"He probably went home." Zuma said with a shrug, but to Chase this seemed suspicious.

"Without telling us?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I don't know, maybe he couldn't stand seeing you like this. He's a very compassionate dog." Zuma pointed out. He got nothing but a wary grunt from Chase in return.

After taking his tests Chico exited the examination room and looked around. He didn't want anyone to spot him. For now he would keep it a secret and would only reveal it if his kidney matched.

He thanked the doctor, who told him that he'd get his results soon. He then tip-toed out of the hospital and made his way home as quickly as he could. He had to think of an excuse for leaving Chase and Zuma alone, they were probably suspicious. So he wanted to arrive at the lookout earlier than them, at which he succeeded. He arrived there and got off his car. He was relieved to see that the other dogs were all inside, watching some TV together, so they didn't notice his arrival. He let out a slightly distressed sigh, before he laid down in his dog house and feigned sleep. It would be the most convincing excuse to say that he was insanely tired.

/ / /

Chase, Zuma and Ryder made their way home. After arriving at the lookout, Chase glanced at Ryder with a bashful expression. He still felt horrible for threatening his owner, he had no right to do so. Ryder glanced back at the Shepherd, flashing him a comforting smile. He couldn't stay mad at his dog for long. Though, this incident just screamed for a lecture.

"Chase, was has gotten into you?" Ryder asked with obvious concern in his voice as he kneeled down beside his dog. Chase looked at his owner with drooped ears and a modest smile.

"I don't know, Ryder. I'm overly emotional at the moment and can't really control my temper. I feel so ashamed... I have no clue what happened back there, and I am so sorry." Chase apologized with sad eyes. Ryder couldn't help but to crack a soft smile.

"It's okay, Chase." he said soothingly as he placed a hand on Chase's shoulder. "We all have our quirks and none of us is perfect. Though, things like that shall never occur again, okay?"

Chase nodded in return, smiling widely. "Yes, thanks for understanding, Ryder."

Ryder got back up again and looked around. "It's quiet around here." he breathed.

"Yeah, the pups are all inside watching Cartoons." Zuma remarked. Chase incomspiciously looked around and spotted Chico resting in his dog house. He arched an eyebrow as he observed the Retriever with attentive eyes for a moment, before he turned back to Zuma.

"Hey Chase, you wanna join them? You could use some distraction." Zuma suggested with a smile.

"Sure, you go ahead." Chase said, returning Zuma's smile. The chocolate Retriever nodded and headed inside. Chase looked at Ryder with an uneasy smile.

"What's your plan, dog?" Ryder asked with a chuckle.

"Nothing, just want to check on Chico over there. He left in such a rush, just wanna make sure that he's okay." Chase lied through a halfway convincing grin. Ryder tilted his head as he gave Chase a stern look. "And you want me to believe that you don't wanna attack him again?"

"Yes! I told you I'm sorry for being so over the top lately, I won't attack or threaten anyone." Chase said with a promising smile. Ryder sighed deeply as he nodded.

"Right, I'm going to get some snacks. Be back in 10." the boy announced as he walked back into his garage, leaving Chase alone. The tense Shepherd looked over his shoulder and glared at the apparently sleeping Retriever. With a loud grunt he made his way over to his red dog house and sat down right in front of Chico, which caused the nosy Retriever to open his eyes and blink hard as he spotted Chase. He lifted his head and just emptily stared at the intimidating Shepherd. In return, Chase just stared down at him. Neither of them said a word.

"Well?" Chase hissed impatiently.

"What?" Chico coughed awkwardly as he slowly came to a sitting position.

"Why did you leave without telling us?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I... erm.. was very tired. I needed some rest." Chico lied with an uneasy grin.

"I've told you a million times that you can't fool me. I'm a police dog, I can smell lies from miles away." Chase pointed out, his expression darkening. The nervous Retriever stared down at his paws. Why wasn't Chase buying his excuse?

"But I am not telling lies! I am exhausted too, Chase. This situation isn't quite easy to handle, not even for me." Chico yelped as he looked into Chase's fuming eyes again. The Shepherd frowned suspiciously as he continued to stare Chico down.

"Why did you join Zuma then? You could've just stayed here."

"I know, but I wanted to help and be there for you, but after a few minutes I realized that I can't keep my eyes open and left. Zuma and you were busy anyway, so I didn't feel like interrupting."

Chase wrinkled his black nose in anger, but decided to let it go. There was no point in discussing this. Though, he felt that Chico wasn't being honest. That whole dog just seemed untrustworthy. With a loud huff Chase turned around and went inside the tower to join the other pups.

