Episode 3: Part 3

<Strago & Relm: Grandpa/Granddaughter, Currently in 4th>
     Relm and Strago rushed through the portal and into Bangor Dome. Relm immediately started racing outside in a hurry.
     "Where're you going so fast?" Strago asked. "Remember you've gotta wait for me."
     "Yeah, and remember that water you made me drink?" Relm asked, pressing her legs together. "I've gotta piss! BAD!"
     "Why didn't you go back at the fair?"
     "Because I didn't hafta! But I do now!"
     "Fine," Strago said. "We'll check that dome to the south for bathrooms. But let's go quickly. We don't want to fall too far behind."
     "Yeah, fine. You're really one to lecture me about bringing down the team."
     "Well I didn't mean to die!"
     "But you did!"
     The pair continued to argue as they ran south to an unknown dome in search of a bathroom.

     Just as Strago and Relm left without picking up their clue, Shinra and Rufus came through the portal and immediately grabbed the clue.
     "Arris Dome," Rufus said. "You ready?"
     "Of course Rummy," Shinra said.
     "Card game."
     "What?"
     "Rummy. It's a card game. But anyway, you're sure you're ready, right? Not feeling any effects of alcohol, are you?"
     "Of course not! I drink more than that my average day at work!"
     "That really explains a lot," Rufus said. "All right then. Let's go."

     Edgar and Sabin ran to Arris Dome after spotting the clue directly outside the entrance. Sabin was first to reach the clue box and promptly pulled a clue out and opened it.
     "Detour," Sabin read. "Sewers or Rats?"

<Announcer Gippal>
     "A detour is a choice between two tasks. In Sewers, teams must maneuver through a small sewer without making a sound. If they make a sound, they must start once again. Once through, they will be presented with their next clue. This task is not physically demanding, but staying completely silent could be difficult. In Rats, teams must enter the Arris dome and catch a quick, talking rat running among the rafters. Once they catch the rat, he will give them their next clue. Teams will need good balance and quick speed to catch the rat, but if done properly could catch the rat in a short amount of time."

<Edgar & Sabin: Brothers, Currently in 1st>
     "We've fought against rats in rafters before," Sabin said. "Let's do Rats."
     "Good call," Edgar said. "But Sabin. Dude. You'd better be able to do this yourself. I wouldn't say I'm drunk or anything, but I just don't want to fall off any rafters anytime soon."
     "No prob Bro. I used to do training things like this with Master Duncan. This'll be no sweat."
     The Figaro brothers entered the dome and headed for the attic with the rats. Edgar was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol and started gripping his head in that 'I've got a splitting headache' way.

<Auron & Jecht: Grizzled Old Guys, Currently in 5th>
     Jecht and Auron made their way through the portal and picked up their clue.
     "This place sucks," Jecht said.
     Auron nodded in agreement, then pointed to Strago and Relm who had just started running back from a bathroom break. Auron checked the clue over once again, then looked at Jecht.
     "Am I drunk?" Auron asked.
     "Probably, how the hell should I know?"
     "Hmp. Well you should look over this clue anyways, because those guys are coming from the south, and the clue says to go north, right?"
     "God Auron. You'd think after walking around with Yuna and my crybaby son you'd know what a lost person looks like."
     "I really don't know why you criticize him so much," Auron said. "In the long run, you're twice the idiot he was."
     "Yep," Jecht agreed. "That's why he'll always be half the man I am."
     "That doesn't make sense. And here I thought I was the drunk one."
     "That's what you think. I found this place they were selling alcohol and bought me a little bit. So basically, you just got yours for free."
     "Hmp. I knew you couldn't keep your promise. Braska owes me ten bucks."
     "Oh what, I never told you? I changed my mind that day. I decided it wasn't the alcohol that made me kill that shoopuf. The bastard had it coming. Therefore I didn't have to give up drinking."
     "Did you decide all this while you were still drunk?" Auron asked.
     "Of course. Now let's go!"

     Relm and Strago finally collected their clue from Bangor Dome and headed off after Auron and Jecht for Lab 16. They took a brief look back to see the portal in Bangor Dome open back up, then continued on their way.

