Marshall could feel his ears ringing due to the sound of the gunshot. His eyes were shut tightly as he braced himself for the upcoming agony that would surely come. However, to his surprise, he didn't feel anything. He felt Everest hugging him, but there was no pain.

Confused, the dally opened his eyes. That's when he realized the horrifying truth of what really happened. The husky had her arms wrapped around him, but instead of being to his side like he thought she was, she was directly in front of him. She had taken the bullet for him and was hit in her back leg, which was starting to bleed quickly.

"W-what? N-no...no n-not again. E-Eve, why?" Marshall asked, clearly terrified. The husky didn't respond, and instead, she only stumbled back, falling to the ground, almost instantly being caught by the dally. He held her in his arms as she weakly looked up at him and somehow smiled.

"I-I...had to. I-I couldn't...let you d-die, Marshy." She replied in a shaky voice. The dally checked her pulse, and what he felt didn't make him any less scared. He could feel it getting weaker, she was slowly dying. Everest saw the look on his face and knew why he was so scared. She could sense what was happening herself.

"Hey...i-it's gonna be ok. Y-you'll b-be...ok. Don't be s-scared." The husky whispered, being too weak to speak any louder. Marshall hugged her tightly and started crying. Seeing her like this, bleeding out, was triggering all of those memories once again.

"H-how? How am I supposed to be ok? Please don't l-leave me again, Eve. I-I can't...I can't live without you. I'm n-not gonna get better without you. Y-you can't leave me again." He pleaded. Everest slowly reached out and put her paw on the dally's cheek, trying to calm him down. Even in what might be her last moments, she would still put him first.

"D-don't think....like that. Y-you'll have t-to...be strong M-Marshy. I-I doubt I'm gonna...m-make it out, b-but still, I k-know...you can get better. It j-just...might have to be without m-me." She cooed, letting out a few coughs afterward.

"N-no! P-please don't go, s-stop talking like you're gonna die. T-there has to be another way, y-you can't die. P-please, it can't end like this. I-I finally got to be with you a-again. I f-finally got to feel some sort of h-happiness. I-I thought things were supposed to get better. Y-you promised..."The dally whimpered, starting to cry even harder. He could tell Everest was getting weaker by the second, and unless he got some sort of miracle, it was only a matter of time.

"I-I know...I'm sorry...I-I wish I could've s-stayed with you l-longer." Everest cooed, pausing to let out a few coughs. "B-but, r-remember...I-I'll always love you. D-Don't blame yourself for this. Y-you're my e-everything, Marshy."

The husky slowly leaned her head up and planted a kiss on Marshall's lips, wanting to have some sort of happy memory, because this very well might be the last one they make together. She broke away and smiled at him, tears running down her own face from the excruciating pain in her leg.

"G-goodbye my clumsy pup, I-I'll miss you."

With that, the husky leaned back again and closed her eyes, falling into unconsciousness. Marshall knew she wasn't exactly dead, but that didn't make the situation any less tragic. She was still dying, and in the situation they were in now, it was impossible for him to save her. She was slowly fading away, and there was nothing he could do.

The dally looked down at the unconscious, bleeding body of Everest. By now, his entire body was shaking. He sobbed, but he knew no one who cared would hear him. This was her end, and more than likely, his as well.

"Oh, what a shame. I was planning to get rid of you first. But, it doesn't really matter." Damian scoffed. Marshall didn't even pay attention, he just kept crying into the husky's fur. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she was dying, and he'd be left alone yet again, stuck to either die here or suffer a life without her.

"Don't cry, Marshall." Sweetie said, smiling warmly at him. "You won't have to grieve much longer. You'll see your love again, and then all of your pain will be over." Knowing what she was trying to imply, the dally looked up at her with his teary eyes.

"J-Just...get it over with." He requested, accepting his inevitable fate. Damian and Sweetie smiled at each other in success. It seemed to them like they had finally gotten their revenge. Sure, there was still the rest of the Paw Patrol, but their biggest grudge was Everest and Marshall, seeing as the terrier had the same opinion for all of the pups.

