Marshall, Rocky, and Everest walked back to Liz's car, waiting for their adopted caretaker to check out all of the things she bought. Marshall's eyes squinted lightly as he mulled over the different thoughts in his mind. Most of them concerned what the redheaded woman was planning.

Rocky, who was just as confused, moved over to walk beside his spotted friend, "So what do you think the plan is?"

"You don't even know?" The former firefighter turned his head, surprised, "If any one of us would've had an answer, it would be you."

"Nope, totally lost," The mixed breed shrugged, "Whatever it is, we should be ready for anything."

Marshall nodded, "You're right."

Rocky then turned his attention to Everest, who was walking at a slight distance behind the two. Raising an eyebrow, the gray puppy stopped in his tracks, allowing the Husky to catch up with him. She didn't notice that he had gotten any closer, completely wrapped in her thoughts.

"Everest?"

"Huh? Oh, Rocky?" She snapped out of her trance, "When'd you get here?"

The ex-eco pup walked alongside her, "Three seconds ago. What's up with you?"

"Oh nothing much, Just wondering what Liz is planning, is all!" She lied, smiling at her friend, "Think we might have to fight?"

"Fight? Maybe. But when were you ever interested in fighting?" Rocky asked, "We don't really fight unless it's pup-fu. Even then it's never anything serious."

Everest looked down at her paws, "I've wanted to get a few good hits on Hood ever since we found out he beat up Marshall."

"Good point. I wouldn't mind knocking him around a bit!" He grins, "It'd be good revenge for him."

The Husky chuckled faintly, "What wouldn't we do for him?"

The two stopped walking, watching Marshall climb into Liz's car. A smile made its way onto both of their faces as they thought about the Dalmatian. He seemed to be getting better by the day. Gone were the times where it seemed as though Marshall felt uncomfortable speaking around them, gone were the moments their friend tried to avoid being around them. Marshall was beginning to feel like Marshall again, even if he still wasn't the same as he was before everything happened.

Rocky looked at Everest, who's eyes were glued to the Dalmatian currently waiting in the car. Now that he was looking at her, it almost seemed as though she was glued in place. The ex-eco pup decided to get a closer look, raising an eyebrow. He noticed that there was an ever so faint pink color developing on her cheeks beneath her fur. It was eerily familiar to something he had seen before.

"Everest?"

"Huh? What's up?" She looked at the mixed breed.

Rocky raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you're okay? You've been drifting off a lot lately."

"I'm okay!" She gave him a grin, "I've just been feeling a little jumbled up inside recently... It's nothing serious, though!"

Out of everyone she currently was in close contact with, Rocky was the second to last pup she would want knowing about her ever-growing crush on Marshall, only beaten by the clumsy Dalmatian himself. Her and Rocky were friends, growing closer by the day, but when it really came down to it, they seemed to bicker more than they got along.

Rocky, on the other paw, felt exactly the same. He and Everest were allies. They both cared a lot about Marshall. But when he wasn't involved, was there any reason for them to hang out? It was a common occurrence. Marshall was the middle friend. If he wasn't involved, then things between them were awkward.

"You two gonna stand in the middle of the street forever, or are we going to the car?" A voice asked from behind them, "You forget that you guys are supposed to be in hiding?"

"Whoops, sorry Liz!" Everest quickly apologized, turning to look at the woman.

Rocky began heading to the car, "We were just talking about what you were planning. Whatever that is."

"You'll see when we get there. I'd rather not say something so crazy out in public."

As usual, Rocky beelined for the passenger seat so that Marshall could spend quality time with his crush. While romance wasn't a top priority in their lives at the moment, the mixed breed at least wanted to give the Dalmatian a fighting chance at winning the Husky's heart. That meant making sure they were able to spend time together.

Everest didn't notice how quickly Rocky managed to get to the car, only noting that she would be in the backseats with Marshall again. She didn't mind though, far from it. She would get to spend more time beside Marshall. She didn't know why she didn't notice how good it felt to be around the Dalmatian sooner. She missed so much potential time with Marshall, but now that she knew for sure how she felt, she'd make every moment count.

