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Chapter 34: Flying Bullet

Ryder was shocked. What Rocky suggested - turning a train into a plane - sounded insane. The boy was justified to be skeptical. "Woah, woah, woah. The Bullet Express? The train?! You can't be serious," Ryder gasped.

"Oh he's serious alright," Gizmo confirmed, "and the crazy thing is that it just might work. It's supercapacitor charged, so it has power. It's large enough. With the lift brakes activated, it's already aerodynamically designed to be an airfoil. Give me some time to run calculations. If the lift can overcome the weight… this could work."

The black Lab activated his helmet and lowered his visor, beginning computations.

"I thought you guys said I wouldn't be able to fit in the train," Ryder pointed out.

"You wouldn't fit through the beach tunnel, but the one by FIR is large enough for us to even drive our vehicles through, ignoring the stairs. You should fit in the train just fine," Skye replied.

Ryder shook his head, still amazed by the proposition, "So what you're telling me is we're going to all get into a train that almost killed you by going too fast. Then we're going to try to make it go even faster. Finally, we're going to attach a pair of wings on it, hope they don't fall off, and fly away in it back to Adventure Bay."

Rocky nodded. "Yeah. We'll need to find a way to safely fasten the wings to the train, but everything else should be simple."

Rubble was quick to suggest a solution. "Brazing them on should work! We have plenty of copper wire, and I saw the ingredients for flux in the chem lab once!"

Most of the pups tilted their heads, visibly displaying their confusion. "What's brazing?" Zuma questioned, speaking for everyone.

Rocky answered for the bulldog, "It's a metallurgical binding process like welding, but it's stronger. It would work since the sides and frame of the train are strong enough, but we don't have a large enough torch."

After a pause, Marshall timidly took a step forward. "I do."

Everyone glanced at the fire pup expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

"I still have my old pup pack. And that means I have-"

"Your flamethrower!" Rocky blurted, finishing the firefighter's sentence. "Marshall, you're a genius!"

"So wing attachment is solved. What about a runway? It's hard to take off in an underground train when it's underground," Ryder pointed out.

Rocky faltered for a moment, but Skye had a plan. "Last time we were on the Bullet, Gizmo told us about a bunch of different passageways under the island. One of them has a dead end leading out of a cliff in the northeast part of the island. Once we get up to speed we can take that path, shoot out of the cliffside, and fly away!"

"With the power out, can we even get up to speed though?" Chase nervously asked.

"While the train gets its energy from the rails, it keeps backup power as well. I remember having to reconnect the supercapacitors. We should have plenty of power to get us up to speed," Rocky clarified.

"And once we fly away, we can land on the water using those hover discs to stay floating, and also use them to steer us back home!" Zuma exclaimed.

Ryder pondered every aspect of their plan carefully. If they were forgetting anything, then they would never make it back to Adventure Bay. However, he couldn't find any holes in the plan. Were there risks? Absolutely. And yet… if everything went well, it was entirely possible they could make it back. "I can't believe this might actually work…" Ryder chuckled, shaking his head.

"It'll work all right," Gizmo confirmed, raising his helmet visor. "Liftoff speed with all of us in it is 101 meters per second. Or 226 miles per hour, whichever you prefer. If we overcharge the LSM and get up to the speed we were at last time, it's completely possible."

"Alright. Marshall, I'll need you to get your flamethrower, then go to the Bullet Express."

"I'm fired up!"

"Rubble and Rocky, I need you to collapse and load the wings into the recycling truck, along with everything else. That way, Rocky can drive it through the tunnel to the Bullet Express. I'm sure you'll figure out a way around the stairs. After that, you'll need to help Marshall and get the wings attached to the plane."

"Green means go!"
"Rubble on the double!"

"Chase, since Marshall will be using his flamethrower, I need you to be in charge of safety. Use your cones to set up a perimeter."

"Chase is on the- Wait, I don't have any cones," Chase pointed out.

"There's some cones in the storage room," Gizmo offered.

"Thanks, Gizmo," Ryder replied.

"Well then, Chase is on the case!"

"Skye, the tracks at the end of the tunnel might be incomplete, so I need you to use your wings and check the tracks to make sure we can get all the way to the end without trouble."

