Scarlett-Whitecross20 and Bluewolfbat present…
A PAW Patrol Macroquel adventure starring…
Snowflake and Chester; our OC pals returning for a third time. Joined by Ned once again.
Chapter one: Confused Awakening
Ringing in the ears came with a horrible thump. A heaviness laid over his head, though it seemed to be lifting gradually. However with that relief, the awful pain that remained still plagued him.. but for once in another part of his body.
He groaned as much as he was able too, which didn't seem like much, and his first wonder was..
Where am I?
His eyes felt so heavy he thought they were swollen shut, but then a tender touch removed a heavy layer and they stung with whatever sudden light had been turned on. He waited for quite some time in this hazed state, for fear that opening his eyes would sting his eyes out. Muffled sounds mumbled around him, or maybe from just one side.. Either way he hardly could tell.. or care. All he could think was..
Aoh my head!
Still, after what seemed like an eternity, the sting had all but gone down again. And as a result, he decided finding out where he was, was important enough to take a risk..
Even cracking his eye open seemed to take a lot of effort, and even though the ringing had faded to silence, that heavy thump still pounded at a very slow even pace. And as he gained more ability to open them both, his vision was severely blurred. As he began to feel more aware.. He realized that his chest felt lighter somehow.. Or at least less heavy,.. less burdened than it had before.
What had changed?
Then a memory came back to him..
xxxx
"I'm sorry ok!" He called up to them.
Followed by a flash of the fall.
xxxx
Flashing back out of the memory seemed to ignite the pain all over again and he winced with a grunt.
Ahn! Now I remember.. He groaned internally.
But his curiosity still wouldn't relent. His vision began to take shape as noticeable movement approached his field of vision and they began to form figures of living recognition.. And voices could finally be made out, even though it was still muffled.
"You sure he'll be okay? It was good we got him out, but ice is hard!" Snowflake's voice commented with concern.
"Yeah. What if he got a concussion?" Ned's voice questioned.
"He probably does.. but only time will tell if any damage was done." His ears recognized the voice as Marshall, as his vision finally began to clear.
Chase groaned out loud, almost like he was trying to earn all of their attention.
"See.. he's waking up." The soft voice of Rocky mentioned.
"Finally?" His sarcastic brother asked.
"Give him a break, Chess, he's had a rough few days.." An unfamiliar, yet familiar voice countered gently. "Even more so than the last few weeks from the sound of it."
"What should we do?" Skye wondered, as his eyes were finally adjusting to where he didn't have to blink as much.
"Give him time to adjust. Then check how he's doing.. Carefully. No rushing him," Snowflake insisted.
"Ow.." Chase muffed, though they could barely tell that's what he said.
"I'm sure it is.." Marshall figured. "But hopefully once we medicate you and put ice on it again it'll feel a little better."
"No..no..that..again.." Chase groaned, though again it was so muffled by both the blankets and his own rough speech.
"You'll be fine, it'll hurt for a bit, then you'll be all good again." Marshall assured him.
"Yeah,.. and high as a cannon.." Chase mentioned loosely.
"Don't you mean kite?" Chester guessed.
"I said that.." Chase muffed.
"Uh.. sure you did.." Chess nodded, then turned to those among him. "Great, he's already started and we haven't even given him a thing."
"Well confusion is a symptom of a big bump on the head." Marshall reasoned.
"Concussion.. You can say it, we're all old enough to comprehend what that means, dude." Chester remarked, his dynamic tone leveling up and down like a rollercoaster, as Chase shifted his head with a hard wince.
"Woah, woah, woah, don't you be getting up just yet," the older German Shepherd immediately cautioned. "You just got the bells and whistles knocked outta you! Wait till you're not so busted, ok?"
"Now who's spouting fairytales.." Chase replied sarcastically.
"I'm not sure that's what he actually meant." Rocky figured.
"Probably not, but just go with it," Marshall figured.
"Wait, Marshall, how strong is the medicine? As much fun as loopy Chase is, a big concussion and a loopy pup isn't good. He'd be jumping off the walls in his head while his brain needs to rest. I may be a goofball, but even I know that's a bad mix. Kinda scary," Ned commented, voicing his concern.
"Exactly. And us holding him down wouldn't stop his brain from going crazy while trying to rest. It's like trying to hold down a sugar crazed kid who's sick!" Snowflake added.
"That's why I'm adding a sleeping aid in the mix to make him too sleepy to wanna move.." Marshall informed her. "Which means he may fall asleep on us for a while too.. But honestly this medicine is strong enough and the injury is just extensive enough I bet that won't happen."
"I sure wouldn't wanna do anything after my noggin got knocked.." Zuma shook his head.
"Just think how he feels." Skye sighed.
"Marsher!" Chase cried.
Marshall was standing over Chase prepared with a needle while Chase had one paw up trying to push him away.
"That's not my name, Chase.." the Dalmation said. "But once your brain gets a good long rest you'll remember what it is."
Once the needle stick calmed the pup back to sleep Marshall sighed, pulling a paw out from under the German Shepherd's limp paw.
"What do you think, Ray?" he said. And the golden lab of the group came up to look softly down on the sleeping pup.
