From the moment she had jumped out the helicopter and onto the snow, the terrain felt like an entirely different world to Skye. She had a clue that navigating around these kinds of slope would mean a lot more obstacles in her way, but seeing was truly believing for her.

She was more than halfway down the passage that her and and the Deadly Descents crew were racing one another down, and so far her descent wasn't perfect but also wasn't too terrible. The backcountry on the mountain's first peak she had ventured from, where the competition would resume on, didn't truly compare to this.

In fact, she had quite some embarrassment when she had some moments where she had been slowed down by some of the fallen trees she had to work around after nature placed those obstacles there. Nothing knocked her down, but a wrinkle had been put in what was a good run beforehand.

And if I think what's about to happen is coming up, Skye thought, then that means things are probably gonna get harder to work around.

She was up for a challenge, though, especially now that the pressure was on her for her to make up for not coming in first as she normally did in the circuit. Now that that newcomer Judy was getting all of the talk, she needed to take things up a notch twofold.

Skye saw a log resting against a stone that was sticking up against the white expanse before her, much like what the backcountry she had went down before did. She veered in its direction and started to glide onto it.

She went to slip a paw out of her board and do a quick trick that she was familiar with when gliding across a rail, but she found herself nearly losing balance when the log she slid upon broke midway. Gravity did its work and she sped onto the snow quicker than usual, and she, quite luckily, got back into place before she could totally have a wipeout on her paws.

"That was close," she muttered as she wiped a paw across her forehead.

The moose and snow leopard that were on the team she had traveled to train with started to pass her up, and she returned her focus back to what was up ahead.

"Here I come!" a voice from some distance behind walloped, getting Skye to turn her head again to see who was there.

Another helicopter with a different look to it came flying forward, and it looked as if someone had dropped out of it the way she and the others did. Who's that? Skye thought. Everybody's already out on the snow, aren't they?

She returned her attention back to what was in front of her just as whooping from the same voice sounded like it was getting closer from behind. What came next was the sound of something on the trail of her sliding against the snow blanket below, followed by something colliding right into her side and making her hit the snow headfirst.

"Damn..." she muttered as she got herself back up.

It was while she was getting herself back up to the same speed as before that she got a look at who knocked her down unexpectedly. Sliding ahead of her before heading another direction was an ewe in a heavy black coat and gear similar to what she was wearing.

Was this that sheep that the team was talking about? The one that's trying to outdo what they're doing?

She felt that this was who fit the description.

An even harder piece of terrain was in Skye's midst, and now the roll she was on was all gone thanks to the ewe causing her to tumble just then.

After focusing on going straight for a short amount of time, she started to see the others reappear in her vision. The snow leopardess from before was navigating the upfront bends in the passage with a smoothness that even she was surprised at. The feline in front, however, found herself being visited by the ewe bundled up in black when she showed up right next to her.

As Skye followed from behind, she watched as the sheep she knew was named Bellwether nudged an elbow into the side of the leopardess quite hard and knocked her to the snow unanticipatedly.

"Relax," she heard the ewe say, "the real pro is here."

This sheep doesn't play by any rules, it seems, Skye thought.

Although she was definitely a competitor that tried to test any limitations possible, she knew that what she saw this Bellwether character just do was not allowed back on the circuit she was in. SSX might have been about pushing the boundaries of the sport, but unfairness like that was still an unaccepted thing. As much as she despised the newcomer of the circuit with a passion, she wouldn't have done something of that sort. Victory over her in the very end of tournament after totally kicking her tail would be much sweeter anyhow.

She had a choice shortly afterwards to make at the moment, to simply go to the left or to the right. Her instincts told her that leftmost route was her best bet, and that was the route she took. The open spaces around her started to become tighter and more crowded with trees as it led down to a steep descent, bringing her down a narrow passage.

While everyone else seemed to go the opposite way, it seemed she was the only one taking this route. Sometimes, she believed, it was better to go down the way that wasn't taken by everybody else.

