“So, a good day for you all?” Bamboo asked.

“Hell yeah!” Maigashi gave a thumbs up. “I completely dominated those slopes. I even got an invite to enter the Ski off.”

He shows off his ticket to the others.

“Well congrats!” Auroa applauded.

“One day till the main event, and Brenda!” Bamboo clapped. “She’ll be one tough cookie to break so do you any plans?”

“Don’t know.” Maigashi thought. “Not yet to be honest.”

“Hey! Maybe you all can train with him up those slopes tomorrow. Get ready the day before the competition.” Bamboo announced.

“A splendid idea.” Auroa agreed.

Everyone except Alistor cheered at the fire. The very next morning, the party all got geared up as they head to the gondola lifts.

“I don’t know if I want to do this.” Alistor whined.

“Don’t be a baby. You only fell due to your lack of awareness. Now come on!” Maigashi argued.

He was hesitant to enter, but the two pushed him in. The lift takes motion, bringing them up in a matter of minutes. They take a look at the breathtaking view of the vast mountains. Exiting out as they encountered a strange crowd by the corner. Commander Shellshock passed by them.

“Those guys are so hyped up.”

The three took a look at the disguised Whoopers mumbling nonsense.

“From what I hear, those guys are foreigners.” Maigashi informed. “Heard they’re pretty good.”

“Yeah, I saw on the news.”

As the three head off to start, Shellshock takes a glance back. He breaks away from the Whoopers who continued nothing productive. The commander then removes his oversized scarf.

“They’re actually here? This isn’t good, I must proceed to the next phase.”

The commander takes to the air, quietly leaving without anyone noticing. He makes his way down behind the inn. A bunch of kids is seen completing a snowman.

“Your snowman is in need of appropriation.”

The kids quickly fled the scene screaming as chains burst out from his chest. The chains softly make its way to the Snowman possessing it. The Snowman’s face completely falls off as lips begin to form around its body. It makes an artificial sound.

“Frost Lips! I have a job for you in tomorrow’s race.”

The scene cuts back to Alistor and the party racing down the steep hills. Auroa and Maigashi enjoying themselves as Alistor struggle to keep up. After a few quick jumps and tricks, the three made it back down in one piece. Alistor barely able to catch a breath as the two dragged him back up for more.

“But I don’t want to do it again.”

“Come on!” Auroa pulled.

A few hours later, the party chows down back by Bamboo’s food truck. A line of customers is seen waiting. The day soon comes to an end as night falls. The party is seen warming up by a hot tub. Maigashi takes one last look at the roster before tomorrow’s race.

“A total of twenty-one competing.”

Bamboo is seen daydreaming about Brenda on the other end.

The very next morning, Bamboo and the party are seen down below with the audience. Maigashi is seen with the other contestants ready and geared up. A limo approaches the scene below as the audience loudly cheers. The door opens, revealing Brenda Turnpike making her way to the scene.

“Oh Brenda!” Bamboo waved.

She gives a kiss in the air to the crowd. The party immediately gets overwhelmed within the excited crowd.

“Are you people serious?” Alistor grumbled.

“Guess they all love her.” Auroa shrugged.

She makes her way to the lifts as the audience cheered on. Brenda takes her place with the contestants above. Maigashi takes one last glance at the competition. Ten Whoopers are seen hyped and ready while the other contestants remain focused.

“Best of luck to you all.” She kissed.

The bell immediately sets off as the contestants began dashing off downhill. Maigashi rips hard through the snow for a head start. A few Whoopers are seen performing backflips behind as Brenda kept her cool. The other contestants are seen getting distracted by the remaining Whoopers behind.

“Not bad, but no one can beat me when it comes to these icy slopes.”

“What...?”

Maigashi was suddenly caught off guard for a brief moment as Brenda approached behind. Within seconds she easily glides her way past him.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Pressing his shins against the boots, he applied further pressure to pick up some speed. Two Whoopers meanwhile trips over an unfortunate contestant off course. Skidding out of control as he plows into three others below.

“Not far into the start, four of our twenty-one are down and out.” The judge states as the crowd cheers below. “Our dear Brenda still got it.”

