It had been a few hours since they got the news from Skrawl. Penny recalled just how frightened she had been when the jellybean told them that law enforcement hadn't been able to stop the anti-creator group, which Raiden told them was called the Luminos. What chilled her even more were the disappearances of those ten Beanie Boys...

Skrawl believed they had been killed and their bodies disposed of. He had sent multiple search parties to find the missing Beanie Boys, but so far, none of them turned up anything. Penny didn't want to believe that the Luminos had killed them, and in her mind, she tried to search for other possibilities. Maybe they just got lost. Maybe they were being held hostage... No neither of those made much sense. If they were lost, the other Beanie Boys would have found them by now. They were pretty good at searching for members of their own species. And what motivations would the Luminos have in holding them hostage? If they want to kick creators out, that wouldn't be a way to do it.

Skrawl may have already thought of this, Penny realized. He was a generally smart zoner, even if he did have his dumb moments at times. He may have thought of different outcomes, and believed the only rational one that made sense is that they were killed. Penny still wanted to believe that something else happened to them. The idea of the anti-creator group being so hostile that they would kill another zoner just to send a message, or just because they treated creators with kindness, it was downright terrifying. She hadn't even met the group yet and already she could feel their hatred radiating off of them.

She was going to have to be careful when wandering around ChalkZone alone. Although most zoners don't seem to share this anti-creator mindset, she had no idea just how widespread it is. She wasn't even sure if the Luminos members would be vocal around her. Maybe around random zoners, but maybe they got quiet if they saw a human, perhaps watching them...waiting to see when they could strike... She shook the thought from her mind. She was getting a little carried away. If she wandered around a public place, the Luminos couldn't make a move on her, could they? They would have to avoid the prying eyes of other zoners who do not share their hatred of humans.

Penny had decided to go for a walk. After what they learned at the hospital, she felt like she needed to get out and walk around for a little. She needed to clear her head so she can think of what next move they should make. She promised Rudy, who wasn't keen on her leaving on her own, that she would be back very soon. She was just going to walk around ChalkZone City. It wasn't like anything bad was going to happen. Plus she was armed. If something happened, she would be ready.

Besides, it wasn't like any of the zoners here would bother her. The Luminos wouldn't dare risk a move in public, would they? At most, she'd probably just hear them protest. Other than them, most zoners were relatively peaceful and wouldn't bother her. Oh there was Boorat, who had gotten out of jail sometime ago. But he hadn't been causing any trouble lately, and the worst he'd do is probably demand the magic chalk. She wondered, half-amused, how he'd react when he found out one of his creators, Ms. Bouffant, didn't want to expose ChalkZone anymore. That would surely confuse him.

Speaking of Ms. Bouffant, she wondered what happened to her. She hadn't seen her on the television news lately, and she hadn't bumped into her anywhere for the past few days. It was a little unusual. No..it was quite unusual, she corrected herself. She could see not bumping into her for days. It wasn't like Terry went to all the same places they did. But to not be on the news? Terry wasn't one to get sick that easily, and she was usually on to give at least one report. But she hadn't been on TV at all.

She hoped she was all right. They weren't exactly friends, but they had been on friendlier terms since she stopped trying to expose ChalkZone. Penny was surprised how amiable Terry could be when she wasn't obsessing over ChalkZone like she had years ago. She and Rudy had gotten to know her more unpleasant side during those times. Her scheming, trickster side, and she hoped she never had to deal with that again. So far, she was getting her wish. Terry had been honest when she said she won't try to expose ChalkZone anymore, and for the past two years, never once did she lift a finger to do such a thing.

