Note: This story takes place soon after Pups Save A Merpup. They have not yet gone to Puplantis. Also, it's important that you know the pup's ages. Even though they are teens, (Chase and Ryder are adults), they still look basically the same. They are all still the same size, but their body type is more pronounced. Ryder is the only one who has drastically aged. And yes, I know that these ages do not correspond with their real ages, but this is important. This is war, we aren't sending puppies out onto the field, k?
Ryder: 21
Chase: 18
Rocky:17
Marshall:16
Zuma:16
Skye:15
Rubble: 14
Merella:12
Sajon:17
Marina whipped her head from side to side, looking out for danger. She knew the troops would be coming soon, and she had to escape.
"Mama! Are we going to be okay?" her oldest asked her.
"I...I don't know," she responded truthfully to him. The sounds of war outside got closer and closer. "We can't stay here! They will be here soon!" she cried. She pulled the rug off the floor, revealing a hidden trap door."Come, pups! We must leave this place, our lives depend upon it!" she said, ushering them into the hidden room.
"What about Papa?" they cried.
"Papa will be fine." she lied. "He'd want us to be smart, and leave," she said, closing the door behind them. She cursed herself, realizing that there was no one there to reposition the rug. Someone had to do it. It had to be her. She turned to her pups.
"Listen! I love you very much, and I want you to survive! Listen to me well now! This room is connected to the catacombs. Follow the left tunnel the entire way, then take a right. Stay there and wait for me. Your aunt Serena will be there soon. Don't talk to anyone, don't follow anyone till she comes for you. Marella, Sajon, Obey her for me, okay?" Tears rolled down her cheeks, visible even though they were underwater. The scared pups nodded. "I'll take care of her!" Sajon said firmly.
"Get her! Arrest the princess!" a voice called. Marina opened the trap door, saying one last thing.
"Above all, if I'm not there when she comes, go without me. She pulled off her shell necklace and placed it around Marella's neck. There was a loud pounding on the door, and she kissed them both.
"Marella, never, ever remove this from your neck. It's the reason this entire war is. You must keep it safe. The wooden door splinted. "Promise me!" Marina said.
"I promise, Mama!" Marella said, putting a paw over her heart. Marina closed the trapdoor and pulled the rug over it just in time. The door broke and the army came pouring in.
"Marina!" The leader said happily.
"Zavok," Marina spat coldly. The army swarmed her room in the palace, surrounding her.
"Marina..darling…" Zavok said sweetly. "You know why I'm here," he said, circling her. Zavok's fur pattern always amazed her. It was black and white, swirling together but never mixing. He held a golden trident strapped across his back that gleamed in the light.
"Yes," she said fearfully. Zavok held his trident against her throat.
"Where is it?" he asked steadily.
"I'll never tell you. I knew you'd come for it, so I sent it away." Marina gasped as he pulled the golden bar deeper into her neck.
"Who did you give it to? Where is your necklace? Where is the shell of light?" he asked angrily.
"Oh, pardon me. I should've been more clear." Marina said politely. "I'm not telling you, asshole! You are just a murderous liar! You just want control of all Puplantis!" she said. The pure white female fought against him, kicking his stomach. He doubled over, in pain.
"Seize her!" he shouted. The army rushed towards her. Marina put of her fists. She was a skilled, capable fighter, and she beat them single-handedly. Zavok pulled out his trident with one paw and thrust it towards her. A beam of darkness shot forth, and Marina put her paws up. A shield of light blocked the blast. Zavok sustained the blast, and Marina staggered back, trying to push back. But the dark magic was overwhelming her. She felt her shield crack.
"Give up Marina! You may have been stronger than me at one point, but with the shell of darkness, you can never hope to defeat me!" Marina jumped out of the way just as her shield broke. Zavok was right. The shell glowed a black, inky color. It was powering him.
"No, but I will still try!" she shouted, raising her paws. A trident of white appeared in the air, and she blasted him with her own beam. Zavok was knocked into the side of the wall.
"You're not the only one with power!" she said. "Where is he! Where did you take Merlin?" charging at him.
"Ha, your weak husband. You should've married me!" he cried, punching her in the side, making her stagger back.
"And become like you? Never!" she spat. He brushed himself off.
