Disclaimer: I Don't Own Paw Patrol

Rating: K+

Chapter 6: The Competition

*May 5, 2013 2 PM. Day of the Competition*

Location: Adventure Bay Field

Marshall's POV

Today's the day, the day where I see if I can join The Paw Patrol. The news was already here, ready to see who would be the lucky pup to be a part of Paw Patrol. I looked over in the stands and I didn't see Max there, till I received a message from him.

Hey Marshall

Couldn't make it today, but I'm able to get back home tomorrow. I'll be watching you on the news, so yeah. Listen, I really, really tried to make it today, but my boss just didn't let me go till tomorrow. Just remember Marshall, do your best, forget the rest. Doesn't matter if you get in or not, your friend Chase will always be your friend, and I'll always be your brother.

Love Max

Great, Max couldn't come, and I was feeling down because of it. As I was in thought, somepup came up to me.

"Hey there, are you doing okay?" I look over and saw a dalmatian, a bit older than me, looking at me with a smile

"Y-yeah *sniffle*, I'm doing fine" I said, trying to prevent my tears from coming out, putting my phone away in my vest

"Who's your team?" the dalmatian asked me looking around

"Just me, I don't have a team" I said, looking down at the floor, memories of that night coming back to me

"Just you? Well… uh"

"Marshall" I said

"Marshall, good luck. May the best pup win" and he extended out his paw to me

"You too… "

"Buddy" he said to me with a smile

"You too Buddy" I said smiling, extending my own paw to shake his

I was about to meet the other pups, but then I felt a paw tap my shoulder. It was Chase

"Hey Marshall, I know you don't have a team, but Ryder is allowing me to help you out in any way I can"

"R-really? Thanks Chase" I said, a tear falling from my eye

"Of course Marshall, couldn't let you do this by yourself" Chase said smiling, wiping the tear away from my face. Soon I heard Ryder speak over the intercom

"Attention all Participants! Meet at the center of the field and get ready! Challenges start in 10 minutes!"


All the other pups began to get ready for the challenges Ryder set up for us to do. I got into my gear and hopped into the fire truck Ryder lended me and met at the center of the field in a formal stance, trying my best to seem serious enough. Soon after, the rest of the other pups arrived, with their trucks and team behind them, while I just had a truck and my best friend. I was going to show them that I could do this with only a single team member backing me up.

"Welcome pups!" At this point, the news had their cameras focused on Ryder while he stood on the stage "As you know, you're all here to see who can be our Paw Patrol Fire Pup, but only one of you will win. If you win, you get to decide if you want to say you won or not, if you lose, you'll return to your owners and homes." I hear Ryder say over the microphone

I had to win, my home was an abandoned fire station, ready to fall apart any day. While these pups have a place to call home, I don't.

"The challenges will start off easy, then it'll get harder as you progress further. The competition is on a point based system. Points will be given to you pups depending on what place you finish on the challenge, and how well you did on said challenge. Whoever has the most at the end wins." Ryder said

I look to my left, over to the rest of the pups, they seemed to know a lot more about being a fire pup than me. I thought about just leaving, quitting, but I knew I had to try. I practiced for 6 days straight, whether what I practiced will help, I'll see in a bit, but I had to try, for Max. For my parents.

"The first challenge is simple: Whoever gets into their gear the fastest wins, so take off your current gear, and hand it over to your team. Once you hear the buzzer, run to your team and put your gear on as fast as you can, and make your way back here with your truck, and get back in the same spot that your starting in"

I made my way to Chase, handing my gear over to him, and went back to the starting line

The news then turned their cameras toward us "Ready. Set. GO! *BUZZ*"

And then the buzzer went off. I immediately sprinted towards Chase, who was ready to hand me my gear at my command. As soon as I was about 5 steps from Chase, I issued my first command.

"Vest!" I said with order in my voice. Chase obeyed and tossed me my vest, to which I caught. When I was about halfway in, I said my next command "Pup-Pack!". Chase again handed me the pack, I placed the straps of the pack on the side of my vest that was already on, and threw it over onto my back. When the pack was about to land, I threw my left arm through the vest sleeve, and the strap of the pack as it was falling down to my side. I zipped up the vest, and said my final command "Hat!". Chase tossed it while he was getting into the truck, and I put the hat on, and I hopped into the truck, driving off to the finishing line.

As soon as I got there, I got out and returned to my spot. I was so focused that I didn't know if the other pups got here before I did, so I looked over to my left, and saw I was the only one. I looked behind me and saw the other 3 pups just hopping into their trucks, before coming to the finishing line and returning to their spots.

"*BUZZ* Alright! In first place we got Marshall with a time of 37.21 seconds! In second place we got Sam with a time of 45.25 seconds! In third place we got Buddy with a time of 46.36 seconds! And Last place we got Smokey with a time of 48.32 seconds! Points are now being written. Get ready for the next challenge in 5 minutes." Ryder said as he put the microphone back in its stand and went over to the judges.

