Sinful Behaviors

ZONERS ARE GOING MISSING?:




Penny tried to digest everything that they had been told. Her fears regarding Cosmo intensified when she had seen what he did to ChalkZone years ago. And it was unsettling that he was regaining his memories of the location. Just how much more dangerous could he get the more he was able to recall? Would he use the black chalk once again? Would he use it to corrupt Rudy?

Yes, that might have been what he was trying to do this whole time. She had no idea how much he recalled when he connected Rudy to Skrawl. But if the cure was black chalk, it wouldn't be farfetched that he did that on purpose so Rudy would have to use the dreaded chalk to disconnect. And using the chalk easily corrupted artists. If even the sweetest kids could be corrupted, what chance did Rudy stand?

The thought made her shudder. The idea that she could lose her best friend, mentally, to something like that, and knowing that, according to Biclops, there was no way to reverse it, it frightened her. She didn't want to risk losing Rudy to this.

There had to be some other way to free Rudy from the connection that Cosmo had placed on him. She didn't want to believe that only the black chalk was the cure. Maybe if she asked around, someone else could provide an alternative way. She knew she wouldn't be the only one who would love for there to be another way. She glanced over at Rudy as they walked along the grassy field.

Rudy looked pretty down after the chat with Biclops. He hadn't spoken a word since speaking with the giant. She remembered the look of horror he had on his face when he learned about the so-called 'cure'. He looked more terrified than her. It was he who needed a cure, not her.

She silently wished that it was she who was afflicted with this connection, not Rudy. The teenager had done so much for ChalkZone. He had known it for longer than she had. After all his heroics and doing what he could for the people here, she found it totally unfair that he had to suffer something like this.

Yet, that wasn't the only thing on the boy's mind. Biclops was unable to provide a definite course of action for Snap, other than to find him quickly and rescue him. They weren't expecting him to be able to come into the real world, so that didn't bother them. But the fact that he wasn't able to tell them anything that would make rescuing Snap easier was a downer. Then again, it was to be expected. The giant had not encountered Cosmo in years and had no idea what he was like now. Perhaps it had been wishful thinking that Biclops had some kind of master plan they could use to save Snap.

Rudy wanted to go on a walk to clear his thoughts and think of the next course of action. She was happy that he hadn't given up. That wouldn't be like him if he did. He and Snap were like brothers. If Rudy did something so crazy as to give up, she would snap him out of it. After all, Snap was like a brother to her as well. Sure she teased him from to time, but she still cared a lot for him.

It did feel strange walking through ChalkZone without Snap. Every second they took a step, she couldn't help but imagine hearing Snap calling out to them and trying to get them to go on another crazy adventure. And each time she thought she genuinely heard him, she had to resist turning her head, because everytime she did, she would find there was no one there. Disappointment would grip her heart, and she'd have to struggle not to let a tear pass through her eyes.

Penny was about to say something to break the silence when she heard someone calling out their names. She and Rudy stopped and turned to see who it was. They could see Rapsheeba running towards them. She was waving her hand at them to get their attention. She had a terrified look on her face. Something was wrong.

"Rudy! Penny!" Rapsheeba called out.

"Rapsheeba? What's wrong?" Rudy answered as he and Penny took a few steps towards the singer.

"It's...it's..."

Rapsheeba couldn't complete her sentence. She had to stop a few feet in front of the teenagers. She put her hands on her knees and panted a few times. Judging from this and the fact her face was reddened, she must have been running for quite sometime to find them.

This left Penny wondering what could have happened. She knew Rudy thought the same thing. Something had to have spooked or horrified Rapsheeba enough for her to go out of her way to find them. Had she been running the whole time? How long had she been looking for them?

When Rapsheeba caught her breath, she looked at the teenagers and spoke with a tone of dread in it. "Zoners are going missing!"

"What?!" Rudy and Penny cried in unison.

"Blocky, Lars, and Bathub Granny all disappeared without a trace!" Rapsheeba cried in terror. "They vanished into thin air!"

"Vanished in thin air...?" Penny breathed, not believing what she was hearing.

"Yeah! And I heard some other zoners, such as Barney the fuschia velociraptor and Lenny the cheetah and plane crossover, have also disappeared in that same spot!"

"Wait..." Rudy said. "Same spot? Are you saying they all disappeared in the exact same location?"

Rapsheeba nodded her head. "Yeah." She pointed her finger in the direction. "Down that way. I can take you to it. But be careful!" Rapsheeba said, motioning with her hands. "I don't want you to disappear as well!"

"Before you do," Rudy said. "We'll head down to warn the other zoners. I still need to tell them about Cosmo."

Rapsheeba looked at him. "Cosmo? Is he the one behind this?"

Rudy nodded his head. "I am certain it is. He's the one who captured Snap." Rapsheeba's eyes widened. Rudy narrowed his eyes. "And from the sound of it, he isn't stopping there."

Penny looked at Rudy. He had a look of determination on his face. It was clear he was not going to let anymore zoners fall prey to whatever plan Cosmo had in mind. He wasn't able to save Snap or the others. But he still had time to warn the other zoners before it was too late. If they were on high alert, it would be harder for Cosmo to capture them.

The situation got worse from before. It was bad enough when it was Snap who was in danger. The idea that Cosmo went and captured more zoners was nerve rattling to her, and she was certain Rudy thought this as well. What did Mr. Cosmo want with more zoners? What was his big plan? She shuddered to think that he was just going to kill them all off just to show how powerful he had gotten. Or maybe he was going to torture them. She didn't know which scenario was worse.

"I agree." Penny said. "The sooner we tell the others, the more time they will have to prepare in case Cosmo shows up here again."

"But that's just it..." Raspheeba said. "No human has been entering ChalkZone. No one except you two." She pointed at the two teenagers. "And no one here thinks either of you did it. We just know that zoners disappear in the same place. And they never reappeared."

"He never set foot in ChalkZone?" Penny asked, surprised. She found it hard to believe that the zoners disappeared in thin air. She thought Rapsheeba was exaggerating. But if Cosmo hadn't been in ChalkZone, just how were they disappearing?

"Yeah!" Rapsheeba said. "I didn't believe it myself, but I was on a stroll here earlier and I saw Blocky just..vanish. It wasn't all at once. I could see his body slowly fading, as if he were walking through an invisible opening."

Rudy's eyes widened. "Invisible opening?"

Rapsheeba nodded grimly. "I haven't seen him since. I am sure that is how the others vanished as well."

Penny had a dreadful thought. It was almost unspeakable. She didn't know how it was possible. The thought, it was inconceivable. But she wondered if it was, somehow, true. It would explain the disappearances. It would explain why they never came back. And it would all be connected to Mr. Cosmo.

It seemed Rudy had the same thought as her.

"Penny, do you think that..." He started to say. "..that the reason the zoners are disappearing is because of..."

"..because of an invisible portal...? Yeah..." Penny nodded her head slowly.

"An invisible portal? Are you joking?" Raspheeba said, a bit of a hopeful tone to her voice.

"I wish we were..." Rudy spoke softly. "If it's true..." He looked at the others with wide eyes. "We need to warn the other citizens of ChalkZone right away!"

With that, the trio rushed off.

sss

Ms. Saffron stood frozen in the hallway. She could hear the cries of not just one chalk entity, but multiple ones, wanting to get out. Some were frightened, others angered. She guessed there were at least twenty chalk people now trapped, along with Snap.

And it wasn't like she didn't see this coming. She had spoken to Mr. Cosmo earlier, who told her to 'prepare for company'. She didn't understand what he meant at first. But then she started to see Draow dragging off some kind of large sac. She followed him and saw that it was more chalk people, tossed into rooms like Snap had been.

She didn't understand the meaning of this. It was clear that this is what Mr. Cosmo wanted to see her about. He wanted to inform her that Snap will not be their only prisoner. But he never made it clear exactly what he wanted them for. At least with the blue one, she knew that it was to try to convince Rudy to his side. That at least made sense. But this, capturing all these zoners, just what was the purpose behind it? How would Cosmo benefit from this? What had he planned?

Those thoughts bothered her ever since she had found out. She was uncomfortable in the hallway now. She wasn't so much driven by her fear of the mysterious chalk entities. It was more that she didn't know what Cosmo wanted with them. At least, she didn't know, until she had done some snooping herself.

Prior to coming down here, she had found a way to see inside the locked off room. Mr. Cosmo had recently entered, probably to check on the machines that she so often heard rattle through the walls. She had snuck forward, being as quiet as she could, to get a closer look. Mr. Cosmo had left the door partially open. She didn't know if this was accidental or if it was part of a plan. Regardless, she still decided to have a peak. After all, Mr. Cosmo saw her as an ally and was less likely to get upset if it was her who had peaked in.

When she got a look inside, she was horrified. There was a zoner in there, what looked like a large white bear. Mr. Cosmo was dragging it over to the machine. She didn't dare watch the rest of it. She heard the sound of a scream. It was brief, but unsettling nonetheless. She didn't want to stick around. She rushed out of there as soon as she could.

What Mr. Cosmo did to the zoner, while it didn't kill it, she still regarded it as something worse than death. Is that what this man had planned for the other zoners? Was he going to do this to all of them? To Snap as well?

She paused for a moment. Did she really just show concern for Snap just now? She wanted to deny it. He was something drawn. He wasn't alive in the same sense she was...or was he? She felt the doubts returning to her mind. Could she really keep fooling herself into believing he wasn't alive? No one can die if they weren't alive first. No one could converse so dynamically if they weren't alive to understand emotion and to come up with responses that weren't rehearsed or programmed into them.

Or could he simply have been created that way? Rudy could have made Snap be able to communicate like a real person, without being 'real' himself. It was possible, she thought. Mr. Cosmo made it seem like practically anything was possible in a world of chalk where anything drawn comes to life. He seemed to indicate, and even shown in the case of Draow, that an artist can give any purpose, any abilities, any personality just by wishing for it when they create the chalk being.

Was Snap just another biproduct of this? Or was there something more to creating these beings that she thought? Was it possible that, regardless if a chalk entity had a purpose intended for them or not, they could develop their own personalities and still 'act alive'? Or rather, be alive?

Regardless of how she felt, she still felt bad for that white bear earlier. A part of her didn't want Snap to go through the same thing, should he be chosen for it. And the others... She didn't want to think about it.

Although she was not yet scheduled to bring any food to any of the zoners, she wanted to pay a visit to Snap. There was something about him that drew her to him. Something that was confusing, frightening, and yet fascinating. Despite being a chalk being, she found that she, in spite of her beliefs, enjoyed his company more than Mr. Cosmo's. She couldn't quite put her finger on why that was. Maybe it was his more pleasant personality compared to what she has seen Mr. Cosmo do.

She entered the room. She took notice on how Snap immediately got up out of his bed and went up to her, probably hoping for something to eat. Yeah, that had to be it. When he saw she had nothing, he frowned and walked away. It didn't look like anger. It looked more like he was just disappointed.

"Yeah, sorry. No food or drink this time." Ms. Saffron said. "But you can go on for a while longer without it, can't you? Not like you didn't eat for days."

"It might as well been that long." Snap said as he laid on his stomach on the bed. "That food wasn't very filling for me."

Ms. Saffron blinked at this. Just how much did this zoner eat? Did the boy drew him a 12 ft sub or something? She decided to ignore it and pushed it in the back of her mind. That wasn't really an important topic right now.

"I'll bring you more food later. I just..." She wasn't sure how to say it. "..I wanted to visit you."

Snap looked over at her, a perplexed look on his face. "Oh yeah? Why? Was there something you wanted to ask me?"

Although there was still a cautionary tone to his voice, Ms. Saffron noticed that, each time she visited Snap, he seemed to sound friendlier and friendlier towards her. She wasn't sure if it was because he was starting to trust her, if it was because he really didn't see her as so bad, or what. It was still nice, though. His aggressive tone he initially displayed towards her made her feel uneasy and further cemented in her head that zoners were dangerous beings.

But then he started to become nicer. He was still cautious of her, which was understandable. And the nicer he got, the more comfortable she was around him. Before, she wouldn't have dared enter the room without some food with her, as if she were trying to tame some wild beast. Now, she felt comfortable enough around him that she felt safe sitting down next to him without worry of him attacking her.

"Yes...I mean no...I mean..." Ms. Saffron stammered. "I just..don't know what to make of you, Snap. All this time, I thought people like you, made of chalk, weren't real. I mean, you were drawn weren't you? Sprung to life by an artist. How is that any different from an imaginary friend?"

Snap stared at her. She expected him to get angry at her and yell. But he was still calm. He gave a nod of understanding. "Yeah I know where you are coming from. You know, Rudy didn't always view me as 'real'."

This surprised Ms. Saffron. "He didn't?"

Snap nodded in response. "Yeah. He was..kinda like you actually. Well minus the whole 'afraid of chalk people' bit. He was never like that. But yeah, he thought that, because we were 'born' out of being drawn, rather than through...biological means...he thought we weren't really real." He gave a small smile as he continued, "That attitude of his did change pretty quickly, and he came to accept us as people, not as mere 'things'."

"So he mistreated you before?" Ms. Saffron asked.

"No, no, no! Nothing like that at all!" Snap waved his hands in front of him in protest. "He was always a nice kid. He and I were always pals ever since he first ceated me. But he was still so new to ChalkZone he just...wasn't sure how he should view us."

Ms. Saffron said, "I guess that's where I'm stuck at. A part of me wants to see you as real, but the other says I am only fooling myself."

Snap let out a chuckle at this. "Well sometimes you can't think too hard about stuff. Listen to your gut reaction. If you spend too much time trying to understand every little detail, you may miss out on the important things in life." He placed a hand on the woman's hand. "Feel that?"

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. The hand had a chalky feel to it. It also felt warm, something that stood out in stark contrast with the cool air that hung around the room.

"If I weren't here physically, you wouldn't be able to feel that, would you? In order for your hand to react to my touch, there has to be something for it to sense." Snap explained. "Now, you can sit there and question how this is possible, or you can accept reality as it is. That doesn't mean you are being gullible. But sometimes, in life, you have to accept things as they are instead of trying so hard to make sense of whatever you don't understand. You miss out on a lot of life if you do that too much."

The reporter thought about what the chalk...Snap told her. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Should she really let her brain keep asking all these questions? Was she showing weakness by accepting him as real despite the questions plaguing her mind? Could she really ignore how the conversation seemed too 'realistic' for him not to be real, all because her mind couldn't make sense of it all?

Snap wasn't done talking yet. The next thing he said, she wasn't expecting.

"Also, I wanted to apologize about earlier. When I questioned you about Mr. Cosmo. I hadn't meant to anger you. I know you said it was fine, but I still feel a bit bad about it. I hadn't realized I touched a sore spot with you. But please, hear me out." Snap said. He fumbled his two hands together as he thought of the words to say.

"Go on..." Ms. Saffron said softly, wanting to know more about what he wanted to say.

"It was sad hearing how things were for you, before you met this Mr. Cosmo person. However, even though I haven't known you for that long, I think you have more potential than you realize. I don't think you need Cosmo as much as you think. You are smart enough to pull off your work, your job, without his help. And if you start to believe in yourself, I'm sure your life will be much better." Snap rubbed the back of his head. "Okay that sounded a little...preachy I guess...but I hope you understand what I was trying to say."

