I followed Zap as he darted through the city streets with extreme agility. I didn't want to admit it, but I was having a hard time keeping up. Zap was so fast and strong… How would I ever be as great of an agent as him? But I pushed myself forward. I wanted to make a good impression on him so he would know that I was going to be a hard working agent fro D.O.G.

"So how are we getting to Dog World H.Q.?" I asked Zap with a pant. "I mean, it's all the way across the country. How did you get here so fast?"

I saw a smirk begin to crawl across Zap's face. "You'll see." And that was it.

We continued on for a little longer, until we finally came across an alleyway that looked darker then the rest. Rain water dripped down from rafters hanging above and the rumble of an air conditioning sounded a little ways away. Zap nodded his head down the alley, and I guessed that was where our transportation would be.

The black dog who was my guide stepped into the shadows of the buildings, and I hesitated to follow him. The alley was very dark… I shook my head snapping out of my trance. I was going to be an agent, and agents aren't afraid of dark alleyways. I quickly followed him, trotting a little while to catch up.

I finally caught sight of the end of Zap's tail, and I followed it as it waved through the darkness. I was just about to ask Zap where we were going when I was startled by a sudden voice. It had come from behind a trash can that I was very close to, and I quickly backed up.

"Hey there Zap." There was the voice again. My heart began to pound as Zap turned around to see who had spoken.

A little scruffy white dog stepped out into view. His course fur formed a little beard on his chin and tufts on his half flopped ears. There was a gray spot around his eye that had clearly once been pure black. It had faded with age, and I was sure the rest of him would have gone white if it hadn't been already. The eye with the patch was half closed, and the area around it was bald, showing pale pink skin.

"Oh hello Scruff." Zap greeted. What an original name, I thought as he said this.

"Who's this?" Scruff asked, smiling at me. I wasn't sure whether it was a friendly or sinister smile. The old dog's teeth were tinted yellow and stained with age.

"This is Patches. I'm taking him to H.Q. to be my trainee." Zap replied.

"Ah, it's always good to see young dogs starting off as agents." Scruff said raspily as he stepped closer to study me. "You know, I used to be an agent myself... Ah, those were the golden days…." Scruff had a far away look on his face as began to remember his life as an agent.

I began to relax when I realized the old dog was no threat. "What happened to you?"

"This, my friend." Scruff pointed to his eyes. I held back to study it. I didn't want to seem rude. "I'm blind."

When he said this I noticed the clouding over his eyes. I had just believed they were a very light blue originally, but Scruff was in fact blind. I wondered what it was like not to be able to see. He couldn't see me or Zap, but he could smell us. I guessed that's why having such a strong sense of smell was a good thing.

"I may be able to find my way around my home with my sense of smell and hearing, but an agent needs to have sharp eyesight to locate any approaching attack and whatnot." Scruff explained. "I could have gotten the cataracts removed, but what's the point? I'm old, and I'm doing just fine here on my own."

I heard Zap sigh. "Scruff here used to be part of our team. The Alpha A team includes some of the best agents, and Scruff was one of them."

"Sadly, I only got into the team in my last few months before I became blind." Scruff turned his snout to the ground. "I guess that's the way it goes."

Zap nodded sadly. "I'll say hi to Buster for you, since you guys were such good friends. But we have to go. Shenan is expecting us soon."

"Well it's nice to hear a familiar voice." Scruff's mood lifted quickly with a smile spreading across his face. "I hope you do well in your training." And with that, Scruff was gone.

"Thank you." I murmured quietly, and turned to follow Zap who had continued walking.

There was still a little ways away to our transportation system. I had believed it was in the alley, but we had left there a while back. I trailed behind Zap, trying to match his quick pace as I enjoyed the sounds of the city. Cars breezed by, their engines growling and people conversed with each other as they lumbered down the sidewalk. Suddenly, we came to an abrupt halt. I almost slammed into Zap, but I was able to stop myself in time. I looked forward to see where we were. It was another alley, but it was much longer then the last. Straight down it, I could see nothing but a once green dumpster that had half of its paint peeling off.

"Here we are." Zap said, his eyes squinting as he gazed down the alley. "C' mon."

Zap picked up a quick little trot and I did as well. Soon, we were right near the dumpster.

"You ready for this?" Zap asked me with a grin on his face. Without waiting for an answer, he placed his paw onto a dusty brick next to the dumpster. I gasped as a blue light when up and down the brick, scanning his paw. Then, to my surprise, the dumpster slowly began to slide away.

"Stand right here." Zap walked onto the place where the dumpster had been, and I followed him with only slight hesitation. "Kid, prepare yourself for your very first D.O.G. Rocket Sled experience." Zap gave me an excited smirk.

Suddenly, I felt the floor giving way underneath me. I yelped and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw I was sitting on a leather seat inside a streamlined vehicle. The dashboard was covered with different button and levers, but the one that stood out the most was a lever that was marked K1 to K9.

"Let's do this thing!" Zap pushed the lever all the way up, and rockets fired behind. There was a jolt as the vehicle sprung forward, and soon we were cruising along a transparent tunnel. I gave a shout of fear and excitement as the Rocket Sled went through a loop. Soon, there were even more twists and turns. I wished that it would all stop before I lost my stomach.

"Yep boss. I've got him. Having a fun time on the ride, aren't ya rookie?" Zap chuckled. "Anyway, we're about to pull into port. Okay, we'll meet you in ten minutes."

I hollered once more as the transportation shot forwards. Below us I could see bubbling lava and pieces of molten rock floating through it. But the thing that caught my eye the most, the the huge structure in front of us. Lights of all colors shone from it, and I could just make out the symbol on the side. It was a golden pawprint with blue lettering saying, Dog World Headquarters.

We had arrived at our destination.