Rudy and Penny both gasped in horror and shock when something big and massive flew overhead. The thing was a bit lower to the ground. Enough that when it flew by them, it seemed to kick up some air and dust. They put their arms over their faces and tried to keep the dust from getting into their eyes.
When Rudy gathered enough courage to look through this miniature dust storm, he took notice that Snap wasn't there anymore. With his heart clenching tightly, he looked around quickly, trying to figure out where his friend could have gone. When he turned his head to the right, he could see a small blue form running into the distance. He blinked once and then he could see a massive shadow looming over his friend.
With his heart nearly snapping in two, Rudy shouted for his friend. "Snap! Get away from there!"
"You don't need to tell me twice, Bucko!" Snap looked tired, as though he had been running for way too long. His mouth was open and his mouth looked dry even from this distance. His poor heart must be racing so hard... And yet he still kept going, rushing over as quickly as possible, refusing to stop. "Help me!"
Penny gritted her teeth as she looked back at Rudy. "Draw something that can move fast!"
"I'm trying!" Rudy tried to get himself to draw. But his hand was incredibly shaky. Any attempt seemed to just fall flat upon the ground. "Stupid chalk... Work!"
Penny put a hand on his shoulder. She gripped it firmly. "Rudy, hurry!"
Rudy tried to do what Penny asked of him. He tried to get the chalk to work. But in those few moments, his mind just wasn't working right. The adrenaline that once helped him was now making things incredibly difficult. His hand had too much energy now and his drawings were not coming out right. These things were not going to help him. His mind spun around rapidly, many thoughts moving through him like quicksand, as he tried in vain to create something.
Eventually, the magic chalk slipped from his hands and landed on the ground. Rudy looked at his hands and saw that they were covered in sweat. So much of it in fact, that droplets dripped onto the ground. Rudy bared his teeth as he rubbed against his hand, trying to get the stuff off of his fingers. He then lifted his head and looked around for Snap.
It was then, as he saw his friend running as fast as he could, that he could see what the thing attacking him was.
That same beast zoner that Skrawl tried to capture.
Rudy took in a sharp breath, fighting off the burning anger and feelings of betrayal as he watched the very creature he and Penny tried to save turn on them like this. How could that thing do this to them? After what they had tried to do for it...? Why that...
Rudy wasn't able to finish his thoughts when Penny, who had apparently gotten tired of waiting for him, grabbed onto his chalk and ripped it from his hands. Rudy could feel her pushing him aside as she ran forward herself, going as fast as she could go. Rudy remained silent as she ran, licking his lips slowly. He felt a guilty pang as he realized he just wasn't fast enough...but then he shook that thought out of his head as he let out a small growl and chased off after Penny, trying to catch up to her.
Penny raised up the magic chalk and tried to draw as quickly as she could. While she did this, the winged beast was getting closer and closer to Snap. It brought out its talons, the sharp tips glinting in the light of the Day Zone sun. Suddenly, Rudy wished that they were still dealing with Skrawl.
Snap dove onto the ground, letting out a yell as the large brown wolf thing closed its claws together, the claws themselves scraping against one another. This made Rudy's ears nearly bleed. It was almost as bad as a chalkboard being scraped. Rudy tried not to think about that too much as he shifted his focus instead to see how his friend was doing. Snap didn't appear to be hurt, but he was clearly shaken by the very close call.
He turned his head to see Penny was already working to drawing something. In her hands, she soon possessed some kind of... He had to stop and squint for a moment as he tried to determine what it was. Some kind of small volcano...? He quickly got the idea of it, though, when it 'erupted' and a thick band of solid energy came out, going towards the winged wolf.
"Penny, you're a genius!" Rudy heard himself shout. He nearly blushed in embarrassment at that. Of course she was a genius. He felt a little silly.
Penny smiled at him briefly, but then she frowned and turned back to watch her trap unfold. The beam, made of solid yellow and banded white, shot upwards swiftly, twisting around and around as it went right towards the winged wolf. Faster and faster, more and more twisted, trying to trap the beast within... Rudy watched as it wrapped around the beast's perimeter and then start to close in.
