Marshall closed his eyes as Liz removed the bandages from around his head. She needed to check up on the wound he had received when fighting Hood. Rocky and Everest waited with baited breath. If Marshall's head was okay, that would mean that they were free to begin looking for the doppelganger Dalmatian again.

As Marshall's eyes opened, he couldn't help but to look down at the bandages left wrapped around his front legs. The mere sight of them made his heart beat faster. He was ready to start looking for him again, yes. But if Hood were to try and start another fight with him, would he be able to fight back? He wasn't much of a fighter if it didn't involve Pup-Fu, which he knew was all in good sport. He used to be PAW Patrol's medical pup, for crying out loud!

His eyes slowly moved up to look at his friends. The two pups stared back at him with supportive smiles on their faces. He wasn't alone anymore. He had friends this time around. If Hood were to try and fight him, then he was sure that the numbers advantage would deter the mysterious mutt so nobody would have to get hurt.

As the woman inspected Marshall's head, her eyebrows raised in what seemed to be intrigue. She hadn't expected to see something like this.

"Hm... Seems healed enough!" Liz exclaimed, "Strange, you're surprisingly resilient, Oreo."

"So, he's healed?" Rocky asked, waiting for her answer.

The redhead shook her head, "Not all the way, but way more healed than I expected him to be at this point."

"So...?" Everest raised an eyebrow.

"Marshall's allowed to leave the house!" She declared, much to the delight of the three pups.

"Whoo!" The Husky cheered, wrapping an arm around both Rocky and Marshall, "The Dream Team is back in action!"

As Marshall felt Everest's soft, fuzzy fur over his shoulder, the Dalmatian couldn't help but to smile nervously, a pink hue tinting his cheeks. His eyes frantically darted around the room as he tried to distract himself from the thoughts bubbling up in his mind.

Rocky laughed, "Dream Team, that's a dumb name..."

"Whatever, I don't care!" Everest laughed, letting go of the two, "This brings us a step closer to our ultimate goal! Prove Marshall's innocence for sure."

"Thanks again, you guys..." Marshall spoke faintly.

"We're in this together, always remember that," Everest gave him a grin.

Rocky soon pushed away from the two, chuckling, "Haven't we had enough heartfelt moments for the week? Come on, it's time to get ready. Sunset is almost around the corner.

The mixed breed began to walk, followed by Everest. Marshall went to follow behind his friends, but he suddenly felt a hand on his head. He recognized that hand anywhere.

"Yeah, Liz?"

"You stay safe. Watch after your friends, and yourself," She told him, "I don't need one of you coming home with blood covering your bodies, okay?"

"I'll try my best. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Now go. Join your team."

The Dalmatian nodded, walking down the hall to join Rocky and Everest in the guest room, which had quickly transformed into a working area for the former recycling pup. Pieces of scrap, wires, and metal littered the room's floor. Marshall had a bit of trouble navigating the guest room, trying his best not to step on anything that looked important.

"Alright you two, I know you've been excited to test out your new gear—" The mixed breed began to explain, but was cut off by Marshall.

"I didn't get any gear, remember?"

Rocky smirked, "Oh, sweet, innocent, Marshall... I work faster than you think. After that horrible bath, I got to work all through dusk and into the night. You two both have new gear to test drive."

Everest's tail began to wag, something that only the crushing Dalmatian was able to notice, "So, you said I'm getting claws?"

"As I said before, Everest's breed was basically made for wilderness survival. That's why her claws are already sharp on their own. But I decided that if she wanted to get more use out of claws, she would need some enhancements."

The Husky nodded, impatient, "Yeah? Yeah?"

"So I made these gloves for Everest's front paws! Meet the Chrome Claws!" The mixed breed presented two large black gloves made out of seemingly strong fiber. The gloves seemed to be made to be worn like socks, moving pretty far up her forelegs. Above every opening for each part of her forepaws were slits. There seemed to be a faint view of sharp metal inside of them.

"Rocky, these look amazing!" The Husky exclaimed, hurrying to put them on.

