I know what you're thinking! This is back? In a short answer, yes! I'm just as shocked as you are if I'm honest, my life has been so utterly hectic the last year but I'm pleased to say that I've been gifted some time in which I am allowed to breathe. I couldn't help but think about this story and remember the enjoyment I had writing it and reading all of your kinds words. I don't think it would be fair of me to get so far in and just leave it. I'm not expecting much engagement but I hope that those of you who are still here enjoy what I've put together for you all here. Thank you for reading if you are!

Let's kick this show back off!


Back on the top of the mountain stood our two favourite hosts, Chris and Don, dressed in their outdoor gear and ready to deliver unto you another stunningly engaging intro to our next episode!

"Welcome back guys!" Chris started, "I hope you've all been waiting very patiently because we've got your next dose of Total Drama ready!"

"Last time we saw our contestants redesigning bedrooms for us, the hosts and the results weren't as bad as we thought they were going to be!" Don laughed, "But it was the Felines who came out on top with their room that catered perfectly to Chris' tastes."

"With the Snakes now being sent to their third elimination, in a move that shocked only him, Miles was taken out in a unanimous vote." Chris continued, "Turns out that he didn't have as strong of a grip on the game as he thought he did." The host let out a mirthful chuckle, revelling in the boy's surprise downfall.

"But we've still got 10 campers competing!" Don announced with a smile, "And we're only just warming up! So will Boris continue to come out on top on his team despite his many shortcomings?"

"Will Yves continue skating by with the Feline's impressive immunity run?"

"Or will it all come crumbling down around her?"

"Find out right now! On Total-!"

"Drama-!"

"Audacious Alpines!"


(Theme Song)

Dear Mom and Dad I'm doing fine.

The title sequence begins with Nick looking at himself in the mirror in the confessional, he is fixing his hair before the door opens, scaring him and causing him to jump and fall onto the toilet. In walks Ashe who looks horrified and quickly runs out with his head in his hands.

You guys are on my mind.

Luciana is in the living room, enjoying a quiet read by the fire when Alyssa comes running down the stairs with two snowboards that she found. She throws one to Luciana who catches it with a grin as the two run out of the cabin.

You asked me what I wanted to be.

We now see the two girls skateboarding down the mountain, wearing the appropriate safety gear of course, they board past Boris who has somehow managed to get himself stuck in a tree, he calls for help as they ignore him.

And now I think the answer is plain to see.

Kahlin and Yvette are enjoying dinner together, they are both chatting incessantly but it appears that neither is actually listening to the other, they're both in their own worlds. The camera pans to show Amelia rolling her eyes and looking exasperated at the both of them.

I wanna be famous

Chef is in the kitchen cooking up dinner for the campmates, Yves is behind him, watching what he does carefully, Chef wipes some sweat off his brow and continues cooking as he does.

I want to live close to the sun

Damien is trying to have a nap in his bed when Adrian bursts in and starts singing to himself, Damien takes the pillow and places it over his head, trying to drown out Adrian's noise.

So pack your bags cause I've already won

Aleena is filming something in the distance, she is taking it very seriously, a furrow in her brow when Miles appears in front of her camera. This causes her to jump and throw her camera behind her, she growls at Miles and pounces on him, throwing them both down the mountain.

Everything to prove nothing in my way-

As the two of them fight and roll down to the bottom of the mountain, they land in a heap in the end and are soon joined by Alyssa and Luciana who cheer as they reach the bottom of the mountain.

I'll get there one day-

Iris is sitting by an open fire, rubbing her hands together and warming them slightly. She is soon joined by all the other members who gather around the fire to keep warm. They're all wearing their jackets and start whistling together, showing more camaraderie than before.

Nananana Nananana

Chris and Don arrive with a tray of cocoa, all in their own little takeaway cups. They begin handing them out to the contestants.

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous

Marnie can be seen behind a camera glaring at Chris and Don, writing something down in her notebook.

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous

All of the campers, plus Chris and Don smile happily as Marnie snaps her pencil in annoyance nearby, watching the scene with disgust.

(End Theme Song)


(The Girls' Bedroom)

Luciana and Yves were sitting together on one of the beds, the two were quietly discussing their own tribe dynamics, they both continuously shot looks to the door in front of them to make sure that no one would come in and hear them scheming together.

"It's clear that we're on the bottom here." Yves said with a sigh, "Amelia and Aleena are tighter than anything, and Alyssa clearly wants to work with them too." The dancer looked rather disappointed at that fact but quickly wiped it off of her face. "And I want to trust Iris, but I'm just not sure where her head is at, I think it could go either way."

"Yeah…" Luciana agreed, finding the whole strategic discussion a little more uncomfortable than Yves. "I don't think Alyssa is as set in stone as you think she is." The heiress said, her brow knitting into an ever so slight frown.

"I know that you guys are friends, but we can't rely on someone who clearly hasn't shown her loyalty to us because that's an invitation for us to get voted out." Yves said with a matter of fact tone, crossing her arms as she did.

"It's been ages since then though." Luciana reasoned to her friend, "The game is long, it's not good to hold onto grudges either."

"Who said I was holding onto a grudge?" Yves retorted with a sharp bite.

"I wasn't implying anything." Luciana said quickly, holding up her hands in defence, "But if you're acting so defensively…" She trailed off as Yves scowled, she shook her head and stood up off of the bed.

"I just don't like to put trust in people who have acted against my interests, that's not unusual you know." She huffed, "Alyssa betrayed us once, and I wouldn't put it past her to do it again."

"Then we've got a difference in opinion haven't we?" Luciana asked with a raised brow, "There isn't much we can do about that except leave it be." The mediator in the girl was coming out as she tried to defuse the situation without actually backing down.

"I guess that you're right." Yves said as she walked out of the room, making sure not to slam the door because that's really rude and you shouldn't do that.

"Awkward…" Luciana sighed as she laid out over the bed in silence, staring absently into the ceiling.


(Confessional)

LUCIANA: It's clear that you can't actually change Yves' mind all that much once she's made it up, but I don't want to run the risk of losing her friendship and her trust in this game, so I can't push her because I'll just create a rift between us that no one wants.

YVES: I'm not being unreasonable, and I won't take anyone saying that I am - Alyssa clearly betrayed my trust, I can't make a fuss about it because it's me that's on the line, but that doesn't mean I can't hold a grudge.


(The Cafeteria)

Kahlin and Damien sat together in the cafeteria, the silence between them was obvious but not uncomfortable, both being used to simply sitting and enjoying the company of others. The two were interrupted from their calm when Alyssa dropped her tray of food onto the table, the tall girl sat down opposite both of the boys and flashed them both a wide smile.

"Looks like it's Pop Tart Soup today." She grinned as she started to eat her breakfast, "I would ask how Chef even made it but I don't think I want to know… and it tastes good so that's all I can really ask for isn't it." She chuckled as the two boys nodded along with her, they both had now empty bowls of said Pop Tart Soup.

