AN: I'm not sure if I made this chapter sad enough, but oh well. I guess we'll see how it goes. Really glad this story is kicking off well. As always, I'm available for ideas if need be for Paw Patrol stories if you want to hear them. Just PM me.

I also recommend reading Paw Patrol: United by KNDFreak. It's a really good story although I would have switched Chase and Marshall's roles personally. Chase always seems to be "Ryder's dog" as it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol

All of Adventure Bay had turned out for the memorial at the Lookout. It had been decorated with black, white, and red banners with the Paw Patrol logo temporarily covered with a flag of Marshall's fire pup tag. The entire town, dressed for the occasion, had come together for this tragic event, even a few outsiders of Adventure Bay. Mr. Porter had been comforting his grandson, Alex, the entire time as he cried on his grandfather's shoulders. Captain Turbot had his hat off, placing it over his heart as a sign of respect while the other hand used a tissue to dry his tears. Farmer Yumi and Al held hands as they muttered in prayer. Fuzzy and his flock were nearby as well, the little goose being held by his mother as he tried furiously to fly to the memorial statue in tears.

Ryder, who had been crying silently, had his father holding his shoulder for support while Katie was on the other side holding his hand. The pet groomer gave him a comforting smile, letting him know that she was there for him. Even Callie was there, in a black collar and looking somber.

The saddest ones, besides Ryder, were two other groups: the pups themselves and Marshall's parents.

All of the pups had dressed up in their Paw Patrol uniforms, but with a black scarf wrapped around their necks as a sign of mourning. Words couldn't describe the looks on their faces that combined guilt, shame, and sorrow into one heartbreaking emotion. None of them hid any tears that flowed out, nor did they ever stop looking at the giant memorial statue of Marshall, which feature himed standing proud for all to see. The marble statue had a golden plate that read: "In Loving Memory of Marshall. A Proud Fire Pup of Paw Patrol. 'Just do my best. Forget the rest'".

The only ones missing was Everest, and her owner Jake. They tried to get a signal, but it was jammed by the storms. Ryder could only think how devastated they would be once they learned of Marshall's fate.

Mayor Goodway walked up to a small podium, wearing a funeral dress and shawl. Clearing her throat, she said,"We are all gathered here today in rememberance one of Adventure Bay's greatest heroes. He was brave, kind, and a faithful to us all. Marshall of Paw Patrol was not just another dog, he was part of our community; our family. He was a rescuer, a friend, and a son to us…" She turned to the weeping parents and their fire team who had come to support their dogs. Blaze was comforting his sobbing wife who held onto a picture of Marshall that was shot not long after he was born. Nobody knew what to say to the two dogs who had lost their only son.

If anything, the Paw Patrol wished they were hated by them instead of forgiven. They told them everything. How it was all their fault that their son ran away and met his death. They looked at the five long and hard as they awaited their punishment. In the end, they sighed and forgave them. They said Marshall would want them to, and they knew the pups never really meant for this to happen.

It still didn't stop them from blaming themselves. They even offered to surrender their dog tags in shame to Ryder, offering to be sent away to new owners, but Ryder outright refused. They were a family, and Marshall wouldn't want them to split up.

Even if I did say that though, that doesn't mean we won't have this hanging over us for the rest of our lives, thought Ryder as the Mayor ended her speech and gave the floor to Ryder.

Ryder squeezed Katie's hand before walking up to the podium. He stared at the crowd for a bit before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Marshall was… I guess it's hard to say what he was. Brave? Gentle? Happy? I think about that with all my pups. But the one thing I think about most when it comes to Marshall, from now and forever, will be his love." He opened his eyes and smiled. "With Marshall, he loved everything and everyone. He loved life to the fullest, and made sure to smile every day, showing how much he loved who he was and what he was doing. His love was something we all felt in our hearts when we were with him. He had a presence that made you think he was the rays of sunshine itself." He clenched his fist. "It's true that… it may seem like those rays are gone. However, I think if we remember who Marshall was, and that feeling of love we associated with him, then we can still feel those rays as he watches us from below."

Ryder lowered his head and turned away, he didn't want to see the reactions of his speech. He just wanted to look at the statue of Marshall. I'm gonna miss you buddy. If there is a heaven for dogs, you deserve it.

Ryder sighed before walking over to his father and Katie. He hugged both before turning back to the memorial. Getting the signal from the mayor, a bagpipe player began to blow into his instrument as Rubble walked forward with Chase, Zuma, Skye, and Rocky carrying a small casket on their shoulders. There was no body to bury, so they placed Marshall's dog tag in the casket along with a photo of him. Rubble, using his shovel, dug the hole in front of the statue and allowed the others to slowly lower the casket into the grave before he sealed it up with the dirt. When the last of the dirt was padded, the bagpipes ended and the crowd began to walk away. There would be no reception, just some time alone to deal with this new reality they were in.