"I made them to be motion activated, but since we're working with limited tech, you have to slam your paws against the ground. The gloves will pick up this force, resulting in—"

Everest was quick to slam her paws on the ground, which resulted in metallic claws shooting out of the slits above where her original claws were. Marshall yelped at the sight, backing up a bit. The claws seemed to be inches upon inches long, and looked razor sharp.

"What do you think, Marshall?" The excited Husky turned to look at him, unintentionally swiping her claws at him.

The Dalmatian shot back, yelping in surprise, "Careful, Everest!"

Everest smiled nervously, "Whoops, sorry... Rocky, how do I put them away?"

"Slam them again."

Once Everest did as she was told, Rocky moved onto his next invention, "This right here is my enhancement, the Projectile Pack."

He presented one of the backpacks he and Everest had used to bring all of the discarded electronics from the lookout, putting it in front of them.

"...It's just a bag..." Marshall poked at it.

Rocky only chuckled, his confidence growing, "You see, I took inspiration from Ryder on this one. This backpack was upcycled to make the Projectile Pack. Never refuse to reuse."

"Wasn't it, don't lose it, reuse—" Everest began to ask.

"We're not on the PAW Patrol right now..." The former eco pup cut her off, "Anyway, The pack deploys a launcher from the top, just like Marshall's old water canons. Except instead of water, anything could be shot out of it if it fits."

The Husky nodded, "Nice!"

"Now for you, Marshall!" Rocky reached down to grab someone, "And I think you'll really enjoy this one..."

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Chase sat in front of Tracker as he finished filling the jungle pup in on everything that had been happening. Saying it all out loud at once was a strange experience for the officer pup, but probably not as strange as it was to the pup listening to the story.

"Oy, oy, oy... I did miss a lot!" Tracker exclaimed, putting a paw on his head, "You said Marshall did what?"

"Hey, we don't know for sure that Marshall's really guilty!" Skye exclaimed, "...I don't believe him, but I want to see that evidence he, Everest, and Rocky were talking about. It's only fair."

"She's right," The presumed Potcake looked down at the floor, "Marshall's, well... He's Marshall! He's a nice guy!"

"You haven't seen what I, and everyone else saw..." Chase's expression hardened, "...I'm not gonna look for false hope."

Skye and Tracker exchanged worried glances before all of their pup tags emitted light of their signature colors, "Team Chase, the sun's almost down. You know what to do."

"What's the plan, Chase?" Skye turned to look at her Shepherd friend.

"Okay, we have the whole town area to search. Skye, Tracker, you two ride in Skye's helicopter. That way, Tracker will be able to listen out for and pinpoint where he hears any noises from."

The jungle pup nodded confidently, "Soy todo oídos! I'm all ears!"

Skye's eyes narrowed, "What about you?"

"I'll be on the ground searching the alleys and places you can't see from above," He answered, "I'll use my night vision goggles to navigate the dark areas."

The two pups nodded.

"Any other questions?" The German Shepherd asked, the two other pups shaking their heads afterwards, "Good, let's get moving."

Chase began making his way to the slide, followed by Skye and Tracker. He was glad neither of them asked what he would do if and when he found Marshall. He wasn't too sure what to do himself. But his owner trusted him to lead the search through the town area, the place where thefts were most abundant. He couldn't let Ryder down.

Tracker, meanwhile, was still having a bit of trouble wrapping his head around everything he had been told. He was used to being left out of the loop when it came to things happening with the main six pups of the PAW Patrol, but he assumed something this big would be told to him. He was still a member of the team too, and not one of those members exclusive to Mighty Pup missions, or any other sub category they dealt with. He was one of the originals! Well, somewhat.

Chase was first to make it to the slide, jumping on and making his way down toward his vehicle. As he circled the lookout, he turned his head to look at the setting sun. Ryder was right. The night was approaching fast, and so was his inevitable reunion with Marshall.

From the moment Marshall left the lookout, he couldn't help but wonder what the Dalmatian was up to. He had no choice but to think about Marshall's disappearance, since that was the catalyst to the lookout's current quiet state. Not only that, but Marshall leaving was the reason why they lost two other members in the process.

