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“Dear Santa,
I am really grateful for my family and I do believe you have been watching us for a year long. If you remember us, we were the one who helped you two years ago in Adventure Bay. I still remember those days like it happened yesterday! It was fun times.
And my reason for writing this letter? I just want to ask for the best Christmas for this year. When I say “Best Christmas”, I mean I can spend my time together with the team, especially Chase and Ryder, and they can get what they want. That’s my wish: Spending time with my family.
Maybe, though… I wish I can meet you again this year. I want to ride on the sleigh again with my friend, and I want Ryder to take the ride, too. Don’t force yourself, though, if you can’t.
With love and regards,
-Marshall”
“Marshall? Are you done with whatever you’re doing there, buddy?” Chase’s voice woke Marshall from his daydreaming.
“E-eh! Sorry, I’ve finished the letter. My bad,” Marshall folded the letter carefully and put it in an envelope.
“So you’ve been writing some letters, huh? To whom are you going to send that letter?” Chase patted his brother’s head.
“Well, not anyone special. Just to Santa. You know, like those kids in the town who always write about their wishes to Santa, and sending them to the North Pole…” Marshall looked at Chase and giggled. “Sounds childish if it is me who did so, right?”
“Nah, I don’t really see why not. We are still considered young, anyway, but we’ve matured. Just that,” Chase laughed. “And to be honest, I find it cute of you to do such thing.”
“I take that as a compliment,” Marshall blushed.
“How are you going to send that mail, though?” Chase pointed to the envelope.
“How about the local post office? Just give it a shot, I guess?” Marshall scratched his head.
“Alright then, we will send it later. Ryder’s been waiting for us, you know. Keep it safe, and after we are done, I will take you to the post office,” offered Chase.
“Sure! Thanks! You’re the best.” Marshall hugged his brother for a moment and they went out to meet the others.
After having dinner, Chase asked for Ryder’s permission to go to the post office for a while just to send the letter Marshall made earlier, and Ryder allowed those two to go with a condition that they must return as soon as possible. Putting up their winter hat, Chase and Marshall went to the post office in the cold winter night with Chase’s car.
“Brr! It’s really cold!” Marshall shivered. “I guess carrying these thermal packs would actually come in handy…” he applied the pack for himself and Chase too.
“Better?” Chase asked him.
“Yep. Better,” Marshall sighed in relief.
“I’m already used to this kind of weather, so I don’t really need any protection other than my hat. But, thank you for being so thoughtful.” Chase nuzzled Marshall’s cheek and smiled.
“My natural instinct as EMT, I suppose,” Marshall laughed, followed by Chase’s laughter.
Finally, they’d arrived at the post office.
“Just insert the letter to the mailbox over there.” Chase looked at a big orange mailbox.
“Will do.” Marshall jumped down from the car with the letter on his paw, but he slipped for a moment.
“Marshall! Careful!” Chase winced.
“Worry not! I’m good.” Marshall grinned to Chase.
“As usual, huh,” Chase could only shake his head.
After entering the letter to the box, Marshall jumped back to Chase’s car, and without any words, Chase revved the engine and drove back to The Lookout.
“Do you think the letter will be delivered to the North Pole?” Marshall embraced Chase’s shoulder and rested his head on it.
“As long you believe, it will.” Chase took a moment to pat Marshall’s head, and continued driving.
“I kind of like the snow.” Marshall inhaled some fresh night air. “It’s quite… cool for me. To see these snowflakes falling on us, it’s awesome.”
“Me too. I am always excited for winter. Maybe we should spend a night together later on,” Chase said.
“I’d love to,” whimpered Marshall happily.
“Sometimes time flies quite quick, right? I thought we just had our Christmas yesterday, and now we’re going to have another one in five days,” Chase chuckled.
“Yep. Just like us. I thought you just confessed to me, like, three days ago. Turns out we’re going to enter our third year.” Marshall held Chase’s arm and hugged it.
“H-hey, don’t distract me, Marshall! We might get ourselves in trouble!” Chase shook Marshall’s paw off from his arm. “Sorry. I just don’t want to harm both of us.”
“No, no. Sorry. It was my fault, hehe.” Marshall’s face went red and he put both of his paws on his own lap.
“You’re cute when you’re blushing, Marshall,” Chase giggled. “I guess this is an old joke, but don’t people mistake you like your fire truck whenever you blush?”
“Shut up!” Marshall pinched Chase’s side.
“Yeowch! Hey!” Chase laughed and rubbed his side for a moment. “Cute.”
“I’m not!” Marshall punched it this time.
“Cute~” Chase kept on teasing.
“Chaaase!” Marshall pouted and kept on punching.
“You know, Santa might remove you from the “Good Kids” list if you keep on doing this.” Chase chuckled.
“But you were the one who teased me in the first place! So it was supposed to be you!” Marshall finally stopped.
“I just want to say the truth that you are the cutest brother I’ve ever had, though. You overreacted for it.” Chase rubbed Marshall’s head and continued driving.
“F… fine…” Marshall finally admitted defeat and closed his eyes, still laying his head on Chase’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, hehe. At first, I don’t even understand why you’d say yes to me when I ask you to be my brother. But now I do understand why.” Chase nuzzled Marshall’s face. “Well, we’re close to the Lookout. I bet Ryder must be at the balcony looking for us.”
“Thanks, Chase. For everything.”
“Just doing my job as your brother.”
December 24th, a day before Christmas…
“The same Christmas tree from 2 years ago, huh?” Katie asked Ryder.
“Yep. This is what we have, after all. As long we can preserve it, I don’t see any reason planting, or buying, a new tree,” Ryder shrugged.
The pups had been decorating the tree for two hours already, and they were almost done. The day was starting to get darker, yet the noises from the pups didn’t show any sign of them stopping anytime soon. They have to finish the decoration before Santa comes.
“But why are you guys decorating the tree just now?” Katie raised her eyebrow while looking at Ryder.
“Hate to admit it, but the past few days have been busy and noisy for all of us. I can’t let the pups work overtime; unless it is an emergency, I can’t let them work beyond 7.” Ryder sighed. “But, at least today we are free and we can start decorating before the night falls.”
“Sorry to hear that. Lucky that you guys still have time for this, though.” Katie patted Ryder’s back. “Be careful, Marshall!” And her attention went to Marshall, who was carrying a box full of ornaments.
“Huh?” Marshall looked away from his direction and instantly crashed on both Rubble and Rocky.
“Guys!” Chase, Zuma, and Skye helped those three from the mess.
“You okay, dude?” Zuma pulled Rocky away from the pile of ornaments.
“As long nothing breaks, I’m good.” Rocky cleaned himself from the snow. “Is Marshall okay?”
“I’m good!” Marshall appeared from the stack of ornaments and laughed. The others laughed too. Chase helped him to get out from the stack.
“Be careful next time, Marshall. You might break an ornament or two, though.” Rubble shook his head. “And the idea of crashing me… that’s just bad.”
“Sorry for that, Rubble, Rocky. I was careless.” Marshall scratched his head.
“You guys okay?” Ryder approached the gang along with Katie.
“Yeah, we’re fine. Let’s clean this up first.” Rocky pulled his pincher from his bag and started putting the ornaments back to the box.
