Katniss gave Holly a disbelieving look. "So you just thought that if you did something that looked the same, it would work?"
"Well, no. I understood the principles. You channel ki to enhance your striking speed, then you strike pressure points as fast as possible. I just didn't have the exact order right," Holly explained.
"That, and Dio was completely immune," Ryuko pointed out. "It was a bulletproof strategy!"
"I was trying to buy time for you to escape," replied the elf with a healthy dose of snark. "But somebody figured, oh, gee, let's watch Holly throw all the punches. That'll be safe."
"There is no need for such arguments. Our team won that round. And those events are in the past," said Adam.
"You're right, sighed Ryuko. "Sorry, Holly."
"It's okay. Ruby, where are we at?"
Ruby checked the stop sign on the intersection. "We are currently crossing… Thirty-Fourth street!"
"We're still a ways off, then," sighed Katniss solemnly. The team had been walking for a few hours, and as midday approached, the pavement got hotter and hotter. None of them were out of shape, but walking in the heat was significantly more grueling than walking in the cool of the night. That, and the fear of an ambush by another team kept the group irritable.
Ryuko gave a dismissive wave. "Ah, don't sweat it. We've got this one in the bag."
"I'm not so sure. We did have a bit of a delay," sneered Holly.
"Hey! It's not my fault that we got ambushed by the crazy hair chick and then had to save your asses," Ryuko spat.
"Yeah, but if you didn't run off with your shiny new toy in the first place, we'd have fought Sol off with no trouble!"
"You sure? 'Cause I think he would have pissed me off either way, and you all know how that ended up!"
"To be fair, you wouldn't have run into Sol Badguy if you didn't go into the mall," offered Katniss.
"And exactly whose idea was that, I wonder?" screamed the elf.
"Hey! Don't drag me into the middle of this!" Ruby protested.
"Excuse me," said Adam softly.
"Well, maybe if you were a half-decent fighter, you wouldn't have to worry about relying on me to solve all of our big problems!" Ryuko fumed.
Adam tried to interject again. "There's something that you should-"
"I may not be that strong, but I at least know how to use teamwork to gain the upper hand! The team is at its strongest when we're not split up for our own private adventures!" roared Holly.
"Oh, so I guess your whole 'I'm suspicious of Twilight' thing doesn't count? Or does kicking out our resident brainiac and immortal vampire guy actually improve our chances of winning?"
"Look out!" yelled the artificial man, pulling Holly and Ryuko out of the middle of the street as a massive trail of dust ripped past, shattering windows and uprooting shrubberies from the sidewalk as it went.
"What in Frond's name was that?" asked Holly, bewildered. She did not have to wait long to find out, as the sound of screeching rubber echoed back and the dust trail floated off, revealing a short, blue figure that immediately turned around and rushed back toward them.
"It's coming back!" yelped Ruby. "Save yourselves!"
The team drew their weapons, ready for an imminent attack. What they weren't ready for was the strange creature halting in front of them and waving a greeting to Ryuko.
"Hey, man!" it chirped. "Long time no see!"
The girl blinked slowly. "Um, hello?"
"What's up with the cold shoulder, dude? Don't you recognize me?"
"Uh…"
"C'mon, Shadow. Don't tell me you're having one of your bouts of amnesia again. You really need to have that looked into."
"I have no idea who you are," Ryuko said flatly. "And I really don't think I'm anybody named Shadow. I'm Ryuko Matoi, and I'm from-"
"Aw man! You think you're a Japanese android this time! That's crazy. Well, I guess I'll have to jog your memory. I'm Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog."
Adam nudged Holly and discretely pointed a finger toward the blue creature as it carried on its discussion with Ryuko. "Look in his hand," he said. "He is carrying a clue." Holly confirmed that within the hedgehog's gloved hand was a wadded-up piece of paper, identical to the two they had collected so far.
"So there's a fox," asked Ryuko, struggling with the concept, "and an… enchilada?"
"Echidna," corrected Sonic. "A spiny anteater."
"Oh, okay."
"See? You're getting' it!"
"You know, I think you're making a serious mistake here," sighed the girl. "I'm not-"
"Oh my goodness!" yelped Holly. "You've figured it out! He was always brooding about where he came from, but you've figured it out!"
"Don't mention it," chuckled Sonic, shooting them a thumbs-up.
"What are youdoing?" whispered Ryuko.
"He's got a clue," mouthed Holly in response. "Roll with it."
"Oh, yeah!" started Ryuko. "You know, I think I am beginning to recall some things…"
"Hey, I bet I know exactly what would get you back on the right track. A race."
"A… race," she whimpered. "Just… like old times?"
"Exactly. I'll run, and you can start off by trying to keep up. If you pass me, then you pick the route."
"But how will we know who wins?"
"Winning? Pssh, you'll say you'll win no matter what happens. I'm just in it for the thrill, man."
"No, I'm gonna win," declared Ryuko. "'Cause I'm Shadow, and I'm the best!"
"Typical Shadow," scoffed Sonic. "Let's go!" he said, disappearing in a blue blur.
Ryuko watched the hedgehog speed down the street. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
"He's got a clue!" exclaimed Holly. "Clearly, he's leading a team to one of the VIWs! If they're going to get there, they might win! So go steal it!"
"Oh, okay, I see. Guess you're lucky I'm the fastest one on the team," Ryuko laughed hopping into the air. "Senketsu SHIPPU!" Her outfit converted into its flight form and she blasted off after her quarry.
"Wait…" said Ruby, looking concerned. "If she's gone, then aren't we in the same situation we were before? When we thought we killed her?"
"Aw, crap," moaned Katniss.
Holly nodded. "You're right. But look at us! We've covered a lot of ground without needing Ryuko to fight for us, and we haven't really run into much danger, have we?"
A gigantic blue robot flew into the building to their left, the walls crumbling as it slumped against the frame. Down Thirty Fourth Street, two other huge robots were sparring.
"D'Arvit," swore Holly.
A light bulb went off in Katniss' head. "Wait a minute. Maybe we're not doomed."
Holly rolled her eyes. "Oh, really? Please, tell me how this is not the worst possible situation."
"What is the only thing as strong as Ryuko?"
"I dunno," replied Ruby. "A jabberwocky?"
Katniss answered her own question for brevity's sake. "A giant robot."
The elf lifted an eyebrow. "Go on."
"As you can see, this robot-" she said pointing to the blue one, which was picking bits of apartment complex out of its armor- "and that other one down there-" she pointed to a tall, black robot with huge arms- "Are both fighting that little red one. I'm willing to bet that if we help either side out, they might owe us a favor."
"You are one manipulative kid," smirked Holly. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible."
"All right!" shouted Ruby. "Let's go make some friends in high places!"