Rudy woke up to the sound of low whimpering. Something was moving against him. He opened up his eyes, his surroundings dark and blurry at first. He rubbed his eyes and looked down next to him. He soon saw what was making all that noise and movement.

It was Snap. He had rolled onto his stomach during the night, his head facing towards the ladder. His body was shaking like a leaf. He could hear more low cries coming from his friend. Moving over a little, he could see that Snap, though still asleep, was crying. It looked like he had been crying for a while. His face was stained red and he could see the shines from where his tears kept falling.

His heart tugged as he heard Snap start to talk in his sleep. Whispers and whines intermixed with his words, making it all the sadder to watch.

"N-No...please..." Snap whimpered. "Don't come near me..."

Rudy looked at his friend sympathetically. He was having a nightmare, poor guy. Rudy put his hand on the back of Snap's head and started to stroke it gently in an attempt to comfort him. His touch, however, had the opposite effect. Snap started to kick his legs a little, like he was trying to run away.

"Don't touch me! Please! I don't want this!" Snap started to cry loudly, more sobs escaping his throat.

Rudy bit his lip. Seeing his friend suffer under a nightmare was a terrible feeling. He had to calm him down somehow. Ignoring Snap's increased struggling, Rudy moved closer to his friend and put his arm around him. He could feel Snap's trembling body against him. His fingers touched a wet spot from where Snap's tears had fallen down. He held onto Snap firmly but gently, trying his best to calm down his frightened friend.

"No!" Snap cried in his sleep.

"Sh sh sh...It's okay Snap.." Rudy whispered gently. "It's okay. You're safe. It's me, Rudy."

Snap continued to cry, trying to toss and turn in the bed like he was going to be dragged away. This prompted Rudy to pull him even tighter, still being careful not to hurt him.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm your friend, Snap. It's me, Rudy... It's okay..." Rudy said to his friend softly. He laid his head on Snap's back, his cheek against Snap's head. "Calm down...calm down..."

Snap started to calm down a little. His crying slowed down. His whimpers started to die down. His body wasn't shaking as hard. He was still very frightened and his words continued to be mumbled. There was just as much fear mustered in those words as they were before, tugging at Rudy's heartstrings.

"Please let me go..." Snap whimpered as his shaking grew a tad bit stronger, regaining some of its strength. "Please...I haven't done anything to you...Why are you doing this to me? Why..?"

"Shhhh..." Rudy whispered in Snap's ear. "Please calm down, Snap. You're safe..." He moved his head back and then pressed his cheek against Snap's. He pulled him even closer. "Don't worry. You're safe."

Slowly, Snap calmed down some more. Rudy felt his body slowly stop shaking, becoming relaxed. His crying went on for a little while longer, but soon that stopped as well. Rudy stared at his friend worriedly. That must have been one bad nightmare. Poor guy. He wasn't surprised he had a nightmare. Mint had scared him so much... At least he calmed down now.

Keeping his head against Snap's, Rudy closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

sss

Mint wished it was the weekend already. But he still had to wait. There were still a few days left in the week before the weekend would be here. He really wanted it to be Friday evening because that meant he had Saturday and Sunday to play that game. It was so exciting and he was happy to go any chance he got. It was frustrating for him to have to wait until a couple times during the day to go.

He wanted to go there now. But he could not. He had to get dressed for school and his mom and dad wanted to talk to him about going on a trip later on. A couple months or something. He didn't know why they couldn't just wait, but then again, they always liked being prepared. So he guessed he shouldn't be surprised they wanted to talk to him now. This meant that he would not be able to enter the game until later on today during recess at school. Recess didn't give him a lot of time; but it was enough to meet up with his NPC guide and get instructions on what to do next.

He had enjoyed his last mission. He had wanted to see some destruction more up close and personal. And seeing it, as Ripclaw tore through Happy Face Valley, brought a sense of wonder and joy to him. It was like buying a new video game with the latest features and just being blown away by what it could do. The destruction he had witnessed yesterday evening, it was so realistic...so incredible. He had no idea how the programmers managed to make the game seem so real, how they managed to make the buildings crumble and fall apart much like they would if they were real.

