Chapter 4: Finding the Space Stone and the Time Stone
BARKINGBURG, 2017
"Are we here?" asked Ricochet. He, the Earl, and Sweetie used their time machine GPS to find the Space Stone in Barkingburg.
"I think so," said the Earl. "When are we, though?"
"Wait, guys," said Sweetie. "Do you hear that?" The three of them pressed their ears against the wall and listened in.
"Sweetie! You took the royal crown?!"
"That's Queen Sweetie! And, yes, I took it. But I'm gonna make sure everyone thinks you did!" They heard laughing followed by snorting.
"Oh no," said Sweetie. "This is the night that the PAW Patrol ruins my plans for the first time." She said that last part without thinking. She then glanced at the Earl and Ricochet. "Oops, did I say that?"
"Uh, yeah," said Ricochet.
"The thing is, you already served your punishment for stealing the crown," said the Earl.
"Now to play pin the blame on the wrong pup!" 2017 Sweetie said before leaving.
"Sweetie! Did you see Chase? Did he catch the crown thief?" asked the 2017 Princess.
"Catch him? Chase is the crown thief."
"Oh, I can't believe it!" said the 2017 Earl.
"Are you sure?" the 2017 Princess asked.
"I saw him run away with the royal crown!"
"So let me get this straight," said Ricochet. He, Sweetie, and the Earl were sitting outside on the lawn of the castle. "You framed Chase for the theft of the royal crown of Barkingburg?"
"Uh yes," said Sweetie.
"Why?"
"Cuz I wanted to be queen, and he was in my way!"
"Okay guys, that's enough," said the Earl. "The events of this night happened five years ago, let's not dwell on them."
"He's right," said Ricochet. "We have a mission to accomplish. We have to find that stone. Where did you say it was stored?"
"The vault room in the basement," said the Earl.
"How are we gonna get down there?" asked Sweetie. "Since I've framed Chase for theft everyone is on high alert."
"And that probably means the cube is ten times as guarded as usual," said Ricochet.
"We need a plan, one that can get us that cube without getting us locked in the dungeon with Chase," said the Earl. "My past self calls in the PAW Patrol, so I'd like to find this stone before they show up."
"Sweetie, doesn't your past self spend the night upstairs?" asked Ricochet.
"Yeah, why?"
"You can serve as a distraction from the guards in the vault room if your past self is upstairs while the Earl and I take the cube."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, but what if it doesn't work?" asked Sweetie. "I end up dropping Chase's bow tie pup tag down in the moat."
"That means we have to hurry," said the Earl. "How is Sweetie going to distract the guards?"
"I have an idea," said Ricochet.
Ricochet successfully snuck himself, Sweetie, and the Earl into the castle without being caught by anyone from 2017. They were approaching the vault room with their plan ready to be set in motion.
"Guards," Sweetie said with a whimper, entering the vault room. At first startled, the guards drew their swords, but upon seeing who it was, they put their swords away.
"Sweetie," said one of the guards, "what is it? What's wrong?"
"The crown has been stolen!"
"Stolen?!" said another guard. "By who?"
"Chase, a member of the PAW Patrol. The Princess and Earl demand your help in catching him."
"All of us?"
"Yes, the Princess wants the crown back at all costs." Sweetie did her best to hide the smile growing on her face from tricking the guards.
"Come on, lads," said a third guard. "The Princess needs our help." After he said that, the eight or so guards in the vault room walked out of the room and up towards the throne room, their footsteps echoing down the dark hallway and up the stairwell.
When she was sure they were gone, Sweetie said, "Alright you bozos, come on."
"Wait a second," said Ricochet, his ears perking up. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" said the Earl. "Are the guards coming back?"
"No, it sounds like a banging noise." Everyone sat still and listened. Ricochet was in fact right. It took a few seconds, but the Earl and Sweetie could hear a faint banging noise.
"Where is it coming from?" asked the Earl.
"The dungeon room," said Sweetie. "It must be Chase, and he must be trying to get the PAW Patrol's attention."
"Let's get that cube and go!" said Ricochet. The three of them ran up to the platform where the cube was stored. The Earl punched in a code that turned off the lasers around the cube. Ricochet took the cube and the three took off before they were caught.
Once outside, they saw 2017 Sweetie take off in her helicopter. 2017 Skye was right behind her in her Skye-cycle while the rest of the PAW Patrol watched from the ground.
"Let's get the heck out of here," said the Earl.
"Wait!" Sweetie hissed.
"What?" asked the Earl.
Sweetie took off to the front door of the castle and disappeared.
"Where is she going?" asked Ricochet.
Before the Earl could answer, Sweetie returned with something green in her mouth.
"What is that?"
"This is Busby," said Sweetie. "He's my companion." Ricochet rolled his eyes as they activated their time travel suits and left 2017 with the Space Stone in their possession.
