PPX: Zuma's First Month
Episode five: No Time To Play When Someone Runs Away
Zuma was currently on the verge of leaving Adventure Bay, being right past the welcome gate as he looked over his shoulder one last time. There he was for the third time now. He was on the run again, all on his own without anyone to interact with. He felt this was for the best. Now he wouldn't be a burden to anyone. He walked forward as he started to think about his decision, feeling bad for leaving everyone without at the very least saying goodbye. 'Am I weally leaving the fiwst place that cawed about me since... that day? Do I weally desewve to be alone that much?"
Zuma then had a flashback to the day his parents were taken from him with a terrified four year old Zuma being held back by a cop as two others roughly shoved his parents into the car. "Let go of me! I want my parents! Mommy! Daddy!" The last words that left Zuma's mouth shrilled with fear. "Don't huwt them!" Zuma quickly shook off that memory, not wanting anything to persuade him into moving back. He didn't want to make anyone else feel worse for his own benefit.
"Don't think about that day Zuma. All it pwoved was that you don't desewve connections." Zuma continued walking forward, trying to move on the best he could while fighting the urge to go back. It wasn't easy though. He was leaving some great friends; friends he felt he'd never be able to make again. He tried not to think about them, being fully convinced that he was only a burden to them and that he would only bring them trouble. That thought alone kept him moving forward. 'Maybe I'll see mom and dad again? But if I do... will they still love me?"
The next day, it was the seventh day the Paw Patrol have known Zuma for, and Chase was headed into the living room to wake Zuma up. He felt it was only logical to wake him up first, since he knew Skye would already be prepared to wake up on her own time. So he went in to see if he could wake him up. "Morning Zuma. And don't think I won't fart on you again." Chase then noticed that Zuma wasn't on the couch and went over to investigate. "Zuma?" He was confused, and then he saw the letter on the coffee table and went to read it. "What the heck is this all about?"
Chase started reading the letter, and when he finished the first couple of sentences, he quickly caught onto what was going on. Skye came into the living room soon after and went over to Chase after seeing he was awake, having a bright smile as she did. "Good morning Chase! Good morning-" Skye then noticed that Zuma wasn't there and got worried as well. She then saw Chase's scared look and was about to ask what was wrong. "Chase, are you okay? Did something-"
The elevator then dinged with Skye getting a look at the letter just as Ryder greeted Chase and Skye. "Morning guys. You ready for the day?"
"I wish I could say yes." Chase admitted, and then he filled Ryder and Skye in on what he thought happened as he spoke up. "Skye; Ryder! I think Zuma might've run away."
"What!?" Ryder and Skye responded in sync, and then Ryder looked at the couch and saw that Zuma was gone. This led to Ryder worrying about Zuma's safety as well.
Skye took the letter from Chase gently as she thought about other possible scenarios. "Maybe he's just at Rocky's and he worded it in a super sad way?"
"He doesn't mention Rocky in the letter once Skye." Chase pointed out, pointing to the second paragraph as he started devising a plan, determined to bring Zuma home. "It says he left on the right exit of Adventure Bay. If we take our vehicles, we should be able to track him down fast enough to bring him home."
"You guys move out to find him. I'll fill Richie and Rocky in so they can help find him." Upon Ryder's command, Chase and Skye nodded to each other before moving out, refusing to let Zuma face any more pain than he already has. Meanwhile, Ryder made a call to Richie.
Rocky was playing with some kind of tennis ball in the living room as Richie was talking to Ryder on the phone while eating breakfast, since Rocky was already done. "Zuma did what!?" Rocky started listening in while still holding his tennis ball, and Richie finished the rest of his breakfast, which he was almost done with anyway, before hanging up. "Don't worry Ryder. We're on it." Richie then hung up and then told Rocky what Ryder told him. "We gotta move Rocky! Zuma ran away last night!"
Rocky was so stunned by that statement that he dropped the tennis ball out of his mouth, causing it to fall on the ground and roll for a bit. Rocky then started to freak out, unsure if Zuma could survive on his own this time. "He couldn't have run away! He loves it here! What if that gang leader he used to know is coming for him!? What if the cops who took his parents are coming for him!? What if they get to him before we can find him!?"
Richie knelt down to Rocky and put his hands on his shoulders, knowing that they couldn't let their fear get to them. "Calm down Rocky. We're gonna get him back." Rocky started breathing more slowly with Richie devising a plan. "We're gonna take my car, and we're gonna go look for Zuma with the others. He couldn't have gotten too far. There's only so much distance a seven and a half year old can cover in one night before going to sleep."
