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Tory: Okay, here's the next one. Sorry for not updating in a loooong time! Not much else to say. So, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm not going to write it anymore... if I didn't own it before I won't own it now. I just own my stories and OC's.

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Trouble And Getting Closer

Archie and Atlanta were still walking in silence, they had to listen for any sign of unwanted company. Both their faces were still a light shade of pink from the little moment back in the tunnel. The two were walking quite content- just happy to be with each other- when the ground started to shake. Their hands both shot out for the closest object... it just happened to be each other.

"What's going on?" Atlanta yelled over the sound of the ground shaking.

"I'm not sure." Archie yelled back.

A chuck of the ceiling crashed down, mere inches in front of them. They both looked up and saw another piece about to fall. Then, exchanging brief glances, the two took off. It was really hard to run with the moving ground but they managed to make it pretty far. Atlanta was starting to trail behind Archie because she kept tripping.

She tripped and didn't catch herself in time. Atlanta slid on the ground, pain shooting through her arms and legs. She tried to push herself off the slightly icy and still moving ground but couldn't. Archie turned back to help her but the roof caved in before he could reach her. The rocks blocked the tunnel. Archie stared in horror as they hit the ground before him.

"Atlanta?!" he called, still yelling over the noise.

He couldn't hear anything. His heart began to race as he thought the worst. No one could've survived something like that. Not even stubborn Atlanta. He had lost her... and he never got to tell her how he felt. The noise subsided and the ground became still once more.

Archie slammed his fist into the wall and slid down. Tears threatened to spill from his steel eyes. That's when he heard it. His head snapped towards the boulders and he strained to hear.

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"Theresa? Theresa, what is it?" Jay asked, searching her eyes for an answer.

She looked at him as though he weren't even there. She held herself in a tight hug and tried to find her voice again.

"Theresa? Theresa?" Jay called to her, now shaking her shoulders.

She looked up at his eyes- they usually held such comfort, such warmth. But now? Now they held concern, fear and worry. Those eyes that were usually so bright were now dull with cold. Theresa closed her eyes again. She tried to calm herself down.

It was working. In a few moments she had slowed her breathing and now concentrated on finding her voice. A loud indescribable noise penetrated the air and Theresa suddenly stood up. She looked down the twisting tunnel and into the darkness at the end. Jay pulled himself to his feet and stood in front of her.

"Theresa?" he asked in a low voice, she could see how worried he was through his eyes.

"We have to stop him Jay." she said, her barely above a whisper.

"Stop who?" he asked, almost knowing full well she meant Cronus.

"Cronus. He's going to unleash something more horrible than any beast on the world." she replied, still whispering as if anything louder would be their downfall.

"Then we'll just fight what ever it is. First we need to take out Serenity." he said, turning to head down the path.

Theresa gripped his arm and held him back. He looked at her and noticed her eyes were serious, terrified and there was one more emotion that he couldn't put his finger on.

"Jay, we can't fight it. We aren't strong enough. And once it's completely unleashed... everyone will die." she said.

The two looked at each other for a few moments. Jay opened his mouth to say something but shut it as the ground began to shake. The ground gave beneath them and Jay shot his hand out for Theresa. But they were too far apart. They hit the ground with a painful impact and tried to catch the breath that had been pushed from their lungs.

Jay looked to Theresa's body and saw her unmoving. He tried to get up but felt something push down on his back. He tried to twist around and see what it was, but that was pointless.

"Now what do we have here?" a cruel voice whispered in his ear.

Then Jay felt a pressure on his shoulder and found everything growing very fuzzy and dark. The last thing he saw was a pair of booted feet walking towards Theresa.

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Archie strained to hear it, but it was there. It was definitely there. He jumped up and began to dig.

"Atlanta! Hang on! I'm coming!" he yelled through the barrier between them.

He dug until he broke through and looked into the small dark hole. He saw Atlanta lying there, under a pile of snow and rocks. He rushed over to her and slid to his knees and checked for a pulse. Yes! She was still alive. Then he jumped back up and started to pull the rubble off of her. He kept looking to her face for signs of consciousness.

He stopped digging when he heard it again. It sounded like someone calling for help. At first he had thought it was Atlanta, but she was out cold. He looked around and strained to hear. Then he looked to the red head before him and saw her lips barely moving. It was her!

"Atlanta?" he whispered.

She mumbled something in response, but didn't move. Archie continued to pull the rubble off of her. It took a few more minutes but he finally he was done. He picked her up and crawled out of the hole. He stood up, Atlanta still in his arms and looked around. The roof caving in had blocked him in that small area, so basically he was stuck there.

He shifted Atlanta around in his arms and pulled out his PMR. He flipped the top up and tried to call the others.

"Guys? Jay? Theresa? Odie? Herry? Neil? Are you guys there?" he called into the small device.

"Archie?" Odie's voice came through the speaker quietly.

"Odie! Man am I glad to hear your voice. We need to get Atlanta some help- she's hurt." he explained, looking down to her face again.

"Where are you?" Odie asked.

"I'm not sure. The roof caved in and we're stuck." Archie replied.