Penny sensed that something was wrong when Terry no longer showed up on TV. She thought about calling the news station and see if they know where she is. She hadn't gotten around to it, but then, she didn't have to. The news anchor did say something about her being sick, and normally this would satisfy Penny, but..there was something wrong about it. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. There was something about that statement that didn't make much sense to her.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized just what it was that bothered her. The news anchor had stated he got the news from someone named Vinnie Raton. It had taken Penny a little while to recognize that name, as it had been a while since she last ran into that crazy man. It wasn't that she thought Vinnie was heartless, but he and Terry weren't exactly on the best of terms lately, or so she guessed. Since Terry stopped trying to expose ChalkZone, she had little reason to interact with that dog man. Their relationship was like that of partners, and once Terry pulled out, she guessed all communications would have stopped.

At first, Penny had thought nothing of it. But when she really thought about it, she realized that something didn't make sense. Why would Vinnie be the one to tell the news anchor that she was sick? Wouldn't Terry be the one to do that? And why would Vinnie care if she was sick or not? They were just partners, right? Or ex-partner in this case. Vinnie had little reason to interact with Terry. There was no way that he would go visit her since they're no longer partners, right? The only reason he had ever worked with her was because of the whole ChalkZone fiasco thing. After that, there was little reason for them to associate with each other anymore.

Penny began to wonder if Vinnie had anything to do with Terry's disappearance. Her heart clenched at the thought. Vinnie had never been particularly violent. Well there were those crazy barks he'd give, but he was all talk and no punch. He hadn't tried to hurt them, or if he had, it was so far between she hardly remembered.

But then again, he was desperate to get that chalk world theme park going. He really wanted to go into ChalkZone and build an amusement park for people to enjoy. He wanted to make all that money, to be a millionaire. He made that intention of his quite clear. He didn't try to hide it. If he was desperate enough, would he resort to violence? Blackmail? Would he go as far as kidnap Terry and try to force her to relinquish the information? Penny knew she was getting ahead of herself right now, but her mind kept swirling with these images. If Terry was in some kind of trouble, shouldn't she try to do something about it?

Yeah, they weren't really friends. On good terms, but not really buddy buddy or anything. But it would be wrong of her to just sit around and do nothing if she really was in trouble. Penny knew she had to do something, but with no leads, there wasn't really much. And she couldn't leave ChalkZone without telling Rudy and Snap where she'd be. With the Luminos group roaming about, they would think something terrible happened to her. She wouldn't want to worry her friends. And her mother... She didn't want to worry her either.

Her thoughts turned to Rudy. She was so worried about him. She wasn't the only one. Rudy's family, Snap, her mom, they were all worried about Snap. Sophie would be too, once she was informed about his condition. Rudy seemed to be getting worse and worse lately, and it wasn't his fault. So much stuff was happening to him that he hardly had any time to recover. Just when things start to look up, something else happens to him. It filled Penny with sorrow thinking about it.

Rudy had the disease going on. It was spreading, according to Dr. Raiden, and slowly getting worse. For now, Rudy was able to handle the pain, partially thanks to the chartreuse chalk she gave him. It was doing the job just fine, keeping the pain at bay. But it wasn't going to bide him much more time. It had been several days. The disease had progressed through his body and gotten worse. They needed to find the cure for the disease and fast, before his body literally melts from the inside out.

There was the concern about the alternate dimensions as well. How were they going to get there anyway? They needed knowledge of where to find the machines. Tavern Town...just where was that place? How was she or anyone going to find it? Perhaps a visit to the library would do her some good. She could go in a local library in ChalkZone City that wasn't too far away. It may have knowledge in there on how to find Tavern Town. She could find out if it was buried under something new, and where that place was.

And once the place's location was pinpointed, they could prepare for the trip and go there. She had a feeling their family members would want to go with them. She would have to convince them to stay behind. As much as their help could be used, she didn't want them getting hurt. Plus, they had to stay behind to keep an eye on things with ChalkZone. The black chalk wielders might try something during their absence. Someone had to stay behind to make sure they don't try anything. Their parents weren't experts at using magic chalk, but they were good enough to hold off those three. She would feel better going off to alternate dimensions if her mom and the other family members were staying behind, keeping an eye on things.

