Lori had an annoyed look on her face as she knocked on the door to the bathroom. "Come on, Leni, hurry up. Other people live in this house too, you know."
"But Lori, Mom said no running on the stairs." Leni argued as she came up the stairs.
Lori turned to her. "Oh. Sorry, Leni. I didn't real...wait. If you're not hogging the bathroom, who is?"
The bathroom door then opened up, revealing Luna, wearing a face mask and robe. She gave the two a sheepish grin. Lori raised a surprised brow at her. "Luna? Are you...primping?"
"I'm just getting ready for the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest." Luna explained before she started blushing. "Sam's my partner, s-so I want to look good."
Lori and Leni then entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. "So...how are things between you and Sam?" Lori asked.
"It's not so bad. Feels like things have been starting to go back to normal between us. Maybe after the competition, we could... get back together again."
"Ok, but are you sure you're ready for this? You don't still have any kind of baggage do you?"
"Wait, why would Luna have any baggage? Is she flying somewhere?" Leni asked, confused.
Lori sighed. "What I meant was does Luna still have any problems that might cause their relationship to not work out."
"Ohh."
Luna shook her head. "I'm not gonna let one dumb mistake ruin my whole life. It's in the past. Only thing on my mind is treating Sam right this time."
"Excuse me, ladies." Lynn interjected as she entered the bathroom. "Mind wrapping this up? I got some calluses to scrape off." She lifted up her right foot and wiggled her toes, causing Lori and Leni to give her a disgusted look.
"It's all yours, Lynn. We gotta prepare for the Quest anyway." Lori explained.
Lynn chuckled. "Don't know why you guys are even bothering when I'm gonna win this year again anyway."
The three older sisters all rolled their eyes as remembered how competitive and aggressive Lynn was the previous year. "Well Lynn, some of us like to compete for fun and not just to win." Lori responded.
Lynn shrugged. "Sounds like loser talk to me. Say, have you guys found both your partners yet?"
Lori raised an eyebrow at Lynn. "Both?"
"Didn't you hear? They changed the rules this year. Not only do contestants work in teams of three now, it's also an elimination game."
Lori, Leni and Luna all gave each other worried glances before rushing out of the bathroom.
...
At Sam's house, Sam was getting ready for the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest herself when she received a phone call from Luna. "Sup, Lunes?"
"Sam, I just found out that we need to be in a team of three this year." Luna quickly explained.
"Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah, I just found out."
Sam groaned, disappointed that she couldn't be on a team with just Luna. "Well...could one of your siblings join us."
"Don't think so. They've all got their own teams. Maybe we could ask Sully."
Sam frowned. "Do you think Mazzy might get upset if we asked him but not her? Or vice versa?"
"Hmm. Maybe..."
Sam's eyes then widened. "Wait, I know who could join us."
...
Not long after finding out about the new rules for the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest, Lincoln soon gave a call to Clyde as he picked up his walkie talkie. "Clyde, come in."
"I'm here, buddy."
"Did you find out about the new rules?"
"Yeah, I found out just now. But who are we gonna get to join our team?"
Lincoln frowned in thought. "My sisters all have their own teams and I know Ronnie Anne and Sid are on their own team too."
There was a short moment of silence before Clyde asked. "Why don't we ask Rick?"
Lincoln gave his walkie talkie a look of disbelief. "Seriously?"
"I know it sounds crazy but think about it. If Rick's on our team, there's a chance we might actually win this year."
Lincoln's eyes widened. Clyde may actually be right as having Rick on their team would almost guarantee them a victory. But on the other hand, Rick could also turn the contest into a horrible disaster involving aliens or alternate dimensions somehow. "I'll...think about it." Lincoln said before putting down the walkie talkie.
As Lincoln thought about whether or not to get Rick to join his team, he had found himself pacing around the house as he walked downstairs and into the living room. Upon entering the living room, he soon noticed the Loud family trophy case. Looking at it was a reminder of how all of his siblings, including Lily, had all won a trophy at some point. The only one that hadn't was him, despite his best efforts. He may have found something to be passionate about but in some ways, Lincoln still felt like he was stuck in his sisters' shadow. He'd do anything to win just one trophy.
As long as Rick behaved himself and followed the rules, what could possibly go wrong?
...
"Remember, no cheating. I want to win this competition fairly. And please don't turn this into a huge disaster." Lincoln told Rick as they and Clyde arrived at the park where the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest would soon start, as the park was decorated with garlands and balloons.
Rick rolled his eyes. "Yeesh, Lincoln, it's not like everywhere I go turns into an adventure."
Lincoln gave Rick an annoyed look. "That's literally what you said when you came to our club the other day."
"Hey, all I did was sit there. It's not my fault Sid trained my butter passing robot to become a killing machine. Look, don't worry about it. Everything's cool. I promise nothing will go wrong today."
Surprisingly, Clyde looked excited. "Man, I can't believe there's a chance we might actually win this year!"
"Oh, trust me, we're definitely gonna win." Rick added, making Lincoln somewhat nervous.
"Hey guys!" The three looked over to see Ronnie Anne waving at them before she came over to them alongside Sid and CJ. An apprehensive look appeared on Ronnie Anne and Sid's faces upon noticing Rick. "So, you're teaming with Rick, huh?"
"Yep." A cocky smirk appeared on Lincoln's face. "You're not scared we're gonna beat you, are you?"
An equally cocky smirk appeared on Ronnie Anne's face. "I wouldn't be too sure of yourself, Lame-O. I got a feeling we're gonna take it this year."
"Yeah! You guys are going down!" CJ exclaimed.
Clyde looked around at all the other teams. "Man. Competition's looking pretty stiff this year."
"Gotta say, never thought I'd see you two working as a team together instead of against each other." Bobby admitted to Lori and Carol.
"Well hey, since we're working together, we might actually dominate this year." Carol remarked.
Lori nodded. "Oh totally. We've literally got this."
"OMG, I can't believe I get to compete with both my BF and my new bestie! We're, like, so gonna win this!" Leni exclaimed excitedly.
"We sure are." Chaz said casually as he gave a thumbs up.
"Uh...right." Carlota said, looking somewhat confused.
"Why'd you have to drag me out here." Maggie groaned.
Luan put an arm around Maggie, causing her to blush. "Ah, come on Mags. This'll be fun! I promise. Besides, you agreed to come."
"Only because you asked." Maggie whispered to herself.
"The inferior genes of the competition stand no chance against our might! We will not falter!" Lincler exclaimed.
Luan gave Lincler a pat on the shoulder. "Let's tone it down a little, eh big guy?"
Lincler immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry."
Rocky looked around. "Where's Lucy."
"She should be here by now." Haiku remarked, wondering why Lucy was late.
"Hey."
The two jumped slightly before turning to Lucy. Haiku then noticed something that Lucy had on her head. "Is that a bow?" Haiku asked, pointing towards the little black bow.
"Yeah. Thought it might look...cute." Lucy admitted, looking slightly embarrassed.
"I think it looks nice." Rocky said.
Lucy blushed slightly. "Thanks."
"You two don't have to worry about a thing, I can totally win this competition for all of us." Carl bragged to Lana and Lola.
"You sure we couldn't have got Adelaide to join us?" Lana whispered to Lola, who gave her an annoyed look in response.
"Ooh wee, I sure can't have for a good old, nice...fair competition. Ooh wee, I sure hope we get a good win and stuff!" Mr. Poopybutthole remarked.
Scoots chuckled. "Please. They might as well save time and hand the trophy to us now!"
"Why am I here?" Mr. Grouse complained.
As Rick looked around, he then heard a familiar voice from behind him. "Well, well, looks like you're competing after all."
Rick turned around to see an unexpected face. "Zeep Xanflorp? The hell are you doing here?"
"I had requested that Zeep align himself with us for the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest." Lisa explained as she stood at Zeep's side.
