With no choice but to follow her, the heroes made their way out of Main Street after calling for the Humdinger Jet to be taken back to the Adventure City Airport, Stacey leading the way before they eventually arrived at Adventure City Park where humans and their pets can play freely. Continuing to make sure that nobody was watching or following them, she led everyone towards a giant tree hidden out of sight and pulled down on one of its branches, revealing a large entry ramp.
"An entry ramp?"
"How did you-" blinked Marshall and Rubble before Stacey hushed them, continuing to make sure nobody heard them and the others before following them to her hideout.
"I told you, it's not safe to talk here. I'll tell you everything later, I promise. Come on, everybody inside," she urged, getting the entire group to go down the ramp with Race looking behind them before he entered moments later after Bolt nudged him to join them (the former BF champion feeling a little shaken from the mention of his birth parents on the loose after Ryder told everyone what he found out from Cadence before the last-ditch 'rescue').
The ramp closed on them once they were all inside and the group found themselves sliding down the ramp to a large cavern alcove that was surprisingly deep, eventually walking down a corridor that led them to an open area where a tattered old rug along with a cluster of clothing hung on a small line of mobile racks (five in total) apart from a glass cabinet that housed a scientist's uniform for the defunct Animal Genetics Ultima coupled with dozens of charts, graphs, and notebooks she had been looking at prior that had been put off to the side.
Stacey removed her cloak with a heavy sigh, revealing that she wore a tacky and torn black shirt coupled with torn jeans to complement her worn-out sneakers.
"My home. I...…apologize if it's not much. Had to make do with what I got, given the unfortunate reputation I gained from Cawthorn and his company," Stacey said softly despite feeling a little embarrassed.
Hiccup was the first to display everyone's awkwardness over Stacey's living conditions as he winced at what he assumed was its decor, "...…Nice place."
"Yeah, good layout, uh..." added Zenna, sharing her best friend's lack of enthusiasm.
"Very, decorative...to say the least," Robin nodded as the former AGU scientist went to a makeshift kitchen and dining room in another part of the area and poured herself a drink (chamomile herb tea instead of coffee to clear her mind of what had been going on as of late).
When she was calm enough, after having her tea, she went over to a small chest and opened it to reveal some medical supplies of various methods used by doctors worldwide such as Chinese and Western medicine, setting up a medical bed from it for Cadence to rest on.
"May I see your malamute?" she asked Angel kindly, turning to the female detective as she gestured to the mortally wounded Cadence.
Despite her suspicions, after taking a short glance at the little pup in her arms, Angel reluctantly handed her to Stacey and the former scientist proceeded to give her first aid, taking extra care to clean her wounds and rub them with natural honey to combat any infections she got before wrapping them in bandages and giving her crushed English Marigolds mixed with berries as anti-inflammatories.
"There, that should just about do it. She'll be awake in a few hours," Stacey informed after she finished and gently wrapped a blanket around, seeing Cadence open her eyes weakly at her before she passed out with her life no longer in danger as the heroes breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," Ryder thanked.
Stacey nodded before she looked around the area and called out, "I'm home!"
"Yeah! Yeah! Mama, Mama, Mama!" chirped a male child's voice.
Everyone turned to see a small Dalmatian pup around Marshall's age joined by a male Hydreigon and a male Dragonite flying beside him run up to her and nuzzle her legs happily, telling her, "You're back!"
"Hydrium, Dizzy, Callum," she smiled, picking up her pup and hugging him as he gave her doggy kisses and she rubbed her pseudo-Legendary Pokémon.
No sooner than the trio appeared before Stacey, to everyone's surprise, a pair of Night Light dragons (a couple as they were both mates) around Ageis' size (making them Titan Wing/Elder Night Lights) joined them, looking just as happy to see her.
The male Night Light resembled Toothless as he was black all over save for his muzzle, front paws, white claws, and a bit of shading on his tail but he had turquoise eyes, four pairs of ear nubs, and he had light gray brow-like markings forming a ring around his face (something he and his mate shared). He also had small spines running down his back, two pairs of small tail fins in the middle of his tail, and a dual tail fin with a dorsal fin at the end. To top it all off, he shared one trait with the Toothless, Shadow, and Stryka's species and that's the smooth and aerodynamic wings.
As for the female Night Light, she had blue eyes and resembled Gale and Winter in appearance down to the smooth and aerodynamic wings with black shade bits on the edges. She also had four nubs on her head, and like Gale, her spines were smaller and black which ran down to her tail and ended at the heart-shaped dual tail fin akin to Winters. As for her body, she was white all over save for black patches on her legs, black patches around her eyes, and her black claws.
Then, a flurry of twelve Night Light Short Wings (juveniles for dragons) scampered into view after their parents; each having a certain pattern that distinguished them from one another. All of them were 9-years-old but they were around twice as big as Dart, Pouncer, Ruffrunner, Zap, Splattertail, and Goggles so they were not adolescents as of now, and because of that, they were still smaller than Thunder, Bolt, Gale, and Haze.
"Dudes...…." D'Angelo gasped in awe.
"Tom, are you seeing this?" Jun added, amazed.
"Wow, I can't believe it. A Night Light family," Tom nodded in awe.
