Shattered Doll
Chapter 28: A Vile Person
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It isn't possible to never tell the truth. But the reality is I'm getting away with murder!
-Getting Away With Murder, Papa Roach
sss
Rudy glared out at the scene before him. He could feel the dark clouds of anger swirling all around his head, almost empowering. His body shook as the emotion wracked a storm through him. At long last, he was finally face to face with the zoner that had caused him and his friends so much grief lately. The zoner single-handedly responsible for the city turning against Snap, for Snap's arrest, for everything. A zoner he and the others thought they could trust.
Sandra.
The blue dragon stood not far from him. She hadn't moved a muscle yet, nor did she attempt to speak. The seconds that passed between his shouts and her shaken question seemed longer than they really were. Her ears were dipped downward, like a sad puppy. Her wide eyes stared at him. He could see the fear radiating from her eyes. He knew why she looked that way.
It was because, this time, she had been caught red-handed. She could not deny it anymore. She could not lie this time.
For in her clutches, she held Doofus Rudy. Even if her earlier words hadn't given it away, her actions did. This was not a misunderstanding of any kind. This was not her simply showing anger to Doofus Rudy. No, he could see the murderous intent in her eyes, the way she was dragging him over the dreaded machine, clearly intending to use it.
He wouldn't let her. She was not going to allow her to hurt another zoner. Not ever again. He would save Doofus Rudy from this horrible fate, and then get Sandra arrested. She could not stand against a creator, especially not two, or three. She was outmatched.
Sandra continued staring at him for several more seconds. Her mouth hung partially open as she took in quick breaths. She glanced down at Doofus Rudy, and then back at Rudy himself. She looked like she was trying to speak, but any attempt failed.
Rudy decided to save her the trouble.
"You let him go! Release your grip on him! He didn't do anything wrong!" Rudy demanded. He took a step forward. He noticed the mild flinch in Sandra's expression. "You have no right to do this! Release him. Now!"
Sandra looked from him, to the zoner, and back again. She took a few steps back, pulling Doofus Rudy with her. The smaller zoner seemed to comply, but mostly out of confusion and uncertainty. Rudy locked eyes with his zoner counterpart. He could see the pleading look. Rudy's expression changed in a way to let the zoner know that he promised to get him out of there. He turned to glare back at Sandra.
The sky blue dragon looked left and right. Her ears pricked up. It was obvious she was trying to detect if there was anyone else here. Although he could see some fear flashing in her eyes, he couldn't tell if she figured out Penny and Mint were close by. She looked back at Rudy and swallowed nervously.
Then she attempted to speak.
"Th-This isn't... Y-You must understand... I..." Sandra stammered, her voice having a crack in it.
Rudy growled at this. "We trusted you! We thought you were an ally! But we find out that you...you..." He pointed at the machine. He stared at it, his eyes wide in anger, and, baring his teeth, he looked back at Sandra. "How the fuck could you do such a thing?!"
Sandra's breathing quickened. "I-I am doing what is right! Please... i-i-if you let me explain. you'll..."
"Doing what's right?! Is that what you call it?!" Rudy practically exploded at this. Sandra let out a whimper and cringed back, her ears flattening even more. He must be some spectacle to see, his face flushed warm red in anger. But at the moment, he hardly cared. "You think murdering an innocent zoner is doing the the right thing?!"
Sandra looked left and right. She lowered her head slightly. "Well...I..."
"And what of Snap?!" Rudy felt his blood blazing at the memories of what was going on with Snap lately. "Why are you doing this to him? What the fuck did he do to you?! All he did was help you!" Rudy ignored the scratchiness of his throat as he let out his rage against the zoner. "And you..." He gripped his head, trying to cope with the burning sensation sweeping through it, threatening to burn his scalp. "And this is how you repay him?!"
Sandra took in a few quick breaths. She took a few steps back. She did not let go of Doofus Rudy. She glanced down at him. She bit her lip. She turned back to Rudy. There was an almost pleading expression in her eyes. But Rudy didn't care. He knew she was just attempting to hide her true nature.
But this facade won't last for long. Sooner or later, it would be broken, and then they'd see just what kind of person Sandra really was.
"I didn't want to hurt him..." Sandra spoke softly. "I wanted to stop..."
Rudy narrowed his eyes. "Do you really think I believe that?!"
"I-I-It's true.. I swear!" Sandra's voice became higher pitched as she seemed to grow more desperate. She stared at Rudy as if she thought he was going to run right through her. "You've got to believe me!"
"Believe you?!"
Rudy, Sandra, and Doofus Rudy turned their heads to see Penny walking out from behind the shelf. Rudy stared at her, some surprise registering in his otherwise rage-filled face. He waited to see if Mint was coming, but he realized that he was staying behind, likely as a trump card.
Penny took position beside Rudy. She turned to face Sandra. At Penny's appearance, Sandra looked even more terrified. She knew she had been caught. She knew that she stood no chance against two creators. They had her right where they wanted her. Together, they would ensure that Sandra never hurt anyone ever again.
