Marshall found himself hiding behind the legs of a human. Upon peeking past the legs, he saw a young boy with brown hair looking at him with a kind smile. The little Dally whimpered, burying his muzzle into the pant leg of the human he was hiding behind.
The little pup had spent a long time in the pound. So when a human came in and requested to adopt the Dalmatian, he was over the moon about it. Marshall always thought that the day he got adopted would be the happiest day of his life. But, upon seeing the boy who was looking specifically for him, he feared that he wouldn't meet the boy's expectations. After all, this kid had some bright aspirations.
The boy crouched down to meet Marshall eye to eye, the same smile on his face, "So, you're Marshall."
The Dalmatian couldn't help but to look back into the eyes of the kind boy. They seemed honest, earnest, and above all, trustworthy. Marshall stepped out from behind the human's legs so that he could face the boy on his own. As he did, though, he tripped over a paw, falling to the ground and tumbling into the wall to the kind boy's left.
The little kid turned to look at Marshall, "Are you okay?"
"I'm good..." Marshall stood up once more, looking at the boy.
"My name is Ryder," He spoke faintly, "And I want you to be my pup."
.
.
.
As Marshall stood there, staring at his owner, he could no longer see the earnest eyes of Ryder back when he was young. All he could see now was the disdain and disappointment in his eyes as he stared back at the Dally, waiting for him to speak. The young leader desperately wanted to know what he had to say for himself.
"I-I didn't steal anything!" The fire dog shook his head adamantly, only causing further glares from Rubble, Chase, Zuma, Skye, and Ryder to shoot his way, "I could never steal from Mayor Goodway, or anyone in Adventure Bay!"
"Marshall, we all saw the video!" Chase spoke up, "I didn't want to believe it... We were best friends! Did some golden bones mean more to you than me? Than all of your friends?"
The Dalmatian turned to the police pup, who still had a comforting arm around Skye. Marshall's eyes grew wide, "Chase, we are best friends! As my best friend you should know me!"
"I thought I knew you..."
"Seriously, dude. Just give it up..." Another voice spoke up, being Zuma, "We all saw the proof."
Rubble agreed, "Maybe if you confess, the punishment won't be too bad..."
"You guys too?" Marshall's eyes grew even wider, "I'm not lying, it wasn't me!"
Rocky stood there, frozen in place. None of them knew the truth but him. He had to say something. He struggled to speak, because once he did, it would be against everyone else. The recycling pup was never really good at arguing. He wasn't the best at anything social.
Marshall's attention turned to Rocky, desperation in his eyes. They pleaded to the mixed breed. They begged him to not be like the others. He needed something. A lifeline, anything. Just knowing that Rocky was on his side would be enough. He didn't need to do anything for him, all he wanted to know was if the recycling pup believed him or not. That's all he needed.
But in that moment, he knew that he would have to forget that just once in order to protect him. This time, he needed to be the one who saved Marshall. He wasn't going to be silent anymore.
"What if he proves he didn't do it?"
Everyone's attention was taken off of Marshall at that moment, turning to look at Rocky. The mixed breed gulped before speaking once more, "If you guys want to believe in him... Our friend... Then give him... Give us a chance to prove his innocence once and for all."
Ryder's glare softened, hearing his fourth pup's proposition. In that moment, the part of him he had tried to hide deep inside of his subconscious, cried out with desperation. He wanted to see Marshall prove his innocence, he wanted Marshall to stay with him and his friends as a part of the PAW Patrol. He didn't want to throw him out.
So did the others. Of course they did. Even after watching the seemingly damning piece of evidence, they held out hope that Marshall really wasn't a thief. They knew it was irrational to think after seeing the mountain of evidence Marshall was up against, but if there was a chance, even a fraction of a chance, that things could be the same again, then they were willing to let him do it.
"...I'll allow it."
Marshall and Rocky looked at Ryder with wide eyes.
"Marshall, I'll give you a month to prove your innocence, if you admit to the crime, or don't collect any evidence in the time I gave you, then..."
"...I'll be sent back to the pound, won't I?" The Dally concluded, causing the other pups in the room to gasp at the thought of the location.
Ryder nodded, "Until then, you are prohibited from participating in any PAW Patrol missions or activities. Hand in your pup tag."
Marshall's head hung low as walked over to Ryder, who kneeled down and reached for his tag.
.
.
.
Upon opening his eyes, Marshall looked down at the shiny new pup tag he had received from the boy. It had a flame on it, and felt just a little heavy for the small Dalmatian. The new fire pup looked at Ryder with a toothy grin.
