Chapter nineteen: Mission Accomplished!
"Officer Rubble, forward march, two hops!" Chase barked. "Go, go, go!"
"Yes, captain!" Rubble called leaping into action to take down Tiny.
"Uff! Nuts! I'm down, Captain!" Tiny called. "I must retreat!" Then the chihuahua dog took off back across their side of the battlefield to join Rayla on the sidelines overlooking it all.
"Officer Ci Ci, forward march! Right face, left hop, forward one hop! Go!" Rayla called.
"Yes, Captain!" Ci Ci responded, hopping across to the tramp next to Chester, then hopping forward to the one next to Ryder.
She's trying to go around me! Chase mentally noticed. But I'll show her.
"Rubble! Left face, forward march! Forward hop one, then left hop one! GO!" Chase called.
"You got it!" The bulldog pup answered. And these instructions resulted in his own brother falling next.
"And Ryder with the assist!" Chase added, and all the boy had to do was touch his foot to the tramp Chester was standing on, right as Rubble hopped onto it.
Simultaneous attack! Smart.. Rayla thought.
"Pluh, pluh, pluh!" Chester spat, milking the crash of his defeat a little, for the purpose of humor. "Another one bites the dust, Captain!" He cried, hopping up to retreat.
"Not a problem, lieutenant!" Rayla called, as he made it over to her to assume a position right next to her, opposite Tiny; as rank would have it.
"Too bad I got out right away." Zuma mentioned, diverting his gaze to Rocky for a moment after watching this.
"This game rules a new one!" He finished with a hop into a playful crouch.
"With any luck we'll play it again once this round is over." Rocky agreed, making Zuma play giddy with an anticipation that made him giggle.
"Totally IN!" the chocolate lab exclaimed. "Lookout, Chester, cause here I come!" And this only made Rocky giggle more.
"Commander Alex! Forward march, one hop!" Rayla called after some assessment. "Go!"
"Yes, Captain!" The boy responded, saluting before turning front again and hopping forward to the tramp in front of him.
Perfect! Chase's mind cried.
"Lieutenant Skye! Left face, hop one. Go!" He called excitedly.
"Ten-four, Captain Chase!" The cockapoo answered, taking up the spot to her left. Now Alex was penned in by Skye behind him, Marshall in front of him,.. and Ryder next to him with no valid spaces to jump on to his right,.. and Ci Ci blocking the diagonal in front of him.
"Perfect! We got him right where we want him!" Chase murmured almost to himself.
"Really?" Rocky spoke up.
"Yeah." Chase nodded. "Commanders aren't allowed to make any diagonal movements on the battlefield. And they can't take out their own men,.. for obvious reason. So we have him almost blocked in completely."
"Almost? I thought he can't escape diagonally?" Zuma wondered, noting the one spot open diagonally behind Alex's left side.
"He can't.." Chase confirmed. "But in order to be considered 'captured' all the spots need to be filled around him."
"Ohh.." The two pups nodded in understanding.
"Officer Kylie, forward march! One hop, go!" Rayla barked, having to take some time to think, before issuing this command.
"Aye, aye, Captain!" The cocker spaniel responded, moving forward one tramp as instructed; now facing Rubble directly.
Darn! Chase cursed. Knew she was gonna do that!.. Not to worry though..
"Officer Rubble! Right face. Forward march, one hop!" Chase called.
"Yes, Captain!" The pup replied, taking that opportunity to drop Kylie to the ground as well.
"Oh nooo! Retreat!" Kylie called, laughing as she fled the scene to join her Captain and compatriots.
Awh! He's given me no choice! Rayla silently cursed.
"Lieutenant Skyler, forward march, one hop!" She finally sighed, hopping down to enter the battlefield; choosing to land on the spot where Rubble would be behind her and Ryder would be on her right. And she was facing the opposing end of the battlefield where Chase stood smirking.
"You don't know what you've started." Rayla called over to him dryly.
"Oh, I think I do." Chase called back, taunting her a little.
"Then I guess you have a tough choice to make.. Captain.." She taunted back, hopping in place so that she faced Ryder, and it got him thinking once again.
Darn, she's right! He realized. Hmm.. and looking closer he could see an opening that might just suffice as an edge.
