I finally did it! :D After months of no motivation, I finally felt the urge, the need to finish this chapter. I've been working on this constantly for the past 3 days and I finally finished it~ Throughout the entire few days, I've been shouting 'I'm almost done' over and over again, but then I kept going back and changing things. I do want to thank you guys for being so patient with me though, and I also want to thank Hyperjade for giving me advice on how to get out of a funk I was having with a bit of character development~ But, I'm really sorry this took so long. Between October and now, there was only one other time I felt motivated to write, but that was during work and my break was almost over. So by the time my shift was over, I had no motivation whatsoever. Anyways, I do hope y'all enjoy this chapter and I don't own Pokemon.

Chapter 11: Brought Back Down

I was relieved, but worried at the same time. Aurora had left with the promise that'd she'd be back for me and had exiled grandfather from their territory. So far the only good that came from it was that Darian had given the older Lucario a place to stay, and my friends had forgiven me for keeping the princess bit a secret.

Darian had just finished dismissing the other members and after a tour of the castle for grandfather, dinner was done. Grandfather, Tsubaki, Drax, Gale, and myself sat in a small group in the dining hall chatting up a storm when Drax pointed towards my bandanna."Yo, Lucy. Why are you wearing that on your arm?"

I looked down at the multi colored cloth before speaking. "I got injured during our mission and it scarred over. I thought I'd cover it up with something and found this at Emil's."

"Wait, you got hurt? You guys were just facing a Luxray, right? I figured you and Sly wouldn't have a problem with him." Gale chimed in, looking a tad concerned.

"Yea, we faced a Luxray named Scar. I can't really say much about it, but there was something...unnatural about him. His aura terrified me, it wasn't like anything I'd ever seen. I couldn't even land a Force Palm on him, I literally just passed right through, like he was a Ghost type. Sly couldn't land a Psychic move either, and Dark moves didn't do much to him. Darian seems to know something about it though, and sent Team Eon to find someone named Sid." I explained as best as I could. There really wasn't much I could say on the subject since I myself was still baffled on the situation.

"Sly? That your teammate?" Grandfather asked between bites of food, currently munching on a large Sitrus Berry.

"Yes. I was put on his team, Team Delusion, when I got here." My nose scrunching up at the mere mention of my unruly partner.

"Oh? Do you not like him?"

"No. He's obnoxious, he insults everyone constantly, and I haven't once seen him show an ounce of respect to anyone. He doesn't even want me on his team. The only thing I can be thankful for is that he stopped me from potentially bleeding to death. " I rolled my eyes, the thought of the purple maned Zoroark's obnoxious attitude dimming my once happy mood.

After asking which Pokémon here was Sly, the conversation ended there when the Lucario showed evident displeasure at the aura he was giving out. As much as I wanted to continue talking to grandfather, everyone went to their own rooms for the night since Trevor would undoubtedly wake us in the early hours of morning.

The next morning, I was once again startled awake by the Exploud's obnoxiously loud wake up call. My ears were ringing as I picked myself up off the cold floor. Unlike the day of my first mission though, Tsubaki didn't come bursting through my door, most likely listening to her teammates and leaving me be till breakfast.

The dining hall was thoroughly packed this morning, but I still managed to snag a seat between Tsubaki and Gale. Drax, Cosmo, Sarabi, and a Houndoom were sitting around our small table as well. As soon as I sat down, Drax got my attention and gestured towards the Houndoom sitting beside him. "Lucy, this is Cecil. Together with me and Gale, we make up Team EWF."

Drax and Gale were part of the same team? The two hadn't mentioned it before, but then again, I've been gone for the majority of the time since I got here. "It's nice to meet you, Cecil."

After a quiet hello from the seemingly shy Houndoom, everyone finished their meals and made way to the request room. Sly was nowhere to be seen, so maybe this time I could pick out a mission.

"Lucy! Would you come here, please?" Or maybe not…

Miss Blair held a piece of parchment in her paws, eyes trailing over it. "Yes, Miss Blair?" I approached her.

"Darian has requested that you and Sly take this mission. After the description of your encounter with Scar, he would like you to follow up on more outlaw requests till Sid and Team Eon arrive. I've already discussed this with Sly, but today you'll be trailing an outlaw named Zero. He's a Garchomp guilty of multiple counts of murder. According to witnesses, he was last seen heading for Cliffside Cavern." As Miss Blair went on into details about the various murders, I felt the fur on my arms and the back of my neck rise up. I felt uneasy, like I was being watched. However, after a quick scope of the room, my senses detected no odd auras hanging around. Everyone was talking to each other or looking for missions.

A massive shadow then loomed over me, growling menacingly. In my haste, I turned around and struck the ominous presence with a Force Palm. As I slowly opened my eyes, I came to regret my hasty actions.

