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.

7. Escapade Beneath the City

Cryptic Infiltration

Chapter Seven – Escapade Beneath the City

The first thing Snap became aware of was an odd mechanical sound, like the low hum of several different machines. This meant nothing to him in his current state, for he was far too disoriented to think clearly at all. Soon, however, the noise grew in intensity, and as his senses gradually returned to him, the sound of indistinct voices could be heard, though he could not quite tell where they were coming from or how close to him they were, nor could he make out what they were saying. When he opened his eyes, he only saw smudges of objects he did not recognize.

Before he could begin to try to make sense of any of this, he became aware of a sharp, jagged pain in both his head and arm, and as his dazed mind tried to connect this to something, he suddenly realized that both of his arms were down at his sides, resting on the arms of some sort of chair. As he tried to make sense of that discovery, his vision became clearer, and he could make out odd lights in the middle of the gloomy darkness of his current location. He then became aware that it was somewhat cold, and that the chair he was sitting in was anything but comfortable. Another stab of pain through his head prompted him to try to lift his hand up toward it, but he realized with a sudden jolt of fear that left him more awake than before that his hands were shackled to the chair and completely immobilized.

Panic shot through him like a lightning bolt and he instinctively tried to pull away, but all that jerked was his shoulder, and he was only rewarded with intensified pain in his injured arm. He tried again, only to realize with a spark of horror that both arms were immobilized by metal shackles that held them down. The haze invading his mind continued to fade away, but as it did so, the pain from his injuries only worsened. He tried to think of how he could have ended up where he currently was, and why, and what exactly had happened beforehand. He couldn't at all recall what he had been doing prior to waking up in this strange dark room. As he tried to turn his head to get a better look at his surroundings, which were gradually becoming clear, he wondered where Rudy and Penny were. However, he wasn't sure if they had even been with him during whatever had occurred before he had fallen unconscious.

His mind began to race as he again struggled to free himself from the chair he was currently strapped to, quickly realizing that his legs had been locked in shackles as well, which only intensified his panic. The shackles, however, refused to budge. Soon realization struck him, and he found it only too clear that his efforts would not bring him any closer to freedom. He stopped his struggles, realizing that all he was doing was increasing his agony by trying to pull his injured limbs free. Only after he'd ceased his attempts did he realize that his panic had likely attracted some sort of attention from whoever had brought him there, and a vague memory of hearing voices somewhere in the background of the room came to the forefront of his mind.

He forced himself to hold still, straining to listen in spite of his terror. He could make out the noise of the speakers, who seemed to be somewhere behind him, but still could not hear their words. If they'd heard his panicked attempts to escape, they did not seem to care enough to pay any attention to him. His mind raced with fear as he pondered what the strange Zoners had in store for him. He still had no idea what could have happened for him to end up in such a position, or for what purpose he had been brought there. What was going on?

It was then that he noticed that there were brighter lights somewhere behind him, yet most of the room remained dark. As he pondered this, he began to realize that the room didn't exactly look like a room at all. There was a wall to his left, but as he turned his head in that direction, hoping to see some sort of doorway or escape route, he realized that there was something odd about it. It wasn't a wall belonging to a building; instead it looked as if it were made from mud and rock. It sloped outwards a bit, and he could see a few jagged rocks jutting from its uneven surface. He stared at it for a moment, and the fact that he was still unable to process things quickly in his current state caused him to take a few seconds longer before he realized that he certainly wasn't in a building, as he had first assumed, but in some sort of tunnel.

The sounds of the voices behind him caught his attention again, and this time he began to make out what they were saying, as his head had cleared a bit more. He tried to look toward them as he listened, but he couldn't move enough to look around the chair. One of the voices, which sounded somewhat robotic, was asking a question, but this voice was so low that Snap could only make out a few of the words, none of which meant anything to him.

"We've almost got it ready," the voice was saying. "We've interrupted the television signals."

"What is Shift waiting for?" another one of the voices mumbled, and through his haze of pain and confusion, Snap recognized the name the Zoner had mentioned. Shift… That was the name of the villain who had threatened ChalkZone City and demanded supplies. He found it a bit startling that it had taken him a moment to process that, and he shook his head, fighting to clear it of the haze that surrounded him. All it seemed to do was make his heart race with panic as he once again acknowledged that he was trapped without hope of escape, and for what purpose, he could only guess.

"They haven't got it right yet," the first voice, which sounded more mechanical than the second, responded with a hint of annoyance. "We need to be sure every television set in the city…"

Their voices faded and Snap couldn't hear what was said next. From what he could gather, it sounded like Shift was going to make another announcement to the city. But then, what was he there for? Was Shift trying to lure in Rudy? The thought seemed likely, and Snap felt a new wave of terror, not knowing what they intended to do to him to get Rudy to arrive. His one small beacon of hope was the fact that none of Shift's workers, as he assumed the Zoners behind him were, seemed to be paying him the smallest bit of attention. Now that he could think more clearly, he ignored the pain pulsing through his body and tried to examine the chair he'd been shackled to.

He found to his immediate dismay that the chair was far too heavy for him to move at all, and was constructed of what looked like hastily welded together metal. He tried to lean forward, but the chair wouldn't budge, and he only succeeded in painfully straining his injured leg against the restraint holding it in place.

"Shouldn't it be set up by now?" one of the Zoners' voices behind him stated, prompting Snap to try to glance around at them again. However, like before, he could not.

"They've been trying. They ran into some problems, but Shift thinks it's fine. This is an ideal time. Lots of Zoners watch television around this hour."

Snap felt an even stronger sense of dread as he realized that his previous theory did not add up. If he had been right, they would be waiting for Rudy to arrive, not for…something…to be set up. He began to wonder if he was being used as blackmail for the rest of ChalkZone City, and as he focused his attention straight ahead of him, something he had been too distracted to do earlier, he noticed small lights and objects which, now that his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized were cameras. He was obviously meant to be part of Shift's next announcement, but he had no idea what they intended to do with him, a thought that was nothing short of terrifying. He also had the feeling, in spite of not being able to remember much of anything, that his friends had not been with him during whatever incident that had led to his capture. He understood that it was likely that no one knew where he was.

"I think it's nearly ready," another one of the Zoners said, directing Snap's attention once again to the speakers somewhere behind him. While he strained to catch any sort of information, he tried to see if he could figure out where exactly he was, but from the look of things it was just a widened part of a tunnel. Due to the darkness beyond the lights, he couldn't even tell if there was a wall somewhere ahead of him or if the tunnel just kept going.