There was a short silence but Archie could faintly hear the sound of keys being rapidly hit. He knew that Odie had pulled out his laptop.

"I found where you guys are. You can get out if you dig through the rocks and snow to your left. The other part of the tunnel is completely caved in. There's no way for any of us to get to you while your there." Odie said, still typing.

"Good to know. But Atlanta's still hurt. What am I going to do?" he asked, not really knowing what was wrong with her or how to make her better.

"In your jacket there should be a few medical supplies." he said through the speaker.

Archie shifted Atlanta in his arms again and dug through the pockets on his jacket. He pulled out a small baggy. Being able to do nothing else with Atlanta in his arms, his PMR in one hand and the bag in the other, he sat down and let Atlanta lean against him. He didn't want her to get cold.

"Found it. There's... some bandages.... a bottle of painkillers.... a sling.... and... what is this thing?" he asked, forgetting that Odie couldn't see him.

"What?" he asked.

"It looks like an... ice pack. Ha ha, very funny there Odie." he muttered sarcastically.

"It's not an ice pack Archie. It's actually the opposite." came the comeback.

"It's a heat pack?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Sort of. Instead of getting cold it gets warm. I thought it would be handy going into the snow covered mountains." Odie said proudly.

"So how does it work? Do I just crack it like an ice pack or what?" Archie asked, noticing that Atlanta's lips were turning a light shade of blue.

"No. If you open the package you'll see that it's something like a blanket."

Some rustling was heard as Archie struggled to open the package with numb fingers. After a few tries and fails he got it. He wrapped it around Atlanta and picked his PMR up from the ground. He said goodbye to Odie and thanked him for the help.

Then Archie got up, and laying Atlanta down gently, he went on a started to dig a way out of the little prison. All the while looking back to make sure that Atlanta was okay. He still wasn't quite sure if she would be okay. But he wasn't going to lose her. That he knew for sure.

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Herry and Neil froze as the footsteps neared. They were trapped like dogs in a pound. The sound of angry ranting accompanied one set of footsteps. The voice sounded a lot like Serenity's. The two boys exchanged worried glances.

"We're goners!" Neil whispered frantically.

"Wait. Listen. The other footsteps are gone. Let's go this way." Herry said as he headed in said direction.

"Wait for me!" Neil said quietly as he took off after his friend.

They ran pretty fast down the tunnel- there was no way that they wanted to run into Serenity. Part of them wondered what had made her so mad. But the fear of being caught by her pushed those worries from their heads. They ducked down another tunnel and found themselves in a large cavern like room. The ceiling... or what could be called one... was high and gleamed as light from a hole in the ceiling trickled in.

The two boys immediately regretted running in there. Not only were the footsteps still right behind them, but the room led no where. They were definitely goners now. The two froze and waited for the inevitable. But, just as the footsteps seemed right around the corner, they vanished. Just like that- gone. Silence filled the tense air.

Herry and Neil exchanged glances once more before creeping over to the tunnel. They each looked both ways then sighed when they found they were alone.

"Guess we'd better keep moving then." Herry said.

"Yeah." Neil agreed.

"Where do you think you're going?" the cold voice echoed off the walls.

"Who said that?" Herry asked, looking around.

"Wouldn't you like to know." came the reply followed by a short laugh.

"I don't suppose we could just talk about this?" Neil said his voice shaking slightly from the cold and fear.

Another bout of laughter floated around them. Then Serenity stepped out from behind a wall. "The time for talk is over."

"But we didn't even get to talk in the first place!" Neil shrieked.

"You know, you're right." she stopped and seemed to be thinking.

"So, you'll let us go?" Herry asked hopefully.

"No. I was just thinking how I should get rid of you." she replied.

"But I'm too beautiful to die!" Neil shouted and started to frantically run about.

Serenity groaned and held her hand up, palm facing the screaming boy, and muttered a few inaudible words. Her eyes flashed an intriguing purple and Neil stopped- frozen in time.

"What did you do to him?" Herry asked dumbfounded.

"Well I had to shut him up somehow." she stated, it was in that instant that she seemed normal. Hell, if it weren't for the fact that she would most likely kill him, Herry would've laughed at that comment.

"What did you do to the others?" he asked.

"What is this? Twenty questions?"

Serenity held her palm up towards Herry as well and her eyes glowed purple again. Then he found everything fading to black. Serenity took a few steps towards the two now unconscious boys but stopped. Looking at them reminded her of something... of someone. But she shook that off and tied them up. She'd have one of Cronus' giants take them to the others.

But first there was something she needed to take care of.

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Archie had made it through the pile of rubble. At present he was taking a break and catching his breath. Winter was slowly becoming his least favourite season. He looked to Atlanta; she didn't look so cold anymore. He smiled- at least he helped her a little bit.

"Ar.... Archie?" her voice was low and she was mumbling but to Archie it cut through the crisp air like a knife.

"Atlanta?" he was instantly at her side, eyes searching her face.

"Archie?" she mumbled again, stirring slightly.

"I'm right here Atlanta. Don't worry. You're safe." he said in a sweet tone, the one that he only ever used with her.

