(A/N): Hey Guys! Welcome back to another exciting Chapter!
Now it's time for the Paw Patrol to put all the despair aside, and get back to doing what they do best. But can they really focus on the mission at hand? Especially with the funeral still fresh in everyone's mind? There's only one way to find out, and that's by reading this here chapter!
Don't have much to say so without further ado,
Welcome back to Paw Patrol: The Ballad of Dally!
Chapter 24: The Paw Patrol Returns
Skye exited the elevator with her head way up in the clouds. She couldn't have wished for a better outcome in talking with Ryder.
Not only did Ryder blow all of her doubts and worries away, he also found her a second skill to learn, with the assurance of Ryder getting her helicopter up in now time, a big bonus to her.
While she still was a little uneasy about filling in for Marshall, Skye had the confidence in her mind that she would be a great helping paw without her equipment. All she needed to do was receive proper training and she would never worry about being a useless pup on the sidelines.
While she walked out of the lookout, her eyes scanned the area for her darling handsome shepherd, who gave her the confidence she needed to confront Ryder. But when she noticed Rocky and Rubble standing outside Zuma's pup house, her happiness was shoved away by the worries for the lab, and whether or not Zuma was still mad at her.
Dreadfully, she walked over to the house, making herself known to the two pups.
"H-Hey guys. Is Zuma still mad at me?" Skye asked without thinking.
Rubble gave her a little confused look. "I-I don't know about you Skye, but at least right now, Chase is what he's griping about."
Now Skye was confused. "Chase? What's he mad at Chase for?"
"I don't know." Rocky irritably stated. "I heard screaming out here and when I went to investigate, I saw Zuma shove Chase out of his pup house and closed the door."
"He shoved him?" Skye piped up. "Why?"
"We don't know Skye. We can't get anything out of Zuma or Chase. Zuma has been dead quiet and Chase…..we don't know where he is." Rubble admitted sadly.
Red flags went off in Skye's head. Chase must've made an effort to talk to the water pup. It must've ended horribly if Zuma ended up shoving Chase out of his puphouse.
What boggled her mind was Chase's insistence to leave Zuma be, and that he would come around. Why didn't Chase listen to his own advice? Did he say that to her so he could confront him alone?
"He better have not said anything mean to him, I swear if.."
"Easy Rocky, don't say anything you don't mean." Rubble calmed Rocky from lashing out. "He probably meant to upset Zuma that much."
"You know Chase." Rocky replied harshly. "He picks at you and picks at you until you've had enough! He probably tried to irritate the snot out of him until Zuma pushed back. Serves him right for bothering him."
Putting aside Rocky's shots, there was one thing Skye had on her mind, and that was Chase. "Do you know which way he went?"
Rocky pointed near the back of the lookout. "He ran that way, Skye. I haven't gone to look for him, so I don't know where he exactly is."
A light went off in her mind. She knew exactly where he was.
"Thanks Rocky, I know where he is now." Skye said, as she bounded towards the cliff. "I'll go talk to him."
"You need any help?!" Rubble called out to her.
"No thanks! I think I got it." Skye called back as she ran past the lookout to where she knew Chase was.
Marshall's statue.
In front of the sacred statue of Marshall, laid a sobbing shepherd. More hurt and broken than anytime in his life.
The conversation with Zuma ended more horribly than Chase ever thought it would. He wanted to talk about Zuma's animosity with him and find a way to disperse it, but he only made it worse. He feared that he may have lost a friend.
He looked up at the replica of his best friend's smiling and determined face and nearly sobbed louder. His persistence to ease Marshall's fears was dwindling by the minute, and it only made him feel worse looking at Marshall.
"I tried, buddy. I really tried," Chase sobbed. "I never thought it would be this hard. I'm sorry Marshall. I-I don't know if I can fulfill that promise I made."
The silence from the still quiet statue was all the police pup got, but strangely, Chase could imagine what Marshall would say.
"Chase…..please…...don't give up now."
"But Marshall, I'm only making things worse." Chase responded, ignoring the absurdity of responding to his thoughts. "I guess that's all I ever do right?"
"No it won't. Quit thinking like that."
"But it's true Marshall, it is. It hasn't even been a week and it's already gotten worse. Rocky committing suicide, Skye running away, and now Zuma hates me. It's all happening at once, and I don't know if I can handle it."
