(A/N): Hey guys! An exciting Chapter for you today! I know I said that I'd release this next week, but like the title of this Chapter, I decided to throw you guys a bone this week and give you two crucial chapters, cause I know the wait is killing you all.
Everyone is brushing the dust off of them and assessing the situation. Unfortunately though, another individual is in serious danger! And the most anticipated moment of the story will finally happen!
How will it happen? You're just going to have to find out for yourself!
Welcome back to Paw Patrol: The Ballad of Dally!
Chapter 34: Life Throws a Bone
Ryder shook his head furiously as his mind and body recovered from the crash. His head was pounding, and his back felt that it was about to quit its job and go home. He had no idea what he said moments before as all he could remember was the sudden jerk and the hard smashing of his head on the wheel that nearly knocked him out.
He looked around the now messy bridge with the windows broken, electronic equipment sparking with wires and knobs thrown everywhere, and panels laying on the floor. Though what he was looking for was Rocky and the captain.
"Is everyone alright?" Ryder called out, earning a groan from Captain Starboard right beside him.
"Uuugh I think so. What about you young lad?" The captain asked back, while Ryder helped him up. The captain looked at him and his eyes went wide. "My lord! Ryder! You're bleeding!"
In response, Ryder placed his hand on the side of his head, feeling that it might throb off of him. He felt a bit of moisture and a slight sting as he looked at his hand and saw little drops of blood on it. He must've reinjured his wound Skye treated this morning. No doubt he'd have to get it checked out when this is over.
"Don't worry Captain Starboard. It's just a re-aggravated injury. I'll be okay."
It was then that Ryder realized that Rocky hadn't sounded off yet.
"Rocky? Rocky? Are you okay?!" Ryder asked, a hint of concern in his voice as he looked over to where the throttle was. His heart launched right out of his chest, when he saw said pup, laying on his side, with glass shards all around him, and bloody cuts all over his body
"ROCKY!" Ryder yowled, as he fired over and cradled his pup.
The recycling pup groaned as he laid lifeless in Ryder's arms, assuring Ryder that he was at least still alive, but Ryder had no idea how long the pup had.
"Rocky! Come on! Please! Wake up!" Ryder hysterically shook him, earring more moans from the mixed breed.
Rocky slowly opens his eyes halfway. "R-R-Ryder?"
"I'm right here little buddy! I'm here!" Ryder assured his pup, bout ready to bawl.
Rocky moaned some more as he put a paw on his head. "My head. It hurts so bad."
"Rocky! Look at me! How many fingers am I holding up?!" Ryder asked, as he held two fingers in clear view of Rocky's eyes.
Rocky lifted his head weakly, as he tried to focus on Ryder's fingers. "F-F-Four?"
Ryder's blood ran cold at his answer. "R-Rocky just stay with me okay? I'm going to call Skye to get you to Katie's right now!"
Rocky moaned again as Ryder whipped out his pup pad, and swiped to Skye.
"Ryder! Are you okay?!" He heard Skye ask hysterically, she then gasped when she saw Ryder's blood. "Ryder! You're bleeding!"
"I know Skye, but that's not important right now. I need you over here with your EMT pack, pronto! Rocky's hurt!"
Skye nearly jumped out of her seat in instant concern. "R-Right! I'm on my way now!"
"Please Skye! Hurry! I don't know how long…" Ryder stopped dead when he saw that Rocky's eyes were closed, and his head was resting on his torso, breathing softly.
"R-Ryder? Wh-What's wrong? Is Rocky okay?!"
Ryder nearly whited out. "Ju-Just get here as fast as you can Skye."
Before Skye could respond, Ryder hung up, holding Rocky close to him.
"I will meet this Skye outside and lead her here!" Captain Starboard volunteered.
"Thanks Captain, she's piloting a copter so just guide her in here." Ryder breathed out.
The captain clicked his heels as he ran out of the bridge, leaving Ryder with an unconscious Rocky. Fearing that he may have lost another pup in just the span of a year after losing Marshall.
The sandy beach was unrecognized thanks to the large ship that was now sitting on the beach, along with the plethora of containers that were lying beside it, with cargo littering all over.
