In the dead of night, a hooded Dalmatian stood atop the roof of a building. The Dally removed his hood, looking down on the town of Adventure Bay, "People seem way too happy here.. What kind of place is this?"

The doppelganger Dalmatian sighed to himself, gripping a bag made from leather in his right paw. He wondered if there was anything else he would be able to take back. Those bones, which were for some reason made of solid gold, helped a lot, but it wasn't enough. He needed more. Lost in his thoughts, the thieving pup hadn't noticed that it began to rain lightly.

A drop of rain gently kissed his nose as his eyebrows furrowed, "Better move fast before I get sick out here..." Throwing his hood back over his head, the Dally quickly jumped down from the building into an alley.

As the mysterious mutt ran down the alley, his mind wandered off back to that Dalmatian he saw during the day. It was strange. He hadn't ever seen another Dalmation that wasn't his mother. Especially one that was around his age. He was so interested that he had to take a closer look. That's when the Dalmatian spotted him and asked for a picture. For some reason. Not only that, but did all Dalmatians have similar spots around their bodies, or was it just some strange coincidence?

If he didn't know any better, had someone seen any part of his body, it could be mistaken for the other Dalmatian. But no way would he let any part of his body be seen as easily.

His eyelids lowered as he peeked out of the alley. This happy place he found himself in had to work on some kind of curfew. How could everyone in the town be asleep at exactly the same time. It was perfect. Eerily perfect.

Was this how all human cities were?

He stepped out into the town, looking around. The place seemed void of life at night, drastically different from the bustling, always action-packed town he had been in hours prior. Shaking his head, he kept moving.

.

.

.

"Rise and shine, pups!"

Groaning faintly, Marshall grabbed a small pillow and put it over his head. Despite this being the second day since Marshall had been suspended from the team, his body had grown used to waking late. Hearing that early morning wake up call only made him groan faintly and struggle to stay asleep.

He closed his eyes, beginning to drift back off to sleep. This was one of the few things he actually liked about not being on the team. He had the opportunity to decide when he woke up. And as it stood, he didn't want to wake up and eat breakfast with the other pups. He hoped that Rocky would bring him his breakfast again.

That would be awfully nice of—

Suddenly, the door to his pup house was forced open, revealing the light of the morning.

Marshall ducked under his blankets, trying to avoid getting any light in his eyes, which was surely going to wake him, "Who is it...?"

"Up and at 'em, Marshall!" The Dalmatian suddenly felt two soft paws grab his ankles and pull him out of his pup house.

Before he knew it, he was looking up at the was quite a rare day. It wasn't sunny as it normally would be. This particular day greeted Marshall with an overcast, gray clouds littering the sky above. As he stared up at the sky, a familiar Husky entered his line of sight.

"Morning, Marshall."

He looked up to see Everest standing over him, instantly blushing under his fur, "E-Everest!?" He sprang up, "What are you doing here?"

The Husky smiled, "Jake said I could sleep over."

"You do know I'm not on the PAW Patrol's schedule anymore 'cause I'm suspended, right?" Marshall asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm not letting you spend all day cooped up in your pup house, come eat with us!" Everest grabbed him by his wrist, beginning to drag him toward the lookout.

Marshall looked to his left, seeing Rocky, who was walking beside him, "I tried to talk her out of it, but she's a lot more assertive than I am... Sorry..."

The former firefighter gulped as he let her drag him to the lookout. The other pups were already probably upstairs, and he was not ready to see them. He hadn't interacted with any of them since when he was suspended.

The Dalmatian blushed under his fur, realizing that Everest was pulling him by his paw. Marshall's muzzle curled into a flustered smile. It was just as soft as he thought it would be. It felt like he was being tugged forward by a pillow. A cloud even. It felt so—

Marshall immediately shook his head, he couldn't be distracted, "Are you sure about this?"

"Honestly, not really. But I don't want you to be in your pup house all day..." The mountain pup explained, "You have to make sure you're getting your steps in for when we get you back on the team."

"You seem pretty confident about that..." Rocky looked at her.

Everest kept walking, pulling Marshall by his paw, "I know you are too."

