Chapter 7: Defending the Lookout
One month after Christmas, all the Paw Patrol pups awoke one morning and gathered in a circle. They were going on a well-needed vacation, and Ryder let them pick where they wanted to go.
"This really has been a busy week," Marshall said. All the pups nodded in agreement. "So, should we head to Jake's Mountain or the jungle for our vacation?"
Marshall's question made Gabriel's eyes shoot wide open. "I'm not going to a jungle; the jungle is hot and humid." Gabriel stuttered nervously, looking over his shoulder as if he expected some awful jungle beast to leap out of nowhere.
The other pups cocked their heads at him, confused at his obvious terror. "What's wrong, Gabriel? Don´t you like the jungle?" Rocky asked curiously. "No, I don't like the jungle!" Gabriel snapped back aggressively.
Margareth gave Gabriel a concerned frown. "Are you really that scared of the jungle?" Margareth asked, "Do I have to answer that?" Gabriel muttered in frustration. "I take the answer to be yes," Margareth assumed. "Come on, Gabriel. The jungle isn't that scary. Besides, the monkeys are funny," Rubble said, laughing.
Gabriel shot back an 'Are you crazy' look at the bulldog. "Nope! The jungle has snakes and spiders. It's wet and hot and dark, and I don't want none of it," he said in terror, quite literally standing his ground as he tensed his paws like Rubble might charge at him.
Ryder came out of the Lookout just then and ended all the questions by saying, "Pups, I know I'd let you pick, but Jake and Everest have their hands full. The mountain is overcrowded with clients enjoying the winter snow. So, we're going to the jungle."
"Alright. Thanks." All the pups said it in unison. They all cheered, except for Gabriel.
"Count me out. I don´t like the jungle," Gabriel said fearfully, waving his paw from side to side in fierce denial. "What's the matter?" Ryder asked curiously. "Don't ask," Rubble muttered. Skye shot Rubble a 'not now' look.
"I don't want to go!" Gabriel responded. "I don't like the outdoors, and I especially don't like the dark, dank jungle."
Ryder blinked at the refusal, then, putting a hand to his chin, thought to himself when he realized Gabriel wasn't about to be swayed.
"Okay. You can stay here at the Lookout if you want, Gabriel," Ryder said. "You can just chill here or work on vehicles if you like. I know that's what you like to do." "You had me at 'Okay'!" Gabriel said too happy, wagging his tail. He jumped up and smothered Ryder with licks to the face.
Ryder laughed as the other pups joined Gabriel, knocking the boy to the ground under a pile of pups. "Okay, okay! You're squishing me!"
After a few minutes, Ryder finally managed to get rid of the pups. The pups gathered the supplies they needed in the jungle, then loaded up the Paw Patroller. After they finished, you saw Marshall walk up to Gabriel.
"Hey Gabriel, I have a question," Marshall asks Gabriel. "Sure, what is it?" he said with a smile. "Who invented the Counter of the Swan Pup-Fu Style?" Marshall asked, a little bit of fear showing.
That question made Gabriel think back to a time with his father. They were outside, and Gabriel was in the worst place possible!
"Get up!" Gabriel's father yells at him while standing over him. Gabriel was on the ground after taking a blow to the stomach. "I can't do it!" Gabriel yells.
"Yes, you can; this one is not that difficult; always keep your eyes on your opponent, and when they strike, hit them with a swift move and strike again!" His father yells at him while staring at him.
Gabriel gets up and stares back at him. "Hello, Gabriel?" I hear Marshall say it and it snaps me out of my thoughts. "Sorry, I probably should not have asked," I hear him tell me. Marshall said, sounding defeated.
"My Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather made it," Gabriel said, and he saw Marshall's ears perk up a little.
"Maybe I can teach you sometime," he tells him. "Really!" Marshall said it with little excitement in his movement.
"Yeah, sure, just don't go looking for a fight, but something tells me that the fight might come looking for," he tells him, half-joking, and Marshall laughs.
"That's a good one," he says with a smile and a laugh.
"But, I do need to get to work on those pup packs soon if we are to get any training. I hope Ryders and Spyro's blueprint will work on this," Gabriel says to the dally.
"Yeah, anyway, I got to go; I will see you later," Marshall tells Gabriel.
"Okay, see you soon," he tells him.
Gabriel stood in front of the Lookout, waving as the Paw Patroller drove away.
"Well, since it looks like I have some free time, I might as well make myself useful. Marshall's firetruck has been sounding kind of rough" Gabriel said.
