Fresh out of the shooting gallery and still full of energy, Marshall and Rocky had been having a great time in the Solar Citadel together. Despite having to fight off a bout of hiccups with one of the scariest rides imaginable for them, they'd barely slowed down, and if anything were in even higher spirits than before the whole mess started.
"Jeez... there's still so much to do!" Marshall declared excitedly.
"Good thing we've got two weeks here! But that's no reason to wait! I'm having a whale of a time!" Rocky replied happily.
"Well, so am I! So where to next?"
Before Rocky could answer him, both pups found themselves cut off by a flashing and beeping coming from Marshall's collar. Both pups stopped and looked down at the Dalmatian's Pup Tag as they noticed someone trying to contact him.
"Who could be calling me now?"
"Better answer it."
Rocky watched on as Marshall moved a paw up to his collar and tapped his Pup Tag, putting a stop to the beeping and flashing.
"Hello?"
A familiar, but surprisingly faltering and quiet voice came over the Pup Tag. "Hey... u-uhh... Mawshall?"
Marshall exchanged a confounded, yet worried glance with Rocky.
"Huh? Zuma? What's wrong?" Marshall asked.
"N-Nothing, weally... b-but... ugh..." Zuma replied, dotting his speech with faint whines.
"It doesn't sound like nothing! Did something bad happen?!" Marshall asked urgently.
"No, no! Nothing like that! But... l-look, I need youw help with something..."
What in the world could Zuma need Marshall's help for? And here, of all places? This call was getting stranger by the second. But at the same time, it just wasn't in Marshall's nature to decline a pup in need.
"This sounds pretty serious. What is it? What do you need me to do?"
"Uhh... w-where are you now, dude?"
"Me? I'm outside Fortress Under Siege. Solar Citadel."
"Oh, gweat, you'we not faw... I'm ovew at the Wuined Wall... c-can you meet me thewe? Please?"
"Don't worry, I'll be there lickety-split. Don't panic."
"Oh, I'm not huwt ow anything! Just... well, scawed..."
On that bizarrely ominous note, Zuma terminated the call, leaving Marshall alone with Rocky yet again. Zuma obviously needed him for something big. But how big could it have been in an amusement park? Plus, it'd mean just leaving Rocky to his own devices. Having not really thought his response through, Marshall looked over the mixed breed.
"Uhhh..."
"Sounds like Zuma needs you, Marshall. You go on ahead."
"You sure? I'd just be leaving you alone..."
"It's all good. Besides, I've been wanting to check out the Funhouse for a while! Go help Zuma. I'll see you later!"
Clapping Marshall on the shoulder with his paw, Rocky waved the Dalmatian off and disapppeared into the crowd. Marshall simply watched on for a while before taking a deep breath, nodding, and following the signs towards the Ruined Wall. Which thankfully wasn't far away. The Ruined Wall was a smaller area of the Solar Citadel, and as the name implied, it primarily belonged to a section of wall that had crumbled and rotted away, leaving an open view to a foetid, overgrown swamp, with nature working on claiming the rest of the Citadel's wall. Of course, a couple of shops were also sitting around the area, but the main attraction was the Ruined Wall's two rides; one was a spinning ride which tipped its riders every which way, and the other was a giant log flume with a wooden queue that looked rotted and sodden. Despite this, the large sign reading "Welcome to the PHANTOMOUNTAINS" was still very legible.
"Oh! Mawshall!"
But Marshall didn't have any more time to take in the sights when the same voice from earlier rang out, which was followed by a small, nervous-looking chocolate labrador approaching him quickly.
"You doing OK, Zuma?" Marshall immediately began.
"Well, uh... kinda."
Marshall squinted and cocked his head. "What do you mean 'kinda'?!"
"W-Well... I-I mean... I don't... it's... well, it's..." Zuma trailed off more and more as he looked away in shame.
"Zuma, please! Spit it out already!"