     Lani stepped through the portal first, closely followed by Amarant. Very closely. Amarant was standing directly next to Lani when she grabbed the clue out of the clue box. She started reading through the clue when Amarant slowly put his arm around her. He rested his hand on her opposite shoulder.
     "Make your way t-" Lani paused and looked at his hand, then over to his face. "Umm, excuse me?"
     Amarant didn't respond at all. He continued to just stare forward.
     "Not much of a drinker, are you Flamer?" Lani asked. She shrugged his hand off and led Amarant north to Lab 16.

<Edgar & Sabin: Brothers, Currently in 1st>
     The brothers reached the rafters and found the rat waiting a short distance from them. He was still as a rock. Sabin and Edgar crouched down and Sabin pointed to the rat.
     "Okay Bro, here's the plan," Sabin said.
     "For starters, can you not wobble the rafters so much?" Edgar asked.
     "O-okay. New plan. You hold on as tight as you can to this rafter here. I'll be back."
     Edgar did as he was ordered and lie down on the rafter, throwing both arms tightly around it. Sabin started walking slowly toward the rat in a crouched position. The rat caught sight of him and immediately took off running full speed through the rafters. Sabin was prepared for this however, and used his crouched position to take off like a sprinter off the blocks. The one thing Sabin didn't expect, however, were the sharp turns that he had to slow greatly for. He chased the rat all the way to the other side of the rafters where it disappeared from sight.
     "The hell?" Sabin said, walking along one of the last rafters. "Where'd he go?"
     Just then, the rat jumped out from a rafter directly behind him and took off the way he'd come. Sabin whirled around and immediately started running after the rat again, when suddenly the rat was snatched up by Edgar who'd been walking around the rafters normally.
     "Squeak!! I give up! Here's your clue!" the rat said, giving them their next clue.
     "I thought you were drunk off your rocker Bro," Sabin said.
     Edgar dropped the rat and put his hands on his hips, giving a triumphant laugh. "That's what you think! I was just trying to fool the rat. I've always been a good drinker."
     "You have?"
     "Sure! Have you ever been to a Figaro Castle initiation party where they crowned you king!? Now that is stinkin' drunk."
     "I could've been king but-"
     "Clue time!" Edgar interrupted loudly. He ripped open the clue. "Make your way to the pitstop at Proto Dome. Warning: the last team to check in here may be eliminated."

<Announcer Gippal>
    "Teams must make their way to Lab 32 and find the marked jet bikes. From there, teams will drive them all the way to the pitstop at Proto Dome. The last team to check in here may be eliminated."

<Raijin & Fujin: Friends, Currently in 8th>
      The portal in Bangor Dome opened again and Raijin walked through, followed closely by a very strange Fujin. She appeared to be completely normal except for one tiny feature.
     "Clue box is over there," Fujin said to Raijin. "I think I'll get it."
     "Yeah, you do that," Raijin said.
     Fujin ripped open the clue. "We need to go north to the labs up there. Lab 16 as it says here. Ready Rage?"
     "Yeah, let's g-"
     "So anyway, like I was telling you before. So I'm in line waiting for a hot dog when this..."

<Rikku & Yuna: Cousins, Currently in last place>
     Yuna and Rikku reached the portal in Guardia Forest and waited while Yuna searched through her pockets for the gate key, only to realize she didn't have any pockets. Finally Rikku came across it in her backpack. She held it out and opened the portal, then both Yuna and Rikku stepped into the portal. Then, just before the portal closed, a figure jumped out of the trees and leapt into the portal with them.
     The portal reacted oddly, then landed Yuna, Rikku, and a very exhausted Squall in the End of Time.
     "Gah! What the hell did you do!?" Rikku yelled at Squall.
     "What I had to," Squall said. He found Rinoa still asleep in the corner and propped her up against the wall.
     "Oh my," Yuna said, cupping her mouth with her hand. "She was stuck here?"
     Squall nodded.
     "So you had to go and screw us up!" Rikki said angrily. "God! Does everybody want us out of this?"
     "What do you mean?" Squall inquired. 
     "Well here we thought we had an alliance with Auron and Tidus's daddy, and they've gone out of there way twice now to slow us down."
     "Get them back," Squall said.
     "We can't!" Rikku said. "We're too gullible!"
     "Besides, we're out anyway," Yuna sulked. "We're now tied with you for last place I think. You're going to beat us without trying, and then we're out."
     "I'll help you," Squall said.
     "Really? Why?"
     "Because I'm going to get a penalty for slowing you down like this," Squall said. "I need to get to a safe position, and we can help each other to get there."
     Both Yuna and Rikku's faces lit up and both ran at Squall and hugged him tightly repeating "thank you thank you thank you." Squall pushed them both off of him, then picked up Rinoa.
     "Follow me," he said, finding the portal to Bangor Dome.

