The Main Attraction

Chapter 37: Driving The Point Home

############

Wake up! Wake up from the lie! Are you ready to believe...?

-Believe, Living Syndication

sss

Why was it so dark in here? Why did it feel as though he hadn't slept in ages? Why did his whole body hurt? Why did he feel so stiff? These and other questions clamored the mind of the jellybean as he opened up his eyes.

The first thing he noticed as the lack of vision. He blinked his eyes slowly, trying to clear up his vision, but it didn't work. No matter which way he turned his head, no matter which way that he looked, there was just...nothing there. A complete blank. He could feel his mind spinning, becoming so confused and uncertain. What was he supposed to make out of this? Just...where was he?

Skrawl attempted to sit up. Maybe if he got up and walked around for a bit, he'd be able to clear his fuzzy, drowsy mind and figure out where he was. And stretching his limbs would definitely be a very good idea. He could feel just how achy and sore that they were.

But when he tried to move, he realized that...he could not. He froze for a moment, blinking his eyes a few times. He didn't feel afraid exactly; only confused. Why could he not move? That didn't make any sense whatsoever. He looked back down at himself, though still could see nothing. He tried again, this time using a bit more of his energy. But the result remained exactly the same. No dice.

He couldn't figure out why he wasn't moving. He wasn't that tired. He could still feel his limbs. It wasn't like he had some kind of horrible accident or something. At least, he did not remember such a thing happening to him. So...just what was going on here?

When he tried again, this time he was able to feel something different. He was not really sure why he felt nothing before. Maybe it was because he wasn't pulling hard enough. He could feel his arm hitting against something solid and cold. He immediately froze at this realization.

Solid and cold? Was he...?

Skrawl attempted to yank himself once more. He pulled as hard as he could, test out to see if there was anything there or if he was just imagining it. After a few times, he could safely conclude that, yes, there was indeed something there. Something that was preventing him from moving his arms up. And if it was old and hard, he had a good idea of what it was.

But how did he get strapped down by these metal cuffs? How did he even end up here? And what was he on? He shifted himself a little to try to get a good feel for his general location. He could feel a couple other cold bands, at least two of him holding down his body. He couldn't tell what kind of surface that he was on, but he guessed it was a large piece of wood or something.

His heart quickened for a few moments. The realization that he had been tied down was quite a shock to his system. He quickly managed to calm himself down and he tried to think about the situation rationally. With his racing, burning mind, he tried to think of what could have happened to bring him to this point.

Had he been captured? Well, that was a stupid question. He'd kick himself if he could. Of course he was captured. The question was by whom and when. He didn't know if it was recent or if he had been knocked out for a long while. He also didn't know exactly who could have taken him. Had it been Sandra or an unknown enemy? He guessed Sandra, but the idea of a third player being involved...

Skrawl soon could feel something on his face. Soft and kinda thin and... Oh so this was why he couldn't see. So he wasn't actually blind after all. Well that was good. Skrawl felt a tinge of relief that. He had been worried that something had been done to his eyes.

Not that it made his situation that much better, though. He still needed to figure out exactly how he was going to get out of this mess. He couldn't see where he was and he couldn't move. He had no idea if he was back in his holding chamber or if he had been taken somewhere else entirely. He only thing he did know for certain was that he was alone. He could not hear anyone nearby.

But it sure did smell differently in here. He wondered if he had been taken to a different part of the castle. Funny...none of the castle really smelled like this. The castle had a stoney damp smell. But this...it was a mixture...something. Different chemicals, an almost plasticy smell, and...

...death.

Skrawl could feel his blood run cold at this. Freezing, he took a few more sniffs just to make sure. He hoped he had thought about it wrong...but this was not the case. The smell around him was definitely the scent of death. That rotting smell that corpses give off...

Skrawl, in a brief, adrenaline-packed rush of horror, attempted to struggle against his binds. He let out a few small cries as he jerked himself from side to side, struggling to do whatever he could to escape. He yanked at his limbs as hard as he could. He pushed himself against the metal bands, trying to do whatever he could to escape.

But he rapidly depleted his energy. He soon laid there, panting heavily as he struggled to catch his breath. His tongue practically hung out at his side as he tried to calm his racing heart.

