Marshall woke up as usual feeling well rested, he was about to turn towards his clock on the wooden desk behind him, but he quickly stopped himself as he remembered who was below him by his paws and stomach. A warm smile formed on his face, he carefully removed the blanket of him and stood up then placed the blanket back over the sleeping husky. He slowly and carefully stepped away towards the door, he opened as little of the door as possible before slipping out and gently shutting it. Marshall was happily skipping towards the lookout door with a big smile on his face, as he made it to the door he saw a piece of paper stuck to the front of it. He walked up closer to read it.
"Hello pups! I've left for Adventure City, make sure to keep an ear out for anyone in need while I'm gone.
-Ryder" Marshall read from the piece of paper before entering the lookout to grab some breakfast for himself and Everest, Marshall looked around and thought to himself that no one appears to be awake yet, he made his way over to the bowls grabbing a guest bowl and his red bowl before filling them up with food. Now came the hard part, he had to carry both bowls back to his pup house. He slowly made his way back to his pup house focusing intently on balancing the food bowls as to not spill anything, slowly he made his way back to his door and carefully opened it placing the food bowls down inside before shutting the door behind him. He picked up the guest bowl and walked over to the bed placing it in front of Everest. Everest's nose twitched before she opened her eyes to see the bowl of food in front of her strong tracker nose, she lifted her head and looked to her right where she saw a smiling Dalmatian pup.
"Morning, I got some food." Marshall said with a smile looking back at the lavender husky.
"Thanks Marshall, you're the best." Said Everest as she sat up and let the blanket fall off her revealing a wagging tail as she began eating the food. Marshall blushed and his tail began wagging, in an effort to hide his blush he also began eating his food keeping his head by his bowl for the duration of the meal. Everest looked over at the pup and saw his tail wagging as she started to smile warmly before continuing her meal.
Meanwhile
Chase had just woken up and at a reasonable time this time due to the fact that he exercised himself to exhaustion yesterday, yet he felt fine, better than usual in fact because he had always enjoyed his birthday, so this might actually be an enjoyable day he thought to himself as he got up from his bed, he walked towards his door, he slid the door open and took a deep breath as he took in the view of the town along with the warm summer air blowing in his face, he let out a peaceful sigh as he walked out and towards the doors of the lookout with a small smile on his face. He read the note on the door but he already knew that he would be gone from their conversation yesterday. As he walked inside he looked around and saw Skye eating her food alongside Rocky and Zuma, and to the right of that was Rubble watching TV as usual. Chase walked over to the bowls grabbing his blue bowl but as he was filling it he realized that he hadn't seen Marshall in the common area. He grabbed his bowl to go look again but still no Marshall. Chase was starving from yesterday so he decided to eat his food before going to look for his friend, he placed down his bowl, and the food was quickly disappearing as he had missed dinner yesterday.
After finishing he took the bowl back to its proper place and began walking out of the lookout headed towards the red pup house. As he was walking he heard the birds chirping and he saw the calm sea below the mountain they were on. As He arrived at Marshall's door and knocked he smelled an unusual yet familiar scent coming from inside, but he brushed it off.
"Hey, Marshall! You in there!" He yelled so his voice would be heard on the other side of the door. Excited to hear his best friend's voice again Marshall quickly took the last bite of his food and hurried to the door and opened it.
"Hey Chase!" Marshall said with a big smile on his face happy to see the German shepherd. Chase smiled back and noticed Everest on the bed behind Marshall eating food, she looked like she had just woke up.
"Oh, Everest is here." Chase said happily as he hadn't noticed her arrive as he spent all day yesterday in his pup house.
"Wait... Everest is here." Chase said with a smug smirk forming on his face as he looked back at Marshall.
"Wait, no it's not like that." Marshall said in a hushed voice and a bright red blush forming on his face knowing exactly what Chase was insinuating.