"Whatever you do," she coached to herself, "don't end up-"

Her self-motivation was cut short the split second she ended up doing the very thing she was trying not to do again. The piece of a fallen tree log sat square in the middle of the territory as she rode up towards it, and instinctively she jumped up to dodge as swiftly as she could. She failed, however, to fully evade it by near inches, and the very back of her board ended up scraping the edge of the log and causing her to lose her mojo again.

Skye wobbled temporarily as she tried to maintain balance, not wanting to fall down another time. It was while she tried to stay in the zone when she did not have enough time to react to the fir, a much wider tree against the skinnier ones nearby, and steer herself away from it.

Her side rammed into the woody trunk that didn't have leaves dangling down toward it. Her running unexpectedly into the side of that tree, however, seemed to set off some sort of chain reaction for her, as she was then unable to dodge any of the other smaller trees only inches away on either side of her. It felt to her like she become a life-size ball in a pinball machine, being sent back and forth as it hit the bumpers inside of it.

She flinched with her nearing and unsuccessfully avoiding the obstacles, even though the hard armor she wore around her chest cushioned herself from feeling anything.

"Totally meant to do that," she lied out loud to herself, glad nobody from behind saw that embarrassment she made.

The buck she had met that led to her training with the crew was now in her view. He seemed to come suddenly out of nowhere and was now up in front of her, slipping through a free space in between the network of trees and fallen logs and up ahead of her.

He's probably been down this route a bunch of times. How else would he have just known to come through there like that? I sure as heck wouldn't have saw that.

"Looks like Bellwether decided to rain on our parade," the rabbit called over to her.

"Now what?" Skye called back.

"Just focus on this descent," replied the buck. "Make it past this ice coming up and ignore her. She's gonna do whatever she can to ruin the fun for us."

The rest of the spot that had been overpopulated with trees had been passed up quickly, and now it was onto a thinner passage with a good amount of ice for both Skye and the rabbit in front of her. There was no turning back now at this point, though. She was going to have to navigate down some slippery ice whether she was ready for this or not.

Going much faster than before, she tried her best to go down the S-shaped passage with ice. Steering herself became a bit more difficult with ice like this, and it felt like she was an ice skater just lacing up a pair of skates for the first time. She prayed that she didn't fall and did the best that she could, which luckily paid off for her when she reached the end of it.

The helicopter that had been following her and the others' descent throughout it came flying up above, turning towards a drop up ahead before flying off into the distance. This must have meant that she was nearly the home stretch pretty soon.

Surely enough, a humongous drop was just up ahead, leading down to where two bright red markers had been staked into the snow below it.

The vixen bent down and prepared herself for the drop. The sensation of taking off into the air felt so satisfying in that instant, as the descent she was undergoing didn't even compare to the third peak on the mountain she came from. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to be in the lead at the moment.

She started to pull of some spins while holding a simple grab trick, the world around her becoming a big white blur with each spin she made. As she approached the bottom of the descent, she stopped and noticed the jackrabbit to his left pulling off something similar to what she had done. The two touched the snow again in sync with each other, nearly coming towards the spot where the markers had been put to indicate what part of this particular place they had come across at the same time.

After it was all done and the rush started to die down, Skye caught her breath for a quick spell just as the other riders reappeared at the very spot, coming from a whole different direction.

"Guess we're gonna call that a tie then?" Skye remarked.

Jack chuckled at this and replied, "Yeah, I guess so. This was just a little warmup for whatever training's gonna come next, anyhow. How was the run for ya?"

"Pretty good," the arctic vixen answered with a tad of uncertainty in her voice.

The rabbit sensed it and looked over at her with a concerned face, knowing quite likely what was behind her unsureness. "Let me guess. That part around the middle got the best of ya, huh?"

"Yeah," Skye sighed. "Thank goodness for this armor, though. Didn't think at first that I was gonna need it, but then we were going through there and that part with those rocks on either side of us."

"Yeah." Jack nodded in complete agreement. "Any of us would end up with some serious problems if it weren't for them."

That feeling of rushing endorphins from this great opportunity of training with the best and baddest in the extreme sport world still ever present, Skye clapped her paws together and looked back at Jack with great eagerness. It was as if she had forgotten all about the little mishap from a couple moments ago, all of that locked up in the vault of her memories of the day. "So what's next? When do I get to use some of that other gear that you got?"

