Chapter three: Chilly Timing!
"So you guys were doing what with the thoughts we presented.. while I was out?" Chase wondered.. "I mean uh..-"
"You mean, what were we doing while you were out?" Marshall asked. "You mean after we fished you from the Bay?"
Then everyone began to think back again..
XXXX
"Woah!..Woah! So windy!" Skye cried, trying to keep her copter straight, then zeroed her goggles in on the floating brown blob in the churning water just below the Lookout tower cliffside.
"Quick before he goes under!" The cockapoo yelped, as Zuma and Ryder appeared on their watercrafts.
"We got him.." Ryder said, pulling the German Shepherd pup, who was completely out cold, up onto the dingy they'd brought attached to Zuma's hovercraft. "Now let's get back inside!"
Then all three vehicles retreated for land.. and then home..
xxxx
"Ryder, is he ok?!" Marshall gasped, once they'd all gotten inside. The three team members that had just stumbled in panted as Ryder carried Chase in and set him down, so he could drop to his knees and hold his chest with the other hand.
The soaking wet pup lay there without moving, but they could tell he was breathing at the very least.
"Come on.." Ryder groaned, finally pushing himself up to stand. "We gotta figure that out! Ah!"
"Easy Ryder.. you shouldn't have gone on this mission.." Marshall told the boy. "I've got it from here."
And the boy's gaze and earnest nod gave him the incentive of respect and thanks, which inclined the Dalmatian to "assume command" so to speak.
"Rocky, I need my gear.." Marshall began, turning to the mixed breed. "Skye, Chess.. we need blankets for Chase, Ryder.. and Zuma.."
"You got it!" The two pups responded, even while Rocky was long gone.
"Ned, Snowflake let's get him up onto this transport and get him somewhere more comfortable." Marshall finished sending his gurney rolling over to them, somehow pushing it just right for it to slow to a stop right in front of the two pups.
"Okay! Ned, you get the lower half, I got the other half!" Snowflake said as she carefully lifted Chase by scooping him onto her front paws. Ned did the same with Chase's lower half, and while using the gurney as a support, the two husky pups lifted Chase onto the gurney. "You have straps or should we hold him?" Snowflake asked.
"We won't need them, we're only gonna slowly move him over to the pillows so we can assess him.." Marshall replied. "Once we determine if he has a spinal injury we'll rule that in or out and hopefully know how to proceed from there. If he doesn't have a spinal injury, we'll be able to move him to a pillow to rest. And if he does, we'll need to stabilize him for transport."
"Okay," Snowflake said with a nod. She and Ned stood next to the gurney ready for whatever Marshall needed.
At this moment Rocky returned, and Skye was just covering Ryder with a blanket, as Chester was waving for Zuma to climb onto the pillow next to them so he could cover him up as well.
"Thanks.." the Dalmatian thanked the mixed breed, strapping on his vest and pup pack. "Ok, now let's rule something out.. Ruff! X-ray screen!"
Once the X-ray device arm retracted out, the screen pixelated downward from top to bottom, then showed the bones of Chase's shoulders and back.
"Ok,.. one congested shoulder still healing, we already knew that.." Marshall muttered to himself, "Ok, now.. No broken bones that I can see.. Let's try infrared and nerve activation.. ruff!"
Then at his command the screen panned down as heat seeking colors, and another layer revealed the firing nerves of his entire body.
"No severed or pressured nerves.. and no signs of this occurring at all. He's officially cleared of any spinal injuries," he determined, glancing at the group.
"*sigh* isn't that a relief!.." Ryder sighed from where he was, sitting against a beanbag that had been leaned against the elevator.
"Thank goodness!" Snowflake said with a breath.
"So what can we do now?" Rubble asked, coming up next to him with a smile.
"Well since we've also ruled out a neck injury.." Marshall mentioned. "I think we can safely say the head injury is all we got so far."
"Ok but shouldn't he have woken up by now?" Chester asked. "I mean, he can't have hit it that hard, right?"
"He just fell half the length of the cliff or more onto a partially frozen bay,.." Marshall mentioned bluntly. "I'm sure 'major headache' isn't the only thing he'll have to deal with. The force of falling and the lack of rest he's been getting have both probably played a role in this.. and it's not uncommon for an injury like this to leave them unconscious for a day or two."
"So like a coma," Chester figured, "Swell.."
"Not- quite,.. but kind of.." Marshall shrugged, reluctant to fully correct him.
"Wait, how will we know if his injury is getting worse if he can't tell us?" Snowflake wondered.
"I'll keep monitoring him, and scanning frequently to make sure.. If the scans show anything suspicious we'll treat it as an emergency and take care of it accordingly." Marshall decided. "If it comes to that."
