(A/N) This is a very long chapter, to make up for the last 2 being extremely short.
Ace woke up extremely early and not feeling the best, when he looked at his clock to check what time it was, he saw it was 5:12. He tried to just go back to sleep but couldn't so he finally just got up and put his collar on before leaving his room.
He wondered down the hallway slowly, and quietly. Making sure not to wake up the other pups. When he got to the elevator, he ascended up to the ground floor. He was glad that the elevator was silent so he didn't annoy anyone. Soon, the elevator stopped, and he left it before heading toward the kitchen.
When he got there, he sat down and just waited for the time to pass by and for everyone else to wake up. He very quickly got bored of waiting however, he looked around and saw the same flyer Chase had shown him yesterday sitting on the table. He decided to pick it up and read through it. Most of it was just famous stories that were being performed at the theatre throughout the day; Like Rapunzel and Snow White. He also noticed that the performances weren't happening all in one day, they were spread out throughout the week. He then looked at the last play being performed the day after they were to play Romeo and Juliet.
'The Man Behind The Mask - The life and story of Wilhelm Juniper.
Starring Wilhelm Juniper as himself.'
Ace was surprised to see Juniper not only making an appearance at the theatre but also playing his own role in his own story. He then heard faint footsteps making their way toward the kitchen.
"Hello Ace. You having trouble sleeping?" AL asked, a bit louder than necessary.
"Yeah." Ace replied. "Can you please keep it down? The others are still asleep."
"Sorry sir." AL said, his voice much quieter now. He then noticed the flyer he was holding. "What is that you're holding, sir?"
"A flyer for the performance at the theatre, it's a list of the plays and the scheduled times." Ace replied.
"Alright then." AL responded, he then saw Ace open his mouth, probably about to start explaining to him about the performance. "No need to explain it, sir. Ryder told me about it yesterday evening."
"He did?" Ace asked.
"Yes, while you guy's were arguing about the movie thing." AL replied.
"Oh, you two heard us?" Ace asked.
"Yes." AL replied.
The two of them just stood there in silence for the next few minutes before one of them spoke.
"So, yesterday Ryder told me about the many missions you pups have gone on, and I've been getting more and more... curious about some of the more dangerous missions you've been on. Could you explain more about them? Since you were actively involved in the mission." AL asked.
"...Sure, which mission though? We've been on thousands at this point." Ace asked.
"The one involving the meteor upstairs." AL replied.
"Oh... Well, I don't know much about it and I actually wasn't involved in it." Ace corrected him. "I've never actually interacted with that meteor at all, so I'm not sure what power I'd get from it."
"Really? Then who should I ask?" AL asked.
"Probably either dad or spots." Ace told him.
"Spots?" AL questioned.
"Sorry, Marshall. Spots is a nickname Chase gave him around the time Skye joined, but it's now just a general nickname for him at this point." Ace informed him.
"I'll keep that noted." AL replied.
The two then heard a door open and close downstairs, which probably meant that Chase had woken up, which also meant that he'd likely wake up the others soon. They walked over to the main room and stared at the elevator, waiting for the megaphone to go off. They were surprised however when the elevator rose and Chase walked out of it. He started heading for the lookout exit but stopped when he noticed Ace and AL.
"You two are awake?" Chase asked, surprised.
"Yeah." Ace replied.
"Of course I am, I don't need such inferior needs such as 'sleep'." AL replied.
"No, but you do need rest sometimes to charge your battery." Chase shot back.
"Yes, but... Okay, fair point." AL responded.
Ace giggled a little before speaking. "Why didn't you wake up the others?" Ace asked.
"It's not 6:30 yet. I normally either wait outside or exercise until around 6:20, then I go wake up Skye and when you wake up, I send you both upstairs so I don't deafen you two; then I finally wake everyone else up." Chase told him.
"Why do you wake up Skye specifically? I understand waiting for me, I am your son afterall, but why her?" Ace asked.
"Reasons. That I won't explain today, you'll learn in the future." Chase replied.
"Of course" Ace whispered. "So what do we do until then?"
"I dunno, I'm going to take my normal morning walk around the town." Chase told him.