"Good. And we have the subject ready. Someone should find Shift."

'Subject?' thought Snap. 'Does he mean me?'

"Do we need to tell him anything? Make sure he acts a certain way?" Snap heard one of the creatures mutter, and once more, he desperately tried to move himself so he could find some way to see them, but it was only reiterated to him for the umpteenth time that he was stuck where he sat. If he could only see them, perhaps he could try communicating with them. The identities of his captors were an enigma, even if he knew they were working with Shift.

"I doubt it," the other scoffed. "Shift hasn't told us anything so why should we bother?" His remark was closer to a statement than a question; it was clear he cared little for his prisoner, which, even if the information was already clear to him, only unsettled Snap more.

"It won't matter either way," the first muttered. "He can probably hear us."

"Oh yes, he's awake, all right," another muttered casually. "But like you said, it sure won't matter in the end."

Shivers bounced down Snap's spine as he heard the words, his eyes wide as he stared directly ahead into the pitch blackness. Although he was eager to hear what they were saying about him, he simultaneously wished he could block out anything they were discussing; he knew he was not going to like what they had to say.

"You're right," the other grunted, no trace of interest in his voice. "And he's not what's important in the end. It's the rest of ChalkZone City we're trying to send a message to."

For a moment, Snap felt a little relieved. Although he was unsure what he meant by the comment, it was a little comforting to know that he was not going to be the focus for the whole time. He considered that they planned to make him broadcast some distress signal to the city by using the TV monitors they had been discussing, and keep him locked up while they waited for a response. After all, he was well known in ChalkZone, so it made sense that they would keep him there to try to convince the city Zoners to give in. He certainly did not like the idea of them using him to get to the citizens, or to Rudy. Suddenly he felt terrified for his friend and his jaws clenched tightly together, the pressure feeling as if it spread to his mind like an infection and stirred terrible, taunting thoughts in his head.

"Right. Well, anyway..." The voice paused for a second, and it was then that Snap suddenly realized that he didn't like the idea of hearing silence instead of hearing their plan. He swallowed, a hard lump following down his neck. "Heh, how long do you think he'll last through the broadcast?"

At this, Snap was sure he would be something close to offended if he was not so terrified. The distraction of his continuous pain, and the frantic thoughts in his mind were preventing such a reaction. He could feel places aching which had not previously bothered him, and was sure it was due to pure stress. His breath was jagged and his whole body had been shaking since he had first heard the Zoners begin to talk. Additionally, his head was still clouded with the confusion of what had happened to him prior, as everything was still a muddled, jumbled blur.

The other Zoner seemed amused. "I don't know. Maybe most of it. If he doesn't pass out at the sight of his own blood first."

"What?!" Snap blurted, finding that all breath escaped him. He felt as if he had been suddenly winded, his gaze frozen as he focused on a spot on the floor. He now knew that they definitely planned to hurt him, and if they were laughing about something like passing out at the sight of blood, then...they weren't talking about a small amount.

"…That's why Shift went for him. An easy target..." they continued, and Snap realized that he'd missed their earlier words. Snap continued to stare, feeling his breathing shakily draw in and out before it hitched.

"If that little Tabootie kid sees this," the other mused, "perhaps we could end up getting more out of this than we first realized. Shift could make it clear that he could do away with more of Rudy's friends if he doesn't cooperate. That's his style. Quick. Efficient."

Snap's heart beat faster with every word that entered his ear, every harsh syllable that jabbed his gut with fear and apprehension. He felt like he was filling up with toxins, ready to vomit, ready to collapse from the heat that was beginning to burn onto his face and make him sweat in places he could not reach without causing himself harm. Every fiber of his being was shuddering with fear, confusion and added agony from the pain he felt. The constraints around his wrists and legs were too tight. Even so, he couldn't even consider the thought of the chafing as his mind replayed the words in his head time and again, cutting into his mind and feeding it a never-ending dose of distress.

He had to escape. He began to struggle again, tugging at his wrists despite the tightness already. His legs were pinned in place and he could hardly move his head. Additionally, each time he tried to pull away, a stab of pain would race through him from one of his injuries. He grumbled and moaned through gritted teeth each time it happened, and the more he did it, the more he was starting to realize that it was impossible to break free. He was too frightened to stop in case he gave himself the impression that he was simply giving up, but managed to convince himself that he was merely taking a break to regain some energy and try to find some sort of strategy to his pulling and tugging—even though he secretly knew that his mind felt much too clouded for him to properly devise any sort of plan.

"When's he getting here?" the voice asked, clearly referring to Shift, "it's been a while already... I thought he wanted this done quickly."

"Just be…patient," a new voice stated, at first sounding irritated, but judging by the way his sentence trailed off, Snap could tell something was different. Not right.

The distant sound of slow scraping began to ring in his ear, causing him to widen his eyes further and lift his gaze. Something alarming was racing through his body more rapidly than before, telling him that something was terribly, horribly wrong. As the sound grew louder, his disturbingly horrified feeling only swelled, growing stronger, louder and larger inside of him.

He turned his gaze to his left the best he could, realizing that the oppressing sound was coming from that direction. Something large was moving through the gloom, and it took him a moment to realize that the thing was coming from up above as well as to his left, as if it was descending a wall. Silence seemed to come over the Zoners that were talking behind him, but something told Snap that although they had seemed to quiet out of some sort of respect rather than fear, whatever was coming was had a dark and threatening presence.

He froze, not daring to move despite knowing in the back of his mind that it would make no difference if he tried. Then, he could make out the indistinct shape of some strange creature in the darkness descending to the floor somewhere close to where he was. His eyes widened as he realized that the mysterious Zoner was quite larger than he was, although from what he could see, not much taller. However, he soon realized that this was only because its legs, which he noticed with a horrifying realization that seemed to be very numerous, were low to the ground; the creature itself was far longer than it was tall, and if it were standing upright, Snap knew that it would have towered over him. The dim lights in the room seemed to reflect back at him across the surface of the creature's body, leading Snap to realize that it was made of some sort of metal. As it moved toward him with a faint eerie hissing sound and entered the area in front of Snap's chair, where the lighting was a bit stronger, Snap then realized that the being was some sort of giant, metallic centipede.

The creature had narrow, triangular eyes that glowed with a faint yellow light. The surface of its body was a dark blue with a black coating covering its back. Two large pincers flanked either side of its mouth, and it looked to have at least two dozen legs, each of them sporting sharp points near the joints as well as wicked looking claws. The edges of the legs looked sharp as well, like blades. Snap had a good idea of what this robotic Zoner wanted with him, and he felt his muscles lock up in terror, his body frozen in shock as his eyes took in the terrifying beast before him. He scarcely dared to breathe, fearing that if he attempted to move the creature would kill him on the spot.

