of their delusion.
"Mint!" Skrawl called from across the room. Mint got up and walked over to his NPC guide. "New orders!"
"Okay. What are they?" Mint asked.
"You are to go to the Future Dome and..." Skrawl started to say. He stopped when Mint raised his hand. "What?"
Mint had another idea. There was something he had wanted to try. He wanted to pick the location for himself, and he wanted to issue a challenge to Rudy and Penny. He wanted to meet up with them in one particular location he had picked out for the battle. He had heard about it from some zoners, and he felt it would be the perfect place to set up the fight and be able to get Snap away from them so he can delete him.
"I was wondering...could I pick the location this time?" Mint asked.
Skrawl narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "You? Pick a location?" Mint nodded his head. "Why?"
"Because I thought of the perfect one to ambush those three." Mint said, a dark smile spreading across his face. "I took the liberty of reading up on this place, too. I know exactly what spot would be perfect to trap them in and fight them."
Skrawl blinked at the boy. Then he smiled evilly. "Usually I do not allow my allies to pick and choose their own plans, but in your case, I will make an exception. Under one command."
"And that is?" Mint asked.
"Show them no mercy." Skrawl said, letting out a dark chuckle.
Mint blinked at this. Show them no mercy? What was this jellybean talking about? What did he mean by 'show them no mercy'? What exactly did he expect him to do? What was the goal of this mission? He wasn't out to completely crush Rudy and Penny. The whole point of the trap was to get at Snap. He could defeat Rudy and Penny, if that's what Skrawl was talking about.
But there was something about his voice, the way he said it. It just felt...off. Almost menacing. Skrawl made it sound like he wanted him to really hurt those two. But why? That didn't sound like something the creators of the game would program their NPCs to do. They would lose a lot of potential marketing. It...It almost sounded like Skrawl had some real animosity towards those two... No, not just those two. Snap, too. The whole trio.
Well with Snap, he could see, since Snap was a fellow AI as well. He could see Skrawl being programmed to want to delete other NPC guides as a way of winning the game. But it seemed off that he wanted him to not just fight Rudy and Penny but to...seriously hurt them...
Or maybe he was reading too much into it. Yeah...that was probably it. Maybe he was just reading too much in what Skrawl was saying. It could just be his imagination. Maybe Skrawl didn't really mean to make it sound like he wanted him to really hurt Rudy and Penny. He just wanted him to make sure he defeated them, to not allow them to escape and stop him from stealing an artifact. After getting this close to winning the game, he could see why Skrawl would be determined to keep his lead.
Mint did his best to hide his surprise, and he nodded his head. "I understand, Skrawl. I'll...do my best." He kept the smile on his face. "They won't beat me this time."
Skrawl folded his arms and stared at him. "Make sure that they don't. Do what you can to achieve victory! I don't care what you do. Do not allow them to get an edge over you." Mint still didn't understand how this could be a truly competitive game if Skrawl would not allow Rudy and Penny a few chances to win, but he said nothing. "I know Rudy and his two trouble making friends know I am collecting the artifacts. I'm sure they are well aware that you are just a distraction, but because of your creator powers and their willingness to go save innocent civilians, they will always come after you."
Mint nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm aware of that. As you recall, that was part of the plan."
Skrawl replied, "But if they manage to best you, they could find me. I don't doubt they will find someway to find me, and stop me from getting the rest of the artifacts. I'm so close!" The jellybean clutched his hands into tight fists. "I will not allow them that edge..." He turned to Mint. "That is why I want you to do your best, your worst if you will, against them in that forest. I want you to make sure they never try to stop me again."
Mint's eyes widened at this. Okay now it was getting a little creepy now. Just how advanced was this AI? How could a simple program hate two players that much, to the point of...wanting to hurt them that badly...even kill them..? How would the creators find this marketable. There would be so many parents complaining about this. He hoped, after this game got out of beta, they removed this, or at least toned it down. He could see defeating or trapping the two. But actually really hurting them? No, he couldn't do that.
But then he recalled the times where he had hurt or tried to hurt Rudy and Penny on purpose. He recalled how realistic they reacted to being hurt. He knew it was just a simulation, but...what would happen if he did seriously hurt them in the game? How far did the realism go? Would they be able to exit the game? Did they have to leave through a portal, or gateway, whatever it was called, or would they be transferred out?
"Hey Skrawl?" Mint asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "Just...how advanced is the pain simulation? What would happen if I..."
Skrawl waved a hand in front of him. "Oh, don't worry about it. You can't really hurt anyone in this game, zoner or player. You could stick a sword through Rudy or Penny and they'd be fine. And with zoners, well we can put on a realistic show, with the way our coding is. We can give proper responses. But we don't really feel pain. So don't worry about what you do to any zoners around here. Don't worry about what you do to Snap. He'll be fine." A smirk spread across his face. "It's all just an illusion."
Mint let this sink in. He took in a few breaths. "It's all just an illusion..." He told himself. He turned his head and looked towards the exit of the hideout. "It's all just an illusion." He repeated in a low voice, as if he was trying to allow the information to click with him.
Skrawl nodded, that dark smile coming back. He tapped his fingers together. "Yes...you are getting it, Mint. Now..." He pointed a finger towards the exit. "Get going. And remember..." He paused for a moment, giving time for Mint to look back at him. "...no mercy..." He said in a low, growly voice.
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 11, 2014 8:48:50 GMT -5
CHAPTER 20:
"Hey look! It's the kid that pulled that fire alarm!" One of the students cried.
"Maybe he'll pull it again!" Another said. "Come on, kid. Why don't you pull it? Scared?"
Another shouted, "Maybe his 'girlfriend' is keeping him on a leash this time!"
A few of the students started to laugh. Others simply smiled, some with big grins on their faces. Others stared with blank expressions. Only a small handful weren't paying any attention and were too busy eating to really care what was going on.
Rudy narrowed his eyes as he and Penny walked along the cafeteria food line, getting their food. As they went, Rudy flinched as he saw a lot of students looking at him again. And this time, he could make out some of the things they were saying about him. They were speaking louder because they clearly wanted him to hear. He tried his best to ignore them. But it was kind of hard to do, especially when some students passed by spoke directly into his ear, calling him things like 'troublemaker' and 'delinquent'.
To make it worse, even the lunch ladies were giving him weird looks. They never said anything or behaved differently towards him. But those looks...their narrowed eyes and spreading frowns. It was clear that they weren't very happy with 'his' stunt a few days ago. And Mr. Wilter had been more cautious around him lately. He could tell the teacher was trying to keep more of an eye on him lately, which made it harder to speak to Penny while in class.
Rudy hated being treated this way. Everytime he walked down the halls, the cafeteria, anywhere in the school, he couldn't escape the feeling of being watched. Students would look at him and make comments about him. They would sometimes wonder out loud what would make a usually well behaved kid like him cause so much trouble out of the blue. Others were making comments about how he'll do it again, or he'll do something much worse.
It was hard coming to school lately. With the students and even teachers treating him differently, he sometimes wanted to call in sick just so he didn't have to deal with it. But he knew he couldn't keep playing sick or his parents would try to take him to the hospital, and there they'll find that he was lying. And in addition to that, he would get a lot of make up work to do. It wouldn't be worth it to use the 'I'm sick' excuse too many times. So as much as he hated it, he would have to put up with it.
He had never hated Principal Stringent before. She usually didn't cause much of a problem. She was usually in her office or in her house that was somewhat secluded, so it wasn't like they had to run into her often.
But that had changed lately. Ever since the day Mint made him pull the fire alarm, he had started to develop a hatred for the large woman. Stringent had purposely gotten him into more trouble with his parents, telling them things that he didn't do, such as saying he was being defiant and deliberately trying to 'evade punishment' by running away. She blamed him for the chalk water incident, which yeah she was right. It was him. But no one else knew that. There was no evidence. Everyone else thought it was just a leakage somewhere. Using that as a reason to give him a harsher punishment...that was just cruel.
Everytime he saw her in the hallways, she would give him a triumphant smirk, and at least once, she told him how she would do worse if he gave her a reason to. She said she would not tolerate any students causing trouble and she would do what it takes to keep him in line, to keep him under control. Yeah, Rudy could definitely say he hated her now.
And it wasn't just her that he hated. He was really hating Mint now. It wasn't just because of the fire alarm incident either, although that did play a role. It was because Mint was getting more and more dangerous and wreckless lately. He had destroyed parts of ChalkZone City. Though Rudy and Penny began to repair those places, due to the excessive damage, it would take them a while to fix up everything. A week perhaps, if they're lucky, due to Mint's presence in the chalk world. That boy was lucky he didn't end up killing any innocent civilians...
Rudy didn't doubt that, one day, unless that boy is stopped, he would end up killing someone, whether it be accidental or not. And the day that happens...he wasn't sure what he was going to do. Rudy had a feeling that he would become so enraged with the boy, he wouldn't be able to control his actions as well. He might end up hurting him if he didn't control himself. He would have to be careful with his temper. He did not want to be the bad guy.
Talking to Mint in the real world yieled no results. He and Penny had tried again earlier, but the chat did not last very long. They only got a few words in before Mint got tired of them and walked away into a larger crowd. He was clearly tired of them trying to talk him into leaving ChalkZone, and he knew exactly how to get them to be quiet, too.
This was a reason why he wasn't sure if the idea of getting information from Mint was going to work. He does believe ChalkZone is a game, and telling them information would, to him, be considered 'cheating'. The only reason he gave some information to them before, when he was attacking ChalkZone City, was because he admitted the fire alarm trick was really low. Rudy was still mad at him for it, though. After all, the kid never really properly apologized for it. So he wasn't sure if he really felt bad about the fire alarm thing, or if he was just saying that to lower their guards a little.
Probably just to lower their guards..yeah that's probably what it was. Rudy had seen what the kid was capable of doing. Acting or not, he was just plain cruel, a big jerk. He was reminding him more and more of Reggie Bullnerd. He recalled the small amount of havoc that bully wreaked on ChalkZone. And now here was Mint, who was just, more or less, an upgraded Reggie. Rudy was starting to believe that Mint really was just a jerk and that a lot of the things he did wasn't acting. After all, he still treated them poorly in the real world.
He and Penny sat down at a mostly empty table in the cafeteria, away from the other students. He didn't feel like listening in on what they were saying about him. He had heard enough gossip and he just wanted to have his lunch. He also wanted to talk to Penny a little more about what they were going to do the next time they went into ChalkZone. The plan was to head over to meet with Biclops as soon as they were able.
But there was Mint, who, chances are, would be causing some kind of danger. And that could draw all their attention to him, giving them no time, or very little time, to talk to the giant. So he thought maybe they should split up. He would deal with Mint while he would send her to go to Biclops and talk to him. That seemed to be the best move he could make. They could also reverse it and he could go to Biclops while she dealt with Mint.
He wanted to talk to Penny about it and ask her which way she thinks would be best, or if she had another plan on what to do. Neither of them doubted that Mint would be causing some kind of trouble when they go into ChalkZone. He always, somehow, got there before they did. They don't know how he was pulling this off, but there was no doubt in their minds that it was going to be a problem.
He didn't get a chance to say a word to Penny before he caught a glimpse of someone coming towards them. He narrowed his eyes as he realized who it was. It was Mint. The sixth grader was approaching them, just like he had before, this time with a tray full of food. He must have just gotten it. He came right over to them and he sat down. Rudy and Penny glared at him, their bodies tense. They did not feel comfortable with their enemy sitting so close to them.
Mint sat across from Rudy, staring straight into his eyes. That dark smile of his became quite visible. There was some sort of twinkle in his eyes. It was a similiar look he gave Rudy when he did that fire alarm trick. It was clear that Mint was up to something. Rudy tensed up even more, waiting for Mint to do something else to get him in trouble. But so far, as the minutes passed, all he did was stare at them. He hadn't even started to touch his food yet. It was almost like Mint just came over to see how quickly he could freak him and Penny out.
Not able to take the silence much longer, Rudy said, "What do you want, Mint?"
Mint's smile slightly softened up, an attempt to look a little more innocent. He tilted his head to the side, hand his chest, and he said, "Oh me? Nothing... Nothing...that big anyway. I just wanted to say hello.."
The way Mint tried to sound so innocent as he spoke grated on Rudy's nerves. He clenched his teeth as he glared at the boy. Here, sitting so close to them, was that menace that has been wreaking havoc across ChalkZone. Here is the Enemy Creator who had been terrorizing that chalk world and scaring their friend, Snap, even trying to 'delete' him. Rudy and Penny did not let their guard down around him. And Mint just smiled at them like it was nothing more than a casual conversation.
Penny glared at Mint. "Don't lie to us. We know you're up to something." She said, her voice laced in anger. "So what are you up to this time, Mint? Going to attack ChalkZone City again with your 'disappearing apatosaurus'?"
Mint laughed at this. The laugh was cold but quiet, not drawing attention from the other students. "You still haven't gotten over that, have you? Calm down." He picked up his fork and pointed it in her direction. "You are still taking this time way too seriously."
Growling, Penny leaned forward and spoke in a hushed whisper. "And you are not taking it seriously enough! Do you know how many zoners you could have..."
Mint reached forward and clamped his hand over Penny's mouth, silencing her. "Enough with that. I'm getting tired of you trying to guilt me over something that isn't a big deal." He tightened his grip on Penny. "So I am going to prove to you two that I am right."
Penny pulled Mint's hand away, glaring at him. Rudy was not happy with what Mint did, either. It was disrespectful what he had done. He had deliberately tried to silence Penny when all she was doing was making a good point. How dare Mint try to shut her up like that.
"Don't you dare touch her again..." Rudy said, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
Mint just smiled at him and shrugged his shoulders. Again, he was acting like this was no big deal. He just sat there, eating his lunch like it was nothing more than a casual meeting. While Rudy and Penny ate as well, they didn't take their eyes off the boy. There was a reason he came over here, and it wasn't just to sit down and chit chat. There was a motivation here. Rudy truly believed that it was either Mint wanted to land him in more trouble, or he was targeting Penny this time.
Whatever Mint was planning, he was not going to allow him to succeed. He wasn't going to give Mint the chance to pull off this plan. He would keep an eye on him and prevent him from making such a move. There was no way Mint was going to get him into more trouble, and he certainly wasn't going to allow Penny to get blame pinned on her as well.
The silence after that, while they ate, was eerie to them. The way Mint looked at them the entire time... Even when he picked up his drink, or got another piece of chicken steak, he still refused to look away from them. His eyes felt like they were drilling right through them. It made Rudy and Penny very uncomfortable. They don't know what Mint was trying to accomplish. If he wanted to freak them out, he was succeeding in that.
It wasn't until the three of them were halfway done that Mint decided to speak again. He sat the fork on the table and leaned back, staring at the two intently. He folded his arms against his chest. That arrogance that he has shown in the past few days really shined here. Despite being defeated, he was still clearly confident he was going to win.
"If you two are wondering why I came over..." Mint said, the smile never leaving his face. Rudy and Penny's glares intensified. "..It's because I wanted to..." He held out his hand, making a gesture to indicate the two students sitting in front of him. "...issue a challenge with you two."
"Challenge?" Rudy hissed at him. "You...want to challenge us?"
Mint nodded his head. "Yes. I have chosen the perfect location, too. Skrawl said I could choose my target this time." He rested his elbows on the desk, his chin against his hands. He leaned forward a little. "I have chosen the Impenetrable Forest as the location." He smirked as Rudy and Penny's eyes widened at this. "I am aware there is a way in to that place. I know how...and I know you two do as well. I know you have been there before."
Rudy couldn't believe it. How...how did this kid know about the Impenetrable Forest? He had just recently started coming into ChalkZone. The Impenetrable Forest wasn't a place spoken by many. Even less so is how to get in it. Rudy was one of the very few that managed to get in. How did Mint figure out how to get it himself? And how did he learn of the place to start with? Did Skrawl mention something about it to him?
Issuing a challenge there..was that really a smart thing to do? Did Mint have no inkling of the dangers that lurked in the Impenetrable Forest? Rudy knew there would be gola monsters there. His friends were almost swallowed up by one. It was hard enough dealing with just one, but the fact that there were more, according to what he was told, was a frightening thought. Mint's fighting style was surely going to attract those beasts and they would all be in trouble. Or maybe the added danger was the reason why Mint chose the place. Maybe he was on an ill-guided quest to increase the challenge of 'the game'.
Rudy said, "And what if we don't accept?"
Mint stared at him. He gave a light chuckle. "I guess I could just entertain myself by causing some destruction there." He said nonchalantly. "Who knows? Maybe I'll find that information bug and toy with him for a bit." Rudy and Penny's eyes widened in horror at this. "Maybe I'll infect him with a virus. I'm sure that's possible."
Infecting Barney with a virus..? That was plain cruel... Rudy couldn't believe Mint would do such a thing. Even if there was a chance he wouldn't know how to do it, he couldn't let him have that opportunity. Barney's entire intelligence and behavior derived from all his body parts being attached. As he loses them, he gets dumber and dumber. When he had all of them gone, he was, as Snap put it, a babbling moron. A virus would wreak havoc on him... Mint could warp Barney's entire intelligence.
But then Rudy realized something that gave him some hope for Barney's safety. He was not in the Impenetrable Forest anymore. No one there had seen him. Then again, he might still be there... Rudy realized he couldn't be cocky about this. He had to assume that, somewhere, Barney might still be in the Impenetrable Forest. He could just be in a new hiding spot. He hoped that King Mumbo Jumbo was with him. If Mint did try to get at the centipede zoner, having some backup would help.
"You better not..." Penny said in a low voice, pointing a finger in Mint's direction. "If you do, I'll..."
"Yeah I know. You'll make me sorry." Mint said, waving his hand dismissively. "I think we've had this song and dance before." Penny growled at this, her eyes narrowed. Mint turned his attention to Rudy. "So...what do you say? Meet me in the Impenetrable Forest for our next duel. Don't show up and I'll find that centipede friend of yours and have my way with him."
"You..." Rudy started to say.
"Oh and before I forget!" Mint said, interrupting Rudy. He leaned a little closer. His sneer broadened. "Bring Snap with. If you don't, I'll set fire to the Impenetrable Forest."
"You wouldn't..." Rudy's eyes widened.
"If...if you do that..the fire would have little place to escape. It would..." Penny said, her voice shaky. "The pressure would build up...and..." She couldn't finish. She shook her head in denial. "You couldn't possibly be crazy enough to...not while you're in there..."
Mint chuckled at this. "Do you want to take that risk?"
Rudy and Penny were horrified that Mint would do such a thing. He was blackmailing them, forcing them to do what he wants. He really wanted to fight them in this forest, and he was going whatever it took to make sure they accept his challenge. It could very well be a trap they'd be walking into. But with the threats...there was no way they could back out of it.
They couldn't let the forest get destroyed. They couldn't allow Barney to be hurt by this crazy boy. Even if he was lying and he was trying to trap them...what choice did they have? None... It was either take the chance and go face this guy, or risk more zoners getting hurt and letting another place get utterly demolished.
Rudy's eyes narrowed, clenching his teeth hard. He leaned forward on the table, jabbing a finger towards Mint. He spoke in a low voice, his breath escaping through his teeth. "We'll be there..."
Mint smiled. "Excellent... I'll see you then.."
After Mint was finished, he got up from his seat. He took his plate with him. Rudy and Penny watched, their eyes narrowed, as the boy disappeared from their sights. Rudy realized they might have made a big mistake accepting the challenge. But there was no way around it. They were forced into it. They would just have to be on their guard when they get there. They couldn't allow to succeed in whatever plan he was unleashing.
It was worrying to them that Mint wanted them to bring Snap along. He usually came with them anyway, but the fact that Mint specifically requested that they bring him with...something about this whole challenge did not feel right. Rudy had a feeling that something unpleasant was going to happen.
sss
Mint was pleased when he saw that Rudy, Penny, and Snap had accepted his challenge and were all in the Impenetrable Forest. He watched as they moved along, looking all around, waiting for him to strike. He was amused when he saw Snap walking between Rudy and Penny for protection. The NPC guide must be programmed to show fear in a situation like this, and recognize when he was the target. This meant pulling off the attack would be harder, but he was ready for the challenge.
Mint had done some reading on this place during his attack on ChalkZone City. And it was there, after interrogating a zoner at gun point, that he learned how Rudy had managed to get through. Using the boy's same method, he had gotten in. He took a look around the place and decided on a good ambush spot. He wanted the trio to know he was in the forest, but not when or where he would strike. That would give him some element of surprise.
The whole thing with tormenting the 'information bug' was largely a bluff. He really didn't know if that AI was still around, if it had been deleted or even relocated. The fire was also a bluff. He wasn't stupid enough to start a fire in an enclosed area. He wasn't suicidal. He just needed a motivator for those two to come into this place. There was the chance that they would know it was a trap and avoid it. So it was necessary to use a little...incentive...to make them come here.
He picked one particular location, which he felt was perfect for an ambush. It was a large, circular area in a deep part of the forest. There was a tall mountainous section in the middle, covered in thick foliage and moss, with plenty of jetting rocks to stop on. Tall trees and grass covered the corners, pressing against the thick, hard trees that made up the 'outer shell' of the forest, so to speak. The place had only one entrance, and that was a small opening, somewhat narrow. If the hard trees were pressed close enough, this would be an enclosed area of the Impenetrable Forest.
It was a decent size, too. He imagined that, if closed off, this area could still support some forms of life with no problem. It even had its own water source. There was some water dripping in steadily from above. It was hard to tell what the source was being on the inside, but oh well. The water formed a small creak that went along the back of the tall structure. There was also a large, raised mount of hard rock and foliage sitting in the corner.
Overall, it was a nice place. And a good spot to launch an ambush from. He had Ripclaw ready to block the entrance once they got in here. And then it was just a matter of getting Snap away from Rudy and Penny. That shouldn't be too hard if he played his cards right.
Since Rudy, Penny, and Snap weren't going to arrive right away, he took this time to lay out his trap. It was difficult setting everything up, forcing him to draw things he was not as good at as dinosaurs. But he knew he had to branch out a little more if he wanted to remain a competent fighter in this game. Once the trap was set up, he waited for the trio to arrive.
Mint lay low to the ground, keeping his body covered by the foliage. He waited until those three would come to this spot. Sooner or later, they'd have to show up here. He didn't care how long it took. Even if it cut into time at school, he paid no mind. He just wanted to get this over with. He wanted to capture Snap and delete him. He would do that today. Finally, he was going to find out how the gibs works...he was going to prove to himself he isn't crazy, and he would prove to Rudy and Penny how wrong they had been this whole time.
It felt like he was hiding here for a long time, but soon, he heard footsteps. Ah there they were. Rudy, Penny, and Snap... they were walking right in. They were moving slowly, deliberately. They looked all around, trying to find any sign of him. Snap was keeping himself behind Penny, pressing up against her in an attempt to feel safer. As he watched, he could hear a bit of their conversation.
"I don't like this..." Penny said softly, her eyes looking around. "This place feels off.."
Rudy nodded. "Yeah. I...I don't think we should be here..."
Snap looked over towards the other side of the nearly enclosed area. "There's no other way out of here. Let's turn back.."
Rudy said, "Good idea. If Mint caught us in here, he'd..."
Mint took that as his cue. He snapped his fingers and, from her hiding spot, emerged Ripclaw. The trio jumped back in absolute shock as the dinosaur jumped in front of the narrow passageway that let him into this place. She let out a screech and raised her clawed hands threateningly at them.
Rudy and Penny put themselves in front of Snap. They raised their magic chalk in preparation for a fight. Ripclaw narrowed her eyes and snarled at them. She started to advance on them, her sickle claws tapping the ground in anticipation. She lunged at them, landing a few feet in front of them. She snapped at the air wildly, drool flying everywhere. The trio moved back, with Rudy and Penny keeping their fighting stances.
Mint walked out of his hiding spot. He smirked at the trio was they were being harrassed by his utahraptor. He ignored their glares as he went over to the entrance. Instead of drawing, he lifted up a hand and put two fingers in his mouth. He whistled, and seconds later, the pteranodon he had drawn before, the same one that nearly caused the trio to crash in the Mondo Desert City, flew in, having hid well among the foliage despite not being the best camouflaged. It landed on the ground in front of him, staring at him intently, waiting orders.
Mint could see the look of shock on the trio's faces. They weren't expecting to see this pteranodon again. There was some sign of fear from them. At first, he didn't understand way, but then he remembered that this pteranodon nearly caused them to crash. Although it was just a game, he could see how they could shake them up a little.
Turning his attention on the pteranodon, Mint pointed towards the narrow opening. "Guard that spot. Make sure those three don't get out." The pteranodon immediately moved towards the opening and placed its body at the entrance. Mint then looked over at the three. "I see you accepted my invitation."
"I don't know how you expect to win, Mint." Rudy said. He raised up his magic chalk. "There are two creators now. You are outnumbered."
"Yeah. We'll be able to take care of your...pet. And then we will beat you!" Penny said.
Mint smirked at them. They had so much confidence. They believed they would win. They had no idea what they were in for. They don't have an inkling of what he was about to do. If they had a clue of what was going to happen, they wouldn't be so cocky. They wouldn't be so certain that they would win.
He watched as Rudy and Penny both drew lassoes. They tossed them at Ripclaw, and the ropes looped around her neck. They pulled hard, trying to keep her still. He could see that Penny was attempting to draw another tranquilizer dart. He narrowed his eyes. It wasn't going to work this time. And sure enough, as Penny tried to complete the drawing, Ripclaw took notice and raised her head and body in the air swiftly, yanking the two off the ground. Thrusting her head from side to side, she sent the two flying through the air and crashing into the ground.
No surprise, the two didn't give up. He was glad they didn't. It would have been boring if they did. Rudy and Penny moved on different sides of the orange utahraptor. This time, Rudy kept the dinosaur's attention on him. He made noises and made sure Ripclaw's head was turned towards him. Penny moved behind and started to draw the tranquilizar dart again. This time, she managed to finish. She was about to jab it into Ripcalw when the dinosaur knocked her aside with her long time.
Mint laughed at this. "You two will have to try harder than that to stop Ripclaw!"
"Oh don't worry. We will!" Rudy said, narrowing his eyes in determination.
Rudy and Penny backed up away from Ripclaw. They never took their eyes off of her. Their magic chalk was never lowered. Rudy said something to Penny that Mint couldn't quite hear. He raised an eyebrow when Penny moved back and looked at the ground. She seemed to be testing it for something. Snap went over towards her and...it was hard to tell what he was saying. Oh well, Mint didn't really care, just as long as his plan came into full circle.
Penny drew something on the ground. Something large and circular. Mint couldn't tell what it was at first. He turned his eyes towards Rudy. He had drawn what appeared to be a steak of some kind. He was waving it in front of Ripclaw. He was waving it back and forth. And he was heading straight towards whatever Penny was drawing. It was only when Penny finished drawing it that Mint could finally tell what it was.
A tar pit... Likely not a very deep one. These two seemed determined not to bring harm to any zoners, even ones that he himself had created. He made the connection in a second and he knew that Rudy was going to lead Ripclaw straight towards the tar pit. If he was successful, that would disable Ripclaw for a time. She could get out. She was strong enough. But it would, momentarily, put him at a disadvantage. He would need to do something to turn the tides in his favor again.
And he knew exactly how he was going to do that. It was time to spring the trap.
Taking out his magic chalk in his left hand, he rushed towards a spot in the enclosed area, now standing far behind Snap and Penny. Snap did take notice of him and his eyes widened. Mint smirked at him but said nothing. He turned his attention to drawing. In the corner of his eye, he could see that Snap tugged at Penny's arm and was showing her what was going on. Penny did rush forward to try to stop him, but by then, it was too late.
The lines had already taken shape and filled with solid color. And standing beside him was a therizinosaurus, a massive plant-eating dinosaur with huge claws. The large beast, colored white with black stripes, let out a screech at the trio. Rudy stopped momentarily to look. The distraction was enough to allow Ripclaw to snag the steak from him and swallow it hole. It also caused his magic chalk to drop from his hand. Mint didn't bother going to get it this time, instead keeping his eyes on his newest creation.
Mint took a moment to admire his handiwork. Then he pointed a finger towards one part of the wall, near where Rudy, Penny, and Snap were. Letting out a screech, the beast stomped over, each footstep shaking the ground. It raised its hand in the air, the claws glinting in the light. Penny raised her magic chalk to start to draw as Snap backed away. The therizinosaurus struck a portion behind the foliage and there was a loud scraping sound, like something was being pushed in. Mint grinned. The trap has been activated.
Seemingly out of nowhere, large spikes shot through the air. The whistling sound as they sailed sliced the air filled their ears. They crashed into the ground, cutting in deeply. The trio let out a scream as they tried to dodge the spikes. They attempted to run away, but spikes would land just inches in front of them, forcing them to turn around, only for another spike to make them change direction.
Mint folded his arms and watched in amusement as that area of the place was being sprayed by spikes. A line was starting to form. A wall of spikes was being created. Some still landed by the trio, forcing them to jump in different directions. Mint climbed on top of the tall structure to get a better view of what was going on. And when he got on top and smiled down, he was satisfied to see that the spike trap worked. The therizinosaurus moved a few steps back, its purpose served.
A ring of spikes now engulged Rudy, Penny, and Snap, and a few spikes still came. One landed mere centimeters away from the two, causing them to jump back and right into their own tar trap. Mint laughed at this. How fitting they would get stuck in the trap that they tried to reserve for Ripclaw. The utahraptor was already by his side. He stared down at the trio and folded his arms. He watched as Rudy and Penny tried to get out. Snap tried to help them, but it was no use. The tar was too thick and sticky.
"Looks like I win this round." Mint said. He chuckled when the two kids glared up at him. He closed his eyes for a moment. "I won't be taking your magic chalk this time." He reopened his eyes and saw that Rudy and Penny were confused by this. A nasty smile appeared on Mint's face. "I am going to take something else from you... Something a little more..." He raised his hand and snapped his finger. "...important."
With that, Ripclaw jumped down towards the enclosed trap. She laned in front of Snap, forcing him on the ground. Snap let out a scream and started to back up from the dinosaur. She advanced on him, flexing her claws in anticipation.
"No!" Rudy cried out in horror. "Leave him alone!"
"Don't hurt him!" Penny shouted, her voice laced in panic.
Snap couldn't speak. He was too afraid to speak, or at least he acted like he was. The NPC guide was so convincing... Mint watched in satisfaction as Ripclaw snagged Snap in her jaws. Snap let out a cry as Ripclaw lifted him up off the ground. She jumped up towards the top and landed next to Mint. Snap started to struggle in her jaws. Ripclaw just tightened him, prompting another cry for him as her teeth pressed against him.
Mint took a few steps towards the trapped Snap. When the zoner saw him, he let out a panicked scream and struggled harder. Mint took out a newly drawn laser pistol, this one with a shining red dot so he could see where he was aiming. He kept the dot in the middle of Snap's head, watching as the zoner stared at the dot the best he could before looking back at him. He shook his head in protest. Mint ignored this and reached out with his hand. He grabbed Snap's chin tightly and held it in place.
He made sure that he and Ripclaw were standing in a spot where Rudy and Penny can clearly see what's going on with their NPC guide, or 'friend' as they liked to refer to him as. Mint smiled down at them, enjoying the look of shock and horror in their eyes. Oh how deluded they were..oh how serious they were... It will be most amusing to see how they would react when Snap is finally shot and deleted.
"This whole thing was a trap, as you can tell. You see..." Mint said as he stared down at the two kids below him. "...I am getting a little tired of this run around. I'm tired of seeing you treat a piece of data as if it were a person. And since your parents don't care enough to break you of this habit..." He smiled evilly at Snap. "..I will..."
Snap whimpered, his eyes wide. "No..don't do it..please..."
Mint ignored Snap. He pressed the tip of his laser pistol right between Snap's eyes. He put his finger on the trigger. He gave the NPC guide a nasty grin and then he started to appy pressure to the trigger.
"No!" Rudy shouted. He struggled harder against the tar. Mint could tell he was crying from the way his voice sounded. "Snap! No! Please!"
Penny pulled as hard as she could against the tar, trying her hardest to free herself. "Mint, let him go! I thought you weren't going to threaten him again!"
Mint turned to her. "I'm not threatening him. I'm going to delete him..."
Rudy and Penny's eyes widened in horror at this. Penny shook her head frantically. "No! Don't do it! You're making a huge mistake! Let our friend go, please!"
Rudy cried out, "Please don't hurt him! Let him go, Mint! Put Snap down! Please!"
Mint laughed coldly at them. He turned his eyes to Snap. He watched as the NPC guide whimpered as he pushed the trigger harder against him. He gripped his chin even tighter, making sure that Snap couldn't move his head free. He pushed on the trigger harder. He stared intently in Snap's eyes, amused by the tears escaping the zoner's eyes. Soon, he would be deleted. Soon, he would show Rudy and Penny that he was right.
But then something happened. Something that Mint had hoped wouldn't happen, but it did. He hesitated again. Just like before... He hesitated. He still smiled evilly at Snap. His hand was still tight around the laser pistol, the finger still pressed against the trigger. And yet he could not move. He continued to stare at Snap, trying to get himself to pull the trigger and get it over with.
That pang was returning, this time stronger than before. He could feel a slight shiver in his body. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Snap. There was something about how he was looking at him.. The fear in his eyes, it felt so real. Rudy and Penny's cries for him to stop. That felt genuine, too... No...no it wasn't real. It was just an illusion. He narrowed his eyes deeper and attempted to pull the trigger, gritting his teeth. Yet he still couldn't do it. He couldn't get himself to apply the extra pressure required to delete Snap. It was so simple...it was so easy...why couldn't he do it?
Slowly, as that pang increased, he felt his expression soften up. His frown disappeared as well as his evil smile. He soon stared at Snap with an expression that was more shock and bewilderment than anything else. Snap still looked at him in fear, his body trembling. Despite knowing Snap wasn't real, there was a sense of..guilt rising inside of Mint. That part of him that told him shooting him wasn't a good idea, it had gotten stronger now. Mint tried to fight off this feeling, but he was unable to.
"I..." Mint said in a low whisper. Rudy and Penny couldn't hear, but Snap could. "I-I...can't do it..." Mint lowered his laser pistol a little bit. "I just can't do it..." Mint pulled the laser pistol away completely. He turned his head to the side, his eyes closed. He raised a dismissing hand at Ripclaw. "Release him."
With that, Ripclaw dropped Snap on the ground. The zoner stared up at Mint in confusion. Mint looked down at Snap. A look that could only be described as guilt was on his face. Mint only looked at Snap for a few seconds before looking away again. Rudy and Penny were also confused by Mint's actions. He could hear them try to say something, but he wasn't paying any attention.
Just then, there was a loud roar and something shook the ground. Mint's eyes snapped wide open. That didn't sound like any of his creations. He looked over and he saw the ground was starting to rise up. Something big, reptilian, and rocky emerged from the ground. Mint's eyes widened in shock. What...what was this thing? It was huge...about as large as the therizinosaurus he had drawn. No...it looked almost bigger.
The shaking of the ground caused the needles to pop out of place, knocking some of them doing and creating an opening for Rudy and Penny to see. The two of them screamed in horror at the sight of the thing. Judging from their reaction, Mint guessed they knew what this thing was.
"A gola monster!" Rudy cried. He tried to get himself free. "You have to get out of here! Run! Get away!"
Mint couldn't tell if that warning was for them both or just Snap. Either way, he was going to take that advice. The beast slammed against the structure he, Ripclaw, and Snap were on. The whole thing shook violently. Mint looked at the thing with a sense of dread rising in his chest. Despite not being real, this gola monster thing was terrifying. It opened up his gapin maw and snapped at them. It raised his stone paw and struck towards them.
The beast tore out a chunk of the side, causing rocks to crumble downward. The ledge started to break off. Ripclaw let out a surprised screech and took a several steps back. The ground below Snap broke loose and he started to slide downwards, right towards the gaping creature's mouth. For reasons he couldn't understand, Mint looked on in horror and tried to reach out towards Snap, but he was too far. He didn't know why he cared if something happened to him. He was just data, right?
"Snap!" Rudy and Penny cried in fear and horror.
Watching Snap slide down towards the gola monster's open mouth, Mint turned his attention to Ripclaw. He made a motion with his hands, pointing downwards to where Snap was. "Ripclaw!"
