Disclaimer: The reviewer strikes again. For the record, Zuma being in the wrong for how he's responding to the pups is the point. And yes, he would be 'OOC' if this were normal circumstances, but as you can see, they aren't. His fear of being alone, his sister being captured by his old gang, which he feels some responsibility for, and fear of what could happen to his friends if they get involved, are all spiraling around his mind. This isn't an attack, just an addressing of complaints. Not then. Onto the chapter!

Also, I don't own Paw Patrol.

Paw Patrol X

Melody Rescue arc Episode Five: Help From Every Angle

Wave and the others were still in Coastal Current, where Claw was being examined by Marshall for his knee wound. It wasn't too bad, but he still figured he should bandage it up. He did so before giving it to Claw straight. "You should be better in a day or two Claw. For now, I'd recommend relaxing as much as you can."

"That'll be pretty hard to do knowing you guys are out there without me." Claw admitted, taking out his Pup-Phone for a request. "To compensate, I want you guys to check in as often as you can. I can help you through the island during pivotal moments."

"You can count on us Claw!" Wave exclaimed as she popped up next to Marshall. "We'll find Rocky and Zuma before you know it!"

Snow wrapped her arm around Wave's when she chimed in. "Melody hopefully shouldn't take us too much longer."

Ryder pulled up his tracking device for Coastal Current when explaining what he'd do. "I'll stay here to keep Claw company. This should help you traverse Coastal Current well enough to avoid getting lost."

Ryder tossed the device to the pups, and Charm caught it with excitement over how the mission will progress. "Best a non-member doesn't hold it; just in case they plan on interrogating us."

"Not sure that'll change things, but thanks Charm." Ryder said gratefully. "Let us know when you find them."

"You got it Ryder!" Marshall said with a salute. He headed off with the others after Wave hugged Claw and Charm fist bumped him. He giggled a bit when realizing what he just did. "Whatya know? I'm like a spotted Chase!" The others laughed before heading off to find Rocky and Zuma. At least they got one light hearted moment out of the day.

About eight hours later, Rocky and Zuma were reaching the location Bloodfreak had given them. It was in an area of a three sided mountain. It had a right side, a back side, and a left side. But no front. Zuma looked around from a bush he and Rocky were hiding in. He couldn't see anyone. No base or anything. And neither could Rocky when using his super binoculars. "Seems as if there are no significant presences here Zuma." Rocky checked one final spot before putting his binoculars away. "You think Bloodfreak gave us a dishonest lead?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense." Zuma looked at the picture Bloodfreak sent him before coming to another conclusion. "You weally couldn't sense them?" Rocky nodded his head no before Zuma prepared to enact his next plan. "Yeah, it's a twap. He must be misleading us in the hopes that his fellow gang membews can knock me out and bwing me to him."

Rocky gave Zuma's theory some though, seeing that it had some merit to it. "That would make sense. If he's truly struggling, it could mean he used up the gang's cash." Rocky realized greater significance to Zuma's theory. "Cash he could've used on devices to prepare for if you didn't want to rejoin his gang!"

Zuma snapped his fingers when he realized Rocky's point. "That just might be it!" Zuma went to emerge from the bush, but noticed that Rocky was about to as well and stopped him. "Slow down Wocky. Wemember what we talked about befowe. Bloodfweak thinks I'm the only one who came hewe without the west of the Paw Patwol."

"He's going to discover my presence eventually Zuma." Rocky argued, not wanting Zuma to go into this alone. "And if this is truly a trap, we should be as prepared as possible to counter it."

Zuma hatched an idea after a bit of thought. He leaned closer to Rocky, getting ready to share it with him. "Alwight. Hewe's the plan." Zuma leaned in and started whispering to Rocky. The wolf was still concerned, but Zuma's idea had some promise to it. Promise he felt he could get behind.

Wave, Marshall, Snow, and Charm were taking a break to keep their energy up for when they encountered an enemy. Charm was writing in his journal as he, Marshall, and Snow overheard Wave doing something over by a nearby pond. They were all concerned, but Charm didn't want to stop his journal entry. "You guys mind if I stay here? I want to get this done."

"Gotta make the masterpiece when it's in your mind." Snow responded understandingly, heading off with Marshall to talk to Wave.

