Cryptic Infiltration

by Racingwolf

A series of strange events occurring throughout ChalkZone prompt Rudy and his friends to investigate, but this soon leads them into the middle of something much bigger, and much more sinister, than they'd ever imagined.

6. In the Dark

Cryptic Infiltration

Chapter Six – In the Dark

The following day, all Rudy could think about during his time at school was finding the Zoner called Shift and discovering just what his link to the Real World was, if he did have one at all. Rudy still wasn't sure what to think about such a prospect, but he could only hope that the strange new villain was bluffing. He hoped that he and Penny would have enough time to search ChalkZone for answers, but it was only Wednesday, and they wouldn't have an opportunity to sneak away unnoticed for a long while until the weekend. Though Penny had managed to convince him that it did seem unlikely that Bob Newland, or another creator, would have the chalk and simply decide not to show anyone in the Real World, he knew he wouldn't be able to relax until he found out for sure.

The problem he faced, however, was that he had no idea where to look, and no real clue where the dragonflies had come from either. During the first recess, Penny had suggested looking up information in a ChalkZone library about the dragonflies. She had thought that it might give them a clue as to where Shift could be, as it made sense that he would use creatures that lived near wherever his hideout would be. The two of them had headed to the newly built ChalkZone City library, only to find that it had not yet acquired many books after the original library had been destroyed in Newland's termite attack. They planned to meet up right after school again and search another town or city's library, and maybe ask some Zoners they thought might be able to give them a lead. Rudy only hoped that this wasn't a new species with no information on them yet, but if it wasn't, he didn't think they would have trouble narrowing the search down. At least he was confident that they still had a little while to figure out what to do, knowing that Shift wouldn't do anything drastic to harm the city if he wanted its supplies. He had no idea if any of this was connected to what had happened at Canyon Park, the Chalk Mine, or the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle, or to the strange remnants of the lab they found, but the odd events, especially after things had been peaceful for the most part the past few weeks, greatly confused him.

During the lunch recess, he quickly met up with Penny to discuss it with her in secret. Knowing they wouldn't have much time to search for anything in a library, they simply found a secluded spot in ChalkZone where they could plan out what they would do when they returned home that afternoon.

"I'm not convinced he's telling the truth," Penny muttered as she sat beneath a tree that appeared to be sprouting jelly cubes from its branches. "How could he have access to the Real World without anyone else noticing? Someone would be able to tell if there was a portal open somewhere."

"Not unless he was making sure no other Zoners wandered out of it," Rudy sighed. "If it was in a secluded place, people in the Real World might not notice it either."

"But it just doesn't make sense," Penny replied with a shake of her head. "How would it have gotten there in the first place?"

"I don't know," Rudy sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned his head forward. He waited a moment before opening them. "The other option is…there's a creator working with him."

"Rudy…" Penny began, sensing his growing worry. "I think…I think if that were the case, we'd know by now, one way or another. It didn't sound like Shift had just found this…whatever it was he'd found; it seemed like he'd already taken the time to utilize it. I don't know of anyone after the chalk who would wait long to do something with it. And you did say that the piece you left in the backpack that Sophie took the zoo was returned with it; if anyone had found it knowing what it was, they would have taken it. And if they'd managed to draw a portal, they wouldn't have simply returned it to the backpack and forgotten about it."

"Yeah, you're right," Rudy responded, feeling a bit relieved already. He was glad that Penny could think things out so logically, when his own judgment was clouded. "So I guess the most likely possibility is that Sophie could have drawn a portal somewhere, or…or Newland and the others did somewhere when they had it, but forgot about, or, Shift was just making all this up."

"That sounds about right," Penny stated with a nod, though there was still worry in her voice. They both began to think of another factor, and wondered what sort of damage Shift could wreak on ChalkZone with access to the Real World if he had it.

"Maybe we could ask the Zoners if they know anything about a portal?" Rudy asked, glancing in the direction ChalkZone City lay. "I think we've got enough time before the end of lunch."

"It seems doubtful that the ones from ChalkZone City would," Penny replied with another shake of her head. "They all seemed just as clueless as we were, and if someone did know, they would have alerted the police…"

"You're right about that too," Rudy answered with a sigh. "We'd have to ask the Zoners in nearby towns."

"That would make the most sense," Penny began, though the thought of how far they might have to search was intimidating, especially if Shift had made efforts to conceal the portal. "Or…or maybe we could ask them if they've seen anything that looked strange…anything that could be from the Real World? Even just an item?"

Rudy was a bit surprised that he hadn't thought of that earlier. "That's a good idea," he mused, "I just hope Shift wasn't too concerned about leaving things lying around."

"It might not have even been him using this portal," Penny said thoughtfully. "It could have been one of his underlings." She looked at Rudy and shrugged. "It's worth a try."

"You're right," Rudy agreed, feeling more hopeful. Finding out about the dragonflies didn't seem a hard task, and if luck was on their side, finding Shift wouldn't be either. The mysterious portal, however, was something that nagged at him a bit more, if only because of the uncertainty surrounding the subject and any potential solution. He tried not to think too much on what Shift could do with anything from the Real World, as there wasn't much they could do without enough information, though he hoped that would change soon. "Well, let's meet up right after school and see what we can find out," Rudy suggested, knowing that there wasn't enough time left in the lunch period for them to go off on a search. "Snap will be at Rapsheeba's concert, so we can head to one of the towns or ask the ChalkZone City police if they've found anything, and then meet up with him after that." The previous recess, Snap had informed them about the concert, which was taking place soon before the school let out. Rudy knew that it probably wouldn't be finished by the time they'd get home, so they had agreed that he and Penny would begin their search and then meet with Snap later.

"Good idea," said Penny, standing up and glancing toward the portal they'd made in the chalkboard of an empty classroom, which was hovering not far from where they were resting. She mentioned to Rudy that it would be a good idea to head back a bit early, just to make sure they had enough time to get back to class without looking suspicious, and then began to climb up through the opening. "With any luck we'll get to the bottom of this."

"Yeah," Rudy agreed as he followed her, thinking back to the numerous strange events that had occurred during the past week. "All of this."

ooo

Snap set a rubber glove on the edge of the sink after pulling out the plug. He watched with contentment as the murky water began to drain down the hole in the bottom of the basin. The water had lost its bubbly consistency after the pile of dishes he had stacked to his left had been reduced to nothing but a single glass, which he managed to successfully clean with the one hand that was currently usable. The other arm, hanging from the sling around his neck, was comfortably resting against his front. He was careful not to hurt it when tasks required him to move it or adjust its position, and found that keeping it against his middle was fairly sensible.