And the happyfaces...despite being just preprogrammed data, he thought they were pretty cool. The way that the one happyface that tried to stop Ripclaw showed that their programming was more dynamic. Their reactions weren't static. They weren't simple generic responses he had come to expect from video games. They were lively, variant. It was truly amusing to see them react like they did to their homes being destroyed. Not because he genuinely found it funny, but because he couldn't believe the level of detail and thought put into this game. It was amazing.

On some level, he felt guilty about it. He didn't know why. It was just a game. None of it was real. Yet he could not shake off a small pang in his chest. There was a tiny bit of him that did feel bad about destroying their homes, despite the fact that they can always just be rebuilt. He tried to shake the doubt form his head. It was just a game. He had to keep telling himself that. It was nothing more than data and numbers put together to create a virtual simulation. None of it was real.

His mind drifted to Rudy. He was impressed that he was getting a little better. He lasted longer this time around. That was good. It meant that Rudy could be a real challenge. It would be boring if his only opponents in the game weren't able to keep up with him. He was new anyway. Shouldn't Rudy have the advantage? Why had he been able to beat Rudy three times in a row without having nearly as much experience?

He wondered if Rudy was holding back on him. No...that wasn't possible. The deluded child really thinks he's protecting real people. If he was determined to do that, he would not go easy on him. He would fight with all his might to get him out of the game. His other thought is that Rudy just wasn't used to fighting against someone like him. Yeah that might be it...

Skrawl did say this game was still in beta. Maybe Rudy and Penny were the first ones to get here and since they were on the same team, or they just decided to join forces, they did not have any, or at least very little, experience against fighting against another player. They were used to fighting against the AIs only. That would explain why Rudy was having a hard time against him despite having more experience. He was not used to fighting against another human player. He was not used to have to think dynamically with someone else.

He was certain that Rudy could, at some point, do even better. He seemed like a bright enough kid to be able to do that. He hoped he would get better. He would feel bad if he kept wiping the floor with Rudy without the boy being able to fight back. Yeah, he was harsh on him during their battles, even taking his magic chalk. But he was only like that because he was playing the role of the bad guy. And Skrawl did tell him that to win each round, he had to take the magic chalk from Rudy. And only from Rudy; he did not mention anything regarding Penny.

Mint wondered if Penny would even be a challenge for him. He didn't doubt that she could draw. Anyone could; they just take a pencil or pen and scribble lines on paper. It was how well they could form lines into shapes and creatures and objects that counted. He hadn't seen Penny do much. She probably isn't even worth fighting. Yeah, she probably isn't. He'd keep his attention on Rudy.

He did feel bad, on some level on how he had treated Rudy in the game. Yeah, it was just acting. Yeah he was playing up the role of the villain, so he had to act pretty vicious. And it wasn't real. Despite Rudy and Penny's delusions, it wasn't real, so it wasn't like they were in any real danger there. He could stab Rudy through the chest if he wanted to, and he would still be fine. It might look bad, but that was the worst that could happen. Not like he would actually do that, but still.

But he still couldn't help but feel somewhat bad about what he said and did to him. He was so condenscending to the boy. He had been pretty mean to him, calling him a failure and what not. And what made it bad is that...Mint kinda meant what he said. On some level. He was getting frustrated and disappointed with Rudy that, in that moment, he was angry at enough to say something like that. He didn't feel Rudy was putting his best in it, in that second. He thought Rudy was going to be an excellent opponent, but so far, he did nothing but disappoint. Yet...perhaps he shouldn't have been quite so mean to him.

And stomping on his hand like that, deliberately hurting him... Even though it was all fake, seeing Rudy react like he was in genuine pain did make him feel a pang in his stomach. It was a neat game feature. He had never seen a game incorporate pain simulation so well. It would indeed be useful to help him win more rounds against Rudy. But perhaps he should hold off a bit. Perhaps he shouldn't abuse that game feature too much. It was unsettling, deep down, for him to see another human in pain, even if it were just brief.

It wasn't like how it was with Snap. With that blue boy, he couldn't really feel guilt about what he did to him. He was just data cobbled together to look like a person. He knew he wasn't real. He knew that Snap could not really feel any emotions or any pain. And any appearance of such was nothing more than a mere simulation. Snap was not really scared; the data that controlled him just made it seem like he was.

With Rudy, he knew he was real. He met him in the real world before. He and Penny sought him out. He spoke to them. He had been mean to them there, too. But that was just to get them to fight harder, especially Rudy. He wanted them put it their all in the game so there would be a challenge. He had heard Rudy start to come after him and he realized he may have gone a little too far. Then again, it wasn't his fault that the two deluded themselves so much that they believe that ChalkZone was real, even after they left the game. There was no harm in having a little fun with them, was here?

Despite the small feelings of guilt he experienced with his treatment of Rudy, Mint didn't see much of a reason to alter his behavior. Rudy was already used to him acting like a jerk, and a part of it did feel a little good. For once, no one was forcing him to do something he did not want. For once, he was more in control of his choices, going down the path that he wanted to, not one that someone set up for him. Yeah he still took orders from Skrawl, but he was an AI programmed to know how to have fun. Any assignment he gave him so far, it had been quite entertaining.

And who knows? Maybe Rudy will surprise him next time. He did surprise him with that lasso trick of his. Simple, yet effective. It was the first time he felt that the boy could be a challenge. So perhaps continuing to be mean to him would be the best way to make him bring out his best. And if he continued to believe that ChalkZone was real, he deserved a few taunts once in a while, didn't he? Rudy and Penny should both know better than to take a game that seriously, after all.

He thought about Snap. It had been fun when he boxed him in the corner like that. And he had enjoyed maintaining control over him. It was incredible how the AI responded appropriately, and he got Snap to do what he wanted. He had thought about hurting him when he forced him on his knees, but thought better of it. He was only there to send a message, not damage their NPC guide. Still, it was amusing to see how realistic the fear Snap displayed was. Even crying... Had he been real, he would have felt bad about what he was doing. He was glad that he was just an AI.

He hoped he would see Snap again in the next confrontation. He still wanted to have another shot at him. He still wanted to see what his data looked like when he shot him. Or cut him, or whatever he decided to do with the NPC guide. He did feel bad about the idea of deleting Snap since it meant that Rudy and Penny might not have access to the game anymore. But if they don't start putting up a challenge, it wasn't like there would be much of a difference with them gone.

Mint looked at the time. It was getting close to get ready for the bus. And his parents still wanted to talk to him. He looked at the portal one last time, disappointed that he couldn't go in and meet with Skrawl real quick. Oh well. A little time away from the game wouldn't hurt. He will be able to go into it later.

"Mint!" He heard his dad call out. "Come down here! We need talk to you!"

"Coming!" Mint shouted back. He quickly picked up his things and headed out of his room.

sss

Rudy did feel bad about having to wake up Snap. He would have liked to let his friend sleep with him longer. But his parents were awake and his mom had come in to wake him up. He was relieved that she did not notice Snap. It was a very close call and if she had see him, he would have had to find some way to explain his presence.

He had no choice but to wake up his friend. Snap looked like he was having a good night's sleep, especially after that horrible nightmare that plagued him for a while. He looked so peaceful and calm as he slept. It was hard for Rudy to have to wake him up. But with his parents about, he couldn't risk him being seen. He got his friend up and took him down towards the portal. He told Snap that Penny was coming over soon and they would make a quick visit to him before they headed off to school.

There wasn't a whole lot of time in the morning. A little, just enough to give Snap a heads up on what they're going to do. Penny wanted to talk to him a little about what happened in Happy Face Valley. She said she had an idea of what was going on, but she wanted to talk to him in person about it.

He didn't have to wait too long for his friend. About half an hour before it was time for them to go to school, Penny had arrived at his house. She went upstairs to greet him. He opened the door, letting her in, and then shut it. He wished he had a lock on his door to prevent his parents from walking in on their conversation. But with them currently so busy, he had doubts that they would come into his room any time soon.

He and Penny sat down on the ledge by his window. They took a moment to look outside, seeing the people walking on the streets, the wind blowing through the trees, the bright sun shining through. For a moment, they reflected on all that has happened recently. It was now day four and they still hadn't found a way to get Mint out of ChalkZone. Who knows how long it would be before they finally get him out...how knows what kind of destruction would be laid upon ChalkZone before Mint is finally stopped.