"Could I join you? Since there isn't much to do here." Ace asked.
"Sure, c'mon." Chase replied.
"I'm going to stay here and just explore the lookout more." AL said.
"But we already gave you a full tour of the lookout on your first day here." Ace said.
"I am aware of that fact. I'm simply exploring it, again." AL responded before walking away.
The two shepherds then left the lookout and made their way toward the no-so-small-anymore town they called Adventure Bay. However, while they were crossing the large bridge, they stopped about halfway and looked out into the vast, open waters of the bay itself. They looked out at the bay in silence for 5-10 minutes before continuing their way toward the town.
30 minutes later.
In the lookout.
Marshall slowly woke up earlier then normal and still tired. He glanced over at his clock and saw the time was 5:56. He then stretched his legs and stood up before leaving his room and getting in the elevator, he went to the ground floor and exited the elevator, being greeted by AL not long after.
"Hello Captain." AL greeted Marshall.
"Hey AL." Marshall responded.
"Do you need anything?" AL asked him.
"Sure, do you know where Chase is? He's normally awake at this time." Marshall asked.
"He's out on his morning walk currently, he said he'd be back before 6:20." AL replied.
"Alright, thanks AL." Marshall thanked him.
"You're welcome, Captain." AL responded.
Marshall then went to the kitchen and sat down, counting down the minutes. He then noticed the flyer sitting on the table, he decided to grab it and read more about the role he was going to play. It didn't tell him much that he didn't already know from Chase, he did learn about the other shows and that the Royalty would be attending the event. He then noticed one name that stood out among the others, 'Wilhelm Juniper.'
He could've swore he recognized that name from somewhere, he couldn't quite put his claw on it though. Eventually, he just shrugged and continued reading. He then heard the door to the lookout open, so he put the flyer down and hopped off the chair before returning to the main room, where he saw Chase and Ace entering the lookout.
"Morning Chase, Morning Ace." Marshall greeted the two.
The two were surprised that Marshall was awake so early and just kinda looked at him for a bit before responding. "Oh, hey spots." Ace said.
"Morning Marshall." Chase responded. "Why are you up so early?"
"It's not that early, it's only..." Marshall glanced over at the nearest clock. "6:27. Not that long before I normally wake up." Marshall replied.
"6:27? I need to go wake up the others, I'll be back." Chase said before rushing toward the elevator, Marshall and Ace just stood there and watched as the elevator descended.
"I haven't actually heard the megaphone from this point of view before. Normally I'm the one on the receiving end of it." Marshall said.
"Really? not once?" Ace asked.
"Well, maybe a couple times back when I was a pup." Marshall replied.
The two then saw the elevator open and Skye step out, clearly still tired. She greeted the two canines before all three of them heard the megaphone.
"That megaphone, I swear-" Skye said, stopping herself from saying more.
"Hey, at least you don't get woken up by it." Marshall pointed out.
"Yeah but-... Okay, you have a point." Skye responded. Even if it doesn't wake me up, I can still complain.
A few minutes later they saw the elevator open again and all the other pups flood out of it, now they were just waiting for Ryder, who was very likely awake now because of the megaphone. They all walked to the main room and got in formation, waiting for their leader.
Soon the elevator opened again and they saw Ryder walk out, he then entered the main room and began calling out their names as rollcall began. The pups responded one by one as their name was called, AL was standing to the side once again, listening, until his name was called at the end. He stayed silent once again until Ace tapped him and reminded him to say 'here'. AL did so and Ryder began leading them to the kitchen before filling up all their food bowls, the pups (excluding AL) then began to eat.
"Y'know, I think we should add something here for AL to do." Rubble proposed.
"Yeah, all there is for him to do right now it seems is explore the lookout like twice a day." Rocky said.
"That's not true, I also do stuff like clean the windows and pick up around the lookout when there isn't an emergency happening." AL replied. "Though I will admit, It can sometimes get... Boring? Is that the word you use?"
"Yes, that's the word." Chase said.
"I wouldn't consider 'cleaning windows' and 'picking up around the lookout' as fun tasks." Rubble said.