"Too bad Blocky had to take Musty to the vet," he sighed, grabbing a handtowel from beside his sink and drying his hand with it. He glanced to the drying rack, which was crowded with the set of dishes he planned to deposit into their rightful places. "He coulda helped me with these things." He mentally shrugged, figuring that it did not matter if it took a little longer than he would have liked. He smirked to himself at the fact. "Ah, I have plenty of time."

After finishing his job with the dishes, he glanced at the kitchen bench and swiped one of the sponges from the side of the sink. He had washed it in the dishwater sometime during the washing process and he was happy to see it clean; there was nothing more disgusting than trying to clean grime off a counter with more grime. When that was complete, he chuckled to himself and nodded a single time; he was happy with it.

He glanced to the clock on the wall behind him, taking note of the directions the hands were pointing in, and used his crutch to help him reach his front door. Reaffirming that he had everything he needed – a few notes in one pocket and coins that jingled in the other – he smiled and reached into a fold in the sling near his shoulder which was perfect for keeping small trinkets. He withdrew a key and exited his house, locking it after he closed the door.

Whirling around to the bright sky shining down on him and the pleasant atmosphere the Wait N' Sea beach usually held, Snap gave a small smile. "Now this is the place to be. Well, unless, like moi, you got a concert to go to."

He tried not to focus on the fact that there had been rather worrisome threat to ChalkZone City – the villain who called himself Shift – as he told himself that as things were currently peaceful and there wasn't much anyone could do until Rudy found a solution, it was not worth thinking about for the moment. Rudy and Penny were coming into ChalkZone after their school day finished, and they would meet up with him after the concert and discuss anything they'd found. Snap was sure they would find something—they were always able to come up with a solution to problems that threatened his home, and although most of the time his assistance was a highly valued asset, he was sure that if they required his help, they would ask for it when he joined them later that afternoon. But for now, he had plans.

Snap took a breath and moved off toward the small shop he had planned to visit before the concert. His initial intentions to get Rapsheeba a present had run along the lines of something large to symbolize his generosity, but that had fallen away once he considered reality a factor; something so large would be too heavy for him to carry, and unethical to bring to a concert venue. Even if he could have arrived with it somehow, he would have to wait for the concert to finish to give it to her, and carry it around with him in the meantime. Another option would be to leave it by the door, but he did not trust other Zoners to simply walk by it without trying to snatch it.

"Looks like I'll be gettin' 'er a card," he mused to himself, hoping that that it would be enough. "Maybe some'm else, too, but I guess I'll have to wait to find out what they sell at that place."

The journey to the store was a little more arduous than he had imagined, and although it didn't injure him, it left him feeling a little worn out. On the way, his mind turned with the possibilities that were seeping into his mind despite his efforts to focus on less worrying subjects. Shift, the Zoner who had claimed to have access to a portal into the Real World, could have been anyone around him. There was nothing to suggest that another customer at the shop Snap was about to go was not Shift, or even the shopkeeper themselves. He could not know, but he also felt as if he was being fooled this whole time; perhaps he was even being manipulated by somebody he knew.

"Aw, come on, Snap," he murmured to himself with a minor spark of disapproval, "you can't think about that now!" His protest led him back to the present, where he travelled slowly up the road that he knew would lead him to his destination. He eyed the cars rolling by, almost a little envious of them, but reminded himself that, even while injured, he still needed to get plenty of exercise. The doctor he had seen for his leg had even advised that he get exercise, even if it was something that he would have thought to keep away from given his leg's condition.

Snap felt feelings of elation stir in him as he placed his thoughts to the concert. He was always inspired by Rapsheeba's singing. It placed a special sense of hope into his mind and made him feel as if he could do anything from discovering Shift's secrets to healing the broken bones in his body and the wounds on his skin. There was little he could do about them but wait; time was the best healer, as well as other practical things such as medicine, but music was how he healed mentally.

He had been partially scarred by the events that had occurred when Newland had reign over the city, and other nearby parts of ChalkZone. The artist's attack on him a short time before he was forced to make his sacrifice in the Chalk Mine was most haunting, an event which filled him with horror even in memory. He had been intentionally targeted and tortured before his friends, and he feared to wonder what could have happened had Rudy not relinquished his chalk. Despite that, he regretted nothing; his actions had ultimately saved him, his friends, and the whole of ChalkZone.

He bound his eyes as he thought back to that moment, realizing with a speck of surprise that he was clenching his jaws. He released them and slowly allowed his eyelids to unseal with a breath, shaking his head to rid it of the memories crowding his mind. "Glad that's over..." he muttered, focusing his thoughts on the fact that soon enough he would be at the concert. His first stop was the shop, of course, but that did not stop him from being excited about the event afterwards. He only hoped that Rapsheeba would like his card; last time he had felt the need to get her a card, it had been an infuriating little Zoner whose greetings were less than welcome. He would certainly not make that mistake again.

When he finally reached the store, he hobbled his way through the entrance and glanced around. He had come in through the back way, which he was chastised for when a shop worker, a tiny mouse with long whiskers and a nose glowing with a yellow sheen, caught sight of him, but Snap only told him that he had no knowledge that he had entered through the wrong way.

The store was a small one, but he did not doubt that it sold what he wanted. Down the five aisles it had were assorted food items suited to a number of different Zoners, ranging from packeted mulch for the plant-like Zoners to nuts and bolts for certain mechanical citizens. After walking the width of the store, glancing down each aisle as he did so, Snap sighed and thought to himself about the present he wanted to get Rapsheeba. He had more than enough money to get her something on top of a card, but as he considered his options again, he decided it would have to be something little. Chocolates sounded good, so he turned to the shopkeeper, who was cleaning a telescope with what looked to be a large drop of water in the end – how it did not burst Snap did not know – after limping to the counter. He was a tall moose-like animal whose antlers were shaped like clouds, and a worn tan apron was draped over his front. Snap removed his right leg from the ground and rested against his crutch, clearing his throat.

The shopkeeper took a moment to look at him, and when he did, it was first through the telescope. Snap stood there as the moose grew a funny-looking smile and then brought down the telescope. His low, round voice sounded somewhat dopey, but friendly nonetheless. "Are you looking for medical supplies, by any chance?"

"No," Snap began, about to speak again when he was cut off.

"Darn!" the moose shouted, swiping his arm across the air and somehow clicking his hooves in playful defeat.

"What, this a guessing show or something?" Snap wondered, glancing over his shoulder to survey the store as a joke.

