The reaction Biclops had was of no comfort to Rudy and Penny. It was like a double edged sword to them. On the one hand, it was nice that he knew Cosmo, because that meant that he could tell them more about him and perhaps even a way to beat him. But on the other, the way he so negatively reacted to the name, told them a horrible truth: Mr. Cosmo must have done something terrible to scare Biclops that much.

Just what had this man done? Had he tried to kill some zoners? Did he destroy entire sections? Rudy only had a glimpse of what this man was capable of doing. And if he read Biclops's reaction correctly, that was just the tip of the iceberg. The man's cruelty must lie much deeper than that.

Rudy felt a strong sense of urgency rise up in him. Knowing that Cosmo, already dangerous, was even a bigger threat than he imagined made him wish he could find Snap sooner. He hoped that he was all right. He hoped that he will still be there when he was able to come to his rescue. He made a promise to himself that, after he saved Snap, he'd make Cosmo pay for what he did. Rudy usually didn't like holding onto grudges for very long, but for Mr. Cosmo, he was willing to make an exception.

He looked over at Penny. The expression she gave him told him that she felt the same way. Like Rudy, she was also scared by how Biclops reacted, and also showed some hidden anger, which Rudy guessed was most likely from thinking about what Mr. Cosmo may do to Snap, or any other zoner that was unfortunate enough to fall into his grasp. She then gave a nod, and he knew what she was indicating.

Rudy looked up at Biclops, swallowing nervously. This seemed like a painful subject for the giant. He felt bad for asking questions on this, but for Snap's sake, and perhaps the sake of ChalkZone, he needed to ask. He had to know.

"Was Mr. Cosmo..here before?" Rudy asked tentatively.

Biclops stared at him for a moment, still overcoming the initial shock. "Y-Yeah he was...many years ago." Biclops took a step towards the pair and pointed a finger close to Rudy. "It was before you ever came to ChalkZone. Cosmo was just a kid at the time...but age doesn't always mean something, and he certainly proved that."

"A kid?" Rudy inquired. "Around my age when I first came to ChalkZone, you mean?"

"Or perhaps a year older. I don't know. It's hard for me to remember exactly how old he was." Biclops said, scratching the top of his head. Then he made a gesture with his large hands. "What I do remember is that he did some terrible things in ChalkZone."

Penny decided to ask a question. "What exactly did he do, Biclops?"

Biclops winced and slowly shook his head. "I'd...rather not talk about it. I will say this, though. So vile were his actions against ChalkZone that he was kicked out as soon as possible."

"I hope the damage wasn't too bad..." Penny said sympathetically.

"Nah. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. A lot of damage, but nothing that couldn't be repaired in time." Biclops said.

Rudy thought about this. If Mr. Cosmo had been here as a kid, then why had he never come back? Yeah, he was kicked out, but he may have tried to find another way in. He seemed like he was clever. Too clever actually. He didn't think that he would go down that easily. There had to be some reason why he didn't try to do anything regarding ChalkZone until now.

"Hey, Biclops?" Rudy asked.

Biclops turned his attention to the boy. "What is it, Rudy?"

"Do you know why Cosmo would wait all this time to make another move?" Rudy asked, confusion painting his voice. "I mean, he had all this time...why would he wait until now to..."

"Because he forgot. Or at least, that's what was supposed to happen." Biclops replied, cutting off Rudy. "You see, for really dangerous artists, I used to have a magical zoner cast a spell on them to make them forget about ChalkZone. They fall asleep and they are taken back into the human world unharmed. It had been effective...or so I thought."

"Maybe something triggered his memory?" Penny suggested. "Maybe seeing something from ChalkZone..."

Rudy suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Something that he had pushed in the back of his mind had resurfaced. There was a time, a couple weeks ago, when he, Penny, and Snap were in the classroom together. Mr. Wilter was gone and they had some time to chat with their friend. During this time, there was a camera malfunction, so they weren't being watched.

During the chat, Rudy could have sworn he heard a click. It was faint, barely noticeable. Penny and Snap didn't react to it. He did turn his head seconds after the sound. He saw no one. At the time, he just dismissed it and went on chatting with the other two.