"Happily. After all you've done, you deserve this, klutz." She replied, starting to aim the gun towards him. Although he knew what was coming, Marshall didn't even try to defend himself. Instead, he simply hugged Everest tighter and rested his head on her shoulder, accepting that this was his end.

However, instead of hearing a second gunshot like he assumed he would, he heard something far different. Sweetie yelping in pain and the clank of her weapon falling to the ground. The dally opened his eyes and saw a noticeable scratch on her face. But that wasn't what surprised him. It was how it got there, or more, who put it there.

"Listen." Chase stated. "If either of you two even think about hurting my brother or his mate again, it will be the last thing you do." He warned, starting to growl at the two. Marshall weakly smiled at his brother's arrival, and he knew that meant the others were around somewhere, but he still kept his eyes and attention on the husky.

"Ah yes, and here's the famous Paw Patrol to the rescue, the same ones who caused all of this. And, Chase, you can't say that. They aren't mates because Marshall finally realized how worthless and pathetic he really is." Sweetie scoffed as she rubbed the scratch on her face, trying to reduce some of the pain.

The dally whimpered, but he didn't show any more of a reaction to the insult. At the moment, he didn't care about Sweetie or anyone else for that matter. His mind was completely focused on Everest, even if his mind was mostly showing him horrible memories.

"Oh you know that's not true." A new voice said. This time, it was Skye's, who unsurprisingly walked to Chase's side. "It's your fault that they broke up, you're the one who put all those awful things inside his head." She responded, only for the terrier to roll her eyes.

"Honestly, at this point, I couldn't care less. It's all of you who did this to me. My princess would've never treated me like this if you mutts didn't have to show up and ruin everything." She shot back, clearly angry.

Chase just sighed and shook his head. Although of course, he was furious at the two for what they've done, he could understand why Sweetie was so upset. Even he found it a bit strange when the Princess called him her favorite pup while she was right there, but she obviously still cared for the terrier.

"Listen, Sweetie, I get why you feel this way. But why won't you just talk to the Princess? I'm sure she'll listen. And besides, we never wanted to cause any of this, so is what you're doing really necessary?" He asked.

"She would've never listened. It was obvious, she didn't love me. But things are different now, I finally have someone who does love me. Someone whose own life was ruined because of a member of your stupid team." Sweetie explained, moving her gaze to her mate as a small smile appeared on her face.

The shepherd was about to argue back, but then he quickly realized something. Just by looking at her, he could tell Everest was seriously injured. They couldn't stay here, they had to get her somewhere immediately, or else things weren't going to end well.

He stopped talking and thought about what the quickest way was to get out of this. Just trying to run away wouldn't work since both Damian and Sweetie were blocking the door. Fighting wasn't the best solution either. He knew the husky was strong, seeing as he beat both Marshall and Everest on Jake's mountain, plus now he had help. Not to mention he wanted to avoid any possibility of Skye getting hurt.

He had one idea, but it was a bit of a long shot. Although he never used it, since he never really had to deal with criminals, Chase did have a taser in his own pup pack. If he could hit the two with it, that should give them enough time to get out, find the others who were searching the rest of the building, and leave.

However, using it was easier said than done. He had to be fairly close to hitting them, and besides, he only had one shot before needing to reload. It wouldn't be the easiest task, but it was both the quickest and safest option he had.

"Marshall, stay back." He ordered. The dally nodded, but he still didn't take his teary eyes off Everest, who Chase wasn't even sure was alive. If she was alive though, it didn't take any medical knowledge to see that her leg was in very bad shape. She definitely wouldn't be able to walk on it for a while.

"Skye, you too. I don't want you getting hurt, just keep an eye on Marshall." Chase added. Skye, although she wanted to help, agreed and walked over to the dally and gave him a sisterly hug, even though she already knew there wasn't much she could do to comfort him. Now that those two were safe, the shepherd turned his attention back to Damian and Sweetie.

"Alright you two, listen, we can end this peacefully. Just let us go, and no one has to get hurt." He requested. Of course, he knew the chances of them agreeing were slim, but it was worth a shot to at least try and negotiate.