Penny had a disgusted look on her face. Her lip was curled up, scowling. "We believed you before! We believed you when you were trying to help Snap! We believed you when you tried to give us information we could use to find the culprit!" She raised up her hands, her fingers curved inward. Her body trembled, quaking with more emotion than she ever had to endure. "You lied to us! It was you all along! You were the one who hurt our friend! You were the one who turned almost all of ChalkZone City against him!You are the reason why he is being put on death row!"
Penny's breathing was ragged, sucking through her teeth. Rudy looked at her sympathetically. He had never seen her this angry before. She was usually calmer than this. But the knowledge of the full depth of what Sandra had been doing lately broke something inside of her.
The girl glared intensely at Sandra before shoving a finger towards her. Speaking through clenched teeth, she said, "And you fucking dare try to tell us that you didn't want to do it?! If you didn't want to, you wouldn't have done it! If you cared, you wouldn't have participated in this heinous crime! Tell me, Sandra, after all you've done, why the fuck should we believe anything you say?!"
Penny's voice was so loud that there was a slight echo reverberating off the walls. Sandra winced at this, her ears twitching at the echo. As it vanished, an uncomfortable silence reigned down on them, filling the room with a high level of tension, so thick they thought they could cut it with a knife.
Rudy looked at Penny, noting the way she was breathing heavily. Anger was written quite clearly on her face, more so than what was on his. Rudy's expression softened ever so slightly as he looked at her. He had known of the saying of beware the nice ones, and now, seeing how Penny had reacted, he could definitely say that's true.
Not that he blamed her at all. Sandra was a truly disgusting zoner. She had orchestrated this whole scheme on her own free will, hurting Snap, and then had the gall to pretend she was his friend. She pretended to help. She had lied to them all.
There were very few things in life that could make Rudy boil over. And lying was one of them. True, he, Mint, and Penny lied to their parents all the time, but it was just to keep ChalkZone safe. They weren't intended to harm. Sandra however..she was a malicious liar. Her lies intended to do harm. And that rattled him and his friends to their core.
He wondered, briefly, how Snap was going to react to the news. He was going to be heartbroken to find out that a zoner he had helped was the one responsible for his pain. He had seemed to like Sandra, and never had a problem with her. It was going to be quite nerve wracking for him to find out. It was not going to be easy news to deliver. But Rudy would still do it. Unlike Sandra, he was not going to lie to him about this. Snap deserved to know who had been the cause of his pain all this time, the true culprit of the murder of all those innocent zoners.
Rudy turned his attention back to Sandra. The longer he stared at her, the angrier he felt. He growled softly, clenching his teeth tightly. He was still shaken up by this recent discovery. Memory upon memory of this zoner entered his mind, and each time he thought of times when she acted genuinely helpful, he could feel his blood heating up. She was such a monster... He couldn't believe that she would do something like this.
"How could you...?" Rudy spoke, cutting through the tension of the silence. Sandra looked at him sideways, her one terrified pupil staring straight at him. "How could you lie to us all this time? How could you hurt our friend, when he did nothing but help you?" There was one question ringing through his mind. One question he had the strongest desire to know. "Just...why...?"
"Why...? You want to know why?" Sandra asked, her voice gaining a bit more volume. She looked at Rudy and Penny, who glared back at her, nodding their heads. Sandra remained quiet for a few seconds. Then she said, "Okay..I'll tell you.."
Rudy and Penny glared at her, but said nothing. They waited for her to continue. They waited to hear just what kind of excuse she was going to pull out of her tail.
Sandra turned her head, looking at her machine. She said, "You see, I made this thing to help me with my business. I need it. It's been my key to success. So when I found it destroyed, well, you can understand why I'd be upset." Keeping her head in that posture, the eye facing them turned its pupil at them. "I had promised to make whoever done that to my machine pay for what they did. I needed to ensure there wouldn't be a repeat incident." She turned her head over her shoulder, both her red eyes staring at them. "You can very well imagine how shocked and hurt I was when I found out Snap was the one who did it." She lowered her head, her eyes filling with sorrow. "I simply could not believe that he'd do such a thing. But accident or not, it was too late."
"What are you talking about..?" Penny growled.
"Nothing made you do anything of this!" Rudy called out.
"That's where you're wrong." Sandra closed her eyes. Her expression softened up. "You see, I had already made the promise. And promises aren't meant to be broken." She opened her eyes and stared at them. "I would be tainting the sanctity of the promise if I didn't fulfill it. Regardless of how I felt, I did what I knew was necessary. The promise cannot be broken, and Snap cannot be allowed to interfere with me again."
"You're a monster!" Rudy snarled at her. "How could you do that?!"
Sandra stared at him, looking a bit calm, though Rudy could still see the fear in her eyes. "I never wanted to do it. I only did so because I made a promise. Once a promise is made, it can never be broken." She took a step forward, still hanging onto Doofus Rudy, who at this point, had gone silent in curiosity and confusion. "Besides, I was going to let him go." She held up her free hand in gesture. "I was going to confess the truth sooner or later, and set things right. Then things would have gone back to the way they were."
"You honestly believe that?!" Rudy snapped, taking a step towards the dragon. "Do you really think that the zoners would have just washed this down their backs as if it were nothing?!"
