A/N: Much thanks to Miss Frockstar! You are named co-author of this story! Thanks again for the help!

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It had happened so fast. One minute, they were completing Crocodile's latest assignment, and the next, the building had come crashing down on top of them. Concrete came down in pointed chunks, seemingly aimed right at them--it had to be karma.

"Run!!!" yelled Mr. One starting to run as he tried to avoid the falling bits of concrete. But Paula, a.k.a. Miss Double Finger, took no heed of Mr. One's order. As Mr. One continued to sprint ahead, she seemed to be petrified and not able to move. As much as she wanted to, her body refused to listen to the commands her brain was giving. The saw-toothed pieces of concrete seemed to move in slow motion as they fell towards them.

Mr. One stopped running. Well aware that the danger was only growing worse with every second he wasted, but he had the funny feeling that Paula wasn't following him. He turned around and groaned in despair- she was standing there, like a deer before the headlights of a truck: absolutely petrified not even twitching a muscle. He groaned again. How long had it taken him to get this far; A few seconds, perhaps? And he still wasn't in the clear! "Blast it!" he muttered.

He was wasting time, and time was of the essence. Every second he wasted standing there was a second less to get them out of this predicament. But what to do? Save her or save them both and maybe die trying? He pondered another second and then started running again- he had made his choice.

"Paula!" He cried as he ran at a sprint towards her. "What the HELL are you doing? Do you want to die or something?! Never mind, just follow me!" He told her and grabbed her wrist and set off at a sprint again. They ran, but Mr. One usually had to drag Miss Double Finger behind him, for she would often stop and stare. "Common! We don't have time to lose!" he would often say. The jagged pieces were closer; their shadows growing bigger and bigger around them. 'Must keep running; must survive!' He thought to keep himself going.

He decided to give one last effort to escape the cruel clutches of death and his step became quicker with a spurt of energy. "We're going to die!" Paula cried as she watched a piece of concrete float just a few feet above their heads. "Not if I can't help it!" Mr. One said defiantly. He refused to believe this was the end. Another spurt of energy and he ran even faster.

His legs now felt like lead, yet he pushed himself on. The concrete slabs were even closer now, a few more seconds and they would be goners. Paula let out a scream. He gave one final effort before was willing to admit that this was the end. He closed his eyes and he jumped, pulling Paula with him into the air. Paula continued to scream. "This is the end." She yelled. A few onlookers screamed in horror.

There was the sound of a crash. Mr. One squeezed his eyes shut even more. But... no excruciating pain came. No light showed, no void to cross appeared. He slowly opened one eye then the other. He found Paula in his arms. 'Huh? How'd she get there?' he thought. He slowly turned around, only to come face to face with an enormous hunk of sharp concrete. He jumped back. He also realized that he had been holding his breath and that his lungs were screaming for air. He slowly exhaled, which also came out as a sigh of relief.

Paula, meanwhile, was clinging to him as if for dear life. Her eyes were closed and tears were streaming down her cheeks. He gently shook her. "Hey. You can open your eyes now-you're safe." Paula opened her eyes, astonished to hear Mr. One's voice. "Are-are we...dead?" she asked, looking up at him. "Nope," Mr. One replied. "Just take a look for yourself." She did, and as she looked her eyes became wider and wider. A smile slowly spread across her face as she did so.

"We're alive!" she shouted with glee. She threw her arms around him in a hug so strong that it knocked Mr. One off balance and he fell to the floor. "Yes...yes we are." He sounded extremely happy. He returned the hug. They pulled a part for a brief moment. She looked at him in the eyes and said "Thanks for saving our asses, Mr. One-especially mine..." And gave him another big hug. He hugged back saying, "Don't worry about it. Let's just get back home." "Sounds like a good idea, Mr. One." They got up, dusted themselves off and then set back off on the road to return home.

The End.

THE END