Need

Chapter 3: Invitations

Be mindful of the past, but be wary of the future.

sss

"Rudy...are you okay..?" Penny said to her friend in a quiet voice. When Rudy didn't answer, she pressed on. "You've been awfully quiet for a while..."

Rudy looked over at her. His eyes were wide, his pupils shrunk. He gave a shudder and looked away, not saying a word. Penny furrowed her eyes with concern. She reached towards her friend, but paused. She curled her fingers inward and yanked her arm back. She let out a soft sigh and stared at her friend sympathetically.

Rudy had been a bit shaken up since the incident with Von. Despite him being certain that Von won't be a threat, he was taken aback by his sudden presence in his house. And the way he had looked at him, spoked at him... She could just imagine how wrecked that made him feel.

Von wanted him for something. That much was clear. Chances are it had to do with the perpetual motion. But unlike last time, when he had a legal warrant and permission from Rudy's parents, this time, it sounded almost like he was willing to commit a crime to get what he wanted. The thought sent shudders through her body. If Von was willing to go that far, what would he do?

It didn't seem likely at first that he would. After all, he had been so blatant in his words that his statement alone could be used as justification to have him arrested. Von should know better than that. He should know what would happen if he were caught harrassing a child.

But then again..he wasn't always the brightest person. He was so single mindedly focused that he made the easiest of mistakes. He probably would take that risk if it meant achieving his goals. And just because he took a risky route doesn't mean that he wouldn't be careful...

Penny turned her attention back to Rudy. He was sitting on the window sill. His head face towards the window itself and he stared outward. It didn't look like he was looking at anything in particular. His eyes were almost unfocused, and he had an anxious aura around his body.

She wished she knew how to cheer him up. His parents had already tried, but not with much luck. After the man left, Rudy asked what happened. When his parents explained the situation, it only made Rudy more nervous. Despite his parents' best attempts, they weren't able to get their son to calm down. Rudy was scared, no matter how hard he tried to hide it from them. And why wouldn't he be? Von had specifically targeted him and made it clear that he was going to come back.

Rudy had eventually gone up the stairs. Penny followed suit. She didn't want to leave him alone, not while he was in that state. She hoped that she would be able to figure out something to help her friend relax.

A part of Penny was a little glad that Rudy was going to take Von more seriously. That's what they should have been doing ever since they found out about his continued research in perpetual motion. It was only a matter of time before Von tried coming after him again. But at the same time, she didn't want Rudy to get hismelf all worked up. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on much if he spent all his time worrying about Von.

Penny looked left and right, standing not far from her friend. She looked down at him, a look of sympathy etched on her features. She hated seeing Rudy this way, all scared and nervous. She wanted to do something to help him, but what could she say? She had no idea if Von would stay back or not.

But she wouldn't leave him. No, now would be a horrible time for that. Rudy needed her right now. He needed the company. Someone to stay with him and keep him calm, telling him everything is going to be okay.

And that's just what she was going to do.

Taking in another deep breath, Penny moved a little closer to her friend, closing what tiny bit of gap still remained between the two. She leaned against her friend, pushing her body next to his. Her chest and stomach was pressed against his back as she slung her arms around him. She held on, pulling him close. Rudy shivered once, startled by the sudden gesture. He quickly relaxed, allowing Penny to hold him close.

"It's okay, Rudy. Everything will be fine. You'll see." Penny whispered softly to him. She rested her chin on the top of his head. "Please don't be too scared. Von won't come after you. I promise."

Rudy was quiet for a few moments. Then he said, "How do you know?" His voice was quiet. It was almost accusatory, but that might have been Penny's imagination. "He might just be biding his time, waiting, and then he..." His voice trailed off, his eyes widening slightly as a tinge of horror seemed to hit him.

"I doubt that he would do that, Rudy. He wouldn't want to get caught." Penny pointed out.

"Yeah, and that means he could just be waiting until he has a chance to..."

Penny cut him off. "Even then, it's too risky. Plus..." She raised a finger up as she illustrated her next point. "There's your parents. You know they wouldn't let Von come anywhere near you. You'll be fine."

Rudy didn't look convinced, however. In the reflection on the window, she could see Rudy gritting his teeth. His eyes moved slowly from side to side, as if he were trying to search for something. Perhaps Von? It was likely. It had only been an hour since Von left, and it was likely that he was hiding somewhere nearby, just waiting to strike.

But Penny knew it would be useless getting too worked up over that. They couldn't let himselves be ruled by fear. For all she knew, that's the effect Von wanted when he made that statement. Nothing more than an empty threat considering it would be too hard getting Rudy, or her, without someone noticing. He might be crazy, but he wasn't that crazy.

"Look Rudy...why don't we go into ChalkZone now? We still need to speak to Snap about what we are going to do regarding Von." Penny suggested. "Plus, you and I both know that he needs to know about this."

"Yeah...I know..." Rudy said, nodding stiffly. "I know.." He went quiet after that, making no attempt to answer Penny's question.

Penny sighed, pulling her friend even closer to her, pressing her head against his. She could practically feel his heart beating, an abnormal pace, a sign of the worry that gripped him. It was confusing, startling for Penny to see Rudy in this state. A far cry from how he was earlier.

At the cafeteria, he had shown great certainty that Von would not be any sort of threat. He didn't think much of the man trying to do something. He had just dismissed him, and hardly gave the man a second thought.

But now that Von had shown up... Rudy's outlook had changed. He now knew that the man would indeed come after him again. Considering how swiftly and suddenly he had been able to take the entire family, one must shudder at the consideration of what would happen if he were to try now. Would he succeed? Even if he didn't, just how far would he be able to go?

But right now, they shouldn't worry about that. They should be focusing on coming up with solutions, not dwelling on the past that they could not change. She hoped that Rudy would break out of this trance soon and return to the confident boy he had been earlier. He hoped that Von's appearance hadn't shaken up Rudy for long.

"Come on, Rudy." Penny said as she leaned beside Rudy. She took his arm and pulled gently. "Let's go see Snap now."

Rudy offered no resistance as Penny got him off the window sill and guided him towards the large chalkboard in his room. Rudy practically leaned on her, the shock of the earlier events zapping him of some of his strength. She could almost feel him slipping down, forcing her to hold onto him tighter so he wouldn't hit his face on the ground.

She pushed against him gently as she steadied him. She encouraged him silently to use his own strength to hold himself up. Luckily, Rudy wasn't too far gone in his emotions, and he was able to right himself quickly. She motioned towards the chalk board.

Slowly, Rudy took out his piece of chalk. He looked at the board. He gazed back at Penny, as if searching for help. She gave him a nod, gesturing him to proceed. After a moment's hesitation, Rudy leaned forward and began to draw the portal, granting them access into ChalkZone.

Penny hoped that Snap would be able to help them come up with a plan. And she hoped that Rudy felt better soon. If Von really isn't going to give up, they needed to be ready. And being distracted by fear would only leave them open to a move...

sss

Rudy did his best to push back his fear. He didn't want to let himself be ruled by it. He knew that wouldn't do him any good. Yet he found it hard to completely forget the worry that was struck into his heart a short time ago.

He found it unbelievable that he had let himself get into his state. He knew that Von wouldn't be much of a threat to him. It wasn't like he could make a move against him, like his parents and Penny said. It was too big of a risk. He knew his parents would keep him safe, and it wasn't like the school was going to let a random person come and take one of the students.

Yet he couldn't completely push aside his fear. The mere fact the man had shown up in his house uninvited was scary enough. Even though it wasn't like he just waltz in like he owned the place, his presence there alone was enough to unnerve him.

And the way he looked at him, too... He felt a cold shiver along his spine at that thought. He just wanted to curl up in a ball when he had seen the man stare at him with that expression. His eyes seemed to twinkle, spewing out a hidden, unheard message. There was some unspoken promise in there, and it didn't help that looking at the man's eyes then was like looking into the abyss.

He was glad that he listened to Penny's idea of coming into ChalkZone. He was still aware of the possible danger, and that it really wasn't over yet. He was aware that one slip up was all it would take for the man to find out about ChalkZone, and he knew that Von would want want to test them for all kinds of things. Painful tests that he would rather not have any zoner endure. It was just way too cruel.

But just being in here helped him feel more relaxed. It helped him realize that he was safe, that nothing bad had happened yet. It helped him wash away that anxiety through his spine, leaving his body like a cold yet hot vapor. It reminded him of happier times, of when he is exploring in ChalkZone with his friends, having a great time.

And most of all, it reminded him of hope. There was still a chance to make sure that ChalkZone stayed safe. The man didn't even know for certain of the place's existence, far as he knew, so there was much less of a threat of him coming in here, trying to take it over or exploit it.

However, they couldn't dismiss this probable threat. And that's just what he and his friends weren't going to do. Swallowing his fear, doing his best to look brave, Rudy proceeded with the discussion of what to do about Von. The results of this meeting would determine what they were going to do regarding Von. He hoped that they would be able to come up with a sensible solution.

"Whoa..."

That had been Snap. Rudy looked out in front of him. Standing not far away was Snap. He and Penny had just delivered the news to him. As they had expected, he did not take it well. He looked a bit shaken by what they told regarding Von.

"I don't believe it.. Him..of all people..?" Snap's eyes widened as he saw Rudy and Penny nod their heads. He gritted his teeth, lowering his gaze slightly. "That's exactly what we need..another nutjob trying to get into this place." He shook his head slowly.

Rudy couldn't blame Snap for how he felt. From what he had been told, Von wasn't exactly the best person to be around. He was another possible creepazoid that they will have to watch out for. It was tough enough with Terry and Vinnie. Now there was this guy. To an extent, he was worse than Terry or Vinnie and the reason was...

"Do you have any plans on how you are going to outwit a genius, Rudy?" Came Snap's question. It was blatant, short, and to the point. It was not accusatory, but rather it opened his eyes to the reality of the situation, and made him realize how difficult this really was going to be.

"I'm...I'm not sure..." Rudy said in a low whisper, his eyes widened slightly. "I really don't know.."

"Come on, there has to be something..." Penny said. "We've never given up before. Why start now?"

Rudy stared at his female friend. He admired her determination and spirit. He wished he could be as certain as Penny was about the situation. She wasn't willing to give up, and neither was he. Yet, he still felt uncertain about what they were going to do.

Going after the man wasn't an option. It would be too difficult to pull off. And too dangerous as well. They were better off thinking of a new strategy. But so far, none of the new thoughts they had made enough sense to even be brought up. As he looked around, seeing his friends' expressions, and the reflexion of his own in Snap's mirror, it became increasingly clear that none of them had been able to think of a sensible solution.

Rudy feel his gut start to twist in frustration as more time passed with no one speaking up. Were they really at this amount of loss of what to do? Did they really have no plans on how to deal with Von? It certainly seemed that way. He looked at his friends, and none of them looked close to being able to think of any kind of answer.

He let out a sigh, leaning himself back, tilting his head up. His mind went deep into thought. There had to be some kind of angle he hadn't thought of. A pathway they could choose that would benefit them. Von had shown enough that he wasn't going to be just sitting around, twiddling his fingers. They needed to figure out something soon, before he had a chance to make his move.

But...what could they do...? The man hadn't even done anything that major yet. Sure he showed up at his house and had tried to get to him. And when he left, it sounded as if he was willing to do whatever it took to get to him. It was clear that he was not going to give up. Yet...he hadn't done anything to him outside of what could be interpreted as a threat, and that might be seen as a stretch to the authorities.

Without knowing what the man was up to, outside of perpetual motion, they had little to go on to figure out how to deal with him. He didn't even know about ChalkZone, so trying to figure out a defense here was going to be a waste of time. Plus he did not want to panic the zoners over something that might not happen. Von was not yet a threat to ChalkZone, and he hoped it would stay that way.

He could feel his mind go numb, almost shut down, as the frustration began to take its toll. A wave of cold and hot energy swept through him, concentrating in his hands and fingertips, as he tried to figure out what they were going to do.

He exhaled slowly, loud enough to get his friends' attention. He could feel Snap and Penny's stares on him. He knew they were looking to him, hoping that he had figured out a plan. He glanced at them. They looked as frustrated as he had. He sucked on his lip and turned away. He gave another sweep of his mind, hoping to find something, anything... But in the end, he found nothing, and he glanced over at his friends.

"I...I can't think of anything.. I'm sorry." Rudy lowered his head. "I'm at a loss of what we can do. There just..." He raised his hands up at his side. "..just not enough that we could use to help devise a plan."

Penny frowned at this. "Well I'm sure we can think of something. We just..."

Rudy stared over at Penny. "We are probably better off just not doing anything for now." He paused for a moment. He couldn't believe the amount of disappointment he felt flow from his own mouth as he spoke those words. He usually was able to think of something, and the fact that, for the moment, he could not, it was an uncomfortable feeling. "...and just wait and see what happens. Cautiously of course."

Penny shook her head. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea to put this off, Rudy." She held up her hand in gesture. "Keep in mind of what Von could do. He's a scientist, Rudy. Yeah, he might be a bit of a nut, and he isn't well respected anymore. But the mere fact that he's a scientist, and not just some business man like Vinnie Raton or a newsreporter like Terry Bouffant, this means that he isn't going to be as easily tricked. If he were ever to find out about ChalkZone..."

"I know, Penny..." Rudy cut her off. "I know..."

Rudy was well aware of what Von could do. Being a scientist, he may try to figure out the inner mechanics of the magic chalk and learn how it works. He might even be able to replicate it, and find a way into ChalkZone without the need of magic chalk. The thought sent a cold chill down his spine. The very idea of something like that being created...

"Let's not forget what he might do to zoners..." Came Snap's grim, small voice.

Rudy's eyes widened at this. He exchanged a horrified glance with Penny. Another detail that they were all too familiar with. They only ever got a taste of zoner treatment when Terry stuffed Snap into her bag and when Vinnie showed interest in forcing zoners to be slaves in his amusement park. But they all knew, deep down, that only scratched the surface.

They all knew that scientists would be very interested in ChalkZone's mechanics, and the zoners themselves would be such an oddity to them. They would want to study them, learn about them. And while that in of itself wasn't bad, they were aware that it would likely involve the zoners being killed...or even tortured through various experimentations. Science was sometimes harsh when it came to learning.

And this harshness could very well be increased tenfold by the fact that zoners were often one of a kind, not to mention zoners usually don't die and could live forever provided they got enough to eat and drink. So there would be no corpses for the scientists to study; they'd have to make their own.

The three of them couldn't let that happen. Regardless of whatever good could come out of it, they wouldn't feel right letting the zoners suffer at the hands of scientists. Especially not at Von's. Sure, they understood most scientists wouldn't be doing it to be malicious, but they had little trust in Von. His quest to become famous, as well as his personality, may lead him to abuse his knowledge and any zoner that may end up trapped in his clutches.

Rudy shuddered at the horrific thoughts that entered his mind. There was so much that man could do to a zoner, and since a zoner wasn't human, he may not be so inclined to exercise restraint. An average scientist might be merciful enough to render a zoner brain dead before performing experiments on it. But Von, as well as some scientists, may not be so thoughtful.

"I hope he doesn't get a chance to..." Snap's voice trailed off. He looked at his friends, his expression alone finishing what he was going to say. It took Rudy and Penny only seconds to figure out what he was implying.

"Don't worry, Snap. He won't..." Penny said, her voice laced in determination.

"Does this mean you figured out what you are going to do?" Snap asked hopefully. "Because I can't think of anything. Well..." He rubbed his chin. "Except what you two normally do. Keep an eye on things, watch out for any suspicious actions or people..."

Penny nodded her head. "Yeah, that's what we'll do." She looked over at Rudy. "That...seems to be the best we can do..."

Rudy noticed a slight falter in Penny's voice. She seemed disappointed that they weren't able to come up with any better plans. The idea of sitting and waiting didn't sound particularly exciting or efficient, but at the moment, it was all they could do. The more the three thought about it, the more they realized this to be the case.

As much as Rudy didn't want to, as much as he wanted to figure out something better, he realized that this was likely their best option. Wait and see, and hope for the best. But being careful to be on their guard in case something does happen.

"Yeah...I agree." Rudy said. He looked at Penny sympathetically. "I'm sorry we couldn't..."

"It's all right. I should have realized sooner that we would just be wasting time." Penny said. Though she smiled, Rudy could detect a bit of sadness behind it. "There isn't anything we can do now, since Doctor Von Doktor hasn't done enough for us to work off of. So..." She stood up from the couch, straightening her back. She glared softly at Snap and Rudy. "..let's just give him time to do something so we can better counter him."

Rudy and Snap nodded in agreement at this. They both knew it was best they could do for now. They just had to keep their guard up and prepare for any move the man may make. Even if he didn't do anything, they could not simply dismiss him and the threat he could pose for ChalkZone. It just wasn't worth the risk.

Rudy and his friends could only hope that their alarm raised on Von was going to be short lived.

sss

"That was some party!" Blocky exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.

Rapsheeba nodded at this. "Yeah, it sure was."

Blocky twiddled his fingers together, excitemen racing through his body. Rapsheeba could see it practically dripping from his face. Though the party had ended the other day, Blocky was still reeling from excitement. She hoped he would settle down soon before he ended up giving himself a heart attack, despite how little sense that made.

"I can't wait until next year!" The rectangular zoner cried. He made no attempts on taming down the happiness that was still swelling inside of him. "I'll bet it'll be even bigger, better...!"

"Blocky, please settle down." Rapsheeba said cautiously. She looked left and right. "Don't disturb these people, please."

Rapsheeba and Blocky weren't out in the open, or in a park or anything. They were enjoying a meal together in a packed restaurant. Blocky's excitement had already gotten them a few stares from some other customers. And some of the workers were distracted from doing what they should be because of Blocky's high pitchd voice. She didn't want it to escalate any further than that.

"Oh..I'm sorry.." Blocky said as his body went lax. "I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it." Rapsheeba waved a dismissive hand. "I ain't mad at you. I just don't want to you to get too exciteable. Just relax and let's enjoy this dinner. I know it's not much of a birthday gift, but..."

"Are you kidding me?!" Blocky cried excitedly. He then stopped himself when he realized he was speaking up too loudly. He covered his mouth, looking around sheepishly. He cleared his throat and spoke again, this time, taking care to be quieter. "Are you kidding? I love this! I've always wanted to come to this restaurant. This is a great gift!"

Rapsheeba smiled at this. "Well I glad you appreciate it, Blocky." She furrowed her eyes a little. "I still wished I had remembered to get you a present before the party..."

Blocky grinned at her. "No worries!" Noticing Rapsheeba's expression, he gave her a sympathetic look. "Although...if you do feel that bad, you could make up for it during the holidays in the winter."

Rapsheeba looked at him with a confused expression. "The holidays in the winter?"

"Yeah! You know..." Blocky held out his hands, waving them around as he tried to explain. "With the singing, and the gifts, and the decorations and..."

"Oh...! That one!" Rapsheeba nodded her head. "Okay, that does sound like a plan. However..." She put a hand on her hip and her smile broadened. "You have to give me something extra special." Her tone was somewhat playful. "You won't forget that, will you?"

Blocky shook his head. "Nope! I promise!"

Rapsheeba smiled at this. She knew Blocky would fulfill his promise. He always does. And she wouldn't really get angry at him if he didn't get her anything. Just him showing up for the party or concert or whatever she decided to do was good enough. Blocky knew this, too.

She was glad that Blocky enjoyed the party that was set up for him the other day. It had been a lot of hard work, especially finding a particular location. Not to mention finding a band to play, getting all the food, among other things. But it had all been worth it in the end. They were able to set things up faster than they thought, and they found a lovely space in the Candycane Forest that was large enough to house everyone involved.

Blocky's reaction had just been what they were hoping for, and then some. He was enthusiastic about everything in the party, and so happy to be there. He had been taken aback by the mount of work that went into the party. But he never once tried to hold himself back or try to be modest. He had enjoyed himself, playing games, laughing, even singing. It was exactly how they all had hoped the party would go. In the end, they all knew it had been a success.

But though Blocky was happy with his gifts, and he was happy with what she was giving him right now, she wished she could think of something else she could do for him. She felt obligued to do more for her friend. Perhaps she was overthinking it. Perhaps she might be overdoing it. But she couldn't help it. Blocky was such a nice person, and he was one of her closest friends. He deserved it. She started to search her mind, trying to think of something else she could give him.

Something more than a simple meal. Something more than a mere box of chocolates. A gift that meant something. A gift that he would not likely forget anytime soon, nor would anyone else. Something that she could be more proud of.

That's when it hit her. The perfect gift for her friend. It was almost like an avalanche of inspiration struck in her in the face. She knew exactly what she could get for her friend. It would be perfect.

"Hey Blocky?" Rapsheeba waited as Blocky turned to look at her. "You enjoy my parades, right?"

At this, Blocky cocked an eyebrow. "Of course I do! What makes you think that I don't?"

"Oh no, it's not that." Rapsheeba waved her hand in front of her. "I was just think that..."

"Your food, sir and ma'am."

Rapsheeba and Blocky went quiet as a voice cut them off from their conversation. They looked over and saw an insectoid zoner standing there, holding a couple trays in his three clawed hands. Seeing the food on the trays, they knew that their orders had just come in. They leaned back to give the waiter some room. The insect zoner wasted no time in setting the plates down carefully.

"Enjoy your meal." The insectoid zoner said as he started to turn and make his way to the next table. He moved too fast for them to properly thank him.

Rapsheeba looked down at their food to make sure they got the right meals. A quick sweep over eyes confirmed that their orders were correct. She immediately picked up her fork to begin eating.

After a few moments of dining in, Blocky said, "So...what was that you were talking about before?"

Rapsheeba swallowed her piece of food as she stared at Blocky. For a few seconds, she wasn't sure what he was talking about. This only lasted a second before she said, "Oh! Thanks for reminding me!" Rapsheeba took another bite of food before she set her fork down and leaned back against her chair. "Well there is an upcoming parade coming up soon in ChalkZone City. A big one that I'm organizing myself."

"Oh yeah?" Blocky asked. "I think I heard about it from a zoner passing by. I didn't know you were organizing it, though."

Rapsheeba nodded her head. "I am. It's something I worked really hard on. It's going to be bigger than any other parade I have ever been in charge of." She waved her hands outward to emphasize her point. Blocky's eyes widened in awe. "It's going to be spectacular!"

"I'll bet!" Blocky concurred, nodding his head. "You always hold the best parades!"

Rapsheeba blushed a little at this. "Thank you."

Blocky smiled for a few seconds. Then a look of curiosity came over his face. "So...why were you asking? Were you going to give me a great seat or something?" He spluttered at this. "I realize how stupid that sounded and..."

"It's quite all right." Rapsheeba said. Although the idea of giving Blocky a great seat to one of her concerts sounded like a splendid idea, she had something much better in mind. "How would you like to be in the parade itself?"

Blocky's eyes widened at this. "Really...?" Rapsheeba smiled and nodded her head. Blocky's eyes brightened and a smile stretched along his face. More excitement dripped from his voice as he gave his reply. "That sounds wonderful! I would love that!"

"I had a feeling you would like it." Rapsheeba said.

"Love it? I don't just love it. I adore it!" Blocky sounded more excited than a kid in a candy store. He loved her parades so much already, and the idea of actually being in the parade itself increased his excitement even more. "I can't believe it. I'm going to be in a parade!"

Blocky froze at this, realizing his voice was too high again. He and Rapsheeba looked left and right. Several zoners were looking at them now. They carried expressions of confusion and perplexion. Some looked as if they were whispering to another zoner about the rectangle's behavior. A few looked angry or annoyed that Blocky's outburst was distracting them from their own conversations or work.

Blocky gave a few quick chuckles, muttering some apologies to the zoners. He shrank himself down, embarrassment creeping along his face. He looked down towards the table, sheepishly eating a few pieces of food. The tension of zoners staring at them lasted for a little while before the zoners, one by one, looked away, resuming what they were doing before.

After clearing his throat a bit, Blocky spoke again, trying to sound calmer. "I would love that, Rapsheeba. But I would understand if you aren't able to put me in. Just watching the parade would be good enough for me. I wouldn't want you to waste your time on..."

"It's not a waste, Blocky. You're my friend. I'm doing this because I care about you." Rapsheeba said with a smile on her face. "If I didn't consider you a great friend, I wouldn't be doing this. I'm giving you this offer because you are my friend and I want to do this. So please, don't think you are forcing me into this or anything. I'm doing this on my own free will."

Rapsheeba was not surprised that Blocky was a bit concerned about her offer. He wasn't the kind of guy to try to inflate his ego or anything like that, so it would be natural that he wouldn't want to take her gift offer if he felt that she was only making the offer because she thought she had to. That was how much of a nice guy Blocky was.

There was no reason for him to feel guilty about accepting the gift. She hoped he would come to realize that soon. She had a feeling he would, considering he had initially been taken aback by the amount of work that went into creating his party, but soon had come to enjoy it and had a really good time. The parade would be no different.

Yeah, maybe she was overdoing it a little. After all, getting him a nice place to watch the parade from would be easier. It would take a lot of convincing the rest of the marching parade to let an extra person in. This wasn't something they did all that much. Considering she was the leader, though, it would still be plausible, and she was willing to go the extra mile for a friend. Blocky was no exception.

Realizing she forgot a small detail, she added, "Oh and you are going to be in the front of the line."

Blocky nearly spat out his food at this. He coughed a few times Rapsheeba looked at him sympathetically, uttering a soft apology. She hadn't meant to make him choke on his food like that. He looked at her, his eyes wide in shock. "The f-f-front..?" He whispered softly. The shaking in his body told Rapsheeba how much he was fighting not to explode in excitement. "Are you sure?"

Rapsheeba nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't have it any other way." She reached over and touched him on the shoulder, or rather, the best she could considering his design. "I would be proud to march alongside you in the parade."

Blocky stared at Raspheeba for several moments. He then smiled. "Thank you..." He said softly. "You too." He reached over with one of his hands, and soon Rapsheeba could feel his hand on her shoulder. He then pulled back and asked, "When is the parade?"

"It will be coming up soon." Rapsheeba said. She thought for a moment, trying to remember what day she had it scheduled for. "A couple days. I'll come find you the day before. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great." Blocky smiled. "I'll see you at the parade then!"

"I look forward to it." Rapsheeba smiled back at him before she resumed eating.

sss

Dr. Von Doktor stood in front of his table, various empty tubes sitting on it. He gripped the table with his hands tightly, a growing burning energy rising up inside of him. He felt his blood start to overheat as he failed to fight back his emotions.

His mind raged as he thought about the events that had happened to him as of late. Only a few months ago, he had been a distinguished scientist. He had been respected, on some level, and taken seriously enough that even the more famous scientists would stop by and see something that he had created or found out.

But now he was a laughing stock. Often, he would see his name in some story on the internet making fun of him, and he had found more than enough uncomfortable pictures on art sites to fill many tens of comic books. His name had been drug through the mud more than once, and it showed no signs of slowing down. Most of his fellow scientists turn their back to him now, not wanting to associate with a 'madman' who thought that a mere toy with a plug had replicated perpetual motion.

He had tried to defend himself. He had tried to look into other areas of science. He tried to buld up his credentials again. He tried to show everyone that he wasn't some crazy nut job. But he failed. None of his efforts had a long lasting effect. He knew he was not going to live this down. No one was going to allow him to.

So he had only one option that he could see. He had to go back to the one topic that had everyone turn against him in the first place. The subject that made him the source of ridicule.

He had to prove perpetual motion. Only then could he get his dignity back.

This meant that he had to turn to Rudy. That boy was the key to figuring all of this out. Rudy had been resistant to his interrogation technics before. But maybe he had to look at things from a new angle. Maybe if he thought of a new strategy, he could get the boy to spill the beans on how he accomplished such a tactic.

The emotions already rising inside of him increased at the mere thought of Rudy. His attempts at getting information earlier had failed thanks to his parents' interruption. But it wasn't them he was mad at. It was Rudy himself.

He was the one who caused all of this. He was the one who had created that wonderful machine, which could have made him famous, only to take it away and replace it with a replica with a plug. That must have been what happened. Yes, there was no other way it could have happened. The boy replaced it, all just to humiliate him in front of the scientists.

It was because of that little brat that he had lost any amount of respect he had garnered over the years. It was his fault that even the news stations were wary about putting him on for any length of time. He remembered, with bitterness in his mouth, how the television folks had switched too quickly from him. He barely had a few minutes time, despite being told he would be on for much longer.

Rudy... The very name made the old man's blood boil. That name became so hated in his mind, that just merely thinking about it was enough to set off a chain reaction in his mind. If he didn't have to worry about the law, he would slap that child up so bad, he would feel it for a week.

Recalling all the humiliation that Rudy had caused him made him form a fist with his hand. He shook it as the negative emotion surged through him. His eyes locked onto the empty vials, his angered mind envisioning Rudy's face on it, he suddenly lashed out, striking the objects with his fist. The vials were knocked across the table. A few of them rolled off, smashing on the ground. The sound of breaking glass filled his eyes, and he did not flinch.

It took him a few moments to calm himself down. His buzzing mind slowly settled into a more tranquil state of mind. He exhaled slowly, breathing out as much of the negative energy as he could. He looked down at the shattered glass, and, after a couple seconds, shook his head.

He was being immature about this. He couldn't let his hatred for Rudy cloud his judgment. He couldn't waste time on getting revenge on him. That would get him nowhere, and is more likely to result in him getting into more trouble.

No, instead, he should focus on what really mattered right now. He needed to keep his attention on unlocking the secrets of perpetual motion. As much as he hated Rudy, he would get a lot more out of talking to the boy than trying to threaten him or even hurt him. He knew he slipped up when he gave that thinly disguised threat to Rudy earlier. He would need to be more careful next time and focus his attention on perpetual motion.

There was another reason that he knew he shouldn't tangle with Rudy. One that he made sure to remember whenever he thought about him.

The boy had been able to figure out perpetual motion. He was able to piece together some puzzle, some formula, that enabled him to create a machine that had no power source. That would have taken no less than a stroke of genius. And not only did the boy figure out perpetual motion, but he treated it like a toy, making a little plaything with it, and bobbleheads. If he could dismiss this discovery as an 'accident', then what other genius lay within the boy? Von knew better than to mess with a child of that kind of intellect. He would need to tread lightly with him.

He turned his gaze towards the other table in the room. There was an object on there. It was very much like the one that had exploded. He had went back to the drawing board and created a new one, this one sturdier and hopefully far less...explodey than the last one. He walked up to it, his eyes moving up and down as he investigated its design.

