Episode 22: Pups Turn On The Lights! Happy Birthday, Chase!
November 13th, 2029
Today was an extraordinarily windy day for the town of Adventure Day… but for Ben and the PAW Patrol, it was one of the most important days of the year. Today was Chase's eighth birthday! You only turn eight once, and the group wanted to make the festivities as amazing as possible.
At that moment in time, the sun was beginning to set, the skies turning that shade of orange, pink, and purple when the sun went down. Ryder, Rubble, Skye, Rocky, Marshall, Zuma, Alex, and Callie were helping set up the party for their beloved German Shepherd at Katie's pet salon/clinic.
Rocky was helping set up the streamers using his old launcher invention, the one that he had used all those years ago to save Callie in the junkyard. "If Chase's party is half as fun as decorating it, then it'll be the best one ever!" Rocky exclaimed.
"You bet it will be, but one of the most important pieces of any party is the birthday cake!" Katie reminded the group.
Skye then looked around at everyone present before noticing that Ben wasn't helping with the setup. "Hey, where's Ben? And who's making sure that Chase won't walk in on us while we set up the party? I thought Marshall was going to do that!" Skye asked.
The spotted puppy chuckled nervously. "You know I'm not the best at keeping secrets, Skye… and you know that Chase has been acting a bit weird towards Ben lately." Marshall answered.
"Exactly! I wanted those two to resolve their differences and get to the bottom of what's going on." Ryder affirmed, setting down some party hats.
"Plus, Ben's really good at keeping secrets! Remember the Halloween costume surprise he made for Ryder, with that Red Ranger suit? And he had his own Green Ranger one!" Rubble pointed out. Everyone nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, as the rest of the group prepared for the celebration, Ben and Chase were playing in the park. Ben was trying to think of other things to do. "Ben, we've been playing fetch for over twenty-five minutes now… is something wrong?" Chase asked.
Ben paled in response. Shoot, he's onto me! What should I do? Ben thought to himself. Wracking his brains quickly for an answer, he decided to come clean… not about the birthday party, but about the other thing. Ben sat down on the playground slide, motioning for Chase to come over. "Okay, Chase… Well, I've noticed something off between us as of recently. Like, you sometimes seem bitter towards me, and at other times you seem to be really happy when I give you attention." Ben explained.
Chase sighed. "It's nothing, really." Chase mumbled, a little uncomfortable with this subject.
Ben was tempted to back off, but he knew he had to keep pushing. "No, Chase, it isn't nothing. If we keep putting this off, it might turn into something that could impede our ability to work together." Ben insisted.
Chase growled, before standing up and shaking his head. "I don't want to. It's stupid." Chase growled, a bit more forcefully.
Ben changed his tactics, going for a more somber approach. Ben picked up the pup and hugged him tightly. It felt a little awkward, but maybe he could use that to his advantage. "Chase, you know you can come to me with anything, right? We were there together at the start of the PAW Patrol. I know you're closer with Ryder than you are with me, but that doesn't mean that I don't care equally as much about you." Ben solemnly said.
"Do you, though?" Chase blurted out.
Ben froze up at that question. "What do you mean, do I?!" Ben asked nervously.
Chase leapt out of Ben's hug and landed on the ground, before meeting Ben's gaze with a sad, somber expression. "Well… after Marshall joined, you started spending more time with him. And when Skye and the others joined… you kept spending more and more time with them, and less time with me. After you took Alex home from Farmer Yumi's… well, I feel like we barely spend any time together anymore." Chase whimpered.
"Oh my god. You're right." Ben whispered, horrified. He picked Chase up and gave him a giant hug again. "I'm so sorry, Chase… I wish you had said something, but I can't change the past. I promise, though, I'm not going to neglect you like that anymore. I'm gonna give you tons more attention, and treats, and affection, and care…" Ben promised, a tear streaming down his face.
He felt absolutely awful. He let Chase get down in the dumps like that… he wouldn't do that again. Sure, he'd spend lots of time with the other pups, but he would put extra focus on Chase now. At least for the near future. A gust of wind made the two of them shiver, and Ben was glad that they were hugging and sharing warmth. "Wow, it's getting pretty windy. Maybe we should go find Ryder and the others." Chase commented.
