If there was one thing Mr. Wilter never expected he had to deal with, it was Mr. Cosmo for a second time. He had been aware of him becoming a reporter, and how renouned he had become. He had been cautious of him for a time, but reminding himself that his memories of ChalkZone were erased, he thought that danger from him was all over. Oh how he had been so dead wrong.

He was hard enough to deal with as a kid. He had been so inventive even back them, and he created so many competent, powerful zoners to be on his side. He even managed to recruit, alongside other artists, other zoners he did not draw. Others did try to stop Cosmo and his reign of terror. But they all had failed because they were trying to focus on attacking all the enemies. Mr. Wilter succeeded because he, himself, focused on the one person that mattered, Mr. Cosmo. He knew that if he stopped him, he stopped the madness. And it had worked.

That had been many years ago. The memories of that fight were still vivid in his head, however. It was hard to forget the screams of agony as zoners were being hurt, or the ferocious roars of the evil creations Mr. Cosmo conjured up. Things got worse when he had introduced the red chalk and created some crimson colored creatures whose savagery outmatched any zoner of other chalk type, even those who were meant to be nasty to start with.

He wished he had been more suspicious when Mr. Cosmo came to the classroom. The only reason he did not turn it down was because Cosmo had offered to pay him a lot of money, and the principal said they needed that money to help fund the school. When he kept hinting for Rudy, he did try a little to resist, as something about it didn't feel right.

He realized too late he should have tried harder. He had been working on grading some paperwork at the school when Ms. Saffron and Penny rushed into his classroom. When Saffron told him about Mr. Cosmo and how he was planning to do something with ChalkZone, she immediately had his attention. Wilter felt a pang of guilt when he learned that Rudy and Penny were both captured by Cosmo, and he was horrified when he learned that Mr. Cosmo got his memories back of ChalkZone.

He had no idea how he managed to get his memories back. He thought Biclops said it was permanent. None of the other artists got their memories back. Only Mr. Cosmo. There had to have been a trigger of some kind. It had to be some trigger, but the only thing he could think of was seeing an image of ChalkZone somehow. He didn't know how that was possible.

The thoughts of the other artists made him worry. If Cosmo could remember again, what would stop the other artists? This was worrying indeed. Though Cosmo was the most dangerous and the ringleader of all this mess, the other artists, the ones that had been corrupted, were no sweet angels either, thanks to the dreaded black chalk. If they remembered, ChalkZone would be in big trouble.

He hoped that Rudy and Penny manage to get out of the building safely. So long as they were in Cosmo's turf, it was going to be hard defeating him. With his high intelligence and beast Draow, it would not be easy fighting back. Rudy and Penny were just teenagers after all. If they brought the battle to ChalkZone...then things might start to shift in their favor.

And he hoped it was soon. He wasn't sure how long he could hold out against Mr. Cosmo. He had gotten a little rusty and he hadn't physically fought in a long time. Mr. Cosmo was a little stronger than he was, which put him at a bit of a disadvantage.

At least Tsere was having a better time. He was managing to keep Draow pinned on the ground. Though the winged wolf-like beast was trying to bite his neck, the pterosaur managed to keep his head raised while holding him down and clawing at him with a free foot. Mr. Cosmo is easier to deal with when he didn't have Draow at his side. Draow was most of his brute force, and without him, he loses a lot of his power.

At least in the real world. In ChalkZone, he would be more dangerous than Draow as he would draw any weapon he wanted to and use it against his enemies. His personal favorite were the cannons that spewed out hot flames. He was grateful he never thought of bringing real world water to ChalkZone. If he had done that...all would have been lost...

He had his arms wrapped around Mr. Cosmo and kept pushing him into the ground. He only managed to hold him there for a short time before Cosmo squeezed out of his grasp and threw him against the wall. Before he could react, Mr. Cosmo grabbed him by the throat and shoved him further against the hard surface. Wilter struggled with the hand on his throat, making it hard for him to breathe normally.

