N E E D
By DarkHououmon
Chapter 21: Heats
There is a reason why many prefer the cold.
sss
It hadn't been easy convincing those zoners to back down. It hadn't been easy convincing them to allow him and the others to talk to Howdy on their own and relay the information to them. The zoners, especially that hostile female, were quite determined to do things their way. No matter what they tried or said, she would remain like a stone, unconvinced by what they had suggested.
It wasn't until sometime passed, perhaps an hour at least, that she finally relented. She wasn't too pleased about it, however, and she made it clear to them that if they don't provide the information like they promised within the next twenty-four hours, they would go through with her plan.
Rudy bit his lip at the memory of that. He hoped that the female zoner wasn't being serious about that. She sure sounded it, but may be she was just angry and upset about what was going on. He couldn't exactly blame her. After all, Howdy's behavior was rather suspicious and that kind of behavior could be hint to something quite serious. But he still didn't approve of her behavior towards the puppet zoner, and he even said so in her face to back off and leave him alone. She did submit to his demands, but he had a feeling it was only because he was the Great Creator. Had he been a zoner just like her...
Rudy stared down at Howdy. They had relocated to Snap's treehouse, away from the city, where it was more quiet. Rudy felt that the best place to speak to his creation and friend was right here. Without all the distractions of the city and away from the zoners that had tried to lynch him, or whatever it was that they were attempting.
They hadn't really said much of anything since they got here. At most, they had asked him about how he was feeling and if he needed anything. All Howdy wanted right now was something to drink. All that running had took a lot out of the poor guy. Rudy couldn't help but flinch when the zoner kept drinking glass after glass of water. It made him wonder just how long he had been running. The poor guy... When he had seen him in that warehouse, he had been at the point of collapse. Seeing him drink so much water only punctuated the reality of that.
Rudy hoped that Howdy would be more cooperative with them. They needed to understand what was going on. Snap had been able to give him the rundown of what was going on, but that didn't help him understand what was going on with Howdy. The zoner was acting rather strange. He really wanted to know why he felt it necessary to knock down two of his friends like that. He especially wanted to know what was up with Howdy and hurting Penny.
He bit his lip as he remembered that part of the conversation with Snap. The only reason that he had known was because some flying zoners had witnessed it. Not all the zoners were aware, and didn't spread too far. Rudy was glad for that. Unfortunately, some of the lesser friendly zoners, like that female whom he didn't know the name of, knew what happened, and had gotten suspicious of Howdy.
The young boy wanted to believe that there was a reason for this. He knew Howdy quite well. Though he was angry at him for what he's done, he was willing to give Howdy a chance to explain himself. He was certain that something was going on with him. An understandable but potentially heartbreaking situation. After all, what would drive him to shoot Penny like that...?
He hoped that Penny was going to be okay. He was glad that Rapsheeba wasn't too badly hurt. But Penny... He had been informed that she was taken to a ChalkZone hospital for basic treatment. Very basic treatment. He remembered what Snap said of some of her injuries, and he flinched at the memory of that. He hoped that Penny would have no trouble getting back to the Real World after she woke up. She would need to see a Real World doctor to make sure that there weren't any serious internal damage.
He looked over at Snap. The zoner had been unusually quiet as he sat close to Howdy. There seemed to be a bit of tension between the two. Rudy theorized it was probably because Howdy found out about Snap trying to set up a trap for him. Rudy could understand why that would bother Howdy. He kept quiet for a few moments to let them reconcile with each other.
While he did that, he turned his head upwards, his mind sifting through his thoughts. He tried to think of how he was going to bring the topic up to Howdy. He wondered if the zoner was going to try to make a run for it if he asked the wrong way. Not that he could get away from here very easily, but he didn't want to rule out the possibility.
The idea of Howdy being in some kind of danger hung strongly on his mind. Why else would he act this way? From the behavior described, it sounded almost as though he was terrified...
...but what was he terrified of? That's the question he knew must be answered.
He knew Howdy quite well. Despite what the zoners in that group had said about him, Howdy was a well-meaning little guy who wanted nothing more than to make people smile. If he acted out of character, then there had to be a darn good reason for it... right? He didn't want to think that one of his own was slowly developing into a monster.
After a few minutes, he noticed that Snap edged away from Howdy. He turned his head over, and they locked eyes with one another. He gave a small nod of the head, signaling that he was done talking with Howdy. Or rather, whispering to him as Rudy hadn't heard a word. But even with those gesture, Rudy wanted to wait a little while longer before beginning to speak. He did not want to spook Howdy or stress him out any more than necessary.
"Howdy..." Rudy said, finally breaking the silence around them. The puppet zoner turned his head and looked up at his creator. "Be honest with us. What is going on?"
Howdy stared at him for a few moments. He darted his eyes around nervously before taking a small sip of water. "N-Nothing is wrong." A blatant lie. He drank more water, wiping his mouth with his arms leeve. "What makes you think that?"
"The zoners." Rudy pointed out. "They were chasing you for a reason."
"Misunderstanding." Howdy quickly said. "They probably thought I did something..." He lowered his head. He stared at his glass of water. "Can we please just drop this?" He asked. He closed his eyes softly. "I'm really not in the mood to talk about this right now."
Rudy would have normally backed down at this. But he didn't have that luxury right now. Something big was going on, and he was determined to find out what it was. He was not going to let Howdy just cut off the subject like that.
He didn't know why Howdy had to be so difficult. Didn't he understand that he wasn't in danger here? Didn't he realize that the zoners can't get to him while he was around? Didn't he know that the longer he played secretive, the more suspicious he is going to look, and the more likely that there would be a repeat of today's incident? He understood that the zoner was quite shaken up with what happened, but he needed to understand that his behavior was going to rub some people the wrong way.
If he wanted to show that he was innocent, he was going to have to take a stand right now. He needed to tell him the truth, otherwise the rumors and lies that may form about him would surely spread. Rudy was certain that Howdy had enough 'excitement' for today, and didn't need anything else to worry about.
"Howdy, I am not going to let you go until you tell me what's going on." Rudy said, his voice stern and firm.
Howdy glared softly at him. "I told you, nothing is wrong! It was just some silly misunderstanding on their part! It's my fault for not being more clear with them."
"I can tell you're lying." Snap said, pointing a rounded hand at him. "You're not a very good liar, Howdy. Why don't you tell us the truth about what happened?"
Howdy shook his head. "I'm not, because I already told you the truth!"
Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. Howdy was continuing to be hard to talk to. He could feel anger rising up inside of him. Why couldn't Howdy understand that they were only trying to help him?
But something else creeped into his mind. Worry etched into the back of his head as he noted Howdy's unusual behaviors being displayed at the moment. This was not like how Howdy would normally behave. This further led to his believe that something was going on. He didn't like forcing the information out of him, and he hoped that, eventually, Howdy would come to realize how silly he was being and confess. But if he had to pry the information from him, then he would.
"Please, we know something is going on. We heard what those zoners said. We know what you did to Rapsheeba and Penny." Rudy's voice was of controlled anger and disappointment. Howdy winced at this. "But we also know that you wouldn't do such a thing unless you felt you had no choice. We want to understand, Howdy. Please tell us..."
"Yeah... We're here for you, little buddy." Snap gently touched Howdy's shoulders. He stared at him as the puppet zoner looked down, averting his gaze. That didn't stop Snap from attempting to look at him in the eyes. "Whatever is happening, we can try to make it right. We're your friends, Howdy. You can trust us."
"Snap is right." Rudy nodded his head. He smiled, in spite of Howdy not looking at him. "We all go through tough times, and sometimes we end up in a sticky situation we can't get ourselves out of." He noticed Howdy clutching his glass tighter. He felt nervous about this, but continued on anyway. "We just want to help you. If you tell us what happened, if you tell us if anyone is involved in this, we will help you. Please, Howdy... Speak to us. Don't leave us in the dark. Don't continue to paint yourself as a bad guy. I know you're not. I know you're just scared and unsure of what to do. But you have us, Howdy. You can tell us anything."
