Fall In Line

by DarkHououmon

"It is still sad you don't know. Sad that you aren't acknowledging what you did. That makes you all far bigger criminals than I would have expected. There's nothing I hate more than criminals who act like they did nothing wrong."

37. Tying Up Loose Ends

Rudy and Penny guided Snap over towards the hospital doors, where Rapsheeba and Blocky were waiting. As soon as they had gotten to the surface, they immediately told them of what had happened, and they agreed to help.

They were slowed down a bit by some zoners who were concerned about how long they were gone. Getting through them was difficult, and trying to explain to them what happened was even a bigger challenge, given the urgency of the situation. They didn't have time to answer the questions, and they convinced the zoners to wait until later.

It didn't take them too long to reach the hospital doors thankfully. As they got close enough, Rapsheeba and Blocky moved in and they took each of Snap's arms. They steadied him carefully, allowing him to lean on them, even though he still had his crutch to use.

"Will you guys be able to handle things from here?" Penny asked, holding her hand out in gesture. "You all good?"

It took just a few seconds for the zoners to answer back.

"Not a problem!" Rapsheeba said, waving her free hand up. "Blocky and I can take care of things from here!"

"You two worry about getting to the surface and explaining to your parents why you were gone until near midnight!"

Rudy froze at that. He turned to Penny, watching her eyes wide in shock along with his. Midnight? Had it really been that long? Rudy knew that spending time in the hospital would delay them, and he knew the trip back to the continent would have taken some time as well. But...to near midnight...?

Oh man, their parents... What were they going to say? How were they going to explain away this? He bit his lip nervously. This was going to be quite the challenge. Neither he nor Penny were all that well prepared for this. What were they going to do if their parents don't believe any story they tell them? What would they do if their parents did something to limit their visits into ChalkZone?

"D-Don't worry!" Penny spoke up after a moment's silence. She was trying to sound as confident as possible, but it was clear from the tone of her voice that she wasn't sure if she was going to be correct. "We already thought of something! It'll be fine!"

Rudy stared at her in shock. "But Penny..."

"That's good, then!" Blocky cut her off. His smile broadened. "I hope it'll work out for you!"

"Yeah. I hope so, too! It would be nice to have things go back to normal!" Rapsheeba agreed.

"Yeah, definitely." Snap said, his eyes narrowed. "And not be trapped like wild animals..." Rapsheeba and Blocky stared at him in concern.

"Well we should get going." Penny raised her hand up and waved to them. "I'll see you guys around!"

"All right, bye!" Snap called out to his friends.

They all said their goodbyes. Then Rapsheeba and Blocky began to guide Snap through the doors and into the hospital. Rudy and Penny turned and began to make their way towards a single direction. At the moment, they hadn't really chosen which portal location they were going to use, so all they could do right now is walk.

Rudy turned to glare at Penny. "Why did you lie to them like that?" Penny stared at him with a confused expression. "You told them we had a plan, and I can tell you right now, we don't!"

Penny flinched at this. She sighed and looked away. "I...didn't want them to worry."

Rudy placed his right hand on his face and shook it. "That will only make things worse. What if we don't find anything we can do, and..."

"Would it really matter?" Penny frowned at him slightly. "What's the worst our parents could do? Ground us?"

"Take away our chalkboards? Make us stay in detention at school for a long while?" Rudy raised his hand up slightly as he listed off a few things. "Keep a better eye on us and reduce our ability to be alone?"

Penny's eyes widened at this. She looked away. "Oh... Right, that would be problematic..."

Rudy nodded his head. "That's why you should have just told the truth instead of trying..."

"Okay, I get it! I'm sorry!" Penny snapped at him. Rudy widened his eyes and took a step back. Penny's own eyes also widened and she lowered her head slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry, Rudy. I didn't mean to..."

Rudy said quickly, "Oh, don't worry about it." He turned his head and watched out ahead as he and Penny continued their walking. "Let's just...focus on thinking of what we are going to do with our parents."

"Yeah..." Penny's voice was low and soft. "I'm...sure they're really worried about us."

There was no doubt about that. Their parents would be worried. There was no 'if', there was only 'yes'. It is normal for them to disappear for hours at a time, but they were gone until late into the night. This...was not something they normally did. They were never gone from school time all the way to near the stroke of midnight. If they ever went into ChalkZone at night, it would be when they were all home and their parents went to bed.

Rudy could already see it now. His mother smothering him with hugs and kisses. His dad scolding him, telling him what a bad boy he was for skipping out on school and worrying him and his mother to death. Penny's mom giving Penny a stern lecture of responsibility.

Compared to what they had gone through in Chalklantis, this wasn't too bad. At least their parents weren't going to try to hurt them badly like King Zander did. But still...emotionally, it was going to be quite hard. They just hoped they could confront their parents and try to get this over with as soon as possible.

But there was something they needed to decide upon first: which way should they go?

"Should we go to my house, or yours?" Rudy asked as he stared at Penny. He bit his lip, and then took a step towards her. "Or should we go back to the library?"

Penny furrowed her eyes in concern. "It's tough to say. It would be safest to head to our places, but...how would we explain that? Our folks might still be awake." She turned and looked at Rudy. "I know my mom would if I were gone for so long. She'd wait all night if she had to. I'm not sure how your folks would be, but..."

"I would think at least my mom would be up." Rudy scratched the side of his head. "It would be hard for me to explain how I came in through my bedroom window..."

"Same here." Penny held up her hand in gesture. "We may be safer going to the library and trying to come up with the excuse that we got ourselves locked in there."

Rudy nodded his head slowly. "Yeah...that might be our best plan." He lifted his head and turned it in the direction of the library. Not wanting to waste any more time, he gestured for Penny to follow. "Come on. Let's get going."

sss

Going to the library.. It wasn't exactly one of her best plans, but what else could they do? At least it was a location where their parents knew they were at last. If they had chosen a location pretty far, like the mall, would anything they try to tell their parents make much sense? They were only ten years old; it was hard for a parent to fathom their ten year old child walking across to the other side of town alone.

One consolance of going to the library was the fact that it was closed at this time. There would be no one in there. Far as she and Rudy knew, the library had no night guards. Going in would be easy. Then all they had to do was pick a location and act frightened as if they had been trapped in there for quite a while.

She hated the idea of tricking their parents like this, of fooling anyone else with such a lie. She didn't like toying with emotions like that. But if it meant keeping ChalkZone safe, then...she'd do it.

She felt her stomach growling. She gently rubbed it, and licked her lips slowly. She really could use some food and drink right about now. Unfortunately, they had eaten up the remaining food at Chalklantis, as well as drank the remaining water. They would have to make do without it. They could always just sleep in the library. That would make things move a little faster, hopefully.

Their surroundings slowly became familiar. Penny looked around, recognizing this landscape, the colors on the ground, and the position of the clouds in the sky. And when they began to approach an all too familiar spot, she knew that they had made it.

Rudy stopped in front of the area where they both knew the librarian chalkboard would be. They took a moment and looked at each other. Their eyes conveyed the same message as before.

It was hard to believe that they were finally back. After all those hours being trapped in that hellhole of a place, they were finally home. Although they did plan on going back and although it was going to be much better, it would still feel like it was too soon. They needed a nice, long break from that place before they would be mentally ready to go back.

Rudy did not hesitate any further. He raised up his magic chalk and he drew a circle around in the air. The two children took a step back, watching as the light shined brightly for a few seconds before the portal made itself known. They could see the interior of the office they had snuck in, and the dim lights indicated that it was closed. Just like they had thought.

Rudy and Penny nodded to each other and they began to crawl in through the portal. Rudy was first. Then he turned around to help Penny. It didn't take the two very long to crawl into the office. Penny took a moment to look around while Rudy erased the portal.

