Paw Patrol and the Temple of Doom (Anniversary Edition)

by Dragonsfire1995

After narrowly escaping Bubba's clutches, Chase and Marshall crash land in Wintergreen, where they find a pack of wolves on the brink of extinction, and their Wolf's Emerald stolen! With help from a headstrong wolf pup named Claria, Chase and Marshall set out to recover the emerald, while uncovering an ancient evil who threatens all who come into contact with it!

(A/N) Hey guys! Glad you could make it to festivities!

Today marks the one year anniversary of Chapter 1 being published right on this site! So to celebrate this wondrous occasion, Paw Patrol and the Temple of Doom has been cleaned up, reworked, and re edited to be as flawless as I can get it. So this is the definitive version of the blood chilling adventure!

For those of you who read the entire story before, this is a new way to experience Chase and Marshall's most dangerous adventure yet! For those of you who are experiencing this for the first time, Be ready for the most chilling and dark adventure in Paw Patrol fanfiction history! As Chase and Marshall risk their tails to stop an evil cult from taking over the world!

I've also decided to make this an all in one chapter to make this flow like a movie or so, and for convenience reasons, and for archive reasons, I will leave the original post up. That way, you can make comparisons to the original version and the anniversary version.

Before you go though, I have to get all the important stuff out of the way.

This story is an adaptation of the second Indiana Jones Movie of the same name. Though a lot of changes were made to make it fit the Paw Patrol universe better. Another thing is that Chase and Marshall, are Chase and Marshall in this story. For example, Chase is not in place of Indy and neither is Marshall. I wrote it as if this actually happened to the two, and didn't just copy the novelization of the movie and pasted Chase and Marshall in it.

That being said, I strongly recommend that you do watch the actual movie. Not that you need to for the story, just that it's an amazing experience. All of The Indiana Jones films are for that matter. Well...maybe not crystal skull.

I do not own any of Paw Patrol's characters, The plot itself, or the movie this is based on. Just the OC's I integrated.

I also have to state that this story has some gruesome scenes in it. From pups being enslaved and whipped, to even a heart being ripped out! So I have to stress, Please exercise caution reading this! There is no shame in skipping a part for your mental safety, and if you push on, remember that the story has a happy ending.

With all that out of the way, let's dive in.

DragonFire presents, the anniversary Edition Paw Patrol and the Temple of Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

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Paw Patrol and the Temple of Doom

Anniversary Edition

Sean Thames

Sticksburg, 2015

The night was booming all around the Bone district of Sticksburg. Dogs of all breeds were in a popular nightclub, eating, drinking, and dancing the night away. Tables were full of friends, couples, and some that were only there for the show. The show in question was a song and dance number performed by the hottest act in the circuit, Skyler. A golden retriever who some will believe, has a voice of an angel. She was pretty popular with the males who would drool at the sight of her, wishing they would be her mate.

Even some females who wouldn't dare be on the other side, would often fantasize about her.

After a bit of waiting, a gong sounded signaling that the performance was starting. The stage in the back center of the club was lit up with orange and yellow lights, matching Skyler's coat. On the right, was a statue of the dog Glare, a hero to the city of Sticksburg. Behind it, was the gong that was repeatedly being hit, to signal the start of the song. To the right of it, was a band stage with podiums in front of every musician. There was a conductor of course, and a handful of different instruments from trumpets, to clarinets, to a drum set. The main stage had one big lions head that acted like an entrance and exit to the backstage and club. The head slowly opened up and out came dancers with males and females of Doxens, Labs, and even a Blue Heeler. The males had sailor uniforms on, while the females colorful dresses with all of them having the color of blue and white. They posed around the lion and howled the melody of the song and on cue, Skylar herself came out in a beautiful blue black and white dress that could pass as her wedding dress minus the lack of a head piece. The club erupted with howls and whistles from males and some females.

The band started to play the beginning of the song. The crowd silenced themselves when the stunning retriever started to sing in slow tempo.

Times have changed,

And we've often rewound the clock,

Since the Puritans got a shock,

When they landed on Plymouth Rock.

If today,

Any shock they should try to stem,

'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock,

Plymouth Rock would land on them.

The tempo speeds up, as the dancers start bobbing their bodies to the rhythm. All the male dancers then posed around Skyler while bobbing to the song, waiting for their cue.

In olden days a glimpse of stocking

Was looked on as something shocking,

But now, God knows,

Anything Goes.

Good authors too who once knew better words,

Now only use four letter words

Writing prose, Anything Goes.

She then moves to the right and nuzzles a male to the right of her, as she starts to sing the chorus.

If driving fast cars you like,

If low bars you like,

If old hymns you like,

If bare limbs you like,

If Mae West you like

Or me undressed you like,

Why, nobody will oppose!

She then moves back to the center.

When every night,

The set that's smart

Is intruding in nudist parties in studios,

Anything Goes.

As she sustains the last note, the dancers around her begin tap dancing around her. She joins in, as they make subtle and aggressive taps.

They all pose side by side with Skylar in the middle and tap in place, moving and swaying left to right every now and then, saluting each pause. She then turns around and shakes her tail, earning jeers from the audience. At that moment, they all get into a line with Skylar at the front, facing the first in line. She then starts bobbing and weaving through the line, eyeing each sailor until she gets to the end. The females then get in line, as they tap in place as Skylar then starts moving down the line while spinning slowly at first, and gets faster as she goes down the line, earning some applause and cheers from the guests. The group then dances around her again, this time with everyone involved, as they tap happily but with authority to the beat of the song. They then get into a platoon formation with five lines and four dogs in each. They then start to sweep their legs with every step. Turning to face the left and tapping in place again but with some bounce to it. The dancers turned around and shook their tails until they started orbiting Skylar again. After orbiting for a minute or so, they all covered the stage in formation with Skylar front and center. The back ups sang without Skylar as she eyed, smiled at the enthusiastic audience, and winked.

The world has gone mad today

And good's bad today,

And black's white today,

And day's night today,

When most guys today

That women prize today

Are just silly gigolos

And though I'm not a great romancer

I know that I'm bound to answer

When you propose,

Anything goes

Skylar then turns around to face the backups and is immediately impressed with their performance.

If saying your prayers you like,

If green pears you like

If old chairs you like,

If back stairs you like,

If love affairs you like

With young bears you like,

Why nobody will oppose!

Skylar then turns back around against the audience and joins in the singing

And though I'm not a great romancer

I know that I'm bound to answer

When you propose,

Anything goes…

The backups stand side by side as Skyler sings the last lines.

Oh Anything goes!

She sustains the last note as the backups do a moderate amount of tapping until the music stops with them posing on all fours, signaling the end of the song.

The guests blast the stage with thunderous applause, cheers, and whistles, as the dancers went back into the lion's mouth while Skylar stood there taking in all the attention. Smiling so much her cheeks could burst.

She looked into the crowd and then up at the balcony, and found a German Shepherd with a black and white tux on, with a big smile on his face. Though the one dog she was supposed to be looking at, was her supposed mate. A boxer/lab mix with probably the biggest smile on his face. The owner of the club, Bubba. With his pups all around him, barking in appreciation. She winked at him as she started to move past the table.

"I'll be back in a minute sweetie!" she says to him, as he nods in return.

She climbed up the stairs to meet the German Shepherd, being careful to make sure Bubba and his pups couldn't see her. When she was sure he was not watching, she went up to face the German Shepherd. They both smiled at each other as they hugged. Letting go with smiles on both of their faces.

"You were amazing up there." the Shepherd charmed.

"Thanks, I try." She replied with a twinkle in her eye. "You don't look bad yourself."

"Well, I try." He said back to her.

She chuckled at that last retort as his amber eyes serenaded her.

'Darn! I wish he was available!' she thought.

Skylar had only known him for about a year at this point. Him and his friends found her from the streets of Adventure Bay, and helped her become the dog she is today. Having sold out shows everywhere. She often credits the Paw Patrol for building her confidence to be out in the wild and sing in front of hundreds of fans. Since then, she has been eternally grateful for the pups. Skylar really admired the German Shepherd. While he's very particular and stuck up to the max, he also has a heart of gold ten times over. She often wondered what it would be like if she was his mate, but that will always be a fantasy, thanks to his heart being with another girl. Plus, she already had her own, with a certain construction pup back at home in Adventure Bay.

"Um Skylar?" The German Shepherd asked, confused. "You there?"

Skylar snapped back into reality "Huh, oh sorry. I dozed off there for a second. Um, what were you asking?"

"I was asking where Bubba was sitting." The Shepherd repeated.

"Oh, oh yeah." Skylar looked around the club. Trying to remember where the dog in question was until. Spotting him, sitting below them with his pups waiting impatiently for their guest to arrive.

"Right below us." She finally revealed. "He's sitting with his heirs. I'll be over there in a sec."

"Ok." the Shepherd replied.

She started walking to the back but before she got there, she turned to him with concerned eyes.

"Chase!" she called

"Yeah?" the Shepherd replied.

Skylar's concern overwhelmed her greatly, as she knew how stubborn Bubba can be, along with Chase. "Be careful."

"Only if you will." He replied, smiling at her.

Skylar gave one back before she walked away, leaving the Shepherd alone. Chase eyed her until she disappeared into the back with worrisome eyes of his own. He didn't really like having her involved in the mission, especially since she was inexperienced in this sort of thing, but his owner insisted and repeatedly stated that she was essential to the plan. At first, he didn't understand, but was sweet talked into it when Skylar insisted herself to help out. Taking his mind off of her for now, he walked down the stairs to the floor of the club.

He looked around until he spotted the lab mix in question, waking over slowly eyeing not just Bubba, but the others around him, which were apparently his pups. He knew he had to be careful with him. Bubba wasn't very known to play by the rules of the law. It has been rumored that he has his dirty little paws in all sorts of drug cartels, tearing the district from its former glory. Only thing was that nobody could touch him due to his tricky ways to destroy any trace that might lead to him. Along with the phonebook of connections he has. The Shepherd had to swallow his pride and not do anything that would threaten Bubba's freedom, as much as he wanted to so badly. He hated criminals. Especially with someone who put a bullet in his father's head.

He got to the table and stared at Bubba, While also keeping his eyes peeled on his pups as he sat down and greeted them all.

"Good evening Bubba." The Shepherd said sternly.

Upon the greeting, Bubba scorned as if someone just double crossed him. His pups took notice as they all eyed the brown Shepherd with their paws on their holsters. Ready to strike at the slightest trick to screw their father. Despite this sudden surprise, Bubba relaxed and kept his cool.

"It was my understanding that your owner Ryder would be here." Bubba grimly said.

The Shepherd noticed the tension rising as he kept his eyes on Bubba.

"Ryder couldn't make it." He replied back. "He sent me in his stead."

It was at that moment that Bubba returned the icy stare that the German Shepherd was giving him. His pups are still ready to pounce.

"Out of all the faces I've seen in my life, I dreaded yours the most." Bubba slithered. "I hear that you have done much to follow in your father's paws. So please forgive me if my pups are... suspicious."

Chase sneered at the mention of his father. He wanted nothing more than to see the crime boss fall to his paws, but he couldn't. He had to ease the tension, or Ryder's plan would fail before it even got off the ground. He took a deep breath and chose his next words carefully.

"You have nothing to worry about Bubba." The Shepherd carefully stated trying not to seem hostile to them. "Yes, I am a police pup, but I have no jurisdiction over here. Nor do I have a reason to arrest you. You're completely safe from me. I'm just here to make the deal."

Bubba eased at that comment, but continued to stare at the police pup. His pups took their paws off their guns.

"I guess that doesn't matter." Bubba replied sternly. "As long as you have the software."

The software in question was the program Ryder uses to operate the Paw Patrol's tech. The Shepherd didn't know why Ryder would ever give his secrets to anyone, especially to a crime boss, but this was sort of a last minute thing for him to be there.

Acknowledging the statement, the Shepherd stared directly at Bubba's eyes. "You know I do." He then looks at one of Bubba's pups. A female lab bearing the name Smut, who had her right paw bandaged. "Last night one of your pups tried to get the software, and ended up paying a very steep price."

Smut started to growl at the Shepherd as he said the next sentence.

"Unfortunately for you, she's not a very talented fighter." he stated

Her growl grew louder as Bubba lifted up a paw to silence her. He then turns back to the Shepherd.

"You've insulted my Daughter." Bubba stated gruffly.

The Shepherd smirks. "No, you've insulted me."

Smut showed her teeth and barked at the Shepherd.

The Shepherd continued to smirk. "What? Ready for round two?"

At that moment, Smut almost jumped at the Shepherd to bite his throat out. If it hadn't been for Skylar appearing from behind the group, Chase would've been a goner. She goes next to Bubba and nuzzles her head against his face while he licks her face in return. The sight nearly made the German Shepherd vomit.

"You were amazing tonight." He happily stated, licking her slowly.

Skylar was close to vomiting herself, barely keeping it together as Bubba drenched her in licks. She then eyes the Shepherd. "Uh, Bubba? Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Bubba instantly stops, as he is reminded about the well dressed German Shepherd.

"Oh forget about him," He said as he went in for another lick. "You're the only thing that matters now."

"Buuuubbaaa!" Skylar wined, very annoyed at this point.

"Oh alright, aright." Bubba stops and lets go of Skylar. Freeing her to sit down to his right. "This is Skylar, the voice of an angel."

Skylar blushed a little bit at the complement.

"As I heard" the Shepherd stated.

"Skylar," Bubba called, grimly. "This is Chase. A police pup from the famous Paw Patrol."

Skylar looks at Chase with surprise as she sits down. "Oh really, I heard of them. But I thought the Paw Patrol were too busy saving little kitties from trees in Adventure Bay than to be all the way out here in Sticksburg."

"You forgot about the Chickens." He jokes.

Skylar almost cracked up at Chase's joke but Bubba seemed unaffected by it, looking at Chase with no expression.

"Chase here is delivering a very important item to me." Bubba announced as he looked over at Smut, who proceeded to aim a gun at Chase. "Right now."

Chase immediately saw the gun and went on red alert. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a server's tray being pushed by their waiter who brought them their drinks.

"Oh really? What is this…Whoa!" Before she knew it, Skylar was pulled close to Chase with a fork from the server's tray, stuck into the side of her dress.

Bubba growled immediately as Chase glared at his daughter.

"Put the gun away buddy." Chase ordered. Causing Bubba to nod at Smut to put the gun down.

"I suggest you give me what you owe me." Chase added, as he smirked. "Or anything goes."

Chase then pressed harder on Skylar, making her yelp and growl at him.

Bubba, feeling that he had no choice, pulls a pouch out of his pocket, and slams it down on the turntable. Skylar then turned it around to where the pouch was in front of them.

"Open it up." Chase demanded, not taking his eyes off of Bubba.

Skylar picked up the pouch and opened it up. She poured the contents in her paw which turned out to be some gold coins. Chase, not satisfied, smirks and looks back at Bubba.

"The diamond Bubba," Chase stated, disappointingly. "Deal was for the diamond."

Skylar put the pouch with the coins back on the turntable and spun it back to Bubba. Bubba, regrettably, pulled out what looked to be a piece of cloth that was wrapped around something hard, from his inside pocket. He then slams it down on the turntable, and spins it to Chase and Skylar. Skylar then proceeded to pick up the cloth and unravel it, revealing the golf ball size diamond. She stares at it with awe before she yelps again, due to Chase pressing the fork in her dress harder, making her drop the diamond into Chase's paw. He finally lets go of her and proceeds to go in for a drink.

"You're too kind." Chase stated, as he went for the drink. Bubba and his pups were watching closely as Chase went to drink, but before Chase could get a sip, Skylar stomped her forepaw on Chase's, causing him to yelp and spill some of his drink.

"Will you look at what he did Bubba?" Skylar asked, showing Bubba the holes in her dress. She then glared at Chase. "He put two holes in my dress from Barkingburg!"

Chase, after cleaning up some of the mess on his tux, looked at Skylar and smirked. Skylar wanted to knock that smirk right off his face. But before she could perform the action, Bubba went off at her, obviously aggravated by Skylar.

"Skylar! Sit down now!" he growled.

Skylar then whimpered and did what she was told like a little pup that misbehaved at the dinner table. Chase felt the urge to come across the table on Bubba for yelling at his friend like that, but he kept his cool for the sake of the mission. He didn't want to let Ryder down.

Bubba then looks at Chase with annoyance. Watching him closely, looking for any reason to kill the smug German Shepherd. "Now, you will give me the software."

Chase smirks again, as he digs into his inside pocket. "My pleasure." He pulls out a flash drive and puts it on the table. "Here it is."

As Chase spins the turntable around, Skylar looks at it and gives a very disappointed look at Bubba. "You gave away a precious looking diamond for that little thing?"

Bubba looks at her with excitement in his eyes. "This little thing is the key to my success. Inside this flash drive is Ryder's program that he uses to run his tech. Some say that this one program can operate the entire world from one computer. Now, I have his secrets!"

"Congratulations buddy." Chase chimed in, as he made another attempt to drink. This time, he succeeds, downing the glass.

When he does this however, Bubba looks back at him with the biggest evil grin as his pups laughs at him. "And now Chase, you will give me the diamond."

Chase coughed a couple times before he responded. "Are you trying to develop a sense of humor on me? Cause it's not working."

The group laughed more, as Bubba pulled out a small bottle with a blue lid on it. The contents of the bottle also looks blue, as it looked like it had just got out the freezer. He chuckles a bit, while showing it to Chase and Skylar. Chase sees it and is confused at first, but then his expression immediately turns to shock as he is able to piece together what that bottle is. Skylar looks at Bubba with confusion.

"What's that?" She asks.

Bubba inhaled a bit before answering. "Antidote."

Chase then looks at Bubba with concern. "To what?"

"The poison you just drank Chase." Bubba answers while he joins in with his pups, laughing.

Chase then sniffs the glass he drank out of and it reeked of poison.

"The poison works fast Chase." Bubba informed in between laughs.

Skylar looks at Chase with an enormous amount of concern, as Chase puts the diamond he had on the turntable and spins it to Bubba. Skylar gets up to help him, until Chase pulls her close again, and sticks the fork back in her side. But this seemed not to even faze Bubba, as he continued laughing.

"Bubba!" They both shout with horror.

"You know what? you keep the diamond," Bubba replied as he laughed. "I'll find another."

Chase knew he was screwed at this point as he could already feel dizzy from the poison. He let go of Skylar, slumped a bit forward, and started to breathe heavily. Skylar saw this and decided that enough was enough. She pulled out a gun of her own that she had been hiding just in case things went wrong, pointing it at Bubba.

"Yeah, keep laughing Bubba." She says, fury in her eyes.

Bubba looks at her with shock. His pups stop laughing as they see what's happening.

Chase, despite him falling ill, grinned as he said his retort. "Where do you get these girls Bubba?"

"Skylar! What's the meaning of this?"" Bubba exclaimed, confused.

Skyler smirks as she keeps aiming at Bubba, ready to strike.

"I have a confession to make. Bubba." She confessed. "Chase here is my friend. I owe alot to him and the Paw Patrol. They found me on the streets and gave me the confidence to sing on stage. Now I finally get to pay them back."

"S-Skylar." Chase croaked.

"Don't talk Chase. You need your strength to stay awake." She ordered.

"Skylar?" he said, clearly hurt. "You never loved me?"

Skylar shook her head regretfully. She hated lying to anyone for anything. But she owed it to the Paw Patrol to help them take down a criminal.

"I'm sorry Bubba." She replied sadly. "I really am. Now please give Chase the antidote, and we can forget this even happened."

Bubba didn't listen, as he looked like he was about to cry. "Th-Then all those times we kissed, It was fake?"

Chase coughed some more as he looked at Skylar with pure disgust.

"You kissed him?!" Chase exclaimed.

"It was for the mission!" Skylar defended. "Now please be quiet while I fix this."

"Skylar! He's way older than...KOFF! KOFF! ACK!" Chase suddenly started coughing up a storm.

"Chase!" Skylar yelled, as she took her eyes off the target to help Chase. The Shepherd looked at her when he finally finished coughing. "Are you okay?!"

"I-I don't know." Chase coughed up. But he suddenly dropped his concern for himself, when he looked at Skylar's chest with pure shock.

"What? What's wrong?" Skylar looks down at her chest, where Chase was looking at. She then freezes up, when she sees the blood on her chest flowing out, then starts to feel fuzzy and cold.

Chase looks at Bubba's group and discovers that Bubba's son, Chozo, was the one who fired the gun. It had a silencer on it to not cause panic in the club. He slid it away in his holster as Chase looked back at Skylar with horrifying concern. Skylar looked at Chase, clearly scared of what will happen.

"Skylar!" Chase choked up, as he grabbed her.

Skylar looks Chase in the eyes as she collapses in Chase's arms. "Chase…"

Chase was now holding her, applying all the napkins he could find to put pressure to her wound. Skylar then started to breathe heavily.

"Don't worry Skylar." Chase assured her. "I'll get you out of this! I-I-I'll call Marshall!"

Skylar looked at Chase confidently in his eyes, accepting her fate. "There's not enough time." She started to breathe slowly. "I've been on many adventures with you and the other pups. I owe alot to you all. I guess this is the end."

"No, No Skylar! Please!" Chase begged. "What about your career? What about us?! What about Rubble?!"

"Rubble will be fine." She answered him. "I know he will."

As Skylar started to lose her life, she looked at Chase's amber eyes one more time.

"Te-T-Tell R-Rubble th-that." She grunted her last words out. "I-l-love him s-so much."

She exhaled the last word before going limp in Chase's arms. Closing her eyes as she went into an eternal sleep.

"S-Skylar?" Chase called with tears in his eyes. "Skyler? SKYLER!"

Guests all around them heard the commotion and looked on with pure shock. But Chase didn't care about making a scene. As to his knowledge, Skylar was the first member of Paw Patrol to die.

Even though she wasn't technically a member due to her career, the pups made her an honorary member when she started touring the U.S. But it did not matter to Chase. Member or not, Skylar was his friend, and now, she lays lifeless in his arms. He sets her down gently on the floor before glaring at Chozo, who was admiring the work he did.

"Don't be sad Chase." Bubba says evilly. "You will soon be joining her."

Chase got up to attack Chozo, but as he got up, he started swaying woozley, forgetting that he was poisoned.

"Too much to drink Chase?" Smut joked, as the group began to laugh hysterically.

Chase didn't hear the joke as he was fighting to stay awake. He was losing the fight every breath he took. Feeling like someone was squeezing his chest harder and harder. He swayed side to side and turned around where he started to fall. Thankfully, a waiter's cart kept him from falling face first on the floor. The cart had flaming shish kabobs the size of arrows for a big crossbow.

Chase could hear Bubba's group laughing, mocking him. He took one more look at Chozo and felt rage. If he was going to die, he was going to take the bastard who took Skylar's life away, with him.

In one swift movement, he picked up one shish kabob, and threw it like a spear at Chozo's chest. The shish kabob hit its target, as the laughing pit was suddenly screaming in pain, causing him to fire his gun blindly to the right as his life went away. Screams filled the club as dogs all around panicked and quickly made it to the exits, causing chaos in the club. Chase ignored the chaos as he had only one thing on his mind. The antidote that was sitting on the edge on the table to the left of an enraged lab mixed dog, who just watched his son die right beside him.

Chase jumped onto the table, and reached for the antidote, but he landed so hard, it knocked it off the table and onto the floor. Cursing at himself, Chase elbowed Smut in the face, causing her to fall backwards off the chair. As the club turned into a frenzy in the background, Bubba and Chase gave each other one last cold stare at each other.

"Bubba!" Chase growled through his teeth.

"Chase!" Bubba growled back, with pure hate in his eyes.

Chase made an attempt to punch Bubba right in the snout before he was suddenly picked up by the back of his collar and tux, by one of Bubba's cronies. He carried Chase and slammed him on top of another table on his back. Chase reached overhead, grabbed a glass, and slammed it into the face of his attacker, causing him to let go of Chase.

Chase got up from the table and faced a hound dog, who punched him in the snout. Chase staggered backwards, turned around, and blindly punched forward, not noticing that he punched a poor waitress, making her fall to ground with everything on her tray spilt on her.

'Whoops!' he thought, but before he could check on her, he was picked up again by two dogs. They lifted him up, and put him on the waitress's cart, belly first, and rolled him towards the band stage. On the way there, he saw the antidote and tried to grab it with his paw, but missed and crashed into the band stage, knocking the podiums and instruments everywhere.

He got up and surveyed the club, looking for the antidote. He could barely see the floor as it was covered in paws and bodies from the panicking dogs, running and screaming for their lives. He finally spotted it in the center of the floor. He locked his eyes on it and dove into the floor. He slid on his belly as he got closer to the bottle, holding out his paw to get it, but just as he was toe tips away from it, somebody else's paw kicked it away and Chase lost sight of it. He crawled to the front of the stage, careful not to get kicked or run over by panicking guests.

Bubba was standing next to his deceased son barking out orders. "That son of a bitch killed Chozo! Paint this club with his blood!"

Chase got up and swayed side to side as dancers came out of the lion's mouth, unaware of what was going on. They then screamed when they saw Chase and ran for the exits. Chase's eyes started to get heavy. He had to get that antidote before he drops dead. He looked around for it but instead, found more of Bubba's mutts going down the stairs as Bubba barked out orders. He then jolts to the front of the Glare statue, as one of the mutts starts throwing knives at him. Chase did his best to dodge each one as they hit the statue. Chase grabs a cymbal from a drum set and throws it like a frisbee at the attacker. It hits its target right in the mouth as the mutt staggers back and knocks over a bowl of ice, covering the floor with ice particles.

Chase looked down with absolute confusion as he realized now it was going to be more difficult to spot the antidote. On top of that, balloons started falling from the ceiling, as he frantically looked for the bottle, he started to get more woozy and tired. After grabbing a glass of water and splashing himself to keep awake, he got on the floor, and started moving ice away with his paws to find the antidote. He had another coughing fit before he saw more of Bubba's mutts approach him and started throwing punches and kicks at them to go away. Though he tried his best, the poison started to weaken him more at an alarming rate as his vision and hearing were fading.

The mutts took advantage of this by attacking him all at once. Chase fought vigorously, but it was too much as the mutts started landing hard blows everywhere on his body. Chase's breathing slowed down to gasps as he tried to get away. He managed to get up and saw a punch on its way to his face and dodged to the right, making the punch hit the mutt behind him.

As if he suddenly got super lucky like hitting the jackpot at the casino, Chase managed to dodge more attacks making the mutts knock each other out. He was suddenly tackled to the ground by the last mutt on his right side.

The mutt turned him on his back, and started raining down punches on Chase's face. He tried to block them, but each punch made him get closer and closer to passing out. Having been satisfied with the damage, the mutt proceeded to bare his teeth with a growl, and chomp down on Chase's neck to finish the job. But at the last second, Chase grabbed the ice bowl on the floor next to him, and popped the mutt in the side of the face, knocking the mutt out.

Chase got up slowly as the poison and the savage beating he took, took a toll on him. Chase took one look at the statue and finally saw the antidote laying in front of it. Immediately, he ran to it, picked it up and smiled

'Finally' he thought.

But that smile faded when he saw Smut run down the stairs with a tommy gun.

"Your time is up Chase!" Smutt announced as she started firing.

Chase vaulted over a railing on the other side of the gong as bullets ricocheted off the walls and the gong. He then spotted a sword and picked it up.

'I sure hope this works' he thought, as he ran up behind the gong and cut the ropes. The gong dropped with a thud and started rolling to the far left. Chase got behind it and used it as a shield to move with it to stay behind it. Bullets ricocheting off of it, as Smutt laughs like a mad pup.

The gong finally reached the window and shattered it, allowing Chase to escape through it.

'I hope Marshall's there' Chase says to himself, as he jumps out the window. He bounced off awnings slowing him down until he grabbed the last one and hung in the air. He looked down and saw nothing but the street.

"Come on Marshall, Where are you?!" He thought as he tried his best to hold on to the awning.

---

'Oh boy am I Late!'

Marshall had been driving at what could be the speed of light. He was supposed to be at Bubba's club to pick up Chase at 9:30 and it was 10:00. He had gone to secure a plane for them so they would have an easy way out of Sticksburg. He secured the plane alright, but he just had to stop by the comic shop to read the new Apollo the Super Dog issue!

He drove through so many stop signs, Chase would have a heart attack. If he didn't have one already from the speed he was driving at. Not to mention, he was not used to the car at all.

It definitely wasn't his fire truck which had been made specifically for him. The big difference was that the car was more suited for a full grown dog. He had to really reach far to be able to see and drive. He got the hang of it after a while, many close calls and trash cans later. He couldn't wait to finally be out of here, so he didn't have to drive this stupid car again.

Thankfully, out of pure luck, there were little to no cars on the road due to how late it was, and there were strangely no cops out. Marshall didn't care, he was very close to letting Chase down, which he hated doing.

He turned on to the next street, fishing tailing and screeching the tires. He had one more street to turn onto and he will finally be at Bubba's club. He hoped and prayed that Chase was still alive when he got there.

Out of nowhere though, a running JackRussel was right in front of him. Marshall gasped as he slammed the steering wheel all the way to the left to avoid him.

"Whoa!" He yelped, as he turned to the right to get back in correct lane, but due to how fast he was going, he spun out, and slammed the back of the car into a pole, rattling his cage

"Awww, darn It Marshall! This is not the time to be your clumsy self!" He cursed at himself. He went to fire the car back up but the car unfortunately wouldn't turn over. "No No No No! Not now! Not now! Not now! Come on!"

Marshall tried with all his might to start the car, but couldn't get anything except the sound of it, struggling to start. Marshall jammed the gas in frustration and magically, the car finally started. Wasting no time, he put it in drive and got back on the road. He recited the same hopeful wish over and over.

'Please be okay! Please be okay! Please okay!'

Bubba's club finally came into view, but Marshall didn't have a sigh of relief. Dogs were pouring out of the club, running for their lives and howled for safety. Marshall scanned them all for his best friend. But Chase was nowhere to be found. Which can only mean one thing.

"I'm too late." Marshall said to himself, as he stopped the car a few buildings down slamming his head down on the steering wheel. His fire helmet falling off onto the floorboard as he tears up. "I'm sorry Chase."

Suddenly, he heard glass breaking and looked up and saw his best friend falling through awnings. He sat up and put his helmet back on and put it in drive.

"I'm comin Chase!" He says out loud, as he slams on the pedal to catch his friend.

Chase hung on for what felt like an eternity. His teeth clenched so tightly it might as well be a death grip.

'Where was Marshall. He was supposed to be here.'

He trusted him more than he trusted anyone in the world, even his own mate Skye. Thus the reason Marshall went on the trip in the first place. He wouldn't have taken anyone else. The two had practically grown up together, and each year, they got closer and closer to probably the strongest brotherly bond in the world and never let each other down. But that was about to change literally, as the awning he was holding on started to rip and tear. His eyes went wide as this could be Chase's final mission.

As the awning tore more, a red car finally appeared under Chase.

'Cutting it a little too close there Marshall' he thought before the awning finally ripped off and landed on the roof, back first. He groaned at the sudden pain in his back, before he rolled left off to the ground, opened the car door and burst into the backseat. The Dalmatian in the driver's seat turned with sorrowful eyes.

"I'm so, so sorry Chase." He apologized. "Are you okay?"

Chase looked at him while trying to stay awake "Just forget about it Marshall and step on it!"

"Oh okay! Okay!" Marshall fumbled, as he turned around to put the car in drive. "Stepping on it now!"

Marshall slammed on the gas as he drove off, screeching the tires.

He turned to the left and passed by the entrance to the club. Being careful not to hit anybody that was running and screaming.

Back at the entrance. Bubba and his mutts got into a car of their own. "Follow them! They shall pay for my son's death!"

With that said, the driver mashed the throttle and followed them down the street. Hoping to make the Paw Patrol pay for killing Chozo

"What happened back there?!" Marshall asked as he was looking at Chase through the rear view mirror.

If Chase could hear Marshall, he didn't care. The only thing on his mind was the bottle he had in his pocket. He pulled it out, cracked it open, and guzzled the bottle down his throat. Marshall saw this and immediately questioned him. "What's that?"

"Antidote." Chase answered, after finishing the drink, worried as to how Marshall would react.

"Oh. Okay" Marshall replied as he drove through the streets. It took Marshall a second to realize what the Shepherd had just said. He immediately turned his body around and looked at Chase with every bit of worriedness. Completely disregarding the road to help his friend. "Wait! YOU WERE POISONED! Do you need any help!?"

"Marshall! The road! Watch the road!" Chase yelled.

Marshall turned back around and immediately had to swerve to the right as he almost hit another dog for the second time tonight.

"Gah!" Marshal gasped as he avoided him.

He realigned the car in the right lane as another car came roaring behind them. It was Bubba's mutts as they started firing at Marshall and Chase, making Marshall jump his seat.

"Ah!" Marshall yelped. "Chase, they're shooting at us!"

"I know Marshall!" Chase replied, getting out his own gun from his pup pack. "Just focus on driving and I'll take care of them!"

Chase broke the back window and started firing back at the mutts.

Marshall jumped at nearly every shot Chase fired. He groaned to himself. "Mmmmgh. There goes my ears."

The two cars tore the roads up as gunfire sounded from both sides. Citizens ducked, covered, and got out of the oncoming cars. Marshall turned right and fishtailed around the corner with the mutts following suit.

Chase shot the guy firing the gun as a yelp was heard from the car. Bubba then ordered Smut to fire her tommy gun at them. Chase had to duck behind the seat to avoid its fire.

"Marshall!" Chase called. "We gotta lose these guys, drive faster!"

"I can't!" Marshall Replied.

"Why not?!" Chase asked

"There's a dog carriage in the way!" Marshall answered.

Chase looked and sure enough, there was a chocolate lab pulling a carriage with two poodles on it, trying to run as fast as he could, as the poodles were scared for their lives.

Chase growled in annoyance as he waited till Smut had to reload to take his shots before he aimed at her. Concentrating on his shot, he fired his gun and hit Smut right between the eyes, killing her instantly with a sharp yelp.

Marshall started to get annoyed as he continued to follow the dog carriage.

"Hey man, You had at least five alleyways you could've turned on!"

Bubba's car was still following, as Bubba himself started firing his own gun. Chase fired back a ton of shots before Bubba hit Chase.

"AH!" Chase yelped as he dropped his gun out the window.

Marshall's heart dropped when he heard Chase yelp. "CHASE! Are you okay?!"

Chase groaned as he held his paw. "Yeah buddy! They just shot the gun out of my paw!"

"You mean we have nothing to defend ourselves with?" Marshall asks, worriedly.

"That's why we need to lose these guys now." Chase replied back.

"Okay!" Marshall acknowledged. "I guess it's up to me. Ooo I'm so, so sorry about this."

When he said that, he pressed on the accelerator and bumped into the back of the carriage. Causing the front to rise up in the air, with the runner flailing his legs in the air, howling as well as the poodles. Marshall then slammed on the brakes and the carriage crashed into a fruit stand in front of them. He turned left as Bubba followed suit but fishtailed and almost hit the carriage, slowing them down a bit. Marshall prayed that no one was hurt as he drove down the street. Chase looked at Marshall, impressed at what he had done.

"Marshall. This is some of the best driving I've ever seen you do!" Chase stated.

"Thanks, you know I'm sort of learning these tricks now as I go along right?" Marshall asked.

Just then, Bubba caught up and started firing again, hitting the back of the car.

"Aw no." Chase groaned. "These guys just don't quit!"

Marshall started scanning for any way to lose Bubba. Spotting an alleyway and getting an idea. "Hang on Chase!"

"Why? Whoa!" Chase gasps as Marshall turns into a tight alleyway. "Marshall! What are you doing!?"

"Losing them!" he answered, as he pushed the pedal harder.

"Okay!" Chase responded. "But we will lose our lives too!"

"You should've said something!" Marshall said

"HOW?" Chase shot back. "I didn't even know about it."

"Don't yell at me please." Marshall replied. "I'm trying to focus."

Bubba followed them down the alley, as he continued to fire at them. Marshall sped through the alley hitting trash cans and covering the car in various laundry and garbage. Suddenly a car appeared in front of them at the end. Marshall jams the throttle and Chase immediately starts to panic. "MARSHALL! STOP!"

Marshall didn't listen, he felt good about this and wouldn't be doing it if he didn't think they would make it. Although he was terrified himself.

Marshall turned left onto the street, just a hair away from being t-boned by the car. Bubba wasn't so lucky however, as he ended up t-boning the car, permanently stopping him.

"Yes! I can't believe that worked! Ha Ha!" Marshall exclaimed.

Marshall stopped celebrating when Chase dead panned him, while he got into the passenger seat. Marshall looked at him with sorrowful eyes. "Ch-Chase?"

"Don't ever do that again." Chase calmly said.

"Y-Yeah, of-of course."" Marshall responded, hurt.

Marshall continued driving with a sad look on his face, like someone just insulted him. Chase was looking out the window until he took one look at Marshall. He couldn't help but admire the Dalmatian for what he did. He didn't do stunts like that very often. Marshall was a very careful pup. Although he was clumsy as a beetle, Marshall at least tried to stay safe. Chase ended up warming up to Marshall's actions, especially since he probably would've done the same thing. Chase smiled as he looked forward. "Although that was pretty cool."

Marshall couldn't help but to immediately chuckle at the comment.

They arrived at the Sticksburg airport ready to board the plane Marshall had reserved for them. He parked at the runaway where a shih tzu was standing with his eyes wide as baseballs.

"What the heck happened to my car?!" the Shih Tzu yelled, as Chase and Marshall got out of the mostly wrecked car.

"Hey Jackie!" Marshall called happily. "Thanks for letting me rent the car!"

They walked to the plane with Jack still staring at them. "You know you have to pay for this!"

"Bill it to Ryder!" Chase responded cheerfully.

Jack can only growl as he got into the car to drive it back to his dealership.

Meanwhile, Marshall was telling Chase about the plane he rented. "Ok, so the plane I rented is a cargo plane."

"Well that ain't so bad." Chase replied.

"Full of chickens." Marshall added.

"Chickens?" Chase said, confused. "This is one of your obsessive exploits. Is it?"

"What! No!." Marshall shot back, blushing. "It was the only one I could find on such short notice!"

"Yeah, sure." Chase said sarcastically. "Let's just go home."

"You got it man!" Marshall replied, as he followed Chase to the plane.

Bubba arrives at the runway, fury in his eyes as he stares at Chase. Marshall gets in the plane as Chase gets to the door. He turns around, sees Bubba and stares back at him with a smug grin.

"Ha Ha Ha." Chase laughed confidently. "Nice try Bubba!"

He closed the door as the plane started up. Unbeknownst to him and Marshall, Bubba started laughing as it turned out that the plane they boarded was a plane owned by Bubba, which was revealed by the lettering on the side of the plane.

"Goodbye, Paw Patrol." Bubba said through his laugh as he waved at the pilots who waved back.

The Plane took off into the sky with Chase and Marshall. Not knowing what lies in store for them.

---

Ten to twenty cages of chickens littered the little cargo plane carrying both Chase and Marshall. Marshall adored them. He always loved cute little birds and would usually make an effort to befriend every single one he came across. Even though the chickens didn't care, Marshall made it his life goal to name every single one of them. From Clucky, to Chickle, to even Stan!

He loved Stan.

He barked with joy at the oblivious chicken. "Hey Stan! How's my favorite little chicken doing huh?"

The chicken looked at Marshall with as much emotion as his stiff face would allow it to be. The chicken clucked at Marshall which made his heart explode, reaching his paw through the cage to pet the chicken on the head.

Chase emerged from the back room with his police pup uniform on. He looked at Marshall playing with the chicken and made an annoyed face.

"Marshall, quit bothering the chicken."

Marshall turned his head and looked at Chase "Why? They like me."

"They probably don't even know who you are, nor would they care." Chase retorted.

"Na uh! Stan doesn't think that way." Marshall responded back

Chase raised an eyebrow. "You named it?"

Marshall stopped playing with Stan as he turned to face Chase. "Of course I did, I named all of them. That's Clucky….."

He points at the chicken in the front of the plane. "He likes to cluck the most." Points at another one next to the back door. "That's Goldie. She has a gold colored beak. The one next to you is Cranky."

Upon hearing this, Chase went to pet the chicken but the chicken got agitated and went crazy in its cage, causing Chase to wince back. "I-I can see why."

They both laugh a little as Marshall turns back to Stan. "And this one is Stan. He's my favorite."

Chase smirked and chuckled a bit before he chimed in. "Really? Is that why you gave him a boring name."

"It is not a boring name!" Marshall shot back. "It's the best name for my newest best friend."

Chase was a little hurt by this. "I thought I was your best friend."

"Well, yeah." Marshall responded. "But he's my very best friend now."

Chase deadpanned. "Great. Replaced by a chicken."

"Oh please don't feel so bad Chase, he's just a chicken." Marshall stated. "A special little chicken, aren't you Stan?

He started to baby talk the chicken, as he put his paw back through the cage to pet Stan. The chicken eyed his paw for a minute, before suddenly…..

Chomp!

Marshall yelped and shot his arm out of the cage. Chase laughed his tail off at an emotionally hurt Marshall. "Apparently he doesn't think so."

Marshall ignored Chase's teasing and looked at Stan with tears in his eyes. "Stan! Why did you bite me? I thought we were friends."

Stan clucked at Marshall as he whimpered.

Chase noticed this and tried to cheer his friend up with a soothing tone. "It'll be okay Marshall. At least I won't bite your paw."

Marshall whimpered some more. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Oh cheer up chicken pup. You'll get over it." Chase said.

Marshall looked at Chase with sincere eyes. He knew Chase was right. What was he thinking saying that a chicken was his best friend, when he already had one right in his eyesight. Even though Chase was stuck up, by the books, and serious pup, that's actually what Marshall admired about him. Chase was professional, and was able to keep his cool for the sake of everybody around him and was the best leader in the world. But the one thing that stood out from him, that Marshall loved, was that he has a heart the size of mountains. Chase immensely cares for everyone of his friends, to the point that he would sacrifice his own well being, for everyone to be safe and happy. Especially for Marshall. He would do anything for Marshall, and he was very grateful for that. He would often think that he didn't really do enough for Chase. In fact, he regularly thinks that he lets Chase down more than he's really been there for him. The only instance where he was sure he was there for him, was when Chase's father, Tracer died.

Chase was a very different pup in his early years. Keeping to himself and being around his father a lot. It wasn't until he met Marshall, that he opened up a bit. While Tracer taught Chase how to be presentable and professional, Marshall taught him how to loosen up and relax. Chase had the best of both worlds then, until one half of it came tumbling down. When his father passed away, Chase became his old self again to the maximum, and shut out everybody who tried to even talk to him, but Marshall went in hard for him. He kept nagging Chase to spend time with him, not to talk about his father, but just to play and relax. Chase got irritated as Marshall would keep at him for two weeks. Finally, after a very close call of Chase attempting to kill himself, he finally acknowledged the Dalmatian, citing that he had no more family to turn to, since his mother died when he was very young.

Marshall was hurt that day, but not because Chase yelled at him, but because Chase never considered Marshall family to him, since he loved Chase like a brother. Chase was stunned at this, as he wasn't expecting for Marshall to care about him that much. He hugged Marshall and cried the hardest he had ever cried at that point, which Marshall cried with. From that day out, they became brothers, and always looked out for each other.

Marshall smiled at Chase warmly. "Yeah man, You're right."

Chase smiled back, as he sat near the front of the plane.

But believe it or not, the debacle with the chicken wasn't really what bothered Marshall. Something else was on his mind. "Um Chase? Can I…"

"Hold on buddy." Chase interrupted, holding his paw up at Marshall. "I got to call Ryder first.

Marshall drooped as he acknowledged "Oh, y-yeah Right, okay."

Chase pushed his pup tag as it dialed for Ryder to answer. Soon enough, the viewer interface came on, and Chase saw his owner smiling at the screen, like he was relieved to see him.

"Chase! Glad you made it! Did the plan work?"

Chase whimpered. He knew he let Ryder down by not getting out of the club with the diamond and he hated himself for it. He took a deep breath, and told Ryder the devastating result. "I'm sorry Ryder sir. Bubba double crossed us. He got away with the diamond."

Ryder's smile faded when he saw Chase's sorrowful expression. "Oh no, did he take the flash drive?"

Chase whined again. He had forgotten about Ryder's award winning software that Bubba literally got for free. Marshall noticed this and walked over to comfort his friend.

Chase hung his head and swallowed. Tears were also forming in his eyes. "Yes sir. He got your software. I'm sorry Ryder, (sniff) I've failed you."

Marshall nuzzled Chase and gave a reassuring smile to him. "Aww Chase. It's okay man."

However, Ryder responded in a way that Chase did not see coming, as Ryder smiled at Chase with pride. "What are you talking about Chase? You didn't fail me."

Chase looked at the interface and tilted his head in confusion. "What? B-but sir? That had your secret program that operates our tech right?"

"Aw shoot Chase, I'm sorry." Ryder answered while facepalming. "I forgot to tell you. That flash drive didn't have my program on it."

Now Chase was really Confused. "What? Then what was on it?"

"It has a virus me and Rocky developed." Ryder answered.

Now it was Marshall's turn to be confused. "A virus? You mean you gave him an Illness? That's low Ryder. Even if you give it to a crime boss."

Ryder laughed after he heard Marshall's comment. "No, no Marshall you silly pup. I didn't give him a human virus, I gave him a computer virus."

Marshall and Chase looked at each other baffled, then turned back to Ryder with the same face. "A computer virus sir?"

Ryder finally stopped laughing. "Yes. You think I would ever just give up my secrets for a measly diamond? Especially to a crime boss? No no no. Im not stupid. Rocky and I put a virus on the flash drive, to mess up his computer system. Lets just say, Bubba won't be having a good day for a long time."

Chase was very impressed with Ryder's plan. He knew Ryder wouldn't just give away his most prized possession to a crime boss. "Wow Ryder. That's a really smart idea of yours."

"Actually pups, It was Rocky's Idea." Ryder revealed. "I wasn't going to do the deal until he came up with it."

"Really? I didn't even know Rocky was into computers." Marshall replied.

Chase finally raised his head and looked at Ryder's eyes with his own hopeful eyes. "Soooooo, I didn't fail you? What about the diamond?"

"Oh don't worry about that diamond Chase." Ryder replied smugly. "That was just something to get him to take the bait."

Chase's mood instantly turned to joy, as he wagged his tail. "That actually made me feel much better. Thanks Ryder sir."

"Hey now, I should be thanking you Chase. It was you who carried out the plan." Ryder said proudly.

Chase blushed with flattery as he smiled at his owner. "Aw come on Ryder, I'm not that good."

"I think you are. Which reminds me, how did Skylar do? Did she do well? Where is she?" Ryder asked.

"Oh yeah," Marshall Added with enthusiasm. "I forgot about Skylar. How was her performance?"

Chase's face instantly went from joyful, to sadness when Ryder asked about Skylar. He wished he forgot about what happened to her. He tears up at the mention of Skylar, while Marshall reads this and immediately gets worried.

"Chase? What's wrong? Is Skylar alright?"

Chase was about to break down at that question. Ryder looked at Chase closely, very concerned about the answer. "Chase? Is everything alright?"

Chase swallowed as he finally spoke. "I-I'm sorry Ryder. (sniff) Skylar didn't Make it. She-She's dead."

Marshall gasped. He felt as if somebody put ten thousand volts through his body then froze up to cry himself.

Ryder had nothing to say as the shockwave hit him. Skylar was a sweetheart, and a great pup. All the other pups loved her, especially Rubble. While she couldn't do as much as she wanted to, Ryder always admired her determination to be a better pup than she could ever be. But now, that determination was gone, and neither he, nor the pups would see what she would've become.

Ryder was in a trance for a bit before he finally spoke up, clearly shaken. "I-I-I see. A-Are you ok-kay Chase."

Chase sniffed a bit before he answered. "Y-yes Ryder sir. I'm okay. Marshall is too."

Ryder regained his composure as he looked back at Chase. "Th-Then that's all that matters right now, okay buddy? Just come on back home and we'll figure something out. Alright?"

Chase also regained his composure as he responded to Ryder's order. "Yes Ryder sir. I will call you when we reach Foggy Bottom."

"Copy that Chase. Please be careful, Ryder out."

Ryder ended the call, leaving Chase and Marshall to look at each other. Marshall had tears in his eyes. "So, Sk-Sk-Skylar's….really dead?"

Chase was close to breaking down in front of Marshall but he managed to stay strong for the most part. "Yeah buddy, She's gone."

At that moment, the plane went silent as Chase and Marshall stared at each other for a minute. Not wanting to disturb the silence as they thought about their now deceased friend.

Chase bereaved hard. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Y-Yeah, I-I'll be fine." Marshall answered. "What about you? You Okay?"

Chase smiled a bit before answering. "As much as I can be."

Marshall gave a sad smile back while giving him worrisome eyes. "Oh, okay, that's cool." He then got up and made his way to the back of the plane. "I'll just be back here you know…..if-if you need me." He got to his spot and sat down. He didn't play with Stan this time, just kept his eye on Chase, as if at any moment, Chase would drop dead.

Chase didn't buy his smile though. He knew better than to ignore Marshall like this. Something was clearing, bugging him and Chase had a good idea as to what that was. He looked at Marshall who was still staring at him.

"Marshall," He said softly. "The antidote got rid of the poison. I'm Okay."

Marshall was amazed that Chase knew what he was thinking. "H-How do you know that?" Marshall stood firmly as he pressed Chase's last statement. "Are you sure the antidote worked?"

Chase returned the intensity Marshall was giving him. "Marshall, If it didn't work, I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

Marshall pressed harder, as he was fully on all fours. He knew Chase was a super stubborn pup, and you have to fight hard to get your point across. "What if the antidote has side effects? What if you go to sleep and never wake up?"

Chase was now fully irritated. "Marshall, You're overreacting. Like you always do."

Marshall looked down at his paws and felt defeated, but he wasn't giving up. "I'm not overreacting. I'm expressing my concerns for you. Something could happen to you Chase, and I will never forgive myself if I let it happen."

Chase had to think of something to ease Marshall's worries or this would be the whole plane ride back. He looked around and found Marshall's EMT pack. He then had an idea.

Chase sighs. "Would you feel better if you did an impromptu check up on me with your pup pack?"

Marshall wagged his tail when he heard that, rapidly showing the joy he was in. "I would feel a lot better, yes!"

Chase smiled at his friend's happiness, making him feel the joy as well. "Alright, go ahead buddy."

Marshall barked with joy as he put his pack on and ran up to Chase. "Don't worry Chase, this won't take long. Arf Arf! Thermometer."

After about thirty minutes, Marshall was finally done with his check up. He checked Chase's temperature, Blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and hand and eye coordination. The only thing he couldn't check was Chase's fluids which he had to wait until they got back home for that.

Marshall put his stethoscope back in his pack. "Alright, besides your fluids, you're healthy as a horse."

Chase smugged a smile with confidence. "See? I told you I was okay."

"I know, I know." Marshall responded, going back to his spot in the back of the plane. "I just wanted to make sure."

"I understand buddy." Chase replied warmly. Smiling at Marshall.

"I'm still going to keep monitoring you for the next week or so." Marshall stated.

"Of course Marshall. I understand." Chase replied. Marshall didn't reply, he just smiled back at Chase.

The Shepherd then exhaled a loud yawn, showing how tired he was. He started stretching his limbs "Well, I'm gonna get some sleep. You should get some too."

It took a minute before Marshall responded. "Yeah, sure."

Chase raised an eyebrow as he looked at Marshall suspiciously. "You better get some sleep. If I find out, and trust me, I will, That you stayed up and watched me, There will be some words."

It again took Marshall a bit before he responded. "Don't worry Chase, I won't stay up."

"You better not." Chase responded sternly, as he laid down on top of a pillow he found. He instantly closed his eyes and proceeded off to dreamland.

Marshall followed suit, laying down on a pillow of his own, but try as he might, he could not keep his eye off of his best friend. He couldn't shake off the fact that he was not able to check Chase's fluids, because of that, Marshall didn't want to risk it. Chase could have a heart attack or a stroke, or simply not wake up. He didn't want to take that chance. He had to stay up and monitor him.

A few minutes passed, as Marshall continued to monitor Chase until….

"Marshall, I mean it. Go...to...sleep. I'm not gonna say it again."

"Okay, okay, Fine!" He closed his eyes to go to sleep. Unbeknownst to Chase, Marshall was going to fake it for a few minutes until he was sure Chase was fast asleep, and continue to monitor him. Unfortunately, he underestimated how tired he was, because as soon as he closed his eyes, he started snoring softly as he actually fell asleep.

Chase opened his eyes and looked at Marshall who was definitely fast asleep. He knew Marshall was going to try to sneak by Chase's senses. He had to trick him to get him to go to sleep. He didn't like tricking Marshall, but it was for Marshall's own good. Had he not done so, Marshall probably would've never gone to sleep for a week or so.

Chase sighed as he grabbed his teddy, Officer Bear, from his pup pack, snuggled with him, and drifted off to sleep. The only ones awake, were the pilots up front.

---

Hours passed as the plane flew over a snowy mountain range. The pilots up front received their orders from Bubba a few hours ago to ditch the plane as soon as they found a suitable spot, and then contact him to get picked up.

The two pilots look at each other.

"Are they asleep?" The boxer on the right asked.

The cocker spaniel on the right peeked through the curtain, and saw both Chase and Marshall, fast asleep on the floor. She smugged as she answered. "Oh yeah. They're asleep alright. I don't think a plane crash could wake them up."

The two pilots snicker before the boxer chuckled. "Alright, Let's get outta her. Got your parachute?"

The spaniel nods. "Parachute secured."

"Alright, let's go." The boxer replied as he got up to exit the plane.

Suddenly, the spaniel stopped the boxer with her paw. "Wait."

"What?" The boxer asked.

The spaniel reached towards the panel, and pulled a lever labeled Fuel Dump. When she pulled the lever, the plane started dumping fuel out of its tanks.

The boxer looked at his co-pilot confused. "Why'd you do that?"

The spaniel smiled back. "In case one of them knows how to fly."

The boxer then smiles evilly as he was impressed at his partner. "Oh, great thinking Mia. Now let's go before they wake up."

Mia smiled at the complement. "Right, thanks Prowler." She then follows Prowler out the door.

Due to the small size of the plane, the pilots had to be careful not to bump into Chase, Marshall, the things on the floor, or the chicken cages. Tip toeing through the aisle as they passed by Chase with no problem. They then make it to Marshall who was snoring peacefully. Prowler made it through, but Mia ended up looking at Marshall, which caused her to forget about the mission at paw a little bit and admire how cute Marshall looked when he was sleeping. Unfortunately, this also caused her to stub her left forepaw on a cage, causing the chicken to cluck like crazy. Marshall started to stir because of this as Mia was trying to soothe the chicken to calm down. It finally calmed as she looked at Marshall, who was still asleep. Mia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mia! Quit fooling around and let's go!" the boxer called softly.

Mia looked at Prowler embarrassed. "Sorry Prowler." She takes one last at the Dalmatian before she is in front of the door.

"Alright. Check and make sure we have the only parachutes." Prowler ordered.

"Ok." Mia replied. As she looked around the back for more parachutes. When she was positive that there wasn't any more, she went back to the front of the door.

"We have the only ones, sir." Mia reported.

"Alright, time to jet." Prowler announced. "Stand back."

Mia followed the order, as Prowler opened the door. The plane was now filled with flying feathers, as chickens started clucking loudly, causing Marshall to stir again. This time, his eyes started to open, as he yawned and shook himself awake.

Prowler then pushed Mia out the plane with him following suit. Marshall was now fully awake, as he looked around the area, figuring out what the chickens were agitated about.

"What's going on Stan?" he asked Stan, as the chicken was going ballistic.

He looked behind him and noticed that the back door was open. Confused, Marshall started to make his way to the cockpit. "Hey, you guys do know that the back door is….." He stopped when he poked his head through the doorway, realizing that one of his nightmares was coming true. He and Chase were on a plane with NO PILOTS!

Marshall panicked a little as he didn't know how to fly. "Oh no."

He turned around and saw another nightmare coming true. This time, a more recent one. He was looking at Chase who was covered in chicken feathers and was still asleep. Chase was allergic to feathers. If his nose ever came within eyesight of a feather, his sinuses would act up, and he would be sneezing the day away. In a time like this, the feathers would have woken him up in seconds as he would begin sneezing. But that wasn't happening. Instead, Chase was still asleep, not even stirring. This obviously was the effect of the antidote, and Marshall knew it. He forgot about the plane and shifted his focus on saving his friend.

"Oh no." Marshall repeated, as he shot forward to Chase and began shaking him frantically. "Chase! Chase! Chase! Chase! CHASE!" At this point, Marshall was violently shaking Chase, but it wasn't working as the Shepherd laid limply. He was still breathing, which was a good sign, but Marshal knew he had to wake him up at all costs.

After a bit of shaking, Marshall grabbed Chase's hat and started waving it in front of his face. "Chase! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Chase started to stir and flutter his eyes open, and with a simple sneeze thanks to sniffing a feather, Chase was fully awake.

Marshall immediately felt relieved, as Chase jolted his head around, assessing the situation. Still sneezing like crazy. "Achoo! Marshall? Achoo! (sniff) Are we there al-al-alAchoo!ready? Good. Achoo!"

"No!" Marshall replied, as he picked the sniffling Chase up and pushed him into the cockpit as Chase put his hat back on. He didn't know what to expect, until Marshall shoved him into the cockpit, finding the seats empty.

"No one's flying the plane!" Marshall revealed.

Chase's eyes grew wide as dinner plates and his jaw dropped to the floor at the sudden realization that there were no pilots flying the plane. He looked back for a second, expecting to find the pilots but only discovered the back door open. "Where did the pilots go?!"

"What's it look like? They jumped out of the plane and left us!" Marshall answered.

Chase, trying not to panic himself, did the first thing he thought he could do. He rushed to the right pilot's seat and looked forward. They were flying over a snowy mountain range and gradually losing altitude.

Marshall squeaked out, sounding very hopeful. "Skye taught you how to fly, right?"

Chase smiled nervously and looked at Marshall, as it took him a minute to answer. "Uh…..no, what about you?"

Marshall's eyes nearly popped out of his head, he didn't like flying, let alone knew how. He tried to keep calm by breathing very slowly.

"Marshall! You might wanna go find some parachutes!" Chase suggested.

"Parachutes. P-P-Parachutes." Marshall didn't like parachuting either, but he figured it was better than crashing. "R-Right, Parachutes!"

He shot to the back to look for parachutes, as Chase continued to stare at the controls. "Okay, How can this be?" He checked the instruments to convince himself that he knew what he was doing. He looked at the altimeter. "Altimeter?" He saw that they were losing altitude. "Um, okay. Airspeed?" He looked at the meter and saw their speed dropping rapidly as well. "Uh…..O-Okay. Fuel." He then looks at the fuel gage which was on E. "Fuel." He taps on it to get a more accurate reading. "Fuel!" A red light came on, signaling that they were out of gas. "Uh oh."

The right engine started sputtering until it was dead.

"Okay, engine one, gone."

Shortly after, the left engine began following suit until it went dead.

"Engine two, dead."

Chase then looked out the windshield and noticed that now, they were really losing altitude.

"I think we have a big problem!" Chase blurted out.

Marshall returned freaking out. "We've got a bigger problem! There are no parachutes!"

Chase jolted out the seat and into the back of the plane. Marshall was hyperventilating at this point. He didn't want to die. He still has many things he wanted to do before he kicked the bucket. Things like travel the world, go to Japan, surf the biggest wave with Zuma, collect all of the Apollo the super pup comics, Meet the actor who plays Apollo, watch his little sister Ember grow up, win the Daytona….

Meanwhile, Chase was tearing the back of the plane up, looking for something, anything that can help them escape their fate. He rapidly threw random stuff everywhere. Stuff like a Yankees hat, a dress, a whip, a pith helmet, an empty can of beans, bolt cutters, and even a fedora. He searched and searched and searched, about ready to give up and accept their fate, until he found a self inflatable life raft with a rope threaded around it. He instantly got an idea.

'Guess it's better than nothing. I sure hope this works.'

….Meet Paul McCartney, lead a rescue team, have pups of his own, confess his love to Ever….

"Marshall! Get our stuff!"

Marshall snapped back into reality and started gathering him and Chase's pup packs. He then looks at Chase, who was laying a raft out. Upon seeing this, Marshall became confused. "Um, Chase? I-I think you're confused here. We are not sinking, we're crashing!"

Chase looked at Marshall. "You got a better idea?!"

Marshall looked towards the front and saw how low they were. Really, really low. Enough to hit the lower mountains. At that point, the plane jerked forward, as it brushed the top of a mountain.

"AHHH!" Marshall cried out as he fell forward.

"Marshall, grab on!" Chase ordered.

Marshall got up and grabbed Chase. Chase opened the door wider and positioned the raft in front of the door.

"Hang on tight buddy!" he says to Marshall, as he pulls the cord, and thrusted him and Marshall out of the plane. Marshall held on to Chase as tight as he could.

"Oooo I'm going to REGRET THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSS!"

Chase and Marshall started free falling towards the snowy mountains, with the raft inflating on the way down. Marshall screamed as the raft fully inflated, Not stopping until they were falling more slowly. They hit the hard snow with a thump, as they bounced around the raft, which now started sliding down the mountain at a tremendous speed. A boom was heard with Chase assuming it to be the plane crashing into the mountain.

The raft thrashed the two around, due to the bumps, hills, and rocks that were clashing with the raft. Marshall, trying to hold on, hit his head on a branch, causing him to fall backwards and fall off the raft. He would have been left, if it wasn't for his left forepaw getting stuck in between the raft and it's rope, causing him to be dragged along the somewhat hard snow.

"Whhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaa!"

"MAAAARSHAAALLLL!" Chase screamed, as he tried to help Marshall by grabbing him to pull him in. "HOLD ON BUDDY!"

Marshall held on as best as he could, as they entered a forest. Now Marshall was being dragged across rocks, sticks, stumps, and snow. His body wobbled along the trail, as he screamed waverlingly.

"CH-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-S-S-S-SE! HE-E-EL-L-LP M-E-E-E-E-E-E-E!"

Chase struggled to help Marshall, trying to keep himself from falling off. He managed to grab Marshall by the scruff of his neck, and pull him in. Marshall got up immediately as Chase looked him over.

"Marshall! You okay!?"

Marshall swayed side to side as his baby blue eyes went in indifferent circles. "Yeah, I'm good." He then collapsed and immediately got up to prove that he was okay.

After sliding out of the forest, they started to slow down, as the terrain then turned to grass. Thinking the worst of it was over, Marshall looked at Chase, gasping for air. "That wasn't too bad. Was it?"

Just as Marshall said that though, Chase screamed at something ahead of them. Marshall looked at what he was screaming about. Before they knew it, they were going off the cliff!

Marshall harmonized with Chase's screaming as they went off the cliff and into the roaring rapids seventy feet below. They landed safely, being thrashed around again, thanks to the rocks in the river. Each one felt like bowling balls as they splashed their way through the rapids.

"Ahhhh!" Marshall Screamed. "Where are the brakes on this thing!"

The ride was taking a toll on them, as they bounced around the raft, hanging on for dear life. Chase collapsed to the floor as he was out of breath, with Marshall holding him down to make sure he didn't fly out.

After a bit of splashing and rocks, the water finally calmed down, drifting down the river at a more tolerable speed. Marshall let go of Chase, falling backwards due to him being shaken up. He didn't care though, he was now allowed to rest with his paws up in the air. Chase didn't even try to move. He clearly was exhausted from their impromptu ride that he just focused on catching his breath. After a minute or so, Marshall reached over to check on his best friend.

"Ch-chase? You okay?"

Chase coughed a bit before answering.

"I'm alright Marshall. You okay buddy?"

"Yeah. I'm okay." Marshall coughed up a storm before moaning. "I hate flying."

Marshall started to find the energy to look around to find out where they were. Unfortunately, he had no clue where he was. All he knew was that they were very far away from Adventure Bay. He moans again before speaking. "Where are we anyway?"

Chase also had no clue, until something caught his eye on the shore, that gave him the correct answer. "Wintergreen."

Marshall then pressed Chase's answer. "How do you know that?"

He turned his head to look at what Chase was eying. What Marshall found made him gasp in surprise and a little bit of fear.

On the shore, giving the two pups a strong gaze, was a fully grown wolf. With a stare that would intimidate the bravest of dogs.

---

Wintergreen is a country that's a strange anomaly. It is the only country to be occupied solely by wolves. It also has the pleasure of bearing different landscapes and climates, from the dampness of trees and grass

of it's rainforests, the winter wonderland of the snowy mountain ranges, the blazing warmness of the heated sandy beaches surrounding the wolf's homeland, to the enormous grassy fields located throughout the countryside, which are filled to the brim, with freshwater and life. It was truly a phenomenon, as scientists that study the region are baffled. Some say that it was magic, some simply don't believe it, and some are just amazed that they can't ever begin to describe it. Having been one of the only countries to have no human interference whatsoever, it has always been a beautiful place to observe and reside in.

