Marshall paced back and forth within the PAW Patroller 2.0 in front of Zuma, Rubble, and Rocky. The firefighter pup soon stopped and took a deep breath in, "Team Skase, we have a problem on our paws."
"What? Are you and Everest already having marital problems?" Zuma snickered, earning a high paw from Rocky.
The Dally blushed, "What? No! We're not married yet!"
"Yet?" Rubble raised an eyebrow, "Wait, do you wanna propose!?" His eyes began sparkling.
"Nobody's proposing!" Marshall waved his paws, "We gotta talk about Skye and Chase! Team Skase, remember!?"
"How could I forget?" Zuma stood up, "I am the founder, after all."
Rocky pushed him aside, "Whatever, Zoom."
"So what are we gonna do?" Zuma asked confusedly, "Chase is hopeless!"
Rubble nodded, "I know, he's still droning on and on about—"
"The integrity of the team." The four pups finished in unison with a bit of annoyance.
"Chase told me he talked to Ryder about that, though!" Marshall groaned, "But yet he still has the same fears as he did before everything happened last month!"
"Well that's gonna change starting today!" Zuma exclaimed, "If we were able to get you a girlfriend, then getting Skye and Chase together should be no problem!"
"So, what will we do?" Rubble asked.
"You're up Rocky, dude." Zuma looked over at the mixed breed.
"Okay, this is going to be tough, but we're going to have to give those two a little push." Rocky explained, "Marshall, I'll need you to go to Chase and try to convince him to confess to Skye. You're the closest to him out of the four of us, I know you can do it."
Marshall smiled, "I'm ready for a ruff-ruff romance!"
"Zuma, you're the closest to Skye among us." Rocky turned to the Lab, "Between that and your romance skills. I think you can handle her."
"Let's dive in!" Zuma barked.
The mongrel soon turned to Rubble, "Rubble, you and I have a different mission."
"Huh?" The Bulldog tilted his head, obviously confused, "What other mission is there?"
"There's somebody we have to get."
"Rubble on the double!"
Rocky nodded, "Meet back here in two hours. Go."
"Team Skase is on the case!"
Zuma easily found Skye, who was sorting through her pup house, "Hey Skye? Whatcha doing in there?"
"Just looking for my watering can to water my flower." The Cockapoo peeked her head out, "What's up, Zuma?"
"Oh nothing much..." Zuma shrugged, "Just wondering if you talked to Chase recently..."
The Cockapoo blushed beneath her fur. After seeing what happened between Everest and Marshall, she had been having a lot of... Thoughts... About her and Chase. It was an apparent fact that both her and Everest had a bit of a rough time with their crushes, but it was different for her and Chase. Way different. Everest had at least talked to Marshall during their mission. She hadn't seen or talked to Chase until finally seeing him again.
But now, things are different. Back before all of this had happened, her feelings for Chase could've been pushed aside for fear that Chase just might not feel the same. But after everything, she couldn't deny that she knew the Shepherd had feelings for her.
"No, I haven't seen him all day, actually..." Skye replied, "He's been with Ryder, working on the Adventure City chapter I think."
"Good!" Zuma grinned, "Then I'll be able to talk to you freely about this."
"About what?"
"You and Chase."
Caught. That was the first thing running through Skye's mind. She was always sweet and kind to all of the other pups, but when it came to Chase, there was no limit to how much she'd do for him. Zuma was one of her closest friends. Knowing this, she would have to be very careful with what she says to him. Any change in attitude would alert him to her true emotions.
Yes, cool, calm, and collected. Just like Chase always is on missions. He somehow knew to be serious at a flick of a switch. There was no way that she wouldn't be able to do that same thing now. All she had to do was act like Chase.
"W-What? W-Who's Chase?"
Smooth move, dingus.
"Want to talk about it?" Zuma raised an eyebrow.
Skye, defeated, nodded quietly.
Zuma took the Cockapoo to his puphouse, which was bigger than hers. He led her in and closed the door behind them.
"So what brought this up?" Skye asked, sitting down near the door, "I know you're all for romance related things, but you never brought me and Chase up... Well not to our faces."
