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I woke up to a sudden feeling of pain at my back... and then I was slammed into a wall.

Instinct took over. I scrambled to get my legs under me and shut out the pain screaming from my back and my side. I had to get out. That was priority one - den, trapped; needed space. Get away.

I was still half asleep and wasn't sure what I was seeing, but I didn't need to. I knew my den. My legs moved and I was hurling towards the entrance, dashing to get away from whatever was attacking me...

"Not so fast!"

More pain, sharp and piercing, like what had first woken me. This time on one of my tails. Teeth. Something's mouth closing around it, tugging it backwards...

That hurt.

My vision blurred with the pain and sudden tears of my tail being yanked backwards. It took a second to recover...

I was on the ground of my den. My frayed blanket had been thrown to the side in my panic and had landed on one dark figure that crouched in the cramped space. That dark shape was glaring at me from underneath the blanket and making a low growling sound.

A sound that was being echoed from three other sources around me.

Four of them. Four snarling attackers. I had to get away, had to...

I cried out as I felt a sudden stabbing bite into one of my legs. I froze, not daring to move. The teeth were sharp, and I could feel the powerful jaw muscles behind them. If I provoked them, they could cripple me... or even worse.

"We have your attention now? Good." One of the shapes stepped closer to loom over me. It became clear enough to recognize - a Poochyena.

My eyes darted to the other figures and I filled in the missing details. All of them were Poochyenas, even the one still biting into my leg.

I looked back up at the one who had spoken. I let myself tremble a little - every Poochyena I had run into in the past had been bullies, and they all liked scaring victims. If this one thought I was terrified it might lead her to relax, or even cause her to make a mistake.

It helped that I was terrified.

"We have a mutual friend. You know who I'm talking about." The Poochyena's eyes narrowed a little more and the snarls around me picked up. "He gave you a job to do, 'pix." She spat the name at me like a curse, and some spittle landed on my face. I flinched and tried to slink even further to the floor than I already was. "We told him it wasn't enough to expect you to just do the job - even though he paid you more than you deserve, and kept you fed, and kept the cops off your back, and kept anybody from poking around this..." The Poochyena glanced around again with obvious disgust. "...'home'. But he told us you would. That you might waffle for a bit, but that in the end you'd come through for us."

One of the other Poochyena slammed into me, rushing forward so quickly that it broke me free of the grip on my leg and threw me into the other wall of my den.

It took me a second to recover, and the Poochyena was above me by then, pinning me down to the floor. Or was it a different Poochyena? My head was still spinning. She wasn't holding me down as forcefully as the other had with its mouth. There might be a chance to break free soon.

"But here you are, just like any other miserable, deceitful fox would be. No sense of gratitude at all. Huddling in this sewer instead of helping. Sitting around here, perfectly happy to leave us all to rot." She shook her head and shifted her weight, moving to stand right on the bite mark in my leg. "No. You're not going to do that, 'pix." The snarling started to fade, and I caught sight of the other Poochyena slipping out through the narrow hole that was the entrance to my den - well, narrow to me, anyways. The Poochyena were all smaller than me and slipped easily through it.

Leaving only the Poochyena standing on top of my leg.

"You're going to do the job you were given, tonight, and if even one piece hasn't been reduced to ashes smaller than my paw by the time the sun comes up..." She lunged forward suddenly and snapped her jaws together, the sharp teeth clamping loudly in the air right by my ear.

"We'll be back."

She turned and walked towards the entrance. "Do your job, 'pix. Burn that place down already." The Poochyena ducked easily back into the sewer and was gone.

I closed my eyes and slowly rose to my paws. My leg and neck hurt from where I had been bitten, and my side throbbed from where I had been thrown into the walls of my own home. I wanted to just lay back down on the floor and shut out the world, shut out everything until the pain went away...

But there was something important I had to do first.

I spent all night putting everything in place. I had to be careful... but I had done similar things enough times before. I knew what I was doing.

