Rudy couldn't shake off the feeling of disappointment as he sat in class, listening to Mr. Wilter talk about an upcoming chemistry test. When he and Penny went back into ChalkZone later that night, they were both disappointed to learn that Snap was not able to find out anymore information. They knew just as much as they did yesterday, and that wasn't really a whole lot at all. Rudy had hoped that something new would pop up, something that would give them a clue to the identity and motives behind this mysterious zoner.

Snap had attempted to ask for more information, but he had forgotten about Skrawl, who wasn't too far away. The jellybean was determined to keep the three of them off the case. It frustrated Rudy because he feels that they, who had dealt with Draow before, should help in finding him. He thought Skrawl would have understood that.

Or maybe he does, and just doesn't want him involved in it. Rudy thought two things. Skrawl's pride was hurt, which was a very real possibility as he is often arrogant in his machinery. He claims they are state of the line, and yeah, they might be, but he refuses to acknowledge any flaws in them. So Skrawl is trying to fix his hurt pride by being the one to recapture Draow.

But another possibility, and this was just as likely, at least nowadays, Skrawl doesn't want them to get hurt. It was hard to believe, since he was so used to him causing trouble for years. And a few years ago, he wouldn't have considered the possibility of him and Skrawl being anything close to friends. They still weren't, at least not in the same way as Penny or Snap. But Skrawl, even if he didn't admit it, did start to care, if even just a little, for him and his friends. He guessed being stuck in a cell for hours all by himself with no way out forced him to do a lot of thinking.

Rudy thought back to his cameras. He hadn't thought to bring it up with Penny, and he kicked himself mentally for not doing so. But, whenver they could, he thought it would be best to head back to the prison and take a look at the cameras. He didn't know when they could do it as Skrawl would not be pleased with them returning to the jail so soon. He'd probably have his Beanie Boys, who he had turned into policemen to capture criminals, throw them out.

But Rudy felt it would be a good place to start. This criminal was said not to have been seen on the cameras. But Skrawl claims that his cameras catch everything. What if they didn't...? Rudy wasn't sure why he didn't think of it until now, but there might be a flaw in the camera that this criminal was able to take advantage of, to exploit so he could get into the jail without the cameras revealing he was there.

Obviously something had to have set off the alarm. From what he recalled, the alarm had gone off when the intruder was inside, so whatever this intruder used to get into the jail, it didn't work on the inside. But why? What could cause a camera to detect something of the prisoner on the inside, but not on the outside? Maybe Penny would have some ideas. She had a better understanding of technology than he did. After school, he planned on talking to Penny about it.

He remembered when the whole trouble with Mr. Cosmo started. He remembered how helpless he felt, not knowing just what that man's motivations were, and how the only person in the real world he could talk to was Penny. She was, at the time, the only person he knew that he could trust ChalkZone's existence with.

This time, things were a little different. Penny was not the only person he could speak to now. There was also Mr. Wilter. Ever since he revealed what he had been in the past, that he knew about ChalkZone, going to that world during school was easier. He and Penny no longer needed to sneak behind the man's back to gain entry. And Mr. Wilter would often cover for them if they were gone too long.

Rudy had plans on talking to Mr. Wilter about this as well. If there was anyone who knew Draow pretty well, it was him. He had faced off with him in the past, and he had confronted them when they did battle with Mr. Cosmo a year and a half ago.

He hoped that Mr. Wilter could provide some information, some clue, to why someone would want to free Draow, and where he could be. Draow was a tricky beast, and the sooner he was recaptured, the better. Mr. Wilter could have info they could use to achieve this. Mr. Wilter knew how dangerous Draow was, and he would definitely want him to be recaptured as soon as possible. The fact that Draow was similar to personality to Mr. Cosmo himself made the situation more dire.

Mr. Wilter would not be able to talk to Rudy just yet, though. They were still in class, and he hadn't stopped speaking. Once in a while, Rudy would glance over at Mr. Wilter. The man seemed to catch the expression on his face and, with subtle gestures, indicated he understood something was wrong. Rudy would still have to wait, however. He didn't know what kind of commotion there would be if Mr. Wilter suddenly talked about ChalkZone in class. Even if nobody believed him, that was something neither he nor Wilter would have wanted.

Class was almost over. In a few minutes, the bell would ring. And when it did, he and Penny would be free to speak to Mr. Wilter on the subject. At least, when everyone leaves. They couldn't risk speaking about ChalkZone until they knew, absolutely, that no one was around to overhear their conversations. Even if no one believed them, there was still that worry that someone would believe it, and then try to get more information out of them. With all that ChalkZone almost endured with Mr. Cosmo, another incident like that was the last thing that it needed.

Rudy thought back to the poisonous...no..venomous zoner. Penny was a little adament about them using the proper terminology, stating that there was a difference between poison and venom. From what they had heard had happened, Penny determined that Skrawl had used the right term, venom, because venom, unlike poison, is delivered via a bite or sting, and, interestingly, is often safe to injest. It's only deadly when it gets into the blood stream. Though she did not recommend going around drinking venom as small cuts in the stomach or intestines would allow the venom to seep through and spread into the bloodstream, where it would cause a lot of damage.