The moose chuckled. "No, my store isn't that famous." He set the telescope down and laid his arms on the bench, hunching his shoulder as he bent over and leaned on his arms. "So, what can I get for you?" Before Snap could answer, the moose straightened up and gestured to the mouse Snap had seen earlier. "He's got quick little feet and his whiskers seek out stuff he's looking for like...little radars or something. Ask him to get you something." The rodent worker, the tip of his ears not reaching far past Snap's ankle, shot his boss an aggravated look but said nothing as he wiped a mark off the lower part of the bench beside Snap.

"Uhh...yeah, that'd be great." He turned to the mouse. "Get me a card. Somethin' nice. Something a little fancy." As the mouse moved off and Snap continued to think, he spoke out again. "Oh, and nothin' too fancy. Just somethin'...I dunno...a little elegant?" As the worker sighed and began to move again, Snap made another noise, remembering something else. The mouse watched him with an irritated glare. "Maybe some chocolates too?"

"Yeah...sure," the small rodent grunted somewhat grudgingly and walked off toward the fourth aisle. He scuttled along the ground, his whiskers pointing the way to the items he was seeking.

Snap watched him go, turning back to the shopkeeper. "That's a pretty nifty trick!"

"Oh, trust me, it comes in handy every time I lose something," the moose chuckled, leaning back down on the counter using his left arm. He brushed the knuckles of his right hoof on his apron and then pulled it away to scan it, rotating it around. He then looked back to Snap and raised his eyebrows, although his eyelids remained halfway down his eyes, and gave a contented smile. "So...what's your gifts for?" He raised an eyebrow. "Special occasion?"

"Yeah," Snap responded happily, his mind throwing itself back to the concert. "I got this concert I'm goin' to, and—"

"Ohh, Queen Rapsheeba, right?" the moose questioned, a smug smile creeping onto his face as he angled the wrist of the arm he was leaning on to awkwardly point. "What a voice! I gotta say, my favourite singer, hands down." He glanced to his arms and then back to Snap, chuckling, "Or hooves, if you got 'em."

"You got that right," Snap agreed with a nod.

The soft patter of the mouse's tiny feet on the floorboards caught Snap's attention, and as he laid his eyes on the small animal, he brightened. "Here's your stuff," the shop worker grunted, scattering them at Snap's feet. Snap glared at the mouse as he scurried away, annoyed that he had to bend over to collect them. When he did, making sure to lift his right leg and lean against the counter with his left shoulder to reach down with the same arm, he collected the small bag of chocolates and the card, which looked appropriate, and unloaded them on the counter.

As the moose scanned the items, a vague thought popped into Snap's head. "Hey, Moosey... Do you have the time?"

The moose did not make eye contact as he reached down and gathered a small clock, setting it on the bench. "That'll be four-fifty."

Snap acknowledged the price and watched the clock's eyes pop up. Blue light glowed from them as a voice from the clock said, "The time is: three...seventeen."

"What?" Snap blurted, a flinch scaling his body. He cringed and then blinked several times. "No, that's gotta be wrong."

"Is something the matter?" questioned the shopkeeper.

"Yeah, something's the matter! I'm gonna be late! The concert starts at three-thirty, and I still got a bus to take." He snatched the bag of chocolates and the card from the counter and then paused, as if he had remembered something. Suddenly he set the items back down and requested a bag, which the shopkeeper agreed to.

"You want me to help you attach it to your crutch?" he asked, and Snap, his mind rushing with thoughts, was a little unsure of what to say at first, but nodded dismissively.

"Yeah, whatever; just do it fast."

The moose rounded the corner with a bag in hand and scooped the items into the bag, threading the handles through the crutch between the armpit pad and the part Snap's hand gripped, and then fit the whole bag through the handles. It tightened around the metal of the crutch, sure not to go anywhere unless the bag itself was to fall apart. While the moose did this, Snap reached into his pocket while leaning on the crutch and pulled out a note accompanied by a collection of coins, not paying attention to the sum it added up to.

As soon as the shopkeeper pulled away, Snap promptly thanked him and whirled around, hobbling off toward the door. As the moose watched him go, he gave a small sigh, hoping the Zoner would enjoy himself at the concert even if he arrived a little late. He removed his hand from his hip as the customer departed the store and, upon noting the money, used both hands to count the coins. He frowned a little as he went over the money a few times; it soon became apparent that the Zoner had given him three dollars extra by mistake. He ensured that his calculation had been accurate and went through it again, glancing to the exit as he did so.

Just as he was about to pursue the overpaying patron, two of the coins slipped from his hooves and clattered against the floor, causing him to scowl and bend over to collect them again. Once he did, he rushed to the door, turning around to quickly shout to his rodent worker and notify him that he needed to watch the shop for a minute.

When the mouse called back in reluctant agreement, the moose exited the store and saw the blue and white Zoner disappearing down an alleyway that led to another street not too far away. He heaved a sigh and began on his way, having to stop for a moment as a group of Zoners suddenly burst out from one of the shops before him. He excused himself as he worked his way between them, scowling as he was held up by two large Zoners who took their time to clear the way. He finally emerged and, with a growl directed to those behind him, jogged toward the alleyway.

He realized he was in a bit of an unnecessary hurry, considering the customer obviously wouldn't have been able to travel far in such a short amount of time, but he was eager to get back to the shop even if he was sure his coworker would be able to handle everything in his absence. He entered the alleyway he'd seen the blue boy head into, pausing for a moment as he realized it branched off in a few directions between several shops, and picking up his pace so that he could check down every path in search of the customer.

He quickly peered into the nearest two side paths before realizing that the boy was likely to head to the one leading to the main street if he wanted to catch a bus to get to the concert he had mentioned. That would mean that he would have followed the main path of the alleyway, which led toward a building and then turned to run alongside its front, veering toward the nearest street.

As he was going over the situation in his mind and thinking about the Zoner whose money he was seeking to return, it suddenly struck him that he had recognized the customer. He was unsure how it had slipped his mind before, but now it was clear: he had seen him on the news a few weeks prior alongside his friends, one of them the Great Creator, Rudy Tabootie. His name was Snap, if he recalled correctly, one of Tabootie's creations. He felt as if he ought to have known more about the incident the news had been portraying, as Rudy and his friends had done something very important to save ChalkZone, but he was fairly newly drawn, and he had been too preoccupied with the city's repairs and starting up his own shop to pay much attention to the details of the story. He made a small grunt of acknowledgement to himself and continued to focus on his task.