He and Snap looked at Howdy worriedly when the zoner began to tremble. They inched away from him, giving him some room. They noticed that his eyes narrowed further and his teeth were clenching. He didn't look angry, but the emotion he was displaying... They couldn't quite pinpoint it. The face appeared to redden slightly as tension built up inside the zoner's body. Something was clearly stressing out Howdy, and it looked as thought he was ready to burst.
Rudy and Snap both wanted to say something to calm down their friend, but neither could think of what to say. The zoner looked so shaken up, that it was possible that anything they said at this point could drive him over the edge. So they remained quiet and waited for Howdy to make a move. And it didn't take him long to do that.
Howdy suddenly slammed his cup against the ground. Rudy and Snap flinched at this, jerking their heads back. Water splashed onto the ground from the force, and Rudy could have sworn that he heard a small crack.
"I told you two already! Nothing is wrong! So just drop it, okay?! I don't want to have this conversation anymore! Why can't you two just leave me the fuck alone?! Are you two idiots always this nosey?! No wonder Skrawl is annoyed with the fucking both of you!"
Silence hung heavily in the room as the two boys stared at the puppet in absolute shock. Never before had they ever heard the small puppet zoner use that kind of language before. Never had he verbally attacked them like that. His words stung their hearts, and they remained in stunned silence as they stared at him in the eyes, their mouths dropping open.
Yet they could not bring themselves to be too angry at him. The outburst did reveal something, even if he didn't directly say it. He was hiding something from them. The way he reacted, how he so easily turned on them, it was reminiscent of someone who had a big secret they were trying to hide.
But how were they going to convince Howdy to tell them? It was clear he was not in the mood to speak to them on this matter. He may have been grateful, but he was still determined to keep mum on the word on whatever was going on. Rudy would have to think of what would be the best strategy in this case.
Howdy seemed to realize just how far he may have taken his outburst. His expression softened up slowly and he relaxed his body. He looked down at the glass he held and widened his eyes when he appeared to notice the crack. He looked back at Rudy and Snap and flinched at their expressions. He lowered his gaze.
"I'm...I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to snap at you like that." Howdy spoke in a soft voice. "I..I was just..."
"Hey, it's okay.." Snap's voice was unusually calm given the circumstances. He had to be; a more tense voice may aggravate the puppet zoner further. "We understand.." He moved a little closer, but avoided directly touching the zoner, despite clearly wanting to give him a hug. "Would you..like to talk about it?"
Howdy shook his head slowly. He turned his head away. "No... There's nothing to talk about."
Rudy opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. Remembering what drove Howdy to snap like that, he had to rethink what his response was going to be. After thinking about it for a while, he said, "Howdy...are you afraid of someone? Right now I mean..."
"N-No..." Howdy quickly said. An uncontrolled shiver was enough to hint that he was lying. "What makes you ask?"
"You looked around earlier, as if you thought someone was watching." Rudy said. He narrowed his eyes softly. He kept his voice as calm and neutral as possible. Any emotional output might accidentally trigger the zoner's temper again. "You have to tell us what happened, Howdy. We cannot help you if you keep this a secret."
Howdy stared at Rudy. Any sign of anger was gone. But the defiance remained. With his eyes narrowed softly, he shook his head. "No..." He turned his head towards the door. "I...I should get going. I'm..late for a meeting..."
Rudy wanted to slap himself in the face. Did Howdy really expect them to buy that story? He was lying through his teeth, something that was so against his nature. He stared at Snap, and he could see, from his expression alone, that his blue friend wasn't convinced either. They both watched as Howdy got up to try to leave.
Rudy sifted through his thoughts as he tried to think of how he was going to get the truth out of Howdy. He already tried talking to him. That didn't appear to work. He guessed that someone was making Howdy do this, perhaps made a threat to him. That would explain why Howdy was on edge right now, why he was so determined not to tell them. Since talking wasn't going to work, Rudy realized they needed another strategy.
As much as it pained him to force the information out, it appeared that was the only way they could go. He needed that information because not only did he want to ensure that his friend was safe, but if that information could lead to where Howdy was... He couldn't afford to give it up.
And the way Howdy was acting... Maybe he was reading too much into it, but the way Howdy looked at them once in a while... It seemed to indicate that he did want to tell them, but he was holding back. This was good enough evidence to Rudy to support the idea that someone else was pulling Howdy's strings.
But he couldn't very well just grab Howdy and hold him down. He didn't want to resort to something like that. He didn't want to traumatize Howdy further. And yet...that seemed to be the only path he could take. But even if he went through with it, it was no guarantee that he would get the information he needed. If there was just a way for him to see Howdy's memories, he...
...see his memories... That's it. An impossibility at the moment in the Real World, but not so much for ChalkZone. If he could draw a freeze ray and have it work, then perhaps he could draw something that would let him see into Howdy's memories. If he could do that...
Realizing that Howdy was almost near the door, Rudy turned to Snap and flicked his head, indicating what he wanted. Snap nodded his head and he went towards Howdy. He moved in front of him, blocking the door way.
"Hey...!" Howdy cried.
Snap grabbed onto him and started to push him back. "We aren't done with you yet, Howdy." He softened his expression. "We're sorry..."
"You can't do this!" Howdy shouted at them. "I have to go! Please! Y-You don't understand!"
"We would if you had just told us. But you forced our hand. I regret doing this, Howdy, but you left us with no choice." Rudy raised up his piece of magic chalk. "Keep him still, Snap."
Snap nodded his head. "I will!"
Rudy began to quickly sketch.
sss
Penny sat in complete disbelief as Rapsheeba finished her story. Penny had been in shock not longer after she first started, and even after all the time that had passed, she was still baffled by what she had heard. She had expected her to say something, anything, to indicate she was referring to something else.
But alas, nothing had happened. No indication that she was lying or was misinterpreting something. And for Penny, that was more chilling than simply getting some of the information wrong, for it was reality, and not one she was so willing to confront.
"Howdy...he was the one who..." She breathed softly. Rapsheeba nodded in silence, giving her a sympathetic look. Penny turned her head way, letting this information sink in. "I-I can't believe that he would..."
As much as she would want to deny it, she simply didn't have that option. Her memories had started to fill in the blanks for her, and she could see, with a more clear mind, what had happened. She could see Howdy standing there, looking at her sadly. She could see him pull out that weapon. And the pain that followed... She shuddered at the memory, clenching her teeth.
What would drive Howdy to do something like that? Why would he turn against his own friend? She wanted to believe that he was forced into this. His apology right before he attacked appeared to hint towards that direction.
But what if that was just a cover? What if he only said that to get her to lower her guard? What if...
Penny tried to push that out of her mind. Howdy wouldn't do something like this on purpose..would he? It didn't seem like him at all. Despite the bitter feeling of betrayal gnawing at her insides, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the zoner, concerned for his safety. There had to be some reason he would act this way.
But the weight of disbelief, for the moment, was clawing away at her attempts at reasoning. She was being forced to confront a painful reality, one that she had hoped she never had to.
"I wish it wasn't so, Penny. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't been knocked down by him." Rapsheeba lifted up her arm. She bent it and brought her elbow forward. "Look at this." Penny leaned forward on the bed, and noted some deep scratches in the arm. "This is from Howdy. He knocked some sharp branches into me."
Penny hissed softly in concern. "Does it hurt?"
Rapsheeba nodded her head. "A little. It's not as bad it looks." She lowered her arm and furrowed her eyes as she looked at Penny. "You on the other hand..." She shook her head slowly. "I just hope that Howdy's attack on you didn't cause too much internal damage."
The last two words of that sentence made Penny cringe. External wounds were frightening enough. The ones on the inside scared her even more. To not be able to see the wound... She hoped that the damage didn't spread in there as well. But with the aches and pains she was feeling throughout her body, she had a feeling that she was not going to be so lucky.