As Snap watched, the front half of the centipede's long body lifted into the air so that it was standing upright, or as close to it as such a creature could manage. Now that its head and upper body were up against the backdrop of the dim lights from the cameras in the background, Snap could easily make out the individual claws on each of pairs of legs, some of them splayed out and others still locked together to form a sharp point.

"Master Shift?" one of the Zoners behind Snap stated with a tone of respect. Snap stared at the metallic centipede in disbelief. That was Shift?

"Everything's almost ready," a second worker input, but Snap was too petrified at the sight before him to try to concentrate on what the other Zoners in the room were saying. Shift's attention was focused on the speaker, but after a moment he turned his head toward one of the camera devices emitting light.

"Good," Shift replied, and his voice sounded strangely grating and metallic. Snap had heard many different types of robot Zoners speak before, and they all had varying ranges of normal or robotic sounding voices, but this voice sounded strange even considering that. It was completely unnatural, almost as if Shift hadn't been designed to speak when he'd been drawn, and the means of doing so had only been added to his system later. The voice was low-pitched and distorted, sounding almost like a radio with a bad signal. It only made the creature more terrifying, and Snap's mind raced with panic again as he considered that whatever harm would come to him would likely be at the claws of that monster.

Then, to Snap's complete horror, Shift's head turned toward him, the yellow light from the centipede's eyes intensifying as it rested on his immobile form. The metal beast lowered his head and approached, his legs clicking against the ground as he moved toward Snap's chair. Snap had no idea whether Shift intended to attack him right then and there; there was no way to read any sort of emotion in the creature's eyes, and the way his metal body moved was so unnatural that Snap couldn't guess whether his intentions were currently hostile or not that way either.

Snap was helpless to move as one of Shift's razor sharp metal legs shot out and gripped the top of his chair, wrenching it forward so that the back legs lifted off the ground and Snap and the centipede were face to face. He released a shrill cry of shock as he jerked forward, his eyes wide and his breath suddenly catching in his throat. Sudden thoughts whizzed through his mind of all natures, but nothing was clear. He felt only a blur of solid fear as the creature held him still, his face much too close for comfort. For a moment, Snap thought he might pass out from sheer terror.

For a moment the monster only stared at him, though to Snap it felt like several minutes. Then Shift released the chair, letting it fall back with a clang that sent Snap's head knocking against the back of it. "Good. You got the right one," Shift said, his voice flickering like an interrupted signal as he spoke, the last two words repeating like some sort of distorted echo. There was still no emotion in his voice, though Snap was vaguely aware that he must have spoken with the intent of approval, having been glad that his followers had captured the real Snap and not some random Snip wandering the city.

Shift then turned away from him and focused his attention to the cameras. In that instant, Snap silently shouted at himself to do something. Escape seemed impossible, but he knew he had to try. He seized the chance as Shift was distracted and tried to force his arms out, only to find that his injured one forced him to stop as it screeched in pain. He tried to simply put it aside, rocking his body from side to side and trying desperately to break free. The binds holding him down were practically unbreakable, and no matter how violently he shook, and how much strength he applied to his attempt to break free, nothing changed. The realization caused a seed of panic to sink further into his mind, his stomach stirring faster with sickening feelings of dread.

Suddenly, Snap heard the sound of someone else approaching, and an irritated voice cried out, "Shift? We think something has infiltrated one of the tunnels."

At this, Shift turned his head toward the voice, and indistinct murmuring broke out among the other Zoners gathered there. Then the centipede spoke.

"Find it then."

ooo

Rudy pelted through the tunnel, Penny right at his side. They hadn't encountered any other enemies, but they hadn't encountered any signs of the car, other than a few small fragments of tracks, either. Rudy was scanning the darkness as well as he could through the night vision goggles, heading into a side tunnel marked by tire tracks. He hadn't gone far before Penny's voice brought him to a halt.

"Wait, Rudy!" she hissed as loudly as she dared, grabbing his arm to slow him down. "What do you think you're doing? We don't know if that's the right-"

Rudy shook his head firmly, keen to keep moving and annoyed that Penny had stopped him. "Penny, we were wasting time! Snap could be-"

"I know, but we're not getting anywhere following these marks! We need to find another way."

"But we don't even know where Snap is and it could take…" Rudy trailed off, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Maybe I could try to draw a homing device down here," he stated, looking to Penny with a bit of newfound hope in his eyes. Lester, resting on Penny's shoulder, gave him an uncertain look, as if he didn't expect that something Rudy could draw would be of much use if he himself couldn't pinpoint Snap's location.

"Rudy, I'm not sure," Penny whispered, and before he could protest, she added, "It could attract unwanted attention."

"We'll have to risk it," Rudy stated, and Penny watched as he completed the homing bacon drawing, having a bit more trouble than usual due to the inadequate vision the goggles offered him. However, when the drawing formed, they could tell right away that the device was not functioning normally, and Rudy could only watch as it jittered erratically in no particular direction before crashing to the ground and falling still. However, its red light was still flickering, so Rudy hurriedly smashed it with his foot, making sure the light it wouldn't be seen from the tunnels. He looked at the tunnel he'd been trying to enter again, ignoring Penny's quiet protests as he darted into it. He could hear her footsteps behind him, but kept going until he felt her grab his arm. "Penny, what do we-"

Suddenly Lester stiffened, his fur standing on end as he peered into the darkness of the new tunnel. Penny immediately noticed, glancing toward her shoulder where the tiny Zoner was perched. Rudy followed her gaze, and Penny inquired, "What is it? Do you think you've picked up on something?"

"I think so," the Zoner replied, and Rudy and Penny looked to him with immense hope. "I think we're finally close enough to…"

"Is something wrong?" Rudy asked, feeling more worry flood through his system.

The rodent didn't move, instead standing upright from his previous crouching position and balancing on Penny's shoulder as he turned his head slowly around, his whiskers flicking in different directions. His small eyes widened, and he immediately dropped back down, clinging to Penny's shoulder with his forepaws as he attempted to hide himself behind her back.

"What's wrong?" Rudy asked again as he quickly ducked behind a mound of earth, Penny, at his side. He was sure he already knew, but he wanted the mouse to confirm it before he did anything.

