(A/N): Hey guys. Back with another chapter in this gritting story.
This takes place a few weeks after the events of the Wolf's Emerald story that will be published later on down the line so excuse the lack of precise details of the events. (some things are best enjoyed when you experience it, don't you think?) A lot of things have happened since so this is a little recap of what's been going on along with Rubble making a massive discovery and the return of a fan favorite character!
Welcome back to Paw Patrol: The Ballad of Dally!
Chapter 29: Watching a Songbird
The sounds of the ducks quacking filled Rubble's ears with delight as they swam in the new pond Rubble dug for them. He grinned from ear to ear as he watched them swim around in their new home.
"Aww. You little duckies are sooo cute in your wittle bitty pond." Rubble chimed. Falling in love with the ducks. "I hope you love it. I put all my feewings in this pond."
At that time, Farmer Al appeared behind him with a warm smile. "I don't think I could thank you enough for coming down here and building this here pond for our new ducks. They're going to be nice and comfy there."
"Of course Farmer Al. Anything I could do for these cute duckies and their wittle friends." Rubble replied, as he inched his snout closer to one of them. A duck looked at him curiously, and then abruptly, bit his nose, thinking he was food.
"YIPE!" Rubble yelped, as he covered his nose with his paw, whimpering. The duck swam along, leaving the bulldog to whine in his pain.
"I guess I forgot to tell you, I hadn't fed them yet." Farmer Al chuckled.
Rubble rubbed his nose with a groan. "I hope you will feed them well, because he wanted to swallow me whole."
A quick laugh sounded from both of them as Farmer Yumi walked up to them chuckling herself. "It's nice to see you two enjoying yourselves. Especially you Al, since you are still not done with your chores yet."
"Hey! I was helping Rubble with the pond sweet cakes." Al defended.
"That may be, but Petunia isn't going to feed herself. Why don't you get right to it." Yumi grinned. "And while you're at it, go check on the corn, make sure we're not having any unexpected visitors."
"Aw but honey buuunch." Al whined. "I want to tune up the tractor todaaay."
"You can waste time with our toy later now, now get to it." Yumi ordered sternly.
Al sighed sadly, as he left the party to finish his chores.
"Farmer Yumi. Why do you gotta make him sad like that? He was helping me, you know." Rubble whimpered.
"I know, and you two did a great job. But we do run a farm after all. We need to keep our productivity up so we can make it through the harvest." Yumi mentioned, as she petted Rubble. "I really appreciate you coming down here and helping us with the pond. We would've spent all day digging that pond, had it not been for you."
Rubble smiled gleefully. "Of course Farmer Yumi. I'm always willing to lend a paw to anyone. Especially if I didn't have anything to do today. However, I gotta get back to the lookout, so Ryder and the pups don't miss me too much."
"Understand Rubble. Just be careful getting home." Yumi stated as Rubble made his way to his rig to leave.
Before he got in his bulldozer though, Yumi called back to him.
"Rubble?"
The bulldog turned around and saw the farmer wasn't smiling anymore. Instead, she had a worrisome look on her face. "I forgot to ask….will more like I didn't want to ask, but, I wanna know how Ryder and you all are doing. Are you all okay?"
Despite Farmer Yumi's uneasiness, Rubble smiled in response. "Yeah, Farmer Yumi. We're living, but we're okay."
"I'm sorry to trouble you Rubble, but I've been so worried for you all. Especially after what happened a few weeks ago."
Even though she meant well, Rubble wished she never brought up what happened those weeks ago, where the Paw Patrol was hit with yet another crucial moment, where it's survival hung in the balance.
While coming back from a routine mission with Chase and Skye, Ryder had a horrific accident. A mechanical failure caused Ryder to crash into a tree, launching him into another. Totaling his ATV and nearly breaking his body in half. Skye and Chase had to air lift him to the Foggy Bottom medical center, for if they drove, Ryder would've died on the way. Thanks to Skye's quick and delicate flying and Chase's care on the way, Ryder made it in time for doctors to stabilize him and operate.
Nearly the entire time he was in the operating room, the pups tore themselves up not knowing if their fearless and strong leader would make it. Katie and the Mayor comforted them for hours, until the doctors finally gave the update of Ryder's fate. Stating that Ryder was very lucky to have such determined pups, and he was seconds away from dying when they got to him. He couldn't guarantee Ryder's survival though. Said that they were able to operate on him, but he was in a deep coma, and had a twenty percent chance of waking up.