Gabriel went to the garage. He grabbed the hydraulic lift and a toolbox with a large handle that was easy for him to grab in his mouth, which Ryder had made just for him.
He drove Marshall's firetruck over the lift, then raised the truck into the air. Once it was up, he grabbed his toolbox and opened it up.
What he saw made him smile. It had been a while since he last had to use his toolbox, but the last time he did, he had put something special inside. It was the mistletoe from Christmas, the day he shared his first kiss with Margareth. He cherished that mistletoe and the memory with all his heart. He kept it as a reminder to one day build enough courage to ask his crush out. Gabriel placed it gently on the side of the toolbox and pulled out his tools to begin work.
Meanwhile, the Paw Patroller had just reached the section of the jungle where Carlos and Tracker lived. The pups inside leaped up to peer out the windows as Carlos and Tracker, and the pyramid they were researching, came into view.
"We're here!" Rubble yelled excitedly.
Robo-dog pulled the PAW Patroller to the side of Tracker and Carlos, and they all got out. Tracker and Carlos greeted everyone, but Tracker noticed someone was missing.
"Hey, Amigos, where's Gabriel?" The tracker asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. "Gabriel preferred to stay on the Lookout. He was strongly against going to the jungle," Ryder said. "It's okay. He was nervous here. We wouldn't want to make him upset" Tracker informed. His ears folded back, disappointed that Gabriel had stayed away, but he understood his hesitation.
"Is there a reason why is that Gabriel doesn't like the jungle?" Rocky asked curiously, figuring if anyone knew, it would be Tracker. "No mucho Razon. Not really. Gabriel has just always been a city dog. The natural aspect of life really wasn't for him. He prefers to stay in the city. Technology and city life are like second nature to him. He's always been kind of a nerd pup," Tracker explained.
"Well, Gabriel did help improve our vehicles a lot. He is a great help." Marshall said it with a smile. "Even if he does work too hard," Margareth mutters. "Gabriel is a genius when it comes to motors and technology," Tracker said. "Well, enough about Gabriel. Now, who's ready for some fun?" Tracker asked happily, jumping around.
The pups laughed at his sudden change of mood.
"We are!" they all shouted with a smile.
Gabriel was so intent on working that the hours flew by in a blur. Right now, he was hard down in the basement part of the Lookout. There were parts scattered everywhere as he worked on something.
There were two pup packs on the table, fully opened up, so you could see every part inside. Gabriel was wiring everything together with a welder. Then Gabriel grabbed the three-point arms he made around his birthday.
He welded the arms to one of the pup packs and sighed. "This might take a while." Gabriel looks back at some blueprints. It was one of the blueprints from Spyro. It was more complicated than one of Ryder's pup packs. It used neuroamps, so you could use the arms like an extension of your body.
Gabriel was having trouble working with neuroamps, even with the blueprint Spyro gave him for the neuroamps. "This is so frustrating!" Gabriel yells in frustration.
Gabriel looks at his screw pile but notices he has none. He sighed, "Well, I have to buy them in town. It's late now; I hope the stores are still open!"
He hastily cleaned up his fur before going to his vehicle and driving into town. He didn't bother locking up the Lookout. After all, who would steal from the Paw Patrol? A little bit later, Gabriel cheerfully returned to the Lookout with his needed supplies.
"It was nice of that lady to give me the stuff for free; she even gave me some meat!" Gabriel said so happily while chewing on a big piece of meat. "Everybody must love the Paw Patrol very much to do that."
As he pulled his vehicle up to his spot, he spotted someone moving around outside the Lookout. At first, he thought the Paw Patrol had returned, but the Paw Patroller was still missing. Plus, the person he saw was much too tall to be Ryder. Gabriel peered closer and saw the man wearing a black mask and carrying a bulging bag.
'A thief!' Gabriel realized this and dropped the parts and his slab of meat.
"Hey, stop right there!" He shouted angrily as he leaped to the ground, causing the masked man to jump and face him. "I'm not going to let you rob my friend's stuff."
Gabriel planted his paw firmly on the ground to show the criminal he wasn't messing around. He showed his teeth, and the criminal began to get nervous. He started to back away from the snarling pup, looking around. He decided to just take what he had as he turned to bolt, but not before grabbing Gabriel's toolbox and throwing it in the bag.
That last move turned out to be a huge mistake.
Gabriel could have put up with the loss of his tools until the others came back. Attacking a grown man by himself would have been dangerous, but his mistletoe was in the box as well. And as far as Gabriel was concerned, that mistletoe was priceless.
