PPX: Zuma's First Month

Episode seventeen: Activities To Commend on a Rainy Weekend


It was early on day twenty three of Zuma's life in Adventure Bay, and Richie was watching Rocky and Zuma play in the front yard of his house. The two of them were playing a game of tag while making sure not to mess up Diane's garden. Rocky was currently chasing Zuma, who managed to throw him off by jumping off of a trash can. "I'm gonna get you Zuma!" That was when Rocky felt a drop of water touch his head, making him flinch before he looked up at the sky.

Zuma laughed a bit before noticing that Rocky had stopped. He looked back and saw him looking up at the sky. To him, it looked as if Rocky had spaced out. "Wocky?" Zuma looked up to the sky himself and saw that it was starting to rain with clouds starting to form above the two pups. This alerted Zuma in an instant, as he had an idea on how Rocky was going to react to rain. "Uh oh."

Zuma was well aware of Rocky's fear of water, as was Richie, and Zuma ran over to Rocky as he stated exactly what he wanted them to do. "We have to go inside; now!" Rocky and Zuma ran off to the porch with Richie having a towel ready for the both of them. They were covered by quite a bit of rain, so when they ran inside, they unintentionally started getting water on the floor. Rocky was relieved to be out of the rain, sitting down and smiling with Zuma being glad that he was okay. "Ah, that's better. No lack of dry land for this pup."

"You may need some help with that." Richie chimed in as he pointed at the ground with a smirk, guiding Rocky and Zuma to the mess of water they made in the living room. The two of them chuckled nervously, having realized what they did as a result of running in so quickly.


After Rocky, Zuma, and Richie placed the last towel down, Richie went over to the couch and picked up the TV remote. Rocky and Zuma joined him as he made a suggestion on how to keep up with how long this weather would last for. "That's the last of the towels. Let's see how long this rain's gonna last."

Richie turned the TV on as a female weather reporter gave some news that didn't have the happiest vibe to it. "It appears this rain will be going over Adventure Bay, among other places, for the remainder of the weekend. If you had plans that involve going outside, we recommend canceling them now."

This disappointed Rocky and Zuma, since it limited the amount of stuff they could do. Zuma was quick to show how much this applied to him. "We're stuck inside for thwee whole days? It was hawd knowing what to do enough with Wyder, Chase, and Skye on that seawch mission as is."

Rocky looked out the window on his side of the couch and was relieved when pointing out one positive. "At least we're inside a dry house during this time."

"Maybe I like getting wet." Zuma responded, feeling that playing in the rain could be a fun time. "Just bwing me an empty pool and we can make our own swimming watew."

"I doubt we can make that happen." Richie informed Zuma, and then he started encouraging Rocky and Zuma to find some fun stuff that they could do inside. "You guys still have some time before dinner. Maybe you can find a last minute activity to play inside." Rocky and Zuma looked at each other after Richie suggested that. Richie then put his hands on their heads before they could run off however, having just noticed their wet dog smell. "After I bathe you that is." Rocky flinched at the sound of a bath. He clearly didn't want to get wet again.


Zuma was in Rocky and Richie's room as Richie tried to get Rocky out of their closet, where he buried himself under some clothes to avoid taking a bath. Richie was trying to convince him to come out, making sure to stay calm so he didn't make things worse. "Come on Rocky, hiding will only delay the inevitable. Come on out and take your bath like a big dog."

"No! I already took a bath this morning! I don't require a second one!" Rocky shouted from underneath the clothes pile, showing a rare side of disobedience that Zuma had never seen before.

Zuma walked up to Richie and looked at him with confusion. Richie noticed and informed Zuma on how often this came up. "Bathing is kind of a touchy subject for Rocky, whether I have to give him one bath a day, or more. Thankfully, this is usually as bad as it gets whenever I have to bathe him."

Zuma giggled a bit as he thought of a scenario where Rocky would have to be bathed. "That must happen a lot with how often he's wowking on inventing and stuff."