"You don't actually expect us to agree to that, do you?" The husky asked, raising an eyebrow. Chase only shrugged in response. Without wasting any
more time, he barked and his taser popped out. Since she was not only closer, but she was also the most dangerous since she had a weapon, he fired it at Sweetie.

Luckily, his shot hit her, and the terrier fell to the ground in agony. The shepherd was a bit surprised to see Damian quickly go to her side. Although he was by no means good, it was clear that he still cared greatly about his mate, which after hearing how he treated Everest, was a bit confusing.

"You'll pay for hurting her." The husky growled as he turned back to Chase, who fast as he could, reloaded his taser before things got any worse. However, Damian didn't charge at him like he expected to. Instead, he moved towards a different pup.

"Well, if that's how you want to do this, let's see how you like your mate getting hurt." He snarled, walking closer to Skye. Once she realized what was happening, the cockapoo shoved Marshall away for his own good and backed into a wall out of fear.

Under any other circumstances, Chase would've shot already. That being said, the husky was too close to the cockapoo for it to be safe to fire, and he couldn't risk accidentally hurting her instead. Not knowing what else to do, he ran forward and bit the husky's paw, causing him to trip in sudden pain.

Now that he was close enough to know his mate would be fine, the shepherd fired the taser, immobilizing Damian instantly. Chase looked at Skye, who nodded, letting him know that she was unhurt.

"Alright, Marshall, you get Everest, and let's go. Skye, you call the others. We have to hurry." Chase instructed urgently, knowing the effects of the taser wouldn't last long. The dally, although still distraught, did as he was told, and the three ran as fast as they could to the door.

Skye pressed a button on her puptag so she could contact everyone at once. Since everyone agreed on using those for communication ahead of time, the others picked up almost immediately.

"Everyone meet us outside and start the paw patroller. Chasey and I found them, but Everest is extremely injured and needs medical attention now." She stated, before ending the call. It didn't take the three long to get outside and find the paw patroller, so they ran inside to safety.

"Ryder sir, we need to go to Katie's now. I think she's alive, but I doubt she'll last much longer without help, so let's get out of here." Chase told his leader, making sure he was far enough away from Marshall so that he wouldn't hear him. Ryder nodded and got in the driver's seat.

Meanwhile, as the vehicle started to move, Marshall carefully laid Everest down on one of the seats. He once again checked her pulse, and thankfully he could still feel something, but it was very weak. Not to mention the fact that she was still bleeding, and that needed to stop.

Remembering that he kept a first aid pack inside the paw patroller in case of emergencies, the dally got out of his seat and grabbed bandages. Trying his best not to be too shaky, he carefully wrapped her leg up, which would at least keep her from bleeding out.

He looked at the husky, but slowly, her image became blurry. He could feel his eyes slowly falling, and as hard as he tried to stop them, the last thing he saw was himself carefully laying his head down on Everest's side.

◾◻◻⬛◻◻◾

Almost as quickly as he had closed his eyes, they opened again as he felt a hand lightly petting him. "W-what happened? W-where's Eve?" He asked worriedly, looking down to see that the husky was completely missing.

"You fell asleep, I would have woken you up sooner but I knew you needed the rest. And as far as Everest goes...well, she's inside, Katie's looking at her now." Ryder explained. Marshall stood up and looked out the window, seeing that everyone besides him and his owner were in her clinic.

"I-is she gonna be ok?" He questioned as he jumped off his chair and walked outside towards the building, the boy following close behind him.

"Well, we don't really know yet. We haven't heard anything from Katie yet. But don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine." Ryder answered, despite himself not even being sure if he believed what he had said.

The two walked into the room, and the atmosphere immediately shifted tones. Everyone was silent, waiting for any sort of news that their friend was alright. No one seemed very hopeful, in fact, they all seemed terrified.

The dally sighed and sat down on one of the couches, waiting just as the others were. He could hear some of the other pups reassuring him, telling him that she would be fine, but he never responded, or cared much for that matter.

After hours of nothing, Katie finally opened the door and faced them. Everyone, especially Marshall, of course, looked at her, hoping for some good sign. "Well, two things." She began. Just by her tone, the dally could tell something was off, but it didn't seem sad, as if the husky had just passed away, just, concerned.