I snuck through the broken door of the strange store - the one with the flat roof that covered most of the pavement outside the store, where people brought cars to for some strange reason for a few minutes before they drove off again, often without even going into the building itself. I waited for the person at the counter to step away and I swiped the small container under the counter - it was heavy, and the sloshing liquid kept throwing off my balance, but I was still able to get away unnoticed.

I wrinkled my nose and tried to shut out the smell as I poured what I had learned from experience was an extremely flammable liquid at key points. I planned out in my head where the fires would need to start, how they would spread, what they would weaken and what they would allow to break apart. I was meticulous and careful, and made sure the fire wouldn't spread any further than the absolute minimum I needed from it.

I made sure to hide the pungent smell as best as I could, but that wasn't easy. Even humans could smell the nasty smelling fluid, and I didn't want to tip anybody off before I started lighting everything up. I splashed it as high up as I could manage, where the wind would carry it up and away from anybody on street-level, even though it meant struggling to climb with the heavy container and falling several times... but even though that hurt, especially if the container landed on me after the fall, I kept at it.

The Poochyena had not been making idle threats - my life was at stake. If I messed up, it would get bad. Fast.

It took most of the night - I had to stop whenever somebody came by, and I spaced things out so the wind would help dilute the strongest of the smell - but I pulled it off. I snuck the container and the remaining liquid back into the store I had stolen it from.

Then I went back to my den and waited. The closer to dawn, the better - then there could be people to help put out the fire if something went wrong.

The dawn approached. The sky slowly brightened and the cool black was replaced with gentle yellows, vibrant oranges, energetic reds. I had heard the word for this moment, and it was a pretty word, just like the sight itself was - one I didn't get to appreciate often enough. Twilight.

It was pretty.

Then it ended as the sun peeked over the horizon, shading the sky in its normal daytime blues.

The Poochyena arrived.

It was ugly.

The four of them walked boldly up the street towards me, but I knew that was an act. It was daytime now - the time for people and Pokemon of the day to wake up and go about their lives, the time for Pokemon like myself and the Poochyena to hide in our dens and sleep. They didn't belong out in the open now any more than I did, and they knew it. I could spot one looking openly nervous, but the rest hid it well. They began to snarl as they approached and fanned out into a half circle around me. They didn't bother with a full circle - if I ran towards the gap they had left then they would chase me; if I ran forwards, towards my den, then they would beat me to it... and then just beat me.

I sat calmly on the sidewalk and tried to keep my own nervousness under control.

"Did I hit your head too hard, 'pix? Can't help but notice there isn't a nice barbecue underway; pretty sure I told you what that would mean." The Poochyena shifted her posture, getting prepared for a lunge forward, and the rest followed suit.

"I told Raticate already. I'm not burning down somebody's home."

"Yes, you are. It's just a question of how much we're going to have to hurt you before you do."

I know they meant it to be a surprise, but I had spent too much time thinking about how this would happen. I saw the Poochyena to my right tense and begin to lunge forward as the main Poochyena finished speaking, saw him hurl towards me...

...and I let him do it.

The full body tackle sent me into the air and flying down the sidewalk. I got my paws under me in time and twisted to face back at the attacker, noticed a bit of discomfort in his expression - that particular move always seemed to hurt to pull off, no matter how expertly it was done - and landed light on the concrete. I bounced to the left, out into the street, inhaled deeply, and with a satisfyingly loud 'whoosh' sound I sent a torrent of sudden flame in the direction of my attacker.

The stream of fire was large, showy, and barely controlled. I grimaced as I realized how sloppy it had been - I was still hurt from the rude awakening earlier, but that was no excuse - and cut off the flow of fire. The smell of pure smoke filled my nose as a few licks of flame escaped into the air around my mouth, but I ignored it, instead focusing back towards my target.

I had missed the Poochyena.

The blast of flame must have passed by him closely enough to singe his fur, which stood out clearly on his dirty-gray fur, but it hadn't actually hit his flesh. He chuckled at me as he realized it too...