"Bravery will show itself when you least expect it." That phrase went through his head like a ringing bell at that moment. Where has he heard that before? He remembers a time with his parents.
"Gabriel, stop chewing on my tail" Gabriel's father said with authority. Gabriel was chewing on his father's tail, but right as his father yelled at him, he scurried away to his mother and hid in her paws.
The mother chuckled a little when he scared away his son. "Not very good with kids, are you?" Gabriel's mother said. "I'm great with kids; the kids just can't handle me," he tells her, and she laughs.
"That's the same thing!" she said through laughter. "Okay, fine, but don't you think he is a bit too afraid for a puppy his age? I mean, he is scared of almost anything!" His father said
"He's just a pup. He'll gain his confidence; he just needs some time; there's no need to rush things," she tells him. "I think things are going too slowly. He should not be that scared!" Gabriel's father said.
"My Father once said, "Bravery will show itself when you least expect it." Gabriel's mother said, "Maybe you're right, I might just be paranoid" He said.
Little did he know, but he was not. His bravery would not show until this very moment. "Hey! That's my toolbox! There's mistletoe in there! You will not steal that mistletoe! Drop the bag immediately!" Gabriel shouted angrily, losing every shred of common sense but gaining strength.
Gabriel lunged at the thief with a ferocious snarl, catching up as soon as he reached the yard. He managed to clamp his teeth onto the thief's leg, making the thief yell and swing his leg around. Gabriel refused to let go, even as he was jerked back and forth. In fact, he only began to bite more fiercely.
"This isn't worth it!" the thief yelled in horror, dropping his loot.
Gabriel's eyes lit up when he saw the thief drop the Paw Patrol stuff and the toolbox. But before Gabriel could let go, the thief swung his fist, connecting hard with the side of Gabriel's head. He released his grip with a pained yelp, tumbling to the ground. The thief limped off as quickly as he could manage.
Gabriel staggered to his paws to howl after the thief, "And don't come back!"
Gabriel wobbled on his paws, his head rang, and his legs felt odd and noodlely. He stumbled over to the bag lying on the ground and pawed weakly through it until he could pull out the mistletoe.
Giving a relieved sigh, Gabriel felt his legs finally give out before he collapsed to the ground. Eyes falling shut, Gabriel pulled the mistletoe to his chest before giving in to unconsciousness.
The thief noticed the unconscious pup and went to him to beat him, but when he was in front of Gabriel, someone stood between the thief and Gabriel while looking at the thief angrily and showing his teeth.
"If you intend to hurt this pup, know that I'm not going to stand by," the mysterious hooded pup said, leaping out of nowhere and onto Gabriel, standing in a protective stance over him. "Are you a Werepup? I am not going to deal with a werepup! I am outta here!" the thief said, running away as fast as he could.
As soon as the thief went away, the mysterious Werepup went to the Lookout and came back carrying an ice pack before setting the ice pack in Gabriel's head to lessen the bump. Slowly, Gabriel was starting to open his eyes briefly.
"What? Sis, is that you? Did you protect me? Thanks for that," Gabriel muttered weakly. "Yeah, it's me; get some sleep, Gabriel," she tells him. As Gabriel closes his eyes, " The Werepup disappeared when I closed my eyes, almost like a dream. I started to drift into unconsciousness.
Not much later that evening, the Paw Patroller pulled in beside the Lookout. Ryder and the pups leaped out, looking around expectantly for Gabriel.
"Huh, I thought he would be here to greet us," Ryder said with surprise. "I hope he isn't mad that we left him here alone." "I doubt he would," Margareth said. She pointed to the vehicles parked in a line and the tools scattered across the ground. "It looks like he has been busy working, so I don't think he even noticed we returned."
"I'll sniff him out," Marcus offered, putting his nose to the ground. He sniffed around before pausing with a frown. "Weird." "What?" Chase asked curiously, going to his side. "I don't recognize this scent," Marcus said.
Chase lowered his head and sniffed. "Huh, me neither. Do you suppose Gabriel invited a friend over?" "I guess he could have," Ryder said slowly. "But I think he would have asked before letting a stranger into the Lookout."
Marcus screwed his eyes shut and lifted his head, sniffing deeply. "I smell something else..." After a pause, his eyes snapped open. "Blood!"
All the pups yelled in shock. Chase narrowed his eyes and scanned the area.
"Marcus, can you find Gabriel?" Ryder asked with concern, keeping his voice calm.
Marcus nodded. He stood still for a moment before running around the Lookout. The others followed, and then the whole group came to an abrupt stop upon seeing an unconscious Gabriel slumped in the grass with an ice pack in his head beside a bag of Paw Patrol gadgets.
