Penny glared hatefully at Skrawl. If he was going to try to intimidate her, he would have to do a lot better than that. She wasn't going to be frightened that easily. She had faced off against this jellybean before. She had been able to outsmart him in the past with the 'chalk queen' ruse. She could do it again.
Her eyes moved up and down Skrawl, her mind whirling with thoughts on what she could do to get out of here. There was always a way out of a situation. Even if it wasn't that clear at first, there was always a way. She had learned that when she had to fight Mint back in ChalkZone City. Ripclaw had her pinned down and it looked hopeless, but not only did she pull through, she was able to send Mint packing. He sure didn't take her lightly after that.
And it was time Skrawl learned a similar lesson. Though he had her by the neck now, that was not going to last long. She would see to that. She would make him release her, and she was going to help Rudy fight against him. Skrawl was going to be stopped once and for all.
And then after his defeat, she was going to take Rudy to where Snap was. The plan she had figured out was putting Snap in a corner of the room where the Beanie Boys aren't likely to go, and then creating a one way mirror. Snap could see them, but they couldn't see him. Snap was instructed to call out to them when he sees her, Rudy, and Mint come in. Obviously if a Beanie Boy comes in, he would keep as quiet and still as possible. It was still hard for him with the pain. She promised she'd be back as soon as she could.
She had no idea how she found her way back. She had forgotten what hallways they had taken while looking for the way out. It wasn't like she could stop and ask for directions; if she did that, she would be captured for sure. She wasn't stupid enough to do something as crazy as that, so she had to keep moving. She did eventually come to a hallway that she recognized. She quickly headed down and soon found the twisted stairs leading up towards where she and Snap had been held. She heard some shouts from Rudy, laughter from Skrawl, and she knew she had found the right place. She rushed up the stairs as fast as she could. When she heard Rudy scream, she quickened her pace. When she came into the room, she had to freeze at what she saw.
Skrawl had Rudy lifted into the air by an electrical coil, the same one he had used to electrocute Mint. Rudy was struggling to get free, glaring hostily at Skrawl. The jellybean looked like he was going to attack Rudy, and knowing how that zoner is, Penny had no doubt in her mind that is what was going to happen. She hadn't noticed where Mint was yet. Her eyes remained glued on Rudy and Skrawl.
Carefully, swiftly, she made her way around the edge of the room. She kept quiet, making sure the evil zoner did not notice her movements. Needing a weapon of some kind, she drew the first thing that she thought of. A pipe, not unlike the one Mint had used before. She gripped it tightly and moved in behind Skrawl. She struck him in his side, causing the zoner to let go of Rudy. Though it had enabled Rudy to get free, Penny was not able to get out of the way in time and she felt the zoner grasp her throat tightly and raise her above the ground. The pipe slipped from her hands and it dropped to the ground.
"Are you...still mad about...the chalk queen thing...Skrawl..?" Penny said to him. Her voice was strained from the pressure applied to her neck. "You...should have...known...I would never betray...Rudy..." A small, wry smile appeared on her face. "I guess you...aren't as smart...as you...like...to think..you...are.."
Skrawl narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on Penny's neck, causing her to gag a little. "I intend to not make that mistake again, genius girl." Skrawl did not notice what Penny was during during this time. "I intend to...remove you as a factor." His eyes narrowed dangerously, putting his face closer to Penny's. "Permanently..."
Penny, who had been raising the magic chalk into the air during this time, took action immediately. But instead of drawing something, she pulled her arm back and thrust the magic chalk forward. It jabbed into Skrawl's red eye. Skrawl let out a scream as he released Penny. He put a hand over his eye and hissed in pain. As Penny landed on the ground, she immediately brought her left foot forward and struck against the single limb that held Skrawl up. The surprised jellybean let out a cry as he fell into the ground. Penny moved back to where Rudy was.
When she noticed Rudy taking a step forward and nearly falling over, she reached out with her hands and grabbed onto him. She helped him steady himself again. She didn't release him until she was certain he could stand on his own. She looked at his hands, expecting to see the magic chalk, but to her shock, there was none. What happened to it? Had it been used up already? She looked at Rudy in the eyes.