"What do we do in the meantime?" Rocky wondered.
"Well, what about what Chase told us? What do you pups think? I know he wanted to deal with his problems himself and isn't used to being taken care of, but... I imagine he's had help before. So why refuse now?" Snowflake mentioned
"That's just how he is.." Chester shrugged. "Very set in his ways.. He just doesn't like to be 'taken care of.'"
"We've all seen it.." Rocky said, "Chase is always taking care of things.. Especially us.. he's our 'safety net' pup for a reason."
"Ryder always says he's a 'working pup' and he 'likes to be busy' but sometimes I wonder if we put too much pressure on him." Skye said.
"You think this is our fault?!" Zuma gasped.
"Not exactly.." The cockapoo replied quickly. "I'm just saying.. He always has our backs.. But sometimes I wonder if we really show him that we have his…"
"Why wouldn't we? Chase is our friend and teammate, of course we would have his back!" Snowflake retorted.
"But he doesn't need to act like he's carrying thirty backpacks! We can help him out if he ever needs us. Even if that's how he is, no pup can handle having so much pressure on themselves like that. Chase deserves help and a break from doing everything for everyone!" Ned commented sympathetically.
"If he would let us! He'd just accept the task or whatever is needed to be done and tell us to just let him take care of things. But you're right; Chase needs to let us help him. There are times where we can take care of many jobs or helping him when he's got a lot going on," Snowflake added matter-of-factly.
"And that's why I think we should bring in some extra help to make sure he stops going too far." Chester said.
"What do you mean, Chess?" Skye wondered.
"Chase has already gone too far.." Marshall added. "I mean how much worse could he possibly get after this.."
"Not much I hope,.." Chester replied simply. "But who would wanna find out.. All I'm saying is as unlikely but possible as it sounds.. He might try to back track on whatever you call that.. confession, I guess we'll call it that.. And deny he even said it or remembered saying it at the very least just to escape it,.. And who is the only other group that can call his bluff better than we can?"
"His parents?" Ned guessed
"Ryder? I can't think of anyone else... wait... The Pup Pals! They helped him through this before! Is that who you were thinking of?" Snowflake wondered, before coming to the realization.
"Bingo!" Chester pointed. "They've seen an angle of him we may never understand.. Which means they may view this through a different lens than us.. And have enough of a standing with Chase that we could only hope for.. They might just be our ace in the hole on how to hold Chase accountable for his confession.. No going back on it just because he's afraid to face it."
"Sounds good to me!" Snowflake remarked.
"Ummmm. Angle? Different lens? Ace in the hole? But we're talking about Chase! Not shapes, math, glasses or golf!" Ned commented in a confused voice.
"He means the Pup Pals may be able to understand Chase in a way we can't and make sure he doesn't try to lie, deny or act like he never did his confession. The Pup Pals can make sure Chase tells the truth, even if he doesn't want to," Snowflake clarified.
Ned nodded.
"So? How about it?" Chester asked, looking amongst the group. "Shall we make the call?"
"Yes!" the two husky pups agreed before turning to the rest of the team. And several nods resulted.
"Ok then,.." Chester nodded.. "Now who would like to do the honors?"
"I will," Snowflake offered. "But I'll have to ask Ryder, since I don't know how to call the Pup Pals."
"Way ahead of you.." the boy said, tapping a few things on his pup pad which made her pup tag flash with its usual blinking sound, which would begin the call..
xxxx
"O-kay.. So you talked about it.. And then called them.. And then I woke up?" Chase recounted.
"As a short summary.. yeah.. pretty much." Rocky nodded.
"The first three days you were completely 'dead to the world' as they say.." Chester mentioned. "And the last two you've been in and out of consciousness or sleep or,.. whichever one it was.."
"I would have made the call, but the moment it started to ring... I had to 'let nature take its course' so I passed my pup tag to Ned. Who tried to sell Rayla a prize that was never for selling. Then I returned and talked to her," Snowflake added.
"So that's what happened there." Rayla realized. "Everything makes sense now."
"Ok ok I get it.." Chase shrugged, waving a paw at them gently. "So.. what are we doing now?"
"Well for one, you're gonna rest." Rayla decided. "That brain of yours is still a little fried. And we're gonna work on devising a plan for your recovery."
"Ok but-"
"Nope, not another word.. Rest! That brain needs no thinking and no worrying. I will start a white noise if I have to.."
"Aw no.. not that again," Chase groaned.
"Whatever it takes, soldier." Rayla shrugged. "Now rest!"
Chase just closed his eyes since he was already laying down, and tried to look as busy sleeping as he could.
