Disclaimer: Okay, so I'll be honest here and say that I wasn't sure how much I should actually focus on the Seminar going into this chapter. I hope I at least focused on it enough to make it clear that it was part of the main plot of the chapter. And right now, that looks like something we'll figure out together. So let's do this.
Also, I don't own Paw Patrol.
Paw Patrol X
Land and Sea arc Episode eight: F.M. The Teacher
F.M. was currently holding a video call with the fashion pup herself Sweetie, who was in her room as she watched F.M. doing something on the other end. The question F.M. had for her made it clear what that was. "Alright Sweetie. Which one looks better on me?" F.M. was holding up two outfits; one for a school girl uniform, "This..." and one that made her look like a teacher. "or this?"
Sweetie inspected both uniforms while making sure she knew what would suit F.M. best. She also had to take the event into account, but that part mattered much less to her. "If you care about looking professional during the seminar, I'd say put on the teacher's outfit. But I think you'd look much cuter in the school girl uniform."
F.M. put on the school girl uniform as advised before looking at herself in the mirror. After checking herself out for a bit, she had to admit that she did look good. She did a quick skirt spin before thanking Sweetie for the help. "Right as always. Thanks a lot Sweetie!"
"Always happy to put my natural talents to good use." Sweetie boasted happily, and then she showed concern when she thought about what the seminar was for. "I have to ask however. Are you sure this is such a good idea? We've all seen how nasty these Mer-Pups can get with Trans pups. And, being civil in general."
"I think it'll be fine. Coral texted me and said there was a big turnout of guests!" F.M. assured Sweetie, despite her concerns about Coral using Skye. She felt it wouldn't hurt to let Sweetie know about this vaguly, since it's been a week since she tried to warn Skye. "I just hope Coral's here with the right mindset. With how loyal she is to Eveline, we could be risking a huge betrayal on our paws."
Sweetie couldn't help snorting at F.M. being so insightful, deciding to comment on it herself. "Two and a half years, and I still never thought you could be so perceptive."
"Aging will do that to ya." F.M. responded, and then she looked at her Pup-Phone, finding that she would have to move quickly if she wanted to reach the Seminar on time.
Ryder came in to remind F.M. that they were leaving soon, wanting to keep all of his pups in check for the day. "Almost time to go F.M.! Gotta show those Mer-Pups how much this means to you."
"And it means a whole lot!" F.M. responded, looking back to Sweetie to finish the call. "I gotta get going to see how the setup finish is going. Thanks again for the help Sweetie!"
"Not a problem. And I'll arrive as soon as I get ready for the day." Sweetie assured F.M., and she hung up with F.M. closing her laptop and running off right after she did. She then made her way to the seminar before looking at a text she got from Chase. She asked him if he wanted to talk about last week, but Chase replied with 'I'll be okay F.M.. You make this seminar count.'. F.M. was worried about Chase, but she had to keep her sights focused on the seminar, so she headed out of her room. She just hoped Coral wouldn't continue using Skye to help Eveline.
Chase was talking to his therapist in his room, expressing his current situation with Skye the best he could. "I mean, we're still talking, so at least I know she's not avoiding me. But she's clearly still upset about it. It's been a week, and I still don't know how to approach her about it." Chase's therapist showed concern for Chase as he started to get more worried about what would happen. "What if I take too long!? I can't lose her!"
"Chase, take a breath, like we practiced." The therapist advised Chase, who attempted to do as instructed when sitting down right in front of his laptop. The therapist turned off the smell-o-vision, knowing what she was risking by doing this. Chase took a deep breath through his nostrils, but when he let it out, he unleashed...
PHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT
...a ripe and bassy ten second fart, making his butt vibrate as he let out a yellow cloud of rotten eggs that surrounded his room. He couldn't help snickering a bit at what just happened. "Okay, that did help a little."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised." The therapist replied with a smiling eye roll before giving Chase some advise to help Skye with. "From what you told me about Coral, this is a topic that hits Skye on a personal level. It's unlikely who told her would've changed her reaction." Chase started to think about that, hoping it wasn't too late to change things around. "It might be best to talk to her about it, while also showing empathy regarding the situation. Communication is everything in a relationship, as hard as it can be."
