As Marshall sprayed the water from the improvised water cannon, he took quick notice of how much lighter the pack was. Not only that, but the stream the water was coming out from had gotten thinner. While he had handled a decent amount of the water, he couldn't afford to use any more to spray on his scarf in order to use it as an air filter from the smoke. He would have to carry on with the water he did have to tend to the fire and keep it from spreading any more than it already had. He couldn't ignore one simple fact, though

He was running out of water, and fast.

Marshall took a deep breath in, now holding his breath. As the fire raged not only just in front of him, but in every direction he looked, he realized he needed to get out of the center if he wanted to be able to breathe properly. He looked around. Which way had he come from again? He rubbed his eyes, trying to be able to see better. He didn't have his mask or his visor like he did back when he was on the PAW Patrol.

He quickly shook his head. Now was not the time to think about what he didn't have. He was running out of water, and if he didn't stand up to leave soon, his lungs would cry out for air and force him to take a breath in. Inhaling smoke was the last thing he needed, especially in the forest. He was lucky that he decided to practice holding his breath in case he ever had to handle running through smoky areas.

"Smoke travels upwards, so once I run out of air, I'll have to dive for the ground..." He began walking, trying to remain calm, "...But in order to not run out of air, my heartbeat needs to stay low. I can't panic. But that also means I can't run either."

With a steadied walking pace, the Dalmatian tried to figure out which direction he came from. While he did this, he made sure to use his remaining water to spray any fire that seemed to be spreading near him. He managed all of this while holding his breath.

His eyes widened. Why did he have to think about it? The best way to not want air is to not think about it! Marshall's cheeks suddenly bulged, signaling that his body was ready to let out all of the carbon dioxide that he was keeping from coming out of his system.

The Dalmatian's head began to dart around, not realizing how quickly he was losing his cool. He had completely forgotten about keeping himself calm. All he could think about was how much he wanted to breathe. He looked for a familiar sight, trying to figure out which direction he had come from to get to where he was. But, thanks to his brain lacking a bit of oxygen he was finding it hard to think about anything other than the sensation of his lungs beginning to tighten.

He decided to use a strategy he picked up while he still was a firefighter, and exhaled for just a moment before tightening his lips once more. That way, he could alleviate some of the squeezing pressure on his lungs. Marshall calmed his mind once more, picking a direction and starting to walk. Straining to hold his breath, the Dalmatian picked up his pace.

No matter where he looked, a fiery red hue seemed to be filling that area. He wasn't sure how, but he was at the center of the flames. The trees that once had lush leaves and fauna living within it were nothing but crisped, blackened sticks that raised high above his head. Branches from the burning trees fell from above, the wind in the air doing nothing to extinguish the flames on them.

The sounds of wolves howling, animals screeching in the distance as they escaped, as well as the ever-growing crackling noise of the trees, leaves, bushes, and grass combusting to create near constant horrific harmony that filled the air and his ears. The sound was so loud that he couldn't think. He couldn't even hear his own groans in his attempts to keep holding his breath.

His sight grew hazy. Marshall's head began to pound. His body wouldn't be able to take the lack of oxygen for much longer. He wasn't a full grown human. He wasn't even a full grown dog. He was a pup. A pup whose lungs weren't made for holding his breath as long as he was. But no matter what, he would not let himself take a breath as long as he was still surrounded by smoke. No matter what direction he was moving in, he had to leave the fire eventually. It wasn't that big. It was only strong.

Marshall's blurry sight eventually landed on a small creature. The creature had white fur, but by the looks of it, the fur was charred black in many areas. He was confused as to why a creature would still be around the fire, but slowly approached it, despite not knowing what it was.

Once he drew closer, he didn't need clear eyesight to tell that it was a bunny. One of Skye's favorite animals. He shook his head once again, trying to rid the thoughts of his former teammates from his head. It wasn't the time to. He kept walking over, until he heard a creaking noise from above.

The Dalmatian looked up to see a large branch, presumably having just been engulfed with flames, beginning to break away from the tree it was attached to. His eyes widened. The bunny was in danger.

"Watch out!" He shouted, forgetting that he needed to save as much air as possible

Marshall closed his mouth, using a paw to cover his muzzle. He had let out a lot of breath screaming like that, but he couldn't help screaming out to try and help the bunny realize that it was in danger. All he had to do was shout loud enough for it to realize he was there and run away. But for some reason, it wasn't running like most bunnies would.