At least that's what it's supposed to be. But when Chase and Marshall were following the wolf that found them, it was the exact opposite. Everywhere they looked was depressing. The grass was all but dead, the trees had none of its leaves and were about as grey as concrete, and there was little to no wildlife anywhere, if they did see any, they were far from healthy, looking like walking roadkill. Even the wolf they were following looked like he could collapse at any second. The wolf would sway side to side every step, his breathing sounded raspy, and his ribs were exposed, showing how empty his stomach was.

It pained Marshall to see this, but Chase was probably the most shocked. He had seen the once beautiful country, better than this from his trip to Wintergreen last year, when he, along with Rocky and Zuma, had to help a pack of wolves keep a sacred emerald out of the hands of Mayor Humdinger. It was much more lively, colorful, and uplifting than what they were observing.

Marshall had never been to Wintergreen before, so whatever opinion Marshall had on the country came from the mouths of Chase, Rocky, and Zuma putting it over like a million dog treats. He was very shocked to find something totally different. He walked up to Chase and started asking questions with a sorrowful tone. "Hey Chase. Isn't Wintergreen supposed to be…...you know…..beautiful?"

"It was" was all Chase could manage to say in his astonishment. He couldn't describe the misery they were eying.

'What the heck happened here?'

As they trekked closer and closer to the wolves camp, the environment got worse. Now, they were seeing downed trees, even more dead grass and plants. Animal carcasses littered the ground, the fields were scorched, and there were no birds gliding through the sky.

As they made their way through the horror that was the lifeless countryland, Chase would feel more pain and grief, in his heart, from seeing Wintergreen like this. He questioned the wolf for answers, but got nothing but the sound of the wolf's horse breathing, as if Chase and Marshall weren't even there.

They finally got to the wolf's camp and couldn't believe their eyes. The camp was a Circle layout with one den in the center, made out of sticks, rocks, and dirt mounds, being orbited by various dens around it. In front of the central den, was what looked like a makeshift altar, which looked more like a slab of rock sticking out of the earth. In the center of the altar, was a hole, most likely where a sacred artifact would be. But in this instance, it was empty. The dens around it were a little smaller than the ones they were circling around. Some were even buried in the ground. Inside the dens were bedding made from soft leaves or moss.

Chase and Marshall thought the countryside was bad, But the state of the camp completely caught them off guard, as it was worse than they could've possibly imagined. It was like a famine had struck the encampment hard enough that the pack was narrowing to extinction.

Wolfs piled the ground with stomachs so empty you could probably fit three horses in them. When Case and Marshall would pass by, the wolves would perk up at them, get up, and walk by them, smelling the two pups for any sort of a threat they might be. The dens were trashed and smelled rotten as expired eggs. One had a small pile of wolves laying on top of each other, with wolves circling around them howling softly. The two rescue pups didn't need to ask what those wolves' fate was.

If Marshall was depressed when they were walking in the forest, he was heartbroken now. He was very skittish with the wolves that were smelling them though. He got closer to Chase and whispered in his ear. "Chase. Do you think these wolves are hostile?"

Chase looked around the crestfallen camp before answering back with a sincere tone. "Marshall, buddy, if these wolves were hostile, I don't think they would be much of a threat." he took one more look around at the wolves who were staring at them at this point with hopeful eyes. "I mean, just look at them."

Marshall looked around himself and was horrified at the misery around them. He almost teared up at the sight of the wolves. "This is Sad."

One thing stuck out in Marshall's mind though. Out of all the wolves they've seen since they got there, they haven't seen one pup. "Forget about the wolves. What about the pups? I don't think I've seen a single one since we got here."

Chase took notice of this, and looked for a pup to disprove Marshall, but he couldn't find any. Because of this, Chase had only one plausible explanation as he saw the pile of deceased wolves in one of the dens. Though he wished it wasn't true.

Marshall swallowed as he stumbled over his next question. "You don't think that maybe…" He paused midway, trying to interpret another reason, other than the one he was suggesting. "...That maybe all their pups are De…"

"Let's not jump to conclusions Marshall." Chase Interrupted, hopeful, even though he was grasping at straws "Th-they could be too weak to be out here."

Marshall gave a sad and hopeful stare at Chase. "Yeah. maybe that's the case."

Chase eyed Marshall and attempted to give a reassuring smile to him, but Marshall didn't respond. He could tell that Marshall wasn't happy with the somewhat quick explanation that Chase gave. He wanted a more concrete answer, or else Marshall will harp on it for as long as they take them to get home.

Their wandering ceased when a female wolf came out of the center den, howling for their attention. "The Alpha will be here to speak with you momentarily. Until then, we would be honored if you could join us." She bowed her head and motioned them to join her inside the den.

Chase and Marshall looked at each other and nodded, before acknowledging her "It would be our pleasure."

The den was cramped, which had been expected, as it didn't look that big from the outside ether. There were two bedding mounds at the back of the den. One was a bit taller than the one next to it, which Chase and Marshall assumed is where the Alpha sleeps. As they sat down next to each other, they noticed bowls in front of them with food in it. The female wolf was laying down on the smaller bedding and gazed at them with hopeful eyes. "My mate will be here soon." She gave them a mournful smile. "In the meantime, I've prepared some food for you."

The two pups looked at two bowls on the ground sitting next to each other. The bowls had cut up carrots and a rabbit, skinned and cooked to perfection. At least that's what Chase thought it was, but it looked more like food had been buried and recently dug up. The rabbit looked like it had been dead for a while and smelled like it too, and the carrots appeared to have started rotting. Still, food was food, and they needed all the strength they could get for the obvious long journey back home.

"Well," Chase started, as he looked at Marshall with a somewhat nervous smile. "Bon appetit."

Marshall nodded with the same face as Chase started to chow down on the bowl. Despite its look, the food was actually very tasty. It wasn't perfect, but due to the condition of the ecosystem, it was probably the best they could get. Marshall was just about to start, until he noticed gloomy eyes staring at him from hungry wolves at the entranceway. Marshall then sat back up and did not even attempt to eat.

Chase ceased eating, and looked at Marshall with concern. "Marshall? What's wrong?"

The nervous Dalmatian gazed at Chase and spoke as if he was embarrassed. "I-Im sorry, I-I cant eat this."

The German Shepherd looked at his friend, stunned at the answer the Dalmatian gave. "What? Why?" Marshall didn't usually complain about food that was given to him. So Chase didn't think it was the state of the meal.

Marshall swallowed as he replied to the question. "I-I can't eat this. Not in front of…" He then gazed at the wolves outside as he finished. "...them."

The Shepherd tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean Marshall?"

"Chase, this is probably more food than they've had in a week. I can't eat this in front of them. They need this more than I do."

"Marshall. You need to eat. We have a long journey ahead. You need strength." Chase was sympathetic to his friend, as he tried to get him to eat.

Marshall replied sincerely. "But it's just not right, I'm just some stranger eating what little food they have."

"Marshall, please. It's rude to turn down food that they prepared for us." Chase begged.

"I understand Chase." Marshall calmly replied. "But I will never forgive myself for eating their food that they need."

Marshall was always like this, putting everybody else in front of him when it came to carefulness. He would most likely starve to death, if it meant that everybody wouldn't starve before him. It's sorta how he is, and it was usually very problematic to change his mind. Usually, Chase would agree with him, but in a situation where they had a long passage ahead of them, and they needed to be full of energy.

"Marshall, please. Eat." Chase begged again. "You're embarrassing us."

Marshall took one look around at the wolves that were staring at him, then gazed at the female sitting on the mound.

"It's okay young pup." She says reassuringly. "Please. Eat. I prepared it just for you."

The female gave Marshall pleasing eyes, which caused him to sigh in defeat. "O-okay. But I'm closing my eyes so I don't have to look at them."

Having accepted his surrender, Marshall lays down and starts eating slowly with his eyes closed. Chase, having been satisfied, resumed his meal.

When they are done, the Alpha finally makes it to his den. He climbed on top of his bedding, and perched on it. He gave a gaze at his guest, while Chase surveyed him. He looked a little better than the wolves outside, but not much, as his stomach looked empty just like his packmates.

"I hope my mate has prepared your food well." The alpha spoke.

Chase nodded in response. "Yes. It was well made."

Marshall didn't say anything. He just looked down at his paws, avoiding eye contact.

"My name is Tyler." The packleader announced. "This is my Delta, Paisley. I am the Alpha of River Rush."

"River Rush?" Marshall repeated, finally looking up to gaze at Tyler. "What does that mean?"

"It means we rush with the river as we live on it's land." Paisley added.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Marshall lied, not understanding what they meant.

Chase then proceeded to introduce him and Marshall. "My name is Chase, and my friend here is Marshall. We are pups of the Paw Patrol."

Paisley's ears perked up while Tyler stood still. "Is that right?"

Chase and Marshall both nodded as they sat proud and firm.

"I see." Tyler said. "I know of them. I've heard many stories from the WoodLand about how a group of outsiders were able to push out some invaders from their land. They said that group was the Paw Patrol." He gave a firm stare at them. "You say that you're that group?"

"You are correct Alpha." Chase confirmed. "In fact, I was one of those brave pups."

Tyler looked at him with great admiration. "Well now, I feel honored to have you here in my den."

Chase smiled proudly as he was flattered by the Alpha's kind words. "You have no need to. We were just doing our job."

"It's sorta what we do." Marshall added, smiling for the first time that day.

Tyler smiled back proudly himself, as Paisley was now looking at them with hopeful eyes.

Chase then looked at Tyler with a requestful look. "Could we get a guide to the nearest civilization? We must get back to Adventure Bay before our friends worry about us."

Tyler nodded before he gave his answer. "I will see what we can do."

It was at that moment that Paisley finally spoke up with a very hopeful tone and rambled on like a little pup excited about a treat. "Is it true? Are you Paw Patrol?"

Chase was a little taken aback by the female's sudden question. "Y-yes mam. We are."

Paisley's mood went from gloom, to full of hope and enthusiasm. "Th-then you could help us!"

Chase now looks at her with a serious face on, Marshall follows suit.

"What has happened here?" Marshall asked, very very concerned and curious.

Tyler goes up to Paisley, and puts a paw on her shoulder. He begged her to calm down. "Paisley, Please. We don't need to get them involved in our affairs."

Paisley turned to her mate and gave a pleading expression. "But Tyler! We tried everything and we keep getting weaker and weaker! We lose wolves in mere hours! We need help! Not to mention….." She tears up as she says the last statement hoarsely. "Our own daughter."

Tyler tenses up, as the mention of his daughter almost breaks him.

Chase and Marshall are at full attention now. Overhearing the conversation as it gets very gloomy with every word. Chase gazes at Tyler in the eyes. "Please Alpha. Tell us what happened."

There was a long pause until the brokenhearted leader sighs in defeat. "Very well."

Paisley shoots next to him and lays beside him, nuzzling him as she weeps quietly. Tyler swallows hard, as he begins to tell the state of the pack. "One week ago, the ShadowFur wolves arrived at our camp and attacked us. They killed many of our own, and took our Wolf's Emerald."

Marshall listened on with horror, but Chase's ears perked up at the mention of the sacred gem. He knows of the Wolf's Emerald and his properties from the time he had to protect it from Mayor Humdinger last year. But there was one thing he was confused about. "Wolf's Emerald? But I thought that the WoodLand Pack was in possession of the emerald."

Tyler acknowledged this and continued to inform. "You are right and wrong young one. For you see, there are multiple Wolf's Emeralds. One for each pack that lives on this land."

Marshall leans over to Chase, completely confused as to what's going on as he whispers in his ear. "Um, Chase? What's a Wolf's Emerald?"

"It's a gemstone with magic properties that protects the wolves." Chase whispers back.

"Magic?" Marshall replied.

"Shh!" Chase ordered, as he looked back at Tyler. "Please, continue."

"As I said, They took our emerald from us and took it back to their camp." Tyler stated.

"Why did they take it?" Marshall asked curiously.

"It has been rumored that the ShadowFur Pack has been in conjunction with their old allies, BloodRayne."

Marshall swallowed nervously, as he croaked out a word. "BloodRayne?"

Tyler stared sternly. "Yes, The BloodRayne Pack. A dark point in the history of our species."

Chase returned the stare with sympathy. "And you're saying that this BloodRayne Pack is gaining power?"

"We haven't seen any BloodRayne wolves. Not even at the gatherings that we have. All we see is the Shadowfur Pack." Tyler stated.

Paisley Raised her head. "What's worse is that they've been doing this to the other packs." She looks down sadly. "Even driving one to extinction."

Chase's face produced a horrified expression. He hoped, god he hoped that pack wasn't the WoodLand. He starts to breathe heavenly, not enough for Tyler and Paisley to notice, but Marshall notices and goes next to him to comfort him as Paisley continues. "I'm afraid that the Howls of the Mountain are no longer with us."

Chase breathed a sigh of relief and devastation. He was grateful of the pack not being the WoodLand Pack, where Roxy was, but horrified that an entire way of life was taken away for greed "That's horrible."

Marshall wasn't nervous anymore. There was now fury in his eyes. If Chase hated criminals, Marshall despised them. Anyone who killed for their own benefits, Marshall couldn't care less what happened to them. Not that he would wish death upon anyone, but he had so much animosity towards them. Still, despite clearly being worked up, Marshall kept calm as best as could, but his fury was leaking out with each word that came out of his mouth. "Why has nobody tried to stop them?"

"We have!" Paisley interjected, distressed. "We've been trying to stop them since they started, but they just kept coming, being more powerful than the last time. Every time we killed many of them, they killed more of us each time!" At this point, she was frantically rambling as she stood on our fours outright begging Chase and Marshall to help. "We are on our last leg here! Please! You must help us!"

Tyler tried to soothe her with his comforting words. "Paisley! Please, they're just pups."

Paisley turned back to her mate. "Alpha! They're not just pups, they're the Paw Patrol. Don't you see? Our prayers have been answered! Gari brought them here!"

Marshall and Chase were taken aback by that last comment. It took a minute before Marshall broke the silence. "Um, I'm s-sorry but…..W-We weren't brought here, ou-our plane crashed."

Paisley then Chuckles a bit chillingly. "No, no, no. You're thinking about it all wrong."

Marshall raised his eyebrows as Paisley continued.

"We prayed to Gari to help us. Don't you see? It was Gari who made you fall from the sky. It is destiny that you have come to help us. So I am begging you, please! Help us. You're our only hope Paw Patrol."

Marshall looked at Chase, as Chase stared at him.

"Please help us bring back our emerald."

As Chase stepped out of the dimly lit den and into the bright summer light outside, He was in deep thought about the wolves' situation.

It's a shame what was happening to these wolves. Chase had seen the wolves' productive life a year ago, when he had to help a wolf pup named Roxy, save his pack from Mayor Humdinger's greedy hands. His mind immediately wondered about his friend's safety. Has the ShadowFur got to him yet? Is he okay? Should he make it a point to go visit him and see if he's alright, as soon as he finds out where they are?

Chase's thoughts immediately stopped when he noticed Marshall with a skittish look on his face. He was shaking so much, Chase could tell that Marshall was spooked. He walked beside his friend and placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Marshall? You okay buddy?" Chase called softly.

Marshall swallowed before he looked at Chase. "Chase? Do you think they made our plane crash to get us here?"

Chase doubled back a bit in his mind. He didn't believe in omens, curses, the supernatural, and all that magic stuff. There were a few exceptions, but Chase was very doubtful of every instance he's ever heard. Marshall however, was easily convinced of them being real. One time back at home, Ryder had a good old campfire outside the lookout with every pup in attendance. They roasted marshmallows, played, and told stories all night long until the sun came up. One story in particular stood out. It was the story Chase told about how the lookout was built on a wolf burial mound and because of that, the ghost of the wolves would howl in the night. The pups laughed it off with Chase even saying how ridiculous it sounded. However, Marshall believed it. The poor pup would have nightmares almost every night, and barely get any sleep. It wasn't until Chase found him one night outside his pup house, that he needed to reassure his friend, that he made it all up to get a scare out of everyone. Marshall felt a lot better after that, and was able to have peaceful nights again. Though still, every now and then, Chase would still see Marshall out late, staring off into the distance.

Chase gave a reassuring smile to his friend. "No Marshall. It's just a ghost story."

"R-Really?" Marshall started feeling better but he was still skittish. He stopped shaking and started to relax.

"Yeah, it's just a coincidence." Chase stated, still smiling.

Marshall responded with a smile back as if Chase's words erased Marshall's woes. "Yeah, of course. Thanks man."

"Don't mention it buddy."

At that moment, Tyler motioned the two pups with his tail, to come to the altar in front of the Alpha's den. Chase and Marshall went up to it with the wolves around them following suit and sitting around the altar. Tyler and Paisley were sitting in front of the altar right by each other.

"They took the emerald from here." Paisley began.

Chase nodded his head to signal for permission to inspect the altar. Tyler nodded back as Chase began examining the altar as if it was a crime scene.

The altar was more like a boulder from what Chase gathered. It was a big slab almost towering over Tyler himself. The top was flat enough for a wolf to perch on top of it, likely to address the pack. In the middle of the front of the altar was a little hole the size of a baseball. Chase thought that the emerald sat there, as he sniffed the hole to possibly find a scent. Unfortunately, it was stale but that was expected. When he was done, Chase backed away and looked at Tyler. "Is the emerald a sphere-like object?"

"Yes." Tyler said as he nodded.

"And the emerald itself, it's not green is it? It's actually the color that represents the pack. Which is…" Chase added

"Blue. Yes" Tyler responded.

Chase nodded as he thought of all he knew about the emerald. When he was here last year, Chase, Rocky, and Zuma had to keep WoodLand's emerald out of the hands of Humdinger, his cats, and a lab named Scarlet. Thanks to them, Humdinger went home empty handed and the emerald was saved. He had seen the power of the emerald that day but didn't understand it. Chase thought it was weird how River Rush had their emerald out in the open while the WoodLand had a whole temple to guard it. But he didn't want to criticize the pack at a time like this.

"I've seen an emerald like the one you lost." Chase said. "But I don't understand why ShadowFur would take the emerald. If I remember correctly, the emerald provides protection and resources."

Tyler nodded again. "Yes, you are correct."

Chase looks at Tyler with questioning eyes. "So if there is one for each pack, why would they even bother."

Paisley this time chimes in. "We have no clue. It seems that there is more to the emerald that even we don't know."

"Um. Excuse me?"

Everyone turned to Marshall who finally spoke up. "I-I'm sorry for interrupting but I just can't understand how one emerald being taken is the cause of all of this."

Tyler stood firmly. "It is okay, young pup. Allow me to explain."

Paisley went up to her mate and nuzzled him. Knowing this made Tyler feel uncomfortable telling these two pups about their problems.

"When the emerald was taken, the wells dried up, and the river we drank from, turned to sand."

Marshall sat down awestruck as Tyler continued.

"Our crops were swallowed by the earth, and when we went to hunt for food, the animals around us laid down, and turned to dust."

Marshall was now horrified at that last statement, while Chase was frozen in place, trying to process the events that transpired.

Tyler began to say his next sentence as Paisley nuzzled him more. At this point, she had tears in her eyes as Tyler could barely get through the statement. "Then….one day….there was a fire in the fields."

"The…..betas, omegas, and myself went out to fight the fire. W-when we came back…"

Tyler stopped at the last word, as he sounded very distressed. Paisley licked him to reassure him that she was by his side. Though she was starting to whimper herself. "We…..f-found many wolves whimpering in the darkness."

Chase and Marshall clenched as wolves around them started to whimper and whine.

Tyler teared up as he struggled to say his last statement. "Wh-When we went out, Sh-ShadowFur came back…..and….."

"THEY STOLE OUR PUPS!" Paisley blurted out as she started crying.

Chase and Marshall gasped in shock, as the wolves howled for their stolen pups.

---

As a lone wolf trekked through the great forest, her body screamed at her to rest. However, due to her determination, she was not stopping anytime soon. She was almost home, almost out of the living nightmare that was the mines. She felt bad having to leave her friends there, but she was the only one that could escape, while they dealt with the guards. She hoped they were still alive when she got back, but something told her that was highly unlikely.

Her paw pads were stinging, like a thousand bees were huddled on them, and were all attacking at once. Her body was covered with bloody welts from the whipping she endured by the BloodRayne wolves. Her breathing was raspy, every few seconds she was gasping for air and her stomach probably hadn't had anything in it since she was taken. Still, despite this, she pushed on with firmness to get back home and acquire help.

She suddenly collapsed for the third time that day, feeling as if nothing was left out of her. Part of her wanted to stay laying there and accept her fate. She was hurting all over, and she was scared, very scared. Escaping the mines was probably the most exciting thing she had ever done in her short life, but now, she was in the scariest moment of her life. Walking in the forest in the blackness of night…..alone.

Alone

Alone

Alone

By herself

No Mom

No Dad

No friends

Just her

Her and the sounds of the forest.

She didn't like feeling alone, she felt powerless by herself. It's not that she didn't expect it, it was just the fact that she didn't think it would've been this hard. She wanted to give up and lay there forever. Hopefully, someone would find her, or she would just pass away right here. Again….Alone

But no, not today. She had to keep going. Her friends were counting on her, especially for her best friend Roxy, who made the ultimate sacrifice to allow her to escape. She definitely wasn't going to let him down, neither will she let all her friends down. She growled at herself for even thinking about giving up, as she struggled to get up on all fours. "Come on, You're almost there."

For weeks she had been digging in the mines for the BloodRayne wolves. Hardly given any food and water, and when they did get any, it was clearly not enough. What were they digging for? The heck if she knew, she was just told to dig and dig and dig and dig and dig. Her paws were about ready to fall off by the third day and her whole body was ready to fall apart.

She finally started moving after that last thought in her mind. After a few meters, her breathing slowed down and she had to rest on a tree to gasp for air. Clutching her chest, she collapsed again. She growled as she willed herself up to continue on.

"Come on Claria! Just a little further!" She growled to herself, as she began trekking again.

As she walked, she looked around and observed the state of the forest. It was wretched, she thought. Trees were down and grey, no animals were about and all of the grass was dead.

"This is horrible." she said to herself. "What have they done to the forest?"

She walked a few grueling miles until she finally came within eyesight of her home. She rested on a tree and looked at the decaying camp before her. It looked miserable. It was about as bad as the forest was. She grew worried as she didn't see any of her pack mates about.

'What happened to my home? Is anyone still alive? Is Mom and Dad okay? Is there anyone that can help us? Oh it's hopeless.

She considered turning around until she caught sight of two pups. One was white with black spots and one was all brown. They obviously weren't wolves but they looked healthy.

"They could help." She said, as she started walking towards them.

---

The outside of the camp was absolutely empty when Chase and Marshall were standing outside near the edge of the camp. They were trying their hardest to get through to Ryder. They've been out there for hours getting the same result over and over.

No Signal

Marshall started to get very frustrated with every attempt, as if his hope of going home drifted further and further with every result.

"No signal again!" He would exclaim each time.

The pups tags have never lost signal like this before. They've always had little to know issues, apart from their batteries dying, which was rare itself, considering that it took almost three months to fully deplete, even with it in constant use. Ryder practically did everything he could to make sure his pups were okay in situations like this. Because of this, Ryder would work hard to develop his gadgets to the closest he could get them to flawless. But obviously, even Ryder's tech was not perfect, and unfortunately for Chase and Marshall, this was one of those times.

"I thought the pup tags never lose signal Chase." Marshall was every bit afraid of being stranded out here with no help from Ryder. "Why are they not working?"

"I have no idea Marshall." Chase hated that answer but that was all he could give. Mainly because he himself was scared.

Although Chase had completed missions without Ryder before, he at least had contact with him. What baffled Chase was that when he was in Wintergreen a year prior, the tags worked flawlessly. But now, they might as well be just regular dog tags, leaving them all alone, with no way to contact Ryder or any of the other pups.

Marshall swallowed as he tried not to think of the worst. "I don't understand, the pup tags had never messed up like this before."

"Marshall, you've got to think." Chase said, trying to keep his composure. "Not even Ryder's tech is perfect. I guess it was bound to happen at some point."

Marshall looked at Chase with a serious face. "But Chase, this is the absolute worst time for the tags to not work. We're standed out here!" he took another big gulp as he continued. "If we can't get these tags to work, th-that means we will be…."

"On our own."

The last statement made Marshall feel a pit in his stomach as Chase finished it. Marshall had never done a rescue without Ryder before. He never imagined what it would be like, as he's always had Ryder in his ear. This was a new experience for him, and he was not the least bit excited about it.

Chase looked at him and sensed the feeling of fear from his best friend. He gave a hopeful smile as he tried to ease this fear. "Hey, don't worry buddy. You got me."

Marshall looked up at Chase and gave the best smile back that he could manage. "I know," Marshall then went uneasy again. "It's just, I'm not sure what we are getting into. Without Ryder, or anyone else…." Marshall swallowed again. "How are we going to get home?"

Chase didn't let up. "We'll be fine Marshall." He steps in front of Marshall, gets face to face with him, and puts his right forepaw on Marshall's shoulder. "We've been through worse than this, as long as we have each other, I don't think anything will stop us and we'll be fine."

For the first time today, Marshall gave an uplifted smile to Chase. Chase's words had suddenly turned Marshall's mood from hopeless to hopeful. "Thanks Chase, That actually made me feel alot….."

Marshall's mood then went from hopeful to concern, when he spotted something behind Chase. The Shepherd took notice of this, and questioned the Dalmatian. "Marshall? What's wrong?"

Marshall didn't listen, instead he left Chase's eyesight and walked past him. Curious, Chase turned his head around at what Marshall was looking at and caught Marshall's sudden worriedness like a disease. He spotted a lone little female pup, struggling as if she would drop dead on the spot.

Marshall got closer very slowly, being careful not to frighten the pup, but the pup couldn't care less who was in front of her. She got closer to him as Marshall reached out to her. What followed was the pup collapsing as Marshall suddenly had to catch her. He succeeded and turned her over on her back, where her weak and tired eyes were staring at the starstruck Dalmatian. She tried to speak but all she was able to get out were moans and whimpers.

"Are you alright?" Marshall asked stupidly, while Chase arrived next to him. Marshall resisted the urge to face palm himself. This pup was literally dying in front of him in his forepaws and all he could say was probably the stupidest question he could ever ask at this point?

Chase however, was not paying attention to the half participant conversation. He was examining the poor little pup to see what was wrong with her. Actually, the better question was what wasn't wrong with her. Her fur was dirty and matted, her body was covered in bloody welts, and missing fur patches. Her paws were dirty and bleeding, and her tail was swollen and also bloody. He was amazed this pup was even still alive, let alone walking in the forest alone.

The pup whined as Marshall examined her himself and felt immediate horror. He completely forgot about the situation he was in and was now focused on helping the poor pup.

"Hey, It's okay." Marshall spoke in a soft tone. "I'm going to help you. My name is Marshall, what's your name?"

The pup looked up into the fire pup's calming and soothing eyes, relaxing in his forelegs. "Cl-Cl-Cl-Cl….."

"CLARIA!"

Marshall shot his head up at the sudden noise, frantically looking around for the source. He found the voice to belong to Paisley, who had come out to investigate what was going on. She ran up to Marshall, immediately nuzzled her daughter while sobbing. "Oh thank the ancients! You're alive!" She then takes a look at her pup and is horrified at the sight. "Oh my poor poor pup. What have they done to you?"

"Mom…." Claria croaked out. She tried to get up and hug her mother, but nearly collapsed as Marshall caught her again.

"Oh Claria please don't move. You're still weak." Paisley begged.

Claria started to sob as Marshall held her gently. "Mom-Mommy."

Paisley motioned for Marshall to put Claria on her back. Marshall did so, as Paisley started walking back to her den, being careful not to drop her. "I'm going to get you to bed right now!"

Chase and Marshall watched Paisley disappear into her den as they tried to process what just happened. They were used to mothers crying over their young, but for some reason, this stood out for them. It had so much emotion and worriedness all in one voice. It reminded Marshall of his mother a little bit, where every time he would call his mother Ashley. When Marshall would mention about a dangerous mission they went on, his mother would be close to coming through the tv and cradling him. Upon that thought, Marshall was then reminded of something that he was supposed to do today. He was supposed to call his Mom and Dad to set up a way for Marshall to come visit for a week. But that's the least of his worries. Now he was worried about them not getting a call, and not knowing where he was. Worse, they might think that he was dead…..again.

He snapped back into reality when Chase called for him. "Marshall. Go get your EMT pack and see if you could help them."

Marshall nodded his head firmly. "Right, I was just thinking of the same thing."

With that, Marshall took off to get his pup pack and go help Claria the best he could.

Chase watched him disappear as he went back to make more attempts to call Ryder. "Come on Ryder."

---

The den was silent when Marshall arrived. Paisley was nuzzling her daughter and quietly whispering to her whimpering pup. "It's okay baby, I'm here. I'm going to fix you right up."

Marshall chimed in with confidence. "I can help with that."

Paisley jumped and growled in response. Marshall winced back as she kept growling at the frightened pup. She then realized who he was, and ceased her growling. "I'm sorry, you startled me."

Marshall stood still. "No, no, it's my fault. I should've announced myself better."

Paisley relaxed, looking back at her pup. "You said you could help her?"

Marshall smiled confidently, "Of course I can." He ran next to Paisley still keeping his trademark smile. "Just stand back and let me do my thing. Ruff! Ruff! Thermometer!"

On cue with his voice, his pup pack shot out his thermometer. He laid down and stuck it into Claria's mouth.

Paisley stood there awestruck at the contraption on Marshall's back. She had never seen anything like it. It was clearly human tech but a dog was using it, which baffled Paisley. "What's this strange device?"

Marshall looked at Paisley with a joyous expression. He always loved to share the knowledge of Ryder's tech. "It's my pup pack. It carries everything I need to perform my job."

"Interesting." Paisley stated, as she suddenly became very interested in the strange device. "Tell me, did you produce this?"

"Huh?" Marshall replied. "Oh no no no not me. I wish I was this talented." He smiled at the thought of him making the pup packs. Of course that seemed unlikely to happen but, you never know….. "No, my owner made this for me."

"Owner? You mean you're a slave?" Paisley blurted out.

Marshall was taken aback by the sudden comment. "What? N-No. I'm not a slave."

"But isn't that what being owned means?" Paisley was now really confused.

"No, it's nothing like that." Marshall informed. "It's more like a father-son relationship. He takes care of me. He feeds me, waters me, plays with me, talks to me. It's like having a second father."

"But, you are owned."

"Well, yeah but it's not like he whips me or anything."

"Could you go out and live on your own then?"

Marshall paused for a minute as he struggled to answer Paisley's question. "Well, not really. Some cities we can like Sticksburg. But mostly, no."

Paisley felt really bad about questioning him like this but she was really curious. "Did your owner take you away from your parents?"

Marshall paused again at that question. "Um…..no. I uh….." Marshall thought twice before answering the question. "I um….I ran away."

Paisley was shocked. "Huh? You ran away?"

"Y-Yeah."

"What happened? Did they not love you?"

Marshall stood up to defend his parents, but was not angry. "W-What?! No! My parents love me, and I love them!"

"Then why did you run away?" Paisley pressed softly and carefully.

"Well…..you….see" Marshall stopped and thought about what he was saying. He didn't usually talk about the relationship with his parents. It wasn't toxic. Just a bad, bad, bad memory. "...look, I'm sorry but, I don't wanna talk about it."

"No, no Marshall." Paisley replied. "It's me who should be apologizing. I didn't mean to press on you kin."

"It's fine." Marshall replied back. "It was me who opened the door in the first place."

'How did we even get there anyway?' Marshall wondered. 'First we were talking about my pup pack, and then slaves and then my parents….

Beep.

Marshall jumped at the sudden noise along with Paisley. He had forgotten about the thermometer in Claria's mouth. It went off as Marshall looked at it. 'Saved by the thermometer'

"What is that thing?" Paisley asked skittishly.

"Oh, it's my thermometer." Marshall announced. "It tells me whether or not Claria has a fever."

"Wh-What does it say? Is she having a fever?" Paisley asked hopefully.

"Fortunately. No, she's fine." Marshall smiled at her as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Tyler appeared in the doorway frantically looking around. "I'm here, where is my daughter?"

Marshall backed away slowly to reveal Claria to the Alpha. Tyler saw his weak and barely alive daughter and shot over to her. "Claria! Oh my sweet, sweet girl. Are you alright?"

Claria looked up at her father and gave the best smile she could muster. "F-Father."

"Oh Claria! What did those bastards do to you?!" It was at that moment that Tyler realized that Marshall was standing there. He quickly regained his composure. "Oh, um (Clears throat) Sorry about that."

Marshall chuckled before he addressed Tyler "It's alright Alpha. You don't need to act professional around me."

"It's not the fact of being professional. If I lose my composure I show weakness." Tyler replied.

'Gee, I wonder who that reminds me of' Marshall thought.

"I must ask though, what are you doing here?" Tyler asked suspiciously. "I hope you know, I don't just allow anybody to come in here without permission you know."

"I understand. I was just making sure your daughter was alright." Marshall assured.

"Well she's fine now, you can leave." Tyler ordered, somewhat annoyed at him.

Marshall tensed up as he looked at Paisley and gave her a look as if to say sorry for what he was about to do. He then looks at Tyler with a challenger's face. "Actually Alpha, with all due respect, I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Tyler furrowed his brow and stared at Marshall, as if the young dally just committed treason in front of him. Paisley looked on with concern. Tyler almost growled as he accepted the Dalmatian's challenge. "What do you mean, young pup?" His growl almost took over the last word, as if to remind Marshall, who he is.

The fire pup gulped. Half regretting his decision to take on the Alpha. But he was not giving up. "She may need care. She just got back from a grueling journey. She has no fever, but she's marked up pretty bad. Her paws are bloody, she collapsed in my forelegs when she was walking towards me. She could be way worse than she looks." Marshall stood sternly at the last word. "She needs my care."

"We have wolves for that." Tyler growled.

Marshall stood still and stared into Tyler's eyes. "I'm sure you do, but I'm the best you got right now. My equipment can give the most accurate readings and results. I don't like to brag, and trust me, I don't, But I think that's what's best for Claria right now."

They both stare for what seemed like hours. Tyler not letting up an inch, and Marshall doing the same. After about a minute of staring, Tyler looked down at his pup who was laying down on a thick moss bedding. Her breathing was irregular and her body was covered in blood streaks as if someone took a red crayon to her. She was trying to sleep, but her soar body was preventing her from it. It pained Tyler to see his pup like this. It was probably the closest she had ever been to death. Whoever did this to her, clearly didn't have much morals when it came to pups, and that infuriated him. He considered Marshall's option a good bit, but he wanted to be sure he was making the right decision. He looked at Paisley for approval. "Paisley, do you trust him and his equipment?"

Paisley nods her head firmly. "I think it's what's best for her."

Tyler takes one last look at his prone daughter. He tears up at the sight as he takes one very deep breath. "Very well, You may proceed young pup."

Marshall beamed and wagged his tail. "Yes! I promise Alpha, you will not regret your decision! Ruff! Ruff! X-Ray!" On command, Marshall x-ray shot out of his pup pack which was held on by a mechanical arm. Paisley and Tyler starred in awe. They would ask, but they would be confused anyway, so they just watched.

Marshall positioned the x-ray screen over Claria's body as he looked at her joints and bones. He looked over the screen closely, eyeing each one of Claria's bones carefully while the two wolves looked on amazed at the technology the dally was using. "Hmm. There doesn't seem to be any internal damage. She just has external damage, and is really really hungry."

"So what do you need to do?" Paisley asked.

"Well," Marshall replied. "I need to disinfect her wounds."

"We have some cobwebs and herbs you can use." Paisley offered.

"No no. That's alright, I got everything I need right here." Marshall stated, as he barked out some rubbing alcohol and coth. He dampened the cloth a little and proceeded to disinfect Claria's wounds. "Hey Claria!" Marshall called softly. "It's me, Marshall.

Claria opened her eyes and was greeted by the calming baby blue eyes she had seen before. "Marshall?"

"Yeah, remember me?" Marshall cheekily smiled at her.

Claria only grunted, but she was also smiling at the caring pup.

"It's okay, I'm here to help you okay?" He continued. "But I have to disinfect your wounds and it's going to sting….a lot."

Claria nodded as Marshall began the process. She tensed and yelped in response as Marshall started cleaning her wounds. Tyler and Paisley were standing by, resisting the urge to run to their daughter to comfort her. Marshall felt bad for doing this in front of them, hearing their pup scream in agony has to be pulverizing for them.

Marshall went from wound to wound with Claria yelping at each one of them in response. "It's okay Claria, just hang in there, I'm almost done." The dally then spots a long one running down her back. 'Oh boy.'

Marshall looked at Paisley before he began treating it. "Paisley? Can you come over here and soothe her while I do this last one. This ones going to be a doozy."

Paisley, without skipping a beat, immediately followed the request. She shot next to her pup and nuzzled her. Marshall started on the wound, as Claria absolutely screamed so much, others would think that she was in a nightmare as Marshall put pressure on it. Tyler could only watch as his daughter flailed around in reaction to the pain. After about three minutes of torture, Marshall was finally done and Claria was seething, as Paisley laid next to her and nuzzled her like she was just born.

Marshall put away the alcohol and barked out bandages and ointment. "Now time to wrap her up." He first started with her paws, wrapping them snuggly, being careful not to make them too tight. He then worked his way along her body, careful not to harm her. Once he was done, Marshall put away the supplies, and looked at Paisley. "Do you have any food for her?"

Paisley froze up at the question. "I-I-I-I don't know! I think I used up the last of our reserves for you two."

It was then that Marshall felt immediate regret for eating earlier. 'Are you kidding me? I knew I shouldn't have eaten. I knew it , I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, and I ate it right up. Now she has nothing to eat! Oooh what do I do? There's not even a bone to chew on and this pup needs food now!

Come on Marshall! Think! Think! Think! What can I do?! I'm powerless, unless….. "(Gasp) I got it! Ruff! Ruff! Emergency pack!" Marshall's pup pack then produced a plastic bag with two days worth of dog food.

A short time ago, Ryder started putting Emergency food packs in all of the pup packs, just in case if a situation like this were to happen to any of the pups, they would at least have food. Ryder always harped on them and told them to only eat them when there is absolutely no food to eat whatsoever. They would then eat and savor them to make it last as long as they could. Right now, Marshall called this an emergency.

Marshall tore the bag open, spilling its contents on the ground in front of Claria. She looked at it and smelled it. "W-What's th-this?"

"Dog food," Marshall answered. "I know it's not what you're used to, but at least it's something in your stomach."

Upon hearing this, Claria sniffed the pellets for a bit before finally nibbling on it. After a few bites, she starts to chow down on it. She starts to enjoy it more and more. Probably because it was the first real meal she's had in awhile.

"Wow," Marshall stated, surprised. "I didn't expect you to like it that much."

Claria looked up with hope in her eyes and a smile. "Are you here to help us?"

Marshall paused at that question. He didn't want to disappoint Claria by saying that he and Chase couldn't help them due to being way outnumbered, but it was true. They were just pups after all. Not to mention, Marshall hadn't been on a mission quite like this before. It wasn't even a mission, It was a situation they were dropped in, literally. He thought of all the struggles they would have to go through. Most of all, the fighting. Marshall hated fighting. Although he was a master of Pup-Fu, and enjoyed learning it's ways, he never thought he would actually have to use it against any one to inflict pain on another. It was for a good cause, yes, but violence is still violence. And Marshall hated violence. He thought nothing good ever came from it except pain and misery.

But these wolves, they're suffering, and if they don't help them, who will? Marshall was torn between his answers. What would Chase say? What would Ryder say? What would his parents say? That's another thing, if they go to help them, they would be all alone. No Ryder, no pups, no help. Just them against a whole army of wolves. By themselves. It would be highly unlikely for them to succeed, let alone survive.

But then again, they were these wolf's last hope. They probably won't survive the next week, and there's no telling how long it will take to get back home. Based on his thoughts Marshall knew the right answer to the question.

"Please Marshall," Claria pleaded weakly. "All my friends, pups of all packs, even some from the outside, all of them are trapped in the mines!"

"Mines?" Tyler spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"The mines, a grueling place, filled with misery." Claria explained. "At least that's what they called it."

"Who was it? Who took you to these, Mines?" Paisley asked, determined to find the answer.

Claria whimpered and sobbed her answer out "They were wolves with-with red streaks and red eyes. But that's all I saw of them! They whipped me, tortured me. Made me dig and dig all day, every day! Only feeding us little by little. If we misbehaved and disobeyed, they would whip us more and more. So much pain. So much…"

Claria started to cry heavily into her mother's fur, while Paisley nuzzled her all over. Tyler ran over and joined in. He gave her comforting licks as Claria was still crying. "What you went through my pup, was truly horrible. You don't need to be brave anymore. You're safe here, with your mother and me."

Claria looked into her father's eyes and smiled the best she could, as she nuzzled him.

Marshall however, didn't move from his spot. Since Claria asked him the question, he was in deep thought. Any doubt that he had about saving them, went away with Claria's tale of woe. It's not a matter of could they help them anymore, they had to help them. If they don't, every last one of these wolves will be dead including their pups. And judging from their condition, It looked like they did not have much time left.

Marshall made up his mind. He knew what he was going to do. "Yes, you don't have to be brave."

Marshall stood proudly with probably the most confident face anybody in the world ever had. Tyler, Paisley, and Claria looked at him as if he was some deity. "Because The Paw Patrol will be brave for you!"

---

For the fiftieth time that day, Chase got no answer from Ryder. He gave up after the last results with a growl. "It's hopeless" He thought that maybe, If he hoped enough and stood in the right place, he could get something, but no matter what he did, he always got no signal.

They really were on their own out here. For the first time in forever, Chase was terrified of what was in store for him. He always kept his cool no matter what the situation was. For all of his peers around him, he always had a clear head in tough situations. That was what his father taught him. "A clear head keeps the mind full of bread!" he would always say, and Chase took that as the most important lesson his father ever taught him. But it seemed that wouldn't even work. He felt powerless and useless as he couldn't think of anything to do to make sure Marshall and himself were okay. He truly didn't know what to do, and that terrified him to no end. What was he going to say to Marshall?

"Chase?"

Speaking of the dally, Marshall came up behind him and called to him, making Chase jump. "AH!"

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Marshall apologized. He then notices Chase a little tense. "You okay Chase?"

"Ye-Yeah buddy." Chase lied as he suddenly regained his posture.

Marshall raised his eyebrow. "You sure man? You look troubled."

"I'm fine Marshall. Everything's cool." Chase responded, giving a somewhat nervous grin.

Marshall gazed at the Shepherd with skeptic eyes. Chase was a horrible liar, and this was one of his most unbelievable lies. Marshall knew it from looking at his best friend's nervous posture. He decided to shrug it off for now for the problem at paw. "Um….okay then…..sooo, Claria is fine. She's resting now and is just really really tired."

"That's good to hear." Chase replied. "It's about time something good happened to these wolves."

Marshall smiled a bit at Chase's comment, but quickly faded when he thought of what he had to tell Chase about what he said to Tyler, Paisley and Claria. He looked down a little bit as he began. "She said that there are many pups in the mines. Being tortured and worked to no end. Some even drop dead every day and some disappear." Marshall then gave a determined look to Chase as he asked the next question. "What are we going to do Chase?"

Chase took a deep breath. He had to face the facts, they are on their own here. Stranded in a country with no contact from Ryder, the other pups had none of their vehicles, and not a clue where to go. There was only one option.

Chase relaxed as he thought of a plan on the spot. "Here is what we are going to do Marshall. First, we are going to make our way home. When we get there, we'll tell Ryder what's going on, and then we will come back to help them. That sound good buddy?"

Chase gave a smile to Marshall, waiting for Marshall to agree with him. But that didn't happen. Instead, what happened next completely caught Chase off guard.

Marshall took a deep breath as if he was going to compete at the olympics. He knew this was going to be a fight, so he was ready to make his case. "Actually, I think we should stay here."

Chase was taken aback by the comment. "What do you mean Marshall?"

"What I mean is…." Marshall took another breath. "I think we need to stay here and help them. Then go home."

Chase took a breath of his own. He knew that when it came to lives at stake, Marshall was going to fight for them. Even if it meant for him to sacrifice his own life. Chase had to get him to see otherwise. If not, Marshall would likely go and do it all by himself, even if Chase said no. "Marshall, let me begin by saying this, I completely understand you wanting to help the wolves, and I would expect nothing less from you."

"You do?" Marshall perked up. Maybe this was going to be easy after all.

"But I don't think you need me to tell you how stupid it would be to take on an army by yourself."

On second thought, No. This was not going to be easy. "I know that Chase, But these wolves could die tomorrow If we don't help them now."

"Marshall, you're not thinking logically here." Chase replied, getting very annoyed at this point. "We're just two pups. We'll get mauled at the gate! We don't have a dogbone of a chance!"

"But these wolves don't either! They are STARVING Chase! They lose their own every few hours! They have NOTHING that can sustain them!" Marshall pointed out, matching Chase's intensity.

"Exactly and so do WE!" Chase argued back, almost seething at the fully obstinate pup. "You're forgetting one important thing, we have no one!"

"That's never stopped us before!"

"Yeah, but the big difference was that we at least had Ryder in our ear! But in case you haven't noticed, WE DON'T HAVE ANY HELP! No Ryder, no pups, no vehicles, and not even the right equipment! Just us, my police pup pack, and your EMT pack! I don't even have my gun, and you don't even have your fire pup pack! We are not prepared for a fight!"

"Who said we need to fight!"

Chase was in full anger at this point. Marshall's stubbornness was legendary around the Paw Patrol. It could even rival Chase's. Not that he was willing to admit it. "What the heck do you expect us to do Marshall?! Waltz on in there and just demand the bloodthirsty wolves to give us the emerald and pups?! Yeah! That will work for us! If you have a death wish!"

Marshall was silent for a second, he didn't want to give up but Chase had a rock solid point. They were unequipped, they were on their own against an evil pack of wolves. But he didn't want to surrender. Not for the River Rush wolves. If he gave in now, The wolves' hope and chance would be gone. "Well you know what? You can go! I'll stay here and give them as much care that they need, before you get back with the others!"

Chase was dumbfounded at Marshall's determination. He fired back with the most authority he probably ever had in his short life. "NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I AM NOT LEAVING YOU HERE JUST FOR YOUR SPOTTED BUT TO DIE! NOT IF I COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"

Marshall fired right back at the police pup. "THEN DO SOMETHING CHASE! FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, TAKE A CHANCE!"

"What did you just say!?"

"I'm saying stop thinking logically, and start thinking about what is right! These wolves need our help now, and if we leave, we will be abandoning them!"

"We're not abandoning them, we're coming back!"

"I know that Chase! But to them, we are! The minute we leave, these wolves are doomed!"

Chase had to walk away at this point before he said something he truly regretted. Dealing with Marshall's stubbornness was very aggravating and stressful, especially if you're his best friend. What's worse, was that Marshall had a strong point like Chase's had. Not to mention the fact that they weren't the only pack in trouble. All the other packs were going through the same problems. One pack had already been wiped out by ShadowFur. Who's to say that the others will be okay when they come back?

They were truly doomed if they left. But, on the other paw, It was a suicide mission. The likely chance of them making out alive was second to none, and Chase didn't want their life to end that way. Not when there was an easy solution. To have Ryder and the other pups behind them and reassure Ryder and the others that Chase and Marshall were alright.

This was a hard decision to make. It was a catch twenty-two. Go help the wolves and maybe die trying, or leave to go get the rest of the patrol, and risk losing an entire race and Chase was starting to lean over to the first option.

Marshall took a deep breath as Chase faced away from him. He then continued on his argument but his voice was much softer, and he wasn't angry anymore. "Look, I wanna go home as much as you do. Maybe more than you. I miss Ryder, I miss Skye, I miss Rubble, I miss Rocky, I miss Zuma, and I miss my parents, and I know they would want us home as soon as we can. But let me ask you something Chase."

Upon hearing that, Chase turned around and looked at Marshall's glaring eyes. "How long is it going to take us to get home? Hm? Days? Weeks? Months? Years?"

Chase popped an eyebrow at the last word.

"Okay, maybe not years, but you get my point. Even with a guide, it's a guaranteed chance for it to take a week to get to Adventure Bay. Now look at the wolves. They look as if they may not last a day, let alone a week."

Chase wasn't even thinking of interrupting Marshall at this point. The Fire pup had fury in his eyes. But not of anger, but of full determination and it was working. "Yes, I know it is logical to go home and get the others and Ryder. I know it's a suicide mission on our own, and I know there is a big chance for us to fail, but we're the best these wolves have got. I will never forgive myself, If we leave them here and come back and they're gone."

Marshall started to tear up a little bit as he glared at Chase with the same determination he had in the den when he was pushing back against Tyler. "I hate fighting Chase, you know I do. Especially against my best friend. That's why I wouldn't be arguing if I didn't think I was important."

Chase started forming tears himself as the two pups let their tears flow, but did not sob. Instead, they kept their eyes locked on to each other like cowboys in a tense duel.

"We are Paw Patrol Chase. We don't help later, we help now, and right now, they need us. If you still want to go, that's fine, I don't blame you for it, but one thing's for sure. Whether you like it or not, I'm staying here to look after them until you get back. At least then, they will have a chance."

Chase didn't say anything, he just looked at Marshall still standing sternly while tears were coming down full force on the Dalmatian. He then got close to Marshall, until he was face to face with him. "You don't have to be alone on this. I will be willing to be with you the entire time."

Marshall didn't move, he just stared back watching Chase's every move. Then, out of nowhere, Chase embraced him. He hugged the Dalmatian as tight as he could. Marshall stood there, too shocked to react, but Chase didn't care as he continued. "Darn it Marshall, Why do you have to be so stubborn and right at the same time?"

Marshall grinned as he finally hugged back and won the fight. He got through to Chase and it was a very great feeling to finally have Chase on his side. But he knew Chase still had doubts as he continued on. "Of course it's the right thing to do, Marshall."Of course the wolves need us now. (sniff) I just don't want us to die in something that's way over our heads. After all…." They let go as Chase went on. "We are just two pups against an army."

Marshall smiled as he looked at the whimpering Shepherd. "You know Chase? I think we're going to be just fine."

Chase titled his head in confusion as Marshall explained. "You've got me, and I've got you. I know that we will let nothing bad happen to each other. With that mindset, we will truly show these wolves what we're made of."

For the first time since the conversation. Chase smiled. All of the doubts that he had went away with his friend's last statement. They hugged again as Chase whispered in his ear, "You know this is a stupid idea right."

Marshall chuckled a bit before he responded. "Yeah, but as long as you're by my side, maybe it won't be so stupid after all."

They let go again as they laughed off the comment. Then suddenly a howl sound signaling for wolves to meet in the center of the den. Chase looked towards the meeting place as he stated "Well, let's go tell them that we are willing to die for them."

Marshall laughed a bit before responding. "Yeah, let's go."

---

They made their way towards the altar where the wolf's meeting was about to take place.

The two rescue pups stood behind all of the wolves gathered in front of the altar. Although, there were probably only about ten to eleven of them, counting Tyler, Paisley, and Claria, who were up front, facing the crowd. It just went to show just how small the pack was now, and it was sad. Normally, the crowd would be huddled in a sea of wolves, but now, it was just a little pond, full of weak and starving wolves. Paisley and Claria were on both sides of the altar, while the Alpha perched on top of it. Ready to address the pack, what was left of it at least.

Marshall was surprised to see Claria up there sitting proud with bandages all over her. It was like the rest she had completely rejuvenated the pup like nothing ever happened. Though she was still obviously very weak, with her slumped over a little. Marshall couldn't help but admire her determination to be with the pack.

After a few minutes of waiting, Tyler finally addressed the pack. "Young wolves and old! Please perk your ears to me as I start this meeting. First, we must state the obvious as you may see."

Tyler then hopped down next to his daughter as he stood proudly. "It is my pleasure and relief to announce that a miracle has happened in these troubling times." he looked at his daughter as she stood proudly. "My own kin has escaped the BloodRayne and is now safe and sound. With her help, we may gain an advantage in the pack as we now know their secrets."

The wolves howled and barked in joy in their hardships as Claria continued to stand tall. They then start to ask questions about the place where she was at. If their own pups were well and healthy, what happened to her, and if there is any chance of getting their pups back.

Tyler raised his tail to silence the crowd. "Silence, please. Settle down River Rush. I'm sure Claria has much to say about the state of your pups, but we must give her some time." He nuzzled his daughter before he continued. "Only then will she be well enough to….."

In a quick second, as Tyler was addressing the pack, Claria jumped up on the altar to address the pack herself. She wanted to calm the spirits of the pack despite her injuries. Paisley tried to stop her, but she stood still on the altar. Tyler felt a little pride in his daughter as she perched tall on the altar. It was like she would be ready to lead the pack at that particular moment.

"Please settle down everyone." Claria started. "I will tell you of the horrors of the mines that the BloodRayne wolves had as in. But first, I want to address one thing."

Paisley backed off as she clearly realized that Claria was dead set to ease the pack's fears. "First of all, Yes. Many of your pups are still alive. They helped me escape. But I must say, many of your pups have also tragically passed on."

Claria closed her eyes as she teared up for the fallen packmates in the mines. "Unfortunately, I don't know whose pups are still alive, so I can only hope and pray that any of them are not yours."

The wolves howled sadly, to give respect for all the pups that may have lost. Paisley nuzzled her daughter as Claria continued her address. "But we have a miracle in the making, with Chase and Marshall!"

All the wolves turned to face the two pups as the spotlight was now on them. Marshall backed up and clenched a little, while Chase gave a nervous smile to the crowd. They were howling and barking with joy as the two pups nervously looked around the surprisingly enthusiastic crowd.

"Everyone, silence!" Tyler spoke up, as he raised his tail to address the pack and the Paw Patrol. "I think what my daughter was trying to ask is, have you made a decision on whether or not you will help us?"

Marshall swallowed hard, as he motioned for Chase to answer, sorta leaving him out in the open, which was expected. Marshall hated it when a crowd would look at him ready to hear him no matter if they loved him or hated him. Chase took a deep breath as he revealed his answer. "Well, um…." Chase was nervous about himself, as he addressed his audience. "We-We have decided that we will help you get your emerald and your pups back."

The wolves howled in enjoyment again, out of respect for the two brave pups that had volunteered to help them. Marshall couldn't help but feel a little pride over the response. Chase however, had one thing on his mind. "Yes we will help you. But we need help ourselves. We don't know the way to ShadowFur, so we need a guide who knows the way."

Tyler acknowledged this as he took over. "How many of you are willing to guide these brave pups to ShadowFur."

All the wolves stood proudly hoping to help out the pups who said that they would save them. Marshall was worried about one thing though. It was the way the wolves were standing.

"Hold on now, answer this." Marshall spoke up. "How many of you know for sure that you would be able to make the trip there and back."

The wolves hesitated at first, but after a few minutes, a majority of them laid down to signify that they were not fit enough to make the trip. Two were left, as they stood proudly.

"Tell the truth now. Can you make it?" Marshall added.

At that moment, the two left standing eventually laid down. Now there were no more wolves that could go with them. Marshall leaned over to Chase and whispered. "I-I think it would've been better if I kept my mouth shut. Huh?"

"Maybe" Chase whispered back. It was now going to be harder to find the ShadowFur pack. Well it would've been until a voice broke the silence.

"I will go!"

The wolves and the two rescue pups looked at what the source of the voice was. It was none other than the Alpha-heir herself, Claria.

"I will show them the way to Shadowfur." Claria added.

The wolves, Chase, and Marshall were shocked as Claria stood tall. The one that was probably the most shocked, was her mother Paisley. Who was now looking at Claria, as if she took a life in front of her. "No! Absolutely not! Forget about it!"

Claria went up to her mother with pleading eyes. "But mother! I would be a great help! I know the mines, I know the way towards the secret mines, and I am the most healthy besides you and father."

Paisley stood her ground and fired back with a little rage. "Are you kidding Claria!? You just got back, you're bandaged up, you barely have anything in your stomach! You're just as weak as everyone here. Possibly more."

"But I promised my friends that I would come back! I don't want to let them down!"

Paisley got frustrated with Claria, but she tried to keep her cool "You don't have to go, Claria! We've got two pups who can go!"

Claria wasn't backing down, she was determined to prove her point. "But they need help Mom! I'm the best they got."

"No you are not! You are walking roadkill! You won't last a day out there!"" Paisley shot back with authority.

"I won't be alone, Mother, Chase and Marshall will be with me!"

"I don't care Claria! They could wrap you up in flower bedding for all I care, YOU ARE NOT GOING!"

"Yes. I. Am!" Claria argued back.

While this was happening, Marshall was staring at the two like a hawk. Chase noticed this, as he looked at him "Marshall? You okay."

It took Marshall a bit to answer. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking."

"Whatcha thinking about?" Chase asked.

"Just the strangest feeling of deja vu." Marshall answered.

Chase knew what this meant, Marshall was of course talking about his own mother, Ashley. Whenever Marshall would tell his mom about a dangerous mission, she'd instantly worry about him. It would take Marshall, Chase, His dad Sparky, and Ryder to calm her and say that Marshall would be alright.

This caused him to instantly think about not being able to talk to his parents again. He knows that his mom and dad were probably tearing up the streets looking for him, and the worst part was that there was nothing he could do about it but pray to any god, that they didn't do anything drastic.

Paisley needed help or this would be the whole night. "Tyler, talk to her! Tell her why she can't go!"

Tyler looked at his daughter who was looking at him with the most pleasing eyes. He walked to her, and stared into her magenta eyes. "Claria, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Very sure father. I made a promise to the other pups and I plan to keep it."

"You do realize that you are still weak and are not one hundred percent?"

"Yes father, I know that and I'm willing to push on"

Tyler stared at her for what seemed like hours. He didn't want her to go as much as Paisley didn't want her to, but he admired Claria's determination. She was truly growing up to be a fine wolf, and would lead her pack well. Now whether or not she will be there when it comes time for her to assume her position is another story. If she was killed, there would be no one to take the mantle. This was in his head the entire time as he looked at her. But still, she made a promise and wolves don't ever go back on their word. Her honor was in that promise. But, can she really do this? Will they ever see her again? Tyler didn't know any of the answers.

Claria looked up at her father with the same pleasing eyes she had on since she started talking to him. "Please father, I have to do this, the others and…..he is counting on me."

Tyler snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the last sentence. He knew who she was talking about, that's why after a sigh, he answered. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes father, I am." Claria answered proudly.

Tyler then gave her a smile "Very well, you may go with them."

Paisley felt as if someone had electrocuted her with as much voltage to kill her. "WHAT?!"

Claria beamed and wagged her tail frantically, as she howled in joyment. While Tyler looked at her sternly. "But, you are to listen to them at all times. They are in charge, obey everyone of their orders. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes father, Crystal Clear." Claria replied.

Tyler then looks at Chase and Marshall. "Chase, Marshall. You are to look after her. Make sure she is safe at all times. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Alpha, we understand completely." Chase assured him.

Paisley was absolutely bewildered. She just got Claria back and now Tyler was going to let her go on this dangerous journey. "DO YOU HAVE BEES IN YOUR BRAIN TYLER?!"

Tyler looked at his mate with sympathy. "Paisley, please. You must under.."

"NO! I AM NOT HAVING ANY OF IT!" She shot back at him, causing him to tense up. "WE JUST GOT HER BACK AND NOW YOU WANT HER TO GO RIGHT BACK INTO THE LION'S DEN?! I CAN'T DO THAT TYLER! I JUST CAN'T! YOU SEEN WHAT THEY LEFT HER AS, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WOULD DO TO HER IF SHE GETS CAUGHT! SHE MAY NOT BE LUCKY THIS TIME!"

Paisley started bawling as Claria went to her and nuzzled her. "Please mother, I know it's dangerous but I'll be fine, I promise."

Paisley calmed down a little to address her girl. "I c-c-can't do th-that sweetie." Paisley nearly broke down as she spoke. "I-I lo-lost you o-once, I don't want to lo-lose y-you again!"

Marshall suddenly interjected himself by running up to the distressed wolf. "Hey, hey. Calm down okay. Would you allow me to say something?"

Strangely enough, Paisley calmed down. Maybe it was those calming and assuring baby blue eyes the dally possessed.

"I know it's going to be hard. Trust me, I know." Marshall stated.

"How? How could you know? Do you have pups of your own?" Paisley responded.

Marshall paused for a bit before he answered. "No, but my mother is exactly like you."

Paisley sat up, as she started paying full attention to Marshall. "My mother is constantly worried about me on my adventures. She constantly insists that I keep in contact with her at least once a week, and whenever I tell her about a dangerous mission that I will be on, she pleads with me not to go."

Marshall stopped for a bit as he tears up about his mother not knowing where he is. "While I may never know what she's truly feeling, I know that she at least trusts me to be safe, and I have a responsibility to make sure I get back home safe and sound for her to see."

Chase was appalled at Marshall's sudden openness. Normally, Marshall didn't talk about his parents like this. It's not a touchy subject, he just doesn't talk about it at all. Especially to strangers.

"I want to promise you something." Marshall started, looking at Paisley as she stared back. "I promise to personally look after her, just for you. Do you accept my promise?"

Paisley sniffed before she responded. "Promise?"

Marshall gave her his trademark smile. "I promise, with these wolves and my best friend as my witness, I won't let anything bad happen to your little girl."

Paisley locked eyes with Marshall and produced a relieving smile of her own. "Okay young pup. I trust you."

"Then it's settled." Chase interjected. Everyone looked at the young German Shepherd. "Tomorrow we will make our way toward ShadowFur, and do our very best to bring back your pups, and your emerald."

The wolves howled in approval, as Tyler hopped back on the altar, "If that's that, This meeting is adjourned."

With that said, every wolf dispersed as Chase went up to Marshall. Soon, they were the only ones out there in the moonlight "You okay buddy?"

Marshall smiled toothy. "Yeah, I'm good."

"That was really brave and courteous of you to do Marshall."

"Yeah, let's just see if I can deliver on that promise."

Chase chuckled a bit. "We can only hope."

---

The sun shone in Claria's eyes, waking her from her peaceful sleep. It was the first time in weeks that she had a good night's sleep for obvious reasons. She stretched her joints and limbs as she got up from her heavenly comfortable moss bedding. She had recovered very quickly from her grounding injuries. Although her body still ached a bit and her tail only started to lose it's swelling, at least she was able to stand and walk without gasping for air.

Claria couldn't have been more excited about today. Today is the day that she proves to her father how strong she really is and how fit she would be to lead the pack one day. How was she going to do that? By helping the Paw Patrol save her pack and restore it to its former glory, possibly the entire wolf race. Though one thing was on her mind since she left the mines, the other pups who were trapped in that awful place with seemingly no way escaping their fate. Many of her friends were among them. Including her best friend, Roxy.

Even though they were in different packs, Claria and Roxy ended up becoming as close as they could be. Normally, they would only see each other during gatherings, as they would play and talk, while the Alpha's discussed matters. But every now and then, they would sneak out in the middle of the night, then play some more, much to the disappointment of their parents. River Rush pack and WoodLand pack didn't mind this friendship, in fact they embraced it. It was a sign of harmony for them, as the two packs now had good relations because of it. There was a short period where they feuded, but Claria's friendship with Roxy ended that. Since then, the packs had nothing but respect for each other, all because of two pups.

Claria wanted so desperately to go and get him before something bad happened to him. He was supposed to go with her, as both of them would've gone back to their packs and acquired their help in pushing out BloodRayne. But he had to sacrifice his freedom to make sure Claria got away safely. She felt bad to know that he is still trapped in there while she was out here. That's why she insisted that she went, so she could save him.

She looked around and noticed that she was the only one in the den. Her father and mother were gone, which saddened her. She wanted to talk to her mother before she left for the mines. Maybe her parents are talking to Chase and Marshall about the journey? There was only one way to find out.

As she walked out of the den she thought about the two rescue pups. She spotted her father at the altar talking with Chase. Probably about the journey they were going on. Over to the right of them was Marshall, who was packing a few things into Chase and his pup packs. She smiled and wagged her tail as she started to approach him.

Out of the both of them, Marshall was probably the one she had the most fondness over. Mainly because Marshall practically stayed by her side to monitor her recovery. She felt safe with him from the moment she saw his calming baby blue eyes. He would also play with her as much as her body would allow her. He was like a big brother that she wished she had, even though she just met him yesterday.

Chase on the other paw, intimidated her. She didn't hate the German Shepherd, but there was something about him that was...off. She wanted to get to know him but every time she would try to talk to him, she would cower from his intimidating face. When she asked Marshall about him, he would say that he was a by the books serious pup, but under all of that, was still very playful and caring, she just had to dig for it. She felt bad about it, especially since he was Marshall's best friend. There must be something the dally saw in him, so she felt she was obligated to at least give him a chance. But that was not the only reason she wanted to be friends with him. His name was very familiar to her. She didn't know why, she had never met the pup before. At least she didn't think so. She wanted to figure out why but was never brave enough under his fearsome eyes. Claria would beat herself up because of this, as Chase didn't do anything to scare her. It was just that face she couldn't get passed. She had to try again. Maybe on the way to ShadowFur, she would get the chance.

