AN: Just finished. So tired. Going to bed.
Disclaimer: I do not own Paw Patrol
It had been two days since Chase made the wish, and he was staring to wonder if he really was just kidding himself. Nothing indicated that Marshall and Skye were having relationship problems. No sign of one or the other losing interest. They were still happy as can be.
I knew that thing was a bunch of baloney, thought Chase, as he stared at the couple playing tug of war against Zuma and Rubble. Maybe I should just accept the fact that I'm never gonna have Skye?
"Hey, Chase? You alright?" asked Rocky, walking over towards the police pup who grumbled a hello. "You seem really grumpy today. Everything okay?"
"I'm fine," replied Chase, closing his eyes. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night."
"Well, if you're sure," replied Rocky, shrugging as he started to walk away before he paused and sighed. "Does this have anything to do with Marshall and Skye being together?"
Chase's eyes went wide open as he slowly turned to Rocky who was giving him a look that said "don't lie to me". The German Shepard open his mouth to deny it but sighed and whimpered. "How long?"
"To be honest? I noticed it only recently. You always look spaced out when your staring at them, even on missions," answered Rocky as he sat down beside his friend. "Did… did you like Skye too?" Chase nodded his head. "Wow, I guess that explains a lot. Your behavior and all, I mean. Long time?" Chase nodded again. "I see."
"… Why him and not me?" asked Chase, shaking his head. "I don't want to keep thinking this, but I can't help but ask it every day. What is it about him that she likes?"
"Well, he's funny. Kind. Loves to play a lot. I don't know, other then that I guess it was just meant to be?" asked Rocky, shrugging. "I've never been in love, so I wouldn't know what to say." He then stared at Chase with a worried look. "You aren't going to do anything drastic are you?"
I already did, and it didn't do anything, replied Chase, not bothering to mention the Monkey's Paw still in his pup house. "No, I'm just gonna get used to it."
"That's the mature thing to do, Chase," said Rocky, nodding with approval.
That's when their pup tags lit up as Ryder's voice followed suit. "Paw Patrol! To the Lookout!"
"Ryder needs us!" shouted the pups as they all rushed over to the Lookout with excited howls in the air. Chase quickly put away his feelings to focus on the mission to come. If there was one thing Chase could do, it was put his emotions away for the sake of the team. They all managed to get inside, but Marshall, last as always, managed to trip from walking to fast.
"Woaaah!" shouted Marshall as he tumbled inside.
"Lookout!" shouted Zuma, but it was too late as they were all bowled over. Chase flew up in the air before landing hard on somepup.
That said pup happened to be Skye who was looking at him with her beautiful eyes as he stared back right on top of her. He froze in place upon seeing that their lips were close to each other. To the point where he could smell her scent from her mouth, mixed in with Marshall's from a previous kiss. For a second, all of time seems to freeze as he felt more at peace at that moment then he had in the past few months.
"Hey, get your own girlfriend," giggled Marshall as he playfully pushed Chase off.
Chase shook his head, almost ready to snap at Marshall for ruining the moment until he quickly realized where he was. "Uh, well, I was just keeping her warm for you?"
"Thank, but let's try a three way when we're older?" teased Skye with a wink that made all the boys blush and snicker.
"Who knew Skye had a dirty mind," replied Rubble, laughing as the elevator went up.
"Comes with hanging around you boys all day," stated Skye as the elevator stopped half way.
Standing in place, they waited as their lockers opened, revealing their uniforms which were carried by claws and other machines. They each stood still, only moving when necessary as the mechanical limbs helped them put on their respective clothing. Instead of his normal Police Officer uniform, Chase was receiving his Super Spy outfit which was only used for specific missions. Usually, getting your special outfit was a sign that you were on the mission. He wasn't the only one, as Marshall was getting his EMT outfit too. Afterwards, the next set of lockers opened, revealing their pup packs. Both Chase's Super Spy pup pack and Marshall's EMT pup pack were among the normal ones.
Once their equipment was hooked up, the six waited for the elevator to continue upward where they soon reach the top. Doors opening, they jumped out and stood in proper order as straight as can be; their faces at attention. Chase, pressing his paw on the floor, replied, "Paw Patrol, ready for action! Ryder, sir!"
