In the next minute, three thing happen in rapid succession. First, my Shinju kicks in and I speed up, my fingers tingling.

Then, I reach out and grab Ignis' hand.

Lastly, I fall forward and my heart leaps in my chest, but before I fall too far forward to save myself, I feel someone strong grab the back of my shirt, stopping me so that my feet are pressed against the side of the bridge and my body is completely horizontal. I have no idea how the bridge hasn't broken yet, but right now I'm just grateful.

I feel myself swing gently from side to side as the person holding me starts sliding forward. My heart is beating so fast I feel like it's about to pop. No way we're going to survive this.

I manage a glance behind me and see Terro has my shirt in his hands, his eyes narrowed and his muscles rippling with the struggle of holding both me and Ignis.

Speaking of the girl.....I look down at her and see her scrabbling to grab my hand in both of hers. She hangs completely off the edge, the only thing stopping her from falling to her doom being me and Terro.

I feel my hands start sweating and Ignis slips a little. She grabs farther up my arm, her eyes wide and terrified. I glance back over my shoulder and see Anemos scramble forward and try to help Terro. He grabs the larger boy around the chest and tries pulling him back. Terro starts sweating and he adjusts his grip on my shirt, which I feel is dangerously thin.

I don't scream for two reasons. One, I'm to scared to, and two, I have not forgotten the crocodiles. I look over and see the one on the bridge looking around in confusion.

I grit my teeth and feel my fingers and arms start to ache from holding Ignis.

"I'm sorry I'm so fat." She mutters to me. "Just please.....don't let go."

I shake my head, staring into her beautiful amber-orange eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it." I whisper, being completely truthful.

"I'm done! Hang on!" I hear Kin whisper, but I don't look up. My grip is slipping a lot now from sweat. Ignis's hands are wet too, making it even worse, she can't find a firm grip on my arm.

"What do you think we're doing?!" Terro growls to Kin, his face now shining from perspiration. For a minute I stare into his crystal clear green eyes, eyes like Dad's, and he stares into my white-blue ones. His eyes are narrowed, in anger or concentration I'm not sure. It might be a bit of both.

Suddenly, I feel Ignis's hands slip even more out of my grip. I quickly look back down at her. The room is very hot. My face is now sticky with sweat, my hair sticks to my neck uncomfortably. I get a feeling my face is beat red.

A drop of sweat rolls down my face and gets in my eye, blurring my vision of Ignis. I quickly blink it away. Stupid body.

The bridge thumps and I know the crocodile is back on the move. Stupid crocodiles.

Ignis's hand slips ever more and I look back down at her. Stupid me. Why can't I be stronger?

Ignis's hand is now slipping a lot. I feel my own eyes widen and I try to grab her arm with my other hand. But it's to late.

Ignis slips from my hand and the only thing I see is her wide, terrified eyes before Terro pulls me back up, Ignis's weight now gone. Someone's screaming. It might be me.

Suddenly, a loud thump is heard, echoing eerily in the ravine, and I hear someone groan. I push Terro's hands away and hurry to the edge, peering over it to see Ignis laying sprawled out on a piece of metal.

I almost laugh out loud. I might have. I wouldn't know.

Suddenly, the crocodile roars.

Stupid, stupid, stupid crocodiles.

I look up and see Kin standing over me, her face worried.

"Come on!" She exclaims, not bothering to keep her voice down. I follow her as she quickly walks a little farther down the bridge. Now that the crocodile is more sure, it starts half running too. Anemos, Nero, Neve, and Terro are all behind me and Kin as the metal girl stops.

"Come on! I had to make it down there so they couldn't follow!" She whispers to us and then she jumps off the bridge. Her body disappears in the dark and for a minute I stand there stupidly.

"Go!" Nero exclaims. I look back at him for a minute.

"Jump!" He commands, pointing to where Kin just disappeared.

I look back, take a deep breath, and jump. My eyes squeeze shut and my heart leaps in my chest as I fall.

I'm going to die. I didn't jump far enough and I'm going to keep falling and I'm going to die.

Then I hit something. Something cold, hard, and smooth. I groan at the blunt pain on my side and sit up. It's a bridge.

I made it.

I laugh out loud, relieved to be alive, and look over to find Ignis and Kin rushing over.

"Get out of the way!" Ignis exclaims.

"He's going to-" Kin starts to say, but is interrupted as Nero lands on me. He lands on my back and I groan.

"Oh! Sorry!" He exclaims, quickly moving off. I scramble away, and just in time, too. Terro lands on the metal, soon followed by Neve, who lands on him, and then Anemos. I laugh again, relieved none of us died.