"And, a prosperous one at that, look at all those Short Wings with the larger Night Lights," Eugene noted, seeing the twelve Short Wings belonging to the Night Light couple with Stacey as she rubbed and caressed them warmly (all of them looking happy to see her).
"Veil, Moonbeam, have you and your children been good while I'm gone?" Stacey greeted her dragons before she and the Night Lights, Veil and Moonbeam, noticed the Short Wing Night Lights scampering over to the former scientist's new acquaintances and chirping at them happily.
The heroes were surprised to see how friendly Moonbeam and Veil's babies were with newcomers despite not knowing them but Della was the most excited as she went over to the babies and mingled happily with them as she squealed, "Wow! New dragons, baby dragons!? EEEEE! Best, day...EVER!"
"Aww!"
"Look at them!"
"Come here!" Donna (former queen), Nikki, and Delilah as four of them jumped into their arms happily (Delilah having to carry two of them).
"You're all so adorable!"
"Really cute!"
"'Sweet' is better to describe them!" laughed Lillie, Lana, and Mallow joined them and cooed at the Short Wings with Pastry, Fritter, Muffin, and Danish yipping happily at them.
"Oh, dragons of such a rare breed and cuteness are the most adorable to be found!" Starfire (Teen Titan) grinned excitedly as she hovered and looked at the nine babies below her.
"So, you're alive...… All these years, we thought you were dead," Angel began.
"What happened to you? For ten years, Angel and I and our entire squadron thought you perished in the demise of Animal Genetics Ultima. There was no sign of your body amongst the flames and the wreckage. No blood, no evidence of your survival, nothing... How were you able to escape?" Ryan added, seeming just as curious as Angel was about Stacey's survival.
Stacey turned towards Ryan and Angel and looked away in shame, touching the scars on her left cheek as she replied, "You two wouldn't know, neither would anybody else... I was nothing like my fellow scientists including Cawthorn as they were all in on his work for money and power; I was able to see through their animal cruelty masked behind pretty words and whitewashing when I started working with them but I kept quiet, knowing that my speaking out would result in me being severely punished. I didn't know what to do to help the animals that were suffering during that time so I bided my time, hoping to do the right thing should everything come to a head given how horrible Cawthorn's plans were."
"...And, when you wanted to know more about his ambitions, you confronted him about it at one point?" puzzled Raven (Teen Titan), trying to contain her horror.
Stacey nodded as she replied, "I told him off about it all and demanded to know what he wanted and he said to me that he wanted to sell his animalistic weapons to the highest bidder in the black market to make himself more powerful. I was aghast since then and I hated him and everyone else working with him, I couldn't take it anymore and I wanted to make things right."
She then looked at Raven's demon-wolf counterpart as she added, "That's when the Raven before us, my old savior and the demon-wolf that went 'rogue', came in and I made my move the night when it all fell apart for that madman and his colleagues..."
(Flashback)
The incident kicked off a decade ago when a certain female wolf first got her demon powers; the experiment worked too well for them as she ended up snarling at the scientists from her cage when they tried to get closer to her. Some of them ended up frightened or with bite marks and cuts whenever they got too close to her and she retaliated as a result but amongst them, only Stacey was unafraid. She looked deeply guilty for what she and her former colleagues and her ex-superior did to her and seeing that they were distracted over their observations of Cawthorn's plans for the meteor fragments on them, she pulled out a syringe filled with Purification Power they had developed from her jacket's right pocket.
Carefully picking at the lock and opening the cage, she snuck inside and gently poked the syringe into her front right shoulder (gesturing to the demon wolf to keep quiet and make sure nobody was watching as she did so).
"My friend, I'm sorry this has to be. I beg you, please help me stop them before they go through with these plans. Please..." she pleaded quietly, the winged demon wolf looking into her eyes and seeing genuine remorse and grief for her actions and what they entailed.
At that moment, Raven's eyes softened and she slowly nodded in agreement just as the alarms went off, the security cameras and their feed showing an angry mob furious at the company's actions and deeds looking to take Cawthorn and his scientists down themselves (which wouldn't be quelled and apprehended until the aftermath by Ryan and Angel).
To make matters worse for the evil complicit scientists, a bomb that had been made by the mob was thrown through an open window ticking down in seconds before it blew up.
"GET DOWN!" Cawthorn roared in shocked horror when he saw the bomb just as it went off, sending the entire room into chaos; glass and rubble flew everywhere, papers ended up in the air, screams rang off, and the experiments that had been made broke free from their cages.
The experiments that made a break for freedom didn't get a chance to see it as they were soon attacked by the cops (who came to not only stop Cawthorn and his minions but also to apprehend and discipline the excessively rowdy mob for their actions despite their anger at the company being justified), either by being killed off or shot with anesthetics that put them into a deep sleep for immediate storage lockdown before they could do any harm. Stacey, on the other hand, was thrown back by the explosion and she crashed into some supplies, getting her scars on her left cheek from two glass fragments that were flung around amongst the debris.