"There's something down here," the small Zoner whispered, seeming a bit relieved that they had moved into a small space between the dirt mound and the wall, out of sight of anyone who could be coming from any of the tunnels. "I'm not sure what, but…it's not your friend, that's for sure."

"Is it more of the robots?" Rudy whispered, feeling worried for their sake, but far more worried about Snap and what could be happening to him at that moment. He suddenly felt as if hiding was a cowardly and foolish thing to do when they had no idea what sort of danger Snap could be facing, but common sense told him to stay put until he had a plan.

"Maybe," Lester whispered in a fearful voice, "I was trying to pinpoint the location of a car, but this…" He shook his head. "We should get out of here…"

"Not without Snap!" Rudy insisted, angry that he would suggest that before he realized that Lester was just an ordinary Zoner in a dangerous situation. He once again felt bad about asking him to come with them. However, he knew it was too late for him to leave, as it wouldn't be any safer to head back than to go forward, even if they had wanted to retreat.

"Rudy," Penny whispered, "if there are…a lot of them here…more than just the ones in the car, we're going to need to create some sort of distraction so Lester can lead us to where Snap is. We'll certainly run into trouble if we go further now."

As much as Rudy wanted to charge through the tunnel that instant, since he knew that a large group of Zoners would quite possibly be in the same place Snap was, he also knew that Penny was right. "Well, what sort of distraction?" he hissed in frustration, hating the fact that they had to waste valuable time just trying to come up with a plan.

"Maybe…" Penny began, edging away from the rock to peer deeper into the tunnel. It opened up to be much wider further on, and had a large network of side tunnels branching from it. She examined the bigger area up ahead, squinting her eyes as she tried to take in as much as she could through the goggles. "Maybe we could cause a collapse in one of the tunnels," she whispered. "I can't see any Zoners around here, and there won't be any on the surface in the damaged part of the city. The Zoners in these tunnels would then arrive to investigate what happened, and we could slip by unnoticed!"

"Okay, so how should we do it?"

Penny turned from Rudy and peered further into the tunnel again, moving further from her hiding place in order to get a better look. Her hope lifted as she noticed one that seemed to have been widened manually after the termites had dug it, and had a wide support pillar of dirt and rock in the center of its opening. She knew that would make it easier for their enemies to assume the pillar had merely collapsed; it was a less suspicious occurrence than an otherwise stable tunnel collapsing by itself. It looked to be an often used tunnel, and she figured that that was the reason it had been widened. That way, it would be of even more concern to the Zoners dwelling there. She silently pointed it out to her two comrades, and quickly confirmed with Lester that the tunnel was not lying in the direction of the group of Zoners whose location he had pinpointed.

Rudy could still not see any other Zoners, though he knew that some could appear with little or no warning. Cautiously he moved from his hiding place and snuck along the rock wall to the entrance to the tunnel. He glanced to Penny, briefly motioning to her to stay where she was before moving on. Realizing that if they both entered the wide tunnel there would be a higher chance of drawing attention, she nodded and quietly crept back to their hiding spot.

Rudy reached the entrance to the large tunnel without incident, and as he did so, the sheer size of it reminded him of just how big Newland's termites had been. Even though he knew that this particular tunnel had been made bigger, the thought of the creatures who had original dug it made him shiver, and he began to seriously consider that a new type of danger could easily be lurking within its depths at that moment. His instincts were screaming at him to leave and head back, but his will to find Snap and help him was much stronger.

As he carefully slipped into the tunnel entrance and headed toward the pillar, a flicker of movement from somewhere in the tunnel he'd come from, where Penny was currently waiting, caught his eye, and his head jerked toward it. He could see something moving through the gloom on the other side of the tunnel from where he knew Penny was. He froze, not daring to move in case he was spotted, and watched with dread as several lights on the upper walls of the main tunnel flickered on. Although they were somewhat faint, and didn't do much to alleviate the darkness, he knew he could be seen if he tried to move toward either a new hiding place or the pillar.

Whoever the Zoner moving about in the dark was, it hadn't seemed to have noticed him, or Penny, but from what he could tell it seemed agitated. It was quickly joined by another, and suddenly new, brighter lights held by the Zoners themselves flickered on, revealing the two to be a robot and some sort of insect about Rudy's size.

As soon as the brighter light filled the underground space, Rudy ducked against the wall behind a rocky outcrop, seeing the beam of their light sweep over the entrance to his tunnel a moment later. He held his breath as he waited, not entirely sure he hadn't been spotted, until the sound of fading footsteps led him to dare to peek around the rock he was hiding behind. When he saw that the Zoners had gone from view, somewhere further down the main tunnel, he quietly crept toward the pillar in the center of his side tunnel's entranceway.

Rudy had decided that the best and fastest option for making the pillar collapse would be to draw a large hole in its center. He knew, as he approached the structure, that he would have to flee the moment he was finished drawing it, lest it come crashing down on him, and he was glad he was still wearing the rocket shoes he drawn earlier. Checking again to make sure there were no signs of movement from the cavern behind him, Rudy ignited the rockets, lifting into the air and drawing, as quickly as he could manage, a massive hole in the center of the pillar, before darting back into the main tunnel and in the direction of his earlier hiding place.

He expected to hear crashing behind him, and had been ready to shield the back of his head with hands as he flew to safety, but he didn't hear a thing as he crossed the distance between the tunnel entrance and the place where Penny and Lester were currently waiting. Confusion entered his mind, but only when he'd reached the others and was hidden from sight did he dare to look back.

Extinguishing the rocket shoes, he peered around the edge of the rocky outcrop, seeing the tunnel he'd infiltrated lying quiet and undisturbed. The pillar, which he could see from his position, was still standing. He exchanged a worried glance with Penny, and started to head back toward the pillar, before the sound of some sort of vehicle approaching sent him diving back into the shelter of the outcrop.

Rudy bit his lip as he watched from his hiding spot, seeing the odd-looking car swerve out of one of the further tunnels and, instead of heading into another side one, continued on down the main passage, where Rudy knew they would easily see he and his friends if any of them made a move to leave their sheltered area. He took in the appearance of the vehicle, noting its strange, vaguely futuristic look, and wondered if it was the same one that had taken Snap. If it was, he knew that Snap was no longer inside it, because Lester had no reaction to the car's presence. He watched as the lights from the machine flickered over the walls near them, but its occupants did not give any indication that they'd seen the intruders. The Zoners were conversing with one another, but Rudy couldn't make out any of their words. As the car passed, Rudy was debating whether it would be a good idea to make a break for the pillar before they were out of sight or whether it would be too risky, but the decision was quickly made for him as a few more cars appeared from other tunnels. Rudy and the others were helpless to do anything but watch, and as they did so, they realized that the drivers of these newly approaching vehicles seemed much more agitated about something.