"Not just yet," the buck responded. "Not just yet. Besides, we can't just have ya do some of those really crazy stunts that me and the others have done. You will get to use some of that other gear soon, so don't fret too much about all that, but before that ya gotta be able to handle the bare minimum. Believe it or not, that was a walk in the park for us."

"Well, of course it is for you guys." Skye shook her head. "Perhaps I'm gonna need another go on this run before I get to any of the other stuff then," she admitted honestly.

The conversation was brought to a short but sudden halt with someone else arriving at the spot everybody else stood at.

"Oh, great," Jack spoke up. "If it ain't the party's uninvited guest."

Bellwether shuffled her board to bring herself to a stop, chuckling back at the lagomorph. "Sounds like you were surprised to see me, jackrabbit." Looking over at the snow leopard member of the Deadly Descents, she added, "Got tripped up out on the slopes, Fabienne."

Fabienne grunted audibly before she pointed a claw back in the sheep's direction. "It was all going just fine for us until you had to show up and play dirty," she remarked with anger.

The elephant standing next to the leopard took several steps forward in an attempt to calm her friend and fellow team member down. "It's not worth getting all worked up about," she tried to tell her. "We've known Dawn this way since she first showed up in the snowboarding world. And you know Friedkin-"

"I know what Friedkin would say, Francine," interrupted a disgruntled Fabienne as she held a paw up, her friend shrugging her shoulders in response. "That sheep just pisses me off more than anyone else."

Bellwether held her hooves up as she wore a look of fake innocence on her face. "Hey, don't get all jealous because I'm about to steal all the limelight of the Deadly Descents crew. Before you all know it, I'll be the fresh face of this sport's universe." Turning to Skye and pointing in her direction, she asked, "And what about you? I don't think I've ever seen you with this group before. Heck, I don't even think I've ever seen you before at all."

Skye held a paw against her hip. She knew this was probably a tactic by Bellwether to get under her fur, but it was still one that succeeded at its task. "Excuse me," she replied with attitude crawling out from her voice. "Are you telling me you don't know one of the best over on the SSX circuit?"

Dawn shrugged and slyly answered, "Yeah, I've heard of that tournament, but I guess your name don't really ring a bell. But if you're looking up to these clowns for some advice on how to snowboard, you're being sorely mislead."

The vixen started to become upset and felt an urge to stick up for the Deadly Descents team. Not only did they offer to train her for her own competition, but she also was quite a fan of what they did to begin with. "Now just 'cause-"

"So, Jack," Bellwether interrupted with her attention now focused on the lagomorph of the group. "You do remember that little agreement last time we bumped into each other, right?"

"It was more like you bumped into us, but I do," corrected Jack.

"We meet up on the starting point of that peak," reexplained the sheep, "survive through all of its challenges, and we see who's got more guts to make it to the end first without any trouble. I mean, unless you feel the need to cancel the plan or anything because you're afraid of it."

"I'm not afraid, Bellwether," answered the rabbit with certainty. "I shred inside of a damn frozen volcano, and you think your little challenge is gonna scare me?"

"I dunno." The ewe put her hooves together and grinned back at him. "It's not the danger that I think you're afraid of, to be honest. I'm thinkin' you're scared that somebody's gonna be better than your team and manage to outdo what you've all done."

"That'll never happen," Skye interrupted, her tail flickering in irritation from the sheep's repeated remarks. "I think I speak for him when I say that you'll never be able to touch what they did. He'll beat you at whatever challenge ya got for him anyway. And if he won't take you on, then I will."

Gasps of shock arose from the other members as they looked over at the now determined vixen, whispering between them forming shortly afterwards.

"Is that so?" inquired Bellwether with a chuckle. "This... rookie wants to take me on?"

"I am not a rookie," Skye responded as she glared back at the sheep that had most certainly become a newfound foe.

