Chapter 22

"Ryder. We need to talk," Chase said sternly.

"Okaaaayy," the boy agreed slowly, being slightly unnerved by the tone his pup used.

"Why did you kill him?" He asked quietly. Ryder's breath hitched and he felt his stomach churn. He thought he hid the body well. Was there still blood left? Did Chase hear the gunshot? Does Zuma know?! The pup spoke again, answering the boy's unspoken question. "I found a scent that led to the closet, in case you were thinking about how I found out."

"Does Zuma know?" Ryder asked, his voice making it clear that he didn't want it so.

"No. You are lucky." The human sighed in relief. "Why did you do it? What if Zuma was the one who found out? What would you do then?"

"I don't know why I did it, Chase," he answered with a frown, his tone was blunt and held no emotion, almost robotic. "I feel guilty, trust me, I do. I didn't think I could do such a thing, but all I felt was how the thought of him hurting Zuma, or either of you three, was too much."

Chase stayed silent, listening intently.

"...Bologo knew where the person who framed us," Ryder admitted after a few seconds. The pup looked at him with wide eyes. "That's why I was there in the first place. I wanted to know where their boss was and they were storing illegal drugs, so I had to put a stop to that."

"Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped!" Chase exclaimed, now slightly irritated not being told this information. The leader of the Paw Patrol leaned forward on the bench and covered his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry Chase. I just needed to do this one on my own. Everyone just sees me as a kid. A useless kid that can't do anything. Just like now...and just like back at the fire," the boy mumbled the last part, but the police pup heard it loud and clear.

"I understand Ryder, you wanted to prove yourself. That's how I felt when we first started the Paw Patrol, always wanting to be more than a futile pup but then I realized that I needed my team. It doesn't change like that Ryder, the people who you work with help with that," Chase spoke, putting a supporting paw on his back, though the boy didn't lookup. He moved to be sitting in front of him and saw small tears bypassing his blockade.

"I did what my body thought was the right thing," the child clenched his teeth.

"Ryder you did not-" he was cut off by the boy.

"How I feel, Chase... I wish I couldn't feel anything. Just looking at him, his fearful state before I... I actually felt good," he confessed. After he finished that last sentence, his body quaked. He let out small sobs while the pup in front of him just stared, unsure of how to react to what his owner just said. He heard the boy repeatedly mumble 'I'm sorry' to no one in particular and shake his head. Instead of saying anything, the pup moved a little closer and rested his head on his knee.

This reminded him of when the incident happened with their first home. Back when the Lookout was an old firehouse, Ryder and Chase sat in front of the building and watched the house burnt to smithereens. They were in the same position as it was then; Ryder letting out the waterworks and Chase trying his best to comfort him.

'Ryder, please don't cry' he heard his younger self say.

'I don't know what I'm going to do Chase' seven-year-old Ryder whimpered. 'Mommy and Daddy are gone.'

'But you still have me. Don't worry Ryder, as long as we're together, we can get through anything!' the young pup exclaimed. The young boy looked up and wiped his tears then put on a small smile. Chase remembered just seeing that smile confirmed his thesis, they could accomplish anything as long as they do it together. He looked up when the child's sobs turned to sniffs, this allowed him to make his move. "Don't you remember what happened on the day of the fire?"

Ryder didn't say anything.

"You were upset by what happened. Losing both your parents and home. It was hard on you, I remember," he continued quietly. "You said you didn't know what to do. You couldn't do anything that was possible to make the day repeat itself, you were stuck. But remember what I told you? You may have lost them, but you still had me."

Ryder looked up, showing his puffy eyes that only showed vulnerability. He was still the same kid that he was three years before.

"Trust me Ryder. The only reason why you felt good is because you thought it was the right thing. I know you so well that I know that you would never do a thing without reason, and that reason was for what you did was for the protection of all of us. You have me, Ryder, and we can get through anything together. But more than that, now you have the Paw Patrol and were all family. Family sticks together when we need it the most," Chase reasoned. His pep talk warmed the boy's heart so much so that he smiled. It wasn't big but it made the pup satisfied. Chase jumped up to his owner and started licking his face, tasting the salt from the tears. The boy giggled causing his smile to broaden.

"S-stop it Chase, that tickles!" Ryder giggled. The pup finally stopped, letting the boy catch his breath.

"That's better!" Chase grinned. He hopped off the bench and turned to the now grinning leader. "We should get back to the others. Wouldn't want them waking up and asking where we are."

"Yeah," the ten-year-old nodded. The headed back to the camp, the walk was silent but it was peaceful as the full moon shined down on them. They didn't need words to symbolize that they cared deeply for each other. Once they reached the silent camp, both relieved when they saw the two figures still asleep.

The two figures turned to each other.

"Well, goodnight!" They both said in unison. The boy and german sheppard walked to their respected sleeping areas but stopped at the entrances. They turned to each other once more.

