The attack came swift and suddenly. Rudy was able to get out of the way, but not before he felt the whizz of Zeal's beak as he tried to strike down the boy. Rudy tumbled backwards, nearly losing his balance. To fight back, Rudy got his magic chalk. Considering that their orders were not to damage this part of the Chalk Mine, he predicted that the evil trio would not use the water guns, and were likely still wielding them just to scare them.
When Zeal came back to attack again, Rudy drew a large, sticky net. The cassowary quickly became entrapped in it. He squawked furiously as he tried to get himself out of the net.
With Zeal temporarily distracted, Rudy looked over at Penny and Skrawl. Penny was being boxed into a corner by Shimmer, who was aiming small cannons at her. Skrawl was trying to slam his fist against Flame, but he was too slow for the slippery salamander. Rudy could feel his hand ache every time Skrawl punched the ground.
He looked at his piece of magic chalk. It was the only one he had and it wasn't too big. It was enough for him to deal with Zeal for a while, but what about Penny? She had no piece to protect her. Rudy bit his lip. He couldn't bear to see Penny injured. After all the pain and suffering he had seen, especially done to Snap, he'd be damned if he allowed it to happen to someone else he cared about.
Without a second thought, Rudy broke his piece of the chalk and chucked it towards Penny. He shouted, "Penny! Use the chalk!"
Penny grabbed the chalk just before Shimmer could annihilate it. Penny looked at Rudy and said, "But...Rudy...what if..."
"Penny! Watch out!" Rudy cried.
Penny turned around just in time to see Shimmer fire a laser at her from her cannons. She stepped out of the way, but a second too late. The heat beams grazed her left arm slightly, creating a small but very painful burn mark. She cried out in pain and almost dropped her chalk.
Skrawl turned his head over and saw what had happened. Snarling at Flame, he managed to reach over and grab him. He lifted him up by his tail, ignoring the scorching hot skin as Flame heated his body to defend himself. Rudy winced as he felt the heat effect his hand, almost dropping his chalk.
Shimmer sneered at Penny, watching her hold her arm. "Oh so sorry dear. Do you need something to cool that down with?" She steadied the water gun on her back, aiming it at Penny. "I can get that for you..."
Rudy's eyes widened in horror. Weren't the trio told by Cosmo not to damage this room? What was Shimmer thinking?
He didn't dwell on that thought for long. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Skrawl had Flame by his tail and was getting closer to where Penny and Shimmer were. What Skrawl did next, Rudy would not have believed it if he didn't see it. The jellybean threw Flame over Penny's head and onto Shimmer, making a direct hit.
The impact caused the two to tumble across the ground. Shimmer might be armored, but she could still feel pain, evident by her cries as Flame's scorching body slammed into her. It didn't last long as he was able to cool himself quickly. But damage was already done, resulting in a black mark to appear on Shimmer's armor.
Rudy felt relief when the heat disappeared from his hand. But he was still surprised by how helpful Skrawl was being. He hoped he would remain this way for a while. They were going to need as much help as they could get for this. But he had no time to think about this too much. He had to remain focused.
Zeal wasn't on the ground much longer. He tore through the sticky neck with his sharp talons. He rushed towards Rudy and slammed him into the ground. Rudy grunted in pain as Zeal pressed his foot on his chest.
"I can see why our creator is so interested in you..." Zeal hissed through his beaky smile. "You really do have potential. The sticky net was a smart idea...sadly it didn't save you for long."
That confirmed it. These three really were more of Cosmo's creations. That would explain why they were all so twisted, so eager to follow what Cosmo said even if it resulted in ChalkZone being destroyed. They simply didn't care, just like Mr. Cosmo.
Rudy wondered if these were some of the creations that wreaked havoc in ChalkZone years ago. That was a possibility. Mr. Cosmo had created multiple monstrosities as a kid. It didn't seem so farfetched that these three were just some examples of what he had done. And that worried him. How many more of Mr. Cosmo's creations remained? And where were they? Destroyed? Detained? On the loose?
