As soon as they reached the center of town, Marshall stopped short, bending over to catch his breath. Joey began searching for the dragon, and frowned when he realized Derolth wasn't there.
"I don't see him..." He muttered. Marshall sniffed the air a little and frowned.
"The powerful magic is very, very faint, which means he had been here, but must've started walking again." He said. Joey nodded his head in agreement.
"Aye!"
With a big in-take of air, Marshall straighten himself up, determination overflowing in his face and began running towards the direction of the magic. "Oi! Derolth! Where are you?! Derolth!"
Joey sighed and followed him, also shouting out the dragon's name.
Meanwhile, Chase sighed, sitting on a bench near a creek at the end of the town.
"Man, this Derolth guy is hard to find. I thought he would be signing papers or something," The dark mage looked down at the water and frowned at his reflection. "I really need to find him. I...I want to ask him if it's okay for me to join the PAW Patrol..." He groaned. Shaking his head, Chase got up from the bench and began heading into town again, determined. "I can't keep sitting here, moping. I need to find Derolth!" With that, he was off, and just as he turned the corner, another figure emerged around, looking confused.
"The magic here is very strong. We must be getting close, Joey." Marshall said, smiling down at the grinning cat.
"Aye!"
And once again, the two were off.
Chase shifted uncomfortably, ignoring the heated glares filled with hatred as he walked pass the townsfolk. The looks were starting to get on his nerves and make him lose his cool, but honestly, Chase has dealt with worst. He could bare the hate and fear just for a little longer, up until he joins a light guild. Once he does, then, hopefully his past mistakes won't be brought up and forgotten. That was the plan he'd hoped for, anyway.
"There he is! It's Mr. Derolth! Let's go see him!" A voice of a female said to her friend, hearts in her eyes. The friend nodded, also having hearts in her eyes and the two ran passed Chase and headed towards the town's center. At that, Chase perked up, hope filling his chest.
"Finally! I finally found you Derolth!" He said, a wicked grin on his face. Those who'd saw shivered, edging further away from the dark mage as Chase ran in the same direction as the girls. Meanwhile, Marshall also began running in the same direction.
"You hear that, Joey?! Derolth is around here somewhere!"
"Aye!" Joey cheered, happy to find that special person to Marshall after so long.
Back with Chase, he spotted a group of girls all crowding around, giggling, squealing, and blushing. This could only mean one thing; he found Derolth. Chase smiled as he pushed his way in through the throng of girls. I can't wait to see this guy! He can help me, finally! Chase thought.
"Derolth, I-" Chase paused, taking in the wizard before him. The guy had black, grease-y looking hair that was slicked back in a way that reminded Chase of a mobster, was wearing a purple cloak, and had wrinkles on his forehead with an awkward mustache going across his face. Chase blinked. This can't be right. This guy is old enough to be my grandfather trying to be hip again! His thoughts screeched, and he could feel his eyebrow twitch. However, there was something...off about this mage.
"Ladies, Ladies, please, one at a time." He smirked, making the girls go crazy again. "I'll sign whatever you want." The girls shrieked, and Chase had to flinch back, suppressing the urge to cover his ears. That's when the mage looked over at Chase with a raised eyebrow, and Chase stiffened. As a dark mage himself, Chase could tell one dark mage from another, and this guy...this guy wasn't at good at all! His magic wasn't light magic, and he could feel the inklings of dark magic rating off this guy. Am I mistaken? Is Derolth really evil all this time? But...everyone said he was a good guy... Chase pondered, wondering if everything he knew was a lie. Before he could get lost in his thoughts, however, another voice joined the fry.
"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through," Chase turned towards the owner and realized it was a black-haired teen, about his age, it looks like, skin snow white, sharp blue eyes, had a red scarf around his neck, a red, long-sleeved sweatshirt, and a pair of loose fitted red pants. Looking at him, Chase couldn't help but shiver. There was something...predatory about him. Not to mention Chase couldn't make sense of his magic. It was there, but barely. Then again, most powerful wizards are known to suppress their magic if they don't use it often, or aren't in battle. Even Humdinger taught me that. Chase thought. "Hey Derolth, I - Eh?" The teen blinked. "You're not Derolth. Who are you?"
The guy 'Derolth' froze in shock, while the girls around them began glaring at the teen.
"How disrespectful!"
"We'll teach you some manners!"
Before anyone could blink, the boy was suddenly on the floor, a large lump appearing on his head, dazed out of his mind. Chase couldn't help but sweatdropped. These girls...are really something. That, or they couldn't tell a scam from a real deal to begin with. However, just as suddenly as they were vicious, they turned into sweet little kittens when 'Derolth began speaking, having their attention. Chase just stared at the group before looking down at the boy on the ground, who was groaning. Suddenly a cat came running on its hind legs towards the boy, and Chase could feel his eyebrow twitching again. Cats...can't walk like that...
"Marshall, are you okay?!" He asked, tears in his eyes. NOR CAN THEY SPEAK! The voice in his head shouted.
"'M fine, Joey. Just a little bruise," The boy said, smiling at the cat, rubbing its ear. "Although, now I'm curious as to why there is a guy pretending to be Derolth in the first place. Something smells fishy." That's when the cat, Joey, grinned, pulling out a fish from...well, Chase wasn't entirely sure.
"That could be my lunch, hehehehe." The boy sweatdropped at his companion.
"That's...not what I meant..." That's when the boy sniffed the air once more, turning his head until his eyes spotted Chase a few meters away from him, looking at him with concern in his eyes. "YOU!"
Chase jumped. "M-Me?"
"Yeah, you! Can you help us out?" He asked, jumping to his feet and staring into Chase's eyes with a sad, kicked, puppy look. Chase could feel his heart skip a beat, and he swallowed, face turning red.
"U-Um, sure," He paused. "With what, exactly?"
The boy shook his head before glancing over to the wizard surrounded by girls. "Not here, we'll talk it over during lunch."
Before Chase could protest, he was suddenly pulled in the opposite direction, Joey following, never noticing the other wizard glancing over at them - well, in particular - over at Chase.