Rudy felt cold. Unbelievably cold. His body trembled, and he was unable to stop it. The sharp feeling intensified. It really felt like he was cutting his hand open. But anyone looking could see that there was no blood. He really wanted to let go of the chalk, but, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to let go of the black chalk.
The black glow had started to travel across his body. It snaked around his back and then reached his right hand. It encircled his arm. He shuddered as he felt the chilly, smokey appendage wrap around his wrist. Then it seeped into the cut. Rudy winced and looked away, feeling like his wrist was getting cut up from the inside.
But seconds later, the sharp pain in his wrist was switched with something more...soothing. He glanced down at his wrist and saw that the cut was slowly healing up. He watched as the blood stopped flowing from the cut. The skin started to reattach itself, forming a small scab on his wrist. Then the scab started to get smaller and smaller until it vanished in a puff of black smoke.
Rudy stared, astonished, at his hand. He raised his hand in the air, turning his arm from side to side. It was as if he had never been injured. He looked over at Skrawl to see how he was doing. The jellybean was back on his feet. He didn't display any signs of pain and there was no evidence that there ever was an injury on his wrist. So Zeal had told the truth. The black chalk really had healed them both. But...did it severe their connection like he had been told it would?
The black chalk almost seemed to read his mind, as right at that second, it activated once more. A stream of black smoke slithered down his left hand and zipped across the ground. It headed straight for Skrawl. Before Skrawl could react, the smoke tendril wrapped around his body and then tightened around himself. Skrawl squeezed his eyes shut and he cried out as if he were being ripped apart. This lasted only for a second before the black smoke released him and came back to the black chalk from wence it came.
This act caused Rudy and Penny to widen their eyes in shock, as neither of them expected the black chalk to be capable of doing such a thing. Skrawl rubbed the back of his head, looking like he was uncertain to make of what happened. At the same time, the evil zoners were just smirking at the whole thing. They were clearly satisfied that they managed to fulfill their mission.
"See...? It wasn't so bad using the black chalk, now was it?" Zeal grinned, looking towards Rudy. "You will see it is like a drug. Once you start using it, you will not be able to stop. You have sealed your own fate, boy."
"N-No..." Rudy started to mutter. The cold feeling was intensifying, spreading through his body. He fought against it, refusing to let the chill take him over. "I w-won't let..."
"Fight all you want to, child. But it is too late now." Zeal laughed. "You've opened up Pandora's Box, in a manner of speaking, and now it will consume you. Feel it start to take over. Relish in it. Let it guide you with its secrets!"
Rudy bared his teeth. He refused to listen to the cassowary. He couldn't allow the corruption to take him over. Not now. Not ever. He had to fight it. He didn't want to end up like Cosmo. He couldn't turn into someone like that evil man. He had to keep reminding himself of what his morals were, where his loyalty lied. He couldn't allow the black chalk to scew his perception like that.
The black chalk's glow started to get a little brighter. It was spreading from his left wrist and up his arm. He could feel the chilling wave coming over him. All over his body, the glow was spreading rapidly. It didn't take long before it covered him entirely, bathing him in an intense, black glow.
And yet still, he refused to give in. The evil zoners looked amused. It was like they knew he couldn't keep this up forever. Rudy closed his eyes tightly and tried to shut his mind. He could barely hear Penny yelling for him to drop the black chalk. He couldn't hear Skrawl's shouts of confusion. He couldn't hear the evil zoners' snickering. The only thing he could hear was a chilling ringing in his head as the blackness closed in around him.
Yet...just how long could he hold out? The sharpness of the black chalk was growing in intensity. He wondered if it was becoming angry that he wasn't using it to draw anything. Maybe that was how artists became corrupted. It was not just the mere act of touching the black chalk. But using it seemed to give the black chalk strength. Maybe if he just avoided drawing and dropped the black chalk, maybe he could...
Suddenly, something called out to him.
