If there was ever a time when I thought I had outgrown something as silly as a nightmare, I'd be rich. I've always been this way, for some reason, aside from my fear and hatred of water. I have a huge fear of the dark, which I never told anyone except for one dog. That german shepherd, that german shepherd who drives me up the wall. Of course, he knew before I could even tell him. I could never be rid of him… Sigh… Chase, you never change. It all began because of one stupid dream, you and I would forever change. All because I love you…
-At the Paw Patrol headquarters-
I woke up in horror, it happened again, this time I don't have my nightlight to comfort me. I knew I shouldn't have given it to Alex… He's 8 years old at this point! Which would make Ryder 12, meaning the pups and I aren't exactly pups anymore. We've finally grown, or at least most of us have grown. Sky hasn't always been the tallest pup… but it should be self-standard that I don't need a stinking night light! Yeah, that's right! I don't need that stupid night light, I'll just close my eyes and… Hey, I think it's working! Yeah at this rate I should be fi- *Hoot Hoot*, W-What was that noise? N-N-Never mind, I might need someone else… I think I can sleep with one of the pups tonight, just for tonight. I walk out of my pup house and walk amongst the other pup houses. Let's see, who to choose as a roommate. I don't think Rubble would even let me sleep with his snoring, Zuma wouldn't stop making cracks at me for being scared of something other than water, I don't think I'd fit with Sky, Marshall has his… ugh, water cannon, and I don't think I should wake up Ryder at this point in time. I know! I'll go sleep with Chase tonight! Yeah, he'll understand, I mean he conquered his fear of dentists, maybe he'll let me… sleep with … him. Sleep, with Chase… There's… nothing wrong with that right? Of course not, It's Chase, I'll be fine… I hope.
As I walk around The Lookout, searching for Chase's pup house, things aren't looking any brighter out there. I have to hurry now. I finally find a familiar house with blue and black colors. The whole structure was supposed to be themed after policemen and their cars and whatnot. But I still think it's pretty cool, I've always found cops to be influential to our civilization. For better or for worse. I approached the pup house with caution on not wanting to wake the other pups, there he was, sleeping the night away. Everyone knows that Chase is adorable when he sleeps, but man, what a sight… I, really shouldn't be staring. I try nudging his head with my paw, nothing. I tried picking at his ear, he was still asleep, he's a real angel this one... Finally, I managed to work up the courage just to peep
"H-Hey Chase… wake up please…" the police dog woke up to look at me, he stared at me in confusion. Wondering what I was doing at such a late hour, more importantly at his own pup house
(Tiredly) "Yawn… What is it Rocky?" he whispered to me. I told him "Uh Chase, I know this sounds sorta stupid coming from me, but… could I possibly… uh, sleep here? Just for tonight...?"
"Huh? Why do you want to sleep with me all of a sudden?" he asked. I hope he means what I think he means… "I uh… had a nightmare…" Oh joy here it comes
"C'mon Rocky, you're too old enough to be worried about nightmares, you're a big boy, you can handle it. Even if you are afraid of the dark." "How did!? How did you know I was afraid of the dark?" I asked.
"It was a bit obvious with that nightlight and all, but still c'mon Rocky" Chase said. So he already knew, but that didn't matter now. I wasn't going to leave this place at all. Sighing, Chase finally gave up. "Fine, but only for tonight you scared up pup."
Oh thank the kind soul who made treats! Chase shuffled a bit to let me in, without hesitation, I walked into the pup house. Huh, cozy, then again it is me and him sleeping together. Sleeping… Together… Under one roof… Is this? No, I-It's just a sleepover! I guess. I curled up and closed my eyes, nothing, all I'm getting is just pure black nothingness. I opened them, of course I couldn't go to sleep immediately. Figures, why not be awake? I glanced at Chase, he was sound asleep, I turned over just to look at him. Something about him… His face felt, comforting. I don't know what it was about it, he looked so charming to me. He's… So handsome… Wait, WHAT!? What am I even thinking? I really need to go to sleep, and I really should stop staring at his cute snout. It looks… really cute, I could just kiss him if I wanted to. I'm really starting to lose it… I don't think I want to turn around anymore, I'd rather just stay here for the sake of not wasting any more energy. That, snout of his, it's so irresistible… Man if these are thoughts I'm having concerning Chase, I'm going to go bald just from stress alone. I closed my eyes to try and drift off to sleep, surprisingly, it worked this time. Finally, something to get away from the world of nightmares.
