Episode 3: Part 3

     "Sis. Sis!" Reina shouted in a whisper to her sister. Faris turned and saw Reina holding a copy of the Germonik Scriptures. Faris ran to her and led her to a corner so they could properly hide the appearance of the book.

     "Biran found book!" Biran announced loudly. He held it above his head and started waving it around, then he and Yenke finally decided to actually open the book and look for the page. Everybody looked up at the book, including Reina and Faris, who both just sighed.

     "It's green, Mother," Garnet said. "And thick."
     "Oh, like this one?" Brahne said, pulling a book from the shelf.
     "Yes, yes that's it!" Garnet ran to Brahne and the two began flipping through the pages.

     "Thar ye are!" Faris said, ripping a page with red text from the book. She read the page quietly to Reina. "Make yer way ter the dam at Bethla Garrison."

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Teams must now travel to the dam at Bethla Garrison.. Like they just said. Why do I have a job? The teams can read... Oh well. Nice mouth, gift-horse."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, Currently in 1st Place>
     Reina and Faris ran up several flights of stairs and made their way outside. They ran to Dorter Trade City and found a group of people talking by the side of the road. Reina approached them cautiously with Faris right behind her.
     "Pardon us," Reina explained, mostly to the one woman of the group. "We're looking to go to Bethla Garrison. Do you know the way?"
     "It's immediately east of here," the woman said politely.
     "Okay, thank you!" Reina said. She and Faris waved and headed to the east. Reina pulled out the compass and started navigating. Faris kept a close watch over her sister's shoulder, just in case of poor navigation.

     Zone and Watts continued slowly through the Deep Dungeon. Zone started looking low while Watts looked high, when suddenly Watts tripped on a small hole in the ground. Zone helped him regain his balance, then stuck his hand into the hole and pulled out their clue.
     "Yes! Got it!" Zone said. "Now... Lead me out of here. I'm lost."
     Watts grabbed him by the shirt collar and led him out of the cave and into the light outside. They read through the clue, then consulted the map.
     "It's way up here," Watts said, pointing near the middle of the map. Then he pointed much lower and to the right. "We're down here. It'll be a really long walk. But the coast goes up a long distance too."
     "So?" he responded, clearly not following.
     Zone and Watts reached their boat and Watts waved to the captain. "Excuse me, sir. But would it be possible for you to drop us up much more north than Warjilis? Perhaps near.... Bethla Garrison? We'll pay extra of course."
     "Sure. An extra 250 gil should do it."
     Zone pulled Watts aside and whispered. "That's almost all of our money. You sure about this?"
     "I think it's our best bet. The other teams are really close to Orbonne, so they have a huge advantage."
     Zone nodded and agreed to pay the captain.
     "Wonderful, then let's be off," the captain said. He pushed the boat out into the waters and set sail with Zone and Watts.

<Brahne & Garnet: Mother/Daughter, Currently in 2nd Place>
     "Here it is, Mother!" Garnet whispered loudly. She read the passage quietly. "Make your way to Bethla Garrison."
     Brahne and Garnet quietly stood up and put their book away, making sure to rip out their clue before doing so. They made their way up the flights of stairs and went outside to retrieve their chocobos. Garnet double checked the wording of their clue before mounting her chocobo alongside her mother who was doing the same. They rode into town where some villagers pointed them toward Bethla Garrison.

<Reno & Rude: Partners, Currently in 4th Place>
     "I don't see it," Reno said. He and Rude were looking all around the monastery for the book storage, but were only able to thus far find the door to the confessional and the priest's chambers. "There's only one door left and I'm afraid it's gonna have another angry old man behind it. You should check it, y'know?"
     "Crap," Rude responded.
     "Hey, watch your mouth. It's a church, y'know."
     Rude walked up to the final door behind a large golden idol and opened the door slowly, giving a faint knock while doing so. He peeked in, then closed the door. "Bathroom."
     "Damn," Reno said. Rude glared at him for it. "Okay, then outside."
     Rude nodded and the two Turks walked outside the monastery where they saw the sign pointing to the back.
     "Why didn't we-" Reno started. "There were chocobos there."
     "We've been tricked," Rude said. "Let's hurry." He pointed to the book storage and quickly ran ahead with Reno in tow. They went inside and jogged down the stairs until they were caught up to Biran and Yenke inside. They quickly started ravaging the bookcases, pulling books out and throwing them on the ground behind them. Biran laughed, then Yenke pointed to a page in the book they were looking through.
     "Biran, this is it," he said. Biran joined him in reading it and together they sounded out Betha Garrison. They finally raced out of the book storage to find their new location.

