Marshall was falling. He didn't know how long he was falling, but if the Dalmatian had to guess, he would say about a minute or so of free-falling.

Oddly enough, he wasn't screaming; mostly because the side of his body where the log hit him hurt, and Marshall was in too much pain to care about his impendent death, or so he'd thought.

SPLASH!

Wet. He was wet.

Marshall blinked, confused, but immediately pulled himself together. Gasping, the Dalmatian pushed upwards, doggy paddling to the surface where he'd broke free and gasp again, for fresh air instead of water. Luckily, the river he'd landed in wasn't too rough, so he could easily swim back to shore, and lifted himself up from the ice freezing cold river. The Dalmatian coughed, squeezing his eyes shut.

Hurts...everything hurts...god my chest... He thought as he continued to cough, feeling his body sag a little. He didn't stop coughing until he felt something sticky yet wet fill his mouth, and when he'd spit it out, his eyes went wide at the dark fluid before him. Blood...internal bleeding...log must've damage something in my body. He thought, gasping once more and flinched. It hurts to breath...why? The answer came to him just as quickly as the question.

Broken rib.

Marshall flinched again. Can't be too bad...I'm still alive so maybe just a fracture? Marshall shook his head, but in doing so, pain exploded on his temple. Marshall whined, placing his head down. I'm so tired...and hurt...I can't. Marshall closed his eyes, letting his entire body sag.

For the first time since starting this rescue, Marshall was scared. He was alone, cold, tired, and injured - the four things you'd never want to be in a situation like this. Adding to the list, Marshall feared he'll never make it out alive. I hope Danielle and Lil Hootie did better than I could... He thought, coughing slightly and wheezed. The fire was still going around him, and Marshall knew if he didn't move his fate would be sealed.

When he thought about the kid he'd rescued, seeing her scared and teary eyes, another voice, much more deeper than his own, growled.

Protect. You've sworn you'd protect.

Marshall coughed again.

That's right, He thought, opening his eyes. I did, didn't I? We all did, when we'd signed up for the PAW Patrol. He thought back to his days when the PAW Patrol was first forming, when Ryder and he made an oath that all of the pups had to say, because they knew, nothing was more important than saving a life. This was the job I'd signed up for, the job I choose to have. Make sense that if I'm willing to put myself through the fire and smoke to save someone else, I'll end up getting hurt too...

Get up. Get girl. Save and protect girl.

Marshall coughed as he slowly started to rise. His body suddenly felt heavy, his legs too weak to stand on, but the Dalmatian had manage to tough it out. He was a little wobbly, and a little dizzy, but he'd manage to stand.

"Right. My job's not over. I'd promised Danielle I would take her to her parents. That's a promise I'm intending to keep." With a fierce look in his eyes, Marshall began running into the burning woods once more, ignoring the pain that was shooting up from just about everywhere. "Don't worry Danielle! I'm coming to find you and we'll make it out of this together, like I'd promised!"

Meanwhile, Skye was still searching when she spotted a little girl with something in her arms. She gasped and contacted Ryder.

"Ryder! There's a little girl in the forest! Looks like she's carrying something," When Skye zoomed in with her goggles, she gasped again. "It's Lil Hootie! But he's so still, I think the smoke's getting to him! And her!"

"Roger that Skye. We're on our way." Ryder said. Skye hummed a little as she realized the smoke was thinner here than the rest of the forest.

"Ryder...if you don't mind...I'm going to try to rescue her. The smoke's thinner, so it shouldn't be too much of a trouble to get her out." Skye said.

"Alright, but be careful Skye. We'll continue searching for Marshall."

"Roger. Over and out." Skye said, as she lowered the helicopter just as a little, so that the harness would reach the girl.

Meanwhile, Danielle was lost and confused and scared. She didn't know where she was going and because Lil Hootie had passed out around this time, she didn't have any guidance as to whether or not she was going the right way. Danielle whimpered a little just as something landed in front of her face.

"Buckle yourself in!" She heard someone say. Danielle didn't think twice - too scared to think anything otherwise - and buckled herself tightly into the harness. Slowly, Skye pulled her up, making Danielle whimper. "I know you're a little scared right now, but can you try to be brave for me? Just for a little while longer?"

Danielle held onto Lil Hootie tightly as she nodded.

"Good, now hang on. We're about to go for a ride." Skye said and started lifting up the helicopter. As soon as she saw the ground getting smaller, Danielle started to panic.

"I can't, I can't, I can't! I'm gonna fall!" She screamed, tears rapidly falling down her face.

"No you're not! You're in the harness as tight as possible. I promise you I won't let anything happen to you!" Skye said, not moving an inch as she tried to settle Danielle down. The girl continued to cry.

"M-Marshall! I want Marshall!" She screamed and Skye froze, but only a little while.

"I think Marshall would've wanted you to be brave." She said. Oh jeez, don't talk about him like he's dead Skye! She thought as Danielle hiccupped.

"Y-yeah, he w-would. H-he promised he would t-take me to my mommy and d-daddy." She sobbed.

"Well, think it of this way - Marshall sent the message to me. I'll take you back to your parents, I promise." Skye said, smiling gently even though Danielle couldn't see it. The little girl sniffled.

"O-okay." She said and with that, Skye began to fly once again.

Marshall continued to find his way through the woods, vision getting blearier and his head was spinning. He coughed again and flinched once more.

"Ouch..." He whimpered, but stopped when he heard a noise. It was faint, and would probably be missed by human's ear, but Marshall could hear it just fine. Racing towards the sound, he gasped when he saw yet another little girl in the forest, who was slowly backing away from the fire that surrounded her. Wait, he thought. I know this girl. This is Alex's playmate and precious's owner, Emily! He thought.

He watched in horror as a tree branch fell in front of Emily, which was now on fire. Looking up, he'd noted that several tree branches were on fire and looking ready to fall...

Right on top of Emily.

No hesitation. No second thought. No nothing - he'd moved.

As soon as soon tree branch - thankfully not on fire - began to fall, he pushed Emily out the way, and groaned when the branch fell on top of him instead. This seem to agitate his wounds as Marshall coughed and spit out another liquid of blood. Emily gasped.

"Marshall!" She said, already running towards him but the fire got in her way. Marshall wiggled as he shouted out-

"GO! Leave me! I'll be fine!" Emily blinked.

"B-but!"

"Just do it!"

"I'm not leaving without you! You can get hurt!"

"So would you! Don't argue with me, move your butt!" Marshall shouted again, still wiggling. Emily huffed but did what she was told. There was a crack up above and Marshall looked to see yet another branch ready to fall - this time, it was on fire. The fear that gripped his heart tighten, and he immediately started to dig around him since the branch wouldn't move.

Another crack was heard, and Marshall flinched. Come on, come on...

When the hole was big enough, Marshall got out just in time as the branch fell on top of the other, both of which caught on fire.

Marshall grinned before he was hit with a dizzy spell.

"N-no...I...I can't..."

His body has had enough. Before he knew it, Marshall hit the ground, eyes closing and for a moment, his heart stopped beating. He let out a weak cough, trying his best to open his eyes.

I'm sorry Danielle...I never manage to keep my promise...