AN: Wow, I like cried when I wrote this chapter. I wonder how many will do so with this one? We got about three more chapters left.
Also, I like the new voice actor for Marshall, Drew Davis, then I do the old one. Agree or disagree?
Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol
For the first time in his life, Rocky didn't care about getting wet. Not if it meant finding Marshall. I'd even let him spray me with his water cannons every day if it means seeing him again."
When the storm was too much for any of them to handle, Ryder had ordered all pups back to the look out much to their disagreement. They all wanted to find Marshall, especially in this storm. Nevertheless, he gave an order and they obeyed. It had shocked them all when Chase told Ryder to pretty much forget it and took off on his own. The very same Chase that always drilled them everyday into obeying Ryder's every command.
Now they had both Marshall, Chase, and even Skye to worry about as it appeared she decided to follow him. Rocky wondered if she did it because she wanted to find Marshall, or because of her feelings for the police pup. Everyone in Adventure Bay knew that Chase and Skye had a thing for each other, but neither of them had the courage to admit it.
Still, if there were any two pups who could find Marshall it was them. The rest could only wait for their return. Zuma constantly paced around the living room while Rubble was focused on the driveway outside, hoping to see or hear a car coming. Rocky had learned the value of patience early at a young age, but he was finding it hard to not just grab his truck and continue the search.
Even if meant getting wet.
"Wocky?" asked Zuma, looking at him with worry. Rocky did his best to smile at the pup. A long time ago, that speech of his annoyed him a bit since he couldn't say his name right. Over time he grew used to it and saw Zuma as the little brother of the team next to Rubble. "D-do… do you think Mawshall hates us?"
The idea of Marshall and the word "hate"never once crossed Rocky's mind except for maybe flying. But with the fight earlier in the day playing in his head, he couldn't lie and think that there was some truth in Zuma's question. "I don't know…"
"I don't blame him," whispered Rubble, looking away from the window. "We said such horrible things to him. Over a stupid show…"
"I don't cawe how long it takes! I'll make it up to him, I pwomise!" cried out Zuma, rubbing his eyes. "I just want our family back…"
Rocky walked over and hugged his friend who began to cry on his shoulders. "I'm sure Chase and Skye will bring him back. Everything will be okay."
At least, Rocky hoped so. He couldn't help but get a bad feeling in his chest that something bad had happened.
Chase's war cry echoed across the cave like a demon unleashing it's rage. From the entrance, Skye saw her friend ran towards the bear with blood-lust in his eyes. She knew what it was all about. She had seen the bloody collar and, with it, began to paint the image of an eaten up corpse. Doing her best to avoid the bile growing in her mouth, she saw Chase slide underneath the charging bear. Turning around, he barked and jumped, biting the bear in the tail.
The beast howled with pain as it tried to shake Chase off, but he refused to let go. Using his paws, he pushed himself onto the back and started biting as hard as he could at the neck, his german shepherd's teeth ripping fur and flesh out.
Skye didn't know what was scarier. The bear or Chase. She had seen Chase act violent before, mostly against the occasional thief or bully they had to deal with. But this was the first time Chase looked like he was fully willing to kill. Still frozen, Skye watched in horror as the bear finally got wise and made for the wall of his cave. Turning around, he slammed his back against the rocky surface. Chase cried out in pain before slipping down, dazed and bleeding around his ears.
Seeing his attacker down, the bear got up and opened its jaws.
"Chase!" shouted Ske, before turning to her puppack. She may have lost one friend, but she wasn't about to lose another. "Arf! Arf! Wings!"
Once her wings came out, Skye flew as fast as she could towards the bear. Normally, she wouldn't dare attempt to do this in such a narrow space as a cave, but it was better than losing two pups in one day. The bear's attention was caught as Skye began to zip around the bear, barking at it. It roared and tried to swipe at her with his claws, but she was much too nimble for it.
Getting an idea, she headed towards the exit of the cave while shouting, "Come and get me you overgrown teddy bear!"
The bear roared in anger and chased after her, reaching the edge of the cliff path that lead to a long way down. Skye took to the air even higher as the bear continued to roar at her.
"Hey!" shouted a voice, catching the bear's attention. It turned around and saw Chase, back on his four paws, growling at the bear. "Bark! Net!"
His net launcher emerged from the puppack and fired, the net wrapping around the muzzle and face of he bear. Blinded and unable to roar, it leaned on its hind legs in confusion while swiping in the air. "This is for my brother you murderer!" shouted Chase as he charged forward. With a loud cry, he tackled the bear right in the chest. Skye watched with waited breath as the force of the blow pushed the bear off the edge of the cliff, hurling it into the dark chasm below.
Skye didn't stop watching the falling bear until she could see it no more and turned away, trying not to visualize the gory fate. Instead, she focused on Chase, who looked at the location of where the bear fell while taking deep breaths. He then quickly turned back into the cave.
Landing back on the ground, Skye retracted her wings and headed forward, eying a large puddle of blood that smelled just like…
No… no, please…
Skye rushed in, but paused upon seeing a sight that shattered her heart. Chase held Marshall's blood covered collar that was starting to mix with the tears that were falling from his eyes. Slowly, he looked up at Skye with a pleading face. "Please tell me…"
"T-tell you what?" asked Skye, who started to feel her own waterworks coming out.
