Rudy couldn't believe it. This wasn't what he had been expecting. If this was Mr. Cosmo's password, why would Ms. Saffron be on the video? Unless she was given the same password... Still, he had a hard time believing that it was Ms. Saffron they were looking at.
It felt...so odd to see her again after over a year and a half. And alive at that. It was just a prerecorded video, but he still couldn't fight off the strange sensation he felt. Memories of her death came flooding back to him, and the old feeling of guilt, what he had managed to fight off with the help of his friends, came back to him. To see her again, alive and..not dead...it was hard for him to describe the feeling.
Penny and Snap looked as surprised as he was. From their expressions, he could easily determine that they had not expected Ms. Saffron to be on the video. They all thought it was going to be Mr. Cosmo, gloating about some experiment he completed. The one thing they hadn't thought would happen was for Ms. Saffron to leave this video.
Then again, that would explain why it was called 'warning'... He doubted Mr. Cosmo would be generous enough to entitle a file as such. He had to wonder, when did Ms. Saffron have the time to make this video? And just how was it intended for? He figured the answer would be given when he and his friends watched more of the video.
So far, the first ten seconds or so was silent. Ms. Saffron looked very worried. Her eyebrows were raised up in anxiety. She was looking left and right, as if making sure that the coast was clear. Penny made a quiet comment that she must have done the video when she was sabotaging the security, and she was worried Mr. Cosmo was going to show up any minute.
After looking left and right again, Ms. Saffron turned to the camera. She reached forward and adjusted the webcam that was apparently mounted on the computer at the time. She leaned back in her chair and interlocked her fingers. She bit her lip and took in a deep breath.
And when she started speaking, it sent an uncomfortable feeling through their stomachs. Hearing her voice again after so slong... They tried to ignore the feeling and paid attention to the video.
"This message has been recorded and left behind for three people. Rudy. Penny. Snap. I am going to assume that you won't find this until much later on, which is understandable, given all that has happened lately. Today's date, when I recorded this, is August 20 at 4:30 PM."
Rudy and his friends looked at each other. Ms. Saffron had left them a video message? Why? Judging from the time, this video was recorded, like Penny said, when she was still sabotaging the security cameras. It was about half an hour before she showed up to help Penny with Snap. Was there a reason she didn't say anything?
It was almost like Ms. Saffron on the video heard them, for she did answer their question.
"I understand you three might be wondering why I didn't give you this message before. There is a good reason for it. I wouldn't have had time to explain. There was so much going on, and to add this onto it all... It would have complicated things too much." She frowned in concern. "I didn't want to slow down things for Snap...he...he really needs help... But if there's one thing I learned..." She gave a small smile. "..it's that you three don't give up. So I am going to assume that he made it."
Ms. Saffron smile only lasted a few seconds. Something was clearly on her mind, and she knew she didn't have much time to talk about it. Again, she looked around to make sure she was still alone. Whether she was looking for Mr. Cosmo or any of the controlled zoners, they weren't sure.
Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes slightly. "When I was looking through Mr. Cosmo's files...I found something disturbing. It wouldn't have affected you at the time I made this video, adding to my reason why I didn't mention it. And I know...keeping secrets is not a good thing... That is why I left this video for you three to find. Anyway, in one of Mr. Cosmo's files, he detailed about a zoner I hadn't heard of before. Well that's not saying much given that I didn't get to know a lot of zoners personally...except Snap and...Draow..."
The mention of Draow's name sent shivers through Rudy's spine. Penny looked uneasy as well, and Snap had taken a small step back. Rudy could see he was touching his back, as if he expected Draow to attack him there.
"Apparently, when Mr. Cosmo was a child, he had been trying to create a chalk that would make the perfect zoners. You and I all know that his idea of a 'perfect zoner' would be one that was ferocious and totally obedient. He had already tried with red chalk. But red chalk...from what he detailed, it turns against its owner quickly, as soon as it detects what it sees as weakness. Mr. Cosmo admits the red chalk was a failure, a mistake. The only thing he is pleased with it is the fact that anything created with red chalk, even as smile as a ball or line, is evil and attacks on sight. He liked that ferocity...but he didn't like that he coudn't completely control it. So...he thought of a solution."
