As she was being driven over to Rudy's house, Penny's mind whirled with thoughts of what she, Rudy, and Snap read the other day. She, like the others, had been filled with anxiety as they got closer to whenever Cosmo's behavior changed. She had, honestly, been expecting something a little gradual, a slow change that only becomes disturbing when the beginning and ends were compared. But the diary offered something completely different, and it took her by surprise. It ended up giving a stronger creepy vibe to the whole thing.

Penny remembered what Rudy had told her about Mr. Wilter's account of the past. He had said that Mr. Cosmo's corruption was slow than his own. While Rudy was taking over not long after using the black chalk, Cosmo took a couple of times before the black chalk took control of him. That is what they had been lead to believe this whole time. There was little reason why Mr. Wilter would lie to them, especially since they now knew the truth about him and his connection to ChalkZone. Why would he muddle up this one important fact? Why would he continue to hide things from them? They would have to talk to him as soon as possible.

The diary clearly shown that the change was not as gradual as they thought. It had been quick, just like it had been with Rudy. This not only meant that Rudy's reaction wasn't anything special, that it was pretty average and normal, but it also meant that there some inconsistencies with Wilter's story. Of course, it was possible that Wilter didn't really know Cosmo was corrupted until later on. He might not have understood that the black chalk had a hold of him, and only believed he was corrupted when he started acting out. Cosmo might have been a good enough actor to fool him.

But this Jenny person... She still had a hard time wrapping her mind around that. Mr. Wilter had never once brought her up, and neither did Biclops. The two of them made it sound as though Cosmo had been working alone, aided largely by his dangerous weaponry and winged wolf, Draow. Even the visions Biclops showed them never indicated he worked with anyone else. It was clear something was going on here. Either those two weren't aware of Jenny's involvement or they knew and were witholding that bit of information.

She didn't like the idea of believing that those two were holding back on them. It was uncomfortable believing that Wilter and Biclops had important information regarding what happened years ago, that Cosmo had a partner, and then never telling them about it. Was it because she hadn't gotten her memories back? Did Biclops and Wilter believe that Jenny was no longer a threat because she had been given amnesia? It was a possibility, but this only raised even more questions, and made the thing seem even stranger to her.

Both of them knew that Cosmo got his memories back. Wilter had been suspicious when Cosmo entered the classroom that day, and yet he ended up putting his guard down and dismissing Cosmo was a threat. He had later regretted this decision when it lead to the horrific events that happened three years ago. She would have thought that he had learned from this. He should have known that, if Cosmo could regain his memories, others might follow suit. He should have told them about Jenny being a black chalk user, and anyone else that he knew of. Yet he kept silent about it.

Admittingly, Penny was not very happy with Mr. Wilter, or Biclops for that matter. If they knew a crucial piece of information, such as Cosmo having a partner, they should have said something. It would have made things a lot easier and they could have better prepared themselves just in case Jenny did regain her memories. They could also have gotten an idea of what she was like back then to have a better understanding of what she might be like now, should the amnesia on her wear off. It would have saved them a lot of trouble.

Snap had proposed his idea of why it was kept secret. It didn't make them feel that much better, as it sounded a little selfish, no matter many times Snap reworded it. It did make sense, though, his idea. It would indeed explain why they never touched up on the subject of Jenny whenever they told them about what Cosmo had done in the past.

It was because they were afraid of her. They were so terrified that even just mentioning her name made them fill up with anxiety. Suddenly, Wilter's reaction, the way he acted, around Nurse Jenny all those years ago, made sense. She recalled the incident when Reggie had his leg stuck and when Nurse Jenny came over and said that she wanted to try 'the procedure'. Wilter looked visibly shaken. She recalled the look on his face, the way he ever so cautiously pushed the saw away, and how he just took off, putting space between her and him.

In fact, that whole time, Wilter had been keeping his distance, more or less, from Jenny. He would barely look in her direction. At the time, she had believed it was because he was too busy worrying about how to get Reggie out of the ground. She had imagined the man had a lot on his mind, and she could understand why. A child being stuck in the ground like Reggie was, regardless if it was on school grounds or not, was a very serious issue. She had assumed that Wilter was just working out details of how to free the large child.

But if he were afraid of Jenny, then his reactions made even more sense. And, thinking back, it did add a whole new level to the whole thing. Mr. Wilter had never been too enthusiastic about Nurse Jenny. He was never outright hostile towards her, but something with the way he behaved around her did seem strange. As kids, they just dismissed it, believing it to be nothing. Then again, as kids, they didn't know about the black chalk, or Mr. Wilter knowing about ChalkZone, or any of that stuff. And Wilter's terrified reaction of Reggie might also have been, in part, caused by the possibility of ChalkZone getting exposed.