Part of him had nagged at himself to bring it up, to not just discard it as nothing. Yet that is exactly what he had done. He didn't think it was anything to worry about. There was nothing in the newspapers after that. There was no 'Chalk World Exposed' headline. None of that. He thought about bringing it up with Penny and Snap, but seeing how they didn't react to this 'phantom click', he changed his mind.

Now he wished that he had said something earlier. If he did, they could have seen this trouble coming earlier and they could have done something about it. Rudy felt so foolish and stupid. He couldn't believe he thought that click was nothing. It had to have been Saffron or Cosmo, or someone else, who took that picture, and Mr. Cosmo saw it and... Oh what had he done...?

"Rudy...?" Penny took notice of Rudy's change in composure. "What's wrong?"

Rudy snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her for a moment. He looked away. He wasn't sure how to tell her, or if he should tell her. There was so much going on, was it really important to know about that picture?

"Nothing, Penny." Rudy said, giving the best smile he could.

Penny narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure, Rudy? You were really spacing out there..."

Rudy nodded his head quickly. "Yeah...I was just...waiting to see if Biclops had anything else to say."

"Well okay..." Penny didn't look convinced. Nonetheless, she looked up at Biclops, dropping the subject. "Biclops? If you don't want to talk about what Cosmo did as a kid here, would you mind...showing us? Please, we need to know what we are up against..."

Biclops looked hesitant. If what Cosmo did was truly that horrible, then it was understandable that he would be wary about the subject. Rudy wondered if Cosmo had done something to hurt the giant. Biclops's grimace seemed to well support that. Or maybe he hurt someone Biclops really cared about. So many thoughts invaded Rudy's mind about what could have happened.

Penny seemed to have the same thoughts as he did. She went up to Biclops and looked at him with great sympathy. "I know he must have done terrible things. And I'm sorry if this reopens old wounds. But if you don't tell us what happened, many more people could be hurt by him. Snap is already being held prisoner and I don't think he will stop there."

Biclops's eyes went wide. "Cosmo...captured your friend, Snap?"

Rudy gave a grim nod. "He didn't say it exactly, but he pretty much confessed it. I don't know if he hurt Snap and how badly..." He closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were forming. "So please...can you...can you reveal more about this Cosmo guy? The more we know about this evil man...the easier it will be to save Snap. Please, Biclops...I don't know how long he has..."

Penny put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He gazed at her and gave a small smile. He turned his attention to Biclops. The giant looked at him with a clearly empathic look. There was also shock mixed in there. The giant hadn't known it was Cosmo who had taken Snap until he said something. When Rudy and Skrawl returned to ChalkZone, he had been too distraught to even mention Cosmo's name to the zoners. He wished he had. Not knowing was worse than knowing.

Biclops opened his mouth, then shut it. He looked to the side, rubbing his head again. He looked back at Rudy and Penny. He winced at the looks they were giving him. It was clear they really wanted to know. It was obvious they were both in distress with what happened to Snap. Rudy understood Biclops would understand that many more zoners could end up like Snap, or worse, if something wasn't done and fast.

The giant finally spoke. "...O-okay then...I will show you. I'll give you a glimpse of what this guy had done. I...cannot guarantee it'll reveal anything that will help you, though."

With that, Biclops lowered his head down. He tugged at the hair at his sides, which somehow activated the television-esque visions in his larger lower eye. Rudy never understood this, but didn't question it either. The static in Biclops's bottom eye soon gave way and a picture came in crystal clear. Rudy and Penny could see what was clearly ChalkZone. As the images played, Biclops grimly narrated.

"Long before you came to ChalkZone, there was a time when creators were allowed to come to ChalkZone. The relationship between creator and creation was harmonious, much like how you and your creations, Rudy. Well...most of them."

Several images of children with their creations played. There was a little girl playing with a large bunny rabbit with wings. Another kid was playing hopscotch with a sentient rope he had created. Some kids were having tea parties. Others were playing basketball, soccer, whatever with their, and others', creations. Rudy and Penny were amazed by how many kind artists there had been in the past.