His cheeks puffed up once more, eliciting him to cover his muzzle. He needed to hold his breath. He had to. He couldn't let any smoke in. Nothing but the sensation of his body desperately fighting back against his own will for air filled his head. His mind raced. He needed to breathe. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He couldn't handle it. He was going to let it out, and once he did, he would be inhaling nothing but smoke. It was dangerous, but what other choice did he have? His thoughts continued to press against his already aching head, disorienting the Dalmatian.

All of those thoughts cleared up, though, when he heard a loud snap from above.

"Mmmfh!" He exclaims, remembering to keep his mouth closed this time around.

There was no explanation needed as to what was happening above his head. He already knew that the branch had snapped, and was falling toward them. The Dalmatian, keeping his breath held in, dashed toward the bunny, jumping to close the distance. His heart began to race, making his need for air much more abundant.

But at that moment, every fiber of his being was focused on one thing. Not on how much he wanted to breathe, not on the inferno surrounding both him and the bunny, not even on the dwindling supply of water that was leaking from his launcher because of the sudden jolt of Marshall jumping. It was focused on a life that needed saving. That's how he was. It wasn't his own will, but his instinct. That's how he was brought up, and that's how he learned to function.

Once he was mere inches away from the bunny, he noticed that its tail was trapped in a small bush that was burning away. He hadn't even glanced at the branch he knew was falling in their direction, but he knew they didn't have much time left before it touched down. Finally exhaling the remainder of carbon dioxide he held in his mouth, he leaped once more, grabbing the bunny's back fur with his teeth and pulling it from the bush, running away just before it hit the ground with a crash.

Knowing that the burning branch would launch debris, he swiftly threw himself over the bunny in order to protect it. Luckily, nothing hit them, ashes and charred wood flying mere inches over Marshall's head. Upon standing up, the bunny quickly dashed away, hopefully to someplace safer than where he was. Marshall smiled faintly before taking a step forward.

One that instantly collapsed under his weight.

The Dalmatian crashed onto his side, his sight blurring more than it had before. He hadn't intended to hold his breath as long as he had, but now that he was breathing again, he was able to register how much not breathing had done to his body. From a medical standpoint, holding his breath would be safer than inhaling smoke left and right, but he knew better than anyone that he wasn't supposed to hold his breath for that long.

He felt dizzy. His head was light, and his body didn't seem to want to move. He tried to breathe, but the smoke in the air made it harder to catch his breath, especially after holding his breath for so long. Because of that, he was unable to stand. That stunt he pulled, hurriedly rescuing the bunny from the falling branch, had seeped what seemed to be the remainder of his energy from his body.

"Don't breathe in the smoke!" Marshall quickly covered his muzzle and nose with his paws, "If you don't breathe, you'll pass out, or worse!"

Disoriented, the Dally battled between the options of holding his breath once again to avoid breathing in the smoke around him, or submitting to his urges and breathing anyway. To be fair, he was low to the ground, where less smoke was. That's what ultimately helped him make the decision to breathe and try to regain his energy before he was overtaken by the flames.

His sight blurred more by the second as he struggled to take a comfortable breath in. For just a second, he visualized both Rocky and Everest standing in front of him, wearing their PAW Patrol uniforms with cheerful smiles being shot back at him.

"D-Don't... Don't come and get me..."

His eyes slowly closed.

"I'll be okay..."

Rocky opened his eyes, realizing he was in a dark place. What happened? He looked around, quickly realizing that he couldn't see. Has he gone blind? He then looked to see just a sliver of light peeking into the area he was next to his paw. That confirmed that he thankfully hadn't gone blind. He gently rubbed his head. It stung with pain each time he touched a spot next to his right ear.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Retrace your steps. Remember what happened..."

The mixed breed touched the same spot on his head that he noticed had hurt the last time he touched it. Not only did it hurt, but upon further examination, he realized that it was a bump. He hit his head. How hard did he hit it, though? Was it enough to lose his memory of the past few minutes? Most likely. He remembered when Marshall hit his head after their talk the night Hood stole the golden bones, and how he couldn't remember anything that happened that night.

His eyes widened. How long had he been under there?