"It's fun to me. Then again, I don't mind what I do, as long as it's something." AL responded.
"AL could explore around Adventure Bay soon, that'd definitely give him something to do for a few days." Marshall proposed. Hell, maybe even a few weeks.
"Is he ready for that though? That's a pretty large area, it could be risky without someone being with him." Rocky questioned.
"I'd be fine, what'd possibly happen to me?" AL asked.
"You getting lost, someone kidnapping you, something attacking you, like a bear, I can continue if you want." Rocky said.
"A bear?" AL asked, curious about this new creature he just named.
"Big, brow- well, sometimes brown, furry angry behemoth." Rocky explained.
"Pwetty much an exact descwiption of what a beaw is." Zuma said.
The pups soon finished eating and separated to different locations in the lookout, Zuma and Skye went to the main room to watch the news about the weather, Chase and Ace went outside to discuss something, while Marshall went up to Ryder to speak with him.
"Ryder, can I ask you something?" Marshall asked his leader.
"Sure, what is it?" Ryder replied, crouching down to meet the Dalmatian.
"It's about the performance, could I take some time off to reherse it? Preferably at the resort." Marshall asked.
"Sure, I can get a robopup to take over your job in the meantime. Also sure, I'll call Jake to notify him." Ryder replied. "If I could ask though, why at the resort?"
"I just feel more comfortable at the resort." Marshall responded.
"Because of Everest?" Ryder asked, smiling.
"W-What? No! I-It's just... Okay, yes... because of Everest." Marshall responded, lowering his head.
Ryder laid his hand on his back, Marshall looked up at him in reaction. "Marshall, you can take as much time off as you want, I understand if you'd want to hang out with Everest more often." Ryder told him.
Marshall smiled at his owner sitting next to him. "Thanks Ryder." Marshall thanked him.
"You're welcome Marshall." Ryder replied.
They both then heard Skye calling for everyone. The two, curious, stood up and started walking to the main room. They were joined by the other pups as all of them entered and asked her what it was about. Skye motioned toward the TV where the news was playing.
"Tomorrow's forecast shows heavy snow and near-freezing temperatures. Be prepared with jackets and other cold-weather gear in case you have to leave your home or shelter. Also, make sure to keep your home or shelter warm at all times."
"There's no way." Chase said.
"Yes! It's gonna snow!" Rubble exclaimed, excited about it snowing.
"That's some good news." Rocky said.
AL looked at everyone before speaking himself. "Snow?" AL questioned.
The pups all looked at him, realizing he had not the slightest clue of what snow was. "Oh right, you've never encountered snow." Rocky said.
"What is snow?" AL asked.
"Snow is-... guy's, how do I explain snow to him?" Zuma asked.
"Frozen water? But not all the way frozen like ice." Skye tried to explain. "It's hard to explain, it's just something you'd have to experience yourself."
"Luckily you'll get that chance tomorrow it seems." Ace said.
The pups all were very happy about the news, some of them (like Rubble) were even celebrating. Eventually, they did relax a bit but they were still excited. Marshall tapped Chase to get his attention and asked him to meet him upstairs before going to the elevator and rising to the top floor of the lookout. He left the elevator and waited for Chase to arrived, he waited and waited until finally, after a few more minutes, Chase left the elevator.
"What do you need spots?" Chase asked, Marshall then led him to the balcony of the lookout. He then leaned on the railing and looked out toward the town they called Adventure Bay.
"This is going to be the first Christmas since it pretty much tripled in size, and the first time since it expanded that it'll experience actual heavy snowfall. We didn't get that last year." Marshall said to him.
"We haven't gotten heavy snowfall since we were small pups really, the temperature has dropped significantly but it never really snowed." Chase responded.
"Won't this also be Ace's first time seeing snow since he moved to Adventure Bay?" Marshall questioned.
"Oh shoot, you're right, it will be." Chase replied.
The two continued staring at Adventure Bay for a couple minutes before Marshall started up the conversation again.
"So, you have any ideas yet for a Christmas gift for Ryder?" Marshall asked.
"Not yet, honestly I've been distracted with something else." Chase replied.