"Hi Mr. Sanchez!" Darcy waved cheerfully as she stood at the other side of Zeep.
Rick looked offended at Lisa. "The hell, Lisa? How come you didn't ask to team up with me first?"
Lisa shrugged. "I had assumed you wouldn't be interested in this type of competition."
Zeep gave Rick a smug look. "What's wrong? Jealous?"
Rick narrowed his eyes. "Of you? Please."
"Just so you know, we're definitely gonna be winning this competition."
"Yeah, well, we'll see about that."
Lincoln then noticed Rusty, Liam and Zach, all folding their arms and giving him an annoyed look. "Hey guys, what's up?"
"Oh. I didn't think you'd recognise us." Rusty said in a bitter tone.
Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"You an' Clyde haven't hung out with us in so dang long, we thought y'all forgot about us!" Liam explained.
"Yeah, how come we don't hang out anymore?" Zach asked.
Lincoln frowned. Had it really been that long since he had hung out with the guys? He supposed that he had spent so much of his time adventuring and focusing on using his free time to hang out with Clyde, Ronnie Anne and Sid that these three had slipped his mind. "Sorry guys. I've just been so busy lately. I promise I didn't forget about any of you."
"Who're these nerds?" Rick asked as he came by, causing the three to humph at Lincoln.
Luna entered the park and looked around until she spotted Sam, sat on the fountain next to her younger brother, Simon, who was busy playing a portable video game. He was a small round boy with long light blond hair. He wore a white T-shirt with black stripes, green vest, dark green jeans and red shoes. After Sam noticed her, Luna waved at her. "Hey, Sam."
Sam stood up. "Hi, Luna." She then offered a hug to Luna. "Bring it in."
"Up high." At the same time, Luna was about to offer her a high five.
"Oops. Let's try that..." They both then did what the other one had done. Realising that they did it again, the two laughed off the awkward exchange.
"I'm not sure what we're supposed to do here." Luna admitted.
Sam offered Luna a handshake. "Mm, put her there, partner." The two chuckled as they both shook hands.
"Hi, Luna." Simon greeted, finally putting down his game.
"Oh, sup little dude?" Luna replied.
"Hey, Lincoln!" Lincoln heard Lynn give him a surprisingly friendly greeting before he turned to see her approach him alongside Margo. Her expression then went sour upon noticing Rick. "Oh. You're teaming with Rick, huh?"
"Uhh...yeah..." Lincoln admitted awkwardly.
There was a short moment of tense silence before Lynn started smirking. "Well I hope you're not relying on him to help you win. I've never lost a Royal Woods Astonishing Quest before and today's gonna be no different."
Rick shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time I've beaten you."
Lincoln went wide eyed while a look of fury appeared on Lynn's face for a split second before she started chuckling. "Well, sometimes, flukes happen."
"So, uh, where's Paula?" Lincoln asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.
Lynn rolled her eyes. "She broke her foot again so she's at the hospital. Luckily, I got someone to fill in for her. She should be here any minute now."
The two teams then noticed a tall and fit girl, roller skating towards them. She was wearing a roller derby uniform, which had a yellow tank top with a purple 'P' on it, purple shorts, pink roller blades, wrist bands, and a pink helmet with stars on the sides. Her hair was brown with pigtails, and she had a rather large chin. Clyde's eyes widened as he realised that the girl was skating straight towards him. "Ahh!"
She then crashed into Clyde, sending him flying towards the floor. "Nailed ya, bro! In roller derby, that's a move I like to call the Booty Block!" The girl exclaimed before turning to Lincoln and Rick. "Name's Polly Pain. I'm Lynn's roller derby teammate."
Rick raised an eyebrow at her. "So what, are your parents surnames also Pain or is that some edgy nickname you gave yourself."
"Urgghh..." Clyde groaned from the ground.
Lynn put her arms around both Margo and Polly. "So, you guys really think you have a chance at beating us?"
"Yeah, whatever." Rick started look around. "Say, when does this shit start? I feel like I've been standing around here for ages."
As if on cue, the mayor of Royal Woods, Mayor Davis, stepped up to a podium and spoke into a microphone. Mayor Davis had dark skin and black hair tied up in a pom pom on the top. She wore a pink collared suit. "Hello, everyone. As mayor of Royal Woods, it is my pleasure to welcome all of you to this year's ASTONISHING QUEST!" Everyone either started cheering or glaring at their competition. Mayor Davis then played a gong sound effect on the keyboard she was holding. "Got this from my kids for Christmas." She then played a laser sound effect. "I like that one. So as you all know, the rules are a little different this year. Everyone will compete in teams of three and whichever teams come last in each challenge will be eliminated! Once a team finishes a challenge, they'll receive a clue that will lead to the location where the next challenge is. The last team remaining will win the key to the city!" She gestured to a large key before covering it up with a blanket. "Nah, just kidding. Each team member will get this trophy." She picked up a tiny trophy with the words 'You did it!' engraved into it. "It's cute. Now your first challenge is...to find the first clue." She gestured towards a nearby forest. "In that forest are eleven clues for each team to find. The team that's unable to find a clue is eliminated so if you hear this sound," she played an airhorn sound effect on her keyboard. "That means the challenge is over and you are out! Be careful though, we've hidden a few sneaky traps in that forest. Now, on your marks, get set..." She then accidentally played a fart sound effect on her keyboard. "Whoops, that's not it." She then played the right sound effect, which was an airhorn. "Go!"
Everyone then made a mad dash towards the forest. While most of the contestants looked excited, Lincoln had a worried look on his face as he had come to the realisation that if he wanted to win, he would have to defeat Lynn.
And he still remembered the last time she had lost something.
...
Upon entering the forest, each team decided to either split up to cover more ground or stick together as a team. "You guys can do whatever you want, I'm gonna go find that clue." Rick told Lincoln and Clyde before walking off.
"You girls don't have to worry about a thing. I can find that clue all by myself." Carl bragged to Lana and Lola.
Lola gave Carl a pointed look. "Shouldn't we be working together for this?"
Carl gave her a confident grin. "You don't need to waste your energy here. You wouldn't want to get yourselves dirty in the forest, would you?"
"I don't mind." Lana said.
"Just leave it to me." Carl then rushed off, leaving behind Lana and Lola.
"Maybe we should split up too." CJ suggested to Ronnie Anne and Sid.
Ronnie Anne shook her head. "Nah, it's cool. We'll stick together as a team."
"Are you sure?" CJ asked.
Sid nodded. "Positive. You don't have to worry about a thing."
CJ gave them both a confused look. "Um...ok?"
"I'll go on ahead." Chaz told Leni and Carlota.
Leni smiled. "Ok!"
Chaz then went off, leaving Leni and Carlota. Seeing as they were alone, Carlota decided to take the opportunity to speak to Leni about something that was on her mind. "You know, you really surprise me, Leni. I didn't think you'd go for a guy like him."
Leni gave her a confused look. "Like, what do you mean?"
"Well, it's just...don't you think you could do a little better than him?"
Leni tilted her head. "But, like, what could be better than Chaz?
Carlota shook her head, deciding that she didn't want to accidentally offend Leni. "Never mind."
Luna, Sam and Simon were searching an area for clues when Luna eventually found one in one of the bushes. "Got it. Hey!"
Scoots then dashed past, stealing the clue from her. "You snooze, you lose!" She taunted, causing Luna to growl in annoyance.
Rick searched through the forest, managing to easily avoid all of the traps before eventually finding a clue. "Man, don't know how we're gonna win with challenges this mentally taxing." He said sarcastically to himself as he picked up the clue.
He then turned around, only to come face to face with Darcy. "Hi, Rick!" She greeted cheerfully.
Rick raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh...hey?"
"Do you wanna play a game?"
"Uh, we're already playing a game. Besides, I'm kinda busy right now, so..."
