Previously on the Amazing Race: Hope's Peak Edition:
Five teams raced from Peru to Mexico City.
At the Detour, Junko and Mukuro fell behind.
*Mukuro falling and breaking a paper mache bull*
"Mukuro?" Junko asked, dropping her side to run over. "Oh, fuck. You did not."
At the Roadblock, Hiyoko danced her way to get their first win.
*Hiyoko doing a salsa dance*
"Hiyoko and Mahiru, you are team number ONE!"
In the end, Junko and Mukuro made up enough time at the Roadblock to stay in the race. However, the dancing Roadblock was the demise of Mondo and Taka.
"Mondo and Taka, you're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the Race."
Four teams remain. Who will make the finale? Who will be cut short? Who will be eliminated next?
Leg 11.1
This is the Angel of Independence in Mexico City. Signifying Mexico's independence from Spain, it was built to commemorate 100 years of freedom. It will now be the start of the penultimate leg in a race around the world.
Hiyoko and Mahiru won the previous leg, and will depart first at 2:36 PM.
Hiyoko and Mahiru: 1st to depart, 2:36 AM
Mahiru ripped open the clue and read it. "Fly to the Emerald City, Sydney, Australia!"
[i] Fly to: Sydney, Australia
Teams must now fly southwest from Mexico to the city of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. After touching down at the airport, teams must find the world famous Sydney Opera House to recieve their next clue.
"Let's do this," Mahiru said.
"For the first time, ever, we're leaving in first place," Mahiru explained. "That was a good feeling, but it really doesn't mean anything. The only thing that matters is that we come in first on Leg 12."
"Someone has to go home today," Hiyoko explained. "It could be anyone. Hopefully Junko and Mukuro."
"It could also be us," Mahiru said. "I don't mean to be so pessimistic, but anything can happen."
Maki and Mikan: 2nd to depart, 2:56 AM
"Fly to the Emerald City, Sydney, Australia," Maki read.
"This is the last foreign destination we're going to before we head home to Japan tomorrow," Maki said. "But whether we're headed back to Japan as a racer, or as an eliminated team who's destined to clap at the Finish Line, we don't know yet. I think we're strong enough to survive today, but you never know."
Peko and Keebo: 3rd to depart, 3:25 AM
"Sydney, Australia," Keebo read. "Nice."
"Everyone's on the same flight today," Peko explained. "Which is to be expected. I mean, it's the last time we're racing in a country other than Japan, there's going to be the last elimination today, and everyone is equalized. On the downside, it gives Junko and Mukuro an opportunity to catch up. We haven't really said anything to each other, but I'm certain the other teams know that collectively, we all need Junko and Mukuro out of this race if we want to win the finale."
"Of course, it's the final four. We're not going to help other teams in order to take them out. That'll only push us behind." Keebo explained.
Junko and Mukuro: Last to depart, 3:56 AM
"It's our first time leaving in last place," Junko said. "Which infuriates me, but we can always make up the lost time."
"Yesterday was the first time we were knocked off the top three, we finished fourth yesterday, but fourth isn't going to get us any further in this race." Junko explained.
"Today's the last chance someone's going to be eliminated." Mukuro said. "I know we're strong enough as long as we don't screw up like yesterday."
Mexico City International Airport
"Yesterday's performance shows that Junko and Mukuro are not invincible," Peko said, speaking to Mikan and Maki and Hiyoko and Mahiru. "So today, don't make any mistakes. If we want Junko and Mukuro out, us three need to do our best. It's too late to afford to help each other, so if one of us slips, you're going to have to make it up on your own."
"I agree," Maki said. "Let's do our best."
Then, Junko and Mukuro arrived at the terminal.
"Hey, gang," Junko said.
"What do you want?" Hiyoko asked.
"Nothing, we're just scoping out which two of you we want to bring to the finale with us." Junko said. "I mean, compared to us, you all suck. Hmm… I think we'll take Mikan and Maki, and Hiyoko and Mahiru with us."
"I mean, it doesn't matter what you say," Maki said. "You're the ones who're going to be leaving today."
"Yeah right," Junko said. "Whatever. Let's do this thing!"