Rocky calmed down completely to go look for Zuma, and he and Richie quickly ran out the door as Richie called to his mother. "Thanks for breakfast mom! We'll be back soon!"
"Okay sweetie! Be careful!" Diane called to Richie, and then she took his plate to clean it off. She knew that his situation was more serious than a dirty dish, so she wasn't upset about doing it so suddenly.
Zuma was shown to be tossing and turning while seemingly having a nightmare while underneath a tree. As he was squirming, he was woken up by an apple that fell down from the tree and bonked him on the head. This caused him to immediately sit up and panic. "Don't huwt me!" Zuma looked around for a bit and then looked to the ground to find the apple that woke him up. He calmed down after seeing it, and he picked it up to begin eating it. As he did however, he heard something nearby and and looked behind himself to see a grizzly bear, surprising him. "Is that a beaw?"
Zuma hid behind a tree to observe the bear and saw it sniffing around for food, hoping that it wouldn't come towards him. He didn't know how bears behave, but he DID know that the violent ones were prone to eating attacking humans, dogs, or any other living creature. Only problem for Zuma was that he didn't know how to tell which one was which. As the bear drew closer, Zuma hid behind the tree with his back against it as he tried to stay calm. 'Easy Zuma. Just don't alewt the beaw, and you'll be okay.'
The bear was nearing the tree Zuma was by, and he camouflaged pretty well, since it was a brown oak tree. Zuma was still worried about being spotted however, and the bear started sniffing Zuma, thinking he was part of the tree. This tickled Zuma a little, and he tried not to start laughing to avoid detection. Once the bear started sniffing down to Zuma's butt however...
BLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRP
...a five second fart exited Zuma's rear end, making his butt vibrate as a green cloud of rotten apples hit the tree, and made the bear back up upon smelling the odor. Zuma was surprised by how the fart snuck up on him, but he saw the bear distracted and knew he had to take the chance. He ran off with the apple and darted in the opposite direction of the bear, making sure to get as far away as possible.
Rocky and Richie were meeting up with the others at the town entrance Zuma said he was leaving on. Rocky was easily the most worried out of everyone, hoping with his life that they could find Zuma before he got too badly hurt. "Zuma's done this before, right? He can't be as vulnerable as the rest of us when it comes to being on our own."
"We'll just have to hope for the best Rocky." Richie advised Rocky, knowing that everyone would be trying their best to get Zuma back. "Make no mistake about it; we'll do everything we can to get Zuma back. Still, unharmed is another matter entirely."
After Ryder made sure everyone was there, he started giving everyone their places to look for Zuma at. "Alright everyone, there are only so many places Zuma could've ended up, so for now, let's stick with the highlights." Ryder then started giving everyone their specific commands for where to look. "Chase, you look in the forest with me. Skye, you look above and see if you can find him somewhere our land vehicles can't look. Richie and Rocky, you go down the path to Foggybottom, see if he ended up there."
Chase was familiar with Foggybottom and shuddered upon the thought of going there with his own setback involving it. "Good thing I don't have THAT place. I'd need at least five bottles worth of allergy pills to survive all the cats living there."
"And knowing you Chase, overdosing is the last thing you'd wanna do." Ryder joked, leaving Chase to laugh a bit at the jab towards his cat allergy. Everyone then set out with Rocky still looking heavily concerned for Zuma's safety, hoping that he wouldn't be injured in any way too severe when they found him. Richie could feel Rocky's fear, being his owner and all, and he used one of his hands to console him. Of course, he also made sure to keep his eyes on the road while doing so.
Zuma was walking through the forest as he ate his apple from earlier, hoping that he'd gotten away from the bear successfully. He looked back and was glad to see the bear was gone, so he sat down beside the tree and sighed with relief. He then started to think about his decision, unsure if he'd made the right call or not. "Should I go back?" Zuma then started to think about his parents. He wondered what they would do in his situation. "What would mom and dad do?" However, that only made Zuma more frustrated. "Why does wunning away have to be so hawd now!? I've alweady done it twice!"
Zuma then heard the growling from a nearby animal and looked to see the bear walking towards him slowly. This made Zuma flinch, and he then stood up and tried to sweet talk the bear out of killing him. "Easy big dude. I didn't mean to fawt on you. It just slipped out." Zuma... didn't know how to deal with bears. As the bear attempted to charge at Zuma, the Chocolate Labrador rolled right underneath his lunge and made a break for it. "Sowwy dude; not in the mood to be someone's dinnew tonight!"