     Fran and Balthier were the first to reach the volcano and quickly got their safety gear on while other teams started to arrive. The next to suit up were Cecil and Rosa, who were only a few strides behind. The other three teams arrived at approximately the same time, but on of the staff members held his hand out to stop them.
     "Sorry, only two teams on at once," he said.
     "No way!" Zell shouted. "But what if we get our gear on first?"
     "It's first to suit up completely," he answered.
     With that, every person started frantically putting on their safety gear except for Fran and Balthier, who were almost fully suited. The staff surrounded the other racers as gear started rolling around and people were being accidentally pushed. The staff pushed back to keep the racers from falling too close to the lava on the ground.
     Balthier and Fran, completely in their gear, started climbing the rock. Balthier laced his fingers together and gave Fran a boost to the next level. She climbed up and crouched down to help her partner. Balthier took a couple steps back, then ran at the wall and jumped as high as he could. His legs clawed at the wall and his arm reached out for Fran, who solidly grabbed it and pulled him up with little difficulty. They surveyed the next level and approached it in a similar fashion.
     The remaining teams scrambled for their gear with Zell being the first one to suit up. He helped his mom by finding her helmet, which had been kicked away earlier. He returned with the helmet and put it on Ma's head, then started shouting and pointing to her. "We're done! We're done!"
     The head staff member looked at Ma and nodded. "Okay, you're up then."
     "Yes!" Zell shouted, adding an arm pump gesture or two.
     Cecil and Rosa, who had finished putting on their gear only a few seconds after Ma, cleared out of the way, taking the next spot in line to climb. Behind them, Freya and Fratley continued to put safety gear on while facing off with Dona and Barthello in a dead heat for the fourth climbing spot.
     Zell ran at the wall and jumped up, grabbing the ledge at about waist height. Ma moved in below him and grabbed one of his feet, which flailed wildly. Once Zell noticed she'd grabbed on, he straightened the leg and let Ma help push him up.
     "Don't be in such a hurry now, Zelly," she said.

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, Currently in 1st Place>
     Faris and Reina were within eyesight of the giant dam at Bethla Garrison. The dam was located between two large mountains, both of which were composed of mostly rocks. Right out in front on a small bridge was the clue box. They started to jog for it, when suddenly two chocobos ridden by Brahne and Garnet stormed past them. This caused Faris and Reina to go much faster than a jog as they ran for the clue box. Despite their run, Garnet and Brahne dismounted their chocobos right beside the clue box. Garnet reached in and pulled out a clue.
     "Roadblock," Garnet said. "Who's ready to go dam high?"

<Announcer Gippal>
     "A roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform. In this roadblock, that team member must rappel up the side of this dam. Once at the top, they will enter the lake behind the dam and swim a few yards out to a buoy with their next clue tied to the side. Then they must swim back to the dam and rappel back down the dam into the shallow river waters below."

<Brahne & Garnet: Mother/Daughter, Currently in 1st Place>
     "It sounds physical, but I think we have a lead if you'd like to do it," Garnet said.
     Brahne seemed slightly offended by the implications, but easily shook it off because of her extreme desire to win. "You should do it, Dearie. I'll wait here and tend our chocobos."
     "Okay." Garnet raced over to the left side of the dam where the staff began suiting her up to rappel.

     Faris and Reina reached the dam only moments later and Reina ripped open the clue.
     "Who's ready to go dam high?" Reina read out of breath. "I think you're the better climber, but..."
     "It be yer turn," Faris said. "Go fer it."
     "Thanks!" Reina read through the clue, then ran to the right side of the dam where a second crew was helping her gear up for the climb. She looked over to Garnet, who was finally beginning her ascent.
     "Now you're just going to put your foot in this loop extend your leg to go up, then use the hand controls to release and grab the rope to go up."
     "Like this?" Garnet put her foot in the loop and pushed up. The ropes held her a commanding two inches off the ground.
     Meanwhile, Reina was having similar luck as she began climbing as well. She also floated only two or three inches off the ground and wrestled with the contraption to lift her higher. Faris was behind her shouting encouragement, while Brahne was also closer to Reina trying to discourage her.

     Fratley and Barthello were both wearing their full safety, while Freya and Dona still struggled with theirs. Fratley helped Freya carefully put her helmet on over the bandages he'd previously wrapped around her head. Barthello tried to help Dona put her kneepads on, but she just pushed him away. Finally Dona threw on her final kneepad and stood up.
     "I'm ready," she told the staff member.
     "Okay, you're team number four then," the staff member informed her.

     Balthier helped Fran to the top of the rock and ripped his clue from the sword. They hopped back down the way they'd come up, passing by Zell and Ma as they struggled up the tallest ledge. Once their feet were firmly on the ground level, Cecil and Rosa started climbing with Cecil offering Rosa a boost.
     "No problem," Balthier said as he opened the clue. "Make your way to Orbonne Monastery and find your next destination in the Germonik Scriptures on the third floor of the underground book storage. Shall we then?"
     "We shall," Fran said.
     "Perhaps we can catch the group ahead of us. I'm not ruling out a victory on this leg, despite the later flight."
     "Neither am I."
     Fran and Balthier began to jog back toward Dorter Trade City. Balthier glanced over his shoulder at the teams at the detour. Zell was still struggling and Rosa was at the first ledge standing beside Ma, who was busy trying to find a way to help Zell.