.

.

.

A faint growl filled the air of the ever-darkening Adventure Bay. This growl wasn't one of anger, though. It wasn't even one that came from a mouth. The growl was coming from a particular Dalmatian's stomach.

He was starving.

Hood, after spending most of the early evening searching around, clutched his stomach as he let out a groan. He leaned himself up against a garbage bin, exhaling loudly. The humans of Adventure Bay had gotten better at hiding their food, and now, he couldn't even smell any. Maybe they weren't as simple as he originally thought.

He couldn't care less about the fact that he was exhausted due to the low amount of food he had in his system, but there was no way he was leaving the town without at least a bit of food. He couldn't allow it. He wouldn't let it slide.

"I gotta get back to the Valley with at least something!" He internally exclaimed, catching his breath, "I'll get something. Anything."

Gripping on the cloak covering most of his body, Hood began to trudge out of the alley and held tight an empty sack he was planning to use to store food once he got his paws on some. He walked toward the exit of the alley before his eyes widened.

He was walking through the very alley he first officially met Marshall in.

Hood thought back to their fight back then. He was entirely aware of the fact that he was stronger, faster, and more coordinated than the former firefighter pup. In spite of that, Marshall had one thing that he didn't. He had grown used to being a domesticated puppy in this peaceful town.

While that seemed to be a downside for his survival, it meant that when that strange contraption screeched to a stop in front of them at the tail end of their confrontation, he wasn't surprised. Not like he was. Marshall seemed to know what that thing was, and took action quicker than Hood could wrap his head around what was in front of them.

"Hopefully that Marshall doesn't come back and try to stop me again..." The doppelganger Dalmatian's eyes narrowed, "I don't want to have to kill him... Anymore."

His mind wandered off to a different voice reprimanding him for fighting and beating up the clumsy Dalmatian. Nothing else seemed to matter but the fact that Hood had gotten violent when he could've simply walked away. The mysterious malefactor shook his head, snapping himself out of his daze.

"I've been spacing out a lot more these past few days... I need to get my paws on some food..."

That's when a particular scent caught his nose. His eyes widened as he attempted to swat at his nose to test if he was smelling what he thought he was smelling. After a minute of pawing at his nose, he sniffed the air once more. He was not mistaken in what he smelled.

The aroma took him back to the wild, where the smell would be ever so abundant. Though he was never able to get near it, he knew exactly what his nose was picking up. A metallic smell seemingly filled the area around him. He was able to smell it every way he turned.

He began to sniff around, trying to decipher the location in which it was coming from. He closed his eyes, allowing his more primal instincts to take over. His mouth watered in anticipation to sink his teeth into it. The scent became stronger, as did his desperation to find the source of the smell. He knew what the smell was coming from. It was a beacon of light for wild animals such as himself. A source of sustenance renowned by all carnivores alike.

Meat.

.

.

.

Minutes Prior

The pups helped Liz carry multiple plastic bags from the store into the house, the redhead using her back to shut it behind them. She quickly hurried to the kitchen, putting her load onto the cleared table. Liz gestured for the trio to do the same while she backed away from the table.

"So, what are we gonna do with all of these bags?" Marshall asked, "And why do they smell like—"

"Liver!" Everest cut the Dalmatian off, her eyes sparkling, "Did you get it for me? Can I have some? How much did you get?"

Liz turned to the Husky, confusion abundant on her face, "...What's up with you?"

"You should've told us you were grabbing raw meat from the store..." Rocky put his bags on the table with the help of using a chair as a stepping stool, "Everest is a liver fanatic..."

"Tell me we're gonna eat it!" Everest's tail wagged erratically, so much so to the point where Liz thought she'd take flight.

"Don't eat the plan!" Liz was quick to snatch Everest's bags from her, "We need everything that we bought, or else this won't work!"

"The plan?" Marshall's eyebrows furrowed, "What are we going to do with all of this meat?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The woman looked at the spotted pup, "This house is gonna be that other Dalmatian's cage."