<Steiner & Beatrix: Dating, Currently in 2nd>
     Beatrix ripped open the clue at Arris Dome. "Sewer or Rats?"
     "Sewer sounds easy," Steiner said.
     Beatrix raised an eyebrow and looked Steiner over. "I think not, Rusty."
     Steiner smiled back at her. "Okay, Rats then."

<Shinra & Rufus: Father/Son, Currently in 3rd>
     Only a matter of seconds after Steiner and Beatrix left in search of the Rats detour, Rufus and Shinra found the clue box at Arris Dome.
     "There aren't any rafters I know of that'll hold you up," Rufus said. "We're doing Sewers, so contain that indigestion Tubs."
     Shinra let loose a long loud belch. "Okay, it's out of my system now. Let's do this Rude."
     Rufus pointed at Shinra. "You're doing this on purpose! It's annoying! You've never even spoken to Rude."

<Auron & Jecht: Grizzled Old Guys, Currently in 4th>
     Auron tore open the clue and read through the choices. "Well?"
     "Since when've I been able to shut the hell up?" Jecht said.
     "Rats it is then."

<Strago & Relm: Grandpa/Granddaughter, Currently in 5th>
     "Sewer or Rats?" Relm read. "Those both suck. Where's a third option when you need one?"
     "Just pick one Relm," Strago said.
     "Fine," Relm said. "Let's do Sewers then."

<Edgar & Sabin: Brothers, Currently in 1st>
     Edgar and Sabin entered the Lab 32 area and found several hovering car-like machines lined up on one end of a highway.
     "Jet bikes?" Sabin asked Edgar.
     "I guess so," Edgar said. "Okay. Let's do it. I'm driving."

     Steiner and Beatrix climbed down to a small room, then ran to another ladder heading upward. Both started up the second ladder and reached the rafters above.
     "Beatrix-dear?" Steiner asked.
     "Yes, Adelbert?" Beatrix asked back.
     "This architecture boggles the mind."
     "How do you mean?"
     "Well, by all means, shouldn't this ladder take us right back to the floor we were just on? I mean, I saw no second ladder in the previous room, and yet this ladder is supposed to take us even higher?"
     "The future sure is advanced," Beatrix responded and continued climbing up.
     "Indeed."
     Steiner and Beatrix reached the rafters and caught sight of the rat. Both looked at each other without speaking, then ran screaming at the rat. The rat immediately took off running away from them.

     Relm and Strago worked their way through the sewers quietly, both walking on their tiptoes. Then just ahead of her, Relm spotted a cute kitty sitting at the edge of the water. Strago walked straight past the cat, but Relm still bent down and pat the cat on the head. The cat looked up at her and gave a quick 'mew.'
     Suddenly a voice came over some loudspeaker installed in the sewer. "Failure! Begin again!" it said.
     "You're kidding!" Relm yelled at the speaker. "It wasn't me! It was the cat!"
     Strago grabbed her arm and lead her back to the start. "Now we know, right? This won't stop us!"
     "Well, I am kinda glad," Relm said. "I've gotta go."
     "Again!?"
     "You're the one that made me drink an entire lake!"
     Strago stopped a moment to think, then lead Relm over to Arris Dome in search of a bathroom.

