Hey, everyone! Ta-Ni here. Since I will be offline while my Porygon are getting their check-ups, I decided to give you a bonus chapter! Enjoy!

I'm not sure how long I slept, but when I next woke up, both the sylveon and her trainer were watching over me. He took a step forward, but stopped at my unconscious growl. I slowly sat up, feeling much better than before, but my muscles were stiff and sore from lack of use. I wonder how long they're gonna keep me here, I thought.

"Nurse Joy said it was okay to move a little," the trainer said. "But, you won't be allowed to leave for another couple of days, and only if you don't overdo it." Thanks for the information, I thought, nodding to show I understood him. Though I still didn't trust him, I wouldn't begrudge him what I properly owe him.

"So you do have some manners," the sylveon commented, causing me to growl at her. "Of course I do! I may be wild, but I'm still civilized!" We glared at one another for a few moments, before her trainer sighed and said, "Once again, you're fighting, and I have no idea why."

This reminded me of my idea from before. Reaching deep inside, I found my link to my ninetales ancestors, and drew upon their knowledge of my new abilities. I closed my eyes and concentrated; behind me, I could feel a slight warmth gathering on the tips of my tails, which was probably my foxfire. A mass of foxfire formed before me in my mind's eye, eagerly waiting to be formed into some shape.

Suddenly, an image of a young male seemed to hover in my thoughts, calling to me. it looked similar to the sylveon's trainer, and yet different. For some reason, even though I've never seen this person before, he seemed very familiar, like I knew him from long ago. Figuring it to be of some importance, I impressed his form onto the foxfire mass before me, binding it to the flames, and then opened my eyes.

Sure enough, the boy now stood before me, in front of the sylveon and her trainer, who were both wide-eyed in shock. Save for a slight transparency to the figure, it was very life-like; not bad for my first try. I channeled my thoughts into the illusionary figure, which translated it into human speech as, "Don't worry, you aren't seeing things. I just wanted to talk more…openly."

"H-how are you doing this?!" the trainer exclaimed. I chuckled behind the illusion and replied, "All ninetales have the ability to conjure illusions, through the use of their foxfire. They aren't as effective as those of the Zoroark line, but it works well enough." Then, I hesitated, thinking, How did I know that? I've only been a ninetales less than a moon; is it all ancestral knowledge?

The sylveon put a paw through the illusion's leg, making it waver slightly, but made no comment. Still, she gave me a look that seemed both suspicious and impressed; did she suspect how much I knew as well? To forego any questions, I decided to start first. "So, to start things off, why don't we introduce ourselves properly? My name is Sol; what are yours?"

They looked at one another, and then the trainer replied, "Uh…my name is Kevin, and this is Sylveon, or Syl for short." She looked a little miffed at his introduction of her. I jumped in and said in a snide voice, "So, you simply call her by her species name, and even shorten it as a form of 'caring'. Well, let's ask her directly. Please tell me the name your Meema gave you, and I'll translate for you."

She looked at me cautiously, saying, "You won't twist whatever I say for your own gain, will you?" I replied in the same language, "You have my word as a ninetales: anything you want me to share, I will do so with no bias either way." She nodded in relief, and said, "My given name was Eve, because I I loved the night. However, because I cared for Kevin as more than just a trainer, instead of becoming an Umbreon, I evolved into a Sylveon. Kevin decided to call me Syl because afterward, and I simply chose not to dispute it for the sake of convenience."

I dutifully translated for her, leaving nothing out, and Kevin looked at in surprise. "You didn't have to do that for me; I had no idea it caused you such displeasure. If you had said something…" I interrupted him there, stating, "And therein lies the problem. Because you don't understand us, we cannot speak for ourselves in protest of our enslavement."

"But he hasn't 'enslaved' me!" she denied. "In fact, he raised me from the egg, as his parents owned my parents. He only caught me as a precaution against theft; he doesn't even use my ball except for emergencies." "Then why does he carry them around in the first place?" I retorted, forgetting to switch back to Pokespeech. "He was going to catch ME, in the forest, remember? If he doesn't 'enslave' us, why did he reach for them back then?"

"Because you were hurt!" Kevin bit back. "I can't just leave an injured Pokémon alone, especially in the state you were in. By all rights, I saved your life: why can't you just be grateful?" "Because I don't trust you humans!" I yelled. "You always have some sort of ulterior motive. A human trainer like yourself STOLE my Nana from me as a kit, forcing me to grow up and search for her, and now you're keeping me here while she gets farther away!" Tears began to fall from my eyes, both in the illusion and in real life, and my anger was causing the figure to blur and distort.

Eve stepped between us, and her two ribbons snaked around Kevin's arm and my forepaw. A calming sensation rippled through me from her touch, and I saw Kevin relax as well. When both our tempers calmed down, Eve said to me, "He is not trying to keep you here; we want to help if we can. Arguing won't get us anywhere; if anything, it may slow down your recovery. Now, tell us what we can do."

I replied coldly, "While I appreciate the effort, I cannot bring myself to accept the help of a 'two-legs'. All I want is to be left alone, so I can get to my goal as fast as possible." "The mountains, right?" she stated. "We can help you get there, without having to fight both wild Pokémon and trainers along the way. Please, I cannot in good conscience let you travel alone again. What if you get hurt again?"

It hurt my heart to see her begging like this, but I still shook my head no. "I will get stronger, on my own. I know better than to pick fights I cannot win, and the further I am from trainers, the better I will sleep at night. I'm sorry." I pulled my paw out of her ribbon and turned away from both of them, dispelling the illusion in the process. Curling up to sleep, I ignored them as they left the den, though Kevin said to Eve that they would come back tomorrow. Who cares? I thought. My answer will still be the same. However, as he left, Kevin made one final comment to me: "If you trust humans so little, why did you choose to portray yourself as a trainer?"

Hmmm... I wonder that myself... Just kidding! Well, though I hate to leave you guys on such a cliffhanger, you'll just have to wait until I get back online!

Please read and review, and may your Ember never fade!