"Don't worry, I haven't gotten any ideas either. what's been distracting you?" Marshall asked.
Chase went silent for a second, he didn't want to tell Marshall about the plan since he's the one the plan is for. "I don't want to talk about it." Chase replied.
"Alright, I won't push you to tell me brother." Marshall said to him, Chase chuckled at this, which caused Marshall to look at him, confused. "What's so funny?" Marshall asked.
"Sorry, It's just, we haven't called eachother that in awhile." Chase replied. "Honestly, I kinda miss the old days. When it was just me, you, and Ryder, trying to make a change in the world."
"Yeah, sometimes I miss it too." Marshall said to him. They both then notice their puptags start glowing.
"Hey, where have you two gone?" Ryder asked them through their puptags.
"We went upstairs to have a conversation, just me and him. Do you need us for something, Ryder sir?" Chase asked his leader.
"Nah, I was just wondering where you two disappeared off to." Ryder responded.
"Alright, bye Ryder." Chase said.
"Bye Chase." Ryder said before ending the call, the two puptags then stopped glowing and returned to their normal state.
The two pups glanced out at Adventure Bay once more before deciding to just return back downstairs as they already discussed what they wanted to discuss. When the two returned to the ground level of the lookout they saw the other pups either watching TV or playing outside, Ryder looked at them and waved before walking past them and going up the elevator himself. Marshall and Chase then separated, Chase went outside to play with Ace, Zuma, and Skye while Marshall sat down and joined the others in watching TV.
Meanwhile, at Jake's Resort.
Everest and Jake were in the kitchen of the resort, discussing the play Everest would be performing in set for a few days later. Everest hadn't yet started rehearsing but they had agreed that she'd start tomorrow. Eventually, the discussion of who'd take over Everest's job while she was gone came up, Jake was good at his job but he couldn't handle all the guest by himself. They then heard someone say something from the kitchen doorway.
"I could cover her shift." The person said.
They both turned and saw Sarah standing there.
"You sure?" Jake asked.
"I might not be as good at rescuing as Everest but I could definitely help, I do have minor medical knowledge." Sarah replied.
"You do?" Everest asked.
"Yeah, they taught us back in Polska." Sarah informed them. "I don't have my medical equipment anymore however."
"You don't need to worry about the equipment, Ryder gave us a spare medical puppack awhile back. It's currently stored in the garage with Everest's snowcat." Jake told her.
Jake then received a call from someone, he pulled out his phone and saw the number belong to Ryder. He told the two pups he'd be back soon and left the room to take the call.
"Hey Ryder, how have you been dude?" Jake asked.
"It's been pretty good down here, you?" Ryder replied.
"Good, good. Why'd you call? We haven't had any emergencies happen that I'm aware of." Jake asked.
"I called to ask you something. Marshall's going to be performing in a play happening in Barkingburg soon and he wanted to come up to the resort to rehearse his parts before it happens." Ryder told him. "Is that alright?"
"Yeah, It's alright. What's the play about?" Jake asked.
"Uhh one second-" Ryder said, Jake then heard a bunch of papers being moved around before Ryder spoked again. "Romeo and Juliet."
"Really? Everest is going to perform in the same play." Jake responded.
"Are you serious? That's a large coincidence." Ryder said.
"It is, when's Marshall coming up here?" Jake asked.
"He wants to come up there tomorrow." Ryder told him.
"I don't exactly recommend that, the streets are going to be covered over in snow according to the news." Jake informed him.
"We're aware, we saw the news announcement. The pups lost their minds upon hearing that it'd snow." Ryder joked. "But I'm sure Marshall will be careful, he always is."
"Alright dude. Should I send Everest to come pick him up? Just in case?" Jake asked.
"You could, if she wants to." Ryder replied.
"Alright, Need anything else Ryder?" Jake asked him.
"Nah, that's it. Bye Jake." Ryder said to him.
"Bye dude." Jake said before ending the call.
Jake put his phone back in his pocket before returning to the resort kitchen, where Everest and Sarah were discussing the play still. Jake waited in the doorway until Everest noticed him.
