"In a little bit, it will be time for dinner. But Jason isn't going to just give you a bowl of dog food. No, he going to make you compete for it. The first person to complete his course will be the person who gets to eat." said Taja. "Except for you Ryder. He plans to keep you here so you don't go telling anyone, but this is a revenge story against Rocky, and you aren't important enough in his eyes to use. So, you'll just eat at regular times like a regular prisoner. He's not into hurting other humans...well...not yet." started Taja.
"Yeah, well, one of us has to win, so we'll just share what we get will the rest," said Rocky.
"Yeeeaaahhhhh…" drawled Marcus. "It doesn't work that way. You have to eat what you get right then, or he'll take it away from you."
"Please. Like he could take something from me, I'll light his ass on fire!" said Marshall.
"Yeah, he has some way of turning off our elemental powers. Something he's made the building out of. This is the only room that isn't made of Bloodstone." said Marcus. "But there's a deeper problem with the game, and it lies with the principle behind it. It teaches you 'survival of the fittest' and all that crap. But even worse, it destroys your friendship." he said.
"How?" asked Zuma.
"Because, Zuma," said Taja. "You are going to push yourself as hard as you can to get the food, because of your hunger. You cease to think about others. You think only about your material needs. You no longer care whether or not others get to eat, because you know that you need to eat. Soon it becomes a very horrible competition for resources, to the point of sabotaging the competition. I've seen it happen. Before my brother and I realized the trap we were in, Jason got us to begin physically hurting each other so that we could win. Jason doesn't care how you win, so you can go to the point of killing the other to win. Because Jason knows that when if we stand divided, he can make us fall together. We can't let that happen!" finished Taja.
"Okay. Thanks for the warning..." said Rubble.
"I'm not saying that you shouldn't try your hardest to be first, because at the end of the day, if you don't eat, you will die," Marcus said.
"But try to remember others, k?" said Taja. The overhead P.A system came on.
"It's time for dinner, pets! Come to room A immediately." came Jason's voice.
"Is the food any good?" asked Chase.
"He feeds you very well, if you can get there…" said Taja. "I haven't been able to get anything for the past four days. So I'm really going to try hard to win at this," she said, as they walked down they followed her down the corridor.
"Chase, how are you feeling," whispered Marcus. "I mean, have you been feeling strange lately?"
"Yeah, I feel like I should know something, but I don't. I feel like my brain is fuzzy sometimes. And when I do things, I feel like my mind is on autopilot."
"Chase, I don't know how to tell you this, but you're being mind-controlled, currently. Jason has powers, and he's forcing you to do whatever he wants. I'm working on a way to break his hold on you, but I haven't figured it out yet." Chase, however, didn't look surprised.
"I knew I never do anything like that willingly!" he whispered loudly.
"It'll be okay. I'll figure something out," said Marcus. The pups made it to the room, where they met Jason. The room was very long, and wide, and at the end was one smoking hot steak. The smell wafted over the pups, and they began to drool a little bit. They hadn't eaten anything since they left the Lookout.
"As I'm sure Marcus and Taja told you, you will be competing for your dinner. Four of you will be fed, and the other four will go hungry. I will be selecting the first two contestants. Chase, and Skye, you're up!" he boomed.
Chase and Skye looked at each other awkwardly, before breaking into a run towards the food. Before they got very far, and bubbling pool of acid opened up in front of them, making them skid to a stop. Skye was going too fast, and Chase caught her by the scruff before she received a one-way ticket to the Great Beyond.
"Thanks," she said, licking Chase's cheek. Chase turned away quickly, not wanting Skye to see the redness in his face.
"Stage one!" shouted Jason, and a wall this ropes and holds came don from the roof, splashing into the acid. "Climb over this wall to move on!" he said. Chase and Skye jumped for the wall at the same time. They held on, but something was wrong.
"Skye, do you have a…
"Sinking feeling?!" Skye finished screaming. The wall was slowly descending into the acid, leaving the pups with little time to get across. Skye was light, and quickly ascended the wall. But Chase was heavier, and he was having trouble getting up the wall. The acid was way too close to his tail.
