(A/N): Hey guys. This one is going to be a real doozy to get through, as Ryder's mind slowly starts to realize that Marshall is gone forever as a year officially passes by.

What will happen? Will Ryder be able to keep his cool? or will he ride down to despair?

There's only one way to find out, and you know what to do!

Welcome back to Paw Patrol: The Ballad of Dally!

Chapter 30: Ryding Down to Despair

11:00pm

In just one hour, the hard and painful year of accepting that Marshall was gone would finally pass and behind Ryder's back. But in truth, Ryder wishes that it would go the other way.

Marshall's death was such a hard pill to swallow for everyone. Though Ryder felt that it hurt him the most. Even though Chase, Skye, Rubble, Zuma, Rocky, the town, and Marshall's parents had more than enough pain and grief for the Dalmatian, Ryder felt a little more than them, even more than Marshall's parents.

Ever since Ryder and Chase found Marshall, rummaging through their garbage for food, Ryder had been drawn to him. He had never seen a real Dalmatian up to that time. Dalmatians were not common in Adventure Bay, so seeing one was a luxury in the town. Even when the city had a fire department, they didn't even have one. So when Marshall showed up, Ryder was ecstatic.

Though what made him want to keep Marshall, was the instant bond he made with the dally when he talked to him after. Marshall told Ryder about his dream to be a rescue dog, to help those who need it most, no matter how dangerous it could be. What's stopping him though, was himself. He didn't think he could do it due to him constantly messing up and putting him and others in danger. He gave up on that dream and tried to live his life the best he could, which was why he had resorted to dumpster diving, just to make it by.

Marshall had no confidence in himself. Stating that he was hurting the ones he cared for by just being anywhere near them, opting to leave that next night, just so he wouldn't make any friends he would hurt later.

Ryder however, thought differently. In the midst of hearing Marshall burying himself in front of him, Ryder saw the determination and drive that the dally had in his heart. He then noticed the glaring factor, that Marshall truly didn't believe in what he was saying. Marshall knew deep inside how good he was. He knew he could do it, but his mind dwelling on his issue with his clumsiness kept him from fully believing in himself.

Now at this time, the concept of the Paw Patrol, was an inkling in his mind. He got the idea one day, when his pup Chase told him about his dream of being a fine police dog. To protect those who couldn't protect themselves, like his father before him. Ryder wanted to do his best to help his pup fulfill his dream, and felt that the best way he could do it, was to use his expansive knowledge of technology. To invent and develop various gadgets and tools that will help the shepherd be not just a police dog, but the best police dog ever, while also becoming a partner of sorts for him. It wasn't until he met Marshall, that his idea expanded to a full fledged rescue team.

Despite only knowing him in only days past, and never seeing him in action, Ryder told Marshall that he truly believed in him, much to the Dalmatian's surprise. The boy stated that he will work with him, and help him overcome his issues to be the best fire dog the world had ever seen. Marshall was reasonably doubtful, saying that he was a "really bad klutz." and didn't want Ryder to be disappointed, but Ryder didn't take any of it. Promising that he would be a fully competent fire pup in the matter of four years. A pretty ambitious goal, but that's how much Ryder believed in him, and through the next few years, did all he could to fulfill that promise. However, it had been a pretty difficult task to complete. Not just for Marshall, but for the team itself. Especially in the early days of Paw Patrol.

Along with working with Marshall, he also had Chase to help as well, doing all he could to help the two be a very capable and amazing team. Though it was a long road to where they were now, nearly driving Ryder mad to manage all that at once. But it was well worth it to watch his pups gain more confidence for themselves. But admittedly, the pup he was most proud of, was Marshall.

Marshall's journey to overcome his clumsiness was long and hard especially in the early days. The dally didn't over exaggerate at all. He was quite a mess. Causing more problems than he solved. Ryder remembered all the times the dally hurt himself and made missions more difficult thanks to his issue. He couldn't even climb his ladder without slipping or falling down, and as more and more mistakes happened, the more Marshall's confidence would dwindle, urging him to give in. But Ryder never gave up on him. He kept his faith in the Dalmatian even if Marshall had nothing. He was going to help Marshall to overcome his issue and live up to his full potential Ryder saw in him.

He had to find the root of the problem. With Chase's help, Ryder had Marshall do some mental and physical exercises to determine what it was. What he found was that Marshall's mind was way too fast for his body to keep up. He gets so wrapped up in his goal, he wouldn't pay attention to what his body was doing, making him fumble, trip, fall, or run into things very easily. Once Ryder found that out, he knew what he could do to help him.