"Thewe'saweallyscawywideawoundheweIwannaseebutI'mtooscawedofitandIneedsomepuptoholdonto!"
Immediately, Marshall went still and wide-eyed. The blue-eyed pup was staring a hole right through Zuma, clearly stunned into silence by the labrador's outburst.
"Ugh... I knew you'd think it was stupid..." Zuma bemoaned, hanging his head and whimpering.
"How can I tell if 'it's' stupid if I don't know what 'it' is?! How was I supposed to make out any of that?!" Marshall replied with one eye wide and the other squinting.
Now it was Zuma's turn to get wide eyes as his face turned red with embarrassment at his mouth completely running away with him.
"O-Oh... um... s-sowwy..."
Marshall sighed and nuzzled Zuma reassuringly. "Just breathe, Zuma... take it nice and slow... you don't have anything to be ashamed of with me or, well, any of us!"
Zuma decided to follow Marshall's advice and take some deep breaths for a while. He was petrified that Marshall was going to judge him, but then again, Marshall wasn't the sort to judge anyone. None of the pups were. Marshall could tell that Zuma had been winding himself up over scenarios that he'd made up in his head. After a while, though, Zuma had collected himself, and had the courage to speak a little louder.
"OK... Mawshall? Back at the Lookout... did you see any commewcials for the Phantomountains?"
Marshall looked over at the rotting queue for the log flume. "You mean that spooky log ride over there?"
Zuma briefly followed Marshall's gaze. "Yeah, the same. I weally wanna go on it... I mean, it's a watew wide, wight? It's wight up my stweet! Or... it should be, anyway... but it's so... so..."
"Scary?"
Zuma looked at Marshall again as the Dalmatian saw right through him and gently completed his sentence. Much to Zuma's surprise, Marshall seemed oddly-sympathetic to his plight.
"Yeah... evewy time I twy to go on it, I chicken out and wun away! I know, it's stupid, but... I asked to meet you hewe because..."
"...because you want someone to ride with you. Make it less scary."
Once more, Marshall gently completed Zuma's sentence for him.
"...you got it..."
Marshall couldn't help but wonder why Zuma of all pups was making such a big deal out of being scared of a ride. Wasn't it only natural for a 5-year old to be frightened of scary rides? And even then, the Phantomountains had a reputation for being one of, if not the scariest ride on the whole island.
"Well, Zuma, I'm happy to help out. I always am. But why ask ME of all pups? Wouldn't you be better off with... I dunno... Chase?"
"Maybe... but thewe's something about you that always makes me feel safe, Mawshall. Not just because you'we a weally good fire pup, but... well, you always make me feel bettew whenevew I'm feeling down..."
Once more, Marshall was stopped cold, staring at Zuma with his mouth agape. His words had hit the Dalmatian like a ton of bricks. He couldn't believe that Zuma would say something that nice about him.
"Zuma..."
Marshall stood as still as a statue as he slowly processed what he'd just been told. Emphasis on slowly, as if he was paying attention, he'd notice Zuma getting unnerved at his stillness.
"Uh, Mawshall?"
Marshall jumped as he came back to reality. "Guh-! S-Sorry, I just... I just had no idea that's what you thought of me..."
"So, uh... sowwy to keep pushing, but... whaddaya say?"
"What do I say? Well, there's one thing I can't say after that, and that's 'no'! Besides, the ride can't be that bad, can it?! Let's go!"
Immediately, the spotted pup started running past Zuma towards the ride's derelict queue...
"Mawshall, hold up!"
...before skidding to an ungraceful halt. Zuma hurried back to Marshall's side after he'd unwittingly put a considerable amount of distance between them.
"Are you suwe about this? This wide is... well, just looking at its commewcial made me wanna pee myself!"
"C'mon, Zuma, it's not real! None of the rides here hurt anyone! What do you think's gonna happen other than maybe getting dizzy or kinda sick?"