A part of him was still flabbergasted that the boy achieved perpetual motion with this design. It seemed so ineffecient...yet somehow it worked. Somehow, the boy managed to make it function. Yet his attempts to replicate it had always failed. The boy had some kind of secret... An interior portion perhaps. Something that he could not see. If only he had gotten a look inside that machine, he...

He shook his head. He felt himself start to get angry and frustrated again. He couldn't allow that. He would figure it out sooner or later. He just needed to about this the right way. He had to approach the problem from the correct angle. It would take a lot of trial and error, but he'd figure it out eventually. Even if that little brat refused to help him, he would figure out his secret. And then no one would dare make fun of him again...

He approached the machine, taking a small step forward. He reached towards it, folding his fingers against his palm while extending out his pointer. He pressed it against the button, and hoped for the best. He watched the machine intently, waiting, watching, crossing his fingers that something would happen.

...and it just remained still as stone. No churning of the wheels. No rattling of inward gears. No bobble heads of a weird blue kid coming out. Just...nothing. Nada. Zilch. It took him only a second to know that his experiment had failed. Again.

He growled softly, fighting back the urge to scream in frustration. This had been the twentieth time he had failed. Twenty times trying to get this experiment right. Or maybe it had been more. He had lost track, a testament to how many times he had tried to replicate the boy's results. This machine might look just like the one the boy had made. But it was clear it was far less than stellar. He picked it up and threw it away in disgust.

He had to figure out how the boy accomplished this. He had to figure out how he managed to discover this ability, something that had eluded scientists for so long. It would revolutionize the way machines were built. It would change everything. How...how could a little child like Rudy outsmart the best of scientists? How could he outsmart him, of all people?

Then something entered his mind. Something, or rather, someone he hadn't thought of for a while.

Terry Bouffant.

He remembered when that woman had come over to interrogate him. Well she called it an interview, but to him, it was an interrogation. He hadn't been happy with her sudden intrusion, and how forceful her questioning had been. It felt as though she was boxing him into a corner, and she seemed rather...obsessed.

He recalled that she had been trying to prove the existence of a chalk world. He had heard, from an off hand source, that she had used him as one of her witnesses in her case for this chalk world. The idea made his blood boil. Just what he needed. More reasons for people to mock him. His name was ruined enough; he didn't need that crazy woman distorting it further.

And a world made of chalk...? How ludicrous. No creature could survive being made entirely of chalk. It just wasn't possible. The mere act of standing in the rain would be enough to cause their bodies to break down. Why would nature devise such a poor construct? No world could last that long being made of chalk, let alone a single species. Terry was just spewing out nonsense. Yet she got less ridicule compared to him. She gets more time on television than he does, and he sees far less jokes about her than of himself.

It just wasn't fair. Terry was absolutely insane, bragging on and on about that stupid chalk world that everyone knows isn't real, while he had been shown a genuine scientific discovery, and made the blunder of not realizing the machines were switched out, and yet he is the one who is being ripped apart in the media, while Terry is given a much tamer response. He chalked it up, no pun intended, to her being a woman, and young. To them, he was a more acceptable target. And the thought burned his mind.

A thought crossed his mind. He thought back to what Terry had said to him, and what he had heard she was talking about. Apparently in this world of chalk, the laws of physics would be...quite different. Namely, they could be distorted to benefit the drawing itself, resulting in seemingly impossible creations functioning as they had been intended to.

If he understood this statement right, this meant that something like a giant dragon with tiny wings could fly, or a crawling baby could outrun a full grown human, and that was just scratching the surface. The possibilities were practically endless. If this were the case, then maybe it was possible for...

He shook his head. What was he thinking? He was getting himself caught up in that stupid chalk conspiracy that Ms. Bouffant came up with. His reputation did not need him to get involved with something like that. He was already a big enough laughing stock. The last thing he needed was to sound as crazy as Ms. Bouffant did. That wacked out news reporter must have been smoking crack when she thought of this whole 'expose the chalk world' nonsense. He was not going to get involved with that.

He turned his attention back to the broken machine on the ground. He had to admit, a drawing version would answer the question of perpetual motion, but he knew that wasn't the case. The boy did not make that machine out of chalk. He had felt it himself. It did not feel like chalk, therefore it wasn't chalk. It was real. The boy had made it with his own bare hands. He had discovered perpetual motion and he had gotten it to work.

He would figure out the boy's secret sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.

Chapter 5: Visits

The things people can hide behind a most modest handshake.

sss

The next day, Rudy helped his parents carry the luggage to their car. He didn't make a big deal of them leaving like he did for their honeymoon. He felt pretty stupid looking back on that. It had been their special day and he had only thought of himself. This time, he won't make that mistake. He was still upset that they waited so long to tell him, but oh well. Not much can be done about that at the moment.

It didn't take too long to carry in the smaller luggage to the car for them. He didn't dare try anything too heavy. He didn't want to pull a muscle or anything. That would be quite awful if that happened, especially if it was to his right arm. He felt a cold shudder when he remembered the incident with Jacko.

He shook that out of his mind quickly so he could focus on getting the luggage in. He was carrying the last one, using his arms and hands to steady it to his chest. He wobbled a little, but for the most part, this piece of luggage was easy to carry. He went over to the open door where he could see his mother waiting. As soon as he got close enough, the large woman grabbed onto it and placed it in the car.

"Thank you, Rudy." His mom said as she placed the luggage in the car. She shut the door and gently patted him on the head. "We'll be back before you know it."

Rudy just smiled at his mom. His previous anger at them waiting so long was gone. He couldn't stay mad at his parents for long. They were his parents, after all. He couldn't blame them for making one mistake, and they did promise to not do it again.

Out of the peripheral vision of his eye, he could see some faint color and movement. He lifted up his head and he could see it was his father. The skrawny man had went around to the other side of the car. He opened up the door and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Come on, Millie! We don't have much time!" His dad cried, a sense of urgency in his voice. "The plane will take off without us if we're late!"

"We have plenty of time!" His mother called back. She paused for a moment. "But you're right. Better we are early than late." She looked down at Rudy. She pulled him into a hug. "Now you be a good boy and listen to Aunt Tilly while we are gone, okay?"

"I will. Don't worry." Rudy hugged his mother. After a few seconds, he let go and took a few steps back.

Standing next to him was his aunt. She was holding onto Sophie, cradling the little girl in her arms. As usual, Sophie looked really happy to see him. She was reaching out towards him with her hands and called out his name over and over.

After a few moments of trying to control the struggling girl, Aunt Tilly turned herself around and handed the small child to Rudy. The young boy was surprised by this, but he still took Sophie into his arms. Sophie wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug, especially for someone her size. Rudy held his cousin against himself as she looked up at his mother and aunt as they conversed.

"Are you sure you have everything? The schedule? Enough clothes to last you a few days?" His mother had her palm facing up, pressing a finger against each digit as she listed off everything that she could think of. "It's all good?"

"Oh don't worry about it! Everything will be fine! I did this before, remember?" Aunt Tilly reassured his mother.

"You are absolutely sure?" His mother had a worried tone to her voice.

"Now, now, Millie. Your sister has everything under control." His dad called out from the care. "Now come along!" He motioned with his hand. "We are going to be late if we don't get a move on!"

"Your husband is right. I've got everything under control." Aunt Tilly put her hand around Rudy and pulled him close. Rudy rested his head against her side as he felt her rub his shoulders gently. "Now you two have fun on your little trip!"

His mother frowned at this. "Well I don't know if being dragged to this business meeting is fun..." She shook her head and smiled back at her sister. "But I'll try to make the most of it. Take care, everyone!"

"Bye!" Rudy and his aunt cried in unison.

His mother smiled at this, and then she went over to the car. She opened up the passenger's door and climbed in, the door shutting immediately behind her. The smoke from the engine began to pillow out as the car was pulled back out of the drive way. Rudy and his aunt waved to them as they moved out onto the street. Then, seconds later, the vehicle sped forward, and his parents were out of sight.

Rudy watched them as they left. He hoped they would have a good time in Florida. Even though it was a business trip, he'd feel it would be a pretty wasted trip if they didn't enjoy themselves somehow.

"Now, let's go on inside, okay?"

Rudy felt his aunt gently push him to turn him around and began to guide him back to the house. Her hand was still on his shoulder, refusing to let go of him. Rudy didn't try to jerk free despite the fact that he felt slightly undignified to have his aunt guide him back in the house.

It didn't take them long to get back inside the house. His aunt let go of him as soon as they were in through the doors. He watched as she walked out in front of him and made her way into the kitchen. She began to rummage through the cupboards to see what they had available. Rudy looked down at Sophie and gently set her down. With a squeal, the little girl ran away from him, likely to wherever her toys were being kept.

"Hey, Rudy?" His aunt called out.

Rudy immediately walked into the kitchen. He could see his aunt was holding a couple boxes of what appeared to be noodles. She was looking at each one, her face furrowed a bit. "Yes, Aunt Tilly?"

The woman turned to him. "Which noodles would you like me to use?" She held the boxes up so he could see them. "I'm going to make some chicken alfredo for dinner later today."

"Why ask me now?" Rudy was confused. "It's pretty early to be asking me that if this is for dinner."

"Might as well ask now before you have to leave for school." Aunt Tilly took a few steps towards him. She held the boxes even closer and she repeated her question, her voice a tad more firm this time. "Which one would you like?"

Rudy looked from one box to the other. One of them were ring noodles with little patterns in them. The other was the usual fettucini noodles often used in alfredo. Rudy was never all that fond of them, so he pointed to the ring noddles instead. "I'd like this one."

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind." Aunt Tilly turned and walked back towards the cabinet. She placed the boxes back in and then headed towards the freezer. "I'm going to thaw out some chicken now so it's ready for later." She gave a smile to Rudy. "That way, when you get home, the alfredo should already be done."

Rudy nodded his head to show that he understood what his aunt said. He then turned his head to where the steps were. He looked back at his aunt and said, "I'm going upstairs to get ready."

"Okay then! Make sure to let me know when you're leaving! And say goodbye to Sophie, too! She gets a little antsy when you disappear without telling her." His aunt said.

"Don't worry. I will!" Rudy said as he began to make his way up the steps.

As he ascended the staircase, he started to think about what he was going to do. He still had time to visit Snap. He was already in ChalkZone late last night. He had gone in to speak to Snap. He had told him of the new situation, with Sophie now being in the house. He wasn't able to stay long as he wanted to try to wake up early. So all he was able to do was lay the run down with Snap. The zoner agreed that he was going to need to be more careful when entering ChalkZone for the next few days. Rudy hoped that things won't get too rough.

He did have some extra time to talk to Snap and Penny this morning. Not just because he woke up early, or that his folks left quite early in the morning, not long after he woke up, but also because there was a two hour delay at school today. Something about a power outage. That gave him a lot more time to talk to his friends.

He just hoped that he would be able to get into ChalkZone without too much trouble. With Sophie around, she could easily climb in through the portal. He could just erase it and it would be fine. But then if the girl noticed he was gone, she might run around the house, calling out for him. Then his aunt would realize something was wrong and... He had to be careful not to let the situation escalate like that.

It didn't take him too long to reach the top of the stairs. He glanced back down to see if his aunt was going to try calling his name again for anything. When she was silent, he moved towards his room. The fact that it was opened up did not concern him; he didn't always shut the door.

But it was a different story when he walked into the room.

"Soph..?!" Rudy cried in surprise.

To his surprise, Sophie hadn't stayed downstairs like he thought. She had gone up here into his bedroom. He was shocked. She was not the quietest girl around and he should have heard her climbing up here. Yet he didn't. Was he really that focused on his aunt that he didn't pay attention to the pitter patter of a small, excited child going up to his room?

Sophie was standing in front of the large chalkboard. She had a piece of chalk in her small hand. He tensed up, a cold wave rushing through his body. He soon breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was just a regular piece of chalk that she had. She pressed it against the chalkboard and started to scribble on it.

"Hey, what are you drawing there?" Rudy asked as he approached her slowly. Sophie just giggled and continued to draw squiggly lines all over the place. "Another masterpiece, I presume?"

Sophie just giggled at her cousin. She gave him a big, wide grin before turning back to the chalkboard. The familiar squeak of the chalk against the black surface filled Rudy's ears as the little girl made a few quick jerks of her arm. He covered one of his ears, flinching at the uncomfortable sound. He watched as the little girl made a series of multiple squiggles, creating no discernable pattern.

When she was done, she lowered her chalk at her side and looked up at Rudy expectantly. Knowing what she wanted, Rudy leaned forward and examined her handiwork. It was nothing more outstanding than what she usually did. Just a series of scribbles. He refrained himself from stating the obvious and just smiled back at her.

"That looks great, Sophie!" Rudy patted his cousin on the head. "You're a natural little artist, aren't you?"

Sophie giggled and spread her arms out. "Rudy! Rudy!" She squealed.

Rudy smiled at this. A part of him couldn't believe that he let himself get jealous over the attention Sophie's little scribbles got her. She might not be much of an artist yet, but she loved to draw just as much as him. In the future, if she kept it up, she would get much better.

"Watch! Draw more!" Sophie called out as she took the eraser and wiped the chalkboard clean. Rudy chuckled as he imagined Snap being rained on by random scribbles. "I draw more!"

As much as Rudy would have loved to see more of his cousin's cute little art, he knew he didn't have time for that. He wanted to talk to Snap and Penny as soon as possible. He didn't know when Penny was going to arrive in ChalkZone, but he knew Snap was waiting for him. He didn't want to keep his friend waiting for long.

"Hey Soph? I'd love to see more of your pictures, but I...I need to get ready for school, and I can't have you in here." Rudy said. He walked over to his cousin and grabbed onto her. He positioned her towards the door and then began to push her lightly towards it. "So why don't you head downstairs and..."

"No! Draw!" Sophie slipped away from Rudy, causing him to nearly trip over his own feet. She rushed back to the chalkboard and smacked her hand against the dark surface. "Draw!"

Rudy looked over at his cousin. "Don't you want to draw downstairs? I have a nice notebook down there and a pen you can use."

Sophie shook her head. "No! Draw here! Chalk!"

Rudy tried again. "Please Sophie. I need to get ready and I'd rather you not be in here. Since we're...you know...not the same gender..?" Sophie still refused to move, shaking her head furiously. "Come on, Sophie..." He held up his hands in desperation. "Twenty minutes. That's all I'm asking for. Twenty minutes. Can't you wait that long?"

Sophie moved her head from side to side rapidly. "No no no!" She turned her attention back to the chalkboard and began to draw again.

Rudy slapped himself in his forehead as he looked on. He let out a deep sigh of frustration. This was going to be harder than he thought. He needed a way to get his cousin out of the room so he could speak to Snap. Sophie was not going ton another ChalkZone adventure if he had anything to say about it.

There had to be someway to get his cousin to leave. There had to be something he could do to get her out of the room for a short time. He hoped he could figure something out soon. The longer he waited, the less time he was going to have to speak to Snap on the issue. A part of him wished Penny was here. She might be able to get the little girl out of the room and entertain her for a little while as he spoke with Snap. But that would leave the problem of getting Penny into ChalkZone without Sophie following her.

He hoped Penny was having an easier time getting into ChalkZone than he was at the moment. Considering her mom wasn't going on some trip and Penny didn't have a little cousin to worry about, he couldn't imagine her having that much difficulty. He was almost jealous.

sss

Penny rushed back and forth, trying to get ready as quickly as she could. She couldn't believe that she had overslept. She must have forgotten to set her alarm last night. Of all the days... She just hoped that she wouldn't be keeping Rudy waiting for long. He was probably in ChalkZone now, chatting with Snap, waiting for her. She would feel so horrible if she kept them waiting for too long.

She quickly changed her pants and she pulled a shirt over her head. She had to pull on it a little tighter as it had gotten caught. She winced as the cloth scraped against her skin for a moment, and then she straightened her shirt out against her chest. She propped on her shoes, tying them, and then headed towards the chalkboard. She pulled out her magic chalk, preparing to create a portal.

She froze when she heard her mom calling out to her. "Penita! Aren't you hungry?"

Penny flinched at this. She had forgotten to eat breakfast. She hadn't even left her room yet. She was too busy trying to get ready to see Rudy and Snap. She realized she couldn't leave. Not yet. Otherwise, her mom was going to get suspicious.

Sucking on her lip, Penny's mind raced as she tried to think of a response. "I...I'll be down in a bit!"

"Okay, but don't wait too long!" She heard her mother shout. "Just because you have a two hour delay doesn't mean you can diddle dally!"

"I know! I'll be done! I promise!" Penny called back.

She recalled her mother telling her about the two hour delay. That was actually how she was woken up. Her mom came in and shook her awake. She told her that she was lucky that she had a two hour delay, otherwise she was going to be late for school. Penny had been horrified when she realized her mom was right, and she immediately jolted out of bed.

She was indeed lucky. Extremely lucky, that there was a delay. Not that much was going to happen from her being late other than getting a note from Mr. Wilter. But she would have gotten in trouble from her mom, as she did usually help with the morning chores, and she would have felt awful if she kept her friends waiting for too long.

Well at least she was up now. She could now make up for it by getting into ChalkZone as soon as possible. There was still time left. If she hurried, she could get to where her friends where and they could have at least half an hour to speak. Granted, that wasn't much, but it was at least far better than nothing. She wondered if they would have any better luck. She recalled they did decide it was better to wait and see if Von becomes a threat, but now there was a new issue regarding Terry. A short meeting would be better than to not meet at all in that case.

Penny was still a little shaken up from the sudden run-in with Terry. She could practically feel that vile woman's hatred radiating off her body. It was easy to joke about her when she was out of sight, but when she was right up there with them... Penny had felt her heart turn to ice, pounding against her chest. Despite the fact that she knew Terry could not do anything to them out in the open, it was still terrifying to be that close to her.

Terry had every reason to hate them. They, well mostly Rudy, had humiliated her on television. She had been mocked and ridiculed ever since she had tried to expose ChalkZone. She had motivation and interest to trying to get even with them, to get back at them. The only thing holding her back was the justice system.

Penny had no idea how far Terry would go. She had no idea what to expect from her. For now, she hoped that they wouldn't have another run-in like that. Same with Vinnie. These were two adults she hoped they never have to see again.

To everyone else, they might just be jokes. But they were still very real threats to her and Rudy, and to ChalkZone. They both have the ability to tear down ChalkZone's defense, and end the long-lived peace that world had. Unlike a situation with Skrawl, if Vinnie or Terry succeeded in exposing that world, it was all over. Even if she and Rudy could find out a way to ensure that they don't get any magic chalk, they would be harrassed by other people, maybe even their own parents, and they'd try to force them to give them a way into ChalkZone. Or the scientists could devise a way to get in without need of the magic chalk, a thought that chilled her blood.

Her mind froze at the thought of scientists. She almost forgot; there was someone else who could become a potential threat. She wondered what Von was doing right now. She hoped that he was leaving Rudy alone. She hoped that Rudy's parents had called the authorities to ensure Von doesn't bother them again.

Penny hated the way the man spoke, not just to Rudy, but in general. He clearly wanted something. Information on perpetual motion. Rudy had done what he could to convince him it was an accident, but this was a scientist they were talking about. He wouldn't be able to easily trick him. He could see right through whatever she and Rudy try to tell him. Dealing with him was going to be a lot harder.

But she tried her best to remain confident. Perhaps things would turn out the way they wanted them to. Maybe everything would be all right. Von couldn't really go through with any threat against them, not unless he wanted to be arrested. And far as she knew, he still knew of no chalk world.

Yeah, everything was fine. She had to relax. They already had eyes and ears on Von. They had already agreed to discuss about him if he ever made another move. They would not allow Von to so much as sneeze without them knowing.

Penny decided she had wasted enough time. Picking up her magic chalk again, knowing that her mom was going to get suspicious of she took too long, she began to draw a portal on her chalkboard. The light shined brightly as the circle was slowly being formed. As she drew, she hoped that Rudy and Snap wouldn't be too upset with her taking so long.

"What are you doing here?!"

Penny nearly dropped her magic chalk at this exclaimation. She whipped her head around, staring at where her door was. She felt her heart increasing its beating. She stared at the door long and hard, her breathing becoming shaky. Just what was going on?

"Get out of here now!"

Penny's eyes widened. That was her mother. She sounded...well not distressed, but really angry. Who was she yelling at? Why didn't she hear the doorbell ringing? Who had come over to visit them at this time? And why did her mother sound so angry at them? Was it just another door to door salesman or was it someone else?

Penny sucked on her lip, licking it nervously. She took in a few slow breaths to try to slow down her breathing. Now wasn't the time to get panicky. She looked back at the chalkboard and used her eraser to destroy the small bit that had been drawn. She then turned her attention to the door.

Slowly, she began to make her way towards it. She took her time, each step causing her heart to twist. She could still feel her heart pounding a little, a sense of dread still clinging onto her no matter how hard she tried to dismiss it. She had no idea what to expect when she opened up the door and called out to her mom. Although every rational part of her body was telling her there was no real danger, there was still a part of her that remained terrified.

Soon she reached the door. She hesitated, taking in a couple quick breaths. She then managed to recompose herself, exhaling slowly. It was probably just some annoying salesman like she thought, or something else mundane. Nothing to get upset over. She opened up the door and stepped out.

She walked down the upper hallway. She locked her eyes onto the railing, where the stairs were. She approached them slowly and quietly. She listened intently to what was being said, hoping to figure out what was going on without giving herself away.

"I want you to get out of here! Get out of my sight!" Her mother called out. Penny could see a shadow on the wall, and could tell her mother was pointing at someone. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but...!"

"Wait! Pleaze, let me explain! It'z not what you zink!" A familiar voice responded. Penny froze, realizing instantly who it was. "I juzt wish to.."

"No! You're not coming anywhere near my daughter! I know what you did with Rudy! I'm not letting you do the same thing to Penny!" Her mom scolded him, her voice deepeningi n anger.

Penny nearly wobbled forward when she realized that Von was in her house. She did her best to control her breathing, trying whatever she could to not panic. She stared down the steps, looking at the shadows as the two adults argued. A cold feeling swept through her body as the full realization of what was going on struck her like a freight train.

Von was back, and this time, he was coming after her. She couldn't help but shiver at the thought. What...what made the doctor come after her this time? Had he realized that she was involved with what happened to his precious machine? Did he realize that she had been a helping hand to Rudy this whole time? Why else would he stop by and try to see her? He hadn't made a hint before that he wanted to get to her, so this meeting was out of the blue. Something happened to change his mind. But what?

At the moment, Penny found it hard to concentrate on that. Her mind wouldn't stop reeling as uncomfortable thoughts shifted through her head. Just what did Von want her for? Was he going to try to interrogate her? Was he going to try to get her to spill the beans on perpetual motion?

Penny kept listening in on the conversation. Her mother got increasingly angry at Von's persistance. She was almost surprised that her mom didn't attempt to push him out of the house. On the other hand, Von was quite adamant and didn't give up very easily. His pleas with his mother became more and more desperate. All she could really make out was he wanted to speak to her, yet he never stated why. His mom would always cut him off, and try to get him to leave.

Penny was glad that her mother wasn't falling for anything Von was saying. Rudy's parents likely told her mom about what happened when Von paid them a rather pleasant visit earlier. Her mom was not going to take any of his crap.

But unfortunately, neither was Von.

"Look, I underztand your anger, mizz." Von said. "I am not alwayz a...likeable guy I admit. But I will not have you turning me away that eazily. I came here to do one thing, and I intend on..."

Penny winced as she heard a thud. Her mother must have pushed Von back. She heard the man's feet clamoring to keep his balance. Penny could hear him call out, "No! Wait! Pleaze! All I want to do iz..."

Penny cringed, lowering her head, when she saw her mother coming into view. She had a grip on Von. She wasn't being particularly rough with him, but she was still pushing him back towards the door. Von struggled against her grasp, trying to make her leg go. She noticed that he was holding back. He knew that if he were too aggressive, he could get himself arrested.

Her mother kept moving the man closer to the door. It wasn't until he was right in front of him that she released him. The man kept trying to plead with her, make her let him stay so he could do...whatever it is he came here to do. But thankfully, her mother was having none of it. She pointed a finger at the door behind him.

"Get out!" Her mother barked at him. "Before I call the cops!"

Von's eyes widened at this. "No..pleaze! You don't underztand!" He held out his hands, desperation clinging to his very voice. "I didn't come here to ztart trouble! I juzt want to zee your daughter real quick and..."

Her mother cut him off. "No! You hear me? The answer is no!" With flattened hands, she crossed them out in front of her in a swiping motion. A way to emphasize her words. "Leave my premises now, Doctor Von Doktor! Or you will hear from my lawyer..."

Penny widened her eyes at this. Her mom almost never said something like that, especially in that tone of voice. Von must have really pushed her buttons to make her mom this angry. Then again, it was Von. She bet it didn't take much for him to push her mom over the edge. She remained quiet as Von stared at her mother in shock, reluctant to simply turn around and walk away.

But Von was smart enough to know that he couldn't simply say. He must have known he was pushing his luck. He did nearly get himself into hot water with Rudy. He could have easily slipped up there. And the same thing could happen here. He knew better than to keep trying.

Von didn't say a word at first. He merely cleaned himself up, giving a calm expression to her mother. He made a 'hmph' sound before turning around and opening up the door. He held it open for a few seconds, and then he looked over his shoulder. "I am zorry for dizturbing you, ma'am." The door was slammed shut as he left.

The girl flinched at this. She didn't detect much genuinity in the man's voice. He must have just said sorry because that's what her mother would have wanted to hear. He was just trying to settle her down so she wouldn't call the cops on him. She saw the look in his eyes. Though he didn't see her, she did get a quick enough look to see that glint in those man's eyes, indicating he hadn't yet given up. He'd be back.

But for now, she could breathe a sigh of relief. At least he was gone for now. Whatever he had tried to do, it was clear that he did not succeed, thanks to her mother. She was grateful that her mother was able to stop him. Good thing she stayed up in her room. Who knows what would have happened if she had been the one to answer the door...

"Penita? Is that you?"

Penny nearly staggered at the sudden call from her mother. She moved closer to the railing and peered down. She could see her mom looking up at her from the bottom step. There was a look of shock and a bit of regret in her eyes.

"Yeah, mom. I got hungry and I..." Penny's voice trailed off. Her eyes shifted nervously towards the door. "What...what happened...?"

"You saw that?" Her mother asked in a regretful tone. Penny nodded her head. "I'm...sorry you had to see that." Her mother held up her hand in gesture as she explained. "Doctor Von Doktor came and he wanted to speak to you. I, of course, wouldn't allow it, especially after how he had treated your little friend."

"Yeah I heard." Penny said softly. She moved closer to the steps. She grabbed onto the railing. "I'm just glad he's gone."

Her mother nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, me too. Let us hope we don't have to deal with him again."

Penny wished she could share her mother's certainty about that. While she also hoped she wouldn't have to deal with Von again, a part of her realized that this was likely not going to be the case. She would see him again soon. And no matter how long it took to run into him again, it would always be too soon for her.

She made her way down the steps. She did her best to push thoughts of Von aside for now. She didn't want to waste her time thinking about him. She had to focus on what was important right now. It was too late to head into ChalkZone at this very moment, so she would have to settle with writing a quick note apologizing to Rudy and Snap about not making it. And to also inform them about her near-encounter with Von. They needed to know about that. This was something they were going to need to discuss in the next meeting, whenever that will be.

Penny followed her mother into the kitchen. The little girl went over to her chair and pulled it out. She sat down in the chair and nudged herself towards the table. She looked over at where her mom was. She could see that her mom was busy making pancakes. The aroma filled the air, teasing her nostrils, making her mouth water.

"How many would you like?" Her mother asked.

"Two please." Penny held up two fingers, a smile spread across her face.

"Coming right up dear!" As her mom went to work mixing in the batter and preparing to cook the food on the skillet, she asked, "Hey, do you mind doing a couple of chores after you eat? Before you leave for school?"

"Sure, no problem! What would you like me to do?" Penny asked.

Her mother looked at her over her shoulder. "Oh not too much. Just check and make sure the dogs have ther food, as well as the other animals. It shouldn't take too long."

"All right, I'll take care of that." Penny said with a smile. "You can count on me!"

Her mother gave a light-hearted chuckle. "Yeah, I know, Penita."

sss

Penny wiped her brow as she finished up with taking care of the last animal. There was quite a number to take care of and most of them didn't even get their food in for today. She guessed her mother was distracted by Von. The man likely wouldn't allow her to continue her work.

Oh well, at least it was finished now. She set down the bag of dog foot, leaning it against the side of the wall. She turned her attention to the dogs, the last animals she had fed. They were wagging their tails excitedly as they chowed down on their food. She smiled at this. It always made her feel better after working with the animals. For a moment, she had forgotten about what happened earlier.

She felt something nudge behind her. She turned her head and saw it was one of the horses they were taking care of. She giggled softly and held onto the horse's head, gently rubbing her hand on the top of its long snout.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sniffles." She had to stifle a laught at that name. The things people named their pets. Some of the names had left her wondering. It would be like she got a pet amphibian of some kind and decided to name it Pencil. "No more food for you." She gently pushed the horse's head away. "You need to wait until lunch for you to have more. I'm sorry."

Penny walked away, listening to the horse whinney in desperation. She would have loved to feed the horse more, but her mom had a strict rations thing going on. It was highly expensive to feed all of these animals, so there was a strict schedule on when everyone was fed. Penny was to follow this to the T, never deviating from it. Her mom would know if an animal got too much food.

She walked out of the barn. She put her hands on her hips and looked all around her, making sure that she didn't forget any of the animals. She always doublechecked at the end like this, just like her mother taught her. She never knew when she would miss something.

And sure enough, she had. Looking over, she could see a small chicken coup her mother had. She had forgotten her mother agreed to take a look at these farmer's chickens. Something about them not laying eggs like they should. She immediately went over to feed them, grabbing onto a small bag of feed and bringing it over.

The chickens looked up from their small enclosure as Penny placed the bag not far from where they were. She used a measuring cup to get the exact amount of feed. She reached over and placed it on the ground in front of them, away from the fence that kept them sealed in.

"Here you go. I'm sorry I forgot about you." Penny said as she watched the chickens start to feed. Now she had finally fed the last animal. Now she had to...

Suddenly, without warning, Penny felt something grab her. She made out the sounds of the dogs starting to bark, as well as other animals becoming restless. She tried to call out for help, but something covered her mouth. She was yanked backwards, dragged away from the barn and towards the back. She was pressed up against something warm and solid.

Penny could hear her mother calling out to her. Eyes widening, Penny began to struggle against her captor. She jerked her body from side to side, her heart pounding against her chest. She was tempted to bite, but her captor felt larger than her. She feared the response if she tried such a thing.