"Let's take to the sky!"

"Tracker and Zuma, after Rocky drives his vehicle down to the train, I'll need your help to install the magneto-discs under the train."

"Let's dive in!"
"I'm all ears!"

"Everest, we're working on borrowed time here, and the Rim could collapse at any moment. I need you to keep watch up here from the holographic table and warn us of any cracks that might start to form."

"Keep an eye on the northeast corner. There's a deep crack towards the base. When the rim collapses, I predict it'll be there," Gizmo cautioned.

Everest nodded her head. "Off the trail, Everest won't fail!"

Ryder smiled as he looked at the last pup. "And last but not least, Gizmo. You'll need to work on the train, making any minor adjustments necessary so we can control it while it's flying."

A sudden, deafening silence enveloped the group. Gizmo looked quizzically at the waiting crowd. "Why are you all looking at me?" he asked uncomfortably.

"Uh… Never mind. Habit I guess," Ryder chuckled nervously. "Alright! Paw Patrol is on a roll!" he cheered. All the pups darted off to their respective tasks. The teenager smiled as he watched them all depart. "It's been too long since I last said that," he mused.

Everyone raced to their respective tasks. Before long, Rocky had his vehicle at the train station and was ready to assist Marshall with his flamethrower.

"Do you have your flamethrower ready, Marshall?" asked Rocky from the other side of the perimeter cones that Chase had set up.

The Dalmatian in the danger zone gulped and adjusted his helmet unnecessarily, "Yeah."

Ryder made a quick head-count, and gave the fire-fighter a thumbs-up, "We've got everyone! Ready?"

"No."

"Just do what you normally do when you use your flamethrower," Gizmo rolled his eyes.

"Give him a break… Last time he used it someone almost died. It's understandable that he's nervous," Chase whispered to him.

Marshall took a couple deep breaths. "If I heat up the wing too much, we are going to have a hard time flying… No pressure."

Ryder meticulously re-counted the heads of both those present and those elsewhere, ensuring that he included Gizmo, and then gave the nervous canine a thumbs up. Marshall shook his head as if to drive away negative thoughts. He could do this.

Skye zoomed down the tunnel in her supersonic wings. It was dangerous to be sure, but at this point, every second counted. The light ahead of her steadily grew brighter until she blasted out into broad daylight. The pup rotated her body back a quarter turn, splaying out her legs to slow down as fast as possible. She turned around and flew back to the cave opening, landing by the edge extending out to the cliff face. The aviator started examining the train tracks. From the looks of it, she couldn't tell any problems whatsoever. The tracks ran all the way to the edge, where they simply stopped. Abandoned, metal pillars stood in the water below, clearly an unfinished bridge to who-knows-where. After whatever landslide had happened to leave the cave exposed to the cliff edge, the engineers must have attempted to continue the project before ultimately giving up.

"The tunnel condition is perfect for our plan, Ryder!" Skye exclaimed into her pup tag joyfully.

Ryder looked at his pup pad to see the condition streaming through the camera in the cockapoo's collar. "That's great, Skye! Come on back!" he told her.

"Sure thing, Ryder! Over and out!" the aviator yipped, closing the connection.

Ryder breathed a sigh of relief. If that way had been blocked, then they would have had to spend much more time clearing the way, wasting precious time. He pulled up Everest's symbol and tapped it, "Hey, Everest. How is the Rim looking?"

The husky's face appeared on the screen. She smiled at Ryder from inside FIR, where she was monitoring the holographic table, "It looks okay for now. No new cracks that I can see, but I can tell we still don't have too long. Gizmo was right about that crack in the northeast section."

"Great! Thanks, Everest. Ryder over and out."

The teenager turned his attention back to Marshall, who was meticulously sealing the wings onto the futuristic subway. He seemed to be doing fine, so he checked on Gizmo and Tracker. Both were inside the train; with the door closed, it had been deemed safe enough for them to work from the inside while Marshall was torching the exterior. Ryder pulled up the jungle pup's tag and opened a line, "Hey, Tracker. What's your status?"

