
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Five points $A$, $B$, $C$, $D$, and $E$ are arranged such that $AB = 12$ units, $BC = 5$ units, $CD = 3$ units, and $DE = 2$ units. If points $A$ and $E$ are placed such that the distance between them is as small as possible, find this minimum distance.
A) $1$ unit
B) $2$ units
C) $3$ units
D) $6$ units
E) $7$ units

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user