Disclaimer: I'll fully admit. Confirming that Charm was suicidal in the previous chapter was a move I was skeptical on taking. This subject is probably the touchiest I've ever come across, and the last thing I wanna do is make it seem tasteless. I want to treat this with as much respect as I can. I hope me adding it into Charm's arc of wanting to be his own canine doesn't damage that. Especially after he took over Zuma's role as the Tritagonist for the second half of the season.

Update: Changed one scene to improve Charm's arc.

Also, I don't own Paw Patrol.

Paw Patrol X

Demon Defense arc Episode fifteen: Love: A Desire For Companionship

Flare and Snow were snuggling on the couch together while watching TV after their afternoon training session. The two of them were enjoying their time together with Marshall and Everest coming in with their arms wrapped around each other before sitting down next to them. They were as happy as could be for their younger siblings, and what Marshall said next made it clear how supportive they were. "So how're you two enjoying being a couple after two weeks?"

"It's amazing Marshall. We've been loving every second of it." Flare informed Marshall, and then Flare realized something that led to him gazing at Snow in shock. "Hang on! We haven't had our first date yet!"

"You're right!" Snow exclaimed after realizing she and Flare had to rectify that as soon as they could. "I say we fix that right now!"

"How does a night out in Foxcadia sound?" Flare asked, tickling Snow's tummy as he backed up his suggestion. "We can do whatever we like today, no plans, just looking around to see something we both wanna do!"

Marshall and Everest laughed a bit in sync at Flare's suggestion there with Snow pointing out what that felt like to her. "Not the most romantic, but it's a start."

Flare held Snow's paws as Everest brought up something they could start off with for their first date. "Ya know, Tod's younger sister owns that YMCA in town. Since some people consider shooting a sport, maybe you could practice your gunsmith skills there."

"There's an idea!" Flare knew Snow would love that, but he didn't want this to go without compromise. "Oh; but we're going for a couples deal if they have one."

"I'd love nothing more." Snow assured Flare while nuzzling him, glad that they were finally preparing for their first date.

Flare and Snow got up and with Flare letting Marshall and Everest know something before he left. "Oh; and I know I'm late to this, but thanks for not thinking it's weird that we're dating while you two are also dating." Flare and Snow headed off with Marshall and Everest snuggling on the couch after they did. It was true that they didn't find it weird one bit. That didn't mean others wouldn't though. Luckily, no one they interacted with frequently thought that was the case.

Rocky, Charm, and Rex were working on their anti-demon weapons again with Rocky looking to Charm with a question in mind. Since he'd just finished the latest of the holy water grenades, he decided to go ahead and ask it then and there. "So. Are you getting closer to wanting to talk?"

Rex paid attention as Charm showed a clear desire to talk to Rocky on his face. "I believe so." If only he knew how to talk about this stuff in depth. He'd definitely become warmer towards the Paw Patrol after Flare helped him, but he still felt he was being held back by his inner demons. No pun intended. "I think we've made enough weapons for now. Didn't you have plans with Rubble and Tracker?"

Rocky and Rex looked at the amount of weapons they made, leaving Rocky to confirm that this was the case. "Yeah, I should definitely get to those two." Rocky set his tools down and headed off to Rubble's room to see him and Tracker. "We'll get back to work whenever we all like."

"Sounds good." Charm responded, and then he saw Rex looking at him and asked about it annoyedly after Rocky left the lab. "What?"

"Why is it so hard to talk about... whatever that was about?" Rex's question made Charm flinch, and Charm knew this would be hard to explain in detail. He still wasn't used to opening up about his feelings. "He clearly wants to help you. Why don't you just tell him?"

Charm waited to make sure Rex was actually listening, and then he sighed before informing him of why. "If you must know, I've never talked about feelings with anyone before." There was also the fact that Charm didn't know how to process his new emotional feelings. He didn't mention that part for the obvious reason he just told Rex. "And you don't have to know why, so don't bother asking."

"Okay, I won't." Rex respected Charm's wishes, but let him know about something as he started walking off. "Although, I think Rocky would be able to help you if you let him."