She noticed there were some extra chairs in here. She furrowed her eyes at this. There weren't this many chairs when she and Rudy came in here. Had this librarian had an appointment with someone? No, that made no sense. If he was interviewing a new librarian, there would only be one seat; he wouldn't talk to multiple ones at the same time. So what was up with the extra three chairs?

Her eyes widened in realization. Their parents... They must have come in here to talk to the librarian about their disappearance. Her gut wrenched as she thought of just how distraught her mother must be right now. She narrowed her eyes slightly. She would try to make it better, and then everything would be back to normal.

She turned her head just in time to see Rudy finish erasing the portal. The boy dropped the chalk and he started to head towards her.

"Okay, now all we need to do is..."

Rudy did not get a chance to finish. Two long, somewhat muscular arms shot out reached out from behind them and grabbed onto their bodies. The two children let out a shout of surprise and they struggled against whoever was holding them. They could feel themselves being pressed against something large and warm.

"Ah..so there really was something special about that chalkboard after all." A familiar voice said. "I never would have dreamed it was that..."

The children widened their eyes as they watched the librarian, Denny, walk out from behind the desk where he had apparently been hiding. He looked at them with a strange expression. One that looked like it was a mixture of fear, awe, and surprise. Nowhere in that expression did he say what his intentions were, something that worried Rudy and Penny.

Looking behind them, they saw that a larger, more powerful-looking man was holding onto them. He had them picked up by their bodies like they were nothing more than rolls of sleeping bags. He did not seem to care too much of the pain and discomfort he was causing them.

Denny, on the other hand, took notice and appeared to sympathize a little with them. "Set them down, Ian. And guard the door. We will not let the little children get out." He focused his eyes on Rudy and Penny. "They have a lot of explaining to do..."

Rudy and Penny looked at each other, exchanging looks of horror.

sss

Denny couldn't believe what had just happened. Never in his life did he ever expect he would see something quite like this.

When he and Ian set up to wait, having taken all nighters to prevent themselves from falling asleep, they would have thought that the children would not have come. They were fully prepared for failure. Or at the very least, a trap door that perhaps only the boss knew about.

But to come in through the chalkboard like that... Neither of them would have expected it. He could still see Ian's almost horrified expression as the two children crawled out, as if they were some aliens that have been given birth do.

Even as the two children were restrained, the chalkboard knocked down and Ian blocking their only way out, Denny still couldn't help but regard them with a sense of wary. What kind of black magic did these children possess? How were they able to go through that wormhole they had seen? What was with the chalk that the boy had in his hand? What was with that world he seemed to have crawled out of like it was no big deal? Just...what was he going to do about this?

This was far bigger than some dusty old library. This was far bigger than anything he could even hope to imagine. This was a whole other world. Who knows what laid on the other side?

He noted the shocked looks in Rudy and Penny's eyes. They looked so fearful, as if he and his buddy had found out some secret they weren't supposed to know about. This only intrigued him further. Just what did he and Ian stumble upon this time? What did all of this mean? What were they going to do with this newfound information?

The man's thoughts rang through his head as he contemplated what he was going to do. This portal...this dimensional, other-wordly aspect changed everything. He was going to pry whatever information he could from these children, even if it took the remainder of the night. He and Ian had time for some interrogation.

"Okay, children. Here's the deal. You have nowhere to go, and there were still many hours left before the sun will rise and this place opens up. My buddy here will erase the footage after this, so you will not have any proof that this ever took place. If you want to go home soon, I suggest you cooperate and do as we tell you."

The two children glanced at each other nervously. They then looked back at him. Their eyes were fear-filled, but there was still a spark of defiance. Something needed to be done about that.

"If you try to resist, then my associate here will offer some...persuasion..." He motioned towards Ian, who formed a fist with one of his hands to emphasis his point. "Understand?"

The children quickly nodded their heads.

Denny smiled at this. "That's good, children. Now, why don't you get more...comfortable?" He motioned towards the seats. "Please, sit down. We're all friends here..."

The children glared at this, looking insulted by the comment. They did what they were told, however. They moved towards the seats and got down in them. They turned their heads away, not willing to look at him.

Ian was about to make a move, but Denny shook his head, stopping him. He didn't really want to do anything with the children right this second. He was still contemplating just how he was going to go about this. He didn't really wan to hurt them, and threatening them like this wasn't something he had planned to do. But now that he started, he might as well finish. Plus, he might get some really good information from this.

The children's parents will never know about this. And he would still help them get their kids back, just like he had promised. They would all benefit, and everything would be fine. Even if the children did end up hating him after this.

Denny moved towards the seat behind the desk. He sat himself down in it. He pulled himself until his stomach rested against the edge of the table. He narrowed his eyes and he leaned in. He stared intently at Rudy and Penny, his chin resting on his hand as his fingers tapped against one another. Just how was he going to start this? What question should he ask first?

Ah yes, he knew just the one. Simple, yet inevitable. The most important question.

"What was that world you two came in from?"

There was silence from the children. They glared at him, but the question did seem to make them falter a little. He noticed their flinches. Yes, it would seem that this world was important to them in some way. Perhaps it was their little secret hide out or something? Well he was about to learn a lot more about this so-called secret world they were trying to hide from everyone.

"I would appreciate if you children answered right away." Denny spoke, his voice slightly darkened. "I wouldn't want you two to get more injuries, now would you?"

Rudy and Penny widened their eyes as Ian gave them both a stern look. They looked back at him and immediately shook their heads.

"Good, now then..." Denny leaned back, resting his hands on the desk. "Let's...talk..."

Denny did feel a level of guilt for making a threat like that. He could see both children were already hurt, and he guessed it must have been from that world. He could tell that the broken arm was new, and Penny wasn't limping before.

This fueled the man's desire to find out more about this place. What if it was toxic, highly dangerous? He needed to find out as much as possible so he could ensure that it was safe for everyone. He knew trying to get the children to talk might be risky, but it would be all worth it in the end. He would just have to make sure he drilled it in their heads that they do not report him or Ian, or else... Well, he hadn't thought quite that far yet.

In due time, he reminded himself. In due time...

"Y-You see... We...uh..." Rudy stammered, his eyes darting left and right as he struggled to find the words to say. "We... There was no..."

Denny narrowed his eyes at this. "Don't you dare lie to me, boy. Ian and I both saw you crawl out of the chalkboard." He folded his arms against himself. "You might as well fuss up the truth."

At this, Rudy widened his eyes. He looked at his friend, as if trying to seek help from her. Denny took notice of this, seeing the expressions in their eyes. It was as if they were offering support to one another. And when Rudy looked back, he frowned at him, looking defiant again and refused to open his mouth after that.

Hmm...so these two draw strength from one another. Perhaps he should do something about that. But..not yet. He had several hours to work with them. He might be able to convince them tos peak without having to actually separate them.

"Come on, children. We're all friends here." He spread his hands outward, attempting to look at least a little welcoming. "All I want to know is where you had come from. After all, it might be dangerous. You are both hurt." Rudy and Penny just glared at him. Denny bit his lip. He cursed himself for not being that great with children.

"That world is none of your business." Rudy said. His voice was stern and bold, filled with confidence. "We would never relinquish any information to you."

Penny nodded her head in agreement. "You might as well let us go. You won't get anything from us!"

Denny cocked up an eyebrow at this. "Oh I think different." He turned his eyes up towards Ian. "I think I will find a way to make you two talk..."

The two children watched in fear as Ian moved towards them, his eyes slowly narrowing into slits. He stood beside them, on clear standby in case he ordered him to do anything. He hoped that he wouldn't have to actually do this. But if he had to, then he would. This was of dire importance.

