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Welcome back to the biggest Paw Patrol story on the interwebs.
Welcome back to Paw Patrol: The Ballad of Dally!
After putting a fire and saving a pup from her fiery demise while also losing a victim, The Paw Patrol are all at Katie's with the pup, waiting for her to wake up. However, in the midst of that, a secret will finally be revealed that may turn the pup's lives upside down yet again.
How will the pups react to this stunning development?
Find out by reading the chapter below!
Chapter 46: Secrets We Tell
Over at Katie's parlor was where the Paw Patrol was now. After putting out the fire and taking care of the unfortunate soul, the Paw Patrol littered about in the infirmary.
Rubble was glued to the bed where Skylar was. Rocky, Zuma, and Wings were in their own worlds, and Chase was breathing through an oxygen mask with Skye right next to him.
Ryder then walked in with Katie who were just setting everything straight with Rocky coming home. Katie was alright with letting him go, but she still wanted to do mandatory checkups on him at least once a week. Ryder obliged of course and promised that if Rocky were to show any signs of fatigue, they would go with their original plan of getting someone who could help him more than they could.
Ryder walked over to said pup and gave a smile. "Okay Rocky, it's official now. Your ready to come home."
Rocky stunningly had no real reaction. "That's great Ryder. Thank you."
Ryder looked around and noticed that Rocky wasn't the only one who was a little down. The entire team all had discouraged looks on their faces.
Ryder knew what it was. The pups may have gotten through the death of a teammate, but they never had to deal with losing someone they were supposed to save. Ryder, however, knew this would happen eventually, so he'd prepared himself for a situation like this some time ago.
"Pups. Eyes on me." Ryder called them up, Prompting the pups to slowly bring their eyes on their leader as he stood in the center of the room. "I know what all of you are thinking so listen to me. I want you to know that it's neither one of your faults."
The pups all look at Ryder with slightly appalled faces.
"Even though were a good rescue team, there's going to be instances where we won't be there for everyone. It's horrible, I know, but it's just one of those things that happens. The best you all can do is keep your heads up and be ready for anything on the next mission. Understand?"
After a bit of the pups staring at him, then look around at each other before nodding towards Ryder. Ryder was a little proud of himself for keeping a straight head and raise his pups up from whatever depth within.
All except for one. "Skylar's going to be so sad when she wakes up and finds out her brother is dead."
Ryder looked at his construction pup, who hadn't taken his eyes off the snoozing Skylar. He went over to him and placed a hand on the pup's head, scratching it soothingly. "It's okay Rubble we'll be with her the whole way through."
Rubble whined in response, taking Ryder's words in delicately. Ryder was then reminded of something that was orbiting around the bulldog. While it wasn't really a good time to bring it up, Ryder felt it was too important to blow over. "Rubble? I don't mean to come after you like this, but there's something I need to talk to you about."
Ryder was quite surprised at how quickly Rubble was to turn to him. "What is it Ryder?"
"When we got the pup out of the cabin, we saw none other than Marshall's pup pack on him. Now Zuma's told us that you knew he had it. Is this true?"
Ryder put aside the audible gasps from Skye and Katie, who up to this moment, the only ones who hadn't been told about the recent finding.
Rubble lowered his head in shame. "Yes…it's true and I also told him not to tell you."
Ryder folded his arms. "You wanna tell me why bud?"
Rubble stayed silent as he took a quick glance at Skylar, then back at Ryder. "I didn't tell you because I know you would come down on them hard and would want to take them to the pound."
"What?! Koff-koff That's why you didn't tell Ryder?! Because you Koff-koff Because you Koff-koff didn't want them to go to the pound?!" Chase blurted out through his mask while Skye tried to calm him down.
Before Ryder could say anything, Rubble shot back. "You don't understand Chase! Skylar and Trevor didn't want to be owned by humans! They wanted to live free on their own!"
"I don't give a dogbone what they wanted! They stole Marshall's pup pack!" Chase retorted. "There's no excuse for that! None!"
Before Rubble could unleash his fury, Ryder stepped in. "Enough! Both of you!"
Chase was going to argue, but Ryder quickly shut him down. "Chase, your best bet is to keep quiet."
"But Ryder…"
"I mean it Chase!" Ryder commanded, his authority firing off like a cannon. "Close that mouth and zip it! I'm not going to say it again!"
Chase thought wiser and finally subsided, leaving the conversation back between Ryder and Rubble.
"Now Rubble. Chase is right. This is not something to overlook. That is Marshall's pup pack. You know how important it is to us. Understand?" Ryder informed, his voice instantly softer.