Charm stopped right at the lab door, being stunned that Rex would reply with something like that about him. He shook off the spark again, bringing up something that showed Rex another layer to his current state. "I'll have to become worth helping first." As Charm walked off, Rex saw just how seriously Charm was beating himself up. Whatever it was, something was taking a huge emotional toll on Charm.

Flare and Snow were at the YMCA, practicing their gunsmith skills with the couples pass Flare was hoping they had. Flare was sticking to the pistol, managing to get a few head shots in, along with some other near head shots that still did some decent damage on the target. Snow was on duel pistols, shooting at multiple targets and managing to get a dozen head shots in a row. Flare was impressed, but had to admit; he shouldn't have expected anything less. "Snowflake, you are a natural!"

"Thanks sweetie. You're not a bad shot yourself." Snow brought up while winking to Flare, who giggled as the two of them continued shooting at the targets. Snow managed to hit her last eighteen targets in succession. After that, she blew the smoke off of both of her guns and smiled proudly. "Richie would be proud!"

Flare managed to finish off the last of his targets as well, but not quite as fast as Snow. He was better in physical combat, but he still had some work to do in gun skills. At least when compared to his girlfriend. After the two saw their scores, they were quite close, but Flare still laughed a bit at the results. "As always, you have me beat when it comes to fire arms."

After Flare and Snow left their booths, Flare and Snow hugged with Snow praising Flare for his effort and skill. "Don't sell yourself short Flare. You've gotten a lot better since we took down that psycho dragon in Dragon's Hamlet."

Flare pulled Snow away and the two gazed at each other as Flare saw that much was obvious. "That's true. Hard to believe how scared I was of using guns back then."

Snow then started to think about Chase, and Flare noticed her slightly melancholic look as she did. "I just wish Chase was here to see this. He'd love to see our gun skills now."

Flare put her paw on Snow's right cheek, smiling to her as he once again, let his optimism shine through. "We're gonna get him back Snow. We'll make sure all of our friends survive this mess." Snow saw Flare's smile, and once again, she felt the optimism he was sharing with her. "Slash won't be able to keep any of them under his control forever."

Snow let Flare rub her cheek softly for comfort, glad she had a boyfriend like him for support. Now that they were dating, his comfort felt even better than it did before. "You always have a way with words; whether it be short or long."

Flare giggled a bit with a red vixen who was slightly younger than Tod wearing a track suit coming in with a confident smile. "Alright you two, time's up! Believe it or not, I've got more lovebirds wanting to use the room!"

"Right; sorry Jill." Flare spoke up, and then he looked to Snow as they started walking off. "Where to next?"

"Wherever we want." Snow stated, and then she got a look at Jill's butt, which was shown off well in her track suit.

Jill noticed Snow and laughed a bit out of awkwardness, making Snow blush as Flare reminded her to stay focused with a grin. "Come on Snow. Stick to our age group." Snow snorted in response, but was glad that Flare didn't mind her checking Nora out briefly. It showed that Flare wasn't against Snow finding other creatures attractive.

Back at the motel hut, Rocky was playing with Rubble and Tracker, and the three of them seemed to be having a good time. Despite not really understanding the rules of The Legend of Kion guessing game game at first, Rubble and Tracker were able to get the hang of it quickly. It was Rubble's turn, and he turned over the second card on the top, pulling over a male teenage hyena. "One Janja..." And when he pulled over another, it was that of a young jackal pup. "Darn it!"

Rubble flipped the cards back over with Tracker expressing his positive taste for the second character. "I love Dogo. He's so funny."

"He is. But he's not who I'm looking for." Rubble turned the Janja card back over, and this time, he was going for the second row. He managed to flip over the second Janja card this time, pumping his fist at his success. "Yes!"

Rubble hi fived Rocky and Tracker, the latter of whom expressed his opinion on Janja next. "Janja's also funny, but mami didn't like when he 'brainwashed' Jasiri."

"Well that makes sense. Family don't usually do stuff that cruel." Rocky responded, and then he brought up something else with Rubble flinching at the mention of that. "Ironic coming from me, I know, but my point still stands." Rocky then noticed Rubble starting to look down and moved over to him to comfort him. "What's wrong Rubble?"

