The end of the dock is still with the lake’s calm water lapping underneath it. Suddenly, the back of Jake explodes behind it, heaving Brett hooked in his two arms in front of him.

Jake lands himself against the dock on his back, Brett lying limply on him. He then hastily pulls himself from underneath his partner and knees next to him.

Jake peers down at Brett with wide, worried-filled eyes, water dripping from his plastered hair and face.

Brett is lying motionlessly and flaccidly on the wooden surface, his skin pale with a touch of blue.

Jake focuses on his chest, noticing it is staying still.

"Brett!" He presses the side of his face against his bestie’s chest with his eyes as the size of pucks, anticipating for any sign of air escaping.

Yet there are no movements or sounds.

Jake lets out a shaky gasp. "Oh no, Brett!"

He immediately clasps one hand over another, pressing the heel of his palm against the middle of Brett’s chest, and begins compressing his chest to a rhythmic beat quickly.

After a minute, he still does not feel any motion under his hands.

Jake whirls his head to Brett, spotting him pallid like before. "Oh no…!"

He reaches out to Brett’s head, tilting his head back while lifting his chin up. He then pinches his nose, takes in a deep breath, and leans into his face, sealing his mouth over his. He blows air into his mouth for a second, then lifts his head up to grab another breath.

Instantly, Brett lets out a massive exhale, his whole body jerking to the sudden force, and coughs out water.

Jake’s eyes fly open at the sight. "Brett!"

Brett then gradually lies still back on the dock, this time breathing shallowly.

His partner leans over him, gazing at his face. "WAKE UP, PLEASE, WAKE UP!" He taps his frigid cheek.

Brett continues to rest on the surface, remaining unresponsive with his light breathing.

Jake begins panicking, breathing rapidly and deeply with trepidatious eyes. "Wake up, please!!!" He cups his face with both hands.

He stays unresponsive with his eyes closed and mouth slightly open.

With his eyes still on him, Jake slides his hands to his chest, relievedly feeling his chest slightly rising and falling. "Brett, please…," he pleads shakily as tears well up in his eyes.

Brett continues lying still and breathing shallowly.

With a whimper through his crumbled frown, Jake scoops Brett into his arms, feeling his full weight against him, and lifts himself up to his feet. He then rushes to the door on the other side of the dock to teleport to the headquarters.

---

"GUYS!!! BRETT’S HURT!!!!"

Matteo, Kailer, Jeremy, Kale, and Michael turn to the front of the main room, where they heard Jake yelling from. Their eyes immediately grow wide at the sight.

Standing nearby the at the front is Jake, who has tears streaming down his freckled cheeks. In his arms is Brett, who is still lying loosely with shallow breathing.

Matteo covers his mouth with his hands in shock. "Oh my goodness!"

Instantly, Kailer disappears in a flash of blue energy, reappearing next to Jake in a split second. "Give me the man," he demands, holding his arms out at Jake.

With a pathetic whimper and a quivering mouth, Jake reluctantly holds his unconscious partner to him.

The scientist receives Brett and cradles him in his arms. He inspects him with his vision, scanning him from head to toe.

He then turns to Jake. "I’m going to diagnose him. " At once, he teleports out of sight in a streak of energy with the injured teenager.

Instantly, Jake drops his head into his hands, letting out heavy sobs.

With an empathic expression on his face, Jeremy hurries to the goalie. "Oh, Jake Dog." He pulls him into a hug.

Jake swings his arms around him, embracing him back and digging his face into his shoulder.

Matteo steps up to the two goalies with shock. "How did this happen…?"

Jake lifts his tear-stained face to look at the Master. "I DON’T KNOW!" he sputters, sniffing. "I felt something off with Brett and I saw him drowning!" He then stuffs his face back against Jeremy’s shoulder and continues sobbing.

From the control booth behind them, Kale gazes down at his socks with a serious expression.

Michael then comes up to the others. "Good thing you saved him, Jake Dog." He halts next to him with a cool, pleased expression. "That’s heroic."

Jeremy eyes the goalie as best as possible. "It is."

Jake lifts part of his face up; only his massive eyes, forehead, and matted hair are visible. "I hope he’s okay…," he snivels.

"He’s Brett," the other goalie tells him. "I know he’ll pull through."

"He’ll survive," Kale states firmly, stepping up to him.

Jake follows the defenceman with his big, sad, tear-filled eyes as he halts beside him.

Matteo holds his Wrist-Moto into his view, frowning at it. "Why does it say he’s still at the dock?"

Kale replies by nodding his head slowly with pursed lips.

Michael shrugs. "Beats me."

Jeremy begins to rub Jake’s back. "Everything will be fine, Jake Dog," he murmurs soothingly. "Brett’ll be okay…"

Jake lets out a whine from his throat, clutching onto him like how a child would clutch onto his parent.

Michael turns to the Master. "Can I go back to bed now?"

Matteo nods. "Sure, you can." He turns to Kale. "You too, Kale."

"Fine by me." Kale then turns around and ambles away, back to the staircase.

Michael follows him, giving a wave to the goalies. "I hope Flame Wave’ll be fine!" He then turns around and launches up the staircase, out of sight.