Ms. Saffron just stared blankly at Snap. She wasn't sure what to think. A part of her wanted to be offended. She had been so grateful towards Mr. Cosmo for so long that the idea of her not needing him in the first place felt frightening to her. Yet, the blue boy's words sounded...encouraging, like she did have more potential than she gave herself credit for.

Then, out of impulse, she did something that neither she nor Snap could have predicted.

Taking care not to hurt him, she suddenly wrapped her arms around Snap and pulled him into a hug. Snap was stunned by this and didn't do anything to wriggle out of the embrace. She held onto him, gently squeezing him as she pressed her cheek against him. All the emotion she was feeling from earlier, the fear of the machines, what Cosmo wanted to do to the zoners, her confusion about Snap, it all manifested in the form of tears, which she tried so hard to hold back.

"I..uh..is something wrong?" Snap said nervously, obviously still in shock. "Did I say something?"

"I..I'm fine..." Ms. Saffron lied in a soft whisper. "I'm fine..." She continued to hug Snap. Though she was unsure of why she was doing it, she continued.

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE DONE:




The further they walked down the hallway, the creepier it got. Rudy had to summon all his strength not to look around at the place. The machines were bad enough, and while this wasn't particulary terrifying in itself, it was quite unsettling to say the least. He wouldn't have expected less from Cosmo. This place did a great job reflecting this man's personality.

The walls became smoother and more refined, with glowing edges and no grooves on the side. It was like he was worried about someone climbing the walls or something. There were multiple pathways, many of which were blocked off by clearly chalk-created force fields. Some of the fields stood out to Rudy. They looked like they had electrified water instead of the usual...whatever the other shields were made of. He wondered what they were used for.

The rooms they walked passed were largely empty. He guessed that he kept important stuff locked up in smaller rooms. Rudy supposed that made sense; keeping crucial machinery out in the open could make them easier targets for anyone wanting to destroy them. In these rooms, to get up to higher levels, platforms rose and fell in a rhythm. Even though the mechanics were probably as simple as an elevator going up and down, the look and feel of these platforms gave the whole place a futuristic vibe.

In a way, it reminded him kind of the Future Dome. There were all kinds of hi-tech gadgets there. There were stuff there that didn't work right. A lot of Craniac 4's robots didn't work so well. But looking around this place, Rudy had doubts that Craniac 4 could be responsible for any of this. It seemed too...clean was the only word he could think of. It looked like it was designed by a professional.

Rudy took notice of the ceiling. It looked like it had a lot of padding, honeycomb like in appearance. The honeycomb might have been just for looks, but it was clear it was thick. This might be why the workers above have no idea what's going on down here. The sounds may be too muffled. And he was certain Mr. Cosmo has his own power source, meaning that his electric bill was separate from the company's bill. That would help him to hide his work even from other people who use the same building. Clever jerk.

As they continued down, Rudy could have sworn he something move in the corner of his eye. He looked over, and saw nothing. He shrugged it off. Maybe he was just seeing things. No...there it was again. Something was moving around where he couldn't see, and when he turned his head, it wasn't there anymore. What was going on?

"Rudy..." Penny's voice came soft and low. She tugged at his sleeve. "Look over there..." She pointed to one side.

Rudy looked and he tried not to gasp in horror. He now saw the source of those images in the corner of his eyes. And now he wasn't sure if he really wanted to see this.

There were multiple zoners walking around dutifully, almost robotically and preprogrammed. They looked lifeless, even though they were clearly still alive. Some zoners they recognized immediately. Blocky, Lars, even Skrawl and his minions were here, doing whatever task Mr. Cosmo forced upon them. And what was even scarier is that they didn't look like they were really 'there'. Silent and machine-like in the way they moved, it sent chills down the teens' spines.

A few of the zoners had something sparkling on their heads. Lars was the first one they took notice of who had this. Most of them wore something dark blue around their ankles. A bracelet of some kind, the same kind they had seen earlier. Rudy guessed these, somehow, controlled the zoners. He didn't understand the head one. He saw nothing strapped there. A closer look might help.

They went down one more hallway. This one was kinda like a hexagon in shape with lights lining it. Some had a very faint red hue, and others a faint green hue. This hallway emptied into a relatively large room. It was smaller than the machine room, but it was still pretty big. It had a lower section with no features other than a platform and a black box-like thing in the corner. Up above, they could see a green-tinted shield that formed an enclosure.

As soon as they entered the room, there was a creak behind them. They looked over and saw metal bars rising from the ground. Penny was horrified. But while Rudy was also shocked, the impact was a little weaker on him. After being trapped before by bars blocking the exit, he wasn't surprised by this.

What did surprise him a little more was when Mr. Cosmo went over to the platform and activated it too fast for him and Penny to catch up. They craned their heads up as Mr. Cosmo got onto the high level, but not bothering to lower the platform for them. It was clear that they were exactly where he wanted. They had to prepare for whatever he was going to throw at them.

Rudy glared up at Mr. Cosmo, who had taken position in the shielded area. "Where is Snap?"

Mr. Cosmo smirked down at him. "Don't worry. You will see him soon enough. Just let me make an adjustment here and...there you go!"

The metal box they had seen earlier started to grow a little in size. Then it became taller at a quick rate before getting wider again. The black material pixelated and disappeared at a slow rate, from top to bottom. As the black disappeared, Rudy and Penny watched in fearful anticipation of what they were about to see.

What they saw was engraved in their heads, and it would not leave them for a long time, if ever.

Snap was on the ground, laying on his stomach. Bandages were wrapped around his body, but it did little to hide the severity of the wound. The entire back was coated red, some light red mixed in with dark red, and then what looked to be black. His hand had some cuts on it too. They weren't as bad, but they hadn't been treated and at least one cut looked like it was showing some early signs of mild infection.

Surrounding Snap was a shield, keeping Rudy and Penny from being able to get close to him. And he was laying so still... They couldn't tell if he was unconscious or not. His head was turned away from them. They would have moved around to see, but getting their feet to respond after see this was like trying to cut a dull knife through butter. The sight of it was just so horrific. How could anyone be this cruel to someone like Snap? Yeah he sometimes got on their nerves once in a while, but he meant well. He...he never did anything to deserve this.

Choking back tears, Rudy bravily walked around to look Snap in the face. When he did, he saw the blue superhero was unconscious. Part of him was relieved that, for the time, he wasn't in pain. But fear still gripped the boy like a vice. How badly hurt was Snap? Did he lose a lot of blood? Was he...was he going to wake up again...?

And his head...Rudy quickly noticed something sparking from it. He had seen it on the other zoners, but never close enough to see what it looked like. On Snap, it looks liked a flat gray disc that was placed in the middle of his forehead. But seeing a tiny trickle of blood coming from where the so-called disc was told him that it was much deeper than that. He would have thought Snap was dead if it weren't for his ribcage moving up and down slowly, if unsteadily.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Penny. She stared at him with wide, tearful eyes. She glanced down at Snap. She saw the thing in his head and put her hand to her mouth, gasping in horror. He wanted to comfort her, but there was nothing he could say. The two stared down at their fallen friend, trying so hard to fight back their tears.

"What..." Rudy started to say. His hands clenched into fists, trembling. His eyes closed tightly as tears dripped from them. He felt all the negative emotions bottling up inside of him, wanting to come out. He shot a hateful look at Mr. Cosmo. "..what the hell have you done to Snap?!"

"My my...what foul language you have there." Mr. Cosmo chuckled half-heartedly. He moved his hand towards where Snap lay prone on the ground. "He is alive. Don't worry. He doesn't have any life threatening injuries on him and..."

"What is that thing in his head?" Rudy demanded through clenched teeth. "Why did you put it there? And what happened to his back and hand? What have you done?!"

"Hmm so many questions..." Mr. Cosmo said slowly. He casually leaned against the forcefield in front of him. "I will answer those questions. First, his back. You have Draow to thank for that. He cut open the blue boy's back with one of his wing claws. It has been treated...just enough to make sure he doesn't die from it. I admit my dragging him around like a rag doll didn't help. May have reopened some of the cut. Oops." He said the last word with a mocking tone.

Rudy snarled at him, his body shaking in rage. Penny glared at him but she tried to look more composed than Rudy was, who looked like he wanted to tear into Mr. Cosmo.

"His hand is his own fault. I put some spikes on the underside of the door to discourage him from using his two dimensional powers and escaping. I see he was smart enough not to go much further, so only his hand is damaged." Mr. Cosmo said. During all this, he sounded a little too cheerful, like talking about pain and misery was normal for this sick and twisted man. "And now to address the thing in his head... You may have noticed some of the zoners you spotted wearing bracelets, such as..what did you call him..Skrawl. But others, like your friend there, have something in their heads."

"What are they?" Penny asked, her voice tense.

"I will not drag this on. They are mind control devices." Mr. Cosmo replied, smiling darkly. "The bracelets were my first try. They do the job just fine. But see, they can be easily taken off. So for your friend here, I needed something else. Something you can't just pull off. So I experimented on the white bear."

"Lars..." Rudy said, remembering seeing something spark from the bear's head.

"Yes, Lars. I used him to test a new type of mind control device. It was smaller, so it was easier to manifacture. And it goes straight into the brain." He smiled as he saw Rudy and Penny's faces grow horrified. "Not enough to kill, but enough that I can send my own electric signals to them, and force them to do whatever I want. And since it's in the head, you can't simply remove it by pulling it out. Not unless you want to kill them..."

Rudy's breath became shaky. He looked over at Snap. He didn't want to believe there was no way to free him. No, there had to be something he could do for him. But he can't even grab him...He couldn't ignore the feelings of helplessness as they started to grow inside of him.

Penny's composure started becoming lost. There was a tremble here or there. Rudy watched as she took a step in Mr. Cosmo's direction. Then she spoke in a hiss between her teeth. "You are a despicable, vile man..."

"Calling me names will get you nowhere." Mr. Cosmo said, waving off what Penny said with a motion of the hand. "Now...about that proposition..."

"I'm not striking a deal with you!" Rudy shouted, taking a step back. He looked over at Snap. "After what you did to him..." He whipped his head around to face Cosmo. "...you must be crazy to think I would work with you!"

Mr. Cosmo chuckled. "So defiant. It amuses me to see you are still in this state of mind. Not to worry...I may have a way to change all that." He laughed as the boy and girl glared at him. After he finished, a serious expression came onto his face. "I really wish you'd listen to me, boy. Your mind is too clouded by this percieved friendship you have with these creatures. I understood, oh so long ago, the purpose these creatures really fulfilled. I am simply harnessing their potential."

"You're using them like toys!" Penny snapped venom at the men.

"Yeah!" Rudy chimed in. "You are using them like slaves!"

"Slaves... Definition would be to use sentient beings to do your own bidding, used derogatory." Mr. Cosmo said calmly. "That...doesn't apply here. Chalk people are merely drawings that just seem life-like." He gave a small smile at Rudy, staring at him in the eyes. "And here you are, believing and wanting friendship with such worthless beings. If you could open your eyes and see the truth, you'd understand where I'm..."

"Shut up!"

Rudy never knew he could scream so loudly at someone, let alone be so angry with one person. Not even Skrawl, Mr. Wilter, or Reggie Bullnerd had ever angered him to this point. Even the antics of Vinnie and Terry seemed like harmless child's play compared to what Cosmo was doing.

He didn't like feeling this angry. He knew that if he let it consume him, he would be blinded by it and lash out violently. The result could be catastrophic and they may very well lose the chance to save Snap. He fought to keep it under control. The man's awful chuckle didn't help him any. It aggravated him, pissed him off further. He really wanted to punch this guy in the face, if he could get away with it.

In the midst of his anger and the thoughts encircling his mind, there was something he remembered he had forgotten about. This something was so shocking that it caused the anger to slowly melt away. He didn't say a word to Penny about it. Right now, it wasn't the time for this talk. Not in front of Mr. Cosmo, who may use it against him.

The pale portal...he had forgotten to erase it. How could he have been so stupid? His mind was so determined to get Snap back, that he had forgotten that he could erase the portal. That would have relieved Rapsheeba the job of putting up warning signs. At least no more zoners will fall into the trap, but still...why didn't he erase it...? Was he really that distraught that he wasn't thinking as clearly and being more prone to mistakes than he usually is?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Mr. Cosmo started talking again. He glared up at him, trying his best to hide his worry and confusion from a second ago.

"Just...how far have befriending these creatures gotten you?" Mr. Cosmo said with a sneer.

Rudy wasn't sure how to respond. "I...what...?"

"I know all about your struggles, boy. Or have you forgotten? Ms. Saffron told me how you reacted to being called a juvenile delinquent..." Cosmo chuckled at this, folding his arms up in a proudful manner. "The way you reacted...you were obviously hiding something. You were...too defensive. And you see...you only got in this mess because you waste your time being buddy buddy with such inferior beings..."

Unsure of what else to do, unsure of how to argue with the man, Rudy just spat out, "That's not true!" He doubted it would work. This man...he couldn't be reasoned with.

"Oh little boy..." Mr. Cosmo shook his head slowly, his voice ringing with disappointment. "You keep telling yourself that. But you cannot deny on where you are. Last in your class. Only a smidgin better than Reggie Bullnerd." He smiled when Rudy's head snapped towards him with a disgusted frown. "Yes, I predicted that you'd act like a tough egg to crack, based on what Ms. Saffron told me a few days ago. But gathering from her data, and from how you are acting towards me, it really wouldn't take much...would it...?"

Rudy didn't like how the man was sounding at this point. Penny was taking a few steps away. He found himself doing the same thing without really paying attention. This voice was dripping with an ominous feeling. All his gut feelings were telling him to run away.

But his feet suddenly were frozen. The rest of his body followed suit. He couldn't do anything, not even something as simple as wriggle his fingers. He stared at Mr. Cosmo as if the man had suddenly grown wings and was sweeping towards them with a large ray gun.

What the man was implying was scaring him. He had this twisted belief that he could be easily molded, changed into doing what he wanted. It sickened him to the core. He didn't know how Mr. Cosmo could think such a thing. Rudy would never join the forces of the likes of someone as disgusting as him. Oh how he wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face...

His thoughts went to what he had said about school. His body gave a shudder when he realized what Cosmo was implying there. He was trying to tell him, somewhat indirectly, that all his time in ChalkZone was affecting his grades.

And what scared him more about this was...Mr. Cosmo might have a point. He did spend a lot of time in ChalkZone. Maybe not as much, but he still went there whenever possible. He didn't do as much studying as he should. He forgoed chances of study and improving his grades for the opportunity to visit ChalkZone and his chalk friends. Could Mr. Cosmo be right? Could ChalkZone be the very reason he was flunking out of school?

He shook his head. No, that wasn't the reason. He couldn't allow Cosmo to make him blame ChalkZone for his hardships. He wouldn't lie and say he was doing just fine and dandy in school. But he knew ChalkZone was not to blame. The people there never made him come in; he made those decisions himself. His grade failures were because he wasn't put enough effort into studying, not because of him making friends in ChalkZone.

