DISCLAIMER: I do not own PAW Patrol, the characters, or any association of the series.
Hello Readers.
Alive. Sorry about my constant username changes *shame*. It's a terrible habit of mine. Being on discord for awhile now I'm just so used to momo I actually responded once to it irl (god I cringe thinking bout it)
I know there is a huge concern regarding update scheduling. I'll be frank I literally have no idea when I post my stuff as im writing/drawing for other fandoms and that's the majority of my focus. And the chapter sizes for PPO is always around 7k-13k, so there's outlining, writing, editing, and double editing – all being a lengthy process. So I beg to please please be patient with chapter updates. However do I like talking with you all bout this fic and discussing what your theories are on what's to come, as there is a shit ton of plots I have for this. So I please encourage you to tell me your thoughts! ^^
COMMENTS
Guest – I appreciate the wait guest!
Story ideas – at some point I'm just slow
Rando – lol Chase jinxed himself in that one. And YES for Marshall's story I did heavy research on the types of pre-existing organizations, fictional or real, and S.H.I.E.L.D was one of the inspirations
Straythemedical – we'll learn another reason eventually why he was named Chase!
Kuro890 – thanks you uwu (and yes poor Archie)
Bhals4 – lool when you get attached to an OC it means trouble
TheMattdude – aww thank you! I'm happy I've ignited such feelings from my fics. And ahhh yes. I wanted to give a different vibe to each backstory, considering they all had extremely different lifestyles. I didn't want any two stories to be repetitive in its format.
TechWolf2.0 – thanks!
Deathruler862- we'll get a full explanation of the origin of his fear soon enough!
The-Not-So-Ultimate Writer – haha, yes. Scout is inspired by Scout from To Kill a Mocking Bird. And yes I realized not properly explaining the parent's deaths would be off-putting. I've written the explanation of their deaths for awhile now, but debated to show as I feared it wouldn't make "sense" given this is rocky's story of becoming a PP member not his entire homelife. Hopefully what you see is good enough transition between two ideas.
Etolie1120 – omg thank you! Despite me studying French in my younger years, I literally retained nothing and had to use google translator. And it's not rude at all! I rather have a native give me the corrections opposed to any other method (as I know translations from online vs native are never exact or correct) I'll input the changes to the chapter.
I do intend to use some French in continuation for this story, so please if there's something incorrect tell me in PM so I can change it right away!
TFSARFIRE – ooh I'm glad your enjoying the first chapter! Hope you like what I have in store for you with Chase's Marshall's, Skye's and now Rocky's stories.
And cool a mother is enjoying my fics! It's interesting to see the different age groups who are reading this
marcogalmich – yes it is sad, and thankfully a subtle way to tell you guys what's to come (cause we do get more info on what happened to them).
Ahh, your predictions on Rocky… you're catching on ;)
Desgarbuiz - tu es muy lindo ;-;
JetSet1980 – makes me sad too
Enfreakomoron – Haha yeah I read the book. One of my all time favs
Zuma lover – I don't do requests for my fics (such as integrating Ocs) so sorry! However thank you for taking the time to write them! Perhaps you can write your own fics with those ideas
ArouraPhoenix – Only Marshall to pull stunts like this X)
I'LL WIAT D – haha im glad too im STILL updating
PupPupGo – dude im like blushing like crazy from your praise _ I didn't know my work inspired others in the fandom! I'm happy I've made people wanna write more PP, and haha yes, I ridiculously plan the hell outta these chapters (I probably put too much thought into them, but oh well) but I guess my tedious efforts are worth your enjoyment
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Talkative.
That's what Rocky could describe Marshall in a single word.
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as everything Marshall said was interesting in its own regard, but his overall demeanor reminded him how his own siblings acted when they got excited, and it was familiar feeling to experience.
Marshall was eager to talk about anything that came to his mind, and Rocky was more than happy to reply, as he had his own questions about Marshall's job. It was still baffling pups like him were out on the world on their own, working as if they were full grown dogs. They traded info about their respective towns, and Rocky was surprised a town would allow pups of all beings to be the only law enforcement. To allow that privilege at such a young age must mean they are surely skilled in what they do.
Finally, after the 40-minute truck ride on the dirt-paved road, they approached the outskirts of Adventure Bay – a town Rocky mildly knew for years, but now was able to see it with his own two eyes.
It was…small, smaller than his town, but the aesthetics of the town couldn't be more jarring. Fair Oaks was a country town, down to the architecture and soft colours of rustic brown and worn-out white. You could tell it expanded as time went on, emphasizing its aging history – surrounding by rolling lands of farming and open fields.
Adventure Bay however…looked like a place built at a single time, as the styles of the houses mirrored one another in similar fashion. Stuff was…newer looking, but not necessarily modern or high-tech. The town's location was beside a bay, connecting to the ocean that went further outward, yet oddly enough towards northwest of the town there was completely different terrain – forestry. There was the giant forest that loosely connected Adventure Bay and Orchard Fair Oaks, closer in distance compared to the sister town Foggybottom where you had to travel across the bay for quickest access.
Adventure Bay was truly an odd place. It had a bit of everything, having no singular identity of what the town wanted to be, as if it was trying to figure out its aesthetic or signature style. But strangely the town's lacking identity didn't hinder its atmosphere. In honestly its defiance of not conforming to one theme complimented the uniqueness of this new little town.
