The acid below Snap and Rapsheeba bubbled menacingly. As it slowly crawled upwards, it was eating away at the pillars they stood on. As seconds passed, the metallic pillars were becoming more and more unstable. The only thing not affected were the walls that surrounded them. Snap wasn't sure what they were made of, but he was glad the acid couldn't seep through and harm innocent zoners.

Snap wasn't sure if jumping from pillar to pillar was the best course of action. It seemed like the only logical thing to do. They couldn't stand around. The pillars were becoming more and more unstable. They had to reach the other side, where the final pillar, looking more stable than the others, was pressed against the side. It was their only clear shot out of here. But jumping on the pillars seemed to irritate them, and cause them to break apart faster. Then again, just standing around was going to cause problems.

Seeing no choice, the two zoners proceeded to jump from pillar to pillar. A few pillars, they managed to reach without much difficulty. Landing was usually rough, but they managed to balance themselves before they fell down. They would wait for the other to come and help them stand on the pillar with them before they continued. They were in this together and they would do what they could to keep it that way.

They had a few scares where they would almost miss the pillars. They would wrap their hands around the pillar and skid to a stop. Hanging from such a precarious location was terrifying; one slip up and they would fall to their doom. And behind them, what was going on didn't make them feel any better.

The pillars they had passed were starting to break apart. Huge chunks of metal plunged downward, splashing into the rising acid below them. The weight distribution caused the acid to rise up a tad faster each time something fell in it. That gave the two even less time to escape. They would quickly pull themselves up and continue jumping from platform to platform.

Snap had to wonder if this was the most dangerous deathtrap. It certainly seemed like it. While it didn't involve lava like the golf course did, the acid was still quite dangerous. And it wasn't like they had a lot of room to run. They were trapped on thin platforms with very little space to stand on. And they only had one direction they could go. Not to mention, they were completely surrounded by walls; the only way to get out of here was managing to climb high enough to get out. The acid eating away at the very ground they stood on was problematic; if they wasted too much time they would fall down and die in one of the most painful ways imaginable.

The acid would likely have the same effect on them as vinegar did on him. Snap shuddered at the horrific memory. Sometimes his feet still ache as he thought about the vinegar that Cosmo pushed his feet into. The seering, burning pain... And now it was going to happen all over again. As he glanced back down, his imagination got the better of him and he thought he could smell vinegar. He shook his head, realizing he was letting his imagination run wild. This wasn't the time or place for that.

But he was not able to shake the feeling that, somehow, someway, Mr. Cosmo was taunting him from the grave. The acid reminded him so much of the vinegar, the very thing that he was going to be killed with. The stinging pain came back, clinging to his mind. He closed his eyes and shook his head again. No, he couldn't let himself get distracted like that. Yet, he was unable to stop Cosmo's haunting laughter to leave his head. No, not now...

"Snap!"

Snap realized that Rapsheeba had grabbed him and threw him aside. He sailed in the air and landed square on the next pillar. The thud from the fall knocked some of the air out of his lungs. He groaned and looked up just as Rapsheeba jumped over and grabbed onto the ledge with her hands.

Behind him, Snap heard the crack of metal falling apart. He realized, with a chilled heart, that the pillar he stood on had broken apart. He had been staring into space for so long that...if it weren't for Rapsheeba...he would have...

His body shook at the realization of that. That meant that they couldn't waste much time with these next pillars. There was little time to work with now. Already he could feel this pillar start to break apart. If they could keep jumping without interruption, they might be able to make it...

From pillar to pillar they jumped. They saw that there wasn't many pillars left. Just a couple. They were getting close...

They screamed as the pillar they were standing on rapidly fell apart. They started to fall downwards, down towards the acid. Snap managed to grab onto the edge of the pillar. He eached down and grabbed Rapsheeba's hand before she fell too far. The two froze there, Rapsheeba dangling several feet above the rising acid. Snap could feel this pillar break up, too, and he knew he had to hurry. He realized, in horror, that the acid was starting to rise even faster.