He saw the potcake itch his collar irritably. Tracker turned to where Ryder could view both him and Gizmo working on the train, "We are almost done, Ryder!"

"Just a minute," came the black Lab's voice, "I just found something that needs an adjustment."

"Oh, then we are not almost done, Ryder."

Suddenly, there was a snapping sound. Gizmo's voice came over his own com link that showed up on half of Ryder's screen as a black background with the letter 'G' on it, "Got it. Now we're done here."

The potcake laughed, "Oh, never mind! Then we are done!"

Ryder smiled and shut off his pup pad, observing Rubble and Rocky helping Marshall to finish the last of the brazing. Then he felt Zuma pawing at his leg. "Ryder, what can I do?"

"Don't you remember? You're helping me with the magnetic discs," Ryder reminded him.

"But I'm not. I'm just standing here waiting for Marshall, Rocky, and Rubble to finish their thing," Zuma whimpered.

Ryder realized the chocolate Lab was right. Zuma had been left with nothing to do while Ryder checked in with the other pups. "I'm sorry, Zuma. It looks like Marshall's just finishing, though, so go ahead and grab those discs and hand them to me while I attach them to the undercarriage?"

"Sure thing, dude."

As the chocolate Labrador jumped onto the station platform and raced toward the megneto-discs, the earth started to shake again. "Woah!" he shouted as he lost his footing. Ryder dropped to his knee, placing an extra hand on the ground to steady himself.

Everest's tag lit up on Ryder's pup pad. "Ryder, that earthquake did it! The northeast section is still fine, but there's a new crack on the south side of the rim, and it's growing! We're out of time!"

"Everest, get down here!" Ryder ordered. "Skye, get back here as soon as possible! Everyone else, get on the train!"

"But what about the hover discs?!" Zuma exclaimed.

"No time! Grab them and get on board!"

Zuma did as Ryder told him, grabbing the bag with the discs before entering the train. The teenager made a running jump, leaping up the three-foot tall ledge in a single bound. He scampered over to the train entrance and glanced in, making a headcount. "Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Tracker, Zuma… where's…?" Ryder turned around and frantically scanned the station platform.

"Chase!" he shouted as his eyes finally rested on the German shepherd. Chase sat immobile, ears flattened backwards and eyes full of panic as he stared at the Bullet Express. "Come on, Chase, we have to go!"

"I- I…" the police pup stuttered, unable to form a sentence.

Ryder had never seen Chase like this before, but he didn't have time to help him. "I'm sorry, bud, but I have to do this," the fifteen-year-old told his friend as he scooped him into his arms. To his relief, Chase didn't object, and let himself be placed on the train.

By the time Everest and Skye arrived at the train station, the earthquakes had increased in frequency. "Alright, you two! Get on board!" Ryder shouted.

Everest started running toward the door when she noticed Gizmo crouched with his front end under the train, clearly attempting to fix a last minute kink.

"Gizmo, c'mon!" Everest shouted at the Labrador.

His voice echoed from under the canopy, and it sounded like he was holding onto something with his teeth, "Hold up, there's one more thing that- WAUGH!"

"Sorry Gizmo, no time!" Ryder apologized as he yanked the black pup out from under the train by his hind paw.

Once he was set down in the train, Gizmo spat out the now broken wire left in his mouth. "Well I guess that works."

"Everyone here? We need to start this thing!" Rocky asked from the control panel.

"We're all here! Go for it!" Ryder confirmed as he sealed the train door.

Rocky pushed forward on the thrust and everyone jerked backward from the sudden acceleration. The grey pup grit his teeth and dug his claws into the panel, thwarting the inertial pull dragging him back. Gizmo fought his way next to the recycling dog who was eying the controls and mentally running through what all would need done. Noticing the black pup next to him, Rocky asked a question that had been worrying him.

"Gizmo, don't you have to… Um… go outside the train in order to activate the lift brakes?"

In response, Gizmo held up the wire with frayed ends. "Not anymore."

As Rocky stared at the cord, the ground started to shake again. "That won't…?"

"Interfere with the train?" Gizmo finished. "Thankfully not," he clarified. Rocky exhaled a sigh of relief.

"We're capping out at max speed," the engineer informed as he monitored the speedometer. "You should be able to move around a bit more normally now."

