"Now now everyone! Please settle down!" Penny raised her hands up, motioning them quickly up and down. She looked around her, seeing the zoners glaring at her, some with eyes narrowed so far it looked terrifying. "Let's try to talk this out..."
"But we only want to..." One zoner called out.
"Yes, I know. You all want to help Rudy. I can understand that. I mean..." Penny motioned to herself. "I want to help Rudy. It's just..." She relaxed herself a little as emotions crawled up inside of her brain. It served as a horrible reminder of just how helpless she really was in this situation. "I and anyone trying to interfere with what's been done could get into a lot of trouble."
"We don't care!" Another zoner shouted. "We want to still try!"
Bath Tub Granny raised her back scrubber. "We owe him!"
Lars nodded his head in agreement. "Especially after he saved all of us from that disease not too long ago."
The zoners around nodded their heads in agreement, grumbling amongst each other, showing support.
Penny bit her lip at this. She had already known how determined the zoners were, but now she could see why Snap was so worried. They were sounding like they were willing to go the extra mile. She was surprised that they hadn't thought of joining forces with Skrawl if they were so desperate.
She tried not to let that thought get to her too much as she tried to formulate a plan. She needed to figure out a way to quell these zoners. She had already tried to talk them down, but that only seemed to make them more determined. Even the risk of getting hurt in the Real World didn't bother them. After she explained to them how they could be caught and experimented on, some of the zoners said that was just something they accepted if it meant helping Rudy.
But she wasn't yet done with them. There had to be at least one thing that she could think of that could quell this whole argument. Something that would convince the zoners to just leave it alone. Even if she herself were upset with the aid, she couldn't just change it even if she thought it was a little unfair.
There was little that would come to her mind, but she still struggled the best that she could. Surely there was something that could help her. Something like...
Her confidence in this did wane a little once she recalled what Snap had told her. He and Rapsheeba, as well as Blocky, had tried to speak to Biclops on the matter. But even the giant's words were not enough to deter the zoners, and given how many there were, even Biclops couldn't have stayed for long. At least he wasn't hurt, but still, it was terrifying to think that...
Her thoughts were interrupted when some of the zoners began to shout at her.
"Why don't you do something?"
"Aren't you supposed to be his friend?"
"Go free Rudy Tabootie!"
Penny could feel her heart racing quickly. She kept her hands up, trying to signal that she didn't want to fight. Snap moved in behind her and backed up with her slowly. Penny was glad that Rapsheeba and Blocky had gotten out of here while they could. But as for her and Snap, they could practically feel the burning beams from those zoners' eyes piercing right through them. If they stayed here any longer, they might be in trouble.
She and Snap did the only logical thing that they could do. And that was turn around and run off quickly. She didn't try looking behind her as she went. She just grabbed onto Snap's arm and the two of them proceeded to run off as quickly as they could.
She didn't really pay attention to where they were going. Neither did Snap. They just zigzagged everywhere, moving down streets, brushing passed zoners, jumping over whatever was in their way. None of them fully registered what happened until after they were already touching grass. Even then, they kept going until they reached a forested section, with plenty of bushes and thick trees to hide behind. It was only then that they dared to stop and turn around to see if anyone was following them.
"I...I think they didn't chase us..." Snap whispered softly.
"I think you're right, Snap." Penny said, panting as she looked all around them. There weren't any signs of a zoner coming after them. No sign that they were in any danger. Just the two of them together, tryign to catch their breaths. After swallowing for a moment, Penny turned to look at wherever they were. "What is this place...?"
Snap took a few steps forward, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "You know, something about this place feels familiar..." He pondered for a few moments before he raised his hand in an 'aha' moment. "I know! I think it's Mother Tongue's place!"
"What? Mother Tongue?" Penny blinked a few times. "I thought she..."
"Oh she tends to move around a lot." Snap said with a smile.
Penny folded her arms and gave the zoner a smirk. "You mean like yourself?"
Snap glared back at her. "Hey I don't move around as much as she does."