"I feel like everyone's gonna be on some wild sugar rush today though…" Kahlin noted with a sigh, "And some people don't need any more energy."

"Oh true there." Damien laughed, "I don't think I could actually handle Boris on some sort of next level energy rush, he's enough as he is."

"Is that the posh guy?" Alyssa asked with a raised brow, "Crazy how him and Luciana could be so different, I mean, she's all rich and stuff too and she's so chill."

"Everyone is different - where you come from plays such a small role in how you grow up and become a fully realised person." Kahlin noted with his usual air of wisdom.

"Yeah I guess…" Alyssa took a moment to take it all in. "What's he really like then?"

"He's pretty much exactly what you think he's like." Damien laughed, maybe more from the pain than the actual humour. "It's a lot but I guess I've just gotten numb to his whole thing."

"Yeah that seems like an accurate way to go about it." Kahlin nodded.

"Damn. Sorry for you guys." Alyssa grimaced, "We've not really got any crazies, at least I don't think we do."

"Everyone is crazy in their own way don't you think?" Kahlin asked with a quizzical look on his face, "I mean, I believe in ghosts and the supernatural and to some people that makes me totally crazy. But to me, it makes total sense, I don't feel like I'm crazy at all."

"That's one way of seeing things." Damien nods to himself, "Who are we to judge each other anyway we were all stupid enough to sign up for this show anyway."

"Amen." Alyssa laughed as she finished off her food before picking up her tray, "I'll see you boys at the challenge! Hope you're ready to lose again." She cackled as she walked out the cafeteria.


(Confessional)

DAMIEN: (His eye is twitching slightly as he sits in the confessional) I won't lie, I don't usually eat that much sugar because it's not an amazing source of energy, especially when I'm performing seven or eight times a week, so I think this has really gone to my head. (He laughs slightly, it's an uncomfortable mix between nervous and giddy)

KAHLIN: Alyssa's view of the world is very straightforward, almost narrow, it's a respectable perspective, but it's also not one that allows for growth and progression of character. Maybe she should try looking at things from the other side of the glass?


(The Living Room)

There was one occupant of the living room this morning. Sitting on the sofa with the fire roaring and a hot cup of fresh coffee in her hands was Aleena. Her head was leaning against the back of the sofa and her eyes were shut as she focused on breathing slowly.

"I was not expecting this to go so well if I'm honest." She muttered to herself, maybe she was intending to talk in her head but it slipped out of her mouth too. "I won't lie, I was expecting to go home first so to nearly make it into single digits is really shocking in and of itself."

"It is rather exciting isn't it?" The voice belonging to Iris came from the other sofa, holding her own cup of coffee in her hands.

The sudden new voice caused Aleena to jump, and spill some of her coffee directly into her lap. An expletive left her mouth as she looked down at herself in shock.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Iris quickly called, placing her cup on the floor and rushing to the kitchen to get some kitchen towel so that she could help Aleena clean herself up.

"It's fine." Aleena replied through gritted teeth as she placed her mug on a nearby table before standing up to allow Iris to help her dry herself off.

"Ah, I hope this doesn't burn…" Iris muttered, "Let me try and find something to help." Iris quickly set into action, leaving Aleena to continue mopping up the coffee which was spilled both on her and the sofa.

"Everything okay?" Ashe poked his head into the room having heard the commotion.

"Oh everything is perfectly fine." Aleena smiled, "My leg is cooking which is honestly amazing."

"Oh how did you do that?" Ashe asked, his mouth agape with shock. Aleena just pointed towards the now half full cup of coffee which sat on the table. "Oh… have you run it under cold water?"

"No, not yet." Aleena muttered as she finished mopping up the sofa, which now had a nice brown stain on it from the dark coffee, a memory of their time in the cabin. At this time Iris came rushing back in with a dripping towel in her hand and a small, first aid box in the other.

"I found a first aid kit in the bathroom." She smiled as she slapped the wet towel onto Aleena's leg.

"Ow." Aleena noted with a roll of her eyes, taking the towel off of her to hold it to her own like, sighing as the coldness sapped the heat from her leg.

"That was quick thinking Iris." Ashe smiled, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, I don't think so. Thank you for the offer Ashe." Iris nodded, "We're just going to have to wait a few minutes for the area to calm down and then if Aleena is okay with it, we'll put some cream on it and throw a bandage over it?"

"Yeah that sounds okay." Aleena nodded, "Thank you for helping Iris."

"Least I could do when I caused the problem." The girl smiled apologetically,

"You seem pretty good with medical stuff though." Ashe noted, "Are you studying to be a doctor or something?"

"No, not me." Iris laughed, "I'm just used to small knocks and scrapes, little kids get into a lot of trouble."

"Oh you work in a daycare?" Ashe asked with a raised eyebrow

"Definitely not." Iris laughed again, "I've just got younger siblings and I needed to learn how to help them where I could."

"That's so nice." Ashe smiled widely, "I don't have any siblings so I'm a little jealous."

"It has its ups and downs." Iris laughed as she motioned for Aleena to remove the towel so she could have a look at the injury. "It's not too bad." She noted with a nod, "I'm just gonna put some of this lotion on." She rubbed a little bit of the cream onto Aleena's leg, careful not to push too hard and cause her pain.

"That's soothing." Aleena sighed happily as Iris began to wrap a bandage a couple of times around her leg.

"That's all we want." Iris nodded as she secured the bandage tightly, "You should be all good to go for the challenge today."

"Thanks Iris." Aleena smiled, "I think I'm going to go lie down for a bit, this has taken it out of me." She chuckled to herself as she left the room to the other two.

"I'm gonna put this stuff away, thanks for the concern, Ashe." Iris smiled at the boy who nodded as she also left the room with her first aid kit in hand.


(Confessional)

ALEENA: That definitely could have gone worse. I didn't even hear Iris come into the room! That girl was as quiet as a mouse. Hopefully it doesn't scar or anything, but if it does then I'll look really cool when I take some pictures of myself for once.

IRIS: It was the least I could do to help her, I didn't mean to scare her, I just thought she was talking to me so I answered. It was rather responsible of the team to put the first aid kit in the bathroom as well, I wasn't actually expecting it to be there.

DON: I take full credit for the first aid kit, my genius has saved the day.


(The Porch)

Amelia stood on the porch, her hands in the pockets of her coat as she looked out to the clouds in a comfortable silence, which was all too suddenly ended as Boris stepped out onto the porch himself in his own coat. The boy looked at Amelia with a small smile as he slid next to her, copying her posture and looking at the clouds.

"So… Amelia Meadows." The boy flashed the girl a grin, who offered him a glance to the side and a small snarl on her face.

"Can I help you?" She responded, the disdain in her voice peeking through ever so slightly.

"I'm not sure if I'm honest. I hope that you can but the decision at the end of the day is going to fall down to you and you alone." Boris responded, a coy smirk still present on his face.

"Well, what is it that you want?" Amelia replied curtly, still not moving to face him and instead keeping her gaze focused solely on the clouds above her.

