"And we're back with the season premiere of new season of The Ridonculous Race," Don narrated, "By now, all the teams have completed their first challenge and are now on their way to their first location: Tokyo, Japan. Let's take a look at how the teams are doing."

--------

"The destination for today's episode is Japan: the Land of the Rising Sun. It's home to very clean streets, nice food, and even nicer citizens. Many hours have passed since the teams departed, and Flight 1 had just landed a few minutes ago, allowing the five teams on it to leave and head out to find their next tip."- Don

"Any ideas?" Amalia asked as her, Daniel, the Freerunners, the Siblings, the YouTube Brothers, and the YouTube Sisters exited the airport.

"There!" Reynold shouted as he ran over to the next Don Box and retrieved the next travel tip, "It's an All-In: Fishing For Fish....Sorta. What?"

"Teams must make their way to Asakusabashi, where the Torigoe Matsuri; an annual festival, is taking place. The festival is known for the procession of the Torigoe Shrine's omikoshi, which is a portable shrine. But for today's challenge, the contestants will turn their attention to the game section of the festival. They must play a game where they have to fish out water balloons with a string and hook. Inside these balloons are Takoyaki, also known as squid balls. Once one member of the team fishes out the water balloon, the other team member must eat the Takoyaki. When a team manages to catch and eat five Takoyaki, they must make their way to the Tokyo Central Railway Station, where the Chill Zone is located. Whoever's the last team to arrive may be eliminated, and the first team to arrive will get a reward."- Don

"Taxi!" Aiden shouted, successfully hailing a cab, "Get in!"

"Move!" Amalia exclaimed, causing the TD Lovers, the Siblings, and the Freerunners to pile into the same cab and ride away.

"We've got to catch them!" Olivia declared as her, Lilliana, and the YouTube Brothers filed into a cab together.

"Told you that the Freerunners were tough," Lilliana reminded.

"Driver, I hate to be a bother, but can you get us to Asakusabashi faster than the other cab?" Joseph requested as the driver sped down the road.

"Works for me," Reynold remarked as he laid back into his seat.

--------

"With five of the teams on their way to the festival, and flight 2 having landed, flights 3 and 4 are still in the air, leaving many of them with time to make up."- Don

"Girl, we need to start moving faster," Vincent insisted, "We're not gonna win if we continue to race like this."

"It's the first round!" Jessalynn insisted as she placed a sleeping mask over her eyes, "Chill out."

"Unless it's a trivia game, it's pretty difficult to get Jessalynn to try hard. But I don't want to get eliminated first either, so I'm gonna have to figure something out."- Vincent

"We need to find someone out here who is like you," Vincent declared as he got up and walked around the plane.

"If a hoodie doesn't make you look taller, a turtleneck won't either," Aaron insisted as he talked to Darren.

"Hey man, I'm Vincent," Vincent greeted as he approached the Hockey Teammates.

"I'm Aaron," Aaron replied, a bit surprised by his arrival, "What's up?"

"Y'know, I'm just trying to get to know a few people around here," Vincent answered, trying to be casual, "So, you two are teammates?"

"Yeah; seven years," Darren added, "We know each other so well."

"Except for the fact that we can't agree on whether or not hoodies make people look taller," Aaron noted.

"First of all, they don't," Vincent claimed, "Secondly, I wish I could say the same for my partner."

"She seems pretty wild, eh?" Aaron noted, "I mean, I'm only guessing because of her hair."

"She's a bit wild," Vincent admitted, "But she's still a good person."

"Mind if I talk to her?" Aaron asked.

"Go ahead," Vincent allowed, resulting in Aaron walking over and taking a seat next to Jessalynn.

"Before y'all jump to conclusions, I'm not gonna flirt with her. I just want to talk to people and see where their heads are at. As long as they know that I'm not rude, they won't try and take me out."- Aaron

"Any idea on when we're landing?" Jessalynn asked, still with her sleeping mask on.

"We're almost there," Aaron answered, "But before we get there, I'd like to talk to you."

