Marshall V2018: Some of answers for your questions are in this chapter.
LunaWolf44: You'll find out what happened next in this chapter. And I'm glad to hear that you like this story.
bsassan0378: Thanks. Yeah, I plan to write a sequel. This story will have a Cliffhanger ending (sorry if I wrote it incorrectly, I have no idea how it's called in English).
The Charismatic: Thanks, I hope I will meet everyone's expectations.
Hey, hello everyone. Sorry that it took me more than two weeks to finish this chapter, I had some problems but I won't try to find any excuse. I just hope that this chapter (it's a bit bigger than previous one) will be enough to excuse me. Sorry for waiting again, and let's begin.
The Paw Patrol arrived at the scene. Residents of the city didn't ask Ryder unnecessary questions, so now the pups and the boy only cared about saving their mechanical friend. Rocky was still where he had last seen Marshall and Chase. He was delighted to see Ryder and the rest of the pups.
«Rocky, how did this happen?» Ryder asked as he dismounted from his ATV.
«I came back from the warehouse and called them, but no one answered. Then I went to the water and accidentally stepped on Chase's tag. There it is.» Rocky pointed to a broken tag on the sand. «After that, I noticed these tracks and immediately called you.»
«Alright, Skye, use the helicopter and see where these tracks lead.» Ryder pointed to the tracks of the caterpillars.
«I got it!» Skye answered and began to move in the direction of the kidnappers.
«I'll try to track Marshall's tag now, if it's not broken we'll find it.» Ryder said.
He took out his pup pad and pressed a few buttons. A map of the area where the Paw Patrol was located appeared on the screen. Then the pup pad began tracking Marshall's location. It lasted for about a minute. Then Ryder gasped. He saw that the pup was in the middle of the lake.
«Zuma! Faster, take your hovercraft and swim to the center of the lake!» Ryder ordered.
Marshall woke up and felt that his paws were tied. Suddenly he felt something wet around him, as if he were swimming in a bathtub. He carefully looked around and was horrified – he realized that he was drifting in some kind of reservoir and couldn't get out. Marshall was afraid to move. He wanted to call Ryder, but at that moment he heard the sound of large fans. He looked around and noticed the familiar hovercraft.
«Zuma? Zuma! I'm here!» The Dalmatian shouted.
«Marshall! Hold on dude, I'm coming!» Zuma shouted back.
In a few minutes Ryder and the pups were already helping Marshall to get ashore. Meanwhile, Skye continued to follow the tracks of the caterpillars. However, this didn't last long. Suddenly, the tracks ended abruptly, and Skye's heart flinched.
«How do you feel, Marshall?» Ryder asked worriedly.
«I'm fine, thank you.» Marshall answered.
Ryder's pup pad rang. Ryder took it out and touched the screen. Skye appeared on it, she was horrified. The boy immediately realized that she had found something.
«Ryder! Hurry come here! I need help!» Skye yelled.
The Paw Patrol began to move. However, they didn't move for long. Soon, a landslide appeared on their way, which happened some time ago. The pups and the boy spotted Skye near a pile of stones. She was trying in vain to pull something out from under the avalanche.
«Ryder! This way!» Skye pointed to something… Metallic.
«Rubble, move these stones!» Ryder ordered.
The bulldog drove up to the landslide and using his bulldozer began to remove stones. Two minutes later, Rubble unearthed some kind of metal box on tracks, as well as a mechanical pup. Chase wasn't moving and was completely out of order. The pups and Ryder were very worried about him, since the self-propelled box on caterpillars was broken and could hardly be repaired. Chase was pulled out from under the ruins. The mechanical pup wasn't really damaged, but he still needed an inspection.
«What happened here?» Zuma was curious about the incident.
«I don't know, but since the landslide buried Chase and the box, the kidnappers were also…» Suddenly Rocky realized where those who tried to escape had disappeared.
There was silence. No one had words. Marshall noticed that Rubble was fluttering as a leaf. The Dalmatian tried to calm him down, but it didn't help much.
«I think… Well… We found Chase.» Ryder said. «I think we should go back to the Lookout now. Unfortunately, we can't do anything here.»
The decision had been made. The Paw Patrol headed back home. By this time, Harold had come to the main square. However, no one was there anymore. Not the people, not the Mayor Goodway. Only the workers were finishing cleaning the stage on which Ryder had performed a little earlier.
