Fanfic / Play the Game

Play the Game is a dark ChalkZone fanfic written by DarkHououmon. It is the sequel to Sinful Behaviors. The story can be read here.

A year and a half after the Cosmo incident, Rudy and his friends are enjoying a nice game of chalk golf when they hear the dreadful news that Draow has escaped jail with the help of a mysterious zoner. This prompts an investigation to discover what is going on, led by former villain Skrawl. Uncomfortable discovery upon uncomfortable discovery shows the trio that they are in for more than they bargained for.

Soon, Rudy and Penny are kidnapped by Draow and the mystery zoner, Bardot. Snap is given the chance to save them, but he must play Bardot's most sinister games, which one with a death trap he must survive. And should he break the rules or take too long, his friends will die. Snap is joined by Rapsheeba and Blocky as they make the treacherous journey to save Rudy and Penny before it's too late.

Meanwhile, Rudy and Penny are locked up in ChalkZone and subjected to horrific torture. Trapped and with no magic chalk, their only chance of survival is their friend, Snap. But as the clock ticks down and Rudy and Penny get weaker and more injured, will Snap be able to make it in time?

Not to be confused with the Nimja-based Pokémon fanfic of the same name.

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Play the Game provides examples of:

• Acid Pool: Snap and Rapsheeba become trapped above one during a game located in Future Dome. The acid functions secondary as a psychological attack, reminding Snap of the time that his feet were burned in vinegar by Cosmo.
• A Friend in Need: When Rudy and Penny are kidnapped by Bardot and Draow, Snap goes through great lengths to find them, enduring multiple injuries, dehydration, hunger, and increasing weakness. When he finally does reach them, he's nearly on his last leg, and he's still willing to fight.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Jacko was horrifically tortured, beaten, and killed by Bardot prior to the story, and his corpse was propped up for Snap, Rapsheeba, and Blocky to see.
• Ax-Crazy: Bardot becomes this after he finally loses his temper.
• Backstory: Bardot gets one.
  • During an unspecified time frame in "Sinful Behaviors", Mr. Cosmo drew two zoners on the walls, part white and part red, as part of an experiment. He wanted to try to control red chalk and this was his latest attempt. The first creature that was erased turned out to be so vile that Mr. Cosmo eventually destroyed it. He refuses to erase Bardot, knowing that he would just be a failure. However, after Mr. Cosmo's death, Rudy unwittingly erases Bardot, allowing the hybrid zoner to appear in ChalkZone. He has used nearly all that time to plan for Rudy and Penny's kidnapping and Snap's 'testing'.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Bardot's whole plan of testing Snap was just to see how long it took before Snap finally died. In the climax, Bardot is able to finish his testing when his rage attack on Snap kills him. It's not permanent. He's revived soon after.
• Bad Samaritan: During a later chapter, Bardot does give a little food and water to Snap to help him through the rest of the games. He only does this to ensure Snap goes through the rest of the torture and reaches his hideout where he and Draow plan on killing him.
  • Though Draow does save Blocky and Rapsheeba during the games, he immediately takes them to Bardot's hideout where they are imprisoned.
• Big Bad: Bardot.
• Bloodier and Gorier: A lot more blood is shed in the sequel, especially in the ending when Snap suffers the fury of Bardot's temper.
• Blood Lust: In the climax of the story, Bardot licks Snap's blood and comments how good he tastes.
• Book Ends: The story begins and ends with Rudy, Penny, and Snap playing chalk golf.
  • The scenes also feature the Sanchez women commenting on how the balls walking around makes no sense.
• Break the Cutie: Bardot does this to Penny not long after her and Rudy's capture. He tells her a detailed story of how her father was killed and even shows her his tooth, which Bardot ripped away from him. Then later, he pours salt in the wound by eating her father's severed arm right in front of her. Needless to say, Penny did not react so well to that.
  • Late in the story, he re-breaks her and breaks Rudy as well by having Draow drag Penny out of the room, declaring his intent to keep them separated until they die. He then follows up by ripping Rudy's arm open.
  • He breaks Barney prior to the story. He hunts him down for information. At first, Barney refuses, which prompts Bardot to start his torture. He breaks his legs one by one, and when that wasn't enough, Bardot completely shatters Barney's spirit by tearing out his eyes. And just when things couldn't get worse for Barney, the hybrid zoner attacks him repeatedly over the course of a year and a half, torturing Barney again and again for information, even if Barney willingly gave it to him.
• The Chessmaster: Bardot went to great lengths to plan everything. Throughout most of the story, nearly everything goes the way he expects them to. He even knew during what games Snap would lose Blocky and Rapsheeba, because he planned it that way.
