Leg One
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The sixteen teams flew headfirst towards their backpacks. Some of the racers fell behind due to getting tripped, but everyone was pretty much neck-in-neck. However, due to their athletic experience, Lucky & Brian managed to beat everyone else to the backpacks by at least one full second.
(LUCKY & BRIAN – First at Backpacks)
"Where're we heading, Lucky?" Brian asked as he grabbed his backpack.
Lucky quickly tore open the envelope and pulled out the blue card in it. "Fly to your first destination: Crash Bandicoot!" He read.
Before the race continued, a series of clips were shown, showing what teams had to do next.
"Teams must now take one of the marked cars given to them and drive themselves to the airport." Mr. Jowai explained over the clips. "Once there, they must book a flight on one of four different flights to the world of Crash Bandicoot. However, once a team has secured a flight, they may not choose another. Once they land, teams must travel by taxi to the home of Crash himself, where they'll find the next clue."
"There's only four flights at the airport, Brian!" Lucky said as he grabbed his backpack. "If we want to get on the earliest one, we need to move it!"
"You drive, Lucky!" Brian said. "I'll navigate!"
(DEXTER & STEFF – Second at Backpacks)
Dexter tore open the envelope. "We're going to the world of Crash Bandicoot!" He read.
"I'll drive, Dex." Steff offered. "Come on!"
(BLUE & PINK – Third at Backpacks)
"We'll need to find the earliest flight, Pink." Blue read. "We have to be careful not to get a later flight."
"I'm aware of that." Pink replied. "You drive. I'll navigate."
(FRED & DAPHNE – Fourth at Backpacks)
"Crash Bandicoot?" Fred asked. "Didn't he start off big, but now he's in games for other companies?"
"I think so." Daphne mused.
"Well, I'll drive." Fred offered. "This can't be too much different than the Mystery Machine."
(SASHA & ANGELA – Fifth at Backpacks)
"You have five-hundred dollars for this leg of the race." Sasha read.
Angela pulled out the money from the envelope. "We'll count it in the car, Sasha! You drive!"
"Right!'
(JON & LIZ – Sixth at Backpacks)
"Search out Crash's house for your next clue." Jon read.
"You'd better drive, Jon." Liz said. "I'm a better navigator, anyway."
(KATHY & ANNE – Seventh at Backpacks)
"Come on, Anne!" Kathy said eagerly. "I'll drive!"
"Oh, I don't think so, Kathy. You don't have you license, yet." Anne shook her head. "I'M driving."
"Aw, you're no fun."
(CLOUD & TIFA – Eighth at Backpacks)
"Fly to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Tifa read. "Okay, let's go!" She turned to Cloud and saw that he was looking a little mad. "Cloud, face it! You're not taking your sword!"
"But what if we run into Sephiroth on the race?!" Cloud asked. "I need to stab him!"
"I'd better drive." Tifa muttered.
(BASS & ROLL – Ninth at Backpacks)
"I'll drive, Roll." Bass said. "You're a better navigator."
"No problem." Roll nodded. "I would've suggested that, anyway."
(YAKKO & WAKKO – Tenth at Backpacks)
"Let's move, Wakko!" Yakko said. "We've fallen behind a bit!"
"Don't worry, Yakko." Wakko said. "With you driving, we'll get ahead in no time."
(DRAKE & GOSALYN – Eleventh at Backpacks)
"We've gotta catch them at the airport, dad!" Gosalyn urged. "We may end up on a bad flight!"
"Don't worry, dear. I'll get us there fast." Drake assured.
(MR. & MRS. C – Twelfth at Backpacks)
"Not off to a very good start." Mr. C sighed as he opened the clue. "Come on, dear! We'll catch up at the airport!"
"Okay. I'll navigate." Mrs. C nodded.
(TOAD & TOADETTE – Thirteenth at Backpacks)
"Serves us right for trying to race against people twice our height." Toad sighed.
"We'll catch up, Toad!" Toadette said. "Come on! You drive!"
(VANILLA & CREAM – Fourteenth at Backpacks)
"My, I am DEFINITELY not used to this." Vanilla said, a little short on breath after the short run.
"Don't worry, mom! You'll get the hang of it!" Cream assured as she opened the clue. "Let's go!"
"Okay, Cream. I'll drive."
(FENTON & LAURA – Fifteenth at Backpacks)
"Well dear, we're already behind." Laura sighed. "I hate getting old at times like this."
"Oh, don't worry, honey. We'll catch up at the airport." Fenton assured. "Come on. I'll drive."
(DONALD & GOOFY – Last at Backpacks)
"We're in last, Goofy!" Donald cried.
"Gawrsh, Donald. I tripped back there." Goofy insisted.
"Over your own feet!" Donald shouted. "Come on! I'll drive!"
In short, all sixteen teams had gotten into their respective marked cars and had driven off at roughly the same time, everyone on the same route to the airport.
(VANILLA & CREAM)
"Mom, maybe we should speed up and start passing some people." Cream said.
"I don't know, dear." Vanilla said, feeling a little uneasy.
"We're expected to do that, mom." Cream assured. "Plus, if we want to get a good flight, we'll need to get there ahead of some of the others."
"Well…Okay, dear. You've convinced me." Vanilla said as she started speeding up, beginning to catch up with Toad & Toadette.
(DRAKE & GOSALYN)
"This is awesome, dad! We're actually running around the VG Universe for a million dollars!" Gosalyn said excitedly.
"We don't know that, Gosalyn." Drake replied. "We could be eliminated today for all we know."
"Well, if we do, we'll have gone to more places than we have in a long time." Gosalyn said. "I'm looking forward to this!"
"That's my girl." Drake said with a smirk.
(LUCKY & BRIAN)
"Million dollars, man!" Brian said, holding out his hand.
Lucky laughed and gave Brian a low-five while still having his eyes on the road. "Let's do this, Brian! This is going to be a real blast!"
"You said it, bro!" Brian replied. "And we're almost at the airport, so we'll have a head-start in finding a good flight!"
"Yeah. We just need to look for those race flags there." Lucky nodded. "We need to look hard and fast, because everyone's pretty much right behind us."
(AIRPORT)
Lucky was right in saying that they were almost to the airport. Even with a couple of teams passing others, the athletes managed to get there first. Pulling into the parking lot, the two friends jumped out of their car.
As Lucky was grabbing the backpacks, Brian noticed that there was a couple more teams pulling into the parking lot. "They're right behind us, Lucky! We need to move!"
"Come on!" Lucky urged, tossing Brian his backpack.
Both friends made a mad dash into the airport. Once inside, they looked around and quickly saw a race flag hanging around by an airline.
"There's one over there!" Brian pointed out.
"I dunno, Brian." Lucky said. "The earliest flight is never right at the front door. Remember the last race?"
"Oh, yeah. That was the second-quickest flight." Brian nodded. "Right. Let's go find something else."
As the two athletes ran off, Dexter & Steff showed up. Seeing the open airline, the dating couple rushed over, not thinking about searching elsewhere like Lucky & Brian.
"We need to get to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Dexter explained.
"Oh. You're with the race?" The woman asked.
"Yes. Can we get on the earliest flight you have?" Steff asked back.
"Our earliest flight arrives at two in the afternoon. Will that be alright?"
"That'll do just fine." Dexter nodded.
(DEXTER & STEFF – First on Flight 3)
As the dating couple left the counter to go sit down, Blue & Pink darted into the airport with Fred & Daphne right behind them.
"I say we search elsewhere." Blue suggested to his partner. "The better flights are probably hidden somewhere in the airport."
"Surprisingly, that's not a bad idea." Pink nodded. "Let's go."
As the monkeys ran off, Fred turned to his girlfriend. "I'm with them, Daph." The blonde man said. "You think we should search elsewhere?"
"We may as well." Daphne nodded. "Let's go check things out."
Fred & Daphne ran off (in a different direction than Blue & Pink) as Sasha & Angela arrived with Jon & Liz. The two teams looked around.
"What do you think, Angela?" Sasha asked. "There's an airline just over there."
"Maybe so, but perhaps there's a better choice hidden somewhere else." Angela mused.
"That may be so." Sasha nodded. "Come on. Let's see what we can find."
Jon & Liz apparently got similar thoughts, as they wandered off as well. After they did, Yakko & Wakko arrived.
"Boy, Yakko! That was some serious driving you did!" Wakko said. "You passed a lot of people back there."
"Why, thank you, dear sibling." Yakko said with a smirk. "Now come on. Let us see if that woman over there has some tickets for us."
"Woman?!" Wakko asked before looking at the woman behind the counter. "Helloooooooo, nurse!!"