Rocky put a paw to his forehead. Last thing he remembered, he had collected water from a pond he found. He was on the way to bring it to Marshall, then...

Something in his head clicked, "That deer!" He exclaimed, "It jumped in the way, and I tried to swerve, then..."

He looked up, pressing his paw on the surface above him. It was soft. Just like he thought, Everest's snowcat had fallen on top of him. He had gotten extremely lucky that it had fallen upside down, the seat area landing right on top of him, providing him some room in which he wasn't crushed under the weight of the snowcat.

Rocky looked around, trying to study the small, darkened area. He needed to find a way to get out and get the water back to Marshall. He could be running low!

"Marshall! Marshall, come in!" He spoke, holding his communicator up to his face, "Marshall, what's going on? Is everything okay?"

No reply.

His eyes widened, "Everest, have you heard from Marshall?"

"Rocky? Is that you?" He heard from the other side.

"Yeah, it is!" He nodded frantically, "What's going on? I can't reach Marshall!"

"I can't either, and I'm starting to get really worried!" She answered, "Where are you? We need to find him!"

"I'm trapped under your snowcat, I can't!"

"How did you—?"

"I know, I know..." He sighed, "Look. I found a pond to reload Marshall's water cannons. I think it lost a bit of water, but some is better than none. I'm not far from the fire, come and get the water!"

"I'm on my way!"

Rocky sighed, slowly slumping down. Maybe he couldn't escape from the metallic prison, but Everest was out and about to bring the water. If he couldn't find a way to escape, then at the very least, the best he could do was to supply the water he had left to go and retrieve.

His breathing rasped. Rocky's face scrunched up. It was a tad hard to breathe within Everest's snowcat. Sure, there were tiny gaps where he could see the light from the fire seeping through, but it still was difficult to breathe.

Closing his eyes, the mixed breed smirked to himself, "This is bad. This is really bad."

"Rocky!?" A familiar voice called from outside, "Rocky are you there?"

Standing outside of the flipped snowcat was Everest, who looked horrified to see how much damage the snowcat crashing had done. She was able to see the tire tracks in the ground from where he swerved, as well as kicked up dirt, where she assumed the first tumble was. Looking further down the path, she saw a plastic container, filled halfway with water.

A faint voice slipped from inside, "Yeah, I'm here."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out!" The Husky hurried over.

"No."

"What?" Everest stopped in her tracks.

"Marshall hasn't been responding, and I know by this point he's run out of water..." Rocky spoke, "He could be in serious danger. You need to go and make sure he's okay. You can come back for me later."

"Later!?" The Husky asked loudly, "Rocky, we don't know when we'll be okay enough to get you out, you could suffocate!"

"I know..."

Everest's ears fell, "Then let me help you..."

"Listen to me," The mixed breed rasped from inside, "Ever since that day... When Marshall jumped for me in order to save my life... I've been wondering. Would I put myself at risk, just for the possibility of him being alright? No matter how much I admire him, no matter how much I want to thank him each day for saving me, I hesitate each time!"

"Rocky..."

"I'm a rescue pup... But the thought of dying scares me!" He shouted, "But to Marshall, he doesn't flinch if it means that someone else can live. The world can't lose someone like that, understand?"

"We can't lose someone like you, either!" Everest argued, tears welling up in her eyes, "I can't lose you!"

She could hear a chuckle from inside, "...Here I thought you couldn't stand me most of the time."

"Are you kidding me!?" The Husky banged on the side of her snowcat, "Rocky, when Marshall left, and we were getting ready to leave, it was just me and you! You kept me grounded! Had you not, I would've gotten sick in the rain that day!"

"...Yeah..."

Everest looked at the snowcat's side, "We bicker a lot, and we might get on each other's nerves a bunch... I can't stand you sometimes, yes... But do you know what that sounds like to me...?"

"What?"

The Husky looked down, her paws remaining on the side of the snowcat, "It sounds like... I... I think..."

Rocky waited for her to finish, his breathing growing more heavy by the moment. He knew it was growing harder to catch his breath, but he was still willing to risk it.

"I see you as my brother!"

The mixed breed suddenly saw the side of the snowcat begin to lift ever so slightly, which was followed by the sound of Everest's grunting.

"I won't let you go! Marshall might be my crush, but you're just as important to me!"