It was nothing more than a shot in the dark. The whole thing with Wilter and Biclops being terrified of Jenny and all that. But if that were the case, it did make the situation that much more serious. They recalled how Biclops, over the years, never once talked about Cosmo. He had shown Rudy some of the damage caused by the artists corrupted by black chalk, even kid Cosmo, but never really went into details about it. The only time Biclops ever talked about Cosmo was when they had met him in the real world and asked Biclops about him. It wasn't out of willingness he told them; they had found out and he simply had no choice.

But for him to not mention Jenny, despite her involvement with Cosmo, that did suggest something. It was possible that Biclops and Wilter were both more afraid of Jenny then they were of Cosmo. That possibly meant one thing.

Jenny was worse than Cosmo.

The thought sent chills down her spine. She remembered the Bardot incident very clearly. Bardot had proven himself a lot worse than Cosmo very quickly, and kept proving it as time went on. The hybrid zoner was absolutely insane, doing things just for sick pleasure. The idea of having to go through something like that again, of facing someone like Cosmo, but worse, a second time... She didn't want to think about it.

But it was a possible reality that she and the others were going to have to deal with. Jenny might turn out to be a much worse threat than Cosmo. Their best hope was that she was at least not as nuts as Bardot, and better yet, that she won't regain her memories. The possibility was still out there, however. And they had to be prepared just in case that happened. Knowledge was power, as Barney would say. And that was definitely true in this case. The more they knew, the better prepared they'd be if the unthinkable were to happen.

She wished she could just get her mind off the whole thing and try to focus on having fun in ChalkZone. But that was not likely to happen. Their next trip into ChalkZone was not going to be anything particularly fun. After reading that one entry the other day, the first 'corrupted entry', they decided, after school today, they would go and speak to Biclops himself. They would confront him about Jenny and see if he can give them more information. He wouldn't be able to deny her existence when they show him the diary that Cosmo wrote.

She hoped that Biclops would be cooperative. She hoped that, if he is afraid of Jenny, that he would be able to manage his fear enough to talk to them about her. This information was definitely important. Biclops could tell them about how Jenny was like and anything she might have done that they needed to know. Maybe they could get him to talk about other things that he might have left out when he told them the story of what happened when Cosmo attacked ChalkZone. Was there anything else that he wasn't telling them?

She and Rudy had wanted to go into ChalkZone during the school hours today. Unfortunately, things did not work out that way. Mr. Wilter was out sick and they had a substitute. It was an odd choice for a substitute though. She and Rudy had no idea that one of the lunchladies, Ghadir she believed her name was, had enough knowledge and experience to be a teacher. It did feel rather strange, as her method of teaching was definitely different than Wilter. They don't really see Ghadir that much. She was one of the lunchladies that usually works in the back and very rarely is up front.

Ghadir stayed in the classroom at all times, including study hall, the time of the day before school officially ends that students had a chance to study and just relax. Mr. Wilter would usually leave, and due to his strict teaching methods, other students usually left. So she and Rudy had no problem going into ChalkZone at that time. Even if Wilter stayed, he'd let them go in and stand watch.

But with Ghadir, that whole dynamic had changed. She refused to leave the room, even to go to the bathroom, during study hall. No one else but her and Rudy were in the room, and they were just waiting for her to leave. She remembered how antsy they were feeling as it was getting close to going home. They waited and hoped that Ghadir would move, go somewhere, but that had never happened. True, they wouldn't have had to wait too long as they were going to be home soon anyway. But it did frustrate them that they couldn't pay a quick visit to ChalkZone all because of some bad luck.

She wasn't sure exactly what was wrong with Mr. Wilter, other than he was sick. Well that was what Principal Tyreek had told them when he stopped by the classroom to give them the news. While she, Rudy, and the other students waited for Mr. Wilter to come into the classroom, she realized that he was quite late to class, which didn't make a lot of sense. It wasn't like Wilter to be tardy like that. And when the principal came in, she knew that something had to be wrong.

Principal Tyreek hadn't gone into too much detail of what was wrong with Mr. Wilter. Just that he was sick and he had to stay home. He never game an approximate time of how long he'd be gone. She guessed it was probably just going to be for a few days. She supposed that was manageable. A few days with a substitute was not going to be too bad. They just had to stick to going to ChalkZone at home until Mr. Wilter came back. It wasn't like their access was that heavily restricted anyway.

It did seem a little odd that Mr. Wilter was out. Although she tried to dismiss it as nothing more than a case of the flu, something in the back of her mind was bothering her. It was pretty strange for Mr. Wilter to get the flu. Oh it wasn't like he never did. But he was a pretty healthy teacher, and rarely caught the flu at all. And he had been perfectly fine the other day, with no signs of oncoming illness or anything.