"Hey Jake, Who was it that called?" Everest asked.
"It was just Ryder, Marshall wanted to spend the next couple days up here." Jake replied before making himself some coffee and sitting down.
"Oh, okay." Everest responded.
Sarah tapped Everest on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow her, Everest followed as Sarah led her into the lobby.
"Okay Everest, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me." Sarah said to her.
"Alright... I'll be honest, what is it?" Everest asked.
"I've been observing your reaction to Marshall's name being mentioned over the last couple days, and I've come to a conclusion, but I want to verify. Do you happen to have a crush on him?" Sarah asked.
Shoot, how do I respond. Everest thought to herself, she struggled to think of a response for a few seconds. "I can neither confirm nor deny your conclusion." Everest replied. Sarah looked at her, not amused. "Okay, fine. Yes, I do."
"I knew something was going on." Sarah whispered.
"How did you know?" Everest asked.
"It was fairly obvious, you aren't the best at hiding stuff." Sarah replied. "Also, just so you know, Marshall very likely shares the same crush on you."
"W-What? He does?" Everest asked, shocked.
"Yeah. When Ace and Chase saved you from that wolf, and Marshall checked to make sure you weren't injured, did you not notice him being extra careful and worried about you? Or his face turning bright red when speaking to you?" Sarah asked the husky.
"He's always careful and worried when someone could be injured, and he didn't blush that much." Everest replied, in denial.
I swear, the stubbornness of everyone even slightly related to this PAW Patrol is beyond human imagination. Sarah thought to herself. "Everest. I'm not here to moderate the 5 stages of grief, Of which you're currently in denial, I'm here to have a conversation with you and inform you of my sightings. I'm telling you that it's obvious that the spotted klutz that is Marshall has a crush on you as well." Sarah told her.
"Klutz?" Everest questioned, not having heard someone say that word before.
"It's another word for someone who's clumsy- Anyway, that's not the point here." Sarah said to her. "It's clear that he has a crush on you Eve."
"There's no way, he wouldn't love someone like me." Everest said, still not believing her.
Everest, I swear to whatever god exist, If you don't recognize such an obvious observation as Marshall has a damn crush on you, I'm going to slap you. Sarah thought to herself. She then sighed, trying not to lose her cool, and decided to just drop it. "I give up, I'm going to get me a cup of coffee." Sarah said before walking back toward the kitchen.
Everest sat there, processing everything Sarah just told her. She considered what she was told as truth for a few seconds before coming to her own conclusion. "No, there's no way." Everest said, brushing off everything Sarah just told her. She then followed along, returning to the kitchen.
Back in Adventure Bay, outside the Lookout
Chase, Zuma, Skye, and Ace were outside playing freeze tag. Chase was winning as he was by far the fastest pup in the team, he didn't have the best stamina but the only pup who had better stamina was Marshall, who was inside watching TV with the others. Though Ace was catching up to his speed and sometimes almost rivaling him in speed.
Currently, Skye and Zuma were frozen, Ace was the freezer, and Chase was the last one not frozen.
"You'll never catch me Ace!" Chase taunted him, dashing toward Zuma to unfreeze him.
"You're...Too...Fast!" Ace said, almost out of breath from running so much.
"Zuma! You better be ready to book it away as fast as you can!" Chase yelled to him.
Chase ran toward him at a speed none of the others could even dream of and unfroze the Labrador, who then started running like his life depending on it. Ace then started chasing Zuma, knowing that he was faster then him. Zuma tried his best to run away but was eventually caught, yet again.
Ace knew Chase was faster than him, and that he'd never be able to outrun him, so he had to outsmart him. He looked around and noticed he had caught Zuma near the border of the treeline outside the lookout, he also noticed a fallen log not too far away. Ace hid behind the fallen log before yelling to Chase that he caught Zuma.
Chase heard Ace announce that he caught Zuma and swore under his breath, he turned around and saw Zuma in the distance, near the treeline. He didn't see Ace though. He looked over at Skye, who was near the old puphouses and assume Ace was hiding behind one of them, waiting for him to try to save her. He instead decided to save Zuma once again, and began dashing toward the Labrador.