Just as Rocky finished speaking, a cracking sound echoed through the cave system. Above ground, on the south side of the island, the rim had given way. Millions of gallons of water gushed past the granite barrier that had kept it at bay for so many years, swarming towards the island it had been denied for centuries. Time had officially run out.

Tracker's ears perked up. "Uh… amigos? That was the rim. I can hear the water coming."

"Is there any way we can make this train go faster?" Rubble asked, glancing nervously out the window as if he would be able to see the impending tidal wave.

Zuma pushed himself away from the side wall, only to be pulled toward it again as they rounded a corner, "If you wanna be a pancake, dude, go for it, but I'd rather not have to write a letter to my loved ones."

"Isn't that us?"

"Yeah, and my parents. Besides, I have horrible handwriting, man!"

"Zuma. You don't have hands."

"Dude! That's what I'm saying!"

"I hope nobody forgot anything important because they're never going to see it again," Marshall mused with a hint of worry.

Immediately Gizmo's eyes widened, "STOP! We have to go back NOW!" the Lab shouted in a panic.

He yanked the engine lever back with his paw sending everyone skidding forwards as the train slowed. Those on the seats dug their claws in to keep from flinging away. Rocky stared in shock at the Lab, "You're going to kill us all!"

"You don't know how important this is to me!" The scientist panted while continuing to tug on the acceleration control.

"Living is pretty important to me too!" the grey pup shouted back. Furious at Gizmo for nearly ruining their chance of escape, Rocky shoved the younger pup out of the way and forced the accelerator forward while gripping the control panel with all his might. The train's brakes ceased their magnetic tug and the Bullet Express lurched forward. With his unstable footing, Gizmo flew away from the control panel, ricocheted off the first seat, and soared to the back of the train, where he slammed against the back wall with a horrifying whump. Everyone gasped as the lump of Gizmo fell to the floor. Marshall leapt from his seat. Although he tried to maintain his balance, Marshall's legs splayed from underneath him and the inertia slid him hectically back to the hunkered form of the Labrador.

"Gizmo? Gizmo!" Marshall worriedly cried, trying to wake the black pup.

From the back, Rocky could hear Zuma whimpering a narrative, "Dear Mom and Dad…"

"ZUMA! Cut it out! Nobody is dying!" Everest chastised, bounding out of her spot for the back of the car, "Marshall, how's Gizmo?"

"He'll be fine, but he's unconscious… He's starting to come around."

Rocky held his breath. He didn't mean to hurt Gizmo. That was the last intention on his mind. But he still felt the unwelcome heat of anger. They would have to keep going, with or without his guidance. And that brought an issue to mind. "Tracker, do you remember how to extend the wings?" Rocky shouted to the back.

The potcake nodded his head, "¡Sí! I- I think I do..."

"Well hopefully you do. We attached the remotes up here. Come up and get ready to press them."

Tracker gulped. He could hear the water already surging through the break in the rim, and could tell it was gaining on them. "Arf! Cables!" the potcake shouted. Using them to cling onto the control panel, he pulled himself next to Rocky, who pointed to the remotes which were taped to the dash.

"They're right there. Push them as soon as we're clear of the tunnel."

Tracker gulped again. Ryder's voice broke in on his thoughts. "Don't worry, Tracker. You'll do fine! I'll tell you when to activate the wings," the teenager told him.

The potcake nodded and returned his attention to the remotes, recalling which button he had pressed the first time.

In the back of the train, Marshall helped Gizmo as he opened his eyes and tried to stand. "Easy there, are you okay?"

The black dog shook his head as if to clear it. "Physically, or emotionally?" he asked.

Marshall stole a glance back at Zuma, who merely shrugged. "Both, I guess," the Dalmatian replied.

"Physically I'll be fine… I realize I kind of deserved that. I was being impulsive, but…"

"But what…?" Marshall pressed. He could tell the Labrador looked devastated.

However, before Gizmo answered, Zuma noticed the bag that was still next to him.

"Ryder, the hover discs still aren't installed! When we land, we'll sink!" Zuma warned.

