The episode starts with Don narrating. "Last time on the race around the states, Junior was the first one to give Emma some criticism, saying that before she started dating Noah, she was a bit of a jerk." "Noah then decided that his best friend Owen would be the preacher for his wedding." "Jen then stepped out of the hotel, looking like a college cheerleader." "That is a compliment, not an insult." "We then went to Washington for a pickleball related challenge, and Sanders got her first win of the season, and a sword." "Being only seven points out, can she put herself in the top 10?" "Find out on this episode of, the race around the states."

Intro consists of a shorter version of the final countdown.

Sanders had a lot of energy in her after her win, and she was showing it in the next self defense class with Officer Chambers. She was already considered a threat in sparring matches as many cops are considered tough, but she was exceeding expectations, not slowing down once.

(Room 15- the cadets)

"What are you going to do with that sword?" asked MacArthur. "I honestly have no idea, I never really thought i'd be in possession of one" said Sanders. "Maybe you could become a samurai, those people are pretty badass" said MacArthur. "There are more things i'm focused on than the sword, Junior's Birthday is coming up in two days" said Sanders. "Wait, what?" asked MacArthur. "His birthday, October 28, he's going to be turning 15" said Sanders. "Hmm, I think I know what a good gift would be for him" said MacArthur. "I swear to God, you better not say a firearm" said Sanders. "Darn it" said MacArthur.

(Confession cam- Don't give a gun to a kid)

Sanders- "I already have Junior's present picked out, and he is going to be blown away when he gets it."

**End confessional**

(Room 4- the sisters)

"Oh my God, three years I was like that, I can't believe I used to be that way" said Emma. "Have you been thinking about what Junior told you?" asked Kitty. "He wasn't trying to be rude, he was calling me out, and he had every right to do so" said Emma. "Why was he even bringing it up?" asked Kitty. "I don't know why, I don't think I know anything anymore, his emotions took a complete 180 after his injury last year" said Emma. "So this is basically what happened to him, in chronological order" said Kitty. "He nearly gets murdered a bunny rabbit of all things, he starts dating somebody five years older than him, he threatens to hurt people if they were to do the same to his family, then he encourages Harold to file a sexual harassment lawsuit, has another near death experience, and he's actually trying to finish out the season despite it." "That's it, I can't take anymore of is, I need to have another conversation with him right now" said Emma.

(Room 3- father and son)

Dwayne was currently not in the room, and Junior was asleep in bed. Emma then barged into the room, and began shaking Junior. "Ow ow ow" sobbed Junior. "You're making my concussion worse." "Junior, this has gone on far enough, I want to know where this change in attitude came from" said Emma. "I want to know why you've been having anger issues ever since the Loki incident." "Well look at it from my perspective, my dad was in the room at the time, and the situation could have turned out far worse if he was the one attacked" said Junior. "Of course I want to injure somebody who inflicts harm upon him, he's my father and I love him." "Now tell me this, if somebody were to severely injure Kitty, nearly killing her, would you want that person to get seriously hurt?" Emma just sat there, frozen. What would she do if somebody intentionally injured her sister? "Okay, that only partly answers my question" said Emma. "That still doesn't explain why you want Duncan dead over a past school rivalry, why you think that Harold is a saint, the tantrums you've been having off camera, and your motivation for wanting to compete despite being seriously injured." "Something obviously happened, and it's something that you refuse to talk to your dad about." "I get it, whatever the problem is, you don't want to tell him, but can't you at least tell your mother?" "What the hell is my mom going to do for me?" asked Junior. "This isn't a fictional story where there is the moral of talking about your problems with your parents, this is real life." "I have been to a place that is worse than hell, long before the idea of the Ridongculous race was even suggested during a meeting." "But you wouldn't understand, because unlike me, you don't have a family that you actually love." "If I had a sibling, I would actually show concern if they almost got eaten by a shark." Junior then buried himself in his covers. At this point, Emma realized that the interview was over, and sadly left.