Wave was putting her paw up to the pond, using her enhancement powers on it to make it move. Surely enough, something did happen, but not what Wave expected. Instead, her paw stopped on the water, showing another effect to Wave's enhancement powers. It appeared that they stopped her from descending in the water when she went to stand on it. Wave wasn't expecting her powers to do this. But it seemed that her powers could make the water she touched more durable. Just like with her heavy punches, she could enhance her light steps.

That was when Marshall and Snow came along with Snow getting Wave's attention. "Hey babe. You okay?"

Wave stood up after hearing Snow's voice. She turned to them with her usual smile. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm just trying to see what else my power can do. Sorry if I disturbed you."

"You could never disturb us." Marshall assured Wave lovingly.

Wave giggled a bit before she explained why she was working on her powers. "That's good. Anyway, during my battle with Zuma, I discovered that I can enhance the power and size of his water balls." Snow and Marshall shared an impressed glance from that news. "That made it clear to me that I only knew part of what my powers could do. I thought that if I learned what else I could do, I could master more moves at the same time. And then maybe I could..." The next thought Wave had caused her happy mood to slip just a bit. "...help Zuma save Melody."

Snow noticed Wave starting to look concerned and checked on her. "You look concerned, Wave. Is Zuma still on your mind?"

"Yeah. He is." Wave admitted, explaining what was bothering her after she did. "I can't shake what he said off my mind. What if he's right? What if the only ones who can help him are those who... understand what he feels?" Snow and Marshall were caught off guard by that. Wave had never felt this way before. What made Wave think it now. "He was pretty insistent on it when he left." Wave clenched her fists, worried about if Zuma were right. "And normally, I can emphasize with someone I'm helping, even to a small extent. But this time, I... can't."

Marshall and Snow showed concern for Wave's dilemma. Zuma's words clearly rung inside her head. Marshall stepped forward in an attempt to comfort her. "Wave."

But as soon as he did, Zuma's words rung in his head as well. The flashback that showed emphasized this, right as he heard the most hurtful words from the Lab. "When you fiwst joined the team, it was Wave who helped you most with your panic attacks. When you tuwned into a demon, it was Wave who saved you. And when most of us got pawalized in Slash's last attack, it was Wave who bwoke out of it to save Sid and Awwby." The last words were what made Marshall question if he could truly help Wave out. "I'll ask again. Are you suwe?"

When the flashback ended, Marshall was shown to be stunned, and unsure of what to say. Wave showed concern for him when she noticed. "Are you okay Marshall?"

"Oh, um... yeah. I'm okay." Marshall lied, not wanting to make Wave worry about him. She was having her own somber moment right now.

Snow stepped forward after gesturing Marshall to let her take over. He obliged, and she expressed her thoughts on the situation. "I've always found it admirable how you want to help everyone you can Wave. It's part of why I fell for you. But it's not wrong to question your ability to sometimes. Everyone has their limits."

"I know. I'm just worried this might be one of them." Wave admitted, expressing her deeper thoughts about the problem at palm. "Zuma and I have been friends for almost eight years. And if I don't know how he feels, then... I might let him down."

Snow lovingly rubbed Wave's head as she gave her advice. "There are times we don't know everything that can help. But that hasn't stopped you before." She gave a playful punch to his chest. "Your big ol heart has always been there to help. Even those you couldn't understand the deeper pain of before." She pointed behind herself to make her point. "Just look at Charm." Wave looked at Charm, who was just finishing up his latest journal entry. They also noticed that he was talking to someone on his earpiece. It didn't take a detective to find out who.

After looking at Charm, Wave and Snow looked into each others' eyes again. "You don't know crap about the inner feelings he has on his past. And you still played a part in helping him." Wave started reflecting on those words when Snow shared another reminding detail. "And not just our friends either." Wave saw the genuine smile Snow gave her. "You've always managed to make a difference for others, no matter where we go."

Wave felt a little better after hearing Snow's advice. "I have, haven't I." But she still wasn't sure this would be like those times. "It's just that... like I said, Zuma's a close friend. And it hurts me to know I can't understand his pain. I think that's why he said those words before he left. When it comes to his friends... he expects more."

"The best you can give him is more than enough. That's what I'm trying to tell you." Snow told Wave lovingly, taking her paws as she reminded her of the advice she gave before Melody was captured. "And besides, it's not like you NOT being a perfect empath has ever been a bad thing. We're all the best at something. No one has to be the best at everything." Marshall tried to keep himself together the best he could. He didn't want to put his problems on Wave. She was already going through her own thing. She'd figure out how to protect her himself.