"Nice job Marshall! You got first place!" Chase said giving me a playful shove

"For this challenge, wonder what the next one's gonna be. Do you know?" I asked Chase

Chase shook his head "Nope, Ryder kept me in the dark about what the competition's challenges are." Chase said to me "Well, get ready Marshall"

"Already am Chase" I said


After the 5 minutes was up, Ryder went back to the microphone "Attention pups! The next challenge is going to be a race. You'll all get into your trucks at the sound of the buzzer. You'll then drive to Jake's Mountain where the next challenge is set up, but once you get there, do not attempt the next challenge. Just because this is a race, doesn't mean you can break the law, follow the law. Jake's mountain has different ways to enter. First pup to get to his cabin is the winner."

All of us got into our trucks and waited for the buzzer. Soon, Ryder began "Ready. Set. GO! *BUZZ*" I then pressed my paw on the gas and got onto the road. I was in first place since my truck was smaller, but soon I saw a possible route I could take. It was an off-road option, and it would cut the distance left to travel by half, but if this was a real emergency, I needed to take the more reliable route, so I kept driving down the road. I looked behind me and saw all the other pups but Sam take the regular road, and about 5 minutes later, we arrived at Jake's Cabin, and saw Sam waiting for us, then we heard the buzzer.

"*BUZZ*" I looked up and saw a helicopter landing and Ryder stepping out with a microphone in hand "Alright pups, First place we got Sam with a time of 3 minutes and 36 seconds! Second place is the rest of you pups with a time of 5 minutes and 25 seconds." Although I was bummed that I didn't get first place, second was better than nothing, but Ryder spoke up "Sam, despite you getting first place, you took a more risky route. In the event of an actual emergency, you risked you and your team possibly arriving late to assist whatever the event called in was. Points will be docked."

"Damn it" I hear Sam say under his breath


"The next challenge is finding a lost child in a forest fire. Now we won't start an actual fire, but we will have smoke machines in the forest. You must find the child, which in this case is a stuffed bear, and bring it back here. This is timed, you have 5 minutes before the smoke would kill the child, and you'll be doing this challenge alone. The stuffed bear has a speaker and a respiratory system built in, and depending on how long you stay in the smoke, the LED on the stomach will change, Grean meaning Okay, Yellow meaning Danger, Red meaning Life Threatening, and Black meaning Death." Then we heard the smoke machines start up and start shooting smoke into the challenge area. "When you return with your bear, the color on the LED will determine how many points you get. Ready. Set. GO! *BUZZ*"

"Arf! Arf! Oxygen Mask!" I yell out and the mask came out of the pup-pack and onto my muzzle. I took a quick glance back and saw the other pups putting their masks on before running into their dedicated areas.

As I ran into my part of Jake's Forest in a random direction, not knowing where to go. Then I remembered, Ryder said the bear had a speaker in it, so I began to listen. After some time, I heard crying, and I made my way over to where I'm hearing it come from. I saw my stuffed bear beside a tree stump and the LED on it was green. I picked it up and started to find my way out. I soon realized I was lost, and the LED was transitioning to yellow.

I started to get worried, but then I remembered that Ryder said that the bear had a respiratory system. I looked at the bear and saw the breathing holes were on the muzzle, so I had an idea. I took my mask off and placed it on the bear, I then grabbed the front of my vest and placed it over my muzzle. Sure I was stuck facing down, but I had my eyes looking up so I could see a bit ahead of me. Hopefully the mask will filter the air in the bear's respiratory system.

The smoke then became more thick, and I looked at the bear's LED, it was still the same. My mask idea was working, and my vest was partially filtering the air for me to breathe, but not as good as my mask was doing. Soon I heard a familiar sound "*BUZZ*" I ran out of time, so I ran back to where I heard the buzzer and saw the other 3 pups there and Ryder.

"Well, first place is Buddy with 3 minutes and 23 seconds left to spare, and the LED being green. Second place is Smokey with 3 minutes and 19 seconds to spare, LED being green. Third place is Sam with 2 minutes and 48 seconds left to spare, LED being yellow. Last is Marshall, who ran out of time." I was bummed, but Ryder wasn't done talking "However, Marshall." I looked up at Ryder "What let me see your bear"

I handed Ryder my bear with the mask still on it. "Despite you running out of time, your LED is green transitioning to yellow. Care to explain to me why?" Ryder asked me

"While I was trying to find my way out, the LED was changing colors, so I put my mask on the bear. If this were a real situation, I had to save the child, so I would put their life over mine. I used my vest to sort of filter the air for me, but it wasn't the best, so I continued finding my way out." I said to Ryder in a formal stance

"Even though you ran out of time, you'll be given points towards selflessness, and having your LED not go into the Life Threatening Zone." Ryder said to me smiling before looking at the rest of the pups "5 minutes till the next challenge!"

