Episode 2: Part 3

(Boat 1 Arrives)
     Edgar, Sabin, Amarant, and Lani arrived at the newly installed harbor in Mobliz. The clue box was on the edge of one of the piers, and once the boat docked, everybody except Amarant ran wildly for the clue. Lani was the first to grab the clue. She opened the clue and looked around for Amarant who had finally reached her.
     Lani read the clue aloud. "Detour. Mail or Sail."

<Announcer Gippal>
     "In this detour, teams are given the choice between Mail, or Sail. In Mail, teams must deliver and read letters to a wounded soldier in one of the local houses. The soldier is guarding the clue, and teams must read these letters until the soldier falls asleep. Once asleep, teams may take the clue from his end table. The task is not physically demanding, but waiting for the soldier to fall asleep could take an extremely large amount of time. In Sail, teams must find the Crescent Mountain cave. Once inside, they must find an underwater breathing devise buried in any of several locations. Once they retrieve the item, teams will jump into the terrifying rapids below the rear exit of the cave and travel along the Serpent Trench until they reach the city of Nikeah, where they will receive their next clue. Digging up the treasure may take some time, and the travel underwater could be very scary, but if teams are lucky, they can finish very quickly."

<Amarant & Lani: Coworkers, Currently in 1st>
     "So what do you think?" Lani asked Amarant. Amarant looked at her defiantly. "Okay okay. So the Mail one might work. No wait, it says here that he has to fall asleep, so I guess we can't just smother him with a pillow and run. So you think Sail?"
     "Would you hurry the hell up?" Amarant said, already walking toward the Crescent Mountains.
     "You prick! Wait for me once in a while!" Lani ran to catch up. "You know we're only in first place because of me!"

<Edgar & Sabin: Brothers, Currently in 2nd>
     "Bro! How good are you at reading?" Sabin asked Edgar.
     "Not that good Sabin," Edgar responded. "I grew up a king. If I wanted something read, someone did it for me. I even had a guy required to sit by my bed and read the articles in one of my porno mags, just so I could make the claim I was reading it for the articles."
     "That sounds pretty gay Edgar," Sabin said. "I'm glad I left."
     "It really was. I wouldn't tell you about it if you weren't my bro."
     "Yeah, but Edgar," Sabin trailed off and looked at the camera man beside them.
     Edgar cleared his throat. "Ahrm, so yeah. Can you read well?"
     "Duncan didn't really have that many books around. I could punch that guy a story! But reading isn't my strong suit."
     "Sail it is then," Edgar said. "Damn, those other two have quite a head start on us."
     Edgar and Sabin raced off after Amarant and Lani. It didn't take them long to catch up to Amarant.

     Lani was already at the Crescent Mountain digging for the scuba gear. By the time Edgar, Sabin, and Amarant walked in, she had dug up a scuba set. She yanked them out of the ground and threw one on Amarant's head before putting hers on.
     "Come on! First place is as good as ours!" Lani said, putting her scuba gear on.
     Amarant adjusted his, then both he and Lani made their way to the exit and dove into the Serpent Trench. The current was powerful enough that it guided them, so there was no way of getting lost. Amarant continued to float while Lani attempted to swim to go faster, but Lani was not going any faster than Amarant.
     Edgar and Sabin continued to scour the Crescent Mountain caves in search of another set of scuba gear.

(Boat 2 Arrives)
     The four teams raced for the clue box at the edge of the pier. Raijin was the first to reach the box, followed closely by Fujin who had a hard time stopping. Fujin ran directly into Raijin and both went over the side of the pier. Squall, Rinoa, Strago, Relm, Steiner, and Beatrix all carefully walked up to the clue box and took their clues.