"Cawthorn was outraged at the sudden turn of events that plagued him and the company. While the mob that attacked us did justice for what they did, they were sadly disciplined and punished for how unruly they were in their invasion. I was about to meet my end after Cawthorn and his fellow scientists were arrested following a failed attempt to escape but Raven saved me and took me and the meteor her powers came from away."
The demon wolf was horrified by what happened to the only human that showed her compassion and seeing her shocked and outraged creator being captured by the police as he tried to escape along with his fellow scientists, she made her way to Stacey and nudged her onto her back, taking the meteor responsible for her powers and the defected scientist with her away via teleportation.
After Raven placed the meteor on the ground upon reaching a clearing behind a hill, the same spot where Angel and Tsukumaro would find it a decade later, Stacey carefully got off her back and looked at the burning building in the distance before them. The two of them could hear the angry chants of the mob met by the furious and disgusted voices of the police who came to stop them (headed by Ryan and Angel who were equally disgusted at the mob for resorting to such dangerous measures of serving justice to villains including Cawthorn).
At that point, Stacey knew that she couldn't go back and show herself to everyone in Adventure City; despite her feelings on the matter and what she did to end Cawthorn's treachery, she willingly played a part in his schemes for power and her deeds before then made her just as complicit in his and his associates' crimes involving his experiments. This meant she would have to hide away for the rest of her life, knowing that if she returned, she'd be arrested and/or killed on sight via the death penalty or worse.
She turned to Raven as she gently caressed her head and said to her, "You're free now. It's over, you can live your life now as you wish. I only wish, though, that we got to meet under more favorable circumstances... I don't know when we'll meet again but it's best if you don't think about me after what I did before I released you. You're better off on your own or with them if you want. I'll be alright. Be happy...… For my sake, you'll be a beacon of light to those left to suffer in the dark as you did. Go, now, Raven...…. Farewell...…"
Raven's eyes softened further and she gave a small whimper before she nodded and nuzzled her one last time before she teleported back to the burning lab, being labeled as the only survivor of the demolished and dissolved Animal Genetics Ultima in the aftermath before she would meet Angel and become a volunteer for her and Ryan's police force.
As for Stacey herself, she went off to get as far away from her former company as possible and hide from everyone in Adventure City, hoping that Raven would be happy with her newfound freedom. This also includes herself living a life without hurting anybody by hiding in the shadows and under the disguise she found for herself, spending the next decade incognito watching over the city, and being prepared for what was to come regarding her former superior and his ambitions for the world. Even if it meant she would face her time of reprisals one way or another.
(End Flashback)
"Ever since then, I've been in hiding... My actions before I released the poor creature are no excuse for a second chance, however. The company's reputation got into my record and because of that, I had to make do with what I had to stay alive. Nobody would believe me, nobody would understand if I told them what had happened and why I did what I did even if I tried," Stacey finished, fiddling with her teacup after taking another sip and pouring herself another helping while she looked back at herself via her reflection.
Everyone was left in shocked silence save for the former scientist's pup, Pokémon, and dragons as they comforted her with Alex eventually speaking out, "I can't believe it..."
"Me, neither."
"You spent the last ten years in this dump all because of that whole debacle involving Cawthorn and Raven?"
"Babe, we had no idea..." Jun, Kiawe, and Angel breathed, stunned.
Ryan was aghast by what he had heard and he turned to Twoie furiously as he barked, "Twoie, you idiot! You knew about Stacey surviving and you deliberately lied to Angel and I about her surviving the incident as well?! You never told us about her when we asked if there were any other survivors besides you after the other experiments were killed and Cawthorn and his accomplices were captured. You didn't try to stop her? You let her escape!?"
"She was silenced early on after she confronted Cawthorn about his ambitions and her plans involving the experiments and myself! She's nothing like him and his accomplices; if he had his way, Stacey would've been made into a scapegoat given her opinions on the whole thing made her an outlier and a whistleblower amongst them. Worse, if he found out she escaped along with me, he would've sent one of his monsters from the mafia after her and killed her off. Why should I bring her in after what she did to save me and getting hurt by that explosion from the bomb which resulted in those cross-shaped scars on her left cheek?" Twoie snapped back.
Raven (Teen Titan) joined her demon wolf counterpart and faced Angel and Ryan as she vouched for her, "Let's face it; from what Stacey and Twoie told us, the mob that attacked the company wouldn't be so pleasant to see her alive given her own contributions to his crimes. Granted, she did do all of that regardless but that was because she was forced to; she didn't have a choice. Would you rather she'd face the shame of facing the music prematurely with everyone's emotions running high when the mob made their assault before you two stopped them despite helping to carry out their cause?"
Ryan and Angel tried to retort but they came up with nothing and stayed silent, giving off annoyed and defeated sighs. Raven (Teen Titan) had a point; they knew that most of the members who willingly contributed to Cawthorn's plans were given life sentences before the mad doctor broke out of prison twice. What's more, Stacey would've been given the same and she would've ended up with them despite not deserving such a punishment just for associating with criminals.