"Welcome to the PAW Patrol, Marshall!"
It had been a few months since Ryder had adopted Marshall and started his training in order to make him a proficient firefighter. In those months, he had formed a friendship with the only other pup on the team, a young German Shepherd named Chase. Marshall saw the police pup as very formal and proper, especially when on a mission. But off missions, he was really competitive while playing games. He was quite a fun guy.
"You did it, Marshall!" The little officer cheered, hugging the Dally.
Ryder smiled at the two, before his pup pad went off. The celebration was immediately halted as the young leader opened the small tablet, "Hello?"
"Um... Hello? Is this the PAW Patrol?" A young blonde asked from the other side, confused.
The boy smiled, "Yeah it is, Ryder here."
"Well, my new kitten, Cali, got stuck in a tree and I can't get her down, can you help?"
"No problem! We'll be right there," Ryder nodded, "No job is too big, no pup is too small!" He soon left the call before pulling out an extra section from the side and tapping on the center button.
Both Marshall and Chase's tags glowed their signature colors, "PAW Patrol, to the lookout!"
The two pups on the team turned to look at the other, speaking in unison, "Ryder needs us!"
The doggy duo bounded over to the large building, which was freshly built. As they ran into the building, Marshall slipped over a small ball left out from when they were playing earlier, causing the little Dally to go flying. Chase, who had made it to the elevator, turned around to see the fuzzy projectile flying his way.
"Marshall, look out!" He shouted before his best friend crashed into him, "Oof!"
The two pups were laid out on top of the other. Marshall shook the dizziness away before quipping, "I guess I really got the ball rolling on my first real mission..."
As the two laughed, the elevator doors closed, leading them upstairs.
Once reaching the top, the duo jumped into their positions. Chase sat on Ryder's right while Marshall sat on his left.
"Thanks for coming so quickly, you two!" Ryder gave them a smile, "A girl's kitty, Cali, is stuck up a tree and she can't get her down."
Marshall looked at Chase, who's eyes were focused on Ryder as he nodded along. The Dalmatian figured he should be doing that too, looking at his owner and nodding.
"Marshall," Ryder tapped on his pup pad, the screen behind him mirroring. The screen displayed the emblem that was on his pup tag, "I'll need you to use your ladder in order to get Cali down."
"I'm fired up!"
"Chase," He continued, "Have your net on standby in case things go wrong or if Cali jumps."
"Chase is on the case!"
"Alright!" Ryder pumped a fist in the air, "PAW Patrol is on a roll!"
Both pups howled as their owner ran past, grabbing onto a pole and sliding down.
"Um... Can you help me carry my ladder?" Marshall asked, referring to the training ladder he had to use in order to get used to moving up and down a ladder.
Chase chuckled, "You won't need it today. Come on!" The little German Shepherd began running towards a slide, jumping onto it.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" The Dalmatian followed behind, running at top speed. He soon realized that he would need to slow down, trying to stop, but slipping over a paw and performing an impromptu backflip.
Chase boarded his vehicle, moving it forward as he watched his best friend tumble down the slide. The Dalmatian then slid off of it, closing his eyes tight. He braced for a hard landing on the asphalt of the lookout's driveway, but it never came.
He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was sitting down in a shiny new fire truck. Marshall's eyes lit up with glee, "My own vehicle!?"
"Surprise!" Ryder came riding out of the garage on his four-wheeler, "I was gonna show that to you before we went on the mission, but—"
"I love it!" Marshall howled, "Thanks Ryder!"
"Alright you two, we have a mission to complete!"
Chase and Marshall let loose one more howl, racing behind their owner. Their sirens both blared into the distance as they rapidly approached Marshall's first mission.
.
.
.
After the conversation was finished, Chase remained at the top of the lookout as everyone else left. The German Shepherd pup slowly made his way over to the balcony across the room. He looked to the horizon to watch the sunset. The end of the day was upon them, despite the police pup thinking that it would never come. He felt as though he was trapped in a nightmare that he couldn't wake from.
Marshall, his best friend, his first friend that was his age, a thief? At first, he thought it was all a misunderstanding, that Marshall was innocent, but as he put greater thought into the mystery, he realized that it made the most sense. Marshall was away from his pup house for the entire night, 'waking up' outside of the lookout the next morning with little explanation. He even ditched his tag. Why would he ditch his tag!?
"Chase?" A single voice sliced through his thoughts, causing him to turn around.
