(A/N): Hey guys! back with another heart wrenching chapter for you. This Roller Coaster is still going and it ant stopping anytime soon.
Were going to get into so much Rocky this Chapter so I hope your ready for an exciting time!
Welcome back to Paw Patrol: The Ballad of Dally!
Chapter 11: The Untold Story
When Chase and Skye got to the lookout, their attention was immediately grabbed by the commotion in front of Rocky's pup house. Zuma and Ryder were standing in front of the house trying to get Rocky to come back out. After parking, Chase and Skye make their way over there to assess the situation.
Zuma was begging on his knees for Rocky to come out. "Come on Wocky! Please! Come back out hewe dude!"
"No! I can't! Not with Ashley here! I'll be a chew toy!" They heard Rocky cry back.
Ryder tried his best to calm and assure his pup. "Rocky. That's not going to happen. I promise. I'm not going to let her hurt you."
"Ryder, I know you want me to trust you and I do! But you don't understand! I'm so scared to even be in the same area as her! That dog is going to kill me!" Rocky responded waverly.
Zuma was hurt by this as Chase noticed that Zuma was ready to cry in front of everybody. "B-But W-Wocky! You pwomised! You said that you will play with me today! We don't have to be hewe! We can go somewhere else like the beach ow the pawk!"
It noticeably took Rocky a bit before he could respond. The tone of his voice switched from absolute terror, to complete regret. "I-I know I promised you that I would at least try, but with Marshall's mom here, I can't take that chance. She hates me and she'll find me. I'm so sorry Zuma. I really am. Maybe another time, but definitely not today. I hope you understand pal."
Zuma looked as if his heart was ripped out and crushed before his eyes. His eyes were now flooded as he responded. "You know what Wocky? I understand completely." Zuma's face suddenly turned red as the hot tears streamed down his face. Before anyone knew it, Zuma's mood changed to a very sad anger. "I understand that…..You will never get over Mawshall's death! You will nevew let us help you! If you wanna shut youwself up and nevew come out then fine! I won't stop you because I can't cawe anymowe because it's vewy obvious that you...don't….cawe...about ME...ANYMOWE!"
Before anyone could stop him, Zuma ran away from the lookout as fast and furious as he could. Crying and wailing all the way out. Ryder, Chase, and Skye had horrific faces on them as the outburst played out right in front of them. Skye immediately took off after him, calling his name as she followed Zuma. "Zuma! Zuma! Come back!" Skye continued to follow the crying lab, as she disappeared from Ryder and Chase's view. It was then that an oblivious Rubble, who had just woken up, came walking into view, completely clueless as to what was going on.
"What the dog bone is going on here?" Rubble asked, as he was still yawning.
"A whole lot of things Rubble." Ryder answered sadly. "Too much to explain in one sentence."
"What's wrong with Zuma? Why was he crying?" Rubble asked, very concerned for his friend.
"Rocky is afraid to come out right now. He promised to spend time with Zuma today. So that's why Zuma is upset." Ryder said, very torn. "Poor pup."
"Afraid?" Rubble repeated. "That's strange. I know Rocky's been in despair in his pup house, but I'd never thought he would be scared."
"Well, if you must know," Ryder began. "Rocky is afraid of Marshall's mom."
"What?" Chase asked. "Why in the world would he be afraid of Marshall's mother?"
"I haven't got the faintest idea Chase. But we need to find out and settle it before things get out of hand." Ryder stated.
"Hold on. Time out!" Rubble interjected. "Marshall's mother? What do you mean?"
"Marshall's parents are here Rubble, they're in the lookout with my dad right now." Ryder explained.
Rubble looked at his owner with very wide eyes. "Marshall's parents AND Mr. Norman is here as well? Oh man. Did I choose an interesting time to wake up."
Chase looked at the lookout doors with sorrow and concern. His wonder about Marshall's parents well being overpowering everything going on. "They must be really torn up about Marshall. How bad are they Ryder sir?" Chase's voice was very soft as he half whimpered his question out.
Ryder closed his eyes and shook his head. The feeling of dread covered his voice. "It's worse than that little buddy. They only found out that Marshall had been here just a few days ago."
Rubble and Chase gasped deeply in unison. It was like Ryder's statement was a knife that went right into their hearts. Chase whined as Rubble struggled to speak. "Oh…..no….those p-poor dogs."