<Steiner & Beatrix: Dating, Currently in 3rd>
     "Mail or Sail," Steiner read. "Sail sounds like the obvious better choice."
     "I'm not so sure Adelbert," Beatrix said, biting on her knuckle. "With your armor you'll either rust or sink to the bottom. Or both. Let's do Mail."
     "Beatrix-dear, my armor is removable."
     "Yeah, but you aren't, umm, I mean-"
     "You're afraid of Sail, aren't you?" Steiner teased.
     "It's not that! It's just that I uhh... I can't swim too well?"
     "I've seen you swim," Steiner said. "You're like an Olympic athlete. But it's okay, we can do Mail if you'd like. We both know how to properly motivate soldiers, I'll bet we could put him to sleep."
     "Thank you Adelbert. Let's go."
     Beatrix and Steiner ran off to find the soldier's house.

<Squall & Rinoa: Dating, Currently in 4th>
     Rinoa tore open the clue and read it out loud. "Mail or Sail? Well I want to do Mail, so let's go."
     Squall followed Rinoa to the soldier's house.

<Strago & Relm: Grandpa/Granddaughter, Currently in 5th>
     "Let's do Sail," Relm said.
     Strago gave her a strange look, but agreed. Both ran for Crescent Mountain.

<Raijin & Fujin: Friends, Currently in 6th>
     Raijin crawled out of the water, then reached a hand down for Fujin. She took his hand and he promptly pulled her out of the water.
     "I'm soaked ya know?" he said to Fujin. "What happened there Fujin? Did you wanna read the clue or somethin'?"
     "SLIPPED," Fujin responded.
     "Yeah, okay," Raijin responded. He pulled a clue out of the box. "Okay, so Mail or Sail. Well we're already soaked, may as well get wetter."
     "AGREED."

     Steiner and Beatrix were the first to arrive at the soldier's house, but it wasn't exactly like they'd expected. There were several soldiers, all lining the walls like a military tent for the wounded. Steiner put his fists on his hips and looked around for the perfect soldier. He finally settled on a shorter man with a crew cut in the middle of the room. He led Beatrix to his choice soldier. Beatrix found a stool near his bed and a letter on his chest. She pulled the letter off his chest and opened it, smiling at the soldier while doing so. The soldier was in horrible condition and seemed glad to have human contact.
     Beatrix unfolded the letter and started to read. "Dearest Umberto. It's been so long, and the nights seem endl-"
     Steiner interrupted her reading and immediately began yelling at the soldier. "Umberto! On your feet soldier! Have you no dignity!? The rest of the troops are going to battle and all you can do is lie here? I think not! Up soldier up! The enemy is on its way!"
     "The enemy is coming!?" Umberto yelled, hopping out of bed and onto his feet. His torso was completely bandaged and left arm gone, but the soldier still grabbed a helmet and a sword and raced out the tent. Steiner chased behind him, with Beatrix trying to catch up.
     "Steiner. Baby. What're you doing?" Beatrix asked Steiner as they chased Umberto out of the town.
     "This is motivation Beatrix-dear," Steiner replied. "This is how I train the Knights of Pluto. And usually after about five minutes of rigorous training, they pass out cold, so there we go. Problem solved."
     "O-Okay Adelbert. But if we get a penalty for this, I'm taking it out on your ass."
     "Fair enough."

