Paw Patrol: Apollo the Not-So-Super Pup

A Night on the Town

It was as if the city didn't sleep at all. There were citizens walking about and driving, and bars and night-clubs were plenty occupied. "So this is the night life." Rubble said in amazement. "But where can I get something to eat?" He noticed a meat shop in the distance. "Hmm, I wonder..." He ran over to see a plump and portly man tossing garbage into the trash bin. Rubble walked up to the man, barking happily and wagging his tail.
"Ohh what a cute little doggie!" the man exclaimed, smiling. He dropped the trash and walked over and petted the bulldog. Rubble turned on his back as the meat man rubbed his tummy. The man could feel and hear Rubble's stomach growling.
"Ahh, I know what you-a want." he said before going back into the shop. A few seconds later he emerged with a string of salami. Rubble's tongue drooped from his mouth as his eyes became wide. "There you-a go little guy." Said the meat man as he tossed the string of salami infront of Rubble.
"Oh boy! Thanks mister!" said Rubble, as he stood on his hind legs leaning on the man before picking the salami up into his mouth.
"No-a problem little guy." Replied the meat man as he petted Rubble's head once more before retuning into his shop. Rubble ate one of the salami off of the string, before wrapping the rest around his neck and continuing his walk.
"A pup like meeeee, A pup like meeeee."
Rubble was singing and humming happily until he was caught off guard by a blur rushing past him. He looked behind him to see a cocker spaniel with ginger fur, hurriedly rushing in the opposite direction calling for someone. He raised an eyebrow.
"Even the dogs in this city don't sleep." He laughed to himself.
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Sirena was out of breath and panting as she slowed her pace. Before her stood Apollo and Lance.
"Did you find her?" asked Lance. Catching her breath the female cocker spaniel shook her head.
"I can't even pick up her scent..." Said Apollo lowering his head. "This is all my fault..."
As much as Lance and Sirena wanted to agree and blame him, this was no time to gang up on their friend. No matter how much he deserved it. Milly had been missing ever since she had ran off in tears. The trio couldn't help but worry about her safety and whereabouts.
"Maybe we should check back at the old abandoned park." Lance suggested, pointing his paw in a random direction. "She could be searching for us too."
"That's true." Sirena concurred. "Let's hurry."
The gang sprinted off in the direction of the abandoned park with Lance leading the way.
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As Rubble munched on another salami in front of a library, moving figures within his peripheral view caught his eye. He turned to see three pups running off across the street. Of the three, a certain gray german shepard caught his eye. His mouth dropped and his eyes widened.
"No way... that looks like... it can't be..." he spoke in awe and utter disbelief. "Apollo?!" Wasting no time he quickly dashed off in their direction. Rubble may not have been the fastest, but the thought that his hero might be only yards away, made him gain great speed.
It looks just like him from here... its gotta be him. Its just gotta be. He thought to himself as he tried his best to keep up with them.
They ran blocks and blocks down; rounding street corners and through alley ways. Rubble wanted to call out to him, but was afraid that if it wasn't really Apollo, whoever it was might not be so friendly. Rubble's distance was getting closer and closer. He was closing in on them, but upon going through another alley way, a spider dropped down from its web right in front of Rubble's face. He froze instantly.
"Sp-sp-SPIDEEERRR!" he screamed and dove behind a trashcan closer to one of the walls in the alley, cowering with his paws over his eyes. The gang stopped upon hearing the noise.
"Did anyone else hear that?" asked Sirena.
They all looked back only to see nothing but a trashcan and spiderwebs.
"Must've been some alley cat." Answered Apollo. "Let's keep moving."
The trio began to run around the corner and out of sight.
Rubble was still cowering behind the trashcan. "I'm not scared-I'm not scared-I'm not scared." He kept repeating to himself. He slowly peered around the trashcan and saw that the spider had ascended back up into it's web. He quickly got up and dashed under the web with closed eyes and exited the alley.
He scanned the area and found that there was no trace of the pups left. "Aww, I lost them..." he said, dejected. He cursed his arachnophobia more than ever now. After all, it just caused him to miss some-pup who might've been his hero. "Stupid spider." He said turning to face the arachnid. The spider was unfazed and continued to crawl around it's web. As he walked away from the alley, he realized that he was in a completely different area of the city.
"I must've ran pretty far. I hope... I don't get lost." He said as he continued to walk, munching down another salami. Suddenly the sound of rushing water caught his ear. The sound was very soothing to his ears. He turned to see a fountain in the distance. The fountain had a statue in the shape of a bear on top spewing water from it's mouth.
"Wow, that looks so cool!" he said as he ran closer. He stood at the guard rails above the very large fountain, closing his eyes as he took in the relaxing sounds of dripping, pouring, and splashing. There was another sound that caught his ears. A sound completely different from the others. As he concentrated to make out what the sounds were, he soon realized they were the sounds of faint sobs and sniffles. He opened his eyes and peered over the guard rail and down near the fountain area. As he looked down he saw a pup with golden fur and a swept bang on the base of the bear statue placed in the middle of the fountain. "Hey! Are you alright down there?" he called out. The pup looked at him in surprise and turned her back to continue sobbing.
Thinking quickly, a concerned Rubble carefully climbed down the guard rails of the fountain to the base of the statue and approached the pup slowly. "Are you okay?" he asked. His sudden presence startled the other pup and she backed away slowly baring teeth and tried to look menacing. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." He pulled another salami off the string and held it out to her. "here, have a snack." The pup hesitated before drying her eyes. She walked over and sniffed the salami before reluctantly taking it in her mouth. Her fur was a bit damp from sitting under the fountain. She crunched down on the salami until it was no more.