He started to climb upwards. It was hard climbing up without his walking stick. He no longer had that. It fell into the acid below was the ground underneath them broke apart. His leg was practically on fire. But his fear of the acid overrode the pain in his leg, at least for now. He pulled himself upwards more, keeping his grip on Rapsheeba, refusing to let go.

Soon, he reached the top of the pillar and pulled her over. The two of them stared at each other, panting heavily. Their eyes were wide in horror, both realizing just how close to death they had just been. But they didn't have time to just sit there. They had to get moving. Wasting no time, they climbed to their feet and jumped onto the next pillar. Seconds later, the one that they were just one broke apart and the pieces fell into the acid below them. The sizzling and bubbling sounds chilled their hearts, making their bodies tremble in fear.

They jumped across two more pillars. And each one crumbled apart seconds later. They were running out of time. But they were almost to the end. Just a few more pillars and they would be home free. Well almost. Snap snarled mentally as he realized there were still three more games left to play. And after that, it was fighting off Draow and Bardot, and then getting Rudy and Penny help. It would be a while before any of them were 'home free'.

"Look, Snap!" Rapsheeba cried. She pointed ahead. "We're almost there!"

Indeed, she was right. They were almost there. So close...just a few more...

"Let's go!" Snap shouted.

Working together, they jumped across the remaining pillars, going as fast as they could so they couldn't fall into the acid below. They were so close to the end. They could practically taste their freedom out of this boxed in hell hole. And before they knew it, they were on the final two pillars...

...only for them to freeze in horrific realization. They hadn't noticed it until they jumped onto the final pillar to see it. But now Snap knew why the note told them to be careful or else he'll lose another.

"No..." Snap whispered, shaking his head in denial. Rapsheeba remained quiet, staring at the scene before her in horror.

The pillar had broken up in such a way that the only way for any of them to get over...was if one of them stayed behind and pushed them up. It was an impossibility for them to be able to reach over and pull the over over. That wasn't possible. Snap realized, as a chill went up his spine, that he should have moved faster. If he had just kept going, instead of stopping and thinking about Mr. Cosmo, they could have made it before the pillar broke apart like this.

He glanced over at Rapsheeba. She realized the same thing he did. It was a thought neither of them wanted to think about. It was something they didn't want to experience since Jacko's maze. But it was something that they realized, deep down, they really didn't have a choice.

The only way any of them would make it to the next game...

...was for another one to take the fall...

sss

Mr. Tabootie opened up the refrigerator door. He got out a large bottle of soda and poured himself a drink. After he took a few sips, he began to think of what happened recently. His thoughts were a little clouded, confusion settling in. But also anger. He had never been this upset with Mr. Wilter before. His blood wasn't exactly at a boiling point, but it had gotten close to it.

He could hear his wife crying. She was in the living room, staring at the television. It wasn't even turned on. He wished he could comfort her, but he had said all he could. After what they learned...her fears had grown even more. She, no..they all felt helpless about the situation. Mrs. Sanchez was with her, trying to comfort her, but she, too, was at a loss.

They had went to Mr. Cosmo's old place and found a computer with a lot of video logs. They had sifted through them, wondering if there was any reason why Mr. Wilter was driving towards this place with Penny. There had to be a reason. Something about the whole thing seemed off. It didn't help that the guy who took the picture, a police officer, had tried to arrest Mr. Wilter for speeding. But the teacher had clearly been in a hurry and evaded police. The officer never mentioned if they ever arrested Wilter afterwards, but that wasn't what mattered to them at the moment.

Going through the video files, they found something that shocked them. Over and over again, Mr. Cosmo had talked about some place called 'ChalkZone'. It reminded Mr. Tabootie of that Bouffant woman...and Raton too... They had both claimed to have seen a world made of chalk. And at first, Mr. Cosmo seemed like he was going to be another one of these loons.

But then the video logs became...disturbing...

A few of them, they could catch glimpses of what looked to be children's drawings, but they were moving around like they were real. They were marching down the hallway behind Cosmo. The man never put any of them on screen directly, though, so it was hard to get a good look at any of them. They could barely make out any shapes. One of the few...they could have sworn it was a white bear of sorts.