"Hey Marshall!" Claria called as she approached him.

The Dalmatian looked up, and smiled. "Oh, hey Claria! Are you ready to go?"

Claria jumped with joy as she answered "You bet I am!"

Marshall smiled at the joyous pup. "That's great!" Marshall takes a look at Claria, as he was inspecting her. He was impressed at the recovery of the young pup. It looked like she was barely hurt from the mines and was ready to take on the world. "Wow, you look amazing, I think it's about time to take those bandages off. Hmm? What do you say?"

Claria barked in agreement with joy.

"Alright, let me get done with this, and I'll take them off."

"Okay Marshall." Claria waited patiently for Marshall to get done with the pup packs. Once he was, he proceeded to remove the bandages. One by one, Marshall removed them and each time, he would be surprised at how each of her wounds were close to being completely healed. "Whoa Claria, It's amazing how fast you recovered. Most dogs have to wait weeks, even months before they are fully healed."

To be completely honest, Claria was amazed too. She couldn't put into words what sped up her recovery. She probably would've died yesterday if Marshall didn't tend to her. This wasn't just a couple cuts and bruises she would get from in the forest. They were straight on critical for the wolf pup. Maybe it was Marshall's care, or maybe she was just plain lucky.

Marshall took this time to survey Claria. Now he could see her appearance more clearly thanks to the wounds being mostly healed. Her coat was gray and silver with skinny cyan blue streaks flowing down to her belly diaganaly. Her paws were also cyan, and her face and underbelly was silver. Marshall admired the look, as it was an interesting sight to say the least. "Wow, you look cool Claria. What's the cyan for?"

"Oh, my stripes and paws? I think it comes with being a River Rush wolf." Claria answered.

"Hmmm, I guess that makes sense." Marshall replied, as he went back to packing the pup packs.

Claria looked on as she had one wolf in her mind. "Hey, Marshall?"

"Hm?" Marshall responded, looking up at her.

"Have you seen my mother? She wasn't in the den when I woke up."

Marshall paused for a bit as he tried to determine where Paisley was. "Hm, I'm not sure, I saw her this morning."

Claria perked up. "You did?"

Marshall tensed up some at the next piece of information. "Y-Yeah, there was something about a wolf dying today."

Claria hangs her head in silence as Marshall crouches down in response to her actions. He gave her a caring smile. "Hey, it's okay, Claria. I know it's hard, but we're going to put a stop to this, alright?"

Claria looked up and returned the smile. "Yeah, we are. Thanks Marshall."

"Anytime Claria." Marshall replied.

Claria turned around to find her mom, but before she left, she turned back around to face Marshall. "Marshall? Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah of course," Marshall sat down in front of her. "What's up?"

Claria breathed hard for a bit. "I just wanted to thank you and Chase for helping us. I don't think we would have ever had a chance without you two."

Marshall chuckled before he responded "Don't start thanking us yet. We haven't even started."

"I know, I know but….still, thanks for at least staying."

"You are most certainly welcome Claria. There would've been no way I would've left you all like this without thinking about it." Marshall charmed.

Claria looked closely as she asked the next question. "Why do you care so much?"

"What do you mean?" Marshall asked back confused.

"I mean, you just met us, and we are not the friendliest race in the world when it comes to visitors. Yet you still want to help us. Why? You don't Have to. You have a home to go to, you have friends who worry about you. Why would you even bother?"

Marshall looked at Claria, as he gave a confident smile. "It's simple Claria, because it's the right thing to do."

Claria looked on as Marshall continued on. "We are Paw Patrol. When most run away from danger, we run towards it for anyone who cries for help and you wolves are no different. There would have been no way we would ever leave you all like this. Not if we can do anything about it. It doesn't matter who you are. The fact of the matter is that you are in trouble. Your entire race is in peril, and you need help. We are that help."

Claria was awestruck as Marshall said his last statement with fire in his eyes.

Marshall got closer to Claria. Still carrying his trademark smile. "Trust me Claria, we are going to help you get your dignity back and if we don't succeed, we will die trying. Because it's simple." His smile somehow grew wider as he finished. "It's the right thing to do."

If Claria didn't admire Marshall then, she practically would worship the ground he walked on now. She suddenly hugged him with tears in her eyes. "Oh Marshall! Thank you! Thank you! It's like you really were sent by Gari!"

Marshall chuckled at Claria's statement. "Like I said, don't thank us yet. We haven't done anything yet,"

Claria let go and proceeded to leave Marshall to his work. "Well I gotta go find my mother. I-I wanna talk to her before we go."

"Ok Claria. Meet us out here when it's time to go."

"I will" Claria replied, as she bounded off towards the edge of the dens. Leaving Marshall to tend to the pup packs.

Claria wanted to find her mom so bad. She felt bad for the way she acted in the wolf's meeting. She didn't want to defy her mother like she did, but she needed to go on this rescue. Roxy was there, and she was damned if she didn't go back and rescue her best friend herself before the BloodRayne wolves killed him.

Still though, she defied her mother, yelled at her, got angry with her, and basically told her that she didn't care what happened to herself. That wasn't something a mother should hear from her pup, and Claria knew it. She had to apologize to her before she left.

She searched every den, looking for her mother, asking various pack mates as she went along, if they had seen her. Some would say they had no clue, some would claim to have seen her and some would say they have but they don't know where she was at the moment. She started getting frustrated as every den produced no answers. She really really wanted to see her mother, but at this rate, she'll never get to talk to her mother before she leaves.

"Claria!" The wolf pup perked her ears as she heard her name be called. She sadly knew it wasn't her Mother, but was still very glad to see him alive, though barely.

Connor came up to her, a very hopeful look on his face. He would be running, but due to his empty stomach, and his bandaged wounds and injuries, he could only limp over to her.

It nearly broke Claria, seeing one of her close mentors so weak and helpless. He'd usually be out and about, helping his pack mates with whatever task they may be doing, but now, Claria was pleasantly surprised to see him walking, let alone be able to speak.

"Hey there Heir, It's so great to see you." The wolf weezed out, barely being able to even sit in front of her. "Are you okay?"

Despite his painful look, Claria gave him a warm smile. "I'm okay Connor, but what about you? You look horrible."

Connor's smile faded, as he furrowed his lips. "I would tell you that I'm okay and that I'll be fine, but I know you wouldn't believe me."

"You bet I won't." Claria replied with sincerity.

Connor suddenly collapses to the ground with a groan, scaring Claria nearly to death as she shoots over to him. "Connor, why are you even out here?! You need to be in your den!"

Connor breathed heavily while he responded. "Yes…...yes…..yes I know….Claria…...trust me…..I wouldn't…..be out here…..if I didn't need….to talk to you."

Claria didn't need the talk to start to know what Connor wanted to talk about. More like what he wanted to ask her. "You want to know about Stella, do you?"

Amidst the pain and suffering the wolf pup could see in him, she could see the anxiousness and optimism for Claria's puphood friend. "Yes Claria, I know most wolves have given you the respect to not bombard you with questions about their young, but…...please…..I have to know…...is my pup alive…..is she safe?"

Claria responded with a somber look at him. Ever since the two were born nearly seconds after the other, they have been linked together and while Roxy was her best friend, Stella was more like a sibling to her. Having been there for her all her life.

Stella of course helped out in Claria and Roxy's escape, having pretended to be dead, drawing attention away from the both of them. The last time she saw her, she was still as a stick, fooling the wolves as best as she could. She didn't know if they found out about her involvement in their escape. If they did, she couldn't imagine the ungodly punishment she's suffering, if she was even still alive. But she of course didn't want to tell Connor that.

"As far as I know Connor, she's still alive, but like all of us, they haven't been choosing any favorites. But she's strong, Connor. She hasn't given up."

Despite the vague explanation Claria gave about Stella, Connor managed to give a prideful smile to her. Although his tears were as sad as can be. "Claria, that girl is all that I have left. If-If she joins the ancients…." Connor painfully paused as his smile faded away. "...I-I'll have nothing but this dying pack…...please….I'm not asking for much….I don't care if I were to die and never see her again….just please…..save her….tell her that her father loves her…...and to always be strong…..like her mother was."

Claria could hardly believe what she was witnessing. It was as if Connor was giving up on himself right in front of her. At first, She didn't know anything that she could say, but then she remembered the talk she had with Marshall earlier. Not particularly what he said, but the attitude he had. It stood out to her more, seeing him completely ignore the danger of the journey, to push on to the very end and never give up.

"Of course Connor. I will find her, and I will save her. But I have to tell you. It would mean the world for her to see you again. As long as she knows you're still kicking, she's sure to kick on herself. Don't ever give up. Be strong like you know she will." Claria told him with cheerfulness.

Connor smiled at her again. "Of course Claria. I know it may seem that I've given up on myself, but I assure you, I'm not. I promised Clary right before she died that I will look after her for as long as she needs me. She's not fully grown yet, so she still needs me. Unless someone tears my body limb from limb, I will never join the ancients until I know she will be alright without me."

"That's very comforting to hear that from you, Connor." Claria gleed. "And Stella knows that as well. Now I'm sorry for shrugging you off, but I really want to find my mother before I go. You want me to help you to your den?"

"No thanks Claria. I'll be fine, right here. I've been laying so much in my den for the past few moons that I sorta want some time outside." Connor declined.

Claria hesitated a little before she went back to finding her mother. "Oh, uh, okay Connor. Whatever you say. Just please, be alive when Stella gets here."

Connor gave her a painful smile. "I will Heir. Trust me…...I will."

Claria looked away, praying to Gari that it wouldn't be the last time she sees him alive. Continuing her search for her mother.

She frantically looked in every den for her, getting frustrated more and more until finally, she found her. Sitting in the Beta's den, looking down at a wolf. Claria reluctantly goes in, sits next to her mother and looks at the downed wolf on his side.

The wolf in question was the wolfpack's Beta, Onclave. Tyler's best friend and Paisley's brother, which of course makes him Claria's uncle. His eyes were closed, his body was still like a rock and his chest was not moving.

"Uncle Onclave!" Claria called softly, closer and closer to breaking apart "No, oh Gari no. Please….."

Paisley wasn't moving an inch, staring at the empty shell that was her brother. "He passed last night in his sleep."

Claria did not respond, she just looked at her now deceased uncle with the most sadness she's ever had. Onclave was a second father to her. When Tyler would be busy with the pack, Onclave would've picked up the slack. He adored the little pup and treated her like she was his own. He didn't have any pups of his own or a mate for that matter. He really didn't care for that stuff, more focused on helping his pack than his dires for love or legacy. To him, Claria was all he needed. He taught the pup everything he knew, from fighting, survival, knowledge of the land, to hunting. But the one thing Claria was most thankful for, was that her uncle kept her friendship with Roxy secret for so long, until Claria herself came out with it. He also played with her and would console her when she would get mad at her parents. Claria loved him very much, and wanted to make him proud of her. But now, It looks like she'll never get that chance.

As for Paisley, it probably hit her the hardest. She loved her brother, as much as she loved Tyler. He was the nicest wolf she ever knew. Whenever she was mad at Tyler, he would be the one to comfort her, then would go after Tyler.

Onclave was also a very cheerful wolf. He would joke around the pack like he was a fool. He never liked to see sad faces and would usually try to help. But when it came to pack business, he was as serious as a heart attack. There was a reason he was the pack's Beta after all. His fighting skills were superb, his knowledge was limitless, and his energy was unlimited. It was all well, until ShadowFur attacked and took the emerald and the pups. He was a different wolf then. The once cheery and uplifting wolf, suddenly turned depressed as a kid with father issues. He rarely left his den and didn't eat much.

He was obviously torn up about Claria being taken and would've gone to ShadowFur himself to go get her, but his injury he had sustained while protecting the camp from the attack prevented him. Since then, he has been grounded to his den. Not that he was willing to get out anyway, not wanting to show weakness. It surprised Paisley to find out that Onclave was the one who found Chase and Marshall and led them here. It was the first time he was out of his den in moons. What was he doing out there? She had no clue.

But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was the tragic scene in front of them. Her brother that she had spent all her life adoring, was now laying down in front of her, never to move or speak again.

"D-Does father know?" Claria asked

Paisley didn't even move when she answered. "Your father was the one who discovered him."

Claria gasped deeply for her father. The two were very best friends as much as she and Roxy were. Back then, you would never see them apart from each other. Tyler trusted Onclave with his life, and would regularly go to him for advice on just about anything. They also played alot in their puppyhood. Eventually Tyler didn't play as much anymore due to his duties as Alpha, but every now and then, they would play like they were young again.

Claria couldn't imagine what was going on in her father's mind right now. But one thing was for sure, it must be pretty hard to lose your best friend like this. That instantly reminded Claria of her own best friend, as she immediately thought of Roxy and whether or not he was alive. She hoped he was or she would be in her father's….

She didn't want to even think of something like that.

She got closer to the body and nuzzled her limp uncle, crying into his fur. "Oh Uncle Onclave, I'm so, so sorry." After a few minutes of nuzzling, she looked at the deceased with tears in her eyes. "I love you."

Paisley went to Claria's side and licked her head to comfort her. "It's okay Claria. He walks with the ancients now."

Claria didn't move as she continued staring at her uncle's closed eyes "Why is this happening to us? Why are we being punished? Did we do something wrong?"

Paisley took a deep breath, as she tried to think of a good answer to say to her distressed pup. "I don't know sweetie. But one thing is for sure.." Claria looked at her mother for her mother suddenly had a smile from out of nowhere. "There is hope for us in the form of two pups."

"You really think Gari sent Chase and Marshall to help us?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Paisley replied. "What matters is that now we have help. In the form of Paw Patrol."

Claria looked back down. Reminded of the reason she wanted to talk to her mother. "I want to apologize for my behavior at the meeting."

Paisley looked at her daughter with calming eyes as Claria went on. "I defied you, yelled at you, went against you, and made you feel that I didn't care what your feelings were."

Claria started tearing up again. "I-I love you mother. I don't ever want you to think that I never cared. I just wanted you to understand why I need to…."

"It's okay Claria, I'm over it." Paisley interrupted, as she nuzzled her pup, still having a smile on her face.

"Don't get me wrong Claria," Paisley interjected. "I still don't want you to go." She nuzzled her again. "But I at least understand why you have to go."

Claria looked into her mother's eyes. She never expected this out of her mother, especially after what happened at the meeting. Then she asked a question that really came out of left field. "Roxy's still there. Isn't he?"

"Wh-wha? H-How did you…."

"Oh please Claria," Paisley responded with a giddy grin. "You must think me a fool to not catch on to why you are fighting so much to go."

Claria chuckled nervously. "It-It's really that obvious. Isn't it?"

Paisley nodded as she asked the next question. "Claria, tell me, do you love him?"

Claria's body froze at that question blushing at the thought of having feelings for Roxy. Don't get her wrong, maybe one day, but I wasn't sure yet. She just enjoyed playing, talking, and just having him around.

Claria swallowed as she answered the difficult question. "Um….I don't know. Im...not sure.'' She then looks back into her mother's eyes. "A-An't I too young for that?"

Paisley hugged Claria. "Yes, I know that's what you think now Claria. But let me tell you something, love has no age restrictions, it can come at any time." She then let go of her as she stared at the girl. "I just hope you don't let it control you. And then you end up hurting yourself, I learned that the hard way."

In relation to this, Paisley turned to show a long scar going across the right side of her body. A few years ago, before Claria was born and before Tyler became Alpha, a bear was on its way to the River Rush camp to raid it for food. Tyler met the bear and had a fierce battle with it. Unfortunately, the bear was too much, critically wounding him. Before it could finish him off, Paisley charged in blindly to save her friend. Due to her running in alone, she ended up being wounded herself, worse than Tyler. It was said that Tyler, through his own wounds, protected the downed body of Paisley until Onclave and the other wolves arrived. Paisley never forgot that day, where she acted out on her feelings and she didn't want Claria to make that same mistake.

Claria looked at the scar closely. She was told the story countless times so much that she could probably act it out in a performance. Her mother and father were just friends at that time. Until the day after when her mother woke up and was greeted by an overjoyed Tyler and him confessing his love to Paisley. How ironic considering that Paisley's actions were an act of love. She was pretty sure her mother said the same thing she said about Roxy. Not looking for any sort of a romantic relationship. But seeing the subject in question in near death, probably throws all doubts out the window to save the one you love apparently. Is that what her mother is talking about? She never really thought about Roxy like that. She always considered him a friend. She did have some….feelings but she felt that they were not strong enough. Then again, that's what her mother probably said a few years ago. Then suddenly, boom….scar. Maybe that's what….

"Claria?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay sweetie?"

Claria shook her head to put away her deep thoughts. "Huh? Oh yeah mother, I'm okay. I guess I was in deep thought after you told me…."

"Oh Claria, don't think too much about your feelings. You're too young. You'll just go around in circles."

"Then why did you bring it up?"

"I just want to make sure you have a clear head, and you're not acting out on emotion like I did." Paisley responded.

Claria smiled at her mother. "Don't worry about me mom, Chase and Marshall won't let me do something like that."

Paisley smiled back, as they hugged again. Claria spoke with so much sympathy. "Do you accept my apology mom?"

"Of course I do Claria." Pasley started licking her softly. "I love you sweetie."

"But mom, I yelled at you, it's me who…"

"Claria, I yelled at you too. And I doubted your spirit. But taking a good look at you now, proves that I was wrong I just….didn't want to lose you."

Claria let go of her mother, and gazed at her with her magenta eyes. "Mom, I know I'm not a hundred percent, I know it's super dangerous, but I'm willing to push through with it."

Paisley gazed back as she listened on. "I'm not just doing this to prove I can lead the pack on my own, I'm not just doing this to save Roxy, I'm doing this to rescue our way of life. Our dignity, and our piece of mind is at stake. The BloodRayne wolves want to bowl over us and laugh it off as if we can't defend ourselves? Well they got another thing coming. We are going to show them what happens when you threaten our existence! We lost too many wolves to just lay down and accept defeat. We are River Rush, Mom. We have survived for as old as time itself. I am not willing to give up all of that history just so some low life meanie wolves can claim dominance. Not while I am alive and kicking. I am going to show those BloodRayne wolves just where they are messing with. And with the Paw Patrol's help, I would say that there will be nothing but success In front of us. That is why I'm doing this mom, I'm doing this to be the wolf I'm supposed to be!"

Paisley looked at Claria with the utmost full of pride. It seems that she, Tyler, and Onclave taught her well.

She rested her paw on Claria's shoulder as she replied. "I have faith in you. Your father has faith in you. Onclave had faith in you. The pack has faith in you, and I have no doubt in my mind that even the ancients have faith in you. You've really grown up to be a responsible wolf, young one." She forms tears in her eyes, but this time of pride and joy, giving Claria one last big hug. "Just promise me one thing."

Claria formed tears of her own as she hugged back. "What is it mother?"

"Please…..come back safe. I can't go through losing you."

Claria formed the biggest smile on her face, accepting the promise from the bottom of her heart. "Yes, I promise mother, . . Better than ever."

They stayed in the hug for a few minutes, never wanting to let go of each other. A figure then appears at the entrance smiling at the sight. That figure was the Alpha, Tyler, who had come to acquire Claria. The two wolves let go of each other as they faced the Alpha, ready to receive his words.

"The two pups are ready to go to Claria, I suggest you go join them."

"Yes father." Claria acknowledged, as she made her way out of the den. Before she walked out, she looked at her father's beaming face. Gazing at his eyes that were in pain and sorrow. Knowing what this meant, Claria suddenly embraced her father as tight as she could. Tyler was taken by surprise as Claria then started to sob into his fur. "Oh father! I'm so so sorry about Uncle Onclave! He was the best uncle ever!"

Tyler hugged Claria back tightly as he teared up himself. "It's o-okay Claria. Uncle Onclave is one with the ancients now."

Claria held on for a little bit before finally letting go and running out of the den. Paisley appeared next to Tyler as he waited to make sure Claria was out before he himself sobbed into his mate's fur.

Claria bounded out of the Beta's den looking around for Chase and Marshall. She finally spotted the German Shepherd near the front of the camp, putting on his pup pack. She smiled as she ran over to him.

"Hey Chase!"

Chase turned around and saw the pup skit to a halt as he addressed him. "Hey Claria. Ready to go?"

Claria wagged her tail. "You bet I am."

"Good. now we just need to wait on Marshall." Chase said, as he looked around for the dally. "Where is that spotted but anyway?"

"Coming! Coming!"

Claria and Chase looked around until they found the pup in question speeding towards them.

"Sorry! I forgot some...whoa!" Marshall suddenly tripped on his paws as he then started to roll towards Claria. Chase, not wanting Claria to get caught up in the wipeout, pulled her closer to him, making Marshall shoot right past them.

Claria regained his posture and looked where Marshall was heading. He was heading towards the altar in front of the Alpha's den!

"Marshall! Look out!" She called.

It was too late though, Marshall was at an uncontrollable speed and he couldn't stop. The only thing he could do was to brace for impact.

"Whoooooooa, ahhh!" Marshall screamed as he got closer to the altar. Until finally…

Crash!

Marshall slams face first into the altar. Causing every wolf in the camp to look on with horror. Marshall didn't move as he was stunned for a bit.

"MARSHALL!" Claria called, running towards him. "Are you okay?"

Chase however, was the only one not concerned. After a few seconds, he started counting aloud. Bobbing his head at each number. "3…2…1...annnnd….."

"Yeah, I'm Okay."

Claria stood stunned herself to see the dally get up like it was nothing. "A-A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Marshall replied, his head still spinning in his mind as his eyes had double vision. He looked at Claria and got confused. "Huh? Claria? When did you get a twin sister?"

"What?" Claria replied, "I never had…"

"Marshall." Chase called with an annoyed tone yet trying not to burst out laughing. "Quit monkeying around and let go."

Upon hearing that, Marshall shook his dizziness away as he suddenly stood ready and willing. "Right, sorry."

Claria was not paying attention, her mind was still on Marshall's very hard wipe out. Trying to make sense out of it. "Huh? Wha? But? What?"

"What's wrong?" Marshall asked.

Claria Finally just gave up. "What! Oh I give up! Yes I'm ready."

Chase and Marshall laugh a bit at the confused pup. Chase then turns around and faces the way out of the camp. He motioned Claria with his tail to go on ahead of them.

Claria did just that, and led the way for Chase and Marshall. When she got to the edge of the camp, she looked back at the Beta's den, looking for her mother and father who were standing outside the den, watching her leave for the journey. She licked the air, to signal that she loved them as the two did the same to her. She then turned around and made her way out of the camp with Paw Patrol on her tail.

As they watch the three pups disappear into the forest, Tyler then feels Paisley nuzzling him to no end. "What's wrong Paisley?"

"I have a funny feeling that we are never going to see her again."

Tyler responded by giving comforting licks to Paisley. "Let's hope that's not the case Delta." He too looked at the same spot with worriedness.

"Good luck Paw Patrol."

---

Claria's anxiety was as high as the clouds while she followed Chase through the forest. They had been walking for what felt like days and only resting about once or twice due to Chase's way of trekking on. It didn't really bother her except for the fact that they didn't talk much, which was a surprise for Claria. Surely, there would have been something to talk about right?

She looked around the forest and took in the beautiful nature she loved to see. Due to the state of the forest. It was pretty obvious that they were getting closer and closer to Shadowfur. It wasn't perfect, but it looked more lively than her pack's camp. Trees were healthy, animals would pop out every now and then, and the grass was green as a dollar bill. It was what Wintergreen was supposed to look like, in comparison to the state of the other parts of the country right now.

For most of the trip, Claria guided them through the forest with her knowledge of the land, but as soon as it started to go dark, She let Chase take the lead with his flashlight, and guided him with her words. She actually really enjoyed being behind Chase more, mostly to be close to Marshall, who was all the way in the back.

He would be next to her, if it hadn't been for the occasional tree branch he would smack his head on, as with the tree roots he would trip over, landing on his face almost every time, much to the annoyance of Chase, who just wanted to make as much progress as they could. Claria would go to help him every time, but before she could even get a chance, Marshall would shoot back up and say either "I'm okay" or "I'm good." After a while, Claria would get used to it and would even laugh at him. Though she would still go over to him to at least check. Chase would roll his eyes and sigh, as he would have to stop to make sure Marshall was alright, and to make sure they kept up. He'd sometimes give a chuckle, mostly the first two times, but after a while, he started getting very annoyed.

"Come on Marshall." He said, after Marshall tripped over a root for probably the tenth time. "I know you're better than this."

"I'm sorry Chase." Marshall replied. "But it's starting to get really dark. I can hardly see where I put my paws."

Even though Marshall was obviously correct, there was still a little more light shining through the trees. Chase thought they could go a little bit more before the sun went down completely. "Don't worry buddy, just a bit father and we will stop for the night."

"Okay Chase," Marshall said cheerfully, as he got up on his paws, to continue on. "Lead the way!"

Chase grinned at his friend's loyalty, before he turned around and continued on, with Claria and Marshall in tow.

Claria's mind dwelled on the German Shepherd in front of her. This was her chance! Her one chance to talk to him and become friends. She took a deep breath as she caught up to him. As long as he didn't look at her or she didn't look at him, this would go smoothly. She kept pace with him while looking straight forward, making sure that he wasn't in her sight. Chase noticed her and turned his head to look at her. "Hey Claria. What's up?"

Claria didn't hear him as she was in deep thought. 'He's looking at me! He's looking at me! He's looking right at me! Okay, just calm down Claria! Just don't look at him! Don't look at him! Don't look at him!' Although she was saying this in her head to keep herself from looking, something possessed her to do just that, as she turned her head to where she was looking straight into his amber eyes. Causing her to see that intimidating face again. 'You looked at him! Why did you look at him!' she cursed in her mind, as she suddenly started to cower like she would do before.

Chase was oblivious to this as he now grew concerned for the pup. "Claria? Anything wrong?"

"Huh? N-No, I-I'm O-Okay!" Claria replied, somewhat lying, as inside, she was freaking out.

"You sure?" Chase said, as he raised an eyebrow.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good." Claria quickly regained her composure as she took a deep breath. "Come on Claria! There's no turning back now! Just ask him something, but what do I ask him?' "Um…..so…your name is Chase?"

Really? That's it? That's the question she could ask him? She resisted the urge to slam her head in a tree for that dumb question. 'Might as well ask him if he was a dog! Oh what a stupid question Claria! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

For Claria's sake, Chase was able to rescue this awkward disaster by smiling toothly and by cracking a joke. "Uhh yeah at least I think it is."

Claria chuckled as she suddenly relaxed. "Oh that's good. Heh heh." She gulped down hard as she thought about the next question. "Um, so uh, you're a police pup?" She was more satisfied with that question than the last one, but not that much.

Chase kept his smile on as he looked back and forth between what's in front of him, and the nervous wolf. "Well yeah, been one almost all my life."

"That's cool." she paused for a bit before she asked another one. "Um…..what's a police pup?"

Chase was a little surprised at the question, but then understood Claria's Ignorance. These wolves are not familiar with human and dog customs. So it probably would make sense that she didn't know what police are. "Well, to put it simply. A police pup makes sure everyone is safe and in order."

Claria's nervousness went away as she resonated this with her way of life. "Oh, like a Beta?"

"Beta?" Chase asked, as he became curious. "What's a Beta?"

"You don't know what a Beta is?" Claria asked, appalled.

"Well, I'm not from around here so...yeah."

Claria smiled as she explained. "Well a Beta is the wolf who helps the Alpha keep order around a pack. He or she also makes sure the pack is safe and organizes the hunts and events that go on in the pack."

"Hm, I guess that is what a police pup does, now that I think about it. So, who is your Beta?"

"The long and winding road"

Claria's face fell to the floor when she heard the question, as she suddenly thought about her uncle.

"That leads to your door."

Chase saw this and felt concerned. "Claria? What's wrong? You have a Beta, right?"

She tears up as she tries to speak. "We-We had one. I-It was my U-Uncle." She was about a hair away from breaking down at that statement. "H-He p-passed away l-last night."

"Will never disappear."

Chase drooped his ears when he heard Claria. "Oh…that's..that's….so sad...I'm sorry."

"No, (Sniff) it's okay, he walks with the ancients now."

"I've seen that road before."

Chase tilted his head. "Ancients? What are ancients?"

"It always leads me here."

Claria stumbled on the question as she never had to answer a question like that before. "Um...It's a little complicated but, ancients are a pack where all wolves go when they….you know."

"Lead me to your door."

"Yes I do," Chase said, nodding his head. "Please...continue."

"The wild and windy night"

"Well, when we pass, we join them, and help Gari watch over the packs."

"That the rain washed away"

"Gari? That's your goddess, right?" Chase assumed. "The one who created the Wolf's emeralds"

Claria gasped At Chase's knowledge of Gari. "Wha? Y-Yeah. She is. H-How did you know that?"

Chase smiled. "Why should I not know that? We're helping you after all. we won't get anywhere if we don't know about your race's culture."

Has left a pool of tears

Chase's answer, while fulfilling enough, left a wide hole for Claria to dig into. It really fascinated her how Chase seemed to know who Gari was and what their emerald was.

Crying for the day.

Before she could go down that rabbit hole, she suddenly noticed a faint singing coming from behind her. It was beautiful. Like an angel was singing.

Why leave me standing here.

"Do you hear that?" Claria asked.

"What?" Chase asked.

"That singing. Don't you hear it." Claria asked, very curious as to where it was coming from.

Let me know the way.

Chase knew who it was but tried to play dumb to stop Claria from finding out who it was. "Oh that? Just ignore it."

"What?" Claria asked back. "Why? It sounds like it's coming from…."

Claria looked behind her and saw Marshall completely oblivious to the conversation in front of them. Singing beautifully to no one in particular.

Many times I've been alone

And many times I've cried

Anyway you'll never know

The many ways I've tried.

"Marshall?" Claria said softly.

"Don't acknowledge it please." Chase requested.

"Why? He's good." Claria replied. "Really good."

"Trust me, don't acknowledge it. Leave him alone." Chase insisted.

And still lead me back

To the long and winding road…

"Marshall." Claria suddenly called.

"YIPE!" Marshall cowered to the ground, shaking his tail off.

"Marshall? Was that you singing?" Claria asked the scared Dalmatian.

Marshall battled out his words as his voice was weavering in the air. "Huh? Y-Yeah u-um yeah. I-I'll stop."

"No please, sing some more." Claria begged. "You're amazing!"

"No!" Marshall blurted out, fearfully. He clears his throat before he speaks. "No, I'm good. I don't want to sing anymore."

"What? Why?" Claria replied, trying to convince him to sing.

"I JUST DON'T WANT TO OKAY!?" Marshall yelled, causing Claria to cower a little bit away from him.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry! I-I just wanted you to sing some more." Claria croaked out

Marshall realized what he did. "I-I-I'm sorry I just don't want to. Okay."

"Alright you two, we need to get going." Chase stated.

"But Mar…." Claria started.

Chase then leans over to Claria as he whispers to her. "Just drop it okay?"

Claria whispered back "But I would love to….."

"Sorry Claria," Chase interrupted, "You screwed up after I told you not to acknowledge it. He's not going to sing now that he knows you were listening to him."

Claria's ears drooped at that comment. She looked at Marshall as he was still crouched, though he had stopped shaking. She then looks at Chase and sighs in defeat. "Okay, let's continue."

Chase nodded as he turned to Marshall. "Alright buddy. Let's keep going."

"Oh-okay Chase." Marshall replied, as he raised back up onto his paws and started walking when Chase and Claria started moving.

Claria hung her head as she walked. Still hung up about not being able to hear Marshall sing. She didn't want to talk to Chase anymore. She just wanted to stay silent and continue to trek. Although, if she was quiet enough and listened closely, she could hear Marshall singing again. Very, very softly.

Yesterday.

All my troubles seemed so far away.

---

An hour passed as It was now very dark with Chase's spotlight the only way the group could see clearly. Claria was very closely following the Shepherd by sight alone. As for Marshall, he was somehow following closely behind the group while singing and dancing if they could believe it. Amazingly, he was dancing all through the dark with not a care in the world. He was really into the song he was singing. Claria stayed silent this time, as she didn't want to ruin it this time. She just let him sing.

When I was younger so much younger than today

I never needed anybody's help in many ways

But now these days are gone I'm not so self assured

Now I've find, I've changed my mind and opened up the doors

Help me if you can I'm feeling down

And I do appreciate you feeling round

Help me get my feet back on the ground

Won't you please, please help me, help me, help me oooooo

After the last note, Marshall opened his eyes to find Chase and Claria staring at him with open mouths. His smile faded, his nerves shot up, and he started shaking again. He crouched to the ground like a scared little puppy. "S-S-S-Sorry, I uh….I got carried away."

"Come on buddy, how can you be embarrassed after that?" Chase broke the silence. "That's probably the best singing I've ever heard."

"Really? Come on Chase, I'm not that good." Marshall said back. Although he was smiling through his nerves at the compliment.

"Are you kidding Marshall? That was the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. It was like the flowers and grass were singing along with you." Claria added.

Marshall's smile returned fully as he looked at Claria. "Heh. Thanks Claria. That means alot to me actually."

"Can you sing some more please?" Claria requested.

"Gee, I-I don't know if i can right now, I'm kindahoooaaahtired right now. How much farther Chase?"

Chase turned his spotlight back on and looked forward. "I want to get at least a little bit farther. Somewhere more open than this."

"Okay Chase," Marshall got back upon all fours and smiled confidently. "Right behind you."

Chase smiled back as the only one who was not smiling was poor Claria. She really enjoyed Marshall's singing and wanted to hear more of it. But it looks like she'll have to wait till tomorrow to get a chance to hear it again. She droops as she responds "Alright, Me too."

The three started walking through the dark forest again with only the sight of Chase guiding them. A few meters passed as Marshall broke the silence in a hushed tone. "Um…..Chase?"

Chase continued to walk forward as he responded. "Yeah buddy?"

"I uh….I gotta pee." Marshall announced.

Chase stopped immediately which made poor Claria run into him "What? Now?"

"Yes now!" Marshall replied.

"Why didn't you go when we were resting last?" Chase replied back.

"Oh come on Chase! That was two hours ago." Marshall argued. "And I didn't need to go then!"

Chase sighed. "Ok, Go ahead."

Marshall wagged his tail softly. "Thanks Chase, I'll be right back." After that, He bounded off to the side to go pick a tree.

"Don't go too far now!" Chase called as he watched him disappear into the woods. He then looked at Claria who was now patiently waiting for the dally to get back.

Chase couldn't get one thing off his mind about her. Her courage and bravery. Three days ago, she was closer to death than anything Chase ever saw. Chase thought that even with Marshall's care, it would've been ages before she would've even been able to walk. But a mere day later, she was all fine and dandy, ready to go. She was really determined to go with them to the Shadowfur camp. Which Chase also found weird considering that he expected her to not want to go anywhere near the camp or mines as she called it. That's another thing, what would wolves need with a mine? How did they even get a mine in the first place? As far as he knew, there was no human interference here. So where did they learn to build a mine?

Chase would probably get the answer to his questions later. Right now, he was curious about Claria's determination to go to the Mines. "Hey Claria?"

Claria jumped at the mention of her name. "Ah!"

"You okay?" Chase asked, concerned.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm, F-Fine" Claria replied super nervous. "W-Whats up-p?"

Chase raised his eyebrow at her answer. He of course noticed that nearly every time she would talk to him and he would try talking to her, Claria would clench up and be as nervous as Marshall with stage fright. It was like she was scared of him, which he had no Idea why. All that he has said were one word conversations like "Hey" and "Bye". She would sound like Chase was interrogating her. He didn't do anything to scare her did he?

Chase never saw himself as an Intimidator. Yeah he would get under the skins of criminals he would catch live Bubba, But when he was off duty, he was relaxed and calm, willing to have fun with his friends. Neither one of them would be scared of him. Nor would anybody he would rescue. So what's going on here?

Chase decided to push that into the back of his mind for right now and to focus on his original topic. "Ooookay um, I've been wanting to ask you something."

"Hm? W-What is it Chase?" Claria asked, still staring at Chase.

"Why were you so set on going with us? I would think that after going through all of that torture, you wouldn't want anything to do with it. But here you are going back to that same horrible place. Why?" Chase asked softly, trying not to scare Claria anymore that he apparently has.

"Huh? Oh! That! Heh! It's um. It's because I wanna help my pack, that's why." Claria answered.

Chase raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "Really? Is that it?"

"Y-Yeah!" Claria replied nervous as all hell. "Th-Thats it." She looked at Chase who was still suspicious. Claria stood her ground, but after a bit, she caved in due to that damn intimidating face. "Oh okay okay fine! That's not all. There's another reason."

"What is it?" Chase replied.

Claria swallowed before she spoke. "My best friend is trapped there and I want to save him myself, because I promised him I would."

"Oooh, I see." Chase replied. "What's his name?"

"Roxy." Claria answered "The Alpha-Heir of the WoodLand. That's my best friend in the world."

Chase's ears perked up, his tail wagging like crazy at the mention of his friend. "Roxy? You know Roxy?"

Claria was surprised at Chase's reaction "You know Roxy?!"

---

Marshall walked from tree to tree, trying to find a suitable spot relief himself. He was a bit away from Chase and Claria, but as long as he remembered where he was, he should be able to find his way back. He sniffed like a mad dog for the spot, like Chase would to track the target. Finally after what seemed like forever, he found one tree suitable, and got into position.

"Yes, finally" He said aloud, finally able to release the flood gate on his bladder. He had been holding it in since the first rest. He sighed in relief as he did his business. Once he was done he started walking back to Chase and Claria, only one problem. "Um, which way did I come from again?"

While he was sniffing the ground, he completely forgot which way he came from. He started to panic, but only a little bit as he looked around trying to remember where he came from. Then, a rabbit appeared in front of him, twinkling his nose at him. "Oh, hey little rabbit, can you help me find my friends?"

The rabbit stared at him with a blank face and started to hop around him very quickly.

"He he, you like to hop huh?"

The rabbit then started hopping away from Marshall quickly.

"Hey! Where are you going little rabbit?" Marshall called. "Don't you wanna play. With me?"

He bounded off after the rabbit, completely forgetting about his situation. "Hey! Arf! Arf! Come back! I want to Play! Ruff! Ruff!"

Marshall followed the rabbit as he barked the whole time. Unbeknownst to him, a trap was laid for any unsuspecting creature to spring it.

---

"How do you know Roxy?" Claria asked very curiously.

"I met him last year, when I had to help him and his pack." Chase answered.

"Oh!" Claria blurted out, as it finally clicked in her mind. "That's right! You were one of the pups Roxy said helped his pack secure their wolf's emerald! That's where I heard your name before! Roxy talked about you and two others!"

"Yep, that's right!" Chase said proudly. He then started interrogating her about him. "How is he? Is he safe? What happened to him?"

Claria's ears drooped and she hung her head.

Chase felt a pit in his stomach. "No. D-Don't tell me…."

Claria spoke up, almost crying. "I-I uh, I..I don't know what happened to him, I don't even know if he is still alive. He was supposed to escape with me, so we can go warn the packs, but he sacrificed his freedom so that I could go free." she started to sob softly. "Oh Roxy…."

As she sobbed, Chase's heart twisted into knots. Roxy was a very, very close friend. Last year, Chase was in a dark place. His best friend was taken from him for a full year and it nearly killed him. Marshall was in a near fatal accident that caused him to have amnesia and went missing for an entire year. At the time of the Wintergreen trip, Chase didn't know he was still alive. For all the Paw Patrol knew, Marshall was dead.

It was the worst year ever for him, as he had to go an entire year without talking, playing, or even crying to Marshall. He was in pure agony at that point until a wolf pup named Roxy showed up at the Lookout, needing help from them.

Mayor Humdinger was causing trouble apparently. So Chase, Rocky, and Zuma went to take care of it, with Skye and Rubble staying behind to tend to a critically injured Ryder at the time. During that time, Roxy opened his mind wide open, and he needed it so badly. After that, Chase was "okay", definitely better than he was.

Things did turn better obviously, with them finding Marshall and everything went back to the way it was. He always credited Roxy in helping straighten his mind, and would often wonder how he was doing. But after hearing Claria, it sounded like things were bad for Roxy. Still, Chase put on a confident smile and looked at Claria with pride. He knew how it felt to worry about your best friend and being without him. He wasn't going to let Claria suffer like he did. "Don't you worry Claria."

Claria looked at Chase the same way she had looked at Marshall two days ago in her den. "I'm positive that Roxy is still alive, and I promise, we will save him. Got it?"

Claria nodded awestruck at the German Shepherd. She had no more doubts in her mind now about him. Not only was he a good friend of Roxy's, but he had the same determination she saw in Marshall when he announced that the Paw Patrol was going to help. She chuckled a little bit as she cracked a smile. "He he. You two sure do like to make bold promises. Huh."

Chase chuckled back as he responded. "Heh, well you know, It aint worth promising if we don't follow…."

"AHHHHHH!"

"What was that?!" Claria blurted out.

Chase quickly shot past Claria, nearly slipping her off her paws. "Whoa! H-Hold on!"

"Marshall's in trouble! Come on!"

Chase ran as fast as he could to where he heard Marshall scream. Claria right behind him was just as concerned as he was. Well, maybe not as much as he was, but she was really worried.

Chase sniffed the ground furiously. Sniffing for any trace of Marshall's scent. He caught something as familiar as the clear blue sky. He smelled some more and then sped to the source. Leaving Claria behind them.

"Hey! Wait for me!" She called annoyed as she sped after him.

Chase followed the scent until it led him to something that made his heart drop. Marshall's fire helmet was laying on the ground upside down, with no Marshall in sight. Chase frantically went over to it, and gave it a good couple of sniffs. It was the end of the trail, and Marshall was missing. Chase panicked as he looked around furiously. "MARSHALL! MARSHALL! WHERE ARE YOU BUDDY!?"

"Up here!"

Chase sped around and saw Marshall hanging in the air in what appears to be a makeshift net made out of vines. He was laying on his belly with his left foreleg dangling through a hole in the net. He had a dumb look on his face as he nervously smiled.

"Marshall." Chase said, annoyed. "What are you doing up there?"

"Oh you know me, jush uh, hanging out." Marshall joked.

Claria sat right next to him. First she was relieved, then she had a difficult time trying to resist laughing but giggles leaked out, as she was barely holding it in.

"Marshall, I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" Chase asked, almost snickering himself.

"Hey! Not my fault someone put a trap in my way!" Marshall replied.

Claria spoke up while laughing "Marshall, we put those there to trap invaders."

"Well I'm glad this is not a fatal one." Marshall stated.

"Yeah, or else I would have to scrape you off of that tree." Chase replied.

All three of them laughed at Chase's joke before they finally settled down.

"Okay, if we're all done laughing, can someone please uh, get me down?" Marshall requested.

"Heh, heh, sure thing buddy." Chase accepted as he went to the piece of rope that was holding the trap. "Just let me figure this out."

"Just grab it and pull Chase." Claria informed, as Chase grabbed the rope, and pulled it hard. "No! Not that hard!"

Chase didn't hear her in time. Marshall dropped straight down and landed on his head. "WHOA! OOF!"

Chase, after realizing what he did, ran over to Marshall to check on him. "Aw shucks Marshall, are you okay?!"

Marshall raised his head and was super dizzy. His head was tilting around with his eyes going in indifferent circles. "Yeah, I'm good." He then plopped his head back down as Chase announced the following message.

"Think we'll camp here tonight,"

---

Two tents stood on each side of the little camp, facing each other, as a campfire burned slowly in the center. In front of it were Chase and Marshall playing cards

The card game was tense with the both of them trading wins back and forth all night with each win rewarding with a treat. They were playing five card draw, and The two just drew their replacements, as they settled their cards in their paws. Chase stared at Marshall intensely, while Marshall returned it with a smile on his face.

"Alright Chase, whatcha got?" Marshall said, not letting up on his stare.

Chase returned his tense smile when he revealed his card, showing three sixes and two kings. "Three of a kind and a pair." Chase's smile turned to a smug as Marshall's smile seemed to have faded. But it returned when he revealed his cards. It was a jack, queen, ace, king, and a ten.

"Ha! Beat you again! Royal flush!" Marshall exclaimed excitedly, as he took a treat from the combined pile beside them. "You better step it up Chase, or I'll wind up with the whole pile!"

"What are you talking about Marshall? I've won just as much as you have." Chase replied. As he gathered the cards to deal the next hand.

"Not these past four times Chase." Marshall chimed.

"Whatever Marshall." Chase shrugged, as he started dealing the cards.

Claria then appeared holding a freshly killed rabbit she had caught a little ways from Chase and Marshall. "Anyone want this rabbit? Just caught it, so it's fresh."

"No thanks Claria, I already ate." Chase answered.

"M-Me neither Claria, I'll eat something else." Marshall answered himself, nervously.

"What? Come on Marshall. It's delicious." Claria begged.

"S-Sorry Claria, I uh, I can't eat food that looks at me." Marshall revealed. "Especially if it's so cute."

"Uh okay, suit yourself." Claria replied, as she started eating.

Marshall turned back at the card game, trying not to look at Claria eating. While he wasn't particularly picky about his food, he did have some boundaries that he wouldn't cross. He was fine with meat a little, but he really didn't like when his food was looking at him. It reminded him of the sacrifice that had to be made for that particular meal to happen. Especially if it was a very cute animal that Marshall adored. He would never go anywhere near it.

Chase finished dealing the cards and began studying the ones that he had while Marshall did the same. Claria looked up from the meal. "So, um, how long have you two been friends?"

"There's no telling at this point Claria," Chase answered. "We've been friends for so long."

"Yeah, I don't even remember when we first met." Marshall added.

"How did you two meet?" Claria asked.

Chase took his eyes off of his cards and looked at Claria. "That's an interesting story."

"Do you really need to tell Chase?" Marshall said, embarrassed.

"Oh come on buddy, it's not that humiliating." Chase replied.

"Huh? What happened?" Claria said.

Chase looked at Marshall, waiting for approval. He wasn't going to tell it if Marshall didn't want to share. Marshall nodded with a sigh signaling to go ahead and tell it.

Chase smiled as he looked at the curious wolf pup. "Well, you might now know this but, Marshall back then, was a bit of a dumpster diver."

Claria was a bit confused by the term. "Dumpster diver?"

Chase was about to explain, but Marshall cut in and explained himself. "It's someone who digs into the trash and salvages anything they could find to sustain themselves."

Claria felt bad about what Marshall told her. She couldn't imagine Marshall being so lonely. "Didn't you have parents Marshall?"

"I did. Still do, but…" Marshall stopped himself. Chase placed his paw on Marshall's shoulder, soothing him before he clenched up at the memory.

Claria then remembered the conversation Marshall had with her mother in the den. "Oh yeah, you ran away. Didn't you?"

"Yeah…...I did." Marshall replied. While in deep thought of him running away from his parents. The story was so painful for Marshall. Even though it was resolved, It still haunted him and it probably will for the rest of his life. He didn't want to tell it, no matter who he was telling it to.

"A-Anyway," Chase blurted out, changing the subject, with Marshall giving him a thank you look. "Marshall seemed to love my owner's dumpster."

"Hey! You guys threw out a lot of good stuff.!" Marshall retorted.

"Okay Rocky, settle down." Chase teased.

Marshall laughed at the joke, with Claria obviously didn't get it. She ignored it for now, as she was more interested in the story. "So, you dug in their garbage?"

"Yeah, but at first, I thought it was a raccoon, until I finally caught him one night." Chase continued the story.

"Wait, you thought I was a raccoon?" Marshall interrupted. "I thought you said I was a possum."

"Marshall, does it really matter what I thought you were?" Chase replied, annoyed.

Marshall thought about it before he answered. "No, I guess it would make sense though if you thought I was a raccoon rather than a possum."

Chase smiled as he looked at the dally. "Yes. Now, can I please continue?"

"Oh, heh heh, sorry Chase." Marshall chuckled nervously. "You can go on."

"Thanks." Chase said, as he looked back at Claria. "Anyway, I finally caught him after weeks of our trash being raided."

"And then you two met and have been friends ever since?" Claria assumed.

Marshall chuckled as he took over. "Well not exactly, you see, Chase didn't like me at first."

"What? Really? Why?" Claria asked.

Chase sorta averted his eyes a little."I thought he was a criminal, and I did not like criminals. Still don't to this day and at the time I thought of Marshall no different. So I guess you can imagine how I felt when Ryder wanted to keep him, and his father let him."

"I can still remember the tricks you pulled to get Ryder's dad to kick me out!" Marshall stated while laughing.

Chase however, wasn't laughing. He had an enormous frown on his face. It didn't mean anything now, since it was water under the bridge now, but Chase still felt really bad for all the stunts he pulled to get rid of Marshall. "Yeah, that wasn't exactly my finest hour."

Chase whined until Marshall responded with sympathy. "Hey, it's okay Chase. It was years ago, and you don't think that stuff any more. It doesn't affect me at all." Marshall then suddenly started laughing again. "In fact, it makes me laugh to think of all the failed attempts to kick me out. Still brings a smile to my face to this day."

"Really? Could you tell me some?" Claria asked curiously.

"I would, but we would be here all night. Plus I dont want to torture Chase anymore, so I'll leave it at that."

Claria drooped in disappointment "Awwwwww."

"Anyway!" Chase blurted out. "It wasn't until Ryder's family went on a family trip and my dad conveniently had to go on an assignment. They left us at the house for three days alone. I couldn't stand it at first but eventually, I warmed up to him. I started having the most fun I ever had in my life with Marshall and the rest is history."

"Yep, now we're best friends, ready to take on anything that stands in front of us." Marshall added, Smiling as wide as a banana. "Not even the worst of fights could ever separate us."

Chase smiled proudly. "You got that right buddy!" The both of them high pawed each other as they went back to their card game.

Claria adored seeing this. It sorta reminded her of her friendship with Roxy. Their friendship was natural and smooth as butter. It was clear as day, that their friendship will never ever, ever, break.

Chase dealt the cards again as another round started. But before they could really start, Marshall noticed something that he could not ignore. "Hey! Chase! You're cheating!"

"What?! What do you mean?!" Chase replied confused as Marshall pointed a paw at him.

"Don't play dumb with me Chase," Marshall said back. "Don't act like I can't see the extra card that you have!"

Upon hearing this, Chase looked at his cards and sure enough, he had one extra card than he needed in his paw. He looks at Marshall like he had a smoking gun. "It-It was a mistake!"

"Yeah, Yeah, tell it to the judge Chase. I caught you red pawed." Marshall replied.

Claria looked up from her rabbit to find the same best friends, arguing with each other. "Um….Guys?"

Chase and Marshall didn't listen as they were too focused at proving their points. "I can't believe you would stoop that low Chase! You're supposed to be Mr. stuck up goody four paws!"

"Oh so that's what we're resorting to now? Name calling?" Chase retorted. "Well I got one for you, you immature pup!"

"You just don't want to admit that you cheated!" Marshall shot back.

"It was an accident Marshall, I didn't mean…." Chase then noticed something under Marshall's left back paw. Chase immediately went to it and discovered the ace of spades under it. He then deadpanned the fire pup as Marshall smiled innocently.

Meanwhile, Claria was still trying to get the two to calm down. "Come on guys, please, don't fight."

"Oooooh. I get it!" Chase said sarcastically. "When I do it, it's the worst thing in the world, but when you do it it's perfectly fine."

"You can't prove I hid that!" Marshall blindly defended, sweating like he was a waterfall.

"I've got the evidence right here you Ignoramus!" Chase shot back while waving the card in Marshall's face.

"Igno-Igno-Igno-what?!" Marshall attempted to say, confusingly. "Look! If you're going to call me something, call me something that I know what it means!"

"Guys!" Claria yelled but was ignored again.

"Oh really really?! Let me simplify it for you! BONEHEAD!" Chase yelled.

"PARTY POOPER!"

"CHILDISH!"

"STICK IN THE MUD!"

"SPOT BUTT!"

"BROWN TURD!"

"IMMATURE!"

"STUCK UP JERK!"

"ANNOYANCE!"

Marshall gasped loudly at that last word, as if he was suddenly shot in the heart. "You-You take that back! You….you….you...um...uh."

"Ha!" Chase laughed "You can't even come up with a comeback! I win!"

"Oh yeah?! Well I got an Idea!" Marshall retorted, fuming.

"Oh really?!" Chase replied, matching Marshall's stare. "What is it?!"

"It's the, "I'm not going to play this game with you ever again" idea!" Marshall exclaimed, seething.

"That's the best idea you have ever had!" Chase responded as he stood firmly. "In fact, I'll make it even better, How about I will never play ANY game with you ever again!"

"Noooo!" Claria screamed.

"That's fine by me!" Marshall agreed, getting up himself

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

The pups turned around away from each other, planted their tails into the ground, and pouted.

Claria was horrified. Three minutes ago, they were praising each other to the heavens. It seemed like nothing could break their bond. But now, their friendship might as well have been torn up, and tossed into the garbage can. All because of a stupid card game.

"Come on guys! Not like this! You're stronger than this!"

Claria tried desperately to get them to stop hating each other, but it was no use. They stayed like that for what felt like hours. Never to talk to each other again.

At least it would seem that way until Marshall suddenly started snicker. For a second, he was the only one until Chase started snickering too. The snickering turned into giggles, then it turned into full on laughter, as the friends suddenly turned around and hugged each other.

Claria was immediately confused at the sight. "Wha-Wha-What?!" she tried to process what just happened. "I-I don't understand, a minute ago, you two were about ready to rip each other's throats out, now, you just shrug it off with a laugh?"

Chase and Marshall let go with a foreleg draped around each other's shoulders.

"Oh Claria, when your best friend is this immature, spotted, bonehead, you kinda get used to it." Chase stated in between laughs.

"He He! Yeah, and when your friends with this stuck up, jerk of a brown turd, you sorta get used to it too." Marshall added.

Claria was admittedly still a little confused. "But, both of you said some harsh things to each other."

Without a beat, Marshall chimed in with a smile. "Do you always mean what you say?"

Claria at this point, decided to give in and just be happy that they were still friends. She could only respond with a yawn though.

"Well, I think that's the signal to get some sleep." Chase announced, while he produced a yawn himself.

They all nod in agreement as they make their way to the two tents. Marshall and Claria shared one while Chase slept by himself. Marshall laid down next to Claria who almost fell asleep immediately. He grabbed Chief Teddy and snuggled with it as he drifted off to sleep with nothing but the sounds of the forest, filling their ears.

---

A lonely rabbit hops forward into a mass of leaves, gathering food for its young to eat. Once it is satisfied, it moves forward to look for more. Unbeknownst to it, another animal was lurking in the grass and sticks, watching it. She was on the same mission as the rabbit was, only thing is that the wolf pup was looking at it as her prey.

Claria crouched low to hide from the rabbit. Being careful not to rustle any leaves as it would startle her prey. She moved forward a little bit to get into attacking distance. She brushes a branch which causes the rabbit to perk it's ears up. It looks around for any sort of a threat, but Claria was well hidden for the rabbit to see her, as it went back to its task. Once she was sure that the rabbit wasn't paying attention, she moved closer to where the rabbit was a leg away from her. Once she was in position, she softly barked, causing the rabbit to perk and look around again, only this time, it had a different result. In one swift motion, Claria tackled it to the ground with her paw. The rabbit started squirming and screaming until Claria bit it's neck, ending its life as it fell limp in her paw.

She then turned around towards the camp to bring back her prey to eat. She had to stop on the way to pick up the two rabbit's that she had buried for safe keeping. Now there was one for Her, Chase, and Marshall.

Upon thinking of the Dalmatian, she had forgotten his refusal to eat anything that looked at him, "Whoops, guess I gotta clean them right here."

She then started to decapitate the three fresh kills. She was able to do it quickly and efficiently due to her mother teaching her how to clean her kills and get them ready to cook. Once she was done, she made her way back to the camp with the freshly cleaned rabbits in her jaws.

---

Chase walked out of his tent with a big yawn, smacking his teeth a couple times and smelled for fresh air. What he got was the smell of a burning fire. He looked forward and saw Marshall tending on the fire he had started.

Marshall looked up, and saw the confused Shepherd. His tail starts wagging at the sight of his friend as he smiles to greet him. "Morning Chase."

"Morning." Chase returned as he raised an eyebrow. "You, started a fire?"

"Yeah." Marshall answered cheerfully.

"Okay." Chase said questionably. "Wwwwwhyyyy?"

"Claria asked me to. Said she was going to catch us breakfast and cook it."

Chase couldn't help but feel disappointed. He wan't to hit the ground running to get back en route to ShadowFur. That's how he planned out today. He didn't expect Marshall to be awake before he was, which never happened in his life. He's usually the one who wakes first and has to practically drag Marshall out of his pup house to get any chance in waking him up.

Although he was disappointed, he didn't want to waste Marshall and Claria's hard work so he let it go. Besides, It's always best to have a full stomach during a journey. Not to mention, he was pretty hungry.

Marshall got up from the fire, and sat down, as he took in the fresh air and the breeze of the now lively forest.

Chase smiled as he sat next to his spotted friend as he too observed the beauty.

They must have walked pretty far last night. The forest was now at it's full expectation. The trees were healthy and animals small and large filled their ears with their calls and cry's. There were even some birds flying and chirping in the trees. The two pups smiled at the sight, feeling like every one of their troubles just disappeared and the only thing that mattered was the beauty of Wintergreen.

"So," Marshall broke the silence. "This is what Wintergreen is supposed to look like?"

"Yep" Chase simply replied, nearly awestruck.

Marshall nodded to acknowledge him. "This is beautiful."

"Sure is." Chase said back.

But while the sight and smell of the woodland clearly calmed the Dalmatian, his curious mind was on one thing, The Wolf's Emerald. All he knew was that it was a gem with magical properties that protects the pack. He wanted to know more. What does it look like? Where did it come from? Why does ShadowFur want it so bad even though they have their own? How many of them are there, and what happens if all of them are gathered? All of these questions aggravated Marshall ever since he first heard of it. He needed to have answers and Chase seems to know them.

"Hey Chase?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you tell me all you know about the Wolf's Emerald?" Marshall requested very eagerly.

Chase took a deep breath to think of an answer. The truth was that Chase didn't know alot about the emerald. He just knew what the emerald did thanks to the trip to Wintergreen last year. He didn't even know there were more than one emeralds that occupied the land. At this point, Marshall knew as much as he knew about them. "To be honest with you buddy, I know very little about it myself."

Marshall was very disappointed by this as he looked at Chase with disbelief. "What? But you made it sound like you knew all about it."

"I know I did Marshall. But everything you know about it is all I know."

Marshall pouted. He really wanted to. No he needed answers, and he thought Chase was an expert on it. Chase sensed this and felt devastated. "I'm sorry buddy, but that's the truth. You're not mad are you?"

Marshall looked at Chase and suddenly smiled. "No, of course not man. I'm disappointed, but it's okay."

Chase smiled back as he responded. "Thanks buddy."

"Immmm baaack!" Claria suddenly called as she came into view with three freshly clean rabbits in her jaws. "And I brought breakfast."

The two rescue pups looked at her with impressed eyes.

"Wow Claria. You're pretty good." Marshall said.

"Aw shucks Marshall," Clarsia replied, blushing like a red tomato. "You can thank my father for teaching me."

"Well I think he taught you well." Chase added.

Claria smiled proudly as she gathered some sticks to use to cook the rabbits. She then stuck each stick in each of the rabbits, and then cooked them one by one.

Marshall watched as she cooked them. Even though they were cleaned and the heads were off, Marshall was still uncomfortable about eating the rabbit. It had a head. It had a conscience, and it was so, so cute. He thought about skipping breakfast, but he immediately decided against it. It would be rude to decline food that someone else got for him. It would've been a waste of time for her, and Marshall is not a rude pup. Plus, he didn't want to do that to Claria.

Claria looked at Marshall as she cooked the rabbit. She saw the look he was giving and sensed his discomfort. She smiled at him to reassure him about his meal. "Don't worry Marshall, it's not that bad."

"I'm sure it isn't." Marshall replied. "It's just I'm still a little uneasy about it. But don't worry, I'll still eat it."

Claria kept the smile on as she cooked the rabbits. She hoped that he liked it. She enjoyed the food that he gave her when he was taking care of her and nursing her back to health so she wanted to return the favor to him, to show him how good her culture's food could be. The approval from Marshall would go a long way for her. Mostly to show how grateful she was to him and Chase. Mostly Marshall though, Chase still creeps her out sometimes.

After a bit, she was finally done as she pulled the rabbits out of the fire, and gave two of them to Chase and Marshall. "There you go! Eat up!"

The patrol pups sat in front of their meals and Chase immediately started eating. Marshall hesitated as he looked at the well cooked rabbit. He then gulped and began eating the meal.

Each bite was hard to keep down. Not because it tasted bad in fact, it was probably one of the best tasting meals he had ever had. It was the thought of the rabbit being alive hours before. He could still hear the rabbit's scream as it was probably in pain before it's life was snatched away. He tried not to think about it, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't. He had to try something, or Claria would be sad and disappointed.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head when his mind went back to the emeralds somehow. Claria would know about the emeralds right? After all, she lives here! She's got to know something about it . Plus it would get his mind off of the food so he could eat it. "Hey Claria? "

Claria looked up from her meal. Her stomach churned. 'Oh no, he doesn't like it!' she thought. 'I knew he wouldn't like it! Oh what was I thinking?!'

"Yeah Marshall? Something wrong with the rabbit?"

"Oh no. the rabbit's fine." Marshall lied. "You were right, It's delicious. But it's nothing to do with the rabbit."

Claria was relieved to hear this, as she relaxed. "Oh, then what is it?"

"Well," Marshall started. "It's about the Wolf's Emerald."

Claria looked at the Dalmatian very curious as to what he was asking about. "What about it?"

"Well." Marshall began . "How much do you know about it?"

Claria tilted her head in confusion when he asked that question. "Um...as much as I was told. Why? What do you wanna know?"

Marshall swallowed down a bite as he added on to his question. "Well, Where did it come from, and what happens when BloodRayne gets all of them."

Claria suddenly smiled at the curious Dalmatian. "Oh, I can tell you all about that! Well, at least all that my mother told me."

Marshall perks up and wags his tail. "That's great!" He was ready to hear from Claria about the emerald. Chase looked up too. He was obviously as curious as Marshall was. Claria was still enjoying her rabbit though until Marshall spoke up again. "Um….could you tell us?"

Claria suddenly realized that she had been silent for at least two minutes, eating her rabbit. "Huh? Oh! Sorry, I guess I'm enjoying this way too much."

Chase and Marshall laughed with Claria as she began to explain about the emeralds. "Now, This is all my mother has told me, so there may be some missing details. Long ago, there were seven packs that roamed this land. RiverRush, who runs with the river. WoodLand who are the guardians of the forest. The Howls of the Mountain who are the voice of the land. SnowDust who flows with the snow. Skyfall who looks down from the sky, ShadowFur who moves in the shadows in the night, and BloodRayne, who is the blood of the race. The packs all lived on the land in their respective territories that suited them best. They lived in peace for many centuries, with respect for each other. Barley intruded on each other's territories, and if they did, they came in peace."

Chase stopped eating and paid full attention to hear the story while Marshall was devouring his rabbit. Apparently, his plan worked as he was enjoying it to his heart's content, but he was still paying attention to Claria as she continued on the story.

"It was like that for a while, until they started running out of food and places to grow food. When that happened, everyone got desperate. Some packs would offer friendship to share food and crops in peace. Some would accept and form an alliance. But some would decline out of pride and some would get so desperate, they would invade each other's territory to secure food and crops for their pack. This unfortunately caused the respect for each other to deplete. All the packs couldn't get along with each other anymore. It became the norm for little wars to start amongst them. Packs would have alliances just to keep themselves from being easily invaded by the one next to them. And the one that was feared was ShadowFur and BloodRayne."

Chase and Marshall felt a chill go down their spine at the mention of the two packs. Marshall broke the silence "F-feared?"

"Yep." Claria said back. "The Dangerous Alliance they were called. They would raid the other packs together and take all they could take, and leave packs with nothing. They didn't kill all of them, just so they had more to take when they came back and raided again. This went on and soon, it started affecting the land. The trees were deteriorating, there were hardly any animals left, and you would be lucky if you could grow anything due to the crops being ripped up."

The two pups were now really interested in the now intense story Claria was telling. They were like two young pups being told an interesting story told by their grandpa. Mostly because they were young pups. "That sounds horrible," Chase said. "Did anything happen to stop these wars?"

"That's where the emeralds come in." Claria went on. "According to legend, Gari looked down and was disappointed with us."

"Gari?" Marshall said. "Whose Gari?"

"It's their goddess Marshall." Chase whispered.

"Oh okay." Marshall said while nodding. "Wait, what's a godde…"

Chase hushed Marshall as he motioned Claria to continue on.

"Anyway." Claria continued. "Gari was really disappointed in us. She watched us and guided us through every point in our culture's history, and we were about to end it all in a matter of a moon. So in an effort to stop this period of unnecessary chaos, Gari sent a message to all of the Alphas to meet at a remote mountain called the Wolf's Howl."

