Chapter Eighty Five: A Million Things I Haven't Done

The cave was freezing. Alaska had known it was coming, but no amount of forethought had prepared her for the sheer wall of coldness that engulfed them the second they entered the cave.

"Do you think a lot of people have died here?" Alaska watched her breath as it danced in front of her, so thick and white it looked more solid than gas.

"Don't say that, I don't want to think about that!" Sandy sounded incredulous, but when Alaska looked at her friend, her worried, calculating eyes made it clear she was trying to work out the possibility of dying down here.

"Just imagine, our breath could freeze in our lungs. Is that possible?"

"No, of course not! Well… probably not…"

Alaska smirked and looked up, enamoured. "You have to admit though: if you had to die somewhere, I don't think there's anywhere better than here."

When she and Sandy had first boarded the ship, they had found a file from Leaf detailing what they'd expect to find in Seafoam. She had explained that it was an ice cave, and the photos had revealed how literal that was. Alaska had groaned at that; not only were they going to be looking blindly around for an old man in a series of identical caves, but they were going to freeze as well.

Yet after the initial shock of how horribly cold it was, Alaska found herself taking back all her preconceptions. Seafoam was beautiful; it was as simple as that. There were no words worthy enough to describe how overwhelmingly gorgeous this world was. She had never thought ice could look so beautiful, but it was so much more than the frost she had expected based on years living in a damp, broken house. The ice formations that covered the walls and ceiling looked as though they'd been painted on, the water-glazed surface covered with streaks and patterns that seemed artfully placed. A rich, pounding blue resonated from within, the ice glowing from every angle like a wall of translucent sapphires.

It was an impossible beauty, one you'd never expect to be hidden inside such a hideous mound of rock, and Alaska could nearly forgive the island for the cold if it meant creating something so astounding.

Yet if the glowing cave was a natural wonder, the scene unfolding before her was as unnatural as it could get.

"How are we looking?" Amanda Anderson's bark echoed throughout the cave. Even though Alaska and Sandy were standing well out of the way, the acoustics made it so that Alaska had to look around, for a second thinking the producer was hissing into her ear.

"It's as good as we will get in this setting," the director mumbled back. "Couldn't we have done this outside?"

Alaska watched as Amanda ignored the suggestion and checked the monitors herself. Deeming it all satisfactory, she nodded brusquely before stepping behind the director. Alaska could see him shudder as he lifted a megaphone to his lips.

"Okay then, if we are all ready, let's get this show on the road – three, two, one, ACTION!"

Once the echo died away, there was only silence. All eyes rested on Damian, Lachlan and Chloe as they sat still in the middle of the cave, joined by a Tangela, Exeggcute and Cubone respectively and a large metal crate. As Lachlan heaved it open, Alaska examined his co-stars: they had both looked sullen and moody ever since she had stepped off the boat. Plopped next to each other on a frozen rock, they looked more like naughty children in time out than reality stars, and Alaska couldn't help but relish their demeanour.

"So… we've got a rope, some clippy things, and… boots?" Lachlan emerged from the crate holding a pair of bright blue leather shoes that he presented to the camera.

"They're climbing boots – look, they have cleats on the bottom," Damian said, holding up a green pair and showing off the metal spikes.

Lachlan withdrew a sheet of paper and gave it a dramatic shake, emitting a fake cough and arching his eyebrows like an announcer in a pantomime. "It says here that we have to head down to the next floor of the cavern and find a waterfall. Then we need to use our pre-selected Pokémon to climb to the top."

Damian snatched the paper from Lachlan's hand, his anger visible even from far away. "How the hell are we meant to do that?"

"The magic of teamwork?" Lachlan laughed but stopped as soon as he caught Damian's withering expression. Instead, he grabbed a pair of hot pink shoes and turned to Chloe. "I'm going to guess these are yours - unless wardrobe has finally worked out that pink really is my colour."

The shoes went ignored. The quiet was more obvious than ever as Chloe stared blankly off into space, either ignoring Lachlan or simply not registering him. The ginger coughed awkwardly and tried to pass them again, but Chloe pushed them back.

"I can't do this – just cut."

"Chloe, just –"

"Shut up, just shut up! Cut, CUT!"

"What's your problem?"

"My problem? HER! It's always fucking her."

Everyone turned towards Alaska and Sandy as Chloe's shrieks echoed accusingly. The blonde glowered at Alaska for a moment before leaping to her feet and storming past the cameras. She ran towards Amanda, the producer pulling her close and leading her into the glumness of the cave.

