AN: THIS IS BY PARRY! (^_^) I got to write a full chapter! Yay! Hmm...what can I say? Lot's of competition in today's race, folks! Lot's of old rivalries are renewed and a lot of new rivalries are born! And, Yuri's love is soon to be revealed!

Nosymp's Angel: FINALLY!!!!!!! *glares daggers at parry*

Parry: Heh ^_^;;...well, anyway, enjoy the chapter! Lot's of boarding action and a BIG shock coming up especially for Starlight and Nosymp's Angel in this chappie! ^_^ This chapter is for you two, cause Starlight is always the first to review "Yuri" and Nosymp's Angel writes KICK-ASS stories! And Nosymp's Angel also supports my Psymon/Kaori pairing in my other story! You guys have been great!

Also, chibi cry for me! I got my SSX3 strategy guide taken away for looking at it during lunch! Waaaah! It had posters of each character, too! -_-v

Chapter 4

Rahzel sighed and flipped up his collar. The wind wasn't all that cooperative that day, and the newly fallen snow didn't make any promising boarding conditions.

"Which one's Nate?" Rahzel said loudly.

Nate raised two fingers up in the air, "That'd be me,"

"And Griff?"

"The punk with all that make-up over there, Razz," Mac said, pointing at Griff.

"I apologize for not really knowing some of your names," Rahzel said as he placed his pen on his ear.

The boarders were stretching and warming up for their race in Happiness, the tradition DJ Atomika had started in the previous circuit. Rahzel was going around—clipboard in hand—trying to figure out who everyone was.

Drum shivered. It was pretty cold up on the BIG mountain, and things back down in Florida had been a bit different. Drum glanced at Moby, who was talking to Zoe Payne.

"Hey, bloke, watcha lookin' at, eh?" Moby waved at Drum, grinning.

Drum quickly looked down at his boots to avoid eye contact with Moby.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him, Moby." Zoe said quietly. "He's a newbie, and you know that there were a lot of newbie's last year,"

"Eh, I don't like 'im one bit, there, Zoe," Moby said, "He's too bloody big and stupid, probably,"

Zoe frowned, "Just back off, okay? You already got Mac on your back all the time...you know you two are rivals—"

"Eh, I wouldn't be to sure about that one, love," Moby motioned over to Mac, who was approaching Yuri. "He seems to be busyin' himself with other rivalries,"

Zoe shrugged, "Hmm...I don't like Yuri all that much,"

Moby raised an eyebrow, "Why not? She's a damn good boarder and she's cute, to boot,"

"Cute, yes," Zoe said, "but that's what bothers me. She's like a Kaori-wannabe,"

Moby chuckled, "Yuri's a good kid and no matter how strong her friendship with Kaori may be, Mac'll always be on her tail, I can tell you that,"

"I dunno about all this, Mobes," Zoe said quietly, "I mean, they've been recruiting a lot of little kids. You know, Yuri and Griff. And what was with Yuri bringing her family over last season? She had no right to do that,"

Moby shrugged, "Griff, I have a problem with. Yuri was homesick, though, love. I'm sure you were, too. Besides, it seems like the circuit don't hire little people no more. They seem to take a liking to big people," Moby stated the last two sentences a bit louder to catch Drum's attention.

***

"Ready for a pounding?" Mac challenged.

"A pounding?" Yuri grinned wickedly, "Okay, just don't whine when I make you eat snow,"

Mac growled, "You got a lotta nerve,"

"Me? You're the one who started it with me, Mac!" Yuri said angrily, "You're the one who started being a complete jerk-off!"

"Panda..." Kaori put a hand on Yuri's shoulder, but Yuri brushed it away.

"You need to grow up, Mac! Get over yourself! I'm a better boarder than you! I took your throne last season, get over it!"

Mac only narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "Okay, punk, you get ready, cause you're gonna get a taste of a smack down,"

Yuri snorted, "Doesn't sound at all intimidating."

"You just wait."

***

"What's up, kid?" Nate nodded at Griff, who was staring at Yuri not for the first time.

"Nothin'..." Griff said quietly as he quickly averted his attention to his boots.

"You...changed..." Nate tilted his head to one side and examined Griff's hair. "A...lot..."

"Yeah..."

"Kind of like a mini-Psymon..." Nate declared hesitantly.

Griff scowled, "I'm my own person. I'm unique."

Nate chuckled, "Right,"

Rahzel appeared behind Griff and tapped him on the shoulder, "You Griff Simmons?"

Griff nodded.

