Draow growled softly, his lips curled up to show off his fangs. He had his ears flattened against the side of his face. His pupils had shrunk a little as he stared intensely ahead. There was nothing really to look at. But he wanted to fixate his gaze on something since Bardot wasn't there. He had gone off somewhere, probably to 'check' on their new prisoner, Blocky.

He wasn't interested in seeing Bardot, at least not now. He could feel the anger inside growing stronger. He had thought he made a good choice with teaming up with the little beast. He was vicious, just like his master, if not even more so. And he loved the idea of finally getting revenge on the brats who took his master down. He loved to see them suffer, to pay for what they had done. He had dreamed of not much else for over a year, brooding in that cell, hoping that one of them would get close enough so he could slash them open.

He enjoyed the pain he inflicted on Rudy a little while ago. After Bardot told him not to break Penny's leg, at least for the time being, he was allowed to hurt Rudy instead, who had offered himself up in exchange for not breaking the girl's limb. Rudy was the one who ultimately killed Cosmo, so Draow did feel much more satisfaction from attacking him. He had pushed Rudy onto his back and started to slowly cut into his back with his claws. He did this slowly, applying pressure as he went. Oh how the boy screamed and struggled, and Draow just kept going, relishing in his cries of pain, his pleas for mercy.

Then after he had his fun tearing the boy's back open, he grabbed him by the shoulder, ripping into it, drawing blood. He shook the boy hard, and then, mustering as much strength as he could, threw Rudy into the ground, landing close to Penny. Draow stared as Penny tried to wake up Rudy, who had passed out from the pain. Pity... Draow had hoped he would be awake. He wanted to hear the boy cry. Oh well, it was still satisfying giving him what he deserved.

Yet, despite that satisfaction, Draow was still getting angry, and it wasn't the two kids who were upsetting him, strangely enough. No, it was Bardot. He had recently been getting peeved with him, although he never spoke up.

It was this plan of his. He was growing impatient. He was all for drawing things out. He liked increasing the amount of pain and the duration inflicted on his enemies. But he really wanted to get his teeth into Snap. He has had his fun with Rudy and Penny, and he looked forward to hurting them more. He looked forward to hearing Penny scream when he finally gets to break her leg completely.

But he still wanted to get to Snap. A part of him was screaming for Snap to hurry up. He wanted the little runt to make it all the way to the end to face him. Draow kinda hoped that Snap, by the time he arrived, would have enough energy to scream. Draow really wanted to hear him scream as he tears into him and rips him apart. And yet, he wasn't sure if he would ever get that chance. From what Bardot said, Snap is getting really beat up by the games anyway. It sounded like he was going to be barely alive if he arrives at all, and that is not what Draow wanted. He didn't want Snap to drop dead before he had a chance to torture him.

He had suggested once for Bardot to let him go fetch Snap so they could hurry up and get this over with. He wanted Snap to be in the same room as his friends. He wanted Rudy and Penny to be awake and to bear witness to what was to become of their friend. He was growing weary of these games. His talons pressed into the ground in anticipation. He wanted a chance to attack Snap, and he wanted it now.

Draow turned his head so he could see the two humans they have captive. Penny, despite her injuries, had managed to hold Rudy in her arms. She had long ago stopped trying to wake him up. Instead, she was crying, hugging him. She wasn't paying attention to Draow. She wasn't even looking in his direction.

Draow could see the blood from Rudy's wounds cover Penny. Her shirt and skirt was covered in the stuff. The whole room had many blood stains, now that he thought about it. He and Bardot had done a number on the two teenagers. The scent of blood clung strongly in the air. The teens might not be able to smell it with their weak sense of smell, but Draow could. It filled him with satisfaction. With Bardot, he noticed it made him look more visibly excited. He knew it was because he wanted to eat them.

Eating humans...what a disgusting thought. Draow snarled a little at the mention of eating human flesh. Or anything in the real world for that matter. It couldn't possibly taste very good. Not to mention it was highly dangerous. He had to give Bardot credit. He was pretty brave and adventurous for eating something that most zoners would normally not be able to stomach. That alone showed that Bardot was not someone to mess with.

