PPX: Zuma's First Month

Chapter thirteen: A Desert Trip At Our Fingertip


It was day seventeen of Zuma's life in Adventure Bay, and the Chocolate Labrador was sleeping comfortably on the couch. As he was snuggling with his blanket, Skye came into the living room and gently nudged him to get him to wake up. "Good morning Zuma."

Zuma rubbed his eyes as he awoke before looking at Skye's smiling face. He sighed as he reminded her of just how early it felt to him. "You cooking an eawly bweakfast or something? I feel like I missed at least a half hour of sleep."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Skye apologized, explaining herself as she filled Zuma in on what was going on. "Ryder got a call for this mission in the desert, and Richie's coming with us. Rocky insisted that you come with us, since he doesn't want you in a different place than us after Charm's soldiers attacked the town."

The mention of Rocky reminded Zuma of the talk they had the other day. He hoped he didn't upset him in any way when he brought up Nicky. "Is Wocky gonna come with us too?"

"Of course! Richie always has him help with the Paw Patrol projects he's involved with, remember?" Skye assured Zuma, who felt more optimistic about this as he tossed his blanket onto an arm couch. "You can get some extra sleep on the way there if you need it."

"Thanks Skye, but I may as well stay awake if you guys need me too." Zuma replied, feeling that he would wanna help if it looked like he could. As he hopped off the couch, he brought up another reason he wanted to stay up. "And I'd never pass up a chance to hang out with Wocky, even on a woad twip."

Skye was glad to hear that, despite what she was going to tell Zuma next. "It won't be that long of a drive actually. Believe it or not, the desert is only a four hour drive from Adventure Bay."

"Weally? Wow, you guys must have a lot of connections if that's the case." Zuma pointed out, and Skye giggled in response, unable to deny the facts.


Zuma and the others were headed for the desert, and on the way over there, Zuma was playing his guitar for Rocky in the Paw Patrol bus. Rocky did like the music, but Zuma noticed he wasn't smiling as much as he was before. He seemed distracted, and Zuma hoped he was okay. Did the talk from yesterday hurt him that much? "You sure you're okay Wocky?"

Rocky had to admit that he wasn't as fine as he wanted to be. He only wished he could bring himself to tell Zuma about this. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately." Rocky laughed a bit as he brought up the craziest thing that ever came to his mind. "Is it crazy that a part of me wishes my relationship with Nicky could've worked out?"

"Well... a little," Zuma admitted, mainly for one event in particular. "but mostly because he litewally twied to beat you up on the day we fiwst met."

Rocky looked back on that day and shuddered in response to it. 'It's hard to believe that's the worst Nicky's ever been to me. With everything else that went on.' Rocky then assured Zuma that he wasn't ready to cut ties with him anytime soon. "At least we were able to keep enjoying ourselves after that."

Zuma could tell that Rocky was still bothered about something. It just... spoke to him, that he was. Despite that, he decided to remain optimistic, as to avoid ruining the trip. "You said it dude."

Zuma went back to playing his guitar with Richie smiling as he pointed something else out about that day. "Chase couldn't stop talking about your right hook after Rocky left the Lookout." Zuma almost burst into laughter upon mentioning that with Rocky snorting as well. That was far from Zuma's finest hour, but at least now, they could laugh at it.


Four hours after leaving Adventure Bay, Zuma and the others arrived at the desert base that called them there for the mission. Zuma got a good look around the desert and thought it looked kind of dry for his liking. He knew it was a dry place, but he didn't think it would be this barren. As he hopped out of the bus with everyone else, Chase was quick to warn him that he was right to think it was boring if he did. "Yeah, there's a reason we only come out here for missions." He then saw Rocky getting a little sweaty and mentioned an obvious second reason. "Okay. Two."

Richie handed Rocky some water, which he happily accepted and opened up with delight. "Thanks Richie." Rocky took a couple sips of water and felt a lot better after that. Good thing he was only a little sweaty, and not so sweaty he couldn't move.

Ryder assured Zuma that he could still find some stuff to enjoy about the desert as he took out his Pup Phone. "If you want, you can look around and see if there are some things about the desert you like. Just make sure to call us if you get lost or something."

Zuma felt it would be worth a shot, despite not really seeing the appeal of a place like this. "I guess it wouldn't huwt." Zuma took out his own Pup Phone to let Ryder know that he would be ready. "I'll take some of that water to go too."

