Episode 11: Part 1

<Dona & Barthello: Summoner/Guardian>
     "This game is ours," Dona said. "The other teams have no chance."
     "The Finish Line is in Spira," Barthello said. "Dona and I traveled across all of Spira. We know all the locations."
     "We're brains and brawn. No match. The other teams would be lucky to even see us."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters>
     "Final leg, final win," Faris said. "Thar be no stoppin' the Tycoons!"
     "I'm really happy that this season is guaranteed a female winner," Reina said. "And hey, if you're getting one, you may as well get a second. Free of charge!"
     "We been leadin' this pack fer a while now. Jus' a little further. . . ."

<Ma & Zell: Mother/Son>
     "Final leg, baby!" Zell shouted.
     "Dincht power!" Ma said.
     "We've been proving and will prove again that we rock! In the last like, five legs we've beaten Reina and Faris more often than not, so we just gotta keep this up!"
     "And keep in front of Dona and Barthello, too. We really don't know what they'll pull out of their sleeves."
     "Neither of them even have sleeves, Ma."
     "Oh, you know what I mean!"

<Announcer Gippal>
     Gippal's voice spoke over a series of recap clips of the past episodes. "Previously, on The Amazing Final Fantasy Race: twelve teams set out from Bikanel Island in Spira on a race around worlds. Teams were composed of two people, each with an existing relationship. The teams prepared themselves and tried their best to stay ahead of the curve, but even the best ideas didn't help everybody. Teams that were strong on paper began to fall by the wayside, while others continued on.
     "Barret and Dyne -- Celes and Cid -- Cecil and Rosa -- Freya and Fratley -- Reno and Rude -- Brahne and Garnet -- Zone and Watts -- Fran and Balthier -- Biran and Yenke, you've have been eliminated from the race.
     "Now, three teams remain. Three teams nobody would have expected, either. All three cleverly snuck under the radar to reach the finale, so now, who will take it?
     "Summoner/Guardian Dona and Barthello stuck toward the back of the pack for the majority of the race. Dona's constant whining and bossy attitude kept these two in constant hot water, starting very early on. Barthello held the team together, but was up against a wall on many mental tasks and leadership. Leaving Dona in charge, the team met with a lot of unnecessary hardships. But as the two built their relationship and came to find their place as racers, they started to move out of the back and survive to the final three. When push came to shove, this team learned that Barthello is a heck of a pusher, and Dona can shove with the best of them.
     "Sisters Reina and Faris started as a mediocre team, but soon found their sea-legs and rose up as the strongest competitors in the game. And yet, nobody noticed. They have three wins, the most in the group, but that doesn't always mean anything, seeing how Yuna and Rikku had the same score last season. Their powerful bond and complementing abilities have made them a monster team, not to mention their sneaky behavior and pseudo-alliance that indirectly caused the ousting of fellow racers Zone and Watts.
     "Mother and son team Ma and Zell started off the race strong, but faltered after a delay was used on them in the second leg. Once they recovered, they've been an unstoppable force. Zell is one of the stronger racers in the history of the show, but his headstrong attitude has attempted to get him into trouble, but Ma kept that from happening. Her purpose of keeping him in line has been keeping these two strong, but now with the stress and excitement of the final leg, will she be able to contain this firecracker?
     "Dona and Barthello, who were first to arrive at 11:48 am, will depart at 11:48 pm."

<Dona & Barthello: Summoner/Guardian, 1st to Depart: 11:48 pm>
     "It's cold," Dona said before ripping open the clue.
     "But aren't you excited?" Barthello said happily.
     "Oh please don't start that." She looked down at the clue and sighed. "A riddle.  Solve my riddle before you go. How many phones in Dryfield's streets? Then proceed, go down below. To sunless mole hills where red blood sleeps."

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Teams must figure out a series of riddles that will lead them to their next clue, which is waiting inside a safe in the motel loft. Each riddle only involves counting things to get a four-digit code. When they put this into the safe, they will be able to continue."

<Dona & Barthello: Summoner/Guardian, Currently in 1st Place>
     "So let's count phones, I guess," Dona said. "Hurry up, Barthello."
     "Yes, ma'am," he replied.
     They marched out of the motel room they started in and headed down a flight of stairs to the dusty streets around the motel.