<Zone & Watts: Resistance Fighters, Currently in 5th Place>
     Zone and Watts walked across the large stretch of forest after disembarking in the east and soon found Orbonne Monastery. They ran down the steps and made their way into the book storage, which by now had books covering the floor. They each tiptoed through to avoid crushing too many books, then began looking through the shelves themselves. They heard Reno and Rude before they saw them since they were across the room, tossing more books on the floor. Rude still generally searched visually while Reno took the messier approach.

     "Finally!" Reno said as he pulled a book from the shelf. He and Rude flipped through it quickly and after a short time they found the clue page. Reno ripped it out and read it to Rude. "What're you waiting for? Let's go!"
     They ran out of the room and nearly collided with Balthier at the entrance to the book storage.
     "Careful now," Balthier said, watching Reno stumble past him. He held the door for Rude, who walked past and nodded his appreciation. He also saw Fran and nodded to her, adding a barely noticeable smirk. He joined Reno and watched as Balthier and Fran ran inside the book storage.
     "I saw that," Reno told him. "You liiiike her."
     "Bethla Garrison," came the reply. "Stop wasting time."
     "I think you're allergic to fun."
     Reno began jogging toward Bethla Garrison with Rude.

     Zell finally pulled Ma up the big ledge and they trotted through the smaller ledges until the end. Zell took the opportunity to slide down the side of the rock, while Ma chose to backtrack. Once together, Zell read the clue to Ma and they headed for Orbonne.
     Dona and Barthello moved in on the rocks and joined Cecil and Rosa in climbing. Cecil had just boosted Rosa up to the large ledge and was trying to climb as well. He reached up for Rosa to grab his arm, which she did. She pulled with all her strength, but Cecil still started to slip.
     "Let go let go let go!" Cecil shouted at her. She finally released him and he fell backwards onto his butt. He rubbed his arm, which was turning a bright pink color.

     Garnet and Reina were each about three-fourths of the way up the dam with Reina only slightly ahead of Garnet. Both hung from their ropes without moving.
     "Don' worry, sis!" Faris shouted. "Just catch yer breath and go when ye can."
     "Don't listen to her, Garnet!" Brahne shouted at her daughter. "You have a chance to pass her! Never miss an opportunity!"
     Garnet responded to the provoking and strained to go up more, while Reina continued to wait for a few seconds.

     "Ronso here!" Biran shouted as he and Yenke approached the clue box at the dam. Brahne let out an excited squeak. Biran opened the clue and pulled out the roadblock card. "Who is ready to go dam high? Yenke does it because Yenke is taller."
     "Yenke will not disappoint Biran!" Yenke shouted as he ran to the dam and got into his gear on the left side of the dam near Garnet. He started suiting up, but still took the time to shout up to Garnet. "Hurry hornless summoner! Ronso is coming to beat you!"

     Cecil held out his arms and Rosa hopped down into them, putting herself back one level. He put her down and started grabbing for the next ledge while this time she helped him to the next level.
     Meanwhile, directly beside them, Barthello and Dona were trying a similar strategy. Barthello was trying to get to the next ledge and those strength was on his side, jumping was not. Dona folded her arms across her chest.
     "You don't expect me to touch those disgusting shoes, do you?" she said to Barthello.
     "I can't reach, Dona," Barthello explained. "If I can't get up there, then we'll be eliminated."
     "Tsk, fine." Barthello started to climb and Dona first started by trying to push on his butt to get him up, but was having little success. Finally, she bent down and tried to lift him by his foot, but even that had little result.
     Beside them, Rosa was giving Cecil a boost but was also struggling to lift him high enough that he could pull himself up.
     "Can't you get a running start and jump like Zell did?" Rosa asked Cecil.
     "I'm not that athletic," he responded. "Can't you lift me more?"
     "I'm giving you all I've got," Rosa said. She sighed. "I don't know if we can do this."
     "We can't switch detours."
     "Hey, you two," Dona said. "What if we -ugh- helped each other? Those ugly rat creatures are still behind us, so if you helped Barthello up, we could help you two up."
     Cecil turned to Rosa and pulled her close to talk quietly. "What do you think?"
     "As much as I dislike them, our only other option is switching detours."
     Cecil turned back to Dona. "Okay, I'll boost the muscle man up since there's no way I could ever pull him up."
     Cecil approached Barthello, who was preparing himself. He faced the tallest wall and reached as high as he could with his hands, then lifted one leg off the ground. Cecil grabbed his foot and lifted with all his might. Barthello pushed off of the foot Cecil held and reached up high, finally reaching the ledge with a good firm grip. He pulled himself up without much difficulty from that point on. Barthello stood up and dusted his hands off before reaching down to grab for the next person. However, instead of grabbing Cecil's outstretched arm, he grabbed Dona just next to Cecil. He pulled her up quickly.
     "Hey!" Rosa shouted.
     "Sorry," Barthello said. He started to reach his hand down for Cecil when Dona slapped his shoulder. Barthello stopped reaching and stood back up. "Really sorry."
     Dona and Barthello ran along the final stretch of the rock and grabbed their clue from the sword, then ran down the side of the mountain. Dona opened the clue and read it, then the two headed off toward Orbonne.
     Freya and Fratley started up the mountain the second Dona and Barthello were down. Having watched four teams already do it, they knew how to approach it and started by boosting Fratley to the next level. He pulled Freya up and soon they joined Rosa and a very angry Cecil.
     "Double-crossing lying sons of bitches. They're gonna die in their sleep tonight," Cecil murmured to himself.
     Rosa did not seem much more collected. She was cursing at Dona and Barthello as well. "I don't know what to do now," she said to Cecil, who was mostly ignoring her to think of horrible things to say about Dona and Barthello.
     "Why aren't you two just jumping all over the place like normal?" Rosa asked Freya after making the observation.
     "Fratley hurt his leg while helping me after my fall," Freya told her as she tried to boost Fratley up to the next level. "And my head hurts so badly, so any strenuous activity gives me a splitting headache." Freya groaned as she lost her hold on Fratley, who slid back down to their level and panted.
     "I'm sorry to hear about that," Rosa said to Freya. "It really was a nasty accident."
     "We don't have time to talk," Cecil said.
     "If we boost you up, will you come back for us?" Fratley asked. "You seem like a noble man."
     Cecil paused for a minute, then nodded. His face was no longer contorted as a calm passed through him. "Yes, I will."
     "I believe you will," Fratley said. He and Freya surrounded Cecil as he faced the wall, then each lifted one of his legs up. He grabbed the ledge and began pulling himself up while Freya and Fratley boosted him higher and higher until he reached the top. He immediately turned around to pull someone up. His hand started to go to Rosa, but seeing the disapproving look on her face reminded him who he was. Instead he stuck out a hand for Fratley and began pulling him up.
     "Pussy," Cecil said to himself.