Chase opened his eyes to see that he was standing over the shaky terrier pup he saved from the meeting her end. Amazed that he was spared as well.
"Are you okay little pup?" Chase asked the pup, who was looking at him, as if he was Apollo the super pup.
The pup responded by wrapping the shepherd up in a crushing hug. Sobbing softly into his fur. "Thank you Chase! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I can't believe THE Chase saved me! You are my favorite pup in the worrrld!"
Chase couldn't help but smile a little at the apparent fan. It may be because of the spur of the moment, but it still was nice to be recognized.
"I-I guess that means you're okay." Chase chuckled.
It was then, while he was hugging his "fan" back, that he noticed a pup, standing a few yards away from him on the main street. It was a Dalmatian, and upon looking at him, Chase realized that….it was Marshall! Looking straight at him!
An Icy chill went down his spine. Even though he believed Ryder when he said that Marshall was watching over him, he had no idea that he would make his presence known, clear as day. He couldn't help but be so thankful that Marshall was looking out for him. Though Chase swore a little that the hallucination he was looking at looked a little….real?
"Summer! Summer! Oh my dear pup! You're okay!"
Chase snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed the pup's mother, running over to the pair, crying tears of joy.
The pup let go of Chase and ran over to her mother. She gave her the same crushing hug she gave Chase. "Mom! Mom!" Summer sobbed, as she buried her face in her mother's fur.
"Oh Summer, I'm so glad you're okay! I was so scared!" The terrier sobbed as well.
Summer wagged frantically as she let go of her mother. "Yeah, me too! And it's all thanks to the best police pup in the world! Chase!" She cheered, as she looked over at a blushing Chase.
"Well…...I don't know about the best…" Chase replied, flattered by his number one fan.
"You couldn't be more right Sweetie! Thank you so much Mr. Chase. It's pups, like you, that make us feel so safe in the world." The terrier praised.
"It's uh….it's no big deal mam. That's what the Paw Patrol is for." Chase proudly stated, still blushing a little with a chuckle.
"And we expect nothing less from you pups." The thankful terrier replied with admiration. "Come on now Summer. Cliff is waiting for us."
The terrier pushed her pup to motivate her to walk with her. Before they went out of Chase's sight, Summer turned to look at Chase once more. "Goodbye Chase! Thank you so much!"
Chase waved to the two dogs as he responded with the old. "Whenever you're in trouble, just yelp for help!" Which put a wide smile on Summer's face.
After waving till they were completely gone, Chase quickly turned his head where he saw Marshall, only to see no one there, deflating his heart. He knew it was an illusion, but a part of his mind swore that Marshall really was standing there. Watching over Chase like he was a guardian angel for his best friend.
He stared at that particular spot for a couple of minutes, looking at the area as if it were a crime scene. Suddenly, he spotted something blue on the ground. From where he was standing, he couldn't quite make out what it was.
Curiousness overcame him, drawing him closer and closer to the object, as his feet were on autopilot. When he got up to it, he found that it was a spiral notebook that had been used overtime. He sniffed the notebook and suddenly gasped through his nose in shock. He then furiously sniffed around the notebook, checking to make sure he wasn't going insane. He got an overwhelming fresh scent and his eyes shot wide.
It was the scent of someone Chase knew and it was as fresh as a baked pie. A scent he hadn't smelt since….
Bleep! Bleep!
"Chase?! Chase come in!"
Chase snapped out as his pup tag paged him. In his sudden investigation, he had completely forgotten that Ryder and Rocky were in the ship with which it crashed. By the sound of Ryder's voice, his owner was okay.
"I'm right here Ryder sir." Chase answered "Are you and Rocky okay?"
A long pause of dead air filled Chase's ears, scaring Chase quickly. "R-Ryder sir? I-I'm here. I-Is everything alright? Are you okay?"
Ryder's voice finally came through, although it was a soft blood tingling tone. "I-I'm okay Chase but…..Rocky…."
Chase's heart stopped at how Rocky was mentioned. "Wha-What is Ryder sir? What happened to Rocky?"
Another pause, which grated on Chase's courage. "Chase…..I'm...I'm sorry but…..Rocky's hurt…..really bad."
All the color drained through Chase's paws. "H...H….How? Wha-what happened?"