Chico watched Chase leave, his whole body tense. As the Shepherd was out of sight, Chico sighed in relief and his posture softened. If Chase ever found out about his not-so-solidary intentions, he would be doomed.

The pups were all peacefully sitting in front of the large screen, watching some Cartoons about Apollo. Rubble and Marshall had fallen asleep, only Zuma and Rocky were following the Cartoon with attentive eyes. Chase seemed a bit distracted as he kept glancing outside the window. The sky was entirely dark and Chase felt uneasy. He kept nervously licking his snout and his paws started trembling from time to time. While Rocky thought this was because of Chase's suspense, Zuma noticed that Chase wasn't paying attention to Apollo. He glanced at the nervous Shepherd with a comforting smile and playfully bumped his shoulder.

"Hey dude, Apollo's over here." he said with a smile. Chase vigorously shook his head as he tried to concentrate on Zuma, chuckling.

"Heh, yeah, I know."

"What's bothering you?"

"Nothing, not a thing." Chase mumbled through a forced grin. Zuma arched an eyebrow, but shrugged it off.

Chase's ears started twitching as he heard some female screaming outside. He looked out of the window and saw Katie run towards Chico, holding a letter. He cocked an eyebrow as he watched how Katie approached the Retriever and yelled at him. Chico gestured her to keep her voice down. Chase tilted his head as he watched them for a moment, before his curiosity started to kill him.

"Excuse me." he muttered to Zuma before he went outside and sat down in front of the glass door. He didn't want Katie to notice him, so he remained silent and just perked his ears up to listen to their conversation. Having such big ears had its advantages.

"Are you freaking kidding me? What is this, Chico?" Katie yelled accusingly as he showed Chico the letter. The Retriever gulped loudly as he looked into her eyes.

"Katie, please, stop yelling." he begged, his heartbeat increasing speed.

"I won't stop yelling until you've told me what this is about! What do they need my signature for?"

"Well..." the Retriever started, but swallowed his words as he stared down at his paws.

"WELL? I want an explanation. I thought you could take care of yourself and then you run around and want to donate kidneys? Are you out of your freaking mind?" Katie yelled, inwardly wanting to shove that letter down Chico's throat.

"Quiet!" Chico hissed through forcefully gritted teeth as he glared at his owner.

Chase was flabbergasted as his eyes widened to a level where they could fall out any moment. He emptily stared at the arguing pair for a moment, before his expression turned into a dark scowl. He knew that something smelled fishy. So Chico was taking his tests as he left out of the blue. Why lie about it? He frowned in anger, using all his strength to not run over there and slaughter Chico with his teeth. A dangerous growl escaped his snout and his breathing became heavier. Though, he continued to sit there for a moment and just listen to them.

"I took the tests, yes. I didn't want anyone to know about it 'cause they'd accuse me of having ulterior motives. I thought you'd be on my side, Katie! Rescuing lives is my destiny." Chico spat bitterly as he glared at the girl.

"Rescuing lives and destroying your own? No way, playboy. I am not signing these papers." Katie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You have to! Make it quick, before anyone finds out!"

"No need to hide it." a dark voice called out, making Chico flinch. He looked to his right and watched Chase approach them. His gait was already giving away that he was furious. Chico winced as he took a step backwards, hiding behind Katie's legs. He looked at the Shepherd from between Katie's legs, visibly shaking. Katie glanced down at her dog with an arched eyebrow. Her eyes then met Chase's light brown ones. Damn, what a scary dog.

"So that's your little perfidious plan, huh?" Chase spat as he stopped in front of Katie's legs, glaring at Chico.

"The reason I didn't tell you... was... well... this." Chico stammered nervously, flashing Chase an uneasy grin.

"I don't give a flying fuck. You're such a backstabbing bastard." Chase growled dangerously as he bared his teeth at the Retriever. "I promised you that it wouldn't end well for you if you tried to fool me another time, yet you did."

"Chase! Watch your language!" Katie yelped, totally puzzled.

Though, the Shepherd didn't even react. The thought of Chico donating behind his back, probably thinking that this would make Skye adore him, disgusted him to the core. His fur started standing on end as he digged his claws into the ground beneath him to control his anger. Chico gulped loudly as he took another step backwards.

"Don't even dare to think of running away from me." Chase warned, his white teeth still showing. His dark growls scared Katie and he started breathing heavily.

Despite Chase's warning Chico turned around and started running, his heart sinking to the ground while doing so. He panted heavily, feeling such fear.

"CHASE NO!" Katie called out, her voice filled with panic. Though, the Shepherd took off without even looking at Katie. He ran after Chico and after a short chase the aggressive Shepherd jumped on Chico and bit his neck to pull him down. Chico stumbled over his own legs and fell flat on his belly. Chase was hovering above him, the Retriever's neck fur still in his snout while he continued to growl dangerously.