Rudy grunted in pain as the cassowary pressed harder. He thought he heard Skrawl express pain, but given the crashing he heard and Skrawl's roaring, the jellybean was apparently ignoring it to the best of his ability. Rudy glared up at Zeal.
"I will never join Mr. Cosmo!" Rudy said through clenched teeth.
Zeal let out a soft chuckle. "We will see about that." He lowered his head towards Rudy. His beak almost touched his face. "You know...I haven't had this much fun since..I don't know when!"
Rudy brought up his right hand and started to draw. In seconds, he drew a large bat, which he used to strike at Zeal. The bat impacted against Zeal's neck, causing him to tumble off of the boy. Rudy jumped to his feet, still holding the bat in his hand. It wasn't the best weapon, but it was the only thing he could think of on such short notice.
But he didn't have the bat for long. Zeal squirted a small amount of water at him. It hit against the bat and quickly spread down, dissolving it completely. Some little droplets got on the ground, but thankfully it was just a few, so they may not as as much damage compared to what these zoners did to other parts of the Chalk Mine.
Zeal charged towards the boy at incredible speed. Rudy drew another line of defense. With quick strokes of his wrist, he created a large fan, which he turned on. This caused Zeal to fly back and land in a loud thud on the ground. The cassowary looked almost bemused by the whole thing, reacting as if the large fan hadn't fazed him.
Rudy was deliberately avoiding using methods that would seriously harm. He didn't want to badly hurt any of these zoners. He just wanted to stop them. But he couldn't help but wonder if these three served as nothing more than sacrificial pawns. Was their goal to, somehow, force him to use lethal measures? No, that was a bit extreme. Then again, with what Mr. Cosmo had done...
Zeal rushed towards him. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, even though he was clearly a flightless bird zoner. It took him a while given the force of the fan, but when he got close enough, he squirted more water, this time dissolving parts of the fan so it would be dysfunctional.
The fan started to break apart and tumbled towards the ground. Rudy screamed and jumped out of the way as the fan almost crashed on him. He looked behind and shuddered at how close he came to death. He glared in Zeal's direction.
The cassowary looked a little surprised. "Oops..didn't mean for it to fall on ya kid. Lord Cosmo would have had my head if you died so early." The suprised look was quickly replaced with a satisfied smile. "I am glad you did not perish there. Lord Cosmo still sees hope in you."
Rudy snarled at him. He looked down at his chalk. He shouldn't have drawn such a large fan. He was almost out of chalk now. He couldn't fight against Zeal for much longer.
"And, as you know, with your connection to the big, ugly one..." Zeal said.
"I heard that!" Skrawl snarled at him as he was still fighting against Flame.
Zeal ignored his outburst. "We cannot hurt him. But there is no such risk with your girlfriend there..."
Rudy's eyes widened in horror at this. He looked over at Penny. She was trying to hold her own, but she was not experienced of an artist as he was. She could draw, but her lack of artistic skill compared to him made her more vulnerable against Shimmer, who kept trying to fry her with the lasers. And, like him, Penny was almost out of magic chalk, any and all defenses she draws being melted by the water.
"You leave Penny out of this!" Rudy said in a warning tone. "If you dare hurt her, I'll..."
"Kill us?" Zeal smirked. "Because, if that's the case, you are more like Lord Cosmo than you will admit..."
Rudy widened his eyes. "That's not what I was going to say!"
"No, but you were feeling it, weren't you, kid?" Zeal said, taunting the boy. "Your anger is starting to get the better of you. And before this day is over, you will give into it. You will taste what true power is...and maybe you will see Lord Cosmo the way we do. As a father figure."
Rudy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Zeal really expecting him to start looking up to Mr. Cosmo? How could he even remotely respect that man? He had been nothing but vile the entire time he has known him. He was manipulative, disgusting, needlessly cruel...everything he has done just made him hate the man more. How could he work with someone who put his best friend in the hospital in critical condition?