"Someone should let her know they don't give out acting awards for these shows." Alaska smirked at the sudden interruption, but her joy was short-lived as a stony-faced Sandy stepped into view.

"Alaska, we should move."

"Why? I'm comfortable here.

"Clearly, but us standing here isn't going to achieve anything. I'd really rather we didn't piss them off."

Alaska tutted, her smile completely gone. "For once, I am not trying to piss anyone off deliberately." Sandy scoffed; the brief sound cut deep, but Alaska knew she deserved it. "Look, I refuse to believe that it is a coincidence that we are all here at the same time. Janine said that they were meant to go back to her gym but just disappeared – that was before we got there, which means they should have been ages away by now. Why did they only get to Seafoam right before we did?"

Sandy pursed her lips and glanced back to the set, where the crew were already disassembling everything, the shoot clearly abandoned. Alaska could see the clogs ticking away behind her friend's eyes, and struggled not to smile, surprisingly satisfied at how rational her thinking was.

"I agree that it's dodgy, but if Amanda really was waiting for us, I don't want to just be sitting ducks waiting for her to strike. We have a job to do, and, frankly, if they do try to kill us, finding Blaine before that would really work in our favour."

Alaska wanted to disagree – she'd much rather keep Amanda in her sights instead of getting ambushed by her as they stumbled blindly through the caves – but knew Sandy had a point.

"Fine, let's go." Alaska hitched up her bag and started off. Some of the crew watched as they left, but Alaska ignored them all, glancing only at Damian. He had his back to her, but she could see he looked tense, his Tangela appearing to stroke him with a vine. What's bothering you so much? Alaska couldn't tell if the question came from a place of curiosity or concern, but she glanced back to him repeatedly as she and Sandy left them behind.

It didn't take long for them to lose sight of the Indigo Dreams team, nor for the pebbly floor to give way to ice. The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees with every step they took; Alaska's teeth chattered, her feet so cold she had to check she was still wearing shoes. The blue glow followed them, lighting the way ahead, while the icicle formations became more abstract and haunting, but Alaska quickly found herself not in the mood for appreciation.

The two walked in silence, heading through a series of smaller caves that led nowhere and backtracking after one path took them to a sudden cliff edge. It was too cold to talk, but Alaska was pleased for the silence, giving her time to think everything over. Sandy was sticking close to her, focused on the caves rather than Alaska, but the tension that had been hovering around for days seemed to have faded. After weeks of waiting for something to happen, they finally had work to do, and Alaska was glad they had a mission to focus on.

The sooner we find Blaine, the sooner we can move on to the next stage and the sooner this whole mess is over, she thought, but with none of the bitterness she had felt over the last few weeks.

After a few minutes of walking, the two came to a small tunnel that had been smoothed by from years of travellers coming through to hunt for Pokémon. The sound of rushing water sounded on the other side. Intrigued, Alaska and Sandy stepped through, emerging in an impossibly large room. It was a cave the size of a stadium but with the curved roof of a cathedral, rising up to a mass of violently beautiful stalactites jutting out from the ceiling. The empty, smooth cave floor was split in two, the rushing water coming from a monstrous waterfall gushing from a crevice at the far end.

Overtaken with childlike glee, Alaska sprinted forwards to investigate the crack, covering an area the same length as Janine's outdoor battlefield before she reached the edge of the land. It was a steep drop to the rushing river below, the water shining a remarkably crystalline colour that made the ice glow even more brightly.

"This… this is amazing." Alaska sighed as she gazed at the frozen wonder around them. For a few minutes, she forgot all about her trials ahead and simply watched the river flow, speechlessly captivated.

"It is, it really is." Alaska nearly jumped, having forgotten all about Sandy. Guiltily, she turned to her friend and was surprised to see her eyes were watering.

"Are you crying?"

"No!" Sandy wiped the tears away as she stared forcefully ahead, but felt Alaska watching her and turned to her with a sigh. "It's just… this is why I left home, you know? To see sights like this. This place really is breath-taking, but I was just thinking how long it's been since I actually got to admire the beauty of where we are." She shook her head and wiped her eyes again. "Forget about it, it's silly, ignore me."

Alaska smiled. "You don't need to apologise, I understand completely. I think we've both forgotten a lot about why we are doing this in the first place, it's important to hold on to those goals."