"Rudy, where's your magic chalk?" Penny asked.
Rudy shrugged his shoulders. "I-I don't know. It fell somewhere and I haven't been able to find it."
This made Penny's heart clench a little in dread. Snap had been right about having her come back and help them. If he and Mint no longer had magic chalk, they wouldn't have stood much of a chance against Skrawl. They could have easily been defeated. She felt guilty about arguing so long with Snap about what to do next. She wished she had seen his point sooner and come help.
Well at least she was here now. And it wasn't too late to help Rudy. But..where was Mint? He was hurt. She knew he was. He wouldn't have screamed like that if he wasn't. She wanted to help him. She looked around the room again. Soon, her eyes froze in place when she found him. Her eyes flew open in horror.
"R-Rudy..." Penny asked, her voice shaking. "Wh-What happened to him?"
Rudy glanced over at Mint's prone form. He looked back at Penny, his expression filled with sadness. "Skrawl cut off his left foot..."
At this, Penny's mind flashed to the scream she heard when she was with Snap. She knew that it had to have been something terrible, but she...she had no idea it was that bad. Horrible images flooded her mind as she thought of just how it happened. Skrawl coming up behind Mint and swinging something sharp at him...Mint collapsing on the ground as his foot was hacked off...
She stared at Mint's limp form. He was laying on his back, his head lolled to one side. His right leg was bent upwards a little, like he had been struggling. One hand laid out at his side while the other rested on his chest. Her eyes focused on his left leg. The end of it had been tied with a cloth and she could see dark red stains, blood ripping from around the edges. It was clear the bleeding hadn't stopped yet. He was completely still, with only his chest moving up and down with each breath as indication that he was still alive.
Rudy did a decent job with slowing down the blood flow, but it still needed to be stopped completely. The blood that was pouring on the ground was melting through the ground, dissolving it. It took a lot of blood to do that kind of damage. At this rate, Mint would die from blood loss in less than an hour. She didn't know if they'd made it back in that amount of time. She had to try to stop the bleeding, and hopefully wake him up. He couldn't remain passed out like this, or he could suffer from further damage.
She turned to Rudy. She took the magic chalk and she broke it in half. She gave Rudy one piece, while she kept the other. "I'll go help Mint. You take care of Skrawl!"
"Got it!" Rudy rushed over to deal with Skraw, who was back on his feet and looking very angry.
As Rudy engaged Skrawl, Penny rushed over to Mint's side. She stared down at him, a worried expression plastered over her face. She needed to draw some kind of shelter. Using the same idea as she did for Snap, she drew something that was one-way, allowing her to see out, but Skrawl could not see in. She drew a half dome around her, in front of her and Mint. After finishing the shelter, she looked down towards Mint.
She dropped onto her knees next to him and looked him over. He looked awful. His face was extremely pale and he looked sickly. His breathing was weak and shallow. She lifted up his left hand and pressed her fingers against his wrist. She felt his pulse. Light and thready...not a good sign. There were gashes in his shoulder, but these weren't bleeding nearly as heavily as his leg was. She turned her attention to his chopped leg, inching closer to it so she could treat it properly.
She was sickened by the side of the sliced off piece not being too far. It was already discolored and smelly. She had to fight hard to resist not throwing up. She looked down at the wound that was still bleeding. She grimaced at just how clean the cut was. Just what had Skrawl cut him with? She got her answer when she looked over and saw a bloodied golden sword laying on the ground. She looked over at Skrawl hatefully as the jellybean was fighting Rudy, and turned her attention back to Mint.
She tore off a piece of her skirt and applied pressure at the leg's newly unwanted stub. She pressed as hard as she could. She could feel Mint's blood soak through her skirt fast, her hands staining with blood. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized he was still losing blood way too fast. Panicking, she tore off another piece of her clothing and pressed it against the stub. She winced as it bled through so quickly. There was no signs of it slowing down. She had to think of something else. She then remembered something her mom mentioned. Sometimes, to stop a heavy bleeding, she needed to apply pressure somewhere else in the body. There were large blood vessels that could have pressure put on them to stop some forms of bleeding.