“I’ll help. Sorry, it was my fault that I called him.” Katie grabbed some ornaments and put them in the box too.
“No need to feel bad. We need some dose of messes sometimes,” joked Skye. “After all, it’s almost Christmas. The day of forgiving, right?”
“Heh, you.” Zuma chuckled.
After installing some ornaments, they are finally finished with the decorations. Just one more left.
“Arf! Wings!” Skye pulled her wings out from her pup pack, and she bit the star. “Let’s take it to the sky!” She flew to the top of the tree in order to put the star on it.
“And that’s the last one!” Chase cheered up. “Finally! We’re done!”
The tree looked beautiful with ornaments on it, such as plastic candy canes, colorful bells, Christmas lights, and some angels. With the shining yellow star on the top, their Christmas tree was complete.
“That took long enough!” Rubble put his tools to his pup packs. “We did great, guys!”
“Suwe we did,” Zuma nodded. “I can’t wait to see Santa again!”
“Heh, probably that thing won’t happen again now. Or, I don’t know. Maybe a miracle will happen!” Ryder chuckled.
“I wish he could, though…” Marshall whimpered.
“Something’s wrong, Marshall?” Rocky asked.
“Ah, nothing. After all, all I wanted for Christmas is just some family time with my friends and Ryder.” Marshall grinned.
“Aww, that’s so sweet of you, Marshall,” said Skye.
“I hate to say it, but yeah, the past two years have been busy for us on Christmas. First, it was Santa who needed our help, and the next one was the concert, plus some terrible accident,” Chase agreed with Marshall.
“Whatever it is, as long you guys are here with me, I don’t care,” Rubble shrugged.
“Yep, the family is what mattews.” Zuma nodded.
“We better get in now. It’s getting dark. I bet you guys are hungry after decorating the trees. Katie, want to join us for dinner?” offered Ryder.
“Thanks for the invitation, but I’ll pass. Cali must’ve been looking for me, and it’s also dinner time for her. I must return to the pet shop. Catch you guys later!” Katie waved goodbye to the team as she walked away back to her home.
“See you too!” Everyone also waved back to her.
“C’mon, pups. We better get in. We also still have to prepare some cookie and carrots for the reindeer, right?” Ryder asked the others and walked to the Lookout’s entrance.
“Ah, right! We have to prepare for it!” Marshall ran to the entrance, but tripped on his way, hitting Ryder’s leg. “Yowch…”
“You alright, Marshall?” Ryder lifted him up.
“Yep. I’m okay. That hurt a bit, but shouldn’t be a problem!” Marshall grinned.
“Hey, Chase, I wonder what’s your brother made of?” Rocky nudged Chase’s side.
“Oh, not much. Just made of love, that’s all.” Chase smiled and helped Marshall. “Need help to walk? You looked like you just sprained yourself.”
“I guess.” Marshall sheepishly laughed. “Silly me.”
“I’ll help you fix your wound later.” Chase lifted Marshall’s paw and put it on his shoulder.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Marshall looked at his friends and only grinned.
“That face doesn’t look like a face that someone who sprained his legs would show,” Skye teased them.
“Spwained or not, I hope he’s okay.” Zuma shook his head and smiled.
Everyone went in to have their dinner. After finishing dinner, they prepared the treats in case Santa visited them, which were cookies and milk for Santa, and some carrots for the reindeer. The pups decided to sleep earlier inside the Lookout because they were really exhausted and it’s quite cold outside.
However… some moments before midnight…
“Paw Patrol, wake up! Something happened in front of our Lookout!”
Every pups’ tag was bleeping, followed by a voice note from Ryder.
“H… huh? Wh-what happened?” Chase was the first one who responded. He scrubbed his eyes and woke the others up. “Guys, wake up. We got a call.”
“Ryder… I still want to sleep…” Marshall yawned. After a pinch from Chase, he woke up instantly, grimacing in pain. “What was that for!?”
“Ryder called us! We better be quick! Help me wake the others up, Marshie!” Chase tried to wake Rocky up while asking so to Marshall.
“Fine…” Marshall yawned once again and shook his head to regain consciousness.
They woke the rest of the gang, and after everyone’s awake, they went outside, only to find a…
“WHAT IS SANTA DOING HERE!?” Everyone was surprised at what happened. But not in a good way.
“We need to help him! Quick!” Ryder ran to the sleigh. Something bad happened.
Santa was not in a good condition. It looked like he was caught in a storm, which also caused his reindeer to be injured. The sleigh was fine, but the reindeer were not.
“Ho ho ho, sorry, kids, for waking you guys up. But I ran into some trouble here.” Santa went down carefully with the help of Ryder.
“What happened!?” Ryder asked him.
“Well… something hit some of my reindeer, and they got injured. I guess it was some kind of birds that were migrating quite late, and some crashed at my reindeer. Without them, we couldn’t continue. The sleigh requires 8 reindeer in order to fly, yet some of them are unable to lift the sleigh properly. I can’t risk myself for it, so that’s why I decided to stop here.” Santa explained the rest of the problem. “I believe a small rest will help them recover, but it might take a moment or two.”
“Wait, then. I’ll call Katie first. She will take care of these reindeer so they can recover faster.” Ryder walked away from them and pulled out his pup pad, calling someone on his phone.
“But, if you can’t do it, then who’ll send these presents to the kids?” Marshall pointed to a sack full of presents.
“How about us? We can travel around Adventure Bay, and send the gifts via chimney!” suggested Rubble.
“The only one that’d be capable of doing so is just Skye, actually. No one othew than hew can fly,” Zuma alerted them.
“How about the Air Patroller?” Rubble asked once again.
“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but the Air Patroller is under maintenance. Including the gears, too. And no way we can pull out Skye’s Ultimate Copter, since our gear is included in the Air Patroller, too,” Rocky frowned.
“Then… how? Who will do it?” Everyone tried to think about a solution. By the time they were thinking, Ryder had finished calling Katie and currently waiting for her arrival.
“Umm, sorry for disturbing your thinking, kids, but… since this is a serious predicament, I guess I have to pull out my secret item.” Santa Claus interrupted all of them.
“Huh?” Everyone looked at him.
“I read your letter, Marshall.” Santa looked at the Dalmatian.
“What? My letter?” Marshall pointed to himself.
“Yes. I remember that you asked me if you, along with your friends, can fly again with the sleigh. Maybe… can I ask for some help from you guys?” Santa pulled a small brown pouch.
“What is that?” Skye asked. “And what kind of help would you like to ask?”
“I want you guys to fly this sleigh for me.”
That sentence caused a great shock among the pups, including Ryder.
“You want us to WHAT!?” Rubble was the most shocked one.
“But we are just small pups! And also, we can’t fly! Other than Skye, I mean. But, still!” Rocky also complained.
“You know, kids, sometimes, magic happens in Christmas.” Santa opened the pouch he was holding slowly and he revealed some sparkling dust in it.
“What… is that?” Ryder asked.
“Some magic dust. When spread over to someone, they will have the ability to fly, and also they can lift this sleigh as long there’s enough member. However, you guys need two more pups in order to fly this. If I’m not mistaken, you all know someone called “Everest” and “Tracker”, right?” Santa mentioned those names like they’ve known each other for so long.