She let out a muffled yelp when she felt something sharp prick her skin. The back of her neck felt like something was crawling. Her struggles increased, panicking, her mind racing with thoughts. Just what was this person doing to her? She tried kicking out her legs, tried hitting against her captor despite her previous fear. But she failed to get even a grunt from whoever was holding her. Her frantic eyes darted from side to side. She hoped and prayed someone would see this.

Her heart sank when she realized this was not going to be the case. The trees and fence, as well as the barn itself, blocked anyone from seeing what was happening. She couldn't even scream; her mouth was covered. No one could hear her. This realization filled her veins with ice.

Penny's brown eyes bulged open when she felt something sharp pricking her again. This time, it was against her throat, right on the side. She flinched as the pain momentarily increased, and there was something cold being pushed into her. Her struggles increased with vigor, her loud, desperate whimpers continuing to be muffled by the hand on her face.

Slowly, her body began to grow weak and unsteady. Her cries for help grew quieter. Her mother's voice became distorted until she could hardly make out what she was saying anymore. Penny realized, in horror, that she had been drugged. She barely had time to fully register this before the darkness began to consume her.

No, she couldn't go to sleep. She had to fight back. She had to stay awake. She tried to wriggle out of the person's arms, tried to get away so she could call for help. But nothing she did worked. She soon found herself slipping, with only her captor being the reason she didn't fall totally on the ground. Her eyes began to flutter, and she realized she was losing the fight.

With tears flowing down her face, with the knowledge that she may not ever see this place again, or her mom, Penny let out a weak, sorrowful whimper. Then she closed her eyes, and everything became nothing but dark silence.

sss

"Penny...?"

The girl jerked a little at that voice. It sounded so echoey..so far away...

"Penny, please get up!"

The voice became more urgent. Penny looked around desperately. All she could see was darkness. Nothing but blackness everywhere. Fear began to develop in the pit of her stomach. What was going on?

She couldn't even remember how she had gotten here. She could imagine a few images in her head, but they where hazy and confusing. She was not able to piece anything together. All she knew was something happened, and now she could not see anything. She couldn't help but let out a frightened whimper at this realization.

"Come on...you have to wake up..." The voice.. It sounded so familiar... As it became clearer, Penny realized who it was. Her mother. "Please open your eyes..."

Penny struggled to open her eyes. She commanded every muscle in her head to pull the lids open so she could see. At first, her body would not obey her. It revolted against her in favor of remaining shut. She continued to fight back, and slowly, very slowly, she managed to open her eyes. Just a crack, but still open.

Immediately, she was showered by bright, intense light. She let out a yelp of pain, jerking her head back. She registered she was on something soft and almost wet. She let out a few more groans she forced herself to open her eyes again. She blinked several times as she slowly adjusted to the light raining down on her. In front of her, she could see something fuzzy. Two blurry shapes, both looking down at her.

As soon as her mother's shape came into view, Penny let out a weak stammer, "M-Mama...?"

Though she couldn't fully see the expression, her mother let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness you're all right!" Penny stiffened when she felt her mother's arms wrap around her suddenly. "I was so worried!"

Penny didn't answer. She stared blankly ahead. Suddenly her mind had become muggy as she fully realized just how tired she really was. The heaviness of sleep weighed down on her, and she could feel her eyes start to close. It was a struggle just keeping them open.

As her vision cleared, she let out a groan and looked around. The colors around her had finally started to make sense, and she could make out the shapes and structures all around her.

She soon realized that she was outside. She was laying on the grass, supported upright only by her mother's arms. She was behind the red barn, the wooden fence right in front of her. The bright light she had detected was the sunlight. Considering how it was partially filtered by the leaves of the trees, that spoke volumes of just how sensitive she had been to the light for a short time. Just how long was she out?

Penny reached up and touched her head with her hand. She let out a soft groan, rubbing her forehead gently. Her mother moved away from her, still gripping her daughter gently. Penny could see just how terrified her mother looked with the way she was looking at her. Penny felt her heart twist when she realized she had worried her mother sick.

Penny tried to think of what had happened. There had to be a reason she was on the ground like this, a reason why her mother was so worried. But she was not able to think of anything. Her mind was a blank. Even with the few hazy memories that she had, like something about feeding the animals, she could not piece together what had occurred.

"Are you feeling alright?"

This voice made Penny stiffen her body, her eyes widening. This voice..it wasn't her mother's. It wasn't Rudy's parents, or Rudy himself. It belonged to someone she would rather not see.

She lifted her head and turned it. There, standing not far from them, was Von. The old scientist looked almost worried, staring down at her through those small glasses of his. He kept his distance, not daring to take a step forward. This did little to comfort Penny and she found herself letting out a frightened whimper as she squirmed in her mother's arms.

"Penita, was is it..?" Her mother whispered to her. Penny didn't need to say a word for her mother to understand what had gotten her riled up. "Oh him?" There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice. "Don't worry about him. He's the one who helped you and alerted me to what happened."

Penny spluttered at this. "Wh-What...?"

Her mother nodded her head. "That's right. I heard the animals making noise and I went to check it out, and Von here was with you. He was trying to..make you breathe again..." Her mother's face contorted into sadness for a few seconds. "If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be here."

Penny stared at her mother in astonishment. A part of her wanted to think that this was all some sort of elaborate hoax. But then, her mother wasn't the type to lie to her. She wouldn't have covered up any of the details. She would have been honest. And Von... as much of a jerkass that he was, he wouldn't have just left her to die. He wasn't that cruel.

She looked over at Von. Licking her lips nervously, she managed to choke out, "Thank you..."

Von smiled at her. It was uncomfortable to look at, then again, any smile from anyone she didn't like felt this way. He gave her a quick wave and said, "Don't mention it, kid."

Regardless of his friendly demeanor, Penny could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong. She didn't know if Von was involved or not, but something just didn't feel right about this whole thing.

But then, maybe she was just being paranoid. It was quite possible. Maybe she just got so worked up over the situation with Von and Terry that she had triggered an attack somehow. She couldn't entirely dismiss that possibility, even if it did sound absurd. Or maybe she tripped up during her feeding of the animals and got hurt that way. This possiblity became more likely when she felt some soreness in her neck. She rubbed it, winced, and pulled away.

Yeah, her neck had been injured. That did make the story seem more likely. She might have tripped on something and hit her neck, which momentarily stopped her from breathing. Bruised trachae or something. It was likely this made less sense than she thought, but she was too shaken up and confused and tired to really care.

Penny slowly climbed up to her feet. Her legs wobbled a little as she tried to keep her balance. Her mother helped her, letting her lean against her for support. Penny smiled gratefully at her mother, glad that she was around to help her. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like waking up alone like this...

...and to him...

Penny looked warily over at Von. Despite the fact that he helped her, and her mother confirmed it, she still did not feel comfortable in his presence. There was just something...off about him. She hoped he was going to leave soon.

Her wish was granted.

"Don't think this changes anything, Doctor..." Her mother said in a controlled voice. The anger from the man's audacity earlier was still evident in her voice. "I am grateful you helped my daughter, but you still are not going to interrogate her based on some fairy tale..." She narrowed her eyes at the man. "Do I make myself clear?"

The old man blinked at her. There was a bit of mild surprise in his eyes. Nonetheless, Von smiled and nodded his head. "Oh don't worry." He placed a hand against his chest. "I underztand completely." He looked down at Penny. "May I at least..apologize to her?"

Her mother narrowed her eyes in suspicion. After a few seconds, it was clear she decided there was no harm in that. She gave a quick nod. "Go ahead... But make it quick. It's almost time for school and I need to contact the principal about what happened."

"Underztood." Von approached Penny slowly. The little girl looked at him cautiously. She didn't attempt to stop the man from speaking. "Look, little girl. I'm...zorry about the way I acted. It wazn't right of me." He held out his hand towards her. "What do you zay? Shall we put ziz mess behind uz?"

Penny stared at the hand suspiciously. She then looked up at the man. Silence surrounded them as neither of them attempted to speak. The man did not look like he was losing his patience; just calmly holding out his hand, waiting for her to take it. Penny debated whether or not she should take it. She had no idea if the man had any tricks up his sleeve.

But the hand was empty. She saw nothing in it. She did not see any hidden weapons, nor did she see a reason for Von to try something so tricky. Her mother was here as well, so it was unlikely he could pull off any stunt, even if he tried. This didn't relax her all the way, but it did help her to calm down a little.

She reached over and grabbed the man by his hand. She did her best not to shudder when she felt the fingers wrap around her hand and squeezed it. The two shook their hands up and down a couple of times before Von released her. Penny pulled her hand back.

"I'm glad that iz taken care of." Von said with a smile. "I do apologize for dizturbing you two. I will be on my way." With that, the man turned and walked away.

Penny stared as the man left. When he disappeared completely, she placed a hand against her head. She suddenly became aware of a pounding headache spreading through her skull. It made her wish that she knew exactly what happened. She had so little information..it frightened her. And it happened on a whim, with no warning...

"Penita..." Her mother said as Penny leaned against her, her legs growing weak. "Do you want me to tell the principal you won't be coming today?"

Penny let out a soft groan. With her hand still on her head, she thought about what her mother said. The idea of staying home did sound good. She wasn't sure if she could really function in school this way. On the other hand, she still wanted to meet up with her friends, and she still had a chance during recess, even though it would be shorter due to the delay.

"No.. I'm.. I'm fine..." Penny said. She walked away from her mother and began to make her way towards the house.

"No, you're not fine." She heard her mother's worried and stern voice say. "You need some rest. Go upstairs and lay down. I'm going to call Principal Stringent and tell her that you won't be coming today."

Penny whirled her head to her mother. "But mom..."

Suddenly, a burst of dizziness struck her. She realized she had turned her head too quickly too fast. She grabbed onto it as she nearly dropped down to her knees. She heard her mom call out her name and the pounding of feet. She was soon aware of someone grabbing onto her and balancing her. She looked up to see her mother.

"See?" Her mother said. "You're not fine. Come on...let me help you up..."

Penny had no choice but to allow her mother take her up to the house. As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew her mother was right. She was going to have no choice but to lay down. She could not function in school like this, let alone be of any help to her friends. It was going to have to wait.

sss

Terry watched the scene from far away, behind the shield of a tree. She kept her back pressed against the bark, ignoring how cold and ragged it was. She kept her head mostly covered behind the trunk, with only enough of her eye exposed to see what was going on.

Her mind reeled from what she had witnessed. She was too far away to hear much of anything, and some of it, she had missed. But she still had seen enough to realize that something was wrong. She had a hard time believing what she saw, and she struggled to try to make sense of it. Just what was going on here? And just what was that scientist up to...?

She recognized the old man. Dr. Von Doktor had been one of the many eye witness accounts she had used to try to spin her tale about the chalk world. She thought he would be one of the several clinchers she found. Unfortunately, Von, like other witnesses, Mr. Wilter and Vinnie, had been dismissed as a nutjob. The memory about how that guy treated her, calling her theory 'bull dandruff', still twisted her stomach in anger.

At the moment, however, her anger was replaced by confusion. She noticed the man there, standing with Penny and her mother. It was merely with this fact that she knew something was up. If there was one thing she and Von had in common, it was their mutual dislike...no...hatred of Penny, as well as Rudy. At least, that's how she saw it. She could see no reason why Von wouldn't be upset with those two children after what he said they did. Even in their interview, he had sounded angry.

So what would possess him to go to Penny's place? And why did he shake her hand? Terry wished she had gotten closer to see what all the fuss was about. She knew it was none of her business, but as a reporter, it was her job to be nosey and look for information, no matter what it took. It was nothing personal...usually.

When Von left, she watched him carefully, her eyes locked onto his face. He didn't appear to notice her. He walked away nonchalantly, giving no indication he had any kind of scheme in mind. He hardly seemed upset from what Terry saw as a hostile interaction with Mrs. Sanchez. It was as if the bitch hadn't bothered him. But why...?

Terry stopped her thought before she could finish it. She stared at Von's face as he passed by. Suddenly he stopped. He looked left and right. Terry's eyes widened as she pressed herself against the tree trunk. Had he noticed her?

Thankfully, Von's stay there was only shortlived. He merely shrugged his shoulders, dismissing whatever thought he may have had. He continued his walk down. Terry peered from behind the tree and watched him.

That look on the man's face.. She had only seen it momentarily, but it was enough for her to realize something right away.

The man was up to something...

Terry's mind buzzed with thoughts at this revelation. Von had some kind of plan going on. He was there for a reason. He had went to Penny because it must further his goals somehow. But what kind of plan could he possibly have? What reason would he get to want to go after Penny? The only thing she could think of was...

Her eyes twinkeld. Ah..so that's what it was... How interesting. A smile tugged along the woman's face. Perhaps she should see the doctor again sometime.

Chapter 7: Uncertainties

Second rule: Remember things that change as quickly as an angry twister.

sss

Rudy clutched the brush tightly in his hand. His knees were starting to hurt from being on the ground for so long. His arms were aching. Yet despite that, he still scrubbed the hard floor of his bathroom. Back and forth, his arm went, never stopping or resting. He wanted to get this done as soon as possible.

He had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like forever. He was so tired, he wanted to just collapse on the ground and sleep. But he could not do that. He had to keep going. Only when he was able to get this done could even think about resting. It was almost finished. He just needed a little more time. Just a little...

"Let me know when you are done!"

Rudy winced as he heard his aunt call out to him, hunching his shoulders. There was still a tinge of anger to her voice, but she had noticeabley calmed down. She was more or less calmly waiting for him to speak to her after he was finished here.

"No problem, Aunt Tilly!" He called back, making sure that his aunt knew he got the message. There was nothing but silence after that.

Rudy was still shaken up by what had happened. Mostly in his own behavior. He hadn't meant to treat Sophie like that. He didn't mean to scare her. He could understand why his aunt wasn't happy with him about that. She was her daughter after all. He should have controlled himself more and not give into such a temptation.

At least he didn't try to hurt her. He'd never do that. He loved Sophie, and he was not a violent person. He couldn't begin to fathom any point in time where he would be tempted to do something malicious to anyone.

But threatening to bring her mother in, taunting her about it... He should have realized he was drawing the line with that. He could have just left and told his aunt about what was going on. Instead, he chose to talk to Sophie about bringing her mom in, and he wound up upsetting her. He wasn't even able to calm her down and apologize before she bolted. Even though it wasn't his intentions, he still felt horrible for what he'd done.

Aunt Tilly was quite angry with him, and though she understood his frustration, she couldn't believe that he had acted that way just because she wasn't sharing. To his aunt, that's what all was at stake. Just not being able to use his 'precious chalkboard' as she had put it. Not that he blamed her. She knew nothing about the dangers he puts himself through in protecting ChalkZone. She couldn't begin to comprehend everything that he has done for this world that she didn't know existed.

He did apologize to Sophie. He couldn't tell if she took it well or not. Sometimes it's hard to tell with little children like that. She ran off later, and he could hear her climbing up the steps. Probably went back to his room so she could draw on his board more.

After that, Aunt Tilly decided to punish him. Rudy thought it was a little extreme, since he did not do anything that terrible, and Sophie seemed to be fine. He wasn't really sure what motivated her to punish him like this, but there was little he could do. The woman decided the best way to 'teach him a lesson' was to make him do a few chores. Not horrendeously difficult chores, though. Just enough to discourage him from doing that to Sophie again.

Rudy tried to explain to his aunt that there was no need for this, and that he had learned his lesson. But his aunt would not be swayed, and she kept with the punishment. She gave him a certain amount of time to finish each chore, and then she'd check to make sure he did it.

His body was now aching from the chores, though mostly just from this curent one which involved the most manual labor. Scrubbing the bathroom floor was a daunting task for someone his age, and out of the chores, this was the hardest one. There were several dirty spots that hadn't been cleaned yet and Aunt Tilly wanted him to clean all of them, and she wanted him to scrub the bottom of the bathtub itself as well.

His arm was getting so tired. He just wanted to drop the brush and rest. He could not do that. He had to keep going. He was almost there. He was nearly to the door. He just needed to scrub some more, and then he was finished.

He realized this was not going to be his final chore. His aunt likely has another one in store for him. He smacked his lips together, licking them slowly. He was getting so thirsty. And the idea of him having to do another chore before he could even stop was a bit unnerving for him.

His mind shifted to ChalkZone. He wondered how Penny and Snap were doing without him. He wished he could have left them a message. He felt awful that he hadn't done so earlier, before his aunt had grabbed him. Then again, he had so little time and...well, how could he have written a message in a few seconds? He was just going to have to wait until after he was finished with his chores before he went into ChalkZone.

And hopefully, that wouldn't take too long.

Soon, he was done. He could feel the soft carpet of the hallway as he exited out. He stared at the floor, which now shined back at him. So clean it was, he could see his face in the reflection. He smiled at this, feeling a sense of pride of his accomplishment. His aunt would definitely be pleased with this.

Standing up, stretching his sore legs and his stiff back, feeling a few pops here or there, he turned his attention towards the steps, knowing that his aunt was in the living room. "I'm finished, Aunt Tilly!"

A bit of silence, and Rudy wondered if she heard him. He was about to call out again when his aunt suddenly cut him off. "Okay then. Come on down here! I want to talk to you some more!"

Rudy stiffened a little at this. She hadn't done this before in his punishment; she would just inspect his work and then tell him what else to clean. He wondered why she wanted to call him down to speak to him. He wondered just what she had to say. Was she going to yell at him more? Did she have a lot more work for to do?

Seeing that he had no choice, Rudy nodded his head in spite of the fact that she could not see it. He set the scrubber down and he made his way towards the stairs. He placed his hand on the railing and took in a deep breath. Preparing ihmself for what might be coming, he slowly descended the staircase.

As he did this, he again thought back to his friends. He hoped that they were doing okay and not worrying too much about him. He had a lot of explaining to do the next time he saw them. He hoped they would understand.

sss

"Are you sure thiz iz zee bezt place for ziz? Shouldn't we..?" Von's perplexed voice filled the air.

Terry shot an annoyed glare at him. She curled her lips up partially, showing a bit of her teeth. "Will you hush up?! Do you want to give ourselves away?!"

"Well no but..." Von paused for thought. His eyes widened in realization. "But there's nobody here! How could I give ourselves away if there's no one even..."

Terry covered his mouth quickly. The man gave a startled grunt and struggled. She looped an arm around his neck and tried to hold him still. "Just be quiet! I don't want to screw this one shot that we have! So don't talk loudly. Or better yet, don't talk at all unless it has to do with our mission!"

She released him immediately after that. Von moved away from her, pressing his shoulder against the cold curviture of the van door. He gripped his throat, rubbing it carefully. He glared back at her. His face was contorted, his lip curled up in annoyance. But despite his anger, Terry hardly paid attention to him. Her dark eyes were focused on the house before them, many thoughts running through her head.

She had dreamed of this moment for so long. She had bided her time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. She had put up with insult after insult, all kinds of mocking stories, her name being smudged into the ground like it was nothing. And she had been waiting, observing, hoping that she would get a chance to strike back.

And now...it seemed she finally had her time. When Von came into the picture, everything changed. Yes, she believed she was going to enjoy working with him...provided he did what she told him to, of course.

At the moment, the old man was annoying her. He kept asking her, over and over, what the point of this was. She would explain it to him, but she figured he was smart enough to know. Clearly he wasn't, and she was not in the mood to stop her mission just to explain something he should have been able to figure out on his own. After all, if she looked away for too long, she may miss the opportunity.

Of course, this tracker screen helped out a lot. It would be hard to miss their intended target. The blinking red light stood out like a sore thumb. Terry glared down at it. Yes, as soon as this thing moved, they would know exactly where she was going.

If the darn thing would move at all. Terry bit her lip hard, her teeth almost sinking into the skin. She wasn't sure what was taking that brat so long. She usually was with Rudy right about now. Yet she hadn't left her home. She hadn't gone to Rudy's house. She hadn't moved from this spot for quite some time now. She suspected that Rudy's place was where they entered the chalk world usually. Rudy seemed like the mastermind between the two. Three if she counted that blue boy. So why was Penny still at home?

"I zink we should go to the girl'z houze and..."

Hissing lowly, Terry whipped her head towards him and barked, "No! Now shut up!"

Terry realized she was being loud herself. She knew she would have to learn to better control herself. She was not going to get them very far in this investigation of theirs if she ended up being the one triggering others to what they were doing. They were parked on the street just in front of Rudy's house, and though no one said anything, she knew they couldn't afford to bring attention to themselves. Her disguising her van certainly helped. Painting it a different color and all that.

She kept her gaze on the house before her. She recognized it from anywhere. She had been to Rudy's place enough that she knew its design from a distance. To a lesser extent, she also knew Penny Sanchez's, and sometimes drove by there in hopes of catching the girl alone, or doing something that warranted inspection. Of course, neither of those happened.

There was good reason that she was here instead of at Penny's, despite the fact that Penny was the one with the tracker, not Rudy. She hadn't explained it to Von, much to his frustration. He didn't know as much about the chalk world as she did. But in spite of that, she still thought that he would be smart enough to know what her planning was, what her train of thought at the moment is. If he was so smart, he should have figured this out by now. Oh well, that's not really important right now.

Terry glared at the dot, and then lifted her head up, giving an upwards glare towards Rudy Tabootie's house. Any time now... She just needed to keep waiting. Sooner or later, she would have all the proof she needed that something was up with these two, and that a breach in dimensions had occurred.

All they had to do was wait for Penny to make her move. She theorized that the children met in that chalk world a lot, as it was easier than having their parents drive them all the time. There were probably many drawings in the chalk world that would help them reach each other quickly. If her theory was right, then when the red dot moves towards Rudy's house, and when it finally touches, they should not see anything from Penny herself. No car. No bike. No little girl walking. It would be as if a ghost had come.

And she was going to get it all on camera, too... She had some set up in the front of her van, disguised and unseen. And she had one just above her, pointing straight at the tracker. And then one large one that would catch both the monitor and the house in front of her. Soon, she would have the proof she needed to show that an alternate dimension indeed existed.

"Zee dot iz moving!" Von hissed in a low voice.

Terry blinked a couple of times and stared down. Sure enough, the red dot, which indicated Penny, and started to move. And much to her delight, it was going straight for Rudy's place. Her mouth tugged into a twisted smile. Revenge was going to be so sweet...

sss

Penny let out a sigh of relief. She was wondering when her mother was going to let her leave. She understood how worried she was. Even after getting some rest and regaining her strength, her mother was still concerned about her.

Not that she blamed her. After all, she did stop breathing for a time. Penny thought this was because she hit her throat, but her mother said that Doctor Von Doktor said she was choking. It did make sense. That would explain why her mother didn't rush her off to the hospital. Although it did not explain the soreness in her neck.

She brushed it off, wanting to, instead, focus on getting into ChalkZone. Her mother had looked her over to make sure she was okay. She wanted to be certain that nothing else happened and that what happened wasn't more serious than it looked. Her mother did notice puncture marks on her neck, but thought they were just mosquito bites, especially with how they raised up and were a bit itchy. Penny insisted to her mom that she was feeling fine now, and, at last, her mother determined she was healthy and fine, and left her alone. Penny knew her mom would come back soon to double check on her, so she took this chance.

Looking outside her window briefly, she knew that it was afternoon. The familiar golden color of the sky began to radiate into her bedroom. The rays touched her skin, making her feel its warmth. It was a reminder to her of just how long she had waited, and how much time had been wasted. She could have gotten into ChalkZone sooner if she had just crawled in about two hours ago. But she had decided to wait, and then her mom came in and...

Well, at least it was over now. She would be able to get into ChalkZone and meet up with her friends. Provided they were still there... Well Rudy might be back in the Real World. Snap may have stuck around to wait for her. She did tell them about when she would arrive anyway. Rudy might have had to go back home due to the time, but Snap was likely going to meet up with her.

The sooner she got into ChalkZone, the sooner she would be able to talk to Snap. She hoped that he would be able to relay to her information regarding the meeting. Perhaps they had thought of something new. Maybe they had come up with a plan of action.

Penny took out her magic chalk. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that her mother wasn't looking in. She then turned her attention back to the chalkboard in front of her. She leaned herself forward a tad and quickly drew a portal. She climbed in and erased the portal behind her.

Penny was a little surprised that Snap wasn't here. She thought that he was going to meet her here. Then again, she had only assumed that, and Snap maybe have just been unaware of her wanting him to meet her here. He might even still be with Rudy or got caught up talking with a friend about something. No matter. She could just look for him. It was usually pretty easy to find Snap, so it wouldn't take her long to spot him.

She began to trek further into ChalkZone. She headed towards where Rudy's portal would be. She figured that would be the best spot to look. After all, that was where Snap hung out a lot, just waiting for Rudy to come in. That was where they usually met up, and Snap's reflex was just to go there. He sometimes went to her place, but it was not nearly as common.

As she moved along, she noticed something really peculiar. It wasn't anything that caused alarm bells to ring. But something just felt...different. She looked all around her. Something seemed strange about this ground. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, darting her eyes around, noting the detail of the ground. Yes, something was different here, but what...?

Then she realized it. At first, it was hard to tell due to the texture of the ground. But when she peered at it more closely, she realized there were some extra lines here. These hadn't been here before, and they didn't even match up to the grassy ground's own original details. They were too dark as well. Black. Lines of black moving along the ground in random patterns, darting from side to side, looping around at random.

Penny blinked her eyes at this discovery. Had one of the zoners decided to paint the ground? She couldn't see any reason for it, but ChalkZone was such a bizarre place sometimes, she wouldn't be surprised if such a thing were to occur. One of the zoners may have had the idea to do this and just went with it.

But no, that didn't seem right. Penny noticed something else about the lines that she nearly missed. Something that disproved the idea that a zoner had drawn this.

The lines seemed to loop around the lines that made up the ground...

This instantly chilled her mind. The implications of this were very clear. It was impossible for a zoner to loop around the outline of something else. It was just impossible. But there was something that could do this. Something that was like a double edged sword across ChalkZone, whom she and Rudy hoped they'd never have to deal with.

There was another creator here...

Penny did her best to keep herself calm. Now wasn't the time to get freaked out. She needed to think rationally about this, and figure out a plan on how to find this creator and get them out of ChalkZone. Staring at the ground, it seemed that the best route to take were the scribbles. But she knew better. This could be a trap, after all. Her best bet was to find a zoner and hope that they had seen this creator and where he or she went.

As she rushed across the ground, her heart pounding against her chest, many thoughts raced through her mind. They buzzed around her head like an angry hornet. No matter how much she tried to calm her mind down, it continued to plague her with several questions.

Just..just how did another creator get in here? What happened? How could this have happened? She tried to think of a possibility, of anything that would reveal to her just what could have went down. Had they lost a piece of magic chalk somewhere in the Real World? Did one of Rudy's relatives find the chalk? ...did Terry get her filthy mitts on one...? That last thought was the most chilling of all.

She had to figure out what was going on here. As soon as she found the culprit, she would capture them and make them talk. She needed to know how they got in so she would be able to fix the problem. She needed to be sure that they would never get back into ChalkZone again. She also needed to make sure that this new creator didn't hurt any of the zoners. That was one of their biggest fears when it came to a new creator. She, Rudy, and Snap, and just about every zoner, were afraid of a human coming in that would either dismiss them as not really alive or just not care at all, and abuse and dominate them. She hoped that nothing like that was happening right now.

With Rudy possibly not in ChalkZone, Penny realized it was up to her to get rid of this threat. She couldn't go over to his place and call for help. She didn't know if he was even in the room, and a creator in ChalkZone was such a dire threat that every second counted. If she didn't find this person and get them out, who knows what kind of destruction they could cause?

Suddenly, in the distance, she heard something that nearly made her heart stop beating.

A series of screams.

She widened her eyes at this, and paused for a moment, scrambling to get herself to stop. She stared out ahead as the scream faded off. She tilted her head to one side and cupped her hand around her ear. She listened more intently, trying to see if she could determine the direction of the scream. When it happened again, she could tell it was coming from right in front of her. With this knowledge, she bolted.

It didn't take her long to see the source of the screams. There was a small group of zoners coming her way. They all looked panicked, though not particularly terrified. They were looking behind them, and she realized that they were either getting chased or they were trying to get away from something rolling in their direction.

"Hey, excuse me..." Penny tried to get their attention. But none of the zoners paid any attention to her. They merely brushed past her and continued to run off.

Penny stared at this in confusion. What had them so startled and so determined to get away that they didn't even notice her standing there? This being an open field with not much but hills and grass and a few trees, she stood out quite well. It was hard to miss her. Yet none of the zoner's faces even indicated that they had spotted her.

Her perplexion lasted for a few seconds before she heard a familiar shout behind her.

"Look out, Penny!"

The girl didn't have time to say anything or react before she felt something warm and solid collide with her body. She grunted as she was forced into the ground. She felt something brush by her quickly, causing the air to whoosh against her body. She never did see what it was, though. She laid there on her stomach, shaking her head. She felt the pressure on her back give way, allowing her to get up.

Penny looked over and saw Snap standing there, his eyes wide, his body having a bit of dirt marks on it as if he had been skidding across the ground a few times. Penny noticed that he, too, looked worried, but not particularly terrified, as with the other zoners. This kind of calmed her down a little, but at the same time, she was still worried.

"Snap..." Penny breathed. "Just what is going on...?"

At this, Snap smiled nervously. "Um...do you remember that time when Sophie had gotten into ChalkZone...?"

Penny nodded her head. "Well yeah I do, but what..." Penny's eyes widened as she connected the dots. "Wait...you mean that...?" Snap nodded his head a few times. At this, Penny lowered her head and let out a soft groan. The only comfort in this is that at least it was just Sophie, who was such a sweetheart, she'd never hurt anyone. She still had to get her out, though. Looking back at Snap, she said, "Where is she?"

Snap raised his rounded hand and pointed towards one direction. "She went off that way... and she is scribbling so much that a..." Suddenly his eyes widened and jumped in the air. "Oy caloy, here comes another one!"

Penny turned her head to see what Snap was talking about. She immediately froze at what she saw. She climbed up to her feet, her legs shaking a little. She backed away slowly, her eyes unable to tear away from the sight.

There was a large mass coming towards her. Large, black, and round. She could see it wriggling in several places. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was a bunch of scribbles that have been bunched up together. It was hard to tell if these scribbles were alive or not, but what she could tell, right now, was that it was rolling straight towards her. She took a step back as the thing's shadow casted over her. It moved so fast...

Penny felt someone grab onto her hand and yank her back. She was nearly thrown off her feet. She managed to regain her footing. She took in a sharp gasp as she saw just how close that thing was to hitting her. She looked on as the black ball of scribbles roll across the ground. In the distance, she could see the other one, the same one that was rolling after the zoners. She put a hand against her mouth when she saw how close it was to hitting them.

