CHAPTER 31: KEPT YOU WAITING, HUH?

After making a brief stop at Kacy's once again, obtaining the aforementioned winch, and attaching it to their mother's car, the group drove to the coordinates that Crainiac 4 had given them, leading them to a construction site. Being fortunate enough to be brought somewhere that no prying eyes would be watching, as well as having the night sky on their backs to shroud their activities, the group began unloading their supplies from the car, preparing to make their entrance into ChalkZone.

"You know, I'm all for saving Mama and all, but did we just technically steal all that stuff? Like, how does the credit card work? Doesn't that have to be given by a bank?" Carol asked.

"Drew it to function like a real credit card, ChalkZone's magic made it work. Store got paid with real money." Carlos explained.

"But where did the money come from?"

"The credit card."

"And where did the credit card get it?"

"It already had it."

"But how... Oh, forget it. But, at least, could you explain why you had to buy all those Reptar Bars?"

After chowing down on one of his aforementioned chocolate bars, taking another out of his stash of 500 others, and beginning to eat it, Carlos answered his sister's question.

"I was hungry." Carlos said.

"Fine. Well, at least give me one while you're at it." Carol said.

Once Carol had her own Reptar Bar to eat, the siblings both grabbed a large chalkboard from the trunk, carrying it as they followed Rudy. Rudy, having the GPS in his hand, led the two children to the coordinates, positioning them directly over the facility.

"Right here." Rudy said.

Following Rudy's directions, Carol and Carlos placed the Chalkboard over the specified location. Taking his magic chalk, Carlos drew around the edges of the chalkboard, creating an entrance to ChalkZone. Looking down the open portal, the group saw the prison below them, taking their time to observe it.

The prison complex holding the most useful prisoners of the Chalk King was a sight to behold in itself; a testament to all that the forces of the Chalk King had to offer. Multiple Chalk Troopers paraded around the facility, their routines and discipline far higher than most others in their group, showing more military might and capability. Knowing this proved their mission to be even more difficult than they had previously thought, the group made their best efforts to swallow their fear, pushing themselves on to save Penelope.

As Snap drove the car up to the chalkboard, the children began unwinding the winch from the car, hoping that their crude efforts to attach it to their mother's sedan would still hold it in place. Taking the hook to the winch and attaching it to the rock-climbing harness he placed on himself, Rudy now found himself ready to enter the prison and find Toe Fu, giving the group a means of getting into Castle Chalkenstein.

"I'll give the wire two tugs when I'm ready to be winched back up. If there's any problems, I'll give you a call." Rudy said.

Rudy handed off Carol and Carlos a small two-way radio, turning on his own as well.

"Good luck, Bucko. You're gonna need it here." Snap said.

"Just please be safe. We need you to save Mama." Carol said.

Before Rudy could make his way below, Carlos stopped him, handing over his bandolier filled with chalk pieces.

"Take this. You'll need the chalk in case it gets messy." Carlos said.

Taking Carlos' bandolier and throwing it around his shoulder, Rudy armed himself with several pieces of chalk, now ready to face any danger he may find within.

"Thanks. I'll be right back." Rudy said.

As Rudy stood on the edge of the chalkboard, he stepped off to briefly fall through the portal. With the winch catching his weight and holding it, Rudy now hung directly above the prison complex, ready to make his way below and get inside. With a simple push of a button, Carol set the winch to unwind, lowering him down. As soon as Rudy was within ChalkZone, Carlos erased most of the portal on the chalkboard, leaving only a small circle around the wire.

[Soundtrack Cue: Norihiko Hibino - Infiltration (from 'Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty')]

Lowering down to the prison complex below him, Rudy began his descent towards the facility, silently bypassing any and all watching eyes. Where the Chalk Troopers were all trained to watch out for enemies approaching from the ground, none would think to look to the sky for a foe. At least, not one that they couldn't hear first. With the noise of winch being in the real world, and the portal mostly closed to conceal any light or noise from within, any and all noise that could be made here was brought to a minimum, making Rudy's infiltration a stealthy one.

Upon being lowered to the top of the prison, Rudy gave two clicks on his radio's PTT button, sending two pulses of feedback to the children above. Hearing his signal, Carol and Carlos stopped the winch, not wanting to leave too much wire and delay Rudy's return. Safely on the ground, Rudy unhooked the winch from himself, now beginning his mission.

Putting on a pair of X-ray goggles, Rudy began scanning through the prison, looking for his target. As he searched through the building, Rudy also made sure to take note of the number of guards patrolling and the numerous other prisoners and their locations. While his target was Toe Fu, there was no way that he could leave the others inside to be left to the Chalk King. Seeing other prisoners such as Crainiac 7, Doofus Penny, Sally the Sea Monster, Yadda Yadda Yeti, armies of Santa Clauses, and one of the New Years, Rudy took note of each of their locations, remembering to come back for them later.

