Standing by his friends, Snap glared at Mint. Despite his beliefs that the kid might be able to change, that did little to help with this situation. The kid was still crazy, probably even more so than before. Mint was acting a little different, sounding a little different. It was almost like he was trying to make himself continue believe that this whole world was a game, instead of facing reality. How cowardly...
Snap couldn't understand why this kid had such a hard time facing facts. Was it really because he doesn't like being wrong? That he hated the idea of him being the delusional one? Yeah that sounded like what it was. Mint had been having so much fun in what he thought was a video game. The idea of it being real must be frightening for him, as it meant that his actions suddenly had consequences, and with all the destruction he caused, all the despicable things he's done, that would all add up suddenly. The kid was choosing to run away from that instead of doing what was right and admitted he was wrong.
He didn't care what Mint said. Mint was the failure around here, not Rudy. Mint would keep denying that he was doing anything wrong, hiding behind a mask, a facade, instead of facing the truth. Rudy, on the other hand, would recognize when he's the one who made a mistake and would try to correct it. Rudy never tried to hide from the truth or douse himself in denial just to 'feel comfortable'. That was the biggest difference between these two. One of them was willing to face reality, no matter how harsh it was, while the other chooses to run. Mint was the real coward, not Rudy or Penny.
Well Mint was now going to get a taste of teamwork. He wasn't going to fight them one on one anymore. He wasn't going to separate them. He was going to see, firsthand, just how wrong he was about them. He didn't expect Mint to take this lesson to heart. He was not expecting Mint to suddenly change after this. But maybe it will give him something to think about when he leaves.
Mint soon made his first move. His first act was to send Ripclaw out after them. Of course he'd do that. He didn't want to do much of the fighting himself, so he was making his 'partner', in the loosest sense of the term, to go do the work for him. The utahraptor raced towards them, mouth split wide open to attack them. She lunged into the air and attempted to slash them with her claws. The trio jumped out of the way as she landed in the empty space they once stood in. They dove into the ground as she narrowly missed them.
Snap struggled to his feet. He was the first one up. He glared in the direction Ripclaw had landed and he rushed over. Without hesitating, he jumped onto her back. He wrapped his arms around Ripclaw's neck and held on tightly. The utahraptor let out a screech and started to buck, trying to throw him off of her. No matter how hard she tried, Snap would not let go. Only seconds later, the utahraptor appeared to grew tired of trying to throw him off and she veered off towards Rudy and Penny. She attempted to attack them. Snap pulled on the feathers on her neck, causing her turn suddenly, narrowly missing his friends entirely.
Ripclaw ran around in circles, never leaving the area. Snap would have thought that she would have taken off down one of the roads, but for whatever reason, she stayed in this one open area. Perhaps she was ordered to remain here by Mint. Or maybe the blue fire spooked her and made her too afraid to try to head down the roads. Either way, he was glad that she remained close to his friends. It would be hard dealing with her alone.
Time seemed to move so much slower. Seconds passed, and they felt like several minutes. In that time, Ripclaw managed to throw him off of her. He let out a scream as he crashede into the ground. He tried to get up, but Ripclaw stepped on him. He winced as he felt the sickle claw push against him. He looked up in horror as she opened her jaws wide, showing off her long, sharp teeth.
"Snap!" Rudy cried as he rushed over, bringing out his magic chalk.
Snap watched as Rudy rushed over towards him. Rudy began to draw something in the air. While he did this, Penny tried to get over as well. Snap's eyes widened when she was suddenly tackled by Mint. The eleven year old collided with Penny and pushed her against the side of a building. He kept her pinned there, grabbing her arms tightly, preventing her from getting over to Rudy.
Unable to look away, Snap watched as Penny started to push Mint away. The boy wasn't giving up. The two of them wrestled with each other. Soon they fell into the ground. They rolled across the ground, each trying to pin the other. At first, it looked like Mint had won. He held her down, sneering at her. Penny didn't remain on the ground for long. She managed to push him aside and grabbed onto him. She pulled him back into the ground and used her body to pin him down. He struggled to get up, but for the moment, he was unable to.