Must have been just bad luck or something. She felt bad for Wilter. Having the flu sucks. She had it a couple times growing up, and it never gets easier to handle. She made a mental note to herself to go visit him after their trip into ChalkZone. Rudy planned on coming with her. There was a chance Snap might also want to come with, so they planned on bringing the portal chalkboard. They would write something on it so that Snap could follow them throughout ChalkZone.

Before she knew it, her mother had arrived at Rudy's place. Her mother had some errands to run, so she wasn't able to stay. She told her that she would be back within two hours to pick her up. Penny made a mental note of that so she would be out of ChalkZone on time.

As they pulled up along the side of the street, she noticed something a little different. There was another car here. And she recognized immediately what it was. It seems Rudy's aunt Tilly had decided to come over for a visit. It must have been a surprise visit as Rudy never mentioned this before. She wondered why Tilly had decided to come over, if it was just a regular visit or if something was going on. But seeing Sophie happily playing outside, she had her doubts that it was anything serious. Sophie was old enough to know when something was wrong, and if Tilly had anything bad to say, Sophie's behavior would reflect that.

Her mom pressed down on the breaks and the yellow car came to a complete stop. Her mom unlocked the doors. She turned to her daughter and said, "See you later, Penny. Have fun! And remember, I'll be back in two hours to pick you up. I expect you to be out here waiting. So try not to lose track of time while you and Rudy are in ChalkZone, okay?"

"Okay, mom. I promise!" Penny said.

Her mom smiled. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on Penny's forehead. "Take care."

"I will." Penny climbed out of the car. She waved to her mom. "See ya." She shut the door and walked towards Rudy's house. She could hear her mom drive away, and soon the sound faded into nothingness.

When she entered Rudy's house, she was immediately greeted by a bunch of talking. The sound was coming from the kitchen. She made her way over and she saw Rudy sitting at the dining table with his parents and his aunt Tilly. She couldn't tell what they were talking about. All the talking was pretty muddled together. She took a few steps further into the kitchen. They hadn't taken notice of her yet, but instead of speaking up and interrupting them, she decided to listen.

It was a little hard, but soon she started to pick up some words.

"What? You can't be serious!" Rudy cried, his eyes widened. "Why can't Sophie go with you guys?"

"Rudy, we explained this to you before. The dinner tickets we won are at one of those restaurants that has a bar in it. And Sophie is too young to be able to go. We can't take her with." His dad said. "She has to say here with you."

"Well why can't one of you stay?" Rudy asked, narrowing his eyes a little.

His mom replied, "It's very hard to get into this restaurant. Plus, there's a game going on there where we could win some grand prize. We don't want to miss that opportunity."

"You will be fine with Sophie." Tilly said. She stood next to Rudy and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know how well you two get along. You can take her into ChalkZone with you. She loves it there."

Rudy's eyes furrowed. Penny thought he was disgusted with the idea at first. But that seemed silly, and she soon realized what the real reason was. Which Rudy voiced very quickly. "Penny, Snap, and I have some important business in ChalkZone. It's too risky to bring her with on this trip. I don't want her getting hurt."

"Oh..." Tilly seemed to understand. It looked like she was reconsidering going, but in the next breath, this was clearly not the case. "Well, just don't go into ChalkZone then."

Rudy's eyes widened at this. "What?!"

"You heard her." His mom said, raising a finger up towards the air. "If whatever you plan on doing in ChalkZone is too dangerous for Sophie to attend, then just don't go there until much later today."

"But..." Rudy started to say.

His father interrupted him. "No buts, young man! You can postpone your trip there until we get back. It won't kill you." His dad paused for a moment, biting his lip. He looked to the side and rubbed the back of his head. He turned back to Rudy and said in a gentler voice, "Look, I know that you are worried about this black chalk business. I understand that you just want to try to find some answers that we and your friends could not provide. But right now, all we are asking is that you watch over Sophie until we get back. You can wait a few hours, can't you?"

Rudy opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. It was like he was trying to think of some way to get his dad to change his mind. But nothing was coming into his head. Penny watched this, looking at Rudy sympathetically. She would be the same way in his shoes. His father did raise some valid points. She wouldn't mind postponing the trip. They just had to let Snap know about it as soon as possible.

Rudy gave a soft sigh. "Sure, dad. I understand..."

"Good..." His dad patted him on the back. "We'll try to be back as soon as we can."

"Yeah. We promise, we won't stay longer than necessary." Tilly said. She turned around as if to stop leaving. She then saw Penny and stopped in her tracks. "Oh! Penny!" She put a hand on her chest and took in a few quick breaths. "You startled me! How long have you been standing there?"