"Nice...appearance?" Rahzel offered and moved on to Psymon, who was now tugging on Kaori's pigtails.

Griff paused and looked at Nate solemnly, "Hey, Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you do if you like a girl?"

***

Drum looked anxiously down at the track before him. All of the other riders—save for Eddie and JP—knew exactly what they were doing. Drum glanced helplessly at the other boarders.

He had only caught Moby's eye.

"What are you lookin' at?"

Drum once again proceeded to stare at his feet. He wasn't the type of guy to start a fight, but still, Moby just seemed to hate him.

Kaori and Yuri spoke quietly about who they personally thought who was going to win.

"Do you really think he is good at boarding? He does not have the build for it," Kaori said quietly.

Yuri shrugged, "Looks can be deceiving,"

"Oh, no..." Kaori whispered miserably.

"CHEERIOS!" Psymon screamed as he clamped his hands down on Yuri's shoulders, "Been a while! How yah been?"

Yuri shook with anger.

"And look at this, it's Miss Happiness herself," Psymon grinned, "What have you two been doing over the vacation? How's your brother, Ryan, Yuri?"

"Fine,"

"And you, Kaori, did you get Mac to put that thing in his eyebrow?"

Kaori didn't respond. Instead, the strapped on her board and coasted down to the beginning of the Happiness course, for Rahzel had announced that the race was beginning.

Psymon watched Kaori leave and then focused his attention on Yuri. "See you at the bottom," he sneered and coasted off.

***

Rahzel had boarded the heli-jet and was hovering over the Happiness course, watching all the boarders line up at the beginning.

"Okay," he said through a small microphone that went through to everyone M-comms, "Good luck to all of you, and remember, this is purely traditional,"

Atomika snorted, "Just bring it on!"

Psymon rolled his eyes, "Atomika, I think you should stick to talking your ass off. It was all you were good for,"

Immediately, half of the boarders began laughing uncontrollably. Eddie bent over, clutching his stomach and laughing at Atomika, whose face was bright red.

"Alright, alright, settle down, kids. Let's be professional for once in our pathetic lives," Rahzel muttered over the M-comm, "Stark, one more comment like that and I'll see to it that you're suspended for the rest of the circuit,"

Psymon only grinned lazily, "Spoil-sport..."

"Three."

Everyone put their game face on and leaned forward.

"Two."

Further. All of the boarders could practically see themselves flying across the landscape, soaring towards the finish line.

"One."

This was it...

"GO!"

The first person to take the lead was Psymon. Mac was leaning forward with his knees bent, approaching Psymon quickly. Psymon groaned when he saw Mac on his tail and swung out at him, but missed. Nearly losing his balance, Psymon swerved to the sides, loosing his position to Mac and Nate.

"Goddamn..." Psymon muttered darkly.

Griff stayed close behind Psymon with Yuri on his tail.

"Yo, mini-me, wanna see if you can beat your future self?" Psymon jeered.

Griff smirked, "Sure, why not?" However, try as he might, Griff couldn't keep up with Psymon. Yuri was slowly slipping away, losing her place to Elise.

"See you later, alligator!" Elise sang happily as she soared over head Yuri.

Yuri cursed under her breath. She soon smiled inwardly to herself as she remembered her first race last year against all the boarders. How shocked she was that she was losing to a twelve year old. Well, now she was losing to a fourteen year old. Yuri was now seventeen. She wasn't going to let that happen.

***

The war between JP and Viggo raged on. While Allegra was behind the two boys, JP and Viggo were busy trying to outdo each other to impress Allegra.

"Back off!" Viggo said angrily as he swerved to his right onto a ramp and executing a backside flip.

"We shall see about zat!" JP shouted after Viggo as he increased his speed, "Zee JP has not lost it!"
Soon enough, Viggo found himself losing control over his board as he fell face first into the snow. JP grinned wickedly as he boarded by, a look of mock sympathy on his face. "Aw, are you okay, mon amie?"

Viggo found himself laughing, however, as JP slammed into a tree.

Allegra coasted by the two boarders, shaking her head in disapproval.

JP pouted as he patted the snow out of his hair. "This is all your fault!"

***

JP and Viggo's rivalry was nothing compared to the acid remarks and insults Moby and Drum were throwing at each other.

Zoe was ahead of the two boys, with Drum behind and Moby following closely. Moby growled. He was losing to some stupid twat who thought he was superior just because he was big as a cow...

Drum felt Moby push him from behind. Try as he might, however, Drum wouldn't fall to Moby.

