This is a quick Paw Patrol fanfic; An alternate ending to 'Pups Great Race' in which Marshall decides to take a stand for what he really thinks about Adventure Bay.
Disclaimer: I do not claim rights to Paw Patrol. Paw Patrol is copyrighted to Nickelodeon, Viacom, and Spinmaster.
Enjoy and review!
Marshall's Explosion
"Oh… I'm going the wrong way…" Marshall slammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel around. His fire engine, RED-3, responded smartly and spun one hundred and eighty degrees on the spot. After that, he jammed the throttle to the floor. RED-3 roared as she sped off after the other pups and Alex. Once across the bridge, Marshall's well trained eyes detected a large puddle of soap and bubbles. He applied the brakes just before he hit the puddle, and despite a small skid, effortlessly recovered. Gently caressing the throttle, he steered through the other pups who had spun out in the suds and overtook Alex at the bend. "Almost there…" Marshall told himself, "I just need to catch Skye…" Suddenly his pup tag flashed on.
"Paw Patrol!" Ryder's voice came out, "There's an emergency!"
"Ryder needs us!" Chase, Skye, Rocky, Rubble, and Zuma shouted.
"Are you barking kidding me?" Marshall asked.
"Mayor Goodway's balloon is out of control!" said Ryder, "Meet me at the soccer field!" Marshall looked in his rearview mirror and saw all the other pups turning around and heading for the soccer field. His thoughts were racing…
"Seriously…? That useless mayor can't keep herself out of trouble for ten minutes? Why did she have to need us right at the finish? Why can't they just…" He looked up to see the finish line just a mile ahead. He also saw that Alex was right behind him. After a moment, Marshall made his choice. "I didn't come this far to lose!" he growled, and he stomped the throttle down. Straining for all the RPM she could muster, RED-3 surged forward, leaving Alex helplessly in her wake. Marshall had eyes only for the finish line, and clenched his teeth as he approached at a high rate of speed. About twenty feet from the line, he pulled the paw-brake and cranked the wheel left again. His truck spun completely around and across the finish line. Once he was sure he was across, Marshall released the paw-brake, turned on the siren and floored the throttle again. Being careful not to hit Alex, he took off heading for the soccer field. It didn't take long for him to get there, and when he did, he could tell that Ryder was obviously upset with him. But first, he fulfilled his duties as a firedog and got Mayor Goodway and Chickaletta down from the balloon. Once they were on the ground, a crowd had gathered at the field, and Marshall stood at attention as Ryder stood over him.
"Marshall…" he said in a stern voice, "Why didn't you come here when I called you?"
"Well…" Marshall began, "I… After going all the way around the race course, I felt it would be an insult to my efforts to turn away a mile from the finish line. Besides that, Alex was behind me and I thought it was unfair that we had to stop racing and he didn't."
"The race was just for fun;" Ryder reminded him, "Your duties as a Paw Patrol pup always come first."
"Yeah, Marshall," said Chase, "How could you turn away from someone who needed help like that?"
"Forgive me for being frank," said Marshall, "But doesn't it seem that the mayor always needs help at the most inconvenient times? More often than not for petty things?"
"Why Marshall!" said Mayor Goodway, "I am shocked that you would say such things! I need you for when my Chickaletta gets into trouble so you can bring her safely back to me!"
"Yeah…" scoffed Marshall, "Because you're too scatterbrained to keep an eye on that mindless drumstick yourself."
"OH!" cried Mayor Goodway, "Why of all the nerve! How dare you speak to me like that!"
"That was very rude, Marshall;" said Ryder, "I want you to apologize right now!"
"And what if I don't want to?" asked Marshall.
"Then I'll have to put you in the doghouse for a week!" said Ryder.
"WHAT?" cried Marshall, "You would punish me because I take it out of the kindness of my heart to let everyone know just how scatterbrained and dependent that sorry excuse for a mayor is?"
"Alright, that's it!" Ryder said, firmly, "Marshall, you will be spending the next two weeks in the doghouse! No TV, no pup treats, and no going out! I will not tolerate rudeness in my pups!" That did it… just about everything in Marshall's brain snapped…!
"AAAAAARRGGHH! DOG BARKING DAMN IT!" Marshall screamed, "ISN'T ANY PUP AWARE THAT WE ARE LIVING IN A TOWN OF IDIOTS?" A collective gasp went up from the crowd. "CALL ME FRANK; CALL ME RUDE; CALL ME WHATEVER THE BARK YOU WANT…" He went on, "BUT IT'S TRUE! I LIVE IN A TOWN OF BARKING IDIOTS!"
"I've heard enough!" Ryder said, angrily, "Listen, Marshall, I will hear no more…"
"No, Ryder!" said Marshall, "You listen! Everyone in this town can't go three days without getting into any kind of situation! Locked lighthouses one day; missing backpacks the next; and missing purse chickens about every other day? You tell me you don't get frustrated with this mess!"
"But Marshall…" Alex said from the crowd, "We love you and the Paw Patrol… We're glad you're always there to save us."