Rudy was glad that he was able to redraw at least some homes for Happy Face Valley. It had taken a while, and he had to put in a lot of effort. But he managed to draw about fifteen houses before he had to leave. There was still more he had to draw, but at least, for now, it would do and Happy Face Valley no longer looked completely like a wreck.

"How is your hand?" Penny asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Rudy glanced down at his left hand. There was a light bruise there. It hurt him still, but not as bad as it was before. He rubbed his right hand over it gently, remembering how much it had hurt when Mint stomped his foot on it.

"It's fine. I put some ice on it when I came back." Rudy said, his eyes still on his head. "I told my parents that I hurt my hand when trying to arrange some things in my room. It's such a mild bruise that they did believe me." He looked over at Penny. "I am glad that the kick to my stomach and chin didn't leave a bruise as well. I don't know how I would have been able to explain those on such short notice."

Penny nodded her head. "I'm sure you would have thought of something."

"Yeah...perhaps." Rudy said.

Penny looked down at his left foot. "And your foot? How...bad is it?"

Rudy looked down at his foot. He reached down and pulled off his shoe and set it down. Then came his sock. He lifted up his foot for Penny to see. He heard her gasp in shock. That was his reaction to when he saw how bad the wound looked when he first took a glance.

There was a deep red mark on his heel, covering part of the bottom of his sole. It spread from about half an inch along the back of his foot where his achilles tendon was to about half an inch under his sole. In about the center of the foot, there was a slightly brighter area where the skin looked really raw. Touching it even just lightly stung him. And the rest of the mark was painful as well. There was also a bit of bright red spotting, indicating where there had been a little bit of bleeding.

"It's hard to walk without limping." Rudy said softly.

"Oh Rudy..." Penny whispered.

"It's okay. It doesn't hurt as much as it looks." Rudy said, putting on his best smile. "And I did find find an explanation my parents found satisfying for what happened."

"What did you tell them?" Penny asked.

"I stepped on a tack." Rudy replied.

Penny winced at that. "I hate tacks..."

"Yeah, me too..." Rudy nodded slowly. He paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. He turned to Penny. "So..what were your ideas regarding Happy Face Valley?"

Penny leaned back. She looked at Rudy and said, "I think I figured out what Mint had been doing all along." Rudy leaned in a little closer, eager to hear what her thoughts were. "I think he was just disracting you."

Rudy's eyes widened at this. "Distracting me...?"

Penny nodded solemnly. "Him not trying to take anything, or dig anything up didn't add up. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only logical conclusion I could come to..." She hesitated for a moment. She looked a little apprehensive." ...was if his whole role there was just to keep you busy... Maybe the only reason he was causing all that destruction was to draw your attention to him and keep you from finding Skrawl."

Rudy's eyes filled with horror. It was something he had considered himself. He had thought that maybe the whole thing was a distraction. But hearing from Penny, he realized...that had to have been it. It made sense. Mint attacking such an innocent place, one that had nothing to do with the plan...all just to keep him far away from Skrawl. The realization sent shudders down his spine.

"I had the same reaction." Penny looked at him sympathetically. She turned her gaze downward. "It was...hard for me to come to that conclusion. The idea of Skrawl now using distractions is..unsettling. It means we are forced into a...a.. sadistic choice.. We can either go after Skrawl and stop him, or we go after Mint and stop him from hurting innocents, like he had with Happy Face Valley."

"And either way, we lose." Rudy said, his voice shaky. "We either let Skrawl get more of those artifacts, which he could use to do who knows what to ChalkZone and its citizens... Or we let Mint get away with hurting, possibly killing, so many people, all for what he thinks is just a game..."

Penny nodded her head solemnly. "Yeah..I'm afraid so.."

Rudy wasn't sure what he was going to do. If Mint really was just distracting him, and that was most likely the case, how was he going to deal with it? He needed to figure out something he could do... He had to come up with a plan and fast. If he allows Skrawl to continue stealing artifacts, things would get so much worse. But he couldn't just abandon zoners in need. A lot of them could get in trouble if Mint was allowed to roam free.

