Bonfire

"So the Digital Age has evolved," King said, staring off into the forest. It was a rainy day, so few eevees were outside, giving King and Firestarter a little bit of privacy as they crouched by the side of the cabin.

Firestarter tilted his head. "Is that important?"

King snorted. "I wouldn't expect you to grasp just how important," he said, "but yes, it is."

"Oh." Firestarter shrank in on himself, his ears drooping. "Uh…"

"I'm surprised you're showing any interest."

"Oh!" Firestarter's ears perked right back up. "It's 'cause I was thinking, if Digital's evolved now, does that mean Team Cyber won't recognize them? So they can go outside again."

"No. Team Cyber doesn't know what their missing pet looks like. They'll go after any android eevee or evolution."

"…oh."

"Listen to me, Firewood," King said, turning to face him.

"It's Firestarter. You know my name!"

"Pipe down." King narrowed his eyes. "You ought not to raise your voice with the only person you haven't burned bridges with."

Firestarter lowered his head. "Okay, King."

"Good. Now listen."

He did his best to meet King's eyes, but his gaze wandered quickly. King heaved a sigh and began to speak. "The Digital Age puts all of us in danger," he said. "We must take action to be rid of the threat of Team Cyber before disaster strikes."

Firestarter wrinkled his nose. "How do we do that?" he asked.

"Simple," said King. "We give Team Cyber what they want."

"…an android eevee?"

King's ears twitched in annoyance. "The android eevee. The Digital Age. We return Team Cyber's property to them, and they have no reason to threaten us anymore."

Firestarter hesitated. "But… shouldn't we talk to Kyrie? Since they're our trainer and all?"

"Kyrie is a good trainer," King said, "but they don't really know what they're doing. They would never agree to this, even if we were able to communicate."

It slowly began to sink in exactly what King was suggesting. "So we just give the Digital Age to Team Cyber?" Firestarter said, an anxious pitch creeping in to his voice. "And we're not telling anyone? Not even Kyrie?"

"Spotlight knows," said King. "I may be able to trust Dapple as well. No one else."

"But Digital has friends here, and they won't…"

"Listen to me," King said sharply. "I am relying on you to help me protect all of us, including Kyrie. Are you going to do as I say? Or should I reject you like everyone else already has?"

Firestarter lowered his eyes. "I'll help you," he said. "You know I will."

"Sometimes," King said, "I'm not so sure."

He turned away. Firestarter waited for him to continue, but all King said was, "You may go."

"Okay," Firestarter said, and he slunk back indoors.