Picking up his pace, he headed toward the turn in the path, but as he neared it, the sounds of some sort of struggle up ahead stopped him in his tracks. The voice behind the shouts coming from around the corner was instantly recognizable; it belonged to the customer he was trying to find. He did not sound in pain, merely frightened, and it became apparent that whatever was happening was happening against his will. Immediately alarmed, as it was clear that the blue and white Zoner was in danger, the moose wanted nothing more than to run to his aid, but something, some strange warning feeling he couldn't quite place that went beyond mere apprehension and fear at the situation itself, made him pause. Everything in his mind was telling him to turn and flee, that whatever was around the turn in the alleyway was something he should avoid at all costs, something worse than a random Zoner committing some petty crime.

However, he ignored that feeling, knowing that the Zoner who had come to his shop was in some sort of terrible danger. Rounding the corner, he realized at once that in his brief moment of hesitation, he had waited too long. A group of strange Zoners, each of them a robot, but all with widely varying features, were standing in a group at one end of the alleyway near a strange looking vehicle sitting on the street near it. The car, coated with darkly-toned layered metal and consisting of a generally robotic appearance, didn't look out of place compared to some of the other vehicles in ChalkZone City, but there was something foreboding about it, and it was blocking the entrance to the alley while the vehicle's owners faced it, their backs to the shopkeeper.

For a moment, one of the robots, a somewhat small gray one that looked like it had been built out of pieces of scrap, turned its single red eye on the shopkeeper, who nearly stopped in surprise. To his confusion, the robot did nothing; it didn't even alert the others, the largest of whom was holding the injured customer.

Hardly believing what he was doing, the moose raised a hoof and shouted, "Stop!"

This time, all of the robots turned around. As the largest one did, his captive swung with him and was suddenly in view of the moose, looking at him with widened eyes. He was evidently frightened as he dangled, clearly stripped of any sort of control. Whimpers escaped his mouth as his terrified stare bored into the moose's eyes, nearly startling him with the magnitude of fear it was so quick to convey. The shopkeeper could see the desperation in Snap's eyes, and he felt the intense drive to do something, to somehow end this Zoner's suffering, but his resolve dissipated into nothing but an impossible desire.

As the blue and white Zoner paused in his struggles, the robot next to the one holding him forced both of Snap's arms behind his back and slapped handcuffs around his wrists, inviting a cry of shock and pain to shoot from his throat. He continued to shout, the injuries the moose was aware the blue boy had sustained clearly being agitated in the process, while two of the other robots wasted no time in rushing in front of their group to confront the moose. Their assortment of weapons, ranging from firearms to sharp implements, was enough to convince the store clerk to stay where he was and keep his distance.

However, the moose's gaze was quickly averted as the largest robot held his victim still for another, who, from behind, slammed his large arm into the back of the small blue Zoner's head. He gave a small grunt before he slumped, unconscious, in his captor's grip. The shopkeeper emitted an impulsive call of protest at the sight, worry clouding his mind. His eyes widened as Snap fell limp, understanding that he would have collapsed onto the pavement if he was not being dangled above it. Immediately after that, the robots dragged him into the open vehicle door and onto a seat. The moose felt his panic heighten as he witnessed the situation take place, the two robotic Zoners before him suddenly losing all interest in him and moving off toward the vehicle. The shopkeeper did not dare to move or speak as the two bearing the weapons pointed at him loaded themselves into the vehicle after the others. The car revved to life and sped off into the street.

Distressed, the moose took off after it, banishing his fears about what terrible things the robots could do, even from inside the car. Upon reaching the road, he watched the vehicle veer off down another street, which the shopkeeper knew led straight to one of the unrepaired parts of the city. He had seen those areas up close before; the degree of the buildings' decay amplified the further in it ventured, some of them reduced nearly to rubble. Other parts had damaged roads and smoke billowing from wrecked, abandoned factories while debris and useless remains spilled from devastated warehouses. It greatly unnerved him, knowing that there were innumerable places to hide in that area, and it was possible that wasn't even their destination at all; the place would allow the car to exit the city without being caught, as not many Zoners inhabited it, or any of the unrepaired parts of the city for that matter. He shouted to what Zoners he could see roaming the streets about the car, and although some cast alarmed looks in its direction, any who could have done anything took too long to respond. Some were confused about his words and others simply ignored him; whatever the reason, nobody was able to do anything.

He cursed under his breath as he watched the vehicle simply drive off, completely out of his power to reach it. He clenched his hooves and felt the hairs on his body stand on end; he had just witnessed a kidnapping, which was certainly not something one saw every day. On top of that, he had likely been lucky to escape with his life. Those robot Zoners…they had been ruthless and threatening, and yet unconcerned with what they must have deemed lower life forms, or something not of strict priority, such as him.

Hardly able to believe what had just occurred and still trying to process the situation in his head, the shopkeeper quickly glanced behind him at the alley he had emerged from. He gave a deeper, more inquisitive frown as he noticed Snap's crutch on the ground along with the items he had bought from the shop. The chocolates had been drawn from the bag and were strewn about the place. He quickly picked the crutch up and held it in his hooves for a moment as if in contemplation, wondering if it would somehow help the police or their tracking dogs find him. He knew that the sooner he acted, the better, for Snap's sake and to build a case against whoever had done this to him. Biting his lip with nervousness, he tried in vain to shake the awful feeling from his head, then hurried off with the intention to alert the police.

ooo

Rudy lowered himself down from the portal he'd drawn in Penny's chalkboard. Penny quickly followed him, and he beckoned to her to follow him as he thought about what they'd discussed that day at school. It was three-twenty five; Rudy had gone into ChalkZone as soon as he'd arrived home. It was clear to him that, at the moment, the best course of action was to ask anyone in the city if they had found out anything else about Shift or his plans. He figured that there had to be a way that someone had noticed something they'd missed; if Shift had interfered with the TV channels in the city, someone might have noticed something odd prior to that happening. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he glanced toward the city and the beach, where he could see Snap's towering house even at a distance, and wished his friend could have come along with him. However, he knew that Snap was going to see a concert, and Rudy had to admit that he was glad the Zoner would have a chance to enjoy himself, in spite of all that was going on. He imagined that the attack on the city by the dragonflies had been harder for Snap than for him and Penny.

The two children made it to the city quickly, and stood on the edge of a sidewalk bordering a street close to the beach, a little uncertain about where to begin. "Well, we've already checked the police station," Rudy stated, looking to Penny in the hope of guidance. They had already learned of all the evidence the police had to offer, and Rudy focused on trying to think of another place where more answers seemed likely.

"Maybe we should head there anyway," Penny suggested and when Rudy threw a confused look in her direction, she added, "they might have discovered something new in the time we've been at school."

