Jack Russell (the person, not the dog) was surprisingly a chipper individual despite numerous tragedies. His parents having died when he was at a young age, his girlfriend(s) breaking up with him for one reason or another, and his two-year service in the Army was just three of his most prominent. While many mistaken him for being supposedly mentally ill, the former soldier took it all in stride, explaining that one of the last pieces of advice his parents gave him was the world he currently lived in was a harsh one to live in, but it's no reason to give up and give in to the reality. Instead, it was just an incentive to keep moving forward to the future by acknowledging the past and growing from it.
Even so...Jack himself wondered if he did something right for once.
("Something Right" by Kiki Riggs) [Original Song From PAW Patrol: The Movie] [Instrumental]
As Jack exited the bus he arrived in, he spotted the townspeople hanging their Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations as quickly as they could, despite the fact that Halloween had only recently ended. A lot of faces populated the small town, both familiar and unfamiliar. Two of them (a sisterly duo) just happened to past him by to hang lights on one of the small trees in one of the mini parks. The older sister had blonde hair, blue eyes, a black leather rib-knit cuffed jacket above a black hooded zip-up sweatshirt, navy blue jeans, and pink boots. The younger sister had brunette hair, blue eyes, a pink hooded coat, brown pants with matching boots, and grey mittens. She immediately perked up at the sight of Jack, whom she launched herself at a warm hug.
"Jack!" Cassie giggled in delight as Jack returned the hug.
"Hi, Cassie! You've grown!"
"Yep! And so did Lucy!"
"Cassie, please don't mention my height, weight, or other measurements to strangers," Lucy joked as she shook her head, "Sorry about that, Jackson."
"Oh, no worries, Luce," Jack waved her worries away, "I'm used to it."
"The hugs or the measurements?"
"Yes."
Jack turned away to looked around as Lucy processed the answer before scowling at him as he walked off.
"So...are things new going with the old gang?"
"Well," Lucy scratched the back of her head, "The old gang hasn't been discussing anything new since...the Incident during high school."
Jack's smile was only mildly strained, "Have you tried contacting her after high school?"
"The only close contact I have of her is when she drops off Cassie to my house for the weekends," Lucy replied, "and even then, she never takes the time to stay. Honestly, though...I can't blame her."
"Well, she's gonna have to listen to you sooner or later," Jack shrugged, "Of course, whether or not your apology is accepted is entirely up to her."
"That's what I'm worried about," Lucy admitted, "I was a jerk to her back in high school because she was a jerk to us...back in high school. I only knew her for the bully she was then than the person she is now. It's probably too late anyway."
"It's never too late," Cassie smiled in support, "Kayla's mellowed out since then. After all, she's nice to me."
"Yeah, she's nicer to you than to me because you're younger," Lucy scoffed, "What are the chances that she would want to talk to us?"
"Well, we can ask her right now."
Jack and Lucy turned to look in the direction of Cassie's index finger and saw Kayla across the street. She was clad in a dark grey coat above a black turtleneck, black pants, black boots, black gloves, and a blue beanie. The latter froze because it was her first official glimpse of the friend she abandoned five years ago and she looked she never changed. The former froze because it was his first official look of the friend his friend had mentioned for the past four years.
"That's Kayla?" Jack blinked in bewilderment.
"Yeah," Lucy sighed dejectly as Cassie gasped in excited realization.
Walking beside Kayla was Marshall, wearing a yellow-and-red-striped winter beanie with a red pom at the top that complemented his now and improved Pup Pack. Kayla had absolutely no idea how a Pup Pack functioned at all (let alone how to fix it), so she had sent to a classmate of one of her former friends who did.
"I have to admit," Marshall smiled, "this actually reminds me of home."
"Well, I'm glad you do. Who doesn't love Christmas?" Kayla returned the smile before it faltered.
Besides me...?
"Wait, you don't love Christmas?"
Kayla's eyes widened and she turned to Marshall, who now wore an expression of confused shock on his face. Cursing herself for unintentionally letting the comment slip, she quickly apologized and attempted to clarify.
"No, of course I do. It's just that...Christmas tends to bring back uncomfortable memories."
"Really?" Marshall's shock remained, but sympathy also accompanied it, "Like what?"
"Kayla!"
Kayla looked up from the conversation and saw Lucy, Cassie, and a boy their (Kayla and Lucy's) age. Her halfhearted smile was crossed with an equally halfhearted frown; she felt relieved that Cassie was there, agitated that Lucy was also there, and confused that the unknown boy was there with Lucy. Quickly jumping to the conclusion that he was an old acquaintance of Lucy, she turned back to a now solely confused Marshall.
"Like that," Kayla picked up where the conversation left off before wrapping it up with a bow, "Now you let me handle the talking for now, okay?"
Marshall nodded and woofed in understanding, prompting Kayla to smile again and rub his head before turning to cross the street. Approaching Lucy, Cassie, and the unknown boy, Kayla's cordial smile remained despite it faltering again.
"Hey, Cassie. Hey, Lucy."
While Cassie smiled and waved, Lucy bit her bottom lip and fiddled with her fingers before sighing and replying, "Hey, Kayla."
After a moment of silence, Lucy slowly continued, "So...about what happened five years ago..."
Kayla merely shook her head and waved her off, "It's fine. I had five years to cope...and so did everybody else."
"That's what you say and think."