     "Did you see that?" Rufus whispered to Shinra. They were both standing by the sewers entrance watching Relm and Strago as they headed out in search of a bathroom.
     "No mistakes," Shinra said to Rufus. "There will be all sorts of plants along the way. We can't fall for any of them."
     Rufus nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's go for it."
     Rufus and Shinra crept along the path as silently as possible. They passed the cat trap that Relm fell for, when suddenly Rufus looked ahead at the traps. His jaw dropped as his eyes honed in on a piece of cheese ahead on the path. It was an obvious trap, as well as an irresistible hunk of food for his obese father. Rufus vigorously poked Shinra on the shoulder as they passed some paper bag and can trap. Shinra turned to face Rufus, who knew he would not be able to use words. Rufus held up a finger for him to hold on while he thought out a mime. After a brief moment to himself, he decided not to mime, and instead grabbed one of Shinra's hands and threw it over his own eyes, then grabbed his other hand and forced him to plug his own nose. Rufus then proceeded to guide Shinra through the maze by pushing his back.
     Even with his sight and vision cut off, Shinra knew there was food nearby and quickly started subconsciously resisting Rufus's guiding away from the food. Rufus however, was determined to win this leg and put his full force into Shinra and finally eased him passed the cheese trap. They finally reached the end and received their clue from a talking frog. Shinra pulled his hands away from his face.
     "Thanks son," Shinra said. "That cheese has some sort of spell over me."
     "I know it did," Rufus responded. "Now come on, let's get to the end. Maybe we'll grab some cheeseburgers once we reach the pitstop.

     In the attic, Beatrix was chasing the rat into a corner while Steiner stood behind her in case of some sort of evasion. His backup was unnecessary though because just as the rat noticed a small hole in the wall which he could escape through, Beatrix dove for the rat face first. She caught the rat by the very end of his tail and yanked him out of the hole.
     "Squeak!! I give up! Here's your clue!" the rat said, giving them their next clue.
     "Well done," Steiner said, helping Beatrix up.
     "I'm just glad I grabbed the right rat," Beatrix said. "There's quite a few of them in this hole here."
     "Th-there's rats in there?" Steiner stuttered.
     Beatrix smiled at him, then started waving her finger is his face. "There's thousands of them! Creepy nasty plague-bearing rodents with-"
     Steiner screamed, then grabbed Beatrix by the wrist and ran top speed through the rafters to the ladder.

     Auron and Jecht stood at the bottom of the ladder while Steiner and Beatrix, still moving very quickly, ran down the ladder and past them. Jecht pointed over his shoulder at Steiner and Beatrix with a very confused look on his face. Auron shrugged. Jecht returned the shrug, then both headed up the ladder. 
     Jecht reached the top and stepped out onto the beams. He pushed down on the first beam with his foot and saw it bend slightly.
     "Heh, I got this Auron," Jecht said before Auron even stepped out onto the beam.
     "Be my guest," Auron replied.
     Jecht started hopping up and down like an Olympic sprinter getting ready for the next heat. The beam below him started to slide back and forth on the support beams which were very much not secured to each other. He gave a quick thumbs up to Auron, then darted off after the rat. The rat immediately gave chase and took off in the opposite direction. Jecht continued to chase it with very powerful stomps on the rafters. The rat was very curious about his running style, but didn't let that distract him from making his routine escape. Jecht chased the rat to the final beam before the rafters ended. The rat didn't let up his stride in the slightest knowing that Jecht could gain a sudden burst of speed at any moment and grab him, but suddenly a strange phenomenon occurred. The beam beneath the rat jolted. Hard. Then before anyone knew what was going on, the rat lost its footing and slipped off the beam. Jecht dove down on the beam and reached out for the rat, but it was too late. The rat was plummeting downward to his probable doom.
     "Jecht!" Auron yelled.
     "Yeah yeah, sorry," Jecht said. "Let's get down there and find that rat. Better do it fast too. If that rat is dead then we're probably gonna get in trouble."

     The jet bike parked fairly close to the dome, then Edgar and Sabin ran inside of Proto Dome. The mat was just inside the entrance and Gippal stood next to black man with wheels on his back named Johnny. The brothers ran onto the mat and stood staring at Gippal.
     "Like, welcome to 2300 A.D. The future!" Johnny said.
     "Sabin and Edgar," Gippal said, "you're team number one!"
     The brothers high-fived.
     "Told you nobody passed us," Edgar said to Sabin.
     "As the winners of this leg of the race, you've both won lifetime passes to the Gold Saucer, which you can enjoy after the race," Gippal explained.
     "Gold Saucer?" Sabin asked Edgar quietly.
     Edgar held his high. "Everybody knows that Sabin. It's a hotel."
     "Oh, I see. Sounds fun." 