• Chekhov's Gun: A meta example. The first chapter devotes a good portion to the fact that Rudy's left hand is useless for drawing but he's better with his right anyway. Guess what kind of injury is among the first inflicted on him after he and Penny are kidnapped.
• Circling Monologue: Draow gives a piercing one to Snap during the climax.
  • Draow: You had no chance to start with, S-Snap. There's so little t-time left. You wanna know how little time? They've got an hour and a half left now. Deny it all you want to... B-But you've lost. It is a shame you c-came all this way...just to lose. B-But should you be surprised? Without the magic chalk...you're nothing... You can't create anything. Not even a little armor to protect yourself. You lost right from the b-beginning. You never stood a chance.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Rudy and Penny are subjected through this constantly throughout the story.
  • Snap suffers this as well, though through an indirect way. Bardot describes the games as nothing more than an elaborate torture device.
  • Barney gets the worst of it. He was the first one to be tortured by Bardot and has suffered multiple attacks and constant abuse for well over a year.
• Consummate Liar: The Truth Twister variety. Due to the nature of the red chalk, Bardot cannot outright tell a lie, but he can manipulate the truth and hold back information to benefit himself and further his goals.
• Darker and Edgier: This story is a lot more violent, bloody, action-packed, and intense than the original.
• Death Is Cheap: Snap is killed by Bardot in the final battle. He succumbs to his various wounds, excessive blood loss, and the venom. Thanks to Terry's intervention, however, he is revived.
• Death Trap: A major focus in this story. Each game Snap is forced to play has one of these.
• Determinator: Snap.
  • Rudy and Penny count as well. Despite the torture they're forced to endure, they refuse to give up on Snap.
• The Dragon: Draow. This time, to Bardot.
• Dying Alone: This nearly happens to Rudy and Penny after they were separated.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Rudy, Penny, and Snap go through hell in this story, but in the end, not only do they pull through, things end up much better than they were before. Rudy's parents, Tilly, Sophie, and Penny's mom not only know about ChalkZone, but they agree to keep it a secret.
• Eldritch Abomination: The second to the last game involves Snap to play Tic-Tac-Toe against a sentient ice volcano. Said volcano looks like any other hunk of rock, yet is some how able to see Snap, even when he's over the edge of a cliff, has a level of manipulation that lets him play the game, can shoot boulders directly at Snap, and can control the flow and direction of its ice eruption. It is also capable of speech.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Mr. Cosmo wanted to create a hybrid chalk, part white and part red, in hopes of taming the red chalk drawings. During an unseen moment of the first story, "Sinful Behaviors", he creates two of these. When he erases the first one, he finds that it is far too violent and disturbing even for him, and he destroys it. The second drawing, which turned out to be Bardot, was accidentally erased by Rudy.
• Eviler than Thou: While Mr. Cosmo was quite a nasty and vile person, Bardot overshadows him easily in terms of cruelty. Due to doing everything just for fun, Bardot will sink much lower than Mr. Cosmo ever did.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Draow.
• Eye Scream: In an attempt to break Barney and force him to relinquish information, Bardot rips out the centipede's eyes.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: This story has too many to count. It makes "Sinful Behaviors" look tame.
• For the Evulz: When Rudy asks Bardot why he is hurting him, Bardot replies that he has no reason to do anything he does, except for fun. This makes him a much more vile villain than Mr. Cosmo and Draow.
  • Rudy: Why? Why are you doing this?
  • Bardot: Do I need a reason to hurt you, Rudy? How pitiful of you to believe that every action needs a cause. I don't have such a worry. I do not care if my actions aren't based on any logical reason. I do what I want for fun. That's it. I need no reasons to hurt you or your girlfriend or Snap. And know this. Even if I wasn't going to eat you, even if I wasn't testing Snap, I would still have hurt you. Life is but a game. And we are all players. The only thing that matters is winning the game. You are just a toy, Rudy. You are my play thing, and you are here to entertain me. Now...I want to hear you scream...
• Friendship Moment: There's a number of these throughout the story. This isn't surprising considering the story focuses a lot on friendship.
• From Bad to Worse: Things became quite serious very early on when the trio find out that Draow has escaped and they become involved in the investigation to learn more. They learn some disturbing details, such as Cosmo's experimentation with creating hybrid zoners, and then Rudy and Penny learn about people going missing around town. Things intensify when Rudy and Penny are kidnapped and Snap is paid a visit by Bardot, who tells them that he can save his friends if he survives his game of death. Things just continue getting worse from there.
