A/N – So... yeah, Fan Fiction decided it didn't want to work properly with the recent update. As a result, many of you didn't get the chance to read the story right away. Hopefully, that won't be the case with this chapter. Anyway, I think it's up now so if you haven't read it yet, be sure to do so before reading this one. Anyways, enough technical mumbo jumbo. Let's get right into it!

(Host Don)

Previously on The Ultimate Ridonculous Race!

Our thirty-three remaining teams went to Mongolia, the land of the everlasting blue sky. As well as the land of some extremely violent sheep that the teams had to herd. Friendships were put to the test! Old rivalries continued to flame on while new ones were beginning to forge. One couple's relationship seems to be in a questionable state, but a new romance may be in the works as we speak!

It looked like Father/Son were about to secure their first-ever first-place finish, but a penalty kept them from achieving such a victory and opened the door for The Police Cadets and The Ice Dancers to claim first place. However, it was The Rockers, The Cosplayers, and The Surfers that secured the first place finish after Spud had captured the sheep with the Ridonculous Race logo, allowing all three teams to skip the remaining challenges in the jaunt and come straight to the Chill Zone, which they were more than happy to do.

The Bouncers, however, may have played a little too aggressively and they were boomeranged by another team as a result. Fortunately for them, they had a boomerang of their own. They had originally planned to use it on either The Superheroes or Team EVIL, but both teams saved themselves by beginning the final challenge while The Bouncers got their anger out of their system. And they had to settle on boomeranging The Stepbrothers, who were no match for The Bouncers during the challenges and were sent home!

"Four teams are gone," Don continued as the camera cut to him. "And today we're saying goodbye to another team! Who's it going to be? We're about to find out! Because it's time to begin the next jaunt of... The Ultimate Ridonculous Race!"

Jaunt 4 – The Congo Rainforest – Part 1

(Flashback to yesterday)

Most of the contestants were relaxing in The Chill Zone after a hard day's challenge. Some teams were enjoying their time relaxing by the swimming pool. Others were spending some time in a hot tub. Still, others were huddled together by a tiki-style hut that was serving food and tropical style smoothies courtesy of Ted the Tiger (this caused many to question how a tiger was able to cook, but the food was so delicious and the drinks were so refreshing that they soon decided that it wasn't that important).

The only ones that weren't spending any time in the Chill Zone were The Outdoor Survivalists Jamie and Jason. Jamie had decided that she wanted to spend some time with the nomads in the national park as they had a herd of some of the most beautiful horses she had ever seen in her life. The nomads were happy to oblige a fellow horse expert and allowed her to see them up close.

She impressed the nomads with her knowledge of caring for horses as she brushed and combed the adult horses until they were practically spotless. They were also impressed with her skills of cleaning the hooves and shoes of the steeds and mares.

"This is nothing," she chuckled as she stroked one of the stallion's manes. "You should see me when I have to break in one of our horses for the first time back home. They can be stubborn things who don't really care to have someone sit on their back for the first time."

After Jamie finished cleaning the horses and feeding them some peppermint candies she had brought with her (She explained to the nomads that it was a good substitute for sugar cubes as it made their breaths smell better, thus making cleaning their faces more bearable), she was given the greatest surprise of all. The nomads led her to a small stable that had some of the most beautiful colts Jamie had ever seen in her life. Her eyes lit up with awe and excitement at the sight of the magnificent young creatures. With permission, Jamie hopped into one of the pens and gently approached one particular brown colt. This one had caught her attention because of the white star that was on its forehead. She petted the colt ever so affectionately.

"Oh, you're a handsome little guy. Oh yes, you are," Jamie cooed as she petted the baby horse's mane and touched her forehead to the star on the young horse's forehead affectionately. The colt happily swished its tail and nuzzled its head against Jamie's.

From a distance, Jason watched her cuddle with the colts with a loving smile on his face. Seeing his love so happy filled his heart with such joy.

'Oh, wow,' he sighed to himself. 'Beautiful... caring... full of love... How on earth did a guy like me get so lucky?'

Truly, she was perfect in his eyes. 'Perfect...' Jason thought to himself. 'Wait... yeah! Perfect! This is it! The perfect moment!'

Jason suddenly felt butterflies swimming around in his stomach upon the realization that the moment he had been waiting for was finally upon him.

'Okay, Jason,' he calmed himself as he felt his nerves building a little. 'You can do this. Just like you practiced. You've been waiting for the perfect moment to do it, and it doesn't get any more perfect than this, so-'

"Wow. That's so sweet, it's disgusting," came a new, low, monotonic voice that caught Jason off guard and caused him to flinch. He turned his head and flinched again as he looked into the pale face of Crimson, who was watching Jamie cuddle with the horses.

"C-Crimson!" Jason exclaimed. "Sheesh! You scared me!"

"Yeah, I seem to have that effect on people," Crimson admitted, brushing her white wig out of her eyes. As she looked over to Jason, her eyes were drawn to his right hand, which was tucked into the lower pocket of his sports jacket. Jason noticed her looking and nervously fidgeted in place.

"Uh... just a little chilly," he said, tucking his left hand into his other lower pocket to sell his explanation.

"Hmmm," Crimson nonchalantly replied, though Jason couldn't tell if she believed him or not. 'I can never read her monotone,' he thought to himself. He decided to change the subject.

"So... what are you doing over here?" he asked.

"I needed some time away from Ennui," Crimson answered. "I really don't care to be around him right now. Although, looking at Jamie over there, coming over here clearly was a mistake."

Jason decided to ignore that last statement. "But... but you two are always together," he retorted. "Heck, if I remember correctly, you two didn't spend any time with anyone else during last year's race. I thought the two of you were the closest couple out of all the others. What gives?"

Crimson kept her trademark emotionless face as she turned toward Jason. "During the stampede. You were there when it happened," she stated, not losing her trademark monotone as she spoke. "Surely you saw it."

"Uh... sorry?"

"When the sheep charged, I slipped and fell. I didn't have any time to get back to my feet before the sheep were upon me. Ennui had a chance to grab me and help me get back to my feet, but..." Crimson glanced at the ground. It was the only sign that she seemed upset about the memory. "Ennui... he threw himself over Loki. He left me to be trampled by a horde of psychotic sheep."

Jason scratched his head as Crimson poured out her thoughts and feelings to him. He wasn't sure how to react to her venting (mostly because it was so hard for him to judge how she was feeling because of her monotone) or what to say to try and make her feel better. Jamie was better at that than he was and he didn't want to interrupt her time with the colts.

"I mean I think the world of the little death spawn," Crimson continued, "and I don't want anything bad to happen to him. But... Ennui and I have been together for almost four years now. And we've only had Loki for a little under a year."

Despite her continued monotone, Jason had noticed that Crimson's fists were clenched as she continued to reflect on what had happened.

"Could it be that Ennui thinks more highly of our little fur-covered plague than he does of me?" she asked, staring at the ground. "After being together for almost four years, do I really mean less than a rabbit to him? Just the thought of him choosing Loki while letting the sheep run over me... it makes me so livid."

Crimson unclenched her fists and looked back to Jason. She noticed his silence and the awkward look he was giving her. "Sorry for yelling like that," she apologized. "I've just never been this angry at him before."

'Yelling?' Jason thought to himself. 'When did she yell? She's been speaking the same she does all the time. At what point did any of that indicate yelling?' Jason then noticed Crimson looking at him. As usual, she appeared emotionless. But Jason knew she was anything but. 'Uh oh, it's starting to feel awkward,' he gulped. 'I'd better say something. But what do I say after that?'

After quick thinking, Jason finally said, "Well... uh... just hang in there?"

Crimson didn't say anything as Jason nervously chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

Crimson sighed and rolled her eyes. "I should have known talking to another guy about this would be a waste of time." She turned her back to Jason and walked back to the Chill Zone.

Jason watched her leave, unsure what had just happened. It was bad enough he wasn't good at reading people in general. But to have to try and read an emotionless Crimson was downright impossible for someone like him.

"Hey, honey." Jamie interrupted his thoughts as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and pulled him in for a cuddle. "What were you and Crimson talking about?"

"You know what? I really don't know," Jason admitted as he placed his left hand over both of Jamie's hands that were interlocked around his waist.

"Hmm... well, let's go back to the Chill Zone. I'm starting to get hungry."

Jason sighed but agreed as he took Jamie's hand in his own. 'So much for taking advantage of the perfect moment,' he thought as he and his girlfriend walked hand in hand back toward The Chill Zone.

(Host Don)

"Welcome back to The Ultimate Ridonculous Race!" Don announced as he stood by The Don Box within The Chill Zone. "Yesterday's Chill Zone here in Mongolia is today's starting line! And yesterday's winners, Team RCS will receive today's first clues!"

"Dude!" Geoff called over as he and Brody stepped up to The Don Box. "We're not Team RCS!"

"Yeah, guy!" Brody added. "We're 'The Rockin', Cosplayin', Surfin' Dudes and Dudettes'!"

"I'm very well aware of the alliance's full name," Don assured The Surfers. "However, I'm not going to be saying that over and over. So as far as I'm concerned as well as the viewers, you're Team RCS."

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – The Surfers – Geoff and Brody)

Geoff – (Shrugging) I don't get it. What's so hard about saying the full team alliance name? 'Rockin', Cosplayin', Surfin' Dudes and Dudettes'.

Brody – I know, right? It rolls off the tongue so smoothly.

(The Cosplayers – Sabrina and Calleigh)

Sabrina – So I'll be the first to say it. The first couple jaunts of this race weren't exactly smooth for me and my babe... (She feels Calleigh glare at her, which causes her to clear her throat) ….I mean, Calleigh here. But look at us now! We're at the front of the pack and in first place!

Calleigh – A three-way tie for first place, actually. But hey, after almost being eliminated back in Japan, I'll take anything at this point.

Sabrina – (Throwing an arm around Calleigh) Look out, world! The Cosplayers are back in the race! And we're here to win the whole thing!

(The Rockers – Rock, and Spud)

Rock – Whoo! First place! We got another one under our belts Spud!

Spud – And what's better? I got kissed by both The Cosplayers after I helped us take first place yesterday. (He softly rubs his cheeks). I'll never wash these cheeks again.

Rock – Uh... that reminds me. You should probably shower at some point, dude. You're really starting to smell. Especially after running around after all those sheep yesterday.

Spud – Only if you can find a way to cover my cheeks while I shower, man.

END

Sabrina was the first to press the button on The Don Box. The tip spat out of the mouth and the slightly taller pig-tailed blonde grabbed it.

"Teams will travel by a cargo airplane to... The Congo Rainforest!"

(Host Don)

"The Congo Rainforest! Located in Central Africa, this jungle spans across six different countries and is the second largest rainforest in the world. It is also home to most of the wildlife that can be found on the African continent!"

After the slide show finished flashing across the screen, the camera cut to Don standing in front of two Cargo airplanes. "Once teams receive their clues, they will board one of these two cargo airplanes based on the order they arrive at The Chill Zone yesterday. The first plane will carry the first sixteen teams and will depart one hour before the second plane, giving those teams a huge advantage over-"

CRASH! BANG! BAM! BOOM!

"BAAAAAHHHH!"Don flinched as the sound of metal being torn apart echoed across the land. He turned around to see what was causing the commotion. To his shock and horror, the sheep from yesterday's challenge had been herded to the park by the nomads and were grazing nearby. However, many of them had made their way over to one of the cargo planes and were in the process of destroying it. Some sheep had made their way onto the wings and were viciously stomping on it, knocking bits and pieces to the ground. Others were at the front and were charging full speed into the cockpit window, smashing it in the process. And still, some sheep were gnawing and biting at the rubber wheels of the plane, shredding them to pieces.

"Well then... change of plans I guess," Don shrugged. "All teams will be traveling on the same Cargo plane. So everyone's on an even playing field again!"

"BAAAHHHH!"

Don saw a piece of metal flying toward him out of the corner of his eye and ducked just in time before it could strike him across the head.

"AH!" Don shrieked. He turned to the contestants and called out to them. "Everyone hurry! Get on the plane before those crazy sheep destroy one too!"

The teams hurried to grab their clues and ran for the cargo plane. The last team to board were The Bouncers. Once they were aboard, Don ran after them.

"Start the plane! Go! Go! Go!" Don called to the pilot.

The pilot started the engine and the plane began to pull away.

"Hey! Wait for us!"

Chef frantically waved his arms as he raced for the plane. Ted, with the Chill Zone all packed up into his signature gigantic brown sack, raced after Chef with his brown sack in his mouth. They ran as fast as they could as the sheep were beginning to charge toward them and the other plane.

'Run away!' Ted muffled through the sack in his mouth. 'Evil Mongolian sheep bad for Ted!'

Chef and Ted (along with The Chill Zone) ran as fast as they could to catch the cargo plane while trying to outrun the mad sheep giving chase. The two leaped for the giant door at the last second and barely managed to get inside just as the door closed, narrowly escaping the sheep that had been biting at their feet and paws. The plane left the ground and began to climb in altitude, heading for its destination.

Chef and Ted lay on the floor of the plane trying to catch their breaths.

"This is the story of my life," Chef panted. "If it's not bears, sharks, Sasquatches, or mutant raccoons, it's crazy Mongolian sheep trying to kill me. I should have listened to my mama and finished pursuing that child psychology degree when I had the chance."

'Ted gets the feeling that the food chain has been flipped upside down suddenly,' Ted panted, his tongue hanging out as the giant feline lay sprawled out on the ground of the plane.

(Cargo Plane)

Teams were finding their seats on one of two sides of the plane. Each side had a long bench that was long enough to fit half the remaining contestants.

The Tennis Rivals caught sight of a spot on one bench that was close to the exit. Wanting to get a good position, they made their way toward it. But before they could sit down, they felt someone push them aggressively aside.

"Move aside, grandpa!" Marcus grumbled as he pushed Gerry to one side.

"Oh, my brother! Testify!" Devon growled as he threw Pete to the other side.

The Bouncers brushed their pants off as they sat in the seats The Tennis Rivals had their eyes on.

"Hey! Those are our seats!" Pete yelled as he stood back to his feet.

"Not anymore, they ain't!" Marcus growled.

"Yes, they are! We saw them first!" Gerry protested.

"And your point would be what?!" Marcus asked threateningly.

"Well... that... "Gerry stumbled to find his words. Marcus's glare had made him go weak in his knees, which were already weak from the surgery he had on them many years ago.

"Youse two should know that me and Devon are in an extremely foul mood right now!" Marcus warned the two older gentlemen as he continued to glare at them. "So if I was youse, I would not try our patience today! ...at all!"

"Oh, my brother! Testify," Devon growled.

Gerry and Pete gulped and slowly backed away from The Bouncers, not daring to take their eyes off them for fear they might strike at any second.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Bouncers – Marcus and Devon)

Marcus – Yesterday, me and my brother from another mother here barely escaped elimination. Somebody has it out for us! And whoever it is... they're gonna be sorry they messed with us. (He takes a deep breath) With that said, my partner here has suggested that today we try to lay a little low. Get back under the radar so that we're not targeted. He actually worded it a lot better than I ever could. Go ahead and tell the people what you said, Devon.

Devon – (He clears his throat) Oh my brother! Testify!

Marcus – (Applauding) Well said, partner. Well said.

END

(Winner's Quarters)

As the teams made their way to their seats at the bottom of the plane, they walked past a room that had a buffet and a hot tub set up inside. Don had informed the teams that as winners of yesterday's jaunt, The Surfers, The Cosplayers, and The Rockers had won the right to travel to the next destination in this special section of the plane.

"CANNONBALL!"

Geoff and Brody, who had already changed into their swim trunks, bolted past some of the other teams excitedly and jumped into the hot tub, splashing water outside of it in the process.