Chase added on to the sadness. "I-I thought we had it bad with losing Marshall. I couldn't imagine how they feel right now, not knowing where their son was until it was too late."
"That's exactly what I thought Chase." Ryder replied. "They're going through so much right now."
"But what does Rocky have to do with anything?" Rubble asked blatantly. "I know Marshall and Rocky were friends before we met them, so it's not totally out of the blue, but what did Rocky do to make him afraid of Marshall's mom? Did Rocky do something to hurt either them or Marshall?"
"I think that's highly unlikely buddy." Chase replied. "If that was the truth, Marshall wouldn't have wanted anything to do with Rocky when we found him."
"Well what could it be? Why is Rocky afraid of Marshall's mom?" Rubble asked, very pushing for an answer.
"I have no idea. The only clue we have is Ashley snapping at Rocky." Ryder revealed.
"What? She snapped at him?" Chase asked.
"Yeah, as soon as Rocky walked in the door and Ashley noticed him, she bared her teeth, growled, and snapped at him." Ryder informed.
"So." Chase replied. "It sounds like the both of them have an issue with each other."
"But what could that issue be?" Rubble asked curiously. "What could've caused the two of them to react the way they did."
Ryder cupped his chin with his hand. "Like I said before Rubble, I haven't got the faintest idea. Bear with me that this is the first time I'm hearing about all of this. I'm still trying to piece everything together."
Chase suddenly was very curious about Ryder's knowledge of Marshall's past. "How much of everything do you know Ryder sir?"
Ryder thought it was very strange how Chase asked him that question as if he knew it all himself. "I...I guess the basic outline of everything. Pretty much what Marshall's dad, Sparky told me."
It took a bit for Chase to respond to Ryder. He suddenly was very nervous about how he would react. "So…..you know just about everything. Marshall's struggle with the FRDA, The fire, and running away?"
The shock on Ryder's face told Chase that his owner had not expected him to know about Marshall's past. He didn't know why but it scared him a little.
"What? Y-You know about all of that?" Ryder struggled to ask, very shocked.
Chase looked at his owner as he answered very stiffly. "Yes Ryder sir. I know as much as you do."
"But…...But how? Marshall never talked about his parents or anything about his life at all. Whenever I tried to talk to him about it, he very intently, shrugged it off" Ryder replied.
Chase dipped his head down, as he thought of his friend. "He-He told me Ryder sir."
Ryder looked as if Chase's words stabbed Ryder's already torn heart. "He-He told….you?" He then stares at Chase very depressingly, as the shepherd looks at him while crouching a little. "When did he tell you?"
Chase hesitated a bit, as he thought that Ryder was mad at him. He answered in a very nervous tone. "Whe-When we became true friends Ryder sir. Before my father died. I had to pry it out of him, but he did tell me. Although he didn't give me a whole lotta details, I at least know about the fire and why he ran away."
Ryder looked away for a bit as he processed everything. Chase started to shake as he was scared that he unintentionally made Ryder mad at him.
"R-Ryder sir?" Chase waverly called.
Ryder looked at him instantly, and when he saw that Chase was shaking in fear, he realized how he came across to him.
"Ar-Are you mad at me?" Chase whimpered out.
Ryder went up to his pup and placed a hand on Chase's head. Chase winced at this a little until he felt Ryder petting him comfortably. Ryder then gets on one knee and looks into Chase's eyes caringly. "Of course not Chase. I'm not mad at you little buddy. I'm just…" Ryder drew a breath and sighed. "…hurt."
Chase relaxed a little as Ryder continued to pet his head softly. "It's not your fault Marshall never told me, and I don't blame you for not telling me either. Whatever reason Marshall had for not telling me, I would probably understand. But there's no way we can find out why now, and it's pointless at this point. What matters is getting Rocky to come out and figuring out what Ashley's problem with Rocky is, and then, see if there's any way they can reconcile. For Marshall's sake."
Chase was thinking the same thing. Marshall would probably freak if he ever saw both his mom and Rocky reacted to each other. There was just one little issue glaring in the shepherd's mind. Chase really didn't know about Marshall and Rocky's friendship before they were separated. All he knew was that they were best friends and little stories of them playing together. There was nothing he knew about Rocky's interactions with Marshall's parents and judging by the way Ashley snapped at the mixed breed, it was a no brainer why it wasn't talked about that often.
