Race Around The WWE

by BizGirlCharlie

Chapter 2 up! WWE meets the Amazing Race. Twenty teams of two battle it out over 21 countries for a prize of a million dollars

2. Chapter 2: 101 Uses for Ice

Rating: PG-13 for implied m/f sex, drug use, violence, some language and adult themes.

A/N: Thanks for the feedback, guys! It always means so much to me to hear from people, whether or not they've read my stuff before. Big shout out to Azrael – I'm so glad you read it and you like it so far – yes, they will go to Australia – it's the only chapter I don't have to research! ;-P Thank you too to my unofficial sponsors – Lonely Planet Guidebooks and the wonderful staff at Borders Books, who let me sit in their store for hours on end, reading the aforementioned books. It does take a lot of research to write this – but tell you what, it's bloody fun! Hope you all like this chapter, too. It's the one where I begin to introduce the team nicknames (if you watch 'The Amazing Race' you'll know what I mean). Any suggestions for nicknames are welcome!

This one has a few OCs included, but only one is named – I named him after Alex, the nicest guy in the entire world (and if you disagree, you obviously haven't met him ;-P   )

Oh and sorry for the delay – as you can see it's a long one and I'm just finishing my degree so don't have much time to write. In four weeks I'll be done but I hope to have the next chapter done by then.

CHAPTER TWO: 101 Uses For Ice

Nineteen teams in Montreal, Quebec, Canada awaited the start of the second leg of their race around the world. After arriving at the chalet at the top of Mount Royal, each team had to undertake a mandatory twelve hour rest period, to eat, sleep, socialize with other teams and prepare themselves for the race ahead.

Team Mysterio, the first team to arrive at 5:07 PM, were the first to depart at 5:07 AM. With the sun not due to rise for at least another hour, the cameras and staging in front of the chalet barely gave enough light to read by, but Rey did his best, tearing open the first clue and squinting at the words.

"Go north to the USA. Make your way to. . ."

*     *     *     *

". . .Anchorage, Alaska," Kurt Angle read as he and Chris Benoit departed just two minutes after Team Mysterio. "And find out what happens when an earthquake hits. . ."

*    *     *     *

"You have three thousand dollars for this leg of the race," Chris Jericho announced, handing the cash to Christian so it could be counted. "Three thousand American?"
"Three thousand, US," Christian confirmed. "But if we catch those masked morons, we can mug 'em, then we'll have six grand."

"I like the way you think, junior," Jericho grinned. "Now, where are those bikes?"
Christian searched briefly before throwing his hands up. "They're gone, dude. I guess we have to run."

*     *     *    *

"This way," Benoit suggested as he and Kurt reached a fork in the path.

"But that's not the way we came up," Kurt protested.

"No, but there's still a long way to street level, and if we take this chance, we could hit the front."

Kurt hesitated a moment longer. "Okay. We'll do it. But only because the last team's more than an hour behind."

They took off down the second path.

"Was that the technicals?" Jericho asked as he and Christian reached the fork and turned down the other way.

"Yeah, losers," Christian scoffed. "So much for them."

*     *     *     *

"Look for a street name and a phone," Benoit ordered as he and Kurt ran.

"Remembrance," Kurt called out, spotting a sign. "We're on Remembrance."

"Great, now let's find somewhere we can call for a cab."

"There's more lights over there," Kurt announced. "Let's keep running. I've got a real good feeling about this, Benoit."

And that was when they heard the siren.

Illuminated in the headlights of the police car, the two of them came to a stop and exchanged nervous glances. They'd just been caught running through the streets of a strange town at a quarter after five in the morning. It couldn't possibly look good.

"You talk," Kurt told Benoit. "And talk in French. Whatever you can do to get us moving again."

The policeman in the passenger seat rolled down his window. "What is going on here?"

Benoit looked at Kurt, then back at the police officer and told him that they were filming a TV show (hence the camera following them) and that they were in a race for a million dollars.

The policeman took it in and nodded slowly. "This television show – is it Quebec Broadcasting?"

"No," Benoit replied, still in French. "United States. CBS. I think it's syndicated world-wide."

"Okay, and if you win the race, you get a million dollars?" the officer asked.

"Right."

"Okay. And where do you have to go for this race?"
"Right now?" Benoit asked. "The airport. We're headed for Alaska. This race goes right around the world."
"The airport, you say?" the officer confirmed., "Get in the car. We will drive you."

Benoit turned to Kurt. "They're offering us a ride."

"You're kidding, right?" Kurt cried, stunned.

The officer laughed. "No, not kidding," he said in English. "It's a quiet night. We take you to the airport, we get you off the streets, we do our jobs – and maybe help you win your race."

"Well, gee, thanks, officers," Kurt grinned. "This is real swell of you."

"Kurt," Benoit called. "Get in the car."

*     *     *     *

Victoria wasn't really listening as Steven read the clue. She'd arranged the three thousand dollars into a fan and was concentrating on it as she waved it in front of her face. When Steven grabbed her by the arm and started running, she almost dropped the clue, but managed to hold on and straighten the notes before handing them back to Steven.

"You like ice, right, baby girl?" Steven asked her as they ran.

"I love ice," Victoria gushed. "It's so versatile. You can fix an injury. . .and everything tastes better with ice."

"I'm glad, Vic," Steven told her. "'Cause we're going somewhere with lots of ice."

"Good," Victoria nodded. "Ice is perfect. I use it to freeze things I find on the road. And someday, once I learn how, I'll turn them back into squirrels again."

"You'll do it, baby," Steven stated. "I have faith in you."

"Thank you, Stevie. And you know something else you can do with ice?"

*     *     *     *

"Dude, look," Christian called, pointing down the dimly lit road. "Is that a cab?"
"Only one way to find out," Jericho replied, extending his arm. "Taxi!"

The car pulled to a stop next to them and they climbed in. The driver began talking to them in French, but Jericho quickly cut him off and demanded he speak English.

"I was saying you are lucky I could stop," the driver announced. "My fare just cancelled. Where do you want to go?"
"The airport," Jericho replied. "We gotta be on a flight to the States now, if not sooner. You hearing me, junior?"
"To the United States," the driver mused. "Then you want Dorval. It should not take too long."

"Well, take your best time and halve it," Jericho suggested. "That's what we need from you."

*     *     *     *

"A hotel – finally!" Rey cheered, sprinting the last few yards and pushing the door open.

His partner approached the clerk, pulling out a little bit of money.

"Hi, can you please call us a cab?" he asked, laying out a five. "That's for your trouble."

"Thank you," the man at the desk replied, picking up the phone and speaking in French to whoever answered.

"We'll wait outside," Rey suggested and he and his partner headed for the door again.

*     *     *     *

"Farewell and good luck in your race," the driver of the police car said as he pulled up right at the entrance to the international airport.

"Thanks, guys," Kurt grinned. "You really are Montreal's finest. But can you put the siren on, just one more time?"

Seconds later, he and Benoit were almost deafened by the blaring siren. Kurt chuckled, shouldering his backpack and shutting the car door. "I love that!"

He waved as the policemen drove of, then turned around to find Benoit eyeing him impatiently.

"Care to get your ass moving?" the Canadian asked pointedly.

"Lighten up, Benoit," Kurt replied as they entered the terminal. "We're so far ahead, Phil might as well give us the million right now. We took the shortcut coming down the mountain, we had the cops drive us here – I'm surprised the airport's even open yet. Face it, Chris," he went on, draping his arm around Benoit's neck. "This race is ours."
Benoit glared at Kurt's arm and then at Kurt. "Get your damn arm off me," he growled. "And let's get in line. Maybe the other teams are working out exactly *how* they're gonna get to Alaska, instead of just standing around and gloating."

Kurt gave him a quirky look. "Uh, Benoit, I think they're going by plane. It's a little far to walk."

*     *     *    *

"Fly to Anchorage, Alaska," Rob read. "Dude, I didn't bring my thermal underwear."

"Don't worry," Tommy replied, tucking the three thousand dollars into a hidden pocket of his jacket. "You can borrow mine."

Rob gave him a worried look, but Tommy just laughed. "We're team number five, RVD. Let's blast through those others, ECW style."

*     *    *    *

"Dudette, I need two tickets to Anchorage, Alaska, leaving right away," Christian said impatiently, looking around the airport check-in area for any sign of the other teams.

"Our airline doesn't service Alaska directly," the clerk replied. "However, I can tell you that I just sold some tickets to Anchorage via Cincinnati and Salt Lake City."

"You did?" Christian frowned. "Who to? Lemme guess – two freaks in masks?"
"No," the clerk frowned. "But it was two men. One spoke French and the other didn't."

"The technicals," Christian muttered. "Get me on the same flight as them. Two tickets, like I said."

He waited for the clerk to process the boarding passes, then paid for the tickets and went to find Jericho, who was raiding the vending machines.

"I got good news and bad news," he announced. "Good news is we're on the first plane out of this French asylum. Bad news is the technicals are too."

Jericho nearly choked on the candy bar he'd been trying to wolf down in one go. "How'd they get here so fast? We saw them hightailing it into the woods for a true display of mat wrestling."

Christian shrugged, exchanging Jericho's boarding pass for a Snickers. "I dunno, but they're here."

"What about Mysterio and his not-so-mini me?" Jericho asked.

"Dunno, dude. The girl hadn't seen them and I think you'd notice two freaks in masks."

Jericho nodded, peering down to read his boarding pass.

"What?" he cried. "We're stopping in Cincinnati?"
"Oh yeah, that was the other bad news," Christian told him. "We're stopping in Cincinnati. . .and Utah."

Jericho cringed. "Tremendous. Cincinnati, then Utah, then Alaska. We're officially on a plane ride to hell."

*     *     *     *

"We'll take this shortcut, baby, get ourselves to the airport, then we can start dreamin' up ways we're gonna spend that million dollars," Jamie Noble said gleefully as he and Nidia reached the fork in the path. They could still hear Eddie and Chavo ahead to their left, meaning the Guerreros had chosen the same path as yesterday.

"If you think it's gonna get us there faster," Nidia told him, her legs pumping as she ran. "I'm already dreaming of that million. Your aunt's inheritance will be like nothing. We're gonna have the nicest home in the trailer park – no – in *all* the trailer parks."

"Ah, that's it, Nidia," Jamie encouraged her. "You just keep on thinkin' 'bout that, keep on runnin'."

"Wait a minute," Nidia hissed. "Shush. I hear something. You hear that? Someone's right behind us."

"Oh baby, that don't matter," Jamie replied, just as loudly as before. "It's probably just someone from the race thinkin' they can ketch us."

"Jamie! Nidia!" a voice shouted. "Is that you?"

"It's Torrie!" Nidia cried. "Come on, Jamie. We have to wait for her."

"Hi guys," a breathless Torrie greeted them as she and Kidman caught up. She looked ahead, still in almost total darkness and found that they'd reached street level. "Oh, you found a shortcut."

"Yup, sure did," Jamie agreed. "But I don't see no taxicab. Now what do we do?"

"We should look for somewhere we can call for one," Kidman piped up.

Jamie turned to him with a grin. "That's a great idea, boy. I can see you'll be the smarts of this here team."

"How 'bout it, Torrie?" Nidia asked. "You wanna join up teams?"

"Sure," Torrie nodded. "We were gonna do that last time, only we split at the detour."

"Well you, miss high and mighty's the one who didn't wanna eat no bugs," Jamie reminded her.

"I'm glad I didn't," Torrie replied. "And I hope now that's over I don't have to eat anything gross the whole rest of this race."

"Found a phone!" called Billy, who'd run on ahead.

They were on their way, but so too were Benoit, Kurt, Christian and Jericho, as their plane left Dorval airport, bound for Cincinnati, Ohio.

*     *     *     *

Having arrived at the airport a good ten minutes earlier, Team Mysterio finally reached the Delta Airlines check-in desk. But before Rey could even open his mouth, the clerk cut him off.

"I'm sorry. You've missed your flight."

"What?" a puzzled Rey asked.

"The two blonde men who were looking for you caught the six o'clock flight to Cincinnati," she explained. "It just took off."

"Blonde men," Rey repeated. "Chris and Christian. Okay, well I need two tickets to. . ."

"Anchorage, Alaska," the clerk finished for him, running it through the computer. "The next connection won't get you in until late tonight. Your friends will be there early afternoon."

"So you think I'd do better with another airline?" Rey asked.

"Professionally, no. Personally, yes."

"Okay," Rey nodded. "Thanks." He quickly headed over to his partner. "Another airline, man. They had a flight, but we missed it. Only thing is, Chris and Christian didn't. We lost our lead."

His partner shrugged. "We can always catch it up in Alaska. Wanna try Northwest?"