Richie laughed a bit at Zuma's comment before getting an idea and spoke to Rocky again to help him feel more comfortable with a bath. "I have some of that green apple scented shampoo you like so much." Green is Rocky's favorite color.

Rocky peeked out from the clothes pile and looked confused about something from earlier today. "I thought we ran out."

"I bought some more after we picked up Zuma. It was supposed to be a surprise." Richie revealed, and Rocky then jumped into his arms happily, making the hybrid smile before walking off with him and Zuma. "That's better. Zuma, you can pick your own bubbles if you want."


Rocky was finishing up his bath with Richie making sure no bubbles got in his eyes when washing the soap off his head. As Rocky was being washed off, Zuma was looking at the kinds of bubbles he and Richie had to see which one he'd like the most. He had his sights set on the Ocean Breeze scented bubbles. He picked it out and brought it over to Rocky and Richie to confirm his selection. "This one sounds gweat."

Rocky and Richie got a good look at the bottle, laughing a bit before Richie pointed out how obvious of a pick that was. "As if we could expect any other choice." Richie lifted Rocky out of the bath and started draining the water. This led to Rocky shaking the water off of him, which got onto Zuma and Richie, making the former laugh. "Hey, come on Rocky. We only have so many towels."

Rocky grabbed one of said towels and started drying himself off as Zuma asked about why he hated baths so much. "You know the bathtub isn't as big as the ocean, wight?"

"Yeah, I do." Rocky admitted, knowing that his fear of water was irrational. It was just hard for him to get that memory of almost drowning out of his head. "Maybe it'd help if I knew how to swim?"

Zuma liked the sound of that, quickly making an offer that he hoped Rocky would be up for accepting. "I could help you! I was bown in a Coastal town. If anyone we know can help you become a pwo, it's me."

Rocky did find the idea of being taught by Zuma appealing. Still; he found it a little early, since it'd only been two days since he cut Nicky off. "That does sound great. I'll let you know when I'm ready for it."

Zuma smiled at Rocky's response with Richie then letting Zuma know that his bath was ready. "Bath is ready Zuma. And you have more than enough bubbles." Zuma snickered a bit at a possible undertone to that comment before smiling to Rocky and heading into the tub.


Rocky and Zuma were now done with their baths, and Zuma was looking out the window as Rocky was looking for a movie they could watch. He started humming some kind of melody that caught Rocky's attention when he picked out the movie he was thinking of watching. He went over and listened to the melody. He always loved the sound of Zuma's voice, whether he was vocal or not. Zuma noticed Rocky listening, and the mix flinched before smiling nervously as he replied. "I picked out the movie for us to watch. And I think you're caught up enough for it."

Zuma let Rocky show him the cover, which was shown to be a special for The Legend of Kion titled Jasiri's Past. This definitely had Zuma's interest, as he and Rocky found the time to watch episodes of the show when they could. He was always down for more of the characters from a show like this. "Jasiwi's owigin stowy? Sounds totally awesome!" Rocky and Zuma rushed over to the VHS player and put the movie in. Zuma was definitely excited to watch this special for the first time.

As Rocky and Zuma went back over to the couch, Mayor Goodway called them from the kitchen with some ravioli waiting for them. "Rocky! Zuma! Dinnertime!"

Rocky and Zuma looked at the disc and looked at each other before nodding, showing that they were on the same page. "After dinner."

Rocky set the disc down and went over to the table with Zuma. The two sat down next to each other as Zuma took notice to how good the food looked. "So this is what wavioli is? It looks weally good."

"Most food does when put in the right palms." Rocky pointed out, passing Zuma the parmesan so he could truly feel the tastiness of this dish. "The right combinations assist with that in many ways as well." Zuma licked his lips at the sound of what Rocky was implying. He'd been living in Adventure Bay for more than three weeks now, and he was still amazed at how much good food he'd been missing out on. If only his parents were here so his dad could see these recipes.