"Mhm... I'll give you guys some privacy." Chase said in a smug tone as he patted Marshall's shoulder for a second before turning around and walking back towards his own pup house.
"Who was it?" Everest asked as she jumped off Marshall's bed with a smile.
"O-oh it was just Chase saying good morning." Marshall responded as he closed the door and turned back towards the lavender pup with a smile.
"Oh okay. So, what is there to do around here nowadays?" Everest asked with a curious smile tilting her head slightly to the side.
"Uh, well I mean we could play some games... or we could m-maybe take a w-walk?" Marshall said hoping she would want to walk so they could talk more, as Marshall couldn't get enough of her voice.
"Hmm... a walk does sound fun, let's do that." Everest said with a playful cheer. Marshall's tail began wagging in excitement
"Okay, let's go then." Marshall happily barked as he once again opened the door of his pup house before stepping aside and letting the husky past him so he could close his door. The two pups then began walking down the hill toward the bridge.
"It's not like that, huh." Chase said to himself chuckling as he watched the husky and Dalmatian walking away from the red pup house, as Chase stood in his doorway watching.
"Hey Chase, wanna play some pup-pup boogie?" Asked Zuma with a small smile who was walking from Rocky's pup house.
"Uh, yeah sure, but what about Rocky?" Chase asked as those two were always together.
"He's busy witing a bluepwint ow something like that he said." Zuma answered.
"Oh okay, let's play then." Chase said as he followed Zuma inside to play some pup-pup boogie in the common area.
Later
Marshall and Everest had been walking around town basically all day, going to Mr Porters to eat lunch but now the sun was beginning to set over the mountains of Adventure Bay and the two pups found themselves walking along the beach.
"The water is so beautiful at this time of day." Everest said looking to the right out over the water with a smile. Marshall also turned his head right but he was interested in another sight, a pretty lavender one.
"Yeah it really is..." Marshall agreed still not paying attention to anything but the beautiful Husky.
"...but even more so you." Marshall said quietly to himself as he blushed warmly, but Everest overheard the Dalmatian pup. She turned to her left to face Marshall.
"What was that Marshall?" She asked with an innocent smile while looking at the Dalmatian's horrified face as he tried to act normal and speak.
"I-it's really p-pretty, t-the water." Marshall finally stuttered out with bright red cheeks.
"Oh okay, thought you said something after that." Everest said and turned around back towards the sea and giggled to herself.
"Stupid, so stupid, making myself look like a weirdo!" Marshall screamed in his mind as he collected himself.
"We should probably head back now." Everest said as she looked back at Marshall interrupting his thoughts.
"Y-yeah you're probably right it's starting to get late." Marshall said as they turned around to head back to the lookout, he thought about all the nice conversations they had during their walk.
Meanwhile
Chase was in his pup house thinking about his day, he turned over in his bed and looked at the calendar on his wall, his vision went blurry as he felt a stinging in his nose, a tear fell and hit his bedding with a light thud. The day had started with Chase in high hopes but now he was again alone in his bed crying, Chase decided to sit up in his bed, he thought to himself that it was pathetic to just lay on his bed crying, he needed to take a walk. Chase stood up and made his way out of his pup house.
"Let's go grab some dinner." Everest said to Marshall as they made it up the slope leading to the lookout tower. Marshall spotted Chase exit his pup house, he decided to go talk to him as he hadn't spoken to him since this morning.
"Yeah, you go ahead inside Everest. I just wanna go say hello to Chase first." Marshall said looking back at Everest.
"Okay, I'll grab us some food, meet you inside." Everest said with a smile before walking off toward the lookout doors. Marshall then sprinted up to Chase who was just starting to walk away after closing his pup house.
"Hey Chase, what's up." Chase heard a familiar voice say from behind him. He felt himself losing grip on his walls. Chase turned around and looked Marshall in the eyes, Marshall noticed his red eyes and the dried tears under them.
