Season 3 Episode 20: RESCUE FORCE AND THE TWIST IN TIME PART FOUR

Earth-4: Wonderverse

Adventure Bay, Maine

July 3rd, 2022

The group stepped out of the portal in a location unfamiliar to them. It seemed to be some sort of laboratory, as filled with gizmos and gadgets as it was. Gizmo stepped through last, closing the portal behind him. "Welcome to the Wonderverse, and also my lab." Gizmo beamed. "Don't touch anything. Especially the stuff over there, like the matter condenser or the Death Trap." The Lab warned. "I'm technically not even supposed to have that last one here at all." He mused.

"…Noted…" Skye nervously said.

"Where's your versions of us?" Ben asked Gizmo.

"Probably back at Lookout Hill." The black pup answered before setting off without them.

The others glanced around at each other in mild confusion before following. Soon they arrived at the Lookout, which looked brand new and glorious as ever. Whatever they might have come to expect of this universe from Gizmo's gear, however, was put to rest. This universe didn't seem to be outstandingly high tech or advanced; in fact, it reminded them of their own universe. Ryder was in the field playing fetch with the eight other pups on his team besides Gizmo. Grinning, Ben picked up Gizmo, ignoring his protesting, and started to carry him over to where Ryder and the eight pups were playing. "Hey! Put me down! Let me go! Don't make me boost off of you!" Gizmo yelped, fur bristling and legs flailing.

"Anyone here looking for a black Labrador retriever with super futuristic tech that can travel through time?" Ben called out before the aforementioned pup activated his hover shoes and blasted out of Ben's grip, skirting a ways away.

Ryder and the pups turned to look at the source of the unfamiliar voice, and Ryder's expression morphed quickly to one of confusion, and then to one of dread. "Gizmo, what did you do this time?!" Ryder groaned.

"I've told you to stop messing with the fabric of the space-time continuum, Gizmo! Why did you bring back our future selves?!" This universe's Rocky shouted.

"Oh no. Please don't tell me we're gonna have to go time traveling again ." This universe's Rubble whimpered.

"Hold up, guys. I'm sure if Gizmo felt it was important to bring ourselves here, then he has a perfectly good reason. Right, Gizmo?" This universe's Everest replied in Gizmo's defense.

Ben spread his hands as if to make a peace offering. "Chill, he didn't cause a paradox. We're from a parallel universe." Ben explained.

Everyone's faces lit up at hearing that news. "Wait, so he got it working? That's amazing!" Ryder exclaimed.

"Well, it's not finished yet, but it's getting there. Paw- well, Rescue Force, meet… my Paw Patrol. Paw Patrol, meet the… Rescue Force." Gizmo introduced the two groups to each other.

"So, how did you meet them and what are they doing here?" Ryder asked.

"Well, Gizmo showed up, caused some problems, helped us fix said problems, and then we asked him if we could meet his Paw Patrol." Ben divulged.

"Giiiizmoooo… What problems did you cause…?" Gizmo's Rocky asked.

"I…" Gizmo started, but Ben cut him off.

"What problems did he cause?! WHAT PROBLEMS DID HE CAUSE!? He appeared in the Lookout, which made us think he was a thief, then fought him for a little bit, then we calmed down and had a talk. He offered to show off his time machine, and of COURSE my Rubble volunteered to go with him. Rubble ended up getting stranded in the past and became Captain Blackfur! Sure, we managed to save him, but then THE TIME POLICE showed up and we had to use our Mighty powers to stop them!" Ben ranted.

The entire Paw Patrol from the other universe stared at Gizmo in horror. "Gizmo, I'm sure you have a very reasonable explanation for all of this, but as of right now, you're grounded." Ryder firmly said.

For a moment Gizmo stared at him in an expression of shock and confusion, but he submitted. "Yes Ryder…" Gizmo sighed, drooping his head and tail.

"Go to your pup house for now and I'll talk about it with you in a bit." Ryder commanded.