"First of all, the good news. Everest is still alive, and it's going to stay that way." The girl stated. Marshall wasn't sure he had ever felt as relieved as he did at that moment. All his worries flooded away knowing that she would live. Everything would be completely fine...right?

"But, well, the bad news....Ryder, can you come in here so we can talk. It'd be easier to do it alone. And, Marshall, you can come too. She's still unconscious but you can see her if you want." Katie suggested.

Everyone nervously glanced at each other at the mention of bad news. Regardless, the dally stood up and walked into the room, along with both his owner and Katie.

"Katie, is it ok if I sit with her?" He asked once he saw the bed Everest was laying in. The girl nodded and Marshall jumped up next to the unconscious husky. She looked rather peaceful like she was just asleep. The only noticeable thing was that her leg wrapped up, being supported upwards so it wouldn't touch the bed.

"So, Ryder, there's a bit of a problem with her leg." Katie explained, catching both of their attention. Ryder assumed he knew where this was going, so he cut to the chase and responded early.

"It's gonna take a while for it to fully heal, yeah that's what I assumed. I'll make sure she's careful with it. How long do you think it'll take to recover anyways?" He asked. To his surprise, the girl shook her head at him.

"No, that's not exactly it. Her leg is in bad shape, like, it's really bad. It's a miracle that you guys got her here in time. Oh and, Marshall, you should be proud of yourself. I'm guessing you were the one who put the bandages on, and if you hadn't done that, I honestly don't know if she would've made it." She praised him, noting his quick thinking.

The dally weakly nodded at her words. Sure, it was a bit nice hearing that he had helped her, but that didn't take away much of the guilt he was feeling. Plus, he was still worried about what Katie had yet to say.

"Anyways, and I really hate that I have to do this, but the safest solution for her would be...." She paused for a second as if trying to choose the right words. Ryder and Marshall shot nervous glances at each other before she finally finished her sentence. "...Amputation."

Marshall felt his heart sink to the bottom of his chest as what she had said hit him. Everest would lose her leg, a permanent change that would follow her for the rest of her life. Katie noticed his pained expression and gave him a pat of the head to try and ease him.

"I know, pup, trust me, I don't like it either. But it's for her own good. It would be too risky to leave it. And, Ryder, you know I can't be the one to make this decision. You're her owner, you're the one who has to choose." She explained, handing the boy a few sheets of paperwork he'd have to sign.

Ryder took the papers from her and sighed. Of course, he knew she was right, this was the safest option. But this was still a big decision to make, as the husky only not having all her legs would not only be a large adjustment to make but there was also Marshall to think about. The boy turned to his pup, and before he got the chance to ask anything, the dally gave him a small nod.

"Well, in that case, do it. You're right, it's too much of a risk. If this is the safest option then go ahead." He stated, handing Katie the signed sheets of paper. The girl nodded and took them from him.

"Alright then. You two will have to step out while I perform the surgery. Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long." She replied. Ryder stood up and beckoned for Marshall to follow him, which although he was clearly upset about the whole situation, and certainly didn't want to leave Everest, got up and walked out the door.

"So, what happened?" Chase asked as they both stepped out. The dally looked up at him and wiped away a few tears, and just by that, he could already tell that he was going to get something bad in response.

"S-she's gonna have to amputate Eve's leg." Marshall answered blankly, not wanting to talk about it any more than he had to. Everyone in the room gasped at the news. Clearly, this was something no one expected to have to happen.

"A-are you serious?" Skye asked in disbelief. The dally nodded at her and whimpered at the reality. Of course, he was extremely grateful, all things considered. Everest was alive, and that was all he had been asking for. However, amputation was a possibility he had never considered and was still a difficult thing to accept.

Marshall stayed quiet during the wait. He was trapped in his head, as endless questions filled his mind. The biggest one being how the husky would react after she had learned what happened. Would she be mad at him? Would she be scared? There was no telling, not for now at least.

Eventually, after about an hour or so of waiting, Katie walked out of the door with a small smile on her face. The dally could feel his heart beating out of nervousness, but the look on her face was a bit reassuring.