     Reno and Rude reached the clue box at the dam, just in time to see all three of the supposedly "weak" competition they'd brought with them on the flight near the top of the dam. Reno quickly reached in the clue box and pulled their clue out. He ripped it open quickly and read it. "Me," he responded quickly. He read through the clue then raced to the side with Reina and started getting his equipment on. Rude waited next to Faris.
     As Reno started on the wall, Garnet and Reina were nearing the top. Yenke was gaining quickly on Garnet, but was only a little over halfway up the cliffside.
     Garnet was the first over the top. Behind the dam the water was nearly to the top and not too far out was a red buoy with clues stuck to it. Garnet caught her breath, then ran to the water and dove in. As she swam out toward the buoy, Reina came over the top of the dam and removed her harness. She also ran to the water and dove in head first. Despite a very quick swim, Garnet was first to grab a clue, which she stuffed down the front of her spandex overalls before swimming back to the dam. Reina grabbed her clue and swam back with it still in her hand.
     Both girls emerged from the water at approximately the same time; Garnet was only a split second ahead. They ran to the center of the dam where crew members strapped both of them into separate harnesses and instructed them to fall back and try to walk down the wall while releasing their clasps progressively to let out the cord and move down.
     Garnet looked down the wall and saw the shallow river below and shook her head. "This looks scarier than going up."
     "Hurry up, Garnet!" Brahne shouted below. "We can't win if you don't move your heiny!"
     "Good luck," Reina said to Garnet before leaning back and falling backwards over the dam. As intended, the clasp caught and her feet pressed up against the wall. She released the clasp and walked backwards down the wall quickly, turning it into a hop eventually.
     Having seen Reina go down, Garnet mustered up the strength to do the same. She leaned back and fell over the wall just as Reina had. She walked much more slowly and cautiously down the wall than Reina.
     Reina reached the bottom and quickly threw the gear off to join her sister. She handed the clue to Faris, who opened and read it. "Make yer way on foot ter the Pit Stop at Limberry Castle. Warning: the last team to check in may be eliminated."

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Teams must now travel on foot to Limberry Castle located only a short distance away. The road is through Dolbodar Swamp, so it won't exactly be a pretty walk. Once through, they will travel to the front gate of Limberry Castle, which is the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here, may be eliminated."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, Currently in 1st Place>
     "Come on! We could be first!" Reina said happily. She and Faris consulted their map, then began running southeast to the swamp.

     Just as Yenke reached the top of the dam, Garnet reached the bottom and ran her clue over to her mother.
     "They passed us!" Brahne nagged.
     "Let's not argue, we need to catch up," Garnet responded. She ripped open the clue and read it to Brahne.
     "Drat, no more chocobos." Brahne looked up at the chocobos and waved. "Bye, little Chalky!"
     Garnet and Brahne began walking quickly in the direction Reina and Faris had just left in.

     Yenke jumped into the water and swam out to the clue, then swam back with it in his hand. He ran to the center of the dam and the crew there helped him get his harness on and explained how to do it.
     "Yeah yeah, Yenke knows," Yenke said to the staff. He leaned back and fell over the dam, but lost his balance and instead of having his feet against the side of the dam, he ended up with the side of his face against the dam. He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Okay, explain to Yenke again."