(Confession cam- Not taking any crap)

Junior- "Listen, I don't want to be on bad terms with Emma, especially considering the fact she is getting married." "But seriously, this is a situation where she needs to mind her own business."

**End confessional**

Dwayne was in the basement of the hotel, entirely off camera, and he was actually making a phone call. "Hey Annie, I need to talk to you about our son's birthday" said Dwayne. "Dwayne, there are bigger concerns than him turning 15" said Annie. "I was horrified watching everything here at home, seeing him confirm that he's going to continue on in the race, with a severe head injury." "It's not just our son's fifteenth birthday that i'm calling you about, it's also about our daughter's thirty fifth birthday" said Dwayne. "Okay, this is interesting, normally when Sarah is brought up in a conversation, you absolutely lose it" said Annie. "Listen sweetheart, this is the most horrified I have even been in my life" said Dwayne. "I am about to lose, another child." "The hell that we went through two decades ago, we're about to experience it all over again." "Do you seriously think you're alone in suffering?" asked Annie. "I'm going through the same torture, i'm the one who gave birth to both of those kids." "I'm not going to tell our son anything, but you need to let him know, sooner rather than later." "I already have disturbing images in my head talking to you about it" said Dwayne. "If I were to tell Junior while looking him directly in the eye, all I would see is Sarah's dead corpse." "Plus he's already destroyed as is is, physically and emotionally, we don't want to make his life even worse."

When everyone got on the bus the next morning, Junior actually fell asleep. By the time they got to their destination, Jacques had to give him a slight tap on the shoulder, to wake him up. When they got off the bus, they saw 36 hot air balloons right in front of them. "Okay everyone, we are in New Mexico, the state famous for it's hot air balloon festivals during this month of the year" said Don. "I thought this was a competition in America, what the heck are we doing in Mexico?" said Spud. "We're not in Mexico, we're in New Mexico" said Jen. "There's a second Mexico?" asked Spud. "No you idiot, there's a state called New Mexico" said Gerry. "Why would they name a state after an already existing country?" asked Spud. "That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard."

(Confession cam- Not as stupid as the watergate scandal)

Taylor- "Oh my God, how many dumb thoughts does this moron have stuck up his ass?"

Jen- "He's got a lot of weird things on his mind, but this is where I draw the line."

**End confessional**

"Alright, there's a red line painted on the ground, way off in the distance." said Don. "You'll each get inside a balloon, and the first one to cross the red line, wins the challenge."

Everyone then got into their balloons, and once Don counted down from three, they slowly began to rise up into the air. There obviously wasn't going to be a problem with contestants getting lost, as the race was a straight line. There was however, the concern of having a crash landing. In most hot air balloons, there's a flame that is turned on and off manually, that keeps the air in the balloon. But if that flame goes out, the balloon loses all of the hot air, and begins coming down.

With how slow hot air balloons go, this challenge was actually taking awhile. Most of the contestants didn't mind, as they were enjoying the scenery. The challenge went on for so long, that it eventually went into the night. Thankfully, the contestants had headlamps, like they had in the past when challenges went into the night. And if the headlamp didn't work, then the light of the flame could come in handy. Unfortunately, Ryan's flame had gone out, and he was going down. He went over the finish line, and into a tree. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt. The rest of the contestants eventually finished the race with Brody finishing in second, Dwayne finishing in third, Taylor fourth, Kitty fifth, Laurie sixth, Jay seventh, Stephanie eighth, Lorenzo ninth, Kelly tenth, Jacques eleventh, Crimson twelfth, MacArthur thirteenth, Tammy fourteenth, Miles fifteenth, Ennui sixteenth, Leonard seventeenth, Emma eighteenth, Rock nineteenth, Geoff twentieth, Owen twenty first, Sanders twenty second, Chet twenty third, Spud twenty fourth, Harold twenty fifth, Ellody twenty sixth, Gerry twenty seventh, Chris twenty eighth, Junior twenty ninth, Jen thirtieth, Tom thirty first, Mary thirty second, Carrie thirty third, Josee thirty fourth, Pete thirty fifth, and Noah thirty sixth.