...only for the bat wolf to shoot out of it quickly. The beast turned around and let out a loud screech, its teal eyes glinting in the light, sharp teeth bared. The beams did not respond, considering they weren't actually alive. They attempted to wrap around it once more. The beast just hissed loudly at this and started to do acrobats in the air. It twisted and it turned in the air, wings spread open and then closing, effortlessly dodging the beams.
Penny's mouth dropped open. "Wh-What the..."
Rudy was frozen for a few seconds. Then he shouted, "Penny, do something! We can't...!"
"I'm trying! Just give me a moment!" Penny wailed at Rudy. The boy was a little stunned by this and immediately shut his mouth tightly. He watched as Penny scrambled to try to draw something else, but the chalk continuously nearly feel from her hands no matter what she tried.
Rudy looked over at where the beast was. At this point, the beast had been diving back down towards Snap. His heart skipped a beat, both caught in horror of what was happening and a bitter awe at just how talented this creature was. It kept managing to dodge the beams as it drew closer to Snap. It was practically unstoppable.
But Rudy refused to believe that. There had to be something that would keep this creature from getting to Snap. Something that would protect his friend from the constant onslaught of claws. Something like...
Suddenly a lightbulb flickered in his head. "Wait, I've got it!" Rudy grabbed the chalk from Penny, startling her. He quicly drew himself an electric-powered bike so that he could get to Snap faster. He hardly heard what Penny said as he drew in closer. Trying to get close with those beams lowering down was quite a feat and he wasn't really sure how he managed to do it.
When he got close enough, he pedaled a little harder before he zipped himself in front of Snap. He got off the bike and let it roll off into the distance. The bat wolf was right above him, its wings outstretched as it brought its feet forward. Time seemed to slow down greatly as Rudy watched this, raising up his chalk-wielding hand as he prepared to fight back. With a few rapid motions with the chalk, he produced a large torch and flung its flames around quickly.
This happened just in time. The beast's head was very close to him. The large zoner appeared to take notice of the fire and it immediately hung back. There was nothing in its expression that suggested that it had given up. But it was still clear that it wasn't about to dive down blindly. It opened its mouth in a loud hiss, baring its teeth as it watched Rudy carefully. It shifted its body left and right as it appeared to be trying to find some sort of opening to get in towards Snap.
Rudy acted quickly. The fire would only distract it for so long before it manages to find a workaround. Rudy thought about grabbing Snap and running, but he knew that would be risky. The beast was fast and might be able to attack before he had a chance to get that far. Besides, that wasn't why he had come over here. He had something different in mind.
With his chalk once again wielded, Rudy rushed around himself and Snap, drawing a line along the ground to form a circle. As he did so, there was a small flash of color and then what looked like a transparent bubble, bouncy and boingy, sprung up rapidly. It covered the two of them. As soon as it formed, the beast tried to strike against it. But despite the bubble flexing slightly, it did not break. The beast growled in frustration as it struck again and again, trying to make the bubble burst open. But it was useless.
The beast's fur ruffled, its eyes narrowing into slits. Its teeth were more bared than ever before, and its jaws opened up slowly. Rudy flinched at how the thing was looking at them, but he tried to stand his ground. He stood defensively in front of Snap, his hands folded tightly into fists, showing the thing that he was not going to let it so easily get to his friend.
And the beast seemed to understand this. After a few more frustrated attempts to strike the shield down using its wing claws, the beast seemed to finally give up. Its posture changed a little. Not a full submission, but it did stop looking as aggressive. It then began to turn around slowly, making Rudy think it was just going to fly off...
...but then the beast suddenly took off after Penny...
...who wasn't armed...
"Oh no, Buckette!" Snap screamed. He tried to rush forward, but Rudy put his arm in front of him. "What are you doing? She needs our help!"
Rudy narrowed his eyes. He knew that Snap was right, but he didn't want to risk both of his friends. Knowing that the shield was safe, designed to let people out but not in, Snap was better off here. Once he left the shield, he wouldn't be able to get back in. A dumb design choice, he knew. But he had little time to think of it. Looking down at Snap, he said, "Stay here. I'll help Penny."
Snap shook his head. "I'm not letting you go out there by yourself!"
"You're going to have to. That thing is determined to get you and I don't know why. If you come out, you're just giving it what it wants. So please Snap, just..." Rudy grabbed onto Snap's shoulders firmly. "Stay in here where it's safe. Okay?"