"You're a bit out of practice..." Mr. Cosmo taunted. "You should just stick to grading those papers from your idiotic students. You are too old for this."

Mr. Wilter snarled at him. He kicked Cosmo in the right shin, causing him to stagger a little. He went behind him and used his foot to push him into the ground. Once Cosmo was on the ground again, he jumped onto his back and put him in a choker hold. He pulled back tightly, hearing Cosmo gag a little from the pressure. Wilter struggled to hold on as Cosmo started to squirm.

"What...do you plan on...doing with ChalkZone...?" Mr. Wilter said through gritted teeth.

"Ch-ChalkZone? I g-guess...Ms. Saffron...di-didn't tell you..." Mr. Cosmo hissed with a ragged breath. "O-Or maybe she for-forgot...Either way...I'm not...telling you..."

Mr. Wilter had been confused by why Ms. Saffron didn't tell him. At least at first. But given the urgency, he understood that she couldn't tell everything that happened. She told him enough to have an idea of what was going on, and he immediately left. Well almost; he had Penny create a medkit for him. Then they left. He did drive a little crazy getting there, but they had no time to lose. And he was relieved he got there when he did.

He overheard just a little bit of the conversation. He heard enough to know that Mr. Cosmo wanted something with Rudy. To recruit him for something. His heart froze when he realized that Mr. Cosmo wanted to corrupt Rudy, to make him just like him. Knowing that Rudy was ChalkZone's main protector, he couldn't allow that to happen. He didn't want to think of what would have happened...had he been too late...

"I will beat the information out of you..." Mr. Wilter said in a threatening voice.

This prompted a smile from Mr. Cosmo. "You're...in no position...t-to do th-that..."

Suddenly, Cosmo grabbed his arm and yanked him off of him. He stood over Mr. Wilter and stepped onto his chest, pinning him on the ground. Mr. Wilter struggled to get the foot off of him. But Cosmo being heavier as well as stronger than him made that impossible. And he couldn't call Tsere for help while he was dealing with Draow. He glared up at Mr. Cosmo.

"Perhaps I had been wrong about you. Maybe you weren't as dangerous as I thought." Mr. Cosmo grinned. "If I had known you wouldn't put up as much of a fight than I thought, I wouldn't have wasted so much time reminding myself of the kink you could put in my plans..."

"Don't count me out yet." Mr. Wilter said. With that, he swung his foot against Cosmo's leg, causing him to fall down. Mr. Wilter got up. "I still have a lot of fight left in me!"

He grabbed Mr. Cosmo by his shirt collar and threw him against the wall. This prompted a grunt of pain from Cosmo and he hunched over slightly from the pain. Wilter then slammed his body against his, smashing him up against the tunnel's wall. He hit Cosmo harder than he thought because the man had screamed.

When he moved back, Cosmo growled and pulled back a fist to punch him. Mr. Wilter managed to step nimbly out of the way. He struck back with his own fist. It made contact with Cosmo's stomach, causing him to cry out in pain and hold his stomach. His knees buckled and he gritted his teeth tightly. He coughed up a bit of blood and stared up at Wilter hatefully.

"You...I will not lose to you again..."

He lunged at Mr. Wilter and knocked him into the ground. He grabbed his throat and started to choke him. Mr. Wilter's eyes went wide and he started to struggle frantically. He managed to kick Mr. Cosmo off of him, but he wasn't free for long. The man slung his arm around his neck and squeezed hard, putting him into a hold.

Wilter pulled and scratched at Cosmo's arm. It was not doing him any good. The more he struggled, the harder Cosmo squeezed. Having a harder time breathing, Wilter stopped struggling, opting to hang onto Cosmo's arm. He opened up one eye half way and glared over at Cosmo.

"I...I know about the b-black chalk..." Mr. Wilter said through what little breath he could take. "I know you plan on corrupting R-Rudy with it..."