Penny felt a little awkward when all eyes now turned to her. Rudy looked at her in absolute shock. And Tilly and his parents didn't look any less surprised. She felt a little foolish for not speaking up sooner. She felt silly that all she did was stand around and listen in on their conversations. It wasn't intentional or anything. She just didn't want to interrupt their speech. She would feel a little jerkish if she had done that.

She took a step back, looking at them all in the eyes. She gave a nervous smile and waved at them. They waved back, but slower than usual. Had she really surprised them by soming here so suddenly? They knew she was coming over. Perhaps she shold have spoken up when she arrived. Maybe she should have made at least some noise so that they would know she was here. And now she did feel a bit like a jerk as she was standing there listening in on their conversation without them knowing about it. Maybe it would have been better if she waited outside with the playful Sophie.

Penny said, "Sorry. I just didn't want to barge in."

"That's quite all right." Mr. Tabootie said. "Just please, speak up next time. Don't be afraid to do so, okay?" Penny nodded her head at this. Mr. Tabootie gave a small smile. "That's good." He turned to his wife and Tilly. "Well, shall we get going now?"

Mrs. Tabootie nodded her head. "Yeah, we should get going before it gets too crowded there. I want to be able to get one of the best seats."

"Let me just say goodbye to Sophie and we can be on our way." Tilly walked out of the kitchen and headed out the door.

Rudy's parents walked up to him and gave him a hug. He hugged them back. This lasted for a few seconds and then they parted. His parents smiled down at him. Rudy did return the smile, but it was a little smaller than usual. It was clear his mind was filled with worry, and Penny couldn't blame him for that.

"We won't be long." Mr. Tabootie said. "We promise."

"Yeah I know." Rudy said, doing his best to maintain his smile. "I understand. I hope you guys have fun."

"Thanks. We will." Mrs. Tabootie said. "We hope you do, too." She kissed Rudy on the forehead. "See you later."

Rudy raised his hand and waved goodbye to his parents. "Bye!"

With that, his parents walked out of the door. The sound of the door shutting could be heard. Then, not long after, Penny and Rudy both heard the sound of the car being turned on. The rev of the engine sounded out, and soon the car pulled out of the drive way and sped off into the distance.

For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence in the room. Rudy and Penny did not speak a word to each other. Penny hadn't been expecting this kind of development today. It was kind of annoying. First, they couldn't go into ChalkZone during school because of the whole thing with Mr. Wilter being sick. And now Sophie was there, and they couldn't risk taking her to the Solar Pillars, as they do not want to inadvertantly put her in any danger. True, they could just use the magic chalk to protect her, or even give her a piece. But after seeing Rudy's reaction and reading the journal, she and Rudy both silently agreed it was not worth the risk.

She didn't really want to postpone the trip herself. This ChalkZone visit was really important. It was imperative that they get as much information as they could. Yet, at the same time, she understand that they could indeed wait. Nothing bad was going on, and there was no signs of any imminent danger. Sure, Jenny was probably a threat, but right now, she didn't have her memories. And, much to her knowledge, nobody else at their school came into contact with black chalk. Just Jenny. So there was probably nothing really to worry about.

She still wished they could go into ChalkZone now. That had been the plan when she came here, but that ended up being changed. If she had known that Rudy's parents and aunt were going to some fancy bar restaurant sooner, she and Rudy could have altered their plans to accomodate. This all seemed pretty sudden and she wondered why his folks didn't say anything to him until now. That didn't seem like them, unless it was sudden for them, too. Maybe they won something on the radio or whatever.

After a while of silence, she decided to break it. "Well I suppose we'll have to tell Snap to wait a little longer."

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah..." His voice was laced with disappointment. "Come on, let's go upstairs and give him the news before he has to wait for us too long."

Rudy and Penny walked up the steps. They headed into Rudy's bedroom and towards the large chalkboard. Rudy took out a piece of magic chalk and drew a portal. Once it opened, they were immediately greeted by Snap. The blue zoner poked his head and hands through the portal and gave his usual grin at them.

"Hiya, guys!"

"Hello, Snap." Rudy said in a somewhat defeated tone of voice.

Snap caught on to this quickly. His smile vanished and he furrowed his face with concern. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"We can't come into ChalkZone right now." Penny said.

"What? Why?" Snap asked. He sounded a little surprised, but he didn't seem upset. "Are you doing somewhere?"

Rudy shook his head. "No. My parents and aunt went out somewhere and they can't bring Sophie with. So they want me to babysit her until they get back. I don't want to risk taking her into ChalkZone today. I don't know if Solar Pillars is safe enough for her."

Penny spoke, "His folks said that, if we're worried about Sophie's safety, we should just postpone going into ChalkZone. Sorry, Snap, but we'll have to wait a couple of hours before we head in."