"Ah, and there!" Marshall pointed, "Is the train station! A little while longer and we'll reach the town."
"I don't think we have one where I live." Rocky commented idly, jabbing his paw to his chin. "The closest station was Foggybottom. I'm assuming they made one for Adventure Bay since we have no space in our town."
"You've been on a train Rocky?!"Marshall excitably asked. "Where did you travel?"
"Oh no. Nowhere actually! There's no point. Everything here is accessible by truck." He shrugged. "Not like I need to travel anywhere."
They finally entered to the core of the town, and Rocky got a better view from being in the center. Nothing about his earlier impressions changed now he was seeing it up close, and the town doted more of the "ocean town" theme, but very loosely.
But that wasn't what caught Rocky's attention.
"Uhh…how does this town have a bridge?" he stared at the structure in the distance, "Given the capacity of the town, which I'm assuming less than 300, a need of a bridge quantifies to areas that have denser population or hazardous terrain."
Marshall itched his head. "Uhhh, I don't know. The bridge was already here when we moved. And what does quantify mean?"
"Apply, enumerate, depending on the context." He said without missing a beat, still staring at the bridge. His explanation didn't ease the confusion for the Dalmatian, but Rocky didn't notice, continuing to talk to himself. "My assumption is the bay, but the sagacity of that doesn't make sense. I wonder how they built this…"
They hit a bump on the road, bringing Rocky out of his engrossment of the structure, falling halfway off his seat. Marshall too fell off.
"You need that fixed." Rocky muffled on the ground.
"Where ya wanna be dropped off Marshall?" Mr. McKay asked as he parked his car temporarily on the side of the road. They were now in Adventure Bay's town square, surrounded by the shops, restaurants, businesses. The pups popped up from their seats. Rocky noted the town's city hall was in front of them.
"Oh, uhh, you can actually drop me off here." Marshall said, shaking his head bashfully, "You don't need to drive me to the tower!"
"Nonsense. We're already here pup!" the old man rebutted, "Now what's da address?"
Rocky cocked his head in inquiry. "Are there no visitors allowed or something?"
"Ah, no, but heh," he lowered his shoulders, "I just feel bad. You already took me so far. And Ryder should be in town right now so I should really find him first."
Rocky nodded in understanding. "Alright. So we need to find –"
"Marshall?"
Rocky's ears rung in remembrance as he swirled his head around to its direction. It was the voice from the phone. And what miraculous timing that was.
"Ryder!" Marshall beamed in jubilant light. At the foot of city hall's doors, there was a boy with dark brown hair standing beside a woman in a blue dress suit. Whatever they were speaking about came to a halt as they took notice of the truck, and the lady waved politely at them before retreating into city hall.
But Marshall didn't retreat – he leaped from his seat, sprinting to Ryder who in turn welcomed the pup with a friendly smile and pat. At the wholesome reunion, Mr. McKay unbuckled his seat.
"Ah, so this is da famous Ryder Marshall kept talkin' bout!" Mr. McKay stated, closing the car door as he walked to the pair. "Nice meetin' ya son. Name's Joe McKay, but folks call me Mr. McKay, or Papa Joe." He reached for a handshake, and the boy returned it.
"Ryder Newton. Though Ryder's just fine." He glanced at the truck behind them. "I hope the ride wasn't too much trouble for you since you came out of town."
"Ah it wasn't at all boy!" he grinned, "Aah make long trips daily with may work. Was more dan happy to help a stray pup get back home."
Ryder smiled in relief. "That's good." It was at that moment his eyes crossed paths with Rocky, and the grey pup froze.
Mr. McKay noticed. "Haha, ya, we had an extra companion on da ride with us." He gestured Rocky to come, and the pup, debating himself, reluctantly followed. "Ryder, this is Rocky. My pup and mah first dog's son. He was the one who happened to notice Marshall in may truck."
"I see." he regarded Rocky with pleasant formalities. "Nice to meet you Rocky."
Rocky had an over-compelling need to stare at his paws. "Um, hi."
Marshall titled his head at the new behavior emitting from his car buddy, but Mr. McKay continued. "Aah gotta say, when Marshall said his leader would be young, ahh didn't think you'll be, uh an actual child."
Ryder lightly laughed. "I get that a lot."
"No, no, no, it's a good surprise! Already at yur age yur bein' proactive in yur community! And with Marshall bein' a pup too, well, that's rare da see. Workin' so young. But alas, Rocky's too no stranger to workin' since we live on a farm n' all."
"They have like, a million sheep Ryder." Marshall chimed in awestruck. "I couldn't even count them all!"
"Ooh. So you're a sheep herder?" Ryder asked with genuine inquiry.
"Mostly. We've been in the wool business for generations! But we also grow fruits n' vegetables."
"Like Farmer Yumi?" Marshall questioned.
"Ah, yes! Like Ms. Koto. But Imma pretty sure she's mostly on da green side of things."
"Her and Farmer Al are our town's main suppliers." Ryder said.
"Makes sense given how ya do trade with our town a lot." He crossed his arms. "Great business, I'll tell ya."
