AN: Hey guys, so I'm guessing you guys don't remember Reggie and Sam, but they were characters from Zuma's Flashback about his past from Zuma's Fear. They were friends of his back then with him and his sister, Shelly. I guess it has been awhile since they appeared lol. Enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Paw Patrol
It really took Zuma a moment to remember one of the oldest friends he had when he was still living in Costal City. If it wasn't for the familiar sound of her voice and the ocean minty scent she always had, Zuma wouldn't have recognized Reggie. Reggie it seemed was just as shocked to see Zuma as well. It wasn't a surprise since it had been years since either of them had seen each other. The last time had been when Zuma said his goodbyes before going to Adventure Bay with Ryder after he adopted him. Memories of his puphood with him, Shelly, Reggie, and Sam all playing around in the beach while the former two were training to be lifeguards before the four of them headed over to the shack for lunch.
He hadn't thought of those memories in a long time.
Reggie, slowly with caution, moved towards Zuma as she slowly pressed a paw on his face as if to judge if he was real or not. "Z-Zuma? Is that...really you?"
"...Hey, Reggie," Zuma whispered with a soft smile. A second later, the sobbing golden retriever had her forelegs around his neck and hugged him so tight he nearly felt his neck get crushed. However, he soon joined her in their embrace and shed a few tears with her.
"Oh, God! Zuma! I never thought I'd see you again!" Reggie shouted before separating from him. She wiped her eyes and sniffed a bit before smiling brightly with her tail wagging behind her. "I heard you were in town and there was that horrible thing Damian Stone did with your family's remains...I just...I never thought I would see you..."
"...You look pretty well, Reggie," Zuma replied while checking her out. "And you've grown a lot too."
"Well, you have as well though...not as much," Reggie giggled.
"Curse of being a Chocolate Lab," Zuma joked as the two chuckled. "Is Sam still around?"
"Yeah!" Reggie shouted with joy as she jumped in place. "His shift is almost over! He's going to flip when he sees you! Come on!"
"Well, I should..." Zuma paused and stopped himself. One visit won't hurt. And...I really want to see how Sam's doing.
Nodding, Zuma followed a cheerful Reggie down the beach.
It didn't take them long to find where Sam was. He was near the pier where Zuma remembered him and Ryder saving his sister from all those years ago. A bitter thought came to him on how he and Ryder had risked their lives to save Shelly from a grim watery grave only for her life to be snuffed out later in a worse way by Damian Stone. It was as if fate was mocking him for saving his sister by taking her away not long after. He pushed aside those feelings upon seeing Reggie barking over to a black furred Newfoundland dog wearing a dog's version of a lifeguard vest. Samuel had definitely gotten bigger and hairier. To the point that most of his body was covered in fur save for his face but even then a patch of it went over his left eye. He was quite muscled too and it was clear he was one of most physically fit pups you would see in his age. Even Chase and Marshall would have a run for their money competing with Samuel.
"Sam! Sam!" Reggie shouted before skitting in front of the surprised lifeguard dog. "You'll never guess who's here!"
"Woah, Reg. Where's the fire? Did you meet Luke Stars or something?" Samuel asked, his voice a bit deeper hinting at his maturity. "Cause you look ready to dive bomb into the water to win a life time supply of treats."
"No, even better! It's Zuma!" Reggie cried out which make Samual's mouth drop. Reggie pointed over to the shy lab who nervously waved. "See!"
"Hey, Sam. I see all that working out paid off," Zuma said with a small smirk.
"...Dude!" Samuel shouted as he rushed over to Zuma and tackled him onto the ground. Laughing, the Newfoundland Dog licked a giggling Zuma's face rapidly before grinning at him. "You son of a bitch! I knew you were alive! People kept saying you were dead or not, but I knew! I knew you would be still kicking!"
Zuma slowly got up and nodded. "Yeah, I'm still alive."
"Dude, we have to celebrate! There's a great burger joint nearby where we can go! I mean, it's not as good as Greg and Marsha's stuff, but it's-"
"Sam!" Reggie hissed, poking him in the ribs as Zuma frowned upon hearing his former owner's names.
"Oh! Crud," Sam winced as he looked down with shame. "I'm...I'm sorry, Zuma. I didn't..."
"It's okay," Zuma's said with a heavy sigh. "I'm...okay. Really."
"...We all still miss them," Reggie said as she walked over to her old friend and nuzzled him. "The shack may be gone, but everyone remembers them fondly, Zuma. Greg. Marsha. Shelly. Even you."
"Yeah, dude," Sam said. "We missed you a lot. I mean, it's understandable why you left and all, but we always kinda hoped you would come back one day."