Figuring that was reasonable, Rudy nodded and they hurried toward the area where the police station rested. Luckily it was fairly close, and the buildings damaged during the dragonfly attack had begun to be repaired. However, the place still had a somewhat haunted look, with only a few fearful Zoners out and about. They looked paranoid and frightened, and it was only too clear that what Shift had done had had an effect on the inhabitants of the city.

As they neared the large gray building that was the police station, Rudy's gaze wandered toward a nearby shop with a large television screen on its front. At first Rudy was just surprised that it was still turned on, either it had been undamaged by the fire or quickly replaced, but then he noticed that there was something odd about it. It seemed to be flickering back and forth between different channels, and as they got closer and the noise from it reached them, it sounded distorted and unintelligible. He wondered if it had been damaged after all, and a few moments later, the owner of the shop, a small pig with a baseball cap, peered out of his open shop door and banged his fist against the side of the television in frustration, but the strange flickering between random scenes neither improved nor worsened. Under normal circumstances, Rudy would have offered to help fix it, but their limited time and wide search area made him realize that he had to focus his attention on finding out more about Shift; more minor problems would have to wait. He made a note to himself to draw the Zoner a new television screen for his shop later as he carried on.

However, not far from the pig's shop, there was another building with a television screen, or rather, several. Behind one window, there were rows of small television sets in one of the only other shops left open on that block. Each of them, Rudy noticed with utter confusion, was doing the same odd flickering between channels.

He was about to point it out to Penny, when something else caught his attention. They were only a couple buildings away from the police station, when the doors suddenly burst open. To both his and Penny's shock, Cerberus leapt over the small set of stairs leading to the sidewalk and landed on all four paws at the edge of the street, all three sets of his eyes narrowed in concentration. He didn't even pause to look at the children, though Rudy knew that he had to have known they were there. Whatever he was focused on must have been a serious matter, and it made Rudy worry a moment before he reminded himself that Cerberus was probably just overenthusiastic. Perhaps he was simply beginning some sort of routine patrol of the city.

Penny appeared fairly calm, as if she were thinking the same thing, but as Cerberus turned two of his heads urgently toward the police station doors, his third one still focused intently on the road ahead, and let out a whine of fear, she began to look uneasy. "Cerberus didn't act like that when we were in the jungle…" she whispered, and Rudy cast her an uneasy look.

A moment later one of the police officers, a short round human-like Zoner, rushed out of the building, followed by someone who was clearly just an ordinary civilian. It was a moose that stood upright on two legs and had oddly shaped antlers. He was carrying something in his hooves, but Rudy and Penny couldn't see what it was from their position. Knowing by the serious looks on their faces that this wasn't something they could ignore, the two children hurriedly ran up to them.

"What's going on?" Rudy gasped as the uniformed officer gave a command to Cerberus, who lowered his body down so that he could climb onto his back. The moose followed, although hesitantly.

"Not now, kid," the officer replied curtly, before taking another glance and realizing who he was talking to, his eyes landing on the magic chalk. "Er….on second thought, maybe you oughtta come, Rudy. But hurry."

He motioned to Rudy and Penny to climb onto Cerberus's back behind them, and as they hurried to do so in spite of their confusion, Rudy caught sight of what was in the moose's arms.

It was Snap's crutch.

"W-what happened?" he cried, frozen in place as he realized that it was indeed the same item he had drawn for his friend. Penny looked horrified as well, and it was suddenly clear that something was horribly, horribly wrong. The two were suddenly in shock, unsure what to make of the situation, but certainly keen to find out.

"Come on," the officer shouted, ignoring his question as he reached his hand down to pull Rudy up. Penny followed, and they sat behind the moose and policeman, having only a second to grip tufts of Cerberus's fur before the three headed dog leapt forward without a command, hurtling down the street faster than Rudy had ever seen him run.

Rudy was nearly thrown onto the pavement as the giant dog lurched forward. One of his hands lost its grip and he was forced to cling to Penny's arm as Cerberus powered down the road, paying no heed to the couple of cars that had to swerve out of his way. Ignoring the officer's shouts to slow down, he continued onward, and the moose, who appeared absolutely petrified, clinging with his free hoof to the police collar on Cerberus's right head, began to shout an order to turn left, and Cerberus obeyed him without question. Rudy realized that the moose must be leading him to some part of the city, and frantic questions raced through his mind about what could have befallen Snap.

However, there was no chance for him to ask anyone while Cerberus was racing through the city at such an alarming rate. As they turned into the side street the moose had pointed out, a stick figure Zoner carrying a bag of groceries appeared right in front of them, whirling around with a petrified look at the monster dog racing toward him and showing no sign of stopping.

"Cerberus!" Rudy called. Knowing how fond the dog was of he and his friends, the boy could only hope his voice would convince the animal to listen. "Stop!"

However, Cerberus clearly had no intention of stopping. Instead, he leaped clear over the Zoner, his hind legs nearly catching the stick figure's head before he landed with a thud that nearly jolted the riders off of his back, and continued running. Rudy risked a glance behind to check that the Zoner hadn't been harmed, and saw the stick figure, though unhurt, standing in shock, his groceries dropped on the ground. Rudy turned his head toward the front again, realizing that Cerberus was very likely to hurt someone if he carried on this way.

"You need to slow down!" Rudy shouted, but Cerberus seemed to only care about listening to the moose's directions. The moose himself, although clearly terrified at the speed they were going, was obviously determined as well and did not hesitate to give the three-headed animal instructions. Zoners who had heard the commotion were darting out of the dog's way as he continued down the street, entering a place lined with several small shops and entertainment centers, nearly crashing into a few displays as he did so.

The scenery was darting by in a blur to Rudy, who was too focused on not losing his grip to pay it much attention. However, a few things caught his eye – television sets. From what little he saw as they were whisked past them, they all seemed to be behaving in that strange erratic way as the others he had seen earlier. He didn't get a very good look, however, and soon the television screens were forgotten as the moose directed Cerberus into a narrow alleyway. The large dog could barely fit, but he raced on regardless, the brick walls scraping his sides. Rudy and Penny leaned in toward each other to avoid being knocked against them. Their frantic mount turned a corner, and Rudy could see the light of the open street area up ahead, wondering how far they would have to travel in such a manner.

However, at the end of the alley, Cerberus skidded to an abrupt halt. The officer and the moose were nearly flung over his heads as he lowered all three of them, frantically sniffing the ground. Rudy paused, wondering what had stopped him, as there didn't seem to be anything of interest around. The place looked as calm and tranquil as everything else.

"This is it?" the policeman asked breathlessly, and the moose nodded.

"It happened right here, sir," he affirmed.

"What happened?" Penny gasped, her voice sounding a little pained, and Rudy only then realized that he'd been tightly gripping her arm during the entire ride, not having had a chance to grab Cerberus's fur with that hand again. He quickly let go, muttering a quick apology.

