This is it, the final chapter, hope you all have liked it. And EA BIG, you may own everything mentioned in this story, but you'll never take... our freedom!

Chapter 15: Go Big or Go Home
Nate huffed intensely as he stood at the starting gate, exchanging glares with Jurgan. This was the third race of the event. The opening race was the women's 'protection' race, which saw Kaori win by a landslide. Eddie's race did not go quite as well, and T-Mo now had the golden opportunity, that if XCL went out of business this day, he could join SSX if he wanted... and if he was stupid enough to put himself into that kind of environment. The horn blared and the big men shoved out of their gates. Instantly they started taking swings at one another, but both men held their balance. It was only a matter of time before Marty and Tom showed up on snowmobiles and started buzzing Nate. Nate remained as calm as he could, he knew that at this very moment Psymon was being taken to the top of peak three, so he was on his own. Another pair of snowmobiles reared onto the slope as Sandra and Jess now also tried to clip Nate. Jurgan fell back and laughed from a safe distance as Nate dodged the snowmobiles. The fans booed fiercely at the XCL antics but cheered every time Nate succeeded in dodging another pass from the snowmobiles. Nate saw in the corner of his eye a familiar woman speeding towards him on her snowboard. Allegra zoomed up alongside Sandra and powered her way onto the snowmobile. She hopped onto one of the skis and battled for control of the snowmobile. Eventually she managed to lean enough into the steering bars to direct Sandra into Jess, and both snowmobiles crashed together loudly. Allegra hopped off before impact and continued on her board like she had just finished a stunt from a movie. Nate laughed, impressed at Allegra's tenacity. Jurgan simply reached back the yanked her by the braids and she went down, stumbling into the out of bounds area. Nate still had to focus on the pair of snowmobiles that crossed in front of him repeatedly, while Jurgan took the occasional cheapshot when it was safe to do so. Nate fought with all he had to stay on his feet but he knew eventually he would have to go down. A loud cheer then echoed from Nate's right and he faced that way. Five small beings slid down the side of the mountain, coming from out of bounds. As they grew closer Nate smiled, thankful that his cavalry had come. Griff and his boys hopped the boundary fence on their boards and flew like a small flock of birds dive-bombing their prey. Jeff and Sam quickly occupied Tom and Marty's snowmobiles and wiped them out. Now it was Jurgan on his own against Nate, Griff and two other teens. The teens took turns scooping up snow and pelting Jurgan's bald head with snowballs, allowing Nate to catch his breath. Griff reached into his backpack that was unzipped on his back and pulled out a paintball gun. Griff got in nice and close to Jurgan and shot him several times in the butt. Jurgan yelped and put his attention on Griff, who laughed and fell back, out of the bigger man's reach. The other teen again pelted Jurgan with snowballs, taking his attention off Griff. Griff siezed the moment and again shot some point-blank paintballs into Jurgan. Jurgan was furious and Nate laughed his ass off. Jurgan was so pre-occupied with Griff and his clique that he didn't even see Nate slide out in front of him and sucker-punch him in the teeth. Jurgan slowed from the hit and Griff sailed out in front of him and emptied the rest of the paintball gun into Jurgan's face. The sharp and rapid pains made Jurgan finally teeter out of control and he slammed into a thick spruce tree. The fans 'ooh'ed in recoil from the impact as Nate rode the rest of the way down the mountain with Griff on his shoulder.

