Episode 16: Pups Fight Fire! Marshall and Ben, Dynamic Duo!
October 20th, 2029
Today was extremely exciting for Adventure Bay. Word of the PAW Patrol's exploits had traveled throughout the California coastline, and many towns and cities wanted to try and one up the group of plucky pups. Cities such as Angel Grove also had their fair share of heroes, and one week ago, it was announced that there would be a World's Fastest Fire Pup competition. Pups all across the globe would compete to get the best time in an obstacle course, and they would be timed by the seasoned veteran professional Carter Grayson, who had battled fires, natural disasters, and monsters alike in the service of Mariner Bay.
When Marshall heard about this, he was ecstatic and energized beyond belief. Carter Grayson was a person he idolized, similar to how Rubble loved Apollo the Super Pup. Marshall and Ben immediately started to prepare for the obstacle course, printing out the course layout from the official website and reconstructing it with the stuff they had lying around the Lookout. Rocky was all too happy to lend some of the items he kept in his truck as items for their training regiment.
They were about to run through the course one more time. The official run was going to happen in a few hours, and Marshall wanted to do one more practice attempt. "On your mark, get set, GO!" Chase yelled, pressing his paw to the custom made stopwatch. The pressure plate caused the clock to start counting up, and Marshall took off.
"Woohoo! Go Marshall!" Skye cheered as the dalmatian leapt over the wooden bars.
Unfortunately, he tripped on the last one, getting launched into the air and bouncing off of the tires. Amazingly, though, he landed on his feet, and he continued on the course. "Nice move! I really think Marshall could win the Fastest Fire-pup trophy today!" Rubble commented.
"Of course he can! Marshall's the best fire pup in the world!" Ben exclaimed.
"I've been training for this all week. Water Cannons!" Marshall said, before barking out his water blasters from his pup pack. The stream of water arced up and splashed into the bucket, filling it up. The fire pup barked again to get his water cannons put away. The pup then crashed into the water bucket and got it on his head.
"Come on, Marshall, keep going!" Alex cheered for his friend.
Chase glanced at the clock and gulped. "Time's running out. Marshall better hurry." The German Shepherd muttered nervously. Bringing out his megaphone, Chase announced that the animal rescue section of the course was next.
"Time for your big rescue, Callie!" Skye called out. The cat made a dramatic swooning motion before giggling.
Marshall hopped in his fire truck and went over to the tree, activating his ladder. The ladder extended… before it jammed into the tree branches, and a piece of it broke off. Ben was horrified. They hadn't replaced or upgraded the ladder in years, so the years of neglect must have weakened it. Marshall climbed up what was left of the ladder and tried to grab the cat, but the ladder was too short, and he tumbled to the ground. Callie hopped off of the branch and walked off.
"Mawshall, you okay?" Zuma asked the dalmatian lying on the ground.
"I'll never break the Fastest Fire-pup record like this! I can't rescue animals or people without my ladder!" Marshall moaned in despair.
"Don't worry, Marshall. Ryder and his grandpa built your fire truck. Plus, Rocky and I know how they're assembled and how to do maintenance. We'll have your ladder fixed up before the fire fighting competition. And if we can't, I'll go talk to Carter and explain the situation. He's a really understanding person, he'll be willing to postpone the competition until our fire truck is operational." Ben comforted his friend, giving words of reassurance.
Suddenly, they were being called by Ryder. "PAW Patrol, to the Lookout!" Ryder's voice announced.
"Let's go!" The pups exclaimed. Ben wondered what he could be summoning them for. Ben got in the elevator with the other pups, with Marshall sliding in on his hat. The elevator rose up- the mechanical arms placed the pups in their outfits at the halfway point, and then when the elevator got to the top, Ben and the other pups walked out and lined up. Alex went to sit down and chew on a bone while watching the events with interest.
"PAW Patrol, ready for action, Ryder sir!" Chase exclaimed.
"Okay, PAW Patrol. We have an emergency." Ryder told them all.
"Ready to help, Ryder!" Marshall earnestly said.
"But Ryder, Marshall's about to win the Fastest Fire-pup trophy! Everyone's waiting for him!" Skye pointed out.
"Don't worry, Skye. This time, Marshall's the emergency. He needs our help." Ryder answered with a smile. Ben arched an eyebrow at this information, before realization dawned on his face. They were going to help fix up the fire truck!
"Huh? I'm the emergency?" Marshall asked in confusion.
"Everyone is waiting at the park to watch you try and win the World's Fastest Fire-pup trophy. We just want you to try your best and not worry about whether you break the record." Ryder explained.
"Yeah!" Rubble cheered.
"Go Mawshall!" Zuma howled
"Marshall! Marshall! You! Go! Marshall!" Alex shouted enthusiastically, jumping up to punctuate each word.
Everyone smiled and giggled at this, before Ryder resumed giving out the assignments.
"Rocky, I need you to find something in your recycling to fix Marshall's ladder. Marshall, I need you and your fire gear ready to do your best. Do you think you can do that?" Ryder asked.
"Green means go!" Rocky yelled out.
Marshall looked down at the ground and nodded. "Try my best and forget about the rest. I can do that… but I didn't do a very good job in training." Marshall remarked.
Ben patted Marshall on the head. "I know you can do it. WE know you can! You did amazing in training. You poured your puppy heart and soul into it! A burning hot passion like that surely will get you the record." Ben assured him.
"The other pups will be there to cheer you on! PAW Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder said, before taking the pole to the garage.
Ben followed him down, but this time, he didn't get on his motorcycle, as they wouldn't be traveling yet. Rocky and Marshall went down the slide and got in their pupmobiles. "PAW Patrol, we're on a… oh wait, we're here." Rocky chuckled.