This made her even more disturbed by Howdy's behavior. He hadn't just given her a simple 'love tap' of an attack to get her away. He had went in full force. She could still feel the waves of energy rushing through her body, the burning sensation that it left on her. That attack had been enough to knock her out and leave her incapacitated. If it also damaged internal organs... Oh what was Howdy thinking?
"Where is he now?" Penny asked.
Rapsheeba shrugged her shoulders. "The birds that spotted him said he just disappeared after that. They tried to follow, but..." She lowered her gaze. "Howdy is one slippery zoner."
Penny nodded her head in agreement. She thought back to the time when Howdy was in the Real World. He had been pretty good with keeping away from the dog..well at least until the dog caught up with him. It didn't surprise her that the birds could not keep up.
She soon realized there wasn't much more she could do right now. She wanted to help with Howdy, but if she didn't get herself checked out at least by her mom, then...
Her eyes widened in horror. Her mom... How long had she been in ChalkZone? She had been so confused and shocked by what happened, that she didn't bother to check to see how much time had passed. If she had been here over the two hour time limit... And what is her mom going to think of the injuries...?
Right now, it was more important to get back to the Real World. She can worry about how she was going to handle things later. Her mom was going to be even more upset with her the longer she took to get back. She pushed herself off the bed, taking her time with getting herself balanced out. Her legs were a tad wobbly, and some of the aches seemed to worsen, but it would do.
"Where are you going?" Rapsheeba asked.
"I'm going to head back home." Replied Penny. "My mom is going to wonder where I am. She had set a two hour time limit and if I'm not back..."
"I...don't think you'll be leaving anytime soon..." Rapsheeba spoke softly.
Penny looked at her with a perplexed expression. "What do you mean?"
Rapsheeba opened her mouth to speak, but soon shut it. She gave the girl a sympathetic look, and then lowered her gaze slightly. Penny stared at Rapsheeba for a few seconds, trying to ponder what she was talking about. When she saw Rapsheeba turn her gaze towards her legs, focusing on her waste, Penny's eyes widened. No..it couldn't be...
"He...he didn't..." Penny whispered as she whipped her head towards her pants. For a few, frantic seconds, she searching around, desperately trying to find her piece of magic chalk. Soon she stopped, her breaking becoming shaky. "N-No..."
Her magic chalk was gone.
Rapsheeba continued to look at Penny sadly. "I forgot to mention that to you." She looked away, shutting her eyes softly. "I don't know why he would do such a thing... The birds said that he had stolen the magic chalk from you..." She looked back at Penny, staring into her widened eyes. "I'm sorry, Penny. But if you want to head back, you will have to either find Rudy or go to Biclops."
Penny clenched her teeth at that. "Biclops only ever lets Rudy get magic chalk...usually."
"Well I'm sure he'll make an exception for this." Rapsheeba suggested. "He'd understand, right?"
"Yeah..I suppose so.." Penny paused for a moment. She then realized another problem. "But I won't be able to get there that quickly. I would need some way to..."
"I can take you there." Rapsheeba offered quickly. She pressed her thumb against herself. "I have a ride I can take you in."
"Thanks, but..I don't want to force you to..."
"It's no problem at all!" Rapsheeba said with a grin. "I'll be glad to take you!"
Penny smiled softly at this. She felt grateful for Rapsheeba's willingness to help. "Thank you."
Rapsheeba walked over to Penny. She gently grabbed onto her arm and helped her keep her balance. Penny, flinching a little, began to walk sowly forward. She wanted to move faster for fear of what her mother might say, but the pain in her body forced her to slow down. She found herself leaning against Rapsheeba a little more than she had expected. The zoner helped stabilize her and keep her on her feet.
Penny hoped that Rudy still had his magic chalk. She didn't know what was up with Howdy or why he was acting this way. She didn't know if Rudy had realized something was wrong, or if he was at risk at losing his chalk, too. Sure they could just go to the mine to get more, but that didn't ease her mind. There was still one question that wouldn't leave her alone.
Just what was the magic chalk being taken for?
The reason why Howdy took the magic chalk wasn't certain. Penny could only guess it wasn't for anything good. Why else would he, presumably forced, shoot her with a high-powered weapon to knock her out? Or strike away Rapsheeba when she was getting too close?
She clenched her teeth. She couldn't help but wonder who was really pulling the strings. She had an idea of who it was, and the thought made her blood run cold. She would have to wait until Howdy was properly confronted. Whatever the answer may be... She and the others would have to prepare themselves.
sss
Mrs. Sanchez paced back and forth in the living room. She wanted to stop, but her racing mind kept her going. Once in a while, she would turn her head and look up the stairs. She clenched her teeth, sucking a deep breath. The same question played out over and over in her mind.
Where was her daughter? She told her to only stay in that chalk world for two hours. Those two hours had been used up already. Granted, it was only about fifteen minutes over, but that didn't stop her from worrying.
Penny was never the type to be late. She was always such a punctual girl and took time limits and constraints very seriously. If Penny missed a deadline, there was a good reason for it. The fact that her daughter wasn't back yet sent all kinds of disturbing thoughts through her head. To her, there was only one logical explaination for why she hadn't come back yet.
Something had happened.
The woman kept pacing as she tried to think of what she was going to do. She fidgeted nervously, constantly looking up, hoping that Penny would show her face. She wanted to go up and wait in the bedroom, but she also wanted to show Penny she still had trust in her, and if she were to just wait in her room for hours... She didn't want to do anything that could potentially damage the relationship she had with her daughter.
But she couldn't just stand around here, could she? If her daughter was possibly in danger, shouldn't she go after her? She didn't know if she could; she didn't know if Penny erased the portal or not, and even if it were still open, could she really bring herself to go into a world she had no knowledge of..? Then again, this was her daughter she was talking about. If she had to, she would run through the gates of a hell in order to help her daughter.
A wave of guilt hit her. A part of her wished she hadn't allowed Penny back into that world. She should have known that it was too dangerous. Penny had told her all about it, and she was aware of how dangerous it could be. And yet she let her daughter walk right back into it... How could she have been so stupid?
She tried to settle herself down. Penny obviously knew that world well enough and she had been going in and out of it constantly with no incident. Maybe what happened was not as big as she was making it out to be. Maybe she just got lost or got caught up with something. Yeah...that's all it was...
But regardless of whatever she tried to tell herself, the fear and worry that was swelling up inside wasn't enough to stop her from having some doubts in her mind. She found herself locking her eyes on the stairs once more, and let out a soft sigh. This was going to be harder than she thought.
For now, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't go into the chalk world. More than likely, the portal was closed, and she had none of this...this magic chalk that Penny talked about. All she could do was wait for Penny to come back. She could only hope and pray that she was fine, and that nothing happened, and that she was just overthinking things. Yeah... any moment now, Penny would come down and show her just how silly she had been for worrying.
But the longer she waited, the more time that passed, the more Mrs. Sanchez realized this may not be the case. With her heart twisting up in a knot, she forced herself to take a step towards the stairs. Although she had told herself she wouldn't, she knew what she had to do.
As much as she wanted to stay here and wait, as much as she wanted to show Penny that she still trusted her, her motherly instincts were taking over. If her daughter was in danger... She narrowed her eyes with determination. There was no way she would take this laying down. She couldn't just stand idly by and wait if her daughter needed her help.
The woman started to make her way up the staircase. At the moment, she didn't care if Penny would be upset with her or not. Right now, all that mattered was getting up there and, hopefully if there was a way, getting into ChalkZone.
She soon entered her daughter's room. She noticed the chalkboard. It was facing away from her. She wondered momentarily if Penny had turned it away on purpose or if it had always been this way. She walked closer to the chalkboard, looking intently around it as she walked out in front of it. And when she did...
...nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Mrs. Sanchez shook her head in disbelief. Her daughter had erased the portal, just like she feared. There was nothing she could do to help Penny now.