Snap was in grave danger. Just a few days ago, he was fine. But his physical health deteriorated at an alarming rate all because of Cosmo. Now he was sick with a high fever, and he was having seizures. He didn't even know if he was still alive... All he could do was hope that Mr. Wilter, Rapsheeba, and Tsere could get him to a hospital in time and get treated.
If Snap died...it would be all Mr. Cosmo's fault... And Rudy would not rest until that man got what he deserved.
"Never..." Rudy hissed, taking a step backwards.
Zeal smirked. "Continue to deny it all you want to. But that will be your fate, boy."
Rudy snarled at Zeal. He was about to let him and his partners get the best of him. But as he looked over at Penny and Skrawl, he wondered how long they could keep this up. Both Skrawl and Penny were doing pretty good, but the odds were being slowly shifted against them. How long could this go on?
sss
Mr. Wilter told Tsere to wait outside. He had wanted the large pterosaur to keep a lookout for Mr. Cosmo in case he came here, and he didn't doubt he would try something. Tsere wasn't happy about being left behind, but he listened to Wilter and remained perched outside the hospital doors.
Mr. Wilter tried to ignore the looks he was getting from the zoners as he walked with Rapsheeba into the hospital. Many were confused by his presense. Some moved quickly away from him, as if they were expecting him to attack. Some were curious, obviously not seeing many humans other than Rudy and Penny.
There were clearly some that seemed to recognize who he was. A few zoners pointed at him, their mouths open in awe. They mumbled to themselves, wondering if he had actually come back. A few weren't entirely happy to see him, but did not react with the hostility that Mr. Wilter expected.
He hadn't been the only one getting attention. The zoners were horrified by Snap's condition as he was carried into the building. The room filled with gasps of utter horror. It was so bad that the receptionist at the front desk immediately grabbed the mic and called for a doctor right away.
In seconds, a pair of doctors had rushed out the door. They were very careful as they took Snap from Rapsheeba's arms and rushed him down the hallway. It happened so fast, Mr. Wilter hadn't been sure what they were going to do.
Rapsheeba looked devastated as she wasn't able to say goodbye to Snap, even though he was unconscious and wouldn't be able to hear it anyway. And the doctors had to have been extremely terrified as none of them said anything to them at first. They had just taken Snap and rushed him down the hallway. Wilter didn't know which they were going to treat first. His nail or his fever.
Mr. Wilter was frustrated that the doctors didn't explain to them what they had to do. But there was nothing he could do. Anything he'd try to say, it would have just slowed the doctors down. He would have just wasted their time, which was the last thing Snap needed right now.
During their wait, Mr. Wilter told Rapsheeba of what he knew happened to Snap. He told her how he had been tortured by Mr. Cosmo, how the thing in his head made him do things against his will, how he had tried to kill Snap. Understandably, Rapsheeba was horrified by it all. She couldn't understand how anyone could be that cruel to someone like Snap. Mr. Wilter could only nod in agreement.
It wasn't until about twenty minutes passed before one of the doctors came out to them. He appeared to be a cross between a brown bear and a lion. His name tag read Dr. Urso. He stopped a couple feet in front of Mr. Wilter and Rapsheeba. They looked at him expectedly.
"How is he...?" Rapsheeba said, her eyes brimming.
Dr. Urso shook his head. "Not very good, I'm afraid..."
Wilter flinched at that. Rapsheeba gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, slowly shaking her head.
Dr. Urso looked at them sympathetically. "Whatever that thing in his head is...it's done massive damage to his neurological system. We detected damage to various parts of his brain..." The doctor flipped the paper on the paperclip he was holding. "We've also detected high levels of toxicity in his blood, from an infection from those wounds he recieved. They clearly haven't been treated, and the infection started to ravage his body, resulting in his high fever."
Wilter put a comforting hand on Rapsheeba's shoulder as she started to cry again. Her eyes were getting redder and redder from the tears.
