It's Friday! And you know what that means, a brand new chapter for you to enjoy! Feel free to leave constructive criticism or to ask a question in your review if you'd like.

Chapter 9: Forgiving

Somewhere, a Sylveon-Human Hybrid is wandering inside an empty area by herself. With no one in sight, she wanders peacefully while looking around. Then she gets a glimpse of someone from the other side. Someone who looks familiar to her, but cannot exactly remember who it is. The figure looks to be desperately calling for her and so she moves closer to get a good look but bumps into a barrier. The figure continues to call for her, but the barrier seems to prevent their calls from reaching The Hybrid's ears. "I-I can't hear you. I have no idea what you're saying. Who are you?" Said the Hybrid. The Hybrid, curious at what the figure had to say, proceeded to try and break the barrier, but every attempt she made to break it was futile and the figure began to look more desperate while calling. The Hybrid continued to bash and strike at the barrier, unaware that as she kept doing so, the area inside the barrier distorted more and more. Before she knew it, the area became so distorted that it had broken apart. The Hybrid lost her balance went into a free fall and continued to do so until…

(Stella then wakes up.)

"Sylveon!" Cried Stella. "What's wrong?" Said Fennekin. "I-I just had a b-bad dream Fennekin." Said Stella. "Wait? Did you just… understand what I was saying?" "Y-yes. I-I'm a Sylveon-Human Hybrid. Eon." "Wait, so you hugging me wasn't a dream at all?" "N-no. T-that actually happened." "Stella. Are you okay?" Said Ash as he entered the room. "Y-yes Ash. I just had another nightmare. Eon." "Do you still want to sleep here in your room?" "Yes. I w-want to try to keep improving." "Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind." Said Ash before leaving.

(A Few Weeks Later)

Over the next few weeks Stella would open up more to Ash about some of her experiences with Team Rocket, greatly helping her case while also strengthening their friendship. In addition to that, Stella had also bonded with many of Ash's Pokemon as well as her Fennekin. Ash also tutored Stella in reading, writing, and math with assistance from both Professors Kukui and Burnet, as well as their daughter Amelia. Inside Professor Kukui's house, Ash and the professor talk about Stella's progress. "Your friend is getting smarter and the hard work is paying off." Said Prof. Kukui. "What do you mean Professor?" Asked Ash. "She's already doing reading and writing, as well as math at fourth grade level, and it's only been a couple weeks since we started teaching and tutoring her." "Stella is someone who loves to learn as much as she can. It gives her a sense of freedom from all that has happened." "Factoring in what you just said, she could reach eighth grade level in a few months at most if all goes well. Speaking of which, where is she?" "She's at home playing with Pikachu and the others. I'll be sure to tell her when I get back." "Very well. I hope you both have a nice day." "Thanks professor."

(At Ash's home.)

Stella was playing with Pikachu, Fennekin, and many of Ash's Pokemon. Enjoying the fun she was having, Stella was happy. "All of you are so adorable! Veon!" Said Stella. Ash then entered his house. "Ash! How was it? What did Professor Kukui say?" "It went well. He says you've improved greatly in a short amount of time." Said Ash. "Really?!" "Also on a side note, your moves are improving as well." "I've been using Roto to help me figure out how to utilize them more effectively. Eon." "That's excellent." At that point Ash's phone begins to ring. "Is it alright if I take this?" "Of course. Eon." Ash then went outside to take the call. "Hello?" "Hello Ash." Said Mateus through the phone. "Oh! Mateus! What do you need?" "Ash, I'd like for you to meet up with me at headquarters with Stella. There's a few things I'd like to discuss." "Ok. I'll meet there in an hour." "Alright then." Ash then goes back inside. "W-who was it? Eon." "It was Mateus, there's some things he'd like discuss with us so we're meeting him in an hour." "O-okay." Stella wondered what Mateus wanted to discuss with them but she didn't think much of it since she knew he would tell them soon.

(One Hour Later, At the Headquarters of the International Police's Alola Branch.)

"After the Aether Foundation gathered your genetic samples, we checked the files we found about you in the lab one more time for good measure. Unfortunately, we were not able to find anything regarding who you were before the experiments or who your parents were." Said Mateus. "S-so that means the DNA test is the only way I'll find out. Eon." Said Stella, who was carrying Fennekin. "Currently that is the case. There may be a chance we will find more information in the future, but we'll just have to work with what we have now." "I see. Do you have any idea when the results might come in? Eon?" "In this case, no." "Why? You know this is important to her." Said Ash. "Pika! Pika Pika! (Yeah! He's right!)" Cried Pikachu. "Ash. You also have to remember that Stella is a hybrid, which means that one half of her DNA is that of a human and the other half is a Pokémon, which in her case is that of a Sylveon. Because of this, it's expected that this would take much longer for her than it would for us." "Ash t-told me that b-both of you thought you were going crazy when you first saw me in that wretched place. Eon." "Stella, I know this may sound heartbreaking, but up until we found you, no one has ever seen a live hybrid before and because of that was never a DNA test done on one either. What the Aether Foundation is doing is something unprecedented, it might take some time, but it's to ensure that the results are as accurate as that of a regular human's. You might be different, but that's what makes you amazing." "T-thank you Mateus. Eon." "I promise that once the results are in, I'll be sure to let you know."