"Gabriel!" Margareth cried in shock. Going into full medical pup mode, Margareth barked out her x-ray and scanned Gabriel. After a moment, she sighed in relief. "There were no broken bones or injuries beyond that bump to the head. Ryder, can you bring him inside? Gently."
Ryder nodded and carefully scooped up Gabriel while making sure that the ice pack stayed in his head. He moaned and stirred a bit. His paw shifted, and something fell to the ground, though Ryder and most of the pups following him didn't notice.
"One day you will find true friends that will stick by you no matter what. That is what true friends will do." Gabriel hears the rings in his head. He remembers a time with his father. "Why would I need friends?" Gabriel asks.
"Friends can make you happy when you are at your lowest point. They will always stand by you, and most importantly, they will always protect you," Gabriel's father tells him. "One day, you will experience what it is like to have someone like that, and once you do, you will never want to let go of them." He tells Gabriel.
"You will do anything for them; no matter how many times you are thrown down, you will always get up. That is what it means to have true friends. He finished. He finally knows what his father meant by that.
'A mistletoe?' Margareth thought as she stopped to inspect it. Her eyes softened, and she picked it up in her mouth before following the rest of Paw Patrol.
Inside, Ryder laid Gabriel in a beanbag. Margareth laid the mistletoe beside him and then found a rag and some water. She removed the ice pack from atop Gabriel's head and went to work wiping Gabriel's head with the rag until he started to stir.
One eye crept open, followed by the other. Gabriel stiffened, then relaxed as his eyes focused on the team in front of him.
"What happened?" Gabriel asked before remembering. He growled, startling the others. "Where is that thief?" Gabriel growled, "A thief came here, Gabriel." Ryder asked curiously. "Yes, one did. but I managed to make him leave the stuff he tried to steal," Gabriel answered with a scowl. "By yourself? Gabriel, you could have been badly hurt!" Ryder exclaimed in shock. "I can replace our gear, there is no need to put yourself in such danger."
Gabriel shuffled his paws, his eyes turning down. He spotted the mistletoe and couldn't help but pull it closer. This action didn't go unnoticed by the others, and Ryder backed off. Margareth stepped to Gabriel's side and laid a paw on his.
"This mistletoe," she said, staring at it. "That was the Christmas mistletoe, wasn't it, Gabriel?" "Yes, it was. I didn't want that thief to steal it because it reminds me of my first kiss with you, Margareth," Gabriel said, blushing as he smiled. "What a noble way to show bravery, Gabriel," Margareth said as she smiled.
Margareth licked Gabriel's face, making him blush even more and grin goofily.
"Margareth is right. You were very brave," Ryder said happily, patting Gabriel's back. "You have been a very good pup, Gabriel."
"Gabriel, we noticed that you had an ice pack on your head. Did someone come here to help care for you and then leave before we arrived?" Marshall asked.
"Oh, someone did! I think it was Natassha, my older sister, but my head is still foggy. She put an ice pack in my head, but I might have dreamed about all that," Gabriel explained. "That doesn't explain the ice pack if you dreamed it," Skye commented.
Gabriel sighed as he lay in Ryder's arms.
"Good point," Gabriel said, bored out of his mind. "It's okay, Gabriel; you're safe. At least you didn't get hurt worse," Ryder noted.
It took a while for the bleeding and swelling to stop, but once the wound was better, Margareth wrapped the injury with bandages. Gabriel rested with the others close by, including having dinner. In no time at all, it was bedtime.
Hours passed as everyone slept peacefully. Gabriel just wished his head didn't hurt so much. It annoyed him. Soon, he got thirsty and went to get some water. Upon looking up, he saw Skye's helicopter still lifted in the garage.
"Oh yeah, I was working on that. Better finish it so Skye can sleep in there!" Gabriel said this before going over and starting to work on the helicopter. As he worked, though, he found a tool missing from his toolbox. "What the? Where is it?" Gabriel said as he looked throughout the work area. Nothing around or in the helicopter, nothing in the toolbox—it was just... gone.
"Pssst," came a voice. Gabriel looked around. Nothing. He believed he heard something, then went back to looking. "Psst" came again. Gabriel stopped and looked, only to see a hooded pup next to him. Gabriel could see the Dalmatian spots poking out of her legs and face. Gabriel looked at the hooded Dalmatian in confusion. "What? Oh, hi. I can't chat, I am looking for something!" Gabriel said it in annoyance.
