Snap wasn't sure where he was. Or how he got here. The last thing he recalled was dealing with Skrawl...no wait, it wasn't Skrawl he was fighting. It was some beast he was trying to control. Something that looked like a wolf but wasn't. Did it have bat-like wings? He recalled it did.

He remembered, after they seemingly defeated the creature, that Rudy had to leave. Hmm what was that reason? Something about the portal...yeah that was it. Rudy had to close the portal because he left it open. Snap wondered if he was partly to blame for that. After all, he did call Rudy's attention away to inform him about what Skrawl was doing.

He pushed that in the back of his mind. Right now, it wasn't important to think of whether or not he is responsible for the portal remaining open. Instead, he focused his mind on recalling what had happened afterwards. His mind felt muggy. He didn't want to believe he had amnesia...but what else could explain the gap in the memory? The last thing he remembered was Rudy running towards the portal and...

...wait, it was starting to come back to him. He had seen Draow getting onto his feet. He had seized Skrawl in his jaws and he was racing towards the portal. Snap had rushed over to try to stop the beast. He had grabbed onto the tail, but he wasn't able to slow him down at all. The beast had gotten fed up with his interference, and...

A pain shot through his back as he remembered what happened next. The beast, its wing talon sliced into his back. He remembered the scream he emitted. He remembered seeing Skrawl and Rudy forced through the portal together. Then, as he collapsed on the ground, moaning in pain, the last thing he remembered was the beast approaching him, jaws opening wide.

Snap would have thought the beast was going to finish him off. But now that he had woken up here, in this strange place, he knew he had to still be alive. He didn't feel the blood leaking from him anymore. This woman here, who was standing right before him, she may have had a hand in treating him. Could she have saved his life?

He scoffed at the idea. No, she couldn't be his rescuer. He was now clearly a prisoner. His mind was still coming back together. He may have only been awake a short time, but he wasn't stupid. Everything about this place felt like a jail to him. For all he knew, the beast worked for this woman.

Who was she? What did she want? Had she done something to Rudy? If she had, he was going to make sure she paid for it. No one messes with his pal and gets away with it.

Even though the woman had not made any threatening moves towards him, he still kept a defensive stance. He didn't know her and he didn't trust her. He would have seized the opportunity to escape. The door must still be unlocked. If he was fast enough, he could leave. Heck, his two dimensional powers would be handy right about now. But what if this place is rigged? Boobie trapped? As much as he wanted to leave, he couldn't; not unless he got a better understanding of the structure of this place.

And perhaps this woman would be the ticket to that. Maybe she had some kind of map on her. He could use that to figure out where traps and survellience cameras were, and he could avoid them. Being able to flatten himself and go over walls would make getting out a lot easier.

After the woman said she would answer his questions, his mind struggled with just what question he should ask. There were so many he wanted to know. It was hard to choose.

When he finally thought of one, he said, "Where am I?"

The woman, who had said her name was Ms. Saffron, said, "The location is a secret. I will say you are still in Plainsville, however. You are in one of the lowest levels of this building. This place used to be abandoned until my...partner I guess you can call him that, 'revived' it to serve a new purpose."

"And what purpose might that be?" Snap asked.

"I cannot tell you that." Came Saffron's reply.

"You can't tell me, huh? Sheesh..." Snap rolled his eyes, though it was hard to tell when he had no pupils. "I take it you must not be in charge then. Otherwise, you'd know this place like the back of your head."

"It's palm. Back of your palm." Saffron corrected him.

"Yeah, whatever." Snap waved a dismissing hand at her. "And, uh, do you mind telling me why I am here? Do you and your boss think I'm some kinda weird alien..." At this, Snap put his hands on the side of his face and used his thumbs to try to mimic antennas. "..and you want to do probing experiments on me and make me tell you where my leader is, right?"

"Well no." Ms. Saffron said, rubbing the back of her head. "We...kinda already know what you are. Alien might be a bit of a stretch. I think the best phrase would be...dimensional hopper."

Snap raised an eyebrow. "Well aren't you clever. And can you guess my name?"