"Thanks for coming, Pups. We got a few lost people in the woods today," replied Ryder as he pressed his pup pad, causing the big TV screen to appear. It showed a family of four walking through the trees happily. "A family by the name of Johnson was taking a nature walk when they came across a bear." An angry bear suddenly appeared in front of the family. and they all scattered in different directions. "The four of them fled, but they got separated along the way. The father is currently with Jake and Everest who reported what's going on."
"Is that bear still in the area, Ryder?" asked Skye, looking worried.
"We don't know, but its best to be cautious just in case. Someone could end up getting hurt," replied Ryder. "Remember, you just need to stay still when dealing with a bear or play dead to make it go away."
"Like this? Blah!" Rubble flipped on his back, making a funny face with his tongue sticking out much to the amusement of the rest.
"Kinda like that, Rubble, only a bit less funny," laughed Ryder before clearing his throat. "For this mission, I'll need…"
Chase's pup tag appeared on the screen, making him puff out his chest. "Chase," addressed Ryder, "I'll need your tracking skills and spy drone to help search for the missing family members."
"Spy Chase is on the case!"
"I'll also need," continued Ryder as Skye's logo came next, "Skye. Your helicopter can be used to spot our missing targets from above. Use your goggle to report anything you see down below."
"Yip! Yip! Let's take to the skies!" cried out Skye, doing her signature backflip.
"Last I'll need, Marshall." The dalmatian's logo was next. "They could be injured or hot from running in the forest. We should make sure they're in good health when we find them."
"I'm ready for a ruff ruff rescue!" replied Marshall, following it with a bark.
"Everest and Jake will also be helping in the search while the rest of you pups stay here in case you're needed. Alright, Paw Patrol is one a role!" shouted Ryder as he rushed towards his pole as the others barked in excitement.
Once he was down the sliding pole, Chase, Marshall and Skye all rushed towards the slide in proper order. Chase, howling as he slid down, watched as his spy cruiser switched with his police cruiser from a hidden platform below, and placed in front of the slide. Jumping in the air, he landed in the seat and activated vehicle mode, allowing him to switch his pup house to his spy cruiser. Driving to the side, he watched as Marshall, slipping into his firetruck as always, and Skye landed in their vehicles. Skye quickly took to the skies while Marshall went left, and Chase went right, following Ryder on his ATV as they went across the bridge towards the direction of the forest.
In forty-five minutes, the Paw Patrol arrive just outside of Jake's Cabin where they saw said owner, Everest, and a balding man with a mustache who looked worried. Jake walked over and gave Ryder a salute. "Glad you dudes could make it. We were just about to start looking."
"Good thing we just arrived then. You must be the father, Mr?" asked Ryder.
"Johnson. My name is Danial Johnson," replied the man, shaking Ryder's hand. "You have find my wife and two kids. They go by the names of Estella, Donald, and George. I just came from the western side of the forest, and they weren't anywhere there. They must be in the other areas."
"Let's split up and search in three separate areas," commanded Ryder as he turned to his pups. "Chase, you'll head up north. Jake and Everest can head south. I'll take the eastern area. Skye can cover the skies above while reporting anything that catches her eye."
"What do you want me to do, Ryder?" asked Marshall.
"Just wait here with our guest unless we need you. Everyone ready?" They all cheered. "Then let's go!"
The pups howled as they went to work: Skye heading up the air with her helicopter while Chase put on his sirens and went north. Everest waited for Jake to get on the back of her snowmobile and drove off while Ryder followed suit, leaving a worried Danial Johnson with a comforting Marshall who offered him a water bottle.
Twenty minutes had passed, but Chase had found no sign of the missing family members. Only one of them had been found in the past few minutes by Everest and Jake who found one of the lost boys, Donald, calling for his parents. Already they were heading back to Jake's Cabin for Marshall to look at him to make sure that he wasn't hurt or dehydrated. Sniffing the air again, Chase tried to get a scent of humans, but there was nothing to go on.
"Ryder! I spotted the mother! She's just about a mile away from you to the left! Looks pretty tired too," replied Skye on their com channel.
"Nice work, Skye! I'll head there soon. Chase, anything on your end?" asked Ryder.