Chase took his therapist's advice to heart, glad that he was able to talk to her again. "I'll do that. Thanks Dr. Feather."
"I'm always here to help Chase." Dr. Feather reminded Chase, and then the Canada Jay decided to ask about something else in Chase's life. "I think we have time for one more subject. How are things going with the rest of the Paw Patrol?"
F.M. was in the main plaza in Adventure Bay as she got everything ready on stage with the help of Snow and Everest. F.M. was helping them set up the last banner, which went from one end of the stage to the other with the words 'Trans People Are People Too!' on it. Snow was proud of F.M. for putting this on, as she always admired her proactive nature when it came to any given situation. "The name probably isn't the most original in the world, but you're still doing a great thing here F.M.."
"Thanks Snowflake." F.M. kissed Snow's cheek lovingly after taking her paw gently. "I'm glad Skye still made the banner for us too. She's been super quiet ever since Coral left."
Everest wanted some more context for that, knowing that Skye wouldn't go quiet without a reason. "I've been wondering about that myself, but she won't say anything to me. Is she okay?"
F.M. and Snow looked at each other with F.M. speaking up for them after looking back at Everest. "It'd probably be best to tell you after the seminar. Skye took it pretty bad when Chase tried to warn her."
Everest understood that, but Skye surprised the three Canines by speaking up behind the curtain. "Don't worry F.M.. I'll tell her myself." F.M., Snow, and Everest looked at Skye as she went over to them. She was clearly still set off by this event, but she tried to keep her cool so she didn't ruin the seminar before it even started. "These two think Coral's trying to use me for some big plan Eveline has. And I hope they don't mention it during the seminar, because I think it's ridiculous, and I don't want to upset Coral."
"As if we'd ever mention personal drama during a public event." Snow chimed in, finding it ridiculous herself that Skye would even worry about that. She then showed genuine concern for her regarding Coral. "We're just worried about you Skye. We don't want you to get hurt in all of this."
"I appreciate that Snow."
"Do you? Because you aren't acting like it."
F.M. put a paw on Snow's shoulder to keep her from getting worked up, which she looked at her gratefully for when she did. As much as she hated to admit it, she still had a bit of her father's temper in her. F.M. took charge in the confrontation and assured Skye they were looking out for her. "We're looking out for you and Coral in this Skye. Coral using you, may very well be because Eveline is using her too."
"It's not true!" Skye snapped, still refusing to believe Coral was using her. Her emotions even led to...
PFFFFFFFFFFT
...Skye unintentionally releasing a ripe five second fart, making her flinch as her vibrating butt let out a green cloud of burnt bacon. She blushed when wafting the fart away, and Snow raised an eyebrow, knowing that it was a stress fart caused by the conversation topic. Skye giggled nervously before walking off. "Sorry. I'll... I'll call Coral to see how many Mer-Pups are coming."
Everest put a paw on Snow's other shoulder for comfort in an attempt to help her feel better, as she knew this was hurting her the most. "Don't let it get to you sis. If the seminar goes as planned, Skye should calm down."
F.M. assured Snow this wasn't what it looked like, knowing that Skye wasn't the type to hold a grudge. "She's not mad at us Snow. She's just stressed about the Coral using her thing."
"I know that. I just wish she wasn't so deep in denial about it." Snow admitted, being too concerned for her best friend to stay mad at her.
Skye made a call to Coral, not wanting her to be too on edge about this. After she picked up, she started asking her about the seminar. "Hey Coral. How many Mer-Pups did you manage to convince? It would help to have pre-show notice."
On the way to the Seminar, Marshall, who was sitting in the passenger seat of Chase's car, noticed that Chase was feeling rather down in that moment. "What's wrong Chase?" Chase darted his eyes to Marshall before looking back at the road, showing he wasn't in the mood to talk. Having an idea he knew what this was all about. "Is Skye still mad at you?"
Chase took a sip of his coffee, hoping it'd help him to drink something tasty to relieve the stress. "Kind of, yeah." Chase started opening up to Marshall about what he thought about the situation. "Even after I talked to my therapist this afternoon, I'm still worried she's gonna break up with me."
Marshall gave a smile of genuine compassion when telling Chase how silly of a thought that was to have. "Come on Chase. Even when angry, Skye's not unreasonable."