Zuma paused, amazed at how well Marshall was taking this idea and at how Marshall didn't seem at all scared of the ride. In fact, Zuma was still doing battle with his own doubts.
"W-Well... maybe?"
Marshall sighed dramatically. "Look, pal. If this ride is everything the commercial made it out to be, it's gonna scare the spots off me, too. But that's all part of the fun! If you don't go on the ride because you're scared of it, you're gonna be REALLY sorry."
Zuma didn't reply. Granted, he didn't seem as nervous as he was at first, but at the same time, Marshall wasn't making much progress. The speckled pup needed another plan of attack, stopping to think for a while before speaking again.
"OK, Zuma. Lemme put this another way: Have you seen the Turret Plummet?"
Zuma gave Marshall an odd look. "Huh? Wh-What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well? Have you?"
"W-Well, yeah, the big towew dwop thing, wight?"
"Right. I actually went on it a few minutes ago."
At first, there was silence before Zuma squinted incredulously at Marshall.
"That's a lie." Zuma said bluntly.
"No, Zuma, it's really not."
"That's ANOTHEW lie!"
"Do I look like I'm trying to lie to you? You know how bad I am at that."
It took a second or two before Zuma's incredulous squint turned into a bug-eyed look of shock.
"Wait... you... weally...?"
Marshall nodded silently with a small smirk, causing Zuma's jaw to drop slightly.
"How... how the heck-?!"
Marshall dismissively waved a paw. "Bad case of hiccups. Tell you later." "The point is, if I can face my fears, then so can you!"
With that, Zuma's look of amazement morphed into a big grin, Marshall's smile growing along with his. The Dalmatian knew it: this was exactly what Zuma needed to hear.
"Mawshall... you'we wight! This is exactly why I wanted to ask you fow help! You'we the best, dude!"
Blushing beneath his fur, Marshall's looked at the floor with an embarrassed grin. "W-Well... I dunno about that..."
Zuma joyously nuzzled the Dalmatian. "I... no, WE can do this! C'mon!"
Marshall shook off his embarrassment and flashed a grin back at Zuma. "Let's go!"
Suddenly, both pups were full of zeal as they charged towards the rotted entrance of the ride. But before they actually passed underneath the sign to start queuing for the ride, they both slammed on the brakes as they finally got a good look at what lay beyond the ride's dilapidated entrance. All around them was a mist-covered swamp. It almost looked like something out of Foggy Bottom with fetid water all around and gnarled messes of greenery snaking across the edges of the waters and up the wooden queue path.
"Whoa, uh... actually..." Zuma mumbled, taking a few steps back. "EEP-!"
"Blergck-!"
The labrador lurched forward again as he felt something pressing into his butt. After whipping around, he caught sight of a slightly vexed-looking Marshall rubbing his nose after Zuma had just backed into him.
"'Actually' what?" Marshall asked pointedly.
Zuma realised that he was starting to wimp out again. And it was more than likely that if he tried to run again, Marshall would probably hunt him down and drag him back over. And Zuma wasn't the best runner, so he'd only be wasting his energy. But then, Marshall went to all the trouble of trying to psyche him up, so tlast thing Zuma wanted to do was repay him by running away.
"U-Uhhh... 'a-actually' nothing..."
With Marshall at his back, Zuma kept moving forward to join the back of the line. While the queue moved forward steadily, that somehow didn't make either of them feel any better. And once they'd made it about halfway, both pups were having a hard time keeping up their calm facade.
"Brrr...!" Marshall suddenly shivered.
"You OK, thewe, dude?" Zuma asked, quickly looking at the Dalmatian.
"Yeah, fine. Just got a chill..."
Maybe it was just him, but Marshall could swear that the area was getting colder as they got closer. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, especially combined with the growing feeling that they were being watched.
"GAH-!"
Both pups jumped as a strange sound rang out from the side. Whipping around with racing hearts, they both looked around frantically for the source of the noise, only to calm down once they saw what made it.
