Zuma chuckled at his cards and shook his head, "Sorry, Marshall, go fish."

Marshall sighed and picked up a card from the center of the circle. He looked at it and smiled.

"Well, fish fish, getcha wish," He chuckled.

"Daw!" The circle groaned.

"How the hey are you doing that?" Radar asked.

"Can't accuse me of cheating since you shuffled them," Marshall grinned.

"How can't we? You knew exactly how I was gonna shuffle them and you changed them in that right order, didn't you?" Radar glared.

"That's… kinda far retched, eh Radar?" Asked Chase.

Radar grumbled to himself. He looked at his two matches but saw Marshall's fifteen. He got lucky today. Luckier than usual.

"Face it guys, your beat today," He smiled.

They didn't want to admit it, but he was right.

"Pups, to the Lookout!"

"Ryder's calling!"

Marshall's luck had just run out, "What?! But…"

He sighed and got up but slipped on a few cards and turned into a tire that wheeled its way over Radar and into the crowed. They collapsed like bulling pins. Their eyes turned to him.

"Heh, just thought I'd strike up a conversation," He jested.

They laughed even though it wasn't as funny a joke, but it didn't feel right if they stayed quite.

The elevator went up and they hopped out at attention.

"PAW Patrol ready for action, Ryder, Sir!"

Ryder turned and seemed worried, "Alright pups, listen up. We've got a serious situation. Everest called in that Jake is missing. He had to leave early and he didn't come back when he promised. When she tried to contact him he had told her to call for help. His conditioned didn't sound good."

The pups went crazy.

"Is he okay?"

"Does she know what happened?"

"Where are they?"

"Everyone calm down! Fortunately, this wasn't too long ago and as far as we know, he's fine but going to need help soon. The mountain isn't bad right now so we won't need too many pups."

He brought up Chases tag, "Chase, you're going to see if you can track Jake anywhere."

"Chase is on the case," He saluted.

He drew up Skye's tag next, "Skye, you're going to look for him from the air. Tell us if you see anything."

"This pups gotta fly!" She flipped.

"Whoa, that was cool," Radar mumbled to Marshall.

"It's her charm," Marshall replied.

"Marshall," His tag came up next, "You're going to make sure he's okay when we find him."

"I'm ready for a ruff-ruff rescue," He smiled.

Last was Radar's, "Radar, you're going to go up there and help us by either tracking him or finding him by satellite camera. You'll also handle any emergency contact we'll need."

Radar smiled and was silent, "Uh… Radar on you six, boss? Nah, that's sounds weird."

The pups laughed.

"Don't worry, it'll come to you eventually," Ryder smiled, "Alright, PAW Patrol is on a roll!"

The pups slid down the slide but Radar had to go down the elevator since he was separately parked. They boarded their vehicles and left for Jake's mountain. When they got to his cabin Everest was waiting. She looked pretty upset.

"This looks like a good place for me, boss," Radar called.

"Alright, you can stay here. Marshall you should stay too. Everest, are you alright?"

"Ryder, Jake won't pick up on his phone. I tried so many times and he…"

She began whined and began to shed tears. It was a light and quiet water work. Marshall came to her and comforted her.

"Boss, she's right, I can't see his phone signal anywhere," Radar shook his head.

Ryder looked down and saw his footprints.

"Alright, Chase, see if you pick up his scent. Skye, Radar, keep looking."

"Wait, Skye, I need you to land so I can attach a few things to your copter."

"Why?"

"Easier to spot him. And it will help having two eyes in the sky, right?" He asked.

"Okay, I'm coming," She nodded.

He equipped the helicopter with a satellite that would send a stronger signal just in case the phone had power and could be tracked. He also equipped a camera that sent feed to his van.

"Alright, your set. Good luck," Radar saluted.

"Let's take to the sky," She smiled.

"Oh great, she has two of them and I don't even have one!" Radar grumbled.