She looked down at Mint's damaged leg and moved her eyes up until they rested where his groin was. Remembering there were thick blood vessels there close to the surface, she pulled Mint's leg a little to the side and then pressed her fingers against that spot, applying as much pressure as she could. She kept her eye on the stump, waiting to see if the blood flow would slow down. It did, but not as fast as she would have liked. She needed another way to apply pressure more effectively. She had never done something like this before and she had no idea if she was doing it right.
Taking the magic chalk, she drew a thick cloth with something thick yet flexible in the center of it. She placed the center piece against Mint's groin. She then wrapped the cloth ends around a couple of times and then pulled them tightly, pressing the piece firmly against the skin. Once it was secured tightly, she turned to glance down at his face. He was still unconscious, his eyes closed. She bit her lip. Unsure if it was going to work or not, she reached down and grabbed his shoulders.
She began to shake him. Softly at first, and then she started to shake harder when he wasn't responding. Her heart rate sped up as Mint still did not wake up, no matter how hard she shook him. Had he lot more blood than she realized? Was there internal bleeding she wasn't taking into account? This made her breath quicken. If there was more to Mint's injuries than she realized, he was..he was in bigger danger than she thought. She knew a few things about medical stuff, but she was no expert. If her mom were here, she would be able to help.
But unfortunately, she was on her own. She had to think of her own solutions to try to help Mint. She tried again to wake him, knowing that him being awake could help curb some of the serious risk of brain damage. So far, her shakings were doing nothing. Out of desperation, she slapped him hard a couple times. Just as she figured, they had no effect on him. She soon stopped shaking him and shook her head sorrowfully. Her only chance at keeping him at least alive long enough for him to reach help was to try to stop the bleeding.
With the bandage around his leg good and tight, she moved back towards the step. She picked up the already soaked cloth and pressed against the step, attempting to aid in stopping the bleeding, or at least slow it down some more. It was difficult to stop the bleeding of a hacked off limb beause all those blood vessels in the leg had been cut. With all of them, big and small alike, cut open, that was many places where blood could now leak out of. Her mom taught her this stuff once and she nearly forgot about it. Trying to stop Mint's bleeding served as a gruesome reminder.
Suddenly, she felt stirring. The limb moved just ever so slightly. Her eyes lit up with hope. She looked over at Mint's face. She saw his face twitching a little. She kept looking, waiting and hoping that he was going to wake up. If he could wake up now, then his prognosis looked better.
Slowly but surely, Mint opened up his eyes. They opened and closed a few times first, then they remained open partway. He let out a soft groan and turned his head a little. His gaze appeared unfocused as he looked around slowly. Even when he looked at her, it was hard to tell if he really was seeing her or not.
"P-Penny...?" Mint asked. Penny winced at how coarse and weak his voice sounded. He attempted to move, but seethed in pain. "What..what's going on...? What happened...?"
"Shhh..." Penny whispered gently to him. She pressed her hands against his shoulder and pushed him down when he attempted to get up. "You'll be okay. You just need to stay down, and try to stay awake. You're badly hurt."
Mint looked at her, confused. From his expression, he did not remember what had happened to him. He tried again to get up, despite her telling him not to. She kept him down. It was easy holding him down because Mint had lost a lot of strength from that attack. He soon stopped and looked up at her. He was still so confused, so uncertain of what was going on. He turned his head to look up towards the ceiling. Penny gasped when she saw his eyes start to flutter shut again.
"No! Don't close your eyes!" Penny shook him. Mint blinked a few times and looked back at her. "Stay awake, Mint! I know it's hard, but please...stay awake...!"
Mint let out a soft groan. His eyes shut as he tried to deal with the pain. He squirmed a little on the ground. His body was starting to register the full impact of the pain. His eyes flew open, confusion quickly giving way to fear and horror. He looked around the room with a wild expression. He was trying to get a sense of his surroundings, trying so desperately to understand what was going on.