"The surgery was successful, she'll be waking up in just a few minutes. You guys can come back and see her now." She stated. Marshall sighed out of relief that everything went fine, and he, along with the others, got up to go see her. To their surprise, however, Ryder spoke up before they could enter.

"Pups, wait a minute." He called out. They all turned their heads in confusion, waiting to see what he had to say. "Let's let Marshall go in alone, I think those two could probably use some time to themselves." He explained.

The pups nodded understandingly and went back to their seats. Marshall smiled and nodded at his leader, happy that he'd be able to be alone with Everest. He turned back and walked inside the room, jumping up next to the husky the second he saw her.

"So, she'll be ok, right?" He asked Katie, who had to be in the room, seeing as she was the vet. The girl gave him a scratch behind the ear for reassurance before answering his question.

"Yep, she'll be alright. Although, it'll take a few weeks for her to get used to it, and she's probably gonna be scared at first. " Katie replied. Marshall was about to ask another question, but before he could, he was interrupted by a new voice.

"M-Marshy?" The second he heard his nickname, the dally turned around to see Everest slowly opening her eyes. His face immediately brightened as he jumped forward and hugged the husky tightly. A few seconds passed as she processed where she was and what had happened, but of course, she still hugged back.

"I'm so glad you're ok Eve, I-I really thought I lost you again." Marshall whispered. Everest smiled and licked him, knowing that he had probably been terrified when she had gone unconscious in his arms.

"D-don't worry, I-I'm ok now. Sorry I scared you back there, I didn't think I was gonna make it. B-but I did, and I'm here now, so everything's gonna be alright." She cooed, still mostly exhausted from everything that had happened. She tried to sit up to get more comfortable, but that's when she noticed something was off.

"Uh, K-Katie?" She called out, gaining the nurse's attention. Immediately, just by seeing the expression on her face, the girl could already tell what was going to come next. "Why can't I feel my leg? I can feel everything else, but not my leg. What happened?" The husky asked, trying to move her injured limb, only to feel nothing as a result.

Katie sighed and pet her head, unsure of how she'd take the news. "Well, and I know this might be hard to hear, but your leg was extremely injured when they got you here. I'm sorry, Everest, but I had to amputate it. It was for your own good." The nurse explained.

"W-what?! Y-you can't be serious." The husky pleaded. Katie shook her head sadly, seeing as she was clearly upset by it. She couldn't blame her, it must've been terrifying waking up and being told one of your legs had been cut off. The husky nervously looked under the blanket, and her eyes widened as she realized it was true.

Everest had no idea what to say. She let the full reality of what this meant sink it. She'd be stuck with three legs for the rest of her life. There was no way around it. She sat in silence for only a few moments before tears began to flow down her face. They were slow at first, but they quickly sped, and soon, she was balling, hugging Marshall tightly.

Of course, the dally hugged her back, and due to everything that he had experienced in the past few hours, he couldn't help but cry along with her. Katie watched the two pups sobbing in each other's arms as they tried to calm the other one down, not knowing what to say. She felt awful for them, they both had just been through so much in the last few hours, and only now was the full experience catching up with them.

"B-but, h-how am I going t-to walk?" The husky asked in a shaky voice, still crying slightly. However, she wasn't exactly crying because of her leg. She knew this would be anything but easy, however, she saw the bright side of this change too. Although she was scared and confused, she was still alive because of it, meaning she'd be able to help Marshall. That alone was her motivation to push through this.

What had truly shaken her up was the experience that had caused this. Not only had she been forced to deal with Damian again, someone who terrified her in a way no one else ever would, but she knew how much it must have hurt Marshall. He had seen her die nearly a second time, and she had no doubt in her mind it had set him back in his recovery.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it over time. Yes, it'll be hard at first, but after a while, you won't even think about it." Katie answered. The husky nodded and looked over at Marshall, who was still crying into her fur. It didn't take her long to realize one of the reasons he was so upset. Knowing how he was, he probably blamed himself for her leg.

"I-I'm so sorry Eve, I-I—" Marshall tried to explain in between tears, but Everest put her paw on his mouth and stopped him. She felt a bit bad for interrupting him, but she already knew he was just going to say something bad about himself, and she didn't want him hurting more than he already was.