"Yeah," Rey agreed.

They moved to the Northwest area to find that Victoria and Steven were already there.

"Or sometimes, if it's the right kind of ice, it can burn," Victoria was saying.

"You're right, Vic," Steven nodded. "Ice very well may be the most underrated substance on earth."

*     *     *     *

By six-ten, sixteen teams had left the chalet. The next team to depart was Matt and Shannon, who stood on the platform, waiting for their cue to leave.

"I don't want a repeat of yesterday," Matt stated. "If the girls had beaten us, I'd never hear the end of it."

"You know, we could wait for Lita and Trish and work together," Shannon pointed out.

Matt gave him an incredulous look. "If we wait, that brings us down to their level. Some team's gonna be eliminated this leg, Shannon, and I'm not gonna let that team be us. Can you imagine what a million dollars could do for the following of Mattitude? We could put ads on TV, hold rallies. . ."

"Matt," Shannon cut in.

"Hold on, Shannon, I'm not finished. We could buy simultaneous satellite broadcasts to spread Mattitude right across the globe. . ."

"Matt. . ."

"Shannon, shut up."

"But Matt, they just said we can get our clue now."

Matt raised his eyebrows. "I knew that." He tore open the clue and began to read. "Oh man, don't those guys listen to anything? That was a Matt fact."

"What was?" Shannon frowned.

"Matt is annoyed by snow and ice," Matt recited. "Number one MFer, we're going to Alaska."

*     *     *     *

"Two tickets to Alaska – Anchorage," requested Rob as Tommy stood by his side.

"We don't fly there directly," the clerk told him. "But I've just sold some tickets via Minneapolis-St Paul."

"Yeah, two of those," Rob nodded. "We just gotta get to Alaska." He handed over some money.

"Yeah, you're not the only ones," the clerk noted, processing the request. "Your flight departs at 8:10AM, non-stop to Minneapolis-St Paul, where you'll have to change planes, finally arriving in Anchorage, Alaska at 2:41PM local time."

"Sounds good," Rob smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," the clerk replied. "And thank you for flying Northwest Airlines."

*     *     *     *

"Hey, thanks man," Faarooq called as a cab stopped for him and Bradshaw. "We need to be at the airport fast. You got that?"
"I got it," the driver replied and floored it.

*     *     *     *

"That's all well and good, dad, but all the strategy in the world's not gonna save us if we try and cheat again," Shane pointed out as he and Vince finally made their way down the path, the last of the teams to depart.

"Shane," Vince frowned. "What exactly are you implying?"
Shane sighed. "I know you, dad. I know how you think. You hate being last. And that means you're gonna do anything to get back up there, whether it's legal or not."

"Shane, when have I let you down?"

"Oh, how many times, dad?" Shane muttered. "But, whatever, I'll tell you right now. If you try to cheat, if you try to even bend the rules, they're gonna know. They have spies everywhere, cameras following our every move. If I'm gonna be your teammate in this, I'm gonna give my all for the prize. If you're gonna screw us over by trying to cheat, I might as well quit right now, because I'm not gonna be a part of that."

"Shane, just trust me," Vince called, struggling to talk and run at the same time. "We'll play this right up the middle. No cheating, no bending the rules. You have my word."

"That's the problem, dad," Shane mumbled under his breath. :I know how much your word is worth."

*     *     *     *

"What do you mean the plane's full?" Stephanie cried.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we've had a run on tickets this morning. . ."

"Yes, you're very sorry," Stephanie snapped snidely. "Because you don't seem to understand. It's vital that me and my. . ." She glanced briefly at Hunter. ". . .Husband reach Alaska immediately."

"Well, you're not the only ones. We've had a steady stream of people heading to Alaska since six o'clock this morning."

"Well, I'm different to them," Stephanie argued. "I don't know why they're all trying to get to Alaska, but I have a true reason – a family reason."

The clerk hit a few keys on the computer. "Well, I could book you on the flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage, but it's getting you on the flight to Minneapolis that isn't possible."
"Are you sure?" Stephanie persisted.

"I could put you on standby," the clerk told her.

"Well, that doesn't really cut it," Stephanie snapped, before backing off. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just tense. You see, this is all so fast. I had a call this morning that my father in Alaska has suffered a heart attack. They – they don't know if he'll make it. My husband and I can't even really afford to fly, but I've raided my bank account for this trip. So you see, it's extremely important that I be by my father's side as soon as possible."

The clerk stared at her sympathetically. "Okay, here's what I'll do. There are some business class tickets available. I'll sell you standby coach class tickers not, but thirty minutes before takeoff, I'll have you paged to upgrade, supposing these last business class tickets aren't sold before then. If your passports and documentation are in order, you should have time to make the flight."

"Thank you so much!" Stephanie gushed. "You don't know how much this means to me!"

*     *     *     *

The next three teams to arrive at the Northwest desk were all told the same thing – the plane was full, but they could purchase standby tickets.

Matt stood anxiously in line, watching as Test and Stacy were turned away.

"Test!" he called as the tall Canadian started to walk past. "What's going on?"
"No room on the flight," Test replied abruptly. "Stacy's gonna work her magic and get us on, but you losers got no chance."

"We'll see about that," Matt muttered, looking briefly for Shannon, who'd said he'd go use a phone to find out the soonest flight.

"Arrgh!" he cried as someone attacked him from behind.

"Relax, Sensei," Lita cooed in his ear. "It's just me."

"Oh. Lita," Matt sighed, relaxing. "Don't sneak up like that, I'm trying to think here."

"Well, that'd be a first," Lita teased. "So, are you gonna sit by me on the way to Alaska, or do you and Shannon have important Mattitude business to discuss?"

"Lita," Matt frowned. "Why must you make fun of Mattitude?"

"I'm teasing, Matt, God," Lita sighed.

"Yeah, well this is serious," Matt replied. "It's about a million dollars. Only one team can win. I love you, Lita, but that team's not gonna be you and Trish. It'll be me and Shannon."

"A little bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone," Lita pointed out, taking Matt's hand in hers.

"Matt!" Shannon called, running towards him. "No point lining up. They're full and have four other teams already on standby. We're not getting on that flight, so we should just go and try getting seats at the front for the next flight so we can get out faster."

Matt nodded thoughtfully. "And have you found the next flight?"

"Yeah, 10:25 on USAir."

Matt checked his watch. "Well, I guess we'll go get our tickets, then find a bite somewhere."

"Would you like company?" Lita asked. "I mean, if Shannon's telling the truth, there's no point me and Trish waiting in line either. You and me could spend some quality time together, Matt."

Matt smiled at his beautiful girlfriend. "Okay, baby. But at 10:25 when that next plane takes off, me and Shannon will be on it and from the moment we touch down in Alaska, the race is on."

"Of course," Lita grinned back. "Hey Shannon. Go get Trish. It's a long way to Alaska and I'll sure have a better time if the four of us sit together."

"Me too," Shannon agreed, running to fetch Trish.

"Where are they going?" Gail Kim asked from several places back in line.

"I don't know," Molly shrugged. "But it *is* Matt and Lita. They'd do anything to move up the pack."

"Mmm," nodded Gail. "Anything."

*     *     *     *

"Here we are," the taxi driver announced. "Mirabel Airport."

"Hey, thanks man," Bradshaw nodded, paying him. "And remember, anytime you need protection, we got your back."

"Come on, brother," Faarooq called, handing him his backpack and the two of them headed through the entrance.

Two minutes later, they were back and hailing a cab.

"Taxi! We're at the wrong airport," Bradshaw fumed. "Take us to the other one, where we can actually get a plane back to the States."

"Wrong airport," Faarooq repeated. "Damn."

*     *     *     *

Of the teams who'd missed out on tickets for the second plane, only Matt and Shannon, Trish and Lita, and Vince and Shane had decided to cut their losses and head for the third flight. Five other teams were on standby, anxiously awaiting an announcement that they could, in fact, board the plane.

Stephanie and Hunter were first to be paged, followed by Hurricane and Rosey.

The other three teams looked around at each other.

"Well, Steve," Bischoff began, placing a hand on his partner's shoulder. "We're next. As soon as that clerk realizes Rosey's ass won't fit in a coach class seat, we're gonna be on that plane instead."

"Eric Bischoff, would you kindly take your hand off my shoulder before I break off your arm and use it to slap you upside the head?" Stone Cold snapped.

Bischoff laughed confidently. "You wouldn't assault me in an airport, Steve. There's too many witnesses. You'd get yourself arrested and I for one am not going to use our race money to bail you out of lockup."

"They're next?" Gail murmured, tilting her head towards Raw's co-GMs.

"I guess," Molly shrugged.

Gail broke into a sinister smile. "Not anymore. I'm gonna grab that guy by the balls." She strode confidently over to Bischoff. "Mr. Bischoff, I need to speak to you."

Bischoff turned to her with a salacious smile and began slowly looking her up and down. "Well, if it isn't the beautiful Gail Kim. What can I do for you, sweetheart?"

"Well, you remember when we came to that. . .agreement about Trish?" Gail asked, running her finger caressingly down Bischoff's nose. "Well, I was hoping that, once you go to get your tickets, you could use your business skills to make sure that me and Molly also get on that plane."

"But Gail," Bischoff began. "Me and Steve don't. . .ah!" he cried as Gail's hand moved to the front of his pants. "I'm. . .uh. . .I'm sure we can come to some. . .uh. . .arrangement."

"That's what I thought," Gail smiled and the two of them disappeared from view.

*     *     *     *

"Paging Mr. Eric Bischoff. Paging Mr. Eric Bischoff. Please report to the Northwest Airlines service desk. Repeat, Mr. Eric Bischoff, please report to the Northwest Airlines service desk."

"Bischoff's here?" Bubba snapped, glancing around warily. He and D-Von had cleared customs and were just minutes from boarding.

"Don't worry about it," Lance Storm called as Dawn Marie gave a cat-like stretch and curled her arm around him. "There aren't any seats left on the flight. Dawn and myself were the last."

D-Von eyed him and Dawn cautiously. "Storm, here's what I wanna know. How does someone like you get someone like her once, let alone more than once?"
Lance stared back quizzically. "Dawn and myself have simply rekindled our friendship. When the time came to choose a partner for the race, and with my mentor Goldust injured, I could choose no one else."

"You're just friends?" D-Von scoffed. "No, man. Just friends is what Bubba has with Trish. What I see in front of me now, the two of you, well, that's what Bubba *wishes* he had with Trish."

"Shut up, D-Von," Bubba snapped.

"Would both of you just grow up?" Dawn breezed. "Lance is a gentleman, which is far more than I can say for the two of you."

"Know something, Dawn?" Bubba asked her. "We've put broads through tables for saying less than that."

"Bring me a table and I'll dance on it," Dawn told them. "But for now, just relax. We have a long race ahead and I'd personally like to see our two teams plus Rob and Tommy as the final three. Then we can really take this thing to the extreme."

*     *     *     *

"Please, Steve," Stacy said enticingly.

"No," Austin replied firmly. "Sorry, honey, but that airplane ain't leaving without me and that sum'bitch Bischoff."

"But he's not coming back," Stacy pointed out. "He's off somewhere with that little slut Gail Kim."

"Well, the way I figure is last time it took two minutes, so he's due back any moment now."

And that was when the intercom sounded. "Now boarding Northwest Airlines flight 5226 to Minneapolis-St Paul."

Stacy stared pointedly at Austin. "If you don't go now, you won't get all your papers through in time. But me and Test are still waiting. If we take those last tickets, we might still make the plane in time. Please, Steve. It just doesn't make sense for you to wait any longer."

"All right," Austin snapped. "Take the damn tickets."

"Ah, thank you, Steve!" Stacy squeaked, throwing her arms around him and planting her lips on his. "Test! Come on, we have to make the plane."

They dashed off for the desk, hoping they still had time to trade their tickets for boarding passes.

"So, Gail, as I was saying, I'm afraid my hands are tied. There's nothing I can do to get you on that plane."

Austin's ears tuned in on the sound of Bischoff's voice like a hawk spying a field mouse. He began to laugh, low and sadistic.

"What's wrong with you?" Bischoff frowned. "What's so funny?"

"What's funny is I just saw the future," Austin told him, still with a sinister grin. "And you remember touching Stone Cold's shoulder? Well, I call that physical provocation and that means now the Rattlesnake's gonna open up a can of whup-ass."

Bischoff opened his mouth to argue, but realized that Austin meant business. And then he ran.