"Say no more!" Snap waved a dismissing hand at them. "I understand. Somethings you just can't control. I can wait."

"Thanks, Snap." Penny smiled at him.

"I still wish we could go in now. I want to find out more about this black chalk business, and more about that Solar Pillar place. There's something with that light, and I want to find out what it is. The longer I wait, the more nervous I get. There's something really wrong with that place. The more I sit here, the more I'm wondering. I find it hard to keep that place out of my head, you know? Something keeps telling me that, whatever Cosmo used that place for, it not only was an awful purpose, but it could be used again."

Penny and Snap looked at Rudy sympathetically. She understood why he was feeling this way. Although they could wait and it wasn't going to cause a problem, she could see how Rudy would feel uncomfortable with waiting. They had no idea what the Solar Pillars were, and they still needed to speak to Biclops regarding Jenny. They needed to find out more information so they could determine if there was any looming threat in the future.

If the incident with Bardot taught them one thing, it was that they couldn't take chances. They had thought they were through with Mr. Cosmo. They believed the threat was over. But they not only turned out to be so very wrong, but they nearly lost their lives to this one element about Cosmo that they had no clue about. Nothing was not worth knowing, especially in this case.

Snap cleared his throat, drawing the teenager's attention. "Well...if you really want to go, Bucko, I don't mind watching Sophie for you."

Rudy's eyes widened a little. "Are you sure, Snap? I don't want to force you if you don't want to."

Snap smiled at him. "It's no trouble at all, Rudy! I'll keep an eye on Sophie while you two go into ChalkZone. She and I will just play games or something in this room while we wait. She won't be leaving my sights."

Penny smiled at this. It was really sweet of Snap to offer babysitting Sophie for them. With him keeping an eye on her, that did free time for her and Rudy to go into ChalkZone. Snap was good with watching Sophie. It wasn't like this would be the first time. He could be trusted with her, and she knew he would keep her out of trouble. It wasn't that Sophie didn't know any better, but she was a bit more adventurous than Rudy was at that age, and she might wander too far. Having Snap around would keep her in the house. She did get along well with him.

She could hear the door opening up and she knew it was Sophie. She was probably going to head upstairs soon as she knew that was where she and Rudy usually hung out when she came over here. And sure enough, she could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. It didn't take long for the eleven year old to come through the door, smiling at them enthusiastically.

"When are we going into ChalkZone?" Sophie asked, a big grin on her face.

"Sorry, Sophie, but you can't go in this time." Rudy said to his little cousin. "You have to stay here."

"What?" Sophie looked disappointed. "Why?"

"Rudy and I have some important business in ChalkZone and it might be a little too dangerous for you." Penny explained.

"You could just give me some magic chalk and..." Sophie started to say.

Penny cut her off. "Sorry, but you remember what your mom said. We can't leave you alone in ChalkZone. That was part of the deal, remember? You have to stay with us when you're in ChalkZone. And today, we have to go somewhere that's too dangerous for you."

"We don't want you getting hurt, Sophie." Rudy said, putting a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "We won't be long, though. We promise. In the meantime," He gestured to the blue zoner. "Snap has agreed to stay with you until we get back. That'll be fun, right? You and Snap always seem to have a lot of fun together."

"Yeah..." Sophie said. She didn't sound to excited. She must have been really looking forward to going into ChalkZone right now. Rudy and Penny felt bad, but they weren't going to back out on their word. Sophie gave the best smile that she could. "I understand."

Snap climbed out of the portal. He walked over to Sophie and stood next to her. He turned and faced Rudy and Penny. "I hope you two find something."

"Yeah, we do too." Rudy said.

He and Penny headed towards the portal. Rudy took the small bag of magic chalk he had. He put it in his pocket as Penny climbed through the portal first. Then Rudy went in second. He turned to Snap and Sophie and he and Penny waved to them.

"See ya!" Snap called out.

"Come back soon!" Sophie said.

"Don't worry. We will." Penny said.

With that, Rudy and Penny headed further into ChalkZone, leaving Snap and Sophie alone.

sss

Sophie was disappointed that she couldn't go into ChalkZone. Everytime she comes over to Rudy's place, that was one of the first things she wanted to do. She wanted to go aroun ChalkZone and have fun. She always looked forward to it. She didn't really understand why her mother insisted she always have a chaperone around, though. Rudy and Penny were younger than her when they started going to ChalkZone and they could go on their own. Then again, their parents didn't know about ChalkZone at the time.

Still, she couldn't help but find it unfair. She wished that her mom would see reason. There was nothing so terrible about ChalkZone that she couldn't go alone. Most of the zoners were placid and docile. They wouldn't try to harm her. If anything, they'd probably just strike a friendly conversation with her. She was actually safer wandering the streets of ChalkZone than the streets of the real world. She could have gone into ChalkZone and just stick to familiar territory and wait for Rudy and Penny to come get her. She didn't see anything wrong with that.