"Where that blue boy…Snap…was attacked by those robots," the moose continued. "They brought him into their vehicle, which was right there…" He pointed to the pathway beside the alley. "…And then headed off to the restricted area of the city!"

"Wait! Robots? What- Did anyone else see this?" Rudy cried, noting that although there weren't many cars or Zoners on the street they were currently standing by, someone had to have seen something.

"Yes," the moose responded worriedly, "but it was gone before anyone could follow it. The car was strange…it looked sort of robotic, and it drove right over the debris by the signs." He quickly pointed toward a street that, as Cerberus exited the alley slowly, they could see led to a taped off area with broken up pavement beyond it, something no ordinary car would be able to drive over. The tape blocking off the area had been torn and several warning signs were knocked over. "It drove right into there without stopping!" he called frantically.

Rudy and Penny exchanged looks of sheer alarm. Neither of them had any idea just what had taken Snap, or for what purpose, and the fact that they had so little to go off of filled them with terror. Rudy glanced toward Cerberus, who had resumed sniffing the ground frantically, trying to pick up a trail. His long forked tail lashed frantically as he whined, clearly confused. "Cerberus…" Rudy said slowly, pointing toward the damaged signs, "it went that way." The dog paid no heed, still frantically searching with his noses almost pressed to the ground.

"He must have found a scent here, Rudy," Penny replied, her voice shaking with worry. "He won't know exactly where in the damaged part of the city they'd gone if he can't pick up the scent, but…if they traveled by car…I'm not sure if he could find it." She could see that Rudy was momentarily confused before he realized that tracking a car in the midst of a city would likely be impossible to most animals.

To Rudy's horror, Penny's prediction turned out to be correct. Cerberus let out a low whine as he lifted his heads toward the sky before turning and pacing back into the alley, then backing up again and searching the end where it opened out into the street, but it was clear to all watching that Snap's scent had completely vanished from the point the car had left. Cerberus looked completely dejected, utterly confused and helpless; for an animal that tracked by scent, it seemed to appear to him as if Snap had simply vanished into nowhere at that spot.

Rudy felt his blood run cold, because it was evident that without a clear trail of Snap's scent, Cerberus wouldn't be able to follow the car's path amidst the other confusing scents of the damaged section of the city. He didn't think any homing device he could draw would be able to track Snap through a metal car either, and he turned to the police officer, hoping that he'd know what to do.

"If this is all you can show me, you'd better be getting back to your shop," the policeman told the moose, who nodded anxiously and waited for Cerberus to stop his pacing before climbing down from his back.

The clearly worried Zoner looked unsure what to do until something seemed to come to him. "Wait a minute!" he cried, and the officer and the two humans looked in his direction, while Cerberus continued to search aimlessly for a trail. "There's someone who might be able to help…wait right here!"

Rudy had barely opened his mouth to speak before the shopkeeper darted back into the alley, vanishing from their sight. It seemed like he had barely left when they heard noises and a few angry shouts, and the moose returned holding a tiny Zoner in his hooves.

"Put me down!" the Zoner, a small gray mouse, shouted as he shook a tiny fist at the moose. "I said I'd think about-and who's watching the shop? What do you think you-?"

Ignoring the protests, the moose reached the astonished group, taking a moment to catch his breath before explaining, "Lester here can find objects using his whiskers. He can find Zoners as well, if you were to get close enough to the place to-"

"It's not going to be that simple!" the mouse cried, managing to break from the moose's grasp and landing nimbly on the ground. "I can find things in a shop, sure, but this…" He shook his head in a frustrated manner. "Why should I help you anyway? You didn't even wait for my answer before dragging me out of the shop! And if someone robs us, it's gonna be on your-"

"Wait a minute!" Rudy cried, leaping down onto the pavement. "You can find your way to certain things using your whiskers?"

"That…would be a valuable asset," Penny stated nervously, knowing all too well how precious seconds were passing with each moment.

"Yes, but why should I-"

"Someone was kidnapped!" the moose cried, a faint anger evident in his voice among the worry. "You have something that could help! Don't you think-"

"Wait…" Rudy said, interrupting them before the mouse could speak. "This…this will be dangerous if we follow the kidnappers," he stated. "Maybe…maybe it's better if you didn't come. But I could…I could draw a homing bacon. Maybe it could work if we're close enough to wherever the car went!"

"Great idea, Rudy," Penny cried in relief, and Rudy gave her a worried smile. As he started to draw, Penny lowered herself down from Cerberus's back as well.

"I'll scout the area ahead," said the policeman, and he gave Cerberus a command. This time, the dog listened, and desperately bolted across the street toward the area leading to the damaged portion of the city.

Rudy finished his drawing, and the homing bacon fluttered to life, quickly zooming off in the direction Cerberus and the police officer had gone. Rudy grinned, as it clearly seemed to know where it was heading, and doodled a pair of rockets on his shoes, doing the same for Penny before they took to the air.

Following the homing bacon, they watched as it fluttered above the damaged portion of the city, headed in a fixed direction. Rudy lowered himself closer to the ground as he scanned the area, determined to help Snap and hoping that they would arrive before any more harm could be done to him.

Then, without warning, the homing bacon stopped. Rudy and Penny stopped as well, coming up beside it as it fluttered in place, near an area broken off from everything else by more tape and warning signs. They had been flying so close to the ground that it took until they were hovering right near the beacon for them to see what it was.

The homing device had led them to an abandoned termite tunnel.

Rudy was startled as he stared at it; he had known there were still some tunnels from Newland's attack that hadn't yet been filled in, but seeing one before his eyes brought shock and confusion to his mind. How could a car have driven straight into there? He glanced at Penny, who looked just as perplexed and horrified. He then turned his glance to the homing bacon, which looked utterly confused itself as it hovered in place, almost as if there was an invisible barrier keeping it from going any further. However, Rudy and Penny were floating just below it, so they knew that obviously wasn't the case.

Rudy grabbed the device in his hands, lowering it closer to the hole in the hopes that it would be able to pick up the trail. To his shock, it zipped out of his hand the moment he did so, jerking back and forth and flying in an erratic, aimless pattern, obviously no longer homing in on anything. After a moment, it came to a shuddering stop as if its system had overloaded, and dropped lifelessly into the darkness.

