Timber!!
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It was 3.20 in the evening and the first train had arrived at the Eastern Timber Station. Quistis and Xu stepped down from the train and spotted a brown box with yellow stripes hanging on a pole right in front of the station. The three teams raced for the box. Quistis opened it first and pulled out an envelope.
"Search for this person in this picture," the clue read, followed by a picture of a man standing in front of an arch.
"Oh I know, I know!" Rinoa said in excitement, as she used to live in Timber,
"This is taken at the Shopping District, the entrance arch!"
"Shh, don't be so loud!" Squall said softly.
"Hey Rinoa said we should be heading to the shopping district," Daniel and Rachel started running just after Rinoa spilled the beans.
"Great job, honey," Squall teased nastily. Without hesitation, they jogged towards the nearby taxi stand.
***
The underwater scenery soon turned into a dark tunnel and then surfaced into the plains of Timber. From afar, Zell and Irvine could see the view of the terminal city enlarging. Dr. Kadowaki, Matron, Nida and Shelley slung their heavy backpacks over their shoulder and waited at the coach exit impatiently, while Seifer, Fujin and Raijin shook their legs at the lounge with Selphie glued to the window.
"Timber is so much advanced now since I first came here," Selphie said thoughtfully.
The train screeched and sparks were produced from the metal wheels as it braked at the eastern station. The teams flew out of the coach as the door flung open. Jack and King, who had just got rid the foul odoured Catchapillar slime from their body, were the fourth team to claim the clue.
"Find this person in the picture. OK," King tucked the clue into his utility belt and the both of them headed for the taxi circling the nearby square.
"Taxi!!" the both of them shouted, causing the taxi to halt beside them. The both of them budged into the tiny yellow cab. "Take us to this place, please!"
Jack requested, waving the photo in front of the driver. The driver nodded and he taxi began to hum.
Dr. Kadowaki and Matron, Zell and Irvine, Seifer and Selphie and Fujin and Raijin were waiting nervously at the taxi stand.
"Oh my goodness. It has been ten minutes and not a single cab showed up!" Dr. Kadowaki exclaimed.
"Hey where's the taxi?" Zell cried, punching in the air trying to clear his nervousness. Subsequently, a taxicab arrived at the stand.
"Hey, wanna play rock-paper-scissors to see who gets the taxi?" Selphie suggested. However, Zell, Seifer and Fujin started a commotion.
"Hey cut it out," Dr. Kadowaki said, trying to break the fight.
"Rock-paper-scissors!!" Selphie insisted, but the three people were still arguing.
"Kadowaki, the cab's ours!" Matron yelled. Dr. Kadowaki then walked to the taxi immediately and squeezed her fat body into the taxi.
"I feel sorry for them. We should've waited there to break the kids," Dr. Kadowaki sighed as the driver began to sound the accelerator. Consequently, the three people who were supposed to be quarreling were now rapping snidely at the taxi's window.
"%&$&%^*% Matron I thought we're allies!" Zell yelled with a voice, which penetrated through the glass.
Matron lowered the window. "Don't worry we'll try to arrange cabs for you all." Within minutes, the taxi sped off leaving the three teams disappointed.
"Can we play rock-paper-scissors to see who gets the next cabbie?" Selphie said cheerfully. Only Irvine and Raijin stretched out their hands.
***
Among the tall skyscrapers of Timber lies one of the oldest monuments in Timber is the Timber Television Station. Not far from the building was a giant television screen, the station's most prized asset. Showing on the screen were mostly advertisements of beautiful women, sports cars and Galbadian propaganda. In studio ten of the station was a screen divided into nine sections. The top left section showed Squall and Rinoa fighting and quarreling in their cab heading for the route marker. And then the bottom screens showed Selphie, Irvine and Raijin playing rock-paper-scissors while Seifer jeered 'chicken-wuss' at Zell. And then on the middle screen a scene where Quistis throwing an apple at the Trepies' window who were beside theirs was shown.
"Cheating, misunderstanding, desperation, agony, stress, fights, quarrels... This is what's all about that makes this program groundbreaking people," Alex Axel said confidently to the tens of reporters and journalists from around the world during the press conference of producing the new reality series.
"Mr. Kramer," a reporter from an Estharian entertainment magazine company began, pointing his pen towards the unhappy looking Balamb Garden headmaster, "As host of the game show, do you think that viewers will dig in into it?"
Cid Kramer rose up from his seat and cleared his throat. "As far as I'm concerned the trend of television viewing is watching people doing crazy and stupid things. This show has those elements, except that it provides a larger point of view not only of the relationship between team members and teams but also the places and cultures that many people might've never seen before. In short, this show is both suspensefully engaging and educational."
Cid then turned to Mr. Axel who was smiling, answering more questions. "I gotta go to the pit stop to meet the last team to arrive," he whispered at Axel who just nodded. Cid quickly left the studio.
***
Quistis and Xu were the first team to arrive at the bustling and crowded streets of the shopping district. Quistis spotted the arch draped in a blue and yellow banner after she surfaced from the cab.
"Xu, let's go!" she said to Xu who was arguing with the driver.
"The last time I came here, a ten minute trip only cost 10 gil and now you're charging 20 times the amount of money!" Xu rebuked, but the driver was persistent enough to say "Drop the money or I'll call the cops" casually. In no time, the driver pulled out a gun from the glove compartment at pointed it at Xu.
"You asked for it honey," Xu then lifted her leg from below and kicked the driver's hand and the fake gun dropped uselessly onto the floor. The driver staggered and took the 10-gil bill from Xu. Presently, Daniel and Rachel and Squall and Rinoa arrived at the street where Quistis and Xu were stuck.
"Oh my god, the others are here!" Quistis exclaimed as she spotted the two cabs with the two recognizable teams in them. "We've just wasted a good deal of time Xu."
"Yeah, coming out," Xu said as she surfaced from the car. At once, the three teams made a mad dash blasting through the sidewalks teeming with shoppers and music fans heading to Timber Stadium for a concert. Rinoa found the person they were supposed to look for, who was sitting on a bench and she asked for the clue politely.
"Squally honey, I've got the clue!" Rinoa shouted at Squall who was drowning in a river of people. Rinoa ripped the envelope and read, "Book for a mystery charter bus ride at Timber Hotel." Rinoa spun around to look for Squall. She only saw Daniel and Rachel asking the man for the envelope. Then, Rinoa dodged traffic to get to the other side of the street. All she found was a confused looking Xu.
"Xu, have you seen Squall around?" Rinoa asked frantically.
"Nope. Quistis' gone too," Xu replied. Xu then quickly jaywalked to the other side. Where can Squall possibly be? She thought anxiously.
"Squall! Where are you!"
***
"I think we have a good chance to claim the fast forward pass," Shelley said to Nida who was concentrating heavily on the Timber cityscape. "I don't think the leading teams would take it anyway. What do you think?"
"Hmm..." Nida arched forward to see Jack and King's cab stopping before the traffic lights in front of them, "How do you get the pass?"
"It says here we should go to Timber Maniacs and look for it in a pile of magazines," Shelley said, reading the instructions on a green piece of paper.
"Then let's go for it," Nida said releasing a short breath. "Driver, take us to Timber Maniacs please," Nida requested, followed by a nod of the head of the driver. The driver then diverted the car to the right junction. Jack looked from behind the seat to see Nida and Shelley turning the other way.
"Shit, did they spot a shortcut or were they just plain crazy?" Jack exclaimed. "Hey buddy, what do you think?"
"We'll follow them cuz they're smart," King said, arching his body forward. "Hey cabbie, can you follow that taxi over there?"
The driver then drove forward after the lights turned green and turned to the left junction trailing Nida and Shelley's taxi.
"Shoot, Jack and King have changed their minds to get the fast forward pass I guess," Nida said as he looked at the front view mirror. "Drive faster! I'll pay extra 15 gil if you could do that," Nida ordered, waving a 15-gil bill back and forth. Like a burst of energy, the car screeched and accelerated, overtaking the slower cars in front of them.
"Dammit, they're trying to lose us," King waved a twenty at the mirror causing the car to accelerate. "Don't lose that cab!"
***
Squall's black T-shirt and jeans was tugged and pulled by the pedestrians as he inched closer and closer the route marker, but was bumped back to square one by the crowd heading for the opposite direction. Squall bounced backwards until he bumped onto someone's chest. It was Quistis.
"Are you alright, Squall?" Quistis said, hugging him around his torso.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Squall said, "This street sucks."
"Let's get through this together okay?" Quistis said. With full might they both battled against the raging current. Finally, both of them surfaced from the crowd. The worry on Rinoa's face soon turned into relief.
"Squall, I was so worried!" Rinoa said, rejoicing Squall with a kiss. Xu was also relieved to see Quistis again.
