MOVIE NIGHT
After a long series of rescues, Chase has been left exhausted and grouchy, unwilling to play with anyone. So Ryder hatches a plan to leave the overworked pup with Marshall to finally get some time to relax. And Marshall can't think of anything better to do than watch a movie to unwind, leading them to sit down and watch the most recent Apollo movie together.
It was a rare moment that Chase and Marshall got some time to themselves. The Lookout was usually jumping with the activities of the other pups, but now, for reasons unbeknownst to Chase, Ryder had taken the the other pups on a rescue, leaving Marshall and himself behind. Chase was obviously disappointed, but in truth, Chase's workaholism was really starting to show. Being called on near-constantly meant that Chase had not gotten a great deal of rest for a couple of days thanks to a spike in rescue activity.
To this end, Ryder had made a plan. He'd take all of the other pups and leave Marshall alone with Chase at the Lookout to try and get him to unwind a little. After some discussion, Marshall had come up with the idea of seeing a movie together. Chase was frequently drowsy and groggy, so anything involving exertion would likely not only make him feel worse, but make his newly-acquired grouchy temperament even worse.
Marshall had started to set up the TV area for the pair of them, placing a pair of cushions in front of the TV and pushing two bowls full of treats into the middle of the room. In the corner were a pair of blankets for in case they got sleepy. And as if on cue, Chase finally entered the room from performing a cautionary sweep of the Lookout. Sadly, with increased tiredness came increased paranoia for the shepherd.
"Well, it's all good around the Lookout. Everything's A-OK." Chase said.
"Great, that means there won't be any interruptions for movie night!" Marshall cheerfully replied.
Chase gritted his teeth and forced a smile, thinking that there were better things to be doing than watching a movie. "Yeah… great..."
"So what do you think we should watch?"
"I don't know. What about you?"
"Hey, I don't know either! That's why I asked you!"
"This is already off to a good start..." Chase scoffed with rolled eyes.
"Ugh, grumpy pup… I'll figure out something, I guess."
Chase dragged himself to a cushion and reluctantly dropped down onto it. "This oughta be good."
Marshall took hold of the TV's remote and started scanning through the options after settling down. Not many of them were anything new or interesting, and a lot of them were movies they had seen before, thanks in no small part to Rubble-led binge sessions of Apollo movies. Of course, when Ryder had picked a movie seemingly about a boy growing up with a family of dogs, it ended in bittersweet tragedy and the entire group being reduced to ungraceful tears, so Rubble was considered the safest bet for picking movies. Until Marshall happened across an unfamiliar-looking cover with Apollo the Super Pup emblazoned on it.
"Hey, this one looks good." Marshall observed. "Apollo vs. the Super Snatchers."
"Don't think any of us have seen that one yet." Chase replied, realising that the movie was still relatively new.
"Then we'll just watch the spoilers around the others."
Chase rolled his eyes again. "Whatever..."
"(Jeez. Hope this makes him loosen up a little.)" Marshall thought.
"Well, here goes!" Marshall selected the movie, and laid down to watch it, eager to see what it might bring.
The movie had started out as expected. Apollo flying around, fighting off the Spider King, stopping thieves and saving the day as he usually did. Until all of a sudden, a woman's cry for help reached Apollo's ears.
"Oh, Apollo! Thank goodness! You have to help me! I- I don't know what to do! Please!" The woman wailed.
"Don't worry, ma'am, help is here." Apollo reassured the woman. "Now, what seems to be the problem?"
"I-it's my boy!" The woman replied. "He… H-he… He's not answering me! He's not doing anything! He's… just standing around!"
"'Standing around'?" Apollo echoed. "Can I see him?"
The woman had taken Apollo up to her son's room, but upon opening the door, she revealed what was essentially the husk of a boy, who was standing there and breathing heavily, with an empty stare adorning his face, looking straight ahead, not reacting to anything. Physically alive. Mentally dead.
"Whoa… that guy looks like a zombie..." Marshall observed.
"How did this go from thieves to zombies?!" Chase asked incredulously.