Penny felt so sorry for him. His memories were a little slow in kicking in. He must be so confused and frightened when he realized just how much pain he was in, but having no memory, at the moment, of what happened. She tried her best to soothe him, running her fingers through his hair and speaking to him gently, hoping that he would calm down. His speeding heart was going to send him to his doom faster. He needed to calm down, and fast.
Things got harder when he happened to notice what became of his left leg. His eyes widened in horror and his body started shaking harder when he saw the hacked off piece and what remained of his leg leg. He started to whimper and cry, shaking his head in denial. His heart rate sped up and the flow of blood increased. Penny wrapped her arms around him tightly, trying to get him to calm down.
"Calm down, Mint! We're going to get help!" Penny said to him. "Please settle down! You're making things worse for yourself!"
Mint's eyes were wild-looking, filled with dread. They were staring intently at his damaged leg and disconnected foot. He was trying to talk, but only could manage gibberish for a time. His breaths short and quick, trembling. "M-My...my..." Mint choked out, his voice laced in fear and pain. "...m-my leg...my leg..."
"I know. There's nothing we can do about it. Please, calm down, Mint. We'll get you to a hospital. You'll be fine." Penny whispered. She listened to him as he cried harder. His face was stained with his tears. She pressed the side of her face against his and held on tightly. "Shh..calm down.. If you don't try to relax soon, you'll bleed yourself out. Please...relax. You'll be okay. I promise..."
As Penny cradled Mint in her arms, she looked over and watched the fight between Rudy and Skrawl unfold. She hoped that Rudy would be able to defeat Skrawl soon. They had to get out of here, fast. Mint and Snap have to get back to the hospital before it was too late.
She believed in Rudy. She knew he would be able to send that evil jellybean packing. There was a reason he was called the Great Creator.
Suddenly, she felt Mint go limp in her arms. Alarmed, she looked down at him. She was horrified to see that he had passed out again. No..oh no... She tried to shake him awake. This time, he remained unconscious. Her body shaking with emotion, she looked over at Rudy.
"Please hurry..." She said in a soft voice.
sss
Even with the magic chalk, Rudy was having a hard time against Skrawl. A big reason why was that he had a very limited supply. With so little chalk to work with, he had to be careful of when he used it. He couldn't just draw willy nilly; he had to think about it and decide fast what was best to draw, and what wasn't.
Skrawl, on the other hand, had more freedom. His crown didn't look like it was going to run out of energy anytime soon. He could afford making more wasted efforts than Rudy could. This did not mean the jellybean wasn't slipping; the opposite was more true. Usually, Skrawl would know to change things up a little and use a different artifact, as Rudy was able to keep deflecting the electric coil with the rubber stick he had drawn. But Skrawl was so determined to defeat him, he just kept using the electric coil.
However, Rudy did not let down his guard. Despite it looking like Skrawl was too single-mindedly focused, there was the chance that he is just playing with him and was planning on switching artifacts when he least expected it. If he switched to the sceptre, he was in big trouble. And there was also the ring, which could warp the very room he was in. Rudy did his best to give no indication to Skrawl that he could switch artifacts, and continued fighting against him.
Skrawl growled in frustration and he tossed another electric coil at Rudy. The snake-like sparkling thing shot towards the boy. Rudy narrowed his eyes and held up his rubber stick. The electric coil wrapped around it tightly, keeping the electricity stored within its confines, not hurting Rudy one bit. The boy pulled, taking a few steps back. This jerked Skrawl forward a little bit, but the jellybean still stood his ground. He snarled and pulled as hard as he could.
Rudy let out a scream as he was forced to let go of the rubber stuck. He was flun into the ground and he rolled across a few times. He groaned in pain and pushed himself off the ground, one knee on the ground. He rubbed his head and he glared over at Skrawl. The electric coil came at him again. Rudy jumped out of the way, barely able to dodge it. He panted harder, exhaustion quickly settling in. He had to do something and fast.