Later that night, Rocky and Zuma were watching Jasiri's Past with Richie, and they were currently on the last scene of the special. Rocky and Zuma definitely enjoyed it themselves, but Zuma had to question part of it after it was over. "So... why exactly did Janja want Jasiri to forget the good stuff with that memowy device?"

"They never really explain it. I think it was to remember only what kept her moving, and not what would hold her back." Rocky explained, hoping his theory made sense.

Zuma thought about it, and he didn't feel it would really align with what we see later. "Wouldn't the good memowies do that too?"

"Technically, yes, but Janja's kind of an idiot." Rocky admitted, and then he yawned before realizing how late it was. "Maybe we can discuss this more in the morning?

Zuma gave a thumbs up to respond, leaving Richie to stand up and rub Rocky's head before handing Zuma his blanket. "Goodnight Zuma. Sorry we don't have a spare bed for you to use."

"It's cool. I'm used to couch cwashing." Zuma assured Richie, and then he hugged Rocky while assuring him that tomorrow, they'd have plenty to do. "Something tells me we'll be able to find more to do when the day is young." Rocky smiled at that for many reasons; one of them being the optimism Zuma was showing. He has been growing more cheerful the longer he lived in Adventure Bay. And moments like this showed more than well enough for both of the pups to see.


The next morning, which was day twenty four of Zuma's life in Adventure Bay, Zuma was finishing up his breakfast, which was a basic, but very filling breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, and buttered toast. He took his plate over to the sink and thanked Mayor Goodway for the food as she accepted the dish. "Thanks Diane."

"My pleasure Zuma." Mayor Goodway responded, and then she gave Zuma a good idea as to where Rocky might be. "Rocky might still be in his and Richie's room. Maybe you can find something to play with in there."

"Okay, thanks." Zuma went out of the kitchen and into the living room, heading up the stairs after doing so. As he went up the stairs, he looked out the nearest window and saw that it was still raining. That news report wasn't kidding about the all weekend rain. He felt Rocky could use some cheering up, which he was about to start doing as he entered the room. "Hey Wocky. I know it's kind of a-" However, he stopped when he saw Rocky with a wedding dress and a veil.

Rocky felt this was awkward, quickly correcting what Zuma was probably thinking right now. "It's not what it looks like! Nicky sent me this the day after my birthday. He said it would help to 'show off my sensitivity' when we got married." Rocky sighed before admitting something else. "Richie tried to convince me to get rid of it because of that, but I never did. I don't know why."

"Sounds like a Nicky thing to do." Zuma stated as he walked up to Rocky, but then put his disdain for Nicky aside to ask about the wedding veil. "What's that cloth with the dwess?"

Rocky laughed a bit out of relief, glad that Zuma's attention was caught by curiosity over anything else. "Oh, this? It's a wedding veil." Zuma inspected the wedding veil upon Rocky's permission. He was surprised by how pretty it was. Having never heard of a wedding before, he was foreign to what stuff like this was used for. Rocky could see this and decided to explain what a wedding was. "A wedding is where two people who love each other with all their hearts formally and legally become a married couple."

Zuma had a pretty good idea of what Rocky was talking about thanks to memories of his mom and dad. "You mean like my pawents?"

"Exactly. It doesn't always work out, but it always symbolizes the love that's held by both partners on that day." Rocky explained, and then he went back to the veil by darting his eyes down to it. "This veil is worn by the bride, and she uses it to cover her face while walking down the isle." Zuma gave a confused look at that with Rocky explaining what he meant. "Weddings most commonly take place in a church."

Zuma took note of that, being curious if he was able to get married despite liking boys. "So does Nicky sending you this stuff mean you two could've gotten married too?"

"Yes. And thank God we didn't." Rocky answered, backing it up with something else he felt Zuma should know about. "Some places in the world don't allow Gay marriage," Zuma looked at Rocky as he mentioned that. "which makes me even happier that Adventure Bay does. If I ever do get married, I'd want it to be in a town like this. It wouldn't have to be exactly like Adventure Bay of course. Just one that's friendly to a pup like me."