And all the while, the scent of death entered his nostrils, refusing to let him go. He was forced to smell it, even taste it on his own tongue. And his antenna, or what remained anyway, could detect the scent now that he had noticed it. He gritted his teeth and struggled to cope with it. He tried not to throw up. It was a little difficult, and he did gag a couple of times. But eventually, he was able to control himself.

As soon as he managed to calm himself down, he tried to figure out just how he could have gotten into this situation. He remained still and tried to search through his mind the best that he could. There had to be a logical explaination to all of this. Something that told him exactly what was going on around here.

But for a while, he found nothing. Just more blanks and more confusion. He was not getting any closer to discovering the truth. He didn't want to give up, though. Maybe if he kept thinking hard enough, he would discover something...

Then it came to him. It was fuzzy and blurry in his mind and he could not remember all the details yet. But he could vaguely remember being chased down the hallway. He could see someone...no, a group of people coming after him. People that could fly. And they looked almost human. Like...

His heart wrenched at the thought. Had he.. Had he been chased by his own Beanie Boys...?

Yes, he had. Now he remembered that part. He had been trying to get away from them. They had found him and they had chased him. They did not stop, even when he had pleaded with them. And why did they do that? He imagined it was because they were terrified of Sandra and what she might do if they did not listen to her.

Skrawl gritted his teeth and let out a low growl. Of course Sandra would be responsible for all of this. She seemed just like the type who would do something like this. And now he was trapped somewhere he didn't know, and he had his doubts he'd get out of here anytime soon.

Great...

Just fucking great.

He was about to try to think of something else, but then his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a tapping sound coming towards him. He whipped his head over, struggling to see just who was coming, as if he really needed to ask. Of course, with this blindfold on, he could see nothing. But his ears could detect something with claws getting closer and closer...

"Ah, it seems that you are awake..."

Skrawl could feel a small shudder as he heard the familiar voice that belonged to Sandra. He licked his lips slowly, remaining silent. Of course she would have something to do with this.

"I was worried. I thought that I had accidentally damaged you too much. It would have been a shame for you to die so soon... Especially since I have more use out of you than that."

Skrawl could feel a wave of confusion strike him at this. Use? She had a 'use' for him? Just what kind of use did she have in mind? What did she plan on doing with him? He wasn't really sure if he should expect an answer out of her. She would probably just pretend not to hear him, or give him some kind of stupid answer or something.

So instead, he just continued to lay there, listening intently to what she had to say. Maybe if he kept quiet, she would reveal just what she had in mind for him.

Soon he could hear Sandra start to pace back and forth. He could almost see her through the blind fold as she moved about. "I cannot stay long unfortunately. I'm only here for a brief visit. I have another duty to...attend to pretty soon." She gave a small chuckle. "I'm sure you understand that, potato bug."

Skrawl found himself growling at that. "My name is Skrawl, you blue turd..."

"Oh whatever. Not like it'll matter much to you soon anyway." Sandra commented. "I have something special in mind for you. And a short amount of time, your name will no longer really matter."

Skrawl tried not to allow his fear get a strong hold of him. He tried to keep himself as calm as possible. Sandra was just trying to psyche him out. He could not allow that to happen. He kept glaring at her, or at least in the general direction that he had heard her in, and hissed, making sure that his teeth were bared.

"Yes, sure, go ahead and make that face. You do look kind of pretty like that anyway." Skrawl felt a brief rush of nausea and horror at that as he remembered what this monster did to him. But he still managed to keep glaring in her direction despite that. Sandra only seemed to be more amused. "Such a brave little jellybean you are being... I do hope that you will remain brave when he time comes. Heheheh...you are going to need it..."

Skrawl felt a pang of horror at the tone of Sandra's voice. He had no idea what any of this entailed and he could not shake off the feeling of terror clawing its way inside of him. The feeling of not knowing what was going to happen...

But he still refused to let himself show too much fear. Despite his worry of what might happen, he still remained as still as possible. There were still a few trembles here or there, but he still tried to remain as motionless as he could, glaring and growling, trying to be as brave as he could. He did not want to allow Sandra to have any kind of satisfaction of terrifying him. Not after what she had done to him.