After crashing into one of the many request boards, Sly lay dazed and paralyzed atop the pile of broken wood. I hadn't sensed his aura at all. Had he somehow hidden it from me? Looking back and forth between me and my partner, everyone began cackling hysterically as they realized what had happened. I lowered my ears and mumbled to the Miss Blair that I'd wait outside.

I already knew Sly was pissed. I could now easily sense his irate aura from a mile away. "Why the hell did you do that?!" Streaks of yellow electricity coursed through his fur, the paralysis from my Force Palm fading away.

"If you hadn't hid your aura from me, I wouldn't have reacted that way." I shrugged, handing him a Cheri Berry from my bag. "How'd you do that anyways?"

Sly stopped in his tracks, giving me an exasperated look. "If you haven't noticed already, I'm a Zoroark. It's kinda our thing, Princess."

"I didn't know you could-wait...did you just call me Princess?"

"What do you think, Princess?" He sneered, stepping into Jafar's tent.

"Don't call me that!" I snapped as we were teleported to the entrance of Cliffside Cavern.

Sly began to laugh sarcastically as he walked to the entrance. "Why not? That's what you are. Why don't you just go back to your tower and wait for Prince Charming t-" Sly was cut off as my Force Palm connected with his back.

With a string of curses, he lay sprawled on the ground, unable to move due to the paralysis. I ran past him, angry tears rolling down my face.

There was no need for that. There was no reason for him to say those things. I was no longer a princess. I was not helpless. I didn't need rescuing. I didn't need to wait for some 'prince charming' to save me. I didn't need him. I saved myself. I escaped from my 'tower'. I didn't need to be saved.

Wiping away my tears, I clenched my fists tightly. I'd find Ryukk and capture him without Sly's help. I'd prove that I wasn't just some damsel in distress.

Puffing out my chest, I resolved to prove myself to that obnoxious fox. Just picturing that shocked expression when he finds me with Zero already beaten brought a smirk to my face. That stupid Zoroark always made my blood boil. He never shows any respect, any compassion. Why on earth would he be in a guild anyways? The money? With Darian inheriting his family's wealth, he didn't have to take much, if any at all from our earnings during only way you'd be able to 'get rich' from joining a guild was through years of hard work. If you were a higher rank, you got to take on higher paying missions, but while paying more it was also much more dangerous. The highest amount I'd seen being rewarded for a job was for the Grand Master ranked Teams. The job rewarded 10,000 poke, as well as a few items. It was for an exploration job. An incredibly high leveled dungeon that was just discovered which also meant it was extremely dangerous. Jobs like those were usually paid by the Exploration Federation, and they certainly didn't skimp out the rewards.

Now, even with that much poke, jobs like those were usually performed by more than one Pokemon, even some requiring more than one team, which meant that the rewards would have to be split between each of the members. The majority of teams put their earnings together, but after buying supplies to last several days and enough for two or three team members, your poke dwindles pretty rapidly, especially if you were going to a high level dungeon. With how everything is between me and Sly right now though, there was no way we were going to put our poke together. After buying enough supplies and the bandanna for myself, most of my money had been used up. Anyways, there had to be some other reason for him to join a guild. Unless you managed to find some rare treasure, money didn't seem like a good answer. Maybe Darian or Miss Blair could tell me...or would they know? Would it even be their place to tell me? Probably not.

I was abruptly brought from my thoughts as something charged into me, hitting my back and making me stumble onto the ground. As I was sidetracked with my thoughts, I had failed to notice one of the native mons creep behind me. It was a Geodude, not very strong, but incredibly resilient to physical attacks. An Aura Sphere quickly dispatched him and I continued on, making my way to the next floor. According to Miss Blair, Cliffside Cavern wasn't very long, so I should be about halfway through it by now.

After making it to the next floor, I sensed a strong aura wandering around the vicinity. Assuming it was Zero, I cautiously crept around until I reached a large boulder and crouched behind it. Zero was slowly approaching, not much longer and I could hit him with a surprise heavy footfalls were the only sound throughout the cavern. My heart fluttered nervously as I steeled myself for the upcoming battle.

As soon as his back was fully exposed to me, I launched myself at him, striking him with a Power-Up-Punch. As I felt my attack go up from the successful move, I also felt myself take damage as well. He has Rough Skin.

Zero stumbled into one of the nearby stalagmites, breaking it off and creating a loud thud that echoed in the cavern. "Zero, you are wanted on behalf of the Arcanine Patrol for murder! Will you come peacefully, or will I have to take you in by force?"

"So they've sent another one after me, then? Girlie, I've taken on multiple Pokemon at once. You'll be no different. If you want to leave with your life, then I suggest you leave now." He stood with a huff, eyeing me uninterestedly.