This gave Zuma an idea on what he and Rocky could do. He wasn't entirely knowledgeable on this whole marriage and wedding stuff, but he still felt it could be interesting to do. Grabbing the wedding veil gently, he offered his idea to Rocky with a smile on his face. "What if we twy that wight now?" Rocky flinched as Zuma mentioned that, leaving Zuma to explain why he came up with it. "We can weenact the idea you have for the pewfect wedding. If you wanna shawe it that is." The smile Rocky had on his face after hearing that made it clear what his answer was.


About an hour later, Rocky and Zuma had every detail set up for the roleplay wedding according to Rocky's idea on how it should go. Rocky wasn't wearing the wedding dress and veil as expected, but was instead wearing a puppy tuxedo Richie got for him at some point. It was most likely part of Rocky's love for being as prepared as possible for anything. On the opposite side of the room, Zuma was wearing the dress and veil. He didn't like the feel of it, but he wanted to wear it so Rocky didn't have to feel like he was enabling Nicky's actions.

After making sure the dress and veil were on right, Zuma got to making sure he did the steps right through Rocky. He knew how important getting every detail right was for Rocky, so he didn't wanna mess up no matter how minor the mistake was. "So Wocky, what am I supposed to do fiwst?"

"I don't know. I never did full research on how weddings were paced." Rocky admitted, showing that he was never really all that prepared to go all the way with Nicky. Perhaps his mind would change in the near future. For now, he and Zuma decided to just roll with what they had. "I know we'll have to start the music before you walk down."

"That explains the jukebox." Zuma replied, leading to Rocky looking at the radio on Richie's bed. He went over to it and started picking the right track. Zuma stood across from Rocky as he waited for his signal. "Let me know when you pick the song you want."

Rocky continued surfing through the music to find the right song. He wanted to make sure the song perfectly captured the feeling of two people getting married. After ten switches, he found the exact song he was looking for. "Perfect! We're good Zuma!"

Zuma heard the call and started walking down the room to Rocky's side with both of them smiling widely at the experience. Seeing Rocky standing at the other end of his path gave Zuma feelings he'd never felt to this magnitude before. He didn't quite know how to express them, but he felt something similar to when he lived with Paleclaw. Except... this was much greater. The sight of Rocky standing before him now felt magical, like a fairy tale, except real. And he was the main character, finally getting the big break they deserved after their treacherous journey.

Rocky felt the same way, but was having a harder time hiding it. Despite the way things ended with Nicky, he felt the desire to be with Zuma. Still; his mind told him to wait. He only cut Nicky off three days ago. The last thing he needed was another failed relationship. He had to know for sure that Zuma was the one for him. Just looking at Zuma made Rocky feel so happy on the inside. His heart couldn't stop overwhelming with joy. And containing it was easier said than done for the pup.

Zuma kept walking towards Rocky with both of their smiles as obviously happy as could be. Rocky couldn't contain himself much longer and tugged on both of his ears gently enough to avoid hurting, but he could still feel the tugging. Despite how obviously deep the feelings they shared were, they failed to notice the other's blushing. They were too nervous to do so. Rocky took Zuma's paws as he noticed him waiting patiently. The two looked into their eyes as they tried to think of what to do next. After all, no one was in the room to read the vows.

Just then, someone spoke and made Rocky and Zuma flinch as they looked towards the door. "If anyone objects to the marriage..." Richie was standing there snickering as he finished what he had to say. "Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Rocky and Zuma ended up objecting to the idea in sync with both of them blushing as they did. "This is only a pretend wedding! We weren't actually going to kiss! Wait; we weren't!? Then what were we supposed to do next!? I don't know!" Rocky and Zuma then blushed a deep red and looked away from each other with Zuma using his floppy ears to cover his eyes and Rocky put his paws on his cheeks while moving them down in the process.