-------------------------{Dona & Barthello: Interview}-------------------------

     With the night's moon and a rusted gas station as a backdrop, Dona and Barthello addressed the camera.
     "The motel is hardly just a motel," Dona informed the camera. "It's a small place, but there are so many stupid things around here. It's a miniature city."
     "There's the motel, a convenience store, a garage, a wine cellar, a trailer, some small houses," Barthello added. "It's a lot."
     "But it isn't very big. It's a tiny town all crammed into a small area. And searching it wasn't hard, but the lighting just sucks, so searching at night was the real challenge."

-------------------------{End Interview}-------------------------

     Dona and Barthello walked through the main streets, pointing at the different payphones. Dona counted in her head, while Barthello was discretely keeping his hands at his arms, yet putting up a finger every time they encountered a phone.
     "You get four?" Dona asked.
     Barthello put his hands behind his back where Dona could not see, then poked at each of his extended fingers. "Yes, four."
     "So now we go 'down below to the sunless mole hills where red blood sleeps.' What the hell does that mean?"
     "I don't know. Maybe a basement somewhere."
     "I guess. . . ."

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, 2nd to Depart: 12:06 am>
     Reina started to open the clue, but suddenly started shaking and giggling. "I'm too nervous!"
     Faris took the clue and ripped it open. She read the riddle to Reina. "Any ideas what that means?"
     "Sort of. I think we need to count some phones though. Then go to some creepy, bloody place."

<Ma & Zell: Mother/Son, Last to Depart: 12:08 am>
     Ma smiled and held the clue in ripping position. "Ready?" she asked. She ripped the clue open and read the clue to Zell.
     "Counting phones, I get that," Zell said. "Let's go."
     They headed down a flight of stairs, where they soon encountered Reina and Faris, who were busy counting phones for themselves. There was a screaming noise in the distance, but they ignored it and walked up to Reina and Faris in the middle of the empty, dirt street.
     "Two, three," Reina counted, pointing at the different phones.
     "FIVE! NINE! THREE-HUNDRED!" Zell started shouting.
     Ma hit Zell on the face with the clue. "Zelly! Don't be an ass!"
     "Gah! Soooooorry, Ma. I'm just messing around."
     "Messing around? Or messing up?"
     Zell looked down at his feet and put his hands behind his back like a scolded child. "Messing up?"
     "That's right. Now count phones quietly."
     "Busted," Faris whispered to Reina. Both giggled.
     "Okay, so four?" Reina whispered to Faris.
     "Aye. Now where?"
     "Beats me."

     Dona and Barthello walked through the convenience store, which was completely abandoned, much like the rest of the town. This lack of civilization granted the teams access to all parts of the town, which included the employee's only section of the store. Dona wandered to the back and found a staircase leading down.
     "Barthello, come," she ordered.
     Barthello joined her in following the stairs down into a wine cellar with no lights turned on. Unable to find a switch, they walked down and searched regardless. In the tight quarters they searched the room until Dona finally noticed some text written in a glow-in-the-dark ink on the side of one of the large wine barrels. "Here it is!" she said, hitting Barthello in the arm to get his attention.
     Barthello read the clue out loud. "Now solve my riddle two; how many urinals in Dryfield's loo? Once you know, to the next place; a haunted house where only the sun dares show its face."
     "The bathroom," Dona said. "Getting better and better."
     Barthello nodded. They headed up the stairs and out of the store in search of a public bathroom. As they left the room, Dona pointed out the other four racers in the streets and tried to sneak out, but stopped sneaking when she saw Zell looking back at her.
     "Crap."

     "Ma," Zell whispered. "There's Dona and Barthello coming from the store all sneaky-like!"
     "Good job, Zelly." Ma replied quietly.
     Ma and Zell put on an equally sneaky show as they separated themselves from Reina and Faris and went inside the store. They ignored the noises of a woman screaming once again and instead searched the store for a while before finally coming up on the wine cellar. The cellar was dark, which made it easy to notice the glowing words. Ma read them to Zell.
     "I've got it!" Zell said.
     "You know where we're going?" Ma asked.
     "Oh, no. But the other clue! It said something about the light. Sunless something. I'll bet we can't see this with the lights on!" Zell suddenly grinned evilly.
     "Oh, Zelly, you wouldn't."
     "I don't want to, but I kinda....want to. You know?"
     "I can't believe I'm saying this," Ma said, "but I think we should. Find the light switch, Zelly."
     Zell started rubbing his hands on one of the walls while Ma did the same. Zell finally found a switch and turned the lights on. Sure enough, the text was difficult to read. It was still possible, but it was not as apparent as before.
     "And now...to the bathroom!" Zell said in his best superhero voice, paired with a superhero pose.