Knock, knock, Knock.

A man wearing a lab coat with a T-shirt underneath, a pair of khakis and shoes appears at the door with a look of shock and fear on his face. "Professor Alva. What are you doing here?" Asked Mateus. "I came to discuss a few things with you, but I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw those ears." Said Prof. Alva. Mateus then noticed that Stella was cowering and covering her ears. "Stella, what's wrong?" Asked Ash. "She's scared Ash. Even though she has no idea who I am, she recognizes me." "Professor Alva, What do you mean?" "I'm not going to deny or sugarcoat this. I was one of the scientists who experimented on her." "Professor. I don't understand." "I knew you wouldn't Ash, so let me explain. You named her Stella, if I am correct?" Stella then nodded her head up and down. "It's a nice name."

(Professor Alva then enters the room and sits down.)

"It all started 11 years ago in my days of working as a scientist at Castelia City in Unova. I published a theory that I had no intention of fully being to fruition. This theory, 'The Hybridization Theory' as I named it, was the possible process of transforming a regular human into a hybrid by injecting Pokémon DNA into their bodies and molecularly bonding the two strands together so that they would fuse. The process would eventually turn a person into a hybrid, but I believed the process would be long and painful, in some cases it could even be traumatic. Hence why I had no intention of realizing it." "What happened professor?" "Unfortunately Mateus, Team Rocket had gotten a hold of a copy of my theory and wished to make it a reality." "What did they do?" "One day I was leaving the city to get home, when all of a sudden I was knocked out cold. When I woke up, I was in a room filled with Rocket grunts and Giovanni came up to me. He pulled out a copy of my theory and demanded that I make it a reality. At first I adamantly refused, but they told me that they knew where I lived and that they would have no problem making my family suffer if I refused. Not wanting to bring harm to my family, I had no choice but to accept their demands." "Professor, I never knew."

(Professor Alva then remembers himself in the Hidden Team Rocket Lab.)

"I remember that when I got there they were still figuring out who would be the ideal candidate for the project, fittingly named Project XYZ since those letters are often used in genetics, and when they did find their ideal candidate, it was a young girl who looked to be around five or six years old." "Did they tell you a name?" "They never did, Ash. She was given the designation 'XYZ-700' since that was the species they intended to have her hybridized with." "Number 700 in the Pokédex is Sylveon." "Exactly. We referred to her as simply 700 for short. To ensure the process would go smoothly, we injected Eevee DNA into her until she was mature enough to evolve. The process was much worse than I could ever theorize. Her cries, pleas, and screams of agony and pain were heard every night. Although I felt empathetic, there was nothing I could do. After five years of working on her, I knew I couldn't take it anymore, I knew that I had to escape. I wanted to take her with me, but it was too big of a risk, not only would Team Rocket have found out faster, but I knew she didn't trust me at all, and that If I got caught, the consequences would be severe. So I escaped Team Rocket by myself and had to fake my own death so that they would chase me any further."

(Professor Alva then returns his thoughts to the present day.)

"And then you went on to join the International Police." "Yes Ash. I joined since they were the only ones who could keep my existence a secret. There were times I had hoped that she would be safe from whatever they intended to use her for. Even if it was against my will, I could never look into the eyes of my family again. Not just for what I had done to your friend, but also for the fact that I spent so many years away from them. I am probably a hazy image in their memory at this point. I cannot ask for Stella to forgive me, because I know I do not deserve it." "Professor, how could you say such a thing?" ""Mateus, because of my theory and the experiments done to bring it to reality, I am the root of all of Stella's pain and trauma. I cannot deny it and I regret it. I deserve a much harsher punishment for this." No. I'm n-not going to do that to you. Eon." Said Stella. "Stella, why?" "Y-yes. You did hurt me a-and caused many p-painful memories, but y-you were f-forced to do that e-even though you didn't want to. I-I-I forgive you. Eon." Stella then wrapped her feelers around Professor Alva to hug him.

(Hours later)

Ash and Stella were eating food they got from Mallow's restaurant, Aina's Kitchen, for dinner. "Stella, I'm really proud of you for forgiving Professor Alva." Said Ash. "I-it wasn't easy, but T-team Rocket were willing to hurt him and he didn't want that. He understood my pain. In s-some ways, the experiments were just as painful to him as they were for me. Eon." Said Stella. "This does prove that you originally were a regular human. That means that there is a high possibility that you have parents and that we can find out who and where they are." "Y-you really think so Ash? Eon?" "Definitely. But we have to be patient."

*End of Chapter 9*

Oh! Before I forget, Tomorrow is Halloween! I hope all those who do celebrate it have an excellent time getting candy, watching movies, or partaking in whatever tradition you do on this spooky night. If not, then I hope you have an excellent day regardless.

Also, I know it's a little late, but as a huge baseball fan, congrats to the Dodgers on winning the World Series.