Sydney Airport: 8:30 PM
The teams raced their way out of the airport to get to the taxi line, as each of them hopped in with little trouble.
Hiyoko and Mahiru
"We need to get to the Sydney Opera House, as soon as possible," Mahiru said. "We need to beat all these cabs."
"Are you part of a show?" the driver asked.
"We have a massive camera and boom mike right in our faces," Hiyoko said. "Use your eyes!"
The driver turned around and looked at them, which caused them to swerve and almost hit a car.
"AAAH!" Hiyoko screamed, as the driver corrected himself.
"What the hell?" Mahiru shouted. "That's so irresponsible!'
"You're a terrible driver," Hiyoko said.
"Okay, okay, sorry," he replied. "I'll give you a discount."
Junko and Mukuro
"Adrenaline's running high today," Junko said. "We did terribly yesterday. We need to use this leg as a chance to get our heads back into the game."
Mikan and Maki
"A lot of the race comes down to good or bad taxi drivers," Maki said. "We learned that in Prague. We all left at the same time, but the order we arrive at the clue could differ by up to fifteen minutes, maybe even more if our driver gets lost."
Peko and Keebo
"Another beautiful destination that I've never been to before," Peko said. "It's a great backdrop for our penultimate leg."
"Hopefully we make it to tomorrow," Keebo replied. "Today we've arrived at nighttime again, but this time I don't think we're having a bunch point or a wait until morning. It's the penultimate leg. We have to go all out."
Junko and Mukuro, and Mikan and Maki hopped out of their cabs at the same time.
"Where's the clue?" Mikan asked.
"Follow the arrows!" Maki said, following the arrows around the opera house and the waterfront until they found it right overlooking Harbor Bridge.
Mikan and Maki: Currently in 1st Place
Junko and Mukuro: Currently in 2nd Place
"Detour," Maki read. "Elevation or Crustacean?"
It is now time for teams to make the final Detour decision of the race. It will be their choice: Elevation or Crustacean.
[D] Elevation
Diving has been part of the Olympics for centuries. However, the first time the Synchronized variant was added was in the 2000 Olympics, here in Sydney. In Elevation, teams must make their way to the North Sydney Olympic Pool. Then, they must change into Olympic swimsuits, climb up this high diving board, and perform a perfect synchronized dive. If teams perform the routine correctly and in sync, they will receive their next clue from the lifeguard.
[D] Crustacean
Australia is known for its Surf and Turf cuisine, typically consisting of shellfish and steak. However, teams will only be given a nce to work with the former. In Crustacean, teams must find one of these four marked boats at Circular Quay. Then, after setting out to sea, they must pull up enough lobster traps from the ocean floor to get a total of thirty lobsters. Once the lobsters have been retrieved, teams must bind every lobster's claws together to get their next clue.
"Let's do Crustacean," Maki said.
"Which one?" Mukuro asked.
"Elevation." Junko replied.
Hiyoko and Mahiru
Hiyoko and Mahiru passed by Junko and Mukuro and Mikan and Maki as they raced to the clue box.
Hiyoko and Mahiru: Currently in 3rd Place
"Detour." Mahiru read. "Elevation or Crustacean?"
"What do you think?" Hiyoko asked.
"The lobsters sound easier." Mahiru said.
Peko and Keebo: Currently in Last Place
"We're doing the lobster pulling," Peko said.
Mikan and Maki
"I've never pulled a lobster trap," Maki said. "So I'm not sure exactly how heavy those things are."
They turned to someone on the street. "Do you know how we get to Circular Q-Q-Kawaii?
"Key. It's pronounced Circular Key even though it's spelled with a Q-."
"Cut the bullshit. How do you get to it?"
"It's walking distance. You just need to keep running along the waterfront. It's right there. You can see it right there."
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro hopped into a taxi. "North Sydney Olympic Pool."
"I hope this is a good choice," Junko said. "But we're twins. We should be synchronized enough."
Mikan and Maki
Mikan and Maki dashed along the waterfront as the other two teams doing the same side of the Detour followed them.
"Over here! There's a race flag!" Mikan pointed. They went onto the dock and climbed onto the boat.
"'Ello, Sheila's. My name's Thomas, and i'm going to tell you everything you need to know a'out this Detour."