"I think we've got our work cut out for us." Rayla said.
xxxx
The next time he awoke felt lighter, but the distant pressure still kept him as still as before.
"What trickery befalls my restless imaginings.." he said blindly,.. not even opening his eyes, where he lay snuggled under blankets and on pillows.
"What was that, Chase?" a voice asked, though he didn't have the brain power to determine who.
"Nothing my bits can't handle.. I've done it.." Chase mumbled.
"Bits?" another voice echoed.
"Yeah.. bits that shine like sunsheen-shine.."
"Haha, that doesn't even make sense!" the first voice giggled.
"Neither does, 'the fortnight be with you'.." the rasp in this third voice jogged some bit of recognition and a fit of frustration arose with the difficulty remembering.
"Sounds to me like your signals are more crossed than we thought." Now this voice was so familiar it was right on the tip of his thought.. But still his reckoning couldn't quite recollect.
"Come on, guys just snap him out of it already, tell him he's speaking nonsense." a more dominant and even sarcastic voice said.
"No! You'll hurt his feelings, he can't help it!" a softer voice declined.
"What's there to hurt?" Chase murmured. "My heart's already scattered.. Look, I wear it on my paws.." Now somehow on his back he'd lifted his forepaws up to peer at both.
"Ouh! There you go! Starting him back on another tangent! Real helpful, guys!" Chester complained.
"I don't really think he needs a lot of help with that." Marshall mentioned. "He'll hopefully get more lucid as time goes by again.. You guys should all relax."
"I'm not worried," the calm knowledgeable voice said.
"Neither am I!" the bubbly one agreed.
"Shouldn't we though?" the raspy one asked.
"Maybe.. A little?" the sarcastic one wavered.
"I know I am!" the soft voice decided.
"We all need to relax." Marshall reinforced.
"Chill out! That's it! Go out and jump in the snow bank, that'll do it!" a Chester sounding voice suggested.
"No! Brrrrrrr, that sounds cold!" an appalled water hating voice cried, shuddering.
"Maybe just be calm and help him relax. He's been crazy before and he doesn't need that now," Snowflake insisted.
"Indeed. Poor Captain Brownpaw is in no shape to go on a quest to find cheddar and cheese while protecting the cheese from fluffle puffs. Captain Brownpaw Chase needs his rest," Ned inclined, teasing a bit.
"Ned! Not the time!" Snowflake snapped gently.
"Fluffle puffs?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What?! AhaHA! What-what is that?!" the border collie guffawed, rolling on the ground.
"Shhh! Sky!" A soft voice hissed.
"Wait.. Captain.. Brownpaw?" the chihuahua echoed, and Chase could just imagine him arching an eyebrow at this, just based on his confused tone. "Do I wanna know?"
"Probably not." the raspy voice deadpanned.
"Just let him get it out of his system.. Then he'll be back to normal." An older, more nostalgic voice interjected. "At least it may give him something to laugh about now that that pressure seal has been broken."
"Whatever you say, Boomerang.." Rayla's voice finally could be recognized.
Boomerang! Willing himself to look for the old Aussie rendered no success. But it made him feel all the more aware even though his body still seemed to be trapped in a deep slumber.
"Well, according to Chester, Fluffle Puffs are some imaginary creatures he and Chase had to fight against. We thought Fluffle Puffs were a brand of dog food. As for Captain Brownpaw.. look at Chase's paws! It makes sense why he would call himself Captain Brownpaw," Ned explained calmly.
"More like caramel colored to me- Don't even think about it!" Snowflake said in a straightforward manner, before snapping at her brother.
"Awww. No caramel for us?" Ned replied innocently.
"We don't need sugar!" Snowflake said, rolling her eyes. "I hope Chase wakes up."
"We could hug him awake. Is he warm enough?" Ned suggested.
"No way! That'll just bug him.." Chester cried. "Our best bet is to leave him be."
"Then let's go do something else and let him rest," Snowflake said.
"Ugh,.. can I have my marbles back?" Chase groaned even as he sensed them wandering away.
"You didn't lose your marbles, Chase, just the medicine!" Snowflake commented simply.
"Chase just relax and get your bearings back and-"
"Bearings? I lost my bearings?! I need those!" Chase wailed dramatically.
"I got your bearings, Chase, here you go buddy," Ned said gently before giving Chase his stuffed officer bear plush.
"Oh.. thank you.. Welcome back, buddy.." Chase hugged the bear.
"Ok, now rest please." Marshall half begged.
"Ok, ok.. *yawn*.." then Chase laid back down again.
And everyone sighed with relief.
xxxx
Blurred vision was finally realized as open eyes, and he began to notice his own internal voice returning to where he could hear his own thoughts again. However as he began to think again something began to come back to him.
"Adventure Bay-ah!" A weight dropping on his head pounded like the beat of his heart in his brain, and a wave of lightness washed over him.
"Easy soldier.." he heard a familiar voice tell him, which he recognized immediately in surprise.
"Rayla?!" he gasped looking up as he slowly recovered again. "What are you doing here?!"
"We were waiting for you actually," the golden lab shrugged.