He began to list off a bunch of them that didn't even sound right or were too long. It made Everest giggle, but she still was upset.

"Doc, you should keep her inside. We can take care of this. If we need more paws we'll say so," Radar instructed.

"Sure, come on, Everest," He led her inside.

Everest didn't want to go inside; she wanted to help, but she knew she was better off not getting into trouble. She may be a member, but she was still was among the three youngest ones. Radar wasn't any better than her, but he was older, and being older meant experience. One would be better off listening to experience.

"Want some coco; I can make it," Marshall gave her a smile.

"Sure," She nodded.

She sat on the sofa and laid her head down. Marshall could be heard making the coco but he might have broken something. Everest had half a mind to make sure.

"It's okay, nothing broke!" He assured.

Guess not. She relaxed again and waited for it.

"Here's yours; I'm going to see if Radar wants any," Marshall gave her a cup and ran out the door.

He came back and shrugged, "Hmm, he's allergic. Oh well."

He made himself a cup and sat next to Everest. They were quiet. Everest lapped at her coco a bit but put it aside and slide next to Marshall. He didn't' have to listen to her; it just felt better that someone was hearing her.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without him, Marshall," She was about to cry, "I want to believe he's okay, but I just don't know what to believe."

Marshall put his coco down and hugged her, "Well, you don't have to be scared. Jake is pretty tough and knows about winter and the mountain better than anyone. He's probably frozen up his phone and can't get here."

"But why would he ask for help?" She sniffed.

"Oh yea, I forgot about that," Marshall chuckled nervously, "Well, look on the bright side, if you had tried to communicate to him later you wouldn't have heard from him at all. We never have known to come and help."

She began to think. Finally, progress.

"See, now if that happened, then you would know that there was something to worry about. I'm sure Radar will get something and we'll find him."

Everest took her coco and lapped at it some more. Marshall had a special way with making coco. It's what made him good at taking care of people. Well it was a part of it. Most of it was his skill and touch. His touch…

Marshall got his and breathed it in deeply before taking a few laps, "Ah, good stuff."

Everest grinned and stared at hers. A sudden realization came to her. She put her cup aside and left abruptly.

"Huh, wonder what that's about," Marshall said to himself.

He shrugged and smiled at his coco.

X

Chase sniffed and Ryder followed. So far the day was clear and the sky was good. What did Jake do to get lost? Whatever it was it must have been serious.

"Still got him?" Ryder asked.

"Yea, but it's getting faint. Hmm, skis. He went skiing. Come on, this way."

Ryder followed and Skye looked around close by.

"Skye, do you have anything up there?" Ryder asked.

"No," She replied, "There's nothing that I can see."

Ryder looked around and pulled out his pup pad, "Radar, come in."

"This is Radar, go ahead boss, over."

"Is Skye's camera helping us any?" Ryder asked.

"Yup, the camera is specially equipped with thermal vision so that if it sees him he'll get highlighted, over."

"That's great! How about the radar, Radar?"

Radar laughed and replied, "I'm trying to use a pulse-Doppler radar system and so far he's nowhere in sight. Maybe I'll use a motion tracker instead but… then again. I 'm capturing you guys just fine but he must be underground our something . I'll using a synthetic aperture radar and see if I can find any caves. If I can manipulate the radar just right I'll find some caves; then I can map them out for us, over."

"Alright, let us know if you see anything," Ryder closed it and continued to follow Chase.

"Hey, these tracks are pretty fresh. About… five hours," Chase called, "Jake!"

Ryder joined in and called Skye, but she didn't pick up.

"Skye? Skye? Skye, are you there?" Ryder asked.

"Oh, sorry, I was… it was a bad reception for a moment," She giggled nervously.

"Okay… Well, we might have something make sure there's nothing ahead."

Skye used her goggles and looked forward, "Nothing ahead."

Chase ran ahead, "I think he's nearby!"

Ryder followed. There was something on the ground. Chase sniffed it and gasped.

"It's Jakes!"