     Squall and Rinoa stood and watched for a second as Steiner and Beatrix ran their soldier around, then walked into the tent. Squall made a silent decision to pick the soldier closest to them, and he promptly walked to him, took a seat on the stool and pulled his letter off his chest. Rinoa found a stool on the opposite side of the man and sat down to listen to Squall reading the letter.
     "My lo-" he started, then stopped. "I'm not sure I can read this," Squall said.
     "Really? I would've thought reading was a requirement in SeeD," Rinoa replied, chuckling to herself.
     "No, I mean- Whatever." Squall resumed reading the letter. "My lovely and sexy beast Ramon. I hear you had quite a scuffle with the enemy. Thinking of you in the heat of a sweaty sweaty battle reminds me of our anniversary. Remember it? So passionate. I just hope the shrapnel left the good parts of you. Like your wonderful throbbing- I'm not reading anymore."
     "Aww! Squall!" Rinoa protested. "That was so hot though! Keep going!"
     "He's not getting tired, just horny. Maybe there's another letter we can read to him. One that's more like a bedtime story."
     Squall started to get up when Ramon's hand darted out of the bed and grabbed Squall's wrist. "Don't stop," Ramon said.
     Squall slapped his forehead and sat back down, pulling the letter back out. "I'm not reading this letter. I'll just skim it, and then you sleep, okay?"
     Ramon nodded.
     "Okay, in summary, I hope the good parts of you are okay. That includes your powerful, yet gentle hands which stroked me so gently. I can't stand the nights without you. Nobody could ever take your place. Love, R- wait a damn minute." Squall looked up at Ramon. "Love Ramon? You wrote yourself a love letter?"
     "And nobody's ever read it better than you," Ramon said to Squall. Rinoa continued to suppress laughter to the point that she had to duck and hide behind Ramon so that Squall wouldn't see her shaking with laughter.
     "I thought we were reading you letters from a loved one. Don't you have any?" Squall asked Ramon.
     "Oh sure. I've got letters. In fact," Ramon leaned in closer to Squall to whisper him a secret. "Don't tell nobody, but they had a different letter to read, but I didn't like it, so I replaced it with that one. It's so much better, no?"
     "Fine," Squall said. "Now hold up your end and go to sleep."
     "Anything for you buddy," he said, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
     Squall grabbed the clue from the end table and walked outside the tent. Rinoa followed him out, then put her hand on his shoulder as she doubled over laughing. Squall didn't seem amused. He ripped open the clue and read it to Rinoa. "Make your way to the pitstop in the Narshe Mines. Warning: The last team to arrive may be eliminated."

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Teams must now make their way to the mining city of Narshe. Teams that chose to do the Sail Detour will have a great advantage because the Serpent Trench ends in the city of Nikeah, which is very close to Narshe, and teams there could buy a raft and take a nearby river all the way to Narshe. Teams that chose the Mail Detour will have to find a different, more costly alternative way to reach the city, but they'll have to choose quickly because the last team to check in may be eliminated."

<Squall & Rinoa: Dating, Currently in 2nd>
     "Come on," Squall said to Rinoa. "We can probably catch another ferry to Nikita."
     Rinoa chucked. "It's Nikeah, Squall."
     "Whatever," they said in unison. Rinoa laughed again.
     Squall and Rinoa ran back to the pier and found a ferry bound for Nikeah which left almost right as they boarded.

     Raijin and Fujin caught up to Relm and Strago and all four entered the Crescent Mountain cave. Just as they entered, Sabin dug up a set of scuba gear.
     "Bro! Let's go! I got it!" Sabin yelled across the cave to Edgar. Both started suiting up as the other two teams started digging.
     "Hey Fujin," Raijin said to Fujin as both started digging right at the entrance. "Squall and Rinoa ain't here ya know. Think they already found the gear?"
     "YES," Fujin said.
     "Yeah, you're right. Squall's tough ya know? He probably snatched up the gear and took off before we got here."
     "Nah, they didn't," Edgar said, finally suited up. "Only the Rastafarian and his whore have been through here. Ready Sabin?"
     "Ready Bro," Sabin replied. Both Edgar and Sabin walked to the exit and jumped out into the Serpent Trench.

<Amarant & Lani: Coworkers, Currently in 1st>
     Amarant and Lani crawled out of the water and onto the pier at Nikeah. Lani ran over and grabbed the clue, still wearing the scuba gear. Amarant stayed by the pier and took the suit off, then grabbed the clue from Lani, who was reading the clue out loud, but because of the scuba gear was completely inaudible.
     "Good choice," Amarant said. "Let's get one of those rafts."
     Lani took off the helmet and threw it aside. "Thank you Amarant. This whole leg has been perfectly raced because of yours truly. Let's not ruin it here! Maybe we can get such a lead that teams will never even see us anymore."
     Amarant and Lani found a man standing by the pier and proceeded to buy a raft ride to Narshe.

