(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)
A Little Change
"No, nu uh, no way no how, not in a hundred million years," Gizmo vehemently protested as Marshall tied him up with a length of rope that they had found on one of the shelves. The normal lights had already turned back on as they worked, with Gizmo protesting the whole time.
"It wasn't a request," Cinder softly replied in a deceptively sweet tone. "You will go back in time, and you will stop Augie from dying."
"And why would I do that?" Gizmo barked defiantly.
"You could choose not to," Cinder softly and calmly stated. "But that would have consequences. In this case, we'll leave you stuck there while we figure out how to do it ourselves. I'm sure we would eventually get it right…"
"You can't be serious," the bound Labrador responded incredulously. "Are you seriously considering going back in time and making… potentially hundreds of changes? You have no idea what that could even do to the timeline! As far as you know, a single change could be enough to wipe you from existence! Is that something you're really willing to risk?"
Staring directly into his eyes with a resolute gaze, Cinder softly replied, "Yes. I've given my entire life to protecting the lives of others, and even sacrificed myself to save another. I've fought impossible battles for the privilege of running into danger when everyone else runs away. And now, just this once, I'm going to put myself first."
"You don't even know how to travel through time, and there's no way I'd tell you," Gizmo shot back. "You'll end up using the wrong invention and find yourself frozen in a block of solid ice. Or worse, you could find yourself trapped in a single moment of time for the rest of eternity while all your loved ones watch you blip from existence. You can't keep me tied up in here for days while you try to figure out what device my time machine is. Not without anyone finding me. My friends will come looking for me when they realize I'm missing in a couple of hours."
Cinder glanced around the room, eyeing the numerous inventions scattered everywhere. Perturbed, she realized he was right. She had no clue what the time machine looked like or even where it might be. All she had was the room where Gizmo had taken her back in time. It was her only starting point. She was racking her brains to figure out a solution when a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh, come on, Gizmo. You didn't really think it'd take that long for us to come find you, did you?" Marshall asked.
Immediately Cinder did a double take. She snapped her head around to look directly at her brother, who looked just as confused as Cinder felt. It wasn't me he hastily clarified.
Suddenly Cinder felt a presence behind her. As one, both Dalmatians turned around to find a dog standing in the doorway.
Instantly Cinder gasped. Standing there with an amused smirk on his face was her brother, but not the brother she knew. His fur was slightly unkempt, and he had shoes on all four paws, but in every other aspect the two Marshalls were identical.
Cinder's real brother stared at his doppelganger with his mouth gaping open. "Are… are you me?" he asked.
The new Marshall smiled and nodded his head. "Nice to meet you, Marshall. I'm Marshall. Call me Marty for short, though. I've had enough encounters with alternate selves to know that it gets confusing when there are two of us responding to the name Marshall."
Cinder stared at the newcomer, unsure of what to say.
"You must be Cinder," Marty spoke, turning to address her. "Nice to meet you. Sorry if this is confusing. It can be hard to wrap your head around sometimes."
Cinder nodded slowly in confirmation. "What are you doing here?" she softly asked.
"Yeah, that's a good question," Gizmo concurred. "I thought you were helping Mayor Goodway."
"I was, but I started to hear voices in my head," Marty explained with a grin, "and immediately I knew where to look. By the way, why did you let Marshall tie you up?"
"They're trying to get me to 'fix their timeline,'" Gizmo sighed. "And I didn't 'let' them. They used an EMP and got the jump on me."
"You let them find out?! And you let them get the jump on you?" Marty gasped in mock surprise. "Wow, that's pretty bad. Even when you're messing up you don't do it halfway."
"Ha ha. Very funny," Gizmo groaned. "Now help me out."
Marty raised a paw to his chin and tapped it thoughtfully before answering with a simple, "No."
"Wait, what?! Why?!" Gizmo yipped, trying in vain to squirm out of his bonds.
"Because I think you should help them," Marty said, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.
Cinder's heart leapt in her chest. He was on their side? "But why?" she softly asked compulsively.
"I've been here for a while, so I heard a lot," Marty elucidated. "I don't think your request is unreasonable."
"But I'm not allowed!" Gizmo objected. "Ryder said-"
Marty scoffed, cutting the Lab off. "Oh, come on. Since when have you let what Ryder said stop you? Besides, that rule was to stop you from doing anything impulsive like with the Rescueverse."
"That was totally different. Things happen for a reason. God has a plan, and He knows what He's doing, in all universes," Gizmo shot back.
"And who's to say you adjusting the timeline isn't part of that plan?" Marty quipped.
Gizmo stayed silent, staring at the ground. It was obvious he was losing the argument, and he didn't like the implications.
Marty sighed at the lack of response on Gizmo's part. "Could you two give us a minute so we can talk? I think I can convince him, but I need to do it alone."
Marshall and Cinder looked at each other. What do you think? Marshall thought to his sister.
I don't know. I guess it's okay as long as he doesn't untie him.
