"So what did you want to talk about, Chase?" Skye asked, tilting her head softly.

Chase, who was sitting under a tree near the lookout, looked over at Skye and smiled, "Oh, you're here."

"Of course I'm here, you asked me to come!" Skye sat next to him, "And I just can't say no to you."

Chase chuckled, "I wouldn't have wanted the girl I like to have not come."

"Yeah..." The Cockapoo giggled before letting out a squeak, "Wait, what?"

"I think you heard me right." The Shepherd looked at her with a smile warmer than the sun, "I like you."

"Like, as in like, like?" Her tail began to wag.

Chase nodded, "I really like you, Skye."

"I-I like you too!" Skye suddenly tackled the bigger dog, resulting in them tumbling on the ground for a few feet.

The two pups stopped, Skye laying on top of her crush.

Chase chuckled, retaining the confident demeanor that she had grown to adore, "I guess you really do feel the same."

"Of course..." Skye nuzzled into his chest, "...I'm so glad..."

Chase then used one of his paws to lift her chin so that they were eye to eye. The Shepherd began leaning in. Skye knew exactly what this meant. The moment she's been waiting for even since she realized she had feelings for him.

A kiss.

Skye closed her eyes, her tail wagging excitedly.

Just mere centimeters apart, she opened her eyes to look at Chase just once more.

Just to wake up facing the wall of her pup house. The Cockapoo groaned with exasperation.

"Just that stupid dream again..." Skye put her face in her paws, "Why am I still here...?"

Ten days. It had been ten whole days since she was pupnapped by Sweetie and taken from Adventure Bay. Not only was she taken from her home, she was also taken from her friends, the memories of which being the only things still keeping her going.

It hasn't been so bad being cooped up in the pound, at least compared to how inhumanly Sweetie was treating her before arriving in Adventure City. Speaking of the Princess' pooch, she had been isolated from the rest of the dogs in the room Skye and Sweetie had ended up in after the Cockapoo told them about what she did.

None of the pups had spoken to her since then, and Sweetie didn't seem to care.

The Terrier only took the pup house furthest from all of the others, remaining inside unless it was time for them to eat.

Skye could drone on for hours about how terrible the food was, and the times they were given it. The food given to them weren't even pellets or normal food like she had gotten used to eating, it was some strange mush. The other dogs that shared the same room as her and Sweetie didn't seem to mind the mush too much, especially Siren. The little guy really tore that stuff up. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that they get fed twice a day, sunrise and sunset.

She was only just getting accustomed to that...

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, the Cockapoo heard a commotion outside. The aviation pup walked out of her hopefully temporary pup house and looked at the middle of the room, where Siren was circling Jack, who was standing still, watching the pup with his eyes.

The little pup looked ready to attack, a harsh glare on his face. This threw Skye a bit off guard. The pound dogs always seemed to get along so well! Why was Siren trying to attack Jack? Whatever the reason, she had to stop it.

Skye began to walk forward, "Guys, why are you—?"

She stopped when she saw Grandpa's paw in front of her, cutting her path off, "Just watch, Young Skye."

"Ummm... Okay?" Skye nodded confusedly as she and Grandpa looked back at Siren and Jack.

"Keep your stance wide. Keep your body lowered." Jack instructed, getting a nod from Siren.

"Lead with your dominant foot into the strike, go!"

Jumping off his front left paw, Siren charged at Jack, who turned to him and drew his claws, a low growl coming from his mouth. The German Shepherd tried to swipe at the young Lab, but Siren rolled under his claws and slid to a stop behind him, biting Jack's tail.

"Good maneuver, but if you want to switch to biting..." Jack turned around quickly, sending Siren flying into a nearby pup house, "I'd suggest giving it some time so your jaw muscles can grow more."

Siren dizzily stood up, "Yes sir..."

Skye's ears twitched faintly, hearing what the young pup had just said. It reminded her of Chase and his usual catchphrase; "Ready for action, Ryder Sir!"

She had grown used to hearing his, and everyone else's catchphrases over the course of her time spent in Adventure Bay. But now, she was getting to the point of feeling as though Adventure Bay was a far away place, only accessible through her memories.

She tried her best to shake that brewing thought in her mind.

"What are you guys doing?" Skye asked curiously.