Taking one of his chalk pieces, Rudy drew a stairway to the building below, making his way inside. Heading down to the bottom floor, the most heavily guarded and location of Toe Fu, Rudy began moving his way through the halls as silently as he could, not wanting to be detected and lose his cover. With each silent step he took, Rudy grew one step closer to reaching Toe Fu, even if his steps were small and silent.

Coming to the next corridor, Rudy found a Chalk Trooper guarding the entryway. Even after waiting a short period of time for the trooper to move, the guard would not, leaving Rudy needing to find a way around him. Gaining in idea from a particular video game he enjoyed as a child, Rudy found out how to bypass the guard.

After drawing an issue of Playchalk, Rudy threw the magazine to the Chalk Trooper's feet, the magazine instantly gaining his attention. While the origin of the magazine was the first thing that crossed his mind, its contents, for obvious reasons, quickly found more priority in his mind. Upon opening directly to the centerfold, the attractive Zoner woman within gently caressed the face of the Chalk Trooper, inviting him to forget his duties to spend time with her.

"Hey, there, solider boy. What do you want to do with me?" The picture asked.

Not wasting his time with words, the Chalk Trooper immediately jumped down to the picture, quickly having an intimate moment with it. As the Chalk Trooper was distracted by the picture, Rudy carefully stepped around him; the picture proving to consume far too much attention to pay mind to Rudy or anything else around him.

After bypassing the first guard, Rudy finally found himself standing outside the door to Toe Fu's cell, having reached his objective. However, this time, there laid not one, but two Chalk Troopers outside the cell door, proving to be more of a challenge than before. For many, dispatching two soldiers guarding a cell stealthily might seem like a difficult task, maybe even impossible. For Rudy Tabootie, with the magic chalk in his hand and his imagination serving him well, this was mere child's play.

Drawing a small suppressed handgun, Rudy aimed for the necks of the Chalk Troopers, making sure that his shots would not be missed. Squeezing the trigger to the handgun, Rudy fired two small darts, landing one in each of the Chalk Troopers' necks. Rather than firing tranquilizer darts, Rudy had fired on the two thankfulizer darts, with the thankfulness formula effecting the Chalk Troopers as quickly as it entered them.

"Hey, Bill, did I ever tell how much I really appreciate you?" One Chalk Trooper asked.

"No." The other Chalk Trooper replied.

"Well, I really, really do appreciate you. You're a great friend and good coworker."

"Well, thanks, Larry, I appreciate that. You know what I also appreciate? You. You're a real nice guy, you know that?"

"Do you really think that?"

"I know it, pal. You're real considerate of me and everybody else here. I appreciate that a lot."

"Well, thanks, pal. Hey, you know what I really enjoy? Blankets. I mean, you never think about them that much, but, when you're tired and you wanna sleep, a blanket's one of the quickest ways to do that. I'm real glad we got blankets."

"Yeah, me too. You know what I like a lot? Pencils. Pens are great, but a pencil you can erase if you need to erase something, and they've been real great utensils to use."

As the two Chalk Troopers kept their rantings and conversations of thanksgivings towards commodities that neither thought much of before, Rudy walked straight past the talking friends, neither caring nor acknowledging him making his approach to the door.

Before Rudy could enter the room, however, the obliviousness of the Chalk Troopers quickly left the two, as they spotted him and quickly caught up to him before he could enter the cell. Realizing that his stealthiness no longer was there to serve him, Rudy froze stiff, not knowing how to solve this situation.

"Hey, are you going to visit Toe Fu?" Bill asked.

"Um... Yes?" Rudy asked.

"Well, that's great! Toe Fu ain't had a visitor in a long time now, he's probably real lonely in there. He should really be thankful that someone like you would want to go see him."

"Here, let me get the door for you, I know he'll be delighted that you want to pay him a visit." Larry said.

The Chalk Trooper known as Larry took a set of keys and unlocked the door, opening the cell and giving Rudy entrance to get inside. Surprised that his thankfulizer formula had made the Chalk Troopers helpful as well as thankful, Rudy held back his fear and anxiety with a smile, thanking the Chalk Troopers for their aide.

"Why, thank you very much. I really appreciate that." Rudy said.

"Well, we appreciate that you appreciate that." Larry said.

"We sure do." Bill added.

[Soundtrack Cue End]

As the Chalk Troopers letting Rudy in the cell, the two instantly began talking with each other again, listing off numerous other things that the both were thankful to have in their lives. With the Chalk Troopers distracted and preoccupied with their conversation, Rudy now found himself inside the cell of the martial arts hero known as Toe Fu, standing face-to-face with the sentient phalange.

