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"Gotcha!" Atomica grabbed Cassie during her backwards fall, stopping her a centimeter before hitting the ground. She gave Cassie her most sincere smile. This was a huge moment.
"It's a tie! We're tied! I can't believe it, we tied!" A slightly frazzled Clawd gripped his clipboard so hard it snapped in half. "We're still in this thing, team!"
The referee blew his whistle and skated to address the fans.
"Maladies and Gentlemansters, after three rounds, we have a tie - 2 points for the Monster High Nightmares and 2 points for the Granite City Quarry. In the event of a tie, the final outcome is determined with a one-on-one Sudden Undeath skate-off! Each team must choose one player for the final lap."
One skater! This was it....Monster High's final chance to eke out a win and make it two years in a row as champions for the first time in the school's hiss-tory. Clawd called all of the players, injured and mobile, into a huddle.
Granite City didn't have as much to think about, apparently.
"As if there were anymonster ELSE who should do this." Rocco announced as he skated forward. "To do this RIGHT, it should be captain versus captain - oh, wait..."
Rocco smirked at Monster High's team captain, Robecca Steam, who was still hobbling on a crutch. Her lower leg was missing, which was a best an inconvenience for a robotic being, but a complete and utter loss for the Nightmares as a team. Robecca tried to meet Rocco's gaze, but looked down, sadly.
In the Monster High huddle, Clawd was taking stock of his team. Everyone looked nervous. Marceline LaGhede was nibbling on one of her finger-bones. Cassie looked hexausted. Nekki kept glancing over at the other team.
"Rocco's their most skilled skater. But he's already skated one round, and he's still got the disadvantage of being a little slower because of his size. Hmmm...." Clawd looked at his team, evaluating each of his available, healthy skaters to try to determine who should go in.
This was it, Atomica thought to herself. She could volunfear, beat Rocco, save the day, shove Rocco's hateful anti-robot speech up his nose and be the absolute hero of SKRM for the season. She could do it! She could be the beast that ever was-
-And then Atomica looked at Robecca. Robecca was a robot, just like her. Everything Rocco said nasty about robotic creatures, it affected her, too. And while Atomica's first instinct was always to put herself first, the message of unity and togetherness from Woestock Weekend was still resonating in her positronic brain.
Atomica spoke up.
"Robecca should skate. Rocco is right, it should be captain vs. captain." Clawd gritted his teeth as the rest of the team looked on in surprise as Atomica skated forward. "It's the fright thing to do."
"Atomica, she's missing half a leg!" Clawd hexplained, just in case Atomica was glitching and had forgotten that fact. "She may be our best skater, but there's no way she can perform - or that the referee would let her."
Atomica skated up to the dejected Robecca, who looked up from the ground.
"Robecca, your knee joint takes a 5/16's inch cotterpin double-clutch intake with an 8-32 thread....just like mine does." Atomica reached down, and with a loud 'CLICK', she detached her left leg and handed it to the team captain.
"Atomica, I couldn't possibly-" Robecca started, but Atomica thrust the leg towards her again. Robecca's sad face melted into a grateful smile. "Thank you, Atomica. Thank you, all of you. I won't let you down."
Atomica hopped back as Ghoulia Yelps knelt down and helped Robecca attach the new leg to her knee joint. Within a minute, Robecca stood back, swinging her chrome leg at the knee, testing the joint.
"It feels...it feels great! Hand me my rocket skates!" The Nightmares all clapped as Robecca skated forwards...first a little unsure, then finally bursting with trademark confidence. She went up to the starting line, her copper skin glistening under the lights as Rocco looked her up and down, from her cobalt-blue hair to the tip of her new chrome foot.
Rocco nearly flinched. Robecca gave him a confident wink.
"ON your mark!" The referee called out as Rocco and Robecca crouched down, preparing to launch onto the track. "Get set!"
"GO!!!!!"
The crowd roared again as Robecca and Rocco launched down to the track. Atomica watched for a moment, and then was helped over to the bench.
"Way to go, Atomica." Clawd told her, giving her a look of pride that she had never seen him give her before. "This is why you've moved up from the B-squad."
"Yeah, brill idea, mate!" Lagoona told her brightly, giving her the 'fang ten' gesture with one hand. Deuce and Heath nodded in agreement. Atomica's confidence swelled.
"I did what had to be done!" She asserted proudly. "What can I say? I'm the beast I am at what I do, and what I do is-"
"ROBECCA IS IN THE LEAD!" Heath suddenly shouted. "SHE'S COMING IN HOT!!!"
Heath's head burst into flames in excitement as everyone on the team turned towards the finish line to see the end of the race, leaving Atomica all alone on the bench.
She sighed, shrugged, and joined them all in watching.
It wasn't even a contest at this point. If there was an obstacle, Robecca jumped over it. If the playing field twisted or turned, she kept her bearings perfectly. Rocco was barreling forward, but he was still choking on Robecca's dust. Flashes of light bouncing off of her chromed leg helped the crowd keep track of her as she blazed over an ice bridge, swung across a boggy chasm, and even cartwheeled through flaming rings on the way to the last leg of the race.
"Final stretch!" Clawd called out, his claws balled up into fists. "She's gonna do it-"
"Rocco's gotten his second wind!" Alabaster Lime, one of the Granite City goons shouted out. Rocco was coming from behind at an amazing pace now, trying to catch up his lost distance from Robecca.
"Come on, Robecca!"
"You can do it, ghoul!"
"GOOOOOO, LEG!!!!"
Rocco was gaining on Robecca...5 feet between them....4....almost neck and neck...
Collectively, the crowd in the arena fell completely silent as the two streaked towards the finish line....
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