But she didn't know how to explain herself. The disappointment came so suddenly. It was very rare that she wasn't allowed into ChalkZone when she came over. Most of the time, it was a guarantee. So this did genuinely surprise her. She had little time to come up with a counterpoint. All she could do was nod and say she understood the need of keeping her out of ChalkZone for now. She might have said it, but it didn't indicate she actually meant it. She didn't get why it was too dangerous for her. If it was, she could just use magic chalk, right?

Yeah, true her mom doesn't want her to be alone in ChalkZone. But that was what the magic chalk was for. She could use it to defend herself. She was much better at handling herself in ChalkZone than she was when she was two years old. Her drawing skills had vastly improved since then. She had much of Rudy's talent when he was her age. She could handle her own.

Now she was stuck in the house with Snap. Not that she didn't like Snap. She loved him. She enjoyed hanging out with him and playing games. She just wished they could do it in ChalkZone. Games there were always so much more fun and inventive. She didn't want to just lay around the house all day, waiting for her mother to come pick her up. She wanted to head into ChalkZone. Maybe if she spoke to Snap, she could convince him to let her go in. They could just hang around near the portal or something and not go far. And when they hear Rudy and Penny coming back, they could simply climb out of the portal and act like nothing happened.

She walked over to Snap. The zoner was laying on his back on the couch. They had recently finished playing a few games of checkers. It was pretty fun and they made a few jokes while playing it. But they soon had enough of playing and decided to turn on the television. Right now, some old cartoon was playing and Snap was fascinated by it. His eyes were glued to the screen.

Sophie used to like this cartoon when she was younger. She grew out of it, though, and there were other cartoons that got her interest. She understood why Snap would be interested in the cartoon, though. He was pretty much a drawing himself and 2D cartoons like the one playing now were also just a series of drawings that looked like they were alive and moving. While Snap was no stranger to it, that didn't stop him from enjoying cartoons when he came over to visit.

Snap took notice of her and broke his gaze from the television. "Sophie? What is it?"

"Snap, do you think we can go into ChalkZone anyway?" Sophie asked, her arms folded behind her back. "I mean, a quick visit couldn't hurt, right?"

Snap shook his head. "No can do, Sophie. I promised Rudy that I'd keep an eye on you. We can wait here."

"But..." Sophie searched for something that might change his mind. "What if you get thirsty? You can't drink anything there."

Snap waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine for a few hours." He gestured for Sophie to sit down. "Now come on, let's enjoy this cartoon together. You used to watch it, didn't you?"

Sophie nodded her head. "Yeah, I did." She said in a defeated tone of voice.

"Don't be like that." Snap said. "You can go into ChalkZone next time. It's not the end of the world."

She knew that he was right. She knew that she could just wait until next time to go. She had been to ChalkZone just a couple days ago, so it wasn't like she hadn't been there in forever. But she still couldn't conceal her disappointment. She still really wanted to go, and it still felt unfair to her that she had to be forced to say in the house. Why couldn't Snap see reason? A quick visit couldn't possibly hurt that much, could it?

But she ran out of things she could try to say to Snap. It was clear that the zoner was not going to go back on his word. He was very loyal to Rudy and Penny, and if he said he was going to do something, he would. Rudy and Penny entrusted him to keep her in the house, and that was exactly what he was going to do. There was nothing she could say to convince him otherwise. She could come up with the best reason, and Snap still wouldn't budge. It was best to just stop trying to convince him and try to enjoy the cartoon.

As she sat down, she felt something weird against her hip. She shifted herself, she still felt that strange sensation. She narrowed her eyes and looked down. Just what could be causing that feeling? She raised herself up and moved her hand under her leg. She grabbed something small and hard. She pulled it out. Her eyes widened widened when she realized what it was.

A piece of magic chalk... She stared at it in shock. How did it get here? Thinking back, she did recall Rudy bumping into the portal edge. That must have knocked a piece out and it, somehow, got down here. Maybe she and Snap kicked it by mistake. Either way, she had a piece of magic chalk now. A full stick, too, ready to be put to good use.

"Sophie..."

Sophie looked over at Snap. His eyes were wide and he was pressing his hands against the couch tenatively. He moved a little closer to her. His eyes were glued on the magic chalk she now held in her hand.

"Please give that chalk to me. You can't go into ChalkZone today. Please, just hand it over." Snap said gently, reaching his hand out towards her.

Sophie stared at him. Her better judgment told her that she should do as he says and hand it over. But her other side was telling her not to. She wanted to prove to the others that she could handle herself just fine in ChalkZone. This was her chance to prove it. She could prove them all wrong. She'd escape into ChalkZone and stay there, alone, until Rudy and Penny come back. She would prove to them that she could handle being alone in ChalkZone now. There was no reason why they had to keep chaperoning her like they have been.