Tracker did the same, putting a paw on his friend's shoulder as Rubble held back what he was feeling again. "It's nothing. Come on; let's keep playing."

Rocky wasn't sure about that, knowing that Rubble was too young to be holding whatever burden was on his shoulders. The fact that Charm wasn't talking to him either didn't help matters. "You sure you're okay? I'm here if you wanna talk."

"I'm sure. Let's just keep playing, okay?" Rubble asked, and Rocky didn't want to make him storm off, so he decided to go ahead and keep playing. Since he didn't have any knowledge on Rubble's past like he did with Charm, due to not knowing him as long and Rubble not talking about it, Rocky didn't know what to say to comfort him in this time.

Rocky felt it'd be best to continue with the game to avoid making Rubble storm off. He wanted Rubble to know that he was there for him however, and spoke up again as the Bulldog flipped over the Dogo card from before. "Let me know if you change your mind, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." Rubble answered, still not wanting to talk about this stuff. Rocky could tell that whatever was bothering him, it was something painful. He hoped he could convince him to talk about it, just like he hoped to do with Charm.

Flare and Snow were in the park now, and the two were walking along the path while admiring the scenery of the area. Despite everything going on at the time, both regarding Foxcadia and regarding the Paw Patrol, it was clear that beauty and peace were still possible to find in moments like this. Flare and Snow were glad to have it as well with them holding paws as they saw citizens of Foxcadia in peace and harmony. The unity here was just like back in Adventure Bay. Flare giggled a bit as he realized this and looked at Snow to express it. "Just like back home."

Snow smiled as she looked at Flare upon realizing that, and then the two saw some ducks in the pond near a duck food booth. The two nodded to each other and walked over to the stand. As Flare went to pay, the red fox running the booth let them know of a little something about the ducks. "Local tip, some say these ducks can spot eternal love."

Flare and Snow liked the sound of that and purchased their cracked corn, thanking the booth owner for both that, and the tip, as they went over to the pond. After the two gently placed the cracked corn in together, some of the ducks started coming over, and the Dalmatian and Husky got to watch them start eating. Soon afterwards however, one of the ducks looked right at them and swam over. Flare and Snow looked at each other excitedly when they realized what this could mean.

Flare and Snow sat still for the duck to come over to them and inspect them closely. It circled them once when leaving the water, and the two watched as it made sure to spot every part that wouldn't violate them. When it was done, it showed a liking towards Flare and Snow, allowing them to pet it. Snow gestured Flare to go first, knowing he'd love that more. Flare accepted, and when he petted the duck, it felt rather gentle like most ducks would. The loving aura Flare got from the duck made it clear to him that this was a sign his and Snow's love was meant to be.

Snow took her turn to pet after Flare offered it to her, and when she did, she got the same vibe from the duck that Flare did. This made Snow beam in the same way as Flare, seeing that the love they shared would never die. The duck then went back into the water, leaving Flare and Snow to hold paws as they sat together near the pond. The two watched the ducks in harmony after feeding them some more cracked corn, enjoying the moment for as long as they could.

Back at Rex's place, Rocky was still watching over Rubble and Tracker as the latter was trying to find a specific artifact Aaron found once in one of his books. During this, Rocky and Rubble were still playing the matching game, since Tracker wanted to do it himself. During this, Rubble looked at Rocky, knowing he still had something on his mind. "You still wanna talk about before I met you. Right?"

Tracker had his attention caught by this and stopped working on finding the artifact for now. Rocky looked at Rubble, confessing to why he didn't keep asking him after he said no. "I didn't wanna upset you by asking too many times." Rubble got that, and Rocky then asked if Rubble was okay with discussing it. "Do you wanna talk now?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Rubble sighed before admitting to how hard this was for him. Coincidentally, Charm was walking down the hallway to get something from the kitchen before he overheard Rubble. "I'm not good at this emotional talking stuff." After hearing about Rubble's similar flaw to his own, Charm leaned against the wall. He felt he could talk to Rocky more easily if he learned more about Rubble's perspective. "Every time I think about telling someone about it, I choke and chicken out of it; almost as if I'm scared of what they'll think if I show this part of me."