The utahraptor wasted no time. She rushed forward and ran down the side of the cliff. She spread out her arms and flapped up and down to keep her balance. She rushed down, gaining speed fast. She made a turn and rushed towards Snap. She snagged him in her jaws again and jumped out of the way just as the gola monster struck against the side of the cliff. The utahraptor, following Mint's hand gestures, jumped back into the trap and dropped Snap there.
Snap looked up at Ripclaw in absolute shock. "You...you just..."
Ripclaw moved towards his trapped friends. She lowered her head and grabbed them by their shirts. She lifted them out one and a time. After they were out, she jumped back up towards Mint, staring at him and awaiting his command. "I have to get going." The smile was back on his face, though a little more faltered than before. "Skrawl needs me back at the hideout right about now. So I'll leave you three to play with your...friend there."
As Mint started to leave, he noticed the trio taking a defensive stance as they stared at the gola monster. The one thing he didn't notice was that someone was watching him. Hiding in the corner, propeller spinning around, was a Beanie Boy. A shocked expression on his face, the Beanie Boy immediately took off, unseen by anyone.
sss
"Mint did what?!" Skrawl cried out, smashing some glass cups off the shelf and onto the ground. The startled Beanie Boy moved back away from him. "Are you sure?!"
"I-It's true, boss..." The Beanie Boy said. He shielded his face like he was expecting to get hit. "I saw it with my own eyes! I swear it's true!"
Skrawl let out an angry roar, his arms stretched out at his sides. The Beanie Boy took off, getting far away from the enraged jellybean. Skrawl smashed another glass object against the ground, not caring how much of a mess he was making.
Things had been going smoothly. He had gotten almost all the artifacts now. Only three left. And then he could proceed to take over ChalkZone with them. And Mint had been doing a great job of distracting. He was looking forward to his report on today's battle. The boy was so eager to face them. He was always excited to face off against those three. And Skrawl had always enjoyed hearing how he managed to defeat them, how he made a fool of Rudy.
But now...the unforgiveable happened. In direct violation of his orders, Mint had...shown mercy. One of his Beanie Boys he sent to spy on Mint to see how this battle would play out informed him of what had happened. Mint had the chance to kill Snap, but he let him go. And not only did he let him go, but he had Ripclaw save Snap from a gola monster and freed Rudy and Penny from the trap he had sprung.
Sure, he still abandoned them to deal with the gola monster themselves, but the fact that he had shown them mercy at all...That was unacceptable. He couldn't allow this to happen again. He couldn't allow Mint to get all buddy buddy with them. If he kept this show of mercy up, he might end up liking Rudy and Penny as more than just fellow gamers. He might become...friends with them..They might sway him to their side. They might get him to betray him.
No, he wasn't going to allow that. He was not going to let Mint go unpunished. He was going to pay for his show of mercy. He was going to get what he deserved. As soon as Mint came back, he was going to give him a better reason to follow his orders.
Skrawl stared at his hand, flexing his long, sharp claws. Oh yes, after this..Mint would never disobey him again. He was not going to lose his hold on the boy. Mint was his. Mint belonged to him. Mint was a tool that he wielded. And he was not going to slip away from his control. Skrawl glared at the wall in front of him and struck at it. A loud scraping sound and there were three claw mark indentions in it.
Mint will not betray him.
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 11, 2014 8:49:07 GMT -5
CHAPTER 21:
Why had he done that? Why had he turned away the opportunity? He had him...He had him right where he wanted him...and he still...chickened out. He still couldn't bring himself to pull that blasted trigger.
Mint had been thinking about this ever since he got back to Skrawl's hideout. He paced around in one of the small hallways. He went back and forth, from one wall to the other. His mind filled with thoughts of what happened earlier that day. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened, and why it had happened. It wasn't something he had expected to happen. And it wasn't like it was just one thing. It was a few things that he had done... He didn't know why exactly he had done them.
The biggest thing that concerned him was Snap. Why couldn't he delete him? He was right in his grasp. Rudy and Penny weren't able to save him. He was trapped in Ripclaw's jaws. The little blue runt couldn't get away and he wasn't programmed with any kind of weaponry or special powers. At least not from what he had noticed. He should have been easy to delete. All he had to do was pull that darn trigger.
But he had hesitated. He hadn't been able to pull the trigger, no matter how hard he had tried. He kept attempting to put more pressure on the trigger. But something was holding him back. He didn't know what it was... There was something that was keeping him from shooting the NPC guide.
What was it? Was it pity? Guilt? He didn't want to believe that he actually felt sorry for Snap. Why should he feel bad about something that was just data? After all, all of it was just an act. An illusion. It wasn't like Snap was in any real danger, right? He could shoot him and he'd come back later, just fine like nothing had happened to him. Yet..what else could describe that feeling he felt when he looked into his terrified eyes? There was something about the way Snap looked at him..that made him hesitate. Something in them that made him question whether or not he should shoot him...
And that scared Mint. If he was starting to feel bad about data, then he was going to end up as deluded as Rudy and Penny. He couldn't allow himself to become like that. He didn't want to become deranged, a lunatic, acting like all of this was a real place. He had to fight back these feelings next time, these doubts. He had to remind himself it was nothing more than a game. The next time he got a chance to shoot Snap, he would take it. He...he had to... He couldn't allow himself to become delusional...he just couldn't...
He had done more than just show Snap mercy, despite Skrawl's orders not to. He had also saved him. When he saw him fall towards that gola monster, something inside of him sparked. He couldn't describe the feeling. Something inside of him...wanted to save Snap. That was why he had sent Ripclaw to get him away from the gola monster. For some reason, he didn't have the heart to just let Snap fall into the beast. This added to his fear of becoming a lunatic like Rudy and Penny were. He should have just let Snap fall and let the beast delete him. Why couldn't he do that?
And why did he have Ripclaw pull Rudy and Penny out of their own tar trap? Why had he done that? He could have just let them stay trapped and left them like that. Nothing bad would have happened. They would have just lost the game and be teleported back home, or at the starting line, whichever. It wasn't like their lives were on the line.
Yet, despite knowing that, he still had Ripclaw save them. There was a part of him that just couldn't allow them to remain trapped and helpless like that. The gola monster was terrifying. Something about it sent off an alarm in his head, a sense of dread. The very presence of that beast made his mind believe, for a moment, that the danger was real. It was one convincing monster to do something like that. It was enough to make him save Rudy and Penny instead of just leaving them trapped in the tar. He had let them go...and he couldn't fully understand why.
There was only one thing he could think of. There was one thing that could explain why he behaved like that, why he felt sorry. It wasn't the best explanation and he had doubts about it himself. But...he was willing to believe it. He was willing to go along with it because it made him sound less crazy, less irrational.
The reason why he couldn't shoot Snap wasn't really because he felt sorry for him. Perhaps that guilt he felt for him was actually towards Rudy and Penny. He had thought to himself before that he would feel bad about kicking them out of the game. There was a time when he could care less if they were unable to play anymore. But lately they had been becoming more of a challenge, and both secured a victory against him. They were playing smarter at this game, and he wanted them to stick around. They were fun to fight against. If he had deleted Snap, he may have risked losing two potential equals at this game, and that wasn't something he really wanted to lose.
And kicking them out of the game..it would have made him feel bad for another reason. ChalkZone, this virtual world, was a fun place to be in. He could see why those two loved coming here so much. He didn't want to deprive them of that fun, especially since he experienced it himself. They might be trying to kick him out of this game, but he didn't want to do the same to them. He knows what it feels like being excluded from something fun and exciting. That's happened to him before.
Yeah, that had to be the real reason he let the little guy go. He just didn't want Rudy and Penny to be sad about being kicked out of the game. He didn't want them to lose access to such a great virtual simulation. And for that reason, he made a mental note to himself. He wouldn't try to shoot Snap again. He might attack him, but he no longer had the desire to shoot him. There were other zoners he could go to if he really wanted to see the gibs effects that badly. He could go after them instead. As for Snap, he won't try to delete him anymore.
His thoughts shifted to Skrawl. He did learn a little more about the artifacts. Not much. What he did hear, from what he overheard the Beanie Boys say, is that each artifact had its own special power that required the crown to activate. He didn't know what these powers were, though. And he didn't know exactly what Skrawl had planned to do with them. Probably take over ChalkZone, since he was the designated villain of this video game. He still wondered what would happen if the bad guy won this game, how the ending would be like.
He assumed Skrawl got another artifact, and that meant, if he remembered right, there were two more left. Or was it three? He wasn't sure. He rarely spoke to Skrawl about that as he was more focused on going out and facing Rudy and Penny. He didn't even know how Skrawl was acquiring these artifacts without drawing attention. One thought he had was that one of the artifacts had the power of invisibility, and Skrawl was using it to get the artifact. Another was that he was simply asking for the artifacts...no that wouldn't make sense if Skrawl was supposed to be the villain here.
Skrawl wouldn't tell him where he was getting the artifacts. He guessed it was because that knowledge wasn't really required. He didn't really need to know any of that. He had his role in this game. He was Skrawl's assistant, and his job was to keep Rudy and Penny too busy to try to look for Skrawl. Even if they searched around and figured out where Skrawl had been striking, the trio won't be able to do much about it. Mint would just target another place and keep their attention on him. And Skrawl would be sure to take the artifact with him even if one of those three manages to find him.
So far, Skrawl was winning the game. He had gotten almost all the artifacts now. Once they get the final few that remained, Skrawl would win...or so he thought. A recent conversation with the jellybean revealed that he wouldn't be able to win the game just yet. Mint would need to allow time for Skrawl to learn how to use the artifacts, and once he did, then Mint would truly win the game. Skrawl promised him that he was going to love the ending and that it would be worth all the trouble he went through. Mint couldn't wait.
Mint stopped pacing around. He put his back to the wall and leaned against it. He folded his arms to his chest. He wasn't sure what to do now. He had already rationalized his behavior earlier, at least he hoped he had. So far, Skrawl hadn't given him another assignment. He did think it was a little odd when the jellybean hadn't spoken to him when he got back. He didn't even see him. He saw some Beanie Boys, but they more or less ignored him, like they always did. He sometimes even forgot they were there. In fact, one of the only times he interacted with them was when they took him to some of the designated locations, then they'd leave.
Getting into ChalkZone before Rudy and Penny was tough. He had thought about getting himself in trouble every day and being sent down to Principal Stringent's office, but that would become too suspicious. The school would give him a harsher punishment if he kept it up. His parents wouldn't be happy with him either. They would do something as well, and knowing them, it would be something that would make it hard to come into ChalkZone again for a while. He would be in the same situation as Rudy was in before...and he couldn't allow that.
So instead, what he did do was talk to his guidance counselor about changing the times of his classes. He managed to come up with some of convincing excuse for why they had to be changed. By rearranging his classes just right, he managed to get a recess a little earlier than Rudy and Penny did. This gave him the chance to get into ChalkZone earlier. The counselor warned him that she won't be able to change it again, but he was fine with it. He didn't mind going to new classrooms, although he was still stuck with the same art teacher, albeit at a different time.
It was a little complicated and he was surprised he pulled it off. He was glad he did, though. If that didn't work, he had no idea what else he could have done. He couldn't keep sending himself to Principal Stringent's... She would take notice eventually, especially if his teacher brought it up to her and she realizes he never been into her office. After seeing the way she treated Rudy, Mint could see why not many students really liked her that much.
Mint did still feel bad about what he did. He acknowledged that it was a rotten trick, and he still went along with it anyway. He had been so worried about being kicked out of the game that he had pulled something like that on Rudy. Yeah, time away from the game was probably good for the kid, but still...he could have done something else.
He felt the principal was being too hard on Rudy. The way she just dragged him off like that without letting him explain, that was definitely out of line. It wasn't something he felt a principal should do. They were supposed to be professional and let the accused explain their side of the story. But from what he overheard from Rudy, Stringent did anything but. He wasn't sure of the entire story, but he did hear something about how she 'used a past incident to punish him for this incident' or something, which was wrong.
And the way the other students treated Rudy was apalling. Mint did feel bad about causing all of this. He knew it was his fault Rudy was being treated like that. And he couldn't do a darn thing about it. Most of the students don't believe him when he said it wasn't his fault. Most of them believed he had pulled it on purpose. And now, thanks to Mint, Rudy was being teased and harrassed at school, prompting him to stick closer to Penny, one of the few who knows he's innocent.
Mint decided that, when the game was finally over, he would talk to Principal Stringent and tell her the truth. He wasn't sure if she would believe him or if she would even do anything about it. But at least it was something. As delusional as Rudy was, he didn't deserve what he was getting in school.
His thoughts were interrupted when something echoed off the walls of the hideout.
"Mint!"
It was Skrawl...and he didn't sound very happy. Mint usually didn't hear him that upset, and especially not at him. At his Beanie Boys, maybe. But not at him. He felt himself tense up a little. He didn't know why. Skrawl was his NPC guide. The worst he would do was yell at him. Still, hearing him that angry, seemingly at him, did not settle well in his mind.
Or maybe he wasn't mad at him at all. Maybe he was angry with something else and that just reflected in his voice. Yeah, maybe one of the Beanie Boys broke something when Skrawl was figuring out a plan. Or maybe his recent plan of stealing an artifact had been foiled..somehow... Yeah that was probably all it was. Taking in a deep breath, relaxing himself, Mint began to head down the hallways towards Skrawl's office.
Mint made his way down the halls. He kept up a steady pace. There were still places here he wasn't familiar with, but he knew which paths to take to get to Skrawl's office. He didn't waste time. He knew that Skrawl was going to be angry if he didn't get there in a hurry. As he made his way down the halls, he couldn't help but notice a few Beanie Boys floating around. When they looked at them, they carried blank expressions. The sight was...unsettling to say the least, especially with them usually smiling dopily all the time.
And then they started to follow him... That made him a little more at unease. All the Beanie Boys he encountered on the way to Skrawl's office were following him now. They stayed close behind. Not one said a word, not even that catchphrase of theirs, about working for Skrawl. They just...followed him. No matter which way he turned, they all followed him. Soon there were about seven Beanie Boys floating behind him. And he knew there was going to be more when he reached Skrawl's office.
When he finally reached the office, he stopped. He stared at the tall door, noting how it almost touched the ceiling. The Beanie Boys hung back a little as Mint walked over. He grabbed the door knocker that was attached to the door knob. He pulled it back and slammed it hard a few times. He took a step back and waited.
"Come on in."
Skrawl sounded a little calmer this time. Mint felt himself relax more. Whatever was bothering Skrawl must have passed already. That meant that he was right. The jellybean wasn't really angry with him. He wondered what did actually upset his NPC guide. Maybe he would tell him if he asked. Might be a good idea to wait, though, just in case he accidentally triggered his previous anger.
Mint opened up the door. It was a little heavy, but he managed it just fine. He opened it just enough to allow himself to squeeze through. He heard the door open up more and he heard propellers twirling. The Beanie Boys that followed him came into the room with him. He guessed that they might be the ones to take him to the next location, so their presence didn't really bother him anymore.
Mint liked how large this office was. A nice tall ceiling, plenty of space, tall windows to look out of.. Overall it was well designed room. Simple, but effective. It gave the overwhelming sense of power as he walked in. The whole place had this strong aura hanging in it, making it very clear what kind of threat Skrawl posed to his enemies and just how powerful he was. There wasn't a whole lot in this room, but Mint felt that was for the better. The shere immenseness of this room was enough to make Skrawl really feel like he was in charge. Too many items placed in here would make it feel too cluttered.
He looked around and he found Skrawl. He was sitting in his desk placed in the far back middle of the room. He was leaning back in his chair, those sharp fingers tapping against each other's tips. Mint took a few steps forward and then he stopped. He took notice of just how Skrawl was looking at him. Those mismatched eyes were narrowed, and he was keeping his gaze on him. Even from this distance, Mint could tell that Skrawl was still not in a very good mood. Mint hesitated to take another step forward, uncertain of what to do or how to feel.
Skrawl pointed a hand in his direction. He used his finger to motion towards himself. "Come here, Mint..." His voice was low and growly. "I want to speak to you..."
When he said that, Mint nearly jumped at the sound of slamming. He looked behind him and saw that the Beanie Boys that came in with him had shut the door behind him and were now blocking it. At that moment, Mint realized that Skrawl really was upset with him about something. Even though this wasn't real, he couldn't stop his heart from clenching up in fear. He felt..trapped, with nowhere to go. He looked back at Skrawl, his eyes widening very slightly at the sight of the jellybean. Not wanting to anger him further, Mint started to make his way towards his desk.
He approached Skrawl warily, keeping his head a little low like he expected to get yelled at. Game or not, this was intense. He never felt this afraid of approaching Skrawl before, except when he first arrived and didn't know what he was. Each step he took forward felt like it took an hour to make. And with each step, the sense of dread rose in his heart and mind. He tried his best not to look visibly afraid. It was just a game... It was just a game...
He soon reached Skrawl's desk. He managed to fight off most of the fear, chalking it up to irrationality. Skrawl was his NPC guide. It wasn't like he was going to do anything major to him. Maybe yell at him, maybe take away his magic chalk for a short time. But he wouldn't hurt him. He wouldn't be programmed to do that. It wouldn't make much sense.
Skrawl glared at him, and Mint felt his heart tighten again. It was brief, but it was still there. He could see the jellybean start to shiver a little. Not from cold or fear or guilt, but from anger. He could see the jellybean clench his teeth a little. He saw his hand tighten into a fist. Mint took in a few quick breaths, uncertain of what to expect next.
Then, without warning, Skrawl slammed the fist against the desk hard. The loud sound caused Mint to let out a cry of suprise and he jumped back. He stared at Skrawl in shock. Though he wasn't real, Mint still found himself taking a slightly defensive stance. He held up his arms a little and turned himself slightly to the side. Then, seconds after Skrawl struck the desk, he leaned forward in his chair a little bit and he began to speak in the angriest voice he ever heard him speak in.
"Why did you do it?!" Skrawl snarled at him. Mint looked at him in confusion. Skrawl narrowed his eyes more deeply. "Why did you let Snap go?! Why did you help those two brats when they were trapped?! You had the chance to defeat them, and you let them go!"
Mint started to shake a little from the jellybean's temper. He really was scary when he was angry. No wonder the Beanie Boys didn't like being around when he was yelling at someone or about something. He took another step back. "W-Well I..." Mint said, trying his best not to let his fear show. He struggled to find something to say. "I didn't see the point... This game would be boring without them...and..."
Skrawl growled deeply at this. Mint winced as he heard his claws scrape across the desk's surface. He flinched as he saw the shallow indentions on the desk. He gulped, looking at Skrawl nervously. Despite just being data, Skrawl was scaring him, making him feel afraid. Still, he continued.
"You probably already had the artifact anyway...so there was no point in continuing.." Mint said, his voice a little shaky. He looked left and right, frantically trying to think of something else he could add, something that would calm Skrawl down. "A-And besides... w-we're still winning...so what's the big deal if I..."
Another slam on the desk forced Mint to shut his mouth. He looked at Skrawl in the eyes. He shuddered as he saw the intense anger practically glowing off those eyes. Skrawl leaned forward, pressing his stomach against his desk. He pointed a finger in Mint's direction. "I told you not to show mercy to those three! I told you to be merciless! And when I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it! This I am not going to let slide, Mint! I am going to give you an incentive to follow my orders exactly in the future!"
Mint trembled as Skrawl got out of his chair. He started to advance towards him. Mint took several steps back. His heart started to race. He tried to rationalize that Skrawl wasn't going to hurt him, but the rising fear inside made him try to get away. The very thought of being harmed was enough to make him try to flee. He turned and ran towards the door, only to realize that it was still blocked by those Beanie Boys. Mint turned and saw Skrawl getting closer to him.
Before Mint could move in a different location, four of the Beanie Boys that had followed him dove towards him. They grabbed his arms and legs and hung on tightly. Mint let out a panicked cry and he tried to free himself. The Beanie Boys were too strong for him. Just like the first time, he was not able to free himself. They tightened their grip and looked over as their boss came up towards him. Mint shook harder as Skrawl came upon him. He looked up at him in fear, wondeirng what he was going to do with him.
He watched as Skrawl snarled at him, his lips pulling back, exposing more of his crooked teeth. When he was close enough, he stood on one leg. One hand was clutched into a tight fist. He could see it shaking as anger swept through the jellybean like a tidal wave. The other hand, at first, just laid at his side limply. Then it was raised. Mint watched, his eyes widening, as the hand was raised above him. He realized, in horror, how the light glinted off the sharp tips of those claws. It took him only a second to realize what Skrawl was going to do.
"N-No! Please! Don't!" Mint cried out fearfully. He didn't know why he was reacting like this. It wasn't like it was real...was it? Yet he couldn't help but beg with Skrawl not to hit him. "Please don't hit me! I'll listen next time! I swear!"
"Too late!" Skrawl growled at him.
Mint shuddered as he watched Skrawl tense up his arm for the strike. He closed his eyes and looked away, waiting for the blow. Seconds later, the hand struck down.
Mint's eyes shot open as he felt pain erupt from his chest as something solid struck against it. He was pushed back. The only reason he didn't fall down was because of the Beanie Boys holding him up. He let out a cry of pain as he felt the claws strike him. Even if it lasted only for a second, the pain lingered, making it feel like the attack took longer.
Mint took in a few quick breaths as he looked down. His shirt was a little torn. And he swore he could see something red... Blood.. His blood... He trembled harder as he looked up at Skrawl. His mind swirled with all sorts of thoughts. His NPC guide had...hurt him. He actually hurt him. He had drawn blood. This realization sent cold shiveres down his spine. How could he be programmed to do this? Where was the benefit of this? What kind of programmer would think it was a good idea to put this in the game? NPC guides were supposed to help...not injure...
He couldn't tear his eyes away from the angry jellybean. He was too afraid to. He wanted to speak, yet fear kept his mouth from moving. He continued to tremble as the jellybean glared down at him angrily. He was never this afraid of Skrawl before. Not even when they first met. He was..terrifying. Those eyes...he couldn't look away from those eyes... He struggled as Skrawl reached out for him again. He let out a whimper and turned his head away, expecting to be hit again. Instead of hitting him, Skrawl pushed a claw tip against his chin, forcing him to look up at him.
"I want to make it very clear, Mint. When I tell you to do something, you do it. If I tell you not to show mercy, you better not." Skrawl said in a quiet, but menacing voice. Every word was laced heavily in anger. "I am close to victory and I will not allow those three annoyances get in my way... If you ever have the chance to get rid of them, take it. Be merciless. Do not allow them to escape..."
"B-But...this is just a game..." Mint said in a meek voice. "Why should it matter if they win?"
Skrawl raised up his hand again as if to strike him. Mint let out a terror-filled cry and looked away. Skrawl almost struck him, but appeared to have second thoughts. Mint looked up at him with one eye clenched shut and the other looking at him warily. His teeth were bared as his body trembled.
Skrawl lowered his hand. He then pressed it against Mint's face. "Oh Mint, Mint, Mint... You really don't understand, do you?" He shook his head in disappointment. "I didn't think you would anyway. You see, it is important that I win this round... Very important..." He started to drag his three claws across Mint's face. Not enough to cut him, but Mint winced as he felt the claws scratch him. "Failure is not an option... You see, there's a glitch I recently hurt about where this game will freeze up entirely if I lose...then you'll never be able to play again..."
Mint stared at him in disbelief. "Th-There is...?"
The jellybean nodded, a faint smile on his face. "Yes there is... So if you wish to keep playing..." He pointed at him, his eyes narrowing again. "Do not let me lose!" He took a step closer and put his face close to Mint's. He watched as the boy trembled. "And don't give me another reason to hurt you..."
Again the claw was pressed up against his chin. A little harder this time. Mint moved his head up, trying to get away from the pressure. But Skrawl continued to push hard so that he would feel the pain of the claw being there. Mint let out a few low whimpers and he tried again to get away. No luck. The Beanie Boys wouldn't let go of him.
"This might be just a game, Mint. But don't underestimate what I can do to you... Believe me, I can make you sorry for any time you disobey my direct orders." With that, Skrawl leaned a little closer. He whispered to Mint, "You are the best addition I made to my team, Mint. I am not about to lose my hold on you..." He clutched his chin tightly, pressing his claw tips against his skin. "You belong to me..." He said in a low voice. "Understand?"
Shaking like a leaf, Mint nodded his head. Skrawl smiled at him and moved back.
"Good...let this be a lesson to you, Mint." Skrawl snapped his fingers. The Beanie Boys released Mint. "Do not defy me..." Then Skrawl turned and walked away. He waved a dismissing hand at Mint. "You may leave. I will give you orders later." He turned his head and looked at Mint with his blue eye. "And I expect you to follow them..."
Mint stood there, trembling, unable to stop. He stared in fear at Skrawl, not sure how to comprehend what had just taken place. Terror filled up inside of his heart. His breaths came in quickly. His heart was racing. He could feel a few tears of fear escape his eyes. He had been terrified...outright terrified...of his NPC guide. Even if the anger stemmed from this supposed glitch...it was still a scary experience.
For the first time, he started to really question everything. Was this really a game? How real was everything? Was Skrawl telling him the truth? Were Rudy and Penny right about him? Were they right about everything?
He tried to shake off the feeling. He tried to dismiss it as himself being irrational. He told himself this was all a game, all an illusion. He told himself that Skrawl was not a threat to him, that he was only angry at possibly ruining the entire game. But then why couldn't he shake off these feelings? Why wouldn't they leave his mind? As much as he didn't want to admit it, doubt had been seeded into his head, and it wasn't going to go away. All he could do was deny it... And maybe eventually he will realize how delusional he was being.
He looked down at his chest, where Skrawl hit him. It felt so real...looked so real...and it had drawn blood... The horror that the attack drew blood finally dawned on him. He lifted his shirt collar outwards so he could see the damage. The claws didn't hit him that deeply. The marks were shallow, but they still stung. He reached under his shirt and pressed against one of the three red lines that now adorned his chest. He winced at the pain and pulled his hand back.
He trembled when he saw a bit of blood clinging to his finger. So it was true... Skrawl really had drawn blood from him. He tasted it, and he realized it was real. Actual blood... There...there was no way this was fake...a simulation. He could see simulated marks, but there was no way a game could be advanced enough to draw blood like this. The blood was from a real wound. Skrawl, his NPC guide and a cobble of data, had injured him. Really, truly injured him.
His mind thought back to how Rudy had limped during one of their confrontations. He had dismissed it as him overreacting. Then he thought about how he seemed to get worse every time he shot him with the laser. His heart clenched in dread. Had..had he injured Rudy? For real? As he stared at his own blood, and then back at Skrawl, the realization he had actually injured another human being settled heavily on his mind.
He had to wonder something. A thought entered his mind, and it would not leave. A thought that he was afraid to find the answer to.
Just...just how real was this game...? And was it even a game at all...?
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 11, 2014 8:49:20 GMT -5
CHAPTER 22:
"What?" Penny asked, her voice soft. "Are you sure he said that?"
Rudy shook his head in disbelief. "That doesn't sound like something he would say."
Snap looked at his two friends and gave an affirmative nod. "Yeah, it's true!" He raised his hands out at his sides. "He let me go! He said he couldn't shoot me, so he told Ripclaw to drop me!"
Penny tilted her head a little. She gave Rudy a perplexed expression before turning back to Snap. "That's really strange. Why...after all those times he threatened you...would Mint suddenly change his mind?"
"I'm just as confused about as you, Buckette." Snap said. "And the way he saved me... The way he helped you two out..."
"It might be a trick." Rudy said, narrowing his eyes. "I don't trust him."
Silence fell upon Snap's house. The three friends sat down next to each other, staring out straight ahead. No one said a word for the next several minutes. The silence was uncomfortable, almost daunting. This time, the silence wasn't from something particularly terrible, but from shere and utter confusion. They hadn't been this torn about something before. They hadn't been this unsure about anything. And yet here they were.
They had come to Snap's house after they took care of the gola monster. It was pretty easy to take care of considering Rudy knew its weakness, being very ticklish. So it was hardly a threat. The only time it was of any danger to them was when they were stuck in the tar pit and weren't able to use their magic chalk. They were glad that Mint didn't take them when he had the chance and had run off instead. Leaving them alone to fight the gola monster was a bit low, but at least he left the magic chalk for them.
Mint's actions in that encounter filled them all with confusion. None of them could completely comprehend what happened. It just seemed to come out of the blue. They never would have expected Mint to do something like that. They started to wonder why he did it, if he had an ulterior motive, if there was some other meaning behind what he did, or what.
Mint had them all trapped. He had them at his mercy. He could have done away with them if he wanted to. He had knocked the magic chalk out of Rudy and Penny's hands. He had trapped the two in tar. He had three of his creations in an enclosed area, the pterosaur blocking their escape route. He soon had Snap in Ripclaw's jaws. There was nothing Rudy and Penny could have done to save Snap. Mint had the opportunity to kill Snap right then and there.
But he didn't...
For whatever reason, he didn't... And they didn't know why.
Rudy remembered how confused he and Penny were when Ripclaw just dropped Snap like that. He thought that maybe Mint wanted to shoot him in a nonvital area instead, maybe in the leg. But no, he didn't shoot him at all. He had moved away from Snap and lowered his laser pistol. He looked almost guilty, although Rudy wasn't sure if he bought that. He wasn't sure if Mint was really sorry or if he was merely putting on a show.
And when he had saved Snap, that confused him even more. He had been trying so hard to 'delete' Snap, as he'd put it, that it didn't make much sense for him to turn around and rescue Snap, especially with the same zoner that he used to hurt him with just moments ago. The whole thing was very confusing.
When Ripclaw grabbed Snap in her jaws, he had thought that Mint was going to have her quickly crush him in her jaws before going. But they were in for another surprise. Instead of killing him, Ripclaw instead dropped Snap in front of them. Then she went over and actually pulled them out of the tar pit. And not roughly either. Those strong, sharp jaws of hers were surprisingly gentle as she lifted them out. She then moved back and returned to her creator's side.
After that, Mint and Ripclaw just left. The two other creations he left behind just went off and did their own thing. They didn't bother attacking or going after the three. It was only the gola monster they had to take care of. It was very unhappy at being woken up and was stomping in their direction. Luckily, taking care of it was pretty easy considering they knew its weakness. And after it had its laughing fit, it sunk back in the ground, its temper tamed.
Rudy wasn't sure of the motivation behind saving them, but he didn't think it was anything good. He felt there had to be an ulterior motive hidden somewhere in those actions. He replayed the events over and over in his head, trying to see what he had missed. So far, nothing popped in his head, but he was certain, if he kept thinking about it, he could locate something that would give him a clue was to what Mint's motivations were.
He had his doubts that Mint spared Snap, and then them, out of selflessness. He had shown he was anything but. Mint had never done anything that painted himself as anything more than a jerk, a bully. He was similar to Reggie, only he felt Mint was worse. Reggie didn't pretend to be friendly on the same level as Mint, and it wasn't like Reggie had access to ChalkZone anymore. No, Mint must be up to something. What, he wasn't sure yet. Maybe he was trying to lower their guard or something. Make them fight less hard so he could finish off Snap more easily. Or maybe try to lead them into the real trap. Maybe the one they walked into before was nothing more than a decoy.
"Maybe Mint isn't as bad as we thought." Penny said, breaking the silence. Rudy and Snap stared at her. She bit her lip and she looked towards the ground. "Yeah, I know that sounds crazy... But..." She let out a soft sigh. "There is a chance that we misjudged him. He might not be as bad of a person as he's making himself out to be."
Rudy couldn't believe it. How could Penny think such a thing? Had she forgotten all that Mint had done? Had it slipped her mind the times when Mint had tried to kill their best friend? Exactly what had Mint done to make her think that he might not be so bad?
"That makes no sense, Penny. We've seen what that kid is capable of doing." Rudy said. His voice was raised a little lower than he meant to. "He's destroyed so much! Exactly what has he done to make him seem like he isn't so bad? What good has he done for us before? For ChalkZone?" Penny didn't answer him. "I thought so." Rudy shook his head. "Mint isn't to be trusted. He's just a bully. And bullies have to be stopped."
"Yeah, but..." Penny said. She paused for a moment. She thought about what she was going to say. She continued, "You have to remember, Rudy, that he thinks this is all just a video game. And I wouldn't doubt that Skrawl is feeding him that lie."
"So you're saying it excuses his actions?" Rudy asked, sounding betrayed.
Penny shook her head. "No, not at all. Game or not, the things he does are horrible. But..." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Because of that game lie Skrawl is likely having him believe, Mint will continue on doing dangerous things because he thinks there's no consequences for his actions. He thinks he can do whatever he wants. That's something we all had agreed on before."
Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah. Definitely."
Penny continued. "Well maybe him letting Snap go is a sign that maybe he's starting to realize he's being lied to. Maybe Mint isn't really so bad, at least when he's not playing the 'bad guy'. That doesn't excuse the way he treats us, but it does offer some hope of...well...change..."
"Change?" Rudy said incredulously. He stared at Penny, his eyes blinking. "You honestly think he can change? After what he's done?"
"As crazy as it sounds...yes." Penny said affirmatively. "If we can get him to see just how real ChalkZone is, maybe he will start to feel bad and he would start to be more careful around zoners. Maybe he will start to listen to us. He might become more cooperative. I mean..." She looked at Snap. "If he released Snap because he felt bad..." He looked back at Rudy. "...then that means that if he realizes that he's been hurting real people, maybe he'll stop."
Rudy wasn't sure how to react to this. He wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh bitterly, if he wanted be angry, or sad, or what. It was upsetting to him that Penny seemed to be thinking this way about Mint. He had shown himself to be nothing but a jerk. He had caused so much problems in ChalkZone. He had nearly killed Snap more than once. He had destroyed Mondo Desert City, which took a while to redraw even remotely decently, and fixing Happy Face Valley and ChalkZone City wasn't easy, and they also still had areas that were damaged.
He wasn't sure what made Penny think this way. He wasn't sure how she was able to reach this conclusion. He didn't know why she hadn't drawn the same conclusion as him. Mint sparing Snap had to be some kind of trick. There was no way he would have done such an action for selfless reasons. He didn't do it because he genuinely cared about Snap. He had shown in the past that he views Snap as nothing more than a mindless program, autonomously carrying out orders, and not some real living being. Why would he care if Snap got swallowed up by the gola monster?
Rudy shook his head furiously. "No, no no!" He said, his voice raised even more. "That's not true!" He clutched his head tightly, digging his fingernails into his scalp. "Mint doesn't care about Snap! He doesn't care about anyone but himself! He's just a bully! He's no different than any other jerk we dealt with in the past! He only cares about 'having a great time'! He doesn't care about who he hurts! No, he didn't spare Snap's life because he felt generous! I don't see how you could think that, Penny!"
Penny and Snap stared at Rudy in shock. In truth, Rudy himself was surprised at his own outburst as well. He hadn't meant to snap like that. He didn't mean to yell. He had no idea that he would almost lose his temper like that. His angered expression quickly softened. He looked at the ground, feeling bad for yelling like that.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to shout." Rudy said. His voice was back at its regular speaking volume. "I-It's just that...I just don't know what to think. I find it hard to believe that Mint would spare Snap like that without having some..motivation behind it."
"I understand, Rudy." Penny said, giving him a small smile of understanding. "It's hard for me to grasp as well. But I don't think we should jump to conclusions about Mint. There might be a reason why he let Snap go that had nothing to do with some scheme he came up with. I mean...I don't think that makes much sense. He had Snap in his grasp. He had us at his mercy." She shrugged her shoulders. "Why he would forego that...It doesn't add up to me. Why go through all that trouble?"
"Maybe to make us lower our guards." Rudy suggested.
Penny nodded. "Perhaps...but he could have done that without taking us to the Impenetrable Forest. Why waste all that energy on that?"
Rudy opened his mouth to speak. He tried to think of some way to debunk Penny's idea. He didn't want to believe that Mint would suddenly change his mind like that. It didn't make any sense to him. He tried to think of something, anything, to say to counter Penny's point. He tried to think of an explanation for why Mint would go through all that trouble for this scheme of his.
But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe Penny had a point there. Maybe Mint wasn't up to anything when he released Snap. Maybe his conscience did start to kick in and he realized that he was hurting someone, for real and not just a simulation, and he couldn't go through with it. Maybe there was a chance that Skrawl's hold on Mint, this 'video game delusion' that has a hold over Mint has finally started to falter.
And if that's the case, then they could get Mint to listen to them. They could get him to see how wrong he was, maybe get him to leave ChalkZone willingly or at least not draw anything dangerous anymore. Maybe he'll stop being a problem. Maybe he will stop with all the destruction and antagonizing them.