The trio walked into the elevator. Marshall's heart was pounding as he stood between his friends. What was he supposed to do when they reached the top? Argue that he didn't steal potentially hundreds upon hundreds of dollars as he ate his "Doggy Delights" brand dog food?

Rocky gave Everest the side eye when they heard the Dally begin to breathe quicker. He was appreciative that the Husky was offering her help in the mission of keeping Marshall in the PAW Patrol, but if she wanted to be a part of this operation, she needed to actually consider how Marshall felt.

The mixed breed sighed faintly, "What does he see in her...?"

The way Rocky saw it, Everest was way too gung-ho and "go-go-go". Not the most coherent of descriptions, but those were the first to come to mind whenever he thought about her. She was willing to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible. But, he wasn't exactly sure if Marshall was ready for something like this.

The elevator doors opened. Marshall's eyes widened. Standing on the other side of the room, filling a seventh, teal, bowl with food, was Ryder. As the boy turned, he and Marshall's eyes met for the first time since Marshall's suspension. Sure, it had only been a day and a half, every second, every hour, felt like an eternity.

"Morning pups!" Ryder greeted, before something else slipped out, "...Marshall."

The Dally's eyes immediately went to the floor. Did Ryder not consider him one of his pups anymore? If he wasn't a pup of the PAW Patrol, then what was he? Ryder quickly left the room with the bag of dog food.

Ryder quickly went to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He put his hands over his face. That was unnecessarily mean to say to the Dalmatian, but he couldn't help it. Seeing that footage, knowing what he knew, there wasn't any doubt in his mind that there was more to Marshall than he initially thought.

He knew that he couldn't keep being wishy-washy about Marshall. Allowing Marshall to remain at the lookout was a formality, but he needed to either be the strict leader who refused to be around the criminal living in his home, or the sympathetic owner who wanted to believe his pup was innocent.

Sighing, the boy pinched the bridge of his nose, "Adventure Bay is more important than this issue..."

Rocky, meanwhile, looked over at Marshall, "How about you grab your breakfast and we can head back down to your pup house, just the three of us?" He gave his friend a smile.

The Dalmatian nodded, silently trudging over to the red bowl separated from the others.

Once he knew their friend was out of earshot, the mixed breed turned to Everest, "Great plan there, Everest..."

"Okay, maybe Ryder might still be a little shocked, but the pups wouldn't—"

"Got nothing to say for yourself, Marshall?"

Both Rocky and Everest looked over, "Oh no."

Marshall, who had grabbed his food, tried to make his way back to the elevator, but was quickly pressed by Chase, who was obviously the most hurt by the footage he had to watch over with Ryder all of those times. The Dally wasn't sure what to say in response, stopping in his tracks and looking to his allies for support.

"Look at what you've caused..." The mixed breed muttered under his breath.

Everest looked a bit worried, "Er... I can fix this!" She quickly made her way over.

Chase glared at the former firefighter, "Say something."

"Let him collect his evidence, Chase..." Everest stepped in front of Marshall, blocking Chase's view of him, "You're an officer of the law. Isn't it one of the amendments to... Uh..."

"To plead the fifth!" Rocky finished for her.

"Yeah, the fifth!" The Husky nodded, internally thanking Rocky for his intervention as she turned to Marshall, "C'mon, let's go."

Chase's eyes stayed glued on Marshall, until he felt a sudden tug on his ear, "Ow ow ow!"

"Now what if Marshall isn't lying, and you're doing this all for no reason?" Skye, who had grabbed the German Shepherd's ear and tugged it over to her, "You can keep your distance, but there's no need to be hostile until the month is up."

"You believe him?" The police pup asked.

She shook her head, "Of course I don't... But if Marshall is gonna try and make a case, then I'll at least wait until everything is out on the table. And I think we should too."

Chase, now under control, nodded and looked at the ground. Zuma and Rubble, who had been having an eating contest, finally looked over with agape mouths. Had Skye just gotten Chase under control in a matter of seconds?

.

.

After the trio finished eating their breakfast, it was time to start searching Adventure Bay to find the answers they so desperately needed. And based on how the morning went, Marshall needed something to lift his spirits.