"Sure, sure..." answered the ewe, obviously oblivious to the backstory of her and simply carrying on with her attempts to bring down any positive spirits. "But if you're that eager to stick it to me if the jackrabbit decides not to, I'd be up to show you how wrong you are." Her eyes glowed like an idea popped into her brain. "Or better yet, why don't we change plans and just have her take me on instead? Now if you all will excuse me, I gotta go." She stepped out of her board and picked it up, strolling away with a smile. Turning around and waving a hoof back at the group, she muttered, "Bye-bye..."

It was as Bellwether was merrily walking away that Jack stepped up closer to Skye and waved a paw to get her attention. "What did you do?" he hissed under his breath once she looked back at him.

"I-I was sticking up for you guys," Skye replied. "I just felt the need to speak up since I'm a fan of you guys."

It wasn't that Jack didn't appreciate the enthusiasm of a Deadly Descents fan; it was the fact that she had no clue what she had agreed to just then that caught him totally off guard. "Yeah, I can understand that, but why did you say you'd take her on?"

"It sounded to me like this whole 'challenge' she was talking about's a lot less dramatic than she was making it out to be."

"That wasn't just some empty threat from her," assured Jack with a sigh. "You just accepted a one-on-one match at Broken Bone Peak."

Skye had to admit that the harsh-sounding name of the spot he informed her about did get her attention, but she tried not to show in front of the buck that she was feeling a bit concerned by it. "So what's that?" she instead asked.

"In case you had no idea where it got that name," Fabienne chimed in, "it's not a good time if you go into it unprepared."

"So it's not just what we did now but a little bit harder?" Skye inquired as she pointed at them.

"Not even close," Jack answered as he shook his head, letting out another long sigh. "Well, it seems like there's a huge change in plans for you, Skye. Whenever Bellwether says something, she practically shakes on it no matter what."

"So what do we do now?"

"You know how you were just askin' when we'd get to all of that other stuff? Well, in order to get ready for that showdown you ended up agreeing to, your training's going to be a different than what we were thinking."

"I don't care what it is," Skye replied with determination. "I'm up for whatever ya got for me. If I'm able to help you make this sheep put her money where her mouth is, then I'll definitely be ready to kick ass back on the circuit and drive my own competition out of the picture."

"This won't be anything like back where you're from, though," Jack repeated just to be as clear as possible. "Broken Bone Peak doesn't play around, and we gotta make sure you're ready for whatever she decides to throw at you."

"Then I guess I better get ready for what's next."

The sound of the helicopter came from above as it flew up to their point and started to gradually descend, snow blowing all around them as its altitude lowered. With its reappearance, it was time for the crew to reboard their one-way flight back to the Deadly Descent base where things for Skye would end up getting even more interesting than she expected.


"There's mammals out there that say things can't be done. And when some set out to prove them wrong and end up doing the impossible, they then tell you nobody else can do what they've done. Well, forget that..."

Dawn steered down the frosty terrain to the rocks that looked more spikes than they did formations made by nature. The avalanche that concocted behind started to move faster and become a lot graver than it was a moment ago. She took a quick glance behind her at the snow and rocks that threatened her, looking back up ahead with a broad smirk.

A fissure that split the snow from where she was now and where she needed to go was up ahead, a jump that gave her enough airtime to make it in her midst. She immediately prepared herself to head straight over it, the avoidance of falling to her doom a piece of cake in her mind.

"Those show-offs from that Deadly Descents crew really think they can't be touched, that nobody can set out and do what they've done twofold. But when it comes to defying what they say can't be done..."

She boarded over the jump and went right into the air, missing the avalanche as she soared over the space in between the next part of the path in front of her. She did a swift spin as her hoof grabbed the tail of her board, her grin becoming broader than it already was.

"That's my job now..." she said as she looked forward.

Alongside the protective gear she wore all over her, there was a shiny chain with a tiny golden-colored bell around her neck, a nod to her own last name. The teeny bell jingled delicately as she braced herself to land onto the snow after completing the jump. She touched the snow again before disappearing into where some whiteout was in her way.

"My name is Dawn Bellwether, but you'll soon know me as the newest one they're calling the best of the best. Some mammals might see me at first and think, 'She don't look like a snowboarding star.' But just watch me prove 'em all wrong."