Presently, Matron and Dr. Kadowaki had reached the shopping district and were pretty shocked at the overcrowded sidewalks.
"Oh my goodness, what's going on?" Matron asked herself, "Can you take us directly to that arch?" The car continued towards the archway. Matron stepped out leaving Dr. Kadowaki to a standby in the taxi. Matron took the clue and hopped back into the car. Meanwhile, Zell and Irvine, Seifer and Selphie and Fujin and Raijin entered the chaotic area.
"What the ^%^*%*&! Metalhead is in Timber!?!?" Zell exclaimed excitedly as he noticed people wearing Metalhead T-shirts marching towards the stadium with banners and picket signs. The large television screen and several billboards also advertised the concert and it made Zell enthusiastic about it.
"Oh so that's why it's so crowded unlike the usual days," Irvine said behind his cowboy hat.
"You don't understand, I crave for Metalhead, and their hit 'Freeway Ultrastar' is outta this world!!" Zell began to jump up and down. "It makes me wanna join the crowd dude.
Irvine tilted his hat until his face was revealed, then slapping on his forehead. "Driver, get us to that flag immediately before this dude rock your car to smithereens," he urged. Zell just flung himself to a resting position, grumbling "I rather lose a million gil than not watching Metalhead live" to himself.
"Ooh, Metalhead, that band are made of psychopaths," Selphie spat in dislike of the band, "I hate 'Freeway Ultrastar', it is 'super-duper-mega-suckingly-bad'! Don't you think so?"
Seifer pressed his nose against the window trying not to pay attention to Selphie's banter. He was so pissed at her when she insulted his all time favourite song. Oh my goodness, Seifer has the same interest as Zell? That is unbelievable!
"You know there weren't many people like what you see now during the Galbadian occupation. In fact it was totally overrun by soldiers so we had to encounter a lot of them during our first SeeD mission!" Selphie said proudly. "And we surely whipped a lot of them!"
"Just shut up you bitch," Seifer voiced softly.
"Ugh, Metalhead. They suck ya know," Raijin commented, which gave him a kick on the ankle by Fujin.
"THEY DON'T SUCK!" Fujin protested. "Metalhead is all about self-liberation and freedom of voicing out your rage and anger! I once wished that I could just drive a monster truck and crushing twenty cars in a row in the freeway just like in 'Freeway Ultrastar'!"
"Ya don't have to sound that harsh Fujin honey," Raijin said, rubbing his ankle. "That's not ladylike."
"IMBECILE!" Fujin stepped forcefully on Raijin's big toe causing Raijin to squirm in pain.
***
Nida and Shelley stopped their car in front of the Timber Maniacs building and crawled out of the car after paying. They quickly entered the main gate of the building just as Jack and King spotted them.
"What the heck they're doing in there?" Jack wondered. The both of them halted the car and exited the vehicle after paying. Then they entered the building finding the ship-steerers scrambling through the tied-up piles of old magazines littered throughout the compound.
"Shoot, they're here," Nida whispered while looking through the pile at the lobby.
"Hey, let's look for what they're looking for," Jack suggested, running to the office with King. Then, Nida and Shelley quickened their search for the pass. Jack and King browsed around the office with the staff staring at them during their work. King found a pile of really old magazines with a paper that looked like a route-info sticking out. He yanked the paper and managed to pull it out like a dentist pulling out someone's rotten tooth.
"Hey Jack, I found something!" Jack heard his buddy's voice and approached him.
"Congratulations, you have found your well-deserved fast forward pass! Now head to the pit stop (without doing any other tasks): The summit of the Gazing Mountain."
"What's a fast forward?" Jack wondered in puzzlement.
"Who cares? The goddamn paper told us to go to the pit stop," King exclaimed. The team then exited the office to see Nida and Shelley perspiring, looking for the pass.
"Haha! We've got your pass," Jack teased in a singsong voice. Nida gave a hard punch on the marble floor in wrath.
***
Squall flung his weary self to the couch at the hotel lounge as Rinoa was booking for the mystery ride.
"Hey Squall," Quistis said as she began to sit on the armchair next to Squall. She folded her hands and laid them on her crossed legs looking like a lady although she was wearing a white sleeveless top and jeans.
"Whatever," Squall said to himself as usual. "What are you gonna do, lecture me on how to avoid being eliminated?"
"No, I'm just going to baby-sit you so that you'll not get into trouble like this evening," Quistis said sarcastically, making Squall laughing like a fool. He did not get her saying at all. Quistis felt a soft touch on her shoulder. It was Rinoa's. She turned around until they made eye contact.
Rinoa waved her finger back and forth. "My seat Quisty."
Quistis stood up from the chair effortlessly. As she passed by the weary-looking Squall she whispered, "I don't want to lose you in this race." Rinoa quickly sat by Squall just as Quistis joined the Trepies, who were overjoyed having her acquaintance.
"Squall," Rinoa said to her exhausted boyfriend. Her hair fluttered freely by the blast of cold air. "We'll be leaving tonight at 8 okay?" Rinoa laid her head onto Squall's broad shoulder and closed her eyes. Quistis then turned to see the couples relaxing together intimately. Immediately, her complexion started to turn green with envy.
"Instructor, you're green!" Rachel gasped. Quistis' face then turned into the usual healthy colour.
"Nothing," Quistis sighed. "Let's talk on."
***
Irvine had just booked the second bus, which will depart tonight at nine. Zell looked at the clock shaking in anticipation.
"What the heck, the concert will start any moment!!" Zell said, readying his feet to dash for the exit. Irvine tugged him by the collar.
"Uh uh, buddy, you're not getting anywhere," Irvine turned to the man behind the counter, "Book us one single room please."
"That will be 100 gil sir." Irvine happily paid the money and dragged him to the elevator.
After a few minutes, Selphie and Seifer entered the hotel silently. Selphie pondered at the toy train, which was revolving around the never-ending track, while Seifer was booking the bus ride.
"What do you mean there are no more seats for the 9 o' clock bus?" Seifer complained. "I need to book seats for friends on the same bus."
"Sir, please understand that our buses can only contain six people," the manager reasoned to the unsatisfied Seifer. "Miss, please don't touch that. NOOOOO!!!"
It was too late to save anything. The train tipped over the track after Selphie playfully touched it and fell to the ground with a crash.
"Oops. I didn't mean it, really!" Selphie wailed at the angry manager. Seifer slapped on his forehead, saying, "She's nothing but trouble," to himself. He pressed 200-gil bills on the counter to pay for the ride as well as for the toy train. He then angrily strode to the elevator, but presently a boom gate fell in front of him.
"Gatey would be angry at you if you do not pay at the counter," a recorded message played from the gate. Seifer peeked at his wallet and found that he had only a 10-gil note left, which was enough to buy tuna sandwiches for Selphie and himself. Seifer suddenly felt arms hugging around his torso warmly and he turned his head to see Selphie resting her head on Seifer's back.
"Seifer I'm really sorry to break the hotel's train," Selphie looked back with innocent eyes. Seifer shook his body fiercely and forced Selphie to one side.
"You are a jinx you bitch!" Seifer said nastily. He stomped his foot firmly on the ground and headed in irritation to the lounge, leaving the spellbound Selphie at the reception counter. Subsequently, Irvine stepped out of the elevator to see Selphie in tears.
"What's wrong honey?" Irvine neared Selphie and laid her hand on her shoulder.
"Seifer hates me!" Selphie cried. She wiped of the tears and turned to Irvine. "Where have you been?"
"I had to lock Zell up in the room cuz he's havin' the Metalhead fever," Irvine explained briefly, "Come, I'll treat you to some ice-cream. I know a shop here that sells the best vanilla ice!"
Selphie smiled as they walked to the exit. Presently, Fujin and Raijin arose from the entrance and bumped on Irvine on the shoulder in an unfriendly manner.
"CRETIN," Fujin hissed at Irvine who was singing the ice-cream song to Selphie. "PATHETIC."
"Hmm... ice-cream sounds so good that I want to eat some to relax my aching muscles," Raijin said stretching his back. Fujin approached the reception counter.
"BUS RIDE. BOOK," Fujin said. The receptionist signed them up for the 10 o'clock bus ride.
"Oh dear, I'm afraid you've just missed the second ride," she said briefly.
"SCREWED US UP. WHO?" Fujin said matter-of-factly.
"You mean who booked the last seat for the second ride?" the girl scrolled through the list on the computer screen. "Third team on the 9 o'clock bus is... Selphie Tilmitt and Seifer."
Fujin stomped on the floor angrily. "RAGE! SEIFER, WHERE?" The girl pointed to the lounge and without hesitation Fujin strode to the lounge with Raijin tagging along.
"SEIFER!!!" Fujin's voice echoed through the lounge. "YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!"