(Boat 3 Arrives)
     Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and Tifa were the first off the boat. Auron started to walk off when he turned back and saw Jecht still sitting on the boat.
     "You're not still mad about the skirt thing are you?" Auron asked Jecht.
     Jecht stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nah, that's fine. I'd do just about anything for that kind of money, and wearing a skirt is easy enough. Hell, it was actually kind of nice being so, free if you know what I mean."
     "I do, and I would prefer to stop talking about it now."
     "But let me tell you, I was already going commando, so now put me in a skirt, and I'm talkin' no restrictions there."
     "Fine, now you've scarred me for life. We're even, so can we get the clue now?"
     "You bet."

<Rikku & Yuna: Cousins, Currently in 7th>
     "Mail or Sail Yunie?" Rikku asked. "Do we want to read to a bunch of guys, or jump into a river?"
     "That's a hard one Rikku," Yuna replied. "Rivers are pretty scary sometimes. Then with the other one," Yuna trailed off.
     "I know Yunie. We're not too good at reading. The last time I read a bedtime story to a little kid, he ended up grabbing the book and reading it to me. That wasn't a good day for my babysitting career. I ended up falling asleep listening to the story and the kid went to a friend's house without telling me. I was-"
     "Rikku? We're in a race, remember?"
     "Right! Sorry. Let's get wet!"
     Yuna and Rikku ran off to Crescent Mountain.

<Tifa & Paine: Just met, Currently in 8th>
     "Let's do Mail," Tifa said to Paine.
     "Why? That's the long one," Paine said.
     Tifa tugged on her own shirt. "White shirt. I don't exactly need to go around parading these things around."
     "Damn, that's all you think about, isn't it? Didn't you bring another shirt with you?"
     "I didn't even know I'd be racing, so I didn't bring spares of anything."
     "That's too bad," Paine said, grabbing Tifa by the wrist. "We're still doing Sail. The reading one's too slow."
     "You just can't wait to see my-"
     "Would you get over yourself already? If anyone's obsessed with your tits, it's you. Now hurry up."
     Tifa tried to resist, but after a quick moment to herself, she agreed and followed Paine to the Crescent Mountain.

<Auron & Jecht: Grizzled Old Guys, Currently in 9th>
     "No question," Jecht said.
     "Exactly," Auron agreed. "We've got to do Sail just to check out that busty chick's wet rack."
     "Heh, couldn't've said it better myself. Hurry!"
     Auron and Jecht raced off at full speed to catch up to Tifa and Paine.

     Before any of the new teams could reach the Crescent Mountain, Relm and Strago, and Raijin and Fujin finished putting on their scuba gear and dove into the Serpent Trench without any hesitation, though some of the dives were a bit less spectacular. Strago's foot connected with a rock on the edge of the cliff as he leapt off, causing him to do a few twists on the way down to the water. Relm tried her best to point and laugh, but the current was already pulling them both on their way to Nikeah.

     Lani and Amarant found Narshe easily and ran into the town. Even Amarant was slightly jogging as they headed straight past all the buildings and for the mine, which wasn't exactly hard to find. Right outside the entrance to the mine was the mat, with Gippal and a resident of the city of Narshe by the name of Arvis. Lani jumped onto the mat as Amarant stepped on.
     "Welcome to Narshe, Home of the Returners!" Arvis said.
     "Amarant and Lani," Gippal said. "You're the first team to arrive."
     "Ha! What an easy victory," Lani said. "I take all credit for this great-"
     "However," Gippal interrupted. Lani stopped talking to listen. "During your roadblock, you killed a merchant, and murder breaks one of the rules of the game. It took city officials forty-five minutes to find enough phoenix downs and potions to fully revive her, and therefore you both are penalized for forty-five minutes. After that time has expired, you may come back and check in."
     "All credit to you," Amarant said, walking to the side and sitting on a rock.
     "Shut the hell up Flamer!" Lani yelled. "Shhhhhit!" Lani started pacing around the mat.