"You're wrong..." Rudy retorted back in a low voice. He clenched his hand, his fingernails digging slightly against the skin. Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow, but kept silent. Rudy used this silence to continue. "And you know what? It sounds like to me you don't understand the value of friendship. And hey, that's fine. When you're a monster, who needs friends right? But let me tell you something. These chalk people you enslaved, they've helped me out in the past. And Snap here, the one you kidnapped and tortured, is my closest friend I have in ChalkZone. And yes he is not technically human...but he is more human than you will ever be."

He paused for a moment. He glared at Mr. Cosmo. He gave a few seconds for the man to reply. Mr. Cosmo just waved a hand at him, gesturing for him to continue on with his rant. And so Rudy did.

"All this here, your machines and your ChalkZone slaves, attempting to brainwash me...You know what this all says about you?" Rudy said, his voice growing a little in volume as he gained more and more confidence to speak. "You're nothing but a coward, Mr. Cosmo. I know you could kill me quite easily. This place is well hidden. But if you were really all that, you wouldn't need the zoners to do anything for you. I rarely see you up on the front line. I bet you never fought anyone, face to face. You hid behind your creations and your lackeys years ago. And as soon as you were stripped of them, you were powerless. So tell me, Mr. Cosmo...given all that..." He took a step forward. "Why should I listen to you?"

Mr. Cosmo just glared at him. He looked visibly angry. Yet, when he spoke, he was still so calm and reserved. It sent chills down the two teenager's spines, causing them to shudder. "I will show you..." With that, he pushed a button.

Behind them, they heard a crackling sound. They turned and saw the shield around Snap had disappeared. The blue boy's eyes slowly opened up. At first, Rudy and Penny were happy to see him awake. But when he looked at them, right after the initial confusion, suddenly terror filled Snap's eyes.

"Rudy...Penny..." Snap whimpered through the pain and obvious knowledge of what was going to happen. "G-Get away...this is...a...t-trap...!"

The metal thing on his head sparked more intensively, causing him to scream as he was jerked to his feet like a puppet. Then, without warning, he lunged forward.

sss

Ms. Saffron wanted to bang her head against the wall a few more times. Her head was getting sore, but she didn't care. A few more times her head against the hard wall before she finally had enough and she slumped back into the bed. She wasn't hitting hard enough to damage her brain, but a part of her wondered if she deserved brain damage for what she had done.

How could she have been so foolish? She should have told Snap the truth. She should have warned him about what Mr. Cosmo had in store for him. If she had told him earlier, maybe things could have turned out different...

...no they wouldn't. She kept telling herself that. No matter what she told him, he still would have been taken to the same fate that Cosmo told her. Granted, she didn't know every little detail. She just knew that it was going to be horrible.

She didn't tell Snap for his own sake. She thought things would be better if he didn't know, so he could be more relaxed until the time came. But Mr. Cosmo had been right. It had made things so much worse. And the way he looked at her, a hurt look asking her 'why did you betray me?'...it stung her in the heart. She wanted so much to apologize to him. But he had been dragged away cruelly by Mr. Cosmo.

She had given chase to try to stop him. But Mr. Cosmo clearly had other plans. He must have taken notice to her getting 'too friendly' with Snap and worried she may do the same with the other prisoners. So he had slammed the door behind him and it had locked instantly. She pounded on the door, trying to pry it open. It wouldn't budge. She was trapped.

Saffron pressed her back against the wall the bed was placed against. She tilted her head upwards, staring at the damp-looking ceiling. She winced at the sight. She wondered if some of that dripped onto Snap while he slept. The thought made her shudder, thinking about how much that would have hurt him.

Before, her mind would tell her that it was just playing tricks on her. That Snap could, no way, be actually real. He was just a drawing. But the more she thought about it, the more she began to doubt that notion. The way he had reacted when Mr. Cosmo dragged him off. The screams he had emitted before finally falling silent...it reminded her too much of what happened to her as a kid, regarding an unfortunate bicycling accident.

It was right then and there she realized...that maybe, just maybe...she had been wrong about him, and of the other zoners as well. She could no longer deny what was becoming plainly obvious to her. The zoners were indeed alive...and she had helped Mr. Cosmo, who wanted to capture and enslave them...

But now she was trapped in this room. There was no way she could get out of this. The door was boobie-trapped. If she tried to stick her hand underneath, she would get cut up. Seeing what it did to Snap's hand, she didn't want to take that risk.

She looked at the door knob. There was a keyhole there. She did have a hairpin. Maybe she could...

No it wouldn't work. Just in movies. There was no way that it could work in real life...

Or could it? Ms. Saffron bit her lip as she looked down at her cellphone, which had no service currently. She looked at the time. Her eyes widened. This was around when Mr. Cosmo was going to begin part one of his two part plan with Snap. If she wanted to make a difference, she had to get out of here. She got out a hairpin and stared at it. She looked back at the keyhole.

Saffron knew she had to take the chance. She had to do something, and fast. She placed the hairpin in the knob's keyhole and attempted to unlock it.

I AM FULLY PREPARED:




Navigating the hallways was not going to be easy. Rudy knew this very well. Still, they had to keep moving. He had no idea how Skrawl and the Beanie Boys came to the rescue. They had been controlled by Cosmo and he doubted the man would have them attack him when things were going in his favor. Some outside force helped them.

He silently wondered if it was the artist that faced Cosmo in the past. Maybe he still had his memories in tact and finally realized what was going on and gave them a helping hand. Whoever had helped them, Rudy would be sure to give them a big thank you.

When the gate had opened, while Mr. Cosmo was still distracted with the remaining two Beanie Boys, Rudy called out to the others, including Skrawl, to run. Snap didn't seem to be controlled anymore and could move to his own accord. Penny helped him up to his feet and let him ride on her back. She held his legs while he put his arms around her neck. It was the only way he could be held without hurting him.

A few minutes after they started running, Snap had closed his eyes. Rudy couldn't blame him. The forced battle earlier took a lot out of him. The poor guy deserved a rest. This brief moment of relief would do him good, and give him some time to heal, even if it's just a little bit. Rudy only wished that they were out of the building so he can give Snap a place to lay down. Getting out of this building was going to be a challenge...

This place was quite massive and there were so many ways to turn. Rudy couldn't tell which path to take. He had a hard time remembering the way that Mr. Cosmo had led them. No matter which hallway he went down, nothing seemed familiar. He was greeted with more and more disturbing imagery. More blood on the ground. More zombie-like zoners walking about. Some hideous machinery being built. He thought he saw some large weapons as well. It was like this man was preparing for war...could that be true?

He didn't have time to dwell on it. They reached a deadend. Well almost. They could go left or right. Rudy chose left. Either way had the same potential of giving the same result; going somewhere they didn't know. Nothing looked familiar to him. And it was frustrating. The others were following close behind him. He knew they were counting on him to find the way out. Well maybe not Skrawl. He was only following him because he didn't have much of a choice.

When they came around another corner, everyone froze. Rudy widened his eyes. They all realized they had gone in a big circle. They were back where they were a short time ago. Rudy didn't know how it happened. He had made sure to take different routes as they traveled through. How did they all end up back here? Had Mr. Cosmo designed this place like some giant maze? Maybe if they had a map or something...

"Oh brillian plan, Rudy Tabootie!" Skrawl shouted. He walked up to Rudy and pressed a chalky finger against the boy's chest. "You've been leading us around and around! Are you sure you're trying to get us out of this dump, or are you trying to get us caught again?"

Rudy glared at Skrawl and took a step back. "Hey, don't blame me for this, Skrawl! I'm doing the best I can!"

Skrawl wasn't backing down that easily. "Why don't you draw one of your fancy gizmo things? Or are you afraid that they will not work? Just...like...Craniac..." He said in a low growl.

"I can't draw things in the real world, Skrawl!" Rudy paused. "Well I can, but they don't come to life here. Magic chalk's powers only work in ChalkZone! You should know that!"

Skrawl blinked a few times. He looked flustered, like he realized Rudy was right. But Rudy didn't expect him to admit it. Skrawl was not the type to admit when he was in the wrong, even when pointed right out to him. This situation would be no different.

"I...well...I knew that!" Skrawl managed to say with a stutter. His brief falter didn't last very long. He spoke angrily to Rudy, "That is no excuse! If you have no idea where you were going then you shouldn't have..."

Rudy interrupted him, "Oh and we should let you lead?"

"My brilliant plan, whatever one I come up with, would work like a charm!" Skrawl said. The level of arrogance was, though not on the same level as Cosmo's, amazing, especially given what had just happened to the jellybean recently. "I could have led you creators out of here a while ago!"

"You don't know this place either! You know about as much as I do!" Rudy was getting steamed. He couldn't believe how Skrawl was acting. They were running for their lives, and he still had the gaul to blame Rudy for their troubles and debate with him on who was a better leader. "If you were leading, we would be in the same situation! Or perhaps you would have us straight into a trap! At least I've been trying to be careful of where I step. But you...you would just rush down a hallway without a second thought!"

Skrawl raised a hand. He stopped when he clearly realized that hitting Rudy would hurt him too. He resorted to a roar of anger and frustration. He stomped on the ground near Rudy, causing the boy to jump back.

"No I would not! I..." Skrawl paused. "Okay fine I haven't always made the best choices. But what makes you so much better, Master Tabootie? We wouldn't be lost if you knew where you were going!"

Rudy shouted, "We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't tried capturing the beast!"

Rudy felt himself get angrier by the second at Skrawl. As he said that last line, which came out more aggressively than he had planned, made him realize that a lot of this was Skrawl's fault. If he hadn't tried capturing Draow, if he had left the beast alone, they might not have ended up like this. Snap wouldn't have been captured. He and Penny would not have ended up here. He and Skrawl would not have been connected.

The more he thought about it, he more he realized just how much Skrawl played a part in all this. Although he understood that none of this Skrawl had foreseen or intended, his anger continued to grow strong. If it weren't for this stupid jellybean, Snap would be okay. He wouldn't have been turned into a puppet for Cosmo to toy with. Things may have taken a better turn if Skrawl hadn't been so stupid and...

"That's enough, you two!" Penny shouted, interrupting Rudy's thoughts. She placed herself between the two, forcing them to separate. "This isn't the time for your petty arguments! We need to get out of here, and we never will if we stand around and bicker to each other!"

Rudy felt his anger melt away. Penny was right. They couldn't argue. They would only be wasting time. And even if Skrawl had been a major cause in what transpired, he knew that constantly blaming him would not solve anything. It would only slow them down. He needed to worry about how to get out of here, not point fingers at anyone, not even someone like Skrawl.

"I'm sorry, Penny..." Rudy said, letting out a sigh. "I don't know what got into me..."

"I understand you are upset. I don't blame you." Penny said in an understanding tone. "But right now, you need to focus on solving the problem, not creating a new one..."

"Yeah I know." Rudy said softly.

He looked over at Snap. He was still asleep, resting the side of his head on Penny's shoulder. Despite all that had happened to him recently, he looked peaceful as he slept. Rudy would have smiled if he didn't know the dire situation that Snap, and all of them, were in. They didn't know how long Snap would be freed of the mind control. If they could just get into ChalkZone and get to a hospital...

...that was it. Rudy realized what he had been doing wrong. He shouldn't be trying to find an exit in the form of a door. He should be finding one in the form of a chalkboard. That would make their search a little easier. If they checked all the rooms, then maybe they could escape into ChalkZone. He did have a small piece of magic chalk with him. It should be more than enough.

He peered down the hallway they had been in before. It kinda curved a little before straightening out ahead. Before, they had gone left down this hallway. He decided to go right this time. Gesturing for the others to follow, they head down. Rudy still walked with caution on his mind, but now he was looking not for another hallway, but instead rooms.

The rooms in this building had windows on them, just like the one he and Penny came in from. This would make finding the right one easier. He was afraid of just opening up any door. There could be someone hiding behind these doors. Or traps awaiting. He'd rather risk springing just one trap rather than multiple traps. One trap was much easier to deal with.

"Look in each room." Rudy said. "Look for a chalkboard. It will be much faster getting out that way."

The group split up, but kept in the same hallway so they could get back to each other quickly. They checked the rooms in the hallway. One by one, the rooms on the left side and right side were checked. The hallway was long. Rudy was certain that at least one of them would have a means of escape. Mr. Cosmo surely had more than one chalkboard. With all that he managed to do...

But the more they looked, the more dejected they became. None of the rooms had any chalkboards in them. There were things in those rooms, things they would rather not think about or see again. But nothing in regards to a chalkboard.

Rudy wasn't about to give up. There were other hallways they could check. And they had made good distance from Mr. Cosmo. Even if he figured out where they were, it would still take some time to get to them. There was still time.

Suddenly, a horrible laughter sounded out. The group paused and looked around for the source. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. They didn't move from their spots. The laughter just continued. It was sick and disturbing. It sounded like Mr. Cosmo, but his voice never sounded this twisted and disturbing before.

"Do you really think I'm stupid?"

Rudy shuddered at the sound of this voice. "Mr. Cosmo...where are you?!" He looked around the hallways, trying to find which one the madman was hiding in.

"I am in the security room. I can see exactly where you are." Mr. Cosmo announced, still chuckling as he spoke.

Skrawl growled and raised a fist. "Why don't you come here and face me? Nobody messes with Skrawl and gets away with it! Let's see how tough you are if you face me head on!"

"Oh on the contrary, Skrawl..." Mr. Cosmo droned. "I have a better idea. But first let's get rid of some...unwanted weight..."

Snap let out a scream as the sparkling returned. Rudy watched in horror as he realized what this meant. Cosmo had regained control of his friend. Penny cried out when Snap's grip on her tightened. He forced her onto the ground and began to drag her over somewhere.

"Wh-what are you..." Snap whimpered as he struggled to release Penny. It was no use.

"Stop this!" Rudy yelled. "Let Penny and Snap go!"

But he knew that Cosmo would not listen. He rushed over as fast as he could. Snap punched him back with his injured hand. Rudy touched his face, seeing the chalky blood sticking to the skin. He glanced back and realized, with horror, that the cuts were bleeding more heavily now. The cuts were getting much worse. He could see Snap shed a tear due to the pain, and the fear of what was happening.

Rudy tried again. But he was too late. A large grap door opened up. Despite all efforts to stop himself, Snap picked up the struggling Penny and tossed her down. Mr. Cosmo did not stop there. Another trap door opened. Snap walked robotically over to it. Rudy grabbed onto Snap's uninjured hand and tried to pull him back.

"No..I'm not losing Snap again..no!"

"Oh no...I won't be having that." Mr. Cosmo said.

As soon as he said this, Snap yanked his hand away, jerking Rudy forward and into the ground. Snap's pace quickened into a run. Rudy ran over, holding out his hand, calling out Snap's name. Likewise, Snap cried out desperately for Rudy to help him. But it was all in vain. Snap jumped down the hole, and it closed up as Rudy reached it.

Rudy couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening. No...he just got Snap back. He couldn't be gone again. "No..."

Tears began to stream down his face. His body trembled. He slammed the ground right here the door had closed. "No!"

Rudy felt his spirits getting crushed. They had Snap back. A part of him knew that, eventually, Cosmo would snatch him away. But he had tried to deny it. He didn't want to believe that, after all their efforts, Snap would be taken away just like that. And that is what had happened. Cosmo regained control and now he took away not only Snap, but Penny too. What had he done with her? Did he just boot her out of the building like his parents, or did he do something horrible to her?