"Which sensor was it?" one was shouting to the occupants of another car, and Rudy noticed Penny tense beside him, and as he did so, he realized they had to be talking about some sort of device that detected intruders. Rudy had disabled what he was sure was one such sensor when they'd first entered the tunnels, but he knew they hadn't been able to search carefully for any others while wandering in near-darkness. He suddenly realized how lucky they had been to have not been found earlier, and that it had only been a matter of time before that luck ran out. "Which one triggered the-"

The Zoner's next words were drowned out by a deafening crash that made Rudy jump in surprise, slapping his hands over his ears. His attention was drawn immediately toward the tunnel with the pillar he'd altered. The pillar, though it had stood still at first, had broken and crumbled, and the tunnel's ceiling was now cascading to the ground in pieces, showering the earth beneath it and other nearby tunnels with rocks and debris. Rudy ducked his head as a few small chunks of stone and a cloud of dust flew their way, glad that the rock keeping them hidden deflected most of it.

After the rumbling stopped and the air had settled, Rudy opened his eyes, blinking in surprise as he found that, thanks to the ceiling's partial collapse, light was now streaming into the tunnels. Though much of the underground realm was still shrouded in dark gloom, he could make out everything far easier than he'd been able to with only the goggles and the dim lighting from the lamps set into the walls.

Though the added light made it far easier to see, even if the further reaches of the tunnels were still in darkness, Rudy knew that their enemies had the same new advantage; it would be a lot more difficult for he and the others to hide. He glanced to Penny worriedly, only to see that she wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, her gaze was focused on the Zoners riding the vehicles, who had all turned to look at the site of the collapse. One of them drove his car toward it as a few new vehicles appeared from the other tunnels. These newcomers waited in silence until one Zoner, apparently of some sort of higher rank, instructed a group of others to further search the tunnels, while the rest investigated the collapsed area.

Penny felt a tug on her shirt, and glanced to Lester, who was quietly pointing in the direction of another large tunnel, though not nearly so large as the one whose entrance they had collapsed. "There," he whispered. In his shock, it took a moment for Rudy to fully realize that the space between them and the tunnel Lester was pointing to was more or less clear, the searching Zoners having gone further down the main tunnel and the others distracted by the newly blocked tunnel.

"Come on!" Penny whispered, gripping Rudy's hand and yanking him upright from his crouching position. Quietly, she led him around the rocks and made a hurried dash, using the quickest route to the other side of the tunnel and the side passage that Lester had pointed out. "You're sure this is the way?" she whispered once they had found another lump of rock to hide behind in order to catch their breath. They were relieved that no one seemed to have noticed them move across the tunnel, but they knew they couldn't spend much time resting.

"Yes, I think so," he replied, "I think…I'm not sure…I think your friend is this way too. But…" He trailed off, looking uncertain, and Penny cast him a confused, somewhat alarmed gaze. "Well…I didn't ask to be to be part of the actual rescue mission! I was just supposed to show you were it is. You didn't tell me that there'd be dozens of these Zoners! Look, I've shown you the right tunnel, so you can just-"

"We can't go back there," Rudy whispered, glancing toward the place they'd come. "There are guards all over there. And the only other way out is…" He didn't bother to finish his sentence, instead gesturing toward the large hole in the ceiling on the other side of the tunnel, and then the enemy Zoners that were gathered beneath it.

"But couldn't you just-"

"We can't risk that!" Rudy protested, shaking his head. He did, however, understand that the mouse was right about the danger. "I'll….maybe I can draw you a hiding place."

"Couldn't you just draw a machine and drill our way out of here?" Lester retorted.

"Not without attracting the attention of everyone down here," Penny interjected. "Everyone underground in these tunnels would feel it if we started tunneling through the walls. I think Rudy's right about-"

She broke off as they could hear angry shouting from the Zoners around the collapse, and each of them simultaneously feared that they had somehow discovered that it hadn't been an accident. Rudy froze as he heard one shout, quite clearly, "Get to work! Shift will hear about this!"

"Shift…" he whispered, his eyes widening. He found the clear revelation far more alarming than surprising.

"On second thought…I'll stick with you," Lester squeaked, jumping from Penny's shoulder to Rudy's and crouching down, flattening his large ears to his head.

"Don't worry," Rudy whispered. "I'll make sure you're all right. We'll find another way to escape, but first we have to find my friend. We wasted too much time here already." He cast another glance at the confused enemy Zoners, who seemed to be trying to clear away the rubble at the top of the heap to allow entrance into the blocked tunnel. He then hurried off into the darkness of the side path Lester had pointed out, Penny at his side.

The tunnel seemed empty, but knowing that they could run into an enemy at any turn, Rudy quickly doodled a large coat designed to camouflage them with a sort of invisibility power. He was unsure how well something so hastily designed would work, but he knew they couldn't afford to stop and wait around to give him time to draw better ones. Deciding that he and Penny could both put it around them rather than waste time drawing a second, the two of them huddled together underneath the coat, keeping alert for any sounds of approaching enemies as they pelted through the darkness.

They soon came to a fork in the tunnel, and Lester pointed out a direction, though it took him a moment to be sure. Rudy had no idea where Snap would be or for what purpose he would have been captured there, but he only hoped he wouldn't be too late to help him.

A light from a small side tunnel he hadn't seen at first caught his attention, and before he could register that it had been a light from a vehicle, he heard a voice shout in his direction. Frightened, he realized that the cloaking device he'd drawn hadn't worked well at all; looking down at his hands; he could certainly still see himself, though the image looked fainter. It was an eerie feeling, but one he didn't dwell on as he and Penny sprinted harder down the tunnel, hearing the rev of the engine as the makeshift car behind them picked up speed and turned into the tunnel. Throwing the coat to the ground, as it would only slow them, Rudy and Penny ignited the rockets on their shoes and fled deeper into the tunnel.

"How did no one notice that any of this was down here beneath the city?" Lester hissed as he turned to face the car.

Though Rudy didn't bother with an answer, he did have to wonder how long the last remaining destroyed part of the city had been left alone. He supposed it was better that it had been left unchecked rather than some random Zoner investigating and getting attacked by the Zoners lurking underground. Stopping for a moment, Rudy quickly drew a small wall between them and the vehicle, which could not slow down in time and had to swerve to avoid it as Rudy darted away.