"So you know that much do you? Congratulations, old 'friend'..." Mr. Cosmo jeered. Wilter guessed that if he wasn't holding onto him, he'd be giving him a mock clap. "Well, since you are not going to make it out of this alive..I will see to that...I suppose I will tell you a bit more of my plan..."

"How thoughtful of you..." Wilter growled.

"That boy is going to finish what I started. Since the day the black chalk gave me wisdom, I sought to make ChalkZone a place that benefited the creators in the greatest possible way. You stopped me from achieving that goal. But I see so much potential in Rudy Tabootie...he will make a fine apprentice, and he will help me achieve my goal."

Mr. Wilter grunted in pain as Mr. Cosmo pushed him against the wall, putting his face close to his. "That boy will have no choice but to use the black chalk. He has been forced into it. He cannot remain connected to Skrawl for long..."

"Wh-Why not..?" Wilter asked.

"Well..let me just say, soon, there'll be some negative repurcussions. What they are, I will leave up to your imaginaton..." Mr. Cosmo said. He smiled at Mr. Wilter's widening eyes. "Even if he didn't agree to join me, his connection with Skrawl will assure my victory. And once I have that boy at my side, I will take over ChalkZone and enslave all the zoners. They will become workers in the real world, where they will be harvested for labor, weaponry, what have you. It will be a glorious future...don't you think...?"

Wilter couldn't believe it. So that is what this madman had been up to. And to force Rudy into using the dreaded black chalk, which they both knew was irreversable once its corruption became complete, it was awful. And to use zoners as slaves...that was horrible. The zoners didn't deserve to be treated that way. Though still a little bitter he was banished, he didn't want them to suffer like that. He couldn't allow this to happen.

He opened his mouth and bit down on Cosmo's arm. This was enough to cause the evil man to loosen his grip on him. Wilter struggled free of his grasp. He gripped Cosmo by his collar and threw him aside. Cosmo stumbled, trying to keep his balance. He looked over and watched as Mr. Wilter came at him at incredible speed.

In a split second, Wilter's fist punched against Cosmo's face. He stumbled back against the wall. The fist made contact with his nose. Blood squirted out of his nostrils and he gave a pained cough. He looked over and his eyes widened in fear as Mr. Wilter lunged at him.

sss

Penny had no idea where they were going in this zigzag of a place. She wished Ms. Saffron were here. She'd be able to take them to where they wanted to go. She must know this place well enough to be able to navigate it. But Saffron couldn't go with her and Tsere. She had to sneak back into the building and try to cripple Mr. Cosmo the best she could. It would only be temporary until Cosmo got it fixed eventually, but it would provide some cover for them.

She hoped that Saffron could keep the controlled zoners busy. She had them all report to the same room, clustered together. In one centralized location, they would be much easier to avoid. And with Cosmo too busy with Wilter, he wouldn't realize anything was wrong until later on. She hoped that it would be enough to ensure their escape.

Rudy thought he realized there might be a way to find them. He mentioned how Wilter chose a tunnel based on color, and he assumed that all the areas were actually color coded if they looked at them right. Rudy vaguely remembered the color of the room he and Skrawl were trapped in, and he looked for that color. But finding the right shade of the color wasn't going to be easy. She hoped that Rudy, being an artist, could more easily pick the colors apart.

At least they were on the upper level by now, putting more distance between them and Cosmo. They walked around for a while, taking chances, going down different hallways. She was in awe at how much Cosmo had put in this place, all likely just to disorient would-be intruders. She hoped that they were going the right way, or were close to where Skrawl is. They didn't have time to get stuck in here.

Stuck...that made her mind go back to when Rudy trapped himself in the temple to stop the red bats from spreading their disease. She truly thought that was the last time she'd ever get to see Rudy. It was a heartbreaking moment for her, and she remembered the huge elation she felt when Rudy was able to get out of the temple after all.

Rudy suddenly smiled and turned over to Penny. "This is the right place!"

Penny strode up to him. "Are you sure, Rudy?"

