Snap wasn't surprised by what happened when they had reached Skrawl's jail.
They had decided to go there right away to inform Skrawl of what they found out. They all knew it was important that everyone recieved word, and they felt Skrawl was the best person to talk to first, since he was head of one of the most secure jails in ChalkZone. He had a good number of weaponry that can be used to fight against this intruder if need be...provided that they would be quick enough.
Snap knew that Skrawl was not going to be happy when he would learn they didn't stay out of the case like he told them to. It did annoy Snap how Skrawl seemed to care so much about keeping up his reputation that he would reject help so readily. He knows that Rudy could be a big help to him, but he is still on his 'I'll do thing on my own' mindset. And now was the worst of times to be thinking like that.
They arrived at the jail while Skrawl just got back from his break. He was about to resume his shift when he had taken notice to Rudy, Penny, and Snap approaching. And no surprise, he didn't look happy to see them. He had assumed they were coming back to look at the scene of the crime again. And Skrawl was fully prepared to keep them out by any means necessary, including force.
While they had wanted to look at the crime scene again, to see if they had missed anything, that isn't what they came for that time. It had taken a little while before Rudy convinced Skrawl to listen to what they were going to say.
That was when Rudy explained to Skrawl what happened. He had no choice but to tell the jellybean the truth. He had to admit to him that, despite what they were told, they still went ahead to try to figure out more information about this intruder. He told Skrawl that Penny was able to learn more about the venom, and explained its properties to him. He told Skrawl about what Biclops had said about the intruder possibly being a hybrid of red and white chalk.
Rudy had made sure to stress how dangerous this zoner is if it is a combination of red and white chalk. It would have the intelligence and control of a white chalk drawing, but it would be fused with the ferocity of red chalk. Skrawl had encountered a red chalk drawing at least once before, so he was well aware of how dangerous red chalk was. This zoner had the potential of being far more dangerous than Draow, and combined with the venom, Skrawl didn't have a hard time believing that.
But Skrawl still didn't take the news of Rudy and his friends interfering with his case. And Snap couldn't be surprised even if he had tried.
"I can't believe you completely disregarded my order, Master Tabootie!" Skrawl snarled. He advanced on Rudy, clutching his left claws together into a fist. "I told you to stay out of it!"
Rudy backed up away from the angry jellybean, holding his hands out in defense, like he expected Skrawl to strike him. "I know, but Skrawl...we dealt with Draow before too! I don't know why you won't at least consider letting us help. And if we hadn't gone to get information, you never would have..."
Skrawl cut him off. "I am going to handle this myself, artist boy! And besides, it's too dangerous for you. Draow could care less about me, but you...as soon as he sees you, he will tear you apart. It is best if you stay far away from this case."
Snap couldn't help but smirk at this. "Aww you really do care about us."
Skrawl shot him a look. "Shut up!"
Snap reacted only with a smile. Skrawl would never admit it. But he did care about their safety. He just would never admit it. And if he did show any act of softness or kindness, he'd demand that they never tell anyone. He didn't want to lose his reputation as being an aggressive no-nonsense zoner. He didn't want anyone in ChalkZone to think that he had gone soft. He felt he would lose his control that way.
It had taken Snap a while to get used to Skrawl being a, for a lack of a better term, good guy. He wasn't sure if he could call him that, as he still retained his hostile personality. He was as stubborn as ever, and still had personality traits that he showed when he was a full on villain. If Snap could say anything about Skrawl, it was that he was in the grey area. Not really evil anymore, but still not entirely good. He still had a long ways to go with his attitude. But hey, at least it's a start.
Snap still had that plushie that Skrawl and his Beanie Boys had given him. In the past, this would have been an insult to him. Snap recalled how Spy Fly was able to get inside Skrawl's hideout and he learned that the Beanie Boys used plushies of him as target practice, and called them 'dummies'. He had been furious at that, but luckily he had managed to cool himself down before his anger got the better of him. Although he was lucky he didn't give himself away, it still ended badly for him when Spy Fly was found and Skrawl chased him out of the studio.
But the dummy..no..plushie that he had gotten when he was at the hospital, it didn't offend him. It wasn't given to him to taunt him. It was given to him because Skrawl, even if he didn't admit it, had genuinely started to care about him, even if just a little. He didn't want anyone to spread the word of what he did, so not many zoners knew of how he got the plushie or where. Snap did appreciate the gesture, even if it did come from Skrawl, and he kept the plushie in a safe place.
Snap frowned as his mind went back to the possibility of a hybrid zoner. He had never heard of such a thing before. He had thought it was possible, since drawings didn't come to life or materialize until the artist had intended them to be finished. Yet the thought of just what it meant never crossed his mind before. He hadn't realized that the main powers of two types of chalk could combine into one zoner.