By the time Penny managed to get Mint on the ground, Rudy was already upon him and Ripclaw. He had drawn a large white sheet. He bundled it in his hands a bit and, mustering up as much strength as he could, tossed it onto her. Snap watched as Ripclaw's head and a part of her body became covered in the white sheet. At first, Snap wondered why Rudy would do something like that to stop a ferocious dinosaur. Then he noticed that the sheeth had weights attached to it. This made it harder for Ripclaw to just toss it off of herself.
As Ripclaw swayed her body back and forth, trying to get the sheet off of her, Rudy rushed over and grabbed Snap by the arm. He pulled him out from under the utahraptor just in time. The utahraptor managed to toss the weighted sheet off of her. She turned in their direction and let out a snarl. She rushed towards them, the digits on her hands flexing outward a tad, the claws glinting in the light of the day zone sun.
Rudy and Snap jumped to the side. Rudy quickly began to draw something else. This time, it was a bag of rocks. He waited until Ripclaw got close enough. Then he grabbed the handful of small, round rocks and rolled them towards the dinosaur. Ripclaw did not get out of the way in time. She stepped on the rocks and she immediately slid. She lost traction and slipped across the ground. The two of them stepped out of the way as she went past them and crashed against one of the buildings. She staggered backwards, looking dazed. She shook her head, regaining her composure, and snarled in their direction.
Snap looked over to see how Penny was holding out. She was still holding that creepazoid down. He hoped that she could keep it up. At the moment, Mint can't draw anything. So long as Penny had him held down, keeping both arms pinned, he couldn't really draw that well. Penny must have recalled what Rudy said about Mint drawing small dinosaurs even with his arms pinned, as she was doing what she could to keep his arms more immoblized than what Rudy could manage with the lasso. She couldn't try to take his magic chalk though; if she loosened her grip, Mint might wrench his left arm free and draw something.
As long as Penny kept this up, they just might, finally, win. If they can just stop Ripclaw, they might have a chance to get Mint out of ChalkZone for good. Working together, they might be able to pull it off.
But, unfortunately, things were never that simple.
Mint managed to free one of his arms. Penny was not able to stop his right up from getting free of her grasp. Out of what appeared to be desperation, Mint pulled his arm back and punched Penny, his fist slamming against her jaw. The scream Penny emitted caused Rudy look on in horror, along with Snap, as Penny staggered back from Mint. The eleven year old smirked at her before he punched her again, knocking her into the ground. Penny let out a scream as she stumbled into the ground.
Rudy cried out, "Penny!" He was about to go after them when Ripclaw pounced on him. Rudy grunted as Ripclaw placed a foot on his stomach and chest, keeping him down. She didn't try to bite him, opting instead to just hold him down. She did, however, try to snag his magic chalk from him.
"I'll help you, Bucko!" Snap rushed over to Ripclaw. He stopped when Rudy shook his head 'no'. "But..." Before he could finish, Rudy cut him off.
"Go help Penny! I'll take care of Ripclaw!" Rudy ordered. He turned his attention back to Ripclaw.
Snap stared at him for a moment. He didn't want to leave Rudy to face the dinosaur alone. But he couldn't abandon Penny either. He looked over at her as she was getting beaten by Mint, then back at Rudy. He took in a deep breath and did what Rudy told him to do. He turned and rushed over to where Penny was on the ground.
Mint must have completely lost it. He was acting more irrational and violent than usual. Was it the result of the denial he's trying to hide behind? That was likely it. Snap instantly realized how more dangerous Mint was going to be if he kept this up. With the way he was attacking Penny like that, it was like he was trying so hard to convince himself it was just a game. Something inside him had snapped, and in the worst possible way.
Penny tried to fight back. She would get out her magic chalk to fight. Mint never let her draw anything. As a sign that he had gone crazy, Mint would strike her any time she had it out. He shoved her against the wall, trying to keep her pinned there. The look in his eyes as he was doing this was..psychotic, even more so than what they've seen before. His increased aggression and destructiveness really shined here, in the way he had attacked Future Dome. And now he was taking it out on Penny. Snap looked on in horror as Mint delivered another punch, this time against her chest, knocking the wind out of her. Then he kicked her in the stomach, knocking her into the ground.