"Yes. This is the same hallway Lars dragged me down. Skrawl's cell should be down there." Rudy said. He motioned with his head for Penny to follow him.

The trio headed down the hallway slowly. Even though Rudy was certain, Penny knew they still had to be careful. Even with the odds now shifting in their favor, something could still go very wrong. She had seen enough of Cosmo to know that he could still pull another trick out of his sleeve. For Snap's sake, they had to be careful.

She stared at Snap as he rested on Rudy's back. He had calmed down a little since discovering he couldn't feel his feet. But he was clearly still shaken up and rightfully so. He only calmed down because they had both been there for him and soothed him. He eventually stopped crying and went quiet. He hung onto Rudy a little tighter, pressing his head more firmly against him for comfort.

She was very worried about him. The seizure he had earlier was utterly frightening. She remembered how Rudy let out a panicked scream. They were lucky they didn't get caught, but she understood why he did it. Snap had suddenly started thrashing. They thought it was because he was in pain at first, but when they saw he was actually having a seizure...that made it so much worse.

They quickly found cover and laid Snap on the ground. They couldn't call out to him otherwise they risk drawing attention. They were forced to watch him, unable to do anything except stroke his head and cheek, or hold his hand and whisper comforting words to him. They both cried as Snap had the seizure, and then went completely still, catatonic. It was such a relief that he woke up.

But that relief soon turned into a nightmare when they both came to the horrible realization that the seizure might have cost Snap the use of his legs. Not being able to feel his legs at all was horrible. The only good thing that came out of that was not having to feel his severe foot burns. What was just as pressing was the fact he could barely move his legs now. They were becoming paralyzed.

That brought about a stronger sense of urgency in her and Rudy. They really needed to get to ChalkZone and fast. Losing the ability to walk...that was a horrible thing to happen to anyone. And since Snap would live a long time, he'd have to endure not being able to walk until he was killed. She felt tears fill her eyes as she thought about the long, hard road Snap would have in front of him if he had to adjust to life without being able to walk.

To add to her worry, there was that infection. She and Rudy both expressed concerns about it during their walk down these halls. If the infection spread too quickly, Snap would get sick and that would worsen his condition even further. His damaged body couldn't afford getting sick. If that happened, the disease would do a lot more damage since his immune system was weakened from all the abuse Snap had to endure here.

She recalled what Rudy said about the vinegar, being used as a torture device on Snap to make him crack. She felt her lip quiver as she thought about how horrible that was for the both of them. Rudy must have been so scared and frightened. It must have been horrible having to see something like that done to his best friend. And Snap...poor little guy... She couldn't imagine the amount of pain he was in, the terrible fear that must have gripped his heart, as Cosmo did all that to him.

She hoped that the man would get what's coming for him. She didn't care how long it takes. She just wanted karma to bite him back. And bite him back hard. And if she had to bring it to him, she would be glad to. And she knew Rudy would agree with her.

Suddenly she heard a low whimpering. It was growing louder and louder. She quickly realized it was coming from Snap. His body was starting to tremble and he was hugging Rudy tighter as if he was getting very cold. He started to moan.

Rudy looked at his friend worriedly. "Snap..? What's wrong?"

Snap didn't answer. He was moving his head around, like he was confused as to where he was. His eyes were only halfway open.

"Snap...please talk to us..." Penny begged. But like Rudy, she got no response from the blue zoner.

The two of them went over to another corner in the hallway and sat on the ground. Rudy gently held Snap sitting up, careful not to bend his legs in an odd angle. He kept Snap up by gripping his shoulders gently. He made sure that his back wasn't pushed up against the wall, for fear he would irritate the injuries more.

Penny's heart skipped a beat as she saw Snap sway his head back and forth, his body moving from side to side. He continued to shiver and groan. He looked up at Rudy and Penny, his eyes filled with fear as if he had no idea what was going on.

"What's wrong? Please tell us..." Rudy begged, tears filling his eyes. "Snap..please...talk to us...say something..."

