Hello Readers, I'm back again for another chapter. The last chapter had one pretty exciting event, Ryder proposed to Katie! Wow, that has been coming for quite some time. There weren't any questions or anything in the comments for me to answer, so let's get back into the story. Enjoy!
Skye's POV:
Chase and I stood there in disbelief, this boy just walked up to the lookout and declared that Barkingburg needed help. Then I shook the shock off and looked questioningly at the boy.
"Wait, why didn't the Earl or Princess contact us for help?" Chase asked
"The whole city has been taken over; the Princess and Earl have been taken as prisoners," the boy said, he proceeded to tell of what happened to him and his family, "The same kind of thing happened to others as well"
"Who did this to Barkingburg?" I asked
"Sweetie" the young pup said
Both Chase and I gasped and looked at each other, the look on his face was the same as mine, She's finally done it.
"I'm going to get Ryder" I said and Chase nodded
"Follow me" I heard Chase say to the group as I dashed inside to find Ryder.
I found him inside with his new fiancé, sitting at the table in the kitchen. I slid into the room and crashed into one of the lower counter cabinets, everyone looked up at me. Ryder sat up in concern
"Skye? What's wrong?" He asked getting to his feet
I tried to think of how to say what had just happened, I took a deep breath "We have a situation outside. These kids came up to the lookout and said that Barkingburg had fallen"
There was an absolute silence that filled the room "They are outside with Chase at the picnic tables" I said next, Ryder quickly got up and rushed outside. Katie and the pups followed behind. When we got outside, Chase was sitting with the group at the outdoor picnic area near the tire swing.
Just as we all came up, Chase looked back, shock was his only expression. Ryder then took a seat across from the younger boy. The young girl had fallen asleep and the young man, a year or two older than Ryder, held her in his arms next to the boy. Katie walked over to the boy, introduced herself, and proceeded to take the girl in her arms
Katie looked down at the little girl asleep in her arms and sighed quietly "Oh, you poor thing". She looks like she has been through some terrible times.
"What's your name bud?" Ryder asked interrupting my thought
"… Connor sir," he said "Over there is my little sister, Emily" he added pointing at the girl asleep in Katie's arms, as she stroked Emily's hair as she walked away. "And this is Scout," Connor said gesturing to his pup next to him with a quick scratch behind his ear. Scout nodded in greeting.
"Nice to meet you Connor and Scout, I'm.."
"Ryder; and that is Chase, Skye, Marshall, Rubble Rocky, Zuma, and Everest" the boy interrupted and looked around "Looks like Tracker isn't here" he said
All of us looked surprised, clearly the boy noticed and smiled, giggling a little. "I know all of you because you saved my family when that mean Duke of Flappington tried to turn Barkingburg into a flying city" Connor said.
"Oh" all of us said simultaneously remembering that rescue.
"I also know you have saved my city from Sweetie's schemes before" Connor added
"That we have, we know how to deal with her" Ryder said knowingly
"I don't think you understand, Sweetie is nothing like she used to be. She has an army now; she has access to all the might of Barkingburg and its military." Connor insisted
"She has gone crazy. She has taken the citizens and made them into a personal workforce for her. They took Emily and Connor's parents." Scout voiced beside him
The look of shock that Chase once had suddenly appeared on all our faces. "What does she plan to do? Ryder asked
"We could make some guesses, but we don't know. But what I do know is that she is dangerous in her newfound power and position" Connor stated
"I can assure you that you are safe here," Ryder said "She won't be able to get us here in Adventure Bay"
"I still don't think we are safe… even here in Adventure Bay" the boy said hauntedly, his face paled with terror.
"But we are thousands of miles away, I think we're safe little dude" Zuma said
"My parents told me that Barkingburg has huge missiles to help defend the city and our country, and to attack other places if needed" Connor said
"Like the mansion"
We all turned to see Ryder deep in thought. "During the battle in Detmold, we could not figure out where the ballistic missiles came from, but now it makes sense"
"Swift warned me about this"
I looked to see Chase with a surprised look, "what do you mean?" I asked
"He said to me before… he died, he said that someone hired him and his mob, and that they were more dangerous than himself" Chase said.
"What else about Sweetie?" Ryder asked the boy
"I know that she plans to attack. I heard it from guards as we were escaping" Connor said. Then he yawned and his eyes drooped.
"Oh, the poor things are exhausted" Everest said sympathy filling her eyes.
"They have been through a lot"
We all looked up at the young man. "My family found them at a port in Philippians Bay, my father decided to take them in and get them here." The young man said then he nudged Connor, and he sat up. The young man whispered to him, and Connor handed Ryder a card.
The card read,
Marshall of the Royal Air Force, Dean Darrow
Ryder's Eyes widened and looked at Connor. "My father believes this is a serious situation. He is meeting with the other military branch leaders tonight" the young man said.
