Vigilante PAW

Chapter Forty-Four: Dual Dalmatians

Ryder slowly got off of his ATV, keeping his helmet on as he made his way back to the entrance of the lookout tower. His eyes remained low, glued to the asphalt of the driveway beneath his feet. His mind raced, a million questions a minute running through his brain. Though, through all of the questions that seemed to plague his stressed mind, one in particular kept coming back. Louder and louder by the second, the question made Ryder stop in his tracks to ponder on it.

"What are we going to do?"

After getting a signal from Chase's tag, which was situated in the Foggy Bottom pound, Ryder assumed that it wouldn't be too hard to get them back. All he needed to do was go there and show proof that Chase was his pup. Maybe Marshall too, if he had actually ended up in the same place as the police pup. It was a simple task! No need to bring the entire team there!

Right?

No, it wasn't that easy, apparently. When he asked about Chase and Marshall, he had been informed that they were scheduled to be transferred to another pound in Toronto by train in half an hour. There was absolutely no way he'd make it to the station on his ATV in half an hour, so he was left with no choice but to return to the lookout and figure out their next move. And he was beginning to figure out what that next move was.

He brought out his pup pad and pressed a button, activating the tags of those on the PAW Patrol who still had them, "PAW Patrol, to the PAW Patroller!"

Turning on his heels, he faced away from the lookout and ran toward the PAW Patroller. There was no way he was walking through those doors without them. After everything that happened, he would never walk into the lookout without them again.

Just like always, the pups, despite how near or far they were, made it to the vehicle quickly. Perhaps even quicker than ever. Maybe it was the knowledge that they were one step closer to bringing Marshall and Chase back to the lookout and reuniting the team for the first time in nearly a month. Maybe it was the remaining PAW Patrol's drive to give Marshall the apology he rightfully deserved. Regardless of their motives. One thing was clear, the remaining PAW Patrol members wanted their team back, and would stop at nothing to ensure that they were back home safe and sound.

Ryder stood in the center of the mission room of the PAW Patroller as the pups rushed in, the sounds of claws tapping against the sleek floors calming his anxiety for just a moment.

"What's going on?" Rubble was the first to speak, "Where are Chase and Marshall? Didn't you go to get them?"

Rocky was quick to correct, "We still don't know if they're in the same place, Rubble... We might have Chase's tag, but Marshall might be somewhere completely different."

"Whaaaaat!?" The Bulldog animatedly gasped, "But that would be twice as hard!"

"They're in the same place," Ryder confirmed, his eyes still trained to the ground, "They just aren't where we thought they were."

"So then where are they?" Skye asked.

"Well, they were in the Foggy Bottom pound, but now... They..." The young leader hesitated, "They..."

"Get on with it, human!" Hood snapped, rolling his eyes, "We don't have time for the theatrics."

The boy looked over at the wild Dalmatian, who seemed to be over the entire situation. Ryder knew full well that Hood and Marshall weren't the same pup, but every time their eyes met, he couldn't help but to think about when he did think they were the same pup. That day he accused Marshall of the theft, letting the culprit get off scot free. That was, until Rocky and Everest brought him to the lookout and he confessed to the crime himself.