The next two weeks were very difficult to get through, not only for the pups, but Adventure Bay. Ryder spent two weeks at the hospital, deep in his coma, as various pups and people cried for him, including the pups, Katie, Mayor Goodway, Alex and Mr. Porter, Jake, Captain Turbot and even Ryder's father. Though a true shock to all, was the long unexpected return of Ryder's mom, Clarie, along with Stormy.
It was very rare to see Clarie anywhere close to Adventure Bay. So much that neither pup ever saw her in their lives except for Chase of course. But at the time, Chase wasn't there, along with Rocky and Zuma, so the only way Skye and Rubble found out who she was, was a very unhappy Norman, berating for nearly thirty minutes. Skye and Rubble never saw Norman so angry in their lives, but despite the badgering, Claire barely noticed him, her focus was on her son.
She stayed all night in that hospital with Skye and Katie, never wanting to leave her son's side. Norman was eventually ejected for disruptive behavior, with Rubble escorting him home, so whatever happened in that room was a mystery to the bulldog. Eventually, Norman was allowed back in, under the conditions that he not get very loud. He was visibly annoyed at his ex-wife being there, but was able to contain himself to be there for his son.
After many days of Ryder being in his coma, he finally woke up to the sight of his dad, Skye, Katie, Rubble, and to his surprise, His mother and Stormy. The doctor's cleared the room with everyone being pushed out to the waiting room. In a strange turn of events, Clarie left the hospital. Against Stormy's and everyone's wishes. Seemingly back out of the Adventure plateau and didn't even stay behind to say goodbye.
Ryder was brought home to an overwhelming welcome party at the lookout, but Ryder turned a cold shoulder to all that and went straight to his room. Then merely ten minutes later, Ryder came back down and was suddenly in a much cheery mood, willing to party and celebrate his life with everyone, as much as his body would allow him to. That was, until he found out that Chase, Rocky, and Zuma were on a mission by themselves in Wintergreen. He nearly went insane for their well being, taking Skye, Rubble, Katie, Norman, and Chase himself, reporting their status, to reassure Ryder that they were alright and safe.
It was a very weird time to be a member of Paw Patrol in those few weeks, as Ryder had to slowly heal from his accident, causing the pups to go a little bit on their own, with Ryder communicating through their pup tags whenever he was not resting. For the missions where he was resting, Chase had to step up as full leader, which he did do a good job, but there were definitely some blunders.
Rubble kept his smile on, willing to tell Farmer Yumi good news. "He's doing fine, Farmer Yumi. He's able to walk without his cane now. Give it a few more days and he will be good as new."
The smile that appeared on the Farmer's face couldn't have gotten any bigger. "That's great to hear Rubble. I think I may come by and see him once my chores are done."
"Feel free to Farmer Yumi. You will be so happy to see how Ryder is doing." Rubble cheered, as he hopped into his rig and started it up. "See you soon, Farmer Yumi!"
Rubble pushed on the throttle, and made his way back to the lookout.
It was a daily routine for Chase to go up and check with Skye on Ryder's well being. Well… more like an hourly routine. Seeing him improve everyday was a gift to him, considering that Ryder's fate was almost sealed a few weeks ago.
Next to seeing his father die, watching Ryder's horrific accident and flying with him to the hospital, was the most traumatic experience he had ever been through. The helicopter ride of despair he called it. When Skye airlifted him with her recently upgraded helicopter to transport victims inside, Chase opted to keep Ryder company throughout the trip.
During the trip….Chase went through the most scary twenty minutes of his life. Halfway to Foggy Bottom, Ryder….died. For two minutes his owner was dead, but by some miracle, Ryder came back and held on until they arrived at Foggy Bottom.
Then to follow that up, the doctor informed the group that Ryder had a twenty percent chance to live, as he was in a deep coma and the only way to know if Ryder would survive, was if he woke up.
After losing one of their own ten months earlier, he was in danger of losing another he cared for, and it nearly tore Chase to pieces. But being the strong, and fearless pup he was, he pushed through despite him dying inside the more days that went by. He was the de facto leader and had to take the mantle of Paw Patrol. Though his confidence in leading the team dwindled as he questioned if he could really do it. That was until his trip to Wintergreen proved to him that he could.
