The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.

- H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

-.-.-

When Ryder woke up, he found that the pups had rolled off of his legs, laying idly about each other. The Lookout, for the time being, was at peace. A cacophony of snores was audible through the Lookout, particularly Rubble's.

Ryder started to stand, stretching and yawning as he did. The sobs and sorrow had been temporarily forgotten, although the matter of Turbot's passing would undeniably be brought back up later. Ryder looked around at the sleeping pups and had begun to walk away when he heard it.

"Ugh... no. No, no... not..." Chase was talking in his sleep. And not just talking. Hoarse cries and whimpers escaped his throat, and his leg twitched in a desperate fashion. The German Shepherd's eyes looked to be pinched shut, his face twisting in horror and dismay. This quickly caught onto Ryder's attention. He turned back to his pup urgently. "Chase," Ryder called softly, reaching down to his pup as he scurried back to him.

"Ungh! Ack..." continued Chase's unyielding whines of fear. "Chase," Ryder called more firmly, grabbing the Shepherd by the shoulder and petting him. "Shhhhhh. Ssshhhhh. Easy." Chase flinched at first, uneasy. As his owner's soft touch and gentle whispers were made, the Shepherd's breathing ambled. His twitching ceased as his eyes slowly fluttered open. "Ryder...?"

"You're okay, buddy. What were you dreaming about? You looked..." Ryder found himself at a swift loss for words as Chase sighed.

"It was nothing. Really, I just had a bad dream."

"That didn't look like a dream," Ryder said, sitting on a beanbag. "More like a nightmare."

"I don't know why I keep seeing it," Chase mumbled, huffing in annoyance.

"What do you keep seeing?"

Chase's posture stiffened as he sat up, stepping over the other sleepers as he made his way to Ryder's seat.

"I can't explain it, Ryder, sir. It's like..."

Ryder put a hand on Chase's head as he sat near him, offering as much comfort as the pup would let himself receive.

"First, it's always black."

"Black?"

"Yeah. It's always dark."

"What happens then?"

"That's the thing. It's different every time. But it's... it's never not dark."

Ryder gave his dog a vacant look, his expression growing solemn. He nodded gently, beginning to stroke Chase behind the ears.

"But like I said, something different happens each time. I... I don't remember what happened just now, but I... I know it wasn't good."

Ryder brought the Shepherd closer, giving him a small hug. "I want you to start telling me about these dreams," Ryder whispered in Chase's ear, "and I want you to make a habit of it. That's how we finally got rid of your night terrors, right?"

"Right," Chase nodded, recalling the helpfulness of expressing himself. "Although, I'm not sure I'm ready to tell the others. Yet."

"That's all right, buddy. Take your time."

Neither of the two had any idea that Rocky had been lying awake nearby, faking his snores and listening intently.

-.-.-

Director Lee had been sitting in his van when his cellphone buzzed.

His mind was aching with his new purpose in this small town, one which had a concerning lack of typical law enforcement and social standards. While amused by this absurd town and its shady finances, Lee was always on this side of life. And that is what he was doing here now.

"Was it there?" Lee's tired voice came as he answered the call.

"Yes, sir," came a woman's voice on the other end of the line. "It was completely infested. We had to burn it, sir. I don't know what we're going to tell the Mayor."

"We will speak nothing of this. I will deal with her. We are done here, then?"

"I'm afraid not, sir," the woman said shakily.

"What do you mean?" Lee questioned, his brows furrowing.

"We think there's more. That lighthouse had... one of them. Maybe two. I don't know how long it was there, sir, but we have reason to believe it was there long before we were notified."

The Director nodded, exhaling sharply.

"What are we going to do, sir?"

"I'm afraid we have to do the only thing we can. Call the Mayor. We're going to discuss Operation 509."

"But, sir-"

"Do it now. We're further down the rabbit hole than I figured."

Lee ended the call, setting his cellular device into the passenger seat. He gave another small exhale, rubbing his temples in his stress.

-.-.-

An hour had passed since the crew had collectively taken a nap. For a while, things seemed like they had gone back to normal. Skye and Zuma were playing tag near the woods. Rocky was working on a new contraption just near his pup house. Marshall, Rubble, and Chase were near the Lookout, simply fighting over a rope and playing as young brothers do. They were soaking in the aftermath of the storm that drove them back home, and smiles could be seen on every pup (except Rocky). Turbot's passing had been pressed to the back of their minds, for now.

It was a little slice of heaven. That is, was. Before the ringing came on their pup tags.

"Pups, to the Lookout!"

"Ryder needs us!"

All six pups rushed to the Lookout, Marshall finding a way to trail behind as always.

"Guys, wait u-"

The Dalmatian tripped over the rope he and the others had finished playing with.

"Ahh! Ya- oof- umph- ugh!"

He tripped all the way into the elevator as Zuma turned around. "Look out!"

Marshall crashed into Zuma face-first, the Labrador grunting as he fell to his back with Marshall on top of him.

