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CHAPTER 11: THE VICTIM ENEMY-
How could this have happened?
How did he not forsee any of this?
How could he have been so stupid?
Rudy had known something was up with Mr. Cosmo. He knew there was an odd vibe coming off of him. He had been suspicious of him, never letting his guard down around him. He had a feeling that Mr. Cosmo had been up to no good. He had the ability to think ahead, and come up with a plan to get him out of a situation like this...
...and yet he did not. He didn't heed to the caution that clouded his mind, the caution he knew he needed when approaching Mr. Cosmo. He could have done something earlier to prevent this. He could have come up with a plan and informed Penny what to do should a trap such as this was sprung.
But now it was too late for that. Rudy had been foolish enough to allow his parents to come with him. And now they were taken somewhere. What had Cosmo done to them? Was he being truthful and they were just being taken outside? Or did he have something far more sinister planned for them?
Rudy couldn't believe he had been so stupid. There was a good chance his parents were going to suffer for his mistake. He wanted to scream. He wanted to unleash all the tension that was building up in his head. But he was so struck down in shock and fear that he could barely move from his spot.
Now he stood in the middle of the room, with Mr. Cosmo and Ms. Saffron watching him from their desk. Ms. Saffron was standing a little bit off to the side. Her expression was blank, unreadable. What was going on in her mind? How involved was she in all this? That visit he got from her, had it all been part of this plan? Was Ms. Saffron just as bad as Terry, or did she have her own agenda, separate from Mr. Cosmo's?
Most of Rudy's mind paid more attention to Mr. Cosmo, whose eerie smile never faltered from his face. The light was so dim that it made his red hair look much darker than it really was. It almost looked like the same color his dream had turned into, the red hue. It caused the uncomfortable vibe the man already carried to intensify, causing Rudy to unconsciously take a step backwards.
"Are you afraid, child?" Mr. Cosmo asked tauntingly. His smile widened a little as Rudy took another step back and glared at him. "You should be. You played right into my trap."
Rudy wanted to say something in his defense, but he knew Mr. Cosmo was right. He had fallen into this trap of his. And what was worse was that he knew Mr. Cosmo would do something like this. Yet he still came. He still entered the building. He allowed himself to get caught.
How foolish he had been.
"Don't beat yourself up too much, Rudy. My plans are well thought out. I was always one step ahead of you." Mr. Cosmo interlocked his fingers together and leaned across the table. Somehow, like this, he looked far more menacing, maybe something to do with how the dim light casted shadows on his face. "I like a good game of chess...don't you, Rudy?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rudy demanded, taking a defensive stance.
"Aren't we overreacting? No matter, you will soon learn what I mean, kid. In time..." Mr. Cosmo nodded slowly. "In time..."
Rudy tried to come up with a plan in his mind. There had to be a way out of here. There had to be a weak point in Mr. Cosmo's plan. If he could figure something out before the man had time to...
...just what did he want? So far, Mr. Cosmo had not asked about the magic chalk, or anything similar. He didn't ask Rudy about Skrawl, which was very odd considering Skrawl looked nothing like any real world creature. Potatoes and jellybeans do not have legs or a mouth or antenna. Yet despite that, Mr. Cosmo hadn't tried to demand Rudy explain Skrawl's existence. And if he wasn't going to ask about that, just what was he going to interrogate Rudy on?
Wait, was this even an interrogation? Rudy wasn't sure what to think. His confusion now intermixed with his fear. He wished Penny were here. She would be able to figure out what was the appropriate course of action. She'd know how to bail him out.
Rudy wanted answers.
"What do you want?" He asked in a low but still audible voice.
"I thought you'd never ask. I will be glad to answer." Mr. Cosmo said, his voice slightly higher pitched as his voice filled with a sickening glee, as if he got enjoyment out of this whole ordeal. He got up from his chair and walked over to the tank. He placed a hand against the thick glass. "You see this marvelous thing in here? Well he's going to be part of a little experiment. You see, new weapons are in high demand, and this guy in here...he may just be the answer."
Rudy's eyes snapped wide at this. He stammered, "You're...you're going to use Skrawl as a weapon?"
"You make it sound like a bad thing. He'd be perfect. Not many would protest because he's made of chalk, right? He was created by humans...so he must serve humans, yes?" Mr. Cosmo said happily. "So therefore...think of this as a way for him to repay his debt to the species that gave him life."
Skrawl let out an angry roar and pounded on the glass. "I am nobody's tool! You hear me! You can't make me do anything! I will not stand for this!"
