The Paw Patrol over the years had acquired a large black hummer that was given to the team by the mayor himself, as a reward of all their hard work (Even if they never really saw quite eye to eye.) Which was good for the entire team so they could get around the town in a much safer and in much faster fashion.

Chase and his team knew about it and they were all heading towards the new upgraded garage. Then slowly made their way down the hallway. Chase was leading the team and he was in high spirits. Even though it was their only day off, they still felt the same thrill towards just the mere thought of helping those in need.

However, Everest was still looking around, and she was catching new things around the hallway that she had not noticed before. The purple husky did not even know about the new hummer.

Chase continued to lead his team down the hall, all the dogs ready to take on anything, and ready to solve the mystery of the mysterious fires.

However, despite everyone's excitement Marshall was the only dog not as excited. He was looking down, feeling all sorts of shy. His butterflies were fluttering inside of his stomach, and it was because of Everest.

He was not used to how pretty and gorgeous she was now.

While Marshall stayed nearly the same, had not grown in size, and was overall nearly the same, despite being much older.

Everest, however, had changed so much, Marshall could not process her change at all. How pretty and beautiful she was to him. She was taller, slimmer, and she wasn't even wearing her vest anymore. Her body was much more apparent to him and there was this new feeling Marshall was not at all understanding.

Marshall felt his blush return as he tried to ignore the fact she was in front of him. He tried to keep his eyes off of her, but he kept trying to glance up, to admire how Everest had become.

However, he knew that it must seem very obvious that he was distracted by something, but he couldn't help this. He just kept his head down, and he knew that it might have been obvious…. But he just couldn't get himself to act normally.

Everest was… too beautiful. The way she walked even attracted Marshall, the way her tail wagged with confidence as she marched in front of him. He tried not to stare, but he kept glancing.

Soon enough Ryder, who was in front of Chase, made it to the door. He pressed his hand on a scanner that slowly lit up as it scanned his hand slowly. With a beep like sound, the door to the garage slowly opened up with a hiss.

Everyone was always excited to ride in the fresh new hummer.

Ryder slowly led Chase and his team into the large garage. The garage had many vehicles. One for each pup that would be well suited for their skill set.

Ryder went over to the middle of the garage and he pulled out a set of keys. It had a button on it, in which he gave it a small press.

Zuma was the first to hop forward, wagging his tail in excitement.

"Man, Ryder! This is still one sweet ride!" Zuma stated excitedly as he trotted up to it.

Everyone walked slowly around the hummer, admiring it once again.

However, besides Marshall, who didn't move, Everest was the last to walk up to the hummer. Her mouth was gapped with complete awe.

"W-When did you guys get a hummer!? It's so big!" Everest observed out loud.

"Well, we've got it for our missions a while back. It's just that we never had the need for it." Ryder told Everest as he turned to her. He crossed his arms slowly. "The mayor actually gave us this ride…"

Hearing that made Everest giggle sweetly.

"Mayor Goodway….? Heheh, really?" Everest giggled so sweetly, Marshall felt his heart skip a bit as he couldn't help but to feel joy from the sweet sound of her voice.

Rocky soon hopped on the door. He continued to hop on it a few times with glee.

"Let me in, let me in, let me IN!" Rocky chanted, in his own glee.

Ryder shook his head with his own excited smile. He clicked a button on his key, and with a beep, the doors all swung open.

Eventually, everyone started to get settled in and got comfortable. Marshall was the only one who did not get in. He still had his head down, and that was only because he was shy and nervous. He had already glanced up at Everest a few times.

Ryder slowly jumped in himself and he turned on the hummer's engine, which roared to life.

Marshall wanted to get in, but there was only one seat left...

And it was by his crush... in the backseat.

But, his hind legs gave out. He could not move forward.

Chase noticed and turned around. He tilted his head.

"Uh, Marshall...?" Chase turned to the empty seat and then back to Marshall. "Fire is your department. You gotta come…."

Marshall looked towards the open seat. Everest was sitting there, and she had a certain look in her eyes.

Marshall could tell she wanted him to sit by him. He shuddered in nervousness.

He was shy and slow as he slowly got in the ride with her.

However he wasn't sure why, but... did Everest move closer?

There wasn't much room on Marshall's side, so when Marshall looked, he noticed that Everest had indeed scooted over. That meant that she was sitting right next to him.

A little bit closer than she should have. Ryder was eyeing Marshall in the rearview mirror. However, Ryder merely shrugs and he started up the ride.

