"Jeremy... I don't know how much longer I can keep this up..." Odd said, gasping for air between phrases. He came to a stop just as his legs failed him, leaving him flat on the ground. William approached Odd, his friends body fatigued from their near fifteen minute run.

"Come on, Odd, you can sleep when we get back." William said, picking him up from the ground.

"Don't worry, I've almost fixed the vehicle virtualization program. I should be done in about three minutes." Jeremy said through his headset. As he continued typing, a group of red dots flashed onto his screen.

"Break's over, monsters just ahead of you." Jeremy said, looking over data. "Looks like a group of Krabs."

In the distant fog, the three Warriors saw a charging force of Krabs, fifteen Aelita counted. They ran at the gang with an undaunted force, their speed exceptionally faster than any monster had ever run before.

"X.A.N.A., you have truly outdone yourself this time." William said, looking up as though X.A.N.A. were spectating from above.

The monsters quickly came closer, soon standing only a few feet away. Their legs galloped as though they were horses, their speed like a wild mustang.

Odd opened fire on the Krabs, hitting one three times on its front, causing it to explode in a cloud of data. This attack sparked the fire in the Krabs, a wave of laser fire falling upon the Warriors.

William and Aelita his behind a large rock on one side of the pathway while Odd ran for a rock closer to him on the other side. As he ran, the Krabs attention was fully focused on him, Odd getting hit twice in his side.

"Odd, you just lost a lot of life points. Try to watch out a little better." Jeremy said as Odd took cover behind the rock.

"Hey, I made it in one piece, didn't I?" Odd remarked, cracking a laugh at his words.

William turned to face Odd, speaking to him from across the path. "Yeah, but if we don't do something soon, we'll be leaving in one thousand pieces."

—

Ulrich and Yumi stand on the bridge, their minds and bodies having worked in sync over the last five minutes fighting a X.A.N.A. Jim. Their bodies and spirits were growing tired, their struggles demanding great work on their part.

Jim ran up behind them, Ulrich reacting fast enough to block the blow from hitting Yumi, causing Jim's arm to impact Ulrich's chest as though it were an asteroid impacting a planet at full speed. The blow brought Ulrich to the ground, his body doubled over as he cringed in pain.

"Ulrich!" Yumi yelled, Jim moving to hit the boy again.

Yumi ran as hard as she could, her body slamming into Jim with an incredible force brought upon her by her need to defend Ulrich. Jim flew back from the blow, tripping off the side of the bridge, a hardy splash heard seconds after.

Yumi ran over to Ulrich, her side in agonizing pain from her body slam against Jim, calling out his name. "Ulrich! Ulrich, are you okay?" She said, her voice frantic and slightly disoriented.

Ulrich tried to speak, but his voice was trapped by the prison that was his pain, the only noise escaping his body was a low moan, a sign of his strong injury.

"Don't worry, I'll get you to the lab. I think Jim won't be bothering up for a while." Yumi said, picking Ulrich up, carrying him on her shoulder. Yumi's knees bent and her legs wobbled under his weight, but adrenaline and motivation kept her going.

Suddenly, a loud metal clang began below the bridge, Yumi and Ulrich standing in the middle of the bridge. A heavy shaking exploded from the ground, causing Yumi to fall, dropping Ulrich on his back.

A large crack appeared in the back of the bridge, quickly spreading out as the banging grew louder and the shaking grew stronger.

As Yumi got to her feet, she looked behind her to see a massive hole in the bridge, huge chunks falling into the water below. Through the opening, Yumi could see Jim punching and slamming into the supports for the bridge, his swings and slams ever growing in strength.

Yumi, wide eyed, gazed at the opening for a few seconds before she shook her head and rejoined reality, running for Ulrich. "Ulrich, I need you to try and get up." She said, Ulrich again only able to moan in response.

Yumi reached down, scooped the wounded boy into her arms and ran for the factory. A sudden urge of strength took control of her, energy filling her legs as she began a near sprint. The ground below them continued to shake, the opening growing larger and larger as Jim swung harder and harder.

'Just a few more feet...' She thought as a massive shockwave brought her to the ground. Behind her, the hole grew massive, the bridge beginning it's final stages if collapse. The concrete crumbled, growing closer to her until she was only a mere few seconds from falling into the now debris ridden river.

Her body sprang into action, running full strength with Ulrich in tow, Yumi having grabbed him by the legs to drag him off the bridge.

As they entered the factory, the entirety of the bridge fell, the metal bending sharply before joining the rest of the bridge in the water.

Yumi gasped, dust covering her face and clothes from the collapse. Her body ached, every ounce of strength she had used protecting Ulrich and herself from certain death. She walked over to the edge of the platform, ropes hanging from the ceiling, her reflexes beginning a jump, but her body wouldn't allow it.

Suddenly, her legs gave in, her body falling like a nicked domino, a metallic *thud* vibrated through the open room. Yumi focused on her thoughts, limited as they were in this time of exhaustion. Ulrich entered her line of sight, reminding Yumi of her mission here: to protect her friends. She crawled forward, slowly yet surely, every ounce of power left in her body was now being burnt. Her goal was finally reached as she reached Ulrich, his eyes moving to look directly into hers.

And at that moment, even through the pain and suffering of the last few minutes, both of them were at peace. Both were happy to be in the others presence.

Over the last few minutes, Ulrich had tried moving every muscle in his body, but none of them moved. It was at this moment that something happened in him, and he worked up the energy to smile, smile at the face of his friend and love, Yumi.

Thanks for all the support! I know recently I haven't made any 2,000 word chapters or anything, so I think it's about time I did another one. Not going to promise anything, but I will set that as a goal for next chapter! Review with any comments you have!