"Very." Sandy smiled briefly at Alaska, but there was something in her eyes that jolted her for a second. Her look was almost accusatory; was Sandy blaming Alaska for everything that happened, for distracting her from her? Alaska watched her friend for a second, wondering if she'd catch the look again, but when Sandy turned back to her, her smile seemed genuine as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

"We should probably keep moving – if we stand still any longer, these tears might freeze," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah, we should move." Alaska laughed briefly, her eyes still locked on Sandy. "Any idea where? We could try getting to the top of the waterfall: if I was a reclusive gym leader, I'd try to go somewhere impregnable."

Sandy nodded, humming as she gazed up. "Onix can probably get us up there. If we go that way, it might make it easier for us to get away from the reality stars."

"Why, what's wrong with us?" Alaska and Sandy both jumped as a cocky voice whispered behind them. They turned simultaneously as Lachlan burst out laughing, clapping his hands as he took in their fright.

"Damn, I was hoping one of you would fall into the water," he cackled.

"Do that again and I'll fucking throw you in myself," Alaska hissed. As Lachlan laughed harder, something moved behind him, and Alaska quickly peered around. For a second, she thought Amanda had somehow sneaked up on them, but it was only Damian, smiling tentatively as he approached.

"Did he try to scare you?"

"Yep," Sandy said simply and sourly.

Damian sighed and whacked Lachlan over the head, instantly silencing him. "Sorry about him, I can't let him out of my sight without him pissing someone off."

"Maybe you should get a leash – a nice tight one," Alaska added and smiled as Lachlan recoiled. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

Damian rolled his eyes and glanced back towards the tunnel. "Had to get away from there. Everyone's pissed off at Chloe ruining another take, the mood isn't very pleasant, so we've come on ahead." He pointed at the waterfall. "Supposed to climb that with Tangela – the things people do for success, eh?"

"Mmm," Alaska murmured. "Well, I suppose we better get going, a tad too cold to –"

Damian interrupted. "Are you guys hungry?" He reached into the pocket of his puffer jacket and pulled out a small thermos. "It's pretty gross, but we've both got some soup if you want some. Doubt you'll be able to cook anything in here – unless, you know, you brought something off that fancy boat you arrived on."

"Actually, the only thing we had to eat on there was some soggy sandwiches," Alaska said.

"OooOoh!" Everyone looked at Lachlan, whose cheeky grin quickly evaporated under everyone's collective stares. "Soggy sandwiches… get it? It sounds like… you know…" He glanced down and back up, his face bursting with redness, before finally turning away. Alaska didn't really want to stop now that they had gotten started, but she couldn't ignore the rumbling her stomach had made as soon as food was mentioned. Glancing at Sandy, it was clear she felt the same.

A few minutes can't hurt, can it? Alaska thought, instant regretting even suggesting that to the universe. "Sure thanks, we'd love some."

Not wanting to turn her back on the tunnel, Alaska suggested they sit where they were. There was no obvious entrance on the other side of the canyon, so there was no chance of Amanda sneaking up on them unannounced. Reassured, Alaska let herself relax, pushing thoughts of Sandy out of her mind and instead focusing on the joys of warm food.

"So why were you on that boat?" Damian asked as he tipped some of the soup out into the lid and passed it to Alaska, while Lachlan did the same with his thermos for Sandy.

Alaska shrugged. "We met some new friends." Damian raised a curious eyebrow, but Alaska remained silent as she drank the soup in one go. She nearly moaned in relief as the warm, chunky liquid slid down her throat. She didn't notice the flavour, simply savouring the momentary escape from the cold.

"Hey, I'm not trying to pry, just to trying to make conversation," Damian said.

"I know. It's just been an intense week or so, not something I want to relive." Alaska forced a smile as she passed the lid back. Damian looked unconvinced, but he didn't push further.

Alaska leant back, feeling bad. She didn't want to exclude Damian or Lachlan. There was nothing wrong with them from what she had gathered over these many meetings, but she couldn't help but feel cagey around them. What if Amanda had them bugged, or if she had missed some tiny detail that hinted at where their loyalties lied? She and Sandy had come so far, were so close to the finish line, that she could not risk letting one tiny slip-up ruin everything.

Maybe in another life, we would've been friends. For a second, Alaska indulged the thought: the four of them sitting here as they had so many times, bonded after weeks of travelling together, fighting the gyms and taking on rivals, their bodies unbroken, their Pokémon undamaged. That's the life she had imagined, the life that the League liked to market; go on a journey, make new friends, have grand adventures. Instead, even after half a dozen meetings, Alaska knew nothing about the people sitting opposite her, just two more empty relationships in an endless line of them.

