Skrawl grumbled as he returned home from another unsuccessful attempt at defeating Rudy Tabootie. He formed a fist with his hand, shaking it, as he stormed back into his hideout. He ground his teeth so hard, he though they were going to pop out of his mouth. He did not need to say a word to any of the Beanie Boys; his whole stature and demeanor was enough to tell them that he was not in the mood to speak to them.

He stomped towards his living quarters. He pushed anything blocking him out of the way. He didn't care how far they rolled or where they landed. Even if they smashed against something, he simply did not care. All he could think about was his failure and how stupid he was to not have seen through their clever trick.

This certainly wasn't like him. He would normally be able to get around their tricks and be able to stop them. Okay so he was defeated regularly, but this time was worse. He had fallen due to his own stupidity, rather than the luck of the draw like it had always been before.

The plan had been so simple, and yet he had overcomplicated it. He had not been too efficient in the plan, and that allowed Rudy and his friends to get the jump on him. He had been sent packing and now he was back at his hideout, trying hard not to slap himself many times across the face. If he had only seen Rudy rush towards that tree before it was too late...

He slammed his fist against the nearest wall. The force of it caused part of it to crack, spreading upwards towards the ceiling. He glared at it for a few moments, baring his teeth. He then turned himself away and headed towards the single, dark purple couch. He sat down in it and leaned back. He could feel the cushion underneath him move down a little due to his weight. He crossed one limb over the other. He reached over towards the remote control, grabbed it, and lifted it up. He pointed it to the television and turned it on.

"Today on Snap Shots..."

Skrawl gritted his teeth. It was that annoying blue freak that liked to tag along with Rudy everywhere. After just being humiliated by him, Skrawl was not interested in hearing anything he had to say. Just hearing his voice was enough to make him want to tear something apart.

He lifted up the remote and was about to change the channel when something caught his eye. On display in the picture next to Snap was some kind of bird-like creature. Well more like a bird crossed with a lizard. It stood on two long, thin legs, the thighs a bit thick with muscle. Its wings were small with short feathers. He couldn't tell if it could fly or not. Its head was like a rooster, complete with a red waddle and crown, and the signature thin to thick slick neck he came to associate with a rooster. The feathers stopped at its chest and the rest of the body, save for its 'wings' and some sparse feathering, it was scaley, with a long, reptilian tail jetting out from behind.

The creature was a blazing crimson with an orange underside and yellow tips on the feathers, along with some black eye markings. The thing looked obviously evil, and Skrawl guessed that was the creator's intent. That was clear from the bright brown eyes with slit pupils practically staring at him through the screen.

"This is the memotrice. It has recently appeared in ChalkZone. It has the power to alter memories, and those with memory-based powers are the most susceptible. But never fear, fellow zoners. The little creature has been captured by some brave folks with helmets to fight against the powers' effects and taken to isolated lockdown where it won't be able to do anymore harm."

Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this. His interest peaked, he continued to watch the stupid show to learn more about this creature. Something that could change memories... Such an ability would be powerful...but also risky. Yet if he could harness that power...

Skrawl smiled inwardly at the thought of what he could do with that power. The possibilities were endless. Often the best place to attack someone wasn't the body, but the mind. Using that power, he could target the minds of his greatest enemies. He could remove Rudy, Penny, and Snap as obstacles. He could change their whole personalities just by tweaking a few things in their memory. It was amazing just how much could be changed with one little alteration. He just needed to pick the right one and...

He stopped himself, narrowing his eyes softly. There were still some problems with the plan. The first and foremost, he didn't have the memotrice with him. He would need to capture it, and bring it to his lair. And before that, he needed a helmet to make sure that his own mind isn't affected by the foul creature. And when he did get it, he would need to figure out how to make it obey him. It wasn't going to be of much use to him if it won't listen to his commands.

Then there was the fact that the trio weren't that stupid. Even in his anger, he had to admit that they could be quite clever. He wasn't sure if the memotrice's powers worked on more than one individual at a time, and if it did, then wouldn't one of the trio realize what was happening and try to stop it? Skrawl realized he might be a little paranoid, but after the way he was defeated, he wanted to make sure that he thought of more angles this time around to ensure a repeat will not occur.

So...how was he going to do this? How would he get the memotrice out and target Rudy, Penny, and Snap, preferably separated, and change their memories so they would not be able to fight back?