"Oh, it was just a toad..." Zuma sighed.
An animatronic toad, but a toad nevertheless. But what wasn't quite as harmless was the immense creature that suddenly reared up out of the water and roared at them!
"AAHHHHH-! ALLIGATOW!" Zuma shrieked, immediately tackling Marshall off his paws and sending him to the ground.
"MMMPH-! Vhumha! Lebbhe gho-!" Marshall demanded as his face was constricted by the vicegrip of the terrified Labrador.
As hard as he thrashed, Marshall couldn't seem to get Zuma's attention for a couple of seconds. A few of the visitors were staring with bemusement at the scene of a frightened Labrador suffocating a squirming Dalmatian. Soon, though, Zuma's grip started to loosen, allowing Marshall to pop himself free, gasping as he felt precious air returning to his lungs.
"BWAGH-! Look, I know this is spooky, but chill out a little. Nothing here'll hurt you."
Zuma stared at Marshall for a while as he tried to catch his breath, before whining quietly. "Yeah, no kidding... sowwy."
With one more deep breath, Marshall approached Zuma and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Just breathe, yeah?"
Zuma tried to follow Marshall's advice as best he could. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep his cool. For as much as they were moving, the queue seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Thankfully, the swamp was eventually left behind them, leaving them on a stretch of land leading up to a beaten-up, dilapidated shack with the ride's track running through it. Finally, they were closer to getting the ride over with. But the dark woods at either side of the shack were far from inviting, and certainly weren't helping to calm their nerves. Nor did the low roar that suddenly rang out from the trees.
"Whatwazat?!" Zuma cried.
"A... a... b-b-b-b-b-b-b..." Marshall stammered, before both pups finished his sentence at once.
"BEAR?!"
Now even Marshall was shaken. And the ghostly moan that came from somewhere else didn't help matters any. His defences had been steadily eroded as they got through the queue, and now just like that, Marshall had been reduced to a quivering spotted mess.
"It's not real... it's not real... it's not real..." Marshall mumbled with eyes squeezed shut.
"Nothing'll huwt me... nothing'll huwt me... nothing huwt me..." Zuma whispered, breathing rapidly.
The worst part was that they couldn't stop now. Not after they'd gotten so close to the ride. Soon, they were herded into the shack that had nothing more than a few items of furniture dotted around. A disgusting mattress here, a potbelly stove there, the sort of the furniture that an insane outcast would use. Although insane outcasts probably didn't usually have log flumes running through their houses. Soon, Marshall and Zuma were ushered through the opening ride gates into a waiting log. The pups both sat right up against each other, leaving them able to each feel each other's shaking. The ride had them quaking in their fur and it hadn't even started yet!
"W-W-We'll be fine, Zuma... j-j-just enjoy the ride... a-and try not to grab my face again!" Marshall stammered uncertainly
"E-E-Easiew said than done, d-d-dude!" Zuma replied shakily.
But before they could exchange another word, with a loud clunk, the log set off down the track with the water lapping at the sides. At this point, the pups weren't sure what was scarier; the fear of the unknown, or the horrors that inevitably awaited them...
...horrors that, strangely, weren't present at first. Indeed, all there was to greet the frightened pups was the same kind of swamp they'd already seen, dotted with animatronic toads and the sound of buzzing insects. There was a foul smell in the air from the swamp water, along with fog so heavy it practically gave the pups stuffed noses, but aside from that, things were surprisingly calm from the outset. And as the swamp passed them by and led them into an overgrown area of the woods, both pups shared nervous glances with each other that turned into nervous smiles. Maybe they were working themselves up over nothing? After all, this was all there seemed to be. Nothing had jumped out at them yet, and the first hill was coming up fast. Although they jumped slightly at the loud clunking and thumping of the log heading out of the water and onto the conveyor belt leading upwards, they took solace in that being perfectly normal for this kind of ride. What wasn't normal was the chill that suddenly went up both pups' spines from the strange sound that just became audible.