He searched his mind of how he was going to procede. He still wanted to wait before he tried to separate them. There had to be some way to make them crack, right? He just needed to find the right...method.

Finding the right one, however, was not going to be easy. He had a feeling that these two were going to be quite stubborn.

"I don't think you two realize what you had stumbled upon. This... This is huge. This could help a lot of people..or it could make everything worse. This place needs to be investigated so we can have a proper analysis on it. We need to know, as soon as possible, if it's safe or not. You two are the only ones who know about this place. It is up to you to relinquish the information so that the threat can be contained."

"That place isn't dangerous!" Rudy's eyes narrowed. "Why don't you just leave it alone? No one in that dimension wants to hurt anyone here!"

Denny widened his eyes slightly at this. Then they narrowed. "You are...certain of that?" He turned his head to the side. He watched as the boy and girl nodded their heads. "How are you so sure? Look at yourselves." He motioned towards them. "You are both hurt. You trying to say that this wasn't the work of that dimension?"

"No, it...it wasn't.." Penny said. Denny took immediate notice of her hesitation and his eyes narrowed further.

"Oh? If that's the case, then why were you two unharmed before you went in, and now you are both injured enough to require a hospital visit." Denny tapped his fingers together. "I don't want to delay your visit to the hospital, and I don't want to have to give you another injury to convince you... But..." He snapped his finger once.

Rudy and Penny let out a cry of pain as Ian grabbed them by their hair. Their heads were yanked back, their hair and scalp tugged upwards. Their fingers flexed as they tried to deal with the pain.

"That's enough." Another snap and Ian let go. Denny watched as the children panted a few times, rubbing their sore scalps. "Do you children need another incentive?"

Rudy and Penny glared back at the man, still looking defiant despite the brief experience of pain with Ian. From this expression alone, Denny could tell that they weren't going to relinquish the information easily. Perhaps he should move up the plan a little. He knew of a way he could get what he wanted. It would involve doing things he wasn't going to be proud of, but he felt that he had no choice.

"All right then..." Denny leaned back in his seat. "I suppose I will have no choice then." He folded his arms against his chest. "I do hope you two realize that, whatever is about to happen next, both of you could have avoided if you had just cooperated."

Rudy bared his teeth. "Fuck you."

Denny's eyes widened, blazing with anger. He was about to launch himself at the kid before he managed to regain control of himself. He took in a few deep breaths, slowly managing to relax himself. He glared at Rudy for a few moments, and then turned to Ian.

"You know what to do." Denny said.

Ian nodded and he walked over towards Rudy. He grabbed him by his right arm and yanked him out of the chair. He moved him towards one corner of the room. Penny watched in shock and she started to get up out of the chair.

"No, don't you dare think about it." Denny said in a warning tone. "Or things will end up worse for your friend there."

Penny glared at him hatefully, but reluctantly stopped. She turned and watched Rudy, locking eyes with him and exchanging a sorrowful, regretful look with him. Rudy gave her an understanding expression before he turned to glare up at Ian. Ian glared back, but did not do anything to him yet. He turned his head, staring over at Denny, waiting for orders.

Denny nodded his head once. "You may start. Just..." He motioned his hand towards him. "Don't do too much damage."

Ian gave a nod of understanding to him. Then he looked down at Rudy. He pushed the small boy against the wall, causing him to grunt. Penny called out her friend's name, but made no move towards him, fearful of making the situation worse. A few seconds later, the screaming began.

sss

"Ahhhh! Please stop this!" Rudy cried out.

"Please, stop! You're hurting him." Penny's eyes were wide in terror. She turned over and looked at Denny. "Please, you have to stop this!"

Denny looked at her, narrowing her eyes. He then focused his attention back to Ian and Rudy.

Ian still had Rudy pressed against the wall. His broad hand was placed against the boy's back and he was being shoved against the wall to keep him restrained. His other hand was gripping his broken arm. The man was tugging on it. Not hard, but enough to cause pain. With a broken bone, that wasn't too hard to accomplish.

He looked at Rudy's face. It was red and flushed with tears. It was clear that the boy wasn't going to be able to handle this for much longer. He let out another wail, which almost seemed to echo in the room. At this point, Denny felt he had seen enough.

"Okay, let him go." Denny said as he snapped his finger.

Ian immediately released Rudy's arm, but kept him pinned there. Rudy's screaming quickly died down, dissipating into cries and whimpers. His whole body shook and trembled as sobs wracked through it, and he could hear the boy give a few sniffles as he tried to settle himself down.

The sight of this did make Denny feel guilty. He didn't really want to do this, and a part of him was telling him to just stop and let the children to. But no...that world... He knew the reason why he was doing this. He needed to learn more about that world. Otherwise... He shuddered to think about it.

He reminded himself that he was doing this for a good reason. He had a justifiable cause. These children were keeping a potentially dangerous world a secret. He was just...trying to learn about it so he can determine how safe it was. And if he had to hurt them a little to get there, then he would.

"So...are you now more willing to talk?" Denny asked as he glared softly at the boy. He listened to him cry for a few moments. When the boy didn't answer, he added, "Oh come now.. I would think you'd know to listen by now."

Penny shot him a tear-filled glare. "Just back off!"

Denny ignored her as he focused on Rudy. The boy was glaring at him, giving a similar expression as Penny. He was still crying softly as he tried to cope with the pain. Denny furrowed his eyes with concern at this. He really didn't want to resort to anything too extreme. Perhaps now was a good time to try that separation thing.

Denny turned his head towards Ian. "Take the girl outside and keep her quiet. I don't care what you need to do, just make sure she keeps her jaws closed."

Ian nodded in understanding. He grabbed onto Penny and started to drag her off.

"Let me go! Unhand me!" Penny shouted in protest as she was dragged out of the door with Ian.

Rudy watched this in horror. "N-No...Penny..." He turned himself around and reached out with his hand. He staggered, nearly stumbling off of his feet. "N-No..." He found himself dropping into his knee, his body shaking as it still suffered a wave of pain from what was being done to his broken arm. He stared at the door with wide, horrified eyes for a few seconds, listening as his friend was being dragged further down the hallway. He then turned his head towards Denny. "Please...bring her back... I..."

Denny raised his hand up. "Do not worry. Ian won't hurt her. Much..." He noted how the boy's eyes widened at this. "We aren't really interested in hurting you children, to be honest. All we want is information. If you would just cooperate, none of this would have happened."

Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. "You...You can't blame us for this... You chose to do this...!"

"Now see here! I..."

Denny stopped himself as he thought about that. True, he and Ian did choose to do this. They did have a choice of letting the kids go and forgetting about this whole thing. That would have prevented this from happening. Then again, so would have the children just talking when asked. They also had the power to stop this if they only just listened.

Instead of bringing that up, however, Denny took notice of Rudy's expression. He looked so frightened right now. He could tell that the boy wanted to run away, and he could see that strongly in his eyes. He thought back to his plan, and decided now was the best time to start implimenting it.

"Come on over here, child." Denny said in a gentle voice. Rudy just glared at him. Denny lifted up a finger and motioned it towards him, back and forth. "Come on now. Don't be afraid. Just come on over here. Let's talk."

Still Rudy would not come over. Denny could feel his gut twist in frustration. But he managed to hold himself back. He would do himself no favors if he snapped at the boy. He would just need to go forward with the plan another way. If the boy won't come to him, then he would just go to the boy.

Denny walked towards Rudy slowly. The boy pressed himself further against the wall, shaking harder as he got closer. When he got too close, Rudy started to move away from him. He glared at him, but that glare was faltering as fear become quite present on his face. Denny did not stop and he kept on following him, eventually causing the boy to get backed up against the corner. He moved in swiftly, blocking the boy's way out. He watched him as he shivered in fear, and a few moments later, he made his move.

