Chase awoke bright and early the next day and announced he was going shopping. He didn't even wait for Ryder's approval, and just stood up at the breakfast circle and declared his plans. To his annoyance, Skye instantly jumped up and said she was tagging along, her small tail fanatically wagging with excitement. He wasn't too crazy about dragging Skye with him, but he gave it a second thought, she likely wasn't that harmful to bring along. It would be more suspicious for him to go alone anyway. Thankfully the other three dogs just shrugged and went back to eating. Three wasn't normal, there were supposed to be four other dogs around him and Skye.

Rocky was absent.

He assumed the mix was shut away in his den, something that surprised completely no one. Even Ryder failed to bring his green-colored food dish out, and it gathered another layer of dust in the cupboards.

"What're you buying?" Rubble looked up from his bowl, pieces of chicken dislodging from his mouth.

"A gift."

"Gifts?" The bulldog asked, "it ain't Christmas."

"It's… for someone special."

Zuma could be heard cooing, looking up with a smug grin, "oh, so Chase is in love."

The shepherd bared his teeth, "piss off, it happens to all of us eventually."

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure she'll love it." Skye bounced to his side, putting an arm around Chase's neck. "Trust me, I'm an expert in this kind of field, you've come to the right cockapoo."

"I don't think-" Chase stuttered, glancing to the side awkwardly, "I think this scenario is a little more unique."

Skye shook her head, "nonsense. Trust me, we'll spend a few minutes getting everything ready and it'll knock her collar off!"

Putting his paw into the conversation, Zuma couldn't resist cracking a joke. "Cool, domestic violence."

"It's a saying," Chase blinked, staring at the lab.

Waving off the edgy joke, Skye put her tail around Chase's shoulders and led him away. "Seriously, ignore that meathead. Good gifts are the best way to show your appreciation." She said, speaking directly in an educating manner. "Don't do the family Christmas thing where you buy everyone hotdog makers and call it a day. A good gift comes from the heart."

"Ugh, have you been watching old Christmas cartoons?" Chase grimaced.

"Occasionally, but you're missing the point. Try not to go for something that everyone likes, you need to give them something that's unique to them."

Unique? Chase's mind wandered at the word, and briefly Skye's voice was tuned out. He knew buying gifts for people was difficult, only now his colleague overcomplicated it beyond anything his canine brain was able to understand. Rocky was a mechanic, he knew that for a fact, and he had pretty much every tool in the book somewhere stashed in his kennel. As much as he hated to admit, he did need Skye here to guide him along.

That was how he found himself trapped in a conversation as the two of them walked through Adventure Bay, headed for the shopping plazas. The sidewalk felt longer than usual, seemingly extending another mile for every sentence leaving the cockapoo.

"Now Everest," Skye yipped as she walked, "she loves snowboarding, right?" She cut off Chase before he could respond, "so you'd think you get here something in that region, but nope! She gets that stuff all the time, and that's why I told Marshall- I swear to you I told him this- to get her these night vision goggles. And he was like, 'why?' Well it's because, -I told him- that he was going to take her into the crystal caves!"

"Skye-" The shepherd could barely get a word in.

"That's the surprise factor! Trust me, girls love to be surprised." The cockapoo continued buzzing.

Chase almost slipped, "it's not a-"

"But ah, Marshall just got her some jewelry instead." She rolled her eyes, "now, she loved it, sure, but if he really wanted to nail her, he could've gone above and beyond with-"

"I'm not seducing Everest!" The officer said a little loudly.

The avian dog gave him an odd look, "well of course you're not. I'm just saying." Chase was left dumbfounded in his step as Skye just continued on. "Oh look, we're here!"

The shopping plaza wasn't exactly a staple of Adventure Bay, but it was a notable spot for all the food trucks that would park outside, attracting those eager to taste some lovingly prepared local food. The plaza itself was a giant parking lot with an overly long building that stretched around the edges, housing tons of small shops and businesses. There was a dog outside, a doberman standing outside on the sidewalk playing the violin, heard all throughout the plaza. Both dogs tilted their heads in interest as they passed him, noting the small basket of donated cash at his paws.

"Some really have nothing, I guess," Skye shrugged, not giving the dog another look.

Walking past the violinist, Chase felt he was looking longer than he should've. A pang of sympathy rose in him, and he wished he had a little extra cash that could be given to the musician.

"So tell me about this-" Skye gave her friend a knowing look, "fling of yours. What does she like?"

The shepherd stuttered, here came the hard part. How much detail could he subtly reveal about his affection until Skye realized who it was?

"She," he said anxiously, "well…" The lingering stare from the smaller dog was making him uncomfortable. "She has, well how do I put this?" He dragged his paw a little.

"What, down syndrome?"

"No! She just-" Chase waved off, "she has some problems with self-esteem."

The cockapoo nodded, already processing the information and running a million results in her head.

"Doesn't really like herself all that much, I guess" He shrugged. "And I-" he hesitated, unsure of how much to say. "I want her to know, that she still deserves to be loved and…" he paused for a moment. "She's still worthy of having someone to be with them. I guess she's kind of dug herself into this hole, a hole of… well I'm not sure. But I want to get through to them, make it known that I…" he shook his head, trying to find the words.

"Care?"

"Yeah, yeah." He nodded with a smile, "know anything about that?"

"Do I?" Skye raised an eyebrow, "be glad you brought me. Come with me into here." She sharply turned and charged through the doggy door of a shop, disappearing inside.