*     *     *     *

The second plane departed at 8:10 AM, leaving just six teams still in Montreal. These teams had two hours to arrange seats on a plane that left at 10:25 AM, with stopovers at La Guardia and then Denver, Colorado before they'd land in Anchorage at 8:52 PM. Unless one of the earlier teams missed their connecting flights, the eliminated team would most likely come from one of these six – Gail and Molly, Lita and Trish, Eric and Steve, Matt and Shannon, Faarooq and Bradshaw or Shane and Vince. All six successfully boarded the 10:25 plane. The race was on.

*     *     *     *

The second group to take off – those heading to Anchorage via Minneapolis-St Paul – was actually the first to arrive in Alaska at 2:41 PM local time, followed four minutes later by the two teams who'd caught the flight connecting at Cincinnati and Salt Lake City. Thirteen teams raced through the airport and then to the cab stand.

In the rush, someone slammed into Steven Richards, knocking him flying.

"Watch where you're going, idiot!" Victoria growled, bending to help her partner to his feet.

Eddie Guerrero stopped and turned back. "Victoria? Mamacita, is that you?"

Victoria pointedly ignored him. "Are you okay, Stevie? Do you need me to get some ice?"
Steven grinned dopily. "We're in Alaska. We can just go outside to find ice."

"Eddie, come on!" Chavo called, but his uncle was still standing there, watching Victoria.

"Mamacita, it's me, Eddie Guerrero. Don't tell me you don't remember me. Hey, I'm sorry I didn't call or nothing or talked to you when we were both on Raw, but it was business, you know?"
"Of course I remember you," Victoria spat, still not meeting his gaze.

"Eddie, come on, homes, we're getting beat by Stephanie!" Chavo urged him.

"Would you shut up a minute, Chavito!" Eddie snapped. "I am trying to talk to an old friend. Hey, you want we take a taxi together to this earthquake place? Hey, mamacita, homes? Me and Chavo will pay. It's the least we Guerreros can do."

Steven glanced at an obviously anxious Victoria. "I think that's an excellent idea. Now, to the cab stand."

*     *     *     *

"So where's this earthquake place?" Rob asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Earthquake Park," the driver replied. "It's well-known around town."

"Cool," Rob nodded. "So can you get us there before any of these other cabs?"

"I'll do my best."

"Great," Rob grinned. "That's just what I wanted to hear."

*     *     *     *

"Earthquake Park, up here in front of you," a cab driver announced.

"I see the marker, baby!" Jamie Noble cried.

"Okay, Jamie. You pay the man, I'll kick some butt getting over there," Nidia ordered. "But remember, you have to catch up with me."

"Honey baby, I'll always catch you," Jamie grinned.

The cab pulled up and Nidia sprinted for it, but before Jamie had arrived at the route marker, Stephanie and Hunter rushed in to collect their clue, then ran back towards their cab so they could safely read it.

"Make your way back to the airport and fly to Fairbanks. Go to the Avis rental car desk and collect your next clue, plus a set of keys."

"We're driving somewhere," Stephanie mused.

"You mean *I'm* driving somewhere," Hunter corrected her as they got back into their cab. "Airport again, man. No, Steph, I don't think you've ever driven yourself anywhere in your life. Do you even have a license?"
"Yes," Stephanie replied testily, crossing her arms over her chesty. "They don't let you do this competition if you can't drive."

"Well, I guess I stand corrected," Hunter replied, just as testily. "Hey, here's one. How about you drive us wherever we have to go?"
"Fine," Stephanie snapped. "Until the next pitstop, I do the driving."

*     *     *     *

Stephanie and Hunter were the first to arrive back at the airport, with Nidia and Jamie right on their tails.

"Air Alaska!" Stephanie called out. "That's the one."

The line seemed to inch along, but in reality it took them less than five minutes to be served.

"We need to get to Fairbanks immediately," Stephanie demanded, suddenly taking charge.

"There's a flight leaving in about fifteen minutes," the clerk told her. "Unfortunately, for security reasons, you're too late to board."

"Fifteen minutes – please," Stephanie begged, seeing Jamie and Nidia race off with smiles on their faces. "It's really important." Her eyes began to fill with crocodile tears and she gripped Hunter's hand. "My father has suffered a heart attack and. . .the doctors don't know if he'll make it. I have to be there for him."

"The next flight leaves in an hour," the clerk told her.

"My father may not have that long," Stephanie replied shakily. "My husband and I – we don't have checked baggage – just these backpacks. Please. You have to let us buy those tickets and board that plane. Please."

"Okay, fine," the clerk sighed, taking the money and typing at the computer. "Can I see some photo ID? And remember – you'll have to run."

"Nice work, princess," Hunter muttered. "But if you still have those nail scissors in your bag, we're screwed."

*     *     *     *

Only two teams managed to make the 3:23 flight to Fairbanks, leaving the next eleven teams to tussle it out for the flight due to leave at 4:15. Eleven teams, all trying to make it back to the airport and contest for just a few seats remaining on the flight.

"Okay, so that means we have about forty-five minutes before boarding," Tommy Dreamer commented as he and Rob collected their boarding passes. "Let's go see if we can hunt up a New York Times."

"Yeah," Rob nodded. "Hey, you think they sell comic books here?"

*     *     *     *

"Two coach class tickets on the next flight to Fairbanks," Rey requested, hading over some money.

The transaction went smoothly and their boarding passes were issued.

"We got the next flight, man," Rey told his partner. "We leave at 4:17."

"And what is it now?" his partner asked, realizing he was till on Montreal time.

"Don't worry, man," Rey smiled. "It's only three thirty-five."

"Cool," his partner smiled.

"Hey, Rey-Rey," Called a voice. "Are you on the 4:17?"

"Sure are," Rey answered his often tag team partner, Billy Kidman. "You guys?"
"Yep," Kidman nodded, but Torrie was eyeing Rey's partner even as the two groups headed onward.

"So, are you going to tell us all who you are yet?" she frowned.

Rey's partner shrugged. "I'm surprised you all haven't figured it out. My voice is pretty obvious in the wrestling business."

"Well, I must never have worked with you," Torrie told him. "Because I really don't know. But it's okay if you want to keep it a secret. I like your mask, anyway."

"Thank you," Rey's partner replied, grinning.

*     *     *     *

"Come on, Chavito, let's get to movin', man," Eddie ordered.

"Well, it was you who said we had to wait for Victoria," Chavo countered.

"Hey, don't criticize me, homes," Eddie snapped. Tell you what, essa, you go do something else, whatever you want and I will wait in line for our tickets, huh?"
"That's a great idea," Chavo growled back. "Then you can go buy tickets for your girlfriend and everything will be so happy."

Eddie swore at him in Spanish and took his place in line, still muttering about his nephew. And that was when he spotted Lance and Dawn, three places ahead of him in line.

"Here's a good time to be a true Guerrero," he murmured to himself and then began to inch his way up the line. "Perdon, excuse me, sorry homes. Hey! Lance Storm and Dawn Marie!" he cried joyfully, throwing an arm around each of them. "How are you, huh?"
Dawn glanced over her shoulder. "Eddie, no."

Eddie drew back. "No? Mamacita, no what? I haven't done nothing."

"What Dawn means is no you can't cut in front of us and no we won't buy you tickets," Lance explained. "And for the record, 'haven't done nothing' is a double negative, meaning you have done something."

"Huh?" Eddie frowned, confused, before he shook his head. "Essa homes, I am hurt. You know, that hurts me. Here I am, not doing anything, just saying hello. . ."

"Next, please."

Lance pointedly held Eddie's gaze until Dawn made it to the counter.

Eddie just smiled. "That's okay, essa," he murmured to himself. "I still moved up in the line."

"Next!"
Eddie stepped over to the clerk who'd called him.

"Hey, homey. I need four coach tickets to Fairbanks on the next flight out of this town, okay?"
"Okay, that's the 4:17," the young man replied. "Oh, we only have three seats left in coach."

"Only three?" Eddie frowned.

"Yeah," the clerk mused. "In fact, we only have three left on the whole plane. Are you interested?"
Eddie glanced over his shoulder to find the Dudley Boyz at the back of the line.

"Yeah, homes, yeah. Get me those three tickets."

"Okay. And would you like to book the last person on our next flight at 5:03?"

Eddie thought about it momentarily. "Ah, no thanks, homes. Just three's good. We can leave him behind."
And with that proclamation he paid for the tickets, collected the boarding passes and headed back to Chavo, Steven and Victoria.

"I've got good news and bad news, okay?" he began, holding up the boarding passes as a buffer between himself and the others. "Victoria, I got you, me and Chavo seats on the next plane. Steven? Sorry, essa, but you have to get your own way there. The plane is all full."
"What?" Steven snapped.

"Hey, don't get mad with me, essa homes, I did my best, you know? I tried, but there was only three places, so that's me and Chavo and one of you and Victoria. I figured the lady, she has to go first, right?"
Steven sighed, turning to Victoria. "Well, sweetie, he's right. You should go. I'll catch you up in Fairbanks. Maybe there'll actually be ice up there."

Victoria grabbed for his forearms. "Are you sure, Stevie?"
Steven nodded. "I'll catch up, Vic. Then we'll show them. We'll show them all."

*     *     *     *

Two minutes after the second flight to Fairbanks took off, the first one was landing at Fairbanks International Airport.

The two teams sprinted for the rental desk, with the taller team of Hunter and Stephanie just edging out Jamie and Nidia.

"We're Hunter and Stephanie," Hunter announced. "You have some keys for us?"
The person behind the desk nodded. "Can I see some ID? Okay, your car is in the short term lot. Please sign here, and here you go."

She handed over the key and, more importantly, the clue.

Stephanie and Hunter ran through the airport before they opened the clue.

"Drive to the North Pole and locate the home of Father Christmas, and your next route marker."

"Jamie!" Nidia cried after the two of them had read the clue. "We're going to see Santa – the real Santa!"
"I know, baby, but first we gotta find the old guy," Jamie announced, holding tightly to Nidia's hand as they ran through the airport. At the cab stand, a few drivers were smoking cigarettes outside their cars and Jamie made a beeline for them. "Hey, can you tell us where to find Santa Claus?"

One of the cabbies nodded. "I can take you there."

"No, we gotta drive," Jamie explained. "But I've got five bucks if you tell us the way."

"Okay," the driver agreed. "The place you want is about half an hour from here. If you head south, it's well signposted. You want the Santa Claus House in North Pole."

"Thank you, boy," Jamie smiled, handing over a five. "Let's go, Nidia. Let's find Santa."

*     *     *     *

On the second flight, Eddie had been given the seat across the aisle from Victoria.

"Psst, mamacita!" he called to her, but to no response. "Hey, Victoria. You not talking to me, mami?"
Frustrated at her lack of response, he turned to the man next to him. "Hey homes, can I use your pen for a minute?"
He scrawled a message on his (thankfully unused) vomit back and reached across the aisle to drop it in Victoria's lap. The message was simple.

'Why won't you talk to me?'

This time, he didn't have to wait long for a reply. In less than a minute the back was back with an additional message written in angry block letters.

'I HATE YOU.'

*     *     *     *

At 5:03 PM, the third Alaska Airlines flight left Anchorage, with Steven, the Dudley Boyz and Hurricane and Rosey on board. At 5:07, the second plane landed in Fairbanks, around the same time as the first car pulled up at the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska.

"Do you see it, Hunter?" Stephanie screeched.

A ghostly pale Hunter was gripping his knees tightly and couldn't see a thing.

"Don't worry, I got it!" Stephanie cried, hitting the gas before coming to a screeching halt right next to the route marker.

"Come on, Hunter!" Stephanie demanded, leaping from the car.

Hunter managed to open the door and tumble out before he threw up on the road.

"Ugh, Hunter, have you been drinking?"
"No, you stupid bitch," Hunter snapped. "But I did have to endure your driving. Remind me to never let that happen again."

"I'm not that bad," Stephanie protested, taking the clue envelope and opening it up.

"Detour. Santa or the trimmings. In a detour, teams must choose from two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. In "Santa", teams must line up and have their photo taken with the in-house Santa Claus before finding their next clue printed on the back of the picture. Lining up could take time and they must wait for the picture to develop, but the task is straightforward and predictable. In "trimmings", teams must search the store for a particular bauble with their names on it and exchange it at the checkout counter for their next clue. Teams have the chance to find their clue quickly, but with thousands of baubles in the store, they'll need to hope for more than luck."

"Let's find the bauble," Stephanie stated.

"You're kidding me," Hunter groaned. "We're the first team. We should just line up and get that picture."

"No," Stephanie replied firmly. "No one takes my picture unless I arrange it. We're searching for the bauble."

"You are one stupid bitch," Hunter muttered, trudging off.

"Where are you going?" Stephanie demanded.