Zoe and Psymon dropped from the helicopter and landed softly in the deep snow at the summit of peak three. Zoe strapped on her board and gave a heaving sigh of concern.
"Never ridden from peak to base, this is going to be tough. I totally should have gone with you when you practiced." Psymon smiled as he stood back up, helping his little sister to her feet.
"Don't worry about it, you just get to the bottom, let Moby and me take care of the others." They rode a little ways to the starting area and met up with Moby. Neither of them felt completely comfortable with this alliance, but they had to listen to orders.
"Glad you two finally decided to join me, was worried I'd 'afta take them all on by meself." Zoe rolled her eyes and said nothing.
"Relax." Psymon started. "You know these clowns are going down." He then moved right into Moby's face. "And if you try ANYTHING out there to screw us... you know what? I don't even have a threat for what I'll do to you because I can't even think of one thing I would do to you, just a whole bunch of things." Moby sneered and Psymon backed off. Viggo, Elise and Paul arrived and lined up at the line. The misfits joined them and the pre-race rules were announced.
"This race is from the summit of peak three to the base of peak one. The first rider to cross the finish line immediately wins for their entire team. We all know the stakes, so I don't need to remind you all how important this race is. Full body contact is allowed but there is to be no outside interference or the race will immediately be forfeit to the other team." Psymon exhaled loudly and he shook his head to clear his mind. The lights counted down and the gates flew open. All six boarders pushed out and were all off to a very fast start. Psymon and Paul made eye contact, and did not interfere with one another, if anything out of respect. Psymon slid over to Viggo and grabbed the fur-lined hood of his parka and threw him down onto his back in the snow, causing him to bounce and tumble through the snow. Psymon eyed the others to see how things were shaping up. Moby was close behind Zoe, and then he grabbed at her and tried to pull her down. Psymon's eyes narrowed, he was not surprised.
"Saw that coming." Psymon snarled, targetting his eyes and lining up with Moby. He slid in behind Moby as Zoe struggled to stay on her feet. Psymon wound up with his right hand and delivered a stiff right hook to the back of Moby's head, causing him to release Zoe and drift near the out of bounds while he held his head. For the moment it was down to Zoe, Paul, Elise and Psymon in that order. Paul squeezed past Zoe, making sure not to make contact with her, Elise was not as polite. The tall diva shoved Zoe and the redhead nearly lost her balance.
"Oh you bitch!" Zoe shouted, reaching out and grabbing the sleeve of Elise's jacket. Zoe grabbed with both hands and swung Elise around like a dosey-do. After that strong spin she released Elise's jacket and sent her roughly into the boundary fence. Psymon smirked as Elise flipped over the fence and bounced down the hill out of sight. Psymon and Zoe both sped up and tried to catch Paul, but he was moving too fast. The slope steepened and allowed them to pick up major speed. Zoe and Psymon both caught up to Paul and the three riders flew down the side of peak three. Psymon looked over his shoulder to see Moby was gaining on them. They all slid off the ledge that separated peak three from peak two, and after a seemingly endless free fall they all landed loudly in the snow at the summit of peak two. Several seconds down the run Moby caught up with Psymon and the two men tangled up. Psymon finally yanked Moby to the ground, sending himself down to. As both men thrashed and bounced down the hill, Viggo and Elise both passed them, Zoe was on her own against three other boarders.

Zoe kept pushing herself, she was starting to slowly pass Paul, and he was being honourable enough to race clean. Elise and Viggo were in hot pursuit though, and she knew neither of them would be as fair. Viggo got within reach and grabbed at Zoe, again she was slowed up by someone tangling her up. She turned her head and headbutt Viggo in the nose. Viggo released with one hand and held his nose. Zoe balled up a fist and punched Viggo firmly in the crotch, removing his other hand from her. As soon as Viggo released her though, Elise reached out and managed to get a weak grip with one hand. Elise still seemed disoriented from her last tumble, and Zoe knew she could at least overpower Elise. Zoe grabbed Elise back, and with another controlled spin, she propelled Elise right over a ledge that led many feet down into a ravine, well out of bounds. Elise shrieked as she fell and slammed into the soft powder at the bottom of the ravine, there was no way she would be able to get back out in time to be a factor in this race anymore. Zoe narrowed her eyes and again tried to keep up with Paul, who was several feet ahead and was passing through the checkpoint that joined the base of peak two to the summit of peak one.

Psymon fought his way to his feet and tried to push off quickly, but Moby grabbed his ankle and forced him back down. Moby quickly got to his feet and sped away. Psymon got back on a vertical base and had a lot of ground to gain. He focused solely on keeping his balance and getting as much speed as possible.
"I did this whole run in six minutes, I can catch up." he reminded himself. Several seconds later he flew past the checkpoint that announced he was now on peak one. The finish line was only minutes away, any impact he was to make had to happen now. He gained even more speed as he saw Moby nearing Zoe again. Zoe yelped as Moby grabbed her hair and tried to pull her down. Psymon couldn't take the smile off his face though as Zoe mouthed something and fired a back elbow right into Moby's face. Moby dropped immediately and slid to a stop on all fours. Psymon had to add insult to injury and he grinded Moby's back as he passed him. Psymon caught up with Zoe, but Paul was still a good distance ahead, and after the next turn would be the hundred and fifty yard slope to the finish line. The turn was still a good ways away, but Paul was still just far enough to be out of reach. "Do you trust me?" Psymon shouted over the sound of the wind rushing past them.
"You know I do."
"Then give me your hand." Zoe put out her hand and Psymon took it with both of his. Psymon started a controlled spin like how Zoe eliminated Elise earlier. Psymon didn't release after one spin and kept the controlled spin for three rotations. Psymon roared loudly as he released Zoe and hurled her with all his strength, the force literally made Psymon lose his balance and slam into the boundary fence, flying head over heels into a few spectators. Zoe yelped as she gained a very noticeable amount of speed from Psymon propelling her. She skidded along the surface of the snow for a few seconds then came back to earth, keeping her balance like she hadn't missed a day. She was going too fast to make the turn tightly, and Paul was already starting to make his wide turn. Zoe clenched her teeth and stuck out her arm. She felt her hand hit the pole that held up an SSX sign at the corner, marking it. She gripped it tightly with her one hand and felt her momentum shift violently into a tight turn. Her arm screamed in pain from the sudden impact, but she forced herself to keep control. She released the pole milliseconds later once she was pointed in the direction of the finish line. The slope was so steep and her momentum was so fierce that she literally free fell towards the line.