"Everest, this thing weighs potentially hundreds of pounds! you'll hurt yourself!" Rocky shouted, coughing soon afterwards.

The Husky grinned, trying her best to lift the snowcat, "If you don't want me to get hurt, then help me!"

"You..." He growled, "...You're a pretty insane girl. You know that, right?"

Shut up!" Everest wailed, her teeth clenching as she began to lift as much as she could, "I won't accept it... Not unless you live and say it to my face, you jerk!"

As Rocky watched her try and lift the snowcat, he remembered sitting in the lookout, reading a newspaper from Adventure City. Somebody's child had gotten run over, but a father, determined to save him, was able to lift the vehicle in order to get his child out from under it. Initially, Rocky had been a little disbelieving of this report. It was impossible for a human to lift a vehicle all on his own. Was it a car with nothing inside of it? Steroids? He just couldn't wrap his head around it. He had been so determined to prove it wrong, that he had actually learned something new that day.

Hysterical strength.

Most of the time, the human body has a limit. A set output that the body would be used to. After all, you wouldn't need every fiber of strength in your body to tie your laces or pick up a book, would you? The body retaining a limiter on the amount of strength you can access in day to day life is what keeps muscles from straining themselves.

But, when the fight or flight response is triggered in an extreme way, most of the time in a life or death situation, a complex psychological response would be triggered, breaking those limiters and giving access to every ounce of strength in the body. The strange combination of adrenaline, endorphins, as well as the anxiety and stress spurred on from a life or death situation results in the body's boost in power.

From the day he learned of it, he always wondered. He had been in life or death situations a few times before. It was his job to handle tough situations. Why hasn't he ever triggered this? Was it something that pups could even access?

Could he do it too when it really mattered?

Seeing that Everest was struggling to hold the snowcat, let alone lift it, Rocky knew good and well that if she kept it up, her paws would be crushed under the weight of the vehicle. He could hear the faint whimpers from the Husky as she struggled. He needed to do something about it.

"Stop it!" Rocky grabbed it as well, "I don't want you to hurt yourself!"

"I don't want you to die!" Everest screamed back.

The mixed breed could feel the immense strain on his body as he struggled along with Everest to lift the snowcat, at least enough for him to get out. Rocky winced upon feeling an audible pop from his right foreleg. Had they been humans, it would've been a lot easier to lift. They didn't have thumbs to grip the sides.

"I...I can't hold this!" Everest winced, struggling just as much as Rocky was.

Hearing the Husky tell him this, a lightbulb went off in his head. Rocky suddenly let go, diving under the side so that it rested on his back. He had accidentally knocked Everest's paws away in the process, leaving the entire weight to land on his back. It pinned Rocky to the grass below, an ear-splitting scream coming out.

The Husky's eyes widened, "What are you doing!?"

"...H-Here I am... Droning on and on about what Marshall would do... What he would think, how he'd act..." The ex-eco pup strained, pressing his paws on the ground, "...But I'm not Marshall. I can't throw away my life without even thinking about it first. I'm a thinker... I'm not good at acting..."

Everest hurried over to assist him. The load was lightened just a bit, allowing Rocky to breathe properly and continue to lift.

"But... I won't forgive myself if I let myself stay here for too long and keep us from finding our friend!" He stands up completely under the weight of the snowcat, "So... Let's go get him!"

Standing up on his hind legs, Rocky managed to lift the vehicle and tip the snowcat over onto its side.

After managing to work together in order to lift the snowcat and put it upright, the two smiled at one another. Rocky held up a paw, Everest doing the same in order to bump it against his.

"What now?" Everest asked, "Time to go to Marshall?"

Rocky looked over at the half full container of water, "Let's load up the water and go!"

After filling the container once again, the two rushed off to find Marshall. Racing through the fire, both kept their eyes peeled while they searched through the fiery landscape. Rocky's grip remained on the side of the snowcat, gulping. He quickly realized that while the fire hadn't spread much after Marshall had gotten to it, the area it had already started in had gotten much worse.

The mixed breed sunk his canines into his lower lip. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. Rocky already knew that Marshall would refuse to run away from a fire, especially if it meant putting the Canine Valley at risk. He had just begged the dogs of the canine community to allow them to help. If they didn't find Marshall soon, he could succumb to the flames.

"He's always so selfishly selfless..." He groaned, his eyes tracing over the surroundings.

