Ms. Saffron stared down at Snap's limp form with concern etched on her face. She had no idea just how cruel Mr. Cosmo could really be. He had done a lot more harm to Snap in the short time he been alone with him than she realized. He had been just fine when he was in the isolation room, where she was able to converse with him. Even if it wasn't the cleanest, it was still better than what he got afterwards.
She knew that was the biggest reason for his move. This is what Mr. Cosmo had intended all along. He wanted to break the poor boy's spirit so he would be an absolute wreck when Rudy saw him. Emotion was a powerful thing, and at times emotional wounds run deeper than physical ones. Even if Snap recovered from his physical wounds, his personality must have suffered a heavy blow. She couldn't help but feel her stomach tie in knots as she realized she had helped make this possible.
She had no idea how she fell for Cosmo's lie about just wanting to explore ChalkZone. Up until recently, she thought that was all his plan had entailed. She did question some of the methods that he used, but he had promised he would do no real harm. Why had she believed him? She should have realized that he had been lying to her since day one of this project.
She regretted she didn't act sooner. As soon as she had doubts, she should have trusted her instincts. She should have looked into this plan of his more deeply. If she had, she could have found out the truth, and what he really had planned. She could have warned Rudy...
Well she did warn him initially at his house. Something about Cosmo's plan back then didn't feel right, and she felt like she had to warn him. But Mr. Cosmo put her fears to rest...for a time. And now she wished that she had remained suspicious of him the entire time. She had never wanted anything like this to happen. And now, because of her inaction, she had put a couple of kids in danger. She felt horrible.
And Snap...she felt so bad for the little guy. He had seemed to be a pretty friendly guy. He didn't come off as dangerous in any shape or form. She had no idea, for a time, how to think of the chalk entities, but she did come to understand how real they were, thanks to Snap. This made her even angrier at Mr. Cosmo for how he had been treating them. Had she known that the chalk creatures were truly sentient, she would have left Mr. Cosmo a long time ago.
She felt like a fool. She had been so grateful to Cosmo for helping her out with her career, for taking her in. But maybe Snap had been right all along. Maybe she was just being used. Maybe he just wanted a crony to do some of the dirty work for him. Maybe, in the end, he was going to dump all the blame on her, or whatever else he could come up with. He had never cared about her, or anyone else. And she had been played for a sap.
Snap was laying in Penny's arms. The girl had the wet cloth against his head. The blue boy's eyes were shut tightly and he let out a few whimpers. She didn't expect the fever to break anytime soon. The cloth would still help at least. She had managed to pop a pill into the guy's mouth and got him to swallow it. But she wasn't sure how long it would take to take effect and if it would be enough. It might make him a little stronger. It wouldn't save him, but a little stronger was better than nothing.
She hoped Rudy would return with Skrawl soon. They couldn't stay in the hallways for very long. Mr. Cosmo could have found a backup plan. Even though she worked alongside him, it seemed that he was keeping this sadistic side away from her for all these years, and now she isn't sure just how much she knows about him. She had a feeling he would find a way to get at them soon, though. That much she was certain. But exactly how or when, she couldn't tell.
As soon as they would arrive, she'd take them down to the nearest chalkboard. But sadly, the nearest one from here was on the upper level. And that would take some time to get to. After they would go into ChalkZone, she wasn't sure what she was going to do. She had thought about going with them, but she didn't think she could be of much help. She could stay and offer a distraction, but she already did enough damage to the systems. It should be enough to stall Cosmo long enough to get Snap to a hospital and for Rudy to severe his connection with Skrawl.
After the nightmare was over, she planned on apologizing to Snap. She wanted to now, but he was unconscious still, and even if he were awake, with the damage he sustained, he may not fully understand why she was apologizing. She felt horrible for keeping him in the dark on what Cosmo wanted, and she wanted to say she was sorry. She hoped he would be able to forgive her. She had never meant to betray him like that.
"Ms. Saffron..." Penny's voice broke the silence.
Ms. Saffron turned her head. "Yes?"
"What made you finally turn against Mr. Cosmo?" Penny asked. "What made you decide to help us instead of him?"
Ms. Saffron paused for a moment. "It was...a couple of things." She looked down at Snap. "When I saw him yank Snap up by his scarf, hurting him deliberately, I saw just how cruel he could be. I never knew he was like that. To bring more harm to someone with an injury like your friend had, that was just sadistic..."
"His back injury...?" Penny whispered.