(Confession cam- Was that and oak or a chestnut tree?)

Ryan- "I'm not shaken up by that incident, not in the slightest." "I'm more focused on the fact that I just got my second win of the season, and my point lead increased."

Kitty- "Okay, i'm back in this thing, 12 points inside the top 10." "I just need to keep doing what i'm doing, and i'll make the chase."

Harold- "Ah crap, i've fallen back into the wild card spot." "I was on top of the world, winning a bunch of challenges in a row, and now i'm starting to fall back." "I have got to finish nine spots ahead of Owen, I need those bonus points during the chase."

Junior- "Oh great, with Harold falling outside the top 10, this means i'm no longer in the wild card spot." "My best shot at getting back in is if Harold gets back inside the top 10." "I can't realistically see myself finishing 22 spots ahead of Jay, and winning a third challenge in my current condition, just seems way too unlikely."

**End confessional**

The podium ceremony was now happening. Dwayne was standing on the third place pedestal, Brody was standing on the second place pedestal, and Ryan was standing on the winners pedestal. "Ryan, that was a close call, finish the challenge in a tree, almost didn't make it" said Don. "I didn't know that I made it until I was out of the tree" said Ryan. "Well you made it and that's what matters, and that you just won a $1000 dollar Home depot gift card" said Don. "Next time, we'll find out if Ryan can increase his points lead, on the race around the states."

Point standings

First place: Ryan, 720 points, 2 wins

Second place: Emma, 684 points, 1 win

Third place: Chet, 682 points

Fourth place: Noah, 665 points, 2 wins

Fifth place: Leonard, 656 points

Sixth place: Kelly, 646 points, 1 win

Seventh place: Crimson, 623 points

Eighth place: Taylor, 613 points

Ninth place: Kitty, 611 points

Tenth place: Owen, 607 points

Eleventh place: Harold, 599 points, 11 wins

Twelfth place: Laurie, 594 points, 1 win

Thirteenth place: Ennui, 592 points

Fourteenth place: Sanders, 588 points, 1 win

Fifteenth place: Tammy, 577 points

Sixteenth place: Geoff, 560 points

Seventeenth place: Lorenzo, 548 points

Eighteenth place: Jen, 541 points

Nineteenth place: Jay, 524 points, 2 wins

Twentieth place: Junior, 503 points, 2 wins

Twenty first place: Stephanie, 490 points

Twenty second place: MacArthur, 459 points

Twenty third place: Mary, 445 points

Twenty fourth place: Jacques, 443 points, 1 win

Twenty fifth place: Miles, 427 points

Twenty sixth place: Rock, 368 points

Twenty seventh place: Pete, 362 points

Twenty eighth place: Brody, 320 points, 2 wins

Twenty ninth place: Spud, 314 points

Thirtieth place: Izzy, 272 points, 1 win

Thirty first place: Chris, 250 points

Thirty second place: Ellody, 243 points

Thirty third place: Tom, 235 points

Thirty fourth place: Gerry, 207 points

Thirty fifth place: Carrie, 178 points

Thirty sixth place: Leshawna, 171 points

Thirty seventh place: Dwayne, 163 points

Thirty eighth place: Josee, 145 points

Thirty ninth place: Mickey, 139 points

Fortieth place: Devin, 114 points

Forty first place, Dawn, 81 points

Forty second place, Lindsay, 18 points

Authors note: I don't know that much about the functions of a hot air balloon, so I may have gotten some things wrong.

The joke about the name of New Mexico, is something that I planned out before I started writing the first chapter XD

As always, if you have and idea for a challenge in an upcoming state or a prize for a future challenge winner, feel free to let me know in a review.

Thank you for reading and please have a great day.