It wasn't long before the scene changed from Apollo calling for his recently-introduced young ward, Mars, to a young girl playing with her toys in her back yard. The little girl seemed perfectly happy, unaware that there was a cloaked figure watching her from behind her shed, with a long, black trenchcoat, a top hat adorning its head and cat ears poking out from the sides of its hat. Slowly, it slunk out of the shadows, approaching the girl.
"Hello, my pretty." The figure purred, getting the girl's attention.
"Hm? Who are you?" The girl replied, looking up at the figure.
"Just a passerby." The figure seemed to leer at the girl's dolls. "You have some very nice toys here, don't you?"
"My mommy says that I shouldn't talk to strangers." The girl was growing slightly concerned.
"Now, now..." The voice soothed, with a quality almost like silk. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just interested in your toys, that's all."
"B-but… they're mine..."
"Oh, of course they are… But there's something else you have… something that interests me far more.
"Wh-what?"
The figure slowly looked up, revealing a pair of blank, white eyes. Its hands began to emit a bright, purple glow.
"Your SOLE possession, my dear." The figure replied, flashing a sick, toothy grin.
Holding its hands out in front of it, the figure's hands glowed even brighter while the girl simply stood there in a trance, transfixed by the magic the figure was emitting. Soon, a white light slowly began to be pulled from the girl and into the figure's glowing hands.
"Wait. He's stealing her SOUL?!" Marshall gasped with a horrified expression, managing to put two and two together.
"Soul? Th-that's not scary. Th-that's ridiculous!" Chase stammered, trying to pretend that he wasn't seeing what he thought he was.
More time had passed, and the scene had changed to a dark, abandoned, rat-eaten warehouse. Within, two figures were surrounded by large, colourful gemstones. Now without the darkness covering them, the two were revealed to be a pair of cats, one white and one orange, clad in the same garb as the figure from earlier, and both having a pair of blank, white eyes.
"How long must we wait, Captain Mason?" the brown cat asked. "I'm so tired of waiting. Can't we just crush Apollo and move on this worthless city now?"
"Where have you left your patience, Payne?" the white cat asked in return. "You have been griping about the pace of our plans for an age, now. The time is near. You know we must await Smalls' return before we make our next move."
"The time has been near for months, now! I signed on for world domination, not waiting! Why, I would have been able to conquer this city five times over by now!"
"Oh, Payne..." a smooth voice interrupted. "...ever the impatient one."
The figure from earlier had stepped into the scene, finally revealed to be a black cat.
"At long last!" Payne cried. "Did you stop to catch some mice on your way back here, Smalls?! We did NOT sign on to sightsee!"
"You could say that I stopped to catch some… larger mice." Smalls purred, unveiling the soul that he had taken from the little girl. "And this." He put the soul away to unveil a large, orange gemstone from his trenchcoat.
"Ah, the final gem!" Mason declared. "Excellent work, Smalls! Now our plan can finally go into motion!"
"The city shall be OURS!" Payne screeched with a psychotic cackle.
"At long last..." Smalls said calmly.
"I guess the Super Snatchers are stealing those gems to try and… control the souls they've stolen?" Chase theorised with a quizzical expression.
"Maybe." Marshall replied with a shrug. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."
"That's gotta be what they're doing!"
"Chase. Detective skills in movies. Remember?" Marshall cautioned, bringing back to mind the times of Chase spoiling movies for them by accident with his detective skills. Chase paused, huffed at the reminder, and laid his head back down with a glare.
The movie went on for some time as Apollo and Mars investigated. But it didn't take long for Apollo to find the warehouse that the Super Snatchers had inhabited. But for the time being, they were completely alone.
"I don't like this, Apollo..." Mars whined. "It's scary..."
"There's nothing to fear, Mars, old chum." Apollo reassured. "As long as we're together, nothing can stop us!"
Suddenly, a light turned on above Apollo, freezing him in place and confirming the nagging doubt that they may have been being watched. From out of the darkness stepped two of the Super Snatchers: Smalls and Payne.