"Rudy, forget it!" Penny shouted, and Rudy shifted his attention to her and hurried to catch up.

"Wait, go that way!" Lester shouted, gripping Rudy's sleeve with one paw and extending his other to point toward another side path. "That's the way that-"

Rudy heard a screech behind him and whirled around, a blinding light filling his vision as the small car managed to swerve toward them. The tunnel ceiling was lower here, so instead of flying further upward, Rudy dove to the side, feeling a rush of air as the machine passed him. He landed roughly on the ground, hearing a high-pitched squeak as Lester was dislodged from his shoulder. Reaching out, Rudy grabbed the mouse in his hand, ignoring the tiny Zoner's protests as he whirled around, unable to catch sight of Penny. The blinding light from the car through the night vision goggles left him unable to make anything out, and in frustration he tore the goggles from his head.

"Rudy!"

A voice to his left made him turn his head in that direction, and he felt Penny grab his wrist and pull him toward what he realized was the tunnel Lester had pointed out. He dropped the goggles in surprise as he was moved through the air toward it, and risked a glance back at the car. It seemed to be having trouble moving, and after a moment he realized that it had accidentally swerved into a pile of discarded rocks near the tunnel wall, and its back wheels were trapped.

He and Penny shot into the darkness, and just as Rudy was beginning to feel relieved, lights flickered on overhead along the tunnel walls and ceiling. These, however, were clearly not intended for lighting purposes, as each was a dull, flickering red. He caught sight of what was clearly a camera positioned on the tunnel wall near the ceiling, and jolted in surprise as it swiveled toward them.

"Looks like Shift's security features are operating correctly now," Penny whispered in a panic, and Rudy wasn't sure if his disabling of the first sensor had caused some sort of problem with Shift's security, or if they were simply heading into a more important and well-guarded area. "Rudy, you need to draw something to-"

Her sentence went unfinished, as Rudy had skidded to a stop; the mouse still held in his hand had clearly found something. He was pointing toward a tunnel Rudy hadn't even noticed during their mad dash, as its entrance had been concealed by an uneven part of the rock wall, and was only visible head-on. The red flickering lights that Rudy knew were signaling some sort of alarm showed them clearly that it had been fitted with a gigantic mechanical door that looked to be composed of scrap, but nonetheless built into a strong and impassible barrier.

Well, one that would have been impassable without the magic chalk. Without hesitation, Rudy darted toward the door and drew an opening big enough for them to easily fit through, and, hearing the sounds of approaching vehicles, sounding as if they were coming from many tunnels at once, rushed inside. Penny followed, and Rudy quickly re-traced his opening, sealing the hole with a block of metal.

"Draw something to hold the door!" Lester cried, his voice rising to a panicked screech.

Thinking quickly, Rudy sketched a simple blowtorch, using it and the rockets on his shoes to seal the doors shut from top to bottom. "That should hold them for at least a while…" He paused, turning around to view the tunnel they found themselves in clearly for the first time. To his surprise, there were no flashing red lights here, and the passage led on ahead for a short while before opening up into an area the size of a large room. There was enough lighting to make up for Rudy's lack of night vision goggles, and he noticed Penny taking hers off, as the bright lights, although small, would only make wearing them distracting. As Rudy and Penny slowly crept forward, aware that there could be enemies in the room ahead, they noticed that there were other, smaller tunnels separating from the more open area, which they could see was housing strange equipment. Rudy had no idea what it was for, but he didn't have long to wonder before something else caught his attention.

It was Snap. Rudy gasped in surprise, all else forgotten as he focused solely on Snap's silhouette, which rested in a chair by a group of devices emitting small lights. His back was to them, and Rudy could not tell if he had been harmed in any way. His initial reaction was concern; although he could not see how Snap had been treated, he feared the worse even before he could get close enough to properly analyze him. His breath pumped frantically in and out of his mouth, as he was already worn from running; he tried to gather himself as he kept his eyes fixed on his friend, determined to make his rescue mission worthwhile.

Rudy wanted nothing more than to run to his friend, but common sense told him that he couldn't let his guard down. He frantically scanned the area, but it seemed clear of all enemies. The tunnels, however, posed another threat, though he could see nothing in any of them either. He noticed Penny examining footprints in the dust, remarking worriedly in a whisper that they were recent, but there were no current occupants. Rudy could only conclude that, somehow, they had been lucky enough to find the room abandoned, and for one reason or another, most obviously the frantic search for intruders or the recent collapse, they must have left.

Realizing that the door might not hold for long, and that they had limited time to free Snap and try to figure out a way to get to the surface without alerting their enemies, Rudy and Penny moved toward the more open tunnel ahead, taking heed to be quiet. Rudy placed Lester back on his shoulder as he gripped his piece of chalk in his hand, grabbing another one from his pocket for Penny and handing it to her.

They reached the open area and hurriedly glanced around, again seeing no sign of anyone, before moving closer to Snap's chair. At that moment, Snap's head jerked upright, but he seemed unable to turn around to look at them, his body immobilized in front of what Rudy could now see were cameras. "Snap…" Rudy whispered, checking once again that there was no one around, "we're-"

However, Snap's voice in response was completely panicked. "Rudy, get outta here!"

Before Rudy could even try to make sense of what would prompt such a terrified response from his friend, he heard the sound of something moving, coming from above him.

His gaze shot upward, and beside him, so did Penny's, but though the ceiling was faintly visible, the two could see nothing there. However, the sound of something moving in a way that made their skin crawl, and Rudy heard Penny shriek and pull him back as something thudded to the ground in front of him.

Rudy could only stare in bewilderment as he realized that he could not see whatever had fallen from the ceiling. He was looking at complete emptiness, nothing but a small cloud of dust to indicate anything amiss, but there was clearly something there. The fact that he was facing an invisible and unidentifiable enemy sent fear racing through his entire body, and he found himself zipping back toward the wall, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Penny had done the same thing. He could feel Lester's claws digging into his shoulder, but the pain was something that hardly registered to him.

He felt his back hit the wall, and heard the sound of the invisible creature racing toward him. He darted to the side, igniting the rockets on his shoes again. The light from the flames illuminated nothing, however, and he assumed the creature had some sort of cloaking device of its own.

