I woke up what seemed like hours later, my body still in immense pain. I groaned as I looked down at my knee. "Fucking hell... That's bad..." I grimaced as I dragged myself over to a nearby tree, leaning my back against it so I didn't pass out again. I checked myself over, seeing if I had any more injuries. There was. I was covered in bruises, my right arm had a massive gash down it, my left ankle was broken and I could feel that I had at least 2 broken ribs. 

It was then that the pain hit me as my adrenaline wore off. "Fuck!! Aggghhhh!!!" I screamed, every part of my body in agony. But then I stopped myself. "Fuck... If he... If he knows I'm still alive... He might try and finish me off..." I groaned, looking around for any signs of... well... anything really. 

"I think he's over here! Come on!" Came a strange voice, much different to the cloaked Pokemon. "Okay! I'm right behind ya!" came another voice, a bit more affeminate than the last. I was certain both were male voices, but who they belonged to was a mystery. Hopefully they were helpful creatures. If not... I was dead for sure.

I could hear their movements getting closer, and then I made a decision that could have been disasterous. I called out, realising if they were good, I needed help as quick as possible, and if they were bad... I wanted to die as quickly as possible. "I'm over here! Aghh! H-help!" I called, my body still pulsing with pain. "We're coming! Don't worry!" Came the first voice again. 

Then they burst through the undergrowth. Two male anthro foxes. One was slightly bigger and clearly older than the other, and carried a spear with a refined metal head. They were both wearing leggings and t-shirts, and the smaller one was carrying a backpack. He looked a little wary, and it was blatently obvious he was around the same age as me. I looked at them both, and their faces dropped when they saw me. "Fucking hell... Treble get the stretcher out!" The older one bellowed at the younger one as he rushed over to me. "I'm on it Kumi." Treble replied, taking his backpack off and starting to assemble a stretcher, which looked pretty cool. 

Kumi looked at me. "Are you okay? Can you breathe?" He asked me. I couldn't speak, my body was too weak, so I nodded. "Okay..." Kumi replied. "My name is Kumiho, and this is Treble. We saw you fall off the cliff. We are gonna help you. Don't worry." He said in a calming tone, before helping Treble assemble the stretcher. 

Once they assembled it, they laid it on the ground beside me and Kumi went behind me, while Treble went in front. "Okay. I'm gonna need you to grit your teeth while we move you onto the stretcher. It will hurt but it's the only way we can carry you. Can you take it?" Kumi explained to me. I nodded back and gritted my teeth. "Okay Treble. On three." Kumi said, wrapping his arms around my chest. "Okay..." Treble replied, gently taking hold of my legs. "One... Two... Three!" Kumi said, and they both lifted me onto the stretcher. "Aggghhhh!!!!" I yelled out, the pain almost unbearable. "Shit... I'm so sorry... Are you okay?" Treble quickly said, realising he hurt my leg. I nodded and shifted a little so I was in less pain. 

"Okay Treble... Lets get him home." Kumi said as they both picked up the stretcher. Luckily I was quite light so they could easily take me. "Aghhh... M-my name... is N-Neo..." I groaned weakly as they carried me through the dense forest. "It's good to meet ya Neo. Don't worry, our medic will have you healed up in no time at all. He's a miracle worker." Kumi smiled.

After a few minutes I started to shift in the stretcher. "Agghh..." I groaned, my leg flopping off the side of the stretcher. "Fuck!!" I yelled as it hit a tree branch. "Shit! Kumi stop!" Treble exclaimed, keeping the back end up while he gently shifted me back onto the stretcher. I smiled at him. "Th-thanks... Treble..." I said weakly, making him blush a little. "Don't mention it Neo..." He giggled, before we set off again.

"It will be a while before we reach Zenith Cove, Neo. You can go to sleep if you want. You need to save your energy." Kumi said, his voice sounding much wiser than Trebles. "Okay... Thank you Kumi... Thank you Treble... For... Saving me..." I groaned, letting my eyelids gently shut. "No thanks are necessary Neo. Only a creature of pure evil wouldn't help someone in need." Kumi replied, his focus on making sure he and Treble moved at a quick pace but not so fast they trip and injure me further. "I really hope that Max is awake..." Treble said to Kumi. "He will be. I woke him up before we left. I knew we were gonna need his help. He should be ready to operate on Neo as soon as we get there..." Kumi replied. 

As I lay on the stretcher, questions were racing through my mind. Who were these creatures? How did they find me in this dense forest? Were they related to the cloaked Houndoom? Could these foxes be trusted? Would I be safe in Zenith Cove? Who is Max? How many more of them are there? and why am I still alive after that kind of drop? There was no way I would get any answers in this condition. The best thing for me to do is to conserve my energy, and hopefully when we arrive at Zenith Cove, Max will be able to fix me up and everyone can possibly explain whats going on. I opened my eyes and looked at Treble one final time. He was rather handsome, and he noticed me staring up at him, a light blush spreading across his face. "Come on Neo... You gotta get some rest. You are safe with us." He almost purred. In that moment I knew I was safe. Treble was definitely trustworthy, and so was Kumi. I nodded weakly and closed my eyes, drifting off as my rescuers took me to Zenith Cove...