"Ummmm? White noise? But white is nice! It's the color of paper, snow, no colors, almost clear. How can a noise named after a peaceful color be bad?" Ned asked, confused and curious at the same time.
"White noise is sooooo annoying!" Chase groaned, rolling his upper half onto his back slightly, though his eyes remained closed.
"Okay, I was just wondering," Ned remarked.
"Ryder, I'm curious. I know it's storming, but how bad is it?" Snowflake asked the ten year old boy.
"You mean about to storm?" Ryder clarified.
"Yes. If Ned and I can't get back home, then we'll have to let our families know we're staying here," Snowflake explained.
"I'm afraid it looks like it's almost here.. It's starting to snow already.." Ryder sighed. "You pups might be stuck here again.. Who knows how long it'll last."
"Another storm?" Chase vocalized.
"Shhh! White noise.." Rayla threatened in more of a lighthearted, humorous way.
"Ah man! Can we call our families please?" Snowflake asked politely.
"Go for it." Ryder replied, shrugging.
"Thank you," Snowflake replied, before she and Ned went into the elevator. The elevator went up to the top floor, and once Snowflake and Ned exited, Snowflake pressed her pup tag to call home.
"Hello?" two voices answered. One sounded like a male version of Snowflake, but a bit deeper and the other sounded like a female version of Ned's but slightly lower too.
"Brian? Melody? This is Snowflake. Sorry to bother you but I wanted to tell you something," Snowflake said apologetically.
"Go ahead," the two voices replied. "Ned and I are going to be staying in Adventure Bay with the PAW Patrol. There's a storm arriving and we won't be able to come back home soon. So if we miss Christmas with our families, we're sorry," Snowflake explained.
"Actually, funny you should mention all of that because we already know about the storm. In fact, we're coming to visit you two," Brian responded.
"YOU WHAT?!" Snowflake and Ned exclaimed in shock, now concerned for their siblings.
"Yeah. Turns out the storm blocked roads and the whole town is helping out with clearing the snow and ice. However, everyone is also busy during the Christmas season. So busy that our families couldn't find friends or family to watch us, so we're coming to visit!" Melody told them.
"B-B-But, why not stay in Sunlight?!" Ned countered with a bit of concern.
"Well, everyone is just visiting in town only, and with all the mess this storm is causing, the families decided some pets could go be in nearby towns, so we're heading over to see you guys. Food, water, and other supplies are being sold, Christmas decorations are flying due to the wind, salt is being poured onto the roads, shovels are digging snow by anyone who can, and temperatures have been dropping. It's crazy!" Melody emphasized.
"Wait, how are you coming if the roads are blocked?" Snowflake asked. "I called the family when I was driving to pick up Ned. We haven't talked to either of you in months!"
"Once the storm was on it's way, planes volunteered to take pets and people to nearby towns. We're ahead of the storm, but it's picked up speed. We'll drop in, then the plane will fly ahead to go around the storm back to Sunlight," Brian answered.
"Dropping in three... two... one..."
The call dropped and both Huskies heard a plane above. They ran outside to the balcony, and saw that towards the East, a gray plane was flying above them. Red, white, and green lights shined on the wing tips, the nose, tail and sides of the plane.
However, through the snow, two small figures jumped out and were falling towards them. Within a minute, the figures deployed two parachutes, one gray and the other purple.
"Wahooo!" Brian and Melody cheered as they floated down.
Suddenly, they pulled on something before releasing two backpacks.
Fwoosh!
Two more parachutes popped out, one blue, the other green, as the solo parachutes floated down towards Snowflake and Ned.
"Thank you!" Snowflake said before the backpacks landed, and she got covered by her blue parachute. Ned grabbed the other backpack with his paws before getting covered in his green parachute. The two huskies giggled as they flailed about under their colored parachutes, before Brian and Melody landed onto the balcony. Their gray and purple parachutes covered them as well.
"Come inside!" Snowflake yelled before she blindingly led the group inside the mission room of The Lookout. The three other parachute engulfed huskies followed her by the sound of her struggling.
Once inside, the wind stopped and the doors closed.
Ta-da! Another chapter ready to go! And what fun to welcome Bluewolfbat's other OC's; Melody and Brian, for their first EVER debut in fanfiction! Hooray! Congrats, buddy, they have arrived! And in quite an epic fashion I might add. Can't wait to see how they mix with our ever growing cast of various new faces. Also can I just say how crazy it is how many pups we now have to work with! That's just nuts!
Anyway, all things considered, we have tons of new opportunities for shenanigans in general, but with the next upcoming holiday there could prove to me many more! So stay tuned as we keep on keepin' on this rollercoaster train to Christmas. I wonder what might happen next. B) ;)
Either way? Enjoy, and we'll see you next time! Thx!