Toe Fu, taking note of the new visitor he had in his cell, continued to do what he had always done since the first days of his carceration. Lifting up his teacup and taking a light sip of its hot contents, Toe Fu subsequently set the cup back down, continuing to sit in his meditative state. When Toe Fu began to speak, his voice was deep and exaggerated, completely unfitting from his body, like that of a character in a dubbed martial arts film.

"Hello, Rudy Tabootie. It is a pleasure to have you visit. Please, sit down." Toe Fu said.

At his request, Rudy Tabootie seated himself on a pillow, sitting cross-legged as Toe Fu was. Carefully eyeing Rudy, Toe Fu took another sip of his tea, taking advantage of its heat while he could.

"So, you wish for me to help you to defeat the Chalk King and save ChalkZone, am I correct?" Toe Fu asked.

"But... I didn't even tell you that. How'd you-" Rudy began to ask.

"I've been sitting my way out of this war for quite some time; someone was bound to try to convince me to fight in it. Seeing the creativity you had brought to ChalkZone during the years of your youth, you seemed all too good a candidate of any to try to convince me."

"You're supposed to be a fighter for good, and the Chalk King's erasing innocent Zoners. Isn't that motivation enough?"

"You will find that, with martial artists, it is not within our nature to try to shift power one way or the other. We are simply to exist for who we are, and try to live a peaceful life without harming others. In the end, the world shall balance itself out for the best."

"King Mumbo Jumbo is dead. The Chalk King erased him."

Not aware of this fact until now, Toe Fu paused in his composure for a brief moment, as if giving a moment of silence out of respect for the king. With a light bow of his head, suspicions of this fact seemed to be supported by this action. Once again, Toe Fu took another sip of his tea, hoping to find some comfort within the warm beverage which he had prepared himself.

"I am truly sorry to hear this news, Rudy Tabootie. King Mumbo Jumbo was a benevolent and caring man; one who respected and loved the arts. However, I am afraid that if you are trying to convince me to fight in the name of revenge, you will not find success in this approach. Revenge leads to dustshed, which only leads to more dustshed, and the only road which leads to peace is forgiveness." Toe Fu said.

"Then what if the Chalk King wants you dead? Shouldn't you get them before they get you?" Rudy asked.

"Many wars, both in the real world and those of ChalkZone, could have been prevented with a simple act of watching and waiting for an understanding. So far, no harm has been done to me, and I am free to leave as I please, as you can see by the tea I am drinking now. Of course, given my skills in the many martial arts of the real world, they probably allow this only because they know they will fall by my hands."

Taking yet another sip of his tea, Toe Fu savored the taste of his beverage, taking each sip slowly and consciously, as if each sip were his first, or last.

"I have lived a very tranquil life, Rudy Tabootie; I have felt no need to cause trouble or interfere in the lives of others. Many Zoners build me up to be a folk hero of sorts, but I am no more different from any other average Zoner. Then again, in ChalkZone, the word 'average' has no real meaning, given how diverse this world can be. Instead, I choose to roam it freely, taking in each of its sights and all it has to offer. Recently, I have taken a small stop in my journey at the detest of the Chalk King and his forces, and I have entertained his threats, if only for peace, or perhaps a change. I have seen many causes for war and battles fought by men and Zoners alike, but not once could I find a cause I found just. However, you, Rudy Tabootie, are not like other men, nor are you anything like any Zoner. I can tell that there is a deep, meaningful reason which has brought you here to me, seeking my aid. I know that there is something within your being that has brought you to find a desperate solution to your problem, needing my assistance. Please, tell me, why is it you need me to help you? All you need do is say the words." Toe Fu said.


As Rudy prepared his answer inside the cell, events outside the cell began to unfold for the worse. In the hallway containing the first Chalk Trooper, the aforementioned guard was still occupied with his 'entertainment' magazine, finding himself heavily comforted in the arms of the centerfold girl within. With his mind and perception intensely focused on the girl, he did not catch ear of his radio, missing the calls of his commanding officer.

"2977, why are you late with your status report?" The commanding officer called.

As the Chalk Trooper had not checked in with his commanding officer in quite some time, suspicion and frustration began to arise on the other end of the call. Giving another call over the line, the commanding officer gave a more stern voice over the call.

"What's going on? Respond!" The commanding officer called.

Despite his calls being more than sufficient to be heard by the intended audience, the calls were unheard, as the Chalk Trooper was far too preoccupied to be bothered with the commander's call. With the commanding officer growing impatient and intolerant of his soldier's failure to report, he then sought more desperate measures to his solution.