"Wolf's howl?" Marshall repeated. "Where's that?"

"It's sorta the centerpiece of the land. You can't see it due to the tall trees right now, but once we get out in the open, you won't need me to point it out. It's the tallest mountain range in the country. Once you see it, you'll know why it's called the Wolf's Howl."

"Wow," Marshall said, impressed. "What happens there?"

"We hold our gatherings there, where the packs come together and peacefully talk amongst themselves to see how each of the packs are doing. I don't know the details of what all happens there as I've only been to a few of them. It only happens on a full moon." Claria answered. "This one however was the very first one, as Gari, after calming the Alphas down from yelling at each other, ordered for gatherings to happen once every full moon to keep peace within the pack. She also told the packs to stick together and help each other through tough times instead of fighting."

"Well that sounds like a good idea," Marshall chimed in. "But how was she sure that they won't just go back to fighting again, even with the gatherings?"

"I was getting to that." Claria informed me.

"Oh, s-sorry Claria." Marshall replied, Clenching a little as if he was singled out in a classroom.

"No, no Marshall. It's alright." Claria assured. "Now to make sure they don't go back to fighting again, Gari created seven emeralds, and gave each of them to the packs as a gift. One for each. Inside the emeralds are a portion of Gari's power and with that, it produced everything the wolves needed to survive. Clean water, crops for food and medicine, and even animals for us to hunt and eat. It's sorta the reason Wintergreen is as beautiful as it is. And because the emeralds have been taken from the packs, it's the reason our camps look so miserable."

Marshall nodded as he finally got answers he was looking for. Like discovering an ancient relic in a temple. "Now I know why we need to get the emerald back."

Claria smiled at this, but immediately frowned at another thought. "That's not the only reason though."

"Huh?" Chase perked. "What is it?"

"It's another power the emeralds hold. Red-Eye's power." Claria said grimly.

Chase and Marshall felt another chill go down their spine at the mention of Red-Eye's name. Marshall spoke up as if the story suddenly turned into a horror story. "R-Red-Eye? Whose th-that?"

"Gari's twin brother." Claria answered sternly, as if the story was scaring herself. "He is the complete opposite of his sister. While Gari was our protector and stood for peace and harmony for the wolf race, Red-Eye thought differently. He wanted the race to be dominant and feared by all, and any pack that thought otherwise, were not real wolves in his eyes and would deem them obsolete."

Marshall started shivering at the thought of the evil wolf and Chase felt intimidated as he chimed in "W-Wow. He sounds like a tough character."

"Gari and Red-Eye fought for ages for their beliefs, with Gari always finding a way to trump her brother, and Red-Eye coming up with heinous schemes to carry out his plans for the wolves to be the only race that matters. But in this instance, Gari needed Red-Eye."

"Needed?" Marshall repeated, confused. "Why would she need him?"

"Gari needed him to create the emeralds because she couldn't do it alone." Claria went on. "If she did, her conscience would have faded away, and she would've never been able to look after the packs again. So she requested Red-Eye's help."

"I'm guessing Red-Eye agreed?" Chase asked.

"Not only did he agree, he agreed Immediately." Chase replied. "Gari was surprised. She thought she would've had to fight him to do this but no, he was all for it."

"There had to be a catch to it." Chase said, very interested in the story.

"You would be right Chase, Gari made the emeralds with Red-Eyes help, distributed them to the packs, and sent them on their way. Thanks to the emeralds, peace was once established again as there was no reason to fight anymore. Well, that was until BloodRayne got greedy."

"Bl-BloodRayne again?" Marshall stumbled

"Yes, and they found out what Red-Eye did to the emeralds." Claria responded. "He put as much of his power as he could in them. More than Gari herself. Because of that, the emeralds have a second function."

"What is that?" Marshall asked, finally finishing his rabbit, while Chase's had been gone.

"Legend has it that if you gather all seven of the Wolf's Emeralds in one place, one of two things will happen." Claria informed. "If the heart is pure and full of love, harmony, and honor, the emeralds will fulfill peace forever. There will be no wars and wolves will never, ever have to be tired and hungry again as long as the emeralds stay together."

Chase and Marshall stayed silent, as they waited for the other shoe to drop.

"However, If hatred and fear took hold." Claria continued grimly. "Then the bearers would be granted immortality, and would be invincible. Pain, suffering, and misery will plague the land, as their army would be unstoppable. As long as they bear the emeralds."

The two rescue pups looked at each other as they processed the information they were just told. They didn't want to imagine what Wintergreen would look like if such an instance happened. Let alone the world. They turned back to look at the storyteller.

"You see," Claria started up again. "This is not the first time Blood-Rayne has done this. About a hundred years ago, they were doing the same thing they're doing now. Mowing down packs to obtain emeralds and follow the wish of Red-Eye. They were almost successful until the humans had to come in and "Fix" the problem."

Chase furrowed his brow at the last sentence. "How did they "Fix" The problem?"

Claria swallowed hard as she said the next statement with a very grim expression. "They killed all of them. Every last BloodRayne wolf was shot dead. They were all gone in a matter of a moon."

The atmosphere turned from horror-like, to sorrowful as both rescue pups were frozen in silence. No pack, whether they were evil or not, deserved to be wiped out like that. Marshall was the first to speak softly. "Oh man. Poor wolves."

"I guess now, we have another reason to get the emeralds back." Chase stated.

"You couldn't be more right, Chase!" Claria cheeked up.

"Well, we ain't getting anything done sitting on our tails." Chase said, while getting up. "Marshall, put out the fire, while Claria and I will put up the tents."

"Right on it Chase!" Marshall acknowledged as he sprayed dirt onto the fire with his back paws while Chase and Claria went to tear down the tents so they could get on the road again.

---

The forest was in bloom. More animals had begun to appear and the birds were happily chirping in the trees. The breeze cooled the atmosphere, as the leaves and branches of the trees were brustiling in the wind. The grass was green and soft, while the critters in them were happily playing in it's softness. It was nothing but peace and quiet…...kind of.

Because unfortunately for a certain police pup, Marshall and Claria were singing the day away.

Normally, Chase didn't mind it, in fact he loved Marshall's singing. So much that he felt that if Marshall were to ever take his singing seriously, he would be the biggest star anyone had ever seen. Claria wasn't bad either as her singing blended almost flawlessly with Marshall's. The problem? They were singing the same song over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again since they started walking!

It was Marshall's favorite song in the whole world, and boy did he show it. He wasn't joking when he would constantly say that he could sing it all day. As for Claria, she thought it was the greatest song she had ever heard, and wanted to sing it over and over and over again. You'd think at this point at like the fiftieth time, Marshall himself would get tired of it. BUT NO! Like he said, he can sing it ALL DAY LONG.

Chase wanted so desperately to say something but couldn't. Whenever he looked at them, he saw the both of them having the time of their lives, singing and walking to the beat of the song. This was the most fun Marshall ever had singing, and Claria was right beside him getting into it. It probably was the most fun she had ever had in her short life, and Chase did not want to ruin it for her. It was still pretty obvious that she was still a little intimidated by him and if he were to snap and shut down the singing session, she would never be fully comfortable around him. Chase really didn't want that to happen, so now, he has to literally bite his tongue in half, to keep himself from snapping off. But it was so hard to do as the song they were singing never wanted to leave his head. He didn't hate the song, it just isn't a song to sing over and over again, because once you get it in your head, it never wants to leave. At this point, whenever he goes to sleep, he's not going to be thinking about the Wolf's Emerald, or the trapped pups, or whether or not Ryder could find them. No, all he's going to be thinking about is that DAMN SUBMARINE SONG!

As we live a life of ease

Everyone of us has all we need (has all we need)

Sky of blue (sky of blue) and sea of green (and sea of green)

In our yellow submarine (in our yellow, submarine, ha ha!)

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

The last word was sustained for a bit as Marshall and Claria laughed with joy. Claria spoke after a few minutes of settling down. "That was even better than the last time!"

"Yeah!" Marshall barked with excitement. "Wanna sing it again?"

"You betcha!" Claria gracefully answered as Chase groaned in annoyance. While Marshall restarted the song.

In the town where I was born

At this point, he was really regretting dropping his gun at Sticksburg, for he would've shot himself right now.

Live a man who sailed to sea

'Oh sweet mercy!'

And he told us of his life

'Make it stop!'

So we sailed up to the sun

'For pete's sake, make it stop!'

Til we found a sea of green

'Oh god!'

And we lived beneath the waves

'NO!'

In our yellow submarine

"AHHH!'

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

'Somebody kill me!'

We all live in a yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

'Somebody save me from this hell!'

And our friends are all aboard

Many more of them live next door

And the band begins to play

Claria then does her best to make sounds reminiscent of an orchestra as Marshall goes back into the chorus which she then joins him with, with Chase bout ready to slam his head into a tree.

We all live in the yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

We all live in the yellow submarine

Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

Chase looked at the tallest trees as they passed them by. Trying to calculate how far he had to climb for a fall to kill him. But just as he found a suitable tree, he was stopped in his tracks by a mesmerizing sight.

As we live a life of ease

Everyone of us has a-

"Ooof!" Marshall crashed into Chase, making him fall backwards on his back with his paws in the air. He got back up and shook the dizziness from his head. "I'm okay!" Marshall announced to no one in particular. He looked at Chase, ready to apologize, but then noticed that Chase was not even fazed by the little incident, as he was staring at something in the distance.

"Huh? Chase?" Marshall said, going up next to his oblivious friend. "What are you looking at?" He then looked in the same direction and was soon under the same spell Chase was under.

What they were looking at was a mountain. A little far in the distance, clear as day, was the biggest mountain they have ever seen. It could probably rival Jake's mountain back at home, but that wasn't the feature that made them stare. The mountain in particular was shaped like a wolf's head, howling to the sky. Their mouths nearly dropped to the ground at the sight. "Whoa." was all he could manage to get out, as he couldn't put words to the mountain.

"Hey, why'd you stop singing?" Claria asked as she suddenly appeared beside Marshall. "I was enjoying…." She then realized what they were staring at. "Oh yeah, that. Well, There it is. The Wolf's Howl."

"It's amazing," Marshall replied, not taking his eyes off the mountain.

Claria chuckled at the statement and rolled her eyes. "Foreigners."

"Oh come on Claria," Marshall said. "You have to admit, it's beautiful."

"It's just a crummy old rock that just happens to be the shape of a wolf's head." Claria said, clearly used to the sight.

"Well, what do you think Chase?" Marshall asked the Shepherd but got no answer from him. "Chase?"

Marshall looked at his friend and noticed that he wasn't looking at the mountain any more. Instead he had a confused and shocked look on his face. Marshall looked in the same direction and tilted his head, as he then became confused. "Huh?"

What baffled the pups, was a house. Actually it was more like a mansion after looking at it long enough. It's structure was reminiscent of modern American luxury houses. It was massive as it had an enormous lawn with wolf ornaments decorating it. Around it was a wall of shrubs and bricks, with a gate door in the center leading to the mansion itself. It was truly nice from what the pups were concerned about but there was one thing on their mind while looking at it.

"Um Chase?" Marshall began, "I thought you said that there was no human interference here."

"That's what I thought." Chase replied. Dumbfounded. "There's not supposed to be."

"Then why are we seeing a full plantation in the middle of nowhere all of sudden?" Marshall asked back.

"I have no Idea Marshall." Chase answered "Unless the wolves somehow found out how to build mansions."

"That must be the ambassador's den." Claria chimed in, having just realized what they were looking and talking about.

"Ambassador?" Chase repeated.

"Yeah," Claria replied. "At least that's what the wolves call him. He's the only human that lives here besides his servants."

"Why does Wintergreen need a human ambassador?" Chase asked.

"I don't know." Claria responded. "I don't even know what an ambassador is."

"Have you seen the ambassador before?" Marshall asked next.

"I usually see him at gatherings." Claria answered. "He sorta runs the thing and makes sure the wolves don't fight."

"I guess that makes sense." Chase replied. "But that still doesn't explain why he's here.

At that moment, Marshall started walking towards the mansion.

"H-Hey! Marshall? Where are you going?" Chase asked curiously.

"There's only one way to get answers," Marshall happily said. "Let's go investigate! Plus, I'm really hungry. Maybe he's got some food we could eat if we asked him."

Chase looked at Claria for approval, to which Claria shrugged her shoulders and bounded after Marshall.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Chase called, as he followed the pair to the plantation. Hoping to get some answers to this unexpected find.

---

The tea kettle on the stove in the kitchen, whistles loudly notifying Jack Michaels that the boiling process was done. He went over to it and poured into a medium sized tea cup, left the kitchen, and sat down in his study to continue reading his newspaper. After taking a sip, he set the cup down on a nearby table, then proceeded to pull out a cigarette and light it up. He puffed strongly as he pulled a good bit of the smoke down to his lungs, exhaling the closest he could get to a cloud, then went back to reading the headlines.

The story that caught his eye was the news report of a night club shooting involving the wicked crime boss Bubba and his mate, the ever talented and popular up and coming singer, Skylar. Unfortunately for many fans, Skylar was found dead at the club along with another dog named Chozo who was Bubba's son. The suspect of the shooting was a police pup from the Paw Patrol, a German Shepherd named Chase. He had not been seen or heard from since.

Jack was saddened by Skylar's passing. He was a big fan of hers ever since he saw her perform in New York the last time he was there. Her performance of the musical, Anything Goes was amazing. Her dancing was on point and her voice would have been the voice of a generation if she would've gotten that far. She was also very beautiful and because of that, he always wanted to meet her. But now, that will never happen, and nobody will ever get to hear that beautiful voice ever again. All because of that German Shepherd. If he ever sees him, It would be bad news for the one they call Chase.

A little bit further down, was a picture of the police pup, with a bounty of five hundred thousand dollars. Dead or Alive. Jack was astonished that they would even put that much value on someone as low life as he was. Still, it would be a decent paycheck to bring him in. Wouldn't that be funny, if the Shepherd suddenly were to show up right at his door.

At that moment, a woman comes into the study to address Jack. "Jack, there's some pups that would like to see you."

Jack put out his cigarette and looked at his servant. Who could be bothering him at this time of day? He was about to shrug them off and be away with them but he wanted to at least know who it was. "Who is it?"

"I don't have any names, sir." the servant answered, "But it's a wolf pup, a Dalmatian, and a German Shepherd."

Jack suddenly lit up at the mention of the Shepherd. 'No,' he thought, 'no way. He can't be here! That would be the world's greatest coincidence if he was. What would he be doing all the way out here? Maybe to hide himself from law enforcement? But then again why would he risk it by talking to me?'

"Um, sir?" the servant called. "Are you okay?"

Jack snapped into his head. "Huh? Oh, sorry Jane I was just in deep thought." he got up from his chair and faced Jane. "Let them in the gate and tell them that I will be out momentarily to greet them."

Jane nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes sir, I will do that."

She left the study to tell the guards to let the guest pass the gate, as Jack straightened himself up to look presentable. If it is the Shepherd in from the headline, he was going to keep it cool and show his hospitality, then strike where the Shepherd least expected it.

---

The three traveling pups walked through the lawn in astonishment. This person clearly had money to spend, with all sorts of decor all over the lawn. Statues, fountains, and flowers covered the lawn to the point where if it wasn't for the Wolf's Howl in the distance, Chase would've forgotten that he was in Wintergreen.

They walked forward until they were stopped by the centerpiece of the lawn. A statue displaying two wolves battling for dominance. One was on the ground, on its back, growling at the other who was lunging at it. Ready to strike with it's jaws.

Chase and Marshall looked at it with awe while Claria had both horror and confusion. Marshall notices this and questions her, "Claria? Are you okay?"

Claria swallowed before she spoke. "Yeah, somewhat."

"What's wrong?" Marshall added.

"It's the statue, it's sorta creepy to me." Claria revealed.

"Hm?" Chase questioned. "It is? How?"

Claria took a deep breath when she told them what was freaking her out about the statue. "I-It's the exact moment that Red-Eye killed Gari."

Chase's ears perked as he looked back at the statue. Marshall stared at Claria with a questionable look. "Wait, Red-Eye killed his own sister?"

"Yep." Claria responded casually. "Took him a bit to do it while she was injured by the way. That's how she entered the afterlife. Red-Eye followed her days later when her followers killed him in his sleep."

"Geez." Marshall said. "You really know alot about this stuff, do you?"

Claria chuckled as her face blushed in flattery. "Well, he he. My mother told me a lot of bedtime stories."

"Bedtime stories?" Marshall repeated, surprised. "That's what your bedtime stories are?"

"Mhm." Claria confirmed

"How could you ever sleep with those stories? They're so scary." Marshall shivered out.

"It didn't bother me." Claria replied.

"How?!" Marshall blurted out, frustrated. "How did it not…...oh nevermind." Marshall decided to drop it while Claria shrugged her shoulders.

Chase then spoke up. "I wouldn't pay no mind to it Claria. After all, it all happened way before you were even thought of."

"I know I know." Claria replied with a troubled tone. "It's just that Gari has always been a hero to me. I don't ever like seeing her so weak."

"Hello!"

The three pups looked behind the statue and towards the front door. The estate where the voice was coming from. They all walked towards the front door of the estate where the voice was coming from, stopping a little shy from the door. In front of it stood a human male. He had a black stetson on, a red dress shirt covered by a black vest with blue jeans and boots on. He looked in his mid-twenties, thanks to his somewhat baby face, though he had a five o clock shadow covering his entire chin.

Chase thought that he looked like someone that should be in a bar saloon than in a country fully inhabited by wolves. But then again, Chase didn't really know what to expect the human to look like so assumed it didn't matter.

"Well, well, well, what a sight for sore eyes." He then walks closer to where they were about six feet from each other. "I thought my servant was joking around when she said that the Paw Patrol were expecting me."

Marshall's head practically twisted off as he was very confused. "You know us?"

"Why shouldn't I?" the man replied while lighting a cigarette he pulled out of his case, then puffed and literally blew out a cloud, causing the three pus to cough softly. "You guys are quite famous around the world."

"We must be if you heard of us." Chase said back.

"Yes, quite. My name is Jack Michaels, I'm the ambassador for Wintergreen, and you are?" Jack announced.

"My name is Chase." Chase began.

The ambassador froze upon hearing Chase announce himself, as if he was just told a cure for cancer.

Chase then turns his head to Marshall. "This is my best friend, Marshall." Marshall stood proud as Chase turned to Claria. "And this is Claria."

"Ah Claria!" Jack said as he walked closer to her and put a hand on her head. She flinched a little when he did. "You must be the heir of the River Rush pack."

Claria practically shook from his creepiness. "Y-Yes sir. T-Thats me."

"Fantastic. I've heard horror stories of how you went missing for weeks. I'm glad to see you well." He says while petting her, Claria is still shaking. The man notices this as he stops immediately. "There's no reason to be afraid, young pup."

"S-sorry, I just don't like people touching me too much. Especially if I don't know them." Claria retorted, squirming away from Jack a little bit.

"I understand." Jack replied to the scared pup as he puffs on his cigarette. "Now allow me to ask, what's a couple characters like you doing all the way out here? Are you lost?"

Chase eyed the man closely, looking for any sort of suspicious clues, as Marshall responded. "No sir, we're not lost, we're on our way to ShadowFur's camp. We need to have a talk with them."

Jack pulled the cigarette out of his mouth as Chase continued to stare at him. "Oh, what impeccable timing. I've invited ShadowFur to discuss some matters. I'll save you guys the trip and let you stay here tonight. Were having a big dinner also. What do you say?"

Chase didn't answer him immediately, he just continued to stare at the man, expecting some sort of catch. He thought about his offer very closely. It was starting to get dark and all the food they had, were the emergency packs Chase and Marshall had stashed away. It would be idiotic to turn down the offer especally if ShadowFur was going to be there. But there was something that just wasn't right about Jack. Mostly the fact that he was here in the first place.

For all he knew, no human ever lived here. Now all of a sudden, Poof! There's one right in front of him. Even though Claria said that he had been here forever, Chase still wasn't comfortable with it. But that wasn't the only thing that alarmed him. It was his posture, his movements and his scent that didn't set right. It was like he was hiding something from them. Chase didn't know what it was, but he could tell from the way he presented himself. Still, It wouldn't hurt to just have dinner with him right?

He looked at Marshall and Claria to see what they thought. "Well, what do you think guys?"

Marshall looked up at the sky as he thought about it. "Well, it is getting dark Chase, and unless Claria wants to hunt in the dark, I think we should join them, plus, it would be great to sleep in a bed tonight."

"Yeah. And if ShadowFur will be here, we can definitely follow them to their camp tomorrow." Claria added. She then whispers in Marshall's ear. "By the way, I have no problem hunting in the dark."

Chase turned back to Jack still wearing the glare. "Then I guess it's settled." He bowed his head at him. "We accept your hospitality."

"Splendid!" Jack exclaimed, spreading his arms a part and then bowed with his hat off. "Then I formally invite you into my home."

The three pups nodded as they all then went into the mansion.

---

Jack opened a door to reveal a luxurious room accustomed to something you would get in a hotel suite package. It was about the size of a house itself. A king sized bed with a canopy and white see through drapes, occupied the left of the room while pillars covered the rest of them with little sculptures of female wolves in the middle of them. The windows were pretty tall with cyan blue curtains covering them. In the center was a low table with flowers on it and cushions around it. Marshall was amazed at the sheer size of it, as he was pretty sure that this was bigger than even Ryder's room. Heck forget about Ryder's room, it might be bigger than the lookout itself.

"This is you two's room. I hope you find it inviting." Jack revealed.

"It is, thank you so much." Marshall replied.

"Wow," Claria spoke in awe, as she walked in and looked around. "It's enormous." She climbed on the bed and noticed how bouncy it was. "So this is a bed? It's so bouncy." She then started to jump joyfully. "Woohoo! This is fun!"

Marshall chuckled as he stepped towards the bed. "Yes Claria, but you're not supposed to jump on it. That's where you sleep."

Claria stopped immediately at the statement, as she drooped her ears in sadness. "Awww, you mean I can't jump on it?"

"No! No! Go ahead! Do whatever you like." Jack intervened. "I don't care, as long as you're comfortable."

Marshall then looked at Claria as he beamed the biggest smile. "Well in that case." He climbed on the bed and started jumping. Causing Claria to jump with him. "Woohoo! Yeah!"

The two jumped on the bed like children rebelling against their mother. Laughing and giggling till their heart's content.

Chase stood back and watched the two pups having so much fun. He rolled his eyes at the sight with a smile on his face. As if it was completely normal for Marshall to goof off during a difficult situation, because it was.

The two started to do tricks and poses until Marshall got cocky. He started doing intense tricks where suddenly, he went up in an angle and fell right off the bed, into the table that held the flowers.

Crash!

Marshall crashed into the table, breaking it in half as it almost looked like something you would see at a pro wrestling event.

Claria stopped jumping, and looked over at where Marshall landed. "Marshall?! Are you alright?!"

Marshall was unresponsive for a few seconds as the wipe out genuinely knocked him out. This actually worried Chase as he was about to run over and help his friend. But, like always, Marshall got right back up as if nothing happened. "Yeah, I'm good. Can't say the same about the table though. I-I'll clean it up."

"That's alright Marshall, I'll get Jane to clean it up." Jack chimed in, as he motioned for Jane to do so.

Jane started picking them up as Marshall stood aside watching. "I-I can help…" But before Marshall could help, two more servants came in to help Jane. Feeling as if he would be in the way more than helping, Marshall backed away from the mess, and let them work. He then turned to Jack with sorrow in some eyes as he whimpered. "I'm really sorry about the table."

"It's alright Marshall. This is just a guest room, and it's just a table, I'll have it replaced in minutes."

"Oh, okay." Marshall acknowledged, still feeling bad about the table.

"Jane will be your server tonight," Jack said. "Whenever you need anything, just call her, and she will get it for you."

"Yes ambassador," Claria acknowledged.

"We are not at a gathering, Claria. You can just call me Jack." Jack requested.

Marshall and Claria both nod as they start to relax on the bed.

Jack then turned to Chase and Invited him across the hall, "Now, your room Chase."

Jack guided Chase across the hall, as Chase followed him to a door on the other side of Marshall and Claria's room. He opened the door and revealed to Chase his room for the night. It was a little smaller than Marshall and Claria's which Chase expected. Considering it was only him sleeping in here. The bed was king size while the room itself had couches and loveseats all over. A bathroom was located right next to a walk-in closet. Lamps and gold dishes occupied the tables as the bedside table had an alarm clock and flowers. 'Perfect!' Chase thought. 'At least I can wake up before Marshall this time!' The center of the room was more open than the one across the hall, with only a double sided mirror occupying it.

It was almost perfect for Chase, but there was one little problem. The room itself was decorated with red everywhere. Red curtains, red sheets, red comforters, red pillows, and red furniture. Making the room glow in color. Normally, he didn't think it was important enough to bring it up, but he really would've preferred blue. But he can live with it. He did feel jealous of Marshall getting a blue room though.

"Is everything to your liking Chase?" Jack asked.

Chase took a look around the room before he gave his answer, smelling everything for suspicious things that would be off. "Yes, It's perfect."

"Good to hear." Jack replied. As he started to head out the door. "Now if you would excuse me, I have some matters to attend to."

"Wait. Hold up a bit! I wanna ask some questions!" Chase called.

Jack turned around and looked at the questioning Shepherd with a smirk on his face. "I assume you have many questions about me."

Chase only nodded in agreement.

"I assumed so." Jack said while lighting a cigarette. Puffing it and blowing the smoke with some of it unintentionally hitting Chase's face. At least that's what Chase thought. "Unfortunately, I don't have time for your little interview Chase. I have to make sure that everything is in order for tonight."

Chase and Jack's eyes met as they stared at each other for a few minutes, though if you asked them, it was more like hours. Chase didn't think he was lying, but it was pretty clear he was using the dinner preparations as an excuse. A person like him has to have skeletons in the closet, Chase was going to drag at least one of them out.

Jack puffed on his cigarette before he broke the tense silence "Tell you what, let me get everything straight for the dinner, and I will send for you before it starts, when I'm done. Then you can ask all the questions you like until ShadowFur Shows up. Deal?"

Chase was surprised by this sudden mood change. It looks like for sure, Jack wasn't interested in his questions. Now whether or not he will be truthful with his answers was another story, but at least he could ask. Chase kept his stare on as he answered. "It's a deal Jack."

Jack stayed silent, as he gave a trademark grin and left the room with Chase still staring at him until he eventually was looking at the door.

Chase turned around and went for the bed to rest a little. He felt ease all around him as his body sunk into the mattress. Not long after, the door opened, revealing to be his best friend.

"Hey Chase! Finally getting some rest?" Marshall asked.

Chase didn't get up as he stayed with his legs spread out and his face in the pillow.

"Much deserved." He said. His voice muffled a little bit.

"Yeah," Marshall responded. "It's nice to lay on a bed for once huh?"

Chase then got back up and faced his friend. "Yep. like your room?"

"It's alright I guess. Wish it would cut down on the blue though."

Chase chucked a bit as he responded. "You think you got it bad, take a look at all this red. I don't know if this is a room or Farmer Yumi's barn."

They both laughed at Chase's joke as they sat down on some of the furniture.

"Well, I gotta say, Jack seems nice, though I think he needs to cut down on the cigarettes a good bit." Marshall stated. "Good gravy, he smokes too much."

"You got that right." Chase replied. "I practically coughed the whole time I was talking to him."

"His lungs must be destroyed." Marshall said. "He is nice though."

Chase looked at his friend with uneasiness. "I don't know about that buddy. He may seem nice but there's something about him that just rubs me the wrong way."

Marshall spaced out as he listened to Chase's concerns. Chase had been known to swing for the fences when it came to trusting people. Heck, that's how him and Chase's friendship started. It took a lot to gain his trust. Once you got his trust, you were fine, but if there was something about you that he didn't like, even the littlest of things, you would be more successful being friends with Mayor Humdinger than to be friends with Chase, and Marshall was in that position before, so he knew how it felt to be on that side of the fence with Chase. He would be the first one to tell you that it is no fun. Especially if you admired the pup like Marshall did.

"Oh come on Chase." Marshall finally replied. "We just met him. And I didn't see anything wrong with him. Well….besides maybe the smoke."

"I know we just met him, it's just, you know. With everything that's happening here, and the state of the wolves, I have a feeling that he is involved somehow."

"I think you're jumping to conclusions, Chase. And the only reason you are, is because you didn't even know he lived here, and you find that weird."

Chase furrowed his brow as he was confused by that last statement. "What? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is I think you're going into this while knowing what's going on, and drawing conclusions when there aren't none. Just because of the fact that he happens to be the only human that lives here. Yeah, it's strange, but I'm sure if you just talk to him, your fears will be erased."

Chase thought about Marshall's statement thoroughly. Maybe he was right, there could be nothing wrong here, and he could be overreacting. After all, Jack is letting him ask questions later, so maybe there really is nothing and Chase is just grasping at straws. Still though, that doesn't mean the ambassador is off the hook.

"You may be right Marshall, just do me one thing buddy."

"What is it man?" Marshall replied.

"At least watch yourself around him. Keep an eye on anything suspicious, okay?"

Marshall smiled as he accepted Chase's request. "I will Chase, but promise me you won't go overboard with everything okay man?"

"I'll try." Chase answered uneasily.

Marshall was about to reply that Chase should do more than just try, but Claria came in and was wagging her tail. "Hey Marshall, I got the fort set up! We are going to have so much fun tonight!"

Marshall began wagging his tail also as he got excited of the night that was to come. "Awesome! I can't wait to pillow fight with you!"

"Pillow fight?" Claria asked. "What's that?"

Marshall gasped at Claria's ignorance "You don't know what a pillow fight is?"

"Will, I didn't know what a pillow was until a few days ago."

"Oh, you are missing out!" Marshall said as he jumped with joy

"Heh heh," Chase chucked. "You two are one of a kind aren't you?"

"Seems like it, doesn't it?" Claria happily cheered.

Marshall smiled as their tails wagged in sync with each other.

"Tonight is going to be the best night ever!" Claria said excitedly.

"Yep you got it…." Marshall stopped when he looked at Chase. He was smiling at the two playing off of each other. But suddenly, Marshall thought of Chase and Clara's relationship. He didn't say anything before, but he definitely noticed Claria's uncomfort with Chase. He felt bad for both Chase and Claria for this. Claria felt intimidated by Chase. He knew this from the way she would talk to him, how she would clench up and cower away from him. He sorta understood her, as that's what he did when he met him. And as for Chase himself, he must be driving himself mad, trying to find out why Claria is scared of him. There was only one way to solve this problem and unfortunately, he had to give up the best night ever.

"Actually Claria, I think you should sleep with Chase tonight." Marshall suggested.

Claria and Chase practically jumped up to the moon in shock.

"What? Why?" Claria asked, heart broken.

"Well, you spent the night with me last night. It's only fair if you spent the night with Chase tonight. So he won't be alone again." Marshall answered

Chase was about to say that he didn't mind, but Claria beat him to the punch.

"B-But we're supposed to have the best night ever." Claria replied very softly, almost crying.

"I know, I know Claria." Marshall replied, trying not to cave into Claria's puppy dog eyes. "But Chase likes to do that stuff, right man?"

Chase looked at both of them and smiled and chuckled nervously. "Y-Yeah. O-Of course I do."

"See? You can still have the best night ever. Just without me." Marshall said.

Claria felt heart broken. She was really looking forward to spending the night having fun with Marshall. She had the room ready with a fort and everything. She loved playing with Marshall. It reminded her of when she and Roxy would play in the woods. She didn't get that vibe with Chase. Mostly because of his intimidation. While her talks with Chase in the woods definitely made her feel less frightened by him, Claria still had very mixed feelings about him. Not to mention, she didn't think Chase was into playing that much. Considering the way he presents himself. He rarely said anything in the forest when Marshall and Claria were singing, as he was more focused on the journey than playing with them and goofing around. There was nothing wrong with that of course, after all, you've got to have somebody making sure they make good progress and Chase seemed superior at that. So she didn't even attempt to try and see if he wanted to join them. But, if Marshall says that he loves to play too and is not really all that scary too, she guessed that she could try one night with him.

"I-I don't know Marshall," Claria spoke up. "I really wanted to play with you tonight."

Marshall responded with puppy dog eyes of his own. "Please Claria, for me?" He practically sat and begged her to accept.

Claria sighed as she finally gave in. "Alright Marshall, you win, I'll spend the night with Chase."

Meanwhile, Chase himself had stayed silent since Marshall's request left his mouth. This was the last thing he wanted, for Claria to feel any sort of pressure to get along with him. He wanted it to be natural, like Chase and Marshall's was. Actually, now that he thought about it, their friendship didn't start off naturally at all.

Wait a minute.

Did Ryder's family and his dad mean to leave them at that house alone all those years ago?!

Chase snapped out of his thoughts when Jane appeared in the doorway to announce that preparations were ready.

"Dinner will be ready shortly," She announced. "Jack would very much appreciate it if you could be at the dining room early to get your seat."

'Yes' Chase thought, as he pushed his previous troubles away for now. 'I can finally find out what's so special about Jack Micheals.'

Marshall looked at Chase with a smile. "Well Chase, are you ready to have dinner with the enemy?"

Chase returned the smile with confidence. "Right behind you buddy."

---

Chase, Marshall, and Claria, Walked into the massive chamber that was called the dining room but to Chase, it probably would've passed as a sanctuary of a church.

In the middle, a long dining table sat with about twenty chairs set up all around it. Each chair had thick red cushions for comfort, and medium tall backs with one as well. Servers around the table were setting the table with plates and silverware as the three observed the room. Behind the head of the table was a platform housing a podium In front of a giant plate glass window, displaying a picture of Gari's head on the upper left, facing left, and Red-Eye's head on the lower right facing right, in a playing card like template. The walls had tapestries showing different points in the wolve's history. From the formation of the packs, to the creation of the wolf's emeralds. There were doors on each side with one at the right of the room leading outside, one on the left, leading into the kitchen, and one in the front of the room where Chase, Marshall, and Claria walked through. On each side of the door, were full body portraits. The one on the left was a picture of Gari, who was perched on a rock in an open field, gazing at it's observer with a caring and calm face on her as if she was assuring the viewer that she would always be by their side, guiding them through life, and the many hardships of it. The other one on the right was a picture of Red-Eye, who was also gazing. Although it was more like a scowl, as his scared left eye was reminding you of who he was and what his motivations were, Dominance.

Chase looked closely at the picture of Red-Eye while Marshall and Claria looked around the gigantic room. From the looks of him, Chase could immediately get the vibe of who Red-Eye was and still is. Overzealous, arrogant, and demanding. Chase wondered what it was like to live amongst him, wolves probably lived in fear of him. Maybe even his supporters were fearful of him. He couldn't imagine if Red-Eye ever got his wish in life when he was "around." The world probably would've been a different place, if he ever succeeded.

He switched to the picture of Gari and obviously got a different feeling from her. One of love, compassion and selflessness that sorta reminded him of his owner back home. Chase could tell from the look in her eyes that as long as she was "around," no one would ever be subjected to pain, misery, and suffering, and there would be a cold day in hell, if Red-Eye would ever get his way under her watch.

"Heh, thank god for you I guess." Chased softly said out loud.

Though one thing clicked for Chase. Something that kept him from looking away from the picture. It was Gari's appearance in more detail. Her coat was lavender, and her face, underbelly and undertale, were snow white. Although the lavender was a little faded, probably due to age. The longer Chase looked, the more he had a feeling of familiarity to the wolf. He couldn't put his paw on it, but if he didn't know any better, the full grown wolf in the portrait had a strong resemblance to a certain husky back home...

At that moment, the door on the right opened and the ambassador, Jack Michaels walked in. As expected, he was smoking a cigarette but instead of his wild west setup, he had a black and red tux on, though he was still wearing his black stetson.

He walked over to the table, where servants were still setting it up for the dinner that was about to happen in about ten minutes or so. He whispered to one in its ear, which the servant acknowledged, and disappeared through the door Chase came in at. He then turned to Chase who had now begun to look at him. "I'm glad you could make it Chase."

"Well, my friends and I can hardly pass up food." Chase replied. "Especially when we don't have any more left."

Jack chuckled a little bit before he said "Yes, well, ShadowFur are almost here, and when they do, we will start eating."

"Understood ambassador." Chase acknowledged sternly, as he gazed into the ambassador's scheming eyes. At least he thought they were.

"Well, why don't we do that interview you were so excited about doing?" he asked as he puffed on his cigarette.

Chase continued to stare at him, not moving a muscle as he replied. "They're just questions ambassador, not an interrogation. There is no heat."

Jack returned the stare with intensity. "By all means Chase, I won't mind the heat. As I have absolutely nothing to hide from you or your friends."

Chase didn't know whether to take that as a challenge, or a threat. But that didn't matter right now. What did was the chance to ask Jack all the questions he wanted.

"How long have you lived here?"

"All my life." Jack answered without a beat, as if the talk wasn't a talk, but a duel on the street.

Chase was appalled at the answer. As if someone told him that his life was a lie. How?! He had never heard of this person in his life. No such man existed in his mind when he got back from Wintergreen last year, and he's the ambassador apparently. Surly, he would have least heard a mumble about him.

"My family has lived here for a hundred years, Chase." The ambassador went on, as he turned away from Chase to look at a tapestry, showing at he showing the slaughter of the BloodRayne wolves, "The US government wanted to get rid of all the wolves, as they didn't know who was part of what, and they wasn't going to ask questions."

Chase stayed silent as he decided to listen to the ambassador's story. He had no Idea how Jack was involved, but he felt like his involvement was coming up.

"Legend says that Gari herself appeared before the soldiers. She didn't threaten them, that wasn't what she wanted to do. She instead convinced them to bring the president at the time, Woodrow Wilson to talk with the Alpha's, and discuss some sort of treaty. They agreed and allowed the president to talk with the Alpha's. The wolves assured the president that they had no plans to threaten the humans, as long as the humans left them alone. The president almost agreed with them, but he wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. He agreed to their terms but only if the US would be allowed to send an ambassador and live here to keep an eye out on things, and to make sure the wolves don't rise above each other and gain power again. The Alphas reluctantly agreed to this and my great great grandfather was sent here with his wife to do just that, and then four generations later I'm here. I hope that answers your question Chase."

Chase thought about Jack's story very thoroughly. Everything seems to add up, but he couldn't help but think that he was missing some details. Like why was the U.S. military involved in the first place? Did BloodRayne threaten them? If that was the case, how did they find out who the U.S. even was? Second, why was his grandfather selected to be ambassador? What made him right for the job? Third, how powerful did the BloodRayne wolves become for the U.S. military to get involved?

Chase thought that the more he pondered, the less time he had to ask questions. So he started asking about the U.S., but when he attempted, a servant appeared next to Jack and whispered something in his ear.

"Oh! I-I see." The ambassador said, as his eyes sorta widened at whatever the servant told him. "Well Chase, but it seems that we have another unexpected guest here this evening." He motioned for his servants to open the door that leads outside which revealed a man dressed in a service uniform, showing that he was military. His rank was Captain in the U.S. army, and he had as many medals and more ribbons than you could fit on a ribbon rack. He was also wearing his service cap and his coat as his shoes were practically blinding everybody in the room, if his medals were not doing it. He stood proudly as the ambassador introduced him to Chase. "Chase this is…."

Chase didn't need Jack's introduction to know who it was. He was a man Chase knew very well since his early puppy years. "Captain Garity?"

The man looked at the German Shepherd and practically let his jaw fall to the floor, as he looked at a face he had not seen in years. "Chase? Well I'll be. I never expected to see you here."

"I can almost say the same for you." Chase replied.

Jack looked at the two, as they hugged a quick second and let go. Jack then tried to establish a connection. "You two are friends?"

"Well, I don't know about friends," the captain said. "But I've known Chase since he was a little little pup. I was friends with his father."

Chase's mind was hit with ultimate devastation when his father was mentioned. He may have died five years ago, but it still pained him as if it happened yesterday. Chase didn't show it though, as he kept his composure. A clear head keeps the mind full of bread.

"He's helped us out in many situations. One of the best dogs I have ever known. It was a sad day when we lost him, and I miss him dearly." The captain added.

Chase was about ready to break down in tears as the captain went on. Ever since his dad passed on, Chase would usually get very quiet and depressed when anyone talked about him. He loved his father and valued his opinion more than anyone else. The one thing he wanted in life was to make his father proud of him, but he never got that chance. He got better about it though, thanks to his friends, but he still felt that he had a long way to go before he could truly move on.

Captain Garity seemed to finally notice, when he looked at his friend's son, who looked like he was on the verge of crying. "I-I'm sorry son. I didn't mean to open an old wound."

Chase looked at the military captain and gave his best smile as he could. "It's o-okay captain. It's…..been five years now. I'm mostly over it now."

The captain gave a reassuring smile as he scratched Chase's head. Reassuring him that everything was okay.

Jack however, had been silent listening to the conversation thoroughly. He was about to say something, before Jane went up to him.

"Sir?" she called. "ShadowFur has arrived."

"Finally." Jack replied. "We can get this show on the road." he then looks at the two individuals, as he announces to them what's going on. "I'm going to greet them, I'll leave you two to catch up."

He then makes his departure, leaving the captain and Chase to talk.

"So, Captain, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Well, the state has been sending me once a month to check on things with the ambassador." Garity answered. "Make sure he's in line."

"Really?" Chase asked back.

"Yeah." the captain replied. "It seems that they wanna make sure everything is in order here. I don't think there's a need for it, considering everything has been peaceful. I just do it to keep me busy these days."

"Not getting as much action as you used to. Eh old man?" Chase jeered with a grin.

"Hey!" Garity objected. "I'm not that old yet, Chase."

"Yeah, Yeah whatever" Chase rolled his eyes as he muttered that out while grinning more.

"I wanna ask Chase, what are you doing here?" The Captain asked curiously. "It's a long way from Adventure Bay to be all the way out here."

"Well, it's sort of a long story, Cap." Chase replied. "One that will have to be told later. Instead I was wanting to see if you could tell me something."

"What is Chase?" The captain asked.

"What do you know about the BloodRayne wolves?"

---

The table may have been long, but it didn't take long for all of it's chairs to be occupied by a mixture of humans and wolves. Servants and wolves mostly occupied the table on the far end, while the other end was occupied by Captain Garity, Chase, Marshall, and Claria on the right side, and ShadowFur's Alpha and Delta on the left side. Well, it would be if they were there. Unfortunately, Jack had announced that the Alpha had to return home for some, "urgent matters." The ones representing the leaders there, were the pack's Beta, an overly humongous wolf named DarkClaw, and the Alpha-Heir of all wolves, Klora. A male pup who was obviously super nervous to represent his pack.

Chase felt bad for the pup, he looked like he was going to faint at any moment. This of course threw a wrench into Chase's plans to interrogate ShadowFur. He couldn't interrogate a pup. Heck, he didn't even know what was going on anyway. He couldn't talk to DarkClaw because for some reason, he was a mute. Marshall learned that the hard way when he tried to greet him and got nothing but a stern and intimidating stare from DarkClaw, which freaked him out until Claria told him about the beta being a mute. So that was obviously going nowhere. Chase was pretty much out of luck at this point, as he would have to wait until he meets the Alpha himself.

Chase did think it was weird how the Alpha decided not to show up all of a sudden. He thought wolves were pretty serious about being offered anything. So for him to just drop it for some "issues" was pretty sketchy. He would've understood if they didn't send the heir in here stead. Sure the beta was here, but once again, he was a mute. Kinda hard to represent a pack when you don't speak. He put it aside for now to focus on eating a good meal, get a good night's sleep, and to ask to follow ShadowFur to their camp. If they were staying the night that is.

Meanwhile, Marshall was looking around the table assessing the ShadowFur wolves that were waiting patiently for their meal. One look at them made him understand why they were called ShadowFur. Their entire coat was black with each wolf having distinctive features like white stripes or white swirls on their bodies. The only parts that weren't black were white underbellies and faces, although some of them had faces that were half and half.

They were the first group of wolves that they had seen since they crash landed that were healthy which irritated Marshall. The other packs were starving to death and these wolves were sitting in a luxury house ready to devour their meal as if there was nothing wrong. He kept his mouth shut though, he didn't want to say anything that might end in bloodshed

Claria stayed silent since they sat down as she was looking at Kora. As much as she hated ShadowFur now due to the wrong deeds they have done, she couldn't help but notice how innocent Klora looked, as if he had no idea what his pack was doing. He was visibly shivering like a scared little pup. Maybe after the dinner, she'll try to talk to him, and maybe he would be willing to help them, depending on what side he was on.

Marshall leaned into Claria as he mumbled to her. "So, this is ShadowFur?"

"Yep." Claria answered, a little distaste. "Here they are."

Marshall looked around again at the wolves that crowded the table. "They really are a colorful set aren't they?"

"They are." Claria said, before her face fell as she mumbled out the next sentence trying to hide her words. "It's not fair."

"Hmm?" Marshall replied.

"They sit here with full stomachs and the best shape of their life and yet my pack and the others are trying their hardest to even make it through the night." She almost blurted that out loud so everyone would hear her, but she knew that she had to keep her cool. "It makes me so mad."

"I know it does." Marshall said back. Barely keeping it in, himself. "But don't you worry, as soon as we get to the bottom of this. We will make it right. Or my name isn't Marshall."

Claria looked at Marshall and gave a satisfying smirk "Thanks Marshall. Marshall replied. "We haven't done anything yet."

The sound of a spoon tapping the side of a glass, notified everyone to quiet down and look over to the ambassador, who was behind the podium on the platform.

"Alright everyone, our main course will be here shortly." Jack announced. "Until then, I will now formally introduce the guests who have joined us tonight. First, we have Captain Garity from the United States Army, joining us tonight."

The servants nodded in acknowledgement as the captain slightly raised his hand in attendance. The wolves however, weren't so welcoming, as they glared at the accomplished captain.

"Well these wolves are rude." Marshall whispered to Chase, which caused Chase to quietly hush him as the Ambassador went on.

"Next, we have Claria. The Alpha-Heir to the River Rush."

Claria sat up as high as she could as the servants and wolves nodded in her presence. A complete opposite reaction than Captain Garity's

"We also have the pups from Adventure Bay, Chase and Marshall, who are members of the famous Paw Patrol."

While the servants were nodding in acknowledgement, the wolves stayed frozen in their seats, staring at the two rescue pups. But it wasn't scowls on their faces. Instead it was astonishing.

"You mean the same Paw Patrol who helped the Woodland recover their emerald from invaders?"

Chase nodded as he answered Kora's question. "Yes. I'm actually one of the ones who did the deed."

"I am very honored." the heir replied, as he bowed his head towards him while the others followed suit.

Chase was about to reply until Jack tapped on the glass again. "Now, now. There will be plenty of time to talk after the introductions."

Everyone nodded at him, as he introduced the last guests. "Alright, our last guests are the ShadowFur wolves, represented by the Alpha-Heir of ShadowFur, Klora."

The servants once again nodded as well as Chase, Marshall, Claria, and Garity. Klora practically almost fainted in place as he shook at all of the attention.

Marshall took note of this as it sorta reminded him of himself. "Aw, poor pup." he whispered to Chase. "He looks like he's about to run away."

Chase shook his head at the sight, as it was a definite no go on the interrogation of the ShadowFur Wolves. Now, he has a new target, which is the ambassador. Captain Garity told him something very peculiar about the ambassador's house, and he wanted more information from the ambassador himself.

At that moment, the dinner officially began when servers entered the room with glasses full of drinks of water, tea, and flavored drinks that the patrons had requested earlier.

Jack got from behind the podium, and sat down at the head of the table, and began sipping his tea, with the others following suit. Chase had begun to look at Jack with a very determined face. The ambassador noticed this as he stared back at the Shepherd. "Something the matter, Chase?"

"No, not really." Chase answered back, smiling firmly at Jack. "Captain Garity and I were just discussing the history of the wolves and he told me something very interesting about your house."

Jack's mouth matched Chase's as he wondered what had caught Chase's attention "Really now? Enlighten me Chase, what did he tell you about my estate?"

The servers came out of the kitchen with napkins and saucers full of grapes and olives as the patrons started eating them. For Marshall, this dinner started off well, for he loved grapes as he started eating them along with Claria who was eating the olives.

"He said that this property was once the territory of the BloodRayne wolves." Chase stated, staring calmly at Jack.

One server came out of the kitchen with a big serving plate with a silver dome on it. Concealing whatever was in it. Marshall licked his lips as he couldn't wait to see what the main course was, "Oh boy! I wonder what it is. I'm starving."

Claria matched his excitement as well. "Me too."

The server put the dish in front of Marshall and lifted up the dome. Marshall licked his lips again but immediately stopped when he saw what was inside and was shocked. On the plate in front of him, was a snake! Wrapped around a big Chalice holding a bouquet of flowers.

Marshall was dumbfounded at the sight. He had a hard time eating a rabbit with its head cut off earlier. He couldn't imagine how he would ever eat this without feeling bad for the snake. It wasn't even cleaned or anything. It was like it died naturally wrapped around the Chalice.

Claria however had a complete opposite reaction, as she continued to stare at the snake with her mouth watering and her tongue sticking out. "Ooooo. Snake,...surprise."

"What's the surprise?" Marshall gasped. He regretted asking that question, when the servers cut the snake open, and what seemed like a hundred baby snakes flowed out of the big snake like blood gushing out. Wiggling and gargling around which almost made Marshall throw up on the spot.

"Well. That is peculiar." Jack replied to Chase's discovery, not taking his eyes off of Chase, but was calm as a turtle. "Well, I guess it's very fortunate that the BloodRayne wolves are no longer with us."

Captain Garity then chimed in while eating. "Yes. Very fortunate. The BloodRayne wolves were vile creatures. They worshiped Red-Eye like a cult. Complete with pup sacrifices. The U.S. army did away with them thoroughly."

Marshall watched in horror, as wolves and Claria were eating the LIVE baby snakes in front of him. Some even slurped them like noodles, which made Marshall gag in response.

"Well I assume BloodRayne has followers." Chase replied in response to Captain Garity. Not taking his eyes off of Jack.

Jack looked up from his plate and stared daggers back at Chase. "Impossible Chase. There is no trace of the BloodRayne wolves anywhere."

Upon hearing this, Marshall and Claria looked on as the conversation got tense. Klora, DarkClaw and the rest of the wolves paid attention as well.

Chase noticed this but continued on. "I'm not so sure about that now. We've come from the River Rush pack, who say that the ShadowFur wolves had begun raiding their camp." Chase slurred. "Destroying them, and claiming their allegiance to the BloodRayne wolves."

The ShadowFur wolves hear this and now stare at Chase with daggers of their own. Some even produced a low growl at the Shepherd. Marshall was deeply concerned for Chase, as he looked at each wolf, ready to defend his best friend.

"Watch it Chase," The ambassador warned. "You're becoming very unpopular with our guests. They don't take too kindly to a foreigner sticking their nose into business that doesn't belong and accusing them of something with no evidence."

Chase too noticed the atmosphere of the room becoming hostile from the wolves. All except for Klora, who was now looking at Chase as if he was very intrigued by what he had to say. Chase had to bring the mood down or he would be mauled in the matter of seconds. "I'm not accusing anyone. I'm just saying what the pack told me."

"I suggest you keep it to yourself Chase. Packs had been known to spread stories of fear and folklore." Jack replied he then eyed Captain Garity as he said his next statement. "Your beginning to worry Captain Garity."

"No, No ambasassor. I'm not worried." The captain all said, as he shooed away some baby snakes. "Just…...curious."

At that moment, platters were passed around as the patrons took their time picking from the Platter. It went to Marshall as he saw what was on them and came so close to freaking out. On the platter, were rabbits ready to be eaten. The problem? Their heads were still on, as Marshall couldn't even look at them. A wolf across the table from them noticed this, and began to question the distressed Dalmatian.

"What's wrong?" The wolf asks in a calm and soothing voice. "You're not eating?"

Marshall was hyperventilating a little bit as he answered her. "I-I-I had a rabbit for lunch."

The wolf rolled her eyes as she began to devour her rabbit. Pulling it's fluffy tail off to start off as she tore it to pieces. Marshall began to breathe heavily, as he could practically hear the rabbits scream in agony. "Chase, give me your hat."

Chase looked at Marshall with a confused look. As he took his hat off he handed it to Marshall. "Why?"

"Cause I'm going to puke in it!" Marshall answered frantically as he grabbed Chase's police hat.

Upon hearing this, Chase immediately snatched it away. "Eww! No! Use your helmet!"

Claria had just finished her rabbit, as she burped loudly and giggled. "Excuse me." She forgot about Marshall's problem with eating food that looks at him. As she was destroying her food without noticing Marshall's struggle through Pukeland. She had not eaten this much in forever, so she was going to savor this moment as much as she could.

Back at the head of the table, Chase was eating his portion, as he continued to press the situation. "You know, they also said that ShadowFur took something valuable from them."

"You're still on about this Chase?" Jack replied, while eating. "You don't give up easily, do you? You know it's rude for a guest to insult his hosts."

Chase grinned as he was giving a firm stare at the ambassador. "I'm sorry, I thought we were talking about folklore."

Marshall couldn't take it any longer, he was close to getting up and finding the nearest bath room and staying there till the end of the dinner. But he decided against it, as it would look bad on him, Chase, and the Paw Patrol. Plus he had to try to eat something, or he would have trouble trying to sleep with an empty stomach.

He noticed a server pass by and motioned for him to come over. "Ex-Excuse me. Do you have anything simple, like soup?"

The server nodded as he went to fetch the dally a bowl of soup.

Captain Garity looked at Chase with as much curiosity as a cat. "What exactly did the pack say was stolen?"

Chase thought about saying their pups were stolen, but decided against it as it would probably cause enough trouble to get out from. "An emerald."

Almost every wolf at the table peaked up and stared at Chase again. This time, with more aggressiveness than before, as growls could clearly be heard. But the mood immediately went down, when surprisingly, Jack started laughing out loud, almost choking on his food.

"You see captain?" he said to Garity, mocking Chase. "An emerald!" he laughed some more as Chase's face fell to embarrassment.

The server came back out of the kitchen with a little chalice in his hand as he appeared next to Marshall and set it down in front of him. Marshall wagged his tail in excitement. He figured that there was no way they could screw soup up. He picked the dome cover off the chalice as steam resonated from the soup and bereaved it in soothingly. He went to start eating it, but he ended up bumping the side of it, finding a way they could screw it up.

When he bumped the side, eyeballs floated to the top with pupils staging at him. REAL EYEBALLS! Talk about not being able to eat anything that looks at you, now it seemed like god was mocking him.

Marshall whimpered in response to this. He visibly began to shake in fear and embarrassment. Claria looked over at the Chalice, again, forgetting about Marshall's stance on eating. "What? You don't like sheep eyeballs?"

"SHEEEEEEEP?!" Marshall exclaimed as he had a horrified look on his face.

"Chase," Jack began as he ceased laughing. "If the pack wants an emerald so badly, they could go to the Wolf's Howl and go dig one up! Gemstones are everywhere on that mountain from rubies to sapphires. Saying that ShadowFur stole an emerald from them would be like me stealing candy from a baby. Geez Chase, if you're going to accuse somebody of a crime, make sure you have heat behind it. Or else you would be more like a tattle tale, than a police pup."

Chase was largely humiliated. If Ryder was here or his father was still alive, they would be very disappointed at his performance. Maybe he should've won the lead with the kidnapped pups instead. At least it would've saved him from embarrassing himself.

Claria finally finished her rabbit, and looked over to Marshall, who had not moved an inch since he took the dome off the sheep eye soup. She then looks at the soup with very tantalizing eyes. "You going to eat that?"

At this point, Marshall had given up on eating anything tonight. In fact, he'll probably never eat again ever. At least the same way he used to.

While still wearing a face of shock and horror and barely moving, Marshall slowly pushed the chalice in front of Claria. Giving her permission to finish it off the soup.

Chase then remembered a key point about the emerald as he tried again. "It-It wasn't a normal emerald that was taken. It was their Wolf's Emerald. The emerald that protects and provides the pack with resources, and now that it is gone, the wolves are starving and drop dead at any moment of the day."

That did it for DarkClaw. He had heard enough. He got up to come across the table and rip Chase's throat out but Klora stopped him with his paw and pleaded with him to sit back down.

Jack however, gave death glare to Chase as he went to defuse the situation. "Chase," he said grimly. "I find it very amusing that you're going off of rumors and speculation, when you seem to forget that you and your band of misfits are not immune to them as well."

Chase returned the stare as he listened on to Jack's retort.

"I seem to remember hearing something about your Dalmatian friend being considered more of an arsonist, than a fire pup." The ambassador sternly said.

Chase was caught completely off guard at that statement. Jack has obviously done his homework on them.

About two months ago, Marshall made an appearance at an orphanage down at Foggy Bottom to talk about fire safety with his fans. Ryder and Chase went with him to help as Marshall was not particularly great with public speaking. But even with that, Marshall still ended up freaking out and accidentally knocking over a candle, which sent the orphanage into a blaze. Thankfully, no one was hurt except for Marshall's mental health. It was the worst day of his life. Well, more like the worst week of his life. The media over exaggerated the situation and trashed his reputation. People wanted Marshall to quit the Paw Patrol forever, as they thought that his clumsiness would one day cause many deaths and for that, called him the worst fire pup ever. Marshall came close, really, really close to following suit and never being a fire pup ever again.

It took Ryder, Chase, Skye, Rocky, Zuma, Rubble, his parents, his sister Ember, Kaitie, Alex, Mr. Porter, Captain Turbot, Farmer Yumi, Farmer Al, Jake, Everest, and the entire population of Adventure Bay, to convince him otherwise and lift his spirits up, from the lowest it had ever been, and push back the media, and to continue on being the best fire dog in the world.

Chase was enraged that Jack would ever bring up the lowest point of his best friend's life, but kept calm to not show weakness. "That was an accident." Chase said slowly and sternly, as he now gave an Icy stare at the ambassador. "And if I remember correctly, because I was there, he saved everyone in that orphanage."

Jack returned the stare as he knew he hit a sore spot. "I'm pretty sure he did Chase. But that didn't stop the media. Did it?"

Chase tensed a little at that as he hoped Marshall wasn't listening.

Jack went on his verbal assault. "I also remember reading in the paper today about a nightclub shooting a couple nights ago, involving the death of a famous singer named Skylar."

Chase's Icy stare vanished as he was reminded of his friend's death.

"And apparently, you're the suspect." Jack informed the now distressed Shepherd.

Chase couldn't believe what he just said. He hoped he was lying. But Jack looked as serious as a heart attack.

Chase felt like he wanted to run away and hide in a closet and never come out. Not only did he lose one of his friends two days ago, but now he was being accused of her murder. This had to be Bubba's doing. No way he would ever be willing to take responsibility for Skylar's death. Guess he's going to have to deal with that when he gets back home.

Chase swallowed hard as he tried to keep his composure, but after being told a bombshell, It was very hard to do that. "I-I-I-I-I didn't…..kill her."

Jack took Chase's awkwardness and ran with it. "That's not what the paper said."

"Well…..um….uh" Chase was close to breaking down. He could barely finish his sentence. "There…..There seems t-t-to b-be a b-big mim-m-m-misunderstanding."

"Exactly what we have here, Chase." Jack said sternly. "A miss understanding."

Chase had fully given up at this point. The once strong minded and confident police pup, had now been broken down into a very deflated and embarrassed pup. He had fully given up at this point, he wanted to curl into a ball and cry of embarrassment. He had been defeated in this battle spectacularly, and wanted to go home with his tail between his legs.

"U-Um…. Excuse me?"

The entire table looked at where the voice was coming from, as it turned out to be Klora, who had finally broken his silence.

"Can-Can I say something?" He requested nervously.

The ambassador nodded as he gave permission for the Alpha-Heir to speak.

Klora cleared his throat as he began. "I know about our history with the BloodRayne wolves. I know that we were once called the dangerous alliance because of our ways of terrorizing the other packs. I thought the stories were told to frighten little pups. But I then later found out that it was all real, and that we have done unspeakable things to the other packs." He then locked on to Chase.

"Chase," he said sternly. "I am ashamed of my pack forever for helping the BloodRayne wolves, and I assure you that as long as I'm still alive, we will never, ever be associated with those monsters ever again."

Chase looked up into his eyes of Kora with sorrowful eyes. "If-If I've offended you, then I am sorry."

Chase and Jack gave each other one last stare as the ambassador grinned menacingly.

The severs came back one last time holding many more Chalices with silver domes on the top of them.

"Ooooo." Claria said excitingly. "Dessert."

'Oh great! Dessert!' Marshall thought. 'I wonder what it is this time, lizard's tale, stuffed turtles, fried birds, baked cats? At this point, he didn't care what it was, he just knew that he wasn't going to like it.

A server set a chalice down in front of Marshall and revealed a monkey's head. Marshall gasped sharply at the sight as all the air was sucked out of his lungs.

"Ahhh." Claria said, very eager to eat it. "Chilled Monkey Brains!" She then opened the top of the head and dugg in.

Chilled…..Monkey…..Brains.

Chilled…..Monkey…..Brains

CHILLED MONKEY BRAINS?!

That did it. That was all Marshall could take as shortly after looking inside the monkey's head, he lost all feeling everywhere. His eyes rolled backwards into his head, and fell backwards in his chair causing it to fall and land with a loud thump. He had fainted and landed on his back, with his paws up in the air. Twitching slightly.

Claria snapped back into reality and went to check on him. After discovering that he had fainted, she picked him up by the scruff of his neck, and placed him on her back with the help from a nearby servant.

Thankfully, Marshall was light as a feather and Claria was pretty strong, as she addressed the table. "I-I'm going to take him to his room. Thanks for the dinner!" She then starts making her way out of the room, as the rest of the patrons went back to their meals.

Normally, Chase would be infuriated, but after the embarrassment defeat earlier, he welcomed Marshall fainting as now, everybody was talking about Marshall whiting out, rather that a stupid dumb German Shepherd like him.

Chase didn't say anything else for the rest of the dinner, as he sat completely still. Not even eating his Chilled Monkey Brain.

---

Jack rushed into his study and slammed the door behind him. He leaned on the table by his chair and took deep breaths, as he took a cigarette out of his pack and lit it up. As soon as he puffed, he started to calm down.

That was tooooo close!

That German Shepherd almost had them there. Right in front of the captain no less. If Jack hadn't interjected and defused the situation, his plan with the BloodRayne would have been compromised, and then all of their hard work would have been for nothing and he would be in an american jail.

He sat down on his chair and relaxed for the first time that night. Breathing deeply in and out to remain calm. One thing was for sure, he had to silence that pup by any means necessary. He glanced at the paper he read before the dinner, and came across the night club story. He saw Chase's bounty and then smiled menacingly through his cigarette. Why not try to kill two birds with one stone? He picked up the paper and read the bounty of five hundred thousand dollars.

"I guess it's time to cash in on that bounty," he said out loud.

Just then, Jane came through the door and stood in front of the ambassador. "Ambassador?"

Jack looked up at his number one servant. "Yes Jane?"

"A message from Oni-Con," She stated.

"Okay." Jack replied, anxious to hear the message. "What is it?"

"He says that there will be a ceremony tonight." Jane revealed.

"Really? Who is going to be sacrificed tonight?" he asked curiously.

"The Alpha-Heir of ShadowFur," Jane answered. "Klora."

"Oh." Jack replied. "Really? I didn't expect the Alpha to sacrifice his own son. Must be because of the comment he made at the table."

"Another thing, He wishes to have a word with you now." Jane added.

Jack groaned at the order. "What does that coot want now." He leaves the room to speak with the BloodRayne Alpha. He then stops and turns to his servant.

"Wait a minute Jane," He called.

Jane turned back around to address the ambassador. "Yes ambassador?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

---

Chase walked down the hallway by himself with his head hung low. He didn't talk to anybody as he left the dining room, not even Captain Garity who had attempted to talk to the deflated Shepherd, but only got silence in return. He didn't want to talk to anyone, he just wanted to go to his room, lock the door, faceplant his pillow and maybe suffocate himself.

His performance at the dinner ended horribly, with the Paw Patrol being completely embarrassed through the whole thing with Marshall's mishap with the food and Chase's empty interrogation. He wasn't mad at Marshall, at least not as much as he was mad at himself for botching it and letting the ambassador walk all over him. He should've had evidence, he should've known what all he was talking about and picked his battles accordingly. That way, the ambassador would've had no holes to escape from, and they could've solved everything without any violence. The only thing to do now, is to sleep it off, and travel to ShadowFur's camp and rescue the pups and the emeralds. He doubted that they were just going to let them in due to the bad reputation he now had from them. So, more than likely, they were going to have to fight their way into the camp to get the emeralds and the pups.

Chase stopped in front of his door and looked behind him at Marshall's door. He could really use a counseling session from his best friend right now. Marshall always knew what to say to ease Chase and bring him down to earth and make him feel better. He loved that about the dally, and knew that whenever Chase was down in the dumps, he always had Marshall to lift his spirits up.

He thought about doing just that, but after the dinner, he felt that Marshall was probably exhausted, if not asleep at this point. He'll have to wait till tomorrow to talk to him.