"I know Ryder. I wasn't going to just let them have it, I just wanted to get it back on my own so we would have to take away their freedom." Rubble then looks back at Skylar aside continued. "None of you understand, I was a stray like them before. For a while, I thought that I didn't need a family or an owner to take care of me. It may have been lonely, but it was still freedom to do whatever I want, without anyone to tell you what to do. They valued that more than I ever did. They never wanted to feel like they are "owned" because they wanted to before like they always were. I didn't want to force them out of it. All we need was Marshall's pup pack back. We didn't need to take away their freedom."
"But Rubble." Skye pointed. "Having an owner is wonderful. You feel loved and cared for like Ryder does. They need to know that being owned by humans is a good thing, especially at their age."
"But we have no right to tell them that, Skye." Rubble responded. "They have their own way of life. We shouldn't be the ones who say their wrong if they feel that way."
"Rubble." Ryder calmed with care. "When I adopted you, did I say you had to be adopted or threatened to take you to the pound?"
Rubble shifted his eyes as he thought about his answer. "N-No."
"Then you see what your missing?" Ryder replied. "When you joined, I asked you if you wanted to join the Paw Patrol and if you wanted to be adopted. I never forced you into it, and the same could be said about all your teammates. If you would've told me about Marshall's pup pack Rubble, It wouldn't have been different from you all. It's a dog's decision to accept ownership by any means. Thankfully, Adventure Bay doesn't force it like most cities, so if they didn't want to be owned, I would've respected that, and left them be."
Rubble slowly looked up at Ryder. "Really? You would?"
"Without question."
A few moments of silence passed before Rubble stepped over to Ryder and hugged him. "I'm sorry Ryder. I didn't really want to keep it from you. I just felt that it was right."
"I know you meant well Rubble, but that pup pack is sedimental to us." Ryder says as he hugged the bulldog back. "I hope you understand the next time you find something that important."
Rubble didn't say anything, as he let go of Ryder and went back to watch Skylar like a hawk. Then, just as that conversation was finished, another one began as Zuma spoke up.
"Wydew? What do you think about Mawshall's pup pack? What does it mean?"
Ryder gave one look at Chase who had thankfully calmed down. The shepherd gave him a knowing look that told Ryder what he was requesting, to spill the beans. However, Ryder felt that it wasn't time yet.
Ryder looked back at Zuma. "I…I don't know bud."
Ryder could practically feel the appalled look Chase was giving, but then, Zuma spoke again. "I-I think I know what it means Wydew."
Ryder suddenly gasped slightly. "What is it Zuma?"
Zuma stood up. "Think about it Wydew. When Mawshall went into city hall, he went in with his pup pack; and when we seawched fow him, we didn't find him ow his pup pack. But with Mawshall's pup pack hewe now, do you think that maybe…Mawshall may have made it out?"
Rocky then stepped up beside him. "I have to agree with Zuma here Ryder. If Marshall truly was burned to a crisp, we would've at least found his pup pack. But with it in someone else's paws, there's no doubt they stole it from Marshall himself."
As much as Ryder felt that the cat was now about to run out of the bag, he was quite impressed at his pup's ability to deduce this reasoning.
"I saw him!"
Everyone's attention immediately turned to Skye.
"I saw Marshall!" Skye repeated.
"What?! You did?! Whewe Skye?! Whewe!?" Zuma pressed, completely hanging on.
"Yeah Skye. Tell us! Tell us when you saw Marshall!" Rocky insisted greatly.
"I-I saw him when we were practicing in the fields." Skye answered. "He was on the side cheering for us! I thought it was some ghost or something but, if your saying he could be alive…..then it had to be the real thing!"
Ryder looked at Chase. He knew Chase wouldn't say anything until Ryder gave him the go ahead. At this point, It would be downright cruel to steer them away. He just hoped that the pups don't get ballistic and considering what he did earlier with the interview, it would make things more harder than it was.
"Um….can I say something?" Katie suddenly spoke up.
Ryder looked at Katie along with all the pups.
"I don't mean to cut you all down, but there's something you all don't know pups." Katie cut in.
"Huh? What is it Katie?" Rocky questioned.
"Alex told me when he was in the kitchen that day, he saw two golden retriever pups in there. They were raiding the kitchen for food and when Alex saw them, he ran after them. He wanted to help them, but they got away from him. Unfortunately, that's also how the fire was started, when Alex left the stove unattended."
It was then when Ryder remembered this. They had this conversation with Alex a week after it happened.
"So? What does that have to do with Marshall's pup pack?" Rocky asked.
Ryder found a way to escape, much to the dismay of Chase. "Because Rocky, it puts them in the situation where they could've come across Marshall in the building."
"H-How?" Zuma asked.
"Think about this. They were in that fire. Alex said so himself. They could've easily stolen it from him and left him there."
Skye gave a quick gasp. "You mean that they found Marshall in there, escaped and just….left him there?"
"That would seem so Skye." Ryder let out.