     "This heathen has a lot of energy," Steiner said, watching Umberto do rapid-fire, one-armed pushups.
     "That he does," Beatrix said, crossing her arms. "You know, we could've just read to him. I think it would've been faster."
     "I'm starting to think it would have," Steiner said. "But don't fear. He'll be exhausted soon."
     "It would be faster to take him back in and read to him."
     "Don't get upset with me," Steiner said. "After all, you know what would have been faster than reading to him? The Sail Detour. I've still yet to hear the reason why we didn't do that detour."
     "I-"
     "You what?"
     "I didn't want to get my hair wet," Beatrix finally blurted out.
     "That was it!?" Steiner said, shocked. "Why would that stop you?"
     "I forgot to bring a brush with me, and I didn't want to look like an Alexandrian street skank for the rest of the race."
     "I can't believe it. You-" Steiner stopped when he saw Umberto finally collapse and pass out. "There he goes. Come on, let's grab the clue," Steiner said, suddenly back into the good mood he was in before. Beatrix was shocked at how quickly he dropped the issue, but very happy he did. Both Steiner and Beatrix ran to the tent.

     Gippal stood at the mat as the next team raced for the mat. Squall walked onto the mat as Rinoa did a quick hop on, then wrinkled her nose and smiled at Squall. He looked back at her and cracked a smile, then stood at full attention for Gippal.
     "Welcome to Narshe, Home of the Returners!" Arvis said.
     "Returners? Sounds like my type of place!" Rinoa said.
     "Squall and Rinoa," Gippal said. "You're team number one!"
     Rinoa cheered and hugged Squall around the waist. Squall stayed at attention, waiting for Gippal to dismiss them.
     "As the winners of this leg, you've both won balcony seats at the first ever showing of the play "I Want to be Your Crow" in Alexandria.
     Rinoa blinked a couple times. "I've never heard of that play."
     "It's the premiere. It was written by the world famous Vivi the Black Mage. I'm not sure what it's about, nor exactly what a Vivi is. Sounded boring to me."
     "Oh. Well I'll bet it'll be fun!" Rinoa said happily.

(Boat 4 Arrives)
<Shinra & Rufus: Father/Son, Currently in Last Place>
     Rufus, Shinra, and their guide Rebecca got off the boat and grabbed the last clue in the clue box. Rufus read the clue. "Mail or Sail." He paused a moment to read the descriptions of each of them. "Ha! I've got a plan. Rebecca, would you mind getting us to the soldier's house?"
     "Not a problem," she said, pointing the way to the town.
     "Oh! And ferry guy!" Rufus yelled to the man driving their boat. "Get this boat gassed up for a trip to Narshe or something. We'll be back in a minute. And if we haul ass there, there's an extra fifty gil in it for you."

     Edgar and Sabin ran up the steps to the Narshe Mines. They sprinted to the mat, finally coming to a stop on the mat. All except for Sabin. He ran straight into Gippal. Gippal kept his balance and pushed Sabin onto the mat.
     "Whoa, that was a wakeup call," Gippal said. "I'm gonna have to stay a bit more aware from now on. I'm dozing off listening to this guy ramble on," he pointed to Arvis.
     "W-Welcome to Narshe, Home of the- Oh hey! Figaro bros! Good to see you," Arvis said.
     "Thanks Arvis," Edgar said.
     "Sabin and Edgar," Gippal said. "You're the second team to arrive!"
     "Yes!" Both brothers yelled, high-fiving each other.
     "You know," Edgar started, "it's kinda pathetic really. We came in second place, and this whole leg has been in our world. Hell, we were even in our own city, at one point."
     "I know what you mean," Sabin said. "We're gonna have to pick up the pace if we go to another world."