Skye leapt over the bench packed with Gizmo's luggage and landed next to the water dog. "Not if I can help it! I'll take them and fly underneath to attach them," the cockapoo shouted as she grabbed the bag. "Ruff! Supersonic wings!"

"Skye! No!" Ryder shouted. He couldn't stand putting another pup in harm's way again. But Skye wouldn't relent.

"But Ryder, it's the only way."

The fifteen year old dropped to his knees and held the cockapoo's face in his hands, "Skye, you can't. I can't lose you! It's so dangerous, and we can figure something out… like…" Ryder stopped and choked on his words. There was a low chance of success and near certainty of death. He couldn't let this happen to her. He was about to forbid her from undertaking the task, but Skye held his gaze. She looked determined… and saddened.

"Ryder, you've taught me to be a hero. Now let me be one."

"She's right," Chase agreed. It was the first thing he had spoken since entering the train. His front paws rested on the back of his row of seats so that he could see the congregation in the aft, "It's the only way. It's either she does this… or we all drown when we lose speed and hit the water."

Ryder looked into Skye's vibrant pink eyes. He had never seen her this determined. He looked around at the other pups as well, noting the trust in their eyes. They had faith in Skye. Why shouldn't he?

"Alright. I trust you. Once we're out of the tunnel, we'll open the door and let you out."

"Speaking of, we're almost there!" Rocky called out. "Ryder, count us down!"

The fifteen-year-old looked at their location on his pup pad. At a speed of over 400 mph, he knew he would have no chance of making an accurate visual estimate, so he left the computing to his computer. "Alright, we'll be out of the tunnel in five!"

The pups and Ryder braced themselves.

"Four!"

Tracker's paw hovered shakingly over the wing extension button.

"Three!"

Rocky held his breath.

"Two!"

Everest closed her eyes and prayed.

"One!"

In the moment hovering between freedom and death, none of them had felt more trapped.

"NOW!"

Sunlight flooded into the locomotive as it cannoned out of the cave, temporarily suspended between sky and sea. Tracker immediately activated the wings, and Rocky pulled back on a lever, converting the train into its aerodynamic form. Without a word of warning, Skye opened the door and leapt out, disappearing under the train before Ryder closed it back.

For a moment, the rudimentary plane seemed to hang in the sky. Then it shot into the air.

Everyone burst out into cheers. Their plan worked.

Then a voice cut through the jubilation.

"We got up to 530 mph, right?"

Rocky faltered at Gizmo's question. "No, but didn't we only need 226 to take off?"

The black Lab raced to the front of the train. "That's the liftoff speed! Not the speed we needed to clear the rim! What speed were we at?" he demanded.

"450 mph. Is- is that enough?" Rocky gulped.

Gizmo's gaze darted to the backseat, where the few inventions he had decided to bring along were stored. Out the back window, everyone could now see the tsunami wave overcoming the island. The city, Fulgerion, was now completely underwater, and soon the rest of Franklin Island would be gone as well. Watching as his home washed away, Gizmo's eyes narrowed. "It might be," he replied with resolution before returning to the rear of the train, busying himself with one of the shield spheres.

"What are you gonna try to do?" the mixed-breed inquired.

Gizmo looked up as he made his way back to the front, finishing up some rapid adjustments. "Something crazy, but with any hope, we'll make it out alive."

Ryder's pup pad lit up with Skye's emblem and the boy answered it. "Ryder, I've finished attaching the hover discs! Open the door!"

Ryder quickly let Skye in, but before the door slammed closed again, a black blur zipped by and flew out. Before they realized it, Gizmo was gone.

Well, here it is; the climax of this story arc. The Rim has finally collapsed, the island is washing away, and the Paw Patrol is hovering a fine line between life and death.
When I finish this story, I have a number of 'bloopers' that I want to post somewhere. During the writing process, whenever I get writer's block, I sometimes like to take the story from where I currently am and start writing something completely random and ridiculous. This means I have a lot of outtakes that I can put somewhere. However, I have no clue where to put them. So... anyone have any recommendations? Just add them in a stand-alone chapter of the story? Create a whole new story and have it be a story solely dedicated to bloopers?
Also, feedback would be great! Until next time!