Biclops's words came flooding back to Rudy. He looked at his friends worriedly. Could he have been right? Was there...was there truly a hybrid zoner out there?
There was only one way to find out. Though clearly afraid of what they might find, the trio watched the video, morbid curiosity rising up inside of them.
"Although Mr. Cosmo hated the normal white chalk, he wasn't stupid. He did realize that white chalk drawings had a lot more self control. In fact, that's the chalk's main power. Creating things that have the ability to tell right from wrong pretty easily, and being able to stop themselves. That is why white chalk is most common, at least that's what Mr. Cosmo theorizes. I...think you know what I am about to say next..."
Ms. Saffron looked scared. It was clear whatever she found, it wasn't good news. She hesitated, gritting her teeth in anxiety. It seemed to take all her will power to talk more.
"Mr. Cosmo knew that if he somehow could mix the powers of the two types of chalk, the red and white... He could potentially create a zoner that did have self control but also had the ferocity associated with red chalk. This combination would, if it were successful, would have allowed Mr. Cosmo to create a...a hybrid zoner as he says. And he thought about all this when he was a kid."
Rudy's breathing started to quicken. So Biclops was right... They could be dealing with a hybrid zoner...
"However, according to his notes, it wasn't entirely a success. He had created one zoner with red and white chalk, but he didn't think his theory through very well. The zoner he had ended up creating was one with a severe split personality. It would be happy and cheerful one minute, and then destructive the next."
Rudy winced at this. It reminded him of the robot he and Penny created. It had been erased into ChalkZone without a purpose. Due to that, it had a split personlity, much like how Ms. Saffron described. It would randomly do harm and good, with no way to predict what he was going to do.
He looked at his friends. They clearly remembered the robot. Although the robot was under control now, memories of how the robot nearly killed all of them were fresh on their minds. Rudy swore to never erase anything again until it had some kind of purpose. He didn't want another Robot Rudy incident like that.
Ms. Saffron continued her talk, "He had erased the zoner with real world water.." She gave a shudder, clearly uncomfortable with the thought. "He didn't try to do anything with the mixing of two chalks for years. And as I looked through his notes, it was almost like he had stopped on the idea after the failure of the first one. But...I was wrong..." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "He didn't quit on it...he waited because he wanted to learn more, and then he got smart about it. You see, the first time, he had tried using white chalk to draw part of the drawing, and then red chalk for the other. This resulted in the two parts battling against each other for dominance, resulting in the split personality.."
Ms. Saffron paused to look again. She was looking more and more nervous as time passed. She looked back at the camera and said, "So instead, he created a new type of chalk... He only created one. And he only created two zoners with it. He had...put that experiment aside for...something else..." She gave a sympathetic expression to the camera. "I trust you three know what I'm talking about."
Rudy, Penny, and Snap looked at each other, nodding their heads once as if they thought that Ms. Saffron would see their answer. Mr. Cosmo was preoccupied with Snap at the time. He must have felt that bringing Rudy over to his side was more important than his hybrid zoner experiment.
Rudy felt a little bit of relief that Mr. Cosmo decided not to focus so much on the hybrid zoner plan. Yet, a feeling of dread told him that they weren't out of the woods. Something...must have happened...
"This chalk looked much like a candy cane, with white and red stripes swirling around it. He created two zoners with it. Knowing that the powers of magic chalk do transfer...to explain, if a red chalk drawing were created in the real world, when erased, it would be evil. Now it has to be genuine red chalk, not the normal real world kind." Ms. Saffron leaned forward in her seat. "Now what I'm going to tell you next is very important, so listen very carefully."
The trio leaned in instinctively.
"The first hybrid zoner created this way...didn't work out for him. Make no mistake, the result was what he wanted. The zoner did have the tenacity of red chalk but the intelligence of white chalk. But Mr. Cosmo had no control over it. The hybrid zoner was very dangerous. Even Draow was apparently afraid of it. Mr. Cosmo had no choice but to kill the zoner. Not like he was heartbroken over it, since this is Mr. Cosmo we are talking about but still... He hadn't planned on killing the zoner. He only did so because it was out of control. It didn't get along with the controlled white chalk drawings. It didn't get along with Draow. It was a complete and utter mess."