“Y-yeah, we do!” Marshall nodded in doubt. “We do.”
“Alright then. Please call them so you guys can help me with this.” Right after Santa said so, Katie arrived at the Lookout.
“Whoa, looks like some reindeers got into some serious trouble… What happened?” Katie approached one of the reindeer and caressed it.
“Long short story, they went into an accident. That’s what,” Ryder answered briefly.
“Alright then. I have carried some medication for them. You guys go help Santa.” Katie put her bag and prepared for taking care of the deer.
“Back to the topic. Can you call Everest and Tracker?” Santa asked Ryder.
“Sure thing. Chase, I need you to pick up Tracker, and I need Skye to pick up Everest by the mountain. I will alert both Jake and Carlos to wake them up. Is it okay?” Ryder started calling with his pup pad.
“Sure thing!” Without any hesitation, both Chase and Skye transformed their house into their vehicles and zoomed away as soon as possible.
“Careful, you guys!” Everyone bid them farewell.
“Now, what for us?” Rubble looked at his friends.
“Santa, you haven’t told us much about the dust. How can we use it?” Marshall asked.
“Oh. Right.” Santa walked over to Marshall and spread some bits of the dust. When the sparkle ended, Marshall’s paws were floating from the ground.
“Whoa, whoa! Help!” Marshall panicked and tried to keep his toe back to the ground.
“Worry not, kid! Just calm your paws for a moment,” Santa said. “Just relax your body, and let your relaxedness guide you.” He told Marshall how to control himself.
Marshall nodded and took a deep breath. After a while, he just floated on there. No more flailing around the air.
“Oh, right! After relaxing, I can control my own body. Wee!” Marshall flew forward and spun around for a while, laughing.
“Marshall! Careful! You might cra—“
Before Rocky could finish his sentence, Marshall stumbled on the golden star they put on their tree this evening. His body was spinning wild until he hit the Lookout’s glass. Everyone, including Santa and Ryder, winced on it.
“Marshall!” Ryder ran to him. Despite the fact Marshall always harms himself by accident, Ryder knew that could’ve terribly hurt Marshall. “Marshall, you alright?” He lifted the Dalmatian and shook his body.
“Uh… give me a break or two… Or maybe some stars with me…” Marshall looked confused. That crash obviously hurt him.
“Rocky, fix the star. I’ll make sure Marshall’s fine first,” Ryder carried Marshall to Katie’s position. "I need some of your first aids. Don’t mind me, I’ll do it myself.”
“Sure. Suit yourself.” Katie pushed her medic bag to Ryder.
“Alright, Ryder!” Rocky looked for the star and checked it after he found it. “No damage suffered for the star. I just need to put it up there. Santa, may I try to learn how to use the dust?” He asked Santa to help him.
“Sure. I’m sorry for your friend, though.” Santa spread the dust carefully on Rocky, and Rocky started floating.
“Worry not. Marshall was just too excited. Although now I’m worried about what Chase would say when he sees this…” Rocky controlled himself, and he flew to the top of the tree to put the star back to its place. “Done!” Carefully, Rocky flew back to the ground and landed safely. “It’s actually easy when you’re used to it. Try it, guys!”
Both Rubble and Zuma also tried the dust, and just like what Rocky said, they flew with no problem.
“Woo hoo! This is awesome, dude!” Zuma giggled. “How’s going for you, Wubble?”
“I never felt much more awesome than this!” Rubble did some air tricks. He was way much more careful compared to Marshall, though.
“Alright, enough with the training. We better get ready.” Rocky asked those two to come down. “Ryder, how’s Marshall?”
“He’s good now. But he got to wear these bandages on his head. He bonked his head like crazy…” Ryder pointed out the bandages he meant. “I better get ready myself too, since Santa needs me to control the sleigh.” He approached Santa.
“That crash was awesome. But I won’t commit it again,” Marshall chuckled.
“Don’t.” Zuma also laughed.
“Oh, right. I forgot.” Santa took off his hat and put it on Ryder’s head right when Ryder stood next to him. “I believe that your pups have their own intelligence. All I need from you is to make sure they are safe and deliver the presents to everyone in the town. Sorry to put you in this.”
“O-oh? Just that?” Ryder looked at the hat from down below. “…I can’t believe I’m wearing Santa’s actual hat…” He put his hands on the hat and examined it only with it.
“Thought that was something you dreamed long ago.” Santa chuckled.
“Y-yeah… now I just remember you can know such thing…” Ryder laughed nervously.
“You look cool with the hat, Ryder!” Rocky complimented him.
“Yeah, dude! That looks awesome!” Zuma also added up.
“Aww, thanks, guys.” He patted those two.
“That kind of makes me think. Do we have to wear something else other than the dust?” Rubble asked.
“I somewhat predicted any of this will happen. Ryder, fetch me something from the sack. To be specific, a box with dog bones wrap on it,” Santa ordered him.
With no more question, Ryder searched the sack and found the box Santa mentioned.
“Now, open it,” Santa told him to.
When Ryder opened the box, he saw 8 headbands with antlers on it. He checked the size, and it was pup-sized.
“Wha…?” The four pups looked at the antlers.
Ryder put on one of the headbands on Marshall’s head. It fitted perfectly.
“H… how do I look?” Marshall looked a bit shocked and blushed.
“You look fine for me!” Ryder smiled. “I’m glad that we don’t have the red nose for this,” he joked.
“H-hey! Don’t, please.” Marshall covered his face in embarrassment.
“Ooh, ooh! May I get one too, Ryder?” Rubble asked excitedly.
“Sure! Here, let me put it for you.” Ryder took another one and put it on Rubble’s head.
“Hehe! This is cool!” Rubble said.
“Me too! I want one too!” Zuma rushed to Ryder’s hand.
“Hey hey! Calm down!” Ryder laughed and put a headband on Zuma.
“Wocky! Wocky! How do I look?” Zuma panted after looking on his pair of antlers and asked Rocky.
Rocky blushed red and fell down on his paws. “O-oh… now I understand why Marshall doesn’t want anyone, to be specific Chase, to see him in antlers…” He covered his mouth.
“Wh-what’s wong, Wocky?” Zuma tilted his head.
“J-just stop acting cute won’t you?” Rocky blushed deeper and walked to Ryder, asking for his pair of antlers.
“Haha, Rocky, silly you.” Ryder scratched Rocky’s ear for a moment and put his antlers on his head. “Yeah, have to admit Zuma and Marshall looked cute with the antlers.”
“See? I am worried what Chase would say about him now!” Rocky still tried his best to remove the blush on his face.
“Say about what?”
That voice surprised both Rocky and Ryder. When they looked back, it turned out Chase has returned with Tracker.
“¡Hola a todos! (Hello everyone!) I heard the mission already. I’ll help you guys!” Tracker waved to his friends. “And ooh, nice antlers! ¿Dónde las conseguiste? (Where did you get that?)”
“Ah, hello Tracker!” Everyone greeted him back.
“Well, Santa gave it to us!” Zuma answered.