A sad look appeared on Darcy's face as her lip started trembling. "But...I thought we were friends."
Rick sighed. "Look kid, I'm just-HEY!"
While Rick was distracted, Zeep had taken the opportunity to snatch the clue right from Rick's hands before running off. "Geez, Rick. Thought you were a little smarter than that!" Zeep laughed as he ran off with a giggling Darcy following after him.
Rick simply glared as Zeep ran away. "Fucking cocksucker."
Rusty was searching through the forest alone when he soon caught site of a clue. "All right!" He ran towards the clue, only for his leg to get caught in a snare trap, lifting him into the air. "Ah! Hey! Someone get me down from here!" Rocky then walked by as he then picked up the clue. "Rocky! Get me down from here. And give that back, I found it first."
Rocky looked up at Rusty, barely showing any emotion. "I'll let you down and give you this if you promise to do my homework for a month."
"What?! No way!" Rocky then whistled a tune to himself as he walked off. "Rocky? Aw come on!"
A moment after Rocky left, Polly then skated by, quickly noticing Rusty. "Uh, do you need any help?"
"Yes please." Rusty responded. Polly then climbed up the tree before untying the rope, causing Rusty to fall to the ground. "Oof!"
As Polly climbed back down, she noticed how quickly Rusty got back up. "You sure can take a hit. I'm impressed."
Rusty chuckled awkwardly. "Hehe. Thanks."
"I'm Polly, by the way."
Rusty started to feel nervous. "I-I'm Rusty."
"Polly!" Lynn barked as she stomped over to her. "What are you doing? You know we've still got a challenge to do, right?"
Polly had a guilty look on her face. "I-I was just-"
"Wasting time." Lynn interrupted her. "Stop hanging with nerds and help me find that clue already." Polly gave Rusty an apologetic look before following after Lynn.
Carl marched through the forest before eventually spotting a clue. He ran towards it, only to suddenly fall into a pitfall. "Ahh! Ouch! Hey! Somebody help me!" Rick then walked by before picking up the clue. "Is someone there? Get me out of here!"
Rick thought about it for a moment. "Hmm. Nah."
Rick then walked off as Carl cried out. "Aww, come on!"
Ronnie Anne, Sid and CJ walked through the forest before CJ noticed a clue on one of the tree branches. "Found one!" CJ exclaimed, pointing towards it. "I'll get it!"
Ronnie Anne put her arm in front of CJ. "Wait, CJ. I'll go get it."
"But-"
"Don't worry about it. I've got this." Ronnie Anne assured him before climbing up the tree. She then slowly climbed across the tree branch, attempting to reach out for the clue. Due to the added weight onto the tree branch, the clue then fell out of it, followed by Ronnie Anne after losing her balance. "Ah!"
"I got it!" CJ said as he caught the clue, just as Ronnie Anne fell to the ground.
"Oof!"
Sid went over to help her up. "Are you okay, Ronnie Anne."
"I'm fine." Ronnie Anne assured her.
"Are you sure."
"Yeah. In fact I barely felt anything at all from that."
"That's weird." CJ remarked. "But we got the clue!"
Ronnie Anne pumped her fist. "Alright, then let's see what the next challenge is."
CJ then opened up the clue and read it out loud. "Your next challenge will be easy to master, if you're handy with a blaster."
"That's got to be laser tag." Sid stated.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ronnie Anne asked before the three made their way out of the forest.
Leni had split up from Carlota to try and find a clue by herself. Upon eventually finding a clue, she knelt down to pick it up, only for Maggie to grab it at the same time. "Hey! I, like, found it first!"
Maggie shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I, like, found it first."
"But, like, I'm sure I saw it first."
Maggie narrowed her eyes. "Well I'm pretty sure I, like, saw it before you."
Suddenly, Lynn snatched the clue from both of them. "Maybe you two should, like, quit before you embarrass yourselves." Lynn chuckled before dashing off, causing them both to groan in disappointment.
Lana and Lola searched around the forest, trying to find Carl. "Where the heck did he go?" Lola asked out loud.
"Can someone help me already?" The two then heard someone shout from a distance.
"That sounded like Carl." Lola said before the two tried to follow the sound of his voice. They eventually found the pitfall and looked down into it to see Carl. "Carl?"
"Guys! I'm stuck down here! You gotta help me out." Carl pleaded.
Lola sighed. "Lana?"
Lana got out a wrench and reached it down into the pitfall. "Grab onto this and I'll pull you out." Carl then jumped up and did as Lana instructed as she was able to pull Carl out of the pit. Unfortunately for the three, they then heard an airhorn coming from somewhere, which meant that they were the first team eliminated.
Lana, Lola and Carl Out
Lana groaned in disappointment. "We've lost already?!"
Carl looked apologetic. "I'm sorry guys. I really messed up. I just...wanted to impress you."
Lola rolled her eyes. "You don't have to impress me to be my friend, you know?"
Carl sighed. "Sorry. I should have known better."
Lola shrugged. "Eh, who cares. Lynn's probably gonna win it again anyway, just like she always does."
...
The rest of the teams were now at Laser Maze and geared up for laser tag. Each team needed five hundred points to get a clue for the next challenge. Clyde was sneaking around the maze, trying to find someone to shoot before suddenly getting shot himself by Carol. "Dang it!"
Carol pumped her fist. "Yes! That's five hundred points!"
"Great job, Carol." Bobby complimented her. "I think we finished first too!"
Carol chuckled. "I think I scored the most points too."
Lori raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Because I'm pretty sure I literally scored the most."
Carol looked confused. "Are you sure? I could've sworn I scored like three hundred points."
"Well, we won anyway. And isn't that all that really matters?" Bobby asked.
Lori nodded. "You're right, Boo-Boo Bear. Come on, let's get to the next challenge."
Rusty was running through the maze before suddenly crashing into a roller skating Polly. "Ah!"
After recovering from the crash, the two stared at each other for a moment before Polly quickly got up. "Ah, sorry!" She then skated off while Rusty kept staring.
Zach and Liam had seen the whole thing as they went over to help Rusty up. "Rusty, are you okay?" Zach asked.
"That Polly is quite a handful." Rusty said before a goofy grin appeared on his face. "And I like it!"
Lincler was sneaking around the maze, having done pretty well for himself so far, almost as if he was trained for this sort of thing. Upon hearing someone from behind a corner, he waited for the right moment before jumping out and aiming his gun, only to find Darcy there. "Eep!" Darcy immediately cowered in fear from Lincler.
Lincler immediately felt guilty about scaring the young girl. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-hey!" Suddenly, he found himself getting shot at by both Lisa and Zeep from behind. He turned around to glare at them. "How dare you-hey!" Darcy then took a shot at him as his back was turned before running off with Lisa and Zeep. Lincler then let out a scream of anger.
"I must admit, these are some rather devious tactics." Lisa admitted to Zeep as she ran with him and Darcy.
Zeep shrugged. "Hey, sometimes that's just what you have to do to win."
The three stopped, thinking that they were safe before all three of them found themselves getting shot at. "Oh, dang it!" Lisa exclaimed. "I told you not to wear white, Darcy."
Darcy lowered her head. "Sorry."
"Yes! A hundred points, we only need four hundred more." Luna told Sam.
"Ambush!"
The two then looked over to see Scoots driving towards them with Mr. Poopybutthole riding on the scooter and shooting his laser gun. "Ooh wee, this ain't the first time I've used a laser gun!"
Luna then tried to take cover as she shot back at them. "Sam! Cover me!" Sam got out her laser gun, only to fumble it before dropping it onto the floor, accidentally shooting Luna in the process.
"Haha! thanks for the assist, butterfingers." Scoots taunted as she drove past them.
Sam gave Luna an apologetic look. "Uh, sorry about that Luna. Laser tag just isn't my thing."
Luna waved her hand dismissively. "That's okay. I get into it, but I know it's not everyone's jam."