Penny wondered what these alternate dimensions would be like. She wonders just how different they were. From what they were informed, there shouldn't be a major difference, but that was years ago. She wondered how the small differences back then would add up to reflect how the dimensions were now. Did they stayed relatively the same? Was there really going to be almost no difference between the dimensions? Or was there going to be some great, dramatic changes brought on by vast, or even subtle, differences in the way the timelines had functioned?

She had no idea how long they would be in said dimensions, so it would probably be important to pack a lot of things for the trips. They had to be prepared for anything. Without knowing how these dimensions were, they had to realize anything and everything was possible. And just what would they say to their alternate selves should they run into them? Would they understand the situation? Would they even be allies at all? Since anything was possible, she had to consider the uncomfortable idea that their alternate selves might be the bad guys in at least one dimension they go to.

She hoped that wasn't the case. Hopefully their alternate selves would remain helpful and aid them in finding the cure in each dimension. At this rate, they could use any and all help they could get. And if their alternate selves would help with that, great. She would welcome the gesture. Hopefully it won't take them long in both dimensions to find the cure and get back. Rudy still had some time left, but not a lot.

She realized that it wasn't going to be easy getting to the alternate dimensions. The black chalk trio would likely try to stop them somehow. No doubt they would figure out they know where the cures are located and they would try to cut off their access. Jenny wasn't stupid. She'd figure out, somehow, that they know about the alternate dimension machines and would try to come after them before they reached them.

And it wasn't just them they had to worry about. The Luminos might try to stop them, too. She wasn't entirely sure if they would or not, but it was a possibility, especially if they got to the point where they'd attack any human on sight. She reminded herself of what they did to Rudy. That there served as proof that this group was dangerous. They may try to ambush them as they try to get to the machines. It was better safe than sorry and they would have to assume that the Luminos would also try to stop them.

They were getting attacked by two sides. Two groups that both equally hated them, equally wanted to get them, though for different reasons. The thought sent ice through Penny's veins. How were they going to deal with this double threat? It was hard enough just trying to deal with Jenny, Tyreek, and Ghadir. Now they have the Luminos to worry about. It was going to be harder getting through this than it was to deal with Cosmo and Bardot. At least at those times, there was just one threat. Now there was two.

Or possibly more... There was Vinnie, and whatever he was doing with Terry. If it was related to ChalkZone, and she wouldn't doubt it was, then they had that to worry about. She had no idea how successful Vinnie would be, but if he was getting steps closer to exposing ChalkZone, that was reason to be alarmed. And in addition to him, there was the metal finger guy Wilter had warned them about. If he was his own side, and didn't align himself with the Luminos, then that, in addition to Vinnie, gave them four threats to deal with.

Penny saw she was getting close to the library. She tried to push those thoughts out of her head. She needed to focus on looking through the library, the same one she and Snap were in before, and try to see if there is any information on Tavern Town. Surely one of the books there would have information. She could ask the front desk if they had anything.

She wished she had brought Snap with her. They did make a good team the last time they were here, helping each other try to find that one book. She hadn't thought about asking him to tag alone, and now she wished she had. She didn't feel too unsafe wandering about ChalkZone City since there were a lot of zoners walking by. But it still would have been a good idea to ask Snap to come with her. She wouldn't have asked Rudy. With his injuries, he shouldn't be moving around too much.

Well she'll have to make do. She was already getting close to the library. She didn't want to run all the way back to the hospital and then come back when she could just go in the library now and look around. Once she was able to find the information regarding Tavern Town, she could then head back to the hospital and give Rudy and Snap her word. Whenever their family members came back, she would tell them as well.

Penny opened up the door to the library and headed inside. It was just like how she remembered it. Bustling with life. Zoners moving ever which way to get books or to chat with each other. The high ceiling, the lights above. Yes, it was exactly how she remembered it. She made her way to the front desk. There were a couple of zoners in front of her, but she didn't mind waiting.