"But you saved Rocky, Chase, and you stopped Skye from running away. You're already off to a good start, man. Doesn't that mean something?"
Chase looked at the statue as if it was Marshall. "Well….yeah. Of course it does. Rocky is my friend, and Skye is more than that. I'm so glad I got to them in time, but Zuma is different. How can I help him if he hates me?"
"Chase. You're talking about Zuma here. Even if he hates you now, he won't for long. You just have to be patient with him. He'll come around, you know he will."
Chase sniffled a response. "To be honest, I don't blame him. He's right to hate me. I did something horrible that he can never forgive me for, neither can you."
"You're talking about how you revealed my fear to everyone?"
Chase let out a quick whimper. "Yes….that's what I'm talking about." He then paused for a bit before he went on. "I…...I betrayed you buddy. I disclosed your secret without your approval. You didn't say it then, but I know for a fact you didn't want anyone knowing about it. Yet I still told it. I told everyone your secret so I could motivate them. But….that was wrong of me. I should've kept my mouth shut. I'm so, so sorry Marshall."
A degrading silence filled his mind as he waited for a response. But nothing came.
"M-Marshall? A-Are you mad at me?"
Chase eyed the statue, wanting to hear his much needed response more than anything. Chase started to panic as maybe, this was a grueling sign to him.
"Marshall? Marshall? Marshall?!"
"Chase?"
"YIPE!" Chase yelped as he heard Skye next to him, a petrified look was on her face. "Oh….h-hey Skye."
She kept her worries out in her voice. "Chase? Are you okay?"
"Y….yeah...I...I'm fine Skye. I was…..just, just in deep thought. That's all."
"Yeah….I can guess that." Skye replied. With more concern than ever.
Chase looked at his girlfriend nervously and embarrassed. "Um…...how much did you hear?"
"Only the part where you screamed at a statue of Marshall." Skye blatantly as she then whimpered. "You know that's not healthy for you."
"I know Skye." Chase replied in a heartbeat. "But…...I felt like I had to, okay?"
"It's okay Chase. Just please….don't make it a habit." Skye suggested.
Chase formed a smile. "Got it Skye. Won't talk to the statue anymore."
He hoped to get a smile back, but to his dismay, didn't. Skye was still giving him an annoyed look instead.
"Zuma's really mad at you Chase. What did you do?"
Chase's smile faded lowering his head in shame. "I….I tried to talk to him. I….I didn't do anything Skye…...I just….."
"Chase, you told me that we needed to wait on him."
"I know that Skye. I know I did." Chase responded, annoyingly.
"Then why did you do it anyway?" Skye asked back.
"Because…" Chase tensed. "I...I didn't like him being mad at me. I wanted to find out why so we can talk through it."
"Well a lot of good that did. Right?" Skye reluctantly threw back at him.
"I know! I know! Waaaaah!" Chase cried as he collapsed to his belly and sobbed. "He hates me! He hates me!"
Skye watched with regret, as Chase bawled on the ground. He didn't care that she was watching, he just wanted to blow it all away, so he won't be sad and pathetic anymore.
He felt Skye's body brushing his, as she laid next to him, and nuzzled his crying face. "Chase. I'm sorry. It'll be okay. Zuma won't be mad at you forever."
"Yeah when I'm dead!" Chase yelped.
"Don't say that!" Skye gasped sharply.
"Why not Skye?! He probably wishes I was! So he won't have to see me or hear me anymore!"
"No he doesn't!" Skye instantly gracefully. "There is no being on this earth that Zuma wishes to be dead. Especially you!"
Chase hushed down a bit before he responded. "If he did, I wouldn't be surprised."
Skye started to lick Chase's snout over and over. "You know, none of this would've happened if you'd listened to yourself and waited. It would've taken some time, but Zuma would've come to you."
Chase sobbed softly in Skye's fur. "All I wanted to do was fulfill the promise. That's the only reason I tried."
"Wait. What promise?"
Chase's eyes shot open. His tears stopped instantly. He was so much into his crying that he didn't realize what he let slip.
Uh oh
Skye then interrogated him. "Hello? Aren't you going to answer me?"
Unconsciously, Chase slowly turned his head to Skye's, who had a burning curiosity in her. "Uh…...um….I..uh…"
"No Chase. You can't back out of this one. I heard you clearly. What's this about a promise?" Skye pressed. She got up and turned towards him in a determined stance. "What are you hiding, and why?"