This happy scenery didn't last forever. Soon, the video started to grow dark and everyone in the video began to look scared, frightened by something off screen.

"That all changed when he showed up..."

It was revealed the kids and their creations were looking at a kid standing on a hill. He wore a green outfit and had red hair. Rudy knew this had to have been Cosmo as a kid. There was something about him that seemed familiar, though. And it wasn't the fact that he knew who it was. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he had seen this particular kid somewhere before.

The kid, despite his young age, looked absolutely monstrous, with a wild grin and wielding a piece of magic chalk. Unlike Rudy's, which was white, this chalk was black. Despite its dark color, it still glinted like any other magic chalk.

"This kid was who you know as Mr. Cosmo. Even though he was young, he already had the mind of an evil genius. His appearance marked the end of the peaceful relationship that creators and their creations once had. He had found the dreaded black chalk, which existed before red chalk. It is more dangerous because, while drawings made by black chalk aren't automatically evil, it causes whoever uses it to become, more or less, a monster."

Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at what they saw next. The scene flickered to show several black chalk drawings destroying parts of ChalkZone. But there was something different about it. The attacks were not only more coordinated than they'd expect with red chalk, but Cosmo was clearly commandeering it all. He was pointing at different things and yelling out an order to attack.

Most of the creators were clearly defeated, laying on the ground injured. Their creations tried to defend them, but Cosmo coldly had them erased. The screams that emitted as the creations were destroyed rang in Rudy and Penny's ears. They wanted to look away from the horrible sight, but their eyes were glued to the 'screen'.

"So much of ChalkZone was destroyed. By just one creator. I admit, Rudy...Mr. Cosmo was the reason I didn't trust you at first. I thought you would turn out just like him..."

Rudy winced as he saw the young. Mr. Cosmo flinging a small chalk cat around by its tail and threw it aside. And in another scene, Mr. Cosmo stomped on the face of a stick figure drawing. The amount of cruelty he displayed even at this age was incredible. Now Rudy understood the real reason Biclops had been so aggressive to him when they first met. After seeing this, he couldn't blame the giant for being protective of ChalkZone.

"Most of the good creators were chased away. They never returned. We don't know what became of them after they left. What we do know is that some of the creators that were once good...had become bad. Cosmo had convinced them to use black chalk. With how innocent they once were, it didn't take long for the black chalk to corrupt them. Even when they used other chalk, their violent behavior now became dominant."

The girl who had once been kind to her rabbit bird creation was now kicking it aside as she drew something more vicious. The boy who played jump rope was cruelly tying the sentient rope in a knot and throwing it aside as he got out black chalk and drew, along with other kids, large monsters.

Rudy's eyes widened. These monsters, some with orange outlines, some blue, some green, he swore he recognized as well. The familiarity did nothing to cushion the shocking and harsh blow he got as he saw the monsters wreak havoc on ChalkZone. Buildings were crushed. Zoners whipped around like toys. The ground torn apart.

"Luckily, there was one creator who did not become corrupted."

Rudy and Penny saw a young boy on the back of a large pterosaur, coming in to do battle against Cosmo, it looked like. The boy wore a red shirt and had brown hair. He also looked familiar, but neither of them could guess what it was.

The young boy's pterosaur tossed several of the evil creations into the ground. The boy jumped off. As his pterosaur fought off the monsters, he did battle against Cosmo. The two engaged in a chalk battle. Rudy and Penny were amazed at how fast and how many weapons these two drew and how skilled they were in battle. It was also unsettling. They could see such a dangerous battle between two adults. But two kids?

"This creator did manage to defeat Cosmo. With his help, Cosmo was drained of his memories and tossed out of ChalkZone. All his drawings were contained, never to hurt anyone again."

Cosmo was seen being dragged off by angry zoners while the brown-haired kid stood triumphant. The evil drawings were rounded up by some big zoners and taken off in one direction, likely to a prison where they can never hurt anyone again.

Then something happened that the teenagers weren't expecting. Some zoners surrounded the brown-haired kid, the one who saved them, but the looks on their faces suggested they weren't celebrating his accomplishments. It looked as if they wanted him gone too.

