Skye's Limit
Chapter 1: The Storm
Amongst others, there were few characters that the Paw Patrol had to deal with that became more of an annoyance than a threat. Sweetie of Barkingburg castle was one of them.
Originally, Ryder put together the Mission PAW equipment for royal emergencies in Barkingburg but ever since thought it unecessary. Whilst it had indeed saved them on numerous occasions, such as finding Chase locked in the dungeons of the medieval castle, after a while it became unnecessary to use such powerful gear for the missions as they could always find the source of their problems within moments of arriving. Sweetie. The princess's royal puppy. A white Yorkshire Terrier who seemed hell bent on stealing the throne of Barkingburg for herself. Should someone remind her that one must be crowned as the monarch, chances are she'd give up, but that was not the responsibility of the Paw Patrol.
Instead, tonight's responsibility was finding her and retrieving the royal crown yet again.
"Y'know, at some point she's probably just gonna get herself hurt", Marshall groaned as he and Chase ran down the corridor following the small white pup, jumping the predictable obstacles they had faced too many times now.
"I think she does it for fun", Chase said with the same fed up expression, effortlessly sliding to the side to avoid a pitfall to the dungeons once again.
Sweetie looked behind her, seeing the two male pups running her way. She quickly bolted for a door.
"Hydro-cannon" Sweetie jumped back, seeing a thin stream of water slice through the air past her and remove the handle of the door in mere seconds. She turned around, wearing the crown on her head.
"You looked better in your suit" She sneered, looking at Chase. "And you.." She stared at Marshall, "I'm not even sure I know your name". Marshall sunk back a little. Whilst not threatening, it was a bit of a blow to his confidence. "Why is it you and your ridiculous circus fly all the way across the ocean for me? I'd be flattered if you weren't so persistent". Chase bit his lip before speaking. He actually had been wondering that for a while. Surely a kingdom as large as Barkingburg would have it's own way of sorting these problems? Why is it they flew all that distance to solve what was always the same thing?
Sweetie saw her chance. Whilst Chase was distracted, she took the crown from her head, looking at it before planting a light kiss on the gold. Marshall looked up from Chase, seeing Sweetie move.
"Hold it! We-" CLANG. The metal hit directly on Marshall's helmet. Thankfully, the hard hat protected him from any harm the throw could have caused, but the spotted pup's clumsy nature intervened, causing him to stumble backwards. Chase jumped over to Marshall's side.
"Marshall! Are you ok?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. But I'm gonna personally throw her in the moat if I get hold of- Where'd she go?" Marshall exclaimed, standing up and adjusting his helmet, looking around.
Amongst the confusion, Sweetie slammed her paw onto a near by cobble, depressing it and causing her to slide backwards through a small gap revealed in the wall. She cackled slightly as it closed back up, seeing the Dalmatian begin to sit back up looking stunned.
"Ryder. She got away again. We're not sure where but we have the crown. Marshall... Caught it with his face". Chase said holding back a smirk.
"Hey!" Marshall shoved Chase as they both turned around. Chase picked up the crown with his teeth and headed back to the throne room.
"Ok Chase. Good work... I think?" Ryder felt a little confused by Chase's report, wondering how one could catch the crown with their face, but shrugged it off. "Skye, I have a pretty good idea where she's probably going. She's always made an attempt to fly away in the past. Take your Sky-Cycle up to the roof and keep an eye out. Zuma, go check the moat just in case she decides to mix things up a little and try an aquatic escape. Rocky, take Rubble and his Mini-Miner and go and scan for her. The second any of you see anything let me know".
A collective nod of agreement followed before the pups split off to their respective roles. Despite sending Zuma, Rocky and Rubble off to their posts, Ryder knew from past experience that an aerial chase was about to ensue.
Zuma stood at the side of the moat, positioning his mouthpiece. He shivered feeling a harsh wind knock him sideways and felt some relief from it once he dived into the water. He was used to cold water at this point. But he watched from below as the wind picked up, causing the surface to roughen and crash into the already weathered walls of the castle.
"She'd be stupid to try and escape by air tonight and by the looks of it, the water isn't gonna be too forgiving either", Zuma thought to himself as he floated, letting the gradually growing current sway him side to side.
His pack's propeller system erupted out as it usually would in the presence of water, and Zuma began to effortlessly glide around the perimeter of the moat, looking for any telltale signs of escape routes. Apart from the occasional outlet, Zuma saw nothing leaving or entering the moat. Resurfacing, he returned to a worried looking Ryder.
Meanwhile, Skye began her ascent to the top of the castle in her cycle, the wind gradually getting stronger. Watching her controls, her paws making the most minuscule of changes in trajectory, accounting for the side gusts pushing her around like a kite.
Ryder watched from the ground, feeling a damp presence standing by his leg. Looking down, his eyes met with Zuma's. Seeing the concern in his face, Zuma asked the obvious question.