"What's wrong?" Seifer rose up from the couch in a sleepy but snide voice. "Ut oh, Fujin I can explain."
"I thought we were allies," Fujin said with tears building up in her eyelids, now feeling the verge of possible elimination. Seifer quickly stood up to match height with Fujin and punched her in the stomach. Fujin squirmed and fell to the ground unconscious. Raijin was admiring the grand domed shape ceiling of the lounge until he spotted Fujin lying on the ground in front of Seifer.
"Hey buddy, what did you just do?" Raijin asked.
"Just say that I'm doing for Fujin's own good. Tell her that I'll plan on something to avoid you two from placing last at the pit stop," he sneered.
***
The sun had completely hid itself behind the Timber Mountains and left the world in darkness. Timber was then alit with lights making it look like a light bulb from above. In front of the Timber Hotel, Squall and Rinoa were waiting for their bus along with the instructors and the Trepies, admiring the colourful city lights.
"Timber has been more colourful lately than at the time when I stayed here as a member of the Forest Owls," Rinoa commented thoughtfully. Presently, a tiny white bus stopped in front of the pack, pressing the brakes hardly until they screeched. The pack lined up eagerly as they waited for the door to open like a book. Squall and Rinoa entered the bus first and chucked their backpacks in an opening at the top of their seats. Quistis and Xu did the same thing and rested easily in their seats. Rachel then argued with Daniel who was sitting behind Quistis. In a few moments, the door closed on them and the bus started moving, heading to the Timber expressway.
Meanwhile, at a restaurant situated on the same street as the Timber Hotel, Selphie joined Irvine, Dr. Kadowaki and Matron for dinner and a friendly chat. Instantly, the words Seifer snidely said to Selphie were erased from dominating her mind and her frown turned into a cheery smile. Seifer was happy enough to be given a treat at the Timber Burger Palace by Fujin and Raijin. Fujin stared at Seifer, who was munching his cheeseburger, sternly.
"QUESTION," she started. "How can you guarantee us that we'll not be eliminated."
"Don't worry," Seifer mumbled with his mouth full. He gulped all the food that had been in his mouth down to the throat. "Once I know what the next task will be, I'll plan on something that will ensure that both of you will not be eliminate. I'll also make sure that Selphie will never spot the cheat," his voice started to turn aggravating. "She has been a bloody pain in the ass."
"You know what, teaming up with Seifer hasn't been bad at all," Selphie said. Irvine sprayed his drink on the table after he listened to Selphie. "Zell will be furious to hear that."
"Anyway, are you going to lock him in a hotel room from now on?" Selphie asked, picturing Zell as a muskrat caged up in a hamster playpen.
"Depends," Irvine said while sipping his pina colada. "Luckily the Metalhead concert is aired on TV so he'll like stuck his nose on the screen for a long time."
"Poor Zell," Dr. Kadowaki said sarcastically, causing the whole table to laugh.
***
After a few hours driving through the rocky roads of the Timber Mountains, Jack and King finally reached the town of Bluerock Cliffs and above it was the summit of the Gazing Mountain. Jack stepped down from the bus in vertigo and began to throw up. King rushed to check his buddy, who had just finished puking and came to his senses. Jack and King rode the gondola to the summit, which was roughly a 10-minute journey.
"This place is cool," Jack said with vapor released from the mouth, while looking at the marvel of the Timber Mountain Range, which had interesting rock formations either made up of sharp rock jutting out of the mountain or formed by years of erosion. "And darn cold too." King saw mountain goats grazing in the mountains and clapped his hands in excitement and awe, since he had a liking to wildlife. But then when Geezards appeared and started chasing the herd away with, he started to sniffle in disappointment.
Jack and King stepped down from the gondola and then, rode a taxi to the highest point of the highland. As they spotted a blue and yellow route marker stuck on a railing at the summit viewpoint, adrenaline pumped into their veins and they sprung into action by running to the mat, embroidered with the map of the whole world, and stepped onto it in unison.
"Welcome to the Gazing Mountain," a man wearing traditional Timber mountain clothing said and presented them a view of the city of Timber which flashed like a giant light bulb in the meadows of Galbadia continent.
"Jack and King," the two card players turned to Cid standing in front of them in anticipation. "You're team number one."
"Woohoo!!" Jack shouted excitedly with his buddy.
"We love this race!" King exclaimed, as they gazed on at the beautiful flashy lights of Timber in front of them.
***
The view of the city dwindled as the bus moved nearer and nearer towards the Timber Mountains. The expressway soon turned into a series of winding country roads and bumpy and treacherous mountain trails. The surrounding darkness scared Daniel out of his socks. It had been a three-hour journey and it made Rinoa yawned in boredom. She squeezed into her tight blue sweater as the air was getting colder. Squall's ear began to be deaf as the bus moved to higher altitude.
"We're almost there!" Rachel said in excitement after passing by the 'Welcome to Timber Mountains: the only place where extreme sports go 24 hours and 365 days a year!' sign. After another hour, the bus stopped at the town of Bluerock Cliffs, which was not as bright as compared to the city when nightfall. A clue box was soon spotted under a lonely light post after the teams stepped down from the bus in their winter clothes.
"Hey, the clue!" Rachel and Daniel raced to the box and opened it.
"Detour," Rachel and Daniel said as they read the contents of the envelope. "Slow Climb Up or Fast Slide Down."
"Slow Climb Up. Head to the nearby Bluerock Cliff and climb to the crevice about 30 feet from the ground to get the next route marker. Fast Slide Down. Take a taxi to Station 3 at the Timber Mountain Slopes and slide down the hill to the next route marker." The clue read.
"Rinoa, are you okay to propel up a cliff?" Squall asked, which was replied with a thumb up. Squall and Rinoa ran to the cliff, which was only a hundred yards away, while Quistis and Xu waited for a taxi, but soon changed their minds to go for the other task instead.
Rachel was the first person to put on her climbing gear as she nervously looked up at the steep cliff.
"This is scary!" Rachel said, hiding her head in Daniel's chest. "I've cliff-hanged before but climbing a cliff at night with dim lights shining is really scary." Rachel eased herself and fixed her foot on the rock and she began to climb steadily. Her experience served her well by reaching to the route marker in no time at all. She snapped the safety ropes off her and entered the dark but lightened cave to pick up the red envelope lying behind some rocks.
"Congratulations you have conquered perhaps your greatest fear. Head to the pit stop: The summit of the Gazing Mountain," she read out loud while looking at the summit of Gazing Mountain. Then she looked down seeing Daniel shivering in fear and struggling to fix a good grip on the rocks, while Squall was already halfway up to the crevice.
"Daniel, you can do it!" Rachel waved at Daniel, "Just don't look below!"
"Okay," Daniel said nervously. He finally got his footing and began to climb a quarter of the journey. Daniel was glad, but then suddenly his foot rubbed on a loose rock and he began to get unstable.
"Daniel!" Rachel wailed.
***
Zell stealthily fixed earplugs onto Irvine's ear when he was napping in his seat. The cacophony of musical instruments and men screaming rang loudly in Irvine's ear. Irvine suddenly woke up and pulled off the earplugs connected to Zell's Walkman in a nasty mood.
"Was that Metalhead, pardner?" Irvine began, sounding a little edgy and pointing his finger on Zell who was nodding at the music of his all time favourite band. "Your freakazoid band gives me the creeps ya know."
"Who cares?" Zell retaliated. "You could've let me join the concert."
"We don't have the money Zell," Irvine tried to reason. Zell then plugged a cable to the bus' stereo system and the song 'Freeway Ultrastar' blared noisily.
"Zell stop it!" Selphie screamed plugging her ears with her hands.
"That's for giving me cold Jambalaya for dinner you S.O.B. cowboy," Zell jeered.
"Hey I kinda like your taste in music boy," the driver said nodded his head to the rhythm.
"Ugh, stop it!" Irvine pleaded. "I promise I won't lock you up in a hotel again." But Zell tuned up the volume until everyone was on the bus was plugging their ears tightly in irritation, except for Seifer and the driver, who were greatly influenced to the beat by shaking their heads.
"Okay, okay!" Irvine began to position himself on all fours on the floor and crawling to Zell purring like a cat. "Meow! I'll also buy you Deling City hotdogs when we might get there!" He added pathetically.
"Good cat," Zell then rubbed his fist on Irvine's head and immediately switched off the music. Irvine stood up in embarrassment as the other passengers began to laugh hysterically at his act.
"Well done Irvine. You do look like a cat," Matron sarcastically joked, giggling.
"Aw... I wanted to listen to Metalhead badly!" Seifer whined.
"Huh?" Selphie turned to Seifer in surprise. "What did you just say?"
Seifer cupped his hands and sealed his mouth with them. Then he took off his hands and said with his balled fist in front of her, "Stop pondering on my personal agendas you bitch!"