"Right..." Penny nodded her head. She then halted that train of thought as she moved in closer and took a closer look at the place. "Well if she wanted privacy, she certainly did a good job of it."
Snap moved out ahead. Before Penny could stop him, he was already pushing through the bushes. "Let's go see her!"
Penny reached out towards her friend. "Snap, I can't just... Snap!"
But at this rate, Snap was already pretty deep in. He either couldn't hear her or he was so excited that he decided to ignore her while focusing on what he wanted to do. Either way, it was annoying to Penny and she felt her teeth grit. Why couldn't he just listen to her? Why did he even want to see Mother Tongue so badly? All she could do was just make people speak gibberish and...
Yeah, she still remembered that day. She may have forgiven Rudy and Snap for taking her there. But she hadn't quite fully forgiven Mother Tongue. She never asked to be licked and the zoner didn't even try to stop her from running out before getting the 'exit lick'. Based on what Rudy had told her, it didn't even seem like the zoner was all that remorseful. And didn't Mother Tongue chase Snap for dragging her away like that?
So why did he want to see her? Had she gotten over that? Did he think that she could help? Was there another reason that she just wasn't thinking of?
She let out a sigh. Regardless, it was probably best to go after him and make sure that he was all right. Although he probably should be okay since Mother Tongue was not a violent zoner, just a selfish, vain one. But still, she felt that it would be best if...
Suddenly Penny could hear a scream. Was that Snap? Her heart skipped a beat as her body stiffened, her blood going cold. Her mind spun with questions. Did Mother Tongue do something to him? Penny didn't waste any time in rushing over as quickly as she could go.
Moving through the bushes was a difficult task at first. She could feel herself getting caught in it, her skin being scraped by it, a few low hanging branches hitting her in the face. She coughed and spluttered, spitting out any chalky leaves that got into her. She kept on going until she managed to get out into a clearing...
...and that's when she saw Snap laying on the ground. He didn't appear to be bleeding, but he looked slightly roughed up. Penny didn't waste any time and she rushed towards her fallen friend. She dropped down beside him and grabbed onto his shoulders, gently shaking him.
"Snap? Are you okay?" Penny called out to him. "Please, answer me!"
Snap let out a small groan as he lifted his head up and stared at Penny. His eyes opened and closed a few times before he released a small hiss of pain. He opened his mouth to try to speak, only to release another groan. Penny looked him over and realized that he was hit by something hard.
"Snap, I'll get you to the hospital." Penny wasn't sure if it was serious enough for that, but she knew that something needed to be done. She started to pull Snap up to his feet. "We need to..." She stopped when she felt something wet on Snap's back. She flinched and pulled her hand back, staring at it. "What is this...?"
There was something familiar about this wetness. Where had she seen this before?
Snap struggled to push himself up. "B-Banana split..."
Penny stared down at Snap in confusion. "What..?"
"Macaroni and cheese!" Snap's voice was tinged in horror, his white eyes large and wide. "Stop sign!"
Penny was confused for a total of two seconds before horror washed over her. She realized exactly what had happened. This was...
Sensing someone behind her, Penny immediately jumped out of the way. She whipped herself around and she came face to face with Mother Tongue herself. Penny growled deeply as she took a defensive stance.
"What do you think you're doing? Why are you doing this?" Penny called out. Mother Tongue didn't reply. "Why did you attack my friend? Answer me!"
Mother Tongue still refused to respond. She didn't exactly look proud of what she did, but it was difficult to weigh in exactly what she felt. Penny gritted her teeth and she was about to speak again. But it would seem that she got a response anyway, just not from a source that she had expected.
"Because I told her to."
Penny whirled her body around to see Skrawl standing a few feet away from her. Penny could immediately feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising up. "What do you want, Skrawl?!" That was a stupid question, she realized. "If you want Rudy..."
Skrawl tilted his head to the side, smirking at her. "It's actually you I want, genius girl."