While Ryder slowly drove out of the garage, the dogs all started to have conversations with one another.

Marshall saw Chase and Skye turn to one another, and they too engaged in conversation. Marshall so wished he could be like Chase, and not be afraid to talk to the one he liked.

But, he was still nervous about the fact she was in the back with him. He wasn't even sure why, but he was. He was also getting nervous about the fact that she was sitting so close to him.

Marshall started to breathe heavily. He tried to stare out the window.

However, he couldn't distract himself fast enough. He was trying to think about the mission and not about the thing he actually craved.

However, there was just one issue... Everest was wagging her tail slowly, and Marshall could have sworn she was swatting her tail on his hind leg on purpose, almost as if she was begging for his attention. He was getting nervous.

And it was working. Somehow, he was getting more and more antsy. Marshall soon felt his heart hurt.

He wanted to say something, and he even tried to open his mouth, but his shyness stabbed at his throat. He could not get himself to even say hi.

He remembered how beautiful she had become as a grown husky. Her beautiful purple form, and her slim pretty body was enough to make Marshall have so much want for her.

But was Marshall, a plain dalmatian, that was still a runt, good enough for her?

Was he good enough for Ryder?

He wasn't even the one who broke the silence.

"So..." Ryder broke the silence as the hummer drove down the road. "How are we feeling about this mission?"

A lot of the dogs yelped in excitement. Marshall just kind of gave a weak smile. Chase was so excited he stood in his seat.

"I'm sooo ready! We'll crack this case WIDE open!" Chase barked in a booming, confident voice. He even stood on his hind legs and hugged the seat in front of him.

"Don't worry, we will. Just like we did with the last case." Ryder said confidently. Everest soon patted Marshall's back hard.

"And I bet if there is a reason for the fire, Marshall will be the first to know what it is!" Everest soon gave Marshall a wide smile. "Right, Marshy?"

"Y-Yeah... I mean... uh..." Marshall fumbled through his agreement.

As they drove around, the hummer made a right. Chase nearly lost his footing as he felt forced to cling to the door nearest to him, but he soon recovered.

However, when he looked below himself before he tried to move. His eyes opened a bit more when he saw he had landed right above Skye, hovering over her lap.

"I...uh..." Chase was blushing hard. He really didn't expect to be so close to her.

She was pretty close to him, and dhe had to look up at him. She looked so pretty though, in an adorable way.

"You're staring..." Skye cooed shyly but knowingly.

"I-I… um ..." Chase said, unable to speak.

Ryder soon turned his head towards the rear view mirror. He adjusted it to see his pack of dogs in the hummer.

"Alright gang! The building is right ahead! Be prepared to investigate." Ryder commanded in a serious tone.

Rocky leaned back slowly.

"You mean what's 'left' of the building..." Rocky pointed out in an unamused way. He wasn't sure what they would exactly find.

The dogs were silent. The anticipation was killing them. They knew that they were heading to the remains of the building.

They knew that there was a mystery….

Soon, they appeared on the site.

There, the pups and Ryder all saw the remains of the building. Metal beams, drywall, and wood all piled up and were black as it had been turned into mostly char. Ryder parked and they all slowly took it all in, as they feared what they might find.

"...T-Think anyone was hurt...?" Rubble asked slowly.

There was this cold and eerie feeling sinking into all their stomachs. They just hoped no one was nearby when this building went up in flames.

Ryder put the hummer into park. He opened the door.

"Alright, team! Let's see if we can't find out what caused this fire…." Ryder walked a bit away from the hummer before he turned to the dogs that were exiting the vehicle behind him. He stuck his fists comfortably into his hips.

"I'll go talk to the fire department and see what really happened and what they believe caused this building to catch on fire…." Ryder instructed slowly. He pointed his finger toward his dogs. "I want most of you to look around and sniff out any clues…."

He started to turn, but he stopped himself halfway through.

"Rocky…. Rubble…. Could you both assist the clean up crew and help them clean up most of the mess….?" Ryder asked of the two dogs who were well suited for the job. He started to walk. "Keep your eyes peeled! We'll regroup in a few hours."

Ryder left his pack to be on the case, while he approached the nearby firefighters.

Chase smiled as he turned to his fellow dogs.

"Everyone! You heard Ryder!" Chase cheered in confidence. He turned and started to run out into the work zone.

"The Paw Patrol is… on a roll!" Chase yelped in confidence.