And yet, Draow's patience was being tested. He had even considered this was part of Bardot's plan. He had once stated that he saw Snap as just an experiment. Did he see him the same way as well? Was Bardot experimenting with him, and just seeing how long it takes before he snaps? If that were the case, Bardot was doing a great job so far in making him angry and impatient.

He continued to watch Penny for a few more minutes. He grew tired of watching the two. He wanted to hear something different. He wanted to hear Snap's crying and screaming accompanying them. Or at the very least, he wanted Rudy to wake up so he can hear his moans and groans of pain. It was getting boring for him to see the same thing, Penny holding and crying over Rudy, for the past half hour. And it wasn't like he could do anything to her anyway. For the time being, he was to leave Rudy and Penny alone.

Perhaps...perhaps now was a good time to talk to Bardot about this. Maybe he could convince the smaller zoner to speed things up a little. Or maybe he could at least get a better understanding of what more Bardot has in store. And he also wanted to know why Bardot often disappeared. Just where does he go? It's not like Bardot tells him much of where he is, just that he'd be back. In fact, he was surprised that Bardot even told him about 'visiting' Blocky. One of the few times he's told him anything.

He glanced back at Penny. Of course, he had been told to stay here and watch the two teenagers. He was not to leave his post. But still...what's a few minutes going to hurt anyway? It wasn't like he was going to be gone that long. And it wasn't like the two teens were in any position to go anywhere. Penny's leg likely still hurts from when he twisted it. And Rudy is in too much pain to stand up. Yes...they weren't going anywhere.

Keeping that in mind, Draow shifted himself, putting his feet in the position to push himself up off the ground. There was still the worry that Bardot might not be too happy with him leaving his post. But he kept reminding himself, there was no way these two were going to able to go far in their condition. It's not like they haven't left them alone for a time before, and they always remained in the room when they got back. And if the little brats tried to leave, they will both be taught a very painful lesson.

With that, Draow got up to his feet. He took a quick glance at Penny once more. Just in case, he figured he would give her a warning.

"You... Stay here with your little friend. I am going for a little bit." Draow said. His voice was growly as he spoke. "If I come back and find that you have moved from that spot, I will make you regret it."

He smirked as Penny glared back at him. She held her tongue and soon turned her attention back to Rudy. Draow turned and walked away.

He began to make his way down the tunnels. There were a good number of them. Some of the tunnels were pretty narrow and he could barely fit through. He wasn't sure how this place was built, but one thing he did take notice were some pieces of wood sticking out of the ground. It was clear that this place wasn't all solid rock; a few areas were made with wood and then just covered by rock.

Interesting... He wondered if this meant that Bardot didn't build all of this place like he had thought. Maybe some of it was just naturally formed this way and Bardot just added to it later on. If he had been planning all this for over a year, then he would have had plenty of time to do something like this.

He kinda wished that he varied the place a little more, though. Much of the areas looked the same, making it hard to tell if he was navigating to the right spot or not. Luckily, Bardot did at least mark the tunnels, labeling them. And it didn't take long for Draow to find the one marked for prisoners. He headed down that hallway.

He walked down the hallway, heading towards where Bardot said he would be. The tunnel wound in circles a few times before then becoming jagged, as if Bardot wanted to put in some stairs. They were narrow and hard to walk down. Draow would have just used his wings and fly down, but there wasn't enough room in this narrow tunnel to do that, so he had no choice but to walk down, almost tripping a few times.

Once he reached the bottom, he was at a three-way intersection. He looked at the symbols written at the top. One was a circle, one a triangle, and one a square. Odd choices, but perhaps it was for the best. This made it a little harder for intruders to know which tunnel to take to find their friends. Draow knew for a fact that Blocky would be down the middle tunnel, the one marked with a triangle.

