Chapter 18: The Gift of a Friend


"Alrighty, give it a push!" Rubble hollered to Rocky. The grey dog eased down on his accelerator, pushing the Air Patroller into the hangar. By the time the crew had made it back, Marshall and Tracker had finished clearing out the air bay from dust, scraps, and even a dilapidated one-pup jet they agreed Skye might enjoy piloting. The journey back had been relatively easy going once everyone had heaved the damaged aircraft above the trees. Once they passed through the forest and arrived back in the city, all they had to do was maneuver it through the streets until they reached their destination.

Rubble lifted his rig's shovel, catching the Air Patroller and bringing it to a stop inside the hangar. Rocky powered down the maglev discs, lowering the mass of metal onto the ground, where it settled with a clank. Everyone howled and cheered; they had just finished their first task to help them get home.

"Wow!" Marshall thought aloud. "If you guys were able to get that here, then maybe getting off this island isn't as impossible as it seems!"

Ryder chuckled. He had arrived with Everest not too long before the others. "Let's hope so! Unfortunately it looks like fixing the Air Patroller will take a miracle. But Gizmo told you he could fix it?"

"Yep," Rocky confirmed as he hopped out of his silver recycling truck. "He's probably still working on the turbine, though. If we want to get started I can go back to the lab and look for the blueprints."

"Sure! And I can go with you," Everest volunteered.

"Ryder, can we explore the city?" Zuma asked eagerly. "Gizmo said we can use anything we find if we think it'll be helpful!"

"Sure!" Ryder agreed. "Feel free to go around in pairs! Let's all meet back up here when it starts to get dark, though."

"¡Estoy muy emocionado! I can't wait to explore!" Tracker cheered.

"I've been waiting for a chance to use these!" Skye yipped. "Arf! Wings!" the cockapoo barked as she backflipped, blasting off before her paws touched the ground.

"Skye, wait! Ryder said to go in pairs!" Chase yelped. He shot a questioning glance at Ryder.

"Go ahead, Chase. Someone should catch up with her." As soon as the words were out of the boy's mouth, the German shepherd was off after his friend. Ryder smiled in amusement. "The rest of you can go ahead as well. I'll stay here since it seems like we're relocating our base."

"Aw man," Rubble whined, "but I just finished the walls!"

"Sorry Rubble," Ryder shrugged, "sometimes that's just the way things go."

"Who wants to go check out that Shield Sphere with me?" Marshall blurted, redirecting the conversation.

"I'll join you once I get the blueprints!" Rocky exclaimed, tail wagging.

Everest laughed. "Well, the sooner we get them, the sooner we'll be back!"

"Alright, let's go!"


Rocky and Everest pulled up in front of FIR, parking their vehicles opposite the twisted tower. As they walked across Crater Square, the recycling pup asked his companion a question. "So why did you volunteer to go with me?"

"Well, I didn't want you to go all on your own."

The mutt raised an eyebrow. "Aaaaand…?"

The mountain pup sighed. "And because I wanted to see how Gizmo was doing and if he wanted any company. It's been over two hours since we left him. I wanted to offer to keep him company."

Rocky shook his head. "You know he's just going to say no, right?"

The husky exhaled again. "Yeah, I know. But offering is a sign of friendship. That's why I want to do it; to show him that he's wanted."

The engineer stayed silent, mulling over her words as they walked through the front doors. "That's a good point. Well, go ahead. It might take me a while to find where he has the drawings. He's not the most organized of pups, but at least he doesn't have rooms full of junk."

As Rocky started searching for the Air Patroller's blueprints, Everest ran over to room 105. She found the door closed, but it didn't deter her. After all, he had told them he'd be there if they needed his help. Unless of course, he meant he'd be in the building. He might have changed rooms, in which case she'd have to search for him. She timidly pushed the door open.

