Shattered Doll

by DarkHououmon

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

6. Wake Up

Shattered Doll

Chapter 6: Wake Up

############

Good morning, day. Sorry I'm not there.

-Drown, Three Days Grace

sss

Pain.. So much agonizing pain...

A sense of burning against his white skin...

Smoke filling up his lungs, burning them...

So much confusion, the world around him a blur...

Snap laid on the ground, moaning in pain. His mind was muddled as he tried to think of just what happened. He couldn't remember what he had been doing. His ears were ringing, making it hard for him to hear anything affectively, although he could hear some crackles of flames around him.

He slowly opened his eyes, and he immediately hissed in pain. His eyes burned as the smoke entered them. He coughed pitifully, trying to get the dirty air out of his lungs. He gritted his teeth, unable to drive away the horrible taste the smoke had. The stench of the burning frame of the building was all around him. Despite this place being made of marble and metal, somehow, even that seemed to be catching on fire.

Through his blurry gaze, he could see the fire had a different color to it. The fact that it was pure white, and radiating heat more intensely than any fire he was used to, only grazed his mind momentarily as he became more and more aware of agonizing pain.

The stunned zoner attempted to push himself up from the ground. His hands supported him only for a few seconds. His limbs shook too much and soon he found himself collapsing back onto the ground. He let out a grunt of pain as his chin slammed, nearly making him bite his own tongue. He laid there, quivering in pain, fear starting to take over his mind as he could not remember what was going on.

Soon, as the ringing in his ears became to die down, he began to hear footsteps. He lifted up his head, looking around, trying to find where it was coming from. He soon saw a shadowy figure on the wall. The black shape wafered and distorted due to the smoke and flames. Snap's eyes widened and he tried again to get up. He had no idea who this was, and in his panicked state, his first thought was to get out of here.

He did not get far. As soon as his foot began to support him, a sudden pain swept through his limbs as he fell back down. He let out a cry as his shoulder hit against the ground. He shivered on the ground as he tried to cope with the pain. He opened up one eye and looked in the direction of the approaching being. Knowing that he was at their full mercy, Snap closed his eyes and waited for the blow to come.

But it didn't. The footsteps soon stopped. Snap, confused, opened up his eyes and turned his head towards the figure. He couldn't make much details out, except for the eye, which glared straight down at him, barely illuminated by the white fire. Snap found himself unable to tear away from this near hypnotic glare.

"...Snap..."

The zoner was surprised when the figure spoke to him. The voice seemed..familiar. But in his head, it was so echoey and distorted, and there were other noises intermixing with it, that he was unable to make a positive identification.

"I am so sorry it had to be this way. I never wanted to do this. But you have crossed the line. This is the only way."

Crossed the line? What was this zoner talking about? Snap couldn't recall doing anything that would have warranted this.

Unless... Was this zoner talking about...?

He never got a chance to finish that thought

"If you are afraid, do not fear. I will make sure you will not remember this unpleasant encounter." The figure reached towards him with what looked like a four clawed hand. "Now hold still. Soon, this won't even be a distant memory."

Unable to move out of the way and feeling desperate, Snap began to growl softly as the hand approached, an act he wouldn't usually do under normal circumstances. The figure froze as the zoner bared his teeth in self defense, but the hand kept on coming towards him.

Before Snap knew it, the hand was on him. He shut his eyes as an intense feeling rushed through his body. Then, seconds later, he blacked out.

sss

"Snap!"

"Come on, you have to wake up!"

"Please, you can do it!"

Snap's eyes opened up. He took in a sharp breath as an intense white light flooded into his head, his eyes squinting. He looked all around, trying to make sense of where he was. His vision was blurry and he could barely make out the shapes that surrounded him.

All around him, he could see mainly white. This was not the color of his room. And this bed...it didn't feel like his own. He felt around, feeling how soft it was, and yet firm. He could feel the sensation of something on his body. He glanced down, noting that there was something large, yet light, placed around his body. He could see it move up and down with each breath that he took. He turned his head and he could see what looked like a cabinet, a door, a television mounted on the wall...yet he still could not understand where he was.

He could see some colors next to him. Kind of tall, yet small. Brown and green were the dominant colors, intermixing together. He blinked a few times, and each blink made the picture a bit sharper. He did this a few more times and he was soon able to figure out these figures were human.

As soon as he recognized the figures, he spoke, his voice scratchy and dull. "R-Rudy...? P-Penny...?" He let out a soft groan as he tried to shift himself. "Wh-What happened...?"

Through his newly sharpened vision, he could see his friends look at each other worriedly. When they glanced back at him, he noted their confusion when he only looked at them with a perplexed expression. Was he not responding the way they were hoping? Was something wrong? Snap wished he knew what was going on, but his mind was a blur, a blank.

Snap tried to move some more, but realized he could not. He was not restrained in any way, but his muscles felt so tight. They would hardly obey his commands. Why not? It wasn't like he was sleeping for that long.

Or was he sleeping? Why would he sleep in a hospital? He couldn't remember how he would have gotten here. Why would he invade a hospital just to sleep?

