AN: Hi there. This is going to be my first Paw Patrol fanfiction, so read it like that. Special thanks to Traverse The Portal, for beta reading this story.
Captain Philip's pov 6:41 AM
Philip was really uptight because they should have started the journey at exactly 6:00 AM but they were still waiting for the engine checkup results. Finally, the engine inspector had arrived, holding a lot of papers.
"What was taking so long, Mark?" He asked, raising his eyebrows
"I had to recheck some of the results." Ansvered Mark, while still looking at papers
"Okay. So, anything not ordinary?"
"Well… I checked everything, and the closing valves keep giving invalid data."
The captain sighs „It must have lost the connection with the receiving node…again…Make a test startup, slowly increasing the hydrogen concentration. If something goes wrong, we have to cancel the journey, I'm afraid. Okay. Ready?"
His crew nodded
"Everybody ready, sir"
"Okay. Starting engines"
"First try was a success" Somebody shouted "Increasing hydrogen value, in ignition area….Everything Normal "
"Make it maximum" The captain suggested, looking at the screen
"Igniting 5 m3/sec, Maximum value. Everything is working right, sir"
"Okay. we can start, now" He sighed in relief
"But sir…What about the problem with the valves?" Mark asked carefully
"It's nothing serious. I had this problem many times and turned out, only the signal was lost."
"We should make a full system check, just to make sure"
"To make plus an hour delay, for nothing? Trust me, Mark It's nothing serious. You can make tests, while we are on our way"
"Yeah...Because I have nothing better to do than checking on the engine in every hour. Okay, let's go" The inspector said, as turning around, and closing the door behind himself. He was a little bit upset, but he wasn't the one who gave the orders.
The members of the Paw patrol were spending their free time on a luxury ship, with the best service, It was a birthday gift to Ryder by his group. Rocky didn't like the idea of being so close to water, but he warmed up to the idea after they told him that, the ship was working with the most advanced hydrogen-powered engines. He had been experimenting with that kind of power source for a while, however, he didn't manage to succeed yet. So the opportunity, that he could see those engines working was really appealing to him.
So far they had only been on the trip for 6 hours, and everybody enjoyed it. They tried the bowling alley, which was changed so dogs could play too. For them, the ball wasn't that heavy and could be picked up with a jaw. Despite these changes, Ryder was the most successful in this game, only a few points ahead of Chase.
"Ahh... A few more attempts and I would have beaten you." Claimed Chase looking at the Scoreboard.
"Better luck next time." Chuckled Ryder "What do you want to do next?"
"I don't know… We already tried the volleyball court, and the minigolf course."
"I saw a pool somewhere I wouldn't mind trying it out." Said Rubble in excitement "Anybody else?"
"Yeah. Good idea." said Marshall
"Absolutely dude!" agreed Zuma.
"Okay. I'll take a short nap then. We had a really busy day. If anybody needs me, I'll be in our cabin. See ya in a bit" As he said that, he waved goodbye to everybody, and left.
"Well, I will be on the bow with Skye then, if it's okay with everybody." Said Chase
"It's fine. let's go guys." After Rocky, Chase and Skye left, Rocky blurted out what he had been containing for a while now.
"Seriously? You two are inseparable from each other since Chase confessed his feelings. I mean It's good, and all, but for 2 months we only see you two on missions, or late night. I'm glad you found each other, but couldn't we spend more time as a team? Like in the old times?"
"I'm sorry Rocky" Apologised Skye "Maybe you are right, but we thought It's okay with everybody. I promise we will spend more time with you, guys."
"Yeah… Sorry. We probably overdo this togetherness a little bit" admitted Chase "Umm… Would you like to come with us?"
"No." Laughed Rocky "I don't want to be the third wheel, you can be with each other in private. See you in an hour."
"Where will you go?" Asked Chase, tilting his head.
"I think this is the best time to take a look at the engine. I really want to know how it works."
"Okay then. Have fun there"
"You two too" Answered Rocky with a wink and got an eye-rolling as a response
In the start, even Ryder didn't know how to deal with Chase's and Skye's Romance, but after seeing it didn't affect expeditions, he accepted it. They all passed 3 years, after all, that means they are already older than 21 in dog years. However, they spent less time with the group and more in private. The others didn't like it at all, but they had to accept it eventually. Rocky was the first pup who expressed his feelings about that. Going down the stairs, he was still wondering if they will keep their promises.
Okay…Engine room It must be somewhere near. He thought himself, as he was turning around, he spotted a man with a white cloak, written inspector on his card. He was reading something, as he passed by Rocky
"Umm. Excuse me, sir."
"Yes? How can I help you?" He asked looking up from the papers
"I just want to know where the engine room is."
"The engine room? Well, that's an uncommon question. Umm…We aren't really permitted to let passengers there."
"Yes, I know. I just want to take a quick look at it. Can you do it for me? I will take any consequences."
The man sighs "Okay, I'm heading there right now, follow me. Don't touch anything after we get there. Okay? Oh, and don't get far away from me, otherwise I need to call the security, and it will be awkward for both of us."
"Understood." Rocky couldn't help but wagging his tail, like a puppy in excitement. Finally, he can take a look at the technology, he was interested in for a while. After The man typed in the 6 digit code, Rocky had to restrain himself, to not to run in the middle of everything. The room itself was really huge, and the engine wasn't small either.