"I guess you're right about that." Chase admitted, and then he brought up why that went over his head at first. "But Skye and Coral have been separated for seven years before we went to PupLantis. It's clear how much she wants to stay close with her. And I think she sees me warning her last week as me trying to jeopardize that."
Chase and Marshall parked in front of Rocky and Charm, the former of whom was showing the latter how his slideshow filter device worked. "Since I'm gonna bet you told your therapist about this, just do what she told you, and Skye may be more understanding."
"Planning on it." Chase assured Marshall, and the two did their signature paw shake before leaving Chase's car. Chase greeted Rocky and Charm first, glad to see them up and about. "Hey Rocky. Hey Charm."
"Hey guys." Rocky greeted, filling the two in on what they'd be doing at the seminar. "You guys will be running the special effects backstage with me. I think F.M. has some moments planned with a little... flare."
Marshall snickered at the ironic coincidence in that last word before addressing the fact that he'd be working with Charm. "So. I guess this is our first time working on an important event together."
Charm smirked as he addressed Marshall being a little nervous about working with him. "That's correct Dalmatian teen who apparently forgot we were on the same basketball team last week." Rocky and Charm headed off with Chase and Marshall as Charm brought something else up. "Anyway, I was telling Rocky about something weird this morning after we left the Lookout. You know that potion Moby and I texted you and F.M. about Marshall? It hasn't worked yet."
"Maybe it's one of those super long term effect potions." Marshall suggested, wanting to help Charm keep his hopes up about this not being a dud. "I'm no chemist Charm, but some potions must take a while to take effect." Charm saw Marshall's point and nodded to himself when considering that. It wasn't like his weapons from when he performed blacksmith feats were any different in that sense.
The Mer-Pups, alongside Coral, had all arrived at the seminar, where F.M. was getting ready on stage to start everything off. She looked out on stage and saw Coral sitting there giving her a supportive thumbs up from the front row. She was still skeptical about her being here, but at least she knew Coral was in support of her cause. Marshall came up to her from the special effects area to help her get ready. "You can do this F.M.. Just remember why you called this seminar in the first place."
"To help the Mer-Pups become more comfortable with accepting change." F.M. answered, hugging Marshall before walking out on stage. Snow was sitting in the front row as well, silently mouthing 'You got this babe!' when F.M. came up, and she silently mouthed 'Thank you!' back at her. F.M. noticed that some of the patrons still talking, specifically some of the Mer-Pups, so she tapped the microphone to get their attention. Once she did, she got started by trying to sound as professional as possible. "Good afternoon everyone! I'm glad to see we had a big turnout!"
"I came because you said there would be snacks for supporters!" One of the Mer-Pups shouted from the audience.
Another one shouted with a rather inappropriate question in mind. "You're dating a girl, right!? Who's the man in your relationship!?"
F.M. kept her smile as she shook off how uncomfortable that question gave her. She clearly had a lot of work cut out for her. "Okay. I think we should get started right now." F.M. pressed a button next to her that signaled Rocky and Charm to get started on the slideshow with Rocky's new device. Skye and Coral were sitting next to each other, and smiled together as F.M. got started on her presentation. "Some people may believe that Trans people haven't been around for long. However, they've actually been around since centuries ago."
The first slide showed a french human with some text on screen to help if any Mer-Pups were deaf. "This, is Chevalier d'Eon, who lived from 1728 to 1810. She lived in France with an illustrious career as a spy and diplomat."
"Why did you call him a she when he looks like a guy!?" One of the Mer-Pups asked, seeming more innocent than the last one.
"Because she, was Trans woman." F.M. explained, being happy to share this knowledge with the Mer-Pups. "She dressed as a woman in Queen Elizabeth's courtroom, and demanded to be recognized as a woman, as she believed she was assigned female as her birth gender. An autopsy after his death later confirmed that she was actually assigned male as her birth gender, and as such, she became a well known figure for her 'eonism' as they call it, for showing Transgender and gender fluid characteristics."
One of the Mer-Pups, a rude looking female, raised his paw to ask something else. "But did he ever get to chop it off?"
"She, didn't, sadly." F.M. answered, managing to keep her cool with the Mer-Pup rather well. "Gender reassignment surgery wasn't invented yet."
