Author Note: A double upload for the same day. I won't be doing this that often. But I was in a writing mood and decided to write another chapter.

sss

Snap had never been so scared in his life. He was in a small cage comprised of electrified water bars. Cosmo said he had something special in mind for him and had left Snap alone. Snap curled up in a ball and trembled in a combination of fear and pain as his eyes strained to see the nail in his head.

The nail, this thing in his head that was controlling him, it hurt so badly every time it was activated. And he had no idea when it would be. And even when it wasn't in use, even when it was not shooitng him full of electricity, it still ached. It was going straight into his brain. Of course it would hurt. He wanted so much to touch and rub the area, but he feared doing so could result in permanent brain damage.

He would never forget when it was first placed inside of him. It was a scarring moment that was etched into his head. Not just because of the imagery, but the pain that was associated with it.

When he woke up, he found himself strapped a table. There was a large laser over him. But the laser was not his concern, as Mr. Cosmo walked in and said he was not going to use it. At first, Snap thought that was a good thing. But then he soon realized Cosmo had something else in mind, which was no less traumatic.

When Snap first saw the nail, he wasn't sure what to think of it. He noted the little lights on it and even thought it looked pretty. Confusion and anxiety replaced his curiosity when Mr. Cosmo placed the tip on his forehead. He felt the thing prick him, but it wasn't too bad, especially compared to the horrible pain in his back.

When Snap asked what it was for, Cosmo gleefully informed him that it was going to be used to control him. Snap thought it was a joke and laughed at him. Snap had a hard time believing a measly little nail was going to make him do anything. It wasn't even that sharp. It could barely pierce his skin. And even if it did, it was way too long. It would fall off the front of his face and he could make his getaway.

Things stopped being funny really fast when Mr. Cosmo came up to him with two tools. A scalpel and an eyedropper... Snap tried to scoot away. He couldn't go anywhere with the cuffs holding him down. He demanded the man to tell him what he thinks he is doing. Now it was Mr. Cosmo's turn to laugh, short but filled with more cruelty than Snap ever heard in his life. And it was right then, he had an idea of what this man was about to do to him.

With a swift motion of his hand, Mr. Cosmo grabbed his face and kept it pressed against the board. He brought up the scalpel. Snap closed his eyes and braced for the pain. He felt the cold metal slice into his head. He let out a cry of pain which turned into a few low whines as Mr. Cosmo cut a small opening in his head. Fresh chalky blood dripped down.

But that was nothing compared to what Mr. Cosmo did next. What happened right after that was the true nightmare of the experience.

Mr. Cosmo took the eyedropper and held it above the open wound. He squeezed the end of it, forcing out a small, concentrated droplet of water on the cut. In an instant, Snap's eyes grew huge and he started to thrash wildly against the cuffs. The water droplet began to sink down into his skull. Mr. Cosmo, getting tired of hearing Snap's screams of agony, covered the zoner's mouth tightly and told him to shut up. Snap continued to let out whimpers, tears falling from his eyes, as the droplet continued to cut into his chalky head.

Only when the droplet reached the spot Cosmo wanted did the man use a cloth to wipe away the water to keep it from going down further. Still holding Snap's mouth shut, Mr. Cosmo pushed the nail into Snap's head. The pain was excruciating, just as bad as when the water was there. Cosmo pushed the nail harder and harder, driving it deeper into his head. Pain overwhelmed Snap. Unable to take it any longer, Snap fainted from the pain for the second time that day.

Snap looked at his face in the reflection of the real world water that kept him trapped here. There was still a bit of blood caked around the nail that was practically pounded into him. Even if he got it removed, the memory of the pain would still be there. Nothing would make him forget that. Nothing...

He laid back on the ground. His mind thought about the recent events. He still didn't have a strong idea of what was going on. He knew more now than he did, but he didn't get why Mr. Cosmo was doing this. What compelled him to be so...so monsterous? So vile? And why him? Why did he want him in particular? Why Rudy? Why was he interested in Rudy?