Sandra stared at him, not saying a word. She looked a bit surprised by his outburst, as if she thought he had no reason to be upset. This angered him and Penny further.
Rudy shouted, "How fucking dare you! How dare you cause ChalkZone City so much pain, and then act like things would just shift back to normal like nothing happened! Do you have any idea of the pain and misery you caused?! Do you have any idea how many zoners are suffering because of you?!"
Sandra blinked her eyes a few times. Then, much to their surprise, she smiled. Not a malicious one, but a smile that seemed more friendly and nervous than anything. "They would have understood." Rudy and Penny widened their eyes in shock at this. "They would understand I was only trying to keep a promise. They would understand that the zoners who perished died for a good cause." She turned her head to the side as her smile broadened more. "And Snap would understand I was just trying to do the right thing. He would not stay angry at me. We would have been able to move on, and then one day..." She tilted her head upwards, looking up towards the ceiling. She held her hand up, still smiling. "..we'd look back on this day and laugh."
This statement caused a wave of ice to move through Rudy and Penny, and they were certain Mint felt it as well. It stunned them to the core. Their eyes went wide, mouth dropping open. For a few seconds, they felt numb, their minds trying to process what Sandra had just told them. It took a few seconds before the anger returned.
Was Sandra serious? Did she really think that she could get away with this? Did she honestly believe that Snap would treat this day as just any other? That he'd ignore the very real tragedy that gripped ChalkZone? How could Sandra be so stupid and ignorant? How coud she have a thought that was so erroneous, disregarding the reality that faced them all?
They tried their best to keep control of their anger. They tried not to lunge at Sandra, a very tempting thing right about now. They had to keep control of themselves. They had to remain where they were, for if they attacked her, they would be no better than her.
They needed to trap her, and send her off to jail, where she belonged. Permanently as well. She was too dangerous to keep on the streets. She clearly had a very flawed view of the world, an ignorant logic that she followed that made her way too unpredictable to be around. She had to be locked up before her twisted view of how the world works caused another zoner to get hurt.
Rudy took in a deep breath, keeping his anger back the best he could. He was going to screw things up if he allowed it to control him. He looked over at Penny, gesturing for her to also gain control over her anger. He looked back at Sandra, his eyes narrowed. Before he could open his mouth, he felt a brief flash of rage surge up through him. He stiffened, letting it pass, and then he began to speak.
"Do you honestly believe that?" Rudy asked through barely controlled anger. "Do you really believe that things would go like that?"
Sandra's smile faded slightly. She paused for a moment, and then gave an affirmative nod. "Yeah..I do. That's the way the world works, doesn't it?" She pulled her head back, lowering her snout. "I mean, why would promises exist if they could be broken?"
"It happens all the time." Penny said dryly.
Sandra narrowed her eyes. "Then they have destroyed the sacredness that is the promise. Whoever broke those lies should be killed on sight..." Her voice was a low growl.
Rudy widened his eyes. "So you think you would have been killed if you hadn't kept this...this promise...?"
Sandra smiled again, any sign of anger from before vanishing. "I don't think. I know." She made a gesture with her hand. "After all, there is nothing more valuable than a promise. Anyone who doesn't follow the rules should be executed. Such people do not belong in this world."
Rudy glared at the dragon. "So...so you think that hurting Snap was worth keeping this..this promise of yours?"
Sandra didn't hesitate to answer. With a broader smile, she said, "Absolutely."
Rudy widened his eyes at this confession. Then they narrowed dangerously. Sandra's expression took on that of fear and she cringed back. Rudy's blood boiled over. It took a gentle touch from Penny to knock him back to his senses before he did anything he might regret. He took in a few breaths, trying to cool himself down. "You...you're such a fool..."
Sandra looked taken aback by this statement. "What..what do you mean...?"
Sandra trying to feign innocense made Rudy grind his teeth. "You hurt my friend even though he did nothing to you! He didn't mean to ruin your precious machinery! He wasn't trying to ruin your business! All he ever did to you was try to be a friend, and this is how you treat him? By pushing him in the back of a promise?! You're disgusting!"
Penny joined in. "You really think that Snap is going to keep being friends with you after he finds this out?" Penny spread her arms outward. "He wouldn't want to be anywhere near you after he finds out about this!"
Rudy took a step forward. He formed fists with his hands, shaking them. "Snap wouldn't even dream of being your friend after he learns that you are the one who hurt him!"
"Well I did think of not telling him.." Sandra started to say.
Rudy didn't let her finish. "You were going to lie to him again?! Oh I'm not surprised!"
Sandra placed her hand against her armored chest, gritting her teeth nervously. "Please..try to be reasonable..."
"Reasonable?!" Rudy snarled. "How dare you..." He lowered his head, glaring at her in the eyes. "How dare you try to tell us to be reasonable when you.." He jabbed a finger in her direction. "...you were the one who thinks that keeping a promise is so important that even friends are less valuable and are to be shoved under the rug!"
"N-Now..I never said that friends weren't important..." Sandra stammered, raising up her hand as she tried to defend herself. "I do like Snap! I'm being honest here! I don't like hurting him! I still see him as a friend!"
"So you think that friends are important?" Rudy asked, tilting his head to one side. "You have an awfully funny way of showing that..."
