The Pound Puppies sat outside thinking of a plan to get a new puppy adopted. Next to them, the Pup Club was playing with the puppy. "I hope you're ready to get adopted, Vex!" Patches walked up to the new puppy alongside Cupcake and Rebound. "Am I ever! I've been anticipating this event ever since I began pondering about the subject!" She replied. Watching at a distance, Niblet said something to the Pound Puppies. "I like her. She uses all these words I can't understand. Kinda like you, Strudel!" He turned and faced her. "Negative. I apply usage of language in a far more apprehensive and stable manner!" Strudel replied. "I rest my case!" Niblet said angrily back to her.

"Are you sure you have everything planned out, Strudel?" Asked Lucky, making sure she knew what she was doing. "Absolutely. Come, everyone. I have to show you something." The five Pound Puppies headed downstairs. The pups followed but Lucky stopped them. "No. You four stay up here." He said. "Aww," they said in disappointment.

Inside, Strudel sat everyone down around an easel with several papers attached. As you know, Vex's perfect person, Tara, lives in the Golden Sunrise neighborhood. She removed a sheet which revealed a photograph of a peaceful street in front of a sunset. "As relaxing as this looks, this place allows no stray animals." She said as she removed another sheet which depicted a drawing of a no-dogs-allowed sign. "This, of course, means we are unable to deliver her to Tara's door directly." She continued. "Yeah, well, what's stopping us from just sneaking in there and placing her there?" Squirt asked. Strudel immediately answered. "Excellent question, Squirt." She removed another sheet. A photo of a security camera was displayed. "The local surveillance system is preventing us from even entering the neighborhood." Strudel answered. "Sounds more like a penitentiary to me." Squirt remarked. "Aside from the no-stray-dogs rule, it's actually quite a lively little community." Strudel replied.

"So, how exactly do you plan on entering and placing Vex with Tara?" Asked Lucky. Strudel removed yet another sheet of paper; the remaining piece having a sketch of a donut-shaped gadget on it. She revealed what it was. "Behold, the Security Technology Discombobulator 5000!" Everyone took a second to admire it. "This device will temporarily disable the security cameras, allowing us to enter without being caught!" She continued. "That sounds great. May we see it?" Asked Cookie. Strudel grew concerned. "Unfortunately, I have failed to construct a functioning prototype. I will build it as fast as I can, though." "Perfect. You really seem to have this well under control, Strudel." Commented Lucky. "Thank you. I'm doing my best." She replied. "I need you to get on it right away." Demanded Lucky. "Yes, sir!" She responded and then went back to the lab to try and finish building it.

The rest of them climbed back upstairs to check on the four pups. They were playing happily, as they were before. It was getting late, and Lucky announced his retreat back to his own household. Cookie and Cupcake headed to their home, too. Eventually, Patches and Rebound did the same.

The next morning, all of them regrouped back at the pound. Lucky went to check on Strudel. He walked down to her lab. When he arrived, Strudel was waiting for him. "Lucky, thank goodness you're here. Call everyone down, immediately!" She said urgently. Lucky panicked and ran back up to the ground floor. "Pound Puppies, front and center, now!" He jumped back down, and the other four followed close behind. The pups didn't really care and continued what they were doing.

"What is it, Strudel?" They all wondered. "So, I've almost completed construction of the device, but I'm lacking an essential IC required for operation." She explained. "So? What's stopping you from getting one?" Cookie asked. "This particular part is exceedingly difficult to find. Squirt and I have already made numerous attempts at obtaining it." She continued. Squirt nodded in confirmation. Strudel explained something else. "However, I did manage to find one single online sale for this part available for purchase. The only problem is..." She paused when her tone of voice became more worried. "The part costs five thousand dollars!" She exclaimed. "What!? How can a square of silicon cost that much?" Asked Cookie, rhetorically. "Not even McLeish is that much dough!" Commented Squirt. "Hang on, guys. There has to be another option." Lucky tried to calm everyone down. "I'm afraid not. This is our only option, Lucky." Said Strudel. "This is just great. How are we even gonna get our paws on that much money in such little time?" Asked Squirt, concerned. "We better think of something soon, or Vex's adoption might have to be postponed." Said Strudel.