"D-Do you wanna-?" Ryder stuttered, a bit embarrassed of what he was going to ask. He held the car open with one hand and the other was scratching his head. Chase, fortunately, knew what he was going to ask. He ran over to the car and hopped in, the boy following in pursuit. The two sleepover buddies positioned themselves across the leather seats; Ryder was hugging Chase so he doesn't fall off.

"...Thanks Chase," Ryder whispered, embracing the pup even more.

"It's no problem Ryder," Chase smiled and gave a little lick to his hand.

Coincidently, they both dreamt the same dream, or rather memory. Back when they both were younger, Ryder was plagued with a case of PTSD. This caused nightmares about different things but they usually ended the same way: his parents dying. What happened was that every time he had it, Chase would rush up to his side and sleep with him. Once the Paw Patrol was completed with all its members a year after the incident, the leader suddenly stopped having them. The shepherd knew that he kept it a secret from them on, not wanting to worry the others. He proved this when the boy woke up some mornings and had bags under his eyes and his hands started shaking a little, barely noticeable.

Chase always noticed.

In Ryder's perspective, he thinks that he will just eventually get over it and it's not a big deal. That's why preferred to keep it a secret from the other pups, knowing it's nothing to worry about and he will be babied until 'it was all better.' But deep down he knew it wasn't the case. What Ryder and Chase experienced will never be forgotten as it was burned into their memory, metaphorically and quite literally. Unfortunately, he had to drop the act at one point in time…

They were off to a mission, one of the people of the town had issues with their house. Eventually, the house's entire ground collapsed under itself so it needed to be moved. They managed to somehow transport the whole building via Air Patroller to an empty lot that hadn't been used in years. Unfortunately for the leader and police pup, the reason why the lot wasn't used was because their previous home used to stand in that same spot. Right as they were pulling up the driveway, the two figures froze and imagined the house was there. One imagined the fire memory while the other envisioned the good times being at that house. Whoever thought of which was unknown. It was the other pups who had snapped them back to reality saying that they were having trouble getting the home into place. After working together, the kind old lady who they helped offered them to stay for lunch.

"Can we Ryder? Can we?" The lower-ranked pups immediately jumped up for joy. They turned to the boy who didn't respond. He was staring off into space, looking at the house with slight fear in his eyes. The pup noticed that he was nervously playing with his hands, trying to make them stop shaking. "Are you okay Ryder?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah. I'm fine," his voice cracked. He shot a glance to the shepherd, who'd been staring at the house as well. He then looked back at the women. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you and the pups would like to stay for lunch, you did help me with my house after all," she smiled politely.

"We appreciate the kind offer Mrs., but we have to get going to the Lookout," he kindy rejected, getting whimpers from the pups in response.

"It's no problem Ryder. Thank you again for moving my house-"

"Are you sure you want to live here?" He cut her off. They sat in silence, thrown off by the question.

"O-Of course I do. Why? What could happen here?"

"Fires," he responded under his breath, but Chase heard him. "It has had a history of bad luck is all."

"Oh, dear. Should I be worried?"

"No. If anything happens, we'll be here."

"You sound like you've had some history here yourself Ryder."

"Let's just say I was apart of that bad luck streak and leave it at that." The woman nodded. After they bid their goodbyes, some more reluctant than others, and left. While driving, the low tier pups went ahead while Ryder and Chase lagged behind.

"Never thought we were going to be back there," Ryder remarked.

"Yeah." The rest of the ride was silent. Back at the car, their dream was slightly painful but eventually they fully shut down their brains. The next morning, Sebastian and Zuma woke up. They both drowsily made their way out of their respected areas and used some freshwater from their bottles to brush their teeth (Sebastian was brushing for both of them). That's when the teen noticed something. "Hey. Where's Ryder and Chase?"

"I don't know. Thewe usually up fiwst," Zuma agreed. After they were done, they moved back to the car. Sebastian opened the passenger's door and cooed at the sight in front of them. The two found friends were sound asleep with the boy hugging the pup.

"Aww," they both cooed quietly. Sebastian quickly took out his phone and took a picture, then showed it to the pup who started giggling. Who knew the strong leader and the strict pup could look so adorable asleep? The two figures stirred, causing the teen to pocket his phone immediately. The boy was the first one to open his eyes and look up at the smiling figures, then groaned knowing what they did.

"Don' tell me tha you took a picture," he slurred.

"Well good morning to you to amigo," Sebastian chuckled.

"Yeah whatever." The two waking ones moved out of the car and stretched. The boy and pup did the same routine as the earlier two did then got into their respected cars. Ryder put some pup food in both their bowls while the two people ate granola bars for breakfast.

"Time for another day at work!" Ryder exclaimed, back in a happy mood. "Paw Patrol is on a roll!"

To be continued...