"Wha-?" Jessalynn muttered as she took off her mask, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Aaron," Aaron greeted as he held out his hand for a handshake, "Nice to meet you."

"Why are you here?" Jessalynn asked, avoiding Aaron's hand, "Don't you have your own partner to get to?"

"Yes, but I kinda want to talk to you," Aaron revealed, "So, from what I hear, you're a bit wild."

"I ain't stayin' here," Jessalynn declared as she got up from her seat.

"Attention passengers!" the pilot interjected from the intercom, "We're about to land in fifteen minutes. Please stay in your seats until the plane has come to a complete stop."

"Ughhh..." Jessalynn groaned as she sat back down.

--------

"While Flights 3 and 4 remain in the air, the teams from flight 2 arrive at the festival, where the teams from flight one are already finding success."- Don

"You can do it!" Daniel insisted, cheering on his girlfriend.

"And.....grab it!" Amalia ordered as she lifted the balloon out of the water.

"Got it!" Daniel declared as he popped the balloon and ate the squid ball inside.

~~~~~~~~

"I've gone fishing a few times, so this wasn't too hard for me."- Amalia

"And I like seafood, so I don't mind eating the Takoyaki."- Daniel

"Maybe we're the team to beat after all."- Amalia

~~~~~~~~

"That's number five, right?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah," Amalia confirmed, "Let's go!"

"Wait, there's something that I want to do," Daniel declared before running over to the Siblings.

"Almost......gah!" Aiden exclaimed after watching his string break for the fifth time.

"You've got to do it faster," Daniel advised, "That way, it won't break by the time you have to eat it."

"Thanks," Aiden thanked as he reeled a balloon out of the water and into Ariana's hands, "It worked!"

"See you at the Chill Zone!" Amalia declared as her and Daniel left to get a taxi, "We'll keep it warm!"

"It'll be the other way around!" Ariana declared as she swallowed the last squid ball, "Let's go, bro!"

"C'mon Ariton, you've got to move faster!" Kailer insisted.

"We're doing fine, man. Check this out!" Ariton ordered as he reeled in a water balloon, flipped it into the air, caught it in his mouth, and ate it.

"Not the point!" Kailer insisted, "We're gonna get passed!"

Kailer wasn't wrong; while Ariton & Kailer took a long time to complete the challenge, some of the other teams from the second flight were catching up quickly. And with the sudden arrival of the teams from the third flight, the pressure was building up.

"And.....yes!" Courtney cheered as she reeled in her 3rd balloon.

~~~~~~~~

"Back in our hometown, there's this exact same game at our Summer carnival. I mean, without the squid balls, of course. But I play it every year, and I'm pretty good."- Courtney

"I guess things like that can come in handy here."- Vanessa

~~~~~~~~

"Carefully.....here...." Kaden muttered as he handed the water balloon to Maddie.

"Thanks," Maddie thanked as she opened the balloon and ate the squid ball, "That's two, I think."

"Any tips?" Hitoshi called out as he watched Sasha struggle to get balloons.

"Faster, but not briskly," Kaden suggested.

--------

"With many of the teams held up at the All-In, the TD Lovers and the Siblings are in a race for first place and a reward."- Don

Don stood at the Carpet of Completion patiently as he watched the TD Lovers and the Siblings race towards him. He wasn't surprised that those two teams were in the lead; both teams were selected for their athletic & mental prowess and chemistry, so he knew that they were the teams to beat. He imagined the intense music that would be edited in as the two teams got closer and closer to the carpet.

"And....the TD Lovers are first!" Don announced, "And the Siblings are second!"

"Yeah!" Daniel & Amalia exclaimed as they hugged each other and kissed.

~~~~~~~~

"We actually got first place in the round! Man, I knew we were good, but we killed it today!"- Daniel

"I guess we are the team to beat. And I'm okay with that."- Amalia

~~~~~~~~

"Good job to you two," Aiden congratulated, clapping.

"Thanks," Amalia thanked.