"Unable to communicate with Trooper 2977. Carry out an investigation immediately." The commanding officer ordered.

At the commanding officer's orders, a pair of Chalk Troopers went to investigate the situation, aiming to discover why Chalk Trooper 2977 was not responding to his calls. Upon reaching the hall, both troopers found their target on the floor, fondling and playing with the woman in the centerfold of his magazine. Naturally, neither were particularly pleased with what they were seeing.

"Hey, dumbo! You havin' fun there?" One Chalk Trooper asked.

Upon hearing the voice of one of his comrades being spoken loudly and clearly, Chalk Trooper 2977 shot up off the ground, instantly forgetting about his woman. The woman, just as surprised at his appearance, also jumped up in surprise.

"Oh, uh... Hey, what's up?" Chalk Trooper 2977 asked.

"What do you mean, 'what's up'? What've you been doin' this whole time?" The other Chalk Trooper asked.

"Oh, well, I was, uh-"

"That was a rhetorical question, numb nuts. Why weren't you watchin' the hallway?"

"Because I, uh, I had her right here, and-"

"Oh, geez. Put that thing away and get back to your post. Now we've gotta check down this hallway and make sure you didn't let someone slip through here."

"But I-"

"I mean it. Boss' orders. Put the magazine away."

While disappointing with no longer being able to play with the woman in the magazine, Chalk Trooper 2977 assured her that he would soon return before closing the pages. Just before closing the magazine, Chalk Trooper 2977 whispered his temporary goodbyes to the woman.

"We'll talk later. I gotta get back to work." Chalk Trooper 2977 said.

"Don't worry, lover, I'll be right here waiting for you." The centerfold said.

Closing the pages to the magazine, Chalk Trooper 2977 stood to attention at his post once again, standing guard over the hallway. The other two Chalk Troopers, now having a gap in security, took it upon themselves to seek out any signs of intruders.

"Wouldya get a load of some o' these guys. It ain't enough that they ain't got enough to keep themselves occupied, but they gotta start outright not doing their jobs on us, too." One Chalk Trooper said.

"Well, I can't really blame him, that centerfold was one piece o' work." The other Chalk Trooper said.

"Heh. I can't argue with that."

"How's about we go out and get ourselves a couple o' women and get ourselves drunk after this is over?"

"Sounds good to me, you're buyin'."

As the two Chalk Troopers advanced down the hallway, they soon left sight in the hallway, no longer leaving any sign of their presence. Chalk Trooper 2977, still not finished with his magazine, lightly opened the centerfold, discreetly reading his magazine while he presumed to be safe.

"Hey, baby, how about a show while I'm waitin' here?" Chalk Trooper 2977 whispered.


While Chalk Trooper 2977 was receiving a show from his woman and two more troopers were searching down the hallway, Rudy Tabootie and Toe Fu continued their conversation within the cell. After Toe Fu gave a very difficult question regarding Rudy's motivation, the creator sought to find a ways to convince the master martial artist to assist him in fighting the Chalk King.

Although his initial plan was to reveal the fact that Penelope was in the captivity of the Chalk King, Rudy was no longer certain that it was enough that it would sway Toe Fu. Living so impartially that he would not even fight in the name of the Chalk King, the idea of fighting for romance seemed to be the least likely candidate to recruit Toe Fu.

Nevertheless, Rudy knew that he had no other option to select, and, following through Toe Fu's request for a simple reason to be spoken, Rudy gave the answer that he had traveled so far for.

"After all I've heard from what you've said, I'm not even sure if this would register as important to you, but... Penelope's been captured. The Chalk King took her." Rudy said.

"So, you wish to save the one you love, is that it?" Toe Fu asked.

"Of course I do. But... Even though that's the most important thing to me, it's not the only reason. After I had spent a lot of years on my own, I grew bitter and hateful, and I lost my talent. Penny had to go through a lot, but she helped me find it all again. Even after I put her through so much anger and hate, letting it all out on her, she didn't give up on me. Now, if I let her stay in the Chalk King's hands, then how could I even live with myself? She went through so much for me, and I should do the same for her."

"Then you feel a sense of honor to be restored, and you cannot stop until you fulfill this honor."

After giving a long sigh with this realization sitting in, Rudy gave the last part of his speech, ending with his request.

"Yes. I do love Penny, and I'd do anything to save her, but, above all, I owe her all that she's done for me. But I can't do it alone. So, I came here to ask you for help. So, please, will you help me?" Rudy asked.


Outside the cell door, the two 'thankfulized' Chalk Troopers continued on their endless rants, each party naming off the many things in their life that they were thankful for. After listing off many of the most immediate things that the two could think of, many of the objects which they were thankful for began to delve into the most obscure and absurd topics.