Simon carefully peaked from behind a corner, only to immediately get shot at by Lynn. "Ah!"
Lynn had done rather well at the challenge as she almost seemed like an expert as laser tag. "Dang, Lynn-sanity, I didn't know you were so good at laser tag." Margo complimented.
Lynn laughed nervously. "I-I've been practicing a lot lately."
Margo and Polly were currently following Lynn's lead as they were currently following after Rick, who didn't seem to have noticed them. Lynn put on a devious grin. "Ok, Margo, you attack him from the left and Polly, you attack him from the right. Got it?" Both Margo and Polly nodded in response.
The two then moved into positions where they could sneak attack Rick. Once the time was right, they flanked him at both sides, only for both of them to get shot at by Rick in the blink of an eye. Both of them stared at Rick in shock as he didn't even look at them as he did so. "Yeah, nice try."
Thinking that he wasn't expecting her, Lynn attempted to attack from behind, only for Rick to quickly shoot her too. "What the?!"
"Lynn, I've been dealing with laser guns since before you were born. Trust me, you're not beating me in that department."
Margo whistled as Rick walked off. "Dang, he's good."
"It was just a fluke! Ok?!" Lynn snapped at Margo.
Margo put her hands up. "Ok, ok! Geez."
Mr. Grouse was walking around, not particularly trying too hard when he found himself getting shot. "Aw, dagnabbit."
After getting a hit on Mr. Grouse, a small smirk appeared on Maggie's face. "Hm."
"Is that a smile on your face I see?" Luan asked teasingly.
Maggie looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about.
Carlota was walking around, looking somewhat nervous.
"Boo."
"AYY!" Carlota shrieked, accidentally dropping her gun in the process as Lucy had snuck up on her.
However, before Lucy could take advantage and shoot her, someone had managed to shoot her first. "Huh?"
Carlota looked to see that Chaz had been the one to shoot. "Don't worry Carlota, I've got your back." He said, giving her a thumbs up.
"Oh, uh, thanks." Carlota said rather awkwardly.
CJ gave both Ronnie Anne and Sid an odd look. "What are you guys doing?"
It seemed like Ronnie Anne and Sid's strategy was to guard CJ for whatever reason. It didn't seem to be working out that well as their team had barely scored any points. "We're just looking out for you." Ronnie Anne responded.
CJ huffed, starting to get fed up with the two. "I can take care of myself, you know?"
Ronnie Anne flinched slightly. "W-We know that, it's just..."
"Just what?"
Ronnie Anne and Sid went silent for a moment as they then realised that they really hadn't been treating CJ the way he deserved. However, as they were distracted, both Ronnie Anne and Sid were shot at. "Yee haw! That's five hundred big ones!" Liam exclaimed.
Ronnie Anne, Sid and CJ then heard an airhorn sound which signified that they had been eliminated.
Ronnie Anne, Sid and CJ Out
Ronnie Anne groaned. "Dang it. We lost." She and Sid noticed CJ still looked upset with them. Ronnie Anne gave him an apologetic look. "We're really sorry. We shouldn't have underestimated you."
"We promise it won't happen again." Sid added.
CJ shrugged, quickly cheering back up. "Ah, it's okay. Maybe we'll win it next year."
...
The next clue had led all of the remaining teams to the Royal Woods Bowling Alley as their next challenge was simply for someone on their team to get a strike. Rick, Lincoln and Clyde soon arrived and got into a lane. "Hey, maybe I could try out this challenge this time?" Lincoln offered.
"Look, I heard what happened last time you went bowling and we don't need another accident." Rick refuted, disappointing Lincoln.
Clyde then noticed Lucy's team in the lane next to them and waved at one of the members. "Hi, Haiku!"
Haiku smiled and gave a polite wave back. She then noticed her team members giving her a questioning look. "We share the same pain."
Rick picked up a bowling ball and threw it, easily managing to get a strike. "All right, next challenge. Let's go."
As they were leaving, they passed by Lynn's team, who had just arrived. "Hey, what's taking you so long?" Rick remarked as he passed her.
Lynn's mouth gaped for a moment before her face contorted with anger. "Come on already! We're falling behind!" She ordered to her teammates. Lynn ran towards one of the lanes, picked up a ball and quickly threw it. Unfortunately, she didn't quite get a strike, causing her to let out a frustrated shout.
Zach slowly carried the heavy ball to the lane and threw it with all his might. Unfortunately, it went straight into the gutter, causing Zach to let out a disappointed sigh.
Lori picked up a ball and threw it. Unfortunately for her, she missed one pin. "Ugh, dang it."
"Here let me try." Carol offered as she picked up the ball. She threw it down the lane, managing to get a strike. "All right!" She cheered.
"Nice job, Carol." Bobby complimented.
"Showoff..." Lori muttered to herself.
"Hey Mags, you wanna take a shot?" Luan offered Maggie.
Maggie sighed. "I guess." She picked up a ball and walked over to the lane. After taking a couple seconds to prepare herself, she threw the ball. To her delight, she got a strike as she made a fist pump. "Yes!" She then turned to see Luan giving her a smug look while Lincler was politely clapping for her before she cleared her throat. "I mean, whatever."
Lynn growled in frustration as she was unable to get a strike again. Margo then approached her. "Lynn, just calm down. You're not gonna get a strike unless you stay calm."
Lynn took a deep breath through her nose, calming herself down. After calming herself, she picked up a ball and threw it, managing to get a strike this time. "Finally!" She turned around, only to see that Polly was missing. "Hey, where'd Polly go?" She looked around, eventually spotting her having a chat with Rusty. She growled in annoyance before stomping over towards her and pulling her away.
"Hey! What gives?" Polly asked.
"What did I tell you about getting distracted?"
Polly shrugged. "Well, I figured since you were doing all the bowling that it wouldn't matter?"
"I don't want to hear any excuses!" Lynn snapped. "We're behind as it is and I do not need you holding us back!"
Polly's eyes widened. "Uh, Lynn? What's wrong with your eye?"
Lynn's eyes widened before she covered her right eye, which had been starting to glow red. "Nothing! Just...come on!" She then ran out of the building as Margo and Polly followed her.
Eventually, the only two teams remaining were Mr. Poopybutthole's team and Rusty's team as neither team were particularly skilled at bowling. "Ooh wee, this ball sure is heavy." Mr. Poopybutthole groaned, barely able to carry the ball before he threw it. "Uh!" Unfortunately, the ball went straight into the gutter. "Ah well, guess I gotta try agaaaaiiiinnn."
"Come on already!" Scoots snapped. "I am not going down this early!" She then noticed Mr. Grouse was talking a nap as he was snoring away. "Hey Grouse, wake up!"
Mr. Grouse jolted awake. "Hmm? Wha?"
"Why don't you try taking a shot instead of letting the little poopy butthead do it?"
"Sheesh, fine." Mr. Grouse then got up a picked up a ball with both hands. He then let it slowly roll across the lane until it finally hit the pins. Luckily for them, they managed to get a strike.
"Ooh wee, that's a strike!" Mr. Poopybutthole cheered.
Rusty's team then heard the sound of an airhorn, which signified that they were out.
Rusty, Liam and Zach Out
"Aw, shucks." Liam groaned.
...
Ironically, the next clue led all the teams to Liam's family farm. Their next challenge was to collect a dozen eggs from the hen house. Upon approaching the hen house, both Leni and Carlota cringed. "Ok, I really don't want to go in there." Carlota admitted. "I don't wanna mess up my dress."
"Yeah, and I can, like, smell it from here." Leni added, plugging her nose with her fingers.
Chaz shrugged. "No worries. I'll go in and do it."
"Alone? Are you sure?" Leni asked, concerned.
"Yeah! I got this!" Chaz assured her before entering the hen house.
"He is so sweet." Leni told Carlota, who was starting to look a little embarrassed.