"That's the plan." Ryder assured Zuma, glad to see he was making extra sure he was safe out in the desert. "Oh, and don't wonder too far. The base is over there." Zuma looked to where Ryder was pointing so he didn't get lost. "If you get hurt, or lose sight of that base, give us a call."

"You got it." Zuma assured Ryder, being ready to do as advised just in case it got to the point where he had to. Rocky looked at Zuma as he headed off with the others, wishing he knew how to talk to him about what happened with him and Nicky. As much as he wanted to open up to him about it, the memories were still too painful for him to do so. He only hoped he could talk to him about this soon, when he was able to do it without that getting in the way.


Zuma was exploring the desert to learn more about it, making sure not to lose sight of the base as he did. There were plenty of things he'd never seen before, such as the cacti, the native flower of the desert, and animals such as snakes and scorpions. He made sure to keep his distance from them however, thanks to some lessons he got from Rocky. 'No need to wisk getting poisoned. Especially not away fwom the others.' Zuma had already noticed that there wasn't a lot of water in the area. It was a good thing he had his water bottle for hydration purposes.

As Zuma looked around, he saw that there weren't really any places he could relax and play his guitar. It wasn't that it was surrounded by snakes and scorpions; they were pretty scarce in the area he was in. He just didn't feel there was a place he'd be comfortable with his music in. It was kind of dry, no pun intended. He got a good look at the base and hoped the others wouldn't mind him playing his guitar there. I mean, he knew they wouldn't, but he knew they were also busy.

As he made his way back to the base, he looked up and saw what looked like a turkey vulture. He knew the desert had birds in them, so the sight of one didn't surprise him. Even though he wasn't big on the exact idea of what a desert looked like, he could see why someone else would be into it. He decided to just make his way back to his base, hoping there would be a good place for him to play his guitar there. He also wondered if the base had some cool stuff for him to try out. It had to if the Paw Patrol were in touch with the people who owned it.


The Paw Patrol were in the base fixing up some kind of dinosaur bone tracking device that was in the main room of the building. Rocky was putting his tinkering skills to good use, adding some adjustments to the bottom of the device that he felt would help it be more efficient. Ryder was also adding a sonar to the top so the range of the device would be much longer. The owner of the base, a Native American female with archeology gear on, was quick to express her gratitude for the help. "Thanks again for helping with this guys. Those bones are as good as ours now."

"Just don't overload the bone tracker after Ryder and Rocky finish it up." Richie advised her, knowing that there were plenty of limits to any device. "Every device has a limit to how far it can go."

Zuma was walking down the hallway, looking for the others as he overheard the owner of the place speak up. "As long as it's as efficient at bone tracking as you guys say it'll be, I'll be happy."

Zuma entered the room as soon as he heard that, being curious about what bone tracking meant. "Bone twacking?"

The others looked and saw Zuma enter the room, leaving the owner to happily explain to him what the base was about. "That's right little guy! This base right here uses the desert to look for dinosaur bones."

That was one thing Zuma didn't know much about. He knew dinosaurs existed, but he didn't know they looked for bones in the desert. "Is that what 'Awcheology' is?"

The owner nodded her head yes, and Rocky had an idea on what Zuma was thinking and made a quick offer after he finished his latest adjustment. "If Indiana's okay with it, I'd be happy to show you how this bad boy works."

Zuma smiled in response when Indiana gave him a thumbs up, leaving Chase to remind Zuma of something important to keep in mind with the device. "Just remember Zuma. As cool as this thing is, it's not a toy."

"Got it." Zuma answered as he nodded in response, and he went over to Rocky and handed his water bottle to him after seeing he didn't have one. "Want some?"

Rocky appreciated the offer, knowing he'd need it in a place as hot as this. "Sure. Thanks." Rocky went away from the device as he drank, making sure not to get any water on it as he took what he needed. When he handed it back to Zuma, he sighed of relief and cracked a joke he came up with. "Good thing I don't have to swim in this water."

That brought an idea to Zuma's mind, and he hoped it wouldn't hurt Rocky for him to ask this question. "Speaking of... do you think you'll be able to swim again one day?"

Rocky had another memory come back after that, but he still smiled, feeling that it was a possibility. "I sure hope so."

Zuma could tell something was off, since while he didn't know why yet, he could tell whenever Rocky was bothered by something. The fact that Rocky showed a hurt look before he smiled to him made it clear that something was triggered in him there. He decided not to probe him on it however, and brought up a possible outcome for the future. "Maybe we could swim together after you do."