I opened my eyes to see fields of- Grey, that's certainly something different. I saw a figure in the distance, it looked to be a german shepherd. It was Chase. But something about this was different, his eyes, they looked soulless. They were grey and hollowed out, but that wasn't the only thing different about him. His fur wasn't brown and tan like it usually is, instead, it was grey. In fact, almost everything about him looked Grey, except for… Down there… Wait, what's even down there? Am I… Looking through a window?
This field. This isn't a field, it's a glass corridor. I looked below and saw a dark void with several pillars that had some sort of stained glass imprint on them, they depicted, dogs… It was the Paw Patrol, but older. In fact, this looked almost exactly like us currently. It even has our collars… I looked to the grey version of Chase, I was startled immediately. He stood right in front of me eyes entirely focused on my chest. At least, I think that's what he was looking at. He opened his mouth, I couldn't hear him, he opened his mouth again. This time I heard him say.
"Rocky, if you had a crush on me. You could've just told me, now, I think it's time you learned what you're really dealing with." and with that, the grey Chase took another step towards me. I stepped back, something about this Chase… It almost felt like he was going to kill me any second now. I was afraid, greatly, as the grey Chase kept walking towards me. With each step gaining speed until I finally ran for my life. I ran, and I ran. But to nowhere, this place seemed to go on forever. That's when it finally caught up with me and tackled me to the ground. It was right on top of me, its eyes pierced my soul, I could not be anymore terrified. It bent down, this was it, I'm done for. It kissed me… I opened my eyes to see the grey Chase kiss me, I looked even more down to see it's… it's, It's huge. I tried averting my eyes from the big red whatever it supposed to be by this point. It started to look like a snake, it's almost as if the thing is trying to bite my face off
"You finally noticed huh? I think it's time for you to learn how I really play. Just so you know, I like to be a bit, ruff." W-What? What could IT be possibly talking about!? Suddenly, a dark cloud surrounded me, I couldn't move. This cloud is choking me! I need to wake up now! Don't make beg the god of whatever, PLEASE wake me up!
"Rocky… Rocky… Rocky… Open your eyes."
I opened my eyes to see Chase looking at me in concern. I was back in the real world "Rocky, are you ok? You've been moaning in your dream, and you kept saying my name over and over. What were you even dreaming about?" I did what now? Man, now I'm really embarrassed. How in the world can I explain something as cryptic as that dream? What was that place anyway? So bizarre
"Oh uh… well, it was a really strange dream that involved you. In fact, this huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't…*THUMP* Ow" Chase knocked me lightly on the forehead. He looked at me like I was being ridiculous, yeah blame the whole dream on me why don't you?
"Are you sure you're still not dreaming? It's funny I also had a dream involving you." Chase squinted his eyes and looked in the distance. I asked "So… What was your dream about Chase?" Chase blushed hard and looked away in embarrassment.
"W-Well! I guess it's something we both don't need to know!" His dream was clearly something else… For him to be that embarrassed, it's often really rare, the only times where he acted like that was when he used to have this obvious crush on Sky. It's a shame she rejected him by putting him in the friend zone. Took him months to get the courage to confess to her, only to get immediately shot down by someone he wanted. It took a long time for him to recover from it, with the help of the other pups (me especially for some reason), we finally managed to convince him that Sky was just not the one. I looked at Chase, I know the guy (or pup) has been looking for love ever since his recovery, he hasn't snagged a single fish just yet.
"We should probably get back to sleep, Ryder wouldn't want us to be sleepy while we work." Chase agreed with me, nodding his head, he went right back to sleep. If only I could do that, man, I suck at sleeping. But either way, a pup has to get his sleep, with or without some help. I curled up with my eyes directly on Chase, I could always count on him for some comfort in one way or another. I finally closed my eyes, I was off to sleep in the dream world
Back here again, this time thankfully, there wasn't any grey colors. This time though, I was on an Island, the other pups were all playing by the beach. I was laying in the shaded grass, I stood up looking for any signs of life other than us. I saw a dock in the distance, so we aren't stranded, I saw a penthouse that looked like it was for guests to stay in. I guess me and the pups are staying here for a considerable amount of time. Something that was concerning, however, I saw no trace of Ryder anywhere, it was just me and the pups all alone on this island. Guess it's time to relax or do anything I want to.
Some time had passed, and the sun was already setting. Sky and I decided to make a campfire, Zuma managed to pack a bag of marshmallows and some graham crackers. Instead of chocolate, we had some caramel to be a replacement. As we were setting up the fire, the pups all began to run to a nearby tree to see the sunset. It was definitely a breathtaking scene, so before we even lit up the fire, Sky and I went to join the other pups. Marshall was sitting at the base of the crooked tree, Rubble was laying on the sand next to the tree, and Zuma was with Chase sitting on the tree. Sky and I sat nearby the two so we ourselves could also enjoy the memory of seeing something so beautiful. Finally, the sun had set and the moon was rising, I lit the fire and we all started making our own smores. It was a blast for me, this was the most enjoyable experience I could have with the pups. Until one certain dalmatian decided to up the ante.