     Reno made quick work of the dam. He went up quickly and easily, looking like he'd done it before, then took off the gear upon reaching the top. He ran to the water and quickly threw his jacket on the ground, then pulled the sunglasses off of the top of his head and placed them neatly on the crumpled shirt on the ground. He then jumped into the water and retrieved his clue, then swam back to the dam and put his jacket back on. His sunglasses were placed right back onto his head, despite it being a rather sunny day.
     He made his way to the center of the dam where he would be going down the dam. Yenke was still clumsily going down it when Reno threw the gear on with little help from the crew. The man started to explain how to do it when Reno hushed him.
     "Don't worry, dude. I've done this before, y'know?" Reno said. He jumped backwards over the ledge and let out a lot of slack before his feet finally touched the wall. He sped down the dam, passing Yenke in the process. He splashed down in the water and removed his harness as Rude joined him at the edge of the river. Reno handed Rude the clue.
     "Make your way on foot to the Pit Stop at Limberry Castle," Rude read. "Warning: the last team to check in may be eliminated."
     "Okay, let's hurry," Reno said. "I think we can still beat both those teams. At the very least we should beat the cute girl in spandex and the weird big thing."
     Rude nodded. The two quickly raced off to the southeast to venture through the swamp.

<Ma & Zell: Mother/Son, Currently in 7th Place>
     Zell and Ma reached Orbonne Monastery and quickly made their way to the book storage. They finally reached the third floor and after Zell made a comment about how messy it was, they began searching through the books.

     "Found it!" Zone shouted to Watts. He held the book up and quickly started flipping through the pages. He and Watts looked through it for a short while before finally falling on the page.
     "Perfect," Watts said. He started to read the passage. "Make your way to the dam at Bethla Garrison."
     Watts and Zone stood up quietly and started walking out of the room. Zone was about to put down the book when he suddenly realized he needed the page in the book. Having lost his place but remembered generally where it was, he flipped through a few pages and re-found it, this time ripping the page from the book. They crept past Fran and Balthier as the scrounged for books.
     "Good luck, you two," Watts said to them.
     "Thank you, but we'll save that luck for another day," Balthier said. He nodded toward Fran, who held up a copy of the Germonik Scriptures.
     "Damn," Watts said under his breath.
     "Beg your pardon?" Fran asked him.
     "Err, I was saying 'dam' because that's where we're going. Your clue. It tells you we're going to a dam."
     "Thanks then," Balthier said. "Now hurry along before you say something that doesn't have an easy fix."
     Zone and Watts smiled nervously, then sneaked out of the room and headed up the several stairs leading out of the book storage.

     Reina and Faris wandered through the swamp, constantly glancing down at the compass. The swamp was fairly flat and easy to see, but the path was broken into several directions around the swampy waters. Once in the center of the swamp, it was difficult to tell which way was which.

     "I'm sure we passed that patch of weeds earlier," Brahne commented.
     "I think we're going the right way," Garnet replied. "Come on, just a bit further! I think I see the castle!"

     Gippal stood at the entrance to a stone castle with an stone arch held by strong columns in front of the castle. Boxes rested against the building behind him and a man in black robes with long silvery hair stood beside him. Gippal pointed to the approaching team as they ran up to the mat smiling.
     Faris and Reina leapt onto the mat and looked at Gippal and his guest. Reina gasped when she saw the guest. "Oh my gosh, Season 1's first elimination, Sephiroth?"
     "Sorry, no," Elmdor said. He sighed. "Welcome to Limberry Castle."
     "Reina and Faris," Gippal said, "you're team number one!"
     "Yahar!" Faris cheered and started dancing. Reina joined in the dancing as well.
     "As the winners of this leg of the race, you've won a romantic getaway for two to right here in Limberry Castle. Enjoy being treated like royalty for a week, courtesy of chocobocity.com. You can enjoy that after the race."
     "Spendin' romantic time wit... me sister?" Faris questioned Gippal. "Arr, ye're an odd one, Gippal."
     "You can spend it with someone else too," Gippal replied with a wink.
     "Ye disgust me, Gippal. Ye may have a fantasy involvin' sisters, but I-"
     "No no, I meant- Just, never mind. Congratulations on the win."
     "Thank you, Gippal," Reina said. "I'm so glad to be at the front of the pack for once! This is where the Tycoon sisters will stay for the rest of the race. Number one!"

     Garnet and Brahne dashed through the swamp and entered the Limberry Castle area. Both had worried expressions on their faces as they ran through at top speed. Suddenly, from out of the haze of the swamp, the reason for their worry emerged. Reno and Rude were barreling down on them at full speed. The speed of the two well trained Turks was easily greater than Brahne's fast waddle. Only by about ten feet, Garnet and Brahne got to the mat before them.
     "Brahne and Garnet," Gippal said. "You're team number two!"
     "Yippie!" Brahne cheered before panting heavily again. "Though I really wished the pirate sisters had gotten lost."
     "They raced a wonderful leg," Garnet added. "They did come in first, right?"
     "They sure did," Gippal said.
     "So the first four to finish were women! That's great!"
     "Next two are men though," Reno said from over Garnet's shoulder.
     "Thank you, girls," Gippal said. "Would you mind stepping aside now?" The girls complied as Reno and Rude took their turn on the mat. Gippal looked to them. "Reno and Rude, you're team number three!"
     "Getting worse every leg, Gippal!" Reno said. "We've gotta get our game back, y'know?"