Ryder ran over and picked it up. Jakes phone.

"Radar, this is Ryder. We found Jakes phone," Ryder sighed.

"That's why I couldn't track it. Its frozen. But listen, boss, I hope your eyes are on the sky. I looked at the WSR, or Weather Surveillance Radar, and its getting rather dark up there, over."

Ryder looked up, "Oh."

The clouds were getting thicker and darker. Not to mention the sun was beginning to disappear.

"How long do we have?" Ryder asked.

"Hypothesis only: three hours, over."

"Alright, we should hopefully make it till then," Ryder nodded, "Ryder out."

"Wait, boss, I got the map, sending it to the pad. There are quite a few caves. Try the ones you recognize if that's possible, over."

The map came on the pup pad.

"Alright, thanks," Ryder smiled, "Chase, let's look at the cave nearest to us."

"On it," Chase ran to the cave that was in sight.

"Okay, try to be careful," Ryder warned.

"Yes sir," Chase replied.

Skye went on the com, "Do I have to go in there too?"

"No, you don't have to if you don't want to," Ryder laughed, "But it would be helpful."

Skye thought about it, "Okay, I'll go."

She landed nearby and hopped out, "For Jake, it's for Jake."

She took a deep breath and followed the two inside.

"Boss, I'll make sure to stay in contact the best I can, but your signal is going to start getting fuzzy, over," Radar warned.

"Got it, thanks," Ryder smiled, "Just do the best you can."

"And one more thing, over," Radar added nervously.

"What is it, Radar?" Ryder asked with a smile.

It wouldn't last long.

"Uh, remember my hypothesis, over?"

Ryder shrugged, "Yea."

"Well, I'm changing it from three hours…to three minutes," Radar gulped, "It's about to come down hard. I might even lose contact if I can't enhance my signal to get through the clouds. Of course, like you said, I'll do my best, over."

"Alright, Ryder out. Okay, pups, we need to step on it. Were about to get stormed on."

"Yes sir," Saluted Chase.

"Let's take to the sky," Skye replied.

X

Radar clicked at the keys and tried to clear his signal as fast as he could to get through the rock. The signal looked strong enough so he stopped and laid back.

"Wow, I have free time," He chuckled.

He got back to a computer and clicked on a game. He happily clicked away at it as it played. Marshall came in a moment later.

"Hey, how are we doing?" He asked.

"Were doing good so far," Radar replied, "Say, doc, do you think that they'll need help?"

"They'll tell us if they do," Marshall replied.

"Okay, how's Everest doing?"

Marshall shrugged, "She's fine."

"Is it a good idea to leave her alone?" Radar asked.

"…Maybe not, bye," Marshall said after some careful consideration.

"Did not think so," Radar chuckled.

Marshall raced back in and found Everest still on the couch. He sighed in relief.

"What?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Nothing," He replied straightening out, "I was just getting cold."

"But wasn't Radar's truck warm?"

"You kiddin'? He's a malamute, he's not going to enjoy hot weather."

"Well, I'm a husky and I'm okay with it," She shrugged.

Marshall felt trapped, he had to come up with something.

"Well, he keeps his car at, like, fifty degrees. It's like he doesn't care about the cold. And I tripped into the snow."

It seemed to have worked.

"Okay then," She laid back down.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I want to be out there, helping them," She replied, "Why do I have to stay here?"

"Because it's what Jake would have wanted," Marshall replied, "Why else do you think he asked you to call for us?"

She could see his point. He sat next to her again and gave her a goofy smile. She giggled.

"Don't you worry, they'll find him," Marshall comforted, "Besides, the weather is still as good as ever."

"Uh, Marshall," She pointed at the window.

"Oh…"

A snow storm began to pick up.

"Eh heh, of course, I did get a positive report that their on his trail."

She ducked her head and began to cry more.

"Hey, don't worry, their fine. You can ask Radar, come on. He'll even tell you."