"But hey, second is still good," Daniel insisted, "It's like a reward for your efforts."

"Speaking of rewards, it's time for the TD Lovers to get their reward," Don revealed as he pulled out three cards with a purple background, and a black arrow curving around the words 'Bypass Ballot', "These are Bypass Ballots. Whenever you don't want to do a challenge, you can use a Bypass Ballot to skip the challenge and move onto the next one. Each ballot can only be used once, and will expire after the completion of the 25th round."

"Wow..." Daniel muttered, smiling, "Wait, what's the twist?"

"What makes you guys think that there's...." Don began before pausing, "Alright...you guys get one ballot, and you must choose two other teams to get a ballot as well."

~~~~~~~~

"This is big; this is the perfect way to gain some allies."- Daniel

"In my mind, there are two teams that we need to give the ballots to." *whispers to Daniel*- Amalia

"I don't know...I can think of one team who won't be too happy."- Daniel

"Well, the two that I want are the two who deserve it. And as long as the team that you're thinking of doesn't find out, we're fine."- Amalia

"Alright, fair point."- Daniel

~~~~~~~~

"We'd like to give a ballot to the Siblings and one to the Same Namers," Amalia declared, causing the Siblings to run up and hug the TD Lovers.

"Thank you so much!" Ariana thanked as she hugged Amalia.

"We're in an alliance; it's a no-brainer," Amalia assured.

~~~~~~~~

"See? Making an alliance helps. Especially when your alliance members can win rewards."- Aiden

"But we've got to use the ballot wisely. We can't just use it when we can't get the challenge done; we've got to compete like we don't even have it."- Ariana

"Whatever you say, ma sœur."- Aiden

~~~~~~~~

"Hey! Look!" Aiden ordered as he pointed to the entrance of the train station.

"Run!" Kailer demanded as him and Ariton ran to the Carpet of Completion.

"Freerunners: you are the third team to arrive," Don announced, "But that doesn't mean that you're placing third. Fifteen minute penalty!"

"For what?" Ariton asked, confused.

"The Travel Tip stated that one team member had to fish out the Takoyaki, while the other team member had to eat it," Don reminded, "You broke the rule when Ariton flipped the squid ball into the air and ate it. Please step aside."

"Okay, this is why we shouldn't be showboating," Kailer insisted.

~~~~~~~~

"This isn't the way that I wanted to start the race."- Kailer

"Sorry dude." *raises left hand* "I solemnly swear to not show off."- Ariton

"You're supposed to raise your right hand."- Kailer

"Oh." *switches hands* "I solemnly swear-"- Ariton

"I get the point!"- Kailer

~~~~~~~~

"Hey, it's not hopeless," Ariton assured, "We can still get third if no one shows up."

"Yay!" Courtney cheered as her and her mom reached the Carpet of Completion.

"Family Fans: congratulations, you've earned yourselves third place!" Don declared.

"Well...fourth works too," Ariton remarked.

"Make that fifth!" Kaden corrected as him and Maddie ran to the Carpet of Completion.

"Uh....fifth?" Ariton proposed, a bit unsure.

"And here comes the YouTuber Brothers and Sisters!" Don narrated as the four of them reached the Carpet of Completion, "The YouTube Brothers are in 5th, and the YouTube Sisters are in sixth!"

"Well at least I don't have to say sixth anymore," Ariton noted, chuckling.

"Just shut up, dude," Kailer ordered, upset.

--------

"While the Freerunners wait for their penalty to end, more teams reach and complete the All-In, especially with the arrival of the teams from Flight 4."- Don

"C'mon!" Sasha ordered as her, Hitoshi, The Core, and Za-Wink ran to get a cab.

"Damnit!" Nathan exclaimed, "We're falling behind!"

"Not yet..." Hailey corrected as she successfully fished out their fifth balloon, "Eat it!"

"Good," Nathan remarked before swallowing the squid ball, "Let's go!"