He started to think about how unfair it was all this was happening. What had he ever done to deserve this? What had Rudy, Penny...what had any of them done to deserve such a terrible fate? Snap used to be so confident, so willing to throw himself into battle if need be. But right now, he was a broken shadow of his former self. Pain does a lot to a person. Snap wished that the pain would go away. Only sleep would do that, and even then, it is just temporary. The moment he would wake up, he would be washed over by the agony again.

He felt so bad fighting against his two friends. Although he understood that they knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, it still hurt him mentally nonetheless. He was grateful that it stopped for a time. It felt nice being able to be physically close to his friends without his body working against him to hurt them.

But then the nightmare resumed. And he was helpless as he dragged Penny off to be thrown down some tunnel. He wanted to jump in after her to make sure she was okay. But his body walked off, and he was tossed down another...

What made that hurt him more than before was that, during the fight, at least he could see what he was doing. But when Penny fell, he didn't know where she was going to land. He didn't know if she was going to be okay, if she was going to get hurt. He knew nothing. And that scared him to his very core. He hoped, prayed that she was all right.

He tried to remain hopeful. Rudy would find a way out of this. He always did. Snap didn't want to give up hope completely. His pal Rudy would fix things somehow. He didn't know how. But he was confident that he would make things better in some way. If staying here had done him any good, is that he encountered confirmation that, in the midst of danger, there is some light.

His thoughts trailed to Ms. Saffron. He thought she wasn't that bad. Even given what he found out, a part of him couldn't hate her for it. He did like talking with her. Her presence, though cautious in nature, was a nice change of pace. Whenever she wasn't there, he was all alone. He didn't like being alone. He could handle being in his own house, his own bed for the night, but that was because he could wake up and find someone to talk to. As a prisoner here, the only one he could ever talk to was Ms. Saffron, and she could never stay for long.

He did feel somewhat betrayed by her when he found out she was keeping something from him. He didn't understand why she didn't tell him. It didn't matter, did it? He wasn't going anywhere. Telling him would not have changed a thing. Well, it would have made things a little easier on him. Knowing what was coming would have made him a little less anxious and less surprised when Mr. Cosmo drilled this nail into his head.

Though he was disappointed in her, he still couldn't feel too angry at her. She did look regretful, like she suddenly realized what she did was wrong. If that were the case, then she really wasn't as bad as he initially thought. Maybe she would come around, realize the error of her ways, and help him and the others.

He just hoped that it wouldn't be too late by the time she decided to do that...

He jerked his head up when he heard foosteps. He cringed when he saw Mr. Cosmo walk into the room, smiling slyly down at him. Snap would have run away if he could. But he was trapped.

"Don't worry...I am not going to do this yet. But pretty soon, you will have an...unforgettable experience..." Mr. Cosmo said in a frightening voice. His smile tightened Snap got up to his feet and took a step back. "I still have confidence in you, Snap. I truly believe that you will turn the tides in my favor. You will be the one to convince Rudy to join me...so I may train him. The boy still has much to learn yet..."

"Wh-why would Rudy ever want to join you?" Snap retorted weakly.

Mr. Cosmo's eyes glinted. "Because..." He reached behind his back to grab something out of Snap's sight. "The boy is attached to you...and when he sees this..." Mr. Cosmo held something up to Snap.

Snap gasped and took a step away from the man. "No...Y-You can't do that..."

Mr. Cosmo smirked. "This...will ensure I get any deal I want out of the boy...And if he doesn't agree..."

He put his face close to the electric water bars. Snap took another step back only to fall onto the ground. He looked up at Mr. Cosmo with fearful disbleief in his eyes.

"You will die."

sss

"I can't believe I'm stuck with the artist boy again!" Skrawl complained as he paced along a corner of the cage.

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "I'm not happy about this either."

"This is the worst day of my life!" Skrawl shouted, raising his fists into the air. "I should be in ChalkZone! With you out of the way, my victory would be assured!"

Rudy grumbled and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Skrawl."

"Oh you doubt my brilliance, Master Tabootie?"

"It was your brilliance that got us here in the first place, Skrawl." Rudy growled at him. He leaned against one of the stone pillars, holding out his hand as he spoke mockingly, "Oh let's just stand there and stomp on the ground! Oh I should capture this hideous beast! Even though it appeared out of nowhere and is causing a lot of damage, I am sure everything will turn out swell if I command it! Because I am always right!"

