A small kitten balanced itself as it walked on the edge of a building's roof. It turned its head to look down at the area below it. As expected, it was looking down at the Foggy Bottom pound, watching many canines go about their days. The kitten then turned its focus to two canines in particular. Two that seemed to be smaller than the rest. A German Shepherd and a Dalmatian. Bullseye.
With one final glance at the two pups, the kitten turned around and began to look for a way down.
The aforementioned Dalmatian and Shepherd were walking from an abandoned pup park to the front gate of the pound, looking around anxiously as they walked to make sure there weren't any potential threats looking at them. After being trapped for around a day and a half in the Foggy Bottom pound, the duo had grown used to constantly looking over their shoulders in case there was another grown canine who wanted to toy around with the two for the simple reason that they could.
The Shepherd, Chase, had a plethora of bandages scattered around his body. It was a clear result of his reckless decision to step between Marshall and the three dogs who wanted to mess around with him. A reckless decision, but one he felt as though was right.
The Dalmatian, Marshall, also had his own set of bandages, but for injuries far less concerning than the ones plaguing the police pup. His mouth and nose were covered by a bright red scarf, which was tied neatly around his neck for the first time in what felt like ages. He was engaged in a long conversation with the Shepherd beside him concerning his scarf.
"So you're telling me that Liz girl gave you that scarf because she saw you as a part of her family?" Chase asked, mulling over the details he had been told over the course of their conversation.
Marshall nodded, "Yeah... We spent so much time together, and she taught me so many things... I kind of see her as family too."
With nothing better to do, the two spent the past day catching each other up on their lives. They both went through the events of the past few weeks, detailing what they had gone through while they were separated. Additionally, since Chase wanted to learn more about what Marshall had gone through, Marshall explained everything that had happened leading up to his suspension as well. This included Marshall admitting to his feelings for Everest when pushed on why he and Rocky had to go to Porter's to talk.
"...I still can't believe everything happened this way..." Chase's ears soon fell, "...Everything lined up too well when it came to your suspension. If only we had a piece of what you knew."
Marshall looked away, "Well, it's not like Ryder was gonna hear me out... He had his mind made up."
The little officer thought back on how Ryder's disposition changed following Marshall, Rocky, and Everest leaving the lookout. It was clear that it hit him harder than it had anyone else. But it was hard to argue with what Marshall was saying, especially since Ryder started distancing himself from Marshall after suspending him from the team. There was never an opportunity for Marshall to defend himself. Understanding that made it easy to understand why Marshall left the lookout to begin with.
"I wonder what could've happened if I decided to stand by you and Rocky when everything happened..." Chase thought out loud.
Marshall's brows raised, "Well, I don't think much would change..." He then looked at Chase, "But it would've been comforting to know that you were on my side at least."
"I know... Sorry..."
The awkward conversation soon grew into an uncomfortable silence. There still were a lot of things between them that needed to be addressed. While Chase had gotten around to believing Marshall's side of the situation, there were still a few things looming in their minds. Chase's initial reaction to Marshall's supposed crime, their fight in the construction site, and the brief words they shared following that fight.
No matter what they currently thought of one another, regardless of whether they were currently working together or not, there was still a lot to be addressed. Many of which they had been avoiding like the plague since they were reunited.
The duo finally made it to a door in the gate surrounding the pound. Waiting there was one of the many workers of the pound, one that smiled as the two pups approached.
"There you two are!" The worker, a young man, exclaimed, "C'mon, let's get you your check up, Chase."
Opening the door, the man picked Chase up and allowed Marshall to walk through as well. He quickly closed the gate behind them, carrying the little officer into a building not too far away. Marshall remained beside the man's legs, glancing back at the gate they were just let through.
Following Marshall and Chase's fight against the dogs of the pound, one of the workers was tasked with checking in on the two pups every day, especially since Chase had injuries that needed to be checked every so often. Marshall was brought along to prevent being left alone in such a dangerous place.
As the man laid Chase down on a table within a small room used for checkups, Marshall walked over to sit on a chair off to the side, prepared to wait for Chase's checkup to end.