"Chase! You're hurting me!" the timorous Retriever yelped while squeezing his eyes shut.

"Oh yeah?" Chase snarled as he reinforced his bite, shaking and pulling on the Retriever's neck with his sharp teeth, causing Chico to gasp in pain. He forgot everything around him, all he wanted to do was rip Chico apart. That son of a bitch kept lying and now he wanted to donate behind Chase's back?

"CHAAAAAAAASE!" Katie screamed frantically as she ran towards him, but got ignored.

"You wanna know what true pain feels like, buddy?" Chase taunted dangerously as his whole body started trembling from all the wrath. In a swift movement he shoved Chico, causing the anxious dog to now lay on his back, Chase still standing above him, growling as he kept baring his teeth. "You wanna know what it feels like to mess with a German Shepherd, buddy?" Chase snarled perilously.

"I am so sorry, Chase. I should've told you right away." Chico frantically apologized as he tried to catch his breath. He raised his front paws in defense. The intimidating Shepherd was so out of his mind, that he didn't even notice that he was surrounded by four panicking dogs and two helpless people. They all yelled at him, but Chase was deaf to their pleas. None of them dared to touch him, he was wild like a wolf right now. His whole body was tensed up, he was shaking from anger, his loud growls echoed through the night, causing Ryder's and Katie's stomach to churn.

"RYDER MY GOD DO SOMETHING! GET THAT BEAST OFF MY DOG!" Katie yelled out of breath.

"You're so lucky that it's my duty to protect people and animals, otherwise I would bite your fucking ugly face off now. What were you even thinking, huh?" Chase spat aggressively as he glared down at Chico, his nose twitching in anger.

"I wasn't thinking anything, I was just trying to help!" Chico yelped.

"Help behind my back?" Chase snarled as he pressed his nose against Chico's black one forcefully, causing the Retriever to skip a few breaths.

"I thought you wouldn't understand."

"Damn right, I don't." Chase snapped, his expression darkening more and more.

"It's hard to see you so upset. Is it a crime to save Skye's life?" Chico said, his voice just above a whisper.

"If you did this for me, then you would've told me. You're doing this for your own ass, 'cause you think it'll make Skye love you." Chase taunted edgily as he lifted his head up again. "And if you lie one more time, I'm going to cut your throat open, so think twice before answering."

Chico gulped loudly as he closed his eyes, his lips quivering. He knew that Chase would get mad, but he had no idea that he would lose his mind.

"CHASE! GET OFF HIM! YOU'RE DOING A HORRIBLE MISTAKE!" Ryder called out, slowly approaching the Shepherd with shaky hands.

"He is gonna destroy him..." Marshall breathed faintly, watching the scene with empty eyes.

"Destroy him? He's gonna eat him alive." Zuma corrected with a shaky voice.

"We have to do something!" Rubble called out.

"Like what? You think I want Chase to freaking kill me?" Rocky spat.

"He's not himself right now, he would attack any of us." Zuma agreed.

"What is happening to him?" Rubble sighed.

"He is desperate." Zuma breathed. "And I guess it makes him a monster."

Chico's eyes slowly fluttered open again and he swallowed thickly as they met Chase's fuming ones. This dog was being serious, no more lies. His lungs tightened painfully as he tried to catch his breath, but failed. His eyes got moist, he feared that this could be the end. Everyone was watching, yet no one dared to lay a finger on Chase. Why didn't they just run him over with their cars? Or shoot him for God's sake? He tried to concentrate on Chase, but his eyes showed so much hate and disgust that it made Chico wince.

"Okay! I was doing this for Skye! And myself! You had nothing to do with it! I can't stand you, I'll admit, but I don't think anyone could blame me! Just look at you! I like Skye and I don't want her to die, so I would sacrifice a kidney to save her, hoping that she's gonna be grateful as soon as she wakes up! You don't deserve her!" Chico said, forcefully closing his eyes. He expected a painful impact, but nothing happened. He slowly opened one eye and observed Chase, whose expression and posture slowly softened.

Chase just stared at the Retriever with empty eyes, his words ringing in his sensitive ears. He slowly came back to his senses. He looked around and saw everyone standing around him, some of them looked mad, others had pure panic written over their face. He slowly got off Chico and sat down. He stared up into the dark nightsky and gulped loudly.

"OH CHICO!" Katie yelled in relief and she fell on her knees and hugged her dog tightly. Chase glanced sideways and watched them. Her relief seemed real, was she really scared that Chase was actually gonna kill him? Chase's eyes then landed on Ryder's.

"Shame on you." Ryder spat with crossed arms. "I can't tolerate your self-destructive behavior anymore."