Ryder's focus was exclusively on Marshall in the early days of the team. Teaching him how to glow his mind down, and keep enough focus on what Marshall needed to do. Whenever Marshall climbed the ladder, Ryder strongly insisted that he slow down, and concentrate more on climbing the ladder. Whenever Marshall would run to a certain spot, he'd tell him to dial his speed down, and pay attention to his running, and his surroundings. Pretty much anything that Marshall did, Ryder would tell him to slow down, and not think that he had to rush himself.

Ryder drilled that into him, and the result was better than Marshall, and even Ryder expected. He still tripped up and ran into things, but he put Marshall into the habit of having his mind set during missions and with that, Marshall rarely messed up on a rescue. Allowing him to become the fire pup he wanted to be. The best part about it, Marshall's confidence in himself grew a hundred times and finally, truly believed in himself.

Ryder was so proud of Marshall. He knew how amazing he would be when he first met him, but he didn't expect for the pup to excel past his expectations. Ryder often believed that Marshall would rise up in the ranks and have more things to live up to and make him more proud. But now, Ryder will never ever know, as he stared at the essence of Marshall, that was trapped in his statue overlooking the cliff.

11:10pm

It was the middle of the night, and Ryder couldn't catch sleep if it was laying next to him, so he went out to get some fresh air….and to "check" on the statue.

In the past months since, Ryder has done the best he could to carry on without Marshall. For what it's worth, he has been pretty okay, and he was very happy for the pups to be okay as well. Especially after everything that has happened this past year. Most notably, a few weeks ago when Ryder totaled his ATV.

All he could remember from the accident was a sudden loss of control of his vehicle, and then, waking up at the hospital where Skye, Katie, Rubble, and his father were all around him, along with a face he thought he would never see again. His mom, right next to him, holding his hand with a vice grip, as her face lit up upon seeing his eyes. He didn't know if it was a hallucination or what, but before he could process it, the nurses scooted everyone out. It wasn't until his father confirmed that she was there, along with Stormy, but at the time, she was already gone, out of Adventure Bay in a flash, which tore his heart to pieces.

But that animosity was overshadowed by complete shock and worry, when he was told that Chase, Rocky, and Zuma were in Wintergreen, helping a wolf pack by themselves. None of the pups had ever been on a mission without his guidance. Especially a very dangerous one like they were on. So naturally, Ryder wasn't thrilled. Had he not been bed ridden, he would've immediately jumped into the nearest vehicle, and raced to Wintergreen. When they got back a couple days later, Ryder nearly crushed them with the hugs he gave them, more than they did themselves and was so proud of them for accomplishing the mission by themselves.

After everything had died down, and Ryder fully recovered, everything was back to normal, and the Paw Patrol went on. But the hole in his heart was still there for his fallen pup.

Ryder went down on his knees, matching his eyes with the statue. The pup's blue eyes staring into his soul.

"I'm so proud of you Marshall." Ryder said out loud as he teared up and placed a hand on Marshall's shoulder, feeling the smooth stone that should be his fur. "I hope you are as well."

11:20pm

Ryder sobbed a little, as he took his hand off of the statue and rose back up to his feet. He began to walk away from the statue thinking that he may be tired enough to get some sleep. But a few meters ahead of him, on the ground, he saw Marshall, lying down on the grass, snoozing peacefully.

Ryder knew this wasn't real, because it was a recognizable memory of his. More like, it was multiple memories happening at once. He occasionally found Marshall sleeping out here in his favorite spot. Usually, he would pick him up and carry him over to his pup house and lay him down in it. A couple times, he would take the pup to his bed, whenever Ryder felt lonely.

Despite him knowing that it was a hallucination, Ryder bent down to do what he had done many times before, but when his hand got inches away from the pup, Marshall faded away in front of his very eyes, leaving Ryder to only touch the undisturbed grass.

Ryder held his tears back, not wanting to fall into the easily avoidable trap, laid by his despair. He shook his head and kept on walking, shortly arriving at the Lookout's man area.

He unconsciously looked straight at the Lookout's front lawn, where the pup's toys were all laid out, from balls to the variety of tug-of-war ropes Ryder bought over the months. It was then that he saw another mirage. This time, it was Marshall playing with a ball by himself. It disappeared mere seconds after Ryder recognized it, adding more to Ryder's already broken heart.