"Dude! Another hot tub on a plane!" Geoff cheered as he emerged from the water.

"'Cha! And another sick buffet for us to enjoy!" Brody added as he emerged next.

"And this time, we get to enjoy it with friends!"

"Totally! We're about to have another Rockin', Cosplayin', Surfin' Party on a plane!"

"Boom!" Geoff and Brody fist-bumped as they celebrated their win in style.

"Excuse you!"

Their celebration came to an abrupt pause when they heard an angry screech that seemed directed toward them. Standing next to the hot tub was Rachel, who was now soaking wet from the splash caused by The Surfers. She gritted her teeth as she wiped her wet, blue hair out of her eyes.

"Ugh! Men!" Rachel scoffed. "Always so narrow-minded and never looking out for anyone but themselves! They never consider that their actions could affect the women around them!"

"Woah! Sorry, bra," Geoff apologized. "We didn't know you were so close."

"'Cha. Our apologies, dudette. Here. Have a towel." Brody reached over the side of the hot tub and grabbed one of the neatly folded towels that had been set there for them and the other two teams and offered it to Rachel with an assuring smile to go along with his apology.

However, his smile slowly disappeared. Rachel's had seemingly gone from angry and upset to furious for some reason. She was taking loud, deep breaths as she stared daggers toward Brody. Her fists were clenched and she was shaking slightly.

"...uh... have two towels?" Brody nervously said as he reached down and grabbed another towel.

Rachel didn't move or react. She kept her glare on Geoff.

"...two towels and a cookie?" Brody reached over and grabbed one of the chocolate chip cookies that were on the plate near the hot tub and offered it to Rachel along with the two towels.

"...what... did you just say to me?" Rachel asked, seething through her teeth.

"Uh... have a cookie?"

Brody nervously backed away as Rachel slowly marched up toward the side of the hot tub. Even Geoff was becoming more afraid as Rachel approached them.

"You listen... and listen good," Rachel growled as she pointed to The Surfers. "You don't ever... and I mean... ever … call me 'dudette' again!"

The Surfers were now raising an eyebrow at Rachel. Brody scratched his head and cocked his head to the left as he tried to understand why Rachel was so angry by this.

"uh... okay? " Brody nervously agreed. "But... like... why?"

"Why?! Why?! Oh my gosh! Do you seriously have to ask me why?!" she snapped, pounding her fist on the side of the hot tub, causing Geoff and Brody to flinch.

"Uh... sorry, but... yes?" Geoff sheepishly

That was too much for Rachel to handle. She could not understand how these two simple-minded, misogynistic men could be so blind to how belittling the term 'dudette' was. Her frustrations continued to boil over as she gritted her teeth. She stretched out her hands and grabbed hold of the side of the hot tub and leered threateningly at The Surfers, who were now embracing one another in terror.

"For your information," she angrily spoke, "The term 'dudette' is just taking the word 'dude', which is a pronoun used to describe men only, and lazily altering it as an attempt to be a pronoun for women! It's another way of saying we women aren't worth the time and effort to have our own term that is equal to that of the male pronoun 'dude'!"

As Rachel continued her lecture, Geoff and Brody became less and less afraid of her. Instead, they became more and more confused.

"Furthermore," Rachel angrily continued, "the word 'dude' is a term that reinforces the concept that men are the most valuable gender and erases the identities of anyone that does not identify as a man! And I refuse to be labeled as anything that is associated with such a derogatory term!" [1]

Brody and Geoff scratched their heads. They had no idea what Rachel was talking about.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Surfers – Geoff and Brody)

Brody – Okay, so like, I know I'm not exactly smart and all. But... (he turns to Geoff) What am I missing here? Like, what's so bad about calling someone a dudette?

Geoff – I don't know, dude. Every chick I've ever met loves it when I call them dudette. It's, like, the greatest compliment you can give a babe!

Brody – Yeah! I thought so too! (He wipes some sweat from his forehead). Man, hearing that come from you makes me feel better, dude. Especially since you're the smarter one.

Geoff – (Proudly puffs his chest) I didn't raise my grade in lunch to a D- for nothing, dude.

Brody – A D-?! That's awesome, dude! (He sadly sighs) I'm still flunking that course.

END

"Aw, come on. Don't be like that," Geoff calmly replied to Rachel while giving her his best smile. "'Dude' is, like, one of the greatest words ever made. It's like, one of the highest honors and praises you can give to someone."

"Totally!" Brody agreed. "Heck! We think it's so awesome that girls shouldn't be denied such a privilege so we created a version just for you! Now you get to share in the honor of being a dudette!"

Rachel, however, wasn't sharing in their enthusiasm over the word. In fact, the more they praised it, the angrier she seemed to get. "Oh... my... I can't... I just can't..." she fumed between deep, angry breaths.

"Can't what?" Geoff asked, concerned about how red Rachel's face was getting.

Rachel pounded the side of the hot tub with both of her fists, causing The Surfers to flinch and yelp. "If you two insist that 'dude' and 'dudette' are words of praise, then all you're doing is showing the world how privileged you are as men! You're saying you don't care about anyone other than men! And that refusing to abandon this term is too much of a hassle and that you'd rather see women continue to be labeled as inferior in a society rooted in sexist patriarchal traditions!" She then pointed an accusing finger at the confused and startled surfers. "You two are exactly what is wrong with this world! You two are the reason society can't move forward! Why we can't have equality! You just want to continue to watch women be held back when-"

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. You think men suck. Now, why don't you take your triggered blue hair elsewhere and let us winners enjoy ourselves without having to listen to your shrilling voice."

Rachel snapped her head around to see who dared interrupt her woken lecture. Standing directly behind her was Calleigh. She had changed into her green two-piece swimsuit, in which the bottom piece came with a lime skirt cover-up. She had one hand on her hip as she stared into Rachel, seemingly bored and unfazed by her lecture.

"Excuse you, but I'm doing my part to educate these privileged men!" Rachel retorted, pointing back at The Surfers.

"Yeah? And I just told you to lay off my friends!" Calleigh replied.

"You..." Rachel was aghast. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "You cannot be serious right now. 'Friends'? Are you telling me that you want to be friends with these sexists?! How on earth can you stand there, allow them to call you such a derogatory word as 'dudette', and call them your 'friends'?! I demand to know!"

"Simple. I don't have skin thinner than a piece of paper," Calleigh calmly answered her. She then turned her nose to the air as she walked past the blue-haired college student. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's a hot tub I want to relax in before the next challenge and some fruit on that buffet with my name on it. And I'd like to eat and relax without listening to your shrieks, so kindly go to the area of the plane designated for those who didn't come in first place yesterday."

Calleigh didn't turn back at Rachel once she finished speaking. Instead, she grabbed an apple from the buffet and joined The Surfers in the hot tub. As she sat, she moaned as the jet streams blew on her back. But the insulted Rachel wasn't about to give up so easily.

"Ugh!" she shrieked. "This is why no one takes our movement seriously! Too many women are complacent with their status as second-class citizens in a nuclear family society where men are allowed to be the head of a household! Change won't come unless we all unite and fight the patriarchy! Those who accept their role in today's society are just as much the problem as the men that have brainwashed them! We cannot accept this! We cannot-"

Rachel's rant was interrupted when she suddenly felt herself being dragged away from the hot tub. She angrily turned to see who had grabbed each of her arms and was pulling her away from those that had victimized her without her consent. Dragging her by one arm was Cindy and Anna was on the other arm.

"Hey! What are you doing! Let me go!" she demanded, trying to free herself from the grip of The Tough Grannies. "I'm not finished! I will be heard! I will not be silenced! I do not consent to this!"

She continued to protest being dragged away. Even when Anna closed the door to the winner's area behind her, The Surfers and Calleigh could still hear Rachel's cries of protest coming from the other side.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Tough Grannies)

Anna – Sheesh! Youngsters these days! Always complaining about something! (She turns to Cindy) I can't understand how you were able to tolerate her shrilling shrieks all that time!

Cindy – Easy, dearie. It's a tactic I learned to use whenever my husband wants to yell at me. I picked up on it after sixty-plus years of marriage.

Anna – You don't say. Well, spit it out, woman! What is it?

(Cindy reaches up to one of her ears and pulls out one of her hearing aids)

Cindy – I just turn these puppies off. You go from irritating yelling to peace and quiet in two second flat or your money back. BWA HA HAAAA!

END

Brody and Geoff turned their attention to Calleigh, who was calmly taking another bite of her apple as she leaned back to relax as the jets continued to work her lower back.

"Woah... thanks, dud-"

Brody stopped himself from finishing the sentence, clamping his hands over his mouth.

Calleigh opened one of her eyes when she noticed Brody stopping mid-sentence. She noticed how worried Brody seemed with his hands over his mouth. She chuckled and took another bite of her apple.

"Dude, don't pay any attention to her," she assured him as she chewed. "If anything, I think being a 'dudette' is awesome. Especially since this dudette is traveling to her next destination in style with her best friend and four fun guys."

Brody glanced at Geoff. His blonde friend didn't seem to know how to react at first. But a few seconds later, Geoff smiled and gave Brody a thumbs up. Brody smiled back and the two turned back to Calleigh.

"Thanks, dudette," they said in unison.

"Anytime, dudes," she casually remarked, taking another bite of her apple. As she chewed, she suddenly sat up and looked around the room. "Speaking of best friends, where is Sabrina anyway?"

(Changing Rooms)

Aaron emerged from one of the changing rooms sporting his favorite green shirt with his signature lightning bolt on it. It had been muddied up during yesterday's stampede and he finally had a chance to change into it. So many other teams had to get a change of clothes while they waited for their regular ones to finish washing yesterday that he hadn't been able to get his in the wash until earlier this morning. It had only finished drying moments before the jaunt had started and only now was he allowed to change.

"That was nice of Don to allow me to use these stalls for the time being," he said to himself. "But I suppose I'd better head down below. Otherwise, he may not be so charitable the next time I might need to-"

BAM!

"Ouch!"

Aaron winced and cried in pain as a door to another dressing room had swung open and smacked him directly in the face. He immediately threw his hands over his face as pain shot through it. His nose had gotten the worst of it.

THUD!

"Ow! That hurt!" Aaron's eyes shot open when he heard a familiar voice cry out from the other side of the stall door he had bumped into. With an apprehensive gulp, he nervously pulled the door open the rest of the way. His worries were confirmed when he saw a familiar busty blonde no sporting a two-piece blue bathing suit sitting on the ground rubbing her forehead.

Sabrina opened her eyes and noticed all the items she had been carrying sprawled all across the floor around her from when she had fallen. These items ranged from her regular clothes to some card games she had planned on playing with The Surfers, The Rockers, and Calleigh.

"Well... this is a fine mess," she muttered as she looked around at all the items scattered around in her dressing room.

Meanwhile, Aaron's breath had left his body completely when he saw Sabrina's blue two-piece swimsuit that she was wearing. Like Calleigh's, the bottom piece had a skirt covering, only hers was light blue with white stripes and went halfway down her thighs.

'Oh...wow...' he gazed in awe at the vision on the ground. But the sight of her rubbing her forehead and glancing up at him somewhat annoyed by what had happened snapped him out of his trance.

"Oh! Oh, goodness gracious! I apologize for that!" he frantically said.

Sabrina, still rubbing her forehead, softened her look and just chuckled. "No, my fault," she assured him as she sat up. "I forgot there were other changing rooms back here. Should have guessed other people would be using them."

At that moment, Jason emerged from another changing room, sporting a fresh purple t-shirt underneath his sports jacket that he was zipping up. He noticed the scene before him.

"Oh, wow. I heard the noise but didn't think someone would be on the ground. Are you all right there?"

"I'm fine, I promise," Sabrina assured him. She then looked up toward where she was rubbing her forehead. "Though I've got a bad feeling this might bruise later."

She then began to gather up the items she had dropped.

"Please! Allow me to assist!" Aaron offered. He didn't wait for an answer and knelt down to help her pick up everything she had dropped. Jason offered to help as well and joined Aaron and Sabrina on the floor in gathering her things.

"Funny," Sabrina chuckled as she picked up some of the cards that had fallen out of their packs. "I had planned on playing Blackjack and Liar with everyone, but I didn't think I'd be playing Fifty-Two pick up."

Aaron chuckled as he crawled on his hands and knees to grab some of the cards that had spilled out into the hallway. When he turned around to see if any other cards were behind him, he found himself staring at Sabrina's slightly bruised forehead as she was crawling on her hands and knees to collect some of her belongings she had dropped when she was knocked over. He discovered that she was positioned just right so that he could see her-

'Ack! No, man! No!' he mentally disciplined himself as he forced himself to look away. "You mustn't! You are not your neanderthal roommate! You are better than that!'

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (Aaron of The Roommates)

Aaron – Ugh! This can't be happening! My roommate is a pervert! Not me! I'm supposed to be the higher class gentleman! (He slightly blushes) But you people don't understand! If you had such an amazing pair of breasts on the back of your head like I did yesterday, then you too couldn't stop thinking about it either! I mean... they felt amazing... soft, yet firm... (He gasps in horror) Gah! Curse human hormones!

END

The longer it took to clean the mess, the harder it became for Aaron to keep his eyes from wandering to look at Sabrina's chest.

'Come on, man. You've got this,' he told himself. 'You've got self-control. Self-control! You are an intelligent human being! Not some hormonally, instinct-driven animal! Resist... resist... re... sist...'

But alas, his hormones were winning the battle. Aaron's eyes began to lower. That magnificent chest that was pressed against the back of his head... he just had to see it up close and personal... lower his eyes went... lower... until...

Sabrina stopped collecting her items when she heard Aaron gasp. She glanced up at him and noticed he was staring in awe. His sight seemed to be fixated on her chest area. She raised an eye at him as she positioned herself so that she was on both knees. "Uh... Aaron? Are you there?" she asked.

Aaron continued to seemingly look at her chest area. Sabrina began to feel a little uncomfortable. 'Oh boy,' she thought to herself. 'Another one's doing it... this is why I don't like wearing this two-piece. Boys tend to stare a little too long and then-"

"Well.. I'll be..." Sabrina's thoughts were interrupted as Aaron pointed toward her chest. Again, Sabrina felt uncomfortable by this.

"Look, hon," she calmly, yet firmly spoke. "I get you're a guy and that I'm wearing a somewhat revealing swimsuit, but staring like that is kinda creepy, so if you'd be so kind as to-"

"-No, no! It's just... that ring you're wearing!"

"Huh?" Sabrina was taken aback by Aaron's question.

"Ring?!" Jason jerked his head up when he heard that word and quickly turned to see what Aaron was talking about. He saw Aaron pointing excitedly toward Sabrina. He followed his finger to where it was pointing. And right in front of Sabrina's chest area was a very conspicuous-looking ring that was tied around a piece of leather that hung around Sabrina's neck.

"That ring!" Aaron said again. "Is that Nathan Drake's ring from the Uncharted video game franchise?!"

Sabrina looked down at the ring that Aaron was enthusiastically pointing at.

"Oh... Oh!"

(FIELD CONFESSIONAL – Sabrina of The Cosplayers)

Sabrina – I hate to sound arrogant, but one of the things I've accomplished in my life that I am most proud of is my figure. In order to get any job in the modeling business, you need to keep your body fit and lean. Also, many characters that I cosplay have healthy figures too. So it's easier to pull off the look if I maintain this body. I've had to work out a lot and maintain a very strict, healthy diet... (she sighs) Unfortunately that also means I attract a lot of guys who only want to stare at my body too. Hence why I refuse to get an Instagram account!