"You know what I'm really thankful for? When you go to a restraurant and order some fries, and sometimes you get a tater tot or chicken nugget with the fries. It's like a little bonus to your food." One Chalk Trooper said.

"Oh, yeah. I love it when that happens. Ooh, you know what I'm really thankful for? Going in a store and finding something you didn't know you wanted. It's like, you didn't know you wanted it until you saw it. It's a really great surprise." The other Chalk Trooper said.

As the two thankfulized Chalk Troopers continued with their many and neverending thanksgivings, the two Chalk Troopers sent to investigate for threats took notice of the bizarrely-acting troopers outside Toe Fu's gate, finding their behavior strange even for ChalkZone's standards. Investigating the manner as they were assigned to do, the investigators approached the thankfulized Chalk Troopers, seeking out any strange occurrences.

"Hey, you two. You seen anything strange around here?" One investigating Chalk Trooper asked.

"Oh, hey, you're doing a whole search and everything! I love it when people go and inspect the area, make sure everything's goin' just right, I really appreciate when people like you take the time to make things perfect." One thankfulized Chalk Trooper said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, you seen anybody strange come through here?"

"Anybody strange? No, sir. Nothing strange here."

"Okay. Good. You give us or the commanding officer a call if you see somethin' coming through here."

"Oh, the commanding officer! I really appreciate him, he's a good boss. He sends some guys like you to check up on how we're doin', just like that one guy went to go check on Toe Fu, he's a great guy to work with. I'm definitely puttin' him on my resume towards my next job."

"Okay, great, I got it, I don't need the- Wait a minute, what was that last part?"

"About the boss bein' on my resume? Oh, don't get me wrong, I love this job, I'm real thankful for it, but you always gotta look towards the future. I'm real thankful that I got a future, to have a whole life ahead of me-"

"No, idiot, not that, what about Toe Fu?"

"Oh, yeah. Someone came by to pay him a visit just to say hello. Real nice guy, you don't see somebody go and pay someone a visit in prison, go through all that effort. I really appreciate-"

Before the thankfulized Chalk Troopers could continue their thankfulness regarding Rudy Tabootie, the inspecting Chalk Troopers pulled out their weapons, quickly and carefully approaching the door. The thankfulized Chalk Troopers, understanding the signal that their comrades were sending, pulled out their weapons as well and joined them in formation.

"Oh, man, we're gonna have ourselves a fight. I really appreciate fights, they really make good exercise and get the blood flowin'. I'm also real thankful for these guns, they make the fight way more easier-" One thankfulized Chalk Trooper began to say.

"For the love of chalk, will you shut the chalk up?!" Another Chalk Trooper shouted.


After hearing the right reason for joining in the fight, Toe Fu gave a light smile, feeling satisfied with the answer he was given.

"All you had to do was ask." Toe Fu said.

Just as Toe Fu finished his sentence, the door to the cell was busted down, with the four Chalk Troopers entering the room with their guns drawn and aimed straight for Rudy.

"Alright, there, the jig's up. We gotcha. You ain't goin' nowhere." The leading Chalk Trooper said.

Trying to defend himself against the Chalk Troopers, Rudy slowly reached for one of the chalk sticks upon his bandolier. While his method of reaching the chalk was slow and steady, meant to be undectected by the Chalk Troopers, the leader of the group took notice of his sly attempt, aiming his gun towards his hand.

"Don't even think about it." The Chalk Trooper said.

Knowing that he could not make any sort of means to fight back against the Chalk Troopers, Rudy slowly moved his hand away from the chalk, instead putting both hands in the air where they could be seen. Now being caught in the crosshairs of the Chalk Troopers, Rudy's stealth and mission seemed to be compromised, nearly rendering his mission a failure.

However, with Toe Fu successfully swayed onto his side, victory was but a few seconds away from being achieved. After setting his cup of tea down, Toe Fu leaped above Rudy's head, landing between him and the Chalk Troopers. Making the first attack that he had ever struck in several years' time, Toe Fu swiped his hand across the air, cutting through the Chalk Troopers' rifles and leaving their severed halves falling to the ground.

The Chalk Troopers, only expecting the folk hero to continue about his business relaxing within his cell and not causing any sort of ruckus, were all extremely flabbergasted to see Toe Fu disarm them so easily. The leading Chalk Trooper, however, was not so easily swayed by the simple but effective motion. Taking out his combat knife, the leading Chalk Trooper prepared to attack Toe Fu head-on in an attempt to encourage the others to the same.

"C'mon, what are you, cowards?! He's probably lost his edge, sittin' in that cell all day, he's probably never even on a fight! Let's get him!" The Chalk Trooper said.