But Snap did not answer. To the teenagers' horror, his eyes suddenly shot close and he became completely limp.

"Snap! No!" Rudy cried. He nudged Snap, trying to wake him. He wouldn't respond. "No..."

Penny placed her hand on his forehead. She yanked her hand back. "He's burning up!" She cried in horror. The infection must have spread. A fever was only going to worsen Snap's already frail condition. She turned to Rudy. "We need to cool him down, and fast!"

"But how? We don't have any chalk water with us, and real world water would kill him..." Rudy said, his voice filled with worry and sorrow.

Penny shook her head in denial as she slowly looked down at Snap. With him being so sick, they couldn't risk going back for Skrawl...they had to get to ChalkZone and fast. Snap could burn up before they even get there if they continued on this detour. But if they didn't get Skrawl, what if Cosmo used their connection against him? He could go as far as kill Rudy if he felt it was necessary...

She didn't have long to dwell on her thoughts when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, her body tense. Could it be Cosmo? No..don't let it be Cosmo..not know. The shadow on the wall came closer, clearly forming the image of a human. She bit her lip. She and Rudy moved close to Snap, shielding him from the person's sight in case it really was Cosmo.

Much to their relief, it was only Ms. Saffron. She spotted the kids and her eyes flew open. She looked left and right before rushing over as fast as she could. Once she reached the teenagers, she knelt down, looking at them with great concern.

"What are you doing here? Why haven't you left?" Saffron asked, her voice tense. "I don't know how long Cosmo can be distracted. I don't know how long Wilter can hold out against him."

Rudy answered, his voice shaky, "W-We were going to g-get Skrawl so Cosmo couldn't use him to s-stop me..."

Ms. Saffron nodded understandably. "I see...I had forgotten about that...I wouldn't doubt Cosmo would do that if he found you had left back into ChalkZone." She looked down and gasped. "What happened to him...?"

"I-Infection...it spread...he has a horrible fever and it caused him to faint..." Penny replied, tears blurring her vision. "A-And he can't feel his legs...he had a s-seizure..."

"A seizure?" Ms. Saffron whispered in horror. "No...that's not possible...unless Mr. Cosmo used that blasted device more than I thought..."

"What does this mean..?" Rudy asked her tearfully.

Ms. Saffron bit her lip. "It means he may have less time than I thought..." She brought out the medkit Penny drew earlier. She looked at Rudy. "You go on ahead and get Skrawl. Come back here as soon as you can. There are no controlled zoners down that way, so you shouldn't run into any resistance."

"B-But..Snap..." Rudy whispered, clearly not wanting to leave Snap's side.

"We will take care of him. Don't worry..." Saffron said in a comforting voice. "Right now, you need to get Skrawl out of there before Cosmo or one of his zoner servants get him. You won't be of much help to your friend if you are incapacitated."

"I..." Rudy sighed. "I understand..."

"Good." Ms. Saffron said as she handed Penny the medkit. She carefully scooped Snap in her arms and steadied him. She gave a nod to Penny.

Penny opened up the medkit and got out a small bottle of chalk water that had been in there. She put some on a chalk cloth and squeezed it so that it wasn't too damp. She placed it on Snap's forehead. She watched as his eyes clenched tightly, his teeth bared. She listened to the whimpers and low cries coming from his mouth. He was having a nightmare...poor guy...

Though clearly not wanting to leave, Rudy started to walk down the hallway alone. Before he disappeared, Penny heard Saffron say something that she hadn't thought she would hear from the woman.

"And...Rudy...?"

Stopping in his tracks, Rudy looked behind at Ms. Saffron.

"About what I said at your parents' house, about you being a...juvenile delinquent.." Saffron winced as she said that. "I'm...so sorry... I shouldn't have said it."

Rudy stared at her in shock. Slowly, a weak smile came onto his face. It didn't stay there long. Worry plastered over his face once more as he turned and walked away, heading down the hallways alone.