The Paw Patrol was all around the site of the remains of the abandoned and destroyed building.

Chase, Skye, and Zuma were near the front. Chase and Skye were sniffing through the burnt up debris.

Although it was hard to make out some of the scents due to all the ash and soot that covered the entirety of the site, Chase could catch traces of….. something….

Chase could smell something here.

It smelt very familiar. However, he couldn't make it out due to the overwhelming amount of ash still remaining in the air. He remained sniffing that one area for a little while, until Skye slowly walked up behind him, curious.

Chase took a strong sniff. When he did, he really thought it smelt very, very familiar.

It almost smelt like….

Wait…..

Was this Marshall's scent?

To Chase it almost smelt like an old scent, and he knew this scent wasn't fresh and the smell felt distant. So why did it smell this familiar….

Was Marshall here before the fire….?

No he couldn't have…..

… Could he….?

"Did you find something….? Chase?" Skye quietly asked, not wanting to interrupt his investigation if she could help it. Chase took a couple more sniffs before he turned his head.

"Uh….. No…. I mean…." Chase turned back to the spot he had smelt that out of place smell. He stared at it with curiosity. "... Something… used to be here…."

Skye stepped closer, she leaned down and took a couple of whiffs herself. However, her muzzle crinkled hard as she stood back up.

"Aw! All I smell is ash!" Skye whined as she quickly tried to wipe the smell out of her nose, using her paw. "It smells awful!'

Chase slightly laughed as he watched her freak out over the harsh smell.

"I think the fire burnt most of the scent…. I can only till that it used to be here…" Chase tried to explain, trying not to laugh at her too much. Skye smiled at him with a smug expression.

"Well…. You could have mentioned that the scent was pretty much gone before I took such a strong sniff…." Skye seemed to laugh off as she gave him a warm, shy, but confident smile.

Chase giggled as he shook his head.

"I didn't ask you to take a whiff!" Chase seemed to laugh. This caused both of them to giggle.

On the other end of the building was Marshall and Everest. The two of them had been investigating the interior and the nearby area for any clues on what caused the fire.

Everest was searching a pile of bricks, which she started to believe was the old fireplace. She didn't really try to follow any scents, she knew that all she would end up finding was the smell of ember and fresh ash.

When she reached the top of the pile, and found nothing interesting, she turned to Marshall, who like Chase, was searching for scents.

"Marshy…? Did you find anything?" Everest asked, hoping he would have found something of importance.

Marshall was sniffing for a moment. After finding nothing himself standing up straighter and he turned to Everest. Everest had went to his side silently.

"No…. No, Nothing yet…" Marshall admitted as he slowly sat down, thinking of options. Everest sat down and examined the area.

"What do you think caused the fire Marshall…..?" Everest asked him quietly. An hour had already passed and they haven't gained much ground to the mystery of the fires.

Marshall looked around. He took in a deep breath.

"I…. I'm not sure …." Marshall said to her with a soft, but discouraged voice. His gaze went toward the streets. He was examining the electric lines and the street lamps. "... The more I inspect the damage…. or the cause of this fire… the more I look…. the more…. confused I become…."

Everest slightly tilted her head.

"Confused … How so?" Everest asked, curiously. Marshall looked at her for a moment. He then turned towards the burnt up wooden floor.

"Well…. There's…. no… way a fire could have been started in a building like this…. Especially if it was abandoned…" Marshall tried to explain. He looked around to confirm his thoughts. "I don't even see any power lines attached to this building…. And if it was truly abandoned…. Then there should have been no way this building caught on fire….."

Everest looked down to search her own thoughts, which led Marshall to glance at her for a moment. Everest looked back towards Marshall.

"Unless…." Everest opened with, knowing what Marshall was getting at. She could tell what he was thinking.

Marshall's eyes squinted harder as his thoughts continued.

"Unless…. someone really is…. starting these fires…." Marshall pondered out loud. Everest and Marshall sat there for a moment, thinking about this mystery.

Everest eventually stood up. She took two steps forward, before turning back to Marshall.

"I'll go take a look around, see if I can't find any clues…. about… this arsonist…" Everest informed Marshall. Marshall nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, okay…. I'll stay around here, and see if I can catch the scent of whoever… caused this fire…." Marshall added into their plan of investigation. Everest nodded, she turned and she started to walked away from Marshall.

The dalmatian watched the husky he adored walk away to return to their duties.

Marshall stood up and started to sniff around.