He turned around towards the tower and as if god was mocking him, Marshall's pup house was straight ahead of him. Making him gasp sharply as if it never was there before, but the cold truth was that it had been there forever, ready for it's next mission.

11:25pm

As if he was in a sudden trance, Ryder walked slowly over to the house with his heart in his stomach.

If it wasn't for its relevance, Ryder would never have it out in it's spot. It would be tucked away in the garage, never to be touched by anyone ever again. It was a constant reminder to him and to the pups that the one who occupied the vehicle and used it, was no longer here. But it had to remain there, thanks to its usefulness in nearly all the rescues.

For the past year Ryder constantly thought of recruiting a pup to fill in for Marshall, but his heart would shoot it down nearly every time. He knew the pups, and him for that matter, wouldn't fully accept someone else. But the silver lining was that they already had someone in line. Marshall's sister Ember had a guaranteed spot on the team, but that was way down the line, and the team needed one as soon as possible.

Thankfully, Zuma was picking up the slack. Acting as both a water rescue pup, and a fire pup. It surprised him when Zuma came to him a few months after Marshall's funeral, where he volunteered himself to fill the spot. Chase did as well, but Ryder went with Zuma, much to the shock of both Chase and Zuma himself. Ryder felt that even though Chase would do an amazing job as a fire pup, he would have too much on his plate thanks to his current job. Ryder went with Zuma due to the fact that Zuma's talents weren't used as often as Chase's, making it possible for Zuma to not be as stressed as Chase would be.

Despite Ryder's knowledge of rescuing, he only knew the bare basics of firefighting and To make sure Zuma wouldn't get seriously hurt, he sent him down to San Francisco to be trained by Ashley and Sparky as a favor to him, who graciously accepted. Within a few weeks, Zuma was skilled enough to do the job until Ember came of age.

Thankfully, not many fires happened in the past few months, besides little ones like Mr. Porter's restaurant, and occasional campfire's getting out of control. Zuma mostly used his new skills to rescue victims from atop trees and buildings. Ryder felt confident that Zuma was strong enough to hold out until Ember got to them. Would it be easier to get someone who was fully trained? Probably, but it wouldn't be fair to that pup who would come in, to turn around two or three years later, being replaced by Ember.

Ryder was pulled out of his mind, when he got up to the door of the pup house, seeing yet another phantom of Marshall in front of him, waking up and stretching his limbs. After craning his neck Marshall looked right at Ryder and gave him a haunting small smile, before it dissolved into the air like the others. Ryder was so close to tears at this point.

A spark of curiosity filled his mind. He started to wonder what all was left of Marshall inside. Figuring that no one was watching, Ryder got down on his knees, and crawled into the house. It was very uncomfortable thanks to the obvious fact that it was made to fit a pup, not a human. Ryder twisted his body around to where he laid on his back like he was on a creeper, working on a vehicle.

Not much was in the pup house besides chew toys, a blanket, and Chief Teddy, Marshall's teddy bear with a fire helmet on. Over the months, Ryder has thought about Marshall's pup house and felt the need to clear it out and send all of the pup's possessions to Sparky and Ashley, but he didn't have the ambition to, and kept it the way it was, on Marshall's last day alive. But he knew it had to be done eventually, especially with Ember coming in to take Marshall's place. Maybe he'll make a point to do it real soon but for now, he'll just leave it as is.

Then a certain object above Marshall's doorway caught Ryder's eye specifically. It looked to be Marshall's fire permit that was issued to him when he graduated from the FRDA Academy. This was the first time Ryder has ever seen it. Marshall said he had one, but he never showed it. Not that Ryder wanted to see it or had any reason to but he knew that it was Marshall's most prized possession, due to the fact that it was framed and was within eyesight of the dally, reminding him of his accomplishments in the association. So why Marshall never showed it was a mystery like why he never told Ryder about his parents.

Ryder sat up as best as he could, and grabbed the framed permit and brought it close to him while whispering out an apology to Marshall.

He read it as it followed.

Fire Pup Permit

The Fire Dog Association hereby recognizes

Marshall

As an official Fire Pup

Permitted to fulfill his duties as protector of blazing flames while under the watchful eyes of active FRDA firedog

Sparky

It then lists his birthdate, height, weight and eye color with a FRDA seal at the bottom corner, making it genuine. Ending it with signatures from Marshall's designated trainer, his father Sparky, and the current president of the association, Flint.

