I am sorry for the long delay between chapters, but baseball has me swamped. I however have found time to put this chapter in and I think you will enjoy it. Thanks for waiting patiently.

The commander of the French Army, pulled up in a jeep next to the tired and exhausted band of resistance fighters. He stepped out and eyed the soldiers carefully. He saluted, and Jeremy and Omega squad wearily snapped to attention, returning the salute.

"I have heard of your fight and of the great lengths you have gone to preserve our nation. I want to express my gratitude and congratulations on a job well done."

Ulrich looked the commander in the eye, "Thank you sir. We were just doing our job, but we lost good men along the way."

Sissy heard Ulrich's words and knew in her heart that her worst fear had come true. She couldn't hold her emotions back anymore and she ran into the factory crying. Millie chased her down and held the older girl as they both set on the ground.

"I'm sorry Sissy, I'm so sorry."

"I…how…no." Sissy gasped and then her words were lost in the sobbing.

Ulrich and the others saw Sissy run away and he looked back at the commander.

"Sir, her boyfriend was one of the ones killed from our squad, may I go tell her what happened?"

"Yes son…and take the next week off. Seek any medical attention you need from the camp we set up here. Report back to me in a week, I think you need the time to recover and to grieve."

"Thank you sir." Ulrich said and everyone saluted the commander as he saluted and drove away in his jeep.

Ulrich and the others walked into the factory to find the two girls on the ground.

"Sissy, I know this doesn't help right now, but…he died saving this little girl here." Ulrich said as JJ clung to Ulrich's leg.

"How…how did he die?"

Ulrich bit back the grief that was threatening to overtake him and continued. "When we were first trapped behind enemy lines, Nic was shot in the leg. He was ok, except that he had a hard time walking and could not run at all."

Ulrich paused and Odd continued for his friend.

"Sissy…Nic gave up his life to save JJ. Nic was running for the woods when his leg gave out during an ambush. I was the first one to get to him, but I had JJ in my hands. He told me to keep going and to save her. By the time anyone else could reach him, he had been shot by a machine gun and was dead."

Sissy sobbed, but her pain was eased ever so slightly knowing that his death had served a purpose of sorts.

Yumi looked around the group and noticed who the other two missing were. "Are your brothers…." She asked Ivan.

The large Russian nodded and walked away from the group to be alone for a time.

After a small time of grieving and rest, the group walked up the hill to find Xana's body. They found it full of wounds. The most fitting thing about Xana's death is that his now still body still held the evil smirk he liked to give his enemies. Ivan reached down and grabbed the body and slung it over his back.

The group marched down the hill in silence and carried the broken body to the ground outside the factory. The girls went inside while the boys dug a shallow grave. Inside Kasey found a piece of metal that looked a lot like a head stone and the girls thought of fitting words to remember the fallen hero.

Once the grave was finished, Xana was placed in and a tarp was laid over his body.

"Should we say some words?" Odd asked the others.

"I'll do it." Jeremy said.

The blonde boy walked to the edge of the grave and stared down into it for a moment as he composed his thoughts.

"Xana you were the toughest opponent I have ever faced. You were always full of tricks and surprises. You saved your biggest surprise for last. I am glad that we were allies in the end. Thank you for your sacrifice, and may you rest in peace, wherever you are."

Each person threw a handful of dirt into the grave and then Ulrich and Odd shoveled the rest in. Kasey and Yumi placed the headstone. They walked away and headed back to rest up for the troubles that they were sure to face.

Aelita paused for a moment as she read the headstone one last time.

Fallen comrade and courageous warrior.

He died saving those he used to fight.

No greater a sacrifice than to lay down your life for another.

Rest In Peace Brother.

"You surprised us all." Aelita said as she walked over to Jeremy who was waiting for her.

Yumi, Ulrich and JJ were walking through what used to be the park. Most of it had been destroyed but amazingly enough a few things remained. There was a lone swing set and a bench.

JJ looked at the swing eyeing it curiously.

"Go ahead, we'll watch you from here." Ulrich said and the little girl ran towards the swing and hopped on with the childlike joy Ulrich had hoped she still had.

Yumi grabbed Ulrich's hand and led him to the bench.

"I'm sorry about your friends, Nic and the two brothers."

Ulrich looked at Yumi and smiled. "Thanks, I'm just glad some of us made it. I'm glad to see you again."

The two kissed. Ulrich broke it off and stood up and Yumi started to get up too.

"Uh…you can stay sitting." Ulrich croaked as his nervousness grew.

Yumi sat down, curiosity apparent on her face.

Ulrich dropped to a knee and Yumi gasped as she realized where this was going.

"Uh…Yumi…will…I've loved you and always will, will you marry me." Ulrich said nervously.

Yumi tackled Ulrich as she lept off the bench. The two were lying on the ground Yumi on top of Ulrich. She looked him in the eyes and smiled.

"Of course I will. I love you Ulrich"

"I love you Yumi."

The two kissed and continued kissing until a tiny hand tapped Ulrich on the shoulder.

"Monsieur." JJ said pointing towards the far end of the park.

Yumi and Ulrich both sat up and followed the little girls finger to see Odd and Kasey walking towards them.

"Let's tell them." Yumi said excitedly and she, Ulrich and JJ hurried over to their friends.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry it is shorter than normal, but my time to write is a lot less now. I will keep writing, so do not lose interest. Please review so I can get an idea about how you feel about this. Oh and a shout out to sargentaaron2004 for mentioning a funeral for Xana. Thanks, i had forgotten about doing that until you said something. Again, please review, thank you.