END

Sabrina, relieved that Aaron hadn't been staring at her chest, chuckled and held the ring in her hand. "Why, yes... yes, it is," she answered as she held it out for Aaron to see. "I'm a huge fan of the Uncharted franchise," she explained. "Mainly because of Nathan Drake himself."

She played with the ring in her hand as her face began to slightly blush. "He's... he's sort of my video game waifu so to speak. He's hilarious, daring, and downright gorgeous." She chuckled as she continued to reflect on her seemingly weird obsession with a fictional character. "Heck, back home I've set aside part of the room with my entertainment center in it as a 'Nathan Drake' shrine. It has official artwork, action figures, and other Uncharted merchandise and fan art that features Nathan Drake. I... I guess most other people would call it the ultimate Uncharted and Nathan Drake shrine..." she chuckled and sheepishly looked up at Aaron and Jason. "I guess that sounds sort of silly, doesn't it."

Jason quirked an eyebrow as Sabrina explained this. The concept of obsessing so much over a video game character and franchise didn't make any sense to him. Aaron, on the other hand...

"Are you kidding?!" Aaron seemed shocked that Sabrina would find such a concept silly. He quickly turned to his backpack and fished around for something. Moments later, he pulled out two items. He held one up to Sabrina that Jason could only guess was supposed to be a journal.

"This here is a replica of Nathan Drake's notebook! All the designs of the puzzles, artifacts, and writings Nathan adds to it throughout the games are in here!"

Sabrina's eyes went wide with shock and amazement as she gasped in awe at the notebook Aaron was holding in front of her.

"No way!" she whispered as she leaned closer to get a better look at it. "You actually have one of these?! I've been looking for an authentic replica for ages!"

"Yup!" Aaron proudly replied. "I admit, it cost me quite a bit of money to acquire this. But as a fellow fan of the franchise, there was no way I was going to let this book get away from me when I had the chance to buy it!"

"How much?!" Sabrina excitedly asked.

"$125."

"$125?!" Jason exclaimed, his eyes going wide when he heard the price. "How?! It's just a small notebook that had scribbles and doodles etched into brown pages. I've bought bags of oats for Jamie's horses that didn't cost as much... granted they were huge bags, but nevertheless, how in the world did that cost you $125?!"

Aaron and Sabrina weren't paying any attention to Jason. Aaron was now showing Sabrina another book and she was staring at it in amazement.

"And this is the art book that came with the Fortune Hunter's edition of Uncharted 2!"

Sabrina gasped as she held her hands over her mouth, not taking her eyes off the book Aaron was showing her. "Get! Out!" she excitedly squealed. "You own the Fortune Hunter's edition of Uncharted 2?!"

"Sure do!" Aaron answered happily. "Had to pay about $1500 for that sucker, but it was worth it. Got the replica dagger and an official soundtrack to go with it!"

"$1500?!"

Jason was appalled. He simply could not believe that someone would willfully spend that much money on a single video game.

(FIELD CONFESSIONAL – Jason of The Outdoor Survivalists)

Jason – Before Jamie and I came onto the show, we had to make sure the people taking care of the ranch had enough hay to feed the horses while we were gone. So I had to order a truckload of square hay bales. We got about five hundred square bales of first cutting. ...I mean, how in the world does a video game cost more than five hundred square bales of first cutting?!

END

But neither Sabrina nor Aaron paid any attention to Jason's shock at the price of the game. They were eagerly engaged in a conversation about the game itself.

"Did you expect the first level of that game to be Nathan climbing up through a train that was about to fall off a freaking cliff?!" Sabrina asked.

"Not even for a second!" Aaron admitted. "And just when you think you're done, part of the train gives away and you've got to find a new way to climb! I was so blown away by the intensity of that scene I almost forgot to breathe while playing it!"

"You too?! Oh, my gosh! I almost couldn't do it! I couldn't bear to see my Natey suffering like that. But I wasn't about to let him die! I pushed through and got him off that train!"

"How many tries did it take you?!"

"Just once!"

"Really?! It took me five times!"

Jason watched in amazement as Aaron and Sabrina continued to talk about the game. He couldn't wrap his mind around how people could be so obsessed with a video game of all things. 'Well... I guess some people would say the same thing to me about football,' he figured as he rose to his feet. He handed Sabrina her belongings he helped gather. The pig-tailed cosplayer grabbed them from him and thanked him, but didn't take her eyes off of the collector's edition art book Aaron was showing her.

"You said you got the official soundtrack too?!" Sabrina asked.

"Sure do! Right here!"

Aaron quickly reached back in his backpack and pulled out the two-disk collection of the music from the game. Sabrina gasped in awe as she leaned in to take a closer look at the artwork on the cover.

"Oh. My. Gosh! That is SO cool!" Sabrina said as she continued to gawk at the album. Then, she jolted her head upright so she was looking Aaron in the eye again. "Favorite track from the game?!"

"Is that even a question?!" Aaron chuckled.

Rather than name the track, Aaron began to mimic the drumbeat of the game's main theme to Sabrina, who instantly caught on which track it was. She giggled as Aaron continued to make the drum sounds. Then, when the time came, Sabrina joined in by humming the musical notes of the main theme. The two continued to recreate the theme of the game with such energy and passion that they didn't even notice Jason giving them a weird look.

'...well... maybe they like the game more than I like football,' he decided before quietly leaving the changing room area. Aaron and Sabrina continued to hum the game's main theme as Jason closed the door behind him.

As he turned around, he found himself face to face with Crimson yet again. He gasped in shock and took a couple of steps back right into the door.

"Oh... Crimson," he sighed in relief. "Forgive me for saying so, but you've got a bad habit of sneaking up behind people and giving them a scare."

"Sorry," Crimson apologized. "To be honest, I didn't want you to know that I was spying on you."

"Oh, I- wait, what?" Jason suddenly realized what Crimson had said to him. He stood straight up, folded his arms, and gave Crimson a look of disapproval. "... 'spying on me', did you say?" he asked accusingly.

"Yeah," Crimson admitted, not bothered by Jason's reaction.

Jason remained firm and narrowed his eyes at her. "All right, then. If I might be so bold as to ask... any particular reason you're spying on me?"

"That depends," Crimson replied. "Is there anything you're hiding from the rest of us?"

Jason raised his eyebrow at Crimson's question. "And what would I have to hide that you'd like to know?" he softly, yet firmly asked the gothic girl.

"I don't know," Crimson retorted, standing her ground. "Would it be anything involving your partner Jamie?"

Jason's eyes suddenly went wide and his body tensed up more than before. Small beads of sweat began to trickle down his forehead. "W-What? No! No, of course not!" he finally answered. "There's nothing I'd ever hide from her. W-What gave you that impression?"

"Hmm..."

Crimson continued to stare at Jason with her expressionless face. Though he couldn't read it, Jason had the feeling that she wasn't convinced by his answer. He took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Look," he said, "I swear on my love for her I am not hiding anything from her."

"Hmm..." Crimson still didn't seem convinced. But she didn't say anything. Instead, she turned her back to the somewhat panicked survivalist and made her way toward a set of stairs that led below to the lower area of the plane where the rest of the contestants were seated.

Jason remained where he was, watching Crimson's head turn as she made her way down the set of spiral stairs. He didn't move or say anything until the top of her silver hair out of sight. Not a sound could be heard aside from the muffled singing coming from the other side of the door from Sabrina and Aaron. After a minute passed, he took a deep breath and headed for the stairs.

'What the heck was that all about anyway?' he thought to himself. 'And why did I get so anxious back there? It's not like I am hiding something from Jamie. I just... she can't find out. At least... not yet. Not until the time is perfect...'

(Lower Cargo Area)

He sighed as he made his way down the spiral stairs. Down below, all the teams were sitting on two sets of benches that were located on each side of the dull, metallic interior of the plane. He found Jamie sitting next to Timmy and Dale, petting and feeding his baby chicks. He smiled warmly and made his over to her, walking past The Big Brother Participants and The Reality Rivals who were engaged in a conversation.

"Wow!" Ry-Ry exclaimed, his eyes wide with admiration as he looked up at Leshawna and Tyler. "You two have really been on more than sixty different reality show competitions?!"

"We sure have, sugar," Leshawna proudly replied. "And we've got a couple more lined up after this one's over."

"Yeah... though I don't think you signing us up for 'Ultimate Lumberjacks' was such a good idea," Tyler stated.

"Well, I had to. We were both turned down to be contestants on 'Big Brother', remember?" Leshawna reminded him.

"How come?" Ry-Ry asked.

"The producers told me I was too mature to be on that show," Tyler replied.

"They told me I had too many life skills," Leshawna huffed. "What kind of reason is that?!"

"Funny thing, I auditioned to be on 'Big Brother' too," DJ admitted. "I didn't even make it past the first round of my audition."

"What happened?" Ry-Ry asked.

"The producers came into the room and asked us to raise our hands if we had any morals. After I raised my hand, they told me I was dismissed," DJ explained.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Reality Pros – Owen and Noah)

Noah – I overheard a little bit of that conversation and it reminded me of the time me and Owen tried out for Big Brother.

Owen – (Sadly) I raised my hand when they asked about having morals.

Noah – I warned you about that, didn't I? Anyway, I didn't raise my hand and made it to the next round. It was an IQ test, which I aced with flying colors and then some. (He sighs) They cut me right then and there for being too smart.

(The Larpers – Leonard and Tammy)

Leonard – Tammy and I auditioned to be on 'Big Brother' last summer before we were called to compete in the Ridonculous Race again.

Tammy – During the pre-audition screening, they asked us if we expected the other house guests to follow our plans to the end with the notion that we were the only ones allowed to win the game and if we would throw a fit when someone chose not to follow our plans. We're good sports, so we said no.

Leonard – (Sighing sadly) We were told to leave and to never audition again.

(The Ice Dancers – Jacques and Josse)

Josse – Tch! 'Big Brother'... why on earth would we waste our time being on that show? Just sitting around and gossiping about a bunch of strangers while participating in silly challenges made to make the contestants look like fools! Jacques and I are much too talented to be a part of such a ridiculous contest!

Jacques – Or at least, zat's what ze producers told us when they told us to never audition for ze show again.

(The Tennis Rivals – Pete and Gerry)

Pete – So in a nutshell, the producers told us that in order to get on 'Big Brother', we had to be talentless, brainless, immoral, over-the-top drama queens who have no skills other than sitting around and gossiping about the other contestants like we were back in high school. [2]

Gerry – After hearing that, I told the producers-

(Pete and Gerry point at one another)

Pete and Gerry – This guy's the perfect candidate!

(Pete and Gerry share a laugh)

END

"But still... lumberjacks? Really?" Tyler asked.

"Why not?" Leshawna asked, turning her head sharply toward her partner. "We played chess over a freaking volcano! If we can survive playing chess over a volcano, climbing some greased poles and sawing through some logs should be a piece of cake!"

"I mean... you've got a point," Tyler admitted, adjusting his red headband. "But are you really prepared to wrestle a bear?"

"Aw, come on," Leshawna teased as she poked her partner's shoulder. "You're just intimidated because you know you've got to compete against someone who's already defeated a bear in a log rolling contest!"

"Oh! I remember watching that episode!" Ry-Ry exclaimed! "That was when you won the trailer! That must have been fun to watch her to that, huh DJ?"

DJ didn't answer him. The horrible memories of being squeezed by a boa constrictor still haunted him from that day and his face began to turn pale.

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (DJ of The Big Brother Participants)

DJ – I knew when signing up for this contest that we were going to have to go to the African continent eventually. To be frank, I am not excited about this. At all. Because what's Africa known for? Wild animals! And what species of animal is among those that live in African jungles?! (He gulps) ...snakes. …. BIG snakes! I don't think I'm ready to confront my fear of snakes that big yet.

END

Emily walked past Ry-Ry and DJ, who was breathing heavily into a paper bag that Ry-Ry had offered him and looking quite pale. She scratched her head wondering what had the giant so worked up. But in the end, decided that she needed to focus on herself and continued on toward the back of the plane where she and Brick were seated. To her surprise, she found her partner engaging in a conversation with The Fashion Bloggers of all teams.

"Wow! I didn't know one of our competitors was such a huge fan of our blog!" she heard Jen say as she approached them.

"Are you kidding?! I read it every day! Even whenever I'm in military school! Your articles about the latest styles and newest fashion accessories are so enriching! Oh! And that piece you wrote about the different styles of military formal wear! That one spoke volumes to me!"

"Well, we thought we'd do our part to honor those that serve in the Canadian Armed Forces," Tom replied. "We want those that represent our great country to look their best when they do it!"

"Well, it did wonders!" Brick excitedly replied. "I took your advice and wore the black tie with my traditional formal attire instead of red... and you were right! It just made me feel stronger and more sophisticated as a soldier! I even added a pair of white gloves to it and I almost felt like one of the elites!"

"White gloves?! With a formal Canadian Armed Forces outfit?!" Tom gasped. "O! M! Goodness! It's so obvious... yet so perfect!" he beamed as the image came to his head. He turned back to Brick. "How on earth did you come up with such a concept?!"

"Well," Brick chuckled. "Fashion is my Passion!"

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Military Cadets – Brick and Emily)

Brick – After Cameron won Revenge of the Island, he promised to split the million-dollar grand prize among all the contestants that competed that season. With my share of the money, I'm going to go to fashion school. After I complete my time in the army, of course. (He gasps excitedly and turns to Emily) Do you think Tom and Jen would have me be a special guest writer for one of their blog posts?!

Emily – I'll be frank, soldier: As long as I've got clothes that cover my body and keep me warm in the coldest and harshest of weather conditions, I'm happy. I could not care less about how I look in said clothes.

Brick – Oh, come on! You should let me design an outfit for you! You know, you're quite a physical specimen. Just do something with that dirty brown hair and I could make something work! Oh! I know! I'll get Tom and Jen to help me out! We can totally doll you up! You'd look amazing! Maybe they can teach me a few things before I-

Emily – Ten-HUT!

(Brick stops talking and immediately stands from his seat in the position of attention. Emily slowly stands up next to him)

Emily – (In her strict military tone) As your commanding officer, I hereby forbid you from ever commenting on my physical appearances ever again! You will also refrain from insisting that I allow you to 'doll me up'! Do you understand, soldier?!

Brick – (Saluting) Ma'am! Yes, ma'am!

END

On the opposite bench, sitting across from The Fashion Bloggers and The Military Cadets, Sammy sat. She sighed longingly as she stared at Brick in admiration. Once more, the world around her seemed to fade away and was replaced with a heavenly shade of pink. Only Brick remained.

Her bright blue pupils grew wider and seemed to sparkle as she stared at the military cadet, who seemed to be glowing brighter and brighter the longer she stared at him. A strange yet beautiful melody began to fill the air. Though Brick wasn't looking at her, he still seemed so perfect to her for some reason.

'Oh, wow," she thought happily to herself as she enjoyed the sight of Brick in this wonderful pink scenery and the lovely melody playing in the air. 'Amazing... simply amazing. In all my life, never have I seen anyone or anything more perfect than-'

"Move over!"

Sammy snapped out of her thoughts as she felt herself being violently pushed off the bench and onto the cold, metal floor of the plane. She landed hard and bumped her chin, dazing her a little in the event.

"Ow!" she cried out, immediately grabbing at her chin. She looked back up at the bench where she was sitting to see who had shoved her. To almost no surprise, there was Amy, taking her seat where Sammy once sat.

Amy looked down and noticed Sammy looking up at her and favoring her chin. "Well, don't hog the bench next time!" she snapped as she sat. "Maybe then I wouldn't have to do that!"

"'Have to do that', my foot!"

Amy and Sammy flinched when an aggressive voice called over to them. Across from where they were sitting, The Fashion Bloggers sat in shock and disgust at what they had witnessed. Emily was standing up, clenching her fists, and glaring at Amy.