“Oh, really? Wow! ¡Eso es genial! (That’s cool!) And, Santa! I never see Santa before!” Tracker sounded really excited.
“Hello. You must be Tracker, right?” Santa chuckled. Tracker nodded in excitement.
“Anyway, why are there only three of you?” Chase asked, looking for his brother.
“He… he’s here.” Rocky stepped aside, his face still red.
“D-don’t look at me!” Marshall cowered. His voice was shaking.
“Hey, dear, what’s it?” Chase approached him and looked at Marshall with a pair of antlers. “O-oh…” Chase had the same reaction just like how Rocky did. Rubble and Zuma only laughed at the scene, while Rocky held his laughter. “Rocky, what happened to him!? I mean, I know about the antlers, but what happened with the bandages!?”
“Don’t ask me! Ask Ryder! It was the same exact thing I’d ask if I was from somewhere else only to find Zuma with a pair of antlers!” Rocky stammered. “As for the bandages… your brother was caught in some… accident…” he rolled his eyes when saying so.
“Good lord, why even…” Chase rubbed his cheeks and checked on Marshall. “Dear, what happened?”
“Marshall, don’t even try to make a pun out of that.” Rocky glanced before Marshall could answer.
“Oh, h-hello Chase. Which one are you asking?” Marshall replied with embarrassment on his tone.
“Your wounds,” Chase answered firmly, he has hidden his shame.
“A-ah… it was me being reckless.” Marshall scratched his head. “But I’m fine, for now! Ryder and Katie took care of me. I’m fine, deer.” He intended that pun.
“OH GOD MARSHALL I TOLD YOU NOT TO MAKE A PUN OF IT!” Rocky moaned. Marshall giggled.
“It’s not Marshall without a pun, actually.” Chase chuckled. “Alright then, be careful when we are flying later, okay? I’m not costing myself to see you getting hurt again.” Chase patted his brother’s head. “And hey, those antlers fit on you.” Chase giggled.
“Th-thanks…” Marshall scratched his head and laughed. “I’ll try to be careful.”
“Tracker, Chase, I need you guys to wear these antlers too and ask Santa about the magic dust. Yeah, we’re going to fly with the dust, Tracker, for your information.” Ryder called those two.
“Alright, be right back.” Chase nuzzled Marshall for a while and ran off.
By the time they were learning about the dust’s mechanism, Ryder heard Skye’s helicopter. He looked at the source of the sound and saw both Everest and Skye in her helicopter.
“Careful guys!” Ryder said to the two pups who were learning about the dust.
“Whoa! They are flying?” Everest, who noticed what happened, asked.
“Yep. I suppose that’s Santa’s magic dust.” Skye also looked amazed. “That’s awesome. Never have I seen anyone flying without any helping tools.”
“You haven’t tried it yet?”
“Nope. I haven’t. Before I had the chance, I had to pick you up. Chase arrived earlier, I see.”
“I see. Then we better hurry, I bet they’ve been waiting for us.”
“Good idea.” Skye flew down to the ground and landed safely. “Hey, guys! Sorry for the wait!” Skye jumped off from his helicopter, followed by Everest.
“Hello, guys! Seems like you boys have experienced some fun already!” Everest laughed.
“Hey, Everest!” Rocky, Zuma, Rubble, and Marshall greeted her.
“Whoo hee!” Chase flew in front of them and landed like how a superhero does. “Hello, Skye and Everest! What took you long?
“Caught in some heavy wind. You know, mountain area…” Skye scratched her ear.
“I get it. You guys better get ready, we’re flying as soon you guys are ready!” Chase pointed to Ryder.
“Woo hoo! ¡Esto es divertido!” (This is fun!) They heard Tracker laughing in the air.
“Hey, Tracker! You better get down now! We need to prepare for flying soon enough!” Rubble called him.
“Oh? ¡Está bien!” (All right!) Tracker flew down, back to the surface. “Anyway, hola Everest. It’s nice to be in the same mission with you.” Tracker greeted Everest.
“Now you mentioned it, we never get deployed at the same time!” Everest chuckled.
“No wonder, you live in the snowy mountain and I live in the jungle. We live in two different environments.” Tracker laughed.
“Looking forward to your cooperation!” Everest wore her antlers and bowed down.
“You too.” Tracker nodded.
After learning how to fly, they prepared themselves on the sleigh.
“So, Ryder, keep that list with you. You’ll have to send everyone in this town a gift, I’ve prepared everything for everyone.” Santa warned Ryder.
“Oh, wait! I forgot!” Ryder positioned himself on the sleigh. “How can I know which present is whose?”
“Just think of their name. The sack will give you their gift.” Santa caressed his reindeers. “Katie, how are they now?”
“Most of them have recovered quite well. I’m surprised for their recovery speed, though.” Katie gave one of the reindeer a carrot. “Good luck, guys!”
“Sure, Katie! Anyway, pups, you ready?” Ryder checked his pups. He communicated with them using their pup tags, just in case they can’t hear Ryder directly.
Everyone was wearing a harness connected to the sleigh, with Chase and Marshall in the front line, followed by Rubble and Tracker, Rocky-Zuma pair, and Skye with Everest behind them. The harness was originally reindeer-sized, but luckily Santa made some customization with the help of Rocky for the size.
“I’m ready!” Chase adjusted his harness. “Uh, Marshall, you okay?” He looked at his brother.
“I’m fine! I… am just scared of flying again, actually. You know my fear, hehe.” Marshall sheepishly laughed. “But I’ll try to face it. Everyone needs us, and I can’t let you guys down.”
“That’s the Marshall I know.” Chase grinned. “How are you guys back there?” Chase looked back.
All of them responded that they are ready.
“Ryder, we’re ready. Waiting for your command to fly.” Chase reported.
“Thank you for the report, Chase.” Ryder adjusted his Santa hat once again and checked the sack. “Wish us luck, guys.” He bid farewell to Santa and Katie.
“Good luck, Ryder!” Katie bid farewell to them.
“Get ready, pups! Paw Patrol is on the roll!” He shook the reins to warn the pups. Every pup howled, and they started flying with the sleigh.
“H-hey! I can’t believe we actually flew this thing with us controlling it!” Rubble said nervously. “I’m scared but excited for this!”
“Just keep your paws flying! We can do this!” Rocky encouraged the team.
“This sleigh feels like nothing when there are eight of us, really…” Marshall mumbled to himself.
“Did you try to lift the sleigh yourself!?” Chase asked.
“Well, not exactly. But, to think that us, 8 little puppies, carrying a big sleigh along with a sack full of presents and a boy… It feels unreal.” Marshall tried to focus on the way.
“Hate to break your bubble, Marshall, but we’ve faced something way much more unreal than this,” Skye answered. “This is still okay for me.”
“Skye had a point there.” Chase nodded. “Worry not, Marshall. We can do this.”
“Guys! Our first destination is the city hall! Be careful!” Ryder alerted the pups.
“Alright, Ryder sir!” Everyone turned their direction to the City Hall.
Arrived at the City Hall, the pups stopped a bit to the front so Ryder can give the present himself.