"Is it weally safe to have her up there wight now Wyder?" The pup asked, causing Ryder's gaze to swing back up to Skye, seeing her being blown around.
"Skye. Report". Skye's chest lit up pink as her tag relayed Ryder's concerned command.
"All good up here Ryder, a bit of rough wind but nothing I can't handle!" Skye answered, a tone of false confidence evident in her voice.
"I'm not sure I want you up there any more Skye, head on down." Ryder responded, not caring of the pup's capabilities.
"Ryder, it's fine, I've got this!" Skye answered, casually disobeying an order. As she did, she heard the shattering of glass, followed by the familiar barks of Marshall and Chase. Swinging her craft around, she saw Sweetie darting off into the distance, directly over the sea. Without a second thought, Skye pursued.
Ryder was definitely not happy with the direction this was going. Immediately, he called all the pups back to the . Rocky, Chase, Marshall and Rubble all came from the castle as fast as they could, boarding the Mission Cruiser. Filled with a worried feeling, Ryder instantly headed back to Mission PAW Headquarters.
"Hey", Chase looked around, "Where's Skye?"
The other pups looked around too, other than Zuma, seeing Skye was absent from the truck.
"She's doing her job, chasing Sweetie, but I don't like her up there alone. We're going to get the Air Patroller, and we're gonna follow her. This weather is getting too strong even for a pilot like her".
All the pups shared a worried look between them.
The wind, now paired with some intense rain, battered Skye's Sky Cycle. Now even she knew this was a bad idea.
"Sweetie! We need to turn around! I don't care about arresting you anymore, we're both in serious danger!"
"I'll be in even more danger if I turn back to your team of mutts!" Sweetie said, pushing her paws down more, gaining altitude.
The Sky Cycle groaned and creaked as parts of it bent and moved in the wind. Skye had a good mind to just let the ignorant terrier fend for herself in the storm, but she swore her oath as did the rest. She followed on.
"You are in no danger with us! We'll get you back, safe. This weather is getting worse and we don't know if-" Skye was cut off by a crash of lightning, the thunder rumbling in the distance making her drenched fur stand on end. Skye begged, pulling out all the stops in a desperate attempt to get Sweetie to return to the ground with her. Sweetie persisted, disappearing in the clouds. Following close behind, Skye noticed her instruments beginning to frost over.
"Ryder, she's not listening! But I can't just leave her up here!" Skye yelled through the wind. Nothing.
She tried again, getting nothing again in return. The weather playing havoc with all her equipment. It wasn't built for this, neither was her standard helicopter. Heck, even the Air Patroller would struggle in this.
"Zuma! I need you to head back to Adventure Bay. Robodog will take you in the spare Air Patroller" Ryder said in a commanding voice, addressing his pups as he put on his pilot's gear.
"Me? Why me Wyder?"
"Because you're the only pup capable of piloting the Sea Patroller with Robodog. I'm taking no chances with this. I know our usual rescues are pretty safe, but this time, there are lives on the line. Pups I never wanted any of you to get close to these kinds of rescues but this is one of our own. Zuma, I'm counting on you! Get back as soon as you can, I'll tell you where to go".
With a great deal of concern on his and the faces of all the pups, Zuma nodded, heading to the smaller, less flashy looking Air Patroller in the corner of the room with Robodog. The rest of the pups watched as he and robodog vanished, leaving them with a four pup team. None of them skilled in the air or the water.
Ryder turned back to the screen. "Pups, I've lost Skye's location. The last known place she was is around here." Ryder gestured to a glowing light on the screen. "Her Sky Cycle can only travel so fast, so that means she must be within this area" This time a large green circle covering almost half the screen appeared.
"That's huge!" Rocky said, "how are we gonna search that whole area with only one Air Patroller?" He asked. Ryder's response wasn't what the pups expected.
"Look pups, this is going to be difficult. I need all of you looking out for her, I'll do my best too but I'll be too concentrated piloting. Without Robodog's help, the Air Patroller will be entirely manual. It's going to be a bumpy ride. We'll start on the outside of the circle, making our way inwards. Everyone must keep an eye out for her".
Realising how grave the situation was becoming, all of the pups stood tall, tails still and looking as confident as they could in the situation. Chase stepped forward.
"Then let's get started, Ryder sir".
Skye knew her chances were now slim. In fact, judging by her speed, Sweetie thought this too, slowing to almost a glide, using all of her skill to keep herself in the air in the middle of the high winds. She turned, facing Skye and nodded. Neither able to hear each other over the sound of the tempest swirling around them.