More and more, the video logs talked about ChalkZone. Cosmo grew more and more insane as the video logs went on. He raved about how the 'zoners'...Mr. Tabootie guessed that is what Cosmo named what appeared to be living drawings, would revolutionize humanity's life. He talked about how they could be used as slaves to make every household task easier, be used as weapons, and what not. The whole thing was so disturbing that Mrs. Tabootie had wanted to turn the logs off. Mr. Cosmo was clearly a lunatic. Mr. Tabootie had never suspected that from a guy who was supposed to be a renouned reporter.

Then things had gotten personal. Very personal... They soon found video logs mentioning Rudy...and then Penny. The things Cosmo said about them, it was very unsettling. He had talked about breaking Rudy, forcing him to do what he said, and then talked about corrupting him, making him just like him. He said how Rudy had potential, but how he would always be a failure because no one knew of his heroics in this place called ChalkZone. And Penny... the man had talked about how he tried to have her killed off by his 'right hand man', whom he referred to as Draow. This man...he was a monster...

Suddenly, what happened to their children made sense. Mr. Tabootie, Mrs. Tabootie, and Mrs. Sanchez all realized, with cold horror running down their spines, what really happened to their children a year and a half ago. They had been captured by this crazy man...they had been harmed by him. It wasn't some mugger who attacked Rudy. It had been Mr. Cosmo the whole time. He did that to him. And he had tried to bring Penny down.

They were in utter disbelief. Why...why would their kids lie to them about this? Why would they tell them one thing, when something else really happened? Why had they hidden this from them? They thought their kids knew they could trust them with anything. They were there to help them, to guide them through life. To know that their kids didn't trust them with something like this...it was heartbreaking for them. There had to be a reason they didn't tell them. There had to be.

That was when they sought out Mr. Wilter. When they found out he was with their kids on the day they were missing for so long, they knew that he had to know something. And from the way he reacted to their questions, how uncomfortable he was getting, it was clear he knew something. And they had done what they could to make him talk without being downright threatening about it.

But perhaps threatening would have yieled better results. Mr. Wilter had tried to dismiss ChalkZone as a 'fantasy game' that Mr. Cosmo was obsessed with and tried to say that he was just working on a movie and needed Rudy and Penny's help. His story...they knew it was complete bogus. It contradicted the stories their children told them. The pieces of the puzzle didn't add up.

Even though they had pointed it out to Mr. Wilter, even though they told him that it didn't make sense, still the man would not budge. His voice was stammering, and they knew that he was indeed hiding something. There was something he was refusing to tell them. But no matter how much they asked, he would not truthfully answer their question on what ChalkZone was. He was dodging the question the best he could. He had even tried to change the subject more than once to get away from the ChalkZone topic.

Mr. Tabootie was angry at the man. Their children were in danger. If ChalkZone existed, if there was a way to get there, they had to know. That might be where their children were. They had no other leads. The police found no evidence of where they could be. And from the way Mr. Cosmo had spoken, Rudy and Penny had a strong connection with this ChalkZone place. They had to find out more about this place...They had to find a way in...somehow...

They may have found a way in if Mr. Wilter was more cooperative. Mr. Tabootie couldn't tell if he really cared about their children or not. If he did, he would have told them about how to get into ChalkZone, and where this place was located at. Though he didn't seem particularly cold as he spoke to them, and he did seem genuinely worried about their children...still...he should have told them the truth...

But he realized that they haven't run out of options. Not yet. There was still one other person who could help them. Someone who had been ranting and raving about the 'world of chalk' for years. There was one person who might have the knowledge they need to find out more about ChalkZone and how to get into it.

Terry Bouffant...

He wasn't thrilled about the idea of calling her. He thought she was a little crazy, and a little too obsessed with this 'world of chalk'. But in this situation, her obsession is exactly what they needed. She must have a good amount of knowledge of this place. And she seemed so eager about exposing this chalky world that she wouldn't hold back information from them. She had expressed how tired she was about people not listening to her. Well..now he, his wife, and Mrs. Sanchez wanted to listen to her.

