Far from Adventure Bay, deep into the forest, was a small wild community composed entirely of canines. In that miniscule settlement, though, the tides of change seemed to be washing over the location, eliciting a greater sense of excitement from the place. This settlement was affectionately declared the Canine Valley, a place where wild dogs, strays, and those without homes often found their way into. Recently, one of those wild dogs brought three dogs who were still considered to be those that had owners, three pups that were previously on a rescue team from a nearby town. While initially, their presence was met with disdain and scorn, a single night seemed to turn the public opinion in favor of the three.

When a thunderstorm hit the forest, a single bolt of lightning while the rain was letting up spurred on one of the worst forest fires ever seen from the wild dogs. When all hope seemed to be lost, and the possibility of abandoning the valley became all they could see, one of the Domestics, a Dalmatian, emerged from the ashes in order to lead a small group of canines to fight against the fire. Through strategy, grit, and sheer determination, the small team managed to rid the fire before it crept into the Canine Valley.

"Finally!" A familiar mixed breed pup exclaimed, throwing his paws into the air, "One brick!"

The sound of excited barking filled his ears, making his smile grow more in volume than it already had. One of the pups who had helped ward off the forest fire, Rocky, was in the middle of showcasing a new creation to a few dogs of the valley. A mycelium brick.

"...Okay, but what does this thing do?" One of the observing dogs, noticeably towering over every other dog in the area, asked with confusion, pawing at the block.

Rocky's eyes glimmered with confidence, "You see, Elder..." The mixed breed walked over and stomped as hard as he could on the brick, "These things are better than wood! They're more durable, easier to make, and even fireproof!"

"All that from some mushrooms?"

"Mushroom roots, actually."

A smile found its way onto the Pyrenees' face, "Impressive, little Mongrel. What do you plan on using them for?"

"Well, I was thinking that I could teach some of the strays how to make them so you guys can make better buildings... And maybe a better wall."

"What's wrong with our wall?"

Rocky's eyelids lowered, "It's basically a shabby fence, if I'm being honest. It's made of planks standing up. They aren't even connected."

"...I'll allow you to teach the dogs of the valley how to make them."

"Good choice."

While Rocky seemed to be focused on the industrial aspect of the settlement, he knew that having better and more plentiful materials to build with weren't all it took to improve the area's state of living. Sure, the lack of materials proved to be a problem when he and his friends had to worry about the valley burning down, but there was also the issue of food. One that he hoped was being solved by the pup who set out to do it.

Outside of the shabbily built walls was a Husky, who, alongside a Belgian Shepherd, was making her way back to the settlement, a small pack slung over her back. She wobbled while she walked, but a faint satisfied smile spread across her face.

"You think this is enough, Brutus?" She asked, struggling to keep her balance as the heavy load shifted on her back.

The black furred Shepherd beside her seemed to be having a lot less trouble holding a similarly weighted load on his back, "It should hold us over for a while..." He replied, "We will have to go back foraging in a few days, maybe less if they're not rationed right."

"They've been rationed right since we started collecting fruit, so I'd say have a little faith!"

"Sure..."

Ever since the Husky, Everest, had come to the valley alongside her two friends, she couldn't help but to notice how hard the canines of the valley had it in terms of food. The starving dogs filling the Medical Bay, moans of agony littering the space, the thin bodies of those very canines. Everything at first glance overwhelmed her, bringing her to the point of vomiting. Seeing other dogs and even pups in that state was what prompted her to agree with Marshall in staying to help, even if that meant they were wasting time in collecting evidence.

She remembered back when she and Rocky were left alone outside of the valley's walls, and Rocky wondered why they were going 'off track'. Originally, she had thought that too. Why were they off somewhere in the wild, while the prospect of restoring the good faith of someone's name was at stake? That was until she realized who she was asking about.

Limited time or not, helping is just what he loved doing. One of the many things she adored about him.

Everest and Brutus eventually made it back to the front entrance of the valley, where another pup was patiently waiting for her to return. The pup peeked out from a bush off to the side, eyeing the Husky and Shepherd with intent.

"Everest's back!" The pup exclaimed, jumping at them.