Although Skrawl was in the room with him, that was of no comfort. The monsterous jellybean could not fathom what he was feeling. He only cared about himself. He didn't understand why Rudy was so upset. Of all the people Rudy had to get stuck with, Skrawl was the last person he wanted. Although the jellybean didn't talk, Rudy can just imagine all the insults and mockery that went on inside his mind.

Rudy was so distraught that he did not notice when Skrawl walked up towards him. When he finally took notice, Skrawl had walked out in front of him a little. He was pressing his foot against the door that had opened up. He seemed to be testing it.

"What are you doing?" Rudy asked as he wiped away his tears. If he was going to be stuck with Skrawl, he might as well make the best of it. "We need to..."

"I am checking to see how it feels." Skrawl said, cutting off Rudy. "If I can judge how normal ground feels, and this, I could get us around the trap doors."

"That's...a good idea." Rudy said. He was surprised he said that. He never thought he would call any of Skrawl's plans 'good'.

Skrawl smirked at him. "Of course it is! My plans are always so brilliant!"

It was too soon to celebrate. The two of them realized that too late. Skrawl had not gotten the time to familiarize himself with normal vs trap door ground. If he had, he would have gotten Rudy and himself out of the way before the ground below them opened up. It happened so fast, neither of them had time to give even a simple reaction.

The two of them ended up in what Rudy guessed was a winding tunnel. He felt them jerk left and right. It felt very much like a water slide, only without water and not so pleasant. They screamed in fear as the tunnel twisted and turned almost violently. Sometimes it would slow down, other times it would pick up without warning.

Then they finally saw light down below them. They fell through the opening and landed hard on the ground. They coughed and picked themselves off the ground. They looked around. They were in a relatively large room. In many places, they could see pillars of stone rise up, forming square shapes.

And Rudy realized they were in one such square.

"Hurry, we need to get out of here!" Rudy called out to Skrawl. "I don't know what he plans on doing, but..."

"Stop!" Skrawl shouted in a voice so uncharacteristically frightened.

Rudy snatched his hand away when he saw what had scared Skrawl. Just seconds after they had arrived, something activated in the pillars. Water swooshed all around them, forming liquid bars. That was bad enough, at least for Skrawl as he was chalk based. But something else was added to ensure that Rudy himself could not escape. He saw waves of yellow electricity merge with the water. The electricity crackled and danced among the water. It spread across quickly, leaving no water bar untouched.

Rudy felt his heart pounding. The realization of what happened sunk in. A terrified expression plastered across his face. He glanced at Skrawl. Though the jellybean tried to hide it, he could tell he was afraid as well. Rudy felt a pang as he heard Cosmo's voice again.

"As you can see, I am fully prepared...Now you two rest there. I will be down soon to...negotiate with you, Rudy Tabootie. Maybe you will be more willing to listen to me if I gave you a...bigger incentive..."

Rudy shuddered as he wondered what Mr. Cosmo had in mind this time.

HOW CAN YOU STILL BLAME ME, SKRAWL?:





A bigger incentive? What did Cosmo mean by that? He wondered if he meant Snap. Rudy remembered how terrible Snap looked, how much pain he was in, when he was being controlled by Cosmo. How much worse could he do to Snap?

He was devastated that he lost Snap again. He was right in there in front of him, and then gone. He had no idea where he went. If Cosmo intended on doing something worse to Snap as the 'bigger incentive'... It took all of Rudy's strength not to cry. Poor Snap... He wish he knew where he ended up. He wanted to be there for him. Even just being in the same room as him would help, he was sure.

But right now, he was trapped with Skrawl, not exactly the most sympathetic person he met. And he was waiting for Mr. Cosmo to return. There was nothing else to look forward to, if waiting for Cosmo could be considered something worth waiting for...

Rudy tried his best not to let what Cosmo said about him get to him. The man was twisted and nasty. He obviously would say anything to make him doubt himself. Rudy knew the man was nothing more than a lying bastard who is seeking out to make profit on innocent zoners, all for the sake of recognition and 'betterment of human civilization', or some other crap like that. Mr. Cosmo's words deserved no consideration.

And Snap...he would be sure that Cosmo never hurt him again. Rudy had no idea how he got the nail in Snap's head. He was certain it was extremely painful. The very idea of someone deliberately hurting his best friend made his blood boil. But he could allow it to consume him... He couldn't allow himself to cloud his own judgment. He needed to be able to think things through. He'd get out of here..somehow.

He sat on the other corner of the room. He could see Skrawl sitting in front of him. Rudy hadn't bothered talking to him. He found that, as long as he is silent, Skrawl remained relatively quiet as well. He wanted a break from his complaining and whining. His anger towards Skrawl had diminished slowly, but not completely.

He looked over at the water bars. He watched as the electricity danced over them, sparkling constantly. He had no way he could get through the bars. If the electricity weren't there, he could get through. Mr. Cosmo thinks these through apparently. And even if the electricity wasn't there, he was certain the crazed man would have another trap laying in wait for him.

The way Mr. Cosmo talked about using zoners as slave labor...it was absolutely revolting. If it wasn't clear to Rudy how little Cosmo thought of zoners before, that one sentence sure did the trick. And if Mr. Cosmo's scheme comes into fruition, he found himself wondering what would happen to ChalkZone...

Likely invaded, he would think. He imagined Cosmo would set some troops in ChalkZone to capture any new zoner that appears. They would then be dragged into the real world and forced into labor or whatever else Cosmo has planned for them. ChalkZone would largely be uninhabited except by men Cosmo hires to capture new zoners. He wouldn't doubt that Cosmo would go further and order the destruction of much of ChalkZone to force zoners to rely on him and his company for food and water.

This was all speculation, but Rudy had no doubt that is what Mr. Cosmo had planned. Mr. Cosmo would make sure there would be no loophole in his plan. He would ensure that, no matter what, the zoners would not be able to return to ChalkZone. And given what Mr. Cosmo said about zoners' long lifespan, if not infinite lifespan, there would be no breaks, no retirement for the zoners to look for. And with some labor jobs being extremely dangerous, many zoners could lose their lives.

But that wouldn't stop Mr. Cosmo. Oh no. The bastard thinks they are expendable, so new zoners could be drawn to 'replace' them, as if they were just worn out batteries to be thrown away and replaced with the new.

Even the possible future regarding Vinnie that Biclops showed them wasn't nearly as bad. Yes, the man wanted to turn ChalkZone into an amusement park, but he saw more value in the zoners than Mr. Cosmo. While Cosmo doesn't care about killing zoners, Vinnie never expressed interest in outright killing any zoner. He had not tried to directly hurt anyone. Even when he was sizing up ChalkZone, he hadn't heard any zoner complain about the man attacking them.

Terry was even less aggressive. She wanted to profit off of ChalkZone as well, but unlike Vinnie, she didn't seem interested in making the zoners do any work entertaining guests to do it. Although she was a reporter, she definitely wasn't as bad as Cosmo. Compared to him, she was downright friendly. Even when she kidnapped Snap, she didn't really inflict any real harm on him. And from what Snap told of his adventures in the studio, she never seemed to treat him like crap. He was sure Terry thought little of zoners, but she was at least more reserved about it, maybe because she knew being more cooperative would be helpful.

He wouldn't want either of these two to succeed in exposing ChalkZone. He sometimes would have nightmares where this happened. Thankfully, when he would wake up, it would all have been a dream. Scary one, but a dream nonetheless. He didn't trust them, but right now he would rather deal with them. They were easier to deal with. And they never crossed the moral lines by blackmailing him through means of threatening to hurt Snap.

Rudy began to wonder how Terry and Vinnie would feel about Cosmo. He imagined they would probably be willing to team up with him, but only for a short time. The moment Cosmo began to cause damage to ChalkZone, Vinnie would be on his ass, probably barking like a dog, and getting him to stop. If there was one thing Vinnie had, that was determination. He wanted ChalkZone to be remolded the way he wanted, and he wanted the zoners alive to participate in the theme park. He couldn't imagine him getting along very well with Cosmo, who cared nothing about making anything fun out of ChalkZone.

And Terry...he would imagine that she would get flustered with Cosmo. Terry wasn't as eccentric as Cosmo and usually knew when to call it quits, at least for a time. She was generally calm, at least compared to Cosmo, and even when she got angry, it was normal anger, not creepy anger that he saw the creepy man display. Terry would likely stop working with him really quick. He couldn't imagine her being willing to work close to a maniac. Vinnie was harmless enough and, though a bit eccentric himself, was able to keep himself more or less docile when doing business with someone.

He wouldn't really see them for a while. Before all this happened, he and Penny learned they had went to another town for a business trip and wouldn't be back for a month or so. The two hadn't tried to get to ChalkZone recently. He wasn't going to count them out. They may just be trying to formulate a new plan. Each plan was relatively predictable, though still clever.

He realized he missed facing off against them. Well in this situation, he would miss facing off against any of the other opponents in the past. No one has been as bad as Cosmo. He didn't think any of the other bad guys he faced could reach Cosmo's level of despicability.

His thoughts going back to Mr. Cosmo in particular, he began to think about what he said to him. About becoming like him and all. He had denied that outright. He didn't want the man to get to his head. If he let him in an inch, he'd walk all over him. The man would say whatever he could to dismantle his beliefs and replace them with his. It seemed like he always knew just what to say, and when.

He had to admit one thing. Mr. Cosmo kinda had a point. Since no one in the real world knew of ChalkZone save for very few, no one would really know of his heroics. But did that really matter in the end? The people in ChalkZone knew all the things he did for them and they were grateful. That was good enough for him.

If Cosmo could only see value in respect and friendship, he might understand where he is coming from. If Cosmo allowed himself to care more about just mere recognition, fame, and fortune, he might be a little more willing to work with him, even strike a deal with him. It would certainly make it much easier to negotiate with him, as he probably wouldn't be so insane as to think kidnapping and hurting Snap would make him more willing to let him train him.

Then he started to, again, think about Cosmo's claim of him becoming like him. Could he be right? Rudy had noticed he was getting a little more aggressive lately. He hadn't been like this before. And yet, with a few actions from Mr. Cosmo, he was getting angrier and more hateful towards the man. He was getting more aggressive as he spoke to him.

Rudy didn't want to believe that the man was right. He tried to push the thoughts in the back of his head. But they kept reappearing in his mind. Cosmo's words started to hit him like a dagger. Could Mr. Cosmo truly been speaking the truth that time? Could Rudy really become as dark as Mr. Cosmo?

No..no he wouldn't. He couldn't let himself believe that.

But then, why did he still feel this way?

Rudy began to replay his adventures in his head. The memories swarmed his brain, and in his mind, he rewatched the things he could remember doing. And he began to notice somethings that he never noticed before. And it made him shudder to think about.

There was the time when a dragon came into ChalkZone and started wreaking havoc. Rudy had used glue to hold the dragon down. Sure, he did not hurt the dragon, but what chilled Rudy was that he didn't really have a plan beyond that. Was he really willing to just let the dragon be stuck on the street for the rest of its life? Rudy couldn't imagine he would do that, but then...how else could he interpret this incident? The only reason he ever went to the dragon's creator for help was because the glue idea didn't work. The glue idea...he could imagine would be something Mr. Cosmo would do...

Then there was the time when he had created a puppet named Howdy in ChalkZone and took him in the real world for a talent show. The result was Howdy ended up being erased by way of tongue of a dog. True, he had meant no harm in bringing Howdy, but he should have been more careful. The real world was dangerous for zoners to be in for long. What if Howdy had been erased into ChalkZone beforehand? The dog's licking would have killed him. And Snap...what if he had asked Snap to be in the talent show instead, and Reggie's dog chased him instead? Would Snap have...?

Rudy took in a shuddering breath. There were a few more incidents he could think of, but he didn't want them in his mind right now. The dragon and Howdy incidents were bad enough. They weren't done out of true malice. But both would be something Cosmo would do. He would torment a zoner by freezing them in one place for a long time. He would drag a zoner out into the dangerous real world and let them be killed.

And if Mr. Cosmo found out about some of Rudy's adventures, he could, and would, use any incident he sees fit and use it against him. He would twist the events around, forcing Rudy to see things in a different light, just like how he did with Howdy and the dragon.

A chilling thought entered Rudy's mind. What if Mr. Cosmo really had been a hero in ChalkZone once? Or at least a really nice guy? What if he had been like him, willing to help out zoners if need be, but then the black chalk came and corrupted his vision of it? If Cosmo had prior knowledge of what it was like to help others, if he had done so himself and remembered, it was no wonder he could so easily turn it all on its head.

What would happen if he had to use the black chalk? Rudy hated to think about it, but he knew that, eventually, he would have to use the cursed black chalk. It was the only way to severe ties with Mr. Cosmo.

But...would he become like Mr. Cosmo...?

"What's the matter with you, chalk boy?" Skrawl asked, breaking Rudy out of his thoughts.

"What?" Rudy asked. Had Skrawl really been paying that much attention to him that he'd notice something was wrong? That didn't sound like Skrawl at all.

"You were spacing out like you saw a ghost or something." Skrawl said, his eyes narrowed. "I was begining to wonder if you had fallen asleep with your eyes open. That would have been creepy..." He gave a shudder. "I get enough creepiness from the Beanie Boys."

"The Beanie Boys, huh? Well you know, Skrawl, you could always look for other minions." Rudy said, shrugging his shoulders. He was kinda happy to talk with Skrawl. It helped get his mind somewhat off of Cosmo. "I'm sure you could find some zoner in ChalkZone insane enough to work with you."

"Oh no..." Skrawl growled. "I am not going to have another Craniac incident! My plans with him always failed because he was a complete idiot!"

Rudy gave a small smile. "Or maybe you are too arrogant to see your own mistakes."

Skrawl spluttered, "Arrogant? Mistakes?"

"You are sometimes too short-sighted, Skrawl. I gotta hand it to you, some of your plans were good and well thought out. But it seems like you don't always think things all the way through. Like with Craniac. If you had done some research ahead of time, you would know that many of Craniacs robots didn't work that well." Rudy explained. "This shouldn't come as a surprise because I made Craniac 4 to replace Craniac 3, not to be a complete dictionary of all things villainy. The Craniacs were out for knowledge and study, not conquering ChalkZone." Rudy paused for breath. He pointed at Skrawl. "And that, Skrawl, was where you made your miscalculation with joining forces with Craniac."

Skrawl opened his mouth to speak, but soon shut it. Rudy could tell that he wanted to come up with a comeback, but was unable to. As the jellybean turned his body away, it was clear Skrawl was flustered beyond coming up with a comprehensive reply. Skrawl wasn't the one to admit when he was wrong, so Rudy didn't really expect anything more from him.

Rudy turned his head towards the bars again. He wondered when Mr. Cosmo would return. There was no clock here. No sense of time. No way to know how much time had passed. Not knowing the passive of time was aggravating him. Each second felt like a minute. And each minute felt like an hour. He wondered if this was part of some intentional torment.

"You're thinking about this Cosmo guy, aren't you, Master Tabootie?"

