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He hadn’t known anything, not even a name. He was just some small pup in the city. Alone. The tiny German Shepherd felt his trust shatter into billions of tiny pieces when those humans who he thought loved him left him on the sidewalk in such a bustling city. Everyone just walked past him, ignoring him, and sometimes even tripping over him. As much as being kicked by a shoe hurt, the fact that he was alone dug deeper. He felt lost and confused. He didn’t know how to speak fluent words yet, nobody taught him, and he couldn’t ask for help.
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The brown and yellow puppy gingerly approached a half eaten, abandoned burger on the sidewalk. It wasn’t the most appetizing, but he’d eat just about anything right now. He hadn’t eaten in a week or two since being left alone, so any sort of substance was a blessing.
“Hey pup!” A voice startled him, he jumped at least a foot in the air.
A much larger, gray dog approached him, a low growl rumbling in her throat. The small pup whimpered, trying to form a reply. Incoherent babbling escaped past his teeth, and he ducked down further into himself.
“Try coming near me again, it won’t be pretty.” The she-dog snapped her jaws near his throat, and he let out a loud yelp as he scrambled to get away.
He had sort of figured out when and when not to cross the street. The puppy figured that another dog probably wouldn’t run into the street with all the people around, so he decided to run to the crowded crosswalk. He grunted and whined as many people tripped and shoved passed him, but it was pretty normal at this point. The pup just tried his best to get across, but before long, a horn blared at him. The German Shepherd pup froze, feeling terror spread through his entire body. It felt like the truck was hurtling towards him in slow motion, swerving a bit and slamming the horn again. The pup’s legs were glued to the ground, he didn’t know what to do. By the time he braced himself for the impact, it was definitely too late. He shut his eyes as tight as they could go, at least he wouldn’t see anything.
But… instead of being violently hit, nothing came. The brown pup’s eyelids slowly flitted open, the blinding, bright lights making him squint a little. There was a young boy next to him, his hand held out in front of the truck. He looked different from most humans, warmer, and nicer. The pup looked up at him, eyes wide and sad. The boy didn’t say anything, he just looked into the pup’s eyes for a couple long, deep moments, and then held his arms out. The pup looked up at him, hesitant, but after seeing the welcoming gaze of the human, he slowly climbed into his arms. The boy brought him into a tight embrace, still in the middle of the street.
“You're ok, I gotcha.” He whispered into the pup’s ear. “I’ll take you home with me, you’ll be safe.”
The young boy’s voice felt much more soothing than anybody else’s had before. The pup felt his eyes water, but he didn’t understand why. Wasn’t he supposed to be happy now? He found a human that seemed to want him, why was he crying? Soft whimpering and sniffling turned into full-blown hyperventilation in mere seconds, but nobody stopped him, he needed this.
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The pup curiously explored outside in a grassy field, dandelion fuzz tickling his nose as he stuck his nose around. There was a collar around his neck now, a blue tag with a star jingled as he pranced around. He was a bit bigger now, and could speak too. He had been training with his new human, Ryder, to be a police dog. Ryder talked about forming a new rescue team called the PAW Patrol for the little town they resided in, Adventure Bay. He finally got to experience what it was like to be a real dog with a loving home. Ryder had told him there would be more pups joining eventually, and even had more vehicles built at the ready. He assumed his leader built them a while ago, as they all had specific numbers on them. His was number two, and Ryder was one, it made the pup feel special.
“Chase!” The pup turned his head at his newfound name, his little tail started to wag.
“Hi!” Chase dashed over, jumping excitedly to sniff the box Ryder was holding. “What’s that? Is that the new pup food flavor?”
“Something even better.” Ryder chuckled, and set down the box.
Chase cautiously sniffed it, what could possibly be inside? It smelled of a fresh bath and… fur?
A white head suddenly popped out, making Chase jump back a little.
“Easy there, boy. I’ve brought another friend for the team! Katie found him outside her shop, he helped her put out a very small fire.” Ryder explained, gently stroking Chase on the back.
“A fire pup?” Chase cocked his head to the side.
“Yep!” Ryder answered enthusiastically.
The pup seemed to have a few spots on his face and ears that resembled smoke clouds.
“He said his name was Marshall, and he used to be in an animal shelter, but got lost. Dalmatians don’t get all their spots until a certain age though, so he’s only got a few!” Ryder petted the white puppy’s head.
“Hi!” Marshall came out of the box more, but ended up falling flat on his face.
“Ouch.” Chase cringed, and sniffed the pup again for any injury.
“I’m good!” Marshall squeaked back, sitting upright. “Sorry… I’m a bit clumsy. I don’t know if I’ll be able to be a proper fire-fighter.”
“Well… I was just some stray, but now I’m training to be a police pup.” Chase offered, leaving out the details of his time in Adventure City.
“You’ll just have to work real hard, I’m sure you can do it, no matter how clumsy you are.” Ryder smiled down at them both. “Chase will show you some of the ropes.”
“Oh yes!” Chase wagged his tail, nodding.
“Thank you!” Marshall jumped up happily. “This is so exciting! I’ve made some of my first friends!”
“We’re friends?” Chase sounded surprised.
“Of course! You're really nice. Or… if you don’t want to be, that’s ok.” Marshall replied.
“No, you seem really fun, I’d love to be friends!” Chase held out his arm for a high-paw.
Marshall missed at first, but then slapped his paw right into Chase’s.