The thought was frightening. There were other types of chalk out there, too. A whole host of combinations was possible. And what chilled him more was the fact that most of the chalk, he had no idea what their powers were. He only knew of white, red, and black chalk capabilities. But others, such as purple, green, orange, blue, those he had no idea what they were capable of. He didn't know if any of them had powers that were far more dangerous than red or black.
"With all due respect, sir..." A warden said. The trio wondered where he came from. They hadn't heard him approaching earlier. "Things might go easier if we cooperated. These kids might be able to help us."
Skrawl narrowed his mismatched eyes at the warden. "Who asked you?!" He raised his hand in a striking pose. "Now get back to your post!"
The warden nodded his head frantically. "Y-Yes sir..." He turned and bolted in the opposite direction.
Skrawl looked at a few wardens who had witnessed what had happened. He bared his teeth at them, a clear warning that no more of them were to interfere with his talk. The wardens backed away and went about their business.
Snap shook his head. It was no wonder these wardens didn't like Skrawl too much. He almost never listened to anyone else's plans. He only cared about what he thought, and if he decided a course of action wasn't good enough, he wouldn't take it. And then he would take it out on his wardens. Typical Skrawl. Some things just don't change.
"You know, he did make a good point, Skrawl." Penny said. Although Skrawl still looked furious, Penny didn't seem bothered by it. She had taken a step closer to him, showing how unafraid she was of Skrawl. "We'd get more done if you would just listen, and cooperate with us. Your whole 'I will do this alone' attitude is going to slow everything down, and by the time you find Draow, he would have already caused a lot of destruction, especially if he is paired up with an even more dangerous zoner! So for once in your life, can't you just listen?!"
"Why should I?" Skrawl said, advancing on her. "Give me one good reason why I should allow you three to be a part of this investigation."
"Oh I'll give you a good reason..." Penny smirked.
Penny got closer to Skrawl. She gestured for him to lean forward. She cupped her hand and whispered something into his ear. After a few seconds, his eyes wide wide. He stared at Penny in shock. That soon melted away into fury. He let out a loud growl of frustration and looked like he was about to strike her. He managed to stop himself, and chose instead to turn his back on her.
Rudy and Snap stared at each other. Snap knew Rudy was thinking the same as him. Just what had Penny said to anger Skrawl so much? And how would this help convince the jellybean to change his mind?
There was silence for a time. The other workers in the jail stared, wondering what was going on. There were nervous whispers. Some wardens were scared that Skrawl was going to snap. They whispered to the girl to get away. Skrawl was looking angrier by the second. But Penny still held her ground, her arms crossed against her chest.
Finally Skrawl replied, his voice seeping through his yellow, clenched teeth. "..okay fine..." His voice was filled with bitterness. It was clear he was not happy to concede to Penny.
Yet, even he knew that Penny spoke the truth. Even Skrawl had to realize that the investigation didn't kick off the ground as much as it should have, and all because of his obsession with 'redeeming his reputation'.
Skrawl shot the trio a harsh glare. Then his expression relaxede just a tad. "You can help...if that is your desire, if you three really can't stay out of this, then fine. I'll let you aid me and my boys in the investigation..."
Penny smiled and said, "There, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"
Skrawl grumbled in response. "Whatever..."
Skrawl walked away from the group. Snap wondered what he was going to do next. He still didn't look happy. But whatever Penny had said, it was clear Skrawl wasn't going to mess around with it. He hadn't known Penny to be the blackmailing type, but considering how dire the situation was, he couldn't bring himself to be at all surprised about it. Draow and this intruder had to be stopped at all costs.
The jellybean went over to his desk. He pulled out the drawer. He flipped through the material until he found the folder he was looking for. He yanked it out. He walked over to Rudy, Penny, and Snap, gripping the folder tightly in his claws. He went up to Rudy and shoved the folder into his hands. Rudy glanced at it, a confused look on his face.
Before anyone asked, Skrawl spoke.
Pointing at the folder, Skrawl said, "That folder right there contains some very old notes left behind by none other than Mr. Cosmo, back when he was a child. None of them will help in this case, except for one, which we believe to be a password. You three aren't the only ones who thought Mr. Cosmo might have a connection in this case, somehow."
Rudy, Penny, and Snap looked at each other. Then they glanced at the notes. It felt kinda weird to be holding something containing notes written by their old enemy. Snap wasn't sure if he wanted to read the things this madman had wrote. At least the notes were from before he was created. He shuddered to think of what he would have written about his treatment of him. Snap's whole body ached at the memory.
"Now, I would do it myself, or send my Beanie Boys, but the problem is, this password most likely belonged to a computer outside this place. The ink used for the password appears to be newer, so Mr. Cosmo must have written it recently, when he paid a brief visit to ChalkZone. The exact time frame, we cannot be sure of. But what I am absolutely sure of is that this computer is located in his hideout, where we were all trapped."