Stacey looked at Ryan and Angel and sighed as she went over to her tattered rug and sat on it, saying to them, "I don't expect you to forgive us for what we did, you two. I'm not asking for forgiveness; I just want you two to understand why I ran away, why she kept you both in the dark about me that night. Anyway, I overheard your enemies including Cawthorn wanting to steal your friends' superpowers, and thanks to their ploy of a 'rescue attempt', they have one crystal in their hands. You should be more careful and exercise constant vigilance from now on. The two known as Rosa and Jacob will be on the prowl as well; they want to destroy your princess and whoever helped the boy you call Race for revenge for what happened to them."
Race stayed silent, feeling a little shaken about the mention of his birth parents but also clenching his right hand into a fist, supposedly trying to keep his hatred for them from boiling over.
"We'll be careful, Doctor. But, before we go, would you mind cluing us in on one more thing?"
"Like that weird heebie-jeebie stuff about this hybrid thing that broke our enemies out of prison?" Cyborg and Beast Boy inquired, wanting to know more about the hybrid that was responsible for the villains' jailbreak.
"And, killed most of my and Angel's workforce in Adventure City Prison," Ryan added with a frown.
Stacey sighed again as she told them with a heavy heart, "That hybrid you mentioned...…. A monstrous creature, the very first hybrid dinosaur under Cawthorn's wing: the Scorpios Rex. The moment it appeared, I saw it break your foes: Cawthorn, Humdinger, Rosa, Jacob, Victoria, all of them out of their cells before it left to wait for them outside. It's made out of Scorpion Fish DNA. I should warn you; without the antidote, if you're hit by more than three of its spines, you die a quick and painful death."
Everyone gasped in horror at the sound of that as Fishlegs and Scooby voiced everybody's thoughts, "ZOINKS!"
"RAAAAH!"
"Aww, man! Those villains always seem to get the best stuff to destroy us and we always fall one step behind them on that!" griped Beast Boy, knowing that thanks to the Scorpios Rex, Cawthorn and his fellow fugitives have a new and deadlier ace up their sleeves.
"Scorpion Fish DNA?! HE MADE THAT MONSTER OUT OF SCORPION FISH DNA? Is he crazy, girl? That stupid fish is dangerous and unstable, even I wouldn't go near one of those bad boys for the life of me with those venom-coated spines on it! It's one of the world's most venomous fish for a reason! Tell me that madman was not stupid enough to go messin' with it!" Cyborg raged at her in the style of a tic-tac-toe game (with himself and Stacey playing as Os and Xs respectfully), feeling a sense of deja vu when he and his friends went through a similar predicament involving Robin's old Red-X suit and the fact that he had used Zynothium of all chemicals to power the suit and its arsenal.
Stacey rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation before she shook her head to clear her mind and she replied, "Unfortunately, yes. I thought it was destroyed or killed off when Animal Genetics Ultima was attacked and raided ten years ago but apparently, it was smart enough to figure out how to escape from Ryan, Angel, and the police before it went into hiding. Hmph, have to give Cawthorn credit, though; seems as though he was smart enough as well to give it a brain. He loved it so much, he wouldn't dare destroy or burn the damn thing."
"Well, there's still a chance for you to help make things right again, Doctor. Come with us; if we tell everybody what happened to you and give you a hand with your story, you can help us stop him and the other villains and we'll get Skye's crystal back," Ash offered, smiling at the former scientist.
Silence fell upon everyone as Stacey thought for a moment before her heart grew heavy and she reluctantly declined the offer, turning away from the heroes, "...No. I don't want to bother you; the world is better now with you all protecting it. What I can do after everything I did? Where will I live if I go back out into the open? How would everybody react if they found out I'm alive? I had little to nothing for the last decade ever since I was saved by Raven apart from the food she had given me to repay me for setting her free... The truth is, I'm not frightened or alone anymore; while I've no family, no husband, no children, nothing for the rest of my life... I'm fine with having nothing apart from the ones I love with me who came to me and lived with me when I needed help; my truth: is to protect everyone, keeping myself in the shadows while doing so... I'm dead to everyone else and that's how I want to keep it..."
Everyone stared sadly yet sympathetically at Stacey as Moonbeam purred and nuzzled her friend, realizing that there was nothing left for her, not even a new future to call her own. And, yet, she just accepted it.
What she told them, however, was not what they wanted to hear but despite wanting to object to her words, the heroes couldn't find it in them to retort or convince her otherwise. Stacey had no real home, no job, no love life, no income of any sort, no family, nothing...… And, yet, it didn't matter to her at all; she was perfectly content with what she had on her now including her pet, her Pokémon with her, her dragon friends with their babies, and the bare necessities around her in her lair.
Seeing how content yet broken her savior is, Twoie went over to Stacey and gently nuzzled her, wanting to stay with the former scientist to comfort her at her lowest point.
Stacey smiled sadly as she gently caressed her old charge's head before she told her and the heroes, "You may leave now. And, thank you all for staying with me for a spell; it's, nice, to...…have some company now and then."
"You sure?"
"We don't mind staying a little longer if you want."
"Yes, please, no more Stacey putting Stacey down. Friends can help you whenever you're feeling so blue and you're not alone as you said you were," Robin, Tom, and Starfire offered with sad frowns.
Stacey nodded as she told them, "I'll be fine; if you need anything, I'll be here or out there watching over you."