She attempted to go over towards them to help, but whoever had grabbed her hand tightened their grip and pulled her back. Penny let out a grunt as she felt one of her legs trip up as a result. She glared behind her, opening her mouth to speak. She immediately shut it when she saw who it was.

Rapsheeba was staring at Penny, her eyes wide in shock and a tinge of fear. "Penny, what's going on here? Why are there large balls of scribbles..."

"Rudy's cousin Sophie got into ChalkZone!" Snap cried as he rushed over towards them. "She somehow got a hold of the magic chalk and she came in!"

"Has Rudy been in here at all to stop her?" Penny asked.

Snap shook his head. "No, he hasn't." Upon seeing Penny's worried expression, Snap furrowed his eyes with concern. "You mean...you don't know where Rudy is?"

Penny felt her heart skip a beat at this. "You don't know?"

Snap shook his head. "I thought you might know. I mean..." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I knew what you said in the note, and it indicated you thought he was with me. But I was hoping that..."

Penny couldn't believe it. From what Snap was saying, Rudy wasn't with him. He wasn't in ChalkZone. This raised so many questions. But there was one that stood out the most in her head.

If Sophie was in here, then why hasn't Rudy tried to come in? Surely, he would notice if his cousin had gone missing. He wasn't away from his room that often. So...why wasn't he here?

Snap appeared to notice her expression and had guessed what she was thinking about. "I had stayed by where Rudy usually comes in. It's not far from here." He pointed his hand to emphasize. Indeed, it was in plain sight from where they stood. The portal was visible, plain as day. "But he never showed up. It's been..I don't know how long, but Sophie's been running amok in ChalkZone for a while now and..."

"Is anyone hurt?" Penny knew that the most important thing to figure out right away was to ensure there were no unfortunate injuries.

Snap shook his head. "Not too much. Maybe a few bruises, but nothing that bad. She mostly just annoys or confuses most of the zoners she ran into."

"I saw Blocky going after her earlier." Rapsheeba pointed out. "He hasn't had much luck, though."

"Yeah..." Snap said, a sad tone to his voice. "I would have been glad to help him, but I had thought that Rudy would show up soon to help, and I was going to..." He stopped himself, unable to continue. "I hope you guys aren't too upset with me."

"Of course we aren't! Why would we be?" Rapsheeba asked. She placed a hand on Snap's shoulder. "You did what you thought would be the right thing to do."

"Yeah, Snap. It was pretty smart of you to stay here and wait for Rudy so that he could immediately be on the up and up about this situation." Penny smiled at her friend. "You did what you could." For a few moments, she and Snap and Rapsheeba smiled at one another. But soon her eyes narrowed once more. recalling they had a situation on their hands. "We need to get Sophie back to the Real World."

"Yes, but how?" Snap asked, holding his hands out at his sides in confusion. "She's a slippery little tyke. I've seen Blocky and some other zoners try to catch her, but she always gets away. And the last time she was here, you wouldn't believe how it was to catch her."

"Believe me, I do." Penny recalled in detail what Rudy had told her when it came to getting Sophie out. For a little girl, she certainly put a lot of distance between her and him really quickly. It was hard to keep up with her. "Which makes it even more urgent that we find her and get her back."

"Do you think Blocky will need help?" Rapsheeba furrowed her eyes with concern. "Not that I think Sophie will deliberately hurt him, but the places she might go to..."

Penny and Snap looked at each other, gritting their teeth in worry. It was quite true that this would be problematic. Sophie did tend to wander far and often in places she should not be. If Sophie went into a particularly dangerous location and Blocky followed, it put both of them in danger, making them both suspectable to getting hurt.

Penny bit her lip at this. She hoped that this wasn't going to be the case. She didn't want either of them getting hurt. She knew that they had to find her and fast. At least, unlike last time, magic chalk was at their disposal. She pulled it out of her pocket and stared at it. She turned her gaze towards where Snap said Sophie was. She narrowed her eyes in determination.

"Snap, you stay here in case Rudy comes in. Rapsheeba, come with me. We're going to try to catch Sophie.

Snap nodded his head dutifully and returned to his post where the portal was. Rapsheeba rushed to join Penny as she made her way across the field. As they ran, Penny hoped that she would find the little girl before anything bad happened.

sss

Rudy sat quietly on the couch, leaning against the back of it. He hadn't spoken a word in...he wasn't sure how long he was sitting here. Ten minutes? Twenty? Thirty? He didn't know, and no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't think of an accurate amount of time that had passed.

He held the cup in his hands. He stared down at it, watching as the liquid moved about. It was clear, allowing him to see his own reflection. He was shocked to see just how tired and exhausted he looked. He bit his lip, wondering just how worse he would have looked had he been assigned another chore first.

His aunt was nice enough to let him take a break. She had summoned him down to give him a large cup of water because she knew he would be tired by then. He had entered the living room cautiously, thinking that she was going to yell at him again or something. He was relieved when he finally got something to drink.

The cool liquid soothed his dry, scratchy throat. A small smile formed on his face as his insides were cooled down and his muscles were finally able to relax. The aches and pains from scrubbing the floor began to slowly disappear as his limbs were able to rest and take it teasy.

However, he wasn't fully relaxed.

Aunt Tilly rested on the other end of the couch. He had kept his distance, not even speaking to her, and he only spared her a few glances. He was uncomfortable around her at the moment, as he had no idea if she was still angry at him or not. He didn't want to take the chance of upsetting her further.

He was also starting to feel a bit angry with her himself. He started to feel as though her punishment towards him was rather...extensive. He couldn't help but feel that she was overreacting, and she had never reacted this way before. Then again...he had never upset Sophie this bad before, and his aunt didn't even know the full story. Had he just come down to her like he intended, and talked to her, this mess could have been avoided.

He thought back to Sophie. He hoped she was doing okay. He hoped that he would be able to talk to her again, and that their relationship wasn't damaged. He also hoped that, next time, if she did something that upset him, he could better explain it to her instead of saying the wrong stuff. The last thing he ever wanted to do was frighten his little cousin.

He hoped that he would be able to get into ChalkZone soon. He had been delayed for too long at this point. If he didn't get in there soon to speak to his friends... Well he hoped that everything would work out in the end.

"Rudy."

The boy turned his head to look towards his aunt. She was staring straight out ahead. Her expression was unreadable. He couldn't tell what her train of thought was. Even when she turned her head a little, letting him see more of her face, he was still unable to accurately tell what emotion his aunt was going through.

"I do hope you learned your lesson." Aunt Tilly said. Her voice didn't have an angry tone. More authoritave than anything. "I didn't like doing this to you. I hope you know that." Rudy could only nod somewhat numbly, remaining quiet. "I just needed to make sure you didn't terrify my daughter again. You're the oldest child here. You should have known better. I am very disappointed in how you handled things, Rudy."

The boy looked down in shame. His aunt was right. He should have handled things better. He should have known better than that. He should have realized that he was scaring Sophie and stopped himself before things escalated. Sophie was only two years old.

However, that tinge of anger he was feeling was starting to grow. He managed to keep it from consuming him, or leaving any burning remnants in his body. He still had an uncomfortable feeling inside his chest and stomach, however. He knew it wouldn't go away anytime soon. Not until he was able to talk to his aunt about it, and fix everything. But not now.

"I hope we won't have to do this lesson again. And I hope that you and Sophie will be able to patch things up." Aunt Tilly said. That was when her expression finally seemed to show some real emotion. She turned her head around, her eyes shifting as if to look for something. Her eyes flickered with worry. "Where did she go anyway?"

Rudy replied with a barely emotional voice. "She went upstairs. I haven't seen her since, though."

"I see..." Aunt Tilly lowered her gaze to the ground. She sucked on her lip, biting it. She turned her head to Rudy. "Well, when she's ready, I'm sure she'll come down to speak to you. She doesn't hold grudges for that long."

Rudy gave a small, faint smile at this. "Yeah...I know..."

"Everything will work out. You'll see..." Came his aunt's comforting voice.

But to Rudy, at the moment, it wasn't very comforting. It didn't help him feel better. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. That growing feeling of bitterness was starting to get a little worse as the full realization of what happened began to hit him. For the time being, he was able to keep himself under control. But as for how long that would last...he was not sure.

He could practically feel his aunt's gaze upon him. He knew she was looking at him, waiting him for him to say something. He just couldn't bring himself to. Even as he heard his aunt sigh in sadness, or her say something else, he still remained quiet. He just didn't have anything he wanted to say to her, and anything he thought of saying, well, he knew he was better off keeping his mouth shut.

He couldn't say here anymore. He had to leave. Even if his aunt had more chores to do, he just..had to go. He needed to get away for a time, to allow his feelings of anger to sift out of his body, allowing him to concentrate on more important things. He knew his anger against his aunt was largely unfounded, and remaining angry would do him no good.

"I did think about having you do a couple more chores." Aunt Tilly said. Rudy looked at her. Her expression softened up a little more. "But I think you had enough. You must really have been thirsty."

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah..."

Her expression showing a bit of sympathy, she said, "Did you want to stay here and watch a movie with me? There's a good one coming on in..." She glanced down at her watch. "A few minutes. I think you'd love it."

Rudy shook his head. "Sorry, Aunt Tilly. I just...I need to go upstairs for a while..." His voice was low and soft. He ignored the stare that his aunt was giving him. He got up from the couch and began to walk away. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Aunt Tilly stared at him in confusion. She called out after him. "Are you sure you don't want to stay at least for a little while?" Rudy didn't answer and just kept walking. "Come on, Rudy. I thought you enjoyed watching movies with me. What's..."

Rudy whirled his head around quickly and stared back at her. The movement was swift enough that she fell silent, moving her head back in surprise. Rudy stared at her for several moments, unblinking, not talking. The silence in the air was starting to become so thick, he could practically feel it push up against his face.

"I just... I have to go." Rudy said quickly before he started to bolt.

"Rudy! Wait! Come back!" Aunt Tilly cried in desperation. "Please!"

Rudy ignored her completely, not even sparing her a glance. A part of him felt guilty about doing this. The other didn't care, as he was pretty upset with his aunt. But there was still that side of him that knew he shouldn't have run away like that. Aunt Tilly had every right to be angry with him, and his reasons for being upset with her were pretty minor compared to hers.

Still, he ran, moving up the steps. He could hear his aunt's pleading voice behind him. He didn't stop for anything she said. His mind was just focused on getting away from her, not daring to look back. He didn't want to get angrier with his aunt. He didn't want to forget what was more important at this time.

He needed to focus on getting into ChalkZone and make sure everything was okay with his friends. And then he can check up on Sophie, if she wasn't still in his room.

After he ascended the staircase and headed towards his room, he noticed the door was still open. He wasn't surprised. Sophie wasn't usually one to shut doors a lot. So as he approached, he had expected to see Sophie still drawing on his chalkboard, or perhaps turning her attention to some of his old toys that he still had stored in his room.

But when he got closer, he realized that something didn't seem normal. There was a mark on the ground that he didn't recall seeing before when he passed by this room earlier. It looked almost like a light of some kind. Paler than everything around it. Yes, it was definitely a light. But...what was causing it? It couldn't be his blinds. They were already open, and the shape was all wrong for it. That only left...

His eyes bulged open in horror. Oh no...no... It couldn't be possible.. Sophie couldn't have... Not again..

Rudy scrambled through his pocket to see if he still had his magic chalk. To his relief, he did. But then, how did Sophie... He slapped himself in the face. He must have had a spare one he had forgotten about, and Sophie found it. He cursed himself for forgetting this. He was usually good at remembering this sort of stuff. But he didn't have time to scold himself; he had to get into ChalkZone now.

He rushed over into his room, making sure to shut his door behind him. He hoped that his aunt would take a hint and leave him alone for a time. Otherwise, he was going to have problems later on.

As soon as he saw his chalkboard, he realized just how right he was with his assumption. There was a small portal on there. Sophie had went into ChalkZone. Memories of her first and only adventure flooded his mind, and it made him shiver. He hoped that this time around won't be more difficult than it was the first time. And he hoped that Sophie didn't run into any of the dangeres that ChalkZone carried for anyone, human or not.

As soon as he jumped through the portal, he was immediately greeted by his blue friend.

"Bucko!"

Rudy barely had time to look over at Snap when he felt thing grab him by his shirt and yank him forward. He let out a surprised cry as he was pulled very close to Snap's face. The two nearly hit each other, and he instinctively rubbed his head as if he were injured.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Snap shouted, his eyes wide. "Just..where were you?! We've been..."

"Sorry. I had some things tying me up in the Real World." Rudy paused for a moment. He realized now wasn't a good time to tell Snap everything. He waved his hand rapidly in front of him, shutting his eyes tightly as he frowned. He said quickly, "But..but nevermind that now!" Raising his hand up, reopening his eyes, he said, "Where's Sophie?"

Snap turned his head and pointed in one direction. Rudy recognized it as the direction to ChalkZone City. "She went that way!" He turned back to Rudy. "Penny, Rapsheeba, and Blocky are already trying to catch her!"

Rudy felt a sense of relief knowing that someone was trying to get his cousin back. But he still felt a pang of worry for her. He didn't know what had happened to her since she had gotten in. He didn't know if she was scared or hurt, or if she was just having a great time like during her only other visit. The sense of relief was only short lived as he realized a lot could still happen, and there were some unscrupulous zoners who would...

He gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on his piece of magic chalk. There wasn't much time to react. He shifted his gaze to Snap, his eyes narrowing deeply. "Come on, Snap!"

"Right behind you, Rudy!" Snap rushed to catch up to Rudy.

As they made their way towards ChalkZone City, Rudy couldn't help but notice all the marks in the ground. Something large, heavy, and round moved through here. He didn't see the culprit yet, but he had a good idea it was Sophie's doing. A fleeting jolt of terror rushed through his spine as he wondered if anyone had been injured. He felt his gut slowly twist up in guilt at the mere thought of that.

He picked up the speed, his feet pounding the ground. But no matter how quickly he moved, he just wasn't fast enough. He needed to gain some speed. Raising up his magic chalk, he quickly began to draw.

In seconds, he launched himself in the air, the rockets attached to his feet giving him lift. He hovered above the ground, now high enough to see ChalkZone City out in front of him. He should be able to get there relatively quickly. Holding his hand over his head, he stared out, trying to see if he can see any sign of his cousin.

It didn't take him long before he saw something large moving through the city. It was too far away to tell what was going on, so he quickly drew himself a telescope. Peering through it, he now able to make out details.

It appeared to be a large ball of scribbles. It was massive, and it was rolling through the city. It didn't appear to be crushing any buildings, as if, despite its size, it wasn't as heavy as it appeared. Perhaps it was hollow? Regardless, it was still big enough to hurt an unsuspecting zoner, especially one of the much smaller ones.

Knowing there wasn't much time to get there, Rudy looked down at Snap. "Snap!" Rudy quickly sketched something in the air. A motorcycle fell from the sky and landed not far from Snap. When he saw his friend jump back, Rudy gave a sheepish smile and said, "Whoops... sorry Snap!"

His blue friend immediately grabbed onto the motorcycle and righted it up. It was a rather thin model, but it was made of pretty strong material. It was just the right size for him as well. "No need to say anymore. I'm right behind you!"

Rudy watched, making sure that his friend was able to get onto the motorcycle without problem. Once Snap revved up the machine, the loud engine roaring in the air, Rudy turned his attention to the city before him. Activating the thrusters on his shoe rockets, he made his way towards the city. He hoped he would get there before any irreversable damage could be done.

sss

"Sophie!" Penny cried.

"Come on!" Rapsheeba cupped her hands to her mouth to try to increase the volume of her voice. "Please, come down from there!"

But the little girl didn't listen. Instead, she merely waved at them before giving off a squeal and running along the roof top. She was dangerously close to the edge, her arms spread out as if she were pretending to fly.

All around her and the building, in addition to Penny and Rapsheeba, there were multiple other zoners watching the situation. The zoners were all confused, worried, startled, a mixture of such emotion. Penny could feel it all around her, making her freeze up. She had never felt this wave of intensity of emotion before. Then again, she had never been a part of a group this large before.

None of the zoners around her appeared to be injured, which made her sigh with relief. Any injured zoner that Snap mentioned had probably gone to the hospital to get treated, or just to home to rest. The remaining zoners here had either dodged the large scribble balls or they had seen what was going on and wanted to investigate.

A handful of zoners were rightfully angry. They couldn't understand how Rudy could have let this happen. Penny wanted to defend him, but she had little to go off of. She had no idea where Rudy was, or what he might be doing. She was, therefore, unable to justify why Rudy wasn't showing up. She couldn't exactly blame them for being angry either; after all, if he had been watching his cousin better, this wouldn't have happened. Penny was certain Rudy had some kind of excuse, though, but until he got here and explained himself, all she could do was speculate.

At least there didn't appear to be any major damage. None of the buildings were horribly chipped and none of them were fallen or crushed. And at least Sophie hadn't taken to drawing anything incredibly dangerous.

"Now now...come here, Sophie..." Blocky's voice caught Penny's attention. "Let's go home now..."

The rectangle zoner was on top of the building with Sophie. He had his body hunched forward as he made his way towards her. Step by step, little by little, he inched his way closer to her. Sophie didn't seem to listen to him much, and continued scribbling in the air.

Blocky was being very careful not to startle the girl. He went nice and slow, gesturing with his hands to try to settle her down. His voice was surprisingly calm and in control. He looked clearly frightened, but his actions did not reflect that. Penny took a moment to smile at this. A shame Rudy wasn't here to see this. He would have been proud of Blocky.

"Here, little girl." Blocky smiled the best he could. He moved closer to Sophie, who remained close to the edge of the building. "Don't you want to draw on me?" He pointed a finger to his face. "Remember how much fun it was? You can have some more of that fun." He gestured with his hand. "Just come closer. Get away from that ledge..."

Sophie didn't listen to him. She didn't even spare him a glance. Her attention was on the ledge she was standing on. She peered down, showing no fear of just how high she was off the ground. Her smile stretched further as she raised up the piece of magic chalk she was holding.

In response, Penny held onto what remained of her piece. Her previous attempts of getting Sophie resulted in her nearly using up everything that she had left. She watched the girl, wide-eyed, hoping that Blocky would be able to stop her. There was very little she could draw with just a tiny piece of magic chalk left.

To her horror, Sophie had walked even closer to the edge. Part of her feet stuck out from the ledge itself, and she was balanced precariously over it.

"She's going to fall!"

"Somebody, do something!"

Penny was about to draw when she saw quick movement above her. She looked up and she saw that Blocky had made a swift move. Rushing forward, he managed to grab onto the toddler before she could fall over. He yanked her back and the two of them landed on the roof.

Sighs of relief filled the air, Penny joining in. She put a hand over her chest, feeling her heart race quickly. That was a close one. Now that Blocky had Sophie, he could begin to take her away from the ledge and make his way down. The steps weren't far, she didn't think. He just had to...

Sophie wriggled free out of Blocky's grasp. The force knocked Blocky back. He was able to quickly recover, but before he could try to grab her again, the little girl rushed towards the edge and began to draw swiftly. The scribbles began to accompany the roof, covering much of it. Blocky screamed as he was knocked back, hitting against the other side of the roof.

"Blocky!" Rapsheeba cried in horror.

Peny looked at this in shock before turning her gaze to Sophie. She had gotten so close to the edge that she had started to fall down. Her eyes bulging, she screamed, "No!"

There was a swift movement of black rushing underneath her. A mass of scribbles, They positioned themselves underneath the little girl and caught her with little effort. The girl was raised above the ground as she let out a few squeals of excitement.

Penny let out a sigh of relief that she was okay. But that was quickly replaced with shock as Sophie was now riding on top of a bizarre creation of hers: a massive scribble figure that towered above them all.

Penny took a step back, staring up at the scribble figure in fear. Around her, she could hear some of the zoners start screaming and run away. She looked over her shoulder, watching them as they went. She then turned her attention to Sophie. She was resting in her creation's hand, pointing in one direction. She could hear her call out some words, though it was a bit hard to tell just what they were from here.

"What are we going to do?" Rapsheeba cried, looking at Penny with wide, worried eyes.

Penny stared in the direction that Sophie was going in. Many thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to figure out something she could do. Then, narrowing her eyes, she looked over at Rapsheeba. "You go check on Blocky. I'm going to see if I can stop Sophie."

"But Penny..." Rapsheeba started to say.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Penny said, smiling gently at her friend. Without giving her a chance to respond, Penny turned and bolted.

Thankfully, the large, towering creature was not very fast. It moved incredibly slowly as it tredged through ChalkZone City. Penny didn't take long to catch up to it and she positioned herself in front. She raised her hand up and attempted to halt the little girl.

"Stop!" She commanded. To her surprise, Sophie did just that. The creature stopped and the little girl stared down at her curiously. "Let's go home, Sophie. Come on..." She gestured with her hand. "Come with me..."

However, the little girl refused to listen. She shook her head, and then, with a wave of her hand, she had her creation turn in a new direction. The creature picked up the pace this time, and it was harder for Penny to catch up. This time, when she got in front, Sophie refused to stop. Penny was forced to move out of the way to avoid getting trampled. She turned her head and watched as Sophie and her creation moved through the city, brushing up against the buildings, narrowly missing stepping on some zoners.

Penny watched the scene in horror. While she knew that Sophie meant to harm, this was like straight out of a cheap horror movie like that one about giant ants destroying the world. The shere fact that Sophie was just playing made it all the more terrifying. She didn't realize the harm she was doing. And if she wasn't stopped soon...

Penny raised up her magic chalk and, with no other ideas on what to draw, sketched up a pair of rocket shoes. She was not as used to them as Rudy, so she was awkward as she took off into the air. She managed to steady herself long enough to go to where Sophie was. She landed on the creature's hand, now only a few feet away from the little girl.

Penny smiled down gently at Sophie. "Come on. Don't you want to go home?"

Sophie stared at her, and then shook her head. "Want stay here! Play!"

"Come on.. I bet Rudy and your mother miss you. You don't want to worry them, do you?" Penny asked carefully. Sophie stared up at her, wide-eyed, and then she slowly shook her head. "I didn't think so. Come on Sophie..." Penny reached out for the little girl's hand. "Let's go back to the Real World before you worry them sick."

Sophie stared at her hand for a few moments, and then looked up at her face. They locked eyes with each other for a couple of seconds. At first, it looked as if Penny got through to her and Sophie was going to listen.

But instead, something else happened.

"No!" Sophie shook her head furiously. "No go home! Want play!"

Penny's eyes widened in shock as the scribble figure began to move even faster. She could hear the ground started to shake slightly underneath. Fear and dread filled her heart as she realized how much harm this could do. She turned her attention to Sophie.

"Please, stop this, Sophie!" Penny cried.

But Sophie wouldn't listen. The girl kept moving through the city, and soon they reached the outside of it. While Penny was glad that no more zoners in there could get hurt, they weren't out of the woods yet. In front of her, she could see a large group of zoners in the distance, and they were heading straight for them.

Penny struggled through her mind, trying to think of something to say to stop Sophie. The ony thing she could think of was grabbing her, but what if she struggled? She couldn't risk dropping her from this height. And what of this scribble creature? What if it tried to grab her in the process?

However, before she had much time to really think about her options and what she could do, Penny heard a familiar shout echo in the air.

"Sophie!"

Penny and Sophie froze at this voice. Their eyes widened. They knew that voice anywhere. The scribble creature stopped walking as they turned their heads in the direction of the cry. It took them only seconds to see Rudy speeding towards them, rocket flames shooting out from behind him.

Rudy soon hovered in front of the creature. He was at eye level with Sophie. Rudy noticed Penny, but didn't say a word to her. His attention was focused entirely on his little cousin.

"Hey Soph..." Rudy said gently. "Why don't you and I go home? Your mother invited us to watch a movie together. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Penny expected Sophie to be excited to see Rudy. She always ways. But instead, the response she got was completely unexpected. The little girl cringed away, and looked at Rudy in fear. Penny blinked her eyes in confusion at this. Had they gotten into a bit of a debacle with each other?

"Aww come on, Soph.." Rudy said gently. He reached out towards his cousin, careful not to get too close. "I'm sorry for frightening you... Please..come back..."

Penny, wanting to help, looked down at Sophie. "Go on, Sophie. It's okay." She didn't know the full extent of what had gone on between them, but that didn't stop Penny from trying her best to help them both out. "He didn't mean it. It's okay..."

Sophie looked from Penny and then to Rudy. Her expression appeared to soften up a little, and some of the fear left her eyes. Rudy smiled at this, and he leaned a little closer to his cousin. His hand was outstretched for her, and he waited calmy for her to start to reach towards him.

Before this could happen, however, there was a loud scream, which startled everyone. Sophie immediately clung to Penny, letting out a yelp of terror. Rudy whirled himself around in the direction of the scream. Penny managed to keep her footing, just barely, and she wrapped her arms around the startled girl.

In the distance, they could see zoners rushing out of ChalkZone City. Loud cracks and creaks were everywhere, and some of the buildings began to topple over. Penny's heart skipped a beat as she and Rudy exchanged terrified looks. Had Sophie accidentally created something large and dangerous during her 'rampage' through ChalkZone City?

They soon saw three of their friends, Snap, Rapsheeba, and Blocky, heading in their direction. They were shouting at them, trying to get their attention. There was a loud crack and something flew through the air. Penny's eyes widened when he saw it was a motorcycle. And it was heading straight for their friends...

Rudy gave a cry of terror before rushing down as fast as he could. Using his magic chalk, he was able to draw a massive trampoline above his friends. It caught the motorcyle and sent it flying in another direction. To Penny's relief, there was no one in that way.

Rudy lowered himself down, hovering a few feet in the air. "Guys! What's going on?!"

"Th-Th-There's a..." Rapsheeba stammered, her eyes widening. "A-A big..." She spread her hands out to emphasize. She tried to speak again, but her tongue was so tied up, she could no longer form coherent sentences.

"We...we have to get out of here..." Blocky said breathlessly. He leaned against Rapsheeba for support. "We're going to be torn to shreds!"

Shock swept through Rudy and Penny's hearts.

"What's going to tear us up?" Penny called out from above.

Snap's eyes widened in shock when he saw how high Penny was. That was short lived when he looked behind him and pointed a round hand at something. "That is!"

To Rudy and Penny's horror, a large, foreboding twister was heading through ChalkZone City. Debris filled it up, making it look dark and sinister in appearance. Zoners were screaming loudly as they tried to get away. Seconds later, it broke out of the city and it was on a collision course with them.

It only took them a moment to know what their next move was going to be.

"Run!" Penny screamed.

Immediately, they all took off. They moved as quickly as they could, but the twister was slowly gaining on them...

sss

"What...?" Dr. Von Doktor whispered as he stared at the monitor. He couldn't tear his eyes away from it. "Zis..zis iz impozzible..."

"I assure you, doctor. It's not." Terry's cool voice came from behind him. It was dripping with confidence. "It's completely true. Your equipment isn't broken."

Von's mind had a hard time comprehending this. He tried to speak, but no words would come out. He kept looking from his monitor and to the house before him. He replayed it over and over in his mind. He kept looking around, hoping for some kind of clue or explanation that didn't involve this woman's crazy theories.

But no matter what he did...nothing made sense. He knew of no method that this was possible. No theory in science could account for this. There was only one thing that could make it possible. And it involved the one thing he had hoped he wouldn't be dragged into.

He looked over at Terry. He could see her twisted smile on her face. She had a look of triumph. She knew she had succeeded in showing him evidence. She had shown him something he could not possibly ignore.

Even after he replayed the recording that they had obtained, comparing it to what the tracking monitor had shown, nothing changed. It was exactly how they first saw it. No variable, no change. Just exactly what was recorded. The more he looked at it, the more he realized there was only one explanation. There was only one thing that made sense. And he wished it wasn't so...

His scientific mind was being broken apart little by little. He could feel his body tremble, trying to figure out how this could possible be true. It was so hard for him to comprehend this. He gripped his head tightly, feeling a headache begin to shift through him.

He looked at the house before him, and the monitor. He knew of only one conclusion, and it caused a burning sensation to rise up in side of him as his view on what was possible began to dismantle all around him.

Penny had gone to Rudy's house. The tracker showed she was in Rudy's house. No matter which way he read it, no matter what he thought, that's what had happened. Penny had gone to Rudy's house..without even showing up on the street.

Von had thought they merely missed her, but looking at the footage taken, this was quickly shown to be false. Penny was never on the street. She was at her place, and then she began to move...and then she was at Rudy's place. Now she was on the move again, and just like before, no sign of her outside. It was as if she had gone invisible.

"Now do you believe me...?" Terry asked, that smile still stretching across her face. "Do you still think my theory is crackpot?"

Von didn't answer her. He just stared out ahead, shock creeping along his face, making it hard for him to move. As much as he hated to admit it, there was only one explanation for this. The fact that Penny was able to relocate several times near her without being seen suggests that something else was at play. Something that he thought couldn't possibly be true. Something that, the more he thought about it, may explain a lot of things.

An alternate dimension...

Chapter 9: Captures

How the unexpected can be unfair...

sss

Blocky squirmed, trying to get away from the child. Her arms were wrapped around him so tightly that he could barely breathe. He understood that she was so scared and frightened, but if she didn't let go of him soon, he might pass out. He needed some space. If she kept this up, he was going to pass out for sure.

He managed to free one of his hands and he pushed against her head. She let out a loud cry when he did this, and she held onto him tighter. He could feel her shaking her head against him, a few shouts of 'no', a clear protest. Blocky eventually stopped pushing, the screaming getting so loud, he feared that she was going to draw the attention from the adult humans. He might not be as smart as some zoners, but he knew what would happen if a human spotted him.

He stopped struggling and let the toddler hug him. He looked out the window. He reflected on what happened as he stared at the beautiful scenery before him. He had never seen what the Real World looked like, but at the moment, it hardly mattered to him. There were some more pressing matters to contend with.

He hoped that his friends weren't too worried about him. He felt bad for disappearing on them. He wanted to go back into ChalkZone and apologize if he had worried them. It wasn't like he left on his own accord, however. He tried to stay with them... But Sophie had other plans.

On their way to the hospital, Sophie had spotted the portal that led back to the Real World. She had immediately grabbed onto Blocky and dragged him over to it. Blocky tried to get her to stop, tried to make her slow down and rejoin the grip. But she would not listen. Before long, they had exited the portal and were back in the Real World. It all happened so fast that Blocky barely had time to regain his composure when the girl dragged him over to the window sill and hugged him tightly.