Chase followed her, although still he was confused. "A jewelry store?" Walking inside, he was immediately assaulted by the sharp clouds of perfume that haunted the store. Twisting his face and fighting back a sneeze, he jumped after Skye who had already made her entirely across the store. An entirely new piece of the building was added in recently, jewelry for dogs, -complete with display cases at their eye level. As insane as it sounded, Adventure Bay was rather famous for the ridiculous day-to-day events that took place.

"Didn't you just tell me not to get tacky gifts?" Chase noted as he walked across the old carpet floor, "or something that everyone stereotypically likes?"

"Well yes, but this is different." The small dog said over her shoulder. "Don't buy something overly flashy in the sense, but these." She approached a small display case, where a line of small earrings had been laid out. They were simple in design and craftsmanship, yet their stones shone in beautiful humility. "You don't want to overwhelm her," Skye scanned her eyes over each one, "give her something like this, small but has meaning behind it."

Chase put up a paw to ask a question but she was oblivious to it. "You'll step in front her," she continued with a dreamy tone, "lovingly hold her ear and clip the jewelry on." Slowly she felt herself being carried away into her own dreams, "and you'd look into her eyes say 'hey, I think you're the most beautiful dog in the world.'"

"Skye, people are staring."

"Everyone stares." She rolled her eyes, turning to him. "Look the point is, get her one of these, it's not too much, but it's not too little. Let her know you care."

"I don't even think- " Chase hesitated, "I don't even know if this is something they like. I don't want to do anything wrong, I already feel like our relationship is starting to strain."

Skye pointed her paw at his chest, "which is why we're here. Take my word for it, take one of these, give it to her,"

"I-" he was compelled to argue yet slowly he felt his willingness slipping. He had shot himself in the paw by coming here without firmer knowledge of what Rocky liked other than hardware, and everything Skye said was useless in that she had no idea who the gift was really for. She hated Rocky just as much as the others, which was a shame considering how genuinely nice she was to her real friends. With nowhere left to turn, Chase decided to take the risk and purchased the jewelry.

"You could've bought a new collar, by the way." Skye said as they walked back outside, following Chase as he held a paper bag in his mouth. "The one you're wearing now looks a little… ew."

"What, what's wrong with it?" Chase turned to her with an odd look.

The cockapoo merely shrugged, "well, it's just old, worn out and the fabric is peeling. Why not just get a new one?"

"I don't care how worn out it is, it has sentimental value and I intend on keeping it."

The two dogs bickered back and forth before their conversation was interrupted by Ryder, ringing them from their collars.

"Chase, you there?" The boy was heard, his voice notably on edge.

The shepherd pushed the smaller dog away who was trying to playfully grab his ear. "Unfortunately. How can I help you, sir?"

It was a few seconds before Ryder spoke, and when he did, there was great fear leaking off his tongue. "Another report came in. There's been another alleyway murder."

Both dogs stopped in their tracks, freezing as their blood ran cold. Skye stood with wide eyes, as she listened in on the conversation. The larger shepherd merely halted in his step, trying not to show the visible anxiety creeping on his face.

"Wha- what do you want us to do?!" He said in disbelief, ears flattened. "I don't have any of my equipment!"

"Forget it," Ryder said instantly, "get off the streets, come home as fast as you can. If you pass any strays along the way, tell them to get somewhere safe."

"On it, sir." Chase shook off his nerves and increased his pace, itching to get home as fast as possible. Still he held the paper bag with Rocky's gift, it had now become a precious cargo that could not suffer even a scratch. Running alongside him, Skye's playful personality had been smothered by fear at that of a predator lurking on the streets.

They were just about to hit the road home when they crossed through the darkness of an alleyway, merely passing through the shadows yet the presence alone paralyzed Skye in her step.

"Come on!" Chase turned back to the fear-frozen dog, "we need to move!" The cockapoo took a fearful step forward, the exposure to the shadows was increasingly uncomfortable.

It was then that an entirely new voice filled the air. "She okay?"

The sound made Chase almost immediately turn to face it, spiking his ears up as he honed in on the sound. Lurking on the edge of the alleyway, a dog was sitting against the brick wall, enjoying the cool shadows that shielded him from the hot sun.

"She's fine," Chase was on high alert as he watched the relaxing dog, "we're Paw Patrol, who are you?"

"Me?" The dog tilted his head slightly, then pressed his worn paws against the ground as he stood up. "I'm just a stray." His voice was calm and collected, like that of an icey lurker who had seen and heard all. Now standing to his full height, Chase almost recoiled backward. The stray was almost twice his size, a raggedy, unkempt dog with dirty grey fur. His paws, although white, were covered by a layer of dust. It was a mutt, Chase could easily tell by the dog's features, yet another mixed breed wandering the streets of Adventure Bay.

Skye was ready to leave, but something had piqued Chase's interest. He found himself staring at the larger dog, his brain anxiously searching for a connection as it worked in overdrive. The shepherd's eyes slightly narrowed, raising his front paw slightly as he tried to jog his memory.

"What?" The stray gave him an odd look, "why are you looking at me like that?"

Chase shook his head slightly, "I'm sorry, I-" Head faintly tilted, it was then he realized why this dog looked so interesting. "I'm sorry, you look exactly like someone I know."

The mutt was taken aback, "do I?" Genuine amusement spread on his dusted face, "Fascinating, who might that be?"

"Just-" Well aware of the dangers, Chase remembered he had to get home. "Just another member of the Paw Patrol." He waved it off. "You need to get inside. There's someone going around killing strays, we're headed home."

"Oh," the mutt looked off for a moment, "well thanks for telling me."

"Yeah, sure. Come on, Skye."

As the two puppies ran off, the larger stray watched them for a moment, leaning back against the wall. His brown eyes narrowed, so slight it was barely noticeable, before he turned around and vanished into the alley.