Ms. Saffron nodded. "Draow gave that to him. Sliced up his back real good. It was treated, but barely. Mr. Cosmo didn't care about properly cleaning the wound or anything. He just wanted Snap alive for the time being. And when he grabbed him and shook him like how he had, dragging him, not caring if he hit against the walls...I'm sure it made the injury worse." She closed her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. "It was a horrible sight."
Penny looked at Saffron in horror. "He did that to Snap..?"
Ms. Saffron nodded her head. "I'm afraid so." She looked at the ground. "Then he locked me up in the room. He guessed I was going to try to mess up his plans. And...he was right. After seeing that, I would have done something." She looked back at Penny. "I am certain he put Snap in a new place where only he could interact with him, because he wanted to do all he could to crush him. He wanted your friend Rudy to be in such a state of shock when he would see Snap again, that he'd be more easily manipulated..."
Something seemed to click in Penny's head. "So that visit to his parents' house..."
"Was all part of the test." Ms. Saffron said. "He wanted to see how easily...manipulated your friend could be, so he had me call him a juvenile delinquent and tell him the results. He was...pleased that he reacted the way he had. He said that if Rudy would react that way, it meant two things. One, that he really was hiding something and two, and this is the biggest thing, it meant that, if he reacted so negatively to a single phrase, how would he react when something more important, such as a dear friend, is hurt?"
"...oh...oh my..." Penny whispered, her eyes widened. It was clear, from the look on her face, that everything was starting to click together, even more than it already did.
Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes slightly. "I hated calling him that, but Mr. Cosmo forced me into it. And I'm not great at lying to him. He isn't as easily tricked as...the rest of us unfortunately. I do hold deep regret that I was involved in this at all. Sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if I never been involved with that man."
Penny shook her head. "Not much different. He would have found a way to do all this without your help."
Ms. Saffron nodded her head. "Yeah, he would have. Especially since most of my help was from the sidelines. He did most of the work."
"And besides, I don't think you should feel too bad, Ms. Saffron." Penny said.
This surprised the woman. How could the girl say that? If she had done something sooner, she could have prevented at least some of what happened. If she hadn't been a fool and listened to Mr. Cosmo, and warned Rudy and Penny, they could have been more prepared, and could have more easily dealt with Cosmo.
There was a lot she could have, and should have, done. She didn't do as much as Mr. Cosmo, but that was just it. She didn't do much. And what she didn't do, it nagged her in the mind. She couldn't shake off the guilty feeling. Even knowing that all of this would have happened anyway, she still felt like she could have made a big difference if she had done something earlier.
"You didn't mean for this to happen. And you aren't the only person in the world who has ever been duped by someone. It could happen to anyone. Don't beat yourself up for it." Penny said. "You've learned your lesson and you're trying to make up for it. That's what matters. Accepting your mistakes and fixing them. You did manage to help us in the end and it made a big difference."
Ms. Saffron blinked a few times. Then, slowly, she smiled. She started to feel a little better. The girl was right. She shouldn't kick herself for the mistakes she made. She should focus on fixing them. And that was exactly what she was doing. She knew that she couldn't rest until Mr. Cosmo paid for his evil deeds and was locked up in jail where he belonged.
"Thank you..." Ms. Saffron said gratefully.
Penny smiled back, but only briefly. Her gaze fell back onto Snap. He was still shivering from the fever and he hadn't shown any signs of waking up. Ms. Saffron looked at him sympathetically. He was going through so much... He shouldn't have to endure this.
Ms. Saffron wanted to give Penny a sense of hope, though. In times like this, it was always good to keep a positive state of mind. It helped making dealing with the situations a little easier.
"I'm sure he will be okay. It will take him time to recover, but from what I've seen in Rudy, he'll get him to the hospital in time." Ms. Saffron said, trying to comfort Penny. "Then you guys can do...whatever it is you usually do when someone like...Mr. Cosmo...isn't causing you trouble."
A tear formed in Penny's eyes. "Everything had been so normal a few days ago...I just couldn't believe that...all this happened so fast..."
Ms. Saffron looked at her sadly. "It is sad that you and your friends have to deal with all this. I promise you that Mr. Cosmo will get what he deserves in the end, and everything will go back to the way it was. Rest assured, he will not get away with what he has done."
Penny smiled. Now it was her turn to be grateful. "Thank you."
Suddenly, a voice sounded out. A robotic voice who delivered a message that sent chills down her spine.
"All systems back online."
Saffron's eyes widened at that. How did...how was this possible? She had disabled the system. It should have remained down for a lot longer than this. The only way he could have pulled this off was with backup generators, but she didn't see any. Did he hide them that well from her? Had he known all along she was going to betray him?