She followed to the van which was surprisingly warm.

"Didn't you say it was cold in here?" She asked.

Marshall chuckled nervously and made a face at Radar.

"Uh, UI turned up the heat. Just thought it would be a little more homey if doc came back," He grinned plastically.

Everest shrugged, "Wow, it's kinda cool in here though."

"Hah! I get it. It's not cold in here it… cool… eh, never mind."

Marshall tried his best to keep Everest happy. Radar could see it and laughed to help the tension lift. Of course, Everest also laughed but only so daintily.

"Well, you guys can have a seat over there and I can pull up everyone's signature if you like."

"Yea, that'd be great, were here to make sure their fine," Marshall smiled.

"Well, you came to the right place," Radar smiled, "See, their fine."

Just then, Chase had tripped and slide down some rock.

"Oh no! They need our help," Everest ran out the door.

"No wait, he's… nice going, doc," Radar sighed.

"Me? You gave the idea that we should show her their feed. Ugh, Everest wait!"

Radar clicked on the keys and saved his game before seeing all the feeds from Skye, Chase, and Ryder's communicators.

"Darn, they must have knocked something out. Looks like I'm going to have to get over there. He raced out his door, trying to catch up with Everest and Marshall.

"Everest! Wait!" Marshall tried to get her to slow down.

X

Chase moaned as he rubbed his head.

"Chase?"

Chase jumped up, "Jake? Was that you?"

"Chase! Hey, dude!" Jake hugged him and scratched him, "Boy, am I glad to see you. I got lost in the cave for who knows how long!"

"Ooh, yea yea, right there," Chase submitted to the scratching, "We've been looking everywhere for you, Jake!"

"Chase! Are you okay?" Ryder asked.

"I'm fine! I found Jake!" Chase replied.

Ryder smiled at Skye and yelled, "Really? Wow! Can you see a way to get up?"

"No!" Chase replied, "We can't even see. Hold on, let me get my flashlight!"

Chase brought it out and sighed, "That's better. Ryder, were going to follow one of these paths. We'll try to find a way up as we go!"

"No point, dude. I've been trying separate ways and have always ended up here. I don't' know how long I can go either, I hurt my knee going down the same way you did," Jake shook his head.

"But there has to be some way out," Chase looked around.

"Only up, dude," Jake shrugged.

"Chase! Is your net able to reach this far?" Ryder asked.

"No!" Chase replied, "I can't see you it's so deep down here! Even if I point my light up there's no way to be sure how deep it is!"

"Okay, I'll go call Radar and Marshall," Skye told Ryder.

She turned but felt a sneeze coming, "Ah… ahhh…achoo!"

Skye lost her footing and found herself plunging down the steep slippery slope.

"Skye!"

Ryder tried to grab her but she fell too fast.

"Chase! Jake, Skye's coming to you!"

"I got her, I got her!" They both yelled trying to find her as she slid.

"There she is!" Jake pointed.

She slid into him but his leg didn't let him stay up for long. He slipped and threw the poor cockapoo up in the air, leaving it to Chase to give her a safe landing.

"I gotcha I gotcha!" He chanted while running, "Ne…"

He couldn't finish his command before she landed on top of him. His eyes rolled.

"Ooh, that was a tough landing," Skye groaned, getting off of him, "Are you okay, Chase?"

Chase shook his head and replied, "I'm hurting."

His words after that didn't make much sense. It took a few seconds for him to shake it off and come to a concern.

"Skye! Are you okay, I thought I wasn't going to… Uh, I mean, are you alright? That was quite a fall you took."

Skye giggled and replied, "I'm fine; thanks to you and Jake. Speaking of Jake; Jake are you alright?"

"Super dudes," He gave a thumbs-up, "But my knee really hurts right now."

"We'll have Marshall look at it when we find him," Skye smiled.

"Is Skye okay?" Ryder yelled.

"She's fine," Chase replied.

"I'm fine Ryder," She flipped, "Fit as a fiddle."