That wasn't exactly what Charm was experiencing, but it was close enough. Rocky then put a paw on Rubble's shoulder as he told him he wasn't weak for feeling this way. "Well everyone handles their trauma differently. Chase handles his by going to Ryder, Skye, or Marshall for support whenever he feels overwhelmed, Skye handles it by contemplating what she's going to do about it, Zuma handles it by trying to figure out how to handle it despite how unsure he is..."

Rocky smiled to Rubble, showing that his method wasn't something that he should be ashamed of. "And for you, it's keeping it inside out of fear. Not the most healthy, but not every trauma response is the same."

Rubble appreciated the support, despite wishing he could change his trauma response. "That makes sense. But I wish I could change mine."

"Maybe you can start with me." Rocky suggested, and Tracker went over to him to offer his support as well. "Maybe you talking about it now can help you become better at expressing your deeper feelings." Charm did his best to stay hidden while still looking in to see how the others felt.

Rubble saw Rocky and Tracker's supportive smiles, which made him start feeling that Rocky could be right about this. "Well... okay. As long as you're sure." Rubble breathed in through his nose and out from his mouth, figuring the best place to start with was this. "It was about six months ago, around my fifth birthday. I was with my parents in the car, and they said they had a surprise for me. I couldn't wait to see what it was. But then, we rode out a few miles, and I was starting to get sleepy since it was late. The next thing I knew, I woke up on the side of the road."

Rocky and Tracker were shocked to hear this, and Rubble expressed his disbelief that any parent would abandon their child. "Maybe I was always farting too much, or maybe they didn't like that I wasn't making a lot of friends in school, I don't know." Rubble's story of being abandoned made Rocky feel even more for him. He knew all too well what it was like to have parents who didn't love you. "All I know is that they didn't want me. They just left me on the side of the road, and they didn't care."

Rocky expressed as much empathy as he could for Rubble. Their stories weren't exactly alike, but he still felt they would be similar enough to empathize with Rubble. "I'm so sorry Rubble. What your parents did to you, that was... that was just wrong."

"Tell me something I DON'T know." Rubble responded, wondering how any parent could be cruel enough to do something like that. "After that, I wasn't sure anyone would care about me. And when you brought me to your home, and you were all so kind to me, it felt... weird. I loved it, but I kept telling myself not to get attached." Tracker hugged Rubble's arm as the Bulldog expressed how weak he felt sometimes. "Maybe if I were stronger, I could've convinced them to let me stay."

Charm had an expression that showed exactly where Rubble was coming from, due to feeling him being weak played a part in his father controlling him for so long. Rocky wasn't about to let Rubble feel this way about himself. He did have something on his mind now that he felt would help Rubble feel better. "You made us both a little stronger just now Rubble."

Rubble was surprised by that and looked at Rocky with curiosity. He didn't think his past could make someone else stronger. "How so?"

"By trusting me enough to open up to me." Rocky answered, expressing more about this as he told Rubble about his current thoughts about the Charm situation. "I'm sure you've noticed by now how much I hope for a time where Charm and I can be real brothers." Charm was shocked by this, and Rocky continued with something that shocked him even more. "I spent the past seven years feeling that maybe if I were stronger... we could've been true brothers." Charm couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Rocky actually placed blame on himself for what happened?

Rocky continued, digging deeper into his inner thoughts and trauma. "The day we met was when I discovered I was half wolf. I already knew I took more after my dad appearance wise, but that made me scared that I could become like him. And then I'd never be able to help Charm, or have anyone else by my side."

Rubble and Tracker continued to listen as Rocky finished what he had to say. "But hearing you open up now, it's made me more confident I can avoid that. And that maybe I'll become strong enough to... be Charm's brother." Rubble was glad to have helped, hugging Rocky to thank him for the reassuring words. Tracker did the same, allowing Rocky to wrap his arms around them to show his own gratitude towards the situation.