"Uh, Ryder?" Marshall glanced up, recalling something. "I didn't interrupt what you were doing with Mayor Goodway right?"
"Not at all. We were done with our meeting anyway. I was gonna head back to the tower. Chase's just on mission right now, but he should be back soon."
"Ryder," Marshall continued, looking hopeful. "Can we invite Rocky and Mr. McKay over?"
Rocky almost snapped his neck at the shock. "W-What?"
Ryder chuckled. "I don't see how that's a bad idea." He turned to his guests, pleasant. "You're more than welcome to join us at The Lookout. You did bring back my firepup after all."
"Well shucks, that's nice of ya." He looked to his pup. "Say, Rocks, you want ta join?"
"Come over Rocky!" Marshall bellowed, "You brought me back to Adventure Bay. It's the least I could do as a thank you."
"Um, I'm not sure –"
"Rocks, you rarely get out from the farm." Mr. McKay smiled kindly. "I reckon ya use this time to yur advantage, explore a bit, ya know? Relax. Not like everyday we get invited to a lookout tower."
"B-But what about the farm?" he asked feebly. And why did he feel like everyone was staring at him to respond? "Don't I have chores?"
"Ya heard Mama Fran. Ya got the day off."
Dammit Mama Fran. She knew Rocky would back out. "Umm, okay. I'll go. If you insist." He noticed Marshall let out a sigh of happy relief (made Rocky wonder if he took rejection well), but he suddenly had to ask, "You're coming too Papa Joe?" He kept his gaze on his owner. "Right?"
"Yes! I'll come by soon."
"Soon?" his ears dipped.
"Ah, yes. Aah just need to buy some supplies at the hardware store. They might got some tools here we don't have back home."
Aww…Hardware shopping? You might as well told Rocky there was cake he couldn't touch and had to watch others eat it!
"But don't worry!" The farmer explained in a rush, seeing his pup's apprehension. "You can buy somethin' before we go home. I see yur tail waggin'. " He turned to the rescue workers, winking. "Rocks' here likes makin' stuff. He's our little tinkerer."
"Papa Joe!" Rocky felt a blush heating his face.
"You make stuff Rocky?" Marshall queried.
Rocky wanted to hide. This was why he avoided mentioning his hobbies. "It's not much." He mumbled.
"I highly doubt that." Ryder mentioned, "It takes diligence to make anything with your own two hands, or in your case, two paws. We do a lot of tinkering back at The Lookout.
"Oh, uh…" his curiosity was definitely spiked knowing someone else shared his hobby, but still…knowing his owner was offering him to go alone to the tower made Rocky lose his wording worse than Ash's nervousness of scary movies. "Ah, well, I don't know, I really should stay with –"
"It's okay Rocky!" Marshall bellowed, completely ignorant of Rocky's distress. "He can come over, right Ryder?"
He nodded. "Of course."
Rocky gulped.
Oh no.
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.
.
"This is the Lookout!" Marshall introduced, showcasing it to the incoming pup. "It's not too big, but it's not too small either! So I guess, it's uh, perfect?"
Perfect.
Rocky thought that was an understatement. This tower was beyond anything he had ever seen in short years of living. He was literally gawking at it when he arrived, and he was sure his mouth was still hanging open at taking in the grandeur of the place.
He was still wrapping his head around the idea of a slide attached to the tower.
"Do you want any refreshments Rocky?" Ryder asked politely, "We have pup treats. A full cabinet actually."
"We have a lot of flavours too!" Marshall said.
The mixed breed denied the offer. "Uh, it's – gosh, no. I'm okay. But thank you." He mumbled afterward.
Rocky knew Marshall was looking at him oddly, but he heard Ryder say: "Marshall, why not show him around The Lookout? I just need to make a quick call."
"Sure!"
Ryder dismissed himself from the duo, and they entered through the double electric doors. Rocky should've noticed the enormity of the room's size first, but something else caught his eye.
"You have an elevator." He said ingenuously.
Marshall looked at him as if it was a daily occurrence in other places. "Yup!"
"But…how?"
"Uh, I don't know. Ryder designed it."
"Your leader designed it? This?" Drawing interior plans was one thing, but to actually engineer the building into commission? At his age? Rocky was truly stunned.
Marshall led them upstairs to what he called it the "mission room" and Rocky didn't know when he'll stop gasping in shock. Marshall stared at his bewildered guest, giggling. "You okay Rocky?"
"Yeah, I just…" he heaved in a sigh. "I've never been at a place like this before. To be honest it's a tad overwhelming." He admitted bashfully.
"Hmm….but that's totally okay to feel like that!" Marshall interjected, giving him a reassuring grin. "I was overwhelmed too when I moved here. I lived in a firehouse and in the city before coming here, so this was a definite change for me."
Rocky widened his eyes at that confession. "That was a big decision you made."
"Yeah it really was. And super hard to do…but! I don't regret it. Not one bit!" he beamed. "And I don't think Chase hasn't either."
"Chase?"
"Oh, he's the other pup that lives with us here! He's a police pup."
Rocky laughed. "Seems like every pup has a job in this town."
"Haha, guess so. But I actually haven't met other pups in this town! It's that small. I only met two other dogs, but one's like, always sleeping so we don't talk much, and then the other one…eh…-"
Rocky noted the hesitation. "Unpleasant?" he offered to finish.