Richie tried to hold in his laughter while deciding to distract the pups from the blushing messes they were. "Come on you two. Let's find something else to do." Richie headed off with Rocky and Zuma looking at each other as they continued blushing. They had faint smiles when walking off, showing how much they loved the event. Even if it was only pretend.


Zuma was playing his guitar later that day as he tried to think of good lyrics for his song, but he couldn't stop thinking about Rocky. The amount of joy he felt when walking up to him in that wedding attire was too strong. He couldn't see himself willingly wearing a wedding dress of veil at a real wedding, but it worked really well for a pretend wedding. The feelings he had for Rocky were holding tightly onto him, like he never wanted to let go and instead just cuddle them to no end. His humming started to get disoriented because of how strong these emotions were.

Zuma set his guitar down and tried to think of a good way to cease these thoughts and focus on the song. Not that he didn't love thinking about Rocky, he just had to finish the song. He looked out the window and paid as much attention as he could to the rain in the hopes that it would help. It definitely gave him inspiration for song lyrics. Of course, it was then backed up by Zuma thinking about Rocky's hatred of getting wet. Then, the thought of putting a towel over him for comfort entered his mind.

Just then, Zuma heard the voice of Rocky himself, which made him flinch upon hearing it. "Stuck on songwriter's block?"

Zuma looked to see Rocky sitting next to him, unaware he was trying to avoid showing his feelings too much as well. It was much harder for both of them while they were looking at each other. Just a gaze was enough for their feelings to start rising like no tomorrow. Zuma did his best to continue the conversation so things didn't get awkward. "You could say that. I'm not suwpwised though. I've done it mowe in this past month than I've ever done befowe in my life."

Rocky could believe that with the environment Zuma was in before arriving in Adventure Bay. It made him wanna hear Zuma sing more so he could keep feeling supported. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Not unless you know how to cwaft a guitar that can write for you." Zuma joked, leaving him and Rocky to laugh together.

"Sorry Zuma. That's beyond my skill level." Rocky replied, and Zuma shrugged as he played a couple more notes on his guitar. Somehow, smiling and joking around with Rocky made it a little easier to focus on the song. But not by much. Rocky started listening to Zuma playing some more with his smile being formed all too clearly. Although Zuma still couldn't figure out the lyrics he wanted for the song, he was glad to have Rocky listening beside him. He always enjoyed his company, whether he knew how to handle these newfound feelings for him or not.


On day twenty five of Zuma's life in Adventure Bay, Rocky and Zuma were watching the news with Richie with the weather reporter giving them, along with many others some happy news. "It looks like the rain that's been covering Adventure Bay for the past weekend is finally coming to a close! If any of you lovely citizens had to postpone your summer fun plans, get ready to put them back on as soon as tomorrow morning!"

Rocky and Zuma cheered with excitement over the rainy weekend being over with Richie getting a text from Ryder. After reading it, he couldn't help but laugh and show the happy pups. "Guys, check this out." Rocky and Zuma looked at Richie's phone with Ryder having posted Chase posing in front of Skye snuggling with a fluffle of bunnies. And yes, that's what a group of rabbits are called. The captions read 'Finally with her spirit animal, as Chase would say.'. Zuma looked at Richie with a clear look of curiosity. "Rabbits are Skye's favorite animal."

"And yet she decided to stawt mimicing biwd calls." Zuma pointed out, laughing a bit with Rocky and Richie over it. Still; from the looks of it, Skye was enjoying herself quite a bit on whatever this weekend long mission the Paw Patrol had was for.

Rocky then went over to the window and looked outside to find that the rain was still pouring, just as the weather reporter said. "One more rainy day inside it is! What should we do?"

