Stick Together

[Penny]

Penny nodded.

"Just be careful. Mechakara can't be around all the time. Perhaps we shouldn't wander around Patch. It wouldn't matter if it was the two of us or we were alone. She could still get us. We'd need Mechakara or someone we trusted with us at all times. It's not just Cruella. What if one of the others decides we're not useful. We can't cook, we can't fight. We can't be spies. We just get in the way or get hurt if we tried anything." said Penny.

She sighed wishing there was something else she could do.

She paused as Patch nodded agreeing Olive and Gi were pretty cool. And then mentioned Shaggy.

"Yeah. Shaggy sounds like he'd be fun to hang out with. He even looks like a dog. I wonder if he was human once. He certainly doesn't act like a monster. But I suppose he could be just being nice to us." said Penny.

[Patch]

"Yeah. We'll stick close. I have a feeling Mechakara's gonna be really busy with stuff. And you're right on it not just being cruella. It could be jasper, I still have a feeling he's acting to get on good terms" Patch agreed. He was a bit determined to help himself and Penny remain safe but she had a huge point. It was still dangerous even with Mechakara's efforts. While Mechakara was a robot, the leaders were magic and Mechakara said so himself that even he could not combat it well. Patch continued "Maybe we should just try to be nice to them all, to kiss up to them that way they'll enjoy our company"

He then smiled a bit at Shaggy, Olive and Gi. He liked those three, they were pretty nice compared to the rest of them. He then turned to Penny who commented that he was nice and acted more like a human than some monster "He probably was, he mentioned he is a werewolf. I like Shaggy, he seems sincere with liking us too. We can just stick around Olive, Gi and Shaggy if things get weird for us" He then responded with a sigh "Mechakara didn't always like Facilier in fact he was one of the first to call him out on his dark magic. I still don't get it. Why does my master feel he's a good guy?"

[Penny]

Penny nodded.

"I don't know. He's been acting nice from what I've seen. He didn't want us dead. That was Cruella. It was just a job to him. Maybe he has changed. I guess we should keep an eye on him. After all he would be a good ally to have as he probably knows Cruella better than we do if she tries anything." said Penny.

She paused as he spoke again.

"I don't know. Most of them are pretty scary. I don't really want to be friends with all of them." said Penny.

She paused as Penny agreed with him about Shaggy, Olive, and Gi. Then he spoke about Shaggy.

"A werewolf? The poor guy. Although I thought werewolves were only supposed to turn during the full moon or something. But he's always looked like a werewolf." said Penny.

She paused as he said Mechakara didn't always trust him and was the first to have a problem with him as her eyes widened.

"Oh no. What if Facilier put a spell on him? He is a sorcerer. Mechakara may not know he's being controlled." said Penny, worried.

[Patch]

Patch shrugged "Maybe but I don't want to just immediately believe it. I'm going to still be careful and I think you should not immediately agree with Jasper just yet. He might be lying, then again he might not be I'd rather be safe than sorry though" Patch may have immediately trusted some people but Jasper was not one of them. He'd be damned to endanger his sister's life, he was too much protective of her to even think of doing such a thing. His loyalty of family was a tad more important to him than that. He then sighed about her fear over the rest of the people "Yeah, they're not really nice either. Better stick clear from them, for all I know they could push us around for even trying to befriend them"

He did nod about Shaggy being friends with them and felt pity about Shaggy's predicament as a werewolf that was permanent. It was a shame, being something that you weren't for the rest of your life. It was something Patch wasn't fond of people who were forced into a situation that wasn't needed. Then Penny said a terrible theory about Mechakara, that Mechakara wasn't who he was anymore, the robot might be controlled to be Facilier's ally and was forced to work for the side that he never trusted in the first place. It was worse than treason, it was forced treason, enchanted treason. Magic was something Mechakara could not combat againist so it would've been unsurprising if Facilier quickly put a spell on his master. Patch's mind exploded with fear, worry, concern and some sort of twisted relief. If Mechakara was forced to be here, that meant that Patch had to find a way to rescue him, not to mention get himself and Penny out of this situation that was dangerous. Penny never even had to be here! She could've been safer with Ask Thatguy! They could've stayed with their proper friends! Patch never even had to leave! And if Mechakara was imprisoned, maybe so were Insano, DarkHeart, Seven of Eleven and rodney!

"Penny.... If he's being controlled and not knowing it. We most definitely can't stay, we'd easily be killed off once Mechakara was set free. And it may not just be him... Because DarkHeart and Seven are his kids and they didn't trust Facilier either. And Insano hates magic usually. DarkHeart, Seven and Insano along with Rodney may be controlled too" Patch said, fearful as he was previously. Patch bent his head and responded, looking to her with a look of defiance "That's it. I'm getting to the bottom of this. I'm going to find out why Mechakara left willingly when he didn't trust Facilier to begin with. There's something dark in this place and I'm going to find out what before something pops up and hurts you"

[Penny]

Penny nodded as she listened to him.