"Ah-! Wh-What's that?!" Zuma asked.
Shivering, Marshall pricked up one of his ears, carefully listening out for it.
"It sounds like... banjos?" Marshall concluded uncertainly.
Indeed, once the log finished its journey up the conveyor belt and back down into the water-filled track, the slow plucking of banjos became audible to everyone. And worse still was that as the mountain in the distance grew closer, the banjo music was getting louder and louder. The sides of the track were dotted with trees, boulders and the occasional moonshine still, but no sign of any banjos.
"Brrrr... I-I don't like this, Mawshall..."
Marshall swallowed heavily. "J-J-Just keep it together, Zuma... n-n-nothing'll hurt us- OHMYSPOTSWHATWAZAT?!"
Zuma whipped around as Marshall yelled to see one of the bushes suddenly moving. And he could've sworn that something cloaked in shadows just moved out the corner of his eye. Although Zuma whined fearfully as he noticed more movement in the bushes and trees moments later, but soon found himself cut off by a high-pitched giggle suddenly ringing out.
"M-Mawshall... not cool..." Zuma whispered.
"Th-That wasn't me!" Marshall shot back.
But Zuma didn't have time to press further as the log floated onto another conveyor belt taking them upwards, the sound of banjos getting louder and louder. Slowly, Marshall and Zuma got the feeling they weren't alone. The other riders were there too, of course, but aside from them, there were possibly other creatures lurking in the shadows. Creatures that, for all they knew, wanted to eat them. The pups still hadn't stopped shivering with fear when the log reentered the water track again. Now they were back in a wooded area, although considering how high up they were, vegetation was a lot more sparse and it was quite a bit colder than it was previously. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be many shadowy figures running around now, but what they did see was, unfortunately, much worse.
"GAH! BEARS!" Marshall shrieked.
"HOLD ME, MAWSHALL!" Zuma screamed.
With red eyes, mangy coats and ferocious, snarling expressions, the animatronic bears certainly weren't to be sniffed at. But to make matters worse, the bears weren't alone. There were vicious animals all over the place. From an owl glaring down at them from the trees, to foxes emitting awful screeches, to angry-looking wolves barking savagely at them. For his part, Marshall was quick to grant Zuma's request, grabbing him in a terrified death grip as the two whimpered and shivered.
"Don't let 'em get me! Don't let 'em get me!" Zuma shouted.
But Marshall didn't say anything in response as the log approached a desolate-looking hut. All he did was yelp as he heard a strange, low moaning that only grew louder as the log approached the door, along with strange scratching sounds that seemingly came from nowhere when the log finally got to the hut and the door slowly swung open. To their dread, the hut was entirely empty... save for a massive drop into total darkness.
"Zuma?" Marshall finally piped up as the log reached the drop.
"Y-Yeah?" Zuma replied.
Marshall waited until the log was about to start its descent before he found the resolve to finish his sentence.
"We're definitely not alone."
Neither pup had time to dwell on this fact as the log crested the small hill and plunged headlong into the inky darkness before them, with Marshall and Zuma screaming the entire way down as they held each other tightly. And with a thunderous splash that nailed them right in their faces, the log slowed down from its brief burst of speed and continued slowly floating down the track. But now the pups couldn't even see anything. If they cared to release each other for a few moments, they'd realise that they could barely see their paws in front of their faces. At least, for a while. Slowly, a very dim light came into focus to reveal that the log had been dropped into a dank cave with moss adorning the walls, vines snaking through the cracks above and glowing mushrooms lighting the way. On any other ride, this'd be a cool trip through the underground. But here, a ride through this cave filled the pups with nothing but dread. Especially as faint moaning and screaming came from further into the cave. Something that caused a whimpering Zuma no end of terror as he continued clinging to Marshall as tightly as he could. It felt like the cave was going to stretch on forever until suddenly, the log went down a short drop that was impossible to see in the darkness. A brief fright later, and the log was now in a huge, deathly-silent open area with a floor made up of a dank pool of water, with several rocks cloaked in shadow at the sides.