Ben was about to tell him no, but then he realized he could use this to his advantage and play along. "Sure, I think they're at the Lookout. Let's go!" Ben replied, running to the Lookout with Chase. As they started to head towards the tower, they saw the lamp posts on the street go out, as well as the lights from the buildings. "That's not good." Ben murmured.
No power to this area meant no power to Katie's pet salon, and without power over there, they probably didn't have any lights or music for the party… Ben's thoughts were interrupted by Ryder radioing them over their communications. "PAW Patrol, to the Lookout!" Ryder's voice announced.
"Ryder's calling us! I bet it has something to do with all of this wind!" Chase mused as he and Ben picked up the pace, running to the Lookout. Marshall ended up overtaking them, and was ecstatic.
"I'm gonna be first in the elevator this time!" Marshall ecstatically yelled out as he bounded up to the Lookout entrance.
Then Ben realized something. If the power to Katie's salon and the streets was down, then that meant the Lookout Tower's power was gone as well! "Marshall, the door won't open if-" The eighteen year old warned before Marshall bonked into the door.
"Right… the doors won't open if we don't have electricity. We'd better tell the others." Marshall said. Ben shook his head in response, and then scrambled out of the way as the other five canines crashed into Marshall and Chase.
"A bit too late for that. Anyways, it'll take some good old fashioned muscle to get those doors open. Stand back, pups!" Ben proclaimed. Walking up to the glass sliding doors and digging his fingernails into the small section between the two doors, Ben groaned as he pried the doors apart. "Come on… COME ON!" Ben yelled in exertion as he forced the doors open. Rocky ran up and jammed a screwdriver into the opening, helping create a way inside.
"All right, we got it open! Now we can get our gear!" Rubble cheered. The pups ran inside and got their spare outfits from the lookout lobby's closet. They had spare uniforms and pup packs for the group there if the power ever went out. While everyone got dressed in their gear, Marshall used his fire truck to get Ryder to the top of the Lookout.
Everyone assembled in the lobby, and Ryder slid down the pole from the control room to the main floor. "PAW Patrol, ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase reported. "Pups, we have a special emergency. The strong winds made the windmills blow so fast that it caused a fuse to blow out at the power center for Adventure Bay! That's why there's no power on Main Street or here at the Lookout. We need to fix it so we can bring electricity back to the town." Ryder explained.
The spiky haired teen started to give out the assignments. "Alex, you and Ben are going to the power plant to replace the blown fuses. Rocky, you'll be going with them and helping them with the machinery. Chase, you and I are going to direct traffic. The stoplights can't operate without power, so we'll use your siren and megaphone to direct traffic. The rest of you pups will go to Katie's and help her out. She's got some tasks that she needs a paw or two to help out with in the dark. Skye, you'll be in charge." Ryder instructed, giving a cover story for why Zuma, Skye, Marshall, and Rubble were needed at the salon.
"Light or dark, I've got the spark!" The wolf cub howled.
"Green means go!" Rocky cried out.
"I'm ready for a morphenomenal rescue!" Ben exclaimed.
"Chase is on the case!" The German Shepherd yipped.
"All right! PAW Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder cheered before taking the fire pole to the garage. Alex's new vehicle had been put in the garage for the time being, so Ben and Alex would be going through the garage to leave. Chase and Rocky leapt into their pupmobiles while Alex and Ben got into their vehicles.
This was the first test run of Alex's new electrical van pupmobile and pup pack! Ben and Ryder had equipped all sorts of gadgets for a multitude of scenarios that would allow Alex to help out in a variety of rescues and situations, not limited to just electrical related issues. Ryder and Ben had to force open the garage door, with Alex's purple electrician van, Ryder's ATV, and Ben's motorcycle roaring their engines. "PAW Patrol, roll to the rescue!" Ben shouted out as they rode off.
As the group rode out to the power plant, the other pups ran over to Katie's, where Everest, Jake, Carlos, and Tracker were talking to Katie and also with each other. This was the first time that Tracker and Everest had met- they seemed to be getting along well. "I've never spoken Spanish before! Maybe you could teach me sometime, Tracker!" Everest giggled.
"¡Sí! I would be happy to teach you, miss Everest! Now let's make sure that our amigo Chase has the best eighth birthday party ever!" Tracker responded happily, wiggling his ears.