"Yeah, sure buddy! That sounds really believable!" Another rude Mer-Pup stated, clearly not believing what F.M. was saying. He also ignored another Mer-Pup shushing him. "So, how is some dead guy supposed to make us cool about your kind again?"
F.M. gave a deadpan expression as Marshall, who was infuriated, went over to Rocky and Charm and handed them his own slide without thinking. "Take this, and show it to the audience, before I punch one of those Mer-Pups across the jaw."
"Pronto!" Rocky assured Marshall, knowing that, as tempting as it was, violence would only make matters worse. The slide he showed revealed the words 'Shut up and listen!' on it. This made the laughing Mer-Pups stop once they noticed, and F.M. then looked behind herself and saw this herself.
F.M. chuckled a bit upon sight of that, seeing that even some of the more curious than bigoted Mer-Pups were starting to get concerned. "That wasn't a part of the script. I'm very sorry about that." F.M. pressed a button to show the next actual slide, deciding to confront Marshall about that later. "Anyway, let's talk about the first Trans woman who was widely known for having a sex change operation: Christine Jorgensen."
One of the curious Mer-Pups was sitting next to Coral, whispering something to her without realizing how insensitive he sounded. "So they CAN look like girls."
"Um... yeah. I guess they can." Coral responded, not too sure of how to respond to that outside of that.
Later on in the seminar, F.M. was discussing one of many facts to remember with Trans people. "As a Trans girl myself, I can confidently inform all of you that it's not something you realize exclusively in adulthood. I discovered that I'm Transgender only two months ago. And I'm still in the early stages of transitioning."
One of the curious Mer-Pups had a question regarding that phrasing. "There are stages to transitioning? What to the early ones consist of?"
"Yes, and the early stages have a lot of things worth noting." F.M. answered, glad to see that some of the Mer-Pups were genuinely willing to learn. "One example from me is that I haven't decided on my new official name yet."
Coral seemed genuinely happy with how things were going, despite the setbacks, and shared this to Skye by whispering to her. "This is going way better than I thought Skye."
"I know. It's amazing" Skye admitted, feeling that this would end up worse than it is. "Sure there are still some huge jerks, but some of them seem genuinely interested."
F.M. saw Skye talking to Coral and got concerned, not wanting Coral to use her again. She knew she had to focus on the seminar though, and continued with the presentation. "As for another personal example, after my tenth birthday, I started seeing a female version of myself in the mirror. That was my first sign to the revelation that while I was born in a boy's body, I identify as a girl."
Just then, Coral's phone started vibrating, and when she saw, it was Eveline calling her. She looked to Skye, letting her know she'll be right back. "I have to take this. Tell F.M. I'm sorry if it takes the rest of the seminar."
"No problem." Skye assured Coral, allowing her to head off to take her private phone call.
F.M. saw Coral head off, but shrugged, feeling it must be important, and decided to carry on with those who weren't distracted. "A universal example of Trans people is that we have a tendency to enjoy things more commonly enjoyed from the opposite gender, but can still enjoy things more commonly enjoyed from our assigned gender. For example, I love video games, a more common hobby for boys, and I feel more comfortable in female clothing than male clothing, hence the outfit I'm wearing now."
Meanwhile, Chase was taking a coffee break outside in the back of the stage so he didn't risk messing with the equipment, only to hear Coral nearby when taking a sip. "I don't know Queen Eveline." After hearing this, he got into action, knowing that Coral must be up to something if she's talking to Eveline. What he heard from Coral was shocking to say the least. "And I can't make any progress right now. F.M., Snow, and Chase are onto me, and they'll be even closer to stopping us if we interrupt the seminar."
Chase was furious when he saw Coral still working with Eveline, and he decided to take his Pup-Phone out to start recording as Coral spoke up again. "What do you have against F.M. and Marshall anyway? Besides F.M. being Trans I mean. They're two of the-" Coral was interrupted, finding the request from Eveline she got to be a shocking one. "I don't know if I can do that Queen Eveline. Even if what happened before was awful, F.M. and Marshall don't deserve to get hurt because of it."
