It was a standard delivery job. Take this package to some barren wasteland buried in the heart of Hoenn. Huen. Nestled near a volcano, ash nearly constantly falls from the sky like an ever-present snow. In a way, it's oddly beautiful. Umbreon walked along a path illuminated with lanterns. There was so much ash in the air today that the sun was almost totally blacked-out. Noon looked more like the waning hours of sunset. Umbreon luckily had the hindsight to buy herself a small respirator. The mask covered her mouth and nose, supplying her with clean air. She had a backpack on, which held our mystery item.

As per usual, she wasn't told about what this package was. That wasn't her business to know. However, she did know to take a left off of the path once she got to the landmark before her. Before her was a rock, about the size of an elephant, with about 30 swords sticking out from it. It was a memorial to the 30 Samurai of the Nihoneran Age of Dynasties. Passing it by, Umbreon stared at it as she walked past. There was an unmistakable reverence to this symbol. She pursed her lip and stopped looking at it.

Walking through all of this grayness was like walking through a nuclear winter. Without the lamps to help guide her, Umbreon had to rely on the instructions of her client. Look for the hills over there, stay close until you see the desert maple, then turn left and keep walking. The sun was starting to set, and that was turning the area around her into a muddy gray that was turning darker and darker by the second.

"Maybe I should turn back?" she thought. Just leave and come back when she has more visibility, more daylight. However, the overwhelming darkness around her would make returning to the path and going to town impossible. You see, normally dark types have night vision. Makes sense for a type that specializes in the darkness. The problem is that ash isn't darkness. It's a particle with mass, shape, and a physical presence. Therefore, she was nearly blind in this ever-more-dangerous landscape. All she could hope for was that whoever she was delivering to knew she was here. But she had to push forward. This job was all she had.

It was then that the winds started to pick up. They howled in the night like a pack of wolves. Umbreon shut her eyes as she started getted buffeted by ash and sand. That howling evolved into a full-blown roar as a dust devil surrounded her. She felt herself being lifted off of her feet. She was thrown through the air at incredible speeds. Unable to even see what was going on, Umbreon was completely and totally at the mercy of this tornado. Everything was just a blue of blues and grays.

Finally, Umbreon landed somewhere, or, more accurately, she was thrown somewhere. Looking around, she found herself in a valley between two large cliffs. The sky was clear, allowing her a perfect view of the moon and the navy blue sky.

"State your business," said a voice. Umbreon looked to the center of the valley to see four figures standing on rocks in the middle of the valley. On the top of the rocks, illuminated by the full moon, was a large, brown, bird Pokemon with a long mane of yellow and red hair. A Pidgeot. Standing beneath him were a Donphan, Arboliva, and a Duraldon. Immediately, Umbreon figured these must be the clients. At least, she hoped they were. If they were just a random group of thieves roaming around the desert, she was screwed.

"I am delivering a package. Are you the Ash Chasers?" She could feel Pidgeot staring her down. His eyes shot down to Donphan, who jumped from the rocks in front of Umbreon. The ground cracked underneath his immense weight. Umbreon gulped as the elephant pokemon approached her. This group seemed dangerous, more dangerous than anyone she had delivered for, but as long as she did her job, she would be fine. All she was, was a simple courier.

Donphan reached his trunk towards the bag. He grabbed the bag and gently pulled it off of Umbreon. He remarked,

"Can't believe you made it through all that. You're tougher than I thought you'd be," which made Umbreon blush slightly. Then, he opened it. Umbreon stopped paying attention. Thank Arceus. These were the recipients. Arbolviva looked concerned and made their way towards Umbreon,

"Are you okay, darling?" they asked. Umbreon was utterly confused, Why were they acting like this? She quickly responded,

"Y-Yes."

"Are you sure," asked Arboliva, "Those masks aren't the best at filtering the ash. Perhaps you should stay for the night?"

"Yeah, stay. I'm cooking up one helluva feast!:

"Easy," said Pidgeot, who once more, began to glare at Umbreon. His eyes seemed to pierce through her soul. He seemed like someone who didn't trust easily, but everyone else seemed so kind. It was a moment that made Umbreon feel something she hadn't felt for as long as she could remember. It was…nice. Immediately, this group of strangers had treated her like a person. Even just as simple as offering her a place to stay was more than most people would ever give her. Unknowingly, a smile started forming on her face. Even if for a day or two, she had a ho-

"GET DOWN!" screamed Pidgeot as he rushed towards Donphan. Everyone turned to look as Donphan threw the backpack into the air. Pidgeot grabbed the pack and flew as fast as he could into the sky. He threw the bag towards the clouds before shooting off several feathers that homed in on that bag.

The bag exploded into a massive ball of fire and mountain range shook. Rocks crumbled down into the valley. Everybody looked at the ball of fire above them. Umbreon froze in horror. Her client had just tried to make her walking time bomb. This was an elaborate plan to kill the Ash Chasers. How could she not realize? It must've been set to a trigger or else, she would've heard the beeps of a timer.

It was then that she felt four pairs of eyes staring at her like she had just killed someone. She turned around to see the Ash Chasers looking at her. That kindness from before had evaporated like a drop of water in a skillet. Immediately, she started backing away from them,

"I-I-I swear, I didn't know!" she exclaimed. This did little to ease tensions. Pidgeot shot towards the dark type and pinned her to the ground under his talons. He growled at her,

"No one threatens my team and gets away with it!"

