The trip to the airport was eventful, to say the least. Carlos stayed in the front with Ryder, telling him about recent events in the jungle. Rubble slept in his seat, annoying Marshall with his loud snores. Already the the fire pup forgot his headphones at the Lookout, a decision he sincerely came to regret. The Dally wanted desperately to smother Rubble with a pillow. He actually considered it for a moment, before stopping to wonder if dogs could serve life in prison.
Zuma and Rocky sat off to the side, comparing their opinions of the beach hotel they were going to. It was ironic that the two pups could be so different and yet be such close friends. The opposite was true of Liberty and Tracker; although they had just met and were both ecstatic to do so, the dachshund found Tracker's daily life unrelatable, and the Potcake found himself dumbfounded that there could possibly be such an energetic female.
"Hey, Chase?"
"Yep?" asked the Shepherd, taking off his headphones. He looked at Skye, who was now sitting next to him.
"Do you have a crush on me or something?"
In that moment, it felt like the world just stopped spinning. Or a black hole sucked the Earth through a spinning inferno of destruction and death. Or the atoms fell out of their place in the world, causing a universal explosion. Or-
"Chase?"
"Ah! Yep, what's up?"
"Did you even hear what I just said?"
"Uh, yeah, of course I did."
"So... do you or not?"
Chase stopped to consider the question. He did indeed feel strongly about her, and he did care for her, sometimes more than he did for the others.
"Uh... nope!"
"You sure?" asked the Cockapoo, tilting her head and giving Chase an uncompromising look.
"You're always worried about me. I heard you were wearing my bathing cap one time. And then today, you had that look in your eyes when I faked being hurt."
"I did not! Um, what look are we talking about here?"
"You know," started Skye, "the look you give when your worst nightmare happens and you feel like your insides are melting, and then your heart beats like there's no tomorrow."
"Alright, I see what you're getting at. And the truth is, uh... I worry about you because you're small."
Skye scoffed. "Please, we've already been past this. I can take care of myself. Remember that one time with the meteor?"
"That was different," replied Chase. "You had powers then. There's also that one time you ended up lost, and you broke your wings, remember? It took so long to find you and I just felt so..."
Chase trailed off. He silently gulped, knowing there was no turning back from what he was about to say. Skye gave him a questioning look, waiting for him to finish speaking.
"...tired. Cause I had to look for you for a long time, y'know."
"Right," mumbled Skye. "Listen, you don't have to lie to me. I know this is all true, Chase. Zuma said-"
"So Zuma told you, huh?"
"Yep. Heard it from his own mouth."
"Excuse me one second," said Chase before walking over to where Zuma and Rocky were talking.
"Ehem," coughed Chase into his paw, interrupting the duo's conversation.
"Hey, dude."
"Don't give me that 'hey, dude' stuff. Did you tell Skye?"
"Hey, I had to," defended Zuma in a half-whisper. "I held it inside too long. It's so obvious! Just ask hew out alweady, dude!"
Rocky looked back and forth at his friends as if he were a confused child watching his parents fight.
"No. What if she were to say no? Huh? I can't bare to lose my confidence. Remember that time in Adventure City? Huh?"
"Chase, I'm sowwy. I get it, you have issues. We all do. But some things in life-"
"Are what, Zuma? What?"
"...wowth it. No mattew who tuwns you down."
Chase sighed, accepting that Zuma was somewhat justified.
"Sorry I lost it for a second there. I'm just... you know, I don't always deal with unexpected stuff very well. You know how it is."
Zuma leaned forward in an attempt to give his friend a hug, before the Shepherd suddenly held out a paw and stopped him.
"You might not wanna do that after what I am about to say," admitted Chase before a sly grin spread across his muzzle.
"What is it?" asked the Labrador, tilting his head in confusion.
"I forgive you. And because I forgive you, I'm gonna find your crush and not outright tell her or him, but drop hints. Huh? You like that?"
Zuma held his serious expression, before bursting out in laughter.
Rocky just shrugged and left to talk to Marshall.
"Wh-what... what're you laughin' at me for?"
Zuma cackled, rolling on his back and kicking at the air. "Oh, man! Oh dude! So... funny," the Lab wheezed in between laughs.
Chase just sat there, and somewhat wished Zuma had just stayed in place and instead gave him a terrified look, begging him for mercy.
When the Lab finally got up, he wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, thank you. I haven't had such a gweat laugh in ages, dude."
"I was being serious."
"That's the funny pawt," admitted Zuma. "But unlike you, I'm subtle. You won't find out who my cwush is. Not even if the man upstaiws makes you live a thousand lifetimes."