“So… present for Mayor Goodway, Justina and Julius Goodway, along with Chickaletta…” he looked at the list, and checked the sack. He pulled out four gifts. “Uh, does Santa dropped himself down by the chimney or does he throw it?” Ryder asked the pups.
“Uh…” Everyone thought about that for a moment.
“I guess he jumped down,” Marshall answered.
“Well, okay then.” Ryder sighed. “Here goes nothing.” He grabbed the four gifts and walked to the chimney. “How does Santa do it, with a body that big though…”
“Careful, Ryder…” Chase sounded worried.
“I’ll be fine. I’m coming down!” Ryder jumped and thought of nothing but landing safely.
The pups waited at the outside. There was no response from Ryder after that jump.
“Is he okay?” Everest wondered.
“Knowing Ryder, I bet he’s okay.” Skye looked at the chimney. “But jumping with no safety equipment…”
“Just calm down, guys. Ryder will notify us if anything goes wrong. So far he hasn’t called us,” Chase assure the whole group.
After a short while, they felt someone jumping to the sleigh again.
“Ryder! ¡Estás de vuelta!” (You’re back!) Tracker sighed in relief.
“We were worried about you!” Everest did the same.
“It was scary to jump like that. But I made it safe and sound! At least,” Ryder chuckled. “I wasn’t sure what happened, but it felt like the gravity stopped around me to let me land safely.”
“That’s cool! I guess that could be the hat’s powew, too,” Zuma said.
“I suppose. No wonder Santa could do this all of his life.” Ryder grabbed the reins. “Enough talking! We still have a lot to be done!”
The pups howled, and they continued their delivery. They focused on the Adventure Bay’s city first, including Mr. Porter and Alex, Danny, Ms. Marjorie, and the other Adventure Bay’s resident, including Katie too. They continued to Farmer Al and Farmer Yumi’s place, then continued to Seal Island to give Cap’n Turbot and Francois’ gifts along with Wally’s. After making sure everyone in the Adventure Bay got their gift, Ryder checked the time.
“It’s 1 AM already,” Ryder yawned. “We still have one more in the list.”
“Who is it?” Zuma asked.
Ryder went silent for a moment, only to read, “Mayor Humdinger” in the list. Everyone stopped in the air for a while.
“Mayor Humdinger? How could he be on the list?” Chase and Skye asked in unison. They knew the rivalry between their team and the Kitten Catastrophe never ended until this point.
But, sometimes they are allies. “I guess he had been a help for some of our missions. I know, he caused so many trouble, but there are times when we teamed up, don’t you guys remember?” Ryder shrugged and put the list back in his pocket. “We better keep on going guys, we’ll talk on our way.” He grabbed the reins and gave it a small shock to alert the pups.
“I’ll say. There are times he’s a good guy. I remember he caught me once from Ms. Marjorie’s tree. That time when I sent the Friendship cards.” Marshall agreed while flying to the Foggy Bottom’s direction. “Rubble was there.”
“Now that you mentioned it…” Rubble nodded. “He can be a bad guy, but I’ve seen a lot of his good sides, too.”
“Yep. Everyone deserves forgiveness, after all. Mayor Humdinger caused a lot of trouble, but Ryder’s right,” Rocky added up. “And it’s always me who has to deal with it…” He pouted.
“Well, aftew all Santa was the judge. All we could do is delivewing these pwesents, wight?” Zuma shrugged. “To think again, we’ve been flying for two houws stwaight. I just want to delivew the last pwesent so Santa can continue to the other wegion.”
“Really? Two hours?” Everest sounded amazed. “This dust surely works well!”
“¡Sí! To be honest I was worried we’d fall anytime sooner…” Tracker nodded.
“Don’t talk about us falling down, please. I hate heights, and it’s already scary enough for me to fly like this.” Marshall shuddered. “I’ve been holding my fear for the past two hours just because no one mentioned that we are flying and I just want everyone to get their presents.”
“Ups, lo siento, Marshall. (Oops, I’m sorry.) Then we better be quick.” Tracker apologized.
“No need to say sorry, Tracker. I’ve been flying so many times with the crew, so I’m already used to it. Yet, I’m not a fan of free falling,” Marshall chuckled nervously. “Well, Chase, shall we speed up?”
“Ryder?” Chase asked for his owner’s permission.
“You guys sure? We could do it, but be careful!” Ryder asked back to his pups.
“We don’t mind!” Rubble answered enthusiastically.
“Well, sure! Sorry for the slap, but prepare to speed up!” Ryder lashed the reins, and the pups howled. They sped up as fast as they could, and without them realizing it, they’ve arrived at the Foggy Bottom.
“The usual foggy town… I really wonder why this place is always foggy…” Marshall wondered.
“Ruff! Spotlight!” Chase pulled a spotlight from his pack and shone the way. “Still foggy even with my spotlight, ugh!” Chase grumbled.
“I suggest you to use your thermal vision, Chase,” Ryder alerted him.
“Oh, right! But that means I’d be the only one who can see the road. Is it fine?” Chase asked the team.
“Responsibility is on you, pal. We count on you!” Rocky answered.
“Fine. Ruff! Spotlight, out!” Chase pulled out the spotlight. “Ruff! Night vision goggles!” And he pulled out his goggles. “Way much better.”
“So where’s the way?” Ryder asked.
“Hm… we’ve reached the beach, so Mayor Humdinger’s lair should be close somewhere from here.” Chase looked around. Just before Chase said another thing, Ryder’s pup pad rang.
“Huh? Someone called by this late?” Ryder picked up the call. “Hello, Ryder here.”
“Ryder? What are you doing in my territory? Are you guys planning to capture me or something?” Someone familiar was heard from the other side of the call.
“Oh, hello Mayor! Why would you think so, though? And why are you still awake?” Ryder replied with no change in his tone.
“I thought that’d be the only reason you guys are here, aside from taking the scroll back then!” Mayor Humdinger answered aggressively. “I know, that was my fault, but still. And about the reason why am I still awake, it’s none of your business.”
“Then, just a heads up that we’re not going to do any harm to the Kitten Catastrophe, or you, or your place. I want to ask, how do you know we are here?” Ryder signed the pups to stop for a while, and so they did.
“Your pup pad signal was captured on my radar. Along with the pup tags, too,” Mayor Humdinger answered. “But… you guys are not traveling in a correct path. It looked like you guys are flying.”
“Why don’t you take a look on yourself?” Ryder giggled.
“What?”
“Just do if you want. I’m not forcing. And I won’t be here for long. I just have a package or two for you and the Kitten Catastrophe,” Ryder continued.
Chase noticed a small movement from the cave that used to be Mayor Humdinger’s lair. “Ryder! He took the bait!”
“That… wasn’t really a bait. But, he actually went out to see us?” Skye asked.
“Wh-what are you guys doing on the air!? Why are the pups flying with no gear!? AND IS THAT SANTA SLEIGH THAT I’M SEEING!?” Mayor Humdinger’s voice could be heard from Ryder’s position to the other pups.
“Wait, I’m coming down!” Ryder grabbed two boxes from the sack. “Guys, wait here. I’ll face him personally.” Ryder jumped down and landed on the beach safely.
“Wh-why are you—what are you—?” Mayor Humdinger couldn’t believe what did he see.