Chase was caught on Skye's line, and there was no way of escaping. He got very skittish and nervous. As he tried to shoo her away. "Skye…...it's not really a big deal...it's just a...promise I...made to myself…..Yeah. Myself. A promise not to shut down. That's all."
Skye deadpanned Chase immediately after that obvious lie. "Really Chase? That's the best you can do? I believe that more than I believe Calie will never get stuck up in a tree again." She then puts a paw on Chase's. "I don't understand why you're being so secretive, just tell me. I promise I won't get mad at you, and I promise that I won't tell anyone. Please…..be honest with me baby. Please tell me what you're keeping from me."
Chase couldn't fight Skye's begging anymore. He never wanted to tell anyone about the promise he made to Marshall. In fear that everyone would lie to him to make it easy for him. But Skye's eyes had cut down any defense he had. It was probably best that he at least told someone to keep his sanity.
"Okay angel. You win." Chase sighed in defeat. "I'll tell you everything. First….the prom…"
Bleep! Bleep!
"Paw Patrol, to the lookout!"
"What?! No!" Skye howled in frustration.
'Yes! Oh I've never been so happy to hear that announcement!'
Like a bat out of hell, Chase ran towards the lookout, counting his blessings that he was safe...for now.
After a few meters down, he looked behind him to see Skye was still miles behind and hadn't moved. Against his own mind, Chase pivoted and ran back to her. "Skye? You coming? Ryder needs us."
Skye gave a sight in response, followed by a sniffle. "Y-yeah...I'm coming."
She then started to slowly trot to the lookout with her head down to the ground. Chase kept pace with her and felt his heart hurt more and more.
Ryder couldn't have been more proud to see his pups in the elevator, and assume their positions in front of them. Neither one of them had any sadness or despair in them, sitting in attention, ready for their mission. Then, those sweet words that Ryder missed so much.
"Paw Patrol, ready for action Ryder sir!"
Ryder nearly caved in delight. Like a catchphrase from a tv show that had made it's long awaited return. Despite his excitement though, Ryder kept his professional manner as he began the briefing.
"I can't thank you enough for being here pups. I know it's been a few horrible days for us, but it's time to get back in the driver's seat, and do what we do best! I do want to make sure though, so I'm going to ask you all. Are all of you truly ready to get back out on the field?"
The pups look at each other, then set their eyes on Chase, and give him a nod, even Zuma. After gaining everyone's confidence, Chase stood proudly at his owner. "Yes Ryder sir. We're ready to return to action!"
Howls followed Chase's declaration, which made Ryder nearly explode in pride. "I couldn't ask for more brave pups. Now, let's get down to business." Ryder pressed on his pup pad, to display Farmer Yumi's barn with Patunia, and the pigs in their respective places. "We got a fairly simple job today, pups. Last night, the wind scared Patunia, and she broke loose and ran off from the farm."
Skye looked at the screen with worry. "Oh no! Poor Petunia! She must be so scared and lonely right now!"
The pups whine for the cow's safety.
"But that's not all pups. Apparently, a section of the gate in the pig pen broke, which allowed the pigs to scatter all around the farm, with one even ending up on top of the barn, if you can believe it."
Rubble whimpered. "No! That poor little piggy's going to get hurt! We've got to save it, Ryder!"
Ryder gave a confident smile. "We will Rubble, but to do it, I'm going to need…." Ryder swiped his pup pad to Chase's emblem. "Chase! You've got a bit of work to do. I need you to use your super strong nose to track where Petunia may have gone, and I need your herding skills to round up the pigs."
Chase wagged his tail. "Chase is on the case!"
"Rocky." Ryder called, swiping to Rocky's emblem. "I need you to use whatever you have, to repair the fence so we can put the pigs back in the pen."
Rocky smiled confidently. "Green means go!"
Ryder kept his smile on , as he was wrapped up in his briefing. "Alright. And of course, I need you Marshhhh…." Ryder stopped when he noticed the empty spot next to Zuma. In a blink of an eye, all of his excitement went away at the glaring mistake he made. "..shhhhhall."
The pups all look at Ryder with a mixture of concern and sadness, after Ryder mistakenly reminded them of the massive piece missing from their team and their hearts.
Ryder stared at the spot, as if he swore his fire pup was standing right there a second ago. He started to breathe slowly, cursing himself for making a crucial mistake like that. Not only is morality fading, but his pup's mortality probably leaving with it.