"I want us to work together." He stated matter of factly, "Think about it, we're two of the richest people here, and the others are going to pick us off sooner or later for being undeserving of the prize or whatever." He scoffed as he finished his sentence, tossing his head dismissively.

"Then why are you asking me and not Luciana? She's the richest of us all." Amelia retorted, probing Boris to work out what his angle was.

"Luciana doesn't have that edge that I know you have." Boris noted with another coy smile. "She's just here to make friends, but you're here to win aren't you?"

"I think we're all here to win deep down, even if we hide it under the guise of finding friends." Amelia noted with a shrug, "Some of us just don't feel like pretending."

"And that's exactly why we should be teaming up." Boris noted, attempting to reel in his catch with his words. "We're cut from the same cloth, and together we could be unstoppable."

"Alright Boris, I'll play ball. We can be an alliance, but don't think this makes us friends, or anything like that. It's just business." She levelled him with a look for the first time as the boy just smiled smugly and nodded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He held out his hand for Amelia to shake, which the girl did briefly before the two of them broke the contact. "Looking forward to working with you." Boris smiled as he stepped back inside. Amelia chose to stay outside and stare at the clouds for a little while longer.


(Confessional)

BORIS: Amelia is a key piece in my plan to take over this game, we come from a similar background, and she has the same killer edge that I myself possess. I can tell. Of course, she's not as smart as me, which is imperative too because I can't have her getting too big for her boots and trying to vote me out.

AMELIA: Boris is laughable really, but it never hurts to have another number on your side, especially when that number is on the other tribe, which just means that when we get to the merge, I've already done half of the hard work.


(The Front of the Cabin)

As the contestants were now accustomed to, they were stood in the snow with Don and Chris stood opposite them, both of the hosts had smiles on their faces as they greeted the remaining ten players.

"Hope you're all feeling rested for today's challenge." Chris grinned as he worked his usual hosting charm.

"Indeed, because this one is probably going to take it out of you." Don nodded as the contestants shared equally worried looks between them.

"I suppose we're due for a more physical challenge." Damien sighed as he looked between his own team and the girls. "And I would say that we're being pretty physically outmatched here."

"This challenge is going to require both teams to have impressive physicality, as well as a strong mental fortitude and above all else, good teamwork." Chris smiled as he saw the faces of some of the contestants drop at the mention of that.

"You'll all be pleased to know that we may have accidentally let our pet polar bear loose into the wilderness around us." Don continued with a similar smile as the teens all felt their jaws drop to the floor. "And we don't feel like finding him and bringing him back, so it's going to be the jobs of you guys to do that for us."

"That's incredibly dangerous?" Yves said with an incredulous look on her face, "Polar bears are one of the deadliest predators on this planet!"

"Then you better hope you don't get eaten." Chris laughed, "Both teams are looking for the same polar bear; he should be the only polar bear on the mountain so I doubt that you'll get him confused."

"The first team who manages to bring our polar bear back here to the cabin and into his wonderfully furnished bedroom-" Don motioned towards a horse box type object that was somehow bigger close to the cabin. "-will be the winner of today's challenge and will be safe from the vote off tonight."

"The losing team will of course be voting to send someone home." Chris said with a pretend sad face, "Each team will be given a few tools to help you with the bear, but this challenge cannot be done with simple tools alone, you're going to have to make sure you're all working as one well oiled machine.

"Good luck guys," Don motioned for the teams to get ready, "Off you go!" He released the contestants as both teams began stomping through the snow, each with their own tools, going off in search of this elusive polar bear.

"I really hope he's on that side of the mountain." Chris chuckled as he watched both teams thunder down the steep, tree filled slope.

The cameras cut and both hosts visibly relaxed as a smiling Marnie walked up to them both.

"That was much better energy on the intro." She said, referring to her clipboard of notes, "The audience like it when you torture the contestants so really lay into that sort of vibe." She continued as the hosts nodded half-heartedly

"That polar bear is safe right?" Don asked with a slight furrow in his brow.

"Yeah probably, the thing grew up in the circus so I would assume that he's used to humans." Marnie shrugged as she walked away from the duo, leaving them both to share a look of worry for their charges.


(Confessional)

ALYSSA: I'm really excited for a proper physical challenge, recently all we've been doing is easy creativity challenges, I'm ready for something that I can really sink my teeth into and destroy!

ASHE: I can't say I'm thrilled that this is the challenge that we're doing today… the girls have a lot of physical powerhouses still on their team, and we've only got Kahlin… This is what happens when you vote off all the strong ones I guess.

ALEENA: The chance to photograph a real life polar bear? Up close without any bars in the way? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am going to soak it up like you wouldn't believe! It's like three Christmases came all at once!

MARNIE: I've been told to inform the viewers that no polar bear has been harmed in the filming of this episode of Total Drama: Audacious Alpines. He has been well fed, watered and given comfy accommodation for his services to us today, so stay off our backs.


(The Mountain)

The boys were quickly descending the mountain, Boris led the charge as the other three followed behind him but kept pace.

"I'm really excited to be finding a polar bear, which are known to be entirely white, in this environment, which is also entirely white." Damien groaned as he continued walking down the forest.

"Although I'm not entirely sure that we should be charging down the mountain so aggressively." Kahlin noted with a thoughtful finger on his chin, "If we keep going down and the bear turns out to be up then we're going to expend a lot of energy dragging ourselves to the bear."

"That makes sense." Ashe nodded, "And the higher we are then we're probably going to be able to see more of the area, and we've got more chance of seeing the bear that way."

"Boris!" Damien called out to the boy at the front, who had now gone further ahead of the others. He proceeded to turn towards Damien with a slight scowl on his face, annoyed to be stopped from moving.

"What?!"

"Why are you charging down the mountain so fast? It's gonna be so easy for you to miss the bear!" Damien explained, hoping to appeal to Boris' logic.

"But I just know that the bear is this way." Boris whined, "I can feel it in my bones!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Damien shot back, "You're going to make us lose the challenge."

"We really can't afford to send another person home." Ashe added, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the longer distance.

"Well you're going to send us to elimination if you spend all that time climbing back up the mountain." Boris complained before turning around and continuing on his mindless march down the mountain.

"Let's just leave him." Damien rolled his eyes.

"But then we'll definitely lose the challenge." Ashe argued, looking rather flustered at the situation.

"Well… Chris and Don never mentioned that we needed the whole team when we return the bear. They only said we needed to get it back." Kahlin reasoned, shrugging his shoulders dismissively.

"You do make a good point." Ashe nodded, "Let's just leave him to his own devices." The three of them nodded and began the tiring climb back up the mountain.


(Confessional)

KAHLIN: Boris is really starting to get on my nerves now. I don't like to hold such negative feelings but he really does just drag down the whole team morale and dynamic. If anyone is wondering how we've lost three of four elimination challenges, I'm willing to bet that he's the one who's doing it.

BORIS: It's not my fault that my team just don't want to follow my genius. If I have to win the challenge by myself then so be it, that way my team could never afford to get rid of me because I would be the ultimate MVP. And they'll all be begging to work with me.


