I apologize for the wait! Before you read, I just wanted to inform all of you readers that I have a beta reader now :) ! Yay! So, hopefully you will notice a difference. And much thanks to Sweet But Psycho for helping me out.

Chapter Eleven - Keeping Her Promise

I rested my hand against the trunk of a large tree, trying to catch my breath. I couldn't stop panting and I feel my stomach churning. Running non stop through the forest hadn't been such a fantastic plan after all. My shoes were caked in mud and the heat from the sun was causing sweat to form. Heck, I didn't even know where I was anymore. But, I knew for a fact I was not in the same town as I was before.

I decided to stop as I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. I closed my eyes, as I lay sprawled on a soft patch of grass. This was becoming hopeless. It was almost evening and I still wasn't any closer to finding Steven. I glanced up at the sky. The clouds were rolling in, and the sun was starting to set. Tears began to form in my eyes as reality hit me. Team Magma would be long gone by now. It was over, I had lost my chance. I would never see him again. The image of Steven's face projected in my mind. I could see him clearly in my head, his silver hair, brilliant smile and of course his mysterious steel blue eyes.

I shoved the heels of my hands into the ground and forced myself up. Although they felt shaky, I conjured up the strength to spring back onto my feet. Biting my lip, I began to sprint once more. "Steven!" I shouted. My undone shoe laces were becoming a bother as I nearly fell a couple of times, but I couldn't have cared less. "Steven!" My throat was starting to become sorefrom my heavy panting. I kept my pace along the path, but I turned my attention to what was next to me. There was a steep grassy hill. I stared ahead and then back to the hill. Curiously, I ran over to see what was below. "Steven! Are you down there?" I took a few more steps, until I felt something slippery underneath me. I stepped onto my shoe lace, and lost balance. I screamed as my leg slid in the mud. From there I basically rolled down the grassy hill, right until I reach the pit of it.

"Mightyena come on!"

I groaned, as I sat up. My whole body was aching from that fall.

"Mightyena!"

My heart almost stopped. Approximately five meters way from me stood a mightyena. It was baring its teeth and snarling at me viciously.

"What's wrong with you?" The same gruff voice said. It seemed as if the owner couldn't see me, for now anyway. Frantically, I scanned my surroundings. A big log was right in front of me, so instinctively I ducked. I could hear footsteps and the pokemon starting to growl. I held my breath, hoping I was well hidden from sight.

"Get away from that! There's no time to be playing around here, Mightyena! We have to go!" I heard the pokemon whine, before finally retreating back to the man. I listened as their footsteps faded. Slowly, I peered over the log. They were heading straight ahead. I brushed myself off and followed then carefully.

As I stalked behind the figure, I reached into my pouch and pulled out a pokeball

"Espy!" My Espeon leapt onto my shoulder, its eyes glistening with curiosity. "Shh!" I urged. "We're trying to find out where Team Magma's hideout is." The pokemon blinked in confusion a few times at first, but obeyed.

The atmosphere had changed dramatically. Above, it was sunnier, warmer, there were plenty of Pokemon and big, oak trees all about, but here in the lower part of the forest it seemed to the opposite. It felt much darker, the air was denser and colder, there were no wild Pokemon to be seen and the only trees that were here were all bare or dead. I shivered and dug my hands into my pockets.

The man in front of us had put his pokemon back in its poke ball. From behind he appeared tall and lanky, but sure enough, he was wearing the Team Magma uniform. I stared intensely at the hooded figure, praying he wouldn't turn around.

Finally, he came to a halt. I hid myself behind a tree, peering over slowly to see what was going on now. We had stopped right in front of a massive pile of boulders. He froze for a moment, and I bit my lip. I watched as he looked from side to side and then behind him. The hooded figure then knocked three times on the largest boulder. I gasped softly as it slid aside for him. He disappeared into the darkness and the boulder slowly resumed it's original place.

How clever. Concealing there hideout so well was definitely a smart thing to do, but now I knew where it was. Smiling to myself, I approached the same boulder. I mimicked the Magma member and banged my knuckles against the over sized rock three times. The boulder began to move, so I took a step back. I was face to face with a pit of black. Gulping, I balled my hands into fists and walked in. I was going to do this, it was far too late to turn back now. I listened as the boulder blocked the exit behind me.