"You had plenty of room on that bench!" Emily snapped. "You pushing her as hard as you did was uncalled for and you know it!"

"Please, uncalled for?" Amy scoffed. "I wanted to put my feet up and there wasn't enough room to do that." To show her point, she pointed down her bench. As she said, there was just enough space on the benches for the contestants to sit with just a little space between them. She then threw her feet up on the bench and planted them where Sammy once say. "Now there's room. I'd say it was called for."

Emily growled as her face began to turn red. "Why, you selfish, little... if I didn't sign that waiver that said we couldn't physically attack the other contestants, I would give you a right hook on the jaw!"

"But you did," Amy teased, placing her hands behind her head and leaning back against the wall as she relaxed her feet. "So I guess there's nothing you can do about this, is there."

Emily fumed and stomped her foot after Amy gave her a very rude gesture.

On the floor, Sammy, still favoring her chin, sat up. She managed to fight back the tears that she could feel coming on, but it had taken a lot of effort to do so.

"Here, ma'am. Allow me to help."

Sammy glanced up to the voice that had spoken to her. Even before she looked up, she knew who she would see standing in front of her. As expected, there was Brick extending a hand to her. This time, however, the world around her did not slowly disappear. There was no music. No pink atmosphere. Indeed she enjoyed the sight of Brick standing in front of her. But something was keeping her from going to that magical realm she enjoyed so much whenever she looked at Brick.

"Ma'am?"

Sammy snapped out of her thoughts as Brick spoke to her again. "Oh, sorry about that," she meekly apologized as she reached out and accepted his hand. Brick helped her to her feet and led her over to the other bench where he and Emily were sitting. The Latina cadet had stood and allowed Sammy to take her place on the bench. Sammy thanked her as Brick sat her down before taking his seat next to her. He then reached into his backpack and pulled out a couple of supplies.

"That cut doesn't look too bad," Brick assured Sammy as he held up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a piece of cotton. "But nevertheless, we should probably clean that up so it doesn't get infected."

Sammy nodded, looking the other way as she felt her cheeks warm up.

Brick warned her that she would feel a slight sting. As the moist cotton ball touched her chin, she winced slightly as a small pain shot through her chin. But seconds later, the pain was gone. Brick then pulled out a butterfly band-aid and gently applied it over the cut.

"There you are, ma'am," he said. "Good as new."

Sammy smiled warmly at Brick and thanked him. Brick smiled in return.

"Ugh!" came Amy's shrilling voice, interrupting the moment. "You're all acting like she's dying or something. It's just a little cut!"

"Yeah! A little cut you gave her!" Emily retorted with disgust, her arms folded as she glared at Amy.

"So what?!" Amy snapped. "It might actually toughen her up a little! Maybe then she'll be somewhat useful!"

Sammy looked at her sister. She was just leaning back against the wall, relaxing for the duration of the flight. So many emotions were flowing through Sammy at the moment. On the one hand, she wanted to scream at her sister and tell her off. On the other, she wanted to break down and cry. In the end, all she could do was sit and look at her sister in disbelief.

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (Sammy of The Twin Sisters)

Sammy – The only reason I didn't go over there and smack her teeth out of her mouth is that I promised mom and dad I wouldn't. But Amy... for some reason doesn't seem to care. Even back in Japan when I stopped her from getting on the wrong train! She couldn't even give me a simple 'Thank you!'. I... (She sniffles a little.) I... I don't know what else I can do. I can't make it work if she doesn't want to. (She turns to the camera) Please! Mom! Dad! What else can I do?! I'm trying! I really am!

END

A few feet further down the bench, The Ice Dancers sat and watched the scene unfold.

"Ugh! So despicable!" Jacques scoffed with his arms folded. "Ze way she treats her partner! Her sister no less! You would never see me treat my partner with such disrespect!"

"Oh, no. Never," Josse replied sarcastically. "You just drop your partner on her head in the middle of the most important competition in our lives and cause her to lose out on a gold medal!"

Jacques head jerked up as Josse reminded him of that fateful day.

"For ze millionth time! I said I was sorry!" Jacques snapped. "And I zink you mean 'cause us to lose ze gold medals'! We are a team after all!"

"Yes! We are a team!" Josse remarked. "But where you are the strength, I am the brains of this operation! And the brain sends the message to the muscles! Only then can the muscles act and carry out the tasks that need to be done! But when the muscles don't listen to the brain, bad things happen! Like dropping the brain on the ice and costing the brain a gold medal!"

"Aw, for the love of Pete! Quit your yammering over there, will ya?!"

Josse shot a glance across the aisle to the other bench. Sitting across from her were The Tough Grannies. Cindy's hands were over her ears and Anna's hands were on her hips.

"Sheesh! Your belly-aching is enough to make me want to get rid of these hearing aides permanently!" Cindy barked as she took her hands off her ears.

"You're worse than that little blue-haired baby!" Anna snapped. "'I lost my gold medal! I want a gold medal!'" she mocked in a tone that mimicked Josse's. "Why don'tcha get yourself a hobby! You keep obsessing over that gold medal like your life depends on it!"

"So what if I do?!" Josse demanded. "You have no earthly idea the sacrifices I've had to make in order to pursue that dream! The hours and hours of practice and training! The years of blood, sweat, and tears I've poured into making my dream of winning Olympic gold a reality!"

"Oh, please!" Cindy scoffed. "An Olympic gold medal isn't all it's cracked up to be!"

Josse and Jacques gasped in horror at Cindy's words.

"She.. she didn't just say that, did she?!" Josse whispered to Jacques. "She didn't just belittle the highest award and accomplishment that athletes can win in their lives, did she?!"

"Oh, she did," Jacques trembled. "I'm afraid she did."

Josse then scowled at Cindy as she rose from her bench and stomped her foot. "Who asked you anyway?!" she demanded. "what does a silly, delusional eighty year old overweight woman like you know about the value of an Olympic gold medal anyway?!"

Cindy chuckled at Josse's temper tantrum. She then adjusted her glasses as she calmly rose from her bench. "First of all, dearie," she calmly spoke. "I'm not overweight. I'm under tall. Besides, most of what you're seeing here is muscle. And wait until you get a little older. You'll see areas of your petite little body start to fatten up yourself."

Josse held her glare on the larger of the tough grannies.

"Second of all," Cindy continued, "I would know a thing or two about Olympic gold medals because I've already won a few! Five to be exact!"

Josse's jaw dropped at this revelation. As did Jacques. His eyes wide with shock, he jumped from his seat in awe and wonder.

"You?! You've won gold at ze Olympics?! FIVE TIMES?!" Jacques exclaimed.

"In what?!" Josse demanded.

"Women's boxing," Cindy answered.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Ice Dancers – Jacques and Josse)

(Jacques is sitting along in the room as items are being tossed around in the background. The sound of Josse screaming furiously can be heard off-screen)

Jacques – It's been bad enough having to live with ze shame of a silver medal. But the moment Josse heard some of our competition had actually won ze gold medals at ze Olympics-

(Jacques ducks his head as a table flies over his head. Josse is still yelling off-screen)

Jacques – Let's just say she's not taking it very well.

(The Tough Grannies – Cindy and Anna)

Cindy – Actually, if Josse wasn't such a pain in my neck, I would have tried to assure her that there was plenty of time for her to win a gold medal at the Olympics. After all, I won my fifth gold medal at the last summer Olympics four years ago.

Anna – (Chuckling) And boy, did she lose her mind when you told her that you only went to win it so you could have something to put under one of the legs of your dining room table to balance it out!

Cindy – Well, I had to dearie. I had been asking my husband to fix that darned table for three years prior to that! A woman can only wait for her man to do the job for so long before she takes matters into her own hands. BWA HA HAAAA!

END

"I cannot believe the level of disrespect you've shown your gold medal!" Josse hissed as she pulled her hair.

"Aw, don't feel too bad for it," Cindy retorted. "I promise you it's feelings aren't hurt. Mostly because it's an inanimate object and lacks the ability to feel anything. BWA HA HAAAA!"

Josse was now seething. How someone could feel nothing after winning a gold medal at the Olympics was beyond her comprehension. Not only that but to use one as a means to balance a dining room table of all things! This was one of the highest honors an athlete could ever achieve and here was someone that completely tarnished the honor of possessing one.

"You... you HEATHENS!" Josse roared as she pointed at The Tough Grannies. "How dare you! How! DARE! YOU!"

"Settle down there, killer," Anna huffed as she adjusted her glasses. "You're gonna have a stroke if you keep on like that! And I don't think my homemade medicine is cut out to help out someone sufferin' from one of those... yet."

"Homemade medicine?" Jacques asked, ignoring Josse's heavy breathing.

"Yupper!" Anna proudly replied. "I do everything homemade! Even got our own homemade protein bars! Here! You want one?"

Cindy, sensing the malicious intent coming from her partner, reached over and stopped Anna from pulling out of their protein bars.

"Aw, come on, dearie!" Anna pleaded. "Let them taste my latest creation!"

"No, not yet," Cindy insisted. "After all, I don't think a couple of silver medalists can handle a golden treat like this one."

As Cindy expected, Josse let out another cry of rage and kicked her team's bench so hard that it knocked some of the other contestants off and even shook the airplane a little bit. Among the gasps of shock from the other contestants, Cindy just chuckled.

"Well, Anna," Cindy said aloud so Josse could hear her. "I guess this would be a good time to test out that homemade burn ointment you've been working on because that was a burn to the third degree. BWA HA HAAAA!"

"Oh yeah?!" Josse retorted, stomping over toward Cindy and Anna. Despite her stomping, the Tough Grannies continued to smile calmly at the irate ice dancer. "Big talk coming from two old ladies who have yet to place in the top three in this competition!"

"Old?!" Anna's smile instantly disappeared.

Cindy's smile disappeared as well. She immediately shot a glance over to Anna. A look of concern spread across her face as Anna's face began to turn redder by the second. She slowly scooted further down the bench from her partner as Anna's fists began to shake. Then her feet. Then her whole body. Cindy wisely stood up and slowly backed away from Anna as she began to breathe heavily.

Josse, however, didn't seem at all intimidated. "Aw, what's the matter?" she mocked. "Is the little old lady mad that I called her 'old'?"

"Dearie," Cindy called over, "I don't think 'mad' is strong enough to describe the beast of rage you've just awoken."

"Uh... what word would you use zen?" Jacques nervously asked as he watched Anna's grind her teeth and her glasses fog up.

Cindy turned to Jacques. "Have you ever heard of the expression 'pure unadulterated rage'?"

"Uh... yes?"

"Multiply that by about five hundred," Cindy explained. "In other words, I strongly advise you to take cover and cover your ears." Without another word, Cindy hurried and ducked and covered under her bench.

(Winner's Quarters)

The Surfers and Calleigh continued to enjoy their time in the hot tub. The Rockers, now sporting swimming trunks of their own, were busy eating some of the tasty treats on the buffet table. Spud had brought his boombox and the five were listening to some classic Def Leppard.

"Awesome selection of tunes, dude!" Brody called over.

Spud responded by giving Brody the peace sign with his fingers as he continued to bob his head to the music and took another bite out of his hot dog.

"I wonder where Sabrina is?" Calleigh wondered as she sipped some iced cold water.

"Dunno, but the dudette is missing a killer party right now!" Rock replied. "Killer hot tub! Killer food! Killer tunes! Killer friends!"

"Totally!" Geoff agreed as he chugged his soda. "This has got to be one of the greatest parties I've ever been to! I say we keep winning! That way we can keep getting awesome parties like-"

Nobody heard what Geoff had to say next. In fact, the only thing that any of them could hear was the sound of a deafening roar that filled the airplane. The roar was so intense and powerful that it caused the whole plane to shake. Waves began to form in the hot tub and frantically splashed all over The Surfers and Calleigh. Rock and Spud were knocked off balance from the vibrations of the noise and fell. The table shook as well and the food fell all over The Rockers. Though no one could hear the plates crashing and breaking over the sound of this roar.

(Changing Rooms)

Aaron and Sabrina, who had eagerly been talking about their experiences playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (to which Sabrina was showing him pictures of the time she entered a cosplay contest dressed as Breath of the Wild Zelda, were suddenly shook by the sound of the same deafening roar. The pain was so intense that Aaron fell to his knees as he covered his ears.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS EXCRUCIATING NOISE?!" he cried out. But his own voice was completely drowned out by the roar.

"HOLY CRAP!" Sabrina cried out as she covered her ears. "THIS IS LOUDER THAN A FIRETRUCK HORN!"But much like Aaron, her voice was drowned out by the deafening roar.

(Landing Gears Area)

Chef and Ted winced and covered their ears as a piercing roar echoed throughout the lowest layer of the cargo plane.

"SWEET MOTHER OF EDISON!" Chef cried out. "THIS IS THE WAR ALL OVER AGAIN!"

Ted, who hadn't heard anything Chef had said, was doing his best to drown out the noise by shoving blocks of cheese into his ears.

'EVIL MONSTERS FROM THE LAND OF BOOM-BOOMS! YOU SHALL NOT STEAL TED'S HEARING! THERE ARE TOO MANY SONGS ABOUT CHEESE TED HAS NOT HEARD YET!' he roared. But yet again, his roars were easily drowned out.

(Lower Cargo Area)

The roaring had finally ceased, but the damage was done. Several of the contestants had been knocked off their benches once the deafening roar blasted through the plane.

Mickey and Jay had been buried under a pile of supplies that had been stored above them in the overhead compartments. Jay was the first to dig his way out of the mess, feeling quite dizzy after being hit on the head by one of the items. Mickey soon followed.

"MICKEY! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Jay hollered to his brother.

"WHAT?!" Mickey hollered back.

"WAIT, WHAT DID YOU SAY?!'"

"WHAT?! SPEAK UP!"

"SAY THAT AGAIN! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Mickey and Jay continued to holler at one another. This happened for about two minutes before their hearing eventually returned to them.

Elsewhere, Gerry was helping Pete back to his feet. The beady-eyed tennis player had been struck on the head by a sack of heavy items and was in quite a daze.

"Come on, Pete! Walk it off, buddy," Gerry encouraged his partner.

"Aww... but I don't want to feed any more bacon to grandma," Pete replied, completely dazed and confused.

Kitty picked herself off the ground and groaned as she favored her head. When she fell off the bench, she had struck her head on the metal floor. Emma had managed to secure herself on her bench. She composed herself and worriedly checked on Milo, who was whimpering uncontrollably in her arms.

"Aw, poor baby!" Emma worriedly coddled Milo as she tried to calm his nerves. "Mommy's wight here! Yes, she is! You don't have to be scared. The loud noise is gone! Yes, it is! Yes, it-"

Her coddling was interrupted by a low groaning that came nearby. She looked up and saw Owen slowly climbing back to his feet. He too had rubbed his forehead after he had landed on the metal ground. \

"Owen... please tell me that wasn't your stomach," Kitty groaned as she stood up. "Because if it was, I'm not so sure I can be friends with someone whose stomach can do that sort of thing."

"On my mother's honor, it wasn't my stomach," Owen assured her. "My stomach growls. A dull roar at it's worst. Noah can vouch for me. Right, little buddy?"

No answer.

"Noah?" Owen called out again. And again, no answer. "Noah?! Where are you, little buddy?!"

A very low, muffled grunting could be heard coming from somewhere. Owen recognized the grunting to be his partners. But as he looked around, Noah was nowhere to be seen.

"That's strange," Owen said aloud to himself. "I can hear Noah. But I don't see him anywhere." He turned around to check the bench where they had been sitting before the sonic boom roar. But his partner wasn't there. "That's funny. He couldn't have gone too far. He was just-"

He was interrupted by the sudden gasps of horror coming from The Sisters. He sharply turned around to see what had them so worked up. Both Kitty and Emma were standing still in shock, their hands covering their mouths as though they had just witnessed something horrifying.