The line was moving pretty quickly, so she didn't have to wait too long. While she waited in line, she took another look around. She had to admire the beauty of this library. Whoever had drawn this, they did have good taste and style, and their skill levels were quite good. Judging from how this place looked, she guessed it was the work of a professional architech, or at least college level.

She didn't have much longer to really look at the scenery around her. The line had moved faster than she expected. Soon she found herself at the front desk. She went up to it and put her hands on it. She looked up and she could see the librarian, some kind of horse, standing there. The librarian looked down at Penny, chewing on something. Probably a piece of gum. In a voice that was a little gruffer than Penny was used to hearing from females, the librarian spoke.

"Yes? May I help you?"

"Yes." Penny said, pushing her hands a little more firmly on the edge. She leaned forward a little. "Do you have any books about Tavern Town?"

The librarian stared at her for a few moments. Her chewing became slow, deliberate. She blew a bubble and it popped loudly in Penny's face. Then the librarian shifted her gaze towards the computer. Penny could hear the tapping as the librarian began to type something on there. Penny waited patiently to see what the librarian would say next.

After a few minutes, the librarian turned to face her. "Yes, we have one copy of some old book. Old World ChalkZone. It's not in the greatest shape." The horse zoner leaned forward and pushed her arm out, pointing her hoofed hand in a general direction. "If you go over there by the maps, you may find it. I don't know if it's checked out or not, and I don't know what kind of condition it is in. I hope it suits your needs."

"Okay, thanks!" Penny called out to her, waving at her.

With that information in mind, Penny headed in the direction the horse zoner indicated. She soon came upon a couple of shelves lined with a few dusty books, a large map sphere that spun on an axis, and several maps that laid on the ground. There wasn't a lot of books here. Probably up to ten. It shouldn't take her long at all to find the book the horse librarian told her about. She moved over to the shelf and began to sift through the books.

Sure enough, it really didn't take her a long time to find it. She could see the title on the thin book spine; Old World ChalkZone. She pulled out a large book with a lot of dust on it. She narrowed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and blew on it. She coughed as the dust was kicked up, getting in her face. She waved her hands to get the dust away. She took off her glasses and cleaned them of the dirt that now clung to it. She put them back on her face and she glanced down at the book.

This book definitely looked quite old. She couldn't see a date on it anywhere, even when she opened it up. But judging from how yellow and warn the pages were, and how dusty it was, she guessed it might easily be over forty years old. She knew that if any book was going to have information regarding the location of Tavern Town, this was going to be it. She opened it up and began to look through it.

The page she opened up to was a large map of ChalkZone, or rather, how it used to be. She was amazed at how much things had changed in all this time. ChalkZone looked almost completely different. Some areas did not exist, such as the Amazing River. Other places, such as Twisted Slopes, she didn't recognize. It may have been one of the places the black chalk users destroyed, or it was turned into something else. And still some places she still recognized, such as the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle, but their sizes and overall appearances were completely different.

Her eyes shifted as she moved them along the page, trying to find Tavern Town. It had to be here somewhere. It existed back when Cosmo was around. Wilter wouldn't lie about that. So it had to be here. She continued to look. Her eyes were starting to hurt from the thorough checking, but she kept pushing herself. She wasn't going to give up. She had to find that place. She had to figure out where this Tavern Town place was located.

Soon her eyes came upon something. She had almost missed it. In one part of the map, almost center, she could see what looked like a small settlement. And when she looked close enough, she could see the words 'Tavern Town'. It was quite smudgy, but that is what it read. Penny double checked to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Now that she was able to confirm that this was indeed Tavern Town, she had to figure out where it was in relationship with the modern ChalkZone.

She wished she had thought to bring a map with her beforehand so she could compare the differences. But then she remembered that, since this was a map section, there was bound to be a more up to date map here somewhere. She went over to the maps laying on the ground and picked on up. She took a look at it. After determining that it was only a few years old, she dragged this new map over and laid it down next to her. She flattened it out so she could see the map of ChalkZone and looked at it.