(The Mountain)

The girls were once again doing the exact opposite of the boys and began climbing the mountain almost immediately, the six of them were sticking together as a group with Alyssa and Luciana slightly leading from the front, probably due to their longer legs.

"Why is this mountain so steep?" Aleena grumbled as she brought up the rear of the group, working hard to keep up with everyone.

"I'm gonna go with nature." Amelia responded with a sigh, also starting to feel tired from the incline.

"Either way, we can't give up now." Yves urged her team, "We can't let the guys get a win on us."

"As long as we find the bear from this, the pain is worth it." Iris added helpfully, smiling at her team in encouragement.

"And if it turns out that it's at the bottom?" Aleena asked, breathing heavily as they continued the climb.

"Then we can totally practice snowboarding down the mountain!" Alyssa cheered loudly from the front of the pack, "Either way we're winning!"

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves." Luciana giggled, keeping just a step behind Alyssa as they hiked, "This challenge is going to be about conserving energy, the search for this bear is going to be long so we can't afford to get gassed out."

"Luciana is right." Yves agreed, "It's not going to be easy, but I know that we can do this."

The girls continued their climb up the mountain and were now slowly approaching the top, as we know the location of the Ski of Shame, of which the girls were blissfully unaware.

"This mountain is way bigger than I thought." Iris noted, "It doesn't look so big from the cabin."

"And they didn't even put a path up to the top." Amelia rolled her eyes, "It's just asking for one of us to slip and fall down."

"Don't jinx it girl." Alyssa scolded the actress, "We don't want to get split up."

As if on cue, the grow slipped from beneath the feet of one of the girls, she let out a surprised gasp as she fell backwards, beginning to tumble down the mountainside.

"Luciana!" Iris cried as she quickly jumped to try and grab a hold of the girl before she could fall further away from them. Unfortunately the momentum gained from her fall was too much for Iris to catch and she was dragged down with the heiress, both of them now beginning to slide down the mountain as the other members of the team could only watch in horror.

"Go on without us!" Luciana called out to them once she managed to regain some of her senses. "You'll all be fine!" And within seconds the two of them had become lost in the snow as they began to form an almost snowball around them.

"...Well that was unexpected." Aleena noted with a grimace, "I hope they're ok."

"They'll be fine, they're tough ladies, we just have to keep on pushing to the win, do it for them." Yves motivated the girls as they all nodded and continued their climb, sans Luciana and Iris.


(Confessional)

LUCIANA: Well, that wasn't how I was expecting to start the challenge. (There is still some snow sitting in her hair and on her clothes) And maybe it'll be worth it anyway, Iris and I could find the bear all by ourselves and win the challenge?


(The Mountain… again)

The boys group of Kahlin, Damien and Ashe were still on their climb up the mountain, hoping to use their brains to take their team to the win on this one. The snow in this particular pass of the mountain was particularly high, coming almost up to the waist of the rather small Ashe. The other two were not struggling as much, particularly Damien, who was impeded only up to his knees.

"I wish I wasn't so short." Ashe lamented as he slowly trudged his way through the white wall that expanded as far as the eye could see.

"You're doing great!" Damien called out as he pushed himself along using a tree to speed up his walking. "Besides, you can sleep on any bed you want without having your feet hang over the edge."

"A good point." Kahlin laughed, "Every one of us has our own strengths and weaknesses don't we? It's part of what makes us so interesting as people."

"Yeah you're right." Ashe laughed a little, "I still wish I had a pair of stilts or something, this is starting to get ridiculous." He grumbled as he tried to push some of the snow out of his way, but found that any snow he moved was soon replaced by some of it nearby as it tumbled into place. It was now becoming clear that Ashe's height was causing him to fall behind his taller companions. The other two stopped at the same tree to catch their breath and allow Ashe to catch up.

"It's only getting deeper." Damien noted, seeing as the snow had now risen slightly past his knees.

"Soon Ashe isn't even going to be able to walk." Kahlin sighed.

"Maybe we should turn back?" Damien suggested as Ashe pulled up beside the two of them, breathing heavy from the exertion.

"That won't be necessary." Kahlin replied, "Ashe jump on my back, I'll carry you until we get to a safer place. We don't have time to turn back."

"Sure that's going to be hard on you though?" Ashe worried, furrowing his brow slightly, "I can just keep going, it's fine."

"I appreciate the concern, and your desire to keep going, but this is the best outcome for everyone." Kahlin stated matter of factly, he squatted just slightly to allow Ashe to hop onto his back. The smaller boy sighed before relenting, deftly jumping up as Kahlin caught his legs. Ashe held himself up, taking the majority of his weight off of Kahlin so he wouldn't be slowed down too dramatically.

"Let's just keep moving." Damien announced once the other two had sorted themselves out before continuing to trek through the snow on the mountain. Kahlin and Ashe followed closely behind, Ashe holding closely to Kahlin so that he didn't fall off, the taller boy didn't see it, but a slight blush was just present on the smaller boy's cheeks, whether that was the cold or a different reason… your guess is as good as mine…


(Confessional)

DAMIEN: I know normally I get slightly frustrated from being as tall as I am, but here it's almost worked out to my benefit, I've barely been impeded by the snow at all, and not having to listen to Boris has been the very welcome respite that my ears needed from his constant yammering.

ASHE: Hahahaha… I… um… (The blush is still very present on his cheeks, I guess it wasn't the cold…) Although I really didn't want to be seen as a hindrance to the team I can't lie and say that I was upset about being that close to Kahlin… He's just so calmly confident, it's really cool.


(Somewhere else on the mountain)

Boris was walking on his lonesome, a problem which he caused himself and himself only. Not that he was complaining, well, he was but only about his teammates and of course not about himself.

"Utterly ridiculous, if they can't respect a leader then they're not going to get anywhere in life, all three of them are clearly destined for failure in life." He muttered to himself, or rather just spoke aloud as there was no one there to hear him. He was so caught up in his own conversations that he didn't see or hear the giant ball of snow that was currently making a beeline for him, nor did he hear the calls from two figures within the snowball who were calling out for him to move out of the way.

As could be expected, the ball smacked directly into Boris, upon closer inspection it was Luciana and Iris who were the two figures calling for him to move, but he was now stuck with them in the ball as it rolled down the side of the mountain.

"What is happening?!" Boris exclaimed in confusion as his head poked out of the snowball to look at the other two passengers on their one way ride.

"You're stuck in a giant snowball hurtling down the side of a mountain." Iris told the rich kid, she seemed resigned to her fate, not seemingly particularly enthused, but also not put out by the situation.

"And we don't know when it's going to stop." Luciana added with a little laugh, "It's quite exciting really."

"I suppose it beats walking." Boris noted with a slight roll of his eyes, "As long as it gets us to the bear."

"And if we do find the bear, Iris and I are going to absolutely beat you." Luciana grinned, enjoying some playful banter.

"You are unfortunately rather outnumbered." Iris added with an apologetic smile, "I'm sure your team will forgive you though… although I must admit I didn't notice them before you got swept up."

