Vigilante PAW

Chapter Forty-Five: Beacon of Light

Ryder gently fidgeted with his pup pad, looking through the various settings that were laid out before him. He listened to the sounds of talking as he walked along the sidewalks of Adventure Bay. For the past day, his mind had been muddied with various thoughts revolving around himself, Marshall, and the uncertain future of the PAW Patrol. He turned his head, glancing over his shoulder at the four pups following closely behind him.

Following Ryder were Rubble, Chase, Zuma and Skye, who were all engaged in conversation. Having been spaced out for the majority of their walk, the young leader didn't exactly know what they were talking about, but didn't care either way. His mind was filled with other worries and burdens.

The boy looked up at the sky above. It was quite a peaceful day. That was all everyone needed after what happened with Mayor Humdinger on the train. His eyes narrowed as he thought back on that day, and the ramifications it had on those involved.

As they walked, the group passed by City Hall, where Mayor Goodway was tending to her prized collection of flowers. Upon noticing the five, she laid down her tools and stood up to walk over to them.

"Hey there, Ryder!" Goodway greeted, "Have you prepared your speech for later today?"

Ryder snapped out of his daze to look up at the mayor, giving a faint smile, "Yes. I have all of the details worked out, and I have it memorized. Is the performance area ready?"

"It'll be prepared in a few hours. We'll let you know when you can head on over. Sounds good?"

"Thanks, Mayor Goodway."

"Where are you all headed to this morning?" The motivated mayor inquired, wondering why all of them were out walking the town instead of back at the lookout like they had been for the past few weeks, "I haven't seen you out and about off duty in quite some time."

"We're going to the infirmary to see—!" Rubble began to explain before he was stopped by Chase, who quickly darted over to cover the Bulldog's mouth.

Both Zuma and Skye looked over at the two, baffled by Chase's actions. What was so wrong about what they planned to do? There wasn't anything stopping them anymore, right?

Catching the first part of the construction pup's sentence, Goodway raised a curious eyebrow "Going to see who?"

"We're going to see a stray pup we helped on a mission!" Ryder was quick to come up with a lie, "We just want to make sure it's okay. It might still be a little shaken up..."

"I see... How kind of you!" The mayor smiled, "Well, don't let me keep you. Carry on."

Ryder waved as he quickly began to walk once more, "See you later, Mayor Goodway."

The second Mayor Goodway was out of earshot, Skye, Zuma, and Rubble immediately looked over at Ryder and Chase, who both began to sweat under the sudden heat of the spotlight shining down on them.

"What was that?" Skye asked, her eyes narrowing, "Why did you lie about us going to see Marshall, Ryder? And why did you stop Rubble from telling the truth, Chase?"

Zuma then thought back on Ryder and Goodway's conversation before Rubble mentioned the infirmary, "And what was Mayor Goodway talking about when she said something about an announcement, Ryder?"

"I didn't know anything about any announcement either..." Chase seemed a little confused.

Ryder let loose a quick sigh, realizing he was left with no choice but to come clean, "That's because I plan to make an announcement later, addressing the mistake I made..." He explained, "...During that announcement, I plan to reveal that Marshall's back in Adventure Bay."