Ryder had no idea what the best way of going about this was. The other pups were heartbroken when he had told them about Marshall's PTSD, and he knew Everest would be far more upset than they were, especially since she had just learned how bad his mental state already was.

"Um, Everest, there's one more thing you should probably know." He stated nervously. The husky looked at him, worried that there would be more bad news. "You see, the thing is...." The boy let out a small sigh before continuing. "After Damian attacked you, Marshall was traumatized by watching you die. H-he's been diagnosed with PTSD."

Everest felt her heart shatter the second he said that. She had assumed it was only a minor thing she would be told, certainly not this. "N-no. T-that can't be true, r-right? Y-you better be kidding. And If you are, t-this isn't funny." She whimpered in denial.

The boy shook his head, knowing this had to be one of, if not the worst thing she had ever been told. He couldn't blame her either, she had just found out that the love of her life had a permanent mental disorder.

"I'm really sorry, but no. As much as I wish it wasn't true, it is." He insisted. The husky looked up at him, opening her mouth as if she was about to say something else, but that wasn't the case. Instead, she began to choke on whatever words were about to come out. And then, as the full truth of the matter sunk in, she burst into tears.

Jake hugged her and simply let her cry, knowing that after all the horrible things she had been told in the last few minutes, it was best to just let her get her emotions out.

"W-why? Why him?" Everest croaked in between tears, still not fully ready to accept this new reality. "Why m-my Marshy? I....I just don't get it. He d-doesn't deserve to go through this." She exclaimed.

"You're totally right, but there's nothing we can do now. And you're here, I think just that alone will help him a lot." Jake reassured. The husky nodded, wiping away what few tears were still left.

"Hey guys, listen up." Katie announced, gaining everyone's attention. "Obviously, Everest being there is going to be the most helpful thing for him right now. That being said, remember, PTSD doesn't go away. That doesn't mean he can't or won't get better, but this is still something that he's gonna have to deal with for the rest of his life." She explained to everyone.

"Katie, what do I do? I want to help him, but how?" Everest asked, doing everything she could to not cry again and keep her cool.

"Just make sure he knows that you're there for him. You're going to be playing a huge part in his recovery, and that means he's going to rely on you a lot mentally speaking. After being away from you for so long, especially after the attack, I highly doubt he'll like being separated from you. And if he has an episode or nightmare or something like that, just comfort him. Do what comes naturally. " The girl informed the husky.

Everest nodded in response. "O-ok. I'll do whatever I can to help him get better." She vowed, only slightly directed towards the others. She was mainly making it a promise to herself.  A few moments of silence passed. No one really knew what they were supposed to do now.

"Oh shoot, I need to get him a gift." The husky exclaimed, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What?" She asked, unsure of why they seemed confused by what she had said.

Ryder chuckled and patted her head. "Everest, I don't think you need to worry about that. You kinda are the gift. But, I understand if you still want to get him something. If you want, you can go look around with Jake for something." He suggested.

"Well of course I'm gonna get him something. He deserves something from me after everything he's been through. Oh and Ryder, can I have my collar and puptag back?" The husky asked, realizing she didn't have it. Now that she had started thinking about it, she felt a bit weird without it. A collar and tag were almost like a dog's identity.

"Oh yeah. Uhm, I actually don't have your collar. I ended up giving it to Marshall, he likes to wear it. It seems to help him calm down, he said it let him hold on to a piece of you, so I obviously wasn't gonna take it from him." He explained.

Everest got an idea from that and smiled. "I think I know exactly what to get him. Me and Jake will go shopping, and then I'll meet you guys at the lookout, ok?" Ryder smiled and nodded in agreement.

"His party was supposed to start like thirty minutes ago, so we should get going. How about right before you guys are done, we'll all give him his gifts, then you can surprise him. I'll tell him to go down to his puphouse and that Chase will bring down the last gift so you two can be alone with each other." The boy suggested.

Everyone seemed to agree with that idea. Everest and Jake both turned to go and get a gift for Marshall before Ryder stopped them. "Don't forget to give me a call when you guys are done." The duo nodded and walked out of the building.