"How are we going to do that Ryder?" Rubble asked curiously.
"Were going to have to talk to both of them and see if we can go anywhere." Ryder said.
"What do you need me to do Ryder sir?" Chase asked in his normal professional way.
"I need you to talk to Rocky and see if you can get him to say what happened. I'll join my dad in talking with Sparky and Ashley and see if we can get anything out of them." Ryder announced.
Chase was a little confused. "You think I can get him to talk to me?"
"You got Marshall to talk, It should be no problem." Ryder said warmly with faith. "I know you can do it because you're very good about getting others to talk."
Chase didn't really understand why Ryder had so much faith in him getting Rocky to talk about something that was buried for so long. Still, Ryder was counting on him and he was going to give it your best shot. He stood on his fours as he responded. "Okay Ryder, I'll see what I can do."
"I hope you do Chase, because Marshall's funeral is in two days. If we can't get this issue put to bed, it's going to be very stressful when the time comes." Ryder added in.
Chase double taked at that. "Wait. Marshall's funeral?"
Ryder looked at his police pup with remorse. "Oh…...yeah….." He scratched the back of his neck, very embarrassed. "...I….uh...was supposed to tell you pups that the mayor and I have a memorial planned for Marshall in two days. It's going to be right here at the lookout."
A pit formed in Chase's stomach when Ryder told him about the funeral. It was another gruesome reminder that Marshall, Chase's best friend in the whole world, had met his doom. Chase didn't know how hard it would be to fully accept that when the time comes. Also, if it was going to be hard for him to say goodbye officially, he would wonder how difficult it would be for the others.
He suddenly felt Ryder's hand on his head as he was brought out of his thoughts by it. He looked up to a very concerned Ryder.
"Chase? You okay buddy?" the boy asked. Not hiding his concern for his police pup.
As he was clearing out his mind, Chase responded with a somber smile. "Yeah Ryder sir, I'm okay, and I won't let you down. I'll take care of Rocky."
"Well I need to get something to eat." Rubble commented suddenly. "My tummy has been aggravating me to death. Ryder? Can I get something to eat?"
Ryder smiled as he responded normally. "Sure thing little buddy, and I'll talk to Marshall's parents with dad. See if I can get anything out of them."
With that, Rubble and Ryder went into the lookout, leaving a very determined Chase at Rocky's pup house. He took a deep breath as he walked up to the door.
It's hopeless.
That's what Zuma thought as he laid on the wet sand, close to the water. The waves moving back and forth under his body would usually calm him, but it was not enough this time. It took all of his patience to finally get Rocky to come out of his pup house. Hours of waiting and crying had finally paid off and Rocky was finally coming out and enjoying life again. But it was too short and sweet to enjoy for long and that was the case when they stepped into the lookout. Rocky who had promised Zuma that he would try to forget everything and spend time with his best friend, quickly went back on it and retreated back to his pup house like a scared little puppy, forgetting about his promise completely.
Zuma didn't recognize the dogs he saw with Ryder and Mr. Norman, so he had no idea why Rocky scurry off like that. All he knew was the pain in his heart not just from Rocky breaking his promise, but the state of Rocky's personality.
From the time Marshall's accident happened, Zuma's concerns for Rocky seemed to rise as the past days events played out. What scared him the most was what Marshall himself had told him one day about how when Chase's father passed, Chase locked himself up and didn't talk to anybody, not even to Ryder. He had never heard Marshall so sad and scared as he was when Marshall told him what happened. It scared Zuma that it might happen to one of his closest friends and he would be in Marshall's paws. He hoped and pleaded that it never happened to any of his friends, of course not knowing of course about the dally's passing, and his best friend would be the one who would lock himself up and ignore everyone.
When the grave news was revealed to everybody at the lookout, Zuma nearly died on the spot from a shattered heart. He had never experienced the loss of a friend so close to him like Marshall was. He felt that the world was moving at breakneck speed and leaving the chocolate lab behind. Marshall meant so much to Zuma than any other pup on the team besides Rocky. In fact, Zuma felt that Rocky and Marshall were his two best friends in the entire world, and whenever they were all together, the world never stood a chance.
But in one single day, the bond shattered in a million pieces with one of them gone and the other changed into a pup beyond recognizable, with no hope of him being the same ever again, just like what happened to Chase.