The second week into Ryder's coma, a lone wolf pup named Roxy showed up at the lookout, begging for the Paw Patrol's help. He stated that Mayor Humdinger had invaded his pack, demanding that they fork over their Wolf's Emerald. A powerful gemstone that was essential to his culture. The pups decided as a group that they needed to stop Mayor Humdinger as soon as they could, even with their leader down for the count. Deciding that three members would go out, while two stayed behind for their owner. Those three members were Rocky, Zuma, and Chase.
Rocky and Zuma both volunteered to go, and they requested that they needed Chase's leadership. Chase didn't want to go. He was too worried for not being here when Ryder needed him, but after numerous attempts of convincing from Rocky, Zuma, Roxy, and some input from a certain lost friend, Chase agreed to help, with Skye staying for Ryder's health, and Rubble to stay behind, in case other missions popped up. Even though no one dared request, due to Ryder's condition, you never can be too prepared.
The trip was a very eventful trip to say the least. Not only did they have to fight for their lives to secure the emerald, but it was also an emotional roller coaster for all three of them. Chase himself barely made it through, as his mind was constantly dwelling on Ryder's fate along with some leftover grief of Marshall's passing. To make it worse, Rocky and Zuma had their own problems to deal with. On top of the animosity that they had between each other for no known reason, Rocky was emotionally compromised, and Zuma being physically challenged by almost dying three separate times. So he basically carried the team more than he thought he would, therefore, couldn't show any signs of weakness to them.
The weight of everything nearly caused his spirit, and it showed in the mistakes he would make that nearly got all of them killed. That very thing would've happened, had it not been for a certain pup, who went out of his way to knock Chase back into gear. Amazingly, it wasn't Rocky or Zuma, it was the wolf pup that asked them for help, Roxy.
Chase never expected to grow so close to the wolf pup, but thanks to a long and deep talk one night, Chase and Roxy formed a tough bond that was hard to break.
During that talk, Roxy somehow got Chase to open up about everything that happened in the span of ten months. Preventing Skye from running away, saving Rocky from killing himself, Zuma being mad at him, Ryder getting critically injured and his fate unknown, his nightmares, and the one thing that started this whole mess, losing his best friend in the whole world, and the promise he made to him.
He told it all, every single thing that had haunted him since that fateful day ten months ago, and how all that baggage was crushing him inside. Along with the pressure he had to lead his team, which was preventing him from being the leader he needed. Then, Roxy said that took Chase off guard. He told him that he resonated with him all the way.
Even though Roxy never was in charge of anything in his life, he knew how it felt to have the pressure weigh on him. Roxy went on to tell him that since he was the Alpha-Heir of the pack, he was destined to lead them after his father passed, and had to learn all that he could to be an efficient leader. No matter if Roxy wanted to or not, or ready for that matter. He told Chase that he would often freak out when he thought about the day it happens, not sure if he will be suitable to be a strong leader like his father was.
Not only that, Roxy also claimed that he knew how it felt to not be with your best friend. While he hadn't lost anyone close to him like Chase had, a striking similar pain was still felt by Roxy. His best friend was another Alpha-Heir, from a different pack. A rival pack that wanted nothing to do with him, and vice versa. Roxy couldn't spend time with her normally, if he was lucky. There have been plenty of times where he wished he was with her, so she could talk with her, and help each other through their parallel lives, but thanks to the packs feuding, that was a luxury too hard to fulfill.
Chase resonated with this in almost every way. While they were glaring differences, Chase sees himself in Roxy.
He told Roxy based on his experiences, being a leader may be a difficult task, it is not a lonely one. Throughout this entire year or the tenure of Paw Patrol for that matter, Chase never felt that he was alone and had many friends to turn to. Even if he was being stubborn sometimes, he always knew that if it got too much for him, His friends would be there for him through life's challenges. Even if there was now way to go to them, the feeling of them believing in him was more than enough to keep him going. With that in mind, Chase told Roxy that he thought Roxy would be an amazing leader, and will believe in him as he believed in himself. He also stated that whenever the pup felt that everything was against him, he could always come to Chase.
Roxy said that he was grateful and needed to hear that form from someone, but Chase also realized that he needed to hear it himself. He would've never reminded himself how much of a great leader he was to his friends and the team, and whatever happens in front of him can be dealt with by doing his best. A lesson he learned from his brother.
From then on, Roxy and Chase were officially sworn brothers, and after Rocky and Zuma finally got their heads on straight, they were able to push out Mayor Humdinger, and the WoodLand pack was saved. What made it better was Roxy himself becoming an official member of Paw Patrol, at Chase's request after Ryder finally woke up. He was given a pup tag.