"At last… the famous Apollo the Super Pup..." purred the voice of Smalls.
"And a kid?" Payne sneered. "Can't even do your own dirty work, huh?"
"Maybe not..." Apollo began, putting a paw on Mars' back. "But that's why Mars is with me! We're a team! And we're here to bring the Super Snatchers down!"
"Psh!" Payne scoffed nastily.
"Always the optimist, yes?" Smalls replied. "Either way. Whether you're together or apart, in the end, the Super Snatchers will steal this very city. And it starts with getting rid of you. Let's go, Payne."
The two cats took a fighting stance and charged the two dogs, the pair taking their own stances and taking to fighting them, two-on two.
"Yeah! Get 'em, Apollo!" Marshall cheered, heavily invested in the film.
"Hey, this is getting good..." Chase muttered, the fight choreography striking a note with the shepherd.
The fight raged for a few minutes with the dogs appearing to get the upper hand. But it didn't take long for things to radically change, as Mars soon found himself paralysed from the neck-down in a solid block of green slime.
"Oh, no!" Marshall cried.
"Whoa..." Chase mumbled, caught by surprise.
"Mars, no!" Apollo shouted.
"Aargh! Ugh! Apollo! Help… me!" Mars yelled, struggling futilely against the green slime.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." another voice sang liltingly. Apollo looked around at his surroundings to see the ringleader, Mason, staring down at him from a scissor lift, putting away a futuristic-looking pistol.
"You!" Apollo yelled. "What have you done to him?!"
"Oh, not much..." Mason sneered. "He's just in a bit of a sticky situation. He won't be hurt… well, until we take his soul, too."
"You won't get away with this!"
"I think we will. And besides..." The white cat reached down and pressed a series of buttons. "You're not the only one with help..."
A series of colourful gems dotted around the warehouse lit up one by one, until the doors to the warehouse swung open to reveal a horrific sight.
"Aaagh! What the heck?!" Marshall screamed.
"F-F-Freaky..." Chase stammered to himself, caught off-guard at how creepy the sight was.
The sight was an army of everyday people. All stood staring emptily at Apollo and breathing heavily. All of them were clearly the victims of the Super Snatchers' soul-stealing powers.
"No..." Apollo whispered in horror.
"Seize him..." Mason calmly, yet smugly ordered.
"SEIZE… SEIZE… SEIZE… SEIZE..." the mob chanted, slowly shambling towards Apollo. Frantically, the white dog hopped around in a bid to escape the grasp of the mob, while also trying to avoid the attacks of the two remaining Super Snatchers.
"Oh, no! Apollo!" Marshall cried out in fear.
"...don't lose, Apollo..." Chase whispered with wide eyes, unable to take his attention away from the screen.
"People! What are you doing?!" Apollo yelled. "Why are you following the orders of this thief?! I'm not your enemy here!"
"SEIZE… SEIZE… SEIZE… SEIZE..." the mob continued, evidently not listening to Apollo.
"They won't listen to you, you know." Mason taunted. "They only listen to the holder of the seven Soul Gems. That is: me. You may as well just lie down and let them take you. Just like we took your friend..."
"I'll never give up!" Apollo defiantly yelled. "Not to you!"
"Then we'll just make you."
At that moment, Apollo started to struggle to fight off the encroaching mob, as they grabbed onto his limbs. With each person, he struggled more and more to stay standing, until he eventually found himself being restrained with a person holding on to each one of his limbs. He struggled and pulled, but simply could not get free. To make matters worse, the camera had moved to Apollo's perspective, and it was soon filled by a closeup of a citizen missing their soul, who screamed straight into the camera.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!"
Both pups had covered their eyes in fright, shaking violently. The scene had scared them practically straight out of their fur. As Marshall got a hold of himself, though, he realised something. He looked over at Chase, who uncovered one of his eyes to see the astonished look Marshall was giving him. Quickly realising what was going on, Chase swiftly sat back up with a forced expression of neutrality.