Ace stayed hidden and waited until Chase got close enough for him to jump out at him, when he did, he leaped toward him and successfully froze the shepherd that he could never catch, ending the game as a victory for him.
"Damnit! I thought I was surely going to win." Chase exclaimed.
"Welp, you were wrong." Ace said to him.
"Wow, outsmawted by youw own son." Zuma said to the shepherd. "That's gotta huwt dude."
"Is it over?" Skye asked as she approached the three.
"Yep, I successfully caught the true speed demon." Ace said, smiling.
"Chase is the fastest out of any of us, how did you catch him?" Skye asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." Chase said.
Zuma and Ace decided to take a break from playing and returned to the lookout, while Chase and Skye stayed outside, admiring the view out toward the bay.
"Do you think they'll ever find out?" Skye asked the shepherd next to her.
"Nah, it seems our secret will stay safe for awhile." Chase replied.
"They did almost catch us yesterday morning, Ace seemed very suspicious of us." Skye pointed out.
"He'll likely forget about it soon, especially with everything happening with the play." Chase responded.
Skye smiled and gave Chase a lick on the cheek, causing Chase to smile as well. He then returned it, licking Skye on the cheek, causing her to giggle.
Inside the Lookout
Ryder was in his room, on the top floor. He was playing games on his puppad, when suddenly, he received a call from the chief of the ABPD. Ryder answered, half expecting something horrible to have happened. but nonetheless, he answered with the same greeting he answered all calls that came in with.
"This is Ryder from the PAW Patrol, what is your emergency?" Ryder greeted the chief.
"Hello Ryder, This isn't exactly an emergency." The police chief said.
"Hello chief, what do you need?" Ryder asked.
"Could you send Chase and Ace down to the station? I need to speak to them about something serious." The chief asked.
"Sure thing, you could've called them yourself by the way, and I'm sure they'd happily had come down there." Ryder replied.
"I would've done that, except I don't have their tag numbers." The chief responded.
"Oh, alright then. I'll send them down there immediately." Ryder said to him.
"Thank you, Bye Ryder." The chief said before ending the call.
Ryder then called two tag numbers on his puppad, 01 and 09.
"Hello, what do you need Ryder sir?" Chase asked.
"Hey Ryder!" Ace greeted him.
"Hey Ace, Hey Chase, the chief of the ABPD just called me, he wants you two to go down to the station and meet him." Ryder told the two.
"On it sir!" Chase responded.
"I'll be there soon." Ace said.
"Thanks you two." Ryder thanked them before ending the call.
Ryder then leaned back on his bed and resumed playing games on his puppad.
Meanwhile, outside the Lookout
Skye was sitting next to Chase as he was talking with Ryder. Once the call was over, the shepherd turned to her and told her that he had to go.
"Aww, leaving already? I was enjoying our alone time together." Skye said.
"I was too, but the chief requested for me to come down to the station, and I can't really tell him no." Chase replied.
"Oh fine, bye Chase." Skye said while waving to him.
"Bye Skye!" Chase said before turning and beginning to walk toward Adventure Bay, he was stopped however when Skye grabbed his collar.
"Meet me back here tonight." Skye whispered to him.
"Will do." Chase whispered back before (actually) beginning his walk toward Adventure Bay.
Skye sat there and looked out at the bay for a few more minutes after he left before deciding to go inside and see what the others were up to. She wasn't very surprised to see most of them watching TV, like normal. She was surprised to see Ace get his gear on and rush past her out the door.
I guess he's also going to the station. Skye thought to herself.
Skye then decided to just hop onto one of the many beanbags in the main room and join the others in watching TV, she didn't exactly like the show they chose but it was better than nothing she supposed. She very quickly got bored of the show however and decided to just go to her room and read whatever books she had in there still. She hopped into the elevator and descended down to the basement, then left it and entered her room. She then grabbed the nearest book she could find before hopping onto her bed and reading it.
30 minutes later...