She felt her heart clench. If Penny was out there, in pain... And it was all her fault. She shouldn't have let Penny head back into ChalkZone so soon. She should have put her foot down and restricted her more. Penny could be badly hurt, and it could have easily been prevented if she had just...
Suddenly a thought came to her mind. Her eyes widened in realization. Didn't Penny tell her about how ChalkZone was populated by things erased from a chalkboard? It had been a detail she didn't pay much attention to, but now she was realizing the significance of that. Penny didn't tell her everything, but Mrs. Sanchez had to wonder something. Were those creations dictated by what the creator wanted? If that's the case...
Mrs. Sanchez immediately rushed forward and picked up a piece of chalk. She pressed it against the black surface. Ignoring any squeaking that was made, ignoring the chills that resulted, the woman quickly drew on the board. Looping lines, creating sharp edges and quick strokes. It took her only moments to complete the drawing. She took a step back to take a look at what she had created.
The creature she had ended up drawing was a dog. Given the loyalty of a dog, she figured it would make sense to use Man's Best Friend to find her daughter and help her come back safely. The dog was large and strong, and it would have all the cunningness it...or he...needed to carry out his task.
Raising the eraser towards the dog-like creature, Mrs. Sanchez whispered softly to it. "Bring my daughter back safely, no matter what the cost. You are authorized to use deadly force if you have to."
She flinched, pausing for a moment when she said that. Was that going a bit too far with that? She shook her head. No, she wasn't. If someone had hurt her daughter, and if the situation called for it.. There would be no other alternative. Sometimes, the paths are chosen for them.
Without further hesitation, she quickly erased the board. Once it was clean and devoid of any drawing, she dropped the eraser down. She leaned away from it and stared at the board. She took in a few breaths. She hoped she had made the right choice.
sss
The zoners that walked by the large pile of symbols, mostly letters, didn't really think much of it. Penny almost never erased anything beyond mathematical and scientific equations, so they had gotten used to the ever growing pile of numbers that accompanied this landscape. Once in a while, she and her friends would remove some of it so it didn't create a wavering tower.
The zoners would often stop and look at the pile. Some of them would whistle and express how impressed they were that someone as young as Penny could be this smart. Not all the zoners showed appreciation, and either were annoyed by the pile despite the fact that it's cleaned up every so often, or would just ignore it entirely.
All in all, it was treated as just another part of ChalkZone. That was the way it worked around here. Things were always changing and transforming. They often never knew when something new would pop up or where. The chalk world was much less predictable than the Real World. While this might disturb the humans if they found out, as many humans hated change, the zoners on the other hand embraced it. It wasn't like they had much of a choice.
Today, however, Penny's pile of numbers was the location of something different. The zoners that passed through here noticed the telltale signs of something chalk being erased, and they thought it would be another equation or words as usual. But today, they got something entirely different, and unexpected.
When the beast first appeared and lunged at them, they didn't even see it coming. A flash of yellow fur was their only warning sign, and then impact. Zoners let out cries of pain as they were tossed to the side. They crawled up to their feet and backed away as the large, muscular beast towered over them, drool dripping from from its fangs.
The beast was a large, yellow dog zoner, looking more muscular and intense than any regular earth dog. Its glowing white eyes stared at them, piercing through their souls. The zoners backed away slowly, the beast walking forward with its wickedly sharp claws.
"Where is she?" The dog spoke. His voice trembled and shook, sounding almost like someone was playing around with a remix program. When none of the zoners dare replay, the dog yelled, "Where is she?! Where is Penny?!"
The zoners, unable to handle the intensity of the situation, terrified of the large, monsterous dog that stood before them, took off running. The dog clearly didn't like this. With his hackles raised up, creating a frightening spikey display, he charged towards the zoners.
sss
"Wh-What are you doing...?" Blocky whimpered.
Terry rolled her eyes. "You should know. We are just going to get a picture of your insides. It'll be over before you know it."
Blocky struggled, trying to get off the table. The two adults in the room stared at him, not making a single move to stop him. They both knew he was just overreacting. This was going to be quite painless; his struggling was just making that worse. Thankfully, they did strap him down the best they could, inhibiting his ability to move around too much. The hypothermia, which was still affecting him, also helped out immensely.
Dr. Von stared down at his test subject, unable to hold back his smile. He was particularly excited about this. He had longed to see what the inside of this animal looked like, and now he was finally getting that chance. He had to know what his internal structure looked like with him being so...flat.
How did his bones work? How did his blood vessels work? How were his organs arranged? How did he do...anything..with a body like this? He had to know. His scientific interest was at its peak right now. Nothing the zoner did or said was going to keep him from doing this. Heck, if he could, he would even vivisect Blocky after his use was finished.
He realized that they had forgotten to get Rudy and Penny's attention. Wasn't that one of the points in getting Blocky? No matter...they could always get back on track soon. They could just wait until Howdy got back and have him give them the message.
Besides, it wasn't like he wasted time here. He learned quite a bit of zoners from this little guy. He was a fine test subject and his contribution to science was most impressive. He looked forward to catching more zoners and learning about them. Maybe he could find one like Howdy or this Snap person Terry told him about, and learn about their anatomy. He was certain there were plenty of zoners with a wider structure than Blocky. He'd have no problems cutting them open and seeing their internal organs and see how they function.
But for now... Blocky had all his attention. He doublechecked the straps to make sure they were doing the job. He turned to Terry and nodded his head. "Let'z get ziz over with."
"Good.. I'm getting tired of listening to him whine." Terry muttered.
The two adults headed into the secluded room. He shut the door behind him and proceeded to press the buttons. As the x-rays were being taken, he thought briefly of what else he was going to do. After all, x-rays will only show him the bone structure. There was an old MRI machine here. Perhaps it still worked?
Oh well, even if it didn't, it wasn't like Blocky could be that badly damaged by it, and he and Terry were going to be out of the room and wearing protective suits. So they would be fine.
"Okay, that'll do." Von said after a few moments had passed. He shut down the x-ray machine and proceeded out of the door. "We should move our test zubject back in hiz enclosure."
"Anything else?" Asked Terry.
Von nodded. "Why don't you check on zee old MRI machine in ziz building? I'd like a more...zorough look at hiz organz and internal ztructure."
Terry grimaced, looking momentarily uncomfortable with the scientist. Von didn't bother apologizing for it, and merely smiled at Terry. She recovered pretty quickly from the disturbing mental trip he had just given her. She turned her back away from him and, without a word, she walked away.
Dr. Von Doktor didn't bother trying to go after her, or to stop her. There was really not point. He knew where she was going. She needed no further prompting. Once she was out of the room, he turned his head and walked back towards Blocky.
The small zoner was trembling in the cuffs. There was some pain reflecting in his clinched eyes. But mostly, it was fear. The zoner probably expected something to happen to him during this procedure. Not that the man could blame him. Everything else involved hurting him somehow. He must feel so confused to have something done that didn't cause him some kind of pain. Well he better not get used to this; pretty soon he was going to endure a world of hurt. The heating experiment was about to take place.
He was a little reluctant to start it without Howdy being present. He wanted the puppet zoner to be here to witness what was happening to his friend. Mental impact was another area he wanted to study. Since he was focusing on the physical stuff with Blocky, he might as well use Howdy as his section test subject, focusing on mental. He wanted to know if zoners had similar thought processes as humans or if there was a difference between the two species. He was certain there was, and he wanted to find it. He could just use Blocky...but why muddle up the papers? Just use two different zoners for the tests, and problem solved.
He didn't want to wait too long to being the heating experiment. He would give Howdy a bit more time to come back here. If not, well tough luck. He could still test his emotional reaction when he got back. The sight of his dehydrated friend should be enough to teach Howdy not to take so long.
"No more...no more..." Blocky stared up at him, wide-eyed. "Please..."
"Are you really zat big of a crybaby?" Von stared at the zoner, cocking an eyebrow. "Really, I hadn't even done anything painful to you ziz time. Just an x-ray, and soon, an MRI."