"Merlin is somewhere...safe. You will be joining him soon. After I finish you. Listen, princess, you are the best fighter I know, but without the shell entrusted to you, you will never be able to defeat me!" Marina's trident clashed with his, and she fought him furiously. She was fast, and evaded every attack he threw at her, getting in some of her own.
"Ok." he wheezed. "Now it is over." He slammed his trident into the ground, knocking her off her feet. Another black beam of death came towards her, and she wasn't ready for it. It swirled around her, and trapped her in a bubble of black. Marina felt like she was being drained, and she tried to break free. But Zavok was right. She couldn't do it. Zavok was draining her of her powers. Without the shell of light to cancel his effect out, she couldn't stop him. I need help! She thought. And I only know just who to call! Come on powers, don't fail me now! Using the last of her quickly fading powers, she placed her paws together and closed her eyes.
"My friends above, don't delay. Hear my voice, change this day! Don't ignore me, hear my plea. I need help, rescue me!" A bright ball of white appeared in her paw and she flung it upwards. It went through the ceiling and zoomed to the surface. Her incantation over, her powers failed. She was tossed into the wall, hard. She struggled to her feet. The army had reassembled, and pointed their swords at her.
"Take her. We will get what we want from her yet. She's dangerous. She is the only one with Xyaum besides me. We must keep her with us." The army picked her up by the arms and dragged her away. Stay safe, my pups. Darkness and prevailed, but you have my light with you. She thought, as she drifted into unconsciousness.
Sajon held onto Marella's paw as they swam as quickly as they could.
"Do you think Mama's okay?" Marella asked fearfully.
"I'm sure she's fine," Sajon lied.
"Well, okay." The twelve-year-old pup said. The tunnel was long, but the pups wouldn't slow down. Marella clasped her paw to her mother's necklace. It was held on a string of pearls, with a large, white shell in the middle. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
"Which direction were we supposed to go from here?" Sajon asked her. They had come to a split, and there were five different paths to choose from.
"Don't ask me!" she said. Sajon bit his lip.
"Umm...she said, right, right?" he said.
"Oh, yeah. But how far right?" Marella asked.
"Right means right. Let's go with the farthest right, okay?" he said. Marella nodded. They swam slowly down the tunnel. At the end was a small room. There were a couple of chairs there, and the pups sat down. Marella looked at the precious material hanging from her neck and thought of her mother.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay." The seventeen-year-old wrapped his paws around her as she cried softly.
"We're going back for her...right?" she asked.
"We will. One day, we will find friends that will help us. Then we will fight back against Zavok and take back our kingdom. Marella, we are the next in line, heirs to the throne. We will punish them for their actions." Marella nodded.
"Marella? Sajon?" a voice came. Sajon whipped around, trident drawn.
"Whoa...whoa! It's me, Serena." a hooded figure came into the doorway. She pulled back her hood, and embraced her nephew and niece.
"Aunt Serena!" they chorus.
"Hush. There may be someone listening!" she whispered. She took the crowns off the two pups' heads and stashed them in a sash at her side.
"Hey, I'm royalty! Why are you taking my crown?" Sajon asked.
"That's the problem! Zavok has a bounty on your heads. Let's not make it easy for them, okay?" she gave them both a peasant garment to wear.
"Put this on, quickly!" she whispered. They on the rough, uncomfortable clothing on unhappily.
"Where did you get that?" she asked Marella, pointing to her necklace.
"My mother gave it to me before she...left."
"Oh, no! That means Zavok is here! She'd never do that unless she knew she'd be taken away. Never take that off. Keep it hidden up under your clothing at all times."
"What! Mama is gone!" Marella cried.
"I'm afraid so," Serena said, ushering the pups out of the secret room. They speed down the catacomb tunnels.
"I'm bringing you somewhere safe. We will live in the Reef of Sand as refugees until this war is over. Forget about your lives here. Forget it all. But never forget who you are. You are royalty, heirs to the throne. Always remember that!" The pups cried as they left with their aunt. The life they knew was over, and it would never be the same.
The night had fallen, and all the pups ran inside the Lookout for dinner. Rocky had tried his hand at cooking, and had made a six-layer lasagna for the night.
"Wow! This is really good, Rocky!" Skye said.
"Thanks, I've been meaning to try out a new skill," Rocky said.
"Yeah, what did you put in here?" Marshall asked.
"A little of this, a lot of that, and a smidgen of love," Rocky replied.