"...err, uh, ahem, er… I mean… I-I wasn't scared." Chase quickly stammered in a bid to save face.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Marshall replied flatly, not buying into a second of it.
Chase slammed his paw into the floor. "I wasn't!" he huffed with a childish pout.
"You're shaking like a leaf!"
"I-I'm cold!" Chase stammered, obviously lying through his teeth.
"And the scream?"
"I s-sneezed!"
"Chase, you're not sick and it's broiling hot tonight. You're as bad of a liar as me."
Chase turned back to the movie with an embarrassed pout. "(Ugh! He got me!)" he thought.
"(Ha! Got him!)" Marshall thought with a smirk, before also turning back to the movie.
"What… do you plan to do?!" Apollo growled, continuing to struggle. "Kill me?!"
"'Kill'?" Mason asked breezily. "No, no, no… That'd be way too wasteful… In fact… you have too much to give… Like your soul… So strong… So powerful… We'll take it!"
Slowly, Smalls began to walk towards the helpless Apollo, his hands glowing.
"Welcome to the crew, Apollo." Smalls purred.
"Nooo…" Marshall whined, barely looking at the movie through his paws covering his eyes. "Oh, I can't watch!"
"C'mon, Marshall, h-he'll be fine." Chase stammered, trying to reassure Marshall as well as himself. "I-It's Apollo."
"Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease..." Marshall whispered in fear.
All seemed lost. Apollo was defeated and was about to have his soul stolen. Smalls stood a few feet away from Apollo, slowly extending his hands towards the dog. Apollo's gaze turned vacant.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" a voice screamed.
"Mars!" Marshall cried joyfully, as the camera revealed that Mars had freed himself from his slimy prison.
"Mars..." Chase whispered, relief swiftly washing over him.
And with a few swift strikes, Apollo was free, and Smalls was knocked out on the floor.
"YES!" Marshall screamed. "Ohhh, that was close!"
"...phew… intense..." Chase whispered, perhaps a little louder than he intended.
"Mars, old chum..." Apollo sighed, standing back-to-back with his sidekick. "...whatever would I do without you?"
"I don't think I wanna know!" Mars replied. "But we've still got bad guy butt to kick!"
"You're right. Let's take down those gems!"
"NO!" Mason screamed. "THIS CANNOT BE! PAYNE! TAKE THE ARMY AND GET THEM BOTH!"
"Let's go, Mars!" Apollo cried as the two leapt into action.
"OH YEAH!" Marshall yelled, standing upright. "Go for it, Apollo!"
Now Chase had been fully drawn in. "Kick their butts!" Chase cried excitedly, now on all fours.
Soon the movie was over. The Soul Gems had been destroyed, the Super Snatchers had been thrown in jail, everyone got their souls back, and the day was officially saved, with the city holding a parade in honour of Apollo and Mars. Marshall and Chase stared on as the credits rolled.
"Whoa…" Marshall whispered. "That was a weird movie. Really good, though."
"Yeah… Yeah it was..." Chase quietly agreed. As much as Chase didn't want to admit it, he had a blast watching it. It was going to be tough to keep his mouth shut in regards to spoilers.
"Pretty scary, too. I didn't think the Super Snatchers would start trying to take people's souls! And when that one tried to take Apollo's soul! Urrggghh, that was so close!"
Chase had opened his mouth to agree, only to realise that he was being strung along for the ride, and quickly attempted to save face.
"Well I, er… It wasn't THAT scary..."
"Quit lying, Chase! You were scared stiff that one time!"
"What?! No I wasn't!"
"You were into it!"
"Not that much!"
"Says the one who cheered for Apollo with me!"
"Ugh, leave me alone, will you?!" Chase snapped, stomping his paws into the ground "The movie was good! Can we just leave it at that?!" In a huff, Chase dropped back down onto his cushion
"(Still grumpy as ever?! Ugh, great, what now?)" Marshall thought with a scowl. If Chase couldn't be brought out of his funk by this, what would?
