Chapter 21: Pups And The Ghost Pirate Ship! The Great Costume Party!
October 31st, 2029
Today was Halloween! It was going to be Alex's first Halloween. Ben had spent yesterday beginning work on Alex's PAW Patrol vehicle and pupmobile, which wouldn't be ready for another few days. Today, he had assembled his costume. This would be so awesome… originally, this was going to be a suit that Ben would use for rescuing people. It still was missing some key components before it could actually be used in a rescue.
However, it would be an excellent costume! Dressed up as Angel Grove's very own Mighty Morphin Green Ranger, Ben was excited to go trick or treating and show up to the party that was being held at the ship. Supposedly , it was haunted, but that was just rumors and urban legend. Ghost hunting actually was one of Ben's secret passions- one time he had gone to the ship with some equipment and tried to capture evidence. Unfortunately he hadn't found a single thing. No data whatsoever supported the idea that the ship was haunted.
Jake and Carlos had sent images of Everest and Tracker wearing wizard robes and a baby bonnet for their pups costumes. They would have come to Adventure Bay but they wanted their first Halloween with their new canine companion to be just them and their pup, something which Ben could understand. Alex had dressed up as a cowboy, Skye was wearing a puppy princess dress and tiara, Chase had a superhero outfit on, Marshall was wearing a pumpkin top on his head, Rocky had a mustache and blond braids hanging from the sides of a Viking helmet, and Rubble was dressed up as the KING himself, Elvis!
Ben couldn't help but let out a laugh. These costumes were amazing, but he was even more impressed that Ryder had time to put them all together. "Ryder, how did you manage to get these costumes made in the pups' exact sizes?" Ben marveled.
Ryder grinned at him while putting on his own Mighty Morphin Red Ranger costume. "I had some help from Katie! Not only is she good at taking care of animals, she's a great seamstress!" Ryder replied. The spiky haired teenager then turned to Skye and placed the makeshift crown on her head. "Presenting her highness, Princess Skye of Pup-sylvania!" Ryder chuckled.
Skye yipped as she did a twirl in her dress. "Dressing up in costumes is my favorite part of Halloween!" The cockapoo squealed in excitement.
" My favorite is trick or treating! ARR!" Zuma said, lifting his paw up and swinging it to the side like a pirate.
Once again, the older of the two human boys let out a chortle. "You pups are so cute in your outfits." Ben complimented.
"Thanks Ben!" Alex yipped.
"I can't wait for Captain Turbot's ghost ship party later tonight!" Ryder exclaimed.
"They say that ship's haunted, it sounds super scary! But also a bit exciting!" Skye pointed out.
"It's only scary if you believe in ghosts." Zuma scoffed.
Almost as if directly challenging him, a little spooky white figure on a rope dropped down behind the chocolate colored canine, with a 'ooooooooo' noise to accompany it. Startled and a little frightened, Zuma leapt up and ran into the bean bags. He ran so fast that he made Ryder and Skye spin around a little! Skye snickered as she saw the pup behind that prank. "Zuma, you silly pirate, it's only Chase hanging up a Halloween decoration!" Skye teased.
Zuma breathed a sigh of relief and then chuckled. "Told you there's no such thing as ghosts!" Zuma shot back.
"Ghosts and monsters are real, but I'm pretty sure they don't hang out around Adventure Bay. I've checked." Ben commented.
The glass doors slid open for Rocky and Rubble to push a massive pumpkin through the Lookout tower lobby. "Coming through, everyone! Move outta the way if you don't want to get squished or flattened by the pumpkin!" Rocky yelled out.
Once they got on the other end of the lookout, Ben followed them into the backyard and saw Rocky use his pumpkin scoop to take the top off of the pumpkin- said top landing on Rubble's Elvis wig.
"Oh no! Rubble, hold still…" Ben said as he ran over to help dislodge the pumpkin from the wig.
"Aw man, not the hair! The King never had orange hair!" Rubble complained, tossing the pumpkin top off of his head and sending it flying at Ben. Reacting instinctively, Ben threw a punch at the pumpkin projectile, smashing it.
