Professor Darck woke up with a start. It was the dead of night, the moon hung in the sky of a cloudless night. Normally Darck would have been sound asleep but he was jolted by what he had just felt. As a psychic hybrid, he was able to sense the auras. From his location at the academy he could sense the auras of all his students and a fair distance further. Normally, the auras he felt were strong but not stronger than his own, being a Lugia hybrid granted him that much. Today however, he felt a colossally powerful aura, somewhere close to his academy. The only kind of hybrid's that could produce such powerful auras were legendary hybrids, ones with incredible, world altering powers. Most Legendary hybrids kept to themselves in distant locations as to not upset the balance of the world but today was clearly an exception. No matter how it was with that aura, Darck was not going to allow them to harm any of the students in the academy and decided to go investigate.
Darck rose from his bed and looked outside, his senses told him that the massive aura was out there. The two towers that housed the flying and dragon hybrids were at the very back of the academy. Darck's personal room was at the very top of the tower that housed the male students. He looked to the south, to the source of the aura… and was shocked by what he saw.
A massive tree was just a couple of miles away from his academy. The tree stood taller even then the towers that he was standing in, dark brown wood with far reaching branches and leaves. There was no doubt as to what it was, a world tree. Darck stood there stunned for a moment, world trees were incredibly rare, and now there was one outside his school. However, logic and reason swiftly took over and Darck thought about what this meant. There was only one hybrid on the planet that was able to produce world trees and it had been nearly 10 years since he had last seen him. Darck had to find out for himself, so from his balcony he took over and flew over to the tree.
As Darck landed at the edge of the lake, he still couldn't believe that a world tree had grown here. It's sheer size and majesty was a true sight to behold. Looking across the root bridge, Darck saw that hybrid, leaning against the tree. It was the ancient, immortal deer hybrid, Xerneas. Xerneas was breathing heavily and holding a sitrus berry in his hand. Darck immediately understood why. In his younger years, he had talked with the great deer hybrid, asking about his powers and role in the worlds balance. Xerneas was the balancer of nature and thus it was his duty to protect nature and keep it flourishing and beautiful. Creating world trees was his greatest feat of work, those towering monoliths of nature that allowed Xerneas to move from place to place quicker than any wings or feet could ever carry him. Xerneas noticed Darck on the bridge, and slowly smiled as he stood up:
"Hello again, Lugia" he said, in that serene majestic voice "This tree here is my gift to you for your duties of caring for the next generation of hybrids. It bears marvellous fruits of healing and restoration and will turn the forest hostile to those intending you and your students harm."
Darck looked up and saw the branches of the tree lined with Sitrus and Lum berries, fruits that could restore hybrids to full health if ill or help stop injuries from getting worse. Darck had to tilt his head though at Xerneas, wondering why he had called him "Lugia". The deer only smiled "Ah, you go by Professor Darck now, that's right..." He let out a small laugh. "How very human of you."
"It's been a long time since I have seen you Xerneas." Darck said, "It seems that your time in isolation has proven useful."
"Indeed it has" Xerneas said "This tree now stands as proof that my powers have been restored. I have paid my debt to nature and now I am and forever will be a servant of the earth."
"Always the dramatic one, aren't you?" Darck said, chuckling while Xerneas rolled his eyes.
"In any event..." Xerneas continued "I must thank you for showing me the path to recovering my lost strength. Let this tree stand as my eternal gratitude to you."
"Thank you, Xerneas." Darck said "I believe the students of the academy will sleep more soundly at night knowing that a world tree is nearby to protect them."
Xerneas nodded, it made sense to him. Even though the academy was in a very safe place away from most human settlement, there was always the chance that humans could rally forces to attack them. The world tree would now protect them from such dangers.
"Now, please pardon me young Darck, but I must be going. There are other matters I must attend to." Xerneas said, turning to the entrance to the tree
"Wait," Darck said. "You have really changed. When I first met you, you were a hedonist and completely apathetic to the world. And now here you are, graceful and serene. It's like looking at a completely different person. What changed?"
Xerneas didn't turn to face Darck, he blinked a few rebellious tears. "To right what has been wronged." He said before entering the tree.
He opened his eyes, another awful day had come.
The day was overcast, grey and miserable, neatly mirroring his mood.
He pulled himself out of bed, showered, got dressed and then looked at himself in the mirror. He shook his head. He didn't recognise himself- white skin, brown eyes and hair. None of it felt right.
He didn't talk about this feeling much though, mostly because no one believed him. He had told this story to some people he thought was his friends in the class, but that did not end well, to put it lightly. The laughter played back in his head like a broken record...
He looked around his room. He was an incredibly lucky person, his father was a rich businessman and it reflected in the house. His room had its own en suite bathroom, state of the art computer and large entertainment hub. All of it was nice and distracted him from his feelings however he would trade all of it to look like the way he envisioned himself.
As he went to collect his bag, he glanced at a picture he had taken. It was a blurred photo of a hybrid with yellow fur and nine tails… a Ninetales, according to his research. He never showed the picture to anyone for fear of more bullying for one reason. It represented his deepest desire. Unlike most people, he thought hybrids were something to be admired, not feared or hated.
But he knew he had no chance of ever becoming one. He had studied hybrids for a long time and discovered that only way to become a hybrid was to be born one. No chance of becoming one… no chance at all.
No point on dwelling on it. He thought to himself. Let's just try to get through the school day.
The wings he knew he should fluttered nervously at the prospect but nonetheless he walked out of his room.
As he made his way to the front door, one of the maids that tended the house, who had emerald green eyes and brown hair, spotted him as he was leaving.
"Have a good day, young one," she smiled graciously at the young master..
He forced himself to smile at her.