"Oh yeah? I propose we make a deal, then."
"What is it?" asked Zuma, bracing himself to laugh once more.
"If I can find out who your crush is in about... 72 hours, you have to not only confess to him or her, but you have to pick up after Rubble whenever he goes and we're in public. For about a week."
"Faiw," nodded Zuma before a cocky grin grew across his face. "And if you fail, you have to gwow a paiw and ask Skye out. Deal?"
Chase thought long and hard about the conditions of their deal. He was the police pup for a reason, and had no disillusion in his detective abilities. On the other paw, Zuma was indeed subtle. He knew how to suppress his stress and convert it into his usually calm demeanor.
"Deal," agreed the Shepherd before shaking paws with Zuma. They were now eternally bound by one another's word, and there was no going back.
"All right guys, we're here," stated Ryder as the Paw Patroller came to a halt. The pups all cheered, and Rubble even sprang up from his seat.
Ryder then grabbed a large, plastic bin and set it in front of the pups. "Only precaution. The airport is pretty sensitive about phones, and unfortunately that applies to every device capable of communication. So, pup tags, please."
Marshall, Rocky and Rubble were closest to the front of the vehicle, and complied without question. Chase and Zuma were next, whispering to each other about basic agreements in their deal as they unhooked their collars and placed them in the bin like the trio before them. Skye and Tracker weren't too far behind.
"There's only seven collars in here," noted Ryder aloud.
"We've got a disobedient pup on our hands," chuckled Carlos.
"Okay, come on, every last pup. Who skipped out on the precaution?"
"Huh, that's a mystery, heh," mumbled Liberty as she held her paw up, concealing her collar.
"Liberty, I can see that."
"Uh, what? Is the nasty collar-keeping pup behind me?"
"Liberty, give me your collar."
"What, I... ugh, I hate lyin' to you, man," muttered the dachshund as she slowly put her paw down. "I'm not takin' this off."
"Liberty, you have to. It's precaution."
"Precaution, presmaushion," mumbled Liberty. "You don't realize, Ryder. This pup tag and collar mean a lot to me! The second I put this on for the first time, it was like I joined a family, and finally belonged somewhere. Without it, well... it's symbolic! With it gone, I might just feel like I did before. Alone again in those streets, chatting up humans I can't relate to."
"Liberty, it's okay," said Ryder in a comforting tone.
"It really is," chimed in Skye. "You feel more free with it off, anyways."
"And it's not like you awen't still family, loved by all of us," added Zuma, causing Chase to take some mental notes.
"Well... fine," submitted Liberty, lowering her head and unhooking her collar. She picked it up in her teeth, and held it above the bin. The other pups began to cheer her on, and she slowly dropped it into the pup tag prison as the others applauded her.
"I promise you, I'll give it back to you the second we leave the plane," comforted Ryder.
"All right," huffed Liberty. She knew in her heart that the boy was being fully honest to her, but as she picked up her traveling bag and looked over at the collar in the plastic container, she couldn't shake the longing feeling that she wouldn't see it again for a long time.
When the pups, Carlos and Ryder finally exited the Paw Patroller, it is safe to say they were in no hurry. Their flight was in thirty minutes, giving enough time for them to relax as they held their luggage. Ryder and Carlos used small clips to attach the tickets and boarding passes to themselves and the pups.
"Remember guys, flight 216," reminded Ryder. Chase, taking off his headphones to acknowledge his leader, only heard "16". This would come to be one of the Shepherd's biggest regrets in his life as a puppy.
"We're not gonna have to go in crates, are we?" Skye asked her leader.
"Of course not. I have everyone's certification of potty training."
"You still have those?" asked Rocky, his cheeks slowly growing a pink shade.
"Yes. I get it, it's embarrassing, but I'd really see to it that you guys don't end up in small enclosures, surrounded by scary noises and new, possibly hurtful animals."
"Fair," mumbled Marshall, who actually would have preferred that he and his friends be caged in a safe compartment than sitting with different humans and the possibility of looking out a window.
The pups awaited their ride for a while longer than what they were willing. Ryder and Carlos were sitting, discussing what they intended to do once they reached their rooms. Marshall tapped his paws anxiously against the tile of the floor. Rocky and Zuma were arguing over who was more likely to meet any attractive females on this trip, a conversation Chase listened in on closely. Skye and Tracker just greeted and waved at the children that passed them. Liberty, however, was being way more antisocial than usual. She seemed disheartened about leaving her collar in Ryder's bin. But what was she supposed to do? Not follow his order? One so small and simple, it seemed not to matter in the grand scheme of things?