"Oh, um… well I'm going to have to," Marty interrupted her, catching them both off guard.
"You can hear us?" Marshall gasped.
"I told you I could earlier, though I guess that may not have been clear. Lots of people hear voices in their head without it being others talking. But I have to untie him. It's hard to convince someone to do a favor when they're tied up like a hostage."
Marshall looked at his sister again. "Marty has a point… And at least he's honest."
"To a fault," Gizmo cut in.
"That's my brother for you," Cinder softly commented with a light smile. "Alright, well you can untie him and talk to him, but we're guarding the exit so he can't make a run for it."
Marshall followed Cinder to the doorway. "What are you thinking?" he whispered.
"I'm trying to come to terms with the idea that another version of you from an alternate universe could hear us talking," Cinder softly whispered back.
"Do you think he can talk back?" Marshall wondered.
"No," Cinder softly replied, "if he wants that with his twin, Auburn, then he would have tried to talk to us just to see if that was possible."
"We haven't really given him a chance to do that without us freaking out when we heard a new mental voice. Or worse, one you couldn't tell apart from me," Marshall pointed out.
"May as well try now then," Cinder softly asserted. Marty, it's Cinder. I know you can hear us, and I know you are busy at the moment, but I want you to try and talk back to us.
The twins listened but heard nothing. Marty, it's Marshall. Try thinking of a picture of Auburn; what does she look like? When we were puppies, we could share images with each other before we could talk. It drove mom and dad nuts that their tiny, non-verbal puppies could orchestrate heists from the treat jar with each other from different rooms in the fire station.
Marshall and Cinder both laughed at the reference. On a whim, Cinder visualized the memory and shared it. There was no confirmation from Marty, but they both heard him laugh from the other side of the room.
"Well, we tried," Marshall said after a few moments.
"It takes time," Cinder softly replied. "When Gizmo finds us after making this one change, we are going to help Marty and Auburn."
"You know he can't hear us talking right now, right?" Marshall reminded her.
"That is why I'm telling you" Cinder softly clarified. "As much as I want Gizmo to help us, I don't want the promise of us helping Marty to be used as leverage or as a bargaining chip. Even if Gizmo doesn't help us, I still want to help Marty and Auburn."
Marshall smiled, "and that is what makes you special sis. Even when you are putting yourself first, for the first time ever I might add, you still have a plan to help someone else in a way that could never be repaid."
Cinder blushed at the compliment. Marshall took the opportunity to kiss his twin on her pink cheek.
"So, why are we bringing Augie back?" Marshall casually asked.
The question caught Cinder off balance, "isn't it a bit late to be asking that?" she softly protested.
"Maybe, but we never talked or thought about it," Marshall softly reminded her.
Cinder was silent for a moment. It was just long enough of a stall to prevent further discussion as Marty and Gizmo approached them. Marty had a grin on his face while Gizmo held a more serious disposition. After coming to a stop in front of the two, Gizmo told them his decision. "I'll do it," he stated, his voice full of determination.
"Thank you," Cinder replied simply, letting a smile creep onto her face.
"So how are we planning on making this change?" Marshall asked. "We probably shouldn't let our past selves know about all of this..."
"Um yeah… speaking of, how are you planning on doing this, Gizmo?" Marty inquired.
The black Labrador retriever contemplated the situation. "Well, all of Augie's wounds were non-lethal. Cinder made sure of that," he mused.
"How did you know about that? That was never released to the press," Cinder softly pointed out. "You also say it like I had a say in how we got shot."
"I told you before: I've been keeping tabs on you guys and your universe. And I know you didn't, but directly or not, the bullet passing through you was a factor in Augie's survival, along with your actions after to keep him alive. But that's beside the point. What matters is that the true cause of Augie's death was the rabies bioweapon. And for that there's a simple solution: make sure people figure out that the bullets are coated in a bioweapon sooner."
"And how will that happen, exactly?" Marshall inquired.
Gizmo continued explaining, "Lots of investigators were all over the site, presumably including a ballistics team. Correct?"
"Yes, Chase and Kong helped to mark everything for them," Marshall remembered.
"Good. That will make this easier," Gizmo grinned. "Basically, I'll sneak in and make the bioweapon noticeable to either them or the ballistics team on initial inspection, which will trigger the actions at the hospital far enough in advance to save Augie. Doing something like adding a strange scent to the gun should work."
"Seems simple enough," Marty noted, "and unable to be traced back to anything; assuming you don't get caught."
"Yes," Gizmo confirmed with a nod. "But remember, you're going back in time and waking up in your past selves. Cinder, that means you'll have just been shot. You'll have to relive all that pain again."
Cinder nodded in understanding. "As long as it isn't the pain of losing Augie again, it will be worth it," she softly asserted.
Gizmo kept his eyes on Cinder, trying to read her expression. After a few seconds, he spoke to Marty without diverting his gaze. "Alright. Marty, you can get the device."