But just what did she have in mind for him? What did she plan to do with him? There were so many possibilities... and yet he could not think of one that made any sense. He could feel his heart burning inside his chest as he struggled to think of...something. But he knew that there was only one way to find out what Sandra had in mind for him.

Wait.

sss

Sandra didn't really bother saying anything as she returned to the room where Snap was. And he did not bother looking up at her; he knew that she was there. She could tell from the slight shift in his behavior. Not that it really mattered. She just proceeded into the room as if this was a normal, casual day. And in her hands, she held something that she knew would catch Snap's interest.

Food.

She had been a little delayed in getting back here. She had wanted to double check on Skrawl, whom she had very recently secured in her other hideout not too far from here. She wanted to make sure that he remained 'safe and sound' so to speak so that she would be able to use later on.

After that, she had returned here and rummaged through her food storage in order to find something for Snap to eat. The only thing that she had with her was meat. But that would do just fine. There was plenty of meat from that stupid condor, whom she recently learned had been Penny's creation. Yes, this meat would do just fine...

She had to cook the meat pieces first, of course. She didn't really think that Snap could handle the raw meat. He did not look like the type of zoner who would appreciate being given raw meat. After it was done, she placed them in a small bag which she held in her hand at this very moment. She also carried a small water bottle, as she had a feeling that he might be parched. With both items in hand, she made her way towards the kennel that still held that small blue and white zoner.

As she approached, one thought did come across her mind. What was she going to do about food for Rudy? If she was going to keep him around for a while, wouldn't she need to make sure that he had something to eat and drink too? She realized that she probably should have thought ahead with that. At the moment there was very little that she could do.

Hmm...well she could always figure out something eventually. Like perhaps blackmail the other two humans into helping her keeping him alive. That might be her best option for the time being.

But for now, it was feeding time for Snap. Even if he did not want to eat, even if he refused, it wasn't like he had mch of an option. This was his only chance for the next couple days that he was going get something. She planned on keeping him a dehydrated, starved mode. Such a mode would make him more desperate, more willing to do whatever it took to be fed. In other words, he would become more suggestable.

So long as she didn't overdo it, of course. She could not get Snap interested in eating her. That would defeat the whole purpose of this. As much as it would please her if Snap did enjoy her taste, it was just not practical for this plan to work.

"Here there, little sweetheart." Sandra called out. She barely got a movement out of Snap's head. "Time to eat! You must be starving!"

She did notice how Snap did look up at her with some interest. But his expression was partially dull and he didn't bother to respond. He just...looked at her, barely blinking his eyes, before looking away. It was as if something was on his mind, and he was only partially there.

Not that this surprised her too much. He must still be thinking of what happened earlier, when she had been interrogating him. He looked...lost and confused and uncertain. He was likely trying to recall his memories, trying to find something to 'prove him right'. She tried not to chuckle at this. Of course he would try to figure something out. That would be just like him. Even when he must know that he was wrong, he just wouldn't admit defeat.

She didn't dwell on that long, however. She made her way into his cage, taking care to push the door behind her as much as she could. As soon as she was in, she made her way towards him, still cradling the food in her arms.

"Come on now..." Sandra said as she moved closer to Snap. "Be steady and don't fight. I'm just going to feed you."

Snap growled at this and cringed away from her. Though he did not make much of an effort to get away. And as Sandra moved in closer, Snap just pressed himself lower against the ground, flattening himself as much as he could. Despite his growls, he did not attempt to bite her, not even when she looped an arm around him and pulled him towards her.

Soon Snap was forced to sit on her lap. She kept him cradled there, keeping her arm locked around him and holding him firmly in place. She then reached for the items she had set on the ground and lifted one of them up. She decided to start with a little bit of water first. With some effort, she was able to open it and she brought it down towards Snap.

"Open your mouth." Sandra commanded.

Snap hissed and looked away from her. He pressed his lips together tightly, stubbornly refusing to comply.