"Because this has gone on long enough, Skye!" Zuma clenched his paw, "Why haven't you confessed to him yet? Is it because you want him to confess since he's the boy?"
"No! Of course not!" Skye fanned her paws, "I never really believed in that. It's just... I know he likes me too, but what if things go wrong and it messes up what we already have? Then what? We spend the rest of our lives being awkward?"
Zuma was taken aback by this answer. He hated to even consider it, but he realized that there really wasn't any telling how things would go in the coming years. Heck, they didn't even know Skye was going to be pupnapped and they would spend a month afterwards trying their best to keep Adventure Bay under a careful watch while Chase and Marshall searched for her. Like it or not, the PAW Patrol was already changing.
"I guess that makes sense, but wouldn't you want to find that out for yourself?" Zuma questioned, "Why think about what could happen while you have the opportunity to see what happens for yourself?"
She looks down, "Because hypotheticals don't have consequences."
Zuma let out a silent exhale. This was going to be harder than he expected, but he certainly wasn't going to give up on her just yet. If he could get Marshall with Everest, then he surely would be able to help this situation as well.
On the top floor of the lookout, Chase was having a conversation with Ryder.
"So Liberty would be second in command of the Adventure City chapter whenever we're not there." Ryder explained, looking at a sheet of paper, "When we're there, she will be third, after you, understand?"
Chase nodded.
Currently, Ryder and Chase were going over the plan for Adventure City post-earthquake. The city was damaged in multiple places, and they were putting a few plans together for dealing with the damage, as well as arrangements for the Adventure City PAW Patrol.
After the earthquake, Ryder quickly realized that if something like that would happen again, and they weren't already heading to Adventure City, there would be big trouble. This prompted Ryder to begin putting a team together for a full-time serving PAW Patrol in Adventure City, with Liberty as the second in command for the location.
The two were also conversing about the actual members of the new team. They didn't have many recruits for the new team, being a project that only Ryder and Chase knew of. Before he left, Siren volunteered to become a member of this team after Chase recommended Ryder to ask him about it.
"Siren's skills involve agility and his loud howl, so I feel as though it would be best to make him a first responder." Chase explained, earning a nod from Ryder, "But what?"
"I think he should fill a new position." Ryder told him.
"Please don't tell me it's going to be a position like Liberty's or Tracker's..." Chase's ears fell.
The boy raised an eyebrow, "Every job is important, Chase. I hope you didn't forget that."
"Of course not, but..." The Shepherd looked away.
"But?"
"...When's the last time we've been in the jungle?"
"Chase!"
"Sorry, Sir."
As they continued to discuss plans for Adventure City, Marshall rode up the elevator. He ran through the game plan in his head over and over again. The plan was simple, all he had to do was confront Chase and ask him about his feelings toward Skye, then convince him to finally confess.
Once Marshall reached the top, he was greeted by seeing Chase and Ryder standing there.
The Dally instantly let out a faint yelp. He wasn't ready for this kind of outcome. He had only prepared himself for a conversation with Chase, he hadn't expected for there to be any more than him! This was such a far deviation from what he was prepared for, how would he even know he was saying the right thing?
Marshall gulped, "Heya Chase, hey Ryder."
"What's up Marsh?" Chase asked, making their owner smile.
Ryder had noticed the shift in Chase and Marshall's relationship once he finally met them again in Adventure City. Sure, he had been focused on lecturing them and figuring out exactly what had happened, but he had also noticed that the boys would often finish for each other when one couldn't keep speaking, or they would have similar reactions to things. Most of all, Chase began calling Marshall "Marsh" instead of the usual name most would call him.
Heck, Everest was the guy's girlfriend and she hadn't called him any nicknames yet. Granted, it has only been about two days since they started dating, but still impressive for Chase to have beaten Everest to that step.
"Nothing much, really. I was just checking up on you. Making sure those wounds aren't infected."
"They're cleaned." Chase nodded, "But yours? Maybe you should be worried about the one you have."