He wrapped his arms around the small child. Rudy immediately let out cries of protest. Denny kept him pressed against himself, concealing the boy in his warmth. He avoided his broken arm, pressing his other against his body to prevent its use. He rested his chin on his shoulder, pressing his head against his a little. He used his free hand to begin stroking the boy's hair, massaging it where Ian had rougly pulled it, almost like a silent apology.

"Let me go!" Rudy screamed as panic began to rise in side of him. "Please!"

"Shh shh shh.." Denny whispered to him, running his fingers through his hair. "It's all right. Everything will be okay." He lowered himself to the ground, dragging the boy down with him. He forced Rudy to sit in his lap, keeping his body pressed against him. "You will be fine. Shhh..."

Denny continued to hold onto the boy gently, whispering soft words of comfort and gentleness to him. He could feel the boy's heart rate start to slow down as he continued treating him this way. There was still tension, but at least he wasn't freaking out as much as he did before.

There was a secret behind this method. Denny had learned about it sometime ago, though he forgot here. He was trying to teach Rudy that if he gave him what he wanted, then he would be rewarded with comfort and gentleness. If he continued to resist, more pain. This was something that he hoped the boy would pick up quickly. Denny did not want to have him get hurt again.

He could hear the boy sniffle, shedding more tears. He moved his hand down and stroked them away from his face. "It's all right. Don't cry, Rudy. You'll be okay." He caressed his cheek and moved his hand down his shoulder and along his arm for a few seconds. "It hurts me to see you in pain. Please, child. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

Rudy didn't answer. He just kept sniffling, his head lowered and his eyes shut. Denny continued to hold onto him, gently cradling him against himself. He did his best to reassure Rudy, all the while warning him of what might happen if he refused to cooperate, doing so in a sorrowful voice so Rudy knew that he did not want to have this continue.

Although Rudy still didn't answer, the man kept himself silent, refusing to say anything more other than the usual comfort words. It was now all up to Rudy. Would he see reason, or would he still resist?

Only time would tell.

sss

Rudy's mind was filled with confusing thoughts. He had no idea what he was going to do in this situation. He couldn't think of anything to say. Not even a retort.

He could see right through the man's methods. He was attempting to get him to relax so he would speak to him. He was trying to make him feel more comfortable, to teach him that if he spoke up, he wouldn't be hurt. Rudy was not going to fall for that trick. He had to keep his guard up.

So..why was he starting to relax in the man's arms? There was something about the way the man was touching him that was..relaxing. He could hardly fight against it. It was almost as if the man tapped into his instincts or something. The gentle caresses and sweet, soft words were relaxing parts of his mind and his body, making it difficult for him to prepare to get up and run. How could he do such a thing when he was getting too relaxed?

He shook his head mentally and reminded himself of who was holding onto him. He reminded himself that he was trapped here, forced to lay against this man, who was trying to force information of ChalkZone out of him. Judging from the man's words, he had no good intentions for the place. He couldn't betray ChalkZone.

He couldn't believe this was happening... He and Penny and just escaped Chalklantis, and now they had walked straight into more trouble. Just how much worse could their luck get at this point?

He feared for Penny. He could still feel the horrific pain of that man twisting his arm like that. What if he did something similar to Penny? What if he messed with her injured leg or arm? He wanted to go to her now. He wanted to help get her out and get away from these two crazy people.

But at the moment, he couldn't do anything. His arm was pinned and his back was pressed firmly against the man's body on the ground. He had no way, no angle to fight back. Even a kick would be useless.

All the while, the man kept stroking his hair, rubbing his shoulder, and caressing his arm. He was being very gentle with him. It was almost comforting if he didn't remember just who this was. He wanted to feel filthy. He wanted to feel disgusted by this whole thing. Instead, he was powerless to stop his body from relaxing more and more in this man's arms.

Suddenly he could feel the man's fingers press against the back of his neck, rubbing against the base that connected to his skull and moving all the way along the top of the neck. Rudy could feel a few cold chills at first, but soon he relaxed and involuntarily shut his eyes as the man massaged his neck. He found his head leaning back as the man pressed his fingers against the base and rubbed there. Oh man...this felt so good... Slowly, he closed his eyes and found himself enjoying the massage.

Soon he shook his head as he realized what was going on. He let out a low growl and stared up at the man. He bared his teeth at him in warning. "I'm not telling you anything..." He said in a low growl.

"Hmph... Stubborn little boy, aren't you?" Denny said with a scowl. At first, Rudy thought that he was going to order him to get hurt again. Instead, the man gave a soft smile. "Perhaps you just need to relax a little more. You seem...tense."

Rudy soon felt the man's fingers work his scalp. His eyes widened slightly as the man pushed against the center of the top of his head and gently moved it around in circles, carefully tugging at his scalp. He couldn't deny it, this did feel good.

But he still refused to talk. He still continued to growl lowly, warning the man to stop it. He would not talk. Nothing this man did to him would ever mrake him talk.

It was clear that Denny just wasn't getting the memo. He kept up the scalp massage, smiling as Rudy's body started to relax more. Rudy tried to fight against it, but it was becoming harder as time passed. How could he remain so tense and afraid and angry when the man's massages were feeling so good? He couldn't deny it. He was...kind of enjoying this.

Then the man's hand lowered and started to massage his forehead. Rudy's body stiffened a little at this, and soon they relaxed. This felt even better. He found himself pressing his head against the hand, subconsciously wanting to more. Denny complied and continued to massage his head. A few moments later, he moved his thumb between his eyes, right where his nose began, and he applied pressure. Rudy felt a wave of pleasure spread out through his skull, making him close his eyes again.

"See, child? I won't hurt you. I can be very nice." Denny said in a gentle voice. "I can tell you're liking this. If you would like me to keep doing it, just tell me what I want to know."

Rudy opened his eyes and stared up at the man.

sss

Her heart pounding in her chest, Penny struggled against the man's grasp. She tried to twist and turn, whatever she could to make him let go. But nothing was working. She remain trapped, pressed up against him with his legs over her body, holding her close to him. She was unable to even call out to him and make him let go. He was holding onto her head, his hands positioned so that he was keeping her from opening her mouth. A gag was placed in earlier to help further muffle her cries.

Penny couldn't believe this was happening. How could they have just jumped out of the frying pan and into another fire? How did they not foresee this coming? How could this have happened? How could they have let this happen?

Penny soon realized that she and Rudy were not as careful as they thought they were. Their movements before had aroused suspicion. That man...or this one, one of them had spotted them fleeing into the back room. Why else would they have waited there for them? Why else would they have gone through this trouble just to catch them?

She felt a sting of guilt. She couldn't help but feel in a way responsible for this. She should have been more careful. She should have realized this could happen. Why didn't she and Rudy move quieter? Why did they flee, thus gaining the attention of the librarian or whoever?

Another thought came to her mind. What if that's not what happened? Maybe they didn't actually see them during the day, but the cameras... Oh darn, she had forgotten about the cameras. She could feel her heart racing at the thought of ChalkZone being caught on footage. Did these men have such footage at their disposal? And if so, where was it?

Penny continued to struggle against the man. She could hear him grunt as he struggled to hold onto her. She kept trying to resist. She couldn't give up. If there was even a slight chance that ChalkZone might be exposed...

She turned her eyes down and saw that the man's fingers were pretty close to her mouth. But biting would be out of the question. Even she could free her head, the gag would prevent her from making an affective bite. And her arms were pinned against her body. She tried not to flinch as she felt the man's limbs press up against her injuries. However, her legs were still free. If she could just reposition them, then maybe...

