Rudy had always thought Terry Bouffant was just a moderately dangerous annoyance who he'd always be able to foil with little trouble. But when her true face is revealed, getting out unharmed doesn't look so easy…and it might even be impossible… Written by DarkHououmon.
Stories currently in this AU
The Nowhere to Run Saga contains examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: Terry Bouffant. By the end of “Fix the Cracks”, her rap sheet reads as follows: kidnapping of a minor, holding said minor against his will, blackmailing said minor, child abuse and attempted murder. And she doesn't stop.
- Age-Appropriate Angst: Rudy's response to everything he's been through by the end of “Fall Far Below” is to run to his father and cling to him while sobbing; no one can blame him.
- Anxiety Dreams: Both before and after Terry gets caught, Rudy has terrible nightmares about what she could do to him and his friends.
- Bittersweet Ending: In “Fix the Cracks”, Terry is behind bars and Chalk Zone is safe but Rudy's heart was permanently damaged when Terry shot him and he'll need a pacemaker to live anything close to a normal life. Unfortunately it doesn't stay that way.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Rudy in "To Lose Control". By some miracle, it seems to be cracking by the end, though not in time to save Penny, Snap or Rapsheeba.
- Break the Cutie: The whole ordeal for Rudy. He still isn't back to normal by the end of “Fix the Cracks”. And life refuses to leave him alone.
- Cassandra Truth: Reggie witnesses Terry's kidnapping of Rudy but his father won't believe him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Reggie. He may not exactly like Rudy but he doesn't want him to get hurt.
- Lima Syndrome: Terry and Vinnie have started developing this towards Rudy; they're obviously confused by it.
- Mama Bear: When Mrs. Tabootie sees Terry winding up to hit her son again, she full-on tackles the reporter.
- Moral Myopia: Terry and Vinnie have both started to care a lot about Rudy and yet are willing to keep him prisoner, kidnap his friends, contemplate killing Snap (Terry only) and rape Rapsheeba (Vinnie).
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mr. Bullnerd has a subdued version of this at Terry's trial as he realizes that his refusal to believe his son put another child at risk.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We never find out exactly how Terry would have ruined Penny's life if Rudy had refused to help her. It's still terrifying to contemplate.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Terry contemplates killing Snap and replacing him with a more biddable copy but discards the idea because she and Vinnie couldn't make a copy that would convince Rudy and if he found out they had killed Snap, they'd lose their control over him.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Penny and Snap were already angry about how badly Terry and Vinnie's treatment of Rudy had messed him up but when they find out Vinnie raped Rapsheeba, all bets are off.
- Rule of Three: Over the course of the first 2 stories, Terry slaps Rudy 3 times. The third time, she gets caught.
- Sadistic Choice: Terry gives Rudy one: Help her expose Chalk Zone, making all of the zoners hate him or refuse to help her and let her ruin Penny's life while still exposing Chalk Zone.
- Stockholm Syndrome: Terry plans on evoking this in “Don't Fret, Precious.” At the end, it appears to have worked.
- Tears of Fear: Rudy multiple times over the course of the series.
- That Came Out Wrong: Zig-zagged when Rudy talks about Terry touching him. His parents, Penny and Snap all jump to the sexual explanation but while Rudy explains he didn't mean that, he does admit “But it was still terrible.”
- True Companions: Penny and Snap to Rudy, worrying about his strange behavior and acting as reassuring figures after Terry's arrested. Rapsheeba and Blocky join them after Rudy is kidnapped again.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Rudy by "To Lose Control". He's helping Terry and Vinnie in their bid to expose Chalk Zone and enslave the zoners but it's also obvious his actions are causing him emotional distress and that he's Not Himself.
