Sometime early morning at the enemy fortress…

“Yawn, what is the meaning of this general?”

Commander Shellshock is eager to present his latest plan for the labyrinth. Fliers get passed across the room for Vilevelious to look over.

“What! A timeshare? For a ski resort?” The emperor questioned.

“The best plan yet! We are going to invest in this place and I have a grand scale attack ready for action.”

Questions and some doubt through Vilevelious mind.

“I don’t quite get this. How is a timeshare going to benefit the labyrinth?”

Shellshock presents and oversized picture for them. A large poster drops down from the window panel showcasing a new base. Everyone within the room steps back, astonished for a brief second. Large oversized weaponry with cannons to missiles all around. From heavy machinery, artillery, carriers and gold plated walls as well.

“This resort will be the grounds for a new base. I took the liberty designing this all night myself. As you can see its Hip! New! And Cool!”

The emperor took a moment to fathom what he just heard.

“New…Hip… Cool? I don’t like the sound of this so far general.” He nodded.

“This may sound crazy, but I’ve been scouting Mathias for quite some time.” Shellshock further explained.

The general then turns on the viewing screen projecting a live coverage of the resort. Plenty of young people are seen enjoying themselves. Events from snowboarding to snowball fights happening as kids are seen running around and making snowmen. Some couples ice skating while some cuddle by a fire with hot chocolate.

“As you can see, ever since we arrived many have fled their daily lives to get away from the stress of monster attacks. All the young kids have been going to this place and what we need is a change of scenery. A fresh new batch for our labyrinth.”

The emperor continued to ponder whether to approve or not.

“I don’t know. This sounds rather expensive. Do we really need a new base? This sounds rather unnecessary.”

“That’s not all! Now turn to the next page.”

He turns to the next page revealing an ad for a Ski Competition. “The Grand Ski off 79. Starring four year winner Brenda Turnpike.”

“Never even heard of her.”

“From further research she’s some star many dumb teens are charmed over. A lot of guests are expected to attend and watch her perform in a matter of days.”

“And you have a monster planned for this general?”

“That will be taken care of later. Instead, I have this in mind. Whoopers, come forth!”

Commander Shellshock calls the Whoopers to the stand. The enemy soldiers enter the room all dressed in gear.

“Such ridiculous attire. What is the meaning of this general?”

“I took the liberty to enter our soldiers into this race, taking half the roster. Phase one will begin by sabotaging the competition.”

“And phase two?” Vilevelious asked.

“Rest assured. I’ll have a monster ready to gather energy. Then, if all else fail my fleet will blow everything sky high.”

The emperor gives his approval for the plan.

“I might regret this…but very well, commence with the invasion.”

“Onwards! To Snowpike!”

Meanwhile, back with Bamboo and the rest…

“We’re closing for the day and I have a special treat for you all.”

“What is it?” Alistor asked.

Bamboo presents to them tickets to the Snowpike Resort. Auroa and Maigashi rushed over to check it out.

“Hotel and reservation all prepaid. Sweet!” Maigashi jumped.

“My, how very generous of you. May I ask what the occasion is?” Auroa wondered.

Alistor lost interest quickly.

“Since you all been working hard for the past couple weeks, I thought we take a nice trip to the mountains.”

“Count me out.” Alistor nodded. “I don’t have time for fun and games. I need to continue training.”

He immediately takes his leave as the door shuts. A disappointed look was on Bamboo, nodding in disbelief.

“Not to worry.” Auroa assured, “We’ll convince him one way or another.”

A moment later, the two came barging into Alistor’s room.

“Hey! We’re packing up, so you better not bail on us.” Maigashi said.

“What? No! I’m not going.” He refused.

“Come on Alistor, this may be a perfect opportunity for us to bond. The resort has quite a few wonders to look forward to.” Auroa promised.

He turned away from the two.

“No! I’m not going and that’s final. I must stay to continue training to get stronger. And you can’t change my mind.”

Maigashi immediately became irritated.

“Well, too bad. You’re going whether you like it or not.”

The two immediately grabs him by force as he attempts to struggle.

“Hey! What are you doing? Let me go!”

The two begin dragging him out. Alistor attempts to pull out his blade to attack, but gets knocked out cold by Bamboo with a frying pan at the door. They then load him into Bamboo’s food truck as they begin taking off to the resort.

“Away we go!” Bamboo jumped.

In a matter of time, they were on the road with Bamboo driving. Alistor soon regains consciousness in the middle as he felt a snowflake touch his face.

“Ah, you’re finally awake.” Auroa smiled. “You’ve been out for quite some time.”

“How long?” Alistor grunted.

“About three hours.” Maigashi answered.

“Ugh…I hate you guys.”

“Don’t feel discouraged. This trip will be good for you.” Bamboo assured. “Let all your worries fade away. I’m even going to promote my Grass Jelly down there anyway.”

“What else is new…”Alistor sarcastically mumbled.

Bamboo then passes a flier over to him.