<Amarant & Lani: Coworkers, Currently in 6th>
     Amarant reached the clue box first and pulled out the clue. Lani promptly tugged the clue out of his hands and opened it up. Amarant put his arm around her and looked on with her, breathing heavily over her shoulder.
     Lani gave a disgusted look, but read the clue. "Sewers or Rats? Those both sound nasty. Let's do Rats."
     Amarant nodded and patted her shoulder a couple times. "Let's do it."

     Shortly after Amarant and Lani left, Fujin and Raijin walked up to the clue box. Raijin ran ahead, partially to grab the clue, and partially to escape Fujin.
     "Sewers or Rats?" Raijin asked Fujin.
     "Whatever you think," Fujin said, poking Raijin on the nose.
     "Fuge, you're smashed ya know?" Raijin said.
     Fujin laughed loudly. "Maybe you're smashed."
     "This was a dumb roadblock, ya know? Come on. There ain't no way you'll stay quiet, so let's go find that rat."
     Fujin slapped Raijin on the back violently. Raijin doubled over from the impact and looked over his shoulder at her. She didn't seem to think much of it. She simply left her arm around him and kept walking. Raijin led her into the dome closely behind Amarant and Lani.

     Rufus sat behind the wheel of his jetbike and drove on what seemed like a straight shot victory. Finally finding a roadblock they could excel at was giving them a lead this leg that they didn't plan on losing. Suddenly Shinra spun around in his seat and glanced behind them.
     "Looks like we've got company," Shinra said with a cigar sticking out of his mouth as he fumbled for his lighter.
     "You're kidding!" Rufus said, spinning around to look behind him. Who is it? Can you see?"
     "Hmm. Looks like the armored guy and his babe with the huge knockers."
     "Great. Well I'm sure we can out run them. Maybe if you curl up into a ball I can just push you to the finish. You might pick up some nice momentum."
     "Sure Rambo. Like your scrawny arms could push anything."
     "I'll push you out of this jet car thing!" Rufus yelled at him.
     Rufus looked angrily when suddenly their jet bike jolted. Both Rufus and Shinra looked back and saw the other jet bike only inches behind them.
     "Did they just bash us?" Rufus asked Shinra.
     "You always were the scholar," Shinra said.
     "Well if they wanna play dirty with me that's just fine!" Rufus yelled, swerving the car to the side, seeming to let Steiner and Beatrix pass.

     "Oh my god!" Steiner yelled from behind the wheel. "Did I just hit that flying cart? Are they okay?"
     "They look okay," Beatrix responded. "You certainly hit them hard though."
     "Well I can't tell what the hell I'm doing! Ask them if they're okay, will you dear?"
     "Hell if I'm sticking any body part outside of this thing! It's a chariot of death as is!"
     Steiner started to pull passed the Shinras car, when suddenly Rufus turned the wheel and slammed into the side of them. Steiner could see both Shinras giving them the finger. Steiner straightened out the car and shook his fist out the side when suddenly Beatrix started slapping his arm over and over and pointed forward. Steiner looked forward and saw that they were approaching the dome. Quickly.
     "STEINER! STOP!" Beatrix yelled.
     "HOW!?" Steiner yelled, but before Beatrix could respond, both just covered their faces and screamed.
     The jet bike was within inches of colliding with the dome when it suddenly stopped. Airbags deployed and cushioned Steiner and Beatrix as they flew forward at the dashboard. They sat back as the bags deflated and saw a small screen with a message on it.

EMERGENCY STOP
PRIMITIVE AND/OR RETARDED DRIVER
THANKS FOR RIDING
PLEASE LEAVE

     Rufus and Shinra stopped beside them and leapt out of their jet bike and started running inside the dome.
     "They okay?" Rufus asked Shinra, never breaking his stride.
     "Do you really care?" Shinra asked.
     "Nope," Rufus responded.
     "That's my boy!"
     Rufus and Shinra ran inside and stopped on the mat facing Gippal and Johnny.
     "Shinra and Rufus," Gippal said, "you're team number two!"
     "TWO!?" Shinra and Rufus both yelled.
     "I knew it!" Rufus yelled at Shinra. "Those brothers! We never passed them! I told you we didn't!"
     Gippal waved for Shinra and Rufus to leave the mat, which they did slowly.