They stared in dismay at the blackness of the tunnel, where their most solid hope had just vanished into. After a moment they heard a dull crash as the small machine hit the bottom. "Something must have been interrupting its signal," Penny began after a moment. "I can't imagine what, but…"

"We'd better go find the police officer," Rudy muttered as he lifted higher into the air to get a better look around. Even amidst the damaged buildings, it was easy to spot Cerberus from that height, and Penny waited nervously by the tunnel entrance as he flew up to them. "I've found where the car went!" he shouted, knowing his uncertainty was showing clearly in his voice. "Or…or at least, I think it is. It's a termite tunnel."

The officer gave him an odd look, as if he didn't quite believe him, but Rudy disregarded it and led them quickly back to the site. Luckily, thanks to Cerberus's speed, they arrived very quickly, and the policeman peered into the darkness with a look of utter bewilderment. "What makes you think they went in there?" he asked.

Rudy tried to explain what had happened with the homing bacon, and Penny, who was anxious to hurry and find a way to Snap, just as she knew Rudy was, looked at Cerberus, realizing that the fur along his three necks was bristling as he bared his teeth, snarling at the dark hole in the ground. She was suddenly uneasy about the whole thing, but her urgency to help Snap forced it to the back of her mind.

"If what you say about the homing device is true," the officer began, "then we're going to have to-"

"Wait a minute!" Penny cried, causing Rudy and the policeman to turn her way. "The mouse back near the shops! He might still be able to help us!"

"Yeah, but…" Rudy began, looking to her uncertainly.

"Right," she sighed, understanding what he meant. "It is dangerous." She shook her head. "But a normal homing device isn't going to work! We should at least ask; we're wasting precious time!"

Rudy nodded, understanding completely how limited their options were, and the two of them raced through the air back toward the city, leaving the puzzled officer and Cerberus, who was currently trying to find a way to lower his bulky body into the opening, behind. When they arrived back at the alley where the attack had happened, there was no sign of either of the shopkeepers. Worried they wouldn't be able to find the right shop in time, Rudy and Penny darted through the alleyway the way they'd remembered the moose coming from, stopping when they emerged between two shops.

To Rudy's immense relief, a glance in one of the store windows told him immediately that it belonged to the moose who'd witnessed the attack. Landing, they ran inside, causing both the moose and his rodent coworker to jump in surprise. "We need your help!" Rudy cried. "I know it's dangerous, but you're the only one who might be able to help. I'll…I'll make sure nothing-"

"Wait a minute," Lester interrupted, clearly still vague on the details of what was going on as he approached Rudy, his whiskers twitching. "What exactly is it that you want me to find? The place that little blue cripple was taken to?"

"Yes," Rudy replied, deciding to ignore the insult. "Will you…help us?" He felt bad about the possibility of inevitably leading a Zoner into danger, but he knew that if he did nothing, something horrible could befall Snap, and the mouse's ability was the only thing he could think of that might help them quickly enough. "But I have to warn you," he stated again, "it could be dangerous, and-"

"All right, then," the mouse stated, much to the surprise of Rudy and Penny. "But," he began before either of them could get a word in, "I want you to draw me my own shop in exchange. My own shop," he continued, "and plenty of merchandise to sell right away."

"All right, sure!" Rudy responded at once, and the mouse looked somewhat surprised that the creator had granted his wish so readily, but Rudy hardly paid attention as he held out his hand. "Come on."

The mouse hesitantly stepped onto his palm, and Rudy lifted him up to his shoulder, where he clung there determinedly, glancing at the rockets on Rudy's shoes. Rudy and Penny hurried outside, using the rockets to return as quickly as possible to the place where Cerberus was waiting.

They hadn't been gone long, and when they arrived, they could see Cerberus and the skeptical looking police officer still waiting near the entrance to the termite tunnel. Cerberus was still emitting low growls as he circled around the edge of the hole, seemingly unable to find a way down. Noting his predicament, Rudy took out his stick of magic chalk. "Leave this to me," he announced, allowing Lester to climb from his hand onto Penny's shoulder before flying down into the hole.

He quickly sketched a flashlight so he could see where he was going and pointed it downward, noting that the floor of the tunnel seemed around thirty feet down. As he did so, he noticed a tiny device on the rock wall a few feet below him, and he didn't dare shine his light on it directly to get a better look as he realized it was probably some sort of camera or sensor. Lowering himself slowly toward it, he realized it was only about the size of his thumb. Prying a stone loose from the wall, he hesitated a moment before he brought himself closer until he was just above it, then slammed the rock into the device, which crumpled beneath it. Pointing the flashlight up and down the walls, he could see no others, and he gradually made his way down to the bottom. He checked for any other potential threats, but saw nothing, and figured that the kidnappers had only put the devices near the entrances to the tunnels.

As quickly as the rockets would allow him, he sketched a hurriedly drawn ramp from the floor to the opening, which Cerberus leaped onto without hesitation despite the steepness of the slope. The structure shuddered, and Rudy was afraid his drawing had turned out weak due to his hastiness, but although it creaked loudly, it held firm, and soon Cerberus was down on all fours at the bottom, the police officer still riding on his back. Penny joined them a moment later, and the policeman turned on his own flashlight while Rudy quickly drew another one for Penny.

As Cerberus bent down to try to catch any sort of scent, Rudy and the others allowed their eyes to adjust to the gloom. The place they were standing in was an absolute mess; debris was strewn here and there, and walls consisting of mud, earth, rock, and in some places, chunks of buildings that had fallen from the surface. The whole area smelled faintly of sewerage. There were tunnels branching off from the one they were standing in, both in front and behind them and looking as if they led all over the place; it was one gigantic maze.

Rudy turned to the mouse holding onto Penny's shoulder, who looked suddenly doubtful about his decision to come along. "So can you tell where Snap is?" he asked, not raising his voice in case the Zoners who'd driven the car were nearby. However, his words still created a faint echo.

Confused, the mouse shook his head. "It'd be next to impossible to find anything from here," he grumbled, and even his small voice seemed to reverberate off the grimy walls. He gave a deep sigh before continuing, "I can't tell where your friend is unless we get closer to wherever he is."

"Well, let's get closer then," Rudy muttered, taking a few steps forward into the gloom. Cerberus began to walk forward as well, but this time he moved slowly, all three heads alert as he peered in multiple directions at once.

As they moved through the passage, Penny noticed obvious tire tracks in the places where wet muck had pooled on the ground. She slowed so that she was walking behind the others, keeping a close eye on the tracks and noting with a faint bit of fascination that she could see some on the walls as well. Whoever had designed the vehicle they were following had clearly made it possible for the machine to climb walls, which explained how it entered the termite tunnel. She glanced to Rudy, desperately wanting to hurry but at the same time afraid of missing something that could give them a vital clue to where Snap could be. Unfortunately, the way ahead was rocky, and there were few places where tracks showed up, and many tunnels the car could have vanished into. From the look of what little signs they could see, there seemed to be tire marks leading into multiple tunnels, and they all seemed fairly recent. Penny bit her lip with worry; it was impossible to tell which tracks were the freshest.