Luna, Sam and Simon entered the hen house. While Luna was apprehensive, Sam was confident as she made some clucking sounds upon approaching the chickens. The chickens seemed to like this as they started to approach her. "Ooh, aren't they cute?" Sam gushed.
Luna couldn't help but shudder as one of them looked at her. "I-I-I don't know, brah. Those beaks look pretty sharp."
It didn't take long for Sam to fill up her basket filled eggs. "All done. One dozen eggs."
The chickens then surrounded Luna and started pecking at her feet, causing her to panic. "Shoo, dudes! Aah!" She then stumbled before crashing into Sam, sending both of them to the floor, splattering the eggs all over themselves. Luna then gave Sam a nervous grin.
Due to Luna causing the chickens to go into a slight frenzy, the other contestants were finding it difficult to get to the eggs. Zeep flinched as they ran around the henhouse. "Jeez, what are these creatures? Are they dangerous?"
"They're chickens, dipshit." Rick snarked. "They're harmless."
"Oh, well, excuse me for not knowing enough about your primitive Earth society." Zeep shot back.
"Better than a society whose only purpose was to power my brake lights!"
"We got all the eggs." Lincoln told Rick as he and Clyde approached him with baskets full of eggs.
"Oh. Uh...good job." Rick said awkwardly before the three left the hen house.
"Hi, little chicken!" Darcy greeted as she started to pet one of the chickens.
"Darcy, while I understand wanting to engage in caressing the gallus domesticus, street name: chicken, we have more pressing matters at hand." Lisa told Darcy.
"Oh, uh, sorry." Darcy apologised before going over to help Lisa.
Luan and Maggie were about to enter the henhouse, only for Lynn to shove past them. "Move it." Both Luan and Maggie responded by glaring at Lynn. Without much thought, Lynn shoved the aggravated chickens out of the way and quickly picked up all the eggs she needed. By the time Margo and Polly had caught up and entered the henhouse, Lynn was on her way out. "We're done here. Let's move it already!"
Carol was about to pick up an egg when Lori quickly snatched it first. "And that's six."
Carol gave Lori an annoyed look. "Hey, I was about to pick that up."
"Well, maybe you should have been a little quicker." Lori responded.
Carol huffed. "What is up with you today?"
"What's up with you?"
"Girls! Can we hurry this up please?" Bobby shouted as he was currently being chased by some aggressive chickens.
Eventually, the final team to collect all the eggs were Luna, Sam and Simon as they left the henhouse. "Sorry I messed that up. Farms aren't really my thing." Luna admitted to Sam.
"That's okay, I mean, I love them, but, I get they're not for everybody." Sam assured Luna.
Upon noticing Luna's team pass them, Leni and Carlota started to get worried. "Wait, where's Chaz?" Leni asked. Both of them then heard an airhorn sound.
Leni, Chaz and Carlota Out
A disappointed Chaz then left the henhouse. "Sorry girls. I wasn't fast enough."
"Aw, it's okay." Leni assured Chaz as she went over to hug him. "It was sweet of you to try doing the challenge for us anyway."
Carlota sighed, feeling disappointed in herself, both for not doing the challenge and for doubting Leni's relationship decisions.
...
The next clue had led the remaining eight teams to the Werk it dance studio. All of them were waiting for the dance instructor to arrive. "You know, having to wait for the challenge to start kinda ruins the race aspect of this competition." Rick remarked.
Eventually, the dance instructor arrived. "Ok, questers. Who's ready to get their cardio on, eh? Just follow the dance moves to get the next clue. The team that dances the worst, I'm afraid, will be eliminated."
"Synchronised dancing? Oh, this'll be easy." Rick remarked.
"Whoop whoop!" Luna cheered, throwing the goats.
However, not everyone was as excited by this as Rick and Luna were as Sam, Maggie, Lucy and Haiku all looked uncomfortable at the idea of dancing. "Alright! Five, six, seven, ocho!" The dance instructor turned on some dance music and started shaking it. Everyone then attempted to copy him with varying results.
"Ooh, yeah! Shake it!" Mr. Poopybutthole exclaimed.
Sam awkwardly attempted to copy his moves, only to lose her balance and accidentally trip into Rick, which caused him to trip over. "Whoa!"
Rick accidentally dropped into Scoots' lap. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two before Scoots gave Rick a flirty grin. "Hey, handsome. You doing anything after the competition's over?"
Rick's eyes widened. "Oh wow, uh...you know, not really."
"Rick!" Lincoln whined.
"Oh, right." Rick got off of Scoots and went back to dancing.
Maggie groaned as she half-heartedly attempted to dance. "I hate this." She admitted to Luan.
Luan tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I know, but hang in there. I'm sure the next challenges won't be as awkward." Maggie sighed but continued to dance so to not disappoint Luan.
While Rocky was dancing, he noticed that both Lucy and Haiku were frozen in place. "Girls, I know you both hate dancing but if you don't at least try, we're gonna lose!"
Despite dreading the idea of dancing in public, Lucy steeled her nerves and attempted to dance. Seeing this, Haiku then attempted the same, though compared to Lucy, her dancing was more stilted and awkward.
Eventually, the dance came to an and, as did the song. "Time's up. While all of you did...well," the dance instructor lied. "I'm afraid one team didn't do quite as well as everyone else. And that team is..." Everyone, especially Sam, Maggie, Lucy and Haiku, were anxious as they waited for the verdict.
"Lucy, Haiku and Rocky. Sorry kids, but this is the end of the line."
Lucy, Haiku and Rocky Out
Haiku sighed. "The futility of teamwork."
...
"Sorry, dancing's not really my thing." Sam admitted to Luna after they and Simon left the dance studio.
"As in, all dancing? Like, even at concerts?" Luna asked. Sam shrugged in response, grinning awkwardly. Luna looked somewhat hesitant. "Cool, I get that."
There was an awkward moment of silence until Simon asked. "So, what's the next clue?"
"Oh, right." Luna opened up the clue to read it. "Your muscles ache, but don't you stop, your challenge is to reach the top. Huh."
"Ooh, ooh, ooh, I know this one." Sam said excitedly.
...
"Alright, just reach the top to get the next clue." The rock climbing instructor told the teams. The next clue had led everyone back to the park as they were to climb to the top of a rock climbing wall. Each team had a rope connected to each other so they could help pull themselves up.
Though for some, this was more of a detriment as Mr. Poopybutthole was struggling to pull up a barely trying Mr. Grouse and Scoots, who was still on her scooter. "Ooh wee, this sure is painful!"
As she climbed up, Darcy was trembling slightly at the idea of being so high up. "You're gonna be fine, Darcy. Just don't look down. We've got you." Zeep assured her.
"Ok..." Darcy replied, still somewhat nervous.
Their team then noticed Lincler, who was carrying both Luan and Maggie with one arm while easily scaling the wall with just the other arm. It didn't take long for him to reach the top before putting down Luan and Maggie. "Yes! First place!" Lincler exclaimed.
Luan noticed Maggie looked somewhat disappointed. "What's up, Mags?"
"I...kinda wanted to try climbing myself." Maggie admitted.
"Almost there, how you doin' Lunes?" Sam asked as she was close to reaching the top with Simon next to her.
Looking down, she saw that Luna was just dangling from her rope. Luna flailed her arms, trying to get back to the wall before giving up. "It's not really my thing." Sam had a disappointed look on her face as she reached the top to receive the next clue.
Lori and Carol were scrambling to climb up the wall, which resulted in them pushing and shoving each other. "Could you please get out of my way?" Lori asked Carol.
"Me? You keep getting in my way!" Carol argued.
"Guys?" Bobby shouted up as he was currently dangling underneath them.
"Not everything is about you, Carol!" Lori spat.
"You're the one being self-centred!" Carol shot back.
"Guys, just stop!" Bobby snapped, getting both of their attention. "Why are you both acting like this? We're supposed to be a team. Why are you trying to compete with each other again."