Blocky shook his head. "Just l-let me go home..Please..."
Von simply smiled at the zoner. He didn't bother answering. There was really no point in wasting time conversing with the zoner. He was just going to keep begging. He attributed this partially to the hypothermia. Blocky probably lost a bit of his understanding, and perhaps thinks that the x-rays hurt him or something. Or he was just expecting to be hurt to the point where it was overriding his reason. He merely shrugged at this.
Von unhooked the zoner from his binds. The clasps came off quickly, easily undone. As soon as he was finished with the last one, Blocky attempted to get up. He didn't get far before he appeared to feel dizzy and the lethargy definitely showed, present in how the zoner wobbled forward and grabbed onto his head.
"Here, let me help you."
The scientist grabbed onto Blocky. He rolled his body up, ignoring his cries of pain from aggravating his wound. Von felt a little guilty in doing this as he didn't want to kill Blocky...yet, and he certainly didn't want to soil his test subject too soon. But he would be fine. Just a quick trip.
He immediately headed down the hallway. He walked along until he reached the enclosure room. He had gotten back here quicker than he had expected. Good thing, too. He didn't know how long he would be able to hold onto the squirming zoner. Despite him being weak, he was getting rather irritating. If he squeezed him a little tighter...
He went over to the enclosure and opened it up. He then tossed Blocky inside. As the living piece of paper unfolded himself and stared at him in fear, Von said, "I'll give you a bit of a break. But don't forget. In a little while, you will be taken to zee MRI room. Zen, zee heating tezt."
Blocky merely trembled at this, curling up into a ball. Von just chuckled softly and walked away. Soon, he was going to see just how well this zoner could survive in the heat. Just how high up could he go? He shall see.
sss
Rudy was stunned by what he had seen. He couldn't speak, couldn't move. He just stared out ahead blankly, trying to digest what he had seen. He hardly even noticed when Snap let Howdy go, nor did he see the two zoners approach him cautiously, with Snap looking concerned and Howdy looking a mixture of angered and ashamed.
He had not expected to see what he had, and yet he had. It was a nightmare come to life. It was the last thing he had hoped to see. It was even worse than he had imagined. This turned the situation on its head, and proved to him just how serious the situation truly was. He shivered, trying to keep his emotions under control, yet he found it hard to hold them back, feeling a cold shiver through his spine.
He stared at Howdy. Any anger and annoyance he had felt towards him had faded away, replaced with nothing but sympathy and worry. He couldn't believe that Howdy was put through all that. The poor guy... No wonder he had tried so hard not to tell them.
The machine he had drawn was crude and he wasn't entirely certain if it was going to work. There was a part of him who felt that something might go wrong. And putting it on Howdy was rather awkward. The zoner looked absolutely ridiculous, all those wires and such dangling from him... But it still gave him the results that he wanted, and he and Snap were treated to a rather...interesting look inside Howdy's memory bank.
Howdy had been kidnapped... He had been taken from that location, that dreadful Pencil Sharpener forest where Rapsheeba and Penny had been. He was dragged into the Real World, forced to do the bidding of Von and Terry. He was tasked to bring in food and water and medicine just to help prolong Blocky's suffering. He had been forced to bear witness to one of the experiments, leaving him and Snap speechless, equally horrified.
He couldn't help but give Howdy a hug. Without saying a word, he reached over and pulled him into a hug. He did his best to comfort the frightened and traumatized zoner. He whispered soft words to him. Snap joined in and rubbed Howdy's back. The small zoner shivered. No longer did he try to push them away. He hugged Rudy back and cuddled up against him. His smaller frame shuddered as he started to try, finally letting out all the fear and negative emotion that he had building up.
"I'm so sorry.. I-I wanted to tell someone... b-b-but I thought that..." Howdy whimpered softly. He sniffled loudly. "I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay, buddy. It wasn't your fault." Snap whispered softly to him.
Rudy nodded in agreement. He held Howdy even closer against himself, pressing his chin on top of his head. "It'll be all right, Howdy. It's going to be okay. You'll see..."
As Rudy held onto the shivering and crying zoner, he tried his best to fight back the burning anger rising up inside of him. How dare those two treat his friends this way...? How dare they hurt Blocky like that, nearly freezing him to death... How dare they force Howdy to watch the whole thing, helpless to do anything to stop it... He knew they were going to be cruel, but..he never imagined it would be like that.
The only positive thing about this is that at least he and Snap aren't fully in the dark anymore about what was going on. They knew some of what was done to Blocky, and how he was being treated. As much as it pained them to know that, they felt better knowing than being left in the dark. In addition, they also now knew the location of that portal. With that knowledge, they could go to the portal and infiltrate where Blocky was being held and rescue him.
Rudy knew there were some pieces likely missing. They didn't see all of Howdy's memories. There were large, black spaces that had appeared while they watched. Even if there weren't, they would still needed to be careful. Knowing what happened was only half the battle; they still had to get in, infiltrate without being seen, get Blocky without complications.
Then there was the chance that they might be expecting him... True, that might be a stretch, but Rudy refused to rule out the possibility. Better to err on the side of caution. He had to go find Penny and tell her about this. She needed to know.
Knowing the situation called for action as soon as possible, knowing that he was not going to be able to hesitate for long, Rudy immediately began to consider what course of action should be taken. He thought about his recent ideas, and then began to consider others ones. After a while of thinking, he felt he had figured out the best path to take. He still felt a little skeptical about the choice he was about to make, but that was the thing about choices. You will always make one that you will regret later.
"Snap..." Rudy said after several more minutes had passed. "You and Howdy head towards the Pencil Sharpener. Howdy is to show you its exact location. Have a map ready and mark it."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Bucko?" Snap asked, raising a hand towards his friend. "What if they're waiting for us?"
"They could very well be..." Howdy's voice was so haunting, it sent chills through their spines. With wide eyes, he continued, "I was supposed to be back a while ago... Terry might be getting suspicous. She might..."
"I understand your concerns. But you guys...we don't have much choice in this. We can't let them get away with what they did. This is our one chance to try to stop them. Understand that I'm not going to rush in there ill prepared; I just need the coordinates. I plan on talking to Penny as soon as possible so we can decide what we will do. I promise, we will not move so hastily."
Rudy understood why his two friends were still in doubt. Even Snap, who would be more willing to go along with whatever he decided, was shaken and uncertain. He had seen for himself what happened, and while he still has determination to take the right action, he was quieted by what Terry and Von were capable of. It was worse than any of them had ever imagined.
But there was little time to sit around and discuss their feelings about this. There was little time to stay and try to comfort Howdy. Rudy felt guilty with having to leave him behind. As he let go of him and stared down at him, he could see the tears staining his cheeks. Rudy bit his lip, feeling his heart break in two. He wished he could say something to help his friend feel better. But there was too little time for that. If Terry and Von realized that Howdy was gone for too long...
Swerving his head to Snap's direction, he said, "Don't delay this any more than it has to be, Snap! Time is not on our side here! You and Howdy need to go to the portal in Pencil Sharpener!"
Snap nodded his head slowly. "I get what you are saying, Rudy, but..." He looked down at Howdy. Noting his shivering state, he turned back to Rudy and said, "I don't know if he will be able to handle going back there so soon..."
"But..I have to..." Howdy said softly. He wiped away his tears. "If I don't go back..." He paused, his eyes widening in horror. "R-Rudy is right. We have to go.."
"Howdy..." Snap said softly, his eyes widening. A small smile spread across his face. "You really are a trooper, aren't you?"
Howdy smiled back at him, but said not a word.
"And you are certain you want to do this?" Rudy asked softly. "Are you willing to go through with this? Howdy, I don't like to make you do anything you don't want to do. I'm just... I hope you don't feel bad of me. There's just..too little too..."