"Hey, Liberty?" asked Rubble, shifting his paws anxiously.
"Hm."
"Uh, d-do you think you can h-help me find the r-r-restroom?"
"What, you gotta go number one?"
"Y-yeah..."
"I'll betcha that's what happens when you chug down that 'tap' stuff."
"N-not a good time. J-just please... Don't wanna... w-wet myself."
"Guys, our flight's in ten minutes," said Ryder, "we better get going."
"B-b-but I gotta," sputtered Rubble.
"He's gotta go to the restroom," stated Liberty.
"Oh, alright. It's down there, next to the vending machines. Chase, watch them, will you?"
"You bet, Ryder. I'll make sure they get on with us. Chase is on the case! The last one before our flight, at least. Zuma, carry my bag, would you?" asked Chase before speeding off with Rubble and Liberty.
"Zuma, cawwy my bag, would you?" mocked Zuma in a goofy voice while picking up the blue travel bag along with his own.
"Tell you what," muttered Zuma to himself as he walked with his group. "Aftew I put this on the conveyow belt, I should give that smug, goody two-paws a piece of my mind."
After the group loaded their traveling equipment onto the conveyor belt, all of the pups except Zuma rushed to their plane.
"Zuma, aren't you coming?" asked Rocky.
"Yeah, just awthwitis, typical Lab stuff. I'll catch up," said Zuma, pretending his joints felt sore.
"You know, that shouldn't kick in until we're-"
"Go on, I'll be fine," interrupted Zuma.
"Well, alright," sighed Rocky.
"Save me a seat, buddy."
"Sure thing," replied the mixed breed, wagging his tail before sprinting off to catch up with the group. After seeing his best friend run out of view, the Labrador ran back to the restrooms, eager to confront Chase.
Liberty and Chase sat in front of the men's restroom, waiting for Rubble to finish. It wasn't a very convenient place to be, given the looks the passerby gave them. But, it was a convenient enough place to let Rubble relieve himself.
However, the two were confused when Zuma of all pups came bounding towards them.
"Zuma?" asked Liberty. "What're you doing here? Didn't you get our bags?"
"I got Chase's," said Zuma, as if he were the Shepherd's humble servant, but there was clearly venom in his voice as he said the last word. "Mawshall got Wubble's, and Twackew got youws."
"Okay," replied Chase, "What're you doing here, then?"
"Well, I came back because I wasn't happy you told me to cawwy the bag with that smug gwin on that self-wighteous face. But now that I've come to it... I dunno what to say, dude. My bad. Heat of the moment."
It was then that Rubble finally flushed, coming out with a chunk of toilet paper stuck to the back of his leg. "What'd I miss?" asked the bulldog after a relieved sigh.
"Not much, but let's get outta here. Our flight's in four minutes!" exclaimed Chase.
And so the four pups dashed through the airport, risking life and limb to reach their destination. Chase and Zuma, being the biggest and most athletic of the four, eventually realized the Dachshund was trailing behind.
"I'm gonna wegwet this," groaned Zuma as he hoisted Liberty onto his back, surprising her.
"Get over it," Zuma growled to Chase as he gave a teasing glance.
"Ride 'em, cowboy!" shouted Liberty before imitating the sound of a whip cracking.
With great speed and urgency, they were able to make it to door 16, the flight that Chase "correctly" recalled Ryder telling him about. They scurried past the man behind the desk who failed to see them and point them to their correct flight.
Arriving into the plane, the four looked around for their friends.
"Uh, excuse me," said Zuma, tapping his paw on the knee of a well-dressed elderly man. "Have you seen a gwey pup, about as tall as me, one of his ea-"
"Kid, I can't even remember why I'm here," shrugged the elderly man. "He's probably in first class."
"Thanks, I think," replied Zuma before rushing back to his friends.
"I think they went to fiwst class and fowgot to tell us," said the Lab.
"Fine," said Chase. "The plane's about to take off, let's just go find some seats and then ask Ryder why he didn't tell us about this later."
Meanwhile, on flight 216, the others felt relaxed knowing vacation was on its way. The pups and their humans sat together, chatting over how they would spend their time at the beach. Rocky, however, sat alone. He stared at the empty seat next to himself. He wondered where on Earth Zuma was. He could think only of his friend. He imagined the Labrador bursting in at any moment, sitting next to him and apologizing for his delay. Any moment now. Any. Moment. Now.
The mixed breed was so focused on the seat next to him, however, that he didn't even notice when the plane started to take off.