Before the Chalk Trooper to move his knife anywhere near his target, Toe Fu delivered a solid punch straight to the Chalk Trooper's face, sending his head spinning around several times like a top. After several revolutions were spent by his head, the Chalk Trooper's head came to a stop, landing backwards and leaving his neck completely wringed out.

"Okay... I take it back... He's not soft... Maybe we should just let him do whatever he wants... Ow..." The Chalk Trooper said.

With the only Chalk Trooper brave enough to stand against Toe Fu falling down, his head still spun backwards, the remaining guards all quickly dispersed from the area, dropping their weapons and running in fear. One stray Chalk Trooper, however, was not completely overtaken by panic. Before moving to an area of safety, this Chalk Trooper pressed an alarm switch, sounding said alarm throughout the prison complex.

While Rudy Tabootie had now brought Toe Fu into the war against the Chalk King, the element of stealth that he once had on his mission was now completely gone with no chance for redemption. Already able to hear the hordes of Chalk Troopers rushing to the cell, Rudy instinctively held his chalk in hand, getting ready to fight back against the Chalk Troopers.

Before he could ready himself a weapon to fight with, however, Toe Fu lightly held his hand over Rudy's, disallowing him from taking such an action. Instead, Toe Fu decided to take action for himself this time around.

"Please, Rudy, allow me. While I may be a pacifist, I can never deny that a fight gives great exercise, and I have been out of practice for a while. If I am to help you get Penny back, I'd better be sure I'm in shape for it." Toe Fu said.

As the Chalk Troopers all approached into the hallway, each soldier held their guns up tight to their shoulders, all aiming their sights directly at the two occupants of the cell. Determined to let neither person out from the cell room, all kept their fingers tight to the triggers of their rifles, knowing very well what the consequences of failure would mean.

"FREEZE!" One Chalk Trooper shouted.

While Rudy could not think to do anything but stand still as ordered, Toe Fu had very different plans in mind. As the anthropomorphic toe rushed straight into the wall of soldiers, the Chalk Troopers all pulled tightly against the triggers of their rifles, letting out a barrage of bullets straight towards the advancing target.

Just as quickly as they fired their shots, the battle had ended just as quickly. Moving at speeds barely able to be comprehended by the human eye, Toe Fu successfully put down the entire group of Chalk Troopers, defeating a group of 25 in mere seconds.

Initially, Rudy had not been sure if staying still was the right approach to this situation. After seeing Toe Fu in action, however, Rudy could see that he had made the right choice after all, along with seeing the fast work of Toe Fu himself.

"Hmph. Not quite as fast as I used to be. Good thing I got some practice out of this." Toe Fu said.

As Toe Fu lamented over his lost speed over years of peaceful cooperation in his cell, a loud, blaring beep sounded over the loudspeakers, sending a command to the Chalk Troopers within the prison complex.

"Calling all Chalk Troopers. The prisoner known as Toe Fu has escaped. Subject is unarmed but extremely dangerous. Your orders are to converge in the 9th cell block and shoot to kill any unknown parties." The loudspeakers said.

"Crap. That means us. We gotta get out of here." Rudy said.

"I agree. While this handful was easy to dispatch, I doubt even I could stand such an onslaught of Chalk Troopers at once." Toe Fu said.

"We need to get to the roof. I've got an exit there waiting."

Moving quickly through the hallways, Rudy and Toe Fu sought the stairway back to the roof, seeking to avoid any further confrontation with the Chalk Troopers. While the two moved quickly and carefully to avoid encountering any more of the Chalk Troopers, many groups of them seemed to converge down every turn of the hallway, limiting their options of an exit.

After many double-backs and quick turns, Rudy and Toe Fu quickly found themselves stuck within another small cell, seeking a place where the Chalk Troopers would not find them. As they heard enemies approaching from the hallways, they took to walls as tightly as they could, ensuring that they would not be seen.

If only for the moment, this plan seemed to work, as no Chalk Troopers had yet spotted the two. Fortunately, while many of these Chalk Troopers in this prison were more intelligent than the vast majority of their group, this small degree of difference did not make a huge means of improvement on cognitive ability.

"Hey, uh, you seen those two escapees that were runnin' around here?" One Chalk Trooper asked.

"Uh, I think it was only one escapee, right? The other guy's supposed to be the one rescuin' him?" Another Chalk Trooper asked.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, but have you seen either of them?"

"Uh... Nope."

"Well, then, I guess we'd better keep lookin'. That Toe Fu guy's gonna be a real problem to keep down."

As the two Chalk Troopers departed from the area, continuing to search their way down the halls, Rudy and Toe Fu released their grip on the walls, relaxing themselves from their lucky escape. After quickly catching their breath, the two took notice of two skeletons laying on the floor opposite of them; their bodies having decomposed some long time ago.

