The episode resumed on the area just before the third part of the challenge, where Amy and Maskwak's pink pig were lying in a tangled mess and groaning in pain. "Auugh," the cheerleader moaned, holding her head as her eyes spun. She looked at what had hit her and huffed angrily. "This is seriously ruining bacon for me, you know that?" she told it. The boar only grunted in response.

"Borrowing this!" Shawn said, suddenly running onto the scene and grabbing the pig's leash. The pig, though grouchy, took off with him.

Max, meanwhile, had managed to free himself from his piggy prison, and was dragging it in the same direction. "Time for me to demonstrate just how truly valuable I am to this team!" he proclaimed to himself. He then pointed to the pig and added, "And you are going to help me, my fine, swine friend!" The pig could only grunt in confusion at that.

At the tubes, Shawn wasted no time in ducking into one, though the pig hesitated right at the entrance. "We got no time for this, man!" Shawn yelled, his voice echoing, and the leash (and the pig itself) was forcefully tugged into it. Rough banging and yelling erupted from the tubes, and movement and dents along its numerous parts indicated where Shawn was going.

Shortly after he entered, Max arrived on the scene, stopping just outside to examine what was before him. "Hmm… I see, I see. This is simple!" He smacked a fist into his palm with a laugh. "It's as if they weren't even trying to design this maze properly!"

He entered, pulling his pig along with him, and took a route separate from Shawn. However, Shawn and his pig ended up taking a path that connected with Max's, and right at that intersection did the two meet. By crashing into each other.

"Ow!" came Shawn's voice from within the tubes. "Watch where you're going!"

"How about you watch where you're going?!" Max countered.

"I can't! It's as dark as night in here!"

"Then maybe you should have thought of that before you came in!"

"That… That doesn't make any sense!"

"To you, maybe! Now, we're leaving! Come along, Max Jr."

"You named your pig- …Actually, you know what, never mind. We're leaving too."

What followed were a series of pained cries and squeals coming from two teens and two boars stuck in a network of pipes that weren't made for them to go through, desperately trying to be the one to exit first. Between the 'oof's and 'ow's that gave Chris' naming scheme credit, the boys managed to make their way through the remainder of the obstacle and back out into broad daylight. They were coated head to toe in grease, though neither really seemed to mind. Just outside the exit stood Topher and Leonard, the former smiling confidently at his emerging teammate, and the latter still glaring irately at the former.

"Looks like we're all tied up," Topher observed, approaching Max. "Way to bring us back in the game, my guy."

For a split second Max broke out into the widest grin. But then it instantly vanished, and he looked away from Topher and flicked his hair in what he believed was how 'cool' people acted. "Of course. It was all part of my strategy."

-MAX-

"I knew Shawn would get lost, obviously," Max says, smug pride leaking from his entire being. "His sleep deprivation severely hinders his cognitive functioning. It was only a matter of time before I caught up to him. Now that my part is done, we won't have any problems overtaking the competition and winning once more!"

-END-

"Now, it's your turn, pretty boy," Max continued, holding the leash out for Topher. "Give us the lead!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Despite the leash dripping with grease, Topher took it without hesitation, though he made sure to keep it a safe distance from his body. "Come with me, you little stink bug," he said to the pig, pulling it along. Oddly, the pig didn't seem to resist, and almost seemed to be smiling at being led by Topher. "Let me show you what all those years of poise classes taught me!"

"Uh, Stink Bug isn't his name, his name is," Max started, though Topher proceeded to ignore him. "…Max Jr."

"Yeah, that name really isn't gonna stick, bud," Shawn told him, a rather baffled look on his face.

-SHAWN-

"I really don't get Max's whole thing," Shawn says. "You talk to him and he insults you, but the next time you see him he's either quiet and withdrawn, or grinning like a child. And all of it is kind of… off-putting. Almost like he can't stick to the script he gave himself. It's unnerving, and that's from the guy who's seen the insides of a rotting zombie brain. Uh, on TV of course."

-END-

Shawn walked up to Leonard and held the leash out to him. "Here, take it and go. We can't fall behind!"

"Leave it to me!" Leonard rushed off with the pig in tow, though this one was decidedly less than happy to be with him.

"The trick," Topher explained, mostly to the camera, "is to know exactly where you're planting your feet three steps ahead of when you do it. That way, you have plenty of time to strut your stuff and look your best for the audience." Each step made was quick and precise, and Topher made sure to place his feet on the rims of the tires rather than on the insides, effectively avoiding any and all grease that might have ruined his shoes. Astoundingly, the pig seemed to be following his advice, and was avoiding the holes like its leader.