Upon hearing this, both their eyes widened before looking embarrassed with themselves. Lori facepalmed. "Oh no..."
Carol pinched the bridge of her nose. "We did it again, didn't we?"
Lori sighed. "Old habits die hard I guess. I'm sorry. This is my fault."
Carol shook her head. "No, I was being a jerk too. Let's just promise to not act like that again."
"Agreed." A determined look then appeared on Lori's face. "Now let's finish this challenge as a team!"
The three then heard an airhorn. The three looked up to see that Mr. Poopybutthole had reached the top. "Finally...made it..." An exhausted Mr. Poopybutthole panted.
Lori, Bobby and Carol Out
Lori sighed. "Dang it."
...
The Royal Woods Astonishing Quest had reached the halfway point as only six teams remained. It was announced that there would be a short break before the next challenge as Luna was currently sat on a bench alone with a depressed look on her face. "Hey, Luna." Luan greeted as she approached Luna. "Where's Sam and her brother?"
"Sam's in the bathroom. I think Simon's hanging out with Lincoln and Clyde." Luna explained.
"Ah. Soooo, how are things going with you and Sam anyway?"
"Not good dude, I thought Sam and I had everything in common, but it turns out we have like, nada. We were dating for most of last year and I barely know anything about her outside of music. Man, I'm a horrible girlfriend."
Luan took a seat next to her, trying to cheer her up. "Hey now, don't put yourself down like that. If you were that bad, she wouldn't still want to hang out with you."
Luna sighed. "I guess."
"And hey, so what if you don't have everything in common? Wouldn't that just make things more interesting?"
Luna gave Luan a slight smirk. "Well, I can see how you'd feel like that, considering what's going on between you and Maggie."
Luan's face went red. "W-What? Me and Maggie?" She chuckled awkwardly. "C-Come on, Luna, we're complete opposites. It probably wouldn't work out."
"I dunno, dude. They do say opposites attract. Besides, it looks to me like Maggie's pretty into you too."
"M-Maybe but..." Luan sighed. "I dunno. After what happened with Benny, I'm just not sure I'm ready to get into a relationship like that again. At least not yet."
Luna couldn't help but start feeling guilty again. She shook her head. This was all in the past. She wasn't going to let it control her any longer. "I understand. You gotta be ready for this kind of stuff, you know?"
Luan stood up. "Anyway, I'm gonna go check on Lincler." After she left, Luna decided that it might help if she just embraced the stuff that Sam was into. Though she wondered how much that would make up for the months of avoiding her.
...
The next challenge led the contestants to the organic juice store. Luna, Sam and Simon were the first to make it to the store as they approached the juice store clerk. "Namaste, fellow quester. Your challenge is to identify as many ingredients as you can, in our new 'Earth Warrior' juice." The clerk got out two glasses of green juice.
While Simon looked grossed out, the juice seemed rather appetising to Sam. "Mmm, hope it's as good as your spinach spritzer. Eh?"
"Yeah, mmm, let me get in on this." Luna grinned, pretending to like organic juice.
The clerk handed them both a glass as they both started to drink it. Sam finished it quickly as she put the glass down. "Ok, I'm tasting; kale, wheatgrass, dandelions, nutritional yeast and-"
Luna then spat out the juice, unable to stand the taste. "Fish oil."
After Luna's team got the next clue, the other teams made it to the juice store, though were told to come in one at a time so they didn't overhear a team give the right answer. The next team to come in was Lynn's team. After being given the glass, Lynn quickly swigged it all down. "That's wheatgrass, nutritional yeast, fish oil, dandelions and kale." She said quickly.
The next team to enter was Rick's team. "Oh, can I give this one a shot?" Clyde asked Rick.
Rick shrugged. "Knock yourself out. I didn't really wanna drink this crap anyway."
Clyde took the drink from the offended clerk and drank it all. "Hmm. I think that's fish oil, kale, nutritional yeast, wheatgrass and...dandelions?" His answer was correct as the clerk handed him a clue.
Lisa's team entered next as Lisa tasted the drink. "That's nutritional yeast, dandelions, kale, fish oil and wheatgrass." Lisa answered confidently.
Luan's team entered next. "Organic juices, eh? Well, I am a vegetarian." Lincler remarked.
"Maybe you could try this challenge?" Luan offered.
"Works for me." Maggie added, looking disgusted with the drink.
The clerk's eyes widened. "Uh, actually, maybe you shouldn't-"
Lincler didn't pay attention to the clerk as he took a sip before instantly spitting it out. "Fish oil?!"
"Tried to warn you dude."
"Did you taste anything else?" Luan asked.
Lincler gave her an apologetic look. "I'm...afraid not."
"Sorry dudes, but you're gonna have to go back outside and wait for the next team. Unless they get it wrong too, you guys are out." The clerk told them, making them somewhat nervous.
After Luan's team went back outside, Mr. Poopybutthole's team came in. "I ain't drinking that hippie junk." Mr. Grouse stated.
"Same here." Scoots added.
"Ooh wee, guess it's up to me." Mr. Poopybutthole said before tasting the drink. "Hmm, that's dandelions, fish oil, mmm, wheatgrass, um...uhh nutritional yeast aaaaaaand kale." Mr. Poopybutthole grinned as the clerk handed him the final clue.
The clerk then stepped outside to Luan's team. "Sorry dudes but I'm afraid your quest has come to an end."
Luan, Maggie and Lincler Out
Lincler dropped to his knees. "Noooooooo!"
Luan sighed, turning to Maggie. "Sorry we weren't able to win."
"It's okay. This wasn't so bad actually." Maggie admitted.
"Really?"
"Yeah. It was actually kinda fun." A small smile appeared on Maggie's face which made Luan beam.
...
The next clue led the remaining teams to Tall Timbers Park. Their next challenge was to simply sail a sailboat across a pond. Lynn's team were the first to get their sailboat going. "Come on already! Can't this thing go any faster?" Lynn ranted.
Margo had a bored look on her face as she handled the tie rod until she heard her stomach grumbling. "Uh oh. Hey, Lynn? Sorry about this but I really need to take a dump."
Lynn shook her head. "Too bad. You know the rules. No going number two until we're number one."
Margo winced. "But I don't know if I can hold it in that long."
Lynn glared at Margo. "Well, you're gonna have to. I don't need you holding this team back with bad luck."
Rick, Lincoln and Clyde were sailing across the pond when Lisa, Darcy and Zeep sailed past them. "Hey, Rick! Could you go any slower?" Zeep taunted.
Rick glared towards Zeep. "Son of a-ok, we really need to take out Zeep's team."
"How are we gonna do that?" Clyde asked.
"Simple. We go for their weak link."
Lincoln thought about it for a moment before an uncomfortable look appeared on his face. "You mean Darcy?"
"Exactly."
"You're not thinking of cheating right?"
"Course not. But you know, sometimes you gotta screw a few people over to get farther in life. You know what I mean?"
Lincoln really did not like the sound of this.
Mr. Poopybutthole, Mr. Grouse and Scoots reached a sailboat. "You know, maybe it'd be easier for us if you left that scooter behind." Mr. Grouse remarked.
Scoots scoffed. "As if. I don't go anywhere without this baby. Now help me get this in there."
Mr. Grouse sighed as he went over to help Scoots. "Nobody ever listens to me." He grumbled to himself.
As this was happening, Luna, Sam and Simon reached the final sailboat. "Yes! I love sailing." Sam exclaimed as she and Simon got into the sailboat.
Luna smiled nervously. "Totally, I mean, you know, who doesn't." Luna placed a foot on the boat, though this caused it to start drifting away, putting Luna in an uncomfortable position. "Ooh, ah, ah!"