With that, Wakko jumped around the lobby wildly with hearts in place of his eyes. As Yakko tried to get him to calm down, Kathy & Anne appeared. Seeing Wakko's state, the girls slipped by unnoticed and approached the counter.
"We need to get to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Anne said.
"Our earliest fight is one arriving at two." The woman said. "Will that be alright?"
"That's just great!" Kathy nodded.
(KATHY & ANNE – Second on Flight 3)
(LUCKY & BRIAN)
"There's an airline, man!" Brian pointed out.
"Score! Let's go see what they've got!" Lucky said.
The two rushed over to the airline and approached the counter with hopes of finding the right airline.
"We need to go to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Lucky explained.
"Our earliest flight is one arriving at one in the afternoon." The man replied. "Will that do?"
"That's pretty early, Lucky." Brian noted.
"Yeah." Lucky nodded. "Okay, we'll take two tickets!"
(LUCKY & BRIAN – First on Flight 1)
(BLUE & PINK)
"You see an airline, Blue?" Pink asked from somewhere below the crowd. "I can't see over the heads of these umans."
Blue, much taller than Pink, was able to spot an open airline. "There's one, Pink!" He said. "Come on!"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
The two monkeys weaved through the crowd and finally approached the counter.
"We need the fastest flight to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Blue explained.
"Well, we have a flight arriving at one-thirty." The woman replied. "That's our earliest."
"We'll take it, thanks." Pink nodded.
(BLUE & PINK – First on Flight 2)
(FRED & DAPHNE)
The dating couple had to search a bit, but they finally found an open airline.
"I don't see any other teams around here yet, Freddie." Daphne mused, looking around.
"Let's hope this is the right one, then." Fred nodded before turning to the woman behind the counter. "We're looking for a fast flight to the world of Crash Bandicoot."
"Our earliest flight arrives at two-thirty." The woman explained.
"We'll take it, then." Daphne replied.
(FRED & DAPHNE – First on Flight 4)
(CLOUD & TIFA)
Entering the lobby, Cloud & Tifa noticed Wakko still acting like the womanizing cartoon character he was (although Yakko was getting him to calm down), but paid it no mind and slipped over to the counter. As they did, Yakko & Wakko lined up behind them and Bass & Roll showed up.
"We're with the race and need a flight to the Crash Bandicoot node." Tifa explained.
"Our earliest flight is arriving at two. Will the suffice?" The woman asked.
"It will, thanks." Tifa nodded.
(CLOUD & TIFA – Third on Flight 3)
As Cloud & Tifa left the counter, Yakko & Wakko approached, the latter looking like nothing had happened.
"We could use some tickets on that same flight if you have any." Yakko said.
"These are our last tickets." The woman said. "Consider yourselves lucky."
Yakko instantly jumped into the woman's arms. "Aw, gee! Thanks! You're a real doll!" With that, he planted a huge kiss on the woman's lips, then jumped away, grabbing the tickets at the same time.
(YAKKO & WAKKO – Last on Flight 3)
Bass sighed. "Well, it looks like those two got the last tickets."
"Let's go find another airline, Bass." Roll said.
Drake & Gosalyn showed up and saw Bass & Roll walk off. Drake deduced that this meant that the airline was out of tickets. "We'd better find another flight, Gos." He suggested.
"Got it, dad." Gosalyn nodded.
As the father and daughter rushed off, Mr. & Mrs. C came in.
"There's already a good amount of racers sitting down." Mr. C said. "I'd say that it's best we search elsewhere."
"No argument here, dear." Mrs. C replied. "Come on. Let's go find something."
(SASHA & ANGELA)
"There's the boys, Sasha." Angela pointed out, seeing Lucky & Brian sitting down not too far away.
"Let's try that airline over there, then." Sasha nodded.
The two girls approached the counter, hoping that they were making the right decision.
"We need to get on a fast flight bound for the node of Crash Bandicoot." Sasha explained.
"Our earliest flight arrives at one." The man replied.
"And that's the earliest possible?" Angela quizzed.
"It is."
"We'll take two tickets, please."
(SASHA & ANGELA – Second on Flight 1)
(JON & LIZ)
"I think I can see Blue sitting down over there, Liz." Jon said, noticing the lanky monkey sitting on a bench.
"Then we're close to an airline." Liz deduced. "Look! I see one!"
The dating couple rushed over, hoping that they were getting a good flight.
"We need to get to the world of Crash Bandicoot as fast as possible." Jon explained.
"Well, our earliest flight arrives at one-thirty." The woman replied. "Is that fine?"
"We'll take it. That sounds pretty early." Liz nodded.
(JON & LIZ – Second on Flight 2)
(VANILLA & CREAM)
"That was some good driving, mom!" Cream said as she entered the airport with her mother. "You managed to pass a team!"
"It was only one, though." Vanilla sighed. She spotted a group of racers sitting down nearby and counted heads. "Dear, there's eight people sitting down over there. I think that airline may be sold out of tickets."
"Well, let's just go find a better flight, then!" Cream said.
Toad & Toadette entered the airport just after Vanilla & Cream wandered off. Seeing the two walk off made the dating mushrooms look at each other.
"Think we should go after them?" Toad asked.
"I dunno, Toad." Toadette replied. "I say we go another direction and see if we can come up with anything.
(BASS & ROLL)
"There's an airline." Bass said.
"Come on! Let's go grab some tickets!" Roll said.
The two robots approached the counter, hoping that there was still some tickets available for a flight.
"We need to get to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Roll explained.
"Well, our earliest flight arrives at two-thirty." The woman explained. "Is that okay?"
"It'll have to be." Bass nodded.
(BASS & ROLL – Second on Flight 4)
As the robots left the counter, Drake & Gosalyn walked up. Seeing the robots leave the counter with tickets, the ducks rushed over.
"We need to get on the same flight as they did." Drake said. "Do you still have some tickets available?"
"Yes, actually." The woman replied. "Would you like some?"
"Please."
(DRAKE & GOSALYN – Third on Flight 4)
(FENTON & LAURA)
"What do you think we should do, dear?" Laura asked as she looked at the amount of people sitting down.
Being a detective, it didn't take long for Fenton to come up with his answer. "Let's go find another airline. I say we go that way first."
As the married couple wandered off, Donald & Goofy showed up.
"That's a lotta people sitting down." Donald mused. "Goofy, let's go find another airline."
Goofy shrugged. "Yer the boss, Donald."
(MR. & MRS. C)
"You see anything, dear?" Mr. C asked, looking around.
Mrs. C spotted a few racers sitting down and saw the airline. "There! I see it!"
The married couple rushed over to the counter to get some tickets, hoping that they had pulled ahead.
"We need to go to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Mrs. C explained.
"Our earliest flight is one that arrives at one-thirty." The woman replied.
"Sounds fast enough." Mr. C nodded. "We'll take two tickets, please."
(MR. & MRS. C – Third on Flight 2)
(VANILLA & CREAM)
"Look, mom! I see racers!" Cream pointed out.
"That's a good sign." Vanilla said with a smile. "Come on, Cream. Let's go get a flight."
The two rabbits approached the airline, hoping to get on the fastest flight.
"We need to go to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Vanilla said kindly. "You don't happen to have two tcikets available on a fast flight, would you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." The man said. "The flight arrives at one."
(VANILLA & CREAM – Third on Flight 1)
(TOAD & TOADETTE)
"So you're sure that nothing arrives earlier?" Toad asked the woman at the counter.
"Positive."
"Great!" Toadette said with a smile. "Two tickets, please!"
(TOAD & TOADETTE – Last on Flight 2)
"You think we made the right choice, Toad?" Toadette asked.
"I certainly hope so." Toad sighed.
(FENTON & LAURA)
"I think I can see some of the teams over there, dear." Laura said.
"Indeed! Come on, Laura! Let's book that flight." Fenton urged.
The married couple approached the counter as the three teams sitting down in the background watched.
"We need to go to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Fenton explained.
"These are the last tickets for a flight arriving at one." The man said. "Is this the one you want?"
"That seems pretty early to me." Laura admitted. "We'll take two tickets, please."
(FENTON & LAURA – Last on Flight 1)
As the married couple walked over to the seating area, the other three teams clapped for them.
"Way ta go, guys!" Lucky said. "You caught up!"
"Welcome aboard." Sasha said with a smile. "We're all going to be traveling together.
(DONALD & GOOFY)
"Say, Donald? Isn't that one of them race flags over there?" Goofy asked.
"Why…Yes, it is!" Donald said. "Come on, Goof!"
The two classic characters approached the counter.