Wave smiled, seeing Snow's point. She was still conflicted about whether or not she could help Zuma. But Snow's words definitely helped. "Yeah. I see your point. Thanks Snowflake." Wave and Snow shared a kiss before heading back with Marshall and Snow. And since they were both still there, she hatched an idea. "Hey. You two wanna see what I just learned with my powers?"

"That sounds awesome!" Snow answered happily. Wave looked at Marshall, who gave a smiling nod. With that, Wave let go of Snow and turned to the water. She activated her powers on her hind paws before stepping in. Just as she planned, the water's durability was enhanced. Marshall and Snow were beyond impressed. "You can walk on water!? That's so cool!"

"I know, right!?" Wave started walking on the water, laughing with Snow as she did. Despite his dilemma, Marshall's smile at seeing Wave and Snow's joy was genuine. Wave's training gave them another moment to enjoy. A moment that would help them focus when their break was over.

Zuma was just about to enter the middle of the area Bloodfreak invited him to. He looked around as if he were oblivious to oncoming danger, just as the Landseers Bloodfreak had in his gang were shown on the top of the mountain. The base may not have been there, but company surely was. The two Landseer twins nodded to each other before one of them reached into their bag. Zuma turned back, closing his eyes with immense focus and tucking his locket away. As he was about to leave the area completely, he was suddenly struck in the head by...

BANG!

A sniper rifle bullet struck him clean on the side of the head! He fell to the ground, going completely limp. A small bit of blood came out from his head just before he did. That was when the Landseers started sliding down the mountain. They couldn't see Rocky, who was mortified by what he just witnessed. He had to try as hard as he could to keep himself together. Zuma told him to stay quiet no matter what. But he always struggled when he was overwhelmed. Without that request, he would've cracked in an instant.

One of the Landseers checked to see if Zuma's heart was still beating. By some miracle, he got a small beat from him. "Bloodfreak was right. This kid's a fighter."

The other Landseer noticed that the blood amount was small compared to normal. And some of it was... water? Before he could question that, he questioned his brother's move. "Tom, we were supposed to bring him back alive!"

"Why do you think I used a cheap bullet?" Tom snarked, picking up Zuma and putting him over his shoulder. "We'll extract the bullet when we get back to base. Now cmon, Jerry. We can't waste any time."

Jerry caught up to Tom as Rocky watched from afar. In the distance, he noticed the water too. He saw it at the same time Jerry pointed it out. "Hey Tom. Doesn't it seem a little weird that there was water next to where Zuma was?"

Tom brushed it off, knowing they were in a place surrounded by water. "We're on an island dude. It's not exactly deprived of water."

Zuma's limp body was shown as Jerry continued to question the scenario. "Yeah, but it's separate from the nearest lake. And it was right next to his blood. That doesn't just-"

Zuma's eyes shot open just as the bullet flew out of his head and straight at Jerry! It grazed the back of Jerry's head, catching him off guard and making him look back. "What the heck!?"

Rocky was left astounded as he watched Jerry check the back of his head for blood. He instantly figured out what Zuma had done. 'Phenomenal! To think Zuma could use his powers on the brink of death!'

Tom reached into his bag while holding onto Zuma, who cupped his paws together for his next strike. "Talk about a freak hunting accident. Let's patch that-"

Zuma raised his paws and slammed Tom's back, causing him to let go of him. Zuma landed on his front paws before kicking Tom back, and then he jumped over to Jerry. Jerry attempted to punch him, only for Zuma to deflect it and roundhouse kick him over to Tom. Once he stumbled over to him, the two stared Zuma down. He gave an ice cold glare to the two gang members. They could feel how quickly the tables had turned. Being completely baffled by this, Tom started fearing what Zuma was. "How did you get back up!? What the heck are you!?"

Zuma took out a bandage to put over his wound. Before he did, he started cleaning it with his water powers. He had to thank Ryder and Marshall for teaching him how to do this. "A dog who's looking for his sistew."

"You know that's not what we meant!" Jerry responded sternly, showing that he started to pick up on this. "You just got shot with a sniper rifle and only lost half a pint of blood! That should've at least landed you in a coma!"