Realizing that they weren't going to get any more than that from Stacey, the heroes decided to leave Stacey alone (with Sarah gently ushering Race to come with them as he continued to brood like mad over his birth parents) but Twoie remained where she was, not wanting to abandon the only friend she made a decade ago after she saved her from Cawthorn.
The former scientist noticed this and tried to coax her into leaving with the others as she gently said, "You, too, Raven. Go now, it'll be dark up there soon."
"...….I'll stay with you to keep you company. Liberty and the others will need to be warned along with Tom and his friends' parents, true, but I'm not gonna leave you like this," the demon wolf replied.
"I can handle myself with Dizzy, Hydrium, Callum, Veil, Moonbeam, and their babies; I survived the last ten years being a lone wolf with them by my side and with the food you've given me instead of scrounging about for what's worth in the city, did I?"
"Hey, you wouldn't last five minutes after getting those scars on your left cheek and being blasted by that bomb dumped in that dumb lab if I hadn't gotten you and that meteor my powers came from out of there, would ya?"
"And, should Cawthorn know I'm here once he picks me out somehow?"
"We and the others can fight him and the other villains with him together! You'll show everyone that you're nothing like him and his accomplices years ago!"
"Will we be able to convince them through actions and not just words?"
"...…I know first impressions are hard to break but... Just know that you're truly not alone when you have friends such as myself vouching for you, even the PAW Patrol, the Power Rangers, and their allies with them can speak up for you. The princess can also attest to your innocence and your good heart...…"
"...…You really think so after all these years, Raven?"
"When have I ever lied to you? Have I ever thought badly of you after you saved me using that syringe of Purification Power and when you unintentionally took the blast from that bomb for me before we escaped?"
Stacey had to smile following her little banter-fest with Raven; even if she was lying to herself in front of everyone else before they left, she was lucky to know that she had a true friend in the demon wolf she set free and the one who saved her from death because of her one act of kindness to her. Twoie felt the same way and she knew nothing was going to take that away from her and Stacey given their friendship which began that fateful night.
As Dusk approached, the heroes returned to the Aircraft and Dragon Carriers together in a downtrodden mood where Liberty, the Junior Patrollers, the Cat Pack, the KRS, and the adults were waiting.
"They're back, they're back! Whoo! How did it go?" Liberty asked eagerly as the others passed by her and the Junior Patrollers, still feeling ashamed of themselves for falling into the villains' trap and what happened after.
"Not good," Zuma replied weakly as everybody walked past.
"Come on, you're the Mighty Pups and the Power Rangers Mighty Knights! How bad could it be?"
The Junior Patrollers and Liberty's mood soon changed when Ryder came over and the wounded Cadence limped beside him (as she had woken up on the way back and was now well enough to be on her paws again thanks to Stacey but will be out of action until she is fully recovered given how extreme her previous condition was).
"CADENCE!" the Poms screamed frantically, worried for their second mother as they scampered up to her.
"Are you okay?"
"Please say 'yes'!"
"Please?"
"...…I'm fine, ugh. But, for-ugh-now, I'm out-ugh-of action, ugh," Cadence replied weakly as she continued to limp while Ryder supervised her gently, helping her onto the Aircraft Carrier.
"Cadence was right; it was all a trap and we fell for it," Marshall finished, turning to Liberty and still feeling dejected with the rest feeling the same way as they ignored her in their shame. "Skye's crystal was stolen and Humdinger, Victoria, Cawthorn, and Race's former parents escaped from prison before stealing it."
"Oh... So, really, really, not good?" Liberty remarked, aghast as the Junior Patrollers and the other adults looked at each other, feeling greatly concerned over the dire turn of events.
After leaving Adventure City to figure out where the villains escaped and took Skye's crystal, the cockapoo herself could only sit by herself in shame at the stern of the Aircraft Carrier. As she looked over the sunset on the horizon, she brought out her pink bandana and held it in her right paw, ashamed of herself and discouraged for brushing aside Cadence's warning and getting careless which resulted in her superpowers being stolen.
What made it worse was the fact that Cadence nearly pulled off a Kendrix to save her from danger thanks to Mirage's help (having been told about the ultimate sacrifice the Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger, Kendrix Morgan, made to save a fellow Pink Ranger, Cassie, from dying years ago which resulted in the former Princess of Darkness/Queen of Evil and the sister of Andros the Red Space Ranger: Karone (formerly Astronema), to emerge from the fold and take her place). She nearly died as a result of that sacrifice and Skye felt like she couldn't forgive herself for not doing more to help her sister figure but also keep her out of harm's way so she wouldn't hold onto life by a thread following the plane crash.
As she was thinking to herself what could've happened if she had been more careful while looking at her bandana, Chase and Hiccup, joined by Sarah, Rosebud, her brothers, Toothless, and Loki came up to her from her right while Tom, Eugene, Jun, Alex, D'Angelo, Olivia, Phillip, Angela, May, Carla, Hazel, and the Dragons of Rakke Town joined her from her left. All of them tried to figure out what to say to comfort her but seeing how she was wallowing in her shame and self-pity over everything that happened and Cadence's latest near-death experience, they knew they had to be gentle in their approach.
"Hey, Skye...…you okay?" Chase began carefully.