«Well, as I see there is nobody here.» Harold said to himself. «It's weird, I thought they were supposed to be here.»
He walked a little further along the road. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of car sirens coming from somewhere in the distance. He looked closely and recognized the Paw Patrol vehicles. They were heading towards the Lookout. Harold thought for a while, but by this moment Ryder and the pups were approaching the main square. They rushed past Harold without even noticing him, but Harold noticed something strange. There were six cars, including Ryder's ATV, but where did the seventh car go? He had to find out. Of course, this is very difficult to do, but with the help of one person it is possible. The same reporter was still on the main square, rewatching the video recordings, hoping to understand what might have been missed. The reporter was a little upset that this wasn't a sensation, but only false news. Nevertheless, a drop of doubt about Ryder's excuse still remained. Harold knew about this and had a plan. He went to the reporter to have a new ally.
After that, the Paw Patrol had already arrived at the Lookout. Ryder got off his ATV and the pups jumped out of their cars. Chase was hidden in Rocky's truck.
«Rocky, is Chase still in your truck?» Ryder asked.
«Yes, where should I take him?» Rocky answered.
«Take him to the basement please, I'll take the wool to disguise him.» Ryder said. «But first, I have to check if he is damaged.» Then he turned to the rest of the pups. «The rest of you, don't worry, everything will be fine. You can go about your business. I just want to ask you one thing: don't let anyone enter the Lookout.»
The pups nodded and went about their business. Ryder and Rocky went to fix and disguise Chase so that he could finally live like a regular pup again. Chase's inspection took no more than thirty minutes, but the disguise took a decent amount of time. After two hours of painstaking work, everything was finished. Chase looked exactly the same as before the incident with a car. On the back of his head only a bump appeared, which wasn't there before, but this was the only change. The only thing left for Ryder was to activate the mechanical pup. He walked over to the control panel and pressed several buttons. After a few seconds, the process was ready to end, all that remained was to confirm the operation. However, the Paw Patrol leader was given a few more options that were not necessary. Among them was memory erasure. Seeing this, Ryder thought about it. He was faced with a choice: to leave Chase in the dark about his origin, or to doom him to accept himself as he is. Rocky saw that Ryder was in a dilemma and he began to worry.
«Ryder, is everything all right?» Rocky asked.
«…Yes Rocky.» Ryder answered. «It's just… I have a tough choice…»
The pup looked at the monitor and understood what his owner was talking about. He was upset. He saw no point in erasing Chase's memory. However, he was convinced that the leader of the Paw Patrol was always right and never needed advice.
«Ryder, if it's necessary, it should be done.» Rocky said. «If we can get by without it, please don't do it! It doesn't make sense!»
Ryder's hand was above the «Erase Memory» option. The boy couldn't dare to make such a choice. He looked at Rocky, then back at the screen. He took a deep breath, raised his hand and pressed the button. The choice had been made. Ryder chose… «Save Memory». Suddenly, Chase's eyes began to flicker. Then he stood motionless, like a statue. His eyes were closed. Suddenly, Chase woke up. He glanced at Rocky and Ryder, a smile appeared on his face.
«Ryder! Rocky!» He exclaimed, jumping into their arms. Friends were happy to be reunited. «What happened to me? Does the town still know I'm a machine? I don't see Marshall! Where is Marshall?» Chase was worried.
«Calm down Chase, it's okay, Marshall and the others are at the Lookout right now, you have nothing to worry about.» Ryder answered. «Now I will tell you what happened to you…»
Ryder told the mechanical pup everything that had happened. Chase was shocked. He didn't know how many problems he could create simply by his existence. Chase was very upset because he didn't want anyone to get hurt. Ryder noticed this.
«Chase, are you okay?» Ryder asked. The pup just nodded. «Please don't lie about these things, I can see that you are upset. Is there anything I can help you with?» … «Would you like to forget everything that happened to you?»
«… I'd like to…» Chase said quietly. Ryder and Rocky looked at each other, both concerned about Chase's response. «I would hate to forget it, I wish it never happened.»
«Sorry, I can't do something like that.» Ryder said.
«It's okay Ryder sir, it's over now.» The mechanical pup smiled.