"Wow, Ben! The way you knocked that pumpkin piece out of the air was wicked!" Marshall gasped, awed by that display.
"You could do cool stuff like that too. How's your pup fu training with Farmer Yumi coming along?" Ben asked the dalmatian.
"Pretty good! Out of all the pups, I'm the farthest along in Pup Fu!" Marshall exclaimed.
"She trained me in martial arts long ago. I'm glad you're just as dedicated as I am." Ben replied.
They heard Ryder come out of the Lookout with Skye and the others. "Never fear, Super Chase is here!" The German Shepherd called out.
Ben whistled appreciatively. "That costume of yours looks awesome, Chase." Ben praised.
Chase had a brief look of confusion before it turned to smug happiness. "Yup, my super suit is pretty cool…" Chase proudly said.
"Yo, ho, ho and a bowl full of bones. If it isn't me arch enemy, Super Chase. Yarr harr harr!" Zuma growled playfully.
"You've met your match, Pirate Zuma!" Chase roared as the two pups charged towards each other and began to mess around.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the pup of the King has arrived! You can do anything, but lay off of my blue suede shoes, uh huh huh !" Rubble announced, before breaking into song.
"You do a pretty rad impression of Elvis's singing, Rubble!" Ben grinned, giving the pup a treat for his talented singing.
"Yeehaw! I'm ready to trick or treat, y'all!" Alex yipped as he leapt into the air and did a kick with his back paws.
"All right, pups, we'll go trick-or-treating as soon as I'm-" Ryder began to say, before he was cut off by a howl.
Chase then spotted a pair of eyes. "MAGIC PUMPKIN! AAAH!" Chase yelped.
"RUN! IT'S A PUMPKIN GHOST! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Zuma screamed in fear, before running away with the other PAW Patrol pups minus Alex.
"I'm not afraid of no ghosts!" The wolf pup snarled. "Pups, it's okay! It's just Marshall!" Ryder shouted, trying to calm them down.
After a bit of calming down, the pups and their human companions went door to door in the neighborhoods for trick or treating. The pups did some tricks for the candy givers, and got rewarded as a result. Ryder did some dance moves, and Ben showed off some of his martial arts techniques that he had learned. He got candy as a result, though he didn't plan on eating it.
After several more houses were visited for their candy, Ryder got a call on his pup pad. Ben leaned in over Ryder's shoulder so he could listen in and see what was going on. "Ryder, listen! We're adrift in the bay. And no one knows who's sailing the ship. Cap'n Turbot lost his glasses and can't see to sail the ship. And we keep hearing what sounds like, well…" Mr. Porter told the two teenagers.
"GHOSTS! Chickaletta and I don't believe in ghosts. But whatever is growling out here is certainly giving us the creeps!" Mayor Goodway quickly interjected.
"Ghosts!? Impossible. I've investigated that ship myself. There's no specter, phantom, ghost, entity, or otherwise that inhabits that ship!" Ben protested.
"Just hurry, okay?" Mr. Porter pleaded. Ben's protests of the ship not being haunted didn't seem to ease Mr. Porter's worries.
"Don't worry, sir. We're on it!" Ben reassured their friend as they started heading back to their base. Ryder pulled the Pup Pad open and pressed the multicolored button. "PAW Patrol, to the Lookout!" Ryder ordered.
"LET'S GO!" All the pups exclaimed as they followed after Ben and Ryder.
Ryder wasn't too winded by their run up to the Lookout Tower, but Ben was worn out. "You go up to the briefing center… I'll wait for the pups." Ben panted as he sat down on the bench just outside the elevator. Ryder nodded his head in understanding and took the elevator to the control room so he could prepare the animatic for the mission briefing.