     Reina and Faris nearly collided with Zell and Ma as they exited the wine celler. Reina jumped a mile when she rounded the corner and nearly smashed into Zell.
     "Jeez!" she said. "We found you though. That the clue down there?"
     "Yeah," Zell said.
     "Zelly! Don't tell!" Ma scolded him.
     "Oh, sorry, Ma. No more freebies from me, gals," he told Reina and Faris.
     "Understood," Faris said. She and Reina slid by Ma and Zell and headed into the wine cellar.
     As Zell and Ma had anticipated, the sisters walked right by the clue and started searching the whole room for it. Both were soon scratching their heads and looking to one another.
     "Were we had?" Faris asked. "The clue actually down 'ere?"
     "I don't know," Reina said. "I don't think they'd do that to us. I also doubt Zell is a wonderful actor, but it's hard to say. They really might have held something back the whole race."

     Dona and Barthello entered the bathroom and started counting the urinals. To be more specific, Barthello was counting the urinals while Dona made groaning noises and pinched her nose closed.
     "Four, again," Barthello said after counting his fingers.
     "Haunted house now," Dona said. "Where is a haunted house?"
     Barthello tried to think, when they heard the sound of a woman screaming once again. "Is that haunted enough?"
     "Follow the screams," Dona said. They left the bathroom in search of the house of screams.

     "Four," Zell shouted. He came outside and found Ma waiting by the wall. "It's for the best you didn't go in there. It smelled really bad."
     "It's not a woman's place, just as I'd expect you to wait if we counted toilet's in the ladies room," Ma replied. "While you were in there though, I heard those screams again. We should search for those. I know I'd scream like that if I were in a haunted house."

     "Yer call," Faris said to Reina. "I don't see the next riddle anywhere. What're we gonna do?"
     "I guess we have to maybe...I don't know!" Reina said. She pulled out the clue to read it again. "I mean, this is definitely 'down below.' And there's no sun, so that's good. This has to be it!"
     "We keep searchin' then." Faris started looking under a nearby card table and found a passage leading out the back and down a long, underground tunnel. "Reina! Think this be it?"
     "Yeah! Follow it!"
     The sisters started following the underground tunnel and searching the walls in the process.

     Barthello and Dona stood in front of three small homes. They were all connected like apartments, but seemed to be independent units.
     "Which one?" Dona asked.
     Barthello held up his finger to his mouth to hush Dona. She obviously didn't like him hushing her, but when a scream came from the rightmost home, both pointed to it and said, "that one!"
     They entered the house and searched it. It had been ransacked and being that the house was only a single room, it was not hard to find the next clue. There was a single lightbulb hanging from a wire in the corner of the room. They looked under the light and found the third clue. As they read it, they were joined by Zell and Ma, who jogged over to join them in reading the clue.
     "Great. Company," Dona said.
     "Shhh," Ma said. "I'm trying to read."
     "Zing," Zell whispered to Barthello, who tried his best to not laugh.
     "Solve my riddle before you go," Ma read. "How many barrels in the mol-dens' center row? Once you know, go to top room, where at 21 years a boy met his doom. Where you CAN see yourself."
     "Heh, can," Zell said. "We were just in the can."
     "Zelly!" Ma shouted.
     "Oh, sorry. I should avoid potty-talk." He looked at Dona and appologized to her as well. "Sorry about the--"
     "Ohh, come on!" Ma said, pulling Zell out of the room.
     "What's the deal?"
     "That might be a hint that you just gave them," Ma informed him.
     "Nuh uh! It...oh. Dang, you're right, Ma. You're always right! How do you do that?"

     "This isn't right," Faris said, looking up a ladder. She climbed up it quickly and poked her head out, only to find she was outdoors, looking out of some grate. "Really not right."
     Reina and Faris started back to the wine cellar, when suddenly they noticed both other teams inside, looking at some barrels.
     "What's going on?" Reina asked.
     "Next riddle is here, too," Zell said. "Wait, you never found that riddle?"
     "No!" Reina said. She seemed almost on the verge of tears.
     "Eight," Ma whispered to Zell. She wrote the number in her handy notebook and started to leave, but her path was blocked by Dona and Barthello, who were leaving just before them. Zell scratched his head and looked at the sisters longingly.
     "Go ahead," Ma urged Zell. "You softie."
     "Look at your clue closer," Zell said. "Sunless. It doesn't mean sun."
     "Let's go," Ma said. She and Zell left just behind Dona and Barthello in search of the next part of the clue.
     Faris looked as if she'd just been punched in the stomach. "So easy, and yet...yar. . . ." She walked to the nearby light switch and turned it off. Sure enough, the text started to glow and Reina and Faris found the second riddle.