"To park the car. We're not losing this race just because you can't drive a damn rental car so we get our asses towed."

*     *     *     *

Chavo cried out in annoyance as Lance and Dawn ran past him and Eddie, leaving them ahead of just Victoria. She was in no hurry, since she had almost an hour to wait for Steven to catch up.

"Come on, Eddie!" Chavo called. "We're getting beat by all those others."

"Well, just slow down a minute, homes. Chill, relax," Eddie replied calmly. "We'll catch 'em all up later, don't you worry."
Chavo followed his uncle's gaze and found Victoria, taking in her surroundings and walking shiftily, one hand on her face.

"What's your problem with you and senorita loca anyway, huh?" an exasperated Chavo asked.

Eddie turned on him. "You're the one who's crazy, man. Vato, you gotta understand. Me and that mamacita, we got history, homes. And she is one hot, smokin' mamacita!"

"Well, what are you saying, Eddie?" Chavo asked pointedly, stopping short to glare right back at his uncle. "You wanna give up on a million dollars just because of some girl when she's not so great anyway?"
"Shut up, Chavo!" Eddie cried. "You gotta trust me, man. We're not gonna lose from this. But there's something I gotta find out about, okay? I gotta see something, gotta make sure. I'll meet you at the rental desk, okay?"

"Where are you going?" Chavo called as Eddie stormed off in the other direction. "Eddie! Where are you going?"

*      *     *     *

"Well, girl," Jamie grinned, slapping Nidia on the ass. "Guess we gonna go get our picture taken."

"We can put it in our photo album right next to that one of us at the big ball of twine," Nidia agreed excitedly as they headed inside and made their way towards the photo area.

Once they joined the line of children, Nidia suddenly began removing her clothes.

"Nidia, girl, what you doin' that for?" Jamie laughed. "We ain't at the pit stop just yet."

"I always strip down for diva photo shoots," Nidia explained. "You don't want me to take my clothes off?"
"Baby girl, I always like seein' you naked," Jamie cheered, slapping her ass again. "One thing's for sure, Nidia. Once Santa gets himself a look at you, he really is gonna be jolly!"

*     *     *     *

"Well, are you proud of yourself, Angle?" Benoit snapped as he looked around at the two other teams still in Anchorage. "When we left Montreal, we were in the lead, but did you stop to think that maybe that wasn't the best flight – that another airline might get us there quicker? No, you just went with the first one you saw and now look. There's at least ten teams ahead of us. Face it, Kurt. You screwed us."

"Hey, I screwed no one!" Kurt protested. "You could've said something too. It wasn't just me."

"Did I or did I not say we should check all the airlines before we bought our tickets?" Benoit asked. "Didn't I say that?"
"I don't remember you saying that," Kurt argued. "Maybe you just thought you said it."

"Could you both cut your yapping?" Chris Jericho shouted over them. "The king of bling bling is not about to put up with your ricockulousness, either of you."

"Where'd you get that, your word-of-the-day calendar?" Test smirked, inching his arm around the back of Stacy's chair, but she just glared at him, then got to her feet and walked over to sit next to Kurt.

"Hi Kurt, how are you?"
Kurt's eyes bulged at the unexpected attention. "Oh, hi Stacy. I'm great. . ." he squeaked out, before swallowing. "Uh, I'm great. How about you?"

Stacy smiled seductively and, without waiting for an invitation, climbed into Kurt's lap. "I am just fantastic. I have here two boarding passes – mine and Test's. Would you like to trade with Test? Then you and me could sit by each other – really get to know each other. Maybe you could tell me all about your gold medals. . .okay?"

Kurt smiled dopily. "Sounds. . .uh. . .sounds good, Stacy. Uh, yeah. I'd like that. Sounds good."

*     *     *     *

"So, are you having fun?" Torrie asked as the car she and Kidman had been given left the town of Fairbanks on its way to North Pole.

Kidman smiled, his hands tapping casually on the steering wheel. "Yeah, I am. That circus training was awesome."

"I can't believe I actually did that," Torrie sighed.

"Oh, I had no doubt," Kidman replied seriously, before breaking into an endearing grin.

Torrie found herself grinning back. "Thank you for doing this. I mean, when I found out Billy wouldn't be back in time for the race, I really didn't have anyone else to turn to."

"Always second best, huh?" Kidman murmured thoughtfully. "But hey, you're welcome. It's about time we caught up a little more."

"Yeah," Torrie agreed, reaching out to lay her hand over his on the wheel, just briefly. "It really is."

*     *     *     *

"Gimme a look at the picture, girl," Jamie called, peering over Nidia's shoulder at the newly developed photo. "Oh baby, you look so pretty."

"You think?" Nidia asked.

"Oh yeah, baby, look at you standin' there in your bra and panties. Girl, you're the sexiest little Santa's helper I have ever seen."

"Oh, Jamie, you're my favorite kind of elf," Nidia sighed, throwing her arms around him and moving into a deep kiss.

"Mmm, baby," Jamie murmured against her lips. "Baby, you're so hot, but we gotta read that clue."

"Oh, Jamie," Nidia frowned, pulling away regretfully. "Okay, what's it say?"

Jamie turned the photo over and began to read.

"Experience Alaska's gold rush. Make your way to Gold Dredge No. 8 and locate your next route marker."

"Baby, I think we're going digging for gold!" Jamie cheered. "Now all we gotta do is find the place."

*     *     *     *

The fourth plane, this one on Frontier Flying Services, took off from Anchorage at 5:45 PM, just as the leaders of the second group arrived at the Santa Claus house and ran for their detour clues. Tommy and Rob sprinted into the store just as Stephanie's voice rang out.

"I can't find it! Stop shouting at me, Hunter!"

Eyebrows raised, Tommy glanced at Rob. "Want your picture taken?"
"Sure," Rob smiled. "I mean I am a pretty photogenic dude."

*     *     *     *

"Uh, I think I wanna go searching," Rey's partner announced, once they'd reached the detour.

"What, you don't want your photo taken?" Rey asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm wearing a mask so people can't tell who I am, you know what I mean?"
Rey nodded. "Okay, I guess we've got some searching to do."

*     *     *     *

"Hey you two," Kidman greeted Lance and Dawn as the two teams met at the route marker. "Talk about old teams reconnecting. You're gonna like this detour – you can get your photo taken together."

"That so?" Lance asked. "Thanks."

"No problem," Kidman nodded. "Let's go, Torrie."

Lance glanced at his partner. "Well, I'm not the most photogenic person in the world, but the camera seems to like you, Dawn."

"Lance, you're gorgeous," Dawn told him, looking up from where she was reading the clue. "But I don't think we should go that way. Either we get our photo done, or we hunt in the store for a Christmas ball with our names on it. Now we can go stand in line behind Torrie and maybe some other teams, or we can go shopping. Let me tell you, Lance, when it comes to finding the right thing in the shortest amount of time, no one's a better shopper than me."

"Well, okay then," Lance nodded. "If you're sure, we'll go shopping."

"I'm sure, Lance," Dawn smiled dazzlingly at him. "Just leave it to me."

She dashed into the main store area, leaving Lance to stare at her before he caught himself and headed to the nearest fully-laden Christmas tree.

"Got it!" Dawn cried moments later.

"Really?" a stunned Lance called back.

"Yep- Lance and Dawn Marie – see?"

A still surprised Lance nodded. "You found it. Now what?"

"We exchange it for our clue," Dawn smiled. "Way ahead of you, Lance." She grabbed for his hand and led him over to the nearest checkout counter.

"Quick, Hunter!" Stephanie called. "Dawn Marie found it over here. Are you looking?"

"I'm looking. It's not here," Hunter snapped.

"Well, maybe they're not in any one place, just over the store," Stephanie postulated.

"Gee, Steph, you think?" Hunter muttered sarcastically. "Forget this – we've been here mote than half an hour and we've found nothing. Let's go get our picture taken."

"No," Stephanie replied forcefully. "It has to be here somewhere. I refuse to give up."

*     *     *     *

"Gold dredge," Dawn repeated, once they had made their way outside and read the new clue. "This is our leg of the race, Lance. First shopping and now something to do with gold. This one's in the bag."

They ran together to their cart and pulled away, just as a head appeared at a car two away from theirs.

"All done, Chavo. No we go get our clue."

"What did you do now?" Chavo asked impatiently. "Not something to do with Victoria?"

"No, not Victoria," Eddie snapped, before breaking into a grin. "You know that sugar I brought in my bag? I didn't bring it to make coffee. Somebody's gonna try to start that car and vato, it's not going anywhere, man."

Chavo laughed. "Eddie! You're back!"

"Chavito, I never went nowhere," Eddie argued. "It's always, once and for all, about la familia. It's about the Guerreros!"

*     *     *     *

"Stevie!" Victoria cried, the instant he appeared in the arrivals area of Fairbanks International Airport.

"Hi honey," Steven grinned, wrapping her up in his arms. "You got me some flowers? Thank you."

"No," Victoria replied, drawing back. "Eddie Guerrero got them for me." She gave an uneasy nod. "You should've taken my place, Stevie. You shouldn't have left me with him. Don't you remember what I told you, Stevie? It's all his fault. All his fault."

"I thought it was Trish's fault," Steven frowned.

"No," Victoria protested, shaking her head frantically. "I wanted to destroy Trish, to rip her pretty little arms off, but it's all Eddie. He wanted to ride the ho train, so he hired me. He called for me a lot when he was having trouble with his fiancée. When they broke up he still called for me. I trusted him. . .and then he stopped calling. And that's when. . .it happened. . .the first time. . .when *she* started talking to me. The others followed afterwards, but she was stronger, she led them. It was all because of Eddie Guerrero. All his fault."

*     *     *     *

"Hey Chavito, I got it, homes."

"Alright, Eddie. Way to go, man," Chavo cheered, running over to his uncle. "Now, let's go trade it for our clue."

But Eddie stayed where he was. "No, man, I didn't find *our* Christmas ball. I got Victoria's."

Chavo's face fell. "What?"
Eddie held up the bauble. "See? Steven and Victoria. We'll find ours and give this to Victoria once we see her."

"Eddie, are you completely loco?" Chavo cried. "We've gotta look out for ourselves – us – no one else. Soon as we start helping other teams, that gets us behind. . ."

"So we catch up," Eddie argued. "If you're so worried about our team, why don't you go find our Christmas ball, huh, homes? You can't be throwing stones when you're building up that glass house. Eh, Chavito, what have you done for this team?"
Chavo narrowed his eyes at his uncle. "Okay, we'll keep searching. But once we find it, you're leaving Victoria's, whether she's here or not."

*     *     *     *

"Here, Jamie! Gold Dredge Number 8!" Nidia called excitedly.

Jamie quickly brought the car to a halt and the two of them ran for the route marker and their next clue.

Nidia quickly tore the envelope and began to read.

"It's a roadblock," she announced.

"A roadblock is a task that can only be completed my one person. In this roadblock, the chosen team member must take the tour and pan for gold. Once they strike it rich with a speck of gold, they can have their find validated by their tour guide, who will give them their next clue."

"Okay, Nidia girl, you or me?" Jamie questioned.

"I'll do it," Nidia nodded confidently. "You remember that time your cousin Nunzio called me a gold digger? I think this is what he was talking about."

"Dang, girl, I think you could be right about that one," Jamie grinned.

They ran to the entrance, only to find that everything was locked.

:"What, we gotta break in?" Jamie frowned. "I don't wanna be sending you through no tight spaces."

"No, Jamie, look," Nidia called. At the bottom of the clue were further instructions. "Tours leave every hour from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM daily."

"What time you got now?" Jamie asked.

"Coming up to six PM," Nidia replied despondently.

"Well," Jamie sighed, inching his arm around her shoulders. "Guess we're sleepin' rough tonight, girl, get us at the front of the line come morning."

"That's okay, baby. We've slept outside before,:" Nidia comforted him. "And anyway, we've got a nice lead right now. It might be dark, but it's not time to go to sleep just yet. I can think of a way we can make real good use of our lead."

Jamie grinned right back at her. "Keep on talkin', baby. I'm listening to whatever you got to say."

*     *     *     *

Just as Jamie and Nidia began to settle in for the night, the fourth plane was landing in a different part of Fairbanks. All three teams made a bolt for it, but it was Jericho and Christian who made it to the rental car first and gave their details.

"We better get a good car," Christian was saying. "I'm thinking a monster, gas-guzzling SUV."

"Or a hotted up sports car with dual exhaust," Jericho agreed.

"Here's your clue, and your keys," the lady behind the desk stated. "Can I just get your signatures here?"
Christian peered down at the paper. "Dodge Neon? That's a chick car! I ain't driving no chick car."

