A/N: Fly the fucking banners and sound the fucking trumpets, kidlets, momma's comin' home!

God I'm so sorry. SO FUCKING SORRY. It's been three days over a year since the last chapter. Can you believe that? I reread this whole thing and was like "GOD, that sucks," but I can't bring myself to change it. So, here, I give you a "forced-beginning-but-fluidly-written-chapter" as an apology. It's not exactly the most entertaining chapter – just some stuff with Moby and a lot of Oni and Psymon. And Nate. I'm so sorry you guys. They're the three storylines I neglected before, and now I swear I'm going to get to the Mac/Viggo making outness after I get the other lines developed. You'll see. I hope you enjoy this chapter – it's been long overdue.

Please sign up for "Story Alert" for this fic. If you don't, you might not know WHEN this is updated again – and after the end of this chapter, you KNOW I'm not going to just leave it.

Oni rolled over and immediately felt the lack of Psymon in the bed. She also noted that Griff was gone as well, and decided that meant that she should get up.

"Goddamn it," Psymon muttered from somewhere to her left. She rolled over again and opened her eyes, watching her boyfriend get dressed quickly, almost silently.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Psymon pulled his pants up and buttoned them, turning to glance at her. She sat up, suddenly noting that his face was worn out and tired, though it had little to do with the fact that it was nine in the morning. "Psy?"

"I just got the call," he muttered, "Dad's sentencing is tomorrow." He grabbed a crumpled wifebeater from the floor and pulled it on, sighing. "I gotta go up there."

"Oh. Do... you don't want me to come."

Psymon snorted. "Of course I do. I just don't want you to meet my dad. The less he knows about you, the better."

"Are you going to be back in time for the race?" she asked, getting up and stretching a little.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I think so – it shouldn't take that long. I'll only be gone a few days. By the way," Psymon looked at Oni, raising an eyebrow, "What was Griff in bed with us for?"

She laughed. "He got scared because of Master Zombie Hunter. Thought he saw Grull, the zombie werewolf king, so I let him sleep with us. You okay with that?"

"Yeah, it's okay." He grinned, "That shit is crazy. The things they give kids these days..."

"I know." Oni frowned, putting a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. He looked at her, frowning as well. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. The hard thing was mom. Dad's just a pain in the neck." He rolled his shoulders, "Besides, it's only a few hour's drive from here. I'll be back before you even miss me."

Oni grinned, "No doubt of that. I'll finally get the bed all to myself for a few days."

Psymon cackled and grabbed Oni by the waist, pulling her up flush against him. "Now, darling, don't get too comfortable with it. Because when I get back, we're gonna be staying in it for a long time."

"Ooh, you depraved sex fiend. I'm hungry." She kissed him easily, and then pulled away. "Where the hell are my pants?"

"Hanging up in the closet," Psymon responded, heading to the door, "I'll go see what's left. Meet you down in a few?" When he saw Oni nod in compliance, he slipped through the door.

Oni took her time getting dressed, knowing full well that if Griff was awake, there probably wasn't much more food to be had, and then headed downstairs herself.

What she saw was something she didn't expect.

Moby, Psymon, and JP were fighting, bloody knuckles and bruised faces. Psymon looked frustrated, throwing a punch at Moby and trying to push JP out of the fray, but the Frenchman shoved him back. Moby was growling, eyes shining, and attacking the two savagely.

"What the hell is going on!" Oni exclaimed, dashing down the last few steps towards the fight. Zoe grabbed her arm and pulled her back, watching the fight with wide eyes.

"Don't – if he bites..."

"Goddamn it, you fucking Europeans!" Psymon shrieked, "Fucking break it up!"

Moby bared his teeth and lunged for the Canadian. "Moby, no!" Zoe screamed, running towards the fight suddenly, "Don't bite him!"

Psymon knocked the British man to the side, causing him to hit the ground rolling. "What the fuck has gotten into you, Jones!" he shouted, eyes narrowed dangerously.

Moby looked up from on hands and knees, and both Psymon and JP drew back suddenly. Moby growled, deep in his throat, and bared his teeth again, before suddenly pushing himself off like a runner, sprinting out the door.

"What the fuck, JP?" Psymon turned, "Why the fuck were you two fighting?"

"I don't..."

"...oh no..." The two men looked at Zoe, who was staring at JP in horror, hand over her mouth. "He... did he...?"