"Rubble! Left face, forward hop one." Chase decided. "Simultaneous attack, times two!"
Rubble hopped forward as Skye stepped a paw forward and Skyler went down.
"AWOH.. you got me! I'm hit! I'm hit!" Skyler wailed, dramatically falling in an epic, slow-motion, form of a wounded death; then rolled up to retreat.
Well that settles it. Rayla's mind sighed.
"Well, I'm already in it.." Rayla remarked with another sigh. "Doesn't make sense for me to try and save my commander if there's no reason to save him. Alex, sorry buddy, but I'm afraid you'll have to retreat."
"Aw.. ok." the boy sighed, looking disappointed for a second, then took off across the tramp floor to join his team on the sidelines.
"Alright you've had your fun? What'do you wanna do next?" Rayla called. "You know I haven't given up yet, right?"
"Where's the fun in winning if you did?" Chase smirked again. "Ok. Rubble, about face. Forward hop two, right hop one. Go!"
"Got it!" The construction pup answered. Hopping himself around in a one-eighty, then hopped forward twice and over to the one on his right.
Oh no he won't! Rayla thought with a smile bending her lips up again.
"Ci Ci, forward march, one hop." Rayla called with a grin.
"No!" Chase cried, realizing his oversight as the Dalmatian was taken down by the wolfdog teen.
"Ha! Got you now!" Ci Ci grinned proudly, her gruff tone, a symptom of her pleasure in making the initial takedown.
"Aw man! You did!" Marshall sighed, looking up at her with a smile just the same.
"But now.. Ahhh! Retreat!" He called, scrambling away from her to reach his friends; who helped to pull him up onto the platform and to safety.
"Skye! Forward march, two hops!" Chase called with more haste than he'd liked to have shown.
"Getting worried there, Captain?" Rayla smirked, finding a bit of pleasure in getting him going like this again.
"What?! No way!" Chase stuttered. "I-"
Her smirk still stood, and it almost made him a bit angry,.. but only in the fun of it all and not in the pure sense of the emotion. And then, when she turned to face front(which was to his left), his heart lurched when she crouched down in preparation of her next act.
"Captain's act, forward march one hop!" Rayla called, then leaped forward onto the tramp where Ryder stood and the boy stumbled back and fell onto his bottom.
"No!" Chase cried, soft enough that he was amazed he didn't shout it.
"Uh oh,.." Ryder said, recovering from the bounce of his fall. "Heh,.. well,.. oh well,.. 'guess I'm out." He shrugged.
"Ok, Captain, your commander's been ejected from the scene!" Rayla called as Ryder left his spot to join the pups. "Time to make your stand!"
But picking a spot didn't take long, when he noticed how wide open the floor was. And the most logical, and maybe even the most ambitious, space to take,.. was the one right next to Rayla, which would be on her left and two spaces straight ahead from where he used to stand above the battlefield.
"Rubble, forward march. Right face, one hop!" Chase called.
Rubble howled and hopped forward closing the gap between the bulldog pup and Rayla.
"Ci Ci, right face, forward march, two hops!" Rayla ordered.
"Ruff!" Ci Ci barked, then acted upon the command putting her behind Rayla to her right side.
"Captain's call,.. Switcheroo!" Chase called. And Rayla froze.
Cheezits! Her mind gasped. Chase looked to Rubble, who was diagonally to his right, and the two pups switched places simultaneously by hopping across to one another; landing a high five on the way by.
And when they landed, Rayla could now see the opportunity presented to her.
"Ha-HA!" Rayla bellowed. "You've just given me the advantage.. Ci Ci?.. About face, forward hop, left hop."
Pup-treats! Chase gasped, realizing the error of his decision.
This then was confirmed when Rubble went down, at Ci Ci's arrival to him in two hops for a valid diagonal attack.
"Aw! I'm out!" Rubble cried. "Sorry, Captain Chase!"
"Yeah I..-" his own apology was cut short when he noticed something odd, that soon reignited his hopes and even gave him the confidence to speak it.
"You may have taken me by surprise there with that one.. but this will too!" Then leaping forward, after turning a one-eighty, he leapt forward one then turned right and hopped forward again; bouncing Ci Ci off her paws with a triumphant bump!