• The Game Plays You: Bardot's series of games he forces Snap to play are set up and designed to mess with him, from being partially random, to reminding him of his past, to traps being sprung at different times. It's an elaborate torture machine, as Bardot puts it, to wear down Snap physically and mentally.
• Gas Chamber: In one of the final games, Snap is imprisoned in a rocky dome that is filling up with neurotoxin. To make it more terrifying, it was specifically designed to remind Snap of how helpless he felt when he was Cosmo's prisoner.
• Greater Need Than Mine: During the final chapter, despite being the most horrifically injured, Snap helps Rudy and Penny down the stairs.
• Heel–Face Turn: Terry Bouffant. Originally, she still wanted to expose ChalkZone. By the end of the story, due to her experience, she has a change of heart and forks over evidence she gathered about ChalkZone to Rudy's parents instead of showing it on TV.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Blocky gives himself up to a horde of zombies in order to save Snap and Rapsheeba.
  • Rapsheeba allows herself to fall towards the acid so that Snap can continue with the games.
  • Both of them are saved by Draow.
• Heroic Second Wind: Snap is horribly beaten up by Bardot in the final battle, to the point where he can hardly move and he's lost a ton of blood. Seeing Rudy reminds him of his experience under the cruelty of Mr. Cosmo and he gains the strength to fight back. He proceeds to beat up Bardot and trap him by hanging him off the ceiling.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Bardot has taken a liking to eating zoners, not just humans. He announces his intentions on eating Snap during the final battle after he has a taste of his blood.
• Ironic Echo: Bardot does this to Barney, throwing his catchphrase right back at him while causing physical pain.
  • Bardot: Knowledge is power...Power is pain..Isn't that right, Barney...?
• Kill the Cutie: Although temporary, Bardot succeeds in killing Snap.
• Lack of Empathy: Bardot and Draow care little about the pain and torment they put the trio through. Bardot's the more extreme example. Draow did care about Mr. Cosmo. Bardot cares about no one but himself.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Bardot and Draow are arrested and put on trial for their heinous crimes. As punishment, they are banished to the Fire Zone, a hostile, nearly inhospitable zone isolated from the rest of ChalkZone, where they will have to fight to survive everyday. Considering what they did to Rudy, Penny, and Snap, this is perfect karma.
• Lava Pit: One of the deathtraps Snap, Rapsheeba, and Blocky must survive is lava erupting from a golf course. Fire is thrown in to make the deathtrap even harder to escape.
• Light Is Not Good: Bardot is yellow in color.
• Like Brother and Sister: Snap regards Rudy and Penny as family and cares for them very much.
• Manipulative Bastard: While Bardot does not necessarily lie outright, he is able to phrase things and reveal just enough to manipulate Snap and mislead him.
• Mood Whiplash: In the first chapter, Rudy, Penny, and Snap are enjoying a nice game of chalk golf. Their game is interrupted when they overhear a group of zoners talk about an escaped convict. They are horrified to learn that it is Draow that had escaped. This effectively ruins their mood.
• Mutilation Conga: Snap continuously gets injuries throughout the story. By the time he is able to face Draow, he's already at a disadvantage and barely manages to win that fight, and winds up receiving some new injuries. Then comes Bardot, who proceeds to beat him up even more. Snap has to rely on adrenaline and willpower to succeed, and even after he manages to beat Bardot using his Heroic Second Wind, he finally succumbs to his wounds and is so incapacitated that he is unable to defend himself from Bardot's vicious No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. Considering that Snap only completely succumbs to his various injuries, unable to fight back, at the climax, and pushed himself through the various abuse leading up to this point, this is an impressive feat.
• Never My Fault: Bardot inherited this trait from Cosmo. There are multiple times in the story when he says that something wouldn't have happened to a character if they just did what he asked.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Snap suffers a horrific one at the end of the story by the hands of Bardot. When the hybrid zoner finally loses his temper from losing to Snap, he proceeds to rip apart the already mortally wounded Snap. The attack is so brutal that Snap actually dies from it. He is revived later, though.
  • Bardot gets a less gruesome one, though still well deserved, from King Mumbo Jumbo after he attempts to kill Barney.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Bardot taunts Snap about how he inadvertently killed a few robot zoners and how he was going to eat baby chocolate bunnies years ago and says how Snap is more like him than he wants to admit.