"What? Oh, this?" JP lifted his arm, showing a perfect set of teeth marks, "I blocked him before he got my face."

"What's going on?" Viggo asked, coming in, "I just saw Moby running towards the..." He trailed off, looking at JP's arm, and then suddenly moved forward, lightning quick. "Did he break the skin!"

"What? No," JP muttered, looking from Viggo to Zoe in confusion, "Why are you both so afraid of him biting me?"

Viggo breathed a sigh of relief, before mumbling, "Didn't want him to give you rabies," and heading upstairs.

"Why were you two fighting?" Oni asked, reiterating Psymon's earlier question. JP shrugged, and rubbed his arm.

"It was just... We just did. I don't know why."

Psymon sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. "I saw them fighting and tried to break it up," he explained to Oni, "But Jones was just... crazy."

"I don't like the look he had," Oni murmured, "It was..." She shrugged, and pointed to the kitchen, "Let's go get something to eat."

"Alright... It might be mean, it might be cruel, but I hope Nate crosses Moby today."

Oni laughed, weakly, "We can only hope." They went into the kitchen, leaving JP and Zoe alone.

Zoe examined JP's arm, and then sighed. "I'm sorry... He isn't feeling well lately."

"Zoe," JP muttered, looking at the punk seriously, "What is the matter with him? There is something very wrong, and both you and Viggo are worried about him biting me."

"It's nothing. He's having problems with his family and his friends, and he's been letting it bottle up, that's all. You should go eat something before those two finish everything off," Zoe said, smiling, and turning to go outside.

"That was not bottling I saw in his eyes just now," JP called to her back. She stopped, and he continued, "That was not family issues. That was something wrong. Something that cannot be fixed."

"You're just imagining things," Zoe responded dismissively.

"I am his friend, Zoe, and I want to know... I need to know what's wrong."

"Look, JP," Zoe started, turning to face him, sighing, "I know you're his friend, but I can't tell you – it's not my place. If he wanted you to know, you would have known by now. You'll just have to trust me – he's got a lot to work through. Once he does, you can talk to him again. I just think you should keep your distance – he's..." She shrugged again, and then left the lodge.

JP sighed, and looked at the ceiling. "Best go get Odette up, then."

Oni made a whining noise as she flipped through television channels idly, watching commercials and snippets of old movies. "Why'd you have to go, potluck? I don't have anything to do!" she cried, rolling off of the couch and landing on the floor of the lobby.

"Figuratively or literally?"

The girl looked up from the floor to see Viggo standing over her, arms crossed. She grinned, and replied, "Either or."

"Well, you could come play Bloody Roar with me." At Oni's questioning look, he told her, "Mac went on a freeride with Kaori, getting some practice in, and I'm dying for a challenge."

"Well..." Oni sat up, stretching, "So long as you don't attempt to seduce me, sure."

"I've had my fill of trying to seduce sexy snowboarders," the Swede responded, offering Oni a hand. She accepted it, and after getting pulled up, they made their merry way upstairs to Mac's room.

Once Viggo had the Gamecube set up, the two settled down for a nice rousing fight. "Bet I know who you're going to choose," Viggo drawled, watching the girl flip through characters.

"You'd be the third person to think that. Here we go!" Oni picked out Busuzima, the Chameleon character. Viggo made a noise.

"Wow, I didn't... I honestly saw you going for the bat chick," he said, flipping through characters until he landed on Alice, the rabbit.

"I honestly didn't see you going for her," Oni grinned, "I thought you'd go for the sexy wolf man."

Viggo shuddered. "I really have a thing against werewolves," he muttered.

After three rounds, Viggo realized that even Oni was better than him at the game, and sighed. "Man, you're going to beat me down every time, aren't you?"

"Of course. Bloody Roar is the only game I'm actually good at, other than Harvest Moon." Oni smacked Viggo's character down, and claimed the win for the fourth time. "So, how's rooming with Mac working out?"

"Fine..." The blonde leaned over and turned off the console, putting his controller down. "Why?"

"I heard he wasn't so clean... and I'm believing it. Do you sleep in bed with him?" The question was phrased innocently enough, but Viggo saw through it.

"I sleep on the clothes, actually," he muttered, pointing to the pile of laundry. "I'm not here to impose on him or make him uncomfortable."

"Now why would having a dashing young boy like yourself make little Mack-an-zee uncomfortable?" Oni asked, getting up only to fall backwards onto Mac's bed, "If I wasn't in a serious, loving relationship with a batshit crazy Canadian, I'd jump at the chance."