     Fujin and Raijin reached Nikeah and crawled out of the water. They ran ahead and grabbed their clue as Relm and Strago crashed into the pier. Relm crawled out, but Strago wasn't getting out.
     "Get out of there you ol' fuddy duddy!" Relm yelled at him. "Gah! I'm gonna get out clue while you get out."
     Relm ran to the clue box and pulled out their clue. Raijin and Fujin talked to the raft operator and bought their raft, but both were slightly curious as to what Strago was having problems with.
     "Think his gear's having problems?" Raijin asked Fujin.
     They walked to the edge of the pier and looked at Strago. Strago finally rose out of the water, floating on his stomach.
     "Oh damn," Raijin said, looking at Strago, then over at Relm.
     Relm caught his glance and walked over to them. "What?" she asked.
     "I think we ought to break it to her gently ya know," Raijin said quietly to Fujin. Fujin nodded. "Hey girl, your grandpa is having some-"
     "DEAD," Fujin blurted out.
     "Yeah, he's having some dead, ya know?"
     Relm looked at Raijin and Fujin oddly, then looked into the water at Strago floating. "Aww crap. We don't have time for this!" Relm looked at Raijin and Fujin. "Do you two suppose you can help me pull him out and throw him on a raft? If we share a raft, we can split the cost."
     "We should help her ya know," Raijin whispered to Fujin. Fujin replied only with a solid kick to Raijin's shin. "Ouch! Y-yeah, sorry girly, but survival of the fittest, ya know?"
     Raijin and Fujin ran to their raft and took off down the river toward Narshe, leaving Relm to fish Strago out herself.
     While Relm tried to pull Strago out herself, the ferry with Steiner and Beatrix docked. Beatrix ran to the clue box and read the clue while Steiner wandered over to Relm.
     "Having some troubles?" Steiner asked her.
     "My grandpa died," Relm said, pointing into the water at Strago.
     "Oh. Current must've been stronger than expected." Steiner looked over to Beatrix and yelled, "Good call with the Mail Detour Beatrix-dear! Her grandpa's dead in the current and she's trying to pull him out!"
     "Did you help her?" Beatrix yelled back as she walked over to purchase a raft.
     "In the process!" Steiner yelled, then dropped down and easily pulled Strago out of the water. He looked at Relm, still holding Strago under one arm. "I'll help you for a compromise."
     "Use smaller words," Relm demanded.
     "A deal," Steiner said. "We'll share a raft with you, but we're going to reach the mat first. Deal?"
     "Yeah, I dig," Relm said. "Hurry! Before the other teams come!"
     Steiner carried Strago and threw him onto the raft, then helped Beatrix and Relm onto the raft before hopping on himself. Both teams took off up the river toward Narshe.

     "Here he is," Rufus said to Shinra, leading him to a soldier. Rufus stood at the foot of the bed and crossed his arms. "Read to him," Rufus ordered Shinra.
     Shinra didn't like taking orders from his son, but he still sat on the stool and opened the letter. "Dear Miguel, I've only just heard-"
     "No no no!" Rufus yelled at Shinra. "We're trying to put him to sleep, remember? You're too peppy!"
     "I can only read what's written here," Shinra explained.
     "Yeah, but improvise! Read it like it was a meeting at Shin-Ra. Pretend this is Reeve and you've just turned down yet another budget plan that would essentially save the lives of millions and cause Midgar's economic growth to triple, but must be turned down because it costs more to our company."
     "Oh, that's easy," Shinra said. He started reading the letter again, this time in a very monotone voice. "Our first order of business today, is this letter. This letter will essentially cause our stocks to drop four points, and would cause a ripple effect in our competitors' stocks, giving them a much better position to rival our company. Therefore, the letter which starts 'Dear Miguel, I've only-"
     "Done!" Rufus yelled happily. "He's out cold. Grab the clue and let's run!"
     Shinra grabbed the clue and dropped the letter on the floor. Both started to leave when Shinra pointed back at their guide Rebecca, who had fallen asleep with her head on Miguel's bed. Rufus waved Shinra forward.
     "Let's go, fast," Rufus whispered. "Miguel will have a good prize waiting for him when he wakes up. And we don't need her anymore. We know where we're going. And this way, we don't have to pay her."
     The idea of not paying their guide motivated Shinra, and both he and Rufus jogged back to the docks.