"Why don't you draw, boy? Draw...and relish in what you created."
It sounded like a bunch of voices were calling out to him at once. Their voices, raspy and low, echoed as they talked, like they were bouncing off of each other. Rudy looked around for the source, his head turned up towards the ceiling.
Penny looked at him, confused. "R-Rudy...? What are you looking for?"
Rudy could hear the concern in her voice. He wanted to reply, but, for some reason, his mouth wouldn't obey him. He remained frozen in that one spot, his head tilted up as he tried in vain to find the voice's source.
"We have monitored your activites in ChalkZone...We are very pleased with your skills... But don't you want to take it to a new level...? Don't you want to be able to do more...? We can help you..."
Rudy managed to move his hands. He used them to cover his ears. His body started to shake and quiver. He tried so hard to block out the voices. But they continued to harrass him, trying to tempt him into using the black chalk. They kept whispering to him and they would not leave him alone. He felt surrounded and helpless. He closed his eyes tightly.
Penny noticed his distress. She reached a hand out towards him. "Rudy! Drop the chalk! Now!"
Shimmer turned her head towards Penny. Her robotic eye glowing, she positioned her laser in the girl's direction. "You be quiet! This doesn't concern you...yet..."
Rudy had dropped down to his knees. The cold chill was starting to become too much. He just wanted to lay down and curl up. But no matter how much he hugged himself, rubbed his arms, trying to get warm, the chill was too much. And the smoke that entered his body was traveling through, chilling him from the inside out. It felt like his inner temperature was dropping at an alarming rate. He half-expected his skin to turn blue.
When he opened his eyes, he was surprised at how much darker the room looked. It already looked ominous with the black glow coming from the black chalk, and with the charcoal colored rocky surfaces. But now, holding the chalk, it looked so much worse. It was almost like he was looking through the world with a pair of black filters.
And the voices...they were just getting louder. He tried his best to resist them. He tried to block them out of his mind. But as each second passed, it was getting harder and harder to do. He felt his hands start to shake in anticipation, and he realized, in horror, that he wouldn't be able to fight the urge to draw with the black chalk much longer.
"We only wish to help you... Why won't you listen...? We only want to teach you...give you knowledge you never could have dreamed about before...Just relax, and let us do the work..."
Rudy clutched his head tightly and shouted, "No! Stop talking to me! I won't listen! No!"
Flame, who had hardly said anything, spoke in a bemused voice, "Hmph. Kid is a fighter."
Shimmer gave Flame a sideways glance. "No matter. He won't last too long. No one can resist the temptation...not even the strongest hearted."
"How about we give him incentive...?" Zeal said as he turned his head towards the worried Penny. "I'm sure we can be very convincing..."
Skrawl, who clearly didn't have a full understanding of what was going on, turned to glance at Penny. "What is up with Master Tabootie?"
Penny didn't bother looking at the jellybean. She had adopted a defensive stance. It was clear she expected Skrawl to turn on her now that he was no longer connected to Rudy. "It's the black chalk. It completely corrupts anyone who is foolish enough to use it."
Skrawl raised an eyebrow. "Oh...really..? Well I..."
He didn't have time to finish his sentence. He was suddenly shoved into the ground by Shimmer. Her hard armor slammed against his soft form. He crashed into the ground with a cry. The side of his head slammed into the cold, unforgiving ground. In a matter of seconds, he had been knocked out cold.
Penny's eyes widened in shock. "Skrawl!" Before she could take a step, she was instantly cornered by Zeal, who pushed her away with his sharp beak. She turned her head over to Rudy and tried to get his attention. "Rudy!"
That snapped Rudy out of his thoughts, if just for the time being. He looked over and he gasped when she saw Zeal and Flame cornering Penny. And over by Skrawl, Shimmer had her water gun aimed at the jellybean, fully intent at washing him away. Both of them were going to get killed...