"No! That can't be true!" Rubble mouthed off. "Skylar would never do such a cruel thing like that!"
Ryder looked at Rubble. "It may be hard to believe Rubble, but we can't rule it out that possibility. We already know that they didn't return the pack to us, let alone tell us that they found Marshall whether they saw him in or out of the building."
Rubble was squirming. "But….but….Skylar wouldn't.."
"Rubble, you only met her twice and they were brief." Katie pointed out. "Can you honestly say that you know her that much?"
"I….I….I….n-no." Rubble stammered, defeated.
Ryder put a hand on the bulldog's shoulder. "Look Rubble. I'm not saying for sure that's what happened, I'm just saying it's a strong possibility." Ryder then turns to his other pups. "Unfortunately, this also fully explains how they got his pup pack. Which in turn, tells all we need to know about Marshall."
"But….what about me seeing him in the forest?" Skye asked. "Doesn't that say something?"
"It does a little bit Skye, but that can easily be explained as an illusion like you said."
"But what if it really was him?." Skye replied with hope.
Ryder knew he was grasping at straws here, and he knew Chase was giving him a distasteful look, but he had yet to point out the most overlooked fact in this whole thing.
"It could be Skye, but there's one thing that cuts the whole theory down." Ryder stated.
"What is it now?" Rocky asked, irritated at this point.
"It's Marshall himself. If after all this time of us thinking he was dead, when he's actually alive. There is one important question pups."
The pups all hung on what Ryder was saying.
"Why didn't he come home?"
The pups all gasp at that, even Chase, though Ryder knew it was for a different reason.
"Th-that's easy. He could've…..f-faked his death." Rocky uttered.
Skye chimes in. "What? That's ridiculous Rocky. Why would he do that?"
"Because he's done something like that before." Rocky added. "He ran away from his parents, remember?"
Ryder had an easy way to bat Rocky's claims down. "Actually Rocky, that wouldn't make sense either."
"How?" Rocky asked. "It makes perfect sense."
"Rocky, if he faked his death and ran away, it would be silly for him to stick around. Which means Skye would've never saw him in the forest."
It was now sinking in for the pups, Ryder had batted away all the arguments they had. He didn't feel good about it, since he knew they were right about Marshall being alive, but Ryder needed them to be off the trail, so he wouldn't lose Marshall again.
Rocky started to tear up as he subtly accepted the conclusive evidence. "Bu…but…darn, I-I thought we were act-actually on-on to something."
"Y-Yeah…I thought fow suwe that Mawshall was…..alive." Zuma choked up, trying to suppress his own tears.
Skye said nothing, she just ran over to Ryder, sobbing her eyes out. Ryder crouched down and hugged her tightly. Soon, the rest of them joined in, crying into different parts of Ryder's body. Sobbing how much they wanted their friend back.
All except for one of course. Who was giving Ryder the most disgusted look. Chase was very angry at him, and Ryder didn't blame him at all.
In one swift motion, Chase took his mask off, and ran out of the room. Ryder was going to run after him, but he knew where he was going. Besides, Ryder needed to comfort his pups about their lost friend. One, more, time.
Chase was sitting in front of Marshall's statue, trying to make sense of everything.
They figured it out. They know that Marshall survived; and yet Ryder kept his defenses up, and straight up lied to them. Had it not been for Chase's loyalty for Ryder, he would've told them himself. Sure they would be very agitated with him, but at least they would know the truth and they wouldn't be crying right now.
How long? How long was Ryder going to keep the curtain down until they find out, whether they were told or find him on the street like he did? What would they say? They would definitely be mad at him and Ryder and wouldn't trust them again. Doesn't Ryder know that? Does Ryder want that to happen?
It was then that Chase heard footsteps on the grass. He knew who it was because he could also smell him. He looked up to see his owner with a reluctant look on his face, as if he was ready to take his lickings.
Chase then started the inevitable conversation. "Why not now?"
"Chase, I know your upset, but let me explain." Ryder responded.
"Explain what?" Chase batted with a very agitated tone. "Why after they clearly figured it out, you still lied to them?"
"Chase. It's not time yet. You know that." Ryder replied.
"When will it be time? How long will they have to cry Ryder?" Chase asked further.
Ryder drew in a deep breath. "I don't know. I can't really give you an answer Chase."
"Then what, are, we, waiting for?! Him to just show up out of the blue?!"
"No…not that far."
"Then when!" Chase wasn't yelling but he was getting frustrated. "Ryder, I had to sit there and watch their claims go down one by one; knowing that they're actually right!"
"And I thank you for that Chase." Ryder commented.
"Well trust me. It was against my better judgement!" Chase said back. "I could've easily just straight up told them!"
Ryder closed his eyes and tightened his fist. "Chase. I don't feel good about it either, but trust me, we can't tell them yet."
