Stick Together

[Patch]

(OCC: Penny and Patch one-on-one thread. February 23rd, early evening. Almost time for bed type of thread)

Patch was embarrassed by the training they had today. His sister was watching some of the villains fight and she got a bit scared, leaving Patch to ask a few to take it easy only to get laughed at or scoffed at. If it wasn't for Mechakara he'd be considered a pest and squashed at. Patch whined, glad that Mechakara or DarkHeart wasn't here and more importantly with the grown-ups talking about whatever. He felt his sister was on thin ice of leaving him because she was only here for a day and knew that he was a traitor. He did all he could to please her despite her protestations that she was happy to be with Patch and would stay even though she wanted all of the family to be together.

"Patch. Patch, talk to me"

Penny. Great. She was in the room. Patch covered himself up even tighter and whined, embarrassed at what he was right now. "Just leave me here to my pointless shame" He responded

[Penny]

Penny walked in seeing Patch upset as she walked over to him.

"Patch. Patch. Talk to me." said Penny.

Hearing him speak again she frowned in annoyance.

"well you're right about one thing. It is pointless. I chose to stay here with you Patch. I know these guys aren't the good guys. They have the old mad lady Cruella and Jasper here after all. I wish you wouldn't be sad. You want me to get Mechakara? You always seem happy when he's here." said Penny.

[Patch]

Patch looked up. She was right. Penny always was right. She never had time for pointless shaming. She was also right about her choosing to stay, that alone convinced him to listen to her. Patch wiped his face and sighed, embarrassed still. The poor pup was stressed out and yet he wouldn't change this stress for anything. He shook his head "Nah, I wanna talk to you. You're right. I should be here to protect you. Look how well that's turning out" He growled at the outside, hearing swears and slight pushings of the ground. God, he hated it here, Ask Thatguy was so much easier to deal with. He would stay for his sister and master though. He would deal with this place

"Facilier's just different. I wish he wasn't so harsh around me and you. I just want things to be easier for you. Since you have to deal with someone like me" Patch responded, a bit depressed

[Penny]

Penny smiled glad she was cheering up.

"I'm glad you're feeling better Patch. I hate to see you upset." said Penny.

She paused hearing the swearing and clashes of swords as she winced.

"It's not so bad. You're a great brother. I'm glad you're here. I wouldn't want to be here alone." said Penny.

She smiled as Patch spoke again saying Facilier was different.

"What do you mean different? Weren't you guys always with Facilier?" asked Penny.

She was unaware of the villain army splitting in two. She paused hearing Patch again and shook her head.

"Stop it! Stop putting yourself down. You saved us from Cruella and her crazy henchmen. You befriended Thunderbolt. You're a hero Patch. You only joined here because of your friend Mechakara." said Penny.

[Patch]

Patch smiled at Penny's comment of him being a good brother and the fact she was pleased to see him feel better. Only for his feelings to crumble at the fact he forgot to mention they weren't always two sides of the villains. Patch shook his head "No. But Mechakara says Facilier was good. I'm not too sure but Mechakara keeps me safe, so I trust him enough" He then scratched his ear "I made sure to remember to tell you. God knows how I forgot" Patch then turned to Penny as she demanded him to stop pushing himself and bringing doubt upon himself. Patch smiled, out of all his siblings, Penny was the one to look out for him the most. Sure Penny had others who kept her attention but Patch always went to Penny for guidence, for support and for friendship. One would definitely confirm that Penny was Patch's favorite sister. Sure Freckles broke his heart but it wasn't anything compared to Penny's approval. He had it now and would never give it up.

"You're right. I did join because of Mechakara, because he and his family are good inside just misunderstood but right now I need to keep you safe and be loyal to the side I'm on. Heh, I know I can always count on you when I feel down. But I should be doing what siblings should do, protect my family. You mean a lot to me Penny" Patch admitted, calm as he could be now.

[Penny]

Penny smiled listening to Patch.

"So the army split in two? And Mechakara went with this group? But you wish you were still on the other one?" asked Penny.

She smiled as Patch said he forgot.

"It's ok. A lot has happened since you got here. Looks like you're the only person to be in all three armies." said Penny.

She smiled as Patch smiled again as she told him to stop putting himself down and agreed with her.

"But what are we supposed to do Patch? I mean we're just puppies. We're not big and strong like Thunderbolt or Mom and Dad. Most of the army probably thinks of us as a nuisance." said Penny.

She smiled at Patch and grinned.

"You mean a lot to me too. I wish there wasn't a war. So we be with Cadpig, Rolly, Freckles, and Pepper and not have to choose between them and Mechakara and his daughters." said Penny.

[Patch]

Patch nodded in confirmation about what Penny asked about two villain---er misunderstood sides. Patch smiled seeing her smile, it made him happy to see her pleased. The pup responded calmly though "Well yeah. This side is powerful but Ask thatguy was safer. I can't do anything you're right but we might as well just stick together the war we know how" Patch then thought of possibly sneaking about to investigate but decided quickly againist it, knowing he would be in big trouble once caught. Patch then felt a thousand times better at the confirmation of Penny's concern for him. He meant a lot to her, just as much as she meant a lot to him.

"Me either sis. I wish things were simpler too. I wish things weren't so complicated and things wouldn't mean leaving someone for another. Right now though? We need to let things settle down and survive together, as siblings and hope our families are ok" Patch didn't want to sound so naive but he knew this was all he could possibly do and not hurt anything. Patch smiled and nuzzled his sister, simply because he cared for her so much.

[Penny]

Penny listened to him and shook her head.