"He-He hit his head hard Chase. He got a massive concussion, and was bleeding everywhere."
Chase's chest was tightened so much, he could hardly breath. "R-Ryder. Is he going to…" Chase nearly caved as he thought about saying a grave word, but quickly changed his mind. "..he okay?"
A sigh sounded from the other end. "Well, we were able to get him to Katie's in record time, so he may have a good chance."
"He may?" Chase repeated with a disappointed voice.
"I'm sorry Chase, but that's all we have. We'll know for sure when Katie comes out here." Ryder assured, his confidence rising at every word.
Chase closed his eyes and started to tear up. The thought of losing another close friend jabbed his heart. Especially within a year of losing his best friend.
"Chase. Don't worry too much. Rocky's a strong pup and I have so much faith in him." Ryder supported, The confidence suddenly booming in his voice. "You should too."
Chase drew in a long breath, as he tried to dry his tears. "You're right. Rocky will be okay, I know he will."
"Good to hear Chase. Not to change the subject suddenly, but I want to know if everyone on the beach is okay." Ryder requested.
Chase gave a proud smile as he gave the good news. "Yes sir Ryder sir. There were absolutely no injuries or casualties. I got everyone off the beach just in time."
Ryder suddenly had the biggest smile on his face. "I am very proud to hear that boy. Great job. It seems that Marshall was looking out for us today."
"Yeah, literally." Chase unconsciously said.
"Huh? What do you mean literally?"
Chase realized what he said and tried to shrug it off. "Touuuuhhh nothing. Nothing Ryder sir." Chase grit his teeth at the blatant lie. He scrambled, trying to find a way to steer away. He then noticed the notebook again, but this time, found a name at the top right corner of the notebook: Stacy Jackson.
Chase gasped through his nose again. He remembers hearing Stacy mention about a notebook that she left at home and how she was using her boss's notebook. This must be the notebook she was talking about, but what was it doing here? Where Marshall was standing and why is his scent all over this notebook?"
All those clues made Chase think the impossible. Was it really Marshall, staring in front of him? Is….Is he…...alive?
"Chase? Chaaaase? You there boy?" He heard from his pup tag, reminding him that he was still on the line.
"Huh? What? O-Oh s-sorry Ryder sir. I s-spaced out for a moment."
Ryder eyed Chase with concern. "Chase? Ar-Are you okay buddy?"
"Ye-Yeah. I'm okay Ryder sir." Chase replied. He then had the urge to look into this discovery, using the notebook as cover. "Hey uh R-Ryder. Do you mind if I stay out a little longer? I-I found a lost item and I know who it belongs to. So I'm going to return it."
Chase hoped Ryder would buy that. He really wanted to look into the strange occurrence he had, but if he told Ryder that, Ryder would probably think he's nuts. So he went with the lost Item route. A wasn't a lie, so it should work, right?
"What's this missing item Chase?" Ryder asked, suspiciously.
Chase was caught off guard before realizing how easy that question was to answer. "It-It's this notebook Ryder." Chase held the notebook up for Ryder to see. "It belongs to Stacy Jackson. She said she lost it somewhere and couldn't find it. So I'm going to return it to her."
Ryder looked at the notebook very closely. He then had a convinced look, but still a little skeptical. "Ooookay but, can't this wait a little bit? You should really be here for Rocky."
Chase froze a little. What was he supposed to say? That the notebook was more important than Rocky? Yeah, like that would go over. "Um….I...uh…..I mean, all I need to do is give it to her. It won't take long. Unless you really need me, Ryder sir." Chase replied, squinting a bit at the answer he gave. There was no way he could've dressed it more nicely than that.
There was a short pause until he had Ryder give a sigh. "No Chase. I don't really need you right now. Go and return the notebook."
Chase wagged his tail in appreciation. "Yes sir Ryder sir. Don't worry, it won't take long."
"Understood Chase. Just know that we probably would be at Katie's with Rocky when you get done okay?"
"Affirmative Ryder sir." Chase acknowledged. "Chase out."
After hanging up, Chase immediately sniffed all over the ground for a good bit, looking for the scent so familiar to him. His heart rate rose a little, as he hoped for once, life throws him a bone.