Chase will never forget that trip to Wintergreen. Where thanks to Roxy, was finally able to let go of his insecurities and grief, and be the best leader anyone could follow. Chase felt like a new pup, and he wished if Roxy felt the same.
Chase saw his owner sleeping peacefully on his bed when he walked in Ryder's room. There were still some scratches and bandages that littered his body, but for the most part, he was almost fully healed. A very cheery looking cockapoo sat beside her, with her head in the clouds.
A smile formed on the shepherd's face for his angel's happiness and was going to speak, but was suddenly wrapped up in a graceful hug from Skye.
"W-Wow. You sure are happy today, Angel." Chase incited, as he hugged his girl back.
Skye let go of him. The smile on her face was permanently glued on her face. "As always Chase, you're the world's best detective."
Chase blushed with flattery. "Awwwww….Skye."
Skye licked his snout while she nuzzled him lovingly. "I tell you luv, there is no way anyone can take the smile off my face. No way!"
Ryder suddenly stirred in his sleep in Skye's excitement. He slowly turned to his other side, wincing a little at his pain.
Skye blushed with embarrassment. "Oops. Um. Let's go to the observatory, so we don't disturb him."
Chase nodded in agreement, as they walked out of Ryder's room, and closed the door to leave Ryder in peace.
Chase didn't take his eyes off the door. "How is he doing?"
Sky yipped in joy. "He's soooo much better Chase! He walked to the observatory and back to his room without his cane! I didn't eveb have to help him at all! Course he tired himself out, but he walked all by himself! At this rate, he'll be back in action in no time!"
The delightful news of Ryder's recovery infested Chase's body with overwhelming amusement. His tail wagged furiously, his adrenaline shot high, and he had to try not to bounce around the room. "That's great Skye! It seems that you've really been a great help to him!"
It was Skye's turn now to blush more in flattery with a chuckle. "D-Don't give me too much credit Chase. It's him that's doing most of the work, I'm just monitoring him."
"You sure are Angel and you're doing a great job, sweetheart."
Skye blushed more at Chase's praise. "Aww Chase, that means a lot to me." She then gives him a quick lick on his lips, making Chase relay a goofy smile, before he gives a couple of licks back. Before Chase could go any further, Skye spoke with excitement. "But that's not all Chase!"
Chase softly groaned. "Really? There's more?"
"Yeah, and it's the best thing ever! I just spoke with my brother earlier, and he told me that the AirDogs are finally coming back to Adventure Bay!" Skye exclaimed, doing a backflip in excitement.
Chase wagged again, almost as excited as Skye was. "Really? That's awesome Skye! It's about time they came back! You must be so stoked!"
"Hold your excitement Chase, there's more! Wings wants me to perform in the show with him for old times sake!"
Chase widened his eyes in surprise. "I-Is that s-so?"
Skye nodded her head wildly. "Mmhm. Isn't it so exciting Chase? The Mighty Wings will fly again, for the first time in two years!" Skye's excitement was barely being held in. "Ooooooo I can't wait to fly with my brother again! Aaaahhh! It's going to be so amazing!"
Despite Skye's excitement overload going on, Chase's was suddenly cut down. Way down. "Th-That's great Skye. I'm S-Sure you'll have so much fun."
Skye's excitement deflated. Feeling a little hurt by Chase's sudden mood change. "Chase? Is…..is something wrong?"
Chase smiled nervously. He didn't know why he tried to lie to her. "N-No. I'm happy for you. There's nothing wrong with you performing in an air show after so long."
Skye deadpanned the shepherd. Not believing any word Chase said. "Chase, don't lie to me. Tell me what's wrong? I'm not going to bite you."
Chase tried to hold his ground, but Skye's glare penetrated his defences, and tore the castle down. He sighed reluctantly,hoping that he doesn't crush his spirit. "I'm sorry angel, but….I don't know about you performing again."
As Chase predicted, Skye was crushed the minute he said that. "Why?"
Chase shuddered inside. "Well….Think about it Skye. The last time you did a stunt was when the AirDogs were here the first time. That was two years ago. Since then, you've flown easy for the rescues and have been careful. Now you're going to just go out and perform like there's been no time at all? Don't you think you may have some rust in you?"
"Chaaaase. I can do a barrel roll with my eyes closed." the irritated Skye pointed out. "I can also fly at the speed of sound with ease, and do aileron rolls for hours without getting sick. I learned all that stuff when I was two. It didn't just "go away" Chase, I can still do more tricks than you can count."