Leonard, on the other hand, had no misgivings about getting his pants dirty, and made great leaps between the tires without any concern. Seeing that Topher was not moving as fast as he was, the Dungeon Master grinned mischievously.

-LEONARD-

"Topher thinks he's so clever," Leonard bemoans to the camera. "Just because he has more dexterity than he's letting on, he thinks he's untouchable. I know his type! I've played those characters before! I've just gotta find some way to take him down a few pegs!"

-END-

As Topher continued his jaunt down the 'walkway', Leonard suddenly came up from behind him and lightly shoved him aside. Letting out a surprised yelp, Topher's foot got caught in one of the tires, and his arms pinwheeled to try and keep himself upright. It wasn't enough however, and he ended up tumbling backwards and landing in another tire with a greasy splash.

"Ow!" he cried out as he landed, but any and all thoughts of pain left his mind immediately. "Agh, my clothes! Hey, what's the big idea?!"

He glared angrily at Leonard, who grinned widely as he took the lead. "Did your poise classes teach you how to deal with getting pushed?!"

-TOPHER-

Glaring fiercely at the camera, Topher mutters, "No. No they did not."

-END-

Topher attempted to rise, but found that he was stuck in the tire and not moving any time soon. "Are you joking right now?!" He looked to his pig, who was sitting nearby. "Mind helping me out here?" he asked it, to which it oinked affirmatively.

Leonard crossed the tires easily enough, tripping only a handful of times but managing to stay upright for all of it. "Listen, I'm just as surprised as you are that I'm managing this," he told his pig, who still didn't look all that thrilled to be there. "But hey, at least this is kind of eas-" Realizing his error, Leonard slapped a hand over his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Chris' voice said over the speaker. "What was that, Leonard? Didn't quite hear you."

"Uhhh," Leonard stammered, "Must've been your imagination! I didn't say anything! No sir!"

"Riiight…" Chris said, and went radio silent.

Leonard wiped his brow in relief. "Phew! Close one."

The end of the obstacle was upon him, and Leonard stepped away from the tires with a hop. "Annnd touchdown!" he declared, arms raised in victory.

Beardo, standing nearby, grinned and mimicked the sound of a high-pitched whistle in response. "Goooooal!" he cried, and followed up with the noise of a crowd cheering.

The two teammates high-fived, and Leonard handed the leash off to Beardo. "Baton pass! Literally! Go go go!"

The sound board mimicked noises one might hear in a video game when their characters' strength increased. "Alright, I'm powered up! Let's do this!" he cried, and continued on. Not looking to stick around, Leonard took off for the end of the obstacle course, leaving Rodney just off to the side and staring at the two of them in confusion.

Luckily for him, he didn't stand there on his own for too long, as Topher arrived on the scene with his boar. Rodney had to stifle a laugh upon seeing the gossipmonger - while the pig managed to get him standing up, he was unable to free himself of the tire, and now it was trapped on his rear as he awkwardly walked up to the country boy. His pants and shoes were coated in grease, and a look of complete disgust was plastered on his face. "Not. A word," Topher punctuated for emphasis.

Rodney snorted as he took the leash. "Didn't say a thing," he replied, and took off.

Topher groaned and looked at the camera. "Is there any way we can edit this part out of the episode?"

"Not anymore we can't!" Chris happily announced to him.

Topher rolled his eyes in annoyance and walked out of shot. "Great. Should've seen that coming."

The next obstacle to overcome was the large mound of rocks jutting up from the ground. They all had flat tops for standing on, but were also covered from top to bottom in grease, making traversal dangerous. Beardo approached from the bottom of it, gulped audibly, and looked down at his pig. "Any chance you can climb?" The pig grunted in response and sat down miserably. "Thought so. Welp, guess we're doin' this the hard way."

-BEARDO-

"Messiness doesn't scare me," Beardo says to the camera with a smile. "You can always just wash away whatever you don't want on you. And if it stains your clothes… well, it was probably meant to be, y'know?"