     Steiner and Beatrix stepped onto the mat and looked to Gippal.
     "Steiner and Beatrix," Gippal said, "you're team number three!"
     "Thank you," Steiner said. "Now PLEASE can we leave this future place? You wouldn't believe the horrible things your fly-car was telling us!"
     "Yeah, we're going to have to edit that out," Gippal responded.

     Yuna, Rikku, and Squall with Rinoa on his back reached the clue box. Squall put Rinoa down and took his clue while Rikku took hers.
     "Rats," Squall said.
     "Sewers!" Rikku and Yuna yelled.
     Squall walked over to them and very seriously pointed at their clue and said, "No, you're doing Rats. Follow me." Squall picked Rinoa up and walked into the dome. Rikku and Yuna pouted, but followed.

     Strago and Relm walked through the sewers on their second attempt after Relm's second bathroom break. Both seemed to be walking through calmly enough until Relm got bored. She spotted a can up the way and was unable to fight the urge to kick it into a bag on its side. Strago saw Relm moving for the can and ran after her. She wound up her leg to kick it when Strago made a silent dive for her. He tried to simply catch her and stop her, but his horrible aim instead took him directly between Relm and the can. Relm, having not noticed, let her kick loose and belted Strago right in the stomach.
     Strago bit his lip and continued to stay silent. Relm, having realized what she'd done, put her hands to her mouth. She then took them off her mouth and said "sorry" loudly. She didn't even notice she'd done anything wrong until a voice came over the loudspeaker in the sewer. "Failure! Begin again!" it said.
     "That's it Relm!" Strago said as he stood up. "We're doing the Rats one. Let's go."

     Auron and Jecht continued to search in the basement for the rat. Jecht found one and picked it up by the tail.
     "This it?" He yelled to Auron.
     "Does it talk?" Auron asked.
     "Let's see." Jecht held the rat higher, then bashed it against a wall. "Say something!" He waited for a second, then threw the rat across the room. "Nope, not him."
     "Great," Auron said. "Maybe we should just do that other detour really quick."
     "Fine, let's go."
     Auron and Jecht walked back to the room with the ladder back to the rafters when they saw the rat standing in the middle of the room. Auron and Jecht looked at each other and shrugged, then crept up on the rat. The rat looked back and saw them approaching, then just as it started to run it was lifted off the ground by a third person.

     "Here's your rat," Amarant said, holding the rat by its tail. He tossed it to Lani who caught it by the back of the neck.
     "Clue please," Lani ordered the rat. Once Lani received the clue, she looked up at Auron and Jecht. "You guys in last place?"
     "Pff, hell no!" Jecht yelled. "There's plenty of teams behind us."
     "Fine," Lani said, then threw the rat at Jecht. "Let's go Fl-" Lani looked over her shoulder and saw that Amarant once again had moved in on her and had his arm completely wrapped around her neck like an annoying friend posing for a picture. "Christ Flamer! Back off!" Lani yelled, throwing his arm off of her.
     Amarant looked back at Auron and Jecht, then pointed at Lani. "Women," he said, then followed Lani out of the dome.

     Jecht took the clue from the rat and both he and Auron left to find the jet bikes. After climbing the ladder they stood aside as Fujin and Raijin went down the ladder they'd just come up.

     Raijin looked around the room and immediately located the rat in the corner of the room. He looked back at Fujin who seemed equally confused.
     "Isn't this more of a basement?" Raijin asked.
     "HA HA HA! Totally!" Fujin laughed maniacally.
     "That wasn't a joke, ya know?" Raijin said. Fujin ignored him. "I'll get the rat."
     Raijin grabbed the rat easily and took their clue.

     Strago and Relm were about to leave the sewers, when suddenly Strago stopped.
     "What's up gramps?" Relm asked.
     "It's just that, well," Strago trailed off.
     Relm moved in closer and asked again. "G-gramps? What's up?"
     Strago suddenly grabbed the beret off of Relms head and stuffed it in her mouth, then spun her around, wrapping her up in her cloak. "I've never walked away from a challenge!" Strago yelled as he used all of his strength to lift Relm above his head and carry her back into the sewers. "We're gonna do this thing! Even with a drunk little girl!"
     Strago ran back through the sewer as quick as the old man had ever moved before. He passed by traps completely silently. He ran like he was a retired ninja, never making a sound when each foot hit the ground. After a matter of only a few seconds, Strago reached the end and received his clue. He put Relm down and helped her get free of her wrapped up cloak.
     "I'm not even going to ask where you learned that," Relm said. "But I am going to puke now. Move aside."