Sam then offered Luna a hand. "Here, here, let me help you." Luna grabbed her hand as Sam pulled her on board. As they sailed off, Sam handled the tie rod while Luna just kept low, looking nervous. "All we gotta do is make it across the pond, Luna. Hoist the main sail."
Luna turned to give her a confused look. "Um, yeah, uh, the main sail."
"Right by the boom?" Sam explained. Luna still looked confused.
"That pole." Simon pointed out.
Luna looked towards the main sail. "Right, the pole." Luna started working on the knot, though she let the rope go, causing the sail to start spinning freely, the three duck the first round, but on the second round Luna found herself hanging from the boom before landing on Sam and Simon. The sail then started spinning faster, causing the whole boat to launch them across the pond. They then got out at the end of the pond before suddenly hearing an airhorn sound. "Wait, are we out?" Luna asked.
Sam noticed a clue nearby and picked it up. "No, I think we're still in this."
Mr. Poopybutthole, Mr. Grouse and Scoots were still sailing across the pond when they heard the airhorn sound which signified that they were out.
Mr. Poopybutthole, Mr. Grouse and Scoots Out
"Aw, you've got to be kidding me!" Scoots shouted.
Mr. Poopybutthole shrugged. "Oh well, guess there's always next year."
"Ah shaddup."
Sam sighed, turning towards Simon. "Simon, could me and Luna have a minute alone?"
"Uh, sure." Simon said. He then took the clue to read before walking away from them.
Luna had a guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry about that Sam. You know, sailing's just-"
"Not really your thing?" Sam finished. Luna nodded. "You know, I really didn't realise how much we didn't know about each other until today."
Luna looked downcast. "It's my fault. If I didn't try to avoid you for all those months, we wouldn't be in this position. I didn't treat you the way you deserved. Guess it's harder to escape the past than I thought."
Sam seemed disappointed to hear this. "Luna, if this stuff is still holding you back, do you think maybe we'd be better off if we just stayed friends?"
Luna's eyes widened at this. A part of her was screaming 'NO' but with everything that's happened, would a relationship even be realistic at this point?
Sam noticed that Luna had gone silent and stood up. "You don't have to answer now. Let's just finish the quest."
Luna sighed as she got up too. "Yeah..."
...
The next challenge led the teams back to the park again, nearby Dr. Bloom's tent. To their surprise, a crowd had gathered around which included all of the eliminated teams. The four teams were told to wait as Mayor Davis was about to make an announcement. "You made it! Congratulations on making it to the final four! Only three challenges remain until we can declare a winner!" She played a laser sound effect on her keyboard. "Now, here to explain your next challenge is Dr. Xenon Bloom!"
Mayor Davis then passed her microphone to Dr. Bloom. "Greeting questers! Your next challenge is rather simple. You're to go through the portal to Anatomy Park and run one lap around it which will lead you back here. Last team to return shall be eliminated."
Lynn scoffed. "A race? Oh, I'm so winning this one." She told Margo, who had a strained, uncomfortable look on her face.
"Oh wow, Anatomy Park, huh? You know, that's like a real body we'll be going into." Rick remarked.
This caught Darcy's attention as she started to look worried. "Huh?"
Lisa raised an eyebrow at Rick. "Grandpa Rick, what are you doing?"
"Yeah, there's organs everywhere. Everything's all bloody and gross and disgusting."
Darcy started to shudder which caught Zeep's attention. "Ignore him, Darcy, he's just trying to mess with us."
"Is everyone ready?" Dr. Bloom suddenly announced. "On your marks, get set, GO!"
To Lynn's surprise, Margo dashed off faster than she'd ever seen her run. "Hey!" Lynn shouted as she set off with Polly following close behind.
Rick's team and Luna's team then ran through the portal though Lisa's team were still outside as Darcy was frozen in place. "Come on Darcy, we need to move!" Lisa stated.
Darcy shook her head fervently. "Mm mm."
Zeep groaned. "Damn it, Rick!"
As Rick, Lincoln and Clyde ran through Anatomy Park, Clyde remarked to Rick. "You know, that was pretty messed up."
Rick shrugged. "Hey, Zeep's been playing dirty tricks this whole game. I'm just paying him back.
Due to Margo desperately wanting to get through the competition, she ran through Anatomy Park faster than she ever had ran before. Because of this, she was the first person to finish the race. She then ran towards Dr. Bloom, ignoring the crowd cheering for her. "Can we start the next challenge now?"
"Uh, no. The rest of your team haven't finished yet and we need to wait until all the teams finish for the next challenge anyway." Dr. Bloom explained, causing Margo to groan.
Lynn then exited the portal, followed by Polly. Lynn stared in shock as everyone was cheering for Margo. "Margo finished before me?"
"Huh. Don't think I've ever seen Margo beat you in a race before." Polly remarked. She then started to hear growling coming from Lynn. "Uh, are you okay, Lynn?"
"I'm...fine." Lynn said through clenched teeth.
Rick, Lincoln and a panting Clyde then exited the portal, followed by Luna and Sam. The two ran up to Dr. Bloom for their next clue, only for him to shake his head. "Sorry girls, but all members of your team need to finish the race."
Sam then looked around. "Wait, where's Simon?"
Not used to running, Simon had trailed behind and was panting as he walked through Anatomy Park.
"Darcy, please." Lisa pleaded. "If we don't go now, we're going to lose. I promise it's not so bad if you just concentrate on winning the race."
Darcy thought about it for a moment. Though she still looked uncomfortable, she didn't want to disappoint Lisa. "Ok..."
The three then went through the portal. Zeep immediately looked grossed out as he looked around. "Yeesh. So your grandpa helped build this place, huh?"
Lisa sighed. "The less said about it, the better." The three then began running.
Back at the park, as they waited for Simon to finish, Luna took the opportunity to speak with Sam. "Hey Sam, I thought about what you've said and I've come to a a decision. Truth is...I still want to try and make this work. I want to make up for how I treated you for all those months."
Sam looked unsure. "You sure it'll work out after everything that's happened?"
"I dunno, but I want to at least try. And so what if we don't have everything in common? Maybe we can discover new things we both like, you know, like, together."
Sam smiled. "I think I'd like that. Honestly, all I wanted for us to both be happy. Your feelings matter too, you know?"
Luna gave her a heartfelt smile. "Well, as long as your happy, then I'm happy too!" Sam shared her smile.
As Simon attempted to jog through Anatomy Park, he soon caught sight of the portal.
"Come on! We can still make it!" Simon heard Zeep shout.
Simon turned to see that Lisa, Darcy and Zeep were starting to catch up. "Uh oh!" Mustering up all of his energy, he began to sprint towards the portal.
Seeing this, Lisa, Darcy and Zeep began sprinting too. They started to get closer and closer to Simon. "Almost there!" Zeep shouted.
Unfortunately for them, Simon managed to get through the portal first, which meant his team could go to the next round. "Yes!" Simon gasped before collapsing. Sam ran over, picked him up and pulled him into a hug. "You did it, Simon!"
Lisa, Darcy and Zeep then exited the portal, only to hear Mayor Davis play an airhorn sound effect on her keyboard. "Sorry guys, but it looks like you're out."
Lisa, Darcy and Zeep Out
"Damn it!" Zeep cursed. He then heard Rick laughing.
"You quit school, but you still got some learning to do." Rick laughed, causing Zeep to frown bitterly.
Lisa sighed. "I suppose using devious tactics only invites others to do the same to us."
Darcy looked like she was on the verge of tears. "D-Does this mean you don't want to be friends anymore?"
Lisa gave Darcy a surprised look. "Goodness, no! What gave you that idea? I wouldn't end our friendship over a competition, Darcy."
"Oh. Ok." Darcy replied though Lisa noticed she still looked rather down.
...
Mayor Davis led the final three teams, along with the crowd, over to the Larry Berry Bakery. "Ok teams, for your second-to-last challenge, all you need to do is bake an apple pie. First two teams to finish their apple pies will go to the final challenge!" She explained as she led everyone to their stations. "Good luck!" She played a laser sound effect on her keyboard.