Soon after, another pup came along after Marshall, her name was Skye. She was really sweet, and was going to be a pilot.
“Whoa! You're tiny!” Marshall exclaimed.
“I’m still older than you, but I’ll get bigger! Just you see!” The cockapoo challenged, seeming a bit mad at the comment.
“I wasn’t expecting to bring home another pup, but I found her out in the snow when I went to go get some pup-food. I can’t ignore determination like that.” Ryder whispered in Chase’s ear. “She seems pretty low right now, maybe you can be her buddy like you were with Marshall.”
“Thank you for taking me in.” Skye tugged on Ryder’s pant-leg, not looking him in the eyes. “I never thought I would be chosen.”
“There’s a place for everyone here,” Chase offered her a sympathetic smile. “I know how you feel.”
Skye looked up at the German Shepherd, and then leaped to bring him into a deep hug.
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Once Ryder was able to estimate that Chase turned a year old, the boy decided to take all the pups down to the beach to celebrate.
“Hello there!” A voice made them all turn their heads, a man on a boat was anchoring it to the dock nearby.. “I hear you're forming a new rescue team, The PAW Patrol, this little guy has been living on my boat for awhile, but I think he’d be suited for you caring, convivial canines! You helped the mayor tow her car out of some mud, right?” A tall man on a boat pulled up close to the beach, a small puppy leaped out, swimming over.
“Aw! He’s so cute!” Skye cooed towards the little chocolate lab. “Seems strong too.”
“I’m Horatio Turbot, but you can just call me Cap'n Turbot. He doesn’t have a name, and I don’t think he’s old enough to talk yet, but he’s a super studious swimmer!” The Captain hopped off
his boat to come down and meet Ryder. “I’m a sailor and marine biologist, if you ever need any assistance on the water, I’ll gladly help!”
“Thank you!” Ryder smiled. “I’d definitely say he’s not old enough to go on missions right now, but we could really use a water rescue pup, especially here, we’ll look after him and see if he has the right skills to join the team.”
The small chocolate lab puppy barked when Ryder picked him up, and squirmed excitedly.
“Aww! We have to keep him!” Skye begged. “Please? Don’t underestimate him for being small.”
“We’ll see.” Ryder chuckled, but he could see in the brown pup’s eyes that he was a right fit for sure.
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Turns out, the young puppy did join the team. Now with the name Zuma, and a new pup tag. He was quite the social butterfly too, and word got out about the PAW Patrol the more rescues they went on. The next member to join had been quite unexpected. About a year or two passed when they found him; the dusty mixed-breed was found by the bay, tinkering with old parts and junk. He had been stealing stuff from around town, but the PAW Patrol couldn’t pinpoint who was doing it. Zuma, however, found him on one of his beach days
“Is someone in there?” Zuma called into the small cave, there was old stuff stacked up everywhere. “Whoa… is that my surfboard? And a bunch of our old beach balls?”
There was no reply, the other pup must be shy. He had seen the gray pup staring out into the water, Zuma tried to say hello, but the stray seemed pretty skittish. A sudden loud crash was heard, and a pile of stuff came falling down, almost crushing Zuma.
“Are you ok in there? I’m coming in, I’m apawt of a cewirfied wescue team, I won’t huwt you.” Zuma started to sniff around.
Zuma saw the gray and white dog trapped underneath all of the stuff, whimpering loudly as he got closer. Zuma sat down, keeping a good amount of distance away so he didn’t frighten him anymore.
“What happened?” Zuma asked softly.
The other pup didn’t answer, and looked away.
“Stubbown, awen’t we?” Zuma earned a small snort from that. “You won’t be in twouble for stealing, I can explain to Wyder and stuff that you'we just…”
Zuma stopped short and looked around at all the gadgets.
“Whoa! Did you make all this stuff? It’s really cool!!” The lab exclaimed, glancing around in astonishment.
“Erm… thanks…” The unknown pup replied very quietly, not looking at Zuma.
“How come you're all alone here?” Zuma asked, laying down slowly, inching the slightest bit closer.
“None of your business.” The reply was cold.
“Uh… what’s your name?” Zuma tried to change the subject.
“Rocky.” The answer was blunt, making Zuma cringe a bit.
“Alwight, Wocky…” Zuma cleared his throat. “Why don’t you come back to The Lookout with me? Wyder wouldn’t mind if you stayed for a bit, aftew we explained what’s going on. We’ll have to weturn some of the stolen stuff, though. There’s a ton of junk and spawe parts at The Lookout you could tinker with if that convinces you at all.”
“No.” Rocky answered instantly. “I just met you, and you’ve invaded my home. I can’t just follow you anywhere. I don’t trust you.”
“Can I at least tell Wyder you'we hewe?”
“No!” Rocky snapped, and then sighed. “Shit… ugh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok. I won’t tell him.” Zuma moved closer to help him get out from underneath the heap.
“What are you doing?! Get away from me!” Rocky tried to squirm away, but it just caused more stuff to fall on top of him.
“I’m twying to help!” Zuma replied firmly. “Please keep still. As soon as I get you out, I’ll leave.”
Rocky hesitated for a moment, but then laid as still as he could. Zuma got enough stuff off of him to let him free, and Rocky leaped up, cowering into the back corner of the cave.
“I’m a pup of my wowx.” Zuma bowed dramatically and then back up out of the dark cavern.
“There you are, Zuma! I came down with the other pups for a picnic, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. I was just about to call you.” Ryder ran over. “Why were you in that cave?”
