Sorry for the delayed update!

I had originally planned to post this Chapter up on Friday, but i got dragged to a football game for my school, and yesterday was the Homecoming dance, so this is the first chance i had to type this up.

I can't believe i haven't posted this before -smacks self in face-

Words in italics and quotes are either :

1-inner thoughts that are NOT spoken or

2-words that were spoken previously, sort of like a flashback

Example- "There are three types of training monsters in this world: armored, fanged and blunt..."

These are words spoken previously by a professor

" Stupid…Stupid…Stupid!"

These are inner thoughts spoken by our main character here.

Chapter Eleven

Alex got to her feet, head spinning, The sudden drop had thrown off her balance. The small orange and white coated cat eyed her suspiciously. It's cousin had its head near the floor, looking up at her in a ready to pounce position. The green beast mimicked the first small feline.

Alex shuddered, turning to stare at the larger cat. Something was off, it was on the tip of Alex's mind, but for some reason, she couldn't reach it.

The second, aggressive junior cellion sprang forward, moving faster then Alex had expected. There was not enough time to draw and successfully swing her sword, so she threw her right arm up to put a weak barrier between her neck and some very sharp teeth. Instead, the sharp daggers sank into her wrist and tried to shake it free from her body.

Alex grimaced in pain, using the time advantage to draw her sword with her ambidextrous hands, stabbing with a precise precision at the cat. It sprang backwards, more from shock then pain. Its developing horn had stopped most of the blow, but a small patch of usually snow white fur was coated with a deep red. Alex frantically tried to recall her lessons on these types of foe.

"There are three types of training monsters in this world: armored, fanged and blunt. Armored animals rely on their tough skins, horns, or even claws to deflect attacks. To kill one of these opponents, you must find their weak spots. For most enemies with full body armor, the weak spots are usually the head or feet. For those with horns, the head and muscle around the horn is the best place to strike. It will dislodge the horn, and scare the animal into running away. Horns, unlike heads, can regenerate.

To kill blunt opponents is much easier. These usually have no armor and attack with sheer strength force. Examples of lower level blunt animals would be slimes or orange mushrooms. However, be cautious when approached higher level blunt bodied monsters, for they could quickly over power a young apprentice or traveler.

Last but not least, the fanged monster, These usually have sharp teeth and/or claws. Thirty percent of the time, fanged monsters have poison in their deadly bite. Because of this, fanged monsters are considered by most to be the most deadly monster on the island. There is only one…"

Alex dropped into a fighting stance, sword at the ready. She watched as the junior cellion growled, and the junior lioner kept its big, topaz eyes on Alex with an extreme suspicion. The giant cat remained still, looking around the pit will a dull uninterested scowl on its face.

It lazily stretched and stood to its full height, eyes refusing to focus on anything.

Almost as if it…..wait, that's it!

Her sharp mind quickly formulated a plan as the junior cellion came back for a second pass. Alex countered the charge, smacking the cat back with the blunt side of her sword.

As expected, the young lioner sprang forward after its cousin was hurt, and the large cat lazily followed them with its large eyes. Alex retreated to the back of the cave, then sprinted along its circumference. She stopped short, surprising everyone, and ducked.

Two startled cats launched over her head, unable to stop the momentum caring them forward. They slammed into the larger cat, which looked at Alex with wide eyes before disappearing into thin air.

The young cats were dazed and hurt from the collision. Alex raised her sword up over her head, ready to eliminate the disorientated monsters. As the sword fell into a downward chop, Alex let out a grunt, falling to the floor.

" Stupid…Stupid…Stupid!"

In the rush to outsmart the young felines, she had made a fatal error.

Alex had forgotten the last monster, lurking in the shadows until now.

She continued to call herself names, in more then one language, and tried to stand, wincing in pain as the aftereffects spread through her body.

It was a white hot fire that pulsed through her body, shooting up from her injured wrist and forearm. It moved with a lightning speed; Alex balled her fists up, her nonexistent nails puncturing her own flesh.

As the second wave of pain washed through her body, Alex dropped down to meet the unforgiving cold floor. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out, silently writhing in pain. Black lines smeared the edges of her consciousness as her focus began to fade.

"One monster family that is the…"

Her forgotten professors words tried to crawl back into her brain, but the darkness had nearly overtaken her vision. She used all her remaining willpower to keep focused, to keep herself awake. It was too much. A lone sigh escaped her lips as she prepared to give in to the overpowering dark abyss creeping into her mind. Alex fluttered her now heavy eyelids and let her extremely heavy, sweat soaked dark blonde hair lay against the cool concrete pit floor.

She recalled Athena Pierce's words,

"If you do not give one hundred percent effort, you will die."