Jack turned to face her, "Morning, Skye. I'm teaching Siren to learn how to fight."

"Really?" The Cockapoo seemed surprised, "Why?"

"You never know what could happen within these walls, and outside of them." Jack explained, "If we were ever to get out of this place, and we got separated, I don't want Siren to be attacked and... Become another dog's lunch." The German Shepherd whispered the final part so the little pup couldn't hear.

Skye felt like throwing up, "Really...?"

"Survival of the fittest, and the four of us plan to survive."

"Speaking of which, where's Marcy?"

Siren spoke up, "She wasn't feeling good today."

"Really?" The Cockapoo's eyes darted to Marcy's pup house, "In that case, I'm gonna go and check up on her."

"I'll come with you!" Siren exclaimed, trotting over to her.

Ever since Skye's arrival, Siren had taken a liking to the aviation pup. Skye was his favorite pup before she even arrived, but he had gotten the chance to get to know her over the past couple of days and came to learn that the Cockapoo was even kinder than he saw her be.

It was still a surreal feeling for him to literally be in the same room as his hero, but he was getting used to interacting with her normally. Despite being a pup who constantly performed daring rescues and even had superpowers at one point, Skye was a generally down-to-earth pup, and that he could appreciate.

"Sure, the more the merrier!" Skye smiled as she looked at Siren.

Skye, in turn, had taken a liking to the young pup as well. Sure the Lab was easily excitable, innocent about the world, and sometimes did some strange things, he reminded her of Rubble when he first joined the PAW Patrol. Of course, Siren didn't have the whole tough pup shtick going on.

The thought of Rubble declaring how tough he was, despite being one of the smallest things she's ever seen, made her giggle for a moment.

It was never going to get easy being separated from her family, but at least she had other dogs to talk to.

Skye and Siren made their way over to Marcy's pup house.

Meanwhile, Grandpa glanced over at Sweetie's pup house, "I wonder what Young Sweetie is up to around this time."

"There's no way you're even considering checking up on her." Jack looked down at the Yorkshire Terrier, "Skye told us she was evil."

"Jackson... There's no such thing as evil, just a pup with no direction."

"What about arsonists?"

"Have you ever heard what an arsonist wanted to do when they grew up?"

"Good point."

"Besides, she's a Terrier, just like me. If anybody could know what a Terrier wants, it's a Terrier."

"Okay, sure, whatever." Jack shrugged, "Just make sure she doesn't try anything shifty."

"Under these circumstances?" Grandpa began walking towards Sweetie's pup house, "The day she manages to pull a fast one over me is the day I'm young again!"

Sweetie was in her pup house, deep in thought.

"Yes, seriously!" The Terrier defended her previous statement, "My life is just so hard! Isn't that right, Busby?"

The back of the van they were in went silent once again.

"Wait, where's Busby?" Sweetie began looking around.

Skye shrugged, "It must've been dropped when I escaped. It's probably still on the sidewalk or something."

"Busby! Busby! My loyal servant is still out there!" Sweetie began banging on her cage, trying to break it open, "Stop this van! Now!"

Skye covered her ears, as Sweetie got progressively louder.

"It's just a toy!" The Cockapoo shouted, "You can get another one!"

"Shut up!" Sweetie glared at Skye, beginning to hyperventilate, "I can't just leave him out there!"

"Well IT is lost!" Skye continued, "Why are you so angry over that toy?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Where was Busby? Was he okay? Did some other dirty mutt take him? Sweetie couldn't help but wonder about whatever happened to her toy, her precious best friend that was lost during one of her schemes. She didn't have her crown on her, so she wouldn't be able to direct Busby to her. If she didn't find her crown, she might not see Busby again!

If she could remember correctly, her crown wasn't too far away.

***Five Days Ago***

Sweetie growled at Skye with animosity, getting ready to attack the Cockapoo once more. She began running at her, but she quickly came to a stop, noticing that a large net had been thrown over them, but more importantly...

HER!

Sweetie took her attention off of Skye to try and struggle against the net.

"Take this net off of me at once!" She demanded, her head whipping in the direction the net came from.

"What's going on?" Skye asked nobody in particular as she looked around.

The enemies then saw the large white van with the letters "ACAC" printed on the side in bold letters.