Sandra narrowed her eyes at this. She lowered the bottle of water to him and pressed it against his lips. She could feel just how hard they were, how immobile they were and how she was unable to push the bottle in much further. She gritted her teeth at this, glaring down at the stubborn little blue zoner.

Of course he would be so stubborn... Snap was still attempting to fight back despite his fear. Well, she shouldn't be too surprised about that. Both he and Rudy still needed some more... 'being broken into', sort of speak. They needed some more time, but no matter. Sooner or later, they would both see things her way and they would both break under her will. She just needed a little bit more time.

She would see to it that Snap was the first of the two to break.

She didn't care if Snap was being stubborn or not. She was going to ensure that she'd get this bottle into his mouth. She just kept pushing harder and harder, trying to work the bottle's tip under his lips. Snap would move his head away, and she would follow in turn.

Eventually, her efforts did finally pay off and she was able to force Snap to except he intrusion. The zoner's eyes widened, feeling a bit of pain from her forcefulness, and he opened up his mouth if only just so that he didn't have to feel that pain anymore. He casted a glare in her direction before he, very reluctantly, began to drink.

After she felt that he had enough to drink, she took a piece of condor meat and brought it over to him. It had been cooked before she brought it out here, so he didn't have to worry about getting sick. She lowered the strip of bird meat towards Snap's face. Not at all to her surprise, he just closed his mouth and looked away.

Sandra let out a soft groan. Why did Snap have to make this so difficult? She knew that he was hungry and she was not interested in having him starve to death under her watch. So he was better off just accepting the meat and stop being so stubborn about it. But if this was the way he wanted to play it, fine. She could 'return the favor'. With a grin spreading across her face, she suddenly drove one of her spikes on her tail against his shoulder.

The sudden blow caused Snap's eyes to widen and he let out a scream of pain. As soon as he opened up his mouth, Sandra shoved the cooked condor meat into his mouth. Snap gasped at this and his body stiffened up. Sandra held his mouth shut, forcing him to chew and them swallow the meat. She released him a few seconds after he had swallowed. He gagged and coughed a few times before looking up at her in utter shock. Sandra only smirked back at him and continued.

She continued to feed him and made him drink more of the water she had brought. She refused to stop, refused to let him rest. Any time he tried to be stubborn, she just caused him enough pain to make him cry out, and then use that to her advantage.

And eventually, it was all gone. She managed to make him drink all the water and eat all the meat that she had brought over for him. She cradled him against her almost like he was a little baby, patting him on the head, mocking a proud parent. Even the smile that she was giving him reflected what a parent would give to their child.

"There...that wasn't so bad, now was it..?" Sandra cooed to the humanoid zoner. Snap growled and bared his teeth, but did nothing else. Sandra chuckled and scratched his chin like he were a cat. "Oh you stubborn little boy..."

"P-Put me down..." Snap spoke through clenched teeth. He pushed against her, struggling to free himself. "Let me g-g-go this instant!"

Sandra responded by holding him more firmly. She brought him against herself, rubbing her head against his cheek. "Why should I? You're just too adorable..." She gave him a quick lick along his cheek. He let out a yelp at this. "Oh you don't have to be so frightened, sweetheart. I won't hurt you..."

She bit down on his shoulder for a split second. Not too hard. Just enough to give him a brief feeling of pain, enough to make him yelp loudly. She pulled her head back, smiling into Snap's widened eyes.

"Much."

Snap's previous bravado had faded away at this point. It was as though Sandra's quick nip reminded him of the situation that he was in and just how helpless he was. He shrunk back from her and attempted to twist his body around. He pushed against her even harder and more desperately than before. He tried to claw at the ground, struck against her, anything to give him a chance to get away.

But of course, it was all fruitless. Sandra was hardly faced by his struggles. A simple tightening of her muscles was all that it took to prevent him from escaping. She just watched him as he jerked himself from side to side. Without those pesky legs of his, Snap's efforts were just lacklaster by comparison now. But it was still pretty entertaining to watch. She let him struggle until he started to wear himself out.

But soon, it was time to get down to business. Sandra did not want to waste too much of her time just toying with him like this. She had come down here for a reason. And she was not going to leave until she got exactly what she wanted.