Although Rudy knew the seriousness of the situation, he did feel some bit of satisfaction of Mr. Cosmo's plans backfiring on him. He was still upset with how that guy felt he had the right to control the zoners. So it gave him a sense of relief that this experiment to create an obedient zoner failed.
"Because of the failure of the first experiment, he didn't bother erasing the second zoner. He felt that if he did, it would interfere with his plans. Now, since it was never erased, I cannot confirm how dangerous this second zoner would have been... But this is where I get to the most important part of the video, and I hope...oh I really hope you get this before it is too late..."
Ms. Saffron's voice took on a much more worried tone. Rudy bit his lip. He looked at his friends nervously. Had they been too late? Something told them...they were already too late...
Ms. Saffron stared at the camera with wide eyes. "I know this is tempting for you to do, Rudy...Penny...Snap... But please, whatever you do, do not erase Mr. Cosmo's equipment! Not until you do a thorough search and look for this hybrid zoner! If you erase before you check, you will erase the hybrid zoner! And after that...I can't tell you what would happen. If this second zoner was anything like the first one, the results would be catastrophic. You are looking at a zoner who is very similiar to Mr. Cosmo...except he has the potential of being worse..."
Someone worse than Mr. Cosmo...?
Rudy's body started to tremble. Mr. Cosmo had been a monster. He had done terrible things to him and his friends. He had killed Ms. Saffron in cold blood. He had tortured and nearly killed Snap. The idea of someone being out there worse than him...it was frightening to think about. He couldn't imagine someone being worse than Mr. Cosmo...
He looked at his friends. Penny stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth open in horror. Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the video. Just enough for her to see it, as if she was afraid something would pop out of she turned her head all the way. And Snap..he had brought his hands up to his face and started shaking. Rudy had a feeling he was remembering all the horrible things Mr. Cosmo had subjected him to. It must be horrible for him to hear that there was someone out there even worse than that monster.
Ms. Saffron looked at the webcam sorrowfully. "I...have a feeling this message will get to you too late. And I do not fault you. Who can say you will have a reason to look for this video? And why did I make it? To be prepared...just in case the...thing happens and you need to find information. And I am going to assume that, at the moment, the hybrid zoner is loose in ChalkZone. If you want to know how to tell if this is a hybrid zoner or not, there is one only one way to tell. Its outline, according to Mr. Cosmo's notes, will be striped, not a solid color. Look for that, and you'll find the hybrid zoner."
Ms. Saffron gave a pause. It was like she knew that they needed a few seconds to let this information sink in. Only after about a minute did she continue talking.
"You must exercise great caution when dealing with this zoner. It will be highly unpredictable, like the first hybrid zoner. Watch your backs and expect the unexpected. Treat it with the same level of caution as you would with Mr. Cosmo." Her eyes widened suddenly. "Oh I almost forgot! There is one more important thing to know about the hybrid zoner. Mr. Cosmo, before he destroyed the first one, had found the hybrid zoner eating the dry remains of a rat that had found its way into the base. A real world rat, mind you, not a chalk one. Mr. Cosmo had never known a zoner to eat real world food before, and I'm sure you guys haven't either. It might not seem like much. It's just a rat. But..." She stared into the camera and whispered, "...what if it decided to for a...larger target...?"
This made the three freeze, their blood turning to ice. The implication that Ms. Saffron had given was crystal clear and utterly frightening. The idea of a zoner eating real world food was startling enough. It didn't seem possible. The systems and the way things were set up were different. It would be hard to impossible for a zoner to eat real world food, especially with the water they got to worry about...
But this zoner...
Somehow, this zoner had found a way to eat real world food without consequence. Ms. Saffron had mentioned something about dry... Maybe there was no liquid left in the rat and thus the zoner could ate it with no problem.
But what Ms. Saffron implied...the idea that the zoner could go after larger game...that frightened them to the core. That meant that...the zoner might go after...humans...
