Rudy grunted in pain as Lars threw him into the room. The door shut behind before he could even stand on his feet. The mind-controlled bear walked away.
Rudy's first reaction was to pound on the door. He hit it again and again to no avail. The door wouldn't budge. It was locked up tightly and he didn't have super strength or anything to help him open the door. He gritted his teeth. Snap was going to die soon...unless he either freed himself or...or joined Mr. Cosmo...
His gut tied in a knot at the thought. He didn't want to join that madman. He didn't want to use the black chalk...He knew it was the only way to severe his connection with Skrawl. But if...no...when he had to use it, if he used it fast, maybe he could avoid corruption...
But then there was Mr. Cosmo. The way he had talked, he sounded insane. He had lost his mind long ago to the black chalk and it clearly showed. He seemed to be obsessed with getting him at his side. Did it have anything to do with him being similar to Cosmo at a younger age? That might be, though the thought caused him to shake. Mr. Cosmo wanted him to use the black chalk...He wanted him to become 'enlightened' like him...
He knew, without a doubt, if he allowed Mr. Cosmo to win, he could very well end up like Cosmo...or even worse... He couldn't allow that to happen. He didn't want to turn his back on ChalkZone. He didn't want to betray his friends.
...but he also didn't want to lose Snap...
This decision, which he is being forced to make, was the hardest things he ever had to face. Worse than any school test. Worse than looking silly at some party. Worse than terrible grades.
Snap is his best friend. He couldn't just let him die...but he also couldn't betray him. Rudy's lower lip quivered as he realized just how trapped he really was. There was no way out of this. He was left with two choices.
Either he refuses to join Mr. Cosmo and Snap gets killed in the process...
...or he joins, but becomes corrupted with black chalk and ends up betraying Snap anyway.
Rudy fell to his knees, his body wracked with sobs. He slammed his fist into the ground, not caring how much it hurt. He did it again and again, not bothering to look to see if a bruise was forming. Tears flowed down his face. His nose was getting stuffed up. He didn't care. He wouldn't even care if Mr. Cosmo came down and saw him like this.
This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. It just wasn't fair. How could he be expected to make such a decision? How could Mr. Cosmo give him such a cruel dilemma?
There had to be another way around this. There had to be an option, something he wasn't thinking about before. He sat down cross-legged on the ground, putting his back to the wall, and began to think about the recent events. Surely, something would come to him, bring him some hope that he could get out of this and still be able to keep Snap, Penny, and the others safe.
The only thing that came to mind that could be of any help to him was that mysterious artist Biclops told him and Penny about. The one that had stopped Mr. Cosmo before. If he did it once, he could do it again. He had been so impressed with what this artist was capable of doing. The battle was intense, but the artist was able to box Cosmo into a corner and ultimately defeated him.
He could really use that artists' help right about now. He would surely turn the tides in all this. He would know how Mr. Cosmo's mind worked and be able to counter almost anything he threw at them. And his large pterosaur would give Draow a run for his money. The pterosaur was larger and probably even stronger. And that beak looked like it could be used as a powerful weapon.
But Rudy couldn't let himself get his hopes up. The odds of that artist returning are slim to none. Biclops mentioned how all the memories of the creators were erased. No doubt that included the mystery artist as well. Even if they could find him...it would mean absolutely nothing. He might still be a great artist, but he would have lost all his battle skills and memory of what Cosmo had done.
And who knew if this mysterious artist was even still alive? Mr. Cosmo, after regaining his memories, might have killed him off to ensure there was no opposition to him when he went forth with his plans. And if that were the case, then that meant he and his friends were on their own with this one.
Rudy hated to admit it, but it seemed like that was going to be the case. And look at where it had gotten them. He had once thought they could defeat Cosmo. Now he was hoping they'd all at least make it out alive. He had never faced a villain this competent before. Then again, none of the other villains he faced were this mentally insane either.
His thoughts trailed back to Snap. He took in a shuddering breath, fresh tears coming from his eyes. He had never seen Snap so scared in his life. He wanted so desperately to get in there, to knock Cosmo away, and get Snap out of there. The way he had looked at him as Cosmo drew closer to him, it tore through his heart. He felt like he let Snap down by failing to get free of Lars's grasp.
The way Mr. Cosmo just picked up Snap like he was a rag doll and nonchalantly carried him over to the vinegar tank...that image would never leave his mind. Snap's screams still ringed in his ears. He hoped Snap's feet weren't too heavily damaged from the vinegar. The poor guy could barely walk as it is. With burned feet, he wouldn't be able to stand.
He hoped that, if they could get out of this mess, Snap will eventually return to his old self. Snap had always been an outgoing, outspoken zoner who was really brave when the time called for it. Seeing all that shattered because of what Mr. Cosmo did to him was heartbreaking to think about. And what hurt Rudy more is that he didn't know everything Cosmo had done. He knew about the nail, but not how it got there. He didn't know the circumstances he had gotten the cut. He didn't know if it was a swift slice or if Cosmo, just to be cruel, cut very slowly...