It was no use. No matter how much she tried to strike back, it was impossible. She could not get a good enough angle. If this man were in front of her, then maybe it would be feasible. But not like this.

She soon realized there was one more thing she could try. It would seem that she did have some movement in her hands. And the legs themselves were positioned pretty close to them. If she could just get hold of at least one leg, maybe she could provide some encouragement for the man to let her go.

She twisted her wrists around. Doing so with such little room wasn't easy. She narrowed her eyes in determination and kept on pushing her hands until they were in the position she needed them on. There wasn't too much flexibility, but she was still able to feel the jeans that covered his legs. She moved her fingers up and down until she found a suitable spot, then she grabbed a hold, pinching as hard as she could.

The man let out a yelp of pain and his grip did falter a little. Penny, encouraged by this, applied further pressure, hoping to discourage the man enough to make him let go. She could feel the man start to let go. Just a little more...

Suddenly she was shoved against the ground. The side of her faced collided with the hard surface. She let out a yelp of pain, shutting her eyes for a few moments. She turned her eyes to look up, baring her teeth as she locked her gaze with the man. She could see just how infuriated he looked.

"You stupid brat! How dare you!" The man hissed at her. "You couldn't just hold still, could you?!"

Penny quickly realized that the man wasn't holding onto her jaws anymore, nor were both her arms pinned. With her free limb, she took off the gag. She smacked her lips a few times, trying to get the taste of cloth out. Then she glared up at the man and said, "Hey! You were the one who captured me and my friend! We hadn't done anything to you!"

The man gritted his teeth at this. "This wouldn't have happened if you two just told us what we wanted to know! But I suppose you don't care if someone else wanders in that forsaken world, now do you?!"

"That's not true!" Penny squirmed as she tried to free herself. She gritted her teeth as she felt him twist her arm behind her back. "We..." She hissed. "We are keeping it a secret so that no one can stumble into it..." A partial truth, but she wasn't sure how well the man would handle it if she tried to defend the people in that world. Best to make it sound like she was doing this for the benefit of other humans.

The man stared at her for a few moments. His grip on her loosened up slightly, but not enough to allow her to get away. For a few more seconds, there was just silence, the only sound being breathing and Penny's struggles. It was only after a while longer that The man began to speak.

"If you were so worried about others, then you would have reported this world." The man hissed at her. "What if someone else stumbled upon this place and they got hurt, just like you and your friend did?" He tilted his head to one side. "Not telling someone about this would be irresponsible. You should have informed someone about this place sooner. You were lucky that no innocents had been lost to this place."

"H-How could anyone have gotten in..." Penny seethed. "...if Rudy and I were the only ones who know how to get into this place?"

The man paused for a moment. It seemed at first she had gotten through to him. But then he narrowed his eyes and scowled at her. "They could have watched you...and copied you. Then they would have gotten lost in that world and they would have gotten hurt, even killed, and it would be all your fault..."

Penny gritted her teeth. What could she say to make this guy understand? How could she and Rudy convince the two of them to leave ChalkZone alone? The temptation to defend the zoners was great, but that might just label them as traitors in their eyes. And stating that they were just trying to protect people didn't seem to have much of an effect either.

She refused to give up. There had to be some sort of angle she and Rudy could try. Something to that would get these two to let them go and not utter a word about ChalkZone. But...how?

She could hear the man give an exasperated sigh. She could detect frustration in it, which perfectly matched the tone the man had been using. But now she could detect something else on that voice. Disappointment? Sadness? Some kind of negative emotion that had her confused.

"I wish you children would understand. We... We don't want to hurt you. We never did. We were only supposed to wait for you, see if you came back, and tell your parents. They're...worried about you, you know."

Penny flinched at this, feeling her heart twist. She remained silent as the man continued.

"But then Denny got suspicious of the chalkboard and he thought something might be up with it and...well he was certainly right about that. You two came out of it injured... We got worried. I know that hurting you and threatening you was wrong. We just...want to make sure that no one else will get hurt. All we want is cooperation. Please...try to understand..."

Penny could feel the grip loosen on her even more. She did not try to squirm. Her eyes were too focused on the man. She couldn't help but feel a level of confusion and uncertainty at the man's change of demeanor. She wasn't sure if she could trust it or not, or if the man was being genuine.

The man had his gaze lowered, turned away. She could see the eyes shining with regret. No tires, just a bit of a shine. He then looked back at her. She felt herself flinch when she saw the expression.

"That's exactly what Rudy and I want from you guys." Penny said softly, her eyes remaining somewhat narrowed. "We just want you to understand where we are coming from. We don't want to cause trouble and we would feel horrible if someone else got in danger because of us. Why do you think we chose to keep this place a secret? We aren't being irresponsible. If word of this got out, do you really think that people would just stay out?"

The man was silent at this. This encouraged Penny to resume talking.

"We know how stubborn people can be. If they don't know about this place, then they would not try to break in. Rudy and I are the only ones who know how to get in and out. So long as it stays that way, there is nothing to fear. No one will get hurt."

Penny didn't bring up how Vinnie Raton and Terry Bouffant also know about ChalkZone. Thankfully, their knowledge of the place appeared to be limited. The chances of them spreading the word about ChalkZone, especially with all the rumors about them and the general distrust towards them, was highly unlikely.

"But still..." The man started to say. "Someone might..."

"How?" Penny glared at him. "How could they try to get in if they don't know of this place?"

"I... Well... They might see you like I said, and..."

"Don't you think Rudy and I had thought about that? Why do you think we try to pick secluded locations to go to this world? It's to prevent anyone from seeing what we are doing. We aren't stupid, you know." Penny narrowed her eyes a little further. "We are doing what we can to keep this place a secret."

"And yet you got hurt." The man pointed out.

"Yeah, and you and your boss hurt us more." Penny growled. "How could you do that? You saw that we were in need of help and you still..." She shut her eyes and looked away. "How can I believe that you two had good intentions when you are treating us like a couple of criminals?" She looked back at him. "What if word of this got out? What if more people found out what you two did? Do you really think they would listen to anything else you had to say?"

The man's eyes widened at this. "I.." He paused for a moment, biting his lip. "Well...we did consider the possibility.."

Penny hissed at this. "Yet you still chose to hurt us anyway... You should be ashamed of yourself."

The man stared at her, his eyes blinking. At first, he looked guilty, lowering hs head slightly in remorse. Then, his eyes narrowing again, he turned to glare at her softly. "And you should be ashamed for worrying your parents..." Penny's eyes widened. "Do you have any idea how worried they were? What... What possessed you and your friend to stay in that forsaken place for hours?"

At this, Penny felt some of her anger leave her, replaced with her own guilt. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. "We... We didn't mean to. We just... Something happened and.." She shook her head slowly. "We never meant to worry them." She reopened her eyes and stared into the man's glaring face. "Please, w-we..we... we didn't mean to..."

The man cut her off. "I do hope it was all worth it. Whatever you two needed to do in that place, I hope it was worth frightening the heck out of your folks. I had never seen parents so worried before..."

Penny took in a sharp, shaky breath. She closed her eyes again, lowering her head.

"But..."

She looked back at the man. She noticed that he looked sad again, a little more so than before.

"We should have thought this out more carefully." The man rubbed the back of his head nervously. "We could have found a better way to handle this." He glanced down at her. He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

Penny stared at him for a few moments. Unable to think of how to respond, she just turned her head away. Soon she became aware of someone wrapping their arms around her. She could feel herself being pressed against the man again. This time, this embrace felt less like a trap and more comforting. She could feel the man gently rub along her arm and back. His chin rested on her head.