Sweetie, who was new to Adventure City, was confused, "What in dog's name is the ACAC?"

"Animal control..." Skye's eyes fell.

"But we aren't wild animals!" Sweetie tried to argue, "Why are they treating us like strays?"

"We are strays!" Skye suddenly shouted, "We have no collars, no identifying markers saying we have owners, not to mention that our owners don't know where we are. We basically fit the agenda."

"Oh dog..." Sweetie let out a whimper as the net holding them began to be dragged in the direction of the van.

The royal pooch began to look around before seeing her crown nearby, which had been dropped while she was fighting Skye. Sweetie reached for the crown before grabbing it and dragging the headwear along with them.

As the girls were thrown into their cages, Sweetie dropped her crown in the interior of the van, rolling behind a crate.

***Present***

If anything, she needed to get back that crown. Aside from the crown her owner was yet to wear, her crown was the best crown there ever was. It was HER crown, after all.

"Sweetie, was it?" A voice asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Who DARED to interrupt her train of thought?

She turned around, seeing a Yorkshire Terrier.

"Oh it's the old one..."

"Yep that's me, the old one!" Grandpa smiled, "One paw in the grave, and choosing not to shave!"

"TMI, gramps."

"So what's your story, Young Sweetie?" Grandpa sat in front of her.

"Don't you already know?" The Terrier asked, "I kidnapped Skye, and we ended up here! Did you forget? Are you that old?"

"I wanted to listen to how you presented the events."

"And how'd that go for you? Sweetie spat.

"How'd it go for you?" Grandpa asked calmly, "What did you desire out of taking Skye from her home?"

"I wanted the PAW Patrol out of my fur."

"And for what?"

"So I could take the crown of Barkingburg, obviously!" The white Terrier shouted, "If I take the crown, I'd be queen!"

"...Young Sweetie, I'm not sure that's how it works."

"What would you know!?" Sweetie barked, "The intricacies of the royal system are too complicated for a homeless pup such as yourself!"

"Actually, I believe you are the homeless one."

"What?"

"You see, my home is right behind me, judging you for what you did. He's a little grumpy, but no home is perfect."

"...What?" She was completely confused by this point.

"You see, Jack, Marcy, and Siren are my home." Grandpa explained, "Home isn't a building or where you lay your head at night. Have you ever heard the expression, 'home is where the heart is'?"

Sweetie shook her head, "Not in the slightest, old man."

"The way I see it, you only truly become homeless when there is nobody left that cares about 'ya. I've had a home ever since Jackson came into my life, and that home kept getting bigger and bigger when Marcy and eventually Siren came along. Now, there's a house big enough for the four of us. Laughter is our beds, and progress is our nourishment."

"Is that so?" The white Terrier asked, seemingly disinterested.

"A little food for thought, Terrier to Terrier." With that, Grandpa walked away to leave Sweetie with her thoughts.

Sweetie thought about it, mulling over the words spoken.

The Terrier thought about her home in Barkingburg, the castle walls that seemed to always be around her, shielding her and everyone inside from the elements. She never had to worry about whether or not she had something to eat at the end of the day, she could say with confidence that she was spoiled by her lifestyle.

Spoiled rotten? Never in a million years.

She was a diamond in the rough, a gem shining brilliantly within the craphole that was this pound. Sweetie the royal pooch, the future queen of Barkingburg if she finally manages to come up with a really good plan.

No matter what, she was going to get out of there and find Busby. Then she could go home to Barkingburg and finally become queen!

"...Young Sweetie, I'm not sure that's how it works."

Sweetie clenched her teeth. That old dog had no idea what he was talking about! She spent so long going after the crown, so she obviously knew how this worked. She at least had a better understanding than some homeless old mutt!

After all she's been through, it just had to have worked that way!

"Excellent distraction, Busby." A voice congratulated as a familiar white Terrier jumped down onto the snow in front of her helicopter.

"Sw...Swee..." Skye tried to say, but found much trouble forming just a single word.

Sweetie giggled mischievously, ending with a cute snort, "That is my name, don't wear it out."

Skye, despite being in the position she was in, rolled her eyes with a faint groan.

"Now all we need to do is– What's that on your chin?" Sweetie cut herself off, curiosity getting the better of her concerning the suspicious liquid dampening the fur beneath her mouth.

