Shattered Doll

Chapter 17: Visiting Hour In The Prison

The sun goes down. I feel the light betray me.
-Papercut, Linkin Park




Sandra’s eyes bulged as she felt the sharp talons from Mosaic cut into her sides. She tried not to scream, knowing full well she could unintentionally draw the attention of one of the doctors. She attempted to push the crocodile zoner back, her hand pressed against her chest. Mosaic opened her jaws and attempted to screech.

Reacting fast, Sandra grabbed onto the mouth, holding it shut tightly. Mosaic let out low, muffled hisses, pulling her head back to try to free herself. The two wrestled with each other on the ground, their tails flying everywhere. During the struggle, her hand still enclosed around Mosaic’s long mouth, Sandra began to push herself out from underneath her. She hissed in pain as she accidentally caused the sharp claws to rake her sides, causing warm, red blood to dribble down.

Now she stood back up, her feet sliding on the ground for a brief second as she got into a defensive posture. With Mosaic still in her grasp, she used both hands to lift her up over her head and slam her onto her back. Mosaic squirmed so much that Sandra was forced to let go. She jumped back, nearly tripping over herself, just as Mosaic struck out with her tail, attempting ot knock her over.

Sandra opened her mouth and exposed her sharp teeth, an instinctual attempt to scare off Mosaic. No surprise, it does not work and Mosaic, who was less than a foot away, slammed against her, knocking her back against the wall.

Sandra raised her eyes, visibly flinching. The thud that resulted from the slam was pretty loud and she wondered if any of the doctors heard it. She didn’t hear or smell anyone coming, but that didn’t mean much. She had to end this fight and get out of here before someone found her in here. Raising up her foot, she placed it against the crocodile’s underside and pushed back against her. With enough effort, she was able to knock the animal-like zoner onto her back.

Sandra looked towards the window. She thought about using it, but realized it would be too risky of an attempt. She turned her attention to the door. She couldn’t simply run out there, especially if Mosaic tails her. The doctors would wonder why and how such an attack was triggered. If Mosaic was a passive zoner and rarely attacked, then she knew that the situation she was in would be considered suspicious.

She narrowed her eyes as Mosaic came back towards her. Mosaic’s body moved from side to side, picking up speed as the seconds passed by. She crouched down and launched herself at her, letting out a loud hiss, intermixing with a gutteral growl.

Sandra raised her foot in response. Her flexible toes spread out, spreading out like fingers. She grabbed onto Mosaic’s throat as she was about to collide with her. The crocodile zoner hissed and growled loudly, squirming in the air, tail thrashing around. Sandra narrowed her eyes. At this rate, the doctors would come for certain. She squeezed Mosaic’s neck tighter, lifting her up a little more. She stared at her in the eyes. Then she tossed her into the ground, allowing her body to crash against the bed.

She slammed her foot into the ground, her talons tapping against it. She raised her tail up, giving herself a raptor-like posture. As Mosaic struggled up to her feet, Sandra crept in closer. She raised her hands in the air, and as she walked, she deliberately scraped the ground with her long claws. An obvious attempt to scare Mosaic.

The crocodile zoner did not let up so easily. She scrambled up to her feet, knocking back one of the machines, nearly ripping the wires from it in the process, and she charged towards Sandra.

The dragon zoner narrowed her eyes. This croc was starting to become a pest. If this kept up, someone was going to find out for certain. She needed a way to end the fight fast, but it was not going to be easy. She couldn’t simply kill the croc. No, that would draw attention to herself. They would find her DNA on her, and know that the marks came from her claws. Likewise, she couldn’t leave her in tact, or else she could come after her. And if she wasn’t careful, she could risk getting injured by those powerful jaws.

Not wanting to risk injury, and hoping to avoid her last option, Sandra attempted to speak to the croc.

“Relax now. We do not have to fight.” Sandra said, her red eyes locking onto Mosaic’s amber ones. “I assure you, I do not intend malicious intent. Okay I know that sounded redundant. But you can trust me.”

Sandra took a few steps forward. The crocodile zoner merely slammed her tail in to the ground, letting out a loud hiss.

Sandra narrowed her eyes. “You are not listening to reason. I have a good mind to do what I am. Snap is merely learning a lesson. He will be out soon. You need not worry. I will undo what I have done.” At this, Mosaic’s eyes flickered, and Sandra thought she could detect confusion and surprise in them. Smiling at this, she nodded her head. “Why yes, I do admit it. I am the reason Snap cannot remember anything. I am responsible for that explosion. I set the whole thing up.”

Mosaic growled at this. If she had fur, it would be raised on end right about now. Sandra had to think fast and jump out of the way to avoid getting hit. She winced as she felt the rush of air, and the thudding sound as Mosaic missed her mark.

Indeed, this zoner was clearly unreasonable. But then, what could she expect from a zoner who was mostly animal? She would not understand higher thinking, nor would she get ulterior motives. It would be a waste of time trying to explain things to her.

Sandra still made another attempt. “I have good reason to do what I am doing. If you stopped and listen to me for just one minute, I think I can convince you of my good intentions.”

Mosaic would have none of it. She merely launched herself at Sandra again. This time, the dragon was too slow to react, and she found herself slammed against the wall. She shut her eyes, hissing in pain as the creature pressed her up against the wall. She glared down at the zoner, her eyes flickering in anger. She wrapped her tail around her and pulled her away,

Then, with her tail still wrapped around her, she slammed her into the ground and placed a foot on top of her. Mosaic squirmed, snapping her jaws and trying to speak, if she had such a capability.

Sandra, still holding her down, used her other foot to grab onto her mouth. She forced it onto the ground. She held on tightly as the zoner squirmed underneath her. Mosaic struck out with her feet, trying to scratch her. But though she hit the mark a few times, Sandra refused to let go, not wanting to take the chance of getting herself more hurt. The scratches on her side were still stinging her. She couldn’t imagine what a more serious injury would be like.

She realized, in that moment, that Mosaic could not be reasoned with. She could argue all she wanted to. Nothing was going to change this zoner’s mind. It was clear that she thought that she was a threat, and was not going to listen to her attempts to justify herself.

So now, there was really only one option left. She didn’t want to do this, but Mosaic had given her no other alternative.

Sandra narrowed her eyes down at Mosaic. “This will be my final warning to you. If you decide to mess with me again, I will be forced to utilize a more permanent solution for you.” At this, Mosaic, naturally, attempted to kick her off. Sandra put her face close to hers, her eye inches away from the croc’s. “And one more thing. I will tell the truth in due time. If not to everyone, then at least to Snap. But if you decide to spell the beans somehow, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life regretting it.”

Mosaic’s eyes widened at this. Sandra watched as fear flashed across her reptilian face. But then she went back to growling softly at her, as if she wanted to stand up to her. Sandra merely growled softly, unimpressed with Mosaic’s attempts at escape.

Sandra flashed her sharp teeth, letting out a low hiss through them. “Do not take my warning lightly, Mosaic.” Her ears pressed back against her head, like a canine or feline who was angered. “You will find that, while I am overall an easy-going zoner, cross me, and you will get the horns. Please, do not force me to go that far.” Mosaic snarled at her. Sandra shook her head. “Time to end this.”

Sandra kept her grip on the zoner. She closed her eyes, and her triangle mark began to glow. Seconds later, Mosaic’s eyes bulged and she began to squirm frantically underneath Sandra’s weight. It didn’t take long for her to go completely still. Sandra kept a hold of her, making sure she was knocked out. She then released her and took a few steps back.

She looked at Mosaic up and down, making sure that she was still breathing, but in no condition to come after her. The mark on her head quickly stopped glowing, returning to normal. She gave the zoner a quick smirk.

“You did put up a good fight. I must admit that about you.” Sandra said. Then her voice darkened. “But remember. Give me enough reason, and I will end you. No one is going to interfere with me ever again.”

With that, Sandra turned and left the hospital.

sss

No it couldn’t be true... Please let it not be true.. Anything but that, please...

Rudy’s mind rang with thoughts, swirling around, creating a confusing mess. He was only vaguely aware of Penny running along beside him. Mint was not with them yet; he had diverted away from them in order to see Ripclaw. None of them faulted him for it; he hadn’t seen his creation in a long time. He promised to meet up with them later.

Rudy’s heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest. He was in utter horror at what he had learned when he got here. If Mint had known about this as well, he’d be coming with them, too.

After Mint left, he and Penny headed towards the hospital to see Snap. They had planned to talk to him momentarily before they continued their investigation with the fireworks. They did not have much luck with that, but they did get word of one zoner who might know more. They made plans to go talk to said zoner after they visited Snap so he knew what was going on.

But when they were making their way down the street, they overheard some zoners talking. Rudy and Penny stopped, and listened to what the zoners were saying.

It took them only seconds to realize that the zoners seemed happy about something. They sounded like they were ready to celebrate. They had to move in a little closer, listening more intently, in order to figure out why they felt that way. The reason was not something they expected, or really wanted. In fact, it downright horrified them.

It turned out that Snap had been arrested from his hospital room. The zoners they were seeing must be some of the many zoners who were convinced that Snap was the murderer. They were saying things like how Snap could never hurt anyone again, how they looked forward to the trial, how they wish they could have seen the look on Snap’s face when he was taken away.

The two human children did not stay long to listen to more. Their minds filling with terror, they immediately headed off to the hospital.

Rudy didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to think that his best friend had been arrested. He had just seen him the other day. How..how was this possible? Who could have ordered the arrest? What could have happened to make the zoners take action and arrest Snap, rather than just yell at him?

Rudy’s first thought was that Dr. Gelcro had something to do with it. He recalled how much that zoner hated Snap. He knew full well that he would have gotten Snap arrested at the first opportunity. Penny wanted to be more lenient with Dr. Gelcro and give him the benefit of the doubt. But she had to agree that the husky could have done something. The doctor zoner had made it clear to her and Rudy that he fully intended on taking action if he felt he had a reason to. Dr. Gelcro would not protest to Snap’s arrest.

They both agreed, however, that even if Dr. Crobat were still Snap’s doctor, the arrest still would have happened. The doctors had no authority over the cops. If the police decided Snap should be arrested, then the doctors have no choice but to comply.

But why would Snap be arrested? He and Penny did know that many zoners thought he was guilty. They were getting some of that slack as well, and the negative comments regarding Snap were becoming more and more frequent. But to be angry at Snap was one thing; to arrest him was another. What could have provoked such action? He and Penny had to find that out, and fast.

The two of them wasted no time. They ran in the direction of the hospital. They rushed past any zoner they came across. Even if the zoner attempted to speak, they would move past them without saying a word. Some of the zoners appeared to be simply curious, but a few of them had sneers on their faces. If they were to speak, Rudy didn’t doubt that it would be a condenscending remark regarding their friend, or them continuing to defend him.

When they reached the hospital, they rushed past the receptionist’s desk. She had tried to stop them, but they ignored her cries. They knew they could get into trouble, but at the moment, they didn’t care. They kept running up the stpes and down the hallways until they reached Snap’s room.

Their eyes widened when they saw that Snap wasn’t in his room. They looked left and right, hoping that he had just tried to get up and wander around despite his injuries. But they soon had those hopes dashed when they saw Mosaic laying prone on the ground. She appeared to be sleeping, and did not look alert or concerned. If she was here, not doing anything, then that meant that...

Rudy shook his head, a part of him in denial. There..there had to be another explanation for this. Snap couldn’t have been arrested. The zoners wouldn’t have done that..would they? Sure, some were calling for his arrest, but with no evidence, they wouldn’t have tried, right?

The two of them were about to take a few steps forward when some voice behind them made them freeze.

“I see you found out.”

Rudy and Penny turned around. They immediately adopted defensive postures when they saw it was Dr. Gelcro. He wore a dark smirk n his face. The two humans took a step back, staring at him warily.

“Oh settle down. I have no intentions on doing anything to you.” Dr. Gelcro said, raising up his hand. “However, if you want me to explain...” He motioned toward himself. “I’ll be happy to obligue.” He then motioned towards them.

Rudy and Penny looked at one another. Then they turned their attention back on Dr. Gelcro, narrowing their eyes. From the sound of it, Rudy was convinced that he was responsible. Perhaps he was correct, and Dr. Gelcro convinced the cops to arrest Snap or however else he managed to accomplish this. The husky zoner made no attempt to look innocent. That smile alone told volumes.

It took all his strength not to snap at the zoner. He felt his lips quivering, part of his teeth being exposed. He could tell Penny was likely having the same problems. He did not look at her, though. He kept his attention solely on Dr. Gelcro. He felt himself unable to tear his gaze away from those horrendeous red eyes. It was like it gripped him with some invisible hand, forcing him to remain where he was.

With barely controlled anger, Rudy asked, “What happened to our friend...?”

At this, Dr. Gelcro turned his head to the side. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t try to lie to us!” Rudy pointed towards the bed. “Where is Snap?!” Rudy knew he had sounded angrier than he had intended. Penny’s hand on his shoulder did help settle him down a little. He continued to glare at Dr. Gelcro.

“Hmph. What a temper you have, boy. If I were you,” The husky pointed a clawed finger in his direction. “I would learn to shut it.” He glared at Rudy for a few more seconds before he leaned back, folding his arms against his chest. “As for where he is, well, he’s exactly where he belongs.” He leaned forward, sneering at Rudy and Penny. “He’s in jail.”

At this, Rudy and Penny felt cold fear rush through their bodies. It was just as they had worried about. Snap really had been arrested. He had been hauled off to some old jail where he would be trapped with other criminals. The thoughts of what could happen to their friend rushed through their heads. Each time, the visions got gradually worse and more disturbing. They tried to push the thoughts out of their heads, but it became impossible.

The idea of Snap going to jail was horrifying enough. But Rudy remembered there was a big possibility that the mob from before were also locked up in prison. There was a good chance Snap would run into them again. He shivered at the thought of Snap being trapped with zoners who hated him. Without any restraint, just how were they going to treat his friend? He knew the end result would ultimately not be good. Even if they don’t actually hurt Snap, they could still torment him mentally.

How..how could this happen to their best friend...? Why was this happening..? What did Snap to do to deserve this? How could these zoners have arrested him? What would prompt such a decision?

Rudy tried his best to control the torrent of emotions rushing through his body. He tried to keep himself from shaking, yet he failed. He could feel the trembling of his body, the emotion rushing through him like water on a beach. He found himself still staring at Dr. Gelcro, the zoner’s gaze seemingly piercing into his. This zoner...how could he do this? How could he condemn Snap like this? Even if he wasn’t the one who sent him away, Rudy knew that Dr. Gelcro would have made no attempt to stop the police. He may have just watched the whole thing with a satisfied expression on his face.

Rudy formed a fist with his hand, feeling it shake beside him. He could still feel Penny’s hand on his shoulder. He tried to keep himself calm, but he found it increasingly difficult to do. Glaring at the zoner, thoughts rushing through his head, the twelve year old eventually found his voice and used it.

“How could you...?”

Dr. Gelcro’s ears twitched at this. He turned his head to one side, looking at Rudy expectantly. “How could I what?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. “How could you arrest Snap when you have no prove he did anything?”

Dr. Gelcro chuckled at this. “Oh that is rich! Oh that’s good!” He placed a hand against his chest, letting out a loud laughter that seemed to almost echo in the empty room. The husky slowed down and stared at Rudy and Penny with a clearly fake shocked expression. “Oh you are being serious aren’t you? You really don’t know?”

“If I did, would I be asking?” Came Rudy’s bitter reply.

“Oh that is right.” Dr. Gelcro chuckled. “Oh how silly of me!” He waved his paw dismissively. He took a step forward, his bushy tail swinging from side to side. “A piece of your friend’s clothing was found at the scene of the crime.”

“What?! But that’s impossible!” Penny cried. “We..I mean, the cops already searched Shrapnel Tower and...”

Dr. Gelcro raised his paw, silencing her. “First of all, we are aware of your little..excursion in Shrapnel Tower.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Be glad that we decided to overlook your disobedience.”

Rudy and Penny were shocked by this. The zoners had found out about what they were doing? But they had snuck in and no one was around and... Unless... Maybe they had been followed. Maybe a small zoner was hidden, and had reported it to the police or somethign. Rudy bit his lip, wondering how this would affect how the zoners saw him and his friends.

Dr. Gelcro continued, “Second, I was not talking about that.”

At this, Rudy and Penny looked at him in confusion. What was he talking about? The Shrapnel Tower was the only crime scene that they knew about where zoners had died recently. There couldn’t have been another one. They would have known about it.

..unless a recent crime had taken place...

Cold horror rushed through Rudy’s veins. Another murder? There had been another murder? No, it couldn’t be. The only way it were possible is if that culprit got their machine working again. And if the machine is working again...

Oh no...

Dr. Gelcro elaborated more on his statement. “Some of our patients had been found dead. Their life support systems had been shut off. A piece of your friend’s cape had been found at one of these locations. He is the only one we can connect to the crime. And so, based on this evidence, he has been taken care of.”

“But Snap couldn’t have done it. He can’t even walk!” Penny protested.

“Yeah, and you know that!” Rudy pointed an accusatory finger at the zoner. “Don’t try to tell me otherwise! We spoke to you enough to know. You had seen his wounds! They aren’t fake!”

The husky nodded his head slowly. “That is true. However...” He folded his arms against his chest. “That doesn’t mean he wasn’t responsible. Obviously, he found a way to get down there and back up. He had been doing well with walking lately, so that could be how he had pulled it off.”

Rudy shook his head. “No, Snap would not have done this!”

Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes. “Again with defending your friend, despite knowing full well there is no other way the cloth could have gotten there.” He shook his head in disappointment. “I would think that the Great Creator would know that.”

Rudy took a step forward, pulling himself away from Penny. He would have argued with the zoner longer about how Snap wouldn’t do such a thing. But he and Penny both knew it would have been pointless. He was glad that Mint wasn’t here; he would have been even more confrontational and potentially start a fight with the zoner. That certainly would not have granted them any favors.

Instead, he decided to focus on what mattered the most: Getting to Snap, and discussing their next course of action. They needed to pay more attention to how they were going to get Snap out of jail, not waste time arguing with a zoner who is clearly in no mood to listen.

Rudy spoke in the calmest voice he could muster. “Where was our friend taken?”

At this, Dr. Gelcro smiled. “Now that’s more like it. Calm and polite.” Dr. Gelcro turned his head towards the window, looking at them with a single red eye. “Your friend was taken to the local jail on the other side of town. I don’t know if your plans on..negotiation...will work, but..” He turned his head so both his eyes could see them. “They might allow you to see your friend.”

Rudy nodded his head once. “Thank you.”

“Come on, Rudy.” Penny grabbed onto his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

Without looking back, the two human children made their way out of the hospital room. They could feel the husky zoner’s red eyes boring through their backs. The sensation was difficult to ignore. Even as they fled down the hallway, they could still feel Dr. Gelcro’s presence.

Rudy attempted to ignore it the best he could, turning his thoughts to Snap. He hoped his friend was doing okay. The thought of him being alone and frightened.... trapped with zoners who hated him... He tried to push back the unpleasant thoughts as he and Penny made their way to the jail.

sss

Rudy sat down on the chair. He did his best to remain calm, but it was difficult to do so. His mind was spinning with several thoughts, recounting what had happened when he and Penny arrived.

He and Penny had attempted to negotiate with the police. He had known it would be a difficult endeavor. He knew that, chances were, they would not get a good reception with it. But he never would have thought it would have been as bad as it was. The cop zoners seemed outright insulted that he and Penny had tried to bargain with them regarding Snap.

He and Penny had been told countless times during the ensuing argument that the police do not make deals with anyone. Not even creators. If they wanted their friend out, they would have to do it the good old fashioned way; by defending him in court. Their friend was going to stand trial in three days. They could try to defend him then, and hope that they could come up with a good enough case to convince the jury that Snap was innocent.

Rudy wasn’t sure what he, Mint, and Penny could do to defend Snap. They had no evidence themselves, and the only pieces of evidence linking anyone seem to indicate Snap. The fireworks might provide a clue, but even then, they’d need more to show that Snap had nothing to do with the crime.

But he knew that they would have to think of something, and fast. When Penny asked what would happen to Snap if he were convicted, they were given a bone chilling response.

He was to be executed.

They tried to fight back the tears fighting in the back of their eyes. They couldn’t stop the dread from snaking up their bodies. Their friend could be killed for a crime he did not commit. The situation had taken a dire, terrifying turn. And for a while, they could not speak.

He and Penny were in the visiting room of the prison. There were several stalls all around them, most of them occupied. There were various prisoners, some looking rather dangerous while others looked like they had committed very mild felonies. Though looks can decieve. For all they knew, any one of these zoners could be dangerous, and any one of them could have it out for Snap.

Poor Snap... He was sitting on the other side of the glass wall. There were a few holes present in the wall, allowing for communication between them. Those prison did not use a phone system, probably to keep conversations much less private. A precaution they presumed.

The orange jumpsuit that their friend was now forced to wear stood out very easily among the white stone that formed this room, curving and making sharp edges as it separated the stalls. A white platform was in front of them, allowing them a place to rest their arms. The window was connected completely into the white platform, offering no space. Rudy knew of some prisons that have a space to allow small exchanges, but it was obvious this prison did not want to risk contraband. Not that they would risk pulling such a stunt in case Snap got a worse punishment for it.

Snap looked absolutely terrified. And why wouldn’t he? He was being condemned by these zoners. He had been arrested and would be forced to stand trial for a crime he was innocent of. And if he is found guilty..he was going to die... Rudy fought back tears, not wanting to believe it.

“I’m so sorry, Snap.” Rudy finally said after an uncomfortable silence fell upon them. Snap looked up at him. “I..I tried to get them to let you go, but...” He closed his mouth, gritting his teeth. “I failed you. I’m so sorry.”

Snap leaned forward, his arms resting on the white platform in front of him. He gave a small smile to Rudy, clearly attempting to look brave. “Don’t worry about it, Bucko. You did all you could.”

“Yeah. Besides, I don’t think they would have listened to us even if we did have a convincing argument.” Penny said. She put a hand on Rudy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, thoug. We’ll find some way to help Snap get out of here. You’ll see.”

Rudy turned his gaze down. “We don’t have much time, though, Penny. We’ve been trying to figure things out, and even lately, we haven’t had much luck in anything we’ve tried.” He looked over at her. “How can we find out anything in three days?”

Penny hesitated at first. She gave Rudy a sympathetic expression. She managed to smile, part of her mouth ticking partially upwards. “Something will come up, you’ll see.”

Rudy wished he could be as confident as Penny was right now. She seemed so sure that they would succeed. He wanted to be more like that. He wanted to believe that they could do this. After all, they had been in tough situations before. They had faced off with Mint a couple years ago. That situation had seemed hopeless, but they did turn it around, and now Mint was a full-time ally.

But no matter how hard he tried, he just..couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring himself to be as hopeful as Penny seemed to be right now. He couldn’t stop the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, tugging at his heart, that everything was going to go so horribly wrong. Snap had been arrested, despite their efforts to ensure that their friend wouldn’t get into bigger trouble. They weren’t able to stop the culprit from framing Snap yet again, and now here he was, trapped in a prison with zoners who likely hated his guts.

Penny seemed to notice his anxiety. Her eyes furrowed with concern. “I know it will be a difficult journey, Rudy. I’m not saying that it will be easy. But there’s still a chance that we’ll find out the truth.” She moved in closer, putting her arm around Rudy. “Let’s try to focus on that, okay?”

Rudy nodded his head. He couldn’t get himself to feel less anxious, but he did start to feel a little better knowing that they still had a chance. It was only three days, but at least that gave them some kind of buffer to work with. And there was something else he could not forget.

“There is also that firework.” Rudy said softly.

At this, Penny nodded her head. “That’s right. We still need to ask more zoners around about that.”

“Firework?” Came Snap’s confused voice. At this, Rudy and Penny realized they hadn’t yet told Snap about their thoughts, or rather, they did not remind him. His memory was still in shambles.

Penny said, “The fireworks used to cause the explosion emitted a white flame. It’s a rare type of firework. We have been trying to find out who had bought them, but we hadn’t had much luck.”

Rudy chimed in. “But we did learn the name of someone who might have some knowledge. We plan on finding him soon.” He looked over towards the clock. He gritted his teeth, feeling stupid that he did not realize just what time was. “We can’t stay much longer...”

Snap scooted his chair in closer. “I wish you guys could stay.” His eyes widened, filling with emotion. “I don’t like it here.”

“I know, Snap.” Penny said sadly, looking at him empathetically. “We’ll do what we can get you out of there, okay?”

“We promise.” Rudy said.

Snap smiled at them. But he did little to hide just how afraid he was. Seeing him like this was absolutely heartbreaking for Rudy and Penny. Rudy suddenly remembered how Snap had told them about how some of the zoners here flatout told him that they hated him and they hoped he was convicted. They had said some pretty nasty things to him before he and Penny arrived. While they did not hurt Snap, it was clear that they shook him up.

Rudy wished he could get Snap out of here. He wished that he could come up with a way that Snap did not have to stay here. But he knew that it was a hopeless endeavor. Nothing he and Penny said or did would convince the cops to let him out. They found evidence of him being at a scene of the crime, and based on that one evidence, they locked him up in here.

Rudy took a look around. He noted that some of the zoners, both prisoner and visitor, were glaring or sneering in Snap’s the direction. He glared back at them, but said nothing. He turned his attention back to Snap. He was saddened to see his friend react so badly to those glares. It was clear he was trying to look brave, but he and Penny could see the poor zoner cringing away. Rudy wanted to say something in Snap’s defense, but he was afraid that he was going to make the situation worse. So he forced himself to keep quiet and keep his focus on Snap.

In the back of his mind, he began to wonder if he and Penny, along with Mint, would really find the culprit in time. They had so few days left now. They would have to work extra hard these next couple of days, or Snap... He tried not to think about it.

“Don’t worry, you guys.” Snap said. He smiled the best he could despite his situation. “I know, somehow, you will pull through.”

Rudy and Penny smiled at this. They were glad that Snap still had faith in them. Even in this moment of hopelessness, Snap still truly believed in them. They were grateful for that. They all could use some hope right about now.

The question was...

...would it be enough?

None of them could be sure. Things could still go horribly wrong. There was hardly much time left. They all knew that they would likely need more htan just hope to help them.

But at the same time, they knew that it was best to cling onto some hope. If they did not, and fell into despair, then they would miss and overlook clues that could help them find the culprit and free Snap. They should not get their hopes up too high, but they also could not allow themselves to feel utterly hopeless.

Rudy knew the best thing they could do was keeping hoping, and keep trying. They still had time. They still had an opportunity to find the real culprit. They just had to keep trying. They...

“Visiting hour is over!”

Rudy winced as he heard that voice ring out over the intercom. As soon as that booming voice sounded out, he could see some guard zoners appearing in the two entrances to this place. About four of them, large and bulky, and carrying weapons. They were tasked to take care of anyone who stayed here too long. Harsh, but there was nothing Rudy and Penny could do about it.

Although Rudy did not want to leave his friend, he knew he had no choice. The guard zoners would rush him and drag him out if he did not leave in the next couple of minutes. Reluctantly, he and Penny bid their friend farewell and got up to leave.

They took a few steps towards the door and paused. They looked back at their friend, their eyes meeting. They stared at each other for several seconds, conveying a silent, yet powerful message to one another. Then Rudy and Penny, unwillingly, left the jail. They needed to locate Mint. They had much to discuss.

sss

“All right, come along, you.” The jail warden said, his eyes narrowed.

“Okay, I’m going!” Snap cried.

“You’re too slow!” The jail warden glared down at him. “Why can’t you move faster? I don’t have all day, you know!”

Snap rolled his eyes. “I could move faster if you didn’t have my hands and feet cuffed like this.”

At this, the warden sneered at him. “Like I am going to take a chance with you, murderer.”

Snap winced at this. He would have tried to refute that statement. He wanted to defend himself. But he knew, here, that was not a good idea. He was no position to do that, and he could land himself in hotter water than he was already in. As much as he hated it, he had no choice but to put up with the names that he was going to be called here.

He continued to move along the hallway. The jail warden was behind him, ensuring that he wouldn’t try to run and escape. Not like he could get very far like this. His legs were chained together, inhibiting movement, and his hands were handcuffed together. It was a precaution in case he tried anything. It was temporary at least.

The jail warden led him down the corridor. Left and right, he could see jail cell after jell cell, the iron bars being the only things separating him from these zoners. He looked from side to side, seeing that most of these cells had one lone prisoner, though a couple had room mates.

Each of the zoners, he noted, did not look happy to see him. There were glares on their faces. Snap had to wonder if these zoners were the ones from the crowd he had been told about. The one that had been calling out for his death and arrest. If that is the case, he wondered what they thought of him now, trapped here with them, the zoner whom they all blamed for the death of their loved ones. He lowered his head, feeling their glares pierce through him. It was an uncomfortable sensation.

Suddenly, he came to a stop. The warden grabbed onto his chains, forcing him to halt. Snap nearly gagged as a result. The warden gave no look of sympathy or remorse. He walked over to the cell that they stood right next to, pulling out what appeared to be a small yet long key. He put it into the hole, turning it. After a click, the cell door was opened up.

The jail warden then proceeded to unhook the cuffs that kept Snap’s arms and feet close together. He gave Snap no time to recover from that when he lifted him up and tossed him into the cell room. Snap let out a cry of pain as he slammed against the ground painfully. He lifted up his head and glared back at the warden as the zoner locked the door, trapping him inside.

The warden took a moment to jeer at Snap, “Try to have a good night here. It may be one of your last...if we are lucky.”

With that, the jail warden disappeared down the hallway. Snap glared after him, gripping his hands on the iron bars. He took no care to really notice the glares he was getting from the prisoners that could see him. He just focused on watching the jail warden disappear down, soon becoming out of sight.

Snap closed his eyes and sighed. There was no use in wasting anger right now. In an instant, he could feel his body wash away that burning emotion, filtering through his hands and feet. His heart rate slowed down slightly as he attempted to relax a little so he could think more clearly about his situation. He took a few steps back, bowing his head, a low sigh escaping through his partially open mouth.

There was nothing he could do now. Despite really wanting to try to find a way out, he knew it would be no use. He was trapped here until his innocense was proven, or he ends up getting charged with murder and obtaining the death penalty.

His spine was shot full of ice at that memory. He could still recall the look on that zoner’s face when he told him about that. The zoner seemed almost gleeful. He was likely another one of those zoners who lost someone near and dear to him when Shrapnel Tower was destroyed. Now he really thinks that his loved ones were being avenged. No wonder he wounded so happy.

Snap tried to push the unpleasant memory away. He tried to control his intense fear that was pulling him at the back of his mind. He knew that sitting here, feeling terrified, was not going to help him. He had to try to be strong and resist. The culprit would want him to break. He would not give the culprit that victory.

“Why, hello Snap...”

Snap stiffened up at that sudden, cold voice. It sounded as though its speaker could breathe ice over him now, turning him into nothing more than a sculpture made of frozen water. The zoner slowly looked over his shoulder, one eye looking around for whoever had called out to him.

He quickly realized that he was not alone in this jail cell. The voice had come from within this very cell. A cold chill went up his spine, realizing that the zoner who spoke had no good intentions for him.

He could soon see a zoner standing not far from him. He was mostly in shadow, but he did not need to be in the light for Snap to know what he looked like. A tall stick figure zoner whose most outstanding feature were his eyes. They practically seemed to glow, cutting through the darkness and piercing through him.

“Fancy meeting you here...” The stick figure zoner took a few steps forward, walking towards Snap. The small zoner took a small step back. “It seemed justice finally caught up to you.”

Snap took in a few quick breaths. He could sense the dangerous aura off this zoner. “Who..who are you..?”

The stick figure zoner narrowed his eyes dangerously at this. He moved even closer, causing Snap to press his back against the cell door’s bars. “You dare try to pull your amnesia crap on me? Oh don’t waste your time, Snap. I know what you really are. Don’t pretend that you don’t know me.” He grabbed onto Snap’s arm and squeezed it tightly. “I am the zoner that is going to give you a little payback for what you did to my sister.”

Snap looked up at the zoner, trembling, unable to control the fear rising up inside of him. “Your s-s-sister..?”

The stick figure zoner snarled at this. “Dear Galena died because of you!”

Snap shivered at this. He quickly realized just what kind of trouble he was in. He was not just trapped in a cell with a zoner who blamed him for that explosion. He was also trapped in a cell where his cell mate happened to have lost a loved one in the explosion the culprit had caused.

And in this stick figure’s mind, he was the culprit. Unable to say a word, all Snap could do was gulp and cringe away, despite not having far to go.

“My name, since you claim you don’t remember...” It was clear that the zoner did not believe his words. “I am Taima. Brother of Galena.”

Taima suddenly yanked Snap forward. In that moment, Snap remembered his legs were still damaged and he leg out a cry of pain, feeling some blood oozing from his worse burns that still hadn’t fully healed. Taima smirked at this and put his face close to Snap’s.

“And I am going to become your worst nightmare...” He spoke in a low, growly voice.

Snap’s eyes widened in horror.

Chapter 20: Interrogation In The Restaurant

I was waiting on a different story. This time, I'm mistaken...
-How You Remind Me, Nickelback




“What? Are you sure?” Penny asked, looking over at Mint with a shocked expression. It was difficult for her to comprehend what he had just told them. “Are you absolutely sure?”

Mint nodded his head. “Yeah, I am.” He closed his eyes softly. “I would not lie to you about this?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly. “Why didn’t you say something before?”

Mint reopened his eyes and looked over at Rudy. “Because I wasn’t entirely certain.” He clenched his teeth and looked away. He closed his eyes again. “Not until now, that is.”

Penny and Rudy looked at each other, both confused and surprised by this turn of events. Penny had never expected Mint to tell them something like this. It felt as though they were in some kind of weird dream. She couldn’t think of any reason why Mint would hide this information. He said he wasn’t certain but..he still should have said something earlier.

If they had known earlier, they might have seen the warning signs before all this had happened. If he had just opened up his mouth and confessed his concerns, they could have used that to help Snap when he was being accused by those other zoners. They could have used this information to track down this zoner and ask questions sooner.

Instead, he was quiet. Instead, he chose to remain silent and not speak up with his concerns. While she was certain Mint might have had some reason, other thing just being unsure, Penny still couldn’t help but feel a bit angry with him.

But she did not hold onto that anger for long. He was telling them now. She shouldn’t waste time scolding him, and she knew Rudy was aware of this as well. They couldn’t afford spend their precious minutes questioning why Mint held back this information. They needed to spend their time learning more about this, as it might hold answers to how to deal with their current predicament.

She knew they would need to act soon. They had been unable to do anything the other day as they found out what time it was, and realized they needed to leave before their parents found them missing from their rooms. They decided it was best to wait until tomorrow. Luckily for them, the school was closed, so they had more time to spare. This time, they should be able to speak with Sandra without fear of interruptions.

“I wish you would have spoken up earlier, Mint. I wish you told us that Sandra was your creation.” Rudy said, shaking his head in disappointment. “It would have saved us a lot of trouble, I’m sure.”

Mint clenched his teeth at this. “I’m sorry. I just...” He held up his hands for a few seconds, staring at Rudy and Penny. He then lowered them. “I just didn’t want to send you all on a wild goose chase. That’s all.”