Her ears perking at the noise, the former mountain pup turned herself to see the Shiba Inu lunging toward her. Everest's eyes lit up as she sat on her haunches, holding out her forelegs to catch her.

"Anya!" She grinned, returning the surprise hug, "Have you been waiting for us to come back this entire time?"

"Yep!" Anya nodded, "I would've been able to join you guys on your quest, but my mom says I'm too young..."

Everest chuckled, "You'll be able to go on your own quests sometime. Don't worry!"

"Oh, and Marshall says he wants to talk to you."

Her ears shot straight up, "You said he wants to see me?"

"We were heading to him either way. But I assume this is something that he only wants her showing up to..." Brutus joined the conversation, "You can handle bringing everything to him, right?"

"Of course I can!"

Deeper into the settlement, a familiar Dalmatian was working on wrapping something around a pup's injured leg, "Almost... Got it!" He beamed, "Congrats, Axel! You've upgraded from a splint to a cast!"

The injured pup in question, an American Eskimo dog, looked down at what was around his leg, "It's kinda heavy..."

"That makes sense... I used a thin layer of Rocky's mycelium stuff to harden the grass wrapped around your leg in order to keep it in place... It won't be there for long, though!"

The American Eskimo, Axel, stood up and began to hobble his way out of the building, "Thanks, Marshall!"

The Dalmatian waved, "No problem! Check in with me in a few days and we'll check up on your cast!"

The grinning Dalmatian, Marshall, was the very pup to have led the group of dogs consisting of himself, Everest, Rocky, as well as a stray dog from the very valley they were trying to protect against the forest fire. Since that night, Marshall had narrowed his focus on treating the injured, hungry, or even ill canines that stumbled into the Medical Bay. he didn't hesitate to put the skills he learned while on the PAW Patrol to use, even if he had to use more primitive methods.

Primitive methods or not, though, he would do whatever it took to make sure that he would help whoever he could. Even if that meant he had less time to handle the issue of proving his own innocence. Many would consider this to be a complete derailment of his original motive. Hell, he had even gotten some heat from Rocky in this regard, despite Rocky telling him that it was a good thing he wanted to help. But the way he saw it, when would he have a chance as good as this to help? He always believed that if he could help, he would help. And that's exactly what he planned on doing. Even if that meant working alongside... Him.

He had never forgotten how he ended up in the Canine Valley to begin with. It was all because of another Dalmatian, sharing many physical similarities as he did with the exception of a patch of black fur over one of his eyes. Everything went off of the rails because of that very canine. Marshall wasn't the type to hold grudges, but he couldn't help but to hesitate each time that wild Dalmatian was brought into the conversation. While yes, the Dalmatian was doing whatever he could in order to make sure his own had a fair chance at life, he ruined Marshall's life in the process.

There was no way he was forgetting that.

Fortunately it had been days since he had seen the other Dalmatian. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the other Dalmatian since he left in order to try and stop the forest fire. He was fine with that, though. There was no need to interact with him anymore, especially since they had already gotten into the valley. They could just go on about their lives until they left to continue trying to prove his innocence.

"Marshall!" A sudden shout from the entrance snapped him out of his thoughts.

The Valley Medic turned himself around to see who had called out to him, only for a wide smile to grow across his face. Standing there, panting from exhaustion with two large bags of fruit on either side of her, was Everest.

He quickly ran over, "Everest, you're back!" Marshall grinned, "How was the forest today?"

"Pretty peaceful, especially since we started pretty early in the morning..." The Husky gave him an exhausted smile in return.

"That's great! That's a pretty good amount of produce there, too..." The Dalmatian looked at the two bags beside her, "Tell Brutus I said thanks!"

Everest nodded before she managed to catch her breath, "...So, Anya told me you wanted to see me...?"

"Oh— Yeah! I did say that..."

"What's up?"

"Well I just wanted to pull you aside so we could talk for a bit..." Marshall told her, averting his gaze to anywhere else in the room, "We haven't really gotten to talk much lately..."

Everest's eyebrows raised. Marshall was right. Between her leaving early most days to go foraging with Brutus and Marshall spending most of his time in the Medical Bay late into the night, they haven't talked much aside from when they would meet so she could give him the rations to distribute.

"Don't you have more dogs to treat?" Everest asked.