Clyde grinned upon hearing that they were going to do a baking challenge. "My time to shine!"
"So what should-" Margo started before Lynn put up her hand to stop her.
"Look, why don't you just leave this to me. I've got this." Lynn claimed as she got to work.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
As Lynn got to work on the apple pie, Polly pulled Margo aside. "This is your chance. Go to the bathroom, quick!"
"A-Are you sure?" Margo asked, nervous about how Lynn may react if she found out.
"Don't worry, I'll cover for you. Just hurry up!"
Margo gave Polly a grateful smile before dashing for the nearest bathroom.
Both Luna and Sam winced upon seeing what they needed to do. "Ooh, baking's not really my thing." They both said at the same time, causing Luna to gasp. Both of them then smiled upon realising they did have something in common outside of music.
Simon then picked up the recipe, reading it out loud. "Ok, we need two sticks of butter." Both Luna and Sam reached for the butter, accidentally touching hands. Both of them blushed as Sam pulled her hand away and Luna put the butter in the bowl. Simon gave both of them a weird look. "Ok. Now we need one cup of flour," Sam poured in some flour. "Two cups of lard." Luna poured in some lard. "And I think we mix it now?"
Sam grabbed the bow and put it under the mixer before turning it on hi. It started mixing, but since no one was holding the bowl, it started spinning with the mixer, causing the dough to splatter all over Sam. Seeing the mess they made, Luna couldn't help but start laughing. Sam looked unamused at Luna at first before putting on a devilish grin. She then grabbed Luna and gave her a big hug. The two started laughing together, so much that they fell over as they continued laughing on the floor. Once they stopped laughing, the two smiled at each other.
Simon wasn't quite as amused with the two. "Uh, what are you guys doing?"
The three then heard an airhorn sound and looked over to see that Rick's team and Lynn's team had both finished their pies (while Margo had luckily made it back before Lynn had noticed she was gone). This meant that they had lost.
Luna, Sam and Simon Out
"Aw man. We were so close." Simon moaned.
Sam gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry Simon. Maybe next year?"
Luna shrugged. "Well, we didn't win, but I had a lot of fun today. Wanna go to practice some jams after the quest is over?" She asked Sam.
Sam smiled. "I'm down with that.
"Congratulations on making it to the final challenge." Mayor Davis told the two remaining teams. Lynn glared towards Rick. This was it. The final challenge. There was no way she was going to lose to Rick now. "And your last challenge is...a game of chess."
This seemed to surprise everyone. "Seriously?" Lincoln asked.
"Yep." Mayor Davis replied as she set up a chess board on a nearby table. "Both teams need to pick a member to represent their team. Whoever wins this will be our quest winners!"
Both teams then huddled up. "So, uh, I don't know about you guys but I think maybe I should take this one." Rick suggested.
Clyde shrugged. "I've never been that good at chess so sure."
Lincoln sighed, not giving any input.
"Leave it to me, I've got this." Lynn stated.
Polly raised an eyebrow. "Really? I don't think I've seen you play that much chess."
"I play a bit of chess." Margo added.
Lynn rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm the best player on this team. There's no way I'll lose so don't worry about it." Margo and Polly gave each other an unsure glance but decided to just let Lynn play.
After both teams came to a decision, Rick and Lynn took a seat opposite each other. Both of them narrowed their eyes at each other. "You ready to lose?" Lynn asked.
"I'm ready for anything." Rick responded. "Question is, are you gonna lose your shit again when you lose?"
Lynn's face scrunched up in anger. "Bite me." She spat.
The two then began playing. As they played, Lincoln watched nervously as he remembered the last time Lynn lost a board game to Rick.
Surprisingly, Lynn was doing rather well as she and Rick were even until she started taking some of the more important pieces. To everyone's surprise, she eventually managed to take Rick's queen. "Ha! What are you gonna do now without your queen?" Lynn taunted.
Rick raised an eyebrow at her. In her efforts to take out Rick's most powerful piece, she had paid no attention to a pawn that had made its way to her end of the board. He moved the pawn forward to the very end before swapping it out for a queen, which put Lynn in check. Unfortunately, Lynn had neglected to do anything to protect her king as it was trapped behind a wall of pawns. With nowhere to go and no piece that could either block or take out Rick's queen, Lynn had lost. "And that's checkmate." Rick stated.
A wide eyed Lynn stared down at the chess board in horror. "...w-what?" Mayor Davis then played an airhorn sound on her keyboard.
Lynn, Margo and Polly Out
Rick, Lincoln and Clyde Wins
"And it looks like Rick, Lincoln and Clyde are our quest winners!" Mayor Davis announced, causing everyone in the audience to cheer for them.
However, as he was being cheered, Lincoln noticed Lynn glaring hatefully at him before getting up and storming off out of the bakery. "Lynn, wait!"
Lincoln was about to follow after her when a grinning Lola popped up in front of him. "You did it, Linky!"
Luna put an arm around him. "Congrats on winning your first trophy, little bro!"
"Uh, th-thanks." Lincoln said, trying to put on a smile.
Mayor Davis then handed each member of his team a trophy. Rick raised an eyebrow at his. "Huh. Guess I could use this as a paperweight."
Clyde cheered upon receiving his. "Woohoo! We actually won!"
Lincoln simply stared down at his once he received. He thought that he'd be a lot happier about winning his first trophy. And yet something about it just felt hollow.
...
Margo and Polly followed after Lynn after she stormed out of the bakery. There didn't seem to be many people around as the sun was starting to set. "Lynn, are you okay?"
Lynn paused, allowing Margo and Polly to catch up to her. "Hey, Margo. I thought you said that you needed to take a dump?"
Margo cringed upon realising she messed up. She then sighed, deciding that it was best to be honest. "I went while you were doing the baking challenge. I didn't think there'd be any harm if you...didn't know about it."
Lynn quickly spun around with a look of fury on her face. "So it's YOUR fault we lost! You ruined it for us with your bad luck!"
Margo took a step back. "Lynn, I'm sorry but..." She sighed. "Look, me and the others always do what you say because you're always the best player on our teams. But...this whole luck thing is stupid! There's no such thing as bad luck! We shouldn't have to stop ourselves from going to the bathroom or do those weird rituals just because you're paranoid."
"Oh yeah! Well, we were doing just fine until you did a number two. It's your fault that we lost!"
Margo was starting to get annoyed with Lynn. "How is it my fault? You're the one who insisted she play chess. If anything, it's your fault we lost!"
Lynn took an intimidating step towards Margo. "Say that again." She growled out through clenched teeth.
Polly then got inbetween them, blocking Lynn of from Margo. "Lynn, stop it. You've won just about every other year. So what if you've lost this year?"
"So what?!" Lynn then shoved Polly hard, causing her to fall to the ground. Both she and Margo stared at Lynn in shock.
"What is wrong with you?!" Margo shouted. "Why are you acting like a total psycho?!"
"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you two?!" Lynn fired back. "I thought you guys were my friends! Why are you stabbing me in the back?!"
Polly then got up. "You know what? That's it. I'm done." She then turned away before skating off.
"Fine! Leave! See if I care!" Lynn shouted after her.
Margo glared at Lynn. "You know what? I'm done too. And consider me out of all the teams too because I do not want to hang around a self-centred, egotistical little bitch like you any longer!"
"Fine! I don't need a couple of losers holding me back! Neither of you would have gotten this far without me anyway!" Lynn shouted before she and Margo stormed off in different directions.
As Lynn walked down the street, a look of regret started to creep onto her face before she shook her head. This was for the best. She didn't need a couple of losers like them holding her back anyway. She knew she was better than them. Really, the only person she could truly depend on was herself. At least, that's what she told herself as she ignored the tears streaming down her face.