That was when he finally registered the pain.

Snap let out a cry of agony as pain shot up and down his body, concentrating on his legs. He tried to clutch them, but his arms wouldn't move; they were too stiff and tired from whatever happened. The pain radiated from his legs, and it felt as though someone set them on fire. Rudy and Penny looked at him, horrified, Penny's mouth covered by her hand. He could hear them shout something incomprehensible.

Seconds later, a couple of zoners approached him. They were wearing some kind of uniform. But in Snap's confused state, he couldn't tell why they were here. As he felt their hands on him, he stiffened up, letting out a louder cry of pain. His heart pounding, he turned his head and bit down on the arm of the nearest nurse.

The zoner let out a painful shout and barked at the other zoner, "Call for backup! Patient is being driven mad by pain!"

The next few minutes were a blur to Snap. He heard Rudy and Penny telling him to let go. He heard the zoner giving orders. He could feel the arm being pulled away as he tried to continue biting down.

Snap wanted to stop. He wanted to let go. A part of him was telling him he was fine, that they were only here to help. But confusion reigned down over him, making everything around him too incomprehensible. All he knew was that he was in pain, and he had no idea why. His panicky state was causing him to lash out and he found it hard to stop.

Then he felt something sharp in his body. He couldn't tell where it had been stuck. There was so much pain, any new one was hard for him to fully detect. After several minutes of the injection, Snap felt his mind start to relax. His heart rate began to return normal, and his grip on the zoner's arm slacked, and the limb was pulled from it.

Snap soon laid there, his body mostly limp. His breathing, which had been quick before, slowed down and his eyes no longer had that wild, fear-filled look in them. He looked around again, and he soon realized that he had bitten down on a nurse.

At this realization, Snap started to feel guilty. He looked up at the nurse apologetically. He tried to say he was sorry, but his words were slurred and difficult to make. His eyes began to flutter as exhaustion started to over take him. He fought against the desire to go to sleep, and soon remained still on the bed, his eyes turning up towards Rudy and Penny.

The two humans were horrified by what happened. They reached out to touch him, but one of the nurses held them back, not wanting another biting incident to happen, even after he had been successfully drugged. Rudy and Penny could only stare down at him sympathetically, their eyes silently trying to reassure him despite their fears.

It was only after about half an hour of being drugged and him being relaxed, that Rudy and Penny spoke up again.

"Snap..we're...we're so glad that you're..." Penny sniffled, wiping away a tear.

"You were out for...a long time." Rudy said. He sounded like he had been crying for a long time. "We thought we lost you..."

Penny turned to Rudy, trying to smile the best she could despite of herself. "Mint is going to love to hear this." Rudy didn't answer, instead just nodding his head.

"H-H-How long...was I..." Snap couldn't finish. He wheezed, feeling a scratchiness in his throat.

Rudy bit his lip. "Please...don't talk too much. You suffered some throat damage."

Penny said, "You were out for about two weeks."

The shock of this was barely felt by Snap. In his drugged state, shock and surprise barely graced his mind. He could only stare at Penny somewhat blankly as she said that. The sight of him reacting like this must have been worrisome, as Penny put a hand to her mouth, her expression saddening.

"Y-You see, Snap, there was..an explosion..." Rudy said. His voice had a crack to it. "That party you went to... The building exploded, and you were caught in the blaze and..."

"P-Party...?" Snap groaned. His blurred mind swirled as he tried to comprehend what Rudy had said. "Wh-What party..?"

At this, Rudy and Penny gasped in horror.

sss

Rudy couldn't believe it. He stared at Snap, hoping that he was joking. But...he knew deep down that he wasn't. Snap was in no condition to joke. The drug he was injected with would make it hard for him to lie. And even if he wasn't injected, he woudn't joke or lie about something like this. He bit his lip, feeling his heart clench as he tried to make sense of it.

How could Snap not remember the party? He had been excited for it ever since he found out. Sandra had held a party for him to attend in his honor. Snap talked about the party a couple of times, and he had even gone out of his way to get Rudy early enough for it. He had mentioned he believed the party would help lighten everyone's moods, that the zoners deserved some fun after what happened.

And for him to not remember any of that... Rudy's mind swirled, his gut feeling heavy, like someone filled it with rocks. He recalled the doctors said he suffered some kind of head trauma, but they wouldn't be sure of the extent until after he woke up. Rudy was aware that amnesia was possible, but he had hoped it wouldn't happen.

Now that it did, Rudy started to fear the worse. Just how much of his brain was affected? How widespread was the amnesia? Would he ever recover from it? This and other thoughts invaded his head, swirling around it, making it hard for him to concentrate on much else.

"Snap...you really don't remember?" He heard Penny say, her voice having a pleading edge to it. "You told us all about it, how Sandra invited you, the celebration of your accomplishment with the machine..."

Snap shook his head. "I..don't remember going to...any party..." He wheezed out, coughing a couple of times.