     "Met his doom?" Dona repeated a portion of the riddle to Barthello. "How do we know if somebody met his doom here?" She and Barthello were searching all the second-floor motel rooms, as were Zell and Ma, who were right on their heels. They finally came upon a room where a picture illustrated a man named Billy the Kid. It had a label of his life's dates: 1859-1881, though no teams seemed to even notice.
     "Probably in here," Barthello said. "Lots of pictures of young people."
     Zell and Ma came in and saw the two looking around the room. They noticed the picture, too, but chose to ignore it and snuck to the bathroom in the back.
     "You were right, Ma," Zell whispered as they found the clue scratched into the bathroom mirror.
     "You were right," Ma replied. She started to quietly read the clue. "Solve my riddle, if you dare, organs of sense under bristly hair. Seen with how many silver plates in the Bronco's lair? Once you know, go from there; to a jet-black door 'neath the moon's cold glare."
     "Hurry," Zell said. "I want to win this!"
     Zell and Ma hurried out the bathroom while Dona and Barthello waited to move in themselves. Having heard the whispering, they knew it to be the room and started to read the clue over themselves.

     "Eww," Reina said as she stepped through the gross bathroom to help Faris count the urinals. They got their number and headed to the screaming sounds of the haunted house.

     Zell and Ma found the room in the motel called the Bronco and headed outside. They tried to sneak in before Dona and Barthello noticed, but were unable as the two were bearing down on them. They looked inside the room, which was mostly a large storage room. Shelves of random, useless objects, a washer and dryer in the corner, and in the corner was an all-important black safe. It was illuminated by the moon's light seeping in through the window.
     "We need to figure out how many silver plates there are," Ma told Zell. "Then we'll get to the safe and put in the numbers."
     "Right," Zell replied.
     The two searched the room for anything that could be interpretted as a silver plate. During their search, Dona and Barthello came in and started the search as well. All four seemed unable to decide what a silver plate was and how many there were. Finally, Zell checked the clue one last time.
     "Ma," he whispered with clue in hand. "This says nothing about a penalty for guessing."
     "So?"
     "The safe only has ten digits. We can guess."
     "Okay, go ahead, Zelly. I'll keep looking. We do have to move away from the safe if Dona and Barthello want to try, so get as many guesses as you can in before that."
     "Roger!" Zell moved to the safe and started trying random numbers. he knew the first three numbers were 448, but he started trying numbers, starting with 0, on a hunch that there were no silver plates. He entered 4480, but the safe wouldn't open. His tugs on the safe alerted Dona and Barthello to his opening attempts.
     "They miscounted," Dona said to Barthello. "Hurry, find the plates!"
     "Yes, ma'am!" Barthello shouted. He started searching more frantically than ever. There was nothing plate-like in the room, however.
     Dona suddenly had a thought as she looked around the room. Along one of the walls were seven round mirrors. She pointed them out to Barthello. "They can't mean mirrors," she said quietly, but not quietly enough.
     As Dona and Barthello started marching toward Zell at the safe, Ma shouted out "SEVEN!" to Zell. He punched in 4487 and the safe swung open. Inside was their next clue. Zell grabbed a clue and slammed the door shut before racing over to Ma.
     "Dammit," Dona said. She took her turn at the safe as well to get a clue of her own.
     "YES!" Zell shouted. He jumped in the air beside Ma, who also got airborne for a Dincht-style high-five. Zell ripped open the clue. "Make your way to the gas station and sign up for one of three individual flights to your final world: Spira!"

<Announcer Gippal>
     "Teams must now reach the gas station in Dryfield, not far from where they parked their cars at the end of the last leg. Once there, they will find a board with three flights listed. All flights leave in the morning and each flight leaves fifteen minutes apart. Since only one team can be on each flight, it means the first one there will have a fifteen minute advantage in the final race to the finish."