He raised up his magic chalk and draw a thick rope. He moved as Skrawl tried to attack him again. He started to run around Skrawl, making it difficult for the jellybean to attack him. He tied a loop at the end. As he came around Skrawl a third time, he raised the rope in the air and swung it around a little. Then he threw it towards Skrawl seconds after he shot another electrical coil. The rope pressed against Skrawl's arms, pinning them against his side. The surprised jellybean dropped the rod as Rudy yanked him forward.
Skrawl nearly fell into the ground. But during his struggling, he managed to free an arm. He used his sharp claws to shred the rope that Rudy had drawn. Rudy, unable to react in time, fell back due to the force. He landed on the ground in a thud. The rope fell to the ground in front of him. He shook his head and looked back towards Skrawl, who now had the ring pointed directly at him. Rudy's eyes widened, knowing what was going to happen next.
The ring glowed and the ground above him was raised up into the air, ripping away and now heading straight towards him. The rock and metal twisted around into a point and Rudy knew what was going to happen if he stood still for too long. He jumped out of the way as the tip clashed against the ground, striking it with such force that it left an indention. He looked at it with clenched teeth for a second, and then swerved his head in Skrawl's direction. The jellybean was sneering evilly at him and adjusted his ring so that it now faced him once more.
Rudy dodged out of the way as the twisted thing tried to jab him again. Rudy started to run around Skrawl like he had before. The twist of rock and metal slithered around like a snake, despite how hard the material actually was. It soon started to coil around him. Before he could be crushed to death, Rudy managed to get out of the coil in time. That didn't stop the slithering mesh to come around him again, forcing him to stop in his tracks before the sharp point nearly skewered through his skull.
Rudy glared at the point, his body shaking from how close it was. Right behind him, the rocky coil was pressed up against him. He couldn't jump back. The tip came ever closer, forcing Rudy to lean back more and more until he was almost flat across the back of this thing. He found it hard to tear his eyes away from the thing, and for good reason. One wrong move, and he will be dead.
"I admit, you lasted longer than I thought you would." Skrawl droned softly. He took a few steps towards Rudy. His eyes shined of demented happiness. "It's a shame that it's all going to come to an end. Tell you what. I'll be a good sport." He made a gesture with his free hand. "I'll let you choose how you want to die. Fast..." He moved his free hand to the side. And then he leaned forward and tightened it into a fist, a dark smile spreading across his green face. "...or slow...?" His voice was growly when he said that last line.
Rudy bared his teeth in Skrawl's direction. "Screw you!"
Skrawl smiled almost pleasantly at this. He straightened himself back up. He said, "Slow it is. Wise choice. I'm going to enjoy this..."
Rudy's eyes focused back on the tip. It was starting to move towards him. He moved himself further back, and soon he found that he couldn't go back any further. His eyes slowly widened in fear as the point was getting closer to his head. He was in such an awkward position that he found it hard to use the magic chalk. But despite his difficulty, he knew he had to do something, and fast.
He recalled that Mint was able to draw some small dinosaurs while his arms were pinned. That might be what he'll have to do. Draw even though there wasn't as much room for his right arm to move. He didn't know if he'd be as successful as Mint had been. He still knew he had to try. If he didn't do something soon, he was going to die. And from what Skrawl said, it would be a slow process, too. He wasn't going to allow that jellybean to win, not after all the things he had done.
Rudy raised the magic chalk. He kept his eyes glued on the tip, only briefly glancing down to see what he was drawing. He was not used to drawing without looking, but in this case, it wasn't like he had much of a choice. If he looked down too much, Skrawl might notice what he was doing. At the moment, the jellybean was too busy gloating about his supposed victory that he wasn't seeing what Rudy was doing. And Rudy was going to take advantage of that.
He began to draw quickly, making little movements with his wrist so they weren't too noticeable. A few seconds of doing this, there was the little patter of tiny feet going towards Skrawl. And before the jellybean had time to react, they began to cover him. Skrawl let out a surprised cry and began to shout in frustration. This disrupted the twisted metal rock thing in front of Rudy and it fell to the ground. Rudy looked over to see what was happening.