"I... I... what?" Chase stammered nervously as he tried to gather his thoughts, but his mind was all over the place.

"I'm going to take your badge. You can't serve the police in your current state of mind." Ryder stated sternly before he looked past Chase, watching Katie cry into Chico's golden fur.

"God, Chico, your neck is bleeding." she yelped through her sobs.

"'S okay, I guess I deserved it." Chico shrugged with a smile.

"Deserve it for wanting to save a life? No matter the background, all that counts is that you wanted to do good! Chase is just a monster. I don't want you to be around him anymore. This could've ended so much worse!"

Chase glanced at Katie with sad eyes. He officially lost it all. Lost Skye. Lost Ryder's faith. Lost the other pups' sympathy. Lost his fight to save the one he loves. Lost his mind. He lost it all.

"He's quite a daredevil, huh?" Chico joked with a faint chuckle.

"Daredevil? He's a beast, he needs to be locked up in a cage!" Katie snapped, shooting Chase a reproachful glare.

"Now, now! Chico pushed him." Rocky protested.

"Yeah, if it weren't for all his ugly lies this would've never happened." Zuma agreed.

"Yes, and his attempts of winning Skye over. He had that coming." Marshall threw in.

Chase slowly lifted his head to look at his friends, feeling puzzled, but also insanely proud. They all flashed him a comforting smile, which Chase hesitantly returned.

"Still no reason to attack him! He should've controlled his anger, he's a police dog after all, he's there to protect citizens, not harm them! He doesn't deserve that badge, he doesn't deserve a good reputation and he sure as hell doesn't deserve a sweet dog like Skye!" Katie argued back, standing up.

"Katie, I think you should go now." Ryder said, crossing his arms. He totally understood her anger, but there was no reason to aggravate Chase's misery like that.

The Shepherd drooped his ears. Although she was probably right, her words burned his skin... and his heart.

"And just so you know, I am gonna sign these stupid papers in deepest hope that Skye is gonna fall head over heels for her savior!" Katie snapped before she left, followed by Chico.

Chase watched her leave with hopeless and sad eyes. His lips were curved upside down and he felt a painful emptiness inside. What had just happened? When did he become so choleric and irascible?

"Sorry Chase... I know it hurts you that Chico is now her potential donor, but you deserve it after everything you did to him." Ryder said with a sigh.

"I beg to differ. It's Chico that did something to Chase. I really came to like him, but seems like he's planning something. All he did was try to manipulate Skye, no matter the prize. All he cares about is himself and he's good in impersonating as the victim. All Chase got the past days were rough backlashes, and today he realized that Chico's support was feigned all along, I don't think I would've reacted any differently." Rocky remarked with a stern expression. Chase gave Rocky a confused look. Wasn't he the only one always having Chico's back?

"I don't care about your opinions. We can't go on like this, Paw Patrol is falling apart and the only one to blame is Chase. His change of attitude is causing nothing but trouble." Ryder pointed out. "I want all of you to go to sleep and not talk about this incident anymore. I'm getting rid of Chase's badge and uniform, and then I'll see how Chico's doing."

Chase looked up at Ryder, his eyebrows narrowing due to his hurt. Though, he decided to accept his owner's decision. There was nothing left to fight for. Why be a police dog if no one relies on you anymore? Why be a police dog if they thought that it's better to lock you up in a cage? He let out a distressed sigh as he stood up and walked past Ryder, straight into his dog house, his posture submissive and his tail drooped. All the walls were caving in and the whole world came tumbling down on the poor Shepherd's back. He never thought that not having Skye around would turn him into a monster, a vicious predator... make him lose everything he worked so hard for. His self-destructive behavior was now catching up to him, bereaving his breath. Was this what Chico tried to provoke all along? Or maybe Chase just got it wrong and the Retriever really wanted to help? Donating a kidney isn't something you do to annoy someone. There had to be some good intentions, a good heart hidden somewhere.

Though, Chase was yet to discover that good heart.

All he discovered was a shady and untrustworthy dog.

And that dog, out of all dogs on Earth, was gonna donate.

How did this fit together?

He had no clue.

Sorry for the long wait! With Christmas being around the corner I had a lot on my to-do-list.

This probably isn't quite what you expected, but yeah. Chase is slowly losing his mind. And damn, I know what it feels like having to deal with someone with a split tongue like Chico. Chase can't really decide whether Chico is trying to get rid of him, or trying to genuinely help. Hell, not even I can decide! ;D

However, this little outburst ended Chase's career, at least for now. This will only push him deeper into his misery, or will he finally find a way out?

Stay tuned to find out. xoxo

HUGE THANKS FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT!