THE AMAZING RACE – DANNY PHANTOM EDITION
CHAPTER 11

Warnings: T/V, D/S, some intense challenges ahead.

Phil: "This is Scotland, one of the most tranquil and beautiful spots in the entire world. And on the eastern shore lies the city of Inverness. This was the 9th pit stop in a race around the world. Teams arrived here at the end of the last leg. Tucker and Valerie, who arrived last, were not eliminated because this was the final of 3 pre-determined non-elimination legs. However, they were stripped of everything they had except the clothes on their backs and their passports. They will also start this leg with zero dollars to their name."

And as a result, Tucker and Valerie, who finished 5 hours behind the other teams, spent their break trying to beg for cash. They were mildly successful, being able to get 60 pounds ($105) before their time to leave came.

"Ember and Youngblood, who were the first to arrive at 1:05pm, will depart at 1:05am."

Route Marker 11.1: THIS IS A NON-GHOST LEG. Make your way to the Blarney Castle in Ireland and kiss the Blarney Stone to receive your next clue. Three teams have $160 for this leg of the race, one team has zero.

Ember and Youngblood get in a taxi and take off. Vlad and Dan, starting in second, follow quickly behind. Meanwhile, Danny and Sam debate waiting for their alliance partners.

"You think we should wait for them?" Sam says, referring to Tucker and Valerie. "You know, in case you need to fly them around."

"It's every team for themselves now," Danny answers.

Sam frowns, obviously disapproving of Danny's mindset. She then opens the clue and sees the non-ghost stipulation. She relaxes as they get into a taxi. As they get into the taxi, Ember/Youngblood and Vlad/Dan have found the same ferry across to Dublin. Danny and Sam arrive at the ferry dock one hour later and take the very next ferry.

In Dublin, Vlad and Dan get the first taxi out of the ferry terminal, with Ember/Youngblood about 10 minutes behind. The taxi ride is 2 hours long, enough time for Vlad and Dan to plot.

"There's still one more yield left in this race," Vlad advises.

"Exactly," Dan answers.

"If we get the chance, yield Guitar Girl."

"Why?"

"Because Wisconsin residents don't like rock and roll."

"Oh..."

They arrive at the Blarney Stone as Danny and Sam get off the ferry back in Dublin. Danny and Sam hold hands as they wait for a taxi. As they wait, Dan and Vlad both kiss the Blarney Stone.

"This is so degrading," Dan says, embarrassed that he's kissing a stone.

Route Marker 11.2: It's now time to turn towards home. Make your way to the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Dan and Vlad rush off to the airport in Dublin as the clock strikes 6:15am. This means that Tucker and Valerie finally get started in Inverness. They get on their taxi and start for the ferry terminal in Scotland. As they do that, Ember and Youngblood arrive at the Blarney Castle to kiss the stone. They do it successfully and head back to the airport. As they pass Danny and Sam on the road, Ember sticks her tongue out at the teenage lovebirds rather hideously.

"That was rather uncalled for," Sam says.

"If we get the chance," Danny says, "Yield them."

"Ok."

They travel down to the castle where they kiss the stone. They then head back up to Dublin. Meanwhile, Vlad and Dan are angered at the airport.

"I got some bad news," Dan says.

"What?" Vlad answers.

"The quickest flight to Toronto doesn't leave here for another 6 hours."

"That means everyone could catch up."

"Exactly."

"Darn!"

As Vlad skulks, Tucker and Valerie arrive at the ferry terminal. They take some time to beg for more money, unaware of their opportunity at the airport if they can get to Blarney Castle and back quickly. A generous man gives them 250 Euros ($296), more than enough to take care of taxi rides. They head down to Blarney Castle, keeping an optimistic attitude of their bad situation. They kiss the stone and head back to Dublin, unaware that they have 2.5 hours to make their flight that would put them back in the race. With 45 minutes to spare, they arrive at the airport and discover the immediate flight. But the ticketing agent gives some bad news.

"This flight is closed."

"WHAT!" Tucker and Valerie exclaim.

"It would take too long for you to get through security and customs to get to the flight in time."

"Please, can't you hold this flight so we can make it?"

"I don't think so, but I'll check."

He calls the gate agent. Tucker and Valerie wait anxiously.

"Yeah, we can get you on."

Tucker and Valerie cheer.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tucker says.

"Let's just get going," Valerie responds.

They hold hands as they get through customs and security. Meanwhile, Vlad and Dan, already on the plane, are ecstatic that they think that the final three have already been decided. They then see Tucker and Valerie get on the plane.

"Oh darn," Vlad groffs.

All four teams relax for the 7.5 hour trip to Toronto. Each team has their own way of relaxing.

Vlad and Dan both use the inflight video game system with Halo 2 to release some aggression.

Tucker plays too, as Valerie just rolls her eyes and turns on "Star Wars Episode III".

Ember and Youngblood decide to just sleep.

Danny goes to sleep too. Sam reads a book, rubbing Danny's chest as she reads.

7.5 hours later, the plane arrives in Toronto. Vlad and Dan are out of the airport first, followed by Tucker and Valerie, and Ember and Youngblood, who get hung up a bit in customs. Danny and Sam also get hung up a bit in customs and depart last from the airport. They each grab the cars that have been provided for them and race down to the CN Tower. Vlad and Dan maintain the lead into town and grab the Road Block clue first.

Road Block 11: Who's up for a big climb?

Vlad agrees to do it.

Road Block 11 Opened: You must climb the 1776 stairs of the CN Tower. The catch? You must do it while carrying a backpack equal to 60 of your body weight.

Vlad welcomes the challenge, as he is quite the strongman. He grabs the backpack and starts on his way up. Closely behind are Tucker and Valerie. Valerie has to do it, because Tucker has already completed his 6 Road Blocks. She fears the challenge.

"I don't know if I can carry that much weight. I mean, I can barely carry my bazooka."

"Your what?" Tucker reacts.

"Nothing!" Valerie says, trying to keep her ghost-hunting identity a secret. She starts to climb the stairs slowly.

They continue to climb as Ember and Youngblood get to the tower. Ember agrees to do it as she starts to climb with a lot of confidence. Meanwhile, the very strong Vlad nears the top. He reaches the 1776th step and nearly collapses, a move that surprises the producers. Exasperated, he grabs the clue and gets in the elevator to go back down to ground level.

As Tucker waits on ground level, he notices the arcade in the CN Tower.

"So tempting..." Tucker thinks. He then realizes they only have $37 left. He refrains from going to play, even though he badly wants to play DDR. Vlad arrives at the bottom floor and joins Dan in reading the next clue.

Route Marker 11.3: Make your way to the Air Canada Centre across town. Caution: Yield Ahead.

They head out of the building as Danny and Sam arrives. Danny decides to become the man and take the physical challenge. He starts up as Ember arrives on the top floor, having beaten Valerie to the top floor. In actuality, the tired Valerie is only two-thirds there. Ember and Youngblood grab the clue and head off to the Air Canada Centre. Valerie, however, is able to make it before a surprisingly fast Danny can get to the top. Valerie grabs the clue and the team heads off to the Air Canada Centre in 3rd. Danny and Sam are able to follow 5 minutes later, still stuck in last place.

Meanwhile, Vlad and Dan have arrived at the Air Canada Centre where they spot the 3rd and final Yield mat in the race. If a team has gotten Yielded, they must turn over an hourglass and wait for the sand to run out before they continue on. No team has used their Yield opportunity yet in the race, so any team could use it if they wanted.

Vlad and Dan arrive first. They consider who to Yield, and...

"We yield Ember and Youngblood," Vlad says confidently on the mat.

They place their picture on the sign and move on to the Detour.

Detour 11: Block or Unlock

Block: Block 10 shots each from players on the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. Once each of you have stopped those shots, the coach will give you your next clue.

Unlock: Take a key and find the lock among 500 spread throughout the main thoroughfare of the Air Canada Centre that will unlock. The locksmith will then give you your next clue.

Vlad and Dan try Block. Meanwhile, outside, Ember and Youngblood arrive to see that they have been yielded. Youngblood looks shocked, but Ember tries to reassure him of their chances.

"Remember, we are not out of this race!" Ember says. "How amazing would it be to come back from the final Yield to win this race?" Youngblood smiles.

"That's what I thought," Ember responds.

They sit down as Tucker and Valerie are the first to pass them. They decide to go with Unlock. On ice level, Vlad and Dan have suited up and look quite goofy in goalie garb. The first shot aims for Vlad. It goes through the five-hole. The next shot goes for Dan. He is able to make the glove save. He sticks his tongue out at Vlad. Vlad just scoffs back. Meanwhile, Danny and Sam arrive at the Route Marker. They decide to try Block as well.

Meanwhile, Tucker and Valerie have gone through 60 locks with no success. They are obviously starting to get frustrated as Tucker throws down his backpack in disgust.

"Don't get impatient!" Valerie scolds Tucker. "That's the last thing we need so close to the finish."

"Grr..." Tucker responds.

Tucker then finds the correct lock. Tucker smiles innocently as Valerie's point about patience was correct after all. He and Valerie receive the next clue.

Route Marker 11.4: Make your way to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls where you will receive your next clue at the Canadian Customs House.

Tucker and Valerie grab a taxi and head down to the falls. Meanwhile, on ice level, Dan blocks his tenth shot as Vlad blocks his eighth. They seem to have gotten the pattern down well at this point. At the other side of the ice, Danny, a surprisingly good goaltender, has already blocked 6 shots and has successfully coached Sam through 3 blocks of her own. As the teenage lovers continue, Dan finishes up. They grab the clue and head for the falls.

Over at the Yield, the hourglass finally runs out. With Ember's motivation, she and Youngblood choose Unlock and start trying to find the correct lock.

On ice level, Danny has finished up while Sam is almost there.

"Block your five-hole!" Danny says. She does and Sam gets #8.

"Up high!" Number nine.

"Left foot!" Number ten! They've finished.

"Thanks, Danny," Sam says. She hugs him. "You know, I wouldn't have had a chance on that without you. I owe you one."

Danny smiles and wonders what that could mean. They grab the clue and head for the falls. Meanwhile, frustration starts to set in with Ember and Youngblood. 120 locks and still no success.

"Where could this lock be?" Youngblood says.

"It's somewhere, we've just got to keep trying," Ember responds with a bit of anger in her voice.

Suddenly, they find their lock. Ember and Youngblood grab the clue and head for the falls.

At the Falls, Tucker and Valerie arrive first and find a bunch of safety restraints.

"Hmm," Tucker ponders, "I wonder what that could be for."

They then grab the clue. What they find out about this task shocks both of them.

Route Marker 11.5: After checking in with Canadian customs, climb down this ladder and choose one of these two 8-inch wide metal planks. With the water of the falls crashing down on you, you must cross the falls on these planks. Once you reach the American side, check in with the pit stop at the nearby American Customs house. Warning: Last team to check in will be eliminated.

Tucker and Valerie look at each other with scared faces. This is the most intense challenge they have faced yet. They check in with the Canadians and then put on the safety harnesses.

"Now if someone in your team falls," the safety technician says, "you must stand still for 90 seconds while we pull your teammate back up onto the plank."

Tucker and Valerie heed the warnings and climb down the ladder to the plank. Valerie's face is ghost white with fear over falling. Meanwhile, Vlad and Dan arrive up at the top of the cliff. They put on the harnesses as Tucker and Valerie, already soaked, start on their way. Vlad and Dan then climb down, oblivious of any fear. Meanwhile, Tucker and Valerie are about a quarter of the way there. Suddenly, Valerie looks down at the height they are up. Valerie suddenly becomes ultra-frightened and doesn't notice Tucker, who is in front of her, stop for a second. She bumps into him and falls off the plank. The harness saves her from falling, but she and Tucker must stop moving for 90 seconds, allowing Vlad and Dan, looking straight ahead at all times, to press on ahead into the lead. As Valerie gets pulled back up onto the plank, Danny and Sam arrive at the challenge. Sam also goes white when she sees the challenge.