“The story is quite long if I tell you. But I don’t have much time to do so.” Ryder handed the two boxes he carried to Mayor Humdinger. “Merry Christmas, Mayor.”
“…whatever you guys are doing, as long it doesn’t disturb me, I won’t interfere.” Mayor Humdinger stood there in silence. “…and Merry Christmas, Ryder.”
Ryder flew back to the sleigh’s seat and positioned himself on the sleigh.
“How was it?” Rocky asked.
“He was shocked to see us. But eh, he showed no malicious intents while facing me.” Ryder smiled. “I told you, he’s still a good guy after all.”
“I still have some trust issues with that guy…” Skye gulped. “But, I guess I don’t have to think about it now.”
“Yeah. You shouldn’t. The only thing we should think about is returning back to the Lookout. It’s 1:15 already.” Ryder checked the time again.
“Alright! Paw Patrol Express, returning back!” Chase howled.
“Wait, since when we are named so?” Everest asked.
“Don’t ask. I just want to say that after the long trip.” Chase laughed, followed by the others.
“That sounds cool, though. Alright, Paw Patrol Express, let’s go!” Ryder played along and took the sleigh back to the Adventure Bay.
Arriving at the Adventure Bay, every pup released their harness, and Rocky readjusted the size back to the original size. They kept the antlers on their head, and Ryder returned Santa’s hat back.
“Thank you so much, Paw Patrol. You guys saved Christmas, at least for this town.” Santa thanked the team. “And thank you too, Katie, for taking care of my reindeer. I bet they are feeling better now.”
“You’re welcome!” Everyone replied.
“I better go now. The other side of the world still needs me to send these gifts, and I shouldn’t put more weights on you guys.” Santa whistled, and the reindeer formed a 2-lines formation.
“Let me help.” Rocky helped Santa to apply the harness for the reindeer. Ryder, also with Katie, helped too.
“Thank you once again, everyone. Your deeds will be returned favorably.” Santa walked to the sleigh
“Oh, wait. Santa.” Marshall suddenly called.
“Hm?” Santa looked at the Dalmatian.
“Thank you.” Marshall bowed.
“Ah, you’re welcome. No wonder Ryder told me you are the kindest pup in the team. Your pure intention to spend your time with your family surely proves so.” Santa smiled. “And you guys, too. A thank you won’t be enough, so a billion thanks to you guys.”
“You’re welcome!” The pups answered in unison.
“I better go now.” Santa climbed to the sleigh and held the reins. “Thank you, Paw Patrol!”
“Whenever you need help, just Ho Ho Ho for help!” Ryder joked, and everyone laughed.
“Sure. Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas everyone!” Santa shook the reins, and the reindeer started flying, leaving the Lookout.
“Goodbye, Santa!” Everyone bid farewell to Santa, and shortly after, they were gone from sights.
“Geez! I’m tiwed now.” Zuma stretched his body and sat on the ground.
“Yep! Surely that took longer for us.” Everest yawned. “I’m just too tired to return back to the Ski Resort.”
“Sí, yo también. (Yeah, me too.) My consciousness is falling apart now.” Tracker also yawned.
“We better sleep now. Katie, thank you so much for your help for the reindeers.” Ryder couldn’t hold himself to not yawn and thanked Katie.
“No problem. It’s our job, after all, right? As an emergency team, 24/7 alertness is what we need.” Katie giggled.
“Now you sounded like an actual emergency rescue team.” Ryder chuckled.
“But that’s the truth, at least. Well, I’ll head back to the parlor. See you guys later. Have a nice rest!” Katie carried her bag and waved to the team, leaving them.
“Tracker, Everest, you can stay with us for tonight!” Rubble offered.
“I bet Jake and Carlos won’t mind, though. This was an emergency, and I bet they sure understand this will happen.” Chase also offered them.
“Yep. You guys better stay here for tonight. Next morning, Chase and Skye will take you guys back to your home.” Ryder stretched his hands and rubbed his eyes. “I’m also really tired now. I need some sleep… Let’s get in, pups. You guys can sleep at the lounge.” Ryder asked the others to follow him inside.
“Gracias por la oferta.” (Thanks for the offer.) Tracker thanked them and followed the gang inside. “Everest, vamonos.” He tapped Everest’s shoulder.
“Oh, right! Thanks.” Everest was dozing off for a moment. “A warm bed is what I prefer after that flying session…”
The pups finally rested at the lounge after taking off their headbands, including Everest and Tracker. Ryder also has returned to his room to take a rest. No one really thought about the present for their Christmas, all they wanted was just a nice sleep.
In the morning, exactly 8 AM…
“Wake up, guys. Time for your breakfast.” Ryder personally woke the team without calling them from their pup tags. “Chase, Marshall, Rocky, Zuma, Skye, Rubble, Everest, Tracker, wake up. It’s morning already and I want to give you guys your breakfast.” He called everyone.
“Hrrh… breakfast…” Rubble was the very first one who responded to the call, hearing the word “breakfast”. He shook his head and looked around. “Morning, Ryder. Thank you for waking us up like that.”
“I just want to make it different for this morning.” Ryder scratched his head. His tired face was still there, though. “Chase, Marshall, wake up you two.” He patted the two pups’ cheek.
“Mhm…” Chase slowly opened his eyes, and he saw his owner’s hand right in front of his muzzle. “Morning, Ryder…” He stretched his body and yawned.
“Wake up, buddy. It’s Christmas,” Ryder chuckled.
“Yeah, no need to remind me about that…” Chase shook his head and patted on Marshall’s shoulder. “Dear, wake up.” He shook Marshall’s body.
“Grrh… let me sleep more please…” Marshall turned his body around, while Ryder stood up to wake up the others.
“Marshall! Come on!” Chase punched Marshall’s cheek several times until he got annoyed with it.
“Alright, cut it!” Marshall woke up and jabbed Chase’s cheek immediately.
“Hey!” Chase laughed.
“Come on, my reindeer, wake up!” Ryder joked. Slowly one by one woke up from their deep slumber.
“Morning everyone…” Everest rubbed her eyes and looked at her friends.
“Buenos días…” (Good morning) Tracker scratched his ear. “Never have I had such comfortable and warm sleep.”
“To think again, you two are having a sleepover for the first time, eh…” Rocky said while shaking Zuma. “Zoomy, wake up pal. Christmas!”
“Alwight, alwight, I’m awake…” Zuma woke from his position, then fell to Rocky’s position.
“H-hey! Zuma!” Rocky giggled.
“Isn’t it too early for Zuma to act like that?” Skye teased.
“Not really. He has done this too many times when we sleep together.” Rocky shook his head and rubbed Zuma’s head. “Come on, dude! Wake up! Christmas is here!”
“Nah… I still want to sleep…” Zuma moaned.
“Don’t make me ask Chase to pull his megaphone.”
“Okay, okay, I’m awake.” And this time for real. Everyone who heard that statement laughed.
“The only effective alarm for the team. Yep,” Rubble chuckled. “Deadliest one in the town.”
“Is it necessary to nickname it so?” Chase grumbled.
“The fact that it has bonked two heads several times already, yes.” Skye laughed.