     Raijin and Fujin ran up to the mat and faced Gippal.
     "Raijin and Fujin," Gippal said, "you're the third team to arrive!"
     "Gah, see Fujin?" Raijin said. "We could've helped that girl, ya know? After all, that team's weak. We want them in the race another round, just so they'll fall out next leg. Now you've made us look like the bad guys, ya know?"
     "SO?" Fujin retorted.
     "Strong argument," Raijin agreed, then high-fived Fujin.

     The raft with Steiner, Beatrix, Relm, and the late Strago hit the shore just outside of Narshe. Steiner threw Strago off the raft, then once the ladies were off, he got off, and both he and Beatrix started to run into Narshe.
     "Hey!" Relm yelled, standing by Strago. "What about him?"
     "Sorry, but we can't lose too much time helping," Beatrix responded. "Good luck!"
     "Wonderful," Relm said to herself. She grabbed Strago's cape and started dragging him into Narshe.
     Steiner and Beatrix ran through the streets of Narshe and up to the entrance of the Narshe Mines. They stepped onto the mat, then both saluted Gippal. Gippal saluted back.
     "Damn, what's with everybody saluting me?" Gippal said. "Steiner and Beatrix, you're team number four!"
     Steiner and Beatrix hugged each other.
     "Now I think I want to go back to that town and recruit Umberto to the Knights of Pluto," Steiner joked.

     Auron and Jecht were the first to arrive at Nikeah. They crawled out of the water and grabbed their clue, just as Tifa and Paine crawled out of the water. Tifa was covering herself self-consciously, but was quickly becoming more embarrassed as Jecht whistled at her and Auron peered over his sunglasses at her, raising his eyebrows and smiling.
     "Oh knock it off," Tifa yelled at them while Paine grabbed the clue.
     Only a few seconds later, Yuna and Rikku surfaced and jumped out of the water.
     "Brrrr that's cold!" Rikku yelled.
     Yuna walked to the clue box and grabbed the clue.
     "Don't need to tell us," Auron said. "We know it's cold, right Tifa?"
     "Gah!" Tifa screamed. "Shut... UP!"
     "Ah we're just jokin' with you," Jecht said. "Here, to show that we're nice guys, we'll buy the raft and share it with all of you.
     Auron and Jecht walked over to buy a raft, then Auron leaned over to Jecht. "Could you actually see anything?" he asked him quietly.
     "Nah, there's nothing to see," Jecht said. "Shirt may be white, but it's stuffed to hell. There's no seeing through that padding."
     All three teams boarded the raft and sailed off to Narshe.

     "Amarant and Lani?" Gippal said, just before Amarant fell asleep. "You can come back to the mat now."
     Both stood up and walked over to the mat sullenly.
     "Amarant and Lani, you're team number five!"
     "God, I can't believe we lost so much time," Lani said. "With forty-five minutes, we could have such a lead."
     "Maybe you should refrain from killing anybody then," Gippal joked.
     "Shut yer trap! I'll kill you if you don't stay quiet!"
     Amarant picked Lani up by her shirt and carried her off the mat. "Don't. Threatening the host just might be a penalty."