"R-Ryder sir?" He heard his police pup say delicately. Prompting Ryder stiffly turned his head towards Chase with uncertainty. Chase's voice was as soft as a feather. "Ryder…..are you ready sir?"
Ryder closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to regain himself. "Ye-Yeah Chase. I'm s-sorry I ….f-force of habit. I guess..um….SSSkye!"
Skye shot up. "Yes Ryder?
"I-I need you to take control of M-Marshall's truck so you can use the ladder to get the pig down."
"What? Why me?" Skye asked curiously.
"I-I don't know, maybe because….your the b-best at heights….I guess." Ryder stammered, a little unsure.
Skye noticed the uneasiness in Ryder's voice and lost all will to ask more questions. "You can count on me Ryder. This pup's gotta...uh….climb?"
A sudden laughter erupted from the Paw Patrol that made them forget the awkward moment. When the laughter subsided, Ryder fired off. "Alright! Paw Patrol is back on the roll!"
The pups all howled and barked in joy as Ryder jumped on the pole and slid down to his ATV in the garage. He put his helmet on and the garage door opened as he revved up the engine.
When the door was fully opened, Ryder punched it harder than he ever punched it before, and raced out of his garage, with Chase, Rocky, and Skye in Marshall's fire truck, right behind him.
The Paw Patrol was back in action, and ready to tear up the streets once again.
As they rolled through town, people, dogs, pups, and kids of all ages, let their cheers ring louder than the sirens, showing their excitement for their return.
'Nnngh! How did Marshall do this?'
Skye's nerves was at an all time high when she finally reached the top of the ladder. There was no possible way Skye had a fear of heights, after all, she spent most of her life at high altitudes. But she found the big difference between flying in the air, and standing up in the air. With flying, you have something that holds you up, and you can control your fall, but standing with no jets and helicopter, there was nothing stopping your plunge to the ground.
The chilling part of this was that everyone one was not paying any attention to her, and ready to catch her if she fell. Chase was off rounding up the pigs after locating Patuna, Rocky was fixing the pen, and Ryder, Farmer Yumi, and Farmer Al were off in the open field, trying to get Petunia back on the farm. So as of right now, nobody was anywhere near Skye, and that admittedly scared her.
However, she didn't let it stop her. Ryder was counting on her, and so was Farmers Yumi and Al, and the pig that she finally found stuck at the top of the barn. Unfortunately, Skye was a little bit off from the pig, as the ladder was off to the right of the center, where the pig was. Upon closer examination, Skye discovered that the pig was Emma, who was standing on top of the barn, petrified.
"Emma? How in the world did you get up here? Skye asked, flabbergasted.
Emma could only squeal in terror.
"It's okay Emma. I'm going to get you down, just move over to me a little bit, and we can get you on the ladder, okay?"
Emma hesitated greatly, before she finally willed herself to move closer to Skye. But as she moved a hoof over to the right, she misstepped and almost lost her balance, due to how steep the incline was. Emma squealed in terror as she froze solid.
"You okay Emma?" Skye called to her.
Emma oinked in response, letting Skye know that she was at least alright.
"Crap. I've got to find a way. Think, what would Marshall do?" Skye asked herself. She figured that if she was doing Marshall's job, she could think like him and find a solution. She thought of the answer immediately. "Climb on top of the barn, and guide her to the ladder. That's what he would do."
It was so dangerous, but Skye felt that she could pull it off if she was careful for her and Emma.
She climbed on to the barn and left the ladder. She then did her best to not lose her footing, as she climbed to the top of the barn and behind Emma, with only her toenails to hang on.
"Okay Emma. We've got to get you to the ladder. So I need you to try again." Skye requested.
Emma squealed in fear for herself.
"It's okay honey. I'll be right behind you, I won't let you fall. You don't have far to go, so it will be a breeze."
Emma oinked in concern for the cockapoo.
"I"ll be fine Emma. I promise. Now let's get you on that ladder." With that, Skye gave a light shove to the pig, as they started their journey to the ladder. In preparation, Skye made herself ready to grab the pig's hindquarters in case she starts to slip.
"Come on Emma, you can do it, just a little more." Skye encouraged, as she closely followed her, being sure to keep a hold of herself and Emma. She wished she had her jets or copter.