And then something slammed into me from behind and shoved me back towards the first attacker.

I let out a yelp and whirled as soon as my paws were back on the cement, unleashing another flamethrower attack towards the newest attacker... and while the reddish-orange flames were more controlled this time, the Poochyena was expecting it and dodged out of the way just in time to avoid anything more than a pleasant wave of heat as my fire shot harmlessly by.

The Poochyena began laughing. I had failed to hit them twice now and they were mocking me for it. I growled and exhaled fire in a circle around me, a quick blast that formed a half-circle between me and my attackers.

It was showy, flashy, not even that hot... and it had nothing to catch on. The flames skittered harmlessly across the sidewalk in search of fuel, but there was none. In only a second or two the flames had died out entirely.

Every Poochyena watched the fires fade uselessly away, still mocking me with laughter... and then the leader of the Poochyena flew towards me herself, knocking me onto my back. She pinned me to the ground and stood above me with a snarling expression full of gleaming teeth.

It was the perfect target. I couldn't possibly miss from this angle, not this close.

I inhaled deeply, feeling my lungs expand as they sucked in air... and the Poochyena leapt away as I unleashed the biggest torrent of flame yet, straight up into the air.

That took more out of me than I had expected - the column of flame was almost as thick as one of my tails, which for me was a lot of fire. And I was hurt, both from the earlier encounter and the hits I had just taken. It was harder to throw fire around than it would have been if I hadn't been distracted by pain and had been able to easily take the deep breaths I needed for the proper exhales.

I rolled off my back and rose back onto my paws, staring at the Poochyena... but I was panting for air, and I knew they could tell. Their expressions twisted into smirks and they leapt forward...

They slammed into me, each delivering a quick, light blow that was barely noticed on its own, then darting back out to make room for a different Poochyena to hit me. It all happened fast, before I could react - six quick strikes coming from all around me - then they sprang backwards, dodging out of reach when I finally managed to spit out another half circle of fire on the bit of sidewalk they had just occupied.

I wobbled and started to fall. I wasn't built for fights like the Poochyena were. They were bullies, plain and simple, and they were constantly getting into fights. That's how they made their living here, as dark types - if somebody needed to be beaten up, like I apparently needed to be, they went and did it. They spent every day getting beaten themselves, maybe even by each other, and they got up after each one and went right on to whatever else they wanted to do. They were used to fights. They knew how to hit an opponent, they were fast, and they were tough.

I wasn't.

I felt the leg that had been bitten buckle and give way, and I fell to the ground.

The Poochyena surged forward again, and I felt the quick impacts start as they used their Beat Up attack to pummel me in unison. One hit, two, three...

...then nothing.

Only three? There were six of them; what had happened to the final three strikes?

I realized I had flinched and closed my eyes after the first strike, and I carefully opened them. I was expecting some sort of trick - had they noticed I was curling inwards to protect myself, and were they waiting for me to open my eyes so they could force me to watch as their blows landed? I only opened them the tiniest amount, just enough to glance up and see what was happening...

The Umbreon was standing above me and growling at the half-circle of Poochyena. The final three hits must have landed on him instead of on me - the fur on his left side was ruffled, clearly having just been slammed into - but he didn't seem bothered by it at all. He must have dashed in to protect me.

No! What was he doing?! This was going to ruin everything!

The Poochyena shifted warily as they began to measure up their new opponent. I wasn't sure exactly what they were thinking, but I saw as they began to realize the situation had suddenly changed in a drastic way. I wasn't sure how strong the Umbreon was, but the confidence they had shown at the idea of beating up a single wimpy Vulpix had vanished. They were growing cautious, and backed up a step.

"What are you doing here? This isn't any of your business; go away." The Poochyena's leader spat the words as a command, but the arrogance that had been in her voice before was gone. I felt my stomach start to sink. This was about to get bad, really bad.