The wait on Rocky's well being was agonizing for Ryder. He had no memory of the past twenty minutes. All he had, was nearly freaking out as his pup laid in his arms, cut up and looking more dead than alive. When Skye airlifted him from the ship to Katie's, Ryder was on autopilot. Not sure how he ended up at Katie's himself.
The cargo ship resting on Adventure Beach was not a factor anymore, all that mattered was the safety of his pup, and whether or not he would make it.
When he called Chase, wondering where he was, he had gained an instinct to give hope to Chase, however, Ryder had absolutely no clue if Rocky would be okay. When Skye said that he had a massive concussion, hundreds of cuts on his body, and was losing a lot of blood, Ryder almost went insane. Thinking that Rocky wouldn't make it.
To lose another pup terrified him. He didn't know if he could go through another one again, especially as soon as one year after the first one. Ryder barely got through Marshall, in fact, he wasn't sure if he fully got over Marshall's, now there was a chance of going through another one of his precious pup's deaths. It would be so grating on Ryder. In fact, if Rocky doesn't make it, there would be no hesitation to stop the Paw Patrol. Losing a pup in a rescue is one thing, but his pups going down one by one was another. It would be too dangerous for the Paw Patrol to exist, and Ryder was sure. There would be nothing anyone could do to prevent him from shutting it down. His mind would be made up.
Not to mention, how bad everyone else will take to losing their friends, and that was on full display, in Katie's pet parlor.
Everyone of his pups were on edge, ever since Katie took Rocky in her emergency room. Rubble was next to Ryder, crying softly, while Skye was sitting next to Rubble, trying to comfort him, while Zuma was sitting in front of the door. His eyes cemented on the door.
Zuma was way more scared than Ryder was. When Ryder told him Rocky was hurt pretty bad, Zuma freaked. He couldn't go on the ship to help, so he had to wait on Skye to see Rocky for himself. When he saw him, Zuma went ballistic. Both Ryder and Rubble had to hold him back, while Katie took Rocky in, wailing and howling for his best friend.
Out of all the pups, it has Zuma that Ryder feared for the most if Rocky were to pass away. It was him that Zuma was attached to, Like Marshall was to Chase. It was bad enough for him to lose Marshall, since he looked up to Marshall as a big brother, but Rocky was a different ball game. Almost a cookie cutter copy of Chase and Marshall's friendship. Although, Ryder thought that it was maybe a little stronger than Chase and Marshall.
When Zuma was left on the doorstep of the lookout by a nameless father, he was way different from what he started out. What would become the most cool and relaxed pup Ryder ever seen, started out as an astoundingly shy and skittish pup. In the first weeks he barely said anything and played with the pups. He mostly kept to himself, not even warming up to Ryder who was trying to get him to mingle with the pups. It got to the point that Ryder was considering putting him up for adoption, thinking that the Paw Patrol just wasn't for him, and would probably have a happier life in another environment. Then, Rocky somehow got through to him.
From what he got from both pups, Rocky approached him one day wanting to be a friend to him, but Zuma was being a stubborn pup, which was the norm at the time. Then Rocky asked him what he wanted to do and Zuma told him that he wanted to go surfing, but he had no surfboard to surf on. Rocky being the recycling genius pup that he was, made Zuma a surfboard from scratch. It wasn't the greatest surfboard in the world, but it still got Zuma to perk at him. They went to the beach that very day and the rest they say, was history. Zuma still has that surfboard by the way, vowing never to throw it away.
Ryder had never seen a complete one eighty happen so fast, like he saw with Zuma. In just a few weeks, Zuma molded himself easily with the pups, growing stronger bonds with everyone, and Rocky and Zuma grew closer and closer to each other. It was kind of an anomaly, considering that ROcky hates getting wet, while Zuma would live in the water, if he found a way.
Ryder couldn't imagine what was going through the lab's mind, as he continued to stare at the door. Knowing how many tears he was shedding for Rocky.
Ryder closed his eyes, as tears leaked out. Praying for his recycling pups survival.
'Come on Rocky. Please. Don't leave us. Like Marshall did.'
The more Chase followed the trail, the more hope he gained. The fresh scent was getting stronger and stronger, and Chase couldn't be more delighted to smell it again.