"Gee Marshall, I didn't know you liked Zuma that much," joked Rubble.

Marshall quickly got to his paws as his face flushed in embarrassment.

"Oh Marshall, how I burn for you," Zuma smirked, standing beside the clumsy fire pup.

"Sh-sh-shut up, guys," stammered Marshall as the elevator closed.

Finally, the pups were all in uniform as they raced into the briefing room.

"PAW Patrol ready for action, Ryder sir," Chase called when the others all stood beside him.

"Thanks for coming, pups," Ryder said as he turned on the screen. "Apparently, we missed an important Adventure Bay citizen council meeting."

"Thank God! I hate those," Rubble groaned, only to then see the others shooting him a look.

"Uhm... sorry. Heh. Continue."

"How could we have missed it, Ryder sir?" Chase asked in concern, "Mayor Goodway always calls us in when that happens."

"Well, that's the funny thing," said Ryder. "She was caught on a very short notice for a public conference. The announcement was made only twenty minutes ago." Stepping aside, Ryder played a video on the screen. Mayor Goodway was in the middle of giving some political speech, the pups noticed, but something was... off.

Goodway seemed nervous, as if she never was in a typical moment like this. She fidgeted her fingers when she spoke, and she would often reach down to pet her purse chicken, Chickaletta.

"And it henceforth brings me great honor to introduce the director of the... uhm... STPS... Robert Lee."

There was scattered and unenthusiastic clapping as men and women in suits surrounded the podium. Goodway stepped aside, allowing Lee to the microphone.

"Those are the guys from the lighthouse!" Chase exclaimed in shock. Ryder and the pups watched as the old fellow took Goodway's place behind the podium, his eyes narrowed behind horn-rimmed glasses, and his stare uncomforting.

"Hello, good citizens of Adventure Bay. I'm Mr. Lee, Director of the Strange-Time Protection Services. It is with the government's orders and our dismay to announce that Adventure Bay... is officially under lockdown. As of today, we're cutting it off from the rest of the world."

The people in the audience all went still. They looked at each other in confusion as Lee went on, but suddenly, there were very few willing to let Lee finish his sentence. They began to release their outrage. Everyone stood, shouting in disapproval as the press began to flash blinding pictures.

"What?!" Skye asked, incredulous. "Who do they think they are?"

"They can't do that!" Rocky protested.

"Now, now! Everyone! Calm yourselves!" Lee demanded over the angry shouts and vulgar clamoring.

"Everyone, listen!" Goodway shouted, which was quite unlike her typical calm. At her insistence, the crowd began to quiet down, but not immediately.

Lee's booming voice echoed over the crowd once more; "I understand many of you will question this, and I doubt less of you are pleased to hear it."

"No kidding!" shouted a random man in the audience.

"I will share with you all a bit of information," Lee continued. "I'm sure many of you are aware of the recent passing of Horatio Turbot."

The name struck a melancholy cord within the pups, and some of them lowered their heads at the simple mention of the man who used to be living among them.

"While I express my condolences for his tragic passing, I must also say that his death was not in vain; it gave us all the proof we needed that there is discord among this quiet and peaceful town."

Rapid mumbles came from the crowd, and the pups began to murmur among themselves.

"Your Mayor and I must let you all know there is a severe stomach flu going about this place. A terrible one that, if not treated quickly, will result in death."

Shouts and murmurs once again.

"Everyone, please!" Lee shouted. "This will be a simple quarantine. Our agents are already setting blockades to the main road. Our operat-"

People in the crowd began to shout angrily, throwing trash and shrieking profanities.

"Everyone! Listen!" Goodway yelled, quieting most of the crowd. Lee nodded at the Mayor before going about his speech.

"I promise you all, this will be over faster than you think. The blockades will be a setback, but supplies can still come through, and only through our services if we deem it necessary. This is nothing to panic about. This flu... we have been fighting it for a time, but it has spread here, and with proper cooperation, we may be able to contain and destroy it. I urge you all to take proper caution. If you have any signs of sickness, I mean any at all, come to the town square. My men are settling medical tents to serve anyone. Our technology is the only kind capable of identifying this sort of sickness. Thank you." Lee left the stage, followed by jeers and anything the audience could throw at him.

"There's a flu in Adventure Bay?" Rubble asked, "Why are we just now hearing about this? After everyone else?"

"I... I don't know, guys. All I can really say is that Mayor Goodway has called me to meet her later today, and..." Ryder couldn't exactly bring himself to finish his sentence. He looked down at his six pups, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

"And... yes? Ryder, sir?"

"I was gonna tell you all to stay safe, but... what am I saying? I know you'll all be safe. After everything we've been through... I trust you guys more than anything. Especially with something like this. Chase, I'm leaving you in charge. I have to go to the town square in an hour."

Truly, Ryder had no idea how long he'd be away, or if he'd ever see the pups again. His fear was growing tremendously.