Penny's eyes slowly widened.
sss
Coming into ChalkZone without any sort of plan and while not being able to see too well might not have been his best idea so far. Perhaps he should just turn back and try something else. Maybe at the very least get some glasses. Maybe Mrs. Sanchez had some that he could borrow. If he could even get there without being seen, which remained highly unlikely at this point in time..
But he was already knee-deep into ChalkZone anyway and he hadn't had too much trouble getting around. But that was largely due to the fact that he wasn't anywhere crowded yet. He hadn't even reached the city, althoug he could tell even with blurred vision that it wasn't too far away. At this point, maybe he should just keep on going.
...what did he come here to do anyway? Oh that was right. He wanted to speak with Snap. He hadn't been at the portal. Maybe he was in the city? He should get there relatively soon and...
Or perhaps it was best to just head back anyway. Yeah, that might be for the better. He did feel disappointed that he couldn't stay any longer. But at the same time, he couldn't stay in ChalkZone for too long, or else someone might see the portal and...
His heart immediately skipped a few beats as he recalled how he left it open. And on purpose at that. It wasn't like he had any malicious intent. But he remembered the times that he had left the portal open and it never lent itself to anything good. Like that time when Vinnie had managed to get into ChalkZone because of him. Rudy shuddered at the memory.
He gritted his teeth, wanting to slap himself in the face for doing something so stupid. He should have just closed the portal. He would have avoided all that trouble if he had just done that before he came in here. But now that he... Rudy shook the thought out of his head as he proceeded to head back, moving as quickly as he could.
At least the portal shouldn't be too far away. All he needed to do was just get back there and everything would be fine. A quick erasing and nobody would know what was going on.
He was glad that Ms. Sharence was speaking with his parents. This was the first time that he felt grateful that she was with them. This made it easier for him to get to the portal without worry of getting caught. He imagined that Ms. Sharence was talking with his parents on how things were going to be from this point forward. He imagined that there was a lot to talk about, so his parents would be very distracted. That gave plenty of time for him to get this taken care of before too much time ahd passed.
Ah, there was the portal right now. He could see it in the distance. At least the light was bright enough for him to notice it, even if it was just a little bit. He moved in a little faster, trying to get closer, his mouth open and panting. It shouldn't be long now before...
Wait, what was this? There seemed to be a shape moving near the portal. It wasn't too much, but enough that he knew something was up. The coloring partially blinded in to the surroundings, making it a little harder to tell that it was there. But he could still see it. He ended up slowing himself down a little bit as he got closer, his eyes staring intently at it. Just what was going on here? Why was this...
He froze when he got close enough, his eyes going wide. He didn't want to believe it. He shook his head slowly, a part of his mind screaming at him that it wasn't real and yet another part told him that it was, creating a cloud of confusion in his head. He gripped onto the sides of his head, pressing his fingers into his skin, trying to figure out just what was going on here. He took in a few shaky breaths, trying to make sense of this.
The figure was...human, definitely human. Or maybe just humanoid? Maybe he was just losing it? He couldn't really tell, and he couldn't relax enough to figure out for sure. He licked his lips slowly as he forced himself to continue forward. He didn't even bother trying to hide. There was nowhere too hide; he was out in the open anyway. If he tried to use his magic chalk, this person, or whoever they were, they would see him...
Rudy growled heavily, feeling his body tense up. He could feel his heart going many miles an hour as he went to confront this person. He didn't have a choice at this point, now did he?
Rudy eventually got close enough that he was able to make out at least some of the person's features. His heart immediately clenched tightly when he saw the blonde hair. There was only one person as of late that he knew, who had been nearby, who had blonde hair, and was tall and thin.
Ms. Sharence.
Indeed, as soon as he made that realization, the vision started to become a little clearer. The woman was just standing there, having fit through the portal pretty easily with that scrawny body of hers. She was staring off at him. There was some sort of nervous aura around her, as though it took her fighting against her instincts to do this. With how she was positioned, it was clear that she had just started to run, only to stop when she noticed him.