Selphie started crying. But then she wiped off her tears and retaliated, "I didn't want to team up with you anyway you S.O.B." Both of them turned from each other's face and tried to sleep on their seats.
"Hey driver, why did you like Metalhead anyway?" Irvine asked. He wanted to strangle Zell who was dozing peacefully but he conserved his composure.
The driver began to laugh. "The band comes from Timber and they're the city's pride in the music industry. So technically every citizen of Timber's proud of them."
"Cool," Seifer and Zell thought in their sleep.
***
"Don't worry Daniel. Hold on and don't look down," Rachel shouted at Daniel who was struggling to retain his footing on the cliff. By then, Squall had reached the large crevice and Rinoa began to put on the climbing gear. Daniel could only give short nods and swung his foot to the rock. At last, the foot fitted nicely between the rocks and Daniel continued climbing following Rachel's instruction.
"Good work Daniel," Rachel slapped a high five at Daniel, who was sweating and out of breath. The Trepies waited until the 'Lionheart-Angels' finished their climb and rode the flying fox to the ground so that they can help their idol climb the cliff.
"Thank you, Rachel," Quistis said gratefully. The Trepies slid down the cable to meet with Squall and Rinoa at the bottom. Then, the four waited as Quistis and Xu screamed in terror as they rode the flying fox.
***
"Hey, wake up," Irvine shook Zell violently.
"Where are we?" Zell woke up groggily. "Had a good dream of Deling City hotdogs."
"We're going to arrive at a town called Bluerock Cliffs in no time," said Irvine, who was all dressed up in a cozy beige cowboy sweater, handing Zell's winter clothes in front of him.
"Hey I told you not to mess around with my luggage!"
After the bus parked alongside with two other buses at the town's bus terminal, a girl in a bright yellow cardigan, who was Selphie, surfaced from the bus followed by Seifer, Zell, Irvine, Matron and Dr. Kadowaki. Then, the three teams jostled to the clue box.
"Let's climb!" Selphie said, as she had experiences climbing and propelling cliffs in Trabia. Seifer denied by shaking his head violently.
"No, I'm not doing it!" Seifer said.
"Now who's calling chicken-wuss you S.O.B. of an ex-knight," Zell taunted as he walked to the cliff. Seifer gritted his teeth in deep rage.
"Okay I'll do it!" Seifer vowed. "I'll even climb up the cliff in a shorter time than that chicken-wuss!" Selphie then dragged him to their next destination. In his mind, he wished that he could bring along his Gunblade and chop off Zell's fists, but bringing weapons was a violation to the race rules anyway.
Zell was then seen donning the climbing gear and then fitted his foot between the jutting rocks.
"See ya suckers!" Zell started climbing and after ten minutes he lifted his body to the crevice.
"I swear I'll reach there in a second and strangle you to death!" Seifer yelled at Zell, who was pouting, as the operators helped him with the climbing gear. Selphie then fitted her foot snugly between the rocks.
"Follow my footing and you'll reach the top in no time... Seifer!!" Selphie wailed as Seifer was way ahead of her. Zell was astonished at the catlike movements of Seifer as he slid down the cable. Suddenly, Seifer stepped on a loose rock and lost his balance, causing him to dangle dangerously, gripping onto a piece of rock jutting from the face of the cliff.
Selphie stood at the ground gaping. "Seifer!!" She then held firmly on the second rope started climbing.
"Don't worry!" Seifer yelled back. He swung his legs trying to put them on the cliff a few times. The rock that Seifer was holding on began to loosen.
"Seifer!!!" Selphie climbed up with faster steps. Seifer finally got his feet on the rock and slowly released his grip from the rock carefully. After a few steps up the cliff, the rock broke off and fell to the ground scaring Dr. Kadowaki and Matron. Seifer and Selphie sighed together. Selphie reached the crevice first and pulled Seifer up to the flat ground. After that it was Dr. Kadowaki and Matron's turn to climb. Zell and Irvine cheered wildly at the old ladies who made it to the top.
"Oh my goodness! I'll never do that again," Dr. Kadowaki said, panting for breath. She snapped the clue from the rocks and ripped it open.
"Go to next pit stop, summit of Gazing Mountain," Dr. Kadowaki then wrapped her arm around Matron's sweater as they neared the flying fox.
"Here we go again," Matron sarcastically said as they screamed, gliding in the air.
***
Fujin and Raijin and Nida and Shelley stepped down from the bus in serious looks. They stared at each other briefly in tense competition and then ran to the clue box.
"DETOUR," Fujin said.
"Oh oh, no way I'm going to climb a cliff!" Fujin then kicked Raijin in the ankle.
The operators were already waiting for trailing teams at the Bluerock cliffs. Raijin pushed Nida and Shelley away to reach the climbing gear first. Then, after wearing the climbing gear Raijin grabbed onto the rope and began to climb, followed by Shelley holding onto the second rope and walking up the cliff effortlessly. As Raijin was inches away from the crevice, he suddenly turned his head in lethargy and looked at Fujin who was seen as a dot from above.
"Aaacckk!!!" Raijin shrieked and he became unbalanced.
"FOOL!" Fujin hissed. She picked up a rock and with might she threw the stone at Raijin and it hit perfectly on the butt. Then, Raijin yelped in pain and scuttled up the cliff until he panted wildly when he finally reached the crevice. After that, he entered the cave gingerly and spotted the pile of rocks. He picked up the envelope and a knife appeared on top of the last envelope. He picked it up and went outside to see Fujin climbing up the cliff effortlessly but Shelley struggled on the footing and running out of breath and energy since the air was thin and it was 3 o'clock in the morning already. Fujin overtook Shelley and pulled herself onto the flat ground. Raijin then showed her the knife he found.
"KNIFE, BELONGS TO SEIFER!" Fujin said, smiling evilly.
"What are we supposed to do with it?" Raijin asked. Fujin snatched the knife from him and unsheathed it. A silver glimmer shone on Shelley's eyes and but she could not clearly see Fujin striking the blade against the outermost fibre of Shelley's rope. Raijin widened his eyes and was about to say, "Fujin, you cut the rope!" but was stopped and Fujin with a kick in the ankle.
"FOOL!" Fujin then signaled Raijin to ride the flying fox and then she followed holding onto Raijin's sturdy back.
Shelley finally lifted herself up to the crevice and quickly swiped the clue from the cave.
"Nida, hurry!" Shelley shouted at Nida who was figuring out his footing. As Nida was at half the climb, Fujin and Raijin had already landed on the ground, which made her flushed with anxiety.
"Nida, you can do it!!" Shelley shouted even louder. At that point she spotted the fibres of Nida's rope was starting to snap one at a time.
"Nida, hurry! The rope's breaking!" she said in the most hysterical voice. More fibres started to snap causing Nida to inch downwards dangerous. Nida started to panic, but the nerve juices started flowing and a sudden burst of energy made Nida wanted to climb faster. Nida finally reached the crevice with Shelley giving a helping hand to pull him up.
"That was really close!" Nida said huffing and puffing. He examined the ropes and calculated that if he did not climb faster the rope would definitely snap completely.
***
Fujin and Raijin stepped out of the gondola, which was under a 24-hour operation. Raijin's run turned into a weak shuffle as all his energy was completely drained out.
"I'm out of breath honey, ya know," Raijin huffed and puffed and wheezed heavily. Fujin, also tired, kicked his butt in anger. After 3 minutes of walking, they arrived at the summit viewpoint where Headmaster Cid was waiting.
"Welcome to the Gazing Mountain," the man greeted but it did not break the ice within the duo. In fact, they have overworked themselves and wished that they would not join the stupid goddamn race for Seifer's sake in the start.
"Fujin and Raijin," Fujin and Raijin looked at Cid anxiously although they knew the fact that they are not going to be kicked out of the race. "You're team number eight!"
Nida and Shelley hastened their pace as they neared Headmaster Cid. The man greeted both of them as they stepped on the mat.
"Nida and Shelley," Cid began. Nida and Shelley did not show any signs of worry but were cool as ever. Cid's tone started to get deeper with condolence, "I'm sorry to tell you that you've been eliminated."
Tears build up in Nida's eyes after hearing the dreaded words. Shelley then placed his head on her shoulder and comforted him. Nida then looked up at Cid with crystalline eyes.
"If I weren't a slowpoke we could have held on," he confessed. "Yeah, I guess it's not good to be overconfident and over-relaxed when the pan's heating up," he continued sarcastically and started laughing together with Shelley.
"No Nida, you did pretty well climbing. You could've got yourself killed," Shelley said. At that moment on the both of them took short steps walking away from the pit stop in much disappointment.
Nida turned back at the shining view of the city. "Goodbye Timber, it's been a fruitful adventure."
