Chase awoke to the sound of snoring.
The Shepherd sat up and looked around. He was currently in the Air Patroller, on his way to Barkingburg. The inside of the PAW Patroller was dark, as the sun hadn't risen yet. The police pup got out of his seat and walked over to his best friend and now traveling companion.
Marshall snored blissfully as he slept, his tail wagging faintly. Chase smiled at the sleeping pup. Maybe he could wait to wake him up. They weren't exactly above Barkingburg yet.
After checking on Robo-Dog to make sure everything was alright, the Shepherd made his way back to the main area of the Air Patroller to watch the sun rise.
Orange light began to peek over the horizon. Chase would've found this sight beautiful, under normal circumstances. But this sunrise marked the approach of the third full day that Skye had been missing. Skye had gone missing in the afternoon two days prior, making it difficult to pinpoint how many days it had been exactly since she disappeared.
But that didn't matter. She was going to be found. He and Marshall were going to make sure of that.
He felt a bit guilty to just be resting on the mission like he just had. While Skye was sure to be uncomfortable within the clutches of Sweetie, here he was taking one of the longest naps ever with a snoring Dalmatian by his side.
His attention turned to Marshall. It was so strange to be with only him again. This had been the longest time they had spent with only each other's company since the formation of the PAW Patrol.
He turned back, watching the sunrise once more. They were on quite the adventure now. He hated to think of the rescue mission as an adventure, but he and Marshall hadn't exactly done something like this before, especially without the guidance of their owner. Now, it was up to him and Marshall to make the team whole again.
Boy, did he miss when the team was whole...
Chase let out a long sigh, taking a mental note to pull himself aside one day and have a long, difficult talk to himself about what had gone wrong, and what he could do to be better. What he could do to do better. He hated to acknowledge it, but that was just how he was. He wouldn't be able to put a situation to rest until he discovered the root of the problem, the circumstances that drove the situation to get worse, and make sure it would never happen again.
Not to mention the apology he had to give to Skye after they found her.
It was completely irrational to blame himself for her pupnapping, the police pup was entirely aware of that, yet here he was, watching the sun rise with a new sense of guilt. He couldn't help himself. He wasn't even dispatched on the last mission they had. But maybe, had he gone to go check up on them, Everest and Skye would be on their way to the top of the lookout for some Pup-Pup Boogie.
Calm down...
He closed his eyes, allowing his paw to wipe stray sweat off of his forehead. He needed to take a breather. He hated to be left alone with his thoughts. Once they started flowing, there was no stopping it. Chase was forced to brief himself on the current situation time and time again. Everest was hurt, and Skye was taken, all at the paws of Sweetie.
Meanwhile, Marshall opened his eyes, a silent yawn escaping his mouth. The ride to Barkingburg so far had been pretty smooth, lulling him into a peaceful rest. But there was one glaring issue, though...
"Man, I'm so stiff!" The Dally exclaimed, making Chase jump in surprise, "Good dog, I hope we don't have to sleep in here again!"
"Morning, Marshall." Chase turned around to smile at his best friend.
"Morning, Chase–" Marshall began to greet before falling off his seat and landing on the floor, "...I'm good."
The Shepherd chuckled, some things just wouldn't change, would they?
Despite being on one of their biggest missions without Ryder, the Dally seemed to not be shaken at all by it. There must be countless advantages being as carefree as Marshall usually is.
Strange how the two were even best friends in the first place. The strictest pup with the arguably most goofy pup. Maybe it was because they found themselves spending the most time together.
He thought back on his first meeting with the Dally. It sure was a funny day–
Robo-Dog suddenly began barking from the cockpit.
Flashback has to wait for later, then. Chase made his way over to the cockpit, followed by a confused Marshall.
Robo-Dog pointed forward and out of the Air Patroller.
"What's up R.D?" Marshall asked, "What is it, boy?"
"R.D?" Chase looked at his teammate with confusion.
"Robo-Dog is way too big of a mouthful for me..." The Dalmatian remarked with a shrug, "R.D has a better ring to it."
The Shepherd shook his head, "We'll discuss that later."
Following Robo-Dog's line of sight, the duo saw the familiar location of Barkingburg.
"We're here..." Marshall exhaled.
The weight of the situation pressed against their chests, nearly drawing the air from their lungs. They exchanged a glance before nodding. There was no question concerning their resolve towards finding Skye and bringing her home. They were only out there for that reason, after all.
Chase clenched his paw. They were going to find her. He shook away any doubtful thoughts that lingered in his mind, before telling Robo-Dog to land the Air Patroller in its usual spot.
"You sure about this, Chase?" Marshall, now fully decked out in his Mission PAW uniform, inquired.
