Tales of Faith

Formation Arc – Elazul Side

Chapter 33: The Hybrids' Village

"What's wrong? I thought you could do better than that."

"Huff… Huff…"

"You're a failure… You can't even fight without a reason…"

"Huff…"

"Don't worry… I'll ease that suffering…"

"…Huf-"

Elazul's eyes opened wide. "…Haah…Haah…" he clutched his chest. "…Just a dream…" He sighed, soon noticing someone near him. "Are you alright?" It was Marian. She is standing beside the bed.

"...I'm fine…" He said.

"If you say so… Get up, breakfast is ready." Marian headed out of the room. Elazul looked at Fennikusu, who is already awake. "Kusu?" Fennikusu chirped. Elazul shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's go." He got out of the bed and headed into the dining room. A warm and delicious scent wafts around the room, emanating from a plate with steaming eggs and sausages. Marian had already taken a seat, eating her breakfast. Elazul took the seat opposite of her, blowing on the eggs before taking a piece and putting it in his maw.

"How is it?" Marian said.

Elazul closed his eyes. "Pretty good."

"I'm glad you like it." Marian nodded her head.

Elazul gasped, getting out of his seat and turning away. "D-Don't be ridiculous!" he said. "I only said it's good! I didn't say that I liked it!"

"Well, then… If you say so…" Marian rolled her eyes. She looked at Elazul. "Do you plan to stay here?"

"Why would you think that?" Elazul turned his head and raised a 'brow'.

"Io kept talking about you." Marian said.

"That Mienfoo kid, huh?"

"You shouldn't think too badly of Io just because he's a child." Marian told him. "If you take a bit more time to know him better, you'll get along well, I'd say."

"Whatever." Elazul sat down and resumed eating his breakfast.

After he had finished eating, Elazul headed out of Marian's house. The village had the same atmosphere of peace and harmony. It looked rowdier than it was yesterday, though in Elazul's perspective. Elazul happened to feel someone bump into him. He looked down to see Io. "Sorry for bumping into you!" Io said.

Elazul just looked away from him, not responding.

"Oi, c'mon. Can't you say something? Anything?" Io asked.

"Still as noisy and immature as ever." Elazul said.

"That's something you're not supposed to say when you forgive someone!" Io shouted.

"Whatever." Elazul looked away. Io tapped his foot, looking left and right once before he looked at Elazul. "Say… you planning to check the skies tonight?" Elazul looked up when Io asked that. Above them, the sky is completely covered with masses of clouds even in broad daylight, or it is supposed to be daylight. But it's still bright enough to see anything in Eirini.

"Why?" Elazul said.

"It's very rare for the clouds over here to disperse, you know?" Io said. "So, we villagers want to look at the clear skies then and now. And tonight's one of those moments where we can see the clear night sky and wonder what the ou-"

Io suddenly stopped speaking.

"…What." Elazul said.

"It's nothing." Io said. "As I was saying… we get to see the clear night sky tonight! Everyone's been eager for this!"

"Eager, huh?" Elazul said silently.

"Well? You going to look at the clear sky tonight?" Io asked. "Well? Weeeeeeeelll?"

"…Fine. I'll do it." Elazul sighed in defeat. "I'll go and look at the clear sky tonight."

"Yes! I knew you would!" Io jumped in joy.

'…Why am I always surrounded by people who can't mind their own business and practically forces me into their antics?' Elazul thought to himself.

"Well?"

Elazul asked with folded wings at the village's square. It had been packed with villagers in mere minutes before night. Marian and Io were part of the group that had gathered to gaze at the skies.

"When are those clouds gonna clear?" Elazul said.

"Almost." Marian said. "Be patient."

"You don't need to tell me that." Elazul rolled his eyes.

"Kusu?" Fennikusu continued to stare at the clouds, perched on its owner's shoulder like usual.

"The clouds are dispersing!" One villager said aloud. Everyone began to look up as the clouds began to disperse, revealing a clear dark sky with bright stars. Moonlight bathed around Eirini, on the villagers as they stared in awe of the night skies.

"How I've longed to see this sky for a long time…" A villager said.

"Yes, it's been too long since we saw the skies!" Another villager piped in.

"This is like a rare chance for us to see the clear skies… at about three months, I guess?" Yet another villager said.

The entire square is now surrounded by continuous chatter about the night skies. Meanwhile, Elazul wondered why they treat looking at the skies as such a big deal when they could just pass through Midnight Cave, but he was smart enough not to voice that out loud. Until now.

"If you can't see the skies from here with those clouds, why don't you all just go outside and take a look?"

Immediately, the whole place died of talk. All of the villagers, sans Marian and Io, all stared at Elazul like he was crazy. "What?" Elazul said. "Don't you go out of the cave?" Once again, the villagers were quiet while Io headed to Marian. "He's done it…" He whispered.

"Are you kidding?" One villager finally spoke. "Why would we go out to that foul place?"

"When they see us, we're going to suffer that same 'treatment' they had given us!" Another villager shouted.

"The outside world is too dangerous for us! That's why we don't ever pass through the caves the moment we had entered through it!"