"Yeah! What took you so long?" Skye asked, pushing in over Rayla's shoulder.
"We were beginning to get worried." Kylie added softly, from Rayla's other side.
Then three other familiar dogs, among the rest of the team emerged.
"CiCi? Tiny, Boomerang- what are you all doing here?!" Chase asked, clearly taken aback by everyone in front of him.
"We heard about your fall and the PAW Patrol finally decided to enlist us to come help.." Tiny explained. "We were starting to wonder if you were even gonna make it."
"Don't scare him!" CiCi accused.
"We knew you were gonna be fine the whole time.." the wolf dog assured him.
"Regardless, we all just wanted to make sure you were alright.." Boomerang said, to put the argument to rest.
"How do you feel?" Marshall asked softly.
"You mean other than the awful headache and burning eyesight from all the bright light? Just wonderful." Chase replied bluntly, and they could sense his distaste at the last part.
"Hmmm. Marshall, anything we can give for the headache? Rayla, try to dim the lights," Snowflake suggested, feeling bad for the German Shepard pup.
"No wait! I got a better idea than dimming the lights.." Rocky exclaimed eagerly, then suddenly things darkened.
"Oof! Sunglasses?" Chase vocalized, adjusting them on his nose so they fit better.
"Sure, they'll make the light a little easier on your eyes for a while," the mixed breed confirmed. "Then we don't have to make it as dark as a cave in here for the rest of us."
"But we're inside." Chase protested.
"Just go with it.." Chester told him.
"But, but.." Chase began to counter..
"Just go with it.." Rayla suggested, leaning over to mention this, then stepping over to fully stand next to him.
"That's what I said?!" Chester complained.
"*sigh* fine.." Chase gave in.
"What?! I-.. That's what I JUST SAID!" Chester wailed. "The pain.. OHHHHH the PAIN!"
"Relax Chess, you've hurt worse before." Chase sighed, rolling his eyes.
"And again.. I'm sorry.." he added earnestly, turning to them in guilt.
Chester and the pups stared for a moment in silence..
"Well, that apology will have to suffice for now," the older German Shepherd decided, with somewhat of a snooty attitude, that he was obviously faking. However, peeking an eye down, Chase's frown broke this persona a moment later.
"Ok! Kidding! Sheesh!.." Chester surrendered.
"But.. I'm glad you're ok." He finished in a more serious manner.
"Thanks." Chase smiled slightly. "So.." he paused for a very long time, about to say something a couple times before finally managing to speak again..
"How long was I.."
"Out? Three days I believe," Snowflake answered before turning to the rest of the pups for confirmation.
"What?! Ahn!" Chase gasped, having to lower his head again to wait for the pounding headache to appease itself once again.
"Easy there, you got a pretty nasty bump on the head." Boomerang advised. "How much do you remember?"
"Um.. I remember the cliff.. And the argument.. And the falling.."
"Sounds like you remember a lot.." Marshall commented thoughtfully. "And actually it was more like five days.. Cause you were kinda in and out of sleep the last two days resting."
"Ugh, great." Chase groaned, laying down to set his head onto his paws.
"Hey, it could've been far worse." Boomerang reasoned. "Let's just be glad a bump on the head is all we have to worry about."
"Yeah! Oh and guess what?!" Skyler mentioned, touching noses with Chase.
"Your leg is all better!" she exclaimed, grabbing his paw and maneuvering it back and forth a couple times till Chase pulled it away.
"Yes, got it.. Thank you Sky..ler.." Chase quickly recovered seeing the Cockapoo, Skye coming over. "Hehehe, uh… right.. Can't be two Skye's around here.. Too confusing."
"That's ok,.. I'm sure we'll know kinda what you mean." Skye shrugged.
"So I've been out for roughly three to five days.." Chase finally rationalized.. "What did I miss?"
"Quite a bit actually." Rayla said. "Word has it, a couple of our Pals ran into our new friend Snowflake a couple of weeks ago."
"Yeah, I met Skyler and Kylie when I went to hang out with Alex Porter. Then you two suggested seeing Jake and Everest to help Chase. Thank you, it was a helpful suggestion," Snowflake said happily, remembering meeting the two PUP Pal members.
"You're welcome," the Border Collie and Cocker Spaniel replied.
"Wait, Skyler and Kylie said they needed to leave because of an emergency. What was that about?" Snowflake asked as she recalled why her two new friends had to leave.
"Ah, that's because they received a call from me.. about a certain 'situation'.." Rayla mentioned, then began to tell the story.
Hellloooo and welcome!.. As you may know this series has been going on for a while now. And it's kinda been dragging out a bit, but! Thankfully this'll finally be the LAST entry to this storyline.. Unless major things change. But we do not intend to add on after this.. Instead we look to produce other stories after this with a different plot altogether.
That being said, if you haven't already please read through the following stories in the following order, to catch up on all the action thus far; Spooky Pups, The Road Back, and The Wounds We Heal. And how crazy was it that we made it to 68 chapters last time! Holy cow, definitely our longest story to date!
Anyway, thanks for sticking with us on this journey and we'll see you in the next chapter. Thx!