Penny looked up as Mint pinned her onto the ground. The look in his eyes was hard to describe. It was like a part of him just...disappeared, letting a more chaotic version take over. Even though he had a clear shot of taking her magic chalk, he ignored it. Before Penny had a chance to draw anything, he immediately seized her neck, squeezing it so tightly she couldn't breathe. He pulled his fist back and prepared to punch her again.
Mint never got that chance. Snap launched himself from the ground and slammed against Mint. He knocked him away from Penny. The boy staggered back as Snap wrapped his arms around him and forced him into the ground. Mint struggled frantically to get free, trying to grab Snap and throw him off. The zoner kept his arms wrapped around his neck and squeezed. Mint must have really lost it as he wasn't even trying to draw anything in this very moment.
"Ripclaw!"
In that moment, Ripclaw got off of Rudy. She turned and rushed towards Mint, snapping her jaws wildly in the air. Snap's eyes widened as she closed the gap swiftly, her yellow eyes glued onto him. Thinking fast, Snap jumped off of Mint and landed on Ripclaw's head. He wrapped his arms around her jaws, keeping them shut.
The utahraptor stopped in her tracks. Snap's body was blocking her eyesight. She let out loud hisses and snarls as she shook her head from side to side, trying to dislodge the small blue and white zoner. Snap refused to let go. Out of desperation, Ripclaw began to run around, despite not being able to see where she was going. It was scary riding on a beast that didn't know where it was going, but Snap did not relent. He was not going to give this dinosaur the chance to attack his friends, not while he could do something about it.
Keeping Ripclaw's jaws shut, Snap looked over to see how his friends were doing. He watched as Rudy helped Penny up to her feet. Snap winced at the bruise that appeared on her face, and the little bit of blood that trickled from her mouth. He guessed that Mint caused her to bite her own tongue too hard. The two then faced off against Mint, rushing in his direction.
"How dare you hurt Penny..." Rudy snarled as he brought out his magic chalk.
Mint shook his head. "N-No I didn't! This is all a game, you see... All a game!" Snap was confused by Mint's tone of voice. It sounded..panicked and desperate. He really had gone and lost it. He was really desperate to continue believing in this video game lie. "She'll be fine! I did no harm!" He took out his magic chalk. "I did no harm!"
Penny wiped away the blood that stained the corner of her mouth. "Who are you trying to fool, Mint? Us...yourself?" Her eyes narrowed deeper as she said that.
Mint's body trembled a little. He took a few steps back. He stared at Rudy and Penny. His eyes widened, like he was finally taking in everything that he's done. This did not last very long. He shook his head and glared at the two. He lifted up his magic chalk and began to draw. Rudy and Penny took a fighting stance as Mint attempted to draw something large. He didn't get to finish.
In the running around Ripclaw was doing as Snap held on, unable to see where she was going, Ripclaw ending up colliding with Mint, sending him flying across the ground. He let out a scream as he rolled across the hard ground, the magic chalk still clutched in his hand. Mint rubbed his head and looked up at Ripclaw narrowly missed trampling him as she continued to try to get Snap off of her.
Snap looked over and saw Mint get back up to his feet. He then looked out in front of himself, seeing where he was going. His eyes widened as he saw that Ripclaw was getting a little too close for comfort to one of the buildings that was on fire. She must be so busy trying to knock him off that she wasn't paying attention to her senses. In an attempt to save himself and ensure that she didn't accidentally hurt herself horrifically in the process, Snap jumped off of her. His knees buckled as he landed on the ground at an odd angle. He winced as he felt his leg bend in an odd way, but managed to keep on his feet.
Ripclaw stopped in her tracks, almost colliding with the building in front of her. She seemed to look bewildered, like she hadn't expected to be that close to danger. She turned her head up and moved backwards slowly, letting out a few low growls. She then turned her attention to Snap. Clearly unhappy with what he did, she started to advance on him.
Just then, bits of the building started to fall off. Ripclaw and Snap looked up as something large fell from a nearby building. A chunk of it had fallen off. Ripclaw let out a surprised hiss and staggered back, desperate to avoid the debris. Snap jumped out of the way just in time. The large piece fell on the ground heavily, cracking the ground slightly and kicking up dust into the air. Parts of the debris was coated in blue fire. Nothing really big, though. Just a few flickers of the cobalt flame.