Snap didn't look at all happy about this. He glared softly at Rudy, letting his lip curl up slightly as he growled. But he did give in after a few moments, looking away from Rudy. "Fine..." He then looked back, this time with a softer expression. "Be careful, okay?"
Rudy nodded his head. "I will."
Without further hesitation, Rudy turned to glare at where the beast had gone. He was horrified to see that the wolf-like creature had Penny pinned down already. His friend was screaming loudly, calling for help. The winged wolf hadn't tried to attack her yet, it seems. But its face was awfully close and its teeth looked ilke they were ready to sink down into some flesh. The pain of chalk against blood was probably the only thing that was keeping the beast from actually attacking.
Rudy looked at Penny's failed attempt to stop the creature. The beams that she drew were exhausted and used up. They were laying upon the ground, twisted against each other and utterly useless now. The sight of it made Rudy's blood boil. Not because it was Penny's choice, but because it served as a reminder that if Skrawl had gotten this thing on his side, things would have taken an ugly turn.
Rudy swiftly began to draw, lines rapidly filling the air. Arching and turning and twisting, he drew the first thing that came to his mind. He quickly produced a large net lined with a flower that he just created that was designed to weaken and put zoners to sleep. Not something he would normally create, but he was getting desperate here and he needed to do something to stop this thing from hurting his best friend. Once the thing was finished, he grabbed onto it and got ready to use it.
He ran forward as quickly as he could. The winged wolf's ears twitched like it heard his approach, but it didn't do anything to look over. Perhaps it thought that it was still in the clear. It was going to have another thought coming. Once Rudy was able to get in close enough, seeing his friend still squirming on the ground, he mustered up as much strength as he could and he tossed the net towards the large beast-like zoner. The net flew through the air and soon landed on top of the beast.
The winged wolf's body shifted and lowered a little. Its eyes widened in shock and its ears folded back for a few moments. Then it began to roar and shift its body about. From side to side, it went, trying to get the net off of itself. The net was caught on its wings, the sickle claws there making it rather easy to hold the net in place.
Rudy watched as it struggled before turning to Penny and rushing to her side. He reached over and grabbed onto her hand, looking at her worriedly. "Penny!" He called out to her. "Are you all right?!"
Penny couldn't speak, her voice caught in her throat. She took in a few shaky breaths as she looked and stared up at Rudy. She straightened herself a little and then she turned to see the creature struggling in the net. She bit her lip. "What did you do?"
Rudy blinked at this before looking back at the beast. He noticed how it looked a bit sickly as it slipped on the ground, losing its balance. He flinched at the sight of this. He didn't think it would look this bad. He then looked back at Penny and tried to smile the best that he could. "I know it looks bad, but don't worry. It will be fine. Those flowers will just put it to sleep. Then we can take it somewhere where it can't hurt anyone else." He stopped for a second as he remembered something else. He narrowed his eyes slowly. "And it can't be used by Skrawl..."
Penny let out a small sigh. "That's true. If Skrawl managed to get a hold of it..." Her voice trailed off, clearly not wanting to think of that possibility.
Rudy looked down at his magic chalk, watching it sparkle a little. He had used most of it up in that effort. He hadn't been watching just how much of this that he was using, and he doubted Penny was, either. At least they managed to stop the thing before it could do some real damage. Now they needed to figure out how they were going to transport such a large zoner somewhere, and just how were they going to keep it secured in the meantime.
Perhaps they could tie it up? Once it fell asleep and was unmoving, Rudy could use whatever he had left of the chalk to tie up its limbs and wings. Perhaps its jaws as well. He would need to use some stronger type of rope for it, though. He could tell that the creature was really strong. Its size alone made it enough of a powerhouse that traditional rope would not work. The rope that he used on it just now would work mostly okay, but he needed something even stronger. Something that wouldn't easily break. Would nylon rope work?
Well, whatever he decided, he was going to need to do it quickly. He didn't have much time to didle dally. If he didn't try to take care of this now, if he didn't try to do something about that beast quickly... He tried to shake off the horrible thoughts of what could happen in that case. He swallowed hard before turning around to watch as the beast would finally pass out from the flowers.