Snap moved closer to her, his body tensed up like he was about to pounce. She narrowed her eyes at him. She was not going to let him take the chalk away from her. She was not going to let him ruin what was possibly her only chance to prove her worth to the others. Who knows when she would get another opportunity like this?

Without saying a word, she jumped from the couch and raced towards the door.

"Sophie! Wait!" Snap cried as he stumbled from the couch to chase after her. "Come back!"

But Sophie ignored him. She rushed out of the house door and onto the sidewalk. She stopped and was about to draw a portal, but there were two problems. The first one was that it was too out in the open. And the other was that Snap was going to catch up to her too fast. She knew of a more shaded area where she could draw the portal. So she bolted down that way before Snap could get out of the house. She could hear the door open behind her and she could hear him shouting at her to come back, but she ignored him.

She continued to run down the street until she found that spot she was looking for. Further down the road here, there was a large tree that provided a lot of shade. It obscured a lot of the neighbor's vision of the spot, reducing the amount of people that would see what was going on. She looked behind her and she saw Snap coming towards her. She narrowed her eyes in determination and she lowered herself to the ground. There wasn't much time to pull this off. She pressed the magic chalk onto the ground, preparing to draw with it.

Suddenly, she heard some heavy footsteps coming in her direction. And it was coming from the opposite direction as Snap. She turned her head and looked up. It was a man of some kind. She didn't recognize who it was. She had never seen him before. She wondered what he could want. She felt a tinge of apprehension as he took position just a couple feet in front of her.

"That's some pretty chalk there." The man said. His voice sounded friendly. She lowered himself and reached his hand out. "May I take a look at it?"

Regardless of his intentions, there was no way that Sophie was just going to hand it over. She had been warned of the dangers of exposing ChalkZone. Rudy and Penny couldn't stress enough how vitally important it was that she give no one the magic chalk. She didn't care if this man just wanted draw a pretty pony or something. She was not letting him have the magic chalk.

She narrowed her eyes and she pulled her hand away. "No. Sorry, but you can't use this chalk."

The man tilted his head in confusion. "Oh? And why not?"

"Because it's..." Sophie tried to think of some kind of excuse to give this man. She wondered how Rudy and Penny had been able to do this all this time. Coming up with excuses was hard. When she thought she figured out something, she said, "It was a gift.. I'm kind of sentimental about it..." Not the best reason, but hopefully it'll be enough.

"I see..." The man said. "Well then, I..."

"Sophie!" Snap called out. He stopped next to her. He put his hands on his knees and panted. "You shouldn't have run out like that! I..." He paused when he noticed the strange man. "Oh, hello. Who might you be?"

"I am Tyreek." The man said.

Snap's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, you're the principal from the school Rudy and Penny go to!"

Tyreek's eyes flashed at this. He tilted his head in slight curiosity. "Oh?" He asked. "Do you know them?"

Snap nodded his head. "Yeah. They're my best friends."

"That's very interesting." Tyreek then turned his gaze towards the little girl. "Are you his friend, too?"

Sophie nodded her head. "Yeah. Well he's my cousin, too."

Tyreek narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. "What are you two doing way out here? Shouldn't you be back home with them?" He made a gesture with his head. "It's not a good idea for you two little ones to be out here unattended."

Sophie narrowed her eyes. Another doubter? She wanted to retort back to him, but she thought better of it. She didn't know this principal that well and, for all she knew, he might use her retort as a way to punish Rudy. She had known principals in the past that were jerks like that. So instead, she focused on coming up with a reason for why she and Snap were over here.

"They're planning a surprise for me." Sophie said. She gestured to Snap. "He's here to accompany me while I wait. We have to go back in a few minutes."

"Oh, well in that case, I should be going soon too." Tyreek said, giving them a smile. He turned and started to walk away. Then he stopped in his tracks. He raised a finger as if he just remembered something. He looked back at the two and walked closer. "Are you sure I can't see that chalk?"

Snap looked shocked at this. "Why would you want to use that nasty old chalk anyway?"

Tyreek chuckled at this. "I like the way it sparkles. I never seen chalk do that before." He took another step towards them. "I just want to try it out. It won't be long. And I'll give it right back. I promise. I just want to see what the lines look like. They must be beautiful."

"I don't think that's such a good idea..." Snap said. He and Sophie took a few steps back from the man. "We have to get going now anyway. Rudy and Penny are expecting us." He grabbed Sophie's hand and tugged on her. "Come on, let's get going. They are probably done with the surprise by now."