"Look out!" she screamed and suddenly sat up, eyes wide and body trembling though not with cold.

"Atlanta calm down. It's okay." he whispered soothingly.

"Archie? B-but how? The rocks... and the snow...." she rambled until Archie wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm fine Atlanta. I wasn't under them. But..." he pulled back and looked at her. "Are you okay? When I found you, you were lying under a bunch of rocks and snow and dirt. You were unconscious. I didn't know what happened to you or if you were okay..." he trailed off.

She smiled at him fondly as a light blush crept its way onto his cheeks. "You were worried about me?" she asked, a slight teasing tone to her voice despite all else.

"Yeah. Of course I was." he said, the blush only deepening.

A silence covered them as they sat there. But then Archie broke it realizing that they had to get out of there before anything else decided to cave in on them.

"Atlanta, we should get moving. Can you walk?" he said as he stood up.

Archie held his hand out for Atlanta, who took it, and pulled her up to her feet. She wavered for a second but grabbed onto Archie's arm to regain her balance. Then she took a few shaky steps away from him and her knees gave way on her. She expected to hit the ground but was surprised to find that Archie had caught her. He smiled at her and helped her upright again.

"Thanks."

"We should get going. You can lean on me if you don't think you'll be able to walk." he offered, leading her to the hole he had dug.

"Thanks Arch."

Once out of the small hole, Archie wrapped an arm around Atlanta's waist and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Her body was fairly numb so she couldn't feel any pain, but she still couldn't walk properly.

They walked... well Archie walked while Atlanta limped, down the tunnels that seemed to lead everywhere and nowhere. So far they had been pretty lucky- they escaped from Serenity, survived a small cave in and were alone. But luck doesn't last forever.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a voice asked, an almost sinister tone to it.

"Cronus." the two hissed, looking around for the god.

"You two have been quite troublesome." he stated, walking out from what looked like nowhere, and playing with the scythe in his hand. "First you trip my little apprentice off the ridge then you escape my little cave in. I guess I'll just have to deal with you myself."

"Well if that's the best you've got, this should be over in no time." Archie said rather smugly.

Cronus' face twisted upward in a smirk, his red eyes glinting with evil. "Oh my dear boy. You've seen nothing compared to what I have in store for you and your little friends." he warned.

Archie was about to draw his weapon when he was knocked down from behind. Both he and Atlanta went sprawling onto the cold, hard, icy ground. His hand flew into his pocket and he drew his Hephaestus whip. Then he turned to face Cronus.

"You'd do well to do what I saw Archie." Cronus said, hands held behind his back.

"Why would I want to do that?" Archie challenged.

"If you don't then young Atlanta here may just get hurt. And you wouldn't want that now would you?" the god smirked as two of his giants came out, Atlanta held in their strong grips.

Archie glared at Cronus but retracted his whip. Then he felt another sharp pain, this one on the back of his head. He heard Atlanta yell as he hit the ground. Then everything went from fuzzy to nothing.

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Odie looked around uneasily. The scraping from before had disappeared- that's when Archie called him on the PMR- but now it was back. This time accompanied by what sounded like childish laughter. Odie looked back and forth down the tunnel, waiting for something to jump out at him.

"You look a little nervous." the familiar voice said.

Surprisingly a small smile presented itself on the boy's lips as he turned to face her.

"What's there to be so happy about?" Serenity asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I was waiting for you to find me." he said.

"Really? And why is that?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because I know you won't hurt me." he replied, still smiling.

"Then you've been seriously misinformed Odie." she stated, a grin of her one forming.

"You're not like Cronus. You wouldn't hurt anyone." he said, calm on the outside but freaking out on the inside.

Suddenly she lowered her head, hair covering her eyes. Odie took a step toward her, after finding it safe enough he took another. Then another and another until he was right in front of her.

"Join our side Serenity. We can take Cronus down if we work together." he suggested.

Serenity looked up and smiled sincerely at Odie. But her smile hid what her eyes told. She pushed Odie back, causing him to land on his back on the icy floor. Then she walked over to him and sat down on his stomach, legs crossed on one side. She leaned over him placing one hand on either side of his head.

"You're right Odie. I'm not like Cronus...." she paused, looking into his somewhat terrified eyes. "I'm a whole lot worse." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she finished.

Then she knocked him out and smirked. What some guys will do for a sad face.

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A/N: Okay I hope this long chapter makes up for me not updating as often as I should. It's six and a half pages. I hope you liked it. Ooo, so there's a little bit of fluff in there. This is probably seeming like an A/A story, but by the end of it there will be two definite couples and one kinda started couple. It's probably totally obvious who those will be. I hope that things are getting a little more exciting now. Things will definitely pick up around chapters 10 and 11. Again I'm sorry for not updating in a long time. I also know that Theresa may seem a little well out there, but it's totally on purpose. Something happened to her but you won't find out until later on just what it was. Oh, and I was wondering when and how the couples should get together- just if some of you had any ideas or something you'd like to see happen. Okay, don't forget to leave a review. Cheers!;D