Chapter 2: Start Descending
On the way to the rented Resort
After the meeting, Zoe and the SSX veterans went on their way to Zoe's own meeting point. Zoe had rented a resort in their name for the compitition to take place. While they were walking, the team members were talking to each other, remeniscing about the past.
"So Kaori, what's up with your hair?" Mac asked curious.
"I thought it was time for a new look, brown hair was getting boring, so I paint it black and the front a little pink to keep the variety. Why, do you hate it? Do you think brown looks better on me?" Kaori asked scared and worried as she touched her hair
"No, no, I really like you... uuhh I mean it, you look great, as always. I was just curious because, you look really good." Mac said yet a bit shy.
"Awh thank you, that's sweet of you to say." Kaori said happily about his compliment.
At that point, they all heard a loud noise coming from behind.
"Oooooohhhhh Mac!" the voice yelled loudly as he heard it.
"Huh, what is that?" Mac said when he saw a fat lady running towards him. "Oh no, no please not her!" Mac said scared as he backed away a little.
Then suddenly, he got tackled by the obese lady. Kaori got shocked by her attack on him and puts her hand on her mouth.
"Oh Maccie poopie, I thought you were gone to Australia, but now you are back just for me!" the lady said.
"God damnit woman, would you get off of me!" Mac said annoyed.
"Mac, who is this?" Zoe asked.
"Argh, this is the same lady that has been stalking me since the mistake at the bar with my friends. After that, she keeps following me and wouldn't leave me alone. Get off of me!" Mac yelled at her.
All of the team members of SSX died from laughter seeing Mac like that, except for Kaori who thought of a plan to help him. Then when she got an idea, and she tried to get her attention.
"Hey you... Get off my man!" Kaori yelled.
"Man!" team SSX, Mac and the lady yelled surprised while looking at her with their eyes wide open.
"You heard me loud and clear missy, I said let him go!" Kaori yelled mad as she pointed at her and the lady got off of him.
"W... what do you mean... your man?" the lady asked scared and sad as Mac stood immediately up from the ground.
"Kaori, what are you doing?" Zoe asked.
"Let me handle this Zoe, this won't take long." Kaori said to her.
"Okay, do what you gotta do." Zoe said when she stepped back.
"Listen you... Mac is my man, I was on a holiday, but now I've returned. Back off, or you'll be sorry if touch him again!" Kaori said.
"Now you look here you. Mac is my man! We met at the bar, and when he almost kissed me, I knew he was the lover I needed!" the woman said angrily as he points in Kaori's chest.
Mac slides away a bit, as the tension between Kaori and the obese woman started to grow. Kaori got angry and slaps her hand away.
"I am going to tell you this one more time, Mac is my man! He is my boyfriend, I love him, and any mistake he made in a bar being drunk is stupid to chase someone for months! So you either back off before I really get angry!" Kaori said furious as she hugged him and puts her cheek on Mac's.
"You tramp, then do what you want, Mac is yours, but he will come running in my arms again, just you wait." the lady said angry as she walked away.
"Please, go away forever, and never come back for the love of God!" Mac said as the lady left him alone.
"Does anybody else thought that this was kind of awkward?" Ty asked.
"Hell yeah." everybody said while shaking their head.
"Kaori, I have never seen you this angry before, usually you were the last one to get angry, but this woah!" Elise said to her.
"I guess something just snapped, I am calm now, after all, I tried to help Mac." Kaori said.
"Phew, thanks for your help Kaori, I owe you one, she has been harassing me for ages, only because I drank a bit too much." Mac said while she still hugged him.
"You're welcome..." Kaori said.
Meanwhile, the Japanese girls still held on to her friend.
"Uhh, Kaori... I think you can let me go now. She is gone so you can stop acting. Hello... Earth to Kaori."
"Oh, ooohh, yeah sure, sorry. I kind of got... caught up in the moment, hehehe." Kaori said while she was blushing and her cheeks got red.
"No problem really, after all, you saved me. But your acting was really believable, it was great!" Mac said glad.
"Yeah... acting... I took... some lessons." Kaori stuttered.
"Are we done yet, we really have to step on it you guys." Zoe said hasty as they continued walking.
SSX Resort
After a half our of walking, they finally started to approach the meeting point. The crew entered the building and looked around
"We are here, welcome to the SSX Resort in L.A, rented by me." Zoe said when she showed the resort they would stay at.
"Wow, it's amazing, how did you managed to rent this place, it's huge!?" Moby asked curious.