Rudy and Penny glanced at each other, biting their lips. This was becoming even more serious than before. Even though their friend was awake now, and that alone improved his prognosis, the amnesia counteracted that. It made them realize there was brain damage, and if he had amnesia, what else could he have gotten?

They hadn't noticed the doctor in the room until he spoke up.

"I see he developed amnesia. That is rather unfortunate."

The voice caused the two children to jerk in shock. They looked behind them, and they saw the doctor, a bird-like zoner, approach. He held a clipboard in his feathered fingers, his long neck pushed forward as he peered down at Snap with his yellow eyes. The superhero zoner cringed at this, looking unnerved by the doctor being that close to him.

The doctor zoner pulled his head back, moving away as if to help Snap relax more. Only when Snap stopped whimpering in fear did the doctor zoner procede to speak with him.

"Hello, Snap. No need to be afraid." The zoner gestured towards himself. "I am Dr. Crobat. As I'm sure you are already aware, you have been knocked out for two weeks. We thought you weren't going to make it. I am pleased to see that you are are awake now, but the amnesia you have been stricken with concerns me greatly." Dr. Crobat came closer to Snap and gentl placed his hand on his shoulder. "We will need to run some scans and make sure there isn't more damage than we had feared."

Snap coughed a couple of times. "Wh-What about the others..?"

At this, Rudy and Penny's hearts twisted. They looked at each other sadly, then back at Snap. The poor guy didn't know... Snap was the kind of zoner to put others' needs above his own. He would be more devastated of someone else getting hurt than whatever happened to him.

Rudy opened his mouth to speak, but he could see the doctor already made a move to tell Snap. Rudy stood there silently, looking at Snap sympathetically as the zoner was being given the worst news he could ever recieve.

"I'm sorry, Snap.." Dr. Crobat said. "You were the only survivor."

Rudy watched as Snap's eyes widened at this. Despite the zoner's groggy and confused state, those words seemed to permeate his head. Rudy could see Penny wipe away her tears. Rudy let out a small sniffle, his head lowering.

He still remembered those words... Those awful words... They had just heard about the explosion and they rushed to the hospital where Snap had been taken. Snap looked so awful, knocked out and still in the hospital bed, many wires hooked up to him. The sight was horrible, hard for them to bear seeing. Mint nearly fell down onto his knees when he saw Snap's state.

They soon found out that the explosion happened where Sandra's party was. Thankfully, Sandra had not even arrived at the party yet; she was the one who called the police and brought them over. However, there were many zoners inside. She begged them to save whoever they could.

The flames had spread and engulfed much of the building. Nobody knows what caused the explosion, or why the flames were white. What they do know is that the building was being ripped apart by the fire.

The rescuers worked as fast as they could. They searched the building high and low, bringing out as many victims as they could, including Snap. Most of the victims were dead, burned to death by the flames. The ones that did survive longer died shortly after from their wounds. Only Snap remained.

Rudy and his friends were shaken up by this ordeal. It happened so suddenly. None of them expected something like this to happen. He wanted to punch the wall in frustration. They had recently recovered from Snap barely escaping a previous explosion, only for him to wander straight into another one. But this time, he did not escape unscathed.

Rudy let his gaze fall upon Snap. He wondered how his friend was going to take the news when he recieved it.

sss

Snap shook his head in denial. He looked up at the doctor, hoping and praying it was all a lie.

But the face never changed. The words were never altered. They continued echoing in his mind, tearing at his heart. Snap fought against the tears that began to form. Even in his muggy state, the words still afflicted his mind, buzzing around, not leaving him alone.

"You were the only survivor."

That...that wouldn't be right.. Could it? How could he be the only one? If it was a party, shouldn't there be more survivors? He couldn't be the only one left. Someone else had to have survived, right? It...It was impossible..no...

Snap couldn't stop the tears from dripping down his face. His mind raced, his breathing increasing. He thought about al lthe zoners that were probably there. There were a ton of zoners in ChalkZone City. Just how many had gone to the party? How manhy of those zoners had he met in the past? How many of them were his friends?

At the thought of this, his heart burned. What if...what if Rapsheeba were caught in the flames? Or Blocky? Or Lars? Or... He had to know if they were all right. If they were hurt, he'd never forgive himself. Despite the horrific pain he was in, the blue and white zoner began to struggle on the bed.

"No!" Dr. Crobat cried. The bird zoner rushed forward and grabbed onto one of his arms, holding it down. "You need to settle down, Snap!"

Snap didn't listen to the doctor. He continued to struggle. He jerked himself from side to side. The drug he was injected with had worn off as adrenaline pumped through his body. He could feel his heart racing again, threatening to burst open from his chest cavity.

"Hold still!" Dr. Crobat demanded, his beak gritted.

Snap turned his head from side to side. His eyes were shut tightly, teeth clenched. "No no no no! It can't be true! No!"

"Snap!" Penny cried in horror, holding her hand out towards him.

Rudy looked at the doctor, his eyes filled with terror. "Help him! Please!"