"We split up to cover ground faster, and I went on my own because I am a one man team anyway." Boris bragged, smirking smugly as he did.

"We'll just see if their trust in you was correctly placed won't we?" Luciana laughed as they continued rolling. "Ah, looks like our ride is over." She noted as she saw that they were heading directly for a tree which seemed intent on stopping their path. The three of them braced for impact as the snowball collided with the tree and broke apart on impact. Thankfully the three inhabitants of said snowball were unharmed as they picked themselves up off the ground which they had found themselves on.

"Now my head hurts." Iris groaned, rubbing her temple in an attempt to soothe the pain she was now experiencing.

"You're not bleeding thankfully." Luciana noted, giving Iris a quick once over to check for external injuries, "You should be fine again soon."

"That's good to hear, you're okay at the moment as well." Iris nodded, looking at Luciana, "We got lucky there." She laughed a little, finding the humour in the situation.

"And I'm fine too!" Boris called out, a scowl on his face as no one had rushed to help him. "Not like I could have been unconscious and bleeding out on the floor or anything."

"But you weren't." Luciana rolled her eyes as she looked at Iris, "Shall we continue looking for this elusive bear then?"

"Sounds like a good plan." Iris smiled as Boris fumed a few metres away from them.

"Well! Don't think you can just walk away after the two of you attempted to brutally injure me!" Boris cried after the two as they began to walk away before soon choosing to follow them on their journey, much to the annoyance of the two girls.


(Confessional)

IRIS: Luciana and I had a really good chat while in the snowball, a better one than I was expecting considering we were rocketing down the side of a mountain with no control of our path. I think we might have even established an alliance while we were at it? Always useful to have another person at your back.

BORIS: Those girls were clearly trying to take me out of this competition because they're afraid of me, and I for one am not going to allow them to just walk all over me like that! Daddy would be absolutely appalled by that!


(The Hosts' Tent)

Chris and Don were watching the contestants progress from their tent, making sure that the contestants were not getting themselves into life threatening danger, something that they were surprisingly capable of doing.

"Good thing that tree was there." Don sighed as he watched the previously mentioned snowball of Luciana, Iris and Boris smash into the tree. "If they had kept going they could have crashed into the village…"

"I don't think the locals would have appreciated that." Chris acknowledged, watching as the three of them picked themselves up. "And the other girls are really close to the top of the mountain, but haven't seen the Paulie yet, I wonder what their plan is."

"I would imagine they're trying to get a better view of the whole area." Don shrugged, "Although unless one of them has binocular vision I don't see them getting very far with that."

"We'll just have to see won't we." Marnie came up behind them with a smile, "Shame about that snowball, I really wanted to see how big it would get."

"You know you're unhinged right?" Chris shot at Marnie, "And that's coming from me so you know that it's serious."

"Unhinged Unshminged." Marnie shrugged, completely unperturbed by the sudden jab, "Without me this whole show would have plummeted for the third time. The ratings have already skyrocketed with me at the helm, so you can't even deny the facts."

"I'm sure the ratings could be brought up without the need to endanger a bunch of teenagers on television for cheap laughs." Don frowned, "There are plenty of shows out there that can do it."

"And there's your problem Don - there's already plenty of shows that do it, which is why we need to be different. The potential injury to our contestants is our unique selling point." The producer retorted, smirking as she turned on her heel. "Keep an eye on those boys, I've got a little surprise prepared for them." The smirk only deepened on her face as she walked away, leaving the hosts to only watch with bated breath.


(Confessional)

DON: If I wasn't so strapped for cash right now I'd walk off set here and now… but I need the money, and I think those kids need me to fight for them, otherwise they're all going to end up seriously hurt or dead. (He shuddered at the sheer thought of it)


(The Top of the Mountain)

The four remaining girls, Alyssa, Yves, Aleena and Amelia had managed to get to the summit of the mountain and were taking a moment to catch their breath and enjoy the view around them, they weren't close to the clouds but they could feel that the air was fresher up here, even further away from civilisation.

"Now this is a once in a lifetime view." Aleena took a picture of the landscape with a grin on her face as the rest of her teammates looked down and around the mountain.

"Something about this makes me think we've made a mistake." Amelia piped up, putting up her hands like a visor to block the sun from her view. "I don't know about you guys but I can't see a thing."

"Yeah, I am struggling to see anything apart from snow." Alyssa replied, squinting down the mountain side as she slowly walked around in a circle to see down the various sides.

"We need to get some use out of this either way." Yves sighed, "I don't think any of us wanted to have climbed all the way up here to get nothing."

"You're damn right there." Alyssa exclaimed, gritting her teeth in determination.

"I've got it!" Amelia called out, pointing to Aleena, "Why don't we use the zoom on your camera to see better?"

"Amelia you genius!" Yves said happily, "Aleena, time for you to do your thing."

"Helping the team to victory once again I suppose." Aleena rolled her eyes playfully as she turned her camera from the sky towards the mountainside and began to scrutinise it through her lens while the other girls watched her with bated breath. This continued for a while as Aleena slowly scanned through the snow and trees.

"This is way harder than it sounds." She announced, her brows knitting together in concentration, "Oh wait I see something moving in the snow!" The others quickly gathered in the direction she was facing, hoping to see whatever it was with their own, incapable of zooming in, eyes. "Never mind… I think it's some of the boys; looks like they're stuck in the snow."

"At least we know that they haven't found the bear either." Amelia acknowledged with a smile, "And they're probably not going to find any time soon."

"That's true." Yves nodded in agreement.

"There are silver linings in every situation then." Alyssa laughed as the three onlookers allowed Aleena the space she needed to continue her search of the mountain.


(Confessional)

ALEENA: As you can see here, I'm carrying my team once again, at this point they should all just let me win considering I'm practically dragging them through this competition. Not really of course, but it's fun to act like I'm the best person on the team sometimes.

YVES: Aleena has proven herself to be a real valuable member of the team, and in hindsight, I think I'm glad that she never went home at our elimination. Hindsight is of course 20/20 and all I'm seeing here is that we kept a useful asset to us who isn't all that insufferable in terms of personality either. Win Win for everyone.


(The… you guessed it… Mountain)

The girls weren't certain but I can tell you for certain that the boys who were not Boris were indeed stuck in the snow together and were currently unsure of how they were going to proceed.

"Well this is fun." Kahlin deadpanned, still holding Ashe on his back above the snow it would now be nearly up to his head. It was honestly surprising that they'd even managed to push this far without realising that they were never getting further.

"I guess we have to turn back?" Ashe said with a frown, although I doubt there's a bear hidden in this snow."

"As long as we just lie to Boris and say we went right to the top." Damien said with a roll of his eyes, "I'm not letting his ego somehow inflate even bigger than it is."

"Agreed." Kahlin laughed slightly, "Maybe we should just chill in the snow for a while, maybe there's the spirits of lost adventurers or something."

