ᅟ

Chapter 29: Unwanted Tasks and Unneeded Pups

"How far until we get there?"

Rubble had been asking the same question to Everest and Tracker every ten minutes since they had left that morning. To a normal person it would get grating, but the two wayfinder pups were understanding. After all, they wanted to know too, and they were the ones that were supposed to know, but the fog was complicating things. The least they could do was give him a new estimate every so often.

"I think it was closer to the beach," Tracker told Everest. "I remember the water sounding louder."

"Are you sure it's not just the fog making things quieter?" the lavender husky proposed.

"Now that you mention it, I don't know."

"Alright, well we could backtrack a bit if we need to… Maybe we should go back to the beach and retrace our steps again?"
"Let's only do that if you lose the trail again."
"Okay. I wish the trail was more fresh. It wouldn't be so easy to lose."

Rubble didn't really understand what they were saying, and it didn't help that his mind kept wandering. Rubble sighed as he propped his head up against his paw, which he was resting on the dashboard of his silver rig. He was driving it along behind them for some reason or another. He couldn't remember why because he hadn't been paying attention when Gizmo told them what was needed the night before. He didn't even remember being told he would be needed at all, actually, just that a couple things were needed from the forest. He was having fun toying with the holographic display, waving his paw through his edge of the island as the others' voices droned on in the background. He liked trying to see how far he could get the display distortion to travel without the others noticing. The lifelike colors of the display fascinated him, as well as the opacity control. He wondered how the plasma configuration worked; whether it used lasers or something else he wasn't really aware of. And the controls were also incredible. It was like virtual reality, but without the remote controls humans would usually use. The table itself could read your paw movements as inputs. But the part that blew him away was the age! How that thing was seventy years old astounded him. To imagine that back then they had-

"Rubble!"

"Huh?" The pup snapped from his reverie at the sound of both the others calling his name.

Everest explained what they had decided. "Tracker is going to go off in search of the route we took since he can move faster with his cables, and he'll be able to hear us if he gets lost. I'm going to go back and make sure we haven't strayed from the trail. Can you stay here in case we both get lost?"

"Yeah, sure!" the construction pup agreed, hiding the disappointment in his voice.

"¡Excelente! Call me if you need me!" Tracker replied before zipping off through the treetops back towards the beach.

"Thanks Rubble!" Everest followed behind shortly after, soon disappearing into the fog.

The bulldog sighed. Now he was alone, truly feeling useless. He didn't want to ask what they were doing because he knew he should already know. However, because he didn't, he couldn't really help with anything, and didn't even know what trail they were following. As a result, he just felt like his presence was unnecessary for their endeavor. He knew he wasn't, but- Rubble snapped himself out of his thoughts. He knew he should keep an ear out to make sure nothing was happening to the other two. 'Focus, Rubble, focus. The others- Ooh, what's that?'

Almost immediately Rubble's attention was diverted by a purple glow shining from the forest floor ahead of him, mostly hidden by the underbrush. If he was on the ground instead of in his vehicle, he doubted he would have seen it. He drove into the clearing to get a better look. Embedded in the ground there was a large circular machine about the size of his rig. But Rubble wasn't looking at the device. He was watching the leaves floating in midair above it. Then everything clicked.

"Oh! This must have been what we were looking for!" Rubble exclaimed aloud. "They were following the path they took when they fell into this trap and captured Gizmo! And they need me to dig it up and bring it back!" Then he realized he should call the others. "Hey! Guys! I found it!" Rubble barked into his pup tag.

A while away, Tracker was swinging through the canopy using his silver pup pack. The compass on his collar lit up as he heard Rubble's voice echo from far behind him and at the front of his neck. This often produced an annoying echo effect for the noise-sensitive pup. Because he tried to listen to Rubble talking from behind him instead of from his collar, he ended up missing what Rubble was so elated about. Tracker hung in mid air for a moment and scratched at his neck, "Estúpido collar. ¡Es tan desorientado! What was that, Rubble, amigo?"

"I found the thing! The thing on the floor! You know, the purple floaty thingy!"

Everest stopped sniffing the undergrowth and turned her attention to her com tag, "You mean the gravity trap?"