"So, how did you guys sleep?" The young man asked, "Pups don't usually last overnight in this pound."
Marshall's eyes bulged, "They don't!?"
"Well, you already know how your first interaction with the pound dogs went. Did you really think that was only limited to the daytime?"
"I guess I'm used to keeping a part of my mind alert after spending so long in the wild..." The Dally thought for a moment, "Whenever a dog would get close, I'd wake up and they would just go away."
Chase's brows raised. During the previous night, he hadn't noticed a thing. He slept almost just as soundly as he would back in Adventure Bay. He slowly looked over at Marshall, who tugged at his scarf as he explained his thoughts about the previous night. Marshall seemed a lot more anxious than before his suspension. A lot more alert. He was right. Marshall's experiences outside of Adventure Bay had affected him not only physically, but psychologically. It affected the way he ticked.
"I didn't even notice..." The Shepherd muttered, "I slept pretty well, considering where we were."
"It's a good thing you won't have to worry about that anymore."
Marshall seemed confused, "What do you mean?"
"You two are being relocated to a pound that's more safe for pups."
Chase could feel his stomach drop, "Wait... Where are you sending us?"
"I think you two are headed to Toronto..." The man put a hand to his chin, sorting out the details in his mind.
"Toronto!? The little officer asked loudly, "That's halfway across the country! If we're sent there without my tag, we'll be stranded! Ryder won't be able to find us!"
"Sorry, Chase..." The man shrugged, "It's been ordered that you two be removed."
"Can't you just let us out of the pound so we can go back to Adventure Bay on our own?" Chase desperately asked, the thought of being stranded so far away from the lookout filling him with anxiety.
Marshall, meanwhile, flinched at the idea of returning to Adventure Bay with Chase. He wasn't even sure if Chase was really on his side or not. Having to face Ryder and the PAW Patrol after everything that happened wasn't something he desired. Especially if they still didn't know whether or not he was the culprit of the theft weeks prior. In fact, he had gotten so used to living in the Canine Valley, that returning to Adventure Bay always seemed like a distant dream. One that he was never able to reach.
The man shook his head, "We can't do that. It's a policy not to release dogs unless they're directly asked for by their owner."
"How will he know we're all the way in Toronto, though?"
"We'll tell him everything."
Thinking through possible solutions, the Shepherd's eyes soon widened, "What if Marshall and I sneak off of the train at one of the stops? That way, the pound won't be liable!"
"You two will be in cages while you're transported... You'd have to worry about the cages before anything else."
Chase's brows furrowed. He had a good point. How could they possibly get out of those cages?
The door leading into the room then silently cracked open. Something that none of the room's occupants noticed midst their conversation. Peering into the medical room was a kitten. The same kitten that had been watching Chase and Marshall while they were walking through the pound. The kitten, listening into the conversation between Chase, Marshall, and the pound worker, swatted at a strange object attached to its collar.
Sitting at a desk far away from the pound, a familiar purple-clothed Mayor's eyes narrowed as he listened into the conversation Chase and Marshall were having with the pound worker through the device attached to the kitten's collar.
Following Humdinger's interaction and ensuing altercation with Marshall, the mayor decided to retreat back to his hideout and tend to both his physical and metaphorical wounds. Not only was he shown up by a group of puppies yet again, but now, he also had been bitten by one of them! How humiliating!
After listening to the private conversation through the device he attached to the kitten's collar, he seemed to have found a way to get back at the Dalmatian.
"They're being sent to Toronto, huh?" Humdinger mused, "And they'll be telling that to Ryder? Not on my watch!"
The purple-clothed mayor suddenly stood up from his chair, turning around to walk toward the entrance to his hideout. The familiar clomping noise of his dress shoes tapping against the sleek floors alerted a group of kittens off to the side, who all stopped what they were doing in order to look in Humdinger's direction.
"Come now, kitties!" He called, "We need to take a trip to the Foggy Bottom pound!"
Obeying his directions, the five kittens ran over to the small cage that also functioned as a form of transportation for the malicious mayor. After they were all aboard, Humdinger sat down on the carrier, using a small remote to guide them forward and out of the hideout.