The venom that this zoner possessed was very lethal, at least to other zoners. Snap was not safe from the venom, and that was a great concern he and Penny shared. Since they know so little about this zoner, they don't know if he would be the kind to just attack any zoner it so pleased. They don't know if he won't go after Snap or not.

Penny had been, luckily, get more information on this type of venom. Knowing as much as they could about this venom was important, especially if they were going to have to tangle with him in the future. The venom's properties weren't like anything they had heard of before, making Rudy even more worried of the possibility of Snap being bitten.

The venom targets the marrow in zoners' bones. The marrow is where red blood cells are formed. It causes them to reproduce out of control, filling the target limb with an excess amount of blood, but only in that one area. The blood ends up clotting the veins and arteries and the limb rapidly swells. The clotting causes tissue to die, which was why they saw dead muscle and bone from the dead zoner's burst arm. Penny isn't sure how long it takes, but eventually, the skin breaks and the arm, for a lack of a better term, explodes.

When this happens, death happens swiftly. A ton of blood is lost in this process. And if the blood loss doesn't kill, the clots that shoot up towards the brain, blocking important blood vessels in those areas, sure would.

Rudy felt cold shivers sweep through his body as he thought about this venom. He was glad that he and Penny don't have to deal with it. But he was fearful of what would happen if any of his zoner friends were bitten. Penny was unable to find out if there was any antivenom for it, or how long someone who was bitten has before it kills them. He was very worried about Snap. He had already been through so much with Mr. Cosmo. He didn't want him to worry about suffering another near death experience...

Suddenly, Rudy was torn from his thoughts as the familiar, loud school bell rang. It came as a surprise to him as he wasn't paying attention to the time. He had all but forgot where he was, deep in his thoughts. So when the bell rang, it took all of his mental strength not to jump up from his seat in fright.

Although he managed to keep himself from jumping, his heart was pumping really fast, and he couldn't stop a few shudders going through his body. He thought that they went unnoticed, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Penny looking at him worriedly.

"Rudy? What's wrong?" She asked.

Rudy smiled sheepishly and looked away. "N-Nothing. The bell just took me by surprise. That's all."

Penny tilted her head in confusion. "The bell always rings at this time. How could it have surprised you?"

"I wasn't paying attention." Rudy admitted. He was vaguely aware of the students turning to leave, and he knew, within seconds, the room would be empty, save for Mr. Wilter.

Penny decided not to question Rudy further. She simply gave him a nod of understanding before she shifted her focus onto Mr. Wilter. She then gave Rudy a sideways glance. "Let me know what Mr. Wilter says."

In that instant, Rudy was briefly confused, then he realized something. He recalled Penny could not stay after class for that long. Her mother was taking her somewhere, and she had to leave the school right away. She had apologized for it in advance, and he understood. It wasn't her fault, really, and it wasn't like her mom even knew there was anything important going on that would require Penny having to stay behind.

Things might be a little easier if they just told their parents the truth. But that might create brand new problems. They have no idea how either of their parents would react to the knowledge of their children going into some strange world where they have the chance of facing danger. They don't know how they'd react when they find out that, sometimes, that danger almost has them killed. He'd hate to think what his parents would do if they found out about what Mr. Cosmo really had done.

Rudy knew it was too much of a risk of letting their parents know the truth. Yet he couldn't help but wonder...just how long could it stay a secret? He had managed for the past eight and a half years keeping ChalkZone a secret from most people. But how long could he keep it up?

He already had some incidents where he almost exposed ChalkZone by accident. All it would take is one screw up and it would all be over. He bit his lip as he thought about the possible consequences of his parents, or Penny's, finding out about ChalkZone...

"Rudy Tabootie."

Again, he was broken away from his thoughts, but htis time, it was not from the bell, but from Mr. Wilter. Penny whispered goodbye to Rudy before she headed out to greet her mother, leaving Rudy alone with the teacher.

It still, sometimes, felt awkward talking to Mr. Wilter. He was so used to having to hide ChalkZone from him that, even after a year and a half, it was sometimes still hard bringing up the topic with him. He had to constantly remind himself that his teacher was an ally, not an enemy or unknown factor. He had to keep telling himself he could trust Mr. Wilter on the topic of ChalkZone.

Mr. Wilter walked up to Rudy's desk. His eyes were narrowed, but not from anger. It was from concern. "What's wrong? You look like you wanted to talk to me about something."

Rudy nodded his head. It took a few seconds, but he managed to get himself to speak. "Yeah I do. Something...happened in ChalkZone."

Mr. Wilter cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Is it bad?"

"Yeah you could say that again." Rudy said softly. He looked at Mr. Wilter for a few seconds, before he turned his gaze towards his desk. "Someone broke Draow out of prison..."