Carefully, she compared the two. She glanced at the old map, and then the new one. She did this for a while until she could start to note connections. She was able to see the changes between some locations, how they got bigger or smaller. She could see what areas had become comething else, or disappeared completely. She could even tell what areas were more or less unchanged all this time, though those were very few, very far between. Almost everything had changed in some shape or form.

Then, eventually, she was able to locate what she wanted. It took a while, but she soon found where Tavern Town correlated with modern day ChalkZone. Her eyes widened a little. She flipped back and forth between the two areas, trying to see if she made a mistake and to make sure she was accurate. And the more she looked, the more she realized that this was indeed correct.

According to these maps, Tavern Town used to be located right here... Well not this particular spot. But where ChalkZone City now stood, once there was Tavern Town. So somewhere around here lay the ruins of Tavern Town...

At first, she was confused. She would have thought that Tavern Town was just not on the map anymore, hidden by the black chalk users so no one can find it. For it to be located here, in what is now ChalkZone City... Wouldn't that require it being torn down? Hmm probably not. Maybe the parts of it that stored the machines were just paved over, hidden passageways built to get to them. That was a possibility. She could imagine the black chalk users doing something like that. The machines could be located under something that was reinforced and somewhere not so conspicuous, making it less likely someone would come along and find it.

Now that she had a relative location of where Tavern Town is, she could report back to Rudy and Snap. They could then try to figure out exactly where in ChalkZone City was the remnants of Tavern Town. Their best bet, she guessed, would be to look underground. There was the sewers down below. As disgusting as the thought was, somewhere down in the sewers could be a hidden passageway to the machines that were located in Tavern Town over forty years ago. She had tried to get a more accurate location on the map but she found it difficult.

No longer requiring the book, she got up and put it back on the shelf. She folded up the map and set it down where she had grabed it. She made her way towards the door. Next stop was the hospital. She was certain Rudy and Snap were waiting for her, so she moved at a brisk pace. Out of the door she went and she began to make her way down the street, heading in the opposite direction she had come.

She began to make her way down towards the hospital. It was about fifteen minutes walking. She would call using the phone that Rudy had drawn for her, him, and Snap. But she wouldn't take that long to get there. She'd probably make it back before the fifteen minutes are up. So there was really no need. She continued to head down the street, looking all around, admiring the beauty of the city around her. Definitely better than what they had in the real world.

She knew that Rudy and Snap were going to be happy when she brought them some good news. They were a step closer to finding the cure for Rudy for that horrid disease. Now that they knew the relative location of where Tavern Town was, that reduced the search radius greatly. ChalkZone City was huge, but it wasn't endless. They should be able to find something relatively quickly. They just had to figure out what areas would be the best place to start. The sewers, as she thought before, would probably be the best place to look first.

Although there may be other places, better candidates, that they could try first. The sewer was a dangerous place for them to go with all those toxins and wastes... And with Rudy's injuries, they shouldn't risk it. And Snap still had those burns. The toxins might irritate his healing skin. Yes, perhaps another place would be best. Hmm...there were some dark alleyways in ChalkZone City no one really used. Maybe one of them could be hiding a secret passage. Or maybe one of the abandoned buildings around ChalkZone City could be the place.

Penny guessed that the location of Tavern Town would be in one of these places, where not many zoners go anyway. Cosmo and the black chalk artists wouldn't want the zoners going around, destroying their equipment. So best guess is that it was located somewhere the zoners either don't know about, or couldn't get to, or would leave alone. The dark alleyways, the abandoned buildings, and the sewers were the best places for them to look first. She'll talk to Rudy and Snap more about it. Maybe one of them could have a suggestion on where they could go first.

As Penny moved down the street, she suddenly felt movement behind her. She froze and she turned to look behind her. She didn't see anyone. She looked all around. She didn't see anyone. She saw some zoners, but they were moving about their own business. After looking around for a bit and seeing absolutely no one, Penny shrugged her shoulders and continued down the street.

