Ryder had arrived to the Lookout only to see Skye waiting impatiently. "What's wrong?"
"The power's out and the door's locked. None of the pups will come open it."
"That's strange." He tried calling the pups on his pup pad. "I think service is down because of the earthquake."
"I thought I sensed something. I hope the pups are okay."
"I'm sure they're fine," Ryder said. He took a crowbar from his ATV and jammed it into the door. Using all his strength, he pulled the doors apart. "Let's go!"
"Pups?" Skye barked, sniffing the air. "Pups! Where are you?" Skye heard a sound and ran over to the elevator. "Pups?" she yelled.
"Skye!" a sound echoed from below. "We're trapped!"
"Pups?" Ryder yelled. "Are you alright?"
"Shaken up, but otherwise we're alright!"
"We're near the basement, Ryder, sir!" That had to be Chase, Ryder thought.
"We're on our way!" Ryder and Skye ran down the stairs, Skye leading the way. The basement was dark. "Why didn't the backup generator come on?"
"I'll check it out!" Skye yipped.
Ryder jammed the crowbar between the elevator doors. "Back up, pups!" He pulled with all his might, barely getting the doors open an inch, when his pup pad started ringing. This broke his concentration and the crowbar slipped, clanging to the ground. "Ugh!" he groaned in frustration. "Ryder here."
"Ryder." It was Mayor Goodway. "I heard there's no power in town. How are you and the pups?"
"The pups are trapped in the elevator. I'm trying to get them out."
"You do realize the tsunami is a few minutes away?"
"What?!" He dropped the pup pad, grabbed the crowbar and desperately tried to open the doors again. "Come on you stupid door, move!"
"Ryder! I got it!" Skye yelled. The lights came on and the doors slid open. Ryder fell forward onto the pups.
"Ryder!" The pups yelled, showering hi with licks and nuzzles.
"Good to see you too, but there's no time for a reunion. Mayor Goodway told me the tsunami is a few minutes away. Everybody to the top!" The pups all ran upstairs, Marshall tripping every now and then. Ryder checked his pup pad. "Not good. Skye?"
"Yes Ryder?"
"Go check on the waves with your wings, I need to see the waves."
"On it! This pup's gotta fly!" She ran out the Lookout, taking off into the sky. Ryder secured all the doors and windows. He counted six pup houses and one ATV inside the Lookout.
"Life jacket's on," he said. His jacket inflated as did the pups.
"I didn't know our uniforms did that," Marshall said.
"Cool!" the other pups yelled.
Ryder paced back and forth inside the command room, waiting for Skye's call. "Skye, what do you see?"
"Really big waves headed this way! They've got to be at least 20 feet tall!" Ryder could see them on the video feed. He gulped, looking nervous for the first time.
"Ryder?" Rubble whimpered. "Are we going to be okay?"
Ryder looked down at the frightened pups with a smile. "It doesn't matter where we are or what happens. We are family. As long as we stick together, nothing bad will happen to us." The pups nervously smiled back, surrounding him. "Skye, come back. It's time."
"On it!"
***
Just a few minutes later, the first waves had reached shore. Ryder and the pups watched from the comfort of the command screen. "As you can see, the tsunami waves have just reached Adventure Bay. We really hope everyone down there has evacuated or is on the top level of there home. This is going to be a long da-" The power went out once more. Chase's ears perked.
"What is it?" Ryder said.
"Water..." he said. "Sounds like water rushing into the basement!"
"Of course it's water," Rocky groaned. "It just has to be. It couldn't be fire or snow, no, it had to be-" Ryder grabbed him, holding him in his lap.
"We'll be fine, pups. Just stay here, I'm going to check out the damage so far." The Lookout lurched, creaking and groaning as a giant wave hit it. The pups whined as they were thrown to the ground. He pulled down the periscope, looking out to the ocean. The first of the waves weren't the worst, that had yet to come. Ryder could see them in the distance.
"Zuma, how are you so calm?" Rubble asked. The Labrador had been laying there, silently staring out at the ocean.
"Well, for one thing, I don't think it's that bad," he said. "I've shredded bigger waves than that. Plus, I know there's going to be some people that need saving. After all, the town's going to be completely submerged."
"You're not scared?" Chase asked.