Rocky liked that idea, and Ryder let them know what the wait time would be for the final updates to be made. "We have about an hour or two before the updates finish. Anyone want lunch?" The pups were more than on board with that, especially Rocky, with how hard at work he was just a few minutes ago.


While the others were eating lunch, Chase was getting himself a soda as he heard Zuma's voice next to him. "Chase?"

Chase looked at the worried Chocolate Labrador, taking notice right away to how concerned he was. "Oh, hey Zuma. Is everything okay?"

"Kind of? I don't know. I was hoping to talk to you about something." Zuma answered, leaving Chase to hope that he wasn't thinking about doing anything dangerous. "Wyder said this would be best to talk to Wocky about, but I hoped you wouldn't mind spawing some more details." Chase listened closely after butt bumping the fridge door to close it, letting Zuma ask what was on his mind. "Why did Nicky accuse Wocky of wanting to be with you when I fiwst met you?"

Chase didn't expect that, even with the mention of Rocky. He hoped he could spare enough to ease Zuma's worry. "Nicky was definitely the jealous type. He was always worried that Rocky secretly wanted me instead." Chase couldn't help taking a moment to boast about himself during his explanation. "I mean, I don't blame him for obvious reasons, but he could've at least tried to take Rocky's word for it when he said over and over again that he was never interested in me."

Zuma did have some more context thanks to this, but still wanted to know what exactly went on with Rocky and Nicky. "That does sound pwetty annoying." Zuma then asked his follow up question with the hopes that Chase had an answer. "What made them bweak up?"

Chase wasn't exactly sure what happened then, since Rocky didn't talk about the break up. "I don't know Zuma. Rocky didn't give us any details. All I know about it is that Nicky did NOT take it well." Chase felt awful for Rocky when he thought about what Nicky did to him. He knew from the start that their relationship would never have worked out. "He also didn't talk much about what Nicky did to him behind the scenes. I can relate to that one."

"You didn't have a bad bweak up too, did you?" Zuma asked with concern, hoping that Chase didn't get hurt by anyone.

"No no, not like that." Chase assured Zuma, explaining more for him so he had a better picture. "I just meant that we both don't like talking about the tragedies that happened to us in our lives. For some, they can seem too hurtful to talk about most of the time."

Zuma looked at Rocky, who was sitting with the others, and smiled to Zuma when waving to him. Zuma looked back at Chase, hoping that he could help Rocky with any issues he could have right now. "Do you think Wocky's okay?"

"I can only hope so Zuma. The only other thing I know is that one day... Rocky came to the Lookout with a black eye." Chase admitted concernedly, not knowing how bad exactly Rocky's relationship with Nicky was for him. Zuma was beyond shocked from the implication that Nicky was hitting Rocky. "If Rocky's willing to open up to anyone, besides Richie of course, it's you." Chase headed back over to where the others were with Zuma wondering just how deep this situation was. If what Chase said was true, then he knew he had to at least try to talk to Rocky about it.


Later that night, Rocky was getting ready for bed in the base's bedroom area with Zuma seeing him as he left the bathroom. He hoped what Chase said about Rocky opening up to him was true, and he decided to test it then and there. It was only the two of them, so he knew he could do this in private. When walking up to him, Rocky instantly noticed and felt how worried Zuma was. He hoped he was okay and decided to ask about it. "What's wrong Zuma?"

"Well..." Zuma hesitated at first, not wanting Rocky to seem like he was being nosy. He just wanted to help him with whatever could be troubling him. "I couldn't stop thinking about yestewday, when your mood changed after I bwought up Nicky." Rocky flinched, having a feeling he knew where this was going. He let Zuma continue, just to be sure. "Was your welationship with Nicky weally that bad?"

Rocky rubbed his arm while struggling to really answer Zuma's question. He was still worried about how harshly he would blame himself after learning more about this. "It's... it's complicated Zuma. Some break ups are just really bad, and they can leave an impact on someone, even after they've done all they can to move on."

That didn't sound right to Zuma. It sounded like Rocky was the one who got dumped. He just knew that wasn't the case. "That can't be what's bothewing you though." Rocky couldn't deny that Zuma was good at reading him. He was impressed after he noticed. "That sounds more like what Nicky would've been going thwough. He even said you were the one who bwoke up with him."

Rocky pounded his fist onto his bed; not out of anger, but out of fear over what happened with Nicky. "I said it's complicated Zuma!" Zuma flinched when Rocky snapped at him, leaving Rocky to realize what he did and quickly correct himself. "I'm sorry. I just, can't talk about this, right now." That was Rocky's biggest fear in all of this. He was still trying to get over what Nicky did to him, and he didn't want to take it out on Zuma.