"Wh-What's going on, dude?" Zuma whispered fretfully.
"I-I dunno..." Marshall replied haltingly.
Silence. Nothing but the rushing of the water around them. Not even the sounds of moaning or dripping could be heard. Until the pups jumped out of their fur at the sudden sound of high-pitched whooping, cackling and shrieking as all kinds of shadowy shapes sprang out from behind the rocks. Shapes that seemed to be wielding guns. The pups' hearts practically stopped as flashes and loud bangs filled the room, with the water around them jumping up in small splashes.
"AHHHHHHHH! THEY'VE GOT GUNS! THEY'VE GOT GUNS!" Marshall screamed.
"AHHHHH! I'M GONNA DIE!" Zuma wailed.
It didn't register for the pups that nothing was actually coming from these 'guns'. Of course, it was all just special effects. But that didn't stop them from getting the fright of their lives, tightening their mutual death grip on each other and even crying slightly as the angry hillbillies that sprang out from the shadows 'shot' at them. Neither they or the other riders noticed the log lazily rolling on into a more enclosed space. But this was somehow even worse than the hillbillies with guns, thanks in no small part to the sides being littered with skeletons. But what really petrified the poor pups sitting in the log was what was in the air. Colourful projections of what looked like people were flying around above them. Moaning people with ragged clothes. People that could only be...
"G-G-G-G-GHOOOOOOSTS!" Zuma screamed.
It seemed to stretch on forever. Even through the snaking turns of the flume, there were bones and ghosts as far as the eye could see. It wasn't real, but Solstice Island really went out of its way to make its horror rides feel as real as they could. While Zuma buried his face in Marshall's neck, Marshall only sat rigid, staring on in wide-eyed terror and wondering if one of the ghosts was going to swoop down and attack them at any moment. He was too terrified to even make a sound. In fact, the pups were so scared that they didn't notice the log entering one more conveyor belt. And this one was the longest one of all, leading up to a distant light at the end of a long tunnel. More skeletons lined the sides of the ride as the log slowly made its way towards the light.
"WELL, WELL... LOOKS LIKE WE GOT US SOME INTRUDERS!"
A booming voice caused the pups' blood to run cold. Someone really was watching them! A vengeful figure who took badly to any outsiders! This was it. They were dead.
"HAVEN'T Y'ALL HEARD?! NO-ONE LEAVES THE PHANTOMOUNTAINS ALIVE! Y'ALL WERE MINE THE MOMENT YA SAT DOWN!"
The light got closer and closer. Eventually, the pups couldn't see anything except the sky. But considering the voice yelling threats at them, and how they had no idea where they were, this was of no comfort to them.
"NOW YER JOURNEY'S OVER... BUT YER TIME HERE'S JUST BEGUN. AND IT'LL NEVER END, NEITHER!"
The log was just about to crest the hill and begin its final descent. At this point, the pups' hearts were ready to leap from their chests.
"ENJOY YER STAY..."
Just as the log was about to begin the final drop, the two pups managed to bring themselves to exchange a couple of words between themselves while still clutching each other tightly enough to practically break one another in half:
"Goodbye, Mawshall."
"Goodbye, Zuma."
That was all they had time to stay before the log plummeted down the immense drop that awaited them into the mouth of a snarling bear with fiery eyes that seemed to be carved out of the ground itself. The deafening roar that this 'bear' emitted did nothing to drown out the terrified screams of every rider on the log as they plummed into the inky darkness of its mouth. But two of those riders somehow managed to scream louder than anyone else on the ride. Marshall and Zuma barely noticed the drenching they got from hitting the splash zone at the bottom of the hill, nor did they they notice the bright flash halfway down the drop. In fact, they only noticed that they'd come out of a cave and slowly drifted back into the same swamp from the start after they'd spent several minutes of whimpering and squeezing each other tightly, their eyes closed the whole time. The worst was finally behind them as the log floated through the swamp and back to the station that began this heart-stopping journey in the first place. But even once it arrived, Marshall and Zuma were so terrified that they were struggling to move, even with the attendants trying to help them off the ride and towards the exit. Neither pup really paid attention to where they were going after that, but before they knew it, they were both standing inside a large hut of some kind, with benches set to one side and TV screens lining the opposite wall.