Charm saw the three hugging and started thinking to himself as he leaned against the wall and showed a look of clear sadness and loneliness. 'The love Rocky and Rubble just shared with one another. It was one made of respect and kindness, rather than blood and genetics.' Charm's look of realization made it clear what he got out of what he just learned. He spent the past month and a half not wanting to kill anymore, and was unsure of what he wanted now. And after observing that, he knew. He wanted to be genuinely loved. 'A beauty I wish I realized sooner.'

Just then, tears started streaming down Charm's eyes, shocking him beyond all belief as he touched them. 'Are these... tears?' When he looked at his paws, he saw that he was in fact, crying. Did this revelation really open his eyes that much to what he was feeling deep inside? Charm got up and walked away from the room. He didn't want anyone else to see him like this. Luckily, no one else was around for that. He went into his room as he thought about what Rocky said before.

'Rocky considers himself weak? But how? He's been around for seven years after I killed mother.' Charm went over to his bed and sat down, thinking about how untrue Rocky's statement was. The spark he was feeling after observing his conversation with Rubble and Tracker made that feeling even stronger. It made Charm come to a realization that caused the tears to continue flowing, even though the crying was inaudible. 'It wasn't Rocky who was weak.' Charm's next words were spoken, and showed exactly what he thought was the truth. "It was me."

Flare and Snow were getting their portrait painted with the two of them holding paws and nuzzling each other for the painting. The artist was doing his best to get every best possible point down for the portrait, and when he was done, he showed it to the couple. They loved what they saw with Flare happily paying the artist for his time. "Thank you my good sir. You skills aren't for nought."

The artist smiled in response to that with Flare and Snow walking off with their portrait as Snow brought up something that kind of related to it. "Ya know Flare, I could've just drawn us doing this with my own supplies."

"True. But now we have an exact memory for it." Flare pointed out, leaving Snow to look at the painting as she realized Flare's point. "Now we just have to figure out how to keep it safe on the Paw Patroller."

"We'll find a way." Snow responded, looking to Flare as she showed how his optimism shone in her heart now. "We always do." Flare smiled with Snow saying that, glad that he was was still giving her a positive spirit to cling onto. Snow couldn't help laughing a bit before pointing out how much that was. "Okay, I swear you're contagious."

Flare laughed a bit himself before pointing out an obvious fact on Snow's end. "And I think I can safely say you love that about me." Flare and Snow smiled to each other lovingly, confirming this to in fact be the case. Actually, this was something that Snow loved about Flare when the two of them first met. But that was pretty obvious.

Rubble was getting some cookies from Rex's pantry, making sure no one else was around when he did this. When he reached for the box on the first shelf however, he heard Charm's voice with the Golden Retriever shown leaning on the wall nearby. "Not very observant, are you Rubble."

Rubble flinched and grabbed the cookie box, hiding it behind himself the best he could as he tried to lie about taking it. "Oh; hey Charm. I was just, um..."

"Relax, I don't care if you sneak snacks before dinner. You're not MY brat." Charm assured Rubble bluntly, and Rubble sighed of relief as Charm then cut to the chase. Despite his lack of skills with talking about his current emotional state, he felt he could at least make an effort to practice empathy with Rubble. "I overheard you spill your guts out to Rocky and Tracker earlier. Believe it or not, you and I are in the same boat with talking about the dark times we've been through."

Rubble couldn't help but laugh a bit, and then Charm's eyebrow raise made him flinch and stop. He smiled nervously as he explained why he started laughing. "Sorry. It's just that you're the last pup I'd ever expect to have emotional baggage."

Charm shrugged, feeling that was a fair thought to have. After all, what he said next was the reason why Rubble felt that way. He was careful about showing emotion. "I've killed many, many, many lives before meeting you Rubble. Some deserved it, the majority of them didn't." Rubble listened to what Charm was saying as he informed him of what he was dealing with. However, what he said next was... less than ideal. "Of course, our stories do have some differences. For example, I'm pretty sure my mother wanted me before-"

Even though Charm didn't intend anything harmful with those words, it clearly set Rubble off. And he was more than ready to show it. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Despite him simply stating a fact, at least in his own eyes. Charm could tell that Rubble was upset just by looking at him. "I'm just stating a fact really."

