Chapter 22: A New Companion Part 1 (Flashback: 1 ½ year ago… At the South station in Roseville…)

It was a rainy evening. As the other firefighters prepared for dinner, Bruce, who was nervously setting up a table, wondered how things would go.

"It's only a matter of time until he arrives," He thought to himself.

"What? Don't tell me you're already starting to piss yourself, Bruce. This is going to work," A different man in a gray shirt teased.

"I'm not worried about that! It's just... It's been a while since I've seen him so I hope he's not angry… That's all." He replied.

"Well, things have changed, haven't they?" Bret's voice came from down the hall.

"Yeah! If you ask me, your brain is even smaller than before!" A female followed as Bruce glared at her.

"Come now, Zen! We didn't come here to argue."

"Hey, I'm just saying! I mean, how often does someone make the same mistake more than three times?"

"That's enough! I'm going to have to ask you to sit out of this if you insist on acting like a child!"

"Oh, what I'd do to be young again!"

"You're not even that old…" The man sighed as a black truck pulled up. "Uh oh, looks like he's already here."

"What!? Quick! Everyone gather around!" Bruce shouted as everyone made their way to the table.

"The last thing you'll see me do is take orders from you. I'll be in the office if anyone needs me," Zen scoffed before walking away.

"You're not gonna eat anything?" Bret asked.

"Not that hungry," She replied as the man entered the station. "Chief…"

"Zenobia…" He saluted as Zen walked by.

"Ah, Chief Ivan! It's good to see you again!" Bruce greeted as the man stared at him.

"How many times have I told you not to address me by my first name?"

"R-Right! M-Morris! Sorry…"

"Hmph… I see this place is still as dirty as usual."

"Tch… I was planning on doing a little cleaning after we're finished, sir, so if you don't mind, let's hurry this up! I'm starving!" The man in a gray shirt replied.

"Ah! It's good to see you're doing better, Nico! Although, you still haven't done anything about that outfit of yours."

"Well, you know what they say, chief. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

"Whatever makes you happy, I guess. And how about you, Bret? How are you doing?"

"The same as usual, although, I kinda miss having you and Monty around," Bret responded.

"Oh yes! Monty... I wonder how he likes it in California."

"Lorenzo and I tried calling him earlier, but I guess he's still busy."

"Ehh… Who knows? Maybe he'll call after we get in a huge mess or something. That's what he usually does, doesn't he?" Nico chuckled.

"Yeah, and trust me, if I had a choice to stay with you guys, I'd take it," The chief said before turning to Bruce. "What? You've got something to say?"

"Uhh… N-No sir.."

"Hmm… Alright then. Shall we get started?"

20 minutes later…

"Hmm…. I see. So that's why I couldn't contact you," The chief sighed as he continued eating his food.

"Yeah. We would have finished earlier if Bruce hadn't messed with the communication." Nico called out.

"Hey, I'd like to see you try doing maintenance on thirty-year-old equipment. Then you can talk," He grumbled.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of which, did you ever figure out what was going on with that man's smoke detector?" Bret asked him.

"You mean Lorenzo's friend? Uhh… The stupid thing was going all haywire, so I just ordered a new one," Bruce responded.

"Honestly though, I don't see why we have to be in charge of this. I mean, can't they just hire an electrician or something?" Nico complained.

"Hey, you signed up for the job, so I don't wanna hear you complaining," The chief replied.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," He sighed as looked out the window. "Geez, it's really pouring out there. Isn't Lorenzo supposed to be here by now?"

"The last I checked, he was galavanting around the city. Something about looking for new fitness activities for the weekend." Bruce answered.

"Well, tell him if he doesn't hurry up, he's going to miss out on everything," The chief said.

"I've tried, but I don't think he's got his phone on him right now."

"Ehh… I'm sure he's alright. Besides, there's no way all four of us are actually going to finish all of this," Bret chuckled.

"You never know. I might end up taking the rest if he doesn't show up," The chief said.

"Careful chief. You might end up gaining a few extra pounds if you think like that."

"Heh heh. All jokes aside, you guys did a good job this time."

"Really? Th-Thanks! We just followed Zen's recipe, and voila!" Bruce nervously smiled.

"Ah, I see. Is she still being her usual self?"

"More or less… Believe it or not, she's actually becoming a little nicer to all of us."

"Oh?" The chief smirked as the front door opened.

"Phew! Sorry I'm late! I've got some great news!" Lorenzo announced as he made his way to the table.

"It better be good…"

"Oh, you're going to love this one, chief! So you know that Midway fire academy that's been training dogs to become service animals?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, get this! They just had their first graduation ceremony, so I was thinking maybe we should get a dog of our own sometime!"