"Chase, you have to move faster! You're going to get killed!" screamed Skye, looking down at him. Chase scrambled up the wall as fast as he could, acid almost touching his hindquarters.
He jumped up onto the platform beside Skye just as he ran out of room.
"Holy pup treats! That was way too close!" he shouted. But Skye had already left him behind.
"Sorry, Chase, but I'm hungry!" she shouted. Chase ran after her. Closer and closer they drew to the food. Then the floor in front of them opened p, and a large wheel with long axes started spinning. The sharp metal gleamed in the light, waiting to tear into the pups' flesh and blood. The wheel was turned on its side, and Chase had to jump back to avoid being cut to bits.
"How are we going to get past this?" asked Skye. Chase was already on his stomach, crawling underneath the blades with no room to spare. Skye was late to start, so Chase had made it past the blades and was moving on when she came out after him. Still, she was fast, and began to catch up to him. When they were level, a large square piece fell out from up under Chase's paw.
"Wha…?" Chase went. Skye looked down, and realized that the ground was beginning to fall away.
"Chase, run!" she said. Suddenly the entire floor opened up in front of them, with many pieces of
the floor gone. Skidding to a stop, they found that the places where there wasn't any floor fell down into a dark chasm about five feet below them. Small, sharp, and jagged pieces of glass stuck up from the ground.
"Ok, Skye, let's take this slow," said Chase, jumping from tile to tile as best he could.
"No time for that Chase! Look!" she screamed. Chase looked behind him, and the roof opened up, and a long wall dropped down. It quickly began speeding towards them.
"We're going to be knocked off into the chasm!" said Chase. He nimbly hopped from tile to tile, Skye right behind him.
"Chase, help!" she said. The tile right in front of her has fallen in, trapping her. Chase stopped and looked ahead. Safety, and victory, is so close! But it was never really a struggle for Chase. He'd always been going to let Skye win, because he loved her and would rather see her happy. But this was dangerous. If either one of them did something wrong, they'd fall into the glass strew floor below, and be cut to bits. Chase spun around, calling out to Skye.
"Jump! Quickly, now!" he barked. Skye jumped with little hesitation. But she was too far away, and began to fall. Chase caught her by the scruff, sticking his head out. But the added weight unbalanced him.
"Whoa!" Skye said, and Chase lurched forwards. But he kept his balance, and pulled Skye up. But there was only one way across now. One tile still stood, the only bridge to the end.
"It's not going to hold both of us!" said Skye worriedly.
"It doesn't need to!" said Chase.
"What do you…" Chase grabbed her in his teeth and jumped. The moment his paws hit the tile, it began going down.
"Chase!" screamed Skye. But Chase was ready for this. Chase tossed his head to the side, and Skye was essentially thrown to the other side, and Chase was left behind.
"Chase! Chase!" Skye screamed, running back to the edge. But before she could see anything, the wall pushed her back. Skye had to run away to avoid being pushed.
"Congratulations, pup!" said Jason. "You win today's competition." Skye looked at the food, but she had suddenly lost her appetite.
"Is Chase okay?" she asked Jason.
"He's not dead," Jason said. Another robotic arm came down, and pulled Chase from the chasm. There were multiple puncture wounds throughout his pelt. Dark blood dripped off of the unconscious pup.
"Chase, no…" said Skye. The arm threw Chase on the floor across from the pups like he was a piece of trash. A small puddle formed up under him.
"You did this to him!" said Skye, fire burning in her eyes.
"Hold up, I remember Chase going back for you! Chase did this to himself. He knew that tile couldn't hold both of you, and he chose you over himself. It's actually kinda cute. Does he like you or something?" asked Jason, smirking. Skye looked crestfallen as she tore into the steak. It was perfectly seasoned and cooked, so soon she had pushed Chase to the back of her mind and began eating happily. What about Chase? A small voice in her mind told her. I'm sure he's fine. Skye replied. Really, that was a long fall! And he was impaled by shrapnel! Her inner voice responed. Just shut up, okay! Leave me alone! Skye said to herself. What if Jason's right? What if Chase does like you? Skye had nothing to say, so she just ignored her inner thoughts. She had soon finished eating, and rode a conveyer back to the other pups.