Skrawl didn't reply. He growled in frustration and walked away.

Rudy shot him a glare. It was uncharacteristic for him to put so much blame on one person. But the stress of everything that has happened made it difficult to avoid. It put pressure on him, and he needed to let some of it out. And nothing he said about Skrawl was untrue. He did chase the beast, which prompted him and Snap to act. That caused him and Skrawl to get connected while Snap was kidnapped. That led him to be confronted by Mr. Cosmo, then all this...

It was amazing how much had happened all because Skrawl wanted to play rodeo with Draow. Although he was certain that this all would have happened in some way regardless of Skrawl's role, it kinda made him feel a little better believing Skrawl was responsible. And it was because if he continued believing that, then it was easy to believe that all of this was preventable.

He was very worried about Penny and Snap. He hoped they would be okay. He didn't know what Mr. Cosmo planned to do to her. And Snap...he knew Mr. Cosmo was going to use Snap to make him convert. Would he do the same with Penny too? Would he threaten her as well? It was bad enough this man was willing to hurt and torture one of his friends for the sake of this plan. But two...he didn't want to imagine what that would be like.

Snap had been through so much already. He shouldn't have to endure more of this nightmare. It was Rudy he wanted. Why did he have to torment his friend? Why couldn't he just let Snap go? Why couldn't he leave Penny alone? Why do all this just to get to his head?

Because Cosmo was a monster. That was the conclusion he came up with. He never met anyone before who he would call a complete monster. The closest would be Skrawl, but even he hadn't gone the lengths that Mr. Cosmo did. As much as Rudy feared Cosmo, he also hated him. He hated the man's guts and he wanted to make him pay for everything that he did.

But he couldn't do anything caged up like this. Stuck in the real world, there was no way he would be able to use his creator powers to stop Mr. Cosmo. If they were in the chalk world, he wouldn't be so helpless. He'd be able to fight back.

Rudy tried to keep himself calm. He tried telling himself that yelling at the man wouldn't do him any good. But anger and worry were getting the best of him. He took a defensive stance, as if somehow that would make Mr. Cosmo back away.

"What have you done with Penny and Snap?!" Rudy demanded through clenched teeth. "If you hurt them, I swear I'll..."

Mr. Cosmo held up a hand. "Calm down, little boy. Penny is safe. I just merely...showed her the way out. I didn't bother erasing her memory like I had with your parents. She won't be able to get back into the building quick enough to help you. She will be too late..." He smiled as Rudy's frown deepened. "And as for your little blue friend... You will see him soon enough."

"Don't you fucking dare hurt him!" Rudy threatened. He would have grabbed the bars if he wasn't afraid of getting electrocuted.

"Again with the language... You really are becoming quite a foul mouthed child. Look what you've done to yourself, Tabootie. You're becoming...dark...kinda like me..." Mr. Cosmo chortled in an almost playful tone. He took a step back when Rudy fit his arm between two water bars and tried to grab him. "You outta be careful there. Is it really worth killing yourself to get to me? I don't think it is..."

Rudy didn't want to hear anymore of this. He wanted Cosmo to go away. He was the last person, if he could even be called that, he wanted to see. The way he had taken Penny away...the way he had tortured Snap... He wanted nothing more to do with this monster. He turned his back to him.

"Turning around is not going to make this negotiation any easier. Look at me."

The command was soft, unusually friendly for Mr. Cosmo. Rudy flinched, unaccustomed to Cosmo sounding nice. He refused to turn around.

"Rudy..." Cosmo's voice was calm. "I know you can hear me. Turn around and look at me."

Still, Rudy ignored him. He caught Skrawl's expression. The jellybean was clearly confused by what was going on. He was glad Skrawl was hanging back instead of interrupting. He would likely say something to make things worse. He could get himself into trouble. As much as he didn't like Skrawl, he was not going to let Mr. Cosmo try to use him again.

Suddenly, Mr. Cosmo yelled at him. The voice was a little deeper than usual. It was full of menace. It made Rudy tremble in fear as soon as he heard it.

"Turn around right now!"