Both pups' eyes bulged upon hearing rasped coughing. It had to be Marshall. No other creature could possibly be still in the fire. Everest quickly turned the snowcat in the direction from which they heard the coughing, pounding on the gas to accelerate faster. Rocky was glad that out of all the vehicles they took to the valley, they took Everest's snowcat. Aside from Tracker's vehicle, Everest had the best vehicle for rough terrain.

Rocky kept surveying the blistering atmosphere until he laid his eyes on the back of a familiar black and white spotted pup.

"I see him, pull over!" He ordered, not even waiting for the snowcat to stop for him to jump out of the side and hurry over to Marshall, Everest following behind after stopping her vehicle. Rocky quickly ran to Marshall's side, putting a paw on his neck, "Phew... He's alive..."

The Dalmatian, still unconscious, coughed hoarsely. None of them were out of the woods just yet.

Everest worriedly looked around at the fire raging around them before looking back at Marshall, "Rocky, grab Marshall's pack and keep fighting these flames. I'm gonna get Marshall out of here and to some fresh air."

"Got it."

While Everest picked Marshall up on her back, Rocky took the pack off of the knocked out Dally and slid it on to his own back. He watched the Husky carry Marshall back to her snowcat, putting him in it before climbing in herself. She allowed the claw arms of her vehicle to let go of the tub of water, letting it rest feet away from the mixed breed.

She looked at him as the engine on her vehicle began to hum, "We're counting on you to hold it down for now."

"You don't need to worry about me," He smiled, "I made this pack. I can hold it down just fine."

Everest rolled her eyes at his arrogance, "You're already making me regret saving you..."

The sound of Everest racing off filled the air as Rocky walked over to stand beside the large container of water he had. He looked around himself. Marshall had done quite a good job keeping the fire at bay, but it seemed that he didn't nearly have enough water to completely extinguish the flames. His eyes narrowed for just a moment.

"Maybe one of us can use the snowcat to make trips to and from the pond to pour the entire container over the grass to extinguish the flames down here while the pup with the pack handles everything above the ground level?"

He nodded to himself. That could work. All he needed to do was hold out until Everest returned. He hoped she would take him back to the valley so that he could at least have a bit of back up. He picked up the tube that hung from the side of the pack he was wearing and threw it into the container of water, activating the pack soon afterwards.

Shooting out of the hole that was originally designed to shoot out various projectiles, a large stream of water shot out of it, nearly pushing Rocky back due to the force. He winced, remembering that he wanted to get the pack to Marshall so urgently that he had forgotten to test the force the water came out with.

"He's been dealing with this the whole time?"

Everest, meanwhile, finally managed to escape the area of the forest that was on fire, almost immediately parking her snowcat and carrying him out of it to place him at the side of the vehicle. She began to study how Marshall looked. Some of the fur on his sides had been burned, he had dirt scattered on himself, and he seemed to reek of smoke. The smell had managed to seep into his fur.

The Husky didn't waste any time in trying to get Marshall awake. She shook him, frantically calling out to the unconscious Dalmatian and begged for him to wake. The only answer she received in response were the labored coughs of her friend. Her heart began to race, wondering if Marshall really was in serious danger of succumbing to the smoke in his lungs. She had to get it out. But how could she get his airways clear again?

Months Prior

Everest approached the doors to the lookout, her tail wagging excitedly. She had always loved visiting her PAW Patrol friends at the lookout. Since she spent most of her free time up at Jake's Mountain spending time with her owner, she often felt as though she was missing out on something. She often was able to see on some of her surprise visits how the lookout seemed to function without her. She knew she was an unforgettable member of the team, irreplaceable. But she wasn't one of them. The original six pups.

She often found herself wondering how things were for the pups before she joined the team. After all, there was never a time when she was around and there weren't six other pups there to help her with missions. What about how things were back when there were less than three pups? Were things more difficult? Or were the missions more simple because the PAW Patrol wasn't as notable as it was currently?

Shaking her head, Everest realized that she had let her mind wander away from her again. She needed to focus. She hadn't exactly come to the lookout to play, like she always had. She needed to find one of the pups specifically, and it wasn't Skye, as it would usually have been.

The sliding doors of the lookout entrance opened up and allowed Everest to walk in. One of the first things she heard was the tv, loudly broadcasting the latest episode of "Apollo the Super Pup."