Gizmo raised his head back up. If Ben didn't know better he could have sworn Gizmo's tail also perked up almost imperceptibly. "Yes Ryder." The black Lab said before walking into a purple and silver pup house, closing the door behind him.

When Gizmo disappeared, Ryder held out his arms. "Well, pups, have fun I guess! I'm going to go talk with… Um… My alternate self I guess?" Ryder said.

"Alternate self? No, I'm Ben. I help run the Rescue Force with Ryder, but he decided not to come. If you ask me he's missing out though." Ben clarified.

The two teams of pups all ran up to meet each other. "Wow, it's like looking in a mirror!" Chase exclaimed.

"¡Hola yo alternativo! ¿No es esto una locura?" Rescue Force Tracker greeted his parallel self.

"¡Absolutamente, pero no creerías algunas de las otras cosas que nos han pasado!" The other one replied with a laugh.

Rescue Force Rocky turned to his Wonderverse counterpart. "So, how much do you understand about Gizmo's technology?" The Rescue Force one asked.

"He's explained a good deal to me, but it's still really complicated and there are some things I still don't understand." The other Rocky responded.

"Can you try to explain it to me?" The first Rocky asked. "Only if you tell me about what tech you guys have in your universe!" The other Rocky laughed.

The alternate Everest bent down, tail wagging. "Who wants to play tag?" She offered.

"Absolutely!" Rescue Force Rubble exclaimed joyously before everyone except for the Rockys and Marshalls ran into the field.

"Wait for meee!" Both Marshalls hollered synchronously before running and crashing into each other.

"Two Marshalls? Looks like we're gonna have double trouble!" Rescue Force Marshall chuckled.

Everyone laughed at their shared blunder, and they started playing their game.

"Your pups are… taking this a lot better than I expected." Ryder remarked as he watched the two groups of pups interact with their doppelgangers.

"This wasn't our first interaction with the multiverse, we've kind of gotten used to the crazy and insane parts of being the protectors and rescue services of Adventure Bay." Ben replied.

"Heh, I can't wait to hear some of the stuff you've had to do. You wouldn't believe some of the shenanigans we've been through." Ryder chuckled halfheartedly, a sort of sorrow in his voice.

Ben noticed that Ryder looked like he really had been through a lot. Though he looked exactly like his own Ryder, if not slightly older, he bore a couple scars on his face that he knew his own Ryder didn't have. "Want to talk about it in the Lookout?" Ben asked.

"I'd love to." Ryder smiled back.

Ryder and Ben went inside the Lookout tower and sat down at a table to talk. They started telling each other their more exotic stories of what they had to deal with in the years since they had started the Paw Patrol. When they both finished they leaned back in their chairs, watching the pups playing outside. "Stay away from me! You're it!" Chase shouted.

"No, the other Zuma is it! I'm not!" One of the Zumas replied.

"No he's not! You can't fool me! I can smell the difference between everyone!" The Chase hollered back as both the pups broke into a run.

Ryder and Ben laughed; their pups were sure having fun interacting with their doppelgangers. Ben broke the silence with a question. "You… really have never seen me before, have you? Or known anyone with my name?" Ben asked.

Ryder shook his head no. "Afraid not. So, can you tell me more about your version of me?" Ryder inquired. Ben nodded his head.

"Yeah, you and I have been best friends since we were kids. We made the Rescue Force together. You- well, my 'you' calls it the Paw Patrol, but I call it the Rescue Force. The two of us designed the gear, the technology, and your grandfather helped us out with bringing the technology to life." Ben answered.

"Really? That's interesting… My grandfather passed away when I was little, so I didn't know him very well, but my dad says our family got our machine skills from him." Ryder noted.

"So, Gizmo mentioned something about… Mission PAW? You mentioned that in one of your stories as well. Can you tell me about it?" Ben then questioned.

"Oh! The Barkingburg gear? Yeah. What about it?" Ryder asked.