"We need to go to the world of Crash Bandicoot." Donald said.
"Huh?" The woman asked, not being able to understand Donald's speech.
"The world of Crash Bandicoot." Donald replied.
"What was that?"
"Crash Bandicoot!!" Donald shouted.
Goofy stepped in. "We need to go to that there world of Crash Bandicoot."
"Oh. Well, why didn't you say so?"
Donald shook in anger for a few seconds before jumping throwing his trademark tantrum as Goofy grabbed the last tickets.
(DONALD & GOOFY – Last on Flight 4)
"All sixteen teams are now flying towards the world of Crash Bandicoot on four different flights placed half an hour apart." Mr. Jowai explained. "The first flight, arriving at one in the afternoon, contains Lucky & Brian, Sasha & Angela, Vanilla & Cream and Fenton & Laura. The second flight contains Blue & Pink, Jon & Liz, Mr. & Mrs. C and Toad & Toadette. The third flight contains Dexter & Steff, Kathy & Anne, Cloud & Tifa and Yakko & Wakko. The fourth and last flight contains Fred & Daphne, Bass & Roll, Drake & Gosalyn and Donald & Goofy."
(Flight 1 – Landing)
The flight landed right on time and let everyone on it off. As people were walking through the airport to grab their luggage or rushing to make a connecting flight, four teams were seen flying through the airport in a mad dash towards the front door. Leading the pack was Lucky & Brian due to their athletic experience, but Sasha & Angela were pretty much right behind them. Cream was just after them as Vanilla, Fenton & Laura struggled to keep up with everyone.
Getting outside, the teams made a beeline for the street, where they were to hail a taxi.
"Taxi!" Lucky hailed.
"Taxi!" Angela shouted.
By the time everyone else had gotten out of the airport, Lucky & Brian had managed to hail a taxi and were driving away. Sasha & Angela had yet to flag a cab down, but they were looking pretty close.
"Taxi! Over here!" Vanilla called out.
Fenton gave a loud whistle. "Taxi!"
Eventually, three taxis pulls up, allowing everyone to get in. Fenton & Laura were the last.
"We need to get to the home of Crash Bandicoot." Laura instructed.
"You got it." The driver nodded. "I'll get you there fast."
(LUCKY & BRIAN)
"Man. We were lucky to get out of there so fast." Brian sighed in relief.
"Yeah, but everyone else is right behind us." Lucky noticed, looking out the back window. "We'll need to keep on our toes if we wanna get to the Pitstop before them."
"I'm not worried." Brian smirked. "We can outrun pretty much everyone else on the race and have the strength to complete tasks quickly."
"I hope you're right on that, Brian."
(VANILLA & CREAM)
"Do you think we're in last, mom?" Cream asked. "We never checked with any of the other teams to see what they got."
"We shouldn't think that way, Cream." Vanilla scolded. "We should just remember to be optimistic."
"Right, but it would be nicer if I knew we were at the front of the back rather than the back."
(FENTON & LAURA)
"This certainly is exciting." Laura mused with a smirk. "Racing like this makes me feel twenty-three again."
"Well, enjoy it while you can, dear." Fenton chuckled. "For all we know, we could end up getting eliminated today."
"I'm aware of that."
The four taxis drove through the node for a little bit, ending up driving out of the town and into the jungle part of the node. This meant that they were getting close, but none of the teams knew how close they were.
(LUCKY & BRIAN)
"Boy. It's times like this makes me wish we had a map." Lucky sighed. "We have no way of knowing how close we are to our destination."
"Hey, Lucky! Look! There's a village up there!" Brian pointed out. "Isn't that where that Bandicoot guy lives?"
"Well, I know he lives in a village, but is that the right one?" Lucky asked.
As it turned out, the village WAS the right one, because a little more driving and the two friends spotted a clue box sitting outside of a house.
"There it is!" Brian shouted.
The taxi stopped, letting Lucky & Brian out. The other three teams showed up at this time and rushed over to the clue box as Lucky & Brian took the first clue out.
(LUCKY & BRIAN – First at Clue 1)
After handing the clue to Lucky, Brian took the time to count the clues left in the box. "Lucky, they're all here!!" He said.
"Alright!! We're the first group!" Quickly tearing open the envelope, Lucky pulled out another blue card. "Take a taxi to Cortex Castle."
"Teams must now travel by taxi to Cortex Castle, where the villain of the games is always holed up." Mr. Jowai explained. "Just inside the front door of the castle, teams will find the next clue."
As Lucky was reading, the other teams rushed past and grabbed the next three clues at almost the same time.
(SASHA & ANGELA – Second at Clue 1)
(FENTON & LAURA – Third at Clue 1)
(VANILLA & CREAM – Fourth at Clue 1)
Sasha quickly opened the clue. "Take your taxi to Cortex Castle." She read.
"Honey, we're in the lead!" Laura noticed.
"Amazing!" Fenton replied as he read the clue. "We actually have a chance, then!"
"Oh! A dark, creepy castle belonging to a deranged scientist!" Cream read. "This is gonna be fun!"
"Finding out that we were in the first group felt like you wouldn't believe." Laura said in an after-leg interview. "Now we knew that unless we really messed up on a task, Fenton and I would survive the first leg!"
Everyone then noticed that Lucky & Brian still hadn't made a move to get back to their taxi yet.
"First group, man!" Lucky said, high-fiving Brian. He then turned to the other teams. "We made the right choice, guys! We're in the lead!"
"I know!" Angela replied. "This is an awesome feeling!"
"But remember that even though we're all tied for the lead, that doesn't mean that we won't try to beat you to the Pitstop." Laura warned.
"Wasn't planning you not to." Brian admitted. "Come on! Let's get going! The next plane will probably have landed by now!"
(Flight 2 – Landing)
Blue Monkey, being the speedster he was, led the next pack of racers through the airport. Jon, Liz, Mr. C and Mrs. C were following behind as Toad, Toadette and Pink brought up the rear.
"I don't know how Jolene & Mush managed to do it." Toad sighed. "They made squeezing through crowds seem so easy."
"Just keep going, Toad!" Toadette replied. "We gotta keep up!"
Outside of the airport, Blue raced out well before anyone else. Deciding to put time in wisely, he hailed a taxi.
When everyone else came out of the airport, they saw that Blue had already gotten a taxi. Unfortunately, Toad, Toadette and Pink were still inside, which meant that Blue couldn't leave yet.
"Taxi!" Jon called out. "Over here!"
"Taxi!" Mrs. C shouted.
Two taxis pulled up as Toad, Toadette and Pink finally emerged from the airport.
"Pink, I got us a taxi!" Blue said. "Come on!"
"Coming!" Pink replied as she ran towards the taxi.
Unfortunately, before Pink got to the taxi, the two taxis containing Jon & Liz and Mr. & Mrs. C had already driven off.
"After them!" Blue ordered as he and Pink got into the taxi.
"Yes, sir!" The driver replied as he gave chase.
This left Toad & Toadette on the side of the road, alone. Luckily, they were able to flag down a taxi easily and they got in.
"Where to, kids?" The driver asked.
"Kids?!" Toadette asked. "We're in our twenties!"
"Uh…Could you please take us to Crash Bandicoot's house?" Toad asked.
"You bet, mac." The driver nodded. "Here we go!"
(MR. & MRS. C)
Looking back, Mrs. C saw that Blue & Pink were still trailing them. "I consider us lucky that we managed to get ahead of the monkeys." She mused. "With the short amount of time it took Blue to get out of the airport, I thought they'd be long gone by the time we got a taxi."
"Yeah. I just hope our driver knows where he's going." Mr. C nodded.
"Don't worry. I got it covered." The driver explained.
(JON & LIZ)
"Keep going!" Liz urged the driver. "We need to beat these people there!"
"Don't worry, ma'am." The driver assured. "I'll keep you guys ahead."
"That's a relief." Jon sighed, looking out the back window. "The parents of that yellow-haired kid are coming up fast.
(SASHA & ANGELA)
"Wow. Would you look at that." Sasha said I awe, looking at the huge castle off in the distance. "Is that Cortex Castle?"
"That would be it." The driver replied. "You sure that's where you need to go?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Angela asked.
"Cortex is a maniacal scientist, albeit an odd one. It could be dangerous to go close."
"Well, the race told us to go there, so I guess it's safe." Angela shrugged.
(VANILLA & CREAM)
"Are you sure this is going to be safe, Cream?" Vanilla asked. "That castle belongs to an evil scientist that Eggman might go to the same lodge meetings as."
"Mom, it's going to be fine." Cream assured. "The race is going to keep us all safe, so that means that it's going to be fine for us to enter the castle."