"A dog? Why would we need that for?" Bruce asked.

"Because… why not?"

"You're not afraid of them, are you, Bruce?" Bret questioned.

"Of course not! I just think it's unnecessary because we already have a lot of people to get the job done."

"That's true, but we don't have a dog!" Lorenzo said as the chief scratched his head.

"You're not making a valid argument, Lorenzo."

"Yeah… I know….The truth is, I've always wanted to take care of a dog ever since I was a child, but my grandma wasn't really a fan of them."

"Wait, don't you own the house now? Why don't you just kick her out or something?" Nico said.

"What?! Hell no! I'm not going to kick her out over something like that! Besides, I'd rather have her staying with me instead of my other relatives."

"Hmm…. I don't know, it kind of sounds like fun! I mean, if they're already trained, then it shouldn't be so hard getting them to cooperate with us," Bret followed.

"Seriously...?" Bruce gasped.

"I'm just saying…"

"I don't have a problem with it either. Who knows? Maybe it'll get rid of those rodents that keep crawling around." Nico agreed. "So what do you say, chief?"

"Uhh… I'll see if I can talk to the city council," The chief replied.

"Wha- Hold on! How come I don't get a say in this!?" Bruce asked.

"You do, but it doesn't matter what you pick, because we're going with majority rules, soooo…." Lorenzo smiled.

"Ugh… Fine, but whatever happens, I want nothing to do with that dog, got it?"

"Heh, I'll make sure to let them know that."

(Two weeks later: Midway Fire Academy's parking lot 12:27 PM Still raining...)

After receiving approval from the city hall, the team decided to head over to the main hall where they would eventually choose which dog they wanted to join their station.

"Well, today's the day! I can't believe we're actually doing this!" Lorenzo beamed as everyone got out of their cars.

"Looks like the other stations are here as well," Bret noticed.

"Well, duh! They wouldn't be having this stupid ceremony if it was only us coming," Nico yawned.

"Remind me again why I have to be here?" Bruce complained as Zen smiled.

"Because the last I checked, you're a part of this station too, so if we have to suffer, you're gonna suffer too." She said.

"Oh come on, guys, you don't have to be like that. This is supposed to be exciting! Here, why don't you check out the place and see if there's anything that interests you," Bret suggested.

"Nah, just let me know when you're done."

"You're not going to see which one I pick?" Lorenzo asked her.

"Don't care."

"Ah… Well alright then, you better not complain..."

"Anyways, I'm gonna head off for my meeting now. You guys do what you've gotta do," the chief said before walking away.

"See you around, chief!" Bret replied.

"Ugh… I'm gonna look for a restroom. Let me know when we have to meet up," Bruce yawned before walking away.

"Geez... I wish those two would be a little more excited over this…" Lorenzo frowned as Bret patted his back.

"Well, we can't force them, but who knows? Maybe they'll come around." He said.

"I hope so…"

Meanwhile with the graduates…

"Alright guys, this is the moment you've been waiting for! Now, I know not everyone is going to be picked today, but that doesn't mean you should feel sad, because you all have a bright future ahead of you, and I can't wait to see all the good you do in this world. Honestly, it warms my heart to know that you guys are finally… Hey… Where's…?" A female teacher wondered as the dogs looked around.

"Ugh… I'll go look for him," A big German Shepherd replied before walking away.

"I swear, he's going to be here forever," Another pup smirked as a few others nodded their heads.

With Bruce…

"Stupid raincoat…. Seriously, who's idea was it to make the event so far away from the restrooms?!" He complained as he finished washing his hands and went outside. "Uh… which way was it again?"

"Almost…. Got you!" Another voice was heard coming from a bush. "Awww, I was so close! Hey, where are you going? Come back here!"

"Huh? Who was that…?" Bruce wondered before noticing a dalmatian chasing after a moth

"You're not gonna escape me this time!" They smiled before accidentally bumping into Bruce's leg. "Oof!"

"Whoa! Watch it there, buddy!"

"Oops! Sorry...! Guess I wasn't really paying attention!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Say, you wanna help me catch this butter- Hey! Where did it go?" The dalmatian wondered as Bruce cringed.

"... That's a moth." He thought to himself before noticing a badge near the bushes. "Ummm, are you part of the program?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Your badge…" He said while pointing at it.

"Oh! I almost forgot I had that on! Come here, you!" The dalmatian chuckled before grabbing it. Within seconds, the sound of the German Shepherd running could be heard in the distance.

"Marshall, what the heck!? We're supposed to be waiting in the auditorium right now, come on!" He shouted.

"Really!? Oh shoot, what time is it?! I've gotta go! It was nice meeting you, sir!" Marshall panicked before running off.