The mixed breed started digging around in his truck, tossing several items out which Ben had to catch. "Found something!" Rocky cried out as he brought a broom out of his truck.
"A broom? No offense, Rocky, I know you're super smart and all, but I don't see how that helps." Ben asked, scratching his head.
Rocky put a paw up to his mouth as he giggled. "I can use the broom and break it apart into rungs for Marshall's ladder! That should work until the new ladder comes in." Rocky revealed.
Ben nodded his head as he started scuffling in his tool belt for something to help put it together. "Ah, here it is." Ben sighed, bringing out his duct tape roll. Using his ratchet and wrench, as well as Ben's duct tape, the pup and human were successfully able to repair the ladder.
Then, Mayor Goodway called them. She seemed flustered, a bit more so than usual. "Ryder, Ben, where's Marshall? Hello Adventure Bay is waiting to film him breaking the Fastest Fire Pup record! He's late!" Mayor Goodway exclaimed worriedly.
"All done here. The truck's ready to go." Ben told Ryder.
"Don't worry, Mayor Goodway. We'll be there!" Ryder promised, before telling Chase to be the police escort for the group. Chase led in front as Ben got on his motorcycle and rode with Marshall.
As Ben, Ryder, and Marshall passed the citizens and followed the route that Chase had set up with traffic cones, the crowds cheered for Marshall. Katie, Captain Turbot, and more of the populace of Adventure Bay vocalized their support and faith in Marshall. "Hear that, Marshall? They know you're going to do your best, and nothing less." Ben proudly said.
"So, where's this record breaking fire pup and the rest of the PAW Patrol?" Carter Grayson asked Mayor Goodway calmly. At that moment, Ben and the other pups drove in on their vehicles and parked in the grass just outside the playground.
"There they are!" Mayor Goodway exclaimed. Carter Grayson took off his firefighter helmet and stared, blinking a few times.
"Wow. I've fought evil and saved lives… but I never thought I would see dogs driving vehicles. None of the other pups operated a fire truck." Carter remarked, an intrigued expression on his face.
Ben got off his motorcycle and walked over to Carter, extending his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Carter Grayson. I'm Benjamin Allen. The spiky haired guy on the ATV behind me is Ryder. Together, me and Ryder lead the PAW Patrol." Ben introduced himself solemnly.
Carter shook hands with him. "Nice to meet you, Ben. Just call me Carter. This reminds me of the old days with Lightspeed." Carter remarked.
"You're on in three, two, one…" The cameraman announced before he started to roll and record. "Good Morning, Adventure Bay! Today, Marshall the fire pup will attempt to win the trophy for completing the fire rescue course in the fastest time ever! If he can ring the city hall bell in less than 10 minutes, he'll be the fastest fire pup ever! This obstacle course will be overseen and timed by Mariner Bay's very own Carter Grayson, firefighting expert and hero." Mayor Goodway narrated.
Everyone gave her applause. "Do my best and forget the rest." Marshall breathed.
"GO MARSHALL!" Skye cheered.
Ben pressed a button on his pup pad to talk to Marshall. "Don't worry, bud. You did great in the training. I know you can do this!" Ben reminded the dalmatian.
The sound of a horn blaring signified the start of the time trial. Marshall began leaping over the bars and trodded through the tires, got stuck on one and crashed into the ground. "I'm good!" Marshall yelled to everyone.
The fire pup got in his truck and drove it to the nearby tree, climbing up and grabbing the stuffed animal. "Making pretty good time…" Carter noted as he checked his stopwatch. Everyone followed Marshall to the beach where a set of rocks and a small campfire had been set up by Carter. Marshall climbed up the prop house that had been set up and used his water cannons to stop the fire.
About six minutes were left. "Now I just have to get to the town hall and ring the bell!" Marshall told himself.
The cameraman, however, backed into a stage light, and sparks flew out, causing the lifeguard chair to ignite. "FIRE! I'll take care of it! RUFF! Water cannons ON!" Marshall barked, his water blasters coming out of his pup pack and extinguishing the small blaze. It took several minutes for the blaze to get completely put out, though.
"My goodness! That could have been a disaster." Mayor Goodway sighed in relief.
"Way to go, Marshall!" Carter encouragingly said, giving the pup a pat on the head.
"Thanks. Uh, but I guess there's no time to break the record now." Marshall sheepishly said.
"There's still 30 seconds left! Give it your best!" Ryder stated.
Carter grinned as he brought his watch out. "Kid, your phone's clock must be several minutes fast. My timer says that there's still three minutes left!" Carter proclaimed.
With that, Marshall leapt into his fire truck and drove to city hall, extending his ladder to the bell and ringing the bell. "He broke the record!" Carter announced. Ben realized something- Carter had stopped his watch when the fire had started. Sharing a knowing look with Ben, Carter presented Marshall with the trophy.
"Even though I stopped in the middle of the obstacle course?" Marshall yipped as he gazed into the golden fire truck trophy. Carter chuckled.
"Pup, you stopped to put out a real fire without a second's thought. You're a hero. In fact, Mayor Goodway was telling me all about the work you've done for this town. You're all heroes. Ranger material, in fact." Carter told them, looking at all of the pups, Ben, and Ryder.
Ben felt a sense of pride at that moment. To be told that by a seasoned rescue veteran and hero, that felt amazing. Carter smiled as he gave Ben a card. "You all are amazing. Adventure Bay reminds me a lot of Mariner Bay. If you ever need anything, Lightspeed will be willing to help." Carter told them as he went over to his car and got in. Waving them goodbye, he drove off into the distance.
"Well, this has been an exciting week. You've all been such good pups." Ryder said. The two humans and seven canines went back to the Lookout for a bit of relaxation.