Zuma and Rubble seemed really down about Rocky and Marshall not being around anymore. While the four had their differences, Chase would always find them in an eternal search for common ground, especially after Marshall saved Rocky's life on the Sea Patroller. He was glad to see his team mates getting along, but Marshall and Rocky's growing bond meant that he and Marshall weren't able to spend more time together.

Initially, Chase didn't mind this in the slightest. He and Marshall didn't always have to be hanging out with one another. But that's because he had assumed they had the rest of their lives to hang out. He didn't expect to see that tape. He didn't expect Marshall to leave. And he most definitely didn't expect Marshall to be the primary suspect of the crime.

As he landed in his vehicle, the officer pup stepped on the gas and pushed forward, not even looking back to check that Skye and Tracker were set to go. His head was filled with questions, pleading for answers. The only way he'd be able to get those answers if he had all of the puzzle pieces at his disposal.

Something was starting to tell him that he wasn't getting the whole picture.

Skye and Tracker landed in Skye's helicopter soon afterward. The Cockapoo quickly turned the vehicle on, the blades above their heads beginning to spin.

"He's already gotten pretty far, amiga!" The Chihuahua exclaimed, looking at the ever-fading Chase, "We have to keep up."

The aviator pup shook her head, "I know, I know!"

The helicopter took off in quick pursuit of their Shepherd friend.

Standing atop one of the many buildings scattered around Adventure Bay, Rocky, Everest, and Marshall all perked up at the sound of a siren. They were all easily able to recognize what siren it was, as well. It was Chase's. Rocky, gulping, peeked over the edge of the roof they were standing on. Sure enough, he noticed Chase riding by.

"Maybe the PAW Patrol has a mission..." Rocky theorized, looking at his two allies, "Let's just stay out of the way, and keep looking around for that Dalmatian... What did you call him again?"

"Hood."

"Right. Hood."

"So, Marshall? How'd you end up seeing Hood last time?" Everest asked.

"I just stayed on a rooftop until I heard sounds. I went toward them, and I found him..." The Dalmatian answered, "That was the only time I found him though..."

Rocky's eyes widened, "That's because you're only in one place! The reason why this guy is so hard to track down is because you're listening from one location. You got lucky that one night you found him. Best course of action is to split up."

"Split up!?" Everest asked loudly, "We're supposed to be looking out for each other. What do we do if we're in trouble?"

"Easy, we call."

Both Marshall and Everest were suddenly thrown a small device each. Both looked akin to human wristwatches. A red light was being emitted from both of them.

Rocky cleared his throat, "These are communicators I repurposed from some of the old pup tag designs Ryder threw out. They look a bit different, but the concept is the same. Use them just like you would your pup tags."

The mixed breed helped put the communicators on both of their right forelegs, and Marshall helped put Rocky's on.

"Guess I'll... Go right?" Marshall asked, deciding that he needed to take action.

"I'll go left!" Everest exclaimed.

Rocky nodded along, "So that leaves me to search the area here. Remember. If you get in trouble, just call for help. Don't try to take things on by yourself."

Soaring high above Adventure Bay, Tracker's ears began to turn in different directions, "Skye!"

"What's up?"

"I hear something..." The jungle pup's eyes narrowed, "Kind of sounds like... feet hitting the ground quickly... Somebody's running! Not Just anybody either, the steps are too frequent to be human, it has to be a pup!"

The Cockapoo's eyebrows raised as she looked down at her pup tag, "Chase, you heard that?"

"Loud and clear!" Chase's voice came from her tag, "Tracker, point me in a direction."

Tracker looked down at where Chase was, then listened out for a general direction, "...Should be a straight shot from where you are. Try that construction site."

"Copy that."

.

.

.

Marshall found himself standing in front of a large construction site. Scaffolding was scattered around the area, and the place seemed abandoned. There would be nothing for Hood to steal there. There didn't seem to be a point in staying any longer.

The Dalmatian turned around to look elsewhere, but he suddenly shut his eyes when two bright lights shone in his face. Marshall was quickly able to notice that they were headlights, shining through the darkness of Adventure Bay, which was now shrouded in the dark veil of night.