"It's been stitched for a while!" Marshall defended himself, "Meanwhile, guess who decided to go out and rescue Skye with nothing but loose bandages stopping the bleeding?"
Chase looked away, "No comment."
"Speaking of, how is it with you and Skye anyways?" The Dally questioned.
Marshall high-fived himself in his head. That was so smooth! He couldn't believe that he was doing this so easily on the fly. He already got the hardest part out of the way, all he had to do was stick the landing.
"N-Nothing!" Chase answered quickly, catching Ryder's attention, "Everything's fine, nothing's going on."
"Are you sure that's a good thing?" Ryder raised an eyebrow, joining the conversation.
"What? Of course it is! Everyone's safe and everything's fine."
"Chase, you've got to confess to Skye." Marshall sighed, deciding to be blunt with it, "I can't just sit here and watch my brother struggle like this. I know you don't like avoiding Skye."
"I-I haven't been avoiding Skye..." Chase began to back towards the elevator, but was stopped by Marshall.
"Not so fast there, Chase!" Marshall put a paw on his back, "This is officially an intervention!"
"...What?" The Shepherd's ears fell.
"You heard the Dally. Officer Chase, front and center!" Ryder commanded.
As much as he wanted to resist, the police pup's training instantly kicked in as he padded over to his owner and sat down in front of his owner.
"Good boy."
"Anyway, what's the issue, Chase?" Marshall walked over to stand next to Ryder's legs, "Is it still about the integrity of the team?"
He nodded in response.
"Chase, you've got to stop thinking about that and think about Skye!" Ryder kneeled down to him, "Remember what I said in Adventure City?"
"If you and Skye end up together one day, the team would be stronger. Communication between you and her would improve. Sure there would be a few ground rules to deal with, as well as some bumps to smooth out, but it could work."
"But what if she rejects me?"
Ryder looked at him with a blank expression, "Yeah, that's not happening."
"Yeah, I do..." Chase nods, smiling faintly at the memory, "But you never told me what you meant by that."
"Meant by what?" Ryder raised an eyebrow.
"That Skye rejecting me is not happening."
"Well, you're Chase!" Ryder grinned, putting a paw on his head, "I know you probably won't believe me when I say this, but you have so much to offer. Look at you. You traveled by air, road, and foot for almost two weeks trying to find her after Sweetie pupnapped her. She'd be lucky to have you."
The Shepherd looked away sheepishly, "I don't know..."
"And I thought I was the one with insecurities..." Marshall commented quietly.
"I heard that!" Chase shot up, his back straightening.
Rocky and Rubble walked through the halls, avoiding various human legs as they hurriedly made their way to the room they were looking for.
"So who's the one we have to get?" Rubble asked, following behind Rocky.
The eco pup looked back at the construction pup, "It's a surprise. I just hope it works, to be honest..."
"Of course it will work, you come up with the best ideas out of all of team Skase!" The Bulldog reassured him, "Why else would Zuma trust you so much with this?"
"Because we're best friends?"
"Best friends, sure..." Rubble remarked, looking to his right.
Rocky stopped in his tracks, making Rubble bump into his butt, "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, it's just... You and Zuma... Well..." The construction pup tried to explain, not really knowing how to find the words, "You two ARE best friends, but..."
"Not this again!" The eco pup groaned with irritation, beginning to walk again.
"Come on!" The Bulldog followed him, "Marshall sees it too, you know?"
Rocky looked at the numbers on each door, waiting to see the one he was looking for, "Yeah, as a running joke."
"I'll have to check with Marshall about that..."
Rocky stopped once again, but he looked up at the numbers on the door, "255, just the room we were looking for."
"255? Didn't Marshall say that—" Rubble was interrupted when the eco pup began opening the door.
"Rubble, let me do the talking, okay?" He looked back at the construction pup, getting a nod from him a second afterwards.
The duo walked into the room, Rubble closing the door behind him soon afterwards.
"Marshall, what did I tell you about knocking before you came to check on me?" A voice asked, "Besides, you already did your daily checkup..."
Rocky glanced at Rubble for a moment, "Not Marshall."
"Oh, it's you, Rocky. And the yellow one. What do you mutts want?"