"That sounds quite scary…" Ashe shuddered on Kahlin's back, "But if that's what you two want to do, I don't think I have much of a choice."

"I would agree but I won't lie, I'm quite uncomfortable just standing here in the snow. I think my socks are gonna be permanently soaked through now." Damien replied, "And I can't feel my fingers either."

"Ah, we should probably continue on with the challenge then." Kahlin admitted with an almost sad look on his face, "I was looking forward to finding spirits."

"Maybe we can come back and look some other time." Ashe tried to raise Kahlin's spirits, "We've got plenty of time to work it out." He smiled.

"I suppose you're right Ashe." Kahlin nodded, "Let's not waste any time then, Damien did you want to lead the way again?"

"I sure can do that." Damien said with a smile and a salute and began leading the way, but he only took a few steps before a deep and unsettling rumble echoed around the boys. They all looked at the source of where it came from, only to see a large white wall surging towards them.

"That doesn't look good…" Ashe noted before the three of them were overwhelmed by the avalanche.


(Confessional)

KAHLIN: That was a close call, good thing we made it out of that or we might have ended up as spirits on the mountains ourselves… now that would be interesting…

DAMIEN: This day just gets better and better doesn't it? It's almost like someone planned the damn thing.

MARNIE: Guilty as charged! (She holds up one of her infamous red buttons and grins at the camera)


(The Top of the Mountain)

The girls were still looking for the elusive bear when they heard the same large rumbling as the boys before them. Thankfully they were above the start point of the avalanche, obviously and were able to avoid the wave of snow and ice which began cascading down.

"That didn't sound good…" Alyssa noted, casting her eyes around the mountain to find the source of the rumbling.

"Well, it seems to have started that avalanche." Yves noted, pointing over one side to show where the snow had begun to shift in large amounts.

"That seems… unnatural." Amelia noted with a furrowed brow, "I mean, usually avalanches don't just happen, something needs to set them off, and I didn't hear any loud noises or anything."

"Maybe it was an animal?" Alyssa offered with a shrug, "Maybe it slipped and caused everything to fall."

"I suppose…" Amelia petered off, deep in thought as she considered the possibilities.

"It might matter though…" Aleena said with a slight grimace as she looked through her camera zoom.

"Why?" Yves' ears perked up as she turned to Aleena.

"Because I think I can see the bear… and he's right in the path of that avalanche." The filmmaker replied with a smile, "So I think we better start chasing it pretty fast."

"Chasing an avalanche on national television?" Alyssa asked, the sides of her mouth turning up slowly into a smile. "Now that is what I call a fun time!

"Well… how are we even going to chase it?" Amelia asked, "It's not like we've got any sleds, or boards, or skis."

"Well…" Alyssa tapped a finger to her chin, surveying the mountain top until she laid her eyes on something that made them light up with a childish glee. She quickly ran over to something which was revealed to be two rather flat pieces of rock, happily sitting there. "We can slide down on these suspiciously board shaped rocks." She grinned as the other girls shared looks between themselves.

"Well… I guess we don't have any better ideas." Yves shrugged as she picked up one of the rock boards, and Alyssa picked up the other. We're going to have to ride together."

"Dibs on riding with Yves." Amelia said quickly, siding up behind the dancer as the two stood on the rock, looking rather nervous as they prepared to slide down a literal mountain, with no safety gear.

"That means I'm with you." Aleena smiled as she paired up with Alyssa, who was looking more and more giddy by the minute. "Please just be slightly careful, I would prefer to keep myself mostly in one piece."

"Don't worry girl! You're safe with me!" Alyssa exclaimed as she stepped on the board, with Aleena coming behind her and wrapping her arms around her waist for stability. "Just lean the way that I tell you to and we'll get out of this just fine!" With no warning, the girl kicked herself down the slope of the mountain and began to slide down, shouting with joy as she did.

"Can't fall behind I suppose." Yves shrugged from the board as Amelia stepped behind her and assumed a similar position, holding on to Yves waist.

"You only live once!" Amelia exclaimed as both of them tipped themselves over the edge and began to follow their teammates down the mountain.


(Confessional)

ALYSSA: That was the most fun I have ever had! Tell me someone other than the four of us who has ever snowboarded down a mountain on a literal piece of rock before, while chasing an avalanche! On national TV! In search of an escaped polar bear who is potentially deadly?! Absolutely no one, we have just had a once in a lifetime experience and it was amazing!

AMELIA: I won't lie… that was kind of fun. Yves is surprisingly good at steering a snowboard and the adrenaline rush was something else. I can see why Alyssa gets all worked up about this kind of thing… maybe I'll take snowboarding up next time I go on vacation?


(Somewhere different once again on the mountain)

Luciana and Iris were still wandering around the mountain, with Boris just a few metres behind them shouting about something or other which the girls were blissfully ignoring.

"What's it like to have siblings?" Luciana asked suddenly, "I'm an only child so I'm just curious what it's like… don't they just frustrate you?"

"Sometimes they do." Iris shrugged, "But they're also people that I know I can count on, we've got each other's backs through thick and thin. We've shared the same upbringing, we have the same memories, it's nice to always have people that can understand what you're going through you know?"

"I guess I never thought of it like that… I was raised by nannies and barely saw my parents when I was younger, they were too busy working and I guess I felt like I was just an afterthought." The heiress, in a moment of rare vulnerability, chuckled dryly. "Not that I'm unhappy with my lot in life, I've been given a lot of opportunities that others will likely never experience, and for that I am so grateful, but sometimes I just wish I lived a normal life you know?"

"Totally." Iris smiled comfortingly, placing a hand on Luciana's shoulder in support, "How's that saying go? The grass is always greener on the other side?" She thought to herself as Luciana nodded, "I guess it's that sort of situation, we want what we can't have because it's enticing and exciting, but everyone has their own problems, whether they come from my background or yours."

"You're very right." Luciana laughed, "That's one of the beauties of games like this, it brings together people who would never have interacted under normal circumstances and now look at us, talking about our lives all deeply."

"It just is like that I suppose. I'm glad either way."

"Are you two still talking about sappy stuff?" Boris called from behind them,

"And so what if we are?" Luciana retorted, spinning her head to look at him.

"Nothing… just wanted to make sure you weren't scheming against me or anything." Boris huffed, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Why would we bother doing that?" Iris asked with a confused look, "You're not even on our team, you're just following us."

"Well… you're scheming because I'm the biggest threat in the game because you're scared of me." He answered smugly with a flip of his head. "And I'm following so you do all the hard work, and I swoop in and steal the victory at the last minute."

"Good luck doing that." Luciana shrugged. It was then that the three of them heard a loud rumbling.

"I doubt that's good news." Iris frowned, looking up to the top of the mountain, which was a rather large distance away to try and see the source of the noise, but was unsuccessful.

"I'm sure it's fine." Luciana said, not all that convincingly.

"It doesn't matter either way." Boris complained once again, still walking behind them, "You have a challenge to win for me."

"I'm gonna swing in a minute." Luciana muttered through gritted teeth, her eye twitching slightly in annoyance.