Rudy stared at Mint. “I understand.” He narrowed his eyes. “But you should still have said something. If Sandra was giving you weird vibes, you should have spoken up. We would have listened. We wouldn’t have been angry at you or made fun of you, if that is what you were concerned about.” He took a small step forward. “Do you understand, Mint?”

The thirteen year old nodded his head. “Yes, I do. I’m sorry.”

Penny decided now was a good time to move on. She didn’t want to drag this on for longer than it needed to be. They didn’t have an unlimited amount of time to do everything. They needed to get moving now. “Mint, what do you remember about Sandra? When you drew her, what did you create her to be like?”

Mint rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His eyes narrowed, facing towards the ground, looking at nothing. “Well...” He said, in deep thought. “It was several years ago, before I met any of you. I was at my cousin’s house, and he wanted me to draw something for him.”

“So you drew Sandra?” Rudy asked.

Mint nodded his head. “That is correct. Of course, she didn’t have any of the armor she does now, nor did she have the triangular mark on her forehead.”

Penny connected the dots immediately. “So your cousin made some modifications of her.”

“That is very likely what happened.” Mint said. He straightened himself up, folding his arms against his chest. “He probably made the changes after I left. He said he liked the way it was before, and I believed him. But after seeing this...” He turned his head, looking down the street. They were standing not far from Sandra’s Alcove. “...well I think it’s safe to say that he was not as impressed with Sandra as I initially thought, since he went and altered her design.” There was a pause, and then his eyes widened. “I wonder if he did more than just change her appearance...”

Penny shared a quick, confused glance with Rudy. She wondered what Mint could be talking about. She and Rudy were both aware that a zoner could be modified by another creator if said creator got to them before the chalk was erased. Beyond that, they weren’t aware of any other changes that could take place. What was Mint referring to?

Mint looked at them both, his eyes still wide. Something was clearly on his mind. He didn’t attempt to speak again after a few seconds. He tried a few times, but he would always just shut his mouth, and a few times, he’d look around, as if confused or unsure of how to continue.

The longer Mint stayed quiet, the more nervous Rudy and Penny got. For him to stay this quiet for this long, it made them wonder just what had him so worried. Sandra’s physical appearance had been altered, so what else could have been done with her? What would have Mint so worried? The only thing left was...

...her mental state.

Penny’s eyes widened in horror at this. “M-Mint? Are you saying that your cousin may have...altered Sandra’s..purpose?”

Mint bit his lip. He opened his mouth to speak. No words came out. He shut his jaws, and gulped. Then he nodded his head swiftly.

At this, Penny and Rudy gasped in horror, taking a step back from him. The thought sent cold shivers down their spines. Another creator altering the purpose of someone else’s creation? The mere thought of that nearly caused their hearts to stop beating. The very idea of that happening...it was incomprehensible. All this time, they had always thought that the zoner’s purpose would always be what the original creator intended.

But now Mint had just thrown them a curveball. He was suggesting something that they thought had been impossible. They were suggesting that a zoner could get hijacked in a sense, hacked and altered, by another creator. Not just physically, but mentally as well. A zoner intended to do one thing would suddenly doing something else, perhaps even the clear opposite of the original creator’s intentions.

This could be something as simple as a shy zoner becoming more social, or it could be as dramatic as a firefighter zoner suddenly being transformed into a villain that causes the fires in the first place. The possibilities swam through the kids’ heads, filling them with dread.

If that is the case, then what did this mean for Sandra? What did Mint intend for her to do? What did his cousin do when he erased her? What new purpose had she been given?

Penny shivered a little from the thoughts of what could happen. She and Rudy never encountered something like this before, not from what she can recall. There was Skrawl, but Rudy hardly played a role in drawing him, so that didn’t really count. There was the time that Rudy tried to fix those drawings, but his input had zero affect on the zoners’ mentalities.

So how did Mint’s cousin cause such a change? What did he do differently?

For now, however, they would have to worry about that later. If it was at all possible that Sandra was altered, that could lead to some big problems. Penny wondered if the others knew what this could mean. She wondered if they had reached the same conclusions as she had. Judging from their expressions, it was hard to say, so she decided to speak up.

“Do you know what this could mean, guys?”

Mint and Rudy looked over at her. They both wore worried expressions. They soon shook their heads, making it obvious that the two were worried that something bad could come out of this, but unsure of what it could be.

“It means that Sandra might have a conflict of her own mind.” Penny said. When the two boys looked at her in confusion, she continued, “Think about it. Mint, you had a very clear intention with Sandra, didn’t you?”

Mint nodded his head slowly. “Y-Yeah, I did...” He paused to think, tilting his head upwards. “If I remember right...” He turned his attention back to Penny. “She was intended to be a nurse of some kind. Dragon nurse I mean. A talented healer. I created her to be a part of my cousin’s roleplaying game.”

“Right. But that’s now how she is now, is it?” Penny pointed out.

“No.” Mint shook his head.

Rudy looked over at Mint. “She’s opened up a restaurant, and is a cook.” He paused, as if letting this sink in. “Do you think your cousin did that?”

“He must have. I don’t ever recall creating Sandra with cooking abilities.” Mint said. “Well outside of healing herbs, I mean.”

“Precisely. She was changed.” Penny said, raising up a finger. “Your cousin gave her come capabilities, and likely more, that you did not intend. This caused her to change from what you had intended.” She furrowed her eyes. “But I’m afraid there is more.” Mint and Rudy stared at Penny, their eyes widening in apprehension. Penny bit on her lip, sucking on it. “There is a chance that Sandra is now of two minds.”

“Two minds?” Rudy tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”

“You mean like..bipolar or something?” Mint inquired.

“Kind of. But not exactly.” Penny tried to think of the best way to explain what she was talking about. “What I am saying is that Sandra likely has her original personality that Mint provided, and the altered personality that his cousin gave her, and now they are trying to intermix with one another to create a personality. Unfortunately, the bonding could be unstable, which means that Sandra has likely become unpredictable.”

The thought of this sent quivers down all their spines. The idea of an unpredictable zoner was rather uncomfortable. They already knew what an unpredictable zoner could be like. They all had their fair share of dealing with Skrawl. That zoner had been drawn by multiple people with no set personality given to him. No one could have known what he’d be like when he was first erased.

If Sandra had become unpredictable as well... How were they going to deal with her? It was still speculation. Penny could be wrong, and the personality they had all seen her display before was her natural one, not a fake one she came up with. But the possibility still existed, and she knew they would have to be on their toes.

They would need to figure out how to deal with a potentially unpredictable zoenr. As she glanced over to the restaurant not far, as she watched the zoners go in, she knew they would have to be careful. She bit her lip, wondering how they could interrogate a potentially unstable zoner.

“Well we can’t stand around here and do nothing.” Rudy’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “We need to talk to Sandra before she becomes too busy with the dinner rush.”

“That’s not going to be for a few hours.” Mint pointed out. A quick glance at Rudy made him pause for thought. “But yeah, you’re right. We can’t wait.”

Penny knew they were right. Even though they didn’t know how Sandra was going to react, they needed to speak with her. They didn’t have much of a choice. There was no time to think and plan. They had to talk now. They would just have to be careful and hope for the best.

Without another word, the group of friends headed towards the restaurant.

sss

“That will be $12 please.” Sandra said, smiling the best she could.

“Okay, let me get out my wallet...” Said the zoner in front of her as he reached for his wallet. Behind him, Sandra could see the other members of his group. There must be about six altogether. Soon the zoner handed her the money. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Sandra said. She took the money and put it into her machine. “Have a nice day.”

“You too.” Said the zoner as he and his friends left, going to one of the tables near the windows.

Sandra took this moment to take in a deep breath and look around her restaurant. She couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of pride in what she was able to accomplish. She couldn’t believe just how much business and praise she got the past few weeks, especially lately. Her new specialities were reeling in more and more customers, and now it was to the point where she was a talk of the town. Many zoners outside would mention her restaurant and how great it was. She smiled at this. She was glad she could satisfy her customers.

She was happy that she got her machine working again. She knew that was how she was able to draw in more customers. She needed that machine to help her obtain more meat. It was the meat that was the biggest seller. It was the meat that she could do culinary magic with, and make a whole variety of tasty meals.

Her latest product, using meat she had obtained from Doofus Penny, had sold very quickly. She had already run out the zoner’s meat to use. Her customers loved it, and the ones who didn’t get any were quite disappointed. But there was nothing she could do about it, and they knew it. She promised to get some more as soon as she had the supplies. Obviously, she never told them that the meat came from Doofus Penny. She didn’t want anyone to steal the idea from her. She felt such strong pride in her new way of making food; she did not want anyone to take it away from her, to copy her idea and lure away her customers. So it was a well kept secret.

As she went in the back to prepare her latest customers’ meals, she couldn’t help but overhear some of the things the zones were saying. Her ears twitched as she listened in on the conversation.

“Can you believe it? The jail had apparently postponed Snap’s trial.” A female zoner said, her voice laced in disgust. “They better have a good reason for it.”

“They are probably trying to gather some witnesses or something. It wouldn’t be much of a trial if it was barren.” The male zoner with her said.

The female zoner shook her head. “Well, as long as he is tossed back in jail where he belongs, I’m fine.”

The male zoner looked at her sympathetically. “Don’t worry. Snap won’t get away with murdering your friend.”

Sandra paused for a few seconds, letting this information sink in. So it would seem that Snap’s trial was not going to happen today like she had expected, but likely a few days from now. Curious. She wondered what could have caused the delay. She’d just chalk it up to what that one zoner said. They probably need more time or something to set up the trial.

Speaking of Snap, she wondered how he was doing. The little zoner was probably scared and frightened at this point, being trapped in that jail with zoners who believe he was responsible for the loss of their loved ones. The situation sounded horrifying even in thought, but she knew it was necessary to drive home the point of why he shouldn’t have wronged her. She would allow the trial to commense and allow him to get sentenced. Then, if she felt that he learned his lesson in time, she would save him from the death penalty. If not...well she hoped they would make it quick.

She still felt some excitement for all of this. She still felt that ruge of adrenaline as she pulled off these stunts without anyone realizing it was her. It was still all sort of a game to her. But she was settling down now, and it no longer gave her the same kind of rush as before. Now she was just hoping it was going to end soon.

She hoped that her methods were able to teach Snap a valuable lesson. She hoped that, by the time the trial came, Snap would be regretful for his actions, for destroying her precious machine. Otherwise, then she would have wasted her time on him. She hoped that he could prove her wrong about him. She hoped that he would surprise her, and show her that he was capable of reasoning and understanding.

But for now, she couldn’t worry about it. Snap’s trial would be in a few days. She can worry about him later. She would give him some more time to think about what he did. At the moment, paying attention to her restaurant was of a more important, urgent manner.

Suddenly, as she finished delivering the multiple meals to her latest customers, she could hear the sound of the doors squeaking open. She walked towards the curved counter where her register was, turning her head to see who her new potential customers would be.

To her surprise, it wasn’t anyone she thought it was going to be. Not a new customer. Not a return customer. Not a regular customer. Instead, it was Rudy, Penny, and Mint. She blinked a few times, wondering what they wanted to talk to her about. She remained behind her counter, staring at them as they approached.

“Hello.” Sandra said, raising her hand in greeting. “What did you come to me about?”

“Sandra...we need to talk.” Rudy said, his voice rather stern.

Sandra was surprised by the way Rudy said that. And the way they were looking at her puzzled her as well. She did her best not to look unnerved, however, and she offered a small smile. “Okay...let’s talk. What did you want to discuss?”

“Where you the one who left claw marks in the ChalkZone hospital?” Came Rudy’s question, swift and firm. He stared at her intently, awaiting an answer.

Sandra’s eyes widened at this. She looked left and right, ensuring that none of her customers were listening in on this. When she was satisfied in knowing that her customers were too busy talking with each other to pay attention to what Rudy and his friends were saying, Sandra decided it was best to take this talk somewhere more...private.

Sandra waved her hand towards them, ushering them to come with her. “We should talk somewhere more...quiet.” She gave a quick, nervous chuckle. “We don’t want anyone interrupting us.”

The three children stared at her, but they all nodded their heads in understanding. Without a word, albeit a bit slowly, they followed her as she led them in the back. She walked passed the kitchen and a bit down further.

When they came to the first bend, she led them into a small room on the right. An empty room with a single overhead light. She did not have any use for this room yet. With no distractions, it would be the best place for them to discuss topics like this.

“Okay... so, can you repeat the question?” Sandra asked, interlocking her feather fingers.

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly, but soon relaxed them. He took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “We found some claw marks in the hospital. Well..Penny did.” He gestured to the girl.

Sandra looked over at Penny, tilting her head. “Did you, now?”

Penny nodded her head. “Mint and I went in the hospital to try to fiind some clues leading to the culprit who killed some of the hospital’s patients. We were able to get into one of the rooms. We found some claw marks.”

Mint took a step forward. “We were wondering if you had any insight on where they could have come from.”

Sandra stared at them for a few seconds, blinking a couple of times. Then she said, “I’ll be happy to give my input.”

“Okay then. Let’s talk.” Rudy said, folding his arms.

“We know you are busy and we don’t want to keep you.” Penny said. “So we would appreciate it if you answered as quickly as possible.”

“No problem.” Sandra said, a smile spread across her face. “Now, about these claw marks...”

sss

Rudy narrowed his eyes as he and his friends stood in front of the dragon zoner. They waited patiently for her to respond. She had a lot of explaining to do. He wondered what she was going to say about the claw marks, and whether or not they should believe her words.

Rudy couldn’t help but feel a level of anger towards this zoner. When they had wandered into the restaurant, they noticed that Sandra seemed...a bit too cheery for someone who was supposed to be worried about Snap. Not that he expected her to think about Snap twenty-four hours a day, as that would get pretty creepy. But he would have thought that she’d so some concern when they came in.

Instead, while she was surprised, she didn’t give any indication that she was worried. No look of sympathy, just surprise. This seemed rather off to him and it made him feel uncomfortable around the zoner. He wanted to take a step back away from her, but he remained where he was, listening to what she had to say.

“In case you are wondering, yes. I’ll admit it right off the bat. I did leave the claw marks there.” Sandra said, making a gesture or two with her right hand. “However, there is a good reason for that, if you are willing to let me explain.”

Rudy cocked up an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“Okay, well, I was merely just visiting one of the patients there. Before he was killed that is. I had slipped and fallen, and my feet hit against the bed.” Sandra shook her head. “Poor fellow. I must have driven him crazy with the sound of claw scraping metal.” She looked back at them. “So yeah, that’s how they got there.”

Rudy was quiet for a few moments. He looked over at his friends. They were a bit skeptical, but it was clear they all wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. They don’t want to make her a suspect so quickly. They needed more information first.

Rudy spoke up after a bit of silence. “Are you sure that these marks don’t appear anywhere else? Are you positive that you did not scratch anything else?”

Sandra nodded her head. “I’m sure. It was just a one time accident.” She fumbled her hands together, giving a smile to them. “I assure you I learned my lesson the first time.”

Rudy wasn’t sure what to think. Sandra did say the claw marks were hers. A part of him was sort of glad for that. One less thing she was lying about. But on the other, this still links her to the scene of the crime, which means she could still be lying about something. What if something else had happened? What if she did create more claw marks?

The only way to find out for certain was to check...but Rudy had his doubts that he and Penny would get that far. Dr. Gelcro would certainly stop them. Dr. Crobat couldn’t really help them much anymore, either. They would need to try a different tactic....but what, he wasn’t sure.

“Have you learned anything else?” Mint asked.

This question came out of the blue. Rudy looked over at Mint, a bit surprised that he thought of asking that. He turned his attention back to Sandra, awaiting her answer.

“I am afraid not. I have heard a few things here or there from my customers, but nothing you didn’t already know.” Sandra’s ears lowered down. “It is a shame what happened with Snap.” Her eyes seemed to shine with sadness. She looked over at them sympathetically. “I do hope you find a way to help out your friend.”

“So do we.” Penny said. “We have been trying so hard lately, but everything seems to come up to a deadend.” She bit her lip, looking left and right. “We did find out about some thief that took white flame fireworks.”

Sandra’s eyes widened for a moment, her ears raising up. Then they lowered and she tilted her head. “White flame fireworks?”

Penny nodded her head. “Yeah. They were what was used against those zoners. The explosives that ripped the place apart.”

Sandra furrowed her eyes for a moment, rubbing her chin. She then pulled her head back. “Oh...!” She nodded her head. “Yeah, I remember that now. I think I overheard one of my customers bring that up.” She turned her head, looking towards the door. “Speaking of which, I should probably get back to them. I’m sure I have a line out there waiting and..”

“We’re still not done. Please..let us ask a few more questions.” Rudy pleaded with her. They weren’t done with Sandra yet.”

Sandra narrwoed her eyes at the humans. She gave a small grunt, showing some small form of impatience. Not something they would expect if she was really all that worried for Snap. “Okay then, continue on. But please hurry. I can’t be back here forever.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly at the zoner. He was beginning to question just how much she thought for Snap. She seemed in too much of a hurry to get back to her customers. Right now, gathering information to help Snap was more important than a few angry customers. But it was clear that Sandra felt differently about it.

But he didn’t want to get too upset with her. It could be that she was in a bad mood and was trying to hide it. Maybe she really was worried for Snap, but was attempting to be happier so that she wouldn’t pull herself down. And he reminded himself that running a restaurant was hard work. He wouldn’t be surprised if Sandra got a bit of emotional abuse from her customers, resulting in a somewhat snarky personality from time to time.

Rudy had his doubts that they would get anything concrete from Sandra. He didn’t think that they would solve the case this fast. However, he hoped, they all hoped, that Sandra would do or say something that could provide for them clues to what happened with Snap. Perhaps she would slip up and reveal something she never meant to before.

Even if it was something small, even if it seemed insignificant, every bit of information counts. A part of him was hoping that they would find something with Sandra. They were running out of options.

“I...” Rudy paused, realizing that he didn’t have any more questions to ask her. He had asked her to stay out of desperation; he still wanted to speak to her. But with no questions to ask, how was he going to keep her here long?

Luckily, it seemed Penny already thought one up.

Penny looked at Sandra, taking a step forward. “Do you know anyone by the name of Xannon?”

There looked to be a flash in Sandra’s eyes, but she shook her head. “Sorry, I do not. Why?”

“He chased me around, thinking I stole his fireworks. You wouldn’t happen to know what could have happened to them, do you?” Rudy asked. He did his best to sound as nonthreatening and non-accusing as he could, knowing that Sandra’s mental state may not be as it appeared. “He was all in a huffy because they were missing.” He paused. “I wonder if he was connected to what happened with Snap.”

“It is very possible.” Sandra said, nodding her head in agreement. “Are you going to talk to... oh wait, you did, didn’t you?”

Rudy flinched. “More like got chased by him. Which I already told you.”

“Oh yes..yes...” Sandra nodded her head a few times. “Okay. Well, I am sorry I can’t provide anymore information on him.” Sandra smiled sadly at the children. “Really, I am. I wish I knew more. If I did, I would have told you.”

Rudy nodded his head slowly. “I’m sure you would.”

Rudy wasn’t entirely sure how much of the dragon zoner’s words he should believe. On the one hand, she did sound sincere, and he could see that she was feeling some sadness for them. But how genuine was it? How much of it was she actually feeling? Rudy did his best to push the thoughts aside. There was likely an explanation for all of this. For all he knew, this whole thing could have been an accident and...

...no. The fireworks were no accident. They were placed in the right position to tear that building apart once they were set off. They were all linked together. There was no way that was by mistake. Someone had done that on purpose.

“Why didn’t you show up at the party earlier?” That was the first question Rudy had thought of. He realized it sounded a bit too accusatory, so he quickly modified it. “Er, I mean...did you run into any trouble on the way there? Did you see anything suspicious?”

Sandra folded her arms against the metal plate on her chest. “I do believe I answered this question before. And I’ll say it again. No I did not. I was on my way as usual, and everything was pretty much normal.”

Rudy didn’t recall asking this question before, but perhaps he had and just forgot. It had been weeks after all. He nodded his hiead slowly. “I see. So you saw nothing.” He raised his hands up in gesture. “Nothing that shouldn’t have been there? No zoner in an unusual location?”

Sandra shook her head. “I told you everything I knew. I’m not sure why you are asking me again.”

There was a tinge of frustration in the dragon’s voice. It reminded Rudy of how often he and his friends asked the zoners questions. Even their plan of waiting and asking later on didn’t work as much as they hoped, as the zoners still remembered being asked and were just as annoyed at them asking the same questions over and over. That tactic yielded no results, and he could see that talking with Sandra again was likely going to lead them to a deadend as well.

But he wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet. There had to be a question they could ask that would reveal something..anything to them. Something that Sandra had neglected to tell them, whether though secrecy or she just plain forgot.

“Did you find out anything regarding that complete scan? I don’t think you told me all about that.” Sandra said.

Rudy looked at his friends, each of them wincing slightly at the memory. The full brain scan... That had been one of their few hopes in proving Snap’s innocense. They had hoped that the scan would show up with something that would help them. But sadly, just like all the others, it had turned up negative, with no indication there was anything wrong with this brain. This only added fuel to the fire as more and more zoners began to hate Snap.

Dr. Crobat had once told them about something he noticed on the scan before. A blip, an anomaly, but it was only there for a few seconds, and then it vanished. Some of the doctors thought that the bird zoner was simply seeing things. Rudy and his friends weren’t sure what to make of it. Without having seen it themselves, and with no footage, it was hard to tell if Dr. Crobat really had seen it, or if it was a trick of the eyes.

If there was a blip, though, then it meant that something could be wrong with their friend. But not in the way they had originally imagined it. The possibilities of what it could mean weighed heavily on his mind, sending a cold chill up his spine.

The idea of the culprit having some kind of...control like that, it was an uneasy thing to think about. He hoped that wasn’t the case. But at the same time, they all knew this was most likely what was going on. After all, how else can the culprit repeatedly ensure that Snap’s scans were always negative, and yet still induce amnesia on him?

He was about to say something when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He thought back to what Sandra had said. Full brain scan... He didn’t recall him and his friends telling Sandra about that. Yes, they told her about a scan, but they never mentioned it was a completed scan. He didn’t recall telling her when a completed scan would be done. So how did Sandra...?

Sandra seemed to notice his expression. She waved her hand out in front of her. “Well I thought I heard someone around here mention it and...”

Penny raised up her hand, drawing Sandra’s attention to her. “No need to explain. We just tend to forget how information bounces around here.” She looked all around, as if to emphasize her point. “Anyway, as you could very well imagine, they showed up negative. But Dr. Crobat mentioned something quite interesting.”

“Oh?” Sandra asked. “What did he tell you?”

“He said there was an anomaly in the scan. A blip that only he saw. I am not sure if we told you this before or not.” Penny said. “Everything’s kind of muddled up lately, with trying to find out what happened and all.”

Sandra nodded her head. “I can attest to that.” She rubbed her head. “I have a bit of a headache myself. You won’t believe how hard it is to memorize twenty orders at once.”

Mint gave a light chuckle at this. “Oh I can very well imagine.”

Sandra smiled at this. She turned her attention to the door for a second, before looking back at the children. “Is that all you would like to ask me? I really need to get going before my customers tear us to pieces.”

“I doubt they will do that, but...” Rudy tried to think of anything else he could ask. To his disappointment, nothing came to mind. He sighed, knowing he couldn’t keep the zoner any longer. “No, we...”

“Wait, I do!” Penny cried, holding up a finger. “If you don’t mind that is.” Sandra stared over in her direction. “Last question. I promise!”

Sandra stared at her, and then, slowly, nodded her head. “Go ahead...”

“I’ll be quick about it.” Penny said. She cleared her throat and said, “All I am curious about is what time you arrived at the party.” At this, Sandra snapped her head back, staring at Penny in confusion. “I’m just trying to figure out what time you arrived, as I already know when Snap did. That would give us a window that we could look into about when the culprit could have struck.”

“I see...” Sandra said, placing her hand on her cheek and tilting her head. “Seems a bit confusing, but okay.” She folded her arms again, her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of an answer. She then said, “I would have arrived before Snap, naturally, being the hostess as I was. I believe it was around 1:30 I arrived, as I was getting everything set up.”

“1:30 exact?” Penny asked.

“Around there.” Sandra made an expression as she tilted her hand from side to side. “Give or take, maybe a couple minutes, at most ten.” She added.

“Okay then. Thank you.” Penny said.

Rudy looked over at Penny, unsure of why she asked that question. Mint also seemed puzzled. Neighter of them knew what good that was going to do them. Penny looked over at them, and from her expression, it was clear she had some kind of idea in her mind, but she didn’t want to talk about it here. Upon seeing Sandra, Rudy deduced why.

“So is that the last question?” Sandra held out her hands, looking at each human child.

Mint nodded his head. “Yes. Thank you for your time.”

“Yeah. We’ll get out of here now.” Rudy said. “We don’t want to keep your customers waiting long, since we know how much that bothers you.”

Sandra chuckled as the children started to leave. “Yeah. I might have exaggerated a bit, but...” Suddenly her eyes widened as they began to turn down the hallway. “Not that way!” She cried, holding out her hand. The children froze, looking at her in confusion. Sandra quickly motioned in the same direction they came from. “That is the way out!”

Rudy and the others stared at the zoner, a bit startled by the way she had reacted. They wondered why she was so particular about the way they went. This restaurant had a back entrance, right? So what did it matter?

But the last thing they wanted to do was provoke her. They did not want to do anything that would make her suspicious or give her any reason to behave differently than she already was. If she was so adamant about what way they went, then they would listen to her. The group veered off in the opposite direction, going where Sandra indicated them to.

“See you later!” Rudy called out, waving his hand.

Sandra nodded her head once, smiling. She started to follow them, heading to the front to greet any new customers she might have. “I’ll see you all around!” She said, smiling at them. “I wish you all the best of luck!”

“Thank you!” Penny said, with Mint and Rudy nodding their heads, silently echoing what Penny said.

With that, the three friends exited out of the restaurant, making their way to a quiet place where they could continue their discussion without Sandra’s ears able to listen in on them.

As they headed down the street, Rudy paused and looked back at the restaurant. For a split second, he thought he could see Sandra staring at him, but he realized that was impossible. The glass that she chose prevented anyone from seeing inside, a way of giving her customers some form of privacy. It must be just his imagination. He turned and walked away, regrouping with his friends.

sss

Little did Rudy know, he really was being watched. Standing in front of one of the windows, positioned beside one of the empty tables, Sandra stared out, watching as the children left. Her eyes narrowed, refusing to look away. Even when they disappeared, she still looked out the window.

At the moment, she did not have any new customers, and most of the others had left. The few that remained, she ignored their stares. She remained focused on the window, staring off in the direction that Rudy, Mint, and Penny had left in, her tail swishing from side to side slowly. Her mind rushed with thoughts, and as she sifted through them, her eyes narrowed further as the issues became more and more apparent to her.

She had not expected to be interrogated today, and she had a feeling this might not be the end of that. The children may come back for more, especially if they thought of questions they hadn’t asked before. She was going to need to be more prepared. She got caught off guard today, which nearly caused her to say somethign that could have screwed things over for her.

She was proud of herself, surprised that she had been able to hold off the children as well as she had. She told them what she wanted them to know, and she never once slipped up and told them she was the one who set off the explosion. She made sure her answers were as consistent as possible.

Still, there was a part of her that was becoming worried. What if they did find out something crucial? What if they found out about her involvement? How would the other zoners react? Would they listen to reason? Probably not. She’d be written off as just another murderer. And Snap..he’d probably never see her again. She had tried to convince herself that he and the other zoners would be understanding, but she knew that she could be very wrong on this. They might not listen to her. Perhaps it was best she did not reveal the truth to anyone.

It was going to get harder to get Snap out of jail if she did not confess or provide a suspect of her own. But...she’d think of something. She did not want Snap to die, if she could avoid it. She knew he didn’t want to die either. She just needed to think of a scapegoat. A zoner whom they all knew and disliked, who would cause mischief left and right.

Sandra’s eye twinkled. She knew of one such zoner, someone who would be perfect. She would have to go after him later, though. Right now, she had to watch her restaurant, keep an eye on things here and make sure that everything was fine and taken care of.

She turned and began to walk away, her arms folded behind her back. She stopped, and looked back towards the window. She narrowed her eyes softly, staring out the window, back to where the children disappeared to. She stared in that direction for a few seconds, and then she turned away and walked off.

sss

Mint was rather disappointed with their interrogation at Sandra’s Alcove. He had hoped they would figure out something different, or at least something useful. Instead, they only had a rehash of what they were told. Anything new Sandra told them, it was nothing in particular they could use to help them.

But Penny seemed to think there was potential in one of the questions. She had asked a question that seemed quite mundane and useless. Yet...the way she looked when she said it, the tone she used, it was as if she felt that this is the one question that could lead them down the path of discovery. He wasn’t sure how she thought it was possible, but he was certain they would figure it out soon enough.

He leaned back, looking over at Penny and Rudy. They had been talking for a couple of minutes. He remained relaxed and mostly quiet, allowing them to speak to each other without interruption. Rudy had been trying to guess why Penny asked about the time, and so far he hasn’t had much luck. Then again, neither had he when he tried a couple times.

“Okay, I give up. Why did you ask about the time Sandra arrived?” Rudy asked.

Mint looked over at Penny. “I would like to know as well. What makes you think we can find anything out from what?” He held his hand out in gesture. “As you recall, we already looked at the footage. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

Penny looked at the two boys. She appeared to be deep in thought, her eyes partially closed. She took in a deep breath and sigh. “Yeah, I imagined you two wouldn’t get it.” She reopened them, but her gaze was still towards the ground. “That is why I wanted us to meet back at the treehouse before I told you guys.”

“Seems inefficient since we have to go back to the city anyway.” Mint said as he folded his arms. “We could have just found a place here and spoke, couldn’t we?”

Penny shook her head. “I didn’t want to risk Sandra hearing us.”

“She could have followed us here.” Mint said.

Penny smiled at this. “Unlikely. You heard how she was. She really didn’t want to wait too long before she could get back to her customers.” She raised her head up slightly. “Do you really think she’d want to waste time coming all the way out here? Besides,” She spread her hands out. “We are practically in the middle of nowhere. There’s no way she could sneak up here without one of us spotting her.”

Mint realized Penny did have a point there. All they could have to do is look outside, and they’d be able to tell if she was coming or not. With such a small house, there was little place Sandra could sneak through, and the branches outside were quite noisy. She’d give herself away very easily, especially since the television was shut off.

Mint had to wonder what Penny’s thoughts were. Why had she asked about when Sandra arrived at the party? What could that tell them about what happened? It would just tell them when she arrived, and nothing more. She didn’t know what Penny was getting at.

But he did not question her. From what he had learned about her over the years, is that she can be quite clever. Memories flashed back to him of when she and him dueled in ChalkZone City. Rudy had been grounded, unable to get into ChalkZone, thanks to a prank he himself pulled. Penny and Snap came into the city when he was attacking and wanted to try to stop him. He and Penny fought, and she had tricked him, got the upperhand, and sent him sprawling into the ground with a net around his body. He had thought she was just running away like a coward, but she was actually setting up a trap, and it worked.

Lesson learned that day: Penny can think of clever plans when he least expected it. He was not ever going to forget that lesson.

Before he could speak, Rudy beat him to it. “So Penny... What is your idea?” Penny looked over at him, waiting for him to continue. “I mean..you wouldn’t have asked that if you didn’t have a plan. I saw the look in your eyes. You’re up to something. So spill it. What is your plan?”

Penny paused as if for dramatic effect. Mint and Rudy moved in closer when she gestured to them. She turned her head from side to side, as if she was making double sure that Sandra could not hear them. Mint realized this must be really important if Penny didn’t want to risk Sandra knowing about this.

“I needed a time frame to work off of for when we check the footage again.” Penny said.

“We already checked it and..” Mint started to say.

“Yes, for Snap, and the culprit. But not for anyone else.” Penny said, raising a finger as she smiled in Mint’s direction. “But now we have someone else we need to look for.”

Mint and Rudy glanced at each other.

“So wait, are you saying we should look for Sandra in the videos?” Rudy asked, leaning forward, staring at Penny, wide-eyed. The girl looked at him and nodded once. Rudy said, “Why exactly would you want to do that? If we find that she was there at the time she said, then how was that...” His voice trailed off, his eyes widening as if in realization. “You...you want to try to find an inconsistency with that, don’t you?”

Mint widened his eyes at this. He looked at Rudy, and then back at Penny. “Is this true, Penny?”

Penny stared at the two boys. She remained quiet, as if to allow them time to let the information sink in. Mint could feel himself nearly start shaking as he anticipated the answer. He was really curious to know what Penny had to say. Then, slowly, she nodded her head once, making their eyes widen further. A quick, simple yet powerful word escaped from her mouth. “Yes.”

“I get it...” Rudy said. “You want to see if her story matches up. If we find her in the footage at a different time than what she said...”

“...then that means she was lying to us.” Mint concluded.

Penny nodded her head. “It would not be enough to prove she did anything wrong, and frankly, I’m not sure myself if she is responsible for anything. But, if we want to find out what happened, everything must be ruled out.”

Rudy said, “That is true. If Sandra really is innocent, then we would need to prove it so we can completely rule her out.” He paused, and then frowned. “But if she did play some kind of role..”

“Then we need to find that out as well.” Penny said. The three friends looked at each other, silent, similar thoughts moving through their heads. “The best place to start is that street footage. Provided that it’s still there, we need to go there and check it, and mark down any time that Sandra shows up.”

“Or we can just take the footage.” Mint suggested.

Rudy shook his head. “That might be a bad idea. We were already spotted in that area. The zoners might get upset if we stole footage from there. Since they know we’re siding with Snap, theymight think we were up to something.”

“That’s true.” Mint folded his arms, trying to think of a solution. It would be a wise move to bring the footage with, as he knew memory alone wouldn’t be enough if they decided to confront Sandra again. They needed a physical copy they could show her. “Is there anyway we could copy the footage over? I mean, create a copy of it so we can look at it later?”

Penny thought about this for a moment. Then she said, “That is a good idea, Mint. But we’ll have to think of a way to do it without drawing attention to ourselves.”

“I’m sure we will think of something.” Rudy assured her. “And when we do, we’ll analyze that footage. If Sandra did show up at the party earlier or later than when she said, then we will know about it.”

Mint looked out of the window, staring out at the plains that could be seen even from behind the thick tree branch. He knew Rudy was right. If Sandra did lie to them, then they will find out sooner or later. The footage time stamp does not lie. If they found something on the footage that goes against what Sandra said...

...then it was time for them to rethink their investigation plans.

Chapter 22: Communication Failure

Silence must be heard. Noise should be observed.
-Silence Must Be Heard, Enigma




Getting back into the hospital was going to be problematic. The trio had nearly forgotten about it until they had gotten there. And when they did, they realized it was going to raise some issues. Not that it was going to stop them. They all knew they had to do this. But they would need to figure out a way of entering the hospital without running into that receptionist, or most of the doctors. If they were caught, they could be kicked out before they could have a word with Mosaic.

Penny was glad that her leg was workable now. Despite how bad the sprain appeared to be, it was not as bad as it had appeared. She still had a slight limp, but it was doable. It had healed quite fast. She did not pay too much attention to this, however, and she looked over at the hospital. She knew they had to figure out a way to get in.