     The ferry with Rufus and Shinra had found a back route into the rivers by Narshe, and let them off right where the rafts had been landing. Rufus and Shinra got off and ran into Narshe.
     "Hurry Tubby," Rufus yelled. "I hear there's food at the mat."
     Shinra started running faster and faster until he'd passed up Rufus. "You'd better hurry. If you get there after I do, I'm cutting your allowance."
     Rufus overtook the lead running. They'd almost reached the steps up to the mines when they saw Relm dragging Strago up a short flight of stairs leading to the mines.
     "Hey guys!" Relm yelled to them. "Help me out, yeah?"
     Both Shinras laughed loudly as they ran past her up the stairs.
     "You cock-knockers!" Relm yelled at them as they passed.
     The Shinras leapt onto the mat.
     "Shinra and Rufus," Gippal said, "you're team number six!"
     "Good work Rudolph," Shinra said to Rufus.
     "Back at you Fatass," Rufus replied.
     A few minutes later, after Rufus and Shinra had cleared the mat, Relm dragged Strago up the final flight of stairs and dragged him onto the mat.
     "Relm and... Relm," Gippal said. "You're team number seven!"
     Relm panted. "Thanks," she managed to say between breaths.
     "So what happened out there?" Gippal asked.
     "He's friken old, that's what," Relm said. "Oh well. I'm gonna get him to an Inn and see if I can find a cheap phoenix down somewhere."
     "Sounds like a plan," Gippal said. "One thing's for sure, you're quite the racer."
     "Don't patronize me," Relm said. "Just help me move him off the mat."

     Auron and Jecht were the first two off the raft, and they immediately ran full speed to Narshe. Tifa and Paine raced off next, followed by Yuna and Rikku. All three teams seemed to know this was an important footrace to the mat. Though Auron and Jecht were leading, the four girls were catching up quickly as the teams raced into Narshe.
     "We can't outrun them," Auron said to Jecht.
     "I know," Jecht said. "So we're just gonna have to out play them. On my count, stash the bags." Auron and Jecht put their hands on their backpack straps. Jecht counted them off. "One. Two. Drop!"
     Their bags fell behind them, right in the path of the four girls, all in full stride. Tifa and Paine were too close and sprinting too fast to avoid the bags, and both tripped over them, rolling on the ground. Yuna and Rikku had enough time to jump out of the way and even toss their own bags off to the side. Yuna started to slow down.
     "We should help them!" Yuna said.
     "Yunie! Don't be dumb!" Rikku said. "We don't want to get eliminated!"
     "Right! Sorry."
     Yuna and Rikku ran quickly and passed Auron and Jecht just before they reached the short flights of stairs leading to the mines. They ran up and dove face first onto the mat. Gippal looked down at Yuna and Rikku lying on the mat.
     "I love when ladies just throw themselves at me," Gippal said. "And the high-summoner nonetheless. Anyway, Yuna and Rikku, you're team number eight!"
     Yuna and Rikku rolled off the mat, just as Auron and Jecht stepped on it.
     "Auron and Jecht," Gippal said, "you're team number nine."
     "A bit too close for comfort," Auron said.

     Tifa and Paine walked up to the Narshe Mines slowly and finally stepped on the mat. Both were fairly scratched up from the fall.
     "Tifa and Paine," Gippal said sadly, "you're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to tell you you've both been eliminated from the race."
     "We know," Tifa said, rubbing her arm.
     "Sorry to say it, but Auron and Jecht didn't throw their bags at you, so it was still a legal act," Gippal explained.
     "Makes sense," Paine said. "I just wish we'd thought of it."
     "I'm really surprised to see you go down so early Dr. P. What happened that put you guys behind like that?"
     "We're both very strong players," Paine explained, "but we're also pretty independent, which doesn't exactly work."
     "Couldn't have said it better myself," Tifa said. "But it was fun racing with you, even if short-lived." She extended her hand out to Paine. "Friends?"
     "Yeah, sure," Paine said, shaking her hand.