Something slammed into him from a completely different direction from where he thought he'd heard the movement, and Rudy was taken by complete surprise as his back slammed into the floor. He reached his hand up and felt it strike something cold and metal, but the edge was sharp and he cried out as it cut into his palm. He ignited the rocket shoes again in a panic, unable to stand up in time before he was sent skidding across the floor. He came to an abrupt halt when he slammed into a pile of dirt and debris on the other side of the room near a tunnel exit. He could hear the invisible creature approaching again, but before he could do anything to react, he felt cold steel grip him by the throat and haul him upright, thankfully not cutting into his skin. He heard a squeak from his shoulder as Lester scurried from his perch and into his pocket; Rudy was briefly surprised that he'd been able to hold on during the attack. Rudy stared up into the empty space he knew held his unseen captor, unable to use his chalk as his hands gripped the invisible metal, trying to loosen its hold. He heard Snap shout something from where he was trapped, but couldn't make out his words.

Instead of further attacking Rudy, his adversary pulled him to the left, as if it was turning its body to look at something else. At this, Rudy noticed that Penny was standing several feet from him, using her chalk to try to complete a device Rudy could not make sense of from his current position. She froze as she sensed that the creature had noticed her, but determinedly tried to keep drawing.

Her efforts were short lived as she too was yanked into the air and suspended by her arm, held up by an invisible force just as Rudy was. He gasped in shock, struggling hopelessly, not having realized that there were more than one of the invisible enemies. His frantic thought process was then interrupted by a grating voice, coming from somewhere above his head.

"You're the artist aren't you?" the voice stated, though it sounded fuzzy and unclear, as if it was coming through a bad signal. It was strangely loud however, and made Rudy want to cringe and cover his ears. "The creator?"

Rudy then realized that the being was not yet about to attack him, and he could only imagine that it was studying him in some way, probably realizing, he thought, that his magic chalk could be useful. He knew that he was lucky he could still breathe properly if he pulled on the metal enough to move it a bit further from his throat. Thoughts raced through his head as he tried to think of something he could do or say to give him an advantage over this adversary long enough to get to Snap and find an escape route. He imagined that Penny was thinking the same.

"You could give me what I'd need, couldn't you?" the jarring voice continued, and Rudy's body was forced upward, toward where he imagined the creature's eyes would be. "Then again…" it began, and though it portrayed no emotion, Rudy knew that the robotic Zoner must have seen the reluctance and desperation for an escape in his eyes. "…It would probably be wiser to just kill you." At this, Rudy began to struggle in a panic, and he could make out Snap's pleading voice in the background. Though he tried to kick at the being holding him, a feat he knew in the back of his mind was useless, his legs only met empty air.

"No, wait!" Penny shouted, and Rudy only faintly heard her as she tried to plead with the creature, who still seemed in a state of hesitation. He gripped the metal holding his neck harder, his struggles growing increasingly frantic. He could feel blood from his hand seeping onto the chalk metal holding him, but the creature had no reaction; he wasn't sure whether the mechanical parts of its body could feel pain or if it was simply ignoring it. He realized with increasing terror that a small amount of blood was not enough to dissolve through whatever served as the drawing's hands. Suddenly he heard Penny screech, and with a burst of strength he hadn't thought he had, Rudy lifted his legs upward as if to kick the Zoner holding him captive, aiming higher than he had before. He ignited the rockets on his shoes once again, thrusting his feet against where he guessed the creature's body was.

Rudy felt his feet strike something hard and a shower of sparks began to appear from what looked like thin air as the rockets seared the enemy. The creature's grip on him loosened as it jerked backward, dragging Rudy through the air with it, but its arm didn't seem to be long enough to keep the boy far enough away from its body without releasing him. Rudy kicked out with his feet again, trying to steady himself as the Zoner tightened the pressure around his neck.

However, he realized that his flames had to have struck a vulnerable part of the Zoner's body, as he was swiftly released, thudding painfully to the rocky floor. He coughed, trying to steady himself as he struggled to his feet, and realized, with a horrifying suddenness, that he could now see the creature that had been attacking him.

It was not two separate beings, as he had first thought, but one creature. Its body was darkly colored, and he realized that the only reason he was able to see it with any clarity was due to the lights from the machines in the room reflecting off its metallic features.

It looked, as Rudy could now plainly see, like a gigantic centipede. Its artist had certainly put a lot of thought and effort into its design; nearly every part of its body looked absolutely lethal. Its eyes glowed an eerie yellow, and its segmented body was lined with at least two dozen legs, and as the portion of its body raised above the ground turned toward him, he could see a panel on the creature's upper body where his damage had been done. Rather than harming the Zoner, however, it only seemed to have impaired the cloaking device and made the creature visible again. Staring at it, Rudy couldn't help but to vaguely wonder if that had been an original aspect of the centipede's design or something it had modified itself with. The panel he'd damaged didn't quite fit seamlessly into the centipede's design, despite the rest of the creature looking thoroughly thought out.

He could also see that sometime during his brief struggle, Penny had managed to escape, or had been released. His frightened gaze momentarily shot to her to check that she was alright before the monster lunged toward him at a speed he wouldn't have guessed it had. Using the still active rockets, he zipped to the other side of the room, ducking away from the wall as the creature darted along it, its legs working rapidly in unison. Rudy quickly found himself on the side of the room where the cameras were set up, suddenly realizing that he had nearly come face to face with Snap. He had made a stop at a dead end between the chair his friend was tied to and the back wall with the cameras.

He couldn't see where Penny was, and had no time to look for her as he scanned the room for his enemy, hearing the metallic clicking and a hiss of steam, but unable to pinpoint exactly where it came from. Even without its invisibility, the centipede's dark coloring hid it from view in the gloom; even the light from its eyes had gone out. Wanting to lead the beast away from Snap, he readied himself to dart around the chair, but didn't get far. Before he could even position himself in a way that would allow him to use the rocket shoes to dart in his chosen direction, the mechanical monster appeared from above him, some part of it striking into him and knocking him to the floor.

ooo

"I have already found Shift's location," Axxar spoke into his modified communication device as he stood in a secluded section of ChalkZone City, ignoring the current chaos that was rampant all around him. Shift's new message to the city had clearly frightened its inhabitants, as the live feed from his tunnels had made it clear what Shift intended to do. Axxar had watched the video briefly when it had come on just minutes before, and he had known immediately that Shift didn't intend to use Snap as a bargaining tool; he was sending quite a different message. However, he had not needed Shift's video to determine where the city's new adversary lurked. That part he had discovered earlier.

"And his portal?"

"Working on it," the wolf replied, casting an annoyed glance at some shouting Zoners across the street from where he stood.