<Ma & Zell: Mother/Son, Currently in 1st Place>
     "This. Is. AWESOME!" Zell said. He and Ma raced outside and down the motel stairs. Dona and Barthello were close behind them, but not close enough that they were any threat. Zell and Ma reached the gas station in plenty of time to sign a whiteboard on the wall to put them on the first flight, set to leave at 6:00 am.
     "We've GOT THIS," Zell shouted.
     "Don't gloat, Zelly," Ma scolded. "Not yet, anyway. Don't jinx us."
     "Good call, Ma. Sorry."

<Dona & Barthello: Summoner/Guardian, Currently in 2nd Place>
     Dona and Barthello reached the board. Dona sighed when she read the box for the first flight. "Zell and Ma Dincht. Booya!" Barthello wrote in his and Dona's names in the box for the second flight.

-------------------------{Ma & Zell: Interview}-------------------------

     In front of the gas station, Zell and Ma spoke to the camera. In the background it was possible to see Dona and Barthello, who were pulling a pair of sleeping bags from their backpacks.
     "It's hard to not get cocky, but we're psyched to be first out of here," Zell said.
     "We're a bit worried about Dona and Barthello, since they know Spira rather well," Ma said. "We hope our time advantage holds out."
     "It kinda makes me regret what we did to Reina and Faris. I mean, I'd be less worried if they were the ones fifteen minutes behind us. They don't know Spira, either. Although, like, those two...man. They've managed to pull out some crazy race results. I'm kinda scared they'll make up the thirty minutes and pass us in the end. But still! We can do this!"
     "Booya!" Ma added.

-------------------------{End Interview}-------------------------

<Reina & Faris: Sisters, Currently in Last Place>
     Reina and Faris, having solved the final riddle, took their clue from the safe and headed to the gas station. They signed up for the third flight and pulled out their own sleeping gear. Dona and Barthello had already started to sleep and seemed irritated enough by circumstances as is. Ma was starting to doze off as well, though Zell was wide awake. He waved to Reina and Faris and joined them by the board.
     "Sucks you're in third," Zell said. "Sorry about the riddle."
     "It's okay," Reina said. "It's not your fault."
     "Riiiight. Not mine." Zell scratched his head and looked up into the sky.
     "We jus' couldn't see it with the lights on," Faris said. "Lucky yeh found out."
     "Yeah, definitely. Me 'n Ma are really glad to be in first. Kinda scared of what Dona and Barthello might pull out though. They know people and places in Spira."
     "Aren't yeh worried 'bout us?"
     "Err, yeah! You two, too! I just meant that like, uhh, since they had an advantage and uhhh--"
     "Relax, I's just jokin'," Faris said, hitting Zell lightly on the shoulder. "But still. Yeh better keep yer lead, or you'll be losin' it ter us."
     "Yeah. We've been in worse situations than this," Reina added.
     "Yeah, me too," Zell said. "Well...good luck!"
     "Aye. You, too," Faris said, offering a hand to Zell. He rubbed his hand on the side of his pants before accepting the handshake.

<Ma & Zell: Mother/Son, Currently in 1st Place>
     As the glow of the morning was only barely starting to show, Zell and Ma grabbed all their belongings and boarded a small plane. It looked like a small puddle-jumper, only the sides were plated with steel and it had a very large jet engine on each wing. They looked out the small, port window at Dona and Barthello, who were waiting eagerly for a flight of their own. Reina and Faris were just starting to fold up their sleeping gear, but took a moment to stop and wave to Ma and Zell, who waved back.
     The plane's engines fired up, then pushed the plane into a rather fast, abrupt take-off. It shot along the ground, slowly gaining speed and altitude, then twisted to the right and started flying straight into the sky, almost like a rocket. After less than a minute, neither of the two remaining teams were able to see the space-flight-capable plane.
     "That does not look fun," Dona said to Barthello.

     A second and third plane were shown picking up Dona and Barthello, then Reina and Faris. Some footage of Dona screaming and gripping Barthello's arm tightly were seen, followed by footage of them while the plane had leveled out. Barthello was showing the camera the marks Dona left on his arm. He seemed to find it funny, whereas Dona found no humor in it.

<Announcer Gippal>
     "All three teams are now flying to their final world: Spira. Arriving first will be Zell and Ma. Fifteen minutes later will be Dona and Barthello, then another fifteen minutes after will be Reina and Faris. All three teams will be landing in a clearing on the small island of Besaid. There they will find their next clue at a statue on a mountain. The statue and clue box will be visible from their landing site."