Ever watched that heart-pounding, teeth-clenching, jaw-dropping reality series 'The Amazing Race'? Imagine Squall and Rinoa being one of those infamous bickering couples, or the Trepies, Daniel and Rachel the niceties, Edea and Kadowaki the aunties of the team, and as always the goofy all guy team Zell and Irvine… Put them on a race around the FFVIII globe, outdoing each other to win one million gil. Well, this is how the race goes…
Balamb – 8.30 a.m. (Balamb Mean Time)
The nine teams circled on a platform and in the middle stood Cid Kramer, who was the host of the event.
"There are eleven legs in this race where you will conduct a series of various tasks. At the end of the race there is a pit stop. You'll be given a certain amount of money at the beginning of the race, which you'll use to spend for the next leg, except for airline tickets that you don't need to pay for, and so saving money is an advantage. There is one fast forward pass at each leg where you can skip all tasks when it's been claimed. However, a team can only use it once for the rest of the race. The last team to arrive at the pit stop will be eliminated from the race. Three of these legs are non-elimination points where no team will be eliminated. The first team to reach the finish line will win 1,000,000 gil.
Across the clearing, over there, your luggage, and on top of them is a sealed envelope, which holds your first clue. After that the rest is up to you.
The world is waiting."
Squall tightened his grip on Rinoa's hand as the adrenaline pumped fiercely into his veins. Selphie wanted to hold Seifer's hand but was nastily refused.
"I did not want to team up with up in the first place anyway," Seifer said. Selphie only looked up at him with innocent puppy eyes. Edea and Kadowaki gave each other pats on the back.
"I'm glad my hubby makes a good host, doesn't he," Edea commented.
"Are you ready?" Cid shouted. The nine teams replied 'yeah' altogether.
"Go!"
The nine teams raced to their backpacks lying at the edge of the clearing. Jack was the first person to reach his luggage. He swiftly picked up the red envelope and tore it open to receive a written clue.
"King, hurry up!" Jack shouted at his partner who was still among the running group. King united with Jack, reading the clue together.
"Drive to Balamb Town and take the train to Timber. The first train will depart at 9.10 a.m. and the second will depart 40 minutes later. Hurry! Seats are on a first come first serve basis," Rachel read with enthusiasm.
"BALAMB STATION! YOU DRIVE I NAVIGATE!" Fujin ordered Raijin. Raijin immediately powered the engine of their convertible.
"Woohoo! Timber, here we come!" Zell screamed as he hopped into the back seat of the car.
The forest starting rustling again, scaring away the animals which inhabited the canopies, as the cars rumbled and carved their way through the labyrinth of trees.
"I think we should follow those red flags hanging on the trees to get out of the forest. It's written in the clue," said Shelley, Nida's best friend and classmate.
"Anyone following us?" Nida asked, driving the car.
Shelley turned around. There were three other cars following them. She could clearly see the drivers; Squall, Xu and Daniel.
"Squall, Instructor Xu and Daniel are hot on our trail," she informed.
"Okay. No use losing them at this point."
Two minutes apart from the leading pack were Kadowaki and Edea, and Zell and Irvine.
"Wanna make an alliance with the boys?" Kadowaki, who was the navigator, suggested.
"Yeah sure. I think we're lost." Edea slowed down the car and waved at Zell and Irvine to stop. Irvine stopped the car beside Edea's.
"Got any problem, ladies?" Irvine asked Edea from his window.
"We're kind of lost so can we team up and find our way out?" Edea asked and winked. Irvine's car lunged forward, while the women followed his car from behind, spotting the route markers together and, in no time, exited the forest and pulled into the highway.
Fujin and Raijin were having difficulties. Their radiator burned out and Raijin, in panic, bumped the car on the bark of a cedar tree. A squirrel fell from the tree and landed on Fujin's face.
"BAH! STUPID ANIMAL!" Fujin tried to fend off the critter, which was scratching her face. After the squirrel shyly scattered away from the car, Fujin showed her anger by slamming the door after she got off the wrecked vehicle.
"RAIJIN, IDIOT! COME OUT!" Fujin screeched. Raijin got out of the car and tumbled on the dirt. Fujin then gave Raijin a kick on the abdomen.
"It's not my fault hon. The car's a goner anywayz," Raijin said complacently. Selphie and Seifer's car arrived at the scene.
"Hey guys, what happened? Ooh, what a crash!" Selphie commented as she saw the duo's car sputtering a trail of white smoke towards the sky.
"You fools, hop in," Seifer ordered, "You don't wanna win a million gil?"
"There are seats for two more," Selphie added, pointing down to the seats she was sitting on.
Fujin and Raijin hopped into their convertible.
Sparrows flew into Jack and King's convertible.
"Jack, did you bring birdseeds with you again?" King reprimanded.
"I'm sorry birdseed give me energy ya know. Crap, I think I touched some bird shit."
"I'm gonna horn to scare the pests away."
"No, you can't! The clue said..." Jack's warning was interrupted by the blaring of the horn, scaring the sparrows away. Jack shook his head in worry.
"What you were about to say?" King said, while turning around to find Jack gaping. King turned back to see a Catchapillar lunging towards the vehicle.