"What?" Owen asked them.

Again, he could hear the sound of Noah's muffled grunts coming from somewhere. As he listened closely to them, he suddenly could feel something very lumpy pressing against his back.

"...Oooohhhh..." he winced. "... He's stuck face-first into my back, isn't he?" she sheepishly asked The Sisters.

Keeping their hands over their mouths, Kitty and Emma nodded simultaneously.

"Yeah... Um... since I can't reach him back there, would one of you be so kind as to get him off me?"

Kitty, still appalled by what she had seen on Owen's back, silently stepped forward. Owen slowly turned around. And there implanted into Owen's back was a crushed Noah, who could only groan in agony as he remained stuck to his larger partner's back.

Kitty, disgusted by what she was looking at, slowly reached over and grabbed the back of Noah's head. With a mighty tug, she freed Noah's head from Owen's back. The bookworm gasped as oxygen began to fill his lungs once more.

Owen nervously looked over his shoulder once he heard his partner breathing again. "Uh... hey there, buddy," he quietly said. "You, uh... you okay back there?"

Noah continued gasping for air as Kitty continued to peel him off Owen's back. With one last tug, she finally freed Noah, who fell onto the hard, cold, metal ground and twitched as if he were a newborn calf.

(FIELD CONFESSIONAL – Kitty of The Sisters and Owen of The Reality Pros)

Kitty – Seriously, Owen! I'm astonished you haven't killed your partner yet! How the heck has he managed to survive all these years being with you and not be in a body cast?!

Owen – Beats the heck out of me. Maybe he drinks more milk than we initially thought. (He nervously twiddles his thumbs) So... if you had to guess, would you think-

Kitty – (Narrowing her eyes and placing her hands on her hips) Oh yeah. He's totally still upset with you.

Owen - Awww.

END

Kitty, Owen, Emma, and Milo were checking on Noah when they suddenly heard intense yelling coming from the other end of the airplane. They looked down and saw Cindy had Anna lifted in the air while restraining her with a bear hug. Meanwhile, Anna was frantically flailing her arms and legs around as she tried to reach for a shocked and terrified Josse, who was now cowering on the floor and backed up against the wall underneath the bench.

"LEMME AT HER! LEMME AT HER! I'LL TEAR HER LIMB FROM LIMB! JUST FIVE MINUTES! THAT'S ALL I ASK FOR! FIVE MINUTES IN A ROOM WITH NO WINDOWS! I'LL-"

"Anna! Dearie! Calm down!" Cindy pleaded as she tightened her grasp on Anna. "Remember the last time you got this angry?! You did seven years in the state penitentiary! And that was after they cut your time down for good behavior!"

Anna huffed and puffed a few more minutes while aggressively kicking and reaching for Josse all while the terrified ice dancer remained motionless on the floor for fear that the slightest move would put her in range of Anna's ferocious attacks.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Tough Grannies)

Anna – THAT'S IT! NOW IT'S PERSONAL! (She takes a deep breath) I can take being called crazy. I can take being called delusional! And I admit I feel darn proud whenever someone calls me a stubborn fool. (She grits her teeth and clenches her fists) But no one... and I mean, NO ONE... calls me old and stays awake long enough to see the end of the day!

Cindy – It's true. She even made headline news once after a motorcycle gang called her old and she threw them all out of a bar a few years back. Although her name wasn't mentioned. The headlines read 'Insane Woman Demolishes Members of Hell's Angels'.

END

After a few moments, Cindy felt brave enough to finally put Anna's feet back on the ground and let her go. Though no longer in a rage of fury, Anna was far from done with Josse. She lifted her long, purplish skirt slightly so her feet wouldn't trip as she stomped over to Josse.

"By golly, I'll show you what this 'old' lady can do!" she snapped, jabbing her finger on the tip of Josse's nose. "By the end of this jaunt, you and your partner are going to be eating my dust!"

By now, Josse had finally recovered from the initial shock of having a little old lady roaring like no beast she had ever heard in her entire life. Though still somewhat apprehensive about choosing her words, she did see an opportunity. Regaining some of her confidence, she stood back up, brushed her pink skirt off, and smiled arrogantly at Anna.

"Well then, care to put your money where your mouth is?" Josse asked, folding her arms and bending forward so she was eye to eye with Anna.

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Whadaya mean?" she demanded.

"Why don't we have a little wager to go along with that prediction," she suggested. "If you beat us this jaunt, then Jacques and I will have to let ten teams check in at the Chill Zone before we do."

Anna smiled at this bet. Jacques, however, flinched.

"Uh, Josse? Is zat really a good idea?" he nervously asked, bringing his fingertips to his chin.

"BUT," Josse continued, ignoring her partner, "If we finish before you, then you have to let ten teams check in at the Chill Zone before you do. Even if that means being eliminated."

"Hmm... interesting," Anna replied. "You sure you want to agree to those terms?"

"Only if you are," Josse taunted. "Of course, if you're not brave enough, I understand. After all, not everyone can be as amazing as the most dominant team from last season."

"Says the silver medalists that finished third place last year," Cindy chortled.

Josse pretended she hadn't heard that and kept her focus on Anna. "So what do you say. Have you got the guts to take us on 'tough granny'?"

Anna glared at Josse. Seeing the young ice dancer so arrogantly proclaiming their superiority over them wasn't a crime she was going to let them get away with.

"Young lady! You've got a deal!" She spat on her hand and held it out for Josse to shake. Josse grimaced at the wrinkled hand now coated in saliva extended to her. She just nodded her head as a sign she agreed to the terms.

"Pfft," Anna chuckled. "Some superior team. Can't even handle a little spit."

"Attention contestants," came Don's voice over the intercom. "We will be landing in the Congo Rainforest momentarily."

(Changing Rooms)

"At this time, we would like to advise those in the winner's section to change back into their everyday clothes and prepare to depart. As for the rest of you, please make sure you're buckled up as we begin landing procedures."

"Oh, dear. Has it been that long already?" Aaron glanced at his watch. "Oh, my. It has. We've been talking that long! And there was a luxurious reward awaiting you in the next room. I must apologize for-"

"No, you don't have to apologize," Sabrina insisted. "To be honest, I really had a nice time talking with you."

"Oh... well, I must say the same," Aaron replied, nervously adjusting his glasses. "It's a pleasure being able to talk with someone else who adores Uncharted and Legend of Zelda as much as I do."

"Don't forget Pokemon!" Sabrina added.

"Oh! Yes! Of course!" Aaron chuckled.

Sabrina and Aaron stood in silence for a few seconds. Neither one was sure what to say next. Aaron nervously rubbed the back of his head as Sabrina shyly played with one of her pigtails.

"Well... I suppose we should get back to our partners," Aaron suggested.

"Yeah... probably a good idea," Sabrina quietly agreed.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Here's your... Final Fantasy VII earring you dropped earlier..." Aaron's voice trailed off as he held out a silver earring that he noticed was shaped like a comet with fire blazing behind it. "Huh... you're a fan of that game too, huh?"

"Yup," Sabrina happily admitted as she reached out and grabbed the earring from Aaron's hand. While grabbing her earring, she briefly brushed the palm of her hand against Aarons. To her surprise, it was smoother than she anticipated. Almost as smooth as her own. However, what she noticed more than anything else was Aaron's slight blush as their hands touched. She shyly glanced toward the walls of the hallway, feeling her cheeks grow warm as well.

"You know," she said as she placed the earring back in her left ear, "I actually brought a book with me that contains official artwork and commentary of the art of Final Fantasy VII with me."

"Really?! Er, ahem... I mean, oh, really? That's most intriguing." Aaron cleared his throat again, hoping he hadn't sounded too eager and excited.

"Yeah. I usually use it as a source to design some of my outfits of some of the game's characters I've cosplayed as in the past."

Aaron slightly froze when he heard this. Immediately, thoughts of Sabrina dressing up as his own personal waifu Tifa started to come to mind. But he quickly caught himself and blocked those thoughts from overtaking his mind

"Anyways," Sabrina continued, "I thought that since you shared some of your Uncharted merchandise with me, I could show you my book."

"Really?!" Aaron excitedly gasped. "That'd be wonderful! I- … oh, drat," he sighed. "We're gonna be landing soon and you've got to change back into your clothes, so there isn't any time right now, is there?"

"Afraid not," Sabrina agreed. "But I was thinking we could get together at the Chill Zone once this jaunt is over (provided neither one of us comes in last place) and we could look at it together then."

Aaron almost froze up. 'Is this really happening?' he asked himself. 'Is... this vision of beauty standing before me really asking to spend some time... with me?'

"Does that sound like something you'd like to do?"

"YES! Er... I mean... yes, that sounds pleasant," Aaron replied, hoping she hadn't caught on how excited he sounded. "Heck. Now I have another reason to not come in last today."

"That makes two of us then," Sabrina chuckled. Aaron chuckled along with her. "So... I guess I'll see you later then?"

"You can count on it," Aaron said. "I look forward to it."

"Same here," Sabrina agreed. She then smiled warmly at Aaron, who found himself smiling in return.

"Well, until then, may Drake's Fortune smile down on both of us today," Aaron stated.

Sabrina chuckled warmly at Aaron's joke. Then, with a lovely smile, she batted her eyes at Aaron and leaned slightly closer to him.

Aaron's breath left his body momentarily as the beauty leaned in closer to him. He found himself getting lost in her emerald, green eyes, and the most wonderful smile he had ever seen in his entire life.

"You know something, Aaron?" she sweetly whispered to him. "You're pretty uber."

She lightly brushed one of her finger's under Aaron's chin before turning around and walking away to one of the changing rooms. Aaron watched her until she closed the door behind her. Once the door shut, he was able to breathe normally again.

'Oh...wow,' he happily thought, his face turning bright red. 'She thinks I'm uber. One of the most stunningly beautiful women to ever walk this planet thinks a guy like me is uber. Truly, this is a-...'

A very strong odor suddenly filled the air. Aaron flinched as a disgusting smell overpowered his nostrils. He squinted and his nose twitched as the odor continued to overtake all of his senses.

'What in heavens name is that horrendous smell? And where is it coming-"

"GOOD LORD!" Aaron cried out as he turned around. Standing right behind him was his partner. He was covered from head to toe in a slimy, blue substance and he looked very cross.

"Greg?! What in heaven's name happened to you?!"

"Well, if you must know," Greg muttered, his arms folded as the blue sludge dripped off his body. "I was using the bathroom just down the hallway when we first boarded the plane. As I was finishing letting the brown dog out the back door, I suddenly overheard you and the blonde babe talking with one another. Rather than come out and ruin the moment, I decided to stay in there and see what would happen. So-"

"Wait! Were you spying on us?!" Aaron asked, sounding offended.

"I prefer to think of it as 'being a fly on the wall so as not to distract your conversation," Greg replied. "But I digress. Like I was saying, while you two were chatting it up and hitting it off, I'm sure you noticed the sudden sonic boom that shot through the plane. The noise caught me off guard and I lost my balance and fell ass-first into the toilet. As I reached up to pull myself out, I accidentally grabbed hold of the handle that flushes. And I can tell you from the experience that there is some power to the suction these things have as it almost pulled me right down through that hole. Thankfully my ass was wide enough to stop me from actually being sucked out of the room, though I'm sure a couple of my organs were sucked out of my ass in the process. I tried calling for help, but that sonic boom, or whatever the hell it was, saw to it that my cries for help went unheard. Once that toilet decided it was done trying to suck me down, I pulled myself up only to slip and fall in the wastewater that splashed out of the toilet from the rumbling of that roar. I wanted to get out and get changed, but you and mega-boobs in there decided to continue your conversation in this hallway. So for your benefit, I stayed in that bathroom soaked in wastewater, throwing up a couple of times from the stench... all so you could hit it off with the hot blonde."

Aaron continued to look up at his partner in astonishment. Indeed, his description of what had happened left him somewhat disgusted (the smell wasn't helping either). But something else about what he said had caught his attention.

"Greg... did... did you just do something for me... without expecting something in return?!"

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (Greg of The Roommates)

(Throughout this confessional, Greg is still attempting to wipe off the blue sludge from his body)

Greg – Yeah, I gave Aaron some alone time with the blonde. Normally I'd be the one out there flexing my goods to get her attention. But... for some reason, listening to those two talk with one another about that nerd crap... I've never seen Aaron so at ease with a babe like that before. Especially one whose breasts look like they're going to pop out of her bra at any second. And he's always been there for me when I don't deserve it so... I did him a favor and let him have a moment with her. Now hopefully he makes the most of it and pursues that hottie! Because if he doesn't... well, I'm not afraid to!

END

(Congo Rainforest)

The cargo plane descended and landed in an open field located in the middle of the jungle. There were no locals nor was there any civilization of any kind nearby. The contestants were going to have to start this jaunt right in the heart of the rainforest.

Once the giant plane came to a halt, the bottom door opened up slowly. Once it touched the ground, Team RCS, now changed into their regular everyday clothing, were the first three teams to race off the plane and toward the jungle.

"So where were you anyway, bra?" Geoff asked Sabrina as The Surfers ran alongside The Cosplayers. "You missed one heck of a hot tub party."

"I know, I know," Sabrina replied. "I sort of... got caught up with something else."

"For the entire flight?" Calleigh questioned, sounding suspicious of her partner.

Sabrina bit her lower lip nervously as she ran alongside her partner. She didn't dare look her in the eye. "Oh! Look! The Don Box!" She quickly said, pointing toward the edge of the rainforest. "Come on! Let's hurry before the rest of the teams get off the plane!"

Calleigh raised a brow at her partner ignoring her accusation. But she decided that it wasn't important to pursue it any further at the moment. For now, it was best to focus on the race. But she would question her a little later about it.

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (Sabrina of The Cosplayers)

Sabrina – (Anxiously twirling her pigtail) So, Calleigh has really emphasized how important this race is and how badly she wants to win. If she knew I was bonding with one of the boys on the other team, she might not take too kindly to that. Especially since Aaron isn't a part of our alliance. (She takes a deep breath) I'm going to have to tell her eventually... but I'm going to have to wait for the right time. She tends to get a little dramatic and overreact whenever she hears something she doesn't like. Like the time we took second place in a Toronto Fan Expo Cosplay contest. We went as Panther and Queen from Persona 5... and lost to a girl cosplaying as Bowsette. [3]

END

The Cosplayers reached the Don Box first. Sabrina pressed the button and grabbed the clue that spat out.

"Let's see... It's a 'Botch or Watch'! In this challenge, whoever didn't eat the Wasabi Bomb back in Japan must plant twenty trees in an effort to... reduce the rate of deforestation... Huh. That's unusual."

"What's unusual about it?" Calleigh asked. "I've read about this before. There is a problem with deforestation here."

"Oh, I know," Sabrina replied as Geoff and Rock raced up and grabbed their travel tips. "It's cool and all, but... this challenge just feels a little out of place compared to all the other challenges we've done in this race so far."

"Who cares about that?! Let's just go! Look!" She pointed back toward the cargo plane. "There are other teams getting off the plane!"

Sabrina looked back at the plane. It was as Calleigh had said. The rest of the teams that were below were now making their way down the ramp and were racing toward the Don Box.

"Hur-ry!" Dwayne cried out, running to keep up with Junior.

"Come on Tyler!" Leshawna hollered as she ran ahead. Tyler huffed as he raced to keep up.

"Hustle!" MacArthur called out to Sanders, who picked up the pace when she heard her partner call to her.

"Oh, my brother! Testify!" Devon shouted as he and Marcus bolted out of the plane and power sprinted toward the Don Box.