<Fran & Balthier: Sky Pirates, Currently in 6th Place>
     "Here it is," Fran said, handing the torn page to Balthier. They got to their feet and started running up the stairs and out of the book storage. They saw Dona and Barthello in the distance as the pair made their way to Bethla Garrison.

     Yenke finally reached the bottom of the dam and joined Biran, who slugged him in the arm.
     "Yenke is sorry," Yenke said. "If they would have just let Yenke jump, then Yenke would have, but they would not."
     "Yenke is wasting more of Biran's time with his jibber jabber," Biran said. He ripped open the clue and read it to Yenke, then pointed him toward the direction the other teams had gone. The two Ronso then raced off into the swamp.

     Fratley and Cecil helped their respective partners up to the final ledge and they all ran to the sword with the clues. Cecil and Rosa then went back the way they'd come, while Freya and Fratley slid down the steep, almost vertical, incline. Freya held her head tightly after landing.
     "You okay?" Fratley asked as he opened the clue.
     "Fine, it is just a headache," Freya responded. She listened as Fratley read her the clue, then chuckled. "Wonderful. Reading to go along with my headache. This competition had better be worth it."
     "Would you like to stop? I would think no less of you if you did."
     "No, I love this race. Inside this race I'm with you. Before this-"
     "We were together there, too," Fratley said. "But come. Let's hurry to the book storage."
     Freya nodded and the two ran to the book storage.
     Having read their clue as well, Cecil and Rosa were in hot pursuit of them.
     "I should have left them," Cecil said to Rosa.
     "That's not who you are though," Rosa said.

     Biran and Yenke ran through the swamp and into Limberry Castle. They stood on the mat with their hands proudly on their hips and their backs straight. Gippal looked short by comparison.
     "Biran and Yenke," Gippal said, "you're team number four!"
     "Biran is first, but Yenke is fourth," Biran said. "Yenke should have his horn removed for being a bad Ronso wall climber."
     "No, anything but that!" Yenke pleaded.

<Zone & Watts: Resistance Fighters, Currently in 5th Place>
     Zone and Watts reached the clue box at the dam and Zone ripped open their clue. "Roadblock: Who's ready to go dam high?"
     "Can you do it?" Watts asked him. "Or are you too afraid of heights?"
     "I think I can do it," Zone said. "But it might take me some time. And we don't know where the other teams are, except Fran and Balthier."
     "Okay, I'll do it then," Watts said. He read through the instructions, then ran to the wall to begin his ascent. He quickly mastered the technique, though his strength was lacking and he was only going up in very small increments.

<Dona & Barthello: Summoner/Guardian, Currently in 8th Place>
     Dona and Barthello entered the book storage and walked through the piles of books to find a book of their own.
     "This place is disgusting," Dona noted.
     "Tell me about it," Zell said from across the room as he searched through the books.
     "Tell me about it," Ma said to Zell. "This is only half as bad as your room normally is."
     "I can clean my own room, Ma. Just stay out of there. It's fine."
     "Yeah yeah," Ma said. "Oh! I found it!"
     She pulled the book from the shelf and started flipping through it. She and Zell both watched for the colored page, then finally they found it. "Bethla Garrison," Ma said as she read a portion of the clue out loud.
     "Okay, let's jam then!" Zell said. He and Ma quickly ran out of the room as the camera focused in on the page they left in the book.

<Fran & Balthier: Sky Pirates, Currently in 6th Place>
     Fran and Balthier reached the clue at the dam and Fran pulled the clue out. "Roadblock. I'll do it."
     "Doing two in a row," Balthier commented. "The sidelines are nary a place for a leading man, but I suppose my time will come."
     Fran raced to the wall and joined Watts in climbing up. Once suited up, Fran started to go up, although she started off very poorly. She struggled to keep her foot in the holster and had to often stop completely to get going again. After the struggling, however, she was able to execute it very gracefully and go at a faster rate than Watts.
     Despite her fast pace, she was not about to pass Watts, who was already at the top of the dam and running over to the water behind it. He dove in and grabbed the clue, then started to swim back, when suddenly he lost his grip on the clue and it started going underwater.
     "No!" Watts shouted as he dove under to look for it. Luckily for him, it had twisted in the water and was facing sideways, so it was not sinking quickly. He grabbed the clue and this time stuck it down his shirt before swimming on.

     "Here's one," Dona said. She pulled a book from the shelf and started thumbing through it for the page. She finally found it and pointed it out to Barthello. Barthello ripped the page out and they began running out of the book storage and heading toward Bethla Garrison.