"So I see. I think I can help," she offered. Gabriel looked even more confused. "How? None of us, Ryder, Katie, Mr. Porter, Captain Turbot, or any of our friends know you. How would you know what I'm looking for?" Gabriel replied, irritated that this pup was interrupting him.
"You're looking for an energy tool. They aren't common, but I know they exist. Do you really think you can fix the gear without one? Some mechanisms can't just be hammered together." She stated it as a matter-of-fact. "How did you?" Gabriel said before the pup put a paw over his mouth.
"I'm a close friend of your family. I help your sister with work. If you need an energy tool, you need to search your past to find out where it is. I can tell you don't want to face your past, but learning from it is the only way to move forward. Nothing else will help," she tells the pup and put her paw down. Gabriel sighed.
"Okay, I'll do it. But where do I go? Oh, that place," Gabriel said before realizing what he had to do. He turned to thank the pup, but she was gone.
Gabriel ran quietly away from the Lookout into the woods. It took him a while to navigate through all the trees, but he finally made it to an old mansion.
"Phew! I made it!" Gabriel said that before going to the door, he opened the door and went inside.
Back at The Lookout, Rocky yawned before going to get a drink of water. As he did, though, he saw that Gabriel was gone. Rocky looked around quietly before going inside the Lookout. Sadly, Gabriel wasn't there either, nor was he in the garage. Rocky went over to Ryder, who was asleep on a bean bag, and woke him up.
"Ryder? Ryder? Wake up!" Rocky quietly called out. The boy yawned before rubbing his eyes. Upon looking down, he saw the mixed breed. "Rocky? What's wrong?" Ryder asked curiously. "Gabriel's missing! I looked everywhere and couldn't find him! He must have run off or been taken. His vehicle is still here," Rocky explained. Ryder blinks a few times before getting out of his pup pad.
"Hold on, let me see if I can track his pup tag. We might be able to find him," Ryder instructed before pressing his device. Sure enough, a little green dot blinked on the screen of his pup pad, showing that Gabriel was just outside Adventure Bay. "Found him. He's in the woods, in some kind of building. Let's help Gabriel and bring him home! No mystery is too big; no pup is too small."Ryder said this before sliding the side of the pup pad over. He pressed the red button in the center of the circle of colors.
"PAW Patrol to the PAW Patroller!" Ryder called out. The pups heard his voice with their glowing pup tags. "Ryder needs us!" the pups said before running towards the big vehicle. As they ran, Marshall didn't notice a green, squeaky toy on the ground. "Marshall! Look out!" Rocky said, running next to his friend. The two pups tripped over the toy and crashed into the others. The squeaky toy bounced onto Marshall's nose.
"Sorry guys. I guess the squeaky got me!" Marshall said this before everyone giggled. Soon, they got into their uniforms and ran to their seats. "PAW Patrol is ready for duty, Ryder sir!" Chase said, using his catchphrase. Ryder clicked his pup pad to show a digital image on the screen.
"Thanks for coming, pups. Gabriel vanished, but I found him by getting the signal on his pup tag. It looks like he's just outside Adventure Bay, in a building that's located in the woods. We're heading there to help Gabriel and bring him home. Once we get to where he is, we'll look for him on foot. This rescue will be simple, but we need to be careful," Ryder told the group. Every pup howled with excitement.
At the mansion, Gabriel looked around. The rooms were lit up by the moonlight, which helped. The place was big, somewhat old, and looked slightly spooky.
"I know I can find some tools here, but there's supposed to be a secret room. I wonder where. Oof!" Gabriel said this before bumping into a statue. Looking behind it, he found what looked like a stone square with a paw print on it. Gabriel pressed it, which soon revealed a padlock.
"Why does this look familiar? Where have I been? Wait! My dad, Samuel, told me about this. It leads to a room with different, sometimes rare, tools. This must be the way into his secret room. But how do I open it?" Gabriel told himself. The pup thought hard about his past, trying to remember anything about how to open it. Thinking of an answer took a while, but he soon remembered a scan and a word that went with it.
"I hope this works," Gabriel said before putting his paw on the padlock. A white line scanned his paw before a 'password' screen appeared.
"Okay. According to Dad, he pressed the block, scanned the padlock, and input the password to unlock," Gabriel said, remembering what to do. He typed in the password and stood back. Part of the wall slid sideways before opening.
Moonlight lit the room, showing toolboxes, machine parts, and tools of different kinds. Gabriel was amazed by all the gadgets and tools that were there. Some he recognized from memory, and others he was just curious about. But something caught his eye.