Adventure Bay Police Department
Chase entered the Police Station and stood by the front door, waiting for Ace to arrive. It took a few minutes, but he eventually entered the station. The two had a very short conversation before being called to the chief's office. Upon entering, they saw the police chief sitting at his desk, holding a stack of papers.
"Hello chief." Chase greeted him while shutting the office door.
"Hey chief, you needed us for something?" Ace asked.
"Yes, yes, take a seat." The chief said, gesturing to the two chairs.
"What do you need, sir?" Chase asked.
"We've received a bunch of papers in the station mail that originate from Barkingburg." The chief said while going through the stack of papers. "We can't figure out who sent them but their all signed with the initials S. C. They contain, very serious accusations, including a potential assassination attempt on the celebrity Wilhelm Juniper." Hearing this made Chase's eyes go wide but he continued to listen as the chief continued. "Now, due to this being in Barkingburg, this is clearly outside of our jurisdiction, but I felt obligated to inform you two after I heard you'd be going there soon."
"You want us to try to stop it, sir?" Chase asked.
"If you could please do so, yes." The chief replied. "I've already informed the Barkingburg authorities about it and they've promised to keep a lookout for anything suspicious, maybe they could assist you."
Chase sat there, thinking for a few seconds. "Could I get a copy of the papers you received?" Chase asked.
"Sure, sure, I'll get them photocopied and sent to you tomorrow morning." The chief replied.
"Thank you for informing me sir, I'll be sure to make sure Juniper doesn't get harmed." Chase said while standing up.
"You're welcome." The chief responded.
Chase and Ace began walking toward the door but then Chase stopped and turned to the chief once more. "One more thing, can I discuss this with anyone else? or should I keep this secret?" Chase asked.
"You can tell Ryder, I'd prefer you not tell the other pups however." The chief replied.
"Alright, bye sir." Chase said.
"Bye Chase, Bye Ace." The chief responded.
The two shepherds then left the police chief's office, before heading for the station's exit.
"I honestly didn't expect to hear about a potential assassination attempt, on Wilhelm Juniper no less." Ace said, shocked from the news.
"I didn't expect it either, I guess Mr. Juniper must've made some enemies during his career." Chase responded.
They then arrived at the exit and left the station before making their way back to the lookout, with this new information in tow. While they were walking back they debated about if they should inform Ryder about it. In the end, they decided to inform him.
It took another 30 minutes to return to the lookout from the police station but they did soon arrive, Chase sent Ace to hang out with the other pups so they didn't suspect anything before he went up the elevator to go inform Ryder. When Chase got to the top of the lookout, he went straight to Ryder's room and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" He heard Ryder ask.
"Chase." Chase responded.
He then heard Ryder get up and walk over to the door before opening it and letting the shepherd in.
"What do you need Chase?" Ryder asked.
"I came to inform you of what the chief told me and Ace. He received a hint from someone in Barkingburg that there would be an assassination attempt on one of the people at the theatre." Chase told him, Ryder was shocked to hear this, then Chase continued. "He already told the authorities in Barkingburg, but he wants me and him to try to foil the assassination plot."
Ryder was silent, processing what he was told. "So I guess this won't be a normal vacation." Chase heard him whisper to himself.
"Who's the person the plot is against?" Ryder asked.
"Their name is Wilhelm Juniper." Chase replied.
"Alright, I'll contact the Barkingburg authorities and see if they'll let us assist them. Is there anything else you know about the plot?" Ryder asked.
"Not yet, sir." Chase said.
"Alright, you can return to the others." Ryder told the shepherd.
Chase left his owners room and returned to the elevator before descending back down to the ground floor. He then went to join the other pups in the main room.
2 hours later, In Jake's Resort
Everest and Jake entered the Resort, having just gotten back from a rescue. Despite the day nearing it's end, this was the first rescue they had to do, it seemed like the constant rescues were slowing down, which both of them considered a good thing. They both entered the lobby of the resort and met Sarah, who was reading a science book from one of the bookshelves.
"Hey again, Sarah." Everest greeted the shepherd.
"Back from the rescue finally?" Sarah asked, still reading.
"Yep, surprisingly wasn't as difficult as the ones we normally get." Everest said.
"Really?" Sarah asked.