Terry just might be the key to finding their children. Mr. Tabootie looked at the phone. Yes...he would make the phone call. He would call Terry over for a visit. And maybe she could, at last, provide them with some answers that they have been so desperately searching for.

Mr. Tabootie got up and reached for the phone. He dialed the number for the studio Ms. Bouffant worked for. He waited for someone to pick up. As he heard the click, and heard the person on the line speaking to him, Mr. Tabootie said, "Hello? My name is Joe Tabootie. Is Terry Bouffant available? I would like to speak to her on an..important matter."

sss

King Mumbo Jumbo was in complete disbelief at the sight before him. He felt tears well up in his eyes. He knew his friend was bad off. He had tried to prepare himself as he opened the door. He told himself how horrible his friend was going to look. But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. He never imagined it was going to be like this.

Barney laid on the multiple hospital beds, covered in bandages and casts. The injuries looked absolutely horrible, some even worse than the injuries he saw on him the past year. The same injuries that he had been told were just from 'clumsiness'...

...clumsiness hadn't done this... That thought burned into his head as his eyes scanned his friend's body, looking at the various injuries that adorned his body. They had all been treated, thank goodness. But even with the bandages on, he could tell just how severe they were. He flinched visibly, wondering just how much pain his friend was in right now. He wished he could do something to take the pain away. And his friend's expression...the fear...he could tell just how scared Barney had been...

Why hadn't he seen this before? Why hadn't he seen the signs? He was Barney's friend, for pete's sake...he should have known something like this was going on. More tears formed in his eyes as he choked back a sob. Guilt started to overwhelm the tortoise. If he had just been more persistant...if he had just done more investigating...he could have stopped this. He could have saved Barney from this horrific fate.

He had been told his friend was resting. With his eyes long gone, his eyelids forever sealed, swollen shut, there was no way Mumbo Jumbo could tell. He always looked asleep now, or sleep walking. But the heart monitor did support the claim that he was asleep. He decided not to disturb him. His friend needed his rest.

As he stared at his face, looking at those sealed eyes, Mumbo Jumbo's lower lip quivered. He recalled what Barney had told him about that injury. He had told him that he had made a miscalculated step and wasn't able to stop himself from ramming against a tree branch, gouging out his own eyes. But now, Mumbo Jumbo realized the truth. That isn't what happened at all. What really happened was that his best friend had been assaulted by some evil zoner named Bardot...he had been purposely blinded.

King Mumbo Jumbo kicked himself mentally for not being able to see through that story. He wished he had paid more attention to how Barney spoke. If only he had paid more attention, if only he had heard the fear in his voice...he could have done something about it.

His hatred for Bardot had already gotten intense the moment he realized the sick zoner had been torturing his friend for a year. It was even more sickening when Skrawl told him that the torture was mostly just for 'fun'; that was what Bardot had apparently said. Initially, the torture was just to make Barney spill the beans about Rudy and whatever else he wanted to know...but then when he came againd and again...he still tortured Barney even after he relinquished the information... This zoner was truly a monster.

And when Skrawl told Mumbo Jumbo about what else Bardot had done, such as break out a dangerous criminal, killed two of his wardens, and kidnap Rudy and Penny, the tortoise's hatred had grown even more. Now, more than ever, he wanted to tear that bastard a new one and make him regret what he has done. If that monster dared to try to hurt his friend again...

King Mumbo Jumbo went up to his friend's face. He put his hand gently on his cheek, minding the cut there. He gave a shaky smile. "It's okay, Barney..." He said in a soft voice, doing his best not to wake him. "Soon, everything will be all right. You'll see..."

With that, King Mumbo Jumbo sat in a chair next to Barney. He leaned back, pressing his head against the wall. He stared at his friend, watching him breathe in and out slowly. If there was one thing he was not going to do again, it was leave his friend's side. No, this time, he was going to stay with him the whole time. And if Bardot dares show his mug here, he would teach him a lesson he will never forget.