It was a weird wand, almost like it was from fantasy. "What in the world is this?" Gabriel says as he looks at it and grabs it. He sees something imprinted on it: "From Lizzinia? What kind of name is that?" Gabriel questions.
"I am not leaving this behind," Gabriel says, taking the wand out of curiosity.
"Rocky and Rubble would love this place. Wait! Get it together and focus! I came for a special tool. I need to find it!" Gabriel said this before looking around.
The PAW Patroller drove through the road and forest as the team followed Gabriel's pup tag signal on the screen in the vehicle. It took a while, but they soon arrived.
"Let's go, pups!" Ryder said as the door lowered outward. The pups howled as they ran out of the PAW Patroller and into the mansion.
"Gabriel? Gabriel? Are you here?" Ryder called out as he grabbed a flashlight from his jeans pocket and shined it. a dark figure with glowing eyes, which they mistake for a wolf.
"Ah! Wolf!" Yelling, Rubble, Marshall, and Chase take a protective stance.
"Huh? Who's there?" Gabriel replied. Luckily, he had just finished getting the tools he needed into a toolbox. He then walked out with the toolbox in his mouth. He dropped it when he saw who it was.
"Ryder! Pups! You're here! Wait, did you guys think I was a wolf?" Gabriel said this before realizing why. The pup whined, folding his ears back and tucking his tail in.
"I'm sorry I left. I came to get some tools, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't followed," Gabriel explained sadly.
"I understand. But we could have helped," Ryder replied, going over to the pup.
"The tools were in a secret room. I just didn't want anybody to discover where the tools were. I just wanted to make sure they were safe," Gabriel explained further.
"It's okay. Just tell us next time. Apologies accepted," Ryder said before petting Gabriel. The pup relaxed, happy that the team understood.
"Sorry, we thought you were a wolf," said Rubble and Marshall.
"I get that a lot, anyway. Want to explore the mansion? There's lots of fun stuff here," Gabriel stated. Ryder giggled.
"For a while. But then we should head back afterward. It is late, but we can stay for a while. I'll put this somewhere safe," Ryder responded before grabbing the toolbox and heading outside. The rest of the pups howled before they started to explore the mansion.
The pups all started to wander around the different hallways as they looked for anything interesting. In pairs of two or three to stay safe.
"It's so spooky, but fun!" Marshall commented. It was true since the place had cobwebs and sheets covering random objects as well as furniture.
"Say, there's no ghosts here, right, Gabriel?" Marshall asked nervously. He looked around, half expecting some ghost to jump out at them.
"No Marshall. This place is safe. We're safe here, buddy!" Gabriel replied reassuringly.
Suddenly, the wind picked up outside and blew the windows open in some of the hallways! The sheets and curtains fluttered as the wind blew into the house!
"Ah!" the pups exclaimed in shock, getting a little spooked by the flowing fabrics. Gabriel went to close the window, but the wind was strong.
"I could use some help, please!" Gabriel said as he pushed. Marshall went to help while the Pups also tried to close the other windows. The wind blew sheets around as the pups struggled to close the windows.
"Almost! ... Got it!" Gabriel said as he pushed, with the windows finally closed. However, once the windows closed, the sheets floated down—right on top of the pups!
"Ah! Hey! Who turned out the lights?!" Marshall exclaimed, trying to get out of the sheet.
"Ahhhh! Marshall? Where are you?!" Gabriel cried out as he too struggled under his sheet.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" came the screams of Zuma and Rocky as the pair got covered in some sheets.
"Help! Help! What's going on?!" Zuma exclaimed in surprise as he fumbled around.
"Ahhh! Zuma?! Get me outta here!" Rocky shouted as he flailed about under the sheet.
"Guys? Are you okay?!" Skye called out as she walked toward the noises. She, Chase, and Rubble ran toward the yelling. However, as they did, they were greeted by two pairs of ghosts! The ghosts waved their arms as they walked toward them.
"Ahhhh! Ghosts!" Rubbled yelled before running away down another hallway, only to run into the sheet-covered Marshall and Gabriel.
"Ahhhhh! More ghosts! Ahhhhh!" Rubble exclaimed before running away. The two ghosts flail their arms as they follow him.
"Go away, ghosts! Ahhhhhh!" Skye screamed in fear as she ran.
"The ghosts are after us!" Chase exclaimed as the three met up, only to be chased by the four ghosts they had found.
"Ahhhhhhhh! Ghosts! Ryder!" Skye, Chase, and Rubble cried out as they ran, with the ghosts in hot pursuit.