"Hey, nice job Marshall" I look over and saw Buddy next to me

"Thanks, just doing my job" I said smiling

"You're younger than the rest of us, and put the life of a bear over yours." Buddy said giving me a pat on the shoulder

"If this were a real situation, I would've done what I did in the challenge. Part of the job is having to put your life over others if needed" I said to Buddy

"Yeah, well, I hope you get in Marshall." Buddy said to me "You deserve it more than I do"

"Thanks, but I guess we'll see who wins in the end" I said as I made my way over to the next challenge


"Alright, for the final challenge, you'll all be putting out fires while you go through this obstacle course. Don't worry, all of the fires are controlled. The situation is this: A building fire. You must put the fires out and save the child, which will be the stuffed bear. Again, this is timed, you'll have 5 minutes to put the fires out, AND get the child out. Smoke machines are again used in this scenario. Running out of time is an automatic 0 points, and will be equivalent to the building crumbling apart and you getting trapped inside with the child." Ryder said to all of us

"There is a pool of water at the beginning of the course for you to fill up your water cannons, but if you run out, you need to come back to the start for a refill. Ready. Set. GO! *BUZZ*"

"Arf! Arf! Water Cannons!" I commanded and they appeared out of the pup-pack, and I ran to the pool of water. I filled up the cannons to their max, and I started to run towards my course, but as soon as I did, I heard something fall in the pool of water. I pushed it to the side because I needed to focus.

I ran down the course firing the cannons at any fires I saw, and was doing pretty good. I hadn't fallen over yet from my clumsiness, but that soon changed when I hoped over some fake debris. I fell over and one of the cannons was destroyed, but the other one was just fine. I continued down the course, and soon I got to the bear. I saw that the LED was yellow, so I put my mask on the bear again, and started to run out.

I hopped over the debris once again and made it to the finishing line. A few seconds later, the rest of the pups appeared from their courses, and Ryder turned all smoke machines off

"Alright, in first place we have Marshall with 3 minutes and 34 seconds left to spare! Second place is Buddy with 3 minutes and 10 seconds to spare! Third place is Sam with 2 minutes and 50 seconds to spare! And last place is Smokey with 2 minutes and 45 seconds to spare! All the LEDs were yellow. Tallying final scores. Meet back at the field!"


On the drive back, I was wondering who won, but I was knocked out of my thoughts when I was passing by my "home". I stopped in front of it, and just sat down, a tear falling down my face. "Please tell me I won, I don't want to live in this place anymore" Soon a paw was placed on my shoulder, it was Buddy

"You okay Marshall?"

"Not really. A big reason why I decided to compete was to be adopted by Ryder so me and my brother could have a place to live, and not live in there anymore" I said pointing at the fire station

"That's… where you live?" Buddy asked me

"Yeah, that's why I'm hoping I won, so I don't have to live here anymore" I said

"Huh… well I don't know what to say, just I hope you also won Marshall." Buddy said, walking back to his truck.

I got back in my truck and drove the rest of the way back to the field, and Ryder was there on the stage

"Pups, meet me back here" Ryder said, opening the curtain. All of us went behind the curtain and Ryder closed it. "Alright, the scores have been tallied. Last place is Sam, Third place is Smokey. The winner is Buddy"

I… lost. I couldn't believe this. I was back to living in that abandoned fire station, with Max hardly ever being home. I was about to break into tears, but held them back. Ryder kept talking "Buddy, do you want the public to know you won?" Ryder asked

"No" Buddy said

"Alright then, I'll say the winner wanted to be anony-" Ryder was cut off by Buddy

"No Ryder, I want the winner to be Marshall." Buddy said to Ryder. Me and the other two pups were surprised, Buddy then looked at me with a smile "Marshall, you have a chance to be something great, so I'm giving the position to you. Before you ask, I would've done this even before I knew you lived in that abandoned fire station."

"Are you sure Buddy?" Ryder asked

"Yes, I'm sure. Give Marshall the position" Buddy said looking at Ryder

"Alright then, Marshall, do you accept Buddy's gift?" Ryder said looking at me

The tears I was holding back came out "Y-yes *sniffle* yes I do" I said looking at Ryder wiping the tears off my face.

"Okay Marshall, do you want me to let the public know?" Ryder asked me

"No, I'm not ready for the public to know just yet" I said

"Alright, be right back" Ryder then went through the curtains and went up to the microphone. "The winner asked to be anonymous, so I'll respect their wish. You'll know who the winner is when they go on their first mission as the Fire Pup of Paw Patrol! In the meantime, all the pups will return to their owners and head back home. I'll send a letter to the winner when we're ready for them to live in the Lookout" Ryder finished

And that's where I'm ending this Chapter! This was a long boi, but whatever.

Just to clear any possible confusion, when Ryder said "I'll send a letter to the winner when we're ready for them to live in the Lookout", he was lying since Marshall lived in an abandoned fire station, and would begin to take care of him in the Lookout. This would also make the public wonder who was the winner since the other 3 pups had homes, but they didn't know about Marshall.

See y'all in the next chapter!