"It's Snap, isn't it? One of those chalk creatures..." Ms. Saffron said.

Snap stared at her in shock. How did this woman, whom never met him before, knew his name, and the fact that he was made of chalk dust? There was only one way she could have known, and that was if Rudy or Penny told her. Or if she overheard them. With Rudy on his mind now, he knew what his next question was going to be.

Snap tried to keep his composure. Despite this woman knowing his name, he didn't want to show her that her that he was shaken up. He wanted to remaim calm and viglant. Unnerving him may have been her goal. Well, she failed at that.

"What have you done to Rudy?" Snap hadn't meant for that question to sound so forceful. Still, given what little knowledge that he has of what was going on, it was better to be on the safe side.

"He was here. On the upper level." Ms. Saffron said. She bit her lip, as of contemplating if she was telling him too much. Luckily for Snap, she continued. "He had fallen into a trap set up for him. Mr. Cosmo, my partner per say...he had tried to convince Rudy to be his..prestige I suppose. He refused."

"Naturally!" Snap folded his arms and smiled. "He would never join forces with someone like him! Imagine, being trapped against your will..." Snap's voice trailed off. He realized that was the situation he was in. His eyes narrowed. "Why am I here...?"

"Just like Rudy, Mr. Cosmo sees potential use in you." Ms. Saffron said.

"So I'm just some tool to him?" Snap growled at the thought of that. He wasn't someone's plaything. When Saffron didn't answer, he pressed on with another question. "And what happened to Rudy?"

Saffron said, "He escaped."

Snap grinned at this. Finally a bit of good news in all this mess. He jumped to his feet and pointed his..fist...at the woman. "Hah! Looks like your plan has been delayed! Just what you wait, Rudy will come back for me, and will stop you...whatever your evil plan is..."

Ms. Saffron tilted her head. "Evil plan? I never said we were doing anything malicious...okay.." She hung her head. "Perhaps capturing you wasn't the nicest thing. But I swear, all we want to do is explore ChalkZone and learn about it. We don't intend any true harm."

Snap shook his head. There was something about that woman's tone of voice, like she was hiding something. "Do you really believe that?"

"Well I..." Ms. Saffron looked confused. She turned her head away, staring blankly at the closed door. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she looked back at Snap. "I don't know why I'm having this conversation with you. I don't even know if you are real..." With that, she got up and headed towards the door.

"Not real? I'm not real?!" Snap yapped at her, waving his hands about in disbelief. "Oh I'm real all right! I'm just as physically present as you are! Yes, I'm made of chalk, but that doesn't mean I'm not as much alive as any human in this world!"

Ms. Saffron paused for a moment. "You better eat your food."

Snap looked down at the food on the ground. He hadn't noticed it until now. "Why would you even bother feeding me, if you didn't think I was real?"

"Because Mr. Cosmo wants you alive." Ms. Saffron said. "Rudy may have escaped, but that is exactly what Mr. Cosmo wanted him to do. It flows right into his plan."

"What...?" Snap asked quizzically.

Ms. Saffron sighed, standing in the door way now. She gave Snap a sideways glance. "Let's just say he...has other means of convincing Rudy to join him..."

As she left, Snap rushed to the door. He slammed against the hard surface and fell back. He would have stood up and pounded on the door if it weren't for the horrible pain that plagued him now. He struggled to get up, groaning in pain as he did so. He tilted his head up towards the door and called out for the woman.

"Ms. Saffron! Wait! Come back! What did you mean by 'he has other ways of convincing Rudy'? What is he going to do?!"

But there was no reply.

Snap sighed and turned around. He stared at the sandwich and drink. He was feeling a little hungry and thirsty. He licked his lips. He knew it may not have been the best idea. But his stomach was dominating over his brain. He walked over, picked up the sandwich, and started to eat.

"Rudy." He said between bites. He glanced hopefully at the door. "I hope you will find me, bucko. And I hope you will teach these jerks a lesson."

sss

Rudy held the spoon in his hands, poking at the cereal in front of him. He didn't really feel much like eating right now. He could feel his stomach growling, but with all that went on yesterday, he couldn't bring himself to eat anything. Yesterday was just horrible. He couldn't believe just how bad it was. He wished he could have done something, yet...what could he have done?