“Oh… I uh… I was helping a cwab get out from undew some wocks.” Zuma lied, smiling widely at his human.
“Good for you! Now, come on and join us, everyone deserves a good break from searching for the stolen stuff.” Ryder ruffled the fur on Zuma’s head playfully.
“Yeah…” Zuma said softly to himself, glancing back at the dreary cave one more time before sprinting towards his other friends.
A few days had gone by, and Zuma couldn’t stop thinking about that pup he met. Rocky was so mysterious, talented too. Zuma wished Rocky was by his side, he wanted to get to know the other pup better. He didn’t understand why though, it was just some random pup he had one interaction with, why was he so interested? Rocky didn’t even want anything to do with him!
“Are you waking up sometime today?” A knock was heard on his pup house, the voice sounded like Chase.
“I’ll be out in a minute, I’m, uh… bwushing my teeth!” Zuma made up the excuse.
“You’ve been acting kinda weird these past couple days, are you feeling alright?” It was Marshall’s voice this time.
“He’s probably thinking about a special someone!” Skye sang teasingly.
Zuma immediately sat up and opened the door.
“Huh?!” The chocolate lab raised his voice, bewildered. “Why would I be intewested stuff like that? I don’t like anybody like that.”
The three other dogs looked blankly at him.
Zuma shook his head, maybe there was something wrong. “Sowwy, I must have sand in my bwain or something.”
Suddenly, their pup tags lit up, and Ryder called for them to meet him at the top of The Lookout.
“Ryder needs us!” Chase stood up straight, and sped over to the elevator.
Skye and Zuma joined him, with Marshall prancing behind them. The dalmatian seemed to have tripped on something, he crashed into Skye, and then Zuma got caught by the ear, and they went flying right into Chase.
“Heh, sorry! Are you all ok?” Marshall apologized.
“No injuries.” Chase reported as the elevator started to rise.
“It’s never a true mission without a wipe-out, anyhow!” Skye giggled, helping Chase up.
The four pups were suited up quickly on the way up, and they leaped forward once the doors opened.
“PAW Patrol, ready for action, sir! Er… Ryder sir maybe? Sorry, I’m still working on that.” Chase dipped his head in embarrassment.
“No worries,” Ruder chuckled, and then turned serious. “Anyways, I’ve gotten numerous reports that some of the stolen items are being returned! That’s good news, but I’m curious as to who’s been behind this, it’s certainly odd. Mr. Porter said he saw some muddy paw-prints outside his shop where his old crates were returned.”
“The Cap’n said he saw some kind of animal dragging an old piece of scrap metal into a cave down at the beach, though he couldn’t get a good enough look at it.” Chase inputted. “He said it was too foggy that day to tell.”
“Zuma, weren’t you in that cave a few days ago? Did you see anything peculiar?” Skye turned to him, excited.
“Uh… no, I didn’t.” Zuma shook his head, looking down at his paws.
“Maybe it’s a pup!” Marshall chriped.
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Zuma insisted. “The items were weturned, I mean, heh, I don’t think it weally matters who it was anymore, wight?”
Ryder looked at Zuma thoughtfully, he could see something in the green-ish-yellow eyes that the lab didn’t want to reveal.
“We have to catch the person, or pup, behind this so they don’t do it again.” Chase spoke up again.
“I say we should go check the caves out, it’s worth a shot. It’s the only lead we have.” Ryder instructed. “Zuma, you the beach and bay expert, so you’ll come with me. Chase too, with your tracking skills, we’ll certainly find something.”
“These paws uphold the laws!” Chase called out, standing proud.
“Let’s dive in…” Zuma said unenthusiastically, cringing a bit.
Both the pups went down the slide, and got into their respective vehicles. As soon as their pup-houses transformed, they sped off to join Ryder. The beach wasn’t too far of a drive, so the team reached their destination quickly.
“Alright, Zuma, show us the cave you were in, and Chase, keep your nose open for anything.” Ryder nodded to both of them.
Zuma led them as slowly as he could to the cave, and Chase had his snout to the sand. Zuma felt sympathy for Rocky, and guilt. He would be exposing the pup’s hiding place, but he also wanted to help him, something was clearly wrong.
“Zuma, look out!” Chase barked out suddenly.
However, the warning was far too late, and Zuma’s paw touched the trip-wire right that lined the outside of the cave. A toy doll arm started to hit an old bell. Zuma tried to step back, alarmed, but the lab ended up stepping right into a trap.
“Leave my home or you’ll suffer the consequences.” A recognizable voice sounded pretty menacing.
“Heh, just me! I’m back.” Zuma laughed nervously from where he was caught in the raised net.
“What- why are you here?! I told you to buzz off!” Rocky groaned.
“Well, that’s better than gwowling at me.” Zuma attempted a joke, earning a glare from the mutt.
“Who do you think you are? Trapping our teammate?” Chase threatened, getting in Rocky’s face.
“Well, maybe if he didn’t invade my home, he wouldn’t be in that tangle.” Rocky bared his teeth in the Shepard’s face.
“Hold on, is this one of your old nets Chase?” Ryder inspected it, trying to de-escalate the situation.
“Hm?” Chase turned around, a bit surprised. “Oh wow, that thing was pretty beat up, it looks almost brand new now!”
“I’m sowwy, Wocky. I twied to keep them away, but youw not exactly secwetive.” Zuma sighed.