"Oh, that?" Zuma gave a grin before explaining how he did that. "I used my watew powews to stop the flow of the bullet." Rocky, Tom, and Jerry were all stunned by what they heard. Rocky for how far Zuma's powers could go, and Tom and Jerry for that, in addition to the reveal of Zuma's powers. "I managed to slow it down just enough to stop it fwom piewcing the bwain."

That was when Rocky recalled Zuma twirling his paw finger around his wrist earlier. 'So THAT'S why Zuma was doing that earlier!' The flashback played as he thought to himself about it. 'He wanted to see if his powers worked on the water inside of our bodies!' Rocky couldn't help but beam in amazement at how crafty Zuma was. He already knew he was smart, but this was nearing his own IQ. 'Oh Zuma! I may not approve of your revelation methods, but that's simply astounding!'

Zuma didn't want to waste any time in this fight. Tom and Jerry continued looking at him in shock. "Tell ya what. I'll let you guys have the fiwst move." Zuma held his paw up and snapped his fingers. Rocky saw this and reached for something Zuma gave him before. Once Tom and Jerry dashed at Zuma, he briefly pressed the middle of his chest with the tips of both paws. He then put both paws up and deflected both of their punches. That was when he moved past them. He smirked when he called out their move. "Dudes, at least PWETEND you have a chance."

That enraged Tom and Jerry, who got ready to charge at Zuma, who started them down from the middle of the area. That was when the tap of a microphone was heard, which caught Tom and Jerry's attention. "Hey!" They looked back at Zuma, who demanded they focus on him. "Youw fight is with me!" Rocky held the microphone in his paws, confirming that he was the one who tapped it. Rocky had great concern, but continued to follow through with Zuma's plan.

Another flashback showed Rocky and Zuma executing another part of their deal. "Wemember to hide when you use this." Rocky and Zuma were trading items to help them in the battle. Rocky's item was shown first. "Only watch if you think you can handle it." Zuma gave him a microphone, and a small, but super advanced amplifier that produced sound and music well enough to help play a song all on its own. "When the battle stawts, make suwe they can only heaw you." The flashback ended before the item Rocky gave to Zuma was shown.

And when Rocky turned on the music, Zuma got ready for the fight. Tom dashed ahead much faster than before once hard rock music began.

Zuma blocked the punch before being sent back. As soon as he skidded to a stop, Rocky was shown as he began singing Your Biggest Mistake. "Your biggest mistake. Was thinking you could cross me." Zuma entered paw to paw combat when Tom charged at him again. He pushed him back by placing his paw on his chest before backflipping away. "You hurt my loved ones. There's only one fate for you that I can see."

Jerry threw some knife darts at Zuma before dashing at him. Zuma used his water powers to deflect the darts. "You can't escape me." Tom and Jerry nodded to each other before dashing at Zuma at the same time. "Not after you awoke it." Zuma grabbed Tom's punch this time, only to end up being sent to the side by Jerry's kick. "You awoke my rage." Zuma regained his balance before staring the two down again. "Now I'll break you down, bit by bit!"

Zuma dashed at Tom and Jerry, who did the same. Tom dashed in after Jerry pulled out some more knife darts. "I can promise you..." The battle continued with Zuma blocking and dodging Tom's super fast strikes the best he could. Jerry was also throwing his knife darts when he had an opening, leading to Zuma having to dodge those as well. The third one he threw almost got him hit. "Your biggest mistake! Is the one I'm holding you accountable for! Your biggest mistake! Is angering me and starting a war!"

Zuma caught the fourth throwing dart Jerry threw and slashed it at Tom's fist. He stopped it just in time, but it still cut all of his paw fingers, drawing a bit of blood. "You're clearly blinded! By your lack of self awareness!" Tom grabbed the dart before Zuma could stab his arm, allowing him to kick Zuma into right side of the mountain. He crashed into it but quickly shook it off and got himself unstuck. "And in this case, ignorance is far from bliss." He placed his paw right next to the hole just before Tom charged at him to land a swift punch.

After that, Zuma backflipped up the rock wall Tom's dodge Tom's punch before jumping off the wall. He jumped off his head with his front paws before landing and charging at Jerry. He dodged each dart that was thrown at him and jumped over one thrown at his paws. When Jerry threw three darts at him, he blocked them with his water powers and grabbed one of them. He threw it back at Tom, who freed his paw and attempted to charge at him. He was thrown off by the dart for a brief bit.