"Well I don't need you rubbing it in my face!" Rubble snapped, leaving Charm to question what Rubble was getting at there. He raised an eyebrow as Rubble put the cookie box back after taking a cookie and finished his statement. "And at least my dad didn't try to kill me."

"I'm pretty sure leaving you on the side of the road is saying he doesn't care if you die." Charm pointed out bluntly, and that led to Rubble storming past him as he pointed out something he saw from this. Due to Charm's inability to feel remorse, he snapped back. "Stating facts isn't an insult Rubble!"

"Well the way you're doing it makes it sound like it is!" Rubble called out, leaving Charm to realize his well meaning stupidity and face palm as a result. Rubble left the room, feeling that playing with Rocky and Tracker could help him feel better. Charm groaned in annoyance as he closed the pantry door, seeing it clear as day that his struggles with being better weren't only in his head. As he leaned on the wall and crossed his arms, he began to question his chances. If someone had to point out his poor word choices, then how could he genuinely comfort someone?

Flare and Snow were in Flare and Marshall's room as they hung up the painting over his bed to keep until they went home. After they hung it up, Flare and Snow looked at each other and smiled over how well their date went. "It's official Snow. We're one of those couples that can survive on the spot dates!"

"That's right." Snow replied happily, looking at the painting as she started talking about how well today went. "Maybe when we get back to Adventure Bay, we can have our first planned date. One that went as well as this one did." Flare listened closely with Snow offering a suggestion that she felt he'd like. "Whatya say we see that Household Sadistic movie you've been up for seeing?"

"You'll hold my paw whenever it starts to get too scary for me?" Flare asked as he held Snow's paws excitedly.

Snow giggled a bit before assuring Flare that she would be more than happy to do whatever he needed from her. "I'll let you sit on my lap to help you stay comfortable until the movie's over."

Flare and Snow hugged as Flare started to think about what they could do for the future. "So, I know it's a little early, but..." Flare pulled Snow away as he expressed one thing he's wanted out of life for years. "I've spent half of my life hoping to be a parent one day so I can give someone the same love and affection my family did taking care of me!"

"Then family dogs we shall be!" Snow accepted without hesitation, having her own goal in mind as she let go of Flare and thought happily about how that would go. "I'd love to give someone the love and affection Everest and I never got from our own parents. Seeing us raise a kid to live a normal life would be the greatest feeling ever!"

Flare held Snow's paw with the two of them lying down next to each and snuggling on Flare's bed. "Then let's give the future little Flare or Snow the best life we can give them!" Flare and Snow nuzzled each other lovingly, glad that their early future planning wasn't a hindrance to their live. It helped that both of them wanted to have a family, both for the sake of giving someone as much parental love as possible.

Later that night, Charm's bedroom window was shown with melancholic piano music playing as he was then shown looking out of said window. He looked at the knife on his bedside table before looking back out the window and thinking about his current mission. Several thoughts about whether or not he deserved to be his own canine, feel like a real kid, or live a real life, kept spiraling in his mind just like before. He expressed these thoughts as he began to sing The Life That I Deserve.

"Life has opened up my eyes, to the lies I was told. I foolishly believed them, with my love for killing sold." Charm opened up the window as he continued singing. "These past six weeks have shown a lot, I thought I knew it all. The parts hidden in me, can I still answer the call?"

Charm sat on the window as his journal was shown writing the song. "After all that I've done... is it too late to change my mind? Slash's actions hidden for too long, and now trapped in a biiind?" Charm looked up at the moon as he contemplated everything he'd done with the Paw Patrol up to now. "The Paw Patrol have showed me what, I've been missing out on. The things my father hid from me, just to make me his paaaaaaaaaawn."