Zuma knew it was coming when Rocky snapped and berated Chase and Skye for leaving Marshall trapped in city hall when it collapsed. Zuma was admittedly bothered by their decision, but he understood at least. If they had stayed to find him, they would've been trapped inside with Marshall and that would have been three close friends Zuma would've lost that day. He understood that it had to be done, they had to leave him in there. But Rocky didn't.
Zuma had never seen Rocky so upset in his life or any pup for that matter. He watched his own best friend turn into a horrible monster in those short five minutes. A monster that wanted to hurt his friends for the sake of one. For the first time in his life, Zuma was terrified of his best friend in what he would do. He thought that Rocky would've torn Chase to pieces had Ryder not stepped in. Rocky quickly retracted everything then, though Zuma could tell by the looks and tone of Rocky for the rest of the night, legitimate hate and anger oozed out of his body.
It only got worse two days later when the grave news was announced. After the team's grieving crying session on the ruined grounds of city hall, it was the last time Rocky was even seen outside his pup house. Zuma stayed just about the whole day and night, trying to talk to him. So long that Chase had to come out and convince him to go and get some sleep. Zuma pleaded and begged for Rocky to talk and come out but neither happened. All the lab got was total silence. He never got a response.
Zuma cried himself to sleep that night. He had never been so sad, so broken, and so scared. Not just because of losing Marshall, but he also felt that he lost Rocky as well. It was pretty much spelled out right in front of him. Rocky had changed, and was never going to be the same again. Rocky might as well be gone with Marshall.
Zuma laid lifelessly in the sand as his mind drowned in the thought of Rocky being in the state he is. He didn't want that. He wanted Rocky to be happy and healthy, not sad and hopeless. But that was only a wishful hope. The Rocky he knew was gone and just like Marshall, was never ever coming back. It's hopeless.
Zuma put his head in between his paws. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to move. He didn't even want to swim. All he wanted to do was lay in the sand and be washed away from life.
Soon enough, Skye's voice entered his ears, running closer to him. Zuma didn't move, he didn't even raise his head to address the incoming cockapoo. All he did was lay out in the wet sand like he just lost a very gruesome fight.
When Skye finally got up next to him, her train of thought was lost for a second as she looked how miserable Zuma looked. She sat there for a bit as she stared at Zuma like a fossil in a museum. No words could escape as her sadness for her friend was too strong for her to say anything to the lab.
Then, she got an idea. As soon as she thought of it, she got up next to Zuma and laid down next to him. She then scooted up next to him, making sure their bodies were touching she then started to nuzzle him comfortably the best she could.
Zuma's body tensed up at this as she continued to comfort him. He looked at her as he finally asked. "Um…..Skye? What awe you doing?"
Skye looked at Zuma as she gave him a warm smile. "You need a friend Zuma. And I'm that friend you need."
Zuma couldn't help but feel a little better thanks to Skye's efforts, but it didn't shove it all away as she may have hoped. "Thanks Skye. But it's not youw fwiendship I need right now."
"It's Rocky's, isn't it?" Skye brought up blatantly.
Zuma sighed sadly as he answered. "Who else would it be Skye?"
Skye took a minute before she replied. "I guess, It's a no brainer huh?"
Zuma didn't say anything at that. He closed his eyes and tears formed in his eyes. He whimpered as Skye rubbed her head on his cheek. "There There, Zuma. It's okay. Rocky's just going through a lot of emotions right now. He'll get better. I know he will."
She hoped Zuma would at least agree with her and say something along the lines of, "I know but I don't know how long I can hold on myself." but Zuma said something totally different.
"I don't know if I can believe you Skye." Zuma says, very depressing.
Skye of course was taken off guard by that. "Zuma, what do you mean you can't believe me?"
Zuma thought about it for a bit as Skye waited for a response. It took what seemed like an hour for the lab to answer. "Wocky has changed Skye. He'll nevew be the same again. Mawshall was just too big of a loss to him. Now he's going to just stay away from evewbody and no longew talk to us. I've twied waiting Skye. I twied. But I couldn't do it. I might as well have lost both of my best fweinds in the whole wowld."
Zuma whimpered as he dipped his head into his paws and cried to himself. But all of a sudden, after a few seconds of nothing, Skye suddenly responded with a little anger. "So…...that's it? You're just going to give up on him that quick?"