--------
It was 3.20 in the evening and the first train had arrived at the Eastern Timber Station. Quistis and Xu stepped down from the train and spotted a brown box with yellow stripes hanging on a pole right in front of the station. The three teams raced for the box. Quistis opened it first and pulled out an envelope.
"Search for this person in this picture," the clue read, followed by a picture of a man standing in front of an arch.
"Oh I know, I know!" Rinoa said in excitement, as she used to live in Timber,
"This is taken at the Shopping District, the entrance arch!"
"Shh, don't be so loud!" Squall said softly.
"Hey Rinoa said we should be heading to the shopping district," Daniel and Rachel started running just after Rinoa spilled the beans.
"Great job, honey," Squall teased nastily. Without hesitation, they jogged towards the nearby taxi stand.
***
The underwater scenery soon turned into a dark tunnel and then surfaced into the plains of Timber. From afar, Zell and Irvine could see the view of the terminal city enlarging. Dr. Kadowaki, Matron, Nida and Shelley slung their heavy backpacks over their shoulder and waited at the coach exit impatiently, while Seifer, Fujin and Raijin shook their legs at the lounge with Selphie glued to the window.
"Timber is so much advanced now since I first came here," Selphie said thoughtfully.
The train screeched and sparks were produced from the metal wheels as it braked at the eastern station. The teams flew out of the coach as the door flung open. Jack and King, who had just got rid the foul odoured Catchapillar slime from their body, were the fourth team to claim the clue.
"Find this person in the picture. OK," King tucked the clue into his utility belt and the both of them headed for the taxi circling the nearby square.
"Taxi!!" the both of them shouted, causing the taxi to halt beside them. The both of them budged into the tiny yellow cab. "Take us to this place, please!"
Jack requested, waving the photo in front of the driver. The driver nodded and he taxi began to hum.
Dr. Kadowaki and Matron, Zell and Irvine, Seifer and Selphie and Fujin and Raijin were waiting nervously at the taxi stand.
"Oh my goodness. It has been ten minutes and not a single cab showed up!" Dr. Kadowaki exclaimed.
"Hey where's the taxi?" Zell cried, punching in the air trying to clear his nervousness. Subsequently, a taxicab arrived at the stand.
"Hey, wanna play rock-paper-scissors to see who gets the taxi?" Selphie suggested. However, Zell, Seifer and Fujin started a commotion.
"Hey cut it out," Dr. Kadowaki said, trying to break the fight.
"Rock-paper-scissors!!" Selphie insisted, but the three people were still arguing.
"Kadowaki, the cab's ours!" Matron yelled. Dr. Kadowaki then walked to the taxi immediately and squeezed her fat body into the taxi.
"I feel sorry for them. We should've waited there to break the kids," Dr. Kadowaki sighed as the driver began to sound the accelerator. Consequently, the three people who were supposed to be quarreling were now rapping snidely at the taxi's window.
"%&$&%^*% Matron I thought we're allies!" Zell yelled with a voice, which penetrated through the glass.
Matron lowered the window. "Don't worry we'll try to arrange cabs for you all." Within minutes, the taxi sped off leaving the three teams disappointed.
"Can we play rock-paper-scissors to see who gets the next cabbie?" Selphie said cheerfully. Only Irvine and Raijin stretched out their hands.
***
Among the tall skyscrapers of Timber lies one of the oldest monuments in Timber is the Timber Television Station. Not far from the building was a giant television screen, the station's most prized asset. Showing on the screen were mostly advertisements of beautiful women, sports cars and Galbadian propaganda. In studio ten of the station was a screen divided into nine sections. The top left section showed Squall and Rinoa fighting and quarreling in their cab heading for the route marker. And then the bottom screens showed Selphie, Irvine and Raijin playing rock-paper-scissors while Seifer jeered 'chicken-wuss' at Zell. And then on the middle screen a scene where Quistis throwing an apple at the Trepies' window who were beside theirs was shown.
"Cheating, misunderstanding, desperation, agony, stress, fights, quarrels... This is what's all about that makes this program groundbreaking people," Alex Axel said confidently to the tens of reporters and journalists from around the world during the press conference of producing the new reality series.
"Mr. Kramer," a reporter from an Estharian entertainment magazine company began, pointing his pen towards the unhappy looking Balamb Garden headmaster, "As host of the game show, do you think that viewers will dig in into it?"
Cid Kramer rose up from his seat and cleared his throat. "As far as I'm concerned the trend of television viewing is watching people doing crazy and stupid things. This show has those elements, except that it provides a larger point of view not only of the relationship between team members and teams but also the places and cultures that many people might've never seen before. In short, this show is both suspensefully engaging and educational."
Cid then turned to Mr. Axel who was smiling, answering more questions. "I gotta go to the pit stop to meet the last team to arrive," he whispered at Axel who just nodded. Cid quickly left the studio.
***
Quistis and Xu were the first team to arrive at the bustling and crowded streets of the shopping district. Quistis spotted the arch draped in a blue and yellow banner after she surfaced from the cab.
"Xu, let's go!" she said to Xu who was arguing with the driver.
"The last time I came here, a ten minute trip only cost 10 gil and now you're charging 20 times the amount of money!" Xu rebuked, but the driver was persistent enough to say "Drop the money or I'll call the cops" casually. In no time, the driver pulled out a gun from the glove compartment at pointed it at Xu.
"You asked for it honey," Xu then lifted her leg from below and kicked the driver's hand and the fake gun dropped uselessly onto the floor. The driver staggered and took the 10-gil bill from Xu. Presently, Daniel and Rachel and Squall and Rinoa arrived at the street where Quistis and Xu were stuck.
"Oh my god, the others are here!" Quistis exclaimed as she spotted the two cabs with the two recognizable teams in them. "We've just wasted a good deal of time Xu."
"Yeah, coming out," Xu said as she surfaced from the car. At once, the three teams made a mad dash blasting through the sidewalks teeming with shoppers and music fans heading to Timber Stadium for a concert. Rinoa found the person they were supposed to look for, who was sitting on a bench and she asked for the clue politely.
"Squally honey, I've got the clue!" Rinoa shouted at Squall who was drowning in a river of people. Rinoa ripped the envelope and read, "Book for a mystery charter bus ride at Timber Hotel." Rinoa spun around to look for Squall. She only saw Daniel and Rachel asking the man for the envelope. Then, Rinoa dodged traffic to get to the other side of the street. All she found was a confused looking Xu.
"Xu, have you seen Squall around?" Rinoa asked frantically.
"Nope. Quistis' gone too," Xu replied. Xu then quickly jaywalked to the other side. Where can Squall possibly be? She thought anxiously.
"Squall! Where are you!"
***
"I think we have a good chance to claim the fast forward pass," Shelley said to Nida who was concentrating heavily on the Timber cityscape. "I don't think the leading teams would take it anyway. What do you think?"
"Hmm..." Nida arched forward to see Jack and King's cab stopping before the traffic lights in front of them, "How do you get the pass?"
"It says here we should go to Timber Maniacs and look for it in a pile of magazines," Shelley said, reading the instructions on a green piece of paper.
"Then let's go for it," Nida said releasing a short breath. "Driver, take us to Timber Maniacs please," Nida requested, followed by a nod of the head of the driver. The driver then diverted the car to the right junction. Jack looked from behind the seat to see Nida and Shelley turning the other way.
"Shit, did they spot a shortcut or were they just plain crazy?" Jack exclaimed. "Hey buddy, what do you think?"
"We'll follow them cuz they're smart," King said, arching his body forward. "Hey cabbie, can you follow that taxi over there?"
The driver then drove forward after the lights turned green and turned to the left junction trailing Nida and Shelley's taxi.
"Shoot, Jack and King have changed their minds to get the fast forward pass I guess," Nida said as he looked at the front view mirror. "Drive faster! I'll pay extra 15 gil if you could do that," Nida ordered, waving a 15-gil bill back and forth. Like a burst of energy, the car screeched and accelerated, overtaking the slower cars in front of them.
"Dammit, they're trying to lose us," King waved a twenty at the mirror causing the car to accelerate. "Don't lose that cab!"
***
Squall's black T-shirt and jeans was tugged and pulled by the pedestrians as he inched closer and closer the route marker, but was bumped back to square one by the crowd heading for the opposite direction. Squall bounced backwards until he bumped onto someone's chest. It was Quistis.
"Are you alright, Squall?" Quistis said, hugging him around his torso.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Squall said, "This street sucks."
"Let's get through this together okay?" Quistis said. With full might they both battled against the raging current. Finally, both of them surfaced from the crowd. The worry on Rinoa's face soon turned into relief.
"Squall, I was so worried!" Rinoa said, rejoicing Squall with a kiss. Xu was also relieved to see Quistis again.