"You're a little different than Mac," Viggo drawled, leaning against the wall, "He's a dude."

"Dude looks like a lady."

"Still a dude."

Oni looked at the blonde easily. "So, what? The kid totally digs you, whether or not he admits to it."

"That might be all well and good, enough reason to shag and all," Viggo grumbled, crossing his arms, "But then there's point two – I'm not going to sleep in the same bed as my platonic friend when people are already thinking he's my boytoy or something."

"I never said that," Oni responded, raising an eyebrow.

Viggo shook his head, "Not you. I'm... Honestly? I'm worried about Nate. He already thinks we're fucking!" Viggo moved to the bed and flopped down on it, laying next to Oni and staring at the ceiling. "I denied it, but if anything – anything – were to get out about us sleeping in the same bed, he might come after Mac. I don't want him to get in a fight with Nate because of me."

"That's valiant and all," Oni commented, "But don't worry about Mac's reputation, or Nate. All us oldbies know Mac too well to let anything but the truth change it, and Nate... Well, Nate will get his come-uppance, sooner or later. If not from Elise and me, then somebody else."

Viggo sighed. "I'm already on thin ice with Mac. I don't want to ruin our friendship just because he's totally sexy." He laughed, suddenly, and Oni gazed at him confusedly.

"What's so funny?"

"That's the first time I admitted my attraction to Mac to anyone other than him. And the only thing I call him is 'sexy,' God, I'm a loser."

"No you aren't," Oni comforted, shaking her head, "You're just succumbing to the Mac Effect." Oni patted his arm, and sat up. "I'm gonna go see if Psy's answering his cellphone. You're nice and all, but I need some serious lovey-dovey stuff right now."

"I can give you that!" Viggo argued, grinning devilishly at the girl. She cackled.

"Not the way my sugarhoney can. Sorry, Viggo."

"Goddamn you half-Japanese girls," he said in monotone, and Oni grinned.

"Like you're the first person to say that to me," she laughed, heading out of the room.

Viggo sighed, and got up, looking out the window. JP and Odette were heading towards one of the rental cars – probably for an early dinner. It had been a few hours since the fight, and JP didn't seem to be showing signs of wolf-ism, so Viggo decided he was in the clear.

He saw Mac coming over the ridge with Kaori, laughing about something, and sighed, looking up to watch the sun start setting. "Do it to me every time."

Nate turned down the blaring radio, resting an arm on the door of the Jeep as he made his way back to the lodge after a day out on the town. He felt good – his mind still beat him up over Viggo, but he had decided to block that out for a time, and just enjoy driving along in the crisp, cool mountain evening.

He heard it before he saw it.

The loud, solid wail of a car horn echoed around one of the many turns in the road. Frowning, he slowed down, checking his mirrors, but there was no one behind him wanting to pass. It was coming from ahead.

The dim light left in the evening allowed him to see steam – pure, white steam rising up from around the bend. He slowed down much more, and felt something grab his throat – something was not right.

He swore, suddenly, and slammed on the brakes when he saw two glowing headlights off the road. Pulling to a stop, he quickly got out and jogged to the side of the road, looking down the small incline.

One of the rental cars from the lodge was flipped over, crunched down more than it should have been and tipped forward because of the terrain. He could see, just barely, someone strapped inside, head against the wheel – causing the horn to blare.

"Oh my God," he murmured, standing in shock for a few moments. He then slid down the side of the hill quickly, stumbling a little as he dashed to the driver's side. "Hey!" he shouted, "Hey! Are you okay!"

Nate went around the driver's door – It must have come open when it flipped – and got on his hands and knees, looking in. "Oh shit!"

He reached in, shaking, and grabbed the driver's arm, trying to get him awake. "Hey, come on – goddamn it..." He felt around for the buckle, then stopped, because he had no idea what the extent of the injuries were. He couldn't just leave the driver hanging upside down like this, though...

He dug through his pockets and walked into the forest a little, dialing nine-one-one.

"Y-Yeah, there's... there's been an accident – the one-oh-nine, about, I don't know! Ninety miles from Three Peaks? Where the SSX – y-yeah, that one." Nate looked out over to the wreck, eyes going over the car in detail, creating fodder for nightmares. "No, I don't know what happened. I was driving and I pulled over... the car's flipped." Nate covered his mouth with his hand for a moment, trying to tear his eyes away but not able to. "No, no, the driver's unconscious. He's against the wheel – I don't know what to do. Should I take him out, or... H...His neck? ...Looked alright... How long will it take you to get here?"