“Well, I returned the stuff, so I don’t think it matters much anymore.” Rocky rolled his eyes, and went over to a worn-down table.
“Did you make all this stuff?” Ryder admired the gadgets and things around the cave.
“I mean, yeah, who else?” Rocky answered a bit smugly. “Like I said, I gave back the stuff I stole, everything else here I’ve found in trash and recycling bins, so leave me alone.”
“This cave isn’t exactly a suitable place to sleep, it probably gets pretty cold at night, and wet when it rains.” Ryder inquired.
“I’m not going home with you guys. Look, I’m fine on my own, really. I haven’t lived in this cave for very long, but it’s been going fine. I won’t take anything else without asking, just don’t come by again. If you do, by then I’ll probably be gone off somewhere else.” Rocky didn’t look at any of them.
“But-“ Zuma tried to make an input.
“Just get out!” Rocky’s voice boomed off the cave walls. He flattened his ears afterwards, feeling a bit bad for screaming at them. “I’m… I’m sorry. I just want to be alone, ok? I don’t need you guys meddling with my problems anymore.”
“Come on, Zuma, we better go. We should be available if anyone else calls.” Ryder motioned for his pup to follow him.
“No more nonsense, got it?” Chase eyed the mixed-breed.
Rocky didn’t reply, but his expression was beyond annoyed.
Zuma remained deep in thought once again for the rest of the day and into the night. He barely paid any attention when anyone talked to him, and he didn’t even eat much of his dinner.
“You pups should sleep inside tonight, it looks like it’s going to rain pretty bad.” Ryder observed the dark gray clouds coming in.
“I hope Wocky will be ok…” Zuma said aloud to nobody.
“Can we stay up a bit later to watch the new Apollo The Super-Pup episode? Please? It comes on at ten-thirty.” Skye begged.
“Hmm… I don’t see why not, you've all been such good pups anyways! Adventure Bay has been rather peaceful other than the stolen goods too.” Ryder agreed. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything at all, don’t go too crazy on treats.”
“Yippee!” Skye cheered, and flipped happily onto a large, pink beanbag.
“You coming, Zuma? There’s a marathon on for the next hour until the new episode!” Marshall’s tail was wagging a mile a minute.
“I’ll join in a bit, I want to play in the wain.” Zuma shook his head.
“Don’t stay out for too long,” Ryder was halfway up the stairs. “Make sure you dry off well when you're back in, I’d hate to see you get sick.”
“No wowwies, my fuw is built for the watew.” Zuma puffed out his chest.
It was only sprinkling lightly when he stepped outside, and there weren’t too many good puddles to jump in. While Zuma did actually want to play in the water, he also wanted to check on Rocky again. He knew he shouldn’t, but for some reason, he was worried for the other dog. Rocky had made it clear he didn't want anyone near him, but Zuma felt the odd sense to protect him. Zuma wanted to know more about the mixed-breed; his favorite game, the best spots to nap, or even showing him his prized surfboard. The chocolate lab’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. What was this feeling? He had only just met Rocky, and the mix didn’t even want to be within six feet of Zuma. The rain started to pick up more, and it drew Zuma away from his confused thoughts.
He supposed he had nothing left to lose, and perhaps an angry Rocky would be worth the trouble. Zuma looked back at The Lookout, making sure nobody was watching him, and then made a break for it towards the beach. The tide would be coming in soon, and the rain would make the water level rise significantly higher. He hoped Cap’n Turbot got back to Seal Island before the rain to flick on the lights in the light-house; it'd be hard for boats to see in the fog that seemed to be coating heavily over the Bay.
“Wocky? Are you taking shelter, dude?” Zuma called out, nearing the notorious cave.
“I know you’ve made it cleaw to leave you alone… but you know, it’s my duty to make sure all Adventuwe Bay citizens are safe.” He added when no reply came.
Zuma listened carefully, his floppy ears pricking up to catch any sounds of the gray pup. A faint sniffling hit his eardrums, and he followed gingerly into the darkness. An array of towels was hung over the entrance, and junk was piled up to most likely stop water-flow. The chocolate lab looked around the darker room, and finally caught sight of Rocky curled into a ball in the furthest corner.
“Ah… he was sleeping.” Zuma breathed a sigh of relief.
But the relief didn’t last for long when Rocky suddenly jolted up, pushinghimself into the damp, rocky wall behind him.
“Please! No water!” The pup lashed out. “It’s not my fault!”
Zuma looked into his troubled, orange eyes, absolutely dumbfounded.
“Dude what-“ Zuma shook away his confusion, replacing it with sympathy. “Maybe we should get you out of hewe, at least until the rain stops.”
“No! I can’t go out there.” Rocky buried his face further into himself. “Just go! I told you to fuck off! This is none of your concern!”
“I’m not gonna make fun of you if that’s what you'we thinking. It’s ok to scawed. I’m pretty scawed of cwocodiles, and the other pups have theiw feaws too!” Zuma assured the mixed-breed.
“Yeah, are any of them scared of water?” Rocky snorted.
A stream of water started to leak through the poorly-made wall.
“Shit!” Rocky shrieked, basically climbing on top of Zuma out of fear of the water touching him.
“Whoa, whoa!” Zuma toppled over, panicking a bit as they both were thrown into a pile of spare parts. “Wocky! It’s ok!”
Rocky covered his face with his paws.
“Hm. You know, you’we the one who made the wall, I’m surpwised it bwoke.” Zuma made a false attempt to lighten the mood.