Upon checking their uniforms, Rudy discovered that these skeletons once belonged to a law enforcement cell known as the Label Police; a militia bent on forcing Zoners to follow even the most negligible directional tags, such as the 'do not remove' tags on pillows or the 'this side up' on cardboard boxes.

"I knew these guys. They were part of the Label Police." Rudy said.

"Yes. This prison complex once belonged to the Label Police, but it fell into the hands of the Chalk King once the original Label Policemen disappeared." Toe Fu said.

"Evidently, they didn't disappear. But what happened? They just sat here died?"

"It seems so. Take a look above us."

Toe Fu pointed to a sign hanging above the doorway, reading 'no exit' upon it. While the doorway was wide open and exiting the cell was more than possible, the Label Policemen had decided to follow their principles to the bitter end, as evidenced here.

"It seems that someone had exploited the fanatical beliefs of the Label Policemen and had trapped them in this cell to die, knowing that they would never escape." Toe Fu said.

"Good god. What kind of cruel monster could be capable of something that? How would that thought even enter his head? It must've been one pretty sick bastard to let these people just sit and die." Rudy said.

"True, but this is not the time to contemplate such thoughts. We must think of a means of reaching the roof and taking your escape route."

"Right. Let me handle a few things on my end."

Rudy pulled out his two-way radio, contacting the other members of the rescue team above.

"Carol, this is Rudy, do you copy?" Rudy called.


Above the skyline of ChalkZone, resting against a car with two Reptar Bars in her mouth, Carol continues to await alongside Carlos and Snap for a signal from Rudy Tabootie, hoping that she would eventually see some action out of the rescue mission that they had embarked on. Not having received anything so much as a status update from Rudy, the three all lazily surrounded the radio, with the children chowing down on their Reptar Bars.

"Hey, is my tongue green yet?" Carol asked.

Carol opened her mouth and displayed her tongue to her brother, inquiring if the bar turned her tongue green as the bars had advertised to do. Despite her numerous consumption of the chocolate bars, however, no traces of any shade of green were on her tongue, leading Carlos to shake his head.

"I don't get it. I must've ate, like, ten of these things. They usually do it, did you just get a bad batch or something?" Carol asked.

"Well, ya know what they say, they just don't make 'em like they used to. Anyways, how's about you stop bein' so stingy an' hand me a candy bar?" Snap asked.

"Chocolate filled with icing. Would erase your mouth and digestive system." Carlos said.

"Oh, yeah, right, I forgot. Uh, never mind, then."

Finally, after several long minutes of waiting, a call finally came through on the radio, instantly snapping the group out of their state of boredom.

"Carol, this is Rudy, do you copy?" Rudy called.

Ready to answer the call and heed to whatever needs Rudy would request, Carol snatched up the radio, replying quickly and listening carefully for an answer.

"I'm here, Rudy, you ready to go?" Carol asked.

"Not just yet. I've got Toe Fu, but we've got a lot of Chalk Troopers looking for us. We're trying to get to you as fast as we can." Rudy said.

"Need help?" Carlos asked.

"No, Carlos, you all stay right there. I don't want any of you getting in unnecessary danger. Just stand by and wait for me to give you a signal, then you send that winch reeling us up."

"We got it. We're ready when you are." Carol said.

"Just say the word, and you'll be safe an' sound, bucko." Snap said.


Back within the prison complex, after Rudy placed his radio away, him and Toe Fu began to contemplate their options, thinking of a way out of the mess that the two were caught in. As he made the mistake of doing once again, Rudy remembered that he possessed not only the chalk, but also had his ability to draw once again.

"Of course, what was I thinking? I can just draw us something to get out of here." Rudy said.

"But what?" Toe Fu asked.

"Oh. Um..."

Upon thinking up what he could draw to get them out of the prison, Rudy looked to the outside wall to the prison, gaining an idea. Walking up to the wall, Rudy drew a door onto the wall, opening it upon its materialization.

After the door had appeared and gained the two a means outside, Rudy drew two pair of toilet plungers, ensuring to draw them industrial-strength. As soon as the plungers materialized, Rudy handed one pair to Toe Fu.

"I got it. We climb to the top." Rudy said.

"Very good thinking, Rudy Tabootie. I see your creativeness has not left you in your years of aging." Toe Fu said.

"Well, it kind of did, but I fixed that."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Long story. I'll tell you once we're out."

Heading to the outside of the now-open door, Rudy and Toe Fu began climbing up the side of the wall, using their toilet plungers to stick to the wall. As Rudy had his many years of survival building his body into a lean, muscular tone, and as Toe Fu was a master martial artist, both found the task extremely easy.