"No," Rubble responded, "the electro-magnetic force emission cone. It might get dinged up a bit when I extract it from the ground, but the aluminum and chromium siding should hold. I think it'll work really well for what we need it for. Whatever it is."

Everest's face contorted in confusion as she continued picking her way through the forest, "So, Rubble, is it the thing we're looking for?"

"I… think so… The purple glowing thing. It can make stuff float."

The husky grunted as she pulled her back paw out of a stubborn clump of creepers, "That's the thing! Great job, Rubble. I'll be over in just a sec." Looking around her in mild annoyance, she thought to herself, '...That is, if I can remember what direction "back" is in…'

Tracker, still at a distance, began swinging back towards the rig he could hear igniting into action, "What about the second one? We haven't found that one yet," the pup pointed out.

Over their tags, a WHUMP was heard. A moment later Everest's voice sounded over the com links, "Not again… Well, I found it."

"You did? ¡Fantástico!" the Potcake exclaimed. "Where is it?"

"All around me. A little help?"

Tracker sighted Rubble and zipped past, "I'll go help her! You do what you do best."

Rubble grinned and resumed digging, "Let's dig it!" As the bulldog began extracting the device from the ground, he overheard the communication between Tracker and Everest.

"Keep shouting so that I know where to go."

"I have no intention of stopping until I'm right side up!"

"¡Para, por favor! I hear you. I hear you!"

By the time Rubble had finished, Tracker had managed to pull Everest out of the beam using his cables. Once the snow pup was right-side-up and less queasy, the pair set about instructing Rubble on how to best maneuver his rig through the trees to their location. After many confusing directions, Rubble made his way to the spot where the husky had fallen prey to the second trap. The two explorers had managed to clear away most of the vines for the construction pup, and in no time the machine was pulled clear.

Everest hopped onto the side of Rubble's silver vehicle and gave the bulldog a paw bump, "That was great! And thanks for saving me, Tracker. I hate being stuck upside-down."

Tracker managed to scramble onto the other side of the machine to paw bump both of his friends, "No hay problema. I love to help!"

"No ay prob-blay-mah to you too, Tracker," Rubble laughed. "I'd say that we've decisively completed our mission! Let's tell the others. But first I have a question. Why didn't you use your grappling hook to get out, Everest?"

The husky slapped a paw to her forehead. "I forgot it wasn't deactivated."

After finishing his discussion with Skye and Rocky, Gizmo had left to oversee the making of one of the front windows. The production of glass was a complicated procedure on Franklin Island, and the Lab normally tried to avoid it when he could, especially for rounded glass panels. However, in this case, there wasn't any way around it. The Air Patroller needed a front windshield. He had managed to get the automation process back in working order and was taking the final steps before it was able to run on its own. As he checked the furnace temperature, Gizmo heard a chirp from his earpiece and stopped his observation to hear what was about to be said. He recognized Rubble's voice, and was pleased to hear that his traps hadn't received much damage when being dug up.

"Great, Rubble!" Gizmo heard Chase say, "Could you bring them back here to the hangar so that we–"

"Specifically to the room adjacent to the hanger," Gizmo informed.

"Yes, that room, and we're going to–"

"To flatten out the sheet metal from model HC12."

"Thank you, Gizmo. I was going to say the Air Patroller. I'll teach you how to use them."

"Actually, I think I'll just do it myself, Chase."

"Gizmo, you showed me how to get out, set up, and do it, so I think that I can show them."

"No, you might get confused with the wiring," Gizmo countered. "I'll just do it, and I'll get you set up watching this window being made so you can alert me in case anything goes wrong. But don't worry, you won't have to do anything." After making sure everything was automated sufficiently, he left the building heading towards the hangar.

Back in the side room of the hangar, Chase exhaled sharply. "Great. Another job where I won't have to do anything." Watching the window be made was one of the last things he wanted to do, but he didn't want to object. A few minutes later, Chase heard a whiny bark from outside.

"What is THIS?! What are you guys doing?!"

"It's rain, dude!"

Chase couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

Marshall's voice came from through the open door, "Haven't you ever seen rain- oh wait. No you haven't."

"Come and join us!" Zuma invited. "It's totally awesome!"