Rocky walked off with Zuma wanting to know why Rocky couldn't talk about this with him. "But why?" Rocky stopped at the door, knowing that Zuma just wanted to help him. He just couldn't bring himself to talk about his problems right now. "At least tell me why."

Rocky decided that he should in fact give Zuma at least that. He didn't want him to be left without anything. "It's just too painful for me right now." Zuma felt awful after Rocky said those words, despite Rocky not meaning any ill-will towards him. "I need some fresh air. I'll come back in after a few minutes."

Rocky left the room and walked off, and Zuma reached out to him, but couldn't bring himself to speak up. He was clearly hurting, but he didn't know how to help him. He didn't know a thing about this stuff. True he had feelings for Paleclaw at one point, but that couldn't relate to Rocky's dilemma. Paleclaw is completely different from Nicky. All Zuma could think to do was go to his bed and take out his guitar. After he did, he started to play a melancholic melody to establish how confused and conflicted he was due to not knowing how to help Rocky with his situation.

After playing for about ten seconds, Zuma stopped the melody briefly. When he continued after about three seconds of silence, he started singing We Need To Talk. "I want to talk to you... evew so badly. I'm not holding it off because I don't care, but because this is foweign to me. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff. And I know your situation is weally wough. It's not something you can fix with a calming walk."

Zuma thought about the walk he had with Rocky in the forest after he sang that. He only wished fixing his dilemma was that simple. "I still wanna be there whenever you fall. I wanna learn more, so feel fwee to call. Cause the only thing I know for sure, is that we need to talk." Zuma played for a couple more seconds while closing his eyes and sighing over how hurt he was over the thought that he couldn't help Rocky.


Rocky was walking walking over to a spot in the desert that was nearby, but didn't have anyone close enough to hear him. He started singing as well, showing that he had the same thought on his mind that Zuma did. "Believe me; I want to... help you understand. It's not fair at all to keep you waiting, when it's clear your concern is grand. I'm not trying to avoid the chance to talk to you. I just want to make sure I'm ready too. I only wish I knew how long that would take."

Rocky looked back on one of the days Nicky was mistreating him. This was at the beach, and the latter splashed him with a water bottle before chastising him for his fear of swimming. The memory made it pretty clear that Rocky's feelings were deeply hurt then too. "I wish these times didn't hurt so bad. I only hope us talking makes me glad." Rocky shed a tear as he looked back on all the times Nicky hurt him. "So much pain that I never want to remake."


Zuma and Rocky were shown to be singing side by side now with both of them wishing that they could find the time to talk about this. "If only talking was easier said, than it ever is done." Zuma played a few more strings before he and Rocky continued singing. "At least then, it would be quicker, to go back to having fun."

Zuma sang a couple more lyrics solo to really empathize how much he wanted to help Rocky. "If I knew how to help you, I'd do it... no doubt."

Rocky then sang a couple more lyrics solo himself, showing that he wanted to talk to Zuma about his time with Nicky. "The thoughts just hurt me so much, that I'm worried I'll start to shout."

The two pups then started singing in sync again with Zuma looking at the ground and Rocky looking at the moon as they expressed how upset the situation made the both of them. "Keeping you in the dark is the last thing I want. I just don't know what to say. The stress this whole thing makes me is as big as Adventure Bay." Zuma played a few more strums before the two kept singing. "I wish this was easier for me to do. Like when we shared that peaceful nature walk. The only thing I know for sure..."

Zuma made the final strums of the song to empathize how hard this was for both him and Rocky as they wrapped the song up in sync. "is that we need to talk." Zuma's last strum finished up the song with him looking at his guitar somberly, and Rocky still looking up at the moon as he continued his time to himself. After that, the two were just sitting there, thinking about how things would progress from here. Zuma couldn't bare the thought of failing to help Rocky. The thought alone ate him up inside. And Rocky felt the same way with his inability to talk about it with Zuma.


The next day, which was day eighteen of Zuma's life with the Paw Patrol, Rocky was eating breakfast with Zuma entering the kitchen to find him pouring a bowl of cereal. The Chocolate Lab decided to check up on him, knowing that last night got a little heated for the both of them. "Hey Wocky. You okay?"

Rocky saw Zuma walking up to him and offered him the bowl and spoon he set up for him as he responded. "I'm getting there." Zuma sat down next to Rocky, who spoke up about what happened last night. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. My failed relationship with Nicky has been affecting my mental state a lot lately. But that's no excuse."