• Oh, Crap!: When Bardot is lifted up from Barney and roared at by a furious King Mumbo Jumbo, he knows he is in trouble. He gets it again in the following chapter when he realizes that none of his attacks work on King Mumbo Jumbo and he finds himself hoisted in the air, unable to escape. Bardot becomes genuinely terrified.
  • Snap, Blocky, and Rapsheeba have several of these moments as they try to survive Bardot's deathtraps.
• Out of the Frying Pan: At the end of the first story, Rudy attempts to put a stop to Mr. Cosmo's work by having his hideout erased. In the sequel, it's revealed that this actually unleashed a whole new and terrifying threat into ChalkZone: Bardot.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: After Draow's defeat, Snap finds that his friends have passed out. He tries to wake them up, but they do not respond. Understandably, he's heartbroken.
  • Snap: Guys...wake up..please...Come on, you guys have to get up... You can't fall asleep. Not now... Please no...No guys..no...please don't do this...don't go...please wake up...No..please wake up... Please...Don't leave me...please...
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Rudy and Penny both deliver one to Bardot.
  • Bardot: I hate to burst your little happy bubble, deary...But life can be cruel sometimes.
  • Rudy: Oh shut up will you?! You think you can keep us down? Well you can try and try all you want! But we have been in terrifying situations before, and we always came out okay! And you want to know why? Because we're a team! My friends and I, we will do whatever it takes to help each other! I can trust on their backup. I can trust that they will be by my side. And guess what? I don't use fear or pain to motivate them! The only reason Draow listens to you is because you threaten to hurt him if he doesn't! If he wanted to, he could take you down very easily...and you know that, don't you?
  • Penny: Yes, we are afraid of you. Yes, we are both injured and weak. But we are here for each other every step of the way. You can crush our bodies, but you can't crush our spirit! Not completely! You are so confident that you are going to win, so confident that everything will go your way...but judging from those injuries, you aren't invincible, are you? In the end, you are just a bully who uses intimidation to get his way. You...you are the one who is truly pathetic!
• Secret-Keeper: Rudy's parents, Penny's mom, Rudy's aunt Tilly, cousin Sophie, and even Terry Bouffant all become this by the end of the story.
• Sickening "Crunch!": Rudy and Penny get to hear this sound when their legs are broken by Draow.
  • Bardot hears this, too, when King Mumbo Jumbo bites down and breaks the tip of his tail.
• Softspoken Sadist: Bardot's voice is described as even softer and lighter than Mr. Cosmo's. At least when he's not feral.
• Spikes of Doom: One of the deathtraps that Snap and Rapsheeba must survive involve outrunning large spikes being shot straight at them.
• Stepford Smiler: Bardot might act calm and collected, but much like his creator, this is all a facade. In Bardot's case, a feral animal lies beneath the surface that will blindly attack with no remorse or restraint. Snap finds this out the hard way.
• Terms of Endangerment: Bardot loves calling Snap 'Snappy boy'. He also is fond of using the word 'dear' with people in general.
• This Is Unforgivable!: When Snap is finally able to confront Draow, he tells the winged wolf that he is going to regret hurting Rudy and Penny. Snap plans on making Bardot pay as well.
• Took a Level in Badass: Snap, on so many levels. He manages to survive death trap after death trap despite getting weaker and more hurt. In the fight against Draow, he is at a horrible disadvantage, but he still manages to punch Draow unconscious. When he faces off against Bardot, at first it doesn't go in his favor. But when that Heroic Second Wind kicks in, despite practically on his death bed, Snap proceeds to give Bardot a beatdown that he'll never forget.
  • In one scene, Snap grabs Rapsheeba and Blocky and dives through a wall of fire despite being injured.
  • Blocky and Rapsheeba qualify as well.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Terry. Even when she still wants to expose ChalkZone, she does genuinely want to help Rudy and Penny's families in finding them.
  • She is also the one who saves Snap's life.
• Villainous Breakdown: Bardot has a particularly terrifying one at the end of the story.
• Violence Is Disturbing: Even more evident in the sequel than in the original story. Snap's brutal beatdown by Bardot in the end, Jacko's mangled corpse, and Penny's leg slowly being broken are just a handful of the violence depicted.
• Violence is the Only Option: In order to save his friends, Snap must fight Draow and Bardot.
• Would Hurt a Child: Bardot and Draow put the trio through hell during the course of the story, especially Snap, who is the youngest of the three.
• You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: Bardot gives this warning to Snap in the climax after Snap escapes with Rudy and Penny while Bardot himself is tied up to the ceiling. Moments later, he loses his temper.