She looked down at Penny. Understandably the girl looked frightened. She couldn't blame her. They were nowhere near the portal yet. And with Mr. Cosmo knowing where they are now, he could find a way to cut them off and beat them to their destination. He may be sending controlled zoners to their location now.
"I...I thought you..." Penny looked up at Ms. Saffron with wide eyes.
"I did." Ms. Saffron said, gritting her teeth. "The bastard must have hidden some alternative power... And activated it somehow."
They heard footsteps down the hall. Saffron had hoped it was just Rudy and Skrawl, but that was too much sound for two people. There were so many footfalls, it could only be a group of zoners coming their way. She looked left and right, trying to pinpoint which way the sound was coming from. To their right, she could see some shadows forming on the wall.
She reached down and grabbed Penny's arm and tugged gently. "Come on, get up. We can't stay here." She said in a low voice. She didn't want the zoners to hear her and give away their position. "Pick up your friend and be quiet. Come with me."
"What about Rudy and..." Penny started to say.
"We'll run into them on the way." Ms. Saffron said softly. "Now come on, let's go before one of them sees us."
Saffron led Penny, who was gently holding Snap, down the hallway. She knew this way. It should cut right into the path that Rudy took to go get Skrawl. She hoped that he fetched the zoner and was heading down the hallway right now. She would meet up with them and they could take another path to hopefully avoid the controlled zoners.
It didn't take them long to reach the hallway that Rudy had taken. They stepped into it. She looked around. It seemed empty enough. She turned and went in the direction that Rudy and Skrawl should be heading down if they had gotten out of the room by now.
She winced as she suddenly heard a loud screech echoing in the halls. It had to be Draow. That meant that Cosmo was on his way, probably to look at the monitor systems to try to activate some traps. They had to hurry and get out of there and fast. Saffron moved faster down the halls, her mind filling with urgency. She looked behind her to make sure Penny was able to keep up. She didn't move too fast as she didn't want Snap to fall and get more hurt than he already was.
Ms. Saffron was happy to see Rudy and Skrawl a bit further down. She quickened her pace to go up to them. As long as no controlled zoners appeared in this hallway, they could make a clean getaway and force Mr. Cosmo to go into ChalkZone, where Rudy would be able to fight back.
As they moved a foot further down, and when she could see Rudy's face with greater detail, footsteps caught her attention. Oh no..it couldn't be... Ms. Saffron froze in her tracks and looked behind her. Shadows forming on the walls of a nearby side tunnel. About three controlled zoners it looked like. And they were coming this way at an alarming rate.
She stared at the shadows, her mind racing. There was no way they could make it down the halls without the zoners seeing them. And they could be some of the faster zoners that would catch the kids very easily. Or they could find someway to force them to go down into the wrong hallway and get trapped. This was definitely not good. She had to think of something, and fast.
"Ms. Saffron!" Rudy called out. "I have to tell you something!"
She could barely hear the boy's cries as she was lost in thought. But the zoners sure heard it. Rudy obviously couldn't tell zoners were in the hall. He was at such an angle that he couldn't see the shadows from the tunnel. The zoners in the hall quickened their pace and Ms. Saffron could make out their shapes. A block, a bear, and what looked like a bathtub with a person in it. They would be here very quickly.
Penny took notice of the zoners. She hung onto Snap tighter, like she was afraid he'd be taken away if the zoners spotted her. "What are we going to do...?"
Ms. Saffron had to think of something. What could she do? They couldn't run now. The zoners would run after them, surely. She could hear Rudy yelling at her, trying to tell her something important. But she couldn't think about that now. The teenagers had to get out of here, along with Snap and Skrawl, before it was too late.
What she needed to do was find some way to get the zoners to go in another direction. But without control of them, the only way was if...
...was if she was the distraction...
She narrowed her eyes. It was the only thing she could think of doing that may buy them enough time. She stared down at Penny and put a hand on her shoulder. "Go to Rudy and tell him to run down this hallway, all the way to the end, and make a right. There should be a staircase there. Take it and it will lead you back up to the floor above this one. The room with the chalkboard I presume you used to get here should be up there."
Penny's eyes widened. "But..what about you...?"
"Just do what I tell you!" Ms Saffron said firmly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"But..." Penny protested.
"No buts. Go!" Saffron ordered, gently ushering Penny to ahead to Rudy.
Ms. Saffron turned around and stared down the hallway with the controlled zoners. She knew this was crazy. She knew that it might be the biggest mistake she'll ever mistake in her life. But she was willing to do it to make up for what she helped cause to Rudy and his friends.