The little girl was so frightened, more so than he had ever seen anyone. He felt a bit guilty for trying to get away from her. He had a feeling that doing so just made her feel worse and scared her more. But it wasn't like he had much of a choice. He had to get out of here before someone spotted him. Being near the window made him feel uneasy. What if someone saw him? Like, through a telescope or something? He shuddered at the thought of people showing up at this house, demanding that Rudy tell him his secrets...

But how was he going to get home with this toddler hanging off of him? Sophie couldn't stay in ChalkZone for long without there being some kind of trouble that they'd have to deal with. Her mother would notice she was missing and try to find her. What if she ended up in ChalkZone as well? Or worse, what if she called the police and all of them found ChalkZone?

It was imperative that he get out of here. He couldn't stay and Sophie couldn't come with. He did his best to comfort the toddler, but he needed to get her to understand that he needed to go back home. If he didn't get back, then not only would he worry his friends, but he would also be putting himself in great danger.

A zoner couldn't survive long in the Real World. He couldn't eat or drink anything here. In a matter of days, he would be close to death, and eventually die from dehydration. Then there was the matter of Real World water. Even if he didn't touch any of the stuff directly, the humidity that may be present would irritate him and slowly eat away at his body. Just the act of being in a humid, Real World land would be enough to...

He moved away from his thoughts when he heard Sophie say something. The statement was muffled and he could barely understand a word she was saying. He moved back, allowing her room to look up at him.

Sophie stared up at him with those sad eyes. This lasted for several moments. The longer he stared at her, the more he wanted to just reach down and hold onto her. But before he could say anything, something happened that changed the situation completely.

Sophie smiled.

In confusion, Blocky watched as the girl's grin spread practically from ear to ear. She held onto him more tightly, pressing him against her. Any sign of fear was now, suddenly, gone from her face. It was as if, now that she wasn't in danger anymore, she'd forgotten about it, and now wanted to return to having fun.

"Play time!" Sophie screeched playfully. She yanked on Blocky and dragged him towards one of the shelves in Rudy's room. "Come play with me!"

"W-Well Sophie, I..." Blocky stammered, unsure of how to react to this sudden change. "I really must..."

Sophie didn't give him a chance to finish. She forced him to sit down on the ground and she reached for a small, colorful box. Blocky recognized it as something that Rudy or Penny would use for school. He watched as the girl set it down beside her and opened it up. It was filled with all kinds of markers, colored pencils, and crayons.

Blocky realized that he probably is not going to be able to get away any time soon, so he simply sat there for the time being. Perhaps while Sophie drew on him, he would figure out something to help him get out of here. Or maybe he'd be lucky and Rudy or Penny would show up. They would probably be able to get convince Sophie to let him go. She'd definitely listen to Rudy, right? But then he remembered her last trip into ChalkZone...

"Hold still!" Sophie squealed as she grabbed onto a thick, black marker. She put her hand on his face and moved it up and down. He shut his eyes as she did this. He guessed that she was just trying to flatten an area for her to draw on. "Make pretty!" She brought the marker over.

Blocky resisted the urge to groan when he saw the marker coming towards him. He had miniature flashbacks to when she drew on his face. It was annoying, but, eh, she was a little girl. He might as well let her have a little fun, especially after what happened back in ChalkZone. The little tyke deserved some kind of reprive from that.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when there was a sudden burning sensation on his face. He let out a yelp and moved back. His eyes darted around as he tried to figure out what it was. He turned his eyes downward and he realized what it was.

It had been the marker.

"No..stop..please!" Blocky cried.

Sophie, however, wouldn't listen. She frowned at him slightly, looking annoyed that he had backed away like that. She launched herself forward and collided with him. She pushed him onto his back. Blocky kicked his legs as he tried to squirm away from her. But the little girl kept her body pressed against him. Her weight alone was enough to stop him. She grabbed onto his head and flattened him down. She lowered the black marker down to him.

Blocky seethed in pain as he felt the liquid marker penetrate his skin. Sophie moved it along his face, drawing different shapes on him. The amount of pain he felt increased the longer the girl drew on him. He could feel the ink burning against his skin. The only relief was that at least it dried quickly and the girl didn't take her sweet little time drawing. But the pain...he was only able to resist it for so long...

Blocky's pain-filled eyes darted around the room. He looked towards the portal, hoping, praying, that Rudy or Penny would come in and stop this. He looked towards the door. He was so desperate that he even hoped the mother would walk in. At least it would distract Sophie long enough for him to get away.

But for the time being, all he could do was lay here and take it. He couldn't attack Sophie; that would be wrong. He couldn't call for help. He might make things worse. He couldn't struggle away; the girl's grip on him was too tight. All he could do right now was take it, and hope that the girl would be done with him soon.

He was completely unaware of what was going on just outside the room.

sss

"You're kidding me, right?" Tilly said as she held onto the phone. "You want what..?"

"You heard me. We want the chalkboard. Bring it outside to us. We will gladly pay a large sum to have it. Trust me, we will make it worth your while."

Tilly bit her lip. She wasn't sure what the right thing to do was. She wasn't sure just how much she could believe the person on this other line. She knew full well of Terry's...antics, and this whole chalk world nonsense that she believed in. How could she trust anything that she said? She didn't want to be a part of this craziness that she had started herself.

Plus, it was Rudy's chalkboard that she wanted. For what...to try to reveal this chalk world... Such a nonsense thing to do. Hadn't the woman learned her lesson already? She was humiliated on television when she last tried to expose this chalk world. Was she really looking forward to another one of those? Was she really going to risk ruining her reptuation even more in her misguided attempt at exposing a world that did not exist?

However, that huge sum of money did seem...tempting. She felt a pang of guilt for feeling that way. She knew that money wasn't the most important thing in the world. But...still...

Tilly could get a lot of things with that kind of money. She could buy Rudy an even better chalkboard. More of them. She could get him a nice laptop computer that he could use for art. She could get him a lot more impressive art supplies. Was she really going to deny him all of that for the sake of a single, old chalkboard.

"We are waiting on your decision, ma'am."

"I know.. Just..give me some time..." Tilly said. Slowly, she rested the phone on the table and began to pace. She...she needed a little time to think.

She walked to and fro in the living room. Back and forth in front of the television and the couch she went. She folded her arms behind her back, her eyes narrowed in a concerned frown. Her thoughts moved through her as she tried to concentrate. She tried to think of what her answer should be.

On the one hand, she might upset Rudy more. She remembered their last conversation. She had punished him for scaring Sophie by making him do chores. She wondered if she had gone a little too far with that, with all that she had him doing. The look on his face when she called him into the living room seemed to confirm that. She had tried to make amends by giving him something to drink and offering him to watch a movie with her. But he had rejected it and left quickly.

She felt a pang of guilt when she thought about that. It was through that action alone that she realized that she may have indeed went too far. She had never meant to upset him like that. She should have just stuck with one chore. After all, it wasn't like Rudy meant to frighten Sophie.

Her thoughts, once more, shifted to the things she could get in return for the chalkboard, should she decide to sell it. It was just one measley chalkboard, after all. There were plenty like it. It can easily be replaced. Rudy never keeps anything drawn on there for long anyway. In fact, she hardly ever saw him use it. Would he really care if it was gone?

Besides, she could get him more things that he could use. More art supplies. More paper. Maybe a better art desk. Terry was offering enough money for her to get him a lot of things. And if he really wanted a chalkboard, she could get him a larger one, made of better materials, and some better chalk. She could get him a computer and a scanner so he could put his art online if he wanted to. She could get him some high quality supplies so he could share his art with the world.

And all she would have to do is exchange his old chalkboard...

She made her decision. She turned to the phone and walked towards it quickly. She grabbed onto it and lifted it up. She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip. She hoped she wouldn't live to regret this decision.

"Okay. The chalkboard is yours."

"Excellent..." She heard Terry say. "Bring it outside. We will be waiting."

There was a click and she heard the familiar tone of the phone being off. She stared at it for a few seconds and then rested it on the hook. She leaned back and ran her fingers through her hair.

She hoped she wouldn't regret this decision. She could feel a burning sensation in her stomach as she worried that she may have made the wrong choice. Maybe she should have spoken with Rudy first about it, see if he wanted it to be sold. But she reminded herself that it was just a chalkboard and that he'd get so much more out of the deal.

She looked towards the staircase. She hadn't heard a peep out of Rudy since he left. She thought about calling out to him, but if he was angry with her, he may not respond. He might even try to hide, which would make it very difficult for her to speak with him on the matter.

So instead, she opted to go upstairs. If she showed up in his room unexpectantly, he wouldn't be able to hide and she'd be able to speak to him. She would explain to him what her intentions were and that she only wanted what was best for him. Surely, he would understand once she explained the whole situation to him. He was a smart little boy. He wouldn't be that attached to one single chalkboard, right?

Without further delay, the woman began to descend the stairs. She moved slowly so that she wouldn't make noise going up. As she did, she could hear something going on. Some kind of noise. Frowning softly, she slightly sped up her pace.

sss

"Please, Sophie...stop this..." Blocky said softly. He tried to turn his head away, but he was not able to stop the girl from making another black inked circle on his face. "This hurts..."

Sophie didn't stop. She continued drawing him, enjoying every second of it. She didn't seem aware that she was hurting him. She didn't notice the wincing of his eyes, or his face contorting. All she could see was a large, green paper, and how ripe it was for her to draw on. She would not allow him to leave. Not until she was finished covering him up in black ink.

She wasn't doing this out of malice. As Blocky heard the little girl laughing, he could tell it was out of joy, not sick satisfaction. Sophie was just unaware of the damage she was causing him. He could try to explain, but how would she fully understand at her age? The very concept might fly right over her head. The only thing he could do was either hope she'd be done soon and that there won't be too much damage to himself, or he could try to get away from her, knock her away and then jump back through the portal.

But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't get himself to push the little girl away. He could if he mustered up enough strength. Yet the very act of carrying it out... After what the girl had been through, how could he do such a thing to her? She had been frightened enough, especially with how she was nearly crushed to death today.

Yet...he wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to handle this. The burning sensation on his face...it was getting worse. He could feel some blood start to leak out from the burns. It wasn't as bad as Real World water, but that wasn't saying too much. It still hurt him, still stung him, still made him squirm.

He...he had to get away. He couldn't stay like this any longer. The burning, it was getting worse as the seconds passed. It was like someone was holding a candle light too close to his skin. He could feel the burning even on areas where the ink had dried up. His brain was churning out rapid thought as he looked left and right, hoping to find something, anything, to make Sophie let him go.

Just then he heard something in the distance. Faint...slight...quiet... He had to strain to hear it. Sophie's laughter didn't exactly make it that easy for him. He did his best to listen to whatever was going on, doing what he could to hear past Sophie, and to whatever was going on outside the door.

Then he saw the doorknob moving. Someone was coming in.

In desperation, Blocky pushed against Sophie. He knocked her into the ground. She hit against the shelf, knocking a few things over. He quickly stopped up and looked around for a place to hide. He looked down at the little girl, noticing her expression. He felt a pang of guilt at how sad she looked, and how she was on the verge of tears. Blocky so desperately wanted to cheer her up and apologize, but he didn't have time for that.

He heard the squeaking of the door opening up. His heart pounding against his chest, he dove underneath the bed. He pushed himself as far under it as he could. He flattened himself on the ground and, ignoring the pain on his face, tried his best to keep quiet.

He could see a woman walking into the room. He couldn't tell who it was, but he guessed it was a family member of Rudy's. Possibly his aunt? Then his heart started to race faster when he realized he didn't cover up the portal. And now it was too late; as much as he wanted to rush forward and put something over it, it was too late. The aunt was fully in the room, and any second now, she was going to notice the portal.

But so far, she did not. Instead, she had turned her attention to Sophie. The girl, at this point, was crying. She looked absolutely hurt by what Blocky did to her. The sight of it broke his heart. He didn't mean to upset her like that. He didn't mean to knock her down. He was just so desperate to get away, and if he hadn't done that, he would have gotten himself into bigger trouble.

He watched as the aunt comforted the little girl. She scooped Sophie up into her arms and held onto her. She hugged her little girl and whispered soft, comforting words to her. The woman rocked the trembling child back and forth.

The sight of it reminded Blocky of the mother chocolate bunny that he and Snap ran into that one time. After the whole misunderstanding was cleared up and she got her babies back, she was more than happy to share her chocolate milk with them, treating them like they were just a couple more of her babies. At this memory, Blocky couldn't help but smile. He always found these kinds of moments to be rather cute.

Sophie had calmed down rather quickly as her mom hugged her. She soon stopped crying altogether and the woman set her daughter on the ground. Sophie took a look towards him and frowned. He winced at this and cringed back, wondering if the girl was going to try to scold him. Thankfully, she simply turned in another direction and found another piece of paper to torment...er...draw on.

Blocky now just had to wait for the woman to disappear. He hoped that Rudy's aunt would disappear quickly. He had his one chance at getting out of here, and it was just a few feet in front of him. The chalkboard was right there. The woman hadn't even noticed it yet. All she had to do was back away and leave. Now that her daughter was okay, surely, she would turn around and leave. Then he could make his move.

The zoner's body began to shiver in fear when something else happened entirely. Instead of leaving like he hoped, the woman grabbed a large tarp and put it over the chalkboard. She pushed it into the ground and bent the legs inward. Soon they were flattened completely, a snap indicating that they were now locked in place. The woman finished wrapping it up in the tarp, picked it up, and began to take it away.

Blocky couldn't believe it. A cold sensation clutched at his chest as he watched the woman take away the chalkboard. His one chance at getting home... It was gone... Just like that... She had come and taken it away from him. Now how was he going to get back?

And what of the others? How were they going to get home now? He quickly relaxed when he realized that they would just find another chalkboard. But where... Penny's...that's it. If he could just get to Penny's place, he may have a chance at getting home. Penny had a chalkboard, too.

He just needed to get out of here. With Sophie now distracted, now was the perfect chance for him to make his getaway. He cralwed out from underneath the bed. He stared at her for a few seconds. Making sure that she, indeed, wasn't paying him any attention, the green zoner began to make his way out of the room, the aunt already down the steps with the chalkboard.

Blocky paused for a moment. He tried to think of what he was going to do. He suddenly realized that he had no idea which way Penny's place was. And unlike Snap, he couldn't go to anyone for help. Snap could pass off as a kid in a costume, but not him. He was way too flat. If someone spotted him...

Suddenly he froze. He heard something from down the steps. A creaking sound, sliding against the floor. He saw a flash of light, and he soon realized what was going on.

Rudy's aunt was taking the portal outside...

Sucking in a sharp breath, Blocky's mind instantly switched from merely trying to escape to wanting to protect ChalkZone. He had to get that chalkboard back. He couldn't believe he had nearly forgotten about it. How could he have expected the woman not to do anything that could expose ChalkZone while he tried to get back? He needed to take it and hide it somehow. But how would he do that without getting spotted?

He would have to figure out something and fast. There wasn't much time left. As he moved down the steps slowly, he could get a glimpse of Rudy's aunt dragging the covered chalkboard outside. He took in quick breaths and sped himself up. Soon he reached the bottom of the steps, but by then, the door had shut all the way.

He stood there in shock, unable to believe just what had happened. He tried to open up the door, but the thing was so slick, and it stung him a little. He guessed it must have been recently cleaned, but not thoroughly dried. He tried to squeeze underneath the door, but there was hardly any space there. He wouldn't fit through. He turned his head left and right, desperately trying to figure a way out.

Noticing the window in the living room, he rushed over towards it. He pressed his hands against the cold surface and looked through it. Outside, he could see Rudy's aunt holdling onto the tarp-covered chalkboard. His eyes followed her, and soon they noticed a van parked not far. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what was going to happen.

Rudy's aunt must be selling the chalkboard or giving it away.

He tried his best to control his hyperventilating breathing. Many thoughts raced through his head. All of a sudden, there was a lot more at stake now. It was one thing if Rudy's aunt just kept the board. At least they could plan a way to get it back, and even if she did see the chalk world, she would be more easily reasoned with. But these people whom she was giving the chalkboard too? They may not be so cooperative...

Blocky had no idea who these people are, or why they wanted the chalkboard. He didn't know if they had any idea of ChalkZone's existence. He had no idea what they had planned. For all he knew, it could just be a simple selling or giveaway. But that didn't erase the threat of what might happen if they were to see the chalkboard's opening...

Blocky moved away from the window sill and looked around in desperation. Somewhere, there had to be a way out. An open window. Another door. Something that he could use. He didn't have much time. If he didn't get out there...

...then who knows what will happen?

He hoped that Rudy and Penny would notice the portal moving. He hoped someone in ChalkZone sees it and keeps track of it. He hoped that the two creators realized what was going on and were thinking of a backup plan. If Rudy could just erase the portal, then it would be fine. He could do so from the side of ChalkZone. A simple, easy fix. Heck, he might be able to if he had an...

He saw an eraser not far from where he was. His eyes stared intently at it. Such a dangerous thing. He could feel his heart racing just looking at it. He knew full well what could happen to him if he messed around with it too much. He knew of the danger it had for him. Yet...despite the risk, and despite the fear he had for it, it may be his one chance. Even if Rudy and Penny were aware, they might still need his help.

Grabbing onto a plastic bag he found laying on the ground, he scooped up the eraser into it and tied it up, preventing its dangerously abrasive layers from touching him. Keeping a good, tight grip on it, the zoner turned and rushed through the house, hoping to find some way of getting out.

sss

Terry did her best to ignore the skeptical look she got from Von. She focused her eyes on the window next to her. She glared as she stared out at the Tabooties' home. The plan had been initiated; now all they had to do was wait.

She ignored the groans she got from the man sitting next to her. She did not bother looking at him in the eyes. She knew what he was thinking. She knew what he might think of her 'little plan', as he had put it. She didn't have any desire to argue with him, especially not now. The plan was in motion, regardless of what he thought of it. And if all went well, they would have their revenge, as well as reclaim their dignity.

Terry knew full well that this plan could easily backfire. The woman on the phone, whom she found out was Rudy's aunt, had been told of what she had been doing. She knew of her obsession with the chalk world. This realization made her bite her lip. This woman could easily have resisted, and not allow her what she needed.

She was thankful that the woman did eventually cave in with money. Of course, she had no intention on fulfilling that promise. She did not have such money available. Perhaps Von did. She hadn't bothered to ask him if he could loan the woman the money she promised her so that she wouldn't call the police. But if he didn't... Terry cursed herself for not thinking this through more.

But no time to worry about that now. The woman was approaching the van now. She had to get herself ready. She had to look as proper as she could for this interaction. After all, the woman was not likely going to hand over the goods if she looked like a disheveled bum.

"You there!" Terry barked as she tossed him a moist toilette. "Get cleaned up! We've got company!"

Von snatched the cloth with ease. He looked down at it. He cocked an eyebrow. "Why should I..."

"Just do it!" Terry hissed. "I don't need to explain everything to you!"

Von shook his head. He looked like he was going to argue with her more but thankfully, he refrained from doing so and started to wipe his face with the moist toilette. He muttered under his breath, "Ziz plan of yourz iz ztupid..."

Terry ignored his words as she focused on the woman approaching them. A part of her wished that it had been Mr. or Mrs. Tabootie approaching as she felt it would have been easier dealing with them. This woman, on the other hand, she didn't know as much about. She didn't know what to expect when interacting with her. She would not be able to plan very well, and it was all going to be luck of the draw.

Her eyes locked onto the keyboard. Her mouth tugged into a broad smile. Perfect.. The woman did bring it down with her after all. Terry had been worried the woman would want to talk to her more before actually bringing out the goods. And for once, no sign of that little brat or his friends around to stop her.

She hoped that this chalkboard still had the portal on it. She didn't know how Rudy Tabootie handled that, if he kept the portal open or if he erased it. She had no way of accurately predicting his behavior in that regard. If the portal was still open, then she'd secure it somehow. However, even if it wasn't open, there was still another purpose this served, which would suit their needs just fine.

It would prevent that little zoner she and Von spotted earlier from returning home. She predicted that he, out of desperation would follow the chalkboard and try to get back inside of it. He would leave the safety of the home and be a perfect target. No one would suspect a thing; after all, he looks like a piece of paper. She gave a small smile. This turned out much better than if it were Snap. It'd be hard for her getting him in her bag without someone trying to stop her. They would mistake him for a child. But no one would come to this green zoner's aid. He was just a piece of paper.

Getting a working portal was nothing more than a bonus to her. It'd be nice to have, but it wasn't necessary for her her goals. That green chalk creature, he was the one that would set everything into motion. He was the bargaining chip that she needed to force the two brats to cooperate. He was the specimen that was going to prove to the world that chalk entities were indeed real, and that there was a world made entirely of chalk.

So long as she had the rectangle creature, she couldn't lose.

As soon as the brown-haired woman was half-way across the street, Terry turned to Von. She nudged him with her elbow, causing him to drop his moist toilette and shoot her a look. She ignored it and hissed at him, "She's almost here! Get out of the van, and let me do the talking, okay?"

"Well, I'm pretty good at negotiating." Von said. He gave a haughty smile, placing his hand against his chest. "You should let me..."

Terry shook her head, glaring at him. "You would screw things up! It was hard enough to convince that woman to come out here! I will not let you undo all of that!" Terry ignored the man's growl at her as she reached for the door. As she paused, preparing to open it, she gave the man a sideways glance. "Now step out. Let's get this over with quickly, before the two children find out what's going on..."

Von opened his mouth to speak, but he shut it when she glared at him again. He shook his head, still looking uncertain and skeptical of this plan of hers. She merely shook her head at this display of disbelief from him. It didn't matter if he didn't think the plan would work or not. What did matter was that she knew it would work, so long as everything played out correctly. That meant no input from him unless she asked. They were so close...and if that man screwed this up...

She shook the thoughts out of her head as she stepped out of the vehicle. She could hear the door shut from the other side. She turned her head just enough to see Dr. Von Doktor coming around to join her. She then looked over at the woman and, putting on the friendliest face that she could, she raised her hand up and waved at her.

"Hello! Greetings, Ms..." Her voice trailed off when she realized she didn't know the woman's last name.

"Just call me Tilly." The woman said. "I don't care if someone calls me by my first name or not." She let out a grunt as she dragged the chalkboard closer. "This...is what you wanted, right?"

Terry looked at the item the woman was carrying. She noted how it was covered up with a tarp. "Is this the chalkboard?"

Tilly nodded her head. "Yes." She set the chalkboard down. She wiped off her hands. Despite looking pretty strong, the woman looked a bit exhausted from dragging the thing around. "I'm not sure why you want this old thing so badly."

"Trust me, I have my reasons." Terry turned her head to Von. She grabbed onto his arm and pulled him closer. "He will be giving you payment."

Von spluttered at this. "I will?! I didn't..."

Terry shot him a death glare. "We talked about it in the van." She said through clenched teeth, doing her best not to let any suspicion rise up in Tilly. "Now get out your wallet and write a check!"

"Oh okay..." Von said. Without another word, he pulled out a check and began to write a sum of money on it.

"And make sure to give her a generous amount for it." Terry said in a soft voice. The man merely nodded his head. Terry turned her attention to Tilly. "We promise, you will not regret this decision."

Tilly nodded her head. "I sure hope so." She folded her hands together and turned her head to the side. There was a somewhat sad expression in her eyes. "Rudy isn't speaking to me, so I hope I can use this money to cheer him up."

"Don't worry. You will." Terry said, smiling the best she could.

Tilly returned the smile. "And I wish you the best of luck with.." She looked at the chalkboard. A look of confusion plastered over her face for a few seconds. She then shook her head. "..whatever it is you will be doing with this thing.."

Terry smiled at this. "Thank you." She said in the nicest tone of voice that she could muster up. She turned her head towards Von. She frowned when she saw that he was still writing on the piece of paper. "You aren't done with that yet?"

"Don't worry. I'm almost done..." Von quickened up his writing when he saw Terry look at him. Terry wordlessly reminded him that they didn't have a lot of time to fool around. They needed to get out of here. Von swiftly finished writing the check, tore it out of his checkbook, and handed it over to Tilly. "Here you are!"

"Thanks." Tilly examined the check. She held it out and tilted it to one side, looking at the number the old man had written. She frowned at first, and Terry wondered if the woman was going to demand more money. "Okay, a pleasure doing business with you." Thankfully, she didn't. She turned and walked away.

Terry grinned at this. Now they have the chalkboard. The first part of their plan was a success. Now she just had to wait for that green chalk thing to come on out. If it wanted to come home so badly, it will leave the house and try to catch up to the chalkboard. Then, she and Von will strike.

First, however, she wanted to make sure if this chalkboard had a portal or not. Whether or not it did would affect how the rest of the plan would progress. She could adapt either way to it. She was flexible like that. Gripping the bottom of the tarp, she lifted it up enough to expose the chalkboard itself. And, to her amazement and satisfaction...

..there was indeed a portal there.

Terry quickly covered it up before Von had a chance to see it. She didn't need him knowing about it right now. He might be too brash and rush in. Terry knew they still had to play it safe. She had been too brash before, and look at where that got her. No, they would need to play it smarter and safer this time around. They have a portal, but they would simply secure it for now. No attempts to enter the chalk world would be made until further notice.

Terry took a moment to look around, turning her head left to right. She didn't see the little brats coming down the street, or from the house. She guessed that they were still in the chalk world and hadn't yet gotten out. It was hard to tell since they didn't have the tracker out with them at the moment. No matter, they could check when they get back in.

Now was the time to go. She didn't want to run the risk of Tilly changing her mind, or Rudy showing up unexpectantly to steal away her success like on that blasted television set. Gesturing to Von, they carried the chalkboard towards the back of her van. The doors were propped open and they set the chalkboard inside, keeping it covered up by the tarp.

They then climbed back into the vehicle. She would have left to go back to the lab, since they have a portal now. But she hesitated. They still needed that green creature before they went. But they couldn't stay in this same spot. Tilly might get suspicious.

Upon hearing her turn the keys in the ignition, Von stared at her in shock. "What are you doing?!"

"We need to move further down the street." Terry said in a firm voice. "We cannot allow that woman to see us still parked here. We will drive around the block and park on the other street behind the house."

"I suppose that makes sense." Von said.

"Oh and Von?" Terry said as she gave him a sideways glance. "Make sure you grab the laced bag back there." Upon realizing that Von was confused, she added, "I researched chalk and there is something that interacts with it in an...interesting way. I think this will help us keep the creature weak while we transport him."

"Gotcha." Von said, nodding his head once.

Without another word, the pair drove down the street. It was time to get ready for part two of the plan. It was time to get that little creature before Rudy had a chance to do anything to stop them. Terry couldn't help but smile. She had always heard that revenge was sweet. But the path to get there was just as enjoyable.

She did not notice that a pair of eyes had been watching her.

sss

Tilly was still so confused. She wasn't sure what to make of this unusual encounter. She had never heard of anyone who was this interested in chalkboards. She never met anyone who would spend that much money on a chalkboard. Were they thinking straight at all?

She had to keep looking at the check to make sure that it wasn't a trick of the eye or anything. The same amount was constanly present. A whopping $1,700 is what was paid for the chalkboard. This was more than enough to pay for all kinds of high quality art suppies for both her daughter and her nephew. It was an excessively high amount, but she didn't want to rush back and question them, especially since this was the easiest sum of money she had ever gotten. All it cost her was one measley chalkboard.

She planned on cashing this check as soon as possible. She knew that Rudy would be a little upset with her for selling his chalkboard without his permission. But he'd fell better once she got him something really nice. A nearly birthday present of sorts. She would get him something even better.

Tilly stuffed the check into her pocket. She grabbed her keys and got herself ready to leave. She paused for a moment. She looked upstairs. Should she go up and try to find Rudy and speak to him? After all, he wouldn't be happy knowing that his chalkboard was taken from him. Maybe she should ease his confusion at it being gone now before she went out.

She soon decided against it. The little boy hadn't come out of hiding since their last interaction in the living room. He may not be in the mood to talk. She didn't want to force him out if he didn't want to. She decided it was best to just leave him be. She would surprise him when she got back.

The woman headed towards the door. As she opened up the door slowly, she noticed that Terry had not yet left. She was standing there with that scientist guy. She looked like she was thinking about something. She frowned in confusion. She wondered why she hadn't hoisted that chalkboard up and put it away. Surely, with her van, that wouldn't have taken that long.

Then she saw that the red-haired woman was pulling up the tarp, curiosity piqued in her mind. Even though she had a feeling at Terry may have just wanted to check the chalkboard's condition, there was a part of her that couldn't turn away. She kept staring as the tarp was pulled further up, and then she saw something that shouldn't be there.

Was...was that..light...? The woman sucked in a sharp breath. Why was there light coming from the chalkboard? Had a flashlight gotten stuck in the tarp somehow? No, she would've felt it. But if it wasn't that, then...

She nearly fell to the ground when she saw what was causing the light. Her legs were so weak, it was difficult to keep herself standing. She was unable to tear her eyes away from it. She resisted the urge to rush out and demand Terry what this thing was.

An opening. There was an opening on the chalkboard.

Terry had closed it down too quickly for her to get too many details. But she saw enough to confirm that there was some kind of hole in the surface of the chalkboard. There was light, and some green. Grass? A blue sky? Was this thing a...a portal to another world? This realization caused a shiver to wrack through her body, and she put her hand to her mouth nearly dropping her keys in the process.

Many thoughts raced through her mind as she numbly watched the van leave. What she had seen would be imprinted on her mind for a long time. It may have been quick, but no way would she forget this anytime soon. She could feel her body shake from the realization. Her legs, unable to carry her any further, just plopped down, and soon she was on her knees in front of the door.

A dawning realization creeped in the back of her mind. This...this is why they wanted the chalkboard. This is why they paid this much money for it. They wanted this portal thing. A portal that led into some unknown world upon which she had almost no knowledge of. A world of infinite possibilities. A world that could be dangerous. And she had helped them get there.

A burning feeling began to rise up in her stomach. Her anger from before returned swiftly. As much as she was peeved that Terry did not tell her the truth, it was not her she was the most angry with.

It was Rudy.

Why didn't he tell her about this? How long had this been going on? Where did the portal come from? So many questions raced through her head. She clutched it, feeling a headache spreading through her temples. The realization that Rudy may have been visiting another dimension made a lump crawl its way into her throat, and she resisted the urge to throw up. Fear for his safety and anger that he never spoke up before ruled her mind.

How could Rudy do something so foolish? How could he have been doing this behind his folks' backs? She recalled how her sister said that Rudy would disappear for hours. They had all assumed he just had a special hiding place he liked to say and think. Was this where he was actually going? To this alternate dimension?