“Please stop talking…” Rocky’s voice was muffled, his snout buried into the sand beneath them.
Zuma sighed.
Rocky’s anger didn’t last for long though, and his body started to shake from fear and lack of warmth in the shafty walls of the cave. Zuma seemed to finally get the memo, and he remained silent, keeping his distance. After a while, though, Zuma couldn’t bear to see the other pup freeze to death. He shifted, opening his arms to offer Rocky some kind of warmth. Rocky was extremely hesitant, his first reaction was to bare his teeth and growl at Zuma, but the chocolate lab didn’t flinch away, he remained where he was. Rocky paced around the cave frantically, the water from the tide was starting to pick up speed, and was nearly to the back of the cave. Zuma watched him closely, the mixed-breed couldn’t stay still, but he understood why. He was practically trapped with his worst fear in a tiny little cave, truly, there was nothing Zuma could do other than offer comfort.
Eventually, Rocky seemed to tire. The pup was shivering, Zuma could hear his teeth chattering in his mouth, and he looked even more sickly than usual. The gray pup approached him very slowly, and then finally inched into Zuma’s arms. The lab brought him in close when Rocky finally settled down, trying to share as much warmth as he possibly could. The rain continued long into the night, and Zuma could see the moon shining through the clouds from where it rested near the horizon in the sky. He looked down to see Rocky sound asleep, his paws were still wrapped around his frail figure. When was the last time this pup ate? Zuma could feel his spine and ribs poking through his skin. It was a bit hard to see in the darker atmosphere, but the lab could make out a few patches of fur missing, and dirt caking his fur all over. Zuma gently brushed Rocky’s overgrown head-fur back, the brown pup liked how the tips of the fur on the mix’s head and face were coloured white.
Zuma mentally slapped himself, giving his head a small shake while making sure not to wake Rocky. Why the hell was he ogling over him? He needed help, and they were just sitting there, waist-deep in water. He continued to work his paw through the messy fur, it didn’t seem to have a defined style like his own or Skye’s, it was just everywhere. But Zuma wasn’t judging, he thought it was kind of cute how Rocky’s fur was super fluffy and messy in certain places.
He found a decently sized cut under his fur, it didn’t look too good… it contrasted in an almost green color against gray fur. Maybe if he could convince Rocky to go back to The Lookout, Marshall could check it out. His ears picked up the sounds of sirens nearby, and Zuma suddenly realized his mistake. He disappeared without telling anybody in a storm, not to mention at night too. He heard a soft bark and a faint light flicker on into the cave.
“Zuma? Are you in there?” Chase’s voice sounded from above.
“Yes, but be quiet! Wocky is sleeping.” Zuma shushed the German Shepherd as quietly as he could.
“Who?” Chase sounded stupefied, but he needed to rescue them. “Whatever, I’m sending Marshall down with his stretcher, I’ll pull you guys up with my winch.”
Zuma could suddenly feel the water seeing into his bones. He was more drenched than Rocky, and he could feel the tips of Rocky’s head-fur grow stiff with ice particles. He noticed how ragged Rocky’s breath was, and the pup seemed to be growing restless.
“Are you two alright?” Marshall shined his head-light in the cave. “Any major injuries I could be concerned about?”
“He’s got a nasty cut on his forehead, and I think we’re both starting to get hypothermia, prioritize Rocky though, he's in worse shape.” Zuma replied.
“I don’t prioritize any of my patients!” Marshall fretted, sloshing through the water-logged cave. “Help me move him onto the stretcher.”
“Mmm?” Rocky’s eyes fluttered open. “What the hell? Where am I going?!”
“Twy not to lift your head, we’we getting you some medical attention.” Zuma soothed.
“M… my blocks! My…” Rocky panicked.
“Your… blocks?” Zuma looked a bit dumbfounded.
“I-I…” Rocky laid back down, it was easy to see he was too overwhelmed with tiredness and stress to figure out what to do. “I need them…”
“I can get them for you, whatever you need.” Zuma offered.
Rocky looked up at the lab desperately, his amber eyes glazed over in pain. But Zuma gave him an understanding gaze back, and hopped off the stretcher, back into the flooded cave.
“Hey! I have to give you a check-up too!” Marshall exclaimed, almost falling off the stretcher.
“Where is he going?!” Chase looked anxious.
“My blocks.” Rocky answered firmly.
“Oh…” Chase didn’t seem to understand. “Will he be back soon? Ryder is worried sick.”
“By the looks of the interaction, he most certainly will.” Skye came in on his pup tag, she was circling overhead with her helicopter. “I think Zuma would give his left hind-leg for Rocky.”
The lab was back after a few moments, carrying an old felt bag in his jaws. Skye lowered her harness down for him, and the team headed back to the lookout. Ryder came bowling out of the sliding doors, relieved that all of his pups were ok. Marshall rushed Rocky and Zuma inside and back into the examination room. Skye followed after him, wanting to offer any sort of help she could.
“Are you ok?” Chase licked Ryder’s hand a few times, noticing his owner was still tense.
“I think so, yeah. Heh, there’s just a lot going on.” Ryder smiled down to his pup. “I never thought I’d live to see the day where I’m not asking you that question.”
“My past in Adventure City doesn’t matter. We never plan to go back.” Chase grew suddenly defensive.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to resurface anything.” Ryder stroked Chase’s head as the pup rested his chin in the boy’s lap.