Horrible memories came flooding back to Snap. All the pain came rushing at him. Even though he was not hurt anymore, his body still reacted to what happened. He could feel the nail in his head again, the electricity coursing through his body, Draow's claws slicing into his back...
Rudy and Penny didn't look any better either. They both remembered what it was like being Cosmo's prisoners. They recalled how it felt being trapped in a maze that only Cosmo knew how to navigate properly. They were like mice in a maze, and all the walls were poison. Traps were everywhere. They all had been lucky to escape with their lives.
Skrawl continued, "I want you three to go to Mr. Cosmo's old place of residence. Since he is gone, you don't need to worry about him anymore. From what you told me, some of his real world equipment still stands. Go through any computer you can find, and try to find something that is password protected. Find out what it says, and report back to me as soon as you can."
"Okay, Skrawl, will do!" Rudy said, giving the jellybean a nod. "You can count on us."
The three of them walked out of the jail. Now that they had an idea of what to do, they wanted to act on it as soon as possible. The idea of going to Cosmo's hideout wasn't something they were expecting. Yet it was inevitable. If this zoner was, somehow, connected to Mr. Cosmo, they couldn't just ignore his base, which may have a lot of clues to help them discover who this mysterious intruder is.
As they walked away, Rudy and Snap's curiosity started to get the better of them. They both really wanted to know how Penny managed to get Skrawl to change his mind. When they were far enough away, out of earshot of Skrawl, they decided to ask.
"Say, how did you convince Skrawl to let us join the investigation?" Rudy asked.
"Yeah, don't leave us in the dark." Snap said. "What did you do?"
Penny stared at them for a second before a sly smile spread across her face. "Oh I told him that if he didn't let us help, I was going to tell everyone of the time that he made a cute plushie of himself. He is so determined to forget that, so desperate for no one to find out, that he'd do anything to keep it a secret." She let out a chuckle. "Even let us help him, even though he clearly doesn't want our assistance."
Rudy and Snap stared at each other.
"Skrawl has what?" Rudy asked, confused.
Snap was just as shocked. "He did what? And how did you find this out?"
Penny giggled. "Well let's just say I have my ways." She stopped in her tracks for a moment. She turned to Rudy and Snap and said, "Now keep this in mind. I did not like the idea of forcing him to accept our help in that way. But you guys know as much as I do how dangerous Draow is, and how much the search for him had slowed down because he wouldn't accept our help. So, since he wouldn't listen to reason, I had to blackmail him. I'm not proud of it, but at least we can finally help and Skrawl won't be on our backs anymore."
"Yeah I guess you are right." Rudy said. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced down at the folder. "Come on, let's get started."
sss
It wasn't too hard getting into Mr. Cosmo's old base. They knew of a secret way in, out of the way of most workers. So sneaking in wasn't a problem. Plus, the studio still didn't really use these lower levels, so everything was the way it was when they had finished erasing all of Cosmo's work.
Rudy felt a cold chill as he walked into the old place. It wasn't as difficult to navigate now that the stuff Cosmo and the controlled zoners built was gone. No longer was there a maze to navigate. Yet, even with all the stuff gone, he felt very uncomfortable being here. If there was a place that would make him feel at unease, any place whose appearance felt cold and sharp, it was this place.
He looked down the empty hallways. Although it was now as regular as any old joint, he could still see visions of how it looked when Mr. Cosmo was alive. He could see the twisted tunnels they had to navigate, the hexagon shaped entrances. He could hear the hideous machinery running in the background, feeling it rumble the ground. And with every step, he kept thinking the electrified water bars would pop out of nowhere, trapping him and his friends.
The memories of what happened to him and his friends was fresh on his mind. He kept wanting to look over his shoulder to make sure Draow wasn't charging at them. At every corner, he kept looking left and right to make sure Mr. Cosmo wasn't hiding. He could see that his friends looked just as worried and apprehensive as him. Even with Mr. Cosmo gone, his memory still haunted them. They still expected him to be right around the corner, ready to strike out when they least expected it.
Snap's wails of pain seemed to echo down the halls. The sound of his whimpers, pleas for mercy, Rudy could hear it all. His mind flashed several times, showing him the images of what he had seen done to Snap. A few times, he thought of what might have happened to him while he wasn't there. He could see Snap's face contorted into pain in his mind. And he saw Mr. Cosmo standing over him, his eyes glowing an eerie red, before he struck down.
Rudy shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his mind. Mr. Cosmo was gone. He kept repeating this to himself. He was gone, and he can't hurt him anymore. They weren't going to run into him ever again. He had paid the ultimate price for all the evil he had done. Never again will he be able to harm ChalkZone or any zoner or any person. This might be his base, but they were completely safe now. He kept reminding himself of that fact.