"Well, whatever you put in here, it's really good," Ryder said. After dinner was cleared, the pups sat in front of the television screen to watch their favorite show, Apollo the Super Pup.
"I'm so glad season 3 is out!" Rubble said, clicking on the remote.
"Yeah, it took fowever!" Zuma said. The pups watched in rapt attention for a whole hour, laughing the whole time. Ryder looked at his watch after awhile.
"Ok, pups, time for bed," he said. The pups groaned.
"It was just getting good!" Zuma said.
"And it still will be tomorrow night," Ryder said.
"Alright, goodnight," Zuma said good-naturedly. He felt a high-pitched ringing in his ears as he padded away.
"Does anyone else heaw that, or is it just me?" he asked.
"No, I don't hear anything," Chase said.
"Me neither," Marshall replied. Skye pawed at her ears.
"Ugh, I hear it. It's getting louder and louder!" Zuma tried to close his ears too, but it didn't do anything. Rocky went down as well.
"I hear it too…"
"Are you okay?" Marshall asked. Zuma and Skye screamed.
"Too loud! Stop it! Make it stop!" They cried, falling on the ground and kicking around feverishly.
"Ryder! Ryder!" Chase barked. Ryder came running.
"Zuma, Skye, Rocky, what's going on!" But the pups could no longer hear him over their own screams.
"Why are they the only ones that can hear it?" Marshall shouted.
"I don't know!" Rubble replied. Just when Zuma and Skye thought they were about to die, they heard a voice. It was speaking in a language they couldn't understand, but they recognized its voice.
"Mama Merpup!" they cried. It sounded like sad, frantic singing. In its song, they heard one phrase over and over. Tajina! Tajina! Meleaous, Tajina! Images flashed through their minds almost too fast to see. A furious battle, blood spilling into the waves. A super quick flash of two pups, one with a shell necklace one. They both had royal crowns on. They heard something else in a foreign language, but recognized this repeated phrase. Tajina! Tajina! Meleaous, Tajina! Suddenly, the ringing stopped and Zuma, Skye, and Rocky scrambled to their paws.
"Are you okay?" Ryder asked them. "Why were you screaming?"
"The noise...that voice…" Skye said.
"What voice?" Ryder asked.
"Mama Merpup! She's in twouble. I feel it…" Zuma said.
"Really, Mama Merpup. How come only you three heard it?" Chase said sarcastically.
"I don't know," Rocky said. "Ryder, we don't know their language, but we kept hearing a phrase over and over again. It was a plea for help, it had to be!"
"What did you hear?" Ryder asked.
"Tajina! Tajina! Meleaous, Tajina!" the pups chorused. Ryder rubbed the back of his head.
"I don't know…" he murmured.
"Ryder, let's at least go to the beach. Just to see if she's there." Rocky asked.
"Okay. But straight to bed after, okay?" The pups nodded, and raced out of the lookout down to the beach. There was nothing and no one there, just the waves silently lapping against the sand.
"See pups? Nothing to worry about. I don't know what you heard, but it's gonna be okay. No one is here." Ryder soothed them. Confused, the pups went back to the Lookout and went to bed. Skye and Zuma went into Rocky's pup house to talk more.
"What happened? We all heard that, right?" Rocky asked them, closing the door.
"I don't know what that was," Zuma said.
"Mama Merpup was crying for help!" Skye said. The light buzzing returned, and the same images swept through their minds, the same plea for help ringing in their ears. They all looked at each other.
"You guys hear that, right?" Rocky asked.
"There it is again!" Skye said.
"It looks like a war. Who are those pups? The one with the shell looks like...:"
"Baby Merpup!" the pups chorused.
"Okay, something is definitely wrong, but what?" his images cleared along with the ringing. Mama Merpups said one last thing, something the pups heard in their own language.
"Find...them…" she cried in distress. The pups looked at each other and nodded.
"We're going to help her," Rocky said.
"Agreed," Skye said.
"I'm game!" Zuma replied. The trio laid down together for the night still hearing the mother's pleas.
Tajina...Tajina... Meleaous... Tajina…
This is a short chapter, I know, but it's very important.
These voices that the pups are hearing… what do they mean? What is this war? Who are Marina and Zavok? What are these shells of light and darkness? What does the Paw Patrol have to do with any of this? Stay tuned, more later!