Rudy snapped his head in Skrawl's direction. His eyes were wide in shock. "How did you know?" He hadn't said a word. How did Skrawl guess that is what he was thinking?

"I didn't, actually." Skrawl grinned as he boasted. "Thanks for telling me."

Rudy snarled, "Skrawl..."

"Oh come on. We're stuck together for now, so might as well have some enlightening conversation with you." Skrawl said sarcastically. "Who knows? Maybe you will be able to sway me into changing. Maybe I will forgo all my villainous attempts at taking over what is rightfully mine and..."

"Can it, Skrawl." Rudy said bitterly.

"Oh no, Tabootie...I can't can it. You see, I got nothing else." Skrawl said in a low voice. He got up from the ground and began to walk towards Rudy. "Because of you, because of how you made me look, the only way I can get anyone's respect is by becoming ChalkZone's ruler."

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "Respect? Oh, so you are like Mr. Cosmo in that respect, aren't you? You want to use ChalkZone for your own benefit. You don't care who you hurt, so long as you get what you want."

"That might be..." Skrawl droned slowly. By now he was up in Rudy's face. His breath hit against the boy, causing him to turn away. "But I at least have enough dignity to know when I go too far. Why do you think I haven't tried sending you to the Waitin' Sea anymore?"

Rudy blinked. He hadn't really thought about that. But it really had been a long time since Skrawl tried dropping him there. He has assumed he had just given up on it. Was there really another reason?

"I had finally gotten around to thinking to myself...was it really worth it to send you there? Why should I waste all my talents on the same plan? And if my anger was at you, then why should I waste time trying to hurt other zoners in an attempt to get revenge on you?" Skrawl said, gesturing with his skrawny clawed arm. His gaze shifted upwards for a second, before he turned them back down to Rudy. "Don't mistake me as getting soft, artist boy. I do fully intend in taking over ChalkZone and destroying you. But now yo u know this about me. I do have my limits."

What Skrawl said, Rudy wasn't sure exactly how to take it. A part of him wasn't too surprised. Mr. Cosmo already proved himself to be a vile person, while Skrawl hadn't done anything quite as bad. But another part of him wasn't sure if he could trust Skrawl's words. For all he knew, Skrawl could be taking notes and be planning on using them later on. He had already been willing to brainwash citizens. That did backfire in the end, but still...

Skrawl decided to speak again. "I have to admit. I was surprised what you seemed to falter a little when Mr. Cosmo speaks to you." He turned his head "You don't really believe what he says, do you?"

"No!" Rudy said quickly. Skrawl stared at him. Rudy cleared his throat. "Sorry. I mean..no I don't believe him."

Skrawl tilted his head. "Do you believe that? Or are you saying it just so you can fool yourself into believing it?"

Rudy didn't know what Skrawl was getting at. He couldn't think of a reply.

"Honestly...I hope you don't believe him." Skrawl said. He folded up his arms. "I would be disappointed if my greatest arch enemy was really that easily manipulated. You have been a thorn in my side for so long. And as much as it pains me to say this, you...are quite resilient and resourceful. You always seem to find a way out of almost any situation handed to you. If you gave up...well, I would begin to question if you really were the real Master Tabootie."

Rudy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Skrawl really...defending him? In a weird way sure, but Skrawl's words were more encouraging than they were insulting. He was not used this from Skrawl. Since when had he become a therapist? When had he gotten so psychological? Was this the result of him working with the Beanie Boys, somehow?

With now mentally distorted the Beanie Boys could be at times, Skrawl may have learned a lot about psychology working with them. He had to have understood their thought processes well enough to have them be his willing servants for so long. The Beanie Boys, as he heard said somewhere, were outcasted from much of ChalkZone. And with Skrawl being an outcast himself, or so he says, that may have been the reason Skrawl went to the Beanie Boys in the first place.

He realized that Skrawl was right. Any amount of doubt he would have now, it wouldn't be like him. He wasn't some tool to be manipulated. He wasn't someone to be made a fool of. He had accomplished so much, he had beaten so many odds... He just had to continue believing in himself, in his abilities. He had to trust that, in time, he would find a way out of this.

Rudy felt some of his spirits return after Skrawl's little speech. He wasn't sure if this is what the jellybean had intended, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

"Thanks, Skrawl." Rudy said without thinking.

Skrawl growled and turned away. "Oh be quiet, Rudy Tabootie..."

Something came to Rudy's mind. "There's something I want to ask first." Skrawl growled again but didn't try to stop him, probably knowing he wouldn't be able to stop Rudy from asking anyway. "Do you...still really blame me?"

Skrawl raised an eyebrow. "There's a lot I blame you for, artist boy. Pick one."

"For your looks." Rudy said. "Do you honestly still think it was my fault that you are..like that?"

Skrawl's mouth curled into a small snarl. "Well of course I do. Don't think I haven't forgotten about that. Oh you gave me more reasons to hate you, but that...my looks...you sabotaging it...that was the kicker, the icing on the cake."

Rudy couldn't believe it. After all this time, he was still holding onto that grudge. Granted, it didn't surprise him. But he just didn't understand how he could still be angry about that. From the sound of what Skrawl said, it was like, out of everything, Skrawl hated him for what he believed he did to his looks the most.

It seemd really childish to him. And what made it worse is that he had tried to help Skrawl. He did make him look good, really good actually. He could have been well liked among ChalkZone. But he turned his back on it all.

He couldn't understand how Skrawl could still insist that everything about his appearance and bad first start in ChalkZone had been his fault. Rudy had nothing to do with it. It wasn't his fault that people shoved him out of the way and did an unwanted collaboration. Rudy could very well change Skrawl's appearance. If Skrawl had just come up to him for that, things would have been different.

It was becoming hard for Rudy to hold back his anger. He spoke in a somewhat low voice, "It isn't fair you are pitting this whole rap on me, Skrawl."

"And my whole life isn't fair, chalk boy." Skrawl spat back. "Do you have any idea what things were like for me when I first got here? Do you know how much I was picked on, shoved around, pushed around? Do you have an inkling of what I was put through before I finally put my foot down?"

"But it wasn't just me!" Rudy cried. "There were other artists! Why haven't you tried going after them? Why do you direct it all at me?"

"You were the one to start drawing." Skrawl said, narrowing his eyes. "In the event that a drawing has more than one artist working on it, the one who starts making the creation is the one who is dubbed the creator. And since you were the one who first started to draw me..." Skrawl pointed at him. "That means you are my creator, not the other kids, no matter how much more they added compared to you."

Rudy clenched his teeth. "I did try to fix it for you... I made you look good, just like you wanted. But you turned back on your deal. You threw away your one chance at..."

"Oh be quiet!" Skrawl snapped at him. "You broke your promise too, you know!"

Rudy's expression softened slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"You said you would make me look good. You said you wouldn't use the chalk against me." Skrawl said in a low, growling voice. Before Rudy could protest, Skrawl continued, raising his voice. "But you lied to me! You lied! You tore down everything you did for me, made me ugly again! And you did it without hesitation, like you wanted to do it all along! Your use of the magic chalk flung me away and I crashed on a remote island! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get off of there? Do you?!"

Rudy stared at Skrawl in shock. He was stunned, unable to think of a response. He wanted to defend himself. He wanted to explain the reasons for his actions. He wanted to tell Skrawl it was his fault. But, for some reason, no words came out of his mouth.

"And you wonder why I continue to hate you..." Skrawl grumbled before looking away. Silence fell upon the room.

YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, RUDY:





"Lars! Stop this!" Rudy cried.

Lars ignored him. He gave no response except for a low growl. He had Rudy up in the air, holding his arms to his side. Rudy attempted to struggle free. Lars's grip was a vice.

The bear 'guided' Rudy town a hallway. In a matter of minutes, it looked familiar. Rudy recognized it as the same path as Cosmo took them. They soon entered the same room as they were in before when Snap was forced to fight them. Rudy was given haunted reminders of that when he saw blood splattered on the ground. Snap's blood.

Lars got him onto the platform. Instead of having to push a button, the platform rose on its own. Rudy guessed there was some kind of sensor there that caused the platform to rise and fall whenever someone stood on it. The platform made a click sound was it halted at the top.

The hallway Lars took him to was very dark. Only a bit of red lighting provided any illumination. The lights on the wall seemed to pulse. As they got down further, they got redder and brighter. It was ominous. He wouldn't be surprised if Cosmo designed it this way on purpose to warn anyone that, by entering here, they are getting in big trouble.

He wondered momentarily why Cosmo didn't come down to get him. Then he remembered that it was Cosmo he was thinking of. The man already made it clear that he wanted to use zoners as slaves. It would be just like him to send a controlled zoner down to do the work for him.

And of course it was going to be someone like Lars, with the nail driven in his head. It, too, had some blood caked around it, dried up from when it was forced into him. He couldn't pull it out without hurting him. Cosmo really thought ahead with this. He knew that if he sent one of his bracelet controlled zoners, he could just rip off the brace. But a nail controlled zoner was a whole different story.

Minutes later, they came to the end of the hallway, where it forked left and right. Lars went left and headed down that way. The hallway was completely red. Not just the lights, but the structure was a deep crimson. In contrast, likely to make them easier to see, the rooms had green lights in them.

Down this hall, there were five green lights, all of which Rudy guessed were rooms. These are probably offices of some kind. They weren't big enough to hold any big equipment. He wondered if some of the security was located here as well. As he was dragged by, he tried to get a peak inside one of them. Lars pulled him too fast, like he didn't want Rudy to snoop around.

The last door on the right opened up as they drew closer to it. With a single shove, Lars pushed Rudy into the room. The door shut behind him. Rudy got up to his feet. He didn't bother trying to open the door. He knew it would be locked. He looked around the room.

The room was about medium sized in the form of a hexagon. There was much to this room. It was mostly empty. He could see a door in the back that he guessed was the bathroom. There were a couple of file cabinets, but they were a tad dusty. It didn't surprise him as he could see a computer in the corner. Cosmo likely kept most of his records in there, locked up with a password.

He thought this was inefficient at first until he realized that, if Cosmo ever came to the point where he needed to destroy his data, best to keep it mostly in one centralized location. He could destroy the computer and no one would be the wiser. He realized what that meant. If he got out of here and tried to have Cosmo convicted, without any evidence to back up his claims, Cosmo would still be able to run free. He doubted he kept any important information in the file cabinet...

He saw what looked like a large tank next to a desk. It reminded him of when he first encountered Cosmo, trapped on the upper level. The tank there had an occupant in the form of Skrawl. This tank was noticeably much smaller, as if it were intended for a smaller occupant.

His eyes shot open as he thought of just who that occupant would be. Snap...

That's when he noticed he was not alone in the room. He heard the sound of tapping from the corner, a dark shaded part of the room. Rudy took a step back as he saw Mr. Cosmo walking up to him, standing in the light.

"I'm glad you could make it, Rudy Tabootie." Mr. Cosmo said with an amused tone. "I take it Subject #5 was able to get you here in one piece."

Rudy realized who he was talking about. He hissed, "He has a name you know..."

Cosmo simply dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Details, details...Let's get on, shall we?"

Mr. Cosmo walked close to Rudy. The teenager took a step back, gritting his teeth in hatred and anger. This did not faze the man. He reached down and touched Rudy's cheek.

"I am disappointed you haven't been able to listen to reason."

Rudy twisted himself away from the man. "It is you who won't listen. I told you once. I will tell you a thousand times. I will not join you!"

This caused Mr. Cosmo to let out a half-hearted laugh. It was clear he was confident his plan would ultimately succeed. He was taking all of this in stride. He began to walk around Rudy, examining him as if he were on display.

He continued to circle the boy as he spoke.

"You know...I was a lot like you once..."

A cold chill came up Rudy's spine. So he had been right. And now, he wished that he wasn't.

"Always so noble, willing to help..." Mr. Cosmo droned slowly. "Yes, my time in ChalkZone was a...what would you say, one large 'hero's tale'. Okay so I wasn't as helpful as you seem to be towards these creatures. But I can assure you that, at one time, I saw them the same way you did."

Rudy felt his heart start to race. Cosmo's expression slowly changed. At first, it was just a calm smile. But soon it broadened. There was a twinkle in his eye.

"That all changed when I happened to find the black chalk. As I picked it up, it told me its secrets. It opened my eyes to a whole new world, whole new possibilities." Mr. Cosmo stopped circling Rudy. He rounded on the boy and started to back him up towards the wall. "From that day forward, I used my newfound knowledge. I realized how fruitless my 'heroics' had been. I realized that, because chalk creatures were created...should they not be used? So...I began a path of progress. I even managed to purify some fellow artists to follow me."

By this point, Rudy's back was pressed against the wall. Mr. Cosmo got close to him, enough so he couldn't run off. He gripped Rudy's arm roughly and pressed it against the wall to secure him even more. Rudy looked into Cosmo's eyes with fear and shock.

Rudy managed to say something when he broke out out of his stunned silence. "You...you didn't purify them...You corrupted them..."

Mr. Cosmo's eyes flickered. Rudy swore he saw a flash of black in them, and it wasn't the pupil. "Oh how naive you are. The black chalk doesn't corrupt. It merely opens your mind to the truth, and the possibilities that come from it."

Rudy cringed as Mr. Cosmo's voice began to grow darker.

"You...you have a lot of potential. I can see it in your eyes. I love your determination. You would make a fine apprentice." Mr. Cosmo said as he moved his face closer to Rudy's. He smirked as the boy jerked his head to the side, trying to avoid eye contact. He merely grabbed the boy's face and forced him to look at him. "You're so clever you probably realized that I intend on you to use the black chalk, haven't you?"

He took Rudy's expression as a yes. He laughed coldly before he gripped the boy by his shirt collar and pulled him away from the wall. He put his forehead against Rudy's, forcing the boy to stare into his cold, menacing eyes.

"Sooner or later, Tabootie..." He said in a hissing voice. "You will be mine..."

Rudy's eyes widened in fear. There was more menace in that threat than he ever heard spewed from Skrawl or any other bad guy he had encountered.

Mr. Cosmo released Rudy and started to walk away from him. Rudy watched him with anticipation and confusion. What was he going to do? He mentioned something about a bigger incentive. So far, Mr. Cosmo hadn't brought any such thing up. He knew the man wouldn't have just dragged him here to chit chat. If he wanted to do that, he could have just done so while he was in the same cell as Skrawl.

No, there was another reason he was brought here. He looked around the room, trying to find something that would give him a clue as to what was going to happen next.

Mr. Cosmo gestured for him to follow. Not having much of a choice, Rudy followed him towards the door he had spotted. Even before he entered the room, he soon realized it was not a bathroom like he thought. Instead it was another pretty decently sized room. A tad smaller than the office.

Unlike the first one, which felt pretty empty, this one did have more space used up. Rudy could see pillars rising up from the ground, similar to the cell that kept in him and Skrawl. He could hear crackling and swishing of water. This was another cell. Rudy wondered for a moment if he was to be kept here. Was this his new cell?

Then he realized, as his blood turned cold, that this wasn't the case. He could hear someone whimpering from inside the area cast off by the bars. He rushed passed Mr. Cosmo, who just smirked evilly at him as Rudy came around one of the pillars to see who the occupant was. He froze.