"Are you okay, Skye? We saw the whole thing!" asked the pups.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, looking over at Chase's bleeding body. "Make sure to heal him, okay Zuma?" Zuma nodded. Jason announced the next two pairs. It was Marcus versus Taja and Rubble versus Marshall. Taja beat Marcusgoing up under the spinning blades, and she stayed ahead to the very end. Marcus didn't get hurt that round, and rode the conveyer back with her. Rubble and Marshall were neck and neck, till they came to the disappearing tiles. Marshall had to help him make it to the end, doing the same thing Chase did for Skye. But Marshall timed it differently. He jumped on the tile, and when it began to sink, he threw Rubble. But the wall was right behind him, and he jumped on the tile and kicked off of the way, catapulting himself ahead of Rubble to the very end. Marshall surprisingly made it to the food first, and he and Rubble came back together.
"Okay! Rocky and Zuma! You are up!" said Jason.
"I don't care what happens, we are going to do this together," said Rocky to Zuma. Having seen the other pups, Rocky had mentally put together the safest route to take. He and Zuma were awesome partners, and took the course by a storm. Zuma followed after Rocky, because he was the on with the plan. At the wall, the two practically flew up the wall, so far ahead of the acid that they had to jump down from the wall onto the next platform. On the spinning axes, Rocky and Zuma timed their jump so perfectly, that they landed on the wooden handle, held on, rode it to the other side, and jumped of.
"Okay, so that probably wasn't the safest thing to do…" said Rocky to Zuma.
"Hey, I like living on the edge," Zuma said, licking his cheek. Rocky and Zuma jumped on exactly the right tiles, and none of them sunk in. Honestly, they were so fast that the wall had only made it halfway before they were finished. Right before they crossed the line, they both stopped at the same time, and looked at each other, surprised.
"Why awe you stopping?" asked Zuma.
"I was gonna ask you the same thing…" mumbled Rocky.
"So you feel the same way, huh?" Zuma said, not looking at him.
"Yep."
"We can't just stand here."
"Nope."
"But I don't want to move either."
"Uh-huh."
They looked at each other, then Rocky spoke.
"I'm not really hungry right now, anyway. I'll get something tomorrow," he murmured.
"You awe just as hungry as I am! Don't lie to me," responded Zuma. "I heard your tummy gwowling all the while we were watching the other pups compete. I can take one for the team. You don't always have to be the hero, dude," Rocky smiled at him.
"A hero? Reeeaaaaalllyyyy? Tsk." he said, offhandedly, drawing out 'really'.
"Yeah. You do it all the time. Always giving of yourself before anyone else." Zuma said."I wouldn't put it past you to push me over the line just so that you could help me," Zuma said playfully. However, he wasn't really serious. Rocky was.
"You know me too well." Rocky then pushed Zuma over the line, smirking at him sadly.
"And that's the game! Zuma wins!" said Jason.
"Rocky, why would you…" began Zuma, getting up off his back. But Rocky was already on the conveyer belt, traveling away from him. Zuma ate quickly, savoring every bite, then followed after him.
"Our winners are Skye, Taja, Marshall, and Zuma. Marcus, Chase, Rubble, and Rocky, you are complete failures. Especially you, Rocky. You are a total waste of space. Even when you have it all, you are still too giving. It's your strongest weakness, stupid pup." snarled Jason. Rocky hung his head and his tail dragged along the floor as he walked out the room, and Jason kicked him in the side on the way out. Rocky yelped, and ran quickly to the front, with Marcus.
"Don't listen to him, Rocky," said Marcus, leading them back to their holding room.
"No, maybe he's right," whispered Rocky.
"Rocky, don't think like that…" began Marcus. But Rocky had already slipped into the room ahead of him. When all the pups were in the room, the door closed and locked behind them with a loud slam. A glow of light surrounded the pups for a brief second.