Team RCS gasped when they saw these other teams coming at them. Without wasting another second, they raced over toward a set of trucks that were loaded with hundreds upon hundreds of young trees all ready for planting.

The three quickly grabbed a shovel and ran for the young trees, which were just a little smaller than the contestants themselves. They were by no means hard to handle, but because of their size, each contestant would only be able to handle one tree at a time.

"Yeah! Go, dude!" Brody cheered Geoff. "Plant those trees! Let's get some fresh oxygen back in the air!"

"You got this babe!" Sabrina cheered, not hearing Calleigh grumble after being called 'babe' once again.

Spud just pumped his fist in the air as Rock began to dig into the soil.

(Host Don)

As Rock, Geoff, and Calleigh began to dig into the soil, the screen slowly faded to shots of the Congo Rainforest. But unlike previous shots of the beauty the rainforest had to offer the viewers, these shots were anything but visually pleasing. Instead of beautiful trees and vibrant wildlife, the lands were barren with rotted logs, tree stumps, and dead limbs laying all over the ground. Any sight of floral life was gone and there wasn't any wildlife to be seen anywhere.

"Sadly, what you are all looking at are actual shots of the Congo Rainforest," came Don's voice over the images as sad music began to play in the background. "Since the 1990s, this rainforest along with other rainforests around the world have been in danger of being wiped out by mankind in their pursuit of resources. Unfortunately, the trees are being removed by loggers faster than they are being replaced."

The screen then slowly faded to Don standing in the foreground of the shot with some of the contestants digging in the background.

"To help these rainforests from being completely destroyed, we here at The Ridonculous Race have decided to do our part. At the end of this challenge, our teams will have planted a total of six hundred forty brand new trees here. But it doesn't stop with us. This... is a cause we must all get behind. You too can do your part to save the rainforests. Whether it's a little money, your skills, your services, your time, or even just a simple share on social media, spread the word. If we all get behind this cause, the beautiful wildlife, both animal and vegetation, can be preserved for generations to come."

Don finished his speech with a deep breath as he closed his eyes, allowing his words to sink in for the viewing audience as the music slowly came to an end.

Once the music stopped, his eyes shot open. "All right then! That's sure to get us the Emmy! Wouldn't you say, Chef?"

Chef, standing behind his camera, which was now on a tripod, pressed the 'stop' button on a boombox he was holding up. Next to him sat Ted, who had become quite emotional as tears poured from his now beady eyes.

'I would give you a 'Teddy',' he purred as he clapped his paws together.

Chef rolled his eyes as he set the boombox down. "You know, if most people want to be taken seriously when promoting environmental issues, they usually do it without trying to appeal to the academy for a cheesy award," he commented.

"Hey! We've got a platform," Don argued. "We're one of the most watched shows in recent years."

"And you just admitted to all the viewers that you only did it to win an award," Chef retorted.

"That's what the editing room is for," Don replied. He then cleared his throat as he prepared to speak again. "Anyways, for this part of the challenge, we have two very special guest judges with us today! Ladies?!"

Two young ladies that appeared to be in their early twenties stepped into the shot.

"Our first judge is professional blogger Katie Spaulding! [4] While judging, she has graciously agreed to post updates about our show to the viewing audience!"

The short, tanned, red-head adjusted her glasses as she brushed off her bag carrying her laptop and narrowed her eyes at the host. "I'll have you know, sir, that the only reason I agreed to do this is that I was in need of some money to pay my rent. Sadly, blogging doesn't bring in the revenue it once did as blogs are now like opinions: everybody has one and no one cares what you have to say sadly."

"Hey, look at it this way," Don said. "With all our viewers, you'll get more exposure, more clicks, and more advertising revenue."

Katie scoffed as she adjusted her blue overcoat and brushed some bugs off her black blouse. "I don't run ads. Unlike you, I refuse to sell out."

Don gasped. "Hey! I resent that!"

"Coming from a man who just admitted he's only bringing up an environmental issue to win some meaningless award," she coldly retorted.

The host folded his arms and narrowed his irritated eyes at the blogger. "You want the money for your rent or not?" he sternly asked.

Katie didn't say another word. But she kept her cold glance on the host. Don cleared his throat and adjusted his jacket before turning toward the other young lady that was slightly taller than Katie and had short, bright red hair and carrying a camera around her neck.

"And our second judge today will be taking photos of the contestants as they plant their trees, which will then be posted on the World Wildlife Foundation's website to continue to promote our stance against deforestation. Meet one of the world's greatest photographers Mahiru Koizumi! [5]

Mahiru smiled at the camera and waved. She then held up what appeared to be an older-fashioned camera to emphasize her role in this challenge.

"Hi everyone," she greeted the viewing audience. "I can't wait for you all to see my photos of the contestants!"

"Mahiru. I'm told you've already won numerous awards for your photography skills. I cannot wait to see what kinds of pictures you take of our contestants."

Mahiru smiled warmly at the host as she gently brushed her olive-green jumper outfit.

"Anyways, while these two young ladies chronicle the team's efforts to help save the rainforests, they'll also be keeping tabs on the teams and their progress for this challenge. Once they have given their approval to the teams that have properly planted twenty trees, they will hand them their next travel tip."

"Appearing on a reality show just to blog about silly people doing silly things all in the name of money... how low I have sunk," Katie grumbled.

"Aw, come on. Lighten up a little," the young Japanese photographer encouraged Katie. "It's still a good cause no matter how you look at it."

"A good cause... for selfish reasons," Katie remarked coldly. "Unless someone has something to gain, they don't care about such things. Once the spotlight is on them though, they pretend like the issue is the only thing that matters to them. And sadly, people are dumb enough to fall for it." She didn't wait for a response. Instead, she walked over toward the trucks with trees in the back. When she reached the trucks, she pulled out a small notebook and began to observe the contestants as they raced back and forth from the trucks to the fields and dug frantically into the earth. As she watched, she quietly took notes.

Mahiru rushed over toward the contestants in the fields and began to snap pictures of them.

(Don Box)

"All right! My turn to botch again!" Micah announced after he read the travel tip.

"Fine... just promise me this time you won't mess up on purpose just so you can get an extra workout in," Brandon begged.

"No need to," Micah replied. "I did some push-ups already on the plane ride over here. And besides, digging holes and carrying trees is another great way to build your upper body strength so I won't need to mess it up." Micah's face lit up as he realized what he had just said. "Hey now! Saving the planet and getting a workout in! Two birds with one stone!"

The Soccer Stars then raced over to the trucks. As Micah began carrying one of his trees out into the barren fields, he passed by another truck where Jamie nervously looked at the tree.

"Come on, honey," Jason encouraged her as he rubbed her shoulders. "It's just a few trees. They're already wrapped in cloth and everything. Not to mention they're only four feet tall. All you've got to do is carry it, dig the hole, put it in, and then cover the roots up with dirt. I know you can do this."

Jamie didn't say a word. She continued to stare at the tree silently with her hands trembling. She gulped as she finally found the courage to reach out and grab hold of the first tree just above the cloth wrapping the bottom. With a grunt, she lifted the tree off the back of the truck.

"Heh... yeah. Look at me," she nervously said. "So far so good. Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

But Jamie had spoken too soon. At that exact moment, the string tied to the cloth came undone. The cloth wrapped around the roots of her tree fell to the ground along with the dirt that was wrapped inside. It landed on the ground with a heavy THUD.

"Well, how 'bout that," the local scratched the back of his head. "That don't happen too often. Our boys usually do a better job wrapping them clothes around the tree's roots."

Jamie sighed as she looked at the pile of dirt that was once covering her tree's roots. "No... they did just fine," she sadly assured him.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Outdoor Survivalists – Jamie and Jason)

Jamie – Have you ever heard of a person with a green thumb? Well... I think I have the green thumb of death. Every time I've attempted to plant a garden or grow something, it almost dies immediately.

Jason – (rubbing the back of his head) It's true. Last year she attempted to plant a strawberry garden. But there was a dry spell so she had to order some water to water the garden. Unfortunately, the water she ordered had chemicals in it and it killed the seeds. And the year before that she tried planting sweet corn, but she planted the seeds too deep and nothing grew.

Jamie – Ever since then, Jason's done all the gardening. (She leans her head on his shoulder) Without this big guy, we wouldn't have any vegetables in our diet.

Jason – Awww... well, without you, we wouldn't have any meat. (He turns to the camera) I do the gardening and she does the hunting. You should see her with a bow and arrow. (A look of horror comes across his face) I hope that's not the next botch or watch

END

Jamie worked quickly to wrap the roots of her tree as Jason watched. It was all he could do. Watch Jamie botch. As well as the other contestants that had to botch, which were:

Leshawna – The Reality Rivals
Micah – The Soccer Stars
Josse – The Ice Dancers
Anna – The Tough Grannies
Emily – The Military Cadets
Crimson - The Goths
Timmy – The Farmers
Jen – The Fashion Bloggers
Elroy – The Superheroes
Donald – The Business Tycoons
Rachel – The SJWs
Jay – The adversity Twins
Marcus – The Bouncers
Max - Team EVIL
Emma - The Sisters
Junior - Father/Son
Noah - The Reality Pros
Tammy – The Larpers
Jamie – The Outdoor Survivalists
Ry-Ry – The Big Brother Participants
Mary – The Geniuses
Amy - The Twin Sisters
Miles - The Vegans
Carrie - The Best Friends
Sanders - The Police Cadets
Aaron - The Roommates
Stephanie - The Daters.
Taylor - Mother/Daughter
Gerry - The Tennis Rivals
Rock - The Rockers
Geoff - The Surfers
Calleigh - The Cosplayers

Jamie wasn't the only one having trouble with her trees though. Nearby, Mickey cheered on his brother Jay, who was struggling greatly just to move his tree. He had only taken a couple of steps before the weight of the tree became too much for him. The tree leaned back on Jay and he fell underneath its weight.

Ry-Ry grunted as lifted his tree and quickly set it down. Slowly, but surely, he moved his tree out into the open field.

"You're doing great, little buddy!" DJ cheered. It was all the giant could do. "Remember to use your legs!"

Gerry gritted his teeth as he used all his strength to carry his tree out into the field. Although he hadn't had as much trouble as others were, it still took a lot of energy to get the tree out there. When he found a spot, he dropped the tree and wiped the sweat from his forehead. But the hard work had only begun. Now he had to dig a hole deep enough to plant the tree.

Nearby, Emily grunted and huffed as she dug vigorously into the earth. Because of her time in the military, she was used to hard work so this wasn't that hard for her.

"Ugh! I can't believe it! I should have known better than to go first back in that fort! Sammy! Why didn't you tell me not to make the bed?! Then I wouldn't have to do this stupid challenge!"

Amy was covered in dirt and sweat. Unlike Emily, she wasn't used to working so hard. She could only dig a little dirt at a time. And, as usual, she was blaming her sister for her troubles.

"How was I supposed to know this was going to be one of the challenges?!" Sammy retorted. "It's not like I've got a schedule of what the challenges are going to be!"

"Well, find a way to get one next time!" Amy snapped as she thrust her shovel into the earth again. "That way I don't have to do all the dirty tasks!"

Emily mumbled under her breath as Amy continued to whine. It was becoming more unbearable by the day and she had more than her fill of it.

Elsewhere in the open field, Stephanie was aggressively digging her hole. Once deep enough, she grabbed hold of her tree and, with a mighty cry, and dropped its roots into the hole. She then grabbed her shovel and filled it in just as aggressively as she had dug it.

"Yeah! Take that tree!" Stephanie taunted the young, newly planted tree.

"Nice job, Stephanie!" Carrie complimented as she finished digging her hole.

"Thanks! Just make sure you keep up! If we're going to stick together for this challenge, you and The Roommates are going to have to move just as quickly as I do!"

"Um... okay then," Carrie replied, not sure how well she would be able to keep up with the more fit Stephanie.

"Speaking of The Roommates, do you know which one is doing this challenge?" Stephanie called over.

She got her answer when she heard a heavy grunting sound. Approaching the two was the shorter, scrawnier, and less fit roommate Aaron, His glasses were fogged up as sweat poured down his forehead and his face strained as he carried his tree. Finally, he dropped it right between the two trees that Carrie and Stephanie had planted.

"Whew!" he huffed as he pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket and cleaned the dirt and sweat off his face. "Well, that was certainly strenuous." He then noticed his two alliance members. "Keep up the good work, ladies. I'm right behind you." He quickly picked up his shovel. With a heavy grunt, he started digging. But breaking the dirt for Aaron was a lot harder than it was for either Carrie or Stephanie. Stephanie shot a concerned look at Carrie as Aaron struggled with the challenge.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Daters – Stephanie and Ryan)

Stephanie – I'll be honest. I was wrong about working with Devin and Carrie. They can pull their weight. But it feels like Aaron is someone we're going to have to carry in the long run of this race. It may be time to cut The Roommates from our alliance.

Ryan – You know... I see your point, Steph. But then again, they did wait for us back in Japan when they didn't have to. Maybe it's too early to think about cutting them?

Stephanie – (Scratching her chin) Hmm... you may be right. Besides, now that I think about it, maybe it wouldn't hurt us if we carried them a little further along. Maybe even to the final three.

Ryan – Wow, Steph. That's actually nice of you to want to show the same loyalty they've shown us.

Stephanie – Loyalty, nothing! When it's us against them in the finale, we'll blow them out of the water and win this whole thing!

Ryan - ..and that sounds more like the Stephanie I've come to know.

END

Some time had passed. While some teams had no trouble and were on the verge of completing this challenge, other teams were barely halfway done. And still some teams weren't even close to the halfway point. Throughout the challenge, Katie was taking notes and Mahiru was out in the field taking pictures of the contestants as they planted their trees.

"Smile!" Mahiru cheerfully asked Elroy as he finished planting his seventh tree. Despite having a little more trouble than other teams, he took the time to pose alongside his tree. Mahiru snapped the picture of the shorter, stout superhero.

"Superhero rule #758 – Take care of nature and nature will take care of you," Elroy recited through his smile.

"Bah!" A scoff caught Mahiru off guard. The red-headed photographer turned around and saw Max standing there with his back to her and his arms folded. "Don't even bother asking me to smile, feeble-minded photographer," he said. "For one as evil as I does not smile for the camera! Not unless I have finally achieved my dream of taking over the world!"

"Oh? Is that so?" Mahiru asked. "Then how do you explain this?"

She handed Max a photo she had taken earlier. Max peaked out of the corner of his eye to see what the photographer was showing him. As soon as he saw the picture, he gasped. For the picture he was looking at was one of himself. He was over by the trucks grabbing a tree. But what had Max amazed and shocked the most was the most amazing smile that was on his face in the picture.

"Inconceivable!" Max gasped, snatching the picture from Mahiru's hands. "When?! How?!"

"It's kind of my specialty," Mahiru admitted as she took the picture back. "I have this natural gift of capturing people's best smiles whenever I take a picture."

To emphasize her point, she showed him some more pictures she had taken throughout the challenge. The first photo was of Dwayne smiling proudly at his son Junior was planting a tree. The second picture was of Mary. The genius had one of the most beautiful smiles Max has ever seen as she carried her tree out into the field. The third picture was of Kitty, Emma, and Milo. The Sisters had beautiful smiles as they watched Milo happily sniffing at the tree Emma had just pulled off the back of the truck. The last picture was of Brandon, who was standing by one of the trucks smiling at the camera. His smile in the picture seemed even brighter than normal.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (Team EVIL – Max and Zachariah)

Max – (Holding his hands to his cheeks and he appears horrified) How can this be?! Evil should never look that happy unless evil has successfully taken over the world! This is indeed a most horrifying gift this woman possesses! (He turns to Zachariah) Minion! For the remainder of this challenge, I order you to keep an eye on this photographer! Such talents cannot be trusted and may ruin our evil image to the masses once we rule over them!