The boat pulled away from shore as Peko and Keebo and Hiyoko and Mahiru ran onto different wharfs and climbed onto different boats.
Peko and Keebo
"We're a few minutes behind the others," Peko said. "I know it's just a few minutes, but every second counts in a race like this."
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro ran into the pool complex.
"We need to get changed and follow the demonstration," Junko repeated, looking to see the lifeguard. "Where's the changing rooms?"
"Over that way," the lifeguard said. They followed her directions and went into the locker rooms, where they found their swimsuits.
"It's nice to have a normal swimsuit that's not very skimpy," Mukuro said.
"I really don't care," Junko said. "I mean, the media's basically already seen every inch of me."
"Too much info."
Mikan and Maki
"We're at our location," the lobster fisherman said. "We're going to drive in circles. Whenever you see one of those buoys, you need to use this hook to grab onto the rope attached to the buoys. Those are your traps, and you're going to have to pull them out by hand. To make it easier for you, you can sling it over that pulley over there."
The man picked up a lobster and showed them the rubber bands. "Whenever you're done clearing a trap, you need to bind the claws of your lobster.
He pinched the claws and slipped the rubber bands over them, binding it before throwing it into a tub filled with water.
"That's all I have to say." he said.
"Let's do this." Maki replied, picking up the hook and looking over the side of the boat.
"We're doing this in the middle of the night," Maki explained. "And the only light assistance we had were tiny flashlights. So we could only really see where our flashlights were pointing. Not to mention, our boat was actually moving so if we would see something, sometimes by the time we would see it it would be too late to pick up the rope."
"Mikan," Maki said. "You take my flashlight and shine as much light as you can. I'll work with the hook."
"O-Okay."
Hiyoko and Mahiru
Hiyoko reached down with the hook, but barely missed a buoy.
"Oh my god," She said. "This is stupid!"
"Calm dow-" Mahiru said.
"No!" Hiyoko interrupted. "Every time I try to pick one up, it's too late and we're already past it!"
"You need to look ahead of it." Mahiru said. "We're not going fast at all. You just need to try and look better."
"It's about as black as Mikan's future down there." Hiyoko said. "I can't see anything."
"Is there a flashlight or something?" Mahiru asked, looking up and around, missing the flashlight that was hanging in a pouch right next to them.
Peko and Keebo
"Do not worry!" Keebo said. "I can use my flashlight function!"
"Huh?" Peko asked, looking at him as his entire body lit up. "WOAH!" she said. "Wait… is that allowed?"
"There wasn't anything that specifically forbid it," Keebo said. "Which means it's fine."
"Okay, then." Peko replied. She reached down with her hook and snagged a rope, which she hauled upwards.
"This isn't so bad…" Peko said, but then the string was pulled taught. "Oh… never mind." She said. She tried to pull it back, and made some progress, but her face was showing signs of struggle.
"Can I get some help?" Peko asked. Keebo nodded and grabbed the rope behind her, as they began walking backwards and pulling it.
"Wait…" Keebo said. "We should put the rope on that pulley."
Peko slung the rope over the top of the pulley. "Oh, that's way better. Still heavy, though."
Mikan and Maki
"Oh, I got one," Maki said, slinging the rope over the pulley and beginning to pull it back, but feeling its weight.
"Those traps were the heaviest thing I've ever had to lift," Maki explained. "Even with the pulley, it was very difficult."
Maki continued pulling on the rope. "Could you help instead of just standing around there?"
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
"Stop apologizing and do it."
Mikan ran behind her and started pulling the rope. "EEK! Ropeburn!"
"Put on the gloves! The gloves are right over there!" she said.
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro ran outside in their swimsuits as they ran outside.
"Okay, what do we have to do?" Junko asked. They looked up at the high dive to see two women jumping up on the board twice before leaping off, doing a flip, and landing in the water in unison.
"We can do that," Mukuro said. "Easy."
Junko and Mukuro climbed up onto the high dive. "Two jumps, flip, and dive."
Junko and Mukuro jumped once in unison, but Junko tripped after the second jump and belly-flopped into the pool as Mukuro saw and didn't dive. The lifeguard and judges all laughed at them.