Zuma ran as fast as he could, hoping that he could successfully avoid the bear without luring it to attack anyone else. He obviously didn't want to get himself killed, but he didn't think he couldn't bare the thought of getting someone else killed as well. So he made sure that the areas he ran to weren't populated by anyone. He looked back to make sure the bear was still chasing him, and sure enough, it was. It was gaining on him pretty well though, so Zuma sped up the best he could to get away. He could feel his heart beating as if he was running a marathon.
As Zuma kept running, the bear refused to give up, chasing Zuma down in the hopes that he would get to eat him. Zuma jumped up after seeing a low hanging tree branch and swung up to the top. He then started climbing the tree, even though the bear saw him climbing. He kicked the top branch once he got up there, causing some apples to fall onto the bear. One hit him in between the eyes, temporarily blinding him. Zuma then took the time to jump from tree to tree to get away.
Once Zuma was sure he'd lost sight of the bear, at least hoping it didn't still have his fart scent tracked, he slid down and started running on foot again. He then hid in this nearby den, unsure if anyone else was in there. He peeked out to make absolute sure he was out of the bear's sight, and he saw it run past the hideout, leaving him to sigh with relief. He then started thinking about whether or not he made the right decision again. As he did however, he heard a familiar voice from behind. "You gonna keep mooning me, or do you wanna come sit down?"
Zuma turned around and saw a familiar White Shepherd from his days of being in Bloodfreak's gang. He couldn't help but smile upon seeing the one good memory he made there. "Paleclaw?" Zuma walked over to Paleclaw, who was sorting out some berries and nuts he foraged in the wild. He also had some fish from a lake he found. He offered Zuma a seat next to him, which he happily accepted. "I didn't expect to see you out here."
"The feeling's mutual." Paleclaw revealed, being glad to see Zuma again. As he started making the fire for his fish, he spoke up about when Zuma left. "Thanks or saving me during that mission by the way. Bloodfreak kicked you out so soon after we got back that I never got to say anything."
Zuma then gained a look of realization that he never actually did say goodbye to Paleclaw. He started to feel bad about that, and spoke up, since he knew Paleclaw would listen. "It was kind of MY fault too. I left so suddenly that you could bawely figuwe out what Bloodfweak did." Zuma then looked at Paleclaw, who saw the guilt in his eyes. "I should've at least taken the time to say goodbye."
Paleclaw was thankfully sympathetic to Zuma. He knew why he left the way he did and didn't hold it against him. He just wished they had more time together. "I get it dude. It also doesn't help that everyone else treated you like crap. And not once did anyone ever ask if you liked being called 'lispy'."
"It was better than wetard anyway."
"True, but it's not much of an upgrade."
Zuma still felt bad for leaving the way he did, and hoped that now, he could get some proper closure with Paleclaw. "I should let you know. When I lived at the hideout, I... felt something, that I couldn't weally define." Paleclaw was surprised to hear that, and Zuma then expressed how confused he was then. "I didn't know what the feeling was at the time, and to be honest, I still don't. I think I even felt it again back in Adventuwe Bay." Zuma felt his heart ache as he thought about leaving Rocky. "But it's too late now. I left because I felt like a buwden to the fwiends I made there."
Paleclaw put his fish over the fire he made and put his other paw on Zuma's shoulder. He hoped that maybe, he could be convinced to go back to his latest home. "Did you like them?" Zuma nodded his head yes, still conflicted on whether or not he should go back. Paleclaw was confident that with that knowledge, maybe he should. It was a sign for the best after all. "Then maybe you should go back. If you finally found a home that treats you right, then it's a good sign."
"But what if I'M the pwoblem?" Zuma asked, stunning Paleclaw as Zuma then expressed how he felt about what he went through. "The day my pawents got taken by the police, I didn't even get to say goodbye. The cops just bwoke into my house and stole them fwom me. Then at the owphanage, the cawetakers there ignowed evewy bullying attempt Mawley did on me and punished ME for standing up for myself. Then with Bloodfweak's gang, I get kicked out because I saved your life; the one thing I thought would be something wowth appweciating. I did save you because I cawed by the way."
Paleclaw nodded in understanding to Zuma's clarification on that last one as Zuma then continued to express how he felt about all of this. "If I lose people in my life for saving another, then what if it's ME who's the pwoblem? What if I'M the one who doesn't desewve a home, or a family, or love?" Paleclaw was shocked to learn that Zuma was feeling all of this. Though, he couldn't be too surprised based on everything he knew about Zuma. Still; it saddened him to think that Zuma thought him not having a home was his fault. No one deserved to feel that way.