"Uh, kinda? Chase says he's just rude, but I think he just has a lot of bad days."
"Your friend sounds like my grandpa."
"You're grandpa's a serious dog?"
"Oh not at all! But he tends to make snarky comments, and is incredibly stubborn."
Marshall giggled. "Sounds like Chase." After Rocky finished admiring the technology in the mission room (Marshall almost had to drag Rocky away otherwise they'll never finish the tour!) they made their way back outside to the entry of the garage.
"Hey pups." Ryder was with his ATV, tools sprawled on the ground, obviously at work. Rocky zeroed in at the equipment.
He dusted his pants. "Sorry about that. Was just finishing this before I could join you pups. Can't have an out of order vehicle." He then acknowledged Rocky with a separate question. "How's the tour?"
"Great!" Marshall answered happily for him (for that, Rocky was grateful for Marshall's chatty nature). "Rocky likes the place! I think."
Ryder smiled. "Is that so?"
Rocky didn't know where to look, averting his eyes. "It's nice."
"Well I'm glad you find it to your liking. Marshall, maybe you can grab some toys so you can play with Rocky? I'll join in very soon."
"Oh! Can we play tag n' throw?"
"The new game you two made last week? Sure."
Marshall's eyes were gleeful at the reply. "I'm gonna go get the toys! I'll be right back Rocky!"
"Uh, okay." With the Dalmatian running off somewhere, Rocky was left to stand self-consciously around the human kid leader. Now, Rocky was no stranger to human children, as there were many in Orchard Fair Oats, but to his current knowledge, none owned a lookout tower and commanded a rescue group on a daily. It left him wondering…should he regard Ryder formally like how he did with human adults? He might not technically be one, but he was a leader, so that qualified formalities right? Or should his behavior align towards a human child so it didn't feel awkward? But wait, would it be insulting given he's someone of authority? He felt himself panicking at his lacking social conventions.
If Ryder noticed his internal scuffle, he didn't say. "So what do you do Rocky?"
"S-Sorry?"
"Like, what do you make?" he continued, "Your owner said you made things."
"Oh." he was asking about his work. Rocky could answer that easily. "It depends what I'm making. I don't really have one type of thing I tinker." His eyes began to fixate on the tool Ryder picked up with his hand (Some type of monitor?) "I just try to improve stuff around the farm to make it easier for everyone."
"That's nice of you." Ryder grinned, "Same with me here at the tower. Have to make sure the pups' equipment is always updated."
"Right." He cocked his head, the urge to ask suddenly ringing at his tongue. "Sorry but, uh, is that a Carter OBD2 scanner?"
Ryder widened his eyes. "You recognize the model?"
"I've only seen them on TV." He leaned closer, inspecting it. "It can check transmission signals of a car right?"
He grinned. "And the ABS, SRS, to name a few."
"S-Seriously?!" Rocky's eyes shorn in curiosity. "Aren't those features reserved for more expensive scanners? Like ones that cost over 1000? The more expensive Carter models?"
"Haha, yeah. I like trying out new models, seeing which ones work best with me. Guess you can say I'm kinda a nerd when it comes to equipment."
"M-Me too!" he exclaimed. "Like, I mean, we don't buy a lot of equipment cause it's very expensive but I try to understand what's in it and make similar features with the one we have at home." He itched his head, laughing weakly. "The only thing I was able to add was fault code readings."
Ryder blinked. "You added code interfacing to your scanner?"
"Oh it's nowhere near perfect!" he objected, feeling his face flame. "It's still in trial mode. The power levels are still unstable."
"But not everyone can add completely separate interfacing to an object." Ryder remarked, seemingly stunned. "Did anyone teach you how to do it?"
"I guess my grandpa? Papa Joe too, but they're not really into electronics. They're more into the classic DIY projects, you know? The saw, hammer type. Anything more complicated I have to research on my own."
Ryder stared at Rocky evenly, and the pup felt a heavy weight of self-consciousness. Was that the wrong answer?
Ryder subsequently held out the scanner to Rocky, and the pup recoiled at the gesture. "Here."
"I can look at it?"
He nodded.
His tail unconsciously wagged, the item of his interest being handled to him. With the scanner in his paws, he had the need to memorize every single detail. Not like he'll have this opportunity again.
Beep! Beep!
Startled, Rocky flinched, but the ever-calm Ryder pulled out his phone, clicking it on. "What's up Chase?"
"Ryder," the voice rung, and the tone had urgency in it, "The streetlights on Groven Ave have stopped working and it caused an accident. I'm trying to direct traffic, but it's rush hour and there's a lot of it."
"I understand." Ryder said, "We'll be there soon." The phone clicked off, and Ryder stared in the distance, finding the firepup in the grass with a cluster of toys, struggling to carry.
"Marshall!" the pup flicked his head up, holding a stuffie in his mouth. "Looks like playtime's gotta wait. We got trouble in town. Chase needs us."
Marshall nodded swiftly as he hurried to the lookout to retrieve his gear.
Ryder glanced down to the guest pup. "Sorry, but there's a situation downtown we need to deal with."
Rocky nodded at that info. "If you're leaving, then I should come too. Papa Joe is there. I need to know he's safe."