But getting in without being seen...that was going to be a challenge, and they all knew it. The security cameras were likely up and running, and they would notice them coming in from a different angle. They knew that if the zoners spotted them doing this, they’d get even more suspicious of them. It was bad enough that some zoners may be starting to believe that they had turned on them, but that was going to get worse if the zoners saw them wandering around outside the hospital, looking for a way in.

It wasn’t like they had much choice, however. It was imperative that they find their way into the building. Looking for another entrance was the best way they could think of at the moment. The front entrance would have them dealing with the receptionist, who likely would not let them pass since Snap was not in the hospital anymore. Plus, there was the fact that they rushed past her a couple of times, aggravating her. She would be quite unhappy to see them again, especially Mint, whom she still liked to call Enemy Creator.

So how were they going to get inside the building without drawing attention to themselves? How were they going to get to the upper levels where Mosaic was without the doctors seeing that they were there?

There would have be some method, right? There was always a way to do something. They just had to think hard enough, and eventually, something would come into their heads. But they had little time for this, they knew. Snap’s trial was in a couple of days. The delay may have bought them some time, but it wasn’t a lot.

It took Penny longer than she had imagined before she finally thought of something that might work. She turned to her friends, who were leaning against the alleyway not far from her. They were located across the street from the hospital, far enough pack that they wouldn’t be noticed.

As she stared at them, she noticed they were looking at her curiously, wondering what she had in mind. She decided not to keep them waiting.

“We could probably get in there if we were to make ourselves invisible.” Penny said.

“Invisible? Is that even possible?” Mint inquired, tilting his head.

Rudy nodded his head. “In ChalkZone, it is.” He turned back to Penny. “That does sound like a good idea.” He paused for a moment, rubbing his chin. “Wouldn’t that be a little risky, though?”

“What do you mean?” Mint turned to Rudy. “I thought you said...”

“I know what I said. I’m not saying it won’t work, but..” Rudy sighed and turned to Penny. “What if the doctors bump into us? If we aren’t careful, they could touch us and realize we are there. They could sound the alarm.”

Penny realized that Rudy had a point there. Being invisible may be useful, but it was also really risky. They would need to pay even more close attention to their surroundings as they could be given away by someone bumping into them, or even as something as mundane as some water splashing onto them. If they weren’t careful, if they didn’t pay close enough attention to their surroundings, they could easily lose their stealth and they could be in trouble.

Then Penny realized there was another problem they would have to deal with. Something that almost nobody ever thinks about when it comes to invisibility. Although ChalkZone was not the Real World and some laws of physics change, after all how do the Beanie Boys fly, but there was still a chance that this could affect them. It was best to come up with a plan to counteract it just in case.

“We may need to modify the plan a little.” Penny said. Rudy and Mint looked over at her, waiting for her to continue. “Only two of us should become invisible. The remaining one will lead.”

“What? Won’t that defeat the purpose?” Mint narrowed his eyes in confusion. “We would be given away almost immediately!”

“I’m with Mint on this one. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to leave one of us visible. How are we going to get past the doctors if they can see one of us?” Rudy asked.

Penny knew these two would react this way. So she had prepared a response ahead of time. “The person who decides to remain visible will be transformed, momentarily, into something else.” Rudy and Mint blinked at this. “Yes, it does seem unlikely, but if one of us drew a magic wand...”

“Wouldn’t that only affect zoners?” Mint asked before he could finish.

Penny shook her head. “Sometimes, chalk-based stuff here still affects those from the Real World.” She looked over at Rudy. “Remember the time that some of the adults, including our parents, were hit with ChalkZone water? Their personalities became more childlike and playful.”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah I do remember that.” He still didn’t seem convinced, his eyes furrowing further. “But that was just that one time. We don’t know if the wand will work on either of us, and what if something goes wrong?”

“Trust me, Rudy. It’ll be fine.”

Penny wished she was more confident than she sounded. She hoped that she was right, and that this operation could run quite smoothly. There was a risk still involved, however. No matter how sure she was, she couldn’t deny that something seriously wrong could occur.

Taking risks was the best thing they could do at this point. They had another suspect. Mosaic herself. Penny had her doubts that she could have done anything. That croc zoner didn’t seem like the type that could have planned any of this. But she could not rule her out just yet. Not until they figured out more. Then there was Dr. Gelcro, another suspect. Although he seemed like he could have done something, what with how eager he was to convict Snap and everything, she could not jump to conclusions. Dr. Gelcro could be innocent, and just merely fooled by the real culprit.

Penny turned her attention to the hospital. She knew they wasted enough time. She glanced over at Rudy and Mint, giving a nod to the two. “Come on, we need to get going and...”

Mint held up his hand. “I still don’t think this is a good idea.”

Rudy was quiet for a moment. He seemed like he was agreeing with Mint. When he spoke, however, he brought up something. Penny already knew about this, but she had forgotten to explain it to Mint and Rudy. “Why do we need someone to guide us? We know where to go in the hospital. We shouldn’t have to...”

Mint cut him off. “Yeah, we aren’t blind, you know!”

Penny smiled at the two. This further added to their confusion. She decided not to let them wait that long before telling them. “You will be blind once you are invisible.”

“W-What?!” Mint spluttered, taking a step back. His eyes were wide in horror. “I’m going to lose my sight?!”

“Temporarily, unless you want to be the one to try changing into a small bird or something.” Penny said.

“I don’t want to be blind either!” Came Rudy’s panicked response.

“Well only one of us can be transformed, otherwise it might get a little...strange. The doctors may not pay attention to a lone bird that gets in, just as long as it doesn’t go up to the upper levels where the patients are.” Penny explained. She had to get these two to see why they had to do this the way she was proposing. “But two...that would be pushing it. They may pay more attention to two, and definitely three. Plus, one of us has to be able to hold the wand again to use it. A bird can’t do that very well.”

“But..but why would we go blind?” Rudy held his hands out, his voice tinging with panic. “How would being invisible affect our sight?”

“I’ve seen invisibility in shows,” Mint said. His body was shaking slightly at the prospect of losing his sight. “None of them ever addressed this.”

Penny nodded her head. “I understand how you feel. But trust me...we need to be prepared for this, just in case.”

Penny took in a breath and sighed. She could tell they wouldn’t go anywhere until she could put their minds at ease. Perhaps telling them why they could go blind would help them. If she did that, and she assured them it was only temporary, maybe they would go along with it.

“The way we see the world is through the light that refracts in our eyes. To be invisible, light must travel straight through us. That means our eyes as well. When our eyes don’t have light reflecting in them, they cannot gather any visual information, and we go blind.” Penny told the two boys. She raised up a finger, giving a small smile. “But don’t worry. It’s only temporary. As soon as we are visible again, we will be able to see. No harm done.”

Rudy and Mint gave nervous glances at each other. From their expressions, they weren’t entirely sure if they wanted to go along with this plan or not. Penny remained quiet, deciding to give them time to think of an answer. She didn’t want to push it, knowing that if she was too rough with them, they would get even more nervous, and they’d waste more time.

Penny hoped they wouldn’t take too long to decide on an answer. They did not have a lot of time to think on this. They had to get in there and speak with Mosaic, and then get out as fast as they can. She hoped that, all in all, this interrogation would turn up some more results.

After a while, Rudy seemed ready to respond. She noticed him raise his head up, his eyes flashing briefly. He took a few steps forward. Mint followed closely behind him. “Okay, Penny. We’ll do it.”

Mint’s response was delayed, but he gave one nonetheless. “Where do we start.”

Penny smiled at this. Before she spoke, she thought of something else they could do that would make things easier. She looked left and right, making sure there weren’t any zoners nearby, and then she turned back to her friends. “Here is what I propose we do.”

Penny began to explain the plan to Rudy and Mint.

sss

Dr. Gelcro let out a soft sigh. He hadn’t felt this relaxed, this relieved, in quite some time. Things had been rather hectic lately, what with the explosions and the deaths and influx of patients. Then there was the fact the security system was having problems and wasn’t working as well as it should have, making him and a lot of the other doctors more..anxious to put it mildly.

The siberian husky couldn’t begin to count how many patients they have had a few weeks prior that came in with severe burns. He remembered trying his best to save the ones that made it to the hospital alive, but alas, they died before they could recieve much treatment.

It was really quite the tragedy. It made him flashback to when all those zoners had been brought in after some of Mint’s attacks. Granted, there hadn’t been quite as many, thankfully, but nonetheless, he couldn’t help but draw the parallels. There had also been so much damage to the city. He himself had actually lost his home for a while until Rudy redrew his house for him, for which he was grateful.

He couldn’t really understand why Rudy and Penny were allowing Mint to stay. But perhaps he shouldn’t question it. As much as he disliked the kid, he had to admit, he had done a pretty good job making up for his actions. No matter what he thought, he could not deny that if it weren’t for Mint, ChalkZone would have taken a longer time to recover.

Still, he could not dismiss entirely what Mint had done, and he still could not bring himself to be totally comfortable with him being around. So he would sometimes get a little..defensive, if that is the right word.

He sighed, knowing that he shouldn’t allow that to control the way he acted. He was supposed to be a doctor. He should behave better than this. Dr. Gelcro made a mental note to try to keep himself under more control if he should run into Mint again. He knew that Mint was not the cause of ChalkZone’s current distress.

It was Snap. Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes at that name. That name...so simple, and yet it spoke volumes. Never before had he known a zoner to go from being widely loved, to being absolutely despised by almost everyone.

Snap had gotten his name around town for a while after they found out that he stopped the machine that had been screwing around with the equipment and security systems, even zoners themselves. Dr. Gelcro wasn’t afflicted by this, but he knew some zoners that were. Despite his hatred of the zoner, Dr. Gelcro could not lie to himself. He could not dismiss the fact that, if it weren’t for Snap’s interference, there could have been more damage.

Yet, who is to say that Snap didn’t have all this planned? He could have set the whole thing up, and then destroyed what was essentially his machine just to get good publicity. Dr. Gelcro ground his teeth at this thought. The husky could feel his blood boiling at the thought of this highly manipulative behavior.

He was glad that the little runt got what he deserved. A lot of zoners had lost loved ones because of him. He could still hear their cries, their weeps, the mourning of the dead echoing in the air. He lost count, but easily about fifty zoners had lost their lives in that explosion, maybe more. And it was all because of him.

Then something made him freeze in the hallway. He paused, staring blankly ahead. He ignored everything around him, even another doctor that had come by. His head swirled with thoughts, and he felt his eyes narrow in confusion, and then widen a little.

He started to wonder if it made any sense at all. He thought it did, at first. Snap could have planned the whole thing just to get good publicity, all just so he could plan that explosion and kill off those zoners. Why, he wasn’t certain. But with someone who bears a criminal mind, who knows what they were thinking. Snap likely had a reason, he was sure.

Yet..if Snap would go through all that trouble just to get attention, then why would he waste it so quickly? Why would he throw out that trust he had built on something that, compared to other things he could have done, was pretty mundane? He was not making light of the tragedy, but he could list off in his head multiple things Snap could have done that was much worse than what he actually did. And why would he pull a stunt that was so foolish that it nearly resulted in him getting killed as well? Snap would have known the risks, right?

Perhaps there was more going on than he realized. Perhaps something else was happening that he and the others weren’t aware about. Maybe...

He shook his head, banishing those thoughts from it. What was he thinking? He was allowing Snap to get to him. The runt probably had this planned all along as well. Planting doubts in his head so he could get away with murder. Dr. Gelcro growled at this. He was not going to allow that punk to get him that easily. No, he would not...

His ears twitched as he heard something. He looked around the hallway. He saw a few doctors, but none of them were in the direction the sound came from. It was more...upwards. He tilted his head up, pricking his ears forward so he could pick up as much sound as he could.

Above him, he could see what appeared to be a small bird of some kind. The small avian, appearing to be a robin of sorts, was flying close to the ceiling, heading straight down.

The appearance of the bird did not alarm the husky too much, and he rested his ears back. The poor thing probably got stuck in here when one of the latest patients was brought in. He would normally go after the bird right away, but he had a schedule to keep. He couldn’t waste it going after a bird. Besides, it was not his department to do so. He would leave it up to the section of the hospital whose job it was it get rid of any wild animals that came into the building. They would have gotten the word about it right about now.

He began to walk away, taking a few steps forward. He stopped, his nose twitching, as something entered his nostrils. Something faint, yet still strong enough for him to notice. He took a couple of whiffs, and he twitched his ears as he thought he recognized the smell. He turned his red eyes over towards the hallway again, moving his pupils along as he tried to detect where the smell was coming from.

It was then he noticed something was a little...off.

He thought he could detect movement. In an empty hallway. But how? By this point, the other doctors had disappeared, leaving just the bird. Speaking of that, the bird seemed a little too...cautious. Why would it need to feel that way? It was just a bird after all, unless...

Dr. Gelcro’s eyes widened. He realized what must be going on. He quickly turned his gaze away and pretended to go about his regular business, not wanting to draw attention. The thing he believed he saw moving...it could be the culprit. They must have turned themselves invisible. Snap..it must be Snap...and perhaps his minions, if he had any followers. Dr. Gelcro felt his heart pounding in his chest. The runt must have escaped jail somehow. He did not dare waste on trying to figure out why, and instead focused on what he could do about it.

He would need to follow the bird, but more discreetly. He sifted through the clamoring thoughts in his head as he tried to think of where Snap might go. He knew of multiple ways to get to certain locations. If he could figure out where he might be going, he could head him off, and stop him before more harm was done.

He followed closely behind, being as quiet as he could. He kept his ears perked up, and his nose was on constant watch, with his eyes shifting from side to side. He allowed some of his predatory instincts to take over as he followed who he knew had to be Snap down the hallway.

His red eyes widened when he saw the bird, likely one of Snap’s minions, heading up the stairs. The fiend...he was going after the patients. The husky knew he had to head him off, somehow. He turned his head, noticing there was an elevator there. Clenching his teeth and flattening his eyes, he gave one last look at the invisible form of Snap before he went to the elevator.

Dr. Gelcro tried to calm himself down. His racing heart was making it difficult for him to press the right floor button, his hands trembling. He took in a deep breath, and after he was calmed down a little, he pressed his clawed finger against it. The elevator doors shut, and he felt it begin to move upwards.

As the elevator traveled up to the patients’ floor, he narrowed his eyes dangerously. He would not allow Snap to hurt another patient. Not on his watch.

sss

Rudy felt enormous relief when the invisibilty was turned off. He had to shut his eyes for a little while, the intense light getting into them, hurting them. It took a few seconds before his eyes were able to adjust, and he was able to look around without having to put a hand in front of his face.

It had been rather terrifing not being able to see. Or hear for that matter. His hearing was rather compromised. There was still some level of sensory with it, but hardly much. It felt like someone had popped his ear drums and then put a tight blindfold over his eyes. He had no idea where he was going, as though he were trapped in a deep, dark abyss. If it weren’t for the small strong that he held in his hand, attached to the bird, he would have gotten lost.

He had made sure to hold onto Mint’s hand the entire time. Mint did not complain, since without it, he would have been lost, unable to tell where he should go, and he and Penny would have a hard time finding him. With him holding onto Mint, and him holding onto the string, they were able to make their way up the steps.

They had kept walking, making their way slowly down the halls. They had been lucky they did not meet much resistance up here. Rudy kept himself tensed up, though, knowing that one screw up, one misstep, that was all it would take to alert the doctors, and then they’d be in trouble.

But before they knew it, they arrived in their destination. He knew this because the bird tapped against his shoulder, signaling him it was time to deactivate the invisibility. When sight filled his eyes once more, he never felt more relieved in his life. Just being able to see... He took a brief moment to feel sympathy for those who lost their sight or hearing in an accident.

He, as well as Penny and Mint, were located in Snap’s room. It was still unoccupied by a new patient, which they were thankful for. They didn’t know how they were going to explain their sudden appearance to an injured or ill zoner.

“Finally, we are here!” Mint cried. Rudy and Mint shushed him and he cringed back. “Sorry. I was about to be driven crazy if I had to spend another moment...”

“Well at least we are here now.” Penny said. She took a moment, looking left and right. “Do you think we should place the other teleporter here?” She pointed to a corner in the room. “I don’t think they’ll notice it in that darkened area.”

Rudy looked over at where Penny was indicating. He could see a shadowed area in the corner. He paused for a moment, tilting his head. He looked at the entrance where they came in from, and then back at the corner. Finally, he turned to Penny and said, “No. I think we should just stick to the plan and use a teleporter wand or something along those lines. The zoners would get suspicious if they found a teleporter in the hospital.”

“That would be a rather odd site to run into.” Mint nodded his head slowly. He peered over at the corner, folding his arms against his chest. “And they will know one of us drew it.”

Penny needed no further prompting. “All right then.” She turned over to the bird that led them in. She reached forward, gesturing to the bird to climb into her fingers. “Thank you for helping us.” Penny gently ran a finger along the top of the bird’s head and down its back. “You may leave now.” She pulled her arm down and then thrust upwards. The bird spread its wings out and started to flap hard into the air, going back down the way it came. “Bye!” Penny called out in a low, soft voice.

Rudy watched as the bird disappeared down the hallway. He chuckled softly and said, “I’m glad we came up with an idea for that.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what would have happened if one of us ended up turning into a bird.”

Mint shuddered. “I wouldn’t want to peck bird seed for the rest of my life...”

Penny was silent for a moment. She slumped her shoulders and gave a small smile. “Yeah, that would have been a pretty dumb idea after all.” She turned her head to the side, glancing towards Mint. “Good thing you came up with the idea of drawing a bird, instead of one of us turning into a bird.”

“No problem!” Mint said with a grin. “What will you do without me?”

Rudy was grateful that Mint came up with that idea before they executed the plan. It would have been rather difficult to pull off, and then they would have to worry about the bird’s instincts. Penny suspected that if they turned into a bird, they would have to control the animal mind to keep from getting freaked out by the sights and sounds of the hospital. Then there was the simple matter of flight. They did not have the knowledge of how to keep aloft, and they would have had to spend time learning that before they could be of any use.

Yes, drawing a bird worked out so much better. Rudy had to wonder what will happen to it after it left the hospital, however. He assumed that it would just do what birds do in the Real World and find a place a live and hunt. Penny assured him the bird would be fine.

“I’m going to draw the teleportation wand so, when we are done here, we will be teleported out.” Penny said as she raised her piece of magic chalk.

Rudy watched her as she drew up the device that she had described. Penny had the idea of teleportation when they were ready to leave. In this way, it would be easier exiting the building than it was getting in. Rudy felt relieved that they wouldn’t have to go wander outside blind and deaf again. He wasn’t sure how well he would take to that a second time.

“Now where do you suppose...” Mint looked around the room, his hands on his hips. Rudy did not need to ask to know what he was looking for. Or rather, who. “She should be here, I thought.”

“I hope they didn’t move her.” Rudy winced. “I am not interested in going invisible again.”

Penny finished up drawing the device and put it in her pocket. “Don’t worry.” She said with a smile. “She should be in here. I’m sure if it. Let’s just look around.”

Rudy wasn’t sure how Penny could know. He chalked it up to her just being optimistic. There was a big chance that Mosaic had been relocated elsewhere since Snap was no longer in the hospital. Perhaps she had been given to another patient who could use her help. Or maybe she was simply wandering the hallways.

The three friends moved around the room quietly, taking care not to make any sounds as their feet touched the ground. They looked around slowly, their breathing low and quiet, as if they were trying to hide from a predator. After a few moments of searching, they didn’t find anything. The room was not that large, and she did not have a lot of places to hide. There was only one place they could check now.

Rudy volunteered for the job. He walked past Penny and Mint, looking intently at the sheet of the bed, nearly touching the ground. He licked his lips nervously, unsure of what to expect from Mosaic when she was not guarding anyone. He reached forward slowly, his hand trembling. He paused, pulling it back. Then, taking in a deep breath, he grabbed the blanket and then lifted it up.

He was immediately greeted with large, amber eyes. They practically glowed in the shadow of the bed. The pupils shrank into slits, and Rudy thought he could hear a growl. He began to back away, but it was too late.

With a rush of brown and green, there was a hard collission against his chest, something solid, and he was on his back. He looked up, seeing Mosaic staring down, her eyes practically hovering above his body. Her mouth was part way open, a low hiss escaping her throat. Her front paws gripped his shoulders, reminding him that this croc had the ability to walk upright, not just on all fours, which made her seem even more threatening.

Rudy felt his heart pound against his chest as he stared into Mosaic’s eyes. He began to wonder if she really did have something to do with the explosions or with what happened to Snap. He could hear Penny and Mint frantically discussing what to do as Mosaic put her jaws closer to him.

Then, much to his surprise, Mosaic jumped off of him, landing a few feet away. Rudy rubbed his chest, feeling immense relief from the animal zoner’s weight being lifted from him. Penny and Mint rushed by his side and grabbed onto his arms. They lifted him up and they all stared cautiously at Mosaic.

The crocodile zoner stared in their direction. Her eyes flashed something, perhaps recognition. She stared at them intently, emitting a low growl from her throat, narrowing her eyes. The trio tensed up, wondering if she was going to attack them. The way she was moving her tail slowly from side to side, her claws scratching at the ground, this certainly seemed the case. When she took a step forward, they moved back, adopting defensive stances.

Then Mosaic did something they did not expect her to do.

She dashed towards them, but stopped abruptly. She swirved around in a circle, and darted towards the bed. She jumped onto it, a loud squeak eminating from the bad as she did so. She stared at them intently, running around in a circle on the bed. She jumped off and ran around them, and then launched herself back towards the bed, nearly slamming into it.

This odd behavior took them all by surprise. They stared at one another, and then back at Mosaic. What could she be trying to tell them?

sss

Dr. Gelcro crept along the hallway, being as quiet as he could. He had seen where the bird had went to, and he was following close behind. It was days like these that he wish he was solid white; it would match perfectly with the walls around him.

His mind raced as he thought of all the possibilities of what Snap wanted with the patients. Was he going to plant a bomb in here? Had he messed with the security cameras so he could pull this off without worry? Did he have some other diabolical plan involved?

Each possibility that sifted through his head heated up his blood more. A mixture of anger and anxiety swelled up inside. Something got caught in his throat as he fought back the urge to throw up. He couldn’t help but feel terrified. Snap was a brilliant bastard, since he had successfully offed so many zoners. He had every reason to be so scared about approaching him, and anyone who could be deemed his followers. His heart raced even faster when he realized he had three creators who sided with him. Who knows what he could have them do.

But he could not allow the patients to be left at his mercy. He was afraid, yes, but he was more afraid of what could happen if he did not do something to protect the patients. As a doctor, that was his priority. So he continued to follow, knowing full well what could be waiting for him when he found them.

He twitched his ears as he heard the sound of wings flapping. He tilted his head up, realizing that the bird from before was heading back down this way. He pressed his back against the wall, his heart racing against his chest. He watched as the bird approached him, not seeming to notice. He did not detect any strange movement in the hallway, nor did he pick up any scent besides the hospital’s and the bird’s. Concluding that the bird was alone, Dr. Gelcro decided to make a move.

He waited until the bird came closer. He kept still, watching, his red eyes narrowed into slits. The bird made no attempt to turn away, gave no indication that it knew he was there. Baring his teeth, the muscles in his arms tensing up, Dr. Gelcro leaped into the air, his hands out in front of him.

They hit their mark.

Dr. Gelcro fell into the ground as his fingers wrapped tightly around the struggling bird. Loud, panic-filleds squawks filled the air. Scared that the bird was going to give him away, Dr. Gelcro seized the bird’s beak, sealing it shut. He slammed the bird against the wall, keeping it firmly pressed there.

Putting his face close to the bird’s head, his hot breath hitting against its face, Dr. Gelcro said, “I know what you are, little birdie...” He felt the bird continue to squirm in his palm, frantic and swift, with brief pauses. “If you want to live, you will tell me everything.” He flashed his sharp teeth, emphasizing his point. “Do you understand?”

The bird did not respond. Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes. How very clever. Snap must have told the bird to not respond to any interrogation methods. But everyone can be cracked under the right pressure. He was going to find out how Snap escaped and what he was up to. And this bird was going to be his key.

sss

Mint was not sure what to make of this scene. When they came here to speak to Mosaic, they hadn’t exactly expected it to go this way. Then again, what could they have expected from a crocodile zoner who, according to the doctors, didn’t talk?

For the past several minutes, the crocodile had been jumping around, going in circles, repeating strange gestures, among other things. She would wave her paw at them, curving her wrist in some strange way that Penny admitted she didn’t think was possible for her species. She would let out quick, loud sounds, almost like a bark, like she wanted to keep their attention. She would constantly go to the bed, push her nose against it, and then look back at them, as though she wanted them to do the same thing.

The three friends looked at one another, trying to think of what this could mean. They hadn’t had much luck trying to guess what Mosaic wanted. She had been running around in circles almost the entire time. She’d pound the ground with her front paws, wave her tail around, lay down on her back and expose her belly. Some of the gestures seem so exaggerated that Penny suggested that maybe Mosaic didn’t know how to communicate with them and was trying all she can to try to get them to understand.

If she was trying to tell them something, she would have to do a better job than this. Mint folded his arms, watching Mosaic. At the moment, she was dragging Rudy towards the bed, her teeth snagging his sleeve. He and Penny watched as she released him and then kept swinging her head towards the bed, stomping her feet a few times, almost like an excited dog.

Mint shook his head, his mind beginning to ache as he tried to comprehend what the crocodile could be trying to tell them. They could see nothing wrong with the bed, and Penny had even checked it when she was over there. It was clean, deprived of anything except maybe some dirt. There was nothing of interest anywhere near the bed, and yet she kept dragging them over there. Why? What was the point?

It was getting to the point where Mint wondered if they were wasting their time. Mosaic’s frantic behavior wasn’t getting them anywhere. They had been watching here for many minutes now, and they weren’t anywhere closer to understanding what she wanted.

Mint looked up towards the clock, wincing. He looked over at Penny. “Perhaps we should get out of here. If we stay too much longer...”

Penny raised her hand up. “Not yet. We need to see if we can understand what Mosaic is trying to tell us.”

Mint narrowed his eyes. “Oh forget it. We have been looking at her antics long enough.” He raised his shoulders up. “She has not provided us with any useful information. So perhaps we should just...”

“Not yet. We just need to be patient.” Penny said, her hand still held up. “I’m sure we’ll reach a breakthrough soon.”

Mint held up his hands in confusion. “I don’t know what you...” Mint froze when he noticed Mosaic doing something different.

Mosaic had moved away from Rudy and had positioned herself where she seemed to know all three of them could see her unobstructed. She then reared onto her hind legs for a few seconds, and then dropped back down again. She looked at them, tilting her head as if trying to see if they understood what she was trying to tell them. She snorted when she realized they did not and she tried again, this time spending some more time on her hind legs, walking around, her front paws stretched out forward.

This behavior seemed so...strange and unusual. Mint wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, and neither did his friends. They watched as Mosaic continued to walk around on two legs. After a few tries, Mosaic tried again, this time she attempted to straighten herself out in an almost upright posture. This did not last long and she fell back down.

But it was enough to make Mint realize just what she was trying to tell them about. Shooting a look to his friends, he called out, “Sandra!” His voice was laced with excitement. “She’s trying to tell us something about Sandra!”

Rudy and Penny stared at each other. Their eyes widened at this revelation. This still did not help them make sense of some of her gestures, but the fact that she was trying to tell them about Sandra caught their attention. They looked back over at the crocodilian zoner, their interest piqued.

“Is that it, Mosaic?” Penny took a few steps forward. “Is that what you’ve been trying to tell us?” She reached her hand out slightly. “Are you trying to tell us something about Sandra?”

Mosaic nodded her head up and down. She let out a grunt and once again pointed her snout towards the bed. She emitted some low growls which Mint guessed were an attempt to communicate with them verbally.

Rudy looked from Mosaic, and then to the bed. He tilted his head in confusion, giving Penny a sideways glance. “I don’t know what she could be trying to tell us about the bed.”

Penny rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe she’s trying to tell us about some kind of scent?”

“Well she’s out of luck with that.” Mint crossed his arms. “We can’t smell anything.”

“But we can get someone who can.” Penny said. “Or we can draw a zoner who can help us.”

Mint couldn’t believe he didn’t think of that himself. Penny was right. There were plenty of zoners here who had great senses of smell. They could sniff the blanket and see what Mosaic wanted to show them. They could also draw a zoner themselves to help them. He would gladly do that himself, since Rudy and Penny are more cautious than him when it came to drawing living zoners.

But before either of them could make their next move, a shadow fell upon them, and a low growl chilled them to the bone. Everyone froze. Mosaic let out a hiss and jumped back. Rudy, Penny, and Mint remained frozen, feeling someone’s gaze boring straight through their backs.

“Aha! So I might have guessed! You are working with that little cretin after all!”

Mint gulped, and he exchanged a nervous glance with Penny and Rudy. Slowly, the three children turned around, looking behind them. They felt their hearts skip a beat when they saw it was Dr. Gelcro.

The dog doctor glared daggers at them, his lips curled back into a snarl. “I might have known you two were up to something! I should have realized this was your handiwork!”

“H-How did you...?” Penny spoke in a soft voice.

Dr. Gelcro smirked at her. “Next time, choose a method that masks your scent.”

Terror rushed through the children’s hearts as Dr. Gelcro stood in the door way. His fur was raised up, anger clearly etched on his face. His sharp teeth glinted in what little light there was. His tail swished violently from side to side. He looked ready to rip them apart. If it weren’t for their status of being creators, he probably would be tearing them up right about now.

Mosaic growled at the dog zoner, but made no move to attack. She cringed away, crawling back towards the bed. Mint knew this was not a good sign. Just what as Dr. Gelcro capable of if even Mosaic wouldn’t go after him? His heart pounded in his chest when he realized that, perhaps, Dr. Gelcro was involved in this conspiracy after all. Maybe he really was the one who framed Snap, and now he was coming after them.

“I see you were trying to brainwash Mosaic.” Dr. Gelcro glared at the crocodile before looking back at the children. “Good thing I came in here. She will need some time to...recover.”

“Please...she was trying to tell us something about Sandra!” Rudy pleaded. “You’ve got to listen! We...”

“Enough!” Dr. Gelcro’s voice practically boomed in the room. Mint and the others took a few steps back, their bodies shaking in fear as Dr. Gelcro got into the room. He took in a few quick breaths in an effort to control yourself. “I thought we could trust you...at least you, Rudy.” He looked over at the boy. “But I see I was wrong. You sided with Snap because he is your creation, and now you are...”

“He...us, we all sided with Snap because he is innocent! Please, if you would just listen...!” Penny pleaded.

Dr. Gelcro flattened his ears. “Shut up, brat!” Without warning, he stormed towards Penny and struck her across her face. The girl let out a yelp of pain as she was tossed into the ground. “You three need to learn how to hold your tongue!”

“Penny!” Rudy and Mint cried.

The two of them rushed to Penny’s said. She had been knocked onto her back, her leg bent at an odd angle. It wasn’t broken, but looking at it, Mint could tell that it aggravated her sprain injury. Her eyes were shut and her teeth clenched in pain. They winced as they saw the lacerations across her face, a bit of blood leaking out of them. The two of them helped her up, holding onto her arms to steady her.

Mint looked at Penny for a few moments, noting the pain she appeared to be in. He glared over at Dr. Gelcro, feeling his blood begin to boil. “How could you do that? She didn’t do anything to you!”

Dr. Gelcro growled at him. “She was asking for it. If she didn’t get in my way, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” Upon seeing the three children glare at him, he gave a cold laugh. “Oh ain’t this rich! You three are still going to deny your involvement, eh? Well I’m warning you...” His ears pressed against his skull. “You will not have much of a chance slipping your lies past me. You see..I already took care of your little spy.”

The three children stared at him in confusion. What was he talking about? They didn’t bring anyone else with them. They didn’t even have any spies to speak of. They couldn’t believe, nor could they understand, how this siberian husky could jump to such illogical conclusions.

That was when Dr. Gelcro pulled something out from behind him. When they all saw what it was, they could feel their hearts stop beating. They were in absolute shock, unable to speak.

It was the bird that was drawn earlier. The small robin that had helped them into this room. It was limp and dead, dangling above the ground as Dr. Gelcro carelessly held it up by its leg. There was a deep gash in its neck, making them all realize, in cold terror, that Dr. Gelcro had ripped out its throat. A dark smile spread across his face as he noticed how horrified they looked. He moved the body from side to side, using enough force to let it swing around, lilke he wanted them to know just how dead it really was.

Then, his smile growing a bit more twisted, he tossed the bird towards them. They moved back, giving the small bird some space as it crashed into the ground, rolling across the hard surface before coming to a stop. Mosaic watched this, letting out a low hiss from where she stood.

The bird laid on its back, its wings spread out at its sides. The beak was partially open, as were the eyes. They were glazed over, showing no signs of life. They could see blood on its chest, and it didn’t take them long to realize that it came from the gash in its throat. The blood was dark, almost black in color, and was caked to the small, thin features. The talons were flexed inward, limp and still, just like the rest of the bird’s body.

A torrent of emotions welled up inside the kids’ minds. They couldn’t help but shoot a glare over at the zoner. They could not believe that he would do such a thing. How..how could he kill an innocent zoner like this? The bird had nothing to do with what happened on the day of the explosion, and it was not some spy. And yet this husky, this horrible excuse for a dog, he had the gall to accuse the bird of being a spy, but that wasn’t good enough, no. He had went as far as slaughter the bird, and who knows what else he might have done to it...

Dr. Gelcro began to advance on them. “Now, you three are going to tell me what I want to know, or...”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Without warning, Dr. Gelcro began to flail. His foot got caught on something in front of him that he did not notice until it was too late. His foot immediately slipped upwards, making him lose his balance. He tried to steady himself, but he was not good enough. He fell backwards and landed on his back.

Mint and the others looked over to see what had happened. To their surprise, they saw Mosaic standing there, her paw raised up as if she had just tossed something. Was she the one who had thrown that rotten piece of fruit that laid on the ground, smeared?

Knowing they did not have much time, Mint turned to Penny. “Quick! While he’s distracted! Activate the teleporter!” He released her arm so she could have use of one.

“Right!” Penny, still supported by Rudy, pulled out the device she had drawn earlier. She turned a knob, and it began to emmit glowing energy lines around them, engulfing all three of them.

Dr. Gelcro got up to his feet, holding his head and shaking it. He looked over at the children. His eyes widened and then they narrowed. “Oh no you don’t..” He went down on all fours, his tail raised straight up in aggression. “You’re not going anywhere!”

Dr. Gelcro bolted towards them, letting out a series of loud growls. The glow encompassed the children, getting brighter. They looked on in horror as Dr. Gelcro lunged towards them.

Then, just before he could get them, they vanished, leaving behind an empty space. Dr. Gelcro widened his eyes, realizing what was about to happen. Seconds later, he let out a loud whimper as he crashed into the ground. He coughed a couple of times as he pushed himself onto his heads. He lifted up his head and he glared towards where the trio had vanished. He let out a low growl.

“I’ll get you for this.” Dr. Gelcro threatened in a low voice. “I swear it...”

sss

Sandra narrowed her eyes as she watched the scene play out before her. She leaned against the wall of the alleyway, not wanting to be seen. If it weren’t for her sense of smell and hearing, she would have missed this entirely.