"Please!" begged Umbreon, "I'm sorry!" but it wasn't good enough for Pidgeot. It was never gonna be good enough.

Umbreon didn't remember exactly what happened to her. She liked it that way. It meant that she didn't have to relieve the attack itself. She sat down and looked at her back. The fur there was an ever-so-slightly lighter black than the rest. Underneath were a plethora of scars left behind from that encounter, all forming a macabre art piece carved from flesh. What she did remember was what happened after.

Her back seared with seemingly unending agony. Blood poured from her back, leaving a trail behind her. Every second, she was growing weaker, fainter, but she had to keep watching. The Ash Chasers allowed her to walk the desert. Not like she would find a way out in time. She was like a roaming phantom, destined to haunt the desert until her last breath.

This couldn't be the end. Not here. Not now. How could they do such a thing to her? It was a mistake. It was the promise she made to her clients. Total anonymity. How was she even supposed to know that it was a bomb? Furthermore, this could ruin her reputation. It may sound arrogant, but this business was her lifeline. They were going to spread the word about her delivering a bomb. No one would ever hire her again. The one thing she had in the world, this job, was gone.

And that was exactly what happened.

After a three month long recovery, Umbreon emerged out into a world that acknowledged her, just not one where that acknowledgement was out of love. Almost immediately, all of her usual clients refused to work with her. They believed that her willingness to deliver packages without questions was now far too risky. Either she didn't bother to check what was inside the bags, or she did, and didn't care. If that were it, while horrible, at least she could work in a more legitimate business. Unfortunately, people hold grudges.

Those scars on her back. They weren't just random cuts. It was a Shi In. A death mark. A symbol that labeled someone persona non grata. A danger to the criminal underworld.

Umbreon would spend her days running. Running from criminals who saw her as a threat to their entire business. One incident and everything changed. If she was lucky, she'd lose them and have to skip town. If she wasn't…she didn't think about the times when she wasn't. She lost track of the day's she spent in pain.

It was during one of these horrible nights that she found her sanctuary. Or at least, that was what she thought until now.

She had been running through the dense streets of Kinsetsu, a city built inside of a massive mall. Thankfully, the tightly packed streets, stores. Corners, and ally's made it much easier to get away from her pursuers. However, that didn't totally save her. One of them had fired off an aura sphere at her, nailing her in the side, which sent her catapulting across the city. Landing in a dumpster, Umbreon opted to wait. While the smell was truly dreadful, it was worth dealing with if it meant even a chance of escaping. That pain in her side, however, was growing worse and worse by the second.

It felt like you could feel an infection sweeping through your body, and every single germ was red-hot. It went from her side and spread to her legs. Umbreon bit into her own skin, hoping to keep herself from making a sound. Thankfully, she heard a bunch of footsteps running past, yelling about finding her. Once the noise quieted down. Umbreon finally crawled out from the dumpster.

It appears the monkey's paw curled. She had gotten what she wanted, people to recognize her, but at what cost. How far had things fallen? Had she known this was what she would have to go through when she accepted that job, she would've turned it down in a heartbeat. This unrelenting cruelty was something that no one deserved.

Then, she looked into a window. There was a little Eevee, celebrating his birthday with his mom and his dad. They all looked so…happy together. That kid was opening up presents, and with every torn-up pile of wrapping paper, his smile grew even brighter. His friends then carried in a beautiful strawberry shortcake, which made his eyes sparkle with glee. So many people showered this young boy with love.

Umbreon only noticed the tears in her eyes when the wind made them feel like ice. She was robbed. That love, that sincere kindness from loving parents and loving friends, had been taken from her before she even knew what that was. Now…now she could see what she was missing out on. Now she could see why her heart was so empty. All she had known was neglect, and hate.

"You," said a voice, cold and stern. Umbreon looked behind her to see a Bisharp and Sableye. Immediately, she got ready to run, but her body was on the verge of giving out. She knew she couldn't run anymore. However, the Sableye did something strange.

"Hey, easy, Bisharp," he said, "Let me handle this." He then stepped towards Umbreon with a look Umbreon hadn't seen since that day. Naturally, she didn't want a repeat of last time,

"Don't…" she tried to make a threat, but any anger just disappeared into a defeated sadness. "Don't…hurt me."

"We're not gonna hurt you," said Sableye, "In fact, we're here to help. I…I may not understand exactly what you've been through, but I know how you feel. You feel…betrayed. Abandoned by the world. It took something from you that is the most basic of rights given to a Pokemon. For me, it was my trust." Sableye then looked back at Bisharp, "For him, his legacy. Let us help. We want to get what's rightfully ours. Even if it all fucks up, we'll at least have each others back."

"Yes," said Umbreon. She surprised herself with how quickly she had responded. This…this sounded almost too good to be true. Why would they act so kind to her? They didn't know who she was, what that mark on her back meant. As far as they knew, she was dangerous. But as Sableye smiled at her, it reminded her of that Eevee in the window. Maybe there was no other reason than they cared. They cared about her.

At least…that was what she thought until now.

(A/N): Next week, I'll be releasing a double chapter. See you there.