"What?!" Ralya cried, dumbfounded as cheers rang out from the PAW Patrol side of the battlefield. "I-.. how did I miss that?!"
"To be fair,.. I almost did too." Chase smiled, his gaze only slightly teasing.
"So I could've still beat you then?.." The golden lab implied, cocking a brow at him.
"Probably." Chase shrugged loosely.
"Ohh..you.." Rayla smirked, in playful anger.
"Good game, guys!" Skyler called, as the PUP Pals finally made they're way over to them.
"Yeah, hey nice win there, Chase." Tiny complimented the German Shepherd pup. "Never even saw that coming."
"Honestly?.. Neither did I!" Chase chuckled.
"And now you're gonna get it, Captain!" Rayla called, preparing her next move.
"Hey wait! I beat you remember!" Chase cried, anxious but still a little taunting. "Uh oh.. ahh!" He cried, then turned to run as Rayla plunged after him.
And racing back across the floor of tramps he bounced himself up to roughly climb onto the platform where his friends stood waiting. And they parted ways for him to keep running, as Rayla still pursued him.
Stumbling into a sliding turn, he dodged left and cannonballed into the small pit of plastic balls, hoping it'd throw Rayla off. But she jumped in after him without even a thought or a care. They both popped up at the same time and Chase yelped and splashed her with the balls repeatedly, inclining her to do the same. Then Chase fumbled out of the pit, with Rayla still following after him. And the pups all laughed, when watching him dive on past them across the floor to reach the gymnasium section of the building on the far corner opposite the foam cube pits on that same end.
Bounce boards and beams.. a bouncy floor that made him bounce even as he ran. The many different structures lining the area looked appealing, but the chaser at his tail gave him little time to notice this. Until he stumbled oddly, rolling onto his back in exhaustion, as Rayla came and tackled him a little; so she could practically sit on top of him and smile down at her success.
XXXX
Nothing more than a sigh came from him, as he shifted his head to the side.. his cheek supported by his paws, which in turn were supported by the boy's shoulder; and he smiled with a light chuckle so not to wake him.
"Nice work today, guys." He whispered to all the pups.
"Yeah! You guys tuckered him right out!" Marcus mentioned, whispering too with a gesture of his hand to sum it up.
"And even better, he's building his shoulder back up!" Marshall smiled. "Without making it worse!"
"Maybe he'll be ready in time, after all!" Skye guessed, as they all exited the building through the double doors, held open by the Cason brothers.
"That's the hope." Billy agreed.
"After all, the competition is coming up here in a few weeks.." Maggie mentioned. "And the official meet and greet is next Saturday. I hear a barbecue is being held on Adventure Beach, where the competition will take place, acting as the opening ceremonies for this whole event."
"Yeah! And maybe it'll help us get to know some of the other competitors." Zuma guessed. "Just think of it!" He mused. "Real live Zoom-it dogs.. here in Adventure Bay! And now Chase is one of them!"
"He'll get his certification that day with a couple other members waiting to join." Daniel had to bring up, proud as he could be to say so. "He won't be a Zoom-it "in-training" anymore.. he'll be the real thing!"
"I bet that'll feel really good." Rocky murmured to Zuma.
"I know, dude!" The chocolate lab gushed. "He'll finally have something to show for all his hard work lately!"
"Let's just hope all this training pays off in the competition itself." Billy mentioned. "That'll be the true test of all this time."
"Ohhh, it will.." Frank confirmed. And with that, they all said their goodbyes, got into their vehicles, and drove away. Ryder and the pups working together to bring Chase's truck back to the Lookout with them.
Hey guys! A new chapter already! I can't tell you how excited I am to have this chapter finished so quickly! Especially since this story has kinda sat here untouched for a while. :E
But anyway, just so you guys know,.. yes,.. this game that the pups were playing is a game I made up,.. based on chess. I haven't actually played chess, but I understand it enough to know kinda how it works. And basically this game has its own rules, but is structured like chess. Hope you guys aren't too lost by what little was explained about the game. And I hope you enjoy its conclusion!
Now! The real work begins.. leading up to the big event we've been waiting for! So without further adieu.. let's keep going again! Hope to see you there! Thx!