After a few minutes of quietly sipping soup and refilling their lids, Lachlan suddenly piped up. "Did you battle Janine?"

"Yeah," Alaska said. "It was close but I got the badge so that's what counts, eh?"

"Totally! I'm so keen for the next one – only two more and then we get to Indigo, yeah baby!" Lachlan let out a whoop that echoed around the cave for a minute. Sandy and Damian laughed, and Alaska managed a smile, slowly relaxing.

"Where are you going to go next? Head home to Viridian or go to Johto first?"

Alaska turned to Damian, perplexed. "Why would I go to Johto?"

"Well, you need to get your eighth from somewhere, don't you? Unless you plan on being the one to track down Blaine."

"What? Blaine? Don't be ridiculous!" Sandy blurted out, and she began laughing again, a sound so obviously false that everyone stared at her. She let it die out naturally and then downed her second helping of soup in one go.

Alaska hoped it would go unremarked, but she caught Damian and Lachlan exchanging looks out of the corner of her eye. "I haven't really decided my next step, but we might sail to Goldenrod or –"

"Are you alright?" Damian asked, cutting Alaska off mid-sentence. Sandy looked stunned, and Alaska knew she had to distract.

"Do you mind not interrupting me?" She snapped, and Damian raised his hands defensively.

"Hey, I'm just wondering what's up with your friend, that's all!"

"Nothing's 'up' with her, thanks! How about you, you alright?"

Damian's eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I was watching you earlier; you seemed a bit tense after Chloe stormed off. Something going on there?" Instantly, Alaska saw her words had had an effect. Damian didn't say anything, but he and Lachlan exchanged a look as soon as she spoke, their expressions speaking volumes. "Ah, so there is trouble in paradise, eh?"

"It's nothing, Chloe has just been… difficult, I suppose, the last few weeks," Damian said quickly.

"Chloe, being difficult? Who'd have thought it!"

"Oh will you cut it out," Damian snapped. "Most of it's your fault!"

Alaska couldn't stop herself from snorting with derision, even as Sandy eyed her disdainfully. "Me? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"She's unstable and it's all because she wants to be better than you." Lachlan's words came out in a whisper, yet that didn't stop them from echoing. He looked up after a moment, startled, as though he hadn't realised he had spoken aloud. Lachlan blushed as he realised everyone was watching him, but as Alaska's curious glance started to wither, he coughed and straightened up.

"Chloe hates the fact that you keep showing her up, and over the past few weeks, ever since the bar incident, she's been obsessed with wanting to beat you. She doesn't care about the gyms or any other part of the show; she just talks about beating you all the time. She never was particularly nice, but now she's just… fucking crazy."

"It doesn't help that Amanda hates you as well," Damian added. "She's practically pushed Chloe down this path; half the time it feels like we are training to battle you rather than Red."

Alaska simply scoffed. She had taken a lot of blame over the last week, but she wasn't taking responsibility for Chloe Carmichael. "Well excuse me for pissing people off. If I ever once thought that pointing out to Chloe what a bitch she is would turn her into a maniac, I would've kept my mouth shut."

"You never do seem to think, do you?" Damian said acidly.

Alaska went to reply but fell silent, feeling winded. The truth always seemed to come out in arguments. She could deal with clashing with Leaf, Janine and the rest of them, but she had met Damian properly, laughed and joked with him. It was something else entirely that he felt the same way they all did. They only have one thing in common, don't they?

An awkward silence followed, punctuated only by the rushing water below. Alaska avoided looking at Sandy, not wanting to catch that same judgemental look again, even though she knew it was earned.

Eventually, Damian sighed. "Ok, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I swear! I know it's not your fault that Amanda… you know…"

"Wants to kill me?" Alaska suggested.

"She doesn't want to kill you," Damian retorted, though he sounded unconvinced.

"I'm pretty sure she does, but really, that would be your fault, Alaska, since you kind of made yourself involved," Sandy pointed out, and Alaska couldn't stop herself from glowering at her.

Bloody hell, I know you're angry but you're meant to be on my side!

"That isn't my fault, that's… that's… fucking fate's fault! So go blame, I dunno, Uxie or whoever the god of fate is!"

"I don't think we have a god of fate," Lachlan interjected quietly.

"Enough!" Damian leapt to his feet. "Lachy, I think we should head back."

"Oh no, don't leave, we were having so much fun," Alaska said sarcastically.