Howdy raised his hand up. "Do not blame yourself, Rudy. You're right. We do need to take action. I am scared and frightened, yes, but I will not stand for Blocky being hurt like that anymore. I'm afraid of what they might do to me, but I am more afraid of what they might do to our friend, or other zoners. Trust me, Rudy. I'm agreeing to this because I want to, not because of you forcing me into anything."
Rudy couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and happiness with Howdy as he heard those words. The initial guilt that he felt with trying to get Howdy to take Snap to the portal left him, dripping out of his fingers like some warm liquid that fell upon him. It impressed him how Howdy was willing to go along with the plan despite the possible risks that it came with. It took a lot of courage to do that.
Rudy decided to move things along when he reminded himself of the situation. Before he could do anything, he discuss things a little further with his friends. There was one thing he needed to agree with them upon before they could take action.
"You two can meet Penny and I back here after you have located and marked down the portal's location. Is that okay?" Rudy asked.
Snap nodded his head. "It sounds good to me, Bucko."
"I see nothing wrong." Howdy said. Rudy stifled the tempation to flinch. Howdy might be acting braver, but his facade was easily broken through by his own voice. "It won't take me long to locate the portal. We can be back here in... an hour?"
"Yeah. I think that's a good time. I just have to speak to Penny about that and see if she's okay with it." Rudy held back the fact that Penny's mom was now an obstacle, and if she decided not to let Penny come, there was little he could do about that. Penny's mom's knowledge of ChalkZone wasn't of the top priority here right now. But it will be once this crisis was taken care of. "Snap, which hospital did you say she was taken to?"
"The main one. Biggest one in ChalkZone City." Snap said. Suddenly, he looked nervous, gritting his teeth. Rudy looked at him with concern, wondering what could have changed his friend's demeanor so abruptly. Snap soon spoke again. "Bucko... What are we going to do about those zoners who tried to get Howdy?"
Rudy flinched at this. He noticed Howdy cringing, clearly remembering the chase he had been put through. Rudy realized that this was also a problem. He knew that some of the zoners were going to hold some negative feelings about what happened, some more than others. It was something that needed to be addressed before it became too widespread, or worsened beyond repair. He knew how panicky some people can be and this extended to zoners. He knew how catastrophic it could be come if left to fester.
Sadly, this, too, would need to be regulated in the back of their plans for now. Saving Blocky and stopping a possible invasion on ChalkZone was kind of more important, and he didn't think anyone would disagree with him on that. But he couldn't just say that in Howdy's face; the poor guy was scared enough. So he did the next best thing.
"We will take care of that as soon as we can. I promise." Rudy placed his hand on Howdy's cheek, gently caressing it. It'll be okay, Howdy."
The puppet zoner smiled back at him. "Yeah..I know it will." Gently, he pushed Rudy's hand away and made his way towards the door. He looked over at Snap expectantly. "Come on. Let's get going."
Snap nodded his head. "I'm coming!" He suddenly stopped, and looked at Rudy with a nervous grin. "Uh...Bucko..? That paper and pen?" Rudy stared at him for a few seconds. "I can't mark anything down without something to..."
"Oh..!" Rudy felt like an idiot. "Hold on!" He quickly drew the items that Snap requested and gave it to them. "Good luck, you two."
"Same to you." Snap said before he and Howdy left the treehouse.
Rudy remained in the treehouse for a few seconds before he began to make his way over towards the still open door. As he exited the treehouse and headed down the steps, his mind wandered. He began to ask himself a disturbing question.
Would ChalkZone be fully safe after this? Even if they defeated Von and Terry, would they now have enough evidence to prove to everyone that the fabled chalk world was real? Would he and Penny then find it much harder to combat them and anyone else who they draw into their mission? What would become of ChalkZone if Terry suddenly gained a following, loyalists who would do whatever it took to expose ChalkZone?
The thought was chilling, and he felt his body shudder at that. It was, unfortunately, a very real possibility, something that he and his friends may have to confront eventually. Unless they not only stop those two but als destroy any evidence they might have gathered, then even if they stop them now, it wouldn't last for long. It would not be a victory; nothing more than a minor hinderance to them.
But they wouldn't give up. They couldn't. Such a thing was not acceptable. He was the guardian of this world, and if he had to fight, then he will. He was not going to give up ChalkZone without a fight.
That much, he could assure Terry and Von.
sss
That was it. He was tired of waiting. At the moment, he no longer cared if Howdy was going to arrive or not. If he wanted to tell everyone what happened, then so be it. It still worked into his plans anyway. For now, he had something more important to take care of first.
It was time to get started on the heat experiment. He had given Blocky enough of a rest. Yes..half an hour was good enough for him. He had the room all set up for him, with all the monitors in place. He just needed to place the marks on Blocky so he could properly monitor him during the procedure. It mattered not if he was fully recovered from the hypothermia or not; the sooner he got the results, the better.
The little zoner did put up quite a fight. He had to admit, he was impressed with how much he tried to resist despite the fact that he was still weak from the cold. If he didn't know that Howdy had lost some of his strength, he would have even thought of it as he watched the zoner squirm around in his hand, desperately trying to pry his hands off so he could get away from him. Von tightened his grip on him as he led him down the hallway.
Terry had come a while ago to inform him that the machine apparently worked. She then promptly asked him why he had one in the first place. This, Von refused to answer. Honestly, he didn't really remember. One of his former staff members was in charge of the machine and they used for...whatever it is he was doing. Terry probably was going to be suspicious of him for this, but who cares? Let her think what she wants to.
The trip down to the room took longer than he had thought. The machine was located further down than he imagined. Trying to keep Blocky still, and trying to ignore his pleas were making it feel as though the trip was taken even more time. A part of him just wanted to toss Blocky down. He resisted, knowing that would just make things worse. A part of him wished that he had Howdy bring in some stuff to knock Blocky out with. He could use one of those right about now.
The man wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do next with Blocky. He hadn't exactly thought of it. The MRI scans were finished, but they would take a while to form. He had been able to look at his skeletal structure, which was...quite interesting, to say the least.
But as for the next experiment, he was at a loss. Maybe he will take some time away from Blocky and look at his blood a little. He hadn't gotten a chance yet to really examine the blood he had taken from him. It would be quite fascinating to see if the structure really is chalk or if there was something else going on. It was still something that confused him and left him in awe. How could a creature with a structure based on chalk possibly survive? Then again, humans and most lifeforms were based on carbon, the same thing that stuff like graphite and diamons were made out of, and they aren't exactly alive.
And wasn't chalk, in a way, consisted of something carbon...?
For a moment, the man froze, his eyes widening at that realization. In that moment, he could feel a large lightbulb move out of his head, raising above him and illuminating his mind. Had he found common ground with the zoners at last? This needed further study.
That could be the next experiment. He could get a sample of Blocky's flesh. He could remove something from the wound he already has. Cut off a small part of him. That should be quick and simple. If he could figure out more about this possible connection, perhaps he could solve the mystery of how the zoners could even be alive. If they were just another carbon-based life form... The public would not find that difficult to swallow.
He pushed those thoughts aside when he finally arrived in the room. As he walked in, he could feel Blocky's struggles increasing. He held onto him tighter, using his foot to kick the door shut to prevent Blocky from escaping.
The room he was in was mostly empty. White walls greeted him all around, and there were a small row of chairs and a small panel. The panel itself was decorated with all kinds of buttons and levers. The only other thing in the large room were the monitors that had been set up.
In front of that, a large glass window, easily stretching for more than half the room's length. A one-way mirror, allowing him to see in, but not Blocky out. The room itself was barren, save for some lights to keep it lit. Along the walls were some gray lines. Vents that would transfer heat into the room with ease. The door itself was large and metal, the bottom scraping along the floor to prevent anything from escaping. Even someone as thin and light as Blocky couldn't get out of there.
But, first thing's first. Before he got started, he had to place the markers on him. The monitor devices would not work otherwise. Holding him down with one hand, Von proceeded to place them on his shivering, cold body.