Shellshock is seen among the judges behind the tables. Under his scarf, he quietly makes a call to signal the Whoopers above.

“As you order general.”

A Whooper is seen giving a signal to another colleague as they both closely approached Maigashi and Brenda from behind. One of them raises their sticks.

“What are these guys up to?” Maigashi suspiciously watched as Brenda kept her cool.

Without hesitation, the two Whoopers begin striking at them. Swinging their ski poles around as they were caught by surprise.

“Hey! That’s against the rules.” Brenda yelled.

The Whoopers continue the assault as Maigashi dodged their oncoming swings while keeping the balance.

“I’ve had it.”

In a matter of seconds, their poles clasped together with the enemy. Using the poles to counter back, Maigashi easily pushed the two Whoopers off as they came stumbling downhill. Brenda kept focus as she continued the lead. A third Whooper suddenly jumps in from above to strike Brenda, but she easily ducked. The third Whooper suddenly lost control in the air as it slammed into an oncoming tree.

“Man, she’s good.” Maigashi muttered.

Back from the audience below…

“Fourteen contestants remain and Brenda is still growing strong.” The judge announced. “YOU GO GIRL!!!”

Shellshock makes another call from behind.

“Ready the second line.” The general whispered.

The Whoopers above signal the fleet below. A huge hidden bunker emerges from the mountain. Positioned in place as one Whooper makes the call.

“Air fleet ready to fire. Commencing!”

Within moments missiles began shooting from below. Huge explosive fire commenced as sheets of snow began falling above. Three more contestants lose the will to continue on as they panicked from the pressure of an avalanche.

“This isn’t good.”

Four Whoopers suddenly surround the two as they began locking the targets in place. He quickly anticipates their move as he didn’t hesitate to channel some lighting to stun the soldiers. A missile fires away as Maigashi and Brenda make a big jump out of the blast range. The four Whoopers are blown out of commission.

“Now only seven remain in this race. We’re getting close to the final stretch.” The judge further updated. “Brenda fights on!”

The crowd below continues to cheer on as Alistor did his best to cover his ears from the screaming crowd. Auroa remained calm while Bamboo continued to go with the flow. Shellshock begins to lose patience with his team.

“What’s taking them so long? They’re getting too close?”

Back above…

“Oh give me a break.” Maigashi objected. “Is Brenda the only one they care about? I’m still hanging on here. Hello?”

The avalanche comes to a stop as the contestants reached the final stretch of the race. The last three Whoopers begin planning something.

“Too close for missiles. Switch to the guns.”

The bunker below begins to shift as the fleet replaced all the missiles with firepower. A Whooper gives off a smug look, but the grounds begin to shake.

“What was that?” A Whooper confusedly asked.

In a matter of seconds, the entire course begins shifting. Walls and pillars of ice begin bursting right out in front of them. The remaining three Whoopers crash into the Ice as the other two contestants lost their grounds from the sudden shift. Maigashi and Brenda maneuvers their way through the oncoming obstacles.

“Is this supposed to be a new twist?” Brenda wondered.

“No! I don’t think this is even part of the race.” Maigashi stuttered.

A massive explosion is then heard from behind. An avalanche is seen covering the entire bunker below. The audience below continues to cheer on for Brenda.

“My goodness! We’re getting close folks! The final two left and they’re just a mile away to the finish line.”

Commander Shellshock is seen crushing his radio. Banging on the table as the crowd remains too focused to notice.

“My entire fleet! Those Whoopers!”

Vilevelious suddenly contacts the general from the other side. Shellshock answers.

“Well, I’m tired of waiting? Where is the energy?”

“It’s coming! Bring forth the labyrinth.”

Brenda continues to give her all as the speed picks up downhill. Determined and focused to win.

“I feel the need…The need for some speed.” She muttered.

Then suddenly, the two came to a stop as the sky grew dark. A wall of ice caged them from all sides. The audience below is lost gazing at the sight of the labyrinth appearing before their eyes. The maze overshadows the entire resort within moments as Alistor and the party breaks from the crowd.

“We must find them right away.” Alistor suggested.

“Oh dear, Brenda is in danger.” Bamboo worried.