"Well, at least our powers are back," commented Marshall, placing a dripping Chase down. "Doctor! We have a patient," he said. He'd carried Chase in on his back, which was now stained red. Zuma padded over to him.
"There are too many lacerations for me to heal individually. I'll have to use my Complete Heal skill on him, but it's going to take a while." Zuma said. His paws glowed as every cut on Chase healed simultaneously. Zuma had learned C.H just that day, so his power wasn't that strong yet. It took the better part of any hour to heal Chase completely.
"So what do we do when we aren't playing one of his games?" asked Skye.
"Well, normally a little after one of his games, we are allowed to walk around the facility. There is a swimming pool in the back, and there are actually a few toys to play with within the room across from this one. There are a few more entertainment centers in this building than just those. I'll show them to you later." said Taja.
"Why would he do that? Doesn't he hate us?" asked Skye.
"He does, but he likes to keep his pets in great condition. For him, if you are already hurting when he begins hurting you, it takes all of the fun out of it for him. He's mentally messed up! Some days he treats us incredibly, and other times, he beats us unconscious. I can't figure him out." Taja finished. The door unlocked and opened, and the females walked down the halls, talking. Rubble ran after him just before it closed. Zuma finally finished healing Chase, and stepped back, sweat rolling down his forehead.
"Please don't tell me I have to do this every day." he gasped.
"Ummm, at this rate, you probably will have to," said Marcus.
"Thanks, Zuma," groaned Chase.
"Yeah, no problem. But next time, try to let Skye fight her own battles," he said dryly, walking away from him, heading towards Rocky, who was in the full lotus position, eyes closed.
Marcus began talking to Chase, trying to figure out how to break the charm.
"What's the last thing you remember…" Zuma heard Marcus say this as he walked away.
Zuma nudged Rocky, and he (Rocky) huffed.
"What do you want, Zuma?" he asked, a little irritated, opening one eye briefly. He hated it when people broke him out of his metal trace.
"You are retweating into your mind again," observed Zuma.
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Rocky said dryly.
"That's never a good sign. Sure, you're an introvert, but you don't do this unless you're feeling really alone."
"Tell me something I don't already know," Rocky snapped, voice positively dripping with sarcasm.
"Hey, don't talk to me like that! I'm just worried about you," said Zuma, shoving the mix onto his back and standing over him.
"I'm sorry," Rocky mumbled, looking down.
"You aren't alone. We're right here for you. Don't let Jason get to you.
"Of course…" said Rocky. Zuma wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.
"I told you not to always be the hero!" Zuma said after a while of looking at him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Rocky said looking up at him finally.
"I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, right," said Rocky, rolling his eyes.
"No, really. I know how to survive on an empty stomach. I've done it for years." Zuma said.
"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Rocky, looking into his eyes. Zuma's eyes got big for a moment.
"Nothing, I shouldn't have said anything. Just, take care of yourself," Zuma said gently, looking away. He placed a warm paw on Rocky's ribs. "You're going to get thin." he traced each of his ribs with his paws and walked away. Rocky, who had been enjoying his touch, looked a little disappointed. He rolled to his paws and followed Zuma. Zuma had opened the door and was following Skye and Taja's scent down the halls. He found them in the library.
"Hi, Zuma," said Taja.
"Hi."
"I hear you like water a lot. There's a swimming pool three doors down from here," she said, returning to the book she and Skye were reading.
"Thanks. Cya," he said, walking down the hall. Three doors later, he went into the swimming room and splashed right into the water. A drop fell on Rocky's paw, and he hurriedly stepped back.
"Rocky, what are you doing here?" asked Zuma, coming up for air.
"Well, I didn't come to get wet," he smirked. Zuma threw a pawful of water at him, and it managed to hit his legs. Rocky just glared at him.
"What? Come on, Rocky! The water is great." said Zuma, swimming on his back.
"My experiences with water have been awful, to say the least," said Rocky, who laid down, content to watch his best friend swim. Zuma swam right up to him.