«Right…» Ryder smiled back. Then he remembered that the town wasn't yet fully convinced that the reporter's news was false. «I almost forgot! Chase, we need to take you to Mayor Goodway. The residents don't know that you're okay yet.»
«Oh, exactly. I completely forgot what plan you had.» Chase answered.
«Then what are we waiting for?» Rocky said. «Let's hit the road.»
All agreed. Three went up to the first floor. Rabble and Zuma were watching TV, while Marshall and Sky were discussing something outside the main entrance. As soon as they heard the elevator doors open, they immediately turned their heads towards the it. To say that they were happy to see Chase means to say nothing. As soon as Chase got off the elevator, Skye jumped on him and hugged him so that he was unable to resist (although he didn't try). The other three didn't keep themselves waiting long and, in a fit of joy, they knocked Chase down. They apologized, but Chase wasn't mad at them.
So, Chase, Ryder, as well as Marshall and Skye went to the main square, to the town hall. Passers-by, noticing Chase, waved at him. The pup didn't think everyone would be so happy about his return. Finally the Paw Patrol arrived at the main square. When they knocked, Mayor Goodway opened the door and almost squealed with delight, for Chase, alive and well, was standing right in front of her. Ryder asked to be allowed to use the television, to which Mayor Goodway readily agreed. She told Paw Patrol to go to the main hall, and she herself took the phone and called someone. After a few minutes of waiting, Mayor Goodway entered the hall, and behind her was the same reporter who almost revealed the secret of the mechanical pup. Of course, no one of the pups was very happy about this meeting.
«Hey guys…» The reporter said. «It seems… You seem to be not very happy about our meeting… Look, I'm sorry, I didn't want to give you any problems, I just thought that the town should have known the truth… If it were true…»
«Alright…» Ryder sighed. «I think we can forgive you, but only if you promise us that you will never again draw premature conclusions!»
«I promise I won't do anything like that anymore!» The reporter exclaimed.
«Okay, then I think we can start.» Ryder said.
Mayor Goodway, Chase and Ryder sat on the couch. The reporter was broadcasting live, while Marshall and Skye were left off-screen. Mayor Goodway gave a speech about how Chase is back and no mechanical pups exist. Ryder also added a few words, specifically, he promised that he would never replace any of his pups, and would not let any of them die, go missing, and so on. This live broadcast was one of the most successful in the entire history of Adventure Bay. Almost all residents of the town watched it. In general, everything went almost perfect. When it was over, Paw Patrol was about to return to the Lookout, Marshall noticed that Chase was going to stay a little longer.
«Hey Chase, are you coming?» The Dalmatian approached his friend.
«You may go, I want to chat with Mayor Goodway.» Chase answered. «I wonder how she became a mayor.»
«Oh, really? I never knew that you're interested in it. You said you didn't like this topic, did you?»
«Well, I was wondering. You can go. You don't have to stay with me.»
«I can wait, it's not difficult for me.» Marshall said. Skye heard Marshall and Chase talking about something. She listened.
«No, really, you don't have to stay. I really don't need help.»
«… Well, okay. See you later…» Marshall finished the conversation and headed for the exit.
«What was that?» Skye asked Marshall.
«I dont know.» Marshall answered. «Chase said he was curious about how Mayor Goodway got her job. I thought he didn't like the topic of politics.»
«But… He really doesn't like this topic.» Skye knew Chase quite well, so she was very surprised by this statement. «Do you think Ryder changed something about his system?»
«I don't think so. Perhaps he just changed himself.» Marshall concluded.
The two left the building and followed Ryder. The boy asked them where Chase was and was also surprised. However, he decided that the pup could be allowed to do his own business, especially considering what he had to go through in one day. The three went home, and in the meantime the situation in the town hall changed.
«Are you really interested?» Mayor Goodway was surprised. «Incredible! Only my nephews asked me about this! You have no idea how pleased I am with your question now. Come to my office, I promise you, it will be interesting for you!» Mayor Goodway went to her office.
«Okay, I'll be right there.» Chase shouted so she could hear him. Then he looked at the reporter. «Hey, are you coming?» The reporter looked at the pup in bewilderment. «Oh, come on, I promise it will be interesting.»
After that, something happened that made the reporter's heart flinch. Chase's brown eyes flashed a bright red…