Having learned new potentially detrimental information, the Pound Puppies went back up to the surface. Vex then wanted to know what happened. "Has the status of my adoption received any relevant updates yet?" She asked Lucky. "Actually kid, yes unfortunately." Lucky was interrupted when Sparky and Mr. Nut Nut busted through the fake dog dish covering the hole in the ground. They ran towards Strudel and chattered in her ear. Strudel suddenly looked surprised. "They say they have something that we might want to see." She explained. The squirrels headed back downstairs, followed by Strudel and the others. They lead them to the TV and then turned it on when they were all gathered. As soon as they did, an advertisement began playing. "This Saturday, comes a brand new Zoomit Competition!" It began saying. "Show off your dog's old and new tricks at your local beach! Why should you enter, you ask? Well, guess what the grand prize is?" The number "$7500" showed up on the screen. "This Saturday, 8 AM sharp, don't forget!" The squirrels turned off the TV when it was finished playing. "Ah! This is a most unexpected development!" Began Strudel. "If we win this competition, we would have more than enough money for the part I need!" "Yeah! I could enter the zoomit competition! I was once a big star, after all." Squirt agreed. "So, it's settled. We will try to win this competition and get Vex to her perfect person. All we need to do is get to the beach by Saturday." Explained Lucky. Everyone grew excited.

The five went back up to the top. The pups were continuing to mind their own business. The Pound Puppies sat together in a group. Lucky began saying something. "We have to tell her, gang. She needs to know what's going on." "I'll do it, Lucky." Said Cookie. She hastily got back up and walked toward the pups. "Hey there, Vex! How about coming over here for a sec?" She asked calmly. She followed her back a few steps and continued. "There's something I want to talk about. You see, we have a plan to take you to you person, but it'll take a little longer than expected. We're hoping for Saturday." "Saturday? I was expecting a much greater wait duration!" She exclaimed suddenly. "How come?" She asked. "Well, we need something and the only way to get it is by winning it at a competition. You see, we're going to the beach this weekend." Continued Cookie. Lucky soon joined in. "And don't worry. No matter how, we will eventually bet you to your person." He said alongside Cookie. Vex let out a delighted smile. "Did someone say beach?" Lucky and Cookie turned to the voice. It was Cupcake. "Yeah, can we come? Can we? Can we? Huh, huh, huh?" Asked Rebound. "Alright, fine." Answered Lucky. "But you pups better promise to stay out of trouble." "We promise!" The three said in unison.

Saturday rolled around at last. The five Pound Puppies, and the four pups, were gathered, ready to go. "Okay, Strudel. How do we get there?" Asked Lucky. "At exactly 7 o'clock, we will head to the bus station." Replied Strudel. "Our ride leaves 5 after." "Well, it's 2 till, y'all. Better hurry up!" Shouted Cookie. They hurried down the tunnel and into the street.

They soon arrived at a bus stop, where a city bus was just pulling up. All of them were careful to stay out of sight. "Alright everyone, it's time." Announced Strudel as she carefully lifted up the cargo hatch on the lower side of the bus. "Everybody in." She commanded. All nine of them jumped into the bus. Strudel made sure everyone was inside before she closed it again. "Ugh, it's so dark in here." Patches said. "And hot!" Agreed Cupcake. Frustrated, Cookie responded "You know, nobody forced you three on this mission." "Sorry." The pup club all said.

About twenty minutes later, the bus stopped and the hatch flew open. "Where are we?" Asked Rebound dazily. "We are at our destination." Answered Strudel. Everyone looked around the environment. They were at the beach. "Come on, gang. Let's focus on finding that competition." Encouraged Lucky, but it didn't take long to come across a large enclosed area with bleachers circumnavigating it. "Wow, another real zoomit competition. Never thought I'd be back so soon." Said Squirt. "Uh, oh." Said Cookie suddenly. "What, what is it?" Asked Squirt concerned. "Look. Over. There." She responded slowly. She pointed and they all looked in that direction. There, was a black and brown patched dog with a tall, blonde human. Brutus.