...and there wasn't a thing he could do. His feet wouldn't allow him to walk. He couldn't jerk his body around to get anywhere. He was absolutely helpless. The voices continued to taunt him, telling him he would never be able to save them if he continued to deny their help.
The cold feeling was still getting stronger. He couldn't believe that it was possible. But there he was, feeling like he was standing in the middle of the arctic circle. His body shook so much that he thought that he was going to cause a miniature earthquake. He tried to rub his arms again, but this time, his arms would not move either.
And neither would his head, and his eyes wouldn't obey. It was like the black chalk took some control of his body...no...his mind...to force him to watch Penny and Skrawl be killed.
No, he couldn't give into it. He had to force himself to drop the chalk. He tried to force his hand to open up. Slowly, his fingers became unraveled, but before the chalk could slip out, he felt his hand forced shut again. He heard the voices, the black chalk, laughing at his futile efforts to let go.
Zeal turned his head so he could look at Rudy with one of his eyes. "Do you wish to save your girlfriend? Your only choice is to use the black chalk...Use it before she, along with Skrawl, perish forever...You better hurry!" He scratched the ground with his sharp claws, the scraping sound filling the cave room. "I don't know how long I can keep these tame..."
"Rudy, don't...!" Penny shouted before having her body slammed hard into the ground by Zeal.
"Shut it, you!" Zeal snarled at her.
Flame came around the other side of Penny. She looked up and her eyes widened in horror as he took a hand, glowing from intense heat, and started lowering it to her, intending to burn her face.
"Penny!"
Without thinking, out of desperation, Rudy managed to force his legs to move. He started to rush towards where Penny was pinned down. He brought out the black chalk and began to draw with it. Black lines filled the once empty space. And once he started to draw, he found it hard to stop.
"There that wasn't so..." Zeal started to say before his eyes widened at what Rudy drew. "...hard...?"
Rudy couldn't believe what he had drawn. It wasn't even what he wanted to draw. But the black chalk didn't make him draw this. It wasn't the same feeling as with the red chalk, which would physically yank his hand to draw whatever it wanted. With this, it was him doing it, and yet it wasn't him. Like...some part of him had surfaced, a side that he had never wanted to see.
It was a similiar feeling he felt when he had wrote that poison pen letter to Michelle. The same horribly disgustingly satisfying feeling, and it scared him. The feeling was starting to overwhelm him as he finished drawing what his subconscious had wanted.
A cannon...
As he got behind it and aimed it towards Zeal and Flame, his green eyes darkened at an alarming rate. A black glow emitted from them, rising from his eyes and leaving behind jagged, smokey trails. As much as he fought it, his mouth started to tick into a smirk as his inner desires started to kick in.
And his desire right now was to make these three pay for what they have done...
"Warning. User corruption at 5%."
sss
Snap placed a hand on his head. It ached like nothing else. He felt like the world was spinning. No matter how hard he shook his head, he couldn't get rid of the dizzy feeling. Not that he could shake his head that much to start with. He had never felt this weak before. It was so bad that he was barely able to lift his hand to rub his head with.
He looked around the room. Where was he? What had happened? He searched his mind, trying to find some clue as to what had happened. He recalled being somewhere...big and dark and lit, somehow. He remembered running. Then he remembered heat, and...his mind was drawing a blank.
He let out a groan. How did he get in this much pain? He tried to remember. There was something important that had happened recently. Something that, for whatever reason, terrified him. But he couldn't remember. He was scared, traumatized, yet he couldn't think of exactly why that was. And that frightened him as well. Just...just how much had he missed? How long had he been asleep?
He only knew he was not in his home. This place was too white, and the arrangement looked nothing like what he had back at his place. And for some reason, it felt too huge, even though it really wasn't. He couldn't think of what it was. Why did it feel so much bigger than it really was?
He continued to rub his head weakly. The headache was tormenting him. His forehead hurt like heck. He consciously avoided it. A slight touch sent wracks of pain through his body. Whatever was in his head that was hurting him...it seemed tied to why he felt so afraid. There was something about this area...something about it he remembered, just enough for him to know he was supposed to be scared.