"I'm so very sorry..."

sss

So far, he wasn't having much luck with this kid. He was still stubborn, even with all the nice gestures he was giving him. He was doing things that the boy obviously liked, such as a neck message. And still he resisted. Why won't the boy just surrender and tell him what he wanted to know?

Despite his frustration, however, he did not resume hurting him. Denny no longer had interest in that. He felt too guilty from before, and he liked the boy much better when he wasn't screaming in pain.

He held the boy against him. He did not allow him to get free, but he did not restrain him too much, as he did not want him to feel hopelessly trapped. He had the boy's head pressed against himself, the side of his face against his shoulder. His hand was on the boy's head and he gently stroked his hair and rubbed his scalp.

The boy had struggled for a while, wanting to get free. But the longer he was nice to him, the less he resisted. Though the boy still refused to talk about this alternate dimension, he no longer tried to get away. He rested against him, his eyes partially closed from the head massage he was giving him. It was as if the boy craved human contact. It made him wonder even more just what happened to him and Penny.

"Listen, kid, I..." Denny began to say. He could feel Rudy's head move, and he could tell that he was looking at him right now. "I'm sorry about what I did to you two. It's just that... I'm worried about what happened to you. I'm worried it might happen to more people. Why can't you two see that?" He shut his eyes and shook his head. "If you two would have just cooperated..."

Rudy spoke in a somewhat darkened voice. "It's kind of hard to speak when we're screaming.."

"Yes, I know." Denny said softly. "I'm sorry."

After that, Denny fell silent. He lifted his head up and he turned his gaze towards the ceiling. He took in a deep breath and sighed. With the room becoming largely silent, save for the exhaling and inhaling of breath, Denny went into deep thought.

What was he going to do now? How was he going to make sure that this world was safe and not dangerous? How was he going to spread the word about it and inform others of its existence to prevent further incidents...if the boy just won't talk? Hurting him didn't work, and being nice doesn't seem to have an effect on him.

He wished he could think of something to help the boy understand where he was coming from. He had already told him that he was just concerned for him, but that didn't seem to make the boy want to talk more. He didn't want to resort to hurting again. He didn't want to bring in Ian to make him hurt Penny in front of Rudy. No, he wanted a better way. Besides, doing such a thing would only increase the odds of him being arrested. If someone somehow got footage of what was going on here...

He was drawing a blank. He couldn't really think of anything else that he hadn't tried yet. He couldn't believe just how ill-prepared he was. If only there was a more sure fire why of making the boy see his point of view...

His eyes twinkled a little. He believed he just might have found the thing that might help Rudy see reason.

"I noticed that you and your friend were both injured."

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah I know... But, we're fine now. We're back home and..."

"You still need a trip to the hospital." Denny cut him off. He worked the boy's scalp and forehead gently as he continued, "It could have been so much worse. What if Penny had a much worse injury? Would you feel guilty? Could you live with that guilt?"

"What are you...?" Rudy whispered softly. "I..."

"And what of your parents? How would they feel if you didn't come back? Or if you got hurt even worse? How would you feel about that?"

Rudy gritted his teeth. He opened his mouth to reply, but he quickly shut it.

Denny said, "I know you must love your family very much. What if one of them was caught in that world? What if one of them somehow found a way in, and they ran into trouble. How would you feel if something like that happened?"

He noticed the boy's eyes widened in horror that. No, not just horror. Recognition. Denny blinked a few times at this. It took him only a few seconds to realize what this meant.

"It..happened before, didn't it...?" Denny said softly. Rudy hesitated, and then nodded his head. "Were they fine?" Another nod. Denny frowned at this. "You were lucky they didn't get hurt from that. Don't you see? This is exactlty why you shouldn't have kept this world a secret, boy. If you had told someone, you might have..."

"...caused more incidents like that.."

Denny paused at this. He tilted his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is.." Rudy moved his head up so that he could stare at him in the eyes. "People are stubborn and they are going to want to enter this world. Off limits or not. More people could get hurt as a result. You know how stubborn folks can be. Letting everyone know about this world, and then making it offlimits to only a select few would only further fuel people's attempts of getting in."

Denny let this sink in. He..hadn't really thought of it like that before. The boy may have a point there. People wouldn't try to break into a world they didn't know about. And if word of this got out, there might be further attempts of trying to break in, and an increased chance of someone getting hurt.

Still, he wasn't so sure if keeping it a secret was the best idea to go with. There was still a chance that Rudy or Penny wouldn't be careful enough, and someone would find out about this place and how to get in. Without common knowledge, a missing person's loved ones and relatives would go on forever without knowing what happened to them. And there were still other things to consider as well.

He realized he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He wasn't sure which path was the correct one. He didn't know which way that he should turn. Which road would have the least amount of obstacles and problems? Which one would be the 'lesser' of the two 'evils'?

He looked down at the boy, biting his lip. He let out a sigh and did the only thing he thought he could do.

He turned to the boy for negotiation.

"Okay then.. What do you suggest?" He asked.

"That you leave this world alone, let me and my friend go, and don't say a word about this to anyone."

Denny frowned at this. That didn't seem like too fair of a trade. All he would be doing was giving in completely. No, if he was going to relent, so was the boy. There had to be some sort of middleground. Some way they could both benefit from this.

"What do I get out of it?" Denny asked.

Rudy blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...what do I get out of this?" Denny answered back. "How would I benefit from not telling anyone?"

Rudy looked like he wasn't sure how to respond at first. He was clearly having difficulty thinking of something to say. Soon he managed to speak. "Is there...something that you wanted? That doesn't involve this world?"

Denny paused for a moment. He tapped his chin thoughtfully as his eyes furrowed slightly. "Well.." He looked back at the boy. "There is...one thing..."

sss

Rudy and Penny listened while Denny and Ian explained the situation to them. They kept quiet, not interrupting once. They both wanted a more complete understanding of what was going on.

Rudy still felt a little sore from what was done to him earlier, and he was still a bit peeved at how they just dragged Penny away like that. He was glad that Denny appeared to be getting into a more agreeable mood and let Penny come back in with Ian. He was also glad to see that Ian seemed a bit regretful for what he had done as well.

He stood next to his friend as they watched the men, listening to their words. It didn't take them too long to finish what they were telling them.

"And that's what was going on." Denny said, finishing up the story.

"As you can see, there's been some..issues here lately." Ian held up his hand in gesture. "We want to improve things, but.."

Denny turned his head down, his eyes furrowing softly. "No one will believe me... I know I'm not all that fond of children, but at least I'm not so absent-minded that I just let them get away with anything they want. What if they get hurt?" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "It won't reflect well on this library. That's for certain.."

Rudy and Penny remained silent at this. They stared at each other, allowing this information to sink in. They were both aware of the boss of this library being a little too lenient. But it had never bothered them before. They didn't think it was a big deal.

But now listening to these two's testimony, they were starting to see why it would be problematic. What if there was a case in the future where someone was kidnapped from here as a result of disobeying the rules, and the boss tried to cover it up? From what they were told, the boss did seem to care more about his reputation than the actual children he claims to like.

"So..what do you children think?" Denny finally asked after a bit more silence.

The two children were silent for a while. They glanced at each other, but said no words. Both became lost in their own thoughts, trying to figure out what they were going to do. Normally, they would want to just stay out of this, but they had been placed in a situation where this wasn't possible. Given that these guys wanted a negotiation, and they appeared willing to strike a deal regarding ChalkZone if this was a success, they had to think of something.

Rudy narrowed his eyes and tried to think as hard as he could about this. It wasn't going to be an easy decision. Despite learning about his negligence, he still kind of liked the boss of this library. He seemed like a sweet man. He wasn't sure if he could do anything to harm him in anyway.

And yet... He couldn't overlook the fact that this man's actions may end up causing someone getting hurt some day. If something wasn't done about that...