After a few more baby steps, Emma made it to the ladder and stopped at it. Unfortunately, just when she got her front hooves firmly on the ladder, her back legs slipped and slid away from Skye. Thinking quickly, Skye grabbed her tail with her teeth to pull back and stop the pig's slide, but she missed widely and her momentum from the attempt caused her to lose her balance, and fell over the edge beside the ladder. Skye dug her nails into the roof, just enough to stop a disaster from happening. She let out a yelp in fear and pain from her nails.
Emma thankfully was able to hang on to the ladder and stop her fall off the barn. Meanwhile, Skye dangled over the edge, trying to hang on with all she had, but was starting to lose her grip, and if she didn't do anything fast, she would fall to her doom. Luckily, the ladder was a foot away from her.
There was nothing else she could do, except jump to the side of the ladder. She was now very glad no one was watching, or they would be having heart attacks. Especially Chase.
She had one shot at this.
In a split second, Skye pushed off the edge sideways, towards the ladder. She landed on it, belly first while wrapping her forelegs over the ladder, and quickly used her hind legs to climb over the railing. She was safely on the ladder, with the force of the landing shook it, making Emma squeal like crazy.
After coming off of adrenaline, Skye turned her attention to the squealing pig. She went to her and hugged the pig. "Hey shhh shhhh. It's okay Emma. You're okay. I'm okay."
Skye's effort worked, as the pig calmed down, mostly for Skye's safety.
"Okay Emma, now for the easy part. Climbing down." Skye pointed out, although she didn't really know how true her statement was.
Luckily, the ladder was wide enough for Emma to climb down. Not much, but just enough for her not to get stuck.
Skye backed away from the pig and gave her a comforting smile. "Alright Emma, it's easy. Just put one hoof in front of the other very slowly and watch your step. Don't worry about falling. I'm right here. Come on, let's take it nice, and slow."
Emma shuddered before she started to follow Skye slowly down the ladder. Stopping every other step for Skye to encourage Emma to go a little more.
They got halfway down, when the cockapoo noticed out of the corner of her eye, Ryder, Farmer Yumi, and Farmer All, walking up to the barn with Petunia. Skye couldn't help but feel proud of herself, but not as proud as she thought Ryder would be of her saving Emma all by herself.
Speaking of which, Skye was so unfocused on Emma, that she wasn't ready when Emma lost her footing again, and slid down the ladder uncontrollably. Skye didn't even have time to notice, as she was suddenly hit by the oncoming squealing pig, and slid backwards down the ladder. Skye landed back first in the bed of the truck. A millisecond later, she was sandwiched between the back of the cab, and a falling Emma. Needless to say, Skye had the wind knocked out of her.
Emma scurried away from the cockapoo, as Skye gasped for air, and had stars floating around her head. She then heard Ryder call out to her, with a scared tone. "Skye?! Are you okay?!"
She felt Ryder's presence next to the truck. She gets up, only to lean over the side of the truck, resting her head on the edge. Her eyes are still going in indifferent circles. She answered with a moan and some words but she had no idea what she said. "Y-Yeah Ryder. I-I'm okay."
Emma then went over to her and licked her face as an apology to her.
"Emma's down." Skye pointed out, still catching her breath with a migraine.
Ryder chuckled as he draped an arm around the cockapoo. "Looks like you can't wait for your copter to be ready, huh?"
"And my jetpack would be nice." Skye slurred, finally getting the dizziness out of her head.
Ryder let out another chuckle. "One thing at a time girl. You rest here. Chase, Rocky, and I will finish up okay?"
"Okay." Skye slurred again, as she closed her eyes to tolerate the headache she had.
Before Ryder left, he hugged her and gave her a quick kiss on her head. "You did such a good job, girl. I'm proud of you."
"Just doing my job Ryder." Skye chimed slowly, as Ryder went off to finish the job.
Skye hoped that Ryder could quickly fix her helicopter, because she had no idea how many pig body slams she could take.
After finishing up, and receiving many thanks from both Farmer Al and Yumi, The Paw Patrol made it back to the lookout, while also making a stop at Katie's for a quick check up on Skye, in case she had a concussion from her collision with Emma.
Thankfully, she didn't get one, with the only real damage being a moderate headache, in which Katie instructed that Skye get some rest for the day.
Skye couldn't have been more grateful for that as she felt she could drop and snore at any moment.