"I didn't exactly help with your wecovery." Zuma admitted, feeling he should've accepted it right away when Rocky asked him to stop. "As much as I wanna know, you're cleawly not weady to talk about what happened with Nicky."

"I still should've considered that you only wanted to help me." Rocky pointed out, feeling that he failed to take that into account when he snapped. "All of you do."

Zuma hoped Rocky wouldn't be upset by what he chose to bring up next. "I talked to Chase about it yestewday. All he told me was that you came to the Lookout once with a black eye."

Rocky started pouring some milk into his cereal as he confirmed to Zuma that this did indeed happen. "It's true."

Zuma didn't want to pressure Rocky, so he instead assured him that he had his support. He wanted to let Rocky know that he would be there when he needed him, no matter what. "When you're weady to talk about it, let me know."

Rocky smiled gratefully and looked at Zuma, glad he was able to bond with a pup like Zuma. "Thanks Zuma." Rocky handed Zuma the milk, and then he remembered that the brand of cereal he had was a chocolate and peanut butter kind and took it back. "Oh, wait; this has peanuts in it! I'll get you a new one."

Rocky did so, returning to Zuma after swapping the cereal for one that was more fruit flavored. He took it over to Zuma, who happily started pouring it in. "Thanks Wocky."

"You're welcome." Rocky responded, and as Zuma started pouring his cereal, Rocky struck a new conversation. "So can you believe how long Skye's been at it for?"

"Hehe. I almost didn't." Zuma admitted, and Rocky started eating his cereal as Zuma started pouring his milk in. "I know I've done it longer than Skye before, but it's usually Chase who has these gnawly moments."


Back in the room the pups were sleeping in before, Chase was sitting smugly on the side of Skye's bed with the Cockapoo's butt raised into the air as she was farting...

...HHHHHHHHHH...

...A loud and bassy fart that reeked of rotten eggs left the Cockapoo's vibrating butt with her blanket being pushed against a high part of the wall from it. Her fart was so warm that she didn't even feel it when her blanket flew off...

...HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT

...When the fart ended however, Chase couldn't help snickering as he waited for Skye to wake up. It was only a few seconds more before she did, and Skye instantly got a whiff of the room's gas. She looked to Chase's smug grin when she sat up and instantly asked with a deadpan look what she thought was the case. "Did you clear out the room last night?"

"Not exactly." Chase replied smugly, and then he walked off as he reminded Skye of how good his fart record was. "Also, my fart record usually extends past one hour." That comment made Skye flinch, and she looked behind herself to find that her blanket was descending from the floor. She then looked back at her butt and saw it in the direction of her blanket. After looking ahead, she blushed heavily and knew she was in for a lot. Not just because she was the one who cleared out the room this time, but because she learned she can fart for an hour straight.

That, and her pup suit now smelt like rotten eggs.


After Skye had finished her bath, she went into the kitchen to eat some breakfast and found Zuma sitting there by himself. She thought he looked lonely, so she went over to give him some company. "Are you okay Zuma?"

Zuma looked at Skye, and thankfully, he didn't look as sad as she expected him to. "Yeah, I'm good." Zuma finished what he soon revealed to be his second bowl of fruity cereal. "Wocky showed me this new ceweal bwand, and I just had to have another bowl."

Skye got a good look at the box, catching why Zuma liked it so much in an instant. "Tropical Rainbow Blast. Yep; sounds like your style."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Zuma asked with a sly grin, making Skye flinch as she corrected herself.

"I just meant that you're the beach loving type!" Skye assured Zuma, who started laughing as she did. "I wasn't trying to assume anything!"

"Welax Skye. I'm just joking." Zuma assured Skye, and then he went to put his bowl away with Skye walking with him as he kept talking. "If you're wondewing, there isn't any tension between me and Wocky. We talked about what happened, and I told him to let me know what happened when he's ready."

Skye was glad to see that Rocky and Zuma made up. She just hoped Zuma wouldn't be kept in the dark about this for too long. "Knowing how close you guys have gotten since you started living with us, I think he should be ready soon."

Zuma decided to change the subject and smirked to Skye as he brought up her smelly morning incident. "So. Someone was gassy this mowning."

Skye flinched and blushed a deep red as she admitted that it was far from her finest hour. "Definitely not my proudest moment."


The Paw Patrol were preparing to head back to Adventure Bay with Zuma hopping into the bus to find Rocky reading a big book. "Hey Wocky. Whatcha weading?