Without hesitation, she raced down the hallway. It didn't take her long to meet up with the zoners that were coming down the hall. Bathtub Granny, Lars, and Blocky. They were walking in a neat line, blocking anyway to get past them. Saffron didn't stop running and slammed into Blocky, knocking him down.
Just like she predicted, Blocky turned his attention on her. He tried to grab at her with his hands, but they were too short and stubby to be of much use. Saffron managed to dodge Bathtub Granny's brush as it was swung at her like a weapon. Lars tried to swipe at her. She ducked and pushed against him, knocking him back a little.
Now that she had their attention, she ran down the hall. Like she hoped, they followed her in hot pursuit. She continued to lead them as far away from Rudy and the others as she possibly could.
sss
Rudy couldn't believe it. Saffron hadn't bothered to respond to him before she ran off. Why had she done that? He had an important message to give her. It was urgent she recieved the message. When he saw her quicken her pace, he broke into a run. This seemed to take Skrawl by surprise, but he didn't pay any attention. He had to warn Saffron before it was too late.
He saw Penny rush up towards him, holding Snap in her arms. He slowed down as they met in the middle of the hallway. Penny looked distressed about something, like she knew something that he did not. He wondered if it had anything to do with Ms. Saffron going down that side tunnel.
"Penny..where did..." Rudy started to say.
"There's some...controlled zoners..." Penny said. "She is going to distract them for us."
Rudy's eyes widened in shock. He had to get to her. She couldn't fight the zoners all by herself. She was greatly outnumbered. He started to head in that direction when Skrawl grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
"If she is providing a distraction, then it's for a good reason." Skrawl said. "We should get out of here while we still have a chance!"
"But I have to warn her about..." Rudy started to say.
"I'm not happy about it either, Rudy." Penny said, cutting him off. "But..she's right...we have to get out of here. She told us the way out. With her distracting the controlled zoners, that gives us an opening..."
"And besides, your friend looks like he's in really bad shape." Skrawl said as he looked down at Snap. "Saffron's help would have been all in vain if you didn't get him back to ChalkZone in time, wouldn't it?"
Rudy knew they were both right. They couldn't stay here. As much as he hated to do it, he had no choice but to leave the building with the others. He hoped Ms. Saffron would be okay by herself. She seemed like a capable woman. And she knew this building well. She could find a place to hide quite easily.
He stared down at Snap. He still looked so terribly ill. He tried to hold back his tears. The sight of his friend in such a weak state, it was more than he could bear. And they didn't have a lot of time to save him. Just a few hours, maybe less if that fever isn't taken care of and fast.
"Okay...let's go."
sss
Ms. Saffron realized too late that she had went in the wrong direction. The tunnel she had went down led her to another tunnel with five more controlled zoners. A couple of stick figures and a couple dinosaur-based ones. They took notice of her and joined in the chase.
She couldn't fight them. She had no weapons to use, not to mention she didn't want to hurt them. All she could do was run away from them. She didn't know how long she could keep it up though. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, her lungs screaming for more oxygen. Though some of the zoners were slowing down, it was only a matter of time before one of the zoners with more stamina would catch up to her.
As she rounded a corner down a new tunnel, she screamed and skidded to a hault. There were two large zoners heading in her direction, a bear and a bird. She froze, unsure of what to do. She had zoners in front of her and behind her. She looked around, trying to find an exit.
Without much of a choice, she raced down towards the bear and bird. They prepared to grab her. She managed to dodge, but only barely. She grunted as the bear slashed her in the leg. The cuts weren't too deep luckily. She did her best to ignore the pain as she raced down the hallway.
In a short amount of time, there was practically a horde of controlled zoners coming after her. A part of her was glad. As long as they were after her, Rudy and the others would be safe from them. But something else entered her mind. How was she going to deal with this situation? She couldn't keep running forever. She would tire out eventually and she would then be caught.
Then she remembered something about a secret door that Mr. Cosmo showed her once. She forgot what the purpose of it was, but it was going to be useful right about now. She recalled it was somewhere down here. As she ran, she looked along the walls, looking for a sign of something else being there. She turned a corner, down to where she believed this hidden area was.
Then she saw it. A very faint line, barely noticeable, forming a round shape. It nearly blended in with the wall all around it. She looked behind her. The zoners were catching up. She could see their shadows on the walls as they drew closer.
She raced towards the wall. She pressed her fingers against it. She recalled it was very hard to open. She struggled with all her might to open it. Slowly, the door creaked quietly open. She jumped inside and shut it as quickly as she could.