Ryder, who was in the main lobby, turned around upon hearing his name. Skye, Chase, and Rubble came running out of a hallway and right into his arms.
"Skye? Chase? Rubble? What's wrong?" Ryder asked as he hugged the pups.
"Ghosts!" Rubble answered as he pointed a paw at the four sheet-covered pups that approached the group.
"Mmmmmmm! Mmmmmmm! Mmmmm!" The ghosts mumbled as they waved their arms and walked to their scared friends.
"Ahhhhh! Ghosts!" Skye, Chase, and Rubble shouted as they hugged Ryder. Ryder looked at the ghosts suspiciously.
"Hang on, those mumbles sound familiar," Ryder said as he hugged the pups and slowly approached the ghosts.
"Mmmmmmm!" the four ghosts said as they wandered and flailed their arms. Looking closer, Ryder saw that the ghost shapes looked familiar too.
"Pups, they aren't ghosts. They're our friends!" Ryder said this before carefully pulling the sheets off the pups. Gabriel, Marshall, Zuma, and Rocky were soon freed from the sheets, looking confused.
"What happened?" Zuma asked in a daze.
"Yes! We're free!" Marshall exclaimed goofily.
"Marshall! Gabriel! Rocky! Zuma!" cried Chase, Skye, and Rubble as they jumped out of Ryder's arms and went to go hug their friends. The other pups hugged back.
"You're all okay!" Chase cried out.
"We thought you were all ghosts!" Skye commented.
"Yeah, sorry, we scared you! The sheets fell on us, and we got stuck!" Gabriel explained.
"Yes, on all of us!" Rocky added.
The group of pups separated from the hug before turning toward Ryder.
"Well, I think we've had enough exploring and ghosts for one night. Let's go home, pups!" Ryder suggested.
"Good idea!" Gabriel agreed before he and the rest of the PAW Patrol howled with relief.
The team then got into the PAW Patroller and drove back to The Lookout.
Somewhere outside the bay were Spyro and Hunter. Spyro was dragging Hunter by the yellow cloak he gave him. "Come, kid, the faster we get this done, the better," Spyro says with a smile.
"I can't; don't you know what happened? I beat Rodrigo into the ground! I thought Antonio was going to kill me!" Hunter exclaimed with anxiety.
"I know, I have been dealing with the backlash from him; it's not exactly fun," Spyro tells him with a stern expression. "I know you are scared; that is why I am not sending you alone. I know how Antonio can be; he is my father," Spyro tells him.
"Wait? What!" Hunter said it with surprise.
"Oh, don't act so surprised; most people wouldn't take a dragon into their house willingly," Spyro says to him. "Antonio didn't just let me in; he raised me; not many people, or dogs in my case, would do that."
"What I am trying to tell you is that he is not all bad; he may be a little deranged at times, but we all can be too," Spyro tells him with a smile.
"I know, but I can't forgive him either, just like I don't expect him to forgive me," Hunter says with a sigh.
"I don't approve of what he did; it was reckless and stupid, and that is even mentioning child abuse or whatever law protects pups," Spyro ranted and then sighed.
"But you aren't blameless; you did something just as bad; you beat Rodrigo up, and he was hospitalized," Spyro says with sorrow.
"I am on your side, but I need you to know that if anything like that happens again, I won't be able to forgive you," Spyro warns him.
"I understand; to think I was supposed to save lives, oh, how the tables turn," Hunter tells him.
"Okay, let's get this over with as quickly as possible," Spyro says as they walk up to a house.
"This is it, kid; do you think you are ready?" Spyro asks him with a warm smile.
Hunter takes a long, deep breath. "I don't think I will ever be ready, but let's do this," Hunter said with a small smile.
Spyro rings the door, and we wait a few seconds before the door opens. A Doberman with spots stood in the door with a smile; he had no hood of any kind on and had nothing but his fur coat on. He wore a small smile.
"Good, you guys are here; best to get in before Dad sees who you are bringing in," he tells them.
Hunter knew who this was; he had been in his head for the last few months, Rodrigo. But Hunter didn't understand how he could wear a smile of any kind. They both walk in and hold their cloaks on a rack. Spyro was now fully uncovered and could see his human-like dragon form. He was a mostly purple dragon with gold horns coming out of his head; his belly was red; and he had large yellow wings. He was pretty muscular in most parts of his body, like his arms, legs, stomach, and tail. He had a small goatee and a mustache coming out of his nose like that of a Chinese dragon. He also had on a harness to hold two Katanas.
Rodrigo guided them to the living room.