Rudy shook his head. He narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. No, he couldn't fall for it. Mint was nothing but trouble. He couldn't be trusted. He was a menace. He was a bully. He was a jerk. He wouldn't listen to them when they warned him that this wasn't a game. He just went about doing whatever he wanted with the place. Saving Snap was nothing more than a trick. Saving them just the icing on the cake. He wants them to lower their guard. He planned on striking them when they least expected it. He wanted to tear them down. That's all that kid ever wanted to do.
Rudy is aware that he might be taking this a little too far, but at the moment, he didn't care. He was determined to keep ChalkZone safe from this kid. He couldn't afford to falter. He couldn't afford allowing the kid to get an edge over him and Penny. They had to get him out of ChalkZone. He was too dangerous to be around. He must be dealt with, and fast.
Rudy grumbled under his breath. "I'm sure he has a reason..."
Penny sighed. "Perhaps, Rudy. You might be right and this could be a trick." She reached over and touched his shoulder. "Just try not to jump to conclusions. Mint did that about me, about you. You don't want to act like him, do you?"
Relaxing his shoulders, Rudy shook his head. "No..I don't..."
"I have to agree with Penny on this, Bucko." Snap spoke up after remaining quiet for a bit. Rudy looked at him in shock. "Yeah, I know it seems odd, but hear me out." Snap made gestures with his hands as he explained. "You weren't close enough to hear what he said to me."
"He said something to you?" Penny asked. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"I'm sorry." Snap said. He bit his lip. "I'm..not sure why I didn't say anything. Maybe because I was just too confused to really fully grasp what happened. Mint threw all of us for a loop." He rubbed the back of his head or a bit. He lowered his gaze for a moment before fixating them on his friends. "Well anyway, when he had the laser pistol pointed at me, it looked like he was struggling. I could see his hand shaking a bit. It didn't look like acting to me. It really did seem like he was having a hard time bringing himself to shoot me. And then, when he lowered his laser pistol, he said how he couldn't do it."
Penny hesitated. Then she spoke. "He said he couldn't shoot you?"
Snap nodded his head. "Yeah."
Still uncertain, Rudy gave a small frown and said, "Are you absolutely certain?"
"It's true." Snap said. He raised his hands into the air. "That's what he said. I swear it's true!"
Rudy and Penny looked at each other, then back at Snap. They grew silent again. They reflected on what Snap said for a time. Rudy let it sink in. Snap wasn't one to lie. If he said that Mint said he couldn't shoot him, then he would believe him. The fact that Mint did say that had Rudy rethinking his whole accusation. Maybe Penny was right and maybe Mint was starting to realize he was wrong.
Still, he couldn't lower his guard around him. Mint might still do some terrible things, whether from being in denial or being forced into it or what. He couldn't allow himself to falter around this kid. It wasn't like if he faced off against Skrawl or Craniac 4. Mint could create, just like him. That made him a bigger menace that even those two combined. It would be too much of a risk to give him any leeway.
He understood that isn't what Penny and Snap were suggesting. None of them were trying to excuse Mint's behavior. And Penny had admitted that the things he was doing were still terrible regardless if he thinks he's in a game world or not. Still, he wasn't sure if he could agree with them. He just...had very little reason to believe Mint would change that fast. He had little reason to believe that saving Snap was anything other than a form of trickery, even if he really had said that he couldn't shoot Snap.
"I still have my doubts." Rudy admitted. He leaned back against the seat. "I still it has to be a trick somehow...I just..don't trust him."
"This isn't about trust, Rudy." Penny said. "Snap and I don't trust him anymore than you. We just...think we should at least consider the idea that maybe he's beginning to see this video game hoax for what it is."
"We understand why you have a hard time agreeing with us, Bucko." Snap said, giving a small smile. "Don't feel bad. We understand."
Rudy noticed his two friends smiling at him. He smiled back. It was nice to know that, even though they might not agree with this one thing regarding Mint, that his friends were still supportive and understanding of him. And they both were still cautious of Mint as well. Although he didn't say it outloud, a part of him hoped that he was wrong and that maybe Mint could change. Time would tell, he was sure.
He looked towards the window and a thought crossed his mind. He realized that he hadn't gotten a chance to speak to Biclops yet about those artifacts, and he and his friends were so busy talking they had lost track of time. He and Penny would have to leave soon. He wanted to kick himself for forgetting to talk to the giant. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He would have to rememer to speak to the giant tomorrow. Hopefully Mint won't be causing any problems when they arrive in the morning to talk to the giant quickly.
He hoped that Biclops would be able to tell them something about the artifacts. Anything that would give them a clue as to what to do next. They needed more information to formulate an effective plan. Any information at all that Biclops could give them would be great.
sss
After saying goodbye to his friends, Rudy picked up the eraser and got rid of the portal. He didn't worry about Penny. She had her own magic chalk and she was going to go straight to her place. It was a little later than usual and Rudy's parents would have thought it was strange that Penny showed up in his bedroom. They would wonder how she got there without them noticing. It was dark out, after all.
Rudy dropped the eraser on the ground and headed towards his door, which remained shut. It wasn't like his parents had walked in. They were busy in the kitchen making dinner at this time. And they would usually wait for him to come downstairs to eat. The only time he imagined they'd come up to his room was if they wanted to talk to him about something or if he was gone too long. Despite how dark it was outside, it wasn't completely unusual for him to stay up in his room for this long.
He felt his stomach growling. He was getting hungry. He wondered what his mother was going to make tonight. As he exited his room and headed towards the stairs, he could smell the aroma of spaghetti, making his mouth water. He hurried down the stairs, hoping that his mother was almost finished.
As he came into the kitchen, he was a little surprised by what he saw.
His mom did finish cooking the food and was setting it out, but there was something a little..off about how she was moving. A little slower, a little less...enthusiastic. He wondered what was bothering her. It looked like she was upset. Her expression was a little forelorn. Not entirely depressed, but it was clear something was on her mind. And his dad...he looked troubled as well. He was looking at the newspaper, but it didn't look like he was actually reading it. He had an almost blank stare.
Rudy wondered what was going on. What was bothering his parents? He wondered if something terrible happened. Oh no...did they lose their jobs? Did someone die...? What terrible thing could have happened to make them act like this...?
Then they saw him. They turned their heads and looked at him. The way they stared at him, it was unsettling. It wasn't...accusatory like before. It was more...sadness than anything. They didn't look at him too long. They turned their heads, almost like they had a hard time looking at him. Rudy, confused, walked into the kitchen slowly. His parents hadn't said a word to him yet and already felt a little anxious. The fact that his parents looked at him that way and seem a little depressed...it had him worried. Something must have happened. But what?
Rudy pulled up a chair and sat down. He looked over at his dad. The man still held the newspaper in front of him. But he could tell that his dad wasn't actually reading it. Or if he was, he was looking at the same thing over and over again. It was strange that his dad hadn't spoken a word to him yet, or his mom. They weren't usually this quiet. Especially not around at dinner time.
His mom came over and gave him and his dad their plates and she got one for herself. Some spaghetti and garlic bread with glasses of water to drink. Rudy started to eat. As he ate his food, he noticed his parents barely touching theirs. Yeah, something was definitely wrong with them. They weren't sick. Or at least, he didn't think they were. They didn't look sick. No pale faces or runny noses or anything. Yet they were acting like they didn't have much of an appetite. What was wrong?
Finally, after what felt like an hour, the uneasy silence that engulfed the room was broken. He heard his dad put down his fork after hardly eating a small portion of his food. He looked over at Rudy. He looked a little nervous.
"Rudy...we..." His dad said. He looked like he was having a hard time keeping eye contact with Rudy. He clasped his hands together and rested them on the table. "There's something we'd like to talk to you about..."
Rudy looked at him, confused. He turned to his mother. She looked at him, but just like his dad, it looked like it took all her strength to do so. This made his heart clench a little. Horrible thoughts buzzed around his head.
His mom sucked in her breath and she said, "While you were upstairs, we...got a phone call."
Rudy's eyes widened slightly. "A..phone call? From who?"
"From someone at your school. Mint Zandophen I believe his name was." His mother replied.
This caused a gasp to escape Rudy's mouth. Mint had called his parents? Why? He felt anger start to build up inside. He probably called to tell them about something else terrible Rudy did and have his parents yell at him for it. That was just like Mint. He knew he couldn't be trusted.
"Mint? I know him." Rudy said in a low voice. He tried to hide the fact that he hated the kid. "What did he want?"
At this, his parents grew nervous. They opened their mouths to speak, but then they'd shut them. Whatever Mint had told them, it must have shaken up his parents. He couldn't tell if it was something he claimed Rudy did, or if he said something else to make them upset. Either way, Rudy was not happy that Mint called his folks like that. Why couldn't he just leave him alone?
The more his parents didn't answer, the uneasier Rudy felt. Was it really that hard for his parents to just come right out and say it? Was what Mint said that shocking or devastating that they couldn't tell their own son? The silence went on for a little longer, making Rudy clench his teeth a little. Why won't they tell him? Why bring it up at all if they won't speak to him?
Finally, his mother spoke.
"Rudy, he...he told us about the fire alarm incident." His mom said, sadness laced on her voice. Rudy stared at her, bewildered. She bit her lip, sucking on it, and she said, "He told us that he pushed you into the fire alarm. He said it wasn't your fault."
Rudy couldn't believe it. "He said that?"
His dad nodded his head. "Yeah." Rudy looked over at his father. "He said that...you didn't pull the fire alarm. He said it was his fault, not yours, that it got pulled."
As Rudy looked at his parents, as he let this information sink in, he realized now what emotion his parents were displaying earlier. Not talking, being a little slower, not eating much... They were feeling guilty. Mint, for whatever reason, had told them the truth about the fire alarm incident. And now they were feeling bad about not believing him earlier.
At first, he was happy. Though he couldn't understand why Mint would confess to them, he was glad that his parents finally believed him about it. For the past few days, he had been treated differently at school because almost everyone there thinks he pulled the fire alarm. And despite Penny, Michelle, and Reggie speaking up for him, no one believed he was innocent. So it was nice that at least his parents finally realize he wasn't guilty.
But then he started to feel angry. He was mad because his parents should have believed him in the first place. Or at the very least, they should have let him explain. But they didn't allow him a word in edgewise. They didn't let him speak his side of the story. They refused to listen. And the fact that it took Mint, of all people, to make them see that they were wrong...it made him so angry. They shouldn't have needed Mint to tell them anything. They should have let him explain. They should have listened.
Slowly, he narrowed his eyes. He glanced at his parents, watching their guilty expressions, and then he looked back down at his food. He took another bite, moving a little slower than usual. After he swallowed, he muttered, "Oh, so now you believe me..."
"Why didn't you tell us?" His mom asked. "If you said something, we could have avoided the punishment."
"Yeah. You could have told us when you came back from school that day. We would have understood." His dad said.
Rudy didn't answer. He stared at his plate. Hearing those words just made his blood boil. He usually never got that angry at his parents before. He wasn't just mad. He was furious. His parents, who had refused to let him speak when they were scolding him, had the audacity to ask him why he didn't explain himself. It was like they forgot how they treated them that day.
He felt his body shake a little from the anger as his parents continued to talk to him. Their words did little to comfort him. They only served to make him angrier. He gritted his teeth, keeping his eyes focused on his plate.
"I...wish you had spoken up, Rudy." His dad said softly. "We punished you for no reason... We could have avoided that."
"Why didn't you speak up before? Why didn't you try to tell us what happened?" His mom asked.
Rudy couldn't take it anymore. His anger almost boiling over, he pounded his hands against the table hard, shaking it a little. His parents became silent, looking at him in shock. Rudy shot them both a glare, making them cringe back.
"Oh you wonder why I didn't say anything? I'll tell you why!" He pointed accusatory fingers at both his parents. "It was because you two wouldn't let me get a word in! You didn't let me defend myself! You wouldn't listen to me! I tried to tell you! Oh how I tried... But you never allowed me to explain! You were too busy scolding me, telling me how I should have known better, how you raised me better than this...!"
At that, he noticed his mother flinching visibly. Guilt was written all over her face. His dad was no better. Still, he went on, not yet finished letting out his anger.
"Do you have any idea how people are treating me in school? Huh? Do you?!" Rudy spread his hands in the air. "They all think I'm guilty! They're all picking on me! They all think I'm going to pull off another scandal like that! But you know what...?" He lowered his hands, putting them on the table. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself a little. Yet anger still flowed through his blood. "I could live with that. I could handle it. But you two..." He glared angrily at his parents. "...I thought you two, of all people, would believe me. The fact that my own parents wouldn't listen to me, that even you two thought I was guilty..."
His parents looked at each other nervously. They looked back at Rudy. They looked visibly upset.
"Rudy..." His mother whispered softly, her voice shaky. "We're..."
Rudy cut her off. "And you want to know the real 'pleasure' of this is? You two wouldn't believe anything I said! It took Mint to tell you! A student from school! Instead of your own son! I thought you two trusted me! I thought you would at least give me the benefit of the doubt, a chance to explain!" He took in few quick breaths, his eyes narrowed deeply. "I see I was wrong about that..."
"Rudy..please..." His dad tried to say.
"You should have listened to me..." Rudy growled harshly. "You should have let me explain. But you didn't... You never allowed me to share my side of the story. And you punished me for something that wasn't my fault. You were so willing to listen to what the principal said, so convinced she was right, that you did not let your own son tell his side of the story." He looked away from them. "Now how fair was that..?"
Rudy couldn't believe that he had spoken to his parents like that. He couldn't believe he said those things. He couldn't believe that he let his anger take control of him. He hadn't meant to yell at them like that. He didn't mean to react like that. He should have calmed himself. He should have been more understanding as he spoke.
He just had so much anger built up inside regarding this whole fire alarm issue. He had been treated poorly in school. Everyone save for very few thought he was the culprit. It was worse considering his parents hadn't believed him. The fact that Mint had to tell them what really happened to make them understand that he was innocent made Rudy really angry. It boiled his blood that his parents wouldn't believe their own son, but they'd believe a testimony from a student they themselves have never met.
His parents looked shocked by his outburst. Shocked and guilty. They looked at him with wide eyes. He thought he could see a hint of a tear in his mom's eyes. His dad looked nervous and appeared to be trying to speak. Yet no words would come out. They both did look sorry for what they did. But at the moment, Rudy was too angry to really fully acknowledge it.
Rudy looked down at his plate. Even though he was not finished, he didn't have much of an appetite now. He got up from his seat. Not sparing his parents another glance, he said in a somewhat blank tone, "I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going back to my room." He headed towards the stairs.
"Son..." His dad called out. Rudy stopped in his tracks, but refused to turn his head. "We're...we're sorry we didn't listen to you. Please stay. Let's talk about this."
He heard his mom take in a shaky breath. He thought he heard the faintest hint of a sniffle. "We're so...so very sorry we never gave you a chance to explain, Rudy. Please don't walk away. Talk to us..."
Rudy's expression softened a little. He wanted to stay and talk to his parents more. He wanted to make this all better. But anger still ruled his mind. He was still too bitter to really talk to them. He let out a soft, disgruntled growl, turning to his parents. He glared at them, his eyes filled with anger.
Before he went upstairs, he said something to his parents. Something that he hadn't meant to say. He wished he didn't say it. He wished that he controlled his anger more. He should have known better than to let it slip out. And yet, he still spoke it.
"I hate you..."
He had never seen his parents so shocked and hurt in his life. He realized what a mistake it was to say that. His expression softened up a little more. He wished he hadn't said that. How could he have done that...? Rather than stay and talk, he just bolted up into his bedroom, leaving his parents alone in the kitchen.
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 11, 2014 8:49:31 GMT -5
CHAPTER 23:
Those dreadful words... Those horrible words... 'I hate you'... They buzzed around Rudy's head, refusing to leave him alone. Their full impact was crashing in all around him as he sat alone in his dark room. Their sting... It was so horrible. Intense, sharp emotion clung to his chest, making him feel a little shaky.
How could he say such a thing to his parents...? How could he let his anger rule his mind like that...? How could he not control himself more...? All his parents wanted to do was try to make things right, to fix what had happened. And what did he do? He told them that he hated them... He hadn't meant to say that. He didn't mean it at all. It slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. And he hadn't stopped beating himself up over it since he accidentally said it.
He was laying down on his bed, on his side. He faced the wall, unwilling to look in the other direction. Dread and shame filled his heart. He tried to go to sleep, but everytime he closed his eyes, those awful words he said to his parents would bounce off his head. His mind would constantly replay the hurt and shocked expressions his parents gave him before he ran up the stairs. He began to wonder, in a panic, how his parents would react tomorrow morning. Would he be able to face them? Would he be able to look at them in the eyes anymore after he said such a horrible thing to them?
Sooner or later, he would have to confront them. He had to face them about this. It won't get any better if he sat around doing nothing. It was going to be hard, though. He never said anything that mean and nasty to his parents before. There was no excuse for him to say it. He should have controlled himself more. He should have stifled himself and just walk up the stairs. He didn't have to say longer and say that horrid phrase to them. If he had just ran up the stairs to start with...
Running away was not the best idea. He knew that talking to them was the only way to make this right. But he wished he had done that instead of talking so harshly to them. He should have tried to be more understandable. He should have tried to let them talk more. They really wanted to sit down and speak to him about the incident. And he just...didn't give them a chance.
Just like they didn't give him a chance... A sharp pang in his chest made Rudy realize that he behaved a little like his parents did on that day. Not one hundred percent, but there were similarities. One of the biggest differences was that it was him who was doing the yelling and his parents trying to explain. He...he didn't want that... He didn't want to be the bully... He didn't want to be the bad guy... Oh, why didn't he stay and talk with them like they asked? Why didn't he return to his seat and allow them to say what they wanted to say? Why did he have to walk off like that?
Rudy had tried to go to sleep, but it was impossible. He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to get comfortable. He just wasn't sleepy. He couldn't keep his eyes closed for more than a few seconds. He ended up just staring at the wall blankly.
How could he sleep with this overwhelming guilt taking him over? He felt so bad about what he said to his parents. He felt horrible for saying 'I hate you'... He didn't mean it... He wished he could go back in time and prevent himself from saying it. Now he hurt his parents' feelings and they were probably beside themself, crying, and it's all because of him. He...never meant for this to happen...
The weight of the negative emotions swimming in his head pushed down further into his mind. He felt like he was being trapped from all sides. As the full impact of what he said finally, completely dawned on him, he felt tears form in his eyes. Sniffling, he allowed the emotion to flow through his head. Unable to keep it in anymore, he started to cry. Sobs wracked through his body as he wrapped the blanket tightly around him and pressed his face against his pillow. It became soaked in his tears and mucous as he wept.
He continued to sob for what felt like an hour. He just let it all out. His pillow as soaked in tears by now. His eyes were red and puffy. His cheeks stung a little from the tears that kept flowing. His throat was hurting him and soon it was hard to continue crying without feeling physical pain. Soon, his weeps began to lose strength and intensity, and he quieted down into low whimpers. After a few minutes of that, he became quiet and still on the bed, his eyes opened and staring up at the ceiling as he now laid on his back.
Rudy couldn't stay in his bed anymore. The guilt, the sadness, the shame, it wouldn't leave him alone. There was no way he could go to sleep. Not like this. Not while his parents were downstairs, hurt by the horrible thing he said to them. He...he had to make this right, somehow. As hard as it was going to be, he needed to confront them. He needed to talk to them. He had to apologize.
He got up from his bed. He made his way down his bed's ladder and went over towards the door. He cracked it open slightly and looked left and right to see if his parents were on the upstairs hallway. When he saw that they weren't, he pushed the door open. Slowly, quietly, he walked towards the stairs. He grabbed onto the railing and started to make his way down.
He immediately noticed how dark it was. His parents must have shut off the lights already. He wondered if they had gone to bed already. This was proven wrong when he saw a dull light in the living room. He didn't hear anything, but he knew it was the television that was turned on. He could tell from how the light was a pale blue-white color. His parents, or one of them, must be watching television. Or trying to anyway.
He slowed his pace down, taking his time going down the steps. His eyes were glued to the living room. He took care not to make any sound as he made his way down the steps. When he reached the bottom step, he stopped as he thought he heard something. He pressed his back against the wall and listened. He soon realized the sound was crying. At hearing this, his heart tightened and he felt a hint of a tear form in his eyes.
Soon, he heard talking.
"I...I can't believe he said that to us, Joe..." His mom said. The crying was coming from her. He could hear her sniffling loudly. "We blew it...we really blew it... We should have listened to him..."
"Now now, Milly.. I don't think Rudy hates us.. He's just upset. He has every right to be. He'll come around. You'll see..." His dad said, trying to comfort her. But from his tone, Rudy could tell his dad wasn't sure if he could trust his own words. There was a crack in his voice, indicating he was more upset and sad than he had let on. "If not tonight, we'll talk to him in the morning. It'll be fine. You'll see..."
His mom took in a loud, shuddering breath. "And what if it won't? What if we...what if we completely damaged his trust in us..? He's right, Joe. We should have...let him explain... There's no excuse for it. We should have given him..a...a chance to talk but instead we...we...punished him for something that wasn't his fault..." His mother cried harder. "We should have listened...we should have listened...and now he hates us..."
His dad let out a soft sigh, like he was deep in thought. "He was just angry with us, Milly. He...doesn't hate us..." Rudy flinched as he heard his dad say that hesitantly. Had his words affected his parents that deeply? "We'll make this right...somehow."
Guilt welled up in Rudy's chest. He never meant to make his parents feel this awful. He didn't mean to make his mother cry. He didn't mean what he said, that he hated them. No, he loved his parents. He still trusted them, still felt like he could entrust almost anything with them. He just needed to learn to control his temper more. He shouldn't have said that he hated them. He should have stayed and spoke to them.
Well, now was the time to make it right. He couldn't hide here the whole time. Taking in a shaky breath, trying to fight back his own tears, he began to step into the living room. The intense motion welling up in his chest was hard to describe. It made it difficult to make each step into the living room where his parents were.
He could see his parents sitting on the couch together. His dad as his arm around his mom and was holding her close. His mom was a wreck, sobbing into his dad's shoulders. The sight of it made Rudy feel even worse about what he said. His dad looked like he had been crying as well. His eyes were a little puffy and he could see a few tears in his eyes. As strong as he was trying to be for his wife, Rudy could tell just how badly affected he was about this whole thing as well. The sight of his parents like this made Rudy hesitate, his eyes filling with more tears. He took in a deep breath and forced himself into the living room.
His parents didn't notice him at first. His dad was busy looking at his mom. And his mom was busy with her face in his dad's shoulder. Although the television was on, they weren't looking at it. It was just sort of...on... Like they were trying to drown out their emotions with some late night comedy but it clearly didn't work.
Rudy took a few steps into the living room, keeping quiet. He made nervous gestures with his feet, holding his arms behind his back. This was it. It was time to talk to them.
"Mom...dad..." Rudy said in a soft, barely audible voice.
At this, his parents looked over in his direction. They looked surprised that he had come down, especially so soon. He winced as he saw just how hard his mother had cried. He had never seen her face so red, her eyes that glinted with tears. For a few moments, all they did was stare at each other. It was hard looking at them like this. A few times, Rudy would lower his gaze, filled with shame, but he would force himself to look back up at them.
Rudy, slowly, walked a little closer to his parents. He hung his head low, acting like he was in trouble. He could feel more tears forming in his eyes as the dreadful silence continued to fill the room. Nobody said anything. His parents continued to stare at him with those sorrowful expressions, making Rudy feel even more guilty. He never meant to make them cry... He never meant to hurt their feelings... He didn't mean for any of this to happen...
He wanted to say something. Anything... But his voice just wouldn't work. He tried to speak, but nothing would happen. The only thing that would come out is a small squeak. Each time he failed to speak, he would just look away. He's still turn back, looking at his parents in the eyes, even with how hard it was.
After what seemed like forever, the silence was finally broken.
"Rudy..." His mom spoke, her voice cracked with emotion.
That was it. Rudy couldn't take it any longer. His tears flowing down his face again, fresh tears staining his cheeks, he rushed over to the couch. He practically lunged forward and he dove into the arms of his nearest parent, his mother's. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed the side of his face against her shoulder. He could feel his mother hugging him back.
Rudy cried and cuddled up against his mother further. He let the tears continue to drip from his eyes, staining his mother's shoulder. He could feel his dad's hand on his head, gently stroking his hair. Rudy kept his eyes closed tightly, more sobs wracking through his body.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Rudy whimpered as he clung to his mother. "I-I...I didn't mean it..."
He could feel his mom rub his back gently. He heard her sniffle before she spoke to him. "It's okay, Rudy... It's going to be okay..." She held onto him a little tighter. "Shhh...It'll be okay..." She pulled back and gave him a kiss on his forehead. They locked eyes onto each other. His mother took in another shaky breath before placing her hand on his wet cheek. "We...we understand you didn't mean it... We'll make this better. You'll see."
His mom released him to allow him to hug his dad next. Rudy wrapped his arms around his father and buried his face in his chest. He continued to weep as his dad hugged him and gently rubbed his back.
Crying against his dad's chest, Rudy cried, "I don't hate you... I didn't mean to say that... I-I don't know why I did... I'm so very sorry..." He nestled deeper into his dad's arms. He raised his head a little and pressed it against his dad's shoulder. "I...I love you guys..."
At this, he felt his mom press against him. She wrapped her arms around her husband and pulled, embracing Rudy into a hug between the two of them. He felt the warmth from both his parents, and he felt the ache in his heart start to go away a bit, helping him calm down just a tad. He still continued to cry, trembling between his parents.
"We love you too..." His mother whispered gently. "And we're so sorry we didn't listen to you... We're sorry we punished you without giving you a chance to explain..."
His dad pressed his head against Rudy's hair. "We promise...we won't ever let it happen again..."
Rudy smiled softly at this. That smile didn't last. It soon faded as he continued to cry in his parents' arms. Silence had fallen upon the room again. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of their crying. Soon, Rudy felt his eyes start to flutter close. Soon, faster than he had expected, he cried himself to sleep in his parents' arms.
sss
When Mint was called back into Skrawl's office, he felt afraid. He was still shaken up by what happened before. He still hadn't gotten over how his NPC guide had assaulted him like that. He had nightmares about it last night. He was paranoid that, when he entered the office this time, the jellybean was going to attack him again. He tried to shake off the feeling as he headed into the office.
At least the Beanie Boys were back to normal. Their usual goofty smiles were plastered on their faces. That was a good sign. Skrawl might not be upset with him this time. Still, he couldn't let his guard down. Skrawl's attack on him was unexpected, and he wondered if he would try to attack him suddenly, just to get his point across. It was difficult explaining his injury to his parents. If Skrawl did worse...he wasn't sure what he was going to do.
Knowing that players could get hurt for real in this game... It caused horrible feelings to settle down in his stomach. He hadn't realized it before. It wasn't until Skrawl injured him that he knew...the pain and the injuries any gamer recieves where was real. When he had gone back into the real world, the wounds on his chest stayed. The blood stayed. It was real, just like he had suspected not long after Skrawl released him. This realization really shook him up, and it was what caused him to start questioning what he had been told about this place.
His thoughts again went back to Rudy. He recalled how he had deliberately attacked Rudy after finding out about a 'pain simulation', a lie that Skrawl himself had fed. Yeah...he knew it was a lie, at least the so-called 'pain simulation'. After how Skrawl attacked him, he knew at least that part was real. And now, thinking back to when he attacked Rudy, stomping on his hand, kicking him in the stomach... He felt horrible. If he had known he was causing real physical pain, if he had known that he could have badly hurt Rudy, he wouldn't have done that.
He realized, when Rudy was holding him in the air, how bad of an idea it was for him to struggle. He winced as he realized how badly hurt he could have gotten if he had wrenched himself free away from the water. He could have broken his arm, or his leg. And when he shot Rudy with the laser, he could have done so much worse... And fact that Rudy had something of a limp now, because of him...a pang clung to his heart.
It wasn't just Rudy he had tried to hurt. There was Penny, too. In their encounter, he had...he had ordered his utahraptor bite her. With those powerful jaws, he...he could have seriously hurt her. For real... And the flamethrower... He could have burned her horrifically. He kept shooting fire at her, and he winced when he recalled a little bit of her did get burned. He was glad that the burns weren't that bad.
Mint couldn't fathom why any programmer would create a game like this. He...he wasn't even sure if it was possible. He didn't know if any programmer was skilled enough to create a game that could actually hurt the player. Or maybe it was...he wasn't sure anymore. But...even if it were possible, it still didn't make any sense. How would this attract players? What..what kind of parent would let their kids play something like this, where they could get badly hurt?
And Snap...had he been wrong about him? If the pain he and the two other kids felt was real, if they could get real injuries... Did that extend to Snap and the other game sprites as well? Was the pain they felt real? Were the injuries they felt real? If they were killed was it...was it permanent...? Had he tried to delete..real lives? The realization filled his head and mind with dread and horror.
That made an unsettling thought spread through his mind. It was a thought that he had ever since Skrawl had struck him. It wouldn't leave him, no matter how hard he tried to reason with himself.
Was ChalkZone really a game? Or had Skrawl been lying to him the whole time? Had Rudy and Penny been right? Was the real reason they were angry with him related to how destructive he had been, not because they wanted to 'hog the game for themselves'? Maybe this world wasn't a fantasy created by a team of gamers. Maybe it wasn't the latest and greated game he had ever played.
Maybe...just maybe...it was real...
And if it was real...were all his actions...all his attempts at having fun..were they worth it? When he tried to shoot Snap..would it have been worth it? If Snap was...really alive, not a game sprite... No, it wouldn't have been worth it. He would have become a...a murderer...
Mint shook his head. He tried desperately to reason with himself. He tried convince himself that it was just a game, all an elaborate illusion. He tried to tell himself that Rudy and Penny were delirious and that he couldn't become like them. This was all just a game, all just virtual reality. There was nothing wrong with shooting anything here..they weren't real...they weren't real...
He kept telling himself that over and over again. He tried to shake off the feelings of doubt that swelled in his head. He tried to keep himself calm. He tried to tell himself that he wasn't really hurting anyone. He was just playing the role of a villain in an advanced video game. That was all. Nothing wrong with that.
Yes...nothing wrong at all.
He soon walked into Skrawl's office. Despite Skrawl not being angry anymore, he still felt dread as he walked into the room. He half expected the door to shut behind him, trapping him inside. He expected the Beanie Boys to grab him and hold him down just like they had before. He expected Skrawl to storm towards him and yell at him about something else he did wrong.
He saw Skrawl standing with his back turned towards him. He didn't move, didn't speak. Mint stopped in his tracks, staring at Skrawl expectantly. Even though he hadn't said a word, Skrawl knew he was in the room with him. He turned his head a little, looking at the boy with his red eye. Even though there were no signs of anger, Mint still found himself flinching a little. He took a step back as Skrawl turned around.
"Ah, Mint... So glad you could stop by." Skrawl said, sounding a little friendlier than usual. He took a few steps towards the eleven year old. "I have a new assignment for you."
Trying his best to hide his fear, Mint asked, "What...kind of assignment?"
Skrawl chuckled, his face contorting into an evil smile. Even though it wasn't meant for him, Mint still felt unnerved by it. "It's something that I've been wanting to do for a long time..." Another step forward, and he pointed his finger at the boy. "I want you to go to Future Dome and attack it."
Mint blinked at this. He remembered the name 'Future Dome'. If he recalled right, it was the location Skrawl tried to send him to before, but he had stopped him by suggesting he pick the next location. It was apparent that Skrawl hadn't given up on the Future Dome being a target.
"You see... a former...partner of mine lives there..." Skrawl said in a low, growly voice. "He ruined one of my beautiful plans before... So I want to ruin something of his.."
Mint's eyes widened at this. Was this whole mission just about...revenge? The other locations he wanted him to destroy served a purpose that related to this plan of his to gather up the last of the artifacts. This one, however, seemed to only serve one purpose. It could still be a distraction, but from the way Skrawl spoke, it sounded like all he cared about this was revenge.
Normally, he would be excited about having another place to destroy. But though he kept trying to deny it, there was still that part of him that had doubts. He did his best to push it in the back of his mind. He kept telling himself it was all just a game. He couldn't become delusional like Rudy and Penny..he just couldn't.
Skrawl seemed to take notice of his self doubt. He narrowed his eyes and growled at him, forcing Mint to snap out of his thoughts. He looked at the jellybean and took a step back. He was very uncomfortable with being this close to him when he was angry, especially after...that incident..
Skrawl pointed a clawed finger at him and said, "Why do you look worried? It's not like you're hurting anyone! Remember, this is just a game!" After staring at Mint for a few seconds, it seemed to dawn on the jellybean just what was on the boy's mind. "Are you still upset that I scratched you? Oh get over it! It wasn't like it would have been any worse! That's not the way this game was programmed!"
Mint stared at him, his expression softening up. "So it was..an intended part of the game?"
Skrawl nodded his head. "Yes! A little bit of realism. The programmers thought it would make the game more interesting if minor injuries were possible."
This bit of information did make Mint feel a little better. Knowing that he wasn't causing any major pain did make him relax a little more. There was still a pang of doubt, but he could manage it better now. He was ready to get back into the game. He was ready to get started with his next mission.
He gave a smile to Skrawl and said, "Well okay...if that's the case..." He heard some of the Beanie Boys approach him. Not to grab him and hold him down, but to take him to the Future Dome. "I'm ready."
Skrawl grinned at this. "Good... Now do your worst, Mint. We are almost done..." He let out a dark chuckle. "We are so close to winning the game..."
Although Mint was smiling evilly himself, that pang of doubt never went away completely. He decided to conceal it. He didn't want Rudy and Penny to see he started having some doubts. He couldn't let them see... He couldn't let them know... He had to keep himself convinced it was just a game...
Because this all really was just a video game... Wasn't it..?
sss
Rudy had no idea how this day could get any worse...
The best thing that came out of it was that he patched things up with his parents. He still felt bad about what he had said to them. But they forgave him...and he had forgiven them. He still wanted to talk to them a little more later on when he had the chance. He still felt like there were some things left that needed to be said.
When Penny came over, being the weekend and all, and they went into ChalkZone, the first thing they did, after Snap joined up with them, was head to the Chalk Mine. They met up with Biclops and talked to him about what had been happening lately.
Just like he had expected, Biclops was increasingly worried about ChalkZone's safety with Mint running around. He explained how it reminded him about when there used to be a lot of creator kids running amock in the place. Rudy promised he would do whatever it took to get Mint out of there. Biclops did believe him, although he was upset that Mint had been in ChalkZone this long. Rudy felt bad. He and his friends never meant for it to take this long. Biclops commented that now he fully understood why it was so hard to get the other creator kids out of ChalkZone.
When asked about the artifacts, Biclops admits that he doesn't know a whole lot about them himself. However, he did know a little bit more than they did. He confirmed there were twelve artifacts in all, each one a different item, such as a ring, a sword, a sceptor, a crown, and so on. The crown was the power source, required for the other items to work. He told the trio that each artifact held a special power, although the only two he knew of for certain was the ability to shoot electrical streams and the power to warp the very environment, creating or destroying it.
This made the trio very worried. Biclops confirmed that if Skrawl got all the artifacts and learned how to use them, he could easily best him in a fight if he wasn't careful, and he could take over ChalkZone just like that. Rudy promised he would make sure that didn't happen.
But then they got some bad news. Not long after they left the Chalk Mine, they heard an explosion. It came from the distance, pretty far off. The explosion, to Penny and Snap's horror, sounded just like when Mint attacked ChalkZone City. The trio knew, without a doubt, that the Enemy Creator was on the move again. He was attacking another place, giving more messes for Rudy and Penny to clean up and rebuild. They didn't waste any time. Drawing a hovercraft, Rudy hopped in and so did his friends. They immediately headed in the direction of the explosion.
It didn't take them long to realize where it was coming from. Off in the distance, they could see the familiar silver dome floating in the air. The Future Dome... They could see hovercrafts, a little cruder than what Rudy drew, flying in every direction, like they were trying to escape... Yeah they were trying to get far away, and the trio could tell immediately why.
Black smoke pillowed up into the air, covering a wide area of the futuristic floating silver ball. There were a few flicks of fire, a pretty blue instead of the usual yellow and orange. Another explosion rocked through the floating structure, shaking it a little. A few bits of debris began to fall towards the ground. More zoners fled. They could have sworn they saw some even go as far as jump from the great height. They looked on in horror as the zoners crashed into the ground, breaking their hips and legs, all in the name of trying to get to safety.