Rocky's eyes widened, "I get it!" He put a paw on his forehead, "You're gonna try and use the meat to lure him here! But how are we gonna create a pungent enough scent to attract Hood, when he could possibly be on the other side of the bay?"

"Well, since this Hood Dalmatian has been stealing mostly food, I'd have no reason to think that he wasn't a stray. I know how wild dogs act. They look for food wherever they can."

"That doesn't explain the bones though..." Rocky muttered.

"...So, since Hood is wild, his senses, including his sense of smell, are a lot better than yours or mine. I'm banking on that. I'm gonna open all of these cases of meat and place them near different open windows."

"But how are you gonna increase the smell? What if he won't be able to smell it?"

"Leave that to me, okay?" Liz put her hands on her hips, "In the meantime... Rocky. You grab any gadget or gizmo you've made that would be useful and prepare the others for a struggle."

The mixed breed smirked, "Green means go."

"Marshall!" She turned her attention to her favorite pup, "Keep Everest away from the meat. We can't have her jeopardize this. We'll only have one shot."

"Oh come on!" Everest complained, "I'm not gonna go rabid!"

"I'm taking no chances. Marshall. Keep. Her. Away. Got it?"

The former fire pup gave her a nod, "I'll try my best... And forget the rest."

"Alright!" Liz grinned, "Pups, do your stuff. Let's catch this mystery mutt."

She watched the trio leave, Everest in particular leaving reluctantly by Marshall's side. The redhead let out a long sigh, looking down at the packaging around every different kind of meat she bought. She closed her eyes for a moment. She was glad that Katie wouldn't be around to witness what was yet to come. Something was giving her the feeling that a pup who fought Marshall wouldn't be opposed to fighting against potential captors.

They would be the aggressors. They would be the ones to attack Hood. But he deserved it. After all he put Marshall through, it was basically just her doing karmic justice on her own. Opening her eyes once more with a fiery determination, she began to tear at the packaging off of a large pack of raw steak.

Marshall led Everest into the guest room turned tech area, noticing that Rocky was already hard at work putting something together. The Dalmatian was astonished at the sheer speed Rocky had when working on any sort of tech, especially without the help of his pup pack.

"What are you working on?" The former fire pup inquired.

Rocky kept his eyes on his work, "Just making some modifications to one of the spare communications I had."

Everest needed to take her mind off of the liver that was just down the hall, leading her to ask Rocky another question, "Modifications?"

"I'm fluctuating the communicator's signal so that it will emit radio waves that will interfere with ours when we need them to."

"Huh?" Both Marshall and Everest tilted their heads in unison.

"...I'm making it into a tracking device."

"Ohhhhh!"

"So that we can see where Hood goes if he manages to escape, right?" Everest raised a paw.

Rocky nodded, "That's right. We always need a back up plan, don't we?"

"Liz is making her and Katie's home into a cage..." Marshall looked down at the ground, "We need every kind of back up plan we can think of... We can't let this be for nothing."

"I'm with you on that, buddy," The mixed breed smiled.

"So how are you gonna get something like this on Hood?" The Dally looked down at the communicator strapped to his right foreleg, "It's kinda big..."

"That's why I'm trying to get rid of the straps and the unnecessary tech for something like a crude tracker. That's the hard part..." Rocky groaned, "Once I shrink it down enough, I'll make it into a pin of sorts so that we can just put it on him and not worry about him seeing it."

"Sounds good!" Everest grinned before looking around, "So is there anything we can do in the meantime?"

"Yeah. Ready your gear," The mixed breed began to focus back into modifying the soon to be tracking device, "Marshall, you've already had a test drive with those plunger harpoons. But Everest, I don't think you've used your claws much."

"I never needed to!" She tried to justify herself.

Rocky finally looked up from her invention. Had he been wearing glasses, they would've been tilted down slightly, "Have you ever tried training?"

The Husky's face flushed beneath her fur in embarrassment, "I... Well, I just..."

"Hm... Thought so..." The ex-eco pup looked back down at his work.