"Shut up!" Junko shouted. "There's no one here so we can always try again."
Peko and Keebo
Peko and Keebo pulled enough to show the top of the trap as Keebo walked over and unlocked the cage, He counted five lobsters and threw them into the bin filled with water.
"How many?" Peko asked.
"Five." Keebo replied.
"So at this rate, we're going to have to do this six times."
"That's no big deal," Keebo said. "We can do it. It's hard, but we can do it."
Keebo closed the trap and threw it back into the harbor before running over to the lobsters with Peko.
Peko gripped the lobster with her left hand and tried to slip the rubber band over it with her right, but the lobster fought back and pinched her finger, causing her to recoil.
"Those lobsters were not friendly," Peko explained. "We had to put the rubber bands over the claws, but those lobsters were fighting back and trying to pinch my fingers."
She shook her hand and continued.
Mikan and Maki
"HNNNNNGGGHHHH!" they grunted, pulling the trap out of the water.
"S-So heavy!" Mikan said, wincing.
"Get used to it," Maki replied, walking up to the lobster trap and opening it up before throwing a few lobsters into the water bin. "We have to do that at least a few more times."
Hiyoko and Mahiru
"Oh, I got one!" Hiyoko said, snagging a rope and pulling it up. "Oh my god it's heavy."
"Let me help," Mahiru said, grabbing the rope too and pulling it. "Wow."
Hiyoko shifted her position so she was sitting down, feet pressed against the wall of the ship, and pulling as much as she could. Mahiru grunted and sweated as she tried to hoist the trap off the ocean floor.
"That was like trying to take the sword out of the stone," Mahiru explained. "There was a lot of force needed. Of course, the weight of the cage itself, we have drag force, and the weight of the lobsters inside."
They grunted and pulled with all they had before hoisting the lobster trap to the top of the pulley.
"What? Only two lobsters were in there?" Mahiru asked.
"We pull up the trap, and there's only two of the lobsters in there." Hiyoko explained. "We didn't know if the amount of lobsters per trap was random, or if each trap had two lobsters, but we assumed the worst. We had to have a total of thirty lobsters. We did not want to pull fifteen traps up."
"What do you think?" Hiyoko asked. "Should we switch?"
"I think so." Mahiru said. She walked over to the sailor. "We're switching Detours."
"All righty then, I'll take you back to shore."
The boat began making its way back to shore as the other two teams looked up from their own boats.
"Did they switch?" Mikan asked.
"I don't know. It doesn't matter. Just focus on what we're doing."
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro jumped from the high dive again, this time jumping at the same time, but Mukuro hit the water before Junko did.
"Oh my god this is ridiculous." Junko said.
"We're not switching," Mukuro said. "We switched last time and it was a terrible decision, so we should stick this one out."
"This detour was not easy," Mukuro explained. "But we were the only ones there, and each failed attempt took less than a minute. We figured it wouldn't be too long before we'd be out of there."
Mikan and Maki
Maki and Mikan began putting the rubber bands around the lobster claws.
"Ow!" Mikan shouted, finger trapped between the claws. "OWWW!"
"Be more careful!" Maki shouted.
"It's really strong!"
"You need to grip the claw with your other hand!"
"But then the other claw pinches me! It's gonna break my finger!"
"Then don't let it do that."
Peko and Keebo
"Yup," Peko said, shaking her finger. "Ow. Can you feel pain?"
"Physical pain?" Keebo asked, slipping the rubber band over the claw of the lobster while it was pinching his fingers with all of its might. "Not really. I can get exhausted if I'm using too much of my power at once, though."
"That's all of it," Peko said. "Back to getting a new trap."
Peko bent down and swiftly snagged a rope with the hook before beginning to pull it up to the surface.
Hiyoko and Mahiru
Hiyoko and Mahiru hailed a taxi and climbed inside. "I really hope switching was the right choice," Mahiru said. "I know, I know for a fact that we can't get done with that quicker than the other two teams there."
"The other Detour's across the bridge," Hiyoko said. "It's not too far but it's a good distance."
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro touched the water a few seconds apart.
"What do we do?" Mukuro asked.
"Don't ask me! I'm not an expert!"
"We're not switching. We can get this."