“No, don’t worry about it. It’s far behind me, I shouldn’t be so scared about it… but I am. Is that silly? I can’t even bring myself to tell any of the other pups about it…” Chase’s eyes watered a bit.
“No, of course not. Anything you feel towards this is valid.” Ryder said softly. “I promise everything will be ok.”
“I know I can always trust you. You saved me, and I know you’ll never put me in danger ever. Right?” Chase looked up at Ryder.
Ryder nodded comfortingly, and Chase seemed to relax.
Chase still felt kind of dumb for not being able to let go of his memories. It was… three? Possibly four years ago? Sure, it’s not that long, but has it not been long enough? Chase had been living peacefully, for such a long time. He was finally comfortable among a found family that kept growing as time passed. He had been so young when he resided in Adventure City, and he’d only been alone for a short time. He just didn’t understand why he was so scared to go back. He was a big pup now, what was the issue? Chase looked up at his human. He at least knew that no matter what, Ryder would be there to protect him from harm. Ryder wouldn’t put him in a position that he couldn’t accomplish.
After a short time, Zuma came out from the medical room, wrapped up in a blanket.
“Are you alright?” Ryder immediately turned his attention to the lab.
“See what I mean? You had us all worried sick!” Chase chimed in.
“I’m just glad you're all ok now.” Ryder let out a breath.
“Just acute hypothewmia for me, I’m alwight now.” Zuma insisted.
“Never pull any sorts of stunts like that ever again, I don’t think any of us can handle it.” Ryder held Zuma with his hands firmly, emotion in his gaze.
“I won’t. I’m sowwy. I just wanted to make suwe Wocky was ok.” Zuma sighed, he couldn’t look them in the eyes, he’s been acting like a fool lately.
“I suppose your a member of the PAW Patrol for a reason,” Ryder chuckled. “We appreciate your dedication to Rocky, but please, just let us know before you do something heroic.”
“Yes sir.” Zuma dipped his head respectfully. “I think I’ll settle here for now, I’m exhausted, but I want to make sure Wocky makes it.” His eyes were focused on the narrow hallway the mixed-breed was residing in at the moment.
“Alright, try to get some rest..” Ryder patted the lab’s head, ruffling some of his head fur, and he walked off.
Zuma waited until Ryder and Chase were completely gone, and then got immediately back up. Like hell he was going to sleep at a time like this! He appreciated that everyone was worried about him, but he wanted to make sure Rocky was doing alright. Zuma was warm and dry now, he wasn’t on the brink of death like the mixed breed was right now. The chocolate lab made his way over to the medical room towards the back of The Lookout. He peered sneakily around the corner, and noticed that Marshall nor Skye were in the room. Zuma one-hundred percent took the opportunity, and slipped in.
There were multiple blankets tucked into him, and a heart monitor nearby. That might be a little much… Rocky had multiple wads of bandages wrapped around his head too, and it looked like some kind of medicine was soaked onto them. His hair fluff was still sticking out though, it looked nice. Zuma could tell that with a good grooming, the mutt could make anyone faint upon seeing his beauty.
“Good gwief… what are you doing to me, Wocky?” Zuma found himself cringing.
Rocky shifted a bit, and groaned. His amber eyes opened groggily, and he took a moment to take in his surroundings.
“What the hell…” He squinted, sounding confused, but no anger seemed to remain.
“You uh… wewen’t getting up when you fell asleep on me. Marshall said you had a pwetty bad infection from the cut on your head.” Zuma scratched the back of his neck with a paw.
“Who the hell is that?” Rocky muttered. “No, no, don’t tell me, I’ve got a splitting headache. Did… did you bring me here?”
“Well… I found you. The whole PAW Patwol technically bwought you here.” Zuma made sure to keep his voice low.
“They’re the rescue team, so duh. But you… you personally went out of your way to help me through the storm… I- thank you.” Rocky looked tiredly up at the lab. “I’m sorry I was such an ass before.”
“It’s ok, I’m just glad we could save you in time. It’s what we do.” Zuma placed his paw gently on Rocky’s head, brushing some of his fur back.
“Don’t be so modest, idiot, take some credit.” Rocky snorted, his cheeks dusted with a slight pink.
Zuma giggled like an idiot.
“Now you can shut up. I just… I need some time to think. You can uh… stay if you want. I just need some quiet.” Rocky replied a bit shyly.
Zuma nodded enthusiastically, and picked up the bag nearby with the mutt’s blocks in it. Rocky’s paws were tucked tightly into the blankets, but Zuma could tell the gray pup wanted to hold them close. Rocky’s eyes watered a bit, and he looked away. Zuma moved to get back into the pup’s field of vision, smiling warmly at him. Rocky’s ears folded back, his face turning a dark crimson this time as he leaned forward a bit. Zuma’s eyes widened as the gray pup let out a squeak of embarrassment. Zuma pressed gentle kiss to Rocky’s head, brushing his paw through the messy head-fur again.
“I’m hewe for you whenevew you need it.” Zuma and Rocky practically had fireworks bursting in their bodies from the contact.
“Uh…” Marshall made Zuma jump at least high enough to touch the ceiling. “Oh… sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Rocky, while his cheeks were redder than Marshall’s uniform, played it off cooler than Zuma did, and simply rested his head back down with his eyes closed, pretending to sleep. Zuma bid them a quick and embarrassed goodbye, and rushed out, leaving the blanket that was draped around him behind.