Dr. Crobat grabbed onto Snap's shoulders and pushed him down. Snap winced at this, but his struggles did not cease. He opened up his eyes, seeing the doctor's face glaring down at him. As soon as he saw his face, the doctor's words again echoed in his mind. That he was the only survivor... His struggles increased.

Dr. Crobat turned to the nurse beside him. "Another dose! Now! And you!" He turned to the second nurse. "Get some restraints! We need to keep him from hurting himself!"

Snap turned his head during his struggles. As the second nurse left to get some restraints, as the first nurse prepared another shot, as the doctor held him down, he could see the looks on his friends' faces. If he were more calm and relaxed, their expressions would make him stop. They were silently pleading with him to settle down. But he could not. He had to get out of here. He had to find Rapsheeba and Blocky and...

His eyes widened as he felt the sharp needle in his shoulder. The cool liquid was pushed inside. He let out a help, turning his head and trying to bite the nurse who pushed in the needle. She moved out of the way before he could get close enough. He felt a hand on his head, holding it down.

"N-No..." Snap whimpered as the drug started to take effect. "Please, no..."

sss

Rudy and Penny watched, their hands to their mouths, tears flowing down their faces, as Snap succumbed to the second injection. They couldn't believe it had to come to this. Another injection just to try to settle him down. The news of him being the only survivor had clearly messed with his head much more than even they could have predicted.

They remained silent, in stunned horror, as the second nurse returned with the restraints. Padded and stretchy, yet strong, they would be good enough to keep Snap from hurting himself more. The doctor and nurses worked together to restrain Snap's body to the bed. His legs and arms were quickly secured, holding him down.

Snap's breathing slowed down again and his eyes shut part way. He opened his mouth and breathed in slowly. He looked even more tired than before. Penny shivered at this, unable to believe that her friend had to be injected twice. But...what other choice was there?

Snap's panic was deep, primal, and he looked like he was determined to jump out and run away even at the expense of his own health. Snap needed to be drugged a second time to sap away that energy so he could relax. The restraints would make sure that he couldn't attempt an escape a second time.

Penny watched as Snap relaxed on the bed, sadly an affect of the drug rather than him being calm himself. There was still something of a look of fear in his eyes, and she knew that wouldn't go away any time soon.

But at least, for now, he was restrained so he could no longer hurt himself. Though she was still shaken up by what happened, she was happy to know that Snap was properly secured and no longer in danger of hurting himself.

As she looked down at her friend as he became more and more relaxed, his eyes closing a little more, Penny bit her lip. She casted a worried glance to Rudy. Neither of them knew what to expect in the near future. Would Snap react like this again? Would he suddenly spurt into a rage after he was brought home? They could only hope that he'd get better, and that the doctors can provide some medication for him.

The poor guy was goin to suffer massive mental trauma from this. She shivered, realizing it was the Mint and Skrawl incidents all over again.

When Mint broke Snap's back, the little guy was not just in a lot of pain, but he was absolutely terrified for several days, constantly thinking Mint was going to come back. He suffered a few nightmares of the incident as well, which made it hard for him to sleep at night.

The incident with Skrawl was worse. Although Skrawl did not cause as much damage as Mint had, he still had Snap restrained down so he couldn't defend himself or even see what was happening. He was, in a way, stripped of his sight. It got worse when Skrawl removed his back brace and exposed his wound to him. Then the claws came down...

Penny was not surprised when Snap had more vicious nightmares of that, and was in a worse mental state afterwards. It wasn't right away; it took time and only after things began to settle down did Snap have bad dreams of the incident.

She had no doubt in her mind that Snap would have nightmares about this. There was just...no way he wouldn't. He had escaped an explosion, got caught in a second one, and he had just been told that he was the only survivor. He was going to need a lot of help getting through this.

The doctor's voice spoke up, tearing her away from her thoughts. She looked over, seeing the doctor positioned beside Snap. Though he appeared tired, Snap looked like he was aware enough to detect the doctor standing before him.

Dr. Crobat glared softly down at Snap. "You need to take it easy. You can't get out of bed yet." Snap opened his mouth to speak, but he was so drugged now, he didn't have the energy. He turned his head to the side, taking in slow breaths. The doctor moved his head, his beak trailing above Snap's body, and soon he was looking at Snap's lower extremities.

"Your legs suffered a lot of damage."

Snap's one eye turned to the doctor widened a little at this. Penny held her breath, worried Snap was going to struggle yet again. But this time, he did not. She felt relieved.

"You will need to keep off them for a long time." Dr. Crobat said. He looked at his clipboard, flipping through it and reading its contents. He lowered his head and shook it. "But I'm afraid I can't give you an exact estimate."

"Excuse me, but.." Rudy took a few steps forward, holding a finger to the air. "Do you really think now is a good time to be telling my friend this? He still drugged and..."

"The sooner, the better. He's aware enough." Dr. Crobat said, not bothering to look at Rudy. "If he forgets, you can remind him."

Rudy tried to speak up again, but was silenced when Dr. Crobat raised up his wing hand. Rudy glared softly at the doctor, but made no reply. He merely took a step back, and let the doctor continue to speak to Snap. Penny looked sadly at Rudy. She could understand his frustration. She would speak up herself, but felt it was best not to interrupt the doctor.