Ben glanced from side to side, as if he were unsure he should be asking the question he was about to ask. "Can I have the blueprints for them?" Ben politely requested.

"Oh! Uh… I don't have them." Ryder revealed, spreading his hands out.

"What do you mean, you don't have them!?" Ben pressed, eyebrows furrowing.

"I mean that I literally don't have them. Ask Gizmo. He designed them, along with almost all the rest of the Paw Patrol gear." Ryder replied, chuckling sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Ben froze up, shocked by this revelation.

"He WHAT!?" Ben hissed.

"Yeah, Gizmo designed all of the Paw Patrol gear when he lived on his own and I bought the designs from him unknowingly. Did he not tell you?" Ryder responded.

"NO HE DIDN'T TELL ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOUR UNIVERSE HAS REPLACED ME WITH A DOG!" Ben shouted.

Ryder cracked up at this. "What, are you jealous?" Ryder laughed. Ben had to take deep breaths as he calmed down, unable to form a response to Ryder's jest. "Don't worry. You get used to it. At first I was humiliated that the designs I had been using, revising, and maintaining were masterminded by a pup that was at the time only two years old! Now he's straight up invented time travel and apparently succeeded at finding out how to traverse the multiverse." Ryder leaned forwards as he watched the two Paw Patrols playing with each other. It warmed his heart to see his pups enjoying themselves and having fun.

Ben sighed. "You know, speaking of Gizmo, I do think it was a bit unfair to send him away like that while he can hear everyone else outside having fun. Nothing that he did really was his fault after all. You didn't have to be that harsh on him." Ben observed.

Ryder chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about Gizmo. He has soundproofing. He's doing just fine." Ryder informed.

"But… all alone?" Ben started, but Ryder continued explaining.

"Gizmo lived alone on an island without any interactions whatsoever for years. Something that most people don't notice about Gizmo is that he's a major introvert. I'm assuming he's spent quite a long time with you and your pups. I could tell he was completely drained when I saw him." Ryder divulged.

"Wait… really? I would have never guessed! He seemed fine!" Ben exclaimed in utter shock.

"And so he does, right up until…" Ryder hesitated before continuing. "Until the point he goes off on his own and cries from exhaustion. Being the center of attention is really rough on him, but he puts on a brave face and powers through it. He's one of the bravest pups I've ever met." Ryder said fondly.

Ben nodded his head slowly. "So what you're saying is that Gizmo's 'punishment' was really more of a… vacation, if you will?" Ben asked, a smile forming on his face.

"You bet." Ryder grinned back. "I sent him a Morse code message telling him he could leave whenever he feels ready, so we'll either be seeing him any minute, or not at all." Ryder laughed.

"Hopefully it's a few minutes! He still has to open up the portal back home! And asking about those blueprints would be nice too." Ben chuckled.

Sure enough, a couple minutes later Gizmo, now without his gear, stepped out of his pup house and joined the others in playing. Ryder sighed in contentment as he watched the pups. "Thanks for coming over. I think the pups and I needed something like this. It's… been a while since I've seen my pups having this much fun." Ryder admitted.

"Really…?" Ben mused. The spiky haired boy bobbed his head up and down in confirmation.

"The pups and I… we've been through a whirlwind of difficult situations ever since Gizmo came into our lives. Not that I'm complaining; I love him a lot, and most of them weren't his fault. Even before Gizmo showed up, leading the Paw Patrol wasn't easy." Ryder sighed.

Ben nodded his head. "I co-lead the Rescue Force with Ryder, so I understand the responsibilities and difficulties of caring for and leading the team just as much as my Ryder does, and probably I understand it as much as you do." Ben commented. Ryder let out a small laugh. "What's so funny?" Ben wondered.

"It's strange, isn't it? A town full of adults like Adventure Bay has to rely on teenagers and a team of canines… yet we're teenagers, and our pups aren't even ten years old…" Ryder spoke.