"Yes, really. It was just some guy that had slid down one of the steep hills a bit too far, all we had to do was help him up a small cliff." Everest replied.
"Sounds easy, especially with climbing picks." Sarah remarked.
"It really was easy. At least, compared to the normal rescues." Everest responded.
The two began speaking and soon the topic changed to the book Sarah was reading, both of them loved reading, as both were book nerds.
Jake, meanwhile, was already getting ready for the night. There was only around one or two more hours in the day before the sun sets, afterall. He decided to spend the remaining time of the day cleaning up the resort and making sure everything was neat and ready in case more people visited. It didn't take long, as the only guest currently staying there was Sarah, who only left her room occasionally.
Everest and Sarah decided to spend the last couple hours of the day hiking around the mountain. They informed Jake of their plan before getting their jackets on and leaving the Resort. Everest showed Sarah the way to the old path that she used to travel all the time, back when the Resort was much smaller.
They traveled the path for around twenty minutes until eventually, the path ended at a large frozen lake, the two canines approached the lake and just stared at it. After a few more minutes they got closer to it, so close they could see their reflections in it. Everest decided to start making faces to try to make Sarah laugh, and she succeeded. Sarah then joined in and began making faces as well, causing Everest to start laughing a bit. Sarah then noticed some symbols scratched into the ice not too far down the edge of the lake, she got closer to examine the symbols and noticed they were two half hearts, close together to form a full heart.
"What are these?" Sarah asked, Everest got closer to see what she was referring to and smiled upon noticing the heart.
"Oh, me and Marshall made these back when we were pups. The left one is mine, the right one is his." Everest informed her.
Sarah turned to look at her. "You sure he doesn't have a crush on you?" Sarah asked.
Everest started blushing. "Shut up!" Everest replied, looking at the ground. Sarah started giggling.
Sarah then turned toward a nearby steep cliff that had an amazing view of the sunset. She got closer to the cliff to admire the view, Everest soon came over and sat next to her, also admiring the sunset.
"It's so weird to see so much green even this far into the winter. I thought trees were supposed to lose all their leaves by winter." Everest said.
"Most trees do, but the trees you see over there are evergreens. They don't lose their leaves during fall and keep them throughout the winter; they also always maintain their green color." Sarah informed her.
"Isn't it something to do with their needle-like leaves trapping water better?" Everest asked.
"Yep." Sarah responded.
The two canines continued admiring the sunset for a couple more minutes before hiking back toward the resort, It took another twenty minutes to get back. When they entered the Resort they took off their jackets and separated, going to their respective rooms.
Everest entered her and Jake's room and hopped onto her bed, she laid there for many minutes, with many different thoughts running through her head, including Sarah's conclusion that Marshall shared the same crush on the husky that Everest had for him. She didn't fully believe her but she did think about it, she hoped he did but something in her kept telling her he didn't. Eventually, she finally fell asleep.
1 hour later...
At the lookout
Chase rode the elevator up to the ground floor and snuck out of it, making his way toward the lookout exit. When he got outside, he saw Skye sitting next to the tree in the distance. He slowly made his way toward her, making sure to stay silent as to not be detected. When he got to her, he sat next to her and joined her, staring into the distance. It took a few more seconds before Skye noticed him.
"Hey Chase~" Skye greeted the shepherd.
"Hello Skye, why did you want me to meet you here?" Chase asked.
"Just wanted to spend some more alone time with you." Skye replied.
"Ahh, okay." Chase responded.
The two of them continued staring into the distant waters of the bay together. Soon, Skye leaned her head on the shepherd, causing the shepherd to blush, which made the cockapoo chuckle a little.
After a few more minutes, the two canines turned toward the lookout and began walking toward it, deciding to finally end the night.
That's the end of Chapter 5.
A much longer chapter than normal, being longer than both Chapter 3 and 4 combined. I tried to give as many perspectives as I could fit in while still moving the plot along.
The next chapter will likely focus more on Marshall and Everest, since tomorrow (in the story) is the day they begin rehearsing for the play.
Anyways, until the next chapter, bye everyone!
-König der Könige