"Why you—!" Everest began to move closer, but was stopped by Marshall, who had used a paw to grab the back of her collar.

"C'mon, you two!" Marshall exclaimed, "Now's not the time for this! You can argue later, but for now, we need to focus up and work like a team... We are a team, right?"

The Husky quickly calmed down, ceasing her resistance to Marshall's pull, "...Of course we are."

"Let's just get ready, okay?" He looked at her with a faint smile on his face.

Everest was a bit surprised at the sight of his smile. Marshall was getting better, yes, but he didn't smile as much as he did back when he was on the PAW Patrol. The concept of a grin seemed to be a completely foreign entity to him at the moment. But seeing that smile of his immediately made her cheeks burn.

"Er... Yeah!" The Husky quickly nodded, a nervous giggle slipping out, "You're right, let's get ready. We'll get that evidence, and get your job back."

"I can't wait..." Marshall's smile grew, "It'll all be over soon."

Liz, meanwhile, had just finished placing different types of raw meat around the house, placed near many open windows. She had also turned the heat up, decreasing the time it would take to thaw a few packages of frozen meat.

She made her way to the guest room, peeking in, "Pups, I need you guys to wait in different places around the house. Split up, and let me know if you spot Hood coming in."

"I need more time!" Rocky exclaimed, still working on the potential tracking device, "Trust me, Liz. We're gonna need this."

The redhead nodded before turning to Marshall and Everest, who were equipped with their gear, "As for you two... Everest. Take the window in the kitchen. Marshall, you're in the attic in case he comes from above. I'm gonna be near the window in my room. Rocky. Get whatever you need to finish, finished."

Both Marshall and Rocky gave the woman a nod, before Everest called out, "Wait!"

"Hm?" They all turned to the Husky.

"We don't know what's gonna happen in the next hour or so..." She explained, "So before we split up and get ready for if he comes... No, when he comes, I just wanted to say... I wouldn't rather fight alongside anyone else. Even you, Rocky."

Rocky looked up from his device, walking over, "Whatever. Just hope that I decided to put your claws in right."

Marshall and Liz walked over as well, the woman sitting down with them.

"So, here's to the Dream Team!" Everest put her paw on the floor, "I won't fail. We won't fail."

Marshall knew what she was doing, putting a paw over Everest's, "Everyone be safe. I can't lose you guys."

"I'm counting on you all to give me the time to finish my tracker..." Rocky put his paw on top of Marshall's, "We're bringing Marshall back to the lookout once we get that evidence."

Liz nodded, "You three... I guess that now is the best time to tell you how I feel..." The woman inhaled, "You three are annoying. You're weird, loud, scrappy, and most of all, you guys got a pretty strange friendship dynamic going on there..."

"Huh?" The trio of pups asked, not having expected to be insulted.

"But one thing I do know is that your friendship is genuine... And so is my love for you three..." She looks away, a blush on her face, "So... So don't forget that when we're apart, okay?"

Before she even looked back at the pups, they threw themselves at her, hugging the woman.

"We'll visit you..." Marshall told her, looking up at her, "We won't be apart. We'll always be in Adventure Bay together, right?"

Rocky and Everest's expressions changed.

"I'm in and out of this place, but I don't really go around Adventure Bay much..." She answered, "Someone needs to check up on Katie. I decided that it'd be me."

Both remembered the redhead telling them that. Was she not going to be in Adventure Bay for much longer? Their eyes immediately darted to the other, Marshall being completely unaware of what everyone else in the room was thinking.

Liz closed her eyes, "Marshall, I—"

"I know that everything will be okay, because we're all together!" The Dalmatian looked between his three friends, "Katie too, of course."

The redhead sighed, opening her eyes once more. She'd just have to tell him when they got through the night, "You're right. Everyone knows what to do. Get it done."

The three pups nodded, splitting up to the different areas they needed to. Liz followed behind closely. She didn't have any gear like the pups, but she would be damned if she let her pups fight on their own. She reached into her pocket, using a scrunchie to put her wild, curly hair up into a ponytail. Grabbing a broom from a closet further down the hall, Liz twirled it around a few times.