Ryder sighed in relief, "You guys sit tight, I'll see if I can get Marshall and Radar and we'll see if they can help."

"Don't take too long!" Chase shouted, "I think my light is ready to give up."

"And I already ran out of power for mine," Jake added.

"That's not good," Ryder shook his head, "I'll be as fast as I can! Skye do you have anything in your helicopter?"

"Nope, sorry Ryder," Skye shook her head.

"Okay, I'll see if they'll have anything!"

Ryder ran and took out his pup pad to make sure he was going the right way to get out. But luck was not a faithful companion to him either. Ryder found his feet over his head and behind him but his pad left this hand. He looked for it and saw it fly in the air.

"Oh no!"

He dove for it, but it hit the floor. It was fine on the outside; the inside was probably shouting differently. It fizzed and complained at him.

"Oh no, now I'll never got out of here," He sighed and looked around, "But… which way is here?"

He had nothing to but try to get his pad to work. If he couldn't, he was lost. And if he was lost, the pups and Jake wouldn't get help, and if that happened… He didn't' even want to think that far. He had to figure something out.

"Hopefully, Radar notices the problem. We'll at least have a better chance if they come and try to find us."

X

Radar and Marshall rode with Everest since she had the only vehicle able to go off road. The snow was getting thicker due to the blizzard.

"Augh, my map isn't going to be useful if we can't see," Radar growled.

"Isn't there something you can do?" Everest asked, "We have to help them!"

Marshall tried to calm her down, "He's doing everything he can, give him time."

"It's all right, doc, I got it. I don't' know if this will work very well so cover your ears just in case. I'm trying sonar."

They obeyed and a loud ping rang through the mountain.

"It's working, let me drive!" Radar ordered.

Everest moved and let him drive. He pressed the button again.

*PING*

And he drove and then again.

*PING*

Eventually they saw Skye's copter.

"Were here!"

Radar put his gadgets away and hopped off first. The other two followed.

"Anyone got a light?" Radar asked

"I do," Marshall took the lead.

He turned his light on and took a deep breath, moving one paw after the other.

"Alright, I can use a different system here," Radar got his computer out and had a map out.

"There split but stationary. Chase and Skye are… really deep in. Ryder's the closest, let's get him first."

"But what about Jake?" Everest asked.

"He might be with one of them, you never know," Marshall smiled encouragingly.

Everest smiled back, "Than lead the way."

"Take the first left," Radar directed, "Uh, other left, though."

Marshall stopped, noticing he was taking right, "Oh, heh heh."

Everest giggled and Radar rolled his while shaking his head. They traveled through the cave and bit longer and finally found Ryder fiddling with his pup pad.

He banged it once and grumbled, "It's no use; I need the proper tools to fix it."

"Anything we have?" Radar asked.

"Marshall, Everest, Radar, you came," He smiled, "Listen, Jake, Chase, and Skye are trapped in a deeper part of the cave and we can't get them out!"

"Oh no, Jake!" Everest cried.

"Don't worry, Everest. Chase and Skye are with him," Marshall smiled, "He'll be just fine."

"But they're really cold. Marshall, they'll need a blanket," Ryder smiled at Marshall.

"You can count on me, Radar?"

"We should go together," Radar instructed, "We can't risk getting anyone lost again."

"Good idea, let's go," Ryder nodded.

Radar instructed where they were supposed to go until they found the crevice.

"Chase! Skye! Jake!" Everest shouted.

"Everest?" Jake shouted.

"Jake!" Everest, without thinking, jumped down.

"Everest!" Marshall tried to catch her and succeeded.

On the contrary, she dragged him down too.

"Great," Radar groaned.

Everest jumped onto Jake when she reached the bottom. Marshall, on the other hand, landed well on his helmeted head.

"Ooh, that's gonna leave a bruise. I think I'll need aspirin," Marshall groaned.

"Are you alright, Marshall," Smiled Jake.

