Leg 4, part 1: You really shouldn't poop on a flight!

Previously on the Amazing Race…

9 teams left Anvil, Cyrodiil to go to the Zoombini Continent, a land inhabited by, well, Zoombinis. There, they faced many illogical challenges, which they solved using logic—as well as blind luck.

Despite winning the previous leg, Toadsworth and Peach had a rough start with this leg…

""Toadsworth, you can do it! Just keep going and—HURRY UP AND GET YOUR DIAPERED BUTT UP HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"As you wish, princess!" Toadsworth called back with a grumble.

Several teams backstabbed each other at the Intersection.

"Hmm? My toad's hopping back here!" Mrs. Puff realized. "It hasn't dropped off the Zoombini yet!" Meanwhile, the President's toad made it across safely, and then went back, swimming underneath the crabs that Vegeta and Ms. Bitters were killing.

"I made it go to the exact same spot!" Mrs. Puff protested. "I don't know what the problem is…unless…hey, you sabotaged me!" Mrs. Puff shouted at Olimar.

"We were in last before!" Olimar said with a wicked grin. "You both are really tough teams, so we might as well slow you down for as long as you can be!"

"Well, that isn't fair at all!" Mrs. Puff said.

"Well, we don't need either of you!" Olimar insisted. "You can bicker with the Saiyans all you want, but the President and I have a first place to achieve!"

But in the end, it was the future buddies Fry and Bender who came in last.

"Mai and Tai Lee, you are safe! Fry and Bender, they clearly passed you a few streets back," Bill said.

"NOOOOOOO!" Bender cried in terror.

8 teams remain. Who will be eliminated…next?

. . . . .

At exactly 4:41 in the morning, the Teachers, who had won the previous leg, were ready and raring to go to the next leg.

"Travel to the Zoombini Interspatial Airport and fly to…Esmeralda?" Mrs. Puff read. Ms. Bitters stared at the clue, lost in thought.

"It's not the Emerald City," she said conclusively. "We're not going to Oz, that much is certain."

"Well, where is this place, then?" Mrs. Puff asked.

"…Have you ever wanted power, Puff? Absolute power that was guaranteed to never be usurped from you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That's where we're going."

"We're going to 'Power'?"

Teams must now make their way to the Zoombini Interspatial Airport and book a flight to Esmeralda, the capital of a world that has just opened itself up to interdimensional travel.

"I don't understand Ms. Bitters sometimes," Mrs. Puff admitted. "She's a great teammate and a decent friend, but why can't she just be straight with me sometimes? What's so mysterious about this place that she has to give me a vague hint?"

"I have my ways, and I have my reasons," Ms. Bitters said simply. "Don't question them."

The first five teams from the last leg—the Teachers, the MC Mobs, the Mushroomites, the Saiyans, and the Hocotatians all made it to the airport before it opened at 7 AM. But for an hour or so, they just sat around and waited as usual.

"Great, I have to be with you people all over again for an hour or so!" Vegeta sighed. "You all got lucky in that last race, and…hey, why are you all whispering over there for?"

"So, it's agreed," Slim asked, "That next time there's a U-turn or a Yield, we screw the Saiyans over?" Everyone else nodded.

"Nothing personal," Slim remarked. "Well, not for me, at least. The others told me about Vegeta and his behavior. So not only are they insanely powerful, they are also unpopular. I don't think they realize how much they're shooting themselves in the foot. Maybe Nappa does and he's just too nice to tell Vegeta."

"Harrumph! Those Saiyans are detestable!" Toadsworth said, hoping his quote would get in this chapter's title.

The group managed to all find a single flight going to Esmeralda. Even though there was only one flight, this place was so obscure that they were the only ones seated on the plane. The last three teams managed to get on as well. The flight took off at 9:15, but it wasn't until 1 PM that it landed in Esmeralda.

During the flight, the teams were handed brochures by the flight attendant. There were many pictures of the city, and it looked like a pretty nice place, advertising a lot of shopping centers, museums, and even a zoo. But there was one thing off about the brochure: The pictures had no people in them.

"Aunt Peggy," Luanne asked, "Are we going to some kind of ghost town?"

"I don't think so," she replied. "My hometown in Montana never looked this good. Heck, most ghost towns don't get maintained this well. Where's all the dust on the buildings?"

"Vegeta!" Nappa called from inside the airplane's bathroom.

"What?"

"I'm out of toilet paper!"

"You really shouldn't poop on a flight!"

"Just hand me something!"

"Fine, use this brochure!"

"Thanks!"

"Tai Lee," Mai whispered. "I remember Zuko talking about these people. They're…" and then she whispered so that no one else, not even the camera crew, would hear. Her teammate's eyes widened.

"That's…freaky. But I'm sure they're nice!"

" 'Esmeralda was once a small town in the Amazonas state of Venezuela,' " Slim read from the brochure. " 'After the Brundle annexation, it quickly became a thriving metropolis, with skyscrapers, a maglev transportation grid, and home to many cultural centers of the Brundle Republic. Most Brundles are friendly to humans, although they can appear to be very aloof and emotionally detached because they value efficiency over sentimentality.' Arachne, are you hearing this?" But of course, she was asleep.

Slim read the next part about the "Brundles", the inhabitants of Esmeralda, and chuckled when she glanced over at Arachne.

"She's going to love it there. I just hope I can keep her on a leash."

AN: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. Not only did I have exams to contend with and summer stuff, but my brother forgot to email me the details for this leg! The world here is one of his own creation for his own story. All will be revealed in the next chapter… ;)