Chapter 30: Marshall's New Beginning (Two days later: Present day, 8:00 PM, at Adventure Bay's Docks)

As the S.S Cromwell came to a halt, Mr. Turbot let out a huge sigh. It felt as if the journey lasted longer this time, but he was glad that it was finally coming to an end.

"Phew! I could really go for some seafood right now!" He commented as Captain Rivera rolled his eyes.

"Think about that after you're finished over here." He mumbled before grabbing his bags. "And don't forget to lock up when you're done this time!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" Mr. Turbot said before looking at Marshall's kennel. "Alright, little guy, just a few more hours, then you'll be settled in! Let's see… We've got your diet papers, some medication, your birth certificate… Wait, your birthday was yesterday!? Oh geez! If I had known sooner, I would have made you something to eat!"

Awkward silence…

"Oh…Right… The tube.. I-I'll just get your things ready!"

Meanwhile inside Marshall's head.

The void was becoming brighter as Marshall made his way through the light. To him, it had only seemed like a few minutes had gone by ever since he heard Bruce's voice at the hospital. Eventually, a cold breeze blew across him.

"Brrrr, why is it cold all of the sudden?" He wondered before noticing a glass cage in front of him. "Huh? When did this get here?"

"Neht litnu…" A distorted voice whispered through the wind.

"Honestly, how did he even graduate? He should have known going inside was a bad idea!" Another voice whispered.

"It's like these newer recruits are getting dumber and dumber. I swear, this city is doomed if another incident pops up…"

"Ngh…The voices… This must be what's affecting my other self. They sound so real, but I don't remember ever hearing them," Marshall thought out loud as he moved closer to the glass. Suddenly…

ZAAAP!

"Ahhh!" He flinched as more cracks appeared on the ground.

"Oh look! He touched it! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Just give up already!"

"Wh-What is this!? Why do you want me gone so much!?"

"You already know why!"

"N-No! J-Just leave me alone!" He cried before smashing his paws against the glass. A few moments later, his vision went bright, and his body felt as if it was floating.

Back in reality…

"I should have… been more…" Marshall muttered before falling asleep.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Mr. Turbot asked as Mr. Jordan arrived. "Hmm… I guess I'm just hearing things."

"Another day, huh, Mr. Turbot?" He called out.

"Boy, I'll say! It's a great day for a walk, but I'm not sure this guy is really feeling it."

"Yeah… He's been through a lot, so it might take a while for him to settle down."

"Yikes… The job is pretty rough, huh?"

"Oh trust me! We've been through a lot worse, but he should be alright! After all, Katie is getting better!"

"Oh, it's been a while since I've heard from her! How is she?"

"She's learning faster than I did, so I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a manager! You should come and visit some time!"

"I will, but first, I've gotta deal with the captain's orders. He's been a little… restless lately."

"It must be the elections… He's probably worried about his father."

"I don't blame him, but I'll try to keep up! Anyways, I should be heading out now. I'll see you around!"

"Alright, take care!" Mr. Jordan waved as he secured Marshall's kennel in his trunk. "Okay, bud, you're almost there."

(8:45 PM In the Shelter kitchen with the pups)

Hours flew by as the pups worked on making hourglasses. Rocky could barely keep his tail still. For the first time, everyone was enjoying making one of his projects. It was like one of his biggest dreams finally coming true. As for the others, they put a lot of effort into making them look special.

"How's everything coming along?" Skipper asked.

"Meh, I guess this wasn't so bad," Avery replied as Mira smiled.

"See? I told you it would be fun!" She said,

"Ugh… I think I got sand in my nose," Leo mumbled.

"Heh heh! Not only that, but I think you forgot something," Colten called out as Rhino was playing with one of his pieces.

"Aww, what!? No wonder my sand keeps falling too fast!"

Meow!

"Wait, how did you glue it without the divider?" Skye wondered.

"Uhh… I-I don't know…" Leo replied as everyone giggled.

"Well, at least it looks nice!" Rocky complimented.

"Yeah, but mine is obviously the best!" Avery claimed.

"Nah, I kind of like Chase's better," Joey followed.

"Huh? O-Oh! Thanks! I wasn't sure if I was doing it right!" He said.

"I think mine is pretty cool!" Skye smiled as Rocky titled his head.

"It kind of looks like a unicorn sneezed all over it," He thought out loud as the others giggled.

"What do you think, Skipper?" Another pup asked.

"Eh? Oh, no! You know I'm not good at judging! Try asking Peter!" He claimed before they all turned to Peter, who was finishing his last decorations.

"Has he been wearing headphones this whole time?" Sarah asked.