The sight of it made Rudy's blood boil. Just what was Mint doing up there that would cause the zoners to try to escape in such a desperate manner? Whatever he was doing, Rudy was going to stop him. He wasn't going to let him continue hurting innocent zoners anymore. This is where it all ends.
They soon came into the Future Dome. It was so much worse than they had expected. It was like ChalkZone City, only worse. With no where to escape to, many unlucky zoners laid scattered all over the place. On the ground, bleeding, unconscious... The fire, with not as many directions to escape to, hung more heavily in the air. The black smoke had spread everywhere, making it hard to see, harder to breathe. The blue fire danced along the buildings, causing more explosions and a few buildings to topple over.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash. They turned around. Not far from them, the thermometer elevator used to get to Craniac 4's place had been shattered. Glass debris littered the ground. The zoners below it were screaming and running away. Many narrowly missed getting hit. The red liquid inside then spilled out into the street. Zoners screamed in horror as the boiling red liquid came towards them. They desperately tried to escape.
Rudy and Penny wasted no time. They rushed over, their magic chalk out. They began to draw large glass shields all around the rushing liquid, soon trapping it in a large glass container. The liquid smashed against the glass just as he and Penny finished drawing the shield. They didn't know how long it was going to hold, but it would buy the zoners here some time to get away, at the very least.
Rudy wondered where Craniac 4 was. Why wasn't he defending his dome? This was his home after all. And far as he knew, he was in charge of the place. Why wasn't he doing something to defend it? He wondered if he had fled or had been defeated...or killed... Rudy flinched at the thought. He may not have been on good terms with Craniac 4, especially with how he kept stealing his magic chalk, but he wouldn't want him to be destroyed. He didn't deserve that kind of fate. If Craniac 4 or any zoner here had been killed before he could get here... Rudy wasn't sure if he could forgive himself for coming in so late.
That was when a cold laughter sent ice shooting through his veins. A laughter that froze the trio where they stood. The laughter frightened them all with how icy it was. Snap let out a soft whimper and looked in all directions like he was expecting to be attacked. Rudy and Penny tried to search for the sound of the voice as well.
Then they heard footsteps, something cracking a bit of glass as the figure walked some more. They turned to their right, where there was a wall of blue fire clinging to two buildings, spreading up and down. Through the thick smoke, they could see a figure walking through. As the figure took shape, they quickly realized who it was, and it surprised none of them.
Mint stepped out of the smoke, wearing a sick, twisted smile on his face. He walked over towards them, his hands behind his back. Standing behind him, poofing through the smoke in the most sinister manner ever, was Ripclaw. The two of them stared down at the trio menacingly. Mint's cold chuckle seemed to intermix with the crackling of cobalt fire all around them.
"Well well well..if it isn't Rudy Tabootie and his friends..." Mint said, his lips parting in a grin. "It's about time you got here. I was getting bored of waiting." He laughed when he saw them glaring at him. He looked all around. "Did you enjoy the show when you came here? Blue fire is so much more lovely than plain red and orange..." He gave them a sideways glance. "Wouldn't you agree?"
Rudy formed his hands into fists, trembling in anger. Regardless if Mint did start to have some doubt, he was still acting like a bully in ChalkZone. And bullies needed to be stopped. He jabbed a finger in his direction. "You won't get away with this!"
Mint just smirked at this. "Ah yes, the noble hero, coming in to save the day... Of course you would say that." He waved a dismissing hand, making Rudy growl at him. "But don't you know?" He crossed his arms against his chest. "Sometimes the bad guys do win."
"Not today!" Snap shouted at him, gathering up the courage to speak against the kid who had tried to kill him before.
Mint stared at Snap and chuckled. Rudy and Penny expected him to threaten Snap again, but instead, he just turned his attention back to Rudy. His grin spread wider. "If you had been here a little earlier, you could have stopped me."
Rudy narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Well I'm here now...and I will stop you!" Mint just laughed coldly at this, making Rudy angrier at him.
Penny took a step forward. Her eyes narrowed, she stared intently in Mint's direction. When Mint saw her, Rudy could have sworn he jerked back a little. He wondered if it was from how Penny had beaten him in the first 'round'. It was nice to see that he was now taking her seriously as an opponent and not dismissing her like he had in the past.
"Why are you doing this, Mint? Why are you causing all this needless destruction? Why did you attack this place?" Penny asked. Mint just stared at her, looking a little confused. "Is it really because you think this is a game? Take a look around you, Mint! Does this look like it's a game to you?"
Mint blinked at her. He didn't answer right away. There was...hesitation, like, for the first time, he was thinking things through a little more. Mint turned his head to the side, his eyes furrowing as he appeared to be thinking. At first, Rudy thought that maybe, just maybe, Penny had gotten through to him. That maybe, finally, he understood. That thought was shattered when Mint looked back at them, the evil smile once again plastered across his face. His eyes appeared to darken, something sparkling in them.
"Yes.." Came his cold reply.
Penny's eyes widened at this. Snap took a step back, uncomfortable with how cold Mint's voice sounded. Rudy looked surprised as well, then he narrowed his eyes. He and his friends took a defensive stance, prepared to fight whatever Mint was going to dish out.
"All of this is just a game. You see? Just a game!" Mint spread his arms out as if to indicate the entire chalk world. "Nothing here is real! Nothing here can feel! All just an illusion, don't you see?" Rudy couldn't tell if Mint was trying to convince them...or himself. "I am determined to win this game...I will not let you succeed!"
"And we won't let you win..." Penny hissed at him.
Mint said, "I wonder what kind of high score I am going to get..." He grinned as he watched the trio's eyes widen at this. "Or what kind of secrets I will unlock. I want to see how this game will end once Skrawl gets all of the artifacts."
Rudy, gritting his teeth, shouted at the kid, "This is not a game! Why can't you see that?!"
Mint stared at him for a few seconds. Then he crossed his arms and said, "Answer me something Rudy..." Rudy stared at him, waiting for the kid to speak. "Why do you care so much about zoners...? They're just data. Why are you so determined to protect them? Wouldn't it be easier just to recreate them? What's the difference?"
Rudy's eyes widened in horror at this. He couldn't believe how dismissive this kid was being towards living, breathing people. How...how could he ask him such a thing? Did this kid still not fully understand how real this place was? Was it because he couldn't comprehend the truth, or was he dousing himself in denial? Either way, he was being out of line. Right now, he didn't care if the kid told his parents the truth about the fire alarm. Right now, he cared about getting him out of ChalkZone. He didn't belong here...
"I'm sick of the way you're treating the people here, Mint!" Rudy shouted. "And I..." Penny and Snap took a step forward. Rudy corrected himself. "..we're going to stop you! And after we are through with you, we will find your boss, and we will stop him from getting another artifact! We will not let you win!"
Mint giggled at what Rudy said, as if it was the funniest thing he had heard in his life. The trio glared angrily at him. Mint gestured for Ripclaw to take a few steps in front of him, her mouth partially open to let out a low hiss. Mint stared back at the trio, that same smug smile they came to know from him on his face.
"Bring it on." Mint spoke softly.
Rudy and Penny raised their magic chalk to fight. Snap raised up his fists, prepared to join in. Together, they would drive Mint back. Together, they would win. There was no way Mint could win against them if they worked together. Mint was about to learn what teamwork was all about.
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 11, 2014 8:49:41 GMT -5
CHAPTER 24:
Standing by his friends, Snap glared at Mint. Despite his beliefs that the kid might be able to change, that did little to help with this situation. The kid was still crazy, probably even more so than before. Mint was acting a little different, sounding a little different. It was almost like he was trying to make himself continue believe that this whole world was a game, instead of facing reality. How cowardly...
Snap couldn't understand why this kid had such a hard time facing facts. Was it really because he doesn't like being wrong? That he hated the idea of him being the delusional one? Yeah that sounded like what it was. Mint had been having so much fun in what he thought was a video game. The idea of it being real must be frightening for him, as it meant that his actions suddenly had consequences, and with all the destruction he caused, all the despicable things he's done, that would all add up suddenly. The kid was choosing to run away from that instead of doing what was right and admitted he was wrong.
He didn't care what Mint said. Mint was the failure around here, not Rudy. Mint would keep denying that he was doing anything wrong, hiding behind a mask, a facade, instead of facing the truth. Rudy, on the other hand, would recognize when he's the one who made a mistake and would try to correct it. Rudy never tried to hide from the truth or douse himself in denial just to 'feel comfortable'. That was the biggest difference between these two. One of them was willing to face reality, no matter how harsh it was, while the other chooses to run. Mint was the real coward, not Rudy or Penny.
Well Mint was now going to get a taste of teamwork. He wasn't going to fight them one on one anymore. He wasn't going to separate them. He was going to see, firsthand, just how wrong he was about them. He didn't expect Mint to take this lesson to heart. He was not expecting Mint to suddenly change after this. But maybe it will give him something to think about when he leaves.
Mint soon made his first move. His first act was to send Ripclaw out after them. Of course he'd do that. He didn't want to do much of the fighting himself, so he was making his 'partner', in the loosest sense of the term, to go do the work for him. The utahraptor raced towards them, mouth split wide open to attack them. She lunged into the air and attempted to slash them with her claws. The trio jumped out of the way as she landed in the empty space they once stood in. They dove into the ground as she narrowly missed them.
Snap struggled to his feet. He was the first one up. He glared in the direction Ripclaw had landed and he rushed over. Without hesitating, he jumped onto her back. He wrapped his arms around Ripclaw's neck and held on tightly. The utahraptor let out a screech and started to buck, trying to throw him off of her. No matter how hard she tried, Snap would not let go. Only seconds later, the utahraptor appeared to grew tired of trying to throw him off and she veered off towards Rudy and Penny. She attempted to attack them. Snap pulled on the feathers on her neck, causing her turn suddenly, narrowly missing his friends entirely.
Ripclaw ran around in circles, never leaving the area. Snap would have thought that she would have taken off down one of the roads, but for whatever reason, she stayed in this one open area. Perhaps she was ordered to remain here by Mint. Or maybe the blue fire spooked her and made her too afraid to try to head down the roads. Either way, he was glad that she remained close to his friends. It would be hard dealing with her alone.
Time seemed to move so much slower. Seconds passed, and they felt like several minutes. In that time, Ripclaw managed to throw him off of her. He let out a scream as he crashede into the ground. He tried to get up, but Ripclaw stepped on him. He winced as he felt the sickle claw push against him. He looked up in horror as she opened her jaws wide, showing off her long, sharp teeth.
"Snap!" Rudy cried as he rushed over, bringing out his magic chalk.
Snap watched as Rudy rushed over towards him. Rudy began to draw something in the air. While he did this, Penny tried to get over as well. Snap's eyes widened when she was suddenly tackled by Mint. The eleven year old collided with Penny and pushed her against the side of a building. He kept her pinned there, grabbing her arms tightly, preventing her from getting over to Rudy.
Unable to look away, Snap watched as Penny started to push Mint away. The boy wasn't giving up. The two of them wrestled with each other. Soon they fell into the ground. They rolled across the ground, each trying to pin the other. At first, it looked like Mint had won. He held her down, sneering at her. Penny didn't remain on the ground for long. She managed to push him aside and grabbed onto him. She pulled him back into the ground and used her body to pin him down. He struggled to get up, but for the moment, he was unable to.
By the time Penny managed to get Mint on the ground, Rudy was already upon him and Ripclaw. He had drawn a large white sheet. He bundled it in his hands a bit and, mustering up as much strength as he could, tossed it onto her. Snap watched as Ripclaw's head and a part of her body became covered in the white sheet. At first, Snap wondered why Rudy would do something like that to stop a ferocious dinosaur. Then he noticed that the sheeth had weights attached to it. This made it harder for Ripclaw to just toss it off of herself.
As Ripclaw swayed her body back and forth, trying to get the sheet off of her, Rudy rushed over and grabbed Snap by the arm. He pulled him out from under the utahraptor just in time. The utahraptor managed to toss the weighted sheet off of her. She turned in their direction and let out a snarl. She rushed towards them, the digits on her hands flexing outward a tad, the claws glinting in the light of the day zone sun.
Rudy and Snap jumped to the side. Rudy quickly began to draw something else. This time, it was a bag of rocks. He waited until Ripclaw got close enough. Then he grabbed the handful of small, round rocks and rolled them towards the dinosaur. Ripclaw did not get out of the way in time. She stepped on the rocks and she immediately slid. She lost traction and slipped across the ground. The two of them stepped out of the way as she went past them and crashed against one of the buildings. She staggered backwards, looking dazed. She shook her head, regaining her composure, and snarled in their direction.
Snap looked over to see how Penny was holding out. She was still holding that creepazoid down. He hoped that she could keep it up. At the moment, Mint can't draw anything. So long as Penny had him held down, keeping both arms pinned, he couldn't really draw that well. Penny must have recalled what Rudy said about Mint drawing small dinosaurs even with his arms pinned, as she was doing what she could to keep his arms more immoblized than what Rudy could manage with the lasso. She couldn't try to take his magic chalk though; if she loosened her grip, Mint might wrench his left arm free and draw something.
As long as Penny kept this up, they just might, finally, win. If they can just stop Ripclaw, they might have a chance to get Mint out of ChalkZone for good. Working together, they might be able to pull it off.
But, unfortunately, things were never that simple.
Mint managed to free one of his arms. Penny was not able to stop his right up from getting free of her grasp. Out of what appeared to be desperation, Mint pulled his arm back and punched Penny, his fist slamming against her jaw. The scream Penny emitted caused Rudy look on in horror, along with Snap, as Penny staggered back from Mint. The eleven year old smirked at her before he punched her again, knocking her into the ground. Penny let out a scream as she stumbled into the ground.
Rudy cried out, "Penny!" He was about to go after them when Ripclaw pounced on him. Rudy grunted as Ripclaw placed a foot on his stomach and chest, keeping him down. She didn't try to bite him, opting instead to just hold him down. She did, however, try to snag his magic chalk from him.
"I'll help you, Bucko!" Snap rushed over to Ripclaw. He stopped when Rudy shook his head 'no'. "But..." Before he could finish, Rudy cut him off.
"Go help Penny! I'll take care of Ripclaw!" Rudy ordered. He turned his attention back to Ripclaw.
Snap stared at him for a moment. He didn't want to leave Rudy to face the dinosaur alone. But he couldn't abandon Penny either. He looked over at her as she was getting beaten by Mint, then back at Rudy. He took in a deep breath and did what Rudy told him to do. He turned and rushed over to where Penny was on the ground.
Mint must have completely lost it. He was acting more irrational and violent than usual. Was it the result of the denial he's trying to hide behind? That was likely it. Snap instantly realized how more dangerous Mint was going to be if he kept this up. With the way he was attacking Penny like that, it was like he was trying so hard to convince himself it was just a game. Something inside him had snapped, and in the worst possible way.
Penny tried to fight back. She would get out her magic chalk to fight. Mint never let her draw anything. As a sign that he had gone crazy, Mint would strike her any time she had it out. He shoved her against the wall, trying to keep her pinned there. The look in his eyes as he was doing this was..psychotic, even more so than what they've seen before. His increased aggression and destructiveness really shined here, in the way he had attacked Future Dome. And now he was taking it out on Penny. Snap looked on in horror as Mint delivered another punch, this time against her chest, knocking the wind out of her. Then he kicked her in the stomach, knocking her into the ground.
Penny looked up as Mint pinned her onto the ground. The look in his eyes was hard to describe. It was like a part of him just...disappeared, letting a more chaotic version take over. Even though he had a clear shot of taking her magic chalk, he ignored it. Before Penny had a chance to draw anything, he immediately seized her neck, squeezing it so tightly she couldn't breathe. He pulled his fist back and prepared to punch her again.
Mint never got that chance. Snap launched himself from the ground and slammed against Mint. He knocked him away from Penny. The boy staggered back as Snap wrapped his arms around him and forced him into the ground. Mint struggled frantically to get free, trying to grab Snap and throw him off. The zoner kept his arms wrapped around his neck and squeezed. Mint must have really lost it as he wasn't even trying to draw anything in this very moment.
"Ripclaw!"
In that moment, Ripclaw got off of Rudy. She turned and rushed towards Mint, snapping her jaws wildly in the air. Snap's eyes widened as she closed the gap swiftly, her yellow eyes glued onto him. Thinking fast, Snap jumped off of Mint and landed on Ripclaw's head. He wrapped his arms around her jaws, keeping them shut.
The utahraptor stopped in her tracks. Snap's body was blocking her eyesight. She let out loud hisses and snarls as she shook her head from side to side, trying to dislodge the small blue and white zoner. Snap refused to let go. Out of desperation, Ripclaw began to run around, despite not being able to see where she was going. It was scary riding on a beast that didn't know where it was going, but Snap did not relent. He was not going to give this dinosaur the chance to attack his friends, not while he could do something about it.
Keeping Ripclaw's jaws shut, Snap looked over to see how his friends were doing. He watched as Rudy helped Penny up to her feet. Snap winced at the bruise that appeared on her face, and the little bit of blood that trickled from her mouth. He guessed that Mint caused her to bite her own tongue too hard. The two then faced off against Mint, rushing in his direction.
"How dare you hurt Penny..." Rudy snarled as he brought out his magic chalk.
Mint shook his head. "N-No I didn't! This is all a game, you see... All a game!" Snap was confused by Mint's tone of voice. It sounded..panicked and desperate. He really had gone and lost it. He was really desperate to continue believing in this video game lie. "She'll be fine! I did no harm!" He took out his magic chalk. "I did no harm!"
Penny wiped away the blood that stained the corner of her mouth. "Who are you trying to fool, Mint? Us...yourself?" Her eyes narrowed deeper as she said that.
Mint's body trembled a little. He took a few steps back. He stared at Rudy and Penny. His eyes widened, like he was finally taking in everything that he's done. This did not last very long. He shook his head and glared at the two. He lifted up his magic chalk and began to draw. Rudy and Penny took a fighting stance as Mint attempted to draw something large. He didn't get to finish.
In the running around Ripclaw was doing as Snap held on, unable to see where she was going, Ripclaw ending up colliding with Mint, sending him flying across the ground. He let out a scream as he rolled across the hard ground, the magic chalk still clutched in his hand. Mint rubbed his head and looked up at Ripclaw narrowly missed trampling him as she continued to try to get Snap off of her.
Snap looked over and saw Mint get back up to his feet. He then looked out in front of himself, seeing where he was going. His eyes widened as he saw that Ripclaw was getting a little too close for comfort to one of the buildings that was on fire. She must be so busy trying to knock him off that she wasn't paying attention to her senses. In an attempt to save himself and ensure that she didn't accidentally hurt herself horrifically in the process, Snap jumped off of her. His knees buckled as he landed on the ground at an odd angle. He winced as he felt his leg bend in an odd way, but managed to keep on his feet.
Ripclaw stopped in her tracks, almost colliding with the building in front of her. She seemed to look bewildered, like she hadn't expected to be that close to danger. She turned her head up and moved backwards slowly, letting out a few low growls. She then turned her attention to Snap. Clearly unhappy with what he did, she started to advance on him.
Just then, bits of the building started to fall off. Ripclaw and Snap looked up as something large fell from a nearby building. A chunk of it had fallen off. Ripclaw let out a surprised hiss and staggered back, desperate to avoid the debris. Snap jumped out of the way just in time. The large piece fell on the ground heavily, cracking the ground slightly and kicking up dust into the air. Parts of the debris was coated in blue fire. Nothing really big, though. Just a few flickers of the cobalt flame.
Snap was a little shaken up by how close the debris had fallen to him. Just a few inches off, and he would have been injured. He looked over and tried to find any signs of Ripclaw. He couldn't see her, and at first, he wondered if she had gotten hit. A few screeches of frustration told him she was fine, but might be trapped up against the building. He could hear her claws scraping against the metal as she tried to climb her way out. Knowing that she wasn't going to be disabled for long, he turned his attention towards where his friends and Mint were standing.
Snap realized, as his eyes widened, that Mint had managed to disable his friends quickly. The desperation that seemed to flood the kid's mind caused him to draw a few small pterosaurs, ones with long tails and large heads, and they had swarmed around his friends, pecking and nipping at them. Rudy and Penny had tried to draw something; he could see the remains of their drawings on the ground, in the form of lines that were never fully completed. Two of the pterosaurs had their magic chalk. They crushed it in their beaks, the dust falling to the ground.
Mint looked satisfied with this. His grin was broad and he was giving off a cold laughter. Snap growled at this. No way he was going to let this guy get away with this. He rushed over towards Mint before the kid could attempt to take Rudy and Penny 'out of the game', as he tried to believe it was. As Rudy and Penny fought to get the small pterosaurs away from them, Mint just watched them. He didn't notice Snap until it was too late.
When he got close enough, Snap lunged at Mint for a second time. Mint looked at him in surprise as he was pushed against the ground. Mint was now on his back, Snap pinning him down. He struggled, but the zoner refused to let go of him.
"Get off of me, you little runt!" Mint snarled at him. He attempted to punch Snap, but he missed. "Get off!"
"No!" Snap shouted at him.
The two of them wrestled on the ground, one trying to pin the other. Snap had a hold of Mint's arms. Mint grabbed his. They pushed against each other, glaring at each other, their teeth gritted. Their shouts and growls filled the open area. Snap felt himself start to tire out, but he refused to give up. Mint had to be stopped. He had to be stopped right now. He refused to give Mint a chance to use that magic chalk. Mint would try to, but Snap would roll him onto his side, keeping his left arm pinned flat against the ground. This wouldn't last long as Mint would just roll back, but it did make it harder for him to draw anything.
Soon their struggles ceased. Mint laid on his back, glaring up at Snap. The two of them panted, exhausted from the wrestling. Then, after Snap caught his breath, he reached down and grabbed Mint's left arm. He kept it pinned and he tried to grab the magic chalk from him. Mint let out an angry growl and tried to pull Snap off of him. Before he could stop Snap, the zoner had gotten his magic chalk from him.
Snap looked over at Rudy. "Catch, Bucko!"
Rudy looked over just in time to see Snap throw Mint's chalk at him. The boy grabbed it and he turned his attention onto the pterosaurs. He raised his magic chalk and began to draw. He didn't waste any time. Lines filled the air faster than usual. Before the pterosaurs could react, Rudy drew a large net made of rope more densely packed than most nets Snap typically sees. He threw them over the pterosaurs, managing to catch them before they could try to take the magic chalk away from him again. With Penny's help, they pulled the pterosaurs onto the ground and secured them.
At this, Mint looked shocked. He turned his head up to Snap and snarled at him. "I told you to get off of me!"
With that, he grabbed onto Snap's cape. The zoner gagged as it was pulled tightly. Mint yanked Snap into the ground. He pinned him down and pulled hard on the cape, nearly choking the blue and white zoner. He glared hatefully at Snap, looking peeved that the zoner had managed to take his magic chalk from him.
If Mint was going to try anything else, he didn't get a chance to. Snap stopped struggling when Mint suddenly stopped pulling on his cape. Looking over, he instantly saw the reason why Mint stopped. Rudy and Penny, who had taken care of the pterosaurs, were walking in his direction. They glared at him with determination. Rudy had the magic chalk out, the one that Mint recently used. The sparkles coming off the chalk made Mint wince, a sign that he knew full well that he was in trouble now.
Mint instantly released Snap. He got off the ground and took a few steps back. He glared at the trio, gritting his teeth. That wild, crazy look was still in his eyes. He was still desperate, not willing to admit that he was wrong.
"This is all a g-game!" Mint shouted. His glare faltered a bit. "I-I-It's just a game! Just a game..."
"You have no idea how wrong you are, Mint." Rudy said, the magic chalk still raised. He took another step forward, limping slightly. "And now you have lost. We're taking you out of here. You will not be allowed to come back in..." He narrowed his eyes. "Ever.."
Mint shook his head. "No! You can't do this to me! I did nothing wrong!"
"Why are you trying to fool yourself, Mint?" Penny asked. She tilted her head slighlty. "Why do you keep feeding yourself these lies? Open your eyes, Mint! Open them and see the truth for what it really is!"
Together, the three of them started to advance on Mint. The eleven year old shook his head in desperation. He looked around frantically, like he was trying to find a way out. He must be so lost in his mind that he isn't noticing some of the obvious routes he could take. Instead of thinking rationally, he started to back up away from the trio. His expression was replaced with a mixture of fear and shock.
Soon, the trio had Mint cornered with nowhere for him to go. He pressed his back against the wall, clenching his teeth as the three got closer, blocking off any chance for him to run. Mint stared at the magic chalk Rudy held in his hand. His eyes widened and he shook his head in desperation. Snap half expected the kid to beg for them to let him go, but instead he just stood there, looking swiftly around to try to find a way out of his predicament.
Before the trio could grab Mint and take him back through the portal, a large shape jumped in front of them. They let out a scream of surprise as the thing landed dangerously close to them. Then a mouth filled with sharp teeth opened and roared at them.
Snap couldn't believe it. It was Ripclaw. That dinosaur always has a way of showing up at the wrong time. She stood in front of Mint, growling at the trio to hold them back. She snapped her jaws at Rudy, causing the boy to jerk back in surprise. The magic chalk flew from his hand, landing several feet away. The trio looked up at the dinosaur, wondering if she was going to attack them.
Instead of harming them, Ripclaw turned to Mint. She lowered herself, allowing the boy to climb onto her back. As Mint wrapped his arms around Ripclaw, he looked back at the trio. His eyes were wide and he was panting heavily. It was like he wasn't sure how to take in all of this. But instead of questioning what he had been told, instead of showing any sign that he might be starting to think ChalkZone is real, he was still deluding himself, purposely keeping himself ignorant just because it was comfortable and familiar to him.
"None of this is real! It's all fake! It's not real!" Mint called out in desperation. "You can't convince me otherwise! Y-You're lying! Trying to make me delusional like you! I'm not crazy!" He let out an insane laughter. "I'm not crazy!"
With that, Ripclaw leaped over them, landing several feet away. Rudy, Penny, and Snap watched as the now-crazy Mint rode on Ripclaw. The two of them rushed towards the edge of the Future Dome. They watched in horror as the two of them jumped off. They rushed over and peered over the edge, expecting to see a wounded Ripclaw and Mint laying on the ground from the fall.
But instead there was...nothing. They just...disappeared. How did they disappear? Where did they go? Were the Beanie Boys nearby? The three of them looked at each other in confusion and worry. It was bad enough that the large apatosaurus seemed to disappear. This shook them up even more because they saw Mint and Ripclaw jump over the edge. It took them only seconds to look over. How could they have disappeared so fast?
They didn't have long to think about that. They heard a scream from behind them and a familiar voice.
"Sweet transistors! What happened to the Future Dome?!"
Rudy, Penny, and Snap turned around to see a very panicked Craniac 4. They stared at him as he had his arms spread out, wheeling himself left and right frantically, his visual sensors taking in the sight of the Future Dome still burning down. They looked back at each other.
"It's a long story..." Rudy said. "A long one..."
sss
"No! No! No!" Skrawl growled, his voice a little more high pitched than usual. "It's not possible! Not now!"
But it was true. No matter how much he tried to reason with himself, tried to make sense of it, it all came back to that. Unlike his previous attempts to steal the artifacts, this one had failed. It wasn't because he didn't know where it was. Thanks to the books he stole, he knew right where it was. And using the ring artifact he stole, he could turn invisible, allowing himself a chance to sneak in and find the artifact without causing much of a disturbance. It was all planned out perfectly.
This time, however, was different than the others. For the first time, Mint had been defeated before Skrawl was close enough to get the artifact. No, he wasn't defeated. The little kid chickened out. He had ran off from the fight. His Beanie Boys were nearby. They told him how Mint just took off instead of attacking the trio when he had the chance. Then he just jumped over the edge, were the Beanie Boys caught him and took him under the Future Dome quickly enough before Rudy, Penny, and Snap could see.
This had bought the trio enough time to go after him. Or at least, Rudy. The three of them must have split up. He didn't know how Rudy managed to find him. To say Skrawl was surprised was an understatement. His plan had been going smoothly so far, with Rudy constantly distracted by Mint's descructiveness. Skrawl tried to fight back, but he stood little chance against the annoying chalk boy. He had so few of his Beanie Boys with him because he was so confident that Mint could keep the trio entertained for a while.
Skrawl was not happy with this turn of events. Mint had been performing well...for a time. But now it appeared that he was slipping. And it all started when he had shown the trio mercy before, even after Skrawl told him not to, even after he assured him it was just a game and none of it was real. Then Skrawl had attacked him out of anger to try to give him an incentive to listen. He started to realize that maybe that was not a good idea.
It was possible that Mint slipping up badly this time was because his attack made him question if this was a game or not. Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this. That is going to be a problem. With Mint fighting with his mind, he was going crazy and making mistakes, taking irrational choices. And it cost him the fight. He shouldn't have struck the kid, no matter how angry he was. He should have controlled his temper more. If he had done that, he might have avoided confusing Mint to the point where he started acting almost insane.
For that reason, he wasn't going to punish him this time. He still believed Mint was useful to him. He still believed he could get the boy to do what he wanted. If he still wanted to believe this was a game, if he still tried to delude himself the way he was, Skrawl still had some kind of hold over him. Mint was still his tool, and he was going to wield him for however long he could. He just needed to make sure that Mint try to think more rationally next time and not allow his mind to panic like it had at the Future Dome.
He was pleased with the destruction Mint was still able to cause, though. He was thrilled that the destruction was so bad that the zoners were trying to jump from the dome rather than stay there. The Beanie Boys reported that a large portion of the metal sides was ripped out, allowing an easy way for the zoners that live there to jump off of. Skrawl wished he had been there. It must have been some terrific destruction.
Skrawl still needed Mint. If anything, one last mission wouldn't hurt. He needed a way to buy a little more time. He had just one artifact left. One...and then it was off to take over ChalkZone. Well, almost. He still needed to study the artifacts to learn how to use them all. He didn't have full control over them yet. It would take some time.
He was so close to victory, he could almost taste it... Just one more. All he needed is one more distraction. Since Mint might be starting to lose it, and he didn't want to risk Rudy catching up to him again like he had before, he needed something else. Something that would keep Rudy and his miserable friends busy long enough for him to take the artifact and leave. Something that even Master Tabootie could stop so easily. He searched his mind, trying to find something that could work to his advantage.
An evil smile spread across the jellybean's face. He thought of the perfect idea. He cupped his hand to his mouth and shouted, "Mint! Come in here!"
Not long after he said that, Mint came into his office. He looked a little nervous. Skrawl wasn't surprised. He had failed to keep Rudy and his friends entertained long enough. And he must still be shaken up from when he had slashed him. He gestured for the boy to come closer.
When Mint was a few feet away from Skrawl, he asked, "What do you need, Skrawl?"
Skrawl grinned down at the boy. He folded his one arm behind his back as he approached. He watched as the boy cringed a little, expecting to be hit again. Skrawl said, "I have a special task for you..."
"And that is?" Mint asked, staring up at Skrawl with some bit of fear shining in his eyes. "What is my next assignment...?"
Skrawl looked at the claws on his hands. He flexed them menacingly. "I want you to go to the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle, locate a certain unicorn-horn shaped temple...and open it with this." He tossed what appeared to be a coin at the kid. Mint caught and looked at the disc-like thing with a sense of curiosity. "That is a key. Place it in the right spot. Trust me you will not, and it will release minerbites."
"Minerbites...?" Mint asked, confused.
The jellybean nodded his head. A nasty grin spread across his face. "Let's just say...they will keep those three brats busy for a long time..."
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 11, 2014 8:49:50 GMT -5
CHAPTER 25:
Rudy never thought this would ever happen. Every other time they came into ChalkZone, they had always been too late to stop Mint from doing anything. The other times, Mint had already caused quite a bit of destruction, injured zoners, and whatever else he was doing. To think that pattern could ever change never crossed his mind. It never occurred to him that, maybe, just once, the order would shift a little bit.
He had arrived in ChalkZone with Penny not so long ago. They had met up with Snap shortly after. They had decided to do some looking around, try to find anything that could help them in regards to the artifacts. None of the libraries they checked held any information. But they knew the location of a couple of the earlier artifacts stolen, so they decided to go there and talk to the zoners about them. Maybe one of them had more information, anything that could help them fight against Skrawl in case he manages to get all twelve of the artifacts.
What they did find out was disturbing. Apparently a long time ago, there was an evil, powerful zoner, Atlas, who had conquered ChalkZone for a time. Brave zoners did fight back and overthrow him and his soul was shattered into twelve pieces, each one containing a different power he had wielded. Those shattered pieces were placed in special artifacts, all gold in color, and sent to different parts of ChalkZone, hiding them. Information about them was kept hush hush for fear of an ill-intended zoner, such as Skrawl, finding them and using their powers to take over ChalkZone. From the sound of it, if Skrawl did get all twelve, he would win...
One of the artifacts' powers concerned them greatly. They weren't sure which artifact it was, but one of the zoners said that Atlas had the power to control creators. Not other zoners. Just creators; the control power didn't work on zoners for some reason. This was one of the things that made him exceptionally dangerous to confront and it was a miracle he was beaten at all. The trio realized that if Skrawl got all of the artifacts, he, too, would have the power to control the movements of any human he so desired. He could control Penny...or Rudy... And if he could control them, he could make them do whatever he wanted, including destroy all of ChalkZone.
They couldn't allow that to happen. They had to make sure Skrawl got no more artifacts. It was imperative they find a way to get Mint out of ChalkZone fast so they can focus on Skrawl. The next mission, they would have to work much harder to get him out. They were so close last time. They should have just grabbed Mint and taken off when they had the chance. They would not make that mistake this time around.
The way Mint behaved in their last encounter was atrocious. Unnecessarily violent and completely irrational. Rudy couldn't believe how immature Mint was acting. It was clear that Mint didn't entirely believe the video game lie anymore. Yet there was still a part of him that clung onto it so desperately. Mint wasn't letting go of that lie and he was continuing to feed himself that false belief, all in the name of being comfortable instead of facing the consequences. What a coward...
And the way he attacked Penny like that...That was way out of line. Mint had no reason to punch and kick her like that. He was glad that, as bad as the attack had seemed, Penny wasn't horribly injured. A little bruised, but not too worse for wear. It could have been a lot worse. Rudy was going to make sure Mint never tried that again. And he was going to make sure he couldn't run away this time. He was going to make Mint face the consequences of what he has done.
When they were on their way to the next location to try to find answers, they noticed something down below. There was movement there they did not expect to see in this part of ChalkZone. They decided to investigate it. They moved along the ground, keeping as quiet as they could. When they got close enough, they hid behind some large foliage and peered through, looking in the direction of the movement.
They were shocked. For the first time...they had been in ChalkZone before Mint. This time, they had witnessed Mint entering ChalkZone. This is what Rudy thought never would have happened. They had always been in ChalkZone later. Mint had always been here first. He didn't know how the odds changed. He didn't know how they managed to get here first. But one thing he knew for certain; he couldn't pass up this chance. Now, for the first time, they had a chance to stop Mint before he even started.
"We've got to follow him." Rudy said in a low voice. The three of them were walking slowly through the plants. Mint didn't see them. They kept a good distance away, while still keeping him in their line of sights. "We need to see where he's going...and stop him."
"I wonder where he could be going." Penny wondered to herself.
Snap replied, "Knowing him, he's probably going to meet up with that hideous growling jellybean..." He paused for a moment. He added, "Or he's going to attack some other place, the creepazoid..."
"He won't get far, I can assure you." Rudy said, determination in his voice.
Snap nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I bet he'll be surprised when he sees us!"
Penny turned to Snap. "Shh! We don't want Mint to hear us."
"Sorry." Snap said.
The trio continued walking through the foliage, keeping close to Mint, making sure he didn't see them. They didn't know how long they were walking. It seemed like fifteen minutes. They didn't know why he wasn't using Ripclaw to ride to his location. Then again, it was better this way. Easier to follow without being seen or heard. They were going to get him by surprise this time. This was not a trap; there's no way Mint could have saw them from the angle he had come into ChalkZone. And he was alone; no sign of Ripclaw anywhere.
That confused Rudy. Mint had always brought Ripclaw with him in their other encounters. Why wasn't he bringing her along this time? Maybe it was because Ripclaw came in from a different way, hiding and waiting for the right moment to strike. Or maybe Mint wasn't expecting them to find him so soon, so he sees no need to bring her with. Maybe the assignment Skrawl gave him did not require attacking. Whatever he was planning, they were not going to take this lightly. With Mint, that was too much of a risk.