Richie saw an opportunity to give Rocky and Zuma some more alone time. After standing up, he started his setup for this very event. "Well I have to make sure Ryder, Chase, and Skye managed to finish their mission before deciding to hang out with the fluffy, cotton tailed locals." Richie winked to Rocky outside of Zuma's view, leaving Rocky surprised as he then made the two an offer. "Maybe I can get you guys the pillows from my room for you to make yourself a pillow fort with."

Zuma liked the sound of that with Rocky expressing how much fun it would be to do with Zuma. "Oh; that'd be so much fun! Maybe we could make a pillow tower with it for the archer to stand watch on!" Rocky then flinched before looking at Zuma and trying to make sure he wasn't being too forceful. This also resulted in the first of many gay panics he would have later down the line. "If you want to that is. We don't have to make it like a real castle. Does that sound like guilt tripping? I swear it's not guilt tripping!"

"Hey, hey, you're all good." Zuma assured Rocky, who sighed of relief in his head before Zuma made a suggestion about the pillow fort. "Let's get what we need for the pillow fowt and see what we wanna do once we have evewything."

"That would be the most ideal first step to lead to the best case scenario." Rocky responded, and he did his best to contain himself while walking off to Richie's room with Zuma and Richie. "Super fun pillow fort it is!" As the three were heading upstairs, Richie could see clear as day how serious Rocky's feelings for Zuma were. He didn't want to rush them, but he also hoped his relationship with Nicky wouldn't make him too scared to start another one.


A few minutes after watching the news, Rocky and Zuma were building a pillow fort in the living room. After setting up the last pillow, the two backed up so they could get a good look at it. The pillow fort was only one story, but it still looked like it'd be fun to hang out in. The two pups gave smiling nods to each other before stepping inside. Zuma even managed to put his guitar right next to him for when he wanted to practice. The two friends were sitting next to each other, blushing while smiling as they realized how close they were.

Zuma decided to start playing his guitar to get rid of the awkward silence. Rocky loved Zuma's guitar playing, so he didn't mind this one bit. Actually, he loved everything about Zuma. His gorgeous chocolate colored fur, his friendly and laid back nature, his love for the ocean, his passion for music, his sexy- Whoa; calm down there Rocky. After having those thoughts on his mind, Rocky decided to ask Zuma about the song he wanted to write. "So. Any luck with writing that new song?"

"Yep. I even thought of what I want it to be about." Zuma looked to Rocky as he offered to let him hear what he had in mind. "If you like, I can sing the pwototype for you."

"I'd love that!" Rocky exclaimed, and then he composed himself before saying that again much more calmly. "I mean it. I'd love that."

Zuma held his guitar and started picturing the lyrics that were on his mind. However, his newly found feelings for Rocky made it hard for him to start. He didn't wanna choke and mess up the song in front of Rocky. "On second thought, I think I wanna wait a little longer. It might sound stupid now."

Rocky didn't want Zuma thinking that way. He never wrote a bad song in his eyes. He placed a paw on his shoulder and assured him of this. "You haven't had a bad song yet. At least if you ask me." Zuma smiled in response to Rocky's praise, and Rocky smiled back as he finished what he had to say. "And I definitely won't think it's stupid." Zuma decided to take Rocky's word for it and started playing. The melody was a soft, yet optimistic one. Richie was revealed to be coming down the stairs, and when he heard Zuma start playing, he decided to listen.

Zuma played for a couple more seconds to get the tempo just right before he started singing As The Rain Pours. "The sun is shining bwightly, and I just love the feeling. It makes me feel so happy, it's what we're always needing. But when the clouds come by, I don't stawt to get sad. I don't stawt to get mad. I still twy to stay glad."

Zuma smiled as he saw Rocky enjoying the song, so he kept playing to finish up the song. "As the wain pouws... I don't let it bwing me down. As the wain pouws... I still find fun things to do today. I watch it pouw... and my excitement still soars. So I still look for fun things to dooooo... as the wain pouws."

Zuma played a bit more as Rocky chimed in with some thoughts about the song. "Let me guess. This is about our rainy weekend."