In the distance, she had seen a flash of light. It was brief, and the light not as bright as one might have expected. When it had cleared, she could see the three forms that she had grown familiar enough with to recogize. It was Mint, Penny, and Rudy. She turned her head to where the hospital was, and then she looked back. She let out a soft growl, knowing full well what they had been up to.

It would seem that they were getting a little too nosey for their own good. Sandra had thought about leaving them alone, thinking that they would not get anywhere near to solving the puzzle before she could finish up. They had not shown any signs of realizing what was really going on, and she had been certain they would not any time soon.

But as she stared at them, her eyes narrowed, ears raised, she picked up some pieces of the conversation that had her worried. From what little she heard, from the connections she could make, with the hospital and all, she began to realize that things were not exactly going the way she had planned.

The children appear to be getting suspicious of her. The bits of conversation she had picked up revealed this. She wasn’t sure how they were able to pull this off. She didn’t know what happened that made them think that she might be involved somehow. She had been so careful with what she had told them in their previous attempts to interrogate her.

It was quite obvious, though, that their attempts were failing miserably. They not only suspected her, but she was certain that they felt they would find some kind of clue in the hospital. Perhaps they had tried to speak to Mosaic. At this, she growled and looked over at the hospital. She would have to make sure that Mosaic did not reveal anything important. She looked back at the children, watching them as they fled. She narrowed her eyes.

She was going to have to do something about them soon. She didn’t want to have to do this. She didn’t want to lift a claw against them. It was bad enough doing it against Snap. It was bad enough that she had to deal with her conflicting emotions, of feeling horrible about her actions towards him, and feeling excited for the way she was abusing him. She did not need another complication thrown out there.

Sandra thought, at first, maybe she could just do nothing. After all, it wasn’t like Rudy and his pals were intending any actual harm. They were just worried for their friend and they were doing what any friend would: help.

But in the end, she knew that something still had to be done. She hated to do it, but they left her with no other option. She had to make sure that they did not become a problem later on. With how determined they were, she knew that they would keep trying, perhaps even increase their efforts no doubt. If she didn’t take action soon, they could find out what she had done, and of course they won’t listen to her and they’ll have her arrested. She simply could not permit that, not while Snap still needed a lesson to be learned. Not while the promise she made had not yet been fulfilled.

Sandra narrowed her eyes as she shifted her gaze towards the hospital, and then back to where she had last seen the children. She was not yet sure what she was going to do, but she knew she would have to think of something.

If those three wanted to keep meddling in her plans, they were going to have to face the horns of the bull sooner or later.

Chapter 24: A Chance Underground

I'm searching...searching... There must be something real...!
-Jacob's Dream, Days Of Fire





The next day, Rudy made sure he and his friends didn’t waste any time. They had already agreed upon what they were going to do in ChalkZone today. They met up with each other briefly before school. They only had about half an hour leeway so they really had to do a lot of talking. During this discussion, they all agreed that they should get Snap’s brain scanned again, but this time, change things around a bit.

At the moment, Sandra was still a suspect. The possibility of her killing zoners and eating them still had them shaken up, and the fact that she appears to keep coming up, and Mosaic was trying to tell them something about her, among other things, they were wondering if she really was doing something with the scans. They could not exactly pinpoint what could be the root of those problems, how she would be pulling them off. But if she really was the culprit, then they knew what they had to do.

They had to find a way to get a scan done that she was not aware of. This means they had to be careful discussing it in public. They could not risk a random zoner hearing it, because said random zoner might decide to go to Sandra’s Alcove, and she’d learn about it. And even if she wasn’t the culprit, they still had to be careful. They still had no positive identity going on with the culprit, so any zoner they pass by in ChalkZone could be responsible.

There was still some suspicion towards Dr. Gelcro. The zoner seemed too eager to throw Snap in jail, and he was quite accusatory and threatening to them before. Perhaps it was just emotions running wild, but that doctor was still high on their list of suspects.

At the moment, they focused on Sandra. Out of the suspects they thought of, including Mosaic, she was the most involved. She was the one who sent the invitation to the party. She was the one who bought those fireworks. She was the one that Mosaic was trying to tell them about. Dr. Gelcro did show anger and frustration towards Snap, but it was not a right away thing. Sandra, on the other hand, was there since the beginning. While this did not automatically convict her or anything, it did put her in the forefront of their thoughts.

They spent most of their short time trying to figure out how they were going to succeed in getting this scan done without Sandra knowing about it. They had originally thought of doing it in the jail itself. There was a bit of debate on that, however, and it was decided that the wardens probably wouldn’t have any kind of machine, or space for such a machine, to be used.

Another location would be preferable. It was brought up that Sandra knows Snap is in jail. They weren’t sure of what her schedule was like in the day, but for all they knew, she might come over and find out what’s happening and sabotage it. If he were moved to a new location, however, and the scan done there, then they might stand a chance. If Sandra was involved, and if she did not know about the scan, then whatever Dr. Crobat had spotted on the monitor would be made known to them. They would learn what was wrong, and be able to confirm that Sandra was the culprit.

But there was still a problem. It was something that took them a while to figure out, and they nearly ran out of time because of it. It was still an important question that had to be asked.

Just how were they going to get Snap out of jail temporarily? How would they convince the wardens to let him out for a short while? And where would they go?

They talked for what felt like hours to Rudy even though it was just a few minutes. They discussed what they could do to ensure them pulling this off. It may require a lot of negotiating with the wardens, but Penny was certain they could pull it off, perhaps compromising by letting one of the wardens come with to supervise or something.

Still, that was not a guarantee. The wardens could still resist or think they were up to something. They might think they were trying to trick them. Or they would just be sticklers for rules and not let Snap out at all.

But still they knew they had to try. There wasn’t much else they could do except...try and hope for the best. They didn’t really have many ideas on how they could get Snap out, and in the end, it was all hinging on the wardens, if they would be willing to let Snap get his brain scanned. If the wardens refuse to listen, well there wasn’t much they could do about that. If they attempted to break their friend out, that would create all sorts of new problems that they’d have to deal with. That was the last thing any of them needed.

But even if they could convince the wardens to let them try another brain scan, but in a new location, they still needed to figure out where they could take Snap. On top of that, they would need to find someone who was willing to do it. As Mint reminded them, a lot of zoners in ChalkZone hated Snap now because they all thought he was the one who killed their loved ones. They didn’t know how many zoners even trusted Snap now, with all the nasty rumors that were spreading and what not. Blocky and Rapsheeba were two that still sided with them, and Lars and Howdy and a handful of other zoners.

But none of them were doctors. Well Rapsheeba knew of some first aid skills, but that was not going to help them with the scan. She did not know how to operate such machinery. Same thing with any zoner they thought of who would still be willing to help Snap.

Penny soon suggested that they speak to Rapsheeba when they came back into ChalkZone later. They could try to meet her at her home, the one that was partially in both zones. Maybe she would know of a doctor that could help them. Specifically a trustworthy doctor, not one that was going to blab their location to the culprit or bring a mob of zoners or anything.

Not that Rapsheeba would ever deliberately lead them estray, but there was that chance that a doctor she thought she could trust was really just using her. The same way that Sandra could have been using Snap... They shook the thought out of their heads.

Looking for Rapsheeba might be a little difficult, considering what happened the other day. Rudy was certain that Mint’s little stunt may have been quite costly. His attack on the doctor, and the witnesses...there may be rumors about them spreading around now. The thought was rather unsettling, and Rudy found it difficult to ignore it. How could he dismiss something like that? It was impossible. It shook him and his friends up, and they all knew that this could complicate things later on for them.

The zoners might stop them. They might try to chase them out. They might go as far as attempt to have them arrested. There were a number of things that could happen. They might be exaggerating in their heads, but the fear was still there. They had already witnessed how hostile some of these zoners could get. And the potentiality of having all that turned against them... It did not leave a good feeling in their stomachs.

But they couldn’t worry about it right now. Rudy would love to try to fix things as soon as possible. He wanted to confront the zoners and tell them that Mint hadn’t meant to lose his temper and attack. He wanted to assure the zoners that everything was going to be all right. But unfortunately, that had to wait. They had to prove that Snap was innocent first. Only in doing that could they begin to mend their relationship with the zoners.

It was going to be a difficult journey. Rudy and his friend expected nothing less. They all knew how challenging it was going to be. They knew that, even if Rapsheeba could help them, she might not be able to provide information that they could use. She may be at a loss, and the wardens might not even let them take Snap out at all.

But they would not give up. They’d keep trying. Whoever had hurt Snap, whether it be Mosaic, Dr. Gelcro, or Sandra, or even someone else, they would find out. And they would make them pay.

Rudy turned his attention to Penny and Mint. They had just arrived in ChalkZone, and they were now running up towards him. He smiled as they approached, waving to him as they came over. He stepped out from underneath the chalk tree he was waiting underneath and greeted them.

“Hello, guys!” Rudy called out, smiling to his friends.

“Hello!” The two of them answered back in unison.

The two kids approached Rudy until they stood only a few feet away from him. They panted a few times to catch their breath. They looked like they had been running a while. It was little wonder why they did. They all had come into ChalkZone from their own homes, and they all had agreed on a meeting place. They all lived a good distance away from each other. Even though they found a middle ground area that was roughly equal distance, that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t take something out of them.

At least they were here now, and they could begin their plans for today. Rudy knew that, as soon as his friends were rested up, they would begin their journey towards Rapsheeba’s New Place. They weren’t too concerned with running into any zoners along the way, but it was still possible, and they all agreed they would have to be prepared, so they all had their own pieces of chalk with them.

“So do you think Rapsheeba will be home?” Mint asked.

“She should be. I haven’t heard anything about a concert lately.” Penny replied. “One of us would have noticed. She is quite a popular singer. At least one zoner would have been talking about it during our investigation.”

Rudy nodded his head. “She is probably at home, entertaining Zibble and Blotz.”

Mint tilted his head at this. “Zibble and Blotz?” He furrowed his eyes with confusion. Then he shook his head slowly. “I..don’t think you told me about those two.”

“Really?” Rudy scratched his head. “I could have sworn we did. You’ve been with us for a couple years, and we haven’t introduced you?”

“I’m afraid not. I would have remembered names as weird as those.” Said Mint.

Rudy ignored the mild insult as he said, “Well they are two child zoners who were drawn by Mr. Wilter.”

Mint put his hand to his mouth and chortled. “What?” He choked back a laugh. “Are you kidding me? Mr. Wilter?!” Rudy and Penny just stared at him. They nodded their head once, and Mint’s smile broadened. “Oh that’s something! Mr. Wilter, anti-cartoonist, actually created something!”

Penny narrowed her eyes. “He drew them when he was just a kid.”

Mint’s smile did not fade. “Oh really?”

“Yeah.” Rudy couldn’t ignore Mint’s attitude anymore. He folded his arms against his chest. “From what was overheard, his father made him erase them...or his dad did, I can’t remember that detail.” Rudy made a swift gesture with his hand. It had been a long time since he last heard the story. “But anyway, that was why Mr. Wilter hates cartoons. His dad did, and if he did that with Zibble and Blotz, I think it’s safe to say that any and all of Mr. Wilter’s old drawings were treated the same way. So Mr. Wilter hates them through association.”

“Oh...” Mint lowered his gaze. His expression had softened up. He bit his lip, looking left and right. “I’m...I’m sorry. I didn’t know...”

Rudy pressed on, as he was not yet done with the story. “Zibble and Blotz, because they were only partially erased, appeared as mere apparitions. Ghosts. They were not complete, and they had been like that for a long time.”

Penny flinched at the memory. “Poor little guys...” She looked straight into Mint’s eyes. “Since they were drawn when Mr. Wilter was just a child, that meant that Zibble and Blotz were trapped in limbo for decades. Can you imagine what that must have been like for them?”

“I...I don’t think I can..” Mint’s voice was slightly shaky. “I’m sorry for laughing, you guys. I..I didn’t mean it.” He lowered his head in shame. “Yeah, there’s nothing funny about that story.”

Rudy did not press the matter any further. He gave Mint a quick smile, as did Penny, before turning his attention to the topic at hand. “We should leave now. If we want to stand a chance at catching Rapsheeba, we should leave now before she decides to run out and do some errands.”

“I thought you said she’d be at the house.” Mint inquired.

“Well yeah, but sometimes she goes into town for different things, like if she wants to style her hair or get a new outfit or something.” Penny said. She paused for a moment. “Well a casual outfit that she isn’t going to be using for anything special. She has one particular location where she gets her costumes.”

Rudy shuddered at this. “Please don’t remind me.”

Penny looked over at him, her expression softening up. “I’m sorry, Rudy.”

Mint looked between the two. Confusion plastered over his face. He raised his arms up and said, “What happened? Did Rapsheeba do something to you?”

“No, I....” Rudy rubbed his head, waving his other hand out in front of him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why...” Mint started to say. Penny immediately put her hand over his mouth. Mint jerked in surprise, and he moved away from her, staring at her in surprise. “What?”

Penny narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Now’s not the best time for that.” She looked over at Rudy, looking at him sympathetically, and then she turned her attention back to Mint. “That is a story for another time. I’ll...tell you about it later, okay?”

Mint looked back at Rudy. Upon seeing the expression on the boy’s face, he seemed to understand that this was a private matter. He sighed and nodded his head. “Okay.”

Rudy recalled how he had encountered Rapsheeba’s creator and had developed a crush on her. He still regretted the way he had acted for a while after that. And what he had heard her say.. It still sometimes stung him in the heart. He tried his best not to think about it.

Shifting his attention back to his friends, he said, “Shall we get going?”

“Yeah. The sooner the better.” Penny said.

“I hope Rapsheeba will be able to help us.” Mint said. His voice was tinged with concern. “And I hope that we will get answers soon.”

“Don’t worry. Sooner or later, we will.”

Rudy wasn’t sure how true those words would be. He didn’t know if they would find anything out. There was always that chance that they’d never find out, and things would only get worse. He knew that real life was not always fair, and that at times, the bad guys do get away. It was a cold fact that he had to learn to accept, no matter how hard it was.

But he also knew that things could go right for them. There was still a chance that things could work out in the end, and that they would find out who was responsible. He wanted to remain hopeful for the best. They would not give up, not until they exhausted every possibility and they had broken their last leg, and even then, they’d struggle.

Rudy took out his magic chalk and quickly began to draw. Lines rapidly formed in the air, curving and bending around. Transluscent completely, that is, until he finished what he was drawing. In seconds, color flashed in, filling in the empty spaces. He took a few steps back, taking a moment to oversee what he had just drawn.

A large hovercraft, similiar to the one he used with his friends back when Mint was still working for Skrawl. This one was a bit larger to accompany the addition of Mint to the team. It was even more streamlined, shining of silver that glinted in the light of the Day Zone sun, and it was faster. He had a feeling they were going to need transportation for a while, and while Mint’s creations would be helpful, he felt this was a better mode of transportation, since it would not be overexhausted from potential running around.

He and his friends approached the hovercraft. Rudy raised his hands up and gave a single clap. Just as he had designed it, the glass shield pulled back, allowing the children access inside. They all climbed in, taking their seats and buckling themselves in. Rudy clapped again and the hovercraft closed the glass shield, sealing them all inside.

Rudy turned the key, and the engines of the hovercraft roared to life. As he pulled on the lever that controlled the machine, he could feel themselves being lifted up into the air. They rose up higher and higher, and before they knew it, they were hovering above the ground about twenty feet. Rudy turned the lever, and the machine turned with it. Mint and Penny gripped their seats tightly as they wobbled a little bit. Soon the hovercraft straightened out and was pointed in the direction of their destination. Rapsheeba’s New Place.

“Okay, let’s get going.” Rudy said. With that, he pressed a button and the hovercraft sped forward, taking him and his friends to Rapsheeba’s New Place.

sss

Snap shivered as he laid on his bed. He pulled his blanket over him, covering his entire body. He couldn’t stop trembling, the cold never ceasing to rip into him. He had his eyes closed, but he could not sleep. Not here, and not now. He didn’t even know if he was still alone in his cell. The very idea of lifting up the blanket to see left him frozen in terror.

He hadn’t even bothered to get anything to eat today. He was hungry. He could feel his stomach growling. But his fear outweighed his appetite. He dare not move from his spot. He dare not take a look around, and risk running into him.

He never thought that he would see the day when he would find someone he feared more than how he did with Mint those years ago, during his attacks on ChalkZone. But here, during his couple days trapped in this hell hole of a prison, he had been proven wrong.

Even without remembering specific details, even with his memory only partially working, Snap could still feel the terror welling up inside of him, the fear that was building up ever since he first came here. He had been in here for days, no doubt about it. Even if he did not remember the exact day and time he first arrived, the way the zoners acted and treated him told him he had been a resident for a little while.

He had quickly learned to fear practically every zoner here. They never let up on their treatment of him. They never gave him a break. They never showed him mercy. The wardens would force him to walk on his injured legs. The other zoner would sometimes knock him into the ground or take away his food or whatever. He was emotionally abused, with zoners left and right mocking him, taunting him, and accusing him. He tried to push the words out of his head, but their horrible stinginess persisted, and he could not run away from it.

The one zoner he learned to fear the most was Taima. He was the reason he did not want to get up right now. He was the reason he was too terrified to leave his bed.

Taima was his cell mate.

Taima took great pleasure in tormenting Snap. He would constantly berate Snap, find ways to hurt him, often mentally, dominate him, and just push him into the ground. Metaphorically speaking of course, but sometimes, he took in literally, something that made Snap shiver in fear.

Taima would sometimes start hurting him just to assert his dominance over him. If Snap did anything to fight back, the beating got worse. The terrified little zoner learned quickly to just take it, since things worked out a lot better that way. So long as he remained submissive, Taima didn’t treat him quite as badly. It was still not picnic, and the zoner still left Snap feeling terrified, afraid to come out.

He wanted to get out of here. He wanted to break out and find his friends. He wanted to be with them. He wanted to help them find out what happened with him, and with that explosion. But that would entail breaking out of jail, and he knew that would be a very bad idea. As if the zoners didn’t distrust him already, they would react even worse if they found out he broke out of jail.

He still clung onto the hope that, somehow, someone would realize he was innocent. Someone had to find out the truth about that explosion, and realize he was just as much a victim as everyone else. He did not rig that place to explode. He couldn’t have. He’d never do something like that.

But that didn’t stop him from sometimes doubting himself. With his memory of that day in shambles, he could not properly defend himself. Anything could have happened in that short time frame. He could have done something and not remember. Oh sure, he probably wouldn’t have meant to do it, but what if he did cause an accident that took the lives of all those zoners? If that turned out to be the case, he knew he would not be able to forgive himself...

He tried to stay positive. Even in his terrified state, even as his heart raced against his chest, Snap tried to remain hopeful that something was going to change soon.

He heard footsteps. Through his blanket, he could see a shadow move across, then it froze. Snap knew who it was. He did not need the individual to speak for him to know who this was going to be. He pressed himself more firmly against the bed, staring out at the shadow, shivering.

“Well, Snap...” The familiar voice he didn’t want to hear right now. His cell mate, Taima. “I see you missed out on lunch today. Quite a shame. I thought you would be hungry.”

Snap did not attempt to speak. He recalled what happened this morning when he tried to talk to Taima. He had been punchedi n the jaw. Taima held a personal grudge against him, and boy did it show. Even in just the way Taima spoke to him, the tone that he used, it was clear that this zoner did not like him and felt as though he had wronged him.

Taima spoke up again, breaking Snap out of his thoughts. “Sooner or later, you will have to come out, Snap. You can’t stay underneath there forever.” After Snap remained quiet for a while, Taima’s voice changed. It became a little darker, and there was a tinge more aggression to it. “Now, Snap... Why don’t you say something? Speak. I give you permission. Reply to me, and stop hiding like a sniveling coward.”

Snap dare not move, dare not speak. Despite what Taima said, he refused to move from his spot. He knew it would do little to help him, but hiding underneath the covers helped him feel safer for some reason. It was like he was shieled from the world. A safety zone of sorts. A small one that could easily be taken from him, but a safety zone nonetheless.

He knew that Taima blamed him for his sister’s death. She had been brought up this morning. He didn’t know how many times he had been told the story, since he would forget each day. But each time, he could have sworn that Taima got angrier and more aggressive as he told him. Taima was so vengeful in regards to what happened...and he put so much blame on Snap... It was such a terrifying moment for Snap to experience.

Snap didn’t even try to argue with him. What was the point? He would always blame him for Galena’s death. Snap could try all he wanted to, to defend himself, but nothing was going to work. Nothing would get through to this guy. Taima was too far gone in his anger and hatred towards him. Any attempt to deny his involvement, any attempt to try to tell him that he had amnesia, would result in him getting hurt.

Taima growled softly. “So you’re just going to hide like the little coward you are. Of course. You miserable pile of shit...” Snap could hear the tall stick figure coming towards him. His heart pounded even faster against his chest. “You are so pathetic. You could at least look me in the eyes and talk to me. You did that with my sister before you killed her. Why can’t you do the same with me?”

Snap was too terrified to speak. He could sense the growing aggression in the zoner’s voice. He was too scared to move, too scared to look out from underneath the blanket. As the shadow grew larger, and the footsteps heavier, and more forced, Snap tugged on the blanket harder, hiding himself.

Suddenly, the blanket was being ripped away from him. Snap let out a cry of fear as he held onto the blanket, pulling on it, trying to keep himself hidden. But no matter how hard he held onto the blanket, it was no use, and in seconds, it was yanked away from him. He was pulled forward, nearly hitting his head against the leg of the bed. He attempted to pushed himself back, but when he turned his head up, his eyes were locked in contact with Taima’s.

Snap felt his body freeze, ice filling his veins. He held his breath, and time felt like it stopped completely. He stared up at the zoner in horror, his mind racing with thoughts. He wanted to move. He wanted to get away. His muscles would not obey his commands, and he felt his body tremble harder.

Taima glared at him hatefully, moving his face closer to him. Snap moved away from him, pushing himself back on his hands. His burned legs stung as he was forced to use them as Taima crept closer. After a few second, Snap managed to flip himself onto his back. Instead of trying to get back onto his stomach and cowering, Snap remained like this, curling his limbs inward a bit.

Taima smiled at this show of submission. “That’s more like it... Isn’t this better...?”

Snap did not say a word. Even as Taima climbed into the bed with him, even as Taima straddled him, his hands on either side of him, Snap did not dare speak. He just stared up at Taima, shivering, unable to stop.

Taima chuckled at this. “You know, we could have a bit of...fun together...” He lowered his head towards Snap. The zoner could feel his hot breath against his face. “Yeah...I see no reason why we can’t... pass the time, if you know what I mean...”

Snap’s eyes widened in horror at this. He let out a soft whimper, turning his head to the side and closing his eyes. He could hear Taima let out a cold chuckle at this.

“Well then...” Taima started to say.

“Get off of him.”

The two zoners, confused by this sudden interrupting, turned their heads towards the cell door. There, they could see a warden standing there, glaring at the two of them. Immediately, Taima got off of Snap, but shot him a glare as he moved back away. Snap looked at Taima in fear before turning his gaze to the warden. Despite his fear, he was curious to know what this warden wanted.

The warden glared softly in Snap’s direction. He lifted up a hand, and with a wiggle of his finger, motioned for Snap to come closer. Though still shaken up by what happened, the fear of what could almost have happened, Snap obeyed the warden.

Standing on his feet was like standing on sharp glass. He winced and kept limping as he made his way over. The warden showed him no sympathy. Taima just smirked at him, obviously amused by what he percieved to be judgment. Snap ignored him, focusing instead on the warden. After long moments of painful progress, Snap soon reached the warden. He grabbed onto the cell door to provide some support for himself, and he leaned forward, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Snap looked up at the warden, and waited for him to reply. He dare not speak knowing full well of the consequences of that.

The warden stared at him for several moments, and then snarled at him softly. “Someone sent you a letter.”

“R-Really..?” Snap said hesitantly. When the warden narrowed his eyes, Snap cringed and turned away, half-expecting to be hit. He dared to say, “Who..who is it from..?”

“Maybe from Skrawl congratulating you.” Taima sneered.

The warden pulled out the letter. He held it up in the air, letting it get illuminated by the light. “It does not say who it’s form.” He turned it over, examining it. “But it is addressed to you, Snap. So here.” He held out the letter. “Take it.” He said coldly.

Snap took the letter, and as the warden walked away without another word, he took a moment to see if the warden had been telling the truth. Sure enough, the only thing written on the letter was his name, in big letters as well that covered almost the entirety of the envelope.

He wondered who could have sent him a letter. It wasn’t one of his friends, that’s for sure. They would have put their names on the envelope somewhere. But if it wasn’t them..who could it be?

Snap felt a feeling of dread rise up in his stomach. Something told him that he should not open up this letter. But curiosity got the better of him. He took in a deep breath, steadying himself against the cage door, he gripped the letter’s top. He tore it open with a single yank. He reached into the envelope and pulled out the letter. He opened it up, and began to read it in his head.

“Hello, Snap...

I do so apologize about how everything has been going for you. This is not what I hoped I would be doing. But you had left me with no choice. See, I know you are the one who destroyed my precious machine... Do you know how long it took me to make that, hmm...?

Well at least now I can rest soundly knowing that you are paying the price for that. Do not fear. It will be over soon...provided that you show that you learned your lesson. If I find that you did not, well... I just hope they will make it quick for you. I’d hate to see a friend suffer. I know you helped me so much in the past and I am happy for that. Really I am. I hope you do not feel bad about me.

Please take my words into account. Please do not make me prolong this anymore than it has to be. I want to back to being just your friend, and not your tormentor. Please...listen...

If you do not listen, well, at least listen to this message, and listen well. Heed my warning.

Tell me, Snap. How does it feel, knowing you have become the most hated zoner in ChalkZone? How does it feel knowing that zoners that once loved you now want you dead? It doesn't feel good, does it? Especially since you can't even remember...

Keep that in mind, and please make the right choice.

Love, Your Friend”

Snap took in a sharp gasp at this. He clutched the letter tightly, his body trembling. He stared at the letter, smacking his lips nervously as he looked at it up and down.

He couldn’t believe it... This letter.. It was from the culprit... The culprit had sent him a letter, and was taunting him. The words, though written, rang in his head in a booming, haunting voice. He ignored anything Taima said, and just continued to stare at the letter. He tried to settle himself down, but his heart rate just increased in speed.

Feeling weak, he slumped down, keeping his back pressed against the cold bars. He crumbled up the letter and stuffed it into his pocket. He looked over at Taima. Despite his glare, for once, Snap did not feel fear towards him. The letter had shook him up pretty badly. Letting out a soft sigh, he tilted his head back and stared up towards the ceiling.

A lesson? What kind of lesson was this culprit talking about? What had he done to them to make them do something like this to him? And friend...? Was this guy really a friend of his, or was he trying to trick him? Although he was positive it was just a mind trick, Snap couldn’t help but feel unnerved by the idea of a friend screwing with him like this.

He closed his eyes softly. Feeling emotion bearing down on him from all sides, and now combining with the sense of dread, Snap let out tears from his eyes, feeling them stroll down his face slowly.

He wondered how long he was going to have to endure this. He wondered if he was ever going to get out of here. He wondered if he stood a chance at all.

He hoped and prayed that his friends would save him.

sss

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Rudy whispered softly. His eyes were wide in horror. “Doesn’t that seem...risky?”

“Yeah. I’m with Rudy on this.” Mint cringed back, gritting his teeth nervously. “This seems like a really bad idea...”

“Oh it’s not so bad!” Rapsheeba waved her hand dismissively. “You just have to get to know him. Yeah he creeps out some of the other zoners, but if you spend some time with him, he’s really not all that bad.”

“Yeah, but... performing experimentations on animal zoners...?” Penny was shaken up by this. “I don’t know if I can trust someone like that...”

Penny was shaken up by what Rapsheeba had told them. They certainly hadn’t expected anything like this when they came over to her home. There were a number of things they expected. This wasn’t one of them. She was glad that Zibble and Blotz weren’t here to hear this. They would be quite shaken up by it.

When they arrived and told Rapsheeba they might have a way of proving Snap’s innocense, the singer had been quite excited. Apparently she got some slack from some zoners who think she is covering up for Snap or something along those lines. Penny felt bad for her, but they didn’t dwell on the subject for long. They quickly told her about trying to get Snap scanned in a new location, out of sight, and asked her if she knew of anyone who could do that.

Penny felt some sense of regret in asking this when Rapsheeba gave her answer. It was not an answer any of them had expected, and it left them all scared and disturbed. Despite Rapsheeba’s reassurances, they could not let go of their fear.

Rapsheeba knew of some doctor who could help. Dr. Indigo was his name. Rapsheeba gave a short but rather informative description of him. He apparently was kind of a loon who did some kind of experimentation on zoners..well animal ones, not those from ChalkZone City. That did not help them feel any better. Penny especially was disturbed, since she loved animals and the idea of them being hurt for some pointless experimentation stung her heart.

But Rapsheeba insisted that he was trustworthy and would gladly do the scan for them. He had a hospital underground where they could take Snap. It wasn’t a big deal to him.

But she and her friends still had some reservations against the idea.

“I’m sorry, Rapsheeba. But..do you know of anyone else?” Penny asked.

Rapsheeba shook her head. “No... But come on, you guys.” She held her hands out in gesture. “It’s not that bad. He doesn’t torture any of the animals, and he always lets them go. He’s crazy, not dangerous!”

“Are you sure he is not going to do something like..I dunno...” Mint made some quick little gestures with his hand. “Stick us with a needle or something?”

Rapsheeba widened her eyes at this. “My goodness, no!” The singer zoner looked at each of the human children. “Come on... You all said that you were willing to do what it took to help my main man, Snap, right?” The children nodded slowly. “Then come on. Take the risk! Dr. Indigo may be the best shot you all have!”

Penny hated to admit it, but Rapsheeba did have a good point there. There was a strong chance that Dr. Indigo would be their best chance at helping Snap. Animal experimentations aside, his personality probably would render it difficult for him to speak with others. And he might be the antisocial type, so he wouldn’t parade around what he was doing. And Rapsheeba did say he kept to himself most of the time anyway...

“All right then. We’ll do it.” Rudy spoke up. His voice was still shaky, and she knew that he was still uncomfortable with the idea. “I don’t like it.. But okay. Where can we meet this Dr. Indigo?”

Rapsheeba smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s not far from here.”

Penny turned her head to Rudy. “Shall we go try to fetch Snap?”

“Yeah. We should see if we can get him while Rapsheeba makes arrangements with Dr. Indigo. We can’t exactly run the scan without Snap around.” Rudy turned his head towards Rapsheeba. “Can you call him up and see if he’s available today?”

“No problem. I’ll get right on it!” Rapsheeba said.

As Rapsheeba left the room, Rudy turned to his friends. “Mint and I will go to the jail and try to convince the warden to allow us to take Snap to get scanned. Penny, you stay here with Rapsheeba and help her negotiate with Dr. Indigo in case he gets...difficult.”

Penny nodded her head. “Got it.”

Rudy smiled at her, then looked over at Mint. He made a gesture with his head. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Penny watched as her friends left. It happened pretty quickly, and she didn’t have much time to fully realize what she had to do. But she was not upset. She knew that there was little time left to help Snap. They could not afford to waste time. Their time had almost run out.

Penny turned her attention to Rapsheeba. She listened to her speak on the phone with Dr. Indigo. She couldn’t tell how it was going, but she hoped that Rapsheeba wouldn’t have too much trouble getting the doctor to agree to a scan. Snap’s life may very well depend on it. Not just him, but the rest of ChalkZone City as well. Who knows how long it would be before that blasted culprit decided to try something else...?

Penny shook the thought of her head and tried to relax. Things would work out in the end. She knew they would. She just..couldn’t stop believing. She couldn’t allow herself to get too pessimistic. They’d find a way to help Snap...somehow.

After several minutes of her thinking to herself, she was startled at the sound of a phone being placed back on its hook. A small, quiet sound usually, but to her distracted mind, which wasn’t expecting it, it sounded booming. She turned her head towards Rapsheeba, watching the zoner come towards her, a smile on her face.

“He agreed to do it.” Rapsheeba said. Penny smiled at this. “He said to come at any time. So..whever you guys arrive at his place, he will make sure to do the scan right away.”

Penny’s smile broadened. Although she was uncomfortable still with Dr. Indigo, she was still grateful that he was willing to help them. They really needed to get this scan done, and the sooner, the better. Her smile faded, however, when she realized she did not know the exact location of this zoner.

Penny looked at Rapsheeba and asked, “Can you lead us there? We..kind of don’t know where he is.”

Rapsheeba nodded her head. “Of course! I’ll be glad to!”

Penny smiled at this. She then turned her head and looked out the nearest window. She could see the grassy fields of Day Zone, and she immediately thought of Snap. Her heart twisted in her chest, from both fear and excitement. She hoped that Mint and Rudy were able to get Snap out of the jail so he could have the scan done. It may be their one key to proving his innocense.

sss

“I understand what you are trying to say, but..I’m not sure if I should grant this.” The head warden said. His eyes were furrowed, some suspicion glowing from them. “How do I know you won’t...?”

“Oh come on! We won’t be gone long!” Mint cried. He placed his hands on the desk, staring at the zoner in the eyes. “Please! We just want to do a quick scan! What will it hurt you?”

The head warden, who identified himself as Okoth, narrowed his eyes. The zoner, a dragon-like being, leaned his head forward, putting his mouth close to Mint’s head. The boy immediately shut his mouth and cringed back. “My reputation could be hurt. Do you have any idea how many prisoners could use this as an excuse to get out?” He leaned back, his tail twirling as his side. “Why should I grant Snap that privilege?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. He did his best to control himself. It was hard for him to remain calm around his zoner. They had been trying to negotiate for about half an hour now, and he hadn’t budged. He thought they were going to take Snap and run off with him. He had a feeling that Mint’s actions earlier didn’t help their cause any.

But he did not waste time being angry at Mint. He focused his eyes on the zoner before him. This dragon zoner had to be capable of reason and negotiation, right? There had to be some way that he would agree to allow them to have Snap just for an hour or so. They would bring him right back. They weren’t going to break the law. They needed a trial first before they could prove Snap’s innocense. All they wanted to do was gather some evidence to aid their friend when that time came. As of now, if he went there, with no way to defend himself... Rudy didn’t want to think about it.

“Please, Okoth... Just this once..can’t you make an exception...?” Rudy said softly. His voice was cracked in emotion. “We may have found a way..to not only prove Snap is innocent, but place an identity on who really killed those zoners. If there is a chance that you were wrong, a chance that the true culprit could be unmasked..wouldn’t you want to take that?”

Okoth glared at Rudy, curling his scaly lip up. “How do I know you speak the truth? How do I know you won’t...”

Mint opened his mouth to speak, but Rudy interrupted him. The boy took a step forward, gently pushing Mint aside so he could confront Okoth directly. “I’m the Great Creator. I am the great protector of ChalkZone. You have my word that we will bring Snap back after the scan is done. Please..”

Okoth growled softly, his head spines lowering down, showing great contempt for him. It was clear that he was not entirely believing of his words. He snorted, letting out a string of smoke from his nostrils. He emitted a low growl and turned his head to the side. Rudy was about to say something when the dragon raised his clawed paw up into the air.

“All right then... I am sick of talking with you and I know you won’t stop until I agree.” The dragon zoner growled softly. “You are persistant. I’ll give you that.” He turned his slit pupils in Rudy and Mint’s direction. “I will allow you to take Snap to get another MRI done. But...” He placed his clawed paws on the table with some force. “..only if you bring a guard with you to ensure that Snap does not get away.”