-END-

With a deep breath, Beardo steeled himself. "Sorry 'bout this," he said, and ducked down towards the pig. While whatever he was doing wasn't caught by the camera, distressed squeals were heard, and then a moment later Beardo rose again, now with the wild hog tucked comfortably into his hair. "There we go!" he said, and started climbing up the rocks. He was incredibly unbalanced with the extra weight, and unfortunately the first step he took resulted in him slipping and crashing hard on his back. "Owww… Yep, this is definitely the hard way…"

Rodney led Kinosewak's pig to the rocks, though it was struggling to get away from the farmer all the while. "Aw, c'mon, I'm not gonna hurt you, little guy," he said as soothingly as he could, kneeling down to pet it on the head. "I know this is scary for you, but this'll all be over soon. You can trust me!" The pig seemed unconvinced, and turned away from Rodney bitterly. The farm boy's smile fell at that, and he sighed heavily. "Then I guess I have no choice. We have to win this, and I'm not about to let our team down!"

"Uh, you will if you keep talking to the pig!" Topher yelled at him from off-screen.

"Oh, right." He then lifted the pig off the ground with very minimal effort, even as the pig screamed and kicked its legs to get free. "This hurts me more than it hurts you, I swear!" He scrambled for the first rock and hopped on, but his legs quickly began slipping out from underneath him. He stayed standing longer than Beardo had, long enough to make it to the next rock ahead of him, but in the process he crashed into it and in the heat of the moment, the pig managed to slither free of his grasp. "Oh no-" he tried to say, only for the boar to kick him in the face before running off ahead.

-RODNEY-

"I've been kicked by the animals back on the farm plenty of times," Rodney says. A very visible black circle surrounds his eye. "But this one?" He grips his heart in misery. "This one hurt."

-END-

Kinosewak's pig ascended to the top of the rock formations, almost slipping off the top but managing to keep its footing. It looked around in a panic, unsure of what to do and where to go. It had suffered enough, darn it, it wasn't going to stick around any longer. But then, it caught a whiff of something - something good. It followed its nose downwards, to the other side of the rocks, and saw in the hands of one of the humans a large amount of nuts. Squealing in delight, the pig leaped off the rock and hurtled itself towards the human.

Just as it did, Rodney jumped up and attempted to land on it to grab it. "Gotcha!" He missed just by a hair, and proceeded to not only crash chin-first into the rock, but also keep his momentum going thanks to the grease, and he slipped off the other side and back downwards. "Whoa- Ow! Ouch! Agh!"

After bouncing off every rock on the way down, he landed in a crumpled heap on the dirt ground. As he whimpered softly, Chris and Chef Hatchet proceeded to laugh at his expense on the TV over sandwiches and lemonade.

"I was worried we didn't make this challenge dangerous enough," Chris said to his partner. "But now I know that I was worrying for no reason!"

The pig didn't register Rodney's fall, despite the country boy landing right behind it - instead it was inhaling any and all the nuts laid out in a line before it, one at a time. Scarlett smirked as she led the hog to one of the wheelbarrows and, once there, dumped the rest of them in it. The pig wasted no time in leaping in after them.

"How did you do that?" Sky asked curiously, approaching Scarlett. "And when did you have time to go foraging?"

"Sus scrofa, AKA the wild boar, is well-known to enjoy eating pecans," Scarlett explained. "I had always assumed it was because they know about pecans delaying the progression of age-related motor neuron degeneration, but in hindsight that seems far fetched." She punctuated this with a small laugh, but frowned once she saw Sky staring at her with wide eyes. "Um… I also just retrieved them, while your focus was solely on the challenge."

"Oh," was Sky's response. "I see. Kinda wish I thought of that…"

"I highly doubt you would have known," Scarlett said, and didn't seem to notice Sky's peeved look. "Regardless, I thank you for and appreciate your assistance in my personal conundrum from earlier." She hefted up the wheelbarrow. "But as we both know, we are still opponents in this game. So I must say farewell for now to maintain our lead."

Scarlett moseyed along after that, uncaring for the grease splashing onto her legs and skirt. Sky huffed, and looked backwards to the previous obstacle. "You won't be in the lead for long…"

Beardo finally made it to the top and paused to catch his breath. "Who knew… rock climbing… could be so dangerous?!" he asked between gasps. The pig was still in his hair and still looked agitated, but it also remained firmly in place. "Going up was a challenge… And so will going down!" He looked at the surfaces below him, slick with grease, and also at Rodney, who was slowly and painfully pushing himself up. Beardo gulped in fear, but he still shimmied to the ledge to try and ease his way down.

Of course these sorts of things never go as planned, and Beardo slipped and tumbled over the edge, not dissimilar to how Rodney went down.