"Okay, so here we are. This is the main console, and only I have the permission to use it." The man said, pointing at a touchscreen. "Anything goes wrong, I'm the first person, who is going to know about it. This is the layout of the engine." He makes a few taps, and the 3D model of the engine appears " This is where the hydrogen is stored, and here is the pure oxygen. We let the compound into the ignition area, and…" A warning sign suddenly appears, so he stops
Warning! Hydrogen value 99.99 m3+
"What the… It's impossible…." He said in confusement
Starting extraction
Extraction failed
Manual override required
"Manual overriding. Mark Owens, engine inspector. Staff code: SWC3GT5"
Code accepted. Waiting for instructions
"Extract gas from ignition area"
Extracting…
Extracting…
Extraction failed…
Critical error…
"Oh no… no no no. Complete problem description. NOW!"
Continous backup from hydrogen tanks. Safety igniting suggested
Oh my god… Run…GO, NOW!
Rocky immediately ran away from there. He knew, how big the explosion could be, and the further he was, the better
"Okay, let's think about it. Umm… Cut Hydrogen backup.
Closing failed. Warning! High pressure. Safety igniting required.
"Don't ignite the damn gas. "
Word 'damn' not found in database.
Warning! Possible closing valve failure. Safety igniting highly requested.
Pressure 1000% above the maximum.
Igniting…
"NO!" He shouted, but the ignition was already done. It was designed to deal with minor pressure change, so it wouldn't spread-eagle the engine. However, nobody thought they would have to deal with this amount of hydrogen in the ignition area. Now the explosion was so big, it blew up not only the engine room but the whole ship in two pieces.
Rocky got Lucky, he wasn't closer to the explosion. The Shockwave still knocked off him from his paws, 5 meters away from the place he stood. He even passed out for a few minutes. After he got his senses back, he immediately ran up to the deck, and he couldn't believe his eyes what he saw. People were panicking everywhere. In the middle of the ship, there was a huge hole, taking the two parts of the ship further each other. The detonation did it's job. He wondered what happened to the man but this isn't the right time for that, probably.
"Ryder! It's me Rocky! Where are you" He asked , but got no response "Ryder?" Still nothing. He tried to reach the rest of the group too, with the same result.
He almost started panicking, when he saw Skye saving a man from the water with her wings. She was the only pup, who bring her pup pack to the tour, but only because flying was her hobby. Nobody thought they will need to rescue anybody here. For a moment they took a look at each other, and this is when everything got worse.
The energy from her wings seems running out fast. She took care every time when she flew, to have them fully charged and if the energy reached the last 10% she got a warning sign. Bigger mass required more energy and it looked like, she just ran out of that. She probably ignored the 10% warning, in order to save more people. How much did that last? 2-3 minutes? That didn't count now. She saved the last person she could and fell 35 meters into… The water… The cold, and scary water. He saw Skye for a second, and then she disappeared.
Rocky Froze for a moment. He didn't know what to do. His Pup-tag wasn't working, so he couldn't call for help from Ryder, and he didn't even know where his owner was. He could be anywhere on this giant ship. It could take 10 minutes to find him, if not more and they would be late. He had to act, and fast.
He looked down the 35 meter deep fall, and gulped. Your friend's life depends on you… He thought to himself and made the decision. He closed his eyes, and jumped down.
For a few seconds, he free falls, and landed hard on the water, squeezing all the air from his lungs. He still couldn't stand the touch of the water on his fur but right now, he had bigger things to worry about. He took a big breath, and dived under the water. His first attempt was unsuccessful, but with the second try, he found something pink 10 metres beneath him. It was His friend, trying to swim upwards but her wings didn't let her.
Why doesn't she just declutch it? Rocky wondered, while making his way downwards. With a paw swing, he pushed the button on the right side of the pup pack, letting its owner finally swim faster to the surface. Reaching the air, they both took a huge breath, but the nightmare didn't end yet. The huge waves forced them under water again many times, before a hand grabbed them. After Rocky gained back all his senses, and took a few bigger breaths, he finally took a look at his savour. It was an 18 year old boy, looking at them worried. His sweater was soaked, so he probably fell into the water as well, before he managed to climb on this medium-sized debris
"Is everything all right?" He asked
"Yeah…" Rocky coughs "Thanks"
"You too?" Asked the boy turning to Skye, but the only response he got was a whimper.
"My…My leg…I think, Oww. I think I broke it"
Taking a closer look, Rocky realised what Skye was talking about. Her landing was probably harder than his, and this was why she couldn't detach the pup pack from her back. Her Right front paw was facing in an unnatural position and was really swollen. He don't need Marshall's X-ray device to realise, this paw was broken.
"Oh no… Can you move it?"
"I'll try." She said making a smaller move but it seemed to cause huge pain to her "No. It really hurts"
"Okay, rest it for now. Marshall will take care of this, I'm sure" Said rocky, and he realized Skye didn't have her pup tag on her. "your pup tag… It's gone."
"I must have lost it after hitting the water. But you still have yours" Skye exclaimed, pointing with her left paw to Rocky's neck
"It's not working…"
"What?! you sure?" The panic could be heard in her voice
"Yeah… Look. Ryder? Do you copy?" Like last time, he got no response "See?"
"They will find us, right? They must find us."
"Let's hope for the best" He sighed, looking at the ship, as they got further and further from it. They were completely helpless right now.