"You can do it, honey!" Sarah assured as she watched Randy attempt to fish out a balloon.

~~~~~~~~

"Oddly enough, we don't fish much. We prefer to raise livestock. Which doesn't include fish for us."- Sarah

"We just have to stay focused and take it slow. Slow and steady wins the race, right?"- Randy

~~~~~~~~

"The Married Farmers aren't the only ones having trouble. For the teams on the last two flights, they all seem to be struggling."- Don

"And......no!" Robin exclaimed as the string broke for the ninth time.

~~~~~~~~

"Hey, if I haven't gone on a vacation in years, what makes you think that I've gone fishing in the past few years?"- Robin

"Hey, you're still our best bet, go for it."- Jason

~~~~~~~~

"I really hope some of those teams get penalties somehow," Jason commented as Robin broke another string.

--------

"And here come three more teams!" Don announced as the Rappers, Poker Players, and Faraway Friends ran towards the Chill Zone.

"Run!" Nathan ordered as he pulled Hailey to run faster, allowing them to run past the Poker Players.

"The Rappers have placed 7th! The Faraway Friends have placed eighth, and the Poker Players have placed ninth!" Don declared as all three teams ran onto the Carpet of Completion.

~~~~~~~~

"Seventh is actually pretty good!"- Za Wink

"Yeah! And we're just getting started! Who knows how we'll do down the road?!"- The Core

~~~~~~~~

"Good job, Nathan! We're still in the race!"- Hailey

"We shouldn't be celebrating the fact that we didn't lose; it's the first round. We need to try harder if we're going to assert ourselves."- Nathan

"Whatever..."- Hailey

~~~~~~~~

"Aw man..." *covers face with hands*- Hitoshi

"Hitoshi has had bad memories with 9th place. In the 2013 Big One For One Drop tournament, he place ninth, and they only paid prizes for the top eight. So he lost all of his million dollar buy-in."- Sasha

"Thank you; like I need salt to be rubbed into the wound."- Hitoshi

~~~~~~~~

"And this is why we need to be more careful!" Kailer noted.

"Look, I'm sorry, but it's literally not the end of the world," Ariton assured.

"Freerunners, your penalty ends in three...two...one..." Don counted as the buzzer sounded, "Freerunners: you're in tenth."

"Thank goodness," Kailer remarked, elated.

"Y'know, you guys are finishing the round faster than I thought you would," Don admitted, "Hopefully the other teams are just as fast."

--------

Don got his wish somewhat. While some of the teams managed to complete the challenge and began making their way to the Chill Zone, the Same Namers, Married Farmers, Hockey Teammates, Chef Co-Workers, and Asian Grocers were still stuck trying to finish the challenge.

"C'mon.....nope," Darren muttered as he dropped another balloon, "How long have we been here?"

"Thirty minutes, I'd say," Aaron guessed before turning to Ellie, who was at the station next to them, "Any luck?"

"Hold on," Ellie requested as Cassie lifted a balloon to her, allowing her to grab it and eat the Takoyaki inside, "That's five, right?"

"Yeah," Cassie agreed, "Let's go."

"Wait," Ellie requested before turning to face Aaron, "Be quick, but don't pull it so hard."

"Alright, thanks," Aaron thanked as he turned his attention back to Darren, "Did you catch that?"

"Yeah man," Darren confirmed as he gently lifted a water balloon out of the water, "Heads up!"

"Got it!" Aaron declared as he jumped up and grabbed the Takoyaki with his mouth.

"See! They're getting it!" Jason noted, "Why can't we get it?"

"I have no idea," Robin admitted as he dropped another water balloon, "Is anyone else still here?"

"C'mon dude!" Darren ordered as him and Aaron ran to get a cab.

"I think we're the last ones," Jason expressed.

"Hey, we're still here," Randy corrected as he lifted a water balloon out of the water, "Take it."

"This is number four," Sarah counted as she took the balloon and ate the Takoyaki.

"Dude, it's now or never," Jason reminded, "Go!"

"I didn't come here to get kicked out first. I signed up for the adventure of a lifetime, and I want my time's worth."- Jason

"C'mon.....nah!" Randy exclaimed as his string broke again.

