Chapter 1: Hard questions

It had been an almost completely normal day in Adventure bay. There were no rescues, no major events, not even a leaky pipe to report. So, this was a rare day of for the PAW Patrol. They all had their hobbies that they like to do in their little amounts of free time, and they wasted no time in getting out and relaxing for the day.

Rubble was about 14 years old, rather short in stature, blonde hair, and amber colored eyes. Other than eating and napping, one of his favorite things to do when he had the chance was go snowboarding on Jake's mountain with Everest. Everest was 18, the second tallest on the team after Chase, and had, what many of the townspeople considered to be, the most unique look among the team. Icy-blue eyes and brown hair with a few streaks of white in it was not a common sight, and most of the other teenagers found that her face and great personality was the real reason why most of the boys in town had asked her out, but none had managed to succeed yet.

Both Everest and Rubble had been sliding down the slopes all day, having the time of their lives. Usually, Jake would be with them, but he had broken his arm a week before and was currently sitting back at the cabin under Marshall's recommendation. And as it was not yet tourist season, they had the slopes all to themselves.

The day slowly got weirder, however, and Rubble was going up for another go on the ski life with Everest, he happened to look off to his right and saw a strange figure, just standing there. It appeared to be staring at him, and it was not moving. Rubble squinted his eyes and leaned forward, trying to get a clearer look at the figure. It simply stared back at him, unmoving.

Everest tapped him on the shoulder. "Something wrong, Rubble?" He shook his head and blinked, and suddenly the figure was gone. Everest raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Earth to Rubble," she said, playfully tapping his yellow helmet, "this is ground control. Come in, Commander Rubble." The two teens giggled as Rubble battled her hands away. Rubble shook his head again. "No, nothing's wrong." His head went back over to where the figure had been. "I think."

Everest arched a questioning eyebrow again. "What, did you think you saw something over there."

A nod was the response.

Suddenly, the ski lift grinded to a halt, throwing the two friends forward. They cried out. After they rocked back, Everest looked at the top of the mountain, letting out an annoyed sigh. "I knew I should've had Rocky check the motors the last time you guys came." She fished around in her pockets, finding her phone. Again, another annoyed sigh. "And my phone's dead."

"I though we had charged both of ours before we came up here," Rubble said, checking his and finding that it too had zero battery. "Apparently not."

"Well, that leaves one option…" Everest had started, but then a very, very loud scream echoed down to them. So loud that they had to cover their ears, and it lasted about five full seconds before abating. Even after it had stopped, their ears were still ringing.

"Come here, you little bastard!" Another yell was heard. It was distinctly male, though it wasn't one that either Everest or Rubble knew.

"That's not Jake." Everest said worriedly.

Rubble nodded. "Or anyone from the PAW Patrol, either." They looked at each other.

Who was it?

Another high-pitched scream echoed out, though not as loud as before. They heard the unknown voice yell "It that all you…" before it was cut off. Then the pair saw the second weird thing that day. Somebody, who they assumed to be the voice that they heard, came flying down from on top of the ski lift, hitting the ground hard and rolling repeatedly. He cursed colorfully, using a combination of English and what sounded like twelve other languages. Another scream was heard.

The man kept rolling until he hit a tree, an audible crack of bones being heard. Both Everest and Rubble winced before Everest hit the emergency release on the life chair. Rubble looked at his older friend. "What are you doing?" They were at least twenty feet above the ground. Everest looked at her younger brother, as she often considered him. "We gotta help him, right? That the entire purpose of the PAW Patrol." Rubble nodded, realizing that he hadn't really thought that the man might need help.

The bar came up. Everest undid her snowboard straps, letting it fall to the ground. Rubble did the same. "On three?" He asked. "On three." Everest held up her hand, mouthing the words as she counted. On three, they both jumped. Luckily, the snow help soften the landing, though Rubble face-planted after he hit his feet. He stood up slightly dazed, though the sight of Everest running toward the man that had come rolling down the mountain helped snap him out of his daze. He ran to the spot; Everest was already hunched over him by the time he got there. Somehow, he was still breathing.

To add on to the weirdness of the situation, the cloths that the man was dressed in looked like something out of a medieval castle or a Dungeons and Dragons handbook. He was wearing a pair of black leather boots, brown leather pants, leather tunic, and a cloak with a hood. He also had another piece of leather covering the lower half of his face. Even weirder was the fact that he had a sword sheath across his back and a dagger sheath across the back of his waist. The weapons in question were lying about ten feet away from his unconscious.

Everest had a look of confusion on her beautiful face, as did Rubble. They looked at each other, and Rubble vocalized the question on both their minds. "So, do we know who this is?" Everest shook her head, her confusion even more prominent. "My other question is why he has a sword and a dagger?"

"Maybe he's a LARPer?"

Everest shrugged. She knew that Rubble was into that kind of stuff, but she highly doubted that this guy was anything of the sort. "Well, if he is, he's really committed to the part. I mean, have you looked at the sword?" Rubble took that as a cue to pick up the two weapons and inspect them. They were very beautifully made, very ornate and looked like something that would belong to a royal would wield on the battlefield.

Suddenly, the man groaned and sat up. The face covering fell as he wiped his face, revealing that he was no older than Everest or Chase. Everest tried to sit him up against the tree, but even in his injured state, he threw her off like she was nothing. Not an easy feat.

He stood up, Everest still trying to get him to sit down. Again, he threw her off. He spat some blood out, staining the snow red. He staggered toward Rubble, the look of his face frightening the poor teen to the point that he froze, sword and dagger still in his hand. The unknown teenager came up to Rubble, a full head and a half taller than him, and gently took the weapons out of Rubble's hands. Everest vainly attempted to once again convince the teen to sit down, trying to force him down in the process. The teen turned, grabbed Everest's hand, and gently removed it. He spoke one word.

"Stop." He collapsed, weapons still tightly in his hands.

Everest knelt and checked his pulse again. Weak, but it was steady. Rubble looked at his friend and spoke worriedly. "Is he dead?" Everest shook her head again. "Somehow, no. But we need to get him back up to Jake's cabin, now. And we need to call Marshall." Rubble nodded.

Everest picked the leather clad teen up in a fireman's carry. "Rubble, run ahead and get Jake to call Marshall. We're gonna need him for this." Rubble nodded and turned to run up the mountain. As he ascended, he looked around the surrounding area, looking for anything else suspicious. Nothing. "What was that scream?" He muttered to himself.

Unbeknownst to him, he was still being watched.

Chapter 2