"I'll trust you, Cream." Vanilla sighed. "But I don't like it."
The four lead teams drove towards the huge castle, eventually pulling up to the front, Lucky & Brian still in the lead. Paying their driver, the two athletes rushed into the castle and saw the clue box sitting in the middle of the huge first room, close to the bottom of a staircase.
"There it is, Brian!" Lucky pointed out.
"Come on!"
Rushing over to the clue box, Lucky & Brian took the first envelope out.
(LUCKY & BRIAN – First at Split Track)
Brian tore open the envelope and pulled out a yellow card. "Hey! A Split Track!"
"A Split Track is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons." Mr. Jowai explained as he walked down a hallway of the castle. "In this Split Track, teams must choose between 'Search' and 'Escape'. In Search, teams must climb all the way to the top of Cortex Castle and search out around the island for the race flag. Once they spot it, teams will be given their next clue. It's a tiring task getting to the top of the castle, but the flag is easy to spot, so teams could finish quickly. In Escape, teams must go into the lower levels in the castle and go through an underground maze until they find themselves outside of the castle, where they'll find their next clue. Walking through the maze won't be as tiring, but teams without navigation skills could take a long time to finish."
"We gotta search for the flag, man." Brian said.
"You got it." Lucky nodded. "I've never really been the good with mazes."
As Lucky & Brian ran up the stairs, Sasha & Angela showed up. Seeing the clue box, the two girls rushed over to it and pulled out the next clue.
(SASHA & ANGELA – Second at Split Track)
"What do you think we should do, Angela?" Sasha asked.
"Go to the top of the castle and search." Angela replied. "I think that could take us quicker."
"Right. Let's go after the boys, then."
With that, Sasha & Angela ran off as the other two teams ran in through the front door of the castle. Seeing the clue box, they raced over, Fenton barely managing to beat out Vanilla.
(FENTON & LAURA – Third at Split Track)
(VANILLA & CREAM – Fourth at Split Track)
"The first Split Track." Fenton read.
"Dear, you're a detective!" Laura said in realization. "Going through a maze should be no problem for you!"
"Well, let's give it a shot." Fenton replied.
"I think we'd have a better chance with the maze, Cream." Vanilla mused. "I don't think I'd be able to make it all the way to the top of the castle."
"If you want to, mother." Cream nodded.
With that, the two teams rushed off to the stairs leading downwards.
(BANDICOOT HOUSEHOLD)
The next two teams pulled up to the first clue box. Telling their respective drivers to await their return, the two teams raced to the clue box and pulled out the next clues.
(JON & LIZ – Fifth at Clue 1)
(MR. & MRS. C – Sixth at Clue 1)
"Drat. There's some clues missing." Liz noticed.
"Well, at least we're not last." Jon replied optimistically as he opened the clue. "Take the taxi to Cortex Castle. Come on, Liz!"
"Cortex Castle." Mr. C read.
"We need to catch those two, dear! Come on!" Mrs. C urged.
As the two couples rode off in their taxis, the next team arrived. Blue & Pink stepped out of their taxi and, not wanting to waste money, made short work of running over to the clue.
(BLUE & PINK – Seventh at Clue 1)
"Back into the taxi, Pink!" Blue said. "We need to catch up!"
"I know, because the mushrooms are right behind us!" Pink nodded.
The monkeys got back into their taxi and rode off as Toad & Toadette came into view. Pulling up, they got out of their taxi and went over to the clue box, taking out the next envelope.
(TOAD & TOADETTE – Eighth at Clue 1)
"The monkeys just drove off, Toad! We need to catch them!" Toadette said.
"Right! Come on!" Toad said.
(SPLIT TRACK)
Starting to breathe a little heavily, the two friends raced up another flight of stairs before sprinting up another one. Right behind them was Sasha & Angela, whom were also starting to breathe heavier.
"I had no idea a castle could have so many steps!" Angela panted.
"Neither did I, but it's too late to turn around now." Sasha replied. "Keep going, Angela!"
Down in the basement, Vanilla & Cream were trying to navigate through the maze of tunnels that was supposed to take them outside. The two rabbits had lost track of Fenton & Laura long ago, but neither the mother nor the daughter was about to give up anytime soon.
"I think we've bee at this corner before, mom." Cream noted. "I think we're going in circles."
"Well, let's try going a different way, then." Vanilla sighed. "I just wish that we didn't lose track of Fenton & Laura. They'll probably make it through this maze in record time."
(Flight 3 – Landing)
For once, each team on the plane was pretty much neck-in-neck with each other running out of the airport. All eight racers flew towards the front doors of the airport together, but it was Kathy to make it outside of the airport first. However, before the young rancher could get a chance to hail a cab, Dexter and Steff had managed to flag one down first.
"Taxi!" Dexter shouted.
As the other teams started flagging down taxis, one pulled up to allow Dexter & Steff entry.
"We need to get to the house of Crash Bandicoot." Dexter explained. "Can you take us there?"
"Sure thing." The driver nodded.
"Taxi!" Anne called out.
"Taxi!" Tifa shouted.
Wakko didn't need to flag a taxi down. He simply pulled a huge mallet from out of nowhere. That seemed to intimidate a cab driver into pulling over.
"Remind me to use hat method of yours in the future, Wakko." Yakko noted.
As the other three teams were getting into their taxis, Dexter & Steff were already long gone.
"We need to go to the home of Crash Bandicoot." Anne explained. "We'll give you a tip if you get us there quickly."
Seeing Kathy & Anne ride off, Tifa pointed at them. "Follow that cab!"
(SPLIT TRACK)
Lucky & Brian and Sasha & Angela had managed to make it to the top of Cortex Castle and were currently using binoculars to scan the rest of the island for any sight of the race flag. So far, they had come up with nothing, but they figured that they may as well complete the task, as it would take too long to go all the way back down to attempt the other part of the Split Track.
"I thought the clue said that the flag was gonna be easy to find." Brian muttered. "By the time we find something, the others will have gotten through that maze down there."
"I know, but we can't give up." Sasha said. "We'll waste too much time switching tasks."
(DEXTER & STEFF)
"Still no sign of them, Dex." Steff noted, looking out the back window of the taxi. "We managed to get far enough away from them."
"That's perfect." Dexter said. "We got a great driver and he's gonna get us there fast."
"Yeah. I just hope that we're not in the last group of racers."
(CLOUD & TIFA)
"The girls still aren't letting us pass them!" Tifa growled. "Why won't they just let us through?!"
"This is a race, Tifa." Cloud replied. "It's every team for themselves."
Tifa folded her arms and pouted. "I hate it when you're right."
Cloud smirked.
(SPLIT TRACK)
The two teams continued to scan the vast jungle several times. Some of them were starting to get impatient and frustrated, but didn't stop looking.
Suddenly, Angela's eyes landed on a small, native village, where the race flag was flapping in the wind. "There it is!" She said. "I see the flag!"
"You do?!" Lucky asked. "Where?!"
"That tribal village down there. It's slightly to the west of that huge mountain over there." Angela said as she turned to a race official. "Am I right? Is it that village down there?"
The official smiled and handed Angela a clue, which she eagerly took.
(SASHA & ANGELA – First at Clue 2)
As Lucky & Brian managed to spot the flag as well, Angela tore open the clue. "Drive yourselves to the tribal village." She read.
"Teams must now drive themselves to this tribal village, the chief of which is longtime boss of the series, Papu Papu." Mr. Jowai explained. "Outside of the chief's hut, teams will find the next clue."
"Uh…How do we get down?" Angela asked.
"There's a warp pad over there. Step on it and you'll go outside to where your marked cars are." The official said.
"Thank you!" Sasha said as she and Angela made a break for the blue pad on the floor. The instant they stepped on, the two vanished. Once they did, Lucky & Brian had received their clue.
(LUCKY & BRIAN – Second at Clue 2)
"Come on, Brian!" Lucky said. "Let's go after them!"
Outside the castle on ground level, Sasha & Angela appeared. Seeing the sixteen marked jeeps sitting a ways away, the two friends jumped into one and drove off in it.
At the front door of Cortex Castle, the next two teams arrived. Paying their respective drivers, the two teams raced into the castle and quickly found the clue box. Running over, the two teams took out the next two clues.
(JON & LIZ – Fifth at Split Track)
(MR. & MRS. C – Sixth at Split Track)
"A Split Track." Liz noted.
"What would you prefer to do, Liz?" Jon asked.
"I dunno, but I think that a view of the island would be breathtaking." Liz replied. "Why don't we search the island?"