She reappeared from out of nowhere as she did a nose press on her board, skirting over to the side on an icier part of the path in front of her. The ice underneath crackled as it developed cracks within it from her cruising over it, and she lifted her head and made yet another conceited look.

"I'm the baaadest sheep alive..." she remarked before riding off into the distance.


The video playing across the large projection screen within the Deadly Descents base changed, displaying a slogan from Dawn that received collective eye rolls from those watching it. Ewe gotta see it to believe it, the screen read with her name below it.

"You kidding me?" Fabienne muttered. "That's what she dared to put out to promote herself?"

The moose member of the team stepped up and agreed with her. "I'm with ya on that. One hundred percent. I mean, really? She had to be a pun at the end there with the whole baa thing?"

"Nobody said she was original, Peter" Fabienne replied as she chuckled.

Peter nodded his head back at her, turning around to see that Skye was walking over to where he and the leopard were standing. "All right, you're back," he said to her.

"Moosebridge?" Skye asked in response, trying to remember his name correctly.

"That's my name," the moose answered matter-of-factly. "So the word spread quickly 'bout you suddenly deciding to take on Bellwether."

"More like Smellwether after it's all said and done," the vixen remarked as if she was one-hundred percent about it, only for her to sigh and return to her original state of concern a second later. "Oh, who am I kidding? I got this hunch that I'm in for more than I thought when my mouth opened up back on that slope."

"Don't get yourself all jittery over it," Peter said reassuringly. "You got the greatest to show you how it's done. Just follow the others' advice and you'll probably do fine."

"That's what Jack told me on the way back here," responded Skye before she heard footsteps coming up from behind her.

"And if you wanna know what I think. I believe you can kick that sheep's butt out there."

"Hey, fox!" bellowed the loud voice of Friedkin, who walked up toward her as she carried a thick piece of clothing over her shoulder. "You ever try on a wingsuit before?"

Skye shook her head in response. "Someone back on my circuit just did, but I can't say that I've ever worn one."

"Well, today's gonna be the day you do just that." The polar bear grabbed the wingsuit, made of a shimmering material that was a turquoise kind of color, and tossed it over to Skye.

The vulpine grabbed it and got a closer look at it. Coincidentally enough, that shade of blue it had been made with happened to be among her favorite colors growing up. It was an admittedly stylish looking outfit compared to what she had on before, but she had no knowledge of how it was supposed to properly be used when worn. "Huh..." she said to herself before looking back over at Friedkin.

"If you're gonna handle that peak," the ursid continued, "you're gonna need one of these. That thing'll come in handy when just jumpin' from one place to another won't cut it." In a lighter and less loud tone, she added, "And when it's just you out on a mountain somewhere, using one of 'em can be a lot of fun too."

"I'm guessing this is next?" Skye assumed out loud. "This'll be next in the training you guys were gonna give me?"

"Yep!" answered Friedkin animatedly as she pumped a fist in the air. "Once that sun starts to go down just a bit, that's when it starts. But until then, why don't ya go hang out with the rest of the crew?"

And to Skye, that sounded like a plan for the time being.


The weather was the complete opposite of what she had the last time she rode inside the helicopter. Her first run with the crew led her to somewhere that had clearer skies that were much like what she was used to most of the time back where she came from. This time, though, the scenery looked a bit gloomier than before. Against the darker and drabbier skies came a billow of dust that made it a bit harder to see the mountainous views. As she looked out at presumably forceful mass of snow blowing swiftly to the east, she had a feeling that the winds were going to be stronger and try to steer her in the direction they were heading in.

"Okay," announced the pilot once again in his rough voice. "We are in position now. This'll be good spot for her to jump from."

"All good," called back Friedkin as she walked back to where Skye was seated from the other side of the helicopter, grabbing onto the thin metal bar above her as the helicopter made a sudden shift in direction.

Skye stayed silent in her seat as she looked at herself in the wingsuit she had been given earlier, rubbing her paws together while she awaited the very second that she would have to exit back out into the cold once again. Leading up to the moment she got on the flight here, a bit rougher than it was before since it had to fly through different weather, she managed to get a good grasp of how to use what she was wearing. A short flight from the crew's training base was some spots for her to practice her takeoff and landing, and she did just that there prior to the exercise that Friedkin was taking her to.