The headlights slowly dimmed, allowing Marshall to regain his sight. As he slowly became more able to see the driver of the vehicle, his eyes widened more and more.

Sitting in the vehicle in front of him was Chase.

"Paws up, Marshall!" The Shepherd ordered.

The Dalmatian looked confused, "What?"

"Look, just listen to my instructions, and comply. As long as you do that, everything will be okay..." Chase spoke to him, "I'm bringing you back to the lookout."

Marshall couldn't help but to gasp faintly, "Back to the lookout? That wasn't what you guys agreed on. You said I'd have a month to gather evidence."

"You still do, you just need to come back to the lookout."

The Dally's right hind paw slowly slid back, something that Chase was quickly able to notice. He inched his vehicle closer. Marshall was confused. Was Chase trying to arrest him? If so, for what reason? They all agreed that Marshall would have a month before Ryder would take any action.

"...Why are you doing this to me...?"

"Thefts have only been on the rise since you left the lookout. We can't risk anything else going missing."

Marshall's eyes darted around, wondering what he should do. He looked down at his communicator before shaking his head. He didn't need to call for them just yet. He could get out of this.

The Dalmatian's eyes narrowed, "I'm not going with you."

"...I tried to help you, Marshall..." Chase's ears fell as he began to get out of his vehicle.

The Dally watched Chase's actions closely. He had gone on countless missions with the German Shepherd. He knew how Chase operated. And more importantly, he knew a few of the officer pup's weak points. One of which was the time it took Chase to land on the ground after jumping out of his vehicle. He always was unable to do anything while in the air, and that's what Marshall was counting on.

The instant he saw Chase's paws leave his vehicle, the Dalmatian turned and began running as fast as he could.

"Hey! Stop, in the name of the law!" The German Shepherd yelled, quickly chasing behind the determined Dalmatian.

Marshall turning around to run allowed Chase to get a good view of his backside, more so what was on his back. There seemed to be a strap of metal draped over the Dalmatian's back, on the end of both sides being what seemed to be small containers.

Looking up at the construction above, the Dalmatian gulped down any doubts lingering in his mind, "Okay, let's test this thing out..." He slid to a stop as he looked up at the top of the construction, "Launch!"

Shooting from the two containers on both sides of Marshall's torso were two plungers attached to some rope. Rocky had gotten inspiration from Tracker's cables, and thought it would be a good idea to replicate it for increased maneuverability. Chase had no idea what was going on, but all he needed to know was that Marshall was trying to escape.

Once the two plungers stuck to part of the construction far above their heads, he screamed, "Retract!"

"Oh no you don't!" Chase lunged at the Dalmatian.

As the ropes began to quickly pull Marshall up towards where the plungers were stuck, Chase quickly grabbed onto the Dalmatian's hind legs. They both shot upward, but due to the force of Chase jumping on him, the two went hurtling forward, crashing through a wall and landing in an enclosed room.

Marshall gently rubbed his head, groaning. He heard the plungers finally return to the containers at his sides, leading him to the conclusion that all of the force must've made the plungers lose their stick.

Chase, on the other side of the room, grit his teeth as he stood up, "Last chance, Marshall..."

The former fire pup stood up, not caring about the shaking floor beneath their paws, "I'm not going back there. I can't."

The two pups began circling the other, waiting for their opponent to make a move. Chase's ears remained flattened against his head as a low growl slipped from his mouth. Marshall, although hesitant about fighting before, knew that there was only one thing he could do to get the Shepherd off of his back.

Marshall suddenly broke out into a sprint, his eyes trained on Chase, "Launch!"

With Marshall's verbal indication, the two plungers shot out from the containers at his side, flying in Chase's direction. The officer pup quickly ducked under them and rolled to his left.

"Oh no, retract!" He tried to get the two plungers back to him before they stuck to anything, but they had already hit the wall. The clumsy Dally lost his balance, the rope attached to the plungers sending him flying into the wall.

He rubbed his head and turned back to face Chase, who was already inches away from him, with a quick punch, Marshall was knocked to the ground. The Dalmatian soon grunted and looked at the ceiling, "Launch!"