"Okay, time for mushy emotions is over..." She muttered to herself, "...Time for combat Elizabeth."

Everest made her way to the kitchen, her heartbeat quickening in pace as she laid her eyes on the open window with a pile of liver laid in front of it. The Husky's eyes bulged. Why would she assign her to the place where there was so much liver?

The Husky quickly slapped herself across the face. She needed to stay strong. She could question Liz later. For now, she would just have to keep herself under control. For Marshall.

Rocky remained in the guest room, quickly going back to working on the tracking device. He hoped that none of his allies would have to face Hood without his help. His brows furrowed. He needed to go faster. He needed to work faster than he ever had before.

If Hood were to come in and escape before he was even finished putting together the device, then all would be for naught. He needed to finish it. There was no room for failure.

Marshall climbed up into the attic, gazing across the dusty room to look at the open window, a pile of steaks in front of it. Upon further inspection, Marshall noticed that the meat out in the open was attracting a few flies. But thanks to the increased heat in the house, the scent of the steaks was even more pungent than it would've been otherwise.

The Dalmatian sauntered through the attic, hearing audible creaking from beneath his paws. He quickly realized that he would have to hide somewhere in case Hood decided to show himself. Hopefully, he'd be able to use his gear to restrain Hood until help arrived. There was no need to fight. Besides, after the first time, he knew that Hood fought to kill if he needed to. He could never do something like that.

As the night slowly grew darker, the new moon above provided no extra light around the exterior of the house. A silence grew in the building, only the sounds of the nocturnal animals outside slipping into the house from the open windows.

Every party within the house laid in wait, their hearts pounding anxiously. Who knew what was going to happen moving forward? If they weren't careful, someone could get hurt. Each one of them preferred that they would be the one hurt, worried for the safety of their friends. They mentally prepared themselves, waiting for something to happen.

Eventually, one of the four heard movement outside their assigned window.

Marshall's eyes widened once he heard something walking on the roof of Liz's house. As the footsteps grew closer to his assigned window, he covered his mouth with his paws. A million thoughts ran through his mind in the few seconds he heard the footsteps move across the roof above him.

On top of the roof was the expected "houseguest". Hood traced the scent from the alley to a nearby residential area, where he could smell different kinds of meat coming from a single building. He immediately spotted an open gap in the walls higher up, deciding to go through there. After climbing a tree beside the house, he managed to land on the roof, making his way over to the open area.

He jumped from the roof, skillfully turning his body to use his forepaws to hang off of the open window. With a light grunt, he pulled himself up and into the house. He landed on the wooden floor of the attic, a light thud coming from it.

"Okay, I need to move fast. Where did I smell that meat?" Hood wondered, looking around.

A few feet away from him sat a pile of raw steak. His eyes glimmered as he rushed over to the pile. A smile made its way onto his face, looking down at the pile of meat. His thin tail wagged as he lifted up the steak laid on the top of the pile, sinking his teeth into it.

Marshall, who was hidden behind a pile of boxes, peeked out from behind them. His eyes quickly landed on the cloaked Dalmatian, who was occupied eating the first steak. He turned to the window, which was still open. If he managed to close the window, he would be able to buy some time for either Everest or Liz to arrive.

He stepped out from behind the boxes, channeling all of his pup-fu skills in order to remain as silent as he could. The former firefighter scurried across the attic, trying his best not to make the wooden floor beneath him creek. Though, he wasn't as good at avoiding any loose wood as he would've liked to be.

Squeak!

Hood's eyes bulged as he immediately turned to where the sound had come from. Standing there was Marshall, who's eyes were just as wide as the other Dalmatian's. In an instant, Marshall made a mad dash for the window. The doppelganger Dalmatian dropped his steak and got on his guard, wondering if Marshall was trying to run away.

Much to his surprise, the opening wasn't an opening. It was a window. One that Marshall quickly shut and locked. Hood, unfamiliar with any type of locking mechanism, shoved Marshall out of the way and tried to open it. Realizing that he was unable to, he began backing up. He would have to just break through the clear wall, right?