"The safest place is back home. We're in a war zone Patch. It doesn't matter where we are. Here, Ask That Guy's house or Critic's house. We're all in danger the longer this war goes. We could get hurt or worse. I wish we could get take Cadpig and the others and just leave this war. We could go someplace safe and let the armies fight. We'd just get in the way or get hurt if we try to help." said Penny.

She paused as he spoke again.

"You're right. We should just let things settle down. I just wish we could be useful." said Penny.

Patch nuzzled her and she smiled nuzzling him in return giving him a hug.

"I'm glad you're here Patch." said Penny.

[Patch]

"I know. I meant the safest warzone was ask thatguy or critic's. I meant Facilier's side is just not one I like overall" Patch admitted. He quickly responded though "You're right about it always dangerous around here but if we leave it'll be worse, mostly because they taken pretty much the whole city and we have no place to go just yet. We need to stay because there isn't other options" He sounded firm and quick to this decision. No way was he gonna hide away now. It was too late for that.

Patch then nodded as Penny finally confirmed staying here and settling down would be the best thing. Penny's comment of being useful made Patch respond back "You're useful Penny. You're my sister and you help me through rough times. If that's not useful I don't know what is" He nuzzled Penny again and hugged her tightly "I'm glad you're here too Penny. You're the best thing to happen to me in this war stuff"

[Penny]

Penny listened to Patch as he spoke. She didn't completely agree but she knew he was right. They were stuck here basically. She knew Patch woudln't leave without Mechakara and his daughters. And she doubted they'd join the Critic's army any time soon.

"So we're both right. It's not really safe anywhere. But we have family here and at Critic's house. It's not fair. Families and friends shouldn't have to fight each other. What if they make us fight? What if we have to fight Pepper? Or Darla? Or Cadpig? Or Rolly? Or Freckles? I... I don't think I could do that." said Penny.

She smiled as he said she was useful and helped him through tough times.

"I'm useful as a sister. But that's it. I mean the army doesn't need us. They probably don't even want us." said Penny.

[Patch]

Patch confirmed Penny's response about being right with a simple nod. They were stuck here and even though Penny prefered other decisions, Patch had a sense of loyalty to Mechakara and his two daughters. He would rather have both families be allies and make it simple but that sure as hell wasn't going to happen. Patch nodded again at the mention of their families and responded "We won't have to! Mechakara promised he wouldn't let us hurt them and they won't hurt them either! Don't worry about that!" He sounded so positive. After all Mechakara promised, it wouldn't happen ever right?

Patch then dropped his ears a bit at Penny's true message that it was possible that the army didn't need nor want them. Patch tried to deny it and reason that they were useful "Come on Penny that's not true. We're small enough to spy if we needed to, we could take vauable weapons or lists. There's plenty of things. Just we need a chance is all"

[Penny]

Penny listened to him again as she spoke. She shook her head.

"How can he guarantee that Patch? He's not one of the leaders. Cruella wants us dead and our family too. And Facilier, Rita, and Malachite don't seem to care much for us either. What if they get hurt or worse? This is a war Patch. Mechakara can't be everywhere." said Penny.

She looked at her feet sadly. She looked up as Patch tried to say they could be spies and carry things. And she shook her head.

"I couldn't be a spy. As for carrying things you think someone's going to want dog slobber all over weapons or lists? Be reasonable. The only reason you're alive and still here is because Mechakara wants you as a pet. I'm only alive because I'm your sister. They'd have killed us or thrown us out if Mechakara didn't want you." said Penny.

She didn't meant to be harsh but it was the truth. Mechakara and his two daughters Dark Heart and seven of Eleven seemed to be the only ones who cared about her and Patch as far as she knew.

[Patch]

"He's a robot though. He is in good terms with the leaders and promised loyalty for our safety. Besides, Cruella's a human and as I said before, Mechakara's a robot. If all else fails we'll just have to think smarter than they do. Even though you have a point" Patch responded, he didn't sound pushy, just determined to assure Penny. He was her brother and that's what brothers normally did. Assure their sisters.

"Yeah... That's true. Being spies would be pretty useless. It wouldn't look easy since we're dogs and all. And yeah if it weren't for mechakara, we'd be dead. But we're here now and if it'll make you feel better I'll ask Mechakara to keep a eye on Cruella and Jasper" Patch assured. He understood that the robots were the only ones that seemed to care. He understood that the pups were useless in some areas. But he was not going to let Penny be scared for her life in a situation where lives were taken quite often. She needed to be strong and so did he.

[Penny]

Penny looked at him and sighed.

"He cares for you Patch. I get that. He's a good friend. But he's not one of the leaders. What if Cruella finds us? She hates us Patch. She still scares me." said Penny.

She paused as he addressed her concerns that being spies wouldn't work and they might be dead if it wasn't for Mechakara. He'd ask Mechakara to keep an eye on Jasper and Cruella. She nodded.

"Although there are a couple kids here. Like Gi and Olive. Maybe we could hang out with them. Gi seems close with Dark Heart at least." said Penny.

If it didn't work out at least they'd tried to make some friends here.

[Patch]

Patch knew he was treading on a dead horse. So he nodded firmly. She was right. He was not invincible just because his owner was a robot. Cruella wasn't stupid. She knew how to get around anything. "I know she does. That's why if she has a problem she'll deal with me. I don't care how small I am. I'll be darned if she comes near you" Patch adressed assuringly. Sure he was small but size didn't always count. Even in war situations.

Though... Being friends with Olive and Gi may give them a better chance. Patch nodded, perking his ears "Yeah. Besides, they seem pretty cool. After all. They seem to not have any problems with animals" Patch pondered "Come to think of it we could make friends with Shaggy too. Since he's had a dog from what I heard"