Chase was surprised to hear Coral vouching for F.M. and Marshall, but was even more surprised to find Coral getting more scared and guilt ridden as the call continued. "Of course I want to fix what happened in Starfish Cove, but-" Coral was interrupted again, and this time it seemed as if she was facing verbal manipulation. Her expression made it clear that she didn't want to do this, but felt obligated to do so for Eveline. "Yes Queen Eveline. I understand." Coral tried to hold back her tears to avoid showing emotion then and there. "I'll execute the next part when I can."
After Eveline hung up, Coral started talking to herself in a way that showed she still had no idea what Eveline was really doing to her. "She just wants to help Coral. You just have to listen to her."
"Do you really?" Chase asked, startling Coral as the German Shepherd started walking over to her.
Despite Chase's concerned look, Coral tried to convince him that he heard that wrong. He was already onto her plans; she couldn't risk letting him know his suspicions were right. "Chase! Um... that wasn't what it looked like!"
Chase made it clear he wasn't buying it. "Really? Because it looked like you were just talking to Eveline about a big plan she has to kill me and my friends."
Coral found herself looking defeated after that, unable to think of a good lie to cover up her call. "Something like that. Yeah."
Chase didn't appreciate Coral using Skye one bit, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her in a tight spot. Especially since he didn't want to. "The way you were talking made it clear to me that you don't want to do this."
"I don't. But I have to." Coral replied, firmly believing that Eveline was doing what she thought was best for her. "I owe it to Eveline for taking me in, and I owe it to Starfish Cove for what happened there before she did."
"If Eveline really cared about you, then she would've taken you to PupLantis without expecting anything in return. But she didn't." Chase pointed out, bringing up another point to why Coral was in a bad place right now. "And before you bring up Ryder, yes, he was planning the Paw Patrol before he adopted me. But I wanted to join. And he gave me a choice." Coral listened further as Chase warned her of Eveline's mistreatment of her. "Eveline isn't giving you a choice Coral. She's using you."
"No she isn't! She's hard on me because she loves me Chase!" Coral insisted, but Chase didn't see a sense of denial like he did with Skye. He saw that Coral really didn't know what Eveline was doing to her was wrong. "I know it's hard to believe, but she does care!"
"Then why is she using your relationship with my girlfriend as a gateway for her plans?" Chase asked firmly, leaving Coral stunned by the question. Chase sighed as he ended the conversation there. "Listen Coral. Skye loves you. She wants to have a genuine bond with you. And now, you have to decide if that's more important to you, that a parasitic relationship with a bigoted dictator who would use any bonds you have for your own gain. And despite my thoughts about you using Skye, I want to help you Coral. I want to help you find a truly happy life."
Chase turned to leave, showing genuine concern for Coral once again before he did. "But I can't if your loyalty to Eveline, outweighs your loyalty to Skye." Chase walked off, leaving Coral with a lot to think about. She thought long and hard about his question about using Skye. It almost made her tear up to think about. If Eveline really does care about her as much as she believes, why was she using her desire to be close with Skye for plans of her own?"
The seminar was reaching its end with F.M. now taking questions from the Mer-Pups that haven't yet been answered. One came from a more curious Mer-Pup who had a question that genuinely peaked F.M.'s interests. "So when you eventually go through with this 'gender reassignment' surgery, do you think you'll be happy afterwards?"
"When the time comes, I'm sure I will be." F.M. answered, knowing that it'd take a long time for that to happen. "I felt incredibly assured when I realized I was a girl, so I can imagine being satisfied after the surgery."
The next question came from a Mer-Pup who still wasn't convinced. "But this is a method of change, right? Won't this be dangerous for you like what Queen Eveline says about all change?"
As much as F.M. wanted to state her current thoughts on Eveline, she knew that wouldn't work here. She bit her tongue and answered the Mer-Pup's question honestly. "It certainly won't be a painless operation-"
"Then what's the point of having it!?" One of the rude Mer-Pups interrupted, catching the attention of everyone in the room when he did. "This is exactly what Queen Eveline warns us about with your kind!"
F.M. started to get frustrated by the constant mention of Eveline, defending herself from the Mer-Pup's bigotry. "My KIND is a normal pup who wants nothing more than to be accepted! And if all change was painful, then why did you come up here to hear me out!?"