Rudy nodded his head. “You have our word.”

“We accept the terms.” Mint said.

Okoth narrowed his eyes. “Good...” He turned his head to a stick figure guard not far from him. “Go get Snap.”

The guard saluted Okoth. “Yes, sir!”

Rudy and Mint remained silent as the guard went to fetch Snap. They looked at each other, both lost in their own thoughts. They weren’t entirely sure how this was going to work out. Both were uncertain of how much they could trust this Dr. Indigo person. Neither of them know what to expect with whatever guard was assigned to Snap.

But they both knew this was their best shot at helping their friend. They would just have to go along with it and hope for the best.

sss

“Don’t worry, you guys.” Rapsheeba said. “It’s just a little further!”

“That’s what you said ten minutes ago! I’m exhausted!” Mint cried out. His mouth was opened wide, taking in quick breaths. He couldn’t understand how Rapsheeba could walk this much without collapsing.

“Oh I might have been exaggerating. Sorry.” Rapsheeba gave a nervous smile.

Mint narrowed his eyes at her. “So now you tell us...”

“Oh quick your complaining.” The guard snarled at him. “Be glad this is even permitted at all...”

Mint glared at the zoner, but said nothing. There was no point in complaining with him. It would do him no good. He was not interested in getting tangled up with another zoner, especially with what happened the last time.. He shook the thoughts out of his head, not wanting to dwell on it for long.

He looked left and right as they headed down the tunnels. Everything looked the same here. He couldn’t even see any kind of markings or signs on the walls. Rudy and Penny commented on how strange that was, and Snap was confused as well. The guard and Rapsheeba both remaiend quiet, although once in a while, Rapsheeba would give them words of encouragement and try to assure them it was closer than it really was.

He looked over at his zoner friend. Snap was being assisted by Rudy, who was holding onto his arm and allowing him to use him as support. It was a miracle that they were able to get Snap at all. He was glad that Okoth had caved in and allowedt hem to take Snap to get his brain scanned. They were going to feel so guilty when they brought him back. But..they didn’t have much of a choice. That was part of the deal.

Dr. Indigo, as much as he creeped him out, maybe be their one chance at helping Snap. There might be other ways. They could probably always find something else. But how long would that take? They had a probable solution available now. He hoped that some results would turn up.

“Hold it!” Rapsheeba held her hand up into the air. The group behind her froze, looking at her curiously. She turned her head left and then right, moving rather slowly. She then looked over her shoulder. “He’s coming.”

The group remained quiet, watching as a shadow formed on the wall. It stretched up tall, at an odd angle. Mint and his friends stared at it nervously. They did not pay attention to how the guard was reacting, and kept their eyes glued on the shadow, following its movements.

Slowly, it shrank down as the figure got closer. They traced their eyes along the wall, following the shadow back down to its source. They moved their eyes along the wall, downwards, until they came upon an unfamiliar figure. A zoner they had never seen before. He was mostly in shadow and his details weren’t clear. But as soon as he spoke, they all knew the identity of this zoner.

“Ah, Snap.. I was expecting you...” Dr. Indigo said, his body still obscured by the shadows. “Please...come in...”

sss

Sandra narrowed her eyes and let out a soft growl. She curled her lips back, baring her sharp teeth. Her hand formed into a fist. She tightened it, letting it tremble. She glared off in the direction in front of her, feeling anger eat away at her stomach. She did her best to control herself, but it was getting increasingly difficult to do so.

Snap...he wasn’t listening to her warning. She had tried to negotiate with him. She had tried to be fair with him, and promised him that she would stop if he would just surrender and accept his punishment.

But instead, he was still trying to stop her. His friends, they were getting in the way again. They were now going to some more scans, likely more thorough ones than before. They were doing it away from the hospital as well, a fact that shocked her. Had it not been for the loose lips of a zoner who seemed like he thought he was just spreading a rumor, she never would have known about this.

She had no idea how much damage was done already. She didn’t know how far along they had gotten, or if the MRI scan was doing. But she had to act fast. If they find out what she had done...

No.. She was so close. Everything was almost set. She would not allow this all to fall apart so easily. She had to stop this, before it was too late. She raised her hand up and prepared to take action. Her eyes closed, and a warm sensation began to center around her triangle. She stopped only when she heard the sound of a twig snapping, and the gasp of horror.

“Y-You...?” The voice that came was soft and quiet. Quizzical and curious. “Why are you here..?”

Sandra froze where she stood. No..oh no.. She couldn’t have been followed. No one should know that she was here. She had never been noticed before. This..this couldn’t be, no... This had to be some kind of mistake. She could not have just heard that voice.

Yet there was no escaping it. She knew the truth. For the first time, someone was catching her in the act. She could not hide from this. She could not lie. She had to defend herself and try to make this intruder see reason. She hoped that they would have some level of understanding, until Snap and the humans she was trying to deal with.

Slowly, she turned around to face the one confronting her. Her eyes widened in surprise at who it was. Then they narrowed, determination practically glowing from them. She hadn’t met this zoner before, but the wacky design made her realize just who this had to be.

It was Doofus Rudy.

Chapter 26: Secret Passage

I'm searching for answers not questioned before. The curse of awareness, there's no peace of mind.
-A Dangerous Mind, Within Temptation




“They...they found something? They really found something..?” Although Penny had heard the words with her own head, a part of her had trouble fully comprehending them.

Rapsheeba nodded her head. She gave the three kids a broad smile. “That’s exactly what they told me.”

Penny couldn’t believe it. Neither could her friends. They all looked at each other. Overwhelming shock enveloped them, making them tremble and shake. It was so hard for them to fully comprehend. On some level, they wondered if they were merely dreaming. What if all of this was just a sick dream, and they’d wake up, realizing they still hadn’t found evidence for Snap’s innocense?

But the longer they remained like this, the more that things all around them began to settle down, the more Penny realized...this was no dream. This was real. Something, at long last, had been found. For the first time in weeks, they had proof that something had been wrong with Snap all along. Proof that he was not a monster trying to lie to everyone.

The feeling of triumph was overwhelming. They couldn’t stop their bodies from shaking. They couldn’t stop the tears of joy from flowing down their faces. They weren’t able to control themselves for long, and after a few seconds, they all let out a scream of joy and hugged each other.

Finally, after all this time, they could finally prove that Snap had nothing to do with the attacks. Anyone who doubted him will now be silenced in light of this evidence. No longer could they say that Snap was tricking them all. All they needed to do was show them the results, and they will be silenced.

But knowing that something was really wrong with him was only part of the battle. Penny realized that if they were to properly get to the bottom of this, they would need to know exactly what the results had said.

Pulling away from her friends, Penny look at Rapsheeba and said, “What did they find out was wrong?”

Rapsheeba’s smile faded at this. She looked down. Penny bit her lip, realizing this wasn’t good news. Mint and Rudy, who had previously looked so happy, now had looks of fear and worry on their faces. They waited for Rapsheeba to deliver what they knew was going to be bad news.

“They found a tumor.”

The color drained from the kids’ faces so fast at this. They looked at each other, horror and dread washing over them. They found it hard to believe, and they each wondered if they misheard. Rapsheeba repeated her statement, more clear this time, and they knew that there was no denying it. But it was still hard for them to believe. It was so difficult for them to except it. This was something they never wanted to hear. Something that no one deserved to go through.

A tumor..? But how? How was it possible that Snap had a tumor in his head this whole time? Why didn’t the scans pick it up? Although they all theorized that someone was messing with the machine, it was still a difficult thing to swallow. It was so hard for them all to imagine Snap walking around with a tumor in his head. This caused questions to ring through their minds.

What kind of tumor was it?

What kind of damages was it causing?

Is it benign or will it spread?

They knew that the doctors wouldn’t have known what type of tumor it was, since all they were able to do was scan it. They could not take a sample of it right then and there, since they had no idea if Snap even had something or not. And they all doubted that the jail would let them have Snap back again for another scan

But at least they knew it was there now. They were aware of this tumor in his head. With the scan alone, they were certain the doctors could figure out if it was going to kill him or not. Surely they would have put that in the paperwork.

Rapsheeba broke the silence as she continued to speak. “The tumor they found was relatively small, but not too small.” She put her hand on her head, rubbing in one particular spot. “It’s located in the part of the brain that controls memory storage.”

Rudy widened his eyes at this. “So this tumor was messing with Snap’s memories?”

Rapsheeba nodded her head. “It sure seems like it.” She looked back at the papers she was holding. “According to this, the tumor isn’t big enough to cause damage, and instead is just blocking some signals in the brain, preventing Snap from remembering the recent past. It seems the brain started to heal itself and began to create a workaround, however it’s very weak and obviously it isn’t helping Snap remember what happened.”

“So if we remove the tumor,” Mint rubbed his chin. “We will help Snap regain his memories?”

“That’s what the underground doctors are hoping, yes.” Rapsheeba said. “He is going to need surgery to remove the tumor. The sooner, the better.” She furrowed her eyes. “Although the tumor hasn’t caused any lasting damage, Dr. Indigo is concerned that something could happen to complicate matters. It is best we get that thing out as soon as we can.”

“Of course. We wouldn’t have it any other way.” Rudy glanced at his friends. “Do any of you have any ideas?”

Mint shrugged his shoulders. “Not really. It was hard enough to convince that warden guy to allow Snap one visit. Even if we show the results, I doubt he will listen.”

Penny didn’t answer right away. She lowered her head, her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of something. There had to be a way they could help Snap get rid of this blasted tumor. The most obvious solution was what Rapsheeba said, which was surgery.

But the chances of the head warden letting Snap out again after just a few days... She found that highly unlikely. She recalled what Rudy and Mint said about him. It took them a long time before they could reach any kind of agreement. This Okoth fellow, or whatever his name was, he sounded like he was the type of warden who strictly followed the rules and enforced them. He would likely scoff at any attempt to show him the results, and try to send them away.

So how were they going to get the tumor out of the warden likely would not allow him to leave? How were they going to be able to pull this off? There had to be some way that they could...

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. Her eyes widened as she thought about this idea a little more. What if they didn’t have to bring Snap back out themselves? What if they could merely send along a message somehow? Perhaps if they found a way to tell one of the doctors at the hospital, maybe they could convince the warden. If the head warden won’t listen to them, maybe he would listen to a doctor. They could just send a message with the results to one of the doctors to help them.

Preferably Dr. Crobat. They hadn’t heard too much from the bird zoner in the past few days, but Penny recalled how he was genuinely trying to help Snap. He was the one who noticed something was wrong with the scan. He had seen..something...and now they know what that something was. A tumor. If they could give him the message, he could help get Snap out of here, and to the hospital for an emergency surgery.

But the question was...could they pull it off? Could they get the message to him without much trouble? Would the other doctors even allow them in, or would they be locked off from the hospital? There was Dr. Gelcro to consider...

Penny knew what the only realistic option was.

“We have to head back to the hospital.”

“What?” Rudy and Mint said in unison. They looked at Penny, their eyes widened.

“I know it’s a risk. Dr. Gelcro will probably try to stop us.” Penny narrowed her eyes slightly as she turned her gaze away. “Especially with what happened the last time...”

“I’m sure he wants some payback for that.” Mint pointed out.

Rudy nodded. “And he had spread the word. You heard what the zoners think of us now. It’s not as bad as how they feel about Snap, but it...”

“I know. The zoners might give us some trouble.” Penny paused at this, and she corrected herself. “Okay, they will. But we still have to try to get to the hospital to give the message.”

“Or maybe you guys could just draw a message and have it transported somehow?” Rapsheeba suggested. The singer zoner had set the papers down, and had moved a little closer to them. “You don’t have to include anything about the message being from you guys. You could just draw something to repeat a message and have it be sent out to the hospital. They might at least give it a listen before they destroy it.”

Penny thought about this. It might work. The fear that she and her friends had were that they’d be chased away before they had a chance to get to the hospital. When Mint lost his temper, they had lost some support, and she was aware that there might be at least one zoner who wouldn’t be able to control themselves and chase after them.

Even if the zoners manage to keep themselves well behaved, there were a couple other things to consider.

First, the doctors had more of a reason to be aggressive with them than the civilians. Mint had attacked one of them, after all. They were more likely than the civilians to use force when dealing with them. They may try to tear apart any message they tried to deliver in person.

Second, even disregarding all of that, even if the doctors tried to be reasonable with them, there was still that machine. She did have some suspicion that the zoners’ increased hostility was partially a result of that machine. She was glad that it wasn’t affecting her mind again, like it had before, and she hoped it would never do that again. But she was well aware that it could be happening to the zoners now, and if the culprit wanted to, they could increase the frequency and..

“Perhaps we should head to Sandra’s restaurant.” Mint held up his hand in gesture. “We were going to go there before, remember?”

“Yeah, we were. I’m still a bit suspicious about the way Sandra acted there. She seemed..determined to not let us see something.” Rudy narrowed his eyes. “That’s not even getting into what her mental state might be like..”

“What do you mean?” Rapsheeba asked in confusion. “What about her mental state?”

Penny decided to answer this. “We found out that Sandra was one of Mint’s creations.” She glanced over at the boy. He lowered his head, as if in shame. She looked back. “He had forgotten about her until recently. He said that he intended her to be a healer of some kind, a nurse, but his cousin had altered her design, and he feared he also altered her mind.” She paused, letting Rapsheeba take this all in. “We fear that, as a result, Sandra is unstable in someway.”

“Well that doesn’t mean she did anything.” Rapsheeba said. “I hope that...”

Rudy cut her off. “We aren’t going to go up and accuse her, Rapsheeba. We just want to get evidence, and see if we can link her.” He paused for a moment, colllecting his thoughts. “We have three suspects, and she is the first one we want to investigate.”

“We won’t directly confront her until we know for certain she’s hiding something.” Mint folded his arms against his chest. “The best way to clear her name, or to convict her, is to go into that restaurant of hers, and see what she was hiding. She seemed way too adament about keeping us out of the back.”

Rapsheeba frowned at this. “That could be because she doesn’t want anyone stealing anything.” She raised her hand up. “I’m surprised with you three. Just because someone doesn’t want you to go in a particular place doesn’t mean they are up to something. I mean...when I first moved here, I didn’t want you guys back here.” She placed her hands against herself. “Did you think I was up to something?”

Penny felt some guilt sting her heart. She realized that Rapsheeba had a good point. Sandra might not be up to something after all. Maybe she just didn’t want them getting hurt or something. It could be something as simple as that, rather than her trying to hide the truth from them.

Rudy gave a sigh, his eyes looking left and right. “Well...I understand where you are coming from, Rapsheeba.” He lifted up his head enough to look over at the female singer. He bit his lip. “But if Sandra is innocent, then us checking back there would prove that. You have to understand...when it comes to finding out what happened to Snap, we have to consider all possibilities. If Sandra is innocent, then we need to clear her name before someone else suspects her. You understand that, right?”

“Well...” Rapsheeba narrowed her eyes. She looked away from the children for a couple of seconds. She looked back at them, and her expression softened up. “Yeah, I can see that. You’re right. It would be better to clear her name than to just not do anything at all.” She paused. “But how would you get in the back without any of the customers seeing you?”

This caused the three children to look at each other. That was a very good question. How were they going to do this without drawing attention to themselves?

The restaurant was open right now. There would be a lot of customers. Sandra’s popularity ensured that, even when the restaurant had just opened up, there would be many zoners inside. And even in the hours of it being closed, there would be some zoners waiting in line, hoping to get a taste of her specialized meat and whatever other tasty treats she might have. How were they going to get past all of them?

“I’m not getting invisible again!” Mint cried, his eyes wide. He ignored Rapsheeba’s confused expression. “That was a horrible experience!”

“Don’t worry, Mint. I think we can think of a way without having to do that.” Rudy said. He looked over at Penny. “Right, Penny?”

“...yeah.” Penny hesitated slightly. This did little to cheer up Mint. “I’m...sure we can.”

sss

The three children, as well as Rapsheeba, discussed what they were going to do for what felt like an hour. They tried to think of all kinds of ways that they could sneak into the restaurant without getting caught and without resorting to being invisible.

It was understandable why they didn’t want to be invisible again. They were completely blind, left at the mercy of the world. If it weren’t for the bird Penny drew, they never would have made it to Snap’s room. But they also remembered what happened to said bird. That creepazoid, Dr. Gelcro, had killed the bird in cold blood, thinking it was some kind of spy. It wasn’t just that they wanted to avoid becoming blind again; they didn’t want to subject another zoner to that kind of fate.

But how were they going to get in if they weren’t going to be invisible? There was no time that the restaurant was completely deserted, except at hours that Rudy and his friends could not make. None of them were going to be able to handle a weird time like 3 AM. They were too used to more normal hours that their minds would be wonky and they could screw things up. Coffee wasn’t an option due to their age, and due to how it takes a little while to make it. Plus, wouldn’t their parents get suspicious?

They tried to think of a suitable time while they were able to get into ChalkZone, but what Rapsheeba had reported didn’t sound very promising. She didn’t recall a time when that area of the city was deserted. Someone would spot them, no matter which way they came. They would most certainly report to Sandra, and let them know of the strange intrusion. They didn’t know how Sandra was going to react when she found out that they were, and they weren’t sure if they wanted to know.

Even if the zoners didn’t report them, what if they took action themselves? It was possible that some of the more disgruntled zoners might try to do something. Drag them away or something. They would certainly complicate things for them.

It took a while before they remembered something that might help them. They recalled that Snap had found some underground tunnels, and as he had explored them, it eventually led him to the warehouse where that machine was located. The police never did release the full report, but there was talk of how there were a lot of tunnels underground. Nothing was done, since they dismissed it as the sewer network, and everyone already knows what that is.

Perhaps if they were to find out where Snap had been chased off to, they could use that to find this machine. Whether or not it would be at Sandra’s restaurant wasn’t on their minds at this very moment. The important thing was to locate it and destroy it. Oh and of course figure out what it was being used for.

But getting there wasn’t going to be easy. They would still need to traverse through the city. They would have to hope that the zoners don’t turn on them when they came through. Even if they just glared at them, they would prefer that over them trying to start a fight.

It was a chance they had to take. They all knew this. If they didn’t take the risk and go find this underground tunnel, then they would have a harder time solving the case. They needed to do this. They needed to go back to where they confronted Skrawl and his robot and see if they can remember which way Snap had ran and try to find the spot he had disappeared to.

He had told them some of the directions, but he did not remember everything. Even what he did tell them, it might be inaccurate. This meant that they may be running blind, desperately trying to find something, all the while possibly being chased by angered zoners, depending on how the cirumstances go.

Then Penny had a great idea. They were glad they stayed a little longer to try to perfect the plan, as Rapsheeba had insisted they do. Penny came up with the idea of creating some kind of device, perhaps high-tech goggles, that would show them hidden tunnels underneath the ground. That would buy them some time and help them find the tunnels faster.

It was decided. They all agreed on what they were going to do. The three children waved goodbye to Rapsheeba before they turned and headed out. It was time to find that machine. It was time to end this.

sss

“Ugh..this thing is a little tight..” Rudy fidgeted at the strap around his head. “Couldn’t we have made it a little...looser?”

Penny shook her head. “We need them to be tight, Rudy. We can’t allow any chances of them falling off.” She gave a small smile. “And besides, they look good on you.”

Mint nodded in agreement. “Yeah. It makes you look so...” He waved his hand about, making a face as he tried to think of how to continue. “...so...”

Rudy bared his teeth. “Stupid.”

Mint cringed away from Rudy, staring at him in shock. “That’s..not what I was going to say.”

Rudy shook his head. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter now anyway.” He looked away, turning his attention towards the roads ahead of them. “Come on, we best get to searching.” He began to walk down the street, looking left and right slowly. “We have some more searching to do.

Penny and Mint looked at each other and nodded. They quickly joined Rudy. The three friends headed further down the street of ChalkZone City, following Rudy. Although they kept behind Rudy, they still looked around themselves, trying to see if they can find anything suspicious, or anything that was worth checking out.

Rudy hoped that they would be able to find something. He would hate for them to waste all this time looking for something and then come up with no results. After finally getting some results regarding Snap, Rudy would like for this to continue in an upward trend. He hoped that they would be able to find something around here that could help them out. They were getting close to solving this crime. He hoped their luck would continue in this direction.

Rudy tried his best to ignore how the strap was cutting into his skin. He did understand that Penny didn’t want them to lose them, but surely they didn’t have to have them on this tightly right? It wasn’t like they were going to fall over the moment they leaned forward or anything.

They had all decided that goggles were the best way to implement the technology Penny was thinking of. They were smaller, more compact, and easier to travel around with. They were also harder to get a hold of. Should a zoner try to stop them, culprit or not, they would need to get awfully close to them, giving them time to counter.

He pushed aside his thoughts as they continued down the road, looking left and right slowly. He looked through the high-tech goggles, noting the lines that overlapped one another, the various details in the structure all around him, numbers that were piling up in the corner. He couldn’t read all this high-tech stuff and he could feel himself getting a headache. But Penny said that what they had to be on the look out for were bold lines. The bold lines were the ones that indicated something underneath the ground.

This was easier said than done, however. There were many bold lines since ChalkZone City had a sewer system. They had to be very careful not to mistake that for the secret passages that they were trying to find. Rudy wasn’t sure how difficult they’d be to find, but he knew it would take them a while.

He and his friends continued on their way. They passed by alleyway after alleyway, street after street. They moved by some zoners, most of which left them alone, although a few seemed accusatory, and a couple were clearly wondering what they were doing.

After a while of searching, they didn’t really find anything that could help them. All they could find thus far, they had expected to see. Sewege pipes, basements, underground sections of buildings, stuff like that. But they weren’t going to give up yet, so they kept up the search.

They soon came into about the middle of the city. They stopped at the curb, looking all around them. They had nearly forgotten how huge this place was. They were practically surrounded by buildings. The tall structures seem to almost encircle them, trapping them inside. The massiveness of the place made them all nervous, but they continued on, pushing aside their anxiety, reminding themselves of what this mission was about.

Suddenly, just as Rudy was going to do down another alleyway, he heard Mint let out a shout. He and Penny turned towards him. They could see he was looking at something on the ground intently, his eyes wide in shock.

Rushing over, Rudy cried, “What do you see?”

Mint didn’t look at Rudy. He kept his eyes on the ground. He reached down and rubbed his fingers along the hard floor. His expression was that of perplexion.

“Mint?” Penny tried this time. “What is it?”

After a few moments, Mint looked up at them. “This ground... This is where we had fought Skrawl.”

“What?” Rudy narrowed his eyes in disbelief. “But that’s...” He paused as he looked down at the ground again. He lowered himself so he could get a closer look. It took him a few seconds to realize what Mint was talking about. “Oh I see it!”

Penny looked at Rudy, and then at the ground. She soon saw it too. “You’re right, Mint...”

On the ground, they could see what was clearly a large scrape in the ground. With how hard the cement was here, like in the Real World, they knew that only something large could have made this. The mark itself, a long gash that started off deep, and then got lighter, reminded them of the machine that Skrawl had used. It had legs that could have easily made this mark. And the way it was angled, too...

They were certain of it. This was where they fought Skrawl. While it wasn’t the location they were initially going to, this could still help them. They could use this spot to try to figure out which way their friend had ran in.

But he could have gone down any of these streets. How were they going to find the one?

Before they had a chance to think of what to do, they heard footsteps behind them. They froze as they heard some angry cries. Slowly, they turned around. They gasped when they saw a large group of zoners coming in their direction. The three friends huddled close together, watching the zoners and waiting for them to take action.

But the zoners did not speak. Not right away. They just glared at them in an accusatory way. Most of them were glaring at Mint. Rudy watched as his friend cringed back. Rudy took position in front of him, making it clear he was not going to let them near him. Rudy was about to speak when one of the zoners cut him off.

“Give him to us. Give us the Enemy Creator.” The zoner said.

“He has turned against us.” Another zoner said. “He is not welcome here anymore. Give him to us so we may deal with him properly.”

As the zoners all around echoed this sentiment, Rudy and Penny moved closer to Mint protectively, glaring at the zoners in front of them. There wa no way they were just going to hand Mint over like that.

One of the zoners saw this act of defiance. “You both should know that the Enemy Creator conspires against us!” They pointed a finger at them. “You witnessed him attack an innocent zoner! What makes you think we won’t try it again?!”

“He made a mistake! Lay off!” Penny shouted at them, holding out her arm in front of Mint. “You know he wouldn’t do something like that on purpose!”

“Then what about the time he destroyed large portions of the city?” Sneered a female zoner. “Don’t tell me. I’m sure you’re going to try to see he was just..cleaning things up or something.”

“I-I didn’t know that...” Mint started to say.

“The Enemy Creator must be detained!” Cried the first zoner. He raised his fist into the air. “Attack him! Everyone! Attack! Let’s stop the Enemy Creator!”

“No..wait!” Mint pleaded.

The three friends didn’t waste time. Unable to figure out which way to go, they immediately ran down the nearest alleyway. The zoners raced off after them, some of them picking up speed. The trio dare not look behind them to see how close they were. They focused on running away as fast as they could.

Rudy’s mind raced. He couldn’t believe how aggressive the zoners had gotten. They hadn’t been like this before. The last time they ran into any zoner that showed them hostility, the worst they did was glare and made a rude comment. But never before had they gathered up into a mob and outright assault them like this. He could see the looks in their eyes. The zoners were dead serious in what they were about to do.

Cold shivers ran through his body. He looked at his friends. He could see the look of fear on their faces. He took a chance and, gulping, he looked behind them. He could see that the zoners were rapidly gaining on them. The boy pushed himself to go faster, calling out to his friends to do the same thing. They continued running along, making turns every so often in hopes of losing the zoners.

“What...what has...gotten into..them...?” Mint panted heavily. Fear was tinged on his voice, his eyes wide. “I have never...seen...them act this way...b-before..!”

“Neither have I...” Penny said breathlessly. She smacked her lips together, licking them slowly. “I knew they were angry but..I never thought they...would do this...”

Rudy reflected their feelings. “I’ve never seen...zoners do this...before..” He paused for a moment. “Well th-there was..that one time when...those Snips arrived... The zoners thought..he was the one causing..t-trouble.. They chased him...but they did not...try to hurt him...” He swallowed, wincing at the dryness of his throat. “They just..y-yelled at him.”

This bit of news terrified the children even more. The contrast between how the zoners acted then and now was jarring. Except for very few zoners, none of them ever really tried to hurt them, even when they were angry. The zoners were absolutely pissed at Snap during the Snip incident, but they didn’t really try to hurt him. And the doctors from before, they weren’t trying to do anything to them physically. They were angry and jumping to conclusions, but nothing worse than that.

Even when Dr. Gelcro did attack out of anger, he merely slashed Penny across the face. It still made them furious that he would do such a thing. But the lacerations weren’t that deep, and it was easy for them to cover it up with their folks. Rapsheeba, Snap, and a few other zoners expressed concern, but the cuts weren’t that bad, and right now, they were quite light on the skin and hard to really notice.

But now, the zoners here intended real harm. They weren’t going to stop at yelling. They weren’t going to stop at knocking them down. They were going to hurt them. Badly. They had to get out of here.

“Come back here!”

“You can’t hide from us!”

“The Enemy Creator must die!”

Rudy dared another glance behind him. A bunch of zoners, mostly humanoid ones, were getting closer, their speed increasing. He could see the look of anger and rage in their eyes, the determination to hurt. Seeing this sent ice through his heart. Fear swelled in his stomach, making him feel sick.

Why would the zoners do something like this? They weren’t normally this aggressive. He could see a small group of a couple individuals, but he couldn’t recall a time when this many zoners attacked at once, this many seeking to do harm. What could be wrong with them?

That’s Penny’s fear-filled voice filled the air.

“It’s the machine! The culprit is using the machine to make them act this way!”

Rudy looked at Penny, his eyes wide in horror. “Wh-What?!”

“The machine?!” Mint cried. “How can you be so sure?”

Penny took in a few heavy breaths. She licked her lips nervously. “L-Look at the zoners’ eyes...! Th-There’s something in them..!”

Although Rudy and Mint were confused, though they were afraid to look back again, they did so. They shivered at the sight of the rage-filled zoners, especially Mint whom was their current target. Upon looking, they both could see what Penny was talking about.

There was something up with the zoners’ eyes. They didn’t look..normal. They weren’t glowing or anything. But there was something about them that was rather off putting. Something that didn’t feel right. It was a look that told them that what they were doing wasn’t entirely of their will. They might have been angry already, but something else was driving their urge to chase them. There was only thing thing they could think of that could do something like this.

The machine...

Perhaps the culprit had caught word on what they were doing and wanted to slow them down. They must have reactivated the machine’s mind changing ability and targeted certain zoners, magnifying their anger and driving them into attack mode.

With this knowledge in mind, the children did the only thing they could think of. They kept running. They knew they could not break the zoners out of this trance. They had to find that secret passageway and fast.

“Down this way!” Rudy made a turn on the nearest alleyway he could see. It was a sharp turn and he nearly tripped over himself doing so. “Hurry!”

His friends attempted to follow him. Penny made, turning practically on a dime. She tripped, wincing as her recently damaged leg was bent a little. But she managed to make it and followed Rudy. They froze when they realized that Mint was not with them. The horror that rushed through them appeared just as they heard their friend scream.

Behind them, Mint had missed the turn. His prosthetic leg had got caught on a groove in the ground. He was thrust into the hard surface, letting out a loud whimper of pain as his face collided with the concrete ground. Dust kicked up as he laid there for a few seconds. He attempted to push himself up onto his hands, his body trembling, but he did not get his chance.

“Get him!”

Mint looked over. His eyes widened in horror as about ten humanoid zoners barreled down on him. He barely had time to let out a scream as the zomers smacked into him, and trapped him in a vicious circle.

“Mint! No!” Rudy shouted in horror as he and Penny rushed over to try to help their friend.

Mint’s screams filled the air, chilling their blood. The zoners attacked him mercilessly, using their nails to rip at his skin, biting him with their teeth. They punched him and they kicked him, tossing him across the ground. By the time Rudy and Penny were out of the alleyway, the zoners had chased Mint, who had tried to escape, down further.

The sight of Mint horrified them. At this point, he was covered in small wounds that were just piling up. Red stains they knew to be blood decorated him, and many bruises were forming. He was covered in dirt and scrapes and his clothes were getting a little ripped up.

“Leave him alone!” Penny cried.

But the zoners ignored her. The ten zoners that were able to still follow them continued their assault on Mint. Even as the boy pleaded with them, even as he cried in pain, they did not let up on the attack.

Then, to their horror, one of the zoners knocked Mint onto his stomach and ripped off his prosthetic. Mint let out a cry of pain as the fake leg was removed. It was tossed far away from him, where the largest of the humanoid zoners crushed it underneath the weight of his foot. Now Mint was helpless and unable to get away. No longer able to stand, he made some attempts to crawl away, only to be attacked with increased vigor.

Knowing that Mint stood no chance to get away now, Rudy and Penny rushed forward. They pushed their way through the zoners, knocking them aside. They soon reached Mint and they wrapped their arms around him protectively.

“Back off!” Rudy snarled. “Stop this!”

“Get out of the way...” One of the zoners snarled. “Or you will get taken care of first...”

Rudy glared at the zoner who spoke. He stared into his clearly brainwashed eyes. He bared his teeth and shook his head. “Never...”

The zoner looked from him and to Penny. When he realized they weren’t going to back off, he gave a dark, twisted smile. “Very well then..” He turned to the other humanoid zoners behind them and made a gesture. “Let’s kill them all!”

As the zoners rushed towards them, each with a murderous glare in their eyes, Rudy and Penny helped the shaken up Mint up from the ground. With no prosthetic leg and no time to draw some crutches, they helped him down another alleyway. Rudy used his weaker left arm to draw a quick, simple wall to slow down the zoners. He put his chalk away and the three of them hobbled down the alleyway as fast as they could.

They didn’t stop for a break. They didn’t look where they were going. They didn’t pay attention if they were heading the right way. At the moment, the only thing on their minds was getting away from the angry zoners. They heard the zoners’ furious shouts and insults and threats, making them move even faster. They disappeared down through the network of alleyways, making random turns, hoping to lose them.

sss

Mosaic...sometimes she can be a real piece of work. Normally she was more well behaved, but the fact that she had gotten outside at all, even though she was trained not to, it concerned Dr. Crobat. It was dangerous out there with an unknown assailant running around. What if something had happened to her? He wasn’t sure if he’d forgive himself if that were the case.

Although Mosaic was a hospital pet of sorts, Dr. Crobat did feel some kind of attachment to her. He wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t even the one who brought her here in the first place. There just..something about her that drew him to her, made him feel some level of protectiveness over her.

When he had found out from the other doctors that she had gone missing, he was horrified. Dr. Gelcro thinks the kids did something to her. Dr. Crobat dismissed his friend’s idea as some some kind of poppycock. He knew the husky was just bitter because he still felt that Snap was responsible. He doubted that the children would do anything to Mosaic. She must have gotten out on her own.

He had left the hospital as soon as he could to go find her. He searched up and down the alleyways, calling out her name. He talked to some zoners. They all seemed a bit aggressive, though not towards him. Their behavior struck him as odd, but he dismissed it as he kept trying to find Mosaic.

He did eventually find her. She was leaning against the wall of a building, looking exhausted and frightened. He immediately rushed towards her to help her out. He stopped when he saw that something was wrong with her.

She had been injured...

Dr. Crobat couldn’t stifle the horror-filled gasp as he noticed all the injuries on Mosaic’s body. They hadn’t been there earlier that day when he had last seen her. She must have gotten these during her excursion outside. He stared at her, his heart twisting at the blood stains, the scrapes, and bruises her body now adorned. Who..who could have done this to her?

He carefully picked her up in his arms. She hissed and struggled, her eyes filling with pain and panic. He held on as tightly as he could without causing much pain and he rushed her to the hospital. He would have taken her to the vet, but the hospital was much closer.

The doctors were horrified by her state. Some of them, Dr. Gelcro included, tried to use this as an excuse that the children really were up to something. One of the doctors, Dr. Thurston, recounted how Mint had viciously attacked him earlier. They all proposed that they go find the children and try to get them arrested.

Dr. Crobat was unnerved by this behavior. It became even scarier when he himself began to have feelings along that nature. He could feel an anger rise up inside of him, and he nearly began to agree with them. It took him a while to fight back the feelings and regain control of himself.

Even now, as he stood in the room with Mosaic, stroking her back, he still could feel those sensations, the desire to go after the kids. He knew these feelings weren’t his. He knew his brain was being bombarded with them. Someone was trying to take control over him. He did his best to keep himself from losing control. He had to remain here, in this room, which he had locked from the inside in an attempt to slow himself down.

The machine...it had to be the machine. It must be turned on again. He wondered how widespread the effects were, and how many zoners were affected by it. Not all the doctors seemed to be bothered, and only the sickest patients seemed to show any strange behaviors. Outside, most of the zoners were agitated, but whether or not this was the work of the machine, he was not able to tell. He had no way of finding out, either. He didn’t know where the machine was.

He knew, despite the artificial anger swelling inside of him, that Rudy, Penny, and Mint weren’t responsible for this. He had a hard time believing that they would turn against ChalkZone so easily. As for Mint’s attack, after some further questioning, it seemed that Dr. Thurston had provoked Mint into it. He was sure that Mint felt sorry for what he had done, and that he was working with Penny and Rudy in finding out how to stop this menace before more havoc was wreaked upon ChalkZone City.