With all of Mr. Cosmo's equipment erased, Rudy knew there were only a few places where they would be able to find computers. He wasn't sure how many of them still worked or even if Cosmo used them at all. But he knew that they couldn't afford overlooking anything, no matter how unimportant it might seem or how little sense it might make.
He knew of one particular room that had a computer in it. It had looked pretty old, but last he recalled, it did still at least turn on. He didn't do anything with it because it didn't seem like it was a part of anything dangerous. He was glad he didn't destroy that computer. Maybe it is the one that holds something password protected. And hopefully, that something would help them out.
Snap looked around the place nervously. "I really don't like being here..."
Penny crossed her arms against her chest and rubbed her hands along her arms as if a cold wind just blew in. "Yeah. This place gives me the creeps.. I never thought this place would feel...spookier without Mr. Cosmo around..."
Rudy didn't blame his friends for being so afraid. They all had suffered here, Snap most of all. They all were injured, all tormented by this madman. They all thought they would never get out. The idea of coming back here willingly...it was not a pleasant feeling.
But even they understood that they had no choice. Mr. Cosmo might have a file somewhere that would help them identify this intruder. Maybe he kept records of this creature somewhere, maybe even information on how to contain him. Mr. Cosmo would want to be able to control something like this, so surely he would have wrote something down on how to do so.
Rudy's mind filled with fear when he realized there was another possibility they hadn't even considered. What if Mr. Cosmo never learned how to control the beast? What if his experiment to control red chalk drawings had failed miserably, and he had to lock the zoner away because he was out of control? The thought scared Rudy. If even Cosmo had no way of controlling this intruder, no way to stop him...
"Hey Rudy, I found that computer you told me about." Penny said, cutting Rudy out of his thoughts.
Indeed, they had arrived at the room Rudy mentioned. The door was off its hinge, tilted diagonally at the side. When the lightswitch was flipped on, there was only a single lightbulb hanging overhead. The light was kinda dim, but it was enough to see what the room looked like.
Cobwebs were everywhere, clinging to the walls and giving the appearance of a white sheet. Dust covered the desks, the computers, and the various materials scattered in the room, mostly books, pencils, and folders. The computer was very old, made apparrent by the CRT monitor. The keyboard keys looked worn and it was hard to see the letters. The mouse was on its side and they could see it was one of the really old ball ones.
Penny went over to the chair and brushed the dust off. She found the power button and she turned the computer on. It took a few minutes to fully load up, and once the computer crashed during the load up and had to check the file system to make sure everything was okay. Then the logo appeared, the computer made a ding sound to let the user know it was fully booted and they were greeted with what was clearly an outdated operating system.
But after a few minutes of searching through the folders, Penny was not able to find anything of interest. Most of what she found were just music files and to do lists that were closer to grocery shopping lists than anything to do with ChalkZone.
Finally, Penny stopped searching and turned to Rudy and Snap. "I'm not finding anything, you guys. I don't know if this computer even has any sensitive data on it. We might as well try to see if there's another computer here."
Rudy was disappointed. Then again, he couldn't be too surprised. It would have been wishful thinking to believe that the first computer they find would have anything on it.
"Okay. There is another computer I..." Rudy was cut off when Snap brushed up passed him and towards the computer. "Snap, what are you doing?"
"I thought I saw something..." Snap pushed himself against Penny as he tried to get a better look. His round hand pushed against the mouse and he moved the cursor to a folder in the corner on the desktop labeled simply as 'lists'.
"Snap, I already looked there." Penny said. She attempted to regain control of the mouse. "Now will you..."
"Wait Penny! There is one file you didn't look at!" Snap cried. When the folder popped up, he moved the cursor over to a file simply called 'warning'. Cursor hovering of it, they were able to tell the file dated back to when they were first trapped in this horrible place. He looked at her and said, "See? You didn't look at that file."
Penny blinked, staring at the file in shock. "I..have no idea how I missed that one..."
"Open it, Penny!" Rudy said. "Maybe this file will tell us something..."
Penny double clicked the file. A video player started to open. They waited for the video to play, but instead it froze. A small window popped up, asking for a password. Rudy's eyes widened. Was this...could this be what the password was for? Could they have managed to find what they were looking for?
Heart beginning to pound, he turned to Penny and said with great urgency, "Enter the password! Now!"
He handed her the paper that contained the password. Swiftly, Penny typed it into the box and pressed Okay. The window disappeared. Then the video player started to load back up again. It took a little while, and they guessed it was because of how old the computer was.
Then the file fully loaded up. And as it began to play, they were taken aback at who they saw on the old video.
It was Ms. Saffron.