Rudy and Penny stared at each other, their bodies shaking. Ms. Saffron didn't outright say that was what the zoner was going to do. She only hinted that it was a possibility. But it was a possibility they hoped was wrong. They didn't want to think of the idea of a zoner hunting and eating humans. Even though they were safe in the real world, they still had to be careful.
"I do apologize for that unpleasant thought. But I couldn't keep that from you. It was important that you knew of this potentiality. With a hybrid zoner, the more you know, the better equipped you are. I wish I could tell you how to stop the hybrid zoner, but alas, Mr. Cosmo never wrote that down. He just outright killed the zoner when it didn't meet his demands. I have a feeling you three would not want to go that same route. You would want to subdue the zoner. But I cannot tell you how to do that. You will have to rely on your own wits and courage to do so. I have no idea how long it would take for the hybrid zoner to strike. And I don't know if you will get this message before then. I pray that you do...if not...well I hope the best for you three."
Then she went silent. At first, Rudy, Penny, and Snap wondered if she had said all she wanted to and just forgot to stop the recording. But seeing that there was quite a bit of time left, they found it unlikely. And they were soon proven right. There was more that the woman had wanted to tell them.
"Look, I...I don't know if I will make it through to the end with you guys... I have my suspicions that Mr. Cosmo will try to kill me."
This shocked the trio. Ms. Saffron had...known she was going to die? Rudy's eyes widened at this.
"I do not know for certain. But after I found out just what kind of man he is...I wouldn't put it past him. That is why I recorded this via video...just in case I...don't make it..." She narrowed her eyes and turned her head away from the camera for a second. She sighed and looked back. "And I would like to take this time, just in case I never get the chance to, to say that I'm...sorry. Rudy, I shouldn't have called you a juvenile delinquent. Mr. Cosmo told me to do that but...that doesn't make a good excuse. I knew it was wrong and I should have listened to my conscience. I didn't...and I am sorry for that. Penny I...hope you can forgive me..for being involved with that...monster...and helping him hurt your two friends like this. And Snap..."
The trio saw tears form in the woman's eyes. They dripped down slowly. She sniffled once and continued.
"I am...so very sorry I didn't tell you the truth...all of it... I didn't want you to feel so afraid. I...I wanted you to be a little more comfortable. But in the end I...only made it worse for you. I should have told you everything from the start, and I know you must feel so betrayed. I apologize sincerely, Snap. And in case we don't get to see each other again, let me say this. I did enjoy the time we spent together. You...seem like a really nice guy. You...don't deserve anything Mr. Cosmo has done to you... And I am sorry I helped him do this..."
Rudy felt tears form in his eyes as, at long last, Ms. Saffron got to deliver to Snap the apology she had wanted to give. Even if it was just in the form of a video, even though it would have been so much better if she had been...alive... It still brought some sense of happiness to him that, in a way, she got to apologize at last.
Penny whispered under her breath, "Looks like she got what she wanted..." She looked down to Snap.
Snap also had tears forming in his eyes. He tried to fight them off, rubbing his face with his round hand. He didn't say anything. He looked like he was deep in thought.
Ms. Saffron leaned back in the chair, looking like she was getting ready to leave. "I will wrap up this video. I don't have much time left. Mr. Cosmo won't be distracted for very long. But before I end this video, I want to say one more thing."
The woman paused for a moment. She looked distraught at first. Then, when she faced the camera, a smile started to tick, slowly creeping onto her face.
"I...really want to thank all of you, for opening my eyes. Rudy, Penny, and Snap... You made me realize what a horrible mistake I made in working with Mr. Cosmo. You helped me see just how wrong I was about ChalkZone. I realize now, more than ever, it is not ChalkZone I had to be afraid of. It was Mr. Cosmo, and anyone like him. And I thank you three for making me realize that."
Ms. Saffron started to move the mouse. The video was reaching towards the end. Before she clicked on it, she looked at the camera. Her eyes were glistening and the smile still on her face.
"Good luck...my friends..."
Then the video was over. And as it shut off, Rudy felt a pang in his heart, a tear dripping down from his face.