"...…I can't believe this; I lost my crystal, Cadence hung on to life by a threat pulling off the ultimate sacrifice, and I didn't see the danger in her warning until it was too late," Skye replied remorsefully, still feeling ashamed of herself. "I should've listened to her when she found out about Victoria's ploy through that phony message and now, she's out of action and we're two Mighty Pups down, all because of me."
"Skye, it's not your fault. You know Cadence better than that; she wanted to make sure you're safe after you lost your crystal. She's alright now thanks to Stacey so don't worry about it," Hiccup reassured.
"Hiccup's right, Skye. It could've happened to any of us," Chase added knowingly yet their reassurance didn't do much to change Skye's mood as she still looked at them dejectedly.
"But, it didn't! I brushed off Cadence at the worst possible moment, we found out our enemies and Race's former parents are out of jail, we got careless at the last moment, and now look what happened; it happened to me..."
The police pup then noticed the bandana Skye looked at in her shame and suddenly became curious about it as he inquired, "What's with that bandana, anyway? I never saw that before."
"I've always kept it hidden; you wouldn't know about it, otherwise. It's...back when I was younger."
Skye sighed sadly as some painful memories she had locked away for some time came into the open as she finally began to talk about her past and how she came to be in the PAW Patrol in the first place.
"When I was born, I was the runt of the litter. You know what that means..."
"You were the smallest in your family?" Sarah clarified softly, getting a nod from Skye as she added, "The smallest and the weakest..."
(Flashback)
[Play Learning To Fly - Christina Aguilera]
Years ago, Skye was a tiny cockapoo pup living on a farm with the rest of her family (comprised of herself as the only girl in the lot and five older brothers, all of them being bigger and of a darker shade of brown compared to her). What made her distinct from the rest of her family was the fact that she always wore her old bandana around her neck.
At the moment, her human owner, the owner of the farm she and her family were staying at, was giving them some puppy food. Her brothers happily crowded around the food bowl but their larger sizes made it impossible for Skye to find a place to join them and eat, leaving her with nothing, not even a few scraps, as a result of her small size.
"It's not always easy being the smallest, I learned pretty early on that everything's gonna be harder for you...…"
Then, came the day when she and her brothers would be put up for adoption. A family that came to the farm was hoping to adopt one of them which got Skye excited as she scampered over to the family, hoping that she would be picked only to discover that one of her brothers was taken, leaving her depressed and dejected as she was overlooked for him. The months passed, and as summer turned to autumn and autumn turned to winter, Skye was the only puppy left on the farm and her brothers were all adopted, having not been adopted herself due to her small size.
"When you're the smallest, you're always picked last. And, sometimes, you're never picked at all...…"
But, just when things seemed to be bleak for the little cockapoo, fate stepped in and saw her through; on one particular winter day, her ears perked up and she heard someone approaching the farm. She woke up and pushed a broken plank of wood on the barn door to find Ryder (who was six at the time) delivering a package for the farm owner, sharing a fist bump before he prepared to leave.
"Eventually, I realized that if I wanted a better life, I needed to take matters into my own hands..."
Unbeknownst to the farm owner, Skye crawled out of the barn and went after Ryder as he left on his ATV. All the while, the hero boy and future commander of the PAW Patrol had no idea that he was being followed as she tried to keep up but couldn't as he was getting further and further away and her small paws made her unable to catch him in time. Eventually, she stumbled and fell, losing Ryder in a whiteout the further they went along the blizzard.
"No! Come back!"
Despite losing Ryder, the little cockapoo was still determined to make a better life for herself and she pressed on, fighting her way through the blizzard to find him and be truly happy. The trek felt like hours but finally, as her tiny body couldn't handle the cold, she began to lose the battle as she fell, getting dizzy before she finally closed her eyes.
After a moment, she opened them again and saw Ryder (who had received a call from the farm owner that she had run away from the farm, the pair having realized that he had been followed by her after she saw the hero boy) looking for her. When he finally found her, he went over to her and gently held her, feeling worried for the poor pup and wanting to help her as he tucked her in his open jacket.
"I gotcha, it's okay. Let's get you out of the cold."
(End Flashback)
"I shouldn't even be in the PAW Patrol. Ryder didn't want another pup, and if he did, he wouldn't have picked one as small as me," Skye finished, leaving everybody in stunned silence and sorrow at how insignificant she was feeling.
"I had no idea, we all didn't," Chase admitted, feeling bad for his best friend and former crush.
The others didn't know what to think; her dwarfism left people thinking that she would be an unsuitable pup to become something like a guard dog or a service dog when she grew up and it was an unfortunate stereotype/stigma that left her feeling self-conscious about her size. It was an unfortunate stereotype for some people to go for wanting bigger or medium-sized dogs as was the case with Alaskan Malamutes and German Shepherds and smaller breeds including cockapoos and Pomeranians getting the short end of the stick in terms of adoptions.
Hiccup thought back to his and Zenna's days of being the underdogs of Berk as he looked at the horizon, completely understanding Skye's sentiments as they knew all too well what that meant.