Chase was currently looking for Zuma in the forest, hoping that he could find him before things got too serious. The very thought of Zuma being fatally wounded was something that terrified him. "Cmon Zuma. You can't be too far off the radar now." Chase then heard screaming and instantly went in the direction heard it from. "Zuma!?" Chase drove off at high speeds and stopped instantly when he saw a bear trying to get into the cave Zuma and Paleclaw were in. Zuma and Paleclaw, at the same time, were leaning against the wall, hoping that they could avoid the bear's wrath.
Even though Chase didn't know that it was Zuma and Paleclaw, he still got out of his car to help whoever was inside. "Arf! Megaphone!" Chase's megaphone came out with Chase alerting the two inside that he was ready to save them. "Don't worry you two! I'm gonna get you out of there!"
Zuma instantly recognized Chase's voice and became ecstatic to see that he was willing to save him after the way he left. "Chase!?"
Paleclaw took notice to Zuma recognizing Chase's voice, and Chase then pointed his gun at the bear. He didn't want to kill it as to conserve the environment, so he spoke as authoritatively as he could with it after putting his megaphone away. "Back away from the cave, now! There's plenty of non living things you can eat!" The bear lunged at Chase, who shot at the ground and made the bear trip. Once that happened, Zuma then jumped onto the bear and let it slide for a little longer with Chase then smirking as he aimed his butt at the bear's face. "I wouldn't recommend squirming here."
Zuma and Paleclaw came out of the cave as the two of them noticed Chase sitting on the bear's face with his thicc butt, much to Paleclaw's confusion. "Ummm..." Chase then looked back and winked to the audience as his butt was shown with...
PHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT.
...a twenty second fart hit the bear smack in the face, making Chase's butt vibrate as the yellow cloud of rotten eggs not only caused the bear to pass out, but also caused the trees in the area to start dying. Chase did admittedly feel a little bad about that, but he was more concerned about the fact that he saved the lives of the two in the cave. He then noticed that Zuma was one of them and ran over to him with a look of relief on his face. "Zuma!" Chase instantly hugged Zuma, surprising him, before pulling him away with a look of worry on his face. "Thank God you're okay. The others and I were so worried about you. Rocky especially."
Zuma was surprised to hear that the others were worried about him, being touched that they would feel that way. "They... were?"
"Um... not to spoil the mood," Paleclaw intervened as he pointed to where Chase's fart cloud originated. "but I think that crappy Great Dane movie is the last thing we should be referencing right now."
Chase and Zuma noticed that Chase's fart had risen up and killed dozens of birds, forming a pile over hte bear with Chase proudly smiling at his gas. "And yet my butt still looks tighter in this suit after letting out monsters like that." Zuma and Paleclaw couldn't help but laugh a bit, but then covered their noses upon the smell of Chase's eggy odor. "Don't worry. I won't fart in the car with the windows up this time." Zuma was at least glad to hear that. He was also too excited to see Rocky again to care about how bad Chase's farts smelled and how big they were.
Chase had already told the others that he found Zuma, and they were all at the entrance to Adventure Bay waiting for them. As soon as Rocky saw Zuma's face hopping out of Chase's car, he was beyond happy, running up to him as he exclaimed his name. "Zuma!" Rocky tackled Zuma as he hugged him, leading to the two pups being on the ground. Zuma was so glad to see Rocky that he just hugged him back with Paleclaw coming out, glad to see Zuma finding a home with people who genuinely cared about him. All he could think was that it was about freakin' time.
Rocky and Zuma got up with Zuma seeing Paleclaw and realizing that he had to introduce him as the others came over. "Oh yeah. Guys, this is Paleclaw. He was the... only good memowy I had fwom being in Bloodfweak's gang."
"It's cool to meet you all!" Paleclaw introduced himself, and the White Shepherd happily shook everyone's palms as he then brought up something that he felt would help in the long run. "Oh; and I recently realized I'm non-binary. Met a human in a town close to here who helped me with that. I should visit them sometime."
Zuma did have kind of a picture as to what non-binary meant, and felt it wouldn't hurt to ask for clarification. "Is that the one where you don't identify as a dude or a chick?" Paleclaw nodded his head yes after snickering at the way Zuma worded that question. "Okay, cool. Just wanted to be sure."