Rudy didn't know the next time they would have a chance like this. He didn't know the next time they would be able to get into ChalkZone before Mint and be able to follow him like this. He hoped that they won't screw up this time. He believed there was a chance they could succeed this time in getting Mint out. They did get close last time. Surely, if they tried again, they would have better luck. And if Ripclaw was away, or too far to do much of anything, they could get him out before she can stop them. They just have to try harder.
The three of them kept quiet. They moved along behind Mint. Whenever the boy stopped and looked around, they would lower themselves, making sure he didn't have a chance to see them. They watched and followed as Mint went deeper and deeper in what they soon recognized as the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle. Mint sometimes got out a large piece of paper. Probably the directions to whatever place he was supposed to attack. Over the rivers and up the hills they went. It was exhausting and sometimes they had to stop for breath. But they never let Mint get too far ahead of them. They couldn't afford to lose him. Not now.
Rudy didn't recognize this part of the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle. He knew it was a large place. But he had no idea it was this big, to have a section like this and he never even noticed it. Mint had come into a large clearing. Massive, looking like it could hold about half of ChalkZone City. Tall trees lined the edges. Chalk birds flew overhead, chirping loudly. The grass was medium height in some places, but then there was a path of shorter grass, like it had been cut on purpose. This lasted for a while until, in the distance, they could see where the grass started to thin a little bit, becoming shorter and shorter until, eventually, it seemed to stop growing entirely.
Up ahead, there was a tall structure that seemed to be made out of the tree trunks wrapping around each other. It was tall and pointed. There was a large tunnel here, dark and shadowy. Flowing right through it, down the middle, was a river, the water colored a deeper blue than what they'd see in the Wait 'N Sea. The entrance looked a little forboding, all pointed and angular that suddenly appeared to get smooth on the way in. And Mint was heading right for it.
Rudy wanted to run after him, but it was too risky in this big clearing. They had to go all the way around and hope they can catch up to him in time. It would be horrible to lose Mint now. They had to keep the element of surprise and make sure he didn't see them until it was too late. With no tall foliage to hide behind, they would risk Mint spotting them and having him run away or summon some new dinosaur creation to keep them busy. The three of them began to make their way along the edges of the clearing, making their way towards the tunnel entrance.
Suddenly, Snap let out a small cry. Rudy and Penny looked at him, their eyes widened as they expected him to be injured somehow. They were relieved that he wasn't, but they were still very concerned. Snap looked...shaken up, like something was wrong. It clicked with Rudy almost right away. Snap knew something...and it wasn't good.
"Snap? What is it?" Penny asked. She put a hand on Snap's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Rudy noticed Snap trembling. This confirmed his suspicions. Mint was about to do something bad...very bad...
"What's Mint going to do? Where is he going?" Rudy asked.
Snap looked at the two of them. His eyes were wide with fright. He hesitated, looking at them back and forth. He looked down for a moment, trying to speak but only small sounds coming out. He looked back at them and, eventually, found his voice. But when he spoke, his voice was small and filled with a sense of dread.
"He's...he's going to the Minerbite Temple." Snap said. "I-It's forbidden..."
Rudy and Penny looked at each other. They had heard the name 'minerbite' once before. But it was only once and in passing. They didn't think anything of it at the time. From the way Snap was speaking, the minerbites sounded like they were a serious threat. But just what were they, and what could they do?
Snap looked in the direction of the tunnel entrance. He gritted his teeth, his eyes widening slightly more. "Minerbites are worse than the inflatamice." This made Rudy and Penny gasp in horror. "Minerbites eat everything... They're like the Purple Haze, except they can spread out faster, further, and they're sentient."
"That sounds awful.." Penny said, a hand to her mouth.
Rudy's eyes were wide in horror. "How...how were they sealed if they eat everything?"
"Well almost everything. Glass they can't eat." Snap said. He took in a few breaths as if he was trying to calm down his speeding heart. "They were sealed up in a large glass container." He looked back at where Mint went. "If Mint opened that up and unleashes them..."
"...there is going to be a lot of destruction." Rudy finished, the realization dawning on him quickly.
Penny gasped and said, "We have to hurry!"
The three friends, foregoing any stealth, began to run across the open field, going towards the tunnel Mint disappeared into. As they ran, Rudy hoped that they would make it on time. They had to hurry. They had to stop Mint before he unleashes these minerbites. If that kid succeeded...
...all of ChalkZone was going to become one giant buffet for these beasts. And unlike the inflatamice, Rudy had no idea how he was going to stop the minerbites. He knew it wasn't going to be as easy as drawing a glass shield around them. No...things were never that easy.
sss
Mint made his way along the tunnel. It was a little cold in here, but he ignored it. The sound of water flowing filled his ears. The water in this river got a little wild. Some small rapids were here. He had never seen rapids quite like this. Whoever designed this area had a good sense of imagination. He wondered why he hadn't come here before. Maybe he should have taken some more time out of the day to explore instead of doing what Skrawl wanted him to.
There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Bright white and forcing him to shield his eyes. Even in this game world, the light still hurt if he looked directly into it. As he came out, the brightness became more manageable and he could take a look at his surroundings. He paused, slowing down a little, and he looked at where he had walked into.
He wasn't sure if this was still the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle. It looked a little different than the other areas he had seen. The plants and the whole structure looked a tad different. It looked more...manual he guessed was the right time, like the whole thing was created by some zoners for some special purpose. What purpose, he couldn't fathom what the game creators had decided for it. Oh well, he was sure there was a reason and perhaps he would find out soon when he opened up the temple.
There was no more grass here. It had stopped completely somewhere in the tunnel. But despite no grass, there were trees. The tall plants were arranged in long rows, creating a circle arching towards the temple up ahead. As he headed towards the temple, he noticed some tall red signs warning him of danger and to go back. He ignored them. This was just a game. There was no danger to be had here. The warning signs were obviously meant to scare players. He knew of the tactic. It was used in real life as well. Nothing more than a bluff to make players avoid certain spots or to create tension. He wasn't going to fall for it. He headed right for the temple, ignoring the signs.
The temple was indeed shaped like a unicorn's horn. It was pressed up against a mountain, tall and foreboding looking. The unicorn horn part of it jetted upwards and out, glinting in the light. There was a ring of jewels around it, making it sparkle and look quite pretty, even from this distance. It was placed in top of a plateau and to get up there, he had to climb up steps. He moved upwards slowly, looking around cautiously. The edges of the plateau were steep and it was raised a considerable distance off the ground. The only sign of comfort was the bushes that clung tightly around the plateau.
As he climbed up the steps, his thoughts went to his previous encounter with Rudy, Penny, and Snap. He couldn't believe what an idiot he was. He was making so many mistakes in the battle. After he had calmed down, he realized he had multiple chances of beating them and getting the upperhand, but he blew it constantly. He kept making other, more rash decisions, and that cost him the fight. He cursed to himself for making such foolish errors. He was glad that it didn't get him kicked out of the game.
That was so close... They almost had him. If it weren't for Ripclaw, he would have been kicked out of this game world. He wouldn't be able to play anymore. They would have won... He couldn't allow that. He couldn't let Rudy and Penny delude him. He wasn't about to become delusional like them. No way would he allow that to happen. He wasn't going to become crazy like them. He just won't.
But he realized, as he continued walking up the steps, he might have gone too far. He slowed down, a sense of guilt starting to cling to him. He had been so desperate to prove that he was right, to keep believing that this game was just that, a game, that he had, well, snapped. He didn't know entirely why he did, even though he knew it was wrong. Perhaps he wasn't as brave as he thought he was. Perhaps couldn't handle things as well as he thought. He had, in a fit of desperation and rage, attacked Penny.
He knew it was wrong. The moment he attacked her, he knew it was wrong. He knew he should have held back, or at the very least, stop at the first punch. He didn't... He just hit her over and over, not allowing her to do so much as defend herself. He remembered the screams she emitted, the look in her eyes as she tried to get away from him. He would have done more if Snap hadn't pulled him away from her.
He had attempted to reason with himself that she deserved to be attacked. She had made a fool of him a few days ago. She had made him look like an idiot, trapping him in the net like that. She deserved a little retribution, didn't she? She deserved a little payback for that stunt she pulled. And he had told himself this over and over. But soon, he had to come to grips with reality on this. No, she didn't deserve that. He had gone out of line there, allowing his fear and temper to take hold. It was a low move, and he knew it. He had to keep himself calm. He couldn't let an incident like that happen again.
Still, he wasn't going to let them delude him like that. He wasn't going to give them the chance this time. As soon as he opened up the temple, he would flee. He wouldn't bother waiting for them to show up. He wasn't going to give them a chance to delude them like they tried to in their last encounter. This was all a game... It was just a game... It just had to be...it...it couldn't be real...
And over and over again, he kept telling himself that as he reached the top of the plateau. All of this was just a a video game. None of it was real. He couldn't let go of that belief. It was what made the most sense ot him. He couldn't think, for once, that it was real. No matter what happened, he had to remind himself it was just programmed. No matter how convincing it was, he had to remind himself it wasn't real. It was nothing more than a highly advanced simulation.
It wasn't real...
It was all just an illusion...
He did nothing wrong... Nothing wrong...
He walked over to the temple entrance. There was a tall door with a pointed top. A thin line was in the middle. It kind of reminded him of elevator doors. He wondered if these doors will slide sideways as well. Right next to the door was a large circle, indented into the wall. It had the same eagle-like symbol of what Skrawl had given him. He recalled what Skrawl said. All he had to do was place the disc given to him into that slot, and the doors would open up.
He stared at the disc for a few seconds. He examined it, turning it around. He still wasn't sure how this was going to open the temple. He had never seen a key quite like this before. But he knew he didn't have much time to question it. He looked back at the indention. He started to move the disc towards it.
He didn't get too far. He heard shouts of 'No!' coming from behind him. They sounded a little faint and he realized it was because, whoever it was, they still hadn't reached the steps themselves. It sounded like they were still in the cave. Mint walked over to the edge of the plateau again and looked down, putting a hand over his eyes. He quickly realized who it was coming towards him. It was Rudy, Penny, and Snap. His eyes widened, wondering how they were able to find him so fast. He didn't expect them to get here this early. How did they do it...?
He could see they were picking up the pace. They were running as fast they could towards the temple. Even though Mint could just go and open up the temple now, for some reason, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the trio. Something had him frozen in place, and he couldn't explain why. He soon realized what he was doing and shook his head. No, he couldn't afford hesitation now. He turned back to the temple and rushed towards the door.
"Wait! Stop!" Snap cried. Mint, not looking back, could tell the zoner had already made it up the steps. He really could move when he was desperate. "You can't open that temple! You can't let out the minerbites!"
Mint stopped. He turned and looked over at Snap. The zoner stood a considerable distance from him. He was staring at Mint with wide, frightened eyes. He couldn't tell if that fear was just for the minerbites or if some it was for him. Snap took in a few rapid breaths, looking like he was tired from the running up the steps.
He could hear footsteps on the stairs. Rudy and Penny were coming. And from the sound of it, they would be here very soon. He had to hurry and get the temple open before they reached the top. Ignoring Snap, he turned and started to make his way towards the door. He had to do this fast. Skrawl was not going to be pleased if he found out that he had failed him again. He couldn't afford to lose. He couldn't let that glitch happen that made the game unplayable to everyone. That wouldn't be fair. If only Rudy and Penny knew, they'd...
"Stop!" Snap's cries brought Mint out of his thoughts.
Mint had gotten up to the temple. He held the round key up to the indention. He had started to place it in, but he didn't get too far. Snap had broken off into a run towards him. If the zoner was still scared of him, he was doing a great job hiding it. Snap jumped onto his back and held on. The sudden shift in weight caused Mint to topple from side to side. Snap pulled against him, causing him to stumble away from the temple's doors. He growled and tried to pull Snap off.
"Let me go now! Get off!" Mint snarled at the zoner. Snap refused to let go. "I said get off!"
"No!" Snap's grip tightened. "I am not letting you open that temple! I am not going to let you destroy ChalkZone!"
"ChalkZone can always be recreated by the designers! It's not a big deal!" Mint shouted, his eyes wide in desperation as he tried to get Snap off.
Mint struggled, trying to grab Snap. He moved around the plateau, not caring where he was going. All he was focused on was getting Snap to let go of him. He had to get this runt off before Rudy and Penny came to the top. He couldn't let them win. He just couldn't... The game...it would... No, he couldn't allow it to happen.
In his desperation of getting Snap off, he failed to notice where he was stumbling towards. As he reached behind, trying in vain to grab the zoner, he was getting closer and closer to the edge of the plateau. Mint didn't bother looking. He didn't try to look at his surroundings. Right now, all he cared about was getting Snap to release him. The little runt was going to ruin everything. Anger started to well up in Mint. He couldn't let this blue thing ruin this mission. He wasn't going to let him win.
Suddenly, Mint tripped on something. A small rock he hadn't noticed before. Down he went. He and Snap both let out surprised cries as they smashed against the ground. Mint opened his eyes and found that they were right on the edge of the plateau. His eyes widened at this realization and he moved back a little. Snap moved further away. Then Mint realized that the disc he was holding had fallen over the edge. He watched, his eyes widened, as it fell into the foliage and he heard a loud crack. The disc had shattered into pieces.
Mint couldn't believe it. He had failed this mission... He wasn't able to complete his task. He was so close. So close... If he had just been faster, he could have completed it. He could have ensured victory for Skrawl, keeping the game up and running until he won, and the game reset. He took in a few shaky breaths. Now it seems like he was going to lose. If he had just tried harder...
No... No, it wasn't his fault. He realized whose fault it really was. He turned his head towards Snap. Anger grew stronger inside of him. It was because of this annoying little brat that he had lost the disc. It was his fault that this game was going down. It was his fault that he wasn't able to complete his mission. And he was going to pay for it... Oh how he was going to pay.. Even if he was just a game sprite, and it ultimately wouldn't matter in the end due to how he was programmed, he still felt like he needed to teach Snap a little lesson.
He took a few steps towards Snap, glaring at him. The zoner realized that he was in trouble. Fear plastered over his face and he started to back up away from him. Snap started to make his way towards the stairs to meet up with his friends. Mint narrowed his eyes. No, he was not going to let him get away that easily.
Mint rushed over with his magic chalk. He reached Snap before he could get to his friends. He grabbed him and he threw him aside. He watched as Snap slammed into the ground, laying on his stomach. The zoner looked up at him in fear. Mint turned his attention to Rudy and Penny. He needed to buy some time, make sure they didn't get to him before he had a chance to teach Snap a lesson. Bringing out his magic chalk, he began to draw a shield around the temple, sealing himself in with Snap and blocking Rudy and Penny from entering.
He smirked at the two kids as they pounded on the shield, trying to open it. Rudy attempted to cut a hole with his magic chalk, but of course it didn't work. So he resorted to drawing a hammer. He started to smash against it. The shield was not going to last long, Mint knew. This would only give him a little bit of time. He had to move quickly before it was too late. He turned his attention back to Snap.
"You..." Mint growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He started to advance slowly on the zoner. "Do you have any idea what you did...?"
Snap looked at him fearfully. His body trembled. He looked around, trying to find a way out. The only thing he could do was back up away from Mint. He had his hands out in front of him, looking at Mint and silently begging him not to hurt him. Snap never looked this afraid of him before. Mint gave a dark smile of satisfaction. Yeah, he better be sorry.
Mint continued to advance on the zoner, listening to his whimpers and cries. Snap kept looking over at where Rudy and Penny were. His eyes were wide in desperation. He was clearly hoping that they would reach him in time to help him. He looked back at Mint. He shook his head in protest as Mint continued to get closer to him. Snap tripped and fell back into the ground. Not bothering to get up, he started to crawl backwards away from Mint.
"Please...don't hurt me..." Snap begged in a soft whisper. "I-It doesn't have to be like this..."
Mint narrowed his eyes, baring his teeth. "If you didn't want to get attacked, you should have thought about that before you caused me to drop the key!" He raised up his magic chalk in preparation to draw. "And now, I'm going to make you regret that..."
Snap shook his head in desperation. Tears formed in his eyes. "N-No! Please! Can't we talk about this?"
"Too late for talk..." Mint said in a dark, threatening voice. He drew something long, hard, but lightweight enough for him to wield. "Far too late..." Soon he held a long iron pipe in his hand. He held it out in front of him menacingly. "Now hold still... It will hurt less if you don't struggle."
"No!" Rudy cried. His voice sounded a little muffled. He pounded his fist against the shield. "Don't you dare hurt him, Mint! If you do, I swear I'll..!"
"Please let him go!" Penny cried as she helped Rudy try to break the shield down.
The two of them were watching in horror as Mint got closer to their friend. They moved faster, hitting against the shield again and again. Mint knew that they weren't going to break it in time. He stared down at Snap, his eyes narrowed. Yes, this little runt was never going to interfere with his plans again.
Snap managed to get back to his feet. He pressed his back against the temple structure, looking at Mint with horror-filled eyes. "C-Come on...can't we at least talk..? Why do we have to resort to violence...?" Mint narrowed his eyes further. Snap whimpered. "Please...let's talk..." He pleaded with the kid. But it was in vain.
Mint ignored him. He grabbed Snap roughly by the arm and yanked him forward. As the zoner tumbled a little to regain his footing, Mint slammed the pipe against his side as hard as he could. Rudy and Penny gasped in horror as Snap screamed and fell into the ground. Snap was on his stomach and he let out a few groans of pain. He lifted his head up, his eyes locking onto Mint's. More silent begging. Mint snarled at this.
When Snap tried to get up again, Mint pressed his foot against his back, against his shoulders. He used his weight to hold him down. He lifted the pipe up over his head, his muscles tightening as he gathered up as much strength as he could.
"Don't do it!" Penny cried in horror.
Rudy struck the shield again with the hammer. "Put that pipe down, Mint! Don't hit him again!"
Snap's body trembled, a few tears of fear dripping from his eyes. He looked up at Mint fearfully. "Please..let me go..." He begged. "D-Don't hurt me..."
Their pleas fell on deaf ears. Mint's eyes widened in anger and determination, he tensed up his arms even more, his teeth bared. "May this be a lesson to you!"
With that, he suddenly struck downward. There was a whoosh sound as the pipe cut through the air. A second later, it hit against the middle of Snap's back. As it hit, there was a loud intermix, a combination of two sounds. Snap's screams of pain, his eyes opening wide. And the other was the sound of cracking. Both Snap's screams and the crack echoed together, bouncing off the walls of the shield and intensifying them a little.
The crack confused Mint, but he didn't question it. Narrowing his eyes, glaring angrily at the whimpering zoner, he removed his foot and took a few steps back. He waited for the zoner to get back up. But when he didn't, he just shook his head. Of course the zoner would overreact to that. Serious injuries weren't possible in this game. Snap was just being a big crybaby. He glared at him, waiting for him to do something, anything, that wasn't just crying and whining. The crack from before was probably just the ground below, or maybe something else had broken off. This place seemed pretty old. It could have just been coincidental.
Skrawl had assured him that simply striking a zoner would not hurt them badly. So he knew that Snap couldn't have been that badly hurt. He continued to glare down at Snap, waiting for him to get up. But the longer he stared at him, the more he started to realize something was up. His back looked like it was darkening. And it was right on the spot where he had hit him. Was there a connection? Had he done that? What did it mean?
He then noticed Snap trying to crawl. He pushed himself up onto his hands. He tried to move himself forward. He could only manage a few centimeters before he collapsed back down, letting out another cry of pain. Mint told himself that he was just faking it. But..why did it feel so genuine? And when Snap looked at him with those eyes, shining with a silent question of 'why?', consant low cries emitting from his mouth, why did he feel this pang in his chest? Why was this looking...anything but fake...?
Then there was a shatter from behind him. He turned around and saw that Rudy and Penny had broken through. Their eyes were filled with horror and dread. They rushed right past him and went over to their fallen friend. Mint stared at them in confusion. What were they so worried about? He...he didn't do anything wrong... He didn't hurt anyone... Snap was just data... Nothing but data.
Rudy and Penny knelt by Snap's side, one on his left and the other on his right. They whispered soft, comforting words to him as they tried to soothe him. Snap was crying harder, his body trembling in pain. Rudy lifted up his hand and squeezed it while his other stroked the top of his head gently. Penny's attention was shifted to Snap's back. She was moving her hands along it, like she was trying to assess the damage. A few times, Snap would cry out in pain, prompting Rudy to comfort him and try to calm him down.
Mint was confused. This isn't what he had expected at all. He had thought that hitting Snap like that wouldn't do much damage. It shouldn't have... He was just a game sprite. And Skrawl said that the game sprites can't recieve mortal injuries. He could have hit Snap as many times as he wanted, and the only thing that should have happened was maybe he got a little sore. That was how the game was programmed. There...there was no way Snap could have been...
But then, why did this feel too realistic...? Game creators did not put in realistic violence. It was all cartoonified in a way. Exaggerated so that the players did not feel uncomfortable when they shot an enemy in the game. But this...this was not like anything he had seen in a game before. It was..disturbing..chilling... It was too realistic... And when Rudy turned and shot him that hateful glare, Mint gulped and took a step back. Had he...had he done something terrible...?
Then came the words that echoed through Mint's mind.
"R-Rudy... Snap, his..." Penny said tearfully. Her voice was cracked with emotion. "His back is b-broken..."
"What...? No..." Rudy looked down at Snap. He pressed his face against his. Tears dripped from his eyes. "Snap..no..."
Mint's eyes widened at that. He took a few steps back. He..he had done what to Snap? No, that was impossible. Zoners didn't have spines... And if they did, they wouldn't be programmed to snap, especially not like this. Not in a gruesome, horrific manner. The game creators couldn't possibly be this sadistic. They couldn't have programmed the game to do something like this. It was...it was not entertaining. It was terrifying.
He looked back down at Snap. He was staring back at him. Those eyes wide with fear, silently questioning him why he had hurt him. Mint took another step back. He flinched at the way Rudy and Penny were glaring at him. Those looks...there was more to it than just losing a game. Mint could see more behind it all. No one was this angry at losing a simple character. For them to be angry like that, Snap had to have been...something more..
No, no...this was all a game...it was all a game...
But then why was this too realistic? Why wasn't Snap getting up? Why was there a dark spot forming on his back? Why had his back snapped in two? Why was he acting..like anyone else would when their back was shattered? This was..too realistic...
A cold chill went up his spine as the full realization came down on him. He stared at the pipe he used as a weapon earlier in horror. He threw it aside. He stared back at Rudy and Penny. He moved back even further. His body trembled, his eyes widening in horror. His mind filled with one thought. A thought that chilled him, a thought he could no longer escape, no longer deny. This was the catalyst that broke the shield he had been trying to hide behind. And there was no going back now.
This...this was not a game... Rudy and Penny were right. They were right about everything... He stared down at his hands, watching them tremble. He looked back at Snap. What was he thinking..?
Mint watched as Rudy got up and started to advance towards him. He could see anger and hate radiating off the boy. Mint wanted to flee. He wanted to get away. But he couldn't bring himself to run. He could only manage to move back a little. He made no attempt to defend himself as Rudy suddenly rushed at him, his anger clearly boiling over. The younger boy slammed into him and pushed him into the ground. Mint let out a grunt and he looked up at Rudy, who pinned him down effectively. As he laid there, he wished he had brought Ripclaw along so he could get away.
"You fucking jerk!" Rudy shouted at him, his eyes blazing with anger. They were uncomfortable to look at, but it was also hard to tear away. Mint looked up at him with wide eyes, his mouth open in fear. "Do you have any idea what you have done?! Do you?!"
"I...I..." Mint whimpered, but couldn't say anything.
"You broke my friend's back!" Rudy snarled at him. He tightened his grip on Mint's shoulders, causing the boy to wince a little.
Mint trembled. He wasn't sure what he should say to this enraged boy. He looked around, trying to find a way to escape. He had never seen Rudy this angry before, and it was terrifying. He was going to witness the temper this boy could wield, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Mint said in a shaky voice, "I-I didn't know..."
"Don't pull that crap on me, Mint! You knew full well what you were doing!" Rudy shouted at him.
"N-No..I didn't think it would..." Mint tried to say. Rudy cut him off.
"What? You didn't think you were going to cause a lot of damage? Is that it?!" Rudy snarled. His eyes narrowed deeper when Mint meekly nodded his head. "You're a fucking idiot! What kind of moron would think hitting someone in the back the way you have couldn't possibly have any consequences?! Of all the dumb mistakes you've made, Mint, this is the most disgraceful, disgusting, and vile things you ever managed! You're a monster!"
Mint shook harder. A few tears formed in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry..."
This did little to calm Rudy down. "You're sorry? You're sorry?!" Rudy spluttered incredulously. He shook his head furiously. "No, you're not! You're just trying to save your sorry ass so you can go continue being Skrawl's puppet and hurt more zoners! You care about no one but yourself! You'e not sorry! Don't try to lie to me, Mint! I know what you really are!"
Mint shook his head from side to side. "No...please... I-I.."
"You're a self absorbed brat! A big bully who thinks he can do whatever he wants! A friendless loser who tries to hide in some fantasy world because he can't deal with reality! A slimy, disgusting coward who wold rather run away than face facts! You're lower than dirt, Mint!" Rudy growled at him, tears flowing down his face. "I hope Skrawl does something horrible to you, Mint, because anything he does to you, you deserve it! And maybe then you will finally see what a fricking fool you have been!"
Mint trembled fearfully under Rudy. He looked up at the angry boy. Tears of his own dripped down his face. He couldn't think of anything to say. A few whimpers escaped his mouth. He watched as Rudy got off of him. He winced as the boy glared down at him. Was...was he going to hurt him...?
"Now get out of here..." Rudy growled. "I don't want to see your face any longer! Go on! Run! Run like the coward you are!"
Mint backed away slowly. He tried to fight back his tears. They wouldn't stop. He moved towards the steps. Rudy took a step forward. His heart racing, Mint instantly ran down the steps. He ran through the tunnel and out the other side. He continued running through the jungle, not caring where he went, if he got lost, or what. He just..kept running.
He finally couldn't run anymore. He leaned himself against a tree, tears staining his cheek, his throat hurting him a little. He stood there, panting, his mind replaying the events over and over again. The breaking of Snap's back...there was no way it could have been fake.. Rudy's anger... His body trembled, Rudy's harsh words echoing through his mind. It hurt him deeply, because..because he knew Rudy was right... He..he was a coward...
Penny's words echoed through his mind.
"Who are you trying to fool, Mint? Us...yourself?"
She was right. He was trying to delude himself. He was trying so hard to continue believing this was a game, he...he had acted wreckless. And now he had done something horrible... It was his fault. He should have listened. Why didn't he listen...?
The horror of all the things he had done while he thought this was still a game, the places he destroyed, the zoners he had terrorized, hurting those two kids, their friend, Rudy's harsh words, breaking Snap's back, it all came crumbling down on him, pushing him down with the horrible truth.
He was a monster...
Mint fell to his knees. The emotion overwhelmed him. He sniffled loudly. He stared at his hands, watching them shake even harder than before. "What have I done?" He squeaked. He buried his face in his hands. "What have I done...?"
Unable to hold it in any longer, Mint started to weep and cry.
sss
"That was low..." Penny said as Rudy came back over.
Rudy didn't know what Penny was talking about. He looked at her in confusion. "What..what do you mean?"
"The way you yelled at him. What you said to him." Penny scolded. "I hate him for what he's done, but..you were acting like a bully, Rudy. I thought you were better than that."
Rudy narrowed his eyes at her. "He'll get over it, Penny. Besides, he deserved a verbal smackdown after what he has done. I doubt anything I said got through to him anyway."
Rudy did feel a pang of guilt, but he ignored it. Mint didn't really care what he said. The boy was just acting. He was just hiding behind a facade to try to seem innocent, like he always had in the past. He deserved every word he said to him, didn't he? He deserved getting yelled at after all the horrible things he's done. He doesn't see why Penny is upset with him, especially when they were on, more or less, the same page with him when it came to Mint.
Penny would see. The next time they see Mint in school, the jerk would act like nothing had happened. He would ignore all the things he said to him and just go on acting like he always had. He wouldn't change. People like that are incapable of change.
Rudy and Penny didn't have time to argue more about this. Their attention shifted back down to their suffering friend. Snap let out a few loud cries. Their hearts clenched as they watched him try to struggle on the ground, in desperation to get away from the pain.
"B-Bucko..." Snap whimpered. "B-Buckette.. It hurts..." He shut his eyes tightly, seething in agony. "It hurts so much... Please make it stop...please..."
Rudy and Penny grabbed onto his arms and gently held him down.
"No, Snap.. Don't move..." Penny whispered gently, her previous anger with Rudy gone. "You'll hurt yourself more."
Trying to think of a way to comfort his friend, Rudy lowered himself more and rested his chin on top of Snap's head, careful not to hurt him. "You'll be okay, Snap..." He said in a shaky voice. "Everything will be okay...you'll see..."
Snap continued to writhe on the ground. Tears flowed from his eyes like a faucet. He let out cries and whimpers. He struggled against Rudy and Penny as they tried to hold him down to prevent him from hurting himself more. Rudy's heart clenched as the fear of Snap hurting himself more than he already was settled in. If he moved around too much, he could...he could die...
"Snap, no...hold still..." Rudy said softly to him. "You...you have to keep still. I know it's hard...but you have to keep still..."
"I..I can't...It hurts too much...I can't take it..." Snap jerked on the ground. "I can't take it!"
"Shh..." Penny pressed down on him a little harder, careful no to hurt him. "Just relax, Snap. Try to calm down. We'll get you help..."
"Y-Yeah...and then the pain will go away." Rudy said tearfully. "You'll see..."
Snap managed a weak smile at this, but it soon faded into low whimpers and cries. It was clear that, even with them comforting him, Snap was not going to be able to hold still. The horrible agony his friend was being put through made Rudy hate Mint even more. He wasn't sure what he was going to do the next time he saw that kid... He tried not to think about it. Right now, top priority was getting Snap to the hospital.
Rudy took out his magic chalk. He looked down at his friend. He reached down and touched his cheek gently. Snap looked at him, his eyes puffy from the crying. The sight of it made Rudy's heart freeze. Oh Snap... He had to be okay.. He just had to be...
"We need to be careful..." Penny instructed him. "His back... One wrong move..."
"Yeah...I know..." Rudy said softly. He began to draw. "Don't worry, Snap. We'll get you to the hospital and you will be fine. You'll be okay..."
Snap didn't answer, and Rudy and Penny soon found out why. To their horror, Snap had passed out on the ground, the pain becoming too much for him. This prompted Rudy to hurry up. They had to get to the hospital and fast.
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 14, 2014 6:56:44 GMT -5
Chapter 26:
Rudy's world had become a buzzing, confusing mess of colors and sound. So many things were going on that it was hard for him to keep up. His mind was muddled with various, concerning thoughts. Sometimes he forgot where he was, and it took the occasional cry of a surprised zoner to remind him.
He and Penny wasted no time to get to the hospital. They riding in a car, just big enough for the three of them and the controls simplified for ease of use. Snap was in the back on a stretcher that Rudy had drawn. Snap wore a simple back brace to try to keep him as still as possible as they hurried over to the hospital. Rudy's mind was racing was he went in the direction of the hospital, his eyes wide with panic. He barely comprehended the world around him. It was a miracle that he was able to drive as safely as he did.
His driving wasn't particularly unsafe, but Penny looked at unease. She gripped her chair tightly, her teeth gritted, as they raced across the roads. Rudy tried to make an effort to improve his driving, but right now, hsi mind was focused on Snap. He was in big trouble and he needed help fast.
Once in a while, Snap would let out a groan of pain. He would still remain out cold, his eyes never opening. Rudy and Penny concluded that the pain was so bad, it was still hurting him in his sleep. This tugged at their hearts. Poor Snap... What did he do to deserve this? Rudy couldn't believe that Mint would do such a horrible thing to him, especially when he must have known the repurcussions such an act would have. Because of that horrible child, Snap was going to be in pain for a long time, even with the best care and outlook.
When they arrived at the hospital, some zoners who were exiting the hospital immediately noticed them. Their eyes widened in horror at the sight of Snap strapped to the stretcher. Rudy and Penny pushed the stretcher towards the door as the zoners opened them up for the trio. As Rudy and Penny rushed past them with Snap, Rudy noticed that these zoners were doctors who must have just gotten off their shift. Rather than just leave, the doctors went back in with them.
Despite being officially off duty, the doctors took a hold of the stretcher, telling Rudy and Penny to sit in the waiting room. Unable to do anything else, the two kids watched, worry filling their hearts, as Snap was hauled into the emergency room down the hall. They could hear panicked doctors calling out orders, bringing forward instruments to try to keep Snap breathing in case he suffered cardiac arrest. With each call, the two kids got more and more worried and scared for their friend. And when he disappeared completely down the hallway and they could no longer see him, their hearts clenched tightly and they let out a few low cries. There was nothing they can do now but wait.
Rudy and Penny took a seat next to each other in the waiting room. There were a few other zoners in here as well. They mostly paid attention to just themselves, but a few of them looked at them with sympathetic expressions. Rudy didn't talk to them. Neither did Penny. They were both too distraught to really have conversations with friendly strangers. Right now, their mind was focused on Snap.
Of all the things to happen...this was one thing they thought they'd never have to deal with. They wouldn't have believed that, when they came into ChalkZone today, that something horrible was going to happen to Snap. How could they have known? They didn't know that Mint would have gone crazy and do something like that. They couldn't have predicted how that kid would have behaved today. It wasn't their fault this happened to Snap. It was Mint's. He should have known better. He really should have...
Rudy still felt some guilt about the whole thing. It wasn't because he couldn't break the shield in time. He and Penny were both hitting it as hard as they could and it wasn't giving in. There was no way they could have sped that up. Even drawing a hole didn't work. The shield was designed to be resistant to that apparently. Mint must have known about the magic chalk being able to create holes in some way, and thus prevented it from being done there.
No, what he felt guilty about was that...he and Penny had known that Mint snapped. They saw how he acted in their encounter yesterday. He had outright attacked Penny viciously. Even though she wasn't hurt badly, it was still the most brutal he had gotten towards another human being. Rudy should have seen that as a warning sign. He should have realized that Mint had totally lost it and should have prepared himself for the kid doing something much worse. He should have seen the signs. He should have been more prepared. If he had taken that into account, he could have done something to prevent something like this from happening.
In the end, though, he did know that it was Mint's fault as he was the one who made the choice to do that. He was upset that the kid tried to say he was sorry, but didn't make it sound sincere. It was more of a panicked sorry than anything. Mint appeared to be very shocked by the turn of events, and was just trying to worm his way out of it. Rudy felt that if Mint was really sorry, he would have tried to do something to fix the mistake he made. That's what he would do if he made a mistake. Rudy won't lie; he's made a lot of errors in the past, but at least he tries to fix them, not run away like Mint had.
Then he realized...Mint had run off because he chased him off. He didn't give Mint a chance to try to do something right. He had flat out told the kid to run away. Rudy let out a soft sigh. He should have expected the kid to run after he said that to him. But it wasn't like he caused any lasting damage. The kid never really responded to anything he is told unless it comes from Skrawl. The moment they have to return to school, Mint would act like nothing happened, just like he always had.
But right now, Snap was the more urgent matter. He'll deal with Mint later on. Right now, he had to make sure Snap was in good hands and that he was going to be fine. He wished he could be in the back with him. He wanted to be there for his friend while the doctors worked on him. He knew how gruesome it was going to be when they were repairing his back, but he felt like he could handle that if it meant being close to him.
He hoped that Snap was going to be okay. He just had to be okay... Please, let him be okay... The doctors were going to do what they could to help him, he knew. They weren't going to give up. They'll do whatever it took to save Snap. But doctors couldn't always fix everything, and Snap might... No. He shook his head. No, he couldn't think like that. He had to stay positive. Snap was going to be fine. He was going to pull through this. He..he was going to make it.
The wait in the room was unbearable. They didn't know how long they were there. They lost track of time. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours. Silence hung over the waiting room, except for the occasional cough or sneeze or the doctors calling one of the zoners in for whatever it is they came here for. Rudy sometimes turned to Penny to try to say something, but what could he say? He couldn't think of anything, his mind too lost in despair and worry for Snap to make a full fledged conversation with anyone, even his best friend.