Everyone eventually made their way to the Lookout, except for Chase, who stood there and stared at the statue with an emotionless face. Skye looked back at him for a bit before following the others inside.

The first thing Marshall felt as he slowly began to come into consciousness was the warm wrappings around him. He didn't feel any pain, nor did he feel cold. He tried to remember the last thing he saw and soon it all came back to him. Running away. The bear. The cold. His final moments. Did… did I die? He slowly opened his eyes, but didn't see puffy clouds or rays of unearthly light. Rather a warm cottage bedroom where he was under the covers of a warm bed. "Huh, not what I expected heaven to look like."

"Marshall! You're awake!" shouted a familiar voice as Marshall nearly gasped upon seeing Everest jumped onto the bed, wagging her tail. She proceeded to lick him a few times before she stopped and blushed. "Um, sorry about that."

"Everet? You're in puppy heaven too?" asked Marshall in shock.

Everest giggled. "I'm not dead. Neither are you. Me and Jake found you in a cave three days ago and brought you back here."

"I'm… not dead?" whispered Marshall as a smile began to grow on his face. He was about to jump up with joy, but he hissed and touched his wound which was now bandaged up.

"Careful, you're still not fully healed," said Everest, forcing him back on his pillow. "You were really weak when we found you. You gotta take it easy."

Marshall nodded. "Thanks, Everest. I owe you my life."

"No problem! I'm just glad we rescued you! Arf!" said the husky with a smile, she then frowned before asking, "Hey, Marshall? Why did you run away? Ryder and the pups were really worried about you."

"T-they were?"asked Marshall in shock. Ryder he could understand, but didn't the pups hate him?

"Yeah, Ryder had them looking all day when we last had contact. Rocky seemed to be really upset, said it was his and the other pups fault and they wanted to apologize or something," said Everest.

"R-really?" asked Marshall as a tear dropped down from his eye. "They were looking for me? Where are they now?!"

"We don't know. My communicator tag isn't able to transmit due to the snow storm outside. We haven't had outside contact in three days. You're lucky we decided to search for an extra hour before having to turn in because of the intensity," explained Everest.

Marshall sighed and cursed the weather. More than anything he wanted to see his friends again, and go home where he belonged. "Will the snow storm be leaving soon, Everest?"

"Should be gone in a few hours, dude," said Jake as he entered the room with two hot cups. "Glad to see you back from dreamland, Marshall. For a second we thought you weren't gonna make it. Everest here didn't even move from your bed for a whole day."

"J-Jake!" hissed Everest in embarrassment which made the boys laugh.

Jake handed over Marshall a cup of hot tea, which the pup eagerly accepted. When he tasted it, however, he nearly gagged. "Eww, liver flavored."

"Oops, that's mine." Everest took the cup and began to sip it. "Mmmmm. Good."

Accepting a warm regular green tea, Marshall felt his inner body light up as he drank the tea. Jake put the tray away before he asked, "So Marshall, why did ya decide to skip down and head into the woods on your own?"

Blushing, Marshall, rubbed his paws and whispered, "Actually, I was trying to get here. I wanted to live with you guys for a while."

"Why? I mean, not that I'm happy that you'd want to hang out here for a bit dude, but why leave your friends?"

Marshall explained how that day started with him messing up everyone's day, and the big fight that he had with the other pups when he broke the TV. He talked about how he ran away, and all the bad stuff that happened along the way, including the crash and the bear. Everest gasped and hugged Marshall, sobbing after he explained how he had given up and was ready to die until they saved him.

"You should really thank Everest. She picked up your tracks and we found you in that cave," said Jake with a rare serious look. "If we didn't find you, dude? I'm afraid you'd be cold and gone.

"Yeah," whispered Marshall, shivering at the fact that he was so close to death's cold touch and narrowly escaped it. He turned to a teary-eyed Everest and gave her a warm smile. "I really owe you, Everest. Thanks."

"Silly, pup," chuckled Everes, blushing t as she wiped away her tears. "But Marshall, I don't think your friends hate you. Rocky looked really worried and scared for you when I saw him. I'm willing to bet all my liver treats that every one of the pups were hoping to find you and apologize."

"R-really? You think that?" asked Marshall, hope filling his heart.

"I know so!" proclaimed Everest. "And as soon as the storm clears and we get a signal, we'll be able to get in contact with Ryder and the others."

Marshall nodded as he couldn't help but wonder what the other pups were doing right now. It's been three days. I wonder if they're still looking for me.