She narrowed her eyes and bit her lip so hard, she nearly drew blood. She tightened her grip on the check, nearly crumbling it in her hands. She couldn't believe that Rudy could be so reckless... She shot a glare towards the steps. He had a lot to answer for.

sss

Blocky sighed with relief when he was able to slip out of the backdoor. Rudy's aunt being present made it a little harder for him to get out. Luckily, she appeared to be distracted by her thoughts to really notice him walking behind her. He was thankful for his paper-like design, as it made him quite lightweight and quiet.

The backdoor wasn't closed all the way. There was a slight crack to it. More than what the front door offered. It was enough for him to slip through. He eased his way out and soon he was on the other side. He slipped and fell into the grass. He spluttered, spitting out the blades of grass and climbed back to his feet. Brushing himself off, he looked around.

Which way should he go? He knew that the van taking the chalkboard was around the front, but he remembered hearing the chug of the engine and he knew that the van would not be there anymore. That didn't worry him, however. There was the chance that the vehicle would spin around on the other side. Yeah, it was wishful thinking, but what did he have to lose? He could at least try and if that option wasn't available, well he could just hang around here until Rudy and Penny come out.

He moved along the side of the house, keeping his hand pressed against the wall. He looked left and right, keeping himself hidden the best that he could. This was not an easy thing to do. Even with the bushes, he was largely exposed. He was just glad there was a large fence in the backyard. This provided him some protection from being spotted, but it was not perfect. And to make matters worse, he was going to have to cross it if he wanted to reach the other side.

"Rudy Tabootie!"

Blocky jumped, nearly screaming at the sound of that loud voice suddenly calling out. He turned himself around and looked back towards Rudy's house. It sounded like Rudy's aunt, and she was pissed.

He wondered why she was so angry. Had Rudy forgotten to do something that he'd promised he'd do? Did she notice him gone and was not happy with him disappearing like that? Or maybe...no... It couldn't be possible... The zoner's eyes widened in horror at the very idea. It...couldn't be...right...?

Had the woman spotted something with the chalkboard? Did...did she see the portal...?

Blocky felt a surge of chilling fear rise up inside of him. If Rudy's aunt saw the portal... If she had become aware of Rudy sneaking into an alternate dimension...

The rectangular zoner didn't have much time to dwell on this fact. Something loomed over him. He froze, a chill rushing throug his body as a shadow covered his body, and he could hear excited breathing behind him. Slowly, he turned his head. His eyes widened in horror at what he saw.

Two humans... Smiling at him...holding a bag...

Blocky felt his heart skip a beat at this sight. He attempted to make a run for it, but it was too late. Darkness descended upon him completely as he was suddenly covered in a bag. He let out a grunt as the top of it was tightened and he was thrust upwards into the air. He hit against something solid and he realized he was being carried away.

"Help! Help!" Blocky cried, pounding on the bag. "Somebody! Help! I..."

Blocky didn't have time to finish. Suddenly, he felt drowsy and weak. He could feel his energy being sapped from him by an invisible entity. He swayed from side to side, his eyes growing heavy. He struggled to stay awake, but it was no use. He soon collapsed, his body going limp. He found it difficult to move, even harder to keep his eyes open. It didn't take long for his eyelids to shut completely, and darkness loomed over him. He slipped into unconsciousness seconds later.

Chapter 11: Plans

What lies ahead is a mystery, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare your next step.

sss

"Oh Rudy...I can't believe she said that to you..." Penny whispered softly. "I can't believe she slapped you..."

Rudy nodded his head numbly in agreement. "Y-Yeah... Me neither..."

Penny remained silent. She wasn't sure what to say to her friend. She was shocked by this turn of events. She had never thought things would taken such a horrible path... She was expecting...something. After all, his aunt was yelling quite loudly. But...but for this to... She was unsure of just how to respond to it.

She watched her friend with a saddened expression. Rudy was sitting against his bed, his bed touching it. He was staring off at nothing in particular. He was barely responding to Sophie. The little girl had been trying to get him to play, but soon, she appeared to realize that Rudy was upset. So at the moment, she was trying to cheer him up by getting him to draw or showing him some drawings. It didn't appear to work, but Sophie was still trying.

Penny had to admire Sophie for her persistence. Sometimes, this trait can be a bad thing or get them in trouble, like the situation with ChalkZone. Other times, it was a great quality to have. In this case, she had a strong hunch it was the only thing keeping Rudy from falling into a deep depression.

Right now, Rudy was largely unresponsive. He would still reply at times, but only in quick, short messages. He stayed to himself, hardly ever looked at her, hardly turned his head. He looked almost like he had seen a ghost.

It was uncomfortable for Penny see Rudy like this. So unlike himself. Usually, he'd be talking, drawing, doing whatever to get his mind off of what was bothering him. But at the moment, he was just...not doing anything. He was like a lump on a leg. It was at these moments that Penny was most concerned for him. To get him in that state, whatever had happened must have been pretty bad.

And from what Rudy told her, it was. It was just as they had both feared. His aunt found out about ChalkZone. This, in of itself, was a devastating piece of news, which left ChalkZone's future in a place of urgency.

However, it didn't stop there. Rudy didn't describe too much, but Penny was able to get the gist of what had gone on.

Rudy's aunt had rounded on him, and yelled at him for his 'careless behavior'. She had boxed him in a corner and got increasingly angry as the conversation went on. Then one thing led to another, then she found out she herself had gone in there, and the incident with Sophie... Understandably, the woman had gotten even more furious. After all, she didn't know anything about ChalkZone, other than it being another world, in another dimension.

But when Rudy tried to explain... She had gotten angrier. She had taken it as Rudy 'not caring enough of the family' or something like that. This did boil Penny's blood, as she found it hard to believe that Tilly would say something like that about her own nephew. At the same time, she could hardly blame her. She just felt that was anger talking, and that she just needed a bit of time to cool down. She wished both of them had just left before things escalated.

Sadly, they didn't, which resulted in Tilly apparently insulting Rudy and striking him down. Penny had to admit, she found that hard to believe. Tilly never came off as someone who was particularly aggressive. But when she saw the red mark on Rudy's face and the bruise on his shoulder...

Penny hoped that the two of them could reconcile soon. She had a feeling that both of them were upset. Well she could certainly tell Rudy was. But there was no doubt in her mind that Tilly was also suffering from this. She imagined that she must have been horrified when she found out what she did, and perhaps tried to make amends. She would understand why Rudy would choose to get away from her, however. Now may not be a good time for an apology. Both parties needed to calm down.

"Rudy..." Penny called out as she stared at her friend. Rudy didn't reply. "Rudy." Penny tried again, this time in a louder voice. Rudy turned his head slightly, but did not look at her. At this acknowledgement, Penny said, "In about an hour, why don't you go down to see your aunt? I'm sure that.."

Rudy shook his head. "No."

Penny's eyes widened when she heard just how cold he sounded. This wasn't like Rudy. She bit her lip, raising her head up slightly. "What do you mean? She's your aunt. You were both just angry. You should try to make amends with each other."

Rudy let out a soft growl. "And risk getting hit again...?" He turned his head slightly. He looked at Penny with a narrowed eye. "I'm sure I'm going to love that again."

"Oh come on, Rudy. Don't be this way." Penny pleaded with him. "This isn't who you are. You don't hold grudges for that long."

"I...I just don't want to..." Rudy said, his voice stern. There was still that cold edge, but it had softened up a little. "You weren't there, Penny. You didn't see the look in her eyes. You didn't see...any of it."

Penny nodded her head. "True... But that doesn't mean I don't understand. People get into fights a lot, even between loved ones. Don't let this eat you up inside, Rudy. Let yourself cool down, and then speak to her. You both should make amends with each other."

At this, Rudy shot her a glare that made her stiffen. "What did I do?"

"Well..you did keep this world a secret and you did lie to her and your parents, and Sophie did get into ChalkZone..."

"How is any of that my fault?!" Rudy cried. Sophie cringed at this and she moved away from him. "And we got Sophie back and she was not harmed!" Rudy gripped his head. He seethed loudly, looking like he was trying so hard to calm himself down. "Just...just why should I apologize for any of that? You and I both know.."

Penny cut him off. "Yes, I know, Rudy. We have a good reason to keep that world safe. And yes, Sophie was fine. However, we know that world better than anyone in the Real World. We know how the inhabitents are. We know what is dangerous and what isn't. We built relationships in that world, and we have grown a desire to care about the people there."

Rudy stared at her. His frown slowly softened up. He gave a small nod, acknowledging what she was saying. Penny was glad that he seemed to understand where she was getting with this. So she continued.

"It is easy to think that Tilly was being unfair. But Rudy...she doesn't know that world like we do. She doesn't know what to expect from it. You know that, don't you...?"

"Y-Yeah...I do..."

"And you know that your aunt was just worried sick about you...right..?"

"Yes."

Penny narrowed her eyes at this, giving a small nod. "With that in mind, can you blame her for reacting the way she did when she found out? She just..doesn't understand, Rudy. And she was so angry that it clouded her judgment." She held out her hand in gesture, watching as Rudy lowered his head and turned it away. "I think you should give her another chance. Try to explain to her about this world. Try to get her to understand." She smiled the best she should. "I'm sure this next conversation will go much better than the first one."

There was a long silence between the two. Penny wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she did not dare speak up again. She gave Rudy all the time he needed to reply. His narrowed eyes, and the few small grunts she heard indicated he was struggling with an answer. He must be so conflicted...not that she blamed him.

Even if Rudy decided not to do anything tonight, she knew that he would, eventually, do the right thing. This was Rudy that she was talking about. He always tries to fix things he broke. He was strong enough to admit when he was wrong. He would always apologize if he upset someone.

And she was certain that Tilly was the same way. She was probably sitting down there, waiting for him to come down, or perhaps she was getting ready to come up. Penny knew she didn't mean to hit Rudy; it was just an act of the moment powered by emotion. People say and do things they don't mean when they are enraged.

Rudy finally turned his head back towards her. Penny pressed her lips together as she waited for his answer. A few more seconds passed before he shook his head from side to side.

"I'm sorry, Penny. I-I...I don't think I can do it..." Rudy said softly. Upon seeing Penny's face, he looked away in shame. "I know... But... I'm just..afraid, Penny. I...just don't know if I can face her again."

Penny frowned slightly at this. "You've faced challenges before, Rudy."

"Yeah, but this is different." Rudy replied.

"How?" Asked Penny.

"She's my aunt. I've known her for longer than you." Rudy said softly. "I've known her ever since I was born. She used to babysit me when my parents were away, back before my mom decided to stay at home." Rudy closed his eyes. "Aunt Tilly and I grew close. I would have trusted my life with her."

"I see... And for her to strike you..." Penny said.

Rudy finished, "It broke something inside of me. I...I felt like I..couldn't trust her anymore." Rudy reopened his eyes and looked at Penny. "I know I must sound pretty selfish right now. It's just..how I feel..."

"I understand, Rudy." Penny said. "Families..can be pretty complicated. They're not always perfect, and every one has their flaws." Rudy nodded his head slowly at this. "But Rudy...you shouldn't let that control you. It's only going to get worse if you wait too long. You and your aunt should make amends as soon as possible."

"What if she hits me again? What if that becomes...normal?" Rudy bit his lip. "I-I don't want..."

"I'm sure it was not intentional. Rudy, do you really think your aunt would ever hit you on purpose?" Penny's eyes widened at this.

"I..." Rudy shook his head. "No. I don't."

Penny nodded her head. "Then you know what must be done."

Rudy was quiet for a few moments. Penny and Sophie watched him from a distance, neither of them making a move. They simply waited for Rudy to make a reply. After a few moments, Rudy climbed up to his feet. Penny leaned forward a little, hoping that he was going to do the right thing, either now or later.

But instead, Rudy just went towards his ladder. He hung his head, gritting his teeth. He didn't look like he had lot of confidence right now. He casted a saddened glance at her and Sophie. He then looked away.

"I'm sorry. I just..." Rudy grabbed onto the ladder. "I just need some time to think..."

Holding onto Sophie, Penny nodded her head once. "Sleep on it if you need to, But Rudy..." The boy gave her a backwards glance. "At least try. You both will feel better when you do."

"Hmmph..." Grumbled Rudy as he climbed up the steps to his bed. Penny watched him sadly. There was nothing she could do except watch as he pulled himself in the covers in preparation for sleep.

Penny wished there was something she could do or say to make the situation better. But she had said all she needed to, or could have. The rest was up to Rudy and Tilly. She hoped that one of them would make a move and apologize to the other. And she hoped that it would be soon; she couldn't imagine how worse this might get if neither of them spoke to the other for who knows how long.

Penny felt Sophie squirming in her arms. She set the little girl down and watched as she rushed over to the bed. The tyke jumped up and down, trying to get Rudy's attention. She bit her lip at this. Sophie didn't seem to fully understand what was going on, and how could she? She was only two years old.

Penny looked at the time. She flinched when she saw how late it was. Looking at the window, she saw just how pitch black it was, save for the street lights that popped on. Now would be a good time to go to sleep. They did have school tomorrow, after all.

For a moment, she wondered if she should head into ChalkZone and see how the others were doing. She still needed to find Blocky and thank him for taking Sophie back home, and for keeping her company while in ChalkZone. She could do it now, actually. There was still a bit of time, and Blocky is probably at his Night Zone house, getting ready for bed.

However, she quickly decided against it. With the situation regarding Tilly, she had a feeling that if she saw her missing, she might get angry at Rudy all over again. Tilly must know she was here; her mom would have told her. And if she didn't... Penny bit her lip. Yeah, best wait until tomorrow before she did anything, just to be safe.

Besides, it wasn't like it was that important to head down right now. Blocky was probably crawling into bed right now anyway. He must be so exhausted and tired... Yeah he was probably sleeping right now. She could wait until tomorrow to see him.

Penny got out her sleeping bag and she prepared for sleep.

sss

Blocky tried again to squirm. He tried to yank his arm out. There had to be a way to do this. He was rather flat. He should be able to do this. He was a piece of paper after all. If he could just try hard enough...

He hissed in pain when he felt the jagged parts of the cuffs cut into him. Not enough to draw blood, thankfully. He immediately stopped, allowing the pain to dissipate seconds later. He shivered as he just laid there his mind racing, the reality of the situation weighing down on him.

He was trapped. Truly trapped... He had been captured by the two humans he never wanted to meet. At least Vinnie wasn't here. That would have been even worse. Not that it made his current situation any better. He was strapped down with serrated cuffs, unable to use his 2D powers to get anywhere. The only way he could move at all was if Terry or Von removed the cuffs, and he knew they'd only do that when they were watching him carefully. They were not going to allow him to get way so easily.

He couldn't stop shivering. He was not able to calm himself down. How could he? He was out of ChalkZone in a dangerous world. He was exposed to the elements here. And he was trapped with humans that meant him harm. He had no idea just what they plan on doing with him, but their expressions... That was all he needed to know that they had nothing good planned for him. Even if he did get out, he didn't know where he was or how to get back home. If it rained, he would die. And what if someone else saw him? Blocky had no idea what to expect, and the fear of the unknown gripped his heart.

How was he going to get out of this mess? How would he inform Rudy and Penny of what happened? He knew they would realize he was missing, but they wouldn't know what happened to him. Sophie may not be able to tell them; she was just a little kid. And even if she could, she didn't see him get captured.

He could only hope that Rudy and Penny eventually put two and two together and realize what happened to him. His friends were his only chance of getting out of here. He was not going to be able to do this alone.

At that realization, he took a moment to look around the room. The two humans had left him alone. This was both a blessing and a curse. It was nice that they were away from him. At least they can't do anything while they were gone. But...he still didn't like being alone. And it was so quiet here..and so dark... He could hardly see anything. Even after his eyes adjusted, he could just make out a few shadows and shapes and that was it.

The quietness began to eat away at him. It irritated his ears, causing a dull drumming effect in his head. It was hard to explain. It was just so..uncomfortable, that he wished something would happen. He'd give anything for some noise, even the dripping of water.

Unable to do anything, Blocky just stared up at the ceiling. He took in a deep breath and sighed. He still couldn't stop his shivering, still couldn't get himself to relax. All he could do was lay there and feel his stomach being eaten away by the terror that was taking a hold of him. He wished that something...anything...would take him away from here. But he was not going to be so lucky.

The terrified zoner could only hope that one of his friends realizes what happened before it was too late. He didn't know how long these humans planned on keeping him, or if he was still going to be alive afterwards. The thought that he might die here... He felt ice shoot through his heart at the possibility.

He felt tears form in his eyes. He couldn't imagine what his friends might be thinking. They were either worried sick about him, or they would think he was fine. Either way made his stomach twist in knots. He gritted his teeth as the tears came faster. He closed his eyes, and let his cheeks sting with the salty-tasting liquid.

Please..let someone take him out of here... Let someone make this nightmare go away... Let someone come and end this... He just wanted to go home...

Suddenly, there was a bright light. He stiffened up, letting out a yelp. He turned his head away as something illuminated on his face. He tried to see who it was, but the light obscured them. All he could make out was a bright light in his eyes, and some kind of dark shape. He only knew that it had to be Von or Terry.

When they got closer, Blocky began to struggle left and right. "No, please! Don't hurt me! Just let me go! Please!"

The figure paused, watching him struggle. Blocky didn't dare look, afraid of what he might see. He just trumbled and tugged frantically at his limbs, despite what might happen to them if he used too much force. A cold cackle eventually froze him in place, and he looked over with a wide eye as the light was moved away.

Von stood there, smiling at him. In his hands was a lantern. He must have been using it to navigate the dark hallway of..wherever he was. Blocky had no clue, and at the moment, he didn't care. He just wanted to go home. Was that so wrong? Was that really such a hard request to grant? What did he ever do to Von? What did he do to deserve this kind of treatment?

"You're zuch a..fazcinating zubject." Von spoke in a coldly professional voice. "I've never zeen zomething quite like you. How remarkable..." Von moved closer. He began to pace around Blocky, examining him through a scrutinizing eye. "I wonder how you can live like ziz... Made of chalk... How you can eat, live, all zat..."

"I-I can just tell you." Blocky suggested. He offered a nervous smile. "Do we really have to resort to anything drastic...?"

Von stared at him for a moment. He lowered the lantern on the ground, which ended up making his face appear darker, more threatening. The man folded one arm against himself while his hand on the other arm rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Zat might zound like a good idea... But I zink I will pazz."

The smile never left his face. It sent chills down Blocky's spine. As the man moved around, he struggled to keep his eyes on him. He had no idea what this man was going to do to him. He didn't know what he was planning, what he was going to do to him, and it unnerved Blocky terribly.

Around and around the man walked. At this point, he was no longer speaking. He was just silent. He paced around the zoner slowly, eyeing him up and down like he was just a piece of meat. Blocky felt more tears drip down as he whimpered softly. He increased his rate of breath as he kept his eyes glued on the man's cold ones. What was he going to do to him...?

"All ziz time, I zought perpetual motion waz going to be my ticket to fame, but I waz wrong." The man finally said, breaking the eerie silence. Blocky watched him, his heart beating faster when the man's words began to hint at more of what he was going to do. "I have found zomething elze, zomething far more imprezzive." He stopped at Blocky's side. "And zat, my rectangle friend..."

Blocky let out a gasp when the man suddenly leaned in much closer. His head short forward, becoming only inches away from him. Blocky leaned away the best he could, clenching his teeth in fear.

"..iz you."

Blocky took in several quick breaths, his heart pounding against his chest, a cold shiver moving through his body. He darted his eyes wildly from side to side, trying in vain to find a way out. He winced when he felt the man grab his head and force him to look at him.

"Now...let'z zee how you tick..." Von said in a soft, menacing voice.

His eyes bulging wide open, Blocky jerked himself to the side. He yelped when he felt the serrations in the cuffs start to cut him. "No!" He screamed. "Please! Don't hurt me! I don't want this! Let me go!"

The only response the man gave was a cold chuckle. Blocky stared at him in horror. As the chilling realization of what this man was going to put him through came to light, he shut his eyes and started to cry.

"Please...Rudy, Penny, Snap...somebody...anybody..." Blocky whispered softly, his voice cracking, barely audible. "..h-help me..."

"Oh, zey will not be able to help you..." Von said darkly as he patted Blocky on the head with his other hand. "But don't you worry... Zoon, zey will not be your biggezt conzern..."

Blocky cried harder at this.

sss

Tilly stood outside the door to Rudy's room. She bit her lip, keeping her hand on the doorknob. She wanted to turn it so badly, but she just couldn't do it. Not yet. Something was holding her back. The guilt... It ate away inside of her, leaving behind an internal, blazing trail that made her want to throw up.

This was so hard... She never realized just how hard it was. It really was true, that apologizing was one of the hardest things to accomplish. Parts of her mind were yelling at her, telling her that Rudy should have known better, that he should have spoken to her earlier, that he had it coming. She did her best to shake those thoughts out of her mind, but they kept crawling back, causing some of the bitter anger to return.

But then she would remember what she had done to him, and that would fade away, replaced by sorrow and strong guilt. She fought back the tears, doing what she could to keep them from coming. It was difficult to do so, and she could not stop a few tears from flowing down her cheeks. She was still distraught over what she had done to Rudy. She was in such disbelief that she had...she had actually hurt him... How could she have done that to him?

At this point, however, she was finished with asking herself that question, and the others that popped in. She was tired of crying, of curling up in a ball in a fetal position. What good was that going to do her? Her sobbing would solve nothing. She might still be angry with him. She might still believe he had much to answer to. But she still had to make this right. She had to mend what she had broken.

She needed to apologize. He..he deserved one. She had hurt him. She had spoken so harshly and coldly to him, something she had never done before. She struck him so hard, he hit the ground. She recalled how he had grabbed his shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat at the realization that she may have done more harm than she thought.

She couldn't take it anymore. Narrowing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath, she opened up the door and entered the room.

It was dark, the light having been turned off. She looked around, trying to find Rudy. She wasn't sure if he had collapsed on the ground or if he went up into his bed. A quick scan of the room revealed that he was indeed on the top bunk. She moved in closer, taking care not to step on any of the stuff strewn across the room.

She took notice of Sophie slapping on the ground cuddled up with Penny. Tilly took a double take. Penny? What was she doing here? Was she told about her and forgot or... She shook the thoughts out of her mind. That wasn't important right now. If Penny was here, then she got permission. She kept her focus on Rudy.

She soon reached his bunk and she looked up at him. He had his back turned to her, his body mostly covered by his blanket. She watched as he breathed in and out slowly. He looked so peaceful. It was almost as if nothing had happened.

This moment was soon broken, however, when she reached over to touch him. She gently shook him, and it didn't take long before the boy stirred in his bed. He got up, balancing himself with one arm. He rubbed his eyes and let out a soft yawn. He turned himself around and he stared at her. At first, he just looked tired, his eyes only part way open. But when he rubbed his eyes a second time and blinked, he seemed to realize who she was. Then everything flooded back to him.

Immediately, the boy let out a whine and he cringed away from her. He leaned away, pressing his back against the wall of his room. He gave her a terrified expression, his teeth clenched, eyes bulging, and his body shaking. He didn't attempt to speak; his voice was too busy emitting whimpers.

The sight of this broke Tilly's heart. She had really screwed things up. She had gone too far, and now the boy was frightened of her. It wasn't just the act of hitting him, she knew. It was her whole demeanor. This was a side that he had never seen of her. Seeing just how much this had startled the boy twisted her heart, and she did what she could to fight back her tears.

"Rudy...honey...I'm so sorry..." Tilly whispered. She reached out towards Rudy. He cowered from her, clenching his teeth as if he wanted to bite her. She paused and, curling her fingers inward, pulled her hand back. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I should have controlled myself more. I should have just walked away, but instead I carried on and on... and I..." She closed her eyes, letting tears flow down her face. "Oh gawd, Rudy.. I'm so very sorry..."

Rudy didn't say anything. He just continued to stare at her warily, his body shaking like a leaf underneath his covers. His eyes widened a little, and he looked as if he expected her to hit him again.

Poor Rudy... She never meant to hurt him like this. Yes, she was angry at him still for lying about this chalk world, but... she could have at least tried to hear his side of the story. He must have had a good reason to keep it a secret, right? She should give him a chance to explain, and this time, actually listen to him, and not treat him like he was a darn criminal or something.

Tilly reached out towards him again. Rudy hunkered down almost like a frightened dog. He did not growl or anything like that, but he had that look in his eyes... Despite that, she still reached out towards him. Very gently, she placed her hand on the top of his head. He shuddered and shut his eyes, his whimpering filling her ears. She began to gently stroke his hair.

This gentle act appeared to calm down Rudy somewhat. But the trembling stayed, and he still looked distrustul of her. Well at least it was something of a change. She continued to run her fingers through his hair, giving him the most gentle look she could muster. She wanted to show him how much she still cared about him, and that he had nothing to worry about from her anymore.

"I'm sure you meant well...with not telling us about this chalk world. I'm so sorry I didn't listen..." Tilly whispered softly to him. "I'm sorry I insulted your art. I take it back. I think you're a great artist. It wasn't right of me to say those things about it. I'm sorry I sold your chalkboard without asking you." She moved her hand down to his cheek, the same one she struck. "And I'm so, so very sorry I slapped you. I didn't mean it..."

Rudy still didn't speak. He still looked cautious of her, but there was now something else in his eyes. Curiosity. Her words had piqued his interest. His body began to tremble a little less.

Tilly smiled the best she could, tears flowing down her face. "I love you, Rudy..." Using the ladder as leverage, she leaned towards the quivering child and gently kissed him on the forehead. At this, Rudy stopped shivering altogether and just stared at her, looking almost uncertain of what to make of it. Tilly stroked his hair a little more. "Goodnight, sweetheart..."

Not wanting to bother her nephew any longer, the brown-haired woman turned and walked out of the room.

sss

Rudy watched as his aunt left him alone, shutting the door behind her. He took in a few deep breaths, replaying what happened over and over in his mind.

He hadn't expected his aunt to come apologize to him. He didn't think that she would try anything tonight. He would have thought she was too angry or too ashamed to try to speak to him agian until tomorrow or so. He was fully prepared to go to sleep without seeing her again. But for her to show up...

It made Rudy feel a little guilty. Penny was right. He usually was the one to try to make amends and correct mistakes he made. He had provoked his aunt into hurting him by calling her a bitch. He winced at that word, unable to believe he had used it against his own aunt. He could have tried to speak more calmly to her and try to prevent the situation from escalating. He could have just tried to walk away and let her blow off some steam. He felt he could have done something to keep things from getting that bad.

He also could have gone back down to speak to her. He could have taken Penny's advice and try to fix things. Instead, he hid like a coward because he was afraid his aunt would hurt him again. On instinct, he had cringed away from her because he thought she was still mad at him, even when her expression said otherwise. He felt simply awful for that, and he wished he had reacted more rationally.

He had seen the hurt look in his aunt's eyes. He could see how much she was suffering for this mistake. He could see just how much she regretted hurting him. She had apologized to him, and he knew it was sincere. She had said her piece, and left him to he could go back to sleep.

But how could he now? He didn't say a word to her. All he did was treat her like she was some kind of monster. He didn't even accept her apology. He just...looked at her and cried like a big baby. How could he have done that? He wanted to slap himself in the face for not saying even one word to her.

Well he wasn't going to let that mistake run on for much longer. He pushed the covers off of his body and climbed down his bed's ladder. He crept across the room, careful not to kick Penny or Sophie, and trying not to wake them up. He looked down at them for a few seconds. Seeing them sleep together peacefully caused a smile to crack on his face. He then opened the door and walked out.

He immediately noticed some lighting. A faint bluish glow, and a faint sount. The television was turned on. His aunt must be trying to watch some television. Maybe that movie she had told him about before.

Being as quiet as he could, Rudy moved down the staircase. He didn't want to startle his aunt. He tredded lightly on the steps, making sure that each time he put his foot down, he did not use much force, making his steps quiet, the sound virtually nonexistent.

When he reached the bottom step, he crept along forward and peered into the living room. He could see his aunt was laying on her side, a blanket pulled over her. He bit his lip, wondering why she would chose to sleep down here instead of the nice bed in his parents' room. Was this her way of punishing herself? He hoped that wasn't what she had in mind.

Slowly, he walked forward. It didn't take him long to realize she had fallen asleep. His aunt did have a habit of going to sleep rather quickly. Faster than most people that he knew. Doing his best not to wake her up, he moved even closer, and he caught his breath at something he noticed.

Her face...it was sleek and looked wet. She had been crying... Rudy bit his lip at this. His aunt must really feel horrible to have cried like this. Then he saw her twitching, her leg kicking out slightly, her eyes going wild underneath her eyelids.

"No..Rudy...I'm sorry.. Please come back...please..." Aunt Tilly whispered, her voice cracking. More tears emerged from her eyes. "I-I didn't mean to.. No, don't run away..please..."

At this, Rudy felt his heart ache. His poor aunt... She was having a nightmare. She must really feel guilty about what she did. He bit his lip, watching as she cried in her sleep. He looked left and right, and then stared down at her. He couldn't leave her. Not like this.

Noticing that Aunt Tilly had pressed herself against the back of the couch, leaving some small amount of space, Rudy took action. He climbed into the couch next to his aunt, laying on his side facing her. He pulled the blanket over himself, making sure his aunt still had some covers as well.

As soon as he did this, his aunt stirred and her eyes opened up. She sniffled a little as she looked around, detecting something was a little off. When she saw him, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "R-Rudy...?" She managed to choke out.

Rudy looked up at her. After a few seconds, he smiled and whispered, "I forgive you..." He cuddled up against her, laying close and snug, feeling her warmth against him. "I love you, too.."

Rudy got as close as he could to his aunt. He laid his head on her, rubbing his cheek against her affectionately. He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh of contentment. He could hear his aunt's heart beating, creating something of a lullaby, He felt his eyes flutter shut, his mind being soothed by the gentle rhythmn of each thump.

He opened up his eyes when he felt something move along his body. He quickly realized that his aunt had looped an arm across him, pulling him close to her. He looked at her, seeing her relieved eyes staring down at him, a small smile on her face. Rudy smiled back before laying his head back down and closing his eyes. He did not notice the uncomfortableness of their position on the couch, so little room, as he remained cuddled up against his aunt, his mind shutting down, entering dream land.

sss

When the recess bell rang, it was a relief to all of the students. Being cramped in school for so long, at least for them, drove many of them crazy. Children had boundless energy and they couldn't wait to exert it when they went outside for recess. A time to frolic and have fun.

At least, for most of them. Today, Rudy and Penny weren't able to enjoy the usual antics of recess. They had more important things on their minds.

The two of them went around to the back of the school, away from the others. They couldn't let anyone see what they were doing, or hear their discussions. Thankfully, not many students came back here anyway, and they were all too busy to really care about what they did. Never once had any of the students ever questioned where they would go, and usually just focused on each other.