He hoped that the children were able to find a way to stop this mess soon. He hoped that they would find out who was causing all of this, and bring them to justice. He also hoped that they were able to clear Snap’s name. He felt ashamed that he couldn’t help him, and he could only hope that there was someone out there who could aid him.

He looked back down at Mosaic. She was sleeping at the moment, curled up next to him. Her wounds were bandaged up and she looked much better. He smiled at her sleeping form, stroking her along her back. He listened to her gravelly breathing as she rested soundly. Then he frowned. He couldn’t help but wonder if the culprit will come back after her. If they did, he would make sure they didn’t get a chance to hurt her again.

He heard a knock on his door. He lifted up his head and turned it so that his beak faced towards the door. “Who is it?” He called out.

“It’s me.”

Dr. Crobat narrowed his eyes. Usually he would be happy to see Dr. Gelcro. But lately his friend has been acting in ways that he did not approve of. This was a side of the husky he never saw before, and it unnerved him.

But he didn’t want to be rude or shut him out. So he said, “Hold on. I’ll get the door.”

Dr. Crobat got up from the bed, careful not to jostle Mosaic around too much. He walked towards the door slowly. When he reached it, he undid the sliding lock near the top, and he turned the knob lock until he was able to open the door all the way. He watched as his dog-like friend walked into the room slowly.

“Is there anything you wanted to talk about, Dr. Gelcro?” Dr. Crobat winced at how dark his voice sounded. He hadn’t meant to sound that cold to his friend. Perhaps he was angrier than he had once believed. “I mean...”

“No, don’t worry about it.” Dr. Gelcro raised his paw in the air. “I understand. I wasn’t behaving rather well lately, I admit it.” He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the bird. “But you do have to realize that you have to stop defending those kids. Word has gotten out that the Enemy Creator attacked a zoner with his prosthetic leg.”

“What?! That’s impossible!” The bird zoner cried, jolting from the shock. “He wouldn’t do that!”

“Oh no?” Dr. Gelcro tilted his head. “There were witnesses that heard the screams, and when they came over, they found the boy’s fake leg laying on the ground, clearly used. It was all bent and twisted.”

“Th-That didn’t mean that he hurt anyone!” Dr. Crobat refused to believe it. “Did these zoners even see any of this happen? Do they have snapshot proof?”

“Well..no...” Dr. Gelcro lowered his head. For a brief moment, his expression had softened up, showing uncertainty. He then glared back at the bird zoner, his lips curling back slightly to show his rows of sharp teeth. “But it doesn’t mean he didn’t do it either.”

Dr. Crobat glared at his friend. He knew he should have just turned him away. He should have told him he was too busy for this. He was not in the mood to hear more of his friend’s wild claims. He had enough to worry about at the moment.

Dr. Gelcro interrupted his thoughts. “Anyway, I didn’t come in here about that.” He turned his head, looking down at Mosaic. A look of concern plastered over his muzzle. “We need to get her checked out.”

“What? But we already have.” Dr. Crobat said. He didn’t know what the dog was talking about. They had already done scans on her, checked her internal organs, treated her wounds, whatever else. What could they have missed? “She doesn’t need anything else done. She’s fine.”

“On the outside perhaps.” Dr. Gelcro said plainly. “But what about her mind?”

“Huh?” Now Dr. Crobat was really confused.

Dr. Gelcro closed his eyes. “She didn’t start acting weird until I found her in Snap’s old room with her. I think it’s safe to assume that they were the reason she started acting differently.”

“That’s crazy talk. I’m sure there was a good reason for..”

“Do you really believe that? Think about it, old friend.” Dr. Gelcro opened up his eyes, looking back at the bird. “Has Mosaic ever disobeyed us before? Has she ever gone outside without our permission? Has she ever knocked any of us over? I think you will find that the answer is always no, am I right?”

“Well..yeah... But...” Dr. Crobat tried to say.

Dr. Gelcro cut him off. “The only constant that changed from back then to now are those kids.” Dr. Crobat glared at this. Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes, then took on a more sympathetic look. “Look, I...” He reached forward and touched him on the shoulder. “I understand how you must feel. I know you want to give those kids the benefit of the doubt. So do I, but the evidence is just too clear.”

“Benefit of the doubt? Why do I not believe that?” Dr. Crobat growled at him. “You seemed all too eager to lock Snap up, and you were quick in turning against Mint.” He turned his head away, folding his wing arms against his chest. “Sorry, old friend, but I do not believe you.”

Dr. Gelcro gasped at this, taking a few steps away. Dr. Crobat felt some level of guilt rising up inside of him. This feeling worsened when he looked over and saw the look of hurt and betrayal and Dr. Gelcro’s face. He wanted to try to make it better. But he was not liking the person that Dr. Gelcro had become. This wasn’t the husky he had known before.

Dr. Gelcro then narrowed his eyes. He growled softly, his body giving a quick shake as though it wanted to get rid of the growing anger inside of him. Dr. Crobat took a step back, worried that the dog might attack him. Instead, however, Dr. Gelcro lowered his head and sighed. His ears lowered against his head, and he gave his friend a saddened look.

“I am sorry it has come to this. Really I am.” He placed a paw against his chest. “I hold no deeper regret than this. I just hope that, when this is all over, we can look back on this and laugh.” The dog lifted up his head, looking towards the ceiling. He then looked back at the bird zoner. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Dr. Crobat glared at him. Then he sighed and nodded his head. “Yeah. It would be.”

Dr. Gelcro gave a quick smile before his frown returned. He looked at Mosaic and said, “I am still taking her to get her brain checked out. And before you say anything, this wasn’t just my idea.” He looked back the bird. “Most of the other doctors want this done. Either you let me take her, or someone else will.”

Dr. Crobat narrowed his eyes, but he did not attempt to put up a fight. He knew that Dr. Gelcro spoke the truth. Most of the doctors were convinced that something was wrong with not just Snap, but the three humans as well. He knew that most of them likely thought something was wrong with Mosaic due to whatever actions they felt that the kids had made. He wouldn’t be surprised if the doctors thought Rudy, Penny, or Mint were responsible for Snap’s supposed change in behavior.

Knowing that he could not fight back, and not feeling up to challenging his friend to a fight, Dr. Crobat took a step back and made a motion with his hand. Dr. Gelcro nodded to him, giving him a silent thank you. He watched as Dr. Gelcro came towards the bed and picked up the crocodile zoner in his arms with some effort.

“The tests won’t last long. I promise.” Dr. Gelcro said. “I’ll bring her back here when they are done. I’ll give you the news on what we find, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you.” Dr. Crobat said rather dully. He didn’t say another word as Dr. Gelcro left with Mosaic, leaving him alone in the room.

sss

Snap stared down at the tray of food that he had gotten. He sniffed it and wrinkled his nose at the horrible smell. He must have been in this place for a while, and he still hadn’t gotten used to the food here. But knowing he was not going to get anything else, he still ate it anyway.

As he slowly chewed and swallowed the bland food, he thought about the upcoming trial. It was very soon. When was it going to be again? Tomorrow? Yes...he wanted to say it was going to be tomorrow. A date that was going to come up very soon. He’d wake up, forget what was going on, and he would be dragged into court, where his fate would be decided.

He could feel his heart twist in anticipation. He knew that there was no going back. There would be no more delays. His friends...he wasn’t sure if they found out anything, and even if they did, he wasn’t sure if they would be able to deliver the news in time. The wardens here may not allow it, or they may not listen. Even if they did, they might still go on with the trial anyway. The realization that he might be stuck in her forever with these zoners...it filled him with a strong sense of horror.

He hoped that things would begin to change soon. That scan that was performed on him, he hoped it would turn up with something. That brain scan was the only thing that could prove his innocense. It was the only way that the zoners would realize he was not the one to blame for the deaths of all those zoners.

It was going to be a long and difficult journey ahead, he knew. There was no denying that. He couldn’t get out of it. Not on his own. His friends were the only ones who could help them, but he knew they would have a hard time as well. He mentally prepared himself for any hardships up ahead.

“Well, well, well...”

Speaking of hardships... Snap turned his head to see the familiar tall zoner coming towards him. Snap wanted to have some kind of defiant reaction to him. He felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that the scan could prove his innocense. But he dare not do such a thing. He knew that things could still go wrong, and he learned painful lesson after painful lesson not to mess with this zoner. So he kept quiet.

“I guess you decided to have something to eat after all.” Taima sneered as he approached with his own food. “I thought you were too scared to eat.”

Snap looked away, turning his attention back to his food. He reached down with his fork, twirling it a little in the food. He brought it up and took another bite. He fought back the urge to spit it out and swallowed it whole. He nearly choked when he felt something slap against his back.

“Yeah, this food gets a while to get used to, eh?” Taima said with a grin. “Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of time to get used to it once you are convicted and this becomes your permanent new home.”

Snap shuddered, realizing the zoner was right. If he was convincted, this was the jail he’d be trapped in. He wouldn’t be surprised if he would remain trapped with Taima. The thought of that send cold shivers up and down his spine.

The only good thing he could say about Taima is that he at least keeps the other zoners at bay. Taima was determined to remain dominant over him, determined to keep him as his own, that he would not allow any of the other zoners approach him..usually. At times, as a way of letting them get revenge, he’d let them beat him up a little. He’d never let it go too far, but only because he wanted to be the one to give him the worst pain.

Snap noticed Taima leaning towards him. The zoner being this much closer to him made him feel unnerved. He cringed away, lowering his head towards the table. Snap did not like showing submission like this, but in this case, he knew he had no choice. It was either this, or another beatdown.

Taima smirked at Snap’s submissive behavior. He stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes boring through his. He did not move away until Snap averted his gaze, submitting to him. Taima leaned back and gave a couple of chuckles, indicating that he was enjoying his dominant position over him.

“I still think we should have some fun tonight.” Taima said in a twisted voice. Snap looked up at him in horror. “We were interrupted before. I want to actually start and finish this time.” Taima gave Snap a downwards glance. “Oh don’t worry.. I’ll hold back. I don’t want to hurt you too much...”

Snap worked up the courage to speak. “Wh-Why..? You already had your pleasure... Why do you need to break me more...?”

Taima shot him a glare, making Snap shrink down further. “Because you stole something from me. So I am stealing something from you.” He took a bite of his food, chomping loudly and swallowing. “I am taking away your freedom. You no longer decide what you are going to do.” He jabbed the fork at himself. “I do. Do you understand?”

Snap gave a shudder. Part of him wanted to retort back. Part of him wanted to tell the zoner how much his actions could bite him back in the rear end. But he dare not do that, for fear of getting hurt again. Keeping his head low, he nodded, not speaking a word.

“Good.” Taima reached down and gave Snap a few pats on the head like he was a tamed dog. “Remember... Tonight, you and me. Together.” He slung his arm around him, pulling him into a partial hug. There was no comfort here. It was Taima’s way of showing how much control he has over him. An act that no other prisoner would dare do since they saw him as a mastermind monster. To them, Taima’s actions spoke volumes. “I’ll make it quick. That much, I can promise you.”

Snap shivered. A low whimper escaped his throat as he turned away. It was hard tearing his gaze away from Taima’s. That stick figure’s gaze was like a vice, holding him tightly, refusing to let him go.

But at least now there was hope. He could not let go of that. He refused to let go. His friends may be a step closer to proving his innocense. He just had to believe in them. They would pull through for him. Sooner or later, they would come in here and show the zoners that he really was innocent. It was just a matter of time.

“Oh and if you are thinking your precious human friends are going to help you, keep dreaming.” Came Taima’s cold voice. He put his utensil into his tray of food, lifting up another slap of bland meat. He looked at it, twirling it around as if examining it. “They will not succeed. They have been trying for days, and guess what?” He looked back down at Snap. “They found nothing. And they never will.”

“You don’t know that.” Snap said simply, his head still lowered.

Taima chuckled at this. He reached down and grabbed Snap by his head. He tilted his head, forcing Snap to look up at him. “Neither do you, pal. I guess we’ll find out at the trial, won’t we?” He stared at Snap for a few seconds, smiling at him. He took a small bite of the food on his utensil, making sure his lips touched some of the food and the metal. Then he said, “So why don’t you keep up the strength and...eat!”

Without warning, Taima shoved the tip of his utensil into Snap’s mouth. The zoner gagged as he was forcefed food that Taima had eaten from. Taima yanked back hard after ensuring the remainder of the meat ended up in the zoner’s mouth. He then used his hands to keep Snap’s mouth closed. Snap jerked and struggled, but Taim was too strong.

After a few seconds, Snap was forced to swallow. Only after he did this did Taima let him go. The stick figure smirked down at him in satisfaction as Snap coughed and wheezed, wiping his mouth. Snap looked up at him in disgust and horror.

“Oh don’t give me that look. It wasn’t that bad and you know it.” Taima sneered. He turned his attention back to his plate. “Now hurry up and eat your food so we can get back.”

Snap continued to stare at Taima. He couldn’t believe what that zoner had just done. Snap shuddered and gave a couple of spits of disgust as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth. He gave another wipe, and, eventually, he turned his attention back to his food. Slowly, he resumed eating.

sss

“Phew... I-I think we lost them...” Penny said as she leaned against the wall of the building. Her heart pounded against her chest, feeling as though it was going to burst free.

“A-Are you sure...?” Mint said with a whimper. His voice was cracked, and there was a haunted look in his eyes. “Are you sure they aren’t still following us?”

Rudy took this moment to look around the corner. He darted his eyes left and right. He then pulled back and looked at his friends. He shook his head. “No. They’re gone. We’re safe now.”

Mint gave a sigh of relief. His body was still shaking, though, making it difficult for him to use the crutches Rudy was able to draw for him on the run. He gripped them tightly, doing his best to keep himself elevated. Without his prosthetic, his stance was really off balance. If it weren’t for this pair of cruches, he would fall flat on the ground and hurt himself.

He was still shaken up by what had just transpired to day. He was not expecting to be attacked by zoners today. Then again, neither did his friends. He could still their voices shouting insults and threats to him. He could still feel their nails and teeth on him, their fists and feet collidng with him. His body echoed and wracked with pain. Though he was not hurt as badly as he could have been, he was still weakened. He didn’t know how well he’d handle a second attack.

The zoners were absolutely relentless. They kept coming after him. Even when he begged and cried, they would not leave him alone. He tried to crawl away. He tried to do whatever he could to escape. He almost did, but he was dragged right back into the madness. He shivered at the horrific, recent memory.

At least it was over..for now. Mint tried his best to cast aside his fear so he could focus on what they were trying to do before. They had to find that underground tunnel and quickly. They had little time left. They all knew that Snap’s trial was soon. If they did not prove his innocence before then... well it was going to be a lot harder helping their friend, to put it mildly.

Rudy walked down further in the alleyway they were in. His eyes were focused intently on something. He and Penny, both of whom had lost their goggles, watched him curiously. Had he found something?

This seemed to be the case. Rudy lowered himself down onto one knee, and he was moving his hands along the ground. Then his eyes widened and he turned to him and Penny. He made quick gestures with his hands, urging them to come over.

When Penny and Mint arrived, they could see the look in Rudy’s eyes. They were right. Rudy had found something. The question was..is it going to help them?

“Penny, help me lift this up.” Rudy said.

“Lift what up?” Penny asked.

“Yeah..I don’t see anything.” Mint wished he could take a closer look, but with these crutches, that was just not possible.

Rudy pressed his fingers against a section of the ground. He dug around it, and soon they could see something moving a little underneath. It took them seconds to realize that something was hidden here. A secret door of some kind. Penny lowered herself to the ground and aided Rudy in removing it. With a loud screech and a heavy thud, they were able to remove the lid, setting it down on the ground nearby.

Exposed before them was a dark opening, shaped like a square almost. There was a ladder that went downward, stuck to the wall and made of wobbly metal pieces. The three friends looked at each other, realizing what they had just discovered.

A secret passage.

Was it the same one that Snap had found before? There was only one way to find out.

Rudy glared at the opening, and then he looked back at Mint. “Penny and I will explore the tunnels and see what we can find. You have to head somewhere safe.”

Penny pointed her finger towards Mint’s pocket. “I know it will be hard for you, but you must get back into the real world. It’s too dangerous for you to remain here.”

Mint would have argued with them, but he knew they were right. There was no way he could follow them as he was now. Without his prosthetic leg, forced to use these crutches, he would just slow them down. He sighed and nodded his head in understanding.

“I hope you two will be fine.” Mint looked over at the opening. He hobbled over towards it with his crutches. He looked down at the tunnel below, seeing just how high up it was. He bit his lip. “This looks really high...”

Mint was not able to finish his sentence when his right crutch suddenly slipped on something. His eyes bulging in horror, he let out a scream as he found himself plummeting down the hole.

“Mint!”

Mint heard his friends calling out to him as he fell down the hole. He hit against the side of the tunnel’s walls. A few times, he felt himself bang against the metal ladder pieces. In a matter of seconds, he landed in a heap on the ground, pain radiating from his body. He pushed himself up onto his hands, assessing the damage.

The fall granted him a few more bruises, but he didn’t seem hurt worse than that. His crutches were nowhere to be seen and he could only guess that they were still on the street above him. He looked up and he could see the faint shapes of his friends looking down at him.

He lifted up a hand and cupped it to his mouth. “I’m fine!”

Mint remained on the ground, not like he had much of a choice otherwise, and watched as his friends rushed down the tunnel to help him. It took them a little while due to the disrepair of the ladder. But they soon made it.

As soon as they did, they rushed to Mint’s side. Rudy helped Mint up to his remaining right foot as Penny drew him a new pair of crutches for him to use. After they got him situated, and Mint was able to stand without their aid, they took this time to look down the tunnel, taking not of where they were.

The tunnels appeared pretty clean, though some areas looked a little dirty. The tunnels had a round shape to them, a point at the top. The tunnels were largely dry, with barely a wet spot anywhere. There was a strong smell in the tunnels, but it wasn’t exactly putrid. It smelled more...more like business was the closest word any of them could come up with.

It didn’t take them long to make one important conclusion.

“This is not the sewer...” Penny whispered.

It was true. Snap had initially thought he was in the sewer, but later analysis showed otherwise. What Snap described was closer to this, though not exactly, than the actual sewer itself. What these tunnels were...none of the zoners could explain, and many of them insist that these tunnels did not exist. Much to their annoyance, and no surprise, even the cops think that Snap had gotten into the sewer, and that these tunnels did not exist, even after they investigated.

Mint nodded his head in agreement. He hobbled forward a little, looking all around. “This might be that network of underground tunnels that Snap told us about.” He looked back at his friends. “The ones that the culprit might be hiding from us by messing with the zoners’ minds.”

Rudy and Penny looked at each other, gritting their teeth. The idea was frightening. They could be heading down the path to where the culprit was hiding out. But on the other hand, it was exciting. They were getting close to uncovering the culprit’s true identity. As soon as they had this figured out, they could have the culprit arrested and their friend would be freed. And the zoners would be safe.

Rudy turned Mint. He sighed. “Well I guess you are coming with us. We can’t leave you alone here.”

“I don’t think the zoners will find me here.” Mint pointed out. He looked up at where he fell from. He winced. “They probably won’t notice me from that far up.”

“I insist, Mint.” Rudy said. He gently gripped his arm. “We would feel better if you were with us. We don’t know where this is in relation to the Real World. You could get hurt going back, or accidentally expose this world. We don’t know what kind of dangers are lurking in these tunnels.”

“Yeah. It’s better if you come with us.” Penny said.

Mint didn’t want to keep his friends waiting. He was eager to get a move on. He was eager to find this culprit and stop them once and for all. He narrowed his eyes and nodded his head once. “All right then. Let’s go.”

sss

The three friends had been walking through the tunnels for a while. They looked left and right, looking for any indication on where to go. There were no signs down there. There was nothing to mark directions. They didn’t even know what purpose these tunnels served. They made random turns, knowing there wasn’t much else they could do. They had to explore these caves, look for any sign of the culprit, or the machinery they were using.

It felt like they had been exploring the tunnels for hours, and they still did not find anything useful. They were getting exhausted, especially Mint. It was pretty painful to use the crutches for this long. Rudy and Penny offered to rest, but Mint insisted they keep going. He was more concerned about helping Snap than his own personal needs. He shrugged off the exhaustion and continued hobbling himself down the tunnels.

Rudy hoped they would reach something soon. He didn’t want Mint to exhaust himself, and he didn’t want to be trapped down here. He hoped that, soon, they would find something familiar. He hoped they would find something that could lead them to the culprit. These were the tunnels Snap was trapped in. If they kept following them, surely, they would find something sooner or later.

Then he stopped. His friends paused behind him. He could feel their eyes boring into the back of his head. He stared out in front of him. There, right in front of them, was a large, marble door.

Where had this come from? When they were coming down this way, he didn’t notice it. How could it have blended in so well? Perhaps it was the shadows. He noticed there was some shading around here. And perhaps he and his friends were so deep in thought, they did not take notice to it until now. Licking his lips nervously, he approached it cautiously.

“Be careful, Rudy.” Penny said, reaching her hand out towards him.

“I will.” Rudy called out to her.

Rudy soon reached the door. He looked at it up and down. He reached forward and quickly tapped the door, pulling his hand away immediately. The door was cold, but it didn’t seem to be booby trapped or anything. He then placed both his hands on the door. He pressed his ear against it. He couldn’t hear anything for a while, but soon he took notice of something.

There was a humming sound on the other side. Low, faint, but still there. His eyes widened. Realizing what this could lead them to, he began to push the door open. He slammed his shoulder against it, pushing as hard as he could. Slowly, as Penny joined in to help him, the door opened up. There was a loud creak as the door moved, making them all flinch.

To their relief, there was no one in here. But that didn’t mean they relaxed. The three friends walked forward, staring wide eyed at the large room that the door had led them into. They couldn’t believe it. They could see it before them. They had hoped they’d be here. But it was still hard to fully comprehend it.

They were in the warehouse. The one that Snap had been in before. The place where it all began. They looked all around, seeing the boxes and metal shelves everywhere, exactly as Snap had described it.

“Rudy...look...” Penny breathed.

At this, Rudy turned his head to where Penny was pointing, where Mint was gaping in horror at. Rudy soon saw what they were looking at. He took in a sharp gasp, moving a step backwards.

It was that blasted machine...

Chapter 28: A Vile Person

It isn't possible to never tell the truth. But the reality is I'm getting away with murder!
-Getting Away With Murder, Papa Roach





Rudy glared out at the scene before him. He could feel the dark clouds of anger swirling all around his head, almost empowering. His body shook as the emotion wracked a storm through him. At long last, he was finally face to face with the zoner that had caused him and his friends so much grief lately. The zoner single-handedly responsible for the city turning against Snap, for Snap’s arrest, for everything. A zoner he and the others thought they could trust.

Sandra.

The blue dragon stood not far from him. She hadn’t moved a muscle yet, nor did she attempt to speak. The seconds that passed between his shouts and her shaken question seemed longer than they really were. Her ears were dipped downward, like a sad puppy. Her wide eyes stared at him. He could see the fear radiating from her eyes. He knew why she looked that way.

It was because, this time, she had been caught red-handed. She could not deny it anymore. She could not lie this time.

For in her clutches, she held Doofus Rudy. Even if her earlier words hadn’t given it away, her actions did. This was not a misunderstanding of any kind. This was not her simply showing anger to Doofus Rudy. No, he could see the murderous intent in her eyes, the way she was dragging him over the dreaded machine, clearly intending to use it.

He wouldn’t let her. She was not going to allow her to hurt another zoner. Not ever again. He would save Doofus Rudy from this horrible fate, and then get Sandra arrested. She could not stand against a creator, especially not two, or three. She was outmatched.

Sandra continued staring at him for several more seconds. Her mouth hung partially open as she took in quick breaths. She glanced down at Doofus Rudy, and then back at Rudy himself. She looked like she was trying to speak, but any attempt failed.

Rudy decided to save her the trouble.

“You let him go! Release your grip on him! He didn’t do anything wrong!” Rudy demanded. He took a step forward. He noticed the mild flinch in Sandra’s expression. “You have no right to do this! Release him. Now!”

Sandra looked from him, to the zoner, and back again. She took a few steps back, pulling Doofus Rudy with her. The smaller zoner seemed to comply, but mostly out of confusion and uncertainty. Rudy locked eyes with his zoner counterpart. He could see the pleading look. Rudy’s expression changed in a way to let the zoner know that he promised to get him out of there. He turned to glare back at Sandra.

The sky blue dragon looked left and right. Her ears pricked up. It was obvious she was trying to detect if there was anyone else here. Although he could see some fear flashing in her eyes, he couldn’t tell if she figured out Penny and Mint were close by. She looked back at Rudy and swallowed nervously.

Then she attempted to speak.

“Th-This isn’t... Y-You must understand... I...” Sandra stammered, her voice having a crack in it.

Rudy growled at this. “We trusted you! We thought you were an ally! But we find out that you...you...” He pointed at the machine. He stared at it, his eyes wide in anger, and, baring his teeth, he looked back at Sandra. “How the fuck could you do such a thing?!”

Sandra’s breathing quickened. “I-I am doing what is right! Please... i-i-if you let me explain. you’ll...”

“Doing what’s right?! Is that what you call it?!” Rudy practically exploded at this. Sandra let out a whimper and cringed back, her ears flattening even more. He must be some spectacle to see, his face flushed warm red in anger. But at the moment, he hardly cared. “You think murdering an innocent zoner is doing the the right thing?!”

Sandra looked left and right. She lowered her head slightly. “Well...I...”

“And what of Snap?!” Rudy felt his blood blazing at the memories of what was going on with Snap lately. “Why are you doing this to him? What the fuck did he do to you?! All he did was help you!” Rudy ignored the scratchiness of his throat as he let out his rage against the zoner. “And you...” He gripped his head, trying to cope with the burning sensation sweeping through it, threatening to burn his scalp. “And this is how you repay him?!”

Sandra took in a few quick breaths. She took a few steps back. She did not let go of Doofus Rudy. She glanced down at him. She bit her lip. She turned back to Rudy. There was an almost pleading expression in her eyes. But Rudy didn’t care. He knew she was just attempting to hide her true nature.

But this facade won’t last for long. Sooner or later, it would be broken, and then they’d see just what kind of person Sandra really was.

“I didn’t want to hurt him...” Sandra spoke softly. “I wanted to stop...”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. “Do you really think I believe that?!”

“I-I-It’s true.. I swear!” Sandra’s voice became higher pitched as she seemed to grow more desperate. She stared at Rudy as if she thought he was going to run right through her. “You’ve got to believe me!”

“Believe you?!”

Rudy, Sandra, and Doofus Rudy turned their heads to see Penny walking out from behind the shelf. Rudy stared at her, some surprise registering in his otherwise rage-filled face. He waited to see if Mint was coming, but he realized that he was staying behind, likely as a trump card.

Penny took position beside Rudy. She turned to face Sandra. At Penny’s appearance, Sandra looked even more terrified. She knew she had been caught. She knew that she stood no chance against two creators. They had her right where they wanted her. Together, they would ensure that Sandra never hurt anyone ever again.

Penny had a disgusted look on her face. Her lip was curled up, scowling. “We believed you before! We believed you when you were trying to help Snap! We believed you when you tried to give us information we could use to find the culprit!” She raised up her hands, her fingers curved inward. Her body trembled, quaking with more emotion than she ever had to endure. “You lied to us! It was you all along! You were the one who hurt our friend! You were the one who turned almost all of ChalkZone City against him!You are the reason why he is being put on death row!”

Penny’s breathing was ragged, sucking through her teeth. Rudy looked at her sympathetically. He had never seen her this angry before. She was usually calmer than this. But the knowledge of the full depth of what Sandra had been doing lately broke something inside of her.

The girl glared intensely at Sandra before shoving a finger towards her. Speaking through clenched teeth, she said, “And you fucking dare try to tell us that you didn’t want to do it?! If you didn’t want to, you wouldn’t have done it! If you cared, you wouldn’t have participated in this heinous crime! Tell me, Sandra, after all you’ve done, why the fuck should we believe anything you say?!”

Penny’s voice was so loud that there was a slight echo reverberating off the walls. Sandra winced at this, her ears twitching at the echo. As it vanished, an uncomfortable silence reigned down on them, filling the room with a high level of tension, so thick they thought they could cut it with a knife.

Rudy looked at Penny, noting the way she was breathing heavily. Anger was written quite clearly on her face, more so than what was on his. Rudy’s expression softened ever so slightly as he looked at her. He had known of the saying of beware the nice ones, and now, seeing how Penny had reacted, he could definitely say that’s true.

Not that he blamed her at all. Sandra was a truly disgusting zoner. She had orchestrated this whole scheme on her own free will, hurting Snap, and then had the gall to pretend she was his friend. She pretended to help. She had lied to them all.

There were very few things in life that could make Rudy boil over. And lying was one of them. True, he, Mint, and Penny lied to their parents all the time, but it was just to keep ChalkZone safe. They weren’t intended to harm. Sandra however..she was a malicious liar. Her lies intended to do harm. And that rattled him and his friends to their core.

He wondered, briefly, how Snap was going to react to the news. He was going to be heartbroken to find out that a zoner he had helped was the one responsible for his pain. He had seemed to like Sandra, and never had a problem with her. It was going to be quite nerve wracking for him to find out. It was not going to be easy news to deliver. But Rudy would still do it. Unlike Sandra, he was not going to lie to him about this. Snap deserved to know who had been the cause of his pain all this time, the true culprit of the murder of all those innocent zoners.

Rudy turned his attention back to Sandra. The longer he stared at her, the angrier he felt. He growled softly, clenching his teeth tightly. He was still shaken up by this recent discovery. Memory upon memory of this zoner entered his mind, and each time he thought of times when she acted genuinely helpful, he could feel his blood heating up. She was such a monster... He couldn’t believe that she would do something like this.

“How could you...?” Rudy spoke, cutting through the tension of the silence. Sandra looked at him sideways, her one terrified pupil staring straight at him. “How could you lie to us all this time? How could you hurt our friend, when he did nothing but help you?” There was one question ringing through his mind. One question he had the strongest desire to know. “Just...why...?”

“Why...? You want to know why?” Sandra asked, her voice gaining a bit more volume. She looked at Rudy and Penny, who glared back at her, nodding their heads. Sandra remained quiet for a few seconds. Then she said, “Okay..I’ll tell you..”

Rudy and Penny glared at her, but said nothing. They waited for her to continue. They waited to hear just what kind of excuse she was going to pull out of her tail.

Sandra turned her head, looking at her machine. She said, “You see, I made this thing to help me with my business. I need it. It’s been my key to success. So when I found it destroyed, well, you can understand why I’d be upset.” Keeping her head in that posture, the eye facing them turned its pupil at them. “I had promised to make whoever done that to my machine pay for what they did. I needed to ensure there wouldn’t be a repeat incident.” She turned her head over her shoulder, both her red eyes staring at them. “You can very well imagine how shocked and hurt I was when I found out Snap was the one who did it.” She lowered her head, her eyes filling with sorrow. “I simply could not believe that he’d do such a thing. But accident or not, it was too late.”

“What are you talking about..?” Penny growled.

“Nothing made you do anything of this!” Rudy called out.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Sandra closed her eyes. Her expression softened up. “You see, I had already made the promise. And promises aren’t meant to be broken.” She opened her eyes and stared at them. “I would be tainting the sanctity of the promise if I didn’t fulfill it. Regardless of how I felt, I did what I knew was necessary. The promise cannot be broken, and Snap cannot be allowed to interfere with me again.”

“You’re a monster!” Rudy snarled at her. “How could you do that?!”

Sandra stared at him, looking a bit calm, though Rudy could still see the fear in her eyes. “I never wanted to do it. I only did so because I made a promise. Once a promise is made, it can never be broken.” She took a step forward, still hanging onto Doofus Rudy, who at this point, had gone silent in curiosity and confusion. “Besides, I was going to let him go.” She held up her free hand in gesture. “I was going to confess the truth sooner or later, and set things right. Then things would have gone back to the way they were.”

“You honestly believe that?!” Rudy snapped, taking a step towards the dragon. “Do you really think that the zoners would have just washed this down their backs as if it were nothing?!”

Sandra stared at him, not saying a word. She looked a bit surprised by his outburst, as if she thought he had no reason to be upset. This angered him and Penny further.

Rudy shouted, “How fucking dare you! How dare you cause ChalkZone City so much pain, and then act like things would just shift back to normal like nothing happened! Do you have any idea of the pain and misery you caused?! Do you have any idea how many zoners are suffering because of you?!”

Sandra blinked her eyes a few times. Then, much to their surprise, she smiled. Not a malicious one, but a smile that seemed more friendly and nervous than anything. “They would have understood.” Rudy and Penny widened their eyes in shock at this. “They would understand I was only trying to keep a promise. They would understand that the zoners who perished died for a good cause.” She turned her head to the side as her smile broadened more. “And Snap would understand I was just trying to do the right thing. He would not stay angry at me. We would have been able to move on, and then one day...” She tilted her head upwards, looking up towards the ceiling. She held her hand up, still smiling. “..we’d look back on this day and laugh.”

This statement caused a wave of ice to move through Rudy and Penny, and they were certain Mint felt it as well. It stunned them to the core. Their eyes went wide, mouth dropping open. For a few seconds, they felt numb, their minds trying to process what Sandra had just told them. It took a few seconds before the anger returned.

Was Sandra serious? Did she really think that she could get away with this? Did she honestly believe that Snap would treat this day as just any other? That he’d ignore the very real tragedy that gripped ChalkZone? How could Sandra be so stupid and ignorant? How coud she have a thought that was so erroneous, disregarding the reality that faced them all?

They tried their best to keep control of their anger. They tried not to lunge at Sandra, a very tempting thing right about now. They had to keep control of themselves. They had to remain where they were, for if they attacked her, they would be no better than her.

They needed to trap her, and send her off to jail, where she belonged. Permanently as well. She was too dangerous to keep on the streets. She clearly had a very flawed view of the world, an ignorant logic that she followed that made her way too unpredictable to be around. She had to be locked up before her twisted view of how the world works caused another zoner to get hurt.

Rudy took in a deep breath, keeping his anger back the best he could. He was going to screw things up if he allowed it to control him. He looked over at Penny, gesturing for her to also gain control over her anger. He looked back at Sandra, his eyes narrowed. Before he could open his mouth, he felt a brief flash of rage surge up through him. He stiffened, letting it pass, and then he began to speak.

“Do you honestly believe that?” Rudy asked through barely controlled anger. “Do you really believe that things would go like that?”

Sandra’s smile faded slightly. She paused for a moment, and then gave an affirmative nod. “Yeah..I do. That’s the way the world works, doesn’t it?” She pulled her head back, lowering her snout. “I mean, why would promises exist if they could be broken?”

“It happens all the time.” Penny said dryly.

Sandra narrowed her eyes. “Then they have destroyed the sacredness that is the promise. Whoever broke those lies should be killed on sight...” Her voice was a low growl.

Rudy widened his eyes. “So you think you would have been killed if you hadn’t kept this...this promise...?”

Sandra smiled again, any sign of anger from before vanishing. “I don’t think. I know.” She made a gesture with her hand. “After all, there is nothing more valuable than a promise. Anyone who doesn’t follow the rules should be executed. Such people do not belong in this world.”