Penny moved forward so that she was next to Rudy again. "You are no friend, Sandra." She folded her arms against herself, her face etching in the clear message of anger. "You are a vile person, the most disgusting monster we have ever met. To try to act like you are doing nothing wrong..." She closed her eyes, letting her body shiver once in anger. "At least Skrawl is honest about wanting to hurt someone..."
Sandra cringed as she saw Rudy reach for his magic chalk. "What are you going to do...?"
"We are locking you up." Rudy said. He held up his magic chalk, the tip of it glittering. "You will be sent to jail where you will have no chance of getting out. People like you don't deserve to be on the streets."
"B-But my restaurant..." Sandra started to say.
"It will be taken down, or someone else will take it over." Penny said. "Besides, it's just a restaurant. It can be replaced. Lives cannot." She glared intently at Sandra. "You must pay the price for your crimes, Sandra."
Rudy nodded. "Now hold still. You have no chance against two creators." At this, Penny held up her magic chalk. "So just make it easier on yourself and surrender..."
Sandra took a step back. Her wide eyes looked at them in desperation. "You..you're going to lock me up..just for holding a promise...?"
Rudy hesitated to answer right away. He wanted to tell her that it was her actions in keeping said promise that were sending her off to jail. But after he thought about it some more, he realized that it really was the promise that's making the decision. After all, it was her trying to keep the promise that led her to hurt Snap, to kill those zoners, to cause all this trouble.
If she hadn't abused the promise, if she had just realized that, sometimes, promises could be broken, then this wouldn't have happened. She chose to do this. The promise didn't make her. She cannot keep hiding like a coward behind her promise. It was time that she faced the consequences of her actions.
Rudy gave an affirmative nod. "Yes." A quick answer, short and to the point.
Sandra's mouth went agape as her eyes bulged open. She stared at Rudy in shock for a few seconds, and then her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And you think that Snap wouldn't understand?"
"He would hate you for what you've done." Rudy said, this time not hesitating.
Sandra's eyes narrowed further and she bared her teeth. A low growl escaped her throat as her ears twitched. "How dare you.."
Rudy simply glared back. He raised up his magic chalk. "You are coming with us, Sandra."
Sandra's eyes flashed, something deeper than just anger appearing in them. She spoke lowly, her voice, for a brief moment, sounding more feral than anything Rudy has ever heard in his life. "Don't you dare raise your chalk at me..."
Rudy's eyes widened at this, but he did not allow Sandra's anger to scare him away. Although he and his friends weren't sure of just what she was capable of, he had no plans on running away. They were this close to taking care of her. They had her outnumbered. She stood no chance. Despite Sandra's angered expression, despite Doofus Rudy shaking his head, as if trying to say something, Rudy still advanced.
Moving his hand forward to begin to draw, he said, "We're sorry, Sandra. But you have given us no choice."
Doofus Rudy struggled in the zoner's grasp. "No! Stay back! She.."
Sandra covered Doofus Rudy's mouth, silencing him. She turned her attention back to Rudy. She lowered her head. The lips on her mouth curled up, exposing her sharp teeth. Her mouth stretched into a dark smile. Again she spoke in a low voice, but this one was tinged with something else, almost glee. "Lower your chalk..or I will make sure that you really do have no choices left..."
Although taken aback by Sandra speaking, yet again, in that gravelly, feral voice, Rudy did not listen to her. He knew she had to be stopped. Now was the only time they could do that. He raised up his magic chalk further, and soon began to draw a trap to use on Sandra.
As soon as he did, Sandra's eyes bulged open, her pupils shrinking into dots. Rudy barely had time to question this when he suddenly felt a horrific pain wrack up through his right arm. He released his grip on the magic chalk as he let out a scream.
"Rudy!" Penny cried out in horror.
Rudy dropped down onto his knees. He bent forward, his head nearly touching the ground. He cradled his arm to himself, feeling something rip through the muscle inside. Tears of pain flowed down his cheeks as he lifted up his head and looked over at Sandra.
Sandra had taken a step towards him. Her body was arched, her tail raised into the air, ticking side to side. Her face was contorted and twisted, a darkened, insane smile spreading across it. Her red eyes almost appeared to glow, boring through his. Her free hand moved out in front of her, forming a fist, the palm facing upwards. The triangle mark on her forehead was glowing, giving parts of her skin an eerie shine.
"Stop this! Please!" Penny pleaded with Sandra.
The dragon shot her a glare, and then turned her head to the side in an almost dramatic fashion. She spoke, her sharp teeth still exposed. "You two should have thought better than try to ruin my business.. You should have thought more before you decided to ruin the sanctity of a promise, or when you dare say that Snap would turn against me. If Snap cared at all, he'd understand..."
Penny's breathing quickened, panic clearly rising inside of her. "Please, Ms. Sandra! You have to stop this!"
Sandra lowered her head. "Why should I...?"
"You're making a big mistake!" Penny shouted.
"Oh? Am I...?" Sandra's eyes glinted. "Well I could rectify that. I could allow you to join."
Penny's eyes bulged. "N-No..that's not what I..."