In answer, I launched an Aura Sphere at him. The Garchomp crossed his arms in front of him, letting the curved fins block the attack. While he recovered, I rushed at him with a Bone Rush. I had raised my physical attack with the Power-Up-Punch, but with his Rough Skin, it would be best to use moves that that wouldn't directly connect with him so I wouldn't have to take unnecessary damage. Unfortunately, Bone Rush was the only physical move I knew that didn't make direct contact. I could try special moves as well, Aura Sphere would work well, but I'm not so sure about Psychic. As long as I could get him while he's down, I should be able to use the move safely. Psychic always took a vast amount of concentration for me to use. If I was a Psychic type, it wouldn't be a problem. They have an abundance of natural psychic energy that allows them to use moves that correspond to their own types much easier. Every type was like that. It was always easier to learn and use moves that match up to their own typing. It took a lot of training to use them, which is why it was so easy for me to use Bone Rush now.

I summoned the light green bones and prepared to strike as I neared him. As I came closer, Zero whipped his arms to the sides, creating multiple sand tornadoes. Sand Tomb...while the attack itself wasn't very powerful, if I was caught in one of them, it would make for a quick getaway for him, or an easy death for myself. While trapped in the Sand Tomb, I wouldn't be able to move, I'd be completely defenseless, not to mention it'd also be super effective against me. Unable to attack, unable to defend, unable to pursue. I had to stay away from it, otherwise I'd be a sitting Ducklett.

I pounced back some feet away. With the tornadoes circling the vicinity, I couldn't get too close to him. All I could do from this distance was to fire Aura Spheres. As I charged my attack, Zero opened his maw and let loose a vicious Flamethrower, making me dodge and cut off my attack. I needed to close the distance between us. If I sent Aura Spheres into the tornados, would they disappear? They would have to be smaller, weaker spheres though. I could send multiple smaller ones at the swirling dust that would take less time to charge. As Zero unleashed another round of fire, I launched my own mini Aura Spheres towards one of the tornadoes. Upon impact, the two attacks exploded in a cloud of dust, making one less obstacle for me to worry about.

After launching the spheres I was hard pressed to dodge the oncoming flames, managing to swerve most of my body out of the way. Suppressing the pained yelp as it caught the right side of stomach, I summoned two bones of light green energy and sent the long ranged Bone Rush to the two other tornadoes and effectively destroying them as well. At the loss of his defenses, Zero crossed his arms in front of him again, getting ready to use another Sand Tomb again. Before he could use it however, I used Extreme Speed to close the distance between us and used Drain Punch. I felt my health replenish instantly, even taking away the damage done to me by his Rough Skin.

Unfortunately, I miscalculated on how sturdy he was. The first time I attacked him, he was caught off guard and didn't have time to react. This time though, he was anticipating an attack at some point and stood his ground. I was able to knock him back a few feet and do a bit of damage, but I was unprepared for this outcome. Zero smirked and uncrossed his arms, knocking me down and sending the Sand Tomb straight at me. I was encased instantly and cried out as I was battered around in the swirling sand. The next instant, I was swept out of it by a powerful Dragon Tail and crashed into the wall. Standing up weakly, I noticed that Zero was making his way towards me.

I was out of options, I was backed into a corner. There was only one other move I could try, but it was risky. Right before I left home for the Guild, Grandfather had started teaching me Ice Punch. It the only move in my arsenal that would do significant damage to the dragon, but I was still having difficulty using it. I would also take damage from the Rough Skin, but I was running out of time. I knew only two long ranged attacks, three if you count the thrown Bone Rush. I mostly trained on physical attacks, I had grown up around the same species my entire life. I was unprepared for situations like this.

Zero took another step towards me, finally closing the distance. I let the icy energy flow through my paw and my fist connected with the dragon's chest, but once again, my attack backfired. The dragon roared in pain, but instead of coating his body in a sheet of ice, the icy crystals began to travel up my own arm, completely freezing it up to my shoulder.

With an irritated growl, Zero quickly recovered and pinned me against the wall, his arm pressed dangerously against my neck and lifting me off the ground. "Time to die, girlie."

Zero pressed his arm harder against my throat, making me light headed from the lack of oxygen and lifted the other above his head, preparing to strike me down with a Dragon Claw.

I desperately tried to move his arm away, to punch him, kick him, anything. But my efforts were in vain as my weakened attempts did nothing to free me. "S-S-Sly…" I whispered hoarsely. There was nothing else I could do. Nothing that would save me from my impending doom.

As his green tinted talon descended, I shut my eyes tightly. But the pain never came. Instead, I heard a grunt and I was suddenly on the ground again, slumped against the wall as I took several burning gulps of air to my aching lungs.

Opening my eyes slowly, mischievous eyes and an all too familiar smirk filled my vision. "You called, Princess?"