Kayla, Lucy, Cassie, Jack, and Marshall turned around to find a group of older teenagers heading their way. Judging by the way the crowd parted and their fancy-looking appearances, they were a group of uptown preppies turned wealthy socialites. The leader was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned male with a pitch black winter coat above a light blue-and-white suit while his second-in-command was a black-haired, black-eyed, tan-skinned male with a dark grey winter coat above a light grey-and-black suit. Three females accompanied the two of them, two blondes and one brunette. The sole brunette had green eyes, a tan winter coat above a blue long-sleeve dress, and brown heels; the first blonde also had green eyes, but with a white winter coat above a black turtleneck, a black skirt with matching leggings and heels; the second blonde had blue eyes, a black hooded coat above a pink turtleneck, blue trousers, and black heels. Unlike the rest of her group, the second blonde showed more remorse and sympathy towards Kayla's group.
As the group approached, Kayla subtly gestured Marshall and Cassie to take cover.
"Hi, Kayla," The leader greeted with a faux friendly tone that masked scorn, "How's life been treating you?'
"As good as it's treating you, Garrett," Kayla returned the sentiment.
"Interacting with the traitor, huh, Luce?" The sole brunette sneered at Lucy, who scoffed back.
"No, Jessica, we were just passing through."
"All right then," Garrett's second-in-command Brad marched and shoved Kayla back, but she regained her footing. Nonetheless, the altercation was beginning to attract unwanted attention from many of the townspeople, particular the Town Sheriff.
"Come on, you guys," Lucy tried to hold them back with Jack's assistance, "Kayla didn't do it."
"Don't bother trying to defend her any further," Brad growled.
"We know the truth even if the Principal and Vice Principal state otherwise," The tone of the first blonde, Tessa, matched that of her three peers.
"Maybe Kayla's manipulations worked a little too well, huh, dyke?" Jessica smirked sinisterly at Lucy, causing the second female, Christina, to wince.
"Hey!" Cassie charged out of her hiding place, "Leave my sister alone!"
Cassie began throwing punches at the group, landing surprisingly effective hits for her age. Unfortunately, this only angered Garrett, who approached and kicked Cassie, who cried out as she was knocked down onto the ice.
"Cassie!" Kayla, Lucy, Jack, and Marshall all shouted in alarm as the Town Sheriff approached with two deputies, his Glock 17 drawn.
"Put your hands up, Garrett!" Sheriff Ray Nelson aimed his sidearm at Garrett, who shrugged in nonchalance.
"Why are you arresting me, Sheriff? That little bitch drew first blood."
As Cassie held back tears while being checked on by Jack, Lucy stood and moved to punch Garrett before she was held back by Kayla. Watching from his hiding spot, Marshall's horror at seeing his friend getting hurt was balanced by his anger at Garrett and his group. Formulating a plan, he replaced his beanie with his firefighter hat.
"Garrett, what the hell is wrong with you?" Christina held back Garrett, "We're already in enough trouble as it is!"
"Trouble, trouble? Mighty Marshall's ready for trouble!"
All of a sudden, the commotion was silenced as Marshall walked out of his hiding place, walking in the same way a toy would. Realizing this and the plan he had in mind, Kayla held back a deep breath.
Oh, no...
Garrett's group, Sheriff Nelson, and his two deputies exchanged utterly confused glances due to the sudden tonal shift in the situation based on the equally sudden presence of...a toy dog. A toy dog that Christina carefully picked up and examined, wondering where exactly the play button was. A toy dog who, despite his limited range as an actor, had to keep his act up long enough to end up in the hands of Garrett.
"I'm fired up!"
"Where's...the play button?" Jessica tilted her head in confusion as Brad shrugged.
"Give it to me," Garrett abruptly snatched the toy from Christina, unintentionally frightening her as he pointlessly searched for the nonexistent play button. Her tears already dry, a confused Cassie meanwhile turned to Kayla for an explanation. However, the older girl merely gestured to the younger girl to keep calm.
"Ready or not, I'm coming in hot!"
"Aw!" Christina could not help but giggle in delight, "It's kinda cute."
"Ugh," Garrett, on the other hand, sneered in disgust as he prepared to throw the toy aside and finished his unfinished business, "It's kinda busted."
"Who are you calling busted, buster?"
At that question asked, the eyes of the majority widened in shock and terror, but none more so than Garrett's own.
"That's right: I'm talking to you, Garrett Johnson..."
Doing a double take at the now sentient toy, Garrett himself realized that he was still holding it.
"Do you know what I hate besides fires, Garrett?"
Dropping the facade completely, Marshall's face darkened as he smiled deviously.
"Bullies..."
Kicking Garrett in the face, Marshall then flipped away from him as he rolled onto his feet and took a battle stance.
"ARF! Hydro-Launcher!"
Summoning his more powerful Water Cannon, Marshall took aim at Garrett, who was stunned silent to process what was happening before a powerful blast of high pressure water sent him flying into the air. Crashing into the glass window of a toy store, he was now sent sliding into (ironically) a stuffed toy dalmatian dressed in firefighter gear, which fell on top of him and knocked him out.
That stunned silence was echoed throughout everybody who bore witness to the incredibly ludicrous turn of events, including Marshall, whose eyes widened in shock just as theirs did before.
"Uh...oops?"
His terror increasing tenfold, Brad panicked and immediately went for the nearest deputy's Glock 17.
"Brad, no!" Christina gasped in horror.
Noticing this, Marshall reacted accordingly in a swift motion.
"Fire extinguisher!"
The fire extinguisher activated and expelled its foam on Brad, blinding him and the rest of Garrett's group.
"Run!" Marshall called out to Kayla's group, who heeded his command and took off, taking advantage of the momentary distraction. The firefighter pup then took off after them, himself ignoring the commands of the two deputies to cease. Sheriff Nelson could only look on in disbelief.