"I'm good," Marshall smiled.

He grabbed a blanket and threw it at the four pups, "There, that should keep you guys warm."

"But what about you?" Everest asked.

"Me?" Marshall smiled proudly but only than noticed he was shivering, "I-I-I-I'll be f-f-fine."

Everest hopped out of Jakes arms and huddled next to him, "The Eskimos did this to stay warm. I don't really need a blanket anyway; I'm a husky."

Marshall tried not to blush, but he couldn't keep the heat form coming to his cheeks, "Oh, heh heh, thank you."

Jake, Chase, and Skye grinned and let out an, "Aw."

"Marshall! Everest! Are you okay!?" Radar shouted.

"Were good!" Marshall called.

X X X

Radar sighed, "There okay."

Ryder sighed too, "Oh, good."

"How are we going to get them out?" Radar asked.

Ryder messaged his chin, "Hmm, I have just the pup in mind that could help but we don't have any way to communicate to him unless we leave. We can't just leave them here though."

"There warm-ish, they've got light, and doc's down there. He may not be a Katie, but he's the next best thing. I think We can make it out of the cave, give him a ride, and come back without complications… Although, I do feel I might regret saying that later."

Ryder laughed and asked, "Could you do that, Radar?"

Radar shrugged and replied, "I could do my best. Uh, that is… Radar, on your six!"

Ryder laughed, "That call phrase dose fit you. I'll stay here to make sure they're okay; you go and get Rocky."

"I'll be back!" Radar took off but slowly.

"Be careful, your computer should give off light, but you'll need to look at it too," Ryder warned.

Ryder sat down and called, "Don't worry guys. Radar will come back with rocky and they'll make something to get you up."

"Okay, dude, take as much time as you need!" Jake shouted up.

X

Radar switched his computer screen several times to see and to find his way out. Eventually he made it out.

"Note to self, upgrade your headset with a flashlight. Wait, why didn't I think of doing it before?"

It had just occurred to him about the eyepiece. He clicked it on and found a night vision setting.

"Genius," He grumbled, "Just… genius."

He boarded Everest's snow plow and turned on his sonar, "Sorry, Everest."

He hit the accelerator and aimed, first, for his truck.

X

Zuma was taking a nap while Rocky was enjoying a scratch. Rubble rolled on his back and lounged.

"ROCKY!"

They all jumped at Radar suddenly appearing on the screen and screaming at them.

"What?!" Rocky asked breathing heavily from recovery.

"I'm coming down to get you, we need something longs and light. I mean it… longer than the Lookout long."

"Are you kidding?" Rocky asked, "I don't know if I have anything that long, brother."

"Oh, come on, I'm talking to Rocky here. The guy who made a satellite out of scraps! You can make a rope or something, cant you?"

Rocky thought about it and hard, "I have an idea, but why do you need it? Is Jake trapped?"

"Yes, with doc, Chase, and Skye! They need to be able to have enough slack tie to it and be pulled up. I mean, climbing up a slope with your mouth doesn't really work. I tried it and failed, believe me."

Rocky nodded, "I do. Okay, I'll see what I can do about it."

"Thanks plenty, bro. Radar out."

Radar cut off.

"How are you going to get something that long, Rocky?" Asked Zuma.

"I don't know, Zuma. But I need to find out before he gets here," Zuma sighed.

"You could just buy some rope from the store," Rubble shrugged, "Or maybe sombody else has rope."

"Boom! That's it! Farmer Yumi's got rope. She's got to! Green means GO!" Rocky darted off down the slide and rode to Yumi's farm.

A couple of minutes later and Farmer Yumi and Rocky were loading his truck with all she had.

"Are you sure you need this much?" She asked, "It's a lot for one job."

"Yea, as far as I know. Thanks, Farmer Yumi," Rocky smiled.

"PAW Patrol helped me countless times. I'm glad to help back," She smiled.

"Bye!"

"Goodbye," Yumi waved.