This was a relief to Rudy. It provided a safe place for him and Penny to talk. They would often look left and right to see if anyone was coming. In their current position, it was impossible for anyone to sneak up on them. There weren't too many windows here, and with the building blocking them, they only had forward and the sides to watch. Pretty easy with the two of them. Penny was assigned one side and Rudy the other, and they both shared the front duty.

Both Rudy and Penny were quite concerned. Penny suggested that they meet here to discuss things further, as things were pretty complicated back at Rudy's place. Neither of them were entirely sure about how to handle that situation.

Aunt Tilly now knows about ChalkZone. He had done what he could to explain it to her during breakfast today. While Aunt Tilly did say that she wouldn't speak a word of it to anyone else, this was just a temporary thing and he and Penny both knew it. She just hadn't made any final decisions on it yet, and he knew that, sooner or later, she was going to want to tell his parents about it. She was not one to keep things a secret from her own sibling. And his mom surely wouldn't withold information from his dad.

Rudy could feel his gut twisting from this precarious situation. He had hoped he never had to deal with this situation, but here he was. A family member has found out about this world he went to, and of course, it had to be Aunt Tilly, the one aunt that he was closest to. For once, he wished that it was Uncle Chuck who found out. He wasn't his favorite uncle, but at least he gives so few fucks that he wouldn't bother telling anyone.

The future of ChalkZone was at stake. He would need to devote some time into convincing Aunt Tilly to guard its secret. He needed to know that he could trust her not to tell anyone.

But it would be hard. She was not happy with him. She may have apologized for her behavior and tried to see things his way. But it was clear, from what she said, that she was still upset that he never brought this up in the past two years since this began. She hinted that she was eager to tell his folks about it when they came back from their vacation, which filled him with dread.

At least for now, it's on hiatus, allowing him and Penny to focus on another pressing matter.

"I can't believe they didn't see him..." Penny whispered softly. There was a strong tinge of doubt in her voice. "How could they not have..." Her voice trailed off.

"I know, Penny." Rudy admitted. He leaned his head up, staring up towards the sky. "It's not like Blocky to not show up at all..."

Rudy reflected back to when he headed into ChalkZone. He had done so while his aunt was still asleep. Due to the tough situation they were in, he chose this time so that she wouldn't stop him from going. He had Penny wait with Sophie and guard the portal. Just in case Aunt Tilly came into the room, he didn't want to run the risk of his aunt trying to mess with the portal on the portable chalkboard. He was glad that at least that hadn't been sold.

He had gone to the hospital to see Snap and Rapsheeba. He was glad to hear that Rapsheeba had been discharged after her arm was stitched up. Snap has to stay a few extra days, but he was doing fine as well. He had talked to them for a bit about what was going on, including the thing with his aunt. Understandably, they were both worried, but they agreed that Rudy would be able to figure out something for that.

But when he mentioned Blocky, neither of them had any clue of where he was. This confused both Rudy and Penny. They had thought for certain that Blocky would have shown up to say hello to them. But according to his two friends, he wasn't there at all, not last night, not eary morning.

In fact, as he and Penny went around town, speaking with people, they quickly learned that absolutely no one had seen Blocky since the other day, when the twister had struck. Some zoners had even stopped them when they were walking down the street and asked them about Blocky. The fact that no one had seen Blocky worried the two deeply.

Things got even more worrisome when they found out that Blocky was supposed to be a part of this marching band. Rapsheeba had apparently arranged something for him, but according to the other zoners involved, he hadn't shown up at all. This was very strange; Blocky wasn't the type to miss out on a recital like that. He was usually pretty good wth the time. For him to not show up or even contact anyone and tell them he couldn't make it... the two children knew that something was very wrong.

What could have happened with Blocky? Why wasn't he anywhere to be found? Where could he have disappeared to? So many questions raced through Rudy's mind. There was a large number of possibilities of what might have happened to their friend. And none of them were good.

He tried to calm himself down. Maybe Blocky just got lost. Maybe he took a wrong turn and ended up somewhere else. Or maybe he just was so tired, he fell asleep. Maybe he was just a late waker today. It was possible. Rudy hoped that's all it was. Blocky sleeping in late. He's done that before when there was no important appointment to keep, or when he was incredibly tired.

Rudy turned his head to Penny. "Do you think it's possible that he is just...a late sleeper today?"

Penny looked over at him. She bit her lip. "I'm not sure. He doesn't do that often." She turned her head away. "Although it would explain why he hasn't been spotted yet." She looked back at Rudy. "Rapsheeba's marching band does sometimes have really early practices. With what happened yesterday, maybe he just didn't feel up to it."

Rudy could feel some sense of relief. "Yeah...that's what I was thinking. Maybe he was too shaken up and had a hard time sleeping at night." He paused for a moment, trying to think of what the next best course of action would be. "Maybe we should head back into ChalkZone, though? Just to be sure?" Rudy suggested. "Maybe something new happeend. Maybe someone has spotted him."

Penny nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah... That seems like a good idea." She frowned softly, looking left and right. "I think only one of us should go, though. The other must stay here and guard the portal. I don't want to risk someone else finding out about ChalkZone."

Rudy winced at this. "Yeah... After with what happened with Aunt Tilly..." He watched as Penny silently nodded. This was a situation they did not want to get repeated again. It was just too risky. His aunt finding out was bad enough. He didn't need anybody else to figure this out. "I went into ChalkZone last time. I'll stay here and guard. You go in. Try to be as quick as possible."

Penny smiled at this. "Aren't I always?"

Rudy cast her a brief, playful smirk. "Just get going." He tossed her the magic chalk.

Penny grabbed it and nodded dutifully at him. She looked left and right to make sure no one was looking. She then drew a small portal on the ground, just barely big enough to let her squeeze through. Rudy watched as she ran off into the distance. He remained by the portal, awaiting her return. He hoped that she would bring good news.

sss

"What? Are you sure..?" Penny asked.

The zoner in front of her nodded his head. "Affirmative, ma'am." He gestured to the group that he was with. "We had another practice, and we haven't seen any sign of Blocky."

Another of the band zoners nodded his head. "We even tried to contact him, but have gotten no response."

Penny felt her heart clench at this. No response? That was not like Blocky... Maybe he was just still tired and...No, that wasn't it. Blocky would have answered his doorbell no matter how tired he was. And one of these zoners just told her that someone went to check on him and he wasn't there at home.

"Perhaps someone saw him wandering around?" Penny asked hopefully. "Please...did anyone say anything about spotting him?"

The lead marching zoner shook his head. "I am sorry, but no. He was nowhere to be found."

Penny fell silent at this. She could feel her heart ache as the realization began to dawn on her. It was odd enough for Blocky to miss an appointment without telling anyone. But it was even rarer for it to happen again. And for him to not be at his home but no one spotting him anywhere in ChalkZone? That was even stranger. Something was very wrong here...

She tried to stay positive. There had to be a logical explanation for this. There had to be a reason why Blocky hadn't been found. Could he have wandered off somewhere else? Could he have gotten lost in a less used part of ChalkZone? There were some uninhabited lands. Perhaps he went off somewhere there? It didn't seem like the most plausible thing, but it still had some kind of merit. Maybe she could look around ChalkZone some more and...

No... It was too late for that. She was almost out of time. She would need to get back to the Real World and inform Rudy. She bit her lip. She wished she could have brought better news than this. Some positive news would have been good for them both.

Poor Blocky... She hoped that, wherever he was, that he was all right. She hoped that he was able to stay out of trouble. He was such an innocent and friendly zoner... She feared that he might fall prey to some of the more unscrupulous zoners out there. She narrowed her eyes, unable to believe that such people like that exist. If any such zoner got their hands on Blocky...

She pushed the thoughts aside for now. Standing here thinking about what might be will not help her. She would need to get back to Rudy and discuss what they were going to do. They needed a plan to find their friend. As soon as possible, she would have to discuss this with Rudy. She hoped they would be able to think of something to help their missing friend.

"Thank you for the help." Penny said to the zoners. "Well I best be off now. See ya."

"Goodbye! And good luck!"

Penny turned around and left the zoners. She hurried as fast as she could back to where the playground portal was, where Rudy was waiting for her. As she moved towards it, a single thought raced through her mind.

Be safe, Blocky...

sss

"I understand what you're saying, Penny, but..." Rudy's voice trailed off.

"But what?" Asked Penny.

Rudy was silent for a few moments. He tried to think of the right words to say. He didn't want to sound like he was dismissing what Penny was saying. It was just that... He found it hard to believe that something like this could have happened. Especially to Blocky of all people... It just wasn't fair.

It was hard to believe that Blocky could be...be missing... How could that have happened? There hadn't been anything strange happening lately except for that twister. None of the zoners reported anything particularly wrong. Skrawl certainly wasn't doing anything; he was quite an attention hog, and it was hard for him to keep any of his plans secret.

So how could Blocky have disappeared? The last he checked, Blocky was with Sophie. He had thought he simply dropped her off and went home. But something else clearly happened. If no one in ChalkZone City saw him since the other day, he knew something was really wrong. Blocky was in ChalkZone everyday, rarely missing a day in there. He loved to socialize, much like Snap. Perhaps even more so. For him to not show up at all...

He sitll held onto the believe that perhaps something else had happened that wasn't as bad. Despite how bleek this outlook became, he still struggled to hang onto the idea that Blocky was just merely lost or he was hiding or something. He hoped and pleaded that it wasn't the result of some new villain that he knew nothing about. It was one thing to deal with Skrawl, whom he knew how to fight. But it was another matter entirely to deal with someone, or something, he had no knowledge of.

He stared at Penny, biting his lip. He struggled to think of something to say to her. He continued to stare pleadingly at her, hoping that she would say something that would be some good news. But she could only stare sadly at him, shaking her head.

"Are you positive they didn't see him?" Rudy asked softly, his voice barely a whisper.

Penny nodded her head affirmatively. "I'm sorry, Rudy. They told me what they could. Blocky hasn't been spotted."

"But...but how could he have gotten lost?" Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly. "He's never gotten lost before... Then again, first time for everything." Rudy paused for a moment. He tilted his head up towards the ceiling, the bright lights of the room filling his eyes. "Or he could have been caught..."

"Don't think like that, Rudy. I'm sure Blocky is fine." There was a falter in her voice. It was clear she had thought of the same possibility as well. "Besides, who would want to capture him? No offense to him, but there isn't any villain we know of in ChalkZone who would find him that useful."

"Except to get to me." Hissed Rudy, glaring softly at Penny. The girl moved her head back, eyes widened. "That is what he's good for.."

Penny was quiet, staring at Rudy. She looked a bit guilty for not thinking of that faster. She soon shook her head and said, "Even if that were the case, Rudy, wouldn't you have gotten a ransom note?" Rudy tilted his head at this. She held up her hand in gesture. "It's kind of hard to make use of someone as bait if the person being targeted doesn't know what to do or where to go."

Rudy nodded his head slowly, his eyes slowly widening in realization. "You're right, Penny. That is strange..." He thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps Blocky wasn't captured after all..." This did bring about some relief, but that was soon overtaken by worry. "But..if that's not what happened, then what did...?"

"We will have to go into ChalkZone later, as soon as possible, and find out ourselves." Penny's voice was as confident as she could musture. "If we cannot get information from the zoners, we will do some searching around. Maybe we can use that plane you drew from when we went to Chalk Spain."

"Good idea, Penny!" Rudy exclaimed. "We can fly around ChalkZone and see if we can spot him from the air!"

"Exactly. Or at least, find any clues to what may have happened to him." Penny said.

Rudy lowered his head as he looked around, gritting his teeth. "But it'll have to be at a later time. We've no time in school for that." He casted a nervous glance forward. "And especially not in here..."

Penny nodded in agreement. "Definitely..."

Rudy took a moment to remind himself that he was in school still. Specifically, Mr. Wilter's classroom. It wasn't over yet. Recess was finished, lunch was over with. Now they were on the final quarter of the school day. It would still be a little while before they were done with the day and they could return home.

"We'll go when we get back to your mom's place." Rudy said softly. "I don't really feel like dealing with my aunt right now; she will slow me down."

Penny replied, "I understand, Rudy."

"So it's settled then? We have your mom pick us up and drop off at your place," Rudy explained. "Then we head into ChalkZone and use whatever time we have to explore with the plane." Penny nodded her head affirmatively. Rudy gave a small smile of confidence at this. "All right then. Here's to hoping we will find something."

Suddenly, they were interrupted.

"Rudy Tabootie! Penny Sanchez!"

The two kids froze. Suddenly, they could feel a ton of eyes glued to them, watching their every move. Their bodies hunched, they flinched as they looked up. Upon seeing Mr. Wilter standing there, his arms folded against his chest, they knew they were in big trouble.

"Do you mind telling the rest of the class what was so very important?" Mr. Wilter spoke. The other students looked on curiously. "Well...? He tapped his foot impatiently. "We're waiting."

Rudy and Penny couldn't say anything. Their lack of a response further fueled Mr. Wilter's anger and made some of the students laugh.

Mr. Wilter pointed towards the door. "To the principal's office! Both of you!"

Chapter 13: Possibilities

The path of resistance is when you struggle against both friend and foe.

sss

"No."

The word rang in Rudy's head, creating a quake through his body that he could not control. He stared at his aunt disbelievingly, hoping, praying that she would change her mind. Yet he still stood there, silent and firm, staring at him sternly.

No...? She wasn't going to let him go into ChalkZone, even when told of how important it was to him? How...how could she...? Rudy wrestled with the emotions swirling in his head, his teeth clenching so tightly, they almost popped out of his skull. He resisted the urge to glare at his aunt, not wanting to start another fight with her.

But now long would he be able to hold out? The shock, for the moment, has him frozen in place, unable to move. But that wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later, something was going to give. Something would break the leevee, and he was going to lash out.

His aunt appeared to sense his growing anger, and her expression softened up. He could see a few fleeting expressions of regret, yet she never once spoke up to change her mind, never once tried to see things his way. She was firm in what she said, and her expression gave no indication that she was going to give him a break.

"I'm sorry, Rudy. I just can't let you." Aunt Tilly said, her voice deceptively calm. Rudy could detect the torrent of emotions running through her mind. It grazed against him, and he got a brief taste of its intensity. "It's probably too dangerous. I don't want to risk you getting hurt. I would...I would never forgive myself if something happened to you..." She lowered her head, taking in a shuddering breath. "I-I just wouldn't..."

Rudy remained silent. He watched as his aunt shivered a few times as she tried to deal with her own internal emotions. Rudy did his best to keep his anger in check. Despite his aunt's words not being particularly harsh, the fact that she was refusing to let him explore in ChalkZone to find his friend was eating away at his insides. And right now, her words were only serving to make him even more furious.

How...how could she...? She knew how important this was to him. She knew how much he cared for his zoner friends. She knew how worried he was for Blocky. How could she just refuse to let him go into ChalkZone? If she understood his plight, then she would let him go. Why..why was she refusing him the right despite claiming to understand?

Aunt Tilly looked at him sadly before moving back towards the table. "Now come along and eat, Rudy." Her voice was soft and quiet. She pulled out a chair and sat down. She looked over at Rudy and gave him a single nod. "Your food is getting cold." She motioned towards him. "Come on and join us."

Rudy stared at his aunt disbelievingly. He couldn't believe just how easily she was dismissing Blocky's plight. Sure he hasn't human, and he didn't expect his aunt to connect with him right away, especially since she never met him. But...did she really have to be this cold...? Couldn't she show him at least some level of sympathy? He was still alive for crying out loud. He wasn't some doll that he found laying on the street. He was a living, breathing person. How could Aunt Tilly act as if that didn't matter at all...?

Rudy seethed, narrowing his eyes at her. His aunt winced, but said nothing. Rudy's body might look mostly calm, but his mind was a different story. A rage of emotion swept through him, making him feel like something was weighing him down. He didn't attempt to walk forward or back; something was almost literally holding him down. He could only stare at her, his teeth clenched tightly.

"Now Rudy..." His aunt tried to say, raising up her hand. "There's no need to be upset. I am only looking out for you. And if these...zoners are as smart as you say they are..." She lowered her hand. "Then they can handle this on their own. I don't want you going in there anymore until we talk with your parents."

Rudy felt his heart skip a beat at this. "B-But I thought you..."

"I know, Rudy. But... I don't think I made the right decision." She twirled her food with her fork absentmindedly. "I only said it to make you happy, but I don't think I should have..because that wasn't the best choice to make for your own safety..." She sighed and looked back at Rudy, setting down her fork. "Your parents have every right to know about this, Rudy. They need to know about this chalk world that you have been hiding." Rudy shook his head at this. "Please, understand, Rudy. I am not doing this to be mean. I am just being reasonable..."

"Reasonable?!" Rudy cried, managing to take a step back. "Y-You're breaking a promise!"

"But for good reason, Rudy." His aunt placed a hand against herself. "I'm not fit in making this kind of decision..." She held her hand out to him. "It is your folks, your parents, who should decide if you should be able to continue going into this strange, new world or not. Not me. It was never my decision to make."

"Y-You can't do this..." Rudy said softly, taking another step back. His body trembled. "You can't break a promise, Aunt Tilly! You always told me that promises can't be broken like this... You can't..."

"I'm sorry, Rudy. But the decision is final." Aunt Tilly's voice came more firmly this time, indicating just how serious she was being with that statement. "Now..." She pointed to a chair where a plate of food and cup of water was available. "Eat now. You must be hungry."

"No." Rudy shook his head.

"Rudy..." Aunt Tilly said. "You aren't going into that chalk world, so you might as well stop trying. Now sit down and eat."

"No, I won't, Aunt Tilly." Rudy said, narrowing his eyes. "I am not going to turn my back on my friend, who may very well need my help. I can't just abandon him, Aunt Tilly. Why can't you see that?"

"Why can't you just listen to reason, Rudy?" Asked Aunt Tilly.

Rudy snapped his head back at this. "You think I'm being unreasonable?!" He pointed a finger in her direction. "I'm not the one who is turning a blind eye to someone who might be in danger! I'm not the one who is holding someone else back from helping someone they care about!"

Aunt Tilly stared at him for a few moments. She sighed and shook her head, giving him a look that was reminsicent of disappointment. Rudy gritted his teeth at this. "Rudy, I wish you would try to see things my way. Try to understand I am just trying to help you. I don't see why you are so concerned for this chalk creature."

"He's my friend!" Rudy snapped.

"Okay, your friend." Aunt Tilly shrugged her shoulders. "I still don't see why you should get this upset. I mean...you say he's made of chalk right? Well, can't you just fix any of his injuries, if he's even capable of getting them, or even redraw him completely...?"

At this, Rudy coud feel something break inside of him. Although his aunt didn't seem like she was being intentionally mean, just something about the way she said those words... He could feel his body shaking as emotion welled up inside of him. He took a few steps backwards, his eyes unable to leave hers. He tried his best to keep his emotions in check, but he could feel them seeping through the tips of his fingers, draining out into the ground like a leaky faucet.

It was then that Rudy realized that, despite their earlier forgiveness of each other, there was still a lot of treading to do, and some more understanding to be put into place. His aunt obviously didn't fully understand anything, despite what she said earlier. She couldn't grasp how important this world was to her. And as of now, with her current stance, she was an enemy. Still a family member, and not someone he could ever truly hate. But an enemy nonetheless.

It pained him to see his aunt that way. But how else could he see her now? She was trying to stop him from going into ChalkZone. She broke a promise and she was going to tell his parents about it. His parents won't be back for a little while yet, which means he would miss a few days searching.

True, Penny could search but..he felt he should, too. Blocky was his friend. He couldn't just...

Rudy let out a stiff sigh, feeling his negative emotion course through his body, focusing on his finger tips. As much as he wanted to just get up and run away, he wanted to avoid another full on confrontation with his aunt. He already had to deal with it yesterday; he didn't want something else happening now. Looking at the chair, he slowly, numbly, walked towards it and sat down.

He stared at his food, refusing to look at his aunt. He couldn't tell if she was smiling, if she looked at him worriedly, or anything. He was only aware of her looking at him, as well as Sophie, and that's it.

"Rudy? Rudy?" Sophie called out to him, trying to get his attention.

Rudy blocked her out. In his mind, he was sorting through his thoughts, trying to figure out his next move. Since his aunt was so unwilling to cooperate, he would need to speak to Penny somehow. Maybe his aunt would at least give him that privilege. Hey, he wouldn't be going into ChalkZone at least.

He would ask her later. Right now, he was still too fueled with emotion to make a proper response to her, or even word his question more respectively. His aunt also looked pretty flustered from trying to explain her point of view. He would try after he finished eating. He hoped that, after he spoke to her a little more, and after speaking with Penny, that his aunt would come to truly understand where he's coming from and let him go back into ChalkZone.

In the meantime, he could only hope that nothing too terrible was happening to his friend. Who knows? Maybe when all of this was over, they could have a good laugh about how worked up he had gotten over nothing.

If only...

sss

"Oh gee...I'm sorry you and Rudy got into trouble with your folks." Rapsheeba said, looking sympathically at Penny. "I do hope everything turns out all right."

Penny nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah...me too."

She glanced up towards the Day Zone sky, reflecting on the recent events. She and Rudy certainly weren't expecting to be sent to dention today, or for the next few school days for that matter. As a result, both she and Rudy got into trouble at home as well, not just school. She was lucky that her mother didn't punish her by taking away her chalkboards, otherwise, she would not have been able to come in at all.

She felt a little guilty about the incident. She couldn't help but feel as though she had more control over the situation, that perhaps she should have been more careful and watched out for Mr. Wilter. Talking in the classroom was a risky move, and she knew that Mr. Wilter wasn't always in the best of moods. And when he was in a less than pleasing mood...

Well there was nothing that could be done about that. She and Rudy would just have to adjust to the detentions, and hope that they would find Blocky before the weekend was over. At least it was friday, and come saturday and sunday, they had a lot more time to explore around ChalkZone in search for their friend.

At least, she did. Rudy, however, was a whole different situation. She bit her lip. She hoped that things would work out for his friend. Poor Rudy...she couldn't begin to imagine what he must be going through right now.

"Hey..." Rapsheeba's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Where's Rudy...?"

Penny gave Rapsheeba a saddened look. It was right then she realized that she hadn't yet told Rapsheeba, or Snap or anyone, about the incident with Rudy's aunt. Now was a good time as any to tell one of them. "There was a...mishap earlier..." Penny said, clenching her teeth. "I'm...afraid I have some bad news, Rapsheeba."

The female zoner looked at Penny warily, her eyes filling with apprehension. She hesitated for a few moments before she managed to get herself speaking, "Y-Yeah..? Wh-What is it..?" When Penny didn't say anything, Rapsheeba took a step forward. "Penny, what happened...?"

Penny stared at Rapsheeba in the eyes. It was going to be so hard to tell her about this. It was such a horrible piece of news. It had happened two other times in the past, and neither of those were pleasant experiences, especially the one. And for it to happen yet again... But she knew she couldn't keep this information secret. Sooner or later, someone was going to find out.

"Rapsheeba...another human has discovered ChalkZone." Penny said, delivering the horrifying news.

"What?!" Rapsheeba put her hands to her mouth, horror blanketing her face, her eyes widening. "Who? How? When?"

"Rudy's aunt, Tilly, found out. She apparently saw the portal on the chalkboard. We don't know the details of everything that happened, but..." Penny bit her lip, looking left and right. "We don't know what Tilly will want to do with ChalkZone. We don't know if she's on our side or not. That's...still up and the air, unfortuantely."

Rapsheeba took in a few shaky breaths, turning her head to one side. "I-I don't believe it..." She breathed softly, her voice barely audible. "I can't believe it's happened again.."

Penny nodded. "Rudy and I can't believe it either." Penny paused for a moment before continuing, "That's why Rudy isn't here. He's in trouble with his aunt. I would not be surprised if she is trying to keep him out of ChalkZone." She clutched her head, shaking it slowly. "As if finding Blocky wasn't stressful enough..now we have to deal with this..."

"I-Is there anything else...?" Rapsheeba asked tentatively.

"Why would you..." Penny's voice trailed off, her eyes bulging. Yeah...there was something else. Something just as urgent, if not more so. "The chalkboard...it had a portal on it... and Tilly apparently sold it."

Rapsheeba gasped audibly. "Sold..with the portal still on it..?"

Penny said, "Yeah...unfortunately." She closed her eyes solemnly. "And the person who has the portal... It's..." Penny could feel her blood turning to ice as she realized she and Rudy had so much trouble with Tilly and then school that they had little time to discuss this very imoprtant detail. "...Terry Bouffant has the portal..."

Rapsheeba let out a loud gasp, taking a step away from Penny. She stared at her for a while, her eyes overflowing with fear. Penny could tell that she wanted to speak, but the shere horror of finding something like this out had took her voice away from her. The lack of a response was something that Penny had accounted for. This wasn't something as simple as, say, Skrawl or some new villain making a move. They were easily handled by comparison. A human finding a way into ChalkZone, however, was a much different story.

The implications were through the roof. A human had more power in ChalkZone then the zoners themselves. A single human could cause a lot more damage to ChalkZone than any zoner villain, and that was just one. If Terry or Vinnie succeeded in exposing it, she knew just how awful and terrifying the repurcussions would be.

And the zoners would know it as well. Despite how calm some of them might be, deep inside, Penny knew that many of them were rather cautious with the idea of humans in ChalkZone. She and Rudy were tolerated because they had proven that they were trustworthy. But a new human...? Even if the zoners are nice to a newcomer, and they typically are in hopes of warding off dangerous behavior, they would still be concerned. After all, if a human so chose to, they could make something incredibly dangerous and kill zoners just for the fun of it.

She could just imagine the disaster that would result from multiple humans coming into ChalkZone. And how would the zoners react to it? She imagined most would try to hide or try to be non-threatening, while at least some would try to fight back. How long would they last? Penny feared not that long. And what if they go too far? If a zoner killed a human...

She knew things would only go downhill from there. Killing a human woud incite vengefulness in her species. Penny knew how her own kind could be when it came to stuff like that. An animal that has killed a human is usually killed. But some take it much further and she knew that at least some woud deem all zoners as dangerous. Those zoners who were only trying to help their people would end up dooming it if they ended up hurting a human badly or even killing them.

Penny hoped that they would be able to stop the situation before it escalated that far. If they could locate where Terry was, where that portal was located, they could erase the portal before she could even use it. The task was simple, but getting there would be hard. She would need the zoners to form search parties to find it before Terry could begin to make use of it.

"Don't worry, though." Penny said, her voice gentle as she did her best to calm the panicking female zoner. "We should be able to take care of it. There's still time. We just need to..."

Rapsheeba shook her head once. "What do you mean? If she has the portal, then..." At this, she whipped her head to one side, looking at their sunny surroundings. "I..I hope we can..."

"I'm sure we will." Penny said.

"How can you be so sure?" Rapsheeba said, still staring out at the grassy hills in front of them. "If this Bouffant woman has the portal, then it's only a matter of time before she decides to use it. And she could be anywhere... None of us knows where the portal is. She may have it hidden well. And she might be waiting until we expect it the least to use it and..."

"Rapsheeba..." Penny reached out and touched the zoner's shoulder. Rapsheeba stiffened at this, and looked over at Penny, her eyes still wide in fear. "It's going to be okay." She tried to sound as hopeful as she could.

Rapsheeba cocked up an eyebrow. "How..?"

Penny took a moment to look around the land they were in. She soon turned back to Rapsheeba and said, "Do you see any humans coming in here? Did you notice an increase in unusual activities in the past day or two?"

Rapsheeba opened her mouth to speak. She turned her head left and right, her eyes shifting around, as if trying to scan everything. She soon turned to Penny. She remained quiet, taking in a few breaths. Penny noticed that she was relaxing a little as realization seemed to be dawning on her. "N-No..." She managed to say, her voice very faint.

"Exactly. If Terry had exposed ChalkZone, then there would be a whole flood of newcomers here. More humans invading this world, more dangerous, reckless creations, perhaps even people coming here trying to assert their control over every zoner here."

Penny flinched when she said that. The idea was very uncomfortable. She would hate to see her zoner friends subjected to such a thing. Most of the humans that come would likely not see the zoners as people, so they would not get the best treatment. She could only envision a poor, horrible future for them.

"We still have time, Rapsheeba." Penny said softly. "We still have time..."

With that, Penny wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her into a hug. She did what she could to calm down Rapsheeba, assuring her that there was still hope for ChalkZone. She gently rubbed her back and whispered soft, comforting words to her. Rapsheeba was still frightened, but she was, slowly, settling down.

As Penny continued to hug her friend, she lifted up her head and look a look around. She took in the sights all around her. The grass swaying with the occasional wind. The clouds and sun that hung overhead. The trees decorating the land, more sparsely in some places. Some zoners walking around, some too far away to make the details. The distant buildings of civilization.

All of it served to remind Penny of something. Just how much the zoners could lose if Terry did expose ChalkZone... The thought was frightening. Just picturing it turned her blood into ice. There was so much at stake here. Everything around her...it was something that could be torn down in a matter of seconds. All it would take was just one irresponsible or cruel person with a piece of magic chalk, and the desire to to do something like that. And she already knew a number of people who would.

"Are we..going to tell Snap...?" Rapsheeba asked as she pulled away from Penny, her hands on her shoulders. "Did you plan on talking with him today?"

Penny nodded her head. "I was going to wait for Rudy to come, but he's having problems right now." She looked towards ChalkZone City. "It's best that we tell Snap as soon as possible."

Nodding in response, Rapsheeba said, "Agreed. I don't think it's a good idea to keep...this...from Snap."

Without another word, the two friends began to make their trek towards ChalkZone City. Thankfully, it wasn't incredibly far away. Penny hoped that Snap would be able to think of something that they could try. She had no idea when Rudy will be back in ChalkZone. The sooner they tried something, the better. If they could find the portal and take care of that at least...

She also hoped that they would figure out what happened to Blocky. After she visited Snap and spoke to him, she planned on using whatever time she had left in ChalkZone to speak to some more zoners on the issue. Maybe one of them had found something on the case. She hoped so. Then everything will go back to normal.

sss

Von couldn't help but smile in enthusiasm, his chest filling up with excitement, as he proceeded to begin the first experiment. He had been waiting far too long for this...

Okay, so it was only a day. Terry didn't want him trying anything on him the first day. He wasn't sure why. Maybe she just wanted to reorient her thoughts and her plans now that they had this chalk creature. Oh whatever. The point was that he could not really harm Blocky at all yesterday, although he could frighten him. And that's what he did. Give him a taste of what was to come.