Marshall shook his head, "Since you and Brutus started gathering produce, the amount of dogs I've had to treat for starvation has gone down by a lot! I think I'm clear for today, actually."

"In that case, let's go!" Grabbing Marshall by one of his forepaws, she dragged the Dalmatian off and out of the building.

Eventually, the two had found their way on a large hill that overlooked the entirety of the Canine Valley and surrounding forest below it.

"Ohh... That's why it's called the Canine Valley..." Marshall commented as the two sat beside each other, "It's in a huge valley..."

Everest chuckled, "You seriously didn't notice that?"

"I-I wasn't really worried about the name!" The former firefighter pup defended himself, feeling a tad airheaded.

This caused the Husky to laugh louder, making Marshall blush. He opened his mouth to try and defend himself further, but stopped to listen to the sound of Everest's laugh. The sound, to him at least, was angelic, causing a smile to spread across his face in turn. He began to laugh alongside his crush, enjoying the moment they were sharing.

The laughter soon slowed, drifting into a comfortable silence. The two looked down at the place they had been calling home base since they were let in before that forest fire. Marshall smiled at the sight. They were truly making progress toward ensuring that the dogs of the valley wouldn't be pushed to starvation any longer.

Everest slowly turned to focus her attention on the Dalmatian beside her, "Marshall?"

"Yeah?" He looked back at her.

"How long has it been since you were suspended from the team?" The former mountain pup asked, a sense of concern growing in her mind.

"Well we first entered the forest two weeks after..." Marshall's eyebrows furrowed, "...We dealt with the forest fire the night before day three... It's been two days since that night... So five days, I think?"

"Two weeks and five days?" She repeated, eliciting a nod from Marshall, "...Aren't you worried?"

"About what?"

"Your time limit," Everest elaborated, "Ryder gave you and Rocky one month to prove that it wasn't you, and so far we have nothing."

"I know."

"Then, halfway through that time limit, we detour in order to help out here..."

"Yeah?"

The Husky seemed worried, "I dunno, Marshall... Don't you think you're getting a little... Sidetracked?"

"Not really."

"What?" Everest's eyes bulged, confused, "What makes you think that?"

"The reason why I was suspended from the team was because Hood stole all of that stuff from Adventure Bay, right?" Marshall asked, eliciting a nod from Everest to signal that she was following along, "Well, if we got the proof and showed it to Ryder and Mayor Goodway, and got Hood in trouble, what would stop another dog from here from stealing from Adventure Bay like Hood did?"

The Husky looked down at the grass below. She admittedly hadn't thought about that.

"I want to prove my innocence. More than anything. But what good would it do if I was back on the team, but dogs were still stealing from us?" Marshall looked up at the clear sky above them, "So why not spend a little bit of time making sure that something like this won't happen again? I don't see it as getting sidetracked, it's a safety measure."

"That's... Surprisingly smart..."

Marshall looked back down at her, "Do you think I'm... Not smart?"

"No, no!" Everest quickly waved her paws, shaking her head, "It's just... I didn't expect you to put so much thought into this! It's more Rocky's thing to do all that thinking..."

The Dalmatian chuckled, "I can do it too, you know!"

"Of course you can!" The Husky reassured him, "...Sometimes you really amaze me, Marshall..."

"...Huh?"

Everest gulped, her heartbeat beginning to accelerate, "Well, it just... Seeing you go through all of this, but you're somehow able to still joke, laugh, and be that same cheerful Dalmatian I've known since I met you... It's amazing. You're amazing, Marshall..."

"Really?" Marshall's cheeks grew hot.

The Husky eyed the bright red scarf tied around his neck, "...Liz would be proud of you, that's for sure."

The Dalmatian looked down at the scarf. Oftentimes he'd forget that he even had the article of clothing around his neck. He had gotten so used to wearing it each day, as that was the sole thing reminding him that there was always a place he could return to in the case that his relationship with the rest of the PAW Patrol was too strained. Which, at the moment, seemed to be a real possibility.

His eyes widened at her words. Despite being as simple as they were, it seemed to fill Marshall's chest with a raging fire, the warmth causing his cheeks to warm up for what felt like the millionth time since they had met up to talk. As per usual, a cartoonishly big smile grew on the Dally's face.