"Fevers, in most cases, are good because they kill off dangerous bacteria and viruses. But in Snap's case, the infection was so massive, the fever ended up spiking much higher than it should have. And while it's doing a good job at keeping the toxicity from getting worse, it has caused a lot of harm to his immune system. It is so weak now that if he were to get another infection along with the one he already has..." Mr. Urso closed his eyes and shook his head. "The result would be catastrophic..." He looked over at them. "Has he displayed any other symptoms besides that?"
Mr. Wilter shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of."
Dr. Urso frowned at this. "Are you sure?"
Mr. Wilter nodded his head. "If I knew anything else, I would have told you."
"Why...?" Rapsheeba asked, her voice choked. "Is there...something else wrong..?"
"I'm afraid so." Dr. Urso said as he looked at his charts. "The damage to Snap's brain is suggestive of the first sign of a seizure. I believe he had one recently. It was localized in the area responsible for locomotion. That could be why his legs have little to no relfex..."
"Did you remove that horrid thing from his head?" Rapsheeba asked.
"No, it's too risky right now." Dr. Urso said, his voice full of regret. "We need to get his fever down first. Operating on him now with that high fever would only make things worse for him. Once it's down, we will remove that thing as soon as we can."
"He doesn't have a lot of time..." Mr. Wilter started to say.
Dr. Urso cut him off. "I understand that. But he'll have less time if we don't act accordingly, and jump in too quickly." He paused for a moment. "But right now he is stabilized. Fever is still high, but, if you'd like, you may go visit him. I'll vouch for you. I'm sure your friend would feel better if you were in the same room as him."
"Is he awake?" Mr. Wilter asked.
The doctor nodded his head. "Yeah, he's awake. But he is very weak, so don't try to talk to him too much. And stay calm. Excitement will worsen his condition."
Mr. Wilter and Rapsheeba thanked the doctor. Together, they walked down the hallway, guided by Dr. Urso, who led them to the room where Snap was staying.
sss
Things had gotten worse, just like Rudy had predicted.
The evil zoners were using their water guns more often than he thought they would. But they were using such small amounts that it was somehow contained to just what they wanted to destroy, which was anything he and Penny drew. And it wasn't like they were even destroyed right away. Often, the zoners did allow them use of whatever they drew, and only a minute or so later did they erase it. It was like they were buying time, which Rudy wouldn't doubt they were doing.
Skrawl was holding up a little well. But not as well as he used to. He kept having to dodge Flame's heated nostril fire. The salamander apparently got tired of just being a slippery little guy and decided to go on the defensive. He did not hit Skrawl once with his fire, but that didn't mean Skrawl didn't try his best to dodge. Rudy knew the only reason the salamander wasn't trying harder to hit him was because Mr. Cosmo still wanted Rudy himself alive.
Penny was doing worse than before. She had been boxed into a corner, further away from Rudy and Skrawl. She was trying to draw something, but Shimmer decided to act a little quicker and squirted her creation the second it materialized. The tank armadillo then charged towards Penny and pushed her into the ground.
"Lord Cosmo has no use for you, little girl." Shimmer sneered, her robotic eye glowing brighter. "Now be a good little girl and die..."
"Penny, no!" Rudy shouted. He tried to reach her, but Zeal grabbed him in his beak and threw him aside.
"You're not going anywhere.." Zeal hissed, snapping his beak shut threateningly.
Skrawl tried to get to where Penny was, but he was blocked by Flame. The salamander started to push Skrawl further away, spewing fire towards the jellybean's feet to keep him from getting any closer to the girl. Zeal, on the other hand, blocked Rudy's path, keeping the boy from trying to reach his friend.
Shimmer's cannons started to glow. Penny's eyes widened in fear. Using the last bit of her magic chalk, she drew a shield and placed it in front of her just as the heat beams hit against it. She winced as the metal heated up, but she held it in front of her side. It did an adequate job of protecting her from the lasers.
"Your girlfriend is pretty quick on her feet too." Zeal noted.
"Of course she is..." Rudy snarled at the cassowary. "She isn't as weak as you thought she was."