"Hey guys! I think we should spice up this trip a little bit, with a game of spin the bottle!" Marshall pulled out a glass bottle that originally had seltzer water in it. He was serious about this, everyone seemed to like the idea and went with it. I sighed, and I brought out a small tray for the glass bottle to spin on. Marshall went first, and the bottle landed on Rubble.
"Ok! Rubble, truth or dare?" Rubble thought about it for two seconds "Hmm… Truth!" the devilish dalmatian looked hellbent on trying to embarrass anyone. "Ok, is it true that you sniffed at a turd once?" Ok, now that was just low, Rubble looked especially embarrassed, looks like Marshall's plan is working. Rubble stayed silent and just nodded. Everyone gasped, but then realized it was sort of normal for dogs to be curious just about any scent. Rubble spun the bottle, it landed on Zuma. But they didn't speak, Zuma spun the bottle, it landed on Sky. Both of them didn't speak either, Sky spun the bottle, It landed on… Marshall. Finally, Marshall spun the bottle, and it landed on Chase. I get the feeling they planned this.
"Alright, Chase! Truth or Dare?" Please for the love of god, don't choose-
"Dare." What did I just say!? "Ok then, I dare you… to kiss Rocky!". I knew it, I knew Marshall would do something like that. Only he would plan for me to get kissed by Chase.
"Oh and by the way, it has to be a french kiss, and you have to kiss for two minutes." Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, Chase looked just as embarrassed as I did. But we both knew we couldn't get out of this, we looked at each other in silence. Both of us looking away for seconds, we were extremely bashful. But we couldn't let this go on forever. I looked at Chase, he looked back. I just nodded, he also nodded. That's when he made the move that would forever change my mind about him. His lips pressing against mine, tongue, tasting mine. I couldn't even describe the feeling if I wanted to. But it felt like this kiss could go on for centuries, I kept on going, he did the same. We finally parted lips to catch a breath, our tongues hanging out of our mouths. We looked at the pups, they… were gone. I looked back at Chase, he was gone too. In fact, the entire Island was gone. I was all by myself, I was kissing nothing. I curled up, and my eyes watered. Something like that could never happen. My eyes finally opened once again
The sun was shining, it was morning now, I looked over to see Chase gone. I was confused, did he already wake up? That's when I saw every pup outside looking at me. Sky finally spoke
"Hey Rocky… Ryder needs us. Why are you in Chase's pup house?" I didn't have time to answer, so I shrugged it off and we all went into the Lookout. Alright, so that's, one, two, three, four, and five of us. Wait, where's Marshall? Hold on…
"I'm coming! Woah-oh! Look out!" Oh no…Not again. Without warning, the Dalmatian crashed into all of us. We all were on the floor, how many times is he gonna do this? Just goes to show how much of a klutz Marshall is. Ow, I'm still a bit hurt, also what's laying on top of me? I looked up to see Chase on top of me in a position less suitable for work. He immediately hopped off
"S-Sorry Rocky! If anything blame Marshall!" "Hey! I have ears y'know." Yeah and I'd half a mind to blame you for creating such a mess to begin with… But we all just laughed it off. Marshall was a bit funny, I'll give him that. We all lined up and readied ourselves, our uniforms already on us. We arrived at the top of the Lookout, Ryder was already at the console waiting for us. We all hopped out and were in proper order, just like always.
"Ready for action Ryder sir!" That familiar catchphrase of his never gets old.
"Sorry to wake you up pups, but Katie has a problem. One of her client's dogs escaped from her salon and managed to get on top of the firehouse. Now, the poor thing can't get down! We need to help. Marshall, I need you to use your ladder to get the pup down. Chase, I need your net in case the pup falls. Rocky, I want you to have a makeshift platform in order for the pup to walk on it. If it gets too afraid to get down with Marshall, then we can use that platform. Finally, I want all of you pups to be on standby. According to Katie, the puppy is very timid and is known for running away. Alright! Paw Patrol is ready to roll!" And with that, Ryder went down his pole to get on his RV. Chase and Marshall went down the slide to get to their respective vehicles. I didn't think Ryder would need me for this mission, but hey, it counts. I went down the slide to get on my vehicle, a recycling truck. We all met up with Ryder near the exit of the Lookout, finally, we all sped off towards the firehouse in the city. I looked at Chase, his cheeks were red. I wonder what's up...