She jumped out of Marshall's truck, wincing a bit on the landing thanks to her headache. She moaned before it subsided before making her way to her puphouse.
A few more days and she will be back in her real pup house, instead of the temporary one she was still using.
She then heard her handsome shepherd call out to her. She turned to him before he hugged her snuggly, which made her moan painfully at her throbbing headache. Chase noticed this and instantly let go while backing away quickly, whimpering in regret. "S-Sorry Skye. I forgot."
Despite her pain, Skye smiled warmly at him. "Don't be sorry Chase, it was soooo worth it."
Chase gave a smile back to her. "Well, you certainly had an eventful day angel. You did pretty well, besides the pig falling on you." Chase tried not to laugh but it leaked out a little bit in his words.
Skye laughed with him. "Y-Yeah, ha ha. I'm glad you didn't see anything leading up to it. You would've freaked."
Chase gave her a knowing look. "You mean when you were hanging off the edge of the barn?"
Skye gasped in sudden fear for Chase. "What? You know about that?"
"Of course I do," Chase confirmed, but strangely kept his smile on. "I watched the whole thing."
Skye's ears drooped in response. Not only was she disheartened at the fact that someone was watching her all along, but it was Chase of all pups.
"You did? Oh Chase. You must've been so scared. I'm so sorry."
Skye whimpered and whined as she lowered her head. But to her surprise, Chase still kept his smile, although it did fade a little. "Ummmm No. Not really."
Skye shot her head up to him. "What? Bu-But I thought you were afraid of accidents. Downright petrified."
Chase's smile faded away finally. "I….I still am Skye. But to be honest with you angel, I really wasn't today."
"Huh? Why? I thought you couldn't trust us." Skye honestly asked with a little concern for Chase's metal state.
Chase breathed deeply as he closed his eyes for a second before looking with his faith for her showing profoundly. "Well….I am making tons of progress, but honestly….I trust you."
Skye didn't expect that as her heart suddenly jolted at the statement.
"I fully trust you to handle yourself, Skye. I have full faith in you whenever even in the most dangerous situations, because I know I don't have to worry about you. When you went over the edge and nearly fell from the barn, I didn't panic, I didn't freak, and I didn't scream. I didn't feel the need to because I trust you."
Skye was mesmerized at this. She didn't expect this at all. "Y-You mean, you didn't even flinch at all? You didn't have your net ready at least?"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous Skye. Of course I had my net ready to catch you. Not because of my paranoia, but because I know you still need backup in case the worst happens, and I will forever be your back up. " Chase answered. "I can trust you to be safe Skye, but there's nothing wrong with being prepared in case the worst happens. Even if you don't see me. I'm always watching over you, and will catch you if you fall."
Skye's heart exploded in trust for the police pup. Even though she had confidence in herself on the ladder today, She was very scared when she thought that no one was watching her. But the truth was, someone was watching her, and It was so calming to her. No matter what situation she was in, Chase would always be there to protect her and that he also won't stress out whenever she was in danger. It was like he really was his guardian shepherd. Reassuring her more, that she will always be safe when Chase is near.
WIth tears in her eyes, Skye shot at him and instantly hugged him while nuzzling her shout on his neck. "Oh Chase…..thank you. Thank you for everything that you do for me." Skye slurred, shedding her tears of joy.
Chase wasted no time giving her a warm hug back. "Of course angel. I'm always going to be there for you, no matter what."
Skye could only give Chase a loving tongue in Chase's mouth. Chase gracefully accepted, and kissed Skye slow and steady, wanting to savor the moment. Not caring if anyone was watching.
"...I love you Chase…" Skye breathed.
"..I love you too Skye.." Chase replied as they continued to kiss.
Out of nowhere, a very over the top clearing of the throat sounded, making the two quickly eject from each other, with a quick yelp from both of them.
Now they cared.
The suspect of the interruption was none other than Zuma, who had the biggest grin on his face.
Skye struggled to keep calm, as her mind instantly played the many consequences that came with Zuma finding out.
"Z-Zuma! Heh-heh. Hey. um..um." Skye stammered, her face as red as Marshall's truck.
Zuma chuckled mockingly. "I guess I now know why you changed your mind Skye."
"Zuma...please...d-don't say anything. We haven't told everyone yet!" Skye pleaded.
Zuma laughed again. "It's okay you two. My lips awe sealed." He then formed a warm smile at them. "But weally, you shouldn't be embawwassed about it. We all knew it would happen, and at least I can't be any happier for you."