     Squall carried Rinoa down the ladder, closely followed by Yuna and Rikku. Both teams simply walked up to the rat and took their clues.
     "You've gotta be kidding me," Rikku said. "Thanks Squally for helping us pick the easy detour."
     "Somehow I think it wasn't supposed to be this easy," Squall said.
     None felt like questioning this, and both teams raced out of the dome to find the jet bikes.

     Amarant and Lani ran up to the mat and hopped on.
     "Amarant and Lani," Gippal said, "you're the fourth team to arrive!"
     Lani cheered and jumped up and down excitedly, then suddenly Amarant reached his arms around her and gave her a hug. Lani suddenly stopped cheering and gave Amarant a weird look. "Not much of a drinker, are you Flamer? GET OFF!" Lani pushed Amarant off of her and both cleared aside for the next team to step onto the mat.

     Auron and Jecht walked slowly up to the mat and crossed their arms.
     "Auron and Jecht," Gippal said. "you're team number five!"
     "Heh, sweet. No penalty," Jecht said.
     "The judges decided not to give one," Gippal said. "As it turns out, they really wanted to give you one, but you've done such random things that I really don't have rules against them. We never thought we'd have to make a rule against building your own clue boxes. Just please guys, no more."
     "No promises," Auron said.

     Strago and Relm boarded their jet bike and started looking it over to get the controls down.
     "Okay Relm, hold onto something," Strago said. "I'm gonna open this baby up!"
     "Do it! Do it!" Relm said enthusiastically.
     Strago took off. Slowly.
     "The hell is this? This is opening 'er up? Petal to the metal you old piece of crap!"
     Relm slid down in her seat and stretched her leg out, pushing Strago's foot and the gas petal down as hard as she could.

     Only a few moments later, Squall loaded Rinoa into a jet bike while Rikku and Yuna took off in theirs. Squall leapt into the bike and floored it.

     Raijin and Fujin ran onto the mat and faced Gippal.
     "Fujin and Raijin," Gippal said, "you're team number six!"
     "Thanks Phil!" Fujin yelled.
     "It's uhh, Gip-"
     "Whatever! This has been fun!"
     "This was hell, ya know?" Raijin interjected. "Fuge, you've gotta sleep it off, ya know?"
     "You should get her some water too," Gippal said.
     "Good idea Phil!" Fujin yelled. "You're the man!"
     Johnny looked embarrassed. "You guys are all crazy," he said and left the mat.

     A jet bike parked and the team ran inside and up to the mat.
     "Strago and Relm," Gippal said, "you're team number seven!"
     "Awesome!" Relm said. "But hey, where's the welcoming guy?"
     "Oh, it was Johnny," Gippal said. "He left. Sorry. Apparently he's the man, and Fujin offended him."

     The two last jet bikes were side by side as they pulled up at Proto Dome. Rikku and Yuna hopped out of their car while Squall jumped out of his, making sure to pick up Rinoa in the process. Both teams raced inside the dome as quickly as they could go. All of them left their backpacks behind and raced as quickly as they could through the dome. Finally a team reached the mat.
     "Yuna and Rikku," Gippal said, "you're team number eight!"
     Both girls politely held off on the rejoicing as they stepped off the mat to let the last team on.
     Rinoa blinked a couple times and opened her eyes. Squall put her down and let her stand on her own. Both walked onto the mat.
     "Squall and Rinoa," Gippal said, "you're the last team to arrive."
     "Huh?" Rinoa said confusedly. "Oh. Shit."
     "I'm sorry to tell you you've both been eliminated from the race." Gippal looked to Squall. "Are you disappointed?"
     Squall shrugged. "Are we disappointed?" he asked Rinoa.
     Rinoa smiled and shook her head softly. "No. We tried our best."
     Squall nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I did."