Ryder was quick to thank Paleclaw for his help, knwoing that he played a vital role in Zuma having some hope in finding a good home. "Thanks for being a positive role in Zuma's life Paleclaw. I'm sure you played a big part in him having the courage and determination to eventually find Adventure Bay."
Paleclaw smiled in response to that, and Rocky then got around to asking Zuma what he was thinking running away from town. "I don't understand Zuma. I thought you loved it here. Why did you run away?"
Zuma then started to feel bad about how he left again, and he hoped that the others wouldn't hold it against him. The fact that they were worried about him certainly was a plus. "I just... felt like I was a buwden to you guys. It felt like your lives were getting hawder having to deal with me." The others were surprised to hear this with Zuma then giving examples as to why. "The way I attacked Nicky, my peanut allewgy, the puppy meal thing, and even the fake disability act with Calm-Ten. It all just seemed to make it hawder to deal with having me around."
The others were surprised to find that Zuma felt this way and started to worry about him. Paleclaw did have a question for him though. "You're allergic to peanuts?"
"I found out the day after I moved to Adventuwe Bay." Zuma answered, and then he sighed as he talked about how much he regretted running away after having started to do so. "I wasn't even happy about it either. I felt awful as soon as I finished the lettew. I just... thought it'd be better off that way." Zuma held back his tears as he finished stating how he felt and why he left. "I just stawted feeling that it was best to deal with living on my own so you guys could go back to living your nowmal lives without me."
Ryder was quick to inform Zuma that he was anything but a burden to them, kneeling down to him as he began. "You were never a burden to us Zuma. Yeah, we didn't like you stealing Chase's car or using the people of Calm-Ten, but trust me. We've dealt with much worse stuff than that in our lives." Zuma looked up at Ryder, who started rubbing his head as he assured Zuma that they enjoyed his company. "I speak for all of us when I say that in spite of the stuff you did on those two days, we're glad to have you around. And we're hoping you'll stay."
Zuma thought for a moment and felt that Adventure Bay was his best option right now. He didn't know if he was gonna stay forever, or if it was just a temporary thing, but he felt in his heart that, at the very least, it'd work. And he loved the people there; why did he ever think leaving would help? "Yeah. I'll stay." Ryder was glad to hear that, and so was everyone else. Zuma still felt bad about leaving though, and he hoped that it would be okay from here.
Back at the Lookout, Zuma was watching Tv with Rocky, and the two were eating a bowl of ice cream together as Zuma noticed Paleclaw leaving. He felt they could stay for a little longer, and hoped that they would come back to make up for that. "You'll come back, wight?"
"Of course!" Paleclaw assured Zuma, and then they let him know that they couldn't do it too often to avoid being caught. "I just can't do it too often, otherwise it'll be easy enough to track me down."
Zuma and Paleclaw waved goodbye to each other with Rocky waving goodbye to them as well. After Paleclaw left, Rocky noticed that Zuma still felt bad about his attempt to run away and was quick to comfort him. "If you don't mind me asking Zuma... why would you consider yourself a burden after the talk we had yesterday?"
Zuma knew that Rocky was genuinely considered, breathing in and out as he got ready to explain why. He felt it would be best to let him know about the one moment that started this chain reaction. "I guess it all stawted the day my pawents were taken." Zuma then looked at Rocky, who scooted a little closer after that to give him comfort. "I don't think I told you what happened that day, did I?"
"No, you didn't." Rocky admitted, hoping that Zuma wouldn't mind talking about it with him. "I'm guessing you intend on telling me what happened now?"
Zuma nodded his head yes, and he did his best to hold his tears back as he started talking about what happened. "It was soon aftew my fouwth biwthday. My dad was cooking, and my mom was showing me her guitaw skills, since she got me my guitaw as a gift."
The flashback then started with Zuma's father cooking in the kitchen as he checked the oven to see how his casserole was doing. He was pleased to see that it was coming together well and went into the living room to inform his wife and son. "Casserole's looking good you two. We should be set to eat it in twenty minutes!"
"It should be delicious honey. We can't wait." Zuma's mother responded, and she saw Zuma struggling to hold the guitar, which she helped him adjust to so he could get the proper grip. "You should be able to get a better grip at holding it when you grow.
Zuma started strumming a basic melody on his guitar and smiled at how he was getting the music down so quickly. Zuma spoke over the flashback as he spoke up about what was going on that day. "It was just a nowmal day. No one could've pwedicted that all of our lives would change fowever."