In fact, the beat boxer landed directly on top of the country boy, knocking him down once more and evoking cries of pain from both them and Maskwak's pig.

"Aughh…" both boys and boar groaned from the pile.

"Sorry 'bout that, man," Beardo said to Rodney.

"It's… fine," Rodney mumbled back. "I'm used to this sort of thing."

Sky watched the tumble and winced, but wasted no longer than a second doing so. Spying some leftover pecans on the ground, she scooped them into her hands and held them up. "Here, piggy! Want some delicious pecans?"

The reaction was instant - the pig, now all smiles, burst out of Beardo's hair and ran towards Sky. The athlete copied Scarlett's idea and tossed the pecans in the wheelbarrow, and just like before the pig hopped in.

Sky then eyed the grease track, and at how far Scarlett had managed to get in her lead. "Looks like Kinosewak's gotten quite a ways ahead of Maskwak!" Chris announced over the speakers. "It's gonna take some quick thinking to make a comeback!"

Groaning, Sky desperately tried to come up with an idea, a strategy to get back into first. And then, it came to her, and she looked back towards Beardo.

-SKY-

"I have a plan," she tells the camera seriously. "It might be weird, but I'm positive it'll work. I just need to get into the right headspace for it!"

-END-

"Beardo!" Sky shouted at him, spurring him to shake off the pain and look up. "I need your help with something!"

Untangling himself from Rodney, Beardo quickly hobbled over to his shorter teammate. "What'cha need, Boss?" he asked, eager to help.

With a look of pure determination, Sky declared, "I need a gunshot!"

Beardo immediately reeled back in shock. "Excuse me?! I'm not shooting anyone!"

"No no no! I need the sound of a gunshot, not a real one!"

The beat boxer quickly relaxed. "Oh, I see- Wait, hold up, how do you know about that?"

"Dave told me earlier," Sky explained as she took the wheelbarrow and centered it on the track. "If you're as good at sound effects as he said you were, I could really use one right about now!"

Beardo looked at her in confusion, then at the grease track, and then back to her. Once he noted her posture was like that of a track runner ready to start, he finally got the idea. "Oh! I get you now!" He cleared his throat and raised a finger pistol into the air. In a voice that sounded much higher pitched than his own, Beardo announced, "Racers, on your marks…"

Sky grinned widely and readied herself further.

"Get set…"

Chris and Chef, still watching on the screen, looked at the two of them in interest.

"BANG!"

The sound produced from Beardo's mouth was incredibly realistic, and also incredibly loud. The local fauna - birds in trees, rabbits hiding in the shrubs, and so on - hastily left the area out of pure fright. Likewise, many of the other contestants - several of the starters, including Ella, Sammy, Amy, and Dave (whose clothes were noticeably damp and grease-free), all of whom were walking towards the end, along with the collapsed Rodney, and Scarlett a ways ahead - stopped what they were doing and screamed at the sound. In fact, Scarlett, so distracted from the noise, ended up slipping on the grease and face planting into it.

Of course, this said nothing about Sky's reaction. The second Beardo made the shot, she took off at almost incredible speeds, the dirt and grease kicked up by her feet instantly smacking Beardo right in the face. The athlete certainly lived up to her title, with her moving legs looking like nothing more than a blur of black against the colors of the forest surrounding her. And while the addition of a wheelbarrow, a terrified pig, and a slippery surface were not standard track and field regulations, Sky appeared as if she were used to all of these hindrances and pushed on as if nothing was holding her back.

"Wow!" Chris called out over the speakers. "Sky takes off quicker than the speed of sound! Very fitting for an aspiring Olympian! How will Kinosewak respond to this?!"

Within only a few moments, she had caught up to Scarlett, who was only beginning to regain her footing, and overtook her to her complete surprise.

"Are you kidding me?!" the brainiac shouted. "How on Earth am I expected to beat that?!" Regardless, she wasted no time in pushing the wheelbarrow forward, the pig within it having thankfully stayed put.

Sky lost her footing only once in her sprint, but she was coordinated enough to catch herself before she could wipe out. In nearly no time at all, she had reached the end of the track, skidding to a stop along with the wheelbarrow and spraying grease into the air. Of course, Jasmine and Sugar just so happened to be standing right at the end, and were hit by the wave entirely.

Both girls wiped the gunk off their faces. "Right, I'll be honest, I really should have seen that coming," Jasmine said in mild surprise.