This tunnel was completely straight. Lining both sides were multiple rooms, empty ones that were to be used for prisoners. Bardot mentioned that these holding cells would keep both zoners and humans restrained. The yellow and red zoner had taken a note from Cosmo and had used electrified water bars to keep anyone from getting out. These rooms, as Bardot said, were for any and all future prisoners that he would end up capturing.

Soon, up ahead, he found who he was looking for. At the far end, on the left side, he could see a small cell that was holding Blocky. The green zoner was on the ground, bleeding. He couldn't tell if it was from the injuries he got from the zombies or if Bardot changed his mind about not hurting him and decided to toy with him a little.

And there was Bardot. He was just standing there, smiling at Blocky on the ground. The venomous zoner didn't speak a word. He just...stared at Blocky with those bright green eyes. It looked kind of creepy, especially with how Bardot was in shadow, illuminated just barely by the torches lining the walls. Draow stared at this scene for a moment, and then started to walk forward.

After Draow worked up the courage to speak, he shouted one word to get the hybrid's attention.

"Hey!"

At this, Bardot's ears swiveled. He turned his head. The look in his eyes was intense. The expression he gave, the way he curled his lips up to show more of his fangs, it struck fear in Draow. He did his best to hide it, but he found himself taking a step backwards. Still, he did not run away and he stood his ground.

"I've got a bone to pick with you!"

Although Bardot looked visibly upset that Draow was down here, rather than chew him out, Bardot spoke in a pleasant voice. "Dear Draow...what brings you down here? And why aren't you watching our guests like I told you to?"

Draow's ears twitched a little. He detected an underlining threat in that last sentence. If there was one thing Bardot was really good at, it was being passive aggressive when he saw fit.

"I have some questions for you." Draow said, taking care to get rid of the tone of voice he used before. "If you don't mind..."

Bardot smiled. He turned around so he was facing Draow. He sat on the ground, similar to how a dog would. "Okay then..." He tilted his head to the side, letting out a soft chuckle. "Ask away."

sss

"P-Penny...I don't think this is such a good idea..." Rudy said, groaning in pain.

He was on his feet, being supported by Penny. They were headed towards the door, being very close to it by now. Every step he took sent shockwaves of pain through his body, and the lack of food and water made things even worse.

Penny said, "I know, Rudy. But we've got to try..."

Rudy had just barely woken up from being knocked about by Draow like that. He found that he had lost a lot of blood, both on the ground and on Penny. His body had seering pain spreading throughout it. And there was nothing he could do to make it go away. Any position he put himself in, some area of his body was being agonized by pain.

Penny had managed to stop the flow of blood the best she could. She used more of her skirt and part of her shirt to make more bandages. She pressed against his wounds, apologizing as he cried out in agony, and did her best to stop as much bleeding as possible. She found that she stopped enough that it prevented a very noticeable blood trail. That, combined with the absense of their captors, gave her a daring but very risky idea.

Rudy thought it was crazy to try to escape. They were both too badly injured to go anywhere. And even if they got out, how far would they go before Bardot or Draow would find them? And Draow...he had a keen sense of smell. He'd be able to hound them very quickly. And he wasn't sure he wanted to know the punishment for trying to escape.

But Penny believed it was worth a try. If they could just get out of this cave thing they were trapped in, they could figure out where they are and go from there. Their knowledge of ChalkZone would make it easier to figure a route of escape. Rudy still wasn't sure if it was going to work or not. Again, his main concern was Draow's sense of smell. And neither of them knew how well Bardot's sense of smell was. For all they knew, it could even be better than Draow's, which would be very worrying if that were the case.

He did have to admire Penny's spirit, though. It still wasn't completely shattered. If she believed that there was hope for escape, if she truly thought that, if they took the chance now, they could get out of here and find help and get Snap out of the 'games', then she really did still have a fire going on inside of her. He just wished he had the same enthusiasm.

Rudy still had hopes for a rescue. It wasn't that he truly gave up. But this escape...in their condition...he wasn't sure if it could work. If he had some magic chalk, it might help. As weak as his left hand was, he could try to force himself to use it. If he was careful and went slowly, he probably could draw something at least. Nothing fancy, but something that could help them out of here.