Jon gulped, not really wanting to run up so many stairs. But this was something Liz wanted, so he nodded. "Sure. Let's go." He said.
"I'll admit that I have a fear of heights, so going to the top of the huge castle wasn't really the highest on my list of things to do." Jon said in an after-leg interview. "But I want to do my best to impress Liz, even if that means doing things I normally wouldn't."
"We've never really been that good with mazes, dear." Mrs. C sighed. "Looks like going up to the top of the castle is our only choice."
"Yeah. It'll probably take a lot out of us, but it's better than getting lost in a maze for an hour." Mr. C added.
As the two teams ran up the stairs, Blue & Pink raced into the castle. Seeing the clue box, they pulled out the next clue.
(BLUE & PINK – Seventh at Split Track)
"I say we search the island from the top of the castle." Blue suggested.
Pink nodded. "That might be quicker." She replied. "Come on."
Toad & Toadette entered the castle in time to see Blue & Pink run up the stairs. The mushroom couple ran over to the clue box and pulled out the next clue.
(TOAD & TOADETTE – Eighth at Split Track)
"Well, we're probably too short to look out the window at the top of the castle." Toad sighed.
"Yeah. We'd better go through the maze." Toadette nodded.
Speaking of the maze, Fenton & Laura had just managed to get out of it, stepping out of the maze and back into the sunlight outside the castle walls.
"My. That took a little longer than I had hoped." Fenton sighed.
"Well, we made it out." Laura replied. "And look. There's the clue box over there."
The married couple rushed over to a nearby clue box and took the first clue from it.
(FENTON & LAURA – Third at Clue 2)
"Drive yourselves to the tribal village." Laura read.
"The marked cars must be up here." Fenton said as he and Laura walked up a slight hill.
After the two had gone off, Vanilla & Cream emerged from the maze as well. Seeing the clue box, the mother and daughter rushed over.
(VANILLA & CREAM – Fourth at Clue 2)
"Looks like we're on the road again, dear." Vanilla said. "Come on. We need to go."
"Right, mom!" Cream said energetically. "We'll catch up!"
(BANDICOOT HOUSEHOLD)
Dexter & Steff rode onto the scene. Spotting the clue box, the dating couple got their cab to pull over. The two then got out of their cab and rushed over to get the next clue.
(DEXTER & STEFF – Ninth at Clue 1)
"Oh, man." Dexter whined. "Look at how many clues are left. I thought we'd be further ahead."
"It's okay, Dex. We're still in the race." Steff said as she opened the clue. "We're heading to Cortex Castle, Dexter. Let's go."
As Dexter & Steff got back into their taxi and drove off, the next three teams arrived at almost the same time. Getting out, the teams made a mad dash for the clue, getting it almost simultaneously.
(CLOUD & TIFA – Tenth at Clue 1)
(YAKKO & WAKKO – Eleventh at Clue 1)
(KATHY & ANNE – Twelfth at Clue 1)
"Drive to Cortex Castle." Tifa read.
"Come on, Tifa! Back in the taxi!" Cloud urged.
"Hmm…Cortex Castle. Never heard of it." Yakko shrugged.
"So? We need to go there either way." Wakko replied.
"Come on, Kathy. Let's see if we can catch these guys at the next task." Anne said.
"Right!" Kathy nodded.
(Flight 4 – Landing)
Somehow knowing that they were fighting to stay out of last place, the last four teams ran through the airport faster than others. Fred, Daphne and Donald were leading the pack as Gosalyn, Bass and Roll followed. Goofy and Drake brought up the rear, but everyone made it out of the airport at almost the same time anyway.
Daphne let out a loud whistle. "Taxi!!" She called out, managing to get a driver's attention.
"Taxi! Over here!" Roll shouted, waving her arms.
"Yo! Taxi!" Gosalyn shouted.
"Taxi!" Donald shouted.
Eventually, four taxis stopped, allowing the four teams to get in and drive off, Fred & Daphne leading the pack.
(FRED & DAPHNE)
"Fred, I think we made the wrong choice of flight." Daphne said. "I think we're all fighting for last place right now."
"If that's the case, then we just need to try harder to get there before the others." Fred sighed.
"I know."
(DONALD & GOOFY)
"Go faster! We need to catch up!" Donald ordered.
"Uh…What?" The driver asked.
"Go faster!"
"What?"
"Could ya go faster?" Goofy asked. "We're in this here race and we gotta catch up."
"Oh. Of course."
Donald's face turned red with frustration before letting out another garbled scream of fury, shaking both fists in the air.
"What's his problem?" The driver asked.
"Ya know? I've never really found out." Goofy replied, scratching his head.
(VILLAGE)
One jeep drove into the small village of natives, although a second one was literally seconds behind it. The jeeps drove for a bit until the teams driving spotted the clue box they were looking for. The lead team jumped out of their jeep and rushed over, taking out the first envelope.
(SASHA & ANGELA – First at Boss Battle)
Sasha ripped open the clue and pulled out a red card. "The first Boss Battle of the race!" She said.
"A Boss Battle is a task only one person may perform, and the team may not proceed until the task is finished." Mr. Jowai explained as he walked through the village. "In this Boss Battle, that racer has to throw a javelin from ten yards away and strike a bag hanging from a pole. The javelin only needs to puncture the bag for the racer to complete the task. Once the racer finishes, they'll receive the next clue."
"Uh…No offense, Sasha, but I think I'm the better shot." Angela said.
"No argument here, Angela." Sasha nodded. "You go ahead."
As Angela walked over to the long line of sixteen bags a ways away and grabbed a javelin, the next team showed up. The racers got out and rushed over to the clue box.
(LUCKY & BRIAN – Second at Boss Battle)
"A Boss Battle, man!" Brian said with a smirk.
"The person has to be a good shot…That is SO you, Brian." Lucky said. "You're throwing those footballs in your games all the time, so this should be a piece of cake for you."
"You got it, Lucky." Brian nodded as he walked over to start the task as well.
(SPLIT TRACK)
The teams searching from the top of the castle quickly found the task harder than it looked, but one team managed to get lucky after several minutes of searching.
"I see it." Blue whispered, pointing off in the distance.
"Really?" Pink whispered back. "Where is it?"
"That native village by the mountain." Blue replied. "Come on. Let's get that clue."
As the other teams kept searching, Blue & Pink walked over to the official, whispered the clue's location and received a clue.
(BLUE & PINK – Fifth at Clue 2)
"We'll read it by the cars." Pink said, walking over to the warp pad.
"Right." Blue said.
"I can't believe that those two found the flag before us." Mr. C sighed.
"Yeah, but we ca always…" Liz said before spotting something. "Wait! I see it! It's by the tribal village!"
As Jon & Liz rushed over and received their clue, Mr. & Mrs. C searched the area Liz had spotted the flag ("Yep. She's right. It's over there.").
(JON & LIZ – Sixth at Clue 2)
"Drive yourselves to the tribal village." Liz read.
"Well, let's go!" Jon said.
As the dating couple left, Mr. & Mrs. C came over and received their clue as well.
(MR. & MRS. C – Seventh at Clue 2)
"Come on, dear! We need to go after them!" Mrs. C urged.
"Coming!" Mr. C replied.
(BOSS BATTLE)
As Angela and Brian continued to throw javelins at the hanging targets, the next two leading teams showed up. Getting out of their jeeps, the two teams rushed over to the clue box and took a couple of clues out.
(FENTON & LAURA – Third at Boss Battle)
(VANILLA & CREAM – Fourth at Boss Battle)
"It's a Boss Battle." Laura read.
"I'll handle this, dear." Fenton offered.
"Oh, dear. I'm afraid neither of us are very good shots." Vanilla sighed. "I was afraid something like this would come up."
"So what do we do, mom?" Cream asked.
"Well, I guess I'd better do this one, then." Vanilla nodded as she walked over to the javelin range with Fenton.
Angela threw another javelin, but missed her bag. "Man! I should have hit the target by now! I'm a WAY better shot than this!" She said, frustrated.
"Trying this again." Brian muttered as he picked up another javelin, aimed and threw it. It soared beside the bag and slammed into the tree everything was hanging from. "Drat. An inch to the left and I woulda had it."
(SPLIT TRACK)
It took a bit, but Toad & Toadette were finally able to get out of the maze. The two mushrooms spotted the clue box and ran over.
(TOAD & TOADETTE – Eighth at Clue 2)
"Drive yourselves to the native village." Toadette read.
"I hope we can make up for the time we lost in there." Toad mused as the two ran off.
Unknown to them, as Toad & Toadette were climbing into their jeep, the next team had arrived at the clue box in the castle.