Dr. Crobat peered closely at Snap's blanket covered legs before turning his head towards the small zoner. He gritted his beak, and let out a forceful sigh. "You suffered second degree burns on both your legs, as well as your feet. You will be required to have skin grafts, and you will not be able to use your legs for at least two months."

At this, Snap's eyes widened a little. He began to whimper softly. Penny bit her lip at this. Even in his current state, Snap still understood just what was said to him. He understood the magnitude, the gravity of the situation. He had been deprived of the ability to walk, sentenced to weeks upon weeks of horrific pain. The situation must be weighing down heavily on his mind.

Dr. Crobat's expression softened up and he lowered his head. "I am sorry to have to give you the bad news, Snap. We managed to begin repairing, but it will still take some time for your wounds to heal. But the good news is that as long as this keeps up, and you keep resting, you'll be back on your feet soon."

This didn't seem to do much to help Snap's spirit. The zoner was crying softly now. He was not struggling, but his body was shaking with each cry he gave. He closed his eyes softly, his teeth clenched and whimpers emitting from his mouth.

Ignoring the doctor, Penny and Rudy approached Snap. Dr. Crobat looked at them, but said nothing. He moved away, as did the nurses, and allowed them time with their friend. Penny stroked Snap's head gently while Rudy held his hand. They whispered soft words of comfort to him, trying their best to settle him down.

"Shh...it's okay, Snap. You're going to be fine." Penny cooed to him. She lowered her head and gently nuzzled him, careful to avoid the smaller, less severe wounds on his face. "Everything will be okay."

"Yeah, you'll see. You'll get better soon." Rudy gently squeezed Snap's hand, rubbing the top of it with his other. "Just wait and see. Soon you'll be out of the hospital and it'll be like nothing happened."

Snap looked up at them with wide eyes. He did not speak, but the message was clear. Snap wasn't sure what was going to happen to him, and he wanted their reassurance.

But that wasn't all they could see in his eyes. There was also sorrow, and guilt. Snap was going to be afflicted with survivor's guilt. It wasn't a matter of if, but when. She and Rudy knew Snap well enough to know that their friend would feel guilty about being the only one who survived the explosion. And then were there those who might be angry at him simply for being the only survivor. There might be accusations...

Penny shook the thought out of her head. She felt silly for having that thought. The zoners knew full well that Snap would never do something like that on purpose, and any one she, Rudy, and Mint spoke to only ever expressed concern for the zoner. If anything, all the zoners hoped he would survive because him being a survivor meant he could give valuable information. He might even be able to lead them to the culprit.

And maybe this culprit might be the same one who was responsible for that machine...

But for now, that would have to wait. Snap was in no condition to be interrogated. He needed some rest. His mental state was weakened right now, and he needed some more time before he was ready to answer any big questions...if his amnesia wears off by then. Penny hoped that Snap's memory lapse was just the result of him having just woken up. In cases of trauma like this, it may take time before memories return.

But if it didn't... Well, they'll think of something when the time comes.

"How is he doing?"

Rudy and Penny turned their heads as a newcomer came into the room. They didn't need to look for them to know who this was. There was no mistaking that sound as the person walked. A familiar thud, and then a sound that was..different, yet the same.

Stepping up towards them, his fingers interlocked in nervousness, was Mint. The thirteen year old wore a grim expression, sucking on his lip, as he approached the bed. He glanced down at Snap, his eyes flashing relief quickly that he was now awake, before looking over at Rudy and Penny expectantly.

"He's doing better." Rudy said. "He's awake now at least." He sighed softly, the sadness from it unmistakable. "But he had to be drugged twice."

At Mint's widened eyes, Penny added, "He panicked twice and almost hurt himself. He also had to be restrained."

At this, Mint glanced down. He gasped softly as he took notice of Snap's restrained limbs. He placed a hand on his cheek and shook it slowly. "Poor Snap..." He sighed and looked back at his human companions. "I wish there was something we can do for him."

"I'm afraid not." Dr. Crobat said. He stared intently at Mint. "Snap's recovery will take a long time. He might be awake now, but there's still internal damage that needs to heal. You may speak with him, make him comfortable, but that's about all you and your friends can do for him."

Penny glared softly at Dr. Crobat. But as cold as that statement was, she knew he was right. She might have some medical knowledge, but that wasn't going to help her much with aiding Snap. She didn't have that extensive of knowledge with treating burns like that, and she knew there was nothing that could be done to speed up the process. She, Rudy, and Mint could be here for him, but that would not heal his skin or get him out of bed faster.

Only time will do that. Only time, which felt like it was moving so slowly now. The longer Snap stayed here, the more the hours and days felt muddled, intermixed together with no distinction. But...eventually..things would get better. She knew it would. It was just a matter of time.

sss

Mint stared at the scene before him. He felt his heart twist as he got closer to his friends. He looked down at Snap, feeling a wave of guilt hit him. Even though he was not responsible for what happened to Snap, he still felt as though he could have done something different. He had no doubt that Rudy and Penny felt the same way. They all wished that they had seen warning signs, and done something to stop this from happening.