"Rubble..." Was the first thing that came to mind, slipping out of her mouth. Who else could it be?

Whenever he wasn't showing his interest in any kind of snowboarding or skateboarding, all of the English Bulldog's attention was focused on anything Apollo related. It was adorable how much he seemed to adore that cartoon. It kept reminding her of the fact that Rubble was the youngest of the pups, still enjoying the more childish things that her, Chase, and Skye, the oldest of them all, were starting to lose as much interest in.

Speaking of Skye, though, Everest could hear the faint sounds of the jumpy, upbeat music of the Cockapoo's favorite game, Pup Pup Boogie. Everest assumed that she was up there playing with Zuma, competing for the seemingly irrelevant title of the top player in the lookout. When it came to those two, competition was a must.

Shaking her head, the Husky pup chuckled faintly. She had to give it to Zuma. To boldly approach Skye time after time in order to challenge her to another match of Pup Pup Boogie, knowing good and well that the Cockapoo out matched him in every aspect of playing the game. Maybe it was Zuma's determination to constantly prove himself that drove his need to compete. After all, she didn't see him on many missions despite them living in a coastal location.

She walked through the lookout, her eyes wandering through the area. Where was he?

Soon, she passed by another room, stopping at the doorway to look inside of it. Tinkering with a small device was Rocky. Compared to the other pups on the team, she didn't interact with the mixed breed much. They seemed to be interested in completely different things. While she was more outdoorsy and extroverted, Rocky was reclusive, private, and mostly didn't mind sticking to himself. She didn't mind that she and Rocky didn't know one another as well, but maybe she'd get to know him better one day.

"Hey, Rocky?"

The gray puppy's ears visibly twitched at the voice before he turned around, "Everest? I didn't know you were visiting today. Skye's upstairs."

"Oh, no. I'm not looking for Skye today," The Husky corrected, "I actually wanted to know if you knew where Marshall was. There's something I wanted to ask him."

"Marshall?" Rocky raised an eyebrow, a few beats of silence falling between them, "I think he's outside with Chase."

Everest quickly turned around and rushed outside, a quick exclamation of gratitude having been left in her place.

Running to the large backyard, the Husky stopped upon spotting... Marshall speaking to a tree? No, to someone behind the tree? She watched on as the cheerful Dalmatian talked to the entity hidden behind the tree.

"And remember, no peeking until you're done counting!" The firefighter pup exclaimed, running off with his eyes focused on the tree.

Everest stood still while Marshall ran away from the tree, not paying attention to where he was going. While she didn't mind this at first, finding the way the Dalmatian seemed more focused on making sure the individual behind the tree, presumably Chase, didn't peek out at him as he counted. But as the Dally drew closer, she realized that she was in serious danger of being crashed into.

"Marshall, look out!" She shouted, taking a few steps back.

He finally turned his head back around to look in her direction, "Wha—Woah!"

Suddenly tripping over what seemed to be thin air, the Dalmatian was cartoonishly sent flying in her direction. Everest, unsure of what to do, simply braced for impact. Just as expected, Marshall crashed into her, resulting in both pups tumbling across the grassy backyard. Rolling to a stop, Marshall rested, draped over the now dizzy Husky.

"Ugh..." Everest groaned, trying to stand.

Marshall, realizing that he was on top of her, shot up and stood to his feet.

"Everest?" He asked, his eyes wide, "I'm sorry! I didn't know you were right there, I thought it was just me and Chase, I—!"

The Husky only smiled as she looked up at him, making Marshall freeze up, "I've been looking for you!"

Everest wasn't sure why, but Marshall quickly looked in another direction, covering his muzzle with a paw. Standing up, she waited for the Dalmatian to regain his composure. She let out a faint giggle. Marshall was by far one of the most hilarious pups she had ever met. Whenever he was around, she knew she was in for a laugh. Though there was one thing about him she hadn't really understood yet. He was always pretty jittery. Was he like that all of the time and with the other pups? She would never get to know, as she didn't know how the pups were without her.

"Why were you looking for me?" Marshall asked, finally regaining the composure to look at her.

"Well, you see..." Everest's paw played with the grass, "...There was a rescue at the resort Jake and I did recently, but one of the people we rescued was having trouble breathing... Jake had to perform CPR on him so he could survive..."