"I know how you feel, kid; compared to Zenna and the others, before Sarah and her family came to Berk, I was the weakest and the smallest. It's always Viking tradition to call the runt of the little 'Hiccup', makes sense given how much I've always been the lone wolf and useless outcast compared to my father. I spent years trying to prove myself to them despite how scrawny I am but I kept getting brushed aside as a result," he confessed gently.
He sighed as he added, recalling everything that happened throughout his and Zenna's first big adventure with their Night Furies, "When Sarah and her family arrived for the first time, the day when Zenna and I first met Stryka and Toothless, we finally did something that changed everything for our world and Berk. But, back then, I still felt inferior and less compared to my dad. No matter what I did, he never accepted me... I wanted to change who I was so I could be the perfect Viking in his eyes."
Hiccup then smiled softly as he finished, "However, when I got caught up in the Viking trials after seeing how we Vikings are not so different from dragons, I realized that... Maybe I didn't need to change who I was to be a perfect Viking; I'm just perfect the way I am and that makes me a true Viking. My dad realized that, too, and he's learned to accept that truth as well."
"Hiccup's right, Skye. How do you know Ryder wouldn't have wanted you if he didn't come back for you? Look at me, I'm the smallest between me and my brothers and I don't have superpowers, either, but we're cool with that," Rosebud said, trying to cheer Skye up by emphasizing her plight on a relatable note.
"There's a reason Ryder chose you to be in the PAW Patrol, Skye. Chase is in the PAW Patrol and Ryder adopted him because he saw a hero within him that even he didn't know about. I'm sure Ryder saw something in you as well when he adopted you," Sarah went on, gently rubbing Skye as she put away her bandana, still feeling insignificant.
"When I had superpowers and I became someone like Superman, Wonder Woman, or even the Power Rangers, for the first time in my life, I felt like I wasn't the smallest or the weakest...… I'd do anything to get my crystal back and make things right with Cadence," Skye confessed, vowing to do what she could to right the wrongs she made while the others continued to frown at her with empathy and sympathy.
Meanwhile, the Junior Patrollers were continuing with their training as the Poms and Buddies rappelled down the Aircraft Carrier's bridge successfully and using their fire extinguishers to put out new candles that had been lit for them (the Poms showing amazing progress thanks to Cadence and Liberty's methods and encouragement as they were able to pull off their exercises more successfully without making a single mistake).
"Awesome! That's your best time yet," grinned Liberty who had to take the brunt of the training program herself with Cadence incapacitated due to her wounds.
At that moment, Ryder came over to the Dachshund as he had a hard call to make with her given the danger of everyone's current situation, "Liberty, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Okay, puffballs, guys, take five. Better yet, take zero, do some push-ups," Liberty told the Junior Patrollers who howled in affirmation before they started doing push-ups and leaving the savvy pup to join the hero boy. "I'm tellin' ya, Ryder, these puffballs are the real deal! And, if Rosebud and her brothers ramp things up, they'll all be in the dig for real!"
Ryder smiled sadly before he confessed, "Liberty, I know it's not gonna be easy for you to hear this but...…. We gotta end the Junior Patroller program."
Liberty blinked as she gasped, "What?"
"It's too dangerous now; Skye's superpowers have fallen into the wrong hands and Cadence is out of action. And, now that Humdinger, Victoria, Cawthorn, and Race's blood parents are out of jail, we have no idea what's coming."
"But, the puffballs and the buddies can help! Sure, they're little and they're not ready yet but I heard you say 'no pup's too small' like a million times!" Liberty denied, believing in her and Cadence's trainees.
Ryder could only stare at her sympathetically as he knelt before her and said, "I know the Junior Patrollers mean everything to you and Cadence. But, for now, we need to keep them safe. Do you want to tell them or should I?"
"Tell us what?"
At Nano's question, Ryder and Liberty jumped and turned to the Poms and the Buddies, all of them having listened in on their conversation and wondering what they were talking about. Liberty, who had now cared deeply for the Poms in addition to the Buddies, didn't have the heart to tell them about the Junior Patroller program ending so the hero boy took it upon himself to break the hard truth.
"Mini, Tot, Nano, Rosebud, Mudbud, Budderball, Buddha, B-Dawg, I've got some tough news. I'm...….I'm ending the Junior Patroller program."
"What? No...!" Nano cooed as he and the rest of the Junior Patrollers were aghast over the arrangements.
"I'm sorry. Hopefully, we can pick it back up again when things are safe."
"When is that gonna be, Ryder?" Budderball asked.
The hero boy was unsure as he only replied, "...…I don't know."
With Race, he was in his room, unable to take a nap to clear his mind as he struggled to come to terms with what he heard; his birth parents were now on the loose and they were looking for him in addition to the PAW Patrol, Sarah, their families, and everyone else who helped him out of his rut years ago.
Unable to sleep, he took out his newfound anger and hatred on Rosa and Jacob in the Dragon Carrier's training room. As he pulled off some kickboxing moves on a punching bag, he felt his anger mixing with the fear he once felt regarding their harsh and cruel treatment of him while he was growing up. Rosa and Jacob called him nothing but weak and insignificant for years until they abandoned him and left him for dead on Adventure City streets and until Brandon found and adopted him, he believed them.