Chase, Skye, Rubble, Marshall, Rocky, Zuma, and Alex all got into the elevator, with Ben getting in behind them. As per usual, Marshall collided with the pups like a bunch of bowling pins. He tried making a few lame bowling puns, but it was kind of late… and missing out on trick or treating had soured the rest of the mood for the pups, so they didn't laugh. "Okay, okay, let's go." Marshall sighed after realizing he wouldn't be able to elicit a laugh from the rest of the group this evening.
"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" Ben yelled as the elevator started going up to the control room, pausing only at the halfway point where the mechanical arms extended out and clothed the pups in their PAW Patrol uniforms and gear. While it ascended, Ben put on his Green Ranger helmet, having not had it on for the previous portion of the evening. Their halloween costumes were mostly intact, just with the addition of their pup packs and vests… and Skye had been given Rocky's mustache!
"PAW Patrol, ready for… psst, Skye!" Chase started to say his usual line, but then noticed Skye wearing the mustache. The cockapoo burst into laughter, and the giggling spread to the rest of the group before Skye shook her head around like crazy, sending the mustache flying off of her and making it land on Rocky's muzzle, right where it belonged.
"PAW Patrol, ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase cried out, resuming business as usual.
Ryder pressed a button on the Pup Pad as the animatic of a ship at sea started playing. "Strange things are happening at Captain Turbot's Halloween party, pups! Somehow, the sails on the ship got raised, which let it sail out into the bay! Captain Turbot swam after it, but while he was swimming, his glasses fell off into the ocean and he doesn't have any spare spectacles on him. Without his glasses, he can't see well enough to steer the ship back safely. Now everyone's trapped on board the ship." Ryder explained to everyone.
"That's too spooky." Rocky murmured, a little unsettled by this mission.
"Are real ghosts on that ship?" Rubble whimpered. "No way, Rubble. There's no ghost on that ship. I'm a firm believer in the supernatural, but I can confirm that the supposed hauntings of that sea vessel are just stories." Ben affirmed.
Ryder then started to give out the assignments for the mission. "Zuma, I'll need you and your hovercraft to catch up with the runaway ship. Skye, I'll need you and your helicopter to help slow it down. Marshall, I'll need you to ride in Skye's harness to help lower the sails. Ben, you can ride to the ship with me and we can calm the people on the boat down." Ryder instructed.
"Time for a morphenomenal rescue!" Ben shouted out.
"Let's dive in!" Zuma barked. "Time to take to the skies!" Skye yipped, doing a backflip.
"I'm all fired up for a ruff ruff mission!" Marshall roared.
"All right! PAW Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder exclaimed before he and Ben took the fire pole down to the garage, while Skye, Zuma, and Marshall took the slide to get to their vehicles.
Ben revved up his motorcycle and rode it out of the Lookout garage alongside Ryder in his ATV. "Amphibious mode, go! Life jacket, activate!" Ben shouted as he pressed a button on the motorcycle's interface. His motorcycle transformed in appearance (insert image). He, Ryder, and Zuma drove out to the pirate ship in the bay while Skye and Marshall flew out over the ocean in her helicopter.
Ben quickly sped up as he saw the ship was being steered in a very strange manner. "What in the world is going on with that ship…? The boat is being maneuvered like some drunk driver is at the helm! And Adventure Bay doesn't sell alcohol!" Ben gasped.
"Who could be steering the ship like that?" Ryder mused.
"I'm not sure I want to know, dudes! That's kinda scawy!" Zuma yelped.
Ben radioed the two pups that were in the air for a bit of assistance. "Skye, we need you and Marshall to slow down the ship so that the three of us can board it. Right now, it's going too fast for us to be able to get on it safely. Can you fly Marshall close enough for him to lower the sails?" Ben asked.
"I'll try my best, Ben! Come on, Marshall, let's go and crash the ghost ship party!" Skye barked as she flew faster.
"Marshall the pumpkin super pup to the rescue!" The dalmatian gleefully said as he soared through the air with Skye's harness.
They had a close call with Marshall nearly bumping into the mast, but Skye swerved and pulled back to prevent that from happening. "This pumpkin's going to the patch!" Skye announced.