After a quick chuckle at the president's unfortunate name, he realized how unexpected it was to even see this here. It wouldn't have been a far stretch not having his, considering how secretive he was of his early life and how he wanted to run away from it. In Ryder's sense, Marshall probably didn't want to be reminded of it which the permit certainly would. It must've meant so much to him that he just could get rid of it, even if he really wanted to.

Thinking that he already violated Marshall's privacy enough, Ryder inched out of the pup house, with the peppermint in his hand. He figured out of all things, he had to send the permit back to his parents out of respect alone.

11:30pm

Brushing himself off, Ryder made his way towards the doors of the lookout, with his office set as his clear destination.

As he walked in the deathly quiet and empty lobby, he was struck by an unpleasant loneliness and a little frightened. He never noticed how dark and creepy the lobby was at night with the lights off. So used to seeing it alive and uplifting with at least one pup giggling.

Doing his best to shake the feeling off, Ryder walked straight to the elevator. But before he could get into it, he was stopped by another illusion of Marshall, right in the elevator itself. He was laying on his belly with his back paws in the air, over his head, giving an embarrassed smile to Ryder.

Ryder tried to look away, but his eyes landed on another one. Playing Pup Pup Boogie by himself, having the time of his life. Ryder gasped as he looked away again, but spotted another one in the kitchen, chowing in his bowl.

Ryder panicked. Everywhere he looked, there were different ghosts of Marshall doing various things around the Lookout. Ryder shuttered his eyes and slapped his hands on his head, as he felt a massive throbbing headache, as he lost more and more of his sanity.

Ryder suddenly ran over to the stairs, and quickly climbed them to the observatory. Never once opening his eyes, in fear of seeing Marshall again. Thank the lord he knew the ends and outs of the Lookout like the back of his hand.

Once he got to his office, he burst in and slammed his back on the door and started to catch his breath. He never thought that he would wind up being so scared to see any sign of Marshall, but if he saw him one more time tonight, he would definitely scream.

After finally catching his breath, and taking a few deep breaths, Ryder went over to his desk and sat in his chair to formally rest and try to calm himself. The right side of his head suddenly had a slight pain to it, like someone bashed it with a baking pan a short time ago. Ryder then realized in horror, that he hit himself with Marshall's fire permit when he grabbed his head in the lobby. Fearing that he broke the glass, he brought it up to his eyes and sighed in relief that the glass was still intact. Not even a crack.

So grateful that he didn't break it, Ryder took a minute to admire its prestige. Marshall probably treated this as it was his pup. Not wanting anything to happen to it. He was given this by an organization that never felt he had a future with. But he still passed their tests despite that and was presented this in front of his proud parents and peers, who may have had doubts themselves. This was sentimental to the Dalmatian, and would be a no-brainer to give this back to Sparky and Ashley, so they could hang it proudly on their wall just like Marshall did.

"Ryder?"

A voice suddenly calls out to Ryder. A familiar voice that chilled Ryder's spine. One that Ryder never expected to hear again, ever.

Ryder slowly looked up from the permit, to find Marshall, sitting across from him on a bean bag, looking straight at him. Taking Ryder's breath away.

11:40pm

There was another specter in front of him, but this one was dramatically different from the other ones. All of the ones before were of Marshall, were happy as can be, living his life to the fullest, but this Marshall, wasn't showing any sign of joy at all. This one showed embarrassment, doubt, and depression. It was the saddest he had ever seen the dally, as he looked more nervous than a skittish deer.

The eerie part was that Ryder remembered this particular moment very well, like it was just hours ago. It was when Marshall came into his office abruptly, and told him that he wanted to quit the Paw Patrol, with just a couple months into it. His clumsiness on the job was screwing things up for him, and felt that it was more dangerous to keep him on the team. Despite Ryder trying to talk sense into him, Marshall had his mind set and felt that it was best for the Paw Patrol to not have him. He walked away with Ryder in bewilderment, and ran out of the Lookout, attempting to run away.

Thankfully, Marshall only got as far as the bridge, before Ryder and Chase trapped him on both sides, where Ryder was able to tell him that he belongs on the team no matter what, and that Ryder would work on him and get him to overcome his clumsiness and the rest is history.

Ryder dreaded this moment greatly. Seeing Marshall in a depressed state and completely bury himself right in front of him, nearly brought Ryder to tears. Out of all the memories he wished he could forget, this one took it home, but unfortunately, he could never forget it. Down to the exact words that were spoken, and now, he was reliving it, like the other ones before.