She might have sown the seeds of doubt in him. But that didn't mean that they would bloom that easily. She needed to pressure him further. She needed to get him to really think about it. She needed to make sure that he would actually start to see her point. She needed to keep pressing things further, ensuring that he would eventually start to break.

And so she began.

"So..Snap..." Sandra got herself more comfortable, keeping Snap secured in her blue, feathery arms. "About our previous...topic." She tilted her head to one side. "Did you start thinking of anyone yet? Any person who kept their promise? I know you've been trying to think of something."

Snap opened his mouth to speak, but soon shut it and looked down. Sandra could see how his eyes were narrowing, not out of anger, but out of determination. He licked his lips nervously as he struggled to think of something, anything, to tell her. She could practically see his mind's gears turning, the scent of smoke being generated from it, and it looked positively adorable.

And of course, she was not surprised when he remained silent. She was not sure yet if she had been thorough. But so far, she seemed to have been. She remained on stand by just in case, just watching Snap's expressions, looking for any point when she felt she should be taking action.

Eventually, it looked as if it was time. Snap's eyes had widened and he looked as if he was going to say something. His facial expression appeared to hold a bit of hope. She tried not to make a facial expression change at this; she did not want him to catch on that she had been doing anything. So she just stared at him, only making a very slight turn of her hand as she took action, drilling into his mind and crushing whatever hope he had started to latch onto. Seeing his facial expression falter so quickly as quite the sight to behold.

Snap had attempted to try again. He was such a stubborn little zoner, wasn't he? Not that she complained. It was a simple matter of just entering the right number of tumors in the right place to block those memories that he was clearly trying to access. Sandra couldn't stop her smile from spreading. This 'game' was pretty fun, really.

All the while, she was petting him. With one arm keeping him secure, she used her other hand to stroke along his body, mostly on his head and along his cheek, though she did rub his arm a little. Despite Snap's struggling and discomfort, she kept this action up, continuing to pet him like he was just a little puppy dog to her. It was a way for her to establish control, showing him that she was the one who controlled his situation, not him himself. She did go roughly once in a while, reminding him that she could easily hurt him at any given moment. This kept him on edge and it was clearly having some kind of effect on him as he was still searching through his mind.

Sandra was not really sure how long this lasted. A good while, she would imagine. Snap just refused to give up, refused to put down the towel so easily. He was absolutely determined to prove her wrong in this and try to find some redeeming quality of the zoners had promised to help him.

But he seemed to be weakening now. He was starting to look more and more defeated as he could not recall a single time when someone had been willing to keep their promise. He did start recalling a few new ones, but she had quickly squashed those, as if it was just a fragile pebble in her hands. Snap took in several deep breaths, a few of them getting quite shaky, before he eventually hung his head.

"I...can't think of anyone. I-I thought for sure..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

Sandra gave him the best sympathetic look that she could muster. "Oh you poor little thing..."

Snap narrowed his eyes at her, baring his teeth. "Now I never said.."

"Oh but you can't think of anything, can you...?" Sandra reached down and cupped his chin. She stared at him intently with eyes shining with fake sympathy. She carefully stroked his chin from side to side. "You have many friends, don't you? I know you are...quite well known in ChalkZone City. There is..." She moved her head to the side again. "...no one who fulfilled their promise to you..?"

Snap appeared to struggle a little more. He gritted his teeth tightly, seething, trying to come up with something. But in the end, he only drew a blank, evidenced by his wide-eyed and open mouth expression. He then shook his head and turned his head partially away from her. "That means nothing... It wasn't like I really needed help that badly. Rudy, Penny, and Mint were always willing to help anyway when I asked it of them."

"Oh really now? Isn't that interesting..." Sandra moved her hand up along Snap's head, moving along his cheek and then rubbing the top of his head back and forth. "So it would seem they care something for you..."

"They are my friends..." Snap hissed under his breath, using a tone that suggested that he thought that she would know this.

Sandra just ignored it as she continued with, "Still...those others ignoring you like that? For shame..."

Snap growled at this. "They...didn't ignore me!"