"Unfortunately, the incident had caused a rift to form and much of ChalkZone decided it was best for creators to stay out of ChalkZone. I know it sounds extreme, and yes the citizens were grateful this boy saved them. He helped them out in the past as well. He was...a lot like you, Rudy Tabootie. However, they were worried that another Evil Creator incident could occur, so it was thought it best to cut off connection to the real world."

"Wow..." Penny said in horrified awe. "I..didn't realize he..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

Rudy was just as disgusted. He knew that some creators abused the chalk, but he had no idea there was such a catastrophic event caused by one child. He didn't know that the reason why creators were largely banned from ChalkZone, even outright forbidden to know about ChalkZone, was because of the actions of one heinous child.

It sickened him. How could anyone be that cruel and heartless? What made Cosmo think it was a good idea to destroy a relationship that had once been good, even celebrated? Knowing what this monster did as a kid made him hate the man that much more.

Biclops's eyes went back to normal. He stood up straight slowly. "Now that his memory is slowly returning, now that he is much older, who knows what he is capable of doing now. He was hard enough to deal with as a little kid. As an adult, he's probably twice as dangerous, if not thrice."

"What do you think he'd do to Snap?" Rudy said in a quiet voice.

Biclops winced at this question. "Nothing good, I'll tell you that. You'll have to rescue him as soon as you can. I wish I could help and go with you, but I'd be too noticeable."

"We also need to figure out how to disconnect Rudy from Skrawl." Penny said. The giant looked at her, perplexed. "From what Rudy told me, Mr. Cosmo had done something so that Rudy and Skrawl felt each other's pain."

Biclops let out a gasp. "I thought all that chalk had disappeared..."

"What?" Rudy asked. "What do you know about this chalk? Is there any way to severe this connection I have with Skrawl?"

Biclops nodded nervously. "Y-Yes... This chalk has no name, but it was discovered sometime after Cosmo was banned. Many believe he created it. I'm not sure if he did. What I do know is that the only way to correct it is with another piece of chalk that is just as rare."

"Really?" Rudy said, giving a smile. "Well can you give us a piece?"

"Well..." Biclops didn't look very happy.

Rudy's smile faltered. "What? What is it?"

"Does this chalk...not exist anymore?" Penny asked worriedly.

"No it's not that. I still have a small stash of it locked away." Biclops said. "It's just that.." He let out a sigh. "Rudy Tabootie, the only cure for this is..."

The silence was unnerving. When the giant spoke, the two teens couldn't suppress their gasp of horror.

"...the black chalk..."

sss

Ms. Saffron couldn't believe she was sent back down here. She had given the blue boy some food a few hours ago. He'd be fine for a while longer. It wasn't like he was going to curl up and die if he didn't get food right now.

Wait, could he die? To die would mean to be alive, and to be alive would mean to be real. Could Snap really be considered something that was alive? Yeah, he breathed. Yeah, he bled. But that meant nothing to her. He was a creation, made by that Tabootie kid. He could have just been created to seem realistic. But in the end, he was just about as 'real' to her as ghosts playing jump rope on top of a rainbow were, in her mind.

She was still able to feel sympathy for him, like how he grimaced in pain at his wound. She could still converse with him like any human being. He didn't sound like he was faking his emotions at all. And she was able to get angry or upset at some things he said.

But in the end, she wondered if it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Maybe she just wanted to believe he was real. There was certainly a part of her that wanted to sympathize with the blue boy and perhaps convince Mr. Cosmo to let him go. She wanted to dismiss that part of her as her imagination getting the best of her. But what if her initial thoughts of chalk-based entities not being alive was wrong?

When she gave Snap the second course, he dove in more quickly than she imagined. Had he really been this hungry, or was he just being dramatic to make her think he was truly starving? Whatever it was, she couldn't hide the reality of the blue superhero wolfing down the pasta she had brought him.

"You know...that was pretty good." Snap said. From the tone, it sounded forceful, almost like it hurt him to compliment the woman who was helping to keep him locked up.

Rather than thank him for the compliment, Saffron went on another subject. "I...uh..notice the red marks on your hand..."