Chase still hadn't moved, and it had been two hours. Skye felt like she was watching two statues at the same time. After the service, nobody was in the mood to do much. Ryder was with Katie and his dad up on the second floor. Rubble and Zuma were watching old videos of Marshall on the new TV they had. And Rocky was getting water for Marshall's parents who were silent in the corner like their world had come to an end.

It might as well be the end of the world, thought Skye as she thought about the future. With Marshall gone, who would be their fire pup? Would they get a replacement? The thought of someone taking over Marshall's spot invoked both fear and fury in her. No one would be able to replace Marshall. Ever.

Worried about her crush, she decided to take a chance and exited the Lookout. Walking up to Chase, who continued to stand there and look at the statue, she sat beside him without saying a word.

"Marshall would have loved it," said Chase without looking at Skye. A sad smile appeared on his lip. "Although, really it should be of him doing one of his silly acts. It seems more like him."

"Yeah…" said Skye, lowering her head. What I wouldn't give for one of those acts.

"… I'm leaving Paw Patrol," muttered Chase, closing his eyes and whimpering in shame.

Skye's eyes opened a wide as she could as she turned to face him. "W-what?! Why?!"

"Because how can I be a good police pup if I can't save my own best friend," whimpered Chase, as he stared back at his best friend's grave. "I hurt Marshall. I betrayed him. If it wasn't for me he wouldn't have run off like that, and got himself killed. I failed him as a best friend, a brother, and as a leader. If I can't help my best friend, or my dad, what good am I?"

"And what about all the people you have saved! All of those civilians who pass by and thank you for all the hard work you've done!" shouted Skye, shoving her face into his. "You think you're the only one that feels bad, Chase?! We all are responsible! We all said those horrible words! We're all going to live with it for the rest of our lives, but I'm not gonna quit! You do that and Marshall will never forgive you!"

"What do you know?! You have a family! I have nobody anymore! My Mom, Dad, and Marshall are all dead! My mother died giving birth to me! I told my dad to go to work that day instead of spending time with me, and he got shot! I told Marshall he was an annoyance, and he runs away only to be eaten by a bear! I'm a curse, Skye! Everyone I love dies because of me! I should… " He began to tear up as he turned away to hide his face. "I should just disappear off the face of the earth! That way, none of you will die because of me!"

"… Chase…" He turned around only to be met with a slap across the face. He held his red cheek before slowly turning to a glaring Skye. "Don't… ever… say that again."

"S-Skye…" muttered Chase, as he fell on his haunches.

"Don't ever wish such a thing, Chase. I lost one friend I cared about, I don't want to lose another. I don't want to lose you. Out of everyone here, you're the one I care about the most," whispered Skye, biting her lip. "You think you lost those you care about? Ryder lost his mom in an accident. Katie's parents are divorced, and refuse to speak to each other. Rocky, Zuma, and Rubble are all orphans for a reason you know. And… we all lost Marshall. We all lost a precious friend. Not because of you and you alone. We all played a part in that loss, but maybe… maybe it just happened because it did."

Chase wiped his eyes as Skye continued. "I don't know if losing Marshall will ever heal, but I won't let this stop me from being what I want to be. A rescue pup. If you want to make your father, and Marshall, proud. You will keep doing what you can do to help people and prevent such tragedies from occurring. And remember," she walked up and nuzzled him, making them both blush. "We're in this together… especially me with you… because… Chase…"

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I love you."

She heard Chase gasp, but a second later he hugged her and began to weep on her shoulders. "I… I love you too."

The two of them opened their eyes and looked deep into each other's gaze. Slowly, their muzzles began to inch closer…

Suddenly, their communicator links activated at the same time, snapping them out of the moment. The signal was directed to all of them. "Hello? Ryder? Pups? You there? It's Everest!"

"E-Everest? What happened? We tried to communicate with you, but we got static," said Chase, blushing as he and Skye inched a bit closer, their tails wrapping around each other.

"Sorry about that! The snow storm just cleared up! Glad we could get a signal! Listen, about Marshall…"

Both pups whimpered at the name, and the thought of their friend learning the sad news.

"Everest… Marshall's gone… we found his collar and blood… we just had his funeral…" said Ryder on his line.

To their shock Everest just giggled. "Well, that's where you're wrong, Ryder. I found Marshall! He's alive!"

"ALIVE?!"shouted not just Chase and Skye, but Ryder and all the other pups as well.

"Yup! See for yourself!"

The visual feed for the communicators came online and soon they saw what looked to be Jake's bedroom from their tags. Skye was sure her heart stopped, as did the others, as they saw a single dalmatian on the bed, nervously waving.

"H-hey, pups. How was my funeral?" asked Marshall, with a small smile.