Rudy wondered how long Snap was going to be in pain from this. A long time yes, but how long? Months or years it seems like. Having a broken back was not something that could be shrugged off. And if there was too much damage even after it heals up well enough for Snap to be out of the hospital, he could, at the very least, lose the use of his legs. That, alone, frightened Rudy. He didn't want his friend to be permanentl crippled from this. Losing the use of his legs would be devastating for Snap. But it was preferable from the other possible fate in the worse case scenario. He could die... Snap could make the most out of life even without his legs, but if he's dead... Rudy's eyes watered and he sniffled. He hoped it didn't come to that.
The silence was finally broken when Penny cleared her throat. Rudy looked over at her.
"He'll...he'll be fine, Rudy." Penny said in a reassuring tone. There was a pang of doubt in her voice that Rudy was able to catch. "The doctors will be able to fix his back."
Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly and bit his lip. "I...hope you're right." He looked up towards the ceiling. "I really hope that he'll be okay. But so much can go wrong and..."
Penny put a hand on his. He turned to look at her. It was admirable that, even though she was worried something bad could happen, she was doing her best to put on a brave face and remain hopeful. He was glad she was able to be here with him during this. He could use her support right about now, and he was glad he could still be here for her, even if he didn't know what to say to comfort her.
Penny gave a small, faint smile. "Rudy, we did what we could. We got Snap in the hospital. They will do what they can to help him. We shouldn't give into despair right now. I'm sure everything will be fine. You'll see."
Rudy smiled back at her. "Yeah, I know." He couldn't smile for long. He looked towards the ground. "I know..." He tried to sound as convinced as possible, but he could do little to hide the pang of doubt he was still feeling. He looked back at Penny, who looked at him with concern. "I...I just we had seen this coming..."
Penny's eyes widened at this. "What do you mean? There's no way we could have..."
Rudy turned to look at her. "Yes, we could have. We should have known something like this could happen after the way Mint attacked you the way he had the other day. We...we should have been prepared..."
Penny grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Listen, Rudy. None of us could have known he'd go this far. Don't beat yourself up over it." She looked at Rudy, her eyes filled with concern and understanding. "What matters now is that he's in the hospital and he's being cared for. There's nothing more you and I can do, except wait. Please Rudy, don't feel bad. You did what you could."
Rudy knew Penny was right. He still couldn't shake off the feelings of guilt, his mind telling him that he should have heeded the warning signs exhibited by Mint's increasingly hostile behavior. But he knew, even before Penny comforted him, that it was not a smart idea to blame himself over this. She was correct after all. Snap was in the hospital and he was getting help. His predicament was bound to improve. He was certain of it. He...he remained hopeful for it.
Snap was a tough zoner. He might not look like much, but the little guy could go through a lot and bounce back. If anyone could recover completely from having their back broken, he could. Snap would recover from this. Rudy just had to keep believing that. He kept telling himself that. It would be a long and difficult journey, but soon, before he would know it, Snap would be running around and playing and exploring just like he had in the past. It would be like nothing had happened.
He smiled at Penny, grateful for her support. He didn't say anything more, though. He was lost in his thoughts again. He looked back towards the ground and let out a soft sigh. So much had gone on these past few days. It was hard to believe that, just a short time ago, everything was normal and fine. Then this Mint kid showed up and so many things had gone wrong for them. And now...this happened. Snap was gravely injured. Rudy shuddered to think what other horrible fate would befall him and his friends, or ChalkZone. He didn't even know how many artifacts Skrawl has now...
He and Penny must have been in the waiting room for about two hours now. He realized that his parents might be wondering what he is. He'll just tell them him and Penny went for a walk when he got back. Right now, he and Penny had to be here for their friend. They couldn't leave without knowing what his condition was. And they couldn't leave without seeing him one more time and talking with him. Snap needed their comfort more than ever now. He was going to be in agony for a long time, poor guy...
Finally, after what seemed like many hours, they heard the doors open up and saw one of the doctors from before coming out to greet them. They got up from their seats and went up to meet with him. Rudy took a look at his nametag. Dr. Puma. The doctor's appearance sure fit that name. He looked very feline-like.
"How is he?" Rudy asked as he and Penny reached the doctor. "Is he going to be okay?"
Dr. Puma put his two hands together in a nervous gesture. Rudy felt his heart fill with dread. That was not a good sign...
"Your friend's back suffered a lot of damage. That blunt force trauma he recieved, that you described, shattered one of his vertebraes and a second one has a hairline fracture. He's lucky that the damage wasn't more severe than that, and it's a miracle that he didn't lose feeling or movement in his legs during all of this." Dr. Puma explained. He took in a deep breath, his tail twitching from side to side in a melancholic way. "He's also suffered some massive internal bleeding. He's lost quite a bit of blood internally. The blood was irritating his back injury even more, but thankfully it doesn't seem to have caused too much additional problems with that."
Rudy and Penny were quiet as they listened to the doctor tell them these things. They knew it was going to be bad. They knew the news they would recieve would be horrible. But they were still shocked and horrified. They could not have prepared themselves for what the doctor was telling them. And they knew it could be a lot worse. There might be more internal damage than just what they had known about.
Rudy tried his best to hold his tears back. He could feel them welling up in his eyes, making his vision blurry. He tried to hold them back, but it was no use. As he blinked, a flow of tears moved down his cheeks. He sniffled and wiped away his tears. He looked over at Penny. She was crying, too, rubbing her eyes to try to dry her tears. The shattered vertebrae, the broken one, the internal bleeding... Snap didn't deserve any of this. Why did fate have to be so cruel...?
Dr. Puma continued speaking to them. "We managed to repair his back the best we could. We were able to fix the hairline fracture and set the vertebrae back together the way it should be. It will heal on its own...in time..in time... But as for the shattered vertebrae..I'm afraid that one is a lot more serious."
The two kids' eyes widened in fear as he said that. Dread filled their hearts. They cried a little harder as they prepared for the worst possible news.
"It was far too broken up to be repaired effectively. We had no choice but to take it out completely and give your friend a strong, reinforced prosthetic vertebrae to replace it. Because of this, I'm afraid his recovery time may be a lot longer than what we originally anticipated. Your friend is going to have to stay here for months as he recovers and goes through therapy to make sure that new vertebrae of his can support him with no trouble. If it gives him problems, we will need to think of another solution. We do not want to resort to restricting him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life if we can help it."
"What...?" Penny asked, her voice filled with shock and horror. "A prosthetic vertebrae...?"
"Yes." Dr. Puma said. "It was our only option at the time. We had to repair his back and put in a stronger brace to support it. We couldn't leave a part of his spinal cord exposed and we were unable to repair that shattered vertebrae. So we had to put in a replacement."
Rudy couldn't believe it. He had no idea it was that bad. He knew that a broken back was serious. He had no idea Snap suffered through something like that... He heard the crack in his head, the same sound that was emitted when Mint struck his friend. A shockwave of cold ice went through his body as he realized that the crack was the shattering of one of his vertebraes. The complete destruction of one...
"Right now, your friend is stabilized and in the post-op recovery room. He needs his rest right now, but if you'd like to see him, I'll be glad to take you to his room." Dr. Puma offered. Using his hand to gesture, he asked, "Would you like to visit him?"
Rudy and Penny nodded their heads slowly.
"Yeah..please..." Rudy spoke softly.
Dr. Puma led them down the hallway. They moved towards the emergency room, and then veered off to the side, down another hallway. They soon came into a hallway that had a sign that read Post-Op on it. As they entered it, they soon came upon a hallway with multiple doors on each side, all marked as 'Do Not Disturb', likely as a warning to any non-worker who happened to go down the wrong hallway.
They came to a door marked as G123. Dr. Puma opened up the door and made a motion with his arm inward, gesturing for the two to walk into the room. Slowly, Rudy and Penny walked into the room. They couldn't stifle their gasps as they saw their friend on the bed, multiple IVs stuck in his arm and attached to a heart monitor.
"I'll close the door and give you three some privacy." Dr. Puma pulled the door shut behind them. His footsteps could be heard as he headed back down the hallway.
Rudy and Penny stood there, frozen, their eyes wide in horror. Seeing their friend like this...it was awful. Snap's face was contorted in pain. Even though it was a little hard to see from the angle they were at, they could still see that. Moans of pain emitted from their friend's mouth. Slowly, they walked over towards the bed, which had railings along it to make sure Snap didn't accidentally roll off of it and onto the floor. They stood on either side of the bed and looked down at their friend.
Rudy's eyes welled up with more tears as he watched his friend writhe on the bed. It wasn't as bad as it was back at the temple and he guessed they had given him morphine to try to kill some of the pain. But the fact that he was still struggling with agony shows just how much pain his friend really was in. It was horrible to watch and he wished he could do something more to help him.
Snap was wearing a hospital gown, his costume completely taken off. He looked a little strange not wearing that blue outfit. It reminded Rudy that Snap was a solid white zoner, not blue and white. Without that outfit, it almost felt like Snap lost a part of himself. Rudy sniffled hard. This pressed further into his mind the fact that Snap might not fully recover from this. He hoped it wasn't true. He hoped he was going to be okay. He just had to be...
Snap's eyes were shut tightly, his teeth clenched. He let out whimpers and whines as he tried to struggle on the bed. The back brace did keep his spine from bending, preventing further damage. But it was still hard to watch their friend try so hard to get away from the pain. Rudy wished they could have laid him on his side or stomach at least so he didn't have pressure placed on his back like that. But he understood why they did it; the IVs would have been more difficult to place otherwise. He and Penny watched, depression sweeping through their minds, as Snap moved his head from side to side, his sobbing wracking through his body.
Penny reached down and stroked the top of Snap's head. Her touch caused Snap to open up his eyes. He looked up at her. The two kids winced as they saw all the pain that shined out of those large white eyes. Snap looked up at Penny pleadingly. He reached up with his arm and weakly grabbed onto it.
"P-Please...m-make the pain go away... Please make it go away..." Snap called out to her in desperation. He shut his eyes, taking in a sharp breath. "I can't take it... Please make it stop..! Please..!"
Snap's heart monitor began to beat faster. Rudy and Penny looked at each other worriedly and down at Snap. They knew Snap couldn't get himself too stressed out. He needed to rest now. He needed to allow time for his body to recover. He just had major surgery done. He needed to rest himself. If he struggled too much now, even with the back brace on, he was going to hurt himself more.
"No, Snap..." Penny said. "Shh..." She grabbed onto his hand and gently squeezed it in her own. She leaned down, putting her forehead against his. "You must calm down. You need to rest, Snap. You need let your body recover. Please...calm down..."
Rudy put his hand gently on Snap's shoulder. The zoner looked up at Rudy, his eyes filled with so much pain, silently pleading for someone, anyone, to take away the pain. Rudy bit his lip and cried softly. Why did this have to happen to Snap..? "It will be okay Snap..." Rudy whispered gently. "Everything is going to be okay. You'll see... Just calm down..."
At first, it seemed like Snap was calming down. His breathing was slowing down, no longer hyperventilating like it was when they first came in. His heart monitor wasn't beeping as fast. Rudy and Penny smiled gently down at him, happy that, for now, he seemed to be relaxing.
But that relaxation did not last for very long. All of a sudden, Snap let out a pain-filled scream. Agony erupted through his body. He started to struggle even harder, letting out more screams of pain. His heart monitor went haywire, beeping constantly. He tried to shift his body in a desperate attempt to escape the pain. His head turned from side to side, tears staining his reddened cheeks. His body trembled from the pain.
"No...no...I don't want this..." Snap cried out in agony. "Make it go away! Make the pain go away! Please!"
Rudy and Penny watched in horror as Snap kept jerking around violently. His struggles increased as the seconds passed. His heart monitor continued to speed up. His cheeks glistened from his tears. He let out cries of agony, shattering through Rudy and Penny's hearts. The two of them started to cry for their friend. He was in so much pain...so much agony... And it would take a long time before he'd feel any strong amount of relief. Rudy couldn't believe his friend had to suffer through this. He had never done anything to deserve this. He...he just wanted Snap to be well again...
They knew they had to calm him down somehow. The two of them took action. Penny held onto Snap's arm, pressing it against herself and running her hand along it gently. Rudy leaned down and put the side of his face against Snap's, slinging his arm across his upper chest and shoulder. They hung onto him gently, using just enough strength to try to hold him still.
"Shhh..." Rudy whispered gently. "It'll be okay, Snap. You'll be fine. Just relax... Please don't hurt yourself.." He gently squeezed his shoulder. "We're here for you..."
"If you struggle too much, Snap, you'll end up hurting yourself more. You'll be here longer... We know you don't want that.." Penny said softly to him. She rubbed his hand and arm lightly. "I know it hurts...but it'll get better. You'll see.. It'll get better..."
Slowly, Snap started to calm down. They could hear the heart monitor stop racing like it was. They felt Snap's body relaxing, no longer struggling. His breathing slowed back down to normal. He still cried, but his sobs had grown softer and further apart. They could tell he was still in agony, but he appeared to be getting into a state of peace now. And that's exactly what he needed right now.
They leaned back a little so Snap could look at both of them. They felt tears well up in their eyes when Snap smiled at both of them. Despite his pain, he still managed to smile at them. He gently squeezed Penny's hand back and his other hand reached up and touched Rudy on the cheek, gently caressing it.
"I love you..." Snap said to both of them, his weak smile still on his face.
This simple phrase caused Rudy to choke a little with emotion, along with Penny. More tears flowing down their faces, they couldn't subside the sobs that wracked through their body. They sniffled as they smiled through their tears at their injured friend.
"We love you too..." Rudy whispered softly.
Snap's smile broadened a little at this, filling Rudy and Penny's hearts with emotion. Slowly, Snap closed his eyes and before they knew it, he was out cold. But this time, it wasn't because of the pain. It was because they were there for him, and their presence helped relax him enough so he could finally get some sleep. They continued to smile down at his sleeping form, tears dripping from their eyes. Snap's recovery had began.
sss
Soon, monday rolled around. Rudy and Penny managed to visit Snap again before they left. He was still in a lot of pain, but he was starting to recover a little. The doctors were mostly positive about his prognosis. They did warn them that it will take a long time to recover, touching upon what Dr. Puma told them. As painful as it was, at least he was recovering.
The situation with Skrawl didn't improve. The jellybean had completely disappeared. Penny didn't know where he could have gone, and neither did Rudy. Ever since that incident at the temple, they hadn't seen or heard anything regarding Skrawl. No attacks, no threats, no nothing. They also hadn't seen Mint since the temple incident. But, considering just what happened, Penny wasn't really surprised, and it was a bit of a relief that he wasn't in ChalkZone to cause more trouble. They had enough on their hands to deal with.
She was still angry at the kid for what he did. He had known striking Snap was wrong, and he still did it anyway. It was his fault that Snap was in great pain. Their friend was suffering, and it was all because of an immature kid who couldn't face reality. She wasn't sure she could forgive him, even if he worked up the courage to give an honest apology, and not the panicked-filled one he gave before.
But it wasn't just Mint she was upset with. There was Rudy, too. While she understood why he was angry at Mint, after all the kid did screw up big time, she felt it was way out of line for Rudy to say those things to him. She had never seen him that angry before, not even during the whole Michelle party incident where he thought he wasn't invited. She couldn't tell if Rudy really meant those things he said, or if he was so angry he was just saying whatever came to mind. Still, it didn't completely excuse his actions as, in that moment, he was no different than a bully.
She did feel bad about bringing it up when they had to get Snap to the hospital, though. That was the wrong time. Her mind was so filled with thoughts that she wasn't thinking clearly. None of them were. And thinking back on it, she realized how wrong it was to scold Rudy during that time. She would apologize for that. She felt like she had to.
When lunch came, she went over and found Rudy sitting at their usual table. She went over and sat down next to him, carrying a tray full of food. Rudy had already started eating. She looked over at him. He looked lost in thought. She had a feeling she knew what he was thinking about. Snap hadn't made much progress in recovery and he was still in so much pain ,even with the best painkillers injected into him. Rudy was picking at his food and barely eating. She had a hard time eating as well. Hard to have an appetite when their friend was still in critical condition.
There were still some kids that picked on Rudy for the fire alarm incident, but it had at least dropped a little since it all started. When Mint confessed the truth to Rudy's parents, they had spoken to Principal Stringent about it. She had a feeling the woman was not happy about having to make it up to Rudy after she was so determined to get him in trouble. Penny was a little angry that the principal still didn't get punishment for what she did, but she was glad that the principal was at least mature enough to try to fix some of the damage.
When Mr. Wilter was informed of the truth, he did apologize to Rudy for the way he treated him and had a talk with the students in the room, some of whom had been teasing Rudy pretty badly. And after that, the situation for Rudy improved a little. There was still a lot of repairs to be done, but it was at least better than it had been before.
That did help keep Penny hopeful that Mint could change and become a better person. Even if it was just one thing and it wasn't the worst thing he's done, confessing that he pulled the fire alarm was still a nice thing for him to do. It was something. Now if only he could come to that same realization for the other things he has done... She still wasn't sure if she could forgive him, but she still hoped that he would come to understand how wrong he was and try to fix things instead of running and hiding. She hated him for what he has done, but at the same time, she still hung onto the belief that he could change from this. It still angered her that it took hurting Snap horrifically to begin to open his eyes, though.
"Rudy..." Penny said. When Rudy looked over at her, she said, "I wanted to say something to you."
Rudy put down his fork and shifted himself so he was looking at Penny. "What is it?"
Penny took in a breath. "I'm sorry I scolded you about Mint at the temple. That was the wrong time to do that. I'm sorry."
Rudy blinked at her, and he smiled. "It's fine... We were all filled with muddled thoughts at the time. I understand." He took another bite of his food and swallowed. "I'm not angry at you." After a pause, he added, "It's Mint whom I'm angry with."
"I'm still upset with how you reacted to Mint." Penny said. Rudy paused what he was doing and just looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Look, I get it. You were angry, so was I. I am furious at Mint for what he did, just like you are. But, Rudy... can't you see how much of a bully you were acting like? You called him names. You wished harm upon him, told him he deserved it. That...doesn't sound like the Rudy I know.."
Rudy's expression softened up. He looked down at his plate and let out a soft sigh. "I know.. I was just so angry at him that I...lost it." He looked back at her. "But I still don't think I really caused that much harm. As harsh as I was, I still don't think it'll get through to that kid. We've scolded him before and it never seemed to bother him. He'd just go on acting like nothing happened."
"Yeah, but before, we never went as far as say 'I hope Skrawl does something horrible to you', Rudy." Penny said, her voice filled with disappointment for her friend. "I never thought I would hear you say something like that."
Rudy replied, "I don't think it got through to him. He was just trying to get away, running off instead of facing the truth. You'll see. When he comes into the cafeteria, he'll act like nothing happened. He'll go about pretending that he did nothing wrong. He's always done that, and he'll do that now."
Penny shook her head slowly. "You didn't mean what you said...did you...? About wanting Skrawl to do something horrible to him?"
Rudy froze at this. He looked at her in surprise, like he wasn't expecting her to ask such a question. He looked away, his mind deep in thought for a few seconds. His frown disappeared and he lowered his head a little, closing his eyes. "No, I didn't. It was a slip of the tongue and I admit it was a mistake, probably the worst one I made when I lashed out at him like that."
Penny nodded. "I understand. We say and do things we don't mean when we're upset. And you had every right to be angry. He did hurt Snap really bad..." There was some silence between the two friends. Penny sucked in a shaky breath. "I'm sure Snap will recover. It will just..take some time...some time..."
"Yeah. Snap is tough." Rudy said softly. "He'll recover."
Just then, a familiar person walked by their table. Rudy and Penny looked up to see Mint. He was moving pretty slowly. He wasn't looking at them. He was just staring off blankly, not paying attention to anything. The fact that he wasn't sparing them a glance was confusing. Usually, he would taunt them about something, or at least speak to them. This time, he wasn't. Penny was certain that Rudy's words affected the boy more than Rudy would want to believe.
Penny did not feel comfortable being this close, even if it wouldn't last too long, to the person who put her friend in the hospital. She glared in his direction, but said nothing. She watched him warily. Even though she understood he might not be a threat anymore, a part of her was still cautious that he still might try to do something.
Rudy's body was shaking in anger. But unlike at the temple, this time, he was managing to control himself. He didn't attempt to go after Mint and he didn't try to shout at him. He just glared at him as he continued to walk by their table painfully slowly.
When Mint was almost past their table, Rudy spoke. It wasn't loud or anything. Soft, but Penny could hear it clearly, and so could Mint.
"Are you proud of what you did...?" Rudy asked, his voice laced in controlled anger.
Instead of retorting back, like he usually would, like how Rudy expected him to, Mint gave them a quick glance, his eyes widening a little almost like he was startled to see them. He said nothing and quickened his pace, getting far from them as fast as he could. Rudy looked at this in confusion. This was not the reaction he had expected.
But Penny did. Rudy was unbelievably and uncharacteristically harsh to the kid at the temple. She was not surprised that, even days later, they still affected him in some way. She looked over at Rudy, again feeling disappointed in the way he had acted. In spite of how despicable Mint had behaved, she didn't want Rudy to act in a similar manner. She hoped he wouldn't let it happen again.
"What were you saying about him getting over it?" Penny asked, slowly turning her head to Rudy.
Rudy looked at her, still surprised by Mint's reaction. He then narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "He's just trying to put our guard down."
Penny shook her head slowly. "You know, it's not just Mint who needs to apologize..." She said in a soft voice before she started eating her lunch.
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 14, 2014 6:56:54 GMT -5
Chapter 27:
Mint stared blankly at his desk. He didn't really listen to what the teacher was saying. This was normal; he often didn't pay attention. But this time, it wasn't because he was annoyed or wanted to get going to drawing what he wanted. This time, it was for an entirely different reason.
Emotions had collided in all around him, making it hard for him to fully register what he was feeling. He felt numb, unsure, and it was almost like he couldn't move, yet he could. He had his gaze down, not having the will to lift up his head and look at the art teacher, who was giving a speech about some kind of coloring technique or whatever. He wasn't sure, and at the moment, he could care less. His mind and heart just weren't in it for art today. He just...didn't want to be here. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go home.
Yet he couldn't. He didn't want to call in sick. He didn't want his parents fretting even more over him. He had been sullen for several days now, and his parents were worried he was sick. They had even cancelled the trip ahead of time just in case it was something serious. Normally, he'd be a little upset, but this time, he just didn't care. He didn't really want to go on that trip anyway, not after what he had done. There was no way he could enjoy time away from here knowing full well that he had caused damage to another living person. No, after what he had done, he didn't deserve a nice vacation.
He stared at his desk some more. He had taken one of the art tools, one of those scraper things, and was just mindlessly scraping small sections away. He didn't care if it got him into trouble. He just kept scraping, creating the faint shape of a theropod dinosaur. He paid no attention to the other students who stared at him, some looking at the teacher nervously as they knew that the art teacher would blow up if he saw this. Mint could care less right now.
"Mr. Zandophen! What are you doing?!"
Mint could feel the shadow of the art teacher falling upon him. The other students cringed and waited to see what would happen. Mint didn't bother looking at the teacher. He stopped scraping and kept his gaze on the dinosaur he just etched into his desk.
The art teacher slammed his hand into the desk, causing Mint to jerk back. If the teacher wanted him to look up at him, he'd have to do better than that. Mint kept his gaze downward, not sparing the teacher a glance. Right now, it wouldn't really faze him what the teacher said to him. Especially not after what Rudy had said about him back at the temple.
"Mr. Zandophen!" The art teacher scolded. "I understand that you love to draw dinosaurs, and I know you're still upset with me for taking away your picture. But I will not tolerate you ruining school property by drawing...whatever that thing is!" He pointed at the dinosaur Mint had drawn into the desk's surface. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
If the teacher was expecting a response, he was not going to get any. Mint remained still in the seat, save for a few movements of his foot. His eyes remained focused on the desk, not even bothering to look at the teacher. The other students, who had expected a retort, just stared at Mint in confusion.
Mint had no intentions on replying to the teacher. What could he say to him anyway? He really had nothing he wanted to say about himself. He didn't know of anything to say to defend himself for what he did. He just..did it. He drew in the desk because he kind of wanted to. He had no real reasons behind it. Just like he had no real reasons to hit Snap. He just did it, despite knowing it was wrong, he still did it. He made no attempt to defend himself from the teacher. If he wanted to spew scolding words on him, then he can for all he cared. It wouldn't really bother him.
The lack of an attitude did have an effect on the teacher. Not one that Mint could have thought of. Instead of being smug about it like he expected, the teacher, from what he saw in the corner of his eyes, softened up his expression. Him not talking back isn't something the teacher had expected and now he was looking at him with some concern in his eyes. Mint never thought he'd get that look from this usually stern teacher.
"Is there something wrong, Mr. Zandophen?" The teacher asked. He moved his hand off of the boy's desk. "You seem upset about something."
Some of the other students nodded their heads in agreement. Mint paid them no mind. He gave a quick glance at his teacher, not caring if the teacher saw the little redness in his eyes from when he had shed a few tears earlier. The teacher took notice and opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. Mint looked away.
"Are you okay?" The art teacher asked.
Wanting the teacher to leave him alone, Mint nodded his head slowly up and down.
The art teacher didn't look entirely convinced, but he didn't press the matters any further. "Well okay then..." He walked back towards the front of the classroom, forgetting all about the drawing Mint did into his desk. "Now then, to refresh your memories, we'll..."
Mint paid no attention to what the teacher said after that. He blocked it all out. He didn't hear what any of the students said. He didn't see anything, feel anything. He just sat there, his mind clouded by the negative emotions that were overtaking him. It felt like walls were closing in all around, and he felt detached from reality. He was having a hard time sorting out his thoughts. It was almost like he had become a robot, preprogrammed to do simple tasks. He was doing the work the teacher gave them, but he could barely register it.
Going through the school day just felt so automatic. He could barely remember going down the hallways, using the bathrooms, the recess bells, or anything. It all flew past him and he didn't really take notice. He didn't have trouble navigating the halls. It was like his brain had switched on some autopilot thing, and he was just going through the preprogrammed pathways to get to where he needed to go and get done what needed to be done. Even lunch time went through autonomously. Even though he hated the food they had out today, he still consumed it, barely registering the awful taste.
Some students tried to speak to him, noticing his odd behavior. He didn't say a word. He didn't bother looking at them. Some of the students looked at him weird, others thought he was being rude, and still others kept trying to speak to him with no luck. He just ignored them and continued walking down the hallway or doing whatever it is he had to do. He didn't feel like talking to anyone. His mouth wouldn't move. His lips kept pressing up against each other. And he didn't have the willpower to move them.
The only time he did temporarily snap out of this drone-like state his mind imposed on him was whenever he saw Rudy or Penny. Especially Rudy... The mere sight of him caused his heart rate to speed up and fear to spread through his mind. Even though Rudy never did much more than glare at him, sometimes he wouldn't do anything at all, Mint still panicked and he would get away as quickly as he could, rushing down the hallways or through the cafeteria room until he was, what he considered, a safe distance away.
The worst reaction to Rudy he had was when he was on his way to the bus to get on. Rudy didn't seem upset, at least not visibly, and it looked like he had something to say. He was walking towards Mint. If he was saying anything, Mint didn't hear it. He immediately ran from Rudy, squeezing his way onto the bus. Since it didn't go where Rudy lived, the ten year old couldn't follow him in.
Mint wasn't sure what Rudy had wanted to say to him, but he had no intentions on finding out. He was probably just going to tell him how bad off Snap was in an attempt to make him feel worse than he already was. Why couldn't Rudy just leave him alone? Didn't he feel bad enough as it was? Wasn't it enough that he pretty much tore him up mentally as punishment for what he did to his friend? Mint already felt horrible. He didn't need Rudy to make him feel worse.
Even if that wasn't what Rudy was trying to do, Mint still didn't want to see him, or Penny for that matter. And it wasn't because of anger necessarily. He was upset with what Rudy said, but that paled in comparison to what he himself had done. If Mint was angry with anyone, it was himself. He was the one who almost killed someone and for some pretty stupid, selfish reasons at that. And seeing Rudy and Penny only intensified the anger he felt for himself. He couldn't believe he was so...so stupid... Why did he have to make such a dumb move?
He sat down in one of the back seats of the bus, holding his backpack at his side. He paid no attention to the students that stared at him, confused by his change of attitude lately. He was usually more talkative and social, but, seemingly overnight, he had been a bit of a recluse, avoiding other people and refusing to speak, even when spoken to. Some students tried again to get him to talk. He ignored them and just stared out the window.
As the bus's engine was turned on and they began to move, Mint's mind swirled with thoughts of what happened. He didn't register much of the movements, his mind focused on the events of the weekend. Snap's screaming, the temple, Rudy's yelling, all that invaded his mind and wouldn't leave. Horrible guilt started to consume him, eating away at his stomach. He wanted that feeling to go away. He didn't want to feel this way. He hated feeling like this. But at the moment, he just wasn't sure what he could do make the emotion vanish. This had been going on for almost two weeks now.
He decided, when he got back home, to talk to his dad more about it. His mom was away somewhere and wouldn't be home when he got back. But today, his dad got off a little earlier. He'll ask him. He might be able to help him sort out his feelings and help him decide what he should do next. His dad was an understanding guy usually. He...he can help him...
He hoped he could anyway.
sss
"I can't believe he just ran away from me like that." Rudy growled softly. "But I shouldn't be surprised. He's such a coward."
"Well after what you said to him, are you really that surprised?" Penny asked, her eyes narrowed slightly.
Rudy didn't answer her. He sat down on his window sill, looking out towards the window. It had been an hectic two weeks. He hardly noticed it passed by that quickly. Everything seemed to get muddled together. He hardly remembered what happened in school for the most part. His thoughts were mostly on Snap and wanting to visit him whenever possible.
Snap had been doing better lately. He was still in a lot of pain, but a good portion of it was able to be managed using strong painkillers. Snap was able to sit up now and talk to them. He didn't need anymore surgery done on him, which was good news. Now was the long process of recovery. So far, his prosthetic vertebrae was able to hold him up, at least when he saw up to converse with them. But he hadn't tried walking; the doctors didn't want him on his feet for another month or so. Snap was bed ridden, and until he was able to walk on his own, he had to use a catheter to go to the bathroom. Not the most pleasant thing, but it was preferable to having an accident on the bed.
The doctors weren't sure exactly when he'd be able to use his legs and walk again and they wanted him to recover more before they could give him crutches or at the very least, a wheelchair. Snap was not too keen on the idea of a wheelchair, but it was at least an upgrade from being bedridden. At least he'd be able to move around.
It was nice being able to carry out conversations with his friend again without it being too painful for him. Rudy and Penny visited him every day, spending most of their time in ChalkZone being with him. Snap had other visitors as well. Rapsheeba and Blocky were two of the many zoners that paid him a visit and wished him well. Some of them even got him 'get well soon' gifts and offered to keep him company for a while when Rudy and Penny weren't available.
Despite his agony, Snap was feeling happy lately. Rudy and Penny were relieved that their friend was able to smile and life in spite of the horrible pain he was still in. This positive attitude was doing wonders for his recovery. The doctors mention that, as long as Snap remains uplifted, his recovery will be a little faster. It was no miracle worker, but a positive attitude certainly helped a little.
Rudy still couldn't believe it had been two weeks since Snap was attacked. That was quite some time to be in the hospital, and he knew it was going to last much longer than that. It felt weird coming into ChalkZone and not hearing his friend's voice call out to him and Penny. It was strange not having Snap come up and greet them. Sometimes, he dreamed that this all never happened and he got it confused with reality, and then he would be crushed when he finds out Snap really was injured.
Rudy and Penny were still happy with how things were progressing. They were glad that Snap had improved since they first brought him to the hospital. Though he was still a long way from being fully recovered, the fact that Snap improved the way he had was great news. He was being well cared for at the hospital and, even though he was stuck in a bed, he did have ways to entertain himself. Sometimes he would get a visitor, like an off duty doctor, and they would play a quick game with him, or they would turn on the TV for him so he had something to watch.
As Snap's condition got better, Rudy's anger and rage that had invaded his mind and stuck with him since the temple incident began to fade. He was still angry at Mint, but now he could think more clearly. He was still upset every time he saw Mint, but knowing that the kid hadn't gone back into ChalkZone since the incident did help him be a little more relaxed around him. And from the way the kid reacted, he had a feeling that he wouldn't try going near Snap anytime soon.
He had noticed a change in Mint's behavior during school. The boy never stayed near them for long. If he had seen them, he would move faster to get out of their sights. Rudy had dismissed it as him being cowardly. He didn't want to face the truth of what he had done, so he was trying to hide from it. This angered Rudy. He should have expected this from Mint. He had always been such a coward in the past, choosing to let someone else, such as his dinosaurs, handle his problems instead of facing them himself. So it came as no surprise to him when he kept trying to get away from them.
Penny had suggested the other day, before Penny had to leave to go home, that Rudy attempt to talk to Mint. Although Rudy wasn't in the mood to talk, he did decide that it was best he tried to speak to Mint. He had been overly harsh with him and a quick apology wouldn't hurt.
But when he tried to speak to Mint before he got on the bus, the kid just ran away, boiling Rudy's blood. He had taken the time and effort to try to talk to him, and instead he chose to run away. Then again, should he be surprised? After all, Mint had shown himself to be very cowardly in ChalkZone. Nothing but a bully... Bullies wouldn't listen. Bullies just did whatever they wanted to. Mint was no exception. If he was going to keep running away from him, then fine. He can be like that for all he cared. After what he did to Snap, he wasn't sure he could be in the same room with the kid for very long anyway.
Rudy turned his gaze away from the window. He looked over at Penny. "Do you honestly think my words affected him that much? Why now, out of all times, would he suddenly pay attention to what I say? He never did that before."
"Because you and I weren't that harsh on him before." Penny walked over and sat down in front of Rudy. "I don't think you fully understand how damaging your words were, Rudy. If you opened up your eyes and re-evaluate what you did more, you'd see that Mint has become terrified of us...or rather, you."
Rudy shook his head. "No, he's not. He is just too cowardly to face his mistakes." He looked back out the window, watching the kids playing outside. "He's just trying to make us feel sorry for him so we'll lower our guard. And then he'll try to hurt Snap again."
"I don't think he'd try something again, Rudy." Penny said to him. "He has seen your temper, and from the way he reacted, I don't think he'd want to trigger it again. And if this is all jus to lower our guard..." Rudy looked back at her. "Well, two weeks is a long time to put on a show, and from what I heard, it's not just us he's acting weird around."
"Oh?" Rudy mumbled under his breath. "What, is he skipping school or something?"
Penny shook her head. "No, but I heard some students say how he hasn't spoken once for the past two weeks, at least not at school. He doesn't respond to anything, not even when a teacher scolded him. The only time he seems to come to life is when he sees you...then students mention how he seems to almost freak out. You and I have seen this for ourselves." Rudy's eyes widened just a tiny bit as Penny told him this. "Rudy, I do think your words hurt him more deeply then you are willing to accept. As much as I hate him for being such a jerk, I don't want you acting the same way. If you think Mint isn't the type of person to apologize, then you shouldn't be like that yourself. What makes you a better person than Mint is that you recognize your mistakes and you try to fix them. And you don't deliberately go around hurting people's feelings."
Rudy stared at her quietly. He tried to think of something to say, but he couldn't. He knew, as Penny spoke to him, that she was right. He wasn't the type of guy to just sit around and do nothing if he knew he had hurt someone else. Even if that someone is a person he hated, he just didn't feel comfortable with not trying to fix things a little.
"I know Mint is a horrible person. I know he's done a lot of nasty things. I know you hate him. So do I. But if you want to prove that you're a bigger person than him, Rudy," Penny said. "Then you should apologize to him. It doesn't have to be a long winded apology. Just tell him you didn't mean what you said."
Rudy stared at her for a few seconds. Then he narrowed his eyes slightly. "I doubt he'd give me the chance anyway. He'll just run like he always does."
"Do you feel comfortable with someone being terrified of you?" Penny asked.
Rudy looked away. "He's not scared of me. He's just scared of facing the consequences..." Penny didn't say anything. Rudy took in a deep breath. "This is just phase. I'll prove it to you. The next time I get a chance, I'll talk to him and I'll show that I'm right. The kid's facade will crumble down. Even if some of it is an honest reaction, most of it is just a show to make us feel sorry for him."
Penny shook her head. "Are you trying to fool yourself, Rudy? Because that's what Mint had been doing."