Logic set in as knew he shouldn't be smelling this. The scent of course belonged to his late best friend Marshall. As pleasant as that sounds, Chase knew that it was impossible for him to still be alive. There is no way in any reality that he would get his best friend back after a full year without him. No matter how much they wanted it, he knew it was just too good to be true.
But..he saw him..and he smelled him, that has to mean something right? Ghosts don't leave scents behind nor do they leave notebooks. It has to be the real deal!
Chase's heart rate grew the stronger the scent got, along with a warm feeling inside of him. He was furiously sniffing every inch as he went, not necessarily paying awareness. All he could focus on, was the scent of his brother getting stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger and stro…
Wham!
Chase suddenly collided with something, dropping him to the ground on his back. Completely knocked to la la land as his eyes were orbiting in his head. He let out a moan as he now had double vision. More like quadruple vision, with the top of the buildings swirling around him. Then….the face of a Dalmatian's head approached, looking down on him and in distraught.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!"
Chase's eyes wouldn't stop, as his mind was in another place entirely. "I-Its okay Marshall. I'm fine."
Nothing came out of the dally, as Chase's eyes finally reset a little. Then, he realized the impossible he was looking at.
'Wait, Marshall?!'
Chase shook his head, and jumped to his feet. When his eyes came into existence and settled down, they grew wide as the moon. His jaw slowly hung open. His eyes trembled at the impossible sight before him.
"Hey. Hey? A-Are you okay?" The pup asked with concern, as Chase was as still as a statue, in pure shock and disbelief.
His heart was inflating like a hot air balloon, as he struggled to keep himself from crying. "Ma...Ma….Ma…...Marshall?"
The Dalmatian twitched. "Huh?"
"Marshall? I-I….Is it really you?" Chase asked, his voice nearly falling apart in his pleasant disbelief.
A tear went down his cheek as Chase anticipated for the pup to finally confirm it, but…..
"Oh no! I must've hit you really hard!" The pup cried, forming a very distressed expression. "Oh I'm so sorry."
Chase's head cocked. "Huh? Wh-What are you talking about Marshall?"
"Well for one, my name is not Marshall."
That single statement was a needle that popped his inflating heart. "What? Then…...what is it?
"It's Dally. My name is Dally." Dally answered.
"Dally?"
"Yeah….aww, I hit you so hard, you think I'm someone else! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you."
Ice cold tears streamed out of the shepherd's eyes as he lowered his head. He really wanted it to be Marshall. He truly believed for a few minutes that his brother was still alive. But no...it seemed that his eyes and nose were playing a very cruel joke on him. No matter how much the Dalmatian looked, sounded, and smelled like him, it wasn't him. "No…..it...it's not entirely your fault. I wasn't watching where I was going.
The Dalmatian snickered. "I guess we have a double fault on our paws, huh?"
Chase chuckled at the pun. "Heh heh, I guess so?"
After a few more laughs, the dally looks at Chase with curiousness. "So...this Marshall, is...is he your friend?"
"Ye-Yeah. I'm sorry Dally. I thought you were my friend because...you sorta look like him." Chase replied sadly. As tears suddenly formed and he sniffed trying to get over his disheartening disappointment.
Dally twitched in response. "A-Are you trying to find him?"
"I was...but…..I….I lost him….and….I don't think I'll ever see him again." Chase whimpered. His misery taking full control of him. Chase then felt a comforting fore paw on his shoulder. He raised his head, and saw the friendliest look he had ever seen.
"You poor thing. You must miss him so much." Dally whimpered in sympathy.
Chase was lost in Dally's eyes. He felt so comforting, so passionate, Chase couldn't help but to have the warm feeling he always got….from Marshall. It..It is him, but…...it's not."
"I-I do Dally….." Chase stammered, while he continued to look at Dally in awe. How can one pup have nearly all of the qualities of another down to the bone, but not be that pup? "I….I miss him so much."
Dally gave a friendly smile to him. "Well….if it's worth anything….I'll be your friend."
"Huh? You will?" Chase asked. Surprised that the Dalmatian was so willing to be friends, just like….Marshall would do.
"Yeah. I may not be as much of a good friend as he was, but….I can try my best." Dally warmed.