"Enjoying your stay so far?" A cold voice said behind him. "I know it's not the most...comfortable...but it's much better than where your friend is right now."
"You...!" A wave of anger hit Rudy as he jumped to his feet. Through the door's window, he could see Mr. Cosmo. "What are you doing here?! It hasn't been an hour yet!"
Mr. Cosmo said as-a-matter-of-factly, "You're not happy to see me."
"Of course I'm not happy to see you! Why would I be? You tortured my best friend!" Rudy snapped at him. "An hour isn't long enough to not have to look at your face!"
Mr. Cosmo laughed. "Oh I'm hurt, really I am..." He folded up his arms lightly against his chest. "And after all the trouble I went through with picking out just the right room for you. I chose Snap's old holding cell. You should thank me. After all, I did think of you when I picked this one room out of all the others..."
The realization of what Cosmo said hit Rudy hard. He turned around and looked around the room. The dismal, damp room with some water dripping every so often from the ceiling. This was where Snap had been kept? This dingy, dirty place?
His eyes gazed over towards the bed. He could see red on it. Blood...
He turned to face Mr. Cosmo. "What did you do to him...?" He demanded in a low voice.
Mr. Cosmo seemed to know, right away, what the teenager was talking about as he answered right away. "That wasn't my doing. That was from your friend's back injury from Draow. Old blood. I had nothing to do with it."
"You ordered Draow to capture him!" Rudy spat.
A dark chuckle. "That may be...but I didn't order him to seriously hurt your friend. After all, he was going to be of no use to me if he were dead." His gaze at Rudy seemed to intensify. "Be glad that I thought he was useful, otherwise he'd be dead right now..."
Unable to take listening to Cosmo anymore, Rudy slammed against the door. He pushed his body against it. He gripped his hand on the door knob and twisted it as hard as he could. Cosmo took a few steps back and watched as Rudy attempted to break himself out.
Rudy pushed on the door again and again. He kept slamming himself against it. He kept trying to break off the door knob. He was trying so desperately to get out. He wanted to close the gap between him and this hideous man. He wanted to punch him, make him sorry for all the pain he inflicted on his friend, make him regret using zoners as his personal slaves.
After one final push, he was exhausted. He panted as he leaned agains the door to rest himself. It was no use. He was not going to get out of here. He wasn't strong enough to break down the door. All he could do was give a look of pure hate at the man that has caused him and his friends so much grief lately.
"Done with your little temper tantrum little boy?" A glare was Rudy's response. "Good..." Mr. Cosmo reached for something Rudy couldn't see. The man lifted it up and held it out to him. "This is an hour glass. Because of its name, the sand will run out in exactly one hour. I will place this on the window with some tape. When the sand runs out, you will be taken back to where your friend is being held, and I patiently await your decision."
Rudy's body shaked with rage. "You're such a disgusting monster..."
"The only reason you say that," Mr. Cosmo said. He used duct tape to secure the small hour glass against the window so Rudy could see it clearly. "Is because you have not yet been given the gift of knowledge from the black chalk. I am no monster, Rudy. And if you let the black chalk teach you as well, you will come to see things in a whole new light, and you will no longer see me as a monster."
Rudy backed away slowly. His shoulders were slightly hunched. He looked like he was preparing to lunge at Mr. Cosmo. And Rudy knew there was no doubt that, if it weren't for the door blocking him, that's exactly what he would have done.
"Never..." He growled lowly.
Mr. Cosmo simply waved his hand dismissingly. He turned around. "And remember, time is ticking. Tick tock...tick tock..." With that, he disappeared.
sss
Penny tried her best to keep with the woman's pace. Ms. Saffron had broke into a run as soon as they had gotten out of the building. They almost never stopped, only once or twice to take a breather. Penny was absolutely exhausted, her mouth getting dry from dehydration. But Saffron seemed to have a lot of energy in her and just kept running.
No, it wasn't energy. It was urgency. Penny felt it too. Though she felt tired, and Saffron did too, they both just kept on running because of what was happening back at the headquarters. Rudy was in trouble..and so was Snap. Wherever Saffron was taking her, she hoped they would get there soon. She wasn't sure how much time her friends had left.
She still wasn't entirely sure how trustworthy Saffron was. But at this point, she didn't have much of a choice. And the woman did help her out. She bandaged her wounds the best she could. She did save her from Draow. And she was the one who gave them a chance at escape when Snap was forced to fight them. There was no other explanation she could think of...other than it had been Saffron who tried to help them escape.
Her heart ached as she thought about Rudy and Snap. Ms. Saffron had informed her on just what Cosmo had planned on doing. He was going to threaten Snap's life if Rudy did not comply, and if he failed, Snap would die, and if he said yes, he would become corrupted.