“Holy shit…” Zuma murmured to himself, and he practically skipped back over to where Ryder put him to bed.
At first Zuma wasn’t even sure if he could sleep for the next… week maybe? His heart was doing gymnastics inside of his chest. Though, he wasn’t lying earlier when he said he was exhausted, and sleep hit him like a truck. Things were looking up for Rocky, everything would be fine.
——————————————————————
And it turns out, Zuma was right, Rocky ended up being just fine. An infected cut and a case of hypothermia weren’t enough to take that pup out anytime soon. A bath and a haircut though… those almost did. About three months passed, and the mix-breed had stuck around. At first he kept his distance, and helped out with literally every chore. After a while, however, he seemed to realize the other pups actually wanted him there, and he calmed down a bit. He even helped Ryder out on repairing some of the vehicles and tech around The Lookout. He also taught the other pups more about recycling and a dandy little thing he called up-cycling.
Zuma had been thrilled to have a new friend. The chocolate lab realized quickly that he and Rocky had a huge spark between them. He had asked the mix if he wanted to start a romantic relationship, but Rocky said he needed some time to think about things, especially to think about staying somewhere permanently. They understood each other’s requests, but they still acting like a love-sick couple, and the other pups were ready to strangle them. Skye was the sweetest, and she helped him adjust with her kind words and gentle encouragement. Rocky loved her company, and he connected with her quite a bit with her story. He may not ever truly understand what she went through, but they both had some sort of heart-ache that closed them off pretty often. Getting to fly with her was an added bonus! And I mean, come on, who couldn’t like Marshall? The Dalmatian was one of the funniest and friendliest pups Rocky had ever met. Honestly, Rocky didn’t even mind any of the frequent wipe-outs the silly pup often caused. It really kept thing light and airy with a good joke from the fire-pup
Chase, however, was very distant from Rocky. The two hardly ever interacted outside of the team. Chase was wary of the pup, and most conversations between them seemed to be confidential and professional.
Rocky was staring at the sun that was starting to be swallowed up under the horizon. The orange and yellow combination in the sky was beautiful, and Rocky was a sucker for the color orange (ironic).
“So… are you going to join the team or just stick
around for free food?” Chase approached Rocky, and the mix flinched at the question as if the German Shepherd slapped him across the snout.
“Oh… I’m sorry. I can play more of a part in chores and prepping for missions if I make it seem like that.” Rocky backed away from the pup a little, Chase was a bit too passive aggressive for him.
“That’s your answer almost every time. Or you just say you need more time to think.” Chase pushed. “I don’t want you to be more useful, I want you to make up your mind. What could you possibly have to think about?”
“It’s none of your business.” Rocky grew defensive.
“Look, I don’t like to pull the ‘I’m Ryder’s second in command,’ card, but I really need an answer. All the other pups like you, Zuma loves you. Ryder has been discussing with me about getting you your own pup tag.” Chase snapped back. “We all want you here, are you really thinking of going back to starving on the streets?”
“What the hell is your problem? You're mad because I possibly don’t want to stay? Are you serious?” Rocky snarked at him.
“Are you just going to be sitting around? Pretending to be our friend? Toying with Zuma’s heart?” Chase took a long pause, and then shook his head.
“I’m… just forget it. I don’t know what is wrong with me, I’m being a jackass for no reason.” Chase turned to storm off.
“No, you know what? I’m not having another conversation end like this again. I’ll be honest with you this time. I really do want to join the team, ok? Happy? I just… I’m scared. Ok? I don’t want to hurt anybody ever again. Christ! Can’t keep anything to myself with you pups around!” Rocky had Chase gripped by the collar, a mixture of fear and anger blazing in his eyes.
“Oh.” Chase looked down at his paws in a few long moments of feeling mortified. “Me of all pups should understand that…”
“What?” Rocky let him go, and sat a small distance away.
“Shit! No, forget I said that.” Chase covered his mouth with a paw. “Er… no, that sounds stupid. I don’t know!”
“What’s your story?” Rocky stared into the distance.
“Oh, um, yeah. I was abandoned in Adventure City. I was very young.” Chase’s ears flatted to his head, he felt anger rise. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Chase didn’t understand why he felt like this, Rocky hadn’t done anything wrong by asking.
“That’s ok. Thank you for trusting me with that. I… or, to make it short because I don’t really want to retell the story again, my mother left, father took care of me, he drowned, and I almost drowned. I Saw some pretty messed up things happen to other pups in animal shelters and on the street, and I even lost a little piece of my ear as you can see. And yeah, there’s my sob story, I guess.” Rocky looked over at him, his eyes getting teary, at the warm colors that mixed together in the dusk sky. “I… I’m still weak. I can’t face the past.”
A set of paws suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, taking Rocky by surprise.
“I…” Rocky stopped short, a hiccup escaping him.
“You're stronger than I am.” Chase’s throat was thick with emotion.
Rocky let his emotions spill over onto Chase’s back. Tears and snot streamed down his face as he cried the ugliest cry he had in a while.
“I’m…” Rocky tried to catch his breath after awhile. “I just don’t want to mess something up again, I don’t want somebody to die again… like my father. It was my fault he drowned. I didn’t get away from the stupid fucking water when the storm came. I don’t want to get close to people and then have them ripped away from me again.”
Chase brought Rocky in front of him, and gripped his shoulders tightly, a very serious expression on his face.
“Did you willingly push him in or make a malicious attempt to kill him?”