"Fair enough. But if he is serious he probably knows Cruella better than we do. He would know if Cruella might try to come after us or warn us." said Penny.

Penny nodded.

"Maybe we should stick with our family. And maybe Shaggy, Olive, DH, and Gi if they're nice enough." said Penny.

She paused as Patch spoke about her theory. She nodded.

"But there's no proof Patch. What if they did choose to join here? I wouldn't want to upset anyone if I'm wrong." said Penny.

She paused as Patch said he was getting to the bottom of this. She shook her head.

"Wait Patch. If Facilier and the others did brainwash Mechakara and the others they will be cautious. They might kill us. And all they'd have to do is trick Mechakara and the others with their magic into thinking someone else killed us." said Penny.

[Patch]

"Yeah. That's true. Jasper is pretty clever when it comes to knowing who his boss is. We can definitely depend on him if he's serious" Patch simply responded. He knew his place with jasper apparently was good but he didn't know for sure so he had to keep on his paws around Jasper still. He then nodded once more as Penny responded that being with the robots, their family, along with Shaggy, Gi, DH and Olive was a good idea. It was a good idea. Patch definitely felt a good link with those parts of the army. He then sighed sadly as Penny logically pointed out that they did not have proof. And that it would make them look bad if they were wrong. Patch was upset about this whole thing. He knew nothing yet the suspicion of the army was clear on his face. Penny then made him think a bit more broadly when she mentioned that the leaders would be cautious about the truth and kill them if they tried anything. And to clear it up by magic or something else.

Patch then spoke "But I don't wanna sit around and wait and see if I'm right or wrong. I won't be unsure about what's happening around here. I won't let the leaders know I don't trust them but I just have to find a way to clear things up about this army. I know that it's dangerous and that my life is on the line if I try it but I know that you'll get hurt even worse with magic. We do need to be careful and we do need proof but we can't get proof if we don't try to discover what's going on. I'm not asking you to want to get killed, I just ask you to privately help me and secretly get down to what's up with this place"

[Penny]

Penny nodded.

"Well he does care about money. Maybe if we can get him some he'd help us?" asked Penny.

Jasper and Horace had joined Cruella for money originally she'd thought. She wasn't sure why they kept working with her. Maybe they were afraid of her. She wouldn't be surprised at that. She was afraid of Cruella as well. She smiled knowing Shaggy, Gi, DH, and Olive would be good ideas for friends. Well once they got to know them anyway.

"I know. But getting yourself killed won't help Mechakara and the others either Patch. And I'm not letting you go alone. We're in this together. Besides this was my idea after all." said Penny.

She nodded as Patch said they needed to be careful.

"Of course I will. But we need to plan this out. Like I said we're no good to anyone dead." said Penny.

[Patch]

"I guess. If we can find the money" Patch responded with a firm tone. He honestly didn't really care about Jasper anymore, as long as he wasn't the main threat, Patch was ok with him around. The man seemed to be in anything just for the money, greedy sure but it wasn't cruel per-say not like Cruella was. She was a big concern. Patch then bent his head down sadly as he was suddenly extremely aware of how exactly dangerous his plight was. Especially since they could get killed for it. Penny's concern for him was through loyalty he was aware, but he felt like he should've done it alone. He knew that was pointless since Penny was damn stubborn when she wanted to be. Patch nodded "You're right. We can't get killed over it. It won't help anyone. We do need to be careful. I know you're in, that's what I was afraid of but I know I'm gonna need some help


Patch then thought of something as Penny described that they needed to plan out the issue. He responded "What if we talked to Insano? He seems to be getting more and more nervous lately. Maybe he's onto the same picture that we are"

[Penny]

Penny nodded.

"Then again how could we possibly find enough money for him? We're just puppies." said Penny.

She sighed guessing it was pointless. They couldn't really trust Jasper and they couldn't pay him. Guess he was out as an ally. She paused as he spoke again. She smile glad he wanted to be careful.

"Thing is if someone is brainwashed they probably don't know it. And I doubt Facilier told anyone else. But maybe Rita and Malachite helped him. The three are the leaders of this army after all. And it'd make sense. After all I don't think one sorcerer could overpower Mechakara like that. But three might be too much for him." said Penny.

She paused as he said they should talk to Insano.

"But what if he's under their control Patch? Or joined this army willingly? We can't confide in the wrong person or we're dead." said Penny.