"Tell me this is a dream… tell me this isn't' real… and that when I wake up Marshall will be in his dog house. Washing it... and then tripping on his hose and spraying Rocky again. And we all just laugh because that's Marshall being Marshall," whispered Chase, as he lowered his head. "Please, Skye… tell me… tell me he's not dead…"
Skye slowly walked over to Chase and nuzzled him, holding him closer to her as she felt the collar between both their chests. "Chase… I'm so sorry… I'm so so so sorry…"
She closed her eyes as she felt him breath heavier and heavier, hyperventilating worse with each breath. Until at last he unleashed it all in a painful scream.
"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHH!"
Chase fell to the floor, cradling the collar as he openly bawled. Mud, tears, and rain decorated his defeated face as he screamed, "He promised! He promised! Oh. Marshall! Marshall! Please don't leave me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! You're not an annoyance, you're my brother! Don't leave like Dad did! Please! I love you! Please! I love you! Please… please… please… Marshall… please…"
Never before had Chase look so broken in the eyes of Skye. The once strong and capable leader that she always admired, even before her feeling for him, left her speechless. It was like looking at a little newborn, alone and scared in a world of nothing but darkness. His sorrowful cries rang even in Skye's soul as she lay her head over his and cried with him.
Nothing she said could heal this. She wasn't sure if anything could heal this. Marshall, her comrade, her friend, was gone forever and nothing would ever be the same. Paw Patrol would never be the same.
"… I need to call… Ryder…" whisper Skye, figuring he and the rest of the pups deserved to hear the news. Chase didn't say anything, he just whimpered. Pressing her communicator tag, she called for her owner.
"Skye?! Thank goodness! What happened?! Are you and Chase safe?!" cried out Ryder on the other end.
"R-Ryder…" whispered Skye, trying to find the words.
"Skye?"
"… M-Marshall's… d-dead…"
Another cry exited Chase as Skye winced. The other line was quiet as Skye waited.
"A-are y-y-you s-sure? Is there a-a body?" asked Ryder, his voice cracked.
"W-we found his collar… and his blood… in a bear's cave…" said Skye, trying to not imagine the grim final moments of the dalmatian's short life. All she could hope was that he didn't suffer long and was at peace.
There was a long silence, only broken up by Chase's crying. Finally, Ryder said, "Are you safe?"
"We are."
"When the storm ends… come home…"
"Ryder! I'm sorry! It's all our fault, if we hadn't…"
"Skye… don't… just don't blame yourselves… please…"
Skye swore that before the call ended, she heard a heartbroken cry.
Ryder looked at the puppad in his hands as tears from his eyes dripped down on the screen. Marshall was gone. One of his pups was gone.
He failed. He failed Marshall and the rest of the team. A part of him wanted to throw his puppad to the floor, head downstairs, and scream at the others for what they had done. It was their fault Marshall ran away! It was their fault he died! It was their fault they couldn't save him!
But as much as Ryder wanted to do that, he couldn't. He loved his pups. All of them were important, even when they made a mistake. They never meant to have Marshall leave on purpose, nor did they want him dead. He saw the regret in their eyes, and this new news would destroy them. He never would wish this on anyone; to lose someone that they cared about so much.
He didn't even known what he was going to tell Blaze and Misty. They trusted him to look after Marshall, but he let them down. He let their only son die. Not in the face of duty, but in the cold and harsh forest where he had been devoured by a bear. Ryder knew there was always danger when he stared Paw Patrol. His father even lost three different pups in Rescue Rover's before replacing them.
Ryder swore that would never happen with Paw Patrol, but that promise was now broken. They were more than a team, they were a family. This was even truer for Rocky, Zuma, and Rubble who didn't have parents like Marshall or Skye or Chase. And now they had to mourn the loss of one of their own.
Skye sounded all broken up, but he could also hear the whimpering cries of Chase. Marshall had been one of the key rocks for the police pup after Trigger had died in the line of duty. And now that he had lost another important figure in his life, what was that going to do to Chase mentally?
He didn't know how the other Pups would take it. Still, it was best to tell them now as delaying would help no one. Taking the elevator down, Ryder watched as all the zoomed towards him with anticipation.
"Did they find him?" asked Zuma.
"Is he okay?!" Asked Rocky.
He looked at all three of them while clenching his fist. He knew once he told them the truth, nothing would ever be the same for all of them again. "I'm sorry, pups… but we found Marshall's tag with a lot of blood on it… in a bear's cave." Their eyes widen with horror. "Because of this… Marshall has been declared… d-deceased."
"NOOOOO!" shouted Rubble as he ran away, right outside. Ryder knew where he was going. Whenever Rubble got upset he locked himself in his doghouse and refused to come out. He didn't blame Rubble. In fact, Ryder himself wanted to lock himself in his room and just cry.
"I… I can't believe it…" muttered Rocky, tears in his eyes. "Not Marshall. Tell me they at least found his body!" Ryder shook his head as Rocky began to weep. "Marshall… Marshall… I'm so sorry… I don't know if you can hear me up there, but I am so sorry…"
"W-W-W-Wocky…" whispered Zuma whose lip as trembling as his eyes began to water. "You… you said… you said he'd be… a-a-allwright…"
Rocky shook his head and looked at Zuma. "I… I… I'm sorry…"
"It's not fair….it's not fair! It's not fair!" screamed Zuma as he dived into Rocky's arms. "Wwwaaaaahhhh! Aaaaaahhhhh! Mawshall!"
Ryder turned away. He just went back to elevator and rode it all the way up. He could still hear Zuma's wails.
He couldn't do this. He needed help.
He turned on his puppad and called for his father. A few rings later, he saw his dad ready to greet him, but showed concern when he saw his son crying. "Ryder?! What happened?!"
"D-D-Dad," whimpered Ryder as he fell to his knees. "I… I lost a friend…"