"I will," he replied as cheerfully as he could muster and stepped into the rain. He was glad for their concern, with his father having a very busy job he wasn't around the house as often as both of them wanted, so it was nice to know that there were people there to show him some kindness when others would not.
As he walked down the street, he passed by the flower shop. He smiled and touched one of the flowers with gentle fingers, relishing its soft, cool texture. He loved nature, planting seeds and watching flowers grow. His father said he had a green thumb. How ironic. Sometimes for the briefest moments when he looked in a mirror he was sure he had green skin, cool and smooth like the surface of a leaf.
He continued to make his way to school, the brief happiness he got from the flowers soon dissipated under the dark grey sky. He always preferred sunny days to rainy ones: when the sunlight brushed against his skin he felt as though he could make it into energy just like the plants he loved so much. It didn't help the fact that he was forced to a dim school building so even on those bright and cheery days he felt cut off from that precious energy source.
When he reached school he saw all of the other students get together with their friends, talking amongst themselves and laughing. He kept his head down, not wanting to draw attention...
"Well, look who it is…" said a jeering voice and the boy turned to notice one of the boys who picked on him "…it's hybrid boy"
The boy kept walking, pretending his didn't notice them. His shoulder was rudely pulled, forcing him to come face to face with the bully
"Well," the bully said, almost spitting the words. "Got nothing to say, hybrid boy?"
He brushed the bully's hand off his shoulder and turned around to enter the school building
"Bad move, Hybrid boy" the bully growled before he charged into him, bursting open the doors of the school and throwing him against the lockers. The boy slammed against the lockers hard enough to knock its door off its hinges and collapse on top of him with a metallic clang. The bully, being taller and stronger than the boy was, grinned maliciously before raining down punch after punch on him. The boy covered his head with his arms, hoping in vain to block the cruel blows.
Other students were starting to crowd, watching the fight. The boy recognised some of them from other classes but they didn't get involved, fearful of the same happening to them. Some of his classmates didn't want to let him suffer, they tried to get through the crowd to help but the bully's gang stopped them from getting far; it was becoming a riot.
The boy's blocking technique could only last for so long, his arms were quickly becoming sore and turning purple from the bruising. The lockers were shaking violently behind him, each strike sending a new reverberating tremor through them. The boy did the only thing he could to avoid alleviate the pressure: he kicked back. The counter caught the bully by surprise, knocking him into the notice board which crashed to the ground in a flurry of notices and thumbtacks. The students cheered, happy to see some resistance. They quickly died down once some other members of the bully's gang picked him up and restrained him, exposing any part of him to further attack. The boy pulled with all of his remaining strength but there was nothing that he could do. The bully got back up and gave the boy a look so laced with hatred it seemed to be another assault all on its own. The crowd hushed to a silence, as if they were watching an execution. The boy closed his eyes, waiting for the end to come.
"Stop right there!" shouted a loud voice; everyone turned to see a tall male teacher. "This stops here and now! All of you get to your classes; and as for you two, you are coming with me to the headmaster."
The bully's gang members let the boy go; he collapsed to the ground from his injuries. His arms had not blocked all of the bully's punches: one of them had connected with his cheek, painting it red as it swelled. The teacher helped him to his feet and helped the boy steady himself before walking both of them down the long corridor. The boy could see some of the other students that watched the fight and heard the whispers:
"They've been at it again, that's the third time this week."
"This isn't fair, what has he ever done to be bullied like this?"
"In my opinion, he deserves it for wanting to be one of those hybrids."
Those whispers had become the soundtrack of his life and that final one was the chorus. He kept his head down, trying to avoid the eyes of the other students, constantly staring, constantly judging…
They made it to the headmaster's office and the bully entered the room but not before yelling "I'll get you hybrid boy, just you wait!"
As he was escorted down the hallway, the boy could hear the headmaster yelling at the bully. This was the bridge of the song and there were still two more parts in place: the nurse minuet and then onto the councilor concerto.
"Another day, another meeting right?" the councilor smiled, trying and terrifically failing to stay cheerful for the bruised boy. "How many times this month have I see you? Eleven? Twelve?"
The boy didn't respond except to readjust his grip on the ice-pack for his cheek and stare blankly back at the adult. The councilor ran a hand through her tightly combed hair and sighed in frustration. "If you keep being resistant how am I supposed to help you? I see you've made no effort to enter those clubs I told you about."
The boy didn't answer and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't want to join the clubs. He already felt like something was wrong with him on the inside, and to face it outside in a club setting surrounded by twenty more potential bullies would be too much for him to bear. The councilor gave up and let her anger explode.
"Look, if you think this silent act you are putting on is in any way cool I have news for you: it's not. Bottling up your troubles isn't going to solve anything! I have been talking your other councilor and we are shocked to see your lack of progress. You're an intelligent young man… don't you see that talking about it is the only way it is going to get better?"
The boy felt a tear roll down his face; he didn't like hearing this talk. The councilor took a few calming breathes and ran her fingers through her again before speaking again
"You don't want to talk now because you've just been hurt, I understand" she said, pulling a card out of her pocket, it contained two phone numbers "If you want to talk about it, the first number is mine and the second one is with a charity that helps against bullying. Call if you need someone to talk to; please just consider that."
The boy smiled weakly back at the councilor taking the card as left her office and walked back to class.
The rest of the day blessedly passed by without much incident and the boy was relieved to hear the final bell ring. As he passed the detention hall, he saw the bully briefly exchanged glances. The eyes locked for only a second but to the boy it was clear what the bully was thinking. He was preparing for their next song tomorrow, another driving piece characterized by heavy percussion.
Maybe playing the flute later will help, he thought as he made his way out of the school and headed for home.