The operator gave him some inane time estimates, and he hung up, keeping as far from the wreck as possible. She had told him not to move anything or anyone, and he knew if he got too close he just might...

Suddenly, he whirled around. He felt like there were eyes on the back of his neck. Oh, God, what if he was with someone? the boarder thought, looking blindly into the darkening forest around him.

He thought he saw a shape, slipping along the treeline to the left of him. "H..H-hello?"

There it was again – moving closer now – it was definitely a person. It had to be... "Look, i-if you were in that car... he's hurt, why didn't you...?"

That was not a human.

The figure was crouching now, on all four – gold eyes were staring at him through the brush. Nate stumbled back, eyes widening. He tried to keep in mind that wolves rarely actually attacked humans and were more afraid of him than he was of them, but this one was stalking closer, growling.

"E-Easy, there, fella," he soothed, holding up his hands and slowly moving backwards, "I ain't here for anything other than that car. Nobody's gonna come near you..."

The wolf growled, coming into plain view. It was sleek and dark-furred – definitely a timber wolf. It snapped it's jaws, and Nate stumbled, falling onto his ass.

The wolf growled, and then suddenly lunged forward, snarling. Nate made a strangled sound and held up his arms, squeezing his eyes shut.

There was a yelp, and another, deeper growl, and no wolf came onto him. He slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arms, and nearly screamed.

Something much larger than a timberwolf was circling with the wolf, snarling angrily. It was crouched on it's hind legs, but bent down as if it were taking all of it's willpower not to get down on all fours. It's muzzle was long but not like a regular wolf's – perfect white teeth were bared. It was covered in brown fur – unlike any wolf up in the mountains. It growled a warning, and suddenly the real wolf backed down, glancing nervously at Nate before trotting away quickly.

The thing turned suddenly and faced Nate, glaring at him with golden wolf eyes, but they had too much emotion in them to actually be wolf eyes. They were almost human, burning with rage.

"W-W-What do you want?" Nate whispered, staring at the creature as it approached him. It's eyes flashed to the car wreck, and it faltered in it's movements.

Suddenly, sirens blasted through the air, swirling around them and driving the sleeping animals into fits. The thing jumped in surprise, and then turned, slinking into the darkness not touched by flashing red and blue lights.

Nate stayed still, unsure if the thing would come back, until a steady voice ripped him out of his state. "Sir? Sir, are you alright?"

"What?" Nate looked up to see a policeman standing a little ways to his left, shining a flashlight at him. "Oh, y-yeah. I'm... I called," he muttered lamely, hearing the paramedics yelling to each other to pry the doors open, to unlock the seatbelt, but careful, careful, he was upside-down...

The policeman was guiding him past the scene, towards the Jeep. "Sir, can you give us a name and a number at which to reach you? This looks like an accident but we might need some answers, if..."

"Y-Y-Yeah..." Nate gave him the number of the lodge and his room number, and when he said his name, the policeman's eyes lit up.

"Are you one of the SSX boarders?" he asked instantly. Nate nodded. "Wow. Good luck on that race," he said, then sobered, "We'll contact you if-"

"I'm coming to the hospital. I'm not just going to... I want to..."

"Okay. You should probably come in the car with us-" They were moving back to the car accident, and suddenly Nate grabbed the policeman's arm, sagging a little.

"N...Never seen... never seen so much..."

"I...It's okay, Mr. Logan," the officer murmured, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Gotta... Okay, I'm alright. Yeah, I don't think I can drive..."

He let the officer lead him past the ambulance, where the paramedics were loading the driver up, shouting serious head injuries, major bloodloss, severe trauma – the last one might have been directed at Nate but he wasn't paying attention.

The officer helped him into the patrol car, and with shaking hands, Nate pulled out his phone. Quivering fingers dialed the hotel landline.

"Oh, honeybunch, I knew you'd call back as soon as you got-"

"Oni..."

The girl's voice turned from sugar to sharp, "Oh, Nate. What do you want?"

"Oni..." His throat was strangled again; he worked his mouth for a moment, and then started, "There's... there's been an accident..."

A/N: I'm so, so sorry.

NOT.