"Yeah..." Sophie said. She turned to Tyreek and waved to him. "Sorry. Maybe I'll show you next time!"

Suddenly, Tyreek rushed in front of them. The motion was so unexpected that Sophie and Snap nearly tripped over themselves coming to a stop. Sophie stared at the man in shock, and Snap was no less surprised. Just what was this guy's deal? Why wouldn't he leave them alone? She began to get an uncomfortable vibe with this guy. The way he keeps trying to go for the magic chalk... A part of her began to wonder...did this guy know about it...?

She felt unsafe around this guy now. Snap also seemed to catch on that this guy was probably up to something. He put his arms out in front of her protectively. He didn't do anything to indicate he wanted to fight, but he made it very clear that the man was not to come a step closer.

"What is your problem?" Snap asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Problem? I don't have a problem." Tyreek said, holding out his hand in a gesture. "What is your problem?"

"I don't like the way you're trying to keep us here. We have to get back to Rudy's place. He's expecting us any time now." Snap said. "I know you just want to see the chalk, but you can't right now. You might get another chance later. But right now, no." He moved a little back, gently pressing his arm against Sophie to make her move back as well. "So please just let us go now."

Tyreek gave a smile. Snap and Sophie shuddered at it. It was a disturbing smile. It wasn't really scary or anything. It was just unsettling. He took a step towards them, his arms folded behind his back. He lowered his head a little and said, "Oh I understand. But I'm afraid there's going to be a little change in your schedule..."

Suddenly, Tyreek reached out and grabbed Snap by his scarf and raised him above the ground. The movement was so sudden that Snap gagged. He attempted to free himself.

"What's the big idea?!" Snap cried.

Sophie looked in in horror as Tyreek pulled out a large rock. The zoner's eyes widened in terror as the man pulled the rock back and then slammed it as hard as he could against the side of his skull. Sophie's body trembled as Snap fell limp in the man's arms. He then looked down at her, the creepy smile broadening. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.

"If you don't wish your friend to be harmed..." Tyreek said calmly as he pressed the knife against Snap's vulnerable throat. "...come with me."

"I...I..." Sophie said, her voice shaking from fright. She stared at Snap's unconscious body, her eyes tracing along the knife that was going to slice his throat open if she didn't obey. "Please..."

Tyreek narrowed his eyes and he pressed the knife further against Snap's neck. "If you want him to be safe, just come with me."

Sophie's heart pounded against her chest. She should have just stayed back at the house. She shouldn't have run off out here. Why did she have to try to prove herself? Why did she rush out and do something so foolish? And now, because of her, she and Snap were both in danger. And there was nothing she can do about it. She didn't want Snap to get hurt. It wouldn't be fair. He didn't deserve that. She wanted him to be safe. She wanted the man to leave him alone.

There was only one thing she could do. There was only one way she thought of that would ensure that he would be fine...or so she hoped. She had no idea what this man was up to. She would have just run off away from him to get help, but he was holding Snap hostage. She couldn't leave him. She didn't want him getting hurt. The only way to help him...was if she complied with what this man said.

Reluctantly, she took a couple steps towards him, her head lowered in defeat. "Please..just..just don't hurt him..." She looked up at him. Tears formed in her eyes. "I'll come quietly with you..if you don't hurt him..."

Tyreek gave Snap's unconscious body a quick, hard shake. "Don't worry. He isn't the one we are interested in."

"We?" Sophie's eyes widened at that.

"You'll understand more when I take you there. Now..." Tyreek turned around and made a motion with his head. "Come along. They're waiting for us." He paused, then he turned to give Sophie a sideways glance. "And don't be trying to call for help. If anyone asks, say I found your friend injured and we are on the way to get him help. If you try to scream or run, I will slash his throat open. Do you understand me?"

A few tears strolled down Sophie's cheeks as she nodded her head. "Y-Yes sir..."

Tyreek smiled maniacally at this. "Good girl.." He turned and began to walk down the street. "Now come along. They're waiting for us. Well me, but they won't mind a couple of visitors."

Sophie gulped. "O-Okay..."

With that, Sophie reluctantly followed Tyreek. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this mess. She wished she had just stayed home. Yet she decided to be defiant and come out here. And now, both she and Snap were in danger, and Rudy and Penny weren't going to know where they were. Neither would her mom, her aunt or uncle, or Penny's mom. None of them will know, and all because she had to try to prove her independence.

Sometimes, she was a little too impulsive for her own good. Now, it might cost her more than she could know. As she followed Tyreek, doing exactly what he instructed her to do out of fear of Snap getting injured, she silently hoped that Rudy and Penny would find out what happened. She hoped and prayed that they'd be able to find them in time. But there was a fear swelling up inside of her, and she couldn't ignore it.

What if they don't find out in time?