Charm jumped out of the window and slid down the house with his journal following him. He was so busy singing that he didn't notice the journal writing when starting again after a few seconds of halting. The music started to get more bombastic as he looked around at all the loving families in their houses. "Am I so wrong to wish now that I could feel like a child?" Charm saw visions of Slash manipulating him into killing his mother, breaking his spirit some more. "Am I so wrong to wish that, no matter how mild?"

Charm moved the memory to the side, trying to avoid breaking down over all he's done. "Why shouldn't I get that chance? To have control over my life!" Charm looked over the visions of him killing remorselessly, wishing he could learn to feel bad for those deaths. "May my father's wishes burn to crisp, and pierce his heart like a knife!"

Charm walked past the memories and looked up at the moon again as he continued to sing. Tod was leaving the shop late that night with some nighttime shopping and hid the best he could when he heard Charm singing. "I know I'm not a victim, I've done horrendous acts as well! I'm willing to work for the right, to break this violent shell!"

Tod had to admit; he was intrigued. Although he stopped for a few seconds, Charm's then spoke one word to himself. "Rocky." Charm's singing then continued as he spoke about how his time was spent with the Paw Patrol. "What the Paw Patrol have taught me wasn't a part of my plan. Innocence, empathy, and love during this tiiiiime."

Charm then started walking back to the lab, and Tod continued listening while being impressed that no one else woke up. "My own, canine, is what, I wish to be now that I know the truuuuuth!" Charm clenched his fist as he continued to sing about his internal struggles. "I don't mean to make excuses, to justify this life swerve! I just want to discover, the life that I deseeeeeeeeeerve!"

Charm continued to vent as his mind kept filling him with thoughts of suicide and his past actions, which he tried to fight off. "So say goodbye to this, my enabling of my father!" Tod saw Charm's journal writing the song, which caught him off guard as well. "It started with the blood dose, and his, plans, wiiiill..." Charm then sang one final word to himself before holding back his tears the best he could. "falter."

Charm climbed back up to the window with the journal silently flying in once Charm looked at the ground once the music went back to normal. He started to sing about how he was unable to even talk about these feelings with anyone else as he did. "Alas, to speak with my brother, is something I want too. If these thoughts weren't so new, I might have planned it through."

Tod listened more to Charm singing about his struggles, sending a text to Copper and Vixey explaining why he hadn't arrived home yet. "Without my humanity, I don't feel that I'm ready. If I can't feel remorse, then I fear I'll be too deadly."

Tod could hear it in Charm's voice that he wanted to change, despite what he said next stating his current reasons why. "I want to be in charge of my life, away from my father and Trickery. I want a path forged by my choice, to finally feel like I'm meee."

Charm's desire to rediscover his humanity and become his own canine was proven even further in the last part of his song. "I've grown to care for others overtime, and that's something I wish to preseeeeerve." Charm held back his tears again, but it was obvious just by looking at him that he felt scared, lonely, and confused. He could barely contain himself when he sang the last line in the song. "I just want to discover, the life, that I... deseeeeeeeeeerve."

Charm failed to notice Tod, who went home with his nighttime groceries just as Charm entered the window. His journal placed itself exactly where Charm put it with the Golden Retriever thinking about when he would talk to Rocky. He knew it was something that he wanted to do. And it became easier to think about now that he understood genuine love, and realized he wanted companionship. But was that strong enough to help him give up killing entirely? And with that, he went to bed, longing for the day where he could learn how to feel remorse for his past actions.

To be continued.

Rock music played as Flare started speaking in regards to what was going to happen with specific moments from the next chapter being shown. "Oh, hey Tod. Yeah, Charm left with Rocky and Rex a few minutes ago. Why do you ask? Oh, me? It's nothing to worry about; just some internal stuff I have going on. Huh? What's this? You think this will help me? Well I guess if someone wrote a book about it. I just hope it's not too pretentious for me to take seriously."

Rocky finished the announcement with the words Paw Patrol in all blue with red outlines surrounded with a white border with Flare on the right, and Marshall on the left. "Next time, Remorse: Reflection On The Past! (Rocky, Charm, and Rex are shown to be inspecting a weirdly timed demon attack in the daytime near Foxcadia) Before you ask, Flare's plot will be more about the reflection part."