"Rocky, I want to help you overcome your fear of water," he said sincerely.
"Yeah, right," said Rocky, a little unsurely.
"No, really. I want you to be able to move on from what Jason did to you, all those years ago. Water isn't something that you need to be afraid of. Before that day, were you afraid of water?" asked Zuma.
"Why?" asked Rocky defensively.
"Just answer me."
"Sigh...no…" Rocky said, hanging his head. Zuma placed his wet paw over Rocky's, and Rocky went to draw back sharply, but he enjoyed Zuma's touch. He wanted to get the water off of his paw, but didn't want to break contact with him.
"Zu...m...ma…" he stuttered, in a conundrum.
"Do you twust me?" asked Zuma.
"I...I...I…"
"Do you twust me?" Zuma asked again, albeit much softer than last time. Rocky weakly nodded his head. "Say it."
"What?"
"If you say it, you will convince your mind," said Zuma, staring straight into his eyes. Rocky took a deep breath.
"I trust you, Zuma," he said with confidence. Zuma broke into a smile. He placed his second paw on Rocky's other paw. Snippets of his drowning flooded Rocky's mid, but he was okay for now. He was whimpering a lot though.
"Shhhh… it's going to be okay," said Zuma soothingly. Zuma dipped some water from the pool and poured it over Rocky's paws. Rocky tensed up, but allowed the water to flow through his paws. Zuma got out of the pool and poured a little bit of water down Rocky's back.
"Zuma, I'm scared!" Rocky cried.
"It's okay. I'm right here. Nothing is going to happen to you." he said, licking Rocky's ears. Rocky whimpered some more.
"Rocky, we don't have to do this right now…" muttered Zuma.
"No, just, go slow, okay?" said Rocky, turning to face the brown labrador.
"Okay," he responded. He scooped some more water up and began wetting Rocky's sides with it. Rocky shut his eyes tightly, and squeezed Zuma's paw even tighter. He began gritting his teeth as Zuma rubbed water into the back of his neck. The visions of drowning became a little more clear in Rocky's messed up mind, and the snippets became longer. Blood mingling with the water, staining his fur, cutting him off from oxygen. Rocky began to pant.
"I can't do it! I can't!" he wailed.
"Wocky, you need to wewive the visions. You'll never gain the victory if you keep clinging to them. As you go thwough it, wemember that this is the past. Wemember that you aren't alone anymore. You have me." he said, drenching Rocky's midsection. Rocky began to breathe a little easier. Zuma rubbed his wet paws through Rocky's stomach. The water was warm, and it began to feel good.
"I think I'm getting over my fear, Zuma," Rocky said. Zuma rubbed his paws on his chest, his shoulders, his haunches, until everything was very, very wet. Rocky tensed up every now and then, but he was very submissive to Zuma, He held onto Zuma's paw every time it wasn't being used, drawing strength from him. Soon, Rocky and Zuma were two dripping wet puppies, making a large puddle on the floor. Zuma used both handsZuma used both paws and poured the liquid down Rocky's head. It dripped down his forehead and onto the floor. Zuma slid back to the pool. Rocky opened his eyes and looked at him in dismay.
"Come on." Zuma beckoned.
"No..n..n...n..no…" the gray mix said.
"I'm going to be wight here for you. You are not going to dwown, nor are you going to die!" Zuma said firmly.
"I can't! I'm too afraid!" said Rocky, beginning to panic. Zuma got out of the pool and stood behind Rocky, wrapping his paws around his back. He rested his head on the back of his neck.
"Do you twust me?" he asked again gently.
"Yes, you know I do, Zuma." Rocky gave in. Zuma squeezed the wet pup closer.
"Then twust me now. Do you believe I'm going to let anything happen to you? Do you believe I'm going to let you dwown?" he said softly.
"No…" said Rocky, who's heart slowed down a little bit. Zuma kicked Rocky feet out from up under him and let them fall into the water. Rocky melted into Zuma's touch, putting all his trust in him.