The Cockapoo blushed. She had completely forgotten to wipe the drool that had been the result of one of her Chase daydreams.

Before she could try and answer, Skye heard the sound of an engine.

"Skye? Skye? Where are you?" She could hear Everest's voice steadily approaching them.

"No, no, no!" Sweetie growled, "Not this again! I won't allow my plans to be foiled this time!" The Terrier grabbed Busby and hopped in her vehicle, seemingly flying away.

There was just no way!

Sweetie let out a low growl.

Before the Husky pup could even register what was happening, she was suddenly sent flying away from Skye. A piercing yelp filled the air as Everest slammed into the snow a few feet away.

Skye tried to scream out. For Ryder, Marshall, Jake, anybody, yet she was only able to whimper as she became an unwilling spectator to the scene unfolding before her eyes. She could hear Everest breathe shakily, standing up to face Sweetie.

"S-Sweetie..." Everest strained, stumbling to keep balanced.

The Husky never understood what being knocked silly really meant. She had watched Marshall take some pretty bad spills and trips, his eyes comically swirling afterwards, but she didn't realize how disorienting it is to be hit in such a way. She shook her head, the hit she had taken was substantial to the point of temporarily losing her ability to think straight.

"You pups really like saying my name." Sweetie grinned, "It's not a bad thing, though, I know you all just adore me."

"Did... Did you do that to... To Skye?" Everest asked, struggling to remain conscious.

Sweetie thought about what Grandpa said, about where home truly is. She looked down at her paws. She missed her owner, she missed Busby. Heck, she even missed the Earl for dog's sake!

Nope. Gramps was totally delusional.

Meanwhile, Grandpa joined Skye, Siren and Jack as they kept Marcy company.

"Thanks for being here for me, you guys... Especially Skye..." Marcy smiled weakly, "You already have so much on your plate and—"

"Hey, we're in this together, Marcy." Skye smiled sympathetically, "If you're ever sick, just yelp for help!"

Marcy chuckled, "Well we wouldn't get as sick if this place wasn't so nasty..." She huffed.

"Then why even stay here in the first place?"

The four dogs looked at Skye as though she were completely insane.

"What?" The Cockapoo looked around.

"It's not like we can just escape, Skye." Jack looked at her, "And even if we did, where would we go?"

"I could have the PAW Patrol find a place for you guys to stay!" Skye exclaimed, her tail beginning to wag, "We would never leave anybody in trouble!"

"Skye's right, guys!" Siren grinned, his tail wagging as well, "We can escape! I'll finally see what the sun you guys talk about is!"

Skye turned her attention to the youngest pup, "You don't know what the sun is...?"

"Siren was born in this pound." Marcy told her, her ears falling.

"That won't stand!" The Cockapoo stood tall, "Pups, I'm gonna bust you out of here! No job is too big, no pup is too small!"

"Never fear, pups!" Skye puffed out her chest, "Skye is on the case!"

Watching the sunset under a tree on a hill were two pups. One of the pups had bandages wrapped around his back and right forepaw, while the other only had a bandage on his cheek. With a heavy sigh, the first pup dropped his sword as he looked forward.

"What is it?" The other pup asked.

"I see it..."

"See what?" The pup squinted to look forward.

"I see Adventure City, Marsh!" The pup who had just dropped the sword exclaimed.

Chase and Marshall, fresh out of the woods and just having recently survived a bear attack, looked forward with bright smiles as they saw the bustling town. After ten long and hard days of travelling, they had finally arrived at their destination. Marshall thanking whatever pup gods were out there, as well as Robo-Dog, nearly cried at the sight.

Chase, however, was raring to go.

"C'mon Marsh!" Chase picked up the sword and put it under Marshall's pup pack, "Let's fetch the rescue!"

"Is that a new one?" The Dally asked with interest.

The Shepherd pup smiled confidently, "Yep!"

"Can I say it with you?"

"Marshall!" Chase groaned.

"Pleaasseeee?"

"Fine! But just this once."

The Dalmatian grinned, "One... Two..."

"Let's fetch the rescue!"

They had arrived at the final frontier: Adventure City.

"We're coming for you, Skye! Just you wait!"