Snap was a little shaken up by how close the debris had fallen to him. Just a few inches off, and he would have been injured. He looked over and tried to find any signs of Ripclaw. He couldn't see her, and at first, he wondered if she had gotten hit. A few screeches of frustration told him she was fine, but might be trapped up against the building. He could hear her claws scraping against the metal as she tried to climb her way out. Knowing that she wasn't going to be disabled for long, he turned his attention towards where his friends and Mint were standing.
Snap realized, as his eyes widened, that Mint had managed to disable his friends quickly. The desperation that seemed to flood the kid's mind caused him to draw a few small pterosaurs, ones with long tails and large heads, and they had swarmed around his friends, pecking and nipping at them. Rudy and Penny had tried to draw something; he could see the remains of their drawings on the ground, in the form of lines that were never fully completed. Two of the pterosaurs had their magic chalk. They crushed it in their beaks, the dust falling to the ground.
Mint looked satisfied with this. His grin was broad and he was giving off a cold laughter. Snap growled at this. No way he was going to let this guy get away with this. He rushed over towards Mint before the kid could attempt to take Rudy and Penny 'out of the game', as he tried to believe it was. As Rudy and Penny fought to get the small pterosaurs away from them, Mint just watched them. He didn't notice Snap until it was too late.
When he got close enough, Snap lunged at Mint for a second time. Mint looked at him in surprise as he was pushed against the ground. Mint was now on his back, Snap pinning him down. He struggled, but the zoner refused to let go of him.
"Get off of me, you little runt!" Mint snarled at him. He attempted to punch Snap, but he missed. "Get off!"
"No!" Snap shouted at him.
The two of them wrestled on the ground, one trying to pin the other. Snap had a hold of Mint's arms. Mint grabbed his. They pushed against each other, glaring at each other, their teeth gritted. Their shouts and growls filled the open area. Snap felt himself start to tire out, but he refused to give up. Mint had to be stopped. He had to be stopped right now. He refused to give Mint a chance to use that magic chalk. Mint would try to, but Snap would roll him onto his side, keeping his left arm pinned flat against the ground. This wouldn't last long as Mint would just roll back, but it did make it harder for him to draw anything.
Soon their struggles ceased. Mint laid on his back, glaring up at Snap. The two of them panted, exhausted from the wrestling. Then, after Snap caught his breath, he reached down and grabbed Mint's left arm. He kept it pinned and he tried to grab the magic chalk from him. Mint let out an angry growl and tried to pull Snap off of him. Before he could stop Snap, the zoner had gotten his magic chalk from him.
Snap looked over at Rudy. "Catch, Bucko!"
Rudy looked over just in time to see Snap throw Mint's chalk at him. The boy grabbed it and he turned his attention onto the pterosaurs. He raised his magic chalk and began to draw. He didn't waste any time. Lines filled the air faster than usual. Before the pterosaurs could react, Rudy drew a large net made of rope more densely packed than most nets Snap typically sees. He threw them over the pterosaurs, managing to catch them before they could try to take the magic chalk away from him again. With Penny's help, they pulled the pterosaurs onto the ground and secured them.
At this, Mint looked shocked. He turned his head up to Snap and snarled at him. "I told you to get off of me!"
With that, he grabbed onto Snap's cape. The zoner gagged as it was pulled tightly. Mint yanked Snap into the ground. He pinned him down and pulled hard on the cape, nearly choking the blue and white zoner. He glared hatefully at Snap, looking peeved that the zoner had managed to take his magic chalk from him.
If Mint was going to try anything else, he didn't get a chance to. Snap stopped struggling when Mint suddenly stopped pulling on his cape. Looking over, he instantly saw the reason why Mint stopped. Rudy and Penny, who had taken care of the pterosaurs, were walking in his direction. They glared at him with determination. Rudy had the magic chalk out, the one that Mint recently used. The sparkles coming off the chalk made Mint wince, a sign that he knew full well that he was in trouble now.
Mint instantly released Snap. He got off the ground and took a few steps back. He glared at the trio, gritting his teeth. That wild, crazy look was still in his eyes. He was still desperate, not willing to admit that he was wrong.