But how could they have known? None of them had enough information to know that the culprit would strike again, and so viciously. Mint was certain that the zoner who made the machine was the one who caused the explosion. How could it not be? It made so much sense. The culprit probably wanted Snap out of the way...

Rudy had some doubts of this, but despite that, he did not rule out the possibility. Mint recalled one of their past discussions. The reason Rudy wasn't entirely certain was because he didn't understand the need of the culprit to bring in so many zoners. They all knew the culprit didn't really care who they killed, but Min thad to admit, it did seem like a giant waste of time. It would have been more efficient to just lure Snap on his own, instead of spending time gathering other random zoners.

That did little to deter his mind. He was positive that blasted culprit was responsible for this. It was too much of a coincidence. The culprit had found out that Sandra was holding the party, and they waited until the right moment to strike.

Anger burned in the pit of Mint's stomach. How dare they do this... How dare they disrupt a moment of peace.. All Sandra had wanted to do was throw a party to not only honor Snap, but to get the zoners' minds off of what happened. But then this happened and... The boy did his best not to growl out of frustration. He did not want to do anything to further upset Snap. The poor zoner needed some time to rest and he wasn't going to be able to if there was too much tension in the aura around him.

Mint felt guilty about not coming here sooner. He had tried to get into ChalkZone faster, but his dad wanted to speak to him, and he was stuck at his house until his dad was finished. It was just another lecture on how to be on time and all that. His dad was trying to prepare him for later in life when being punctual was important.

At least it was just that. Mint was still worried about what would happen if his dad found out about ChalkZone. Knowing him, he really would try to destroy it in order to keep him safe.

He pushed those thoughts aside for now. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that. Now was the time to focus on Snap. He looked down at the zoner, biting his lip as he looked at his expression of pain. A part of him was relieved, as Snap was actually reacting, not like before when he was still. But now seeing him in pain... it caused his stomach to twist and churn.

Unable to stop himself, Mint couldn't help but think back to what happened a few years ago, when he broke the zoner's back. Snap made similar expressions of pain when he had visited him. And just like then, he felt helpless to aid Snap now. Like the others, he wished he could take away his pain, wished he could see Snap jump out of the bed and run around and have fun...

That was a long way off, sadly. Mint had seen the burns. He knew how horrible it was to have a leg injury, to be unable to walk for a long time. He recalled how his blood chilled when the doctors mentioned probable amputation. He hoped that Snap would not have to endure that.

Mint walked over to the other side of Snap. Ignoring Dr. Crobat as the doctor zoner, along with the nurses, left the room, he reached down and grabbed onto Snap's other hand. He squeezed it gently, just as Rudy was with his other. He placed his other hand on Snap's shoulders, giving him a sympathetic look.

When Snap looked up at him with those large, pain-filled eyes, Mint felt his heart twist and he jerked his head back. He felt tears form in his eyes. He looked so innocent... What did Snap do to deserve this?

This..this reminded him so much of that incident when he broke his back. He had deliberately attacked the zoner. He trapped him, threw him to the ground, and attacked him. The memory of that brought about a stronger level of anger towards the culprit. This had been deliberate as well. The culprit knew what he was doing, and he did this on purpose.

Mint clenched his teeth tightly, bitter tears flowing down his face. Whoever did this, they were going to pay. Big time...

"Do not worry, Mint."

The thirteen year old looked over at Rudy. He could see a grim look of determination in his eyes. It was clear that Rudy had known exactly what he was thinking.

"We will find out who did this. Whoever was responsible, whether it be that mystery villain or that other one, we will find out who did it, and we will stop them." Rudy said, giving him a stern yet comforting look. "Don't worry."

Mint stared at him, and then nodded his head affirmatively. "I know we will."

Although Penny did not speak herself, she looked at each of her friends and nodded. All of them now wore grim expressions of determination. Mint knew, from that point forward, they were going to find out what happened. Even if it took a long time, they would find out who did this. Whoever was responsible, they couldn't hide forever. They would see to that.

But for now, that can wait. For now, it was best to just spend some time with Snap. The zoner needed some comfort and reassurance right now. Mint could hear the zoner whimpering softly on the bed, his eyes shut, tears spilling out. The zoner was in a lot of pain, and mental anguish. The poor guy...

They can go after the culprit later. They would come up with a plan to catch him or her. But Snap needed them now. For Mint, helping Snap was more important than trying to seek revenge against the culprit.

After all, revenge could make things worse. He knew they couldn't afford that. Things were hard enough as it is. If they waste time on that..

..then something terrible could happen to Snap or another zoner. No, he would wait. The time to catch the criminal would come. He knew it would.

"You'll be fine, Snap." Mint whispered to his blue-colored friend. "Just you wait..."

Penny nodded. "Soon you'll be up and running like nothing happened. You just need to rest."