"Don't worry. Zoon, you won't be zo cold anymore." Von said, trying to mimick a reassuring voice. No surprise, this didn't seem to work on the zoner, but no matter. "I will try to make ziz experiment shorter zan zee other one. I wouldn't want you to have too much rezpiratory problemz."
Blocky struggled against his grasp, pushing back with his hands. "You have to s-s-s-stop this!"
Dr. Von Doktor shook his head. "I have no zuch planz. You are a brand new zpeciez, Blocky. Do you really zink I am going to juzt let you go, without trying to dizcover what you're like on the inside? What your limitationz are?" Von placed about five markers on Howdy. A few more, and he would be done. "Zink of it ziz way. You are contributing to zcienze. You are paving the way for a new future. And when all of ziz iz zaid and done...maybe I'll even let you go."
Blocky stared at him in silence. He didn't attempt to answer. Von wasn't sure if it was because he believed his words, or if it was because he wasn't registering them. Either way, it didn't stop Von from proceeding along, preparing for the next experiment. He placed a few more on Blocky, and soon, the zoner was covered with different markers, all linked to the machine. Yes, this should be good enough.
"If you cooperative, maybe I'll be even more likely to juzt let you go." Von said as he proceeded to carry Blocky over to the room. "You'll zee. Zurrender really iz zee bezt route that you can go. Onze you do, everyzing will run more zmoothly."
Blocky shook his head the best he could given his state. "N-No...Please..just stop...stop this all.. I don't want this.." His eyes grew wider the closer they came towards the heating room. The zoner began to struggle with a surprise increase of strength. "No! Stop!"
Dr. Von Doktor managed to keep his hold on the zoner. He grabbed onto the door knob and turned it. "Oh pipe down, will you? You are making ziz more difficult zan it haz to be! You..."
No sooner did he open the door part way did Blocky do something he hadn't attempted since the last time: bite him.
"Yeowch!" Von cried out. He nearly let go of Blocky as the zoner sank his teeth into him. "Let go of me!"
Blocky gave a muffled response, probably telling him some kind of retort. Von yanked at his hand. Eventually, he was able to free himself, avoiding having the zoner's teeth slash his skin. Von stared at his arm for a few seconds, realizing that, for the second time, the zoner had injured him with his teeth. He turned to glare at the zoner, whom he still had hung in the air by his shoulder.
Appearing to realize his mistake, Blocky began to struggle, kicking his legs in the air. He held his hands out in front of him, waving them frantically. He kept crying out for mercy, begging him not to hurt him.
"P-Please! I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to!"
Von responded to this with a glare. "Zat'z zee zecond time, zoner..." His voice was deep with intent. "You were already warned of ziz behavior. I find it quite..unexzeptable..."
"No! Please!" Blocky raised his arms and hands over himself, desperate for some kind of protection. "I-I'm so sorry!"
Von glared at the zoner for a few seconds. He debated whether or not he should take action right now. A part of him really wanted to muzzle Blocky to ensure he won't attempt another bite. The thing giving him pause was the fact that he didn't know if Blocky could sweat or not. He didn't want to take the chance, knowing he may lose his test subject too early. Yes, perhaps he should wait before he muzzled him.
His anger faded away quickly, replaced with a smile. He could see how much that alone was creeping out the zoner. He reached over and placed his hand on his cheek. This time, the animal didn't make an attempt to bite him again.
"It iz okay. I forgive you." Not exactly true, but it was the words the zoner needed to hear, what he wanted him to hear. "Now be a good little zoner..." He tightened his grip, his muscles powering up for the toss. "..and get in zere!"
Without hesitation, or any time for the zoner to prepare himself, the old man tossed Howdy into the room. His body sailed through the air and he crashed into the ground. Von watched as he slid across the floor, almost like a real piece of paper that was pushed along by a little kid. He quickly shut the door, sealing the zoner inside.
He then made his way over to the panel. Time to get started. He looked over at the window, giving a somewhat twisted smile. The zoner was frantically trying to find a way out, hindered only by the hypothermia. And even that didn't seem to slow him down, knowing what was about to come. Von grabbed the knob and twisted it. The panels on the side began to glow red.
The experiment had just started.
sss
When Rudy arrived back in ChalkZone City, he hadn't noticed anything strange or unusual going on. He hadn't seen any signs of those zoners he had scolded earlier. He didn't see any hostility from the zoners, or any murders or gossip spreading. Mostly, just zoners having fun with whatever celebration was going on today. He took this as a hint that most zoners were unaware of what happened. At first, he wasn't sure how, but then he realized that most of the zoners were distracted by the celebration. He let out a sigh of relief at this.
As he moved through the city using his rocket shoes, he was not surprised, given that fact, that much of the city was empty. When the zoners had celebrations, many of them got involved. Very few left themselves out. This was something he wished would happen more often in the Real World.
He looked left and right as he tried to locate the hospital. There were a few in the city, given its size. But there was one main one that most zoners went to. That was the one that Penny had been taken to. It shouldn't be too long before he... Ah..there it was. Off in the distance, he could see the large building, the familiar cross sign on it. He powered up his shoes and moved faster.
He still felt some level of anger with Penny for her early accusations. Why couldn't she listen to reason? It was her fault for not noticing the tracker, right? Why couldn't she accept that she is at fault as well? Why must she try to put all the blame on him?
No, now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. He didn't want his mood soiled when he found her. The last thing either of them needed was another fight. Besides, after what happened with Howdy, he doubted Penny would even be in the mood to continue that argument. He bit his lip. Oh, he hoped that she was going to be okay.
He didn't get too far when he suddenly stopped. Something ripped through the air, loud, long, booming. He could feel chills running up and down his spine. He didn't even know what it was, and it was enough to make him stop and wonder. What was that? What was that sound that echoed in the city? It sounded so...foreboding. Rudy remained still in the air, trying to figure out what course of action he should take. Should he investigate himself or get Penny?
The answer was given to him rather swiftly.
A loud roar echoed through the buildings. So loud, he could practically feel the vibrations from the ground from up here. He then heard something else intermixing with the screams. His heart nearly stopped when he noticed the source of the noise.
There was a large beast running amok through the city. Big, yellow, equipped with sharp teeth, like a big dog, the massive zoner stormed through the city, the ground shaking beneath it. Below him, a bunch of zoners were running everywhere, waving their hands in the air as they tried to find shelter.
Rudy stared at this in horror. Where did this beast come from? What did it want? Why was it chasing the zoners? His moment of terror was short-lived when instinct kicked in. Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, he activated the thrusters on his rocket shoes and he darted off towards the large creature. He wondered for a moment if Terry or Von were behind this monstrosity.
The dog beast didn't seem to take notice of him, or perhaps it simply didn't care that he was there. The beast raised its paw up and slammed it in the ground. There were several loud cracks as the ground was shattered. Rudy winced at how deep the marks were. He watched as the creature's tail struck against a building, leaving behind a deep scratch. Dust and debris fell towards the ground, nearly knocking into a few zoners who were unlucky enough to be there.
Splitting its jaws wide open, the monster then bit down at the ground. Its massive jaws narrowly missed some of the zoners, except for one. To Rudy's horror, one of the zoners was snagged by his leg. The beast held him up in the air and shook him hard. The zoner screamed and pleaded for mercy. Rudy acted quickly and zipped towards the zoner.
The dog beast finally seemed to realize that Rudy was there. Its eyes locked onto him for a split second. Then, turning its head to one side, it thrust it forward, releasing its grip on the zoner. Rudy's eyes widened in horror at this and he moved faster. In seconds, he was able to catch the zoner in his hands.
Landing on the ground, Rudy released him. "Get out of here!"
The zoner needed no further prompting. Without even saying a 'thank you', the zoner turned and ran off. Rudy watched him leave. Then he turned his attention to the large dog-beast.