(Zachariah appears to be in a trance as a very unsettling smile has come across his face)

Zachariah - ...have you sent me a gift, mother? Is this one who shall be the mother to your army that will bring you back to this realm? Oh, mother... truly, I do not deserve such a blessing from you...

(Max raises an eyebrow at Zachariah, who still appears to be in a trance)

Max – Minion, I understand she is an attractive young lady. But if we are to take over the world, we must think with our heads. Not our hormones.

END

Back at the trucks, Sabrina, Brody, and Spud cheered as Calleigh, Geoff, and Rock each grabbed their eleventh tree and went back out into the fields. Nearby, judge and blogger Katie Spaulding, wrote in her notebook, reading aloud as she wrote.

"'And once more I am witness to people who are so desperate for fame that they shamelessly promote themselves as friends of the environment when in reality they probably wouldn't give the issue a thought for two seconds if the cameras weren't recording them. Truly, people do not care about anything other than themselves and will not lift a finger to help the world unless there is something in it for them. This is the sad state that our world is in right now and I'm afraid it will only get worse as things like social media and reality television become more and more-'"

"Wow... that's kind of a negative view toward life," Sabrina commented as she overheard Katie talk as she wrote.

The dark-skinned blogger adjusted her glasses before turning to the cosplayer. "My dear," she calmly spoke, "I believe you and I have a different perspective on it."

"How so?" Sabrina asked, somewhat irked by this blogger's negative attitude.

"Well," Katie explained. "what you call 'negative', I call the 'cold, hard truth'. And the reason you see the cold, hard truth as negative is, to quote a famous movie, 'you can't handle the cold, hard truth.'"

"Oh, really? And what makes your statement the 'cold, hard truth'?" Sabrina asked, making quotation marks with her fingers as she quoted Katie.

"The very fact that if you weren't competing in a race for ten million dollars right now, none of you would even be out here planting trees or pretending to care about deforestation."

"Pretending?!" Now Sabrina was getting offended. "I'll have you know that Calleigh and I care plenty about the forests! And we support charities that plant trees where they're needed the most."

"Is that so?" Katie questioned. "When was the last time you actually did something for the forest then if I may ask?"

"Two years ago!" Sabrina retorted. "Arbor day! Calleigh and I were invited to a local event for an Arbor Day festival. We donated our time to help the community plant some trees in a nearby lot that had just cut down some old, rotten trees!"

"And is that all you did?" Katie asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Sabrina demanded.

"As models wanting to be cosplayers, did you go of your own free will? And if you did, did you refrain from telling people about what kind of business you do in your free time? Did you make any attempts to sell your cosplaying merchandise to the people? Or promote any website you may have that sells merchandise to potential new fans?"

Sabrina opened her mouth to answer. However, as she reflected on Katie's question, she remained silent. A small look of guilt came over her face the more she thought about that day and the amount of merchandise she and Calleigh had sold afterward.

"I thought so," Katie replied. Sabrina's silence spoke volumes. "It's just as I said: there is no such thing as a truly selfless person. Everyone looks to gain something and take advantage of problems instead of wanting to solve them out of the goodness of their heart. Such charity does not exist."

"Hey! Not true, bra!" Brody protested. "I'll have you know that last year, after Geoff and I won The Ridonculous Race, I went to a fundraiser to raise money for a children's hospital! I donated three thousand dollars of my half of the prize money!"

"Really? And what compelled you to do such a thing?" Katie questioned the surfer.

"Because it's a good cause! Those kids need the best health they can get!"

"Hmm..." Katie didn't sound convinced.

"And the food was totally worth it, too," Brody continued as he reminisced on that day. "Dude, that was some of the best chicken I had ever eaten in my life! It was so good that I invited a bunch of my friends down there to eat some chicken dinners too! Aw, it was such a great time! We ate, and partied, and danced to the music well into the morning, and-"

"So you're saying that the only reason you went there was to get something to eat, which led to you seeing an opportunity to have a party with your friends."

"What?! No, bra. Totally not the case! I just... I mean... uh..." Brody's voice trailed off. He struggled to come up with a counter to Katie's claim.

"As I thought," Katie said, victoriously adjusting her glasses. "Had there not been any chicken, you wouldn't have given that children's hospital a second of thought. Only when you had something to gain from it did you even consider it. It's as I said: pure charity does not exist in this selfish world. And you two are living proof of that."

Katie brushed her dark red hair aside before turning her back to the two and walked over toward another one of the trucks to continue chronicling the events of the day.

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (Sabrina of The Cosplayers and Brody of The Surfers)

Sabrina – (Clenching her fists) Ugh! Who does she think she is?! Belittling our actions just to feel superior over us! That's not being honest! That's just downright nasty!

Brody – (Looking distraught) So, like, it wasn't giving money to charity? Did I just, like, pay the hospital to eat and party?

(Sabrina places a comforting hand on Brody's shoulder)

Sabrina – Don't listen to her, Brody. She can say what she wants about no such thing as 'pure charity'... Oh, I could just smack her... But the bottom line is you still gave this hospital three thousand dollars. That's what's most important!

END

Some more time passed. A few of the teams were getting closer to finishing the challenge. All the while, Mahiru took pictures of the contestants happily and Katie jotted down notes in her notebook.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (Tom and Jen – The Fashion Bloggers)

Jen – (Sporting a gardening hat, an apron, and blue work gloves) Hey, all you gardeners out there! Just because you have to work in the dirt, it doesn't mean you can't look good doing it! This gardening hat matches my blue sweatshirt and these gloves match my skirt.

Tom – The light blue apron was my idea! Not only does it protect the clothes she's currently wearing, but it also meshes well with them too.

Jen – Oh, totes. (She then massages her neck) Although, I can't say it helps to make the actual gardening aspect any easier on the muscles.

(The Vegans – Miles and Laurie)

Miles – If we win this race, we're going to start a charity that continues to plant trees for all these poor animals here in Africa that are losing their homes to deforestation every day. Then all those people that kicked us out of their group will see the error in their ways and let us back in! Won't that be nice Laurie?

(Laurie remains silent)

Miles – (Sighing) I miss you, Laurie.

(The Superheroes – Quinton and Elroy)

Quinton – As everyday heroes, it is our job not only to protect citizens. But to protect the environment as well! For without it, the human race cannot survive! And you too can help plant a tree! If you go to our online store right now, you'll see Quinton merchandise for gardening! Quinton gloves! Quinton boots! Even Quinton planting pots! Also, as a special promotion, use the code 'TREES' at checkout to receive a thirty percent discount on all other merchandise!

Elroy – Wait. Aren't we already running a promotion, sir?

Quinton – Of course, Elroy. But this is a master marketing strategy. The more promotions you have, the more likely we are to get traffic to our site. Just you wait! You'll see a sharp increase in traffic after this.

Elroy – Well, that won't be hard to do, sir. Especially since the last time I checked, traffic on our online store was non-existent.

Quinton ….. thank you for reminding me, Elroy.

END

While Micah worked on the challenge, Brandon sat in the shade of one of the trucks. He pulled out his portable DVD player and was catching up on the second season of Ponies Rule while waiting for his partner to finish.

'Huh... who'd have thought that this episode would be an allegory about the dangers of joining a cult' Brandon thought to himself as happy music came from the DVD player.

"Whew! I'd say we're making good time, eh partner?" Micah approached his partner carrying his shovel and wiping sweat off his forehead. "Two more to go and we're done here!"

Brandon looked up from his DVD player. Micah stood before him looking quite a mess. His clothes appeared wet and covered with dirt. His face was also covered in dirt as well. But despite this, his seven-foot partner still had a great smile on his face as he held his shovel.

"I've got to admit, Micah. You're rocking it!" Brandon complimented his partner.

"Thanks... though this heat's starting to get to me. I'm sweating like a polar bear in the desert. Look at my shirt! It's soaked!"

To emphasize his point, he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and twisted it, As he did, a good amount of sweat poured from it and went onto the ground.

"I know we're in a race, but you don't mind if I take a quick five-minute break, do you?" Micah asked. "Just to get a drink and change my shirt."

"Of course not," Brandon assured him. "I don't want you to get overheated after all. Besides, I wanted to ask you about this episode of Ponies Rule."

"Sure thing," Micah said. "Just let me get some water first."

Close by, Mary ran back to one of the trucks where Ellody stood.

"Phenomenal work, Mary!" she complimented her partner. "If you continue at this rate and this velocity, not only will you conserve enough energy to use throughout the remainder of the jaunt, but we'll still finish ahead of most of the other teams."

"Affirmative," Mary agreed. "With only five more trees to plant, we may not be the first team to finish, but we'll still be in the top ten. Maybe fifteen if certain variables come into play."

"Or even top five if other variables in our favor come into play," Ellody added. "And given our physical condition compared to the others and our pacing to help endure this heat and the workload, I hypothesize that our chances are... are..."

Ellody's voice suddenly trailed off. Her eyes went wide and her mouth remained open as she stared at the truck beside her. Her eyes had caught sight of Micah. She had seen Micah before and had even chatted with him and Brandon at the Chill Zone a couple of times. But something was different. Here, Micah stood next to Brandon. He had taken his shirt off as Brandon grabbed it from him and searched his bag for another one.

With Micah's shirt off, Ellody found herself staring deeply at Micah's perfectly formed chest. She could also see how well-toned his muscles were not that they weren't being covered up by his light-blue long-sleeved sports jersey. Her eyes then fell upon his perfectly toned six-pack abs.

"...buh... buh... buh..." was all she could mutter as she stared at Micah's perfect body.

"Ellody?" Mary noticed her partner's face turning beat red as she stared off into the distance. She waved a hand in front of Ellody's eyes, but her partner didn't react at all. She didn't even flinch.

"...oh... wow..." Ellody whispered as she gazed longingly at Micah.

Confused, Mary turned to see what Ellody was looking at. The breath almost completely left her body when she saw the shirtless Micah. Like Ellody, she could now see how amazingly toned his upper body was. Not only that, but Micah's chest seemed to glow as the sun reflected off the sweat that was covering his body.

"...buh... buh... buh..." was all Mary could mutter as she too stared at the vision of perfection before her.

"Excuse me," Kitty approached The Geniuses carrying Milo. "I hate to ask you two this, but I need to go to the bathroom real quick. I need someone to watch Milo here and Owen... hasn't been on his best lately to put it nicely. So I was wondering if one of you could keep an eye on Milo while... while..."

Kitty's jaw dropped as she watched Brandon hand a shirtless Micah a bottle of water. The Brazilian goalie thanked his striker partner and drank the cool contents of the bottle. After drinking half of it, he poured the rest over his head. The water traveled down what Kitty discovered was a body that seemed to be chiseled out of stone. Now wet, the sun reflected off his toned body, making it glow even brighter than it did before. Micah closed his eyes as he shook the extra water out of his dreadlocks.

"...buh... buh... buh..." was all Kitty could whisper.

"One side, girl scouts!" the abrasive McArthur hollered as she approached the awe-struck trio of girls. "We need a judge! Sanders is just about done with the challenge and we need one of those two to approve so we can... can..."

MacArthur froze. She completely forgot why she had approached them as she caught sight of a wet, shirtless Micah. Her eyes went wide as his glowing, toned body glowed before her. Micah, with his eyes closed, slowly stretched his body to work out any knots that might have been forming from the digging. MacArthur and the other girls could now see how perfectly toned his shoulder and neck muscles were. He stretched to the side, showing off the toned muscles underneath his shoulder blade on his sides.

"...buh... buh... buh..." MacArthur drooled.

Micah took another sip of water. He then noticed the four girls staring at him from the other truck. "Oh, hey there ladies," he said as he smiled and waved at them. "How's it going?"

"...buh... buh... buh..." all four chanted simultaneously as they stared longingly at Micah.

This confused Micah. "Uh... are you feeling all right?" he asked. "You know, it's pretty hot out here. It may not be a bad idea to-"

"...I'll say it's hot..." Mary slowly replied, not taking her eyes off Micah.

Again, Micah looked confused by Mary's comment. "Uh... anyway, it may not be a bad idea to sit in the shade and cool off for a minute or two. In fact, we've got some extra water if you want some."

Micah held out a bottle of water to the four girls. Again, the four kept their gaze on Micah.

"...That's his water... "Kitty finally whispered. "His lips have been on that bottle... I want that water..."

"Forget the water," Ellody quietly replied. "I want to have his babies..."

"Man... if that's his upper body... I can't wait to see what his glutes look like," MacArthur drooled.

"Here you go, Micah. A fresh jersey. But try not to get this one soaked because we don't have many clean ones right now."

Brandon tossed Micah the fresh jersey. Micah caught it, thanked his partner, and threw the jersey over his head. Seconds later, he pulled it down over his body covering it up once again. The moment it was covered, The Geniuses, Kitty, and MacArthur snapped out of their trances.

"What the- what happened?" MacArthur asked, looking at the other three girls. "What are we all doing here? How did I even get here?"

"I... I don't know," Kitty admitted. "...what was I doing over here again?"

"Well... this is quite puzzling," Ellody admitted as she adjusted her glasses. "I remember talking about probability and then... the world went white for a little while."

"Same here," Mary said.

Micah watched the four girls talk among themselves as they tried to figure out what just happened. Not sure himself, Micah smiled and shrugged.

"Well, best of luck to you ladies. Don't forget to drink some water." he picked up his shovel, grabbed another tree, and went back into the fields.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Geniuses – Mary and Ellody)

Mary – It would appear we suffered from a state of temporary amnesia. This is most perplexing because in order to cause such a thing, one's mental state of being must receive a sudden shock strong enough to equal the force of being struck in the head by a bolt of lightning. But what on earth could have done that to us?

Ellody – I don't know... and why do I have this sudden urge to become a mother?

END

In the field, Mahiru was checking and counting Timmy's trees.

"Perfect! You've got all twenty!" she congratulated him. She pulled out a travel tip and handed it to him. "You know I really shouldn't be surprised that you finished first. After all, you are a farmer that specializes in agriculture."

Timmy nodded as he accepted the travel tip, doing his best to hide his disdain for being stereotyped as a farmer once again.

"Say 'cheese!'" Mahiru instructed as she held up her camera.

Timmy, deciding to just be happy that he and Dale were once again in first place, smiled at the camera. His six baby chicks popped out of his hat and happily peeped just as Mahiru took the picture.

"Ooh! That's going to be a good one!" she exclaimed.

"Thank you ma'am," Timmy said as Dale joined his partner, sipping on his tea.

Mahiru wanted to stick around to listen to Timmy read the clue, but two shouting ladies called for her. |

"Count ours first!" Josse ordered, pointing at her line of twenty trees.

"Bah! No way she finished before I did!" Anna retorted. "Count mine first!"

Josse and Anna continued to argue and bicker, demanding that their trees be counted first.

Instead of trying to reason with the two, Mahiru went about her business. She counted both lines of trees at the same time, ignoring the ice dancer and tough granny as they bickered. In the end, both Josse and Anna had successfully planted their twenty trees. She handed each of them their next travel tip.

"Get ready to eat my dust, you has-been!" Josse taunted.

"Make room on your shelf for another silver medal!" Anna retorted.

"Dried prune!"

"Loser!"

"Smile!"

Mahiru held up her camera. The moment she instructed the two ladies to smile, Josse and Anna ceased their arguing, turned to the photographer, and gave their best smiles. Once the photo was snapped, the two resumed their bickering until Cindy approached Anna, threw her much smaller partner over her shoulder, and carried her away from Josse and Jacques, who had just joined her partner.