"Just drown him out." Iris responded quietly so that Boris didn't hear, "That's another skill I learned having siblings. It's really useful." She giggled to herself as the three of them continued their search.


(Confessional)

IRIS: Luciana is really chill, for someone so rich she's really down to earth; the complete opposite of Boris who is so far up his own behind that I'm surprised he can even see where he's walking.

LUCIANA: That boy is so insufferable! Father always told me not to let people see you sweat but it really is taking all of my energy not to snap at him. Two people from very similar backgrounds and we're both so different… I guess it really does speak to the power of parenting.


(The Same Place on the Mountain)

The same three were still walking, but the large rumble was still fresh on their mind. Casting glances often at the mountain, but struggling to see much due to the unfortunate angle of the sun which was beating down into their eyes. Iris in particular was looking rather nervous, wringing her hands every few seconds with apprehension.

"Scared?" Boris asked from behind them, "It's really painful when something unexpected comes out of nowhere to attack you by the way."

"You know we literally shouted at you to warn you right?" Luciana grunted, not even looking back to address him, "It's really not our fault that you were so wrapped up in yourself that you didn't even notice."

"Well, why would I have any reason to believe that the two of you were out to maim me and take me out of the competition?"

"We both know that neither of us had any control over that damn snowball, and it you could have easily moved out of the way if you, as mentioned, weren't so busy talking about yourself."

"It's not my job to be watching my back every second of the day!"

"That is literally your job! To keep yourself safe!"

"Um guys…" Iris interjected between the two who were now engaged in a rather heated argument, "I think we should start running." She pointed up the mountain, where the large wave of snow, which as we know was inhabited by Kahlin, Damien and Ashe was surging towards the three of them.

"Oh shhhhh…" Luciana's voice petered out as she grabbed Iris' wrist and pulled her away from the avalanche, the two beginning to burst into a sprint, hoping to somehow outrun an avalanche.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Boris cried out, starting to sprint after the two as well.

"I knew that rumble was bad news!" Iris shouted between breaths as they ran.

"I just wasn't expecting an avalanche!" Luciana replied as they continued running.

This continued on for a couple of minutes but no one can outrun nature. Eventually the wave was beginning to catch up to them and as could be expected was nipping at their heels. Boris was the first to fall, being at the back of the pack, he let out a cry as he was swept into the mass.

"Oh crap…" Iris muttered as she too was swept into the snow. Luciana was the last to run, her athleticism keeping her going for a little while longer but even she was consumed by the cold as it washed over her. All six of the people now within the snow wave were kept captive for another few minutes before eventually reaching a flatter area of land that slowed down the crashing of the snow.


(Confessional)

BORIS: This is a conspiracy against me! That's twice within hours that I have been attacked, kidnapped against my will and put into danger! I know the producers are listening to this and you best believe that my father will hear about this! And then you'll be sorry!

KAHLIN: I'm not quite sure how we all survived an avalanche… It was an interesting experience. Don't think I want to repeat it any time soon though.


(The Site of the Avalanche)

Once the onslaught had finished, six heads managed to pop out of the snow and look at each other in confusion.

"You guys get caught too?" Ashe asked, a rather large mound of snow sitting atop his hair.

"Yeah." Iris nodded, "Not my ideal way to spend the afternoon really."

"Ditto." Damien grumbled, brushing the snow out of his eyes.

"WOAH! THERE WAS PEOPLE IN THERE!" A voice shouted from above them. A quick turn of their heads revealed that it was Alyssa, who was still sliding down on her board with Aleena coupled behind her.

"ARE YOU OKAY?!" Yves shouted, following close behind her teammate on her own board.

"I THINK WE'RE ALL OKAY!" Luciana responded with a thumbs up to her teammates who slid to stop just next to the rather large mound of snow.

"That's good to hear." Aleena nodded as she hopped off of the board. "Need some help getting out?" She offered to the others who all nodded enthusiastically at the idea of being helped out of the snow prison.

The four girls helped the other six out and all ten of them stood together in the snow, the feeling of a challenge still being present in the air.

"So…" Ashe spoke quietly, attempting to break some of the awkward silence.

"So…" Amelia followed, "This is exciting." She looked around her, looking for a sign of this bear.

"Oh that's pretty." Aleena noted, taking her camera out to begin taking pictures.

"Are we all just going to stand here is or one of you going to find the bear for me?" Boris asked, crossing his arms.

"With that attitude I'll tie you up and give you to the bear." Luciana complained, crossing her arms as well which earned a snicker from some of the others, notably Alyssa.

"Nice one." She nodded approvingly, "It's so sad that you missed out on our epic snowboarding moment." She said to her best friend in the game, her lips poking out in a slight pout.

"That was pretty epic." Kahlin agreed, nodding approvingly, "Hopefully it looks really good on TV."

"I forget we're being recorded for the whole world to see sometimes." Yves noted, "Hopefully my family thinks I looked cool."

"Girl I bet you looked amazing." Luciana laughed, "I'm sure you all did."

"Oh I didn't do anything." Amelia shook her head, "It was all Yves really, I just did as I was told."

"I think snowboarding is at least a better method of getting down a mountain than being taken by a damn avalanche." Damien muttered, kicking the pile of snow to little effect.

"Yeah probably." Ashe laughed, happy to have started a conversation between everyone. Everyone was chatting aimlessly, taking a small break from the challenge and enjoying the small moment of respite.

"Aleena!" Luciana cried, her body jumping into action before her brain even really had a chance to react. The heiress lunged towards the girl for one reason and one reason alone. While they were chatting no one had managed to notice the silent figure which had been slowly making its way through the snow, white as the area around it, it blended in scarily well with its surroundings and made not a sound.

Luciana had only noticed as the creature, which was of course a polar bear, reared onto its hind legs. Seeing her friend in danger, the girl quickly pushed her out of the way, sending her flying a few feet in another direction.

"What the hell?!" The filmmaker exclaimed in shock before turning her head just in time to see the polar bear come back to the ground… with Luciana in its way.

The contestants all stood shocked, unsure what to do as their friend was seemingly crushed under the bear. Thankfully, quick as a flash, three large darts fired into the hind leg of the bear, and within seconds it teetered to the side and fell over, off of Luciana. The others quickly rushed to her side, pulling her from the snow as Chef ran onto the scene, holding a tranquiliser rifle in his arms, responsible for the darts.

"We're gonna get her to the infirmary." He announced to the cast as two unnamed interns rushed onto the scene with a stretcher, which the girl was quickly placed onto and rushed into a truck which had pulled up with Chef.

"I'm coming with you!" Alyssa announced loudly, sticking to the side of the stretcher and jumping into the car with her friend as it drove off without another word.

The others all just stood in stunned silence as Chris and Don arrived on the scene, looking more than a little worried.

"Um… the challenge is cancelled?" Chris offered with a shrug.

"We're going to take you all back to the cabin, and I promise that Luciana is going to receive the best medical care we can give her." Don spoke next, his more comforting side coming out much easier than Chris'. Nothing else was said as the other eight teens were taken back to the cabin, a heavy fog of anxiety and sadness hung over them like a winter morning.