"Understandable." He led Rocky to the deck. "Then follow us. We'll drive you on the way."
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.
.
Whatever rescue briefing Ryder and Marshall did in the Lookout, it must've been literally seconds. One moment Rocky was waiting to get into the elevator and the next the two were ready to take off in their vehicles. Thank goodness Rocky grew up as a shepherd dog and had enough running ability to catch up and throw himself in Ryder's back seat (though a bit clumsily, but hey, he still made it).
Despite the town not having many streets, reaching the accident site was shockingly difficult. Ryder and Marshall had to take side streets due to the mess on the main roads, having to completely loop around to get to town square. Rocky wasn't expecting the vehicle to go as fast as it did, (wasn't like Papa Joe's truck was a speedster) so he kept wobbling in his seat everytime Ryder turned a sharp corner. If the situation were calmer he would've been staring in admiration at Ryder's ATV and Marshall's firetruck features during the whole ride.
Finally, the trio reached their destination, and Rocky's eyes widened at the site bestowed upon him. He never witnessed a car crash before, and surely he didn't expect to see one today. A red car slammed into the street pole, the dent protruding from the hood. Cars in confusion sat in the road, surrounded by a few onlookers from the neighboring stores. When they stopped Ryder and Marshall jumped out from their seats and went immediately to a German Shepherd who stood in the middle of the road, wearing a blue suit and some type of device on his back. (Also noted Marshall had a similar looking one too, but Rocky didn't have enough time to question it). Moments later Marshall ran off to the sidewalk, where two human males stood. One had a bruised arm as he sat sluggishly at the side.
But Rocky recognized the other man immediately.
"Papa Joe!"
The elderly owner veered his head, and a relieved smile etched his face.
"Rocky!" the said pup ran to him. "Imma glad yur safe."
"What happened?"
"Well, Aah was about may business when aah heard a loud clang right outside the store. When aah went to check it out, aah found this fellow in his car, slung right up against da pole." He wiped his hands from a back pocket cloth. "Before we knew it, the police pup came and tried to diffuse the situation on the road. Especially since dat pole looks like its wires are loose."
"Hence why we need people to leave this area." Ryder added, approaching them. "Marshall will attend to your wounds Mr. Hank, but we need everyone to clear the immediate area until I can secure the stability of the pole. Its electric circuitry is out, and I don't want to risk people getting electrocuted too."
The man who Marshall was tending to the wounds grinned thinly. "I'm so sorry Ryder. My muscle spasm really did a big one. I feel so ashamed."
The young leader had a strange look of forgiveness yet firmness as he kneeled at eye level. "Just leave it to us. The P.A.W. Patrol will take care of it."
Rocky and Mr. McKay watched at the workers began to work. Marshall guided the injured man to his vehicle, the police pup continued to direct traffic, and Ryder began making a safety zone around the damaged car.
Rocky wondered, with such a small team, would they truly be able to handle an incident this size? It would be easier for them if the circuit box were fixed right away as it was causing the mess of cars – then Ryder could distribute his assistant to Chase, cause it was obvious the pup was struggling to handle this many cars at once. And Marshall was a fire pup. Rocky wasn't sure how he could utilize his skill in a traffic accident unless the light fell over, but that would be worse if it did, especially since its wiring was out. Disastrous if water got involved somehow.
Rocky felt…awkward, simply standing in this mess. Usually if a situation aroused at the farm he'll be the first one to deal with it, and swiftly. He always took responsibility, whether he caused it or not. It was an ingrained mentality at this point.
"We gotta help 'em Rocks." His owner stated abruptly.
"U-Us?" he was baffled. It wasn't like he was against the notion of helping, as back home their town resources mostly relied on community effort, but this was unfamiliar. Extremely. "We're not qualified to help with rescues."
"Doesn't matter. Maybe we can help with traffic. Oh! The wiring. We can rewire it." He pointed it out in front of them. "There's da circuit box. We could fix it while they are takin' care of the road."
"W-What?!" Logically it was a smart move, (and he dimly thought about it just moments ago) but Rocky was not prepared to actually act upon it. "Won't Ryder get mad?"
"Imma ask him. Aah even got may toolbox, and Aah do got experience with electronics."
"But I thought you gave up on electronics years ago!"
"Haha Aah did, but it wouldn't hurt to help!" He tried to walk fast with his cane. "Give meh a moment to ask! I Reckon ya stay with Marshall while ya wait!"
Rocky was dumbfounded, watching the scene unfold. While the absurdity of helping rescue workers who were more qualified was one thing, he couldn't help but focus on Papa Joe stating he was the one who was gonna fix the box. Rocky knew his owner was good at building, but he also aware of the man's limitations in electronic engineering. He couldn't make him do it. And the thought of his elderly owner getting hurt was absolutely not an option.
Rocky gulped. Gosh he was gonna do this, wasn't he?
Before his owner could return and grab the box himself, Rocky sighed in preparation before sprinting to the truck, searching the tools that would be needed. He pulled the box with his teeth, dragging it across the ground till he reached the power box. He mildly realized he didn't have proper safety equipment for the task at hand (or paw, if he wanted to be accurate) but that made it more prominent how reckless his elderly owner was going to do this job. Rocky couldn't risk the man to get hurt.