The dog stared at him with those piercing white eyes. Its lips were curled back into the snarl. A low growl eminated from its throat, its sharp teeth glinting in the Day Zone sun. Rudy stood his ground, arching himself in preparation for a fight, his magic chalk raised.
For several long moments, this was all that happened. Just an intense stare down between the two opponents. Neither would relent. It was as though they felt that if they looked away, then they instantly lost. The moment one backs down, the other would close in, ready to take care of the other. So silent it was, Rudy could have sworn he was able to hear the drumming of their own heartbeats. This only seemed to make the moment feel even more intense.
Then, at last, the dog zoner made a move. Rudy tensed up his body as the zoner took a step towards him. Its ears raised up, its expression contorting with great interest. Rudy could feel the rush of air as the zoner snorted at him, sniffing him like any regular dog in the Real World would. Rudy took another step back, raising up his magic chalk just in case the dog decided to get aggressive.
The dog zoner merely turned its head to the side, its ears raising up even more. It looked almost..confused. Rudy wasn't sure what to make of this. What was this zoner going to do? Maybe it was just a giant puppy and meant no harm, but its earlier actions...
"Where is Penny?" The dog asked suddenly, his booming, distorted voice filling Rudy's ears. "Take me to Penny if you can."
Rudy stared at the zoner in shock. "Y-You want to see Penny?"
The dog zoner nodded. "I want Penny." He flexed his claws on the ground, driving them into the ground. "I need to take Penny."
Rudy's eyes widened at this. In that moment, he realized that, whatever this zoner wanted with Penny, it couldn't possibly be anything good. He couldn't allow this dog to take Penny. He couldn't allow him to hurt his friend. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head rigidly. "I cannot allow you to do that..."
At this, the dog zoner resumed its malicious expression from before. "Then you are an obstacle. I have been authorized to do whatever it takes to get Penny." He raised his head up slightly, baring his sharp teeth at Rudy. "If you do not remove yourself, if you refuse to help me, then you will have forced my paw."
Rudy bared his own teeth right back. "Penny's my best friend. I won't allow you to take her."
"Then...so be it.."
Rudy raised his magic chalk as the beast charged him. He didn't know where this thing came from or what he wanted, but one thing was for certain: he was not going to let him have Penny.
sss
The heat... Oh gawd the heat.. It was everywhere. There was no refuge from it. Nowhere to go. Everything in here was hot. Oh gawd, make it stop, please..
Blocky wobbled from side to side as he tried to keep himself from falling down. The heat had built up quickly in the room. It hung heavily over him, making it feel as though it would knock him into the ground at any moment. He had his mouth wide open, panting heavily as he tried to cope with the intense heat. He couldn't touch anything, and laying on the ground was dangerous. It was just too hot.
He could feel himself becoming drenched in sweat. His fluids could not be contained in his body anymore. Despite the need for fluid, his body was ejecting the liquid in a vain attempted to cool himself down. The effect of this wasn't lost on him, and he could feel his mouth drying up and becoming scratchier as the seconds passed by.
He didn't know how long he had been in here. He didn't know how much longer this was going to last. All time seemed to be lost on him as he struggled to hold on, struggled not to pass out. He could feel his eyelids grow heavy, a burning sensation occuring everytime he shut his eyes. His body was telling him to give out, but his mind refused to cooperate, stubbornly holding onto the hope that maybe, something good was going to happen soon. Maybe someone was going to come save him.
But as the slow seconds passed by at a snail's pace, he quickly realized that it wasn't going to happen. No one knew he was here...besides Howdy, and what could he do? He was just as powerless as he was.
Unable to stop himself, Blocky felt a sense of bitterness rise up inside of him. If Howdy had tried harder, maybe he could have gotten him out of here. He had his chance earlier, and he blew it. How could Howdy have been so stupid? There were ways of getting him out, he was certain, but Howdy just had to go blow it all up, didn't he? He couldn't be bothered to check to make sure no one was coming, and because of that, he botched up the only chance he had to escape.
Blocky shook his head, unable to believe just how bitter he had felt towards his friend. And he continued to feel that way, no matter how hard he tried to fight it back. He couldn't help it. Something about this heat was starting to mess with his emotions. He gripped his head, clenching his teeth. He had to try to stay positive. He had to keep himself from losing his sanity. He had to...
But what was the point? He couldn't fight back what was true. Howdy had failed him. His friends had failed him. He was going to die in this hellhole and it was all their fault. He gnashed his teeth together, the bitter thoughts sifting through like some kind of unwanted play. He thought of his friends, feeling his gut twisting in knots. Friends... what friends..? If they were his friends, they would have gotten him out of here. It was their fault he was in this mess.
No..it wasn't just them. That blasted girl... Rudy's cousin, Sophie.. She was the one who dragged him out of his home. She was the one who caused him to be trapped out of ChalkZone. And that woman, she took the chalkboard away. It was her fault, too. It was all their faults. He was just an innocent bystander. He never asked for this. As soon as this was over, he was going to...
Suddenly a rush of lightheadedness struck him. He gripped his forehead, wobbling from side to side. He tried to keep his balance. Everything in the room was spinning around him. His vision was becoming blurry and shaky. He struggled to keep himself from falling down. But despite his efforts, he could feel his legs buckle underneath him. He dropped down. The burning sensation of the floor filled his hands as he panted, nausea sweeping through him. He held onto his stomach, struggling to keep his stomach contents from spilling out onto the ground. No, not more fluid loss...
His body began to stink of sweat. He was so clammy, he could feel himself slipping along the ground. His fingers practically stuck together. Sweat dripped from his face, onto the floor. It seemed to almost evaporate immediately, although his vision was too blurry to confirm that. He licked his dry lips, feeling the cracks that had formed in them. So dry...so thirsty...so tired...
The breathing.. It was getting more difficult. He struggled to take in more oxygen, opening his mouth wider. He could feel his lungs start to burn. He writhed on the ground, trying to escape the heat. The cold was better than this. He never thought he'd miss the cold that much, not that it was a much better situation. But this heat... Oh gawd, why was it so hard to breathe...?
He lifted up his head and looked over at the window. Nothing but a black sheet. He could just imagine Dr. Von Doktor on the other side, sneering at him, proud of what he was doing. Blocky panted heavily as he stared, realizing just how truly at the man's mercy he was. He raised up his head and reached towards it. He looked towards the window pleadingly, hoping that the man would notice and take pity on him.
Suddenly, he collapsed into the ground. The heat pressed down on him, the ground beginning to burn his skin a little. But he didn't move. Despite all the heat around him, his body had finally given out. He laid there, covered in his own sweat, panting weakly. Unable to do anything, not even a weak whimper, he shut his eyes, welcoming the darkness that descended upon him.
"What are you doing?!"
Blocky opened up his eyes at this. A distant voice. Feminine. Familiar. He tried to see, but of course, being trapped in this room, his tired eyes and blurred version could not pick up on anything.
There were a series of quick shouts. He couldn't make out most of what was being said. A few words here or there, he picked up.
"What are you doing?! I'm not done yet!"
"You fucking fool! Do you know what you almost did?! You aren't even looking at the life readings!"
"He'z fine! He juzt..."
A loud crash. A yelp of pain. Blocky, even in his weak state, couldn't help but flinch. He could hear them arguing even more, and then more thuds and more crashes, indicating that a fight was going on. Then a scream, and finally silence.
Blocky stared towards the door, his panting becoming weaker, his eyes unable to stay open for long. Even as he heard the door knob turning, he could barely keep his eyes open to see who was coming over. All he could see was a blurred vision. Something green and red. Significance? He wasn't sure.
He felt himself being lifted into the air. Hands gripped onto him, pulling him away from the dangerously hot floor. He heard the individual's panting as they endured the heat. Through his blurred vision, he stared to make out a few details of this individual.
Terry Bouffant..?
Before Blocky could fully register this or begin to question what was happening, he felt his body go limp compleletely. The darkness that had been encroaching on him finally took over, and he shut his eyes. Then all was dark and silent.