As the light of the midday sun beamed through the thick layer of fog that always seemed to cover Foggy Bottom, Humdinger turned his attention to the town in front of him. The town he had become the mayor of so long ago.
He did it all on a whim. It all started because of that simple whim, and push from his mother.
Long before, Humdinger moved to Foggy Bottom with the expectation of a new start. Somewhere where he would be taken seriously. A place where all of the burdens of the past would be alleviated. And for the first few years, it was. While sure, after moving to Foggy Bottom to live independently, he was forced to find a job. He hated work. Detested having to do things for somebody else. Though, in working as a mechanic, he learned a few things about technology and how vehicles worked. This ignited a passion he never thought he had.
But why? He was working. Working for someone else, even. He hated it!
So then why did he wake up with a start each morning? Why did he come to work like he was a kid again, going to enjoy a nice treat baked by his mother? As time grew longer, Humdinger's skills sharpened. His aptitude for vehicles increased by the day. Humdinger even started thinking about how the machinery he learned how to build could benefit the silent town that was Foggy Bottom. But there was no way that such an ambitious project would be allowed by the mayor.
Wait, who was the mayor?
At that point in time, there were ads presented about an upcoming run for a new mayor. The previous mayor, who had been the mayor of Foggy Bottom for the past thirty years, had recently passed on. This left a void in the system. A void for anyone who was a citizen to try and fill.
Since Humdinger had been pretty vocal about how much he had grown to love his life in Foggy Bottom, as well as his thoughts of improvement, his mother, along with his former boss and co-workers pushed him to run.
Thanks to the amount of people he knew through his trade as a mechanic, as well as the good faith he had accumulated by being a reliable citizen, he was soon in the running to be the next mayor of Foggy Bottom. Before he knew it. He was the new mayor.
Years Prior
"Hummy Gummy!" A familiar voice called from the other side of the door to his room, "Are you ready to go?"
Adjusting a shiny new purple-colored top hat on top of his head, Humdinger struck various poses to view himself on the other side of a full-length mirror. He wasn't sure about all of the purple at first. It was his favorite color, sure, but all of the purple did seem to be a bit much. Now that the outfit was completely put together, though, he was completely on board with the idea of wearing a completely purple outfit. It made him look important. The solid color was one that all would recognize as that of the new mayor!
"Coming Hummy Mummy!" Humdinger replied, smiling. While yes, it was a little immature to still call his mother what he had back when he was a kid, he didn't really care about what others thought. It was a nice name for the lovely woman that was his mother. She supported him no matter what. He would forever be indebted to her.
After shooting one last grin at the mirror, Humdinger turned around and left his room.
On the way to the ceremony, both soon-to-be mayor Humdinger, as well as his mother, Helga Humdinger, were all smiles. Helga was immensely proud of her son. When her son left home all those years ago in order to make his own way in a new town, she would've never expected him to become the mayor. It was a drastic shift. Drastic, but so very welcome.
No matter what, she'd always be proud of her little Hummy Gummy.
Upon their arrival, the two were greeted with cheers and cries of joy from the citizens of Foggy Bottom. The citizens Humdinger had grown to love during his time as a mechanic. For one in the silent town, there was life. Noise. Cheers. He loved it all.
"Presenting, Mayor Humdinger!!"
Present Day
Humdinger's eyes narrowed. It was a great day. The first day of his new life. The life that had been going so well. He settled into his position nicely. Sure, there was a lot he needed to learn in terms of being a mayor. Sure, there were countless sleepless nights of hard work trying to figure out how to improve the town he loved so much. But, as the new mayor of Foggy Bottom, life was great.
Was.
Eventually, the mayor of a neighboring town, Adventure Bay, came to him and introduced herself as Mayor Goodway. She was nice, welcoming, and committed to her role as mayor. Something that Humdinger could get behind. Something that he understood well.
Along with all of that though, Mayor Goodway was extremely competitive. Simple things such as which town had the most tourists, or which town had the better infrastructure. At first, this competition was friendly, strengthening the ties between both the neighboring towns, but the mayors as well.