Now he could finally start that said fun. Terry gave the okay. Von wasn't sure why sure why he was listening to her, or why he was letting her take over. He briefly felt a burning sensation in his chest, but he shrugged it off. Right now, it didn't matter who was in charge. He was still getting what he wanted.

He watched as the zoner struggled, pulling himself as hard as he could to either side. He was trying to break the cuffs, despite the fact that he was injuring himself in the process. He knew he was cutting into his wrists. He could see the tiny bits of blood now forming. However, he wasn't worried about him going too far. Blocky did not appear suicidal, if that was even a thing for these zoners. He would stop eventually, whether from pain or from the fear of dying. If he didn't, he and Terry would find a way to stop him for good.

"No! Please! D-Don't do this..." Blocky said, whimpering softly. His body shivered in fright as he stared at Von. "You...you can't...please... I-I don't want this..."

"Too bad. I do." Von said coolly. He pulled out the eyedropper, the insides filled with water. "And this is an important experiment to conduct. I must get this out of the way first before we can proceed."

Blocky shook his head in desperation. "Please...don't!"

Von ignored him. He moved slowly towards the bound zoner. He took his time, not wanting to drip over anything to drop his clipboard that he was carrying in his arm. He stopped partway there and turned his head to the side. He could see Terry standing there. She had her arms folded against her chest as she watched the zoner, no sympathy in her eyes. She looked at Von and nodded her head, motioning for him to continue. He would ask her to hold the clipboard and record the findings there, but she had already made it clear that she will not do that; he was the scientist after all.

Von ignored the annoyance rising up in his chest as he focused on the frightened little zoner before him. He soon reached Blocky, closing the space rather quickly. He looked Blocky over with his eyes first, ignoring his pleas as he tried to find a suitable spot to test first. He needed an area that wasn't vital, something that wouldn't kill him anytime soon.

Von put the eyedropper in his pocket and he began to feel around Blocky's body. His fingertips kneaded the flesh, if it could be called that, trying to find an area that was noticeably thicker. It was hard to find something in this zoner due to how flat he was, so it was all just going to be guesswork. Hmm...not unless he...

"Please..why do you have to do this?" Blocky asked, staring up at the scientist. "C-C-Can't you think of something less...painful...?"

"Like what?" Von asked, although he had no intention of actually taking the zoner's suggestions.

"I-I don't know..." Blocky looked left and right. "M-Maybe a treadmill? Or lift weights? Or..."

Von shook his head. "I'm sorry. But no. That will do me no good." He tilted his head, staring intently down at the zoner. "None of that will reveal too much of how your body works. And if you honestly think this is bad..." He pulled his hand away to take out the eyedropper again. "Then you don't know how lucky you are. I could easily decide to see how your body looks and cut you open. I could decide you are of no use to me alive and kill you."

Blocky whined at this and started to struggle harder. Von just gave him a crooked half smile.

"However, you are far too important for that...for now anyway." Von said.

"What do you mean...?" The zoner asked quietly.

Von ignored his question completely. He resumed looking around Blocky as he tried to figure out just which part to use. He straightened himself up, pressing his hand against his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Hmm... say, Blocky..." The zoner fell silent. "What area do you think I should put this on?" He showed him the eyedropper.

"Nowhere! That's Real World water! It'll hurt me!" Screeched the zoner. "D-Don't put that anywhere near me!"

"But I need to know if it actually hurts you or not." Von said.

"I told you already! It does! Please..don't do it!" Blocky pleaded with him. "I-If you want to know anything..just ask me! I-I'll talk!"

"Oh really?" Terry spoke up from her position. A smile spread across her face. "Then...can you tell us how we can get into ChalkZone then?"

Blocky's eyes widened at that. "Anything but that! No!"

Terry frowned at this. "Very well then..." She motioned with her hand for Von to continue.

Von raised up the eyedropper, positioning it over Blocky's body. The zoner squirmed as Von began to apply a little pressure to the dropper. He didn't go too far, and he soon stopped altogether. He watched as Blocky shivered, his eyes shut as he waited for the blow. When it didn't come, the clearly confused chalk creature looked up at him. "Why don't you tell me where I can drop this without it causing much damage.."

Blocky shook his head. "I-I don't want it anywhere on me..."

"Is that so? Well then..." He looked intentlly at the space between the zoner's eyes. "I could try here. This looks like a good spot." He moved the eyedropper to that space.

"No! Not there!" Blocky screeched.

"Oh? What about here?" The eyedropper was now positioned above what he assumed to be the creature's skull. "Is this better?"

"No! Worse!" Blocky panicked, his heart pounding so loud, Von could practically feel it. "That would kill me!"

"All right then..." Von narrowed his eyes as he lowered the eyedropper. The zoner gave a sigh of relief when the dangerous object was placed away from him. But the terrified look returned when Von spoke up again. "Then pick a part. I will drop this on you no matter what. If you want to reduce the amount of pain you feel, then you will tell me what place would be the best."

"B-But... Isn't there something else that..."

Von's answer was short and ice cold. "No."

Blocky took in a couple quick breaths as he looked left and right. He appeared to be trying to think of a way out of this. He could practically see his mind's gears grinding, filtering out the possibilities, and what he could and couldn't try. Von was pleased to see his expression became more desperate, more hopeless as he realized that he truly could not win. Nothing he said or did was going to help him out of here.

Closing his eyes in defeat, Blocky said, "M-My side...the very edge of it.."

"Oh?" Von placed a finger on the zoner's side, where the side just ended, cutting out into nothingness. "You mean right here?"

Blocky nodded his head, a few fearful tears moving down his cheeks. He looked up at Von with watery eyes. "...make it quick..." With that, he shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the scientist to make his move.

Von did not take too much time. He placed the eyedropper over the side. He occassionally looked at the zoner, watching as he would swiftly alternate between looking and having his eyes shut. Upon seeing the eyedropper, he heard the zoner give a fearful whine, his body shaking harder. Von placed his hand down on his chest and stomach, or at least that's what he thought it was, and then he squeezed the eyedropper. In a few seconds, a large drop of water landed on the zoner, followed by a few more in different locations on the zoner's flank.

The reaction was instantaneous.

"Ahhhhh!" The rectangular creature's screams echoed in the air, his thrashing increasing, pushing against the cuffs. "Make it stop! Make it stop! Please, it hurts too much! Please, I... Ahhhh!"

Von covered up his ears as the zoner's loud screaming filled his head, nearly making his eardrums bust open. He looked over at Terry, seeing her cringing away, reacting to the screaming as well. Von dropped the item to the ground, along with his charts and clipboard, as he put his hands on the side of his head, trying to ride out the screams.

He opened up one eye and stared down at the screaming zoner. He could see steam rising up from where he had let the water drop. His eye bulged open in horror as he saw just how gruesome it really was.

The flesh was burning. Not just dissolving as he would have expected with him being chalk, but actually burning. The wound edges were black and spreading a little, looking similar to burnt paper. The wound itself, raw and red, looked like some of the most severe blisters he had ever seen. They were deep and blood poured rapidly from the wounds. Even though he had not dropped a lot of water on him, with the fact that he was flat and the water was eating away at him, spreading, it took no high leven of genius to know why the zoner was reacting this way.

Even though he did not care about Blocky's well being, since he wasn't human, he couldn't help but feel...disturbed by this experiment. It was clear that water really did hurt him, and though he knew it would be fatal if used too much, he never expected it to look this bad.

Blocky was crying at this point. He was turning his head the best he could, tugging in vain at his cuffs, hoping to escape the agony. He didn't even try to speak anymore. He just wailed painfully, his sobs echoing in the room. Tears stained his cheeks, staining it a slight red.

"What are you waiting for?" Terry's panicked voice filled the air. "Stop it before he expires!"

Von shook his head, snapping himself out of the trance he was in. He looked around, trying to find something to use. He soon spotted a cloth nearby. He rushed over and grabbed onto it. The man wasted no time in bringing it over to Blocky.

Von immediately pressed the cloth against Blocky's side. He winced when he saw the previously white cloth take on a disgusting brownish color with a tingue of red and green. The cloth easily absorbed the water that had started to soak into the zoner's body, and the steam rapidly stopped, creating something of a sizzle sound, as if it were smoke being put out. Or maybe that was just his imagination due to how similar the water burn spread was compared to that of burning paper.

When it was all over, he pulled the cloth away. He shuddered when he saw the crusted parts of dead chalk flesh on the cloth. He couldn't detect any kind of smell other than some faint chalk, but the physical representation was all still there. It was as if the cloth had been dipped in chunky, dark-colored chalk and blood and moved around in there a bit. Despite being made of chalk, it was a rather disturbing sight. As was his side himself. Von found it hard to look away from the gaping hole now present in the zoner, fresh blood still spilling out.

"Th-There...n-n-now you know..." Blocky said in a low whimper. His body quivered constantly in agony. "N-N-Now will you p-please let me g-g-go..?"

Von didn't answer him. His mind was still racing from what he had seen. He had just gotten the first clue of just how alive this creature was. The reaction to the water...it was definitely something he would expect an animal or human to do if exposed to acid. It was a rather..uncomfortable sight.

But...that was all in the day's work for a scientist. Experiments must be performed in order to understand things better. He knew of some scientists who dissected and vivisected animals. He had done the same thing himself a few times before. Gruesome sights like this were common. This allowed him to quickly recover from what he had just seen, assuming his more cold demeanor from before. Terry still looked a little shaken up, but Von didn't pay much attention to her. She would be fine.

Von stared at the hole in the zoner's side, where the water had been. He tilted his head to one side. Out of curiosity, he lowered his fingers towards the hole, flexing his fingers a little. He wondered...

Blocky let out yelps of pain as Von pressed his finger against the wound. He moved it around lightly, feeling the burnt skin, noting how similiar it felt to actual burnt skin he had to deal with before. Ignoring the tears in the zoner's eyes, the face contorting in pain, Von pushed the finger inside the wound. Not deeply, just enough for him to wiggle his finger around. Blocky squirmed on the table. A few seconds later, Von pulled his finger out. He stared at it. Blood clung to his finger, but it had a different texture. It didn't even feel wet, despite all appearances. It felt much more..dry.

Just like he'd expect in chalk.

"Hmm...interesting." Von said softly. "You reacted to the water quite...negatively, to put it mildly. And your blood...it doesn't feel like anything I've felt before. I'd say this experiment was a success."

"So..you'll stop..?" Blocky asked hopefully.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, but no. There's still more. But don't worry." Von raised his hand up, staring intently at the chalk blood still on his finger tip. "We won't be using anymore... Real World water as you say...in our experiments."

In an act that horrified Blocky and startled Terry, Von decided to do one more test real quick. He placed his finger in his mouth, lapping up the blood. It easily disintegrated in his mouth, and he immediately spat it out. Yep...it tasted just like chalk.

Ignoring the look he was getting from Terry, Von focused his attention back on Blocky. "Experiment One was a success. I wonder how you will fair with Experiment Two."

"Wh-What's that...?"

"Oh you'll find out. It's not as bad as this but..." Von smiled. "Well, let's just say it's still no picnic..."

"No..please..." Whimpered Blocky. "N-No more...please..."

Ignoring him, Von turned his head towards Terry. At this point, her shocked expression was completely gone, having recovered from the shock. "I'm going to need your help transporting him."

Terry nodded as she walked over. "Where are we taking him?"

"In layman's terms, the stretching machine."

sss

"I've already explained it to you, Aunt Tilly." Rudy said. "Why do you want me to explain it all over again?"

"Because...I..I just want a refresher. This is all..so much for me to take in." Tilly replied. She placed a hand on her head, rubbing it gently. "I know you're upset with me for not letting you go back into that world, Rudy. I don't like making you upset. I just...still need time to talk to your folks and understanding this world and..."

"But Aunt Tilly...! You can't tell them! Please...just keep this between us..." Rudy pleaded with her.

Tilly sighed at this. "Rudy, you know I can't do that..." She shook her head from side to side. "I can't keep something like this from your folks...especially your mother. I never lied to my sister before, and I'm not goign to start now."

"Please..." Rudy begged. "I-I don't feel comfortable telling you unless you promise not to tell my parents. And this time, keep it. Please..you don't understand how disastrous this is. You're not supposed to know about this world!"

Tilly narrowed her eyes at this. This hadn't been the first time that Rudy said something like that. She couldn't understand why he would say such a thing. Why didn't he want her or his folks to know about this world? Yeah he tried to explain it to her, but she was still so confused. And he still didn't explain something else that well.

"What makes you so damn special?"

Tilly's eyes widened at that. She felt a sharp jab in her chest. She watched as Rudy flinched at this, leaning away from her. Her daughter didn't seem to fully understand the words, but her tone and inflexion was enough to make Sophie give her a quick, wary look before turning back to her coloring and drawing. Tilly felt bad for her, having to be caught up in this mess. This certainly isn't how she had pictured things going. Things never got this screwed up before.

Her attention shifting back to her nephew, she felt another pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to say such a cold thing to him. She just...didn't understand why he... She growled in frustration, gripping her head tighter, pressing the tips of her fingers against her scalp. This was all so confusing. Why would Rudy not want them in, but remain determined to stay in and... She wished she could understand.

She hated not being able to understand. She didn't like not seeing things from his point of view. She wanted to be fair. She was doing what she could with the knowledge that she had. But even then...she had no idea if she was doing the right thing. If she could just understand Rudy's motivation for keeping them out... He explained it to her, but she still didn't get it. And she didn't get why Rudy felt that he had the right to go in, but not them. What was so different?

"I'm sorry, Rudy." Tilly said, rubbing her temples. "I didn't mean to let that slip out. I..." She looked over at Rudy. She could see a bit of a flicker in his eye, and she resisted the urge to wince. It was a brief reminder of what she had done to him the other day. She did not want a repeat of that. She quickly said, "Why do you think that you and Penny can still go, can still know about this place, but..no one else?"

Rudy paused, clearly trying to think of what to say. He furrowed his eyes in deep thought. Tilly waited politely for him to answer.

"It's because Penny and I care about this place. We have been entrusted to guard it, to keep it a secret. The zoners there trust us, and we have earned that. We recognize them as people, and not just living drawings."

"I don't get it." Tilly said, cocking an eyebrow. "Isn't that ultimately what they are? Just drawings?"

Rudy shook his head, glaring softly at her. "They're alive, Aunt Tilly. They're no different than us. Yes, some look radically different, but deep down, they're the same. They have emotions, feelings, ambitions, dreams, fears..." He spread his hands outward. "You can't judge them from their outward appearances or what they're made of, Aunt Tilly. That would be like them judging us for being made of carbon."

"That's different. We were born, not created." Tilly pointed out. Surely, Rudy knew this. There was a big difference between being drawn and being born.

"They are still born. They are drawn, erased, and that's when they are born. They are born differently from us, yes, born into whatever age they were intended to be. The point is, they still have a birthday, and they can still die, just like us. You look at an x-ray of them, you will find organs and bones and blood and everything."

Tilly would have pointed out the fallacy of that, considering that's not how x-rays worked, but that wasn't the point Rudy was trying to make. Tilly thought about what he said. A part of her saw something of what he was trying to say. Yet..she still remained unconvinced. Something about this just didn't...feel right. The zoners still felt so...wrong.

"They are still drawings at the end of the day." Said Tilly. She realized she may have sounded a little colder than she had meant to, but she still remained firm. "I don't see why you are trying to keep everyone out of that world, Rudy. I would understand more if this was a selfish desire, keeping it all to yourself."

"It's not!" Rudy cried.

"I know. And that's what has me so confused." Tilly leaned back against the couch, Rudy positioned next to her, Sophie in front of the couch, busy drawing. "Treating drawings like people... Rudy, I think you have hung out with them for so long that you started to..."

"That's not true!" Rudy slammed a fist against his own thigh. He flinched in pain. "We weren't brainwashed, Aunt Tilly! Snap is my best friend! I am not imagining him as a person! He is a person!"

Tilly flinched at the boy's yelling. She cringed back slightly, realizing she was probably going a little too far. She knew that the boy felt strongly about this place. She needed to be more careful with what she said. Clearing her throat, she said, "All right then. So let's say they are alive. That still doesn't explain why you two are permitted there, but your own families aren't." She looked at Rudy sadly, motioning a hand to herself. "Don't you trust us, Rudy?"

"I do. I'm sorry if it seems like I don't." Rudy lowered his head. "This isn't so much about how much we trust you..." He closed his eyes. "It's that...you guys care about us so much...and if you found out anything bad about ChalkZone, you'd pull us out of it so fast and...then that world would be without a defender. Believe me, Aunt Tilly..I've wanted so much to tell you guys." He turned to give her a sideways glance. "But no matter how much I trust you...there's still that chance that you guys might do something drastic."

Tilly was immediately reminded of how she reacted to finding out. She realized, on some level, that the boy did have a good point. She did react quite harshly to it. Was this what Rudy was worried about? Their reactions?

Then again, a part of her couldn't help but believe it was Rudy's fault. He should have told them right away. She would have been less angry if it had been just a week or so since he discovered it, as opposed to a couple years. If he had just come forward, they could have spoken about this and come up with an agreement, and all of this would have been gotten out of the way. Instead, he chose to cover it up, lie to everyone... She could feel her stomach twisting again, some old anger rising up.

Keeping herself controlled, letting out a sigh through her clenched teeth, Tilly said, "So it's a first come, first served thing?" Her voice was a little cold, but she was trying her best not to sound so antagonistic.

Rudy shook his head. "It wasn't like that at all. I just kind of..found the place. I had to earn my position as ChalkZone's protector; the zoners didn't just one day make me their guardian. And since I knew of the place, I had to accept the burden of keeping it a secret. Biclops showed me what happened to ChalkZone when rogue creators used to run amok. I couldn't let that happen again."

"And what of Penny?" Tilly asked. "Did she just...happen to be with you at the time and..."

"No. She didn't know about it at the time." Rudy explaiend. "She actually didn't find out until...I forget how long it's been. But at least a few months."

Tilly's eyes widened at this. "You mean to say that you ran amok in that world for nearly two years without anyone else knowing, and then you decided to tell Penny about it?" She stared at Rudy in shock. "Instead of your own family, you chose Penny? You could tell her but not us?"

"I..." Rudy started to say.

"How could you...do that, Rudy...? We're your family. We love you. How could you see it fit to tell Penny, but not any of us? Not me, or your mom or your dad... Why, Rudy..? Why...?"

Tilly couldn't help but feel very hurt by this confession. Rudy had just admitted that he had told Penny about this world a short time ago, and yet, he still resisted when it came to telling his family. Not that she had anything against Penny, but what made her so special that Rudy could confide in her, but not his own family? The same people he had known growing up? The same people who had shown, time and again, how much they loved and trusted him?

A sharp pang shot through her heart. She clutched her chest, turning away from Rudy. The boy remained silent, not saying a word. Tilly didn't bother looking at him, fighting back the burning sensation rising inside her stomach. That old anger from before was returning. This time, it was stronger, intermixed with the bitter feeling of betrayal and hurt. She had thought that Rudy and Penny found out together. But to know that Rudy found it first, and then nearly two years later, told Penny, but no one else...

Perhaps Rudy had told her about it already. At the moment, though, she couldn't really remember. Her mind was swirling with emotions, ripping through her mind as she tried to make sense of this. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She could feel her own body start to tremble, and, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rudy moving away from her, as if he sensed something was wrong. Well, he was right on that. Something was wrong.

"How could you choose Penny over your own family?" Growled Tilly. Rudy didn't answer save for a few stammers. She whipped her head over, glaring at the boy. "Why was Penny so deserving of this special knowledge, but no one else? Why did you think Penny was trustworthy enough to know about ChalkZone, but no one in your family?"

"Please, Aunt Tilly..." Rudy's voice was small, quiet. "I...I don't know, okay? I just..." Rudy let out a frustrated sigh. "I know you must be so angry with me, Aunt Tilly. I didn't mean for it to go this far. But I was just so worried that something might happen to this place and..." A pause. "Can I please go into ChalkZone? I really want to find my friend and..."

"Oh no. You aren't changing the subject that easily." Tilly said, shooting her nephew a glare. "We are going to continue our talk and then maybe I'll let you go into this..." She resisted the urge to say something nasty. "..world that you care about so much." She flinched at how cold she sounded.

"Please, Aunt Tilly, I..." Rudy stopped when Tilly glared at him again. He lowered his head and sighed. "Okay...what else would you like to know..?"

Tilly thought about this. She knew exactly what she was going to ask. If she was going to make a proper decision on whether or not to allow Rudy to go back, with or without his parents knowing, then there was something that she needed to know.

"Tell me what dangers there are in this ChalkZone, Rudy." Tilly said sternly, folding her arms against her chest. "Tell me everything that you know of."

sss

Snap stared at Penny in disbelief, his eyes widened. He tried to make sense of what she said. He tried to fight back the urge to scream. He tried his best to remain calm about the situation. But..how could he remain calm at a time like this?

"You're...you're kidding...right...?"

Snap already knew the answer to that. As soon as Penny shook her head, he knew that she was not lying. She wouldn't lie. Not about this. He could feel his heart clenching up tightly, a feeling of toxicity moving through him. He shivered, feeling a sudden chill. He would have laid down if he weren't already doing so right now. He grabbed onto his head and gently rubbed it.

How could something like this have happened? While he had asked himself that many times before, while he knew the futility of doing so, it was automatic, something that he just couldn't help but do. He often wanted clarity, to fully understand just...why.

"I'm sorry, Snap." Penny said, lowering her head. "I wish I could have brought you much better news."

Snap stared at her, not answering. He was too wrapped up in his mind to answer her. The full implications of what she said weighed down on him. His mind was going a million miles per hour. He tried to get himself to settle down, but it was useless. And seeing the looks on Penny's face, as well as Rapsheeba's, it wasn't like he was alone in this. They, too, were also very worried.

After all, a creator finding an entrance into ChalkZone was a huge deal. It was one of the worst news that could possibly be given.

And what made this worse was...this human was Terry Bouffant...

Snap felt his blood turn to ice at this. Out of all the humans that could have found a way in, it just had to be one of the two that had been trying to expose it. Terry had attempted to reveal ChalkZone to the world before and she very nearly succeeded. Although she was stopped, it was mostly dumb luck. Things could have so easily gone wrong. If he hadn't been stupid enough to hang onto her arm and get stuck back in ChalkZone...

Or no...that could have made things much worse. What if Terry chose to lock him up? She could have trapped him in a place where he couldn't use his 2D powers to escape. If that were the case, then how could he have warned Rudy? Perhaps getting locked back out had been a good thing.

Not that it did them any good right now. Terry had a portal to ChalkZone. It was something that Rudy and Penny had only just realized, as it hadn't dawned on them earlier. With the incident with Rudy's aunt, it wasn't like he could blame them. But now they had a whole new situation on their hands. It was one thing to try to deal with Rudy's aunt. But Terry... How were they going to stop her...?

"At least she hadn't used the portal yet..." Penny said softly. "If she did, we would have noticed by now."

"That's true." Snap nodded his head. A part of him relaxed a little with that realization. She was right. Terry wouldn't waste her time that much. Not with how much she wanted to show the world. "No new creators romping about or anything." He gave a small smile at this. A weak attempt at hiding just how much fear was inside of him. "So..that's something at least."

"For now at least. She still has the portal. It's only a matter of time before she uses it." Rapsheeba rubbed her hands nervously. "As soon as she does..."

Penny's eyes widened softly. "I know, Rapsheeba. We..won't be able to stop her." She shook her head slowly her eyes shutting. "Not unless we knew where she was."

"Which means you need to round up a search party." Snap pointed out. "There are plenty of zoners who would be willing to do that. I would love to, but as you can see, I'm stuck here. Doctor's orders."

Rapsheeba smiled. "Well don't worry. Doc said tomorrow, you can leave."

Snap was glad to hear some good news out of this. "Finally! I won't be confined to this place anymore!" He motioned his hand towards Penny. "And I'll finally be able to help you and Bucko!"

Penny's mouth ticked up at this. "That would be nice."

The brief happiness in the room didn't last that long. It faded away quickly as everyone found themselves going back to the topic before, regarding the portal and Terry. They all couldn't help but feel a sense of glumniness, worry, and fear. How were they going to handle this situation? What were they going to do to get the portal back from Terry?

Snap shivered as an uncomfortable thought entered his mind. It seemed rather strange that Terry would have the portal, but not yet use it. What was holding her back? Was she somehow unaware of the portal, or was she...?

Upon seeing Penny and Rapsheeba stare at him, their eyes wide with concern, he whispered softly, "What...what if she's just...biding her time..?"

Penny tilted her head. "We already thought about that, Snap. We..."

"What if she is planning more thoroughly this time? What if she realizes we are going to try to find the portal...and she is setting up a defense?" Snap's voice took on a haunting tone at this. "What if she is waiting for us, ready to trap us, or do whatever to slow us down? What if she is prepared this time?"

Rapsheeba and Penny glanced at each other worriedly.

Snap wasn't quite done yet. "What if she is secretly showing the portal to some people quietlly so that we can't stop her...?"

The idea sent a lightning bolt through everyone's minds. White flashes appeared in the back of their minds as they imagined Terry doing this. It would be something that she could do. She would want to spread the word quietly so that none of them would think to stop her. She may have already shown some people in the short time frame that she had it. She may have built up an alliance. This may have been transformed into a much bigger thing than they thought.

The very idea of it shook their foundation, and made them come to grips with reality. The situation was far more dire than they had thought.

Then something else came to Snap's mind. Something that he didn't think any of them had yet to consider. Something that would bring to light what could have happened.

"What if Terry has Blocky...?"

A sharp intake of air from his friends perfectly fit the mood. Penny's face had paled up a little as the horror gripped her mind. Rapsheeba bit her lip, putting her hand against her chest. They couldn't help but exchange worried looks with one another, the tension and nervousness growing thick in the air.

What if Terry did take Blocky? What if that was where he went? What if he was in her clutches, being used by her? It was a possibility they thought impossible at first. But that was before they realized that she had a portal...

"But...but how...when would she have...?" Rapsheeba stammered, looking left and right. "Blocky was with us for a while and..."

"She may have gotten him after she took the portal..." Penny's voice was soft. Her eyes were wide in realization. "After we all went home...she could have gotten him then. Maybe he was lost, and she took advantage of that..."

Snap gritted his teeth at this. "I wouldn't expect less from her, that creepazoid..." He clutched his rounded hand in a fist. It would be just like Terry to take advantage of someone like that to suit her own goals. "If I saw her..."

"Please relax, Snap. This will not do us any good." Rapsheeba's voice cut him out of his thoughts. "We need to focus on how we are going to help our friend. If he was captured by Terry, that at least makes planning easier."

Penny nodded in agreement. "We just need to head to the same place, and from there, find a way to get Blocky back, and then close the portal. Without that portal, Terry won't be a threat anymore." She furrowed her eyes with worry. "But...there is the thing with her possibly telling others..."

Snap's teeth were clenched at this. Nervously, he suggested, "Maybe no one will believe them?"

"That is possible, yes." Penny narrowed her eyes. "Still...we need to be really careful. First and foremost, we need to find that portal. We will need to round up as many zoners as we can to find it."

"What if Terry moves it again?" Rapsheeba's nervous voice asked. "She might realize something was up, and relocate it." She paused for a moment. "Well, she might do that even if we don't find the portal."

"Well..." Snap narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "We could try to mark the portal. Do something with it that would prevent us from losing track of it..."

"Snap, that's a great idea!" Penny cried. She folded her arms against herself. "But..what to mark it with...?"

"Maybe something that we could track via a signal? Like a chip?" Suggested Rapsheeba.

"Yeah, that could work! But something small that Terry wouldn't see it." Snap suggested. "Something that was still strong enough to hold onto the portal. Then, no matter where Terry took it, we would find it." There was just one problem. "I'm not sure what we could use, though."

Penny narrowed her eyes in determination. "I know what we could use..."

sss

"But...but Aunt Tilly...that's not fair! You can't keep me..." Rudy yelled at his aunt, anger rising up inside. "You're being unreasonable!"

Tilly shook her head. She had a feeling that Rudy would object to this. But she was going to keep firm on what she said. She was not going to back down from this. She had learned enough of that world to make a decision. "I'm sorry, Rudy. But I will not let you risk your life entering that place."

"I told you it wasn't that bad!" Rudy wailed, struggling to get free of her grasp.

Tilly raised an eyebrow at this. "That's not what you told me before. Didn't you tell me that there were a few zoners that went after you? That there are some dangerous zoners and creations that appear that could have easily harmed you? You don't call that dangerous?"

"Well..yeah, there's that. But, Aunt Tilly...they are few and far between! This place is safe, really! Please..don't keep me locked out... This isn't fair!"

Tilly gave a soft growl. "Life isn't always fair, Rudy. Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to for the best of yourself and those you care about." She stopped in front of Rudy's door, holding his arm tightly. She didn't like hurting him, but she had to be sure he didn't get away. "I know you think I'm being harsh on you, Rudy. But trust me. Later, you'll be thanking me for this."

"No! You can't do this! I need to go back into ChalkZone! I need to speak to Penny!" Rudy frantically pushed against her arm, trying to scramble to get away from her.

Tilly narrowed her eyes at this. "I'm sorry, Rudy. But until your parents come back, and until we get this all straightened out, you will not be able to leave this room until I say so, and only under my supervision. I'll work something out with your teacher and principal. And you will not be allowed to see Penny."

That last comment seemed to send a knife through Rudy's heart. "What? No!"

"I'm sorry, Rudy."

With that, Tilly threw Rudy into the room. She watched as he tripped up and fell into the ground. She felt a pang of guilt at this. She didn't mean to use that much force on him. Yet her eyes remained narrowed, wanting to show Rudy just how serious she was.

Rudy got up to his feet and ran towards the door. Tilly shut the door before he could get out. She swiftly locked the door. This was something that was never done before. Something that she would never have dreamed of doing. There was a first time for everything. She put the key in her pocket, turned, and began to walk away.

She winced as she heard the pounding on the door behind her. She could hear her nephew's muffled cries to let him out. She paused only for a moment, guilt washing through her. Was she doing the right thing...?

Of course she was. She was keeping Rudy safe. She needed to make sure he didn't get hurt. She would do anything to ensure of that. Even if it meant locking him up like this. He was just a little boy. He didn't fully understand the dangers that he was in. She was just ensuring his safety. He might be angry now, but somewhere down the line, he would thank her. He just needed some time.

Tilly pulled out her cellphone and looked at the calender. Her sister, along with Joe, would not be back for another few days. She would call them and inform them of what was going on. But she did not want to ruin their vacation. She would wait until they got back. She just hoped she could break this news as gently as she could to them.

She did not want to make things worse than they already were.