"Chase, were you scared when you found that robber at Mr. Porter's?"
"No," he said. "I tackled and pinned him to the ground until the authorities came."
"Why?"
"Because it's my job." The room fell silent. "It's our job."
"That's right," Zuma said, standing up. "It's our job to-"
"Protect and serve Adventure Bay," the pups said confidently.
"No matter what. Are we going to let a little water freak us out?"
"No!"
"Then be on guard, pups! We never know when we need to jump into action!" With that, Zuma laid back down on his stomach, smiling to himself.
"Good pups," Ryder said with a smile.
***
Ryder's vibrating pup pad caught the ears of Zuma, awaking him. The sun had begun to rise and Zuma realized how eerily quiet it was. "Zuma here," he whispered.
"Zuma?" Katie said. "Where's Ryder?"
"Asleep. Do you want me to wake him?"
"No, that's okay. Mayor wanted him to scout the town. She knows some people stayed behind."
"Really?" Zuma felt a knot in his stomach. How could people knowingly risk their lives? "That's too bad. Skye, Chase and I could check."
"Shouldn't you tell Ryder?"
"Nah," the chocolate lab said, looking over to his owner. "Let him sleep. Tell the Mayor she can count on the PAW Patrol."
"Thanks, and be careful!" Zuma walked over to Chase, nudging his muzzle.
"Wha-" Zuma shushed him, gesturing over to the kitchen. He walked over to Skye and did the same. "What's going on?"
"You guys want to go scout the town with me?"
"Sure!" Skye yipped, doing a back flip.
"But, what about Ryder?"
"He doesn't need to know. We'll be back before he knows it."
"I don't know," Chase said. He had never gone behind Ryder's back before.
"Come on, Chase. What if someone's in danger? Or there's a bad guy robbing a store?"
"Well, I guess-"
"Great! You're riding with me." Chase followed the lab reluctantly, looking back at Ryder. Sorry, sir.
Luckily for them, the water around the Lookout had receded enough for Zuma and Skye to bring out their vehicles. "Remember if you spot anyone, yelp for help!" Skye said, taking off.
"Ready?" Zuma asked Chase.
"I guess. It feels weird without Ryder, though."
Zuma chuckled. "Quit being a worry wart. We'll be fine." Zuma took off, his hovercraft easily gliding onto the surface of the water.
***
The sun shone through the window's of the Lookout, blinding Ryder as he woke up. He saw three of his pups sleeping soundly and smiled. I knew we'd be fine. But where are the rest of the pups? His noticed his pup pad lying on the ground, the screen still on. That's funny, I thought I left this on the bed. He picked it up, scrolling through his notifications. 'One missed call from Mayor'. Oops. He tapped on the icon, listening to the voicemail.
"Zuma, there's someone who needs rescuing in town. They're stuck on a roof. Think you could lend a paw?"
Why would the Mayor try to call Zuma? And where are those pups? Even Chase was gone. He started feeling worried, wondering if they had gone out and gotten swept away. Their collars! I can track them. Running over to his computer, he typed in a few things. Skye is using her helicopter. Chase is with Zuma on his hovercraft. Maybe they new people would need rescuing? I still don't understand their senses.
"Ryder?" Rocky yawned. "Why are you up so early?"
"Good news: The Lookout isn't flooded anymore. Bad news: Chase, Skye and Zuma are kind of missing."
"Oh no! That's terrible!"
"I can track them here, but I'll need you to let me know if I'm getting close."
"You can count on me!" Rocky hopped into Ryder chair, adjusting it for pup height. "They're near City Hall right now. Uh oh!" he yelped.
"What's wro-" Ryder saw Skye icon flashing red. "Oh no!" Ryder started running out of the Lookout. "Send me those coordinates, now!"
"What's going on?" yelled Rocky, waking the other pups.
"That's their distress signals! They're in trouble!" Ryder sped off, leaving the pups alone. Rocky whined, nervous for his friends.
"What's going on?" Marshall asked.
"Why did Ryder leave in such a rush?" Rubble said.
I've got some good news and some bad news," Rocky said with a nervous chuckle.
***
Skye thrashed around underwater, trying desperately to get her collar unhooked. Chase had dove in after her, leaving Zuma to keep the hovercraft under control. He whined, thinking about what had happened.