Once the two left, the others just stood there, letting everything that had just happened sink in. "Alright then, we should get going." Chase finally stated. They all nodded, snapping out of their trance as they left for the lookout, excited for what was to come.

◾◻◻⬛◻◻◾️

Back at the lookout, Marshall was sitting in his puphouse as per usual. Even though it was his birthday, he was feeling worse. It seemed like every day, he just fell deeper and deeper into darkness, to the point where he wasn't sure if he'd ever find a way out.

And to make everything even more terrible, his mind was in a whole other world. He tried to ignore the voices in his, but it was starting to become too much. They were starting to get to him, and it was taking a serious toll.

The dally looked around his room, noticing a certain razor blade on the other side. Of course, being in the state he was in now, that only brought more thoughts into his head.

As much as he tried to resist, he felt his paw reaching out towards it, as if he was completely hypnotised. Thankfully, his puptag went off, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Paw Patrol, to the lookout!" It called out, just as it always did. Marshall sighed and left his house, slowly trudging to the elevator. He didn't see anyone else there when he walked in, but he just shrugged it off, assuming they were already at the top.

Once he got up to the top of the tower, he looked around to see......nothing? Suddenly, the lights turned on, revealing all of his friends surrounded by party decorations. "Happy birthday Marshall!" They all yelled. The dally gazed around the room, seeing everything they had done for him. It didn't make him feel much better, but he put on a fake smile and walked over to them.

"Do you like it buddy?" Chase asked, hoping for a sign of approval. They had put in lots of work, so even just him appreciating it would be enough for them.

"You guys really didn't have to do all this, but thank you." Marshall responded, trying his best to sound happy, even though he was really anything but that.

"Of course we did. We know you've been going through a lot, some we wanted to give you an extra special party." Ryder explained as he pet his head. "Sorry we couldn't start the party sooner, I know it's kind of late. We just got caught up by time."

"It's fine. What do we do first?" He asked, assuming the others had already planned mostly everything out.

"Well, we could start off with the cake, and then we can do presents." Ryder suggested. Marshall nodded in agreement. He didn't really feel like eating much, but he figured he might as well have some. Today was supposed to be his special day after all.

Ryder brought out the cake, which was of course safe for dogs to eat, and everyone sang him happy birthday as they usually would. Marshall still felt what he had been feeling earlier, but he didn't show it as to not ruin the other's enjoyment.

They all ate their piece of cake rather quickly, besides Marshall. Nonetheless, he still finished it, which made everyone happy that he was at least eating. Afterward, Ryder received a text through his phone from Jake. "Me and Everest are done, we got the dude a pretty good gift. We'll be there in about twenty minutes." It read.

"Alright, time for presents everyone!" He announced. Everyone ran and got their friends the gifts they had gotten. They all put them on the table and Marshall began to open them. He got some pup treats, new toys, a collection of Apollo movies he had yet to see, they had even installed the newest version of pup pup boogie in the lookout.

Of course, the dally thanked them for their generosity, assuming that he had reached the end of his gifts.

"Actually, we got you one more thing." Ryder stated, proving his assumption wrong. "How about you head down to your puphouse and then Chase will bring it down for you."

Marshall nodded, not really caring. In all honesty, he wanted to back down. Despite all that they just did for him, he still felt miserable.

Once he got inside his puphouse, he immediately broke down in tears, unable to hold in everything he had just kept from the others.

He grabbed one of his pillows and continued to sob uncontrollably into it, not having a care in the world anymore. All he wanted was to escape from all this pain, and have his disorder wash away, but they refused, only making him worse every day.

He looked around at the pictures he still had hanging on his wall. Those cherished memories that once gave him so much joy only worsened everything. Even just looking at the old pictures of him and Everest stung in his heart, constantly reminding him that she was gone and the terrifying way she had died.

"I-I can't do this anymore." He whimpered in defeat. Hesitantly, he reached over and grabbed the blade. He gripped it in his paw and opened it. Part of him was yelling at him, telling him not to do this, but that part of him wasn't in control anymore.

With a shaky paw and tears flowing down his cheeks, the dally shut his eyes, slowly bringing the blade closer to his throat. "I-I'm so sorry everyone, I'm j-just not strong enough." He whispered.

"S-see you soon Eve."