Mr. Cosmo looked calmly at Skrawl. His smile became a little smaller, a little more smug. "Oh, but I can and I will."
Skrawl laughed at this. "Oh really? And just how are you going to do that?"
"I have my ways. Don't worry." Mr. Cosmo told him. He looked over at Rudy. "As for you, child...what does it matter what I do with this thing? It's not like you are friends with him."
"He's a living being too!" Rudy shouted. He took a step forward, clutching his left hand in a fist while his right pointed an accusing finger at the man. "You can't just strap a dog collar on him and expect him to be your loyal servant! You're sick, you know that?!"
Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes. "Now see here, you can't..."
Mr. Cosmo put a hand on her shoulder. "No, let the little runt continue. I'd like to hear what else he can spew out."
"What kind of person do you have to be to sink so low? To force another clearly sentient being to be a pawn in your scheme of weaponry..it's disgusting! I don't know how anyone looks up to a vile person like you!" Rudy shouted at him. "You're...you're a monster!"
Rudy didn't like letting his temper get out of hand. He didn't like allowing his anger to control him and make him say terrible things. He wasn't proud of himself when he did it. He often tried to make sure he acted as rational as possible. Ever since the poison pen letter incident, he had been a bit more careful on not letting anger cloud his judgment...usually.
There were still cases where he failed to do this, and this was one of those incidents. Granted, Skrawl did a lot of bad things himself, but that didn't mean Rudy himself wanted Skrawl subjected to being turned into a weapon. Rudy wasn't cruel or heartless. He wasn't going to allow Mr. Cosmo to hurt anyone, whether it be Skrawl or someone else. He couldn't allow it.
Rudy took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He wondered if his words had any impact on the man. When he stared back, he wasn't exactly surprised by what he saw.
Mr. Cosmo just stared at him, completely tranquil. All signs of a smile were gone. But nothing indicated that he was particularly angry. He stared at Rudy for what felt like a minute before he made any kind of movement. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand as his elbow supported both.
"Why do you even care, child?" Mr. Cosmo asked.
Rudy felt his anger return. "What do you mean?"
"I know you and this...Skrawl you call him? I know the two of you are not on the best of terms. There's little reason for you to care what happens to him."
Rudy asked, "How would you know what we think of each other?"
Mr. Cosmo let out a harsh chuckle. He turned his gaze towards his desk. "Because I sent a little...spy into..what did they call it..oh yes..." He looked back at Rudy. "..ChalkZone, is it?"
Rudy gasped and took an involuntary step back. "H-How did you..."
"How do I know about ChalkZone? Oh little Rudy, you'd be amazed by how knowledgeable I am." Mr. Cosmo explained. "Let me give you a taste..." He raised a hand and snapped a finger. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."
Rudy looked around cautiously. He could hear footsteps and a clang of something hitting the hard floor, but he couldn't see the source. It was still quite dark in this large room. He could hear low growling and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Then the footsteps broke into a run, a louder growl sounding out.
He looked to his side, where he thought the sound was coming from. The footsteps got louder. He heard something flap against the air. He knew something was getting closer, but he couldn't see what it was. He thought he saw a bright glint in the shadows, and he prepared for a fight.
Suddenly and without warning, something large and brown jumped from the shadows. Rudy didn't have time to react as something sharp pressed against his neck and upper chest. He was thrust into the ground quickly, his head banging against the ground.
"Ow...hey watch it!" Skrawl hissed. "You're not the only one who feels that, okay?"
But Rudy didn't hear this. His full attention was on something else. And that something was holding him down, teal eyes glaring at him in the dim light. Rudy couldn't believe what he was seeing.
It was the beast..the same one he and Snap encountered in ChalkZone, the same one that was in his nightmare last night. The very same, and now it was holding him down, flashing its teeth at him. It opened up his mouth to let out a few gutteral growls. It licked its lips and looked like it fully intended on killing him.
"Rudy, this is Draow." Mr. Cosmo explained, watching the scene nonchalantly as if nothing was going on. "He's one of mine. I sent him to ChalkZone to scope out for a potential...chalk person...I should capture. And Skrawl here was the perfect one."
Rudy pushed against Draow's muzzle as the thing was getting uncomfortably close. "Why?"
"Because of your mutual hate for each other. You see, if I captured one of your friends, you would be much more resistant...But if I captured Skrawl, sure you may still not be so...receptive, but you wouldn't be as gun-ho about saving him either."
"And...and what if I had tried to erase him?" Rudy asked, still fighting against Draow's massive form.
"Ah, that's where the connection came in."
"What...?" Rudy asked, bewildered.