"Because I wanted to call you out since I knew you'd be full of crap!" The Mer-Pup shouted, and Snow, who was sitting right next to the Mer-Pup, felt her blood boil more and more as he spoke. "Don't listen to this creep! He only wants to-"
Intentionally misgendering F.M. was the last straw for Snow, who spoke sternly with him after Zuma, who was also next to the Mer-Pup on the other side, made him sit back down. "Sit down, shut up, and stop, provoking, my girlfriend!"
"I'd wecommend listening to her dude." Zuma suggested sternly, making sure the Mer-Pup didn't step any further out of line.
The Mer-Pup decided to stop then and there, leaving F.M. to assure them that Snow and Zuma weren't dangerous. "Don't let that scare you everyone. I can assure you that Snow and Zuma are awesome people." Coral rubbed her arm with guilt over how that went down as F.M. continued with the finale. "Anyway, if there are any more questions that DON'T enable prejudice, feel free to ask away."
After the seminar, Chase and Marshall were heading to Chase's car when Chase saw Skye talking to Coral at her helicopter. Marshall saw that he was worried about this and put a paw on his shoulder for support. "You'll be okay Chase. Just go up to Skye, and let her know that you care." Chase and Marshall did their signature paw shake after that with Marshall heading to the car afterwards. "I'll be in the car." Chase nodded in response before heading on over to Skye and Coral.
When Chase went over to Skye and Coral, he requested some privacy from Coral. "Hey Coral? Can I have a moment alone with Skye?"
Coral looked to Skye, who nodded her head yes, allowing Coral to allow this. "Sure. I could use a smoothie anyway." Coral saw Claw at Mr. Porter's with Sweetie, getting a second idea in mind as she left the conversation. "And maybe a chance to get to know Claw more."
Coral headed off to Mr. Porter's diner as Skye addressed her own problem with hers and Chase's current issues. "Chase, I know I've been talking to you a lot less, and if I made you worry, then I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I know things have been tough for you lately." Chase assured Skye, hoping it wouldn't hurt to ask about why Skye was denying the proof. "Can I ask you something about that?" Skye nodded her head yes, and Chase's question was one she probably should've expected. "Does your recent behavior have something to do with... what happened at Starfish Cove?"
Skye flinched at that question, but she knew why Chase asked it. Besides Ryder, he was the only other one who knew what happened. "I... I guess it might." Chase saw Skye start to get a little emotional, taking her paw for comfort to let her know he was there for her. "I was so scared when it happened. I thought Coral was dead, and that her parents were dead too." Skye tried to keep herself from tearing up, holding onto Chase's paw for comfort. "When I found out she was alive... I couldn't think about anything other than seeing her again."
Chase had an idea on what Skye was saying, hoping she wouldn't mind him guessing. "And you don't want to lose her again. Right?" Skye nodded her head yes, and that made it more clear to Chase. It wasn't because she didn't trust Chase. She couldn't believe that Coral used her because she was blinded by her desire to remain her close bond with her. "I remember how devastated you were when we saw the news report. It's still sad that your uncle and aunt didn't make it."
"It is. I still miss them." Skye replied, hoping Chase understood where she was coming from. "I'm sorry if I ever made it seem like I was mad at you Chase."
Chase placed another paw on Skye's cheek, showing that he wasn't mad at her in the slightest. "I know what it's like to want to keep someone close. Then again, we probably all do by now. Especially after some of us were turned into demons."
Skye had something else she had to say regarding that event, showing that she still thought about it. "I was so scared of losing you like I lost Coral. I'm still so happy you made it."
Skye smiled as Chase smiled to her in understanding before bringing up one more thing he noticed. "I think last week was the first time in a while you've taken out your bandana. You haven't shown it to anyone since Rocky moved here."
"Everyone else has their own hang ups, including you." Skye explained, knowing that she didn't really address this to Chase. "I know it sounds dumb, but I also don't wanna risk them blaming Amy for anything."
"I doubt that would be the case." Chase assured Skye, being glad that he was able to talk to her about this stuff. "You should tell Snow first when you're ready."
Skye kept Chase's encouragement in mind and smiled before kissing him, showing that she didn't love him any less. Even if she still didn't believe what he said about Coral using her, she didn't want him to think she stopped wanting to be his girlfriend. "I should go get Coral. She should've been back with her smoothie by now."