But that isn't what happened.
To Rudy and Penny's horror, the beast was standing straight up, a bunch of knots in the rope already having been snapped apart. It opened its mouth and bit down and shook the rope. Analysis of its chest revealed that it was holding its breath. Somehow, it was smart enough to know not to breathe in the fumes of those flowers and now it ripped the net in shreds. It all happened so fast, in the blink of a moment, that the two children edned up just staring with wide eyes, mouths agape, unable to move.
It was only the scream of their friend that they managed to shake themselves back to reality. The winged wolf had made a run for Snap, pounding the ground with its feet. Snap stood in the middle of the shield, watching in terror as the beast came hurdling towards him. As the shadow rapidly grew on him, the thing looming over him, Snap backed up near the edge of the shield. He forced himself to stop, looked behind him, and then back at the beast, his mouth open and panting.
"B-Bucko... B-Buckette.." Snap whispered softly, his eyes wide in horror. "H-H-Help me...!"
Rudy and Penny froze for a moment, staring in shock and horror as the thing started to strike at the shield. With each strike, the sphere shook more, wobbling about. The beast struck at the top, its talons going in a little deeply. But it never could actually pierce it. But it wasn't about to give up as it continuously struck in various areas, desperately trying to get at Snap.
Rudy got out the chalk once more, feeling his heart thumping inside of his chest. Just what was going to stop this thing? How much more of this were they going to need to use before this thing was stopped? And just... was it possible that they would be able to pull that off before this thing got to Snap...?
Rudy did not have time to think about that. He only had time to take action. Raising up his magic chalk, Rudy began to make his move towards the bat wolf zoner, hoping to draw something small, like a freeze ray, to ensure that Snap wasn't captured by this horrible thing.
But the bat wolf had gotten wise to him at this point. Rudy watched as a clawed foot was struck out towards him. He could hear Penny screaming in horror, followed by a scream of pain, as she too was hit. Rudy laid on the ground, groaning softly, before he sat himself back up. He attempted to head towards the thing a second time, but then he realized, patting around himself in horror, that he had lost his magic chalk.
"Rudy, where's the..." Penny started to say before they were both interrupted by a loud scream.
The beast had managed to push its leg in so far, that it would stretch its paw around Snap's body. Rudy felt his heart freezing at this. He hadn't expected the creature to be able to do that. He and Penny both watched in shock as the thing lifted Snap up, dragging the shield with it. The shield was rapidly dislodged from the ground. It was like it was attached to the thing's foot now.
Rudy and Penny continued to watch this going on for several long moments, their minds locked and stunned that the creature was even able to do this. They could hear Snap calling out for them, reaching out for them, desperately trying to wriggle himself free. But the beast's grip tightened up as it spread its wings open. Rudy and Penny let out loud gasps at this before they rushed over as quickly as they could.
They managed to catch up to the beast as it tried to fly. They attempted to use their weight to hold it down, grabbing onto its leg and tail. They crawled up on it and gripped its fur tightly to secure themselves. The beast let out a loud screech of fury before it flapped harder and began to rise up into the air. Of course their weight wasn't going to hold it down. This thing was massive. Rudy and Penny could feel their feet rapidly leaving the ground, giving them more of a reason to hang on tightly.
The beast started to fly forward, each wing beat almost sounding like thunder in their ears with them being this close. Air rapidly rushed around the creature as it flew, and that wind hit against Rudy and Penny, making it difficult for them to keep clinging on. And yet they still tried, knowing that they couldn't just let Snap..
Suddenly the beast went straight up and began to spin itself around in rapid circles. It was like a tornado almost, only covered in fur and with many colors moving over its body. Rudy and Penny tried to ignore the vertigo forming as they desperately clung to the creature's fur, nearly ripping it off.
But eventually, they just weren't able to hold on any longer. They could feel their grip slip from the beast and down they plummeted.
"Aaaaahh!" Rudy and Penny screamed.
Snap reached out to them. "N-No!"
Rudy and Penny fell towards the ground. They felt as though they had fallen for hours, but it really only took a few seconds before they could feel pain wracking through their bodies. They finally hit the ground. They rolled around painfully, going this way and that, before they finally stopped, laying on their sides and groaning in pain.