Then she heard the noise again. Footsteps. Several of them. And they sounded very close... Penny froze again and looked around. She still couldn't see anyone. She wondered if she as just hearing things. Maybe her imagination was starting to get the best of her and she was imagining someone following her. Yeah, that was probably it. She needed to calm herself down and focus on getting back to the hospital. Rudy and Snap were expecting her back soon. Doing her best to remain calm, she resumed her walk back to the hospital.

She never got that much further down. As she passed by an alleyway, she felt someone grab her. Her eyes widen in shock, realizing this was how Rudy was captured by the black chalk artists a few days ago. She tried to scream, but a hand covered her mouth and she was dragged off. She quickly realized that it wasn't Jenny, Ghadir, or Tyreek as the hand that gagged her was furry. She tried to struggle, but the hands grabbing her were too strong.

Once she was dragged several feet from the road, deep in a dark and abandoned alleyway, she was shoved against the wall hard. Her throat grabbed and her back pushed roughly against the wall, Penny opened her eyes to see who had grabbed her. Standing before her were three zoners. There was a crocodile one matching the description Rudy gave, a jaguar zoner, who was holding her by the neck, and some kind of unicorn zoner. They all gave her such hateful glares. She shuddered as she looked at them. They were so icy...

"You are coming with us, creator." The jaguar zoner said with a cold voice.

"Where are you taking me...?" Penny asked, trying her best not to look afraid.

The jaguar zoner's lips curled up, showing great contempt for her. "You are being taken back to that wretched portal where we will put you back where you belong. And if you know what's good for you, you'd stay out of ChalkZone..." His voice gained a growly edge as he said this. He put his face close to Penny's, his breath hitting against her face. "You are not to come back in."

Penny tried to get herself free. She had to get to the hospital, and fast. Her legs kicked wildly against the wall, trying to land a hit on the jaguar zoner. But each hit she did manage didn't really faze him much. If anything, it just made him angrier. Penny looked around, trying to find something, anything to help her. She had magic chalk with her, but right now, she couldn't even use it against these guys.

The jaguar zoner clearly got tired of her struggling. His grip on her tightened and she nearly gagged. The jaguar zoner raised her into the air and smashed her harder against the wall. Penny let out a cry of pain. The cane that she had been using was now being held by the crocodile zoner. He was hitting it against the palm of his hand, looking fully intent on beating her with it if she didn't behave. But Penny couldn't give up. She had to get free. She had to get out of here. She had to at least try to call for help. But she couldn't get her phone, or the chalk, as the jaguar zoner had smashed his body against her, pinning her arms effectively.

Penny pushed back as hard as she could, trying to get the jaguar zoner to back off a little. "Let me go! I need to go help Rudy!"

At the sound of Rudy's name, the zoners growled softly, hatred clearly showing in their display of contempt. The crocodile's teeth were bared, like he remembered when he had Rudy in his hands, only for him to slip away when Tsere had intervened. The unicorn flicked his head in agitation, giving a snort of anger, pounding a foot into the ground. The jaguar's ears flattened against his face and Penny could have sworn his tail poofed up a little in anger.

The crocodile zoner took a few steps forward. The jaguar opened his mouth to speak, but the crocodile zoner beat him to it. "Now listen here, you filthy little human!" The crocodile zoner put his face close to Penny's, his yellow eyes boring into hers. "We do not like watching you monsters roam around ChalkZone like some kind of infestation! You bring about nothing but destruction whenever you are here! If you really want what's best for ChalkZone, then..." His voice grew low and very scratchy. "...get out and stay out..."

Penny struggled, trying to free her arms so she could get the magic chalk. "B-But...Rudy..."

"Rudy Tabootie is nothing more than a lost cause." The unicorn snorted, his voice a little higher pitched than Penny would have expected. He walked over a little, his clopping sound a little pronounced with how thin this alleyway was. "Besides, we see no reason to help monsters like him."