Damian didn't say anything, staring forcefully at the cave as he obviously ignored her. Alaska felt something hit her shoulder, and when she turned she found Sandy watching her with angry wide eyes swimming with judgement.

"Alright, I'm sorry for causing all this drama with Chloe. That never was my intention. I just wanted to show her up, that's all. I guess it got a bit of hand." Alaska shrugged, unsure of what else to say. She tried not to look, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Sandy smiling, and her heart swelled with pride.

"It's fine, I know it's not you… well, not just you." Damian grinned cheekily, and Alaska smiled briefly.

"Sandy, we should keep going as well then."

"Sounds like a plan!" The blonde leapt to her feet beaming. Alaska wasn't sure why she was so happy, but she imagined it had something to do with the fact they were all parting ways without anything having blown up.

The four gathered their things and headed towards the tunnel. Alaska glanced up at the rows of stalactites hanging frozen overhead. There were so many she couldn't tell where the ceiling was, but she liked to imagine that this cave stretched all the way up to the peak of the mountain.

"I know every time we meet up something tends to go wrong, but you must know that I do actually kind of like you." Alaska glanced sideways at Damian, struggling not to laugh at what he had said. "What is it?"

"That almost actually sounded kind of like a compliment," she shot back, smirking.

"I'm serious!" Damian said as he laughed himself. "I respect what you are doing and how you stand up for yourself, and you never seem to let any of this shit with Chloe or anyone else phase you."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Alaska replied, forcing herself not to glance at Sandy.

"Well, I do! I know it must be hard running into us since we're the reason you are doing this all, but you always handle things really well."

Alaska stopped in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

Damian paused and turned back, looking confused. "I thought you were doing this to prove non-traditional starters are just as good as ours?"

"That was part of my inspiration, but I didn't leave just because of you, thank you very much!"

"Oh god, what are you arguing about now?" Sandy yelled, every word dripping with exasperation.

"We aren't arguing!" Alaska said quickly, mentally unwilling for another round of judgement. "We're just –"

"Alaska is trying to convince me that she isn't doing this whole trip because of us," Damian said, an eyebrow raised cockily as he gazed down at Alaska.

"I thought you wanted to show up Chloe," Lachlan mumbled.

"I thought it was because you hated Red," Sandy added awkwardly.

Alaska was so annoyed she wanted to kick someone in the face. "I'm layered, ok? Can't I have multiple reasons for wanting to leave that cesspool of a city?"

"Viridian, a cesspool?" Damian scoffed. "You're mental!"

Alaska mentally twitched. She paused, breathing deeply for a few seconds, asking if she really wanted to do this. She didn't want to become side-tracked from finding Blaine, she didn't want to keep disappointing Sandy, she didn't want to be this difficult person anymore. But on the list of crap she was willing to put up with for the good of saving the world, being questioned on her hometown was not on there.

"Are you some sort of expert on my hometown all of a sudden?"

"No, I'm just saying, it's a hell of a lot better than Pallet Town."

Alaska couldn't stop the snort of indignation bursting from her body. "Of course. This makes so much sense."

Damian crossed his arm, face suddenly sour. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"No wonder you signed up for this show – defeating Red, your old neighbour. There's something almost theatrical about doing that, isn't there? Like a reboot of some medieval play, one of those wanky ones from Kalos."

Now it was Damian's turn to look enraged. He stepped forwards and pointed a finger centimetres from Alaska's face, but froze with his mouth hanging open. Alaska could see a pained look in his eyes, but she held her ground, glowering back with all her might.

"Alright, fine, just fucking fine!" Damian spat the words out and stepped back, flinging his arms in the air as he spoke. "I don't want to keep going around in circles with you, it's so pointless. I shouldn't judge your city, but you sure as shit can't judge mine!"

He stepped back for a moment, clearly annoyed but not wanting to carry on. Yet it only lasted a second before Damian wheeled back around, unable to contain himself.

"Everyone thinks we're all obsessed with training and beating the league – 'the town that turns out Champions', that's what our town sign says now. It's really just some shitty sleepy hole that no one ever gave a fuck about three years ago.

"And then Red happened, and that all changed. And no, I don't want to be like him. I wanted to be a trainer, sure, every kid wants to, but I never admired Red. No one in my town does. If all he did was become the Champion, we probably would, but that isn't all he did. You try living next door to a kid who ends up destroying half the region, or the boy who ends up dead a year after leaving home. Do you think my parents wanted me to go on a journey after that happened?