Penny didn't get a chance to finish. She let out a scream as Sandra's powers got a hold of her as well. She clutched her leg and fell to the ground. Her body curved almost in a fetal position as she hugged her leg to her body. She started to cry in agony.
"Penny!" Rudy managed to say through his pain. He looked over at Sandra. "Let her go!" He begged.
"Oh I can't do that." Sandra said, a nastry grin spread across her face. "She was feeling left out, so I'm inviting her in. What kind of rude hostess would I be if I kicked her out now?"
Rudy tried to get up. He tried to do something, anything. But the horrific pain kept him on the ground. He looked over at Sandra in horror. He could see her insane grin, the terrified look on Doofus Rudy's face. Even though the Doofi weren't always the brightest, they did have enough sense to know when real peril was imminent, and it really showed here.
He looked over at Penny. She was holding her leg still, crying loudly in pain. She squirmed on the ground, trying to get away. The sight of it broke his heart. His body was tormented with the mental pain of his friend being hurt, and his own physical anguish. It was becoming too much to bear, and he could feel his mind start to get a little fuzzy.
Suddenly there was a scream, and he felt some relief when he could no longer feel Sandra's powers bearing down on him. He let out a groan of pain and pushed himself up from the ground. He assisted Penny to her feet. The two looked over to see what had caused the change.
To their shock, Doofus Rudy had bitten down on Sandra. Despite his fear, he still worked up the courage to fight back. His teeth sank into Sandra's hand, drawing a bit of blood. In this instance, they wondered if the scratches on her side were from a zoner she was tormenting fighting back.
Sandra's eyes bulged open, but soon they narrowed again as she glared down at Doofus Rudy. "And here I thought you wouldn't be stupid enough to do something like that again."
Sandra jerked her arm as hard as she could. Doofus Rudy was not able to keep up and he was tossed into the ground. Sandra let out a cry of pain as Doofus Rudy ended up inadvertantly tearing off a small piece of flesh with him. Blood dripped down the small wound on Sandra's arm. She looked at it, her eyes wide in shock, and then she snarled in Doofus Rudy's direction. The zoner looked up at her in fear, too terrified to speak.
Sandra lifted up her foot and grabbed him around his throat. She lifted him up, baring her teeth at him. She then pulled her leg back and threw him to the side. The zoner slammed against one of the shelves and slumped down onto the ground. He laid there, shivering and whimpering in fear. She then turned her attention to Rudy and Penny.
"If I were you..." Sandra said. "I would forget that this whole ordeal never happened. This is the only chance I'm giving you two. I can call this whole thing off and I can return you to normal." At this, Rudy felt a dull ache radiating from the arm that Sandra damaged. "But only if you promise to tell no one about this."
"H-How can you..." Came Penny's pained voice. "..expect us to..d-d-do that...?" A seethe and a whimper. "Wh-What about Snap? Do you think we would abandon him?"
"Snap? Oh don't worry about him!" Sandra waved a dismissive hand. "I'll let him go as soon as the lesson is complete, and everything will be fine." She leaned towards them. "I promise... And you know I never break promises."
Rudy glared at the zoner. He then glanced at Penny. The two of them silently wondered what they were going to do. Should they take the chance and listen to Sandra? Or should they take action?
If they go along with this, then Snap might be okay. If Sandra was true to her word, then she'd call the whole thing off soon, and she would stop tormenting the zoners. But if they continue to fight against her, she may end up killing them in the process, and she might go after Snap. There was a bit of conflict in their heads until they realized something.
Sandra wouldn't stop tormenting people. The machine of hers... the signal... she had been slaughtering zoners left and right. Even if she were true to her word and she let Snap go, what of the other zoners? They would get hurt, even die, at the claws of this monster.
In the end, they knew what their answer had to be.
"No." Rudy said simply.
Sandra widened her eyes at this declaration. For a few brief moments, she looked stunned that they would decline her offer. Then, in seconds, she looked offended, baring her sharp teeth at them. She formed fists with her hands, shaking them. "So...you want to make this difficult.." She twisted her head to the side dramatically. "Fine! Be that way!"
Rudy and Penny watched as Sandra walked back to where Doofus Rudy was. The zoner shivered harder as the dragon got closer. Rudy and Penny watched in horror at this, their hearts twisting and stomach churning.
"W-Wait...what are you doing?!" Rudy called out.
"Leave him alone!" Cried a horrified Penny.
Sandra smirked. "You already made up your minds. But perhaps I could coerce you a little. I'm good at that..."
Rudy widened his eyes at this. He recalled what Arno had told them. He wasn't supposed to sell that many white flame fireworks in one day. But Sandra had apparently coerced him into it. He had to wonder if they were about to witness her method in coercing people. The thought filled him with terror.
Sandra looked down at Doofus Rudy. Without turning her head, her eyes turned to face Rudy and Penny. She lifted up her hand, pointing it in Doofus Rudy's direction. Whether or not this was required for her powers to work was hardly on the children's minds, for seconds later, Doofus Rudy began to scream and he clutched his arm.