"Yeah?"

"But while I waited for Jake to get to him, I felt so useless..." The Husky admitted, "I couldn't do anything, because I didn't know how."

Marshall gave her a reassuring smile, "It's okay. Sometimes we don't know how to do everything."

"That's why I want to know!" Everest looked back up at him, determination filling her icy blue eyes, "Marshall, will you teach me how to perform CPR?"

Present Day

The memories of the day she spent with Marshall, learning how to perform proper CPR in case of emergencies filled her mind. It was almost as though she could hear the Dalmatian speaking into her ear, taking her step by step through the process.

"First thing you need to do, Everest, is make sure that the scene is clear. You can't perform CPR if the area around you isn't safe and stable!"

The Husky pushed the unconscious Dally so that both of them were behind the snowcat, the other side being the side closer to the fire. It was getting harder to move Marshall around by the second. Her body was growing fatigued from all of the running around. But she could rest when Marshall was breathing properly again. She couldn't let him down.

"Once you do that, make sure the patient is unconscious by tapping or shouting at them. But, if this is an emergency situation, you'd probably have done that already, so we'll skip that step, okay?"

The corner of Everest's eyes stung as she remembered what Marshall had told her. It was reassuring to hear his voice, despite him being unconscious right in front of her. She knew she was imagining him sitting right behind her, cheerfully talking her through each step.

"Lay the patient on their back, and make sure you're prepared to start pumping those arms!"

The Husky gently put Marshall onto his back.

"Start with thirty chest compressions! Don't let up, and keep a good rhythm, like Pup Pup Boogie!"

Everest took a deep breath in before putting her paws on Marshall's chest, firmly pressing into his chest. Just like Marshall had told her while teaching her the ropes, she made sure that she was keeping up a quick and consistent rhythm. She made sure to count each and every time she caved in Marshall's chest, praying that he would pull through and start breathing better.

Upon finishing the thirty compressions, the Husky suddenly blushed under her fur, and it wasn't caused by the heat. If she remembered the next step correctly, then the next step was one she wasn't exactly looking forward to having to do.

"After the thirty compressions, you might need to give the patient rescue breaths! Most know it as mouth-to-mouth."

She stared at Marshall's slightly agape mouth, the heat in her face rising more. Just the thought of pressing her mouth against Marshall's, even if it wasn't an actual kiss, made the Husky's stomach fill with butterflies. She let out an enamored giggle, her mind filling with thoughts that she hoped she wouldn't have had to think in such a dire situation. She quickly slapped herself. She needed to focus. If she wasn't quick, then she'd have to say goodbye to him. Forever.

Everest moved closer, leaning her face close to the Dalmatian's. Her heart began to pound. No matter how dire the situation was, she couldn't help but to imagine the gentle sensation of pressing her lips against Marshall's soft—

Marshall suddenly sat up, his head crashing against Everest's. The Husky howled with pain, holding her forehead. The now conscious Dalmatian followed suit, doing the same as her. He was confused as to why Everest had been so close to him, but his train of thought was derailed upon realizing that he was currently coughing a lung out. Once his body had gotten a good breath of oxygen, his lungs seemed to want to expel any foreign substance from inside it.

"Ow, ow ow..." Everest whimpered, rubbing her forehead.

Marshall kept coughing as he looked at the former mountain pup, "...Are you okay...?"

Everest's eyes seemed to light up the second she heard Marshall's voice. She took her paws off of her forehead before jumping at the Dalmatian, smile spread ear to ear. She quickly pulled the Dally into a tight hug, burying her nose into the crook of his neck.

"I'm okay!" She reassured him, "But that doesn't matter right now... I'm just glad you're awake... I thought we lost you there..."

Marshall slowly wrapped his arms around her to return the hug, but a constant grimace of confusion littered his face, "What happened?"

"Rocky and I found you unconscious in the middle of the fire," She explained, looking up at him, "Rocky took your pack and went into the fire while I tried my best to perform CPR to get you breathing right again."

"Good job!" He congratulated her, the smile she had grown to adore spreading on his face, "I didn't know you could perform CPR so well!"

Everest giggled, finally letting him go, "Well, I had a great teacher."

"Hey!" A shout from behind them startled both pups. Turning around to face it, they noticed Rocky, whose fur was burnt in a few areas, pushing a large empty container toward them, "I'm glad Marshall's up too, but we have a job to finish."