Zuma almost immediately shot his head up and turned to see a slightly angry looking Skye. "What?"
"You heard me Zuma. You're giving up on Rocky." Skye repeated, showing irritation. "That's what you're doing right?"
Zuma nearly squirmed in fear at Skye's sudden mood change. "I-I-I-I."
"I can't believe you Zuma. You're really giving up on your best friend." Skye pushed, as she got up and stared at the lab angrily.
"B-B-But…."
"But nothing! Rocky needs your help more than ever and you're going to just walk away from him." Skye criticized harshly.
It was then that Zuma tried to fire back. "I twied Skye! I weally did!"
"Skye instantly shot it down. "You can't just try when it comes to your friends Zuma. You've got to commit! You've got to go in hard for him!"
"Skye! I don't know what else to do!" Zuma shot back as tears started to flow down his face as he was more sad then angry. "Wocky has changed! Changed fow the wowst! He won't even talk to me anywowe! I got no other thing to do aftew that! I can't wait for him anymowe Skye! I've got to move on and helping a lost cause is not making it any easiew!"
"Zuma! You just don't get it! Rocky is not any different! He's still the same." Skye countered, although she was lowering her voice, as she didn't want to yell at the lab anymore. "He's just sick. Very sick, and he needs you more than ever."
Zuma lowered his head as he continued to let the tears roll down his face as he responded while almost crying. "Wh-What can I do Skye? We both know why he's like this. It's not like I can bring him back. That's what wocky wants mowe than evew wight now. I can't do that Skye, but he will nevew be happy without him. Which makes me not mattew to him anymowe."
Skye was stunned at Zuma's tearful comment. She felt Zuma really had lost all hope for the mixed breed, and had given his all in helping him. But still, she knew he can't give up. They all can't give up. No matter how bleak and miserable it looked down the road. Even if they had to move on without one of their closest friends, they had to move on. For his sake.
Skye had to convince Zuma to give Rocky another chance, cause if he does give up on him, it would only lead to more sadness and not letting go. Especially for Rocky and Zuma.
"Zuma. That's not true. You do matter to Rocky, and you probably are needed by him more than ever now because you're his best friend." Skye said as she tried to convince Zuma. "He needs you. Without you…..he can't move on. If you give up on him now, there's no telling what will happen to him. Please Zuma. Help Rocky. If not for you or him…"
Zuma looks at Skye as she puts her paw on the lab's shoulder. She then locks eyeballs with him. "...do it for Marshall."
The lab looked completely aghast to Skye's last statement. It hit him right on the bottom of his heart. Instantly, the image of the dalmatian appeared in his mind, smiling at him. The chocolate lab started to shake slightly as he looked at Skye one last time. "B-But what if I can't"
Skye smiles warmly at him. "You can Zuma. You can do it. Because you've got more help than you need from us."
After watching Ryder and Rubble walk into the lookout, Chase stood at Rocky's door thinking of a million possibilities of what the mixed breed was doing.
As the shepherd already thought before, Rocky was a complete disaster for the past few days due to Marshall's passing. He never came out of his pup house for anything, not even for Zuma. He doubted that the mixed breed had eaten at all since the day, which worried the police pup immensely. When Chase locked himself up, he at least ate. Not much, but he did eat.
Before he could knock, his mind drifted to everything he knew about Marshall's past and friendship with Rocky, or to be more accurate, what all he didn't know about their friendship with was a lot.
Although Marshall told the shepherd years ago about his life with his parents, and his very challenging period of fighting against the FRDA, he had notably left Rocky out. When they found Rocky, it was the first time he had ever heard of the pup and the friendship that they had, and even then, when Chase or anybody would ask about their time in San Francisco, all he got was that they hung out and played together. There were no stories he heard about anything personal between the two of them. Chase knew there was more there but for some reason, the two pups were holding back. Out of respect for the two pup's privacy, Chase never pressed hard on them about it. Mostly because there never was a real reason to ask and it was none of his business in the first place.
He still wondered though from time to time and it would eat him up that he didn't know. But he never had an excuse to find out, until now there is.
He put all his concerns and thoughts in the back of his head and just focused on getting Rocky to talk. Chase knocked on the door and almost immediately, he got a muffled response.