"Ryder? I need to talk to you."

All of the air was sucked out of Ryder's lungs. He heard and saw Marshall speak to him as if he was really there. But why? He never heard any of the others. Granted Marshall wasn't talking at all, but he was doing things that would definitely prompt the dally making some sort of noise. But he didn't. All of the phantoms before never made a sound. It was like the dally was stuck on mute, no matter what he did, but this one, not only did Ryder finally hear a sound from Marshall, but the dally was also talking directly to him. Sitting the same way he sat on that day two years ago, when he told Ryder that he wanted to quit.

Ryder knew all he said that day, but for some reason, he couldn't himself say anything, like an actor with stage fright. He knew he replied to the pup with. "What is it Marshall? What's wrong?" But nothing came out of him. He just started at the disheartened dally. But strangely enough, Marshall went on without him, saying the exact words he said down to the pauses.

"Ryder….." He shuttered his eyes, full of tears. "I….I've been thinking a lot about this Ryder, about me and the Paw Patrol right now, and from what I see, I….I don't think it's working out. I keep messing up and hurting others, no matter what I do. My clumsiness just keeps getting the better of me, and the team is suffering because of it. That's why….I need to do this."

Ryder remembered the pit in his stomach he had at this moment. It was painful then and it was grating now. He knew what he said in response but like before, was too stricken to say anything, yet Marshall still went on as if Ryder did respond.

"I'm saying….that…..I need to quit the Paw Patrol. I'm so sorry but….I just don't think this is for me." He said, about ready to collapse in sobs.

Ryder could only think of the words he said. He tried all his might to speak, but something prevented him from saying his lines. All he could do was listen to Marshall play his part by himself.

"Because the Paw Patrol is for pups who are good at their jobs, and that's not me. I'm too much of a dumb of a dumb klutz to be anything that you want me to be, and what I want to be. I realized that I'm just not cut out to be a fire pup. Everyone's right, I'm a mistake, and the biggest one I made was ever dreaming that I could ever be a fire dog. I know you believe in me, but….I don't, and that's what makes this so hard to do. I'll never make you proud of me and you're always going to be disappointed. So….I'm doing this now to spare you the disappointment. "

Marshall then takes off his collar, looks at the pup tag for a few seconds before setting it on Ryder's desk. Ryder himself reached his hand across to grab it, halfly expecting to not feel anything. Chillingly, he did. He picked up the collar and brought it closer to him. Looking at it, he noticed a glaring difference from what Marshall put down. It was the charred collar he was given when the Mayor told him the grim news about Marshall's fate.

This froze Ryder in place, unable to move or speak a word, with Marshall still going on.

"I….I'm sorry Ryder but…" Marshall could barely hold himself to gather in this last part. "I…..I have to go. My time here is up….and I don't belong here anymore. I don't want to leave, but I have to. For your good and the pups' good."

Ryder got a sudden shock from that, as he shot his head back up. At the time of the memory, the Paw Patrol only had him, Chase, and Marshall. Skye hadn't joined for another month or so, yet Marshall said pups. As if they were more pups on the team other than Chase. He thought he heard him wrong but no, he heard him correctly. He said pup's not Chase, like he said before Ryder had no idea why this glaring error was made.

"I'm sorry Ryder. I know you wanted to help me. But there's no point in keeping me here if I'm hurting you all. This is the end for me…." Marshall let out a couple sobs before he finished. "There's nothing you can do or say to change it because….." Marshall looked right at Ryder straight between the eyes. "I'm already gone."

Ryder's blood froze. Marshall didn't say that. He never said anything close to it. All he said was "there was nothing you can say or do to change my mind to stay, because the truth is clear to me now. I will never be a fire dog." Then he walked away, leaving Ryder completely stunned. That's what happened. Ryder was sure of that, but according to this, Marshall implied that it was too late to convince him, like he was already gone.

Marshall then stood on his fours, and uttered the same words he left Ryder with that day. "Thank you for everything Ryder." He then turned and walked away from Ryder's desk, to the door.

Even though he knew this was the same thing that happened on that day, Ryder's perspective of the meaning changed dramatically. Instead of Ryder seeing it as Marshall running away, he suddenly caught on that Marshall was accepting his end, and leaving Ryder forever.

