Protection Protocol: Team Sly

“C’mon! We’ll be fine.” Hiro waved off Buddy’s concern. “We have some feral pokemon to take care of!” She pumped her fists in enthusiasm.

“I just don’t think Carmen or the boss will be too happy we’re sneaking off like this.” Buddy hummed.

“If you didn’t wanna risk getting in trouble then you didn’t have to come with me you know.” Hiro crossed her arms and huffed. “I would have been fine on my own.”

“Ah, but here’s the thing.” Buddy smiled up at the purloin. “I did need to come. Someone needs to make sure you stay out of trouble.”

“Trouble srouble. I can handle myself.” Hiro waved off the concern, but she felt a rather pleased feeling settle into her chest. She was happy for the sandile’s company.

“I know, but even the most skilled adventurer can benefit from some backup.” Buddy focused on the path ahead of them. “You never know when something could go wrong.”

“Mmmm I guess.” She tapped her chin. “I guess I’ll let you tag along with me for the day then.”

“My my, how generous of you. I humbly accept this invitation.” Buddy snorted.

“Good! Cause we’re heading into the dungeon now.” Hiro adjusted her cape before strolling into the cave that served as the entrance of the dungeon. This should be fun.

—-

Hiro struggled to take in a breath as Buddy ineffectually tried to curl around her protectively. Things had gone south pretty quickly. Despite all the reports coming in of the increase in feral pokemon the two had failed to really understand what that meant. Buddy bared his teeth and snapped as a charmeleon tried to get close. It growled back but didn’t approach further. The duo had managed to take out a fair few of the feral pokemon they’d encountered but unfortunately had been overwhelmed by the sheer number that had appeared. “We need to get out of here.” Buddy said lowly. “Can you move?”

“N-not very quickly…” Hiro struggled to her feet. There was no way she was getting up on her back legs so it was all fours for now.

“Alright. Just stay close alright? I’ll get us out of here.” Buddy said with a confidence that helped ease Hiro’s nerves some. “Back up with me.” Slowly the two began backing out of the cave. Buddy was clearly doing his best to keep looking intimidating, but it couldn’t last forever. Finally the tension did break and Hiro braced for the pain even as Buddy did his best to shield her. The pokemon never connected though. Looking up she saw their savior: Enigma. The pokemon on their team that she frankly understood the least. It was just… well always hanging around and never speaking. Right now though? Right now they were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

“Get out of here.” Three overlapping voices called to them. Was that… Enigma?

Before she could think on it further Buddy urged her back more quickly than before. She watched in awe as Enigma surged forward and began thinning out the group of feral pokemon. It made her extremely happy they were on her side. She’d never seen Enigma fight, or do much really, but they were efficient. She supposed that wonder guard came in handy though. When someone could avoid a lot of damage they could afford to be a bit more direct.

The two waited at the entrance of the dungeon until the sounds of fighting deeper within slowly faded into nothing. A few minutes after the noise faded Enigma emerged. “Are you hurt?” They asked, all three heads looking down to regard the two smaller pokemon.

“Hiro took more of a beating than me.” Thankfully for Hiro, Buddy jumped in to start explaining the situation. “She can move well. Might have a broken leg. I’m… well I have nothing pressing.”

“Allow us to see.” Enigma held out a hand as it crouched down. Hesitantly Hiro shuffled forward and Buddy kept his eyes trained on her. Far more gently than she ever expected it began to inspect each of her legs until she flinched when they got to her back right leg. “Is it this one?” They asked. Despite their somewhat unsettling voice there was what felt like compassion there as well. She simply nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. “We will carry you back to the others. There it can be dealt with properly. Is this acceptable?”

Once again she nodded, not knowing what else to do really. Gently the zoroark fusion lifted her up and started walking off. “How did you know we were in trouble?” Buddy eventually asked after several minutes of walking.

“Chai noticed you were gone. I was sent to find you.” Enigma explained, not looking down.

“Are we gonna get in trouble?” Hiro asked tiredly.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Enigma spoke. “We believe you have learned your lesson. Though the decision ultimately falls to Chai. We will speak on your behalf though.”

Buddy smiled. “Thank you Enigma. For everything. You really saved us.”

“Of course. We would never let one of you get into trouble if we can stop it. We only wished we’d been able to stop you from going in the first place.” Enigma said, one head turning to regard Buddy. The conversation petered out from there and Hiro could feel exhaustion tugging at her. “Sleep. We will wake you once we arrive.” Well didn’t need to tell her twice. Her eyes slipped shut and it wasn’t long until sleep was claiming her.