Sandra took immediate notice of the faulter in his voice. She gave a small smile at this, lowering one quizitive eye at him. "Oh is that so? You are..entirely sure...?" Sandra grabbed onto Snap's chin and forced him to look up at her when he tried to look away. "Are you positive that they didn't ignore your pleas for help?"

Snap gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? I didn't need..."

"Oh come now, Snap. I'm sure there was...something." Sandra cooed at him gently. She loosened her grip as she stroked along his cheek, pulling his head a little closer towards her. "Wasn't there at least one time when you needed help, something of grave importance, and those so-called friends of yours abandoned you in your time of need? I'm sure, with all those promise breakers in ChalkZone City, you ran into at least one of them at some point..."

"I...no..I..."

"Are you sure? Did you think about it? Did you really, really think about it...?"

Sandra watched with a blank, serious expression as Snap tried to think of something. She monitored him carefully just in case, although she had already been so thorough that she didn't really have to lift a finger this time. Snap's eyes widened further the more he tried to think of something to combat her statement. But of course, he was figuring out nothing.

Not that she was surprised. Of course he wouldn't find anything. Because she wasn't letting him. She tried not to smirk as she watched Snap's facial expression change, his eyes darting back and forth, his body giving off a slight shiver, likely from the horrific realization that she was speaking more truth to him than he wanted to accept. Snap licked his lips nervously, his teeth slightly exposed as he breathed heavily. He kept trying to think of something, but it was clear that he was faltering rapidly.

"I-I...I..." Snap spoke for the first time in several minutes. Sandra watched him patiently as he stammered and stuttered through his words. "Th-That is to say...I..."

Sandra merely smirked, giving him a knowing smile. "You can't think of anything..." She leaned in slightly. "...can you? So determined to prove me wrong, yet you can't think of anything to defend your stance with. Tell me..." She tilted her head to one side. "How many times have you been let down? Those people knew that you needed help. Sometimes even serious, right? Yet they still let you down..."

Snap shook his head. "No..that's not...no!" He shut his eyes tightly, baring his teeth furiously. "Y-You're just trying to confuse me!" He started to shake harder. "I know what happened! I know that they did not..." His voice trailed off.

Sandra slowly shook her head. "Such denial... You are just afraid of accepting the truth. You know as well as I do that no one in this world has ever kept their promise with you." She wiped the smile off of her face as she stared at him with a stern expression. "Why do you keep trying to defend them? Shouldn't your friends have helped you out when you needed it? You helped them out so much, right? Why didn't they return the favor? Do they really not see you as...worthy enough?" Snap did not answer. He just kept his eyes closed and growled through his tightly clenched teeth. "Are you not good enough for their hospitality?"

There was another brief period of struggling. More trying to think that she was wrong and that there had to be something. Sandra rolled her eyes at this, and she garnered some amusement out of Snap's pitiful attempts to prove her wrong. Unlike before, he did not come close to a victory. His mind had become barren of anything to back up his point, and now, judging from his expression, it was clear that he was really starting to think about those times when he did need help..but never got any.

Snap did try to answer Sandra. He did try to make some kind of comeback against her. But he'd only trail off and stammer, nothing coherent coming out of his mouth. He eventually looked away, his eyes moving side to side as he tried to come to terms with his thoughts. He took in several shaky breaths, and Sandra thought she could see the hint of tears in the corner of his eyes.

After what felt like several long, tedious minutes, Snap eventually just...gave out. His head lowered, his eyes staring out into nothingness. The next words that came out of his mouth were nothing short of expected. "Y-You're right..." His voice croaked as he shut his eyes. Sandra was certain he let out a few small tears. "You're absolutely right... None of them helped me... Not even when..." He could not finish his sentence.

"Poor little dear. Don't worry..." Sandra pulled Snap closer to her, cradling his head with her hand. "I won't let you down. You can trust me completely..." Sandra placed her hand against his head, putting her chin against him. She almost conceealed his vision this way, almost as if to shield his mind from his bad memories. "I promise..."

This time, Snap did not attempt to struggle against her. He did not twist nor did he turn. He just..laid there against her, his body mostly limp. Then, in what must have been a clearly desperate attempt to get some consolance, Snap leaned himself against her.