"When did you grab the reins of this team?"
"When you lost your shit yesterday."
Hiyoko and Mahiru
Hiyoko and Mahiru got changed and made their way out into the pool area.
"At least Hiyoko and Mahiru are behind us," Mukuro said. "Let's do this one more time before they can get up."
Junko and Mukuro climbed on the top of the diving board. They jumped in unison, but Mukuro stumbled a bit on the landing and fell into the water.
"This looks difficult too," Mahiru said. "But at least there's another team here."
Mikan and Maki
Mikan and Maki groaned and pulled the rope up the side of the boat, pulling up their second lobster trap.
"This one has a lot more," Maki said. "So it looks like the amount of lobsters in each trap fluctuates."
Maki threw the eight or so lobsters into the water bin. "Okay, let's put some bands on these guys."
They threw the trap back into the water and walked over to the bin of lobsters.
"We have thirteen done once we get this done." Mikan said.
"Congrats. You can do elementary level math."
They began putting the bands on with a few squeals from Mikan after a few pinches.
Peko and Keebo
Keebo put the rubber bands on the lobster with great speed.
"Keebo wasn't hindered by the lobsters trying to pinch him, so he was doing a lot better than me." Peko explained.
"You're very helpful today," Peko said.
"What do you mean today?"
Hiyoko and Mahiru
Hiyoko and Mahiru stood on the top of the diving board.
"When do we g-" Mahiru asked, looking beside her to see Hiyoko already in the water and sighing before jumping down after her.
"You need to tell me when you do these things." Mahiru said. "You can't just jump and expect me to do so at the exact same time."
"Sorry," Hiyoko said. "But we're in a rush."
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro failed again. "This is impossible," Junko said.
"We have to keep going," Mukuro said.
"I say we switch."
"What's that going to do? We've been here for twenty minutes, and it takes around ten minutes to get to the other challenge. That's just going to put us half an hour behind the teams doing that Detour."
"If we get eliminated today I'm going to kill you." Junko said.
Peko and Keebo
Peko and Keebo pulled the trap up and out of the water before emptying it.
"That's enough," Peko said. "That's enough to get thirty!"
"We just need to bind this and go?"
"Looks like it." she said. They threw the trap back into the ocean as Keebo bound up the claws with little effort.
"Can we get a check now?" Keebo asked. The judge came by and picked up several lobsters inside of the container.
"You did well," he said, pulling a clue out of his back pocket. "We'll head back to shore now."
The boat turned around and headed back to the wharf as Peko ripped the clue open.
Peko and Keebo: Currently in 1st Place
"Route Info," Peko read.
[i] Aussie Slang
Teams must now follow a series of hints in Australian slang to find three locations on foot. Number 1: Proceed to The Rocks and find a Sheila in a thong who's putting on lippy. Number 2: Find Hyde Park and talk to an anklebiter who's dressed for footy. Number 3: Run through King's Cross and find a bruce with a brolly. Each person they locate will hand them a postcard. Once teams have all three postcards, they will be able to combine them, which will spell out their next location.
"Find a Sheila in a thong who's putting on lippy…" Keebo repeated. "How are we going to be able to check for that without having the cops called?"
"Um… yeah. No one wears thongs anyways…" Peko said, slowly averting her gaze.
"What is this supposed to mean? I'm so confused…"
"The clue we were given was written entirely in Australian slang." Keebo explained. "But the thing is, the clue didn't tell us that. So at first, we were just sitting there, confused as to what we were supposed to do. The first thing was Find a Sheila in a thong who's putting on lippy, I think. We assumed it would just be a woman named Sheila who's half naked and putting on something… we really had no clue."
"We should ask someone once we get off the boat," Peko said.
Mikan and Maki
"Did they leave already?" Mikan asked.
"It doesn't matter. We're almost done. We just need one or two more cages.
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro climbed up to the top of the diving boards for the umpteenth time.
"We better get it this time," Junko said. Mukuro nodded as they double-jumped, did a flip, and dived into the water at nearly the same time.
"I have a good feeling about this," Mukuro said, wiping the water out of her face. The judge applauded for them and approached them at the pool's ladder.
"That was perfect," he said. "I have your next clue."