"I never said she was weak. Just that I'm a bit surprised that she lasted this long. Especially against Shimmer." Zeal watched for a moment, amused, as Penny managed to get to her feet and move back away from Shimmer. He looked back down at Rudy. "By the way...did Lord Cosmo tell you what would happen if you don't disconnect from Skrawl as soon as possible? I am most curious."
"I know that the black chalk can severe it..." Rudy replied, narrowing his eyes. "And that if I don't, if Skrawl gets hurt, so do I. And the same applies to him."
"Yes...yes..." Zeal nodded his head up and down. "But boy, there is a bit more than that. I suppose Lord Cosmo has not told you everything, no?"
Rudy's eyes widened. Was there something else about this connection he didn't know about? The way this bird was talking..he didn't like the sound of it. He already knew the connection was dangerous. He couldn't imagine how it could become even more dangerous. He took a step back away from the cassowary, staring at him in the eyes.
Zeal apparently took this as a no. His smile broadened. "Well, I'll be glad to tell you. Lord Cosmo wanted you to know. The connection with Skrawl will get worse over time. The effects will become more exaggerated and dramatic. Soon, you'll feel twice the pain, then thrice. The damage will increase. What was once just a simple papercut will richochete between you and him, making it ten times worse. And then, the connection will get so bad, that the most minor injury could very easily kill you both..."
Rudy was horrified. He had no idea it was that urgent to severe the connection. He had no idea that it was just going to get worse with time. He didn't know how long it would take for the effects to start to intensify. Zeal did not give him that detail. But he didn't have to. Rudy knew it had to have been soon, otherwise it would not be as urgent to severe the connection quickly.
That meant that he had less time than he thought to get rid of this psychic connection. Much less time. He stared at the black chalk around him briefly, their ominous feeling almost goading him to touch them. He shook his head. No, he had to remain strong and wait for Biclops to wake up. He wouldn't allow himself to be pushed into using the black chalk.
He attempted to whip out his magic chalk to fight Zeal...when he realized there was none left. He looked at his empty hands, horrified. He didn't have any defense left to fight against Zeal. He took a few steps back as the cassowary started to advance on him.
"Looks like you're out of luck, Rudy." Zeal said with a smile. "Maybe you should have grabbed more magic chalk before you left."
Rudy growled at Zeal and took a defensive stance. If he had to fight bare handed against this evil zoner, then so be it.
But this stance was quickly broken when he heard a scream of terror from Penny. Rudy whipped his head and saw that she was left without her shield, destroyed by the water. And since she was chalkless, she could do nothing against Shimmer now. She was pushed into the ground, the evil armadillo pointing her cannons at her.
"No!" Rudy shouted, reaching a hand out towards her. He couldn't let her die. He had to do something. But what?
Skrawl had managed to get away from Flame. He kicked the salamander aside, causing him to crash against a single bunch of black chalk, breaking some pieces off. Since Skrawl was immune to the chalk, he grabbed a piece of it and rushed towards Shimmer. Though he couldn't draw with it, there was one thing he could use it for.
Steadying the black object in his hand, Skrawl slammed it down against Shimmer's back and knocked her off of Penny. Though Penny looked clearly shocked that Skrawl was the one who saved her, she thanked him anyway and got up to her feet. Rudy felt relief as Penny was okay.
But that relief didn't last very long. Something happened so quickly, he couldn't register it. Something that no one would have seen coming.
In a fit of rage, Flame, angry at being kicked away, clearly forgot that he was supposed to be reserved with the water. He sprayed water in Skrawl's direction. Penny pushed him out of the way...but it had been too late. Droplets of water hit Skrawl in the wrist, cutting in deeply, though not enough to sever the hand.
The effects were felt in Rudy instantaneously. Bloodcurdling screams filled the cave, echoing on the walls. Skrawl clutched his hand, trying to stop the chalky blood from seeping out. And on Rudy, a deep gash appeared in his right hand, cutting him so bad he had a hard time just bending the fingers. Blood poured rapidly out of the wound and he dropped to his knees.