The Dalmatian lagged behind his two friends, his eyes glued to the floor. He couldn't get his small interaction with Ryder out of his head. Ever since Rocky explained to him where he was that night, and what they had been up to while the crime was committed, Marshall tried to alleviate his own spirits by making little jokes and acting like everything was okay.

He was so stupid to try and fool himself like that. If there was one pup in the whole world he couldn't lie to, it would be himself.

Marshall looked up at the overcast above the town. The clouds littering the sky had morphed into a fluffy gray blanket, which seemed to stretch out in every direction. The sky was gray and hazy. It certainly wasn't a normal day.

Everest looked back at the Dalmatian, who had unintentionally stopped in his tracks to observe the sky. She felt horrible about what had happened in the morning. But she knew good and well that it wasn't as horrible as the former fire pup felt at the moment. He had been utterly silent from the moment they left the lookout.

And it was all her fault, wasn't it?

Rocky took a moment to stop, asking the two where they should stop and ask around for possible leads. As expected, Marshall was off in a different world, looking around the town. Everest suggested asking the mayor first and working through the people they knew. The recycling pup agreed with this plan, and Marshall only nodded along.

Once they made their way to City Hall, Everest knocked on the door. The trio waited for a few minutes before Goodway opened the door, looking down to see the three. Rocky noticed that he eyes focused in on Marshall before she suddenly used the cup of water she had in her hand to try and splash the pup. The Dalmatian was able to dodge this quickly enough, avoiding the water.

Rocky was already halfway off the premises the moment water started being thrown into the mix. Everest knew that the mayor wouldn't be much help, so before Goodway could do anything else, the Husky grabbed the back of Marshall's collar and began to drag him off.

Marshall, still looking back at the Mayor as his butt was dragged across the small grass patch in front of City Hall, heard her yell about not bringing Marshall back around the place ever again. That she didn't have anything else left to be taken.

But it wasn't him who had done it.

Once reuniting with Rocky, who had dashed off quicker than she had ever seen him run before, the three decided to swing around the farm to ask their favorite married farmer couple if they had seen anything around their property.

The three walked to the farm, many of the farm animals started to moo, oink, and make other noises upon seeing pups from the PAW Patrol. They certainly enjoyed seeing the pups. A tall man wearing a trucker hat walked out at all of the commotion, wondering what was going on. It was Farmer Al. Upon seeing the pup trio, he quickly ran back into his barn, coming out with a broom and a backwards turned hat.

Knowing where this was going, Everest tried to explain that they were there to ask if he had seen anything relating to the Dalmatian they had seen the previous day, but Al wouldn't listen. The agitated farmer stated that the only Dalmatian he was worried about was the one standing right in front of him.

Swinging his broom into the ground in front of the trio, he yelled that because of Marshall, he didn't have much milk to sell that week. This immediately confused Rocky, who thought that the only ones to know about Marshall's predicament were Ryder and the pups. If Farmer Al was accusing him of stealing milk, that meant he must've known what Marshall was accused of, and believed it.

He told Marshall that he was warning him. Come any further onto his property, and he wouldn't miss his swing next time. Now, Farmer Al was bluffing. Even if Marshall was a thief, he wouldn't hit a puppy with a broom. That was just inhumane.

The Dalmatian didn't call his bluff, though, backing off and running away from the farm. Rocky and Everest chased behind him as they made it back to the town area of Adventure Bay. Marshall had begun to make his way back to the lookout, but Rocky and Everest stopped him.

Everest told Marshall they couldn't go back home after just checking with two people. There had to have been somebody, anybody, who would hear them out.

Rocky surprisingly agreed with the Husky, saying that going home when they just started asking around would be a waste of a day. They needed to press on. Hopefully, they could figure out how everybody knew about Marshall's situation. Marshall only nodded in response, following his friends as they pressed on.

Door after door, the three tried to ask around, but, just like with Mayor Goodway and Farmer Al, they were turned away from the door at best, and chased out at worst. As they knocked on one last door, it opened up to reveal a human, who did exactly what Mayor Goodway had tried to do, splashed him with water.

At the sight of water, Rocky went dashing off, while Marshall and Everest were too slow to react. The Dalmatian closed his eyes as the water splashed in his face, hearing the homeowner yelling about how Marshall won't take anything from him or his family.