It was heartwrenching for him to go through another night without knowing how Snap was. His initial plan yesterday was, after he and Skrawl escaped, he would find Penny, who would have gotten the new small chalkboard, and they'd get back into ChalkZone. He would explain to her what happened and where the building was, and then they could go to the location in ChalkZone, where he and Skrawl fled, and sneak inside to find Snap.

It was a risky plan. They could get caught. He didn't know how protected the building was. But he couldn't think of anything else. There was the option of going to the police. That was still in his mind. But now the police won't believe him. When he saw his parents for the first time since the incident, he found that they didn't remember anything that happened. Mr. Cosmo must have done something to them to make them forget. He might have foreseen him calling the police and did something about it.

It would be harder for the police to believe a 15 year old if his parents don't know what he's talking about. Although he was happy that his parents were safe and sound, he couldn't help but feel some disappointment. If his parents remembered what Mr. Cosmo did, they could back him up and have Mr. Cosmo arrested. But all he had now were his own words, and that wasn't going to be enough to convince the police of anything.

His plans were delayed, unfortunately. Penny told him that, while she was able to get the portable chalkboard, she wasn't able to come back over with it. Her dad wanted to continue reconnecting with his daughter and insisted they go to a fair. And when she came back to her home, her mother wanted her to stay inside. He forgot the details why, something about her wanting Penny to learn how to cook a special family recipe or something.

Rudy made a promise to himself that last night would be the last night he'd go without saving Snap. Penny had called in the morning and said she'd be over as soon as possible. When Rudy's parents asked what they were doing, he said it was some project for school. And as usual, his parents bought it.

When Penny would arrive, he and her would head straight into ChalkZone and go from there. He did realize how hasty it was to just go into Mr. Cosmo's...lair for a lack of a better term, but something had to be done and fast. So long as they were quiet and careful, they might be able to at least get a map of the place. And then they...

...oh who was he kidding? This plan stunk. It was still the only option he could think of, but it was full of high risks and dangers. He didn't fully understand Mr. Cosmo's capabilities. He didn't have a fullproof plan. So much could go wrong. And what of Draow? If that thing found him and Penny... He wondered what Mr. Cosmo would do with Penny. Would he use her to get to him? He shuddered at the thought. Or would he do much worse? Was Mr. Cosmo the type of person to...kill...?

No, he wouldn't kill Penny. There would be too much at stake. He'd end up going to jail for certain. People showed less mercy to someone killing a much younger person than they did with killing someone of the same age or almost equal. Mr. Cosmo wouldn't want to go to jail, so he was certain the man would refrain from killing Penny, or anyone he cared about.

Still, the thought plagued his mind. He knew so little about Cosmo. If he had a better idea of his psyche...

"Rudy, your friend is here!" Mrs. Tabootie said in her sing-along voice.

Rudy got out of the kitchen and saw his mother standing by the door. Mrs. Tabootie stepped aside, allowing Penny to walk in. She was carrying a large burlap bag with her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Tabootie." Penny said politely. She looked at Rudy. "And hello, Rudy. Are you ready to get started on our project?" She gave a knowing wink.

Rudy wanted to smile back. But the only one he could manage was a half-hearted forced one, to keep his parents from wondering what was wrong with him. He already talked quite a bit with them earlier when he wouldn't eat his breakfast. It was hard enough explaining what was wrong without revealing too much. He didn't want to deal with that again. Not now.

They went up into Rudy's bedroom and shut the door. They went over and sat on his bed. Penny opened up her burlap bag and pulled out the small portal. It was a little smaller than the one he had, before it was essentially broken, but they'd still be able to squeeze through.

"Do you have a plan, Rudy?" Penny asked.

Rudy looked at her. "I told you already. We're going to go..."

"Yes I know that. But have you thought it out?" Rudy bit his lip. It was like Penny was reading his mind. "What happens if this Mr. Cosmo guy catches us? What then?"