[Patch]

"Maybe we can get Shaggy... Nah, I don't think we can get money from him either" Patch said sadly. Completely annoyed with the fact Jasper was a wing-man type of ally, the pup knew they couldn't depend on him at all or ever. He smiled when his sister smiled though, it meant she tolerated or liked what he was saying. He then sighed as the brainwashed probably weren't even aware of it. He nodded "Probably all three of them took control. It explains why they're all leaders and that they rebelled once Mechakara, DarkHeart and Seven of Eleven along with Insano and Rodney" He then paused also, worrying about the possible chance of getting killed for confessing to Insano

"Like I said, he's getting more nervous. Maybe he broke free. Sure he could just be in control still or nervous about betraying us, but nervousness comes from fear. Fear of something bad. Insano might know this place is bad. We might as well just keep an eye on him the most and check on him if we can't talk to him about the idea" Patch admitted finally

[Penny]

Penny nodded and sighed.

"Well perhaps if we find some money or treasure or something valuable we could get his help. Until then let's just be cautious around him." said Penny.

Surely they could find something valuable enough to get him to help. The topic then shifted to the brainwashed members including Mechakara and his daughters.

"But wait. What if there are others brainwashed? I wouldn't want to leave someone here if they don't want to be here. I wish there was a way to know for sure who came here willingly. And who's forced to stay here." said Penny.

She sighed as she listened to Patch again.

"But do you really know Insano enough? What if he's just nervous about a project? Or being around Facilier and the others? I mean a lot of the members here are pretty scary." said Penny.

She didn't want them to make the wrong move. Saying they should watch him she frowned.

"Let's say he is brainwashed. Or even had his spell broken? He's not going to say it out loud. He'd end up back under the spell again or might get killed himself. I don't want to put him in danger either Patch." said Penny.

[Patch]

"I agree with that penny. We'll be careful for now" Patch said with a hint of assurance. He wasn't really caring about Jasper anymore. He was more concerned about his plans about finding out who was brainwashed or not. The pup sighed, feeling guilty of only thinking about Mechakara "You're right. There could be other people unknowingly brainwashed. We can't just judge just because of suspicion. Bloody hell this is hard" Patch sighed, frustrated with this so much. He then nodded responsibly and commented out-loud "Of course I know Insano. Mechakara hangs out with him all the time" He then hesitated on answering more but eventually said it "That's true but he doesn't normally like magic, so it's gotta be true. He obviously is afraid of Facilier, before he acted just as calm as Mechakara did around them, now he doesn't like being around them as much"

Penny was right though. If they made the wrong move, it could spell disaster. He sighed once more "You're right. He could end up back as mind controlled or killed. We best keep our suspicions quietly then. Like just be weary of everyone and everything until something happens in our favor"

[Penny]

Penny nodded.

"If Mechakara and others are here against their will I want to help them. I do. But exactly can we do Patch? We don't have magic. We don't know how to make inventions like Insano. We don't even know how to fight. One wrong move and we're dead and they still have the others brainwashed. I just wish we knew what to do." said Penny.

She felt really sad now. Knowing there was a chance Patch's friend Mechakara was under some spell and there might be others. But what could the two of them possibly do to stop it? She listened as he said he knew about Insano. And that he doesn't like magic and is afraid of Facilier. Now he doesn't even want to be around them.

"Ok. But how would we know Insano is free from a spell? Like I said before we can't walk up to him. We could just get in trouble. I wish there was an easy way to figure this out." said Penny.

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[Patch]

Patch pondered and felt very insecure about what to do. As much as he hated it, Penny had a point. What could they do? They could get killed or worse if they decided to interrogate this problem any further than needed. He turned to her and sighed "We can do something but obviously not fight back. We can sneak around for clues when no one is watching, like when they're all training. Other than that, even if I am right about this problem, we still can do so much" He turned to his sister aware of her fears and went over, assuring her with nuzzles and a look of apoligy for making her freak out. As for Insano, that was a harder task, how could they find out about him without endangering themselves or him. That was a harder fish to catch.

"I don't know about Insano and I don't know how to prove it without causing suspicion. The way I see it is we keep this to ourselves for now and if we can look for clues when no-body is looking. Mechakara and the robots trust us but if they're under a spell they might not defend us against Facilier so we can't depend on a lot of people yet. Best we stay quiet I guess" Patch finally said, with tons of sadness and regret in his voice.

[Penny]

Penny smiled at him.

"Clue searching's good. Maybe spy on them. If any of them are brainwashed or Insano was we could know by spying on them. You spent the most time around them. If they really act differently then you would be able to tell." said Penny.

She paused and smiled as he nuzzled her as she nuzzled him back.

"I just want us to be careful. Darla and the others are safe with Critic. But I don't want anything to happen to you Patch. We don't have the others or Thunderbolt for back up here. We're on our own." said Penny.