"I know, we just don't know how Ryder will react to this." Skye revealed.
"Don't wowwy too much Skye. I'm suwe wydew won't fret much about it." Zuma insisted.
Skye smiled at the lab's assurance, before she looked at Chase, then her smile faded. She saw that Chase had crumbled up, and was completely silent, as if he was afraid of Zuma.
Skye eyed Zuma again, her worries for Chase were put away in place of her curiosity. "So uh….what do you need Zoom? I doubt you came here to interrupt our...uh...affections."
Zuma's smile faded, looking at Skye with shame. "I...I wanted to apologize to you Skye, fow going off the wails on you. It was totally uncool of me to do that to you."
Skye gave Zuma a warm smile. "It's okay, Zuma. I want to say sorry myself, for scaring you. You all have been there for me and told me over and over how much I'm valued here. I don't know what I was thinking that I wasn't happy. Especially with you all."
"Yeah well….I didn't help much. I was so angwy because I didn't undewstand why you would want to leave us. Just please tell me...you'we not going to wun away again...awe you?"
The cockapoo answered with the most confidence she had. "No Zuma. Never again. I'm sure of it."
The two friends smiled at each other warmly, before giving a quick hug to one another. Then, Chase finally spoke, after staying silent the whole conversation. "Z-Zuma? Wh-What about me? Are we cool?"
Zuma's smile instantly faded, glaring at the shepherd who looked as if he was about to cry, no matter what the water pup said. "I don't know Chase."
Chase slowly laid down, buried his nose in his paws, and quietly wept in front of the pup.
"Zuma." Skye spoke, prompting Zuma and Chase to give their full attention to her. "I may not know what you are mad at him for, but I'm sure whatever Chase did, you can forgive him."
Zuma closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't think I can evew fowgive him Skye. What Chase did, made me completely change how I see him as, and that's what huwts me most."
"Zuma, I understand why you're upset. I don't want you to think that I don't care about Marshall's privacy. I just felt that I needed to say it for everyone to understand how much we mean to him. I'm not asking you to agree with me, Zuma. I just hope you can forgive me, and not hate me anymore." Chase laid out in his tears.
Zuma kept his stern face on him as he gave a sigh. "Chase….I don't hate you. Youw my fwiend, and I love you like a bwothew. That will nevew change no matter what. I don't want to be mad at you anymowe, but I can't find myself to fowgive you for weaving Mawshalls secwet. At least…..not now."
Before Chase could say anything, Zuma walked away from them and left the two by themselves. Chase nearly hyperventilated. "Wh-Wha-What does that mean?"
"It means that you're making progress with him. Told you so. Or more like you told yourself." Skye nuged with a playful smile.
"Oh ha, ha. Very funny." Chase replied, before he put his lips on Skye.
Despite wanting to engage in the kiss, Skye slowly pulled away from him. "Sorry hon. But I wanna go lay down in my puphouse. Try to get rid of this darn headache."
"Oh…...o-okay." Chase whimpered, very disappointed. "I hope you sleep that headache away Skye."
The cockapoo nuzzled Chase and licked him before she went off to her pup house.
"I love you." Chase called to her.
"I love you too Chase." Skye called back, as she went into her puphouse and collapsed in exhaustion. Even though her head was killing her, she couldn't stop smiling for her guardian shepherd in her sleep.
Ryder plopped down on his chair with the biggest smile of relief. He had a fear down inside, that the pups would have a hard time getting back into the swing of rescues. Marshall's death was a huge blow to them all. So to come off the first mission with almost no problems at all was a huge with for the Paw Patrol.
After being shaken down to its core, the Paw Patrol has returned, and is stronger than ever. Nothing could erase the smile off his face.
Well…..maybe one thing could.
Ryder suddenly opened his pup pad, and went to his mother's voice mail. He played it again, to at least hear her voice again.
"Hey kiddo….I-I uh…..I heard about Marshall and…..I just wanted to see if you were doing okay."
"I know it's been an awful long time since we talked and I know there's no excuse I can say to make up for it, so I'm just going to say that, I do miss you so much Ryder."
That alone made him want to reach out. He knew that she missed him greatly, and that she loved him more than anything. If only she didn't have a complicated profession.