Thankfully the black Lab was still there. The hologram projector in front of him showed a complex blown-up view of a device of sorts along with tables labeled BOM, FAB, MAT, and other such acronyms. Bringing his paws together, Gizmo collapsed the expanded object view down to a single assembly about the size of his paw and pushed it into a pipe in a translucent machine on the far side of the table. Pressing a few buttons, the machine's colors switched into a scale from blue to red, and it started running. After a few seconds, however, the component he inserted turned from yellow to orange to red before finally returning to an exploded view. And not the organized type of exploded view either. The scientist sighed as he reset the simulation.

Everest decided now was as good a time as any. "Hi, Gizmo, how's it going?" Normally she would have said it as her normal spunky, cheerful self, but she sensed that it might startle and overwhelm him. She decided to keep a calmer tone.

Gizmo glanced in her direction. "It's going fine. Just working out some kinks. Do you need anything?"

The husky took a deep breath. "You've been alone for a while now, and I just wanted to come see if you wanted any company. I don't even have to talk if you don't want me to."

The Labrador retriever seemed to consider it for a moment.

"It's not as overwhelming when there's only one pup," Everest pointed out.

Gizmo thought over it. He had noticed that was true when he had been with Zuma. Though he wasn't exactly fond of the idea of having her around, he decided to go ahead and let her stay. "Sure," he replied ambiguously. Everest understood, though.

Covering her surprise and excitement at his answer, she smiled. "Alright!" she said as she walked over and sat beside him. "Do you mind if I ask questions?"

"Um… I guess not."

"So what exactly are you working on?" Everest asked.

"Well, I'm working on designing a precision variable pressure potentiometer controlled import for the geothermal turbine," the pup replied, returning the assembly to an exploded view. "It'll let me turn on and off the motor by controlling how much steam goes into it. Currently my problem is this." He returned the device to its normal form before reinserting where it was before. "Now watch the stress levels in the machine. Red is higher. See how the pressure builds up when I decrease the flow, and how it causes it to become more red? And then when I close it all the way it passes the yield point?"

Everest nodded her head. She didn't understand most of what he had said at first, but his more detailed explanation had helped.

"That's what I'm trying to fix."

"I see!"

Gizmo went back to work. At first Everest would have to prompt him to explain what he was doing, but eventually he started explaining things to Everest on his own accord without her asking. He found it nice to have a companion, as much as he would have hated to admit it. Explaining his reasoning out loud to someone else helped to focus and guide his thoughts as he designed the contraption. Occasionally he would talk to himself or dictate a log while working, but something about having someone else there made it different.

Everest found the Lab's explanations fascinating. There was so much information to absorb, and so many considerations that needed to be made. She had stopped initiating questions a while ago, letting Gizmo lead the conversation. She figured it was better that way. Even if most of what he said went completely over her head, it was mesmerizing to see how his mind tackled problems.

After twenty minutes, Gizmo had significantly reduced the problem, but still hadn't solved it. Everest could sense his annoyance rising. "You know, Rocky could probably help some," the husky offered in assistance.

"I don't need help," Gizmo countered, his countenance growing cold. "And I also don't need friends. Don't think I don't realize what you're doing, because it's either that or you like me in which case that would be very awkward."

Everest couldn't help but laugh out loud at his unabashed and forthright claim. "No, I don't have a crush on you or anything like that. You got me with your first guess."

"Well you can stop trying. I don't need a friend."

"But do you want one?"

The snow pup's question caught Gizmo off guard. At first he was about to say no, but then he realized he didn't know, which was strange for him, seeing as he knew quite a lot. He pondered the query for a while, but still wasn't sure. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Well, have you liked talking to me here?" Everest asked.

"I guess so…?"

His friend smiled warmly, "Well then, there's your answer."


I loved writing this scene between Gizmo and Everest. It's just so wholesome. I apologize for the week in between chapters; I was on vacation without my computer and doesn't let you do any edits on stories from mobile. I did get ahead with writing chapters, though! It won't be long before the pups will be making their escape from the island, ending off part 2.