Presently, Matron and Dr. Kadowaki had reached the shopping district and were pretty shocked at the overcrowded sidewalks.
"Oh my goodness, what's going on?" Matron asked herself, "Can you take us directly to that arch?" The car continued towards the archway. Matron stepped out leaving Dr. Kadowaki to a standby in the taxi. Matron took the clue and hopped back into the car. Meanwhile, Zell and Irvine, Seifer and Selphie and Fujin and Raijin entered the chaotic area.
"What the ^%^*%*&! Metalhead is in Timber!?!?" Zell exclaimed excitedly as he noticed people wearing Metalhead T-shirts marching towards the stadium with banners and picket signs. The large television screen and several billboards also advertised the concert and it made Zell enthusiastic about it.
"Oh so that's why it's so crowded unlike the usual days," Irvine said behind his cowboy hat.
"You don't understand, I crave for Metalhead, and their hit 'Freeway Ultrastar' is outta this world!!" Zell began to jump up and down. "It makes me wanna join the crowd dude.
Irvine tilted his hat until his face was revealed, then slapping on his forehead. "Driver, get us to that flag immediately before this dude rock your car to smithereens," he urged. Zell just flung himself to a resting position, grumbling "I rather lose a million gil than not watching Metalhead live" to himself.
"Ooh, Metalhead, that band are made of psychopaths," Selphie spat in dislike of the band, "I hate 'Freeway Ultrastar', it is 'super-duper-mega-suckingly-bad'! Don't you think so?"
Seifer pressed his nose against the window trying not to pay attention to Selphie's banter. He was so pissed at her when she insulted his all time favourite song. Oh my goodness, Seifer has the same interest as Zell? That is unbelievable!
"You know there weren't many people like what you see now during the Galbadian occupation. In fact it was totally overrun by soldiers so we had to encounter a lot of them during our first SeeD mission!" Selphie said proudly. "And we surely whipped a lot of them!"
"Just shut up you bitch," Seifer voiced softly.
"Ugh, Metalhead. They suck ya know," Raijin commented, which gave him a kick on the ankle by Fujin.
"THEY DON'T SUCK!" Fujin protested. "Metalhead is all about self-liberation and freedom of voicing out your rage and anger! I once wished that I could just drive a monster truck and crushing twenty cars in a row in the freeway just like in 'Freeway Ultrastar'!"
"Ya don't have to sound that harsh Fujin honey," Raijin said, rubbing his ankle. "That's not ladylike."
"IMBECILE!" Fujin stepped forcefully on Raijin's big toe causing Raijin to squirm in pain.
***
Nida and Shelley stopped their car in front of the Timber Maniacs building and crawled out of the car after paying. They quickly entered the main gate of the building just as Jack and King spotted them.
"What the heck they're doing in there?" Jack wondered. The both of them halted the car and exited the vehicle after paying. Then they entered the building finding the ship-steerers scrambling through the tied-up piles of old magazines littered throughout the compound.
"Shoot, they're here," Nida whispered while looking through the pile at the lobby.
"Hey, let's look for what they're looking for," Jack suggested, running to the office with King. Then, Nida and Shelley quickened their search for the pass. Jack and King browsed around the office with the staff staring at them during their work. King found a pile of really old magazines with a paper that looked like a route-info sticking out. He yanked the paper and managed to pull it out like a dentist pulling out someone's rotten tooth.
"Hey Jack, I found something!" Jack heard his buddy's voice and approached him.
"Congratulations, you have found your well-deserved fast forward pass! Now head to the pit stop (without doing any other tasks): The summit of the Gazing Mountain."
"What's a fast forward?" Jack wondered in puzzlement.
"Who cares? The goddamn paper told us to go to the pit stop," King exclaimed. The team then exited the office to see Nida and Shelley perspiring, looking for the pass.
"Haha! We've got your pass," Jack teased in a singsong voice. Nida gave a hard punch on the marble floor in wrath.
***
Squall flung his weary self to the couch at the hotel lounge as Rinoa was booking for the mystery ride.
"Hey Squall," Quistis said as she began to sit on the armchair next to Squall. She folded her hands and laid them on her crossed legs looking like a lady although she was wearing a white sleeveless top and jeans.
"Whatever," Squall said to himself as usual. "What are you gonna do, lecture me on how to avoid being eliminated?"
"No, I'm just going to baby-sit you so that you'll not get into trouble like this evening," Quistis said sarcastically, making Squall laughing like a fool. He did not get her saying at all. Quistis felt a soft touch on her shoulder. It was Rinoa's. She turned around until they made eye contact.
Rinoa waved her finger back and forth. "My seat Quisty."
Quistis stood up from the chair effortlessly. As she passed by the weary-looking Squall she whispered, "I don't want to lose you in this race." Rinoa quickly sat by Squall just as Quistis joined the Trepies, who were overjoyed having her acquaintance.
"Squall," Rinoa said to her exhausted boyfriend. Her hair fluttered freely by the blast of cold air. "We'll be leaving tonight at 8 okay?" Rinoa laid her head onto Squall's broad shoulder and closed her eyes. Quistis then turned to see the couples relaxing together intimately. Immediately, her complexion started to turn green with envy.
"Instructor, you're green!" Rachel gasped. Quistis' face then turned into the usual healthy colour.
"Nothing," Quistis sighed. "Let's talk on."
***
Irvine had just booked the second bus, which will depart tonight at nine. Zell looked at the clock shaking in anticipation.
"What the heck, the concert will start any moment!!" Zell said, readying his feet to dash for the exit. Irvine tugged him by the collar.
"Uh uh, buddy, you're not getting anywhere," Irvine turned to the man behind the counter, "Book us one single room please."
"That will be 100 gil sir." Irvine happily paid the money and dragged him to the elevator.
After a few minutes, Selphie and Seifer entered the hotel silently. Selphie pondered at the toy train, which was revolving around the never-ending track, while Seifer was booking the bus ride.
"What do you mean there are no more seats for the 9 o' clock bus?" Seifer complained. "I need to book seats for friends on the same bus."
"Sir, please understand that our buses can only contain six people," the manager reasoned to the unsatisfied Seifer. "Miss, please don't touch that. NOOOOO!!!"
It was too late to save anything. The train tipped over the track after Selphie playfully touched it and fell to the ground with a crash.
"Oops. I didn't mean it, really!" Selphie wailed at the angry manager. Seifer slapped on his forehead, saying, "She's nothing but trouble," to himself. He pressed 200-gil bills on the counter to pay for the ride as well as for the toy train. He then angrily strode to the elevator, but presently a boom gate fell in front of him.
"Gatey would be angry at you if you do not pay at the counter," a recorded message played from the gate. Seifer peeked at his wallet and found that he had only a 10-gil note left, which was enough to buy tuna sandwiches for Selphie and himself. Seifer suddenly felt arms hugging around his torso warmly and he turned his head to see Selphie resting her head on Seifer's back.
"Seifer I'm really sorry to break the hotel's train," Selphie looked back with innocent eyes. Seifer shook his body fiercely and forced Selphie to one side.
"You are a jinx you bitch!" Seifer said nastily. He stomped his foot firmly on the ground and headed in irritation to the lounge, leaving the spellbound Selphie at the reception counter. Subsequently, Irvine stepped out of the elevator to see Selphie in tears.
"What's wrong honey?" Irvine neared Selphie and laid her hand on her shoulder.
"Seifer hates me!" Selphie cried. She wiped of the tears and turned to Irvine. "Where have you been?"
"I had to lock Zell up in the room cuz he's havin' the Metalhead fever," Irvine explained briefly, "Come, I'll treat you to some ice-cream. I know a shop here that sells the best vanilla ice!"
Selphie smiled as they walked to the exit. Presently, Fujin and Raijin arose from the entrance and bumped on Irvine on the shoulder in an unfriendly manner.
"CRETIN," Fujin hissed at Irvine who was singing the ice-cream song to Selphie. "PATHETIC."
"Hmm... ice-cream sounds so good that I want to eat some to relax my aching muscles," Raijin said stretching his back. Fujin approached the reception counter.
"BUS RIDE. BOOK," Fujin said. The receptionist signed them up for the 10 o'clock bus ride.
"Oh dear, I'm afraid you've just missed the second ride," she said briefly.
"SCREWED US UP. WHO?" Fujin said matter-of-factly.
"You mean who booked the last seat for the second ride?" the girl scrolled through the list on the computer screen. "Third team on the 9 o'clock bus is... Selphie Tilmitt and Seifer."
Fujin stomped on the floor angrily. "RAGE! SEIFER, WHERE?" The girl pointed to the lounge and without hesitation Fujin strode to the lounge with Raijin tagging along.
"SEIFER!!!" Fujin's voice echoed through the lounge. "YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!"