Ryder looked at the young man and then at the card in his hands, sighed, and turned to the pups "Alright, looks like we got a situation pups" Ryder said "Looks like we might be going to Barkingburg to fight"
…
Ryder's POV:
I had decided that Chase escort the young man back to his family at the hotel. I talked with the young man before he left and told him to have his father call me once he met with his superiors. As I watched him ride away with Chase in his cruiser, I felt hands on my shoulder.
"So what did I miss?" I heard Katie's voice, I turned to see that she returned from inside the lookout.
"Where is Emily?"
"She is asleep in the guest room. I got it all ready for her and her brother" Katie said
"Thanks babe, that was very considerate" I said and sighed. Katie looked me up and down "Work?" she added sadly
"I'm so sorry babe, I will have this done before tonight's celebration or they will just have to wait until tomorrow" I said taking her freehand.
"This seems serious, like life or death," Katie said her tone serious and full of worry
"That has been happening a lot to us lately," I said scoffing in disbelief sounding almost like laughing. "I was hoping for a much longer break from our last life-or-death situation." I sigh and continued "Skye, Chase, Everest, and Marshall are still recovering for goodness' sake. Two days before you and I left on our trip to the mainland, Marshall had night terrors and almost seriously hurt Rocky in his sleep. The day before we left, Skye did not go to sleep because she was so frightened by her dreams. I had to sit outside her pup house and Chase had to sleep with her that night." Ryder reminisced shaking his head
"Ryder, it's different this time. People need help, this is what the Paw Patrol does" Katie said her tone lighter and full of hope.
I sighed again "You're right; I'm just not sure the pups are ready to do something like this again so soon."
"You mean the four" Katie inferred talking about Skye, Chase, Everest, and Marshall.
"Yeah, I'm worried about them the most. But there is no choice here… they must be ready" I said determinedly
"Well, I have to go get ready for tonight," Katie said "First, I'm going to set this one down for a proper nap" she added gesturing to Emily
"I'll see you later then" I said and kissed her before she left. "I'll stay here tonight and help them to bed" she added
She retrieved Cali and Connor led them to the guest bedroom to rest. I went inside and found the pups watching a movie with Scout. I walked over and saw that the movie was "Wreck-It Ralph".
"Hey pups, does everyone have their attire picked out for tonight?"
Scout looked up "What is the reason for the dinner?"
"I'm getting married, as well as these couples are getting married" I said gesturing to Chase and Skye and then to Marshall and Everest
"That is so cool, Congratulations. However, we don't have nice outfits for this event, and the kids are exhausted. I don't think we can go" Scout said
Just then Zuma smiled and so did Skye. "No need to worry Scout, we can get you something to wear tonight once the kids wake up, Zuma, Everest, and Skye can help with that" I said gesturing to them.
"Shopping trip!" Zuma announced. Everest and Skye smiled in delight.
Scout stood up and smiled "Thank you Ryder, I appreciate this"
"No problem; Skye, Everest, and Zuma will take you out shopping after the kids get a good nap" I said gesturing over to Skye, Zuma, and Everest to come closer as Scout walked away towards the kitchen. I told the pups what they could get and then I sent them off to go play.
Suddenly my pup pad started to ring.
"Hello, Ryder here" I answered
"Hello Ryder, this is Dean. My oldest just got back and told me to call you. Granted it seems everyone in town knows your number" he said
"Well, we are the main first responders in town" I laughed
"I'm meeting with my superiors in about 15 minutes. I would like you to come to give some insight on Sweetie" Dean stated, I looked at the clock, it read 1:00 pm.
"I can meet with you then, I will only have 2 hours max though, I need to help prepare for a celebration I'm attending tonight" I informed him.
"Of course, we will be at the office building near the town hall. We have a room reserved; I'll wait for you at the door" he said
"Thank you, I'll be there," I said and then hung up. I told Skye, Zuma, and Everest to take the kids and Scout shopping after the movie was done to get some new clothes, I also mentioned to Katie to go with them. After I finished that, I quickly went into my workshop, grabbed a few things, threw them into a bag, and got on my cycle.
Once I arrived, I saw a man standing outside the door, leaning against the wall. I got off my motorcycle and walked up to him.
"Ryder?" The man asked standing up off the wall
"That's me, you must be Dean" I answered as I reached out to shake his hand
"Yes, thank you for coming on short notice." He spoke as he returned the handshake.
"Based on the seriousness of the situation, I would move just about anything to meet" I said bluntly
"Is it that serious?" He asked
"It is a matter of stopping a power-crazed individual who has the power to destroy cities at her command. I've witnessed this drive of her goals firsthand; this is a matter of preventing a world catastrophe" I said in a dead serious tone. I saw him visibly flinch as he reached for the door. Then he opened it, and we quickly went to the room.
Inside the room were three people. "Good afternoon gentlemen, this is Ryder of the Paw Patrol, I asked him to come" Dean announced "he has information vital to this situation"
"Welcome Ryder, I'm Captain General of the Royal Marines Gerald Allen, this is Field Marshall of the Royal Army Michael Hawke; Admiral of the Royal Naval Fleet, Ethan Harbour, and you already know Marshall of the Royal Air Force Dean Darrow" Gerald said as he introduced the men around the table.