He turned around and opened his bedroom door to find Claria laying down and awake on the bed. He was surprised at first, but then he remembered that Marshall had requested for her to sleep with him tonight.

Despite his mental health at the moment, Chase smiled at her as Claria looked at him with exhausted eyes. "Tired already?"

Claria gave a smile back as she sat up, "Yeah."

Chase went up to the bed and climbed on it to sit next to her. "I thought you wanted to have the best night ever."

"I did." Claria said scooting away from him to give him room. "But I guess I'm just not feeling it anymore."

Chase felt a little disappointed honestly. He had hoped that Claria was in a playful mood to ease his stress from earlier. But it looks like that wasn't going to happen. But there was something that he finally had the chance to address with her. It had been bothering him since they started the journey, and now, he will finally see what's up.

"Hey Claria?" He said. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it Chase?" Claria said, not looking at him.

"Did….did I do something wrong?"

Claria looked at Chase innocently. "Huh? What do you mean."

"Oh come on Claria, you know what I mean." Chase pressed. "Have I done anything to scare you?"

Claria froze up at that question. She felt as if she was a suspect of a crime and Chase found her out. "It's that obvious, isn't it?"

"From your scent, yes, it is." Chase replied.

Claria looked at Chase with the saddest eyes. "Oh Chase. Please don't be mad. It's not like I want to be scared by you."

Chase looked into Claira's eyes, which almost made her clench out of habit, but she didn't this time. His amber eyes stopped her. They weren't intimidating, they were calm and caring. Completely opposite from what she would usually get from him.

"Claria," Chase said. "I'm not mad. I just wanna know what the problem is, so I can stop scaring you. Please…..tell me. Why can't you talk to me without getting nervous."

Claria swallowed hard as she tried to think of a satisfying answer to Chase's question. "You're not doing anything Chase. It's just….It's…...I don't know what it is."

Chase listened on, as Claria tried to make sense of her mindset.

"Don't get me wrong. You're a good pup Chase. You're nice, selfless, and stubborn for the right reason."

Chase raised an eyebrow in confusion. He never heard a compliment like that before, but he guessed he could take it.

"It's just…..I don't know. Every time I look at you, I feel like I'm annoying you and that I'm doing something wrong."

Chase was taken aback by this. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a time he was really annoyed or mad at her. Maybe the submarine song, but he wasn't annoyed at her as much as he was annoyed at the song. Plus that was a very silly thing to be annoyed at her about. "What are you talking about Claria? You don't annoy me."

"To me, I am. It's making me feel like I'm disappointing you. Like I should be doing more than sitting around and playing with Marshall."

Chase suddenly had a realization as he listened to Claria's rambling.

"You are such a serious pup. You think ahead and plan accordingly, and that's not a bad thing. It sorta reminds me of…."

"Yourself?"

Claria stopped immediately when Chase interrupted her. "Y-Y-Yeah, Exactly."

The two looked at each other. Both of them didn't move a muscle as they stared at each other for a bit until Claria broke the silence.

"I may not look like it. But I'm a serious pup. I make it a point to know my situation and know what to do if anything goes wrong, or what I need to do to reach my goal, and also how to present myself. I learned all that from my father. The reason why I haven't been so tight on it, is because I'm having so much fun with Marshall. I don't get to play much anymore. I'm getting to that age where I have to learn how to be a suitable Alpha, and how to take care of the pack in tough situations. Most pups get to play all through their pup hoods. But for an heir like me? I have to start learning halfway through, and by the time I know everything, I'll be a full grown wolf, and have no time to fool around."

Clara's eyes started to form tears, as she felt very devastated about her future. While she was fine with being an Alpha-Heir, and dreamed of making her father proud by excelling at leading the pack, she had to give up her pup hood to fulfill that goal. She often thought of what it would've been like to not be tied to fate, but always shrugged it off, as she loved her mother and father, and would not want to trade her life with anyone else for that one reason.

"So when I get to play, I play as much as I can until I get very tired, and that's what I get when I spend time with Marshall. I get to release all that playfulness that has been inside of me for so long, and I want that because it won't be long before I have to stop altogether."

Chase felt bad for the pup. In a way, He's the same way. He always felt playfulness building up inside of him from time to time. Always wanting to let it out. Even though Chase was just a pup, he acted much older than he was. Because Ryder made him the de facto leader, Chase always drove himself to be that fulfilling leader the Paw Patrol needs, making him feel like playing was not a necessity. If it weren't for Marshall and the other pups, he would rarely play, as he would be off bettering himself by exercising and reading.

Chase had Marshall to thank for showing him how to balance seriousness and playfulness, but for Claria, she had no one. Yeah she had Roxy, but she probably didn't see him but one or two times a month, and if she's the heir, she must have a lot to learn so she could lead the pack, so she probably has a lot less time than Chase ever has to play.

The police pup resonated with this, considering that it's the complete opposite with him. He thinks that he plays too much all the time. It's not that he doesn't like to play, he just would rather be working and keeping order than to goof around.

Claria spoke up again as she got comfortable "So whenever I talk and look at you, it reminds me that I need to be what's expected of me. That's the reason I get nervous around you Chase."

"So…you think I expect a lot out of you?" Chase asked.

Claria looked down very sadly as she confirmed Chase's answer. "Y-Yeah. Pretty much."

Chase was silent for a moment, before he replied with a reasoning tone. "Claria. I'm going to tell you something that I don't really tell a lot of folks about me. Why? Because I completely understand what you're talking about."

"You do?" Claria asked.

"Yep." Chase said back confidently. "Claria, I had those thoughts before. The feeling like everyone's expectations is more out of you, when that's not the case. The feeling of doing more than you can possibly do, even if the jobs are acceptable and always waiting to do your best for the sake of everyone else because you feel you need to. I used to get those feelings all the time, and still do from time to time. But you wanna know something?"

Claria stayed still. "Hmm?"

"A certain pup told me that you can only do as best as you can do. No more, no less. If you keep thinking that you can do more than your best, you'll only be disappointing yourself, and nine times out of ten, your friends don't expect you to be better than your best anyway, they just want to know that you will be there for them, ready to take on anything that comes across."

Claria sat in awe and started to relax, even scooting a little close to Chase, not at all intimidated no more.

"You already showed me that you're more than capable to help us in any way you can, and you haven't done anything to lose my trust. So there should be nothing you need to prove to me. So all you need to do is…" Chase paused and smiled at Claria, as he was quoting that certain pup. "Do your best, and forget the rest."

Claria smiled back and formed tears of joy, as she hugged Chase suddenly. "Thanks Chase. That means a lot to me."

Chase hugged back as he felt that her uneasiness for him just vanished into thin air. "Your welcome squirt."

They let go as they looked at each other again with admiration. Claria smiled as she spoke next. "If only you were as playful as Marshall. Then it would truly be the best night ever."

Chase raised an eyebrow and gave a skeptic smile. "Oh? You don't think I'm playful enough for you."

Claria faced the foot of the bed as she laid down and yawned. Curling up into a ball. "No, not really. That's not a bad thing though, just a little bit of a bummer though."

"Oh really?" Chase said slowly, as he got into a hunter's crouch, ready to strike Claria.

Claria had her eyes closed as she yawned one more time, not seeing Chase's determined look. "Yep. Such a…whoa!"

Claria had no time to react, Chase suddenly tackled her on the bed. A chill ran down her spine when this happened, but she wasn't screaming, instead, she was laughing hysterically.

Chase had a hold on her and started tickling the snot out of her. Claria thrashed a round, tring to get out of Chase's grasp but it was no 's ticklish assault quickly overcame her.

"HAHAHAHEHE…..WHAT...HEHE….ARE YOU…HEHE…..DOING?!" Claria struggled to speak in between her laughs.

"What's it feel like to squirt?" Chase replied, almost laughing himself. "I'm tickling you."

"P-P-PLEASE! HEHEHE! SSSSSTOP!" Claria exclaimed. "I-HAHA-CAN'T BR-BR-BREATHE! HEHE!"

"I'm afraid I don't want to stop Claria." Chase said grimly. "Not until you tell me that I'm playful enough!"

"W-W-W-W-WHAT?! HAHA!"

"You heard me! Who's playful now huh?!"

"AHHAHAHAHA! YOU ARE! YOU ARE! HEHE! P-PLEASE STOP!"

Chase didn't let up as he continued his assault. "IIIIII can't heaaaaar yoooooooouuuu."

"YOU ARE! TEHEHEHE! HAHAHAHA! PLEASE! HEHE! LEMME GO!" Claria said, struggling to escape as Chase continued. But inside, she was loving it.

Chase eased up a bit as he asked the next question. "Even more than Marshall?"

"Well, HEHE Maybe not HAHEHE that playful!"

Big mistake. Chase grew the most evil smile he had ever had in his life. "Wrong answer." He said, as he intensified his tickling to the point where Claria would explode with uncontrollable laughter, while flailing her paws in the air.

"BWAHAHA! HEHEHE NO! TEHEHEHE! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GARI! HAHAHA! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! PWFHEHEHEHE!"

"Am I more playful than Marshall?"

"YES! HAHA!"

"Really?"

"YES! REALLY! HEHE!"

"You're not just saying that cause I'm ticking you. Huh?"

"MAYBE!"

That only made it worse, as he moved to her belly. "I don't think like that answer."

"GAHHAHAHAHA! OKAY! OKAY! I GIVE! HEHEHEHEH! I GIVE! YOU ARE HEHEHE! MORE PLAYFUL THAN MARSHALL! AHHEHEHEHEHE! NOW PLEASE! ST-STO-STOOOOOP!"

Feeling like she had enough, and mostly because he was starting to get a little tired, Chase finally let go of Claria. Claria laid out with Chase sitting next to her.

"Wow Claria, didn't expect you to be very ticklish." Chase stated.

Claria's brain was practically mush at this point as she tried to reply. "Blddjoi….Zonld….ghath...daffn."

Chase sat there and observed Claria for a bit before he stood up and proceeded to get off the bed.

Claria, after finally catching her breath, landed her eyes on Chase who was about to jump off the bed. She had on her mind. Sweet, sweet revenge. She stood and crouched low behind Chase, her eyes locked on the Shepherd. When she was ready she called him out. "Hey Chase."

Chase turned around to look at Claria, "hmmm...oof." Chase had no time to react, as Claria pounced on him, and tackled him off the bed and landed on the floor with Chase landing on his back and Claria on top of him.

"Ha! Got you!" Claria exclaimed, proud of herself, as her paw pressed on his chest "Revenge is mine!"

Her smile immediately faded when Chase groaned in pain. She had enormous amounts of concern, as she stood there frozen in place. "Oh no! Chase! I'm so, so sorry. Do you need help?"

Chase however, was faking it, as he smiled and suddenly rolled over, and took Claria with him. They switched places in one swift movement with Claria practically scared out of her paws as Chase still had a smile on his face.

"Ah!" Claria yelped. "No! Please! I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me!"

Chase chuckled as he suddenly gave the terrified pup a quick lick. "Rule number one of fighting squirt. Never give your opponent time to recover."

Claria calmed down as she pressed Chase. "Oh come on Chase! That wasn't fair!"

"It may be," Chase replied. "But there's no fairness in a fight Claria, you got to be ready for anything."

Claria rolled her eyes "Whatever. What did you do anyway? That was pretty cool."

"Oh that?" Chase acknowledged. "It's a basic dog side take down while laying on my back, My dad taught me that."

"Can you teach me?" Claria asked very eagerly.

"Sure, why not." Chase answered, as he started to teach Claria the move. "It's really simple. Just take your front left paw and put it on my joint in my right foreleg like this…"

Chase placed Claria's left foreleg on his leg "Take your back left leg and put it in the same spot on my back left leg." Claria did just that as she started to get the hang of it. "And then, take your right foreleg, and place it on my right side here." Claria followed Chase's instructions closely as Chase gave the last of the tutorial. "Then, all at once, push on my right side while using your left paws as a fulcrum and slam me on the…..whoa!"

Before Chase could finish, Claria did as she was taught and rolled Chase over, just like he did before.

"Oof!" Chase yelped as he slammed on the ground on his side while Claria stood over him.

"I-I did it!" Claria jumped with joy. "I did it!"

"Whoa." Chase replied, very impressed. "You learn fast, squirt." He then rubs his head as he states the last sentence. "Though I wish you didn't slam me so hard."

They both laugh as Claria gets off of Chase, allowing him to stand up, and stretch.

"Well." Chase yawned. "I think I'm going to check on Marshall. See how he is doing."

"Okay." she replied, as she started heading out the door. "I'm going outside."

"Outside?" Chase repeated. "Why?"

"Well," Claria answered nervously. "You know…...I need to go."

"Why don't you use the bathroom?" Chase suggested.. "That way you don't have to walk that far."

"Are you kidding?" Claria asked back "I don't know how to use those….things."

"Oh come on Claria." Chase said. "You're a smart pup. You can figure it out."

Claria thought about it for a bit. Human technology was so weird and a little scary for her, she had no interest in learning how to use the toilets.

But… It is a long walk to the front doors, and she may not be able to hold it in sooo… she may have no choice. She sighed as she gave in. "Okay I'll try."

Chase smiled at her, as she went into the bathroom. Leaving Chase to exit the room.

Before he left though, he went into his pack, and barked out his emergency pack. He grabbed a nearby bowl, tore the bag open, and spilled it's contents into the bowl. He figured that Marshall would be hungry, so he felt that an emergency pack would fill Marshall right up. Once he was ready, he made his way out of the room. He saw Jane who had just arrived to straighten up the rooms.

"Oh, hey Jane." Chase greeted. "You scared me."

Jane practically jumped a few feet when Chase called out to her. "Hey Chase. I'm just making sure everything is set for you to be comfortable for your good night sleep."

Chase nodded at her as he walked in front of Marshall's room door. "Okay cool. I'm just going to check on my buddy for a bit."

"Please." Jane replied. "Take all the time you need."

"Thanks Jane." Chase responded. As he turned around and faced the door.

Jane stared at him a bit before she opened the door to Chase's room and made her way inside. Closing the door behind her.

Chase stopped in front of Marshall's door and raised his paw to knock, but before he could knock, the door swung open as Marshall stood in the doorway. Chase swung the bowl behind him as he greeted him. "Hey buddy."

Marshall smiled at the sight of his friend, though the smile wasn't genuine, which Chase could tell from Marshall's stance. He was going to say something, but his smile that he gave wasn't really much better. Still, he had a very eager tone as he spoke to him. "I have something for you."

Marshall's smile diminished a little. "To be honest Chase, I don't think there's anything that you have that I would want right now."

"Oh really." Chase replied sarcastically. "Okay then."

Chase then turned around and started to eat out of the bowl, making sure to chew loudly for Marshall to hear. It worked as the fire pup's ears perked up. He ran in front of Chase, next to the bowl, and immediately started eating the food. Chase backed up and let Marshall eat, while Marshall moaned in enjoyment.

A few bites though, Marshall stopped and looked suspiciously at Chase. "This isn't your emergency pack is it?"

Chase cringed up as he gave his answer. "No! It's from Jack."

Marshall raised his eyebrow in a skeptical manner. "Really?"

"Yes! Really!" Chase blurted out, swallowing in nervousness as Marshall knew he was lying, but Chase was not going to give up easily. "Look, would you just eat okay? I want you to be okay when we leave tomorrow."

"Fine, I'll eat it." Marshall sighed. He really didn't feel like fighting with him. Especially since he was dead tired. He picked up the bowl and went over to his bed, climbed on it, laid down, and went back to eating.

Chase joined him on the bed as he sat next to him. He felt warm and relaxed next to him, as his problems went away just by being with his best friend.

Marshall stopped eating when he looked at Chase. "Chase?"

Chase met his eyes with assurance. "Yeah buddy?"

"Are you mad at me?" Marshall asked, sounding distressed.

Chase double taked a little bit. "What? No. Why would I be mad at you?"

Marshall took another bite, as he added an explanation. "I freaked out at their food. That was so disrespectful to them. They probably think we are ungrateful and picky."

Marshall at this point was about to cry at his embarrassment. Chase notices and starts nuzzling him slowly. "No, no Marshall, I'm not mad at you. In fact..."

Chase stopped as his face fell. "...It should be you that's mad at me."

Marshall turned his head, completely clueless. "Huh? Why?"

Chase took a deep breath, as he revealed his reasons. "It was me who humiliated us Marshall. Your little stint was only a cover up for what I did."

Marshall didn't say anything, letting Chase continue on, as he went back to eating.

"I made us look like complete fools up there." Chase muttered out. "I was pressing issues without any evidence to back me up, and Jack knew that. He played me Marshall. Played me like a fiddle. I should've listened to you buddy, or I wouldn't have fallen into his tr…"

"He's lying." Marshall interrupted, after he swallowed down the last bite.

"Huh? Ho-How do you know?"

Marshall rolled his eyes."Oh come on Chase, it's obvious."

Chase tried to piece together Marshall's point. "Don't follow."

"He kept dodging your questions Chase." the dally continued. "He made us look horrible to take the heat off of himself and ShadowFur. He's definitely in on it."

"Wait." Chase interjected. "You heard everything?"

"Of course I did Chase." Marshall replied "You thought that I was just gagging out at the food? No, I was listening closely. Mostly to look out for you man."

A pit formed in Chase's stomach. "You mean, you heard everything?"

"You deaf Chase?" Marshall asked, chuckling. "Everything."

Chase felt uneasy when he asked his next question. "Even when he….." he swallowed hard at the next part. "Mentioned about...you being an…?" He stopped not wanting to finish it but Marshall didn't need the rest.

"About me being an arsonist? yeah….I heard that." Marshall was quiet as a mouse for a few seconds, as he looked down at his paws. He took a deep breath himself.

The two pups had a moment of silence as Marshall started to shake slightly. It was still fresh in his mind, as it happened months ago. All those people hating him no matter what he did, the memory of hearing the children screamed as he rescued them, the media blasting him everyday. It still affected him, it was a dark point in his life. Still, he got through it, and it was nothing but another bad memory for Marshall.

"Look…..It doesn't affect me anymore." Marshall half lied. "Plus, I know why he brought it up. He was trying to get under our skin. Rattle us and humiliate us, for one reason, to take the shade off of him and ShadowFur."

"So, you think he is in on it," Chase replied. "and ShadowFur is actually doing this?"

"I don't think so, I know so." Marshall, said back.

Chase couldn't help but admire the fire pup for paying attention to everything. It was almost like his little blunder at the table was just a show to hide his interest. Although, he felt that Marshall was actually grossed out and was not faking it to say the least. "That's amazing Marshall. You were able to get all of that?"

"Well." Marshall chuckled and nudged Chase a little. "I learned from the best."

Chase blushed "Oh come on Marshall, I'm not that good. Especially after tonight. I was horrible."

"Chase." Marshall said annoyingly and surly. "You didn't embarrass us. He did, and left himself wide open. Though I wished you didn't press so hard Chase. I was so worried when they were growling at you."

"Yeah," Chase replied. "That was pretty tense wasn't it?"

"You couldn't be more right, man." Marshall said. "But anyway, you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself Chase. You had Jack on the run, and he had to double back and put us down to escape. You exposed him."

Chase smiled at his friend's reassurance, but he was still doubtful. "I don't know Marshall. I don't think Ryder would have done it that way."

Marshall smiled back as he knew what to say. "Not only would Ryder have done the same thing, The same result would've happened. You did nothing wrong Chase. At least I don't think you did, and considering the guest at the dinner, I don't think it matters now. What with Jack's involvement, and ShadowFur's guilt, which was confirmed by you Chase. You exposed them, and there was no other way you could've done any better than that."

Chase no longer had doubts as his face brightened at Marshall's counseling words. "Thanks buddy. I-I really needed to hear that."

Marshall's smile grew to a toothy one as he yawned loudly. "Of course man, anytime."

Chase then got up, stretched his limbs, and jumped off of the bed. "Okay, I think it's time to sleep it off."

Marshall nodded in agreement as he yawned again. "Yep. I one thousand percent agree with you. Good night man."

Chase looked at Marshall with a firm smile. "Good night buddy."

He left the room and walked into his. He thought about his conversation with Marshall, as he went to his pup pack to get Officer Bear. He genuinely believed Marshall for the most part, but we still thought he could've done at least a little better.

He pushed it aside for now as he got his teddy out to sleep. But the one he pulled out felt different, really different. He looked at it and discovered that it wasn't Officer Bear at all, it was Chief Teddy, which was Marshall's.

Chase was immediately confused, as he was wondering how Marshall's teddy got into his pack. It got worse when he didn't find his teddy. Chase gasped as he realized that his and Marshall's teddy must have gotten mixed up. This theory was strengthened when he remembered that Claria was the one who did the packing when they tore down the camp. He looked towards the bathroom where he assumed Claria was. Poor pup probably got confused whose was whose. Although, he didn't know how she could've gotten it wrong considering Chief Teddy had a fire helmet on, and Officer Bear had a police uniform on. But he couldn't take it back, so there was only one thing to do. "Guess I gotta go make a trade."

Chase made his way to the door, with Chief Teddy in tow. Unbeknownst to him, Jane, who was hiding in the shadows, started moving behind him with something that looked like a handkerchief. She moved quietly as she was closely behind them. She then took the handkerchief and in one swift motion, wrapped it around Chase's neck, and started choking Chase.

Chase gasped as he immediately started thrashing around, trying to thwart off his attacker, ramming her into various tables and chairs. Crashes could be heard, as Jane maintained her grip as best as she could, slamming Chase to the ground, whenever he tried to shake her off.

Chase managed to get up, and quickly pushed backwards, slamming her back on the pillar next to the bed. She cried in pain but kept her grip on Chase's neck. She then slammed his head on the nightstand, causing the lamp on it to fall on the floor. In the midst of his struggling he grabbed a gold pitcher that fell with the lamp, and popped her on the side of the face with it, which loosened her grip a little bit, as Chase was able to get a paw in between the handkerchief and his neck. Still, Jane didn't let go, as the hold tightened around his neck. Chase then stood a few ways from the door, and stood on his hind legs. He then thrusted back down to his fours, and used the momentum to flip Jane over his back and land in front of him. But Jane's grip was still as strong as ever, as she did the same thing to him, causing Chase to go right back where he started, only he was in the sitting position. Jane put her feet on his back and pulled hard for leverage.

Chase yelped in pain, as his back was now being bent backwards and the choking intensified. Air was running out, Chase tried to do anything to escape, but couldn't due to the pain in his back, and air diminishing from his lungs.

The sound of a door knock filled Chase's ears as he heard a voice which turned out to be Marshall.

"Um, Chase?" He called. "The door is locked, so could you come here please?"

Chase tried to yelp for help, but he couldn't due to his attacker yanking harder.

"I think there has been a mix up. I found Officer Bear in my pup pack. I was wondering if Chief Teddy was in yours."

The Shepherd tried so desperately to move to the door, but Jane's grip was as tight as ever as he gasped for air.

"Chase? Chase?!" Marshall called. "Are you already asleep?!"

Chase didn't have much time left as he started getting light headed.

"I swear to god Chase! If you're sleeping with Chief Teddy I'll…I'll...I don't know what I'll do, but I'll do something!"

Chase squirmed around with the last of his energy to escape. But it wasn't working, in fact, it was making it worse, as Jane somehow pulled back with more force!

"You know what?" Marshall yelled, nearly crying. "Go ahead! Sleep with him! Just don't STRANGLE HIM!"

Chase reached out as if he could somehow open the door by some sort of force.

"Good night Chase!" Marshall yelled angrily. Pawsteps could be heard stomping on the floors which meant that he was not behind the door anymore.

Chase at this point, felt doomed. His last hope was trying to alert Marshall. After that, there was nothing he could do, as he started to lose feeling and consciousness. He gasped slowly a couple times as his paws went limp.

Suddenly, Jane let go, making Chase fall to the floor, gasping for air as he laid motionless on the floor for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Jane was struggling with Claria, who had pounced on her and started biting her shoulder. Claria held on, as Jane screamed in pain and flailed around, trying to shove her off. She rammed Claria onto a wall pillar, causing Claria to finally let go and fall to the ground. Jane then picked the dazed wolf, and threw her like a battering ram to the table on the far side of the room. Claria crashed into the table, and laid motionless as the table's contents spilled on her and buried her, down for the count.

"Stupid Mutt!" she spat, as she applied pressure to her wound. She suddenly heard a growling then a sharp bark behind her. She turned around to see what it was, and had no time to react. Chase, who had regained himself, pounced on Jane, making her fall backwards with Chase landing on top of her on his fours. Chase bared his teeth with a growl, and chomped on her injury. Jane started to scream, until Chase put his paw on her mouth, preventing her from alerting anyone. He got a hold of her throat, and started to clamp harder, stopping her from breathing altogether.

He took his paw off of her mouth, as she tried to scream for help but all that came out was gargling, as she struggled to breathe. Then, the inevitable happened, as Jane's life officially went away. She went limp in the middle of the floor.

Chase wiped off the blood on his mouth and looked at the work he had done with disgust. That was probably the second time he ever had to end a life so gorely, and he was not used to it at all. But he had to, to protect Claria and him.

Speaking of the wolf pup, he shot his head over to where she was standing with a shocked and terrified look on her face. He immediately felt extremely terrible for her. She probably never saw anything like that in her life. He was about to go over and comfort her, when he suddenly thought about Marshall's safety. He ran to the door, opened it and shot like a bullet to Marshall's room.

The Dalmatian startled awake as Chase burst through the door frantically looking around for a threat. "Chase? Hey. If you're looking for Officer Bear, he's right…"

Marshall didn't finish, as Chase ran to his bed, jumped on, and started sniffing for a scent, causing Marshall to fall off the bed on his head.

"I'm good!" Marshall said as he shot back up and observed Chase, as the Shepherd sniffed every nook and cranny. "Chase? What's going on man?"

Chase couldn't hear him, his mind was stuck on sniffing out the attacker. Tearing up the room as he sniffed the bed, under the bed, the tapestries, the tables, the curtains and windows, the walls, and even the bouquets. But he got nothing. He looked at Marshall with a confused face.

"There's nobody here."

"Hey! I'm here!" Marshall blurted out as he was confused himself.

Chase rolled his eyes and shook his head as he went back to sniffing. Marshall was starting to get concerned for his friend. "Chase, what is going on?"

Again, Chase didn't listen as he now started to sniff the floor slowly.

"Chase? Co-Come on now." Marshall said, very concerned. "Y-Your scaring me."

Chase was about to finally say something to Marshall, but finally found a scent at a pillar with a female wolf on it, standing on her back paws, howling. Chase sniffed the pillar for the trace of the scent as he sniffed all over the pillar.

Marshall saw this, but because he didn't know what was going on, he looked at Chase sniffing the female wolf and was disgusted. "Really Chase? I never thought you would stoop that low."

Chase didn't hear him, as he put his paws on the wolf's chest, causing Marshall to cringe. "Oh come on Chase! You have a girlfriend for Ryder's sake."

Chase suddenly pushed the pillar inward, revealing a secret passage.

"YIPE!" Marshall yelped, as Claria finally came in, still looking terrified as she was now shaking. Marshall saw this and was now very worried about her.

"Claria?" Marshall asked softly, as he looked into her eyes. "Claria? What's wrong? What happened there?"

Claria shook more as she gave her answer, wavering her voice as she spoke. "J-J-J-J-J-J-Jane at-t-t-t-t-tacked us. Almost k-k-k-k-k-killed Ch-Ch-Chase and I."

Marshall was about ready to burst with worriedness. "What?! What happened?!"

"I-I-I don't really know," Claria stumbled out. "All I remembered was g-g-g-getting up, and seeing Ch-Ch-Chase….suf….suffocating her and biting her n-neck."

At that statement, Claria shot over to Marshall, and buried her face in his chest and sobbed. "IT WAS SO HORRIBLE MARSHALL! HORRIBLE AND SCARY!"

Marshall hugged her back and rubbed her back to soothe her. He was horrified at what he had been told. Although he never saw Chase do something like that before, there had to be a reason for him to do it. That criteria was probably met when they were attacked. Still, for Chase to end a life so horribly, it must have been pretty scary.

"Shh, shh, it's okay Claria. It's okay. He did it to protect you."

"I know but…." Claria sobbed out. "It was still scary!"

"Hey, hey, hey." Marshall replied softly. "It's okay. You're safe, and that's all that matters alright?"

Claria sniffled as she let go of Marshall who was looking at her with his trademark eyes. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Marshall was about to say something else, until Chase called from the passageway. "Claria?! Could you come here please?!"

Upon hearing her name, Claria ran over to the entrance to the passage and saw Chase looking at something on the wall. It was a hieroglyph of seven wolves, holding seven emeralds with different colors. Chase assumed that they were the Alphas of the pack holding the emeralds but what he was curious about was the words written underneath it. It was in a different language which Chase didn't know how to read it. "Could you translate this for me?"

Claria went to the hieroglyph and looked at the writing on the bottom. "Well my ancient wolf's language is a little rusty, but if I'm not mistaken, it says. "Follow the path ahead to find fortune and glory. What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure, squirt." Chase answered, as he looked down the passageway. "But one thing's for sure, there's gotta be something at the end of this." He then turned to face Claria. "Claria. Go get my pup pack."

"Right!" Claria acknowledged, as she ran to Chase's room to get his pup pack.

Chase got out of the passage and faced a questioning Marshall.

"What are you going to do?" Marshall asked.

"We're going down there." Chase answered.

Marshall then grabbed his pup pack and helmet. "Okay, let me get my…."

"No." Chase said firmly. "You stay here."

"What?" Marshall responded, baffled as to why Chase wasn't taking him along. "Why?"

"I need someone here to look out for us and make sure we don't get any more visitors."

"Well why does Claria get to go?" Marshall asked back as the pup in question appeared with Chase's pack. She gave it to Chase who proceeded to put it on.

"Because." Chase answered, while straightening up. "She can read wolf language. You can't."

Marshall looked defeated and hurt as he didn't have anything to counteract that. He just stayed still as Chase and Claria walked in the passageway. Marshall stood at the doorway and watched them disappear into the shadows.

"Well! You know what to do if you're in trouble! Just yelp for help!" he called out.

"Will do!" Marshall heard Chase say, as they were now out of sight.

Chase and Claria walked through the dark passage with caution. They looked around to gain awareness of their surroundings. The passage was dimly lit with sunlight shining through the holes in the walls which were shone through with grass covering all around them. The passage itself is reasonably sizable, though Chase had to duck his head from time to time to get through due to the ceiling being low in some parts. Claria carefully followed Chase, trying not to lose sight of him as they traveled more into the darkness.

"This place is so dark." Claria commented, as she slowly trekked through the passage.

"Yeah." Chase replied. "Watch yourself Claria. Step where I step, and don't touch anything."

Claria didn't hear that last part, as she eyed something that looked like a door. She walked up to it, and grabbed the handle to see what was behind it. She pulled it open only for the door not to open at all but for the handle to break off, and the door shattering to pieces, revealing two skeletons of pups, which caused Claria to cry out. "AH!"

Chase shot around and saw the wolf pup cower in fear at the sight. He gave her an irritated look as she looked at him. "Claria, what did I just say?"

"S-Sorry!" Claria apologized "I won't touch anything."

Chase rolled his eyes, then continued to go down the now very tunnel with Claria in tow.

Claria then noticed that she was stepping on something squishy and slimy. She started getting disgusted as her toes were now Slimy. "Eww. What are we walking on? Feels like tree bark and tree sap."

Chase stopped as he too was curious. Though he thought he had a good idea as to what it was, and it was definitely not tree bark. "I don't think it's tree bark squirt."

Claria looked down to figure out what it was. But she couldn't come up with an answer as it was too dark. Chase, very curious, barked out his spotlight and shined it on the floor.

What it turned out to be, astonished the two pups. On the floor in the tunnel, were bugs as far as the eye could see. Ants, roaches, centipedes, earwigs, mantises, and more covered the ground, and chirped loudly

Claria froze as she looked at the sight unmoving. "That's….a lot of bugs."

"Yep." Chase replied as he observed the sight before him.

'Thank god Rubble isn't here.'

"Ow!"Chase had to slap his neck with his paw thanks to something biting him. "Go! Go!" He then motioned for Claria to keep moving.

The two continued on as they now stopped at a doorway. Claria was about to go in, until Chase stopped her with his foreleg.

"Hang on a minute squirt." he then looked around the doorway to check for any traps. He sniffed around it, noticing the holes next to the door and looked through both of them with the one on the left being a view of the other side, which was a small room with the ceiling being really low, and the one on the right was a small compartment with a stone block all the way in the back of the compartment. When he thought it was safe, Chase then walked into the chamber with Claria right behind him.

Unfortunately, she wasn't paying attention to what she was stepping on, as her paw winded up stepping on a button, which caused the door they came through to close. Chase turned around to try to open it, but it was too heavy, and had no handle to grab on. He turned around and saw a different kind of door on the other side coming down to close. It was halfway down as Chase shot to it. He reached out to Claria so he could at least get her through. That way, she could find a way to open it from the other side, but it was too late. The door sealed them inside.

Chase looked around to find a way out of the room. The chamber was circular with a cone shape in the middle of the ceiling, which worried Chase, as he thought at any moment at any moment now, the real trap would be sprung. He saw a skeleton in the middle and went over to it and investigated what happened to him.

Claria watched and started to move forward to see if she could help.

"Stop!" Chase raised his paw in front of her. Afraid that she might set off another trap. "Stop. Just….stand over against the wall. Will you?"

Claria whined at her uselessness, as she did what she was told and leaned against what she thought was a wall. But as soon as she leaned against it, she started moving backwards gradually. Her eyes went wide as she spun her head at what she was leaning on and discovered that it wasn't a wall at all. It was a stone slab, sticking out of the wall, and was now retracting into the wall. A rumbling was heard, as a mechanism was activated.

Chase heard this and looked up to see what the sound was. It didn't take long for him to figure out that the second part of the trap had sprung, as the ceiling started to descend gradually.

Chase looked over at Claria, who was now terrified at what was happening. "What did you do!?"

"What?!" Claria replied, scared out of her mind. "I did what you said! I stood against the wall!"

Chase dropped it for now, as he looked for any way to stop the trap. He tried to pull the slab back out of the wall, but it was so far in that Chase couldn't get a grip on it.

"Ch-Chase?!" Claria called in horror. "Wh-What do we do?! W-We're going to get crushed!"

Chase looked around the room for anything that could help them. But he couldn't find one, which caused him to panic a little. "Uh….uh…..um…..uhhh."

The ceiling was about halfway down and Chase was now scrambling for something. He then remembered the stone block outside in the hole. Which meant that he needed help.

"Uh….um…...uhhhhhhhhhhhhMAAAAARSHAAAAAAAAALL!"

Marshall heard screaming coming from the passageway as he put his helmet on "Chase?!"

"MARSHALL! WE NEED YOU HELP BUDDY!" Chase yelled from the chamber.

Upon hearing the call for help, he quickly moved inside the tunnel. "What's wrong?!"

"We're in trouble!" Chase replied back.

To add on to the already deadly trap, spikes started to rise up from the holes in the floor and ceiling. Chase's eyes grew wide as basketballs. "THIS IS SERIOUS!'

"Serious?!" Marshall asked as he turned around and saw the two skeletons from earlier. "How seri….GAHHHHHHH!"

Marshall shrieked as he fell on his butt in shock.

"MARSHALL! WERE IN A SPIKY SITUATION RIGHT NOW!" Chase exclaimed as he wedged a skull in between the wall and the rolling mechanism to try to buy Marshall some time at the least.

Marshall got up and looked around frantically "Th-There are two dead pups down here!"

Chase ran up to the hole and yelled through it. "THERE'S GOING TO BE TWO DEAD PUPS IN HERE! HURRY!"

Marshall then went back to trekking through the tunnel. "What happened?!"

"It's a long story Marshall!" Chase answered as he and Claria had to maneuver their bodies to avoid the spikes. "Hurry or you won't get to hear it!"

Marshall stopped as he couldn't see where he was going. He turned on his light on his helmet and looked around. "Where are you Chase?! I can't see a thing!"

"Over here Marshall! Straight in front of you!" Chase answered, seeing the light through the hole.

"MARSHALL!" Claria shrieked. "HURRY!"

Marshall walked forward following the sound of their voices. He stopped again as he felt squishiness in his steps. "Eww yuck. What am I stepping on?"

He looked down to shine the light on the floor and saw the billions of insects covering the floor.

Marshall's body tensed up, his paws trembled, and he suddenly started to shake. Marshall and bugs did not mix, and whenever the dally was in clear sight of insects, he would always turn away.

He looked all around him and saw hundreds and hundreds of bugs, climbing all over him. His neck, paws, body, and face tingled as he started to breathe slowly. His eyes went wide as he raised his paw, and saw possibly the biggest one he had ever seen in his life, staring into his soul.

Upon that, Marshall suddenly shook like a tea kettle. Then, he let out a very loud scream. "Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"MARSHALL!"

Marshall suddenly ran forward to the stone door, brushing bugs and ants off of him as he moved. He got up to the door and tried to get in but found that he couldn't. He banged his paws on the door, hoping to break in. "LET ME IN! LET ME IN!"

Claria shot to the door. "NONONONONONONONONONO! LET US OUT! LET US OUT!"

Marshall backed up and frantically looked around while jogging in place anxiously as he didn't know what to do. "WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I DO?!"

Chase got up to the door and spoke through the hole "There's gotta be a fulcrum release lever somewhere!"

"WHAT?!" Marshall said, confused by the words.

"A handle that opens the door!" Chase replied as Claria clenched next to Chase for comfort. "I think it's in the right hole!"

"Oh okay okay." Marshall acknowledged, as he stuck his paw in the hole to the right of the door. But as soon as he did, a foreleg came out of the hole and grabbed Marshall paw, causing him to jump in fright "AHH!" he then realized that it was Chase's paw as it pointed to the right.

"NO! NO! NO! Marshall, not that right! The other right! YOUR OTHER RIGHT!" Chase informed.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Marshall said, as he looked in the other hole. Sure enough, there was a stone lever at the back of the hole. Only problem, it was about an arm's length away and it looked as if Marshall couldn't reach it. "It's way back there Chase! I don't know if I can reach it!"

"You're gonna have to try buddy!" Chase replied, as he and Claria crouched in the corner. The spikes were now centimeters away from their heads. Claria whined as she was truly terrified.

"Okay." Marshall acknowledged again, as he looked in the right hole. He then freezes up as he sees the inside of the hole taken over by ants, bugs, and slime. "Uhhhhhhh."

"MARSHALL!" Chase screamed, snapping Marshall back to reality.

"Gah! Sorry! Sorry!" he said as he stuck his paw through the hole. Ants immediately covered his paw and slime squished in between his toes. It took all he had to ignore it as he reached in as far as he could, trying to grab the lever. He stretched himself super thin but ran out of leg and was only toe tips away.

"Marshall!" Chase called, as he looked through the hole. Truly terrified

"weeee are goiiiing to DIEEEEEEEE!"

He then starts whining as that was looking to be a true outcome. The spikes had now reached their heads, as one was bending the bill of Chase's hat. Claria was now cuddled fully on Chase. Her eyes were closed, and was hyperventilating. Chase petted her and spoke in a reassuring voice. "It's okay Claria, It's okay squirt. I got you. I got you."

Chase tried his best to comfort the wolf pup, as he waited for death to take them. He pretty much accepted it at this point, he was ready for it. Chase thought about his life in short bursts. Playing with Ryder, meeting Marshall, becoming best friends with him, losing his father, starting Paw Patrol, losing Marshall, confessing to Skye, getting Marshall back, losing Skylar. Every memory came rushing past as the spikes went down to his sides. The ceiling was now touching his head, as he crouched down lower.

He closed his eyes as he waited for the spikes to stab him, if the ceiling wouldn't do it first. He held onto Claria and stroked her slowly while she whimpered. If he and Claria were going to die, he was going to at least make it comfortable for Claria.

The spikes were now starting to pierce him, as he held his breath. Ready to see his father again for the first time in years.

"GOT IT!"

The mechanism then stopped as Chase opened his eyes to find that the spikes were retracting, and the ceiling went back up. The doors opened, as Claria quickly made her way out of the room on the other side. Chase was breathing heavily at his near death experience.

Marshall came in frantically looking around. "Chase?! CHASE?! Oh no, I'm too late. I'm sorry Chase!" Marshall started to whine and tear up, not knowing that Chase was behind him, alive and well.

Chase regained his senses as he saw Marshall crying. He reached out to him and hugged him for dear life. "Marshall! Marshall I'm here, I'm okay buddy. You saved us."

Marshall sobbed as he nuzzled Chase like his life depended on it. "Oh thank god man!"

They let go as Marshall chucked a bit. "Phew! That was a close one wasn't it."

Chase was about to respond, until he noticed that Marshall was about to lean on the same stab Claria leaned on. "No! Wait! Marshall! WAIT!"

Too late, Marshall caused the slab to retract again, and restarted the trap.

"NO!" Chase yelped, as he watched the door behind them closed again. The spikes came back and the ceiling started moving down again.

"O-Oops." Marshall said, as he realized what he did.

"It wasn't me this time!" Claria chimed. "It was him! It was him!" The door in front of her started to close, about to trap Chase and Marshall in the room.

Chase started running to the door, while making sure Marshall followed him "Marshall! GO! COME ON! GO! GO!"

Marshall followed as Chase made it out of the room with the door halfway Closed. Marshall was just about out, but he tripped on his own paws, and landed just shy of the door.

"AHH!" Marshall yelled, as he started to crawl out of the room.

The door was a hair away from his back paws as he scooted out of the room, with it almost closing on his back paws.

The three pups stood by the door and caught their breaths, as they looked at each other. After a few minutes, they all started to laugh hysterically at the recent event. When they were done, Marshall looked around to find out where they were, to try to see where they were. "Where are we?"

Chase looked down the passageway shining his light. "I don't know. But one thing's for sure, there is only one way to go, so we might as well go that way."

Marshall and Claria nodded reluctantly, not knowing what's in store for them.

"Well Chase." Claria said. "Lead the way."

---

Chase, Marshall, and Claria walked closely to each other down the dark tunnel. It was almost pitch black, with only Chase's spotlight the only way any of them could see. Marshall had chills running up and down his spine due to it being so dark and quiet. Claria seemed unfazed by this as she walked somewhat casually. Chase, as usual, kept his cool throughout the time they've been walking.

Marshall's paws were starting to hurt. The only time they had to rest was before Chase was attacked in his room, which was a long time ago in his mind. "Chase? Can we stop now, I don't think my paws can't take anymore of this walking."

"It's only been thirty minutes Marshall." Chase replied.

"What?" Marshall asked, baffled. "How do you know that?"

"I've been counting." Chase answered, casually.

Marshall's jaw practically dropped to the floor at Chase's response, "You have been counting every second since we walked? Dang Chase. You must be bored."

"Well, we haven't been saying much since he started, it's just been silence." Chase replied. "What else am I supposed to do?"

Marshall shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Exactly." Chase replied while smiling smugly.

Claria was the next to speak up, as she was awed by the underground tunnel she was in. "I can't believe that this is under the ambassador's house."

"You and me both Claria." Chase responded. "It looks like you were right Marshall. He was hiding something."

Marshall smiled as he responded proudly. "Aint I always?"

Chase turned his head to where Marshall was in the corner of his eye. He had a playful annoyed face on him. "Don't push it buddy."

"What?" Marshall replied, almost laughing. "I was right was I?"

Chase rolled his eyes playfully. "Whatever." He then shines his light around the tunnel to observe it. But there really was nothing much to it, unless Chase really loved dirt. "I wonder what he needs this tunnel for."

"Maybe it's a secret way to the Wolf's Howl." Claria suggested.

"Why would he need that?" Chase asked back.

"I don't know." Claria answered as she shrugged her shoulders. "IIIII haven't gotten that far yet."

Chase chuckled, as Marshall spoke next "Maybe it's a secret way to go to the beach."

Chase and Claria both looked at Marshall as if he just said that the earth was flat.

"What?" Marshall said.

"Marshall." Chase called. "Why would he possibly need that?"

"You may never know Chase," Marshall stated. "Maybe he's that secretive."

"He may be secretive Marshall, But I don't think that's what he's being secretive about buddy." Chase said.

"Okay, what do you think it is Mr. Hotshot police pup?" Marshall asked, irritated.

"Well obviously, it's a secret way to Shadow Fur." Chase answered with confidence.

Marshall thought about Chase's answer, as he looked around. "I don't know Chase." Marshall said. "It doesn't seem like it."

Chase cocked his head. "How come? You said it yourself that you think he is helping ShadowFur. This supports your point buddy. He probably had this put in to get to ShadowFur without anyone seeing him."

"I don't think that's the case. This tunnel looks like it's been here for ages." Marshall doubted.

Marshall did have a point there. The tunnel looked like something you would see if you were walking into a deep cave with how dark it was and nothing but dirt and rocks everywhere. Because of this, there were many ways that made Chase doubt his theory.

First, the fact that it was dark. If Jack built this for his convenience, surely he would have had some sort of source of light to illuminate the passage. Chase didn't assume that Jack was into technology like his owner Ryder, but he would at least have torches along the wall. Sure he'd have to relight them but it would've been better than complete darkness.

Second, the trap. While it made perfect sense to have some sort of security to keep intruders out, Chase doubted that Jack would've used a trap like that. Yeah it was effective, but only because Claria just happened to step on the button that activated it. If she hadn't, they would've gotten through no problem, which would've made the trap useless. Knowing that, Jack would've instead had an alarm system, or better yet, a gas chamber to suffocate any intruders. That would've been more effective than the mechanical trap you would find more in a temple.

Third, Jack's knowledge of the secret. If he knew that there was a secret passageway in one of the rooms, why would he risk someone finding it by putting Marshall in there? Granted, you'd have to know it existed to find it, but all it took was for someone to lean on the right pillar, and then the secret is found, and the patron would get very curious, and go through the passageway, provided that he or she made it through the trap, and follow it to whatever Jack was hiding. Because of that, It would've been very ignorant to even put anybody in the same hallway. It wasn't like those were the only rooms that he had. It was a mansion for crying out loud. He had plenty of rooms to choose from. Based on that fact alone, it was too much of a risk to put anyone in there, and for a guy like Jack, he would've never even thought of taking.

These reasons spelled it out for Chase. Jack probably doesn't know about it. But how can that be? It is his house after all. Wouldn't he know about a hidden door? It boggled his mind the more he thought about it, and would've been like that forever, trying to make sense of it, if it weren't for Claria breaking the silence.

"You know what? Now that I think about it, I don't think this leads to ShadowFur at all."

Chase snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Claria. "What makes you say that squirt?"

"Well, remember what you said at the dinner about the ambassador's house being built on top of BloodRaynes territory?" Claria recalled.

"Yeah. what about it?" Chase asked curiously.

"Well," Claria startled, "I think whatever's at the end of this is an old BloodRayne compound."

"Underground?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah." Claria answered.

"Why would they need to be underground?" Marshall asked again.

"Probably to hide themselves, Marshall." Chase answered. "It isn't much of a stretch that they probably weren't popular with the other packs."

"I would say so." Claria replied, she was about to say something else until her mind drifted something else. Her best friend, Roxy. She had know idea what happened to him, and that worried her to no end. She hoped he was still alive. Then again, they probably tortured and punished him for his deed of trying to escape. For that, she wished he was dead, that way, he wouldn't be suffering.

Wait…..what was she just thinking?!

Marshall sensed something was wrong from the way Claria was walking. Her head was down, and her tail was limp as it dragged on the ground. "Claria? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Claria responded.

"Are you okay?" Marshall repeated, concerned.

"Oh." Claria replied, as she tried at Claria. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay."

Marshall raised a suspicious eyebrow at Claria. "You don't sound okay to me." Claria was going to repeat herself, but Marshall's carrying stare stopped her. "Claria, don't lie to me. Please tell me. What's wrong?"

'Darn it! What is it with these pups eyes that gets me?! She thought as she stared into Marshall's eyes for a second. She starts to tear up as she suddenly caves in. "nnnnnnnnggg okay I'm not okay!" She sobs. "It's Roxy, my best friend. I don't know whether he's alive or dead! And that scares me. (sniff) But what's worse, is that if he is alive, that means they are torturing him. I'm scared of what we will find. I don't want to find him dead, or suffering. I don't….. I don't…" Claria starts breaking down while Marshall immediately goes to hug her tightly.

"Hey…...hey, hey. Shhhhhhhhhh. It's okay Claria. It's okay." Marshall said to soothe her.

"No it's not! Roxy could be dead or suffering, Marshall!" Claria retorted.

Marshall continued to soothe Claria the best he could, while Chase looked on with sadness. He had been in a similar situation last year, with Marshall being presumed dead. He knew exactly how it felt to not be able to help your best friend or even talk to him. He wanted to say some to help Marshall, but suddenly, a sound made his ears perk up. He stared off to the front, trying to find the source of the sound.

"Claria, please, everything is going to be okay." Marshall tried again. "Just calm down."

"I can't do that Marshall. I-I just can't! No matter if we find him or not, He won't be okay! I've been there! I know what happens when they punish you! They whip you until you comply, and sometimes, that isn't enough. I'm terrified of what we will find Marshall!" Claria responded.

"Claria I know that, and trust me, it's going to be hard to get through it. But you need to stay strong for him. If not, we won't be able to help him." Marshall preached. Claria looked up at Marshall as he continued. "When the time comes, we will deal with it, and if he is suffering , we will do everything we can to help him. You're right, we don't know his fate, but you can't dwell on that. What matters is that we find him and help him. But that doesn't just go to him, that goes to everyone else who is trapped in BloodRayne's grasp. Chase and I are committed to do everything we can to save them. Right Chase?"

Marshall waited for Chase to answer, but got nothing in return. He then looked at the Shepherd who was tuned out of the conversation. He was staring straight ahead, with his ears perked up so much, they could fly off his head.

"Chase?" Marshall called again. Again, he got nothing as the police pup stayed completely still. Marshall, frustrated, went up to him to see why he wasn't responding. "Come on Chase, don't leave me hang…"

"Shh!" the Shepherd finally said as he held a paw up to Marshall.

"Hey!" Marshall replied insulted. "Don't "shh" me."

"SHHH!" Chase insisted, as he put a paw to Marshall's mouth. "Listen." he paused a bit and then spoke as he took his paw off of his mouth. "You hear that?"

Claria appeared next to Chase, as she spoke next. "Hear what?"

"The chanting, don't you hear it?" Chase answered.

"Chanting?" Marshall responded, confused as to what Chase was pointing out. "I don't hear any…."

It was at that moment that Marshall's ears suddenly picked up a faint sound in the distance. He listened closely to the sound and made out a very soft sound of Chanting.

Me state me stagle ma mummm

Le stag goo mum fun gayeee

Marshall's eyes grew wide as he could finally make out the chanting. "Okay, now I hear it."

In the midst of this, a sudden bump was heard that made the three pups jump inside their bodies and vibrated. It was very reminiscent of a bass drum being hit, along with more chanting.

Bom

Nae see kari vas foo gum

La sti vu cah manu voda comooon

Bom

It sounded haunting as it echoed off the walls of the tunnel.

"It sounds like it's coming from up ahead." Claria pointed out.

Chase took a deep breath as he announced his course of action. "Well, there's only one way to find out what it is. Let's go investigate."

Marshall swallowed slowly at the idea of finding out what was going on. He didn't know what was going on or what to expect, but from the sound of the haunting chant, he felt that it was going to be something that he would not enjoy seeing. "O-Okay Chase. R-Right behind you man."

Claria nodded slowly as they began to follow the path to the source of the noise. The chanting got louder as they got closer, and the drums vibrated their bodies, as it sounded off.

Bom

Los fee comie ku kum

Sly kau ves or comfe

Bom

A little further down, the three see the end of the path glowing red from the left. When they got up to it, Chase halted the two with his paw as he went forward to check for anyone around the corner. He scarcely looked left and discovered an amazing site. It was an entrance to a temple, or at least that was what it looked like. In front of it, was a fire pit which Chase could tell was fire, due to the heat and light coming from the pit. On the other side of the pit, was something that looked like a cliff side on a mountain, with wolves all over the cliff. Chanting and swaying left to right on all fours.

Chase noticed that they were about three stories up, over viewing the entire area. The view was very reminiscent of an opera house press box in the back, providing a clear view of the festivities happening below.

Straight ahead of him, was a section that was elevated, not as high as they were, but a good two stories up. It had a big ceremonial drum, along with multiple instruments including crash cymbals, maracas, and smaller drums with wolves occupying each one playing them in line to the chants. A long ledge ran around the area, held up by pillars with torches in place.

Though the main highlight of the area was a giant statue coming out of the front of the temple's walls. It was the front half of a wolf, lunging forward with its paws, reaching out in front with teeth bared. It's eyes glowed red to which Chase couldn't find out what was causing it. The paws had chains flowing down from them, holding some sort of a torture rack about a few feet off the ground.

Below the statue, was an altar with seven holes in the front, which were empty. On each side of it were two passageways to go in and out of the area. To the left of the statue, was a wheel peeping out of the ground, with handles around the wheel to turn it, accompanied by a lever next to it. In the center of the area, was an emblem of two wolves facing away from each other with gemstones circling them.

There weren't many wolves on the temple side as the cliff side was. Only about five were there. Two of them were standing off to the left watching the wolves on the other side chanting. One was back behind the wheel, and two were on each side of the statue, waiting for their cue. The two on the left were obviously ShadowFur, as they had ShadowFur features on their bodies, while the rest had red streaks flowing down on their bodies, with their eyes having crimson red around them, along with their muzzle. Chase immediately assumed that they were the infamous BloodRayne wolves.

Once he thought they were safe, He motioned Marshall and Claria to sit next to him and lay low in which the two gracefully complied. Marshall was speechless, he had never seen anything like this before. It was like a horror movie came to life in front of them which made Marshall very uneasy and Claria in disbelief.

"It-It's a BloodRayne ceremony. They're worshiping Red-Eye." Claria spoke in a horse tone.

Bom

Tees gaye gagle key kum

Sti gain steni geh mah le stu glamm

"There's no need to question ShadowFur's involvement anymore. There's the Alpha and Delta." Claria informed, pointing at the two on the side.

BOM…..BOM

Say ya mei les val yumi ful lum mul

Oh yale trag galge gaaaaaal

The chants mellowed out as the drum beat speeds up a bit as the wolves now howl to it.

BOM

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Marshall asked, still astonished.

BOM

Claria shakes her head as she responds. "No one's ever seen this in a hundred years."

BOM…..BOM…BOM…BOM….BOM

BOM RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT

A drum roll sounds off as cymbals and maracas harmonize as the wolves then produce a long sustained howl.

At that moment, a wolf appeared from the passageway, and walked to the edge in the center. The wolves then sat as they resumed howling softly.

The wolf definitely had a striking appearance. His coat was crimson red, with only his underbelly, face, and undertail being white and silver. He had a menacing face that could scare even Ryder away, and eyes that could kill anything it looked at, with a long scar going through the left eye. His face got worse, when he slowly produced the most evil smile the pups could imagine. Fire shot up from both sides coincidentally, as he stared through the smoke at the participants joining the ceremony.

"Man," Marshall commented. "He sure is full of himself. Isn't he?"

"Wolves of all!" The wolf called. His voice pierced their ears with the most excited and cold voice Chase has ever heard. "We are gathered here to pay homage to our lord and savior, Red-Eye."

The wolves howl at the mention, then subside as the wolf continues on. "Red-Eye protects us! He guides us! And he provides us with his power. To rid the world of all his naysayers!"

Chase, Marshall, and Claria look on with pits in their stomachs, as his dark aurora flows through them.

"In return with our gratitude, we offer him a sacrifice of flesh…...fur….and blood!"

Suddenly, the sound of a pup crying out for help was heard, as two wolves brought a wolf pup, scared out of his mind, into view for all to see. Chase recognizes the pup as the Alpha-Heir to ShadowFur, who was at the dinner.

'No….they wouldn't'

Meanwhile, Marshall was going mental at the implication of the pup's fate. "Chase! That's a pup!" He calls softly, not wanting to alert the wolves.

"That's not just any pup!" Claria added. "That's the Alpha-Heir of ShadowFur! Klora!"

Chase wanted so badly to come down there and save him, but unfortunately, due to the size of the crowd, they wouldn't get far, and would likely be put in the pup's position. He had to stand by and let this happen which tore him inside.

Marshall on the other paw, obviously made the attempt, until Chase stopped him with his paw. "No Marshall. I'm sorry buddy, but we have to let it happen."

"No, we don't Chase!" Marshall argued. "We can save him!"

"And we would be killed too!" Chase responded. "It won't do him any good."

Marshall was about to protest, until Claria stopped him herself. "Marshall, he-he's right. They would maul us, and he still would be sacrificed. No matter what, his fate is sealed. Let's just hope he doesn't suffer."

Marshall ceased his struggle after Claria's comment. He sat back down very reluctantly. Like it or not, they were right, and Marshall knew it. He looks at Kora, who was now being shackled in the torture rack that had come down to imprison it's visitor. He closed his eyes as tears formed and he spoke coldly. "He better not."

BOM

Orl hasa fe lu clum maste

"MOTHER! FATHER! WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE? HAVE I DONE SOMETHING WRONG?!" Klora shrieked.

Despite his cries, the Alpha and Delta were as still as a boulder, not even flinching.

"Th-They're just going to let this happen to their own pup?!" Marshall exclaimed, seething.

Chase and Claria stayed silent as they didn't know what to say, but Marshall didn't need the answer.

BOM

Slay ya ei me on frayon hullllll

Me ya long gah ka by hay yong ghol

BOM

The maniacal wolf in the center, turns around slowly and walks in front of the terrified pup. Klora whimpers in fear as the leader brushes his face with his paw. "Young one, you have been summoned here for a great service." He says with his voice tearing through the pup like razor knives. "Your sacrifice will benefit our cause, and you will forever be remembered for it."

The pup whined as he spoke. "Oni-Con, please. I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm willing to take punishment for it. Just please." His eyes became waterfalls as he begged. "Don't…..kill me."

Oni-Con did not respond, as he looked at the face of the statue behind Klora. He reached his paw at it, while the eyes of the statue shined in response. Oni-Con smiles evilly, as he looks back at Klora. "You will give your heart to Red-Eye. And your blood shall run red!"

At the mention of the word, the wolves repeated it. Chanting it as the drum sounded at each chant.

RED!

RED!

RED!

RED!

RED!

RED!

RED!

The wolves continue chanting, as Oni-Con slowly places his paw on Kora's chest. He pushes in, as Klora's flesh melts around his paw like putty, allowing Oni-Con entry to his heart. Klora screamed in agony with his eyes completely bugged out. Oni-Con then rips out his still beating heart and turns around and raises it up for all to see.

The three pups all gasp, as Marshall turned around and hid behind the wall. He had to, as he couldn't watch anymore. His eyes were about to pop out of his head in shock as he hyperventilates. It wasn't working as he replayed the moment in his head. The image of Oni-Con ripping out the pup's heart was now burned into his retinas. His screams were recorded in his head as it echoed in mind and on repeat forever. It was the worst thing he had ever seen in his life, and the worst part. He sat there and let it happen.

Claria was frozen in place. Her eyes were bugged out at the sight. She wanted to look away, she wanted to cuddle up next to Marshall for comfort, but she couldn't, her shock stopped her as she was paralized with fear. She couldn't believe that this was happening behind the wolf's back, and this had been going on for months. And that made her sick to her stomach.

Chase however, had a different reaction than the two. One of pure fury and anger. There was no reason for this pup to be sacrificed like this. Heck, there was no reason for the pup to be sacrificed, period. He was seething, as he resisted the urge to go down there and beat the ever loving crap out of Oni-Con. For that he did, but he wisely decided against it, even if it wasn't right.

"Abiskae gari na me munei!" Oni-Con chanted, as the wolves howled at him.

He then walks to the edge as the wolves' howl more profoundly.

"Albiskae gari na me ta le manyei!"

Klora's chest molded back as he fell limp in the cage. Breathing heavily as he raised his head to look at Oni-Con.

"He's still alive." Chase commented surprised. As he turns around to check on Marshall, who was still hyperventilating.

"ALBISKAE GARI NA ME TA LE MANYEI!" Oni-Con continued, as the cage was raised by the wheel being turned by the wolf manning it. Klora cried as he was turned faced down, above the emblem on the floor. Suddenly, it opened up to reveal a massive pit of fire below. Fire shot up from the pit, as the wolf pulled the lever beside him, sending Klora down into the pit, as the wolves then began to chant slowly, with the drums now sounding like many bombs were going off with each hit. His screams echo the walls as he is lowered into his doom.

Klarlum, Klarlum, Klarlum stagalum

BOM BOM

Klarlum, Klarlum, Klarlum stagalum

BOM BOM

The tempo now speeds up steadily as the wolves continue.

Hala! Hala! Hala staglehum!

Hala! Hala! Hala staglehum!

The drumbeat now resembles a heartbeat. As the chanting goes on louder.

Hala! Hala! Hala staglehum!

Hala! Hala! Hala staglehum!

The beat gets even faster, as Oni-Con then starts to chant while still holding Klora's heart.

"MANICHAHARO! MANICHAHARO!"

Klora was halfway down as his screams somehow grew louder. Fire shot up close to him as he continued to scream. Oni-Con still filled the air with his chant.

"MANICHAHARO! MANICHAHARO!"

Marshall wasn't getting any better. He was visually having a mental breakdown as the pup's screams filled his ears.

Klora's screams went on, as the beat then got even faster, with the wolves following the speed as they now produced another chant with the utmost authority.

Ha! Hu ha!

Hu ha

Hu ha

Hu ha

Hu ha

Hu ha

Hu ha

Huha

Huha

Huha

Huha

Huha

Huha

The eyes on the statue then glow brightly, as Oni-Con yells at the top of his lungs one more time.

"MANICHAHARO! MANICHAHARO!"

The drums then sound with the speed of the chants.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha

The beat returns as fire shoots up on both sides.

Klora finally catches fire as he is now set ablaze in the cage. His flesh melts off the bone as his screams reach its peak, burning alive.

In sync with this, the heart in Oni-Con's paw catches fire itself, as it was now engulfed in flame. Oni-Con was laughing menacingly as he now started to rise upon his back paws. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

The beat then goes at breakneck speed, as the wolves now were uncontrollably spinning their heads around. Klora's screams are loud as it can, before suddenly being silenced, as the drums and chanting suddenly stop as the only one that could be heard was Oni-Con. Who was still laughing like a comic book villain.

"AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Owoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

He then gave one long sustained howl as the wolves joined him.

Chase was now seething in anger at this point. He loathed the fact that this mad wolf was laughing as a pup was burned alive in front of him. He had to resist so badly to go down there as his heart was telling him to go, but his mind convinced him to stay, reminding him of his fate if he went down there.

Claria couldn't take it anymore, she joined Marshall behind the wall, and buried her face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Marshall didn't even notice, as he was whimpering at the sound of Klora's demise.

Bom

The wolves then chanted slowly, as the cage was now being raised back up from the pit. Claria willed herself to return next to Chase, somehow, to see what was happening. Marshall was still freaking out.

Chase himself was afraid of seeing Klora's remains in the cage. But upon the cage entering into view, Chase and Claria saw that it was completely empty. That only made it worse, as Chase imagined the image of Klora being burnt to ashes.

Oni-Con gets down on his fours, and turns to leave the area as the three BloodRayne wolves come into view with the emeralds in their paws. The emeralds shine brightly green, as they set them in their respectful place in the holes in the altar.

"There they are." Claria pointed out. "The Wolf's Emeralds."

The three wolves bow at them, as the crowd then bows with them and then disperse. Signaling the end of the ceremony.

"Why are they glowing?" Chase asked.

Claria swallowed as she explained. "Well, it is said in legend, that when the emeralds are near each other, the power inside them makes the emeralds glow green as a sign of unity."

"Wow." Chase replied as he stared at them in awe.

After a bit, it seemed that the only souls there were the three pups. As it was now quiet as a mouse. Chase then gets in front of Marshall who has finally calmed down.

"Marshall? Buddy? You okay?" Chase asked, deeply concerned for his best friend.

Marshall bereaved slowly as he looked at Chase's calming eyes. "We…..we just watched a pup get sacrificed in front of us."

Chase and Claria looked on with sympathy as Marshall continued. "That poor…...poor…...poor pup, probably did nothing wrong, and they killed him. And the worst part?"

Marshall paused as he took a deep breath and looked down at his paws. Tears flowed down from his cheeks. "We sat by and did absolutely nothing. We let it happen."

Chase put a paw on his weeping friend to soothe him. "Marshall, I know that, but you know what would've happened if….."

"I KNOW CHASE!" Marshall yelled in fury, causing Chase to double back. "I KNOW WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF WE INTERFERED! BUT IT DOSEN'T MAKE IT RIGHT!"

"Marshall!" Chase called. "Calm down! They will hear us!"

Marshall did tone it down, but not by much as he was still angry. "There was absolutely no reason that pup should've never been killed! I don't care what he did or what they did if for! He didn't deserve that!"

"Marshall. Settle down." Chase tried to calm him. "We don't want them to know that we're here."