Zuma grabbed another one of the darts he blocked and started clashing dart strikes with Jerry. That was when Rocky continued singing. "Don't pretend you didn't think I'd come to you ready to fight!" Tom reached them and Zuma jumped up, making Tom accidentally kick Jerry before kicking him back. "The dog I am now is one who loves to do what's right!" Zuma dashed at Jerry, who was sent into the back end of the rock wall, and pinned him there by placing his paw on his chest. "But I'll bend my morals to save those I care fooooor! Fo-o-o-o-or!"

Zuma's instincts helped him sense Tom, and he moved his head to dodge his kick. He then threw Jerry into him and made them both fall back. "Tell your leader he should have respected my choice!" As Tom and Jerry regained their balance, Zuma placed his paw firmly on the rock wall. "It's not like he didn't know I have a voice!" Zuma braced himself as Jerry tossed some of his knife darts to Tom. "It's too bad that when we talked, he slammed the door." Rocky was shown again for the next line. "Of that, I'm sure."

As soon as Tom and Jerry started rapidly throwing the darts, Zuma jumped onto the mountain. He ran on the side of it, managing to evade very dart by just an inch. "I will defeat you! And learn where you hold my sister!" Jerry aimed a dart in front of Zuma, who caught it and continued running. He deflected another dart before changing from the back end of the mountain to the left. "And I promise you! The stakes are about to grow much bigger!"

Zuma placed his paw on a spot he focused on carefully. He then noticed he was almost out of room to run on. "Your biggest mistake! Was allowing for this endeavor!" Zuma skidded to a stop and caught another dart. He then jumped up and threw both darts at Tom and Jerry. "You could've avoided this if you were clever."

Tom and Jerry rolled out of the way with Tom getting heated. He dashed up at Zuma with Jerry calling to him. "Tom, wait!"

Tom jumped onto the mountain and charged at Zuma, who, now that he observed his fighting style, managed to do better at handling his swift movements. "You made this mistake. And now you must pay the price. You've chosen to take. A battle of cat and mice." Jerry jumped onto the wall next, charging up at Zuma, who kicked Tom into him after grabbing another dart thrown at him. "It's quite ironic. You know the feeling of love." Zuma started running across the wall, descending to touch another point. "And yet, you chose to kill me from above!"

Zuma went to the back end of the mountain as Jerry threw Tom at him. He front flipped as he touched another high point on the mountain befoere dashing down. Once he touched a bottom part, he deflected some more darts and ran to the side again. "Your biggest mistake! Was thinking I would make this simple! Your biggest mistake! Is thinking that I was nimble!" Zuma moved to the right side, touching one more spot as Tom jumped in front of him. "I'm not gonna stop, I'll do whatever it'll take!"

Zuma and Tom entered paw to paw combat again with Jerry joining him. Both of them started overwhelming Zuma as they attacked him from both sides. "But getting my loved ones involved, was your biggest mistake!" Zuma was able to dodge and block plenty of their strikes. But they eventually kicked him to the ground after Tom psyched him out. Once he fell to the ground and rolled, Tom and Jerry jumped off the wall. They attempted to punch him while diving down, but he rolled out of the way just in time, making them punch the ground. "Your biggest mistake!"

The music stopped as soon as Zuma's roll finished in front of Tom and Jerry. The two charged at him, and he touched his chest again. Somehow, as soon as this happened, Tom and Jerry stopped right in their tracks against their will. This confused both of them immensely; especially Tom, who was starting to get frustrated again. But Jerry recalled the moments Zuma touched specific spots on the mountain. "Hang on a second. Zuma placed his right paw on certain parts of the mountain. If I'm guessing this right..."

Zuma stood completely still, his eyes shining with delight as he commended Jerry. "So you figuwed it out." Zuma pressed a button on his chestas he turned to Tom and Jerry just, and the wires around them were revealed. Tom and Jerry looked around, stunned to find that all of their body parts were being held in place by the wires. While they were still standing firmly on the ground, it was clear that Zuma placed them in a position where they couldn't move. Tom and Jerry noticed the square shaped device. "Youw second biggest mistake? Thinking I'd play faiw."

A flashback showed Zuma receiving his item from Rocky. It was the small, square shaped device. And he asked a question about it before Rocky took off. "You said I just have to touch them with it, and evewy pawt of the awea I touch will twap them befowe I pwess the button?"