"Well, butter my biscuits!" Sugar hollered, approaching the heavily breathing Sky. "You were runnin' faster than my cousin's German Shepherd at meal time!"

"What can I say?" Sky said, oozing with confidence. "I try."

-SKY-

"I think that was a genuine compliment from Sugar," Sky notes happily. "Maybe we'll be able to turn her around yet!"

-SUGAR-

"I guess it just goes to show…" Sugar's smile gives way to a sneer quickly enough. "Sky needs to get to gettin' sooner rather than later!"

-END-

"My turn, my turn!" Sugar announced, rushing up to the wheelbarrow with unbridled glee. The pig squealed once more in terror, and attempted to run away before any other trauma was to happen to it. But unfortunately for it, Sugar was faster, and pulled it into a giant, bone-crushing hug. "Aww, what a sweet little piggy! Who's a greasy little piggy? That's right, it's you! Yes you are! Yes you are!"

"Uhh, Sugar?" Sky asked, looking back down the track. "Not to rush you or anything, but Scarlett's catching up."

"Actually, yes," Dave said from the side of the wall. He and the other ten contestants had migrated there and were waiting for the game to finish. "We would very much like you to rush, thanks!"

"Oh, fiddlesticks," Sugar tutted, thankfully knowing when she needed to act. "Keep your britches on, I'm goin'!"

"C'mon, Scarlett!" Jasmine shouted to her. "Work those legs, sheila!"

"You can do it, Scarlett!" cried Sammy, cupping her hands over her mouth. "We believe in you!"

"Yeah, what she said!" Max agreed loudly.

The brainiac listened to the cheers of encouragement from her teammates and, with eyes narrowed in focus, pushed herself harder than before.

As Scarlett ran, Sugar approached the wall. With the pig tucked under one arm, she tapped her chin in thought. Shrugging, she gave straight up climbing the wall a shot, but the surface proved too slippery for her to do so one-handed, and she plummeted to the ground after only a few feet up.

"Dagnabbit!" she cried out, picking herself back up. "I'm gettin' nowhere fast…" Her fall didn't cause the pig to break free, thankfully, but it did cost her a few precious moments. She grunted in annoyance when she saw Scarlett quickly approaching, and took another few moments to come up with a plan.

"Uh… Any day now, Sugar!" Shawn helpfully called out.

"Quit your bellyachin', I'm thinkin'!" Sugar shot back. She held her pig up to her face and looked at it sadly, and then turned her gaze upwards. "Hey! Host man! Does it matter how the pig gets over the wall?!"

There was a brief second before he answered. "Well…" Chris and Chef appeared at the back of the crowd, and the teens parted for them as they walked to the front (though it was more like Chris shoved a few aside and the rest followed suit). "As long as both you and the pig go over it, I guess it really doesn't matter!"

Sugar sighed. "Alright then. I'm sorry about this, Grease Pig." Sugar planted a big kiss on the pig's head. "Momma loves you. HIII-YAH!"

And in a move that surprised absolutely everyone, Sugar quite literally chucked the pig high into the air without a second thought.

Everyone gasped in shock, including Scarlett, who skidded to a stop just as the boar was launched.

"She did not just do that," Amy said in a stupor.

"That's messed up, man!" Beardo cried out, hands clutching his head.

"Ah! I can't watch!" Rodney bemoaned, covering his eyes. He did peak through the space between two fingers, though.

The pig shrieked and started wiggling itself around in the air, but of course it didn't go anywhere but up. But then Sugar jumped into action - the moment she threw the pig upwards, she grabbed a hold of the rope and began her ascent up the wall. All of a sudden, she was shockingly more agile and coordinated than before, more so than many of the others would have expected, and she sped up the wall with gusto.

"Oh no!" Jasmine cried, realizing how fast things were going south, and turned to Scarlett. "Give me the pig, now!" Scarlett, unable to actually lift the thing, quickly raised her hands and backed off, allowing the amazon full reign. The pig attempted to escape, but Jasmine wasn't having any of it, and hoisted it over her shoulder before rushing for the wall.

Despite her earlier troubles, Sugar managed to reach the top without slipping once. She didn't bother to listen to the roars of encouragement from below, and instead focused only on her precious Grease Pig above her. "I got you, Boo! Momma's got you!" With arms raised, Sugar effortlessly caught the massive hog and proceeded to smother it in kisses and love. "I'm sorry, Grease Pig! I never should'a done that! What kind'a mother am I?!"