That was, until the PAW Patrol came along.
When Ryder and his pups began to help out Adventure Bay, it was made abundantly clear that the neighboring towns weren't on the same level anymore. Foggy Bottom, his town, began to fade away in the shadow of the town just beside it. The competitions between the town were suddenly skewed in favor of Adventure Bay because of that team of pups. They would help Goodway with every single competition. There was no room for Foggy Bottom to compete anymore. What was originally a rivalry against Adventure Bay and Foggy Bottom became a rivalry of Foggy Bottom against both the PAW Patrol and Adventure Bay.
So, he started to cheat in the competitions. It was the only way their competitions would be fair enough for Foggy Bottom to have a chance to show that they were better. But all of a sudden, he was the bad guy for cheating.
It wasn't fair! They started it!
As Humdinger grew closer to the pound, he reminded himself of what he was fighting for. Everything in his life was completely fine before the PAW Patrol showed up! It was all their fault! They ruined his reputation. They looked at him with such contempt! They looked at him as though he were the scum of the Earth!
It was his life!! His!
It wasn't the PAW Patrol that had to suffer when his reputation began to take a nosedive. In fact, their lives only got better as they finally had some kind of villain to fight against. Their popularity and reputation spiked upwards, and they were only getting more popular by the day! Merchandise, toy sales, record deals, they had it all!
He was just collateral damage from their explosion of popularity.
In that case... What better way to get back at the team that ruined his reputation than getting rid of their two most popular members once and for all?
No, he wasn't going to kill them! He wasn't deranged! Villains such as him have standards. He wasn't going to kill them. But after being done with them, they might as well be. He laughed to himself as he finally arrived at the pound, a smirk forming beneath his mustache. While his plan was brilliant. There was still one thing he needed to do. He needed some help. And based on the surveillance his kitty had been doing, he knew just who to ask.
Meanwhile, Chase and Marshall had already found themselves locked in cages in the back of a rail car. The dark cabin they were in was dark and still. A clear sign that the train hadn't left the station yet. While the Shepherd began to quickly panic, the former firefighter remained where he was, wondering whether or not he should follow Chase's decision to run back to Ryder in the case they were able to actually get off of the train before it started to move. His heart was somewhere else at the moment.
He needed to go back to the Canine Valley and reunite with his friends. Well, his friends and Hood. His relationship with Hood was way too complicated to simplify by just calling him a friend. Ally? Sure. Comrade? Pushing it, but okay. Friend? No way. With how things between them happened, them becoming friends was highly unlikely. He never forgot about what he said days prior. Hood would still pay it back. He'd pay it all back.
"I did it!"
Marshall, who was lost in his thoughts, was brought back to Earth when he heard Chase shout. Turning his attention to the cage beside his own, Marshall realized that the police pup was no longer confined to the small space beside him. Chase was now walking around the large space that was the inside of the rail car. Due to the low visibility of the rail car, Chase seemed to shift in and out of sight depending on his distance from the Dally.
"How'd you get out?" Marshall asked, confused.
Chase walked over to the Dalmatian's cage, "My cage wasn't completely locked. I just pushed it, and it opened."
"Really?" The former firefighter pushed his paw against the front of the cage and watched it slowly sway open, "Huh... What do you know?"
As Marshall stepped out of the cage, Chase quickly bounded over to the door leading into the next rail car, "I guess all we need to do is get off this train and head back to Adventure Bay."
"Adventure Bay...?" The Dalmatian repeated, his voice clearly sounding more unsure than Chase was hoping for.
"What?" Chase turned his attention from the door leading out to the canine behind him, "We still have a few days before that time limit Ryder set is up. If we run, we could make it back to my vehicle in Foggy Bottom and get back to Adventure Bay in a day."
Marshall gulped down the growl building in his throat, remembering the time limit from what seemed to be ages ago. Whenever he remembered that day in the lookout where he was stripped from his current status on the team, leaving him confused and heartbroken, he could feel that same metaphorical stab wound in his back that still hadn't completely healed. He was left with nothing but Rocky at his side as he set out to prove his own innocence.