But it was then that an evil thought worked its way into Marshall's mind as he remembered Ryder's way of cheering up a grouchy pup.
"(Hmm… Maybe if words won't work...)" he thought with an evil smirk.
Chase simply laid where he was, looking like he was doing his best to remain aloof. His gaze was fixed so far ahead that he didn't notice Marshall sneaking towards him. Nor did he notice Marshall reaching over and lightly scribbling a paw across his side until it was too late.
"Coochie coochie coo!" Marshall cooed.
Chase's reaction was immediate. The shepherd jumped at the sudden tickling. "ACK-!" Chase shrieked. "Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee! M-Ma… Marshall, what are you-?!"
"Cheering you up, of course!" Marshall replied cheerfully, swiftly moving to trap Chase underneath him and start to tickle his other side.
"S-stop-!" Chase giggled helplessly, desperately trying to wiggle out from underneath the dalmatian as his laughter became more uncontrollable. "Q-quit it, hee hee hee hee! KNOCK IT OFF! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Stop being such a grumpy pup and maybe I'll think about it!" Marshall teased, shifting to start attacking Chase's belly.
"I'm not- not- ha ha ha ha! NOT BEING GRUM- PFFFFT- EEEAHAHAHAHAHA!"
If there was one weakness that Chase had that he didn't like admitting, it's that he was extremely ticklish. And Marshall's abrupt torture was swiftly becoming unbearable.
"You're a terrible liar, Chase!"
"Y-you… Ha ha ha ha ha! You- ha ha ha ha! You silly pup!" Chase yelled, trying his best to force back his bubbly laughter.
"You're gonna have to speak uuuup!" Marshall sang mockingly, pawing at Chase's sensitive ribs and stomach.
"S-STOP IT, MARSHALL! HAHAHAHAHAHA! QU-QUIT TICKLING ME!" Chase screamed, his laughter upgrading to hysterics. "AHAHAHAHAHA! Y- YOU'RE- HAHAHAHA! YOU ARE SO DEAD! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Marshall slowed down slightly, not breaking his tight hold on the ticklish shepherd. "Now that's not very nice, Chase!" Marshall scolded with an exaggerated angry face, which soon turned into a wicked grin. "You know what Ryder says..."
"Hee hee hee hee! Wh-what?" Chase giggled, afraid of what was coming.
"Naughty pups get a visit from the Tickle Beast!" Marshall leapt at Chase with his best monster roar, kneading and scribbling at the brown-furred pup as quickly as he could. "Roooaaaaagghhh!"
"GAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOOOOOOOO! HAHAHAHAHA!" With a face like he'd just taken a mouthful of fish, Chase went completely insane with laughter, squirming and squealing in futility.
Chase was losing his mind, desperately trying to get out of Marshall's grip, and failing as his formidable levels of energy started to bleed out to nothing. But despite it, Chase's tail was wagging furiously. Marshall continued to give his best monster impression as he roared and snarled while tickling Chase all over. The shepherd couldn't stand it, but deep down, he was enjoying himself. It didn't feel a lot like torture. It just felt like a friend's playful tickling. The warm feeling in Chase's belly betrayed his words.
"PLEEEAASE! MARSHALL- HAHAHAHA! I-I'M SORR- EEEEHAHAHAHAHA!" Chase pleaded through his hysterical laughter.
"There is no more Marshall! There is only the Tickle Beast!" Marshall snarled, internally surprised at how quickly Chase was reduced from aloof huffing to desperately begging to be let go.
"HAHAHAHAHA! UNCLE!" Chase howled, tears streaming down his face. "U-UN- HAHAHAHA! UNCLE!"
"It is too late for you, pup! The Tickle Beast is hungry!" Marshall growled, lunging towards Chase's soft belly. "Raaagghh!"
"AAAAAAAIEEEEEEEE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOOOO! PLEEASE! HAHAHAHAHA!" Chase squealed as Marshall pretended to eat him. "YOU- YOU HAHAHA- YOU WIN! I GIVE UP! HAHAHAHAHA!"