"Thanks, Evie!"

The second—no, the instant those words left his mouth, his face quickly contorted into a cringe of regret. It was embarrassing to admit, but 'Evie' was a name he had locked in the depths of his mind ever since he realized he had a crush on the perky Husky. Between all of the stress from trying to clear his name, the burden he had put on himself when he asked to help the valley, and everything else that he had been doing since his suspension of the team, the fact that the 'special' name for her was a secret completely slipped his mind.

He shut his eyes tight, praying to whatever was out there in the hopes that she hadn't heard that. Upon opening them once more, he met the blank stare of the former mountain pup, who had indeed, heard every syllable.

Her face grew hot, her voice's octave raising ever so slightly, "What did you say...?"

"Ah— Crap!" Marshall yelped, immediately turning himself away from her, "Sorry, sorry! I just... I—"

"Nobody's ever given me a nickname like that before..." The Husky uttered, surprise littering her face, "I like it. Evie has kind of a nice ring to it..."

"Wait, really?" He asked, turning back around to look at her.

Everest scooted over, moving herself closer to the surprised Dalmatian, "Really... I think it's nice..."

Marshall fell quiet. It was only a few seconds after when he noticed how much closer she had moved to him. He quickly found himself lost in the frigid tundra that were her icy blue eyes. The Dalmatian couldn't help but to notice how every single follicle of fur on Everest's face swayed with the slightly cooler breezes, signaling that the new fall season was already in full swing.

Everest's carefree smile seemed to widen more as she sailed the tranquil seas of Marshall's ocean blue eyes. She couldn't help herself from leaning just a bit closer, enjoying the sight laid out before her. It had been so long since they had been alone together. But not long enough for her to forget the new feelings she had suddenly found herself dealing with. She wasn't willing to reject them. Not at all.

The distance between their faces lessened with every passing second, Everest slowly closing her eyes. Marshall, on the other paw, hadn't moved a centimeter since he realized how close they already were. His mind was racing, playing around with the very real possibility of his crush doing what he thought she was going to do. His eyes widened considerably, breathing quickening in pace, heartbeat accelerating and pounding against his chest.

Was this really happening? He wasn't dreaming, was he? He had to have been! Should he bite his own paw to see if it hurts? No way! Was he crazy? If this was real, then that would completely ruin the moment! Should he go for it? No, what if she was just— Doing what? What else could this possibly mean!? It's almost like she was going in for a...

"There you two are!" A familiar voice exclaimed, causing the two's eyes to immediately dart in the direction from which it came.

Standing there, a few feet away, was Rocky, whose eyes bulged upon seeing how close Marshall and Everest's faces were. The mixed breed immediately broke out into a coughing fit, awkwardly turning away from the duo.

Both Marshall and Everest leapt away from the other, faces burning with embarrassment.

"Uh... Did I come at a bad time?"

The young flustered canines both smiled awkwardly, barking out a quick, "Nope, not at all!"

As Marshall remained in his embarrassed state, Everest tried to calm her nerves by walking over to Rocky, "W-What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well, I'll keep it frank. Hood wants to talk with all three of us."

Marshall's comically large blush immediately subsided at the mere mention of the canine, his lighthearted demeanor shifting to one more serious. He had many complicated emotions toward the wild pup. How could he not, when he was the very pup to ruin his life as he knew it? Sure, he had decided to give Hood a bit of grace for the time being in order to help the valley, but he hadn't forgotten about everything he had gone through. Every last thing.

Him getting sick after running away from the lookout, the brutal fight in the alley, his period of depression and resulting mutism, his encounter and fight with Chase, the fight in Liz's house, and even the injuries he sustained along the way. Memories that he thought he had decided to let wash away seemed to fill his mind every time Hood was mentioned. He thought he had just let them slide. He thought that he was above getting angry over it. Then why couldn't he stop shaking?

The Dally turned to face Rocky, eyebrows furrowing, "What does he want?"

.

.

.

Marshall, Rocky and Everest eventually arrived back at the little shack that Hood called home. The Dalmatian's lips pursed the second he saw the small building. He had never planned on returning to that small building anytime soon. He didn't see the need to, and he couldn't find the desire to.