THE LOOKOUT, 2013
"Robo-Dog, activate your flashlight eyes," said Ryder. The flashlight eyes were a newer feature Ryder installed after there was a power outage at the Lookout.
Robo-Dog complied, and Ryder could finally get a sense of where and when they were.
"Hmm...this looks like the garage to the Lookout." Just then he heard a familiar voice from above him.
"Rubble, I need you and your shovel to dig the sleigh out of the snow."
"Rubble on the double!"
"Rocky, I need your forklift to help lift Santa's sleigh and some recycled parts to fix it."
"Don't lose it, reuse it!"
"Skye, Zuma, and Marshall, I need you to use your helicopter, hovercraft, and fire truck to deliver the presents around Adventure Bay."
"Yippee! This pup's gotta fly!"
"Let's dive in!"
"I'm fired up!"
"Chase, I need your megaphone and net to help round up Santa's reindeer."
"Chase is on the case!"
"All right! PAW Patrol is on a roll!"
Wow, I was so young and my voice was so high-pitched, Ryder thought to himself before the realization that his past self was about to slide into the garage hit him.
"Robo-Dog, deactivate flashlight eyes!" Ryder said, and the two of them hid behind a wall of boxes full of spare parts just in time for 2013 Ryder to enter the garage and hop on his ATV. After they could no longer hear the sounds of two different sirens or the blades of a helicopter, Ryder and Robo-Dog left their hiding spot.
"Rocky said that the Time Stone was located in the giant oak tree out front," Ryder said to himself. He grabbed a shovel from the garage, a spare beanie because it was Christmas Eve and it was cold, and an ax to chop into the tree's base.
"Let's go get that Time Stone, Robo-Dog," Ryder said as he and his robotic dog made their way through the snow over to the oak tree. But something else caught Ryder's eye. He glanced to his left and saw something that brought back sweet memories.
The Christmas tree he and his pups had set up was nearby, the lights still on and the star glowing.
This is for all of them. For Marshall, for Skye, for Zuma, for Rubble, for Everest, for Tracker, he thought to himself before continuing on with his mission. In the distance he could see the pet parlor as well as Skye's helicopter. For Katie too, he added.
It was 2013, and to this point the PAW Patrol did not have to deal with any extraterrestrial threats. However, those threats that they would eventually face were still lurking around in 2013. In fact, one of these threats had an ally all too familiar to the PAW Patrol.
"Robo-Dog," said a deep, menacing voice, "activate your radar scanner, and search for these Infinity Stones."
The response was a high-pitched robotic bark. The creature got up and walked over to his pet robot. His skin was dark brown, his eyes were blue. He had short black hair and wore iron body armor. But perhaps the most distinguishable feature was, to you guys, the readers, the lack of a silver colored claw on his right hand.
As 2013 Robo-Dog scanned planet Earth for Infinity Stones, he started to short out.
"What the-" said the creature. "What the heck is going on?"
2013 Robo-Dog's audio-visual feed popped up, and 2013 Silverclaw could see something that not even he could explain immediately.
"Rocky said that the Time Stone was located in the giant oak tree out front," came from the feed.
"Who is that?" asked Silverclaw.
"Let's go get that Time Stone, Robo-Dog."
"Two Robo-Dogs?" asked one of Silverclaw's minions, Brutus.
"It seems as if they're from two different times," said Silverclaw. "The other one is more updated."
"What are you gonna do, boss?"
"Bring Robo-Dog to my lab, and scan the duplicate's files for the Infinity Stones. I want to see everything."
"There," said Ryder. "Now that the snow is cleared out of the way, we can find the stone." He grabbed the ax and started chipping away at the base of the tree, being mindful not to chop the entire tree down.
It took a few swings, but Ryder eventually saw the familiar green glow from inside the tree.
"Robo-Dog, I think I found it." He reached in and grasped onto the stone. Carefully, Ryder pulled it out and examined it.
"Mission accomplished," he said to Robo-Dog with a smile. "Let's get back to our own time." He activated the time travels suits, and in an instant he was gone. However, Robo-Dog stayed in 2013, unknown to Ryder. This Robo-Dog started to short out too, and before long, powered down.
Minutes later, a giant beam struck the Earth's surface right where present-day Robo-Dog was lying. The beam lifted the android off the ground and into the sky, where a giant space ship was awaiting. The beam disappeared as well as the ship right as the PAW Patrol of 2013 returned to the Lookout.
"I guess Santa didn't have time to bring our presents," 2013 Rubble whimpered.
"Presents?" said 2013 Marshall. "Who needs presents? I got to be a Santa pup!"
"Yeah!" said 2013 Skye. "I got to ride on Santa's sleigh!"
"And we got to meet the big, jolly dude himself," said 2013 Zuma.
"And saved Christmas for the whole world!" added 2013 Chase.
"This is the best Christmas ever," said 2013 Rocky.
"You sure are good pups," 2013 Ryder said with a yawn. "Now, let's get some sleep. It's almost Christmas morning."