"The outside world is filled with discrimination! Those bastards won't stop!"

Soon, the atmosphere has tensed as angry shouts began to drown the once-calm emotions of the villagers. Elazul looked at them weirdly. 'Haven't they even gone outside at all?' Elazul thought. 'Sure, there are Shadows inhabiting Midnight Cave, but did they even try to get to the other side of the cave?' In a matter of minutes, the villagers headed out of the square angrily, most likely hitting the hay. The only three that remained in the square are Io, Elazul and Marian.

Io sighed deeply. "For some reason, I feel so tired…" He mumbled. "Well, I should go to bed now…" Io soon left the square. Marian faced Elazul. "What's up with everyone?" Elazul said.

Marian sighed. She couldn't find herself to continue looking at Elazul before she turned away. "I'm heading back." She said before she left the square. Elazul stood by in the square with only Fennikusu as his company. He looked at the skies again, it brought up a memory…

"Take a look at this, Elazul!"

Luca tip-toed on his feet, struggling to look at the observatory's telescope. He had brought Elazul here at the top floor of the guild for his star-gazing. Elazul reluctantly headed to Luca's side as the green frog kept motioning him to come closer.

"What? What do you want me to look at?" Elazul said monotonously.

"Here! Look at how all the stars align now! Quickly!" Luca moved away from the telescope and tugged Elazul's wing, bringing him to look through the telescope. Elazul stared at the stars through the telescope. "I don't see anything."

"Look at the stars! They are in a certain shape!" Luca said excitedly. Elazul groaned as he continued to look. "…Oh, those stars are nearly shaped like me." Elazul said.

"I know, right!?" Luca smiled. "It's cool! Come on! Say it! Saaaaaaaaay iiiiiiiiiiit!"

Elazul continued to stare at the formation of the stars before he said, "…It's cool."

Elazul grumbled when he recalled that memory. It is all about his friend again. But then, he did see Luca a few days ago, and that was in the sewers. Come to think of it, what was Luca doing there? 'Thinking about it is too much time' Elazul thought. 'I'd better head back.' He headed to Marian's house to sleep.

Elazul took a look at himself in a mirror the following morning after a shower. He slowly took off the last remaining bandage on himself and checked for any wounds that were still healing. There weren't any wounds left. Nodding silently and putting on his clothes, Elazul headed out of the room. He noticed Marian pacing around left and right in the dining room.

"That's weird…" He heard Marian mutter.

"…What is?" Elazul said.

"I haven't seen Io around the village starting this morning." Marian told him.

"!"

Marian folded her wings. "If he's not in the village, he is most likely in Midnight Cave for now. I'm concerned about Io. Could you find him in Midnight Cave?"

"Why me?" Elazul said.

"Because Io has spent a lot of time with you ever since you came here." Marian answered.

"Hey, that's not my problem. He kept bugging me for the past two days." Elazul said.

"Just look for him." Marian said. Elazul sighed. "Fine." He faced Fennikusu. "Stay." He said. The robin responded with a small whimper as it watched its' owner leave the house.

Elazul headed into Midnight Cave, searching the area near the village's entrance first. 'That kid couldn't have gone far…' he thought as he continued on his search. So far, he hasn't met any Shadows yet, but he'd still destroy them in battle if he encountered one. After a long period of searching…

"Ah! Found it!" It was Io's voice.

Elazul followed that only echo easily, looking from behind a wall. From where he stood, Io is apparently digging through the ground some time ago before he had found what he wanted to find. "Okay… I just gotta bring this to Marian… and ask her what it is… I'm pretty sure she'd know. Yup. She'd definitely know." He remained in blissful speaking, not noticing something appearing behind him. And Elazul noticed it.

"Get down!" Elazul shouted, grabbing his spear and he rushed to the Shadow.

"Hu-?" Io looked back and he saw the Shadow behind him. But he didn't appear to be frightened, he appeared to be annoyed. Io thrust a palm at the Shadow. "Begone!" He shouted as the Shadow is suddenly impaled by a large shadowy blade. As the Shadow disintegrated into nothingness, Elazul could see Io clearly. His arm is completely pitch-black and radiating a shadowy aura. Io closed his eyes, and his arm returned to normal. "…Oh." He noticed that there was someone in front of him other than the Shadow.

"Y-You're… You…!" Elazul spoke with a dumbfounded expression. "You…?"

"Ah… looks like you found out now…" Io sighed.

"What are you…!? How are you like…!?" Elazul continued on with his rambling.

"I'm a Hybrid." Io said. "Hybrids are almost like normal Pokémon. But… as you can see… we have unnatural blood. It's like Pokémon blood, but it's also Shadow blood. So… in other words, we're part- Pokémon, part-Shadow. Everyone treated us like outcasts. Just because they know we have Shadow blood, they fear that we'll lose control and create havoc. Well… after we were chased out from the townspeople, we retreated into the mountains in Midnight Cave. That's where we found a secluded area to build a village to live in. We made a sort of illusive barricade as well, such that only Hybrids can see it and other Pokémon can't see it neither can they pass through it."

"Then… I'm…" Elazul managed to calm himself and spoke slowly.