And what about ChalkZone? If he and Penny refused to help with this, what would happen to ChalkZone? They needed to do whatever they could to prevent these two men from getting to that world, or exposing it. If helping them with the boss would keep their mouths shut about ChalkZone... Then he supposed they had no choice.

But how were they going to go about this? Rudy couldn't really think of anything. He turned to Penny, noting her thoughtful expression. It was hard to tell if she had come up with anything yet or not.

Penny soon turned her head and looked at him. She stared at him in the eyes for a few seconds, and then looked over at the two men, who were waiting patiently for one of them to speak. Soon, Penny finally spoke.

"Well... I can think of one way..." She soon frowned, lowering her gaze. "But it's...not going to be pretty."

Rudy stared at her in curiosity. "What are you suggesting, Penny?"

Rudy and the two men stared at the girl for several moments. They waited for her to respond, all of them wondering just what she was suggesting that would seem so bad. Penny gave them all a regretful expression, sucking on her lip. Then she lowered her gaze and closed her eyes.

"We frame him."

This sent shockwaves through the room. Both Denny and Ian glanced at each other, eyes widened. Rudy gave Penny a disbelieving look, a part of him hoping that she wasn't being serious. They... They couldn't possibly do anything like that.. right?

"Penny... There has to be another way. We can't just..."

Penny gave him a soft glare. "Do you have a better idea?"

"I.." Rudy tried to think of something. But soon he shut his mouth. He shook his head. "No, I don't."

Penny nodded her head. "This is hard for me, too. But..." She paused, gritting her teeth. "I don't think we have much of a choice here." She turned her attention to Ian and Denny. "We'll help you frame this guy so you can get what you want... in exchange for keeping that world a secret." She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Say one word, and we will expose you as a fraud, and prove the innocense of that man."

Denny and Ian nodded in agreement. There was a bit of silence at first, but soon Denny took a step forward. He had an expression on his face that told the children that he had something he wanted to add. "And if you leak information about that man being framed, we will show everyone evidence of that world of yours."

Rudy stiffened at this, taking a step back. He looked over at Penny. He was perplexed by how she wasn't startled by this. He soon realized that this was exactly what she wanted. To put them both in a stalemate position, where they had no choice but to keep the promise. They were locked in place now, and there was little chance either of them would break the promise, not while something important to them would be affected if they deviate from the agreement.

Rudy and Penny took a few steps forward. They each faced one of the men. Their eyes locked onto each other as they sought to fully understand the other side. Their eyes remained narrowed, and they darted around, looking for any sign of dishonesty from the opposition.

Soon, Rudy and Penny raised their hands up. Denny and Ian did likewise. They reached towards each other and they gripped each other's hands. They shook them once, each of them saying in unison a single, yet powerful word.

"Deal."

sss

"No! It's all a mistake! You can't do this to me! I love children! I would never hurt them like that!"

The policemen weren't having any of the man's bullshit. As they took the former librarian boss into the police car, they listed off his rights. The man struggled, but there was no way he was going to be able to escape. In a few moments, he was shoved into the car. They drove off.

Even as the car was driven away, Mr. Tabootie could still hear the man's shouts for innocense. His stomach twisted in disgust, unable to believe what that man had done. He and his wife had always thought he was nice, and then..he did something like this...

He watched as his wife held onto Rudy. Not far, he could see Penny being held by her mom. They both suffered from injuries, such as burns and cuts. Poor Rudy had a broken arm, while Penny's leg was badly sprained. The sight of this made him flinch. He knew that this was only part of what that man had done. Rudy and Penny couldn't tell them everything; from their shaking and whimpering, he knew that they were traumatized.

He didn't want to think about what that evil man had done to them. He just wanted to be glad that they were back, safe and sound. They both needed a trip to the hospital, especially Rudy. But at least they were safe and they would recover.

At least physically. He was worried for their mental states. Depending on what else that man did to them... He couldn't stop the horrible images coming to his head. He did his best to push them aside, but this soon became impossible. He couldn't help but feel a cold shiver go up his spine. Those poor, poor children... He had to wonder.. Were there any other victims?

"I'm so sorry about what happened."

Mr. Tabootie turned his head to see Denny coming towards him. The man had recently been given the title of boss and now currently ran the library. He couldn't help but give him a smile. This man did help save his son and Penny.

"That's all right." Mr. Tabootie said. He bit his lip for a second, turning his head to the side. "I just..wish I knew... I..."

"I didn't know either. I mean..I always thought he was such a great guy. But..." Denny shook his head in disappointment. "For him to lie to your children like that, trick them into coming here...only for them to be captured and dragged in that awful basement..." His eyes flashed in horror, clearly remembering the things that he had seen. He shivered once and shook his head. He tried his best to smile. "At least it's all over now."

Mr. Tabootie nodded his head. "Yeah... Such a relief..."

Denny nodded his head once and fell silent. He stared at him for a few moments, giving him a sympathetic expression. He then rubbed the back of his head and turned his head towards the library. "Well I need to get going. There's a policeman in there asking some questions to Ian and I know they want to ask me some ore." He looked at Mr. Tabootie. He gave him a smile and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I...wish you and the others the best of luck."

"Yeah...Thanks." Mr. Tabootie tried to smile the best he could. He watched as Denny walked away. His smile quickly faded. He turned his head and stared over at his wife and at Mrs. Sanchez.

The two women held onto their children. Rudy and Penny were still shivering and whimpering. They looked like they were too terrified to let go. They remained burrowed against their mothers, who were caressing their hair and rubbing their backs and whispering comforting words, trying to soothe them. Despite their best efforts, it didn't seem like the children were going to calm down any time soon.

Mr. Tabootie watched this sadly for a few moments. He took in a deep breath and he let out a soft sigh. He walked over towards them slowly. He stood in front of them. He could see his wife and Mrs. Sanchez looked up at them. He could feel his heart shatter as he saw their expressions. They were of absolute despair and horror.

Exhaling slowly, Mr. Tabootie did his best to control his emotions. He had to remain strong. Not just for himself, but for these two women, and for Rudy and Penny. He reached over and placed his hand on the back of Rudy's head. His chest stung as he felt his son's body shivering underneath his hand.

He looked at his wife in the eyes, exchanging emotion-filled expressions. Then he said, "C-Come on... Let's go home."

sss

Rudy was glad that Penny and her mom decided to come over to his house. Mrs. Sanchez wanted to talk to his parents more about what had happened to them. They were still having a hard to believing it.

While they spoke, Rudy and Penny stayed in his bedroom. It took them a while to convince their folks to let them go up alone. Their parents were worried sick about them, especially after what happened...or rather, what they believed had happened to them. Rudy did eventually reassure them that he and Penny just wanted to spend some time together, claiming that they had been separated the whole day and tormented separately. Only then did their parents relent and let them be together alone.

Rudy did feel filthy about what he and Penny had participated in. He had never wanted to frame someone before. He would have to live with the guilt of having sent an innocent person to jail. This wasn't like what happened to Vinnie. Sending him to prison was not what he had intended. This was the first time that this had been done deliberately.

He could tell that Penny did not look happy with herself either. She had hardly spoken and her gaze was turned away. He could understand why. She probably felt the most guilty of the two because it was her idea to do this.

He could understand her reasoning. They had been placed in a tough situation. Captured by those two men and nearly forced to give up information regarding ChalkZone... So much could have went wrong. If it weren't for Penny's quick thinking, which resulted in both of them in a secure stalemate, who knows what would have happened?

Although he had already comforted her and tried to calm her down after he and her were finished with the plan that would set that former librarian boss plenty of time in prison, she still hadn't relaxed completely. It may take a long time before either of them could recover mentally from what they had to do.