However, while their means of escape was an innovative one, it was not foolproof. As they continued to climb, several spotlights began moving across the walls, all seeking out the escaped prisoner and his rescuer. Having very little maneuverability with their method of transportation, trying to dodge the spotlights was a struggle; speed not being a commodity with this means.

As one spotlight came close to shining upon the two, the climbing escapees quickly jumped to the side, evading the spotlight. Upon doing so, however, one of Rudy's plungers came disconnected from the wall, beginning to send him falling to the ground, giving a scream as he fell. Toe Fu, seeing Rudy fall helplessly, quickly grabbed him by his leg, stopping his unintentional descent.

While the two had made some fine progress evading the patrolling Chalk Troopers previously, Rudy's slight but shrill scream as he fell revealed their position to those listening below. As the spotlight was shined directly onto them as they continued to hand on the wall, Rudy and Toe Fu knew that their transportation of wall-climbing would not work anymore.

Before the Chalk Troopers could fire on the two, Toe Fu threw Rudy through a window on the wall, sending him inside to safety. After throwing him back inside the prison, Toe Fu quickly followed, just barely evading the gunfire of the Chalk Troopers.

Now, Rudy and Toe Fu were back inside the prison, no longer in the line of gunfire of the Chalk Troopers outside. However, while the two were safe from any threats outside, they had now just placed themselves in the danger of facing the Chalk Troopers inside. Hearing the many fast footsteps of the Chalk Troopers heading their way, Rudy and Toe Fu knew that they had little time left to seek new shelter.

"Where to now?" Toe Fu asked.

After a quick scan of his surroundings, Rudy spotted a small room to his left, giving the pair a temporary shelter.

"This way!" Rudy said.

As the two immediately rushed inside the room, Rudy and Toe Fu were met with two more Chalk Troopers inside, both attending many monitors and other electronic equipment. While the vast majority of Chalk Troopers were on alert throughout the prison, these two appeared to be simple desk jockeys, inexperienced in fights.

"Knock, knock." Rudy said.

Quickly drawing a rifle like that of the Chalk Troopers', Rudy shot the two desk jockey Chalk Troopers before they could reach for their own rifles, eliminating the threat before they could attack.

"I didn't take you for lacking a stance against killing, Rudy Tabootie." Toe Fu said.

"I drew this with rubber bullets, they'll be down for a while, but they're not dead." Rudy said.

Looking upon the monitors in the control room, Rudy saw multiple Chalk Troopers converging on the room, with far more enemies than the two could possibly ever fend off, even with their combined resources. Now, after coming so far in their escape, it seems that the escape has come to an end.

Or not, as far as Rudy could help it.

Rushing straight to the control panel, Rudy quickly began searching through the various controls on the desk, searching for something that would fulfill his plan to escape. Toe Fu, not knowing his plan, inquired over his actions, not understanding what he was looking for.

"What are you doing?" Toe Fu asked.

"This place is one big prison filled with the strongest Zoners in ChalkZone, right?" Rudy asked.

"Yes?"

"Well, the Chalk King didn't erase them because he thought they could help him in his war in some way. I imagine that a lot of these Zoners the Chalk Troopers could deal with one at a time, but what about all at once?"

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Rudy Tabootie?"

After much frantic searching, Rudy could not find the sort of switch he was looking for. Just as the Chalk Troopers managed to meet outside the door to the control room, Rudy found a means of accomplishing his plan. Taking his chalk and drawing a button on the control panel, writing 'RELEASE ALL PRISONERS' right on it, Rudy readied his hand right above the button, waiting for it to materialize.

"Let's get this party started." Rudy said.

Just as the button materialized, Rudy pressed it as fast and as hard as he could, activating the new switch he had just created. With the switch being pressed, a loud alarm began to blare through the prison, firing off flashing red lights. Outside the doorway, the Chalk Troopers all stared up in confusion, not ever having seen this happen before.

"Thank you for pressing the 'release all prisoners' button. All prisoners of the Chalk King will now be released from their cells. All these prisoners are very angry with being held against their will and kept oppressed by the Chalk King and his Chalk Troopers for several years, so all of them are extremely agitated as they are extremely powerful. If you are a Chalk Trooper, do not attempt to flee, as you will be beaten up anyway and only waste everyone's time. Have a nice day." The loudspeaker said.

Just as the announcement finished, the cell doors in the hallway all unlocked, all simultaneously clicking their locks loudly. The Chalk Troopers, where they were once within only inches of achieving their mission, now found that they had fallen into the worst-case scenario that could occur. Using what few little seconds they had, the Chalk Troopers began to seriously rethink their life choices, trying to discern what went wrong.

"Oh, for chalk's sake." One Chalk Trooper said.