He tossed the keys at Jericho, who caught them and instantly threw them back, as if they were on fire and he feared getting burned.

"Well, the king of bling bling sure as hell is not gonna be caught dead driving a woman-mobile. What color is it, peacock blue?"

"Yeah, hot pink?" Christian scoffed.

The clerk smiled and pointed to the paper, where the color was clearly written. Purple.

*     *     *     *

"Stephanie," Trish H spat through clenched teeth. "I've already looked there."

"Well, we've looked everywhere else too," Stephanie argued. "It must be here somewhere."

Triple H sighed. "Give up already, Steph. Let's just go get the damn photo."

"No, Hunter, how many times do I have to say no? It's got to be here. . .argh! I found it!"
"Yeah, right," Hunter muttered.

"No, I did, see?" Stephanie held up a bright red bauble. "Hunter and Stephanie. And it's your fault it took so long, since you did say you already looked here. Now let's go take it to the desk and get out of here – only Jamie and Nidia, Lance and Dawn Marie, Torrie and Billy Kidman, Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam, the Dudley Boyz and Rey Mysterio and. . .whoever his partner is are ahead of us."

"Geez, Steph, you're keeping track of all that?" Hunter accused.

"Of course I'm keeping track," Stephanie replied incredulously. "Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer?' I'm all about that idea."

The camera panned to find Hurricane searching through a Christmas tree that was festooned in baubles.

"Holy wild goose chase, Rosevelt," he called to his partner. "Searching for a bauble in a Christmas store is like searching for a needle in a haystack – what's up with that?"

"Well, do you want to know what I think?" Rosey asked loudly. "As someone with a personal interest in photography, I think that we should find Father Christmas and pose together as three people who bring smiles to the faces of children."

"Rosevelt, your S.H.I.T tuition has served you well," Hurricane stated, clapping the larger man on the back. "I really think you might be on to something here. And perhaps, once we locate the jolly red man, I can make him an honorary superhero."

". . .In training!" Rosey added with a grin.

"Hey, Victoria!" Eddie called from his position just inside the doors. "I've been waiting for you. What's been taking you so long, huh?"
For the first time, Victoria looked him straight in the eye. "I've been thinking of ways I can destroy you."

Eddie gave her a quirky look. "Mamacita, I know we're in a race right now, but you don't have to get so competitive, you know. We can be working together. See, I've got the ball with your name on it, delivered to you directly from Latino Heat."

"Back off, Guerrero," Steven growled.

"Back off?" Eddie repeated, obviously affronted. "Essa homes, I'm just trying to help you, do a good deed, huh? Maybe later in the race you can have the chance to help us back."

"Don't count on it," Steven snapped, snatching the ball from his hand. "Come on, Victoria. I'll protect you from him. He won't hurt you anymore."

"Eddie, you're as loco as they are," Chavo stated, noticing that his uncle's eyes were still trained on Victoria.

"Shut up, Chavo, you don't know what's going on, man," Eddie replied absently. "What's wrong with that Steven Richards, huh? What's his problem? I swear, if he wasn't with my Victoria right now, I'd be getting froggy all over his ass!"
"Well, why don't you keep thinking of that, huh, Eddie?" Chavo suggested sarcastically. "Meanwhile, I'll drive us to the next route marker – but we gotta get in the car first."

"Fine, okay," Eddie replied reluctantly. "Let's go for the car. Let's drive. Is that what you want, Chavito? Will that make you happy?"

By now they were in the parking lot and were headed for their car. And that was when they heard the voice.

"It won't turn over! I'm trying but it won't work!"
"Dammit, Stephanie, even the car hates your driving!" Hunter roared back.

"You're not helping!" Stephanie screeched.

"Well, let me help. Move your ass and I'll drive."

They both got out and had begun to walk around to the opposite sides when another car screeched to a halt next to them and the passenger rolled down his window. "Hey, andelay (sp?), homes. Got car troubles? Guess your car must be diabetic, because it sure don't like a little sugar. Adios, guys!"
"Eddie Guerrero!" Stephanie screamed. "Damn you!"

*     *     *     *

"Here we are, dude, gold dredge," Rob announced.

Tommy diligently entered the parking lot and found somewhere to leave the car.

The two of them pulled on their backpacks and ran for the building.

"You see the route marker?" Rob asked.

"Yeah. . .and I see. . .oh Lord," Tommy groaned.

"What is it?" Rob frowned.

"Jamie and Nidia. Just shut up and let's get the clue. Maybe they won't see us."

"Looks like they're pretty busy anyway," Rob commented, but Tommy quickly shut him up with a deadly look.

They proceeded to collect their clue, and in a hushed voice, Tommy repeated it.

". . .Tours depart hourly from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM."

"So that must be why those two are getting busy," Rob guessed. "Got nothing else to do 'til tomorrow."

"Hey, Nidia girl, look who it is!" Jamie exclaimed suddenly.

"Hi Tommy Dreamer," Nidia called seductively.

Tommy exchanged the briefest of glances with Rob and then he bolted for the parking lot.

"Where you going?" Rob shouted.

"To get food!" Tommy cried back. "You stay and hold our place in line."

"While you're at it, can you bring me a sandwich?" Jamie called. "I'm about starved here."

"Jamie," Nidia giggled. "With you and me and Rob Van Dam, we can have the best kind of sandwich right here. Are you interested, Rob?"
"Nah. But you guys go right ahead," Rob shrugged. "I've got other things I like to do recreationally."

He produced a small bag from his pocket and got to work.

*     *     *     *

"Here it is, Benoit!" Kurt called across the store, just minutes after they'd begun looking.

Benoit ran to join his partner. "Kurt, you damn moron. It says Chris and Christian."

"Oh, well I saw the Chris part. Do you have a marker? Maybe they wouldn't notice if we changed Christian to Kurt."

Benoit wasn't impressed. "Let's just keep looking."

Over in the line for pictures, Stacy and Test counted the minutes that Jericho and Christian took with Santa Claus, obviously wanting their photo to be a true reflection of their perfect looks.

"It's about damn time," Test muttered as they finally emerged.

Jericho waved antagonistically. "Junior, it takes time to look this gorgeous. Maybe you should try spending some time on that equine face of yours."

"Kiss my ass, Jericho," Test scowled.

Jericho responded by making kissy faces and flipping Test off.

"Come on, Test," Stacy called. "Forget them."

"Bitch, you don't tell me what to do," Test cried in a whining tone.

Stacy rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this photo taken." She broke into a smile when she saw the resident Father Christmas. "Hi Santa."

"Ho ho hello," Santa greeted them. "Would you like a picture with Santa?"
"Sure would," Stacy grinned, stepping over to sit in his lap.

"Ho ho, and what are your names?" Santa asked.

"Well, I'm Stacy and this. . .thing. . .here. . .his friends call him Andrew, but he doesn't have any of those, so everyone just calls him Test."

"Well, Stacy, Santa's so happy to see you. Tell me, have you been a good girl this year?"

"Santa, you should know," Stacy cooed, running her hand over Santa's beard. "I'm always a bad girl."

"Ho ho ho is damn right," Test muttered, glowering at his partner.

And that was when the flash went off. Their picture had been taken.

*     *     *     *

When Lance and Dawn arrived at the Gold Dredge and left their car, they heard the talking and laughter long before they saw the other teams.

". . .So then Jamie got all mad, but then he goes 'It's not you I've been watching, it's you.' And he pointed at Jamie!"

Rob laughed heartily. "You're a stud, Noble. That's all. A stud."

"See Jamie? RVD thinks so too," Nidia giggled, letting her head drop into Jamie's lap. "Hey, wow. You guys see all those stars? That's gotta be the most stars I've ever seen."

"That's a lot of stars, baby," Jamie agreed.

"It's whacked," Rob stated. "Those stars could all fall down and swallow us."

There was silence for a moment and then all three of them burst out laughing.

Having collected their clue, Lance and Dawn approached the group, exchanging a glance at the obviously strange behavior. As they broke eye contact, a small smile played across Dawn's lips.

"Hi everyone."

"Oh wow, look, Jamie!" Nidia called. "More people. It's Lance Storm and Dawn. Ha, Storm and Dawn. That rhymes!"
"No, it doesn't," Lance muttered, tentatively sniffing the air. "Are you people smoking marijuana?"
"Nope," Rob blurted, before grinning widely. "We're all done. But I can roll another if you want."

"Thanks Rob, maybe at the pitstop?" Dawn suggested. "Looking at the three of you, me and Lance aren't going to have a problem beating you there."

"Whoa, Dawn, since when did you get so serious?" Rob asked her. "Man, where's Tommy with that food? I'm starved."

"Me too," Nidia murmured. "Lance Storm, do you have any chips?"

"No," Lance sighed, starting to set up camp. "I don't have chips."
Rob frowned up at him. "I thought you'd changed, man. I thought you weren't boring anymore."

"I know a cure for boredom," Nidia piped up, before Lance could answer. She bounced to her feet and leaped over to Lance, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist as she kissed him hard on the mouth.

"Yeah, Nidia! That's my girl, you git him!" Jamie cheered her on.

A shocked Dawn Marie looked on, but only for a few moments before she pounced, grabbing Nidia and trying to tear her away from an obviously startled Lance.

"Look, you little whore!" she cried shrilly, fury giving her the strength to more or less throw Nidia at Jamie. "Get back to your own man. This one belongs to me."

And with that proclamation she turned to Lance with fire shining in her eyes, grabbed for him and kissed him passionately. When she surfaced, she was grinning.

"Rob, hold our place in line, okay?"
And then she took Lance by the arm and led him forcefully towards their car.

"Yea-ah!" Jamie shouted. "You get you some, boy!"

"She can have him," Nidia said graciously. "I got a real man right here. Hey, maybe we can go see if they want company."

"Later, girl," Jamie told her. "This time's just the two of them."

"Okay," Nidia shrugged, climbing back inside the sleeping bag she and Jamie were sharing. "Hey Rob, what you doing?"
Rob was busily writing with magic marker. He held up what he'd done.

LANCE + DAWN

"I'm saving their place, like they said," he explained. "I figured after the show we just got, it was the least I could do."

*     *     *     *

For the next two hours, teams continued arriving at the gold dredge and lining up in makeshift camps. Finally, a tow truck arrived back at the Santa Claus House parking lot.

"Get in," the driver called. "I'll give you a ride back to Fairbanks. The rental company's got another car waiting back there."

"Thanks," Hunter nodded, squeezing into the middle seat between the driver and Stephanie. Having endured her constant whining for the last two hours, he was willing to do anything to escape, even chat inanely with a truck driver. Anything.

*     *     *     *

At around 8:52 pm, the final teams touched down in Anchorage and, having cleared Arrivals, raced to the taxi stand.

"Come on, Lita!" Matt called as their teams led the way.

He and Shannon made it to the front car and leaped inside, but just as Lita bent to follow them in, the door slammed shut and the cab sped off.

"Argh, I don't believe that!" Lita cried.

"Simple solution – dump him," Trish replied as they turned to get the next cab. But every car they saw already had someone inside and the line of cabs quickly diminished until there were none left.

"Did you see if everyone else made it?" Lita asked anxiously, craning her neck to look for an approaching taxi.

"Yeah, they did," Trish replied flatly.

"That's what I thought," Lita nodded, letting her backpack drop to the ground next to her. "Okay, we have two choices here. We're definitely last, so we can wait for the next cab and maybe spend the whole rest of the leg playing catch-up, or we can try our luck with the fast forward.

Trish didn't even need to think. "Fast forward."

Lita retrieved her original stage 2 clue envelope, pulled out the directions for the fast forward and began to read.

"There is a fast forward available in each leg of the race. The first team to complete the fast forward can then skip all other tasks and proceed directly to the pitstop. However, teams can only use a fast forward once during the race, so must choose the one that will benefit them the most."

"Well, that's us," Trish commented as Lita read on.

"Rent a car to be returned in Fairbanks in two days and drive yourselves to the Denali National Park. Enter the park and locate the sled dog kennels. Each team member must participate in a designated dogsled 'dry run' in order to collect their fast forward. Good luck."

"Thanks, Phil," Trish smiled, smiling at her partner. "We can do this, Lita. We might even go from last to first."

"And we get to see some cute dogs," Lita smiled back.

Trish rolled her eyes. "I swear, you and dogs. But anyway, let's go get a car. . .and a map – unless you know where this park is."

*     *     *     *

Having reached Earthquake Park, Matt read the next clue.

"Fly to Fairbanks?" he cried. "Man, I've spent all today flying. V1 is gonna have blood clots in his legs the size of footballs. That should be my next Matt fact – Matt does not enjoy deep vein thrombosis."