"Yup. You're a Hybrid. And so is everyone else." Io said.

'Is this why Marian took care of me?' Elazul thought, but Io continued. "…But Marian. She's the only non-Hybrid villager here. To tell the truth, we Hybrids found Marian about a year ago. She didn't seem to remember who she was, so we took her under our care, treated her like she is a regular villager 'like' us. But… she also found out about us. We thought that we'd be in trouble if the outside world finds this village, but she didn't want to leave. She insisted on staying here. Man, I am impressed. She isn't a Hybrid, and she's treating us like we're normal villagers. Like the time before anyone found out about our part-Shadow blood."

Elazul didn't say anything.

"Hello? Earth to Elazul…" Io waved his hand.

"…Can you really stand it?"

"Eh?" Io looked confused.

"How can you stand living in one place for your entire life!" Elazul sounded furious. "You all keep thinking that the outside world is dangerous and never even bother to get out of this place and explore this world! Just staying in this place is poisoning you!"

Io looked down. "Th-That is…"

Elazul grumbled. "That is why, huh? Why you all think that the outside world is dangerous? Forget it, I don't even want to hear an answer to this." He stormed off from the place while Io headed back behind him.

Eirini, the Hybrids' Village

Almost immediately after he entered Eirini from Midnight Cave, Elazul made his way to Marian's house. That explains way too many things. Why most of Ad Libitum refused to come near him, excluding Luca. He was sure that Luca didn't know of his Hybrid blood. When Marian said that him and Io will get along if he knows the kid more. She must have known that he is a Hybrid.

Marian noticed Elazul heading to her house from the window and she headed to open the door. "Ah, you are bac-" Marian said.

"You knew, didn't you?" Elazul said.

Marian stopped speaking.

"You knew that I am a Hybrid, didn't you? Tell me!"

"…I see you found out in the end." Marian said after a while.

"So, that's why you only decided to take care of me!? Just because I'm a Hybrid like the rest of the villagers!?" Elazul shouted.

"Did you think it was like that!?" It was Marian's turn to shout. "You were injured, for Arceus' sake! And the villagers were unsure that even knowing that you're a Hybrid, they were wary of taking you in because you're a Dragon-Type Pokémon! But I wasn't! I didn't believe that Dragon-Types are dangerous at all!"

Elazul's angered face disappeared and was replaced with a surprised look. "…You helped me? And it's not because I'm a Hybrid?"

"What else did you expect!?" Marian glared at him. But her expression didn't last long as she looked down. "…Sorry. I guess I went too far."

"…No, it's all right. I'm the one who went too far." Elazul said.

"No, I am." Marian insisted.

"I am." Elazul countered.

And from the remainder of almost five minutes from now, Elazul and Marian were trying to take fault, continuously contradicting each other. Eventually, the two stopped taking the blame, awkward silence now filling the air.

"Okay… so…" Elazul said. "I plan to leave Eirini."

"Ah…!" Marian seemed surprised.

"…But not today." Elazul looked down. "I'll… just stay here for some time… It's time I learned something about what I am…"

"I see…" Marian nodded. She looked at Elazul… and frowned. "You're dirty."

"…What."

Marian grabbed Elazul by the wing. "You're getting cleaned. Now." Elazul stood in mute confusion before dawning shocked horror. "…WHAT!?" he shouted.

"Now." Marian dragged him into the bathroom. After rather forcefully placing him at a stool, Marian rolled up her clothing's sleeves.

"H-Hey! What are you-OI!"

"Stay still!"

"I-I can do it myself! Stop it!"

"I said stay still!"

"My tail! A-Ah! D-Don't touch there…"

"…Whoa. That's-"

"E-ENOUGH!"

"G-Geez…" Elazul continued to grumble as he hastily put on his shirt. "Y-You didn't have to force me to take a shower…" His face is completely flushed red.

"Well, you look better now." Marian nodded.

"Th-That isn't the point!" Elazul grumbled. He huffed and looked away. He stood there in his position for a while before his head turned slowly to look at Marian. "…M-Maybe… you wouldn't mind… if we do this again…?"

Marian paused for a while, and she nodded. "I wouldn't mind."

After dinner, Elazul looked at the cloudy sky through the room's window. "So, I'll stay in this town for a while…" he spoke through the earpiece. "Meanwhile, you guys continue to get information about the remaining fragments. Is that clear?"

"Okay, we get it." The voices spoke from the earpiece.

"I expect to see some work the next time I contact you." Elazul placed the earpiece down. He looked at the sleeping Fennikusu nestled on the drawer beside Elazul's bed. He took another look outside the house.

"It's about time. I'll learn about the Hybrids. Who they really are… and who I really am."

Chapter 33 End

Current Party:

Elazul del Fable (Noivern) – Hybrid (Part Pokémon, part Shadow… what fate awaits this individual…?)

Weapon: Shell Splitter (Spears)

And thus, a lot of things are revealed. Elazul is a Hybrid, and Eirini is actually the Hybrids' Village. He'll stay here for the time being, so what will he do? It won't be revealed yet, since we'll return to the other Side.