“Who’s this Brenda Turnpike?”

“Yeah, I hear this Brenda girl is expected to be there.” Bamboo brought up. “An annual Ski competition will go down in a couple days. Just imagine! If she likes my Grass Jelly, my restaurant will be an instant hit.”

Alistor then gives a shrug, losing all hope as they arrive to their destination in a matter of time. Bamboo parks on the side of the driveway as the food truck gets set up. Bamboo then hands over the room key to Maigashi.

“Well, you guys go ahead and check in. I’m gonna sell some food for a while.”

The rest quickly unloads the luggage checking into the inn. After a few floors and stairways up, they arrive at the door. Maigashi inserts the key as the door clicks open. In a matter of seconds the three were astonished for a brief moment. An entire suite was in front of their eyes.

“My goodness….how can we afford this?” Alistor dropped.

“Who cares?” Maigashi said. “I can see the snow gears right over there.”

He quickly went to the changing room as Auroa helped himself at the kitchen. Alistor was the last to enter.

“Free coffee and tea. Lovely!”

Alistor turns the TV on at the end of the room. Some live coverage from the resort is shown on screen. A lady is seen interviewing some shady figures at the top of the mountains.

“And there you have it folks! Some tense competition to expect this year for the annual ski off. What are your secrets?”

The geared up enemy Whoopers are seen head banging, mumbling back nonsense.

“Such competitive spirit! And oh, who do we have here?”

A badly disguised Commander Shellshock enters the interview. A large oversized scarf only covers a part of his face, Alistor hesitated for a brief second.

“No, it couldn’t be.” He thought.

The interview continues on TV.

“The very sponsor of this grand team, of course. As you can see we trained all year round. They are more than ready for this.”

Some recap footage of the disguised enemy soldiers is seen pulling off some tricks from extreme jumps to back flips.

“Ah, such a breathtaking view.” The lady recalled. “And you’re one of our judges this year correct?”

He grabs the mic out of her hand.

“Yeah! And nothing is gonna stop us from winning.”

She grabs the mic back from Shellshock.

“I wouldn’t be too sure yet. Let’s not forget our dear Brenda will be here in a matter of days. Well, that’s all the time we have today folks. Best of luck to everyone!”

Alistor then turns the TV off as it went to commercial break. Maigashi comes out all geared up and ready.

“Well, let’s head out. I’m gonna shred those slopes. ” He announced.

“A grand idea. I think I’ll try some ice skating.” Auroa nodded.

And so the party heads outside. The group immediately breaks off as Maigashi heads to the gondola lifts. Everyone across the resort is seen enjoying themselves, except for Alistor who stood awkwardly in the corner. Auroa soon caught up to him.

“Why the long face?” Auroa asked.

He was seen shriveled up freezing.

“I don’t know…” He nodded.

“Come on, you can tell me. If you stay in the same spot all day you’ll catch some painful frostbite.”

Alistor begins speaking.

“Ok! It’s just…it’s just this was not what I expected.”

“What do you mean?” Auroa wondered.

He begins to elaborate.

“My master completely ditched me. He only taught me one move, believing I was in good hands, but I don’t stand a close chance against the latest general. You guys were not supportive and Bamboo hasn’t taught me anything.”

“Don’t take everything for granted.” Auroa nodded.

A breeze of wind quickly passed by.

“But I need to get stronger. This Ski trip won’t teach me anything. I need more power to stand a chance.” He objected.

“Sometimes power isn’t the key to every solution. Maybe that was what your master believes.” Auroa brought up.

“What do you mean?”

Auroa then made him turn around to face the horizon of the resort.

“Why did you think Bamboo brought us here?” He asked.

“I don’t know. Just to profit for his own gain what else.”

“Wrong!” Auroa nodded.

“Then what is it then? Tell me!” Alistor demanded.

“Take a look again. What do you see all around you? It’s cold, right?”

“Isn’t that pretty obvious? Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Think of it this way. You’ve only fought in a limited type of terrain thus far. In order to attain new levels you need to work on sharpening your awareness.”

Alistor became lost for a brief moment.

“Awareness? What do you mean?”

“Learn to adapt to different grounds in case of an attack wherever you are. The enemy likely has monsters suited for their every need, so diversifying yourself to a different environment is the next step.”

He was speechless for a moment.

“I never thought of it this way. Maybe you’re right after all.”

Alistor then pulls out his blade for no reason.

“I’m gonna follow your words. Train like crazy and endure this cold.” The ice immediately catches his eye. “And I’m going to start on that ice.”

He makes a dash to the ice pond throwing Auroa off.

“Wait! You need skates first.”

In a matter of time Alistor was seen Ice skating as Auroa watched. He then makes his way to the zone with a warning sign.

“No wait! Don’t go…”

Alistor then falls instantly for going over thin ice. Yelling for help as Auroa had to call a rescue team over. The day then comes to an end as the party is seen resting up at the hotel. Alistor is seen covered in layers with blankets while the rest roast marshmallows.