"Don't panic," Sarah insisted, "We're not last yet."

"C'mon, Morgan!" Johnny ordered as he waved his hand, "I've got a cab ready!"

"Yeah....we've got to hurry," Sarah remarked.

"We gave up a fair amount to just be here. We don't want to go home just yet. A million dollars is a lot of money and we're not gonna give up. As long as we're not the last team, we're golden."- Sarah

--------

No one wanted be the last team, especially considering it was the first round. But as more teams checked in, the pressure continued to mount on the remaining teams. The teams watched attentively as more of them checked in: the Models in 11th, the Trivia Teammates in 12th, the Gamers in 13th, the Cheerful Moms in 14th, the Online Writers in 15th, the Same Namers in 16th, and the Hockey Teammates in 17th. It was a race to not be last, and it was about to end very soon.

"Who do you think it'll be?" Isabella asked to Melanie, who just shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm just glad that we're safe," Emmie admitted.

"Very true," Isabella agreed.

"That was a hard challenge, wasn't it?" Julliana asked, looking for assurance.

"Yeah, pretty tough," Melanie agreed.

"Look!" Emmie called out, forcing everyone to turn their attention to the train station entrance, where the Chef Co-Workers were sprinting towards the Carpet of Completion.

"Johnny & Morgan, you're 18th, congrats," Don revealed, "Any idea on where the other two teams are?"

"There was another team in a cab behind us," Morgan answered, "But we couldn't see their faces."

With that line, everyone turned back to look at the entrance of the train station, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next team. Not only would they know who avoided elimination, they would know who would be the first team to be cut from the competition. Within a few more seconds of waiting, their questions were answered as the second-to-last team ran into view.

"We're almost there!" Jason shouted as he pulled Robin by the arm towards the Carpet of Completion, "Are we still in?"

"Jason & Robin, you're 19th! And you live to see another day in this race," Don announced, resulting in an array of cheers from the other teams.

~~~~~~~~

"That was too close, man. We've got to do better next time."- Jason

"Well, we're probably not going to have another fishing challenge, so that's good. But I get your point."- Robin

"I'm just so glad that we're safe, man." *hugs Robin*- Jason

"Me too." *hugs Jason*- Robin

~~~~~~~~

"Where's the other team?" Don asked.

"They're still stuck at the festival," Jason replied.

--------

Sadly, this would be the end of the road for the Married Farmers. After the Asian Grocers finished the challenge and left the festival, the farmers were disheartened, but they didn't give up. In their minds, if they could just get the final squid ball eaten, they would be able to finish. It wasn't until Don traveled to the festival and walked up to the couple that they stopped.

"Randy & Sarah, I'm sorry, but all the other teams have checked in at the Chill Zone," Don revealed, "You've been cut from the race."

"I'm sorry, hun," Randy apologized, "I should've let you try to fish them out."

"We can't change anything," Sarah reminded, "But at least we still have each other."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Don remarked before turning to face the main camera, "With the first team having been eliminated, and the other teams having a little taste of what's to come, only time will tell with how it plays out. Stay tuned for next time on: The Ridonculous Race."

~~~~~~~~

"We could look at this in two ways: we can sulk and be sad, or be proud of what we've done. Yes, it's hard to do the latter option, but I think that's what we should do."- Sarah

"We gave it our all, and that's all that we could've done. We're not gonna be sad and think about what could've happened; we're gonna be happy with what we do have."- Randy

"And what we have is each other, our farm, and our livelihood. No amount of money would make us want to trade that in."- Sarah

"Now, the show is gonna cover our flight home, right?"- Randy

"I hope so."- Sarah

~~~~~~~~

A/N: If you guys want to, I'd like some feedback on the format of the chapter. In my opinion, this chapter was a bit choppy, as I had to switch back and forth between scenes so often. I tried my best to keep the feeling of the original show, and this is what I came up with. Feel free to speak your mind with constructive criticism. Otherwise, thank you for reading!