And he felt so cold. Oh so very cold. Even with the thick blanket over him, he was shivering violently. He could feel sweat beads strolling down his head. He closed his eyes tightly and let out a soft whimper. He was a total wreck. He felt like he was dying. And...as much as it scared him...he wouldn't be surprised if he was.
He heard beeping next to him. He managed, with all his might, to turn his head over to see what the source was. A monitor was next to him. He looked down at his arm. He only realized, just now, that there was an IV needle stuck into him, putting fluid into his body. This did not settle well with him. Just what was wrong with him that he had to have an IV in him?
He realized, right then and there, that he was in the hospital. But why? Just what had happened to him? Why couldn't he feel or move his legs? Why was it so hard to move his arms or anything? Why was he having a hard time remembering all this? And why did his back and hand hurt so much? They stung like something ripped him apart. Had that been what happened?
He heard the door open up. Moving his eyes ever so slightly, he could see Rapsheeba walking in. He managed a weak smile. It was nice seeing her. Maybe she could explain what happened. But seconds later, he realized that she hadn't been alone. And the person who walked in, it was someone Snap never thought he would see in ChalkZone. It was Mr. Wilter.
Snap widened his eyes. What was Mr. Wilter doing here? Had Rudy told him about ChalkZone? Why would he do that? Wait...something was coming back to him. Something about Mr. Wilter made him feel safe. Maybe he...was he the one who tried to help him before? He remembered that...someone tried to take away the pain. It had to have been Mr. Wilter. Why else would he feel a strange sensation of security around this man?
The two walked over beside the white hospital bed he was laying on. There were a couple chairs next to it. Rapsheeba took one while Wilter took the other. Rapsheeba pulled up close to Snap. She reached over and placed her hand on his. She stared at him with a very worried expression. She looked like she had been crying for hours. And Mr. Wilter was very concerned about him as well.
If Snap didn't realize that he was in trouble before, the way these two people were looking at him confirmed him of it. He felt more afraid now. He really wished he knew what happened. Some bits and pieces were coming back, such as some dark and spooky building, but...not enough for him to know what happened.
"H-Hello..." Snap managed to say. His throat was scratchy and dry. And it took a lot of effort to force words out of his mouth. "W-What happened...?"
"Take it easy, Snap. You're in no condition to overexert yourself." Mr. Wilter said in a calm voice. "You're in the hospital right now. They're trying to get your fever down before they remove the mind control device from your head."
Snap struggled to say, "Mind control device...? What...?"
Wilter furrowed his eyes with concern. "You don't remember?"
Snap closed his eyes and tried to think. The mind control device gave some kind of trigger. Was it important? Was it what was causing him so much pain in his head? He saw images in his head, something putting it in him, but nothing else.
He reopened his eyes and shook his head. "No... I..I don't remember much..."
Rapsheeba looked at Wilter worriedly. "You...you don't think he has amnesia, do you?"
Mr. Wilter looked at her for a few seconds. He looked back at Snap. "He may just be out of it. He did pass out from a horrific fever. It must have happened so suddenly that his mind couldn't cope with it. He'll remember soon enough, I'm sure."
"I hope so..." Rapsheeba turned her attention back to Snap.
"W-Where's Rudy...?" Snap asked when he realized Rudy was nowhere around. "Why isn't he here...?"
"Rudy is still in ChalkZone. He had to go to the Chalk Mine to fight off some zoners sent there by Mr. Cosmo to destroy it." Mr. Wilter replied.
Snap's eyes snapped wide open as the name Cosmo entered his mind. Cosmo...that name sent shockwaves through his body. His mind felt like it was punched by a heavy brick. Suddenly, memories came flooding back to him. The empty voice that was his mind now filled with pictures of what had happened to him.
Draow attacking him from behind...