To the children's horror, Doofus Rudy's arm looked like it had already been damaged before. And now Sandra was causing more pain, and tearing apart whatever healing had taken place. Listening to the poor zoner's screams was absolutely heartbreaking. It was really shocking seeing this happy go lucky zoner, with not a care in a world, being reduced to a miserable pile of agony like this.
"Stop that!" Penny shouted at Sandra. "Please!"
Sandra smiled at Penny, but didn't bother to answer. Instead, she just kept on hurting Doofus Rudy, her ears twitching slightly as his screams but otherwise, showing no discomfort. She didn't look like she was going to stop any time soon, and as if to prove the point of that unspoken statement, she twisted her arm slightly, which seemed to increase the impact of the power. Doofus Rudy screamed loudly.
"I think it's time I told you what kind of power I have." Sandra said. Her voice was chillingly casual for this kind of situation. "I have, what you'd call, super healing powers." She turned her back to them, folding her arm behind her. She still seemed to have a hold of Doofus Rudy as he was still writhing in agony. "Now I know what you two must be thinking. Healing powers are used to help." She made a gesture at her side at this. "They cannot be used to hurt or control people." She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. She smiled at Rudy and Penny. "Well..that is where you are wrong."
Rudy and Penny glared at the sky blue zoner as she turned around and walked back towards them. They looked over apprehensively at Doofus Rudy before Sandra blocked their view, forcing them to look at her. They growled, but said not a word.
Sandra said, "Healing requires cell division, does it not?" Sandra looked down at Penny and smiled. "You know this to be true, don't you?" She tilted her head to one side, her ears flopping down. "You know a thing or two about health, right?"
Penny said, "My mom is a vet."
"Ah perfect! So you do know!" Sandra clasped her feather fingertips together, straighting herself up, her tail lowering towards the ground. "I take it you must know what happens when a cell reaches the end of its...dividing cycle or whatever it's called."
Penny widened her eyes at this. Rudy looked at her in confusion, wondering what had startled her. A quick chuckle from Sandra was his only clue that it wasn't anything good.
"The cell runs the risk of producing a cancerous version of itself." Sandra said. Rudy gasped in horror at this. "So in short, I can use my healing powers to induce tumors into my..victims... I can undo all the damage as well, reverting the cells back to their state from before I missed with them." She lifted up a feather finger and pressed it against her shoulder where Doofus Rudy had bitten her. "And in case you don't believe me that my powers are healing, let me show you this."
Rudy and Penny watched as a slight glow appeared around the gaping wound. The skin stretched and pulled, and in a matter of seconds, the wound closed up. It sealed quickly, and in a flash of light, the luminance was completely gone. There was no sign of any injury at all. Sandra lifted her arm towards herself, smiling as she flexed her arm. She looked back at the children, grinning.
Rudy couldn't believe it. He had always viewed healing as a good power. He had never seen it in ChalkZone that much and he couldn't even recall the last zoner he knew that had it. Healing was supposed to help people. It was supposed to aid in their recovery.
But this..this monster... She had been using her powers for evil. This was worse than a villain having a power that was obviously harmful. This zoner had taken the time to figure out how to use her otherwise beneficial power to harm others. The realization of this twisted their stomachs, making them feel sick.
Sandra smiled at them for several seconds. Then her ears twitched and flattened, and she turned to Doofus Rudy. She scowled at him in contempt. Then she looked back at the two children. She caught their expressions, and her frown faded away. She made her way over to Doofus Rudy.
"Wait! Don't hurt him more!" Penny cried.
Rudy reached forward. "Just let him go! Please!"
Sandra ignored their pleas. She walked towards the trembling zoner, watching as he shivered on the ground. Sandra lowered herself to him, eyeing his arm intently. She reached forward and grabbed onto it. Doofus Rudy pleaded with her to release him. Sandra tightened her grip on him, and she shut her eyes. Doofus Rudy's body stiffened as a glow wrapped around his arm. Rudy and Penny watched as the wound was healed up, disappearing as if nothing happened. Sandra stepped away from the zoner and looked down at him, folding her arms against her chest.
Although he was healed, Doofus Rudy still appeared to be in pain. He remained on the ground, holding his arm to himself. He whispered, mostly incoherent. A few times, he apologized to Doofus Penny. Some others, he asked why, and what did he do. The sight of this brought tears to Rudy and Penny's eyes.
"Oh don't get all teary eyed." Sandra said. "He's not going to be in pain for long."
Rudy glared at her. "What do you plan on doing to him?"
Sandra tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if I should tell you."
Rudy was about to rush forward when he felt Penny grab his arm. She shook her head, in that instant, Rudy remembered what Sandra was capable of doing. He felt a dull ache in his arm and he winced. He glared back at Sandra, doing whatever he could to keep himself from lurching at her.
"But...why not?" Sandra motioned her hand to the side casually. "I suppose you deserve to know what I've been doing."
At this, Rudy said, "Yeah. What is that machine over there?" He pointed at the blender thing.
"And what are you using it for? And what do you plan to do with Doofus Rudy?" Penny asked.
"Why have you been killing zoners?" Rudy asked.