"We're... w-we're... a-alive?" Zuma eventually squeaked.
"I mean... we're not ghosts 'cause we've still got legs... so I guess that means we lived... s-somehow..." Marshall replied numbly.
Slowly, the pups got their awareness back, along with their breath. But the terror they were feeling was still very much with them, leaving them both shaking violently where they stood.
"That ride's gonna give me nightmares... for months" Marshall complained breathlessly.
"I sewiously thought that was the end of us... I... I need a minute..."
Slowly, Zuma shuffled over to the nearest available bench, with Marshall following closely behind him. Both lay there for a good while, panting heavily and unable to really speak to each other as the adrenaline worked its way out of their systems. Somehow, every other intense rescue they'd done before now simply didn't compare to something like this. And Marshall still hadn't quite caught his breath when Zuma spoke up again.
"Huh? Hey, Mawshall, check it out."
Looking over at Zuma and then following his paw, Marshall finally noticed that there were TV screens lining the other wall. TV screens that each displayed a timer ticking down to zero at the top, along with a photo below it that depicted a log descending the final drop, each one decorated with an elaborate border and the logo of the Phantomountains.
"Ohhhh... this ride takes your photo, huh?" Marshall asked with a voice dripping with dread.
Zuma sighed. "Gweat, now I'm scawed of what I'm gonna look like..."
Now that they'd found their ability to walk again, Zuma and Marshall managed to hop down from the bench and scan the row of screens for their photo. It took a lot of searching. A pack of howling dogs and pups here, a collection of humans screaming and whooping there, and even a few photos of mixed groups on a log. They had to admit that they wouldn't shed any tears if they couldn't find their photo, considering how horrendous it probably looked. But then...
"EUGH-!"
"AEGH-!"
...Marshall and Zuma found their photo at last. And it was not a pretty one.
"Oh, my great uncle..." Marshall choked disgustedly.
"Oh, that's a face only a mothew could love! Uwgh!" Zuma added.
With Marshall's slightly-tearful eyes bulging from his head and spittle flying off his muzzle as he held Zuma tightly while screaming for dear life, the Dalmatian couldn't believe a photo of him could turn out quite this bad. He thought it couldn't get worse when he'd tripped during a newspaper photoshoot, but at least that one got retaken. But this had somehow shattered the record for World's Ugliest Marshall Photo.
"I had no idea I could look that ugly! I look like some badly-drawn cartoon!" Marshall groused.
"YOU look ugly?! Look at me!" Zuma spat.
Admittedly, Zuma looked marginally better in the photo, but that said very little. The outright bawling Zuma was almost crushing Marshall with how hard he was squeezing him as tears streamed from the Labrador's screwed-shut eyes as he screamed for all he was worth. If Zuma had made a face like this in any other context, one would think that someone had died right in front of him.
"Urrrrgghh, I'm getting worked up just looking at this!" Marshall growled.
"Well, the pictuwes won't last, at least. Let's get outta hewe!" Zuma declared.
"Right behind you!"
With that, Zuma briskly made his way out of the hut and towards the exit, back to the inside of the Ruined Wall where the crowds roamed and there weren't any creepy swamps. But Marshall only pretended to follow behind him for a second or two, waiting to make sure Zuma's attention was elsewhere before he hurried back and pressed his Pup Tag against the scanner below the screen displaying his and Zuma's photo. The attachment he was given to his Pup Tag interacted with the scanner, which lit up green as the screen displayed a message:
"YOUR PHOTO HAS BEEN DOWNLOADED TO YOUR SOLSTICE ISLAND ACCOUNT."