Laying on the ground in a ball in the middle of the cell was Snap. Rudy couldn't believe how horrible he looked, even worse than he remembered. He could see blood staining the ground from his hand and back injuries. What else that shocked him was the fact, though it was a little hard to tell, he could see a fresh cut on Snap's left arm.

Fists shook in rage. Mr. Cosmo had injured Snap again, just for the 'fun' of it. The cut didn't look very deep. Rudy had to fight every instinct not to turn around and punch Cosmo in the face. That would not be a very good idea. He was in the middle of this madman's lair. One punch and he could be rounded on by a bunch of controlled zoners, or even Draow.

His anger melted away to anguish when he saw Snap raise up his head and look over at him. There was no hint of courage in Snap's eyes, nothing that indicated his confidence. Just a broken shell is all he could see. Fear, sadness, agony. He could tell Snap was happy to see him. He could see him start to smile. But the smile was forced, and he guessed it was because of the pain.

Rudy wanted to get closer to Snap. He wanted to reach out and try to help him feel better. The bars kept him from getting too close. He could only watch and stare at his poor, battered friend laying in the middle of the cell.

"H-Hello...B-Bucko..." Snap managed to say.

Rudy felt his heart start to break as Snap struggled to his feet. He was so messed up it was hard for him to coordinate himself. He kept tripping over his own feet. Finally, he had to place his hand on a pillar and lean against it for support.

"Snap..I'm...I'm so sorry this happened..." Rudy said as tears began to form in his eyes. "I-I promise I'll get you out of there..."

"Don't be s-sorry..." Snap's voice sounded very weak, like it took a lot of effort for him to talk. "You...you didn't mean for this to happen..."

"Snap..." Rudy said softly.

Suddenly Snap let out a weak terror-filled cry. Rudy looked behind him and saw that Mr. Cosmo was approaching slowly. Rudy growled and held his arms out, determined not to let the man pass any further. Cosmo stopped and stared at the boy. He raised up a hand and snapped his fingers.

Before Rudy could react, Lars grabbed his arms and held him back. Rudy tried to pull himself away. There was nothing he could do. All he could do was watch with tear-filled eyes as Mr. Cosmo opened the cell and went inside.

Snap's body shook as the man drew closer to him. Rudy felt his heart shatter. He had seen Snap show fear before, like with Skrawl's first encounter. But this...this was different. It was so much worse. Snap's face paled from fear, his eyes were wide. He swore he could see tears streaming down. Cosmo had made Snap absolutely terrified of him, even more than he himself was.

"N-No...get away from me..." Snap said with a whine, his eyes glistening even more.

Mr. Cosmo just smiled as a response. He held out his hand, his fingers slightly hooked as he reached for the zoner.

Snap scrambled back away, trying to get as far as he could from the man. He pressed himself up against the wall. His body continued to tremble as he turned his head over to Rudy.

"P-Please...Make him go away..." Snap begged, his eyes wide with desperation. "I don't want him to h-hurt me again..."

"Snap!" Rudy called out as he reached out his hand towards his friend. But he was too far away to do anything. He tried to get free. Lars just tightened his grip.

Cornered, Snap cringed and started to whimper as Mr. Cosmo reached behind his head. He grabbed him by his scarf and lifted him up slowly. Too weak to fight back, Snap just hung there, almost limp save for a constant shiver. He stared at Mr. Cosmo with terror as he carried him outside of the cell, holding him like a cat by the scruff.

"Let him go!" Rudy shouted at Mr. Cosmo, desperately trying to pull away from the mind-controlled Lars.

"Oh no...I can't do that." Mr. Cosmo said. He lifted Snap a little higher and smiled at the little blue boy. "You see, this thing is still good for one last bargaining effort..."

"He's not a 'thing'!" Rudy snapped.

Mr. Cosmo ignored him. He back into the first room. Lars shoved Rudy along behind. Rudy watched as Mr. Cosmo started to carry Snap over to the small tank.

"You see, Rudy, I think I found a way to get any deal I want out of you..." Mr. Cosmo sneered. He stopped half way to the tank and looked behind him. He stared intently at Rudy. "I know how much you care about your little friend here. And that you would do anything for him...am I correct...?"

Fear gripped Rudy's heart. The way he said it...he didn't like where this was going.

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at Rudy's lack of a response. Still holding Snap in one hand, he picked up what looked like a large soda bottle. There was some liquid inside. It was clear, almost like water. But when Mr. Cosmo opened it with his teeth, a familiar smell filled the room. The man started to pour it into the tank.

"Do you know what this is, my dear boy?" Mr. Cosmo asked with a dark smile.

"No...oh no..." Rudy's heart started to pound. "V-Vinegar!"

This was worse than believing it was water. At least water dissolved chalk quickly so they didn't have to suffer long. But vinegar...it did it much more slowly. Mr. Cosmo...the sick twisted man...he had deliberately chosen vinegar to prolong the suffering and the pain. He could drop Snap in the tank and it would take hours for him to completely dissolve. The process would be nightmarish.

And it was clear that was what the man was intending. Rudy's heart froze as Mr. Cosmo carried the terrified and injured Snap over to the tank slowly, taking his time as if he wanted to extend the fearful anticipation.

Mr. Cosmo hovered Snap over the vinegar. The blue boy started to weakly thrash, trying to get away from the smelly liquid. He looked over at Cosmo, silently begging him not to do it. He was ignored and he was lowered towards the vinegar. Soon the tip of his feet touched it.

Steam started to rise as Snap let out a bloodcurdling scream. He lowered Snap a little further until half his feet were submerged. He held him there for a few seconds, smiling at his cries of pain.

"Stop that!" Rudy cried, tears flowing down his eyes. "Please...let him go!"

Mr. Cosmo rose Snap back up again. His screams of pain soon slowed down into low, constant whimpers. Steam still rose form his feet where the vinegar started to burn into him.

"You have one hour to make up your mind, Rudy. Either you agree to join me..." He lifted Snap up a little higher and stared into his scared white eyes. "...or your little friend here won't see the daylight ever again...alive..."

Rudy froze in shock and horror. Was this man really that cold? Was he going to kill his best friend just to...that was sick... Rudy stared at the trembling Snap. He wanted to hold him, tell him it'll be all right, protect him from Cosmo. The thought of losing him...it was unbearable. Snap was like a brother to him. He couldn't..no...he wouldn't let Snap die...

Through his tears, he glared hatefully at Mr. Cosmo. This was a low blow. This was an unreedemable act. How dare this man threaten the life of his friend? How dare he purposely extend his pain and suffering just to make him crack? This man...he was a complete and utter monster...He was disgusting...vile...

"Don't you...don't you dare hurt him...he's already been through enough..." Rudy said with a warning tone. "I'll...I'll kill you if you do!"

"My, my...how dark of you..." Mr. Cosmo sneered. He made a gesture with his hand. "Take him to the isolated room. He needs some time alone to think about his choices. And believe me..." He reached down and gently gripped Snap's chin, tilting his head upwards. "...I trust he will make the right one..."

Rudy felt himself being yanked back. Lars picked him up and slung him over his shoulders like a potato bag. He began to walk out of the room. Rudy reached out his hand, as if he expected his arm to be long enough to pull Snap with him.

"Snap! No! Let me go!" Rudy struggled as they started to walk out of the door. He stared at Snap with wide eyes, tears dripping from them. "Snap!"

The door shut.

UNFORESEEN ALLY:






Rudy tried to block out the sound of the sand slowly seeping into the bottom piece of the hourglass. He tried not to think about it too much. He tried to keep his thoughts clear, tried to keep himself calm. He tried to convince himself that everything was going to be all right in the end.

But who was he kidding? The sand's sound still seeped into his ears because he knew that, once he didn't hear that sound anymore, he would be taken back up to be forced into a decision he didn't want to make. No matter what he said, he would be disgusted with himself. No matter the choice he made, Snap would be disappointed in him.

He didn't want Snap to die...but he didn't want him to suffer at his hands, either. What choice could he possibly make that would help them? He was forced into two. A couple of horrible decisions that he would lose no matter what.

Mr. Cosmo had been smart to do this all in the real world. He never understood how Mr. Cosmo got that real world object into ChalkZone to seal the portal he and Skrawl came through into the classroom in the first place. But given all Cosmo had done, he wasn't surprised at what this man had accomplished. If Mr. Cosmo were more sane and not trying to conquer ChalkZone, he'd admire that about him. But now, all it did was make him more fearful of the guy, wondering what else he was capable of doing.

He had shown, quite clearly, how little he cared about zoners. He made it clear he was willing to kill to get his way. He knew exactly where to strike Rudy. And it wasn't on the arm, leg, or anything. No, he struck Rudy where it would hurt the most.

His heart.

The sand continued to scrape along the glass, slowly being squeezed through the tiny opening in the middle of the hour glass. Rudy looked over and stared at the object. He watched as the sand slowly hit the bottom of the hour glass, ever so slightly filling up more and more. By this time, there was a layer on the bottom, roughly 35% he guessed. Not at the halfway point, but Rudy knew it was just a matter of time.

The desperation of what was going on made it seem like time was going so much faster. He still had maybe 45 mintues left, but it felt like he only had 5. Every time he looked at the hour glass, it felt like it was going faster and faster. And before he knew it, it was going to be time to be taken back where Snap was.

And that may be the last time he would ever see him... No matter how he looked at it, he knew that, after he made the choice, he'd most likely never see Snap again. Either he would die, or Rudy would become corrupted, and he might kill Snap after that himself...

And...who is to say Mr. Cosmo would even keep his word...? Mr. Cosmo might still kill Snap anyway, just because he could. Snap was so hurt now, Mr. Cosmo would be unlikely to keep him around. He thought zoners were expendable, so why would Cosmo 'waste time healing zoners' when he could just 'have new zoners drawn to replace him'? Rudy wouldn't put it past Cosmo to do such a thing.

He thought back to Snap's cut on his arm, and thought, with a shiver, if Cosmo was going to hurt Snap even more. He had hurt Snap for no reason at all, without him being there. He was such a wicked man... For all he knew, he'd arrive in the room and Snap would have five more cuts on him.

And even if he didn't cut him, there were other ways that sick man could hurt Snap. He could kick him around. He could pour vinegar on him to listen to him scream. He could control him like a puppet again...

The only comfort Rudy had was that Mr. Cosmo would not kill Snap until he made his decision. So he was assured that he would get to see Snap at least one more time before...the unthinkable could happen. His regret as that he may not be able to comfort Snap. He wanted so much to put his arms around his friend and pull him into a hug. Snap had been through so much...he deserved some comforting.

Rudy stared at the door that kept him locked in. He had felt the bottom to see if Cosmo had placed something to keep Snap in. In the real world, Snap could use his two dimensional powers to slip through cracks. He had seen him use it when Terry tried to capture him. There had to have been a reason why he didn't do it this time, and he had been right.

There were razor sharp blades there. So sharp that a single touch caused him to recoil in pain. The blade had lightly cut his fingers. Tiny cuts with a little bit of blood could be seen. It wasn't too much damage, but it was enough to make him very angry.

Snap had already been injured before. If Snap had tried to squeeze through here...just what would have happened to him? Even in a flat state, there was no doubt he would have been ripped to shreds, like he was just a discared piece of paper. He guessed that was how Snap got those cuts on his hand. He must have been trying to escape, but quickly stopped when he realized there was something sharp under the door. If Snap went all the way through...would he still be alive...?

Rudy looked down on the bed he was sitting on. He could Snap's blood hardened on the sheet. It stood out quite easily from the white colored cloth. The sight of it made him wince. He wondered just how much pain Snap had been in. And he shuddered to think at just how much more pain he was currently in right now.

And Penny...where was Penny? She had been dragged down a hole just before Snap disappeared. He still didn't have an idea on what happened to her. Cosmo indicated he just let her out but..no..he wouldn't do that. Penny had seen too much. He was certain she was taken somewhere to be...

No...it couldn't be... Rudy felt tears well up in his eyes. Had she been...killed...? That was the only thing he could think of that happened. Penny saw too much of what was going on, and if allowed out, she could go inform the police and have an investigation on his hands. He must have had her killed, or her mind wiped, or something to keep her from talking.

The thought that he may have already lost one of his friends...it was heart wrenching. He tried to hold back his sobs. It didn't work. Tears came pouring down as he cried. Penny...he would never forgive the bastard if he had killed her.

And now he might be losing his other friend as well. This was a horrible day for him. Everything has been going wrong recently. Mr. Cosmo had truly been steps ahead of him. He had planned everything out almost perfectly. He had been making a fool of him since day one. And while Rudy tried to outsmart him, he only played right into Cosmo's little game constantly. And, in the end, it was going to cost him everything he cared about.

He wondered what he could have done differently. There were a lot of things he thought he could have done different. He could have gone to Biclops much earlier and ask him about Cosmo the moment the man started becoming suspicious. He could have not created that portal in the classroom and took his chances with Mr. Cosmo. He could have stayed with Snap when they faced Draow...maybe he could have prevented his capture...

After the hour glass reached the 65% mark, Rudy knew he had to do something, and fast. He pushed away his depressing thoughts of what he should have done. There was nothing he could do to change the past. But maybe...maybe he could still change the future. Maybe he can change his fate. He could try to open the door again. If he could get out, he could try to sneak back in the room and rescue Snap.

He had to try again...

He got out of the bed and glared at the door. There had to be a way to open it. Maybe if he had a hairpin he could unlock it... Unfortunately, he did not. He had to think of something else. Slamming against the door wouldn't work. He already tried turning the knob to break it. He didn't have the strength for any of those.

Then he saw it. He noticed something he hadn't tried before. The window... Could he break it? The window looked large enough that he should be able to loop his arm around to reach the door lock. He looked around the room, trying to find something he could use to break the window. Something...anything...

Laying on the ground, he could see a food tray, clearly made of metal. At least now he knew that Snap was fed while here, not that it made his situation much better. He lowered himself and grabbed the tray. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed it before, but he turned his attention to the door.

He raised the metal tray and started to bang it against the window. It was much harder than he thought. A few more bangs, and there was hardly a mark. But Rudy wasn't about to give up yet. He hit the window multiple times in the same place. He mustered as much strength as he could with each strike. And soon, his efforts started to pay off. Cracks were beginning to appear.

"Yes.." Rudy whispered with delight. "Just a little more..."

With another strike, the cracks became deeper and spread. Another, the hour glass was getting dislodged from the window. Rudy kept on hitting the window harder and harder. Soon he heard a loud crack and the window gave way. The hour glass fell to the ground and cracked, and he could hear the hissing sound of the sand spilling all over.

Rudy reached out the window. He paid no mind to the sharp glass cutting into his arm. He ignored the pain and the wetness from fresh cuts as his hand found the door knob. He fiddled around with it until he found the lock. He turned it and heard a click.

He was elated that he got the door unlocked. But he couldn't waste time celebrating. Carefully, he eased the door open and looked in the hallways. He didn't see anyone. He slowly walked around, walking softly on the ground. He needed to be sure no one heard him walking in the hallway.