Did I need to buy more time? What could I do, was there any way to convince the Umbreon to leave, some way to do it without making the Poochyena even more suspicious? I rose back to my feet, trying to think as fast as I could, desperate to try and think of something...

...but it turned out I didn't need to. I had already done enough.

The Poochyena were scrappers. They knew how to fight, how to intimidate, how to batter and bruise and inflict pain, and how to keep doing it until they got what they wanted.

I knew that I was no match for them in that area. They fought for a living.

But I _thought_for a living.

The Umbreon started to open his mouth to respond to the Poochyena, but he was interrupted by a horrible, deafening CRACK!, followed by heavy thuds of impact...

...as the heavy branches of the trees that had been my true targets collapsed into the street.

The street was suddenly a raging inferno, as the trees I had spent all night lacing with flammable liquid could no longer support the weight of their own branches, and flaming logs were suddenly surrounding us all. The fires flared as each branch hit the ground, the sudden inrush of air sending it flying even further and carrying bits of the flammable liquid with it. My earlier fires had flickered and died out on the concrete and pavement, unable to find anything they were hot enough to burn, but that was no longer the case with the new fire. While all their attention had been on me, fire had been steadily consuming the canopies of the trees, above them and out of sight, and bits of leaves and twigs had fallen into a loose circle around our fight.

I had felt a bit sad at the idea - this was one of the few places in the city where there were trees, probably something to do with the building the Umbreon was staying in, and it had been one of the major reasons I had picked this sewer entrance to live in. The idea of burning them had been a depressing one.

But the sudden look of pure horror on every one of the Poochyena's faces made it worth it.

"NO!" The leader yelled in a voice that was suddenly shrill with rage and panic. Her head shot around as she frantically searched for some way out, some avenue that was still safe to run through... but there wasn't one. I had planned this out far too carefully for that, and the heat was already far too intense for them to cross through. She realized that and glared back at me, eyes narrowing, and I knew she was deciding that if she was going to lose then she was going to make absolutely certain I wasn't going to win...

But another angry SNAP filled the air and another branch fell, this one from the tree right above us. It landed between myself and the leader, blocking her off from getting to either me or the Umbreon, flames flaring angrily as it bounced on the sidewalk... and rolled into the street, settling into place right before the entrance to my den, blocking it off as well.

Well.

Blocking it off to the Poochyena, at least. When you can breathe fire it's not really a concern to step in it.

That had been the plan - bring down a circle of fire and trap the Poochyena in it, then dash off to safety in my den. I could do that in a heartbeat, and I would be perfectly fine while the rest of this played out...

...but the Umbreon would not be.

I wavered, torn between the safety that waited for me and between trying to find a way to help the Umbreon. What could I do? I had been too thorough, too complete; there was no other way out now but through the fire. I couldn't do anything about the fire - I was good at starting them... but stopping them was another matter entirely. If I focused, if I really tried, I might be able to cause some of the fire to grow hotter, and to burn the fuel away in an area even faster... that might make a way for the Umbreon to get out through, but it also ran the risk of the fire spreading inwards even faster and burning him before there was an opening. I could try and cover him with my body - my fur would keep his from catching on fire if he got too near the fires - but it wouldn't do anything about the sheer heat of it long enough to get through. I stared back at the Umbreon in frantic panic, unable to think of what to do...

The Umbreon was obviously thinking, too. But there was no panic in his expression. Just calm, as if he were just watching something that was happening to somebody else. He glanced at the most recent of the fallen branches and I saw him put together what my plan had been all along. He nodded slowly at it, then looked back at me. "Are you going to be okay?"

Was I_going to be okay? The dark type was in the center of an intense blaze and he was asking _me if I was going to be okay?!

I glanced around once more just to make sure the fires were still all around us, not really sure I believed the question, but nodded, dumbfounded.

The Umbreon gave a short nod back at me... and with that he lowered his head and ran through the wall of fire.