He didn't know if it was his mind denying that it wasn't Marshall, but Chase still believed in his heart that it was. Before Chase could even think of a response, Dally's eyes suddenly went wide as Chase's, letting out a quick gasp.
"The notebook!" Dally let out, as he brushed Chase aside, and went over to the blue notebook Chase had beside him. Dally opened it up to confirm that it was what he lost, and looked back at a lost looking Chase. "Oh thank you so much man! I thought I lost this forever!"
"Isss that your notebook?" Chase faltered with a lifted eyebrow.
"Yeah! Well….not really. It's my owner's." Dally answered, as he picked up the notebook.
For the second time, Chase felt his heart deflating. As if seeing Marshall not recognizing him and denying his own name was jarring enough, now he claimed that he was owned by someone else other than Ryder. "O-Owner?"
"Yep! My owner, Stacy Jackson. It's her notebook." Dally yipped. "She left it at home and I was trying to find her to give it to her."
"Stacy Jackson?" Chase replied, doubtfully. "Stacy Jackson is your owner?"
Dally formed a confused look. "Ye-Yeah. Is….Is something wrong?
"N-No. Nothing's wrong…..I just….never knew that Miss Jackson owned a pup." Chase replied, still processing the overwhelming shock of potentially finding Marshall, while also pertaining to the information that Stacy owned him. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you with her at all."
"Well, I mostly stay at the house while she's at work." Dally explained. "I'm reeealy not supposed to be out without permission, but I figured that she'd forgive me if I brought her notebook to her. Y-You wouldn't happen to know where she's at? Would you?" Dally asked with hope.
Despite the weird coincidences, Chase decided to play on, hoping to come to a conclusion later. "Well….she was at the beach interviewing people about the ship crash. If I were to guess, she's probably at the office, putting together the story."
Dally wagged excitedly at Chase's answer. "Great! Thanks Chase! I owe you one!"
Chase was struck with yet another shock. Dally knew his name, but the emotion behind it meant that he didn't recognize him as his best friend. He didn't remember saying his name to him, so…..
"We should hang out sometime!"
Chase raised his head to acknowledge Dally, but then realized that he was about to run into a light pole. "Dally! Lookout!"
Dally turned his head forward and….
GONG!
Dally ran right into it, letting out a painful yelp as he collapsed to the ground.
"Dally!" Chase howled, as he shot over to him. "Are you alright?!"
Dally laid on his belly, his eyes swirling like Chase's was earlier, but before Chase could help him up, Dally got up to a sitting position, while shaking the dizziness off. Not a whimper came out of him.
"Yeah. I'm good. Thanks man."
Electricity shot down Chase's spine, causing him to let out a big gasp through his nose.
Okay. That's Marshall. That one saying confirmed it to him. Not only was that one of Marshall's sayings, but it sounded exactly like how he would say it. Chase has heard that line millions of times from the pup, and that was no question the way he said it, made him absolutely sure that Marshall was alive, and he ran right into him.
Not noticing Chase's frozen shock, Dally picked up the notebook again, and bounded off towards the newspaper, letting out on more goodbye. "I hope you find your friend!"
"Yeah…..fi-find my….friend." Chase trailed off. He sat absolutely still, watching Dally run out of his sight. Surfing the eternal void that was his brain, processing everything that had just happened. He played the encounter over and over again. Believing it more and more, that Marshall, his best friend that he lost a year ago, was just in front of him.
But at the same time….he wasn't. Denying his name, not recognizing Chase like many times before, and claiming that Stacy Jackson was his owner, not Ryder. But he looked like Marshall, talked like Marshall, walked like Marshall, laughed like Marshall. He even ran into things like him. That is way too many coincidences for him not to be Marshall.
But…...that's impossible.
Marshall's Dead.
D-E-A-D, Dead!
Chase accepted it on that day, when Ryder told him despite all of their efforts to save him, They…..
Chase's mind suddenly halted when he realized a glaring twist. He thought back on that fateful day, Ryder didn't say that Marshall was dead in the announcement, he just said that they couldn't find him. The only thing that confirmed it, was the charred collar Ryder showed the pups, and to further drive the point, Chase sped to the ruins of city hall, where he found nothing but the ashes left over the clean up. Chase assumed that Marshall died right at that spot, being burnt to ashes.