Skye, Rubble, Zuma, and Marshall arrived at the pet salon and greeted everyone. "Thanks for coming to Chase's party, everyone! Unfortunately, the wind power plant had a problem, but don't worry! Chase, Ben, Ryder, Alex, and Rocky are on it, and they're doing their best to make sure that the power grid comes back online! In the meantime, let's plan out activities to do in the dark, in case the problem can't be solved by them." Katie told the pups and their humans, motioning for them to come inside.
Meanwhile, at the power plant, the group made their way inside, where the electricians on site were happy to show them the way to the problem area. Alex's pup pack contained wires, multiple types of pliers, tweezers, pipes, cable ties, several varieties of batteries, an insulated screwdriver, high power flashlights, rubber, circuit breakers, digital multimeter, a glow stick, voltage tester, circuit finder, a camera, and electrical tape.
"Thanks for coming, PAW Patrol. With you here now, this'll get accomplished much faster than it would have without you." Joe the electrician gratefully told them. "It's no trouble, Joe. We're happy to help." Ryder replied sincerely.
"I got this! RUFF! Spotlights!" Alex barked out, and two large flashlights emerged from his pup pack, significantly illuminating the area.
Once they arrived at the big breaker box, Alex and Joe began to unscrew the main panel. With the specialized goggles that Alex's helmet had, he was able to identify the blown fuse in a matter of minutes. "Wow, that would have taken hours for me to do alone!" Joe praised.
"Thanks, mister Joe!" Alex chuckled, before barking out his insulated screwdriver and using it to remove the damaged fuse.
Squinting and focusing his light on the fuse he had just removed, he studied the markings on it and relayed the information to Joe. "I need a 300 amperage fuse, type C." Alex told the electrician, who walked over to a box of fuses and dug around for a bit before giving the wolf pup the specified fuse.
A wolfish grin on his face, the wolf screwed the new fuse in where the old one had been removed, before Rocky helped screw the main panel back on. "Let's see if it worked, pups!" Joe said as he flipped the power switch. The lights in the power plant and presumably all across the city came back on, the telltale hum of electricity being heard.
"ALEX, YOU DID IT! You brought the power back!" Rocky yelled in delight.
"That's my pup!" Ben proudly shouted out, picking up Alex and giving him a hug. Then he picked up Rocky and gave him a hug too. "We couldn't have done it without you, Rocky. Thanks for the help. Now let's get to Katie's and prepare for the party!" Ben chuckled, giving the two of them head scratches before they went back to Katie's.
Once Ben, the wolf cub, and the mixed breed were at the salon, Katie called Ryder. "Hey Ryder, the pups want to show you all something at my salon! Can you come on over?" Katie suggested. "Sure thing, Katie! We'll be right there!" Ryder answered.
Ben waved hello to Tracker, Everest, Carlos, and Jake. "Thanks for taking the time out of your days and making the drive to Adventure Bay, you four. I know it'll mean a lot to Chase." Ben thanked the reserve members of the PAW Patrol and their human pals.
"Of course! Chase has helped me out in the mountains several times. I'm happy to be here to support the little dude." Jake grinned in response.
"Anything for a friend!" Everest agreed.
"Of course me and Tracker would come! Birthdays are really special!" Carlos exclaimed.
"I want to make sure that Chase's cumpleaños is el mas fantástico! I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Tracker affirmed.
Ben looked at the GPS system and saw Chase had nearly arrived at the salon. "Okay everyone, Chase is almost here! Hide!" Ben hurriedly announced, diving behind the counter.
When the glass doors opened for Chase, everyone leapt out and yelled "SURPRISE!" as the lights turned on. "Woah! You all remembered it was my birthday!" Chase chuckled. In reality, the German Shepherd had his suspicions that the rest of the group had been preparing his party.
"Happy birthday, Chase. We couldn't make you a regular cake, so I hope you enjoy this canine cookie cake." Katie sweetly said, a bit of an apologetic tone as she set the plate down on the floor for him. Eight small pepperoni chews were sticking out of the cookie.
"You guys turned the lights back on and made a party for me? You guys are amazing!" Chase exclaimed.
"Like I always say! Anything for a friend!" Everest earnestly told Chase.
"Friends are muy importantes, and I really wanted to make your birthday special!" Tracker admitted.
"Let's get this party started!" Ben insisted, and then the festivities began.