"I know! It's just….It's just….." Marshall broke down and started to sob as Chase hugged him for comfort. In which Marshall gracefully hugged back and cried into Chase's fur. "He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve it."

This was so like Marshall. To care for someone that he never met. Chase didn't blame him as he too was tearing up a little about the traumatizing event.

"How long?" Marshall croaked out. "How long has this been going on Chase? How many pups have suffered and died because of this? How many pups have they killed just to satisfy their god?"

"I don't know buddy." Chase replied. His voice cracked a little. "I just don't know."

Chase then eyed Claria as she had been silent throughout the whole conversation. Her head hung low, as well as her tail. He noticed that she had been crying softly herself. "Claria?"

Marshall let go of Chase and turned around to see Claria. Despite being distressed himself, he put it aside to help Claria. He looked at her with concern.

Claria didn't move, as it took her a full minute to answer. She hoarsley spoke with her voice low "I-I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Marshall repeated. "Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for what you saw." Claria replied as she raised her head. "That is not our way of life. We wolves are supposed to be kind and passionate to all living things. I am ashamed and embarrassed by this. This is not what our culture is. The fact that this was going on behind Gari's and our back makes me sick to my stomach. On behalf of our culture. I am so..so sorry."

Chase and Marshall couldn't believe what was happening, somehow, Claria took it upon herself to take responsibility for what the BloodRayne wolves were doing, Chase wasn't going to allow this at all. "Claria, you have absolutely no reason to apologize to anyone."

Claria looked at Chase with surprise. "I-I don't?"

"No." Chase said proudly. "Not in the slightest. You're forgetting the real monster here. You or any of the other packs that live here have no responsibility for what they are doing, and it shouldn't be. It's not right and I won't let it happen."

Claria smiled as she felt that she had gained confidence with Chase words "Thanks Chase. I am so thankful that you and Marshall are willing to help us solve this problem."

Chase closed his eyes and took a breath. "To be honest Claria, this is no longer a wolf issue."

Claria cocked her head in confusion, "Huh? What do you mean Chase?"

"What I mean is that this has now become a world problem." Chase said, as he turned to face the statue in the area. "I now understand now why the US intervened. While I don't condone their actions of geocide, I at least get why they were brought in. If BloodRayne gets all the emeralds, this is what we will be looking forward to, this will be our future. Living under the paws of Red-Eye. I will not stand for it. Not on my watch. It is essential that they are stopped before they even have a dogbone of a chance and we are going to do it."

"But how Chase?" Marshall chimed in. "We're just pups, and they have a whole army."

"Simple." Chase answered. "We take those emeralds."

Claria and Marshall listened as Chase detailed his plan.

"I'm willing to bet my dog bowl that those emeralds are the ones giving them power to do this. Am I right?" he looks at Claria who nods in return.

"I would say so, yes." Claria said. "But what about the pups?"

Chase dropped his ears as he almost forgot about the trapped pup somewhere around the area. Thankfully, he regains his confidence. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but for now, let's focus on the emeralds."

Marshall smiles as he stands with loyalty to Chase. "Okay Chase, what do you want us to do?"

Chase furrows his brow as he gives his orders. "I want you two to stay up here and keep quiet." He looks at Marshall. "Marshall, look after Claria." He then looks at Claria. "Claria, look after Marshall."

Marshall then gives a half confused face as he poses a question to Chase. "Why? Where are you going?"

"Down there." Chase answered. Nodding his head at the section.

"Down there?! By yourself?! Nah uh. No. Not happening. I'm coming with you." Marshall objected.

Chase turns back around and looks at Marshall. "Nooo. I need you up here to watch my back. Plus, it's better if I go down there alone then having three pups wandering around."

"Chase, you know what they will do to you if you get caught!" Marshall protested. "I'm not going to allow that to happen!"

"And it won't." Chase retorted, without missing a beat. "Not with you watching, I'll be fine."

Marshall was going to insist but decided not to. Like it or not, Chase made sense and he didn't want to argue with him anymore.

Chase turned around when the confrontation was done and began to get on the ledge on the left side of the wall. Before he got any further, Marshall called out to him. "Chase!"

Chase looked at Marshall. "Yeah?"

Marshall paused as he had deep concern about his friend. "Be Careful."

Chase smiled at the dally. "Only if you will buddy." he says, as he gets on the ledge.

Marshall and Claria watched closely, as Chase moved along the ledge towards the temple. It was a little narrow, but nothing the police pup couldn't handle.

He moved ahead till he got to the end of the ledge. Well, more like as far as he could, due to the path being cut off by a missing section that fell long ago. Chase looked down at the edge as the heat from the fire pit met his face, making him pant. He then looked ahead and noticed how far he was from the temple. He was a good bit away from it which means that a simple jump wasn't going to cut it.

Chase cursed at himself for foolishly leaving his spy pup pack at home. If he had that, he could've easily gotten across on the section with his zipline safely and stealthy. But, because he felt that he didn't need it, he left it at the Lookout and now he has to get across the old fashioned way, by jumping the wide gap and pray that he makes it, while also hoping that no wolf would hear it and be alerted.

Chase got into position, noticing that it was the only way to get across. Marshall and Claria watched as Chase leapt off the ledge, and flew in the air. Marshall clenched tightly, half expecting the worse to happen. Chase was about half way when he suddenly noticed a big problem, he was going to be short. Not by much, but enough to be in a very dangerous situation. He reached out his paws as far as he could to grab the end of the ledge to hang on as hard as he could.

He slammed his belly on the edge, as he dug his claws into the stone ledge. Marshall watched in horror as Chase nearly fell off the edge, but was able to grab a hold of a crevice in the stone to keep him from falling. Chase smiled at his very close call, but it faded when something else occurred. A crack formed in the stone he was hanging on that gave him a hint that the edge he was hanging on, was about to crumble, sending him to his doom below.

Thinking quickly, he reached back and jumped sideways onto the edge next to him, as the crumbling stone broke apart and fell into the pit. He grabbed the edge with one claw, as his momentum turned him around causing him to look at the stones falling.

Marshall bout had a heart attack at this, as he breathed heavily, thanking whatever god for watching over Chase. "Gosh dawg it Chase! Be careful!"

He said softly.

Chase then grabbed the ledge with his other paw, as he used his back paws to climb over onto the temple's ledge. He got up and brushed himself off, before making his way over to the altar.

The glowing emeralds shined brightly as he grabbed one of them carefully. He pulled close as the emerald lost its shine of green and dimed to show the color of a cyan blue.

'Must be River Rush's emerald.' Chase thought. "Heh, how Ironic that this is the first one I grab.'

He went to put it in his pup pack, but suddenly had the urge to see it glow again. He brought the emerald next to a snow white one, and watched in awe, as the emeralds turned into a well, emerald green color.

Claria and Marshall watch Chase as he proceeds to put each of the emeralds in his pup pack. Thankfully, the emeralds were about the size of a baseball, Allowing them to fit easily in a single compartment.

Once he was done, he saddled his pup pack back on and turned to get back to Claria and Marshall.

Marshall smiled at his friend's success in retrieving the emeralds. "That's it Chase, now come on back."

Chase got a few feet ahead before his ears picked up a sudden sound that made Chase stop in his tracks immediately. It was an unpleasant sound like one he would hear during a rescue back home by some poor soul, screaming for help. It was…...a cry of pain…..that sounded like it came from a pup. Chase's stomach churned as he turned his head slowly at where the sound was coming from. It sounded again as he realized that it was coming from the passageway beside the altar.

As if he was caught in a trance, Chase slowly made his way to the passageway, and left the area through it.

Marshall suddenly became confused. He looked at Claria behind him. "What the? Where is he going?"

Claria was clueless herself, as she looked at Marshall, matching his confusion.

But before she could speak, a wolf came out of nowhere and appeared in front of Marshall. He growled and barked coldly as if he was in a horror movie. Marshall was startled as he turned around to run, but the wolf dug his claws in his leg, and pulled him, causing Marshall to yelp and collapse on his belly. The dally tried to wiggle free, but the wolf grabbed the other leg, and stood on top of him, and pinned him down.

"CLARIA!" Marshall called out. "RUN!"

Claria immediately turned to run, but was met with three wolves who were ready to grab her. Thinking quickly, Claria ducked and shot herself like a cannon, phasing right through the wolves as they stumbled forward. While Marshall was being dragged away from the balcony. Screaming bloody murder until his mouth was covered by the wolves.

---

The cries grew louder as Chase made his way through the tunnel. Each time he heard one, his stomach twisted harder and harder. The tunnel was as dark as the one they arrived in. Apparently these wolves never heard of torches besides the ceremonial room behind him.

He walked slowly and carefully to avoid any wolves, seeing an opening in front of him. The cries were now as loud as ever, mixed in with loud sudden pops that hurt Chase's ears.

He got to the opening with his face turning to absolute horror at what he saw.

Below him, was a fully functional mine complete with mine carts, Rock crushers, conveyor belts, and moving buckets. Chase was amazed that the wolves were even able to operate a mine, let alone build one.

The mine was enormous, about the size of the entire property that the lookout stands on. There were tunnels that lead out of the mine in the back corners. There were also two levels to it, with cat walks and rope that carried buckets above heads. Boulders populated the mine, with some being a level themselves to sit around and dig for whatever they were looking for.

Though the mine itself was not something that Chase was focusing on. What caught his attention was who was working the mines. They were pups.

Pups of all races littered the mine, digging, carrying rocks, pushing carts on a track, filling buckets, using pickaxes, clearing the belts, and moving big boulders, while full grown wolves stood around, whipping them to no end. The pups looked awful, with some looking like they would drop dead at any moment. No stomach was full, and there were rarely any that did not have welts from the enduring whipping they received.

Chase was in absolute shock and anger, as he watched the wolves whip the pups to keep order, while pups all cry out in pain. It was hard to watch, as he wished he could do something, anything, to stop this.

He caught wind of a pup, who had collapsed in exhaustion, and was now laying limply on the ground whimpering. A wolf sees this, and walks over to the downed pup. That wolf turned out to be DarkClaw himself. The Beta of ShadowFur, That was at the dinner. Chase wondered why he was even here in the first place, but considering that the Alpha and Delta of ShadowFur were here too, it wasn't much of a surprise. The massive wolf, armed with a bullwhip, stared coldly at the pup. The pup reached out with a paw for help, but was kicked over on it's back, as DarkClaw stepped on his tail, preventing the pup from getting up and running away, not that the pup had any energy to get up. The pup yelped as the wolf then raised his whip, and then thrusted downward.

WAPOW!

The whip cracked on the pup's chest, as it gave a blood curdling scream. The wolf raised back up, and thrusted again.

WAPOW!

The pup continued to cry out loudly, as DarkClaw got ready for another thrust.

Chase was now enraged at this point, even more than the sacrifice. He may expose himself, but he would be damned if this low life ever wiped the poor pup again.

He softly barked out his tennis ball launcher, and aimed it at DarkClaw's head. He fired it, as the tennis ball launched out of the launcher at full speed. It hit the unsuspecting wolf, as he growled coldly, turned around, and faced Chase furiously. The pup took the opportunity to get up, and run away from the wolf, as DarkClaw gave a death stare at the police pup, who had a smug look on his face, proud of his work.

That smug disappeared though, when DarkClaw growled and howled in alarm, alerting the others of the German Shepherd's presence.

Chase, having been exposed thanks to his stupid mistake, turned around to escape, but was met with about eight wolves, growling at their prey in front of them. Realizing that it would be suicide to resist, Chase Laid down in surrender, as two wolves grab him, slam him down on the ground, and shackle him with Chains. They then picked him up and dragged him away.

Although it exposed him, Chase never regretted saving the pup.

---

Claria ran down the passageway as fast as she could. She had no idea if she was being chased but she didn't want to risk it just to see.

Her heart hurt for leaving Marshall at their mercy, but Claria knew she had to escape, or the pups trapped in the mines won't be saved.

She made it out of the passageway and into Marshall's room. Claria finally looked behind her to see if anyone was following her. Because of it, she wasn't paying attention to who was behind her. Jack Micheals.

She bumped her flank into him and gasped. She then went off at a million miles an hour. "Ambassador! Oh thank Gari! You will never believe what we found down…"

Jack grabbed the frantic pup firmly while giving caring eyes. "Hey! Hey! Calm down Claria, calm down. I'll take care of it."

"What?! No! We need help from someone like Captain Garity, or…"

Claria was suddenly grabbed by two wolves who snuck up behind her. Claria squirmed to get free, but the wolves slammed her nose to the ground, knocking her out cold for a few seconds.

The wolves thrusted her up to meet Jack's grim eyes. Jack places a hand on Claria's cheek as he laughs at the recovering pup.

"You may have gotten away the first time, but there is now way in hell, you will get away this time." Jack mocked.

Claria looked at the ambassador with hurt eyes. "Ambassador….how could you…."

"I'm sorry pup, but it is what it is." Jack gravely replied, before nodding at the wolves. "Take her to Oni-Con. Let him find out what to do with this rebel."

Claria tried to scurry but she was still too weak, as her nose was gushing red. Passing out shortly as the wolves take her away.

Jack lights his cigarette as he watches the wolves disappear down the passageway, as he chuckles "May Gari have mercy on you, Paw Patrol."

---

The walls of the mines were echoing the screams of pups as they were whipped into labor. Not one of them were healthy and clean, as dirt, scars, and welts covered their bodies like a blanket. It was astonishing that some of them could go on with this, as they spend all day, every day, digging, and digging, and digging. Pups who would collapse, put down their tools, or simply stop to take a breather, would earn a whipping session from the various wolves who stood by and growled at them to keep working.

Marshall looked on from a holding cell in the distance, absolutely disgusted and horrified. Tears were in his eyes for every pup he would see. It was truly the worst thing he has ever seen in his life.

Forget the sacrifice from earlier. At least the pup dies. Yeah he suffered a horrible death, but at least he won't be suffering like these pups anymore.

The dally stared on in sadness as he was frozen in place. "This is horrible."

"You telling me?"

Marshall turned around to see Claria who was laying down in the back of the cage. Wincing at the whip cracks as if she had PTSD. "I was once down there with them. You think it's horrible now? Just wait till you get down there and feel the whips."

Marshall turned back to look at the sight. He didn't know why he was watching. He wanted so badly to look away, but the sight was just too miserable to ignore.

"What are they even digging for?" Marshall askes.

"How the heck should I know?" Claria answered in monotone. "They never told us."

Marshall turned back around with a face full of shock. "What?! They didn't even tell you what you were digging for?"

Claria shook her head. "Nope, they just told us to dig."

"But if they didn't tell you, how will they know when you all find it?"

"I just don't know Marshall." Claria choked up, as she winced at another loud crack. "All I know is we dig and mine the rock or at leaseI think that's what they are doing."

Marshall was flabbergasted from what Claria told him, it sounds like they really aren't digging for anything. But there has to be a reason why. There just has to be. Why even bother building the mine?

Claria teared up as she dreaded ever having to go back down there. "I don't want to go back down there Marshall! I don't want to be whipped again! I can't go through with it again! I just can't!"

Marshall shot over to her and hugged her tight. "Hey, hey, hey, Claria, shhhh. You're not going back down there, I won't let it."

Claria sniffled "You won't?"

"Of course I won't. They would have to get through me to get to you!" Marshall confidently smirked.

"But Marshall. We're trapped here!" Claria objected. "They will whip us into submission."

"You're forgetting one thing, Claria." Marshall responded. "Chase is still out there, and I have full confidence that he is thinking of a plan right now to get us out of here." Marshall stood proudly as he smiled with all confidence.

"Um, Marshall?" Claria called. "I don't think that's going to happen."

"Why not?" Marshall asked back, cocking his head clueless.

Claria pointed her paw behind him. "Look."

Marshall turned around and looked at the door. He saw wolves opening the door and throwing in the German Shepherd that he knew so well. Chase turned around and barked coldly, then reduced to a low spiteful growl. The wolves growled back as they locked the cage.

"Oh." Marshall deadpanned as his confidence deflated.

Chase watched the wolves leave before turning around, and receiving a sudden hug from Marshall.

"Chase!" Marshall called out, as he squeezed Chase. He let go and looked at him. "Dag gone it Chase, what happened? Why didn't you come back?"

"Y-yeah. Sorry about that buddy." Chase answered nervously. "I heard screaming and…..completely forgot what I was doing."

Marshall smiled at his friend. "It's okay Chase. I understand."

The Shepherd smiled back and turned to face the outside of the cage. It faded as his eyes scanned the pup's screams filled their ears, as they both wince at the sight and sounds.

"This is unbearable Chase." Marshall stated, almost crying.

"I know Marshall," Chase replied. "I didn't even think it was this bad."

Chase looked around the cell they were in. It was cube-like with a chain link on all sides, keeping them elevated off the ground. Even the bottom was chain link, though there was a platform holding it up. "It's not going to be easy getting out of here. Especially since they took our pup packs."

"I'm sorta amazed that they were able to build this mine, let alone run it." Marshall said.

"I think they have their good friend Jack to thank for that." Chase replied. "No doubt he and his friends or whatever, built this for them."

"I can't believe the ambassador is allowing this to happen." Claria stated in disbelief. "Not only that, he is helping them. For years we trusted him. My father trusted him. But that doesn't seem to matter to him anymore, or if it did matter to him in the first place."

"Some people are not what they seem, Claria." Chase said.

"But why?!" Claria asked, almost crying. "Why do this? We didn't do anything to him. In fact, we embraced him at gatherings. Why would he turn his back on us?"

"I don't know squirt. But it is despicable. He will get his when it comes to him." Chase replied coldly.

Marshall looked at Chase slowly. "Chase? Do you get the feeling watching this that maybe we are in over our heads here?"

Chase questionably looked at Marshall. "Eh? Marshall? You're not getting cold paws already are you?"

"What?" Marshall replied. "No. Far from it! It's just, I didn't think it was going to be this bad. It looks as if we're going to have to fight our way out of here." Marshall whined at the thought of the statement he just made.

Chase was saddened at his friend's discomfort. He knew Marshall hated fighting. Not that he couldn't fight. He was a master of Pup-Fu after all, but there have been very few instances where he had to put it to use. Chase himself wasn't really a fan of it either, but thanks to him being a police pup, he's expected to get a lot of action with his job, so he could deal with it. Marshall on the other paw, was only a fire pup. Yeah he gets about as much as Chase does, but more from the environment than an individual. The Dally has not really been in situations where fighting was essential, and would usually try to avoid a hostile situation rather than taking part in one. While Marshall could hold his own, he definitely won't feel really good about it. Especially if it resulted in death.

That was another thing Marshall was uncomfortable with, and to be fair, neither was Chase. Again, because of being a police pup, it was expected, though Chase really didn't like killing. It was always a horrible tactic for him, and only did it if it was absolutely necessary. Chase was worried if Marshall was ever put in that situation, he would hesitate, and pay dearly for it. To his knowledge, Marshall had never taken a life, ever. Not even during one of his clumsy incidents. If he did once, Marshall would likely have nightmares for it, and be down in the dumps nearly every day. Chase hoped that Marshall would never be forced in those shoes, as it would be traumatizing for him. But judging from the position they were in, that may happen, and all Chase can do is to guide him through.

Chase put a foreleg around his friend and smiled at him. "Don't worry buddy. I'll be right here for you. We'll get through this together, like always."

Marshall smiled back at his friend's reassurance. "Thanks Chase, the same goes to you, I don't care what I have to do. I will always have your back man."

As soon as Marshall's last word was said, the door opened, as three wolves walked in. the wolf in the center, stared at Chase with no emotion, while the two flanked him, stare coldly. Claria recognized the one in the middle, and began seething with anger.

"Talus!" She growled. "How could you?! You let your only pup die and you stood by!"

The Alpha's face remained still as he answered in monotone. "Klora's sacrifice was for the greater good of the packs."

Claria backed up her stare with pure fury and anger. Chase swore he saw steam, flowing out her ears. "HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT! KLORA WAS A GREAT PUP! HE WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT ALPHA! BUT NOW HE WON'T EVEN GET A CHANCE! HE WAS YOUR ONLY SON ALPHA! AND YOU THREW HIM AWAY LIKE TRASH! GARI WOULD NOT ONLY BE ASHAMED OF YOU, SHE WOULD DISOWN YOU! HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITH YOURSELF TALUS?!

Talus continued to stare blankly at nothing, not affected by Claria's rant. "Our lives will prosper, thanks to my son's sacrifice."

Chase and Marshall were weirded out at this. They would be angry, but for some reason, they weren't. It was the way that the Alpha was talking about his son's death. Like it was a normal event for him. Marshall leaned over to Chase and mumbled to his ear. "Uhh….Chase? Is it just me? Or does he sound like he's...out of it?"

Chase took a look at the Alpha who was still staring blankly as if he was on some sort of drug. "I think that's the least of our worries right now Marshall."

The entranced wolf looks at Chase as he gives his message. "Oni-Con wishes to speak with you."

Chase smugged upon hearing the message. "Is that so? Well, It just so happens that I would like to say some words to him myself."

The two wolves adjacent to Talus, took this as their cue, to go to Chase and shackle him. Although they didn't need to, since Chase wasn't resistant at all. They carry him out of the cage to present him to Oni-Con.

Marshall stood up and got the attention of the wolves. "Hey! What about me?! I wanna go too!"

The wolves turned around to look at the protesting dally. Chase looks at him with a determined look. "No Marshall. You stay here. I'll be back buddy."

"NO! Not this time!" Marshall objected. "This time, I'm going with you!"

Marshall stomped his paw with authority to drive in the point. Chase hoped and prayed that the wolves didn't agree to take Marshall. He didn't know what would happen with his meeting with Oni-Con, and for that, he didn't want Marshall to end up getting hurt in any way, as he doubted that Oni-Con just wanted to "talk."

The two wolves looked at each other for a bit and then shrugged their shoulders. One then steps up to Marshall. The wolf shackled Marshall, who too gave no resistance.

Chase curse inside at the results. He really really didn't want Marshall to come along. Claria was upset too, as she tried to protest. "No! Don't go Marshall! Don't go!"

Marshall looked at her with calming eyes. "Aw Claria, don't worry. I'll come back."

"But you said you won't let them put me in the mines!" Claria whined.

"Claria." Marshall replied. "I'll be back before they even have a chance to take you."

Claria sniffled. "Promise?"

Marshall smiled at her. "Promise. And I never break my promises."

Claria laid back down to show approval at the wolves exit with Chase and Marshall. Talus however, stayed behind and stared at Claria emotionless.

Claria stared back, with her thoughts and feeling of him oozing out of her, as her voice was cold as ice. "What do you want?"

Talus walks forward and steps within spitting distance of Claria. He looks down at her as Claria clenches up, waiting for an attack. But instead, Talus is still in that creepy monotone voice. "Oni-Con requires you to work in the mines."

---

Chase and Marshall were brought into a medium sized room. A slab boulder with a skull sculpted at the top was on the left wall. In front of them sat the emeralds on the far wall shining as bright as they could be. Where the pup packs were was beyond them. On the right wall was a giant sculpted head of a wolf with red glowing eyes. A fire also sat closely in front of them, burning steadily.

The back of Chase's head pounded the slab as he was thrusted up to his back paws. The wolves wrapped him in chains around the slab while a wolf stood behind him, pulling the chain enough to keep him immobile.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Marshall demanded as he was pulled by the scruff of his neck, making him growl in return.

A cold laugh emerged as Chase looked at the entrance way where it came from. As predicted, the voice came from the wolf himself, Oni-Con.

His presence set the mood immediately as he smiled menacingly. "Welcome Paw Patrol. I am very honored for you to grace us with your presence."

Chase was not intimidated, as he gave a smug look back at him. "Didn't take you as the welcoming type. That's quite a surprise coming from you."

The wolf kept his smile on as he turned to face the emeralds. "I should say the same thing about you." He walks towards them, eyeing them before slowly turning his head around and glares at Chase. "I would never guess that you would be thieves."

Marshall barked sharply, causing the wolf who was holding him to yank him roughly which made him yelp. Chase however, was laughing mockingly. "Ha! Thieves! That's a laugh."

He then looks at the emeralds and goes back to Oni-Con. "You're missing two by the way."

Oni-Con's smile faded at the comment as he walked up in front of him and gave him a death glare. "Thanks for reminding me Chase."

"My pleasure." Chase retorted sarcastically.

Marshall looked on with the utmost concern. While Chase was known to be masterful at interrogating, especially if he is the conductor of it, he unfortunately also was known for getting cocky and biting off more than he could chew. He would get under the skin of his opponents, no matter what danger he'd be in. It didn't matter if it was Al Capone himself. The scariest was when he was being interrogated. The phrase "give up" never existed in his vocabulary, and because of that, he would rather die than cave in. Unfortunately that also meant that he would endure so much torture. Marshall dreaded that about him, and would usually tell Chase to back down a bit. But the wolf holding him prevented him by yanking his scruff so he could only watch.

Oni-Con continued starting at Chase with cold eyes. "Let me tell you a story Chase. A hundred years ago, when the invaders came and butured my wolves, the loyal beta of BloodRayne who served my grandfather, took BloodRayne and ShadowFur's emeralds and hid them down here in the catacombs."

"So that's what the pups are doing." Marshall icly retorted. "They're down there doing your dirty work while you sit and worship your god."

Oni-Con slowly turned to Marshall and walked up to him. "I assure you, young one. What the pups are doing, is contributing greatly to our cause, and we are eternally grateful for that."

Marshall growled at him. "You have a weird way of showing that. They're innocent pups and you whip them to no end!" Marshall's growl grew louder as he finished. "Not to mention the sacrifices that you have performed on THEM!"

Oni-Con kept smiling as he put his paw on Marshall's helmet. "Sacrifices are necessary for our well being, Marshall."

Marshall's body shook. "H-How do you know my name?"

"I know everything, young one." Oni-Con replied.

"Yeah so do I." Chase added as Oni-Con shot his head over to Chase. "I betcha your old buddy Jack told you all about us."

Oni-Con went back to Chase. "You have great insight Chase. You would make a great detective. Too bad you won't have a chance to."

Marshall barked coldly as a warning to Oni-Con if he hurt Chase. Oni-Con ignored him and went on. "For you see, soon, we will acquire all the Wolf's Emeralds. When that happens, Red-Eye's vision will finally be realized and the BloodRayne wolves will rule and be feared by all."

Chase snickered. "What a vivid imagination."

Oni-Con chuckled back as he got in Chase's face. "You...don't believe me? You will Chase." He paused as he chuckled some more. "You will become…...a true believer."

Chase cracked up at that, as he laughed in Oni-Con's face. "You're a funny wolf, Oni-Con."

Oni-Con backed away from Chase and motioned his tail, signaling DarkClaw, to emerge in the room. DarkClaws presence intimidated Chase a little bit, but Chase obviously didn't show it.

The monstrous wolf towered over him, as he stared into Chase's soul.

"I see you have met DarkClaw." Oni-Con stated.

"We've r-ran into each other a lot lately." Chase replied, not taking his eyes off of DarkClaw "Right big guy?"

DarkClaw growled at Chase as he added on. "Hey, that's not how you treat a friend now. After all, I did give you a ball to play with."

The big wolf growled more, as he suddenly grabbed Chase's muzzle and squeezed it open. Chase struggled to close his mouth, but the wolf's massive paw easily prevented that. Squeezing on all the pressure points in his muzzle.

Chase grunted and gasped. His face felt like two mack trucks were pushing both sides of his muzzle. Marshall started thrashing to get free, as he watched in horror. But the wolf's grip on him was too strong for him to lose, as he was yanked back into check. "No! Chase!"

Oni-Con emerges with a pitcher shaped like Red-Eye himself. DarkClaw squeezed harder causing Chase to yelp and open his mouth a little more. Oni-Con then pours a liquid into Chase's mouth. The liquid was bitter on Chase' tongue, as he struggled not to swallow the strange liquid. The more he tasted it, the more it tasted like blood.

"Chase!" Marshall called, struggling with the wolf behind him. "Don't drink it! Spit it out! Spit itmmmmfffmfmmf!" Marshall's mouth was covered by the wolf as he did his best to hold onto Marshall.

Oni-Con started speaking in tongues as he continued to pour. "Orgya slame kas barlo maneyei manoga."

Chase's taste buds rejected the liquid, but DarkClaw's paw kept him from spitting it out.

"Barlee slava kahee galee manoga."

The Shepherd finally broke free of his muzzle, as he suddenly spat and spat out the drink like a bullet at Oni-Con, who got a face full of blood. DarkClaw pushed on Chase to keep him from escaping, as Oni-Con reared back from the assault.

He wiped his face off, and looked back at Chase. Still thrashing to get out of the monstrous wolf's grasp.

"It seems that you need some convincing Chase." Oni-Con stated, as his smile still hasn't left his face. "Luckly, I know just who will be able to do the job."

At that moment, Oni-Con signaled his tail, allowing a pup to emerge from the entrance way. The pup had a blank stare on its face, as if he was in a trance. His coat was gray, with jungle green highlights along with his ears, paws, and muzzle. Chase looked at him and nearly froze in shock, as he recognized the pup immediately "Roxy?"

Marshall looked over at the pup who was staring at Chase. 'That's Roxy?' Marshall thought. Marshall has always wanted to meet him and thank him for helping his best friend get through a very depressing point in his life. Now he finally sees him and is a little disappointed. Roxy did not look good. From the blood streaks that were all down his body, to the face that looked like he was in constant pain and distress. Though Chase was over the moon at his friend's presence. "Roxy! It's me! Your friend, Chase! Remember?!"

Upon hearing, Roxy looked at Chase and produced a smile. But that smile was menacing and evil, something that Chase definitely didn't expect him to do.

"Roxy?" Chase called, confused and worried. "Roxy, it's me buddy! Don't you remember me?"

Roxy didn't respond, instead he pulled out a doll with a resemblance to Chase himself. Complete with a police uniform and hat. He then walked near the fire in front of Marshall.

"Roxy? Roxy, what are you doing?" Chase asked, very confused as to what his friend was doing.

Again, Roxy didn't answer. Instead, he brought the doll close to the fire. Chase suddenly started to get hot. He panted as he tried to figure out what Roxy was doing. "Roxy?...what….are….you...ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Chase suddenly shrieked in pain, and started flailing around. He felt like he was being burned alive, but fire was nowhere close to him. Roxy now had the doll practically on the fire, grinning from ear to ear from the pain he was causing to his supposed friend.

Marshall was horrified at what he was watching. It didn't take long for him to figure out that the doll was a voodoo doll! He was stunned as he thought they only existed in movies!

Chase screamed and hollered, snapping Marshall out of his thoughts and immediately thrashed to break free of the wolf's grasp. "Roxy! Stop! You're hurting him!"

Roxy didn't listen, as he hadn't moved an inch. Keeping the doll in the fire, as Chase thrashed and flailed around, screaming like a tortured soul.

Marshall had enough. He didn't care what happened to him, he just wanted to stop Chase from being burned alive. He kicked with his hind legs at Roxy, who yelped and fell to the floor, dropping the doll on the ground. Chase stopped screaming as he panted to catch his breath. The wolf yanked back on Marshall to suppress him, but got a shot in the muzzle due to Marshall banging the back of his head on the wolf's nose. Causing him to let go of the dally, who then ran towards Chase to help him.

But was immediately halted in his tracks as he ran into the brick wall that was DarkClaw. Marshall hit him at full speed causing him to flip backwards and land on his belly unconscious. His helmet laid beside him.

"MARSHALL!" Chase shrieked, as he went to care for him. But was soon thrusted back on the slab by DarkClaw.

Marshall came to and tried to get up, but the blow he received weakened him greatly, as he tried to get up, but the pain his body caused him to plop back down as he moaned in pain.

The wolves then picked up the limp Dalmatian, and slammed him, belly first on the empty slab. His head bounced off of the slab, causing Marshall's mouth to bleed.

Oni-Con growled at him. "You...dare..not..do..that!" He then picked up a lengthy bullwhip and walked over to Marshall, who was being held by his limbs on the other side of the slab. "Despicable actions cause despicable punishment."

WAPOW!

He cracked the whip in the air to get the feel of it. Chase started resisting DarkClaw, but was not strong enough, as he had the wolf's entire weight pushing against him. "NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU BASTARD!"

Marshall closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Preparing for the inevitable.

"You will pay with pain!" Oni-Con announced as he reeled back, and thrusted with authority. Cracking the whip on Marshall's back.

WAPOW!

"GAHHHH!" Marshall cried out, as the whip wrapped around his back.

"NO! MARSHALL!" Chase sobbed, trying to break free from DarkClaw's grasp, who was staring daggers close to his face as he growled.

WAPOW!

Another one, as it cut through Marshall's uniform, and left a blood mark on his back as he shrieked louder.

WAPOW!

Another mark was left on Marshall's back. He was now crying.

WAPOW!

Marshall practically potentially broke the sound barrier, as he yelped the loudest he ever yelped and sobbed uncontrollably as he received more licks.

WAPOW!

Chase was absolutely mental at the sound of Marshall's cries. He did everything he could to break free. It wasn't working but it didn't stop him from trying.

WAPOW!

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Marshall hollard his breaking point as he continued to sob.

Chase couldn't take it anymore. Hearing Marshall in pain was grating him. This was the exact reason that he didn't want Marshall to come. But he already came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to stop him from coming, due to how Marshall was. Marshall's cries triggered one of his fears, of Marshall dying again, and it looked like Oni-Con was not stopping anytime soon. He had to stop it or Marshall would likely be whipped to death. He couldn't move, so physically stopping it was out of the question. Chase knew one way to stop it. Marshall wasn't going to like it, but it would be for his own good.

Oni-Con reared back, ready to give another lick. Chase took his opportunity to stop the mindless whipping.

"WAIT! WAIT! STOP! STOP! I'LL DO WHAT YOU WANT! I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST PLEASE! STOP HURTING HIM!" Chase sobbed out as loud as he could.

Oni-Con ceased his lick as he turned around and looked at the sobbing Shepherd. Marshall shot his eyes open and stared ahead. Chase was giving up! He Never gives up. This nullified Marshall's painful sacrifice to steer the spotlight away from Chase.

"Chase…..no…" He softly croaked out.

Oni-Con smiled wide as he chuckled. "I am so grateful for you to volunteer Chase."

Marshall was turned around and held by his forelegs, though it didn't matter, as Marshall was in too much pain to move. His mouth was crimson red and his eyes were bloodshot from the crying due to the constant whipping he endured.

Oni-Con grabbed the pitcher again as DarkClaw grabbed Chase's muzzle again, although Chase was not resisting this time. He was a dog of his word, and did not plan on struggling. Oni-Con then poured into Chase's mouth and smiled evilly.

"Soon, we will have all the emeralds Chase." Oni-Con sneered. "Then Gari will fall at Red-Eye's paws. And then soon, the world's armies will fall as well! And then, the BloodRayne wolves will truly be the only race that matters."

Oni-Con stopped pouring, as DarkClaw closed Chase's mouth, covered his nose, and pushed upward, forcing Chase to swallow the bitter tasting liquid.

Chase gasped and panted heavily as the liquid went down his throat.

Marshall looked upon Chase with tears in his eyes. "...Chase…."

---

Claria slammed her pickaxe down on a medium size rock. Her teeth hurt from handling the pickaxe due to it vibrating in her mouth. She couldn't believe it. Two days ago, she escaped from this vile place. Her friends caused a distraction for her and Roxy to get out. They had risked their well being to help them escape, and she had promised them that she would be back to save them, with a whole army behind her.

She blew it.

She let them down.

She ended up right back where she started.

She brought help, but they were just pups. Yeah they were the Paw Patrol and yeah they did have a shot to succeed, but they were captured. There's no telling where Marshall and Chase were, or whether or not they were still alive. But it didn't matter now. If they were alive now, they would be dead later. Not that she didn't think that they wouldn't be able to escape, just that she knew not to expect them to at this point. The place was crawling with BloodRayne wolves, and they were really outnumbered. If they tried, they would likely get swatted down like a fly, and then their lives would be over.

But why was she thinking like that? They're the Paw Patrol? They are much stronger than they look. They probably have been through hundreds of situations like this. This should be their specialty, right?

WAPOW!

Claria yelped, as a whip cracked on her back. The wolf growled at her as she was deep in thought. He leaves her as she sticks her tongue out at the wolf as he walks by.

She went back to hammering the rock in front of her, tearing pieces little by little with a long way to go.

Why were they doing this anyway? Why won't they tell us? It's not like they could do anything if they found out or find the object that they are looking for, unless they were actually mining rocks. But why? There would be no point. You can't get anything out of rocks. Maybe gemstones, but they were at the Wolf's Howl, and Claria figured that they were nowhere near the mountain.

If only they knew what they were looking for. Then they would maybe find it in an instant and then let them go. Right?

Then again, they probably already found it, and continue to enslave them just to be jerks. Motioning in a endless periode of pain and torture.

A loud howl sounded off, signaling lunch time for fifteen minutes.

"Fifteen minutes?" Claria said out loud. "Must be pretty generous today."

She stopped axing the rock, and laid down on her belly. A wolf then comes by, and drops a rabbit in front of her. Claria wasn't surprised at all to see the rabbit was poorly cooked and was not clean. She took her bite and chewed speedly. Not taking too much to where the others wouldn't get some. They weren't allowed to have the full rabbit. No, about ten pups had to share a small little rabbit, which was clearly not enough.

Claira chewed her bite and swallowed. She then sits back down to take a much needed break.

"Claria?"

Claria's ears perked up at her name. She recognized the voice anywhere. She looked up to see her puphood friend, Stella.

While Claria was happy to see her alive, she wished Stella never saw her. She would have to admit that she broke her promise to her by getting help, and Claria wanted to avoid that. Her nerves froze at the sight of Stella and became a nervous wreck.

"Claria!" Stella called again, running to Claria and immediately hugged her. "Oh Claria, it is so good to see that you're still alive!"

Despite her nerves, Claria smiled and hugged her back. She was the closest thing to a sister after all. She would understand, right?

"I-I should be saying that to you." Claria replied.

They let go as Stella sits in front of her with a questionable look. "I'm so happy you're here Claria, but what are you doing back here? Did you bring back help?"

Claria started sweating at the question, as she tried not looking in her friend's eyes. "Well, um….uh, you see…..I."

"You did? That's wonderful!" Stella wagged her tail in excitement. She then looked around. "Um….where are they?"

"Well….you see. Stella." Claria started until she was interrupted again by Stella.

"Oh, I get it! They're hiding in the shadows, ready to strike!" Stella guessed.

"Uh….no….um," Claria tried to explain before Stella interrupted again.

"O, o I see. You're here to spy on them and then you will tell them their secrets so the attack will be successful!"

"Stella….no..listen." Claria tried again but was interrupted, AGAIN.

"Ohhhhh, now I got it! They are in disguise as the wolves here, and will unlock our chains when the time comes!"

"STELLA! THERE IS NO RESCUE!" Claria cried. "I GOT CAPTURED!"

Stella was stunned at the outburst. It was a miracle she was able to say something. "You mean…...you don't have a plan?"

"NO! Not anymore!" Claria sobbed.

Stella's ears dropped slowly as her head went low. "Th-Then, you didn't get help."

"Well," Claria started, "I actually did."

Stella lit up. "Really? Who are they."

Claria lowered her head in embarrassment. "It-It's not much, it's just two pups."

Stella raised an eyebrow. She couldn't help but feel disappointed. "T-Two pups? That's all? What about the packs? There's no one to help us?"

Claria swallowed as she had to describe the difficult situation. She shook her head as she spoke. "No one. The packs are horrible Stella. Most of them are almost gone, and one is gone. They were in no way to help. Many wolves have died, Stella…" She paused as she thought about one wolf in particular. "Even my uncle."

Claria tried her best not to break down, as Stella stared with shock. "O-Onclave's dead? NO! He was such a good wolf to us all! Oh I'm so sorry Claria!" Then a certain wolf came across her mind, and her heart dropped when she thought of him. "Wh-What about my father, is he alright? Please Claria! Please tell me he's okay!"

"He's okay Stella." Claria assured. "But he's very weak."

Stella sighed in relief. She didn't want to even think of living without her father. In fact, she didn't want to think about losing any wolf. She tried to change the subject. "So, um….who are the pups?"

Claria wagged slightly at the question. "They're no ordinary pups Stella. They're the Paw Patrol."

Stella cocked her head in confusion. "Paw….Patrol?"

"Yeah. Paw Patrol." Claria repeated. "You know, the group that helped the Woodland pack get their emerald back from intruders?"

"Ohhhhh! That Paw Patrol!" Stella recognized. "They're helping us? That's great! Where are they?"

Claria drooped again. "Well, they uh…..they got captured with me, and then they went to Oni-Con. I don't know what happened to them after that."

"Oh." Stella replied, as she drooped with Claria. She then made an attempt to give her confidence. "D-Don't worry Claria. They could hold their own, after all, Rooooxy…."

Stella stopped herself as she said Roxy's name. She immediately hung her head in sorrow. "Roxy…"

Claria saw this and tensed up. She was afraid to ask. Very afraid, but she just had to know. Like it was a curse. "Stella? What happened to Roxy?"

Stella didn't move as she then tears up. Claria thought the absolute worst as she tears up as well. "Oh…..no. no no no NO! Don't tell me he's….he's"

Claria was about to lose it. The air inside her lungs was sucked out. Her paws trembled and she was about to scream.

"No Claria." Stella finally answered. "He's not dead. He's alive. Well,...not really."

Claria was absolutely clueless. "What? What do you mean Stella? What did they do to him?"

Stella breathed heavily as she explained. "You see, after you left, they tortured him as usual. Then….They made him drink the blood of Red-Eye."

Claria becomes ever more clueless. "What? The blood of Red-Eye? What on earth is that?"

"It's this bitter liquid they make you drink now if you misbehave. When you drink it, Red-Eye takes full control of you, and then you become loyal to him only, and then, you become like them. You'll be in a nightmare, that you will never wake up from it."

Claria's heart dropped at the thought of her best friend in such a state.

"Ever since he drank it, he's become a different pup. He now is one of the ones who whips us and barks orders."

Claria was stunned. Roxy whipping pups? That's impossible! The Roxy she knows would likely whip himself before he did it to another pup. She didn't understand why Roxy would do it. Has he really changed?

She was about to reply until….

WAPOW!

Claria's back shot up with pain, meaning that break was over. She growled back as she picked her pickaxe back up and went back to breaking the rock. Stella however, stayed and picked up an axe of her own to help her. Claria leans over to her and whispers. "Don't worry Stella, we will get out of here and save Roxy."

"How." Stella whispers back. "There's more guards than last time Claria. It'll be impossible."

Claria looked at Stella and smiled. "We're just going to have to try. For our Culture's sake."

Chase was thrown on to a slab in a small room full of lit candles. Although he didn't seem to notice as his mind was racing and his body was sweating like a pig. He laid on his back with his paws in the air as he suddenly started pant frantically. Not long after, his body started to shake like a scared dog. He tried to stop but couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

He developed a headache as he grabbed both sides of his head to make it stop. He stopped panting, only to breathe heavily through his nose at a speedful rate. His heartbeat followed as he clenched his eyes at the pain of the headache that had now grown to a migraine.

Slowly and surely, his mind flashed with every nightmare he had ever had. Ryder dying, Skye crashing, Rocky falling, Zuma drowning, Rubble being crushed to death, Everest being buried in an avalanche, Skylar dying, Tracker being impaled by spikes losing, Marshall again, watching his father die, even going to the dentist! All of them came rushing past like a slideshow of despair. At the end of it, was a dark silhouette of a wolf. It opened its eyes and showed two red beams of light, as the nightmares appeared all around him like video screens.

---

Chase was now curled into a ball. He was shaking very badly, and his migraine somehow grew worse. He panted some until the pants turned into painful moans, then into muffled screams.

"GeyaHHHH!" Chase yelped as he tried to banish the wolf from his mind.

He then squirmed around as he screamed some more. "AHHHHHH!"

His paws clenched, the migraine got worse, his head thrashed around as he continued to resist the wolf. "EYAHHHHH!

He groaned as he got on his fours but crouched low, with his head shaking, as if he was a bobble head and was being shaken very fast.

Chase tried his best to fight the wolf, but the wolf was just too strong. He could feel him through his veins and blood as he then shot his head up at the roof and let out one last blood curdling scream that was loud enough to echo the sky.

"nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

He then stopped shaking. He gave up on pushing him out and allowed him in.

His body tingled as the wolf now overthrew every part of his brain, nerves, and blood. He slowly opened his eyes. His breathing was now normal as he opened his eyes. But they were not the color of amber. Instead, his eyes were blood red.

---

A smirk slowly appeared on his face, as he started laughing menacingly.

Chase's scream echoed the walls, as Marshall heard them with his heart in his stomach. A million questions went through his mind. What's wrong with him?! Is he hurting? What did those flea brains do to him?!

But before he could wonder some more, He was pushed forward by the wolf behind them.

"Now young pup." Oni-Con announced. "It's your turn."

He held the pitcher in front of him as he motioned for DarkClaw to grab the dally.

Marshall knew that if he drank that, there would be no way they would ever get out of here alive. He looked at the fire, and picked up a log with fire at the end. He shoved it forward to DarkClaw's body. He yelped loudly, as he fell to the floor. Marshall then swung it left and right, taking out two wolves beside him.

Realizing the opportunity, he ran out of the room and down the tunnel. He didn't know where he was going, he just knew that he had to run, find Chase, free Claria, and get the heck out of here.

He rounded the corner and looked back to see if anyone was following him. Suddenly, he ran into a pup and fell backwards. After shaking the dizziness off, he looked at who he ran into and smiled hopefully. It was his best friend, Chase.

Though upon closer inspection, he looked a little different, as his face resembled a super serious police officer. He pushed it aside and got up to face him.

"Chase! Oh I am so glad I found you and you're okay! Come on! We got to find Claria and get out of…"

Marshall stopped as soon as he noticed that Chase looked unrealistically to him. Staring at him menacingly.

"Ch-Chase? A-Are you….."

Marshall never got to finish his sentence. In an instant, Chase grabbed Marshall by the throat and started squeezing. Marshall let off a sharp gasp, as he was too shocked to do anything due to Chase choking the life out of him.

"CH-CHASE! ACK! Wh-What are you…...GACK! ACK!"

Chase flat out ignored him, as he slammed Marshall to the ground, back first, and constricted more.

Marshall flailed around as he tried to get out of Chase's grasp, but anysort of resistance was no match for Chase's strength. His voice gargled as air leaked out "CHASE! Aggghhhhkkkk! Your...ACK! ARG! Choking me! Please! SSSSTOP!"

His words meant nothing. Chase stared into his eyes, making Marshall finally realize that the once calming amber eyes were now replaced, with crimson blood red!

"Aghhhhk! Chase! Ngh! What is ACK! Wrong with you!"

"Chase is no longer the pup you know."

Oni-Con then emerges as he stands behind Chase and looks at Marshall. "He has become loyal to Red-Eye."

Marshall didn't have much left, as the air was now almost gone. He got light headed and started to go limp under Chase's paw.

"Let him go Chase." Oni-Con ordered.

Chase obayed and let go of Marshall's neck, causing the dally to gasp for air. He coughed up a storm, as two wolves flank him and pick him up.

Marshall looked at the Shepherd with a broken heart. It can't be true. Not Chase! Not his best friend in the world! Chase would never join the side of evil. But here he was, standing beside Oni-Con, ready for orders.

Oni-Con turned and smiled evilly. "It seems that the young Dalmatian is not willing to become one of us! Therefore, we shall host another ceremony tonight!" He then stares right at Marshall. "And you, young Dalmatian, will be sacrificed!"

Marshall gasps as he tries to break free, but he is still weak from Chase's choking, not to mention the wolves that were holding him.

Oni-Con chuckled as he then walked behind Marshall and stared at the entranced Chase. "And you, Chase. As a test of your loyalty to Red-Eye! Will fulfill that sacrifice!"

An ice cold chill ran down Marshall's spine as he looked at Chase with pleasing eyes. There would be no way Chase would ever willingly kill his best friend. They meant so much to each other, and Chase already had to deal with a year without him, so there was no way that Chase would want to go through that again.

Marshall hoped that this was the thing to snap Chase out of it, and it seemed like it, as Chase took forever to respond.

Then, after a few more seconds of silence. The entranced Shepherd finally spoke in monotone, like he was a robot. "It will be done."

Marshall felt as if he was stabbed in the heart. "NO! Chase please! NO!"

The wolves then drag Marshall away with him kicking and screaming to break free.

"Chase! You can't let them do this to me!" He yelled as he was being dragged away. "You're my best friend, man! Please Chase! CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE!"

Chase looked completely unmoved as Marshall's screams echoed through the tunnel.

---

BOM…..BOM…..BOM…..BOM….BOM

BOMRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA

Oni-Con stood at the edge of the temple entrance. Addressing the wolves on the other side. "Wolves of all! We are gathered here to pay homage to our lord and savior, Red-Eye."

He then turns to his left to look at a naked German Shepherd standing next to Jack Michaels, who was standing aside, hat and all, though he had ceremonial robes on. The Shepherd had a completely blank stare on him. Anything that made Chase unique was gone. His morality, his feelings, his appearance, and his kindness were all put aside. Now, he was practically a very different pup than before. His eyes were different, his face was frozen and his muzzle had a very menacing smile on it.

Red-Eye motioned with his tail for Chase to carry on with the ceremony. Chase took a few breaths as he spoke in total monotone. "Red-Eye protects us! He guides us, and he provides us with his power to rid the world of all his naysayers!"

Oni-Con looks up as Chase continues on. With the wolves chanting hauntingly. "In return with our gratitude, we offer him a sacrifice of flesh….fur…."

"LET GO OF ME YOU FLEA BRAINS!" Marshall blurted out as he was being brought into view.

Chase gazed at his supposed buddy and smiled evilly. "...and blood!"

Two wolves held Marshall until the torture rack came down to ground level. Marshall looked on with terror, as his breathing was a very quick rate. They opened the doors to the rack as they brought Marshall over to it.

"Ooooo, I'm not going to have anything nice to say about this place when I get back!" Marshall chimed, as he spotted Chase off to the side, staring at him as the wolves shackled him in the cage. "Chase! Come on man! I know you're still in there! Please! Stop this!"

Chase didn't flinch as Marshall was being shackled. He just stood by and smirked.

Jack leans over to him, and chimes in his ear. "Your friend wishes not to be with us, and he has seen too much." He then looks at Marshall. "Now, he will be silenced!"

Oni-Con approaches the whimpering Marshall, who was shaking furiously at the menacing wolf.

BOM

Orl hasa fe lu clum maste

BOM

Slay yael me on frayon huuuull

Me yalon gah kaby hay yong ghol

BOM

The wolf smiled as he touched Marshall's cheek as the dally whined in terror. "Young one, you have been summoned here for a great service." Oni-Con's voice was as sharp as ever, with Marshall just ready for his heart to get ripped out. "Your sacrifice will benefit our cause, and you will forever be remembered for it."

Marshall clenched as Oni-Con raised his paw at the statue of Red-Eye as it's eyes shined red in response like before. Oni-Con smiled as he brought his paw down to the ground. Marshall was shocked to see the wolf not attempt to rip his heart out, he wondered what he had planned for the Dalmatian's fate.

Oni-Con gazed into Marshall's eyes as he finally spoke. "You will suffer the pain of betrayal."

At that moment, he stepped back from the dally and went aside. He then motioned his tail for Chase to come over. Marshall watched in discomfort as Chase slowly walked over to the front of the cage. His movements were stiff, and his head stayed absolutely still, as he turned to face Marshall.

Marshall teared up at this. He couldn't believe Chase was going through with this. Does their friendship matter anymore? Will Chase ever snap out of it? Or is he really going to let his own best friend die in the paws of an evil cult? But through all of that, Marshall had one genuine concern that overshadowed his well being.

If he were to die right now, what would happen to Chase? Will he ever be himself again? Will he ever make it out of here and if he does make it out, how will he deal with the fact that he essentially killed his best friend. That was what Marshall was really afraid of. He knew that his death would cause Chase to be utterly devastated, but he didn't know what Chase would do if he realized that he was the one who sent Marshall to his doom. Chase would never ever forgive himself, and would likely do something drastic.

No matter what happened, Chase would be damned, and that's what terrified Marshall.

He looked at Chase with terror as he called out to him. "Chase?...Chase please. Y-Your not….one of them." Marshall choked up as Chase walked closer, still with the blank face on him.

Tears flowed down his cheeks as Marshall tried to get through to Chase. He knew that he was still in there. He just needed to drag him out of this imposter standing in front of him. The Anti-Chase. The evil Chase. Marshall took in a breath as he spoke. "Chase. Come on man, you're better than this."

Chase's eyes stared directly at Marshall's. His blood red eyes scared him, but Marshall couldn't give in. He had to stand his ground and fight for his best friend. To save him from making the biggest mistake of his life.

"Chase…please….I-I love you. We're brothers. Remember?"

Chase stood silent as Marshall went on. "Please man…..Don't let them kill me."

Chase didn't do anything yet. He just stood there staring at Marshall, emotionless. Marshall looked at his pupils and noticed that they were shifting side to side, furiously. Marshall saw this and was filled with hope.

He's fighting! He's trying at least! Marshall took the opportunity to help him by rallying him up. "That's it Chase! Fight it! Fight it! I know you can do it! You're better than this! I've seen you do better!"

Chase pupils sped up, as well as his breathing. He started to sweat and grit his teeth. He shut his eyes and shook frantically. It's working! Chase is fighting! He just needed a little more push, and Marshall was more than happy to continue on. "Come on Chase! You can do it! I believe in you!"

Chase was now visibly shaking. Oni-Con caught on and was about ready to step in and stop the attempt.

"Ryder believes in you! The Paw Patrol believes in you! You just got to GAH!"

A sharp pain hit Marshall's snout like an anvil, causing his head to jerk left and hung down. Blood gushed out his nose as he suddenly went dead quiet. He started shaking as he slowly raised his head up and saw probably the most traumatizing sight, somehow even more than anything he'd seen that day. Chase, his best friend, smiling and admiring what he just did.

He punched Marshall!

Right in the muzzle.

Any evidence of Chase's recent attempt at fighting off the evil that had taken over him, was non-existent, as his pupils were absolutely still.

The smile was glued on his face, as Chase finally spoke with a cold tone. "Your blood shall run red."

Oni-Con smiles amusingly, satisfied at the scenario he created, as The wolves chant.

RED!

RED!

RED!

RED!

RED!

Marshall's heart shattered as Chase closed the doors of the rack. Locking Marshall securely in the cage.

It's hopeless. Marshall pretty much accepted that Chase was gone, he was going to die, and Chase was going to let it happen.

"Well, I tried." Marshall said, as the rack was now being positioned above the hatch to the fire pit.

---

Stella looked left and right for any wolves walking by with whips. When she was sure no wolf was around, she turned around to address Claria, who was using her pickaxe, to break her chains.

"How much longer Claria?" Stella asked.

"I think…...I almost got it." Claria answered in between strokes.

"You need to hurry Claria, There hasn't been a wolf for a good while. One is bound to show up."

"I'm going as fast as I can Stella. But these chains are super tough, and this pickaxe is as dull as a stone."

"Do you want mine?" Stella offered.

"No, that's alright. I don't think it would be that much help anyway." Claria declined as she continued to break her chains.

Stella looked back and spotted one coming. "Claria! Quick! One's coming!"

Claria shot up next to the rock, and started hitting it, trying to look busy.

The wolf stopped at Claria and gazed at her coldly. Claria stopped and stared back with just as much intensity. The wolf looked down at Claria's paws. He saw that Claria's chains were almost broken. He looked back at Claria and gave a suspicious stare. Claria looked back, still giving an intense stare.

The wolf snorted before he spoke rudely. "Your chains are worn. Wait here, I will get you a new set."

The wolf walked away to go get some chains. When she was sure he was gone, Claira went right back to breaking her chains, only now she was speeding up the process.

"What are we going to do Claria? He'll be back at any minute!" Stella commented, while looking back for the wolf from time to time.

"I'm going to have to work faster." Claria responded.

Stella felt uneasy as she went to work on the rock. "This plan is not going to work."

"Why didn't you say so before?" Claria asked.

"I did say so before!" Stella replied.

Claria rolled her eyes as she continued. Stella looked around and saw the wolf a good bit away, with a new chain in his mouth.

Stella gasped as she turned back to Claria. "Claria! Hurry! Here he comes!"

---

The hatch opened revealing the massive fire pit that Marshall was about to be lowered into.

Heat met this face, as Marshall began to pant furiously. Though what was going through his mind was his life, friends, and family.

He whined for them all. Ryder, Rocky, Skye, Rubble, Zuma, Tracker, Carlos, Farmer Yumi and Al, Captain Turbot, Francios, Mr. Porter, Alex, Katie, Calie, Mayor Goodaway and Chickletta, Carlos, Jake, his Mom Ashley, his Dad Sparky, his sister Ember, and….Everest, all flashed his mind as he accepted his fate. It hit him that he would never be able to do all the things he wanted to accomplish. Things like being a proud fire dog, watching his sister grow up, and telling Everest how he felt.

Though, through all of that, one pup stood out for him to be deeply concerned about. Chase.

It was pretty much given at this point. Chase will be trapped here. Being forced to carry out Red-Eye's bidding. Being tortured forever, never going back home, never being able to see his friends again. Forever trapped underground at Wintergreen.

Marshall did not want that, he didn't want Chase to be trapped here. He always wished that if he would go before Chase, he wanted to be sure that Chase would be okay. He saw what happened when Chase's father died. He saw what Chase became after that, and didn't want Chase to fall like that again.

But it's worse than that now. Chase would be trapped here, forever, in probably the closest thing to his personal hell. He tried. He tried so hard to snap him out of it. But he failed, and that is probably the biggest regret Marshall will have as his life ends.

A wolf pulled the lever, sending Marshall down to his doom, as the wolves chanted.

Klarlum! Klarlum! Klarlum! Klarlum Stagalum!

BOM BOM

Klarlum! Klarlum! Klarlum! Klarlum Stagalum!

Marshall didn't scream, he didn't holler, and he didn't howl. He just braced his demise.

'I'm sorry Ryder.'

Hala! Hala! Hala staglelum!

BOM BOM

'I'm sorry pups.'

Hala! Hala! Hala staglelum!

Bom Bom

'I'm sorry Mom. I'm sorry Dad. I'm sorry Ember.'

Hala! Hala! Hala staglelum!

Bom Bom

'I-I'm sorry Everest. I love you.'

Hala! Hala! Hala staglelum!

Bom Bom

A tear leaves Marshall's eye, as he thinks of the one pup he failed to save.

'I'm so so sorry Chase.'

He gets halfway down when he starts to feel his body burn. He finally lets out a horrid scream as Chase stood at the top, not even flinching.

---

After what feels like forever, Claria finally broke her chains. "Finally! I'm loose!"

Unfortunately for her, the wolf was about ten yards away from them. Stella panicked. "Claria! He's almost here! We're toast!"

Claria looked at the wolf as he was gradually coming closer, with chains dangling in his jaws.

"Crap!" Claria blurted out. "I-I need a diversion!"

"What?! How?!" Stella questioned.

"I don't know what to think of something!" Claria insisted.

Stella took a few seconds to think of something as the wolf was now five yards close to them. Without putting much thought into it, Stella collapsed to the ground, hoping to fool the wolf into thinking that she had fainted.

It worked. The wolf shot over to her and looked down at her. Stella looked up at him, trying to appear as distressed as ever. Though in actuality, she really didn't need to try. She groans as she raises her head.

"It is not time to rest yet!" The wolf growled. "You will be punished!"

While this was happening, Claria inches away from them. She was behind the wolf ready to run, until….

WAPOW!

She heard Stella scream in pain. This halted her, as she was suddenly enraged.

The wolf reeled the whip back to strike but suddenly, the wolf's head was struck by a loose rock. The wolf shot around to see the culprit, which was of course Claria, still fuming. The wolf growled as he soon realized that Claria was a loose pup, trying to escape. He howled in alarm as Claria now gets an alarmed look as Stella looks at her.

"CLARIA! RUN!" She yells, as the wolf lunges at Claria.

Claria dodged him, and took off to escape.

Wolves that acknowledged the alarm, started giving chase to the runaway pup. Claria knocked buckets of rocks over to slow the wolves down a bit, causing some to trip and fall to the ground, as Claria bobbed and weaved around pups and equipment. Eventually, the pups figured out what was going on, and made it a point to clear a path for her. Some even used their tools to slow the wolves down on their own.

This gave Claria time to look around for a way out. She spotted the target on the far side. A ladder standing up and allowing passage to what looked like a tunnel.

She ran over to it and started climbing. She was halfway up, when she noticed that a wolf was following her up the ladder.

A crowd had formed at the base of the ladder as the wolf chased Claria up the ladder.

Claria got to the top but suddenly realized that the tunnel wasn't a tunnel, it was just a little hole. Claria panicked. She looked down the ladder and the wolf was about halfway up.

Thinking quickly, She saw a definite tunnel across from her. Without thinking if the ladder was long enough, Claria attached herself to the ladder, pushed off the hole and rode the ladder to the other side. The wolf that was climbing the ladder, suddenly had to hold as he went for a ride also.

The ladder was halfway when Claria realized that she was going to be short. Thinking on the spot, she leapt off the ladder, and landed on the ledge leading to the tunnel. The poor wolf that was holding on, fell off the ladder and pounded the ground.

The pups cheered as Claria ran down the tunnel to look for Chase and Marshall.

She came to a room where Chase and Marshall's pup pack and uniforms. Figuring that they'd probably need them, she went in, and picked them up, and continued to look for the Paw Patrol.

It was then that she heard chanting coming from the entrance of the temple.

"They must be there! Oh I hope they're okay!" Claria said out loud as she made her way to the entrance.

As she got closer, she started hearing screaming. It was a voice extremely familiar to her. Her heart fell to her paws when she recognized the voice, and immediately sped through the tunnel.

"Oh no! MARSHALL!"

She ran as fast as she could, praying to Gari that she wasn't too late. The dally's screams haunted her ears as she came up to a crevice, allowing her to view the ceremony from behind.

She looked through and saw something she couldn't believe. She saw Oni-Con and Chase, standing next to each other while also still hearing Marshall scream down the pit!

Claria was shocked. What was Chase doing?! Is he letting his own best friend die?! Why?! Why isn't he saving him?!

It was then that Claria remembered what Stella told her about what happened with Roxy. How they made him drink Red-Eye's blood, and was able to control and manipulate him. That has to be why Chase is not doing anything to help Marshall. They must have made Chase drink Red-Eye's blood like Roxy did!

It was then that Claria figured out what she needed to do. She needs to break Chase from Red-Eye's grasp and help him save Marshall. But how? She didn't ever know about this until today. How was she going to break him out of it?

Unfortunately, Claria didn't have time to think as Marshall's screams got louder. She had to just bring it!

She shot out of the entrance, and stood in front of Chase, who looked at her with a cold stare. Claria's suspicions were confirmed when she saw Chase's blood red eyes.

"Chase! You need to wake up! Wake up!" She called, as she moved closer to touch him.

Chase snapped and growled at her, causing her to wince back with a yelp.

Oni-Con sees this and issues orders to two wolves beside him. "Get her!"

The wolves then surround her, to include Chase. They backed her up to the wall next to the wheel that was lowering Marshall to his demise. Claria stood against the wall, and spotted a torch beside her. She grabbed it, and held it out to them to warn them.

But a wolf ignored it and lunged at Claria. Claria thrusted the torch forward, making the wolf touch the fire, causing it to yelp and fall to the floor. She then swayed it left and right, hitting every wolf causing them to fall as well. She took out the one meaning the wheel, and pulled the lever back, stopping the wheel from spinning, which also stopped Marshall's descent.

Chase snaps at Claria again, and bares his teeth at her. She held the torch at him which she only got a cold bark in return. Claria did not want to burn Chase, but Chase was getting closer, and closer to her. His growl grew louder, as he barked more. Claria shook in fear. Chase's intimidation was in full effect. Claria was now really scared of him.

Still, she had to push through. For Marshall.

She tried one more time to talk him some sense into him. "Chase! You've got to stop! Your best friend is going to die! You have to save him!"

Chase responded with a bark into a very loud growl. He then lunges at her, leaving Claria no choice but to protect herself by raising the torch at him. The torch hit his shoulder, burning him as he fell to the ground with a sharp yelp. He was now laying motionless as Claria dropped the torch, in shock of what she had just done. She thought she really killed Chase! She tried to run over to him, but two wolves grabbed her and pulled her away from him. Claria flailed around to go over and check on Chase, but the wolves' grip was too strong.

"CHASE!" She cried, as she fought against the wolves' grip to get to Chase.

Chase suddenly began to move. He no longer saw the wolf in his mind, and he felt that he had control of himself again. He opened his eyes and looked around for his surroundings as he tried to piece together where he was and what he was doing, when he heard Claria screaming his name and Marshall's too. Suddenly, it hit him. This was Marshall's sacrifice! Chase had to act fast but first, he needed to save Claria.

He turned around and barked out at the wolves. "Wait! Wait!"