"Chase... what's... wrong." Marshall asked with worry in his voice and concern on his face as his happy tone disappeared.
"Like you would care." Chase said silently feeling the walls cracking around him.
"W-what are you... saying" Marshall asked very confused about what the German shepherd just said but even more concerned. Chase's walls fell with that final straw of ignorance on top of all the memories of his past and the weight that they carried, but that his best friend had forgotten was the straw that broke the German shepherd's back. He felt a sting in his nose as tears started falling down his cheeks. All the walls he put up to protect himself came tumbling down on top of him, breaking the poor pup.
"MARSHALL WHAT DAY IS IT!" Chase suddenly screamed in a broken voice, scaring the Dalmatian pup.
"W-wha-" Marshall said in a scared tone as the German shepherd's anger scared the younger Dalmatian.
"ANSWER ME MARSHALL, WHAT DAY IS IT!" Chase interrupted. Marshall was scared by the bigger pup screaming at him.
"I-I don't know." Marshall whimpered and lowered his body to the ground in fear as tears began falling down his face.
"OF COURSE YOU DON'T, IT'S NOT LIKE ANYONE CARES HERE ANYWAYS!" Chase screamed as tears were falling and hitting the ground below him. Marshall was scared and in tears and he didn't know what to do or say, he just ran away he ran as fast as he could, scared and confused. Just at that moment, Everest came out looking to see why Marshall was taking so long, she saw Chase standing there and Marshall running away in tears. She and Chase locked eyes she just had an angry expression on her face before she looked away and ran after Marshall.
"I can't do this." Chase said to himself still in tears he turned around and just started running. He ran into the forest, branches hitting him in the face, stepping on sharp rocks, he felt a raindrop on his head then another and eventually it was pouring, the ground turned to mud but Chase just kept running.
Everest lost sight of Marshall when he disappeared through some trees but she could still smell his scent thanks to her strong nose, she followed the scent as the rain came pouring down even harder, she was starting to lose his scent through all the rain, she jumped over a rock and it was gone she desperately looked around, she though that she had lost him but then suddenly she heard something, sniffling, she walked toward the source of the sound, she pushed through a bush and found herself on a cliff, the ocean ahead of her and it was dark as the night sky, the sun had just disappeared below the horizon making it hard to see, but just at the edge she could make out and outline of a puppy with floppy ears. She slowly approached and sat down next to him.
Marshall was just sitting there staring out towards the horizon sniffling as the rain poured down, but right now he didn't care about acting though in front of his crush he was too overwhelmed with emotions. Then a tight embrace, Everest was hugging him. The unexpected gesture made him burst out crying as he rested his head on her shoulder. Everest felt her shoulder getting wet but she wouldn't let go until he stopped crying.
After a few minutes, Marshall felt himself finally calming down, breathing less heavily, he was finally realizing that Everest was actually hugging him he lifted his head off her shoulder and looked at her beautiful ice-blue eyes, he was hesitating. Then suddenly he felt Everest move one of her paws up from his back and behind his head and before he knew it, he felt her soft lips against his. All his worries melted away and it felt like he was in a vacuum as he closed his eyes there was only him and her nothing else mattered, he never wanted it to stop.
Eventually they both slowly pulled away Everest now sitting up against Marshall leaning her head on his shoulder as they stared toward the horizon.
"Now, you wanna talk about what happened with Chase?" Everest asked in a soft voice still staring forward out toward the horizon. Marshall then sighed.
"I don't know what happened... I was just gonna say hello but when he turned around and looked at me... He looked broken like he had been crying. Then he just started screaming... he asked me if I knew what day it is but I didn't... I couldn't answer him... It was too much and I just ran away." Marshall said in a sad tone as a single tear fell down his cheek. Everest feeling his breathing become irregular nuzzled his cheek with her head to calm him down.
"Well, do you know what day it is?" Everest asked in a caring soft voice.