"Why?!" Chase asked.
"Because I don't want to lose Marshall again!" Ryder yelled out. "I know and you know that the moment they find out, they're going to overwhelm him, and he's going to want to stay away from us! If Dally were to cower in fear from us, then Stacy would no doubt take him far and away in a heartbeat!"
"Then let's go get him Ryder!" Chase suggested. "Let's go get him right now!"
"We can't Chase! Stacy has the upper hand on us!" Ryder retorted.
"How?! How is that the case?!" Chase pressed.
"The lost and found act Chase! Have you ever heard of it?!"
Chase thought about it for a bit. "I…I think I do."
"It's how Stacy was able to adopt Dally." Ryder revealed. "She took him to the Foggy Bottom kennel and adopted him there. Paw print and all. If Marshall believes he's Dally, Stacy has the advantage. If we do anything to spook him into running away, Stacy has every right to take him with her. There would be nothing we could do about it."
While that would be true, Chase knows something that Ryder didn't, and it was now the time to report it. "Actually, we may have a bigger case than you think."
"What?" Ryder asked curiously.
"Today, Dally found out who he really is." Chase reported.
Ryder's eyes went wide. "Really? He got his memories back?"
"No….not really." Chase admitted. "But he told me that he'd been having flashbacks since I met him, and then he told me that he believes he was the pup we lost. Then….he asked me if it was true and I said yes."
"Sooo. He knows he's Marshall, he just doesn't have his memories yet?" Ryder asked.
Chase nodded. "Yeah. Doesn't that help us?"
Ryder cupped his chin before he answered. "Not as much as you think Chase. He still has a choice on who he wants to be, he could still do a complete one eighty on us."
Chase lowered his head. Then, he remembered one more thing. "There's one more thing Ryder. He wants to join the Paw Patrol too. He thinks that if he joins, he'll be able to get something on his memories."
Chase could see a small smirk from on Ryder's face. "That's wonderful Chase."
Chase wagged with delight. "Soooo, were clear?"
"No…not yet." Ryder replied.
"Oh for Pete's sake Ryder!" Chase groaned.
"We are close Chase. Very close. But we still have to be careful. Like I said, Marshall can still change his mind at any moment." Ryder added.
"Then what else do we gotta do?" Chase groaned more.
"We need to ease him into it, Chase." Ryder informed. "When we need get him in, we need to treat him like a new member. Let him take the trail, recite the oath, and train him. Then I guess tell the others and explain to them what's going on, so they won't overwhelm him."
"Uhh, finally." Chase groaned again. "So what's the plan tomorrow? What do I tell him, and what do we do about Miss Jackson? I doubt she'd be willing to just let Dally come on down to join Paw Patrol."
It took a moment to Ryder to answer Chase as he was clearly making it up on the spot. "Well, I'm going to have to meet him tomorrow, and go from there."
Chase wagged some more, as he got a little excited for Ryder finally being able to see Dally, but then, he remembered something that may complicate things. "Wait, there's a problem Ryder sir."
"What is it Chase?" Ryder asked.
"Don't you remember? Were supposed to help set up for Skye's airshow tomorrow."
Ryder placed a hand on his chin and clenched his lips. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that."
"You know, we could tell the others tomorrow…" Chase saw the disapproved face of Ryder and slurred his speech. "…or you still think we can't yet."
"Sorry bud, but we still gotta keep it hidden for a little longer." Ryder said.
"Then what do we do?" Chase asks.
Ryder thought about it some more. "Tell you what. I'll excuse you long enough to go tell Dally that I would like to meet him sometime later. Then you'll come back, help us with the preparations for the show, and when were done, we will go meet him."
Chase whimpered a little. "I still think we should tell them. So we don't have to act all secret."
"Don't worry Chase. We will tell them when sometime after the show is over. Hopefully by then, we can get Marshall on the team again, and not even have to worry about Stacy. You just gotta trust me, buddy." Ryder insisted.
Although Chase was fully convinced, at leas he has a set time when the other will finally know the truth.
"Okay Ryder sir, I trust you."
Ryder gave Chase a warm smile. "Thanks Chase. It's nice to know that you still trust me."
"Honestly Ryder." Chase starts with a sigh. "I sometimes wonder why."
(A/N) Well it seems that Chase is starting to be a little impatient with Ryder at this point. But it seems that Ryder has a sure plan to finally get Marshall back! Except, They don't know that Stacy has put her foot down, and has prohibited Dally from seeing Chase or Ryder ever again! So it seems that the plan is going to fail before they ever have a chance to implement it.
What will happen when Chase finds out the dreadful news and what will this mean for their quest to get Marshall back?
Find out next time when Chapter 47 is released!
Question of the Chapter: What say you? Would you still go for Ryder here?
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 signing off!