"Hurry it up!" the mouse on her shoulder snapped. "I'm not going to be able to find anything unless we manage to get closer to that vehicle."

"Sorry, Mr…Lester," she muttered, jogging to catch up with the others.

Penny looked up as she heard Rudy whisper something quietly to the police officer, and she increased her pace until she was standing by his side. He'd come upon a set of tracks that veered off into a tunnel to their left, stretching across a patch of thick mud. "This might be it," he whispered, and Cerberus's three heads pointed toward the tunnel, clearly ready to run after the perpetrators. Not wanting him to leave the rest of them behind or run into danger, Rudy held out his hand, whispering, "Wait! We-"

He broke off as something small whistled through the air toward Cerberus, who only had a chance to jerk his heads back in surprise before the object lodged itself in the neck of his middle head. The three headed dog stiffened in surprise before he dropped to the ground in a heap, the policeman shouting as he tumbled to the earth as well. In the same instant, Rudy heard another similar sound coming from that tunnel, and he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He stared down at it, realizing that he'd been struck by some sort of small dart. As he yanked it out, he saw Penny jump as another one thudded into the ground next to her shoe. Lester gave a squeak of fright, hiding behind her back with only his paws and the tips of his ears showing above her shoulder.

Movement in the tunnel caught Rudy's eye, and he watched the police officer dart toward it, vanishing into the dark. Rudy was about to call out to him when he saw a small flash of light and a vaguely robotic-sounding shriek. A moment later, the Zoner returned, dragging with him a robot that looked to be unconscious and holding a taser in his other hand. "Didn't mean to shock him that bad," the officer muttered regretfully. "He could have told us something. At least there didn't seem to be any others…" He glanced to the robot's hands, indicating that it was holding a mechanical device that was clearly the source of the darts.

Looking down at the robot, Penny wished that the shopkeeper was there to tell them if this robot was one of the ones who'd kidnapped Snap, or if he was an unknown accomplice, but there was no way to tell at the moment. She glanced to Rudy, who was staring at the small tranquilizer dart in his hand. She then cast her gaze to Cerberus, who looked as if he was deeply asleep, his three heads resting soundly. The fact that the dart had acted so quickly unnerved her, and she was only glad that it hadn't affected Rudy. She realized that, even if the tranquilizer could have any effect at all on him, it would have dissolved upon entering a part of his body.

They backed up, waiting in silence as the policeman readied himself for another attack, but no other Zoner appeared. Penny was unsure if she should dare hope that it had merely been a lone accomplice who'd happened to wander there, and not the first of a group, but as the seconds passed, it did seem as if the robot had been alone, and she and Rudy both knew they likely couldn't afford to hesitate any longer.

Worriedly, the two of them glanced toward Cerberus. "How long do you think it'll take to wear off?" Rudy asked.

"No way to tell," the officer muttered, leaning down toward the motionless beast. He picked up the dart, inspecting it. "Not sure why they wouldn't have tried to use this on Snap, unless this robot wasn't with the others." He looked clearly concerned, glancing toward the two children, who realized that he certainly hadn't expected to be tracking down the kidnappers with so little backup. "I don't think we can go much farther until-"

"I'm not going back," Rudy protested, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the policeman. "My friend is somewhere down here and I'm not leaving until I find him!"

The policeman looked as if he wanted to argue, then seemed to reconsider. "Well, I know you two can take care of yourselves," he admitted, eyeing Rudy's chalk. "But I'm still going to go for backup."

"Good idea," Penny told him. "We…might need help."

Rudy turned to Lester, who was still perched on Penny's shoulder. "This might be harder than I thought," he began, his voice shaking. "If you want to go back, you-"

"I still want that shop, you know," the rodent protested. "I'll help you, but you'd better be careful. Though if that's the worst this place has to offer…" He glanced at the fallen robot. "…I don't see why you're so worried."

"My friend was-"

"All right, I get it!" Lester sighed. "But you're going to need a way to sneak around here without being seen." He pointed to the flashlight Penny was holding in her hand, and then at Rudy's. "Anyone could see those lights from any of these tunnels!"

"You're right," Rudy muttered, but instead of turning his off, he used its light to draw a pair of night vision goggles, knowing that at least they wouldn't be seen from a distance that way. He tested them, dismayed to see that they didn't work as well as he'd imagined they would, but it was still a definite improvement over the darkness. He drew a pair for Penny and then the police officer, and after Lester protested, one for him as well.

After that, Rudy turned to Cerberus and drew a temporary, but strong, barrier around him, knowing that he couldn't be moved in that state and not wanting to risk him being hit by the vehicle if it tried to leave again. As it formed, it blended with its surroundings, concealing it from view rather well in the darkness. He had also designed it so that, if Cerberus awakened before the rest of the police force arrived, he would be able to open it from the inside and free himself.

As Rudy completed the drawing, the policeman hurried back toward the ramp Rudy had drawn, and though Penny watched him anxiously, no harm befell him. She turned to Rudy as soon as he'd finished the barrier and they hurried into the tunnel on foot, knowing that the light from their rocket shoes could attract attention as easily as the flashlights.

Dashing off through the tunnels, Rudy caught glimpses of several other tunnels as he passed, realizing that they certainly had formed a giant maze. They crisscrossed over each other frequently, but led in all different directions. He spotted several that led deeper into the ground or up closer to the surface.

"Can you sense anything?" he asked, turning to Penny and Lester, who still seemed fairly calm, despite the circumstances.

"No," the mouse began, "but I don't think there are any more robots."

"How do you know?" Penny asked, looking perplexed. "You didn't notice that one that attacked us, did you?"

Lester's ears straightened as he shot Penny an offended look. "Well, I'm not perfect! How was I supposed to find something I didn't even know was there? I wasn't actually searching for some crazy robot trying to attack us, I was looking for your friend or a car."

Penny glanced to Rudy uncertainly, feeling that their ability to find Snap quickly enough was slipping from their grasp. They were running blindly through a maze, and Penny had no idea what sort of harm had befallen their friend already.

"We're wasting too much time here," Rudy muttered, clearly thinking the same. "Come on, let's try this way." He ran into a large side tunnel that showed faint tracks on the ground, but there had been so many car tracks that he still wasn't sure if they were going the right way; with no wind down underneath the city to disturb them, the tracks could be days old. He tried not to think about that. They hurried through the tunnel, desperately hoping that Lester's abilities would pick up something soon.