I stared_in pure shock. Had... had he just done that?! That fire was _hot; it was fueled by not just my own skill, but also the gasoline I had laced everywhere, and it had gotten no cooler with the air rushing in to help it grow. I knew Pokemon that would have to be carried to the PokeCenter humans had and kept there for months if they had been exposed to fires at those temperatures, and... and he had just charged into it without a second thought?

Who _was_that guy?!

Another sharp crack filled the air above me and I heard another branch hit the ground somewhere. Questions could wait until later; I was still exposed. I darted towards the sewer, hopping over the fallen branch as I went, and lurked in the darkness and safety of the suddenly dry runoff chamber. I could have kept going and found the tunnel leading to my den, like I usually did... but I wanted to make sure things continued to play out like I had planned.

And I wanted to be sure that Umbreon was okay.

I hid and watched the growing flames just outside the sewer. Angry reds, hungry oranges, consuming yellows... somehow the same colors as the twilight sky had been, but somehow completely different.

If I squinted I could make out dark forms through the fire, which I assumed were the Poochyenas. I watched them run in panic for a bit... but it didn't take long.

The fire had been just as much as a distraction as my yelps and useless bursts of fire had been - something to keep them all in one place until the actual danger arrived. And that danger came to the Poochyena all at once, in sudden bursts of orange fur and snarling fangs: Growlithe.

The trees hadn't drawn much attention at ground level, and not with me being a big flashy distraction to the Poochyena... but from a distance the burning crowns of the trees had been big, bright signals to the cops that something was going on. Being cops, they had come to investigate and put a stop to them.

And when you can breathe fire, it's not really a concern to step in it.

I watched as Growlithe shot through the flames and pounced on the Poochyena, biting at them and dragging them kicking and snarling to the ground. I watched the Poochyena leader dash back towards me, saw her running to the brilliant flames that protected me from her, saw her decide she could just live with the pain so long as it meant she got me...

And I watched the largest canine Pokemon I had ever seen in my life come barreling through the flames to knock her to the pavement, hard. Not just a Growlithe, but a full-fledged _Arcanine_pinned her down with one huge paw, smashing her face in the pavement.

I gulped. I wasn't going to waste any sympathy on the Poochyena that had been intent on beating me into the pavement just moments ago, but still, that hurt to watch.

The pain was evident in the Poochyena's face even smooshed in between the concrete and the heavy paw. So was anger. I could hear her snarling even above the crackling fires, could hear her spitting in rage as she realized just how completely I had trapped them all, could see her eyes burning almost as brightly in her sudden hate as the fires all around her as she stared into the darkness of my hiding place. "Traitor!! We will make you suffer for this!"

I don't know if the Arcanine heard her, but he certainly didn't care what she was yelling about if he did. He hauled her upwards, biting down on the scruff of her neck and lifting her limply into the air... and then simply jumped over the fire all around them. The massive dog landed somewhere out of sight, beyond the fiery curtain clouding my view... and then he came back, landing next to a Growlithe that was still pinning down a Poochyena. He scooped that Poochyena up just as easily and carried it out of the fire, then came back, doing the same again and again. The Growlithe followed him out as he carried off their prisoner, and before long all four of the Poochyena had been pulled out of my fiery trap.

The flames grew suddenly hotter, even hot enough to make me uncomfortable... and in seconds, all the fuel had been burned away. The trees, the grass, the bits of leaves and twigs, the fallen branches... the gasoline. There was simply nothing left for the fire to burn... and just like that, the flames sputtered and died.

I ducked deeper into the shadows just to be sure nobody saw me. I had a clear view of the street again, and I wanted to make sure that didn't also mean the cops had a clear view of me.

It looked like they were all too distracted to notice me, though. Most of them had formed a ring around the now-stunned Poochyena and were making sure none of them even thought about moving... but three of the Growlithe were off to the other side, along with the Arcanine.

Forming a loose half-circle around the Umbreon. Just like the Poochyena had done to me.