     Freya and Fratley were closely followed by Cecil and Rosa as they entered the book storage and started searching for books. Freya and Fratley searched the same shelf at the same time, while Cecil and Rosa decided to separate and check separate shelves.

     Watts reached the bottom of the dam and read his clue with Zone.
     "Make your way on foot to the Pit Stop. Warning: don't be last," Watts joked. "Okay, we can do this!"
     Zone and Watts ran off to the swamp quickly, though both still turned to look over their shoulders at Fran on the wall.
     "She's hot," Zone said.
     "Totally," Watts replied.

     Zell and Ma made their way through Dorter Trade City, when suddenly Zell called to his mother. "Ma, where are we going again? Belta something?"
     "I forget. Were we supposed to remember it?" Ma questioned. She and Zell stared at each other for a moment, then finally Ma dug through her pouch to find the old clues. "Oh, no! 'Teams must rip the red page out to take with them.' We need that page, Zelly!"
     "Oh man! We need to go really fast now, Ma."
     "I'm ready to run." Ma sprinted off back to Orbonne with Zell closely following behind her.

     A water covered Fran emerged from the lake with a clue and went to the middle of the dam to begin going down the side of the dam. She went fairly quickly down and finally splashed her feet in the water as she hopped out of the safety gear and read the clue with Balthier.
     "You know, it really needs to be time for us to win one," Balthier said to Fran. "How about next leg?"
     "I was thinking the same," Fran added. They both raced off into the Dolgobar Swamp after Zone and Watts.

     "Found it!" Fratley told Freya. He had already started flipping through the pages when Freya joined him to start looking. Finally he put his finger in one of the pages and pointed to the words as he read. "Make your way to the dam at Bethla Garrison."
     "You are amazing," Freya said.
     "Normally when I do something good you give me a kiss on the cheek."
     Freya complied and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Sorry for not remembering myself."
     "It's okay," Fratley said. "You actually don't do that, I just wanted you to."
     "And I will from now on."
     Fratley and Freya headed out of the book storage, though not incredibly quickly since Fratley was walking oddly from his wounded legs and Freya was struggling from the injuries on half of her body.

     "Zone and Watts," Gippal said to the boys as they stepped on the mat, "you're team number five!"
     "Awesome!" Zone said.
     "That's great, Gippal," Watts added. "Hopefully we can stay in the middle like this for a while."
     "Why's that?" Gippal asked.
     "To stay under the radar," Zone said. "People notice when you're coming in first or second to last, but in the middle you're invisible."
     "Well I hope that pans out for you."

     "Found one," Cecil said. He started flipping through the pages, then came to a page that was already torn out. "The hell!? The page is already gone, dammit!"
     "Was it on the shelf?" Rosa asked.
     "No, the ground."
     "The ground is all the used ones. Try the shelves, sweetheart."
     "Don't tell me what to do," Cecil murmured.
     "And watch that attitude," Rosa scolded him. "Don't make me get the mirror out."

     Zell and Ma ran back inside the book storage and went to where their book previously sat. The book remained in the same place, so Ma opened the book back up and thumbed through it. She was disrupted, however, by the sounds of Cecil cheering over finding his own book.
     "Here it is," Ma said. She ripped the page out of the book and led Zell outside. "Bethla Garrison," she told Zell, reading the paper as they walked up a flight of stairs.
     "I'm glad we noticed that we didn't have the clue when we did," Zell said.
     "Yes, very."

     Fran and Balthier stepped onto the mat and faced Gippal.
     "Fran and Balthier," Gippal said, "you're team number six!"
     "I've had better," Balthier said.
     "It could be worse," Fran added.

     Dona and Barthello reached the dam and pulled out their clue. Dona read it to Barthello. "Roadblock: who's ready to go dam high?"
     "Would you like to-" Barthello started, but Dona cut him off quickly.
     "Just do it already, Barthello," Dona said. "It looks hard and it might make me sweaty. Just go do it."
     "Yes, ma'am," Barthello said. He ran to the wall and strapped in, then started up the wall.

<Cecil & Rosa: Married, Currently in Last Place>
     "Here it is," Cecil said. He ripped the clue out of the book and read it to Rosa, then they ran out of the book storage and headed for Bethla Garrison.

     Barthello was doing fairly well on climbing the dam when Freya and Fratley arrived at the clue box. Freya reached in and grabbed their clue, then read it to Fratley.
     "I don't know if I can do that," Fratley said, watching Barthello working the harness. "Both of my legs are injured. But then, you are injured, as well. I guess I shall-"
     "No," Freya said. "I'll do it. You only need one foot, and I have one good foot still. I will do it."
     "Are you su-"
     "Yes."
     "Okay, good luck, m'lady," Fratley said.
     Freya ran to the mall and started putting on the safety equipment. The crew members helped her and even gave her a couple more bandages, partly to help her and partly to keep any blood from getting on their equipment.
     Once Freya was ready to go, she hopped into the harness and sprang to life. Her powerful legs provided very large boosts upward, despite her injuries. She quickly began to gain on Barthello, which brought a smile to Fratley's face.
     Fratley moved close to Dona and began to taunt her. "I think those 'ugly rat creatures' are going to beat you," he said.
     "We'll see," Dona said, though she appeared very worried at Barthello's progress.
     "All those bad things you've done this leg are going to come back to you. The airport, Cecil and Rosa-"
     "I don't want to talk to you, so stop talking to me."
     "As you wish." Fratley walked back to Freya's side of the dam and cheered his partner on.