"I know that's you Chase. I know Ryder wants you to get me to come out. Don't waste your time pal. I'm not coming out. Not until Marshall's mom goes. She'll tear me apart. When she leaves, I'll come out. I promise."
"I know you're not going to come out." Chase responded softly. "But I'm not trying to drag you out here. I just wanna to talk buddy."
Silence followed as Chase stood there waiting for Rocky to respond.
"Come on Rocky. We need to know what this is about. Marshall's funeral is in two days, and Marshall's mom is more than likely going to be there. I know you would rather die a horrible death than miss Marshall's memorial. We're trying to solve this and make it better…." Chase paused before he finished. "...for Marshall's sake. I know he wouldn't want his best friend and mother fighting at all. So Ryder and I just want to be sure that everyone's on good terms with each other."
After a few minutes of silence, the door opened, revealing a very skittish and scared Rocky. He looked left and right like a wanted man and looked at Chase very shakingly. "Sh-She's not out here. Is she?"
Chase knew what he was talking about. "No buddy. She's not out here. She's inside the lookout with Ryder and Mr. Norman. It's just you and me now."
Rocky stopped shaking when he heard Chase's report, but he remained in his pup house. "Okay, I trust you Chase. But I'm going to stay in here. J-Just to be safe. Is that okay?"
Chase smiled warmly. Although the sight of Rocky scared out of his mind depressed Chase. He wanted the recycling pup to be as comfortable as he could. "Of course buddy. Just as long as you promise me that you'll tell me what all of this is about."
Rocky looked at Chase with trustworthy eyes. He nodded in response. "Okay Chase. I think it is fair if you know about what happened. But before I tell you, I've got to ask, what all did Marshall tell you about his past?"
Chase sat in front of Rocky as he began to inform the mixed breed all he knew. "I know all he was willing to tell me. His parents, his struggles with becoming a fire pup, the fire he started, and running away. He…..didn't say anything about you. I had no idea you were even friends with him until we found you." Chase looked at Rocky with sorrowful eyes as he was essentially telling him that Marshall didn't even mention him at all.
Amazingly, Rocky didn't have a face that resonated with shock or wonder. Instead, he had a face of depression. "It's okay Chase. I suspected that. Mostly because I have a good idea why he left me out of his stories. He was trying to protect me."
Chase's head tilted in absolute confusion of what Rocky said. "Huh? Protecting you? What would he feel like he needed to do that."
Rocky looked at Chase sternly. "Listen pal. There obviously a lot of details Marshall left out about his life, mostly about me. So I'm just going to start at where I met Marshall."
Rocky paused as he continued to stare at Chase, as if he was waiting for Chase to acknowledge him. Chase caught on to this as he sat still and focused. "Please Rocky. Tell me everything. So we can put this to rest."
Rocky looked left, then right again just to reassure himself that Ashley was nowhere to be found. Once he was sure, he cleared his throat. "Well…. Here we go. I haven't really told anybody this. Not even Zuma, cause I didn't want to upset Marshall. So please forgive me for not telling you guys anything about this."
Rocky swallowed hard as his nerves were up at eleven. Then, with a deep breath, he finally went on.
"When Marshall and I met, I had just ran away from my horrible owner at the time. It was a very painful and difficult time of my life, and I was admittedly trying to run away from that. I became a stray dog and started to live off the frisco streets which wasn't an easy life. Living on the streets meant I had to constantly look for food, water, and shelter. Added the fact that my head had to be on a swivel, due to the dog catchers that littered the streets. It would be horrible for me to get caught. I just got away from an abusive owner, and I didn't want any chance to go back to that life. So I had to watch my back all the time. The other stray dogs were also a problem. While most of them would mind their own business, some would be desperate and start taking for themselves. It didn't matter if you were a pup or a full grown dog, no one cared and I had to find my own needs myself and steer clear from trouble."
Chase stayed silent as he listened on. Rocky started to relax a little as he went on with his story.
"Eventually, I found a suitable place to stay. The dump. It wasn't the most ideal place to stay, but…..it was home. Thanks to me staying there, I was forced to be creative with various things and made things out of nothing. I taught myself to repurpose things and create some really cool stuff. Because of that, I was able to get by with a comfortable place to sleep, and shelter for rain. The only problem was…...food and water. Water wasn't too hard, as all I had to do was leave a bowl out to catch rainwater, but food was very hard to come by."