"Negative, Ryder, sir!" replied Chase. "I'm going to activate my drone and see if I can cover more ground that way."
He pushed the break petal to a halt and jumped out of his spy cruiser. Heading to the back, the truck opened to reveal his drone operation controls. After activating his password, he pressed the on button. "Ruff! Drone!"
His spy drone shot out of his vehicle and flew into the forest with the speed of a hummingbird. The drone's camera streamed everything it saw to Chase's video screen. Using his controls, he had the drone easily sweep past the trees and under bushes for any sign of the missing boy, George. He soon noticed something out of the corner of his eyes and pulled the camera to the left to see a hunched figure near a tree. Zooming closer, he saw a little boy in hiking gear, holding is knee with tears in his eyes.
"Got him!" cried out Chase as he activated his pup tag. "Ryder, sir! I found George. He looks hurt though, so you better send Marshall out here."
"Good work, Chase. Did you hear that, Marshall?"
"Yup! I'm on my way!"
Chase activated the spy drone to stay in place while he headed back to his seat before driving forward. However, just as he began to move, he saw on the right side of the screen that George was climbing up the tree as fast as possible despite looking in pain. Chase's curiosity for this action was soon answered when his drone's camera spotted a bear roaring and coming closer to the tree. "Oh no," replied Chase as he quickly recalled. "Ryder! The bear is making its way towards George!"
"Can you get to him in time?" asked Ryder.
"Yeah, but I don't know how I'm going to frighten the bear away," replied Chase.
"Don't worry! I got an idea! Just hang tight, Chase!" cried out Skye.
Hoping his crush could make it in time, Chase put his paw to the metal to speed things up.
It didn't take long for Chase to arrive where the bear and George were. Luckily, the boy managed to reach the top of the tree despite his knee wound. Chase managed to get the bears attention thanks to his sirens, but now was facing the said beast which was growling at him. Thinking quickly, Chase barked, "Net!" Activating his net launcher, it fired a shot and it landed on the bear who roared in anger while trying to shake it off.
"Uh, Skye? You coming with that plan?" asked Chase, knowing his net wouldn't hold the bear off forever."
"Right on your six, Chase!" said Skye, just as she flew overhead. Her chopper claw was already activated and carrying something.
Using his goggles, Chase was able to zoom and notice it was a beehive. "Wait, if that's a beehive. Where are the… oh!" Not to far from Skye, right behind her tail, was a swarm of bees trying to chase down their lost honey.
"And release!" shouted Skye as she let go of the hive. "Bombs away!"
Just as the bear managed to get the net off, it felt something smack its head from above, before tasting an all too familiar sweet taste. However, before he could enjoy it, the sting of a dozen angry bees followed by even more of the swarm caused him to yelp in pain. No longer carrying about anything else, the bear ran away as fast as he could with the swarm of stingers behind him.
Chase couldn't help but laugh at the sight, even if he felt sorry for the poor bear. "Nice work, Skye," yelled Chase from below.
"Thanks! That will teach that nasty bear how to beehave, am I right?" joked Skye.
"Hey, I thought I was supposed to do the bad jokes," said Marshall as he drove up behind Chase. "Hey, Skye? Think you can bring George down so I can check him out?"
"Sure thing! Harness!" cried out Skye as she lowered her special harness.
Marshall and Chase both got out of their vehicles as latter contacted Ryder while the former waited by the tree, watching George come down. "Ryder, sir, we got George safe and sound. Marshall's going to be giving him a check over."
"Roger, Chase. I'll be there in three minutes," replied Ryder.
Chase turned off the channel as he watched as Marshall got out his equipment while waiting for George. Just as he landed, Marshall's ears perked up. "Hey, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Chase, tilting his head.
"That sound? Kinda sounded like a his-"
And that's when it came. It was like a lighting bolt that struck from the bushes nearby without anybody noticing it. Time seemed to slow down as something long, black, and mouth open wide struck with its fangs loose until it buried its bite deep into Marshall's neck. A scream erupted from Marshall unlike anything Chase had ever heard of, but in an instant, he tackled his best friend in vain to save him.
"GAAAAH!" screamed Marshall as the black snake held onto his bleeding neck, despite the dalmatian attempts to shake him off. "Get it of me! GET IT OFF ME!"