Sandra blinked at them a few times. She pulled her head back and let out a short-lived, though still creepy, laugh. When she was done, she looked at them and said, "I see you figured it all out! Well..kind of..." She folded her arms. "You two are still smart, however. I can see why Skrawl had a tough time with you. But enough of that.." She turned her head to the side, making a dismissive gesture before turning her arm against the other. "Let us talk about what I do. Don't worry. Everything will..fall into place."
Rudy and Penny glared at the dragon zoner. Sandra began to pace around them slowly, almost like a vulture would dead prey. Rudy and Penny winced at this behavior, but they still frowned at her, trying to look brave.
"You see, with a conflicting mind like I have, drawn as a healer, but with cooking abilities, I had no idea where I belonged. Of course, your friend Snap was quite generous and he helped me out. It was during this time of finding where I belonged that I discovered my healing powers and how they could be used to harm if I so pleased. Sometime later, I decided that I wanted to create some kind of restaurant, and Snap helped me with that, too. Even got me my first customers." She smiled at this. Then she frowned. "But see, I needed a gimmick. Something that would draw in customers. Something that would ensure that I would be a success."
Sandra continued circling the two children. They moved closer to one another, glaring at the dragon, but kept quiet as she continued her story.
"One day, there was an accident and...well long story short, I ended up with a corpse in my warehouse there." She spread her arms out. "I wanted to get rid of the body, since it was going to stink the place up, but then I had a thought. What if I were to just...feed the meat to my customers? Just cook it up long enough and it would be fine. I don't think anyone thought of that before, so I went through with it. It was a success."
Rudy felt like throwing up.
Sandra kept on walking in circles around the two. She came closer, closing the gap between them. Soon she was close enough to grap. The two children refused to do so, knowing that, at any second, the dragon could reactivate her powers on them.
Sandra held up her hand in gesture, her head facing the ground. "I realized that I could use this as my gimmick. It went over so well with my customers that I decided that would be what I'd do. Zoner meat is always so varied, never the same taste twice."
Penny's eyes widened. "So that's why you claim that the specials are never the same..."
"More or less, yes." Sandra nodded in confirmation. She turned her head slightly, her snout still facing the ground as her legs propelled her on her circular path. "The only problem left was deliverance. How was I going to get all that meat? Who would be my supplier?" She rubbed her chin at this, pretending that she was thinking. "I needed a place that would have endless meat, that I could pick off from without anyone realizing what I was doing."
Rudy snarled angrily at this. "Because you didn't want to go to jail!"
Sandra chuckled at this. "No, dear boy. It's actually because I didn't want anyone stealing my idea."
Rudy felt his stomach twist at this. "You actually thought that someone would copy your idea and sell zoner meat to people?!"
Sandra nodded her head. "Exactly." She lifted up a finger. "I couldn't allow that to happen. So I had to not only find a place, but I needed a way to make sure no one knew what I was doing." She stopped her pacing and turned her back to them. "I then realized something..." She swirled her tail around slowly from side to side. "The hospital in ChalkZone City has that sick ward. The terminally ill section I mean. And there's always new patients there. There'll always be children who draw zoners who are sick, and zoners who are drawn sick often do not recover. Then there's other factors... well skipping that." She looked over her shoulder at them, turning herself around and walking towards them. She tapped her fingers together. "I realized that I could use this to my advantage. An endless supply of meat for my restaurant." She stopped in front of the two children. "Brilliant idea, wouldn't you think?"
Penny said exactly what was on Rudy's mind. "Go bite your tail."
Sandra looked shocked by this, but said nothing. She smirked and folded her arms behind her back, straightening herself up even more until she was upright. "Well I did realize that someone might realize the patients were gone. What I needed was a way to prevent this. I can place tumors in heads, make them forget, but it would take too long to do it to all those people. So I created this."
She spread her arms out as she walked towards her machine. "This beautiful machine has made all of this possible. Not only does it grind up entire zoners and excretes out their meat," Sandra gave them a sideways glance. "But I also gave it my powers, but on a broader scale, and more subtle. No tumor placement. Just messing with the electro signals in the brain."
"So you used that machine to send all zoners into a sort of...trance?" Rudy asked.
"Well whoever I decide to. I can specify it, and control the frequency." Explained Sandra. "I also can use it to mess with security systems, which allowed me to grab some new meat whenever I needed it." She leaned against her machien, grinning at the children. "Between this baby..." She patted the machine. "And my perfect planning..." She jabbed a thumb against herself. "I've been able to create delicious, rare delicacies that have had customers flocking to my restaurant. I am a success!" She raised her hands into the air, looking proud and happy for what she has done.
"You've...You've been..." Penny's face was pale. "You've been feeding zoners the flesh of their own kind?!"
"What's the big deal?" Sandra shrugged. "We're all zoners, and we're all meat. It's no different than eating a non-sentient chalk cow, or one of those foods that talk and wants to be eaten."
"There's a world of difference!" Penny shouted.
"Eh, details.." Sandra waved a dismissive hand at her. Noticing her glare, Sandra chuckled. "Now come on, little girl." She raised her hands at her sides. "No reason to get upset. It's no big deal, really."
Rudy seethed at this. "And you..you killed all those zoners just because Snap ruined your precious machine?!"