"Tricks are one thing Skye, but stunts are another. Especially the ones that your family is known for. I may not know everything about flying, but I know those stunts take hundreds of hours of practice everyday." Chase stated firmly. "And you haven't been practicing stunts for two years. Even if you remember everyone, you haven't practiced enough to do them safely. You could make a mistake, Skye, and you will hurt yourself."
Skye looked as if she was ready to cry. "B-But Chase. I'm an amazing flyer. I was born to do stunts and spent half my life performing those stunts. I can do it easily."
Chase whimpered. He felt like he was being a complete jerk, cutting Skye down by expressing his concerns. But the cockapoo's safety was more important. "I know you can Skye. I bet you could've done them blindfolded two years ago, but you've been out of the game for so long. You may need to slow down."
"Chase...I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't been flying for two years." Skye tried to assure Chase as she put a paw on his. Feeling Chase's overwhelming concern for her. "Look, I know you're trying to look out for me, and I love you for doing just that. But the stunts I did year after year are muscle memory to me. I know how dangerous they are, and I know they require me to be more precise than others, and if I fail, I could hurt myself or my brother."
Chase closed his eyes. Feeling so guilty for making Skye feel so hurt. "I don't mean to tell you, you can't do it. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing."
Skye smiled at the shepherd. "I do Chase, and I know I can do it."
Chase wasn't fully convinced. He would sound like a broken record if he still stated his doubts about Skye performing at the airshow. His worries were stuck in his mind and Skye knew it.
"I tell you what Chase, Wings said that he would come down a few days before the show to plan a routine." Skye noted. "I have no doubt that he would want to practice the stunts we will do. If for any reason, something just doesn't feel right in the practices, I'll opt out. Deal?"
Wings coming down to practice with Skye, helped Chase fend off his worries. He knew that there would be no way her brother would let her hurt herself. Wings was very protective over his sister. Acting more like a big brother to Skye, even though they were twins. Chase felt confident that with Wings, Skye was in safe paws.
"Does Ryder know about this?"
"He sure does Chase. In fact, he was in the observatory with me when I talked to him." Skye answered cheerfully. "He was a little iffy about it like you are, but he said that he couldn't be more excited to see me in the show again with my brother."
"Well if you feel confident, and Ryder's cool with it, I guess I can only support you the best I can." Chase conceded. "Just please, be careful Angel."
Skye's gleeful smile returned. She nuzzles his fur as she cheered. "You have nothing to worry about babe. I'll be careful, for you."
She lets go of him after a quick lick on his snout, before turning to the door. "I've got to go back in and watch over Ryder."
"Oh….yeah…..right." Chase replied, with a little disappointment. He wanted to spend some time with her. "I-I'll leave you to it then."
Skye then hesitated. "Y-You know Chase, I'm going to lay next to him. You….you could lay with me...if you want."
Chase wagged graciously. "O-Of course Skye. I would love to."
He then follows Skye in as they get up on Ryder's bed, where their owner was still sleeping peacefully like a rock. They chose a spot next to him, and laid down next to each other.
Skye then yawned as she leaned her head on Chase as she whispered. "Do you think he'll be okay if we took a little nap right next to him?"
"I think so." Chase smiled warmly, as he shifted himself so he could rest his head on Skye's body. Chase then licks her cheek as she enters her sleep, smiling widely with Chase not far behind her. He then looks at his owner, who was facing them, sound asleep.
The memories of the past few weeks came back to mind. He was reminded of how scared he was to lose his only father figure he had left. He couldn't help but feel that Marshall was watching over him that day. Chase never wants to think how it feels to live without Ryder. Marshall was bad enough, but if Ryder were to go, It would be way too much for him to bear, and it would probably be the end of his paradise.
As he looked straight at Ryder's snoozing face, the fear of losing him made him form tears in his eyes and whimper very softly. He hoped that he would go before his loving owner.
He reaches his paw over Skye's body, and rests in Ryder's open palm before letting out a very soft sob. "I-I love you, Ryder sir."
He then closes his eyes and is brought to sleep, feeling and immediate firm grasp on his paw.
Driving down the road to the city limits, was Rubble who was coming back from the farm. He was driving pretty smoothly, unill..
BANG!
A loud bang sounded, nearly blowing his ears off. His vehicle then sputtered as it slowly came to a stop on the road, his engine smoking like a chimney. After a few attempts to start it back up and getting nothing, Rubble got out to investigate, but couldn't find the problem for the life of him.