However, as soon as he took a few sniffs of ash. He had caught something.

"Huh…?"

Marshall started to sniff carefully. He could smell something familiar. He sniffed a few more times. He kept sniffing and sniffing. He started to follow its trail so he could make it out better.

….. Why did this smell… feel so familiar?

He searched the trail of the scent for a while, until he unknowingly led himself towards the middle of the building.

The smell was strong here. Marshall took a deep whiff of the scent.

Then his eyes widened…

It smelt almost like himself….

…. But … it was different….

It couldn't be…..

Ryder had been talking to the firefighters, trying to understand what could have happened.

The firefighters were putting things away in their fire trucks as Ryder was sitting on the side of the truck.

"So…. This building hasn't been occupied in a few years?" Ryder asked again, trying to put all the pieces together.

The firefighter closed his side box to his truck and he turned to Ryder.

"It's as I said…." The firefighter began as he turned back to the young teenager sitting on his truck. "We're all baffled…. No one had set foot into this building for four years…."

"And you guys have no idea what could have caused the fire, sir?" Ryder continued to question. The firefighter slowly walked over to him and he adjusted his helmet to get a better few of the young teen.

"No… There's no way a fire started on its own… " The firefighter told Ryder as he slowly sat next to him. He gestured to the building. "Heck! Since there was more than one fire, we even started to inspect most of the buildings in Adventure Bay. Including this one!"

Ryder looked at the remains slowly, as he watched his dogs investigate the area.

They fell silent for a moment, but the firefighter extended his finger to gesture a point, which regained Ryder's attention.

"Which means … It's gotta be an arsonist…. That's all we can really come up with after investigating each fire." The firefighter continued to explain. Ryder's face turned serious. He knew that there had been too many fires recently, so he knew he was most likely right.

"That's why we called you and the Paw Patrol…" The firefighter said almost with excitement. "If anyone could solve this mystery in Adventure Bay it's you and your dogs!"

Ryder ended up smiling to his confidence towards him and his team. He stood up and he raised his hand to salute.

"Don't you worry sir!" Ryder started to cheer with reassurance. "There's no fire too big! And there's no mystery that can't be solved!"

The firefighter put up his thumbs with a great smile.

"Ohoho! You're one heck of a kid…. With your spirit and your team of amazing dogs, I have faith in the Paw Patrol!" The firefighter praised. Ryder smiled and he gestured his salute forward.

"We won't let you or Adventure Bay down, sir!"

Ryder turned, and he ran off, joining his dogs in the investigation, filled with confidence.

He knew that with his team, they would solve this mystery in no time!

…..

However…..

Unknown to Ryder and his team….

There was a strange group of creatures wearing thick, shadowy cloaks…..

Watching them from the rooftops…..

It was night time. Ryder and his team had returned to the tower for the night.

Although they had returned empty handed and not much further into their investigation.

They all still had the confidence and the will to carry on this mission.

However, Marshall could not find rest. Everything was just happening too fast for him.

At first it was just Everest, and the fact she had moved into the tower. It amazed him how much she had grown. She was beautiful to him. She remained in his mind, almost like it was stitched into his thoughts now.

He only wished…. that was the reason why he couldn't sleep.

But….. it wasn't why.

It was in the middle of the night now.

Marshall was in the main room in the Paw Patrol tower. He was staring out the window deep in his thoughts.

It was that picture he saw this morning….

Sure, it was a blur, but it reminded him of someone long ago.

….. Someone, he missed dearly.

…. But it couldn't be him…. Could it?

Marshall tried to push aside that thought, but the more he did, the more it seemed impossible to do.

At first this thought didn't bother him as much. He knew how impossible this idea was….

….. But …

That scent….

At first, that scent he picked up at the site of the fire, smelt offly like him but…..

It also reminded him of….

"Marshall….?"

Marshall broke away from his train of thought. He turned from the view of Adventure Bay and turned towards the elevator. It was Chase.

Chase wasn't wearing his uniform, other than his dog tag. He looked tired.

"O-Oh… Hey, Chase…." Marshall greeted as he slowly returned his gaze back onto the beautiful sight of Adventure Bay. Chase walked over and he slowly joined his side.

Chase smiled at this view. They could still see their peaceful city they swore to protect. They sat there for a while, not saying much at first.

It wasn't until Chase's smile faded that he turned to his best friend. There was something on Chase's mind too.

"... So… Couldn't sleep…?" Chase asked him tiredly. He did try to smile, but he was more concerned for Marshall than anything else.