With a sigh, Matteo turns to Jake. "If it weren’t for you...I don’t know what would’ve become of Brett."

"I should’ve stayed with him…," Jake squeaks out with slanted eyebrows.

Jeremy peers down at him to the best of his ability. "He told you not to."

"And I obeyed him…" Tears begin trickling down his face and onto Jeremy’s shoulder again. "But look at what happened…"

Matteo points at him. "At least you caught him."

"I’m not a good bestie…" Jake lowers his eyes, half-closing them. "I let him drown."

"Nooo," Jeremy interjects, "you SAVED him." He tears away from him, finally pulling each other apart, and grabs onto his shoulders. "He rescued him from the lake! At night!"

"Was he breathing?" Matteo asks, holding his shocked stare.

Jake forcefully wipes his tears with his knuckles. "Not at first…," he squeaks out. "Bu-but after I did rescue breathing on him, yeah…" He sniffs, dropping his hand.

Jeremy’s eyebrows shoot up with surprise. "Wow! At least he’s breathing now."

Instantly, Kailer appears next to Matteo and Jake in a flash of blue energy. He is now wearing a doctor’s attire consisting of a doctor’s coat, a stethoscope slung over his shoulders, and a patriotic head mirror in the place of his bandana.

"You may step into my lab!" he announces with a bow.

Jake’s eyes immediately light up. "Brett!" He dashes across the room to the door on the other side, past the staircases, control booth, and table.

He swings the door open and bolts inside, entering Kailer’s laboratory. He swishes his head from left to right, quickly spotting Brett lying on a hospital bed in place of the patient table.

"Brett!"

He dashes over to him, halting by the bedside, and peers down at him.

Brett is now wearing a hospital gown with a blanket covering him from his shoulders down. His face bears more colour, yet his eyes are still shut with a relaxed face and light breathing.

"Brett, wake up!" Jake calls out to him. "Wake up, please—!"

"Now, now, Oettinger," he hears Kailer cut off from behind him as a hand grabs his arm, pulling him away.

He turns around, spotting the scientist standing behind him with his hand high on his arm.

"I must say that he will survive," the doctor notifies him, dropping his hand back to his side. "He is in a comatose at the moment, but his vital levels are normal, minus his irregular breathing. But I’ll definitely keep an eye on it." He swipes his tablet from the island to his left and peers down at it.

The door to the laboratory opens, bringing Matteo and Jeremy into view. They make their way over to the other two.

"When will he wake up?" Jake asks anxiously, fiddling with his fingers.

Kailer peers up at him. "I estimate two to four weeks."

With a sadden expression, Jake spins back around to gaze at his unconscious bestie. "Oh, Brett…" His eyes begin welling up with tears once again.

"That’s good he’ll survive," Matteo states next to Kailer. "Will he be fine to fight afterward?"

The doctor shakes his head. "I wouldn’t recommend that; not right after a comatose."

"At least he’ll be fine," Jeremy reinforces next to the Master.

"Strange thing though--" Kailer holds his index finger toward Brett’s closest wrist, which is bare. "His Wrist-Moto is gone."

Matteo creates a suspicious look at the bare wrist. "That’s why we thought he was by the dock this whole time…" He lifts his own wrist into view, eyeing his Wrist-Moto. "He must’ve left it up there."

Jake whirls around to face the three. "But why would he remove it?!"

Kailer strokes the nape of his neck with a suppressed frustrated expression. "I’ve got to make them more difficult to remove…," he grumbles.

"Well, at least you guys got him," Jeremy tells them, darting his eyes to each member.

The doctor drops his hand, nodding vigorously. "Yes, yes, it’s good to look at the bright side." He then begins stepping away from the others and deeper into the room. "Now, we should go off to bed again."

Immediately, Jake climbs into the hospital bed and lies next to Brett with his eyes intently on him.

Kailer frowns at the new addition to the hospital bed. "In your own bed, Oettinger."

Jake snaps his eyes to the doctor. "No," he states firmly with a stern expression. "I’m never going to leave Brett’s side. I’ve got to make sure he’s okay."

"He’ll be under Doc’s care," Matteo tells him calmingly. "You can go to your own bed."

Jake eyes the Master with a fuming expression. "I’m not leaving his side," he growls.

Matteo instantly holds his breath with a shocked expression, turning away from the overprotective goalie. "Oookaaay…"

Kailer lets out a heavy sigh. "I don’t blame you, Oettinger. Whatever suits you." He then whisks past the bamboo divider, into his own bedroom.

Jake turns to his resting bestie with a warm smile.

Matteo then raises his hand up as a wave to the room. "Alright, good night guys!"

"Good night!" Jeremy calls out, nodding to the goalie.

Then the two amble out of the room.


Kailer then pokes his head from the bamboo divider, now wearing his sleeping cap. "And good night, Oettinger."

Jake turns to him with a content expression. "Good night, Yamma Mamma." He then peers down at his bestie. "And good night, Brett," he tells him softly.

Kailer then slips back behind the dividers. A split second later, the lights go out.

Notes