"No, don't even finish. You've done nothing wrong. You have no reason to be sorry, and if you think I'm upset or disappointed in you, that couldn't be farther from the truth. I already told you, I'll always love you, no matter what." Everest stated, speaking in a very soothing tone.

"B-but, why? After everything, why do you still love me? Y-you've nearly died twice and you just l-lost your leg because of me. I-I just...I just don't understand." The dally replied, starting to calm down a bit.

Everest sighed after hearing this. She hated seeing him say things like this, thinking he had done something wrong even when what had happened was completely out of his control. She knew it was his disorder making him say these things, but it still hurt seeing him say these things because, without his disorder, he was never like this.

"Marshy, it's because you haven't done anything wrong. You couldn't have prevented any of this. I know you can't see that right now, but that's one of the reasons why I've stayed with you this entire time. I want to help you. I want to see you get better. And I know that you will, but you need to let me help you." The husky explained calmly.

Everest assumed Marshall was going to respond with something negative, but to her surprise, he said nothing. He just looked at her with his confused, sad eyes. Maybe she was actually getting to him for once. Seeing that this might be a chance to help him get somewhere, she kept on talking.

"You'll get better, one day, things will go back to normal. I know right now you're not the same as you once were, but deep down, the old you is still in there. And I'm gonna be right next to you for as long as it takes to get the old you back. No matter what hardships we have to go through, no matter how much all of this hurts, no matter how long it takes." She cooed, caressing his face with her paw.

Marshall couldn't help but smile at what she had said. Despite everything, inside him, he felt a feeling he hadn't felt since all of this started. The husky had finally given him something he desperately needed...

A resurgence of hope.

Hope that maybe, there really could be a day where this would be behind him. A few moments of silence passed before he spoke up, and said the words Everest had wanted to hear for a while now.

"S-so, does this mean we can be mates again?" The dally asked. Everest grinned at him and pulled him into a loving kiss, which felt nice after being separated from each other for this long. Eventually, they both broke away, and they could see the other's genuine smile.

"Of course we can, Marshy." The husky stated. Marshall beamed and nuzzled her, which of course she returned. He could almost feel that piece of his heart that had been missing reform when she said that.

"Well, that was quite the show." Both the pups turned their heads around to see Katie sitting in her chair. Somehow, they had both completely forgotten that she was there, and they both blushed slightly realizing that she had seen the whole thing.

The girl laughed as she stood up and walked over to the reunited couple, ruffling the fur on their heads. "Don't be embarrassed, you two, I'm glad you got back together. Now, Everest, let's get you out of here." She stated.

The husky tried to stand up but had trouble doing so due to her being so unused to three legs. Katie picked her up and took her off the bed, then carefully set her on the floor. Although she was a bit shaky at first, the husky managed to stand without falling over.

"Alright, that's a start, now let's see if you can walk." The girl instructed. Slowly, Everest took a step forward with success. She tried to keep going but ended up falling since she tried to walk on a leg that wasn't there. Thankfully, Marshall was right beside her and easily caught her.

"Are you ok, Eve?" He asked. The husky nodded and tried again, this time remembering what not to do now. Although she was a bit slow, in the end, she could walk, despite being a bit clumsy. It was certainly going to take a lot of getting used to for her.

The two walked out into the lobby, where the rest ran over to her and greeted her, all of them relieved to see her in fairly good condition. Everest looked over at Marshall, who still seemed a bit down, but certainly the best she had seen him in a while.

"Alright pups, let's head home." Ryder proclaimed. Of course, all of them were definitely ready to get back to the lookout after a day like this. To say that all of them were tired would've been an understatement.

Marshall felt the husky lean on him, as both a loving gesture and for balance too. It was the first time ever since they had broken up he had felt even remotely happy like this.

Now, all that was left for him was to walk the road to recovery, and in a way, so did Everest after her recent amputation. Although he wouldn't be alone, that didn't mean it'd be easy. The process could take months or even years. However, he hoped that with his mate's help, he might just get there, despite both of their limitations.

He hoped that one day, he'd find his light at the end of the tunnel.