Opening the box door, he faced various amounts of wiring, all in disarray. While he might not be an expert, he did recall reading about circuitry in books his dad once owned and had experimented making circuit disks in his free time. And immediately, he knew what was wrong with the layout.
Rocky didn't have his tinkered tools he adapted for canine species to use, but he definitely knew his way around human tools. With the pliers in his mouth, he carefully pulled at a blue cord, and tightened it around another one. He continued the process with the other cords, focused and completely ignoring the voices around him (if there were any).
Suddenly the lights started flashing green, and Rocky knew he did it. He released the pliers from his mouth, landing on the ground.
But that was when he heard everything.
"Rocks!"
He flinched, turning his head and seeing the approaching humans. His owner looked flabbergasted, and Ryder…Ryder was definitely confused, treading on exasperation, as if he didn't expect the pup he met today to do something so careless.
Rocky felt his fur becoming sweaty, readying himself for a well-deserved scowling.
He moved out the way of the electric box, and Ryder immediately went to it, opening his own tool box and examining the cords. The border collie-mix backed away, meeting his back against his owner's legs. When their eyes met, Rocky had the unwelcome need to squirm.
After checking out the circuits, Ryder closed the box door, and Rocky was definitely sure he was heading in their direction.
"I'm sorry!" he bowed in shame, shutting his eyes closed. "It wasn't my intention to intervene. I just saw that you three were overwhelmed with the work and Papa Joe wanted to help and I took it upon myself to work on the circuit box. I-I'm truly sorry. Please don't blame my owner. He didn't tell me to do it. I did it on my own accord. He just wanted to help you."
When he didn't hear a reply, and the sound of shoes stopping in front of him, he vaguely wondered if Ryder was gonna hit him.
"How?"
His eyes blinked open. "Sorry?"
Ryder had a very unreadable face, but thankfully it didn't look mad. "How did you fix it?"
He was giving him an opportunity to explain? He'll take that over a scowling. "I uh, just reconnected the wiring that was detached on the loop detectors. There were loose, probably because when the car hit the pole, it must've severed the connection to the box. I thought there would be a backup battery, but since there wasn't, I just tightened it and looped it in a way where it would stay. But –"
"But what?"
He was debating to release his theory, but since Ryder's eyes were pleading to know more, Rocky gave in. "I think…the car crash wasn't the true reason why it broke down. The wires were fraying slightly, and its durability I noticed wasn't as strong as it should be. So I think…it might break down again. If the car crash truly caused the mess, then there should've been smoke or complete rupture of the circuits frying. But there was none. I'm thinking the crash was a catalyst to its deterring state." When Ryder didn't immediately reply, Rocky ogled at his paws, whispering: "Just thinking maybe your mayor should replace it."
Ryder observed him plainly. "It was dangerous working on the circuits without proper protection Rocky."
"I know," he sighed, (he really didn't want to think how he could've been easily electrocuted) "But… the pliers I used were surrounded in rubber, so I thought it'll be good enough." He was tempted to say he had done some pretty spontaneous things when tinkering back home, but he decided to leave it out.
"But your theory…"
Rocky's ears clenched inward. Oh here it comes…
"It makes sense," Ryder finished, and Rocky flung his head up. "It's just…I was actually thinking of the same thing. How this entire incident played more on lacking maintenance opposed to damage property." He pondered a moment longer, adding: "And you made this theory on the spot?"
"Y-Yes?"
"And you were able to fix it just as fast given the limited amount of equipment you had?"
"Yes?"
"Ryder stared up at the traffic light. "Impressive."
Rocky was flabbergasted, feeling his tail wagged without his consent. Impressive?
"Ryder!" Marshall made his way towards them, and eventually the police pup followed, "Wha-What happened to the lights? Did you fix it?"
"Yeah," Rocky realized this was the first time he heard Chase spoke, "I noticed the light is working again."
"No pups," Ryder denied, gesturing to the border-collie, "Actually, it was this pup right here."
"W-WHA?!" Marshall's mouth dropped, while Chase showed the surprise in his eyes. "You fixed the lights Rocky?!"
"Uh, yeah." He rubbed his ear with his paw, feeling bashful. "Again, sorry I interrupted."
"That's so cool Rocky." Marshall awed, "I didn't know you could fix traffic lights!"
Neither did I, Rocky sweatdropped, but he'll definitely not tell them that.
"That's pretty smart of you." Chase added, regarding him neutrally. "Didn't expect that."
"Umm," he blinked, not expecting praise from something he thought he'll be punished for, "thanks."
"Look Ryder!" Marshall pointed out, "The lights! They're back on." He sure was right, as the traffic lights blinked in working order, and the cars, once in chaos, were slowly adjusting to normalcy.
"I'm gonna double check on the other light to make sure it doesn't crash. Marshall, Chase, quarantine the accident now that we don't have to worry about the cars. Also, prepare your rig Chase. We're gonna need to bring that car to the mechanic."
The two complied with their duties, and Rocky felt a hand tap on his head.
It was Mr. McKay. "Ya did good Rocks." He said softly, his fingers rubbing against the border-collie terrier's ears. "Aah know ya were reluctant. And…Imma sorry for doin' that ta ya."