"I used the money I won from the snowboard tournaments, I rented this place while I was on my way to Fuji to meet with Tane. Let's go to the main hall." Zoe explained
"Hey, we are following you baby." Moby said as Zoe looked surprised at Moby for his comment.
She then smiled and went inside with them.
"Look at this room, it looks so big. We can hold some awesome parties here, a nice DJ right there in the back, some snacks and drinks on the far right side, it will be awesome!" Mac said.
"The parties will come later. Let's sit down everyone. It's time to tell you guys why you are here." Zoe said when they walked towards a huge sofa.
As they all sat down, Zoe tried to start her story on what the tournament was all about.
"All right, welcome everybody. I'm glad all of you could make it to help me out with this tournament, all of us have a history of competing in numerous, or in special cases, all of the past SSX tournaments. I still remember the first game with myself, Mac, Kaori and Elise." Zoe said.
"No problem Zoe, but what is the tournament about man? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love ride some nice mountains, but what more is there?" Ty asked.
"Right, let me get to the point. Like all of you guys know, the last SSX tournament was 6 years ago. After that tournament, we all said goodbye to each other and started a new life away from snowboarding. Except for me." Zoe said.
"True that." Mac said with his arms crossed.
"But after a very long time, I managed to reunite the SSX All-Stars. But we all have a problem, like you probably know, a former team member us us, Griff, wasn't finished snowboarding either. He was talking about being better than his former SSX members, thus you guys." Zoe explained.
"Yeah I knew that, Griff was last on television, he even talked about being like a million times better than you. I knew that when I heard him say that, Zoe must be planning something big for pay back, I stood corrected." Elise said. As she crossed her arms.
"That was my biggest issue, and that's also the reason he is not with us right now. Griff has bailed on us because his ego is the size of Russia." Zoe said
"What a jerk, after he became "one of the best" he thinks that he doesn't need anybody except for himself. I mean, if there would have been an SSX reunion, Griff would have been I our team." Kaori said.
"Yes Kaori, that's exactly right. A few days ago, I challenged Griff to an all out race to determent who is the best by riding our old course, Garibaldi." Zoe explained.
"Aaahh Garibaldi, I especially liked the back country, a lot of trees. So many hazards that it makes me so excited for danger. Hahahaha!" Psymon yelled.
"Yes, I did that to give myself an advantage, but he proved to be better then in the third SSX tournament." Zoe said
"And what's your plan? You still haven't told us." Alex asked difficult as she tried to speak English.
"After we were done, Griff and I thought about how we could settle our rivalry. That's why we have decided to have an all out competition I called; SSX Deadly Descents." Zoe said
"What do you mean, Deadly Descents?" Moby asked.
"It means, that all of us will ride on one of the nine most deadliest mountains on the planet, and descent them while beating Griff instead of each other this time. IT will e dangerous, but I trust on all of your skills." Zoe said.
"Cool, I'm going to ride the Patagonia." Elise said.
"And I'm going to ride in the Alps, sweet risks and pain is waiting for me, all those rocks in the way!" Psymon yelled
"That's why I like all of you, not afraid to ride the deadliest mountains, just having fun haha." Zoe said happily.
"All right Zoe, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are with you." Mac said.
"Do all of you agree with Mac?" Zoe asked.
"Yes, we are in, all game." everybody else said while they were agreeing with him.
Then suddenly, Griff walks into the resort and approached the team with his board under his right.
"Hello losers, how is the meeting going Payne?" Griff asked as he walked on.
"You got a lot of nerve to show your face around here." Zoe said.
"Ha, you sound surprised, you probably don't know that I also rented this place. My room is on the other side of the wing. Besides, since we are boarding against each other, I should be in the same building to hear the details. My wing in somewhere else in the resort." Griff said
"Great, now we know that we don't have to go there, there are probably millions of rats crawling around there." Zoe said
"Ha, that's big talk of the great Zoe Payne, who can't even defeat me." Zoe said
"Argh you little..." Zoe yelled as she got mad, but at the right time, Moby holds her tight trying to stop her from losing it.
"Griff, you have ten seconds to leave this room, or you're in big trouble!" Mac said as he approached him and stood in front of the challenger.
"Ah Mac, you are here too. I was waiting on you to arrive, besides Zoe, you are the only one haven't beaten in a game. You better hope you have luck on your side. Also, what makes you think i'm scared of you?" Griff asked.
"Five... Four... Three... Two...!" Mac said as he approached him slowly.
He then walked away while laughing with his hands in his pockets.
"I freaking hate that kid, ugh." Zoe said when she calmed down.