The sounds of my steps echoed through the narrow pathway. The stalactites hanging from the ceiling helped me realize I was in a limestone cave. A small smile formed on my lips; I had learned that from Steven.

Torches where hung on the walls giving off an eerie, dim affect. I shuddered. It felt like the walls were closing in on me as I walked along this winding trail. It seemed never ending. I started to sprint, ignoring the cramps that I was beginning to feel. Espy murmured something softly, but I ignored it. Ten minutes had gone past once I reached the end of the hallway. I had to choose my path; go through the large wooden door that loomed in front of me, or branch left and go down a set of stairs and through another passageway. I looked over my options quickly, and decided to try the door. My espeon whined quietly. "It's going to be fine." I whispered. I really hoped I was right. I grabbed the brass handle and swung the door open as slowly as possible . Light was leaking was the room before me and I could hear voices.

"Excellent!"

That voice sounded familiar. I stepped out into the light, to see a giant crowd of Team Magma members below me. I knelt down, realizing that I was up on a balcony. Panicked, I crawled over to the metal railing. Maxie was standing before everyone with a tall, silver haired man and another Magma member next to him. That was Steven and Tabitha.

Catching my breath, I tried to observe what was going on by peering through the metal bars.

"This truly warms my heart." Maxie stated. "Such a young man like yourself willing to help our organization is just touching." He was smiling at Steven. I felt my hands ball up into fists.

"Now, hand it to us!" Tabitha demanded impatiently.

"No need to be so abrupt about things." Maxie intervened. "He's a guest, for now, so treat him kindly. After all, we do need him." Tabitha bit his lip, discreetly hiding his annoyance.

"I'll give you the stone, but then you have to promise to set me free." Steven replied huskily. He pulled out a shiny golden object from his pack.

"Wonderful, you have it. But, I'm afraid that we can't accept your little bargain." Maxie chuckled. Tabitha snatched the stone from Steven's hands, yet Steven did nothing. He seemed to be watching helplessly as Tabitha whispered something to Maxie and retreated into an elevator, the stone still in his possession.

The leader snapped his fingers and suddenly a Magma member appeared behind Steven.

"I apologize about this- I truly do- but…" Maxie sighed and then clasped his hands together. "This is just business. I can't trust you, you can't trust me. In order to make sure this stone is the real deal, we will require you to stay with us until the legendary Pokemon has been awakened. I would appreciate your cooperation."

I wanted to scream, yell, do anything to get Steven's attention, but nothing came out of my mouth.

"I understand." Steven responded stoically. His bangs shadowed his eyes, causing my stomach to churn. I watched helplessly as the hooded figure ushered him towards a door on the right side of the room.

I got to my feet and went back through the door. I had to get to that room. The stairs seemed the most logical, so I went down them. I ended up at another door, this time it had a window. Through it I could see the room where everyone had just been. Maxie was gone and the remaining members were leaving. They all exited the same way to my relief, so I waited until the area was totally cleared out. Once it was, I stepped inside. Espeon jumped off my shoulder and looked around the room. It pointed it's tail at the same door Steven had been dragged through. I nodded at my Pokemon and we both ran to it. I swung it open and ran. I felt like I was in a dungeon as I noticed thick, bolted wooden doors on each sides of me. There were more torches, but their flames gave off a dim aura.

I turned down random hallways, hoping to find Steven, but I felt like I kept going in circles. Leaning against a wall, I let my eyes flicker around the place. Everything looked the same. I had no idea of where I was now.

"Enjoy your stay!" I heard a husky laugh and the slamming of a door. I perked up and followed the sound that was just around the corner. I stopped once I saw the same guy that had taken Steven away. The Magma member was situated right in front of the door and turned his head immediately. He seemed in shock when he saw me. "W-what the…who are you?"

Espeon looked at me, but I shook my head. I dug deep into my pouch and reached for the poke ball. I smiled at it, I hadn't use this Pokemon in a while. "Go!"

"Bulbasaur!" My Pokemon seemed startled at first, but then noticed the man in front of us.