"What's wrong?" Seifer rose up from the couch in a sleepy but snide voice. "Ut oh, Fujin I can explain."
"I thought we were allies," Fujin said with tears building up in her eyelids, now feeling the verge of possible elimination. Seifer quickly stood up to match height with Fujin and punched her in the stomach. Fujin squirmed and fell to the ground unconscious. Raijin was admiring the grand domed shape ceiling of the lounge until he spotted Fujin lying on the ground in front of Seifer.
"Hey buddy, what did you just do?" Raijin asked.
"Just say that I'm doing for Fujin's own good. Tell her that I'll plan on something to avoid you two from placing last at the pit stop," he sneered.
***
The sun had completely hid itself behind the Timber Mountains and left the world in darkness. Timber was then alit with lights making it look like a light bulb from above. In front of the Timber Hotel, Squall and Rinoa were waiting for their bus along with the instructors and the Trepies, admiring the colourful city lights.
"Timber has been more colourful lately than at the time when I stayed here as a member of the Forest Owls," Rinoa commented thoughtfully. Presently, a tiny white bus stopped in front of the pack, pressing the brakes hardly until they screeched. The pack lined up eagerly as they waited for the door to open like a book. Squall and Rinoa entered the bus first and chucked their backpacks in an opening at the top of their seats. Quistis and Xu did the same thing and rested easily in their seats. Rachel then argued with Daniel who was sitting behind Quistis. In a few moments, the door closed on them and the bus started moving, heading to the Timber expressway.
Meanwhile, at a restaurant situated on the same street as the Timber Hotel, Selphie joined Irvine, Dr. Kadowaki and Matron for dinner and a friendly chat. Instantly, the words Seifer snidely said to Selphie were erased from dominating her mind and her frown turned into a cheery smile. Seifer was happy enough to be given a treat at the Timber Burger Palace by Fujin and Raijin. Fujin stared at Seifer, who was munching his cheeseburger, sternly.
"QUESTION," she started. "How can you guarantee us that we'll not be eliminated."
"Don't worry," Seifer mumbled with his mouth full. He gulped all the food that had been in his mouth down to the throat. "Once I know what the next task will be, I'll plan on something that will ensure that both of you will not be eliminate. I'll also make sure that Selphie will never spot the cheat," his voice started to turn aggravating. "She has been a bloody pain in the ass."
"You know what, teaming up with Seifer hasn't been bad at all," Selphie said. Irvine sprayed his drink on the table after he listened to Selphie. "Zell will be furious to hear that."
"Anyway, are you going to lock him in a hotel room from now on?" Selphie asked, picturing Zell as a muskrat caged up in a hamster playpen.
"Depends," Irvine said while sipping his pina colada. "Luckily the Metalhead concert is aired on TV so he'll like stuck his nose on the screen for a long time."
"Poor Zell," Dr. Kadowaki said sarcastically, causing the whole table to laugh.
***
After a few hours driving through the rocky roads of the Timber Mountains, Jack and King finally reached the town of Bluerock Cliffs and above it was the summit of the Gazing Mountain. Jack stepped down from the bus in vertigo and began to throw up. King rushed to check his buddy, who had just finished puking and came to his senses. Jack and King rode the gondola to the summit, which was roughly a 10-minute journey.
"This place is cool," Jack said with vapor released from the mouth, while looking at the marvel of the Timber Mountain Range, which had interesting rock formations either made up of sharp rock jutting out of the mountain or formed by years of erosion. "And darn cold too." King saw mountain goats grazing in the mountains and clapped his hands in excitement and awe, since he had a liking to wildlife. But then when Geezards appeared and started chasing the herd away with, he started to sniffle in disappointment.
Jack and King stepped down from the gondola and then, rode a taxi to the highest point of the highland. As they spotted a blue and yellow route marker stuck on a railing at the summit viewpoint, adrenaline pumped into their veins and they sprung into action by running to the mat, embroidered with the map of the whole world, and stepped onto it in unison.
"Welcome to the Gazing Mountain," a man wearing traditional Timber mountain clothing said and presented them a view of the city of Timber which flashed like a giant light bulb in the meadows of Galbadia continent.
"Jack and King," the two card players turned to Cid standing in front of them in anticipation. "You're team number one."
"Woohoo!!" Jack shouted excitedly with his buddy.
"We love this race!" King exclaimed, as they gazed on at the beautiful flashy lights of Timber in front of them.
***
The view of the city dwindled as the bus moved nearer and nearer towards the Timber Mountains. The expressway soon turned into a series of winding country roads and bumpy and treacherous mountain trails. The surrounding darkness scared Daniel out of his socks. It had been a three-hour journey and it made Rinoa yawned in boredom. She squeezed into her tight blue sweater as the air was getting colder. Squall's ear began to be deaf as the bus moved to higher altitude.
"We're almost there!" Rachel said in excitement after passing by the 'Welcome to Timber Mountains: the only place where extreme sports go 24 hours and 365 days a year!' sign. After another hour, the bus stopped at the town of Bluerock Cliffs, which was not as bright as compared to the city when nightfall. A clue box was soon spotted under a lonely light post after the teams stepped down from the bus in their winter clothes.
"Hey, the clue!" Rachel and Daniel raced to the box and opened it.
"Detour," Rachel and Daniel said as they read the contents of the envelope. "Slow Climb Up or Fast Slide Down."
"Slow Climb Up. Head to the nearby Bluerock Cliff and climb to the crevice about 30 feet from the ground to get the next route marker. Fast Slide Down. Take a taxi to Station 3 at the Timber Mountain Slopes and slide down the hill to the next route marker." The clue read.
"Rinoa, are you okay to propel up a cliff?" Squall asked, which was replied with a thumb up. Squall and Rinoa ran to the cliff, which was only a hundred yards away, while Quistis and Xu waited for a taxi, but soon changed their minds to go for the other task instead.
Rachel was the first person to put on her climbing gear as she nervously looked up at the steep cliff.
"This is scary!" Rachel said, hiding her head in Daniel's chest. "I've cliff-hanged before but climbing a cliff at night with dim lights shining is really scary." Rachel eased herself and fixed her foot on the rock and she began to climb steadily. Her experience served her well by reaching to the route marker in no time at all. She snapped the safety ropes off her and entered the dark but lightened cave to pick up the red envelope lying behind some rocks.
"Congratulations you have conquered perhaps your greatest fear. Head to the pit stop: The summit of the Gazing Mountain," she read out loud while looking at the summit of Gazing Mountain. Then she looked down seeing Daniel shivering in fear and struggling to fix a good grip on the rocks, while Squall was already halfway up to the crevice.
"Daniel, you can do it!" Rachel waved at Daniel, "Just don't look below!"
"Okay," Daniel said nervously. He finally got his footing and began to climb a quarter of the journey. Daniel was glad, but then suddenly his foot rubbed on a loose rock and he began to get unstable.
"Daniel!" Rachel wailed.
***
Zell stealthily fixed earplugs onto Irvine's ear when he was napping in his seat. The cacophony of musical instruments and men screaming rang loudly in Irvine's ear. Irvine suddenly woke up and pulled off the earplugs connected to Zell's Walkman in a nasty mood.
"Was that Metalhead, pardner?" Irvine began, sounding a little edgy and pointing his finger on Zell who was nodding at the music of his all time favourite band. "Your freakazoid band gives me the creeps ya know."
"Who cares?" Zell retaliated. "You could've let me join the concert."
"We don't have the money Zell," Irvine tried to reason. Zell then plugged a cable to the bus' stereo system and the song 'Freeway Ultrastar' blared noisily.
"Zell stop it!" Selphie screamed plugging her ears with her hands.
"That's for giving me cold Jambalaya for dinner you S.O.B. cowboy," Zell jeered.
"Hey I kinda like your taste in music boy," the driver said nodded his head to the rhythm.
"Ugh, stop it!" Irvine pleaded. "I promise I won't lock you up in a hotel again." But Zell tuned up the volume until everyone was on the bus was plugging their ears tightly in irritation, except for Seifer and the driver, who were greatly influenced to the beat by shaking their heads.
"Okay, okay!" Irvine began to position himself on all fours on the floor and crawling to Zell purring like a cat. "Meow! I'll also buy you Deling City hotdogs when we might get there!" He added pathetically.
"Good cat," Zell then rubbed his fist on Irvine's head and immediately switched off the music. Irvine stood up in embarrassment as the other passengers began to laugh hysterically at his act.
"Well done Irvine. You do look like a cat," Matron sarcastically joked, giggling.
"Aw... I wanted to listen to Metalhead badly!" Seifer whined.
"Huh?" Selphie turned to Seifer in surprise. "What did you just say?"
Seifer cupped his hands and sealed his mouth with them. Then he took off his hands and said with his balled fist in front of her, "Stop pondering on my personal agendas you bitch!"