"I'm sorry if I'm not there for Marshall. I'm just so tied up right now that I can't make it, so I'm going to say that Marshall was a great pup for you, and I'm going to miss him so much."
"And Me!"
As much as it meant the world to hear his mother, hearing Stormy made him even more warm and comforting.
Stormy adored Ryder. Whenever Claire and Stormy were home, Stormy spent all that time playing with Ryder and Chase. Her careness for them could rival Claire herself, as she herself saw Ryder as her son of sorts.
Ryder easily returned that love to her. He constantly recalls many times where she was more of a mother than Claire was. Talking with him, playing with him, and being there for him when he needed someone. Even though Chase was his first real pup, he always felt that Stormy was his as well, and often thinks that he got his love of dogs from her.
Ryder knows for a fact that Stormy must be pounding her and pounding her to come visit him, he's sure of it. But for some reason, it seems that Claire keeps ignoring her. As to why, Ryder had no idea, which made his view on his mother more brittle.
If he never saw his mother again, he would at least wish that he could see Stormy at least one more time.
"Heh heh. Yeah, of course you Stormy. You know she misses you a lot Ryder. Believe it or not, she's been more worried for you than I have. She can't stop thinking about you right now….and neither can I."
I know you must be mad at me. You think I never made an effort to come see you or talk to you, and….I have to admit, I haven't. I always felt that I didn't need to worry about you. You have already grown so much that I don't really need to come down there. But that's no excuse….."
"I know that you probably think differently, heck you're probably not even listening to this. But I'm going to say it anyway in case you are."
Ryder held the pad close to his ear, so he could hear this part of the message very clearly.
"I love you...Ryder. I love you more than anything in this world. Half of all this crap that I do is for you to be safe and sound. You probably don't understand but…..that's how I feel. No treasure in the world could ever match up to you, and I'm so proud to have a son who has accomplished more than he should have. I can't even begin to state how easy it is on me to not be petrified about you being alone.
Ryder felt his heart warm up to a thousand degrees. Through all the issues he's had with her, he still loved her very much. To hear her pour her heart out and nearly cave in her crying to say it, hit it home for him. For that, he would never doubt her love for him again. Forgiving her? That may take a bit. Provided that he at least sees her in his lifetime.
Knowing you...you're probably tearing yourself to pieces about Marshall and that's why I called. I don't know how it went, but I'm confident to say that it wasn't your fault. We all know that, so please….don't beat yourself up about it. You are so smart, strong, and competent for a child your age...no….man. I know you can get through this as well as everyone else can. Maybe more.
If you're still listening, I couldn't be more grateful that you are. I am a horrible mother, one that you definitely do not deserve. A mother that should be there for her child right now."
"I…..I just ask that…...you can give me one more chance. I want to be, I do. So if you think you can forgive your stupid, dumb, worst mother in the world…...please…..call me back….so we can finally fix what I screwed up….for you…..and maybe even for your dad.
I love you so much kiddo. I hope that you can at least let me. I'll keep my phone on me, on the loudest setting and never let it out of my sight….for you."
The message ended with it hitting Ryder harder than the first time. He wanted to try again. He really wanted his mom back in his life, more than ever now.
He dialed his number, crossing every fingers he had for her answer. Every ring tugged on his heart more and more.
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
"Your call has bee…"
Ryder hung up immediately, and called again. One. More. Time.
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
"Your call has…"
That's it, he's done trying.
Ryder slammed his head down on his desk and sobbed softly, which then grew louder and louder at each one.
She doesn't care. She'll never care. Why would she send that message if she didn't mean it?!
During his crying fit, Ryder went to the voicemail message, clicked on it, and…
"Message deleted."
His heart couldn't be in any more pain to hear those words.
(A/N): Ohhhh man. Poor Ryder.
Well it seems that the Paw Patrol's first mission went off without a hitch, for the most part. Maybe they can keep this momentum going as the year goes on, and maybe Ryder's Mom will get to him sooner or later.
The next chapter is sure to be a treat for you all, as we will step away from the pups and see how Stacy and Dally are doing! I'm sure all of you have been anticipating what's going on with them, so be sure to be here next Friday to find out!
Question of the Chapter: Why do you think Claire never answered Ryder's calls?
let me know in your review!
Please review and tell me your favorite parts and if you have any questions about the story or anything else, just put it in your review or pm me and l'll get back with you as soon as I can.
This Is Sean Thames of Dragonsfire Entertainment signing off!