Redpaw's eyes slowly opened. He felt empty and exhausted. Staring up at the white ceiling, his eyes darted around. "Rocky?" he whined. He didn't know where he was or who had brought him there. Then, he remembered his dream. What does it mean?

He noticed the sterile scent in the air, the cleanliness of the room. He looked down at his paws, seeing he was glowing. He also saw the IV's strapped to his fur. Panicking, he bit down on the tape, ripping them out. His fur ripped, forcing him to howl loudly in pain.

Three men burst into his room. "He's awake?" one said.

"He shouldn't be, not for a couple of hours!" another said. "Redpaw, you're safe here."

"Who are you?!" Redpaw barked. "Where am I? Where's my family?!"

"Please, calm down."

"Let us explain!"

"What did you do to them?!" When they didn't respond, Redpaw let out a fearsome growl, one that made them all back away in fear. He jumped down from the bed and ran off into the hall.

"Contact Artie and shutdown the lab!" one said.

Redpaw continued running around the halls, sniffing the air and barking wildly. "Ryder! Ryder, pups, where are you?"

Ryder stared angrily at his uncle. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"We'll find him," Artie assured him. "Have you locked everything down?"

"Yes sir. No one can get in or out."

"He couldn't have gotten far. Search the halls, the vents, anywhere a small pup could hide."

"PAW Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder yelled, running back down the hall. Artie gulped, following his nephew. "All pups not severely injured meet me in the cafeteria!"

"Alright, pups," Ryder said. Sitting in front of him were Rubble, Marshall and Skye. Zuma was with Rocky so the pup wouldn't be alone. Chase insisted on being there, so he sat on Ryder's lap, still chewing on his bandages. Ryder tapped his head as a warning and Chase looked up sheepishly. "We need to find Redpaw before he gets himself into trouble."

"Ryder," Artie said. "This isn't really necessary. A majority of your pups are injured." He looked at the pups. "Wouldn't you rather rest?"

"We won't rest until Redpaw is found!" Chase barked. He struggled to stand on Ryder's lap, wincing a bit. "No job is too big, no pup is too small!"

"That's my line," Ryder smirked. Chase chuckled nervously. "But you're right. No one knows Redpaw better than we do. Chase, I'm going to take you to his room to sniff out his scent. The rest of you, spread out. He could be anywhere."

Artie raised a finger as if to say something, but it was too late. The pups had already rushed off in search of the small wolf. He grabbed his walkie and walked into the hall, away from the others. "You find that pup and bring him back before they find out what we're really doing."

"We're searching everywhere. There's no sign of him."

"Well find him! We can't risk exposing the truth!" He turned back, walking into the cafeteria with a smile on his face. "Shall we go find your pup?"

"Lead the way," Ryder said.

As Chase smelled the air, he easily picked up Redpaw's scent. "He panicked. I can sense the anxiousness in the air."

"Do you know which way he went?" Ryder asked. Chase nodded and started directing him down the hall. Artie followed, equally as anxious. He hoped they wouldn't need to go through any of the secure rooms.

"Wait," Chase said after a while. "He was here for a while." They were standing in the middle of the hall. Chase sniffed all around. "Put me down, please." Ryder set him down on the ground. Rising, he winced a bit as he tried to walk around. He ended up near a vent. "I think he went in there, Ryder."

"You're sure?" Artie said. Chase nodded. "Alright." He pulled out his walkie talkie once more. "He's in the ventilation. Turn off the fans. Don't worry, Ryder, we'll find him.

Redpaw crawled around inside the shaft, following a two scents. Ryder's and food. As he kept crawling, he grew more and more hungry.

He rounded the next corner and stopped to take a break. He heard the shaft groan underneath him, followed by voices. Quietly, he shuffled down until he reached a vent. The voice became clear.

"Have they found him yet?"

"No, but they're working on it."

"Good. We still need his DNA to replicate. If what Artie says is true, we need it now more than ever. This could change everything."

What are they talking about?

"As soon as you get your hands on that wolf, contact me."

Redpaw's jaw dropped. He backed away slowly from the vent, careful not to make a sound. The shaft groaned once more and the voices stopped. Gulping, Redpaw strained his ears to listen. He heard some shuffling from down below, followed by the creaking of the vent. A head poked through. "Ah! Redpaw, is it?"