Skye, who wore a downtrodden expression, walked over to sit beside Chase. From the moment Chase had his outburst before Ryder showed them the security footage, Skye knew she wasn't the one pained he most by the revelation that Marshall could possibly be a thief. She was shocked too, yes, but the thought that Chase had to hold that knowledge in while they finished the mission at City Hall pained her.
She and Chase had always been close. From the moment she joined the team, she seemed to like sticking around him more than she did with Ryder or Marshall. And when she started doing missions, she found it sweet that Chase was always worried for her when the stakes got high. It just let her know that Chase cared about her just as much as she did for him.
The police pup looked back to the setting sun, his ears falling, "...Do you think I'm making the wrong decision?"
The Cockapoo knew exactly what he was talking about. It was all she and the others could think about. Marshall. The aviator pup let out a sigh, "We were all shocked when we saw that security footage, but I can't blame you for reacting the way you did."
"Really?"
"We're all friends with Marshall, but only one of us was with him from the moment he joined the team, right?" She looked at the bigger pup, "I know seeing that hurt."
"I'm a police pup, Skye..." Chase spoke, "But in all my years of training, Ryder never taught me what to do when a friend is the criminal... I couldn't handle it... I just—"
Skye suddenly hugged him. This made the Shepherd cease his speaking. The Cockapoo closed her eyes tight as she pulled him closer, trying to keep the tears from falling from her eyes, "No matter what happens, Chase... I'll be here. The rest of the team will be here..."
The Shepherd couldn't prevent a few tears from falling from his eyes like Skye had. His paws slowly raised up and wrapped around his friend, "I know..."
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Marshall looked down at his empty collar, sighing faintly. After Ryder had agreed to give him a month to prove his innocence, he was sent to his pup house. He was no longer an active member of the PAW Patrol for the time being. For the first time in years, he was unemployed. He was glad that Rocky managed to give him some time, but he had no idea how he could prove his innocence, especially if he didn't know what he was up against.
It was a strange feeling. For once, he didn't have to be concerned with whether or not his pup tag was going to glow with light and call him up to the lookout. But he wanted to be concerned about it. He didn't want to stop helping people. It gave his life meaning. It's what he loved doing.
A sudden knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Come in."
Walking in was Rocky, who had a small laptop in his mouth. The recycling dog put the laptop down in front of him before closing Marshall's pup house's door.
"What is it, Rocky?" The Dalmatian asked, confused, "Since when did you have a laptop?"
He was quick to answer, "Made it out of spare parts at the junkyard," The mixed breed opened the laptop before sticking a flash drive into the side of it, "If we want to prove your innocence, you need to see what kind of evidence is against you."
Marshall nodded as Rocky set the laptop against the Dally's door and sat next to his friend, getting ready to analyze every second of the video they were about to watch.
The video began to play. The same image of City hall from the front was seen. Marshall's eyebrow raised in intrigue as he watched along with Rocky. Ten seconds in, a cloaked pup walked past the camera. At this moment in the footage, Marshall noticed something.
"What's that?"
Rocky paused the video, "What?"
"Look there..." Marshall pointed. The cloaked figure's leg was revealed in just that moment. Same as before, white and black spots, "It's a Dalmatian..."
"I know..." The aquaphobic pup nodded slowly.
Rocky pressed the button to play the footage once more. After the cloaked pup was out of sight, the video began to fast forward through the time where nothing was on screen until the mysterious pup was back on screen, dragging a bag filled to the brim with what both of them knew to be the golden bones.
A golden bone dropped out of the bag the figure was carrying. Once the bag and the thief were out of frame, the pup came walking back to grab it, picking it up in its mouth. As the culprit went walking back out of frame, their front right paw suddenly slipped, sending them tumbling on the ground. As the subject of the video rolled, the two could see the white hind leg that was covered in black spots.
"A clumsy Dalmatian?" Marshall asked out loud, "...Wait... Where was I again that night?"
Rocky stopped to look at his friend, "You don't remember?"
"I think I have memory loss..." The former fire pup explained, "I woke up that morning with a headache. I went exploring around and eventually found out I had a concussion."
The recycling pup cringed. He didn't think that Marshall would actually take damage from a wipe out. Rocky thought for a moment. Maybe that night was different for him.
The mixed breed sighed, "Well, I can say with confidence that that pup on the screen isn't you."
"How do you know?"
"Because I was with you that whole night."
"What?" Marshall's confusion spiked, "All I can remember is you saying we could talk over lunch."
Rocky chuckled faintly, "I'll explain everything."