(DEXTER & STEFF – Ninth at Split Track)
"What do you think, Dexter?" Steff asked.
"Well, I suppose searching the island for a large flag would be easier than a run through a maze." Dexter mused.
Steff nodded. "It's off to the top of the castle, then."
As the dating couple ran off, the next three teams showed up at almost the same time. They rushed over to the clue box and took out the next clues.
(YAKKO & WAKKO – Tenth at Split Track)
(CLOUD & TIFA – Eleventh at Split Track)
(KATHY & ANNE – Twelfth at Split Track)
"Up for a run through a maze, Wakko?" Yakko asked.
"Faboo!" Wakko replied.
"I say we go to the top of the castle." Cloud said. "That might be quicker."
"You're probably right." Tifa nodded.
Anne ripped open the clue and scanned it over. "Maze?"
Kathy nodded. "Maze."
"Maze."
(BANDICOOT HOUSEHOLD)
The final four teams arrived at the Bandicoot household, seeing the clue box. Telling their respective drivers to stop, everyone got out and rushed over to the clue box to open the last clues.
(FRED & DAPHNE – Thirteenth at Clue 1)
(BASS & ROLL – Fourteenth at Clue 1)
(DONALD & GOOFY – Fifteenth at Clue 1)
(DRAKE & GOSALYN – Last at Clue 1)
"Oh, no! This is the last clue!" Gosalyn cried.
"We'll catch up, Gos. Don't worry." Drake assured.
Fred tore open his clue. "Come on, Daph! We need to get back in the taxi!" He said.
"Right! Let's move!" Daphne agreed.
"Travel by taxi to Cortex Castle." Roll read.
"Let's go, Roll." Bass said. "We're in the last group of racers and we need to catch up.
"Come on, ya big palooka!" Donald said. "We need to catch up!"
"Coming, Donald." Goofy said cheerily.
"We're in last, dad." Gosalyn said. "We need to catch up."
"And we will." Drake said. "Don't worry."
(BOSS BATTLE)
The four first-place teams were still struggling to complete the task. None of the four racers had completed it yet, and people were starting to get nervous that the next wave of teams would catch up.
"I knew that I'd be no good at this." Vanilla sighed as she picked up another javelin and threw it at her target, missing yet again.
"Just keep trying, mom!" Cream cheered from the sidelines. "You can do it!"
Suddenly, two loud rips were heard. Everyone not paying attention looked at saw that Brian and Angela had landed hits to their targets. The two teams cheered as the lombax and football player were handed clues. The two racers ran over to their partners and ripped open their clues.
"Drive yourselves…" Angela read.
"…To the first Pitstop!" Brian read.
"Teams must now drive themselves to N. Sanity Beach, which is located at the edge of the island." Mr. Jowai explained as he walked along a beach. "This beach, where the Crash Bandicoot games have a knack for starting at, is the Pitstop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here may be eliminated."
"Move! Move! Move!" Lucky said. "We're still in this!""Come on, Angela!" Sasha said. "We need to beat those two there!"
The two lead teams jumped back into their jeeps and drove off, leaving Fenton and Vanilla still attempting to complete the task.
Suddenly, Blue & Pink drove onto the scene. The monkeys spotted the clue box, jumped out of their car and rushed over, taking out the next clue.
(BLUE & PINK – Fifth at Boss Battle)
"A Boss Battle." Pink read.
"I've got better aim, Pink." Blue said. "I'll do this one."
"Are you saying that I have horrible aim?!" Pink shrieked.
"N-No! It's just that I have more experience because I was a gunslinger in Ape Escape 3!" Blue insisted as he rushed over to complete the task.
"Feh. Whatever." Pink muttered.
(SPLIT TRACK)
It took a record amount of time, as Kathy & Anne were able to navigate the maze with extreme ease. The two girls stepped into the light and saw the clue box.
"Man. That was real easy." Anne mused.
"Yeah! Searching for Landis underneath Budehuc Castle was harder than that!" Kathy laughed. "Come on! There's the clue box!"
(KATHY & ANNE – Ninth at Clue 2)
"Drive yourselves to the native village." Anne read.
"Boy, I sure hope that we got out of there in good time." Kathy said. "Hopefully, there's other teams still searching in the top of the castle."
In the top room of the castle, the two teams searching were still coming up with nothing.
"Man. This is starting to frustrate me." Tifa sighed. "How hard can it be to find a coloured flag in a field of green bush?"
"You got me, but…" Steff said as she suddenly saw the flag through her binoculars. "There! I see it!"
As Cloud & Tifa looked around the area where the flag had been spotted, Dexter & Steff rushed over to the official and were given the next clue.
(DEXTER & STEFF – Tenth at Clue 2)
"Come on, Dexter! Let's go!" Steff urged.
"Right!"
Cloud & Tifa were finally able to spot the flag, but once they had received their clue, Dexter & Seff had already stepped onto the warp pad.
(CLOUD & TIFA – Eleventh at Clue 2)
"Maybe we can catch Dexter & Steff!" Tifa said. "Come on, Cloud!"
Outside, Yakko & Wakko managed to reach the end of the maze and stepped out into the light. Spotting the clue box sitting nearby, the brothers rushed over and took out the next clue.
(YAKKO & WAKKO – Twelfth at Clue 2)
"Hopefully, we can catch up." Yakko mused. "Come on, Wakko."
When the brothers reach the marked jeeps, they saw Cloud & Tifa getting into theirs and driving off. Realizing that they weren't far behind, Yakko & Wakko jumped into another jeep and drove off after the travelers.
As the brothers rushed off, the four trailing teams finally arrived at Cortex Castle. Running through the front door, they all saw the clue box and went over, emptying the clue box.
(FRED & DAPHNE – Thirteenth at Split Track)
(DONALD & GOOFY – Fourteenth at Split Track)
(BASS & ROLL – Fifteenth at Split Track)
(DRAKE & GOSALYN – Last at Split Track)
"What do you think, Daphne?" Fred asked.
"I say we search the jungle from the castle top." Daphne replied. "We'd just get lost in the maze."
Donald, however, had other plans. "Goofy, let's go do the maze." He said. "We should be able to get that done quicker."
"Okay." Goofy shrugged.
"I'm with Donald." Roll nodded. "The maze seems easier."
"Let's go do that, then." Bass agreed.
"You think you can manage looking out at the jungle from the top?" Drake asked his daughter.
"Of course!"
"Let's go do that, then."
(BOSS BATTLE)
Fenton hurled his javelin with all his might, spearing through the bag hanging from the tree. Letting out a sigh of relief, Fenton received a clue and rushed back over to his wife.
Opening the envelope and pulling out the blue card, Fenton read it. "Drive yourselves to the first Pitstop." He read.
"Let's go, dear!" Laura urged. "While we're still ahead!"
As Fenton & Laura drove off, Jon & Liz showed up, Mr. & Mrs. C directly behind them. The two couples saw the clue box and rushed over.
(JON & LIZ – Sixth at Boss Battle)
(MR. & MRS. C – Seventh at Boss Battle)
"I'll do it, Jon." Liz said.
"You sure?" Jon asked.
"Positive."
"Don't worry, dear." Mr. C said. "I DID have a good throwing arm in high school. I'll get this done quickly."
"If you want to." Mrs. C nodded.
A few more throws later and Toad & Toadette showed up. The two mushrooms rushed over to the clue box.
"I'm not liking what I'm seeing, Toad." Toadette said. "I think we'll have to throw something."
(TOAD & TOADETTE – Eighth at Boss Battle)
"I was right." Toadette sighed. "One of us has to throw a javelin."
"I'll do it, then." Toad said. "I know that neither of us can throw things very well, but I think I've got a better shot at it out of the two of us."
Toad then went over and joined the others in throwing javelins. Shortly after, Blue managed to throw his javelin through one of the bags. "YES!! Pink, I got it!"
"Get the clue and bring it over here!" Pink called out.
Blue did as he was told and was quick to open up the clue. "We're heading to the Pitstop, Pink! Let's go!"
Vanilla sighed as Blue & Pink drove off. "This isn't good. I was here before them and they still managed to pull ahead."
In frustration, Vanilla threw her javelin again, surprising herself when it pierced the surface of it. A happy Vanilla received her clue and rushed back over to her daughter, whom was cheering for her.
"You did great, mom!" Cream said.
"Thank you, dear." Vanilla replied. "Now, come on. We have to check into the Pitstop."
"Yay!!"