Sorrow filled Chase's heart for the recycling pup's struggle, but of course, that wasn't the end of it.
"It was usually very dangerous to look for food. The fear of getting caught and running into very mean and hungry dogs, terrified me. But it was the only way to get food, and even then, getting something edible was a luxury. Rarely would I get a lot to eat. I usually would find enough to maybe be half full. That's just how it was back then. Of course, this was all before I met Marshall."
Hope filled Chase's mind when Marshall was finally mentioned. He couldn't help but feel that once Marshall was in his life, Rocky would be fine. "How did you meet him?"
Rocky looked up in the sky and tears filled his eyes as he recalled when he met the dalmatian. "Believe it or not, I met him by complete accident. I was running from a pack of dogs who I stole bread from. They chased me all over the area, trying to get the bread back. But they couldn't catch me. I remember passing by a firehouse and turning into the alley. Then, all of a sudden, I bumped into another dog. I was so scared for my life that I immediately tried to scurry away, but the pack was too close to me and the alley was a dead end. Then, that dog I ran into was a pup. Which of course was Marshall."
Rocky smiled as the memory flooded his mind. "He noticed that I was in trouble, and wanted to help me. I strongly declined. It was stupid to just make friends with every dog on the street as you don't know if they wanna be your friend, or take advantage of you. So I didn't trust him to help me, fearing that he would want to take the bread I stole from the pack, and then I wouldn't have anything to eat. But instead of getting mean and growling at me, like all dogs did at that time, he kept calm and reassured me that he wasn't going to hurt me. I still declined out of habit. Then….the pack came. At this point, I expected him to run off and leave me to get torn apart. But...he didn't. He stayed. Not only that, he stared down three dogs who were way bigger than him, and berated them for picking on me. The three stayed and bared their teeth at him, but he stayed put, and continued to stand his ground. I don't know what caused them to, but for some unexplained reason, the dogs left, leaving him and a still terrified me shaking in my paws from nose to tail."
Anticipation and awe was in Chase's mind as he listened to Rocky. He had never expected for Marshall to put his paw down on a very mean pack of wild dogs for a pup he just met.
Rocky was in deep thought for a moment before he continued. "He came up to me. Still with a smile and continued to reassure me that he wasn't going to hurt me. For reasons I can't explain, I eased up and stopped shaking. I suddenly trusted him. He then wanted to see what I took from them and after some convincing that he wouldn't hurt me, I showed him. He looked at it and stated that it was now good, as it had mold on it. He asked me how hungry I was and I told him that I hadn't eaten in two days. Once he heard that, he told me to stay put and he would be back. Then, he sped off. To tell you the truth, I wanted to leave. I felt that there was no way I would get this much help without having to regret it later. I didn't know whether or not he would come back with dog catchers or a pack of his own. But…...for some reason…..I stayed. I don't know if it was because of the way he treated me or something else. He wasn't nasty, he wasn't mean to me, he was…..very caring and friendly. Like it was he wasn't satisfied until I was okay. I was still scared a little as I didn't know what would happen, but I felt myself ease up and wanted to stay. Hoping, for once in my life, something good would happen to me…..and thankfully…..it did."
Rocky's noses suddenly sniffled as tears formed in his eyes, as the story reminded him of how much of a good pup Marshall was. "He came back with more food than I had ever seen at that point in my life, and he gave it all to me. Normally, I would have declined all of it, but I was just tooooo hungry to think about morals and ethics. I chowed down and ate all of it while he watched with horror on his face at how hungry I really was. When I was done, we told each other our names and just like that, we were friends."
Chase was amazed at Rocky's story. Mostly at Marshall's kindness for a pup he only just met. "He-He really did that for you?"
"It wasn't the only time." Rocky added. "In fact, every night, he would bring food out there for me. So everyday, we saw each other somewhere and we would play all day long. It was so much of a routine that if I, for some reason wasn't there, Marshall would freak and wonder where I was. To him, it was like he couldn't go one day without seeing me once, just to know if I was okay."
Chase could definitely relate to that, knowing first hand how worried Marshall would get once he heard of any sort of despair happening to one of his friends. One question came across his mind suddenly as he adopted a curious face. "That's Marshall for ya. But one thing I've been wondering is of all these times Marshall had been helping you, his parents had to have catched on that something was up."