Being taken to some strange building...
Held prisoner...
Strapped to a table...
Water on the head...
Being controlled like a puppet...
Tortured and used as a bargaining token...
Snap felt his heart start to race. The monitor started beeping faster and faster. His breathing quickened. Tears formed in his eyes as he remembered the threats, the pain, everything. His body's shaking became more pronounced. His eyes were so wide they looked like they would fall out of their sockets.
His mind started to play for him images of Rudy hurt. He could see Rudy strapped to a table much like the one he was in. He could see an evil man, Mr. Cosmo, torturing him. He saw Rudy writhe in pain and scream for Snap to help him.
Snap started to shake his head from side to side. "No...Rudy..no!"
"Snap! Calm down!" Rapsheeba cried, tearing up as she watched Snap thrash about, horrified by it all. "You'll make your condition worse!"
"I..need to help him!" Snap struggled to sit up. Adrenaline was rushing through his body, granting him strength. "I have to help him! Rudy!"
Snap was now sitting up. His eyes were wide with fear and determination. He tried to get off the bed. Rapsheeba and Wilter pushed him back down. Snap started to panic, his heart monitor going crazy. It was beeping louder and louder, faster and faster. Snap continued to cry out Rudy's name as Rapsheeba and Wilter held him down.
Slowly, Snap started to calm down. His body relaxed and he stopped struggling. Wilter and Rapsheeba held him down until they were certain he wasn't going to try to get away again. As they stepped back, Snap laid down, staring up at them for a few seconds.
Snap started to whimper, tears streaming down his face. "I..I have to help him...why wouldn't you let me help him...?" He closed his eyes tightly. "W-Why...?"
"Snap..." Rapsheeba whispered. She stroked his cheek gently in an attempt to soothe him. "You're in no condition to leave this hospital..."
Mr. Wilter nodded his head grimly. "If you want to help Rudy, stay here until you feel better. He will be very worried about you if you left."
"B-But..." Snap started to say.
"He'll be fine." Mr. Wilter said, offering a small smile. "He's a tough kid. He'll be able to handle himself."
For some reason, Snap could not take comfort in those words.
sss
"Rudy..what are you doing...?" Penny whispered, her eyes wide in shock.
Rudy's glowing black eyes seemed to stare into her soul. It caused her to shudder, a cold chill going up her spine. The black chalk's voice announcing corruption...it had already started. And even at such a low percent, Rudy's behavior had already become so unlike him.
She stared, horrified, at the cannon that he had drawn. He had it aimed right for Zeal and Flame. The pair looked shocked at first, but they soon regained their confidence and aimed their water guns towards him to disarm him. For once, she hoped they would hit their target. She did not want to look at that horried rusty red cannon anymore. It wasn't like Rudy to draw such a terrible thing...
"Sorry, kid, but we can't let you..." Zeal started to say.
That was all he got out before Rudy fired a cannon ball at him. The ball had flames of blue trailing behind it. And instead of radiating heat, it radiated shere cold. The cassowary ducked to the ground, the ball grazing his back just slightly. He winced in pain.
Shimmer, who had lost interest in Skrawl, raced over to her comrades. She glared over at Rudy. She aimed her heat cannons towards Rudy's ice cannon. She fired two fiery streams in his direction. Rudy narrowed his black, glowing eyes and fired another ice ball in their general direction.
The cold was so intense that it put out the heat lasers, cutting straight through. Shimmer's eyes widened and she tried to get out of the way. She reacted too late. The ball smashed into her and she was slammed against the cave walls. There was a horrific crunch and she coughed up blood before dropping down, her eyes losing the spark of life.
"Rudy!" Penny cried in horror. "Stop it! Don't let the chalk control you!"
Zeal and Flame were just as shaken up. It was clear, from their expressions, this had not been part of the plan. Despite Zeal's boast about how Rudy would be like Mr. Cosmo if he killed them, he hadn't planned on Rudy actually carrying out that action. The two were backing away, and Penny could see absolute fear in their eyes.