The Shepherd nodded, "If Sweetie finds out we came into the castle, she would definitely make a run for it. We need to be sneaky about this."
The Dalmatian looked up at the castle wall, "So... How are we gonna get up? Or inside the castle for that matter?"
Chase began to think. It had been a while since their last Mission PAW. Chase was a bit rusty on what his pup pack even contained. Between Ultimate Rescues, Mighty Missions, patrolling Adventure Beach, and even the Dino Wilds from time to time. It really had been some time since the last time trouble stirred in Barkingburg. What did Sweetie want with Skye, anyway? Couldn't the Cockapoo have been left out of this desperate ploy for attention?
But there was no time to mull over the questions brewing in his mind. He and Marshall needed to find their way into the castle. Was there a way? Without Rubble, it's not like they could have just demolished the wall.
Wait...
A lightbulb suddenly went off in his head.
"Marshall, we can use your hydro cannon to break through!" Chase exclaimed.
"Break through?" The Dally inquired.
The Shepherd explained further, "Like in spy movies and stuff where they cut a hole into a wall."
"Oh we did that on the first Mission PAW when we were looking for you!" Marshall's tail wagged.
He let loose a cheerful bark, "Hydro cannon!"
"Marshall, turn around before you—" Chase tried to warn, but stopped as he avoided a compressed stream of water.
The water shot straight through a tree in the distance, something that Chase was able to notice.
"What did I hit...?" Marshall asked fearfully.
"You didn't hit anybody." Chase chuckled nervously, "You did give a tree a nice little piercing, though..."
The Dally smiled sheepishly, "Whoops, sorry..."
"It's fine, let's just get inside before causing any more damage..."
After cutting a small hole in the wall of the castle, the duo tumbled inside to find themselves within a large hallway. Marshall let out a content sigh, obviously noticing the soft carpet before Chase did.
"Sweetie gets to walk on this stuff every day?" Marshall asked, "It's like laying on a cloud..."
Despite being in the castle hundreds of times, the Dally still couldn't get over the type of luxury Sweetie and the Princess of Barkingburg constantly lived in. Marshall always found it strange, the difference between the PAW Patrol and Sweetie. Most, if not all, of the pups in the PAW Patrol had been strays at one point or another. They lived lives of poverty, by far the hardest times in their lives. Yet they all grew older and became members of the PAW Patrol. They became the "good pups" that their owner would quip about every so often.
Marshall had always assumed that Sweetie was around the same age as the other pups. He guessed that she was older than Zuma and Rubble, but just barely younger than Rocky and Skye. She was around their age, yet was so different. She was living the dream of every pup out there. Expensive and delicious pup treats, royal status, and not to mention the soft carpets that he was laying on at that moment.
He by no means thought ill of the life he had been living, but always wondered what it would be like to the Princess' pup whenever they were dispatched for a Mission PAW. Sweetie started with so much, but became such a naughty pup.
While Marshall was lost in thought, unconsciously rubbing every part of his body on the soft carpets out of sheer comfort, Chase was up and alert, his ears standing higher on end than they usually do.
The first time he had ever been within these walls, he had been accused of a crime and had to prove his innocence to not only the Princess of Barkingburg, but his own team! He was completely aware of the fact that the PAW Patrol had a hard time believing that his paws would do something other than uphold the laws, but by the time he reunited with them, he could tell that they were beginning to suspect him.
That was the very point in which Chase began disliking Sweetie.
It was his job to remain civil and unbiased when dealing with criminals, but one naughty pup managed to get under his fur more than any purse snatcher or carjacker. Doing what he was accused of doing would have resulted in immediate termination of his standing within the PAW Patrol. Whether it be a demotion from second in command or being kicked off the team, something would have been done, and it wouldn't have been pretty in the slightest.
But the satisfaction of exposing Sweetie red-pawed was worth the near heart attack he had over the whole ordeal.
Chase looked around, beginning to walk. His paws didn't make a sound, as he focused on walking on the carpet. Thinking about it rationally, it would be extremely easy to sneak into the castle with such items muffling the sounds they would make.
As the police pup moved, he felt a strange sensation. As if he were alone. There was no way, Marshall was right behind him the whole—
"Ohhhh that feels nice..." Marshall groaned with ecstasy, still rubbing his back on the carpet.
"Marshall!" Chase called over to him with a hushed shout.
The Dally stopped what he was doing to look over at his best friend, "What's up?"
Chase, not saying a word, simply pointed to the floor next to him, signaling the firefighter pup to come to him.
"Oh right, sorry..." Marshall giggled.
Chase peered around a nearby corner, "C'mon, let's get to Sweetie's quarters... If she has any aside from her pup house."