"Forget about him, he won't show his face here again. I can't wait to take that kid down myself, I never got a chance to ride against him. Tell us Zoe, don't we need someone to referee?" Mac asked.
"Ah, already made sure of that, come on in man." Zoe said when she calls him up.
Then at that moment, the lights went off and they all heard a familiar voice of many years ago.
"Hello everybody, DJ Atomika A.K.A Mark Hamilton here with a special announcement for the whole world. I'm going to host the upcoming competition about the SSX Veterans vs Griff." Atomika said when he walked in with his headphone on and a microphone in his hand.
"No way, it's Mark!" Mac said when the whole team walked towards him.
"Hello SSX veterans and newcomers, it's good to see you after these years. I'm grateful that Zoe invited me to referee the Deadly Descents competition." Mark told the team
"Hey Zoe, who is this guy?" Alex asked.
"Oh, this is our friend from the third SSX tournament, DJ Atomika or Mark Hamilton as he is called. He was the commentator and newscaster to inform us about the tournament, round the mountain, and all types of news feeds. He helped us numerous times around the mountain." Zoe explained.
"That's right, Tane, Ty, Alex, nice to meet you three. You'll have a great time with the veterans." Atomika said.
"Thanks, nice to meet you to." Ty, Tane and Alex said at the same time.
"Enough meeting time you guys, the tournament will begin in two days. Atomika, explain the rules for them." Zoe said.
"My pleasure." Mar said as the SSX team sat down and Mark stood in front of them
"Listen carefully members, Zoe told you that the competition is called Deadly Descents. What she meant was that each and every one of you is going to descent one of the most dangerous mountains in the world. There are nine Deadly Descents and there are nine of you. So each of you will be picked randomly and ride only one mountain with three main events, Race It, Trick It and Survive it." Atomika explained.
"Awh, only one mountian, why not more?" Mac asked disappointed.
"Because there are nine people, so we need to be fair and share the mountains. I wish there were more but sharing is caring." Atomika said.
"But I think it would be better to ride more mountains." Mac suggested.
"Sorry Mac, nine people so each one gets one mountain." Atomika said again
"But..."
"Only one mountain Mac!" everybody on the team yelled as they pushed him of the couch.
"Ouch, okay, okay only one mountain. You don't have to get mad, just asking a question." Mac said when he sat down again.
"Where was I... Oh yeah, to descent the mountain, you need to win at least two events from Griff to win. Everyone of you will take a helicopter to the mountains to ride them, don't worry, they are very, very quick so you're there in no time. There will be 3 pilots, one of the is Zoe's personal friend Sammy Giraldo, you will meet the others on your way. But let me warn you people about the mountains you're about to ride. Each mountain has nine deadly hazards that can kill you easily if you make just one little mistake or if you are unprepared. The nine are avalanches, whiteouts, oxygen pressure, ice, darkness, rocks, trees and gravity. Each of you will get equipped with special equipment to survive the descents. I attached some cameras on the helicopters, they will send us the live stream images so that we can see you ride. And this is a headset, each of you will get one if you need help or if somebody is in trouble, they are easy to communicate with, just push the button and you can talk to anyone who has the same ear piece. Good luck with the competition and stay alive." Atomika said as he gave everybody the headset and walked away
"Well, that's good to know." Mac said
"Thanks Mark, now guys, that was it for today. We'll pick our first contender in two days, you can pack your stuff in your own rooms. You have to share a room with somebody because the resort doesn't have that many rooms for us available. So Kaori, you share a room with Elise. Moby, you'll share a room with Mac. Tane, you share a room with Ty, and I'll share a room with Alex. Psymon needs his own room because of his... madness issues, and I don't think anybody wants to be in one room with him." Zoe said.
"Hahahaha, yes, my own room to get crazy. Hey Zoe, when you have time, wanna go to my room and get crazy with me!" Psymon said.
"No, no I really don't want to do that, I know my limits of danger Psymon, you are one of them." Zoe said when she rolled her eyes.
Moby looked jealous at both of them. He then focused his sight on Mac again about sharing a room.
"Wait, hold on a second there mate. I don't want to share a room with Mac!" Moby said.
"Hey, why not, I'm a good roommate, and we did it before right?" Mac said offended.
"No you're not, the last time I shared a room with you, your clothes and junk were laying all over the bloody room. I can't see your underwear anymore!" Moby said angry.
"Hey keep that down, not everyone has to know how I was in the past." Mac said.
Point Being! Never ever, will I share a room with you again." Moby said.
"Come on, I was young and irresponsible, I know how to keep my room clean. I'm older and very responsible now." Mac said.