"How was that?" Rubble asked with a smile.
The pup licked her lips before giving a reply. "It was great... Thank you." She sniffled.
"So why are you down here crying?" Rubble asked curious. "It's a pretty night; no one should be sad on a night like this."
The pup turned her head away. "It's nothing." She muttered.
Rubble's expression turned a little more concerned. "Are you sure? You can tell me. It helps to talk about things."
The pup hesitated before she began. She couldn't believe she was vulnerable enough to pour herself out to a complete stranger. "It was my brother... I don't think he likes me anymore..."
Rubble looked even more curious. "Why would you say that?" The mixed breed lowered her head.
"I worked hard setting up a picnic... to celebrate the day we met and... when he arrived at the picnic... he told me it was stupid and pointless..." her tears were now starting to return. "I worked so hard setting things up and finding the items we needed... He was just so cold. His expression, his tone, his words, everything." She began to slowly sob and turn her head away. Rubble walked towards her and placed a paw around her neck. He was truly touched by her story.
"Your brother sounds like a real jerk." The female pup looked at him as his tone changed. "No brother should ever treat his sister like that and... wait..." His expression changed to a confused one. "What did you mean when you said the day you first met? Weren't you both together at birth?"
The female wiped her eyes. "No... you see, he isn't my blood brother. I've been separated from my real family for as long as I can remember... I was all alone until he came along one day. He didn't use to be the person who he is today. He was very kind, caring, and sweet. He saw me alone and sad one day and he comforted me. He said he was all alone as well. He told me that I could come with him. That he would be like a brother to me. Protect me, watch after me, care for me. Having no one else, I decided to go with him, to accept him as my brother and we've been together ever since..."
This really hit home for Rubble, being that he did not know his family either. He was all alone himself until the day he met the PAW Patrol. They are like the closest thing that he considers a family. "I know the feeling..." he said. "I was all alone once too... but now I have someone who's like a brother to me." As Rubble said these words, the image of a certain fire-pup came to his mind. "He was the one there for me since the day we met... and he stays the same."
The female pup didn't know why but hearing the bulldog talk like this was starting to lift her spirits. They were pretty much the same.
"So don't let some jerk get you down, because a REAL brother wouldn't make a sibling cry; and if I ever meet him, I'll tell him about what it truly means to be a brother." He finished. The pup didn't realize it, but she was starting to smile. A smile that didn't go unnoticed by the bulldog. "See, that's better; I made you smile." he said. The female began to giggle. Rubble felt that his fur was starting to get soaked by the water of the fountain. "Woo! As much as I like taking baths, I think we should move to a dry area." He laughed as so did his company.
As they moved back to higher ground from the fountain below, the mixed breed couldn't help but notice that this stranger who she didn't even know was making her mood so much better. "Thanks... for being here." She said shyly. "I never expected some stranger to come along and cheer me up." She joked.
"I'm no stranger; I'm Rubble." He said, turning back to her.
"Rubble? That's your name? ...I like it." She smiled. "My name's Emilia, but my friends call me Milly"
"That's a cool name. I feel like I've heard it somewhere tonight..." Rubble said, beginning to think. Milly tilted her head in confusion. "Ahh well, I can't remember where." He said, shrugging. "Hey why don't you join me in seeing the sights some more." he suggested. Milly completely neglected the fact that the others might be searching for her and accepted his offer.
The two went off and marveled at the most beautiful sights that L.A. had to offer over the hours. From walking up stairs to high buildings; to riding on the back of trucks, the two were really enjoying themselves. Milly never took the time to just enjoy the scenery at night, so this was new to her as well.
"Wow... I never realized how beautiful all of this looked." She stated.
"My hometown looks pretty cool at night too... although I'm supposed to be sleep by then." He chuckled.
A few hours had passed and the two were now laying atop a tall slide in the middle of a playground. The moon was at it's highest point in the night sky and the bustle of the city's night-life had died down. Milly couldn't explain why, but for some reason being with this pup made her feel... happy. Her tears had long stopped. She couldn't believe that some pup she didn't even know was able to cheer her up like this. She found herself smiling and staring at the bulldog as he ate yet another salami off of the string. Rubble, sensing eyes watching him, looked over to the mixed breed to see that she was indeed staring at him; however, he just assumed that she was staring at the salami.
"Want another one?" he asked, holding a salami out to her, completely oblivious of her true reason for staring.
"No thanks." she blushed looking away.
"You suuure? They're still pretty yummy." he baited.
"But, isn't that your last one?" she said, pointing to Rubble's bare neck.
Rubble looked down to see that it was indeed his last one. "I guess my tummy was more hungry than I thought." he laughed, rubbing the back of his head with his paw. "You should take it." he said, pushing the salami closer to her.
Milly looked at his bright smile. As she touched the salami she stared at him for what seemed like moments before taking it.
"Thank you..."
"It's no problem." he replied with a smile.
He's definitely not a selfish pup. Milly thought to herself.
"So... How are you feeling?" Rubble asked her while she chewed the salami.
"Honestly, a lot better." She answered after swallowing. "I guess It's all thanks to you." she laughed.
"Just remember, whenever you're in trouble, just CRY for help." replied the bulldog as he laughed. Milly joined him in laughing as well, even though she didn't quite get the joke.
The two looked toward the night sky. The twinkling stars seemed to play a silent sonata for the two pups and the weight on their eyelids began to increase. Rubble yawned.
I need to get back before the others realize I'm gone. He drowsily thought to himself. He moved his eyes over to Milly only to see that the pup was already peacefully asleep with a smile on her face. I need to... get... Up...
Before the bulldog knew it,
he had drifted off.