“What- no! But if I had just-“ Rocky insisted, a tad confused, but then he was cut off.
“Then it’s not your fault. You're not the one who made him go in the water, you can’t blame yourself for it. You had an unfortunate life, but you did nothing wrong.” Chase was almost yelling at him.
Rocky wiped the liquid from his eyes, and took a moment to collect himself. He stared Chase in the eye, and said:
“What happened to you in Adventure City?”
The German Shepard did a one-eighty turn towards the mixed breed. Chase stared at his paws for a few very prolonged moments before clearing his tightening throat.
“I lived with this human for a couple days, that’s the furthest back I can remember. They left me on the side of the road. I was so young… I was never taught how to speak or take care of myself. I was only alone for a week or two, but I was so hungry, tired, and alone. I almost got attacked by strays a couple of times, and then almost hit by a truck.” Chase got quieter as the story went on.
“Huh…” Rocky wasn’t sure what to say, but he wanted to let the other dog know he heard him.
“Yeah…” Chase sighed, old memories flashing through his head like it was yesterday.
“Uh…” Chase started again after another long pause. “I’m glad we can sort of start a friendship now.”
“Me too, tough guy.” Rocky pretended to sock Chase in the arm. “I’m kind of tired… Actually, no I’m not. I don’t know why I’m lying, I just need the rest of the night to think about… all of this. I’ll try to get my decision to y’all soon.”
Chase watched Rocky slowly trail back over to The Lookout. The brown and yellow pup felt guilt crawl up his spine, he shouldn’t have been so tough on him. Before he knew about Rocky’s story, he had been confused as to why the mixed-breed reminded Chase of himself before Ryder and the other pups helped him. Scared and alone. He was still scared sometimes, but he wasn’t alone anymore. Chase just didn’t want to see another pup suffer like he did, he didn’t want Rocky to make any more stupid decisions. Rocky had a new found family here in Adventure Bay, and Chase hoped that Rocky would take that opportunity.
——————————————————————————
“You'we weally going to join?! For weal?!” Zuma was jumping up and down.
Rocky blushed shyly, looking at the other pups and then to Ryder.
“Mhm.” He nodded.
“Then we won’t waste a second. We’d love to have you as a part of the team.” Ryder presented something from behind his back.
It was an orange collar with a tag hanging from it. The tag was green with a silver recycling symbol on it.
“I… already? Wow.” Rocky was flabbergasted he was getting his own collar so soon.
“Well… me and the other pups have been talking for a while, we thought maybe we could have this ready for when you made your choice.” Ryder smiled warmly, and clipped the collar around the pup’s neck.
Rocky took the tag in his paw, admiring the craftsmanship.
“I thought uh… the owange would, um, go with my geaw and, like, me and stuff.” Zuma suddenly seemed shy.
Rocky stared at the lab for a brief moment, love filling his eyes.
“Come try out the slide, I know you’ve always wanted to.” Ryder prompted, breaking his gaze from the wonderful pup.
“Well… you're not wrong… but I don’t want to land in the wrong vehicle.” Rocky slowly walked to the edge.
“You’ll see.” Ryder smirked, giving Rocky a small tap.
“Whoa!” Rocky suddenly started going down the slide. “Not cool!”
Rocky stood upright, and tried to put his paws out on the edges to stop himself, but it was no use. He itched his ear as he continued descending, because, come on, you can’t have an itchy ear while sliding into the unknown. Instead of landing flat on his face or in the incorrect pup house, he ended up in the unoccupied green one with orange handles folded into the side. Rocky expected to land on the shiny, silver roof with a thud, but it actually opened up for him, and it started to transform. Ryder and the rest of the pups appeared from The Lookout doors and ran over to watch.
“Wow… is this for me?!” Rocky admired his new truck.
“Yep! You're our eco-pup! Once you learn to handle your new recycling truck and have a little bit of emergency training, you’ll be able to participate in missions. I already know what you're capable of, so I’m sure it won’t be long before that.” Ryder patted Rocky on the head, messing up his fur tuft.
Rocky hopped out of the truck and jumped up to hug Ryder. He then turned to all the other pups and brought them into a deeper embrace.
“Thank you! I can’t even express how happy and grateful I am…” Rocky was almost breathless.
“We’we always looking for new membews!” Zuma’s ears were perked up cheerfully.
Rocky turned his head to the chocolate lab, his eyes welcoming and smile warmer than the summer sun above. The mixed-breed approached, quickly pulling Zuma in for a kiss. The lab’s eyes went wide, but his smile was undeniable. Rocky pulled away after a few seconds, his nose touching Zuma’s, mere centimeters away from him. They could feel the eyes of everyone burning holes into them, but they didn’t care enough to address them.
“Thank you for taking a chance on us… and me.” Zuma whispered.
“Thank you for saving me.” Rocky had his eyes closed, then he pulled away to glance at the other pups. “All of you too, thank you for giving me a better chance in life.”
Rocky looked to Chase last, the German Shepard’s eyes were glazed with emotion. But they smiled at each other, their stories were different, but they had an understanding with each other nobody could break. He looked over at Skye too, she looked overjoyed. She certainly moved on quicker from her past than Chase did, but Rocky could see a glint of emotion in her gaze as well. Rocky smiled. The PAW Patrol was here, and wouldn’t be going anywhere. Zuma, Skye, Marshall, and Ryder were here for them both.
They would be ok now.