They looked up and tried to figure out where Snap was now. They could soon see what looked like a moving dot and they thought they could hear, just faintly, Snap calling out to them for help. Soon the two of them disappeared, leaving Rudy and Penny alone.
Rudy sat there, his thoughts moving rapidly through his head, the realization of what had happened dawning on him. He couldn't move. He could barely breathe. He was hardly aware of Penny looking at him worriedly. All Rudy coud think about was the fact that his friend had just been taken from him, ripped away from him and dragged off into the distance. And there was nothing that he could do about it. By the time he found the magic chalk or got more...
"Rudy... I-It'll be okay..." Penny whispered to him. Her voice was shaky and it was clear that she was trying to hide her own sorrows. "W-We'll find him, I'm sure. Let's not..."
Rudy turned to glare at her. He didn't know why she was trying to lie to him like this. She knew that it wasn't going to be that easy to get Snap back. And there's a chance that they might not be able to save him in time. They just couldn't...
Rudy could feel the sorrow overwhelming him, causing tears of guilt to stream rapidly down his face. He leaned against Penny, who held onto him, the two embracing each other, and sobbed.
sss
Shit... Oh fuck shit... Why did it have to turn out this way? Why did those stupid brats have to get i nhis way? If only he had been faster, he could have...
Skrawl let out a few pained hisses as he struggled to walk. That unscheduled flight had caused him to hit up against a few trees and thorny bushes, scraping and bruising up his body quite a bit. He was not terribly hurt. He imagined that it wouldn't take him long to be fine. But at the same time, he just... He wasn't going to be able to do much scheming for a while, that's for sure.
But what annoyed him the most about this loss is that he had lost his one chance at getting a really scary, intimidating ally. Sure, his Beanie Boys could do quite a bit of work, and they had some competence levels in of themselves. But they were also pretty goofy-looking and he realized that most of the zoners hardly took them seriously. This included those who should know better.
Realizing this, Skrawl thought that it was time to recruit someone else. In order for it to work, however, he needed a new zoner. A freshly made zoner, or at least a zoner not from around here, who hadn't yet been molded by these heathens of ChalkZone City. He needed to find a zoner who was big and dangerous...and hadn't actually heard about him. He knew that was going to be quite the challenge, but it would have been so rewarding if he had succeeded. He could only imagine how things would become if he were accompanied by a large, scary zoner that would send the zoners in such a fright that they would have no choice but to listen to him.
That isn't what ended up happening, though. Skrawl could feel his gut burning up inside of his stomach as he thought about what Rudy and Penny had done to him. They had decided to get in his way, to refuse to let him have any peace, and once again steal what was rightfully his. That zoner he caught was just some wild animal. It was something he could have easily trained. It was not like he was taking some sentient zoner and making them work for him. Seriously, who cares if he took some wild, violent animal and molded it into his image? Was that so wrong?
Of course, the stupid creators and their zoner pal, and most other zoners anyway, would have something else to say about that. They would do whatever it took to stop him. And while this meant that they took this threat seriously and that's what he wanted, at the same time, it was also infuriating as it made it a lot more difficult for him to obtain this goal.
Oh well, there wasn't much that he could do now. He would have to head back to his hideout and wait this out. He needed to recover a little before he made another attempt. He wouldn't try to capture that winged wolf again. It was probably hundreds of miles away at this point. He snorted heavily as he rubbed one of the deep bruises on his side. It was going to take at least a week before he would feel recovered enough to head out again, in search of a new zoner. Perhaps something easier to catch this time around.
He placed his hand over his eye and growled heavily. He coudln't believe what Penny had done to him. That stupid little girl... Once he got a new partner and he got a new scheme going on, she was going to be first on his list. And it would be a double whammy as well. By hurting her, he would also hurt Rudy and that pesky Snap. It was a win-win situation. He smirked at the thought.
He suddenly felt as though he was being watched. He froze in place, his head turning slowly, miss-matched eyes looking about as he felt something piercing through his very soul. He felt a cold chill rushing up and down through his body, which hunched instinctively like a child being scolded by a parent. Just what was going on here...?
Then he turned his head and he suddenly found his view filled with darkness and rows of pointed teeth.