The plungers shot up and hit the ceiling, successfully getting himself out from under Chase. That wasn't without consequence, though, as he was now stuck to the roof. Marshall pressed his paws against the ceiling, trying his best to push away and unstick himself.

"So, they're still new..." Chase concluded, raising an eyebrow.

Once he succeeded in getting himself from the ceiling, the Dalmatian hit the ground. He sat up, readjusting the plungers to make sure they were ready to fire once more. However, as Marshall focused on trying to get his new gear in check, Chase was approaching fast.

His eyes widened when he heard a bark from Chase, "Net!"

Marshall quickly shouted, "Launch!" He fired his plungers into the floor a few feet away, sending him flying in that direction. His momentum was enough to pull the plungers from the floor and keep flying in the same direction.

"Launch!"

With another shout, the plungers attached to a pillar behind Chase. The Shepherd's eyes widened once he realized that he was between the ropes attached to Marshall's gear. With a devilish smile, the Dalmatian sharply inhaled.

"Retract!"

Marshall began to fly in Chase's direction, extending his forelegs in his direction. Using the sheer speed he had managed to pick up in just a few seconds, the Dalmatian rammed his body into Chase's, knocking him through the pillar he had attached his plungers to.

Once the pillar was knocked out, the flimsy area began to rumble and shake, causing Marshall to wobble as he kept his eyes glued to Chase. Chunks of dust and debris filled the room, coating both his and Chase's fur in pieces of sediment.

The Shepherd, now laid out on his back, gasped for air. As he struggled to regain his breath, Chase stood once more, "...Not... Yet!"

Before anything else could be done, Chase's pup tag emitted blue light, "Chase? Are you there? We just saw a part of the construction site collapse! Are you okay?" Skye's voice came through.

He coughed, staring at Marshall, "...I'm okay."

"We're on our way now!"

The Dalmatian's eyes bulged wide. He was already struggling trying to keep Chase from catching him. How would he fare against how many other allies Chase had? Was he really done for? Marshall quickly tried to tap on his communicator.

"Everest? Rocky?" He tapped it again, "You guys!?" Once he tried to tap the communicator once more, it sparked with electricity. Marshall's heart dropped. It must've gotten damaged in the fight.

Chase, meanwhile, was keeping his eyes on Marshall. When Skye and Tracker arrived, they would have no problem keeping the Dalmatian at bay. He stared at his best friend, who seemed to be panicking more and more with every second.

"Promise me that won't change..."

"I promise, Marshall. Best friends forever."

His eyes widened. As he kept looking at the distressed Dalmatian, he didn't see a criminal. He didn't see a thief. He saw that same little pup that he had promised to be friends with until the day he died. He saw the little pup who was scared of thunderstorms and needed to be by his side in order to fall asleep. He saw Marshall.

"Guys, please come in!" Marshall begged.

"...Go, Marshall."

"Huh?" The Dalmatian looked up from his faulty communicator and at Chase, who was avoiding eye contact with him, "What'd you just say...?"

"I said go. Get out of here!"

Marshall was extremely confused. Just a minute ago, the two were engaged in a fight in order to decide whether or not Marshall would be brought back to the lookout, and now Chase was saying he could leave?

"Listen to me closely, Marshall. The PAW Patrol is going to keep looking for you as long as the thefts keep rising, and that includes me. I know you think you have a month, but you don't..." Chase explained, still facing away from Marshall, "Pick up your pace. Find whatever evidence you can as quickly as possible..."

"What? You believe me...?"

"I don't know, okay!?" He shouted, "...But if you're willing to go claw to claw with me, then I want to see what you're fighting for so hard. Find. That. Evidence. Understand?"

Marshall slowly nodded.

"SO GO!" He bowed his head down, his teeth grinding, "Don't let me catch you, no matter what it takes!"

Marshall, startled by his sudden screaming, quickly ran past Chase to the only opening leading outside, "Launch!"

Chase watched as plungers shot from the containers at Marshall's sides, propelling him out of sight.

"...Find that evidence... Please..."