Mr. Cosmo snapped his finger. Draow, on cue, got off of Rudy and walked back towards his creator. He stood behind the man, placing his muzzle gently across the man's shoulder as a sign of affection. Draow's eyes still glared at Rudy as Cosmo placed a hand against his head, stroking the fur gently.
"You see, I knew that you would think of hurting Skrawl to keep me from using him. Not that I think you'd go through with it, but the potential was there. So I had to think of a way to stop you. And I came to the conclusion that, if you were in danger of being hurt too..." He paused for a moment. "...you wouldn't try anything."
Rudy wasn't sure how to take all this in. Did Mr. Cosmo confess that he was the reason why he and Skrawl felt each other's pain? How was he able to do this? How could he pull it off? Just what did he do to achieve this? So many questions swimmed in his head, making it ache.
This, all this...it had to be some kind of twisted dream, right? None of this was happening. It was all in his head. Soon, he would wake up and this nightmare would be over. He'd be talking with Penny, they'd be meeting with Snap, and everything would be more or less back to normal.
Yet, in the back of his mind, he knew the truth. He knew this wasn't a dream. This was all happening. It was worse than a nightmare.
It was reality.
"How...how did you do this?" That was all Rudy could manage to say after he forced himself to break his stunned silence. "How did you...connect us?"
Mr. Cosmo grinned at this. "I knew you'd be curious. But I'm afraid I cannot tell you." Rudy stared at him with a perplexed look. "You are smart enough to figure that out on your own. Perhaps a trip to ChalkZone will help?" He asked, his voice taunting. "That's right, you can't get there...not here, now can you?"
Ms. Saffron watched this and shook her head slowly. "Sir, why don't you get straight to the point? You can't leave the boy hanging, you know."
"True..you are right, Ms. Saffron. "Mr. Cosmo said as he got out of his seat. "I will rectify that now."
Rudy tensed up as the man approached him. The gap, slowly but surely, was closed. Rudy wanted to move. Oh how desperately he wanted to get away. But it was like his feet were glued to the floor. He couldn't make his muscles move. He was too petrified in fear to do anything.
The man stopped only a foot away from the boy. Rudy leaned back, giving a glare of determination at the man, but fear still shined through. And Mr. Cosmo saw it.
"I frighten you, don't I child? I can see the fear in your eyes." Cosmo said as he reached a hand out towards Rudy. Lightly, he brushed the back of his fingers down Rudy's left cheek. In response, Rudy jerked his head away. "But despite it all, you still have fight in you. Impressive. It's just a shame you are all alone here, boy. Maybe if you had one of your friends here, you would be a threat."
Upon hearing this, Rudy had a thought. A terrible one. It wasn't something he wanted to think about. He hoped it wasn't true. He pleaded with fate that it wasn't true. Anything but this... With how things were going for him lately, he wouldn't doubt that it happened. But there was still that chance he was wrong, right? Maybe he's just overreacting.
He would only find out through asking. And the man he wanted to direct the question to was standing right before him. Cosmo had gone silent. It was like he expected Rudy to ask him something. He just stared at the boy, his hands folded behind his back. He was quiet, saying and doing nothing.
"Did you...are you the one who..." Rudy tried to form a coherent sentence. His tongue twisted in itself, making him stumble upon his words. He finally got the words out, coming out as a low whisper, "Did you do something to Snap...?"
Mr. Cosmo just stared at Rudy. Seconds later, a wry smile spread across his face, but he remained silent.
That was all Rudy needed for him to have an idea on what happened. As it sank into his head, the old fear for Snap's safety came in, as well as a newfound anger for the man that may have been responsible for his disappearance. No, not may...this man practically confessed to it, and he didn't even need to say a word.
Rudy practically leapt for the man, gripping him by his shirt and pulling him forward. "What did you do to Snap?!"
Rudy only let go when Draow raced towards him, snapping his jaws at him in an attempt to protect his creator. Rudy took several steps back as Draow placed himself beside Cosmo like a faithful guard dog. He let out a continous low gutteral growl as his teal eyes pierced into Rudy's eyes. No words needed to be said for Rudy to understand Draow's message.
"You'll find out..." That was Cosmo's answer. "Got any more questions for me, Rudy?"
There was just one more. There was one more thing Rudy had to know.
"Why are you doing this...?"
Mr. Cosmo's response came almost immediately. "Because, Rudy, you have so much potential... But you haven't yet fulfilled that." His voice was cold as ice. "I am here to help you fulfill that potential. There is so much more you can be, Rudy. Believe me..." His eyes narrowed as he said that.
Rudy took a step back. What was this man talking about?
