Chapter 1
As every day for the past year, Adventure Bay was illuminated by the sun and everyone was enjoying outside activities – but this is what you would normally think. In reality, it was a stormy night. Lightning cracked in the dark cluster of clouds, lighting them up every couple of minutes. Thunder boomed the area and scared the wildlife into their shelters – including humans. Funny enough, if you weren't so acquainted with the town, you would have assumed it was the neighboring town, Foggy Bottom.
Lightning struck once more, almost nearing to a tree. Every living soul was inside their homes, in that very town, as they bundled up in their thickest blankets by the fire.
All except an unfortunate group, that is. The Paw Patrol, Adventure Bay's top (and only) rescue team, were the unlucky ones. In the beginning, they were like everyone else and minding their own business inside their cozy base, but that was before they received a call from one of the townsfolk that lightning struck a tree which soon caught on fire. Now, normally with anyone who dealt with this type of situation, they would have ignored the call and went on with their business. But since the Paw Patrol was so helpful, they need to deal with it.
Even if it was the only tree in the middle of nowhere to have caught on fire.
So, there they were, driving against the rain beating heavily down on them as they continued with their mission. The mission, since it was so small, only called for one pup. And that was Marshall. However, based on how much he shivered in the rain and how many times he jumped when another wave of thunder hit, he would agree that he was the unfortunate one to have been picked. Even if it was his job.
"U-Um R-Ryd-der?" Marshall's teeth chattered through his pup tag. "A-Are th-there yet?"
"Almost," Ryder answered, trying to keep his voice even. It was hard though, since he had no raincoat to protect himself against the rain. Of all the things he has, a raincoat was not one of them. "Hang on, Marshall. W-We're almost there. Just a f-few more minutes."
As promised, after a few torturous minutes, they had finally reached the still burning tree. They had a few questions buzzing in their mind like; how was there only one tree? How did someone spot it when there was no civilization for a few miles? Why did they agree to do this? Nevertheless, they put their game faces on and got off their vehicles.
"Alright, we n-need to put out the-" Before Marshall could finish, the said fire suddenly distinguished. Most likely from the heavy increase of rain. "Well, nevermind."
"Then let's head back before we get another c-call for a burning tree," Ryder insisted. Marshall vigorously nodded. The dally hopped into his truck. Before Ryder could get to his ATV, however, lightning struck once more and it was too close for comfort. The boy felt electrical waves surge through his body since he was holding his metal vehicle when the strike came down. He stumbled back to the floor and took deep breaths.
"Ryder! Are you okay?!" Marshall exclaimed over the loud rain.
"Yeah! I'm good, just a little shocked," Ryder grinned at his wordplay. The dalmatian chuckled. Like before, they quickly got onto their vehicles and drove back home, being mindful of the slippery roads. Eventually, they made it back to the Lookout. They quickly parked and headed inside. The pups and Katie (who was staying over for the week because her Pet Parlor was under infestation) smiled when they got back and helped them warm up.
"Took you two long enough," Rubble chuckled from his position on his bean bag chair. "We thought you might have been lost in the storm or something."
"Well, we didn't so that's the positive spin on this," Ryder smiled as he dried his hair with a towel, Marshall doing the same.
"So, how did the 'rescue' go?" Katie giggled at the term used earlier. They both rolled their eyes.
"Waste of time, if you ask me. When we got there, the rain just put out the fire anyway," Marshall sighed. He plopped down on his chair and closed his eyes. "I'm pooped. Wake me up *yawn* when something interesting happens."
Ryder yawned as well. "Yeah. I'm pretty tired too. Driving out there and the work we did earlier took a lot out of me. Well, I think I'm going to hit the hay."
At that moment, his pup pad rang. Everyone in the room frowned. Couldn't they catch a break? It was raining for crying out loud! Nonetheless, the leader picked up the device and smiled at the familiar face.
"Hey, Carlos and Tracker." At once, everyone seemed invested in the conversation. "What's up?"
"Ryder, we have big news!" Carlos grinned excitedly. "We have just discovered some old ruins by the volcano we last explored. We think it has something to do with a type of archeological mythology, based on some ancient text we found outside. So, since the Paw Patrol helped us many times with our adventures-"
"We want to invite you all to help us explore!" Tracker cut in with glee. "So, are you interested?"
"What do you say pups?" Ryder turned to them. Immediately they started agreeing like crazy. "It looks like we're in. Want to come along, Katie?"
"If that's alright with Carlos and Tracker…" Katie trailed off, looking at the two over the screen.
"Of course you can join! The more the merrier!" Carlos smiled.
"Alright, we'll see you in a few hours." With that, the boy hung up. He turned to everyone with a smile. "Okay, everyone. Let's take the Air Patroller. We'll leave in 10 and the rest of you pups can take a nap while we head over there. It's going to be a long trip."
Suddenly, Marshall snorted and snapped awake. He groggily looked at everyone, confused as to why they were smiling. "What did I miss?"
"So, what do you think is inside the ruins?" Katie questioned the ten-year-old as she sat next to him while Robodog drove the Air Patroller and the rest slept soundly at their seats.
"Don't know, only one way to find out," Ryder smiled back at her. As he checked the controls, he asked the question back.
"Hm, maybe something that might improve our world. Like a long-forgotten healing ritual or medicine?" She shrugged.
"Whatever it is, I bet it's going to be awesome. I have a feeling though that whatever is in those ruins might affect the rest of our lives," the boy informed.
"What makes you say that?"
"Like I said, it's just a feeling. I could be wrong though," he smiled. He glanced at her when she suppressed a yawn. "Why don't you take a nap? I'll let you know when we get there."