She flew past Paul only feet from the finish line and was still airborne as she sailed in at first place. She hit the ground roughly and wiped out, rolled and slammed into the winner's podium. She stared up at the sky as her back protested from the cold snow she was laying in. The roar of the crowd, combined with the cold of the snow, made her spine tingle. She'd done it, SSX had won. Paul stood awe-struck just past the finish line and fell backwards into the snow and sat there with his head on his knees. Psymon flew past the finish line and kicked off his board without even stopping. He ran clumsily as he regained his footing, running to his little sister. Zoe smiled and shot up to her feet and ran at him and jumped into him. Psymon caught her and held her up with a tight hug as the SSX fans exploded with roaring approval, the 'Zoe' chants were ear-splitting. Psymon hoisted Zoe up onto his shoulder and pointed up at her, Zoe laughed as the SSX fans thundered their respect to her. Psymon put Zoe down as the other SSX boarders rushed them and a pile-on was seconds away. Tears, hugs and laughter resounded through the SSX crew as they celebrated their victory. Psymon and Zoe looked over to see Moby had now crossed the line and was yelling at Paul as he still sat in the snow. Moby reached out and smacked the teen across the head.
"Hold on." Zoe said seriously. She walked quickly towards Moby's back and shouted loudly at him. "Hey, asshole!" Moby turned to face Zoe just as she fired a lightning-fast kick in his crotch, with her snowboarding boots still on. He fell onto his back and Zoe stood over him, leaned forward, pointed down at him and appeared to be giving him the tongue-lashing of a lifetime; what she said could not be heard over the ovation of the fans. Once she was done her tell off, she reached down and slapped his face loudly. By this time Psymon had helped Paul to his feet and shook his hand.
"I lost…" Paul started. "You guys earned that victory… just remember me, please." Psymon smiled and pulled Paul in for a friendly bearhug.
"You did awesome kid. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure Rahzell will have an SSX contract ready for you within the hour." Paul wiped a tear-filled eye and squeezed Psymon back.
"Thanks man." Psymon pulled away and motioned with his head towards the SSX crew that celebrated still.
"Come on, we've got a party to attend."

Paul trembled as he scribbled his name on the SSX contract. He smiled uncontrollably as he handed the contract back to Rahzell. Many handshakes, pats on the back and knuckle-hits welcomed Paul Diamond into the SSX family. Paul felt honoured, Rahzell had momentarily postponed the victory party so that everyone could be present for Paul's contract signing.
"Here's to the future of SSX." Rahzell said with a beaming smile and a firm handshake. Paul still smiled and began to mingle with his now fellow SSX boarders. A cute teen girl came up to him and smiled shyly.
"Hi." she said, taking a timed sip of her pop to make herself seem less nervous, Paul smiled.
"Hi." Paul blushed a little as he spoke to this lovely young lady.
"I'm Sarah." she blurted, clumsily putting out her hand. Paul smiled and took her hand.
"I'm Paul."
"I know." They both laughed nervously as they hit it off together.

"This IS incredible." Zoe said with a smile as she stood next to Psymon. They watched the sunset together at the summit of peak three. Zoe shivered a little as the cold night air rolled in. Psymon put his hoodie over her and put his arm around her shoulder. "Hard to believe last time we were here was just a few hours ago, we had no idea if we'd even be here by now." Psymon smiled, still looking at the sunset."Ya know, last time I did this was just a few days after you got married." Zoe shoved herself against him and they both chuckled.
"Well, I don't think you have to worry about that happening again any time soon, being domestic was making me soft." Psymon looked down at her with a cocky smirk.
"Oh please, we both know you're a big suck." Zoe raised stuck her tongue out at him.
"You know that and I know that, no need for anyone else to know it." Psymon smiled and nodded.
"Fine, deal." They both enjoyed the last few seconds of the sunset. "I'm glad your back. I'm sorry that you had to go through this crap, but I'm glad your back. I've missed you." Zoe sighed and put her arms around Psymon's waist, still looking out at the stretching forests and slopes below them, their shadows fro mthe setting sun reached for miles.
"I'm glad I'm back to, I don't think I'm meant for the world out there."
"They're not ready for ya?" Psymon joked, Zoe laughed.
"Nah, I figure, why bother going into another world when everything you love is right here?" Psymon squeezed her shoulder.
"So, the peak three sunset going to be added to that list?"
"It's already near the top." Psymon looked down at his M-Comm.
"We should get back to the party." Zoe nodded and let go of Psymon's waist. They both looked down the slopes that would lead them down the three peaks. After several seconds of silence, Psymon raised an eyebrow and gave a playful grin. "Wanna race?" Zoe looked deep in thought for a second.
"Hmm... Fine." She shoved Psymon onto his butt in the snow and took off down the slope. "Go!" she shouted with a laugh, announcing the start of the race. Psymon laughed as he got to his feet.
"Oh it's on, little girl."

It's over! So there ya have it folks, likely a very predictable ending, but if ya don't like it, too bad. Hope the story met your expectations Collision, thanks for all you support with my SSX stories. And to anyone else that read it, I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to read my work. Irish Ninja out.