No way we just survived that. There is no way.

"We had better continue. Remember, we're still being timed." Kin reminds us, helping us to our feet and walking down the sheet of metal. How on earth did she conjure that? I know for a fact that metal is the hardest thing to conjure.

But I just shake my head and follow Kin, deciding it didn't matter as long as we're alive.

About two minutes later we're on the other side of the ravine and walking briskly to get away from the crocodiles.

"No way that just happened." Anemos mutters to himself after a couple minutes as we walk along, slower now, "No way we just survived that."

I shake my head in disbelief, "No way."

Ignis smiles, "You better believe it! We are so awesome."

Kin beams, "Go Snow Ferrets!"

"Ferrets for the win!" Nero exclaims. After that we just kind of walk in silence, happy and positive, but not stupid. We know there still must be one more obstacle. We keep our eyes and ears open, just waiting for some active volcano or a frozen tundra.

"I wonder what the next one will be......" I hear Anemos mutter to himself.

"Oooo.....there's another?" Neve says nervously, toying with her hair while subconsciously petting Frost who appears on her arm.

"Hopefully there's no more killer animals." Terro sighs.

"What do you think the party at the end will be like?" Nero suddenly comments in a dreamy voice, totally off-subject.

"What?" Kin asks.

"Do you think they'll have, I don't know, pie or something?" Nero asks us, still lost in thought.

That just makes me laugh. Apparently, Ignis finds it funny too. We have to hold onto each other to keep from falling to the ground, immobilized with giggles.

Nero looks at us, puzzled, "What?" He asks, making me and Ignis laugh even harder. Kin and Anemos join in, soon followed by Terro and Neve.

"What? Why're you all laughing?" Nero asks desperately. He falls to his knees dramatically, "WHAT DID I DO?!?"

I fall, laughing so hard, and Ignis and Kin fall on top of me, also beaten by the giggles. We just stay like that for a couple minutes. Laughing so hard our side hurt before calming down, looking up, seeing Nero, and collapsing in giggles again.

And for those moments, laughing, my friends on top of me, I feel pure happiness, a feeling I haven't felt in a long time.

But it's gone sooner then I wish.

Once we all manage to stay sober enough not to crack up just by seeing Nero, Neve notices something. And it's not good.

"Umm.....guys?" Neve whispers, sounding super nervous. I feel the smile die on my lips, not wanting to hear what she's about to say.

"Sharks." She whimpers, pointing up ahead. My eyes slowly follow her arm until they reach what the ice girl's looking at.

I hear Ignis groan.

About thirty feet in front of us is a dark blue lake, probably meaning deep waters, meaning creatures. Sure enough, as I look closer I can see grey fins circling around warningly.

"What did I say about killer animals?!?" Terro growls to himself as we stand up and start walking toward the daring creatures. "What did I say?!?!"

As we walk ever closer I feel my heart sink more and more. The water is very, very large and quite wide as well, teeming with sharks. And, from what I can see, manta rays as well.

We reach the edge of the water and just watch the sharks circle for a couple minutes. Terro curses.

"What do we do?" Anemos sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. I feel the same way. Earlier I would have reacted to the circumstances in surprise or fear, but after being almost drowned, suffocated, and eaten, this doesn't seem so bad.

Why does that feel like a bad thing?

"Maybe we can go over them? Kin?" Terro asks, turning to her.

She shakes her head, "Not anymore. It's too big."

"Maybe we can freeze the water and walk across?" Nero suggests.

Anemos shakes his head, "No, the sharks and stuff might prove to be to much."

For a minute we kind of just stand there in silence, watching the sharks and thinking, out of ideas. We can't go over them. We can't go around. What about under?

"There's no way we could go, say, under them, right?" I ask, already the reason why not forming in my head.

Anemos shakes his head, "We'd be eaten for sure."

I sigh. Why won't my brain work? Probably the crocodile.

"What if....." Nero starts. I brace myself for another comment on pie, but he surprises us. "What if we hurt the sharks and then go across?"

We all look at him in surprise.

He shrugs, "What? I have a brain too you know!"

"Then why are you safe in a room full of zombies?" Ignis mutters to herself, turning away from him. He shoots her a look.

"Well, then I think Blitz might prove very helpful here. Blitz?" Anemos comments, turning to me. Suddenly everyone is looking at me and I squirm under their eyes, "Erm....sure?"

They all smile at me, relieved and tired. I can see it in their eyes. I can feel it too.