Like someone learning to ride a bike for the first time, she was a bit uncertain at first, but she ended up getting the hang of things quickly. Even Friedkin hadn't expected her to learn as easily as she did, but she was excited for her, nonetheless. Skye committed inside to try and get it down as fast and precisely as she possibly could, and she was happy that she succeeded in her goal.

This, though, was the true test for her, she thought. It was one thing for her to repeatedly handle terrain in broad daylight with nothing in her way, but this was something completely different. She hoped inside that she would do well once she got to the destination; she had a match with this Bellwether mammal that she had the misfortune of getting acquainted with, after all.

A short spell of the jitters came over her, a shiver coursing down her spine before she brushed it off and put her game face on. You got this, Skye, she thought. If Friedkin said that you're ready for this, she wouldn't have brought me out here for training in a different spot. Just focus on everything she taught you and you'll do good out on the snow.

Friedkin sat down and handed her something she had resting in her large paw. "Put this against your ear."

The vixen took what she was being handed and did as she was instructed to, placing the swivel-shaped part in her ear like she was putting in her earbuds to listen to music. An earpiece? she thought.

Friedkin reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a walkie talkie of some sort, clicking a button on it and holding it up to her mouth.

"Can you hear me clearly?" Skye heard her say through the earpiece audibly, followed by a small bit of static right afterwards.

"Yep," the vulpine answered. "Loud and clear."

"Good," Friedkin replied, this time talking to her simply face-to-face. "I'm gonna be watchin' how ya do down there from inside the helicopter, and I'll be talkin' to ya through that earpiece along the way to let ya know what's up ahead."

Skye nodded as she turned back to look over at the door that exited this portion of the helicopter. While the aircraft was guided by its trusty pilot to where she needed to be, she pulled out her Z-Comm really quick and loaded up its camera. Lifting a paw and making a eace sign with it, she took a quick selfie in her gear from where sat.

"You mind if I join in that picture?" the polar bear inquired as she learned forward.

"Sure," answered Skye. "Just getting one so I can remember this."

The ursid leaned into the photo, holding up a paw and waving it toward the camera. With a click it was taken, and she set her Z-Comm back down beside her, deciding to leave it on board the helicopter and retrieve once her run was over.

"We ready?" Friedkin said to her as she sat back down on the seat one away from where she was.

Skye turned over to look back at her and nodded her head. "Ready."

"Good," replied the ursid, "'cause we're right at the point where this path starts." She then got up and went up to the door, sliding it open with all her might.

The door loudly creaked before she got it completely open, and Skye could feel the billowing winds from the outside. She slowly stood up and grabbed her board, strapping herself tightly into the bindings in preparation.

That wind only got heavier as she inches up to the opened-up exit of the helicopter, hitting her face like a freight train. She wasn't going to let that be too much of an obstacle for her, though. She had been told how to guide her way against the elements prior to this, and she was ready to do that.

"Let's go..." she told herself before leaping out of the helicopter.

Skye become airborne as she quickly started to fall downward for the snow below, spikier rock formations with snow dusted atop of them distantly to the sides. She quickly spread her arms and legs outward and immediately she started to take flight. The elements tried to push her to the right, but she pushed back against it and steered herself to where she wanted to go. Her tail wagged ferociously with all the wind as she rolled her shoulders to change the way she was gliding, a muffled whoop of glee erupting from her as she sailed downward.

She returned back to her original position and got herself ready for landing, hitting that snow precisely as her heartbeat got faster.

Friedkin was totally right about what she said regarding these wingsuits earlier.

Once you got used to how to use it, it was absolutely cool.

The closest thing she could get to flying without being born with a pair of wings.

"Awesome job," congratulated Friedkin through her earpiece just as the helicopter flew overhead. "There'll be more jumps where that came from on this course, so get ready to have some fun."


Meanwhile...

"We have arrived, Wilde. You and your friends ready for this?"