"He's not a monster! Not all creators are bad! Why can't you see that?!" Penny snapped at them, her eyes narrowed. She let out a grunt of pain as the jaguar zoner tightened his grip around her neck. It became very clear to her that these Luminos members were not going to listen to reason.

"We have seen two paths that he would take. And he is a monster in both!" The jaguar zoner snarled at her. "All creators are the same! They either become corrupted and violent, or they think they know everything and they began to take over!"

Penny looked at the zoner with a confused expression. What was he talking about? What did he mean by 'two paths that Rudy could have taken'? It didn't make any sense to her. Was this zoner psychic? Could he see visions of the future? Or...had he seen these alternate dimensions...? She didn't have time to question it for long. Right now, she had to get free. She couldn't ask them any questions. They would not answer her. From how they were glaring hatefully at her, it was clear they were not in the mood to talk.

Penny squirmed in the jaguar's grasp. She twisted herself left and right, trying to make the feline zoner let her go. She eventually managed to get her arm free, and she was able to pull out the magic chalk. The anti-creator zoners' eyes widened at this. The crocodile and unicorn took a few steps back, but the jaguar still refused to let her go, despite his eyes being glued to the sparkling white stick.

The jaguar's eyes slowly shifted to the girl's. "You're going to try to destroy me...ain't you, creator? Go ahead then.. Show everyone in ChalkZone exactly what creators do..."

Penny hesitated at this. She stared at the jaguar with wide eyes. She realized that he was right. If she did do anything to defend herself, she might risk coming off looking like a monster. These three Luminos members could use this to their advantage, use it to spread lies about creators and to bring more to join their cause. She had to do something else, but what?

She realized too late that she shouldn't have hesitated. The unicorn zoner trotted over to her while she was trying to think of something she could do to get out of this mess. The unicorn placed his horn near her throat, causing her to pull her head back. She looked at the unicorn with wide eyes. He moved himself even closer, the tip of his horn nearly grazing her neck. Slowly, Penny lowered her hand. She still gripped the magic chalk, but she no longer wielded it. The unicorn only pulled back when he saw that she wasn't going to try to draw anything with it.

"Why won't you let me go?" Penny asked them. "Why won't you let me help Rudy? He's in trouble... He's sick. He'll die if he doesn't get this information... Please... let me go. He might die..."

The three zoners stared at her. It was clear they did not care about what happened to Rudy. They narrowed their eyes further, their teeth bared. The jaguar zoner put his head even closer to Penny, his ears so flat against his head that it was almost like he didn't have them at all.

"Good... We hope he does die." The jaguar hissed.

Penny's eyes widened in horror at this.

"That will be one less creator to worry about." The crocodile zoner added, his thick tail moving from side to side along the ground. "We would deal with him ourselves right now, but we'll settle with you." He pointed at the wall next to Penny. "Draw a portal there."

Penny looked at him. "What?"

"Draw a portal. Go through, and don't fucking come back." The crocodile zoner said in a growly voice. To emphasize his point, he raised a clenched fist into the air, wielding her cane like a weapon. "Draw a portal now before I beat your fucking face in!"

Penny stared at the three zoners, trying to weigh her options. She could do what they said and leave ChalkZone. She can always come back later. ChalkZone City wasn't really too far from where she and Rudy lived. She can just head back to her house and get another piece of magic chalk, should she lose this one. But that would just delay the information she needed to give to Rudy. As much as she was afraid, she couldn't let these Luminos zoners control her. She had to stand her ground.

Penny narrowed her eyes and raised the magic chalk in her hand slightly upward. "No... I am not leaving until I speak to Rudy..."

"You will speak to your...friend... after we capture him and get him out of here." The unicorn zoner said, baring his teeth at her. "You can wait until then. Whatever you have to say to him, it's not that important."

"But it regards the illness he has!" Penny cried, her eyes wide. "That's a life or death situation!"