The wolves stop holding her, as Chase goes up to them. He then snatches her by the scruff of her neck.

"She's mine!" He growled, fooling them into thinking he was still under Red-Eyes's control.

He carries her next to the pit and let's go. She cowers at first until she sees Chase's warm sudden smile. Chase's voice was now calm as he winked at her. "I'm back squirt."

Claria smiled and nodded, which Chase nodded back.

A wolf appeared behind Chase and instantly regretted it as Chase punched the wolf in the muzzle. Claria took the other one out with a bite on the shoulder.

The crowd of wolves across from them heckled and jeered at the two, but that was all they could do, as Chase punched each wolf that dared keep him from saving Marshall. One wolf slipped away and pulled the lever, sending Marshall further down. Chase saw this and grabbed an attacking wolf and Irish whipped him into the lever puller. Crashing them into each other, knocking them out. The wolf hit the lever, pushing it back off, stopping the hoist.

The next one tried to whip Chase, but was quickly disposed of by back body dropping him down to the pit below. Another one came running with a staff in it's jaws, trying to spear Chase. Chase waited for him, crouched to the ground, and grabbed the end and held it in place, causing the wolf to pole vault over him and sending him down the pit, howling on the way down. (insert Wilhelm scream here)

A wolf pulled the lever again, earning a smack on the nose by Chase with the staff he got from the poor wolf that fell in the pit.

Chase stood next to Claria, and saw Oni-Con at the altar where the emeralds were, trying to take them. Chase barked and ran to him.

"ONI-CON!" Chase called out as he ran to him.

But before he could hit him, Oni-Con escaped in a comically placed trap door below him, laughing as he went.

Chase stopped in his tracks, completely confused.

"What just happened?" Chase asked himself. Looking at the spot where Oni-Con was at.

"Chase!" Claria called "We got to save Marshall."

"Right!" Chase replied, as he shot over to the wheel, and started turning it to raise Marshall up from the pit. Chase wanted to pull faster, but the wheel was a lot heavier than he thought, as each pull took a bit out of him.

After a bit of pulling, the rack finally rose out of the pit, with Marshall laying limply in the cage.

Unbeknownst to Chase, Jack was behind him with a knife in his hand, Chase sensed this and dodged out of the way. He growled as he lunged forward to attack, but Jack slashed him, slicing Chase's cheek, causing him to collapse to the ground with a yelp. He backed up close to the pit, turning around and looked at Marshall, who was still lying prone in the cage.

He shot his head at Jack who was standing next to the lever. Jack smiled coldly, as he grabbed the lever and pulled it, sending Marshall back down.

"NO!" Chase yelled, as he got up and bared his teeth at Jack. But got a kick to the bottom of his jaw in return, courtesy of Jack's pointed cowboy boot. Chase fell to the ground, out cold.

Chase looked up weakly at Jack as the ambassador laughed mockingly. "You must be a fool Chase!" he said, as he grabbed Chase by the scruff and jerked him up on his back paws, with Chase lying lifelessly in his hand.

His chest exposed as Jack now had a clear shot with his knife. "You can't escape from here! Now, because of your foolishness, your friend will die by your paws!"

Chase growled at him as Jack jerked him. "And you will go with him!"

He raised his knife ready to stab Chase in the chest. "I DIDN'T LIKE YOU ANYWAY!"

Chase closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate, as Jack thrusted down. But before the knife could take his life, Claria rushed up, and bit Jack's arm. Causing him to drop the knife and hold his arm in pain. As he moved in front of the wheel.

Chase's energy regenerated somehow, went up to the ambassador, grabbed Jack by the collar while Jack looked at him with a painful look on his face.

"I didn't like you either!" Chase retorted, as he socked Jack right in the face. Causing him to stagger back, and land in between the handles on the wheel. Jack went for a ride as he arched over to the other side of the wheel. He landed on the floor as the handles landed on top of him. Stopping the wheel on his body, making him shriek in pain as Marshall's descent was halted for the final time.

Chase and Claria then went to the wheel and started to turn it again, to raise Marshall back up. Jack rolled off to the side to get away from the wheel. It was a little bit easier to raise him up due to Claria's help but not much, as Chase still had to pull slowly.

The rack rose up again with Marshall lifeless in the cage. Chase ran to it and pulled it away from the hatch on the ground.

"Claria! Pull the lever and give me some slack!" Chase ordered in which Claria gracefully followed it.

The cage came down as Chase opened the doors, and started unshackling Marshall.

Claria stood aside as Chase took Marshall out of the cage and put him on the ground gently.

Marshall was lifeless, as he lay unconscious. Chase's heart dropped as he called out to him. "Marshall?"

Marshall didn't move.

"Marshall. Come on buddy. Wake up."

Still, Marshall didn't move. Chase's heart fell to his paws. The room started spinning around him. His worst fear was coming true yet again. "No….no no no no nononononono! Not again! Not again! Marshall please! Wake up!"

Claria started to cry as Chase shook the dally frantically, trying to wake him, but got nothing but silence.

Chase broke down and hugged the prone body of Marshall. He sobbed into his fur, as he legitimately thought that he had killed his best friend in the entire world.

"M-Marshall." Claria croaked, as she continued to cry.

For all they knew, the Dalmatian was dead.

But….no. He wasn't. His eyes fluttered open and he groaned. Chase's eyes went wide when he heard the groan and looked at him "Marshall? You're alive!"

"Mmmhmm." Marshall replied, a little out of it, as his head was clearing out the cobwebs. "Doesn't anyone check a pulse anymore?"

Chase hugged him tightly as Marshall instinctively hugged back, still trying to gather his senses.

"You're okay! You're okay!" Chase cried. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Me too Chase." Marshall replied back. Then his eyes suddenly shot open. "Wait, Chase? NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Marshall then pushed the unsuspecting Shepherd off of him. He cowered up to the wall while watching Chase for any type of threat.

Chase stood shocked at Marshall's actions, as he tried to get closer. "Marshall? Marshall, it's me buddy. I'm back."

Chase got a few meters close to Marshall, and the dally started to shake in fear of him. "N-NO! Y-Y-You're just trying to trick me! Don't-Don't come any closer!"

Chase's heart shattered like glass but he knew why this was happening. He betrayed Marshall and hurt him in the worst way possible. If it wasn't for Claria, Marshall would've burned alive, and Chase would've stood by and watched. It shouldn't be surprising that Marshall was acting this way. Mindless or not, he figuratively killed Marshall. His supposed best friend, and did nothing when he was yelping for help. It would take a miracle for Marshall to trust Chase ever again. Let alone be his best friend…..or his brother.

"Marshall…...I-I…..I" Chase started, but couldn't finish due to him starting to cry again.

Claria stepped up to fix this debacle. "Marshall! It's okay! Chase is back! He's not under Red-Eye's control anymore! He's fine!"

Even with Claria's reassurance, Marshall was still skeptical as he continued to shake in fear as Chase was now inches away from him. Marshall growled at him, but then caught sight of his eyes. He looked at them closely and saw that the blood red eyes that occupied his pupils were gone. Instead, his calming, caring, and selfless amber eyes were back to the way they were supposed to be. That was all the evidence Marshall needed as suddenly, he shot forward and hugged Chase as tight as he could. So happy that Chase was no longer trapped under Red-Eye's paw.

The two brothers sobbed in each other's fur. Claria smiled warmly from the side, happy that the two were still friends.

"I'm so…..so, so, sorry Marshall." Chase sobbed out as he was crying more than Marshall. "I never meant to do any of those things to you."

They let go as Marshall accepted Chase's apology gracefully. "It's okay Chase." He then gives him his trademark smile. "I knew that wasn't really you."

They hugged again and cried tears of joy on each other's shoulders.

During this, Claria grabbed their pup packs and gave it to them along with their uniforms, hat, and helmet.

Chase went up the altar, grabbed the five emeralds and put them in a compartment in the pack.

He put his hat on and looked at both Claria and Marshall. "Alright let's get our tails out of here."

Claria nodded in agreement but Marshall added to it.

"Right, but not just us…."

Chase and Claria looked at Marshall curiously, as he put his helmet on.

"All of us!" He added, as he stood with pride. "Whaddaya say guys? You ready for a Ruff-Ruff Rescue?!"

Chase beamed as he got close to Marshall and caught his confidence as it was overwhelmingly contagious. "No job's too big…."

"No pup is too small!" Marshall finished with all of his pride.

The two howl in the air with Claria joining them, as they turned and took off through the tunnel. Howling and barking as they went, ready to save the pups from their living hell.

The Paw Patrol were back, and we're now on a roll, to kick some BloodRayne tail.

---

Eight pups crowded a mine car full of rocks, pushing it to the conveyor belt to be crushed by the rock crusher at the end. They dragged their paws in the dirt trying to move the unbelievable heavy cart.

They barely held it together with every one of them looking like animated corpses. Maybe, if they had some time to rest, they might have enough energy to get it done effortlessly, but a nearby wolf cracking a whip on them, did not have the same idea. He needed them to go faster, and to do that, he whipped them.

One pup's body had enough and collapsed to the ground heaving. The pups around her, knowing what would happen next, the other pups tried to help the poor pup up as best as they could to save her from punishment, but the wolf grabbed her, and dragged her by the scruff of the neck and plopped her down near the exit way. He grabbed the whip, and stepped on the pup's tail to prevent her from getting away. He raised the whip, ready to strike her until he noticed someone standing in front of them. The wolf and pups suddenly looked at the figure who had appeared in front of them.

It was the fire pup of Paw Patrol, Marshall, and by the way he was standing like some deity sent by Gari herself, he wasn't there to have a picnic.

Marshall stood glaring at the wolf as if the wolf had just harmed one of his friends. His helmet sat firmly on his head. Obstructing his eyes a little bit making him look like a baseball pitcher ready to strike out the batter.

The wolf was obviously miffed that a mere pup was giving him a nasty look. He growled at him and crouched. He barked coldly as he lunged at the dally. His jaws wide open to chomp on him. Marshall however, wasn't fazed as he concentrated on his opponent. The wolf was inches away from him, when he reeled back and punched the wolf mid air right on the nose. Dropping him to the ground out cold.

All the pups who were looking on, were mesmerized by the sight and soon were cheering. Marshall grabbed the keys that the wolf had, and started unshackling the pup's chains, who then ran to the exit.

Up at the different levels, the pups heard the commotion and stopped what they were doing, and looked on. Stella, who was staring at the events unfolding, suddenly had a fire light in her stomach. She looked below and saw wolves rushing to the scene. Thinking of a way she could help, she pushed over a bucket of rocks, dropping them down on the wolves' head, instantly knocking him out. Apparently, the others around her had the same idea, as they too tipped over their buckets, making it rain rocks from above. The ground was soon littered with downed wolves with the pups looting them for the keys.

Stella then heard commotion behind her and spun around to see the wolf who was guarding them, be taken out by Claria! Claria grabbed the wolf's keys and proceeded to unlock all the pups chains. She got to Stella and smiled. "Hey Stella! Told you we would get out of here."

"Claria!" Stella exclaimed as she hugged her. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I'm glad you are." Claria replied.

They let go as Stella spoke again. "You guys really have the upper paw on them huh?"

"Yeah, but I need you to help us, Stella." Claria stated.

Stella wagged her tail in excitement. "Really? What do you need? I'll do anything to help!"

Claria matched her excitement "That's great! I need you to go with the pups, and make sure they make it to their packs."

Stella frowned a little. She became very concerned for Claria "What? B-but what about you?"

"Me, Marshall, and Chase are going to keep them busy, and make them follow us." Claria answers.

"H-how? How are you sure they will follow you?" Stella pressed.

"We've got the emeralds Stella! They will more likely chase us for the emeralds!" Claria explained, still very excited. "While they are chasing us, can you please make sure the pups make it out okay?"

Stella hesitated a bit. Normally, she would do it in a heartbeat, but what stopped her was Claria being in danger. She always considered Claria a sister to her, and she didn't want to leave Claria for the wolves to go after her, while she ran away.

"Please Stella, It's very essential to our plan!" Claria pleaded. "We need to be sure that the pups will be okay, and I think you are the best pup for the job."

Stella fidgeted her paws as she responded. "D-Do you really need me to do this?"

Claria smiled warmly and nodded. "I would very much appreciate it."

Stella sighed deeply. "Okay, I'll do it. Just for you.

Claria wagged her tail furiously "Oh thank you thank you thank you! I knew I could count on you."

"Just do me a favor Claria." Stella chimed, very pleasingly.

Claria looked at her calmly. "What is it Stella?"

"Please...be careful." Stella said, very concerned. "And make it back."

Claria smiled again as she hugged Stella again. "I will Stella."

They hugged for a bit before they let go and Claria ran off to help Marshall. Stella watched her go until she was out of sight, then she went to join the pups who were escaping.

Claria went to one of the downed wolves and picked up his keys. Unbeknownst to her, wolves were running to her to surprise attack her. But the pups behind her used their chains to trip them up and make them fall on their faces.

One wolf however, jumped over the Chains and now had a clear shot at Claria. Or he would've, if it hadn't been for a German Shepherd that suddenly appeared in front of him, holding a nightstick. The Shepherd popped the wolf in the face with it, twirling it with his paw. He then went to the entrance way, to act as a guard for the pups who were exiting the mines.

The riot was now in full effect, as Marshall and Claria both had a sizable crowd of pups around them, raising their paws in the air for Claria and Marshall to unlock them.

Marshall smiled widely. A warm feeling tingled his heart as he unlocked each and every one of the pup's chains. Claria felt like she was being overrun with so many of them around her. But it was way worth it, as finally, they had a shot at stopping the BloodRayne wolves, who were tearing their culture apart.

After their chains were unlocked, the pups made their way for the exit, with Chase guarding the pups with his nightstick, twirling it as he hit each wolf either in the jaw or their forehead.

DarkClaw then appeared to put an end to this slave pup's crusade. His eyes scanned around like a slasher villain.

Marshall spotted him, and knew he had to take care of them, or their rebellion would stop before it had a chance to flourish.

He thought about punching him, but figured that due to the sheer size of him, pup-fu probably wasn't going to cut it. He picked up a sledgehammer, and swung it as hard as he could. But DarkClaw effortlessly caught the hammer, barely affecting him.

"Aroo?" Marshall blurted out, as he looked up, and saw the growling face of DarkClaw. He chuckled nervously before the massive wolf pulled him closer and uppercutted his belly. The wolf's force popped Marshall in the air, as he landed belly first onto the dirt with a groan.

Claria saw this and thought about going over to help him, but DarkClaw's big size intimidated her. "I-It's okay Claira, he's got this, he's got this."

DarkClaw tossed the hammer over to the side, where a poor unsuspecting wolf was hit comically in the head with it.

Marshall tried to get up, but DarkClaw stepped down on his back, slamming him back down to the dirt. He yelped as he was being held down by the giant wolf. Claria again considered helping him, but stood by, having complete faith in him.

"He's got this! He's got this."

DarkClaw picked Marshall up, and thrusted him against a nearby cart back first. He punched Marshall right in the heart, making him gasp for air. He then follows up with a punch to the dally's jaw.

Claria was really considering it. To the point where she was about to say screw it. But she felt that there was no way she could help, as she would probably be quickly bated down by the massive wolf.

That was until DarkClaw grabbed Marshall by the scruff of his neck, and started walking to another cart that was on its way to the rock crusher. Marshall dangled in the wolf's jaws as they moved towards the cart.

"Okay." Claria said. "Maybe he needs help!"

DarkClaw got up to the cart when Claria suddenly bit the wolf's hind leg, trying to force him to put Marshall down. Claria sunk her teeth into his leg as far as she could, but no matter how deep she went, it didn't affect the giant wolf any bit. The wolf got up to the cart and dropped Marshall into it like a bowling ball. He turned around and effortlessly picked up Claria, and slammed her down in a pile of rocks, knocking her out for a few.

The mine cart started climbing the track to the conveyor. Marshall pulled himself up and looked at Claria who was buried in the pile of rocks, then back at DarkClaw with fury. He kicked the wolf with his back paws, but they barely did anything to the wolf, and didn't stop him from climbing into the cart with him.

The two brawled in the cart as it climbed closer and closer to the conveyor, with Marshall surprisingly having the upper paw, his punches actually stunned the wolf greatly.

On the other side of the mine, on the platform of the water tower, Roxy appeared. He watched Marshall, as the dally's punches made the wolf bleed from the mouth, but still be in the fight. Roxy pulled out a doll similar to the one he had of Chase, but this time, it was Marshall. With claws about as long as a lion's and sharp as a kitchen knife, Roxy scratched the back of it very slowly, tearing it open as stuffing flowed out.

Marshall yelped, as pain suddenly shot down his back like a pitch fork was scratching his back really really slowly. DarkClaw took the opportunity and rained down punches on Marshall as he screamed.

Upon hearing this, Chase halted what he was doing. "Marshall?!"

Claria came to, and heard Marshall's screams. "Marshall, what's wrong?!"

The wolf gave a few more punches, until Marshall stopped screaming, as the pain stopped all of a sudden. He threw a punch of his own, ready to get back into the fight, until the mine cart tipped over, and dunked the two brawling participants tumbling on the conveyor.

The belt was moving slowly and was littered with rocks. At the end was the crusher, rolling and disintegrating any rock that came near it. Marshall threw a couple punches, before looking back at what awaited them at the end.

Marshall gasped at the roller, doing it's job very well from what he saw. He spotted a rope on a pulley system dangling near it, hanging from the catwalks above. He made a decision to try and somehow use it to escape the crusher's grasp. But first he had to deal with DarkClaw. No doubt that the wolf wouldn't just let him get away.

Speaking of the wolf, DarkClaw picked up a nearby shovel and stroked downward to hit Marshall with a roar. But Marshall quickly grabbed a pickaxe and blocked the blow by holding it sideways like a stick, breaking the shovel in half.

Handling it like a fire axe, Marshall hit the wolf's right side with it, making the wolf grunt loudly in pain then hit the wolf's other side which made him collapse to the belt. Marshall raised the axe up to hit him again, but pain shot down his back again, making him drop the pickaxe, fall to the ground, squirming in pain. This obviously meant that Roxy was again scratching the doll's back over and over again, digging his claws deeper into it.

Chase and Claria stood below the conveyor watching the events unfold. Chase winced at each scream that escaped Marshall's mouth.

"What's wrong with him?!" Chase asked deeply concerned for his friends safely.

"I don't know!" Claria said back, as she watched Marshall get socked by the wolf, dropping him down and leaning over the side.

Chase ran up to him quickly. "Marshall! What's wrong buddy?!"

Marshall only responded with a scream. The pain was too unbearable for him to even speak. DarkClaw delivered some more punches until Marshall was about ready to fall off the conveyor and down to the ground. He wanted to deliver some more punishment to him, as he was now pulling the dally by his back paws.

Claria looked around and spotted Roxy, who was still scratching the doll. "Chase! Look, it's Roxy!"

Chase looked where Claria was pointing and saw his supposed friend, scratching the hell out of the Marshall doll. He stopped scratching, in which Marshall stopped screaming. Chase then put two and two together which made him growl. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Don't worry! I got him!" Claria said, as she sped towards the water tower, where Roxy was.

"Wait! Claria!" Chase called back but was too late, as Claria was out of hearing distance.

He turned to look back at the fight and tried to think of some way to help Marshall. There were no more carts to ride up to the conveyor and the hill was too steep for Chase to climb up.

Roxy finally stopped for now as he looked with a despicable smile on his face. Meanwhile, Claria sped up to a mechanism that was raising buckets of water up and dumping them in the tower. Roxy was on the platform around the tower itself, still smiling menacingly. Claria's heart was hurting because of this, but put it aside to focus on helping Marshall.

While the pain was gone for now, Marshall was still being drug back onto the conveyor by DarkClaw. Chase had to do something or Marshall would be history.

An Idea finally popped in his head as he barked out his launcher. Instead of tennis balls, Chase emptied out the balls and put rocks in it for more effectiveness. He hoped it would be enough to at least make it a fair fight.

"Hang on Marshall!" Chase called out, as he aimed the launcher at DarkClaw's head. He fired and hit the massive wolf right on the nose, causing him to let go of the Dalmatian. This allowed Marshall to get on top of him and rain down punches of his own on the wolf's face.

Roxy strikes again as Marshall shrieks louder. The wolf rolled him over and stepped on him, pinning him to the belt.

Roxy let go still toying with him as Claria made it to the buckets. She climbed on one and started to elevate up to the platform on the water tower where Roxy was.

Chase fired again and hit the wolf on the side of the head, knocking him off of Marshall. The dally got up and ran down the conveyor to get some distance from the crusher.

Roxy scratched again, but this time, he kept his claws in, causing Marshall to drop on the spot with a sharp yelp.

Claria was halfway up as she heard Marshall. She got anxious at the slowness of the mechanism. "Come on! Can't this thing go in any faster!"

Marshall tried to get up and fight through the pain, but DarkClaw came up and stepped on his belly with his forepaw. Digging into his tummy and scratching it all to hell.

Roxy started to wiggle his claw around, causing Marshall to howl and scream even louder. DarkClaw looked down the line. They were now about ten feet away from the roller. He laughed as he continued to hold the screaming Dalmatian down.

Chase aimed for the wolf to get him off Marshall again, but before he could fire, he was tackled to the ground by a wolf. The wolf grabbed the arm that held the launcher from Chase's pup pack, gave it a couple yanks before pulling it clean off and spitting it out of the side. Deeming the launcher useless.

"No!" Chase cried out, as if the wolf broke one of Chase's toys.

The wolf growled in return, as they began to fight in the dirt.

Claria finally got up to the platform and climbed on it. She looks at her entranced best friend and calls out to him. "Roxy!"

Roxy turns to look at her and growls coldly, still wiggling his claw in the doll.

"Roxy please! You're my best friend! I-I don't want to fight you!" Claria pleads but Roxy ignores it, continuing to growl at her.

Claria rushed forward and knocked the doll out of his paws. The doll landed nearby as Roxy retaliated by lunging at her and tackling her to the ground. Pining her under his paw as he dug his claws into her belly and scratched it down to her tail, making her cry out in agony.

After the pain was gone, at least for now, Marshall quickly twisted the wolf's paw, making him fall over. Marshall got up to run away from the crusher again.

Back at the tower, Roxy reached over to the doll and grabbed it with his teeth all over the body. He then chomped down as hard as he could like it was a steak.

Marshall again collapsed like a bag of quarters on the conveyor, somehow screaming the loudest he ever had in his short life. This time, the pain was all over his body and legs, like a shark was eating him alive from his neck to his tail. DarkClaw pinned him on the belt again as he thrashed around furiously.

Chase pinned the wolf he was fighting to the ground. He bared his teeth and chomped down on the struggling wolf's neck, ending his life swiftly. He looked up and his heart dropped like an anvil, when he noticed how close Marshall was to getting crushed, and he had no way to help him.

"MARSHALL! NO!" he cried, as he could only stand by and watch his best friend about to be crushed.

Marshall was doomed again. His body hurt, he was pinned down, and he was almost a dally sandwich. He thrashed and tried to break free, but the wolf's weight added on to the agonizing pain paralyzing him. There was nothing he could do but scream and holler, as his helmet was inches away from the roller.

Claria didn't want to give up, but at this point, it was hopeless. She was pinned down to the ground by her best friend who was also scratching the snot out of her. Her friend Marshall was going to be flattened and there was nothing she or Chase could do about it.

It was time to accept it.

She failed Marshall.

Not only him, but her culture too.

'I can't do it, I'm too weak!' she thought as a tear went down her cheek. 'I'm so sorry Marshall.'

She heard Marshall screaming his peak and suddenly, a shot of adrenaline kicked in. She couldn't give up now! Marshall needed her…..and she needed Marshall.

But to save him, she's going to have to fight her best friend. She didn't want to, but it was the only way to save Marshall, and she already had a move to start off with.

In one quick motion, Claria put her left paws on Roxy's rights, and her right forepaw on his left side, rolled left and slammed Roxy right side onto the floor, just like Chase taught her back at the mansion.

It was enough to make Roxy yelp, and let go of the doll. He tried to grab it, but Claria was quicker, kicking it off the platform, where it landed gently on the ground level making the doll out of reach of both pups.

Marshall gasped as he was finally free from his painful prison. Thinking quickly he grabbed a nearby saw to the right of him and swung the sharp end to DarkClaw's side. Dropping him down to the belt as Marshall and the wolf traded places. For the first time in the fight, Marshall was in full control, raining down punches himself on the wolf's face.

Chase stood in the background and cheered. The normally calm, cool, and collected leader, all of a sudden turned into an excited pup at a wrestling event. "Yes! Get em Marshall! Get him!"

Marshall's punches were fast yet forceful, as he actually managed to bust open the wolf, making him bleed from the mouth again. It would've gone on forever, if it wasn't for DarkClaw smashing a big rock on the side of Marshall's face. Marshall howled in pain as DarkClaw got up on his fours, picked up a big rock with his front paws and rose to his back paws. Hoping to clobber Marshall with it. But Marshall was faster with his thoughts. Before DarkClaw could hit him, Marshall picked up two buckets with his front paws, stood up on his back paws, and slammed them on both sides of DarkClaw's body. It didn't do much damage, but it made DarkClaw drop the rock on his head, making him staggering backwards towards the crusher.

Unfortunately for DarkClaw, he went back too far. His long tail got caught in the roller. The wolf yelped loudly as he was now being pulled into the roller. For once in his life, DarkClaw was terrified for his life. He yelps at Marshall for help.

Marshall saw this and immediately tried to help him, as he grabbed his paw to pull him from danger. Marshall tried all his might to save the poor wolf, but his weight was just too heavy. So much that Marshall was actually being pulled in with him. He had to let go or he would likely go in the roller with him.

He reluctantly let go, and grabbed on to the rope with the pulley system. DarkClaw grabbed the other side to maybe pull himself out of the roller, but it was too late. His tail was now gone and soon, his entire body would be crushed. He cried out as his rump hit the roller, which then grew to a blood curdling scream. He was now feeling unimaginable pain from the roller.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" Marshall whined, as he held on to the rope. "I'M SO SORRY!"

DarkClaw hollard as he was pulled into the roller. In turn, Marshall started rising to the catwalks, due to the fact that DarkClaw was hanging on to the other side of the rope.

Marshall looked away from the sight as he rose up, being traumatized only by the scream. He reached the catwalk when the screaming died out, meaning the end of DarkClaw's life.

He looked at the roller to see where DarkClaw was but as soon as he saw blood, he looked away and closed his eyes, not wanting to see the horrible result.

Marshall froze with his thoughts. It was the first time he had ever taken a life, and of course, it was the most horrible way. He understood why it had to happen. It was either him, or DarkClaw. No matter how wrong it was, It had to happen.

Chase looked up at the catwalk, where Marshall was. He saw Marshall just stand there and knew what was on the dally's mind. He also saw two wolves running down the catwalk towards Marshall. "Marshall!"

Marshall snapped out of his thoughts as he looked at Chase.

"Keep it together buddy! You've got company!" Chase yelled

Marshall looked in front of him, and saw two wolves, howling as they ran towards him. Marshall had to put his troubles aside to survive the incoming assault.

Claria and Roxy wrestled on the platform trying to one up each other. Roxy got a hold of Claria's leg, and chomped down on it, making Claria yelp and winced back to the wall. Roxy bared his teeth and growled at Claria. Sadness fell on Claria's face when she looked at her friend baring teeth at her.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Roxy was the nicest pup she had ever met. He's never been aggressive towards anybody, let alone Claria. As far as she knew, Roxy was not in front of her. Instead, a monster was holding him hostage.

Roxy growled coldly and continued to bare his teeth at her. Claria looked to the right and found a torch. A light bulb went off, as she remembered what happened with Chase earlier. Maybe it will work with Roxy like it did with Chase!

She grabbed it and held it out to him. Roxy barked as he finally went in for the attack. Claria kept the torch out as Roxy lunged at her, hitting the fire on his shoulder and let out a scream before falling to the ground.

He laid still as Claria slowly went up to him. "R-Roxy?"

Roxy groaned, as he shook the cobwebs out of his head. He then looked up at Claria and was confused. "C-C-Claria?"

Claria heard him and wagged her tail with so much joy. She hugged Roxy as hard as she could. "Roxy! Your back!"

Roxy groaned at the force of the hug before he hugged Claria back. "Yeah, I guess I am. Thank you. But Claria…" He lets go and stands back. "What are you doing back here?"

"What are you on about Roxy? I'm here to rescue you and the pups!" Claria replied.

"By yourself?" Roxy asked.

"No! Not by myself." Claria replied. "Chase and Marshall are with me!"

Roxy's heart had a jumpstart. "Chase?! Chase is here?!"

"Yeah! He's helping us!"

"Where is he?"

"Down there!" Claria pointed Chase out, who was hitting wolves left and right, armed with his nightstick.

The sight of Chase gave full confidence to Roxy. With him here, the wolves' chances of survival are very high.

After disposing of the wolves in his way, Marshall ran down the catwalk to find a way. He stopped in his tracks and backed up a few steps when a wolf armed with a sword came at him. The wolf slashed high and low, with Marshall dodging each of them. The dally put his pup-fu to use, as he struck the wolf with a backhanded chop to the gut, making the wolf drop the sword. Marshall then punched him in the muzzle, making the wolf break the railing and fall off the catwalk, howling on the way down. Marshall then looked at where Claria was who was still talking with Roxy.

"Claria!" He called her.

Claria turned to look at the dally. With Roxy looking too.

"Quit fooling around with that pup, and get down to the cart! Now!" Marshall ordered.

"Okay Marshall?!" Claria acknowledged.

"Wait. Marshall?!" Roxy exclaimed. Surprised to even hear the name. "You mean…."

"Look, I don't have time to explain the details." Claria interrupted. "The pups are out and Stella is leading them to their packs! We are going to divert their attention away from them while they escape. Can you do me a biiiiiiiig favor by trying to find us some more help?"

"Help? From whom?" Roxy asked back.

"I don't know! Anybody who would answer!"

"I-I'll do my best!" Roxy accepted.

"Thanks Roxy, you're the best!" Claria said back as she turned to go to Chase.

Roxy then called to her. "Wait, Claria!"

Claria turned back around to acknowledge. "Yeah Roxy?"

"If you're going to get out through the mines, take the left tunnel! It's the safest route!" Roxy informed.

"Okay. Thank you." Claria responded as she turned back around to leave.

Roxy Called out again. "Claria?"

Claria spun around again, sorta annoyed. "What?!"

Roxy paused for a few seconds. "...Be careful please."

Claria smiled as she went back over to him and suddenly licked Roxy's muzzle. "You too."

Roxy froze up and blushed like a tomato. He touched where Claria licked him. He then chuckles as he watches her run off. "Y-Yeah. I-I will too."

Marshall ran down the catwalk and ended up in front of a group of growling wolves.

"Geyah!" Marshall shrieked as he looked at the group who were hungry for his fur. Marshall closed his eyes and got into a challenging stance. Focusing totally on the wolves. He opened his eyes and smirked at them. The wolves then attacked, as Marshall turned around and elbowed one in the nose. Then he kicked one in the midsection and threw him off the catwalk. He was then grabbed from behind by his forelegs and was raised on his back paws. Marshall kicked a wolf in front of him, sending him down below. He then used the momentum to flip the wolf, landed on his back and got up to strike, but Marshall socked him in the face knocking him out.

Marshall looked at the now army of wolves running towards him. It was then that Marshall started to retreat and run away from them.

Meanwhile, Chase was going to town on his set of wolves. Clocking each of them with his nightstick, as he twirled it around in style. One managed to dodge and tackle him to the ground, making him drop his nightstick.

The wolf bared its teeth and attempted to chomp down on Chase. Chase grabbed it's head with his paws and pushed against it. Chase did his best to keep the wolf from eating him alive. The wolf's saliva hit his face as Chase started letting up as he was getting tired. The wolf pushed harder, getting closer and closer to Chase's face. His muzzle touched Chase's in which Chase tried to push more, but only got enough to push back a few inches.

Realizing that his strength was fading, Chase pushed his hind legs up on the wolf's belly. Flipping the wolf over Chase and on it's back. Chase then picked his stick back up and smashed the wolf on the side of the face with it as he was getting up. He hit so hard, Chase swore he saw teeth fly out.

Claria finally met Chase down there and started to help him out. They stood back to back as they fought off wolves with one of them helping each other when they needed it. Chase started talking to her in the middle of this.

"Is Roxy taken care of?!" Chase asked as he clocked another wolf in the head.

Claria kicked one below the jaw before answering. "Yeah! He's gone to get help!"

Chase punched one, then hit another with his stick. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?!"

Claria dodged a claw strike and swept the wolf with her forelegs. "Good! Good! He's back on our side now!"

"Watch it! Surprise attack!" Chase exclaimed, as he spotted a wolf trying to get the jump on an unsuspecting Claria. She evaded it, while Chase took care of him with a shot to the jaw.

"Thanks!" Claria said.

"Don't mention it!" Chase responded, as he hit another one.

Claria looked at the far end and saw wolves come in, armed with rifles.

"Uhhhhh Chase!" Claria called.

"What is it squirt?!" Chase asked.

"They've got guns!" Claria exclaimed.

"What?!" Chase responded. He looked and saw about two wolves aiming the rifles at Marshall who was running down the catwalk. At this point, Chase was not surprised. His thoughts immediately went to Marshall. "Marshall! Look out! They're armed!"

Fortunately, they're lousy shots as Marshall continued to run down the catwalk with bullets ricocheting off the wooden catwalk. He stopped when he saw wolves running towards him and looked at his surroundings. Wolves were on both ends of the catwalk, blocking any way for him to escape. That was until he saw another catwalk across from him that didn't have a soul on it. Marshall quickly judged the distance and determined that he may make it. Marshall decided to take the chance and preferred falling to his death, than being mauled by wolves.

He backed up and with a burst of speed, lept off the catwalk and sailed to the other side. He was a little short, as he broke the railing and grabbed the edge of the catwalk. He held on for dear life, as his back paws dangled in the air. Bullet flew by his head, when he finally climbed up.

Chase goes over to Claria who was still fighting wolves. "Claria! Get the cart going! I'll cover you!" he ordered, as he started clearing Claria of any wolves.

Claria acknowledged as she went to a nearby cart on the track to the exit. She started pushing it forward while Chase guarded her. She got it going and climbed in the cart.

Chase then turns to follow it, but looks at Marshall before he goes. "Marshall! Come on! We're leaving!" He calls out to him.

Oni-Con then shows up from the entrance with armed guards around him. He pointed out Marshall and gave an order. "Kill him!"

One of them took aim and fired at the dally. He misses as it ricochets off the railing.

Marshall turns to Chase. "Go! Just Go! I'll catch up! Go! Go!" he says as he runs down the catwalk.

Chase hesitated a bit before he ran towards the cart. He was halfway to it, when a wolf appeared behind him and chased him. Claria sees this and warns Chase. "Chase lookout!"

Immediately after hearing the warning, Chase crouches down as the wolf lunges. The wolf of course went over to him, and grabbed the moving cart. Chase gets up and climbs over the wolf to get in the cart, causing the wolf to let go and fall on the floor.

Marshall stops in the middle of a branch in the catwalk, in front of a bucket in the air held by a rope. A line of wolves are in front of him armed with swords. One slashes sideways, in which Marshall ducks, making the wolf cut the rope, dropping the bucket below. Marshall pushes the first one in conjunction, knocking them down off their paws.

Chase calls out one more time. "Marshall hurry!"

Marshall spins around, grabs the rope with his teeth, and pushes off the catwalk, riding the rope down towards the moving cart. A wolf in front of him takes aim at the cart, but gets hit from behind by an incoming Marshall, and knocked off the catwalk. Howling on the way down.

"Hurry!" Chase calls, as he watches Marshall rappel down to the cart like a zipline.

Chaos was all around him, as Marshall got closer to the car. Bullets weezed by, wolves howling a battle cry, and Oni-Con barking orders as he was now running to catch the cart.

"Hurry Marshall! Hurry up!" Claria cried, as Marshall was finally above them. He let go and dropped into the cart, landing on top of Chase and Claria.

The two groan as Marshall cracks one of his trademark puns.

"He He, sorry to drop in on you guys."

A wolf aimed a gun at the switch beside the track, hitting the switch, changing the pup's course to go to the right tunnel.

"Oh no!" Claria gasped when they entered the tunnel. "They hit the switch! We're going the wrong way!"

Oni-Con stopped running but continued to bark out orders. "Hurry you mutts! After them! They cannot escape!"

The wolves looked at him as if he told them to jump into a volcano. Oni-Con growled at their hesitation. "Don't just stand there, Go! They have the emeralds! If they escape, Red-Eye's vision will never come true! Now go!"

Wolves reluctantly climbed into the carts and went after them. Every one of them was a little scared of the ride they were about to go on.

Claria was too as the three were coming up on a steep down slope. "What are we going to do Chase!?"

Chase grabbed the sides of the cart tight as he responded. They were seconds away from the drop off. "The only thing we can do squirt! And that's to hang on, tightlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Chase sustained the last word, as the cart plunged the three pups down the track like a roller coaster. They screamed on the way down and held on as tight as they could.

Chase, Claria, and Marshall held on as tight as they could, as their cart screamed down the tunnel like a roller coaster. It jolted and jerked them around as they were going at breakneck speed through twists and turns. The hills nearly threw them out of the cart due to the speed they were going.

The tunnel looked like the inside of a volcano, with occasional fire pits that were lighting their way. Fire shot out from the pits, with some of them being too close for comfort.

The cart climbed a long slope and plunged them down again, adding to the speed.

Claria felt nauseous, as she tried her best not to barf. Chase was trying to slow the cart down to make their ride a little less rough, and Marshall just about screamed through the whole ride. He didn't really like roller coasters, especially run down ones, and this looked and felt like a street carnival coaster that was put up with parts left over.

Not far behind them were the wolves who had followed them in the tunnel. A few of them crowded it with most of them truly terrified of the ride they were on. One of them managed to aim their rifle and fired it, hitting Marshall's helmet.

Marshall yelped in surprise as the bullet ricocheted off of his helmet. He spun around and saw the wolves tailing them. He gasped and turned to Chase. "Uh, Chase! We got company!"

Chase immediately turned around at the sound of his name, and spotted the wolves. He then groans in annoyance. "Of course we do!"

He shifts to the back of the cart, while Marshall takes control of the brake.

The wolves caught up to them, and were now very close behind them. Chase was standing at the back of the cart waiting for them until the wolves bumped them, causing the three pups to fall down in their cart. A wolf then boards the cart, and gets on top of Chase. He growls and bares his teeth, aiming for Chase's neck. Before he goes for the bite, a shovel crashes on his back, making him howl in pain and raise his head up. Marshall then swung the shovel and hit the wolves lower jaw with a loud metallic thud. The force of the blow knocked him overboard and probably killed him instantly. Chase looked at Marshall and gave him a very thankful smile.

The cart jerked forward again due to it being bumped by the wolves. Another wolf tried to board the cart but got a punch in the jaw for his troubles, knocking him back into his cart.

The carts started to speed up tremendously, as it went down another slope. Marshall applied the brakes to keep them from going off the track.

The pups needed to lose the wolves, and Chase knew it. If they followed close behind, they would easily be killed by them. Not to mention, there were probably more wolves on the way.

"Marshall let go!" Chase called.

"What?!" Marshall said back, trying to hear Chase.

"Let go of the brake!" Chase ordered.

Marshall was in disbelief. "What! Why?"

"Let it go! It's our only chance to outrun them!" Chase went to the front and eased off the brake, making them pull away quickly from the wolves. The wolves did the same to keep pace with them.

The two carts screamed down the track, with the wolves firing their rifles and the pups ducking below to avoid getting shot. Marshall looked ahead and nearly froze in terror. Just ahead of them, was a very long and sharp turn to the right, and they were going WAY too fast.

"HEY WHOAWHOAWHOAWHOA! TOO FAST! TOO FAST! TOO FAST!"

Chase immediately applied the brakes. Putting all of his force into them to slow down. Sparks shot out of the wheels, as the cart teetered left and rolled on it's left two wheels through the turn. The pups screamed for their lives in fear of falling down a lava filled chasm.

By some sort of miracle, they exited the turn with the cart slamming back down on all four wheels, and continued speeding down the track.

The wolves behind them weren't so lucky. They entered the turn and almost immediately, fell off the track while they howled on the way down.

Claira laughed at the event until she heard her name.

"Claria!" Chase called.

"Yeah?!" Chase acknowledged.

"Come up here and take the brake!" Chase ordered. He moved aside for Claria to take hold of the brake.

"Watch it on the curves, or we'll fly right off the track!" Chase informed.

"Okay!" Claria replied.

Soon after, the next wolves caught up to them. They aimed their guns and fired rapidly but due to the hills they went over, they easily missed their targets.

They reached another turn, in which Claria had to slow down the cart to make. Unfortunately, this obviously caused the wolves to come up right behind them. Two wolves attempt to board the pup's cart. Chase and Marshall met them and pushed them back to stop them. But the wolves were pushing back to get in their cart. The two rescue pups pushed as hard as they could to keep the wolves off of their cart. Eventually, Marshall got tired and was pushed on his back, with the wolf falling in the cart on top of him. In conjunction, Chase was successful but had way too much force behind his push, and ended up falling into the wolves' cart.

Claria left off the brake to get away from the cart, not knowing that Chase was in the other cart.

Marshall fought the wolf in their cart valiantly but was having some trouble. The wolf bared its teeth but Marshall punched his muzzle, making the wolf yelp and stagger backwards. Marshall got up and tossed the wolf off the side of the cart. The wolf landed on the ground and rolled in the dirt with the cart leaving him behind.

Marshall nearly panicked when he couldn't find Chase in the cart. He looked back and found him in the wolves' cart. Being ganged on. "Claria slow down!

"Why?! Claria asked back.

"Chase is trapped in the other cart!"

"What?!" Claria immediately looked behind her at the cart where Chase was currently at, which was the enemy's territory. Claria immediately applied to brakes to save Chase who was doing his absolutely best to defend himself, which was a very difficult task, considering how many wolves he had to fight off

Chase punched a wolf, but got punched himself by another one after. He was being easily overrun with two wolves double teaming him. Chase would dodge and get a few shots in, but would end up right back to getting clobbered. One wolf picked up a long thick slab of wood to hit the resilient Shepherd with it and swung it but Chase caught it with his paws, yanked it away, and then used it to whack the wolf, throwing him off the cart. The other one however, dodge the attack and punches Chase, making the Shepherd drop the slab behind him. The wood landed on the track sideways on the rails and is wedged in between the wheels and rails, making the cart push it along the track.

The pup's cart finally slowed down enough, allowing Marshall to try to get the wolf off of Chase. After brushing aside Marshall with a punch, the wolf tried to throw Chase out of the cart, with Chase pushing back against the inside of the cart to keep himself from being tossed out of the cart.

Up ahead were two poles about as thick as telephone poles, holding up big buckets of rocks, close to each other on each side of the track, just about wide enough for a cart to pass through. Marshall noticed this and then noticed the slab of wood that was wedged in the wheels of the second cart. He made the assumption that if the cart were to go through the gateway, a disastrous effect would happen. That wouldn't be much of a problem, if Chase wasn't on said cart!

He urged Chase to hurry up. "Chase! You've got to hurry up! NOW!"

Chase hears this and elbows the wolf in the gut to let go of him. He then slams the wolf's head down on the edge of the cart, knocking him out for a few before he gets in position to jump back to his cart. The wolf recovered quickly and bit Chase's tail, making him yelp loudly, keeping him from jumping.

They were almost to the poles, and Chase couldn't get away from the doomed cart. Marshall quickly picked up the shovel and hit the wolf in the back of the head, making him let go, finally freeing Chase up as he quickly jumped to the other cart, just as they were about to pass the poles. The wolf got up to fight, but then noticed the two poles and the slab of wood wedged in the wheels. He put two and two together but before he could act on it, the wood hit the poles and caused the cart to flip off the track and land on the side.

Claria cheered while Marshall tended to Chase, who was trying to catch his breath.

---

Back at the mine, wolves were chewing, clawing, and chopping the wood that was holding up the water tower.

Oni-Con figured that he could bring the water tower down, and flood the mine cart tunnel. He was ordering the wolves to work faster. "Come on you mutts! Hurry! Get that tower down and we'll flush them out!"

The wolves chewed and clawed the fast they could, making acceptable progress, but obviously not fast enough for Oni-Con.

"Hurry up! Or they will escape with the emeralds!"

---

Marshall tended to Chase's wounds carefully while the cart was going down the track. Chase was resisting the care, as he felt he was fine, but Marshall knew better.

"Come on Chase! Hold still, and let me patch you up!" Marshall argued.

"I'm fine buddy! It just scratches!" Chase retorted.

"No it's not! You're bleeding from your mouth and nose, and you got a cut paw! You need care!" Marshall shot back.

"Marshall, we don't have time for this!" Chase said.

"Hold still and it won't take long at all!" Marshall said back.

He got done bandaging Chase's paw, somehow, and noticed another cart full of wolves, coming up on them. "Uh oh."

"What?" Chase asked, as he turned around to see. He spots the wolves coming and groans. "Aw dog biscuits!"

"Chase!" Claria called

Chase turns to Claria. "What is it squirt?"

"We've got a choice to make!" Claria informed.

Chase looked ahead and saw two paths in front of them. He had an idea to lose the wolves and that was to change the track on them, but he didn't have anything to change the track, thanks to his launcher being ripped off earlier.

He looked around the cart and found a long rope on the floor of the cart. What was it doing there? Chase had no Idea but he wasn't going to complain about it, seeing how it was the only thing that could help them.

They get up to the switch and Chase ties a loop in the rope and drapes it on the switch. He holds the rope as they go to the left passage while he holds on to the rope, activating the switch, in which the track changes course, causing the wolves to go in the opposite direction.

"Yes!" Chase cheered, with Marshall and Claria joining him. Now they were clear of any wolves following them.

Or so they thought, for as they entered a giant chasm with lava below them, the other track ran parallel with them, with their wolf friends on it.

"Aw crap!" Chase cursed, as the wolves were brought within arms distance from them, thanks to the track.

A wolf aims his gun at them in which Marshall yelps in fear. Chase however, seemed to have no fear at all. He grabbed the barrel of the wolf's gun, and yanked it out of his paws. He then reels it back to swing like a bat, but had to warn Marshall and Claria first.

"WATCH IT!" He cried out before he swung the butt of the gun left and right. Marshall and Claria took Chase's warning and so did the wolves, as they too ducked down to avoid the attack.

Chase tosses the gun aside and starts fighting the wolves across from them. Marshall joins in and fights the other side, and nearly falls out of the cart in doing so.

The last one reaches over, grabs Claria, and pulls her nearly out of the cart.

Claria cries out as she tries to break free. "Chase! Marshall! HEEELP!"

"CLARIA!" Marshall yells back, as he immediately grabs Claria's rear to keep her from either being taken or falling out of the cart.

Claria screamed in pain from being pulled on both sides as they continued down the track. Chase sees at the far end, was the exit to the chasm, in which a wall was separating the two tracks from each other.

Chase had to act fast, or Claria would meet a terrible fate in the matter of seconds. He picked up the shovel Marshall was using earlier, and hit the wolf in the back with it, causing him to let go of Claria. But she wasn't safe yet. She screamed in terror as her front half dangled above the lava pit, with only Marshall stopping her from falling.

Chase stuck the shovel under her chest, and pushed her front up, allowing Marshall to grab her scruff and pull her back in, barely making it in time as they exited the chasm.

Claria stuck to Marshall like glue as Marshall comforted her by hugging her and petting her softly. "Shhh it's okay, Claria I got you. You're safe."

The wolves' minecart was now above them to the left on a cliff side. A wolf jumped down from it, and landed on the back of the cart where Chase was. He tried to step over Chase to bite Marshall, but once he stepped on Chase's back, Chase grabbed his head and held him. The wolf held on to Chase like a piggy back, as they fought to overpower each other.

The wolves' cart then blended back on the track and were directly behind them again. Firing their guns while Marshall and Claria ducked into the cart.

Chase was easily winning as he held the growling wolf back with almost no effort. Once he had a chance, he punched the wolf in the muzzle, making him drop backwards, seemingly off the cart.

Chase looked at both Marshall and Claria and smirks, not expecting for the wolf to come back and step on his back.

Chase let out a loud yelp as he planted the cart. The wolf stepped over him to attack the two pups, but got a sharp bite in the muzzle by a growling Claria. The wolf yelped and fell back as Chase lifted the wolf up. Dumping him behind them. The cart hit the wolf, causing it to fly off the track, crashing through the supports for the track above and down below to the lava pit, as the wolves howled on the way down.

Chase turns around and gives an impressed smile to Claria, as she blushes bashfully.

Marshall however, was not looking at them. Instead, he looked ahead in absolute horror. "Uhhhhhhhh CHASE! WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!"

Chase groaned in annoyance as he looked ahead. Like they needed another problem right now. "What is it no….."

Ahead of them by ten yards ahead or so, was a missing section in the track. It was a large gap with the other side nowhere in sight. Chase did his best to keep cool but inside, he was screaming in fear. There was no way to stop. They were going off the track for hopefully only a few seconds.

Claria and Marshall screamed for their lives, as Chase grabbed their heads and pushed them down. "GET DOWN!"

The cart reached the end, and lifted off the track, the pups held each other tightly, expecting to crash below.

Thankfully, a miracle appeared, as they suddenly slammed back down on the other side of the track that was below the one they were on. The cart continued on with the three pups sighing the biggest relief they've had in their lives.

---

The tower was about ready to tip down, as the wolves continued to bite and chomped down. Oni-Con then ordered them to stand back away from the tower, as the stilts caved in, and the bucket tipped over and all the water spilled out and destroyed the mining equipment.

The water then rushed into the tunnel with Oni-Con smiling and laughing at the work he had done.

---

The cart sped through the many bills and turns as Chase then gives the order for Marshall to start slowing them down. "All right Marshall, brake!"

Marshall was still trying to calm down, as he didn't hear Chase the first time. "Huh? What?"

"Brake! Brake! Slow us down buddy!" Chase repeated.

Marshall went up to the brake and pushed on it to slow down. The brakes sparked as Marshall held on as hard as he could.

A little too hard though, as the lever for the brake broke off in Marshall's paws. He stared at it wide eyed and squeaked out in horror.

Chase blurts out in worry and annoyance. "Uh, Marshall?! Why aren't we slowing down?!"

Marshall didn't say anything. He was looking back and forth at the brake and the lever like a bird. Thinking quickly, he tossed the lever aside, and climbed over the front of the cart. He turned around to where his back was facing ahead, and hung off the front of the cart. With his left hind paw, Marshall pushed the brake to slow them down that way.

Chase turns around, and is shocked to find Marshall hanging off the front of the cart. He starts immediately questioning him furiously, extremely concerned for his best friend's safety. "MARSHALL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Slowing us down!" Marshall stated, as he continued to push on the brake. "The lever broke!"

Chase was obviously against Marshall being in danger like this. "Marshall get back in the cart! You could get hurt!"

"We're all going to get hurt if we don't slow down! You would do the same thing!"

Chase growled in defeat. He wasn't wrong. There was no point in disputing that. He just hoped and prayed that Marshall would be okay after this.

Claria's eyes grew as wide as plates as she warned Marshall. "Uh Marshall! You might wanna slow us down faster! WE'RE GONNA CRASH!"

Marshall shot his head around like an owl and looked back and saw that a barricade stood in front of them, with a pile of rock behind it and they were going way too fast. He turned back around and pushed on the brake as hard as he could. Making the brakes squeal. The brake soon lost it's padding, and was now next to useless. Marshall kicked off the brake, exposing the wheel as he slammed his paw on the wheel using it as the brake.

Marshall yelped as the wheel was stopping on his foot. It burned his paw making the dally howl in pain. Despite the pain though, he pushed harder on the wheel, slowing them down tremendously. They were inches away from the barricade as Marshall pushed one last time, stopping them just in time as Marshall gently hit the barricade with a very long and sustained cry of pain. "GEEEEEYAAAAAAAEHEeeeahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Marshall gasped slowly, as he tried to catch his breath while Chase was obviously very worried. "Marshall. You okay buddy?"

Marshall looked at both pups and gave a painful smile. "Y-Y-Yeah…...I-Im….goohot…..hot…...hot….HOT!"

As he was finishing his sentence, Marshall's hind paw was smoking. Fearing a fire, he leapt down and brushed his paw in the dirt. Chase flew out of the cart, and brushed dirt on his paw to help them. "Marshall! You're on fire!"

The dirt was not working. He needed some water to ease the pain. He cried out painfully as he ran forward to look for some water. "Water! Water! I need water!" Marshall immediately stopped when he heard a rumbling ahead. Then, he got what he asked for, just a little too much of it.

A giant wave was rushing through the mines sweeping everything in its path. Marshall shuffled back to Chase and Claria."Duhhhhhhh uh. WATER! WATER!"

Chase grabbed Claria and helped her out of the cart, as the three made their way through the tunnel to get away from the destructive running water. Neither of them looked back as they ran as fast as they could through the tunnel. But Chase knew the reality of the situation. They truly weren't fast enough to beat the current, and even if they were, they didn't know where the tunnel led. They could be running to a dead end for all they knew, and their escape would end with them drowning.

Luckly, a tunnel to the right appeared and Chase immediately grabbed Claria and motioned for Marshall to follow him through it. They were out of harm's way, as they looked around the tunnel they were in.

They looked at the end and saw sunlight making Claria and Marshall jump with excitement. Chase did it as well, until he turned around and saw the rushing water rushing right towards them.

He turned back around and practically pushed started Claria and Marshall to run. "Go! Go go go go go! NOW! GO!

The three took off for the opening in front of them. Chase looked behind and saw that the water was already halfway towards them. Tearing down the many boards and balconies that occupied the tunnel, making him put more in his step as he urged the two pups in front of them to do the same.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they were outside on a cliffside. The three pups got out of the way of the water and put their backs along a rocky wall, standing on their hind legs due to the very short ledge they were allowed to be on. Marshall and Claria were on the right wall while Chase was by himself on the left, as the water separated them, flowing out of the tunnel like a waterfall.

The three held on as best as they could as wooden boards suddenly popped out like a jack in a box, weakening the ledge they were standing on and the wall their backs were against. Marshall had to practically pull Claria out of harm's way, as her side crumbled before his eyes. He then was suddenly worried about Chase, who was on the other side of the makeshift waterfall, trying to hang on the best he could. "CHASE!"

Chase was running out of places to hang on. Each ledge he put his back paws on, crumbled in mere seconds. He had to turn around and cling onto the mountain side to even stay on. Grunting in frustration.

Chase climbed up a little and looked to the far left past where Marshall and Claria were. He could barely make out a wooden suspension bridge a little further down from them. He then determined that once they crossed that bridge, they were home free.

He grunted as he screamed out his order. "Head for the bridge!" He yelled out, as his ledged crumbled, leaving him to hang on the mountain side.

Marshall hesitated, but decided that Chase could probably take care of himself. He motioned for Claria to follow him, as she started to slide to the pathway to the bridge, while Chase climbed the mountainside like a spider.

---

As soon as they reached solid ground, Marshall and Claria ran over to the bridge. Marshall ran forward, but Claria stopped in her tracks. Marshall noticed this and turned to face Claria, curious as to why Claria stopped. "Claria? Come on. What's wrong?"

Claria shivered in fear as she spoke. "No-No-No! I c-can't! I-Im scared of heights!"

Marshall looked below them and saw how high they were. They were a good hundred feet up, with a river down below. He wasn't a big fan of heights ethier, but he was somewhat used to it thanks to his job as a fire pup. Especially if the poor soul who needed rescuing was afraid of heights. In fact calming them down and reassuring them helped him get over his fear.

Marshall took a deep breath to reassure Claria. "It's okay Claria, this bridge is strong! See?" Marshall jumped up and down to demonstrate his point.

The bridge shook as he did, which only made Claria worse. "NO! NO! STOP DOING THAT MARSHALL! THE BRIDGE WILL BREAK!"

Marshall stopped jumping and moved closer over to Claria, giving her the best calming look and smile he could give. "It's okay Claria. Really. If you fall, I'll catch you."

Claria stopped shivering and moved closer to Marshall, stepping on the bridge. "R-Really? you will?"

Marshall's smile somehow grew wider as he spoke. "Yes Claria. I promise. I won't let anything bad happen to…..WHOA!"

A board suddenly broke under Marshall's hind paw, and he fell through. Claria's heart twisted in knots in fear for Marshall. "MARSHALL!"

Fortunately, Marshall had a hold of the board in front of him with his forelegs, with only his fire helmet falling to the ravine below. Claria ran up to him and helped him back up. They looked down and discovered that crocodiles were down below, eager for a meal. One caught Marshall's helmet as it fell into its mouth and ate it.

"Aw man." Marshall whined. "That was my favorite helmet."

---

Chase ran through the forest trying to get to the bridge. He hoped nothing happened to Marshall or Claria or worse, the wolves got them.

He was just about there, but two wolves stood in his way. Armed with swords. They slashed the air and growled at Chase to challenge him.

Chase wasn't intimidated. He smirked as he barked out his launcher to easily take care of the wolves. But no launcher appeared. Instead, an arm came out with a broken part which was sparking. Chase looked at it and the smug look turned into a nervous look. "Heh, heh, oops."

The wolves growl, as they rush at Chase. Chase blocked the first slash with his left paw, and elbowed the wolf in the side. The other wolf then tries but Chase quickly shoots behind him, punches him in the back, and grabs the wolf's paw that had the sword.

Using the wolf as a shield, Chase sword fights with the first one, as he blocks the slashes with the wolf's sword.

After a few blocks, Chase shoves the wolf into the first one, making them fall to the ground. The wolves get back up to attack again, but Chase barks out his net and catches one of them in it. He pulled the rope and dragged the wolf towards him, snatching his sword from him. The second one then freezes with intimidation as Chase gives him a determined look.

"Ruff!" Chase barked, as he suddenly ran towards the wolf, making him retreat from the Shepherd, who was barking as he chased the wolf a few meters.

The determined intimidating look suddenly turned into a scared face as he spotted the now swarm of wolves that were running to him. All of them are hungry for his fur. Chase shuffled his feet and ran the other direction, whimpering like a scared little puppy. The wolves were right behind him howling as they chased him to the bridge.

Chase got to the bridge and groaned in annoyance, as he ran down it.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Claria and Marshall just got off the bridge and were going to wait on Chase, until they were stopped in their tracks by the sight of Oni-Con and some wolves. Smiling and laughing at their mere attempt at a high speed great escape.

"OH COME OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Marshall yells out very annoyed and frustrated that their escape was halted.

Chase heard this and stopped in the middle of the bridge. Seeing Oni-Con on the other side. They were now trapped between the two threats with no way of slipping by them.

'Darn' Chase thought as he looked at the wolves behind him who got on the bridge. 'We were soooo close!'

Wolves on both ends got on to the bridge surrounding Chase with swords and teeth bared at him. Chase stood in the middle of the bridge looking at Oni-Con who held Caria and Marshall hostage, with Claria looking at Oni-Con with horror while Marshall growled coldly at him.

Chase didn't want to yield. He couldn't. If he did, BloodRayne would win, and Chase, Marshall, and Claria would be captured again, and he knew that this time, Oni-Con wasn't going to keep them alive. He stood his ground to show no sign of giving up. At least to secure Marshall and Claria.

His face was demanding as he finally spoke. "Let them go Oni-Con!"

Oni-Con nearly laughed at Chase's demand. "You are in no position to be giving any orders, Shepherd!"

Marshall growled louder, warning Oni-Con to leave Chase alone.

Chase looked down the bridge and then back at Oni-Con. He needed a bargaining chip for Claria and Marshall's lives and he knew just what would do the job.

He took off his pup pack and held it over the side. "You want the emeralds?! Let them go!"

Claria gasped with horror. He's not going to drop the emeralds, right? Or just hand them over for her and Marshall, right? Marshall was still growling at Oni-Con, not paying attention to what Chase was saying.

Oni-Con turned his frown to a menacing smile and mockingly laughed at Chase. "Ha ha ha ha! Go ahead! Drop them Chase! They will be found! You won't! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Owooooo!"

Oni-Con howled a battle cry into the air in which the wolves joined in. Marshall barked sharply and coldly in response, while Claria kept her eyes on Chase. "Chase! Watch your back!"

Chase looked behind him at the line of wolves coming towards him, and then at the ones in front he retracted his pack over the railing, and bared his sword at both sides, holding it up in the air ready for them to strike.

Oni-Con then ordered Claria and Marshall to get on the bridge. Claria moved but Marshall did not. His growl grew louder at him as if to say that he would rather die, than to take an order from him. Oni-Con responded with a sharp and quick cold bark which scared Marshall and turned his growl into soft whines as he got on the bridge behind Claria. Oni-Con slowly followed them, continuing to growl at them.

Chase stood his ground and kept his sword up, still not giving up to any wolf. He would likely fight everyone of them before he would ever yield. No matter if he would die or not, Chase would never ever give the emeralds to the evil cult.

He lowered his sword on the rope railing of the bridge and suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. He had an idea of how to even the odds but it was super duper dangerous…..and stupid. Though it may be the only chance that Chase, Marshall, and Claria would make it out alive. He needed to at least let Marshall know what he was going to do, but the dally was way too far and behind a line of wolves. Though there was a way to get the message across silently.

Chase wrapped his right hind leg around the ropes and called out to Marshall to get his attention. "MARSHALL!"

Marshall's ears perked up as he looked at Chase, more specifically at his tail, which was wrapped around the rope, then the sword that Chase was moving up and down on the rope.

Marshall's eyes grew as wide as volleyballs at the realization. It was safe to say that Marshall was not enthusiastic about what Chase was going to do. Still, he figured that Chase was a smart pup, and knew what he was doing. He nodded slowly as he wrapped his forelegs around the ropes as he whispers over to Claria.

"You might want to hold onto something Claria. We are about to go for a ride."

Claria was confused at first until she looked at a very obvious perception of Chase holding the sword above his head, with the rope in its trajectory. "Why? What's he go…. Oh no! Nononononononono NO!" Claria immediately wrapped every one of her legs around the ropes. "Oh Garrrrrrri no! By the ancients is he NUTS!"

Marshall swallowed a baseball down his throat. "No, he's not nuts. He's crazy!"

Chase smirked as he gave one last message to Oni-Con nice and slowly with a growl at the end. "Oni-Con! Prepare to meet Red-Eye….In hell!"

With that, Chase started cutting the rope to cut the bridge. The bridge shook up and down with every stroke from Chase's sword.

Oni-Con quickly caught on to what Chase was doing, as he suddenly backpedaled. "No! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The wolves were confused but some got the message, and clinged to the sides for the inevitable. But some of them were so scared that they froze in place which would later be their biggest mistake.

Chase was halfway through the rope as Oni-Con continued to scream at him while wrapping every one of his limbs around the ropes. "YOU FOOL! YOU FOOL! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Claria screamed in terror and Marshall clinged to the ropes, ready to go on the ride of their lives.

After a few more cuts, Chase cut through the rope, which then caused the bridge's left to break, leaving the right side to support the bridge. But the stress of it was too much, as it too broke, separating the two ends as the bridge collapsed, taking every patron that was on it.

The air was filled with screams and howls from wolves who were falling into the river below, where the crocodiles fought over them to gobble them up when they hit the water.

The left side of the bridge, where Chase, Marshall, Claria, and Oni-Con were, slammed into the mountainside with everyone hanging on for dear life, as the bridge dangled off the side of the cliff, turning it into a makeshift ladder.

One poor wolf fell off the bridge and down to the river, being caught by a crocodile who ate him. Marshall closed his eyes and whined at the horrible sight as he turned away from it.

The order was as follows. Oni-Con was on top followed by Marshall and Claria. Next we're a couple of wolves and on the very bottom, was Chase, who started to climb up the bridge.

Oni-Con started to climb up to the cliff but suddenly, a board he grabbed split off in half, making him fall.

Marshall and Claria had to dodge the falling wolf to avoid getting hit, but one of the wolves below them wasn't so lucky. Oni-Con landed on him, making him let go, and fell off the bridge, howling for his life on the way down.

After dodging the wolf, Chase started to climb faster, hoping to get up to Oni-Con, before the mad wolf could get to Marshall and Claria.

The two watched as Chase made it to Oni-Con who started kicking Chase as soon as he got to him. Chase swung back and grabbed Oni-Con's hind leg. He pulled him down a few rungs where he was at exact level with Chase.

The two traded punches back and forth. Each one making them dangerously close to falling off. This went on for some time until Oni-Con hit Chase as hard as he could, causing Chase to swing backwards on one paw and stagger on the bridge, tip toes away from falling off. Chase shook himself clear and swung back to hit Oni-Con. But the cult leader was well ready for him.

Marshall could practically telegraph what Oni-Con was going to do next. From the way Oni-Con had his paw, he knew that he was aiming for Chase's bare chest. Which could only mean one thing.

"CHASE! YOUR HEART! HE'S AFTER YOUR HEART! COVER YOUR HEART!"