(PITSTOP)
Mr. Jowai stood on the Pitstop mat, which was placed on the beach by the shore, preparing to check the first-place team in. By his side was main character of his franchise, Crash Bandicoot, whom was staring off into space with a dumbfounded look. Mr. Jowai leaned over and told Crash where the teams would be coming from, pointing off in the direction as well.
Suddenly, the two heard a car pulling up just off the beach, followed by two doors slamming shut. Mr. Jowai watched as the first-place team rushed into view.
Sasha & Angela raced across the sandy beach, both of them looking extremely excited to see Mr. Jowai. The two jumped onto the mat and awaited the results.
Rather than greet like every other guest on the race, Crash simply waved at the two with a cheesy grin.
"Uh…" The girls said.
"Don't bother." Mr. Jowai sighed. "I've been trying to get him to talk for the past hour."
Sasha & Angela looked at each other, shrugged and turned back to Mr. Jowai.
"Sasha & Angela…" Mr. Jowai said. "…You are team number one!"
(SASHA & ANGELA – First Place)
Hearing the results, both of the girls jumped into the air and let out a holler of excitement.
"First place on the first leg, guys." Mr.Jowai said with a smirk. "How does that feel?"
"Awesome!" Angela replied. "And now, Sasha and I are going to kick it up a notch and do this again!"
"You said it!" Sasha added.
(NEARBY)
"Aw, man." Brian said upon seeing the parked car. "The girls beat us."
"Hey, at least we're still in." Lucky shrugged.
The two friends, knowing that they hadn't come in first, jogged onto the beach with a steady pace and stepped onto the mat.
"Lucky & Brian…You're team number two!"
(LUCKY & BRIAN – Second Place)
"Alright!" Brian shouted, throwing his fists into the air. "That's amazing!"
"Second out of sixteen? We'll definitely take it, man!" Lucky said, flashing a thumbs-up.
(SPLIT TRACK)
"I see the flag, Freddie!" Daphne said.
"Great work, Daph!" Fred replied.
Daphne rushed over to the official and whispered her answer. She was then handed a clue.
(FRED & DAPHNE – Thirteenth at Clue 2)
"We're behind, Fred. Let's see if we can catch up." Daphne said.
"Right. Come on!"
Meanwhile, Drake & Gosalyn had also managed to locate the flag. They went over to the official and were given their clue as well.
(DRAKE & GOSALYN – Fourteenth at Clue 2)
"Come on, dad! After them!"
"No problem. We're right behind them!"
Outside, on the ground, Bass & Roll managed to make it out of the maze. Spotting the clue box, the two robots rushed over.
(BASS & ROLL – Fifteenth at Clue 2)
"Looks like we're heading to a tribal village." Bass noted.
"Well, let's get to those jeeps and start driving, then." Roll nodded.
As Bass & Roll were running off, Donald & Goofy emerged from within the maze as well. Donald frantically ran over to the clue box and took out an envelope.
(DONALD & GOOFY – Last at Clue 2)
"Goofy, let's go!" Donald said. "We'll catch them at the village!"
"Okie-dokie, Donald."
(BOSS BATTLE)
As the racers continued to throw javelins at inanimate objects, Kathy & Anne drove onto the scene. Seeing the clue box, the girls jumped out of their jeep and rushed over.
(KATHY & ANNE – Ninth at Boss Battle)
"Yee-haw! A Boss Battle!" Kathy read. "And it's for people with a good shot!"
"Definitely you, Kathy." Anne said. "Go on. Go nuts."
Kathy scrambled off to start the task as the next three teams drove into view. The six racers darted over to the clue box as quick as they could.
(DEXTER & STEFF – Tenth at Boss Battle)
(CLOUD & TIFA – Eleventh at Boss Battle)
(YAKKO & WAKKO – Twelfth at Boss Battle)
"I'll take this one, Dex." Steff offered.
"You sure?" Dexter asked.
"Hey, I know that you're a terrible shot when you're not Freakazoid." Steff chuckled. "I think I'll be able to get this done quicker."
"This one's all you, Cloud." Tifa said. "You've had enough practice carrying that huge sword of yours around. Throwing a javelin should be easy."
Cloud sniffed. "I miss my stabbities…" He whimpered.
"Wakko, stay here." Yakko instructed. "I'll do this one."
(PITSTOP)
Fenton & Laura parked their car and rushed out onto the beach, holding hands. The married couple stepped onto the Pitstop and awaited the results.
"Fenton & Laura…You're team number three!"
(FENTON & LAURA – Third Place)
"My! Third place?" Laura asked. "We did a lot better than some of those younger teams!"
"Then let's try for a repeat performance in the next leg." Fenton replied.
(BOSS BATTLE)
Toad panted heavily and hurled another javelin. This one fell short as well. "Man. I knew I was going to be horrible at this. I didn't think I'd do THIS bad."
Mr. C, on the other hand, had proven himself true to his word and indeed had a good throwing arm. After a few practice throws, Mr. C managed to puncture one of the bags with a javelin. Receiving a clue, he went back over to his wife.
"We're going to the first Pitstop!" Mr. C said excitedly.
"Come on, dear!" Mrs. C said. "We can't waste any more time!"
Shortly after the married couple had left, Liz managed to get lucky and land a hit as well. Receiving her clue, she went back over to Jon.
"Let's go, Jon!" Liz said. "Maybe we can catch Mr. & Mrs. C before they get to the Pitstop!"
"Right! Come on!"
(PITSTOP)
Blue & Pink raced along the beach and jumped onto the Pitstop mat, looking pleased.
"Blue & Pink…You are team number four!"
(BLUE & PINK – Fourth Place)
"Alright! We managed to pull ahead a notch!" Blue shouted in victory.
"Not bad for the first leg. Let's see if we can do any better in the next leg." Pink said.
(NEARBY)
"There's the jeeps parked over there, mom!" Cream pointed out. "We made it!"
"Let's hope for the best, then." Vanilla said with a smile.
The mother and daughter rushed onto the beach and jogged over to the Pitstop, checking it and hoping that they still managed a decent position.
"Vanilla & Cream…You're team number five!"
(VANILLA & CREAM – Fifth Place)
"See, mom? That wasn't so bad!" Cream said optimistically.
"No. I suppose it wasn't." Vanilla admitted. "Let's see if we can surprise ourselves further in the next leg."
(BOSS BATTLE)
The rest of the racers were still attempting to complete the task, come of them (like Toad) starting to get frustrated.
Yakko took a deep breath and threw another javelin. This one managed to land a hit, meaning that the elder Warner brother had completed the task. Yakko received a clue and went over to his brother to open it.
"Alright, Wakko! This is the Pitstop!" Yakko said. "Come on! Let's go!"
"Okay!" Wakko said as he jumped back into the jeep.
As Yakko & Wakko drove off, the last four teams drove onto the scene. Spotting the clue box sitting around, everyone got out and rushed over to grab a clue.
(BASS & ROLL – Thirteenth at Boss Battle)
(FRED & DAPHNE – Fourteenth at Boss Battle)
(DRAKE & GOSALYN – Fifteenth at Boss Battle)
(DONALD & GOOFY – Last at Boss Battle)
"I'll do this one, Roll." Bass said. "I've got the better shot."
"This one's mine, Daph." Fred offered. "I'll get it done fast."
"Dad, I know that you always shoot bad guys with that gas gun, but I think I'll have a better shot at something like a javelin." Gosalyn pointed out.
"Goofy, stay here. I'll do this." Donald said.
As the four racers rushed over to get things done, Kathy managed to complete the task. Getting her clue, Kathy went back over to Anne and tore open the envelope.
"We need to get going, Anne!" Kathy said. "This is the Pitstop we're heading to!"
"We're still in the race, Kathy! Let's go!" Anne replied.
(PITSTOP)
It didn't take them long to find the beach, so Mr. & Mrs. C got from point A to point B in record time. The married couple jogged along the beach and stepped onto the Pitstop mat together.
"Mr. & Mrs. C…You're team number six!"
(MR. & MRS. C – Sixth Place)
Mr. C sighed in relief. "Better than we expected for the first leg." He mused.
"Yeah. Coming in, I thought we would place down in tenth or lower, if not get eliminated." Mrs. C added.
(NEARBY)
"There's the Pitstop, Jon!"
"We're almost done! Just a little more!"
Jon & Liz darted over to the Pitstop and stepped on, pleased that they had survived the first leg.
"Jon & Liz…You are team number seven!"
(JON & LIZ – Seventh Place)
"Hey! Lucky number seven!" Jon said optimistically. "Hopefully, we'll do even better in the next leg."
"We'll definitely try." Liz nodded.