“Now I wonder how does it sound like…” Everest chuckled.
“Oh, you won’t want to know.” Zuma rubbed his head.
“Anyway, breakfast, guys. Come on!” Ryder has carried a sack of dog food when they were chatting with each other. Everyone stretched their body for the last time and started walking to the dining room.
“I’m glad that I got some spare bowls for you two. Though, for the drink… I guess you guys have to share with each other. Two for a bowl,” Ryder poured the dog food on everyone’s food bowl. “Is it fine?”
“I don’t mind sharing with Everest,” said Skye.
“Me neither with Tracker,” Rubble added.
“Thanks, guys.” Tracker and Everest thanked them.
“So… who am I going to share my water bowl with?” Chase joked.
“Me.” Rocky also joked, and they laughed together.
“What kind of sick joke awe you two planning, hey!?” Zuma sounded startled.
“What joke? Only if!” Chase snickered. “Won’t you feel weird sharing your drink with Marshall, eh?”
“U-uh… not in that context…” Zuma blushed. “Sorry I overreacted.”
“No problem. If it’s not obvious enough for you that our older brothers are pranksters, Zuma.” Marshall patted Zuma’s back.
“Wight.” Zuma started munching his foods.
Everyone went silent after that, with Ryder having his own breakfast.
“Hmm… I’m just wondering where Santa is right now.” Suddenly Marshall opened a new topic.
“Hm?” Chase raised his eyebrow. “Why’d you ask so?”
“After what happened last night, I’m just wondering where he could be now,” Marshall shrugged. “I bet he’s still on his way to deliver presents.”
“Speaking of presents… I just noticed that none of us really asked or mentioned that to Santa,” Rubble pointed that out.
“We were too busy and too tired to ask that,” Rocky answered. “All I had in my mind after we landed was sleep, sleep, and sleep.”
“Yep. Agweed.” Zuma nodded.
“Well, who cares about presents, really. I’m just glad that we had our time together last night, and also including Everest and Tracker in the night was awesome.” Skye smirked. “It’s what you asked, right, Marshall?”
“Yeah…” Marshall nodded in agreement. “You guys that matter for me.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet of you.” Chase patted Marshall’s head.
“Are you pretending to not know me?” Marshall glanced.
“Just kidding.” Chase chuckled.
“But Chase was right. That’s so thoughtful of you, Marshall,” said Rocky. He had finished his food along with Rubble.
“Mhm.” Rubble took his bowl to the bowl storage and saw the outside area, but when he did so, he noticed something. “Guys! Check this out!” Rubble called his friends.
Rocky walked to Rubble’s position and saw what happened. “Whoa! Everyone! Ryder! Check this out!”
The rest of the pup, along with Ryder, who hadn’t finished their breakfast became curious and decided to check it.
“Whoa!” They immediately ran outside and checked the Christmas tree, which was now full of presents under the tree.
“Where did these gifts come from!?” Everest couldn’t believe her eyes.
"I don’t know! But it might be Santa!” Zuma rushed to the tree.
“Hey, hey! Zuma!” Rocky chased him. “Wait up!”
“Come on, Ryder! Let’s check the presents!” Chase pulled his owner’s hand.
“Haha, alright-alright. Come on, guys!” Ryder followed everyone to the tree.
There were so many presents below the tree. More than 10 different boxes were there, each with different wrapping paper. When Ryder checked some of them, some of the boxes were labeled with the pups’ name.
“Hey, it turns out Santa also left some gift for both Everest and Tracker!” Ryder called the two pups.
“Really? Whoa! Cool!” Everest checked a box labeled “Everest” on it. She opened it, and she got a scarf with aqua blue and violet color pattern. “A scarf! This is a nice gift.”
Tracker also opened his, and he got a compass. It looked like a normal compass, but in fact, it was also a GPS built inside the compass. “This would be useful in night time! I mean, my hearing would be enough, but sometimes we got lost at certain parts of the jungle…”
“Really? That’s a new thing.” Ryder nodded.
“Yeah… sometimes I and Carlos got lost in our own territory, hehe,” Tracker grinned. “And we only rely on the stars when it is night time.”
“That sounds silly!” Ryder laughed. “I hope that’d be a useful device for you.”
“¡Espera un minuto! (Wait a minute!) There’s something else!” Tracker dug deeper into the box, and he found a photo of himself as a reindeer from last night. “¿Qué? A picture of me?”
Everest also checked hers, and she found a picture of herself. “How did he…?”
“Now I’m getting curious. Chase! Did you find a gift for me?” Ryder called for the Shepherd who was rummaging around the presents.
“Just about!” Chase pulled a box with blue and red wrapping. He pulled it to Ryder, and the rest followed him.
“We’re curious about what are you getting, Ryder!” Skye yipped. “And we promised to not open ours unless you told us to.”
“That’s why Everest and Tracker were not included. I mean, you asked them to,” Chase chuckled.
“Ah, sorry guys!” Everest laughed. “Ryder, try to open it!”
“Yeah! Open it!” Zuma panted happily.
Ryder looked at the box and opened it carefully. He found a Santa Hat, along with a picture frame. He checked the photo, and it was a photo of the whole team, 3 years ago, when Paw Patrol was fully assembled for the very first time.
“This picture…” Ryder looked at the signature on the left side.
“Never forget who you were, Ryder.”
“Whoa, that’s a picture of us! But… when?” Rocky couldn’t recall about it, though.
“…three years ago, we were fully assembled,” Ryder started talking. “The last member was Rubble. The member who filled the final position in the group.”
“Oh?” Chase squinted at the picture and recognized himself from three years ago. “Oh, right. I remember now!”
“And a year later, both Everest and Tracker joined the team.” Ryder smiled. “I couldn’t believe that we’ve been together for quite a long time.”
“Huh…” Marshall glanced at the photo, then to his friends. “I see. So this is what Santa wanted for me.”
“Now I wonder what’d be the present for you guys.” Ryder changed the topic. “Have you guys found your gifts?”
“Uh, wait.” Chase was the first one who looked for his present. He found a small blue box with stars printed on it. “I guess this is mine.” Chase pulled his gift.
“How about if the others open their gifts together here, in front of me?” Ryder demanded the other pups to look for their present.
The others did, and they also pulled their box in front of Ryder. Some of them got a bit bigger than the others.
“Zuma, I really wonder what could be in yours…” Rocky looked at Zuma’s box, which was the biggest.
“Beats me.” Zuma shrugged.
“On the count of three.” Chase took the commando to open the gifts together. They’d put their paws on the ribbon, and all they had to do was pulling the ribbon. “One, two, three!”
Everyone pulled the ribbon and checked the content of the box.
“Oh, is this the super-rare copy of Apollo the Super Dog’s comic? The one that only printed 20 in the world!? Along with an autograph from Apollo himself!?” Rubble freaked out. “Oh god, someone get me water before I pass out!”
“I got a DIY suwfboawd! No wonder the box was weally big!” Zuma yipped. “Ah, Wocky! I guess Santa wants us to make this togethew!” He shook Rocky’s body.
“Aww, really? That’s nice! Since I got a new toolbox!” Rocky looked at the new utility box in front of him. “By the time I need a new one!”