"That's right. And the wires will be invisible to all three of you until you decide to expose them." Rocky explained, pointing to a button on the top of the device to share another function. "That's simultaneous with the device itself. Oh. And to activate it, just press the middle button on the chest."

"And pwess it again when I'm done setting wiwes, wight?" Zuma asked, and Rocky smiled with a cheerful nod. He was ecstatic that Zuma was paying attention to his explanation from when he showed it to him. It always made him happy. "Pwefect. Let's do this." Rocky noticed that Zuma didn't think him, but he knew this was more important. So he set off with a nod and went into position. That was when Zuma started setting the device accordingly.

The flashback ended, leaving Tom and Jerry astonished as Zuma explained it to them. "Aftew I touched your foweheads, all I had to do was touch as many spots on the mountain as I wanted to. This bad boy on my chest would silently shoot out invisible latches to stawt each line." Zuma pointed to the hole Tom created by kicking him into the mountain. "You knocking me into the wall was the pewfect stawting spot." Tom growled as Jerry tried to make sense of the situation. "Even when you had me cownewed, thewe I was, setting up youw twap."

Jerry noticed one flaw in Zuma apparently having control over the entire encounter. "But wait. You had to have known this was a trap once you saw the base wasn't here. So then, you must have anticipated us coming." His conclusion left him stunned. "But that would mean, you somehow knew we were here the entire time!"

"That's wight." Zuma admitted proudly, the water inside of his body being highlighted. "I stawted playing awound with my body watew just befowe I headed out hewe.." Tom and Jerry's body water being highlighted right after. "Once I wealized I could manipulate body watew, I stawted to sense it as well. That's how I got weady for youw twap."

Jerry figured something else out when he remembered the water next to his blood. "Of course; water related powers! That must be why there was water next to your blood!" Jerry flashed back to the bullet Tom fired at Zuma suddenly grazing him on the back of the head. "I knew that bullet was ours as soon as you snapped back into consciousness!"

The flashback ended as Zuma started walking over to Tom and Jerry. "At least one of you can use youw head." Jerry started to seethe with fear as Tom glared at Zuma. "Well, for mowe than fighting at least."

"You stay away from us you psycho!" Tom demanded. "And take down these stupid wires!"

"I'd be happy to." Zuma said before he reached Tom and Jerry. Despite his anger, he was ready to give them a chance to live. "On one condition." He placed his paws underneath their chests and made them both look at him. That was when he looked at their chests. "I'm suwe you both noticed that I stwuck both of youw chests duwing the battle." That implication gave Tom and Jerry chills. It gave them even colder spines when Zuma confirmed their beliefs. "That's wight." He did so with a cold glare. "These wiwes awe connected to youw heawts."

Tom and Jerry were now shivering with fear. It increased dramatically as Zuma explained what he had to do. "I set this device to make the wiwe connected to youw heawts as an explosive one. The othews awe wegular, but that won't mattew if you don't comply." Zuma took a couple steps back, explaining more about what he had to do. "If I pwess one button, you'll both die." He put his index paw finger up to give his request. "But you can avoid that by answewing one, simple, question."

Tom and Jerry braced themselves, knowing exactly what Zuma was about to request them. "Whewe's Bloodfweak?"

Zuma could've simply asked where Melody was. But he knew Melody would've had something up his sleeve if he went there first. He had to beat it out of him if there was a trap. However, Tom instantly refused to answer Zuma's question. "You want us to sell out our gang?" Zuma gave a slow nod. "I'd rather die than become a traitor!" Rocky, who was listening to the whole thing, couldn't believe what was going on. Zuma was taking a much more cold hearted approach than he expected. He loved Zuma so much, that he was blind to the idea of him doing this.

Jerry was even more terrified than Tom, but his loyalty was just as strong. "That goes for me as well! This gang is our family!"

The word 'family' broke Zuma's coldness for a bit. But just for a bit. Because that was why he was here. "So you two value family too?"

"That's right! And you'll never take that from us!" Tom and Jerry shouted valiantly.

As angry as Zuma was, he still took a moment to compliment Tom and Jerry's loyalty. "That's good. This wowld is alweady cold enough." This shocked Tom and Jerry, "Loyalty is a good twait to have." Zuma turned around, walking away from Tom and Jerry. "Maybe it's a good thing you didn't sell him out."