"Sugar!" shouted her team in unison, forcing her to look back down. Jasmine was already halfway up the wall, determination and grit clear on her face. "Jump!"

"Wuh-oh," Sugar said to herself, and without any further waiting both farm girl and farm animal leapt off of the wall and back down to solid ground. Sugar landed with a thud, and raised the pig over herself as if it were a trophy. "Victory! Sugar is the queen, baby!"

Team Maskwak erupted into cheers, while Team Kinosewak groaned in defeat. Having just reached the top of the wall, Jasmine ran a hand down her face in irritation. "Well, isn't this just perfect," she grumbled. The pig, still hanging over her shoulder, struggled against her grip, though the survivalist did nothing when it managed to break free and dart away from her.

"Hold the phone, dudes!" Chris shouted at them, causing everyone to quiet down. "No one said this challenge was over!"

"What?!" Jasmine shouted out, and immediately started going after the pig again.

"But, Sugar made it to the end first!" Ella told him, motioning at the pageant queen.

"That she did. Just gimme a sec," the host continued. He took out a cell phone and made a call, and turned away from the rest of the contestants. They were about to loudly protest, but one nasty look from Chef Hatchet silenced them into anxiously waiting.

"Yo, it's me," Chris said after a moment. "You get the footage of what happened? …Great, think the lawyers would allow that? The animal rights folks won't be up our butts about it, would they? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. …Uh-huh. Gotcha. No sweat." He hung up, turned back to everyone, and cleared his throat. "This just in: Maskwak wins!"

The resounding cheers resumed, as did the dejected sighs. Jasmine let the pig go again after catching it, and sat down in a huff.

"Congrats on your first victory, Maskwak!" Chris told them. "As promised, you get the chance of proper food for tonight! So enjoy it while you can!" His plastic smile faded, and he addressed the other half of them. "Kinosewak, I expected better. I was hoping to see a brief winning streak right out of the gate! Where the heck did you go wrong?"

None of them had anything to say. Amy and Sammy shared a worried look, while Max and Rodney hung their heads in shame. Topher and Scarlett, meanwhile, remained neutral, and Jasmine hopped off of the wall with another loud thud.

"We all did the best we could do," Jasmine said, mostly to her team than the host. "It just wasn't enough this time, I guess."

"Nope!" Sugar said in a laugh, sauntering up to them. She still had her boar tucked under one arm. "And I feel like I should let y'all know, it'll keep not bein' enough! This is the start of the Bears' winnin' streak, so the rest of you can just take off now so you can avoid gettin' humiliated!"

Jasmine's eyes narrowed and she leaned down into Sugar's face. "Do I have to remind you that we won first? Just because you lot got lucky this go around doesn't mean it'll last." She stood up again, and started walking out of the area. "Chef's actually decent at making food, so enjoy the meal. It'll be the first and last time you get to try it."

Sugar glared after her, while the remaining contestants looked between them in tense surprise. Shortly after, Sammy followed Jasmine's lead, and the rest of Kinosewak did as well, leaving Maskwak behind at the end of the obstacle course.

Chris and Chef Hatchet watched as the juicy friction worked its way through the cast, though one was more ecstatic about it than the other. "Tch," Chef scoffed. "'Decent'. She wouldn't know good cookin' if it kicked her in the shins."

"True that," Chris replied. He turned to the camera with another grin. "With a new day comes a new set of losers! Will Kinosewak be able to come back from this? And will anyone actually be going home tonight? All good questions! Find the answers when we come back to Total… Drama… Paaahkitew Island!"

Short chapter this time, as was mentioned in the last one. Hope no one minds!

I don't think I realized this even when I wrote my last story, but the fact that Sky didn't take the one leg of the obstacle course that involved running rubbed me the wrong way, so obviously I had to fix that here. Also the decision to put Sugar at the end paid off this time because of how wild Sugar's on-the-spot ideas can be - she obviously cared for that pig despite only knowing it for a few minutes, so what better way to motivate yourself by deliberately putting your loved ones in danger to save them? That is really not something you should do, so kids, don't try this at home.

Also I'm really enjoying this rivalry dynamic between Topher and Leonard - they're both charismatic but in different ways: while one uses his skills for fun and getting people invested in his make-believe, the other strings along his victims for his own needs and desires. I also really enjoy how this is an absolutely one-sided rivalry and Topher literally has no interest whatsoever.

Other than that I don't have much more to say at the moment. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There'll be more coming in the near future, hopefully!