Kicking him in the face, Redpaw ran down the shaft, trying to get away from the strange man. He yelped, feeling a sharp pain in his hind legs. He suddenly felt very tired. Looking back, he saw a dart sticking out of his back. He collapsed with a whine. The man's hand grabbed one of his legs and pulled the pup out of the vent, carefully holding him in his arms.

"Precious little wolf pup, aren't you," the man said. He brought out a needle. "All I need is a little blood and you can be on your way." Redpaw whined once more before blacking out.

"Redpaw's in danger!" Chase barked. "Open this vent!"

"Chase, you're hurt," Ryder said. "I can't let you go in there."

"I just received word he was found in one of the labs," Artie said, glancing at his phone. "You can't go in there."

"But-"

"I know, I know. I'll make sure he gets to your arms. Why don't we head back to the cafeteria, alright?" Ryder nodded, picking up Chase.

Chase had been eyeing Artie for some time now as he ate along with the pups. "What's up?" Marshall asked.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just... Artie's kinda weird, isn't he?"

"What makes you say that?"

"When we were looking for Redpaw, he was really anxious, sweating even. I don't think Ryder noticed. Plus, I saw that he seemed really relieved when Redpaw was found."

"Well, it's his laboratory. They've probably got a whole bunch of secrets."

"Yeah, but even so..." Chase felt skeptical. "What could he be hiding?"

By the next morning, everything was set for Ryder, Katie and the pups to head home. Artie would go with them, since he'd never been to Adventure Bay. On the way back, Redpaw finally awoke, dazed and confused, on Katie's lap. She pet him, soothing the frightened pup back to sleep.

Once they arrived at the Lookout, Chase was the first to hop out. Paws still stinging and raw, he limped over to his doghouse, putting on his snow boots. "Great thinking, Chase," Katie said. "That should keep them from getting further damaged."

Artie looked up at the Lookout in awe. "The Mayor gave you all this?"

"Yep. The pups sleep over there when it's nice out, otherwise they're inside with me. It's got everything we need, plus a garage for all our vehicles."

"You've done a great job, Ryder. Your Dad would be proud." Ryder teared up for a moment before remembering Redpaw.

"Katie, is he alright?"

"Looks like he's having a nightmare," Katie said. "I'll put him in your room." Katie walked into the Lookout.

"So, Uncle Artie," Ryder said. "You want a tour of the island?"

Artie smirked. "Yes. That would be wonderful."

The scenery was startlingly white as snow fell to the ground, covering it like nature's blanket. Redpaw stepped through it, feeling it's cold, fluffy qualities between hiss toes. He shivered, letting out a giggle as he continued on into the forest.

A howl to his left alerted him. It seemed all too familiar. Running towards the source, he was shocked to see a she-wolf, like him, only just as white as the ground. "My son..." she cried, rushing towards him. He took a few steps back, wondering who she could be. Once they made contact, however, it all came rushing back.

Memories from when he was being nursed, when he played with his pack, when he slept safe and sound in the woods. It was too much for him to bear. He pulled back from her. "Mom?"

Ripping of sheets could be heard as Redpaw thrashed around. He sat up, feeling the smooth cloth fall off his body as he panted. He looked around, confused about his whereabouts. "I'm... I'm home?" He looked out the patio door, listening to the pups playing down below. "Home..."

A flash of the white wolf briefly obscured his vision. "I have to find her," he said.

"Have to find who?" Redpaw yipped, startled by the sudden voice. It was Skye. "Who do you have to find?"

"My mom. She's out there, somewhere in the forest."

"But, we just got back. You need rest."

"No!" Redpaw barked. "I need my mom."

As Artie took photos of the forest and the town, Ryder couldn't help but chuckle. "What?" Artie said, also chuckling.

"You're a lot like Dad. Always looking for something new."

Artie smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right." His pager vibrated in his pocket. "Hey, I'm starving. Know any good restaurants?"

"Follow me."

As he followed his nephew, Artie pulled out his pager and smiled at the message. 'Everything's ready. You in place?'

'Not yet' he replied. 'On my signal'

They soon arrived at Mr. Porter's. Ryder ordered a plate of spaghetti and meatballs for the both of them. "Ryder, I have a bit of a confession to make."

"Is this about Redpaw?"

"In a way, yes."

Ryder gulped. "Did you hurt him?"

"No. I didn't. But, I did send him to you."

What do you mean by that?"

"Let me explain..."