(The Infirmary)

Luciana was laying on the bed as Chef and someone who seemed like a doctor were looking over her, Alyssa was staying firmly at her side, refusing to budge for even a second.

"Is she okay?" Alyssa asked worriedly, her face contorted into one of pain and fear.

"She'll be fine." The doctor nodded, "I don't know the extent of her injuries yet but she's not in any danger."

"Ah that's a relief." Luciana's eyes flickered open as she responded, "Because right now it feels like I've been run over by an eighteen-wheeler."

"You're not far off." Chef noted, "I'm impressed you're up already."

"Tough cookie." She laughed but then winced in pain as she did so.

"Take it easy." Alyssa chastised her friend, "What you did was really cool." She let her know with a smile, "Really, really, really cool."

"Thank you." Luciana smiled happily, "Aleena is okay isn't she?"

"I would assume so, I didn't really check." Alyssa shrugged, "You were my only priority."

"Stop it you." Luciana giggled, "But thank you, I'm glad I've got a friend like you to look out for me."

"Don't even mention it." Alyssa smiled, squeezing her friend's hand in support as the doctor continued his examination.


(Confessional)

ALYSSA: Luciana is the coolest girl here, she's so tough… inspirational for me if I'm honest with myself. I think her saving someone from a polar bear might even be cooler than my snowboarding down a mountain…


(The Cabin)

The remaining contestants were pacing around the cabin nervously, except for Boris, who was absolutely nowhere to be seen. Their nervous movements were stopped immediately when they heard the door to the cabin open. Seven heads in unison snapping to see that Chris and Don were entering with Alyssa in tow behind them. It looked like she had been crying by the way that her eyes were rather puffy and the skin around them was turning a red tint.

"Is she okay?!" Yves asked quickly, her eyes widening in fear as she noticed her friend was absent from the group.

"Luciana is fine." Chris nodded which caused everyone else to breathe a sigh of relief, their bodies visibly relaxing at the news.

"When's she coming back then?" Ashe asked hopefully, looking at the two hosts whose faces visibly tensed at the questions.

"Unfortunately… Luciana has been pulled from the competition." Don responded, "The doctor believes that she needs further care that we cannot provide here and has been moved to a nearby hospital in order to make sure that she recovers fully."

"As long as she gets better…" Iris muttered, taking Alyssa's hand into her own as the girl joined the rest of them.

"That means that tonight's elimination ceremony has been cancelled." Chris informed them all, "Please take this time to rest and recuperate, we understand that today has been an emotionally draining day." The two hosts bid their farewells and left the cabin, leaving the teens to come to terms with the day between them.


(Confessional)

YVES: Well… that's my first ally out of the game… I don't want to be thinking about the game at times like this but I can't help but think that this puts me at a major disadvantage. But I'm going to fight, and I'm going to do this for Luciana!

ASHE: Seeing someone go because of injury is awful… (He tears up slightly as he talks) I'm not even sure why I'm getting emotional, I barely spoke to Luciana but it just feels so unfair that she's being taken out because of circumstances completely out of her control.


(The Top of the Mountain, for a change)

Both hosts were on the top of the mountain where they usually delivered their outro, although this time of course, there was no contestant to push down the ski of shame.

"Well…" Chris started awkwardly, "Wasn't that an interesting episode?" He asked no one in particular.

"Luciana has had to be pulled from the game due to injury, but the show must go on." Don continued on, "We have nine more contestants left to compete, and there's a big event next time that's guaranteed to shake the game to its very core!"

"Will Alyssa be able to continue playing the game now that her best friend and closest ally has been taken from her?" Chris asked.

"Is there a budding relationship forming between Kahlin and Ashe or is it just the game making them go a little funny in the head?" Don asked

"And will Boris actually sue us? Who knows! Find out next time on Total-"

"Drama-!"

"Audacious Alpines!"


(The Production Tent)

"What kind of ridiculous joke do you think this is!" Don cried out as he stormed into the production tent of very sheepish looking crew members, all with the exception of one, whom Don, followed closely by Chris, stormed up to.

"I call it a ratings bomb." Marnie smirked, crossing one leg over the other as she scribbled something on her clipboard.

"You told us that the bear was domesticated and very safe!" Chris called back, only infuriated by her nonchalant demeanour. "If I hadn't asked Chef to be on standby then those kids could have been injured even worse!"

"Not to mention the literal avalanche that you caused! Those things have killed people with decades of experience, let alone a bunch of teenagers!" Don continued.

"I'm sorry I'm hearing a lot of complaining here but you seem to be forgetting who is signing your checks here." Marnie laughed, "The network only cares about the ratings and that means that I only care about the ratings. I'm sorry that you've gotten all attached to these kids but at the end of the day they're just a means to an end."

"Can you even hear yourself?!" Don called out in exasperation, "You're unhinged! I don't care if you're paying me, I'm not putting up with this any longer! I quit!"

"Yeah! Ditto!" Chris echoed his co-host, flipping Marnie the bird as the two of them stormed out of the production tent.

"Whatever." Marnie shrugged as she watched them both leave, "Kyle can you make sure the location for the next challenge is set up properly for me sweetie?" She asked one of her crew members who nodded quickly and rushed out of the tent to somewhere else, now slightly afraid of his boss.

"Let's get this show back on the road." The woman smiled, leaning back in her chair with a contented sigh.


Well there we have it! That's the end of the episode! Without the strategic drama at the end, I wanted to explore more relationships between the characters here, which I hope I did. I want to say a massive thank you to GingerFrancophile who let me use Luciana, I'm sorry that she's left in such an anti-climactic way but I think it makes sense for her character to go out saving someone.

She was a fiery personality who I've really enjoyed working with and exploring her relationships, particularly with Alyssa. Their duo has been one of my favourites personally this season but I think this is a good point for Luciana to drop off, just before the single digits.

I hope that you all enjoyed reading this and I hope that you leave a little review if you did to celebrate this coming back after an entire year's hiatus! Thank you all for your continued support

Much Love

Illuvian!


Contestants (9/14)

Snowy Snakes:

Ashe Ward (MorbidGinger)

Boris Bennington (Alexneushoorn)

Damien Parsons (Mike Oyster)

Kahlin Mora (Nikolai777)


Freezing Felines:

Yves Jiminez-Chiu (Candela Monsoon)

Alyssa Abramov (Supreme Kai of Booty)

Aleena Kreppel (Gucci Mane LaFlare)

Amelia Meadows (FangDriver8)

Iris Mae Ross (HayamiHinata)


Eliminated:

10th Place - Luciana Vidi (GingerFrancophile)

11th Place - Miles Jackson (TheAllTimeGreatest)

12th Place - James Nicholas 'Nick' Wheeler Jr. (Dogtimus)

13th Place - Yvette Razz (TheRainbowWhimsicott)

14th Place - Adrian Contiello (IGwilledCheeseI)