This...was a rather awkward moment. As Rudy stopped close to her and just stared, breathing heavily, and she looked back, neither of them spoke for several long minutes. No words, just tension between the two of them. Rudy looking at her with disbelieving, horrified eyes. And Ms. Sharence looking rather shaky, as though she was not sure how to process all of this.
Rudy could feel his own body shaking as well. He could feel his stomach lurching inside of him, driving him insane, making him want to throw up. He could feel sweat moving down his face, forcing him to wipe it off again and again. He struggled to control his breathing. He was not sure how long he could keep this up for.
Finally, after several grueling minutes of silence, it was finally shattered. Ms. Sharence, folding her arms against her chest, finally said something.
"What is going on here, Rudy...?"
Just the way that she spoke made Rudy freeze up. He wasn't really sure what to say. What could he say to this? His mind spun to try to find some answers, but nothing would come to mind. He could only just look towards the ground, feeling his vision blurring even more. The reality of the situation started to weigh upon him and he couldn't stop trembling. This...This couldn't be happening, right...?
But the more that he stared out ahead, the more that he realized that this was real. When this thought crossed his mind, he felt a sharp jolt in his chest and he gripped at it tightly. He stepped back a little as he tried to keep himself balanced. He could feel his heart struggling to jump out. He felt a bit of tears forming in his eyes as thoughts zipped across, reminding him, showing him, the consequences of his actions.
Oh how could he have been stupid?
"I'm waiting for an explaination." Ms. Sharence spoke again. She took a few steps forward. She was looking at Rudy only, ignoring the other things going on around them. "I will not say anything more until you speak. What is going on here?"
Rudy bit his lip. He knew that he couldn't remain silent for long. The woman had already seen this place, already saw just how bizarre and strange this world was. There was literally nothing that he could do to make her unsee it. There was no way that he could lie and say it was some sort of elaborate set. She is not going to buy that.
Rudy slowly hung his head as he felt a wave of shame overcoming him. The only option that he had now was to just speak the truth. It didn't matter how much he didn't want to tell her. That was all that he could do right now. He pressed his teeth against his lip more firmly now. By the time he looked back up at the woman, he nearly cut himself.
"P-Please, you can't tell my parents about this..." He started to choke out.
Ms. Sharence cut the boy off. "Is this where you go everyday? Is this your hiding spot?"
Rudy stammered, "Please don't..."
"Answer me!" Ms. Sharence spoke up, her voice even more demanding.
"I-I-I..." Rudy licked his lips slowly and swallowed hard. He could feel his heart skipping several beats. He lowered his head and took a small step back. "Y-Yes...?" He cringed as he waited to hear what her response was going to be.
"You...come here... without your parents knowing...?" Ms. Sharence asked, obviously trying to force herself to sound calm. She stared at Rudy intently as she waited for an answer. Upon seeing Rudy nodding his head slowly, her teeth became gritted. "I just don't believe it... What in the world made you think that this was a good idea?" She sounded a bit quiet, too quiet compared to what Rudy had expected. "You decided that it's a jolly good idea to come out here, in some strange world, for hours on end, without your parents knowing?" She stared at Rudy intently. "Is that what you're telling me?"
Rudy realized immediately where this was going to go. He had to think fast if he wanted to avoid her getting the wrong idea. He immediately waved his hands out in front of him, desperately shouting, "It's not what it looks like!" He took a moment to look around, struggling to think of what else to say. "I'm just... This is just..."
Ms. Sharence narrowed her eyes deeply. "This is just..." She tilted her head to one side. "What..?" When Rudy didn't answer, she motioned towards him. "Answer me. You've got the floor."
Rudy tried to think of what he could say. But to his horror, nothing would come to mind. All he could do was just stand there as the woman watched him intently. There was no room to run or hide. All he could do was just stare at the blurry ground as his mind zipped about for some sort of answer. But the question that kept coming back to him was...
Would he find a good enough answer that this woman would accept...?