It was still amazing to Marshall how quickly Chase could be reduced from a tough pup to a ticklish little kid begging for mercy. Satisfied that Chase had been taught a lesson, Marshall let go, finishing Chase off with a swift lick to his stomach, causing him to convulse with laughter again for a split second. Chase spent a long time gasping for air, obviously worn down, before opening his mouth again.
"Mar… shall…" Chase gasped. "Don't… EVER… do… that… again!"
"C'mon!" Marshall playfully retorted. "You're smiling!"
It was true that Chase still had a wide smile on his face as much as he desperately tried to catch his breath. This time, there was no denying that he had fun.
"Well… yeah..." Chase finally conceded.
"So the Tickle Beast helped cheer you up at least!"
"Yeah… he did..."
A few seconds passed of Chase recovering. After a while, Chase lay on his cushion sleepily, with Marshall next to him. Marshall hoped that he was successful in ridding Chase of his grumpiness as he spoke again.
"Chase, you really need to have some more time for yourself." Marshall said. "Working until you're tired and cranky doesn't help anyone."
"But… I can't… abandon my duties..." Chase slurred, not looking at Marshall as he fought to keep himself awake.
"Ryder will understand. Talk to him. I'm sure he'll help you however he can."
Chase had to concede that Marshall had a point. "...yeah… you're right…" But this didn't stop him from having one thought on his mind. Vengeance. A wicked smirk spread across the shepherd's face. "But who's gonna help you?"
"Huh? What's that supposed-" Marshall froze up on the spot. He realised exactly what that was supposed to mean, tensing up and starting to shuffle away. "Oh, no. Don't you-"
But Chase wasn't having any of it, evidently having a second wind as he sprang up and leapt at the frightened dalmatian.
"YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!"
Marshall couldn't even react. In the blink of an eye, Chase had him pinned and was sneering evilly down at him.
"AGH! NO! PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Marshall screamed.
"Giving up already? Really?" Chase scoffed, staring down into Marshall's wide, terrified eyes.
"Please, not the tickling! I'm sorry!" Marshall frantically shook his head.
"You're saying you regret tickling me?"
"Yes!"
"Hmm…" Chase made an exaggerated showing out of looking like he was giving the idea of mercy serious consideration. "I guess I'll let you go, then..."
Marshall's face lit up. "Really?" he asked in quiet hopefulness.
"Hmmmmmmm…" Chase, of course, already knew his answer as he lunged for Marshall's stomach. "NAH!"
Ironically, Marshall was fine with tickling others, but couldn't stand being tickled himself. Immediately, the spotted pup exploded into hysterics. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CH-CHASE! HAHAHA! NOOOOOO! HAHAHAHA!"
"Who's a widdle tickle pup? Who's a widdle tickle pup?" Chase cooed mockingly.
"SH-SHUT UP!" Marshall shrieked. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"What's that, widdle Marshie-warshie? I can't hear youuuuu…"
Ordinarily, Chase wouldn't be caught dead making a fool out of himself like this. But he knew the best ways of getting under a pup's skin, and a little baby talk was a small price to pay for getting ticklish revenge on Marshall.
"HAHAHAHA! I-I SA-HAHAHAHA! SAID SHUT U-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Marshall could barely even complete his sentences for laughing so hard. And Chase's taunting wasn't helping at all, the baby talk turning his face a fine shade of red beneath his fur.
"Why's my squishy widdle Marshmawwow so wude?" Chase scolded mockingly. "You're getting extwa tickles for that!" The shepherd moved his paws to the squirming pup's side while leaning in and licking his soft belly.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NO, PLEASE! I-I- HAHAHAHA! I'M SORR- EEEEHAHAHAHA!" Tears swiftly starting rolling down Marshall's face
"Then answer me, Marshmawwow! Who's a widdle tickle pup?"
"M-MEEEEEEEEE- HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!" Marshall squealed in defeat. "I-I AM! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"You sure are, Marshie-warshie! Tickle wickle wickle!" Chase had moved to rubbing his face up and down Marshall's tummy.