This lasted a short time before Flame shook his head. He raced towards Rudy, dodging the ice cannonballs using his speed. He got up to the boy and lunged at him, mouth agape. Rudy merely grabbed him, the black glow running through the salamander's body, clearly lowering his temperature as evidenced by his trembling and skin starting to turn blue.
Rudy looked at the salamander with great contempt before shoving the creature into the cannon. He quickly aimed it at Zeal and he fired. Zeal let out a scream as a battered up Flame was shot in his direction. He managed to get out of the way. Flame crashed into the ground.
Both Zeal and Penny couldn't stifle their screams of horror when they saw. Flame had been impaled by a sharp rock jetting from the ground. It went straight through his chest, clearly ripping into his heart. He struggled for a few seconds, pulling in vain at the stone spike. Then his body went limp.
Zeal stared at Rudy, horrified. He took a step back. Realizing that he had made a huge mistake, he turned to flee. Rudy didn't give him much time. He blasted an ice ball at him. Zeal didn't have time to react. The ball slammed against his neck, breaking it instantly. His body instantly stopped moving and he crashed into the ground. In seconds, he fell quiet and unmoving.
Penny had a hard time comprehending what had just happened. Had Rudy really done what she thought he did? Her body trembling, she took a few steps back away. Rudy had just...he just murdered three zoners... Flat out killed them... This wasn't like him...
She felt her heart freeze when she saw Rudy turn his attention towards her. For only a brief second, his eyes showed some hint of concern for her. But that quickly melted away, and now he looked at her with just as much menace as the evil zoners he had killed. Penny shivered as she took a step back, looking at Rudy in fear.
"Rudy...please..." Penny begged. She took another step back. "Don't do this..."
"Warning. User corruption at 25%."
Rudy turned the cannon towards Penny. She gasped in horror. It was clear what Rudy intended to do with it. She saw him raise his hand to fire another cannon ball...
Suddenly, Skrawl slammed against Rudy, knocking him away from the cannon. The jellybean pressed his foot on Rudy's chest and attempted to grab the black chalk from him.
"What are you doing?!" Skrawl called out, baring his teeth at Rudy. "You're better than this! Why are you trying to kill the genius girl? She's your friend!"
Skrawl didn't last very long. Rudy drew another weapon, this one a long sword, this one with electricity dancing over it. Skrawl was struck with it, thankfully on the blunt side. Skrawl grunted in pain and tumbled back. Rudy struck again, this time slicing into the jellybean's side. Skrawl cried out as he fell to the ground. Rudy stood over him, ready to strike down one last time before the jellybean could get to his feet.
"No!" Penny cried. She didn't want to see another death. She couldn't bear it.
Penny lunged at Rudy, wrapping her arms around him and sent him and her tumbling into the ground. The two rolled across the floor. Rudy snarled at her and kicked her away. Penny struggled to her feet and looked over at Rudy with determination. He started to advance towards her.
"Warning. User corruption at 35%."
Penny backed away slowly, her mind racing. Just what was she going to do? She was trapped here. Skrawl couldn't fight Rudy on his own. He was at a grave disadvantage. And she was no better off. With no magic chalk, how was she going to defend herself?
She stepped on something and almost tripped. She glanced down. Her eyes widened. A white piece of chalk? She then realized that the evil zoners who were gathering the white chalk to destroy could have easily forgotten a piece. They had been waiting for them to come over, and may not have had a lot of time. It made sense that they would forget a piece.
She knelt down and grabbed the white chalk. She looked over at Rudy. She couldn't believe she was about to do this. But what other choice did she have? If she didn't do something, Rudy will kill her and Skrawl and who knows who else...
Penny held up the magic chalk, its white sparkle contrasting heavily with the dark glow of the black chalk and prepared to do the one thing she never thought she'd do with Rudy.
Fight him.