He thought about which direction he had come into this place. He remembered he came in from the left. He headed down that way. Trying to remember all the directions he had taken was difficult. But if he wanted to find his way back to Snap, to sneak in and rescue him, he had to be confident in himself. He had only gone certain ways in this building. If he just remembered those ways, then he shouldn't have much trouble reaching Snap.

But this place was like a gigantic maze, and many paths looked the same. How was he going to be certain he was going the right way? For all he knew, he already missed the way to Snap and was heading towards some unknown place, maybe another hideous room with an equally horrible machine, or some room filled with blood, or some other horrific place.

He didn't get too far down the hallway. As his hands touched against the wall, he must have triggered something. In a matter of seconds, thick bars rose from the ground, both behind and in front of him. He screamed in surprise. He hadn't been expecting something like this.

"No..not now..." Rudy whispered in horror. He started to bang against the bars. "No please..." It was no use. He had no way of escaping the makeshift cage that surrounded him now. All he could do now was was wait for Cosmo to come.

And speaking of the monster, it didn't take long for Mr. Cosmo to show up.

The man looked very amused by Rudy's attempt at escape. He walked over slowly, nonchalantly, up to the bars. He stared at the teenager with a wicked smile. If the bars were thinner, Rudy would have grabbed Mr. Cosmo by the neck.

"I had a feeling you would try to escape." Mr. Cosmo said with a smile. "Ms. Saffron managed to get out of that room. So I thought I should increase the security a tad."

Rudy said, "Ms. Saffron?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why did you lock her up? I thought she was your ally..."

"She seems to have been...corrupted..." Mr. Cosmo said with a tinge of fake regretfulness. "It seems all that time chatting and being friendly with your blue pal has messed up her mind. She actually seemed to care for the little runt. So I had her detained here. But I must say...I didn't know she'd be able to send help so quickly..." He paused for a moment, and his smile broaded as he stared intently at Rudy. "But no matter...I'll let her have her little fun for a while. I'll take care of her later."

Rudy glared daggers at the man, clenching his teeth tightly.

"And as for you..."

Rudy felt his body tense up.

"Since you are so eager to see your friend..." Mr. Cosmo snapped his fingers. Rudy's eyes widened in horror when he saw Draow walk up behind the man. "My...companion and I will be more than happy to escort you back up. I will await your decision..."

"But...it's not even an hour yet..!" Rudy cried in horror.

"Oh, but all the sand had reached the bottom." Mr. Cosmo pointed behind the boy.

Rudy looked over. His eyes widened as he saw the sand spilled all over the place. In a way, Mr. Cosmo had been correct. The deal was that he had to make the choice when all the sand touched the bottom. And it sure wasn't doing anything but that all broken up and shattered on the ground.

He looked at Mr. Cosmo. "I...I can't...make this kind of decision..."

"Oh sure you can." Mr. Cosmo tapped a finger against his head. "You just gotta think real hard, and decide what is more important to you... free will...or your best friend..." He chuckled evilly as he opened the front bars. "Grab him, Draow."

As Draow stalked towards him, Rudy took notice of something red on his wing claw. He felt his heart freeze. Could it be...Penny's blood...?

He didn't have time to question it as Draow grabbed him by his left arm. He bit down hard, drawing blood from Rudy's already injured arm. He let out a cry of pain as the beast whipped his head swiftly to one side, the force putting pressure on his pained left arm.

Draow dangled Rudy in front of Mr. Cosmo. The man cupped his chin tightly and stared into his green eyes.

"I do know that you will make the right choice." He said with a smile.

On instinct, Rudy, in an attempt to defend himself, tried to bite Mr. Cosmo's hand. But he only ended up biting air as the man had pulled his hand back just in time.

"I should be careful. Could've lost a finger." The man said with mock concern. He turned around and began to walk down the hall. "Come, Draow. And don't let our guest go..."

Draow followed close behind, holding Rudy tightly in his jaws.

sss

Ms. Saffron held onto the hook above the car door. She hung on tightly as the driver made another sharp turn, the wheels squeeling against the road pavement. She heard Penny grunting, and knew she wasn't having as much luck at hanging on.

She understood they had to get back to the building as soon as possible, but this man could take more care in not driving like a madman. What if they gotten into a car accident? Or went the wrong way? This guy was driving so fast, she was amazed that he was still able to make all the right turns. How long would that last, exactly?

As they went through another four way intersection, she looked over at the man. She had some doubts that this was the artist that they had been looking for. Penny was not the only one to express doubt. But as soon as she mentioned Mr. Cosmo's name and what he had done...the middle aged man seemed to spring to life.

It was clear that he took all of this very seriously. Even though he wasn't sure if it was possible Mr. Cosmo really had returned...he wasn't going to take any chances. They had left almost right away to get back to the building. Ms. Saffron said she knew the building well and that she could tell them which path to take.

Up ahead, she could see the building come into view now. They were almost there. She could only hope that they weren't too late.

sss

Rudy seethed in pain as Draow dragged him into the room where Snap was being held prisoner. The beast obviously took no care to make sure he wasn't biting him too hard. He didn't hear his bone's break, so his arm wasn't broken. But it sure felt that way with the way Draow's teeth were tearing into his arm. His blood kept dripping on the ground, leaving a trail behind as Draow walked.

Mr. Cosmo was walking just in front of them. He kept a brisk pace, like he was excited to hear Rudy's answer. He paused, letting Draow walk out in front, and turned to shut the door. Draow carried Rudy towards the front of the room and dropped him. Rudy groaned in pain and held his arm tightly.

He could see Snap in the cage. His widened eyes were looking at him in worry and fear. Rudy was grateful that he didn't see any new wounds on his friend. But that gratefulness soon vanished as he reminded himself of what was about to happen.

He moved closer to the cage. The bars were not far apart enough for him to reach in and comfort Snap. All he could do was stare at his friend with great concern. It was painful for him to see Snap this way, deprived of his personality because of the pain he had to endure. He wanted to speak. He wanted to say something to put Snap at some ease, but what could he say? He had no idea how he was going to get out of this mess.

He finally manage to choke out, "S-Snap..." He didn't want to believe that this may be the last time he'll ever see his friend, alive or not.

Snap tried again to get to his feet. He did a little better, but only for a second. As soon as he took a step, he fell to the ground. He cried out in pain as he hit the cold, hard floor.

"Snap!" Rudy cried with tears in his eyes.

He had been wrong. Snap wasn't in the same condition as he first saw him. He was worse. Before, he could manage to walk, if just barely. Now it seems like even taking one step is too hard for him. Rudy's eyes trailed to the nail in his friend's head. Had it...had it damaged Snap enough that he could no longer walk...?

No...it wasn't the nail... Rudy's mind flashed back to the vinegar Snap was dipped in. The vinegar had done a lot more damage than he thought. He looked at Snap's feet and he felt his hearth wrench when he saw the burn marks. Deep red plastered all over his feet. He hadn't noticed it initially because of the angle Snap was in when he walked in.

Now he could see the burns quite clearly. As Snap laid there, he took notice of his feet twitching in pain. Rudy bit his lip, choking back a sob. He didn't doubt that Cosmo did that on purpose so that Snap couldn't try to get away from him this time.

Giving the room a quick look around, he could see the vinegar tank off in the corner. The smell still hung strongly in the air. Before, he never really thought anything of vinegar. It had never been a concern to him. When he did the experiment in school, he never thought that his best friend would be endangered by the stuff. With a pang, he wondered if Mr. Cosmo knew about the experiment and decided to use it for this occassion. If that were the case... Rudy felt horrible.

The vinegar tank had been placed where Snap could easily see it. It felt like a deliberate act, like Cosmo wanted to taunt him on what his fate could end up being. It was no wonder Snap was faced away from that one particular wall. He didn't want to look at his own death...

Mr. Cosmo opened up the cage door again, the bars vanishing with a sparking sound. Rudy immediately started to rush over, but Draow put his head in the way and snarled at him. Rudy backed up slowly, staring at Draow in fear. Unable to do anything, he watched as Mr. Cosmo went in to fetch Snap.

As Mr. Cosmo got closer to Snap, the blue boy raised his head and started to tremble. Snap's low cries filled the room, pulling at Rudy's heart strings. Snap couldn't do anything to get away. He pressed himself against the ground, as if doing that would keep him safe.

"D-D-Don't hurt me...p-please..." Snap stammered, holding back a sob. "Don't..."

Mr. Cosmo knelt down towards the zoner. When he had himself lowered, he turned his head over to Rudy. "Well, Rudy...have you made up your mind...?"

Rudy watched as Cosmo ran his hand lightly along the back of the shivering Snap's head. Petting him like he was some kind of animal... Rudy growled lowly in anger, but held his tongue. He was afraid if he said anything about that, Cosmo would hurt Snap again.

Snap cringed back, his body tense from the unwanted touch. He didn't try to scoot away. With his damaged feet, he couldn't get far. Rudy had a sad feeling that Snap would still lay there even if his feet weren't damaged. He was frozen in fear, the actions done to him by Cosmo traumatizing him.

"I..." Rudy couldn't bring himself to say more. He looked away.

"Look over here, boy..."

His mind and heart filling with dread, Rudy forced himself to look back over to Cosmo and Snap.

A twisted smile came onto Cosmo's face. He started to push a little harder on Snap. Rudy could see the look of discomfort in his friend's eyes. He saw his hands push against the floor in a weak attempt to get away.

"What do you want more...?" Mr. Cosmo asked slowly. "Your free will...or Snap...?"

In a second, Mr. Cosmo seized Snap again. His fingers wrapped around the blue boy's throat. He lifted him with a swift motion into the air. Snap let out a strangled cry and started to struggle. He pulled at Cosmo's hand in an attempt to get free.

Rudy watched in horror. "Snap!"

Mr. Cosmo smirked at the zoner trying in vain to escape. He looked back at Rudy. "It is your choice, Rudy Tabootie...so..." He began to walk over to the vinegar tank. As he positioned Snap over it, he said with a sneer, "..what will it be..?"

In desperation, Rudy cried, "No! Please...don't do this, Mr. Cosmo! Let Snap go! Please!"

"Oh I'll let him go all right..." Mr. Cosmo started to loosen his grip on Snap...while he was still hovered above the vinegar. "I'll let him drop right in here..."

"No!" Rudy's face was stained with tears. He reached out towards Snap, only to be held back by Draow. "No...please...don't do it..."

Mr. Cosmo tightened his grip again. He lowered Snap a little closer to the vinegar. "If you want him to live to see another day...you know what you must do..."

"I...I..."

But Rudy couldn't think of anything to say. Thoughts swam in his mind, confusing him for a moment. What should he do? He could say no, but lose Snap. He could say yes, but he might still lose Snap anyway. He couldn't win. But it seemed like...he didn't have much of a choice... He...he wasn't going to let Snap get tortured and killed like that...and if he wanted him to have a chance at survival...

Seeing no other alternative, Rudy lowered his head in defeat. The tears continued to fall form his eyes. He looked up at Snap. "I-I am so sorry...Snap...please forgive me..." Snap's eyes widened like he knew what Rudy was about to say. "O-Okay Cosmo...you...you win..." He let out a soft cry. "Just..please don't hurt Snap anymore..."

Mr. Cosmo grinned triumphantly. "I knew you would come to your senses." He began to walk away from the vinegar and towards Rudy. "I guess this chalk creature really means that much to you."

Snap's struggles increase. "No, R-Rudy...you c-can't..!"

"Shut up!" Cosmo snarled at the struggling zoner. He pulled out a knife and, with a single motion, sliced against Snap's right cheek. Snap let out a scream.

Rudy gasped in sheer horror. "No!"

Snap fell silent and began to whimper as fresh chalk blood dripped from the new cut. He turned his head away from the man, closing his eyes.

"Next time, I will take out your eye..." Mr. Cosmo hissed, glaring menacingly at Snap. "So keep your mouth shut..." He turned his attention back to Rudy. "Now...where were...?"

Suddenly there was a whistling sound. Draow's ears pricked up and looked around for the source. Mr. Cosmo frowned and looked around the room as well. After the whistling, there was a couple of clanging sounds, like something fell on the ground.

Then, a second later, a loud bang. Rudy and Snap cried out in pain. Mr. Cosmo hissed and staggered back, releasing his grip on Snap. Draow howled in agony and swayed from side to side. A strong smelling smoke filled the room.

Rudy struggled to open his eyes. He was starting to feel a little dizzy. He heard a thud and saw that Cosmo and Draow had collapsed on the ground. He looked over to where Snap was laying prone on the ground. The smoke grew thicker. He could see someone picking Snap up, but he couldn't recognize who it was.

Despite covering his mouth to try to avoid breathing in the smoke, it was a futile effort. Rudy's body was wracked in coughs. He noticed this mystery person was coming towards him. His mind eventually gave into the smoke and, as he was being dragged out, he fell unconscious.

sss

"Rudy?"

A voice called out to Rudy. It sounded familiar. All Rudy could see was darkness. He felt so tired, so weak. His eyes remained closed.

"Come on, get up! We need to get moving!"

There was that voice again. It sounded less echoy this time. Slowly, Rudy's eyes opened up and he struggled to sit up. He let out a groan and rubbed his head.

"Thank goodness you're okay! I wasn't sure if throwing smoke bombs was a good idea. But I didn't know what else to do."

Through Rudy's hazy state, his eyes started to focus a little. The blurred colors and shadows began to take shape. His mind slowly remembered what had happened. He looked over at the source of the voice. And he couldn't believe who he was staring at.

"Mr...Mr. Wilter?!"

A FEW TRICKS OF MY OWN:






Rudy supported Snap as best as he could as he ran along behind Mr. Wilter. Running was their best option according to the teacher. If they walked too slowly, they could be more easily tracked. At least with running, they could put in more distance between them and Cosmo, in theory. Wilter was not familiar entirely with the building, so he warned both Rudy and Snap that they could end up in a trap if they aren't careful.

Running wasn't exactly the best thing to do with Snap on his back. He did his best to keep his grip on him and not letting him slip. He tried not to bounce Snap too hard. He didn't want to accidentally hurt him. He took care not to touch his feet. He could tell they were still hurting Snap.

But the running made this a little hard to do. Every time his foot pounded the ground, he could feel Snap budge upwards slightly from the force. So far, Snap hadn't cried out in pain, but he didn't take comfort in this. Snap could either be faking it, trying to be strong for Rudy, or he could have become unresponsive. His thoughts went back to when he thought he saw him sleeping on Penny's back. He had second thoughts. What if the reason he was quiet then was because of the damage the nail did to him?

He wanted to talk to Snap. He wanted to get him to show some signs that he was awake. That would have been a bad idea for two reasons. It could weaken Snap further, forcing him to use up more of his strength. And it could draw attention to them. Wilter told them to be as quiet as possible, only to speak in whispers. Draow had excellent hearing and if they spoke too loud, he just might hear them.

Soon they reached the end of the tunnel, only to be confronted by a labrynth similiar to what he encountered on the upper level. He growled in irritation. What was with this man and mazes? Did he construct them so that, in case prisoners escaped, they would have a heck of a time trying to get out? He wondered how many of these paths led to nowhere, and how many led to dead ends.

He wouldn't doubt they would be boobie trapped as well. Any one of them could have sensors lining the walls, triggering whenever he'd cross them. And if that happened, they'd be trapped in an electrified water cage again...or worse.