Zuma felt guilt worming into his heart upon hearing this. He always avoided thinking of Costal City and swore never to return because of what happened to him and his family here. Even now, years later on his path to vengeance, he still felt uncomfortable being in the city where his first life was ruined by Damian Stone. He had completely forgotten about his friendship with Reggie and Samuel. A part of him knew it wasn't his fault since he was always so busy with Paw Patrol, and dealing with his past, but at the same time there should have been some way to keep in contact with them.
"I'm sorry I didn't keep in contact," Zuma whispered as he lowered his head. "Things have been...difficult. Especially now."
"Yeah, like the rumors of you quitting the Paw Patrol and becoming a vigilante to kill Damian Stone?" Sam asked which made Zuma wince. "Look dude, whatever it is you're doing? We're here for you."
"Even if I'm breaking the law?" Zuma asked.
"After what Damian Stone did to you? I could care less about that asshole," Reggie growled. "He killed your family. They were good to us. So if you want to go all wild dog to get to him then you have our support."
"Thanks guys," Zuma said with a growing smile. For the first time in a long time, he felt comfort inside his aching heart. A growl from his stomach made him soon blush as the others giggled at the sound. "You know? I think I can go for a burger."
"Then follow us! It's our treat!" Reggie said as the three of them made their way down the pier while talking about old times.
"...So you met an alien?"
"Yup."
"And merpups?"
"Uh-huh."
"And most of the time you're saving a chicken who happens to be the mayor's pet?"
"Pretty much."
"...It all sounds like something you'd see on a kids show for toddlers," Blue said before chuckling. The pups of Paw Patrol soon joined him and realized that it did sound kinda like that. "Well, I'd honestly take dealing with that stuff over the shit I've seen. Drug dealers. Bank robbers. Child enslavement. Terrorism. If you guys are something Top Wing then we're Criminal Minds."
"Oh, I love that show!" Skye claimed with a flip. "Those birdies are so cute and their vehicles are so cool! I wish I was on that show."
"Kinda reminds us a lot of what we do," Marshall said before rubbing his chin. "You know, I kinda wonder if they copied us or something."
"Nah, we're one hundred original," Rubble assured Marshall. "Though it would be kinda cool if we were a TV show. Like superheroes or something."
Chase was about to say something when he paused and tilted his head. "What is that?"
"What's what?" Blue asked before Chase pointed at the window. Everyone else looked in the direction and saw something floating in the sky. "Is...Is that a drone?"
Indeed it was a drone, but not the common kind a hobbyist would use. This one sleek yet bulky with heavy green and gray armor with a digital camo as a cover. Four highly powered propeller engines were keeping it afloat while a small miniature camera in the center of the drone's face was staring at them. It was just about the size of the pups themselves and it was staring right at them while keeping itself still in mid-air.
"I've never seen a drone like that before," Rocky said, tilting his head.
"Yeah, not even my spy drone looks that advanced," Chase pointed out but soon his tone died and his eyes widened by what happened next. The lower area of the drone opened up, and out came a long barrel with twin chamber cylinder rounds on its side and a laser pointer on the bottom that was aiming in their direction. "And it doesn't have a machine gun!"
"Duck!" Blue shouted as he jumped off the bed and hit the ground as did the others.
The machine gun activated and bullets started flying as the window was shattered instantly into pieces while the pups screamed in fright upon the bullets barely missing them and hitting the wall instead. One of the nearby nurses rushed inside upon hearing the gunfire only to scream as she was barraged by bullets that tore open her chest. Without hesitating, Blue grabbed his bedpan and threw it at the distracted drone which hit it hard enough to knock it off in the air and lose control. "Run! Now!"
None of the pups argued as they ran out of the room while holding their bile in from the dead body they had to jump over. Blue had made it out lace, his injuries hindering him, just as the drone fired again but missed. By now, most of the entire hospital had heard the gunfire and the entire place was soon issuing warnings and lock downs.
In the room nearby, Ryder, Kennedy, and Shaw had all heard the gunfire as Shaw drew his pistol and looked outside just as the entire dog crew nearly crashed into him.
"Pups?! What's going-"
"Get away from the window! Quick!" Rocky screamed.
Suddenly, the wall next to Kennedy's bed exploded and knocked him to the floor as Blue, seeing his partner injured, quickly went to his side as the drone soon flew in from the hole it had made. There were now two mini missile launchers on the top from two hidden entrances on its top. The machine gun and missiles were aimed right at both shocked FBI agents until Shaw fired his entire magazine into the drone which caused it to fizzle and short circuit before it could fire.