"Yes! This should be perfect!" Rocky exclaimed, "Don't loose it! Reeeeeeuse it! Ahoooo!"

Rocky's collar lit up, "Rocky, buddy, where'd ya go, dude?"

"Hold on Radar! I'm on my way!" Rocky replied.

He stepped on his accelerator and went faster. He stopped next to Everest's snowplow and nodded.

"This should be enough rope, right?"

"I hope, I'd hate to get there and find out it isn't. We can always improvise."

"Yea, I'm sure Chase and Skye would be willing to spare their winches," Rocky smiled.

"Why didn't I think of that? Don't answer that! Let's go," Radar welcomed him aboard.

"Good luck!" rubble waved.

"Have a safe trip back up to the mountain!" Zuma added.

Radar drove all the way to the cave and the two grabbed the rope.

"Let's do it!" Radar turned on his night vision and ran in.

"Right behind ya," Rocky called following him.

X

The pups laughed at Jake as he told them a story, "And out of nowhere I see this huge, oversized…"

"Hey! Were back!" Shouted Radar.

"Hey, just in time," Jake smiled, "I was just talking about one of my snowboarding adventures. Want to hear?"

"Maybe some other time," Ryder replied, "Let's get this rope attached and we'll send it down. Hopefully its long enough."

"Okay, let's do it," Rocky smiled.

The two pups and Ryder attached the ropes and sent it down.

"Here it comes!" Ryder called.

"Alright, Jake first," Chase stated.

"I wish I could, but my knee still hurts like crazy, dude," Jake motioned to it.

"We'll have to tie you on then. I can see it coming down," Marshall pointed.

Fortunately, there was quite a bit of slack.

"That's enough," Marshall called, "Alright, we'll set it like this and… Jake get on and tie yourself here. Keep you back to the wall. Everest, go with him and make sure he'll be okay."

"Okay, be safe, Marshall," She said with a worried expression.

"What could possibly happen to me," Marshall smirked.

"I thought you didn't like being alone in dark dank caves," Chase smirked.

"Hey, that was two years ago. I can do this," Marshall replied but he knew pretty well that he was bluffing.

Caves disturbed him still. It wasn't the dark, but there was always something that could be lurking with you when you can't see. He knew he had to reinforce his idea with something more creditable.

"An EMT doesn't have time for fear. Besides, it's a part of the rules, I gotta go last."

"Okay," Chase nodded, "But don't get scarred, 'kay?"

"Pft, I'll be fine," Marshall laughed.

He turned away and gulped.

"Okay, pull us up, dudes!" Jake called.

"Alright, pull!" Ryder commanded.

They pulled and didn't stop till Jake and Everest were up.

"Were up, sending the rope again!" Jake called.

"Skye your next," Chase instructed.

"Are you sure?" Skye asked.

"It'll be okay, you'll be fine," Chase assured, tightening the knot, "Just ask Marshall. Marshall, she'll be okay, right?"

"One hundred percent. It's Ryder's knots, he knows what he's doing. And we both know those don't snap."

"I wasn't talking about the knot," Skye frowned.

Chase stared into her eyes.

He cleared his throat and reassured, "Me and Marshall are going to be fine. Right Marshall?"

"There's nothing down here guys, seriously," Marshall laughed.

She nodded and shouted, "I'm ready!"

They pulled her up, but quickly.

"Ah!"

"Sorry, your just really light," Ryder apologized.

They finished and brought it down again.

"Alright, Chase," Marshall looked at him.

"Okay, now I realize how Skye feels, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Chase asked.

"Just go up, sheesh," Marshall laughed.

Chase stared at him and called, "Alright, I'm good. Be safe, Marshall."

Marshall nodded and felt a sudden surge of fear hit him. He looked around anxiously and took a few deep breaths.

"You'll be okay, You'll be okay," He chanted, "You'll be okay… what was that?"

He heard something move.

"It was nothing, just a mind trick; your doing it yourself," Marshall closed his eyes.