"Yeah, it's an awfully large amount of responsibility for us." Ben agreed, deciding to omit the fact that Tuck and Ella were ten years old. The twins weren't on the team in this timeline, or at least, they hadn't joined yet .

"You're telling me! Rubble's the youngest; he's only seven years old! And it seems like as soon as we aren't here, Adventure Bay starts to fall apart. It's almost as if it's destiny that we're here." Ryder replied.

"I get the feeling that I don't exist in most of the multiverse. Or that my role isn't intrinsically tied to the Paw Patrol. Meeting you and seeing your universe has given me a new perspective on life. I'm grateful that I'm involved with the Paw Patrol… my family." Ben mused.

Then a question popped into his head. "The pups are your family, too, right? Even Gizmo?" Ben asked.

"Basically." Ryder nodded.

Ben pulled out a piece of paper and pen, wrote something down, and slid out across the table that they were sitting at. "If you ever need some advice from a fellow leader, gimme a call. Or if Gizmo ever wants to talk to us, or actually any of your Paw Patrol wants to talk with my members." Ben told Gizmo's Ryder.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ryder chuckled.

"What?" Ben asked, confused.

"I'm not Gizmo, but I doubt a cell signal can travel the multiverse." Ryder pointed out.

"Actually, we have trans-universe communication technology installed in the Lookout." Ben answered.

"Sounds good. I'll see if I can't figure out the right area code for extra long distance calls." Ryder smiled as they both stood up.

They walked out to the exterior of the tower, where the pups were now talking. "Yeah, right. I don't believe it." One of the Chases was saying.

"Neither did I, until I saw her for myself!" The other Chase exclaimed.

"So hold up, merpups are actually real in your world?" Paw Patrol Skye asked, entranced by this concept.

"That's not all that's real. Check this out." Gizmo smirked. "Hey, Rockford!" The black dog called out to Rescue Force Rocky.

"Rockford?! My name is Rocky , not Rockford!" The recycling pup shouted, immensely irked. The other Rocky seemed to be majorly annoyed as well. That is, until his expression was erased by one of shock and surprise as his counterpart poofed into his werepuppy form. Gizmo's entire team froze and gasped. "Oh COME ON! Now it'll take forever to get back to normal!" Rocky griped.

"Did… Did he just turn into a wolf?!" The other Rocky asked in bewilderment, but before he could get an answer, Ben called to them.

"Rescue Force! It's time to head back home to our universe." Ben announced.

All of the Rescue Force pups ran back to Ben, circling him. "Aww, do we have to go?" Marshall pouted.

"¡Si! Talking with my other self is muy divertido, it's like nothing else I've ever done before!" Tracker agreed.

Ben shook his head no. "Afraid not. We gotta get home, our Ryder will get worried otherwise." Ben told them.

Nodding their heads in acceptance, the pups turned to Gizmo, who had already gotten his pup pack back on. Before he opened their portal back, though, he walked up and handed something to Ben with his magnetic boot. "Before you go, take this. If you ever need my help, activate the device. I'll be there instantly." The Lab smiled.

"Thank you." Ben smiled at the black pup.

"It also doubles as a flash drive. I included something else I think you'll appreciate. You were wanting those Mission Paw blueprints, weren't you?" Gizmo mysteriously teased with a grin.

Ben was speechless for a moment. He couldn't imagine how Gizmo knew he had requested the blueprints, though he found he didn't care. He scooped the black Labrador retriever into a thankful hug, and the pup returned it. "Thank you." The teenager simply thanked.

"No problem." The black Lab smiled.

When Ben let go, Gizmo pulled out his portal gun, pointed it at the wall of the Lookout, and fired, opening a rift to their home dimension. Going through it, they all went back home amidst much waving and goodbyes. Ben was thankful to have his pups and his family, the Rescue Force. Grateful to be a part of their lives in at least one universe.

Elsewhere… back on Earth One... a pirate ship floated on the surface of the sea. And in the depths of the ocean, one merpup looked up at the surface of the vast blue, wishing that she had family…