Ryder, not wasting time, quickly rushed over to the drone, jumped up and grabbed it while hanging on for dear life as it tried to shake him off. Ryder took his Pup Pad, pressed a few buttons and slammed it onto the drone as the screen soon started to show various digital codes and windows. The drone made a strange "shrieking" sound before deactivating and Ryder fell to the ground with the drone right next to him.
The pups quickly went towards Ryder who got up and looked at his Pup Pad and pressed a few buttons. Rubble poked the drone and gulped. "Is it...dead?"
"Deactivated technically, but yes," Ryder said with a sigh. "It's a hacking feature I made for the Pup Pad awhile ago. Never tested it out. Well, until now. It managed to get it to shut off and I'm trying to find...darn it!"
"What?" Shaw asked as he put his gun away.
"I was hoping to find the signal of whoever was controlling it, but it didn't get anything," Ryder grumbled.
"Maybe one of our F.B.I. cyber units can find something," Kennedy suggested, wincing as he got up. "This is weird. This isn't Damian Stone's style."
"Yeah, but who else could it be?" Rocky pointed out.
"I don't know, but its not safe here," Blue said with a grumble. "We should secure the area for a CSI team, get the drone to the techies, and find a safer place to recover."
"I'll get units here at once," Shaw said as he left the room in a hurry.
"Rocky and I could maybe find out more about whoever sent it to us," Ryder said as he nodded to the drone.
"Give me a few hours and some coffee and I'll have it done tonight," Rocky replied.
"Let's just hope that we can find out information about whoever was using that drone," Chase said before growling. "Because I got a feeling that they're not going to give up."
A few blocks away, looking over his laptop at the top floor of a nearby multistory parking lot, a teenage boy with dirty blonde hair and round glasses smirked. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt with a purple long coat that was more for the size of an adult then his small frame while wearing blue sweats that were more for sleeping then walking around in. Folding this laptop the boy pushed his glasses up and smirked. "Figures a weak drone like that wasn't going to work. I'd be disappointed if it was that easy to kill them. Guess that's a good enough excuse to use the bigger toys later."
Getting up, he checked his cellphone and found a text from his employer saying he wanted all the assassins who had accepted the contract to come meet him at once. Rolling his eyes, the assassin known as \/\/1Z4rD made for his large purple van.
The place that Reggie and Samuel had taken Zuma was similar to any other burger shack save it was themed to look like an old sailor's boat filled with fish on display, sails for tarps, pirate themes memorabilia, and even a giant hook next to a big fake plastic fish. Since Sam and Reggie were regulars, they were able to get the three of them a private seat with three orders of Great White Beefy Burgers and Fries.
Zuma had felt more relaxed eating and talking to his old friends than he had in a long while. It almost felt like nothing had changed between. Yet, there was a voice in his head that reminded him that Shelly wasn't there. Neither were his human parents. And this wasn't the shore shack he grew up in. He buried it far enough to ignore it for the most part and focus instead on Sam and Reggie who were finishing a story about how Sam, to his embarrassment, got seaweed up his nose that wouldn't come out for two hours.
"And when it finally came out I couldn't smell out of my nostrils for two weeks!" Sam chuckled as Zuma laughed upon hearing this and almost coughed up his burger. "Second worst week of my life."
"What was the first?" Zuma wondered.
"...What happened to your family," Sam admitted with a sigh. The mood suddenly changed as Sam looked at Zuma with a near-tearful expression. "And then you left. It was like...the beach wasn't the same without you. I know why you left, but sometimes I did wish you stayed. You could have stayed with us. I would have slept outside if it meant having you around."
Reggie nodded as she put a paw on Zuma's. "We heard about your missions with Paw Patrol a few times. Every time we heard you had taken part in a rescue we smiled because we thought how awesome you must have been. You kinda made others here smile and feel proud that one of our own was out there being a hero."
"I'm no hero," Zuma muttered as he turned his eyes downward. "Not anymore. I turned my back on my friends and now I'm running around as a vigilante. I've done things you wouldn't be proud of me for. The lives I've taken or ruined...I'm...not the same Zuma you remember."
"I disagree," Reggie said, getting the lab's attention. "You're still the brave, selfless, and kind dog we've known all our pup hood, Zuma. And we will always believe that."
Things were quiet for awhile until Samual decided to ask, "What was your team like? The other pups? I mean, we knew Ryder very well even if it was for a few days. But we never met the other pups when he visited."
"Well, when I joined there were just four of them. When I joined it became five and not long after Rubble joined to make six," Zuma explained. "First there's Chase. He's the Pup Leader. Next to Ryder, he led us whenever we were without him. He's a police officer and has a strong sense of duty and justice. He's the most adult out of all of us, but that made him the most caring and brotherly. He can sniff anything perfectly right down to size and color. Trust me, I tried to get him to answer wrong multiple times when he was blindfolded and he always got it right. He also was that one pup you could always depend on. No matter what the task or problem was he would do it and risk his life if need be."