Marshall quickly realized what Hood was planning, using his hind legs to buck a cardboard box filled with a collection of items at him. When the other Dalmatian was hit by the box, he was sent tumbling into another stack of cardboard boxes, which came crashing down.

"Marshall, are you okay? I heard a crash from the attic!" He heard Everest's voice come through the communicator strapped to his right foreleg.

"Close the other windows!" The Dalmatian kept an eye on Hood, who was slowly standing up, "He's here! I have him trapped!"

"I'll tell Liz to close them, I'm coming up there!"

Marshall barked, turning to the plunger launchers on his sides, "Launch!" The plungers shot out of their containers, sticking to the walls behind Hood, "Retract!"

.

.

.

Rocky flinched at the sound of another crash above his head, which was louder than the last. He heard the exchange between Marshall and Everest, and that only pushed him to work faster. He was almost finished. He just needed some more time.

He heard Liz rush through the house, the sounds of windows slamming shut making Rocky's ears twitch each time he heard it. He grit his teeth together as he continued to work on the device.

"Rocky, how's it coming in here?" Liz peeked into the room.

The mixed breed shouted, "Go and help Marshall! I'm almost done!"

"We're counting on you..." The redhead muttered, "Get it done. We're finishing this fast."

Liz gripped her broom in her hands, quickly approaching the attic behind Everest, who was struggling to try and pull the string to pull the attic's stairway down. The woman grabbed it and nearly yanked it off with the sheer force she pulled it down with.

The stairs came down, but so did two Dalmatians.

Landing on the floor between Liz and Everest were Marshall and Hood, who both groaned from the sudden impact. The cloaked Dalmatian was the first to stand up, dashing away. Liz's eyes followed the wild Dally before she ran after him.

Everest helped Marshall to his feet, "Are you okay?"

"I'm good..." The former fire pup replied, his eyes cartoonishly swirling, "...We were spinning a lot on the way to the floor."

"Stay here, okay?" The Husky told him, "Once you're feeling okay again, you can tag back in."

Once she got a nod from Marshall, Everest turned around and ran down the hall toward the commotion.

Meanwhile, Hood was quickly able to realize that there was no visible way out. Turning around, he saw a human looming over him, a broom raised up in the air.

"So you're the Dalmatian I've heard so much about!?" She swung it at him, but missed, hitting a table leg instead, "You don't seem like much to me!"

She swung the broom at him again, successfully hitting him into a wall. Liz knew that most of the time, hitting a dog with a broom would be considered unethical and inhuman, but she felt like she could make an exception. Besides, she used to be a vet. She knew what not to hit. She wasn't out to kill, but she did want to get a few good hits in for Marshall.

Hood's eyes shot open, his nose twitching. He smelled more meat. If he was able to deal with the human, Marshall, and that Husky, he could take the meat and leave. He then noticed Liz swinging the broom at him once more. Turning his head, he used his teeth to catch it and hold it in place.

"...That's enough..." The doppelganger Dalmatian growled.

"Oh, so you can talk?" Liz raised an eyebrow, "Well then, you should be able to understand when I say that if you mess with Marshall, you mess with us!"

Hood's eyes went bloodshot, "Do you all ever shut up!?" He managed to yank the broom from Liz with his teeth, throwing it to the side.

The Dalmatian jumped up at the woman, who held her arms up to fend off an attack. Hood then clamped his teeth down on the redhead's left arm. Liz screamed as she felt Hood's teeth sink into her flesh.

"Leave her alone!" Another voice screamed. Everest, who had quickly gotten into the fight, used her body to ram Hood's side.

Her attack proved to be successful, as Hood let go of Liz's arm and hit the floor. The redhead quickly looked at the place where the wild pup had bitten her, her eyes widening, "Shit, he broke skin... I have to wash this out or I'll get infected!"

Everest, having heard her say this, got in a ready position as she glared at Hood, "Go and do that, I'll handle him."

"Step out of the way. Let me take that meat, and let me leave."