"'They won't last', you say... not likely. Heh heh heh..." Marshall mumbled to himself with an amused smirk.
As ugly and cringe-inducing as it was, the photo still represented a treasured memory for Marshall. And maybe he didn't think much of it now, but in time, Zuma would see it the same way. After all, who could hope to look good when they were scared silly? Marshall snickered fondly at the photo for a couple of seconds longer before turning around and hurrying out of the hut, heading back out to the Ruined Wall where Zuma was waiting for him.
"Hey, Mawshall! What kept you?"
"Sorry! Tried looking at some of the other photos to cheer myself up."
"Did it wowk?"
Marshall shrugged. "Eh, kinda. Are you OK?"
Much to Marshall's shock, despite how scared he still looked, Zuma actually smiled.
"I'm bettew than OK, actually... I'm fantastic! I mean, that wide was scawiew than anything I've evew seen, but... wow, it was so much fun!"
Marshall couldn't help but grin giddily back at Zuma. "See?! What did I tell you?! You would've regretted not seeing that ride! And hey, you weren't the only scaredy-pup on that ride!"
Zuma giggled. "No fiwe or tsunami's as scawy as the Phantmountains, wight?"
"HECK no!"
Both pups laughed merrily among themselves. That ride was several orders of magnitude more frightening than even their worst rescues, but even being scared witless could be a lot of fun, and they'd just proved it.
"You know, Mawshall? The only weason I could even go on this wide is because I had you with me... I mean, I know I was scweaming my head off for most of it and so were you, but... having you with me? I felt like evewything was gonna be OK. And it was!"
Marshall felt his heart warm at his friend's words as a fond smile grew on his face. "Aw, Zuma..."
"I guess what I'm twying to say is..."
Zuma stepped forward and nuzzled into Marshall's chest, prompting the Dalmatian to sit and pull Zuma into a hug, resting his head on top of the Labrador's.
"...thank you, Mawshall... fow evewything..."
"No need to thank me, Zuma... heck, I should be thanking you for getting me to go on such a cool ride with you!"
With a quick noogie being met with grumbling and giggling from the Labrador, the two pups separated, looking at each other with cheerful smiles.
"You know, thewe's a ton of othew wides I haven't seen yet. You got any plans fow the west of the day?" Zuma asked.
"Well I do, now. And those plans are having fun with you!" Marshall replied jubilantly.
Zuma looked like he was about to do a backflip that Skye would be proud of. "Alwight! What should we go on fiwst?"
With a heart full of excitement, Marshall realised his day was still far from over. Even as his plan came together more and more as he learned more about the Solar Citadel, he was having a great time with the other pups, making more memories and having more fun than he'd ever thought possible. And despite all that, there was even more yet to come. The excited Dalmatian collected his thoughts and raised a paw to his muzzle in thought.
"Let's see..."
...so! Burnout and fatigue suck, huh? I can only apologise for missing a week. I should have no excuse with all my stories pre-written, right? Well, they still need to be cleaned up before going live, because in their initial state, the prose, dialogue and grammar are utterly subpar. If I uploaded them in that state, I'd never be happy with them. I assure you that the cleanup I do before uploading is necessary. But I was just too tired and burned out last week. Shall we agree to forget that I missed a week and felt like I needed to rest? Just for now at least? Yeah? Aight.
Splash Mountain was one of my favourite attractions while it was still active, so I wanted to pay homage to it, but I also ended up giving more of a horror-themed twist. But... I dunno, I feel like I made this TOO scary? Still, doesn't a hillbilly horror-themed log flume sound cool?
Next Wednesday, a Shepherd, a Cockapoo, a haunted house and more terror! If you enjoyed this chapter, please don't hesitate to favourite, follow and/or leave a review. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you next time. Take care.
Next story - ChSk - Spook It Out