(BOSS BATTLE)
Toad angrily hurled the javelin with all his might and got extremely lucky. The javelin only pierced the corner of the bag, but it still counted. Toad celebrated for a second before getting handed the clue. The short mushroom rushed over to his girlfriend.
"Sorry I took so long, Toadette." Toad sighed. "But let's get this leg over with."
"Right! Come on, Toad!"
The remaining didn't bother watching Toad & Toadette drive off, because they were too focused on completing the task, as it was getting down to the wire now.
Suddenly, Donald managed to land a hit. After receiving his clue (as well as a few surprised stares), the white duck rushed over to his race partner and ripped open the envelope.
"We're going to the Pitstop, Goofy!" Donald said. "Let's go!"
"Ya sure got that there task done quick, Donald!" Goofy marveled as he got back into the jeep.
"Those two got here AFTER us, and yet they leave before us." Dexter said, watching Donald & Goofy drive off.
"Anything's possible." Tifa shrugged.
(PITSTOP)
Yakko & Wakko parked their jeep and dashed onto the beach. Seeing the Pitstop mat, the two brothers jagged over and checked in.
"Yakko & Wakko…You're team number eight!"
(YAKKO & WAKKO – Eighth Place)
"Faboo!!" Wakko shouted in glee. "We pulled ahead!"
"Uh…What does 'Faboo' mean?" Mr. Jowai whispered to Yakko.
"In all honesty, you've got me on that one." Yakko replied.
(NEARBY)
"There's the Pitstop, Kathy!"
Kathy & Anne flew out onto the beach and checked in, looking pleased.
"Kathy & Anne…You're team number nine!"
(KATHY & ANNE – Ninth Place)
"Yee-haw!" Kathy shouted, jumping into the air. "We made it!!"
"This is a great feeling, making it past the first leg." Anne said with a smile.
(BOSS BATTLE)
Steff managed to land a hit, as did Cloud. Both racers were given their clues and they went over to their respective partners.
"Pitstop, Dexter!" Steff read. "Let's move!"
"Runawayfast!!" Dexter shouted quickly as he jumped into the jeep again.
Cloud quickly tore open the envelope. "Let's go after them, Tifa!"
"Right!"
After the two teams drove off, Fred managed to puncture one of the bags as well. He was given a clue and went over to his girlfriend before opening it.
"Let's move, Daphne!" Fred stated. "We need to stay in this race!"
"You got that right, Fred! Come on!"
Fred & Daphne drove off. Drake looked down at Roll. "Well, looks like one of us is getting eliminated." He said.
Roll nodded. "Sure looks that way."
(PITSTOP)
Toad & Toadette considered themselves lucky that they got to the Pitstop ahead of the team behind them, because they knew that they would have lost in a footrace. Toad & Toadette jogged down the beach and stepped onto the Pitstop.
"Toad & Toadette…You are team number ten!"
(TOAD & TOAETTE – Tenth Place)
Toad sighed in relief. "Not really our best day."
"Yeah. Now we just need to try harder in the next leg." Toadette nodded.
(NEARBY)
"Isn't that there thing on the beach the Pitstop?"
"You bet it is, Goofy! Let's go!"
Donald & Goofy raced over to the Pitstop and checked in, looking hopeful.
"Donald & Goofy…You're team number eleven!"
(DONALD & GOOFY – Eleventh Place)
"We managed to pull past some people!" Donald said. "That's just great!"
"Yep! And we'll sure be trying to get higher up in the next leg!" Goofy nodded.
(BOSS BATTLE)
A few more throws later and both Bass and Gosalyn had managed to complete the task. Receiving their clues, they rushed over to their partners.
"How could that have taken you so long, Bass?" Roll asked.
"Throwing a javelin is much different from shooting from an arm cannon." Bass replied simply.
"We need to stay in this, dad!" Gosalyn said. "Come on!"
Both teams jumped into their jeeps and drove off, hoping to stay in the race.
(PITSTOP)
Two cars pulls up to the beach and parked. Four racers then jumped out and started a footrace down towards the Pitstop. It started as neck-in-neck, but Cloud & Tifa, being more fit, easily overcame Dexter & Steff and checked in first.
"Cloud & Tifa…You're team number twelve!"
(CLOUD & TIFA – Twelfth Place)
"We fell behind a bit." Tifa sighed.
"Hopefully, we'll make up for that."
"You guys can check in now." Mr. Jowai said to the team off the mat.
Cloud & Tifa stepped off the mat and allowed Dexter & Steff to get on.
"Dexter & Steff, that makes you team number thirteen."
(DEXTER & STEFF – Thirteenth Place)
"We'll take it this time." Steff nodded. "But expect us to rise up higher as the legs go on."
Dexter, too winded from the previous footrace to say anything, simply nodded.
(NEARBY)
Fred & Daphne parked their jeep. They got out and raced down onto the beach, checking into the Pitstop.
"Fred & Daphne…You're team number fourteen!"
(FRED & DAPHNE – Fourteenth Place)
Fred sighed in relief. "I'm glad that's over."
"We'll do better next time, Fred." Daphne assured. "Don't worry."
Mr. Jowai and Crash awaited the final safe team patiently, Crash occasionally taking time to scratch himself or sniff under his arms. Eventually, the two heard a car parking and doors shutting. They watched as the final safe team came into view.
Drake & Gosalyn raced down the beach and jumped onto the mat, hoping they were still in.
"Drake & Gosalyn…You are team number fifteen!"
(DRAKE & GOSALYN – Fifteenth Place)
Gosalyn let out a loud holler of victory and jumped into her father's arms. "We're still in, dad!! We're still in!!" She cried.
"And we'll try to make it up in the next leg." Drake nodded, pleased and relieved at the same time.
Sad music played as Bass & Roll ran down the beach and checked into the Pitstop.
"Bass & Roll…" Mr. Jowai sighed. "…You're the last team to arrive."
"Yeah. We figured that." Roll nodded.
"I'm sorry to tell you that you've both been eliminated from the race."
(BASS & ROLL – ELIMINATED)
"Am I upset that we're out first?…Not really." Bass said in an after-leg interview. "Coming in, I knew that we weren't going to win. Especially when I found out that we were on the last flight. I guess racing just isn't my thing. I should just stick to fighting Megaman, because that's REALLY where I excel at."
"I'm let down that I was eliminated first, but at least I can say that I did it." Roll said in an after-leg interview. "Doing this race, even though it was only for one leg, was a lot more exciting that my boring duties as a housecleaning robot for Dr. Light. I'm glad I could be a part of this and I'll treasure my short time on the race, because it was still fun while it lasted."
"Roll is the only one besides my pet Treble to ever show me kindness." Bass explained. "She's different from other robots, because it almost seems as if she has a heart. I know robots aren't meant to have hearts, but Roll's kind nature not only seems like she has a heart, but makes me feel like I have one as well. Roll is the only one in the Light family that I like, and I swear that she is the only one I would never intentionally harm."
"I always have hope for Bass because of his sad past of being rejected and called a failure." Roll explained. "I'm fortunate enough that I didn't go through what he did, but at the same time, it makes me wish that I did just to know what it feels like and let Bass know that he's not alone. If he knew that someone cared for him, then I bet that would be enough to make him change for the better."
In a slow-motion shot, Bass & Roll turned around and left the Pitstop. After walking up the beach for a bit, Roll bent over, picked up a handful of sand and playfully threw it into Bass' face. This responded in a playful chase clear off the beach.
"On the next leg of the Amazing Race: VG Style…" Mr. Jowai explained.
We see Pink having an argument with Sasha & Angela.
"Tempers flare between a few of the female racers."
"You can't do that to us!" Pink shouted. "It's not right!"
"What do you know about doing what's right?!" Angela shot back. "You're a villain, if I recall!"
We see Jon nervously approaching the side of a cliff.
"And Jon faces his ultimate fear."
"Man. I really don't want to do this." Jon said to himself.
The screen went into slow-motion as Jon backed away from the cliff.
Current Standings:
1 – Sasha & Angela
2 – Lucky & Brian
3 – Fenton & Laura
4 – Blue & Pink
5 – Vanilla & Cream
6 – Mr. & Mrs. C
7 – Jon & Liz
8 – Yakko & Wakko
9 – Kathy & Anne
10 – Toad & Toadette
11 – Donald & Goofy
12 – Cloud & Tifa
13 – Dexter & Steff
14 – Fred & Daphne
15 – Drake & Gosalyn
16 – Bass & Roll (ELIMINATED)
Race Trivia: When coming up with the idea for the first race, I was planning on having Jon & Jody being the first team eliminated. Then the 'extra airline' came up while I was writing and Crono & Marle got the boot instead.
