"What is wrong with me?" Shadow said to herself. Even though she was laying in her bed, she knew sleep would be impossible. Not after all that had happened.
So Shadow did what she always did when she couldn't sleep- she took a walk. Though this time, she was looking for more than relaxation. Shadow needed answers.
She took the same route through the forest as she had earlier. She wasn't sure that it mattered, but one could never be too sure. Especially in the situation Shadow was in.
What Shadow was about to do was probably not a good idea. It might have been equal to suicide in some people's minds. However, this was something that had to be done, at least in Shadow's mind, and that was the mind that was in danger.
"Alright." Shadow shouted into the early morning air. "I'm here! I just want to talk." There was no response.
"Really! Whoever, or whatever, you are, please just talk to me!" There was still no response. Shadow started to doubt her sanity. What if the voice was nothing more than a figment of her imagination? Was it possible, that for some reason, she was losing her mind?
Ah, hello Shadow. A familiar voice said. It didn't hurt this time. Sorry for the wait. I'm usually not called out like this- or at least not this early.
"Why- why don't you hurt this time?" Shadow asked.
I only hurt when you resist. This time, you have found me. You said you wanted to talk. Why not do it face to face?
"Face to face? You mean you actually are a real person?"
Well, not always. But if you choose to do so, we can finally meet in person. Not now, though. I only do things in my own time and under my own circumstances. So we will meet tomorrow, in the mountains.
"In the mountains? How am I supposed to find you with a search area so vague?"
When the time comes, you will know where to find me. I must go now, it is almost sunrise. And you should get some sleep.
And just like that, the voice was gone. So Shadow made her way back to the Lookout, and she finally fell asleep.
(Rest of the Paw Patrol's POV)
"Is anyone else worried about Shadow?" Chase asked. It was already 10 AM, the latest Shadow had slept since joining the Paw Patrol, by far.
"I am." Said Sky. "Should we check on her?"
"I don't know," Rocky said, "she seems to like her privacy."
"Maybe we should tell Ryder." Rubble said.
"Tell me what?" Asked Ryder, approaching the group.
"Well," Marshall said, "Shadow is sleeping a lot longer than usual. We're kinda worried."
"She probably just had a rough night. We've all slept in before, right?"
"Not with Chase making sure we don't." Rubble said.
The pups shared a laugh. Shadow didn't wake up for another hour. For some reason, she felt extremely rested, even though she only got around six hours of sleep.
For once, the Paw Patrol had a relatively uneventful day. There were no emergencies, unless you count "bath time" as an emergency, as Rocky does. Shadow, of course, was thankful for this lull. She had a very important meeting that night, and she had no idea how she was supposed to get to the mountains. She couldn't just use one of the pups' trucks, because they sleep in those and Shadow doesn't have one of her own.
The only other options were Ryder's ATV (and there was no way she could get her hands on that) and Sky's flying pup pack. So really the only option was Sky's pup pack. Shadow still had no idea how to get it away from Sky for an entire night- but Shadow was the stealth, and, as she liked to think, the thief pup.
So Shadow formulated a plan. She remembered that all pups have backup packs- you can never be too safe- that are all stored in the Lookout. So at night, when everyone else was asleep, Shadow snuck inside the Lookout and grabbed Sky's backup pup pack.
She then had to find a spot where she couldn't wake up anybody, so Shadow took the short trip down to the beach. There, she put the pack on her back and turned it on.
"Here goes nothing." Shadow said, as her body quickly lifted off the ground.
She zoomed through the sky, getting a hang of it as she went. She kind of wanted to yell in glee, but that would be too risky. Either way, she couldn't believe that she could be having so much fun while on the way to meet a possibly demonic omnipotent voice.
She soon arrived in the general area where the voice said he would be, and, just like the voice had said, Shadow felt a kind of compulsion, and suddenly she knew exactly where to land.
She touched down in a clearing, but didn't see anybody in the dark forest. Then, suddenly, she felt a wisp of wind and turned around.
"Hello, Shadow." The man said. "It's so nice to finally meet you."