Marshall perked up, "Right, I forgot!" He turned to Rocky, "Give me the pack. I'll use water to combat the flames. Everest, use your snowcat to drive him to a water source and when you get back, keep plowing the grass away so we can limit where the fire goes."

Agreeing with Marshall's plan, Rocky and Everest rushed to the snowcat and off in the direction of the pond. Marshall decided to use the water that was left in the pack to start chipping away at the fire.

The hours to follow were some of the three's hardest hours in performing a rescue. Marshall had never dealt with such a large fire, and on top of that, he didn't have the equipment he had grown used to while on the PAW Patrol. Rocky and Everest, though, had little experience in dealing with fires, and had no choice but to ask Marshall for advice on what to do in order to help him. They didn't want to get in his way and impede his process after all.

Hour by hour, the fire seemed to reduce in volume, especially when Rocky put the plan that had been on his mind to action by pouring the water over the ground the fire had seemed to be latched to. The fire that was spreading on the grass and bushes low to the ground were quickly extinguished, the moisture from the water ensuring that the fire wouldn't spread on it once again.

Handing the fire above the ground, Marshall made sure to spray tree by tree, keeping his eyes locked onto any embers that would occasionally fly away from the flames. No matter how much more tired he was after waking, no matter how much his legs wanted to collapse from under him, he wanted to keep going. He needed to keep going. He knew his friends shared this sentiment as well.

The constant determination that he, as well as Rocky and Everest persisted in battling with the fire late into the night, proved to show some fruit. Marshall watched on with growing hope as the three slowly reduced the diameter of the inferno's reach.

The final light of the flames were stomped out by Everest, who winced slightly at the heat it produced on her paw. But it was worth it. After spending what seemed like days battling the fire, she wanted to personally put the final fire out herself. Marshall and Rocky soon joined her. As she looked between her friends, studying their exhausted and sluggish eyes, she couldn't help but to smile once more. Her friends smiled back, but didn't pretend that they weren't drained from the events that played out while dealing with the fire.

The three stood there in silence for a while. That was, until all three of them collapsed onto the ground, taking exhausted, deep breaths. They had been running around for hours on end, struggling to catch their breaths, especially while there was smoke clouding the air. It was a rescue pup's duty to do what they had to do for those they had sworn to protect.

The ground they had collapsed onto was still very warm from the fire that was on it just minutes prior, but at the moment, none of that seemed to matter. They had finally regained the serenity of the night. The serenity that they had been fighting so hard for all that time. Had it been hours? Just an hour? Everything had happened so fast, but while in the thick of the danger, it felt like ages.

"We... We did it..." Marshall uttered, his eyes focused on what was above, "...We can finally see the sky again..."

Rocky chuckled, his voice weak, "What's so important about the sky?"

"You never got out much before this... Did you?" Everest tiredly asked with a smirk, "I'd expect a homebody like you... To not understand what Marshall means..."

"Shut up..." The mixed breed shakily exhaled, "...I was a forest scout..."

The Dalmatian shook his head, deciding to ignore the tired bickering from his friends, "Don't you think... The sky is really pretty tonight?"

The three focused their attention on the night sky above. The previous fire had rid all of the leaves from the branches above them, allowing them a clear view of what was laid out for them in the sky. While there was no visible moon in their lines of sight, they could see the moonlight peek through the clearing smoke.

Above them was a beautiful sight. The stars seemed to twinkle individually, each glimmer giving off their own glow. The azure glow seemed to be something right out of a dream. None of the three knew that the sky could shine so bright, almost as though the fire they had just extinguished was shining bright just beyond the sky.

"It kinda looks like... The skies in Adventure Bay."

Everest and Rocky's eyes both widened, looking at Marshall. Neither of them had expected him to bring their long since abandoned home. They noticed that the Dalmatian slowly raised his paw, which stretched out as far as it could, as though he was trying to grip the sky and pull it closer.

"Guys... We're gonna go home someday..." He told them, a reminiscent smile spreading across his muzzle, "No matter what."

Sharing his smile, both Rocky and Everest closed their eyes. There was no verbal affirmation needed, as they reached their paws up to the sky as well, just like Marshall had. They'd reach those skies again.

Someday.