"Save you from what?" Marshall asked, "Situations that you put yourself in about eighty percent of the time?" The angry Dalmatian stomped over to Alex and looked him right in the eyes. "Alex Porter…" he said, "You are the most idiotic, accident prone ding-dong it has ever been my misfortune to know!" Alex started to tear up, but Marshall was unrelenting, "A flying wind-board, crabs, sliding down a mountain, oh, and the DENTIST!" At this point, Marshall looked Alex right in the eye and was speaking through clenched teeth, "Yeah… don't think for one minute I forgot about that! I had to dangle from a jerking helicopter three thousand feet in the air; forced against my will to face the one thing I fear more than anything, all because you were too cowardly to go to the mother barking DENTIST!" He turned back to the crowd and continued, "We stick our necks out for Adventure Bay, solving problems that are supposed to be solved by municipal services! And when we do face real danger, what is our reward? A pat on the head and a stupid pup treat! No vacation, no paycheck, and no gratification!"
"Enough!" yelled Ryder, "Marshall… I am very disappointed in you. You should be ashamed of yourself for saying such mean things."
"You're right, Ryder;" said Marshall, "I should… Oh wait, I don't!" By this time, all the other pups were very scared; they had never seen Ryder or Marshall this angry before.
"I'll give you one more chance…" said Ryder, "Either apologize to the mayor, Alex, and Adventure Bay, or your punishment will be even more severe!"
"Please Marshall," said Chase, "Just do as he says; I don't want to see you in trouble." Marshall looked over at Chase, then back at Ryder, and made his decision.
"If you pups are okay with it, that's fine for you! But not me! I'M LEAVING!" He bounded away from Ryder and jumped into RED-3. "And another thing;" he added, "I'm taking my truck!"
"Marshall!" yelled Ryder, "Come back here now!" he attempted to run after Marshall, but the Dalmatian pup revved the engine, causing a cloud of exhaust to blow into Ryder's face.
"Sorry, Ryder…" said Marshall, "I don't speak moron!" He gunned the engine and RED-3 took off from the soccer field, heading to the outskirts of town.
"Want me to go after him, Ryder, sir?" asked Chase.
"No…" said Ryder, "Marshall's made his choice, and I won't try to stop him. But know this; he is never welcome back to the lookout as he is no longer a member of the Paw Patrol."
"Understood, sir." said Chase. He then looked to the horizon, wondering what would become of his best friend.
Marshall pulled to a stop near the town limits. He took one last look back at Adventure Bay, knowing that he would never be welcome there again. But why worry? He was a fire dog, there were plenty of opportunities out there for fire dogs. He had plenty of money for fuel, and his truck doubled as a shelter; He would be fine.
"So long, Adventure Bay!" he said, "And good barking riddance!" With that, he set off again, heading out to dog knows where.
SIX MONTHS LATER…
Not a lot had changed since Marshall had left the Paw Patrol. The pups still helped out around Adventure Bay and still enjoyed it. Ryder had even taken in a new pup named Phoenix to be their new fire pup. Phoenix loved working with them, and she was much less clumsy than Marshall had been, so she never crashed into the elevator. But still, the pups (Chase particularly) felt that something was missing from them. One night, Phoenix came to see Chase on the lookout balcony.
"How's it hanging, Chase?" she asked.
"Well…" said Chase, "It's just that I really miss Marshall. I know the things he said were rude, but actually, I think there was a bit of truth behind them."
"What was Marshall like?" asked Phoenix.
"He was one of the best;" said Chase, "Bubbly and full of energy; a bit clumsy, but he always got up after a fall." He sighed before saying, "I just don't know what made him change."
"Do you think he's alright?" asked Phoenix.
"I hope so…" said Chase, "Wherever he is, I hope he found what he was looking for…"
MEANWHILE…
"A glass of warm milk for you, sir?"
"Thank you very much, Andy." Marshall accepted the glass and drank a sip of the warm milk before sighing contentedly. He then lay back in his lounge chair by the pool behind his very big house. "I tell you what." said Marshall, "I never thought I'd be living the good life!"
"Being a stunt dog certainly has its perks, doesn't it?" asked Andy, his butler, "And if I may say so, sir, you were absolutely perfect for the job."
"Who'd have thought that my ability to take wipeouts and tumbles would actually come in handy someday?" asked Marshall. It was true; during his travels, Marshall had taken a large tumble from a tree, and managed to walk away from it. His fall had just so happened to be noticed by a talent agent, who approached him, asking if he wanted to put his talent to good use. Marshall had agreed, and was now the chief stunt dog for the Apollo The Super Pup television show. The job payed him very well, and his skills had made him the go-to pup for a lot of different stunt scenes. The larger than average income had allowed him to purchase a big house and hire Andy to be his butler, whom he treated as an equal rather than a servant.
"If I may ask, sir," said Andy, "Do you ever miss your old friends?"
"I do, actually…" said Marshall, "I hope that someday they'll outgrow working in that backwater town and venture out to see where their talents can really take them." He yawned once, then said, "I'm pretty tired… I think I'll turn in for the night. Goodnight, Andy."
"Goodnight, sir." said Andy before turning off the pool lights. Marshall made his way upstairs, shed his robe, and climbed into his queen-sized bed. After turning three times around, he crawled under the covers and snuggled up against his pillow. He looked out the window at the beautiful starry night, wondering how the Paw Patrol was doing right now. Admittedly he missed them, but he knew he couldn't go back even if he wanted to.
"Maybe someday I'll invite them to come and see me." Marshall told himself, "Oh well… goodnight, Pups. I'll see you again someday." Finally, he drifted into sleep, hoping that the other pups would find their way just as he had found his.
The End!