Skrawl was being swarmed by lots of little mice. It was reminiscent of when Mint drew those tiny dinosaurs that drove him back. This time, that skill was being put to good use. Rudy watched as Skrawl struggled to keep the mice off of him. They nipped at him, causing him to yelp in pain. With Skrawl distracted by the mice, Rudy was able to make his next move undetected. He raised the magic chalk and rushed over to where Skrawl was. He moved as fast as he could, knowing that, at anytime Skrawl could knock back the mice and turn an artifact on him to attack with. He may not get another chance like this. He continued to run to Skrawl, his eyes fixated on that golden crown.
Rudy drew a long, thin metal pole with a round, glass tip at the end. He put his magic chalk away and used both hands to hold the pole. Skrawl was moving around every which way, trying in vain to stop the mice. Rudy stood back and narrowed his eyes in determination. He only had one shot at this. If he missed, Skrawl could attempt to attack him even in his confused fury. When Skrawl now faced him, Rudy pulled his arm back and thrust forward.
The glass ball struck against Skrawl's head, right on the golden crown. He had struck with as much force as he could, from an angle of course. The golden crown sizzled a little, as if the power was suddenl drained. It flew from Skrawl's head and up towards the air. It landed with a loud clang several feet away and cracked down the middle. This created two separate pieces on the floor. Skrawl looked on in horror after he finally managed to shake off the mice. He looked exactly how Rudy imagined he would.
"No!" Skrawl shouted, his eyes widened in shock. "Th-This is impossible! Not another beautiful plan...!"
Rudy held up with remained of his magic chalk. Skrawn noticed the glinting object and he took a step back. He glared at Rudy with contempt, and the boy returned the gaze. "Face it Skrawl. You lost." He started to move forward. "And this time, I'm going to make sure you don't hurt anyone ever again."
Skrawl stared at Rudy in mock disbelief. "Oh you don't say? What ever are you going to do? Kill me?"
Rudy narrowed his eyes. "No. I'm not like you."
He watched as Skrawl paced back and forth, staring at him with those mismatched eyes. He wasn't sure what Skrawl was up to. It was weird how he went from being shocked to now being a little too pleasantly calm. He was up to something. But what?
"No? Perhaps you should me." Skrawl smirked. "For you see, I always have a backup plan..."
Rudy's eyes widened and he took a step back, keeping a fighting stance. "What do you mean?"
To answer his question, Skrawl pulled out what appeared to be a remote with a large red button on it. Without Skrawl saying a word, Rudy had a feeling he knew what it was. And the realization chilled his blood. No, Skrawl wouldn't be that stupid, would he? There was no way he would install something like that here, and he certainly wouldn't be dumb enough to use it while he was still in the building.
If it was what he believed it was, Rudy had little time to act. He had to get that controller thing away from Skrawl as soon as he could. He tensed up his leg muscles and, without thinking, he rushed over towards Skrawl. The jellybean just smirked, not even fazed by Rudy's death glare. He just lightly touched the button with one long claw, threatening to press it.
When Rudy got close enough and had his magic chalk raised, Skrawl reacted by striking him down. Rudy cried out in surprise and pain from the unexpected attack. The claws grazed his right arm, allowing a new fresh flow of blood to appear on his body. Rudy fell into the ground in a thud. The magic chalk rolled away from his hand. Rudy attempted to grab it, but Skrawl pressed his foot against his chest, holding him down.
Rudy was surprised when Skrawl no longer held the controller, no longer threatening to push the button. Rudy's mind reeled as he tried to make sense of that. His blood ran cold when he realized what Skrawl had actually done. His eyes widened as he saw Skrawl take out the gun from before. Rudy wasn't sure when the jellybean had grabbed it, but now the same gun he was forced to threaten Mint with was pointed straight at him.
"I thought you would have been wiser than that, Master Tabootie. If you were this easily fooled, I'm amazed I hadn't beaten you yet. Or maybe you're just slipping and I caught you at the right time. Either way, I win. You should have paid more attention to our battle, chalk boy. I learned a thing or two from our previous fights. And let me tell you this. I will not allow you to win this time..."