"Try your best and relax, Snap." Rudy said softly. He fought back tears, his eyes taking on a glassy appearance. "Please...everything is going to be fine."

After sometime of comforting Snap, doing what they could to help him relax, their efforts appeared to finally pay off. The zoner was starting to look more noticeably relaxed. His breathing rate slowed down, returning to normal. His face was no longer contorted, and he appeared to be finally entering a state of peace.

Mint and the others smiled at this. Seeing their friend relax was a welcome sight compared to what they had to go through before. Snap had finally woken up and now could really begin the road to recovery. They all knew it wasn't going to be easy, but they were positive Snap would pull through.

And Mint was going to do what he could to help his friend recover. It would take a long time, but he was certain he and the others could do it. Even if they had to reteach him to walk, they'd do it. And they would make sure that dreaded villain never laid a hand on Snap again. Mint couldn't stop him this first time, but he'd be damned if he allowed the villain another shot at him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small alarm go off. He looked down at his pocket as he felt a vibration coming out of it. He reached down and pulled out his cellphone. He grimaced as he looked at the time.

Turning back to the others, he said, "Sorry guys, but I have to get going."

Penny looked at him, surprised. "Right now? But why?"

"My dad again." Mint sighed softly. "I'm not so much worried about my mom. Out of the two, she is the most mellow. But my dad..if he doesn't come home to me waiting for him..."

"No need to explain." Rudy raised his hand, silencing the boy. "We understand." He looked back down at Snap. "Penny and I will stay with Snap a little longer. But we have to get moving soon."

Mint nodded his head. "I'll be back later. I trust you two will be here as well?"

No words were needed to be spoken. All Mint needed to know their answer as the nod of their heads. He smiled softly at them, and then looked down at Snap. For the final time in that moment, they locked eyes onto each other. Mint gave Snap a sympathetic look before he turned and walked away.

sss

Snap rested on the bed, trying his best to relax. He found it difficult to do so. It was hard for him to relax without his friends around. But..they couldn't very well have stayed forever. They had to go, lest they get their parents worried about them. Besides, they'll be back later.

Snap had been alone for about an hour now. His friends were forced to leave. They had run out of time for the time being. They waved goodbye to him, but with himself restrained, there was no way he could return it. He wished he had been more cooperative and didn't freak out. But it wasn't really his fault. He never asked for the tremendous pain that now coursed through his body. He did not do this to himself.

It was that blasted culprit...

Or at least, he hoped it was. The idea of an unknown attacker was terrifying. At least with the culprit, he had some idea of what to expect, even if they knew little about this guy.

Snap was able think more clearly now that the drug had weakened. He was ble to focus better on what had happened, and think inside his head what he was going to do about it. Obviously, he couldn't do much now. But when he healed up some more, he could help in the search.

He rubbed his head, his limbs no longer tied down. He hoped he would be able to help anyway. He knew his friends and the other zoners would rely on him for information on what happened. But..he really could not remember anything. It scared Snap. How could he not remember something like this? It was an explosion that killed many zoners, and yet he could not remember a thing about it, or the supposed party he had gone to...

He shuddered at the thought of all those zoners having lost their lives. He bit hsi lip, the feelings of survivor guilt rising up inside of him. So far, nobody had accused him, but then, he hadn't really had any visitors aside from his friends. At least while he was conscious. He might have had many visitors while he was still trapped in his dark void of a mind.

It was still unbelievable to him just how much he had slept. How could he have been passed out for that long? Had he been struck in the head? It didn't feel like it hurt that badly, and he detected no bumps. But he dare not touch around too much, for fear of causing more damage.

He hissed in pain as he tried to move his right leg. As soon as he tried, it felt like hot oil was being poured on it. He wanted to see his legs. He wanted to see the extent of the damage. The morbid curiosity had him in its grip, and it was so tempting to lift up the blanket and look. But all he was going to see were two bandaged legs. He knew that's all he'd find. And not seeing his leg was probably for the best; he may panic if he saw the burned skin and blistered flesh. Panicking was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

Not only did he not want another needle stuck inside of him, but he wanted to remain with a more clear mind. He was still in an uncomfortable state, and it would take a while for him to recover from that. But at least, he was now able to think more clearly than before. If he let himself panic again...

...he might do something else drastic. What if he hurt someone in his thrashing? What if he did something he may regret?

But as much as that scared him, something else bugged him more.

Just how were the other zoners doing? The relatives of the fallen? Snap was more concerned of their mental state than his own. And what of the dead? He could only hope that their deaths were swift and painless.

Snap wished he could remember what happened. He wished he remembered this party, what he had done there, who he spoke to, who was there...but he could remember nothing. He could barely even remember any invitation to the party. He knew his friends wouldn't lie, so there was indeed some kind of party. But he could not remember any specific details. He didn't know if he ever would remember.

He hoped that he would. He was the key to finding out this homical mystery. The family members and friends of the fallen deserved to know what happened to their loved ones. They deserved to know what happened, and who had taken them from them. They deserved some closure, some justice delivered to that horrible fiend.