Skye turned tail and headed back to land, Sweetie following close behind, descending as low as they could without getting to close to the water. Lowering her goggles to her face, Skye saw nothing but blackness, tinted green with night vision. Looking down at her dash, her compass was filled with water, the needle fallen off the pin. Her GPS systems completely sodden in the downpour. Noticing her fuel was lowering fast. Skye kept calm, staying on course to wherever she ended up. It had to be better than the inky blackness below.
The wind got faster and faster, almost taking pleasure in the panic it caused in the pups lost at sea. Sweetie flew up besides Skye. Her much larger vessel having some working instruments, she pointed in a direction with her paw and took the lead. Skye, having no alternative, gladly followed in hope of somewhere solid to stand.
Her eyes glossed over, her body following pure instinct at this point, muscles flexing, paws moving on the controls keeping her steady as the wind would allow. Waves lapping the underside of her craft despite their increased altitude. And eventually, it happened. Following a loud beeping on her console that even Sweetie could hear from in front, Skye fell.
Her craft falling like a brick through the water with no power to keep it afloat. Skye screamed as she undid her harness and immediately went to pull the cord on her pack, releasing a parachute. Sweetie watched in a confused feeling of horror and somewhat relief.
The bright pink parachute deployed, along with a flare lighting up the area for a brief moment. With a single gust of wind, she was blown higher up like a plastic bag on the side of the road. Her own personal jet pack deployed to try and keep steady along with her parachute slowed her descent, but the relentless wind had other ideas and in a matter of moments, her paws hit the icy deep beneath.
Sweetie swung her plane back around, knowing full well that Skye was her best chance at surviving wherever they ended up, but also knowing she didn't deserve to drown out here. She plunged the nose of her plane into the water, scooping Skye's small form up. The propellers spluttering with the water splashing on top. She quickly sped off in the direction of whatever land the sea would allow them to have.
The Air Patroller, like Skye's Cycle, blew around like paper. Ryder kept his focus, muscles straining against the wind, keeping them steady.
A group of very nauseous looking pups stood at each window behind him, watching for signs. Marshall turned to see Chase gasping for air. Remembering Chase's last time in the Air Patroller not going so well for him or Ryder*, Marshall ran to his side. Chase looked up and shook his head, gesturing for him to go back to his window. Marshall, reluctantly, turned back to look out his window, but ran quickly seeing something.
"Guys! What's that?" Marshall shouted, Rocky running to his side.
"That, looks like a flare! A pink one too!" Rocky answered! "It's Skye it as to be, no one else would have a pink one!" Rocky said running to Ryder. Ryder didn't answer, he just turned fast, causing all the pups to roll onto their side and onto the seat. He pushed the Air Patroller to it's limits heading to the faint pink ember in the distance, which was quickly fading. Reaching up, he flicked some switches, manually initiating the Air Patroller's afterburners. Rocky watched in curiosity, but then went cold.
"Pups! Seats! Strap in!" Rocky yelled. The pups didn't need to be told twice as they scrambled for their seats, buckling in as fast as they could, which happened to be just in time. As the last buckle clasped into place, the Air Patroller launched forward. All the pups feeling the shift, seeing various things on the floor fly to the back of the plane.
"A little warning next time!" Marshall yelled, getting angry with Ryder. "We're all scared Ryder, but we don't need anyone else in danger". He looked over to Chase, seeing him gripping his belt with his teeth, claws piercing the fabric underneath.
"It doesn't matter anyways", Ryder answered. The plane came to a stop, the flare burning out in front of them. The jets turned down, pointing at the water. Turning on the lights, Ryder pointed them at the sea. All the pups climbed up to the front of the cockpit, looking out. A collective gasp could be heard. All that was left on the surface was a pink parachute, and floating parts from a familiar cycle.
"We were too late".
*Please see my previous story Burning Responsibility
Hi Everyone!
So I've still been around on here, watching stories unravel bit by bit. Been a lot of.. uh.. weird stuff appearing on this page recently, so I've been working on something that's hopefully a bit more normal for you to read.
My stories tend to be much longer, about 7000 words a chapter. This is about 2800. Most chapters won't be much longer or much shorter. With uni on pause, I've not much else to do. I want to update once a week, but please don't hold me to it! I have other things to do too!
I've been working with this idea for a while. I kinda wanna do a story for each of the characters of the team, excluding Everest, Tracker and the Mighty Twins. This came to me whilst writing Chase-ing tails. Kinda going for a redemption sorta thing, heavily inspired by my original story, Burning Responsibility, which thanks to all of you guys has received more likes and follows than I ever expected! Thank you!
I'm working on a full plan for this story this week, and then I'll begin writing the chapters. My plan is to have one chapter lined up ready to publish at all times. So if I fall behind too far I can put it up. But please don't pressure me, it makes it feel more like a chore to write which is what happened in my previous stories. The updates come out when they do!
As always, my profile will be updated with important info as often as I can.
Happy reading. Wash your hands!
PupPupGo xx