"That explains why he wasn't talking much," Joey said. "Yo, Peter! Which one do you think is-? What the…?"

"Hmm?" He tilted his head before removing the headphones. Everyone noticed his hourglass. Unlike the others, his only consisted of black and white with a variety of complicated patterns.

"Whoa! Peter, how did you make that!?" Rocky asked.

"My hourglass? I just painted over it."

"Err… Well, yeah, but like…!"

"The patterns, the details! It's amazing!" Mira beamed while taking a closer look. What inspired you to make it like this?"

"Nothing! Y-You guys just took all of the colors, so I just worked with whatever was left!" He said nervously.

"Aww! I thought it had like some kind of hidden analogy to it."

"Yeah! You can barely tell it was hand-made! I think it's obvious who the winner is!"

"Yeah, nice job, Peter! You should really join an art club! You can get famous!" Skye suggested.

"Heh…. I-I would, except I never learned how to rea-"

"Skipper! He's here!" Katie called from the other room.

"Alright… Stay calm…" He whispered before turning to the others. Well, looks like I'm out of time, so make sure you guys clean up before you leave, got it?"

"Got it!" The pups waved as Skipper left the kitchen.

"Say, what kind of analogy would this be anyways?" Chase asked Mira.

"Well, at first glance, it kind of looks like life and death, but if you look again, you'll see that it's more like the darkness and light." Mira explained.

"Sometimes, a person's day can be all sad and gloomy, but once the sand reaches the other side, the bright and happier days return! The only problem is, we can't always control what happens, so sometimes, we've just gotta push ourselves through the darkness. It's hard, but it's not impossible if you don't give up. You should keep this as a reminder just in case!"

"Y-Yeah, I will! Heh heh… I'm not used to being in the spotlight," Peter said with a nervous smile.

"Well, it's getting pretty late, so we should start cleaning up," Colten suggested.

"Oh, I guess I brought out a little too much stuff…" Rocky rubbed the back of his head before standing up. "I'll start packing what's on the other side.

"You need some help with that?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, sure! That would be great!"

Meow!

"We should go check if there's anything that needs to be taken care of in the kennel," Colten nudged Leo.

"Yeah, let's roll!"

"Alright! Let's make this quick!" Skye smiled as they all took off. Shortly after, she realized that Chase wasn't looking too good. "Hmm? Is everything alright, Chase?"

"H-Huh!? Oh! Umm-! E-Everything's fine!"

"...Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I'm just a little tired is all."

"Well, come on! The others are heading back to the kennel!

"Right! Just give me some time!" He forged a smile as Skye walked away. Once she was far he let out a huge sigh. He couldn't stop thinking about what Leo said to him earlier.

"You can't just assume I'll go with whatever you say!" The words repeated in his head.

"I don't get it… What's wrong with helping others?" He thought to himself as his nose picked up on something "Ugh… Why does this smell keep coming back?"

(9:00 PM In Marshall's head…)

Marshall remained floating for what seemed like an hour before gently landing on the ground. Once he stood up, he noticed that the glass was protecting memories of some of the old training equipment he used while training with Bruce. Tears rolled down his cheek, as another voice came from behind.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" It asked.

"I'm supposed to be ready for this, so why is everything all broken? Why are there two versions of me? And how am I supposed to go back home?" Marshall cried.

"You already know…"

"Why does everyone keep saying that!? I know it was my fault, so why can't you just let me-!" He screamed before seeing a crater forming underneath him. Before it could trap him inside, he jumped out of the way. "Arrrgh! Why do you keep showing up when I just want to-! Wait…" He paused before noticing a trail of craters behind him. "They only show up when I feel like this. So does this mean… I'm the one restraining myself?" He thought out loud as the breeze started picking up speed.

"You're useless! If you can't save anything, then why should you be a firepup!?" Another voice called out.

"There are a lot of more qualified pups out there! Why don't you give them a chance and let yourself disappear?"

"N-No! You're not real! You're just a voice inside my head!" Marshall shouted as he stood up. "I "I finally understand! All of this time, I've let my emotions stop me from leaving this place! I can't change what happened, but that doesn't mean I can't learn from it! I still have a long way to go, and I don't plan on giving up any time soon, so no matter what you say, I'm leaving here alive!" Suddenly, the breeze calmed down as the craters began to seal. A cold relaxing feeling flowed through his veins. The voices had gone quiet, but their presence remained. Marshall stood in awe as more tears fell across his cheek.

"I…! I did it! I can feel my senses again! This is… This is my chance! I have to go find my other self!"