Rudy glared at her. "I'm nothing like Mint..."
"Then prove it." Penny said. "Apologize to him when you get the chance. I know you better than this, Rudy. I know, in the end, you'll make the right decision."
Rudy reflected on what Penny said. He still didn't want to talk to Mint. He still was too angry with him. Even though he tried to speak to him earlier, he was worried that his temper would surface again. After all, Mint had done something really horrible to his friend. And Penny did understand his anger; she was just as furious as him. The only difference is that Penny was more emotionally mature than him, and she knew that yelling at Mint the way he had wasn't the best idea in the world.
He understood that it was a mistake. It didn't seem like something he would do under normal circumstances. But seeing his friend injured like that, he just..snapped. He allowed anger to overtake him and he had yelled viciously at Mint. He didn't even know what words he had meant and what words were said out of anger anymore. He thought he knew, but now he wasn't so sure.
He knew Penny was right. At some point, he should be the bigger person and apologize. It didn't seem like Mint was going to anytime soon. He should show that he is better than that kid by saying he was sorry. He didn't have to elaborate on it either. A simple 'I'm sorry' would be enough. Just a way of letting the kid know that he hadn't meant to blow up in his face like that. It didn't mean he had to try to befriend Mint or not. After what he did to Snap, Rudy wasn't sure he could ever want to be friends with him. But he should still do the right thing and apologize, even if Mint never apologized himself.
He didn't want to think on the matter anymore. Right now, they had plans to go visit Snap. He really wanted to see how he progressed today. Even if it was just a minor improvement, any amount of Snap getting better made Rudy happy. He didn't want to think about Mint right now. He wanted to go visit Snap, and so did Penny.
"Come on, let's go visit Snap." Rudy said as he got up and walked over towards the chalkboard. "My parents should be gone right about now." They had waited until his parents left to give them more suitable time to be with Snap without them noticing.
Penny nodded her head. She got up from the window ledge and walked over to the chalkboard. "Maybe this time, we can play some chinese chalkers. I'm sure he would love that."
Rudy smiled as he drew the portal. "Yeah. That would put a smile on his face for certain."
The two of them disappeared into ChalkZone.
sss
Mint sat down on his bed. His chalkboard was pushed to the side, leaning against the wall. He hadn't bothered using it since the incident at the temple. He had his hands clasped together, his head facing downward. He turned up once in a while to look at his father. He would then look back down.
It wasn't that his father was angry with him. It was just that, Mint was still angry at himself for what he did. He still felt horrible. He couldn't brush off the guilt he was feeling. After what he did, that was no surprise. He had gone too far this time. He had crossed the line, and he didn't think there was any way to go back. Even if he tried to fix it..it wouldn't be enough. Nothing he could say or do would change the fact that he had... almost killed someone.
He had asked his dad to come into his bedroom so he can talk to him. He hadn't said anything yet; his dad just arrived. It was going to be hard to speak to him about this. He wasn't going to tell his dad he broke someone's back. He might react a little too poorly to that. But his dad did have to deal with a lot of people every day, some not so pleasant, and he might have some pointers on what he should do. Maybe his dad could help ease his guilt a little. He didn't know how long his mind and body could take it.
"Okay, son. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" His dad asked in a gentle voice. Mint fidgeted a little. His dad held out his hand in a gesture. "Come on, you can tell me anything."
"Well..." Mint started to say. He bit his lip, looking around the room nervously. He tried to think of how to say it. "What would you do if you did something...horrible..?"
His dad's eyes widened a little at that. "Like what?"
"Like...hurt someone...really bad." Mint said softly. He paused for a moment, sucking on his lip a little. "What would you do?"
His dad paused for a moment. Mint watched as his dad narrowed his eyes a little, not from anger, but from thinking. His dad soon spoke, "I would try to fix it."
Mint flinched. "What if you can't fix it? What if they won't let you?"
"You should never underestimate the power of an apology, son." His dad said, a smile on his face. "It is hard to face problems that you created, but if you keep hiding from them, the problems will never go away. They will remain with you, haunt you for years. So, you should try to fix them as soon as possible. Apologize, say you're sorry." He moved towards Mint and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whoever you hurt...they might not be happy to see you. They might accept your apology, but you should still say you're sorry regardless. Try to mend what you have broken."
Mint listened to his father's words and took them into consideration. "I'm...still scared."
His dad smiled gently down at him. "I know you are. Everyone is afraid sometimes. And when we make a mistake, especially a big one, we find it hard to deal with it. But self pity will get you nowhere. Nothing will be solved if you do nothing but think about what you did. It takes a strong person to admit when they are wrong. It takes a stronger person to try to make things right."
Mint let this all sink in. He didn't respond at first. He looked down towards the ground. His dad's words flooded his mind. Slowly, he gave a small smile. Not much, but it was still there. "Thanks, dad. I..appreciate it."
"Anytime." His dad gave him a hug. "Is there anything else?"
"No..no I'm good." Mint said."
"Okay then." His dad straightened himself up. "I'll be in the living room if you want to talk more." With that, his dad closed the door behind him, leaving Mint alone in his room.
Mint thought about what his dad had told him. Despite what his dad said, he still felt some doubt. After all, Rudy and Penny hated him. They won't let him anywhere near them or Snap. They wouldn't listen to him, even if he did try to apologize. They would just threw it back in his face, just like Rudy had back at the temple.
Then again...was that a real apology? No..he had just panicked. He was scared and trying to say whatever he could to calm Rudy down. His temper had been frightening, and it was permanently etched into his head. His hurtful words buzzed around his mind like angry bees. They stung him, and had affected his behavior lately. He did feel like a horrible person and he did deserve to have those things said to him. He wasn't exactly a nice guy to them lately, so he deserved a bit of karma.
He had been depressed for the past two weeks. He wouldn't stop kicking himself mentally for what he did. He had nightmares of what happened, where he had either killed Snap or done much worse. Snap's scream, that crack, they both echoed in his nightmares, and he sometimes would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He had felt so horrible that today was the first time he actually mentioned to dad some clues of what had happened. Before today, he never told anyone or spoke to anyone about what had happened.
He was a horrible person. A stupid kid who had bitten off more than he could chew. He was a coward, choosing to hide from the problems he made instead fixing them. He just...didn't know how to deal with it. He never made a terrible mistake like this before. He had never been yelled at like that before. And ever since then, he was wallowing in guilt, beating himself up constantly over what happened.
And it didn't help that he was terrified of Rudy now. Even if Rudy just wanted to speak to him, he just..couldn't face him. Or Penny. They had warned him that he was doing terrible things. They tried to get him to open his eyes, realize it was not a game, and he ignored them. He did not listen to them. And because of that, because of his stubborn insistance that it was just a video game, he had almost killed someone... Snap... even if he could get to him, would Snap even listen? Out of all of them, Snap had the biggest reason to hate him, to not listen...
The terrible things Mint did weighed down all around him. It came into focus, over the past several days, just how big of a monster he had been. He felt terrible guilt wrack through his body as he recalled all the bad things he did in ChalkZone. The zoners he terrorized or tried to injure, zoners he had hurt, homes he had destroyed... It was all too much for him to bear. He couldn't believe just how much of a monster he had been, especially to zoners who were friendly with him moments before he started to hurt them. And all in the name of what he thought was a game...
And it wasn't just ChalkZone he had been horrible to. He treated Rudy and Penny very poorly, and there was no excuse for that. He said bad things to them, he hurt them, he taunted them, he was a downright jerk to them. And there was no reason he had to be like that. Even if it was just a game, there was no excuse for the deplorable way he had acted towards them.
Would they even want to listen to him? Would they give him a chance to speak? He wouldn't blame them if they did. He blamed himself for what has happened. No longer did he try to push the blame on others. No, it was entirely his fault this happened. He should have listened. He should have heeded their warnings. Instead, he chose to ignore them, and he was paying the price for that.
He had screwed up big time. He broke Snap's back. Because of him, the zoner was going to be in pain for a long time. And what really hurt was that...he had known better. He knew that hitting his back was a terrible idea, and he still did it anyway. He had let anger take over. He had ignored Snap's desperate pleas. His eyes watered a little as Snap's fearful expression filled his mind. He had deliberately harmed another living being, and all just because he wanted to 'teach him a lesson'... What kind of lesson could he possibly have needed to teach Snap...?
It had been hard dealing with the guilt the past two weeks. It ate away at him, making it hard for him to eat, sleep, do much of anything. He often, when alone, started to cry, mourning over what a terrible person he had been. Yeah he wasn't always the nicest guy, especially towards the art teacher. But he...he never wanted to hurt anyone this badly. He never thought things would go this far...
He let his dad's words sink into his mind again. He thought about them carefully, comprehending what his dad was telling him. And as his dad's words settled in, one phrase stuck to his mind. 'It takes a strong person to admit when he's wrong. It takes a strong person to do something about that'... This was not the only time his dad said something like that. He had repeated it over the years, but it never made sense to him. But now, with the recent events, as he thought more about it, he started to understand what his dad was talking about. It was really starting to sink in.
He turned his head towards the chalkboard. A realization dawned on him. This...this was not about him. His depression, feeling guilty, it was never about how he felt, at least not entirely. It was about Rudy, Penny, and Snap. He wasn't the one who was laying in a hospital bed in great pain. He wasn't the one who had a damaged foot. He wasn't the one with a bruised jaw. It was them... The three who he had been a jerk to in the recent past.
His dad was right. He couldn't sit here and do nothing. His guilt would eat away at him if he did. And nothing would get better. He had felt guilty for a while, but he never did anything about it. He would sit around and mope about it, but he never tried to do anything, well except confess the truth about the fire alarm. But that wasn't the only wrong he committed. He had done other things as well. And he hadn't tried fix them. He hadn't tried to make things better.
Well that was going to change here and now. They deserved an apology. As afraid as he was to face them, he had to do it. Even if they rejected him and chased him off, he still had to do it. They all deserved an apology from him, especially Snap. Out of all of them, he treated Snap the worst, like he was lower than dirt, all because he thought he wasn't real. His heart stung as he recalled the awful things he said to him, the terrible things he did, such as gagging and cuffing him and leaving him by his bed all night.
He got up from his bed and got out his magic chalk. He stared intently at the chalkboard. He narrowed his eyes in determation. No more running. No more hiding. No more feeling sorry for himself. No more inaction. It was time face his mistakes. It was time to confront the consequences of his ignorance and selfishness. It was time to set things right.
It was time to apologize.
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 14, 2014 6:57:13 GMT -5
Chapter 28:
Mint wasn't surprised by the reaction he got when he walked through ChalkZone City. Zoners panicking and running away. Others yelling at him, demanding him to leave or asking him why he had come back. Some zoners commented that they thought they were safe from the Enemy Creator, lamenting that something terrible was going to happen since Mint came back. None of the zoners had tried to harm him, which kind of surprised Mint considering he did a lot of bad stuff and he deserved some karma. He was glad that they didn't attack as it made the trip to the hospital faster and easier.
That is, if he could even find the hospital. The way this place was structured was different than a regular city. Things he was familiar with were altered or absent in this world. Still, he pressed on. There would have be a sign for the hospital somewhere, right? Hospitals were very important, so surely they should have some kind of pathway leading them, maybe a sign pointing in the direction or something.
As he walked down the street of ChalkZone City, he took that time to look around. He could see the damage that he had caused just days earlier. At that time, he would have thought nothing of what he did. But now, with the epiphany he had, the sight of this had a different effect on him. It made him feel horrible as he now realized that the destruction actually meant. He wondered how many zoners were hurt or even killed because of his wrecklessness and foolishness. All around, he could see the mangled buildings and debris still laying around. Not as bad as it used to be thanks to some repairs, but the damage that he could see stung him, a painful reminder of what his ignorance had done.
He would get around to try to do something about it soon. Drawing buildings wasn't his strong point, but perhaps he could put his dinosaurs to good use, genuine good use. They could help in the reconstruction, and perhaps he could help with some of the more lightweight stuff. He wasn't sure what he could do, but there had to be something, right? A little bit goes a long way, as the saying goes.
He took a turn down one of the roads that he thought might be the way to the hospital. He made the turn too quickly and, before he realized it, slammed into a zoner. He moved back, shaking his head from the surprise. He looked down on the ground to find a green, flat zoner that looked like a rectangle with a face. Standing behind him was another zoner, a more human-like one and clearly female. The female zoner was bending her knees and helping the rectangle zoner up to his feet. The two zoners looked at him and they immediately recognized him. Their eyes widened in horror.
"The Enemy Creator has returned!" The green zoner said, his eyes widened. He took a step back, taking a defensive stance. "What do you plan on doing this time, Enemy Creator?" The green zoner narrowed his eyes.
The human-like zoner glared at him. "Haven't you caused enough trouble? Why have you come back?"
Mint winced at this and took a step back. He wasn't surprised by their reactions. It was pretty much how many zoners around these parts reacted to him. Angry or surprised, taking defensive stances and what not. After what he had done, he couldn't blame them for reacting so poorly to his presence. He did pretty much deserve this kind of reaction. He had given these zoners no reason to believe he was anything but a monster. That was his fault.
Mint waved his hand in front of him in an attempt to show the zoners he wasn't going to cause harm this time. "I'm not here to attack anything, or anyone."
The human-like zoner raised an eyebrow. "And how can we believe you?"
"Yeah." The green zoner said, narrowing his eyes some more. "Everytime you've shown up, you've left destruction in your wake!"
"Yeah, I know..." Mint lowered his head a little. "I'm sorry about that. It was wrong of me to do. I...was too stupid to realize I was hurting real people." The two zoners looked at him with perplexed expressions. Mint guessed that they weren't expecting any kind of apology from him. "I promise I won't hurt anyone again, and I promise I will try to repair the damage I caused."
The two zoners looked at each other. They still looked confused. It looked like they weren't sure how to take this. They still looked uncertain, and as they glanced back, he could see how they looked at him with suspicion in their eyes. Again, he wasn't surprised, and he wouldn't blame them if they didn't believe him.
He wondered if these two zoners were caught in any of the destruction he caused the past few days. They didn't seem like they were injured, but that didn't mean much. They could have been mildly hurt, like Snap was when he caused part of ChalkZone City to explode. The defensive stance that the green zoner took did make him think that it was possible he was hurt in some way, even if he didn't look it. A mild burn or small scrape wouldn't really be easily noticeable and would have gone away by now.
"You're...sorry..?" The human-like zoner asked, disbelief trailing along her voice. She folded her arms. "I'm not sure if I believe it."
Mint said, "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. If I were in your shoes, I probably wouldn't trust me either."
The green zoner took a step forward. He looked a little angry. Mint looked at him and wondered what he was going to say. Scold him for what he's done, most likely. He got a lot of that as he went around ChalkZone City.
"Aren't you the one who put Snap in the hospital?" The green zoner asked.
At this, the human-like zoner's eyes widened. "Yeah, that's right..." Her eyes narrowed into slits. "You're the reason Snap has been in so much pain lately..."
The green zoner nodded. "You broke our friend's back."
Mint felt a stinging sensation in his heart. He bit his lip and took a step back. But he did not run. He realized it was foolish of him to run before when Rudy tried to reach him. Granted, it was probably for the best, at least at that time, because he was still so far in his stupid self pitying that he wouldn't have been able talk appropriately to Rudy. He might have said something else stupid or insensitive. Still, he acknowledged it wasn't the best move, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake here.
Even though he still had that instinct to run, even though he wanted to get away from these angry zoners, he kept his feet planted on the ground. He had already told himself he was going to confront his mistakes, and that is exactly what he was going to do. He hated the coward he had become and that was going to change.
"I came here to see Snap." Mint said.
"Why?" The female zoner asked, folding her arms. "Are you going to try to hurt him again? Maybe take him to your leader, Skrawl?"
Mint shook his head. "I'm no longer associated with that hideous growling jellybean." The mention of Skrawl's name filled Mint with anger. Skrawl had been using him as a tool all this time, using him to cause destruction to ChalkZone. The time would come when he had to confront him. "I don't want to hurt Snap. I feel awful about what I did to him. I treated him like crap, and I want to apologize to him. Can you two take me to him? I promise, I will not harm him."
The two zoners were still uncertain of him. They didn't respond to him. They just looked at him with mild frowns.
"I know it's hard for you to believe me, but I'm telling the truth. I will not hurt your friend. If it makes you uncomfortable, me talking to your friend, then stay in the room with me." Mint suggested. Maybe these two would feel better being in the room with him when he apologized. "Please...let me see him. Let me try to make up for what I've done."
The two zoners continued to glare at him for a few seconds. They clearly didn't believe him and they still looked defensive, like he was going to attack them at any moment. Then, slowly, their expressions softened up a little. They still had glares on their faces, a way of telling Mint they still didn't trust him that much. But they did seem like they were willing to give him something of a chance.
"Okay..." The female zoner said. "Follow us."
sss
Mint followed the two zoners, whom he came to learn were Rapsheeba and Blocky, down the road and towards the hospital. It turned out he wasn't that far from the hospital, but the path these two took, he wouldn't have been able to guess it on his own. Before he knew it, he could see the hospital straight ahead. Tall, white, with some red markings, yeah, even before seeing the sign, he could defitely tell this was a hospital.
As he was approaching slowly, he could see there was an ambulance there. He saw the paramedics loading an injured zoner, looking like a stick figure, out of the vehicle. The zoner looked badly wounded. He guessed he was one of the zoners that hadn't been found for a while, buried under the rubble. Or maybe he had been found before, and was recovering but then something happened and he had to be rushed back. Whatever the reason, Mint couldn't help but feel bad. More likely than not, this was one of his victims. He watched as the stick figure zoner was rushed through the hospital doors.
He was getting closer to the doors himself. He started to slow down, unsure if he could go through with it or not. He knows that, once he walks in, any zoner that saw him would freak out, maybe run away. There would be panic, he was certain of that. And he didn't want that. He didn't want to make them feel afraid.
But what else could he do? He couldn't just go through the window. That would be suspicious and would give them more of a reason not to trust him. Best he just go through the front entrance rather than try to take a back way in. Perhaps Rapsheeba and Blocky would vouch for him, or at least keep the zoners from freaking out. He wasn't sure how well known any of these zoners were in their world, but they seem like the type of zoners others would listen to.
In through the doors the three went. Mint forced himself to keep up the pace. It was tough, at times, to get his leg muscles to move. Still, he managed to keep walking, and he and the two zoners were going through the waiting room.
Mint looked around. There were a good number of zoners here. Some humanoid, some stick figure, some something else entirely. Every single one of them were looking at him. A number of them looked at him in fear or hatred. A tiny bit were curious and apprehensive. But like in ChalkZone City, none of them tried to make a move on him. And he thinks he knows why, after thinking about it some. It was because he was a creator; he could make his drawings a reality. That kind of power had a lot of implications, as he learned during his time here. It also helped that Rapsheeba and Blocky were with him. Some of the injured zoners looked confused seeing them with him.
"It's okay." Rapsheeba said as they walked through the waiting room. "It's under control."
At this, the zoners appeared to relax a little more. That didn't stop them from glaring at him or looking at him suspiciously. The feeling of eyes boring into his back was not a comfortable feeling. Still, he pressed on and followed the two zoners towards the front desk.
The zoner behind the desk was shocked to see him. Her eyes widened and the papers she was holding nearly fell out of her hands. She reached over and grabbed the mic. Mint's mind filled with dread. From her expression, the way she panicked, she was going to call security. Thankfully, she didn't get that far as Rapsheeba reached out with her hand, getting the receptionist's attention.
"That's not necessary. He just wants to see Snap." Rapsheeba said.
The receptionist looked skeptical. "How do I know he won't do something?" She cast a suspicious glare at Mint.
Blocky replied, "We're suspicious too. That's why we're keeping an eye on him."
Rapsheeba nodded. "If he tries something, we'll sound the alarm. So please, let us in to see Snap."
The receptionist didn't look very comforted by these words. Her eyes never left Mint. She scanned him up and down, like she was trying to locate a hidden weapon or his magic chalk. Mint bit his lip and took a small step back. He lowered his head a little, trying to make himself look as nonthreatening as possible. Whether or not that worked, he wasn't sure, but the receptionist did appear to give in to the two zoners' words.
"All right then... I'll give him twenty minutes and then he must leave." The receptionist said with her eyes still narrowed. She pushed a button and then there was a click sound on the door nearby. "Get going."
Twenty minutes? That wasn't a long time. He wondered if she meant twenty minutes total in the hospital, or twenty minutes total in Snap's room. He didn't waste any time. He followed Rapsheeba and Blocky as they headed down the hallway. They moved past many rooms, each one with a letter and number label on it. Nearly all of them were used, and he was certain it was largely because of his ignorant actions.
As they headed down the hallway, he thought about what he might say to Snap. There was a lot he wanted to say, but putting it to words was going to be difficult. He was certain the zoner was going to be frightened of him when he sees he's coming into the room. He believed..no he knew, that Snap was not going to be comfortable with him being there. After all, he was the reason he was in so much pain, why he was hospitalized. Mint knew that Snap was going to be stuck here for a very long time, and it was all because of his stupidity.
He wanted to do something to help him feel better. He couldn't very well take back the attack. It was too late for that. He screwed up big time, and there was nothing he could do to change it. And if he did change it...wouldn't that do more harm than good? It was the breaking of Snap's back that forced him to face reality, forced him to stop decieving and lying to himself about this being a video game. If he changed it, how long would it have taken for him to see the truth? How many more zoners could he have hurt?
Despite not being able to take away the pain or make the wound less severe, he could do something else to help him. Snap seemed like the kind of zoner who liked games. Real games, that is, not a fake one. Not the video game lie he had been told ever since he first came into ChalkZone. Maybe a game of Uno. That was a simple game that didn't really require a lot of motion around. He could see Snap being able to play that even if he were still laying on his back.
Yes, playing a game might help move things along a little. He settled on Uno, unless Snap wanted to play something else. It would be a good way to get to know him a little more. He had acted lilke he had known all about Snap in the past, but he had just been lying to himself, just like he had with Rudy and Penny. He misjudged them all, and now he wanted to take the time to get to know them better. Perhaps a game of Uno could help relax Snap a little and take his mind off the pain. There were other games he could consider as well, such as checkers, although that might be a little more difficult to set up considering the circumstances.
He wondered how well Snap was doing. It had only been two weeks. Two long weeks he didn't want to think about, since he spent most of it more or less crying in a corner in a fetal position. Okay it wasn't quite like that, but that's what it felt like he was doing. It wasn't that he was thinking only of himself; he had often thought about Snap and the others. But he hadn't acted and he had focused too much on self pitying and not enough on thinking about them. His self pity had overshadowed that and he didn't take action as a result. He hoped that, in some small way, he did recover. Two weeks isn't a very long time to heal for an injury like he gave Snap, but it would still at least be a tad better than from when it all started.
Mint continued following Rapsheeba and Blocky until they reached the end of one hallway. They turned to the left side and towards one of the doors. They had reached Snap's room. He watched, keeping a bit of distance, as Rapsheeba and Blocky opened up the door and walked in. He waited for a few moments, giving the friends time to talk and let Snap know he was coming.
"Snap, here's someone here who wants to see you." He heard Rapsheeba say.
Blocky peered out the door, staring at him. He used his small arms to motion for him to come over. Swallowing and taking a deep breath, Mint walked over towards the open door. He paused for a few seconds, hesitating. Then, slowly, he stepped through the door.
The hospital room was a decent size. About the same size he would expect from a hospital back in his world. There was one bed placed in the middle of the room, the head of it pressed against the wall. There were some monitors attached to Snap, keeping an eye on his vitals. He wasn't an expert, but they appeared to be more or less healthy. There was a TV mounted on the wall in front of Snap, currently off, the screen black. There was a tray in the corner of some hospital food that hadn't been taken back yet. The floor was shiny and Mint could see his distorted reflection as he walked further into the room, stopping about five feet away from the bed.
Laying on the bed, he could see Snap. His head rested on several large, fluffy pillows, extending down to his back, probably to ease the pain a little. White covers, which blended well with his white body, were pulled over him, his arms laying across the top of them. The zoner's eyes were locked onto his. They were filled with fear, like he expected, but there was also something more. Curiosity. Snap wasn't just afraid he was there; he was actively wondering why, and was confused. Despite being afraid, the zoner didn't tremble, maybe because two of his zoner friends were in the same room with him.
Mint just stared at Snap for a few seconds. His mind whirled with thoughts, trying to think of what to say. He was here now. He had to speak to him. He couldn't back out now, not after coming all the way here to speak with him. Yet he couldn't bring himself to speak, not yet. He knew it was going to be hard. He just didn't think it was going to be this hard.
Snap was the one who broke the silence.
"Mint...?" Snap asked. Mint watched as the zoner raised his head a little. The zoner's eyes widened just slightly. He turned his head so he could look at the eleven year old more clearly. "What are you doing here?"
"I..uh..." Mint bit his lip nervously. He took a step forward. "I wanted to tell you something..."
Snap looked at him, tilting his head slightly in confusion. Then he started to sit up. "Okay." Mint winced as Snap slowly sat up, watching the zoner's face contort in pain. As the covers came off, he could see the zoner was wearing a reinforced back brace. The sight of it filled him with more guilt. Once Snap was sitting up, he said, "Talk to me."
"I...I..." Mint said, stammering and stuttering over his words.
At first, he was silent, except for the occasional trying to speak, only to stutter and give up. He knew what he wanted to say, but actually saying it, and to the person he had harmed, it was hard. His dad hadn't been lying about that. It was always hard to apologize to someone, especially if there was a lot of damage caused by an action.
He stared at Snap, watching as he stared at him expectantly. The zoner didn't say a word. He kept quiet, waiting patiently for him to say something. Snap showed no signs of being irritated by how long he was taking. A few minutes past by and still Mint hadn't gotten himself to talk yet. He was glad that he wasn't making Snap more upset by not speaking. The zoner did appear curious, that he did want to know what he wanted to say.
Yet speaking...that was still hard. Though Mint had an idea of what he wanted to say, it was still hard for him to, well, say it. He wasn't sure how to put everything to words. He wasn't sure if Snap would accept his apology. He wasn't sure if he would believe his explanation, anything he said to him. He didn't know how he would react to anything he would say. The zoner had every right to hate him, every right to be afraid of him. Though he was clearly giving him a chance to talk, that didn't mean Snap wasn't suspicious of him.
But he couldn't run, not now. He forced himself to take a few steps closer. He flinched as Snap slightly cringed a little. He wouldn't blame him for being afraid. He had been nothing but cruel to the zoner. He hung his head in shame, his eyes glancing at the ground below him. He took in a deep breath and lifted his head back up, looking at Snap in the eyes. He didn't have a lot of time to talk to him. He couldn't waste his twenty minutes, which he knew is less now, just staring at Snap. This might be the only chance he'll get to talk to him, and he best make the most of it.
Rapsheeba and Blocky were standing by the door, watching him. Rapsheeba's arms were folded and Blocky was in a semi-defensive stance. He realized that they must be there to escort him out of the room when the twenty minutes were up.
He could feel his heart clenching up as he opened up his mouth to speak. Yet no words came out. He grunted in frustration. He had to do this. He had to apologize. He clenched his mouth shut tightly and sucked in a deep breath through his nose. No more running...no more hiding... Just do...
Soon, after pushing himself mentally, he managed to find his voice.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry for what I've done to you, Snap. I...I didn't mean for this to happen.." Mint said. He could feel tears forming in his eyes as the guilt began to wash over him. He stared at Snap's back brace before turning to lock his eyes back on his. "I shouldn't have done it.. There's no excuse for what I did to you. I'm sorry..."
Snap stared at him, his eyes blinking slowly. He looked a little surprised, clearly not expecting an apology. The two stared at each other, silent. Mint let his tears roll down his cheeks. His mind swirled with memories of everything he had done to Snap. And each one stung him more and more, piling up in his head. His body shook a little with emotion and he took another step forward.
"I've been a real jerk to you for all this time. I've done terrible things to you. I tried to kill you...I tied you up... I tried to take you away from your friends... I broke your back..." At that last one, he choked up, sniffling loudly. He wiped away his tears. "I've treated you like you were lower than dirt, and there was no excuse for that. And for that, I'm so sorry... I take back all the awful things I said about you. I'm sorry about the pain I've caused you, the fear I struck into you... I'm sorry..." He lowered his head, letting the tears fall. "I'm so sorry..." He spoke in a soft voice.
There, he said it. He finally said it. He managed to work up the courage to apologize to Snap. It was hard, but he managed to do it. Now he waited to hear what Snap had to say about it. He didn't know if Snap would accept his apology or not. But he did feel a little better knowing that he did manage to face his fears and confronted them, and said he was sorry. He wiped away a few more of his tears as he waited for Snap to speak.
At first, the zoner just looked at him. He didn't look angry or anything, though his eyes were narrowed. He looked more confused and perplexed. He didn't blame him. Apologizing, genuinely, wasn't something Mint had done with him or his friends lately. He wasn't surprised that Snap looked like he didn't know what to say or think of the situation.
"Why...?" Came Snap's voice.
"Hmm?" Mint asked, wondering what Snap wanted to ask him.
Snap stared at him, his eyes narrowed in contemplation. "Why were you acting that way? Why did you hit me when I begged you to stop?"
This question took Mint by surprise. He took a step back, stammering a little. He thought about the question. He...hadn't thought about it before. He thought it was because of what Skrawl told him, but..that didn't excuse his behavior. Skrawl never told him to be a jerk to them even in the real world. That..that had been his choice... His fault... Why had he done it? Why did he act like that?
Then it hit him. He knew why he was acting like that, and it wasn't a good enough excuse. He knew the real reason why he had been so mean to them, and it wasn't simply because he had aligned himself with that horrible jellybean zoner. The real reason behind his behavior filled him with more regret than he thought he would ever feel in this moment.
"I...I wanted control..." Mint managed to choke out. More tears formed. "I wanted to keep control of something that...I thought was mine... The ability to create, bring my creatures to life... I was so worried about it being taken away... That I lashed out. I was mean to you three, a total jerk, because...because I didn't want anyone telling me what to do. I wanted to stand up for myself, to not take crap from anyone." He paused for a moment, flinching at the sight of the back brace. "And I...I was still deluding myself. I wanted so much to believe this was all a game, I...I attacked you, broke your back...because I wanted so desperately for this to not be real. That was no excuse... I'm so very sorry..."
Again there was silence. The only sound that could be heard was their breathing and the heart monitor as it beat steadily. Snap stared at him, his eyes narrowed a little. He seemed to be taking his words in, thinking over them carefully. Mint kept quiet, allowing the zoner a chance to reply. He didn't expect forgiveness. He hoped that Snap at least understood how sincere he was being this time.
Then, slowly, Snap gave a small smile. "Apology accepted."
Mint stared at Snap in shock. He hadn't expected that. He stammered a little before he managed to say, "Wh-What...? You..?"
Snap nodded his head once, the smile broadening just a tad. "I forgive you."
"You...you do..?" Mint whispered, his eyes wide with surprise. "After...after all the things I did...you...?"
Snap said, "Yeah, I do. I'm still upset with what you've done.." Mint flinched a little at that. "But...you did admit that you were wrong. You were strong enough to see your own mistakes and you came here to fix that. That took guts, confronting your mistakes head-on like that. We all make mistakes, but what's important is that we try to fix them. I can tell you're sincerely sorry for what you did and that you really do want to change." Mint stared at him as he said this. "I forgive you for what you've done."
Mint couldn't believe it. After all he had done to him, after the awful things he said, Snap still found it in his heart to forgive him... He hadn't expected this kind of response. He would have thought that Snap would have demanded him to leave. He had every right to hate him, every right to make him want to go away. He had little reason to believe that he was being sincere.
But instead of chasing him off like he thought he was going to, Snap instead had forgiven him. He had accepted his apology. He..he believed him.. Mint felt his eyes well up in tears as the impact of Snap's forgiveness washed over him, fighting back the negative feelings that filled him up earlier. His body trembled a little, this time from more positive emotion. Slowly, he felt his mouth tic into a small smile, returning Snap's. His dad was right. Apologies can be powerful. They can be strong, and help change things for the better, even if that change isn't automatic.
He felt some of the burden that was weighing down on his shoulders lift up. Snap's forgiveness helped fill him with confidence that he could confront Rudy and Penny and give them apologies, that he could apologize to the other zoners he had harmed. He still felt horrible about what he did, and he didn't think the guilt of that would go away anytime soon. But the fact that Snap had forgiven him did fill him with hope, and helped the pain of guilt be a little easier to manage.
Mint moved closer to Snap until he stood about two feet away. He smiled down at the zoner, wiping away his tears. "Th-Thank you... I..I wasn't expecting you to forgive me, I.." He stopped when Snap raised his hand.
"I don't think you're a bad kid, Mint." Snap explained, that smile still on his face. "I think you were just misguided, led astray. You could have been a good creator right from the beginning, but you lost your way. You have found your way back, and that isn't something that's easy to do, especially after all the damage that was caused."
Mint nodded his head. "I'm sorry about that..."
"I know you are." Snap replied, making a gesture with his round hand. "And it's good that you admitted that instead of running away and hiding. You're willing to make up for what you did, despite how hard it is, and that is what makes you a good kid, Mint."
Mint stared at Snap, unsure of what to say to that. His smile broadened a little more.
Snap said, "I really do think you and I could be...friends."
"You...would be friends with me?" Mint's eyes widened. "After what I've done?"
Snap nodded his head. "Sure. If you're really sorry for what you did and you help fix things, I see no reason why we can't start over. You have some good traits, Mint. You have been misusing them for all this time, but now it's time for you to put them to good use. And if you can do that, well..." Snap pointed his hand towards the boy. "You're okay by my book."
Mint found it hard to believe. Snap, the zoner he had terrorized the most, was actually extending the hand of friendship to him. He stared at Snap in shock, at his hand that he had outstretched towards him, like he wanted him to grab it.
At first, Mint did nothing but stare at him. He wasn't sure what to think. He was in total shock that Snap would even consider being friends with him after what he had done to him. He would have expected him to want him to leave. He would have understood if he did want him to go away. He wouldn't blame him. But instead, Snap had not only forgiven him, but said he wanted to be friends with him. That was completely unexpected, and it let Mint a little confused and uncertain.
This had gone further than a simple apology. This took him further than what he had expected. He had thought that the only thing that would have happened is that Snap would have understood he was sorry, but wanted him to get far away from him. His dad was indeed right that an apology was powerful, and that he shouldn't have underestimated it. Slowly, his smile came back, stretching further across his mouth than from before. This was going much better than he had expected.
Mint stared at Snap's hand. He took a step forward and raised his right hand. He hesitated a little, but then he slowly moved it towards Snap. He grabbed onto his hand in his and gently squeezed it. Snap's smile grew bigger, looking happy that he had accepted his gesture. The feeling was hard to describe. It felt...good. Like something was sucking the negative emotion out of his back. Great relief spread through his body, and he felt more tears stream down his face.
Without thinking, but still managing to be gentle, Mint wrapped his arms around Snap, avoiding his back brace. He pulled him into a hug, pressing the side of his face against his. He could feel Snap hugging him back. The two of them stayed like this for a few seconds, embracing each other. This was so different than things used to be... Mint couldn't believe how much things can change in such a short time frame. He continued to hug Snap, further cementing the fact that, at last, things were going to change.
Soon the two pulled away. Silence fell upon the room again, but this time, it didn't last too long. From behind, Mint could hear Rapsheeba clearing her throat.
"You have twelve minutes left before the receptionist wants you out." She said in a soft voice.
"Okay, thanks." Mint said. Only eight minutes had passed? It felt so much longer than that. He looked towards Snap. He winced as he saw Snap's face temporarily contort in pain. "How are you feeling...?"
"It's a little better.." Snap said, riding out the pain. "The pain goes away little by little as the day passes. Each day, it becomes easier to handle."
"How long will you be stuck here?" Mint asked. "Did they tell you?"
Snap nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, they think about five to six months will be how long I'll be here. At most a year."
"A...year...?" Mint bit his lip.
"Yeah." Snap said softly. He gave Mint a smile and added, "But they say my prognosis is looking good and they believe I might recover faster than they expect. I still have to be in the hospital for a while for therapy, though."
"Sorry..." Mint said, a pang of guilt clenching at his heart. "Is there anything I can do to help you feel more comfortable?"
Snap thought about this, turning his gaze slightly upwards. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A burger would be nice..." He pointed his hand in Mint's direction. "With a soda, too, if you don't mind."