But for now, he should rest. He was not going to get much done if he sat here, trying too hard to remember. He was going to get nothing more than a headache from that, and he was still shaken up from what happened. Only when he was more at ease and was in a better state of mind could he begin to ponder the possibilities of what took place.

"Hello, Snap." A voice called out to him. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

Snap turned his head. He hadn't heard Sandra opening the door. He hadn't heard her walking in. She had been silent, moving lightly along the ground. Seeing his friend approach him, Snap offered a small smile.

"Hello, Sandra." He lifted up his hand and waved to her. "Nice to see you."

"Yes, and it's good to see you, too." Sandra paused. "Alive..." Snap winced at that tone of voice. Sandra looked at him up and down, her red eyes taking in the details of his condition. "Have you healed much? You were out for a while."

Snap nodded his head. "Yeah. Though there's still a lot of pain."

This did not seem to surprise Sandra. "I'm not surprised. There was a lot of damage. A couple of weeks is not going to be enough to erase the pain." She lowered her eyes, looking at Snap sadly. "If I could, I would take away your pain for you. But I cannot."

Snap said, "Don't worry. You being here, talking with me, that's good enough." Sandra returned the smile.

Snap understood Sandra's frustration. A lot of people wished they could just heal others. That would be such an amazing gift. Snap imagined that such a power could be used to improve a dire situation. Imagine...being able to heal horrific injuries through the shere power of will...

But such a thing was a fantasy. In all his years of being in ChalkZone, Snap never once met a zoner with such a power. If there were any zoners, they were either too far away, or they simply didn't care to use their power to help anyone. Snap chalked it up to kids thinking healing was a lame power. An unfortunate belief, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Oh well. They had a healer of their own. Time. Sure it would take much longer, but time would heal the physical wounds eventually. With time, many will bounce back, and return to a life as fulfilling as they possibly could manage. Well, except for an unlucky few...

Snap was pulled out of his thoughts when Sandra spoke up again.

"How long do you think you'll be in here?" Sandra asked.

Snap thought about this for a moment. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he recalled what the doctor had told him. He then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know. The doctors believe it could take a month, but they aren't certain."

Sandra widened her eyes at this. "A month? That long?" She leaned her head forward. "Are you certain?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Snap said, lowering his head. "I wish it wasn't so..."

Sandra nodded her head in agreement. "Unfortunately these things can't be helped. All we can do is be grateful for what we got." She touched his shoulder gently. "Be happy you're still alive."

Snap knew Sandra was right. He should be grateful. He could have easily lost his life in that explosion. It was a miracle that he even survived. It was also a miracle that he had woken up at all. After a week of being unconscious, he was certain that some people began to lose hope. Being out cold for that long... He could only imagine the worry that he put his friends through.

At least he was awake now. He had finally opened up his eyes, and now, his prognosis was much better. He could now communicate with the doctors, and they can use this to treat him more efficiently. He still would be trapped here for a long time, but his recovery should speed up a tad.

"Well I can't stay here long. I do apologize about that, Snap." Sandra gave him a saddened expression, her ears lowering a little. "But I can't leave my restaurant unattended for that long."

"Don't worry, I understand." Snap said. He understood that Sandra was probably worried about her store being targeted by that fiend, causing more death and destruction. She wanted to be there to make sure that didn't happen. "It was nice of you to visit me, even if it wasn't that long."

Sandra seemed to beam at this. "I'm glad you understand." She began to turn around. "I do hope you feel better soon."

Before Sandra got far, Snap quickly told her, "I am sorry the party didn't turn out quite as you had planned."

Sandra's reaction was not what he had expected. The dragon zoner paused in her tracks. She turned her head, looking over at Snap with a confused expression. "...party..?"

Snap looked at her in confusion. He tilted his head to one side. "Y-Yeah...remember?" He held out his hands in gesture. "You invited me to a party. It was to be in my honor. Then there was an explosion and..."

"Snap..." Sandra's voice cut him off. It was filled with confusion and worry. "There was no party."

At this, Snap's mind froze, unable to believe what he just heard. There was no party? Then..what about his friends? Didn't they say there was a party? And if there wasn't one, who did those zoners end up in that building in the first place? Snap could feel his hands heat up as frustration swept through him. Just..what had happened..?

Snap continued to stare at Sandra, her words echoing in his head. She didn't seem like she was lying, and why would she do that? Snap had never known her to be a deceitful zoner. If she was the one who threw the party, then she'd know if it existed or not. And if she said it didn't...

..then just what actually happened that day...?

Sandra looked at him empathetically. "I know you're confused and frightened. After what you were through, that is to be expected. But don't worry, Snap." Her smile spread. "All will become clear eventually."

Snap did not answer her. He watched in silence as his dragon friend left the room, leaving him alone. As the door was shut behind her, Snap lowered his gaze. Many thoughts ran through his head. The most prominent one buzzed around, refusing to leave him alone: if there was no party, then could that mean that it had been a trap the whole time? An act of revenge from the culprit who built the mystery machine? The thought filled his heart with ice.