"Well, we can't give up now," Shannon told him.

"Shannon, who said anything about giving up?" Matt asked. "All I know is, next time I see Phil I'm gonna tell him what I think about all this flying – and trust me, it won't be pretty."

*     *     *     *

"What's up with the burritos here, man?" Chavo asked as Eddie (who'd been sent to find food to distract him from Victoria) returned to his nephew and they both began to eat.

"I think we should definitely open a restaurant up here, huh?" Eddie replied. "Aunt Maria can do the cooking and cousin Jose can take the deliveries, just like normal."

"I don't know that there's enough light up here for Jose," Chavo pointed out. "He's not so bright anyway, you know?"

"We can put up a light at the front of the store, like attracts insects," Eddie suggested. "And that way Jose knows where to go back to. We still gotta teach him to read a map, though."

Chavo laughed. "Good old Jose."

But Eddie's attention had been diverted. "Hey, is that Victoria?"
"Eddie, no," Chavo warned.

"Don't worry, homes. I'll just be a second," Eddie told him, getting to his feet. "I won't desert this team. You can count on me."
Chavo sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, uncle," he mumbled to himself. "But I got this real bad feeling that you don't."

"Hi beautiful mamacita," Eddie called, smiling down at Victoria, who was sitting cross-legged, with her legs tucked tightly beneath her.

Steven immediately stood up, arms folded imposingly. "Get out of here."

"Hey know what, essa loco?" Eddie asked him. "I helped you back at the last task. It was taking teams hours and hours to find their balls and I got yours for you. You could be nice to me, you know. All I want is one minute to talk to Victoria. That's all, okay?"
Steven still glared at him. "One minute. Starting now."
"Thanks, homes, that's all I wanted," Eddie muttered, dropping to his haunches in front of Victoria. "Hola, mamacita. Tell me, did you like the flowers I got for you?"
"I don't like flowers," Victoria replied, examining the backs of her hands. "I only get them when Stevie wants a snack."

Eddie gave a puzzled frown, before nodding. "That's cool, mami. I eat strange things sometimes too. That's okay, because I got you something different at the store, something that reminds me of you." He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out something that was tightly wrapped in tissue paper. "Open it, mamacita. See what it is."
Victoria's face scrunched up as she decided what to do.

"Here, I'll open it for you," Eddie said, before she could make her choice. He carefully unwrapped the paper and held out the object inside – a tiny, intricately crafted glass angel.

"Here you go, mamacita. This can be your angel, just like you were mine. You saved me from making one big mistake and today you're just as sexy and beautiful and wow, Victoria, 'cita, just like back then."

"Time's up," Steven growled and before Eddie knew what was going on he'd been Steven kicked right on the hand, sending the glass angel flying from his hand until it shattered on the ground below.

Eddie's face slowly scrunched into a scowl. "That's it, homes. You done it now." And then he pounced on Steven, knocking him flying. The two were throwing punches before they even hit the deck.

"You stay away from her!" Steven warned.

"You gonna make me, huh?" Eddie screamed back.

Biting her lip and stepping aside, Victoria just looked on silently.

And then there was the screeching of tyres as a car roared into view.

Eddie looked up and spotted the danger.

"Victoria!" he cried, diving towards her. His body collided with hers and together they hit the ground and rolled, just as a car burst through right where Victoria had been standing, not stopping until it slammed into, and partway through, a security fence.

Breathing heavily, Eddie peered down at the shadowy form of the woman beneath him.

"Victoria – mamacita, are you okay?"

Victoria's dark eyes were filled with confusion. "I – what happened?"
"I saw that car – it was headed straight for you," Eddie told her. "I only just got you out the way before it." He hesitated briefly. "Did I hurt you, mami?"

Victoria swallowed. "I'm fine. Get off me."

"Okay, mamacita, but. . ."

"Get off me!" Victoria cried. "Get off me! Get off!"

"Okay, okay," Eddie promised, climbing to his feet. "I'm gone, okay?"

Shaking his head in frustration, he marched over to the driver's side of the car.

"What you think you're doing, man? You nearly killed Victoria!"

And that was when he saw who the driver was. "That's really too bad, Eddie," Stephanie purred coldly. "Because I was aiming for you."

And then Hunter ran in, also directing his anger at Eddie. "Do you realize what I've had to put up with because of that prank, you damn son of a bitch? She won' shut up. For hours and hours she whined and moaned and now she tries to kill us all? This is your fault, Guerrero. I want your ass!"

*     *     *     *

Day had become night. After the commotion of the car crash the teams at Gold Dredge began to settle down for the evening, with sleeping bags and multiple layers of clothing to protect them from the cold. Five other teams boarded the 10:53 PM flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks, while Lita and Trish braved the open road, driving through the night on the way to Denali National Park.

By the time Matt and Shannon arrived at the Santa Claus House it was around 12:45 AM.

"See, Shannon? Told you I knew how to get here," Matt announced.

"Looks pretty dark to me," Shannon commented.

"Don't worry about that. Let's just get the clue."

They ran for the route marker and removed their clue just as the next car pulled up, headlights blazing.

"Another picture with Santa," Matt mused. "I can see it now – by the time my career's through, Santa's gonna have a whole wall filled with pictures – all with Matt Hardy, Version 1."

"You sure we don't want to search for the bauble?" Shannon asked.

Matt gave him a look. "No, Shannon. You see, Santa and I are tight. You'll see when you meet him – the old guy's just one big MFer. Now let's get ourselves back in this race."

"Uh Matt, I don't think it's open."

"Of course it is," Matt replied as Shane and Vince ran past them to the clue box. "You think Santa's work is ever done? All those kids, all those toys."

"Hey turkeys," Shane called suddenly. "Might as well go wait in your car. Store hours are 8 AM to 8 PM."

Shannon frowned up at Matt.

"What? So he shut down for the night. Santa's gotta sleep too."

"Right, Matt, Santa's gotta sleep," Shannon muttered.

"Hold it, Shannon. You disrespecting the Sensei of Mattitude? Shannon?"

*     *     *     *

Having driven for five hours, with each of them taking turns behind the wheel, Trish and Lita finally arrived at the headquarters of Denali National Park just after 2 AM.

"Okay, so now what?" Trish asked, pulling over as Lita turned on the overhead light and checked their map.

"The kennels are right near the Park Headquarters, which is west of here."

"Okay then," Trish nodded, getting the car moving again. "Oh wait. What's this?"

The sign was clear in the headlights. 'No thoroughfare for private vehicles.'

"Does that mean us?" Trish frowned.

"I don't know. I'll check the map again."

Lita switched the light back on while Trish waited, humming along with a CD on the car stereo. She glanced briefly around but found that outside was completely dark, except for the eerie light of their high beams.

"Okay, am I the only one thinking horror movie?"

Lita gave a wry smile as she squinted at the map. "Don't even go there. Aha. Yep, we have to take the bus."

"The bus?" Trish repeated. "And I don't suppose they run at 2AM?"

"I can't find a schedule, but I doubt it," Lita told her. "But hey, we can always walk. It doesn't look that far on the map and we could be there as soon as they open."

"Or we could get a few hours sleep now and catch the first bus in the morning," Trish pointed out.

"Okay, I'm with you," Lita told her. "I am absolutely exhausted."

*     *     *     *

"Eddie, Eddie."

The voice was hushed and silken, almost dream-like. Eddie opened his eyes.

"Arrgh!" he cried instantly, finding himself staring right into a pair of eyes. It was after he'd called out that he realized it was Victoria.

"Hey mamacita, what you doing, huh?" he asked tiredly.

"Eddie," Victoria replied softly. "I know you, Eddie."

"Well. . .I know you too, 'cita. You and me, we're old friends."

"No, Eddie," Victoria replied. "We were never friends."

Before he could reply, she lunged at him, smashing her mouth against his and kissing him possessively.

"I know you, Eddie," she whispered as Eddie struggled to catch his breath. "I know you."

*     *     *     *

Lita and Trish woke to the sound of another vehicle's horn – repeated blasts, over and over.

"What's going on?" Trish groaned from the back seat.

Still in the passenger seat but curled up tightly, Lita stretched, the backs of her hands touching the car's roof. She squinted ahead and found herself staring into a set of headlights. Then the horn stopped and all they could hear was the engine of the other car.

Moments later a flashlight was shone into the driver's side window.

"Horror movie?" Lita guessed.

But then there was another voice – male and commanding. "National Park night patrol. Could you lower your window please?"

"Lita?" Trish asked nervously.

"Trish, you're on that side," Lita replied.

"Okay." Trish slowly wound down the window enough to see the barely illuminated shape of a uniformed man.

"Hi," she greeted him uncertainly.

"Ma'am, you're parked illegally and I'll have to ask you to move your vehicle," the man told her.

"Oh. . .okay," Trish replied.

"We didn't know where to park," Lita spoke up. "We're in a race and our clue told us to come to the sled dog kennels and take a ride, but we didn't count on getting stuck out here in the middle of the night."

The man digested this information. "You're in a race?" he repeated.

"Does that sound crazy?" Trish asked him.

"Not at all. In fact, we'd been told about the chance of teams coming by within a forty-eight hour period and we're more or less in the middle of that. Can I see some confirmation, please, so I know you're who we're expecting?"

"Li, pass me the fast forward clue," Trish called, then waited for Lita to retrieve and hand it back.

The man examined it with his flashlight.

"You're the ones. You'll still have to get your car off the road, so follow me and I'll show you where you can park, then I'll drive you over to the kennels. The first show isn't until ten, but I'll see if we can get you on a run as soon as it's light enough to see the way."

"Are you serious?" Lita called.

"Yes ma'am," the park ranger smiled. "And in return, maybe you'll think of us for your next vacation. It might get cold come wintertime, but there's plenty to see out here."

*     *     *     *

An hour later, the sun had risen and Trish and Lita were meeting the sled dogs, the two of them having been safely delivered by ranger Alex.

"Oh, they're so adorable," Lita cooed and even Trish got into the spirit, finding herself captivated by a dog with bright blue eyes instead of brown.

"Okay, we're just on ready to go," one of the handlers called. "We'll be taking you each on a short run that will serve as the dogs' warm-up for today. I'll just teach you how to stand, then we'll be ready to go."

"Wait, we're not doing this alone, are we?" Trish asked.

"No, but you will have to hold on tight and keep your balance, so there is some skill involved."

"Think we can use helmets?" Trish joked.

"You'll be fine," the handler promised them.

He put them through a crash course in mushing and then it was time to start.

"Okay, who's up first?" the handler asked.

"Me," Lita volunteered. "I trust these dogs."

"Great, then step on up."

Much to Trish's relief, Lita was handed a helmet, along with knee and elbow pads. She suited up, then climbed onto the makeshift sled along with the handler.

"Since there's no snow out yet, we have to make do with a cart instead of a sled," he explained. "It doesn't go quite as fast, but this is how we train our dogs before the snow starts. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Lita nodded, holding him tightly around the waist. "Let's do this."

With a flurry of noise and movement, they took off into the woods. The handler shouted, the dogs barked, trees whooshed past and Lita tried not to scream with exhilaration. All too soon it was over and they were back to where they'd started.

"Nice job," the handler smiled as Lita jumped down.

"That was awesome," Lita cheered, before blowing a kiss to the dog team. "Thanks guys. You're up, Trish. You'll love it."

"Well, it *looks* easy," Trish noted, putting on her equipment.

"It is. Just hold on," Lita advised her.

Trish climbed up onto the "sled", the handler asked if she was ready and then it was her turn to go hurtling into the woods, the dog team pulling the sled with complete ease. When she returned she jumped down and hugged her teammate. "Now that was cool."

"I know," Lita grinned.

"Here's your next clue," the handler told them, fetching it for them.

"Thank you," Trish smiled, tearing open the envelope.

"Congratulations, you have completed the fast forward. You may now go directly to Chena Hot Springs Resort, the pitstop for this leg of the race."

"Ooh, a resort," Lita grinned. "I'm thinking massage."

"Or mud baths," Trish added.

"Need a ride?"

The two women turned to see a smiling Ranger Alex.

"You bet," Trish told him. "We've got some more driving to do."

"Okay, I'll take you back to your car, then," Alex told them. "Great job out there, by the way. You're both naturals."

"Well, Lita is," Trish clarified. "She just loves dogs."

Trish and Alex glanced over their shoulders to find Lita saying goodbye and thank you to each of the dogs in turn.

". . .Goodbye, Aspen. Bye, Beluga. Goodbye, Hogan, and thank you."

Alex laughed. "So, where does this race take you now?" he asked Trish.

"Somewhere called Chena Hot Springs Resort. Do you know it?"