She had taken it as a challenge before, but it turned out to be an unheeded warning.

After all my training, this is how it ends. I'm still not strong enough, and now I will never be…forgive me mother…

Alex wanted to shake her head, but couldn't find the strength to lift it. She looked up, out of the pit, to see Jackie's shocked eyes. Alex tried to smile before closing her eyes for eternal rest.

"One monster family that is the exception to these classifications is the Eyes"

Jackie had watched Alex's plan unfold, an odd mixture between proper battle tactics, and her own unique, unorthodox fighting style. She cheered when her plan worked, even if it did disturb her to see a giant cat disappear before her eyes. She was used to the phenomenon that surrounded the Great Four and their respective jobs. She was unprepared, however, to face the horrifying defeat of her seemingly invincible friend. She watched Alex's struggle to stand. It was the first 'battle' she had ever seen her friend lose. Shock quickly filled Jackie's frozen body.

"The Eye family contains three branches of monsters.

The yellow-skinned Evil Eye, the forest green Cursed Eye, and the white Cold Eye.

Each has a thick layer of body aror, sharpened claws, and extremely poisonous fangs. The only known weak point of this family is its tail.

The Evil Eyes are the weakest, followed by Cursed Eyes, and finally Cold Eyes.

Evil eyes have a mild poison which resides solely in their fangs. It can numb and slow down body movements, but the paralysis is only temporary.

The Cursed Eye has an extremely lethal poison that enters your blood stream through a bite. As soon as it is your body, one receives an unimaginable pain. 80 percent of deaths from this poison result in the first hour. It is a strong psychical and psychological battle.

The Cold Eye is similar to the Evil Eye, but the paralysis is much stronger and longer lasting, and located in the claws and fangs. There have been many arguments on which of these monstrosities are the strongest, but no one in the scientific community can agree on the answer…"

The shock finally wore off. Jackie went to run forward to help her fallen comrade, only to meet an invisible barrier. Athena Pierce shook her had slowly, sadly. If she interfered, Alex would not only loose her pride, but her job as well. Jackie growled in frustration, eyeing the Curse Eye with profound hate. There had to be a way to help.

The monster walked in lazy circles, knowing no further effort was necessary. This just seemed to anger Jackie more.

Alex's usually pale blue eyes were the color of stone slabs. They lackadaisically met her own dark, worried ones.

A new level of sadness unbeknownst to man filled those gray orbs. Jackie was frozen with shock for the second time that day. Her vocabulary would not do justice to the despair and defeat reflected off of those eyes. There was no possible way to describe the… no, not regret… the forgiveness they seemed to yearn for.

Then Alex smiled, the smile of a destroyed person, but it was perhaps the most genuine smile Jackie had ever seen in her life.

Alex closed her eyes.

Overwhelming disbelief and heartbreak filled Jackie. She internally battled such strong emotions, curious to why they were there. But she pushed her thoughts aside and tried to focus on the task at hand. Helping Alex

She was her teammate, and teammates never looked the other way when one was in need. Jackie rushed to mimic healing spells she had overheard the medical staff use. She moved her silent lips to the words before pointing at Alex. The girl remained immobile, her eyes still closed.

Jackie began to panic.

'"What do I do… What do I do….."

Jackie tried to calm her inner voice down, healing strategies were too weak. She didn't have enough knowledge to heal her fallen friend.

She looked back down into the pit to assess the situation. Alex's closed-eyed face still had that small smile on her lips. She studied her friend further. Her chest heaved lightly, breathe coming in and out in shallow pulls. The wound didn't look all to serious, besides the poison of course, but if someone didn't act soon, the blood loss could definitely turn into a problem.

A fatal problem.

Jackie knew Alex didn't have much time left, if any time at all. She felt tears pooling under her eyes; She swiped angrily at them. Jackie racked her brain for any tidbit of information that could possibly heal her friend, help her friend. Nothing, her mind was blank. She mentally cursed herself and more tears began to form.

No. Not now. Alex needs help. This isn't the time to be getting emotional.

She thought back to her job test.

Alex had helped her, pulled her out of that cloudy state of mind with… contact.

That was forbidden here, but maybe… just maybe… she could..

No. That's insane, it'll never work.

She continued to search her mind for any other alternative, trying desperately to find a solution. She thought back to that crazy idea.

Jackie looked back down at Alex.

She had stopped breathing.

DUN DUN DUN!

cliffhanger!

bawahahaha.

This chapter turned out okay, it was pretty boring to type, considering i went over it like 10 times.

About the 'lessons', I don't know why, but my mind seems to need justification on some of the most random things. Sorry if this annoys you, but that's just the kind of person/writer I am.

Expect the next update sometime this week.

-Dak