But despite not knowing if this would work or not, he was still willing to go with Penny. There was no way he wanted to stay behind, alone with those monsters. And it wasn't like Penny was going to abandon him either. No, she would have been upset if she had been forced to do that.

Penny was doing her best to support him. She slung his arm over her shoulder and held on tightly. She did her best to ignore any pain she was feeling as they walked towards the door. She made sure not to hit his right hand, which still stung horribly from pain. The side she let Rudy leaned on was his injured one, which hurt even worse and the investion was clearly spreading. Little by little, they got closer to the door. Each agonizing step got them closer to freedom, or to be specific, out of the room.

Rudy's stomach felt like it was burning. Hunger settled in deeply. He felt like he was going to be sick. His body shook a little from how weak he was, and his mind was craving food and water. His mouth was a lot dryer than before, to the point where just trying to talk took a lot of effort. Walking like this was taking up more of their remaining energy, another reason why he didn't want to risk leaving while they were in this condition. Maybe of some zoner happened by and helped them...

Penny wasn't in the greatest condition either. Like him, she hadn't eaten or drank anything in all this time. And it was starting to show. Her movements were a little slower and more delayed due to the lack of energy and nutrients. Whenever she spoke, her voice sounded a little scratchy and dry, and sometimes she would smack her lips in thirst. They both needed food and water and fast.

After a few minutes of painfully walking, they managed to reach the door. They stopped, looking left and right. Thankfully, neither Draow nor Bardot were in sight. But how long it would stay like that...neither of them could tell.

"Which way should we go?" Rudy asked. He wasn't sure which way Draow or Bardot had gone. He hoped Penny would.

Penny thought for a moment. It took her a little longer to respond, again due to the lack of food and water. Her head must be starting to feel a little muggy. "Draow went to the right..." Penny turned her head. "So we will go left."

With that, the two headed towards the left. Rudy realized quickly that they had no idea where they were going. They weren't even sure if this was the way to the exit. He would have asked Penny to turn him around and head back. Both of them were moving painfully slowly due to their injuries. But they had come so far already. They managed to get out of the room. It might not be a wise choice to just turn back after all that. And it did feel nice to be finally out of that hellhole of a room, away from the stains of blood and memories of their torture.

As they limped down the hall, Rudy took notice at how big the place really was. It was hard to tell from the little room he and Penny were kept in. But there were a lot of tunnels here, barely marked. It was like Bardot was afraid of intruders, so he had minimal marking, as little as possible. He must have the whole place memorized. Rudy was reminded of Mr. Cosmo's lair, with all the hallways and how confusing it was to everyone except for him. Rudy half wondered if Bardot got the idea from him.

The two tried their best to quicken their pace. This may be their only chance to escape. They couldn't afford to waste any time. Rudy prayed that they would have enough time to get out of the lair. He hoped that someone would be on the outside, someone who could help them get away. Then they could end this nightmare.

And yet there was still that worry that often crossed his mind. A thought that sent cold shudders down his spine. A thought he did his best to push back and ignore, yet, despite all his efforts, despite what he kept telling himself, it was still a worry.

What if they couldn't win this time?

sss

Bardot couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. He had given Draow a simple order. To stay and watch Rudy and Penny while he was gone. Anytime he gave that order, he meant it; only rarely did he let Draow leave their side and let them be alone. Those times would be pretty brief, or when the two were unconscious and wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

And yet, here stood Draow before him. He had wanted to ask questions regarding his plan. He didn't know why the beast couldn't wait. He didn't recruit him to have him ask questions while leaving his post. Bardot was considerably angry, yet he did his best to hide it. He knew what he would be like if he had snapped. No, it was best to keep it all hidden inside. And even if he did allow himself to lose it, Draow was the last zoner he wanted to unleash that anger against.