The room was very dark, but from what she recalled, it was pretty spacious. Not a lot of stuff in it. Maybe some small objects on the ground. She wasn't sure what purpose the room really served. She was certain Mr. Cosmo had a reason for it, and that reason could not be good.
She heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She waited and listened. They came closer and soon they walked right by the door. She sighed with relief as they continued down the hall, their footsteps getting softer and softer. They were far enough away from the others that they should be able to get to ChalkZone before the controlled zoners could get to them.
She tried to open the door, but for some reason it wouldn't work. Oh great, was this room so unused that it got stuck? She wasn't sure how likely that was, but it was the only thing she could think of. She pulled on it harder, trying to muster up as much strength as she could.
"Leaving so soon, Ms. Saffron...?" A cold voice said behind her. "But you've only just arrived..."
Chills went down her spine at that all too familiar voice. The hairs on her neck stood on end. She turned around, and as she did, the lights of the room were switched on. She flinched at the sudden brightness for a second, and then stared in shock as she saw Mr. Cosmo standing in the middle of the room.
He was sitting in a wooden chair, his fingers tapping together. He smiled coldly at the woman, like he was pleased that he had outsmarted her and somehow predicted she'd come here. She took notice that of the injuries he had. Some bruises and small cuts. She guessed he got them from Mr. Wilter. Her eyes widened. Had Mr. Wilter been defeated?
Ms. Saffron took a defensive stance. She didn't know what Mr. Cosmo wanted with her. She wasn't about to put her guard down around him. After all he had done, she knew she had to remain wary and alert around him.
"What do you want?" Ms. Saffron demanded.
"Oh only to ask you a question." Mr. Cosmo said. He leaned back in his chair. "Why did you turn your back on me? I mean, I've done so much for you...I can't understand why you would decide to leave me all dry..."
Ms. Saffron growled at him. Was he serious? Did he not understand why she would turn against him? No, he knew. He was fully aware of what he had done. He was just toying with her, messing with her mind. No matter what she said to him, he was not going to feel one ounce of remorse.
"I am tired of this horrid scheme of yours, Mr. Cosmo. I can't believe I trusted you...I can't believe I ever looked up to you!" Ms. Saffron said, her voice full of disgust. Just like she predicted, Mr. Cosmo just stared at her calmly. "I hate the way you treat these zoners, like they're worth lower than dirt! And don't bother trying to change my mind! I refuse to work with you any longer!"
Mr. Cosmo was quiet for a few moments. "I am...sorry to hear that. It is...a shame that the blue boy managed to sway you so much. I should have kept you two separated. If I had known...there'd be some complications...I would have taken care of them sooner..."
Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes. "What you did to Snap was unforgiveable..." She said in a dangerous tone of voice.
"Come now, Saffron..." Cosmo drolled, the calm, cruel smile never leaving his face. "I wasn't the only one who did him wrong."
A pang ripped through Saffron's heart.
"After all, you were the one who kept secrets from him... He did look a little hurt when he found out the truth..." Cosmo said in a thoughtful manner. He scratched his chin. "I wonder how he feels about you now..."
Ms. Saffron glared at the man. "I hate you..."
"And I you... I am glad we are being honest with each other." Mr. Cosmo said. He got up out of the chair and started to advance towards Ms. Saffron. As he boxed her against the door, he pressed a hand against the door and cupped her chin gently. "I suppose you want to say you're sorry, don't you?"
"He deserves an apology." Ms. Saffron snarled. "He has more humanity than you do."
Mr. Cosmo let out a soft chuckle. He looked into her eyes and said, "Well...if you hate being here that much...don't worry..."
Saffron looked at him with a confused look. The tone of his voice changed. There was some...intent behind it...but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
"I'm letting you go..."
Suddenly Cosmo grabbed her by the neck and shoved her against the door hard. She let out a scream. She started to struggle as Cosmo placed a cold, sharp knife against her throat. She looked at the blade with wide eyes, able to see them in the reflection. Her heart pounded as she looked at Mr. Cosmo in fear.
"And don't worry...I'll make sure I give Snap the message..."
"N-N-No...please don't do this..." Ms. Saffron begged, tears strolling down her face. She struggled to get free, but it was no use. "Don't..."
"Goodbye..."
Mr. Cosmo pressed the blade harder and, with a swift yank, pulled upwards and to the side. Ms. Saffron's eyes widened in pain as the blade cut her throat open. She tried to scream, but blood began to choke her. Mr. Cosmo released her, and onto the floor she crumpled.