He groaned to himself as he knew he had to call for help. Since Ryder was still out of commission, he had to call Rocky. He pushed his pup tag. "Hey Rocky, you got your ears on, buddy?"
A few seconds went by before he got a response. "Yes I do, like I always do. Whatcha need pal?"
"Fraid' I'm stuck on the road to the farm here. My engine died, and it won't start back up."
"Oooo. Sorry to hear that pal. I'll be on my way in a second. Just stay put, and I'll be out there in a snap."
"Got it. Thanks Rocky. See you when you get here."
All Rubble could do now, was wait until Rocky gets to him. He sat there with unbearable boredom, until a faint sound filled his ears. Rubble focused on it, looking in the direction it was coming from.
He was quickly able to decipher that it sounded like someone was singing in the forest, though he couldn't make out the words.
With his curiosity high as a kite, Rubble made his way towards the sound, completely forgetting that he was waiting on Rocky.
A few meters into the forest, and Rubble could finally make out the song that was being sung. He heard it before on the radio or something, but it sounded drastically different with the singing sounding so soothing and delicate like a feather.
No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
And no one know what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies.
His heart strings were tugged on each word, as every line was in perfect tone. Whoever was singing, was singing from the bottom of her heart. It only got even better, when he finally spotted the singer. It was a golden retriever pup, who was by herself in the middle of the forest. Singing her heart out without a care in the world.
But my dreams, they aren't as empty.
As my conscience seems to be
As soon as she sang that line, Rubble was in love. Her voice was the sweet, harmonized tone reminiscent of a mother, singing to her child.
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free.
At this point, Rubble was fully entranced. Seeing nothing else but the beautiful pup in front of him, who he was falling deeper and deeper in love with.
No one knows what it's like
To feel these feelings
Like I do
And I blame you
The lyrics are impactful, taking Rubble off guard. Again, He heard the song before, but he never really paid attention to it. But now he was starting to get the meaning.
No one bites back as hard
On their anger
None of my pain and woe
Can show through
From the way she was singing, and was saying, it told Rubble that she didn't want to be loved. That she was too hated for anyone to be her friend. His sadness for her grew immensely at that.
But my dreams, They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours
Only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free
As the song went on, Rubble relaxed more and more. He wanted to call out to her, to cheer her on, but his didn't want to spook her. Unfortunately, he ended up doing just that, Thanks to his dumb luck, Rubble stepped on a twig and snapped it on impact, causing the pup to yelp out of her song. She snapped her head around. "Who-Whose there?!"
Rubble hadn't decided to reveal himself or not. He thought that if he would keep quiet, she would brush it off and start singing again
"I-I know you're out there! C-Come on! Sh-Show yourself." She called out, sounding more scared than aggressive.
"It's okay. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Rubble sounded, as he accepted that she wasn't going to sing again. He walked into her view very carefully, not wanting to scare her away. It was then that he realized that he'd seen her before. In fact, he knew who she was! She was the same pup who dominated the Marshall Memorial Pup Pup Boogie tournament after Marshall's funeral. She would've run away with it, if Chase had not beaten her.
"Hey, You were at my friend's funeral. You're Skylar right?" Rubble asked.
Skylar looked around frantically before she nodded her head and clinched to the ground. "Y-Yes. Th-That's me."
"Don't be scared Skylar. We're friends." Rubble warmed, as he inched closer to her.
Skylar rose a little. "Fr-Friend?"
Rubble smiled warmly. "Yeah. Don't you remember? We had fun playing Pup Pup Boogie."
"I-I think so. That was long ago though." Skylar replied. "I….think forgot your name."
Rubble chuckled. "It's Rubble."
"Rubble? That's a….name?" Skylar responded as she fully stood on her paws.
"Yep. And it's mine!" Rubble barked cheerfully, before bowing his head. "Rubble from Paw Patrol, at your service."
Skylar giggled as she started to warm up to the bulldog. "You're funny." She smiled comfortably at him. "I think I remember you fully now. You were the one I didn't get to play in that tournament."
Rubble chuckled nervously. "Well...that's because I'm not really good at Pup Pup Boogie. At least not as amazing as you."
Skylar got nervous herself. "I...I don't think I was that good."
"Are you kidding? Skylar, you beat our best player in the first round, and busted his tail on his best song. That is no easy feat to accomplish, I tell you." Rubble praised. "And to think that you claimed to have never played the game in your life. That makes it more amazing."