As time went on, the small duo of himself and Rocky grew in numbers. Everest came along, declaring that she'd help Marshall and Rocky through the situation they found themselves in. Even Marshall leaving the lookout didn't deter her or Rocky from following him. Through leaving the lookout, Katie found him and decided to take him in. Then came Liz, who made sure Marshall was looked after while he was in his fragile state. During his time spent with Liz, he reunited with Everest's owner, Jake, who seemed to be on his side as well.
The small trio of Marshall, Rocky, and Everest soon came across the Canine Valley, where they forged friendships with Axel, Brutus, Elder, and Anya. Where they somehow earned the trust of those who seemed to be unable to trust those who weren't their own.
In a way, the Canine Valley reminded him of his own state of mind following his suspension. Hurt. Feeling betrayed by those who were supposed to be looking out for them. The collection of strays, just like himself, were hurt, and unwilling to open their doors to some random stranger that comes along.
That's exactly why he needed to go back. He needed to go back to where he was understood. Back to the place where he was accepted. He needed to go back to Rocky and Everest. He needed to see them again before he even considered going back to Adventure Bay. It didn't feel right if they weren't with him upon his return.
"I... Don't know if I want to go back to Adventure Bay..."
"Huh?"
"I don't want to go back."
"What do you mean you don't want to go back?" Chase's ears lowered slightly, "We still have time to prove your innocence! It's not over!"
"Yeah, it isn't over..." Marshall looked down toward the floor, "Even if you believe me now, even if the rest of the PAW Patrol believes me now... That still won't end it. It won't be over. The rest of Adventure Bay... Foggy Bottom too, needs some kind of proof. But I don't have any right now."
The Shepherd's eyes widened, "No... I just got you back... I don't want to lose you again!"
"Chase..." Marshall slowly walked past the police pup, pushing open the door of the rail car, "...Even if I get that evidence, will me coming back really make it all better?"
Chase's mouth quickly closed. Since when did Marshall get so introspective? He realized Marshall had grown more mature since the days he spent on the team, but to be this thoughtful of where life would take him next was a completely different beast. Standing before him today was a reformed Marshall. One that couldn't afford to crack jokes whenever things got serious. It scared him.
Why couldn't things just go back to the way they were??
Marshall opened the door, the light from outside finally providing good visibility for the two. Chase was finally able to see Marshall from behind. His eyes fell. How didn't he notice all of this time? How could he be so blind? Marshall, despite how firm his voice had sounded, had propped himself up against the side of the door. He was tired.
"So, how did you guys sleep?" The young man asked, "Pups don't usually last overnight in this pound."
Marshall's eyes bulged, "They don't!?"
"Well, you already know how your first interaction with the pound dogs went. Did you really think that was only limited to the daytime?"
"I guess I'm used to keeping a part of my mind alert after spending so long in the wild..." The Dally thought for a moment, "Whenever a dog would get close, I'd wake up and they would just go away."
He never did answer the man's question outright. And it was clearly for a reason. Marshall hadn't been sleeping well for not only the night they spent in the pound, but perhaps long before that. He averted his eyes. Maybe if he had stepped in that day...
After crossing into the next car, a compartment coach, the two pups heard the loud shriek of the train's whistle, letting the two know that the train was scheduled to leave the station soon. The two made a beeline for the closest exit, an opening through which a few humans were boarding the train. As they picked up their pace, though, Marshall suddenly slipped over his own forepaws, sending himself tumbling forward.
"Marshall!" Chase stopped in his tracks, "Are you okay?"
Sitting up, the Dally gently rubbed his mouth with a paw, "I'm good..." He replied, quickly standing up, "Let's just get out of here."
"Yeah, no. Can't let you two do that..." A familiar voice called out to the duo, "Boss' orders."
Chase's sharp ears were quick to recognize "No way..."
Marshall, still rubbing his face from the tumble he took moments prior, looked over at who had called out to them. His eyes grew wide, a mixture of shock and anger overwhelming his mind.
"You!!"