"Papa Joe –"
"But ya helped them out. And Aah can tell they appericate it."
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When the accident was cleaned, and the car was rigged up to Chase's police vehicle, the farming duo prepared their truck to head home.
"You're leaving already?" Marshall asked, seeing Mr. McKay packing up the toolbox.
"Yeah." Rocky shrugged, "Can't stay away from the farm for too long! Plus I'll be worried to leave my grandpa handling the sheep on his own."
Chase nodded. "Makes sense."
Rocky grinned. While he didn't know either of the two pups well, especially the police one, he couldn't help but admire that they did this everyday. Like he told Marshall at the Lookout, it took courage to dedicate yourself to this type of work.
"Rocky." His ears twitched at the mention, Ryder coming up to the door of the car.
"Yeah Ryder?"
A soft smile was on his face. "You and your family are welcomed anytime to visit."
"And visit we shall!" Mr. McKay interjected. "We got ya number, and ya got ours! And what a vibrate day we came, didn't we Rocks?"
He couldn't help but snort at the notion. "Definitely."
"One more thing Rocky." He looked to the human leader, waiting patiently, "You said the traffic lights were faulty." His fingers lingered at his chin, contemplating, "How do you think we should combat this? Replacement or repair?"
Orange eyes squinted in thought, as if the cogs in Rocky's head immediately started working. "Uh, I always rather repair something than replace it completely, but since this is town equipment stuff, I think you should replace it."
"What type of lights then?"
Hmm…perhaps sensor-based traffic signals would be more effective?" He said, looking directly to Ryder, "Maximizes traffic efficiency by only functioning when traffic is present."
Something twinkled in Ryder's eye that Rocky didn't know about. "I like that idea."
"Alright! We're headin' off!" Mr. McKay inserted the key into the ignition, and the truck roared to life. "We hope to see ya folks real soon! Yur also more dan welcome to visit us at the McKay farm!"
"Yeah!" Marshall waved, "And thanks again for the cookies!"
The truck began moving forward, and with a few more goodbyes, the old red truck made its way up the road, towards the surrounding fields of the town.
The P.A.W. Patrol were clearing up the area when Marshall noticed his friend staring intensely at the light. "What's up Chase?"
He paused a moment. "Just can't believe that pup fixed the light so easily. And without proper equipment." He shook his head. "That's just crazy."
"It is crazy." Ryder stated, grabbing the attention of his two pups. "I'm personally shocked how someone so intelligent at a young age can fix something like traffic lights. From what Rocky told me afterwards, he only does tinkering. The rest is from books and examples."
"Wait." Chase had to ask. "He never fixed a traffic light before? Not even in his own town?"
Ryder chuckled. "Nope. Not once."
"Whoa…" Marshall glanced up at the road the McKays were on minutes ago, "Rocky is really smart. Isn't he Ryder?"
"Not smart." He retorted, "He's a hidden genius."
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Getting back on the farm, Rocky was swarmed with questions.
"What happened bwother?! Did you bring me something?!"
"Was it scary?! DID YOU DIE?"'
"Where's the zombie pup Rocky?"
Rocky shook his head. "I got nothing, I didn't die, and no Ziggy, he's not a zombie pup. Marshall's back home with the P.A.W. Patrol."
"What's that?" one of them asked, and before Rocky could answer, they jumped on Papa McKay and bombarded him with their own set of inquiry.
"Pups! Get off Papa Joe!"
"Yesh!" a raspy dog voice called, and Rocky immediately recognized his grandpa. "Ya gotta ram Rocky now! He can handle it hehe."
"Grandpa – ! Oof!" sure enough he was tackled on the ground, soil gushed at his fur.
While Papa Joe went to greet his wife, Old Gizmo hovered over his grandpups, looking down with a nosy face, "So how it go Rocks? Anythin' excitin' happened?"
"Uh," he tried to push off Ash licking his ear, "Somewhat?" Once he got his pawing, Rocky recounted the whole story how he helped the P.A.W. Patrol out with their traffic incident, (though he did have to remind his grandpa to let him finish the story before reacting) and his efforts actually impressed their young leader.
"Ha! Told ya yur smart Rocky."
"When did you say I wasn't?" he said in confusion.
"Aah didn't! That's the point." He tapped his forehead knowingly. "Bet they could use ya more."
"Oh no." he laughed, shaking the idea off. "That's a one time thing. I was too anxious the whole time I did it! I only fixed it cause I didn't want Papa Joe to get hurt."
"Heh. Remind me of ya father." Old Gizmo said. "Rushin' in without a care in the world, but only pulled back to reality by yur mom. Ahh…" he sighed, "Yur truly yur parent's pup."
Rocky glanced at his paws, feeling a warmth swell in his chest. "Really?"
"Of course Aah do! Why would Aah lie?" he continued to nibble on his hay, watching the rowdy younger pups playing in the yard. "Ya should take his words to heart. Ya got potential to do stuff."
"To do what exactly?"
"Tinker!" he yelled, scaring his oldest grandson. "Tinkering saves lives Rocky! It keeps this farm goin'!"
"Uh, I thought the sheep herding kept it up."
"Agh! Ya ruined my joke!" He grumbled, almost childishly, "Seriously, pups these days."