Zuma nodded his head yes in response, and then he got back to singing. "Even though I miss the sun, I know he'll be coming back out soon. It's just a little hawder than, when he gives his place to the moon. Still, I don't let that tell me, to stop enjoying my day. There's still a lot that I can do, and I still wanna play."

Zuma played a few more strums and then sang the next part of the second verse. "I watch it fall... and I think of what else to do. I can still have fun... when I'm twapped inside too. At least I know... I'm not welegated to chowes. So I look for something I can dooooo... as the wain pouws."

Zuma played for a bit more with Richie sitting next to the pillow fort as the third verse was about to begin. And that verse began as soon as Richie sat down. "And I'm not alone anymowe, I have fwiends who can help me. I can have some fun with them, I'd have to be blind not to see. I can always count on them, whether it's sunshine or wain. I don't have to let my fun day end in vain."

Zuma played a few more strums on his guitar before singing the second part of the verse. "Whether it's video games... or something more active. I'm up for anything... that the day has to give. When I'm with those I love... there's always open doows. So I'm up for finding something to dooooo... as the wain pouws." Zuma played a few more strums before singing the final part of the song. "As the wain pouws." Zuma finished with a climactic final strum before looking to Rocky to see what he thought. "So what'd you think?"

"Is that even a question you're required to ask? I loved it!" Rocky responded happily, making Zuma smile as Rocky hugged him, much to his joy as he wrapped his arms around him. "And you thought the song was gonna sound stupid." Zuma laughed a bit as he and Rocky continued hugging, and Richie was shown to be smiling next to the pillow fort. He could tell that Zuma was loving it in Adventure Bay. And the last verse of that song would've destroyed any doubt if he had it. He was glad that the Chocolate Labrador finally found a place he could call home.


Rocky and Zuma were currently beating up what looked like a life size doll version of Nicky in Rocky and Richie's room. Rocky currently had him pinned down with Zuma punching him in the face while Rocky taunted him. "And this is for exploiting Zuma's peanut allergy! (Looks at Zuma) I know he never admitted it outright, but I think it's pretty obvious."

"Sounds wight to me." Zuma replied as he continued to punch 'Nicky' in the face. "You think the cops in Foggybottom managed to lock him up?"

Rocky couldn't deny how unsure he was of that one. The only proof he and the others had against him was their own testimonies. That could only get them so far on their own. "I sure hope so Zuma. Since he's still a young puppy, I doubt he'll get life in prison."

Zuma punched 'Nicky' again and continued to do so while adding to the discussion. "You're pwobably wight. They can't just do nothing about it though." Zuma elbowed 'Nicky' in the chest while finishing what he had to say after going back to punching him. "The stuff he's done to us is no joke."

"And that's part of why the next time he comes for us, we should at least try to get a photo." Rocky added, letting Zuma twist 'Nicky's' arm as he backed up that statement. "Knowing him, the next thing he'll try, if anything, is also gonna be serious." Rocky touched his cheek to ease the already vanished pain from when Nicky punched him. "I just hope it's not too serious."

"Like when Chawm attacked Adventuwe Bay?" Zuma asked sincerely, and Rocky laughed a bit while nodding his head yes. He couldn't deny how ironic the comparison was. Zuma also couldn't help wondering something about the way Nicky treated Rocky. "You said pawt of the weason you didn't want the others to kill Chawm is because you think your dad did something to make him the way he is." Rocky nodded his head yes to show that he was listening. "Did Nicky ever bwing up why he's the way HE is?"

Rocky shuddered at a painful memory he had of a time when he asked that question to Nicky himself. "No. I tried asking him once. Big mistake." Zuma could see that Rocky was hurting and offered him a hug, which he accepted after smiling. It warmed Zuma's heart that Nicky's abuse didn't lead to Rocky being afraid of physical contact. The two pups enjoyed each other's warm embrace as the screen faded to black, ending the episode off.