Selphie started crying. But then she wiped off her tears and retaliated, "I didn't want to team up with you anyway you S.O.B." Both of them turned from each other's face and tried to sleep on their seats.
"Hey driver, why did you like Metalhead anyway?" Irvine asked. He wanted to strangle Zell who was dozing peacefully but he conserved his composure.
The driver began to laugh. "The band comes from Timber and they're the city's pride in the music industry. So technically every citizen of Timber's proud of them."
"Cool," Seifer and Zell thought in their sleep.
***
"Don't worry Daniel. Hold on and don't look down," Rachel shouted at Daniel who was struggling to retain his footing on the cliff. By then, Squall had reached the large crevice and Rinoa began to put on the climbing gear. Daniel could only give short nods and swung his foot to the rock. At last, the foot fitted nicely between the rocks and Daniel continued climbing following Rachel's instruction.
"Good work Daniel," Rachel slapped a high five at Daniel, who was sweating and out of breath. The Trepies waited until the 'Lionheart-Angels' finished their climb and rode the flying fox to the ground so that they can help their idol climb the cliff.
"Thank you, Rachel," Quistis said gratefully. The Trepies slid down the cable to meet with Squall and Rinoa at the bottom. Then, the four waited as Quistis and Xu screamed in terror as they rode the flying fox.
***
"Hey, wake up," Irvine shook Zell violently.
"Where are we?" Zell woke up groggily. "Had a good dream of Deling City hotdogs."
"We're going to arrive at a town called Bluerock Cliffs in no time," said Irvine, who was all dressed up in a cozy beige cowboy sweater, handing Zell's winter clothes in front of him.
"Hey I told you not to mess around with my luggage!"
After the bus parked alongside with two other buses at the town's bus terminal, a girl in a bright yellow cardigan, who was Selphie, surfaced from the bus followed by Seifer, Zell, Irvine, Matron and Dr. Kadowaki. Then, the three teams jostled to the clue box.
"Let's climb!" Selphie said, as she had experiences climbing and propelling cliffs in Trabia. Seifer denied by shaking his head violently.
"No, I'm not doing it!" Seifer said.
"Now who's calling chicken-wuss you S.O.B. of an ex-knight," Zell taunted as he walked to the cliff. Seifer gritted his teeth in deep rage.
"Okay I'll do it!" Seifer vowed. "I'll even climb up the cliff in a shorter time than that chicken-wuss!" Selphie then dragged him to their next destination. In his mind, he wished that he could bring along his Gunblade and chop off Zell's fists, but bringing weapons was a violation to the race rules anyway.
Zell was then seen donning the climbing gear and then fitted his foot between the jutting rocks.
"See ya suckers!" Zell started climbing and after ten minutes he lifted his body to the crevice.
"I swear I'll reach there in a second and strangle you to death!" Seifer yelled at Zell, who was pouting, as the operators helped him with the climbing gear. Selphie then fitted her foot snugly between the rocks.
"Follow my footing and you'll reach the top in no time... Seifer!!" Selphie wailed as Seifer was way ahead of her. Zell was astonished at the catlike movements of Seifer as he slid down the cable. Suddenly, Seifer stepped on a loose rock and lost his balance, causing him to dangle dangerously, gripping onto a piece of rock jutting from the face of the cliff.
Selphie stood at the ground gaping. "Seifer!!" She then held firmly on the second rope started climbing.
"Don't worry!" Seifer yelled back. He swung his legs trying to put them on the cliff a few times. The rock that Seifer was holding on began to loosen.
"Seifer!!!" Selphie climbed up with faster steps. Seifer finally got his feet on the rock and slowly released his grip from the rock carefully. After a few steps up the cliff, the rock broke off and fell to the ground scaring Dr. Kadowaki and Matron. Seifer and Selphie sighed together. Selphie reached the crevice first and pulled Seifer up to the flat ground. After that it was Dr. Kadowaki and Matron's turn to climb. Zell and Irvine cheered wildly at the old ladies who made it to the top.
"Oh my goodness! I'll never do that again," Dr. Kadowaki said, panting for breath. She snapped the clue from the rocks and ripped it open.
"Go to next pit stop, summit of Gazing Mountain," Dr. Kadowaki then wrapped her arm around Matron's sweater as they neared the flying fox.
"Here we go again," Matron sarcastically said as they screamed, gliding in the air.
***
Fujin and Raijin and Nida and Shelley stepped down from the bus in serious looks. They stared at each other briefly in tense competition and then ran to the clue box.
"DETOUR," Fujin said.
"Oh oh, no way I'm going to climb a cliff!" Fujin then kicked Raijin in the ankle.
The operators were already waiting for trailing teams at the Bluerock cliffs. Raijin pushed Nida and Shelley away to reach the climbing gear first. Then, after wearing the climbing gear Raijin grabbed onto the rope and began to climb, followed by Shelley holding onto the second rope and walking up the cliff effortlessly. As Raijin was inches away from the crevice, he suddenly turned his head in lethargy and looked at Fujin who was seen as a dot from above.
"Aaacckk!!!" Raijin shrieked and he became unbalanced.
"FOOL!" Fujin hissed. She picked up a rock and with might she threw the stone at Raijin and it hit perfectly on the butt. Then, Raijin yelped in pain and scuttled up the cliff until he panted wildly when he finally reached the crevice. After that, he entered the cave gingerly and spotted the pile of rocks. He picked up the envelope and a knife appeared on top of the last envelope. He picked it up and went outside to see Fujin climbing up the cliff effortlessly but Shelley struggled on the footing and running out of breath and energy since the air was thin and it was 3 o'clock in the morning already. Fujin overtook Shelley and pulled herself onto the flat ground. Raijin then showed her the knife he found.
"KNIFE, BELONGS TO SEIFER!" Fujin said, smiling evilly.
"What are we supposed to do with it?" Raijin asked. Fujin snatched the knife from him and unsheathed it. A silver glimmer shone on Shelley's eyes and but she could not clearly see Fujin striking the blade against the outermost fibre of Shelley's rope. Raijin widened his eyes and was about to say, "Fujin, you cut the rope!" but was stopped and Fujin with a kick in the ankle.
"FOOL!" Fujin then signaled Raijin to ride the flying fox and then she followed holding onto Raijin's sturdy back.
Shelley finally lifted herself up to the crevice and quickly swiped the clue from the cave.
"Nida, hurry!" Shelley shouted at Nida who was figuring out his footing. As Nida was at half the climb, Fujin and Raijin had already landed on the ground, which made her flushed with anxiety.
"Nida, you can do it!!" Shelley shouted even louder. At that point she spotted the fibres of Nida's rope was starting to snap one at a time.
"Nida, hurry! The rope's breaking!" she said in the most hysterical voice. More fibres started to snap causing Nida to inch downwards dangerous. Nida started to panic, but the nerve juices started flowing and a sudden burst of energy made Nida wanted to climb faster. Nida finally reached the crevice with Shelley giving a helping hand to pull him up.
"That was really close!" Nida said huffing and puffing. He examined the ropes and calculated that if he did not climb faster the rope would definitely snap completely.
***
Fujin and Raijin stepped out of the gondola, which was under a 24-hour operation. Raijin's run turned into a weak shuffle as all his energy was completely drained out.
"I'm out of breath honey, ya know," Raijin huffed and puffed and wheezed heavily. Fujin, also tired, kicked his butt in anger. After 3 minutes of walking, they arrived at the summit viewpoint where Headmaster Cid was waiting.
"Welcome to the Gazing Mountain," the man greeted but it did not break the ice within the duo. In fact, they have overworked themselves and wished that they would not join the stupid goddamn race for Seifer's sake in the start.
"Fujin and Raijin," Fujin and Raijin looked at Cid anxiously although they knew the fact that they are not going to be kicked out of the race. "You're team number eight!"
Nida and Shelley hastened their pace as they neared Headmaster Cid. The man greeted both of them as they stepped on the mat.
"Nida and Shelley," Cid began. Nida and Shelley did not show any signs of worry but were cool as ever. Cid's tone started to get deeper with condolence, "I'm sorry to tell you that you've been eliminated."
Tears build up in Nida's eyes after hearing the dreaded words. Shelley then placed his head on her shoulder and comforted him. Nida then looked up at Cid with crystalline eyes.
"If I weren't a slowpoke we could have held on," he confessed. "Yeah, I guess it's not good to be overconfident and over-relaxed when the pan's heating up," he continued sarcastically and started laughing together with Shelley.
"No Nida, you did pretty well climbing. You could've got yourself killed," Shelley said. At that moment on the both of them took short steps walking away from the pit stop in much disappointment.
Nida turned back at the shining view of the city. "Goodbye Timber, it's been a fruitful adventure."