Although Mint never drew those before, he did the best that he could. After he drew the items that Snap requested, he placed them on the desk that was next to his hospital bed. With the bed's railings down, it was easy for Snap to reach over and grab them. Although Mint wasn't sure if he did a good job or not, the zoner seemed to like what he drew.
"Thanks." Snap said as he started to eat the burger.
"You're welcome." Mint said. He paused for a moment, and said, "Would you..like to play a game of Uno?"
Snap stared at him in confusion. He swallowed the piece of food he had in his mouth. "Uno?"
Mint nodded. "Yeah, it's a card game. Simple to play. Did you want to try it out?"
Snap paused for a few moments. He took a few more bites of his burger and took a drink of the soda. "Sure, why not?"
"Okay then." Mint said, giving a small smile. He drew a deck of Uno cards and took them out of the box. As he began to deal them, he started to explain the rules of the game. "Here is how you play..."
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Post by Bluedramon on Oct 15, 2014 19:27:32 GMT -5
Chapter 29:
Mint was impressed with how quickly Snap picked up the game. That was good news since he didn't have a lot of time left to talk with him. Uno was a simple game, so it shouldn't be hard to have one or two games with the zoner before he had to leave. He could try to get more time, but decided against it; he might be pushing his luck that way. He had done a lot of terrible things and it was only natural the zoners didn't trust him right away. Baby steps was required. He can always come back later.
Well with how simple the game was, he shouldn't be surprised with how fast Snap picked it up. Then again, he wasn't expecting Snap to pick it up within the first minute of talking about it. He was still glad he did though. The two sat on the bed. Mint had turned himself inward, facing Snap with his leg draped over the side. He put some distance between them so he could place the cards between them, dealing them both their own stack and started to play.
Snap was clearly having fun with this game, and performed much better than he thought he would since he was a newbie at this game. One pattern he noticed is that, whenever the zoner got a wild card, the one that lets the player change the color to any of the four they wanted, Snap would almost always say blue. He guessed it was because he was blue and that was his favorite color. The only time Snap wouldn't call blue is if he really didn't have any blue cards. Not the best strategy, but it was just a game.
Snap was down to his last two cards. He placed the first one on the pile of discarded cards. He looked over at Mint with something of a smug look on his face. "Uno!" He called out, smiling at Mint with his arms crossed lightly.
Mint looked down at the card and then his own pile. He gave a smirk of his own, returning Snap's. The zoner didn't let up. He looked confident that, no matter what card Mint threw down, he would win. Mint picked up his card and placed it down. It was a wild card that he had been saving just in case.
"Yellow!" Mint called out.
"What?!" Snap spluttered, staring at the wild card in shock. He looked at his card, then the wild card. He alternated a couple times before letting out a soft groan. "Oh man.. I was so close too!" Having no choice, he reached over and started picking up cards until he got a yellow one. He placed it down. Now he had six cards in his hands, double the amount Mint did.
Mint let out a soft chuckle. "Better luck next time." He looked through his cards and placed another yellow one down. "Keep it up. I'm sure you'll win."
"I know I will!" Snap said, his eyes furrowed in determination. He put down his next card. This one had the same number but was green instead of yellow.
The two of them continued to play for the next couple of minutes. Mint knew he didn't have much time left. He hoped that they could finish their first game together, but he understood that there was a chance it'll be left unfinished, with no winners. He could always come back another time to play another game with him. Maybe he'll be allowed to stay longer, so long as he behaved himself. He just needed some time to convince the zoners that he wasn't going to do any harm.
The game went on a little longer than he thought. Two times, he had been close to winning, only for Snap to make a move that forces him to draw a card or two. And Snap almost won a second time, but is stopped when Mint makes a move that stops him. As the minutes passed, the two of them were down to their last three to four cards. They both looked determined to win. Their moves became better planned out, taking care to choose wisely what their next card they'd play would be.
Then, finally, Mint called out 'uno' once more. Snap, who still had two cards in his hands, tried to figure out which card he could play. Mint could see the frustration written on the zoner's face and he smirked. It seemed Snap had run out of options. Judging from his expression, Snap didn't have any moves left. He watched as the disgruntled Snap took another card, ending up having to two three before he finally found something he could use. He placed it down. It wasn't enough to stop Mint from winning.
Placing his final card down, Mint declared gleefully, "I win!"
"Oh..." Snap groaned, looking annoyed. "What about another game? I bet I can win the next round!"
Mint was about to reply when he heard Blocky speak up from beside the door. He turned his head to the green rectangular zoner.
"We hate to interrupt, but time is up." Blocky said.
"You have to leave now." Rapsheeba said softly. "We're sorry."
Mint nodded his head in understanding. He looked back down towards Snap. "Sorry, I have to get going." He straightened himself up, stretching himself. "How about I come back later for round 2?"
Snap gave him a determined smile. "You're on!" He pointed his round hand in his direction. He then gathered the cards in his hands and pushed them back in the box. He held it out to Mint. "Here, these are yours."
Mint stared at the box of Uno cards he had drawn. After a few seconds, he waved his hand dismissively, confusing Snap. "No, you keep them. Consider it a gift." He said with a small smile on his face. "Maybe one of your friends would like to play with you sometime. Rudy and Penny are coming soon, aren't they?"
The zoner nodded. "Pretty soon. About ten to fifteen minutes."
The boy nodded his head. That wasn't too far from now. He wouldn't be able to speak to them in the hospital, but he might be able to catch them on his way out. He hoped he would have the courage to speak to Rudy. As hopeful as he had been since Snap accepted his apology, he was still frightened to face Rudy. He had gone too far and broke his friend's back. The boy had every right to yell at him again if he saw him walking around in ChalkZone.
But still, he should talk to him should he run into him on his way out. Snap had mentioned, during their gameplay, that Rudy was indeed just trying to talk to him during that incident at school. And now knowing this, Mint did feel bad about running away with his tail between his legs, more or less. He had no idea for certain if Rudy wanted talk or not, and he had let his imagination get the better of him. A part of him thought that Rudy was going to hurt him, regardless of how irrational it would have been considering it had been a public place. He would try to do better this time around.
However, there was a chance that he'd still run or panic. When he saw Rudy before, his mind just...almost shut down and fear had overtaken him. He wasn't able to think clearly and he turned and ran out of instinct. He had to fight against that, somehow. He was terrified of Rudy, and he had no idea what the boy would do if he saw him again. Would he try to apologize like Snap said, or would Rudy become angry that he had visited his friend without him there and attack him?
Mint thought about how Rudy acted at the temple, when he had lost his temper. Mint really thought that Rudy was going to hit him. He didn't know Rudy very well, so he had no idea what his limits were. Would Rudy beat him to a pulp out of shere rage? Should he truly be scared when Rudy came towards him in their next encounter? How far would Rudy go to avenge his friend? The thoughts chilled Mint, filling him with more fear of Rudy than he had before.
He tried not to think about it. He had to face the boy sooner or later. He had to try to get over his fear of him, and the only way to do that was to confront him. Perhaps Penny...no she would be with him. She hadn't reacted in quite the same way as Rudy. She might be the 'voice of reason' and keep Rudy calm while he attempted his apology with him. Yeah, Penny seemed like she'd be reasonable enough to do that and not immediately jump to conclusions.
Not wanting to push his luck any further and risk having security called to haul him out, Mint walked up to Blocky and Rapsheeba. He turned to Snap and waved to him. "I'll see you around!"
"Bye!" Snap waved back as he took another drink of whatever was left of the soda.
Mint walked along side Rapsheeba and Blocky as they headed down the hallway. They were quiet for a few moments. They moved along the middle of the hall, no one bothering to speak. It wouldn't take too long for Mint to get to the waiting room. He wondered if there would be more zoners in there, and he wondered if they would panic and cause a riot at the sight of him. Hopefully, Rapsheeba and Blocky can calm them down like they had before.
Even though it had been only a minute since they started walking away from Snap's room, to Mint, it felt like a long time. Maybe it was the silence that was getting to him. Maybe he was a little uncomfortable around these two because he wasn't sure if they trusted him or not. Maybe it was the fact that this building housed so many zoners he had harmed, causing him to become surrounded in his own mistakes. Whatever the reason, the silent was a little uncomfortable as they made their way towards the front of the hospital.
Rapsheeba finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"You know..." She said in a soft voice. She paused for a second. She turned her head a little so she could look at Mint with the corner of her eye. "That was really brave...what you did." Mint looked over at her in surprise. "It must have been really hard to apologize."
"Yeah." Blocky said, prompting Mint to look at him. "That was really nice."
"We're still not sure what to think of you, but..." Rapsheeba said. "...if Snap is willing to trust you, we'll give you a chance."
Mint smiled at this. "Thanks, I..."
He never got a chance to finish the sentence. There was a sudden, loud explosion that rattled through the entire hospital. The trio let out a scream of surprise as the ground beneath them shook and wobbled. Pieces of the ceiling started to fall down, crashing all around them. When a particularly large one began to fall, Mint jumped towards the two zoners and pushed them out of the way. The debris fell behind them, kicking up dust into the air. The three of them, startled, remained quiet, their heavy breathing the only thing keeping the silence away.
Then there were panicked screams all arond them. Zoners sounding confused and uncertain, screaming out commands and trying to get everything straightened out. It was scary to Mint how fast things had delved into confusion. The zoners in the rooms all around him were calling out for help. Buzzing filled the air. Doctors came rushing down the halls. At first, Mint thought they were going to accuse him, but even if they did think it was his fault, they ignored him and rushed into the rooms. Mint could see the damage as the doors opened up. Bits of the ceiling had fallen and some of the zoners were knocked out of their beds.
The building shook again, forcing Mint to fall down onto his knees. He gripped the ground, trying to keep himself from being thrown again. He had no idea what was going on, other than someone was attacking. But how? It couldn't have been him, or his dinosaurs. The dinosaurs he had drawn wouldn't attack unless he willed it, and since he no longer wanted to attack the zoners, the dinosaurs would not engage. The only one he could think of who would do this was...
...Skrawl.
His eyes widened in horror at the thought. Had that jellybean followed him here? The thought that he might have inadvertantly led Skrawl to where Snap was trying to recover filled with him with guilt and dread. Snap was already badly hurt to begin with. If Skrawl tried to grab him, he had his doubts that he was going to be very gentle with him.
As he helped Blocky and Rapsheeba to their feet, there was another rattle, and the collapsing of a wall. This sounded really close, making Mint's heart beat faster. And then came the confirmation that he needed to know exactly what was going on. The hallways filled with screams. Snap's screams...
"Snap!" Mint called out as he rushed back towards the room.
"Oh no!" Blocky called out.
Rapsheeba shouted, "Someone's attacking him!"
The three of them rushed back to the room. Through the open door they ran, and they froze at what they saw. Sure enough, it was exactly who Mint feared it was going to be.
The room that Snap was in had a large hole in it. It looked like it was drilled through, but there was no signs of a machine being used. And when Mint looked at the damage more closely, it looked a little more warped and twisted, like someone stuck a giant finger in there and twirled it around a little to get something of a round shape in. In addition to the hole, the bed was flipped on its side and the machinery was torn apart. The IV fluids were ripped open and the liquid spilled everywhere. The television had fallen down and smashed into pieces. Dust filled the room, making it a tad harder to see.
Floating in the middle of the room was Skrawl. He was wearing and wielding about six artifacts, including the crown. He was surrounded in a golden glow, which he assumed is what allowed him to float above the ground. He stared down gleefully at the two zoners and human child. Clutched against his chest was Snap. The zoner appeared to be awake, but wasn't moving. The IVs had been ripped out ruthlessly, blood dripping from his arms. To Mint's horror, Skrawl was putting pressure on Snap's back, which prompted some screams of pain to come from the zoner's mouth.
"Skrawl...!" Rapsheeba said, narrowing her eyes. "Put him down!"
Skrawl let out a cold laughter. "Oh I can't do that. You see, I need him to set a trap for Rudy Tabootie. With his broken back, he was such an easy target." He looked down at Mint. His evil smile broadened. "And I have you to thank for that, Mint Zandophen. Congratulations..." He squeezed Snap a little harder, prompting another cry from him. "You learned how to be merciless."
Mint growled at this. A pang of guilt swept through his body when Skrawl said that. But along with that, anger. He was angry at how this zoner had used him as a tool for all this time. He was angry that this zoner had wanted to destroy parts of ChalkZone and had wielded him like a stick to do it. He had played on his beliefs of this being a video game. Well no more of that.
He took out his magic chalk and took a step forward. "Let him go, Skrawl!"
Skrawl widened his eyes and blinked at this. He certainly wasn't expecting him to turn on him like this. Soon the jellybean narrowed his eyes dangerously. He gritted his teeth, looking angry at Mint's betrayal. "So you want to be that way? Fine..." He raised his free limb, a ring attached around one of the fingers.
Before Mint could react, Skrawl activated the ring. A whirling distortion shot out, bending parts of the ground in his favor. A strip of floor came up. Skrawl controlled it like he was pulling the strings on a puppet. The piece of debris slithered towards Mint at an astonishing rate. So fast, that Mint found himself pinned against the wall by the debris, now shaped sort of like a hand. He gritted his teeth and pushed against it.
"A shame it has to come to this, Mint." Skrawl mused as he watched Mint struggle to get free. "And after all I've done for you, too..."
"Fuck you!" Mint shouted.
Skrawl's eyes filled it anger. He pulled back his free hand, clutching it tightly into a fist. "You will not speak to your superior that way!" With that, he started to press the rock against Mint harder, prompting a cry of pain to come from him. "It seems you need another lesson!"
Mint struggled to get free. He looked over at Rapsheeba and Blocky. With one eye shut from the pain, the other open partway, he started to speak to them. His voice came soft and strained due to the presser against his chest.
"Get...Rudy...now..." Mint said before he let out another grunt of pain. "Hurry...!"
The two zoners wasted no time. They disappeared out of the room and ran down the halls. As they ran, Mint turned his attention back to Skrawl. He needed to find someway to delay Skrawl long enough to give Rudy and Penny time to get here. But how? He was trapped and his left arm was pinned at his side. He couldn't get free...
...or could he? He recalled in one of his previous battles with Rudy, how he was still able to draw even though his arms were pinned. Maybe he could replicate that again... Holding the magic chalk in his hand, he twisted his arm as far as he could make it, jerking his hand to start to draw. It was hard for him to see, but still he moved his hand around, and soon he managed to draw something. Something small and fast...
An oviraptor landed on the ground next to him. Following Mint's gestures, the little dinosaur rushed over towards Skrawl. It jumped off the ground and bit down on his arm before the jellybean had time to react. The distraction caused the debris hand to loosen up enough to allow Mint to pull himself free. He brushed himself off and looked on as Skrawl struck the oviraptor down. There was a sickening crunch and he knew that the dinosaur's leg was broken. He looked on in horror at this and turned to glare at Skrawl. Holding his magic chalk again, he rushed over.
Mint wanted to grab onto Snap, but knowing that would cause more damage as he could inadvertantly stretch his broken back, he opted instead to grab onto Skrawl's wrist. He yanked back, trying to pull the jellybean further into the room, trying to get him on the ground. He hung on tightly, no matter how hard Skrawl shook him. Mint bit down on Skrawl's arm, prompting the jellybean to let out a scream of pain, his saliva obviously doing some damage considering he is made of chalk. It was clear neither of them were going to let go. Both were determined to hang on.
Before long, Mint could hear footsteps pounding the hallways. He looked over and he could see Rudy and Penny rushing in through the door. The sight of Rudy caused Mint to freeze in terror. His body started to shake. He tried to stop, telling himself over and over again now wasn't the time for him to panic. It was hard fighting back the fear, though, and in his momentary lapse, Skrawl seized the opportunity and threw Mint into Rudy before the boy could use his magic chalk. Mint let out a soft groan, now fully realizing how Snap and his friends felt when he threw him into them.
While Rudy and Mint struggled to their feet, stunned by the sudden blow they both recieved, Penny rushed forward. She reached out and grabbed onto Skrawl, trying to pull him back, just like Mint had been doing. Growling in frustration, Skrawl grabbed onto Penny and threw her into the ground. She let out a cry of pain. But instead of just leaving her there, Skrawl did something else.
He grabbed onto Penny and slammed her against the wall, hitting her in the back of her head. Another scream of pain and she fell unconscious. He held Penny with his other arm and sneered down towards Rudy.
"Your friends are mine now, Master Tabootie! And to make sure you don't try to interfere before I have time to...finish setting up..." Skrawl's ring glowed again. He pointed it out towards the two boys without having to loosen his grip on Penny. "I will give you something to keep you entertained for a while."
Before Rudy and Mint could react, the ground around them rose up in all directions. They both rushed towards the circular opening as it became smaller and smaller. Soon it closed up completely, trapping the boys in a small, dark area with rounded walls and no light, save for a few cracks that let in bright white light. They could hear Skrawl's maniacal laughter and then a loud crumbling sound as he fled the area, getting quieter until soon, it was silent.
sss
Rudy couldn't believe what just happened. Everything had gone by so fast, it was hard for him to register. One minute, they were walking towards the hospital to see their friend. They had just reached the doors when a panicked Blocky and Rapsheeba came to them. And the next minute, as they found out, they rushed down the hallway towards Snap's room. And there was Skrawl, holding their then unconscious friend, and Mint was there...
Rudy didn't question why Mint was there and rushed over to help Snap. Skrawl had thrown Mint against him and the two of them fell on the ground. Rudy tried to get up, but before he know it, Penny had been hurt and she was taken, along with Snap, by that terrible jellybean. He tried to go after him, but now he was sealed up in this place with Mint and Skrawl had gotten away.
He tried to open up the ground, but for some reason, any time he drew an opening, it would seal itself shut before he had a chance to crawl through it. He was completely trapped, with no way out. He was stuck here with Mint until, somehow, this debris shield was taken down.
The realization that he was trapped and unable to go after his friends weighed down heavily on his mind. He couldn't believe that this had happened. Just as Snap was showing some promising signs of improvement, this had to happen. Of all the times...why did it have to be now...? Snap was in no condition to be out of the hospital. He needed to be brought back. He needed to recover. It would be just like Skrawl to take Snap at his weakest hour. And Penny was in danger now too. He had no idea where Skrawl was taking his friends and what he had planned to do with them.
With no knowledge of Skrawl's hideout, how was he ever going to find them? There was Mint, but..no he wouldn't tell him. Mint was still acting. He was probably going to take Snap himself and Skrawl just turned on him because he displeased him. Yeah, that was it. Everything was fine until Mint showed up. He bet that he was the one who led Skrawl to Snap in the first place. How else could the jellybean have showed up suddenly, when he had shown no signs of appearing before? Mint must have been working with Skrawl on the sidelines in secret, and had just been pretending to be upset.
He glared in the boy's direction. Mint kept to himself on the opposite side, his head turned away, not looking at him. He wondered how long the boy would keep up this act. He wondered how much he'll go through before he'll revert back to his usual jerkish attitude. He knew the boy was just waiting for the chance to 'return to normal', so to speak. Acting like he actually was sorry for what he did must be tiresome to the Enemy Creator. And Rudy himself was getting tired of playing this game. It was going to stop here and now.
Mint was not going to tell him willingly where Penny and Snap were. He would either refuse to tell him or he would just tell him the wrong way. He couldn't just outright ask him where his friends were taken, where Skrawl's hideout was. He would have to make him tell. He needed to make sure Mint didn't lie to him. And to do that, he would have to be firm with him. He first needed to disarm him so he can't fight back, and then interrogate him afterwards. He would also make the boy tell him how to free himself from this shield, and once Mint did that, he would leave to go rescued his friends. He'd leave Mint trapped until later when he can drop him off in the real world and seal him out of ChalkZone.
He was going to attempt to apologize to him before, but not now. The kid didn't deserve an apology after what he had done. His mind played with thoughts on what happened. He bet Mint had lulled Snap into a false sense of security, and then he contacted Skrawl and helped him get to Snap before he and Penny could get to the hospital. It had struck him as odd at first when he saw Mint was pinned down and one of his dinosaur creations appeared injured. But he reasoned with himself that the kid was just putting on an act to fool him. Why else would Skrawl create this shield to keep him stuck with this kid, unable to get out?
Rudy got up from his knees, ceasing his attempts to get out. He would make Mint tell him how to get out, and if he had to fight him to do it, he would. He got out his magic chalk and he took a step towards Mint. He stomped his foot to get the kid's attention. Once Mint turned his head to look at him, Rudy pointed his magic chalk in his direction.
"On your feet. Now." Rudy told him, eyes narrowing. "I know what your plan is, and I am going to stop you. I challenge you to a duel!"
Rudy was a little confused when Mint's eyes widened in horror and he started to move back away from Rudy. He noticed the boy start to tremble, looking at him in fear. Rudy shook his head. Wasn't this kid being a little dramatic? He knew the boy wanted to put on a good performance, but now he was starting to take it a little too far.
Ignoring Mint's fake behavior, he started to make his way towards him. With each step, Mint appeared to get more and more afraid. But Rudy knew better. It was all just an act. He was not going to let Mint get away with hurting his friends again. He was sick and tired of him always managing to get away, to run from his responsibilities. It was his fault this happened, and if he wasn't going to take responsibility for his actions, he was going to make him.
When Rudy got a foot in front of him, Mint jumped to the side. Rudy watched, eyes narrowed, as Mint rushed over to the other side of the sealed away. Mint pressed his hands against the wall. Just like he had, Mint tried to open up a hole, only for it to seal before he could squeeze through. He looked around, perfectly imitating a panicked child, before he looked back at Rudy. His eyes grew larger and he pressed his back against the wall, teeth bared.
Rudy rolled his eyes. Very convincing acting, but he wasn't going to buy it. Keeping his magic chalk raised, he advanced on Mint again. The closer he got, the more frightened Mint started to get. And then he started to hear whimpering, low and soft. Rudy growled. The bastard was trying to play with his emotions. Rudy was not going to allow him to do that. No, Mint was not going to get away from him this time. He ignored the whimpers, getting louder as he got closer, and continued advance on Mint, this time, taking care to ensure that the Enemy Creator could not try to escape him again.
"Come now..." Rudy said, stopping three feet in front of Mint. "I know you're just acting. Now come on, fight me!" Mint opened his mouth to speak, but Rudy cut him off. "I don't want to hear any of your excuses, Mint! Fight me so I can defeat you, and once you tell me where my friends are, I'll go save them, and then I will get you out of ChalkZone permanently!" He took another step forward. "I will not let you harm ChalkZone anymore!"
"But...but I..." Mint tried to say.
"Shut up!" Rudy snarled at him, eyes narrowing further. "You've caused enough damage, you asshole! I won't stand for it any longer! Because of you, both my friends are captured! They're both in danger! Don't try to deny it because it's true!" He exhaled slowly, a low growl emitted from his throat as his anger started to flare up again. "I am going to make you talk! Now get up and fight me, or are you too much of a coward now to fight back?!"
Rudy realized he was being a little too harsh again. He knew that calling Mint names was not the right thing to do. He had tried to hold himself back, but failed. Being in the presence of the kid that broke Snap's back, and now was responsible for both Snap and Penny to be kidnapped, boiled his blood, making it hard not to feel intense anger in this boy's presence. He had caused so much harm, so much damage, terrorized ChalkZone so much... He just wanted to make sure he couldn't get a chance to do it again. He tried his best to fight back against his anger, tried his best to keep it in check. Yet it still overtook him, making his body shake in anger.
When Mint still didn't get up, Rudy growled and moved a little closer. This act was getting old and he was getting tired of witnessing it. He glared at Mint as the boy trembled and whimpered in front of him. He had to admit, this was a very convincing performance. If he didn't know any better, he'd say Mint was being serious about it.
But no, he knew the truth. He did know better. This was just a ruse. Just an act. All he had to do was push the right buttons, and he could force the kid out of his acting, to return to the jerk he knew was hiding underneath. Sooner or later, he would have to break out of his acting. He couldn't keep this up forever. Soon, yes, soon, any time now, Mint was going to return to being a nasty, cruel kid.
"P-Please...don't..." Mint said softly, a few tears escaping his eyes. "I...I had nothing to do with this...I swear..."
Rudy shouted, "Don't lie to me, Mint! Don't fucking lie!" He pointed a finger accusingly at Mint. "I know you are behind the ambush! Now tell me where Skrawl has taken them!"
Mint shook harder. He pushed himself further against the wall. He turned his head away and put his arms over his face. "Please...don't hurt me..."
Rudy froze, staring at Mint in confusion. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me where my friends are." He demanded, his eyes still narrowed into slits. "Or if you don't want to do that, fight me. Accept my challenge. And if I win, you must tell me."
Mint just trembled in the corner, trying his best to get away from him. Rudy could see more tears flowing down the kid's face, and his low cries were getting louder. Rudy was confused when Mint refused to get out his magic chalk to duel him. He knew the kid had at least one piece. He saw him hold it before. So why wasn't he using it now? Mint was making absolutely no attempt to fight back, which was perplexing considering that he was always so eager to fight him before.
And as he took a few more steps, Mint shrank into a trembling ball on the ground, pressed up against the corner. Okay, now he was taking things a little too far, much further than he thought he would. Rudy just shook his head as he stared at the nearly believabe performance. Mint really was a good actor, he would give him that much credit. He took another step, his magic chalk still raised in the air to prepare to fight. He was not going to use his until Mint drew his out. It would not be a fair fight. He knew that Mint didn't care so much about fairness, but Rudy was going to prove he was a bigger person than him by waiting for Mint to take a fighting stance.
Still, Mint never got up and never attempted to fight him. He continued to look at Rudy in fear. Rudy could see how much the boy was crying and soon, something clicked with Rudy. He felt a bit of his anger start to go away. Not much. He was still filled with rage and ager at this kid for what he did, but something was telling him to lighten up a little. Perhaps he was being even harsher than he had realized. His expression softened up a tiny bit.
"Mint, let's get this over with." Rudy said in a stern voice. "I know you want to fight me. I know you're just acting. So come on. Fight me."
Mint shook his head rapidly. "No. I don't want to fight you anymore.. Please.. I had nothing to do with this..."
Rudy shook his head slowly. Although he was still very angry, he was happy with himself that he was able to keep himself more restrained than before. He didn't want to risk spilling out something else similar to that 'I wish Skrawl would hurt you' comment. He didn't want to go that far over the line again.
"Look kid, these lies are getting tiresome." Rudy let out a soft sigh. "I know you want to fight me. I know you'd rather do that first than spill out information regarding what your boss is up to. So just fight me already. I'm waiting."
Again, Mint shook his head. "N-No...you'll hit me!"
Rudy's eyes widened a little at this. "What?"
"You'll hit me! You'll punch me!" Mint cried out, his eyes widened further. "I know that's what you're going to do! I know you want to get revenge on me for what I did, and I know you're going to do that by punching me! Or kicking me, whatever comes first!"
Rudy looked at Mint in confusion. Punch him? Kick him? Where was this kid getting these ideas? He didn't want to hurt him. He just wanted to stop him, get information from him, and get him out of ChalkZone. At one point had Rudy made it clear he wanted to hurt him?
Mint cringed back further. He turned his head a little more so he was looking directly at Rudy. He made no attempt to hide his tears. "Just please...d-don't hurt me.. Please... I just wanted to apologize to Snap.. I didn't know this would happen... Please, you've got to believe me..."
Rudy started at the trembling boy, listening to the words he just said. Mint had come here to apologize? Mint thought he was going to hurt him? No, that didn't sound like the Mint he knew. He was too much of a coward to apologize, wasn't he? Too hight and mighty to realize when he did wrong. And Mint had never hesitated to hurt him and Penny before. He was not above attacking them. It angered Rudy that the kid was messing with his mind like this.
But then, was it really acting? The more Rudy looked at the kid, the more frightened he really seemed to get. It was hard perfectly replicating emotions, and either this kid was a genius, or this was real. Rudy shook his head, trying to tell him it was all acting, that the kid was just faking it. But...could he really keep believing this was nothing more than acting? It was starting to look awfully real to him.
"Get out your magic chalk." Rudy spoke again. This time, he made an effort to sound more gentle. "Let's get started. I know you want to fight me."
"Don't hurt me..." Mint begged him, putting his hands out in front of him in self defense. "Don't hit me..."
"I'm not going to hurt you, Mint. I just want to save my friends and get you out of ChalkZone." Rudy said.
"Then why..why don't I believe you?" Mint said in a soft voice, his body still shaking hard.
Rudy couldn't believe the way Mint was acting. "You're being irrational. I won't hit you."
"It certainly seemed like...you were going to..." Mint said. "Back at the temple..."
Rudy's eyes widened at this. His mind flashed with images of what occurred at the temple. The breaking of Snap's back, and the temper flare that followed soon after that. Rudy could recall everything in distinct detail. He could remember pushing Mint down...something that he normally wouldn't have done. Rudy was not a violent person, and looking back, knowing he has shoved another human being into the ground, it was a little unsettling, but still, it was understandable given the circumstances. Mint had hurt his best friend after all.
But soon things got a little more disturbing as he recalled the things he had said to Mint. The names he had called him, like 'friendless loser' and 'self absorbed brat'..it all came back to him and he flinched at just how harsh they actually sounded. And wishing harm to Mint, telling him he deserved whatever Skrawl did to him...that caused his blood to chill as he realized the full impact of what he said. He knew he was harsh on Mint, but looking back, he didn't realize just how far he actually went. He was downright hostile to the kid. No wonder he thought he was going to hurt him.
Rudy hadn't given Mint a reason for him to believe anything else. He had pushed him into the ground. When Mint tried to talk to him, he just chewed up what he said and spat it at him. He never gave Mint a chance to apologize or make up for what he did. He just...chased him off, calling him a coward. He not only told Mint to run off, but he had started advancing on him to make sure he did run away. And now, looking back, Mint's reaction to him made sense. Mint reacted the same way he did at the temple. He ran because, perhaps on a subconscious level, he thought he wanted him to run away.
Penny's words sifted through his head. One line in particular stood out to him.
"Rudy, I do think your words hurt him more deeply then you are willing to accept."
Rudy looked down at Mint again, and this time, he got a whole different picture. He didn't see a cowardly child trying to hide from his mistakes. He saw a frightened kid who had been mentally scarred by his words and had a hard time facing him again. And thinking back, he began to wonder if Mint really had apologized to Snap, and realized that it must have taken him a lot of courage to do such a thing. Snap was the one he had hurt the most, after all...
Guilt began to wash over Rudy as he realized just how damaging his words really had been. Thinking back to what he said, he couldn't believe how much venom was laced with each word. He hadn't realized he had been that angry, that foul at the kid. And now he had almost done the same thing. He started calling the kid names again. He started accusing him, judging him...just like how Mint had done in the first place. Was that really the right thing to do? No...Rudy knew it wasn't right. And yet he let his anger get the better of him. He had snapped...and the kid was frightened to death of him.
He could see why Mint thought he was going to hit him. He didn't know enough about him to realize Rudy would never deliberately harm someone else. He had no intentions on punching Mint, even if he had ruthlessly attacked Penny before. And now he realized that this kid was sincerely sorry for what he did and was trying to make amends for it. As his anger lifted up, shame started to envelope him. He felt guilty about believing this kid was still a coward, after he had made an effort to do something about it. He felt guilty about jumping to conclusions about the involvment the kid had with Snap's kidnapping. Perhaps he really wasn't involved after all.
The more Rudy thought about his actions at the temple, and his actions now, the more he realized just how much of a jerk he himself had become. All he wanted to do was help Snap and Penny, but in the process, he had turned himself into a bully. He had frightened Mint to the point where he actually silenced the kid from trying to explain his story. He told him to shut up...that wasn't right. That wasn't something he should have done. He didn't want to be the bully.
He looked into Mint's eyes, full of fright, and he started to see his parents. His heart stung as he remembered how hard he was on them before. He remembered those horrible words... 'I hate you'... They still echoed in his mind, still haunted him. And now, here he had Mint, who looked just as hurt as his parents had. Except Mint's reactions were worse...because Rudy's worse were much worse...
Rudy put his magic chalk away. He had to make things better. He had to try to mend things. That's what he always did when he knew he did something wrong. And he was going to do that same thing here. He moved over towards Mint, who cringed further back. Rudy was determined to show Mint that he was not going to hurt him. And there was one way he thought of he could do that.
Rudy reached out and placed his hand on Mint's shoulder. Mint trembled harder and looked at Rudy in fear. It was clear that the kid was expecting him to hit him or throw him to the ground. When Rudy did none of these things, Mint began to look a little confused.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Mint. I don't want to. I don't like being the bully. I don't like hurting others. I don't like frightening others. I just want to do what's right." Rudy said as gently as he could. He gave a smile to Mint, a way of trying to show him that he is being truthful with his words. "I'm sorry about the way I acted at the temple. I was just so angry at you for hurting my friend...so angry at myself for not being able to stop you... But that doesn't excuse the names I called you, nor does it make right the fact that I wished harm upon you. I'm sorry, Mint. I never meant to say those things. I didn't mean what I said, about wanting Skrawl to hurt you..about you deserving whatever he does."
Mint stared at Rudy. He still trembled, still looked afraid. He appeared to calm down a little. He looked down at Rudy's hand cautiously. "How...how do I know you won't...?"
"I won't hurt you. I promise I won't hurt you. If you think I would, then you don't know me that well. It's not my style." Rudy said in a calm and gentle voice. He squeezed Mint's shoulder. "I'm so sorry I yelled at you. I'm so sorry for the way I treated you. I'm sorry I chased you off. I should have realized that you would become so afraid of me that you'd run...I'm sorry I kept believing that you were just acting. I promise...I will not harm you."
To further establish his honestly and try to get Mint to truly understand he won't hurt him, Rudy moved a little closer to Mint. Before the boy could respond, Rudy wrapped his arms around Mint and pulled him into a hug. Mint stiffened up at first, but soon relaxed. Rudy could feel Mint, slowly but surely, stop shaking. Then the boy started to hug him back.
"I forgive you..." Mint said softly, sniffling. Rudy smiled at this. Mint continued, "And...and I'm sorry too..." Rudy's eyes widened slightly at this. "I've...I've treated you and your friends like crap and there was no excuse for that.. I'm sorry for breaking your friend's back. I...I didn't mean it...I never meant to cause this much harm.. I should have listened to you and Penny. If I did, none of this would have happened... I'm so sorry..."
"I know..." Rudy said as he continued to hug Mint. "I know you are..."
"And I'm sorry about...all the things I said to you and your friends... I take back what I said. I..I was wrong. You're not a failure, Rudy. I'm so sorry I ever said that. I was wrong...I was so very wrong..." Rudy could feel his shoulder get wet as Mint cried against it. "I'm sorry I attacked Penny back at the Future Dome... It was wrong of me to do...I knew it was wrong and I still did it anyway. I'm sorry..." He paused for breath. "And I am so very sorry about the problems I caused for you with that stupid fire alarm trick... I'm so sorry about everything I did..." He spoke in a soft voice. "I'm so sorry..."
Rudy pulled back away from Mint. He stared at his tear-stained face. He continued to smile at him. He could tell that the kid was being serious this time. This wasn't a panicked apology, him trying to worm his way out. No, this was an honest apology. And though he was still angry at the kid, he was willing to give him another chance.
Rudy said, "I forgive you, Mint. I accept your apology."
Mint managed to smile back and wiped away his tears. He looked very happy that he had accepted his apology. Rudy smiled at him, but he knew that they couldn't sit here anymore. Penny and Snap were in danger. They had to get out of here, somehow... But how?
"What are we going to do?" Mint asked. "I...I don't know how to get out of here..." He looked at Rudy intently. "What should we do?"
It did feel a little weird that Mint was now willing to take orders from him instead of Skrawl, especially after all he has done, but it was a refreshing change of pace from how things used to be. The fact that Mint shifted loyalties and was now willing to listen to him meant that they had a better chance of going after Penny and Snap now. Rudy had some help in facing Skrawl.
"I'm sure there is a way out of here..." Rudy said. He stood up and reached his hand down towards Mint. "...if we work together."
Mint stared at Rudy's hand. For a few seconds, he did nothing. Then, slowly, he reached out towards it. Mint grabbed onto his hand. As he did so, Rudy pulled him up, helping Mint up to his feet. The two boys stared at each other for a few moments, then Mint smiled at him.
"Yeah...you're right..." Mint said. He then turned his head towards the nearest wall. He raised up his magic chalk. "We'll get out..somehow. Together."
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