"It's fine, Ryder. I can stay up," she giggled. "You need the rest more than I do anyway. So why don't you take a nap while I tell you when we arrive?"
It was Ryder's turn to laugh. "No can do, Katie. I need to stay awake and vigilant. It's my job, after all. You go and rest, but know that I won't take a no for an answer."
"Fine, okay, I'll rest my eyes for a few minutes, but this doesn't mean you won this conversation," she smiled before closing his eyes. A few minutes turned to a few hours. The rain continued to pour down but it wasn't as hectic as Adventure Bay. No matter how Ryder wanted to go to be like everyone else and take a nap, he had to stay alert in case something happens.
'I might as well check if we have everything. It's still a long way to go' he thought. He whispered to his robot pup that he was going to the back, then left to that area. As predicted, everything was in order and nothing was missing. He suppressed another large yawn, which drew his eyes to close momentarily.
He snapped his eyes open. He must stay awake! He walked over to his backpack and took out some water, then drank some to awake his mind. When tired, he usually did some exercises to stimulate his brain and body, as well as to reduce fatigue, but he didn't want to make so much noise at the moment.
He walked back to the front and noticed that they had finally arrived somewhere tropical. In the distance, he saw the volcano. He instructed Robodog to park where they usually did, so the sudden movement woke everyone up from their naps.
"We're here already?" Rocky, the first one up, looked out the window in excitement. He, along with the other pups, gazed around the place even if they've seen it on multiple occasions before.
"That's right. We'll greet Carlos and Tracker first and head to the ruins," the boy nodded in conformation. Everyone else did the same when they understood. Once the plane landed, they exited it and greeted their friends.
"Sorry to disturb you all so late at night, but we couldn't wait to find out this new revelation," Carlos apologized.
"It's fine. You got us excited to see what you and Tracker found anyway!" Skye smiled. As they made their way through the forest, Carlos and Tracker started explaining things.
"We found these ruins earlier today. As I mentioned, it may have something to do with certain mythology by what I deciphered by ancient texts," Carlos informed. "Based on it, we've discovered that a creature that is seen only as unrealistic and mythical used to be alive back in the day. They guarded their territories and used to be alone, but certain species of this creature warmed up to humans and became their companions. But this was rare."
"What's the creature?" Chase questioned.
"We don't know," Tracker frowned. "We think that the rest of the information is inside the ruins."
"Well, I guess that adds more suspense, doesn't it?" Ryder smiled a bit. Soon enough, they made it to the ruins. Like the other ones they had visited, this one was large and old, some of its building material crumbling down to the floor. Carlos pulled out some type of medallion and put it in a slot that the door provided. Suddenly, the door rumbled and slowly opened, allowing the newcomers inside.
The interior was large, just like the outside. Some of the walls had strange writings on it as well as smaller pictures. What captured everyone's attention though was the singular podium that stood at the furthest end of the room. On top of it was a vase that had a unique design to it.
Carlos and Tracker, before they touched the vase, quietly read the writings on the walls. They furrowed their eyebrows in confusion.
"It… doesn't say what the creature is," Tracker spoke up in disappointment. "It just says that it flies and is large in scale."
"And these pictures don't share anything useful," Carlos added. "They're all scratched out and hard to tell what it wants to show."
"Don't worry, I'm sure that you can figure it out," Katie encouraged with a smile. "Maybe that vase over there might help you out."
Carlos nodded and went over. He tried to pick up the vase but realized that it was really heavy. Seeing his struggle, Ryder and Katie helped him out. Even for all three of them, they managed to remove the item from where it was originally stationed, but it still felt like a ton of bricks.
"What's in this thing?" Ryder muttered, trying to adjust his hold. The other two only shrugged. "Let's take it back to camp so you can further examine it."
However, before they could move, they all turned to someone crying out in excitement. Next they knew, Daring Danny X came in rolling on a skateboard at high speed directly toward the kids. When he realized that he was about to crash, he put on his brakes. But that was a second too late. He crashed into the vase, which dropped to the floor and burst open. The overwhelming amount of dust covered the four kids as they tried to cough away the remaining substance that went up their noses.
"Sorry, guys!" Danny apologized, getting up from the floor. Everyone partially glared at him.
"What are you doing here, Danny?" Katie questioned, trying to dust herself off but failing miserably.
"That's Daring Danny X," he corrected. "And I was here on vacation to practice some cool and daring new skateboard tricks. I found this awesome place and figured to see what's inside."
"Well, we did find an ancient vase that might supply the answer to this entire place, but that was until someone decided to ram into it," Ryder hinted. Ever since he first met Danny, the leader of the rescue team hated the boy. He was annoying, reckless, and pretty stupid. Danny, not seeing Ryder as a role model anymore, felt the same way. But their rivalry only extended to the knowledge of the current group (aka the pups, Katie, and Carlos).
"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything in here anyway," Carlos spoke up. He kneeled on the floor and examined the dust. "There's nothing else inside. And this isn't dirt – they're ashes."
"Ew," the children simultaneously mumbled.
"I think you all need showers if you ever want to sleep inside tents. Because I, for one, don't want to be smelling that all day," Chase proposed, getting laughs from the rest. When everyone agreed, they went back to camp with Danny still following along since he has nothing else better to do. After they cleaned themselves as best as they could, they sat around the campfire for a few moments before heading to bed.
Four figures stirred in their sleep, becoming restless in their tents. Sweat started dripping down their foreheads as groaning sputtered from their throats. Suddenly, they all snapped their eyes open and their eyes glowed different colors; one orange, one green, one yellow, and one light pink. Once their glow died down, their eyes shut before they resumed their sleep like nothing ever happened.
To be continued...