Draow was too valuable of an ally to dispose of. Bardot couldn't even bring himself to hurt the bat wolf. He was worried that if he hurt him too badly, he wouldn't be able to perform his duties that well. It was so much easier capturing victims with the aide of a large winged wolf who could crush bone with his jaws. It also served as a sort of protection for him. Despite his speed and venom, Bardot knew very well of his frail body compared to Draow's. Having someone large, heavy, and strong by his side did solve this issue.

His stomach still ached a little from the kick Rudy delivered to him. The boy must have a lot of guts to do something like that. He hadn't expected him, especially in his weakened state, to do that. It had been a very big mistake; he almost lost his temper there. At least the boy wouldn't try something like that again.

But it did still serve as a reminder. He was a small zoner. His shoulders only came about as high as Snap. His body was not built to handle as much as abuse as someone like Draow or Tsere could take. That was where his speed came in handy. He was going to need it for when Snap came to confront him. If Snap ever found out that his body wasn't as durable as one might think, and if he found a way around his venom and his swiftness, he knew he would be in trouble.

That was part of a reason, though not a very major one, why he was torturing Snap with these games. It was to ensure that Snap would be very weak by the time he reaches him, to make it harder for Snap to get an edge over him. Though mostly, it was just for fun.

"I understand your impatience." Bardot said calmly, pacing back and forth in front of Draow. His long tail swished from side to side. "But you still must calm yourself. Be patient. Everything will fall into place soon. Snap is already halfway done with the games. I have confidence he'll survive the rest. And then you can have your way with him."

"But the way you talked about 'looking forward to facing Snap'..." Draow's ears flipped back. "Does that mean you believe he will beat me?"

Bardot stared at Draow. Then he laughed. "There is a chance he will, yes. I will not underestimate him, and neither should you."

"He won't get by me..." Draow growled, baring his sharp teeth.

"Well then..." Bardot said as-a-matter-of-factly. He walked by Draow, tracing his tail along his leg as he went. Draow turned his head and watched him, an irritated look on his face. "...you best get your act together for when he does come. If you believe you will beat him...then prove it to me when the time comes."

The two zoners started to walk down the tunnel together. Draow kept some distance behind Bardot, like he wanted to follow him wherever he went. Bardot ignored this. The bat wolf probably wanted to ask more questions. He had done his best to answer the ones he gave him, and it seemed to satisfy the bat wolf to some degree. Yet it seems clear that Draow's impatience was getting a little too strong. He would have to satisfy him with something to keep Draow under his finger.

He thought about letting Draow toy a little more with Rudy and Penny, but he wasn't sure how long that would keep him happy. The winged zoner really wanted to get his claws into Snap. Though he hated Rudy the most, he clearly wanted to hurt all three of them.

Bardot wasn't about to sabotage his plan just because the big wolf can't control his appetite for blood. But maybe he could think of something that would work, even just for a little while. He recalled how Draow was excited to break Penny's leg. Yes...yes that would do nicely. As soon as they got back, he would let him do that. And this time, he wouldn't stop Draow as Penny's leg was about to snap in two.

But when they got back to the room, both Bardot and Draow were shocked at what they saw. Or rather, what they didn't see.

Rudy and Penny were...gone. Nowhere in sight. The two of them rushed into the room and looked around. They looked left and right. No, it was impossible. They have to be in here somewhere... Oh who was Bardot kidding? They were gone. There was no place in this room for them to hide.

Draow growled softly under his breath in irritation. "Those brats...!"

Bardot breathed in and out slowly. He could feel his anger rising again. His pupils dilated into dots and he began to snarl, drool and heated venom hitting the ground. He turned his head to face Draow. When the bat wolf caught sight of him, he immediately backed away, tail between his legs. Bardot backed Draow into a corner, ignoring the wolf's whines as he raised his claw.

Bardot hissed under his breath, "I told you to...watch them!"

Draow winced and his ears pressed against the side of his head. "Sorry!"

Then Bardot stopped himself and shook his head. Instead of striking Draow, he swung his paw towards the direction of the entrance. "Come along. They couldn't have gotten far."

Draow, though still shaken up, took on a ferocious stance and followed Bardot down the tunnels in pursuit of their prey.