It also angered him in a way because it was Rosa and Jacob and their cruelty that led him to meet Brandon, his family in the Battle Frontier, his becoming a Pokémon Trainer, meeting Sarah and her friends, and their becoming a couple and getting married, all of which was now at risk with his birth parents now coming to seek revenge.
Eventually, it all boiled over when he let out a pained and enraged scream when he recalled their final words to him after they dumped him, landing a hard right jab at the punching back and causing it to hit the wall behind it. He felt like crying as he let out another scream moments later, ditching his gloves and slamming his hands down on the floor, tears coming out of his eyes and wanting nothing more than to be rid of the people who made the early years of his life a living hell.
The former Battle Frontier champion then heard a knock on the door as he turned to it, and then, someone called, "Race? Are you in there?"
"...Yeah, Dad?" he said, the door opening to reveal Brandon as he, Agatha, Anabel, Greta, Spencer, Noland, Tucker, and Lucy entered and saw him in a broken state (having been called by Ryan and informed of Rosa and Jacob's escape, forcing them to return to Adventure City for Race's sake).
"Hey, bro, the commander called us over when he mentioned Rosa and Jacob broke out of jail. How are you feeling?" Greta questioned as Bella and Robbie joined them and went to their human father to comfort him.
"Not, okay. I never thought I'd have to hear about them again after all this time; I thought it was all over when you found me and made me a part of your family. But, now, after hearing that they're out there...…"
Race gritted his teeth as he clenched his hands harder, continuing to feel the mix of fear, anger, and hatred over his birth parents boiling like mad in his heart before Brandon gently led him to one of the benches where they sat together and he was next to his son from his right. Unsure of what to do with the ones responsible for a chunk of misery in his life, Race buried his face in his hands, a million emotions running through his mind.
Realizing he was stressed knowing that Jacob and Rosa would be after him, Agatha came over and placed her right hand on his left shoulder and told him, "You know they'll do anything they can to hurt you, right?"
Race just nodded, leaving his entire family to hug him as they came around the young man and embraced him, knowing that he has come face-to-face with the reason behind his tragic past for the first time in thirteen years and facing Rosa and Jacob will be his greatest challenge yet as the man he is now.
Night fell; by now, nearly everyone had fallen asleep as they needed their rest to prepare for their eventual confrontation with the villains and put an end to their evil ways before they could do any more harm to everyone around them, especially since they now have Skye's crystal on them. Right now, Ryder is the bridge as he diligently tries to pinpoint the villains' current location so they can find Skye's crystal but he has come up with nothing so far as he couldn't get its energy signal.
As he did so, he felt guilty about what had happened to Skye and Cadence and was determined to make up for his own mistake, feeling like he was the one who let them, his team, and his friends down, having also fallen for the villains' earlier ploy.
"Ryder, I'm sorry I lost my crystal and Cadence got hurt," Skye called, appearing before him and sitting down as she couldn't find it in herself to sleep either.
The hero boy shook his head as he confessed, "It's not your fault; I never should've sent you both up there alone or without Cadence's crystal even though we knew what it meant if you had help or took it with you."
"But, it would've been taken, too. I just kept thinking; if I weren't so small and useless, I could've stopped them from taking it let alone stayed with Cadence to help her stop the plane before she pulled off the ultimate sacrifice."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Skye; the important thing is you're okay and we didn't have a repeat of what happened to Kendrix. We're gonna get it back; I've set the computer to scan the city sector by sector, scanning for the crystal's energy signature," Ryder replied, showing her the bridge computer's scans for her crystal.
"Say the word and I'm ready to go!" Skye vowed, wanting to get back into the action.
However, Ryder (still feeling guilty about what happened to his cockapoo and malamute) had other ideas as he told her, "Skye, I'm sorry but... I'll need you to stay behind with Cadence on this mission."
"...…What?" puzzled Skye in bewilderment, turning to him.
"You don't have your superpowers anymore and there's no way Cadence can help us since she's still recovering. Her crystal wouldn't accept you since it already chose its owner and you're the most vulnerable out of all of us right now."
"But, I have to do something! Cadence was nearly killed because of me and Dr. Cawthorn will be after her once he finds out she's here and not with the rest of you!"
"My job is to keep you safe. I failed you and Cadence when I sent you to rescue him and the other villains without realizing their emergency was a trap so until we get your crystal back, I need you to stay here where it's safe AND to look after Cadence. This also means helping Liberty look after her and the Junior Patrollers until the danger is over and your crystal is back where it belongs."
"That's not fair!"
"I'm sorry, Skye. My decision is final, and right now, this is for your own good. Try to get some rest, you'll need it," Ryder finished, feeling just as exhausted and exasperated over the matter despite being firm in ensuring Skye's safety along with Cadence's given their current conditions.
With that, and a heavy heart to boot, the hero boy petted her and went to his quarters to rest while Skye was left alone. But, the cockapoo was no longer concerned about getting some sleep; she still felt guilty about what Cadence had to do to protect everyone including her after her crystal was stolen and she wanted to make things right with her after she didn't listen to her about the villains' emergency trap. She then looked at the map, determined to get her crystal back and avenge her adopted sister, no matter what the cost.