"Aw, I should've known. If there's a zoomit involved, Trevor and Brutus are bound to be involved." Muttered Squirt to himself. Without hesitating, Squirt marched up to him directly. "Where are you going? Wait!" Said Lucky, but Squirt didn't listen. Suddenly, Squirt got his attention. "Oh, hey, Wings!" He greeted in an unusually polite manner. "Hi, Brutus." Responded Squirt. "Are you here to compete in the competition with Trevor again?" He asked. "Well, I'm here for the competition, but I'm not gonna be with Trevor, I'm afraid." Squirt continued. "What? Why not?" Asked Brutus shocked. "Because, I'm competition for myself." He replied. "Well." Brutus got a lot more hostile. "That just proves you didn't learn your lesson last time." He said rudely, undoing his polite tone earlier. "Bird, c'mon, buddy! We have practicing to do!" Trevor yelled to him. Brutus barked back. "What's going on? I thought we were friends now." Asked Squirt. "That's only when you're competing with me. When you're competing against me, things change my friend, or should I say opponent. I'm not one to disappoint my human. I WILL destroy any competition between me and Trevor. Good day, for now." Brutus ran back to Trevor. Squirt stayed put.

The rest of the Pound Puppies caught up with him. He had a glum expression on his face. "What's wrong?" Lucky asked him. "Nothing." He replied. "You know, I hate to say it, but maybe Squirt competing in this competition may not be the best idea after all." Remarked Cookie. "Why do you say so?" Asked Strudel. "Well, because, putting Squirt and Brutus in a room together will just ignite a flame that will be hard to put out. And plus, the last time they competed, they practically tied." "What? That's ridiculous!" Replied Squirt. "Actually, Cookie makes a valid point." Strudel stated her own opinion. "The last time, you two were so evenly matched, you had to eventually forfeit to declare a winner." "So, is this how you all feel, like I shouldn't compete anymore?" Squirt asked. To his dismay, they all nodded in agreement. "Sorry, Squirt." Lucky said to him. "But what about Vex's person?" Patches reminded Lucky. "We'll just have to go back to the pound and think of a Plan B." Lucky said. "If only we had another zoomit dog, I guess we could still go with this." "Actually, we do." Squirt suddenly shook off his disappointment and stated his opinion. "All of you, stay right here. I'll be back." Squirt then ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. "Where on earth do you think he's going?" Asked Cookie. "I sense he's got a plan. Don't worry." Lucky told Cookie.

Ten minutes had passed, and Squirt still has not returned yet. "Some plan he had." Remarked Cookie. "He'll be here." Lucky said. Just as he said that, Squirt came running back. Behind him, was a black and white puppy. She immediately ran in front of him with a grin on her face. "Hi, guys! Remember me?" She said. "Zipper? Is it really you?" Asked Lucky in shock. "Yes, indeed! I am just so excited to be here again!" She exclaimed. "Lucky, you said we needed another zoomit dog, so I brought the best one in the city." Said Squirt. "Aww, you flatter me!" Said Zipper. "So, you'd really be up to the challenge?" Lucky asked Zipper. "Definitely. I'd do anything to help Coach Squirt!" She answered back. Almost blushing, Squirt responded to her. "Ya know, you don't really need to call me that anymore. There's nothing else to teach." "It doesn't matter. I like addressing you as so." She responded. "Come on, Zipper. Let's get you signed in." She ecstaticly followed him, until she saw someone in the distance. She stopped suddenly. "Oh, great. What's he doing here?" She asked suspiciously. She saw Brutus, who immediately spotted her back and ran angrily up to her.

"Hey, this contest is for dogs! The shrimp contest is that way, in the ocean!" He shouted at her. She withdrew a couple steps. "Alright, knock it off. Haven't you ever learned to pick on someone your own size already?" Said Squirt back to him. "No, because I've been picking on you two my whole life." He said back. Zipper became more frustrated. "I know I was afraid of you last time, but this time, I'm joining you in the contest!" She said proudly. "World's first sardine vs. dog zoomit-off! Not something I'm interested in." He shouted back. "If Squirt says I'm good enough for you, then I'll try my hardest to win, no matter what you say!" Said Zipper. "Real cute. I'd love to see you try." Stated Brutus. Squirt encouraged her. "Fine! Bring it on!"

To be continued...