It sure didn't look imaginary. He turned on his light and it was gone.

"See… oooohhhh," He chuckled nervously after seeing something move again, "Uh, there's something alive in here!"

The group froze.

"Faster!" Ryder hollered.

They pulled all together and Chase shot up, bumping his head a few times.

"Marshall, hold on!" Ryder called, "It's coming down again!"

"Hurry, I don't know what it is but it's getting closer!" Marshall shouted.

He saw the rope and tried quickly to fasten it around him.

"Pull it!" Marshall cried.

They pulled hard and fast. Marshall saw what it was and was startled.

"Monster!"

It swiped at him but didn't hit. He saw it get smaller and smaller then invisible since his beam couldn't reach that far. He sighed in relief. Relief was stronger when he reached the top.

"Huh, for a moment I thought it was going to get me," Marshall breathed hevily.

"What did you see?" Ryder asked.

"I can't even describe it," He replied.

"Forget it," Radar smiled, "We'd best get out of here before we all slide down again and face the wrath of that thing. We may need to find a way to close this cave off too. It's too dangerous."

"Good idea, Radar, come on, pups. You've all done a hard day's work," Ryder smiled, "And I think you've all earned some play time."

"Hooray!" Each pup howled.

A large rawer resonated through the cave and everyone took off. Minutes later and the group was back in the safety of the Lookout.

"Whew! That was tough. I thought I liked the cold but I just realized how much I really hate it," Radar laughed as he clicked away at the keyboard, "Accept when it comes to this game. Gotta respect Zenimax."

Marshall was quite.

"Uh, doc?"

"Hum? Oh, I was just thinking about eh mission," Marshall chuckled.

Radar looked at a mirror and saw Marshall's eyes, "If I didn't know better I'd call you a liar and say you were smitten, doc."

"What?" Marshall asked.

"You look just like Chase when he's deep in thought. I've been around lovebirds long enough to realize that's the smitten dreaming face."

"That's sounds funny," Marshall laughed.

"Okay okay, so it's a bit odd but listen, if do go to that phase I have a word of advice: make sure she respects you. I sure wish I did."

"What do you mean?" Marshall asked.

"A pup while back had me by the tail," Radar laughed, "I can't believe I let her too. She was really something outside of it, but then we started living together since I… Well, I lost my owner. Don't know what happened to her. They took me in and suddenly she was a whole 'nother pup. Not the one I recognized. I tried to talk to her about it and I got the boot. Never heard from her again. I'll have to admit I probably went about it wrong. But she didn't have to go that far. Doc, I didn't tell anyone about this so do me a favor and do the same, yeah?"

Marshall nodded, "Sure. Thanks for the advice."

"No problem. If my hypothesis is right, I think you won't even have to listen to me. But if I am right, I have another word of advice: don't go too far with her. You're supposed to be together, not ahead of each other, not behind, together, like a walk in the park with your owner. Only instead of one of you being the owner and the other being the pet your both the owner. You kinda belong to each other, yeah?"

"Sure… you seem to know a lot about this," Marshall remarked.

"Probably because I'm speaking from a place of experience," Radar smiled, "Oh, and take that imperial dogs! Wait, is that a compliment?"

Marshall laughed, "I'm gonna leave now. I think they might be out in the park. You should come."

"Right after I hear the victory speech. You did good Radar; you did good," Radar reclined.

Marshall stepped out and saw Chase and Skye together next to the beach. Everyone else was there too but they seemed a bit distant from everyone else. Marshall could see Everest building a sand castle over his destroyed one. He raced over and smiled.

"Hey, can I jo…Whoa!"

He tripped and destroyed the second one.

"S-sorry," He apologized.

"It's okay, but you'll have to help me rebuild it," She smiled.

"Okay!"

He got up and began to fill the bucket. The sun was setting just nicely. The rescue was a success and the day turned out to be great. But being with the ones you loved made all the more better.