Mr. Cosmo...what a horrid man... She couldn't imagine what Rudy and Snap were going through right now. Terrified, she was sure. Rudy didn't have the power to use magic chalk in the real world, so he can't get out of this one. What was Rudy going to do...when the time came to make a choice...? Penny bit her lip at the thought of being forced between a rock and a hard place like he had. Poor Rudy...Poor Snap...
Ms. Saffron had told her something else that sent chills up her spine. She informed the girl about how she had walked by a room and heard a zoner screaming and when they came out, they had a nail in their head. And once, she had been unlucky to witness it when she was looking through the security cameras. She had told Penny about what happened to Snap.
Penny wanted to cry when she heard the details of just how the nail was put in Snap's head. The details were...horrific. She hadn't been there, but she could hear Snap's cries of pain echoing in her head. The idea of such brutality done against her friend, and when he was awake, made her blood boil, her hatred for Mr. Cosmo intensifying. And no doubt, he would do more harm to Snap. If he could do something like that...what else could he do? What else would he do?
She sadly wondered how Snap was going to be after this. It was going to take a long time for Snap to recover both physically and mentally. From what Saffron described, Snap had gotten terrified of Mr. Cosmo, and after what happened to him, she couldn't blame him. He was going to be traumatized. She could only hope that she, Rudy, and their friends would be able to comfort Snap and help him through.
His physical wounds would take some time to heal. He needed his wounds properly treated and disinfected. The worst wound was the one on his back. Saffron said that, although it was treated, it wasn't done very well and she was certain it had gotten infected as well. She did hold a lot of regret for not realizing the reality of the situation, for not accepting zoners as real sooner. Penny was upset that Saffron didn't treat Snap's wound further, but at least she was sorry for it.
Ms. Saffron expressed great concern for the nail in Snap's head. Her worry and what she said...it had confirmed Penny's fears. It really was damaging Snap. Ms. Saffron believed that the reason Snap was conscious while the other nail-controlled zoners weren't was because of where the nail was placed. The others had the nail placed in deeply, avoiding important functions, so the electricity did not really hurt them; they just moved through the brain's own neurons to perform functions.
She informed Penny that none of the zoners truly lost all their consciousness. They were semi-self aware to an extent. But they were confused and unsure of what was going on. They could react, but it was minimal, limited mostly to reactions, or preprogrammed behaviors embedded in the nail itself.
With Snap, Mr. Cosmo had not placed it in all the way, just at the very tip. Because of this, the electricity, although it still went into his brain to control his functions, much of the electrical outpout went through other parts of his body. The process was very painful. Ms. Saffron guessed he did it this way so that they would witness him suffering, so their minds would crack sooner.
Because of the improper placement of the nail, a lot of damage was being done to Snap's neurological system, and she didn't doubt other areas of his body were being damaged as well. Ms. Saffron believed the damage could be reversed if the nail was removed as soon as possible, or the signal blocked, so Snap could begin a recovery. But if it were used just a few more times before removal, she feared that Snap would suffer some permanent damage.
The biggest concern was brain damage. Unlike the other nail-controlled zoners, where the electrical output was small and contained, only used to make the right movements, with Snap, there was more unneeded electricity and it was likely overloading his brain. If Snap continued to recieve electrical pulses in his brain and throughout his body, a number of things could happen. He could even lose the ability to use his arms or legs.
And that was just one thing that could result from brain damage. Penny knew all too well the whole host of symptoms and disorders that could arise from injury to the brain.
Penny's heart was wracked with intense emotional pain as she thought about what would happen if they had saved Snap too late. She...she didn't want him to be bed-ridden the rest of his life. She didn't want him to be confined to his house, for him to lose a piece of his mind while here... She wanted him to be able to walk out of this in one piece, to be able to explore ChalkZone with them with the same sense of bravery and outgoingness that he always had.
The idea that it could all be over...all because of one horrible person...it made her sick to her stomach.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Ms. Saffron placed an arm out in front of her, gesturing her to stop. Penny looked around and was shocked at just how far they managed to travel on foot. But this...this couldn't be right. Why would they come here? She thought they were looking for the mystery artist, not coming here.
Penny looked up at Ms. Saffron. "Why are we here?"
Ms. Saffron glanced down at her. "I told you we were getting help." She stared out at what Penny was looking at. "And we will find it here."
"Here?!" Penny cried in disbelief. "But this is..."
"I know. This is where he resides." Saffron explained. "When I read the documentaries Cosmo wrote down, I found one called 'Beware Of Him', where he had pictures of this one person, and in the documentation, he explained how this one artist stopped his goals from years ago. He even mentioned the name."
"So you're saying that...the mystery artist is..." Penny's voice trailed off.
Ms. Saffron gave a nod, a knowing smile on her face. "Yes."
Penny couldn't believe it.