"That may be true, but you're still the youngest of all us, so you are still one of the most irresponsible." Moby said
"He's a slob, don't worry Moby bro, I'll share a room with him. Something I can relate to dudes." Ty said.
"Awh man. Fine then, I'll take Ty as my roommate." Mac said.
"Good." Moby said.
"Wait... I was the youngest, wasn't Kaori the youngest of us?" Mac asked around
"Mac, I'm 26 years old." Kaori said.
"Really? But I'm 25, I thought I was a year older than you." Mac said
"I was born December 1986." Kaori said.
"I was bron July 1987. If I was born in '86, I would have been older."
"I'm just older, 1 year does not matter, so what, that doesn't matter, does it?" Kaori said as he puts his arms crossed and looked away.
"Great, I'll share a room with Tane, at least he looks like someone who doesn't make a big mess." Moby said.
"Enough talking, go ahead and pick a room for yourself, take a good rest before we are going to pick the first boarder." Zoe said as she walked away to her room.
Everybody walked away and picked a room for themselves, they all finally picked a room and packed their stuff.
SSX Resort 2 Days later
After a day of relaxing and preparing, the competition finally started as everybody and Griff got ready to meet Atomika in the main hall. Mark used a spinning wheel to pick the one who's going to ride the first mountain.
"Hah, you guys are going down. You'll soon realize..." Griff said proudly but then got interrupted by Mac.
"Man, shut the hell up and sit down. We don't have time for your babbling right now." Mac said.
Team SSX started to laugh as Griff looked around and grinds his teeth, only to sit down with them.
"Just wait and see, I'll defeat every last one of you!" Griff said as he just sat down with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
Atomika grabbed a huge box and puts it on the ground. He puts his hand in it, trying to pick the first mountain.
"Okay, the mountain that goes first is... the Rocky Mountains." Atomika said as he grabbed the card out of the big box.
"Cool, I love the Rockies, let me ride it... or should I say her, ahahah!" Psymon asked.
"Let Atomika decide Psymon." Tane said trying to calm Psymon down.
"All right guys, are you ready for this?" Atomika asked.
"Show us the first boarder." Mac said.
"Okay, the first one who goes is..." Atomika said
The wheel stopped after a couple seconds and he chose a purple card, he grabbed it and read what was on the card.
"Hmmm... looks like our leader and Demon, Zoe Payne, will be the first one to ride." Atomika said when he pointed at Zoe.
"Me, well what a coincidence." Zoe said as she stepped up together with Griff.
"Okay, the descent of the rockies are trees, so Zoe and Griff, you have to be equipped with some good armor to survive. Your first event is going to be a Race It, do any of you need to have some practice runs on the Rockies?" Atomika asked.
"Hmmm... no, I don't need that." Griff said.
"Me neither, have been in the Rockies before, no big deal." Zoe said.
"It's settled, boarders, get to the choppers to begin your event at the Rocky Mountains." Atomika said.
Before Zoe grabbed her snowboard and stuff, Moby came to her room, paying her a visit.
"Hey Zoe, I just..." Moby said.
"Yeah, whassup Moby?" Zoe asked.
"I wanted to wish you good luck, and don't get hurt out there." Moby said as he gave her a hug.
"Usually I don't like this kind of stuff, but I'll make an exception. Why so sentimental and stuff all of a sudden?" Zoe said as she gave him a shoulder push.
"Well, Atomika said that the hazards could kill you if you make just a small mistake. Please, try and be careful there mate." Moby said to her
"Moby, do you know who you're talking to? It's me Zoe, I can take care of myself, so don't you worry about me. We know each other for years, and I like it rouge, without it, it's not fun at all. I'll be back save and sound, don't forget that I can't hold back or Griff will win this." Zoe said trying to cheer him up.
"You're right, what was I thinking. Good luck Zoe, I'll cheer for you and watch the live stream." Moby said as she gave him a thumb up.
Together with Griff, she went outside and stepped into their separate helicopters. Only 1 pilot worked for Griff called Peter Stromey.
"Griff, ready to go to the Rockies!" Peter asked him.
"I was born ready, time to show SSX what I am really made of." Griff said.
His helicopter took off to the Rocky Mountains. Meanwhile, Zoe was in the helicopter with Sam.
"Zoe, great to see you, are you ready to take on the Rocky Mountains?" Sam asked.
"Hey, we have been in the Rockies before, just for fun, but now it's serious. Sam, let's go!" Zoe said to the pilot.
Team SSX was watching the livestream on tv to see how the race would go.