“Guys! Look at what I got!” Skye pulled out a pink rabbit plush. “This is so cute!”
“I won’t mock you for that thing, after all, you’re a girl and you like it. You better take care of it, Skye,” Chase smiled.
“Thank you, Chase! I’m going to name it Mr. Fluffbuns!” Skye giggled.
“What about you, Chase?” Marshall asked.
“I got a small amulet. A pair of amulets, to be exact.” Chase pulled out a golden amulet, which was detachable. “I wonder what does this mean. I mean, I’m not someone who uses accessories that much.”
“Try to check the content. I guess it is openable,” suggested Marshall.
Chase did what Marshall said, and he found a picture of him and Ryder in one of the amulets.
“Wh-what?” Chase looked a bit surprised. It was a picture of him and Ryder when they were still the only member in the team. “How did Santa get this picture?” He showed the picture to Ryder.
“Oh, interesting…” Ryder examined the picture carefully. “Yeah, this is us, Chase! Four years ago, before Marshall got in the team! When you were a really small puppy…”
“I want to see! I want to see!” Everyone was curious how Chase looked like when he was a small puppy. Chase blushed and decided to turn away from his friend. “Guys!”
“Aww! He’s a cute puppy, indeed!” Skye giggled.
“Chase looked so cute! No wonder you really love him, Ryder.” Rocky laughed.
“Guys! C’mon!” Chase’s voice was trembling.
“Guys, don’t say more stuff about him anymore. He’s really embarrassed.” Marshall warned his friends.
“Ah, alright.” Rocky backed out. “Sorry, pal. We just couldn’t resist.”
“I-it’s fine…” Chase sulked, hiding his embarrassment. “Thanks, Marshall.”
“No problem. Oh, how about the other pair of the amulet?” Marshall checked the other amulet and blushed afterward. “I-is this some kind of couple necklace!?”
Chase got curious and checked the photo in the other amulet. It was a picture of him with Marshall from last year’s Christmas.
“A-aw! This is so cute!” Chase smiled. Seeing his own brother smiling like that, it warmed Marshall’s heart.
“I’m just curious how Santa gets these pictures, really. But eh, I won’t ask much…” Marshall giggled.
“You mind if you keep this for me?” Chase gave that amulet to Marshall.
“Wh-why?”
“I trust you to keep our belongings better than me trusting myself for this kind of thing. After all, you know I’m not that type of pup who’d like to wear accessories…” Chase pulled Marshall’s paw and put the amulet on his.
“Aww… I’ll treasure this, then.” Marshall wore the amulet. “I’ll keep it for you.”
“What did you get, though?” Chase changed the subject.
Marshall checked his box. “I got… something.” He pulled a smaller red box in it.
“What might be inside it?” Chase looked curious.
Marshall opened the box, and he found a mini snow globe. Inside, he could see the Lookout with everyone next to the Lookout.
“Aww, that’s a cute gift!” Skye looked at the globe.
“And there is a mini version of us!” Rocky pointed at the small pups in it.
“What does it mean, though?” Zuma tilted his head.
“I’ll just say, this represents my memory with the family.” Marshall shook the globe, and the snow flew in the sky of the globe, along with a familiar music-box styled tune.
“Oh?” Skye and Marshall immediately recognized the tune. “This music?”
“Isn’t this that song?” Chase also recognized the music and started humming to it.
“What does Santa mean for that, though?” Rubble also hummed the song along.
“To put Rough in this thing… he really understands the sentimental point of that song for me and Chase.” Marshall looked at the globe. “That song always reminds me of you guys in the hardest time. And I’m glad Santa gave me such thing.”
“Rough? That reminds me of your performance,” Everest nodded. “That makes sense. It was the worst time for you guys.”
“Rough? Oh, ya veo. Eso lo he oído antes,” (Oh, I see. I’ve heard of it before.) Tracker shook his head. “I remember that day when the message came to our pup tags. It was scary. I jumped from my position when I heard so, but knowing that Everest had helped him back then, all I could do was hoping for the best.” He lowered his ears. Almost every pup whimpered while listening to the music.
“Ah, but that’s what happened in the past. It’s ovew, guys. Wyder’s hewe, he’s healthy, alive and kickin’.” Zuma tried to change the mood.
“Zuma’s right. Now what matters is the present.” Skye agreed. “We’ve gotten our presents, anyway.”
“And you know what the best part was for this Christmas? We saved it, at least for Adventure Bay. And it’s not just a simple repairment and things like that, we flew for it!” Chase embraced Marshall’s shoulder. “Thanks to this pup.”
“M-me?” Marshall pointed himself, blushing.
“Well, who was the one who asked for such wish? I doubt Rubble would ask so.” Chase snickered.
“Obviously, haha. I liked the ride, but I never thought of asking so to Santa.” Rubble grinned.
“W-well…” Marshall stammered. “C-Chase’s right… hehe…” Marshall scratched his head.
“Thank you for your wish, Marshall. It was the best thing we’ve ever had. Not to mention Ryder was there with us too, enjoying the ride,” Rocky smiled.
“I have to admit that Marshall made one of my childhood dream become true. So yeah, I really owe him something, I suppose,” Ryder rubbed Marshall’s head. “Thank you, my dearest pup.”
“Aww, that’s just sweet.” Everest chuckled.
“Oh, and we got to have our Christmas with Everest and Tracker too! Don’t forget that!” Rubble slammed his own paw.
“Hehe. Gracias, Marshall. It was fun to fly around like that!” Tracker grinned.
“Yeah, thanks to you too. I never had Christmas with anyone but Jake. Although Santa always gives us some present in the ski resort, celebrating Christmas with the team is different.” Everest raised her thumb up.
“See, Marshall? We owe you so much for this year’s Christmas. Spending time together with the family, meeting Santa once again, and helping him to save Christmas just in a night, not to mention that we literally have to fly the sleigh for him…” Chase hugged his brother. “I’m always proud of you, dear. Never have I felt regretful for things you’ve done to me, or to the family.”
That statement brought Marshall to tears. He put the snow globe on his paw to the ground and hugged Chase back while crying on his shoulder.
“Someone’s touched with his own action.” Rocky awed.
“Th… thanks…” Marshall sobbed.
“This Christmas morning has been quite emotional, eh,” Ryder only smiled. “You guys are good pups, and I thank you all for last night too. Without you guys, we won’t make it. We won’t save Christmas for everyone else too.”
“You’re welcome, Ryder!” Everyone answered in unison, except Marshall who was still crying.
“Merry Christmas to you, Ryder,” Rocky approached his owner and hugged him. The others did the same.
“Aww, Merry Christmas to you too, Paw Patrol.” Ryder closed his eyes and hugged them back. “Maybe, Santa tried to tell me that these pups were my gifts. If so, I’ll always protect them,” he thought. A drop of tear slid through his cheek, and he quickly wiped it. “Marshall, c’mere!”
Marshall and Chase moved closer to Ryder, and they got hugged by Ryder too.
Surely, that morning had been merry for the pups and Ryder. Everyone got their presents, and nothing made them feel better than knowing so.
“Merry Christmas to you too. Thank you.”