Almost as if on cue, a familiar Dalmatian came out from inside the hut to meet them.

"So, what do you want us here for, Hood?" Marshall asked, noticeably keeping his distance from the wild Dally.

Hood seemed confused, "Me? This is more Rocky's idea than it is mine. I'm just the navigator. Again."

The forest medic's head suddenly snapped over to look at the inventor, who gave Marshall a nervous smile, "He's right..."

"So why did you bring us here then?" Everest raised a brow with intrigue.

The mixed breed pup breathed in before speaking, "Okay, so I was talking with Elder, since I had been running dry on building stuff, and he told me there's a pretty large junkyard a few miles west of this place. Hood came and told me he knew where it was, so I put together a plan."

Hood interjected, "He wants to go to the junkyard and get some junk to build with. He wants me to come in order to navigate. He wants you two to come along for safety purposes."

"I was getting to that!" Rocky rolled his eyes, "But not just any junk, I was thinking that we could find some ways to make our communicators more effective."

Marshall and Everest looked down at the black pieces of technology on their right forelegs, having forgot that they were there to begin with.

"Wait, if you wanted us to come here, why didn't you just call us through these?" Everest quickly asked, her cheeks stinging each time she remembered Rocky interrupting her and Marshall's potential moment.

The mixed breed pup turned his attention to the former female PAW Patrol member, "If you'd let me finish, I'd get to that. I wasn't intending on interrupting you trying to kiss Marshall anyway."

"I-I... I wasn't trying to—!" She tried to defend herself.

Rocky fanned his paw dismissively, "Oh spare me! You and I both know that you were totally going for it."

Everest, her face now entirely red, tried to lunge at Rocky, but was held back by Marshall, "So how do you plan on doing that?"

"If I can find a satellite in the junkyard, I should be able to calibrate our communicators, and increase the range of it. We might be able to communicate throughout the whole forest!"

"Why would we need something like that?" Hood inquired.

"We?" Marshall repeated, confused.

Seeing where Marshall was about to go with his question, Rocky decided to step forward and continue, "Well since Everest is out foraging, and Marshall's in the Medical Bay treating dogs, I know that the connection between the three of us can be severed. I want to make sure that can't happen."

Marshall slowly nodded, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

.

.

.

After what seemed like ages of not driving it, Everest was finally able to drive her Snowcat into the forest once more. Sure, she had the opportunity to use it for foraging with Brutus, but he had told her that it was too risky to use if they didn't need to travel that far, especially because of the bears. The many, many, bears that littered the forest surrounding the Canine Valley. She didn't want to take any chances with another Forest Fury situation.

Her paws gripped the wheel of her Snowcat.

Marshall stuck his head out, resting his chin on the top of one of the doors of the vehicle. He always loved the sensation of wind blowing against his face as he drove his fire truck back when he was in the PAW Patrol. It was a liberating sensation, one that reminded him that while he was confined to a month of worry as he tried to prove his innocence, he was still free.

Rocky, focused on the bounty of building supplies that he was eager to obtain, was impatiently bouncing in the seat that he was sharing with the rest of the pups. He was glad that just like Marshall, his skills he learned while he was on the PAW Patrol were coming in handy outside of Adventure Bay.

Hood, meanwhile, was watching their surroundings closely. Similar to the worries Everest had, he was the most aware of the dangers that could be just beyond their sights. Just like when he guided the three through the forest in order to bring them to the Canine Valley, there was no shortage of danger when moving through the forest with a large vehicle.

"Hey, Hood?" Everest suddenly asked, her paws gripping onto the wheel tighter by the moment, "Brutus told me that it's never really a good idea to make so much noise in the forest... You know, because of the wild animals?"

The wild Dalmatian's eyes narrowed, "As long as we don't encounter any animals that can overpower your vehicle, we should be fine."

Almost immediately after those words left Hood's mouth, the Snowcat rolled into a clearing. They weren't the only ones to be in that clearing, though. The four pups all let out silent gasps, eyes widening. The clearing they had rolled into was one where a pack of brown bears were crossing over in order to look for a river. The bears all turned their heads at the sudden noise, recognizing the foreign entity in front of them, as well as the four little pups inside. Perfect for some food.