"No... I don't." Marshall said in a sad voice. Everest thought about it and she arrived here on July 11th so today must be the 12th
"Yesterday was the 11th so today must be the 12th, but I don't know if that means anything." Everest said. Marshall's heart sank. Before he started uncontrollably crying again.
"What's wrong Marshall?" Everest asked in a concerned voice as she pulled in Marshall for another hug.
"Today is *sniff* Chase's *sniff* birthday..." Marshall said between breaths, crying even harder on the last part.
"...and I *sniff* forgot!" Marshall yelled as he cried into Everest's arms, causing her to embrace him even tighter.
"Shh, it's gonna be okay, you can just go and remedy the situation right now, it's gonna be okay." Everest said lovingly while trying to calm Marshall down once again. After a minute he was calming down again.
"Y-yeah you're right I need to go fix this... s-sorry about bothering you with all this." Marshall said in a sad tone.
"No it's the least I could do for you. You shared your bed with me all night and brought me food." Everest contested in a sweet tone. Everest slowly let go of Marshall looking him in the eyes before giving him a light kiss which warmed both their bodies.
"Now let's go make this right Marshall." Everest said standing up quickly followed by Marshall, the two ran back through the small forest in the rain before making it to the asphalt by the lookout tower, they quickly made their way towards Chase's pup house just before Marshall was about to knock on the door Everest grabbed Marshall and pulled him in for a kiss before letting go.
"I'll leave you two alone, I'll be right inside waiting for you." Everest said as she walked off towards the tower doors.
"Okay you can do this Marshall." He thought to himself as he knocked on the door... no response. He knocked again... no response.
"C-chase, I'm coming in." Marshall said, he slowly slid the door open, only to reveal it to be empty. He looked to his right to see Everest about to enter the lookout.
"Everest! it's empty! He's not here!" Marshall yelled at Everest who promptly turned around, she quickly came running and looked inside the pup house for herself, with a concerned face they both looked at each other.
"We should go ask if the other pups have seen him" Marshall suggested with concerned eyes.
"I think I heard them all playing pup-pup boogie upstairs on the big screen." Everest said with concern creeping over her face.
"Alright let's go." Marshall said in a hurried voice as they began running toward the lookout entrance, as they passed through the door they quickly made their way towards the elevator. As Marshall got in the elevator and stood beside the husky, the worried thought began taking over.
"What have I done, Chase is mad at me and it's all my fault." Marshall thought to himself as a frown formed on his face and a tear fell from his eye, this caught Everest's attention as she looked over at the saddened Dalmatian.
"Hey, don't cry. It's gonna be alright." Everest said with a soft voice putting on a small smile in an attempt to cheer up the pup. Shortly thereafter a chime was heard as the elevator doors opened, they saw Skye and Zuma playing pup-pup boogie while the rest were cheering on. Marshall sniffed as he wiped the tear from his eye.
"Guys have you seen Chase?" Marshall asked trying to hide his broken voice, all the pups turned around and faced the elevator. The pups looked at each other waiting for someone to speak up.
"Isn't he in his pup house?" Rocky finally asked looking at Marshall who was trying to hide his dried tears, but Skye noticed Marshall's weird behavior and got concerned. She walked up closer to the elevator.
"Why? What's up Marshall, did something happen?" Skye asked with a concerned face looking at Marshall and noticing his red eyes and dried tears. The now emotionally unstable pup shed a tear and sniffled, receiving a pat on the shoulder from Everest.
"We forgot Chase's birthday *Sniffle* and I and him had a fight and now we can't find him." Marshall sobbed lowering his head and looking down at the ground, earning shocked and at the same time ashamed looks from all the pups who had also forgotten. Skye immediately reached down and pressed a button on her pup tag.