"What's going on there?" the voice then spoke up, directing Axxar's attention back to the device. "Is something-"

"Shift has made a plan to kill one of Rudy's friends to send a message to the city," Axxar replied, giving the nearest television screen, which rested in a shop window, another glance. "Apparently there's a bit of a panic about it at the moment."

"Is this of any concern to us?"

"No," Axxar replied. "Once the panic dies down and Shift is less wary about any potential searches of his hideout, I will again search for the portal."

"Do you have an idea of where it might be?" the voice on the other end asked.

"I don't think it will be hard to find out," the grey wolf replied, his eyes darting once again to some of the panicked Zoners on the other side of the street. "Several are looking at this very moment, and I'm waiting until all this blows over to investigate the hideout again." He paused, and remarked in amusement, "I wonder if Shift's realized that much of his security no longer operates." Afterward, his expression returned to a faint scowl. "I'm only…intensely irritated that he chose this moment to cause such a scene. I'd still be down in those tunnels otherwise."

"Why exactly is he doing this?"

"Because he is an attention-starved imbecile with such poor planning and thinking skills that he needs to beg for supplies from the city," Axxar replied in a flat tone. His yellow eyes narrowed as he watched the group of nearby Zoners with a flicker of something close to amusement. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of movement from one of the television screens. Something was happening. Turning his head, he expected to see Shift, come to give the city his message, or even begin the actual execution. Yet he hadn't counted on seeing what actually faced him as he looked at the screen.

The flash of movement he'd seen was not the mechanical centipede monster that he'd discovered was Shift's identity, but a young child. A child that, even when facing his back to the camera, was immediately recognizable. The child made a move to flee, only for Shift to strike him from above, moving him out of view of the camera. Axxar's eyes widened as he gripped the communication device, ignoring the perplexed words of the Zoner on the other end as his mouth opened in disbelief.

"What happened?" the voice cried, obviously sensing the sudden change that had come over Axxar.

"Not now!" he hissed, his voice rising to an uncharacteristic worried state as he took off down the street as fast as he could run.

ooo

Rudy felt the breath driven from him as he was slammed against the ground by two of the creature's forelegs, finding himself staring up into the glassy surface of its eyes, which were now dimmed and colorless. He fought to free himself, but even with his rockets on full power, he could not escape the creature's grip. He could hear both Snap and Penny shouting, but could see neither of them.

Suddenly the weight was lifted from him, and Rudy sputtered for a moment, feeling too weak to move as he tried to make sense of what had happened. The centipede's head was out of sight, as it had coiled around toward something behind it. Rudy's first thought was Penny, but as he scanned the darkness frantically for her, he realized that, in some way or another, she had managed to trap the creature, as it seemed unable to either move forward or turn back around. Stumbling to his feet, he avoided the thrashing body, rushing toward the chair Snap was strapped to and quickly drawing holes in the shackles so that he could remove them. As soon as Snap was freed, Rudy gripped his left arm and pulled him upright, remembering a second too late that Snap couldn't stand properly due to his injured leg. As his friend stumbled, Rudy heard Penny scream and looked over his shoulder to see that the robotic centipede had broken free of whatever trap Penny had laid from him, and in an instant had crossed to her side of the room.

Rudy released Snap and used his rockets to dart in Penny's direction, hating the fact that he had to leave Snap behind, but knowing that he had no choice. He darted toward Shift as Penny fled in a different direction, only to be stopped as the mechanical creature whirled around, knocking him into the wall and pinning him there with two of his legs. Ignoring him, the centipede turned to Penny, stopping for a moment to pick up something on the ground. As Rudy glanced toward it, he realized that it was her piece of chalk.

"I don't think you need this," the distorted voice sounded from the creature's head before it crushed the piece of chalk in its metallic hands. "Stupid girl…you are no creator."

Penny stood frozen in place, torn between her instincts which were screaming at her to flee and her reluctance to leave Rudy in such a helpless position. The latter won out, and she held her ground. Rudy could see that she was frantically trying to think of something, and he realized that likely the only reason the two of them were still alive was that some part of Shift feared he would be destroying something that could be useful to him if he killed them.

Rudy tried to lift his feet toward the centipede's body or legs, wondering if the fire trick would work a second time, but he was only slammed against the wall harder, winding him and leaving him gasping for breath. Penny remained where she was, clearly at a loss for what to do as she stood in a panicked silence, afraid that any movement would prompt the monster to harm Rudy.

The frantic sound of banging on the metal door they had entered through earlier distracted both of them briefly as it was brought to their attention that reinforcements were just outside. One of the machines in the room they were standing in flickered to life, and a message began playing, one that Rudy paid no attention to, until he caught the word 'Shift.' It then set in, as he looked at the claws holding him in place, that Shift was likely the very same creature currently threatening them. They had walked into a danger far bigger than they had realized, having known so little about him.

With Shift's gaze on Penny, Rudy knew he had an opportunity to escape, but in his current position he could not use his chalk, as his right arm was pinned, and he could clearly see that struggling would be useless. After his initial struggle, Shift had positioned the sharp edges of his legs toward Rudy; he could feel it digging a shallow cut into his arm, and knew that any movement at all could result in a nasty injury.

Suddenly he felt something stir in his pocket, and Lester appeared. He climbed out of his temporary hiding place, and Rudy first assumed that he was making a run for it. Instead, he clambered up Rudy's side and onto his shoulder where he, to Rudy's great surprise, leaped onto Shift's leg and began to scramble up it. Rudy could barely begin to wonder what he was doing as the mouse darted up the metal toward where the first leg joint was. Shift had no reaction, and Rudy wondered if he could feel it at all. His questions as to Lester's motives were soon answered as the mouse positioned himself near the joint, and, avoiding the sharp metal, leaned his head down toward what Rudy realized was a small exposed part of a bundle of wires. The gap was so small that Rudy would not have otherwise noticed it, but the mouse's snout fit through, and no sooner had he heard the snap of his jaws than Shift's grip on him loosened his leg fell away from the wall.

Shift whirled around, and Rudy caught Lester as he fell, swerving to avoid a swipe from several separate sets of claws as his rockets ignited and he jetted toward Penny. As Shift followed, both were forced to flee back to the section of the room where Snap was crouching, realizing too late that there was no easy way to get around Shift and to the other tunnels from that space.

Hovering in front of his friends as Penny helped Snap to his feet, Rudy realized that now, he was the only one wielding the chalk. He faced the approaching enemy as Shift closed the space between them at a frightening speed, managing to release Lester and raise his drawing arm just before the mechanical monster struck.