Nick fumbled with the headlamp he was wearing above him, ensuring that it was on not uncomfortable but tight enough to stay on him throughout the venture. "Heck yeah," he said to himself, grinning. Turning over to the rabbit that was a few inches from him, he inquired, "How 'bout you, Carrots?"

Judy was stretching down to strap herself into her board when she nodded back at him with a wide and enthusiastic smile. "Ready," she chimed in response to his question.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Wilde," added Snarlov from behind the two of them, getting in some arm stretches like he was preparing for an enduring workout. "I'll tell ya what. This sure's gonna beat me bringing the both of ya to that yoga place. This is gonna get the blood pumpin'."

"For sure," Nick agreed. "Everybody got their lights on and ready?"

All at the same time the three checked their headlamps, flicking them on and assuring themselves that it was working just fine. Circles of light filled the space as they looked around before looking at the steep drop they would all be taking.

Out in the open was the downward cave that Nick had told his friends about, the chasm seemingly leading deeper into territory unknown to the other two. A trail of red flares could be seen, dim little specs from up above, lined up to the entrance like it was a landing strip.

"No matter what route ya take once we all head straight into it," Nick informed, "it all leads to the same place. So go however you wanna. As for me, I'll be takin' the same turns I've made before. Now who's goin' right after me?"

"I'll do it," Judy immediately stated, hardly able to stay still with this newfound excitement brewing.

The fox stepped forward and leaned out of the exit of the aircraft that brought him here. "Three..." he slowly counted down. "Two... One!"

With that, Judy watched as he dropped straight down, breaking out into a series of spins that had the reflection of his headlamp spiraling around in different directions. Off she went then as she leapt out after a few seconds went by, exuberantly and gleefully whooping into the air of the night while also starting to pull off some swiftly executed flips of her own.

"I guess I'm last," Snarlov said obviously to himself.

He clapped his paws together and rubbed them, awaiting his favorite part of any venture into a snowy passage: The first jump. That was always an out-of-this-world experience when it came to doing that in a different spot like this one. And not only that, but the idea of carving through a darkened cave with the light he was wearing there to guide him also sounded cool to him as well.

He giddily leaped out into the sky to join the fox and rabbit that had already made their way down onto the snow and towards the entrance of the cave.

The wind pounded against the bear's eardrums as he started to come back down to the snow-covered earth. With such a steep and soaring drop as this one, much like he would on any other given day, he found the right set of circumstances to nimbly get one of his tricks in.

He reached down for his board that had become his new go-to, gripping it tightly as he smoothly slid both foot paws out of it. He lifted it up above him like he was holding up a prestigious trophy as that sensation of weightlessness came over him, kicking and moving his legs out and around. Holding onto a single strap where he normally kept a paw in his board, he swung it over his head like it was a lasso and placed it behind his back while pulling off what looked like a front split in midair. Continuing this swift albeit intricate maneuver of his, adjacent to the rest he performed in the competition, he went back to holding the board triumphantly above his head while kicking his foot paws out in front him faster, fluidly clicking them back into the board with ease as he reached the snow again.

Snarlov imagined that the scenery around applauded that entrance he made the way the audiences that loved him did. He triumphally flexed his muscles after having pulled another trick of his off, unable to keep himself from uttering a roar of excitement. He peered over to the rightmost part of the chasm's entrance, which now looked even darker than it did when he was flying over it earlier.

This, he thought, is gonna be one heck of a place to shred.


Author's Note: Hey there, readers! :)

Hadn't picked this story up for a little bit, but with colder weather going to arrive before I know it I figured it was fitting for me to start writing this story again. Another chapter that had more of a focus on Skye this time around, but I promise I will be returning to Judy and the others as well, beginning with me returning to what they were up to. Thought this diversion of Skye accepting a challenge with a rival of the Deadly Descents team while training to conquer her own competition would be an interesting addition to this tale of mine.

Anyway, let me know what your thoughts were on this. I know that my writing has been a bit on the rusty side when it comes to painting the scenery and such, but I still hope you found it enjoyable. As always, your feedback, whether it's good or bad, is gladly appreciated.

'Til next time! :)