"It's an honor to meet all of you, I wish it could have been for a better reason than this but…" I said in a somber tone
"Agreed" Gerald said as everyone else nodded and agreed as well.
"So, what's the situation in Barkingburg?" I asked as I settled in a seat and got out some documents.
"Barkingburg is in a militant lockdown by hostile forces. There are checkpoints with armed guards on all streets leading out." Michael stated
"The skies above have Apache helicopters on regular patrol, so we can't send in anyone without inciting a cause for war" Dean added
"They have ships blockading the harbor with patrol boats roaming inside the bay, we can't even get a sub inside the bay to get men in" Ethan stated.
"I heard from my scouts that the citizens are being put to work or being held like prisoners either in their homes or at the castle" Gerald said.
"Wow" I breathed "I knew Sweetie was ambitious, but I didn't think she would be so tyrannical and insane to do something like this" I said in complete disbelief
"That's not the worst of it…" Gerald interjected "One of my spy agents inside confirms that Sweetie has intercontinental ballistic missiles and even a couple of nuclear warheads at her immediate disposal. She has plans to attack here first, Adventure Bay."
My blood froze and I stared at him in utter disbelief. "Do you know when?" I demanded
"We have not gotten any reports from spies we have sent out yet. We know that something is happening soon." Michael answered
I pounded my fist on the table in front of me. "Now this is personal, if Sweetie thinks she can threaten my town, she can think again." I declared "I need you to have your spies report in as soon as possible when it happens, then I can get the town evacuated with time to spare. I will need to take them to Adventure City. I have Paw Patrol members there at our secondary base. Luckily, Sweetie has no idea it exists." I directed. The leaders at the table nodded.
We will do whatever we can to help you with your town Ryder. We also would like to ask for your help Ryder. You have dealt with this person, will you…"
"Pup, actually" I interrupted which was followed by a confused silence
"Excuse me? Did you say that this Sweetie, is a pup?" Ethan inquired
"Yes, she is a pup. Sweetie is the royal pup to the princess of Barkingburg. She is constantly trying to take the crown of Barkingburg from her owner. Her owner can be a bit too naïve and oblivious. She is a great princess and will make a great queen, but she can be too optimistic and believes in the good of others too much. In doing this, she doesn't see when someone has bad intentions or when someone is troubled, like her own pup" I informed the leaders
They all stared in shock "So we are dealing with a power-deranged royal mutt, with an army and city-destroying missiles. Wow, now this is a first." said Dean
"The Paw Patrol will help you. We have dealt with situations like this. That was our most recent experience in our last mission. Power-crazed, revenge-hungry dogs with the power to destroy. We have other Paw Patrol members that I will be calling in for this situation. This is going to be bigger than I had thought." I said to the members.
"Thank you Ryder. You will have access to all our resources, men, weapons, and anything you need. We will take down this tyrannical mutt and take back our capital city" Gerald said.
I pulled out a map of Barkingburg, "I bought a few things so we can get something set up for now. So, we are aware that the exits of the city are completely blocked off by military checkpoints, attack helicopters in the air patrolling, I can assume that there are patrols in the town with troops and trucks everywhere." I stated, "so here is what I'm thinking..."
After about an hour our meeting ended. "Thank you gentlemen, I think we will pull this off as a combined force. We will do a check-in soon. The meeting point will be announced at a later date. Right now, I have a dinner and a party to go to. It was a pleasure to meet all of you. Safe travels home and if any news or situation changes, we will meet right away." I instructed "I have all your contact information, thank you again for including me in this. We will put an end to that pup once and for all." I declared. I shook hands with each leader and headed out to my bike.
I looked at my watch and it read 3:00 pm, perfect timing I thought smiling. I have plenty of time to get ready for dinner tonight. I sighed as I got on my bike, looks like I will have to tell my surprise for the pups earlier than I had hoped. We might even need to push the weddings I thought sadly. I decided to not worry about it now, tonight was a night to celebrate my proposal to Katie. I took off towards the lookout to get ready for the festivities.
Oh man, this is serious. Sweetie has finally done it, she can get revenge on the Paw Patrol for foiling her past plans to become queen. She has a full military at her disposal. When will she attack Adventure Bay? Will The Paw Patrol attack first before she can? How will this play out... you'll have to stick around to find out.
I did some research to get the correct titles of the military leaders that were mentioned in this chapter. I chose military titles based on the Canadian military (which I believe is part of the royal military forces) since Paw Patrol was created in Canada. If anyone finds something to be incorrect, please let me know. I want to be accurate on these titles to be respectful to military forces.
I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and the story so far. As always, if you have questions, comments, concerns, or just want to say what you think of the story so far, leave a review or send me a PM. I'll answer questions and put answers in the next chapter.
Until we meet again readers, TTFN.