"What are you-"

"Espeon, hold him still with Psychic! And then, Bulbasaur, use Sleeping Powder!"

Steven's POV

I stared blankly at the wall across from me. I felt so damn helpless. "Arg!"

I slammed my fist onto the night table by my small bed. Things hadn't gone the way I had wanted them too. The real stone was in Team Magma's hands and soon they would awaken that poor pokemon. But, that wasn't the worst of my troubles…The smiling face of that girl I had met in the cave filled my head. I was imprisoned and yet all I could do was think about her! I sighed, before letting my face fall into my hands.

From the moment I had met her in the cave, I knew there was something different about her. She wasn't like any other girl I had met on my travels before. Here I was, an eighteen year old, used to spending practically spending every second of life on his own, missing a girl that had only come into my life for a short period of time. It's like she had shattered the strong sense independence I had. I wanted to escape and find her, hug her, hold her and see her smile again.

I bit down on my lip, hard. The brutal things I said to her kept re playing in my mind. My hand turned into a fist. But I had to protect her. If this was the only way to keep her safe, then so be it. I would suffer for her.

My head shot up as the door to my room creaked open. The silhouette of a young female was evident. The figure stepped into my room, the door shutting behind her. My jaw dropped.

"W-What?"

It was her. She stared back at me, her eyes holding mine. There was a long silence as neither of us said I word. I couldn't believe she was before me right now. Was I delirious?

"Steven." She sent me a small smile. "I'm here to return the favor." I paused, taking in the sound of her voice.

"You're…you're actually here right now." I whispered. She sighed.

"Look, there's no time to explain! We have to get you out of here!"

I stood up and approached her. Hesitantly, I stopped right in front of her. She seemed determined but also scared; scared of me. "But…"

"Let's go!" She tried to turn around, but I grabbed her wrist.

"Wait! How did you come here?"

"I followed a Magma member." She blurted, her voice exasperated. "Now come on!" I closed my eyes. Not only was I confused, but I couldn't believe it, this girl really was something else.

"Steven, come on!" I shook my head from side to side and took my spot back on my bed.

"I can't leave." She crossed her arms, a frustrated look on her face.

"What?"

"If I leave they will come after us and you could-"

"I can take care of myself!" She interrupted. I saw tears forming in her eyes. "You think that I'm so weak that I always need protection, but Steven, I can do this. Trying to make me hate you isn't going to stop me from keeping my promise!"

I gaped at her. She knew. My hands began to tremble, as I felt that heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"I don't need you to rescue me, leave." She scoffed, before frowning at me. "So, you're going to try to play tough guy again? It's not going to work, Steven. I'll wait here for as long as I have to."

"Arg! Why are you so stubborn?" I exploded. She sighed again.

"I just want to help you, please."

I bit my lip. I hated treating her like this. I felt that horrible feeling inside me begin to worsen. "I don't want your help; I can take care of myself too!" I rubbed my temples, calming myself. "Look, I don't want you to keep your promise. So, please, just go before someone comes."

"No." I turned to look at her. She had tears coming down her eyes. My hands began to tremble again, but I tore my eyes away. I thought of what would happen to her if she stuck around. These people were mad, who knows what they would do to her. I looked at her again.

"I don't understand, I really don't."

"Huh?" She questioned. I exhaled.

"I try everything I possibly can to protect you, but you just don't listen. I forced myself to say cruel things to you, to hurt you… and yet you're still here. I just don't understand why…"

The softness in my voice was evident, even to me. But, I was done. I couldn't do this to her anymore. Another silence passed, before I heard her take a step towards me. She was gazing at me, her glistening eyes holding mine.

"Steven, the only reason I'm still here is because…" I watched as her lips formed a small smile. "I love you." I looked into her eyes, stunned. A million thoughts were racing through my head, all trying to transform themselves into speech. It was all I could do to summarized them in a single utterance of her name as I reached towards her.

"Evelyn."

Oo, so do you guys like the name choice? It's the name of my friend's younger sister and I adoooore it! This will probably be the name of my future baby girl... if I get married have kids haha. Revieww! :)

~XOXO~