Marshall took in a deep and emotional sigh.

"…. No …."

Chase opened his mouth to ask why, but he ended up stopping himself. He closed his mouth once the thought that seemed to keep him up lingered in his head.

He fell silent, but he scooted towards him slowly.

"We're… like best friends…. right?" Chase nervously asked the dalmatian. Marshall shook his head hard to that question, in disbelief that he would even ask such a question.

"What- …Where did that come from?" Marshall asked in such disbelief he ended up grinning at the question. "Of course we're best friends… We have been for our entire childhood."

Chase shuffled his front paws nervously. Marshall could see a bit of confusion in his face. He seemed to be deep in his own thoughts.

Marshall could tell something was bothering him as well.

Chase eventually turned back towards his best friend, with a worried expression.

"And … you wouldn't lie to me…. right?" Chase asked Marshall, causing Marshall to lose his smile. Marshall tilted his head slowly, feeling a bit nervous about what Chase had in mind to ask him.

….. Not that he had anything to hide.

Marshall shook his head slowly.

"Of course not, Chase….. Why? What's up?" Marshall answered slowly, curious about what was on Chase's mind.

Marshall watched as Chase shifted his paw a bit as he thought about his approach carefully. Chase sat up straight slowly.

"Well…. during our …. investigation today…." Chase started to tell his best friend, even though he felt nervous to do so. He paused to shuffle his front paw a bit. "I found this uh…. scent…. and um….."

Marshall's ears perked up a bit. He wondered if it was the same scent he had found during his investigation as well.

However, Marshall could tell that something was bothering Chase. Chase finally looked over towards his close friend.

"... You didn't…. cause that fire …. r-right?" Chase asked him nervously. Marshall stared for a moment, failing to process that question. Once he did, he shook his head hard.

"Wait- What!?" Marshall gasped loudly. He tilted his head with a sad expression. "Why on earth would you think I would do something so awful!?"

Chase felt his heart hurt. He felt so nervous and confused that his expression showed deep distress. Chase looked down.

"I- I don't know it's just …. just….. " Chase took a deep sigh. He glanced back over to Marshall. "It's just…. that scent I found …. was …. Yours….."

Marshall kept his eyes on Chase. Chase was almost ashamed of this conversation. He didn't want to think it was Marshall who had been starting these fires.

….. He didn't believe it was him, but…

"Oh…." Marshall sounded as he looked down. He then looked up towards the city. He took in a deep breath. " …. I see …."

This left them in a deep silence. It was quiet. Marshall watched the lights of the city during this silence. Chase kept his eyes to the floor, still feeling unsure about the investigation.

Marshall however understood Chase's confusion and he didn't blame him, which left him surprisingly calm. He knew he could trust Chase with anything.

He figured it was best to tell him….

…. He would understand the most.

"It wasn't my scent…." Marshall explained quietly. Chase's head perked up a bit, and he turned to Marshall silently. "I smelt it too….."

"It ….. It wasn't?" Chase asked, confused. He wanted to believe his best pal, but he just wasn't sure.

Marshall closed his eyes and softly shook his head.

"But… But it smelt just like you Marshall…." Chase continued to doubt in a soft whisper. Marshall slowly opened his eyes, still facing the view of the city.

He let the silence linger for a little while.

"Marshall….?"

Marshall took in a deep, shaky breath. He then let it out slowly. His gaze slowly fell to the floor.

"It's my …. brother's scent….." Marshall finally explained. Admitting this was hard for Marshall.

He didn't know how to feel….

He didn't believe it himself….

But Marshall had never gotten his brother's scent …..

It was the same scent as Marshall's collar….

The same collar that his brother use to wear…..

"Your … Your brother?" Chase repeated, sounding surprised. He turned a bit more, giving Marshall more of his attention. "You have a brother…..? I didn't know that…."

Marshall felt his expression grow a bit more sadder.

"... Well…. I… do…."

"Why didn't you tell me? How come you have never mentioned him….?" Chase questioned carefully. He shifted his body and moved closer to him. "Why haven't we…. met him….?"

Marshall didn't respond. He was still locked into his thoughts. He was trying to understand why this was happening.

… It couldn't have really been him…..

….. Right?

"Marshall….."

Marshall clenched his eyes shut, but only for a moment.

Chase saw the sadness in his eyes when they opened.

They remained silent for another long moment.

"That's because….. he died…. a really long time ago…"