"Let you leave?" The Husky's eyes narrowed, "Let you leave!? You put Marshall through so much... A lot of his friends doubt who he really is, the place he loves so much doesn't believe in him anymore, and not only that, you beat him up in an alley! And you want me to let you go? You're crazy!"

"Well, I tried the easy way..." Hood growled at the Husky, "...Guess I'm fighting my way out."

Everest lunged at him before pulling back as a feint, trying to circle around behind the cloaked Dalmatian. She barked at Hood, constantly trying to get behind him. Hood kept an eye on her, turning his body so she couldn't get behind him. He noted that she had a similar attack pattern to a wolf.

Hood then dashed at the Husky, using his head to try and ram it into her hind legs. He managed to knock her legs out from under her, sending Everest crumpling down to the ground. She hit the floor, lying on her side. The Dalmatian then swung his forelegs at her head, drawing his claws to try and swipe at her.

Everest gasped, bucking Hood away with her hind legs. She quickly stood to her feet, shaking her head off. She glared at the cloaked Dally, slamming her paws on the floor to unsheathe her artificial claws. She lunged at him once more, swiping at the pup. Hood quickly backed off, deciding that he didn't want to take his chances against the strange claws.

He went to run toward the kitchen, but Everest was quick to cut him off, jumping over a counter and trying to swipe at him once more. Hood winced in pain as he felt Everest's claws tear through the cloak over his back and the skin on his back. The Dalmatian jumped away, crashing into a nearby drawer, knocking a few knives off of the counter above. The Husky landed behind Hood, prepared to do it once more, but she looked down at the metallic claws with widened eyes.

She hadn't seen much blood since she started living with Jake. It was a little off putting seeing it again. It reminded her of the years she spent alone in the arctic having to hunt for survival. She used to never flinch at the sight of blood, but now seeing it there made all of her anger toward Hood fade away for just a moment.

But she had forgotten an important rule of the wild. She didn't have a moment when fighting for her life.

Before she knew it, Hood was looming over her with a knife between his teeth. He had noticed how they looked similar to Everest's artificial claws, so he knew it could do some damage. The Husky quickly snapped out of it, doing her best to try and avoid it by ducking down.

Marshall, who was still trying to rid the aching in his back from hitting the floor earlier, heard a scream echo through the house. Sure, there was a fight currently underway down the hall. But this scream was different. It was like something out of one of the horror movies Zuma had convinced him into watching a few months ago. Rocky, after finally finishing the device, ran out of the room to meet Marshall.

"What was that!?" The mixed breed asked frantically.

The Dalmatian turned to his friend, "That was Everest! Come on, Rocky! We have to help her!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Rocky nodded, tightening the straps of his projectile pack with his teeth.

The duo ran down the hall and turned the corner into the kitchen, ready to fight if needed. They noticed Everest, on her side, curled up and shaking in front of Hood. The cloaked Dalmatian was looking down at her with a knife in his teeth, his eyes narrowing more by the second.

"Get away from her!" Marshall immediately lunged at Hood, tackling him into the wall behind him. He tried to punch him, similar to how Chase had back when he fought against him, but the doppelganger Dalmatian swiftly avoided it by throwing himself onto the ground to his right.

Rocky, meanwhile, went to check on Everest to see if she was hurt. The mixed breed dragged the curled up Husky away from the fight and off to the side. It was the logical thing to do. Once he got them in the hall, he looked at Everest.

"You okay?" He asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

That's when he noticed something that he should have before.

"...Hey, where's your hat?"

Everest uncurled herself to show Rocky what she had been protectively shielding from Hood. On the floor was a torn piece of fabric, laid out flat on the ground like a small blanket. Rocky's eyes began to widen as he did the math in his head.

"Your hat... He destroyed it..." The mixed breed uttered, beginning to look back up at Everest, "Come to think of it, I've barely seen you without—-"

Once he finally laid eyes on Everest, he immediately closed his mouth. The Husky's eyes hadn't left the now tattered hat, her eyes wide and filled with tears. The former mountain pup was shaking, her breathing quick.

