It was just like any other night on patrol for Pixel, Ash and Misty after their training.
They continued to walk through Zou as they were accompanied by a large gorilla Mink called Blackback.
Blackback suddenly stopped and looked at the ground then pointed. "Quiet. Look here quickly."
Pixel stepped forward and saw a very shallow foot print that had been left along with some snapped twigs. "Is there an intruder?"
Blackback put his hand on his chin and looked serious. "We are usually very careful to not leave any traces behind so it cannot be one of our people unless it is someone with less training. It is best to be careful and report it right away."
Ash nodded. "You are right."
Misty remained silent as she looked around the area for other things out of place but she could not detect anything. 'It is just one footprint.. even if there is an intruder, the danger would not be high. Right?'
Blackback shook his head as if he knew some of his followers thoughts. "Although one person may have stepped here and had been confirmed, there are always chances that they came as a group. If so then they are very careful not to be discovered but one had a moment of carelessness. Pixel you go with me. Ash and Misty head back to the others and report this right away."
Ash hesitated. "But.."
Blackback looked towards her calmly and said. "I know your worries but she will not be harmed when I am around. I have watched her progress personally so she should be fine to accompany me this time."
Misty and Ash quickly left to find the other Night Guardians and sent a warning of a potential threat while Blackback and Pixel both followed the direction of the footprint.
The silently jumped from tree to tree with excellent speed then they saw a group of cloaked figures.
Pixel looked over them calmly and counted. '1..2..3..4..5..6..7. There is not that big of a group but we do not yet know their identities. Should we wait or attack? Hmm..'
She looked over towards Blackback who signalled her to stay in her place for now.
Although she and Blackback were not close enough to clearly hear the intruders, she could make out that their shape was not like a Mink and there was also a strange smell on them which was not very pleasant. 'It smells.. like some kind of thing that would make animals stay away or have trouble tracking them. What is their goal?'
By the time that they had tracked the intruders, the other two would have already made most of their way towards the Night Guardians so Blackback and Pixel watched from afar as the night helped to hide them within the forest area.
Another cloaked figure arrived but it had less of a human shape and the meeting within the forest had begun.
There were always weak areas for surveillance and there were also those that were aware of those areas so they would use those places for their own private meetings and purposes.
Within the location that the seven humans had waited, a disguised Mink had arrived and the discussion began and ended quickly. "And so.. you should be extra careful to avoid detection. I already gave you the times and routes for those patrolling the area. The boss wishes for you to handle these matters quickly and silently."
The Mink had suddenly froze as if they noticed something wrong. "I am going. You all must leave as soon as possible. If you get caught then do not leak a thing."
The Mink turned around and fled at a high speed without warning. 'They do not know much anyways. Even I do not know the greater details since I am just a disposable pawn.'
He was just one of many that had a poor life and little opportunities so he was forced to accept the aid of an unknown party.
One bad deed lead to a worse one until he reached his current stage where he was colluding with humans at the request of his benefactor or owner.
He no longer felt guilt for his actions because his suffering had been ignored by so many around him and those within power so he willingly took the hand of anyone that had offered it even if it resulted in the current situation.
Blackback frowned and then jumped down from the tree. "It is no use chasing them, if everyone has been informed by now then they should not be able to escape. We need to subdue these people before they can do any harm."
Just as he was about to step forward and attack, a figure appeared in the sky above the group.
At a moment where the weapons were being drawn as the humans had become anxious because of the warning, Pixel had jumped above them and released a large amount of Electro.
The Electro spread out and naturally went downward to the ground but the weapons and other metals on the bodies of the humans had attracted the Electro towards them.
In a single moment, a Discharge move had taken out all those within the area and prevented any of the weapons from being used upon Blackback.
Although she trusted Blackback to handle the situation alone, she saw the opportunity to strike once Blackback had caught their attention.
The large amount of electrical damage and the paralysis effects that had been applied made it easy for her to take them all out in one move as they were distracted.
Blackback looked over at the scene and sighed. "I did not get to have any fun.. kid, although it is good that you have helped out but next time you can put more trust in my abilities."
Pixel then pouted as she replied. "I do trust you but I do not trust those sneaky humans, who knows what tricks they would use if given the chance."
Blackback then nodded. "Fine.. you are right. It is an old habit of mine since I enjoy a good fight. Now I have a small child to tell me off and watch my back. Although it is nice, I still would have liked to test the humans abilities."
One of his biggest pet peeves was others interrupting an ongoing battle and since he believed that it had begun, he was not too happy to have his own interrupted but he also realised that it was best to end things quickly so although he was a little annoyed at Pixel, he had to let it go since they were on duty and had to act together as a team.
Pixel had used a given opportunity even if he did not ask for her interference and in the end, it was an effectively used strike that took down them all at once while he would have had to deal with them one at a time.
Pixel rolled her eyes. "There are more than enough strong Minks around for you to play with, why bother with the humans?"
Blackback smiled as he started to remove the dangerous items from their bodies. "Humans have many interesting things and have many ways of fighting. Although many are very sneaky and deceptive ways, they can be useful if learned. Having experience and knowledge of each of them will improve your chances of survival but learning their ways may open up new ways to improve your own combat skills."
He looked as if he was fondly remembering an old friend. "There is someone among our race that is known for their dangerous methods and he is very powerful because of it. However even I would not consider using such crazy tactics."
Pixel looked curious. 'I wonder who that must be.. sounds interesting.'