"You can do this." Zuma encouraged him, sliding the prone body farther into the water. Rocky began to whimper, and help on to Zuma's paws tightly.
"Don't let me go." he cried.
"You are safe, I am here, and I'm not going to leave you," Zuma promised. When Rocky was halfway submersed, he slid into the water beside him. He grabbed onto Rocky's hips and slowly pulled him the rest of the way. Rocky threw his paws around Zuma's neck. But when the water got up to his shoulders, he began to panic.
"No more! No more!" she screamed, trying to climb up Zuma. Zuma lifted him up a little.
"Shhh…" he whispered. "This is where the rubber meets the road. You can either leave now, and continue carrying this fear with you, or you can drown it, so to speak, forever. But either way, I'm still here for you."
"No, I need to get over this. I want to get wet with you. I want to be able to enjoy surfing and swimming and everything like you do. This ends today." Rocky said firmly. Zuma lowered him some more, and this time when the water came up to his shoulders, he just gripped onto Zuma's tighter. Zuma could feel Rocky's claws digging into his skin. A few drops of blood trickled down his shoulders, but Zuma ignored the pain. The water was now up to Rocky's neck.
"Okay, we're going down now. Are you ready to be done with this fear forever?" asked Zuma. Rocky nodded his head weakly. Zuma quickly pulled both of them up under the water.
The water was getting higher and higher. And it was hot, so very hot. I can't take it anymore! Rocky thought. The water was rushing into his lungs, burning him, killing him. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think. He was going to die.
Rocky began to struggle against Zuma, but Zuma kept him up under the water. Rocky's claws began to slice at Zuma skin, cutting deep. It hurt a whole lot, but Zuma continued to hold him under, even as blood mingled with the water
It's all over! It's over! I'm not making it out of here. Then the visions changed. Through the glass walls, Rocky could see Zuma and him.
"Do you trust me?" asked Zuma, head resting on the back of his neck.
"Yes…" Rocky heard himself say. Then the vision changed.
"Then twust me now. Do you believe I'm going to let anything happen to you? Do you believe I'm going to let you dwown?" he said softly.
"No," Rocky said. Zuma looked right at Rocky, who was trapped between the glass walls.
"Do you twust me?" he asked, looking into his eyes. Rocky nodded his head, and Zuma smiled. Zuma pulled him through the glass walls, to the outside. Rocky looked back and saw himself still there.
"That's your former self. He's dead now. He's gone forever. You've done it." Zuma said. "You left that pain in the past. You have left him now, and forever. You never have to go back." Zuma licked his ear. Rocky smiled at him, and the two left the room together, straight into an exploding, blinding light.
Rocky snapped his eyes open. He and Zuma were still underwater. Except, he no longer felt afraid. His fear had drowned, and Rocky felt free. He felt safe in the water with Zuma at his side. Then he saw it. The water around Zuma was clouded by dark red blood, mixing with the pool water. He looked into Zuma's eyes, and Zuma was smiling at him, ignoring the pain. He brought the two to the surface. The two pups gasped for breath.
"Zuma, what happened down there?" Rocky asked. "You are bleeding pretty badly."
"You had a panic attack underwater, but I refused to let you up," said Zuma, wincing in pain. "You fought really hard, but I just wouldn't let you go." The water began to glow as Zuma healed himself. Rocky looked very guilty.
"I'm sorry, Zuma. I never meant to hurt you. I'd never hurt you willingly. I was just so afraid and I hurt you and I'm so so sorry because…" Zuma roughly pressed his lips against Rocky's, shutting him up. Stunned for a moment, Rocky did nothing.
"You talk too much…" Zuma whispered, going back in for more. "Come on, enjoy yourself," he coaxed Rocky quietly, coming up for air. Rocky immediately took his invitation and grabbed the back of his head, pulling himself in. Zuma aggressively pressed his tongue against Rocky's teeth, fighting Rocky for entrance. He wormed his way in. Zuma opened his mouth slightly, and Rocky's tongue slipped into his mouth. They wrestled for dominance for a while, but neither could overpower the other. Rocky wrapped his small pink appendage around Zuma's sharp canines, gently feeling how pointy they were on the bottom. Zuma moaned a bit and explored the rest of Rocky's mouth for a bit, loving the feeling. The moment ended all too soon, and they both had to come up for air. Both of their cheeks were flushed red, and they looked away, embarrassed at their impulsive actions.