"Are you sure I'll be able to do this?" Sam questions Danny.

"Don't worry," Danny says as he puts a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I will help you through. Just don't look down."

"Oh, I don't know if I'll be able to resist." Sam frowns and becomes extremely worried.

But Sam knows that this is the crunch time. She and Danny put on the harnesses and climb down. Meanwhile, Vlad and Dan have made it to the other side. They climb up to the American Customs where Phil is waiting.

"Vlad and Dan, you're team #1!"

Vlad and Dan high-five each other.

"You are one of the three teams that will race to the finish line for $1 million."

Meanwhile, Ember and Youngblood arrive at the challenge. The ghost pirates cheer at the sight of the challenge.

"Walking planks," Ember says. "This is our specialty."

Ember and Youngblood climb down as Danny and Sam timidly continue, not helped by the fact that Sam is scared and cold due to the water. At the other end, Tucker and Valerie have gotten over their initial fears of the challenge to complete the path and make it to the pit stop.

"Tucker and Valerie, you're team #2."

Back under the falls, Sam suddenly looks down and sees the height. Sam gets terrified and slips on an extremely wet spot, causing her to fall. As Danny waits the mandatory 90 seconds, Ember and Youngblood overtake the teenage lovebirds. After Danny and Sam get up, Sam is still terrified. Since he is in front, Danny gets a sudden idea. He tears a piece of clothing off of his shirt and ties it over Sam's eyes.

"What the heck are you doing?" Sam says. "Why have you just blindfolded me?"

"With the blindfold on, you won't be tempted to look down," Danny responds. "Now grab onto my shoulders, and walk along with me."

"I don't know..."
"Do you trust me?"

"Well..."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes!"

"Then hopefully you will trust me here."

Sam's confidence is still a bit low, but she smiles and knows that trust is the only chance she and Danny will have to win the race. This motivates her to follow Danny's lead and move at a fast pace. They pull even with Ember and Youngblood as the teams reach the ladders. Sam yanks off the blindfold and climbs up at a torrid pace with Danny. However, Ember and Youngblood keep up with the duo. Both teams reach the cliff at the same time and it becomes a foot race to the mat. Danny and Sam pull slightly ahead of Ember and Youngblood as the teams near the mat.

"Sam, our only chance is to dive for the mat!" Danny urges.

They dive for it, their hands touching the mat 5 yards before Ember and Youngblood can get there.

"Danny and Sam, you're team #3."

Danny and Sam hug in celebration of making the final three.

"What were you thinking when you saw our final challenge?" Phil questions Sam.

"You know, I thought, this is it for us in this race," Sam responds. As she smiles at Danny, she goes on: "But if Danny hadn't come up with as good of an idea as blindfolding me when I was terrified of the heights, they would be moving on instead of us."

She points over to an Ember and Youngblood, who, with bowed, ashamed heads, wait their turn to step on the mat.

"Ember, Youngblood, come over here," Phil says. "Ember and Youngblood, you're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to say that you've both been eliminated from the race."

"But these pirates," Sam says, "to come back from their yield to almost beat us to stay in the race, that is credit to their perseverance."

"Thanks, Sam," Ember says, "that really means a lot to us, doesn't it, Youngblood?"

"Yes..." Youngblood sobs. He then bawls, not being able to control his disappointment.

"Then does that mean that you will never cause trouble anymore on Earth?" Danny hopes.

"Nope," Ember says. "That just gives us more freedom to try even harder!"

And with an evil laugh, Ember and Youngblood fly off to Madison, WI to return to the Ghost Zone. Meanwhile, Danny and Sam hug and hurry off to the designated hotel to rest for what will be an intense final leg.

The final three are now decided: Vlad and Dan, Tucker and Valerie, and Danny and Sam. Who will win the Amazing Race? Find out in the Season Finale!