Almost dying three times can drain you.

I take a deep breath and step closer to the water, focusing on my Shinju.

"You got it Blitz!" Kin encourages me.

"Don't screw up." Ignis yawns.

"No pressure." Anemos says, putting more pressure on me.

I take another deep breath, and, concentrating on where I want it to go, release the power inside me.

A large bolt of lightning shoots out of my hands and strikes the water, sparking where it hits and making the water suddenly glow brightly. I shield my eyes with my arms, my eyes squeezed shut, and wait until the light burning in my eye lids fades away.

When I look back at what I did, I gasp. Bodies of sharks are floating on the top of the water, their bodies burnt and still. (A\N I'm not sure if this would actually happen, but for the sake of the story lets just say it would)

I am breathing heavily and fall to my knees which are suddenly weak. Ignis catches me and holds me up.

Anemos lets out a quick laugh, "Well, that was shocking!"

Terro, Kin, Nero, Neve, Ignis and I give him a blank stare.

"No? Oh, okay....you know...." He trails off awkwardly.

Ignis rolls her eyes and helps me back to my feet, asking if I'm okay. I nod, "Yeah, just a little winded."

Ignis raises her eyebrows at me, "A little?"

I laugh.

"How do we get across?" Nero asks, looking over the water to the other end, seeming lightyears away, "No way you guys can swim that far!"

He smiles, "I mean, I can, but you guys....." He says, trailing off suggestively. Terro and Ignis frown at him.

"I could swim all the way!" Anemos exclaims indignantly.

Nero rolls his eyes, "That's just because you can make an air bubble!"

Anemos shrugs, "I can still do it!"

"Doubt it!"

"You wanna go?!"

"Boys, boys please, you're both beautiful!" Ignis interrupts, putting her hands on their chests and pushing them away from each other. Kin and I laugh and both boys turn red.

"Anemos, can you make an air bubble for us?" Kin asks him. He nods proudly.

Kin grins, "Great! It's a plan!"

"You got it Anemos!" I say encouragingly as he steps up to the water.

"Thanks." He says, smiling at me, "Now, as soon as I make the bubble it will be on the ground, kind of like a dome, so you guys'll have to swim down there." He informs us, cracking his knuckles as he gets ready.

We all nod as we step up to him.

"Nero, I know you've done a lot but if you can help you should." Anemos continues and I start getting nervous. What if we can't make all the way? What if we drown?

I quickly push these thoughts away.

"Ready." Anemos starts, putting his arms out, his face molding into one of concentration.

I gulp and prepare myself to jump.

"Three."

I hear Terro crack his knuckles confidently.

"Two."

I stare at the dark, intimidating water as more doubts shoot through my mind. What if I didn't get all of them? What if a shark attacks us?

"ONE!"

I see Nero jump into the water immediately, whooping in joy. I take a deep breath and dive into the dark water.

The minute my head hits the ice cold water I get a brain freeze. My eyes widen in the dark and I feel a strong urge to swim back to the surface, letting out a small puff of air. A small dose of freezing salt water rushes into my mouth and I quickly close it, my nose wrinkling in disgust.

The water is so cold....so cold....I look up at the surface. I could swim up there. I know I could. I could get out of the freezing water and not worry about drowning.

I see Ignis' outline swim past me. I watch her for a minute before deciding to follow her, my nerves bubbling in fear the whole way.

What if I lose Ignis? What if I can't make it back? Oh God, what if I drown?!

This fear propels me after Ignis, my feet working furiously, my arms making huge circles around me. The pressure on my ears slowly grows until it feels like they are bleeding.

My lungs start burning and my body goes numb. My legs and arms don't push me forward like they used to. My vision starts to blur.

Ignis fades away and suddenly Dad appears. He smiles at me like I'm not submerged thirty feet under freezing cold water. I smile back. Salt water gets in my mouth, but I don't care. It tastes good, like the pretzels Dad used to give to me back in Chikyu City. He used to drown them in salt, which I always found gross, but now it tastes good. When I go back home, maybe he'll let me have some.

I stop swimming. I just feel so tired....so tired and cold, so very, very cold.

Cold like the ice cubes my brother used to put down my shirt in the summer when I wasn't looking. I used to squeal and run away. I was stupid when I was little. Why didn't I take the ice cube out? I'd just run around in circles, letting it melt, squealing. He would just watch and laugh, his white-blue eyes sparkling. White-blue eyes like mine. Like Moms.

He used to love to make me laugh. He would do almost anything for it.