"Congratulations," Zuma said. "You have overcome your worst fear."
"Thanks to you…" Rocky said shyly. Zuma grabbed his paw and began paddling forward. Rocky kicked his feet, and his instincts took over.
"Whoa! What are you doing, Rocky? You hate water!" Marshall's voice came from the edge of the pool.
"Not anymore. That part of me is gone, forever." Rocky replied, leisurely swimming with Zuma. Marshall must have summoned the rest of the pups and Ryder, because when he stooped staring into Zuma's eyes, for a moment, he saw Skye sitting next to Chase.
"Wow. When did this happen?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. I decided that I need to give up this irrational fear I have of water, and Zuma was there to guide me the whole way," he said.
Did you see that vision?
Yeah, I think your telepathy is getting stronger.
But doesn't Bloodstone repel powers?
It repeals elemental powers, but not mental powers. If it did, then Jason would lose control over Chase.
That makes sense. I think I'm learning to transfer things I've seen to anyone I want. It happened by accident this time, but I think I can control it now.
That's great Rocky. I'm really happy for you.
The pups swam for a bit, then got out of the pool, shaking their pelts out furiously. Ryder gave them both a towel, and the two dried off. Their fur was still a little damp, though.
"Wow! That was some really awesome swimming!" Taja said, licking Zuma's cheek.
"Thanks, Taja," he said. He and Rocky walked out of the room, talking amongst themselves.
"Ok, so Rocky just spontaneously cured himself of aquaphobia?" Ryder asked, confused.
"I guess so," said Chase. "You know, I've never really known why Rocky was afraid of water in the first place."
"Come to think of it, we never asked, either." Rubble said.
"Yeah, Rocky's such an introvert, he normally keeps to himself. I guess we never really got to know him very well." Skye said wistfully.
"Yeah, I've never really asked Rocky about himself and how he was doing and if he wanted to hang out or anything like that," Marshall said.
"He's always kind of been that lone pup, there, but not really there," said Chase.
"Anyone wanna go for a swim?" asked Marshall, diving right into the water.
"Rocky, I'm really sorry that I pushed you today. I think I went a little too fast," said Zuma as they explored the prison that was now their home. He is now having a few second thoughts. He hated pushing Rocky to do things he didn't want to do.
"No, Zuma, thank you. You did just the right thing for me. I have no regrets. Besides, you've always been the more...err...dominant...of us." Rocky said, blushing. "You are a natural-born leader."
"Well, as long as you're happy, I'm happy," Zuma said. It was a long day, and Jason hadn't appeared since dinner. They went back to the holding room to turn in a little early. The lights turned off as they settled down to sleep.
"Zuma, I'm scared," said Rocky truthfully. "I don't know about anything anymore." The two pups laid down, and the two snuggled into the other, loving the other's touch.
"We will be fine. We are tough, Jason can never break us. And nothing will ever tear us apart." Zuma said, resting his head on Rocky's.
"Are you sure?" asked Rocky, and he pressed his head into Zuma's warm chest.
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Okay then."
Okay! The pups are forced to play Jason's game, just to eat a meal. Rocky, Rubble, Chase, and Marcus go hungry tonight. Zuma and Rocky are worried about each other. Zuma helps Rocky overcome his fear of water, though it took some time. Zuma promises Rocky that nothing will tear them apart. Is this a promise he can keep? (Insert maniacal laugh here.) More later on the pups life in prison, and their plans to escape. Cya in the next one!
P.S: I've adopted a story from Knight7572. It was called, 'Adventures of Paw Patrol' (I might change the name.) I'm going to be working on that, so I might update this one less often. But I'm not dead. I've very much alive in the Fanfiction world.