"Chase! Chase! Can you hear me?" She called over her pup tag but to no avail, no one answered. Skye's heart sank as she felt terrible about forgetting Chase's birthday. She looked back up at all the pups.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for we gotta find him!" Skye yelled, they all quickly looked up at the little Cockapoo as the change in mood startled them. The pups quickly ran towards and filled the elevator. As it went down Skye looked out the big window at the rain pouring outside.
"I hope he is okay" Skye thought to herself worried about the German Shepheard being alone and cold out in the dark. The elevator stopped and with a chime all the pups quickly made their way out of the lookout and began looking around the nearby area.
"Guys look ovew hewe." Zuma yelled out, causing all the pups to gather around the bush the lab was looking at. All the pups saw a black collar with a blue shield and a yellow star on it. A moment of silence fell over the group as they all knew what this meant.
"Chase's tag..." Marshall said quietly with a sad voice reaching over to the collar and grabbing it, he held it up to his face, a tear fell and hit the tag.
"We need to call Ryder." Marshall said looking up from the blue tag and wiping his eye, he handed the tag to Everest before reaching towards his own and pressing on it, after a few seconds of dialing Ryder picked up. He noticed the tears in Marshall's face over the video call.
"Hey Marshall, what's up." Ryder said in a cautious voice looking at Marshall's emotional face. Marshall sniffed before he spoke up.
"We forgot Chase's birthday a-and we had a fight and now he's gone." Marshall partially screamed while sobbing uncontrollably. Ryder's face fell hearing Marshall's words and tone.
"What do you mean he's gone!" Ryder asked quickly with worry on his face.
"We think he ran into the forest, we found his pup tag stuck i-in a bush on the edge of the forest." Marshall said drying more tears from his face. Ryder's brain went into overdrive as he panicked. He knew he had to come up with something... a plan.
"I'm coming home, don't go into the forest alone. Go inside and dry off, I'll be home as fast as I can. Is that understood?" Ryder said over the call so all the pups could hear.
"But Ch-" Skye was interrupted.
"No buts, inside now!" Ryder interrupted angrily, Skye winced at his sudden angry tone but nodded at him over the call.
"Good." Ryder said before abruptly hanging up the call, leaving all the pups standing out in the rain in silence. The pups turned around and slowly walked through the rain toward the lookout in silence, all the pups stared at the ground in shame as they walked. No one dared talk, everyone was in their own heads worrying, alone.
Chase was running as if he could outrun his emotions, the rain was falling on his face as he ran. His walls had fallen and now he had ruined everything, he had yelled at the one he used to call his best friend... his brother, and now was running away from his problems, it was the only thing he felt he could do. He had no one anymore, his parents were gone and now the PAW Patrol was gone as well, he was all alone... again. As he was lost in his thought he suddenly got snapped back to reality as he felt his paw slip out from under him, the next thing he knew he felt a sharp pain in his leg while his back was now deep in the mud. Chase just laid there feeling the cuts on his body and the rain hitting him in the face, he began silently sobbing as tears fell from his eyes mixing in with the rain.
"WHY ME!" Chase yelled in a broken voice as tears came flowing out, he looked up into the sky with blurry eyes as he realized that he once again had no home to return to. Chase tried standing up from the mud but fell back down and yelped as the pain in his leg was too great to stand on. He tried again now lifting his back leg and attempted to walk. Chase kept slipping and falling down but time after time he got back up as he knew he couldn't give up, after a few minutes of walking he found a small clearing in the forest next to a small pond with a shallow cave opening close by. He decided to head towards the cave opening to get out of the rain. He made his way into the cave and fell down on the hard rock floor just a small distance into the shallow cave. He curled up and looked out of the cave at the raindrops hitting the small pond just outside the cave opening, with a tear running down his wet fur.
"...Happy birthday to me... happy birthday to me... happy birthday dear me... happy birthday to me..." Chase sang in a low voice as the tear hit the ground just below his face on the cold hard rock. He felt all his energy was drained from running in the cold wet forest, slowly his eyelids fell closed and everything went dark.