The room was spacious, with a TV, two couches, and a bookshelf. Spyro sat on one couch, and Hunter followed him too. "Let me go get him, but I doubt he is going to be happy," Rodrigo warns us.
Spyro sighs, "I know, but this has to be done sooner rather than later."
Rodrigo nods as he runs into another room. He came back with a shocked-looking Antonio. "Spyro, you better start explaining, or you might not like what happens," Antonio warns him as he growls at Hunter. Hunter was scared of Antonio's actions but did not move.
"I know he can be grouchy in the mourning," Spyro jokes, trying to lighten the mood.
"NO JOKES! This is serious; now explain to me why the person who attacked my son is in my house."Antonio barks.
"You never did like my jokes anyway," Spyro mutters. "I brought him here to settle this once and for all."
"What is there to settle? He beat Rodrigo into the dirt," Antonio tells him, snarling at Hunter.
"How could I forget? It is not like you tell me this every day," Spyro tells him sarcastically.
"There are consequences to every action; this was not unprovoked," Spyro tells him.
"Rodrigo has done nothing wrong; he was following orders like I told him to do," Antonio tells him, not understanding.
"AN ORDER TO BEAT A PUP!" Spyro yells, surprising Antonio.
"I have been trying to be nice about this; I see there is only one way to get to you," Spyro said while seeingthing.
"You knew all Hunter wanted was to protect Marshall; you knew that!" Spyro yelled, "Yet you did the unthinkable; you ordered Rodrigo to what? Go beat up a pup that had nothing to do with Gabriel. I know where he is from, but geez, you messed up big."
Antonio was left speechless. "Not to mention you didn't even warn him; you even tried to move him somewhere else," Spyro ranted.
"You knew you were doing something stupid, but you did anyway; this isn't even the most stupid thing you have done in the last few months," Spyro tells him.
"That does not excuse him for beating up my son!" Antonio barked back.
"Look around, Dad. Does it look like Rodrigo is even scared of Hunter?" Spyro asked him.
Antonio looked at Rodrigo to see him sitting on the couch watching with a small smile, but Hunter looked terrified. "I am not mad at him; I probably would have done the same if I were in his position," Rodrigo answered with a shrug.
Rodrigo's answer surprised both Antonio and Hunter. "What do you mean, he almost killed you, and you're not mad?" Antonio asked, confused.
Rodrigo shrugged. "Why should I be mad? I followed a stupid order and faced the consequences."
"Don't you understand?" Spyro asks him, "You can't avoid your own fault in this; this happened because you ordered Rodrigo to go and test Marshall by beating him up. DO YOU SERIOUSLY NOT SEE THE PROBLEM?" Spyro yells.
"I know how stubborn you can be, but damn, this is on another level," Spyro complains as Antonio comes to realize his mistake.
"You know why I did it; this is not my fault," Antonio said seriously.
This infuriated both Spyro and Hunter. "HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?" Hunter roars, surprising everyone.
"Everything that happened came from that BS order; all of the problems stem from you!" Hunter tells him as a few tears fall from his face.
"Don't you dare yell at me in my own house!" Antonio yells at Hunter.
"HE'S RIGHT!" Both Spyro and Rodrigo yell at him, shocking him.
"Hunter already knows that what he did is horrible, but you refuse to accept responsibility; that is the worst," Spyro tells him with a scowl.
"Nothing will change until you realize what you did," Rodrigo tells him, and he gets up and walks up to Hunter.
"Let's start over. Hi, I am Rodrigo. Nice to meet you," Rodrigo tells Hunter, holding out a paw.
Hunter takes it and shakes it. "Hi, my name is Hunter," Hunter says with a small smile.
Spyro laughs at their exchange. "That is one way to change things; now, Antonio, you know as well as I do that you need to pull yourself together, think about the words I said, and don't come looking for me until you are ready to accept responsibility," Spyro said, sitting up and stretching.
"Okay, come, Hunter, we still have the training to do," Spyro tells him as they get up to leave.
They both put on their cloaks and left. Both Rodrigo and Antonio watch them leave, Rodrigo smiling while Antonio wears a face full of pain.
"I am losing my touch, Spyro and Hunter are right, I need to pull myself together before I do something even stupider," he says with a sigh.
"Why couldn't you just tell them that?" Rodrigo asked, "I know you feel bad about the order you gave me, but why didn't you tell them that? All he wanted was closure."
"Because I am a coward," he tells him. "I was always better at giving orders, not talking," Antonio tells him.
"But I think everything will work out good for Hunter; I just have a good feeling," Antonio tells him with a smile.