"How much d'you weigh, tubby?"

Drum only grinned and pushed forward, eager to keep up with his fellow comptetitors. He had some difficulty getting used to the weather conditions and the fresh powder snow—which were horrible snowboarding conditions, he heard Yuri say—but soon enough Drum found himself slowly accelerating and passing Mr. Jones.

Zoe kept glancing over at her back and offered Drum a smile. "C'mon, then, Drum! Let's see what you got!"

The friendly rivalry between Zoe and Drum continued, much to Moby's annoyance. Finally, after many feeble attempts, Moby literally threw himself at Drum, knocking him aside as well as himself.

Moby recovered quickly, however, and sped off into a shortcut, grinning triumphantly. He had finally taken the big man down.

***

Mac and Nate were having quite the showdown.

With Psymon out of the way, Mac felt that he was a sure win. "C'mon, Mountain Man! Let's play rough!"

Nate frowned as he swung at Mac. Mac, however, was too quick for him. Swerving to his left at the last minute, he shot through a shortcut, leaving Nate thoroughly outraged.

"Dammit, Fraser,"

(It's just a game...) Nate thought to himself, (Just a game...) Nate had worked hard to gain a spot on the previous SSX circuit and had been thrilled to be in the circuit again this year, but had been having some personal battles with himself. He was no longer seeing it as a lifestyle, it was turning into a competition to him, and that's what bothered him. He usually wasn't like this...so eager to win...

He glanced over his shoulder, and saw a little pale-faced midget coming at him at top speed.

"ARRRRGH!!!" Nate yelled out in surprise as Griff shot by him, laughing.

"I'm beating Psymon!" Griff whistled. "Woooo! Today rocks!"

Nate grinned, "Yeah, just a game,"

***

Elise cursed loudly. Yuri had found a shortcut and was probably miles ahead. Elise was beginning to lose her focus as Allegra passed her.

"Oh, no, Elise, however will I pass you?" Allegra said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're going so fast!"

"Can it, Frenchie!" Elise retorted.

Allegra, however, was already far ahead.

***

"Where did you come from!?" Mac shouted in surprise as Yuri soared above Mac and hit the snow.

(First place!) Yuri smiled, (Finally, Mac can't say anything no more!)

Yuri's victory, however, was short lived. Mac, in a rage, swung his fist at her face, not holding back.

Yuri screamed as she flipped over, tumbling behind in the snow, slamming into the side of the ice when Mac's fist made contact with the crook of her neck. Face down in the snow, Yuri could hear Mac say, "Oh, shit!"
She knew he wasn't going to slow down to help her. Mac was an ass.

Yuri pushed herself up with her hands and watched Mac board away, looking back at her with a face full of concern. Yuri collapsed. Her head was spinning and she couldn't see clearly.

***

Drum lost his place to Atomika and Eddie.

He was in last place.

"Damn you, Jones," Drum said quietly as he pushed himself up.

Drum was going as fast as he could, boarding across the track with ease. His course was uneventful, however. Moby's shove—or more like assault—had pushed him all the way into the back.

"What the--?" Drum slowed down to a halt. Was that a...?
"Ugggh..."

"Yuri? Is your name Yuri?" Drum asked as he fell down immediately to help her.

Yuri nodded absentmindedly, "Yeah...yeah...who...?"

"Drum," Drum said quickly, "The big newbie?"

"Oh..." Yuri shook her head and brushed the snow off her shoulders.

"Who...? Who knocked you out?"
"Fraser..." Yuri said, her voice full of acid. "That asshole,"

"No one stopped to help you?"

Yuri shrugged, "Guess not. This is a pretty aggressive competition,"

"C'mon, I guess we're the last ones,"

"Thanks, Drum," Yuri had to bend backwards a bit to catch full sight of him.

"No prob,"

The two boarders pushed on, eager to meet their rivals.

***

"Where in the hell is Yuri?" Griff whined, "She's not here!?"

Mac snorted, "The little snot decided to get smart with me, so I got a little aggressive,"

Kaori gasped, "Mac!"

Psymon grinned lazily, "Did yah hit her good?"

Mac nodded.

"That's mah boy!" Psymon said proudly.

Kaori shook her head in disgust. "You're sick, Mackie! What if something happened to her?"

"Hmmph. If she got hurt from that little tap, she might as well go home now. She's just a weakling,"

Zoe nodded in agreement but Moby only frowned, "You always liked picking on people smaller than you, Fraser, eh?"

"You trying to say something, Jones?"