"Umm… Bye…?" Bruce mumbled before scratching his head.

"What were you doing over there?" The shepherd growled as Marshall smiled.

"Sorry, Brian! I just saw this really cool butterfly, and I wanted to see where it was going, so I..." Marshall explained as his voice faded away due to distance.

"… If this is how all the graduates are, I'm pretty concerned..." Bruce thought to himself before heading back to the front.

(30 minutes later: In the Auditorium with Everyone)

"Alright, can I have everyone's attention?" The female teacher announced as the room got quieter.

"No, I don't care..." Zen groaned in her mind.

"We're going to get started with the selections momentarily, so hang on tight! In the meantime, can I have the workers from the west station wait upfront?"

"Well, I'm guessing we're probably picking last," Nico sighed.

"Hey, no worries! It's not like we're in a hurry." Lorenzo smiled.

"Yeah, but all the good ones will be gone by then!"

"You complain too much, you know that?" Zen grumbled.

"Just think of it this way. They all graduated, so that means they'll all be alright!" Bret claimed.

"Ever heard of cheaters…?" Bruce thought out loud.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous! I'm sure none of them cheated."

"Well, whichever one you pick, just make sure it doesn't bother me," Zen scoffed as Lorenzo smirked.

"Whatever you say, queen." He replied.

"Still, I can't believe the chief would just agree to something like this. I know it's been a while, but still… Maybe he has his reasons…? Then again, dogs are pretty smart, so maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all."

16 minutes later…

"Okay! Last but not least, we have the South station!" The teacher announced as Nico looked excited.

"All right, this is our chance! There's still some tough-looking students left, so maybe we'll be lucky!" He thought to himself.

"They're still so many to choose from…" Lorenzo murmured as the remaining dogs stood with their heads up high. All except Marshall, who was attempting to bite his right leg while sitting down.

"Almost… got it!" He whispered to himself as Lorenzo stood in front of him.

"Seriously, what an idiot…" A pup sighed as the others laughed.

"Hmm… I want this one."

"Wha… What!?" Nico and Bruce gasped.

"What!?" The teacher followed.

"WHAT!?" The remaining graduates shouted in sync as Marshall wasn't paying attention.

"Huh? Did something happen?" He asked as Nico facepalmed.

"You can't be serious…" Nico sighed.

"Did I stutter? Lorenzo wondered as the teacher came back to her senses.

"I…! N-No, everything's fine! I just… I knew this day would come, but to think it'd be so soon…!"

"Are you alright, Ms. Tullis?" Brian asked as she wiped her face.

"Y-Yeah! I'll be fine. Uhh… I should go get his things…"

"Wow! Congratulations, Marshall! Looks like you made it before we did! Which… is surprising, but I guess we should be proud," A pup smiled as they gathered around Marshall.

"Yeah! You're a really lucky dude!" Another pup agreed.

"Umm...Thanks, guys! I'm not really sure what's going on, but I guess it's a good thing," Marshall nervously smiled.

"You dunce, you got picked for the South station!"

"Really!?" He gasped as Lorenzo was waving at him.

"Renz, can I have a word with you?" Bruce asked while tapping on his shoulder.

"Yeah, me too," Nico followed as they pulled him aside.

"Sure, what's up?" He asked.

"Okay, so I want to believe you know what you're doing, but every time you have that look on your face, I'm always concerned," Bruce admitted.

"Huh? What's wrong with my face…?"

"Never mind that! What's your problem, dude!? Out of everyone you could have picked, why him?!" Nico complained as Lorenzo backed up.

"W-Why not? I mean, he's the only dalmation, so-"

"So what!?"

"I…! A-Aren't they made for these kinds of things?"

"That's just a stereotype!" Bruce sighed.

"Yeah, but still…"

"So let me get this straight, the only reason you picked him is because he's a dalmatian!?" Nico huffed.

"... Yeah, pretty much," Lorenzo replied as Marshall approached them.

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

"Oh! It's you again, Bruce! I didn't know you were a part of this station. Looks like we're going to be working together from now on!" Marshall greeted as Bruce rubbed the back of his head.

"Umm… Yeah, I guess…" He replied.

"See? He's already familiar with him somehow! This is going to be fine," Lorenzo assured as Brian approached Marshall.

"Hey, do you guys mind if I borrow him for a second?" He asked them.

"Sure thing"

"Great! Come on, Marshall! Let's go get your things."

"Right! Be right back!" Marshall said before tripping over himself. "Whoooa, oof! I-I'm okay…"

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but if anything goes wrong with that dog, we're getting rid of him, got it?" Nico warned him as Lorenzo smirked.

"Don't worry! I'm sure it'll be fine! And if not, then I'll make it work! Somehow... I hope…"