Alex nodded. "North of Fairbanks. After Denali, Chena Springs is one of Alaska's must-sees."

"Cool," Trish smiled. "How long does it take to get there?"

"Driving?" Alex clarified, continuing at Trish's nod. "You're looking at around four hours. Three to Fairbanks and another hour to Chena."

"Four hours," Trish repeated. "So we'll get there around two. I only hope the other teams are slower than that."

*     *     *     *

"Outta the way, you big sum'bitches," Austin called, ducking past Faarooq and Bradshaw as the doors to the Christmas store began to open.

"Snooze you lose, gentlemen," Bischoff added with a smirk.

The two of them spotted the sign for Santa Claus and sprinted for it, only to find it roped off and a sign posted there.

"Father Christmas visits with the children from 9AM daily," Bischoff read. "Damn it."

"Well, what are you waiting for, Bischoff?" Austin snapped. "Get in there and get huntin'."

All five teams were in the store, frantically searching for their Christmas balls.

"Getting our picture taken would've been a whole lot easier than this," Matt commended, turning baubles one by one to search for writing.

"I got one, Matt!" Shannon called suddenly. "Oh wait, it's just Faarooq and Bradshaw's."

"Give me that," Matt hissed.

He took the silver bauble from his MFer and looked around the store. The APA obviously hadn't heard that their bauble had been found, since they were still carefully searching.

Matt ran his fingers over it and then smiled, walking towards some trays of baubles, one of which contained ornaments that were all silver. Scooping some out, he dropped Faarooq and Bradshaw's in there, making sure it was completely covered with other baubles.

"It's not against the rules," he told Shannon. "It's still in the store. I'm just giving us some insurance while we find our own. I'm sick of being in the last few teams and I'm gonna change that right now."

Shannon nodded, before he voiced something that had been bothering him.

"Hey Matt. Where are Trish and Lita?"

Matt just shrugged. "Who cares where they are? I told Lita before that I was in this race to win it. I can't be lookin' out for her all the time."

"Yeah, but shouldn't they be here?" Shannon persisted.

"Maybe, maybe not. For all I know they could be stuck back in Anchorage. That don't matter to us. First we get to the pitstop, then we can start worrying about other teams."

"Ah, I got it!" Gail Kim cried suddenly.

Matt glared at Shannon. "See? You take your eyes off the prize for one second and look what happens. Let's keep searching."

*     *     *     *

A furious Chavo sunk his foot into his uncle's side, causing Eddie to shout out.

"Hey, Chavito, what's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Chavo cried. "What's wrong with you?" He pointed at the other person sharing Eddie's covers – Victoria. "You don't eat another man's lunch, homes, you gotta know that."

"What I know – homes –" Eddie replied loudly. "Is that I am a Guerrero. I lie, I cheat, I steal and I take back what's mine."

Chavo gave a frustrated shake of his head, turned and began to walk away.

"Hey!" Eddie shouted. "Where you think you're going, Chavo?" When Chavo didn't reply, he wriggled out of his makeshift bed and hurriedly put on his shoes. "Hey, I'm talking to you, Chavito!" he went on, before continuing in Spanish. "Chavo, you talk to me! Come back!" He raced after his nephew, catching him just as they reached their rental car. "Where you going, man?" Eddie asked desperately, grabbing for Chavo's forearms.

Chavo shook his head. "I'm out, man. If you gonna spend this race chasing a crazy girl, I don't have anything for you. If you're not doing this for la familia, then neither am I."

"Chavo, what you talking about?" Eddie cried, hooking an arm around his nephew's neck. "I've told you, man. I'm in this race. I'm doing it for us. Who did the hockey task, huh? Who put the sugar in Stephanie's gas tank? Who found our Christmas ball? It was all me, Chavito. You don't gotta worry about Latino Heat, man. I've got it all covered. Trust me. We're family. We're blood."

Chavo folded his arms. "I don't want to fight with you, Eddie. Soon as we don't get along, this race is as good as over. Just – you promise me the race comes first. Okay, bro? The race comes first."

"You got it, man," Eddie smiled, hugging Chavo tightly. "We're gonna win this. We're gonna have another million. It's all us, Chavito." He glanced at his watch. "Race starts again in an hour. I'll be there. You can count on me, vato." He began to walk away, but Chavo called him back.

"Eddie, wait. I'll do it. I'll do the roadblock. Since you did the last one, it's my turn. So if you wanna steal Steven Richards' woman, you go right ahead, homey, but you gotta be there cheering me on like I did for you, and ready to go soon as I'm done. Okay?"

"You got it," Eddie grinned. "Don't worry."

*     *     *     *

By the time 9:30 approached, Molly and Gail, Steve and Eric, and Vince and Shane had all arrived at the gold dredge; Matt and Shannon were on the road, having finished a photo session with Santa Claus, while Faarooq and Bradshaw were still frantically hunting down their bauble.

"Okay, teams!" called a voice as a figure appeared at the entrance to the gold dredge. "We are about to open the doors. All of you will need to take a tour, with one from each pair panning for gold. A normal tour lasts two hours. However, we understand how eager you are to get started, so you'll be taken almost directly to the panning area. Having said that, tours still leave hourly and we can only take five teams at once. The first five teams can come with me now. Don't rush – I can see you've made a line, so I'll take you and you, you and you, you and you, you and you, and you and you."

Jamie and Nidia, Rob and Tommy, Lance and Dawn, Kidman and Torrie, and Team Mysterio collected their backpacks and entered the gold dredge. Their guide gave them the condensed version of the tour, then led them to the panning bed. He provided a demonstration and stressed that they shouldn't drop anything but the large stones from their pan, as each allocation was guaranteed to contain at least one gold speck. Then he handed the chosen team members their pans and told them to get started.

Jamie, Rob, Lance, Rey and Torrie formed a cheer squad as their team members shook the pans, letting splashes of water out. Kidman systematically picked out the larger stones, checking them for attached gold specks before discarding them. Tommy also had a system, shaking the pan four times and then searching carefully. But it was Dawn who struck gold first.

"I've got one!" she cried, placing it on her finger, then transferring it to her tube of water. She put her pan down and handed it to the guide, who confirmed that she was successful. He gave her the next clue envelope and she ran back to Lance, took his arm and led him out of the gold dredge. They waited until they were in their car before they opened their clue.

"Without my 'H' I'm a rapping superstar, but whole I'm a resort of thermodynamic proportions – hot water in the coldest of winters, and also your pitstop for this leg of the race."

"Rapping superstar?" Lance frowned.

"John Cena!" Dawn cried triumphantly.

:"Good, Dawn, but what does the rest mean?"

Dawn shrugged. "We'll find someone to ask, even if it means heading back into town. At least the stores will be open by now."

Lance started the car and drove towards town, stopping at a gas station to fill up, get food and ask for directions. Having paid for a cache of goodies, Dawn met him back at the car.

"Chena Hot Springs, about an hour north," she ordered. "Let's go, Lance. Let's win this leg."

*     *     *     *

By 10:25, Faarooq and Bradshaw had given up on searching and had their photos taken instead. Tommy had struck gold, but the other three were still trying. The next five teams sat back to await their cue to begin.

Eddie was trying to spend time with Victoria while simultaneously avoiding both Steven and Hunter, D-Von was taking his brother through a prayer, Stacy was touching up her nail polish while Test barked at her about what a useless slut she was, and Jericho began to sing.

"Stacy's mom has got it going on, she's all I want and I've waited for so long."

Christian grinned at his partner and joined in. "Stacy can't you see, you're just not the girl for me. . ."

"Shut up!" Stacy cried. "I hate that damn song."

". . .I know it might be wrong, but I'm in love with Stacy's mom."

"Shut up," Stacy scowled.

"Hey!" Test roared as they began a verse. "No one picks on my property but me."

And then a new guide appeared.

"Next five teams, please follow me."

*     *     *     *

"I did it, Jamie!" Nidia cried. "I struck gold!"

The tour guide confirmed it and gave them their clue. They were followed  just minutes later by Kidman and Torrie, leaving just Team Mysterio at the panning area when the next five teams arrived.

*     *     *     *

"Okay, we're nearly there," Tommy announced, watching his map. "We're either first or second, depending on whether Lance and Dawn Marie worked out the clue as quick as we did."

As they drive, tiny droplets began landing on the windshield. It had started to snow.

"Snow in September," Rob commented. "It's gotta be Alaska."

"We should see a sign any second now," Tommy announced.

"Right there," Rob called, turning into a driveway. "Now we just have to look for Phil."

*     *     *     *

Phil Keoghan stood out the front of the rustic but beautiful Chena Hot Springs Resort with a pretty Inuit girl by his side, awaiting the arrival of the first team.

Two people ran towards him and leaped onto the platform.

"Welcome to Central Alaska," the girl said.

Phil cleared his throat. "Lance and Dawn Marie. Congratulations. You're team number one."

Lance broke into a smile as Dawn threw her arms around him. He seized his opportunity and kissed her full on the mouth.

He broke away, smiling at her coyly.

"Thank you, Phil. Now we go enjoy our rest."

"I bet you will, Lance," Phil agreed. "You're a very lucky man."

But he quickly had to let Lance and Dawn go. He'd just heard that they next team was arriving. They soon appeared, running quickly to the platform.

"Welcome to Central Alaska," the girl greeted them.

"Thank you," they replied.

"Rob and Tommy," Phil began. "You're team number two."

Rob shrugged at his partner. "Pretty damn good. We can always move up next leg."

Tommy nodded. "Can and will."

*     *     *     *

By the time the third group of teams reached the panning area, Team Mysterio, Eddie and Chavo, and Bubba and D-Von had found gold, while Jamie and Nidia, and Kidman and Torrie made it to the pitstop.

"You better find gold soon, bitch!" Test shouted.

"No, she shouldn't," Jericho countered. "She's giving us a nice view of that ass of hers. Come on, Christian!" he cried, before singing. "Stacy's bum has got it going on."

But Test didn't tell him to stop singing. In fact, he was agreeing.

"Yeah, it sure does. And the other side ain't so bad either. Too bad you'll never get to have it like I have."

"Hey CJ!" Christian called. "I'm all done. We're out of here."

"Bye, pop quiz," Jericho grinned at Test before turning back towards the panners. "Hey Stacy, come find me when you finally reach the pitstop. There's an injection of Vitamin C with your name on it, know what I'm saying, baby?"
Stacy rolled her eyes. "Asshole," she muttered into her pan.

"Is Jericho giving you trouble, Stacy?" Kurt Angle asked from right next to her. "I can do something about that, you know."

Stacy smiled helplessly. "Forget it, Kurt. It's more Test. He can't decide whether he wants to be my pimp, my husband or my dad. Does that make sense?"

"Hey Angle!" Benoit shouted from the sidelines. "Quit flirting and find some gold."

Kurt glanced up at Stacy. "Makes perfect sense to me. . .well, the dad part, anyway."

"What?" Christian's voice screamed.

"Sorry," the guide shrugged. "It's fools gold. I've been working here long enough to know the difference. You'll have to keep going."

"But I dumped out my pan!" Christian protested.

"Well, there's plenty of gold in  the trough itself," the guide told him. "It just might take a little longer to find."

Christian snarled. "You did that on purpose, didn't you, you son of a bitch? You just wanted to see me fail."

"Hey Christian, we going?" Jericho called.

"No," Christian replied angrily. "We're not."

"Is that it?" Stacy murmured to himself, reaching into her pan so the speck she was looking at stuck to her finger. "I think I've found it. Hey tour guide, is this gold?"

The guide took a look. "Sure is. Here's your next clue."

"Argh!" Stacy cried happily.

"Congratulations, Stacy," Kurt smiled.

"Thank you, Kurt," Stacy nodded. "And good luck – I know you'll find some soon."

"Well, gee, thanks," Kurt began, but he was cut off by his own partner.

"Kurt Angle! If you don't go back to finding gold, I'm gonna come down there and beat the hell out of you!"

*     *     *     *

"Look, Stevie!" Victoria cried as they began their drive. "It's snowing! Ice from the sky." She paused abruptly and looked over her shoulder into the backseat. "Well, sometimes it snows here in September. . ."

Steven frowned at her. "It's not *her*, is it, honey bunch?"

"No," Victoria whispered, as though she didn't want to interrupt someone else. "It's Rachel."

"Oh, sweet little Rachel," Steven smiled. "I think I like her best. Say hi for me."

Victoria nodded, although she was concentrating on something else.

"Because I know it," she said out loud. "Eddie told me."

Steven slammed down on the brake, receiving an angry horn blast as the car behind them rushed by.

When Steven turned to Victoria his face was crimson.