     Freya continued to race up the side at an alarming rate, but Barthello reached the top first and dove into the water for the clue. He grabbed it from the buoy and swam back, then started to go back down the dam.
     Freya in the meantime had reached the top and started swimming for her clue. She swam awkwardly since one side of her body was injured, but after a short breather holding onto the buoy to stay afloat, she resumed her swim and joined Barthello in the middle of the dam.
     Again, Barthello had a head start, but his lead was not as large. Barthello, however, was rather quick when heading down. Freya tried to catch up but the strain only caused her headache to hurt, which was visually apparent.
     Barthello reached the bottom and Dona rushed over to him, though she first stopped to add a "you were saying" to Fratley. The two read through their clue and raced off to the swamp.
     Freya came down shortly after and handed her clue to Fratley.
     "You did great," Fratley said. "How do you feel?"
     "Like if this is not the end, then I'm going to be upset," Freya said. "I really need a nap."
     Fratley read the clue to her, which was met with a smile. "Almost there."
     The two injured racers limped slowly as they walked in the direction they hoped the Pit Stop was in.

     "Dona and Barthello," Gippal said as the two joined him at the mat, "you're team number seven!"
     "It'll get better, Gippal," Dona said. "Even though we're so low, teams now know they can't mess with me."
     Barthello nodded.

     Fratley walked into Limberry Castle's entryway and supported Freya, who was starting to really show signs of exhaustion. They walked to the mat and stepped on. Freya was hunched over and Fratley was rubbing her back.
     "Freya and Fratley," Gippal said, "you're team number eight!"
     "Thank you," Freya said. "Who are you again?"
     "The host. Gippal."
     "Okay. My appologies, I just-"
     "No, it's okay," Gippal said. "I was just going to say it looks like you two have been through heck today. I won't keep you busy here. I think you both could use some medical attention or at least a good night's sleep."
     "I agree," Fratley said. "Thank you."

<Ma & Zell: Mother/Son, Currently in 9th Place>
     Zell and Ma reached the clue box at the dam and Zell pulled the clue out. "Roadblock: Who's ready to go dam high? That'd be me."
     "Yes, it would," Ma said. "Be careful, Zelly!"
     "Thanks, Ma. I will." Zell ran to the wall and started throwing on his equipment when he saw Cecil and Rosa at the clue box out of the corner of his eye. He shook it off and focused on the task at hand as he threw his helmet on.

<Cecil & Rosa: Married, Currently in Last Place>
     "Roadblock," Rosa said. "I think you should do it. There's always the chance that Zell can't work that device, so if you can do it then we can stay in this thing."
     "Okay," Cecil said. He raced off for the dam and watched Zell all the while, hoping he would be bad at rappelling. He threw on his helmet and watched Zell take his first hop up the rope. Then another soon after. He scaled the wall quickly and almost professionally. Cecil and Rosa both shook their heads with Cecil even adding a sigh. With his gear now on, he tried to catch up to Zell, but having no experience in it, he was doing a poor job at climbing.
     Zell swam for the clue and returned with it. Once back at the dam heading down, he turned out to be just as fast at going down as up. He rejoined Ma and read the clue, then raced off with her to the Pit Stop.

     Zell and Ma reached the Pit Stop and stepped on the mat.
     "Ma and Zell," Gippal said, "you're team number nine!"
     "Thanks," Zell and Ma both said.

     The sky began to turn a beautiful orange color as Cecil finally reached the top and swam out for his clue at the buoy. He eventually headed down the dam wall and rejoined Rosa at the bottom. They ran through the swamp and came out in Limberry Castle. They joined Gippal and Elmdor at the mat.
     "Welcome to Limberry Castle," Elmdor said.
     "Thank you," Cecil and Rosa replied.
     "Cecil and Rosa," Gippal said, "you're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to tell you, you have been eliminated from the race."
     "It was really fun," Rosa told Gippal. "I never would've had the opportunity to see such amazing worlds without this show. Though oddly enough, we have been to the moon."
     "So what made you decide to help out Freya and Fratley? You could've just left them."
     "The old me would have," Cecil said, "but I've changed since then. Rosa was a big part of helping me change and she's going to keep helping me stay who I am. We aren't going to win by throwing others in the dirt, and if that's the reason that we lose, then so be it. But I'd much rather have my wife's respect than one million gil. I love her and I'm glad to have had this opportunity with her."
     "I love you too, Cece," Rosa said. She looked up at Elmdor. "Oh, and by the way, you really do look like Sephiroth from Season 1."
     "I'm not Sephiroth!" Elmdor shouted.