"...You've got to be kidding."

Everest, not uttering a word, slammed on the gas and yanked the wheel to the left to take a sharp turn. The force from the sudden turn sent Hood, who was the least secure in the Snowcat, flying from the seat. Marshall, purely on instinct, went to grab him, by biting Hood's tail, but one of his forepaws clumsily slipped from holding onto the seat, sending both Dalmatians tumbling out.

The Husky, her adrenaline pumping, shifted into another gear and used all of her strength to accelerate their rate of escape, completely unaware of what was happening behind her.

"Everest, turn back!" Rocky, the only other pup left in the seat, shouted, "Marshall and Hood fell out!"

Everest didn't respond, her teeth grinding against each other. Rocky growled before turning his attention to the dazed Dalmatians they were rapidly distancing from.

Marshall sat up, rubbing his head. His eyes widened upon noticing that they were being left behind. That was, until he heard the roar of the bears.

"What are you doing—?" Hood began to ask before Marshall cut him off.

"Don't worry, Rocky! Head where Hood told you to! We'll catch up!" The domesticated Dalmatian ordered, "We'll be okay!"

The mixed breed's ears slowly lowered, but he gave him a nod and went back to trying to talk to Everest. He quickly noticed that the Husky pup was completely out of it by this point, her mind seemingly trained onto the idea of a quick escape.

Rocky's brows furrowed, "Everest, what is wrong with you!?"

A response never came.

Now pinned down by the bears, the two Dalmatians found themselves climbing up a small tree, one that both of them knew wouldn't be able to hold the weight of fully matured bears. Once they were aware that they were temporarily out of the woods, they both sighed with relief.

"Phew... That was a close one!" Marshall comically wiped his forehead with his right forepaw, "Lucky we found this tree, right?"

This was clearly not the apologetic response Hood had expected. The wild Dalmatian's eyes narrowed, a low growl slipping from between his teeth.

"What?" Marshall raised a brow.

"You just threw away our escape chance, you idiot!" Hood barked, "What were you thinking!?"

The former firefighter shrugged, "Rocky and Everest can get the stuff from the junkyard without us no problem. We'll find a way out of this in the meantime. We've dealt with bears before."

"Bears? It was one bear last time! And last I checked, you weren't able to do it without those gizmos Rocky gave you. Do you have them right now?" Hood asked, "No? I don't think so! What are you, delusional? Things don't always work out the way you want! It's life!"

"Would you chalk ruining my life up to it being just life?" Marshall asked, starting to get a bit annoyed by the barking Dally, "You've got some nerve saying that, you know?"

"That was only one time!" Hood rolled his eyes, "You're acting like I sought out to frame you! It's not my fault you decided to stay here instead of turning me in when you could!"

"You didn't seek out to frame me, but didn't you seek out to kill me in that alley?" Marshall pointed at him.

The wild Dalmatian growled, "Oh shut up. You got a problem with me, then you can take your happy butt back to that town you come from!"

"Why should I!?"

"I thought you wanted to prove your innocence. Why are you bumming it at my home then!? You're wasting your time, and my time!"

"Why does everyone think I'm wasting my time?" Marshall complains, "Why go back, when you're still around stealing? I need to make sure that doesn't happen before I go back to Adventure Bay."

"You've got a screw loose, don't you?"

"Oh, and don't think you're off the hook after everything you did! We may be working together right now, but I haven't forgotten!" Marshall growls, "By the end of this, you're gonna pay it back! You're gonna pay it all back! I'm gonna get justice for not only myself, but for all of the people in Adventure Bay that you stole from!"

"Like I'd just stand aside and let that happen..." Hood spits, "I've got the valley to protect and make sure they survive."

"You haven't been doing anything to make sure of that since we got here!"

As the dysfunctional Dalmatian duo argued, the bears, still trying to find their way up to reach them, all tilted their heads with confusion.

Eventually, Marshall shook his head, "This is a waste of time... Let's just go."

Hood rolled his eyes, jumping from the tree they were on to another branch. Marshall followed his lead, hopping to that same branch, albeit a lot less gracefully. The two exchanged looks that clearly expressed their less than pleased attitudes toward one another before going back to making sure they weren't in danger of being attacked by the bears.