"Sure thing!" the firefighter yipped before running through the door to the left.
"Where's he going?" Marshall inquired curiously.
"To the Lookout," Gizmo replied. "To put it simply, this lab can access multiple universes. Yours is through the door behind you. Mine is through the door Marty just ran through."
"So that means we guarded the wrong door," Marshall noted. "Oops…"
"If that's the case, you must really trust Marty," Cinder softly observed.
"I trust all the Paw Patrol. They're my family," Gizmo responded, letting a slight smile creep on his face. Then that smile faded as he turned his gaze to Cinder. "Before we do this, I have to give you a word of warning. Have you ever heard about the butterfly effect?"
Cinder thought for a moment before softly replying, "I've heard about it, but I only have a general idea of what it means."
Gizmo nodded as he started to explain. "The butterfly effect is a generalized form of chaos theory. It's the idea that a miniscule change can cause huge differences somewhere else in the future, even though it may seem completely unrelated. The common quote you might hear is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Africa can cause a hurricane in Florida. Even though the events may seem non-linear, alterations extrapolate over time. The sound of stepping on a branch might seem to do nothing… or it could cause an avalanche. When you change the past, you're able to see the physical manifestations of these alterations because you know what could have otherwise been."
"So, what are you trying to say?" Cinder softly inquired.
The Labrador sighed, his voice becoming soft. "My point is that life is unpredictable. I don't know what your new future is going to hold, but it'll be an adventure. And if you find yourselves trapped in an avalanche… well, you know where to find me."
Cinder smiled slightly. "Thanks, Gizmo. We will be sure to keep that in mind."
At that point, Marty ran back into the room holding a box-like device. Setting it down on the counter, he opened the lid. "Got it right out from under Ryder's nose," he boasted with a grin.
"I'm going to get in so much trouble for this…" Gizmo groaned under his breath before beginning to tinker with the insides of the device.
"I'll take the blame. You take care of these two," Marty reassured before he looked at the Dalmatians. "Bye Marshall! Bye Cinder! It was great meeting you two!"
"See you later Marty! It was great meeting me too!" Marshall replied with a laugh.
"Thank you for helping us," Cinder softly remarked with a smile. And tell Auburn we'll help you two if we can.
"Hey, we may be from different universes, but we're still the PAW Patrol; it's what we do! And don't worry, I will," Marty quipped back before heading out the door and disappearing from sight.
"How will we know if this works?" Marshall asked as Gizmo finished his work on the machine.
"There will be a bright flash of light. After that, you'll both wake up in the hospital," Gizmo replied simply, "and all this will feel like a dream."
"Make sure you come find us when it is done," Cinder softly said as she laid a paw on Gizmo's shoulder. The black Lab startled at the unexpected touch, but he welcomed the comforting feeling it gave. "We will owe you a proper thank you."
"I appreciate it, but I can't promise that I'll be able to see you again any time soon," Gizmo responded. "Emergencies are one thing, but…" he trailed off.
"Won't you have to meet us at the same time in the new timeline as the old one?" Marshall inquired.
"At that point, it really doesn't matter. But I might be able to show up," Gizmo said hopefully. "If not, you'll be able to reach me in this cabin."
"Thanks. And I promise we will do everything we can to help Marty and Auburn," Cinder vowed.
"I think you already have," Gizmo chuckled. "Somehow, against all my expectations, Marty was able to hear you two. He told me you two were trying to get him to respond back while he was talking with me, but that he didn't know how. Sometimes things aren't meant to be. But then again, sometimes they are. I don't know if he'll be able to create a link with his sister or even talk to the two of you. There's no guarantee that the gift the two of you share can ever be shared with anyone else, so treasure it."
"Trust me, we do," Cinder softly answered as she stepped back into Marshall's waiting paws, which curled around her protectively.
Gizmo gave one last smile to the Dalmatian twins. Then he took a deep breath. Gently, he closed the lid of the mechanical box and put it on the floor between the three of them. As he did, Cinder reflected that they were embarking on a journey unlike anything they had ever done before. It was both nerve-racking and invigorating at the same time.
A whirring sound filled the room and the bright light flashed, filling the trio's vision with a blinding whiteness.
A/N: Special thanks to RodentRacer for bringing his OCs Gizmo and Marty into this world and his help writing and proofing this chapter!
A/N: I am so sorry to everyone who had to deal with that inappropriate guest review left on my story. What that person was offering was illegal, immoral, and not related to my story in any way, shape or form. It has since been deleted. I only wish I could have deleted it sooner. If you don't know what I'm talking about, count yourself lucky. I will not divulge anything further.
Moving on, I'm sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. As I've mentioned before, my ability to post is drastically limited in time so I will post when I can. In an effort to try and post something every opportunity I can, I'm going to put more effort into Marshall Ask Everest Out Plans, especially since I have a bunch of you smarty-pants who have given me ideas that I just need to write. Thank you for your patience.