Junko and Mukuro: Currently in 2nd Place
"What da fuk?" Junko asked, reading through the clue.
"We can worry about that after we get changed," Mukuro said. "Come on."
Hiyoko and Mahiru
"I think all that matters is that we touch the water at the same time." Mahiru said. "I mean, they didn't jump off the boards exactly at the same time, but they hit the water at the same time and didn't terribly mess up anything else."
"So we should focus on having our landings be synchronized rather than our starts?" Hiyoko asked.
"Exactly."
Peko and Keebo
Peko and Keebo disembarked off their boat and pulled someone off the side of the street. "We're in a scavenger hunt kind of thing, can you help us?" Peko asked.
"Sure."
"Okay, first, can you get us directions to The Rocks?"
"It's a neighborhood right over there," he said, pointing at an area only a few meters away.
"That close?" Peko asked, as the man nodded. "Okay, we need to also find 'A Sheila in a thong who's putting on lippy."
"That's Aussie slang," he said. "Sheila is just a woman, like a general term for a woman. A thong is what most other countries call sandals, or slippers, or flip flops or whatever. It's the type of slipper where the band goes between your toes. And lippy is short for lipstick, so you need to find a woman wearing slippers who's putting on lipstick."
"Thank you," Keebo said. They ran over to the neighborhood and ran down the street.
Junko and Mukuro
Junko and Mukuro got changed out of their swimsuits and picked up all of their belongings. "Okay, what does this clue say? Go to The Rocks… that sounds like a location. Let's get a taxi."
The girls climbed into a taxi. "We need to get to The Rocks."
"Alright," the driver said. "Come on in."
Hiyoko and Mahiru
Mahiru and Hiyoko jumped off the diving board, flipped over, and dived straight into the water in unison.
They both shot back up to the surface. "I think we got it!" Hiyoko said. The judge stood by the ladder, beckoning them as they swam over.
"You did great," the judge said. "I have your next clue."
Hiyoko and Mahiru: Currently in 3rd Place
"Thank you," Mahiru said, taking the clue and ripping it open. "What the?"
Mikan and Maki
"Come on… come on…" Maki muttered, pulling the trap out of the water. She counted it up before opening it up. "It's enough for us to finish this off!"
She threw the lobsters into the holding container before yeeting the trap off the side of the boat.
"Lobsters are vicious creatures…" Mikan muttered after pulling a claw off her finger.
Peko and Keebo
"So it's a woman in slippers and putting on makeup," Peko said. "Wow, this place is huge."
"The Rocks weren't just a single street or a plaza or anything, it was like a neighborhood and a very large area to scope out," Peko explained. "So we had to be very thorough when looking for this woman."
"It's crowded too, especially for ten PM."
They kept walking and looking around.
Mikan and Maki
"Check?" Maki asked. The judge looked at it and gave them their clue.
Mikan and Maki: Currently in Last Place
"We have some time to make up," Maki said. "But we still have the rest of the leg."
Hiyoko and Mahiru
After they got dressed, they made their way out to the street where Hiyoko held up her hand to get a taxi, but Mahiru stopped her.
"Read this," Mahiru said. "It says you must go to each location on foot."
"So we can't take a taxi?" Hiyoko asked.
"Not unless we want a penalty."
"So we have to run?"
"Yes."
"I don't see anyone to ask for directions," Mahiru said. "Let's just run around until we can find someone."
"I saw an amusement park behind the pool," Hiyoko said.
"They're closed."
"What if they have staff?"
Junko and Mukuro
Mukuro read the clue over in her hands. "Hang on," she said. "Look. We have to go to the location on foot."
"What?" Junko asked, looking over her shoulder. Then, their taxi driver stopped. "Here you are. The Rocks."
"Sorry, we have to go back." Mukuro said. Junko buried her face in her hands.
"The clue specifically said that we needed to go to every destination on foot," Junko said. "By the time we realized that, we already arrived at our destination, so what we needed to do to avoid a penalty was tell our driver to turn around and head back to where we started and run that entire route again."
"Go back to the pool?"
"Yes!"
"Alright," he said, turning around.
Meanwhile, they saw Peko and Keebo running around out there. "And one of the other teams is here already. Just great."