I felt sudden relief at seeing him - he was okay, even if his yellow rings looked like they had a bit of soot in them, and the bell he wore on the band at his neck looked scorched - followed immediately by panic. What were the Growlithe doing? The Umbreon had mentioned he had a trainer; that meant he should be safe from the police... or as safe as somebody _could_be. Were they about to attack him anyways? Was there something I could do to help?

I moved closer to the narrow gap that led to the street and strained to hear. One of the Growlithe was talking to the Arcanine, and I could just barely make out the words.

"...says he's legit. None of us saw him doing anything and he's stayed put since we told him to. He probably wasn't involved in this, but..."

The Arcanine nodded. "Might be better to bring him in too, just to answer a few questions. This is going to draw attention you really don't need."

One of the other Growlithe made an exasperated sound. "Ugh, are the press still here? Why won't the crippled trainer just go away already..."

The Umbreon's reaction was sudden and severe, even though he didn't move an inch. His eyes blazed when the Growlithe spoke the words 'crippled leader', and the yellow light from his rings seemed to twist somehow, shifting from a soft, pleasant glow to something sickly and malevolent. "Don't you dare call her that. She is not crippled." The Umbreon's voice was low, and cold, and full of a seriousness that I could feel all the way across the street. I felt a shiver of fear run through me and had the sudden urge to run for the safety of my den.

The Growlithe, on the other hand, seemed to be absolutely clueless, and kept talking. "Heh. Yeah, but every one of her Pokemon is..." He broke off suddenly as the Arcanine _glared_at him. He swallowed, loud enough to be heard even across the street. "Oh... you're... um..."

The Umbreon's bloodred eyes shone with anger, but his reply was carefully controlled and full of obviously forced calm. "Yes. I'm one of that _gym leader's_Pokemon. Would you like me to prove it?" I had the sudden impression that the Umbreon was perfectly willing to fight not just the single Growlithe, but every single one of them there, and then take the Arcanine on for dessert.

And remembering how he had simply jumped through the intense flames... I had the strange feeling he could actually do it.

And most surprisingly of all... the Arcanine seemed to think the Umbreon could do it, too. "That won't be necessary." The Arcanine spoke up in a tone that made it clear it was directed almost entirely at the Growlithe, and I could only imagine the glower that must have accompanied it... but the Arcanine had moved to look at the Umbreon too, and I couldn't see his expression anymore. The Arcanine's next words were detached and polite, as if he was more focused on keeping a situation from suddenly turning ugly than with bringing in the Umbreon. "We'll handle it from here."

The Umbreon nodded... and then glanced in my direction. I shrank down further, trying my best to stay hidden in the shadows. What was the Umbreon doing?! Was he about to tell the Arcanine about me? That would be bad - the Growlithe would be able to slip into the sewer just like the Poochyena had, and they wouldn't think twice about hauling away a Vulpix they caught around all this fire. They were perfectly willing to settle for assuming the Poochyena had been the troublemakers, even though they weren't fire types, just because they had been found around it... but if they found me here, too? Especially with how they had been close to dragging the Umbreon away even knowing he had a trainer? I would get shoved in whatever cage they were getting set up for the Poochyena in a heartbeat - and I was certain the Poochyena would make sure I didn't walk back out of it, even if the Growlithe decided to allow it.

I held my breath and tried my hardest to sink through the floor.

It took several agonizingly long seconds... but the Umbreon looked away and began limping back towards the hotel.

I heard the Arcanine begin to berate the Growlithe in terms starting with 'absolutely braindead idiot' and moving to descriptions that were rapidly less polite from there, but I was much too relieved to care. I exhaled and slunk back into my den.

It wouldn't be long before the Poochyena were back out on the streets, even with how on edge the Growlithe were - bringing in an Arcanine on top of everything else?! - but it didn't matter yet. Maybe it wouldn't even matter at all, if everything blew over before they were let out.

For now, I was safe - and the family whose life I was being pushed to ruin was safe, too. That was enough for tonight.

The Jirachi slept.