"Oh yeah? And why's that!?" Tom shouted, confused and angry.

Zuma stopped as soon as Tom asked that question. In that moment, he looked back, giving a cold glare. "Because you still would've died."

Zuma saw Tom and Jerry's faces become horrified beyond belief. He looked away before pressing one final button. The explosive wires detonated, blowing up Tom and Jerry's hearts. Zuma's expression remained unchanged. Unlike before with Nigel, he knew he'd have to kill the members of Bloodfreak's gang who fought. Not all of them would've been willing to just give him what he wanted after all. So this didn't stun him one bit. He called up to Rocky after making sure the coast was clear. "It's ovew Wocky! You can come down now!"

Rocky came out from the mountain after putting all of Zuma's microphone stuff away. He jumped and slid down the mountain before walking over to Zuma. The sight of Tom and Jerry's hanging bodies unsettled him. Zuma wasn't kidding. He actually targeted their hearts for the detonation spot. Zuma walked up to him when he expressed his thoughts. "Zuma. I... I didn't think you were capable of this." Zuma looked at the dead bodies as Rocky continued. "Their deaths were so... cold. And elaborate."

"They'we helping Bloodfweak hold a little giwl hostage." Zuma reminded Rocky. "They don't desewve pleasant deaths." Zuma took out a little something else he brought from home. He pressed a button on a small box, which formed into two super powered shovels. While Rocky and Zuma could already dig graves due to their strength, this would help them do it before Wave and the others arrived. "Anyway, we should get to digging." Rocky froze again after he caught the shovel Zuma tossed to him. As if Rocky needed more confirmation Zuma was ready to kill.

Both graves were dug and filled in ten minutes. Thankfully for Zuma, that was before Wave and the others arrived. Zuma patted the dirt on Tom's grave as Rocky spoke to him. "Zuma. About what you did." Zuma didn't look at Rocky, which concerned him. "Zuma?"

"Floow's youws." Zuma said to show that he was listening.

With that confirmation, Rocky expressed his feelings about what Zuma did. "I understand where you were coming from earlier. I just... don't know how comfortable I am with blowing up other Canines' hearts."

"That's pawt of why I wanted to do it myself." Zuma revealed.

"That's... not really my point." Rocky admitted as he started to notice Zuma was becoming more dismissive. Despite this, he wanted to be honest with Zuma. They always shared how they felt. And he was more hurt and worried that Zuma kept a crucial part of the mission from him. "I probably should've anticipated your intentions. I just... wish you told me. How you were gonna tackle Bloodfreak's gang, I mean. And how far you were willing to go with it."

"It's as you said Wocky. You should've seen it coming." Zuma responded before putting his shovel away. "I'd be doing the same if Bloodfweak took YOU hostage." Zuma took his phone out, putting his paw up when Rocky tried to speak up again. "Anyway, I've got a message for Bloodfweak. Wemembew. He can't know you'we hewe."

Rocky crossed his arms and looked away concernedly as Zuma made the call to Bloodfreak. Once Bloodfreak picked up, Zuma noticed how surprised he sounded. "Zuma! I didn't expect to hear anything from you so soon."

That told Zuma that Bloodfreak was far away from the mountain. He could use that hint to his advantage. "I figuwed as much. I met your Landseew fwiends."

"And?" Bloodfreak asked concernedly. He could tell from Zuma's tone of voice that it was bad for him.

Zuma clenched his free paw, wasting no time in telling Bloodfreak what happened. In Zuma's eyes, Bloodfreak would have to be stupid not to let Melody go home then. "I killed them."

To be continued

Rock music started playing as Charm started talking about what was going to happen with specific moments from the next chapter being shown. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed. Zuma made swift and brutal work of these guys. Anyway, it's day two of our mission. I'm sure Wave and Marshall noticed how big this place is compared to their home. Just means more places for the enemy to hide. And on a mission like this, you can't reject the idea of blindsides."

Charm finished the announcement with the words Paw Patrol in all blue with red outlines surrounded with a white border with Wave on the right, and Marshall on the left. "Next time, Blades Vs Claws!" Charm was shown fighting the green cat somewhere in the forest, making precise movements to dodge her strikes. "Ha! Admit it. If this were season four, you would've assumed Claw and I were fighting."