"This is all a g-game!" Mint shouted. His glare faltered a bit. "I-I-It's just a game! Just a game..."
"You have no idea how wrong you are, Mint." Rudy said, the magic chalk still raised. He took another step forward, limping slightly. "And now you have lost. We're taking you out of here. You will not be allowed to come back in..." He narrowed his eyes. "Ever.."
Mint shook his head. "No! You can't do this to me! I did nothing wrong!"
"Why are you trying to fool yourself, Mint?" Penny asked. She tilted her head slighlty. "Why do you keep feeding yourself these lies? Open your eyes, Mint! Open them and see the truth for what it really is!"
Together, the three of them started to advance on Mint. The eleven year old shook his head in desperation. He looked around frantically, like he was trying to find a way out. He must be so lost in his mind that he isn't noticing some of the obvious routes he could take. Instead of thinking rationally, he started to back up away from the trio. His expression was replaced with a mixture of fear and shock.
Soon, the trio had Mint cornered with nowhere for him to go. He pressed his back against the wall, clenching his teeth as the three got closer, blocking off any chance for him to run. Mint stared at the magic chalk Rudy held in his hand. His eyes widened and he shook his head in desperation. Snap half expected the kid to beg for them to let him go, but instead he just stood there, looking swiftly around to try to find a way out of his predicament.
Before the trio could grab Mint and take him back through the portal, a large shape jumped in front of them. They let out a scream of surprise as the thing landed dangerously close to them. Then a mouth filled with sharp teeth opened and roared at them.
Snap couldn't believe it. It was Ripclaw. That dinosaur always has a way of showing up at the wrong time. She stood in front of Mint, growling at the trio to hold them back. She snapped her jaws at Rudy, causing the boy to jerk back in surprise. The magic chalk flew from his hand, landing several feet away. The trio looked up at the dinosaur, wondering if she was going to attack them.
Instead of harming them, Ripclaw turned to Mint. She lowered herself, allowing the boy to climb onto her back. As Mint wrapped his arms around Ripclaw, he looked back at the trio. His eyes were wide and he was panting heavily. It was like he wasn't sure how to take in all of this. But instead of questioning what he had been told, instead of showing any sign that he might be starting to think ChalkZone is real, he was still deluding himself, purposely keeping himself ignorant just because it was comfortable and familiar to him.
"None of this is real! It's all fake! It's not real!" Mint called out in desperation. "You can't convince me otherwise! Y-You're lying! Trying to make me delusional like you! I'm not crazy!" He let out an insane laughter. "I'm not crazy!"
With that, Ripclaw leaped over them, landing several feet away. Rudy, Penny, and Snap watched as the now-crazy Mint rode on Ripclaw. The two of them rushed towards the edge of the Future Dome. They watched in horror as the two of them jumped off. They rushed over and peered over the edge, expecting to see a wounded Ripclaw and Mint laying on the ground from the fall.
But instead there was...nothing. They just...disappeared. How did they disappear? Where did they go? Were the Beanie Boys nearby? The three of them looked at each other in confusion and worry. It was bad enough that the large apatosaurus seemed to disappear. This shook them up even more because they saw Mint and Ripclaw jump over the edge. It took them only seconds to look over. How could they have disappeared so fast?
They didn't have long to think about that. They heard a scream from behind them and a familiar voice.
"Sweet transistors! What happened to the Future Dome?!"
Rudy, Penny, and Snap turned around to see a very panicked Craniac 4. They stared at him as he had his arms spread out, wheeling himself left and right frantically, his visual sensors taking in the sight of the Future Dome still burning down. They looked back at each other.
"It's a long story..." Rudy said. "A long one..."
sss
"No! No! No!" Skrawl growled, his voice a little more high pitched than usual. "It's not possible! Not now!"
But it was true. No matter how much he tried to reason with himself, tried to make sense of it, it all came back to that. Unlike his previous attempts to steal the artifacts, this one had failed. It wasn't because he didn't know where it was. Thanks to the books he stole, he knew right where it was. And using the ring artifact he stole, he could turn invisible, allowing himself a chance to sneak in and find the artifact without causing much of a disturbance. It was all planned out perfectly.