Strangely, it wasn't long before Marshall stopped fighting back altogether. He was lying there limply and simply letting it happen. As much as Marshall couldn't stand it, he actually liked being tickled. He was still convulsing sometimes, but wasn't making much of an effort to get free. Despite his begging, Marshall felt like he was laughing at an incredible joke.
"HAHAHAHAHA, D-DARN IT, CHASE! HAHAHAHA- S-STOP TICKLING ME! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Marshall begged weakly.
"But your tail is wagging like crazy!" Chase observed in his normal voice with great amusement between licks and nuzzles. "You're loving this! Don't lie!"
Marshall's tail was indeed thrashing around violently behind him. But be that as it may, the pup was running out of air. "I-I CAN'T TAKE IT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! P-PLEASE, CHASE- HAHAHAHA! I-I'M GONNA EXPLODE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Oh, so you're saying I'm stronger than you?" Chase taunted. "You're saying you don't know how to pick your tickle fights? You're saying I win?"
"Y-YEEEEEEEESSSSS! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Satisfied with Marshall's answer, Chase finally let the speckled pup go, hopping off to Marshall's side and laying back down. The shepherd's energy had finally been entirely spent. As had Marshall's, who lay next to Chase gasping for breath. The spectre of sleep loomed large over the pair of them.
"Been… a while since we played like that… huh?" Chase sleepily asked, licking Marshall's cheek, repressing his disgust at the salty taste.
"Ahh… ahh… mmh-hmm..." Marshall wheezed, very slowly rolling onto his front.
"Pfft… You're more ticklish than I am, Marshall…" Chase taunted drowsily.
"Aghlo… Blughlaghiphruuuugh..." Marshall babbled, his brain turned to cheese by the tickle fight they shared.
"Ha ha ha…" Chase laughed quietly. "You can dish it… but you can't take it, huh?"
Marshall, being unable to speak, nodded, leaning his head towards Chase, who moved in closer to him in turn. Marshall's thoughts were as slippery as a bar of soap, but his one coherent thought was that it looked like he was successful at snapping Chase out of his doldrums. His plan with Ryder was a total success. Now they could both get a good night's sleep.
"Hey… Marshall?" Chase whispered, nuzzling Marshall while barely managing to stay awake. "Thanks so much for all of this… I feel… way better..."
Marshall felt his spirits lift enough to get one more intelligible sentence out before losing consciousness entirely. "I… I… I'm… glad I could… help..."
The Lookout fell quiet afterwards. The other pups, for their part, were too tired to do anything beyond eat dinner and go straight to bed on their return. But when Ryder went to check on Chase and Marshall, the boy's heart melted at the sight of his pups sleeping like babies. After draping one of the blankets over the pair of them, he couldn't resist taking a picture of the two. While studying the photo he just took, Ryder fondly whispered to himself.
"That's a keeper."
And now for something completely different. I thought that just a few sentences describing the movie that the two were watching would be boring, so, why not make it into a short story all its own? I thought that after the intensity of Eruption, that a fluffy fic of this pair playing would be a good antidote. Not that it seems like anyone really liked it, sadly. It's a good thing I pre-write all of my stories, or the fact that my favourite story bombed would prove to be a major blow to my motivation to finish this.
Anyway, this is your Official Penultimate Chapter Warning™. The next uploaded story will be the last one in this collection, and I'll say this: the genre is going to be a bit of a departure from what I usually write on this site. It'll be more of a fast-paced fic than normal, given the premise. This collection has had ups and downs (though primarily downs), and it'll come to an end on Wednesday, save for the Afterword, where my plans will be summed up for the near-future. Thanks for listening, and I hope to see you Wednesday. Here's the summary:
ULTIMATE DANGER
Being the firefighter of the Paw Patrol has a lot that comes with the territory. One of these things being the sheer danger that you can get into. And when a forest fire breaks out, Marshall summons his courage to lead the team in putting out the blaze. But a rescue like this can have many twists and turns, even when he has Chase by his side all the way.