He did his best to cheer himself up. He reminded himself that by sacrificing one person, they had managed to keep ChalkZone safe. Considering what could have happened if ChalkZone were exposed, then this situation, although guilt-ridden, was preferable.

He sat down next to Penny. The two f them were on his window sill, their backs turned to the window. They leaned against each other for support. He could feel her head resting on his shoulder. He pressed the side of his face against her hair, his good arm looped around her and pulling her close.

They recently visited the hospital. They were all patched up and his arm was put in a more proper cast. Thankfully, it didn't take as long as he thought. Neither he nor Penny required an overnight stay. The break in his arm wasn't as bad as it first appeared and just required righting it. Incredibly painful, but it was worth it to have his arm properly casted and resting against his chest. He was glad Penny turned out to be all right as well, with no really bad injuries that required more than a few hours stay at the hospital.

As he rested against Penny, he tilted his head up and began to think of what they had been through. He couldn't help but feel a strong pang of...something that he couldn't specifically identify, as he thought about Chalklantis and how their trip there had turned out.

For so long, they had wanted to go down to Chalklantis. They had wanted to see what it was like, learn about the culture, everything. It was such an enticing trip, and he and his friends were always excited to go, only to have everything dashed by some kind of event. It had become a distant dream and they began to wonder if it would ever be possible to go there.

Then they got invited by the king and they thought their dream had come true. Only it turned out to be a scheme by the king to get them trapped there, and he tried to kill them all. He had gotten worse by the hour, and eventually exposed his true colors as a monster. His general was no different, and was equally, if not more, disgusting.

As a result, for a while, his opinion of Chalklantis had been scewed. He no longer wanted to be a part of it and would rather it stay lost. He wanted to leave and never come back. He knew that his friends felt the same way.

But now all that had changed. With both King Zander and General Kairos taken care of, and a new king being put into place, Rudy was confident that Chalklantis would be a much better place to visit. He was certain that the zoners would be far more welcoming this time, especially after they learned how the king had allowed some of them to get hurt all for...

...he still didn't know what the king's plan was. Rudy could feel his gut twist. None of them ever had a chance to pry the full story from the king. He was dead now. No way he could have survived that explosion. Now it was impossible for any interrogators to get the information from him. All he and the others could do was speculate what the king was up to. It would forever remain a mystery. But at least there was a plus side to this.

Chalklantis was free, and they would never have to worry about that king or his general again.

Well it was almost free; there was still the matter of the disease that was released. He and Penny, despite their misgivings about going back, still wanted to help in stopping that. He knew Snap would also want to go back and help. They hadn't yet decided when they'd go back, but Rudy wanted it to be as soon as was convenient. They had to stop that disease. He was certain that, with his friends' help, they could stop the head deflator disease that the king cruelly unleashed on his people, and make it a safer place to be in.

He turned his head and looked over at Penny. He could see how worried and upset she looked. He bit his lip, furrowing his eyes as he tried to think of something to help cheer her up. His eyes brightened when something did come to mind.

"Hey...why don't we visit Snap?" Rudy suggested, holding up his hand in gesture. "I'm sure he will love the company."

Penny looked at him. She had a sorrowful expression for a few moments. Then she nodded her head slowly, a small crack of a smile appearing on her face. "Yes... that sounds nice."

Rudy smiled back at her, and the two of them climbed out of the window sill. They moved towards the chalkboard. Rudy took a piece of magic chalk and created a portal. Helping each other, they stepped into ChalkZone and erased the portal behind them. Then they immediately made their way towards the hospital.

sss

Snap couldn't stop the smile from growing on his face as he saw his two friends walk into the hospital room. He had been getting a little lonely, even though Rapsheeba and Blocky hadn't been gone that long and had promised to come back soon. He motioned for Rudy and Penny to come in and showed them where the chairs were.

"How are you feeling?" Rudy asked, being the first one to speak.

Snap flinched a little as he felt the jabbing pain in his side. He could see his friends looking at him with concerned looks. He tried to hide the pain the best he could, but he knew he would not be able to fool them for long. "Mostly fine. Better than I was before." He looked down at his casted leg. "I won't be able to walk for a while."

"How long?" Penny asked. "A few months I think..."

"Yeah, right around there." Snap frowned at this. He hated the idea of being trapped in this bed for all that time. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about that. At least he was still alive. "And you guys?"

"We're both fine. It will take us a while to heal up." Rudy said. He glanced down at his arm. His eyes darted over to his leg cast, as if realizing how much they seemed to compliment each other. Then he said, "But the doctors believe we will be fine in a few months."

Snap smiled at this. "That sounds wonderful. A few months, and then we can go back to exploriating."

"Yes." Penny said, nodding and smiling.

Snap couldn't wait. There were still other places in ChalkZone they hadn't been to yet. There were always new worlds being created. Many lost worlds, hidden worlds, bizarre worlds. He couldn't wait until their next trip. He wondered what other place they were going to visit next.

He hoped that none of them turned out anything like Chalklantis had. He still couldn't believe what had happened to him and his friends. If he had known that they were going to be treated like that...

Well at least it was all over now. The king and general were stopped and could no longer bring harm to the citizens. It had finally been transformed into a place that was more worthy of a visit. He wasn't sure if he would want to go back, or when. A part of him was still debating that, considering the kind of negative impact the place left on him. But...he couldn't blame the Chalklantians for their treatment. No, the only ones that deserved any of the blame were King Zander and General Kairos. It was all their fault that this had happened.

"So, Snap.." Rudy started to say, breaking the silence. "In a few months, after we're all healed..."

The boy's voice trailed off. He bit his lip, looking nervous. Snap stared at him in confusion.

Penny finished for him. "We were thinking of another trip to Chalklantis, after we are all feeling better of course. Right now would be kind of ridiculous."

Snap widened his eyes at this. "You..want to back there...so soon? After what had happened?"

Penny nodded her head. "It should be much better with the new king. And, well... there is that disease..."

"I did promise them that I would try to find the cure for it." Said Rudy, his eyes narrowing in determination. "I do not want to turn my back on them. I don't want to allow that disease to continue wreaking havoc in that city. As soon as we are able-bodied and healed up, we're going back."

Snap couldn't help but admire Rudy and Penny's courage and determination here. They were both willing to go back to the same place that had tormented them, and help out the zoners. Even though the city would indeed be much better now that the zoners know they aren't the bad guys, Snap couldn't help but feel a sense of dread of the idea of going back.

This head deflator disease... What if he caught it? How was it spread? What would they do if he had it? Would he go insane? Would Rudy and Penny be able to save him? This and many other worrying thoughts spread through his head.

But he couldn't turn his back on them either. He just couldn't help it. He was designed to be a hero, and that's what he was going to be.

"If you and Buckette are going, count me in." Snap said dutifully, placing a hand against himself.

His friends smiled at them gratefully. "Thanks, Snap..."

Snap nodded his head, giving them a determined-filled smile. He was not going to back down from this. Despite his fears of going back, he could not allow the deaths of innocents to be on his conscience. He wanted to do whatever he could to help stop that terrible disease. He did not want to allow King Zander's 'legacy' to continue.

After a few moments of silence, Snap decided to try to break the tension. He didn't want to keep dwelling on King Zander, or on Chalklantis in general. Not right now. He just wanted to spend some time with his friends and be happy that he and them were on their way to recovery. They had plenty of time to think of strategies of how to deal with that terrifying disease. For now, they should just enjoy themselves.

And he knew just the thing.

"Hey, Bucko, Buckette.."

Rudy and Penny stared at him expectantly. Snap smiled at them broadly, offering a playful grin.

"How about a game of Chinese Chalkers?"