Sandra nodded her head at this. "I needed to make sure that Snap regretted betraying me." Rudy and Penny hissed at this. "I didn't want to do it, but in the end, I knew I had to. So I arranged a fake party, gathered up some random zoners off the street, making sure none of them had a connection to Snap, and then blew it up."
"Using white flame fireworks..." Penny hissed.
"Why yes, that's right. Good for you for figuring that out, Penny." Sandra said, a slight congratulatory tone to her voice. "I needed something that was small and portable enough, yet would create a huge bang. White fire is among the most intense of flames, so I went with that. It worked like a charm. I confronted Snap afterwards, placing the tumor in his head before anyone found him." She took a few steps back when she noticed the rage etched in the children's faces. "Now, now... It'll all be over soon. Your friend's suffering will end and you will have him back."
"And what if Doofus Rudy?" Penny asked. "What do you plan on doing with him?"
"Simple..." Sandra held up her hand in gesture. "I want to make amends with Snap. I want to make him a nice dinner. I know on some level, he cares about Doofus Rudy here." She gave a quick glance at the pained and terrified zoner. "So I know that he would definitely enjoy his meat then. Fear-tinged meat is great, and him being a sort of friend to Snap makes it even better. Nothing says friendship like enjoying each other's flesh."
Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at this, unable to believe what they heard. Anger swept through their heads. They ground their teeth together. Rage boiled through their blood. Their bodies began to tremble. Sandra's eyes widened and she moved back further. She looked utterly perplexed that they were even reacting this way, which infuriated them even more.
This zoner..this monster.. How could she do this...? How could she kill all those zoners and use their flesh for recipes like this? How could she torture their best friend, and then act like she had done nothing wrong?
The realization that all this pain and suffering was caused by a delusional zoner who merely wanted to prevent her business from going away boiled their blood. They never felt so enraged in their lives. They could practically see red, their faces heating up as blood was flushed into it. It took all their will power not to charge at the dragon zoner. She was absolutely disgusting and vile. How could she live with herself? How could she go to sleep at night with the knowledge of the heinous acts she had committed?
Rudy knew now, even more than before, how important it was that this fiend was locked up for good. If she were to allowed to remain on the streets, more zoners would be killed to satisfy her sick, twisted need of obtaining their meat, and her patrons would continue eating without realizing they could be eating the flesh of a fallen loved one. The thought made him feel nauseous and his head started to spin. He rubbed his upper chest and throat, fighting off that uncomfortable feeling. When he had regained control of himself, he took a step forward, locking eyes with the evil dragon zoner.
"We will stop you... You will not get away with this. I promise you that." Rudy said.
Sandra snapped her head back and snarled. "You dare make a promise like that?" She leaned forward, her lips pulled up to expose her sharp teeth. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?!"
"Yes." Rudy nodded his head. He bent down and picked up his piece of magic chalk that he dropped earlier. He lifted it up and showed it to her. "I am going to make sure that you never harm another innocent zoner again." He narrowed his eyes in determination. "I promise."
Sandra's breathing increased as she raised her hands at her sides as if to grab something. She took a step back and, for a moment, appeared quite terrified. Then anger soon become the dominant emotion on her face. She bared her teeth at Rudy, who looked unfazed by it. Then Sandra smiled twistedly and spoke in that feral voice from before. "Then so be it..."
Rudy's eyes widened as he realized he forgot about Sandra's power. Her head mark glowed and he immediately felt a surge of agony. He held his arm to himself, feeling it begin to bulge. He could feel Penny scream his name and hold onto him. His mind was so wracked with agony, he could barely register her. The only thing on his mind was the horrific pain that this villain was putting him through.
Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Rudy let out a pained sigh of relief. He rubbed his arm gingerly. He looked at Penny, wondering if she did anything. But from her expression, it was clear she was not responsible for this. Instead, she looked shocked, looking at where Sandra was. Curious, Rudy looked over to see what Penny was looking at.
He took immediate notice of Sandra. She had taken a step forward, but her body was arched in a way that suggested she was hit. He could even see her hold her arm, a small cut on it. On the ground not far, he could see there was a small knife. It was clear someone threw a knife at her and it made its mark, enough to stop her from hurting him.
But it couldn't have been Doofus Rudy who did that. He was still on the ground in agony and fear. So who could have..?
His eyes widened when he saw who it was.
"Mint..?"
Indeed, standing not far from Sandra was Mint. Rudy was shocked. What was he doing here? He was injured. He was missing part of his foot. He was vulnerable. Sandra was going to rip right through him.
"Mint...get out of here!" Rudy pleaded. "Please!"
Mint looked at Rudy. He shook his head. "I have to do this."
"So..." Sandra turned around, glaring at Mint. "You must be one of my creators. How..nice of you to join..." She walked towards him slowly, swishing her tail in agitation. "Don't think I'll treat you differently just because you are one of my creators."
"I wouldn't have it any other way..." Mint hissed at her.
Sandra smirked. "So, did you come here to challenge me?"
Mint nodded her head. Keeping himself steady on his crutch, he raised up his piece of magic chalk. "Unless you're too scared."
Sandra flashed her teeth at this, a smile radiating with amusement and anger spreading across her face. "Bring it on." She growled.