Zoe sighed impatiently, "Has anyone seen the newbie?"
"Oi, I have," Moby said, "Pushed him off me. The bloke wouldn't leave me alone!"

Mac pointed accusingly at Moby as Kaori advanced upon him, "See!? Moby is just as aggressive!"
Griff threw himself at Mac, hurling his fist into his stomach, "Asshole!!"

Kaori gasped and tried feebly to pull the two boarders apart. Nate grabbed Griff and held him back as Psymon had to restrain Mac.

"You little punk!" Mac spat angrily, "You just try and do that again!"

"Shut up already!" Elise said loudly, "You're such a jerk! Just wait until they all get here!"

Eddie nodded, "She's got a point. Let's just chill a little, okay, Mackenzie?"

Mac growled at the mention of his name, but otherwise paid no heed to it. Eddie and Mac were tight friends, and he didn't mind him.

Viggo, JP, and Allegra were the first to see Yuri and Drum advancing towards the finish line. They seemed to be competing against each other.

***

Yuri was trailing behind Drum. She was still a bit dizzy, and she didn't mind anyway.

Drum approached the finish line anxiously. He caught Moby's eye and growled.

"What's wrong, mate? Got a problem?"
"Yes," Drum said quietly.

Zoe offered a weak smile at Drum and put her hand on Moby's shoulder, "Knock it off,"

Moby nodded in defeat and walked off, not before sizing Drum.

"You'll have to forgive him, he's a jackass."

Drum nodded.

Yuri, however, was steaming. Snowboard over her shoulder, she swung furiously at the DJ, screaming at him. "You JERK! You left me back there!!! You knocked me out!!!"

Griff followed her example and jumped on Mac's back, beating him in the head. Nate sighed and exchanged glances with Psymon, Kaori and Atomika. The four nodded in agreement as they began to tear the trio apart.

"I'm gonna kill you, Mac Fraser! You bastard!" Yuri screamed.

"I'll have none of that on my circuit," Atomika said sternly, but then quickly realized that he was a boarder. There was a pause of silence, then all of the boarders began laughing, save for Yuri and Mac, who were glaring at each other in pure loathing.

"I told you you'd be getting a taste of my smackdown,"

Yuri snorted, "Well, guess what? You're gonna be getting a taste of something soon enough,"

"Panda..." Kaori sighed and tried to get Yuri to focus on anything but Mac.

***

Rahzel laughed. "So, you're telling me you lost to your mini-self?"

Psymon nodded.

The boarders and Rahzel were sitting in the lodge, relaxing as the fireplace burned on quietly. The day was closing to an end and the riders were permitted to take the day off, seeing as most of them had obtained injuries during the "traditional practice race".

"Hey," Elise said slowly, "Speaking of, where is the little booger?"

Rahzel raised an eyebrow, "You know, that's a good question, Elise."

"Probably in his room," Psymon said gruffly.

"Stark, can you go check on him? His room number is—"

"I can get him. I'm rooming with him, after all." Elise said.

"Okay," Rahzel shrugged, "Go with Stark,"

Psymon sighed irritably as he followed Elise to the backrooms. "Which one's yours?" He muttered.

"This one..." Elise said suspiciously. Her room was unlocked, and the door was open slightly.

"Well, then, go on!" Psymon pushed opened the door without warning.

Several things happened at once.

Griff immediately moved his hands off of Yuri's waist and shouted out in surprise. Yuri and Elise, however, were screaming in horror. Psymon was staring wide-eyed at Yuri, who had Griff's black lipstick smeared on her lips and neck.

"What the hell were you doing?"

"What do you think?" Griff retorted.

"Yuri..." Elise whispered, "...you got a bit of make-up...there—there you got it,"

Psymon's look of horror slowly twisted into an insane smile. "MINI-ME AND CHEERIOS, SITTING IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Yuri's face turned bright red as she exchanged glances with Griff, who was frowning. Yuri pushed her way past Psymon and made her way to the bathroom to wash her face.

"What was going on in here?" Elise murmured.

"We were having a full-blown make-out session, thank you! And you stupid retards had to ruin it!!" Griff said angrily.

"Oh...this is going to be fun," Psymon grinned devilishly.

AN: OOOOOOO! Shocker? YES! Hee, hee! The whole "MINI-ME AND CHEERIOS" thing that Psymon sang was Drum's idea. Is he not brilliant or what?! ^_^ Starlight, I know you're in shock, aren't you? And Nosymp's Angel, stop staring at the computer screen in horror. Okay! ^_^ Please review! Hee hee!