"I'm sick of Eddie Guerrero!" he roared. "You say he caused all your problems but now you're hanging around him, talking about him all the time."

"No, Stevie, I was wrong," Victoria told him. "Eddie didn't make things turn bad – he made me feel better. He's helped us so many times – don't you understand, Stevie? Eddie's not bad. He isn't trying to hurt us. He's trying to help us."

"But honey," Steven muttered through clenched teeth before letting out a sigh. "What does Rachel have to say about Eddie?"

"I don't know," Victoria replied testily. "You scared her away. Don't you see, Stevie?" She stared wistfully out the window. "Where are we? Without Eddie, we're lost."

"We're not lost," Steven snapped. "We just don't know where we're going."

"I know where I'm going," Victoria stated firmly, opening the door. "I'm going to find Eddie."

She let herself out of the car and began walking into the centre of the road. Snow was still lightly falling and she shivered despite her thick jacket as tiny snowflakes melted on the tip of her nose.

Steven sounded the horn. Beep! "Victoria!" Beep!

But suddenly he had more to worry about than calling her back to the car. A semi-trailer had come into view and it was headed straight for Victoria.

Victoria stood her ground, staring down the huge vehicle even as its air horn shattered the silence. Honk! Honk! She didn't move.

Steven gave an anguished cry as the truck began braking. It surely couldn't stop in time and if it did, it was likely to jackknife and slam into her anyway. He scrunched his eyes closed and waited, but when he finally dared to look, Victoria was still standing there with the truck now stopped, less than a foot away.

The truck driver shouted at her and again sounded his air horn, but even that didn't faze Victoria, who simply stood and stared. Finally, the driver climbed down.

"What's wrong with you, lady? You don't play chicken with a semi."

Victoria turned to him as though only just realizing he was there. "I wanted you to stop."

"Well, congratulations. I stopped. Now, can you move out the way so I can get started again?"

Victoria's reply was to hold up the object she'd taken with her and hand it to the driver. Only then did she speak.

"Do you know what this means?"

The driver skimmed over it before reading more carefully.

"Well, I like rock and roll more than rap, but I think the second part's talking about the hot springs – that's if it's something around Fairbanks. You're headed the right way – forty-five or fifty minutes should get you there."

"Thank you," Victoria nodded.
"You're welcome. But honey, stay off the road, okay? The next guy might not stop in time."

*     *     *     *

"Was that the psychos?" Test laughed as he and Stacy zoomed past. "What'd they do? Hit that semi? I sure as hell wouldn't trust either of them behind the wheel."

"Would you keep your eyes on the road?" Stacy asked irritably.

"Sure, if you keep your damn mouth shut," Test snapped.

"If I'd kept my mouth shut you'd still be trying to work out our clue," Stacy told him. "I was the one who said it meant John Cena."

"And how you work that out so damn fast anyway, huh?" Test asked angrily. "Are you screwing that Slim Shady wannabe?"

"Well, he is pretty cute," Stacy smiled. "But no. And anyway, even if I was, why should it worry you? You and me are over. We're beyond over. We're why the hell did that ever happen?"

"I'm just trying to show the world what a huge slut you are," Test told her. "I mean, just in the last two and a half days, look who you've hit on – Phil, that French guy at the circus, Stone Cold, Santa Claus, goddamn Kurt Angle! Face it, Stacy, you're a slut. I bet when we had that delay at the airport and I went to get food, you were down Kurt Angle's pants quicker than he can say 'it's true'. Admit it, Stacy. You're screwing that dork Angle, aren't you?"

"No," Stacy replied, before smiling wistfully. "Well, not yet, anyway. I mean he is something you'll never be and that's a real life Olympic champion, not to mention a multi time WWE champion."

"Yeah?" Test snapped. "That's just to cover for the fact that he's got a tiny dick."

"Well, I don't know about that," Stacy admitted. "But I am willing to do the research."

*     *     *     *

"Team Mysterio, you're team number five."

"Dudley Boyz, you're team number six."

"Eddie and Chavo, you're the seventh team to arrive," Phil began. "However, your sabotage of another team's vehicle constitutes cheating and you are being given a time penalty of one hour."

"What?" Eddie cried. "But Stephanie tried to run down Victoria!"

Phil nodded. "We've reviewed that situation and decided that it too merits a time penalty. However, considering that it had less impact on the race itself, Stephanie and Hunter will receive the lesser penalty of thirty minutes. The good news for your team is that Stephanie and Hunter fail to arrive here within the next thirty minutes, you're safe. Good luck and remember – in this race, it doesn't pay to cheat."

*     *     *     *

"Which just goes to show," Rosey continued. "A fool and his gold are easily parted."

Jericho glowered at him. "Want me to knock you on your big fat ass? That mistake could've happened to anyone."

"Not to my teammate," Hunter commented. "When it comes to gold, no one can tell the difference between real and fake like Stephanie."

"Funny you should say that, Triple H," Jericho muttered, beginning to regain his smirk. "'Cause when it comes to boobs, there's no better chest to point out the difference between real and fake like Stephanie's."

"Okay, CJ, got it for real this time," Christian announced, holding up the clue.

"Tremendous," Jericho grinned. "Hunter – to you and Stephanie, as always, breast of luck. Let's get outta here, Christian."

Their departure left just Rosey and Hurricane, Gail and Molly and Vince and Shane frantically panning for gold, with the final teams to join them in minutes. Each minute longer raised the stakes some more.

*     *     *     *

"Well, hey there, baby," Test grinned at the Inuit girl as he and Stacy made it to the platform.

"Welcome to Central Alaska," she replied calmly.

"Thank you, beautiful," Test nodded. "Maybe you can welcome me to Lower Alaska a little later on."

Stacy gave him a hard shove as Phil cleared his throat.

"Test and Stacy, you're the eighth team to arrive. However, due to a penalty given to the Guerreros, your ranking will change. Congratulations. You're team number seven."

"Alright, number seven," Test smiled, eyeing the Inuit girl again. "Some people say that's a lucky number. Maybe you could help me get lucky a little later on, huh?"

*     *     *     *

"Victoria and Steven, you're team number eight."

"Kurt and Chris, you're team number nine."

"Chris and Christian, you're team number ten."

One by one, as teams reached the pitstop, other teams found gold – Stephanie, then Hurricane, then Molly, Shane McMahon and Eric Bischoff.

Just as Chris and Christian departed the platform to begin their rest period, Phil summoned Eddie and Chavo. Their penalty was almost over.

"So, Eddie, Chavo, have you learned anything from this experience?" Phil asked them.

"Yeah, vato, we learned a lot," Eddie nodded.

"A whole lot," Chavo agreed.

"For example," Eddie began. "We learned that if we wanna lie, cheat or steal, we gotta be more sneaky about it, you know?"

"Yeah, we gotta do it when the camera's not watching us," Chavo added.

"Uh, you guys know the cameras are always watching?" Phil asked them.

"Aw man, it's like Big Brother or something," Eddie moaned.

"And he should know," Chavo stated. "He's got a lot of big brothers."

"Yeah, I do – muchos hermanos," Eddie confirmed. "Hector, Mondo. . ."

"There he is!" shouted a voice. "Eddie Guerrero, we're gonna get you!"

"Man, I gotta go," Eddie stated hurriedly. "Victoria – she's waiting for me. Luego, Phil. Come on, Chavito – vamos!"

Phil turned to the person who'd shouted.

"Welcome to Central Alaska," the girl announced.

"Hunter and Stephanie," Phil began. "You're the twelfth team to arrive. However, due to your dangerous driving and damage to property at one of the check points, we will have to penalize you by half an hour. If the remaining teams arrive within thirty minutes, you're out of the race."

*     *     *     *

Just as Hurricane and Rosey were announced as the official team number twelve, the last two teams at the gold dredge struck gold within minutes of each other, and Molly and Gail pulled up at Chena Hot Springs Resort.

"This is it, Gail," Molly announced solemnly. "We might not be first, but we're so far ahead of Trish and Lita and that's what it's all about."

They ran on, soon spotting the platform and its red and yellow flags.

"What?" Gail cried. "It can't be."

Phil smiled at the two people in front of him. "Trish and Lita, you're team number thirteen."

"I don't believe it," Molly scowled.

Trish heard the voice and glanced over her shoulder. "Hi girls. Glad you could make it."

"Next leg, Trish Stratus," Molly spat. "Next leg."

And it was up to Phil and his offsider to diffuse the situation.

"Welcome to Central Alaska."

"Molly and Gail. You're team number fourteen."

*     *     *     *

Phil called for Hunter and Stephanie to let them know that they were still in the race – as team fifteen. He didn't have much longer to wait for team sixteen.

Having pulled up in the parking lot at exactly the same time, Bischoff, Austin, Shane and Vince all jostled for position. While they knew they weren't last, every minute was important and when you combined that with the large egos of each man  the stakes were higher still.

They were neck and neck. . .until Austin ran up beside Vince and gave him a shove, sending him stumbling and giving Austin and Bischoff the start they needed.

"Take that, you sum'bitch," Austin muttered as he and Bischoff made it to the platform.

"Welcome to Central Alaska."

"Steve and Eric, you're team number sixteen."

"Vince and Shane, you're team number seventeen."

There were just two teams yet to arrive. One of them would still be in the race – the other would be eliminated.

*     *     *     *

"Uh, Matt, I think you just drove past it," Shannon stated tentatively.

Matt didn't hear him. He was too busy singing along loudly to the music on the stereo.

"Matt!" Shannon cried when it became clear that Matt wasn't stopping. "Matt!"

"Yeah, Shan, what?" Matt asked over the music.

Finally, Shannon reached down to mute the stereo. "We missed where we're supposed to turn like a mile back. I tried to tell you but the music was too loud and you were driving so fast. . ."

"I always drive fast, you know that," Matt snapped, bringing the car to a halt. "A mile back, you said? No problem. We'll be there in no time. Just speak up a little louder when you see it, okay?"

*     *     *     *

Faarooq and Bradshaw pulled into the parking lot, found a space and hurriedly left their car.

"Well, this is it, brother," Bradshaw sighed, shouldering his backpack and breaking into a run.

"You think we're last?" Faarooq asked him.

"I dunno," Bradshaw shrugged. "If we are, then I'm a little pissed to be done so quick, but it's sure as hell been a kickass ride."

"You bet it has," Faarooq agreed.

*     *     *     *

The penultimate team reached the platform and the Inuit girl smiled at both members.

"Welcome to Central Alaska."

"Thank you," the shorter man smiled back, but the eyes of his partner were trained on Phil.

"What's the verdict?"

Phil also broke into a smile. "Matt and Shannon. You're team numbed eighteen. You're still in the race."

"See, Shannon?" Matt gloated. "What did I tell you? V1 is always gonna be number one!"

"We're not number one," Shannon argued. "In fact, as soon as this leg's over, we'll be dead last."

And Matt rewarded Shannon's astuteness with a clip across the ear.

"Outta the way you two little pissants," Bradshaw ordered as he and Faarooq arrived.

Matt smirked and turned to Phil. "Do you wanna tell them, or should I?"

"Actually," Phil replied. "I'd prefer if you and Shannon went into the resort and caught up with the other teams. For instance, you might like to know that Lita and Trish are currently thirteenth."

"What?" Matt cried. "The girls? How?"

"Well, at least now Lita might not kick your ass for shoving her out of our cab," Shannon announced.

"Uh no, man. You don't know Lita like I do."

He and Shannon walked off, plotting ways they could avoid the two divas, and allowing Phil to focus his full attention on the APA.

"Faarooq and Bradshaw. You're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to say you've both been eliminated from the race."

Bradshaw turned to his partner with a shrug. "When we took the wrong turn in Montréal we knew we'd be in trouble. It shows you one mistake can screw you every time. Guess will go find us some beers and toast the lucky bastards who manage to win this thing."

"Last on the second part of the race," Faarooq mused. "Damn."

On the next Amazing Race: Alliances have formed, friendships have splintered. Will Los Guerreros and Victoria and Steven manage to work together, or will greed and jealousy be the end of their alliance? And as two teams try to top the girl power of Trish and Lita, will either be successful? One team will be eliminated – who will it be? Find out next time.

A/N: Thanks for reading, guys. I'll try to make the next one shorter, but I'm at the mercy of my muses, who can be very demanding. I started this chapter with the Eddie/Victoria thing planned – never guessing that my Stacy and Kurt muses would develop a thing for one another (and I don't even like Stacy!). So yeah, the team that's eliminated will tend to be the one I can't think of stuff for, but I will be swayed by public opinion – so if there's a team you don't want eliminated yet, let me know. Please review – it makes my muses smile :-)