This time, however, was different than the others. For the first time, Mint had been defeated before Skrawl was close enough to get the artifact. No, he wasn't defeated. The little kid chickened out. He had ran off from the fight. His Beanie Boys were nearby. They told him how Mint just took off instead of attacking the trio when he had the chance. Then he just jumped over the edge, were the Beanie Boys caught him and took him under the Future Dome quickly enough before Rudy, Penny, and Snap could see.
This had bought the trio enough time to go after him. Or at least, Rudy. The three of them must have split up. He didn't know how Rudy managed to find him. To say Skrawl was surprised was an understatement. His plan had been going smoothly so far, with Rudy constantly distracted by Mint's descructiveness. Skrawl tried to fight back, but he stood little chance against the annoying chalk boy. He had so few of his Beanie Boys with him because he was so confident that Mint could keep the trio entertained for a while.
Skrawl was not happy with this turn of events. Mint had been performing well...for a time. But now it appeared that he was slipping. And it all started when he had shown the trio mercy before, even after Skrawl told him not to, even after he assured him it was just a game and none of it was real. Then Skrawl had attacked him out of anger to try to give him an incentive to listen. He started to realize that maybe that was not a good idea.
It was possible that Mint slipping up badly this time was because his attack made him question if this was a game or not. Skrawl narrowed his eyes at this. That is going to be a problem. With Mint fighting with his mind, he was going crazy and making mistakes, taking irrational choices. And it cost him the fight. He shouldn't have struck the kid, no matter how angry he was. He should have controlled his temper more. If he had done that, he might have avoided confusing Mint to the point where he started acting almost insane.
For that reason, he wasn't going to punish him this time. He still believed Mint was useful to him. He still believed he could get the boy to do what he wanted. If he still wanted to believe this was a game, if he still tried to delude himself the way he was, Skrawl still had some kind of hold over him. Mint was still his tool, and he was going to wield him for however long he could. He just needed to make sure that Mint try to think more rationally next time and not allow his mind to panic like it had at the Future Dome.
He was pleased with the destruction Mint was still able to cause, though. He was thrilled that the destruction was so bad that the zoners were trying to jump from the dome rather than stay there. The Beanie Boys reported that a large portion of the metal sides was ripped out, allowing an easy way for the zoners that live there to jump off of. Skrawl wished he had been there. It must have been some terrific destruction.
Skrawl still needed Mint. If anything, one last mission wouldn't hurt. He needed a way to buy a little more time. He had just one artifact left. One...and then it was off to take over ChalkZone. Well, almost. He still needed to study the artifacts to learn how to use them all. He didn't have full control over them yet. It would take some time.
He was so close to victory, he could almost taste it... Just one more. All he needed is one more distraction. Since Mint might be starting to lose it, and he didn't want to risk Rudy catching up to him again like he had before, he needed something else. Something that would keep Rudy and his miserable friends busy long enough for him to take the artifact and leave. Something that even Master Tabootie could stop so easily. He searched his mind, trying to find something that could work to his advantage.
An evil smile spread across the jellybean's face. He thought of the perfect idea. He cupped his hand to his mouth and shouted, "Mint! Come in here!"
Not long after he said that, Mint came into his office. He looked a little nervous. Skrawl wasn't surprised. He had failed to keep Rudy and his friends entertained long enough. And he must still be shaken up from when he had slashed him. He gestured for the boy to come closer.
When Mint was a few feet away from Skrawl, he asked, "What do you need, Skrawl?"
Skrawl grinned down at the boy. He folded his one arm behind his back as he approached. He watched as the boy cringed a little, expecting to be hit again. Skrawl said, "I have a special task for you..."
"And that is?" Mint asked, staring up at Skrawl with some bit of fear shining in his eyes. "What is my next assignment...?"
Skrawl looked at the claws on his hands. He flexed them menacingly. "I want you to go to the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle, locate a certain unicorn-horn shaped temple...and open it with this." He tossed what appeared to be a coin at the kid. Mint caught and looked at the disc-like thing with a sense of curiosity. "That is a key. Place it in the right spot. Trust me you will not, and it will release minerbites."
"Minerbites...?" Mint asked, confused.
The jellybean nodded his head. A nasty grin spread across his face. "Let's just say...they will keep those three brats busy for a long time..."