Here it is, the beginning of my first multi-chapter fic! (throws conffeti and stuff). Unlike most of my stories, this won't have any pairings in it (writing a long story is tuff enough with out adding love. Sorry my OddxAelita people). So anyway, here we go.

Odd crouched behind a large rock, ears twitching as he listened for the approaching Blok. As it grew closer he lifted his arm, preparing a laser arrow. His leg muscles clenched and his tail wagged as the Blok continued its approach.

"You're all mine," Odd whispered, the corner of the Blok appearing around the stone. Just as the Blok rounded the rock, and Odd prepared to fire, a yell grabbed the attention of both. Ulrich came flying, landing on the Blok blade first and destroying it in a burst of data.

"Two out of three, Odd," Ulrich said, helping the shorter boy to his feet. "I believe this means you owe me five Euros."

"You owe me my five as well," Jeremy said, his voice echoing down from above.

"Hey, I would have had it if it wasn't for Ulrich jumping in," Odd defended, brushing himself off. "So I think that means I really won."

"Almost getting a hit and actually getting one are two different things," Ulrich said, sheathing his sword.

"I hate to interrupt, but can you two have this discussion later?" Jeremy asked, "Yumi and Aelita could use your help right about now."

"Alright Jeremy," Ulrich said, "We're on our way." The pair then took off in the direction of the tower in the distance.

"I still say I should have won," Odd said as he ran. Beside him Ulrich shook his head.

"No, the deal was the person who got the higher number of kills won. I got the higher number."

"Only because you took the Blok I was about to get."

"Because you were taking too long to get it."

"Yeah, well-"

"Hey Odd, I think I've found a way for you to redeem yourself. There are two monsters headed your way. One is a hornet and the other is…something I can't identify. So be careful."

"I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle, so I'll take care of it," Odd said, sprinting ahead of Ulrich.

"Wait Odd, we shouldn't rush into fighting an unknown enemy," Ulrich said, but his words only met thin air- Odd was already long gone.

He had shot ahead quicker then Ulrich had expected, and had already encountered the first monster, the hornet. The Hornet didn't take long to catch sight of Odd, and immediately fired at him.

Odd dodged the laser with an overly flashy back flip, shooting at the Hornet while still upside-down. The Hornet wasn't quick enough to dodge, and was easily destroyed. Odd gave a whoop of joy, just as Ulrich arrived behind him.

"Odd, you shouldn't just run ahead like that when we don't know what we're up against," he scolded. Odd stuck his tongue out.

"You're just worried that I'll beat you," he said, crossing his arms.

Ulrich gave a loud sigh, shaking his head. "No Odd, that's not…er, what is that?" he asked, taking a step back.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Odd asked. Ulrich silently pointed behind Odd. The cat like warrior turned to see what had Ulrich so speechless, and gasped in shock.

"What's going on? What is it?" Jeremy asked, sounding worried. Both boys ignored his questions, to preoccupied with the sight before them.

It was like no monster they had seen before, almost twice the size of a Krabe and seven times more frightening. It had a head like that of wolf, but with a more stubby snout and no eyes. In their place was one large white eye of Xana, which stood out in stark contrast to the creatures black fur.

Its body was strangely disproportional, it's barrel of a chest twice as large as its puny hips. It was supported by four thick legs, the two in front almost three times the length of the ones in back. Each leg ended in a wide, clawed paw.

"What is that?" Odd asked, earning a little glare from Ulrich.

"All I care about is if we can defeat it or not," Ulrich said, drawing his swords and taking an offensive stance. Odd copied him, kneeling down and aiming his arrow launcher.

"Laser arrow!" he shouted, firing at the monster. The monster dodged that attack, springing away from the arrow with unexpected agility. Odd continued to fire after it, but the monster continued to run, staying one step ahead of the attacks.

"It's too fast, I can't hit it," Odd called, dropping his arm and leaping back to stand beside Ulrich. The taller boy just grinned.