Despite his better judgment, Rudy slowly turned around to face Mr. Cosmo. And as fast as Cosmo became angry, he swiftly became pleasant again. It was...unnerving.

"Now isn't that better?" Mr. Cosmo said, smiling. "So much easier talking this way, don't you think?"

Rudy was still startled at how quick this man could change his demeanor. It was so flawless, not jarring. It was smooth, as if he was an excellent actor. While he wouldn't doubt that he was, something else frightened Rudy about this. Was this an effect of the black chalk? Is this what black chalk does to artists? In addition to making them hostile, did it make them creepy like hell, like Mr. Cosmo was?

"I do have confidence that you will one day see things the way I do, Rudy. Sooner or later...that will happen..." Mr. Cosmo said with a sneer. "You see...I've learned to be...quite patient. My experience as a reporter has told me that good things come to those who wait. I learned to be patient with my job, and I got better. If it takes forever, I will stick to a plan. Yes, boy, I am that tenacious."

Rudy took a step back. "I will never be like you..."

"But you're already starting to be like me." Mr. Cosmo was clearly amused by all this. "And if you paid attention, you will see that."

"You're wrong!" Rudy shouted. "I am not like you!"

"We will see about that soon enough... Now onto business... I believe you will come to understand things the way I do. You must understand...I am not doing this out of spite. I have my reasons..." Mr. Cosmo said in a calm voice. His voice got a tinge of excitement as he continued. "ChalkZone has so much potential... The chalk creatures you are so fond of, they are more resilient than normal living things. As long as I keep them fed and hydrated and away from real world liquid, they could live forever. They would be excellent subjects in a lot of areas...don't you think?"

Rudy felt his heart pound. Was this man suggesting...experimentation on living people? To Cosmo, zoners were not people, or at least not worthy of rights in his eyes. But Rudy knew just how wrong he was. To suggest using zoners for such a thing it was...horrible. And to act it out, it was unredeemable.

Mr. Cosmo wasn't finished. "Even if you do not join me, dear boy, I am already well on my way to fulfilling my plans. I am going to revolutionize modern society with these...beings made of chalk. What you've seen them do there is but a taste of what I have in store for them. Imagine, kid, a world where human labor workers are done away with, replaced with expendable chalk things..."

"Expendable?! Is that all they are to you?!" Rudy yelled at him. "You...you're an abomination! These are living people you are talking of exploiting! What gives you the right to do this to them? What have they done to deserve this? Answer me that!"

Mr. Cosmo stared blankly at Rudy for about a minute. The silence was uneasy and tense. The creepy smile came back on the man's face.

"You need to tame that temper of yours. Anger will cloud your judgment. If you chill, you will see things clearly."

"I already see things clearly." Rudy protested in a low voice. "I can see that you are insane if you think I will consider joining you... I already have what I want. Friends, family, genuine respect..."

"Low grades..."

Rudy flinched. Was Mr. Cosmo really going to bring that up again? Did he think that, if he kept mentioning it, he would cave in? He was wrong about that. But he decided to let him continue. He wanted to know what more Mr. Cosmo could say.

"When all is said and done, the only thing you have to show for your prancing around in ChalkZone like some blasted hero is low grades. Friends are meaningless. Family worthless. The only thing that really matters is knowledge and power. The two are intertwined with each other. It is those with knowledge who push this country and world forward, not those who spend time making friends. I will tell you this, Tabootie...People are not going to remember you for your heroics in ChalkZone... No matter how great you are there...no one in the real world will know about it...and nobody is going to remember you for what little friends you have..."

Rudy gritted his teeth.

"So in the end, all they will remember you for is your low grades. They will not see a brave child who has faced countless dangers. They are not going to see a boy who is excellent at combat. No...all they are going to know your for are your low grades, because that is all they will see from you. Yes you are good at art, but not many people care about that. Pretty to look at, but not very profitable..not compared to things like weapons, warefare, technology..." Mr. Cosmo paused to take a breath. "I am offering you a chance to put something else on your...resume of sorts..."

Rudy fell silent. He wasn't sure how to reply to that. He continued to glare at Mr. Cosmo.

Mr. Cosmo turned his back to the boy. "You can be so much more, Rudy. Think about that..."

With that, he walked away.