"Yeah!" Skye agreed. "It's really fun!"

"That's only because you're playing on the road where there's no dirt for the rain to turn into mud," Rocky pointed out.

"This isn't rain! What is this?! The firehose on the roof? How did you get it to do that- that 'rain' thing?" Gizmo sputtered.

"Um… I activated the sprinkler setting?"

"There's a sprinkler setting?! Why is there a sprinkler setting?"

"Beats me, dude. We were hoping you could tell us."

"I'd take a look at it to see, but I'd have to get wet again, and I just got dry," Rocky cut in.

"Well it's making me soaked when I have no good reason to be. I almost want to dismantle that thing part by part."

"I'm with Gizmo."

"Great. Let's go, Rocky."

"Wait! Just turn it off! There's no good reason to break it!" Marshall hollered.

"It's not breaking. It's 'upgrading,'" Gizmo cheekily replied. "But I guess turning it off will suffice aptly. Chase said he was here when we talked. Is he in the anteroom?"

"Yeah. He went in there a while ago, not too long after I got back," Skye answered.

A few seconds later, Gizmo stepped into the side room to give the police pup directions. "So about three blocks north of FIR is a building that has a big 'Glassworks' sign. Could you go there and watch the window process and let me know if anything happens that seems like it isn't supposed to? But don't touch anything on the controls or the process might get botched."

Before Chase could answer, the black Lab had already left. His voice trailed off as he walked to the stairwell, "Alright, time to turn off the 'rain.'"

Chase smirked as he allowed the door to close. Then his ears drooped. The last thing he wanted to do was a job where he couldn't actively do anything. He wanted to be doing something, and his recent lack of tasks had sent him into a funk. He knew that most of the jobs he had been doing were important, such as getting coils of new wiring from storage rooms or helping to reassemble the cockpit, but then there were tasks like this one. The German shepherd kicked a loose bolt on the floor and watched it tumble across the rough concrete.

What really frustrated him, however, was when Gizmo would step in and tell the others what to do. In Ryder's absence, Chase was used to being the leader and taking command, but recently their new friend had been taking that role. Chase knew how Gizmo wanted the magnetic traps set up. One of them would be placed on the ground and one would be fastened upside down above the first one. The dented and deformed metal plates from the hull of the Air Patroller would be put in between the two, and a massive magnetic pulse would flatten the plate. It wouldn't have been too hard to set up. Unless, of course, the wire connections were more complicated than anticipated. But regardless, that didn't mean he had to take over giving all the instructions.

'Maybe Gizmo was just oblivious. Maybe he wasn't trying to be annoying. Maybe… just maybe… He's being a jerk!'

The last comment was thought as Chase launched another stray bolt across the room. It pinged against the wall and skipped to a stop. He sighed, knowing that the last thought was unfair, but feeling the frustration regardless. He waited for a moment before exiting the anteroom. The German shepherd dragged his feet into the hanger, out the back door, and towards his police car to get in it. At the last second, though, he changed his mind and instead continued on past it. No sooner had he done so when he heard Skye's voice behind him.

"Where are you going?" the pilot asked with concern. She had noted his salty mood and hated to see him, or anyone else for that matter, dejected.

Chase turned around to answer her. "To the glass factory to watch a window be made automatically," he breathed in thinly-masked frustration.

"You aren't taking your car?"

"I kind of want to walk right now. It's only about ten blocks to FIR and then three to the workshop," the police dog replied. 'And the longer it takes for me to get there, the less time I have to spend being inactive,' he thought to himself.

"Well… do you want to come with me instead?" Skye offered. "Gizmo said they should have all the help they need once Rubble and the other two come back with the gravity traps, so he sent me to get some supplies."

Chase visibly perked up, a small smile sneaking onto his muzzle. "That would be great. Thanks Skye."

I'm back with another chapter! Hope you all had a good Christmas season! As most of you have probably guessed, I have long since given up on sending these out every week, so I'm going to attempt a chapter a month. If I get far enough ahead, I'll start doing more than one a month. Until next time!
(Btw, for anyone that had notifications for when new chapters come out, I sincerely apologize. If you don't have notifications on, then ignore this apology.)