Rolling his eyes, Rocky took in the surroundings of his farm, his home since birth. The comfort of being here sent chills in his body like nowhere else. "Well, I'm just glad to be back home. It was nice that I visited somewhere new, but guess that chapter's done with huh?"
"Why ya say that?" Papa Joe said, and the two dogs looked up. "In fact, we'll be visitin' there a lot more now." He crossed his arms. "Remember da man Aah helped with? Mr. Hank? Well apparently he owns a clothing manufacturing company in Adventure Bay, and since we got wool, he says he's willin' to work with us!"
"Ha! A business deal?" Old Gizmo beamed. "Crafty Papa Joe!"
"Haha yes! And that means Imma gonna be needin' some help while Aah make may travels there."
Old Gizmo heckled. "Eh, whadda ya know? Rocks, yur gonna be visitin' that crazy town more often now!"
"W-What?" he faltered, "How come I'm being volunteered to go? You're more than capable to go!"
"Yes, that is true…" he pondered snidely, "But I've already been there! And yur more cooped up than a woodpecker in a tree. Think of the trips as yur …vacations."
Rocky groaned, digging his head into his paws.
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It was perhaps a week later Rocky received a phone call.
"Rocky!" Mama Fran yelled from the kitchen, "Phone for ya!"
Rocky appeared from the hallway, absolutely confused. "Uh, for me?"
"Yes." She said, putting down the phone into the receiver, "Aah put them on hold for ya. Answer dem in the living room."
Rocky scampered up the classic cord phone by his owner's chair, still wondering who the heck called him. He didn't have any calls, like ever. Who would even call him, much less know he lived here?
He answered it. "Hello?"
"Rocky." His ears twitched at recognition. "It's Ryder. How are you?"
"Oh, uh, doing good Ryder." He sucked at doing small talk, so all he could think of was saying, "Just…cleaning the bathroom."
"Ah, doing chores?" he said, "Did I catch you at a bad time? I can call later?"
"No, no, now is fine." His curiosity to know what the human leader wanted to talk to him piqued his interest immensely, "So, uh, is there something happening?"
"Actually yes," Ryder replied, "There's a situation here in Adventure Bay and I was hoping we can use your insight to help with the problem."
"Me?" Ryder wanted his opinion on something? "Oh, uh, sure. What's the problem?"
"Well, it's actually the water tower in our town is leaking, and the supplies I had to close the hole isn't sturdy enough for temporary sealing till I can build something permanent. Do you have something we can use to cover it?"
Rocky tried to ignore the mention of water giving him an unpleasant chill and focus on the question. "Hm, steel would be ideal, considering it doesn't rust as fast, but I don't have steel parts on my farm unless I weld it. And they're all rusty. Oh! There's some rubber I can infuse with the metal as a second coating."
"You're gonna weld that now?"
"No, I did it before." He said, feeling embarrassed, "As an experiment to keep water off the roof of the barn."
Silence. Rocky dreadfully thought it was a stupid idea.
"It's still an option." Ryder said, "Do you mind prepping what you have and I can pick you up? Or are you still doing chores?"
"Uh…" he didn't know what to say. Returning to Adventure Bay, so soon? If it wasn't Papa Joe's new business relation, it was now this. "I'll ask my owners. I don't think they'll say – "
"He'll do it!" Rocky jumped at the sound of his grandfather right beside his ear, "Rocky will be ready for ya in a jiffy!"
"Okay perfect." Rocky was panicked. He didn't answer yet! "I'll see you soon Rocky."
When the phone clicked off, Rocky was exasperated. "Grandpa! Why you do that?"
"Cause you didn't know what you want. So Aah answered."
"But I wanted to tell him that."
"And were ya?"
"Um," his ear flopped near his eye, "Maybe."
"I'll tell Joe and Fran where ya be buzzin' off too. And get ur silbings to help ya with the stuff! Dem rowdy pups are ridin' the pigs again as horses."
"Again?! And you let them?!"
"Wasn't hurtin' anybody."
Great. Looks like Rocky had to deal with one problem before solving the one in Adventure Bay.
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A/N: We're at the halfway point of Rocky's! (And yes I started working on Zuma's plotline now, if anyone's curious). Yes, I realize Rocky's intellect might be too "far fetched" but considering he's a hybird of the two smartest dogs in the world, and how he has a strong work ethic (he also has impeccable memory), I can only conjure him up to be a very intelligent dog, almost genius.
And JESUS the whole middle scene of Rocky fixing the light...I struggled to make it realistic. I probably did like 5 rewrites of that scene along of the events leading to Rocky fixing the thing, as I wanted it to make sense how he was forced to.
If it's obvious, Rocky is very reluctant when helping (not that he dislikes it, he just doesnt think its in his place if its not his family). I feel like he's a very different pup I've worked on in comparison to Chase's initial reluctance to help others, though for entirely different reasons. We're gonna soon learn about his parents and his aquaphobia (which is connected, probably spoiled but oh well) but OOH excited for you readers!
Thank you to all those who continuously read, comment and follow my work! (critique/suggestions are welcomed!) ^_^
P.S REVIEW!
P.P.S. Curious if anyone uses discord here. Or if there's an active PP server? I don't mind joining one if there is one out there hehe.
Till next time,
momo's little cloud