"What? You mean these?" Snap lifted up his hand and turned it over, showing three long, though shallow, cuts. Saffron nodded her head once. "I tried to sneak out. I knew at the time it wasn't going to be a smart move. But I wanted to try. I just had to get out of here, you know?" The way he spoke was almost casual, as if this was a usual thing for him to talk about. "I tried to use my two dimensional powers to get under the door. I only managed to get my hand here half way over when it cut on something sharp...Let's just say I will never try that again."

This didn't surprise Ms. Saffron. She gave a nod of understanding to the blue boy, but made no remark on the sharp things Mr. Cosmo placed there. He knew Snap would try to escape, so he had set up a trap for him there just in case he did. It seemed to work really well. Painfully well. Luckily it was just a few scrapes. He was no worse for wear.

Snap finished up his glass of chalk orange juice. He placed the glass down and looked over at Saffron. She could still see the look of distrust in his eyes. But there was something else there now. Curiosity she guessed.

"So..uh...how did you come to work for this Mr. Cosmo guy?" Snap asked.

Ms. Saffron looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected to ask him that. Then again, what did she expect from someone she couldn't tell was actually there or not? It was like having a conversation with an imaginary friend. She wasn't sure how to respond at first.

She managed to force herself to reply. "Well, I was...a little down on my luck as a reporter and he took me under his wing. He taught me everything he knew about doing a good news story. If it weren't for him, I...I don't know where I'd be."

Snap nodded. "So it sounds like you have a lot of respect for this guy, am I right?"

Saffron didn't know why, but she smiled at the chalk entity. "Yeah. I guess you can say that."

"And uh...does he appreciate you in return?"

Saffron looked at him in shock. "What...what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I know he helped you out and all, and from what you hinted to me, it seems like you have been faithful like a dog to him." He quickly waved his hands. "No offense or insult meant with that statement. Anyway, with all you are doing for him, what is he doing in return for you? Is he showing that he is grateful for your help?"

She didn't know how to answer that. She searched her mind for an answer. Nothing came. What was Snap trying to imply? "I..." She stammered before going off into silence again.

Snap continued, "You say he took you under his wing and helped you. But let me ask you something. Please don't get angry with me. But I gotta know something..."

The woman was almost afraid of what the question was going to be. "Okay..."

Snap asked, "Did he really help you out because he was kindhearted enough to see you needed assistance, and did it out of the kindness of his heart...or..." He grimaced as he said the next part. "..or did he do it because he saw you to be useful to him? Did he do it just because he thought you would benefit him?"

What Snap implied rattled through the woman's mind. It wasn't like she didn't expect it. She couldn't deny that she had some doubts about working for Cosmo. But to hear it from Snap, a chalk based entity, someone who didn't know anything about her or him, something about that stung more harshly. Perhaps it was because she was still in denial. She wanted to believe that Mr. Cosmo appreciated her.

But Snap's second question rang through her consciousness. It made her rethink her actions she did for the man. Had he truly been grateful like he acted? Or did he see her as just another tool to be used?

She shoved those thoughts in the back of her mind. She didn't want to think about them. She couldn't allow someone, anyone, not even this chalk based thing, to put doubts in her mind when she and Cosmo were so close to accomplishing their goal. Exploring ChalkZone was at hand. Soon, they would be able to study that world, learn all they can about it. And if she listened to Snap's words, if she started to hesitate on this mission, it could ruin everything...

"How dare you..." Saffron growled at Snap.

Snap immediately jumped back, taking a defensive stance. "Whoa there, miss! I didn't mean to upset you!"

Ms. Saffron took in a few breaths, calming herself down. "It's fine I...I gotta go. Mr. Cosmo is waiting for me..."

With that, she got up from the old bed and went towards the door. She opened it up and started to walk out.

"For what it's worth..." She heard Snap's voice behind her. "...I don't think you're as bad as I thought you were."

This made Saffron pause where she stood. She looked over at Snap, a shocked look on her face. She hesitated to walk only for a few seconds. Slowly, she went out of the room and shut it behind her.