"Take your time. I'll see you at home baby." Chase assured Skye, who headed off to get Coral and allowed Chase to head to his car. After he got in, he gave a thumbs up to Marshall, who smiled upon knowing that meant things went well. Chase then started heading home, relieved that he and Skye were finally able to talk.
Back home, F.M. was cooking dinner for everyone as Marshall and Snow came up to her as Marshall brought up the seminar. "So. The seminar could've gone better."
"I guess." F.M. admitted, still showing optimism over how the day went. "But it also could've gone worse. At least we managed to avoid a riot."
Marshall and Snow were surprised to get a response like that. Snow herself had a question in mind about that. "So you're not upset about what happened with some of the Mer-Pups?"
"I mean, yeah; I am." F.M. admitted, but the smile she showed when looking back at Marshall and Snow gave more insight to her perspective. "But I'm also glad I went through with it." F.M. elaborated as she went back to seasoning the spaghetti sauce she was making. "Some of the Mer-Pups were willing to learn, and even seemed interested. That's enough to show me that at least some of the Mer-Pups can learn that not all change is bad."
Marshall and Snow couldn't help smiling to each other when F.M. said that. No matter how hard things got, she always saw the bright spot in everything. "Besides. I figured it would be a challenge. That's why I let you off the hook for that little interference." F.M. then gave Marshall a sly grin to show that she knew that was him. "Marshall." Marshall laughed a bit in response, unable to deny that he would do anything to look out for his sister. "I'll admit that the seminar didn't go perfectly. But I still think I can show them that some change can make you happy."
Snow did have to admit to one thing on her mind during the seminar. "Not gonna lie F.M.. It was pretty tempting to punch that one jerk in the face."
"I'm glad you didn't." F.M. confirmed, being proud of Snow for being the more mature of the two pups. "And I also appreciate you and Zuma shutting him down." F.M. and Snow nuzzled each other as F.M. got back to making sure her sauce was perfect. "So just for you, I'm adding chicken into the spaghetti this time!" Snow licked her lips at the sound of chicken, making F.M. and Marshall laugh when she did. Nothing like her favorite dish being used as an addition to tonight's dinner.
Later that night, or more accurately, early in the morning, F.M. and Marshall were sleeping in their room as F.M. got a call on her phone. She sat up upon hearing it, mumbling to herself about being woken up early. "I could've sworn I put this thing in silent mode." F.M. answered the call after seeing that it was Margareth. "Margareth? What gives? It's four in the morning."
"Sorry sis. I just felt you and Marshall should know about this." Margareth said on the other line, and F.M. noticed her sorrow tone and got worried. "I'm at the hospital right now. It's about mom."
"MOM'S IN THE HOSPITAL!?" F.M. shouted out of fear, putting the phone on video as Marshall fell out of bed from the surprise. Marshall ended up wrapped up in his blanket, and F.M. helped roll him out after sliding down the ladder. "Sorry Marshall."
Marshall sat up and assured F.M. that he wasn't hurt. "I'm okay." He saw the video call and noticed how hard Margareth was trying not to cry. "Margareth, what's wrong? F.M. yelled something about mom."
Margareth gulped, trying to bring herself to tell her siblings about this the best she could. "This isn't going to be easy to say. Or any easier for you two to hear. And I don't know how I'm gonna do it, so I'm just gonna say it while showing you what's happening." Margareth showed F.M. and Marshall a sick looking Wave in a hospital bed. The sight alone horrified them. "I woke up to mom collapsing on the floor. I got her here as fast as I could... and they found poison lingering in her body." Margareth's lip quivered when she told F.M. and Marshall what was going on.
"Mom is dying."
To be continued.
Somber music played as F.M. started speaking in regards to what was going to happen with specific moments from the next chapter being shown. "Mom is... dying? No! It's not fair; she can't die! Why is this happening!? How can this be happening!? Is it... is it me? It has to be. Dad died the day after I was born, and somehow Miranda was involved... and now mom is dying from poison because... this can't be real!"
F.M. finished the announcement with the words Paw Patrol in all blue with red outlines surrounded with a white border with F.M. on the right, and Marshall on the left. "Next time... Despairing Revelations. (F.M., Marshall, and Margareth were in Wave's hospital room as F.M. held her mother's paws with sadness in her eyes) This isn't fair! No one deserves to die like this!"