Skrawl put his finger on the trigger. He placed the barrel against Rudy's head, between his eyes. Rudy started to shake in fear, his eyes crossing to see the gun pressed against his face. Skrawl gave him a nasty smile as he started to apply a little pressure on the trigger.
"Rudy! No!" Penny cried out from her hiding spot.
Skrawl turned his attention towards the source of the voice. He did not seem worried that he could not see Penny anywhere, as if he was confident he would find her soon enough. "Stay where you were, genius girl! Try to run over and stop me, and I'll pull the trigger faster!" He paused for a moment like he wanted to give Penny time to let that sink in. Then he turned his attention back to Rudy. "Now...where were we...?"
Skrawl didn't have time to pull the trigger. Something unexpected happened. Something none of them had seen coming.
There was a flash of a shadow upon them. A low hiss. The pounding of feet from an unexpected direction. Skrawl looked over, only to be met with claws, teeth, and feathers. Rudy suddenly felt the weight from Skrawl lifted from him, allowing him to move back. He sat up and watched the scene unfold, his eyes widened in shock.
Ripclaw...it was Ripclaw... Somehow she had managed to wake up and free herself from the rubble. She looked injured. Blood stains were everywhere, mostly on her back. There were bruises and scratches as well. But despite this, she was ramming against Skrawl, her claws digging into him as she tried to hold him down. Skrawl furiously fought back, giving Ripclaw a few slashes across the face, neck, and chest. This did little to stop the enraged raptor. She only pushed harder against him, pressing him up against the wall.
Skrawl attempted to shoot Ripclaw. He pulled the trigger. Ripclaw moved her head to the side, dodging the bullet. She then bit down on his arm, ripping into it and drawing blood. The jellybean was forced to drop the gun out of pain and out of desire to get the dinosaur off of him. Ripclaw rammed against him again and again, each time causing the jellybean to cry out in pain.
Then, finally, with one final push, the wall broke loose. The sound of rock crumbling down, clanging against more rock, could be heard. As soon as it had broken loose, Skrawl and Ripclaw tumbled through. Ripclaw's screech and Skrawl's scream became intertwined with each other, fading as the two fell down. Shocked, Rudy quickly rushed over to the opening, trying his best to ignore the pain in his left foot like he had been before. He peered over the edge and looked down.
He couldn't see any sign of Skrawl or Ripclaw. He didn't know if they were crushed, if she had taken flight and took Skrawl somewhere, if they were chasing each other, or what. Rudy's body shook from the shock of what happened. He was not expecting that to happen. He was also shaking from how close he was to dying. If Ripclaw had been seconds too late, he would have... He took in a shuddering breath as he let the realization wash over him for a second. He had been lucky.
He turned his attention to where Penny's voice had come from. "I-It's okay, Penny. He's gone..."
Penny emerged from her hiding spot, peaking around the side of the one-way mirror structure. She looked at Rudy worriedly. "A-Are you okay, Rudy?"
Rudy took in a deep breath, still trembling. "Yeah...I'll be fine." He looked over at the hole. Even though he had drawn wings on Ripclaw, he was still worried that she might be injured still. And what had become of Skrawl? "I hope that fall wasn't fatal..."
"I'm sure they're both okay." Penny said, obviously attempting to reassure him. "We know Skrawl is a stubborn guy and doesn't give up. I don't think he'd let a fall do him in that easily. And Ripclaw...we learned she has a way of doing things we don't expect. I think they both survived."
"Yeah, you're right." Rudy moved towards Penny. He walked around so he could see Mint. The bleeding appeared to have been slowed down even more, but his breathing was getting slower. He furrowed his eyes with concern. "We need to get him and Snap back to the hospital."
Penny nodded her head. "I'll show you where Snap is. I told him we'd meet up together before we attempted to leave."
Rudy, being the physically stronger of the two, went over to Mint. He drew rocket shoes on his feet so he would have the extra boost he needed to carry Mint. After picking up the slightly larger boy into his arms, Rudy followed Penny through the hallways to where Snap's hiding spot was.