Chase circled around that fact. Cremation came to mind as it essentially happened to Marshall. He thought of what it took to cremate a body, or in this case, a dog. Chase's Father was cremated, so thanks to his curiosity then, He knew that it took two to three hours for a dog to be cremated, about an hour or less that it takes to cremate a human. Not to mention, it also has to be pretty hot to burn a body to ashes.
Suddenly, Chase noticed a glaring contradiction to the facts, one that was criminally overlooked, and ripped all he knew about the accident to shreds.
There was plenty of time between Marshall being trapped, and Ryder's announcement the next day, but what made him notice the massive howl that was the cause of death, was what Marshall himself told Chase about what all fire needs to survive.
In order for fire to burn and spread, it has to have three things together. Oxygen, heat, and Flammability. Without any of those things, fire cannot exist. With that in mind, Chase saw the flaws that made the entire case fall apart, on two occasions.
When Chase and Skye made it out of city hall, it took less than a minute for city hall to crumble. Five minutes after Marshall was crushed by debris. When the dust was clear, there was only smoke, and ruin. There were small isolated flames, but they went out quickly. Then when Chase found Marshall's helmet, It was moderately hot at best as he was easily able to dig with his bare paws through the rubble, certainly not enough to burn a body to ashes. There was also no oxygen for the flames to live on, thanks to the building being nothing more than a pile of large debris and ashes. Further on, there was not enough time for the body to be burned to ashes before the building crumbled.
With all that in consideration, it would've been impossible for Marshall to be burned to nothing in the building. Meaning that they should have found something resembling Marshall's body.
They didn't though. When they cleaned up the mess, there was no trace of the dally ever being in the building at all. Not even his pup pack. Which is still missing to this day.
That was another thing that intrigued Chase about the entire thing. The fact that they found his helmet and his collar, but not his pup pack? Surly they would've survived, yeah the vest would've been gone, but everyone of the pup's pup packs were padded metal. Metal doesn't burn to ash, it contorts and warps into a mangled contraption, if it doesn't melt. There would have been something left behind.
For the billionth time in the span of an hour, Chase's body felt shockwaves all over his body. Thanks to his logical thinking and intuition, Chase took what was believed to be impossible and turned it into completely plausible. Enough to convince Chase that Marshall somehow survived the accident. He didn't know how, but the lack of conclusive evidence and logic of the situation, blew all of his doubts away, and steered him to the truth.
The thing that kept him from fully accepting Marshall's survival, was the fact that Marshall didn't recognize him, that his name was Dally. Not Marshall and that his owner is Stacy Jackson.
Come to think of it, that itself smelled more fishy than a fisherman. In the two years that he had known her, she never spoke of having a dog. Then there was the rule Dally had to follow. The one where Dally wasn't allowed to be in town. That would've passed for a big city like Adventure City and Sticksburg, but for Adventure Bay, it wasn't reasonable. The crime rate was at a legendary low, and the strays around here were not viscous at all. It was also the norm for owners to let their dogs roam around the town by themselves and go to the park or the beach. Not to say it was wrong to have a rule against that, but very suspicious considering how much Dally resembled Marshall, and how his owner hated Ryder.
The discussion he had with Stacy earlier, confirmed that she hated Ryder. It really rubbed Chase the wrong way, like she was keeping Marshall away from the Paw Patrol.
But Marshall acted like he never knew Chase at all. Sure he said his name once, but it sounded and felt different compared to the past. It was like he heard it somewhere, not like a best friend he hadn't seen in a while. Marshall should've been over the moon to see Chase, no matter how long they spent away from each other.
Chase continued to sit there while his mind was going in circles. On one paw, Chase was overwhelmingly ecstatic that his best friend, his sworn brother, was still alive, but on the other paw, he didn't recognize Chase. He didn't ever mention Ryder, Skye, Rocky, Zuma, Rubble, Heck, he didn't even recognize his own name. It was like Mars….no...Dally, completely forgot his friends and family, and had a new life without them.
Why? It just didn't make any sense. There's no doubt in Chase's mind that Dally is Marshall, and Marshall survived the accident. But…...after surviving that accident, why didn't he come home?