Depositing Marshall on the ship, the pup grabbed the sail's rope with his mouth and tossed it to the side, causing the sails to furl up and lower. The ship's speed decreased significantly after the sail was lowered, allowing Ryder, Ben, and Zuma to board the ship safely. However, the ship started to turn and lean again, forcing Zuma to jump. Initially he missed the mark and sank underwater, but with the propellers on his pup pack, he was able to leap safely into Ryder's arms.
Now the only member of the rescue crew that hadn't boarded was Ben. "All right. Motorcycle, autopilot!" Ben commanded his vehicle, using voice directives to switch the motorcycle into autopilot before using the springs in his costume to leap directly onto the boat. "Okay everyone, calm down. Tell us what happened so we can get to the bottom of this." Ben bellowed, his voice loud and clear for everyone to hear.
Katie, Alexander Porter, Mr. Porter, Captain Turbot, and Mayor Goodway all explained what had happened: cookies had gone missing, the ship was steering by itself without a human at the wheel, the sails had gone up on their own. "Is there any mechanism that could have been triggered and caused the sails to unfurl?" Ben inquired.
Captain Turbot shook his head no. "I'm afraid not… nothing on board this washen, wooden sea vessel is automatic at all. Somebody had to have done it." The sailor answered.
"But all of the people on board are accounted for…" Katie pointed out.
Ben then snapped his fingers, an idea forming in his head as the ship began to steer. "But not all of the animals!" Ben triumphantly said, running up to the steering wheel of the ship and bringing Chickaletta back with him. Ryder nodded his head in understanding, realizing what had happened.
"So, that's who's been steering: Chickaletta. There's your Halloween ghost!" Ryder sighed in relief.
As things were starting to settle down, they heard a strange noise. "Well, THAT isn't Chickaletta!" Captain Turbot nervously shouted.
After a bit of searching, they saw some barrels wiggling. "I'm guessing our 'ghost' is behind those barrels. I'll go tell him to get lost." Ryder chuckled as he started walking up to the barrels. "RYDER, NO!" Marshall wailed as he and Zuma scampered forward, grabbing Ryder's pants with their mouths to keep him from getting any closer to the 'ghost'.
Ben laughed. "You two, he was joking about the ghost! You wanna see what this ghost is? Then let me show ya!" Ben snickered, before lifting up Wally the Walrus from the enclosure of barrels.
"WALLY!? What are you doing here!?" Captain Turbot exclaimed.
"Wally's snores echoed behind the barrels, making that spooky sound. He must have been the one who ate all the cookies!" Ryder explained.
Suddenly, the sails raised again. "OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Ben shouted in anger, sitting down on one of the barrels in frustration.
"That's gotta be a ghost!" Alexander Porter whispered.
"Or a sneaky cat… Callie, you silly kitten! You're always getting into so much trouble…" Katie giggled as she walked over and took her pet cat into her arms. The purple feline was hanging onto the rope that would raise the sails.
"Mystery solved! Chickaletta was our secret captain, Wally the walrus made those ghostly sounds, and Callie raised the sails." Ryder mused.
"Great detective work, Ryder. Let's head on home!" Ben sighed happily. They sailed back to shore, where it was decided that the party would be moved to the Lookout. As they docked at the beach, a loud moan was heard. "Just ignore it… move on. We have a party to start!" Ben insisted, helping the others off of the ship.
watch?v=x3q4mxDNPdY
Back at the Lookout, the group started enjoying themselves with games and cookies, while Ben wearily went up to the Control Room to go check on his suit and see if he had damaged anything. Whatever social energy he had been reserving was used up in the interrogation of trying to find out what was going on with the ship. Two hours passed, where Ben not only made significant progress in the rescue suit, he also made some additions to Alex's pupmobile and changed into his pajamas.
Going back up to the Lookout balcony for one last look at the stars before turning in, he saw a flying red ship floating through the air. Running to the periscope, he took a closer look. It looked like there were some people on top of it! People wearing helmets and pirate outfits, with swords and guns at their belts. This would be a sight that Ben would NEVER forget.