*FLASHBACK*
Chase and Zuma had driven up to Skye's distress signal. She had radioed of a man stuck on his roof. She had tried to persuade him to put on the harness, but he pulled on it too hard, throwing SKye from her helicopter. She crashed through the roof and into the water, her collar getting stuck.
"Skye?" Chase called out. He looked at Zuma's dashboard, which showed that she was nearby.
"Why is her helicopter hovering over that house?" Zuma asked. Chase looked from the helicopter to the roof. His eyes widened. Standing up, he looked over the edge, down at the dirty water. "What're you-"
"She fell. She could drown. I have to go and-"
"No! I'm the water rescue pup, you aren't trained. You could drown too!"
"Someone has to stay and drive the hovercraft. You're the only pup that knows how." Not wanting to hear anymore arguments, he dove in, making Zuma gasp. His head popped up a few feet away as he started paddling over to the house. Zuma followed closely behind, watching Chase gasp for breath every now and then.
*END*
"I have to help them!" Zuma prepared to dive in when he heard a familiar siren. "Ryder?"
"Zuma! What are you doing?"
"Chase and Skye are in there! THe water's rising, I have to-"
"You know better than to leave the Lookout without permission," Ryder scolded.
"No time for arguments!" Zuma ignored Ryder's yelling and dove after his friends. He surfaced once to put on his breathing mask before he dove once more. He looked around for the glowing of a collar, a sign of movement, anything that would clue him in. A flash of red shone in front of him. He saw Skye stuck to a broken pipe. She was unconscious. Chase was trying to pull her off. He quickly swam over, pushing Chase out of the way. Chase grabbed his chest, bubbles escaping his mouth. His eyes shut, and he began sinking, his collar flashing red as well.
Ryder's pup pad began flashing, Chase's icon appearing. "No!" he yelled. Without thinking, he dove straight into the muddy water, heading towards his pups. He saw Zuma cutting Skye's collar. Zuma pointed down towards Chase. Ryder nodded, swimming down. He felt his ears pop, but ignored the pain as he reached his pup. Grabbing him by the collar, he pulled him up, letting the buoyancy pull them back to the fresh air. "Chase!" Ryder gasped as they broke the surface. Quickly, he climbed on Zuma's hovercraft and began CPR.
Meanwhile, Zuma was practically chewing through Skye's collar when it finally broke. With a satisfied grin, he wrapped his paws around her, kicking his hind legs to head back to his hovercraft. Upon surfacing, he cried out for Ryder who pulled both pups out of the water, continuing his CPR on Chase. Zuma gasped for breath, pushing hard on Skye's stomach. "Come on, cough all that water up. Come on! Do it!" He kept on pushing, moving his paws around every now and then. Suddenly, Skye began coughing. He rolled her over onto her side and turned his attention over to Ryder. "I need you to go help the man on the roof and let me take over."
"But-" Zuma growled. No pup had ever growled at Ryder, but they had never been in a life or death situation. He nodded, wiping the tears in his eyes, he hopped onto his ATV, riding up to the man. Zuma did performed the same technique on Chase. He had swallowed less water and coughed it up faster.
"Ryder, I'm headed back to the Lookout!" Ryder gave him a thumbs up and Zuma took off.
***
"You three pups would be in a lot of trouble, under normal circumstances." The three pups shivered under their towels, eyes occasionally drooping as they listened to Ryder scold them. "But, Zuma, you saved two pups and a man today."
"Technically, you saved the man," Zuma corrected.
"I would have forgotten about him had it not been for you. You jumped right into action, forgetting about everything. You stayed focus under pressure. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, Ryder," Zuma said.
"But the three of you are still grounded. No pup pup boogie or treats." Chase, Skye and Zuma frowned at that. "And the rest of you, no leaving the Lookout without permission. Understood?"
"Yes, Ryder," the pups said in unison. Chase, Skye and Zuma began snoring loudly. The rest of them laughed their tails off.
"Such good pups," Ryder said. The sun shone brightly through the window, eliciting a smile from each of the pups. Although the town was flooded, they would rebuild.
Together.
Author's Note: Okay! That concludes the two-part Zuma short! Hope you enjoyed! One pup is left. Last but not least, Skye! Any ideas? Leave them down below!
~Dox