His head started to hurt. He clutched it, trying to fight off the headache that was forming. Penny looked at him sympathetically. Her hand was on his shoulder. Rudy's mind swirled with many thoughts. It was going to be so hard to choose what move to make next time. There had to be something he could do. Someway to stop Skrawl and protect the zoners... Something, anything...

And how many artifacts had Skrawl managed to take? He hadn't seen the jellybean for a day. He was being distracted by Mint... Skrawl might have gathered nearly all of them for all he knew. Possibly even all... He could step into ChalkZone today and it could be taken over by the crazed jellybean. And even if Skrawl only managed to get one more artifact..he still had three. And how many did Snap say there were? Twelve he thought? If that were the case, there were nine more artifacts and, at this rate, Skrawl would get them in, at most, nine days. Little over a week...

He had to stop Mint. That was the only way he could prevent Skrawl from doing a lot of damage. If he defeated Mint and kicked him out, Skrawl would no longer have a creator by his side to help him. He would be back down to where he was before, and Rudy could deal with him.

But how was he going to beat Mint? So far, in their three encounters, Mint had always won. He had taken the magic chalk from him three times. That shook Rudy up. He lost three times against Mint. He had to figure out a way to beat him. This was not a game. He couldn't allow himself to lose a fourth time to Mint. He needed to figure out a way to push him back, to change the tides in his favor. There had to be a way. There just had to...

"There is something else I wanted to talk to you about." Penny said. Cut from his thoughts, Rudy turned his attention towards her. "It's regarding Mint. I was thinking about him as I was walking over. There was something I noticed about him..." There was a tinge of hope in her voice. "Something that you could use to your advantage."

Rudy's eyes brightened a little. "What is it?" He asked her enthusiastically.

"Well, from what you told me, Mint usually only draws animals, doesn't he?" Penny asked. Rudy nodded rapidly in response. "Well, it seems to me, because he doesn't draw a whole lot apart from those dinosaurs and what not, it is likely that Mint does not have as much experience. He even said so himself before. He's not as varied as you."

Rudy let this sink in. Penny was right. Mint did say he wasn't as varied of an artist as him. He hadn't really taken it into account before, as he was too busy trying to fight him. Why hadn't he realized it before? Why hadn't he taken into consideration the fact that Mint really wasn't as experienced of an artist as him?

Penny continued, "For all his talents with drawing those beasts, he is still lacking. An artist that is pretty good at drawing everything is better than an artist who is only good at drawing a few things in this case. You have a larger arsenal of artistic talent at your disposal, Rudy. While Mint..."

"...he usually only draws one thing. And that leaves him open.. It gives him a weak spot." Rudy said, his eyes widening a little.

Penny nodded her head, giving a small smile. "It means you have an advantage over him, Rudy. You can do things he cannot. So to gain the upper hand, all you have to do is use your artistic experience to its full advantage. If you draw more variety of things, and fast, Mint would not be able to keep up with you. You will be able to beat him. I know you can do it, Rudy."

"Thanks, Penny." Rudy said. Penny nodded in response, her smile broadening a little.

Rudy smiled at her, grateful for her help. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. He did have more experience than Mint. He could draw more things than him. Sure the kid could attempt, and he wasn't half bad at drawing weaponry. But he almost always defaulted to drawing dinosaurs. And while dinosaurs might work in some cases, it wasn't a foolproof plan. All Rudy had to do was find effective ways to distract the dinosaurs, trap them, and Mint would be pushed back, especially if the eleven year old was unable to draw much else very well.

This did bring a sense of hope to Rudy. It made him believe that perhaps he could win against Mint after all. He had a weakness. And Penny was able to pinpoint it. Rudy can target that weakness, and Mint would be the one running away, not him. Yes, he was not going to lose against Mint again. He was going to see to that.

"Let's go talk to Snap before we have to leave." Penny said as she got up from the ledge. "We don't have much time left before the bus comes. Fifteen minutes at best."

Rudy nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear what we have to say."

"Yeah. I agree." Penny said.

With that, the two children headed to the chalkboard. Rudy got out his magic chalk and drew a circle. The portal opened up in a second. Rudy and Penny crawled through the portal and walked up to Snap, who had been waiting eagerly for them to visit. They walked up to him and began to detail them what they had discussed.