"The yellow one?" The Bulldog couldn't help but be a bit confused by this.
"I see you're doing better, Sweetie." Rocky gibed.
Indeed, it was Sweetie. Instead of being in a full body cast, she had a cast on her right hind leg and her left foreleg. She also had various bandages wrapped around parts of her body, and a large bandage wrapped around the top of her head. The fur that wasn't covered in bandages or casts was either torn off completely or messy. She certainly didn't look like the pup who was under the ownership of royalty.
"Shut your trap, dumpster diver." The Terrier huffed, "What do you want from me?"
"You know how Skye and Chase like each other?" The mongrel asked, walking over to the royal pooch's bed.
"Do I know?" Sweetie echoed mockingly, "'Is Chase okay?' 'I wonder how Chase is doing' 'Jack looks a lot like Chase', she wouldn't stop talking about him!"
"She said all that?" Rubble looked surprised.
"It got worse once we left the pound..." The royal pooch recalled, "I got to witness firsthand how much of a mess they are when around each other."
Rocky chuckled at this, "Well then you'd be happy to know that we're working to get them together."
"Really? No way..." Sweetie sarcastically exclaimed.
"I know you don't take this as seriously as we do, but we need your help." The eco pup hopped onto her bed, "Will you help us?"
"You're acting as if I can just waltz out of this place!" The Terrier rolled her eyes, "Besides, why would I help you?"
The eco pup looked dead into her eyes, "Because there's something that only you can do."
"I couldn't care less about you or all of the other mutts."
Rocky's eyes narrowed. He could tell that she was lying. He had always questioned what was going through her head during this whole thing, especially when she risked her life to save Skye. He wondered where she was. She certainly wasn't at the same place she was when she initially took Skye. She wasn't exactly at the point where she'd willingly help them either.
"But Sweetie, we need your help!" Rubble joined in, whimpering softly, "I can't stand seeing Skye and Chase like this... I know they're really sad because they're scared of what could happen, but they don't have to be anymore!"
Sweetie was taken aback, "Rubble..."
"Just admit it, Sweetie." Rocky glared, "Deep down, you care about Skye. You care about Chase. You regret what you did, don't you?"
The Terrier froze. Rocky was able to notice this reaction from her. He hated to do things like this. It was more something Chase was accustomed to. This type of interrogation was right up the Shepherd's alley. But he wasn't here. It was up to Rocky to do this. And he was going to do it well if he had to.
"If you regret what you did, why not do something to prove it?"
Sweetie grit her teeth, closing her eyes.
"You think you can't do anything?" He pushed, "You're the only one who can! You're Sweetie the West Highland Terrier! Not the future queen, not the princess' pooch, but Sweetie!"
The Terrier looked away from him.
Rocky moved to be in her field of vision, "Do you understand me!? You are your own pup. So get up, right now!"
"Show us who you really are!"
"Dog damn it, Rocky!" Sweetie screamed, "You think everything is just so easy, don't you? You mustn't be serious! I'm in casts, bandages, the whole nine yards! I'm not going to be able to get out of here..."
Both Rocky and Rubble were surprised by this outburst, and the curse word that came along with it.
The Terrier calmed down a bit with a heavy exhale, "...And besides, I don't feel as though I deserve seeing her."
Rocky shook his head, "Sweetie, you potentially saved her life."
"After putting it in danger, mind you."
"Regardless, we need you." Rubble begged, "Please, just say—"
The eco pup suddenly put a paw on Rubble's back, "There's really nothing we can do if she doesn't want to. As much as we can try to convince her, we can't make her."
The construction pup sighed, "Sorry Sweetie."
Rocky beckoned the Bulldog to follow, jumping off of Sweetie's bed, "We'll make a new plan."
"Okay..." Rubble nodded, whimpering faintly.
"Wait!" Sweetie called out, making the pups turn around with confusion.
Rocky could see where this was going, and shook his head, "We're not trying to guilt trip you. If you don't want to—"
"No, tell me what I need to do..." The Terrier gulped, "...B-Before I change my mind."