Penny screamed in horror at what was happening. She tried to rush over to Rudy to help him, but she was blocked off by both Flame and Shimmer. They turned their heads to the side so they could keep an eye on both her and on Rudy. A smile came onto both their faces, as if this was part of their plan the whole time.
"So it seems you have been cornered, Rudy." Zeal said. "You have quite a decision to make..."
As he said this, Skrawl fell to the ground in utter agony, his arm and hand trembling from the pain. And Penny was, once again, forced into the ground, but this time by two zoners.
"Penny...!" Rudy said before crying out in pain from his wrist. He held it tighter, the warm blood flowing faster.
"Your only chance to save your girlfriend and yourself...is to use the black chalk... It will heal you, Rudy. But...you know the risk that comes with, don't you?" The cassowary smiled as he spoke to the boy. He lowered his head. "You could avoid that inevitable corruption by doing nothing...but you will all die. Blood loss will take its toll on you. And when one of you dies, so does the other..." He looked over at Skrawl. Then he looked at Penny. "And as for her...my comrades will take care of her..."
"No!" Rudy cried in horror.
Zeal sneered at him. "Well...you know what you can do..."
Rudy came to the horrible realization that this is what was planned the whole time. That was why much of the tunnels were destroyed. That was why they had been forced into this room. That was why the intruders cornered and attacked them. It had all been a part of Mr. Cosmo's plan the whole time. It was a ploy to make him use the black chalk...
Rudy cursed mentally as he realized how clever Mr. Cosmo had been about this. He knew that if much of the Chalk Mine was destroyed, he wouldn't be able to get to the normal white chalk. He knew that, if he played his cards right, he would be able to force Rudy and Penny to use all the magic chalk, leaving nothing but the black chalk left to use.
And injuring Skrawl...that must have been part of the plan too... Now all their lives were hanging in the balance. And whether or not they live or die all depended on his willingness to use the black chalk. Could he...could he really let himself do that...?
He stared at the black chalk again. He could almost hear its voice talking to him, beckoning him. He shuddered and tore his eyes away from the scene. He stared down at his bleeding wrist. His left hand was getting caked in blood now. The blood dripped onto the chalky ground. He winced. Too much blood could do some damage...and that was the last thing they needed right now...
He looked over at Skrawl and Penny. Skrawl was on the ground, trying his best to stop the bleeding. But he was having trouble. A small pool of blood formed on the ground. And Penny was looking at him, her eyes widened as she stared at his bloody wrist.
"Rudy!" She called out to him. She tried to get free, but she was pushed into the ground by Flame, who used his burning heat to subdue her.
Rudy looked up at Zeal. The cassowary smiled triumphantly down at him, like he knew that he had succeeded in his plan. Rudy closed his eyes, a few tears coming as he realized he really had been boxed into a situation where he didn't have much of a choice.
He knew...there was no other way... He couldn't allow anyone to die. He couldn't let himself or Skrawl die. Who would stand up to Mr. Cosmo? He didn't know if Mr. Wilter would be able to keep fighting him, especially since he was getting up in age while Cosmo still had some youth to him. He couldn't allow Penny to die. She was his best friend, too. He loved her. He couldn't let her suffer the way Snap was suffering.
Rudy let out a sigh. He had made his decision. He looked over at Penny. He gave a weak smile. "Penny..I'm...so sorry..."
"Rudy..what are you...?" Penny asked.
Rudy broke into a dash, blood splattering on the ground as he ran. Penny saw what he was about to do. She started to scream desperately at him.
"No! Rudy! Don't!" Penny screamed in horror. "There must be another way!"
Rudy approached a patch of black chalk. He stared at it, narrowing his eyes. He bit his lip. This was it. He reached out with his left hand.
"Rudy!" Penny cried.
Rudy wrapped his fingers around a piece of black chalk. He shuddered at the feel of it. Icy cold and almost like grabbing shards of glass.
Penny screamed, "No!"
Rudy ripped the piece of black chalk off. And as he did, the black glow started to wrap around his left hand.