"You would be correct Chase." Rocky confirmed. "They did find out eventually."
Chase looked on with anticipation, this was the bit that was very important right now, and he wasn't going to let it blow over his head. He asked with the most curious face. "What happened? Did they tell Marshall to stop?"
"Well, not really. They wanted to help me. The only problem was that the firehouse was against having a stray dog run around, so eventually, Marshall had to go all the way to the dump to give me the food he wanted to give me, and whenever we played, we would play at the park."
"So….Marshall's parents liked you?" Chase asked blatantly.
"It seemed like it. Although, I could tell that the only reason they were nice to me was because I made Marshall happy. If I would've hurt Marshall in any way, I would've been dropped like a rock. It almost happened on multiple occasions thanks to our…..adventures." Rocky said.
"Adventures? What sort of adventures did you and Marshall have?" Chase pressed curiously.
"Not major ones." Rocky answered. "Just various situations me and Marshall would wind up because either one of us would mess up or so. Like one time where Marshall was mistakenly caught by a dog catcher and I had to save him before Marshall's parents or the firehouse found out. That was a very stressful time for me, I tell you."
"Wow." Chase responded with amazement. "Were you able to?"
Rocky shook his head as he suddenly lowered it in embarrassment. "No. I had to go and ask them for help to save Marshall. After we saved him, Marshall's mom was furious with me, saying of how careless I was. If it wasn't for Marshall's dad, Sparky stepping in and thanking me for at least being honest with them, I probably would've never seen Marshall again."
"So…...this thing between you and Ashley, did it start there?" Chase asked.
Rocky shook his head again at Chase's question. "No. What me and Marshall's mom issue was, it started way before. I could tell by hanging around her that she had a magnifying glass over me. I didn't know because if I was a stray or not, but whenever I would spend time with Marshall, I could see and feel the uneasiness from her."
"Did she not like you?" Chase asked curiously.
"I'm not really sure." Rocky answered with a intrigued face. "It wasn't like she actively tried to keep Marshall away from me. Especially in the beginning where she was nice to me. But, as the days went by, I could tell that she didn't really trust me so much with her pup. Unless Marshall and I screwed up bad, she never got very mad at me. For a while, everything was great with Marshall and I thought our friendship would last forever."
Rocky then teared up a little at the memories of Marshall. "W-We did everything together, and when he started to move up in his training, I was one of his biggest supporters. I knew he was going to be an amazing fire dog and I was going to be his best friend right beside him to the very end. But then….." Rocky suddenly dipped his head in sadness. "...the fire happened."
"You're talking about the fire at the firehouse right? The one that Marshall got in deep trouble with the Fire Dog Association? The one that drove him to run away?" Chase incited.
Rocky kept his head hung down when he answered. "Yeah. That fire changed everything for everyone around it." Rocky finally lifted his head and looked at Chase. "Tell me Chase, what did Marshall say about the fire?"
Chase was caught off guard by this, as he didn't really know a lot about it thanks to the vague details that Marshall gave him. "Well….he didn't really say much about it, but basically, he told me that he was playing a little too rough inside and thanks to his clumsiness, he knocked a lit candle and tried his best to put it out, but it spread fast and the firemen from the house had to put it out."
After Chase told him that, Rocky lowered his head a little more, and shifted his eyes to the right, looking very disappointed. "That's really all he said?"
Chase was weirded out by this as he noticed how fidgety Rocky looked. Like he was unsure. He raised an eyebrow at the mixed breed. "Y-Yeah. He didn't say anything else about it. Just that the fire caused him problems with the association and he ran away because of it."
It took Rocky a bit before he looked at Chase very stiffly. "Thought so. Chase, there's a lot about that fire that Marshall didn't tell you. The main important point was that he did not start that fire."
Chase's eyes went wide at this sudden revelation. "What? He didn't? Then…...who did?"
Rocky locked eyes with Chase as he revealed the untold truth.
"It was me Chase. I started the fire."
Silence filled the air as Chase's mind was thrown for a massive loop.
(A/N): And what a very massive loop for the roller coaster to go over. This has just got very interesting.
Chapter 12 is in the works but it may take a bit to come out so I ask for your total patience as I will try to get it out soon.
Question of the Chapter: Do you think Marshall's parents know about Rocky's involvement with the fire?
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!