Zuma then spoke up in the flashback as he got an idea for how he could hold the guitar better. "Mommy; can I bowwow that guitaw stand you have in your woom?"
"Of course sweetie." Zuma's mother responded, being excited to see how well he'd do with proper holding. "You give your parents a show they'll never forget!"
Zuma excitedly ran upstairs after hugging his parents individually and had a big smile on his face. Zuma then spoke over the flashback again as he explained what happened next. "It was pwetty hawd to imagine my pawents getting a visit fwom someone who didn't have any weason to come over."
Zuma was shown coming downstairs with the guitar stand as he saw his dad talking to the police and got confused, letting out a confused bark upon sight. He listened closely and heard his dad informing them about what the last thing they did involving their crimes was. "We already returned all of the stuff we stole and did the community service work the judge settled for. And if you'll excuse me, I have dinner in the oven, and would prefer it if I could continue to spend time with my family-"
"You're not gonna be spending anymore time out of a cell!" The cop shouted, and then he forced Zuma's father into arrest, horrifying Zuma as he saw his father being mutilated like that. "You're coming with me punk!"
Zuma stopped thinking and ran downstairs to help his father, frightening him at the thought of him getting hurt. "Let go of my daddy!" Another cop ran past Zuma and pushed him to the ground, and as he got up after a few seconds, he saw the cop arresting his mother, who was struggling in an attempt to get out. "Mommy!" Another cop grabbed Zuma and took him outside, holding him back as the cops put his parents into the cop car.
Zuma then voiced over as he looked horrified in the flashback and saw his parents being roughly put into another car. "Appawently my pawents were cwiminals five yeaws before that day. They atoned for their cwimes the best they could, but those cops didn't care.
Zuma's terrified look in the flashback made it clear that this moment would scar him for life. The horror in his eyes, the tears they shed; the moment was simply too much for him to handle. He couldn't help crying out to his parents with immense sadness and horror. "Let go of me! I want my parents! Mommy! Daddy!" The last words that left Zuma's mouth shrilled with fear. "Don't huwt them!" Just then, Zuma was knocked out, thus ending the flashback.
Once the flashback ended, Rocky was left horrified at what happened that day, as well as feeling horrible for what Zuma went through. He had no idea what it was like to face something so tragic at such a young age. I mean, he did, but not in the way Zuma experienced it. "And that's the stowy of how I lost my pawents. I don't even know where they are. All I know is that they're still alive somewhewe."
Rocky was quick to try and comfort Zuma, hoping he would know what to say in that moment. "I'm so sorry Zuma. That must've been abysmal for you."
Zuma felt a sense of comfort upon the sympathy, even though he usually didn't want it. He didn't know what it was with Rocky. He just felt safer around him than he did with most others. "It was the wowst day of my life." Rocky put his arm around Zuma to help him feel better as the Chocolate Labrador opened up a little more about how he felt about that day. "It didn't even have any fowshadowing or anything like that. Just a pewfectly nowmal day, spending time with your family, pwobably getting weady for school soon... and then it all comes cwashing down."
Rocky knew that Zuma needed all the help he could get and was quick to let Zuma know that he would never leave his side. "You don't have to worry about that happening with me Zuma. I lost my family in the span of one day too, and I know how painful it is to lose someone you love. I'll never, ever, make you feel that pain again." Zuma looked at Rocky, who was quick to let him know for absolute certain that he meant it. "I promise with all of my heart. I'll never leave your side. And if I break that promise, then punch me as hard as I can and help me remember it."
Zuma had to admit that he'd never seen this confident and determined side of Rocky before, but it was certainly one that he could get behind. He could see the loyalty in Rocky's eyes and felt the sincerity behind his words. It was like when they met a week ago, and he saved him from Marley's bullying. He wanted to repay him, so he decided to let him know that he felt the same way. "If you weally mean what you said just now... then I pwomise I won't wun away evew again."
Rocky was glad to hear that Zuma was serious about staying. Or, at least he was gonna think it through better if he decided to leave again. The two of them hugged in warmth and comfort, having a strong feeling that the two of them would always be close. They didn't know how close it would be yet, but they knew it had to be for a while if the feeling was so strong. Zuma wished he knew what these feelings of his were all about, but he was still glad to be back in Adventure Bay. Even if he was only gone for like, a day or so, but he was still glad to be back.
The two of them also had some more time before Rocky had to head home, and their ice cream was still far from getting cold, so they decided to get back to that. And there was one thing they were certain about: They loved each other's company more than just about anything.
Zuma singing My Light of Hope happened later on that same night.