"Maybe he's too fast for you," Ulrich said, drawing his other sword, "but not too fast for me. Supersprint!" Ulrich shot off in a yellow blur, launching himself at the monster. He swung his swords around and stabbed them towards the creatures glowing eye. The swords were only inches from their mark when the monster reacted, swinging up a massive paw and knocking Ulrich away.

Ulrich hit the ground with a bang, bouncing once and sliding some before coming to a stop.

"Ulrich, what just happened?" Jeremy shouted, "You just lost 20 life points! What is going on?"

"Jeremy, we're going to need some help here," Ulrich said, climbing to his feet as Odd took his turn at the monster.

"Alright, I'm getting Yumi to come back and help."

"Make sure she hurries!" Odd called, running around the monster to try and attack it from behind. With a shout he leapt at the creature, firing at its eye. A few of the shots landed, but not near enough to the eye to cause any real damage.

In fact, all the attack really seemed to do was anger the monster. It let out a roar as the arrows hit it, swinging a paw around as it tried to knock Odd from the sky.

"Odd, watch out!" Ulrich shouted, just as the paw caught Odd in the side, throwing him to the ground. The monster roared happily as Odd bounced against the ground, pouncing after him. It landed over top of him, using its paw to pin the boy to the ground. Odd cried out as he was crushed under the heavy weight.

"Let him go!" Ulrich shouted, lunching himself at the monster, swords drawn. The monster's ears twitched, and its head swung toward Ulrich. Its bottom jaw dropped open, revealing a large cannon, which fired a glowing blue laser right at Ulrich's chest. The shot knocked the warrior from the sky.

"Ulrich, you've only got thirty life points left!" Jeremy shouted, his voice tense with worry. "Another hit like that, and you're done for."

"I know Jeremy," Ulrich shouted at the sky, "but that thing has Odd!" The thing in question had turned its attention away from Ulrich and back to Odd as it aimed its cannon at the trapped warrior.

"Uh, nice doggie," Odd said, clawing at the paw on his chest. "Hey Ulrich, a little help here would be appreciated!" Ulrich felt panic welling in his chest as he tried to think of something to do.

No you useless beast a strange, mechanical voice suddenly shouted, causing the monster to halt its attack. I told you to bring him to me! Now get him and leave, before the others return.

The monster closed its jaws with a snap, straightening up. It gave Ulrich a final look, then turned towards the edge of the desert plateau. Ulrich could see the thought forming in the creatures face.

"Don't even think about it!" he shouted, sheathing his swords and sprinting towards the monster. It just gave him a terrifying grin and, with a mighty swipe of its claws, tossed Odd over the edge of the plateau.

"No, ODD!" Ulrich screamed. He grabbed one of his swords and launched it at the falling boy, hoping to devirtualize him; but the monster leapt in front of the attack, following Odd over the edge. "ODD!" Ulrich screamed again as a column of light burst up, signaling the pair's devirtualization at the hands of the virtual sea. A similar scream came from the sky as Jeremy watched his friend's info disappear from the computer's screen.

Ulrich knelt at the edge of the plateau, looking into the sea for any sign of his friend. Not so much as a ripple gave away the fact that two beings had just been lost to the peaceful looking sea. A small gasp drew Ulrich's attention away from the sight below him. He looked up to see Yumi, a look of shock and horror across her face. She saw Ulrich's expression and gasped again, shaking her head.

"He…he's not gone?" she whispered, the question less of a statement and more of a plead. Ulrich just turned back to the sea, unable to respond.

"Tower deactivated," came Aelita's calm voice, echoing over the sector and announcing another defeat of Xana. Jeremy's voice was much less collected as he announced the return to the past.

(gaspness) There we go, the first chapter. The rest are all ready to go, so the next chapter will be up tomorrow. Oh, and the monster I have introduced has no name. If you decide to review, I would love for you to give me some ideas (please do. I don't think you want to deal with reading 'the monster, thing, creature, it for the next like, nine chapters).