My smile fades in the water and Dad's smile turns sad. He swims closer and puts his hand on my cheek, his mouth opens to tell me something......

"Blitz! Wake up!"

But it isn't his voice.

Who's is it?

"Blitz! Blitz speak to me! BLITZ!"

Someone else. A girl. Kin.

"Don't die.....please Blitz...."

Neve.

"Get up Blitz! You can do it, come on!"

Terro.

I pry my eyes open and see all of them bent over me, looking at me, concern etched onto all their faces. I blink. Then blink again. My clothes are full of freezing cold water and my mouth tastes like salt.

I cough out water and sit up, shivering very hard. Everyone's face smoothes out in relief and Kin pulls me into a hug. I squeeze her, feeling relieved to be alive. What just happened? Had I passed out in the water?

The memory of Dad in the water comes back and I feel confused. Was I hallucinating?

"I hate water. I hate it hate it hate it."

I look over to see Ignis with a flame in front of her, complaining about the water. Anemos and Nero are beside her with their arms wide out as they hold the bubble up around us. As soon as they see me they relax.

"Oh my gosh Blitz! You scared the living daylights out of me!" Anemos exclaims. I smile at him.

Ignis smirks at me, "Terro had to do mouth to mouth with you."

My eyes widen and Terro turns red.

"I used to be a lifeguard, okay! I was the only one who knew how to do mouth to mouth!" Terro justifies.

I blush furiously and Ignis laughs, "Blitz and Terro, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!"

I glare at her and in a flash am by her side. I smile as I see her smirk fade very slowly and I put my hand on her arm, sending her a decently large shock before darting back where I was, smirking with my arms folded on my chest.

Time resumes and Ignis jumps with a cry of pain while everyone looks at me in surprise, Neve giggling.

I shrug.

Kin shakes her head, "Anyway.....we are on the bottom of the....what is it? An ocean?" Kin says, "And we need to move. We have to walk all the way to the end and Anemos needs to move the bubble with us." She finishes.

I nod, slowly standing up. Terro helps me and shoots Ignis a warning glare. The fire girl just smirks at us.

We start to walk and Anemos and Nero move the bubble.

"Hang on, I'm going to go see if we're going the right way." Nero informs us, jumping out of the bubble and swimming away.

About seven minutes later Nero returns and nods, "Yep! We're going the right way! But it could take a while, so I brought a snack!"

We jump back in disgust as Nero pulls three dead squids from behind him, beaming proudly. "We just need to cook them!" He says, looking at Ignis pointedly.

Ignis looks at him in disgust, "No way am I touching that slimy sea rat!"

Nero gives her a sad look, "But he's so cute!" He exclaims, shoving the dead squid toward her.

She puts her palms up and some flames shoot out of her hands at Nero. The water elementalist jumps back with a yelp, dropping the squids and blowing on his hands.

She turns away from him, "No."

He pouts for a minute before turning to me hopefully.

"No." I say firmly, letting my hands spark menacingly.

Nero just sighs and jumps back into the water.

"Where does he think he's going now?" Terro sighs.

I shrug.

Five minutes later, we get our answer. And our dinner. Nero managed to get some plain water fish and so Ignis grudgingly cooks it for us. We eat it while we walk and soon come to the other end of the ocean. And the end of our underwater journey.

"Great. Blitz, do you think you can make it up alone this time?" Kin asks, turning to me. I take a deep breath and nod. As much as I didn't want to, I know I have to swim up. My body begins to shake with nerves again.

And I had just dried too!

"You go first." Terro says.

I give him a nervous look before nodding and jumping out of the bubble before I lose my nerve. I swear it's colder now, but this time I use my electricity to shoot through the water.

I Dart up, wondering how on earth I didn't think of this last time. As I arrive at the surface first and climb, shivering, out of the water, I watch the dark blue mass. A couple minutes later Terro appears, wet and gasping, to the surface. I grab his arm and help pull him up. Seconds later Ignis appears, complaining, then Neve, Kin, Nero, and Anemos.

We stay there for a minute, panting. Ignis conjures a small fire and we warm up, letting our clothes and hair dry a little before standing up and moving again.

I feel so relieved. We did it. We're done. We might not win but we made it. We made it.

The walls start to change slightly, become wider, and soon we encounter a cross section with seven paths including ours. Up ahead we see the finish line, a crowd and a huge stopwatch beside it. We keep walking straight, jogging slightly as we get excited, but soon Nero whoops with joy and runs forward, with us soon following, our excitement finally taking over.

We made it.

We did it.

We got through the second round of the Harmony Games.

And does it feel good!