In the staff lounge… (With Marshall, Katie, Skipper, and Mr. Jordan)

"Alright, so you want to make sure you're keeping him in a comfortable position while feeding him through the tube, because this could be really painful if he's not already used to it," Mr. Jordan explained as he removed Marshall's tube.

"Got it! This shouldn't be too hard," Katie nodded.

"Yeah, but you've still gotta be careful. We don't know how he handles stress," Skipper warned as Katie smiled.

"You say that as if I'm new to this! I mean, don't you remember how I took care of you?"

"Wha-? But I was always obedient, wasn't I?"

"You were quite a handful, but you weren't the worst!" Mr. Jordan replied as Skipper sighed.

"Hey, come on! Don't look so down, Skip! We all have our moments!" Katie smiled.

"Yeah, yeah… I know…"

"Anyways, let's get you home, Katie! Tomorrow is going to be a busy day!"

"When is it not?" Katie chuckled as she stood up.

"I'll be back in about half an hour, Skipper, so make sure everything is in order before you head to sleep, okay?"

"Got it! Safe travels!"

"Good night!"

(2:00 AM In the Kennel…)

The stars filled the sky as crickets chirped outside. Although he was supposed to be asleep, Chase couldn't help but worry. The scent was becoming stronger. As he tried closing his eyes, he could only remember the feeling of being trapped in his room on the night of the fire. His body began to tremble. Instantly, he found himself wide awake with his eyes bloodshot.

"Ugh! Why can't I just go to sleep already!?" He thought to himself as tears started forming in his eyes. He remembered a song his mother used to sing.

Although your nights are up and wild you'll always be my dear sweet child.

You're brave, you're kind, the joy in my eyes. No matter what you go through, you'll find a way to rise.

So think about the good times, and how they light your way,

For today is finally over, and tomorrow is a new day.

And if your dreams are not what you were expecting, I'll be right here in case you need some protecting…

Even when your nights are scary, even when your nights are blue, you'll never have to worry, cause I'll be there for you.

"Why couldn't you be here now…?" Chase sniffled as he lowered his head.

With both Marshalls…

"Hey! I'm here! I'm sorry I took so long!"

"The voices… I can't hear them anymore… A-Are they gone?"

"No… They're still here, but I know a way to get around them. I'm sure you know it too."

"I have to come with you, don't I…?"

"I know it's scary, but we can do this! I know we can!"

"But… I can't! I-I'm just gonna make things even worse!"

"No, that's not true! I mean look at how far we've come! We can't just let one bad thing ruin it! We can make it through this together! Like we always have!"

"I… I trust you. I always have," Within moments, The two linked themselves together, and the void began to disappear. As soon as he reached the threshold of his consciousness, he noticed a figure of Bruce smiling while fading away.

"Bruce? W-Where are you going!?"

"You'll be fine, Marshall. I promise…" The figure responded before fully disappearing.

"No! D-Don't leave! COME BACK!"

Back to reality…

"Ngh…! N-No…! AHHH!" Marshall shouted as he woke up in an unfamiliar environment. Skipper was asleep on the other side of the room. Bruce's last words started coming back to him. Instantly, he began hyperventilating. "Bruce!? N-No…! W-Where are you!?"He cried as he frantically looked around. His heart couldn't take it anymore. He quickly got up and started running towards the exit. Once he passed the kennel's room door, Chase stood up and backed away as quickly as he could.

"What was that?!" He whispered under his breath before turning to Skye, who was sleeping peacefully. He decided not to bother her and went to check on his own. His body was shaking as he struggled to open the door. Meanwhile, Marshall ran towards the main hall. His cries echoed through the hallways. Once he made it to the entrance, he banged his paws as hard as he could against it.

"P-Please come back! I'm sorry for hiding! I-I just want to go home!" He cried before Chase grabbed a hold of him.

"H-Hey! Take it easy! Rela-!" He tried to speak but was interrupted by a kick to the stomach. "Hrrrrk! Awwruugh!"

"BRUCE, PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

"Ngh! W-Why would you-!?"

"Zen…! Lorenzo…! A-Anyone!? P-Please…" Marshall sobbed as he covered his eyes and slowly dropped to the ground. Chase was too shocked to say anything. He stared towards the hallways in hopes that a staff member would have heard, but no one showed up. He wanted to bark as loud as he could, but he could feel his body growing tired. The main hall was cold, and he couldn't just leave him there by himself. He silently whimpered, then looked around the dark room. He noticed a blanket folded next to the closet and slowly picked it up to cover himself as Marshall. Marshall continued crying before falling asleep again. Chase too was also growing tired. He realized the scent had grown stronger, but before he could react, he had fallen asleep as well. Thus began Marshall's new journey...

Season 3: IN PROGRESS (To be announced)