There had to be a way to do it. He just needed to think long and hard on this. He was Skrawl, the smartest zoner in all of ChalkZone. He didn't care what anyone else said. He was the most clever and if Craniac 4 had just listened to him, then they would have won and stopped Rudy long ago. Now as for this...

It might be a little too tricky. How would he be able to single them out? Well there was Snap. He could target him first and take him here, where he could test out the memotrice's power. Yeah, that just might work. Snap was the easiest one to get, and he was so small. He wouldn't be able to fight back all that well.

But perhaps there was an even better way to go about this. Targeting Snap would be easy and effective. It would strike at the hearts of those two brats and it would make it harder for them to fight back. After all, how could they fight against their own friend? Yet... He started to wonder about another possibility. Yes, going after Snap was easy, but it was too easy. What if he did something else that no one would expect? What if he targeted a...much larger target?

Skrawl was aware that there were no actual leaders of ChalkZone. Not one individual that controlled everything. Yes there were areas with leaders, but only of those areas. Chalk-based kingdoms had kings and queens for example. But if there was one individual who had a strong influence on everyone, someone whom no one would dare go up against and to whom everyone listened to, it was the giant that guarded the Chalk Mine.

Biclops.

Skrawl could see why everyone would listen to him. He guarded the mystical magic chalk, which any human could use to draw with and create, make drawings come to life. He practically regulated the item that could, in a second, be turned against them should a dangerous human wind up in ChalkZone. It also helped that Biclops was huge, easily towering over the other zoners, and his own massive muscle walls made him a one zoner army. Yes, if he had that zoner on his side...

It helped that, according to Snap, a zoner with memory-based powers were the most affected. And that's just what Biclops was. A memory-based powered zoner. He could show visions of the past in those large eyes of his, and he could also show visions of a possible future as well. He would be more easily affected by the memotrice's powers than Snap would.

Skrawl could feel a twinkle in his eye. The gears in his head began to turn slowly as he stared out at the television, listening to what Snap said about the creature. He watched the various footage of it, listening to the people screaming, some gripping their heads as their memories were getting rewritten. He watched as the creature made a loud screech and jumped over some of the officer zoners, darting away into the distance before anyone could catch it that time.

"I know that was horrible to watch. But do not worry. You can relax. As I said before, this beast was recently captured and contained. It is currently being held at Danger Imporium, where some of the most dangerous creatures ever erased into ChalkZone are being held." Snap wiped his brow and rubbed his head. "Geeze..doesn't anyone draw nice things anymore...?"

The television went black as Skrawl shut it off. His mouth was ticked in a toothy grin. He raised a limb up so he could tap his digits together. He stared out ahead at nothing as he began to formulate a plan in his head.

If he could get a hold of that creature... And if he could use it to alter Biclops's memory...

Oh the things he could do with that power. There were so many possibilities, it was hard for him to pick just one. Should he make Biclops forget who he was and let him wander around ChalkZone helplessly? Should he make him believe that they were partners at one point in time? Should he have his personality altered so he would be more difficult for Rudy and the others to work with?

Wait...he got it. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He remembered how Skrawl hated creators at first and had thought that Rudy would be just like the others. Biclops would have even hurt him if he and Snap hadn't been clever enough to get out of there. If he tricked Biclops into thinking Rudy really was like that, that he hadn't been helping ChalkZone as much as he thought, but instead was causing damage and destruction..

Skrawl felt a sense of twisted glee rush through his body. He felt so giddy, his body shaking in excitement. He wanted to jump up and do a victory dance to release some of the energy. But no, he had to keep himself calm. He needed to make a move soon in order to set everything in place.

It wasn't going to be easy, but it was going to be worth it in the end. If he could successfully alter the giant's memories and get him to turn against Rudy and the others, then he would affectively cut Rudy's access to the magic chalk and leave him defenseless. And with him defenseless, he could go in...for the kill.

He let out a cold laughter, startling and scaring his Beanie Boys. He raised up his hand, the claws glinting in the light. Then he struck down against the couch. His long, sharp claws slashed into the couch, creating a series of three long gashes in the material. For a moment, he imagined that it was Rudy's stomach he had clawed into, envisioning the blood spilling out, staining the ground and his claws. He took in a few heavy breaths, his dark smile still plastered over his face. His breathing transformed into more chuckles.

Oh yes, this time, things were going to be much different.