"The only reason I'm able to do this is because the bloody producers think the same way as you. They scouted around Pallet Town, thinking it would add a bit of drama if Red went up against a hometown kid like him. My parents said no to me doing it initially, but even they couldn't turn down the money we got offered.

"I know you think this show is evil, and if I am really being honest with myself, it almost definitely is. But if they hadn't come and dragged me into this, I probably never would have gone on this journey. It would have been nice if it hadn't been fucked up since the first day."

"Are you saying this is – " Alaska began, but Damian interrupted, ramming his finger back in her face.

"Damn right I am! You might act all high and mighty now, but you're just like me and Lachy – you're just like Chloe! You only did all this because you were jealous and angry that you didn't get to go on the show and that you were going to be stuck in your shitty house forever!"

Alaska raised her hand to slap him, but Damian grabbed it, his fingernails digging into her flesh. "You don't talk to me like that. You don't know me and you don't know my life and what I went through." She yanked free, but Damian didn't step away, their faces only inches apart.

"That's your problem, you know? You seem to think that you are the only one whose life got fucked up. Stop thinking that you alone in the whole region got screwed over by what Team Rocket did – everyone fucking did!"

Silence refused to come, not when their words echoed incessantly through the enormity of the cave. No one spoke though, an unsteady tension falling between them all. Alaska could feel Sandy's eyes burning into her, but she didn't feel regret right now. Instead, she reached for a Poké Ball, unsure how this was going to go, and saw Damian's free hand move into his own pocket.

"You can judge me all you want, you wouldn't be the first and definitely won't be the last, and I doubt you'll have anything to say I haven't thought of myself. But you should be fucking thankful that I'm around, because there's one person standing in this room prophesised to stop whatever war your producers have planned, and it sure as shit ain't you."

Her words hung in the air for a minute, Damian's face still contorted with rage, but the seconds passed and his lips slowly rose up.

"Oh yes, I forgot. You seem to think you're really important, don't you? So what, are you supposed to save us, is that right?"

"Yeah, bitch, I am."

"Huh. Well, I guess we're all fucking doomed then, aren't we?"

Applause sounded behind them. The sound echoed through the cavernous space, but it was clearly only one person, given how slow and sarcastic it was. It was the type of applause Alaska instantly associated with supervillains in cheesy movies, so it was no surprise when she saw Chloe walking out of the tunnel. She swaggered into the cave wearing the widest smile Alaska had seen in her life. The hysterics from earlier were long gone, the blonde cool and collected as she walked up and stopped just a few feet from them.

"Wow, Alaska, just wow. I think that must have been your best performance yet. And Damian – props, man! If you had done work like that earlier in the season, you might still have a chance."

Alaska had reached nuclear levels of anger. Everything had gone to shit, she knew it was her fault, and things were only about to get a lot worse. Her whole body was trembling as she stared at Chloe's smug smile, and her hands gripped tighter on the Poké Ball in her pocket, longing to throw it at her face.

"If you've come to get us, don't worry, we're on our way," Lachlan said as he stepped forwards. His fear for Chloe seemed to outweigh his concern for Alaska and Damian, his face nervous as he edged towards her.

However, Chloe ignored him; she only had eyes for Alaska. "Sorry to interrupt whatever lovers quarrel you've got going on here, but the clock is ticking, and we've got to give the people what they want."

"What the fuck are you on about?"

Chloe giggled at Alaska's snarl and turned her head slightly, gesturing into the shadows. Three people began to walk forwards, their faces quickly illuminated by the blue glow: two cameramen led the way, while a woman clutching the large microphone on a stick walked slowly behind. Alaska nearly groaned in frustration but remained silent as the three got closer and she could see them clearer.

They're trembling. Heart sinking, Alaska looked for Sandy, wondering how quickly they could reach the cliff edge, but it was too late.

The rap of high heels on the icy floor echoed long before they could see Amanda. Everyone except the camera crew stared into the tunnel as the producer slowly made her entrance. She didn't bother hurrying: they were all playing her game now, and she was going to take as much time as she wanted.

"I'm sorry to tell you kids, but I've made an executive decision," she yelled, her clipped voice high and savage. "This is going to be our last episode."

"Aww," Chloe moaned, though her smile didn't waver.

Amanda laughed as she stepped into view, her twisted face shining in the blue light, while the slick, black assault rifle grasped in her hands seemed to sparkle. "Don't worry," she purred, smirking as she raised the weapon, aiming right for Alaska's head, "I think this is going to be our best one yet."