Wilter held up his hand. "Stop."

Rudy stopped in his tracks. "What is it? I thought we had to keep moving."

"Shh..." Wilter said as he approached the tunnels. "Knowing Cosmo, one singular path would be untampered with, so he won't get caught in his own traps."

Rudy didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before, but it made sense. There would be a safe path Cosmo would set aside for himself. If he didn't do that, than he wasn't really bright. Rudy silently wished Cosmo really was that dense. He'd be a lot easier to take down.

Wilter narrowed his eyes as he stared at each tunnel. He seemed lost in thought. He looked at the openings in front of him and scratched his chin, foot tapping. Rudy watched and waited, hoping that Wilter could pick the right path for them to go down.

Mr. Wilter's eyes slightly widened as he stared at the far left tunnel. "That tunnel may be our best bet." He said, turning his head to face Rudy and Snap. "Its coloration is slightly different from the rest of the tunnels. I am sure Mr. Cosmo altered the coloration of the tunnel slightly so he would remember which tunnel to take."

Rudy walked up behind Mr. Wilter as they headed towards the tunnel. Though he trusted his teacher's judgment, he still felt apprehensive. What if it led them down into some unknown danger? He tried to calm himself. He did have Wilter at his side now, which would make things a little easier for him.

They didn't run right away in the tunnel. Wilter wanted to make sure the tunnel was safe. He walked out ahead first. He took a few steps in. He went in a little deeper. Only when he reached about thirty feet down the tunnel did he gesture for Rudy and Snap to come down. After this, they broke into a run.

This underground place was massive. It had to have encompassed a space larger than the building on top itself. He wondered what this lower section had once been for. He had never heard of a building having such a massive underground labrynth, wider than the building. There were no signs anywhere of what this place had once been. Cosmo really had this place renovated.

He couldn't imagine how he had pulled it off. It was scary to think about. This man...he had shown a level of intelligence he was not used to dealing with. The only comfort he had right now was Mr. Wilter being with him. He dealt with Mr. Cosmo before. He would have a better idea on how to deal with him.

The running was starting to get to him. They had been running for a while now. He could hear Wilter's ragged breathing up ahead. He was getting tired too. Rudy tried to keep a running pace, but he found himself unconsciously slowing down into a slow walk. His heart pounded hard against his chest. He hunched over, mouth wide open to take in more oxygen with each breath. His throat was starting to feel dry. He was getting really thirsty. A water bottle sounded really nice right about now.

Mr. Wilter pressed his back against the wall of the tunnel. "We should take a break."

"But..." Rudy panted. "What about Cosmo?"

"If we wear ourselves out," Mr. Wilter replied, "We will never get away from him. If he found us while we were exhausted, believe me, he would take advantage of that. We should rest and get some of our energy back before continuing."

Rudy felt relieved to be sitting on the ground again. He gently put Snap back in his arms again. He was afraid that if he set him on the ground, he would accidentally hurt him some way. Plus he wanted to make Snap feel safe and secure, and he knew he felt that way when he held him. Snap nestled into Rudy's arms comfortably, laying his head on his chest.

Rudy watched Snap's eyes start to close a little. They would only remain closed for a second before pain would wake him up. Rudy had been careful not to hurt him, but some of the injuries radiated with pain even without a touch. Despite being treated, he was certain some infection had started to enter his body. With the damage to his neurological system, infection was the last thing Snap needed.

He felt something cold against his arm. He looked down and saw a water bottle. He looked up at Mr. Wilter, who smiled at him as he held his own water bottle. Rudy looked down at the bottle, smacking his dry lips together. Holding Snap with his bandaged arm, he reached over with his right arm and grabbed the bottle. He attempted to open it with his teeth when he heard a low whine.

He looked down and saw Snap staring up at him in fear, eyes wide. No, it wasn't him he was looking at. It was the water bottle. Rudy knew something was very wrong. He knew water would kill Snap, but he had never seen Snap react this way to a water bottle. He would believe it if someone threatened him with it, but he sure hadn't done that. Something must have happened to Snap to create this reaction.

His thoughts immediately went to Cosmo. It had to have been him. He did something to Snap with water while he wasn't there, the bastard...

"Snap, what's wrong?" He said in a calm voice to his injured friend. He felt bad about wanting to get his friend to talk, but he had to know what happened. It was the only way he could provide some comfort. He set the water bottle down in a place where Snap couldn't immediately see it. He was still frightened after that. "What did Mr. Cosmo do to you?"

Snap shivered as he looked up at Rudy. "He used water to get this...thing in me..." He used a hand to motion towards the silver thing taped to his head, indicating the nail underneath.

Rudy's eyes went big. "He used what...?" Was Mr. Cosmo insane? If he wanted Snap alive, why would he risk using water? Unless he was just a psychopath who wanted to cause Snap misery, which he wouldn't doubt for a second.

Snap spoke in a shaky voice, "H-He s-strapped me to a table...Cut my head open with a s-scalpel...Then he put a drop of water on my head... It hurt so much..." He let out a sob. "He covered my mouth so I wouldn't s-scream...told me to shut up..."

Rudy felt a lump in his throat as he tried to hold back a sob. Tears filled his eyes as he listened to Snap's story.

"Th-Then he put the nail in me...He pushed so hard... I...I felt like I was being set on fire.." Snap's voice broke and he hugged Rudy tighter. "I finally p-passed out...the pain was too much..."

"He.." Rudy choked. "He did that to you while you were awake?"

Snap nodded his head once.

Rudy couldn't stop the fountain of salty tears that covered his face. He held Snap closer to himself. The nail in his head was cruel enough but did Cosmo really have to do it while he was awake? That was just...brutal and unforgiveable. He never thought he would meet someone who was that cruel and vile...Putting water on a zoner was like putting molten lava on a human. It was absolutely heartless.

"He's a terrible man." Mr. Wilter said quietly. He stared at Snap sympathetically. "I am so sorry you had to go through that, Snap."

Snap didn't reply, but he gave a knowing nod to the teacher.

"S-Snap..." Rudy whispered. He watched as Snap continued to look at him. He wanted to try to comfort him. He reached down and touched Snap's uninjured cheek. "Everything will be okay..." He used his finger to gently wipe away Snap's tears. "I will protect you from Mr. Cosmo...I will not let him anywhere near you ever again..."

Snap gave a grateful smile back.

"Oh? Is that so...?"

Everyone in the tunnel froze. Chills went up Rudy's spine. He felt his hairs on the back of his head stand up. Mr. Wilter looked just as shocked as he was. And Snap went pale and started shivering in fear. No...it was impossible. Mr. Cosmo couldn't have found them that quickly, could he? This couldn't be happening...no...

Slowly, hesitantly, he looked towards the source of the voice. His worst fear had been confirmed. There was no mistaking Mr. Cosmo. He stood several feet away from them, walking towards them with a slow, deliberate pace. He was smiling very calmly, not looking at all upset that they had escaped earlier. He must have been confident that he'd find them before they could get out.

And sure enough, he had.

Mr. Cosmo stopped when he was ten feet away from the trio. He stared intently at Rudy. He folded his arms against his chest. "I would like to see you try." His eyes fell onto Snap as he said this. He gave a grin and chuckled as Snap gave a quick scream and pushed himself against Rudy to get away.

Rudy shifted his body to try to shield Snap from Mr. Cosmo's eyes. He glared hatefully at the man. "You are not going to hurt him again..." He said, his voice low.

"Hmph...we'll see." Mr. Cosmo then turned his attention to Mr. Wilter. For a moment, his eyes flashed the faintest hint of fear, clearly remembering this man defeated him before. But then, in an instant, his calm demeanor was back. "I must say, dear Wilter...I never thought I'd have to deal with you again. Maybe you aren't as stupid as I thought you had become..."

"How did you find us?" Mr. Wilter demanded.

"Did you think I left you out of this little equation, Wilter?" Mr. Cosmo said with a sneer. "Admittingly, I didn't think I was going to need to do this, but hey, it worked out in the end...for me..." He grinned darkly.

Mr. Wilter found nothing funny about this. "What did you do?!"

"I merely took something of yours and gave it to Draow so he could get your scent. He is an excellent tracker."

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes and growled through clenched teeth.

"Face it, you three..." Mr. Cosmo said as he started walking towards them. Rudy took a few steps back because of Snap, but Wilter stood firm. He put himself in front of Rudy. "You have no where to go..."

A low growl caught their attention. They looked behind them. In the only other direction they could go in stood Draow. He walked towards them, snarling, wings spread out. His teal eyes seemed to glow in the tunnel. They turned to look back at Mr. Cosmo.

"You are trapped." Mr. Cosmo said, his eyes sparking black for a second. He stared at Snap. "I told you, little blue creature...you will never leave this place...alive..."

The way he said 'alive' sent cold chills down Rudy's spine. He didn't take too well to Snap being called a creature. He wasn't some mindless beast. He was sentient, and the fact that this man refused to see that, or if he did, simply didn't care, infuriated him. If Snap were in a better condition, he would lunge at the man and punch him in the face.

He watched as Draow got closer. He turned around to face the beast. The blood that came from Penny still clung to his claw. He wasn't sure just how intelligent Draow was, but he couldn't help but wonder if Draow kept the blood there on purpose, in an attempt to mess with his mind and show just how dangerous he was.

Snap stared wide-eyed at Draow. His turned his head up to look at Draow's wing claw. He shuddered, clearly remembering that it was Draow who hit him in the back, that it was Draow who brought him to this dreadful place.

Rudy took a step back and found himself hitting against Mr. Wilter's back. He didn't know which direction they should go. Mr. Cosmo was unpredictable. He might have some traps waiting for him. And who knows what else... And Draow's path was no safer. The huge beast could tear into them easily. With how carelessly he had carried him to where Snap was being held, Rudy knew the beast wouldn't think twice before tearing into him if Cosmo gave the order.

"So tell me, Mr. Wilter..." Cosmo said, grinning in Wilter's direction. "Why are you helping that blue runt...? I thought you hated cartoons. That's what I heard another teacher say when I came by your school."

Mr. Wilter growled at the evil man. "I am not heartless...not like you."

Mr. Cosmo smirked at this. "You're right. You're not like me..." He took a step back. His eyes glinted. "You...are a fool..."

Rudy glared at Draow was he got closer to him. He was pawing the ground, scraping against it. Rudy winced as the sound hurt his ear drums.

"I admit, I made a mistake of not getting rid of you sooner." Mr. Cosmo said, smiling darkly at the teacher, prompting a growl as a response. He shrugged it off. He leaned back slightly, his eyes brightening. "But first, let me get rid of some...unwanted weight..."

Something seemed to click in Mr. Wilter's mind. He whipped around quickly, taking both Rudy and Snap by surprise. He grabbed them in his arms.

"Look out!"

With that, he jumped away just as Draow broke open a piece of the wall. A jet stream of water shot out. Rudy and Snap screamed in horror at just how close the rushing water had been. The two were shaken up, staring at each other in shock. They looked up at Mr. Wilter.

"Thank you..." Rudy whispered, stunned by what had happened. He shuddered at the sound of the water just in front of him. He moved back, getting Snap away from the water. "How did you...?"

Mr. Wilter said, "I know the way this man thinks. It would suit him to set up a trap like that." He turned back to Cosmo. "When facing him, expect the unexpected."

The water slowly stopped running. Draow kept back, snarling at the thin wet line that formed in the water's presence. Great relief hit Rudy and Snap as the sound left their ears. Rudy pressed his chin on Snap's head. He was shaken up by how close he was to losing Snap for good. Had it not been for Mr. Wilter, Snap would have...died. He choked back a sob.

"Oh you shouldn't have done that." Mr. Cosmo said, sneering. "That would have been the less painful way out."

Rudy's body started to shake from rage. "You said you wouldn't kill Snap if I..."

"Considering that you left," Mr. Cosmo said with a smirk, "That means you declined my offer. And as part of my little deal with you, if you were to decline, your friend there would meet his end..."

Mr. Wilter placed a hand in front of Rudy. "Stay away from them." He warned.

"Oh I will. It is not I who will be dealing with the blue thing..." Mr. Cosmo said. He raised a hand and snapped his finger. "Draow...kill Snap."

Rudy held Snap protectively as he glared in Draow's direction. The wolf/bat beast let out a roar and was walking towards them slowly. His feet were able to step away from the wet stream on the ground. Rudy took a few steps back. He could feel Snap shaking in his arms. He was not going to let anything else happen to him. He made a promise that he would keep him safe, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

He heard a grunt sound behind him. He looked over and he saw Mr. Wilter beind pressed against the wall by Mr. Cosmo, no doubt to leave him alone to deal with Draow. Rudy took another step back as the beast drew closer. Rudy tried not to take any more steps. The more he took, the closer he got to...him... If Draow didn't get him, Mr. Cosmo sure would.

Draow pawed at the ground. His chalky drool hit the ground as he opened his jaws. He lowered himself on his haunches. His tail swished back and forth in anticipation. It wouldn't be long now before he would make the lunge.

Rudy gritted his teeth. He tried to weigh his options. He could try to run past Draow, but he could risk getting attacked. That would also put Snap in harm's way. He couldn't allow that creature to bite him, not in his state. He looked behind him. He could run towards Mr. Cosmo, but that came with its own risks. Cosmo could have traps waiting for him, or more controlled zoners. Or he could release Wilter and seize Snap. He remembered the knife he had. He cut slit his friend's throat open...

Things weren't looking good for him. He was trapped, utterly trapped. There was no way he could go that he knew was safe. His only open was to try to keep Draow away from Snap, but how was he going to do that?

Draow let out a screech. He flapped his wings once, then he jumped at the two, jaws split wide open. Rudy closed his eyes, hugging the whimpering Snap for dear life.

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash. The wall caved in, causing dust to rise from the ground. Something large and green slammed into Draow, pressing him hard against the wall. As the dust cleared, Rudy was shocked to see it was a pterosaur. The same one that helped to save ChalkZone years ago. He watched as Draow struggled to get free, but the pterosaur had him firmly pinned with its body.

"What?!" Mr. Cosmo cried in disbelief. "Tsere? What is he doing here?!"

"Surprised?" Mr. Wilter smirked. "Do you think you're the only one who has a few tricks up their sleeve?"

"Rudy!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Rudy looked up and saw Penny on the back of the pterosaur. She jumped off Tsere's back and rushed over to her friends.

"Penny! I'm so glad to see you!" Rudy said with a grin.

Penny smiled back. "I'm so happy to see that you are safe." She glanced down at Snap. Her eyes widened. "Snap..." She whispered softly.

"H-Hello, B-Buckette..." Snap said, trying his best to smile. "I'm sorry for..t-tossing you down that hole."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault." Penny whispered.

"Save your reunion for later!" Mr. Wilter cried. "You need to get out of here!"

With that, he slammed his knee against Mr. Cosmo's stomach. The reporter stumbled backwards, holding onto his stomach. Before he could react, Wilter slammed against him, pressing him into the ground. He hooked his arm around his neck while the other held one of his arms behind his back.

"Run! Tsere and I will keep these two busy!" Mr. Wilter ordered.

The trio wasted no time. With both Cosmo and Draow distracted, they made a break down the tunnel.