Stacy couldn't have been more rejoiced than she was now. After the sudden disaster of a cargo boat crashing into Adventure Bay, Stacy interviewed nearly all of the citizens and tourists about the situation. To include the Mayor who was always a joy to listen to. He he. But the one interview she felt was more useful, was the interview of the captain of the ship, Captain Starboard.
He told Stacy everything that happened on the boat. More specifically how Ryder failed to stop the boat from crashing, causing much damage to Adventure Beach, and put Rocky in immediate danger, critically injuring him. Suffering a concussion and glass cuts.
She was hopeful that Rocky was okay, but she was extremely excited that she had enough evidence to finally get people to realize that they shouldn't be treating Ryder like some sort of martyr, and not allow him to throw his pups in total danger any more.
Nothing could pull the smile off Stacy's face. Anything except….
"Stacy!"
Stacy's heart shot up to her throat. She didn't want to turn around, but against her will, she did and saw who she hoped to never see in town.
"Stacy! I'm so glad I found you!" Dally exclaimed as he ran up to Stacy. "You left your…"
"DALLY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Stacy shot off like a cannon, causing Dally to jolt and wince away from her. "You know you're not supposed to be out in the city without me knowing!"
"I-I-I know but….I just wanted to…"
"No Dally! You know better! There should be no excuse for breaking a rule like this! What if you got hurt and I didn't know about it, hmm?! What were you thinking?!"
"St-Stacy. I didn't mean to…"
"What do you mean you didn't mean to?! What? Did you accidentally walk all the way here?!"
"N-No...I...I...Stacy…" Dally was on the verge of tears, Stacy had never come down on him like this. "Yo-You have to understand…"
"Understand what?! Completely disregarding the rules and doing what you want?!"
"No! Th-That's not it at all!" Dally shrieked.
"Then what is it then?! Why are you out here?!" Stacy asked, her anger going way up.
Dally started to shake furiously. He was seconds away from bawling. "I…...I wanted….to….to…...gi-give you your notebook that you left." Dally sobbed, looking at Stacy honestly. "...I thought you would be proud of me…..but…. But now you're mad at me…."
Dally dropped to the ground and sobbed quietly which hurt Stacy. She immediately regretted ever yelling at him like that. She looked at the notebook that was being drenched by Dally's tears. Becoming beyond useful. But that didn't matter now.
Stacy gave a long sigh. "I'm not mad at you Dally."
"The-The-Then why Ar-Ar-Are yo-you-you ye-yell-yelling at m-me-me?" Dally sobbed. She then looked at Stacy with those darn cute eyes. "A-All I wanted to do was give your notebook back."
"I understand that, Dally, but that's no excuse to break a rule as crucial as this one. What if something bad happened to you, and I couldn't protect you? What would you have done then?"
Dally sniffled. "I-I don't know. I'm sorry Stacy. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
Stacy bowed her head. "Dally, the best thing you can do for me right now….." She pointed towards the house. "...Is to go home. We'll talk about this later. I've got to go and write an article."
"B-But…."
"NOW!" Stacy yelped, immediately shutting Dally's mouths as he winced again, before dragging his paws over to the house, with his forehead close to the ground.
Stacy watched with her heart bleeding and kept her stern face on. She thought of going to him and saying sorry, but he broke a rule. The most important rule that Stacy wished he never broke.
She hoped that no one saw him while he was here.
(A/N): Oh but unfortunately for you Stacy, Someone did see him, and even talked to him! Dally and Chase finally crossed paths and Chase knows without a shadow of a doubt who he is. The question is, What does he do? He's not even sure himself so telling Ryder and the pups won't be easy. Will Ryder believe him? Will the pups believe him? Will he even speak a word about this.
Find out next in Chapter 35: Accepting the Impossible!
One of the reasons why I let this out early is that I've scrapped the next two chapters and are rewriting them. I wasn't happy with how they turned out, so I'll need a couple weeks to or so to rewrite them. I will release them as soon as I can. I apologize for this inconsistency and hope it doesn't hinder your enjoyment of the story.
Question of the Chapter: Do you think it was Ryder's fault Rocky was injured?
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!