It was too late, Oni-Con already had his paw slapped on Chase's chest before the Shepherd ever had a chance to avoid it. Oni-Con's paw tore into Chase's chest, as Chase yelped out in pain. It was like a spiked club was being pushed against his chest, making Chase grunt and grit his teeth as Oni-Con chanted in tongues.

"Albiskae gairna me munie!"

Chase grunted loudly as Oni-Con pushed harder into Chase's chest. Marshall was tempted to go down there and help Chase, but he had to stay up and help Claria climb up and keep her calm.

Oni-Con's paw was almost to Chase's heart. Chase could painfully feel it, as his eyes went wide and was almost screaming his lungs out as Oni-Con laughed.

Somehow, someway, Chase found enough strength to pull Oni-Con's out of his chest with no heart. He pulled it all the way out and made Oni-Con punch himself. Chase gasped for air as Oni-Con started to climb back up. Once he caught his breath, Chase followed after him.

Oni-Con got up to the lone wolf, and grabbed him in a headlock. "Get down there you mutt!" Oni-Con spat out, as he dangled the wolf above Chase.

The wolf howled in protest, but it didn't do him any good. Oni-Con let go of the wolf and sent him down. Smiling as he watched the wolf fall.

Chase easily dodged the doomed wolf and watched him fall into the river, where the crocodiles fought over him. Chase looked up at Oni-Con in disgust. Not even his followers are safe from the mad wolf. He must be stopped.

Oni-Con got up a few more rungs then looked down below at Chase, who was a few rungs down from him. He had to get rid of him. As far as Oni-Con knew, Chase was the biggest threat to him.

He looked behind him at the cliff on the other side and saw wolves standing around with rifles, watching the events unfold. He grew angry at them as he growled at them. "Don't just stand there you buffoons! SHOOT HIM OFF THE BRIDGE! NOW!"

Marshall was at the top when heard Oni-Con's order. His heart dropped as he tried to warn Chase. "CHASE! LOOK OUT!"

The wolves took aim and fired at the climbing Shepherd. There wasn't much he could do but hope and pray that every one of them were lousy shots.

Fortunately for him, they were. Everyone of them missed wildly with only one hitting near Chase, but not by much.

'Jeez' Chase thought. 'They must've not had much practice with those.'

The wolves then proceeded to reload and take aim again, when suddenly, the sound of a mini chopper could be heard. Confused, The wolves looked up to find said chopper, lowering down in front of them with a turrent aimed right at them, piloted by Paw Patrol's number one pilot, Skye, who was obviously very crossed about to shoot down her boyfriend.

"Don't you even think about firing, flea brains!" Skye coldly barked. The wolves dropped their guns in response and turned to leave back to the temple. But they were then blocked by a green garbage truck, an orange hovercraft, and a big yellow backhoe. Backed by many American soldiers, pointing guns at the wolves, ready for an order.

"Uh ah ah!" Rocky cheerfully mocked. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"You awe made a big mistake twying to mess with ouw fweinds!" Zuma said next, with his hovercraft aiming a harpoon at the wolves.

"Rubble on the double to cause trouble!" Rubble announced hiperly.

Zuma looked over at Rubble very impressed. "Dude. That's pwetty cool. When did you come up with that?"

"Thanks, I just made it up. I think it's going to be my new saying." Rubble replied brashfuly.

"Nah." Rocky declined. "Just stick with the old one. That one makes you sound like an evil mastermind."

The three laugh at the joke, as they continue to hold the now cowerding wolves hostage.

Back on the other side, Marshall was helping Claria up the bridge. "Come on Claria! Were almost there. Just a little further."

Claria was two rungs down from him, showing exhaustion. "I'm trying Marshall, but I don't think I can hang on much longer!"

Marshall looked down across Claria and saw Oni-Con quickly catching up to her. He knew that if Oni-Con got to Claria, Claria would be history. He had to do everything he could to help Claria.

He climbed down next to Claria, and pushed her up to help her climb faster. "Come on Claria, up up up!"

Claria practically accelerated upwards thanks to Marshall's help.

Marshall climbed up next to her to get a little more leverage, when suddenly, a human hand appeared in front of his face with a shirt sleeve as recognizable as the face he saw when he looked up. The face belonged to someone, who Marshall never expected to find at the top of the cliff.

"R-Ryder?!"

Ryder had a determined look on his face, but still smirked a little. "Yeah Marshall, it's me. Come on. Grab my hand!"

Marshall was so mesmerized that he had forgotten about Claria, who he was helping up the bridge. He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and handed her to Ryder. "Her first! Her first!"

Ryder didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Claria and pulled her up to him. "Come on up pup. I got you."

Claria situated herself when she finally made it to the cliff. She looked at Ryder like he was a stranger respectfully, but brushed him aside when she saw Roxy. She immediately bolted to him and gave him a very big hug.

"Roxy!" she called out, squeezing Roxy to death.

"Claria!" Roxy said back, matching Claria's strength in his hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

They let go and look at each other. They've been through so much for the past weeks that it was very refreshing to see each other without chains on them.

They stared at each other, not saying anything for what felt like forever. Then, abruptly and suddenly with a chuckle, Roxy licked Claria's muzzle. Freezing her with a blush.

Roxy laughed out loud as he commented on Claria's embarrassment. "He he he. Payback!"

Claria's blush went away with her smiling widely and evilly. "Oh you want payback? I'll give you payback!"

She then tackled Roxy on his back, proceeded to give him a very frantic tongue assault on his face, licking him for eternity.

Roxy could barely breathe as he laughed hysterically. "Ah Hahaha hehehe Claria! He he stop! That tickles! He he I get it!"

Ryder reached out to Marshall to pull him to safety next. "Alright Marshall, your turn!"

Marshall grabbed Ryder's hand and proceeded to climb up with Ryder's help.

However, Oni-Con was directly under him. He became enraged at the mere thought of the Dalmatian getting away from him, after all the trouble the dally caused. He reached his paw upwards, and grabbed Marshall's flank with his claws, digging them deep into Marshall's body.

Marshall yelped sharply. As he was halted from escaping. Ryder hung on to him the best he could to keep him away from Oni-Con's grasp. Marshall screamed in agony as Oni-Con growled out his threat. "NO! I AM NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY!"

Ryder so desperately wanted to sock the wolf right in the face for harming his pup, but he was obviously too far for Ryder to reach him, so all he could do was hang on to Marshall.

Oni-Con dug deeper and started pulling the yelping Dalmatian, hoping to send him down to the crocodiles below. Ryder wouldn't let that happen. He kept his strong grip on Marshall. "Hang on Marshall!"

Marshall had grown tired of this. It seems that every turn of a corner, he was in danger from something, and he wasn't going to let it consume him.

Out of pure desperation, Marshall started kicking Oni-Con with his hind legs to get him to let go. Oni-Con held on as best as he could, receiving shots everywhere around his face, until finally, with one hard kick in the muzzle, Oni-Con let go of not just Marshall, but the bridge itself.

Ryder immediately pulled Marshall up to safety, while Oni-Con continued to fall. Unfortunately, Chase was right below him as Oni-Con crashed into him, dropping them a few feet down with Chase tangled up in the ropes, the only thing stopping them from falling to their doom below.

Marshall tackled Ryder to the ground and licked the snot out of him, in which Ryder responded with a crushing hug. Marshall then returned the hug, not wanting to let go for anything. "RYDER! YOU FOUND US! YOU FOUND US!"

Marshall sobbed into Ryder's chest with Ryder allowing every bit of it, cause he was crying too. "I sure did little buddy! Oh I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried. But where's Chase?!"

"Chase? Oh no! He's still down there with Oni-Con!" Marshall had completely forgotten about his friend still hanging down on the bridge with the mad wolf.

Ryder and Marshall immediately bolted to the edge to find Chase and Oni-Con having a tug-of-war with Chase's pup pack. Roxy and Claria appear next to them and look on with hope.

Oni-Con and Chase fought with no give for the pup pack. Both of them have a strong enough reason to get the contents inside. Chase to prevent evil from rising and Oni-Con for his dignity and survival of his race.

Oni-Con laughed maniacally. "The emeralds are mine Chase!"

Chase couldn't tell what happened next. As far as he knew, he blacked out. Oni-Con looked at Chase and was horrified at what he saw. Chase's eyes were emerald green, and were glowing like the statue in the temple.

Chase stared into Oni-Con's soul like he was possessed. He then started to chant with not one, but two voices sounding off. One was his while the other sounded female.

"You betrayed Gari! U chevikay, mes stay goteoh!"

Oni-Con's eyes went as wide as ever at the sudden change in Chase's attitude.

"U chevikay me stay goatee oh!"

Chase continued, as the emeralds in his pack were now illuminating, and burning through the compartment.

"Otie gattaeoh uvi, you betrayed Gari!"

Soon enough, the emeralds burned through completely, as they suddenly fell out of the compartment. "Equbrate! Ebubrate! EBUBRATE!"

The last emerald burned through the compartment and dropped out. Oni-Con grabbed it, but it burned his paw. He cried out in pain and let go of both the emerald and the bridge, causing him to tumble down below. Chase suddenly regained his senses. Having absolutely no idea what happened as he caught the emerald. Thankfully, it cooled down as Chase watched Oni-Con fall into the river.

Like all the wolves before him, Oni-Con hit the crocodile infested water. He screamed as the crocs fought over him, tearing his body to pieces as his life ended horribly.

Chase still was trying to figure out what happened. He felt like for a moment, he wasn't really there, and that he was asleep for a few seconds. Then, out of nowhere in his head, a female voice sounded off.

"Take the emerald young one. You and your friends are no longer in danger. Thank you so much Paw Patrol."

Chase shook his head to get the voice out then heard another one. This time, it was recognizable to him as Marshall, Claria, Roxy, and…..Ryder?

Chase looked up and was immediately in pure disbelief. Standing next to his best friend, calling his name, was his strong minded leader, Ryder.

The Shepherd quickly shot up the bridge to get to Ryder. He couldn't believe it. Ryder found him. It was a miracle. When he got to the top, with some help of course, he slammed into Ryder, giving him his own tongue assault. Again, Ryder allowed it, as he squeezed Chase as hard as he could. Thanking god that he was still alive.

Once Chase thought Ryder had enough, he planted his face in his chest, and sobbed uncontrollably like a newborn pup, completely flabbergasting Claria. She never expected the calm and serious leader that Chase was to cry like this. This fascinated her to say the least.

"H-How did y-you find us?!" Chase sobbed out.

Ryder smiled warmly. "You can thank your old pal Captain Garity for that."

Chase looked at Captain Garity, who was standing off in the background, smiling at the heartwarming sight.

Marshall joined in the hug, making the reunion more special. Even though they were still in Wintergreen, the two rescue pups felt they were already home. Finally, they were safe, and no longer in any danger.

They stayed like that for a while, as Claria, Roxy, and Captain Garity watched with smiles glued on their faces. They just couldn't help themselves. The sight was just too heart warming for them to ignore. Besides, they had their own reason for happiness. BloodRayne has been defeated, and the wolves will survive.

Claria teared up at sight, barely holding it in. "Th-They look so happy."

Roxy smiled warmly in his response. "Yeah, it's like they've been separated from each other for years."

"Well what did you expect?" Garity questioned. "Ryder was wandering around for days looking for them."

Roxy and Claria look at Garity as he continues. "And I'm pretty sure Chase and Marshall have tried all they could to contact him. Luckily, I ran into Ryder just as he flew over Wintergreen. Told them where I had seen them and he wasted no time getting here. Roxy then ran into them shortly after, and the rest is history."

"I guess they were lucky that I made it out of the ambassador's house just when they showed up huh, Claria?" Roxy looked at his friend but got concerned when she was looking down with a sad face. "Claria? Hey, what's wrong?"

Claria looked at Roxy with concerned eyes. "It's the ambassador Roxy. He's still out there. And he may be planning to go forward in Red-Eye's vision."

Roxy gave Claria a warm smile, as he draped a foreleg over Claria's shoulders. "Don't worry Claria. He's just one person versus every one of us. I don't think he is going to be much of a problem."

Garity cleared his throat before he added on. "Not to mention, I've got my men combing the country for him. If he's hiding, won't be hiding for long. That's for sure."

"Did you know about his involvement before Captain Garity?" Claria asked curiously.

"I've had my suspicions for a while about him." Garity informed. "I just didn't have anything to go off on. Now that this incident has happened, finally gave me the reason to go after him. Trust me pups, you don't have to worry about him."

Claria smiled as her worries were absolutely lifted. "Thanks Garity, the wolves appreciate your help."

Garity nodded his head in acknowledgement. "It's my pleasure Claria."

Ryder finally let go of his two pups and looked at them. To say that they were filthy would be an understatement. Marshall was almost unrecognizable, his white fur being completely covered in dirt and blood marks. Chase had dirt everywhere and his paw bandage had deteriorated, to the point that it was about ready to come off. Not to mention, they both smelled like wet dogs. Mostly because they were wet dogs, with their fur matted all over. It simply looked like somebody drugged them through mud and then threw them into a river.

Ryder chuckled before he addressed his dirty pups. "It looks like you two have been on quite the adventure."

Marshall chuckled back as he spoke. "You don't know the half of it Ryder."

"Yeah." Chase added. "But one thing's for sure, there's a tub at Katie's that has my name written all over it."

"Me too Chase." Marshall charmed.

"Yes, quite." Ryder responded with a laugh. "But first, you've got a village to get back to."

"But Ryder sir." Chase objected. "It took us a day to get here."

"Not with these." Ryder pushed a button on his pup pad. Out came two vehicles from what seemed like out of nowhere. It was Chase's police car and Marshall's Firetruck. Marshall practically jumped to the moon at the sight of his truck, beating feet over to it.

"My firetruck!" Marshall shouted out as he hugged it. "Oh I missed you so much baby."

Chase was flabbergasted. He didn't expect for Ryder to have to bring their tucks here. "R-Ryder y-you didn't have to…."

"Oh come on Chase." Ryder said. "You actually thought I wouldn't come prepared."

"Well, no but, how did you get them here?" Chase asked back.

"Why the air patroller of course!" Ryder answered excitedly.

Chase cocked his head at the name.

"Oh yeah right! You don't know about it yet. Sorry." Ryder said, embarrassed. "It's our new airship Chase!"

"Airship?" Chase repeated. "We have an airship now?"

"Well it's just a prototype, but I think this has been a suitable field test for it." Ryder proudly stated.

"Whoooa." Chase said. Easily impressed at the fact that they have an airship now.

Marshall looked at Claria very excitingly. "Hey Claria, would you like to ride with me?"

Claria swallowed hard. She was very intimidated by the vehicles. "Me? Get into…..that?"

"Oh come on Claria." Roxy said. "It's a blast. And it's completely safe."

Claria felt a little more confidence after Roxy's convincing talk. "Well….okay. I'll ride."

Marshall almost rivaled Skye in backflips when he heard Claria. "Yay! Thanks Claria! You won't be disappointed."

"Being disappointed is not what I'm worried about." Claria said, as she sat next to Marshall in the truck.

"Oh don't be like that Claria." Marshall said cheerily. He started the truck which made Claria freak out.

"AH! HELP! HELP!" Claria screamed until Marshall calmed her down.

"Hey! Shhhhhh. It's okay Claria, It's just the truck." Marshall reassured her.

Claria took deep breaths as she finally calmed down. "This truck is really mean." A foul stench entered Claria's nostril, making her tense up. "Ew! What's that smell? It smells like burning trees.

"That's the truck Claria." Marshall answered. "Now, let's get your seat belt on."

Claria looked at Marshall very confused. "Uhhhhhh…...what's a seat belt?"

Roxy laughed at Claria's ignorance of the vehicle. Chase saw this and smiled. "Hey, don't laugh now, that was you a year ago."

Roxy stopped laughing. "Man, has it really been a year already?"

"Hard to believe huh?" Chase responded.

"Yeah." Roxy said. He then looks at Marshall in somewhat disbelief. "But that's also hard to believe." Roxy paused a bit before he asked his question. "Is….Is that really him?"

Chase smiled warmly as he looked at his best friend. "It is Roxy. It's Marshall."

"B-But how? I thought he was dead." Roxy responded, still shocked.

"I thought so too. It was a miracle Roxy. A miracle I thought would never happen." Chase answered as he took a deep breath. He remembered that miserable time where Marshall was assumed to be dead. It was the worst year of his life and somehow, he pushed through it, and it worked out amazingly in the end. Sometimes, Chase would often think that he was in a parallel universe where Marshall was still dead. If he was, he didn't care. As long as he can talk with him, play with him, work with him, and even cry with him, Chase would be happy forever. "I still can't believe it. Every day I wake up and expect him not to be alive. But, he is. That's the best I can explain."

Roxy continued to stare at Marshall, as the dally fought with Claria to strap her in.

"Hold still Claria." Marshall insisted.

"I don't understand why you gotta put that around me, I'll be trapped!" Claria fought against Marshall who was trying to put her seat belt on.

"It's for your safety Claria. Now hold still!" Marshall said, somewhat annoyed.

Roxy chuckled as he smiled warmly. "He is exactly how I imagined him."

Chase laughed when he responded. "Yeah, I can believe that. So, you're riding with me?"

"I guess so." Roxy confirmed.

Chase scooted over and responded. "Okay, you know where to go buddy."

Upon hearing that, Roxy jumped up next to Chase and put his seat belt on. Chase laughed as he turned the car on. "I'm glad I don't have to fight you to put it on."

Meanwhile, Ryder was saying his goodbyes to Captain Garity, who was getting ready to leave. Ryder shook his hand in appreciation. "I can't thank you enough for helping me, Captain. Without you, I don't think I would ever have found my pups alive."

Garity shook Ryder's head firmly with a small smile. "It's the least I can do Ryder." Garity then looks at Chase. "At least to make sure Tracer's son is okay."

Ryder smiled at Garity's reassurance. "I assure you Captain, he's better than ever."

"That's nice to hear." Garity turns to leave, but turns back around. "Oh, and I'll tell your father you said hi."

Ryder laughed as he responded. "Yeah! You tell that old geezer he still owes me a trip to the Smithsonian!"

Garity laughed back as he turned to leave and waved goodbye.

Ryder waved back as he got to his ATV. He put his helmet on, got on, and started it up. He pushed a button to call all of the pups. "Paw Patrol! Are you all ready?"

"I'm fired up, Ryder!" Marshall responded.

Rocky nearly came through the radio to hug Marshall. "Marshall! You're okay!"

"I sure am!" Marshall chuckled back.

"Mawshall! We thought we would nevew see you again!" Zuma cried over his radio.

"Heeeeey! What about me?!" Chase asked, with a playful annoyance.

Skye did flips in her chopper at the sound of Chase's voice. "CHASE! You don't know how long I've waited to hear your voice!"

"I can say the same thing to you angel." Chase cheekly said, as Skye blushed.

"We thought you were gonners!" Rubble stated. "What happened to you two?"

"It's a looooooonnnnng story Rubble!" Marshall informed.

"And it'll have to wait till later." Ryder stated. "Rocky, Zuma, Skye, Rubble, go to the ambassador's house. We will wait for you there!"

"Affirmative Ryder!" The pups say, as they make their way to the house.

"Chase, Marshall, you ready?!" Ryder asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be, Ryder sir." Chase proudly stated.

"Like I said before, I'm fired up!" Marshall added, matching Chase's pride.

Ryder put his ATV in gear. "Alright Paw Patrol, let's roll!"

With that, Ryder took off, with Chase and Marshall following him. Chase, Marshall, Roxy, and Claria were so glad to finally put the horrors of the temple of doom behind them.

---

Paisley sat in the center of the compound in the same spot she had sat for the past few days, eying the exact area Claria left the camp. It had become a habit at this point. Wake up, eat whatever she could, help out with the pack, and when she is done, sit in the same spot for hours on end, waiting for her pup to come home. When she decided that it was late enough, she would go to her den to sleep and wake up to do the whole thing over again.

Tyler never stopped her, in fact sometimes, he would sit with her. They wouldn't talk, they wouldn't nuzzle, they wouldn't even look at each other. They would just sit there, and wait for Claria. Tyler would be the first one to go, and would usually have to push Paisley to come with him. Somedays, she would, some days, she wouldn't. Tyler would lick her and request that she not stay out too late. It would usually be the only thing he would say to her the whole day.

Today was no different. Paisley ate and helped the pack with the dead.

Thankfully, the death rate had gone down in the pack, but mostly because all that was left were wolves who were no older than a few years old. All the elders were mostly gone except for maybe two.

It had only been two days since Claria left with Chase and Marshall, but it was killing her regardless. Even when she would go to sleep, she wouldn't sleep long. She felt that if she went to her slumber, she wouldn't be able to get to Claria at the moment she arrived to help her. Tyler insisted that if she were to arrive in the night, Paisley would be the one of the first wolves Claria would wake up. But that obviously wasn't enough to reassure her.

It wasn't that she had no faith in her, it was the fact that she didn't know what condition Claria would be in when she got back. Would she be fine, or would she be like when she came back the first time, like road kill. That bothered her to no end, and for that, she would usually sleep with one eye open, and her ears perked up.

Tyler came out of the den and walked over to Paisley, who was as still as a rock.

"It's time to eat Paisley." He announced frimley.

"I hear you Alpha." She responded, not moving from her spot. "I'll be in to eat in a moment."

"You better be." He responds, before he turns around to leave. He walked a few feet before turning to her again. "I'm sure she's fine, Delta. I know she is. You've got to have faith in her."

Paisley drew a deep breath. "I do have faith in her Tyler, but that's not my only concern. I want to be here when she gets here, so I can care for her. She would be exhausted and hurt, and I want to be here to care for her."

"I share your feelings Delta, but it wouldn't matter whatever you're standing there, or laying in the den. You would know when she came back, and you would more than likely be the first wolf she would see."

Paisley closed her eyes and took another breath. "I guess you're right, Alpha. It's just, I'm so scared how she will be when she does get back. You saw her right? She was horrible. About ready to drop to the ground dead! I need to be her when she gets back, so I can tend to her as soon as she gets here."

"And you will Delta. You will, no matter what. But you will be no good to her starving. Please Paisley, come eat. You will only be eating for a few moments. Then you can come back up here."

Tyler was going to continue, but noticed that Paisley was looking dead set on the spot curiously, with her ears practically rising off her head.

"Paisley? Are you even…."

"Shhhh!" Paisley hushed.

Tyler's head nearly came off after cocking his head so far in confusion. "Huh? Wha? Why are you shushing me?"

Paisley shushed him again. "Hush! Listen! You hear that?"

Tyler perked his ears up and listened to where Paisley was looking at. He listened closely and made out a faint group of howls. It was getting louder and louder, and was obviously coming from the outskirts of the compound. The howls sounded a lot like pups who were extremely ecstatic. The howls grew louder, and soon, every wolf in the River Rush stopped what they were doing, and looked towards the source of the howls.

A few moments passed as the distant howls soon grew louder and louder, till eventually, it was very hard to ignore. After a bit of nothing, the howls reached their peak, and suddenly, a pack of wolf pups exploded into the camp, howling happily. The wolves were stunned at the sudden entrance of the pups, until Connor spotted his pup, Stella, leading the pack. His eyes wide, and he barked with joy. "STELLA?!"

Stella heard her father's call, and shot over to him. They both catch each other in a big hug, as both of them sob into eachother's fur.

"Father!" Stella sobbed out.

"Stella! Oh thank the ancients you back!" Connor cried as he squeezed his daughter as tight as he could, in fear that someone would snatch her away from him.

All around them, the same scenario was playing out with every pup and wolf. The area was filled with howls and cries of joy, as every wolf in the pack was suddenly reunited with their pups.

Tyler and Paisley were overwhelmed by the sudden miracle that was happening in front of them. They stood at the center of this and watched pups reunite with their parents with astonishment and awe.

Tyler finally broke the silence with as much shock as a lighting rod. "The pups have returned! Every one of them!"

Paisley watched as mothers and fathers licked their young in absolutely disbelief and joy. But there was one pup in particular she was looking for. She scanned the hoard for her but couldn't find Claria anywhere. She started to panic a little, wondering why Claria was not with them.

"Wh-Where's Claria?! I don't see her anywhere!" Paisley cried, as she was now frantically shooting her head around, trying to spot Claria.

"I don't think she's here yet, Delta." Tyler stated, for he was looking for Claria too. "Neither are Chase and Marshall."

"But where could they be Alpha? Why are they not with the pups?!" Paisley added.

Tyler didn't have an answer, he too was starting to worry for his daughter.

They both continued to look for her, hoping to maybe spot her. Paisley was about to give up, until suddenly, she heard a voice that was the most familiar voice in her life.

"Mom!"

Paisley spun around to where she heard the voice. Her eyes softened when she spotted her pup standing proudly with a smile to match. She was dirty, but other than a few scratches and scrapes, she looked okay.

Paisley was overjoyed as she gracefully called out to her. "Claria!"

"Mom!" Claria called back, as she ran to her mother.

Paisley opened herself for Claria to run into her. They both squeezed each other as tight as they could. Tears flowed down Paisley's eyes, as she finally spoke to her pup. "Claria! You've returned! And you're alive! You're alive!"

Claria chuckled as she let go of her mother. "Well of course I am mom. Did you not expect me to come back or something?"

Paisley looked as if she was as nervous as a little pup. "What? No. I-I always had faith in you."

Claria laughed a little more as Tyler made his presence known. Claria faced her father and stood professionally. She then looked at her father with a smile, like she was proud to be herself. "Hey father. I've returned."

Tyler looked at his daughter firmly, but upon closer inspection from Claria, his eyes showed a different emotion. One of relief and happiness. "So you have Claria."

They stood in front of each other and stared for a good minute, until suddenly, tears formed in Tyler's eyes. Claria raised an eyebrow in confusion before being caught in a sudden hug. Tyler then sobbed into Claria's fur. "Claria! I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried about you!"

This caught Claria completely off guard. She had never seen her father act this way. Normally Tyler was a very serious and strong minded wolf. Mostly because of him being the Alpha of River Rush. He's expected to be a calm and collected wolf to be a formable leader for the pack. But it was clear as day, that he wasn't acting like that here. It shocked Claria so much that she felt a little uncomfortable from it. But considering everything that has happened, Claria brushed it aside and hugged her father back. Forming tears of her own.

---

Back at the outskirts of the camp, looking at the uplifting sight before them, was Chase and Marshall, who were followed by Ryder, Roxy, Skye, Rocky, Zuma, and Rubble. They didn't want to scare the wolves, so Ryder told them to park their vehicles with the air patroller, which was parked a little ways back.

Ryder had a big smile on his face as he watched the wolf pups reunite with their families. He felt nothing but pride for his two pups, who risked their lives to save the wolves while putting aside their own problems. He truly knew that he taught them well and were amazing pups.

Chase stood beside Rubble, with Skye leaning on his side. While Rocky, Zuma, and Roxy huddled around Marshall. They were so happy and glad they found Chase and Marshall. For the past few days, they were worried sick for them. From the streets of Sticksburg, to the snowy tundra of the mountain range of Wintergreen. Endless days and sleepless nights was all they endured, wondering if they were even alive. They were about to give up, until Captain Garity contacted them and told them of their wearbouts. When they received the call, they wasted no time in going to the ambassador's house to find them, where they met Roxy, who told them that Chase and Marshall needed help.

Speaking of the pup, Roxy suddenly stretched. "Well, I guess I've got to get to my pack."

"Wha? Youw leaving alweady dude?" Zuma asked, extremely sad.

Rocky added in with his own sadness. "But we haven't even gotten a chance to play yet!"

"Yeah!" Rubble agreed. "And I was going to show you a new technique to not get tagged!"

Skye stopped nuzzling and looked over to Rubble. "Isn't it that technique you do where you fart whenever someone ever gets close to tagging you?"

"Hey! Complain all you want! It's still very effective!"

"Yeah." Chase said. "My nose knows that all too well."

Ryder, Roxy, and the pups, all erupt in laughter at Chase's joke. Once they all stop, Roxy speaks up. "I'm really sorry I have to depart guys, but I know for a fact that mom and dad are so worried about me." Roxy paused a bit, almost brought to tears when he mentioned his parents, which caused the pups to shoot worried glances at him. He drew a breath as he said his last line. "...and I'm worried about them too."

The pups whimper in sadness for their friend as Chase speaks next. "Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off? I won't mind it at all."

Roxy smiled at Chase as he responded. "Thanks Chase, but I'll be okay, Woodland is literally a hop skip and a jump away. I can walk there."

Roxy stood in front of Chase as they stared at each other for a bit, until Roxy gave Chase a big hug for his troubles. Chase gracefully hugged back as Roxy closed his eyes with tears.

"Thanks Chase, Thank you for everything you've done." Roxy said, sobbing a bit.

Tears were in Chase's eyes as well when he let go. "That's our job Roxy, and that's all I'm going to say."

They hugged again as Roxy tears back up. "You're a true friend Chase. I wouldn't have anyone else as a friend."

Chase smiled as they let go of each other for the last time. The Shepherd winked at the wolf pup as he then walked in front of Marshall.

Roxy was still in raw disbelief, staring at him like he was an impossible being. Marshall raises an eyebrow. "Uhh…...Roxy? You okay man?"

Roxy drew in yet another breath, trying to process the pup standing in front of him. "I-I'm sorry Marshall. It's just….I can't believe that I'm actually getting to meet you. I've always known you to be…"

"Dead?" Marshall interrupted with a smile. "Yeah. I-I sorta get that alot lately."

Roxy chuckled as he responded. "I was going to say a great and nice pup. I wasn't going to go there, Marshall."

"Well you know. We gotta address the elephant in the room right?" Marshall said back, still smiling at Roxy.

Roxy looked at him for a few moments. Even though he just met him today, he felt like he'd known the Dalmatian all his life. He had been told so much about him by Chase and had a great Idea about who he was. He had wished ever since that he had known the pup so he could be friends but he always thought it was a fantasy until now.

"Listen. I have something I want to tell you." Marshall requested.

Roxy was taken aback a bit. What would Marshall want to tell him about? "W-What is it Marshall?"

"I uh….I wanted to thank you for helping Chase while I wasn't….you know….Here." Marshall said. Very glad he was finally able to thank Roxy. "I don't know what would've happened if I was really gone and you never met us." Marshall hushed his voice a little bit so Chase couldn't hear. "I was afraid he would shut down and even do something drastic. But you helped him through it, and for that, you will always be a friend to me."

Roxy cracked a small warm smile. "You're a true friend to Chase, Marshall. He needs you as much as you need him. It was a travesty that you two were separated from each other. I'm glad that I was able to help Chase through it. And hearing you say that, means a lot to me."

Marshall nodded his head in acknowledgement. As Roxy moved over to Ryder, who had been standing back watching the whole thing.

"I can't thank you guys enough for all you have done for us. Wintergreen would've been a terrible wasteland had it not been for the Paw Patrol."

"It is what we do Roxy. Help out any who cry for it. You should know that for sure. After all, you are a member of the Paw Patrol." Ryder responded warmly. "I gotta say though, I am a little disappointed."

Roxy then frowned like a hurt pup. "What for?"

Ryder stood firmly with his arms crossed. "You do have a pup tag right? You could've called us anytime before all this happened. We could've been here at the start to nip this in the butt before it ever got worse. And all this would've never happened and we would've saved a bunch of you kind."

Roxy hung his head in shame. "I-I know. I'm so sorry Ryder. I just thought that we could've dealt with this ourselves, and we wouldn't have needed outside help from you or anybody. I hope you understand Ryder, our pride is strong."

Ryder smiled as he replied. "It's alright Roxy. Just remember that whenever you and your race are in trouble, you always have us to call. All you need to do is yelp for help."

Roxy raised his head and wagged his tail slightly. "Thank you Ryder, and thank you pups."

The pups nodded as Roxy started to leave the area. "Goodbye everyone, take care of each other."

"You too dude!" Zuma responded.

"Yeah take care of yourself pal." Roxy added.

"See you later buddy." Chase put in.

"Say hi to your mom and dad for us." Skye inserted.

"You owe me a game of tag later!" Rubble called out.

"We're always here for you Roxy!" Marshall finished.

Tears were flowing down, as Roxy gave one last wave before he bounded off, with the pups waving in return.

They watch him disappear in the woods before Chase makes his way towards the crowd. The other follows him as Chase gets in front of Tyler, Paisley, and Claria.

Tyler looks at Chase with as much gratitude he could give as the pups line up beside Chase. Standing tall and proud.

"I cannot even begin to say how much we appreciate what you've done for us Paw Patrol."

Ryder and the pups bowed their heads in honor.

"That's what we live for Alpha." Chase replied. "We thrive for this."

"What you pups have done is truly amazing." Paisley added. "You brought back every one of our pups!"

Marshall smiled proudly as he chimed in. "That's not the only thing we brought back."

At that point, Chase took out River Rush's emerald. The emerald shined blue as a crowd gathered around them. Chase hands over the emerald to Tyler, who graciously accepts it, although he was shocked. So were the wolves.

"O-Our emerald! You got it back!" Paisley spoke up, truly flabbergasted.

Every wolf in the compound was shocked to their bones. They truly didn't expect the emerald to come back with them. They were surprised that the rescue pups were able to bring their pups back let alone the emerald.

Tyler finally spoke after he got over the shock. "I-I have to be completely honest with you all, I truly did not expect you to get the emerald. How did you do it? Will the BloodRayne come back for it."

Upon hearing that, the wolves clenched and stood close to their pups, expecting the answer to be a horrifying yes.

Marshall stood firmly as he answered. "Let's just say, you will never have to worry about BloodRayne or ShadowFur ever raiding your camp again."

If they were shocked then, the wolves were now dumbfounded. Two pups took out two entire packs of wolves? Now they were just hearing things. No matter how strong they thought Chase and Marshall were, there was no way they could stop BloodRayne's treacherous ways by themselves.

Tyler looked at his daughter for confirmation. "Claria, is it true? Are the BloodRayne no more?"

Claria looked at her father a little first before she smiled brightly. "Yes father. It's as true as the blue sky. BloodRayne has been defeated."

All the wolves' eyes grew wide so much, if it was dark, they would probably be glowing like moons. Tyler was now impressed fully by the pup's valiant efforts. "I-I don't know how to thank you all."

"Don't thank us too much Alpha." Chase responded, sadly. "I didn't bring all the emeralds back."

Ryder, the pups, and the wolves all look at Chase, who hung his head in shame. "All the other packs' emeralds were lost. I dropped them in the river while battling Oni-Con."

Chase whimpered as Ryder crouched and scratched his neck for comfort.

Tyler looked at Chase firmly as he responded. "It's alright young one, they will be found. The emeralds are easy to find in the water. Since we have one, we can help the other packs retrieve their emeralds quickly. There is no need to be ashamed."

Chase's head shot up and his tail wagged, as he smiled at Tyler. "Oh. Well. Alright then."

Tyler then looks at Ryder who stood back up to face the Alpha. "You must be their master."

Ryder chuckled at the implication. "I uh…..I don't really see it like that Alpha, but yes, they are many pups." He then bowed his head at Tyler. "My name is Ryder, and I am the leader of Paw Patrol."

Tyler bowed his head back at the boy. "Then let me formally thank you and your team for helping us rid the evil in our country."

Ryder smiled. "I appreciate it Alpha but…." he moves in between Chase and Marshall and puts both his hands on their heads, scratching their necks as they hang their tongue out in response. "The credit goes to these two pups. We showed at the tail end while they did most of the work, and I couldn't be more proud of them."

Marshall smiled warmly, truly flattered as he looked at his caring owner. "Oh Ryder, it was nothing really."

Ryder smiled back and then gazed back at Tyler. "But they weren't the only ones. I apologize if I was overshadowing your own daughter's effort in helping them. Without her, I'm pretty sure Chase and Marshall would be telling a different story, if they would be telling one at all."

Claria blushed at the sudden recognition of her efforts but then stood proudly. "Just doing the best I can Ryder."

"You sure did Claria." Ryder replied as he then walked towards her. "Which brings me to this." He gets down to a knee to Claria's level. "Claria, with permission of your parents, would you like to become a member of Paw Patrol?"

Claria was taken aback by the sudden question. "Huh? What? Me? I-I-I"

"Before you ask, no, you don't have to leave your home. In fact, I encourage you to stay here. Therefore, a patrol could always be here to watch over the wolves."

Claria was relieved she didn't have to leave Wintergreen, but still was uneasy. "I-I don't know Ryder, I don't think I'm good enough for the job."

"Don't sell yourself short, sweetie." Paisley interjected. "You are stronger than you look, and these past few days have been proof enough for us to recognize it."

Claria looked at her mother's reassuring smile, then at her father who nodded in agreement. She then looks back at Ryder with a new found confidence. "Okay Ryder, I accept the offer."

"Then on that note….." Ryder rose to his feet to begin the initiation. "Claria, will you raise your right paw and repeat after me."

Claria took a breath and raised her right paw, in which Ryder raised his right hand to begin.

"I, Claria of the River Rush wolves, promise from the bottom of my heart." Ryder led off.

"I, Claria of the River Rush wolves, promise from the bottom of my heart." Claria repeated firmly.

"That I will support, protect, and defend my pack, friends, and family." Ryder added on.

"That I will support, protect, and defend my pack, friends, and family." Claria repeated.

"From any who threatens their way of life."

"From any who threatens their way of life."

"And will, to the best of my ability and unique skills."

"And will, to the best of my ability and unique skills."

"Lend a paw to anyone who cries for help."

"Lend a paw to anyone who cries for help."

"From the mundane tasks of gathering food."

"From the mundane tasks of gathering food."

"To the daring tasks of suppressing fires in the forest."

"To the daring tasks of suppressing fires in the forest."

"Even if it costs me my life."

Claria swallowed a little as she repeated the last line. "Even if it costs me my life."

"So help me Gari."

"So help me Gari."

Ryder then takes out a collar with a pup tag on it. "Then I hereby make you an official member of the Wintergreen branch of Paw Patrol." He latches the collar around Claria as she stands proudly. "Congratulations Claria."

He stands back while Claria looks down at it questionably. "What's this?"

"It's a pup tag Claria. With that, you would be able to call us anytime you need us. I put the collar on you for formal purposes. You don't have to keep it on if you don't want to."

Claria looked at the tag on the collar. The tag had an emblem of a wolf howling at the sky. She then looked at Ryder and the pups. "Are you kidding?! I'll never ever take this off! I will cherish it! Oh thank you so much Ryder!"

Ryder chuckled at the enthusiastic pup. "You're welcome Claria."

The Paw Patrol then bark and howl for their new member, with the wolves around them joining in. Claria stood tall and proud as she howled with them.

After a bit, Tyler went to the altar to put the emerald in it while Claria and Paisley followed him. As for the Paw Patrol, they had their paws full as every wolf went up to them and thanked them personally for returning their pups to them.

After many "thank yous" , Gari blessings, and cute pups, the final wolf gave their appreciation, and went to spend some time with their pups.

Marshall, sighed loudly. "Man, I don't think I've ever said your welcome any more than I have in my life."

"Well Marshall," Rocky spoke, "You did save them after all. What did you expect?"

"Yeah, I know." Marshall smiled. "I still can't believe we pulled through. There were plenty of times where I thought we were lost."

"Yeah, plenty." Chase replied. He turned to Ryder who was looking at Chase very proudly. Although Chase didn't share the same feeling. His head drooped down, along with his ears.

Ryder notices this and grows concerned. "Chase? What's wrong buddy? Is everything alright?"

Chase raised his head and looked at his owner very shamefully. "I…...I wanna apologize to you Ryder sir."

The other pups, including Marshall, gained a combination of worry and confusion of Chase's mental state. His sudden sorrow made the pups feel complete sadness for their normally strong minded friend. Ryder shared this feeling as he raised an eyebrow. "What? Apologize? For what boy?"

Chase swallowed before explaining. "I know you all were so worried about us when you lost contact with us. And I knew you would want us home as soon as possible. I knew that. But we didn't do that. We went into something without consulting you. And because of that, we nearly got ourselves killed. We would have never been in so much danger if we would've come home and told you about the wolves first. And because of that, you were so worried, and had to look for us, and had things not worked out, you would've never found us alive at least. I am so sorry we worried you all and are going into something without consulting you or the pups." Chase's eyes filled with tears, his head hung low like a hat on a rack to hide them. "I am so….so…..so sorry Ryder sir."

Chase whined while Skye went up to him and nuzzled him for comfort. Meanwhile, Ryder stared at Chase for a bit, as he possessed Chase's speech. He then got down to one knee and looked at his sad amber eyes. "I understand your troubles Chase, and I understand why you feel that you're wrong."

Chase raised his head and looked back at his owner as Ryder then put both hands on his shoulders firmly. "But believe me, you have absolutely no reason to apologize."

Chase's face then turned baffled. He was absolutely speechless as he listened to Ryder go on.

"Don't get me wrong Chase. Would I have preferred you coming home first? Of course I would. I always want you pups to be safe and be able to perform your jobs efficiently and safely. But from what I've heard, that wasn't even an option. You had to make a hard decision that could make or break for the wolves, and you did what you thought was right."

Marshall appeared next to Chase to listen on to Ryder closely.

"That's why I made you the leader in the first place, Chase. You are able to make those decisions without second guessing yourself, and you also listen to everyone of your teammates and friends around you to make the very hard choices, in an effort to make sure the problem gets solved, and everyone is safe. I couldn't be more proud of you and Marshall. You put your problem aside for the sake of some wolves who you didn't know at all, and you told them that you will do your best to help them, no matter what the cost would be."

Chase formed tears as he looked at Ryder very hopeful. "You mean, you're not mad at me, for putting me and Marshall in jeopardy?"

Ryder kept his smile on when he answered. "Chase, if I was mad at you, I would be a total jerk. And before you ask if I would've done the same, I will tell you that I would've done the same thing ten times over. Like I said before, I couldn't be more proud that I made you team leader, and it shows me that I made the right decision."

Chase couldn't take it. Ryder's words covered him like a strong summer breeze on a hot day. He teared up again and shot over to Ryder and wrapped his arms around Ryder's torso. He squeezed as hard as he could, while almost bawling in his owner's chest. "Th-Thank you Ryder sir. You don't know truly, how much it means to hear you say that."

Ryder could only smile and hug the crying Shepherd back. "I think I do, buddy."

Marshall stood by and watched the heartwarming scene with a warm smile. Then turned around to see Rocky and Zuma looking at him. He kept his smile on until he noticed that they were not smiling at all. Instead, they wore complete worries and horror looks on their faces. Marshall's smile faded when he questioned them. "Rocky? Zuma? What's wrong?"

It took a bit for one of them to speak up.

"Dude. What happened to you? Youw back is aw covered in blood mawks?" Zuma finally asked slowly and totally concerned.

Marshall looked behind him at his back as much as he could see. He saw that the back of his uniform was almost gone from when he was whipped by Oni-Con, and all that showed was the many bloody welts he received from it. "Oh, those? Yeah, I...I was whipped."

Zuma's jaw fell to the floor like metal, while Rocky nearly exploded. "WHAT?! YOU WERE WHIPPED?! OH MY GOD MARSHALL! HOW COULD YOU BE SO CASUAL ABOUT THAT!"

Marshall chuckled a little before he responded. "Would you believe that wasn't the only horrible thing that happened to me there?"

The two pups' eyes grew as wide as basketballs, as Zuma replied. "What? What could be possibly be wowse than being whipped?"

"Well," Marshall stated. "How about almost being sacrificed to an evil god?"

Marshall went on to tell them about the horrors that Chase and he went through with both Rocky and Zuma listening closely."

If Skye was paying any attention to Marshall's story, she didn't care. All she cared about for the moment was her handsome Shepherd in front of her, who was still hugging Ryder like a newborn pup.

The past few days had not been kind to the cockapoo, with her thoughts and feelings being all over the place, but being the strong pup that she was, she didn't show it. She had to, due to her being third in command for the team, since Chase and Marshall were missing. She actually did quite well, with most of the team expecting her to be emotional as ever for Chase. Though, behind closed doors, she was miserable. Her bed in the air patroller was evidence to that, as it was permanently stained and soaked in her tears from the long days and nights searching for Chase and Marshall.

She stared firmly at Chase as he finally let go of Ryder and turned to look at his mate. He smiled warmly as he got closer to her. "Hey angel, are you okay?"

She smiled back, trying her best to hold back tears. "Yeah, I'm just so glad to see your face again, after worrying for so long."

"Well I'm glad that you are. I couldn't begin to imagine what you've been through." Chase replied.

Skye tried her darn best, but she was overwhelmed greatly, as the dam in her eyes busted. She shot like a bullet and collided into Chase, sobbing in his warm and furry chest. Chase could only rub her back, and lick her neck for comfort. Somehow, she was able to produce comprehensive words.

"What I've been through?! Chase! What about you?!" Skye sobbed. "You look horrible! I can't….I can't….I can't…...OH CHASE!"

Skye sobbed loudly as Chase continued to soothe her. "Shhh. It's okay Skye. It's over now. And I'm okay."

Skye continued to sob, but she was at least calming down from her fit. "I-I-I was so worried for you and Marshall, I-I couldn't think straight. Everywhere we looked kept getting worse and worse for you two, and I had to keep calm for everyone. But inside, I was a wreck."

Chase felt immense guilt for Skye as tears went down his face. "I….I know Skye. You shouldn't have never been through that. I should be there to help you and I wasn't, I'm sorry my little angel."

Skye shot her head up and out of Chase's fur. Anger suddenly flowed in her veins as she stared directly at Chase straight through the eyes. "No! Don't do that! Don't you dare apologize! Don't think this is your fault because it isn't. The only one to blame is that poor excuse of a dog Bubba! If it wasn't for him, you would have never been here in the first place!"

Chase looked firmly at the enraged cockapoo. "I'm guessing you had a brief run in with him."

Skye's head hung down slowly as she clenched her paws in the dirt in anger. Surprisingly though, she was now calm as far as her temper was concerned. Her sadness though, was a different story. She drew a breath as she stumbled a little on her words.

"We did. It was the first lead we thought of when we started looking." More tears flowed as she continued. "When he told us of how he sabotaged the plane, and told his pilots to bail on you, Ryder bout come across the table on him, and I almost wanted to kill him. If it wasn't for Rocky stopping us, that exact thing would've happened."

Chase stood appalled from his mate. It was completely shocking to hear this come out of Skye. She got angry yes and would blow off like a tea kettle, but the thought of Skye wanting another to be dead, worried Chase as usually, Skye wouldn't even think of committing such an act. But then again, Bubba was probably mocking them to know end, making them angry and angrier, so he couldn't really blame them. It still was concerning though.

Skye sniffed a little, continuing on the story. "W-When we found the wreckage, the plane was destroyed, and we didn't find any trace of you or Marshall. That's when I accepted it." Skye closed her eyes tight as fresh tears went down her cheeks, as she buried her muzzle into the Shepherd's chest again suddenly erupting like a volcano as her head went back up to Chase's eyes. "I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN! I DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT MARSHALL! ALL I WAS THINKING ABOUT WAS YOU! I THOUGHT I HAD SERIOUSLY LOST YOU AND YOU WERE NEVER COMING BACK!"

Chase wanted to calm the pup down, and tell her that it's alright, but he felt that this was what she needed. To let it all out.

"AND WHAT'S WORSE, RYDER GAVE UP TOO, AND WE ACCEPTED IT! IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR CAPTAIN GARITY, WE WOULD'VE NEVER FOUND YOU OR MARSHALL! OH CHASE I'M SORRY! SO SO SO SO SORR….."

Chase then decided that he had heard enough. He stopped her outburst by suddenly pressing his lips against hers. Skye was caught off guard as she didn't know what was happening, until she closed her tear soaked eyes, and melted instantly like chocolate, in Chase's mouth.

Just like that, all of Skye's distress was gone. She now had only one worry in her mind right now, to give as much as Chase was giving her. Their tongues met and slowly danced together, soaking in the moment they were together. The mere force of the kiss caused Skey to sit down as they suddenly were out of breath. Their lips ejected from each other, shortly before they touched noses and gazed at one other. They stayed like that for a while until Chase finally spoke up. "It's okay sweetheart. All that doesn't matter anymore. What does it mean that you found me, and we are safe and sound."

Skye couldn't hear Chase, she was lost in his eyes forever it seemed. "I love you Chase." She serenaded, before she pressed his lips to his.

"I love you too Skye." Chase warmly said, as he kissed back. Chase's tongue moved around slowly like a snake with Skye's following it everywhere it went. Then, suddenly, Chase stopped and pulled away from her, as his eyes caught sight of something behind her. She looked at him confused. "Hey, what's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Chase nodded forward. "It's Rubble."

Skye turned around, and saw the bulldog all alone looking like somebody just stole his favorite toy. Skye clenched as Chase let go of her and approached Rubble. Rubble caught sight of the Shepherd and smiled. "Hey Chase, glad you're back buddy."

Chase gave him a small smile, but it faded when he noticed Rubble's eyes fidgeting left and right slightly.

It was time to address the elephant in the room. Chase almost didn't want to bring it up, but he knew he had to talk to Rubble about it at some point. Especially since the little bulldog was probably living in agony right now.

Chase drew a breath and spoke gently. "You okay?"

Rubble's smile instantly faded as he looked away from Chase. Chase got closer to the bulldog with sincerity. "Rubble? Buddy?"

Skye looked on with sadness. She knew the state of Rubble's mind at the moment. For the past few days she has been a shoulder to cry on for him and because of that, as if it was a blessing in disguise, she was able to keep herself calm throughout the whole search. She stood ready to run over to comfort him.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Rubble finally said weakly. Although, he was still looking away from Chase clearly lying about his mental state and Chase saw right through it.

"Rubble, I know you're lying to me. Please. Are. You. Okay?"

Rubble looked in Chase's eyes where the Shepherd noticed that tears occupied them. His voice shook as he replied. "S-Skylar's….really gone, isn't she Chase?"

The execution hit Chase like a ton of bricks. He took a deep breath before he answered with tears forming in his eyes as well. "Yes. she is. Skylar is gone."

Rubble dropped his head again and whimpered softly. Chase formed tears of his own as he drew in a breath. "I'm so sorry, Rubble. I failed you. I promised to you that I would keep her safe and I broke it. I tried to Rubble, I tried. But It wasn't enough, I was powerless, and she died in my arms I….I….I….."

Chase was moments away from breaking down. Skye ran up to him and nuzzled and licked him to soothe. As much as it was helping, Chase still struggled to speak.

"I-I understand if you're mad at me, and no longer want to be friends. I wouldn't blame you. I just hope that you could somehow…."

Rubble raised his head to look at Chase as he finished. "...forgive me."

Rubble was stunned by Chase's words. He couldn't even move, all he could do was move his mouth to form words somehow.

"I-I-I can't forgive you Chase." He pushed out softly, almost as quiet as a mouse.

Chase squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his heart break in two. Skye's jaw slowly dropped at his response. He's not really mad at him, right?

Rubble took a minute before he continued. "I-I can't forgive you, because there's nothing to forgive you for. Skylar dying wasn't your fault Chase. Don't forget who the real enemy is."

Chase stared wide eyed with Skye approaching next to him.

"It's Bubba, Chase, he killed Skylar, not you." Rubble clenched his paws and grit his teeth in anger as he finished. "And I swear to god. Bubba will pay for what he did. I will CHEW EVERY LAST BONE IN HIS BODY UNTIL THEY'RE NOTHING MORE THAN DUST!"

Chase and Skye nearly jumped ten feet back at Rubble's outburst. Somehow, Skye was able to speak out."

"Rubble! Don't say such things!" She criticized. "You'll be no better than him for doing that!"

Rubble got angrier, not at Skye specifically, just in general. "BUT IT'S NOT FAIR! SKYLAR NEVER HURT ANYBODY! ALL SHE WANTED TO DO WAS SING! SING HER HEART OUT TO ANYBODY WHO WANTED TO LISTEN! AND TO BE WITH HER FRIENDS! BUT NO! BUBBA TOOK HER AWAY FROM US! HE TOOK HER AWAY FROM HER DREAMS!"

After nearly yelling his voice out, fresh tears filled his face and started to sob. Chase runs over, and wraps him up in a tight hug. Rubble then whispers out his last thought. "He took her away from me."

He hugged back as he sobbed into Chase's fur. "I loved her Chase. I LOVED HER!"

Chase whined for his friend. He hated seeing his friends suffer no matter what it was. He stroked the bulldog's back slowly as he finally responded. "Shh I know buddy. I know you loved her." He let go and looked at Rubble firmly. "And she loved you. She wanted me to tell you that."

Rubble hiccuped a little before he spoke. "She did?"

"Yes," Chase answered. "You were the only one she loved more than her brother."

Rubble's eyes went wide with surprise. "Really? She thought that?"

Chase nodded to confirm.

Rubble drooped his head down and spoke in a very hushed tone. "Th-That means so much to me. She loved her brother more than anything. I-I guess she's with him now in puppy heaven."

Chase smiled a little. "Yeah. She's probably jumping for joy for her brother." Then, his smile faded as he looked at Rubble whose head still hung low. He put a paw on Rubble's shoulder and asked Rubble to look at him, the bulldog did so and looked at Chase's sudden determined face as he spoke. "Don't you worry Rubble. Bubba will get what's coming to him, but we will do it legally. Killing is not the answer, it's just what Skye said, we will be no better than him."

"B-But, what can we do to make him feel the pain that we are?" Rubble asked.

Chase smiled as he responded. "There's more than one way to hurt a crime boss."

By the time Marshall was done with his story, Rocky and Zuma were glued to him. They hugged them as hard as they could. With all three of them sobbing as hard as they could. While Marshall had tears flow down his face.

"Oh Mawshall, that's the most howwible thing I've ever heawd! I can't believe you went through that!" Zuma cried.

Marshall nearly choked up in his response. "I-I-I can't believe it either."

"I can't believe Chase almost sacrificed you like that!" Rocky added, A little angry.

Marshall immediately went on the defense for Chase. "But Rocky. It's not his fault!"

"I know, I know." Rocky replied. "I just could never imagine your own best friend killing you. No matter if they were in the right mind or not."

"I understand Rocky." Marshall said as they finally let go. "Just please don't hold him to it. I don't blame him, at all."

Rocky suddenly smiled at the dally. "Don't worry Marshall. I won't. There's no reason to anyway. It's just like you said, he was being controlled by an evil god or something. While that sounds like a fantasy, I believe you and Chase. If you don't have a problem with it, then I have no business in it whatsoever."

Marshall couldn't have felt more joy. "Thanks Rocky."

"It's nothing Marshall." Rocky warmly said. He then gave Marshall a really big hug and sobbed a little again. "I'm just so glad you're okay."

Marshall stayed silent as he hugged Rocky back again.

He couldn't believe it, he was finally with his friends again. After two long days of being stranded and trying not to be killed by an evil cult, He was finally safe with his family. It was almost…..perfect. But for some reason, Marshall felt like something was missing. Something that should be here. Something that was just as important as everything else, maybe more. Although Marshall then figured that it wasn't really something, it was more like someone was missing.

This became apparent when Marshall looked to the right, and saw Chase and Skye. His heart hurt a little when he saw them embracing each other. It made him feel….jealous. Jealous that a certain someone was not there to share the moment with him. Even though there wasn't anything going on yet, he still felt like her presence would make him feel special. It wasn't that his freinds didn't do enough for him. He was just…...disappointed that…. Everest….wasn't here.

Why? Why wasn't she here? Doesn't she care about us? Doesn't she care about him?

Marshall shook his head. What was he thinking? That doesn't sound like Everest at all. Even if she didn't have the same feelings, she still cared about him and Chase. There was no debate in that. Maybe she and Jake got held up on the mountain and were too busy helping Jake to come on the trip. That's the only reason he could think of at least. Nevertheless, as soon as he gets home, he is going to talk to her.

He felt that it was finally time to make a move. The many instances where he was staring death in the face for the past few days, made him think that if he ever wanted to be with Everest, he needed to act as soon as possible, considering that everyday was not guaranteed and he could die at any moment.

But that was later down the line. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy this moment with his family.

The two pups let go and glanced at each other until Rocky and Zuma moved over to where Chase and Skye were. Marshall was going to go with them, until he spotted the air patroller sitting aways from the compound where their vehicles were.

He admired how slick it looked. As much as he liked the exterior, he couldn't wait to see the inside.

He scanned the outside of the ship, admiring it's look, when suddenly, his eyes caught something through the window in the bridge of the ship. He had to focus a little more to see what it was. It looked like a pup. Maybe it's Robodog? Makes sense, gotta have someone watch over the ship.

He was going to look away and join the others until he took one last look through the window at Robodog. Except, it wasn't Robodog. It was… Everest!

Marshall rubbed his eyes, thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him. But no, It was definitely Everest. Sitting in the window, looking out of it like a pup who had just been grounded from playing outside.

Marshall's tail suddenly wagged furiously. His heart rate went up to eleven. Everest is here. He was so excited but then, a million questions flooded his mind. What's going on with her? Why is she still in the airship? Why isn't she out here? Why wasn't she with the pups when they were looking for him and Chase? If he knew Everest, it would be a cold day in hell for Everest to just sit out like that. Is she hurt? Is she sick?

Why is she…..alone?

It just didn't make any sense. Even if she was sick she would at least be out here overjoyed and having fun with us.

As he stared at her, he noticed that she was not happy. He could tell that she wanted to be out here but something was preventing her from it. He didn't know what it was, but he knew one thing, Everest was miserable there.

A few more moments of staring and Everest finally locked eyes with Marshall. The minute she realized that she was being watched, she darted away like a scared animal. That tipped Marshall off. Something was definitely wrong with her, and he was going to find out.

Or at least he was, until Ryder sounded off with an announcement.

"Alright pups. Say your goodbyes! We'll be leaving in a few minutes."

Putting it aside for now, Marshall bounded off to the others to say his farewell to the wolves.

All the pups were lined up in front of Tyler, Paisley, Claria, and the wolves. Tyler spoke first.

"Again, we appreciate everything you pups have done for us. without you, our kind would be no more."

The pups stood proudly, letting Ryder speak on their behalf. "It was essential to help you Alpha. The world has no place for evil masterminds and cults. Hopefully, you all can get back to your normal lives and never have to worry about your kind."

"And we will." Paisley responded with sincerity. "All thanks to Chase and Marshall. Your gratitude for us will definitely not be ignored."

Chase stood as proud as he could. "It was our pleasure Delta. And remember, If you have any more problems you can't handle alone, just know that we are a yelp away."

Ryder couldn't have smiled any wider than he already was. He put his hands on both Chase and Marshall. "You two are such good pups. Now let's go home, cause you two definitely need baths."

The entire compound erupted in laughter, as the Paw Patrol made their way to the air patroller. Waving to the wolves as they went. The wolves waved back except for one.

Claria stood still staring at Chase and Marshall. Tears went down her face as she watched them leave. Then, suddenly, Claria ran forward with Tyler and Paisley calling out to her.

She ignored them as she called out to the two pups she had begun to love like family. "Wait! Chase! Marshall!"

The two pups turned around to see Claria bounding towards them. Marshall called back to her. "Claria? What's wr…...OOF!"

He didn't get to finish. Claria slammed a hug right on him and she wailed. "DON'T GO! DON'T GO! I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO!"

Marshall stood stunned, trying to think of anything to say. "Claria...I...I...I"

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO!" Claria cried. "I WANT YOU TO STAY SO WE CAN PLAY! I KNOW IT SOUNDS WRONG AND SELFISH. BUT…..YOU TWO ARE BROTHERS TO ME NOW! AND I WANT TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T GO!"

Everyone around them felt very depressed while hearing Claria sob in Marshall's fur. Chase was too stunned to do anything, truly not knowing what to say. Marshall however, knew exactly what to say, as he hugged Claria back.

"I know Claria. I would love to stay, but we've got to get back home. We have responsibilities we've got to maintain. Not to mention our friends are worried about us, including my parents. It's just the way it is."

Claria finally let go and turned away from them, truly ashamed of her selfish outburst. "I know, I know. I'm sorry for being so much of a jerk. I…...It's just that we had some much fun together! Now you're leaving and…..I don't want you to leave!"

It was then that Chase caught the confidence from Marshall and chimed in.

"Claria? Why are you acting like we will never see each other again?"

Claria stood still while Chase continued. "If you think that this is the last you will ever see of the Paw Patrol then you are sadly mistaken."

Claria finally turned around slowly to look at the determined Shepherd.

"If there's one thing we don't do, it's that we never forget our friends. You will see us again. I don't know when, I don't know how, but it will be more sooner than you think."

Claria looked down at her paws a bit before looking back up with the most convincing puppy dog eyes that the rescue pups had ever seen. "Y-You promise?"

Chase smiled as he spoke with much confidence. "I think we already proved how good we are at keeping promises, squirt."

Claria formed more tears but this time, she was full of joy. She immediately hugged Chase in which Marshall joined in as well. The three stood for what felt like hours for them. Thinking of the time they spent together. After they felt like they had enough, they let go. Although Claria took a few seconds to get off Chase.

"G-Goodbye Chase. Goodbye Marshall. I'll miss you." Claira wished, still crying on the inside.

Chase nodded in acknowledgement. "Goodbye squirt."

"Stay safe Claria." Marshall added, as the two turned to join the others in the air patroller, which then started up with ease.

Claria watched them as they got in the airship. It lifted off and began its course to Adventure Bay, carrying Wintergreen's heroes with it.

Tyler and Paisley went up to Claria, with Paisley nuzzling her and Tyler watching the ship.

"Are you okay honey?" Paisley asked Claria.

Claria sniffed and smiled a little, as she answered. "Yeah...I'm good."

Paisley smiled as she looked up at the air patroller leaving the country. "Those pups are just what the world needs."

"You couldn't be more right, Delta." Tyler said, as he continued to watch the patroller leave.

Paisley and Claria turn to go to their dens but Tyler stays for a few seconds.

"May the ancients watch over you Paw Patrol."

---

As the air patroller passes over the Wolf's Howl, a man stands in an open field, watching it make its way out of the country.

That man was Jack Michaels, and behind him, was a truly gruesome scene.

Soldiers littered the ground all torn up, like a wolf had torn them all to pieces. One of them being Captain Garity.

Well…..what was left of him at least.

His arms, legs, organs, and various body parts were scattered everywhere with everyone else's. Spelling it out that the Captain's storied life along with his platoon, were no more.

Jack continued to watch the airship as he put out his cigarette, then laughed and spoke out to no one in particular.

"Aw, what a happy ending."

Then, he holds up two emeralds in both of his hands. One blood red, and the other one as black as a shadow.

He then smiles evilly as he slithers out his line while looking at the two emeralds.

"Well,...maybe not that happy."

As if on cue, the emeralds glow their respective colors, and his grin turns into a toothy one. Except they weren't human teeth. Instead, they were canines and fangs with his eyes glowing emerald green.

He lets out an evil laugh before he looks up to the sky and gives a long threatful howl.

"Owooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

---

(A/N): There you have it! The anniversary edition of Paw Patrol and the Temple of Doom!

A tribute to one of my favorite movies of all time, as well as the first story ever posted by DragonsFire Entertainment.

I can't thank every one of you enough for making me realize that writing can be so much fun! For as long as I've been alive, I've enjoyed countless writings, games, movies and music and always thought that I didn't have anything good to contribute. I've tried many times to produce stories for many fandoms, but never felt that my ideas wern't good enough to get attention. I am so glad that this was the wake up call for me to start writing again, and compared to my last attempts, I have definatly gotten better.

There were plenty of times where I thought that no one would go for this and think that I was out of my mind doing this. But thanks to your guy's support, it's opened my mind to see what else I can do. For that, I can't thank you enough as well as Paw Patrol itself, for giving us so many interesting characters to mess around with. As well as the many writers who inspired me. Pyrefly77, Atlas Gaurdian, 7-10 Productions, Medic Glace, HavocHound, the many authors from the Sonic, MLP, and Starfox fandom, and many many many more, who have thrown their hats in the ring, and brought so many great stories that we can't experiance anywhere else. Even for those that didn't get much attention. Always know that there is someone out there, that once to believe and see more of what your writing.

Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way, lets go over what you just saw.

Many things have been added and cut from the annniversary edition. I'm very curious on how you all feel on everyone of them so let me know what you feel about them in your review.

Also know that this is the second story in a three story arc for Wintergreen. Be ready for the first one titled "Paw Patrol and the Wolf's Emrald" where Chase, Rocky, and Zuma help Roxy keep their emrald away from Mayor Humdinger's grubby hands, with someone from Rocky's past, coming to haunt him. I also want to announce that the third story is coming soon, and it will strongly involve Everest! The working title is Paw Patrol: Wintergreen Revoulution. The title is subject to change.

Don't forget also, that The temple of doom side story, Lost and Found, will be released on 11/30/2021! Where we will see that two day search for Chase and Marshall, and find out what Marshall will say to Everest on the way home!

Also, I know I said that this was typo free, but I know it's possible that I missed some. Please if you see any, let me know so I can take care of it!

Thats just about it as far as Temple of Doom and the Wintergreeen Arc is concerned. So I will leave you with some discussions.

Have you seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? If you have, what did you enjoy more? this fic or the actual movie?

Also, what do you think Marshall will tell Everest? How will Everest react?

As Always 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 saying thank you for all your support!