The Dally walked backwards, trying to wipe the water out of his eyes, this caused him to slip down the stairs from the homeowner's porch. Everest watched in shock as Marshall tumbled down the stairs, landing on his face in some grass.

The Husky cried out for her friend, hurriedly walking down the steps to check if her friend was okay. She helped Marshall up, who looked at Everest. He was silent as he looked into her eyes. The mountain pup offered to take him back to the lookout.

Rocky, meanwhile, had run right into the mailman when he went to escape the splash of water.

"Geez, I'm sorry..." The mixed breed looked up at the kind man, who only smiled, "It's quite alright. It's delightful to see you, Rocky."

"It's nice to see you too, Mr. Postman. What are you up to?"

"Just delivering some newspapers speaking about the despicable pup that has been stealing many items around Adventure Bay."

Rocky's brows furrowed, "Can I get one of those?"

"Of course!" He smiled, putting a newspaper down in front of the eco pup, who immediately picked it up and made his way back to Marshall and Everest.

Upon seeing the two, who were walking up to him, he stopped in front of them, "Guys, I think I just figured out why everyone's being so hostile to Marshall."

He put the newspaper down in front of them, opening it up.

The biggest picture on the front page of the newspaper was a picture of Marshall, outfitted in his former PAW Patrol gear. The caption at the top of it read out;

"Former PAW Patrol member, Marshall, is Adventure Bay's thief!?"

The Dalmatian looked at the newspaper with wide eyes. It wasn't just at the lookout anymore. His suspension was now something all of Adventure Bay now knew about it. That explained why many were so hostile to him, and the types of accusations that were thrown his way Marshall's eyelids soon lowered.

There was no hiding it anymore. Everyone in Adventure Bay knew. Everyone in Adventure Bay didn't like him anymore. It was over. How could he build a case for himself if the town he was trying to build a case in already hated his guts?

Rocky gently put a paw on his friend's back, "Come on, Marshall... Let's go back to the lookout. I think that's enough for right now."

Marshall nodded, his eyes glued onto the article in front of his paws. Everest picked up the newspaper in her mouth as she began to walk back. Rocky grabbed Marshall's arm and began leading him down the sidewalk.

As the citizens of Adventure Bay went about their day, some noticed Marshall walking along with Rocky and Everest. The Dally looked around, only for piercing glares to be shot his way. It was a strange feeling, that was for sure. He had grown used to the friendly smiles and greetings over the years he worked for the PAW Patrol.

Bowing his head down low, the former fire pup kept walking alongside the only two in his world that seemed to be on his side. That believed him. He could feel the eyes on him as he walked, the animosity abundant in the air.

Once they arrived back at the lookout, Marshall looked up at the tower. He wasn't relieved to be back, like he had been so many times returning to the lookout. As it stood, it was just another place that didn't want him there. Another place that would have to put up with him for the next month.

It didn't feel like home.

Everest looked at Marshall, her heart breaking for the Dalmatian. He didn't seem the same as he was earlier, or before that. She remembered how full of life Marshall was when they played freeze tag at the lookout, back when everything was normal. They would only have to endure one more month of this. Then it would all be over.

Rocky felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He looked over at Marshall, who pointed at his pup house, "You want to go back to your pup house?"

He nodded.

"Go for it," The mixed breed gave him a kind smile.

Everest looked at him with a smile of her own, "Go and unwind for a bit. Whenever you need us, we'll be right here!"

Both Rocky and Everest knew good and well that Marshall wasn't himself at the moment. They didn't know what to do aside from following the former fire pup's previous example of giving his friends a kind smile to reassure them. And that's exactly what they would do for Marshall.

As Marshall returned to his pup house, the two held smiles on their faces as they bid him a good nap. The Dalmatian looked back at the smiling duo one more time before retreating into it and closing the door behind him.

The instant both of them knew that he wasn't coming back out, their smiles fell off, crudely constructed masks to hide what they were truly feeling. Once he was completely gone, Rocky sat down, putting a paw on his head, while Everest's paws reached up to cover her face, letting out a small whimper.

This was a lot worse than they had anticipated.