Rubble saw that his praise was getting to Skyer's head, as she now had a proud blushful smile. "Well...when you put it like that, I guess I am pretty good."
"Not only that, but you can also sing. Beautifully. I don't think I ever heard anyone more delicate than you."
"Oh come on. Now you're just pushing it." Skylar batted down. Even though she was still blushing a little. "I know I'm not a good singer, in fact, I'm a horrible singer."
Rubble winced with bewilderment. "What?! How can you say that? You sounded beautiful just now."
Skylar's blush grew a little more. "I appreciate you saying that Rubble, but I don't think so. I'm inconsistent, and I have no direction. How does that make me a good singer?"
"Skylar, I don't know who lied to you, but I heard different. "I heard heaven come out of you. There is now way you aren't at least good at singing."
Skylar had a grateful and giddy smile on her face. "You...You really think so Rubble?"
"I don't think so, I know so. I'm not a bad singer myself, you know. So I know a good voice when I hear one." Rubble added. "And yours is very far from being bad. With some work and development, you may have the most beautiful voice any one will ever hear."
Rubble saw Skylar's eyes twinkle, being moved by his belief. "R-Rubble. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, and you barely know me."
"I'm just being a friend to you Skylar." Rubble stated. "A friend who is honest with you."
A moment of silence passed as Rubble and Skylar locked eyes on each other. He didn't know how Skylar felt, but Rubble was now madly in love with her.
When she was at the lookout a few months ago, Rubble didn't get to talk to her that much. Not to mention, his mind was exclusively on Marshall at the time, so he didn't make an effort to pay attention to her. He wanted to be her friend, but couldn't will himself enough to talk to her, and it didn't help that Skylar herself was super shy, and only spoke when she was asked with few words.
Now that she had his full attention, cupid's arrow pierced deeper and deeper into his heart. Her cute face, beautiful body, and lucious tail shined more than gold itself. He only wished he knew her more, so he could have more reasons to love her.
"You know, I wanted to talk to you after the tournament, to see if you want to hang out with us more. But you left almost immediately after Chase beat you." Rubble mentioned in a caring tone. "Why did you leave?"
Skylar was a little fidgety in her answer. "Well...to tell you the truth, my brother and I were only there for the food. I was sorry for your friend, and I at least wanted to pay my respects, but my brother was just there for the free food. So after he got as much as he could for me and him, we had to leave. The only reason I stayed as long as I did, was because I was having so much fun playing the game, so he waited till I was knocked out to leave."
"You could've stayed longer Skylar." Rubble insisted. "We wouldn't have minded it at all. Especially since we considered you a friend to us."
"I know, and I'm grateful for you all, but…" Skylar clenched a little. "..M-My brother is a little funny about being friends with dogs like you. I am too, but not as much as my brother."
Rubble cocked his head in confusion. "What's wrong with dogs like me? We don't scare you or anything, do we?"
"No, it's...nothing like that." Skylar chuckled. "It's the fact that you all are owned by a human. We come from Sticksburg. Where dogs are free from ownership and we could live our lives on our own."
"Sticksburg. I've heard of that city, but only from others who have been there." Rubble admitted. "I always wanted to go there to see what it's like."
"Well, do yourself a favor and don't." Skylar whimpered.
"Huh? Why?" Rubble asked curiously.
Skylar teared up in her response. "It's gotten very dangerous to live there now. The crime boss has completely taken over all the districts. The city is suffering because of it. We had to leave for our safety."
Skylar sniffled. "It's sad because I love Sticksburg. I was born and lived there all my life. I have nothing but love for it. I wanna go back, more than ever. But it's just not possible with the state that it's in."
Rubble was infected with sadness as the thought of being away from your home was agony to him.
"What's worse, is that other than Stickburg, no other city has the freedom that we had. Most cities are strict with dogs being on their own, calling us "Strays." The only reason we came here was because Adventure Bay is super lenient for us. We still have to salvage food and water, but at least we don't have to worry about dog catchers around every corner."
Skylar sniffed again, as she changed the subject a little. "That's why he doesn't want to be around you too much. The mere thought of being owned just doesn't mix well for us. My brother is really paranoid if we were to mingle around with you. Thinks that leads us to being owned ourselfs, and….we don't want that."
Rubble thought about Skylar's beliefs and had one question on his mind. "Skylar? Do you want to be my friend?"
Skylar looked at Rubble very nervously. Not knowing what to say to the bulldog. She tried to get her answer out. "I….I….I..don't...kno…."