At this, Mr. Wilter's eyes went wide. Rudy swore that he lost several shades of color. Mr. Wilter remained frozen there for what seemed like several minutes. When he spoke, his voice was hushed and shaky.

"A-Are you..certain?" He asked, his voice having a tinge of hope in it. Hope that Rudy was wrong about what he said.

Rudy nodded his head numbly. "Yeah. Penny, Snap, and I were in ChalkZone the other day, and we overheard some zoners talking about how some intruder broke Draow out of prison. We went there, and we learned that the intruder was venomous and somehow avoided the cameras." Rudy paused for a moment, letting Mr. WIlter take all of this information in. "We haven't been able to find out much. Nobody knows who or what this intruder is, nor what he wants with Draow."

Mr. Wilter remained quiet. He was in a state of shock. Rudy couldn't blame him. He knew just how dangerous Draow was. His freedom could only spell trouble for the rest of ChalkZone.

Rudy wished he could tell the teacher more. He wished he knew more about what was going on. Being left in the dark was terrifying. Not knowing really was scarier than knowing. He didn't know where this zoner was, or where Draow went or even if Draow is still with this mystery zoner. He doesn't know if Draow isn't on his way to Snap's right now to kill him. He doesn't know what kind of plans this mystery zoner has.

And given with what happened with Mr. Cosmo, not knowing was not something they could afford...

Mr. Wilter finally spoke after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"I...don't think it's Draow we should be concerned about." He said. Rudy's eyes widened and he looked at Mr. Wilter like he had gone insane. "I know what you're thinking. Yes, I am well aware of the threat Draow poses. I faced him before. However..." He paused, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to think of how to continue. "Draow isn't as much of a planner as Mr. Cosmo was."

"But with him loose, he could try..." Rudy started to say.

Mr. Wilter held up a hand to quiet him, shaking his head. "Draow is capable of some planning, but not to the same degree as his creator. Draow has always been a follower-type. If he tried anything on his own, it would be apparent. You would see clear signs. The only time he is going to do something sneaky and efficiently, such as kidnap your friend Snap, is if someone else is behind the wheel, so to speak."

"Someone else? Like Mr. Cosmo?" Rudy asked.

"Yes." Mr. Wilter replied. "Draow functions at his best when someone else is doing all or most of the planning. He can do things on his own, such as when he used the glass to get closer to you and Skrawl. But that is about how brilliant he gets when he's acting entirely on his own." Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes slowly. "No, the one you should be most concerned about is this mystery zoner. Whoever broke him out, the reasons can't possibly be good. Draow is too dangerous for just anyone to work with."

"Yeah...he's too volatile." Rudy said. He remembered his first encounter with Draow and how, even when he didn't realize how big of a threat he was, terrifying and vicious he was. And that was just a taste of what he'd experience later on. "The only one who could control him was Mr. Cosmo."

"And Mr. Cosmo was worse than Draow. He orchestrated all those terrible things you and your friends had to endure." Mr. Wilter said. "Given this information, it is safe to assume that this zoner has to be more dangeorus than Draow in order for him to listen to him."

Rudy let this information sink in. The intruder already sounded dangerous to start with. But the idea of him being more dangerous than Draow, at least in terms of personality, was frightening. Draow himself was scary. Even though the knowledge of Draow not being very subtle on his own did bring some comfort, it wasn't enough to shake off the feeling of dread welling up inside of him.

Now, more than ever, he had to find out about this intruder. What were his plans with Draow? Was he more dangerous than Mr. Cosmo? Where was he going to strike first? These questions and more flooded Rudy's mind.

"Don't get me wrong. Draow is still dangerous even without a leader. He could still cause a lot of harm to unsuspecting zoners. You should still keep an eye out for him. It is imperative that he get recaught as soon as possible." Mr. Wilter said in a serious tone. "However, priority should go to discovering more about the intruder, who he was. Finding out what his motives are will tell you everything you need to know about what Draow is going to do. If this zoner wants to flood ChalkZone, you can bet Draow will be the one to turn on the valve. If the zoner wishes to destroy important buildings, you can be certain that Draow will be the one doing the dirty work."

This dire warning made Rudy even more anxious than before. Mr. Wilter really drove home the point there. Where and what they'd find Draow doing would indeed highly depend on what this mystery zoner wants. And if they didn't find out soon, so many zoners could end up getting badly hurt...

"Draow isn't stupid by any means, Rudy." Mr. Wilter added. "He seeks opportunity. And if he has found someone to lead him who has plans that would benefit him in some way, he would jump on it."

Rudy's immediate thought was revenge. Draow would have surely remembered his creator's defeat. He was certain the bat wolf held a grudge against all of them for what happened. This did provide some clue as to what this mystery zoner might want. If Draow willingly involved himself with him, then whatever the intruder wanted...

...it had to do with him and his friends... His eyes widened in horror as the realization sunk in.

Mr. Wilter said what Rudy's mind was echoing. "Stay on your guard, Rudy."