Rudy glared at the dragon. “So...so you think that hurting Snap was worth keeping this..this promise of yours?”

Sandra didn’t hesitate to answer. With a broader smile, she said, “Absolutely.”

Rudy widened his eyes at this confession. Then they narrowed dangerously. Sandra’s expression took on that of fear and she cringed back. Rudy’s blood boiled over. It took a gentle touch from Penny to knock him back to his senses before he did anything he might regret. He took in a few breaths, trying to cool himself down. “You...you’re such a fool...”

Sandra looked taken aback by this statement. “What..what do you mean...?”

Sandra trying to feign innocense made Rudy grind his teeth. “You hurt my friend even though he did nothing to you! He didn’t mean to ruin your precious machinery! He wasn’t trying to ruin your business! All he ever did to you was try to be a friend, and this is how you treat him? By pushing him in the back of a promise?! You’re disgusting!”

Penny joined in. “You really think that Snap is going to keep being friends with you after he finds this out?” Penny spread her arms outward. “He wouldn’t want to be anywhere near you after he finds out about this!”

Rudy took a step forward. He formed fists with his hands, shaking them. “Snap wouldn’t even dream of being your friend after he learns that you are the one who hurt him!”

“Well I did think of not telling him..” Sandra started to say.

Rudy didn’t let her finish. “You were going to lie to him again?! Oh I’m not surprised!”

Sandra placed her hand against her armored chest, gritting her teeth nervously. “Please..try to be reasonable...”

“Reasonable?!” Rudy snarled. “How dare you...” He lowered his head, glaring at her in the eyes. “How dare you try to tell us to be reasonable when you..” He jabbed a finger in her direction. “...you were the one who thinks that keeping a promise is so important that even friends are less valuable and are to be shoved under the rug!”

“N-Now..I never said that friends weren’t important...” Sandra stammered, raising up her hand as she tried to defend herself. “I do like Snap! I’m being honest here! I don’t like hurting him! I still see him as a friend!”

“So you think that friends are important?” Rudy asked, tilting his head to one side. “You have an awfully funny way of showing that...”

Penny moved forward so that she was next to Rudy again. “You are no friend, Sandra.” She folded her arms against herself, her face etching in the clear message of anger. “You are a vile person, the most disgusting monster we have ever met. To try to act like you are doing nothing wrong...” She closed her eyes, letting her body shiver once in anger. “At least Skrawl is honest about wanting to hurt someone...”

Sandra cringed as she saw Rudy reach for his magic chalk. “What are you going to do...?”

“We are locking you up.” Rudy said. He held up his magic chalk, the tip of it glittering. “You will be sent to jail where you will have no chance of getting out. People like you don’t deserve to be on the streets.”

“B-But my restaurant...” Sandra started to say.

“It will be taken down, or someone else will take it over.” Penny said. “Besides, it’s just a restaurant. It can be replaced. Lives cannot.” She glared intently at Sandra. “You must pay the price for your crimes, Sandra.”

Rudy nodded. “Now hold still. You have no chance against two creators.” At this, Penny held up her magic chalk. “So just make it easier on yourself and surrender...”

Sandra took a step back. Her wide eyes looked at them in desperation. “You..you’re going to lock me up..just for holding a promise...?”

Rudy hesitated to answer right away. He wanted to tell her that it was her actions in keeping said promise that were sending her off to jail. But after he thought about it some more, he realized that it really was the promise that’s making the decision. After all, it was her trying to keep the promise that led her to hurt Snap, to kill those zoners, to cause all this trouble.

If she hadn’t abused the promise, if she had just realized that, sometimes, promises could be broken, then this wouldn’t have happened. She chose to do this. The promise didn’t make her. She cannot keep hiding like a coward behind her promise. It was time that she faced the consequences of her actions.

Rudy gave an affirmative nod. “Yes.” A quick answer, short and to the point.

Sandra’s mouth went agape as her eyes bulged open. She stared at Rudy in shock for a few seconds, and then her eyes narrowed dangerously. “And you think that Snap wouldn’t understand?”

“He would hate you for what you’ve done.” Rudy said, this time not hesitating.

Sandra’s eyes narrowed further and she bared her teeth. A low growl escaped her throat as her ears twitched. “How dare you..”

Rudy simply glared back. He raised up his magic chalk. “You are coming with us, Sandra.”

Sandra’s eyes flashed, something deeper than just anger appearing in them. She spoke lowly, her voice, for a brief moment, sounding more feral than anything Rudy has ever heard in his life. “Don’t you dare raise your chalk at me...”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this, but he did not allow Sandra’s anger to scare him away. Although he and his friends weren’t sure of just what she was capable of, he had no plans on running away. They were this close to taking care of her. They had her outnumbered. She stood no chance. Despite Sandra’s angered expression, despite Doofus Rudy shaking his head, as if trying to say something, Rudy still advanced.

Moving his hand forward to begin to draw, he said, “We’re sorry, Sandra. But you have given us no choice.”

Doofus Rudy struggled in the zoner’s grasp. “No! Stay back! She..”

Sandra covered Doofus Rudy’s mouth, silencing him. She turned her attention back to Rudy. She lowered her head. The lips on her mouth curled up, exposing her sharp teeth. Her mouth stretched into a dark smile. Again she spoke in a low voice, but this one was tinged with something else, almost glee. “Lower your chalk..or I will make sure that you really do have no choices left...”

Although taken aback by Sandra speaking, yet again, in that gravelly, feral voice, Rudy did not listen to her. He knew she had to be stopped. Now was the only time they could do that. He raised up his magic chalk further, and soon began to draw a trap to use on Sandra.

As soon as he did, Sandra’s eyes bulged open, her pupils shrinking into dots. Rudy barely had time to question this when he suddenly felt a horrific pain wrack up through his right arm. He released his grip on the magic chalk as he let out a scream.

“Rudy!” Penny cried out in horror.

Rudy dropped down onto his knees. He bent forward, his head nearly touching the ground. He cradled his arm to himself, feeling something rip through the muscle inside. Tears of pain flowed down his cheeks as he lifted up his head and looked over at Sandra.

Sandra had taken a step towards him. Her body was arched, her tail raised into the air, ticking side to side. Her face was contorted and twisted, a darkened, insane smile spreading across it. Her red eyes almost appeared to glow, boring through his. Her free hand moved out in front of her, forming a fist, the palm facing upwards. The triangle mark on her forehead was glowing, giving parts of her skin an eerie shine.

“Stop this! Please!” Penny pleaded with Sandra.

The dragon shot her a glare, and then turned her head to the side in an almost dramatic fashion. She spoke, her sharp teeth still exposed. “You two should have thought better than try to ruin my business.. You should have thought more before you decided to ruin the sanctity of a promise, or when you dare say that Snap would turn against me. If Snap cared at all, he’d understand...”

Penny’s breathing quickened, panic clearly rising inside of her. “Please, Ms. Sandra! You have to stop this!”

Sandra lowered her head. “Why should I...?”

“You’re making a big mistake!” Penny shouted.

“Oh? Am I...?” Sandra’s eyes glinted. “Well I could rectify that. I could allow you to join.”

Penny’s eyes bulged. “N-No..that’s not what I...”

Penny didn’t get a chance to finish. She let out a scream as Sandra’s powers got a hold of her as well. She clutched her leg and fell to the ground. Her body curved almost in a fetal position as she hugged her leg to her body. She started to cry in agony.

“Penny!” Rudy managed to say through his pain. He looked over at Sandra. “Let her go!” He begged.

“Oh I can’t do that.” Sandra said, a nastry grin spread across her face. “She was feeling left out, so I’m inviting her in. What kind of rude hostess would I be if I kicked her out now?”

Rudy tried to get up. He tried to do something, anything. But the horrific pain kept him on the ground. He looked over at Sandra in horror. He could see her insane grin, the terrified look on Doofus Rudy’s face. Even though the Doofi weren’t always the brightest, they did have enough sense to know when real peril was imminent, and it really showed here.

He looked over at Penny. She was holding her leg still, crying loudly in pain. She squirmed on the ground, trying to get away. The sight of it broke his heart. His body was tormented with the mental pain of his friend being hurt, and his own physical anguish. It was becoming too much to bear, and he could feel his mind start to get a little fuzzy.

Suddenly there was a scream, and he felt some relief when he could no longer feel Sandra’s powers bearing down on him. He let out a groan of pain and pushed himself up from the ground. He assisted Penny to her feet. The two looked over to see what had caused the change.

To their shock, Doofus Rudy had bitten down on Sandra. Despite his fear, he still worked up the courage to fight back. His teeth sank into Sandra’s hand, drawing a bit of blood. In this instance, they wondered if the scratches on her side were from a zoner she was tormenting fighting back.

Sandra’s eyes bulged open, but soon they narrowed again as she glared down at Doofus Rudy. “And here I thought you wouldn’t be stupid enough to do something like that again.”

Sandra jerked her arm as hard as she could. Doofus Rudy was not able to keep up and he was tossed into the ground. Sandra let out a cry of pain as Doofus Rudy ended up inadvertantly tearing off a small piece of flesh with him. Blood dripped down the small wound on Sandra’s arm. She looked at it, her eyes wide in shock, and then she snarled in Doofus Rudy’s direction. The zoner looked up at her in fear, too terrified to speak.

Sandra lifted up her foot and grabbed him around his throat. She lifted him up, baring her teeth at him. She then pulled her leg back and threw him to the side. The zoner slammed against one of the shelves and slumped down onto the ground. He laid there, shivering and whimpering in fear. She then turned her attention to Rudy and Penny.

“If I were you...” Sandra said. “I would forget that this whole ordeal never happened. This is the only chance I’m giving you two. I can call this whole thing off and I can return you to normal.” At this, Rudy felt a dull ache radiating from the arm that Sandra damaged. “But only if you promise to tell no one about this.”

“H-How can you...” Came Penny’s pained voice. “..expect us to..d-d-do that...?” A seethe and a whimper. “Wh-What about Snap? Do you think we would abandon him?”

“Snap? Oh don’t worry about him!” Sandra waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll let him go as soon as the lesson is complete, and everything will be fine.” She leaned towards them. “I promise... And you know I never break promises.”

Rudy glared at the zoner. He then glanced at Penny. The two of them silently wondered what they were going to do. Should they take the chance and listen to Sandra? Or should they take action?

If they go along with this, then Snap might be okay. If Sandra was true to her word, then she’d call the whole thing off soon, and she would stop tormenting the zoners. But if they continue to fight against her, she may end up killing them in the process, and she might go after Snap. There was a bit of conflict in their heads until they realized something.

Sandra wouldn’t stop tormenting people. The machine of hers... the signal... she had been slaughtering zoners left and right. Even if she were true to her word and she let Snap go, what of the other zoners? They would get hurt, even die, at the claws of this monster.

In the end, they knew what their answer had to be.

“No.” Rudy said simply.

Sandra widened her eyes at this declaration. For a few brief moments, she looked stunned that they would decline her offer. Then, in seconds, she looked offended, baring her sharp teeth at them. She formed fists with her hands, shaking them. “So...you want to make this difficult..” She twisted her head to the side dramatically. “Fine! Be that way!”

Rudy and Penny watched as Sandra walked back to where Doofus Rudy was. The zoner shivered harder as the dragon got closer. Rudy and Penny watched in horror at this, their hearts twisting and stomach churning.

“W-Wait...what are you doing?!” Rudy called out.

“Leave him alone!” Cried a horrified Penny.

Sandra smirked. “You already made up your minds. But perhaps I could coerce you a little. I’m good at that...”

Rudy widened his eyes at this. He recalled what Arno had told them. He wasn’t supposed to sell that many white flame fireworks in one day. But Sandra had apparently coerced him into it. He had to wonder if they were about to witness her method in coercing people. The thought filled him with terror.

Sandra looked down at Doofus Rudy. Without turning her head, her eyes turned to face Rudy and Penny. She lifted up her hand, pointing it in Doofus Rudy’s direction. Whether or not this was required for her powers to work was hardly on the children’s minds, for seconds later, Doofus Rudy began to scream and he clutched his arm.

To the children’s horror, Doofus Rudy’s arm looked like it had already been damaged before. And now Sandra was causing more pain, and tearing apart whatever healing had taken place. Listening to the poor zoner’s screams was absolutely heartbreaking. It was really shocking seeing this happy go lucky zoner, with not a care in a world, being reduced to a miserable pile of agony like this.

“Stop that!” Penny shouted at Sandra. “Please!”

Sandra smiled at Penny, but didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she just kept on hurting Doofus Rudy, her ears twitching slightly as his screams but otherwise, showing no discomfort. She didn’t look like she was going to stop any time soon, and as if to prove the point of that unspoken statement, she twisted her arm slightly, which seemed to increase the impact of the power. Doofus Rudy screamed loudly.

“I think it’s time I told you what kind of power I have.” Sandra said. Her voice was chillingly casual for this kind of situation. “I have, what you’d call, super healing powers.” She turned her back to them, folding her arm behind her. She still seemed to have a hold of Doofus Rudy as he was still writhing in agony. “Now I know what you two must be thinking. Healing powers are used to help.” She made a gesture at her side at this. “They cannot be used to hurt or control people.” She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. She smiled at Rudy and Penny. “Well..that is where you are wrong.”

Rudy and Penny glared at the sky blue zoner as she turned around and walked back towards them. They looked over apprehensively at Doofus Rudy before Sandra blocked their view, forcing them to look at her. They growled, but said not a word.

Sandra said, “Healing requires cell division, does it not?” Sandra looked down at Penny and smiled. “You know this to be true, don’t you?” She tilted her head to one side, her ears flopping down. “You know a thing or two about health, right?”

Penny said, “My mom is a vet.”

“Ah perfect! So you do know!” Sandra clasped her feather fingertips together, straighting herself up, her tail lowering towards the ground. “I take it you must know what happens when a cell reaches the end of its...dividing cycle or whatever it’s called.”

Penny widened her eyes at this. Rudy looked at her in confusion, wondering what had startled her. A quick chuckle from Sandra was his only clue that it wasn’t anything good.

“The cell runs the risk of producing a cancerous version of itself.” Sandra said. Rudy gasped in horror at this. “So in short, I can use my healing powers to induce tumors into my..victims... I can undo all the damage as well, reverting the cells back to their state from before I missed with them.” She lifted up a feather finger and pressed it against her shoulder where Doofus Rudy had bitten her. “And in case you don’t believe me that my powers are healing, let me show you this.”

Rudy and Penny watched as a slight glow appeared around the gaping wound. The skin stretched and pulled, and in a matter of seconds, the wound closed up. It sealed quickly, and in a flash of light, the luminance was completely gone. There was no sign of any injury at all. Sandra lifted her arm towards herself, smiling as she flexed her arm. She looked back at the children, grinning.

Rudy couldn’t believe it. He had always viewed healing as a good power. He had never seen it in ChalkZone that much and he couldn’t even recall the last zoner he knew that had it. Healing was supposed to help people. It was supposed to aid in their recovery.

But this..this monster... She had been using her powers for evil. This was worse than a villain having a power that was obviously harmful. This zoner had taken the time to figure out how to use her otherwise beneficial power to harm others. The realization of this twisted their stomachs, making them feel sick.

Sandra smiled at them for several seconds. Then her ears twitched and flattened, and she turned to Doofus Rudy. She scowled at him in contempt. Then she looked back at the two children. She caught their expressions, and her frown faded away. She made her way over to Doofus Rudy.

“Wait! Don’t hurt him more!” Penny cried.

Rudy reached forward. “Just let him go! Please!”

Sandra ignored their pleas. She walked towards the trembling zoner, watching as he shivered on the ground. Sandra lowered herself to him, eyeing his arm intently. She reached forward and grabbed onto it. Doofus Rudy pleaded with her to release him. Sandra tightened her grip on him, and she shut her eyes. Doofus Rudy’s body stiffened as a glow wrapped around his arm. Rudy and Penny watched as the wound was healed up, disappearing as if nothing happened. Sandra stepped away from the zoner and looked down at him, folding her arms against her chest.

Although he was healed, Doofus Rudy still appeared to be in pain. He remained on the ground, holding his arm to himself. He whispered, mostly incoherent. A few times, he apologized to Doofus Penny. Some others, he asked why, and what did he do. The sight of this brought tears to Rudy and Penny’s eyes.

“Oh don’t get all teary eyed.” Sandra said. “He’s not going to be in pain for long.”

Rudy glared at her. “What do you plan on doing to him?”

Sandra tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure if I should tell you.”

Rudy was about to rush forward when he felt Penny grab his arm. She shook her head, in that instant, Rudy remembered what Sandra was capable of doing. He felt a dull ache in his arm and he winced. He glared back at Sandra, doing whatever he could to keep himself from lurching at her.

“But...why not?” Sandra motioned her hand to the side casually. “I suppose you deserve to know what I’ve been doing.”

At this, Rudy said, “Yeah. What is that machine over there?” He pointed at the blender thing.

“And what are you using it for? And what do you plan to do with Doofus Rudy?” Penny asked.

“Why have you been killing zoners?” Rudy asked.

Sandra blinked at them a few times. She pulled her head back and let out a short-lived, though still creepy, laugh. When she was done, she looked at them and said, “I see you figured it all out! Well..kind of...” She folded her arms. “You two are still smart, however. I can see why Skrawl had a tough time with you. But enough of that..” She turned her head to the side, making a dismissive gesture before turning her arm against the other. “Let us talk about what I do. Don’t worry. Everything will..fall into place.”

Rudy and Penny glared at the dragon zoner. Sandra began to pace around them slowly, almost like a vulture would dead prey. Rudy and Penny winced at this behavior, but they still frowned at her, trying to look brave.

“You see, with a conflicting mind like I have, drawn as a healer, but with cooking abilities, I had no idea where I belonged. Of course, your friend Snap was quite generous and he helped me out. It was during this time of finding where I belonged that I discovered my healing powers and how they could be used to harm if I so pleased. Sometime later, I decided that I wanted to create some kind of restaurant, and Snap helped me with that, too. Even got me my first customers.” She smiled at this. Then she frowned. “But see, I needed a gimmick. Something that would draw in customers. Something that would ensure that I would be a success.”

Sandra continued circling the two children. They moved closer to one another, glaring at the dragon, but kept quiet as she continued her story.

“One day, there was an accident and...well long story short, I ended up with a corpse in my warehouse there.” She spread her arms out. “I wanted to get rid of the body, since it was going to stink the place up, but then I had a thought. What if I were to just...feed the meat to my customers? Just cook it up long enough and it would be fine. I don’t think anyone thought of that before, so I went through with it. It was a success.”

Rudy felt like throwing up.

Sandra kept on walking in circles around the two. She came closer, closing the gap between them. Soon she was close enough to grap. The two children refused to do so, knowing that, at any second, the dragon could reactivate her powers on them.

Sandra held up her hand in gesture, her head facing the ground. “I realized that I could use this as my gimmick. It went over so well with my customers that I decided that would be what I’d do. Zoner meat is always so varied, never the same taste twice.”

Penny’s eyes widened. “So that’s why you claim that the specials are never the same...”

“More or less, yes.” Sandra nodded in confirmation. She turned her head slightly, her snout still facing the ground as her legs propelled her on her circular path. “The only problem left was deliverance. How was I going to get all that meat? Who would be my supplier?” She rubbed her chin at this, pretending that she was thinking. “I needed a place that would have endless meat, that I could pick off from without anyone realizing what I was doing.”

Rudy snarled angrily at this. “Because you didn’t want to go to jail!”

Sandra chuckled at this. “No, dear boy. It’s actually because I didn’t want anyone stealing my idea.”

Rudy felt his stomach twist at this. “You actually thought that someone would copy your idea and sell zoner meat to people?!”

Sandra nodded her head. “Exactly.” She lifted up a finger. “I couldn’t allow that to happen. So I had to not only find a place, but I needed a way to make sure no one knew what I was doing.” She stopped her pacing and turned her back to them. “I then realized something...” She swirled her tail around slowly from side to side. “The hospital in ChalkZone City has that sick ward. The terminally ill section I mean. And there’s always new patients there. There’ll always be children who draw zoners who are sick, and zoners who are drawn sick often do not recover. Then there’s other factors... well skipping that.” She looked over her shoulder at them, turning herself around and walking towards them. She tapped her fingers together. “I realized that I could use this to my advantage. An endless supply of meat for my restaurant.” She stopped in front of the two children. “Brilliant idea, wouldn’t you think?”

Penny said exactly what was on Rudy’s mind. “Go bite your tail.”

Sandra looked shocked by this, but said nothing. She smirked and folded her arms behind her back, straightening herself up even more until she was upright. “Well I did realize that someone might realize the patients were gone. What I needed was a way to prevent this. I can place tumors in heads, make them forget, but it would take too long to do it to all those people. So I created this.”

She spread her arms out as she walked towards her machine. “This beautiful machine has made all of this possible. Not only does it grind up entire zoners and excretes out their meat,” Sandra gave them a sideways glance. “But I also gave it my powers, but on a broader scale, and more subtle. No tumor placement. Just messing with the electro signals in the brain.”

“So you used that machine to send all zoners into a sort of...trance?” Rudy asked.

“Well whoever I decide to. I can specify it, and control the frequency.” Explained Sandra. “I also can use it to mess with security systems, which allowed me to grab some new meat whenever I needed it.” She leaned against her machien, grinning at the children. “Between this baby...” She patted the machine. “And my perfect planning...” She jabbed a thumb against herself. “I’ve been able to create delicious, rare delicacies that have had customers flocking to my restaurant. I am a success!” She raised her hands into the air, looking proud and happy for what she has done.

“You’ve...You’ve been...” Penny’s face was pale. “You’ve been feeding zoners the flesh of their own kind?!”

“What’s the big deal?” Sandra shrugged. “We’re all zoners, and we’re all meat. It’s no different than eating a non-sentient chalk cow, or one of those foods that talk and wants to be eaten.”

“There’s a world of difference!” Penny shouted.

“Eh, details..” Sandra waved a dismissive hand at her. Noticing her glare, Sandra chuckled. “Now come on, little girl.” She raised her hands at her sides. “No reason to get upset. It’s no big deal, really.”

Rudy seethed at this. “And you..you killed all those zoners just because Snap ruined your precious machine?!”

Sandra nodded her head at this. “I needed to make sure that Snap regretted betraying me.” Rudy and Penny hissed at this. “I didn’t want to do it, but in the end, I knew I had to. So I arranged a fake party, gathered up some random zoners off the street, making sure none of them had a connection to Snap, and then blew it up.”

“Using white flame fireworks...” Penny hissed.

“Why yes, that’s right. Good for you for figuring that out, Penny.” Sandra said, a slight congratulatory tone to her voice. “I needed something that was small and portable enough, yet would create a huge bang. White fire is among the most intense of flames, so I went with that. It worked like a charm. I confronted Snap afterwards, placing the tumor in his head before anyone found him.” She took a few steps back when she noticed the rage etched in the children’s faces. “Now, now... It’ll all be over soon. Your friend’s suffering will end and you will have him back.”

“And what if Doofus Rudy?” Penny asked. “What do you plan on doing with him?”

“Simple...” Sandra held up her hand in gesture. “I want to make amends with Snap. I want to make him a nice dinner. I know on some level, he cares about Doofus Rudy here.” She gave a quick glance at the pained and terrified zoner. “So I know that he would definitely enjoy his meat then. Fear-tinged meat is great, and him being a sort of friend to Snap makes it even better. Nothing says friendship like enjoying each other’s flesh.”

Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at this, unable to believe what they heard. Anger swept through their heads. They ground their teeth together. Rage boiled through their blood. Their bodies began to tremble. Sandra’s eyes widened and she moved back further. She looked utterly perplexed that they were even reacting this way, which infuriated them even more.

This zoner..this monster.. How could she do this...? How could she kill all those zoners and use their flesh for recipes like this? How could she torture their best friend, and then act like she had done nothing wrong?

The realization that all this pain and suffering was caused by a delusional zoner who merely wanted to prevent her business from going away boiled their blood. They never felt so enraged in their lives. They could practically see red, their faces heating up as blood was flushed into it. It took all their will power not to charge at the dragon zoner. She was absolutely disgusting and vile. How could she live with herself? How could she go to sleep at night with the knowledge of the heinous acts she had committed?

Rudy knew now, even more than before, how important it was that this fiend was locked up for good. If she were to allowed to remain on the streets, more zoners would be killed to satisfy her sick, twisted need of obtaining their meat, and her patrons would continue eating without realizing they could be eating the flesh of a fallen loved one. The thought made him feel nauseous and his head started to spin. He rubbed his upper chest and throat, fighting off that uncomfortable feeling. When he had regained control of himself, he took a step forward, locking eyes with the evil dragon zoner.

“We will stop you... You will not get away with this. I promise you that.” Rudy said.

Sandra snapped her head back and snarled. “You dare make a promise like that?” She leaned forward, her lips pulled up to expose her sharp teeth. “Do you have any idea what you are doing?!”

“Yes.” Rudy nodded his head. He bent down and picked up his piece of magic chalk that he dropped earlier. He lifted it up and showed it to her. “I am going to make sure that you never harm another innocent zoner again.” He narrowed his eyes in determination. “I promise.”

Sandra’s breathing increased as she raised her hands at her sides as if to grab something. She took a step back and, for a moment, appeared quite terrified. Then anger soon become the dominant emotion on her face. She bared her teeth at Rudy, who looked unfazed by it. Then Sandra smiled twistedly and spoke in that feral voice from before. “Then so be it...”

Rudy’s eyes widened as he realized he forgot about Sandra’s power. Her head mark glowed and he immediately felt a surge of agony. He held his arm to himself, feeling it begin to bulge. He could feel Penny scream his name and hold onto him. His mind was so wracked with agony, he could barely register her. The only thing on his mind was the horrific pain that this villain was putting him through.

Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Rudy let out a pained sigh of relief. He rubbed his arm gingerly. He looked at Penny, wondering if she did anything. But from her expression, it was clear she was not responsible for this. Instead, she looked shocked, looking at where Sandra was. Curious, Rudy looked over to see what Penny was looking at.

He took immediate notice of Sandra. She had taken a step forward, but her body was arched in a way that suggested she was hit. He could even see her hold her arm, a small cut on it. On the ground not far, he could see there was a small knife. It was clear someone threw a knife at her and it made its mark, enough to stop her from hurting him.

But it couldn’t have been Doofus Rudy who did that. He was still on the ground in agony and fear. So who could have..?

His eyes widened when he saw who it was.

“Mint..?”

Indeed, standing not far from Sandra was Mint. Rudy was shocked. What was he doing here? He was injured. He was missing part of his foot. He was vulnerable. Sandra was going to rip right through him.

“Mint...get out of here!” Rudy pleaded. “Please!”

Mint looked at Rudy. He shook his head. “I have to do this.”

“So...” Sandra turned around, glaring at Mint. “You must be one of my creators. How..nice of you to join...” She walked towards him slowly, swishing her tail in agitation. “Don’t think I’ll treat you differently just because you are one of my creators.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way...” Mint hissed at her.

Sandra smirked. “So, did you come here to challenge me?”

Mint nodded her head. Keeping himself steady on his crutch, he raised up his piece of magic chalk. “Unless you’re too scared.”

Sandra flashed her teeth at this, a smile radiating with amusement and anger spreading across her face. “Bring it on.” She growled.

Chapter 30: Innocense

You know, every world will have its test. Don't blame for what I have become!
-With Me, Crush 40




Taima was in absolute shock. He had a hard time comprehending what he had just seen. Even though his eyes could clearly see it, a part of him was in denial.

What prompted the doctor to shoot Snap like that? He never heard of jails operating like this. He never heard of jails performing executions in the cells where other prisoners could see them. He couldn’t think of a time when such a thing was done without future notice. Snap hadn’t even gotten to the trial yet.

But that didn’t stop the doctor from attacking him. Snap looked lifeless, laying prone on the ground. He had convulsed when he was blasted with the bright orange energy and fallen off. He hadn’t moved in the past several minutes. Neither did the doctor, who stood over him, watching him carefully, as if he was expecting something. Taima couldn’t tell if the doctor intended to kill him or if the blast was just a warning or something.

Either way, it was still a shock that this happened at all. He had tow onder just what was on the doctor’s mind. There had to be something that prompted him to attack like that.

Did Snap take away someone from him too? Did Snap have an escape plan and he was just punishing him? Was there something else that he didn’t know?

Well he wasn’t going to get any answers just sitting around here. He licked his lips nervously, knowing that he was going to have to go over and try to get the bottom of it. Not like he truly cared for Snap. That zoner was the reason why his sister was gone. Snap murdered her. He would never forgive him for that. But he was worried about the doctor’s seemingly unprovoked attack, and he needed to make sure this doctor was not insane or anything.

“Hey...” Taima spoke up. The dog doctor didn’t look at him. Taima tried again. “Hello?” The dog doctor gave him a sideways glance. “Why did you do it?”

The doctor stared at him, twitching his ears. He didn’t answer right away. The expression on his face was a combination of seriousness and solemness. A combination that was quite telling, and told him volumes of the doctor’s intentions. This was obviously something that he felt had to be done. But why? What would prompt him to do this?

“There was no other way.” The doctor replied. He turned his head away and looked down at Snap’s still form. “It would have been difficult to do it otherwise. It would have required moving him, and it would be hard to strike a deal with this place.”

“Move him, doctor?” Taima tilted his head. “Why would you want to move this criminal out of here?”

The doctor gritted his teeth at this. Taima wondered if he touched a sore spot. He took a step back. If the doctor decided to attack him with that... Much to his relief, the doctor lowered it, and with a grip as loose as that, he could tell that the doctor had no intentions on using it on him. “It would have been safer to perform a surgery on him. But that would have caused some problems.”

Taima furrowed his eyes. “Well yeah. The people out there wouldn’t take too kindly of you taking Snap out of here...uhh...doctor...” He pointed his finger at him. “What’s your name?”

“Call me Dr. Gelcro.”

“Okay then, Dr. Gelcro.” Taima took a moment to realize that it was this doctor who had informed him before of Snap’s scan turning up negative. Or maybe it was a doctor that looked like him. He didn’t dwell on that fact long. “You didn’t answer my question.” He said, taking a step forward. “Why did you want to take Snap out of here?”

“Well it’s not that I wanted to, or needed to. It was preferable, but I knew that it wouldn’t work.” Dr. Gelcro replied. His tail swished from side to side. “It would have just made the surgery easier. This thing here is rather experimental, and it could have gone wrong. I will have to wait and see and make sure it did its job.” He turned his head and looked at Taima. “If it did, hopefully we won’t have to worry about the signal anymore.”

Taima nodded his head slowly, not answering. He let the doctor continue about his business. He leaned against the wall, his eyes focused on Snap. It seemed that the doctor really did come in here to kill Snap. It seemed rather drastic... without a trial and all... He shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t care too much, so long as Snap had justice handed to him. It wasn’t his concern that he didn’t get a trial. At least now, his reign of terror was over and the zoners can move on with their lives.

But this came a little too late for some zoners. His heart twisted as he remembered Galena. She had been such a sweet zoner. A little naive at times, curious by nature, wandering around... He used to be annoyed by her. But then, don’t siblings often pick on each other? He had often wanted some peace and quiet, but now that he got it...he’d give anything to hear her high-pitched voice again.

Snap had taken that away from him. Snap had robbed him of his sibling. He had stolen it all... The thought still heated up his blood, burning him on the inside. The only comfort he could take is that Snap was gone now. He would never rise again. He would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

Then he noticed something. A small sound eminating in the room. It wasn’t from him, and it wasn’t from Dr. Gelcro. It took him a bit to realized that it was groaning...and it was coming from....Snap.

No, it couldn’t be... Did the doctor fail? Was Snap truly that indestructable? The stick figure’s heart began to pound against his chest. He looked on, his eyes having a slight tinge of fear to them, as Snap’s body began to move. He looked at this, wondering just how the heck he had survived the attack.

He looked over at the doctor. To his confusion, Dr. Gelcro didn’t seem faced. He couldn’t tell if the doctor didn’t notice or if he was being brave or whatever it could have been. Taima smacked his lips together nervously, thoughts racing through his mind. If Snap could survive that blast, what else was he capable of? Was this how he survived the explosion he had set up a few weeks ago? He needed to get Dr. Gelcro out of there before Snap could make his counterattack.

“Dr. Gelcro!” Taima called out as he moved towards him. “Get out of the way! He’ll...” Dr. Gelcro raised up his hand, halting his advance. Taima took in a few breaths, tilting his head in confusion. “Dr. Gelcro? What are you...?”

“I want to see if it worked.” Said Dr. Gelcro.

“Well...it obviously didn’t.” Taima hissed at him. Was he really that blind? “He’s still moving!”

“That’s what I was hoping for.” Dr. Gelcro said, keeping his eye on Snap.

“What..?” Taima questioned. “B-But I thought that...”

Dr. Gelcro glanced at him quickly. “I was not trying to kill him.”

Taima was taken aback by this. He took a few steps back, staring at the doctor dog in confusion. He stammered as he tried to ask a coherent question. So far, nothing would come out. He was just babbling as his confused mind tried to think of what else the doctor could have been doing. If he hadn’t been trying to kill Snap...then..what was..?

“What were you doing?” Taima managed to say, taking in a few, shaky breaths. “What were you trying to accomplish then? Do you want Snap to have a reason to hurt you?” He lowered his head. “Just like how he hurt me...”

Dr. Gelcro kept his eyes glued to Snap. Taima frowned at this, not liking to be ignored. He opened his mouth and attempted to speak, but Dr. Gelcro merely lifted up his paw, a silent message for him to shut up. He obligued. “I’ll explain it to you in due time. Don’t worry. It’ll all make sense soon.”

Taima stared at him. He glanced nervously towards Snap. “I..hope you’re right...”

The two zoners watched as Snap stirred on the ground. Then, slowly, his eyes opened up.

sss

Snap was so confused, his mind muggy and achey. He couldn’t remember where he was exactly, not right away. He blinked his eyes open, and he was instantly greeted with blurs of colors and shapes. He felt a chilliness in the air, and he knew right away he was not in the hospital or back at home. He was...somewhere else.

The place had a dank smell to it. The smell went through his nostrils, assaulting his senses. It was not a pleasant smell. He let out a cough in reflex. He detected that he was on something hard..and cold. The ground, perhaps? Was he on the ground? Why? How did he get here?

The zoner let out a soft groan as he detected that there was some kind of pain going through his head right now. A dull ache that dominated the front of his head, as if he had been smacked real hard. He lifted up his hand, rubbing his head carefully. What confused him was that the pain seemed to come from more than one place. He could feel something in his leg, too. No, both of them. A dull ache for the most part, but some sharp pain, especially in the one leg.

What had happened to him? Why did his body ache? Why did he feel like someone just tasered him? Why was he so weak? Where were his friends? These questions and more rang through his mind.

He could see a dark shape coming towards him. Black and white, and a bit of red, small dots of crimson. They stared down at him, making eye contact with him. Snap opened his mouth to speak, but at first, all he could do was slur. He smacked his lips a few times as he tried to comprehend his situation.

He saw the dark blur moving in front of him. He blinked his eyes a few times. They slowly started to focus, but not too much. He wobbled his head from side to side, a bit of dizziness starting to overtake him. He grabbed his head, gripping the ground tightly, as he tried to resettle himself before he toppled over again. It was no use and he found himself rolling onto his side as he tried to cope with the unexpected dizziness.