"Marshall!" shouted Skye from above in terror as she watched below. George, frightened of what was happened, struggled back in fear. "CHASE! HELP HIM!"
Chase tried to bite the snake off, but it quickly unattached itself from Marshall and dodge the bite. Quickly slithering around its pray, it took another quick bite, this time right on Marshall's paw, earning another howl. Only this time, it was silenced by gasps for breath as Marshall hacked and coughed, his face slowly turning blue as the veins in his neck began to show and turn purple. Chase screamed both in anger and desperation as he dived again for the snake, carrying less if he got bit if it stopped hurting his best friend.
The snake dodged again, hissing as if taunting Chase. Between Marshall's body shaking from the poison entering his veins and the snakes slightly moves it was hard to even catch the damn thing. Just as it couldn't get any worse, the snake bit a third time, this time right between Marshall's rear legs where his gentiles were. Despite not even being able to scream, the teary eyes and painful expression on Marshall's puffing and colored face spoke of the unbearable pain. Roaring, Chase finally managed to grab the snake and tossed it away, where it fled back into the wilderness.
"Marshall!" shouted Chase in fear as he rushed over to his best friend and gasped in horror. The once joyful and shining face of Marshall was now one of tears and purple veins. His eyes bloodshot as snot dripped from his nose, in an desperate attempt for air. His mouth foaming as he struggled to say something while his eyes rolled back of his head. His body began to contort and shake as the wounds from the bites began to bleed, mixing with a small pool of urine below. "M-M-Marshall! Hang on!"
"Marshall!" shouted a teary-eyed Skye as she rushed to his side and tried to touch him, but Chase stopped her. "Let me go! Let me go!"
"No, the poison might get on you!" shouted Chase, struggling to stop her from touching him no matter how much she fought and screamed with her tears falling down her face. Chase didn't even notice he was crying too just as Ryder arrived and rushed towards Marshall, doing his best to handle this but even the look on his face spoke of uncertainty.
"What happens?! Chase!" shouted Ryder, demanding answers.
"A snake! Black and quick! It ran away!" shouted Chase, feeling his heartbeat increase as it became harder and harder to breathe. This isn't happening! This isn't happening!
"Look for some anti-toxin in Marshall's EMT truck! Maybe it might have something that can help! I'll call 911!" shouted Ryder, taking out his pup pad.
Chase dropped Skye who rushed towards Marshall's side. He made a mad dash like never before to the EMT and smashed it open, pushing away everything just to find something for snake bites. "Come on. Come on. Damnit! WHERE IS IT?!"
Don't you dare die, Marshall. Don't you dare die! Thought Chase repeatedly, but no matter how hard he searched he couldn't find anything. Shit!
He rushed out to where Ryder and Skye were and said, "Sir, I can't find any! What should-" he stopped, pausing as he noticed their faces of disbelief and tears of sorrow. He slowly turned to Marshall who had stopped struggle and now lay still on his back, is leg twitching every few seconds. His eyes were now fully up, his chest not even rising once.
It took Chase a full thirty seconds to realize his best friend in the whole world was dead.
"M-Marshall? Get up… come on get up," whispered Skye, tears falling down her cheek as she struggled to smile. "T-this isn't funny… joke's over… you can… you can stop p-p-p-playing d-d-dead."
"Skye," whispered Ryder as he slowly went to place his hand on her head, but she snapped at him to force him back.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" screamed Skye, her eyes wide with both fear and anger. "He's not dead! He wouldn't leave me! He wouldn't separate himself from me! Not like this!"
Chase froze upon hearing this.
"Not my Marshall… not my Marshy…" whispered Skye as she began to crumble and lean back. "Not… him…" Unable to take anymore she fainted and Ryder caught her, screaming her name. Chase didn't do anything but stay frozen and stare Marshall's painful looking deceased face.
He wished they would be separated.
He wished for something to break them apart.
Something did. The one thing that would break anything together. Something that nothing could fix.
Death.
Death tore up his friends apart.
And Chase had caused it to happen.
Chase, feeling bile exiting his mouth, turned away and began to puke as it mixed with his tears as he realized what he had done.
He had lost his best friend.
And his paws were stained with his blood.