"I...I just don't know what else to do, Penny." Rudy looked away. He glanced at the ground. "It's all my fault...I should never have left Snap behind. If I had kept an eye on him..."

Penny put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it. You couldn't have known." She said in a calm voice. "I know how dire this situation is. I was quite afraid, too, when you called last night and told me what happened. I felt guilty at the time."

Rudy looked at her. "You did?"

She nodded. "Yes. I thought that I should have come with you, that maybe me being there would have made a difference. But nothing will change happened, Rudy. We shouldn't spend so much time with 'what ifs'. We should focus on a plan to rescue Snap."

Rudy knew she was right. He couldn't sit around feeling sorry for himself. He couldn't do nothing while his confusing thoughts distracted him. He had to remain focused. The longer he waited to do something, the longer Snap was in danger. He didn't even know if Snap was being fed or not. In which case, they had even less time if he wasn't. They had to get moving.

The only thing holding him back was the fact that he didn't know enough about Cosmo to formulate a well thought out plan. Yes, he was a reporter, but that didn't really say much. He didn't know exactly how his mind worked. And no doubt he must have laid traps. Initially he wasn't sure if he would boobie trap his building, but reminding himself of last night, yeah he would be the kind of person to do that. He'd need more information on this guy. He wanted something, anything, to help him find a way to rescue Snap. Even the tiniest clue would be great.

"Hey Rudy?" Penny asked. "Did you tell me Mr. Cosmo was in ChalkZone?"

Rudy nodded. "Well he didn't exactly say it...but he sure made it sound that way."

"Well if he was, maybe we can talk to Biclops about him. He's quite observant of ChalkZone. He'd easily notice another human coming into ChalkZone." Penny suggested.

"Yeah, but the other zoners would notice, too. Wouldn't it be just as effective to ask any of them?" Rudy asked, confused.

"Biclops would be the best zoner to go to first." She explained. "We don't even know how long ago Mr. Cosmo was in ChalkZone, if he was at all. It could have been years, Rudy. It would be best to go to a zoner who had been in ChalkZone for a long time. And who better than Biclops? He can even show us what happened, if Cosmo had been to ChalkZone before."

"Hmm, you're right, Penny!" Rudy smiled with determination.

Penny did make a valid point. Biclops was in ChalkZone for a long time, well before he knew about it, and well before Snap was 'born'. If there was any zoner who would definitley know if Cosmo had been to ChalkZone, Biclops would be the one. And Penny was also right about being shown what happened. Biclops's ability to show video footage in his eyes, showing the past, meant that he and Penny would be able to see exactly what went down. They could get an even better idea on what this guy was capable of.

Rudy drew a portal on the portable chalkboard. He made sure to make it as big as possible. He then set the chalkboard on the ground. Before he did anything else, he made sure to leave his parents a note so they wouldn't freak out when they saw him gone.

Knowing time was of the essence, they both slipped into ChalkZone through the somewhat small portal as fast as they could. Rudy took care of erasing the portal immediately.

As they turned to begin walking to the Chalk Mine, as luck would have it, Biclops was nearby. It looked like he was doing one of his jogs through ChalkZone. It was incredibly convenient that he happened to be there when he was. They immediately rushed over to him.

"Hey Biclops!" Rudy called out.

Biclops stopped moving forward, now jogging in place. He looked down at Rudy and Penny and waved at them. "Hello, Rudy and Penny! How are you doing?"

"We have a question to ask you." Penny said.

Biclops sensed the nervousness in her voice. "Well sure...what's wrong?" He turned to Rudy. "Did something happen?"

"Well you can say that..." Rudy said slowly. "Uh...Biclops? You wouldn't...happen to know someone named...Mr. Cosmo do you?"

Biclop's eyes went so wide that they looked almost like they would roll out of his head. "D-Did you say...Cosmo...?" The two teens nodded as a reply, causing the giant to gasp.

Rudy and Penny had never seen anyone's face turn as sheet white as fast as Biclops's did just then.