"They're stupid rich, Sweetie has to have more of her own stuff." Marshall told the Shepherd, "Is there like a secret room or something?"
"There was the one in the basement, that one Sweetie locked me in..." Chase thought, "But ever since the existence of the room became known, it might have been renovated into something new."
"We should check it out, no stone shall be unturned!" Marshall proclaimed dramatically.
Chase chuckled a bit at his best friend's comedic tone, "We'll check it out."
Chase and Marshall walked into the previously hidden room. Ever since the room was revealed to exist, the Princess decided to make it into Sweetie's room... Whenever she wasn't outside in her doghouse because of some naughty scheme.
First impressions? It was... Something.
Lots and lots of white and pink littered the room. Two of the walls had been painted pink with white flowers on them, while the other two walls were painted white with pink flowers. In the far left corner of the room was a large dog bed.
"Holy pup treats!" Marshall exclaimed, making his way over to Sweetie's bed, "That is one really large— woah!"
Marshall tripped and fell, his face slamming against the dog bed, "...I'm good."
This is when Chase noticed something off. Dog beds, big or small, weren't exactly heavy. Marshall, on the other paw, seemed to be two times heavier whenever he took a spill. Maybe it had to do with his momentum... Or something like that? He didn't know, he wasn't Rocky. He had no idea how physics worked.
Case and point, Marshall should have been able to move the dog bed, but something out of sight was keeping it in the same position.
As a super spy, things began to look suspicious.
"Hey, Marshall—"
"Halt!"
The duo turned around and at the doorway, where five presumed pups dressed in suits of armor straight out of a movie about knights stood.
"What permission doth thee hast to be in the queen's quarters?"
"The who to the huh now?" Marshall asked confusedly.
Chase was never the type to go straight to confrontation when dealing with issues, but he was able to pick up all he needed from just the one question.
Aside from the fact that this gang of knights were stuck in medieval times, the police pup realized that whoever these knights were, they were with Sweetie, and referred to her as a queen.
"Who are you!?" Chase barked, his authoritative tone in full effect, "Knights?"
"We are but loyal servants to the crown." One of the knights spoke, "It has been ordered that there are to be no intruders. Most importantly, there are to be no members of the PAW Patrol anywhere near her."
"And if there are?" The German Shepherd stood firm and resolute.
"We were told to do what we so choose." The speaking knight pulled a sword out, "And we choose to plague whoever crosses the queen with death."
"What what?" Both Chase and Marshall asked quietly.
"Have at thee!" The knight suddenly ran at the two.
All of a sudden, this mission became a lot more dangerous.
"Marshall!" Chase bellowed.
The Dally barked, "Hydro launcher!" Marshall looked forward at the charging knight pup, "Time for a spray and pray!"
The knight that charged at them was suddenly blasted by the large amount of water. The knight pup dropped his sword in the process. Thanks to the fact that he was wearing armor, there were no skin breaking injuries involved. Marshall was glad that he hadn't hurt the knight.
Chase, on the other paw, was ready to fight for their lives. Picking up the sword that the previous knight had dropped.
"Sir Pupcival!" One of the other knights shouted before turning back to Chase and Marshall with a searing rage, "A plague upon thee!"
"I don't understand the fancy talk!" Marshall shouted, firing his cannon once again.
Meanwhile, one of the other knight pups charged at Chase with his sword drawn.
Chase had a total of zero real sword fighting skills. Clenching the sword between his teeth, the police pup prepared himself for a fight. He knew that whoever this pup was had a stark difference in experience by the way the pup charged at him. His best option was to grab Marshall and make a break for it whenever he could. He got into the best stance he could, took a deep breath, and—
Clank!
He had successfully blocked the knight's first attack. The Shepherd finally had the realization that sword fighting as a pup was a lot more dangerous than as a human. He could see the metal of his sword get a bit foggy as his breathing quickened.
Chase struggled against the weight of the knight pup's sword.
All he wanted was to find Skye, yet here he and Marshall were, fighting for their lives against some crazy knights out for blood.
"What have you done with Skye?" The Shepherd questioned, his voice muffled from the sword in his mouth.
"I have no knowledge of what has become of the queen's subject ever since they left..."
Left?
The knight Chase was struggling against seemed to realize his error, flinching. Chase then grinned toothily. He was a police pup, he knew when somebody seemed suspicious. His expression instantly became more confident. It felt like he was back at the Lookout, having his witty conversation with Rocky.
He had managed to put the mixed breed on the defensive, which deemed him vulnerable to interrogative attack. Sure Rocky wasn't an old-timey knight with unknown experience with a sword, but he knew how the mind worked. And no difference in centuries would change the way others acted when put on the backburner.