Zuma couldn't help but smile as he continued to think about each of his friends. "Marshall's the heart of the team. He's goofy, clumsy, and often a bit clueless on things, but you'll never find a kinder and harder worker than him. He's always there to lift your spirits, tell a joke, or play with you if you feel lonely. When I was new to the team, he was always there to show me around or play with me if I felt scared about being in a new environment. Marshall always tries his best and if he fails he just gets back up to do it again. He can give Chase a run for his money in determination. But the one thing he'll always do is care for you. He doesn't have a bad bone in his body and he'll never leave you hanging."
"Skye kinda reminds me of you, Reggie, in some ways," Zuma said, turning to his surprised friend. "She's a real daredevil. Not to mention she's always up for some fun and willing to take down anything twice her size, so long as it's not an eagle. But even then I've seen her take those on. She's the big sister you never had and we depend on her so much that she's kinda like the team's mother. Skye also loves flipping. Like all the time. Just as much as she loves flying. The thing is, despite being the only girl on our team, we never think of her as any different from the rest of us guys. She's really one of us and sometimes even better than us because of how graceful and swift she can be under pressure."
Zuma then paused and thought about the next pup. The one who he missed the most deep inside. "Rocky...Rocky's my best friend. Next to you guys of course. The two of us...we just clicked even though we shouldn't have. He's brains and I'm brawn. He loves to read and invent and I love getting extreme and doing sports. Rocky hates the water, like so much, and...well there is a reason I was the Water Rescue Pup. But Rocky is the smartest dog I've ever met, even Ryder sometimes is no match for him. Rocky can invent anything and he wants to use those inventions to change the world. He has such faith in making the world a better place that I believe he really can one day. Rocky looked after me since he knew what it was like to be new. He slept next to me and stood by my side those early days at Paw Patrol and I saw him as my best friend there. My brother in all but blood. And I even...I..."
I fell in love with him, Zuma thought as he closed his eyes to fight the sorrow in his heart.
"...He was the hardest to leave behind. I knew he would have followed me to the ends of the earth and he was always there to protect me even from Damian Stone."
Taking a moment to collect himself, Zuma then continued, "And then there was Rubble. He was the little brother of the group. He was always so focused on proving himself that it was both impressive and adorable at the same time. Rubble's tough, he had to be since he grew up on the streets for a long time, and yet he never slows down. He keeps going forward and forward, even when he's scared. Because Rubble's not just proving himself to us, he's proving to himself that he has what it takes to be the best at what he does. He's so innocent and sweet that it's almost a crime to see him act so childish and yet that optimism is what brings life to our family. He'd do anything for us and we'd do anything for him."
Zuma looked at his friends with a warm smile. "Paw Patrol wasn't just a job...it was my family. My second family..." He then frowned and growled. "And then Damian Stone ruined it..."
"...Hey, you'll find a way to be with them again," Reggie said, patting him on the shoulder.
"...Maybe," Zuma muttered but he didn't believe in what he said before pushing his plate aside. "Thanks for everything guys, but I should be going. I can't stay out in the open too long."
"You can't leave already!" Sam said as Zuma got out of his chair and started making for the exit. "At least promise to come see us!"
"I can't, Damian-"
"To hell with Stone!" Reggie said as she and Sam got off their seats and stood next to Zuma. "Zuma, you're one of us. We couldn't help you back then, but we're going to help you now whether you like it or not. We don't care about our lives at risk, we're practically doing that with our jobs anyway. We'd rather be with you and your fight to the end. Even if its something small, please just let us help you!"
Zuma looked at the two of them for a moment and sighed. "I'll...think about it...but I promise you'll see me again..."
Zuma turned away but before he completely exited, he turned and smiled at them. "It was really nice to see you two."
As they saw Zuma leave, Reggie and Sam looked at each other with concern while praying that their friend would come to him. However, Sam then turned to Reggie and asked, "So, what do you think? Should we tell Shaw?"
"I don't know," Reggie whispered with a sigh. "He did call us awhile ago and said to let him know if Zuma came to us...but I never expected to actually see him."
"Look at him, Reg," Sam growled. "He can't do this on his own! He needs help or he's going to get killed! You saw the look in his eyes at times, right? He's already convinced he's going to die doing this!" He bit his lip and shook his head "I already was there when three great members of that family were buried. I don't want to see a fourth."
"...Alright, we'll talk to Shaw and let him know we saw Zuma. But we won't give details and we won't turn Zuma over to the police, agreed?" Reggie asked as Sam nodded.
I just hope we can save him. Both from Stone...and himself.