"Never mind ze..." Jacques leaned in and quietly whispered into Josse's ear. "...old woman. We-"

"DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU JUST WHISPERED TO HER, YOU KLUTZ!" Anna hollered, causing The Ice Dancers to flinch.

"Hey, judge! We're done over here!"

"Finished!"

"We need a judge!"

"Our task is finished! Please come verify our work!"

All around contestants were calling for a judge. Mahiru soon found herself overwhelmed. "Katie!" she called. "I'm going to need some help here! Can you take some of the contestants?!"

Katie didn't answer. The blogger continued writing on her notepad with seemingly disgusted as she read what she wrote out loud to herself.

"'And what other poor pitiful excuse is there for a human being to show off to the world how special they think they are then through the genre of reality television? A pure example of how the human race craves attention only for themselves and cares nothing for the others around them unless they see it as an opportunity to show how important they think they are to the rest of the world.'"

Mahiru huffed in frustration as she watched her fellow judge lean against one of the trucks and ignore the contest.

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (Mahiru – Special Guest Judge)

Mahiru – From my experience as a guest judge on this show, I can take away one thing for sure: Katie and I would not have worked as a team. Granted, this isn't my ideal environment to work in, but when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, you know? Katie, or Miss 'Cold Hard Truth' over there, is just being miserable. (She pauses as she suddenly looks worried) Wait... am I allowed to make a confessional?

(Ted the tiger suddenly appears next to Mahiru and excitedly licks her cheek)

Ted – (Purring) Ted does it all the time. In fact, these confessionals could be an excellent opportunity for Ted to host his own mini show throughout the race! Ted Talks! ….wait, does that already exist?

(A shocked Mahiru is staring down at Ted as he growls happily at the camera)

Mahiru – And now there's a tiger here... why is there a tiger here? Anyone?

END

Eventually, Katie decided it was time to carry out her duties as a judge (Mainly because Don had reminded her that her paycheck had depended on it). She agreed to head over toward the right side of the field where two of the four teams that called for a judge were while Mahiru went over to the left to check the other two teams. The two contestants that had called from that side of the field were Sanders of The Police Cadets and Leshawna of The Reality Rivals.

"Over here!" Sanders waved to the blogger. "I called before she did! Count my trees first!"

"Oh, like heck you called first!" Leshawna snapped. "I called it first!"

"Oh, for the love of Pete, calm down the both of you!" Katie ordered. "Your lines of trees are right next to one another. I can count them both at the same time!"

"Forget that noise" MacArthur hollered from the sidelines. "I want to finish in first place this time! Do ours first!"

"Yeah?! Well, you're not the only one!" Tyler aggressively retorted.

"I know that," MacArthur assured the jock. "But unlike you and your loud partner, we actually have a chance of winning this race."

"Hey!" the offended jock exclaimed. "We've got just as much a chance at winning this as you do!"

"Dream on, jock! Sanders and I are the ultimate team! We took second last year! And on top of that, there's no way you can compete with these glutes!"

To emphasize her point, she turned her back to Tyler and showed off the back of her leg muscles proudly.

"Oh yeah?! You think your glutes are so great?! Well, check out these guns!"

Tyler flexed both of his biceps at the cadet. MacArthur faced Tyler once again and narrowed her eyes at the jock. She didn't say anything as he stood there flexing. Instead, she growled as she flexed her own biceps in return. But the jock wasn't about to be showed up. He squeezed his bicep muscles even harder, growling back at MacArthur.

Sanders and Leshawna turned their attention toward their partners taunting one another on the sidelines. Then they turned back to each other. Leshawna then placed a hand on her hip and gave Sanders an annoyed look.

"Did that pony-tailed, thundering, white girl just say I was loud?!" she angrily asked Sanders.

Sanders rubbed her shoulder as she glanced back over at MacArthur. "...yeah, I'm not gonna lie. That's the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it."

"You can say that again," Leshawna agreed, who had also turned toward Tyler and MacArthur trying to out-flex each other. Suddenly, Leshawna's eyes went wide. She snapped her attention back at Sanders.

"Wait! So when you said the pot called the kettle black... did you just say I'm as loud as that screeching banshee over there?!" she demanded.

"Oh, not at all," Sanders calmly replied. "But I did get a phone call from the other side of the world. They filed a noise complaint and would like to ask you to quiet down. They're trying to get some sleep."

"Oh! You think you're funny, do you?!" Leshawna rolled up her sleeves and marched over toward Sanders. "Well let's just see how funny you are with your eyes rolling around the back of your head!"

"Oh, my eyes have done plenty of rolling around recently. Mostly from listening to your partner try and convince us that he's a threat in this competition!"

"Oh! Oh, no you didn't! You did not just diss my partner!"

"What if I did? What are you gonna do about it, huh?"

Leshawna and Sanders were now face to face glaring threateningly at one another. Fists clenched, neither one was willing to back down from the other. On the sidelines, Tyler and MacArthur's faces had turned a bright shade of red as they continued to hold their poses. Sweat pouring down their foreheads and teeth gritted, neither one refused to give in to the other.

Just then...

"Oh, for cryin' out loud! Will the four of you get over yourselves already?!"

The icy sound of Katie's voice caught The Police Cadets and The Reality Rivals off guard. They broke their glares at one another and were not focused on Katie, who was holing a travel tip in each of her hands and presenting them to both Leshawna and Sanders.

"You both finished the task. No one cares about you guys trying to prove which team is the alpha and which is the beta. They just want to see how you'll humiliate yourselves next... not that there's much else you can do to top this moment aside from doing so in the nude. So kindly take your travel tips and move on!"

Leshawna and Sanders, intimidated by Katie's icy glare, slowly reached out and took their travel tips from the cold guest judge. Tyler and MacArthur sheepishly rejoined their partners as they looked at their travel tips.

"What does it say?" Tyler asked.

Leshawna held up her clue and read it aloud. "Teams must travel by airboat down the Congo River. They must continue to travel until they find the shore with the Don Box on it. There they will receive their next travel tip."

"Beware," Sanders read, "The Congo River is filled with crocodiles and it is currently the migration season, where the crocodiles in the rivers are the most active. Teams are advised not to fall off their boats."

"Tch. Crocodiles, Schmocodiles!" MacArthur scoffed as she confidently posed with her hands on her hips. "The only reason those reptilian beasts are the most feared creatures of the African waters is cause I don't do my swimming exercises here."

"Um... yeah, that's it," Sanders rolled her eyes. "Just... let's not have today be the day you try and prove your dominance over them."

"I promise nothing," MacArthur replied. "Let's hustle!"

The Police Cadets ran off with the Reality Rivals right behind them. Katie watched as they sprinted off, appalled by their behavior.

FIELD CONFESSIONAL – (Katie The Blogging Guest Judge)

Katie – Reality shows have a tendency to show off just how big someone's ego can be. That ego more times than not leads to a team's downfall as they humiliate themselves for millions of people around the world to witness, forever being cemented as fools while the world laughs at them afterward. Sadly these people don't realize that the only reason they turn to reality television is that they desperately seek out someone to poke fun at to hide the fact that they themselves lead sad, pitiful, uneventful, and unfulfilled lives. It truly is sad how desperate people are to avoid confronting the sad truths about their own sad existences... and I find it even sadder that I have to come onto a reality show to get my point across since more people watch this than they do read.

(Ted pops up next to Katie carrying a platter of cheesecake)

Ted – Aw, come on now, Miss grumpy human! Let's turn that frown upside down! Here! Have some cake! It's made with cream cheese... yum.

(Katie glances down at Ted as he holds the cheesecake up to her)

Katie – (sighs) Yet another attempt to distract people from the truth that they cannot handle. Pitiful, really. (She exits the shot, leaving behind a bewildered Ted)

Ted – She didn't want any cheesecake?! Wow... Ted doesn't want to know a person that turns down cheesecake... oh, well! More for Ted! (Ted happily takes a huge bite out of the cheesecake he is holding)

END

(Congo River)

On the shore of the Congo River near where the contestants were planting their trees sat thirty-two different air-boats. The Farmers had just climbed onto one of them and were now taking off down the river. Timmy had volunteered to drive and was sitting up top next to the motor and the steering wheel. Dale reserved his spot below and sipped his tea as Timmy drove.

The Ice Dancers and The Tough Grannies had just fastened their seat belts. Josse had decided she would be driving for her team and Cindy would be driving for her and Anna.

"Prepare to eat our dust, Grannies!" Josse taunted as she revved up her motor.

"Ha! There is no dust on the river you idiots!" Anna retorted.

"Never mind that, dearie!" Cindy hollered to her partner while starting the motor. "Just buckle up! This is gonna be a rough ride!"

"I don't care!" Anna called up. "Just make sure we don't finish behind those two foo-foo dancers!"

"Foo-Foo?! Oh, I'll show you foo-foo!" Josse growled.

"Uh... Josse?!" Jacques nervously shouted over the roaring fan that was now revving up. "Remember what ze clue said. Ze crocodiles are out in large numbers right now, so please make sure zat you don't go too fast or else ze boat may-"

Josse didn't wait to let her partner finish. She pushed the gas handle ahead as far as it would go. Within seconds, their airboat went shooting down the Congo River with a terrified Jacques screaming in terror as he held on tightly.

"YEE HAW! HERE WE GO!" Cindy hollered over her fan. Like Josse, she pushed her gas handle as far forward as it would go and their airboat shot off after the Ice Dancers. Unlike Jacques, Anna cheered as they shot down the river.

The Police Cadets, The Reality Rivals, The Geniuses, and The Soccer Stars were the next four teams to arrive at the bank of the river. While the other three teams scrambled aboard their airboats, Micah and Brandon stood on the shore for a couple of minutes. Micah's eyes were sparkling and a great smile was n his face as he admired the boats. Brandon, on the other hand, looked absolutely terrified.

"Okay, Micah," he chuckled as he turned toward his beaming partner. "I think since you planted the trees, it's only fair that you let me drive the airboats. That way you can rest up a little. What do you say?"

"Are you kidding?!" Micah excitedly retorted. "And miss this chance of a lifetime! I've always wanted to drive an airboat! Aw, man! Can you imagine what it's going to sound like listening to the fan whirring around as we travel down the river?! Or the engine roaring like a lion out here in the jungle?! That's something I've got to try out! I'm driving!"

Brandon gulped at the thought of letting Micah drive again. He had to think of something quickly to discourage Micah from controlling the boat. The sound of the other three teams starting the engines on their boats snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Come on, little buddy!" Micah cheered as he grabbed Brandon by the arm and dragged him over to the airboats. "The other teams are pulling ahead! We've got to get going!"

"Well... yeah, but..." Brandon stuttered. But it was no use. Micah was determined to drive that airboat.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Soccer Stars – Micah and Brandon)

Brandon – After Micah admitted to me that he didn't have a driving license, I've vowed to never let him drive another car again for the rest of this race... and my life for that matter.

Micah – Ah, but we're not going to be in a car this time! We're riding a boat! And you don't have to worry. I'm actually pretty good with boats.

Brandon – Really? You're sure you're capable of handling a boat?

Micah – Of course! Back home my dad lets me ride in my very own boat every summer when we go vacationing at the lake.

Brandon – (He seems a little calmer now) Oh... well, okay then. As long as you've got experience in a boat I guess it's all right.

END

The Geniuses, The Reality Rivals, and The Police Cadets were traveling down the Congo River at a good pace. Mary drove for her team. MacArthur and Tyler drove for theirs.

"Try not to fall behind, jock boy!" MacArthur taunted as she steered her boat.

"Funny! I was going to suggest the same thing to you!" Tyler called back.

"Keep it at this pace, Mary," Ellody called up to her partner as she sat in her seat. "Not only will we maintain a healthy lead over the other teams, but we should be able to spot the Don Box quite easily as long as-"

She was interrupted as something loud and fast shot past them as well as the Police Cadets and The Reality Rivals. Water splashed all over the three teams and the waves that soon followed caused their boats to violently rock back and forth, causing all three teams to hang on tightly.

"Woah! What the heck was that?!" MacArthur bellowed out, hanging on for dear life.

Once the waters calmed down and her boat regained its balance, MacArthur could see down the river a little way. It was an airboat that was moving at speeds that were much too dangerous for any boat to travel. Especially down a river as deadly as The Congo.

In that air-boat, she could make out a familiar Brazilian soccer player happily cheering as he rocketed down the river while his partner held onto his seat for dear life, screaming in horror as his feet were pulled into the air from the high speeds they were traveling.

WORLD MAP CONFESSIONAL – (The Soccer Stars – Micah and Brandon)

(Brandon's hair is frizzled and he is sitting in shock across his face)

Micah – (Nervously chuckling) Did I forget to mention that the boat my dad let me drive was a canoe? And by drive, I mean paddle?

Brandon – (Quietly) Yes. Yes, you did.

END

"Woah!"

MacArthur cried out. "Those two are going way too fast! That's got to be violating some sort of speed laws here in the jungle!" Then, she squinted her eyes as a determined look came across her face. "Buckle down, Sanders. We're in pursuit!"

MacArthur placed a siren on the top of her boat. The siren blared throughout the jungle as she turned it on and shot off after The Soccer Stars.

Mary and Ellody recovered soon after. Not wanting to fall behind any further, Mary pushed her gas handle ahead and their airboat took off after The Police Cadets.

Leshawna coughed and sputtered as she wiped water off her face. "Oh, that's how you're going to play, huh?! Well, all right then! Come on Tyler! Let's go after them!"

She waited for the boat to move ahead. But it didn't. It remained motionless.

"Tyler! Come on! Let's go, I said!"

Still, the boat didn't move. Nor was there any response from Tyler.

"Ugh. What are you waiting for?!" Leshawna scoffed. "If we don't get going, we're gonna-"

Leshawna glanced up at the driver's seat. To her shock, where Tyler should have been sitting was an empty seat.

"Tyler?!" Leshawna glanced around the boat. Her partner was nowhere to be seen.

"Tyler?! Where are you?!"

No answer. Leshawna looked over the side of the boat. She then shot over to the other side. Nothing. She quickly climbed up to the driver's seat so she could get a better view of the water around her. She studied the river carefully, looking for any sign of her partner. Her eyes did catch sight of something bright red in the water. A bright red headband to be exact. But her partner was nowhere to be seen.

"TYLER!"

A/N – Uh oh! It looks like Tyler fell overboard into the crocodile-infested waters of the Congo River. Will he make it out all right? Tune in next time to find out as The Ultimate Ridonculous Race is... To Be Continued!

FOOTNOTES

[1] Rachel's ramblings of why the term 'dude' is offensive is, sadly, not something that I made up. These ramblings are based on real statements made by Social Justice Warriors... and they wonder why no one takes them seriously.

[2] I make zero apologies about what I made the contestants say about 'Big Brother'. This is one of the biggest wastes of time the human race has ever conceived. No skill required. No talent required. No integrity. No intelligence. No endurance. No strength. Just act like a high school drama queen and you're good to go. Stupid. Just... stupid.

[3] Bowsette is a fan-made character that is initially a gender-bent human version of Bowser from the Mario franchise. For some reason or another, this fan-made character has become extremely popular amongst cosplayers in recent years. To the point people cosplaying as Bowsette keep winning contests. Like Sabrina and Calleigh, I don't get it.

[4] Katie Spaulding is one of my OC's that I have that, unfortunately, didn't make the cut as a cast member in this story. The main reason being she is also a blogger and we've already got Tom and Jen. However, I wanted to give my coldest OC a chance to shine for a bit and found the perfect excuse to use her.

[5] Mahiru is indeed the Ultimate Photographer from the Danganronpa franchise. She is one of my favorite characters from the games and I thought she would be a good partner for Katie.