"No... No this can't be real!" She cried, pounding her paws on the ground.

Rocky looked at her, "Jake can make another one, right?"

"Jake didn't make it!" She shouted, pounding the floor once more, "The one who did can never make another one!"

"I thought Jake gave it to you when you guys met."

"I've had it for years! That's the only thing I have left!" Everest wailed, "I don't know how—"

Cutting her off was Rocky, who closed the distance between them and gave her a hug.

Back in the kitchen, Marshall and Hood were still engaged in combat, breaking various items and surfaces as they tried to top the other Dalmatian. Now that Marshall wasn't sick, he could actually hold his own, and with his plunger harpoons, he could close that gap.

"Launch!" He shouted, the plungers attaching to the floor in front of Hood, "Retract!"

He was propelled toward the location of the plungers, crashing into the doppelganger Dalmatian and pinning him to the ground.

"I couldn't care less about myself!" He shouted, swiping at Hood, who was using his forelegs to block the scratches, "Beat me, attack me, tell me you want to kill me, but my friends... I won't let you hurt them anymore!"

He clenched his paw, ready to deliver a brutal blow.

"Marshall!" Rocky ran over, "Everest's okay! She was upset about her hat!"

"Really?" Marshall made the biggest mistake an animal in a fight could, he lost focus. He turned his head to look at Rocky, "That's a—Oof!"

He suddenly felt two legs jam into his stomach, launching him into a cabinet.

"Marshall!" The ex-eco pup screamed as Hood began to make a run for it.

The hooded Dalmatian used a knife he had picked up from the floor to throw at a window in the living room, easily shattering it. He used a couch to get a decent amount of height before trying to jump out of the window.

Someone wouldn't let this happen so easily, though.

Out of the blue, a large book hit Hood's back, throwing off his course so that half of his body was draped out of the window. Standing at the end of the hallway, panting to catch her breath was Liz, who had a fiery glare on her face.

"Rocky! Come here now!"

The mixed breed quickly obliged, jumping at Liz. Instead of catching him, the woman grabbed him by his collar and threw him at Hood.

"Use that device!" Her, Marshall, and Everest ordered in unison.

Rocky, finally understanding her idea, dug into a pouch to pull out a small device with a clip on the back of it. He held it tight in his paw and reached out to Hood, who was getting the rest of his body out of the house.

Just as Hood managed to get his hind legs out of the window, Rocky gripped the back of his cloak, clipping the device to it. He fell to the ground, landing on his projectile pack. His pack audibly crunched under his weight, some of the interior breaking.

Just like that, it was over.

All four current occupants of the house allowed themselves to relax, slumping down wherever they stood. Liz looked down at her left arm, which had been crudely wrapped with bandages. She made a mental note to rewrap them when she actually had time to. She then turned her attention to the pups.

Rocky seemed mostly uninjured, save for a few bruises from being thrown at Hood and hitting the ground afterwards. He hoped that whatever he planned to do worked, because there was a good chance Hood was long gone by that point.

Marshall didn't get off as easy as Rocky did, though, many bruises littering the parts of his body she could see, as well as a swelling left eye, most likely from fighting Hood after she left to deal with her injuries. She was glad the Dalmatian was looking better than he had when he first fought against Hood.

Lastly she turned to Everest—

"Oh my god your head is naked!" Liz exclaimed, "What happened?"

The Husky looked down at her tattered hat, a whimper making its way out of her mouth. The redhead followed her gaze and saw her ruined hat on the ground.

"Oh man... Sorry about your hat, Everest."

"It's okay!" Everest lied, looking at the human, "As long as Rocky got the tracker on Hood, then it was worth it! You did get the tracker on him, right?"

The Husky looked over at Rocky, who smirked and nodded, "Mission accomplished."

Everest, Marshall, and Liz all cheered, pumping their paws—and fists in the air in triumph.

"Nice job you three!" Liz smiled as Rocky and Marshall walked over to her.

Everest smiled faintly before she looked back down at her tattered hat. Her smile soon faded, a small sigh making its way out of her mouth.

"...Mission accomplished..."