"What do you mean by that?" Chase asked, beginning to push back against the knight's sword.
"I am not permitted to speak on the actions of the queen..."
"Where'd Sweetie take her?" Chase continued, "What's her plan!?"
The knight pup refused to speak, gritting his teeth tighter on the sword in his mouth.
Before Chase could ask any more questions, another knight pup managed to speed past Marshall and at the two. Drawing his sword and charging right at the police pup. The Shepherd could see this out of the corner of his eye, but with no way to dodge and no way to block it, he could only close his eyes and brace for impact.
A shrill yelp echoed through the small room.
Marshall immediately whipped his head around. He hadn't heard such a sound in years. Sure he has heard yelping before, but this was somehow different.
It was Chase.
Marshall's pupils shook with fear, slowly drifting down to see the familiar brown fur of Chase's back. He was facing away from the Dally, laid out on the ground. Marshall was able to notice the Shepherd shaking faintly, but just for a moment. Looking closer, he noticed a thick, red liquid dripping on the floor of Sweetie's room.
That wasn't... Was it?
After what seemed like an eternity of standing still and inspecting Chase from afar, Marshall finally rushed over to his downed best friend and to the other side of his body to check his head and face first.
He didn't have his EMT gear with him, he was deep within the castle's walls, and not to mention, he was surrounded by knight pups who had taken a moment of pause to watch the scene unfold.
But all that didn't matter, not right now.
The Dalmatian inspected Chase's head, and immediately was made aware of the problem. On Chase's right cheek sat a horizontal cut running from below his eye to the beginning of the chin bone near his neck.
Marshall had always been an expert when it came to minor injuries. There was never anything more than just a sprain in Adventure Bay, as the PAW Patrol were so quick to get to a scene. He couldn't feel more ashamed concerning the first feeling to fill his gut after seeing Chase's injury. He felt a sense of disgust fill his insides. There was only one other time where he saw a similar red fluid coming out of somebody's body.
Ryder was playing with Marshall one day in the early era of the PAW Patrol when he fell and cut his knee on the pavement. It was so weird to see, the younger Marshall almost licked it, to see what the foreign liquid was. After being told that it was unsanitary for him to do that, Marshall was quickly taught about what the liquid was.
"...I-It's blood..."
Again, minor injuries were his bread and butter as an EMT pup. He had no problem dealing with the usual sprains. He had little experience with deep cuts and blood. He hadn't been an EMT for long, after all. He knew he needed to act fast. Faster than he ever had before.
It seemed that Chase had fallen completely unconscious after being attacked.
"Huzzah!" Sir Pupcival cheered, "With the strong one down, we must now take care of the spotted one!"
Marshall wasn't an aggressive pup by a longshot, considering himself to be one of the more peaceful members like Rubble and Skye. But here he was, an unconscious and still bleeding Chase in his paws. All of his other allies were either back in Adventure Bay or stolen. He had never felt so helpless.
Chase...
The Dally could feel himself tear up. It was no secret that Marshall idolized Chase, despite being considered to be on the same level as him when he needed to be. The Shepherd was his best friend, his teammate. He could feel his blood begin to boil.
How could he not feel this way after all that they had been through in such a short time?
Marshall could've sworn that he somehow had gotten his Mighty Powers back, as he could feel his face go hot.
He thought back to Everest. Chase was now the second pup, maybe the third depending on Skye's condition, to be hurt by Sweetie. He wasn't going to let anybody else become the fourth, and he sure as heck wouldn't let the fourth become him.
"Marshall..." Chase muttered, his eyes still shut, "...The pup bed... Look under the pup bed..."
The pup bed? Sweetie's pup bed.
The Shepherd could feel himself fading again, "Hurry..."
Just like that, Chase had gone limp, but he's done enough. The Shepherd was the leader of this Mission PAW, and he knew he had to do whatever he ordered.
He gently put Chase down. Marshall then barked once more, "Hydro launcher, full power!"
The hydro launcher began spinning faster, a high-pitched whirring noise emanating from the aquatic tool.
Marshall barked again, "Rapid fire!"
What followed was a blur to the Dalmatian. He could remember rushing at the "pups of the roundtable" with his hydro launcher at full blast.
He was angry. Furious, even. He let his best friend get injured while on the very mission he volunteered to be on just to watch Chase's back. He told Ryder with the utmost confidence that he would be able to assist Chase in any way he could, but that had all been taken away in an instant. Why did his best friend have to pay so dearly?
Now, he just wanted to give all of the negative emotions brewing inside right back to them.
After all, revenge was best served soaking wet.