When he looked up, he could see a sharper image of the figure, but all he could make out was that it was some kind of dog with black and white fur. It was holding something out in front of it.

Then it spoke. “Hey, Snap? How many fingers am I holding up?”

The voice was so...echoey. Snap could have sworn he heard many voices at once, speaking in almost perfect harmony. The voice seemed so familiar...yet he could not place it. Where had he heard his voice before? Why did it seem so familiar?

He remembered the echoing words had asked him a question. He looked up at the thing the figure was holding out in front of him. A hand. The things he saw sticking out, they must be fingers. He stared at it, trying to focus. The dizziness still had some hold of him, however, and now he saw something waving all around him, going this way and that. Snap’s head wobbled around as he tried to focus, but he found that this was impossible. He gave the only answer he could think of.

“....s-s-six..?”

The figure lowered their hand down and shook his head. “You are still out of it. I will give you time to recover. Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”

The voice sounded less echoey that time, but he still could not place the voice. His vision was slowly clearing up, and some of the aches were starting to vanish. He pushed himself up onto his hands, and he leaned back. He let out a yelp of surprise when he felt his back hit against something solid, yet soft. A bed... He leaned against it, letting out a few groans as his tired mind tried to recover.

It took some time before his vision cleared up. He blinked a few times, lifting up his head and looking around. Yes, he remembered now. A prison. He had been arrested. He could feel his mind clearing up some more. Some things were still muggy, but he was remembering some things. Like Taima... He winced when he saw the zoner. He had hurt him badly earlier.

He froze when he saw who it was standing over him. The zoner stared down at him, his expression largely unreadable. Snap wanted to get away, but he suddenly became aware of all the pain that he was in. He froze in terror, looking up at the zoner in fear.

“D-Dr...Gelcro....” Snap managed to say, gritting his teeth. “What are you doing here?”

Dr. Gelcro’s expression softened up. He moved closer to Snap. The small zoner cringed away, uncertain of what to expect from the husky zoner. What exactly did he have planned for him? What was he up to this time? The dog zoner didn’t appear to threaten him, but Snap was not going to lower his guard.

“It is okay, Snap. I am not going to hurt you.” Dr. Gelcro said. He reached forward and he placed his paw on top of his head gently. “I know that you are innocent.”

“Wh-Wh-What?!” Spluttered Taima.

Snap blinked, just as confused as Taima. Wasn’t Dr. Gelcro one of the doctors who had blamed him before? He recalled how nasty he had been. What had prompte this change in attitude?

Dr. Gelcro gave a small, faint smile. “What do you remember, Snap?”

Snap tilted his head in confusion. Why was the doctor asking him that? Was this all a trick? Was Dr. Gelcro just trying to mess with him? The thought of that made Snap a little angry. He had been through so much lately. He didn’t need to...

Wait a minute..

How was it he could remember this...?

Wasn’t he...?

Snap could remember that, for days on end, he could hardly remember anything that happened from before he woke up. He remembered that this had been going on for a while. But this time around, when he woke up, he could remember a lot more than he did in the past. He recalled that, before, if he’d wake up from being knocked out, his mind would not recall anything that happened, and his memory would be wiped clean of whatever happened the previous day.

But now... Something changed. He felt as though his mind had been opened up. He could practically feel shockwaves of...something...washing through him, intermixing with his nerves, and making his brain seem to untie itself.

Then it happened. Something he thought was never going to happen these past few weeks. Something that was finally going to turn the tides on the whole case, and bring about proper justice, to the one who deserves it the most.

He remembered what Sandra had done. He remembered the explosion. He remembered everything.

“Well?” Dr. Gelcro asked, his voice a hopeful tone. “Did it work? Do you remember?”

Snap nodded his head. “Yes... I know what happened.”

sss

“I know what happened.”

Never before had Dr. Gelcro been so glad to hear those words. He felt his heart begin to flutter as happiness spread through him. He did his best to control the smile that was spreading across his face. He couldn’t forget that he was on a mission here.

There was some biting feelings of guilt inside of him. He felt bad for how he had acted towards Snap. But right now, he couldn’t focus on that. He pushed the bitter thoughts aside, reminding himself of his mission, what he came here to do. He came here to find out what happened once and for all. He came here to put a name and face to the one who had truly been the root of all their problems.

And now that the device he used had worked, now that Snap was able to remember, he was finally going to find out the truth.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Dr. Gelcro asked.

Snap nodded. He rubbed his head with his hand, staring up at him in confusion. “What..what did you do to me..?”

Dr. Gelcro blinked in confusion. It took him seconds to realize what he was talking about. He lifted up the device for him to see. “I used this on you.” He looked down at it, stroking it a few times. “Some kind of medical thing a child drew long ago. No one ever had the guts to use it. I took the risk.”

“Why?” Snap asked.

“Well...” Dr. Gelcro sucked on his lip. Then he said, “Mosaic brought it to my attention that there was a strange smell coming from your room...your bed. I thought at first, you were up to something. It had taken me a while to recognize the smell. It was then I realized you had something inside you, a tumor, so I grabbed this thing to get rid of it.” He flinched. “It was a risk...but it wasn’t like I had much of another choice.”

Snap tilted his head. “So the tumor that has been blocking my memories is gone now?”

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. “Yeah. Completely gone.”

Snap stared at him for a few seconds. They locked eyes with one another. Then, slowly, Snap smiled. “Thank you...”

Dr. Gelcro smiled at this. Seeing Snap smile like this did make him feel good inside. It was a good first step towards amending the wrongs he committed. Once again, he felt the horrible ache of guilt clawing at his heart and chest. He did his best to push it back. He focused on the now. Feeling guilty would do nothing to solve what was going on. Only knowledge and action would.

Dr. Gelcro motioned his hand forward. He didn’t say a word. He stared at Snap expectantly, waiting for him to begin explaining. Luckily, Snap got the hint rather quickly, and it didn’t take him long to begin explaining what really happened that day.

“I remember...there was a party... It was not long after that...explosion...”

Snap’s mind was still a little muggy, it would seem. Dr. Gelcro kept quiet, letting the small zoner continue.

“Sandra had invited me to a party. She sent me an invitation. It was to be the day after I had gotten it. She said it was to be in my honor. She wanted to congratulate me on a job well done. I was so excited for it. I looked forward to the party and seeing the faces of the zoners I had helped. She said it was at Shrapnel Tower, so after my friends and I did some investigation, I went to the party.”

This much, Dr. Gelcro pretty much knew. He was aware of the party in Snap’s honor. Although he had thought that Snap was the one who set it up. If what Snap said was true, and it was Sandra... He pushed the thoughts aside as Snap went on with his story.

“When I got there, there were so many zoners. I was greeted by several...including his sister.” Snap gestured over to where Taima was. The stick figure was quiet, listening intently with wide eyes. “Sandra approached me, and told me she had a surprise for me. I had wanted to wait, figuring it would be more polite that way. But she insisted I come with her. So I did. I followed her into the back hallways for a while. We weren’t reaching anything, and I began to wonder if we were lost. So I tried to ask her, and then...”

Dr. Gelcro noticed that Snap’s eyes widened. Seeing the expression on his face, the dog zoner realized that Snap must have hit an unpleasant part of his memory. He took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Ride it out. Take as long as you want to. I will let you take your time, but I need to know this. And you need to talk about this.”

“Yeah, I know..” Snap nodded his head. “It’s just...hard and...”

“I understand.” Dr. Gelcro said.

Snap took in a shaky breath. The dog could have sworn he heard a sniffle from the superhero zoner. He waited patiently for the zoner to continue. He realized how painful this was for him to speak. If he could, he would find another way to find out. But he knew there were limited options. Snap was the only one who witnessed what happened.

Soon Snap seemed to work up the courage to continue. He swallowed dryly and took in a deep breath. He looked at Taima for a second, and then he looked back at Dr. Gelcro. He licked his lips once, and he continued the story.

“There was an explosion. It ripped through the building. I must have passed out. I remember waking up in pain. There was fire and heat everywhere. I was in pain, and I couldn’t move. I tried to find out where everyone was...and that’s when I saw her.”

“Sandra?” Dr. Gelcro asked.

Snap winced at the name. He nodded his head. “Y-Yeah.. She was coming towards me. She looked..kind of remorseful, but the look in her eyes.. I could tell she had meant to do that. She told me...that I crossed the line, that she had no choice...then she..” He gripped his head.

“Take your time.” Dr. Gelcro said gently. “Let the words flow forth.”

Snap swallowed hard. “She said it won’t become a distant memory, and then she put her hand on my head... then I passed out...and I woke up at the hospital.” He licked his lips nervously, his eyes darting left and right. He looked up at him. “The rest you know.”

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. He didn’t say a word. He leaned away from Snap, pressing his back against the bunk bed. Indeed, he did know how the rest went down, at least...enough of it to make a conviction. His mind swirled with thoughts as he realized the implications of what Snap said. If they were true, and after what he smelled, and the device, which only would have knocked Snap out if he did have a tumor... he already had a good idea of what had happened.

It had been Sandra the whole time. Sandra was the one who organized the party. He bet if he searched Snap’s tree house, he would find proof of that. He’d find the card that Sandra herself had signed. Sandra was the one who caused the explosions that killed all those innocents. She had placed a tumor in Snap’s head. He didn’t know how, but somehow she had pulled it off.

He knew what this meant. He knew what all of this was pointing to. There was no denying it.

Sandra had framed Snap.

Not only did she frame him, but she had made it impossible for him to defend himself. She robbed him of those memories of that day. She had made him doubt himself. She had made almost everyone else doubt him, think he was insane or lying. She had manipulated everyone, all so that she could get away with murder while Snap was forced to remain here, locked up and rotting in prison.

And he...he had helped in this endeavor. The dog zoner could not deny it. He was quite guilty himself. He had believed that Snap was lying to everyone, and he had been so convinced that Snap was the one playing everyone for fools...when it was really Sandra who had been doing it. He couldn’t shake off the guilty feeling, knowing that he was, in part, responsible for the torment Snap had gone through. He realized that Dr. Crobat had been right the whole time. There really had been something wrong with Snap. There was something up with the scans. Snap really had been a victim this whole time.

He wished he had listened earlier. He wished he would have noticed something was wrong. Instead, he had fallen right into Sandra’s hands. He had believed the lies she set up for everyone. He thought that Snap was a monster, when in reality, he was being played like a pawn.

The realization that Sandra had caused all this pain and misery to Snap, to know that she was the one who was behind that machine...it boiled his blood. He couldn’t believe that anyone would do such a thing to another zoner. He was furious that he had been played, tricked. He wished he had seen it earlier, see through Sandra’s lies, expose her for the monster that she was....

But as angry and guilty as he felt, these would do nothing to stop Sandra. They would do nothing to expose to everyone just what kind of person she really was. They needed to take action, before she was allowed to continue on her horrid scheme.

The question was...just what was she up to?

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he saw the look on Snap’s face. He was trembling, his eyes wide in fear. He was obviously thinking about Sandra. The husky couldn’t blame him for being afraid. No one in ChalkZone City thought that Sandra could do something like this. She had always been so nice... If she could wipe Snap’s memory and force him to suffer all this pain... What else would she do?

Dr. Gelcro moved in closer. He rested down on one knee beside the small zoner. He reached forward, his fingers gently squeezing his arm. Snap looked up at him and cringed. Dr. Gelcro sighed sadly. He had a feeling Snap would not fully recover that quickly from the way he had treated him. It would take a little longer.

“Don’t worry, Snap. She won’t hurt you again.” Dr. Gelcro said, smiling gently. “I promise.”

Snap looked at him wide-eyed. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. Now that I know the truth, she won’t get far.” Dr. Gelcro assured him. “And...I...” He bit his lip, turning his head away. Guilt washed over his face. “I’m...sorry...for the way I treated you. It was wrong of me to do.”

Snap didn’t say a word. He stared at the dog zoner for several moments. Then he smiled. Still no words spoken. But Dr. Gelcro didn’t need them to know what the zoner was thinking. Snap had forgiven him. The realization of this caused him to smile, and he felt some weight being lifted off his shoulders.

He soon frowned softly. There was still work to be done. Sandra was out there, somewhere. He still had no clue what she might be up to. What was she using the machine for? How many more innocents did she plan on killing? What was her ultimate scheme? That was what they had to find out.

Dr. Gelcro was about to tell Snap to get up when he realized his ankle was hurt. He looked at it intently, realizing that it appeared dislocated. His eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. He knew who was responsible for this. He shot a glare over at Taima. The stick figure winced and backed off. Dr. Gelcro watched him for a few seconds, making his displeasure known. He then looked down at Snap sadly.

“Snap, we need to go talk to the head warden.” Dr. Gelcro said. “We need to tell him what’s been going on.”

“I-I can’t...” Snap whimpered softly. He held onto his leg. “M-My ankle..”

“I know. I’ll take care of it.” Dr. Gelcro said. He reached over towards Snap. Seeing Snap cringe, he said, “Please don’t struggle. Try to relax. I won’t be able to do it if you move around too much.”

“Is it going to hurt?” Snap asked softly.

“It might. It will hurt less if you don’t move.” Dr. Gelcro said. “Do you understand?”

“Y-Yeah..” Snap said.

Dr. Gelcro gently grabbed Snap by his shoulders. He pulled him away from the bed. Then, carefully supporting him as he went, he lowered the zoner towards the ground. He pushed his hands underneath Snap’s body and lifted him up. He wanted to keep Snap’s body straight, as if he lifted him straight up, he would have aggravate the injury.

Once he had Snap on the bottom bunk, he moved around and crawled in from the front. Snap’s legs were facing him. He reached forward and grabbed Snap’s leg. He stopped when he saw how much he was wincing in pain. He bit his lip, realizing he may need extra help. Snap might not be able to hold still, and if he struggled too much, he might hurt himself more. He didn’t want to do it, but there was really only one person he could ask for assistance here.

“Hey you.” Dr. Gelcro turned to Taima. He looked over at him. “Yeah you. Come over here.”

Taima hesitated. He didn’t waste much time, though, and he went over towards him slowly. He had an uncertain look on his face. He kept his head turned away, not looking at either of them.

When he arrived, he said, “...what did you want me to do..?”

Dr. Gelcro pointed his fingers towards Snap and said, “Hold him still. I need to reduce his dislocated leg.”

“O-Okay...” Taima said.

Snap whimpered in fear as Taima came close. The tall zoner hesitated, biting his lip, something like guilt washing over his face. A glare from Dr. Gelcro prompted the zoner to move forward. Snap attempted to struggle as Taima was getting closer, but a few soft words of comfort from Dr. Gelcro seemed to be enough to calm him down.

When Taima got close enough, he grabbed Snap’s arms and held them down with one hand. He then used his other hand to press down on his chest and stomach, pushing him against the bed.

With Snap secured now, Dr. Gelcro turned his attention to Snap’s dislocated ankle. He grabbed onto it, one paw gripping the bottom part of his leg, the other wrapping around his foot. He knew he was aggravating the burn injuries, but there was little ways to do this without touching the damaged skin, and he had forgotten to bring numbing needles. He felt bad about hurting Snap. He could see the pain in his eyes as he applied pressure to his leg. But this had to be done.

“Close your eyes, Snap, and take a deep breath. Try to relax.” Dr. Gelcro said. “I will make this as quick as I can.”

Dr. Gelcro kept his firm grip on the leg. He mustered up strength in his arm, preparing for the action that needed to be done. He took a few breaths himself. He gave one more sympathetic look to Snap before he took action. With one swift motion, he twisted the ankle, and there was a loud crack.

sss

He couldn’t believe it. It had to be some kind of lie, right? Or maybe he misheard? There’s no way that...

It could all be a lie, yeah. The doctor, he could have been lying. Maybe he was in cahoots with Snap the whole time. Maybe this was all part of their scheme. Snap could have allies everywhere. Anyone of the zoners could be an ally in disguise. The ones in the mob he was in, they could have been faking it.

But...what if it was true? What if Snap really had been framed? What if he was an innocent, just like the other zoners who had perished in the flames? What if, this whole time, they had been played, tricked by someone none of them thought would do something like this? The possibilities moved through his head, shaking him in a cold chill.

Taima was sitting on the bottom bunk, his head lowered. His hands gently gripped the bed, his wide eyes staring at nothing. If the other prisoners were speaking, he wasn’t hearing them. He was lost in his own thoughts.

Today hadn’t exactly turned out how he thought. Then again, how could he have prepared for a visit from the doctor? How could he have predicted that said doctor would have shot Snap, seemingly curing him? What could he have done to prepare for the story that Snap had given shortly after? It was all..so much to take in.

Right now, he was alone in the cell. A short time ago, Dr. Gelcro had fixed Snap’s leg, popping the ankle back into place. Snap had screamed in pain and nearly passed out. Not long after that, the doctor took him and left the cell to go speak to the head warden, leaving him alone.

Taima was grateful for the solitude. He..he needed some time to think. There was a lot to take in.

Was it..was it possible that he had been tormenting the wrong zoner? The thought left a bad taste in his mouth. He resisted the urge to throw up. He found it hard to believe that they all had played right into Sandra’s hands. There was still no proof, and a part of him wanted to believe that Snap was behind all this, and that he was just trying to trick them. But...there was still a chance that he was telling the truth. Should he really dismiss it all, or should he take it into consideration?

Was it really right of him at all to hurt someone like that? Should he have controlled himself more? Perhaps... It was often hard to control the desire for revenge. He thought he had been doing the right thing by hurting the one he felt was responsible.

But what had that done to him in the end? It made him look like a monster. Now he understood why some people say that true strength comes from inaction in the fact of temptation. He had given into the desire of revenge and tortured another zoner just to get back at them. And, in the process, he turned himself into a monster. He had become the very thing he hated. There was no excuse for his behavior.

Galena...what would she think of him now? Those kids were right. She wouldn’t agree to this. She would look upon him in shame and disgust. She was too sweet to do something this horrible. She had looked up to him, but if she saw what he had become... She’d probably disown him and he would not blame her.

Tears flowed from Taima’s face. Guilt flowed through him, twisting his stomach. He felt a sob crack at his throat. He pulled his legs onto the bunk bed. He leaned his body forward and he rested his chin on his knees.

There was no one to blame but him. He had initiated those horrible attacks on Snap. Regardless if he were innocent or guilty, Taima realized that hurting Snap was the wrong thing to do. He closed his eyes, letting the tears of shame sting his face. He ignored what the other cellmates said as he cried to himself.

In seconds, he rolled to the side, landing on the bed. He sniffled and curled his body inward. He became lost in his thoughts, lost in his tears and crying, and just laid there. The cell filled with the echoes of sobs, and this time, it wasn’t Snap who was crying.

sss

“Absolutely not.” Okoth said, folding his arms, his dragon tail twitching. “I cannot allow it.”

“What?! Why not?!” Dr. Gelcro snarled at him.

“Because...” Okoth glanced down at Snap. And then back to Dr. Gelcro. “It is all circumstantial. I can’t just let him walk free that easily. You need to provide proof.”

“I just told you what happened!” Dr. Gelcro snapped at him. “Are you saying it’s not good enough?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Okoth growled.

Snap watched this dislpay in silence. He hadn’t attempted to speak. He was in too much pain, too stunned, do think of what to say. He feared he might end up making things worse. He knew that he was hated here. He had seen the way the zoners here looked at him. Would they take anything he said seriously? Probably not.

He was still trying to recover from what had happened recently. This day...it had been some rollercoaster. He had been tortured by Taima again. The stick figure had dislocated his ankle. The pain from that radiated through his leg, making him whimper. Then Dr. Gelcro showed up and shot him with something that made the tumor in his head go away. Dr. Gelcro had apparently realized he was innocent and came to help him. The memories all flowed back through him, and Snap told the husky everything. Then Dr. Gelcro, with Taima’s help, had reduced his ankle, which was incredibly painful, and now here they were, trying to speak to the head warden.

Snap had to lean against his cane to keep himself from falling over. Even then, he could feel the pain moving through his legs, especially the one with the recently reduced ankle. Tears of pain formed in his eyes as he tried to cope with it. It wasn’t as bad as before. He wasn’t going to pass out or anything. But it was still horrible.

He watched as Dr. Gelcro tried to reason with the warden. Okoth seemed hellbent on keeping him in prison. Dr. Gelcro had told him all about what Sandra had done, and how she had been tricking and lying to them all. But Okoth wouldn’t have any of it, and insisted that they provide proof. How they were going to do that, he wasn’t sure.

“Come on now, be reasonable.” Dr. Gelcro pleaded. “Let him go. He doesn’t belong here.”

Okoth shook his head. He bared his sharp teeth. “That isn’t the way things are run around here.”

“But he is innocent!” Dr. Gelcro cried.

Okoth snorted. “It doesn’t matter. The law is the law.” He pointed a finger at the husky. “If you want him to be able to leave, you need to provide a good case. Besides...” He folded his arms against his chest. “The runt needs to be present at the trial tomorrow. There’s no getting around that.”

“Do you have any idea what Sandra is going to do?!” Dr. Gelcro leaned closer, staring at the dragon intently, his face close to his.

Okoth narrowed his eyes. “No....” He leaned forward. He pressed a claw against Dr. Gelcro’s shoulder, causing the husky to wince. “But neither do you...” The dragon pushed the husky back. “So go trample on your own tail.”

Snap watched this in silence. The mention of Sandra sent a cold chill down his spine. He still found it hard to believe that she had been the one to do this to him the whole time. She was the one who had tormented him, hurt him, made him forget...and all this time, he thought that...

Snap found it hard to keep back the tears of anger and betrayal. He wasn’t able to stop a few from escaping his eyes, rolling down his cheeks, staining his orange prison uniform. He could feel the burning anger grind at his stomach, trying to claw its way out. He could feel his body shake a little as he realized just how much he had been manipulated and fooled.

He thought he could trust Sandra. He thought that she was a friend. He thought he could tell her everything. She had acted like she had cared about him. She comforted him in his time of need. She had offered help where others turned their backs on him. And to learn that it was all a filthy lie... He couldn’t help but form a fist with his free hand, shaking it.

How could she do this to him? How could she hurt him so much? He had helped her. He had tried to be her friend. He thought they were friends. She had been grateful for his help. And this was how she treated him? By using him as a pawn to escape trouble? It was sickening...

He needed to confront her. He needed Sandra to listen to what he had to say. There was a lot he wanted to tell her. He needed to spread the word of the truth so that they all knew what kind of person she was. She needed to be brought to justice so that all those who suffered because of her could finally get some closer.

Despite the fact that he was still reeling from the betrayal and hurt, even though a part of him was still stunned and shocked by this revelation, he knew what had to be done. He knew that Sandra needed to be arrested. He pushed aside his own personal feelings, filling his insides with the drive and determination to finally close this case once and for all.

But before he can do that, he needed to get out of this place. He needed to convince Okoth. He stared at the dragon, watching as he continuously argued with Dr. Gelcro. He bit his lip. He hoped that a solution was figured out soon.

sss

“Mint!” Rudy shouted in horror as he and Penny watched the terrifying scene.

“Stop it, Sandra!” Penny pleaded with her, but the dragon simply ignored her. “Please! Stop it!”

But Sandra didn’t listen. She paid little attention to what Rudy and Penny were saying. Her eyes were focused solely on Mint. There was a primal look in her eyes, the urge to take action. And it was clear that nothing was going to shake her from this. Not even a threat.

Rudy felt his heart pound against his chest. He watched the scene before him, unable to look away. Sandra was attacking Mint. She knocked him into the ground, and was beating him with one of his own crutches, one of the crutches that had been drawn for him. Again and again, she slammed it into his back. Each time it hit, Mint would let out a cry of pain. He struggled on the ground, trying to get away, but it was no use. Sandra had him pinned down affectively. He was not going anywhere.

The scene before him made his heart ache. Seeing someone, especially a friend, getting hurt like this was too much for him to bear. He wanted to do something, he wanted to go get Mint out of there. But he couldn’t, and neither could Penny. Despite their strong desire to save Mint, there was nothing they could do.

During the fight, after she had knocked Mint back off his crutches, Sandra had noticed them attempting to help their friend. She would have none of it, and she used her healing powers on them again. The two screamed as they fell to the ground, and before they knew it, Sandra had tied them up. Where she got the rope was not of their concern. What they were more worried about was the fact that Mint was in trouble, and they could do nothing now that their arms were tied behind their backs and their magic chalk confiscated.

Mint had fought bravely against her. Despite his predicament, he had still held his ground pretty well. He had managed to draw a few things to help in his fight against Sandra, such as a robotic constricting snake and a self-shooting water balloon. But nothing held her back for long, and she managed to gain the upperhand.

Rudy remembered the anger he felt when Sandra decided to play unfair and used her powers to strike pain into Mint. This distracted the boy long enough for her to get his magic chalk away from him, rendering him even more helpless. She picked up one of his crutches and began to hit him with it.

Mint was still on the ground, struggling, crying out in pain. He looked up at Sandra, making pleas for mercy. She ignored them all and just continued to strike him as if he said nothing. She growled at him, baring her sharp teeth. It didn’t seem like she was going to stop anytime soon.

“Sandra! Stop it!” Rudy shouted as loud as he could.

Sandra’s ears twitched at this. But she did not stop. Not yet. She pulled the crutch up once more, and, with a snarl, struck down. It hit against the side of Mint’s head. The young teenager’s body stiffened up at this and he let out a howl of pain. Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at just how hard he had been struck. It was a miracle he didn’t pass out.

At least, Sandra appeared to listen to them. She let out a few growls before she got up from Mint. She took a few steps back away from him, glaring at him for a few moments. Mint looked up at her and let out a pained whimper. She growled at him, causing him to cringe. Satisfied by this reaction, she smirked and turned away from him. She headed back towards Rudy and Penny.

“How could you do that...?” Rudy hissed at her. “How could you beat up someone who missing part of their leg?”

Sandra tilted her head, then shrugged. “Well, he was armed. So it wasn’t like he was helpless or anything. Besides...” Her ears lowered. “The brat was asking for it.”

“He was just trying to help us!” Penny cried. “You were the one who...”

Sandra cut her off. “He should have kept his mouth shut. He was spilling nonsense.”

Rudy growled at this. “He was just telling the truth! He was calling you out on the horrible things you did!”

Sandra waved a dismissive hand. “All rubbish talk. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about...” She folded her arms against her chest. “You all don’t know what you’re saying. None of you understand where I’m coming from, nor will you even try. How sickening...”

Rudy would have formed a fist and slammed it into the ground if he weren’t tied up. “What are you talking about?! You’re the one who committed those crimes! You’re the one who tormented our friend! You’re the one who beat up a disabled person! And you have the gall to say we just don’t understand?!”

Sandra stared at him, glaring softly. She curled her lip up partially, showing her sharp teeth. “I already tried explaining it to you. And all you care about is...”

“We care about helping our friend!” Penny snapped at her.

“Indeed you are. So am I.” Sandra said. “I am helping Snap. I am trying to make him see the error of his ways. I want him to know how I felt when he destroyed my machine, when he betrayed me. I am teaching him an important lesson.” She raised her head up, her ears moving upwards. “Trust me, he will become a better person for it. Then we can all move on with our lives.”

“You’re disgusting...” Penny said, her eyes narrowed into slits. “You really think you’re doing Snap, or anyone else, any good? You hurt him! You hurt all of us! How does that help us?!”

Sandra chuckled. “Sometimes pain is the best motivator, girl. Pain sticks. By using pain, I can guarantee that he will never forget this experience.”

Rudy struggled against his binds. “You’re a monster!”

Sandra tilted her head at this, raising one ear up. “You still call me that? How rude...” She shook her head. She gave Rudy a saddened look. “I tried to explain to you what I’m doing, and how it’s for the best, you still won’t listen to me. You still view me as the enemy. I wish I didn’t have to be this way.” She let out a sigh, leaning back, her tail swishing slowly from side to side. “All I am doing is uploading a promise. How could you think that was so wrong?”

“Because you’re hurting people!” Rudy snapped, clenching his teeth tightly. “You’re tortuing innocents, and you killed so many! There’s no way to justify that!”

“Except with a promise.”

“Only in your twisted world!”

Sandra shook her head. “Still only looking at the small picture I see. I should have realized you would be too naive to realize the truth.” Sandra turned her back to them. “The world works in mysterious ways as you know. One of the things you should know is how it operates by rules that seem strange, but make sense once you know them. And one of the rules is that a promise should always be uphold, for it tests the integrity of the individual. Any shattering of the promise destroys that intregity and is a violation of the rules.”

“You can’t honestly believe that...” Rudy said softly.

“In what world does that make any sense?” Penny called out.

“Why, this one of course.” Sandra held up her hand in gesture. She looked up towards the ceiling. She gave a smile. “I learned that myself, not long after I was created. Honesty will get you somewhere. Keeping promises, no matter how brutal, will get you everywhere.” She looked over her shoulder at them, her smile broadening. She reached down with her tail and cupped Penny’s chin. “I wish you two would see reason. I wish you would understand what I was trying to do.” She then cupped Rudy’s chin with her tail. He winced as the spikes were pressed against him. “We could all get along much better if you would take the time to see things from my perspective.”

“That would be a terrifying experience.” Rudy said bitterly.

Sandra narrowed her eyes and growled. Then she softened her expression quickly and gave a quick chuckle. “Sometimes, Rudy, your naivity amuses me.” She turned herself around. She raised her back up, her tail rising into the air. She took a step forward, one foot out in front of her, as she placed a hand against her chest, grinning. “You cannot blame me for the rules. I didn’t create them. I simply follow them.” With that, she whirled around and began to walk away.

“You bitch...” Rudy growled under his breath.

Sandra raised her ears at this, freezing in her spot. She turned her head and glared down at Rudy. “What was that...?”

Rudy didn’t bother to answer her. He simply glared back at her, baring his teeth. He made it fully clear that he was not happy with her. Penny did the same. Even Mint and Doofus Rudy, who were both terrified, were glaring at her. Sandra hardly paid attention to them, and stared only at Rudy, growling softly.

Rudy would never understand the way zoners like Sandra thought. He couldn’t understand just how she could be created with this kind of mindset, or what drove her to adopt such a heinous way of thinking. Yeah, he would agree that keeping a promise was important, but not if it meant hurting someone. How could Sandra think like this? How could she twist the meaning of a promise and use it to harmful ends?

It was sickening how she kept on trying to justify her actions. It boiled his blood knowing that she was doing whatever she could to justify what she did. She refused to see that she was wrong. She refused to accept that it was she who had been mistaken. She didn’t see faults in her own actions, yet she saw plenty of them in others.

She was a sick, vile person, a twisted fiend. She needed to be locked away, where she couldn’t hurt anyone again. He struggled harder, trying to get free. He was supposed to be the guardian for ChalkZone, its protector. He had to save it from this new threat. He just had to...

Sandra looked like she was going to snap at them again, but she appeared to have calmed herself down. She was looking at him with that saddened expression from before. He did not give her any sympathy. “You should just relax. Snap’s torment will end soon. I’m certain he’ll see the light, and he’ll apologize to me when he sees what he has done.”

“Apologize to you?!” Penny cried in shock. “How about you apologize to him!”

“Because I am doing nothing wrong.” Sandra said simply.

Although Rudy wanted to retort, he held back. Sandra was not going to listen. He had something else he wanted to say. “You are sure he would apologize to you?”

“Of course. He is my friend after all.” Sandra said. Rudy and Penny growled at this, Mint and Doofus Rudy looking at her in disgust. Of course she would still try to claim she was Snap’s friend. “After he apologizes and I forgive him, we’ll mend everything up and it’ll be fine.”

“What if he doesn’t learn his lesson?” Rudy asked, narrowing his eyes into slits. “What if we turn out to be right? What then?”

Sandra widened her eyes in shock at this. She seemed stunned, as if she hadn’t expected that kind of question. After she recovered ,shaking her head once, she replied, “Then I guess I have no choice but to kill him.” Rudy widened his eyes in horror, his friends looking equally terrified. “I can make sure he gets convicted and dies of lethal injection.”

“How dare you!” Shouted Penny.

“How could you do that?!” Rudy snapped.

Sandra cocked an eyebrow. “Hey, I didn’t invent the way the world works. It is you two...” She pointed at them. “..who brush off the rules like they are nothing. You’re both disgusting...” She snarled at them for a few seconds before she smiled again. “But good news. I won’t let your friend go to waste if I decide I should mercy kill him.”

“Mercy kill?!” Rudy struggled harder. “You call this mercy?!”

Sandra chuckled at this. She then went on with what she was talking about before. “You see, if I do end up killing Snap, I will use his meat in a new recipe.” Rudy and his friends stared at her in horror. “Nothing tastes better than the meat from a friend. Especially a friend who is terrified.” She put her fingertips together. “Oh I’m sure my customers will love it!”

Rudy couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. Sandra..she truly did have a sick mind. He exchanged glances with his friends, including Doofus Rudy. All of them had a message of horror and disbelief in their eyes. But also anger. They were all furious with what this monster had done, furious that she is acting like she was doing nothing wrong.

How could she treat a friend like this? How could she treat anyone like this? She didn’t care about Snap. She didn’t care for his safety. She just saw him as a piece of meat. She dehumanized all the zoners, seeing them as walking hamburgers. They wouldn’t be surprised if she began to see humans as a delicacy, too, wanting to try to eat them sometime. A risky move due to the Real World properties. But they didn’t doubt that she would be crazy enough to try something like that.

Rudy was not going to let her get away with this. He was not going to let her kill Snap. He was not going to let her continue to torture him all for some stupid promise. He was not going to give her a chance to hurt any other zoners. He would stop her.

Somehow, someway, he would.

“S-Snap would..” Doofus Rudy spoke up. Sandra looked over at him. “If he found out what you did to Doofus Penny, he would run away from you. H-He’s too smart to think you’re a friend. A friend does not eat a friend.”

Sandra stared at him, twitching her once. “And you are an expect?” She said as she moved her body around to face him.

Despite his fearful expression, Doofus Rudy was putting up a front. He nodded his head in confirmation. “He would report you. He’s a good citizen. He’d call the cops and send you away.”

Sandra narrowed her eyes. “What would you know about friendship? You’re just a worthless little retard. You have no place in this world. Your only use...” Her mouth ticked into a dark smile. “...is food.”

Rudy, Penny, and Mint gasped in terror as Sandra began to advance on the little zoner.

Doofus Rudy widened his eyes in fear. He attempted to get up. He screamed as he fell back down, pain still wracking and twisting through his body. He looked up at Sandra, shivering. “Please, don’t hurt me...”

Sandra just smiled twistedly. “You have no friends. No one cares about you. They just see a stupid little boy running around, surprised that he’s still alive. Let me rectify that...” Doofus Rudy widened his eyes, staring at her pleadingly. “You are just cattle. So be a good little boy and let me...harvest you.” Her voice got deep and growly at this. “Allow me to give you a real purpose in ChalkZone.”

“N-No..please...” Doofus Rudy pleaded. But Sandra did not listen to him.

“Leave him alone!” Penny cried.

“S-Stop...!” Mint managed to say, seething in pain.

“Don’t do it!” Rudy shouted, his eyes wide.

But their cries fell on deaf ears. The only thing the human children could do was watch in terror as Sandra advanced menacingly towards Doofus Rudy, the intent to kill shining brightly in her eyes.