"Just this book on desert themed creatures." Rocky answered, and as Zuma sat down next to him, he explained why he was reading a book of that type. "This is my first time coming out here to the desert, and I didn't really get to see any of the creatures around here. I figured I might as well get some knowledge on them in case we come back."

Zuma felt that made sense, but had a thought in mind that he felt could help Rocky learn more quickly. "Why not figuwe out wight now?"

Rocky caught onto what Zuma was saying and gave a cheeky grin as he looked to him. "Zuma Thorne. Are you asking me to join you in an act of mischief?"

"Maaaaybe." Zuma replied with a cheeky grin, and then he snickered a bit as he filled Rocky in on what he had in mind. "I saw some of the animals myself when I was getting a look awound the place yestewday. The others may not mind if we make it quick."

Rocky did like the idea, but he felt that since they were about to leave, it was best to stay in the bus. "As tempting as that is, I think we should wait until next time. We are about to head home after all."

"Aw, fine." Zuma replied, getting a good look at the book with Rocky to see what he was learning about right now. "What's this one about?"

"That's a road runner. They're pretty different from the birds we'd find back home." Zuma nodded in response and listened to Rocky tell him about how the eagles were different.


Back at Mayor Goodway's house, Rocky and Zuma were in Richie's room as Rocky was working on his limitless connection headphones from before. He was trying to focus the best he could with Zuma eagerly waiting to see what he was cooking up, only for another text to come in on his phone. He sighed and took his phone out, sending a text to a certain pup Zuma already knew about. "Is he still bombawding you with texts?"

"Yep. Has been since this morning." Rocky complained, sending his text as he opened up a little to Zuma about how this was affecting him. "I already told him we were done. He had no reason to come with us to the desert."

Zuma was definitely starting to get even more annoyed with Nicky, and it showed. "I wish I could tell him to stop, but I don't know where he lives, and he never gave me his number."

"Honestly Zuma, that might be a good thing." Rocky admitted, and then he put his phone away before his stomach growled. He looked to Zuma, who nodded and went for a window. After he opened it, Rocky's butt was shown as he looked back while lifting it and ripped...

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP

...a loud and bassy ten second fart that made his butt vibrate, leaving Zuma to walk back over to Rocky as they both wafted away the yellow cloud of rotten eggs. "Thanks Zuma." Zuma smiled and gave Rocky a thumbs up, glad he could have his back during these hard times. Even something as small as keeping him from covering a room with his own fart gas counted. It also showed Zuma that Rocky was capable of letting out big farts too. He just chose not to do so in public.


Meanwhile, at the Lookout, Ryder and Richie were playing a game of chess with Ryder making his next move. After he did, he looked to Richie, and could tell he had a lot on his mind. He hoped a conversation about it would help ease his mood. "I take it Rocky still hasn't told Zuma."

Richie nodded his head no before making his next move. As he did, he told Ryder what he thought about the situation. "I don't want to force him into it, but Rocky needs to open up about this. I know it'll hurt, but he needs closure. He needs to know we're there for him."

"Well I think he knows that we're there for him." Ryder assured Richie before making his next move. As Richie made his next move, Ryder finished his sentence. "This kind of stuff is just hard for people to talk about. And Rocky was going through it for two and a half months."

Richie had an idea in mind, hoping that Ryder would be on board with it as the next move was made. "Maybe we can help him." Richie made his next move as he confirmed his suggestion to Ryder. "Maybe... an intervention. And Zuma could also open up too. If he wants."

"That's a great idea! I'll tell Chase and Skye after Zuma gets back." Ryder responded, seeing his winning move and giving a confident grin as he made it. With a move of his knight, he attacked one of the remaining four pieces; that being, Richie's King piece. "Checkmate!"

Richie laughed a bit a he thought about how many games he and Ryder have had over the years. "That's like, what? Game five hundred since we started playing? I forget when our first game was." Ryder shrugged as Richie asked a question while shaking Ryder's hand. "How do you always win?"

"I guess I'm just really good at this sport." Ryder answered, not really having a definitive one for how he was so good. In reality, both of them knew it was because Ryder is a prodigy. The two of them stopped shaking hands before putting everything away, and after they did, they went onto the balcony and saw Rocky and Zuma coming up to the Lookout. Richie showed concern for Rocky again, as did Ryder. The two then looked at each other and nodded. They were both ready for their plan to be set in motion as the screen faded to black, ending the episode off.