The unicorn flicked his head to one side. "As I said, not that important."

Penny narrowed her eyes at the unicorn. She felt anger begin to rise up inside of her. "How dare you..." She would have said more, but the jaguar silenced her by holding her even tighter, nearly choking her.

"How dare us? How dare you, and your kind, coming into ChalkZone, drawing all your fancy creations, destroying the place! Don't you dare try to say we're monsters when you creators have caused a lot more trouble. You do nothing but rip ChalkZone apart!" The jaguar's voice was laced in hatred and anger. "It's about time someone stood up to you monsters!"

"And since you seem so...intent on staying..." The crocodile zoner moved over towards her. He hit the cane against his palm threateningly. "Perhaps we should give you an incentive to leave..."

Penny's eyes widened as she watched the crocodile zoner look at her that way, wielding her cane in such a manner. She struggled harder, trying to get free. She attempted to draw something, but the jaguar zoner pushed her into the hard ground. Her face scraped along the edge of the building. The jaguar zoner, with the help of the unicorn zoner, held her on the ground. She struggled to get free, but she was unable to get the zoners off of her.

She heard the crocodile zoner move in behind her. She twisted her head, trying her best to see him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see his dark green body as he positioned himself beside her, right by her right leg. He lowered himself down. Realizing what he was about to do, Penny tried harder to get free. She couldn't stop the crocodile zoner from grabbing onto her right leg with his hand. She winced as he felt her claws dig into her ankle.

The crocodile raised the cane into the air. Penny's eyes widened at this. Then she shut them tightly, waiting for the pain to come. Down came the cane. Penny opened her mouth to scream, but the unicorn zoner covered her mouth instantly, muffling any sound she tried to make. Her eyes widened and tears of pain formed in her eyes as the crocodile zoner beat her leg with her own cane. Again and again, he struck down on her leg, deliberately targeting the bruises that were still there. Penny tried to get free, but the two zoners holding her down were too strong.

Then, after a few moments of the crocodile zoner beating her leg with her cane, he dropped it. At first, Penny thought he was finished, but he apparently still wanted to do more to her. He grabbed her ankle with one hand and her shin with his other. He started to twist the leg painfully. Penny tried to let out screams, all of them muffled, as the crocodile zoner started to twist her ankled horribly. He only stopped when he heard a slight crack before he released it.

Penny's eyes snapped wide and she let out a muffled scream. The crocodile zoner...it felt like he had popped her ankle out of place. She attempted to move her leg, and though she could, it was so painful. A few tears of pain streamed down her face. She looked up at the anti-creator zoners, getting no looks of sympathy from them. She tried a few more times to struggle, but the pain in her leg, especially in her ankle, was making it hard for her to do so, in addition to the zoners holding her down.

The crocodile zoner lowered his head close to hers and whispered harshly into her ear, "I will do much worse to you if you don't draw that portal and leave..."

Penny's mind swirled with thoughts, trying to think of what she could do. She wanted to fight back. As frightened as she was, she didn't want to back down. It wasn't in her nature to give up. But right now, she had to get out of here. As much as it hurt her mentally to leave ChalkZone without telling Rudy and Snap about what she found, she realized that her best option right now was to leave. She had no choice but to cut her losses and get out. She can always find her way back into ChalkZone.

Penny, her body shaking from the pain, raised her magic chalk and pressed it against the wall, just like the anti-creator zoners wanted her to do. She slowly drew a circle. There was a flash of light, and she could see that it opened up in some alleyway in the real world. She didn't have time to get up. The anti-creator zoners hoisted her off the ground themselves. They threw her through the portal. She let out a cry of pain as she crashed against a garbage can.

"Now erase the portal..." The jaguar said, narrowing his eyes. "And don't ever come back into ChalkZone."

"If you do..." The unicorn added, his voice a warning tone.

The crocodile zoner bared his razor sharp teeth. "We will kill you..."

Penny's eyes widened in horror at this.