It was then that Ryder finally willed himself to speak out. Calling Marshall's name as loud as he could. "Marshall!"

The dally suddenly stopped in his tracks before going through the dog door. Ryder gasped, as this was another action Marshall didn't do. Instead of stopping, he ignored him and went through the door. Prompting Ryder to get up, and run outside, just to barely see the elevator go down.

Ryder watched in complete terror, as Marshall turned his head towards him, daunting a small trademark smile. The tears flowing out the pup's as he let out one last goodbye.

"Goodbye Ryder. I love you."

With that, Marshall went through the doggie door, leaving Ryder completely dumbfounded in his chair.

11:55pm

On instant and memory alone, Ryder shot up, and ran to the door himself, opening it to see the observatory, exactly how he remembered seeing it. The only difference was the elevator, still empty, waiting to carry it's passenger down. No sign of Marshall anywhere, and this time, there was now point in going after him, because he really was already gone.

11:56pm

Ryder's breathing slowed, as he went back to his office, slowly closing the door, going back to his desk. Tears formed in his shattered eyes, as he slammed his palms on the top of the desk and leaned on it. Gritting his teeth as his mind turned into mush.

He then realized Marshall's permit, laying on the top of the desk, away from him. He looked at it and his skin turned ghost white.

There was a shattered spot right in the middle like a spider web, revealing that he indeed broke it when he slammed it on his head. The sharp pain on his head suddenly came, as he placed a hand on it. He suddenly felt a wet spot on his head. He put his hand in front of his eyes and saw his fingers grazed with blood, sending goosebumps all over his body.

11:57pm

Ryder swore on his life that there was no blood on him when he touched his head before and that Marshall's framed permit showed no crack when he saw it. He started to question whether or not he was losing his sanity. But actually, he didn't care, as the truth that had been chasing him had finally caught up to him.

11:58pm

Ryder accepted Marshall's death at the pup's funeral, but he never fully accepted the reality of life without him. He held back on himself, and did his best to stay strong, but it never sank in Ryder's mind. Now the ship was finally sinking, and Ryder was going down with the ship.

11:59pm

Ryder tightened his hands, tensed up his body, and started to shake furiously. Out of nowhere, anger was building up to the top, with everything around him turning red.

12:00am

One year without Marshall.

As the clock on his wall struck midnight, the volcano erupted in Ryder's heart. "nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Ryder suddenly threw a massive tantrum, sweeping everything off his desk. His computer, keyboard, mouse, lamp, and ornaments crashed to the ground as papers flew everywhere. Ryder continued to wail as he went to his bookshelf and blindly pulled books, games, movies, and nicknacks off it. Letting them pound the ground. He went to his entertainment center, and treated the inhabitants the same.

Nothing was safe. Even his TV and game consoles weren't immune, as Ryder's screaming destruction destroyed everything. He pulled them all down in his anger from losing his pup a year ago.

In a matter of minutes, Ryder's office was obliterated. The desk was flipped over, his chair was slammed at the back wall, and the pictures were ripped off the wall. He then grabbed a beanbag chair and swung it all around, knocking down any of the surviving objects on shelves and desk, to the floor. After many swings, the bean bag burst open, with hundreds of beans flying all over the floor.

Finally he was fully fried. After about two minutes of raising hell in his office, Ryder's rampage laid waste to everything. He stood on spaghetti legs as he dropped the outer shell of a once bean bag chair, and fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably a mixture of tears and blood ran down his face. He then slumped his body forward, putting his hands down on the floor to support him.

Ryder was now on his hands and knees as his tears and blood slowly dripped on the floor. Then, he started to get light headed, as he fell over on his side, still sobbing loudly. His body contorted with each sob that came out of him.

In just one hour, The proud and strong minded leader of Paw Patrol, had broken down into a whimpering ball of tears and blood. All alone in the aftermath of his office. Crying himself to sleep.

(A/N): Oh no. Oooooooooh nooooooo. oh no. oh no. That's very bad. Hope the pups don't find him like that...hopefully.

Find out if they will or not, when Chapter 31: Day of the Dead releases next week.

Question of the Chapter: Now that it's been a year, how do you think Marshall would react to everything thats

that's happened? Would he be happy or sad?

let me know in your review!

Please review and tell me your favorite parts and if you have any questions about the story or anything else, just put it in your review or pm me and l'll get back with you as soon as I can.

This Is Sean Thames of Dragonsfire Entertainment signing off!