"Skylar! Where are you?!"
Skylar froze at the sudden call of her name. She slowly turned around to see another golden retriever, who was the same size as her, running up with a red vest on. It was her brother, Trevor.
"Uggggh, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." Treavor stated with a smile. "We need to start go…"
The retriever stopped when he noticed Rubble standing in front of his sister.
"Who are you?" Trevor asked curiously with suspicion.
Rubble was about to answer, until Skylar blurted out. "It's Rubble, Trevor. From the Paw Patrol. You remember him right?"
"Barley. What's he doing here?"" Trever replied immediately, with some distaste.
Skylar froze again at Trevor's question. "Um…..uh….he…"
"I heard her singing a little ways away." Rubble pointed out. "..and I came here to hear her. She's really good."
Skylar smiled at the bulldog at his compliment but it disintegrated when she noticed Trevor's annoyed face.
"I appreciate your compliment about my sister Rubble, but we have to go right now."
"But Trevor, he wants.."
"No buts Skylar. We have to go find some food, or we won't have anything to eat tonight." Trevor firmly implied.
"You know, I can go back home and get you some…" Rubble started before he was cut off by Trevor.
"No thanks Rubble. I appreciate it, but we don't need your help. Right Skylar?"
Skylar shook nervously a little as she responded. "R-Right Trevor."
"Skylar, it's no trouble at all." Rubble whined. "I can just…"
"I said. We don't need your help pup." Trevor insisted with a slight growl. "Now please, leave us be."
Trevor then turned a blind eye to Rubble, and started to walk away. Skylar hesitated as she kept looking at Rubble with reluctance.
"Skylar? Come on. We gotta get moving." Trevor called back.
A few seconds passed, before the whimpering retriever finally turned around and met up with her brother.
Rubble whimpered as he watched Skylar walk away, his heart going with her.
But suddenly, when Rubble eyed Trevor's back he noticed something awfully familiar with what was on his back. If he didn't know any better, he would think that it looked like one of the pup's pup packs. Because it was a pup pack, or that's what it used to be.
The pack itself was covered in humongous scratches and various broken parts all around it. A massive dent was going through the top of it, and the paint was either faded or just gone.
Rubble was very confused. What was Trevor doing with a pup pack? Does Ryder know he has one? Or did he steal it?
Rubble couldn't recall Ryder saying anything about a missing pup pack. In fact, it would be impossible for one to steal a pup pack, seems how they're always on when their on missions and they were secured in the lookout which has a custom made alarm system, in case anyone broke in.
The only one he could think of was Marshall's, thanks to him having it when he was in the building and they didn't find Marshall's…
An immediate flag went off in his head, as one more thing about the pack tipped it off on whose it was. It was red. Which confirmed it for himself.
It was Marshall's! Trevor has Marshall's pup pack! How on earth did he wind up with that?!
He was going to call him out, until his tag beeped.
"Rubble? Rubble?! You out there pal?!"
Rubble immediately answered. "Y-Yes. Rocky. I'm here."
"Oh thank goodness. You really scared me pal. I got to your vehicle and couldn't find you. Where are you at?"
"Oh! S-sorry buddy. I'm a little into the forest." Rubble replied with sorrow.
"Are you lost?" Rocky responded with worry.
"No. Rocky. I'm just…" When Rubble looked up to see the two pups again, they were gone. He had no way of knowing where they went.
"Rubble? What's going on? Where are you?"
Shaking it off for now, Rubble turned towards the direction where he came from, he started to go back to his vehicle. "I'm good, Rocky. I'm coming back now, and you'll never believe who I found."
(A/N): Wha-what?! Huh?! What?! Marshall's pup pack survived?! What could this mean?! Is this the pup's first clue of Marshall's survival? How will the pups react when Rubble tells what he found, provided that Rubble does let them know about this? I mean, he should right?
Not only that, it seems like Ryder has been through so much the past few weeks! Having almost died, feeling abandoned by his mother, and you know he probably feels so terrible, being a burden to his pups! But next week's chapter will be the most challenging day the pups will have to go through. Next week, we will jump to the day, that marks a year since Marshall's passing. How will the Paw Patrol fare? Will they feel like they moved on, or will they fall deeper than they ever fell before? The state of Ryder's mind will be revealed, when Chapter 30: Ryding Down to Despair.
Question of the Chapter: How do you think Trevor and Skylar got Marshall's pup pack?
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!