"Haha!" Daniel jeered at Nida and Shelley as they overtook their car on the highway. Leading them were Quistis and Xu. The Trepies were too afraid to overtake Quistis as they revered her as their idol; that is what being a Trepie is all about. After a few minutes they arrived at the seaside town of Balamb. The instructors were the first to arrive at the port, followed by the Trepies, Nida and Shelley, and Squall and Rinoa. The four teams quickly exited the cars and dashed madly to the train station across the street.
After battling with the other teams in a queue fight, Squall and Rinoa were the first team to purchase the first ticket.
"We rock Squall!" Rinoa cheered, jumping up and down. A blast of cool air-conditioning greeted them as they entered the cabin of the first train already waiting for them at the platform.
Nida was the last person in the queue to buy the tickets, but to his dismay the ticket girl shook her head and said 'no more' when he demanded tickets for the first train. Shelley was frustrated as she watched Xu and Quistis and the Trepies entered the train.
"I can't believe it!" Shelley exclaimed while pulling her hair in anger as Nida exited the queue with the second train tickets. "We were in the lead!"
"It happens," Nida said coolly.
"It's you who's being slow!" Shelley yelled at him with her eyes fixed on his line of sight. She mimicked Nida's voice as she continued, "We shouldn't drive faster than 50 miles per hour cos we'll be breaking traffic rules."
Fujin and Raijin sat down at the nearby café with Seifer and Selphie after they have bought their tickets. Seifer, Fujin and Raijin were discussing strategy while Selphie pressed her nose on the glass wall peering at the ocean.
"Next time Raijin, I DRIVE YOU NAVIGATE!" Fujin screeched, banging her fist on the patio.
"Ya know, I think our biggest threat is Squall while we can bamboozle the others like we used to. I hate Squall when he spots our bag of tricks and this time it's payback time!" Seifer sneered.
"Uh uh, no cheating cuz God's watching us," Raijin said dumbly. Seifer gave Raijin a knock on the head.
"Then what God will do, strike lightning bolts at us?" Seifer jeered. Raijin nodded in apology.
"Umm... what about Selphie? Will she try to sabotage our plans?" Raijin said.
"Good question my man." The three started to near at each other, whispering.
"I'll try to divert Selphie's attention from spotting our dirty tricks. But I need your help."
Fujin looked at her watch. "10 MINUTES TO TRAIN'S DEPARTURE." Immediately, the three departed their seats. Seifer tapped on Selphie's shoulder but she was still lost in her admiration of the sea.
"Why is the sea so blue?" Selphie thought. She was then dragged forcefully out of the cafe, her eyes still stuck on the view of the ocean.
The train hissed and screeched as it stopped at the platform at Balamb Station.
Nida and Shelley threw their bags on the floor and sat on the seats of the cabin.
"Funny, I didn't see Jack and King at the station yet," Shelley said in wonder.
"I hope they're not stranded in the forest or the highway. They're kinda fun when it comes to Triple Triad," Nida said. "I'm going to explore the train."
As Nida walked along the corridor, he saw Seifer, Fujin, Raijin and Selphie walking towards him at a distance. As they encountered, Seifer gave an unfriendly bump to Nida. Nida did not grudge and continued walking. Seifer and Selphie entered their cabins first while Fujin and Raijin entered the next one. Selphie jumped wildly as the intercom informed their coming departure.
"I can't wait to look at the undersea the second time!" That gave Seifer a major headache. The ranting about her first SeeD adventure to Timber that Selphie brought into the cabin broke his lazy nap. In fact, Seifer's envy boiled, as he was still an undergraduate unlike Squall, Zell and Selphie.
A minute was left until the train's departure and there was no sign of Jack and King. Just before the train started to move, two people smothered in green slime entered the train in exhaustion. Many of the passengers were surprised and felt disgusted. Nida quickly recognised them as Jack and King through the thick slime.
"Glad that you two made it." Nida sighed of relief. He tried not to slap their slimy palms. "What happened?"
"This guy here likes to disturb bugs," Jack pointed at King. The slime on his finger dripped on the floor.
"Shut up, Jack-ass," King pushed Jack to their cabin soon after, leaving a trail of foul-smelling, slimy footprints.
On the first train, the Trepies were sort of honored and lucky to be on the same train with their idol. They hounded Quistis to death by profusely treating her to lunch. She ignored, hiding her face behind a magazine cover. Squall and Rinoa were watching sea life from the window. Squall and Rinoa were about to be engaged soon and they sometimes joke on love and sex while watching the fishes swimming by.
On the second train, Selphie joined Zell, Irvine, Edea and Kadowaki for a game of charades after being chased away by Seifer for disturbing his sleep. Nida, Jack and King played Triple Triad. As always, King had the better hand and won the most cards. Fujin and Raijin were chatting with Seifer in his cabin.
"I don't get it. How on earth did you pair up with Selphie?" Fujin wondered.
Seifer gritted his teeth. "It's because this Selphie doesn't have a teammate when she really, really wanted to join the race and she knew that I don't have a teammate too. So, she just submits the entry with my name and a fake signature on it. She also tapped into the school database and got all my details."
Fujin paused, imagining Selphie being sneaky and ruthless despite being coy and childish all the time.
"She can turn out as an asset, ya know," Raijin said.
"Raijin, I think you got it right." Seifer snickered. "She might have some use to us after all."