Leg II, Part I

A/N: It's taking longer than I thought to type all this up. Therefore, every leg from now on will be split into two parts to keep updates more frequent.

The interior of a giant blimp is shown as Ruling Dragon steps forward inside.

"This is the Cheep Cheep Blimp, a dirigible that serves as the primary mode of transportation to and from Glitzville, the floating city in the sky. This one-of-a-kind blimp was the first Pit Stop in a race around the world. Teams arrived here at the end of the last leg for a mandatory rest period that allows them to eat, sleep, and migle with the other teams. Can Kirby and Waddle Dee continue to ignore the verbal beratings from the other teams to keep their lead? And can Wolf and Leon cease their arguing to climb out of last place? Kirby and Waddle Dee, who arrived first at 2:54 PM…

"Yippee! Yay! Yahoo!" the pair celebrated in unison.

…will depart at 2:54 AM.

Kirby & Waddle Dee, 1st to depart, 2:54 AM

(rip)

"Catch a tram to the ground and get on an I. Flight to Corneria City and find Kit. The airport is directly below you. You have 148 coins for this leg of the Race." Waddle Dee read.

"In this special Nintendo Edition of the Amazing Race, teams travel between many Nintendo realities. To do so, they must catch interdimensional flights, or 'I. Flights' to those locations. In this case, teams must fly to Corneria City, the huge capital of the planet of Corneria, from the Star Fox series. Once there, teams will have figure out that Kit is a statue of a cat who used to be a 4-star general in the Cornerian Army. It is here that they will find their next clue."

"A tram, huh?" Kirby mused. "There! Look! That cable car is going down to the city!" the two teammates quickly climb in and ride the tram down.

"Right now, we're not really sure what to make of this. The next team will probably catch us given that they're only a few minutes behind us." Waddle Dee said to the camera.

Fox & Falco, 2nd to depart, 2:56 AM

"Get on an I. Flight to Corneria-all right!" Fox exclaimed. "-Find Kit. The airport is directly below you."

"Oh, man, Corneria! This is going to be cake." Falco chuckled.

Fox nodded in agreement as the two climbed into the next tram that came up the line.

"The first few teams are really close together. I'm just hoping we can outrun 'em." Falco pondered.

Bowser & Bowser Jr., 3rd to depart, 3:04 AM

"Grarr! This Corneria place better be ready to have us take it by storm!" Bowser roared.

"Um, papa, you're rocking the tram." Jr. observed.

-----------------------------

"WHAT!" Kirby shouted.

"I shoulda known…" Waddle Dee groaned.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Fox questioned as he ran up to them.

"Take a look." Waddle Dee pointed to a sign on the airport that said "Opens at 6:00 AM."

"Great. We're sunk." Fox said.

-----------------------------

Peach & Samus, 4th to depart, 3:07 AM

"Boy, was I glad to change out of those shoes!" Peach gushed.

"Whatever." Her partner rolled her eyes. "Let's see, 'Catch a tram to the ground and get on an I. Flight to Corneria City and find Kit. The airport is directly below you. You have 148 coins for this leg of the Race.'" She read.

"146-147-148! It's all here. Let's move out!" Peach cried.

"Oy…"

Peach addressed the camera. "I know I can be a bit random at times, but that's just me! I can't help it."

-----------------------------

"Opens at 6:00, huh?" Samus said as she saw the sign. "I guess now we wait…"

"And wait…" Bowser continued.

"And wait." Kirby finished.

-----------------------------

Yoshi & Koopa, 5th to depart, 3:46 AM

"Catch a tram to the ground-" Koopa read.

DK & Diddy, 6th to depart, 3:49 AM

"And get on an I. Flight to Corneria City and find Kit." Diddy said.

Marth & Roy, 7th to depart, 3:50 AM

"The airport is directly below you. You have 148 coins for this leg of the Race." Roy finished.

"Hurry, guys! Let's all go together." Yoshi urged everyone into the same tram.

"Do you think it's safe to go with these guys?" Koopa inquired.

"Why? We're not in last." Yoshi said.

"True."

"Uh oh. I just had a really gruesome thought." Roy realized. "What if the airport's not open?"

"Then we still have a chance to catch the other teams." Diddy chimed in.

"Yeah, but that means the other teams can catch up to us." Koopa said. "And that's not-"

"OK!" DK interrupted.

"…Exactly."

"Man! As if it weren't bad enough in 6th place!" Roy complained.

"Well, let's just get there and figure out the rest later." Yoshi sighed.

-----------------------------

Link & Zelda, 8th to depart, 4:22 AM

"Corneria, eh? Sounds fancy." Link said as he and Zelda stepped into the tram.

"I'll try not to hold you back too much, Link." Zelda said sheepishly.

"You could never hold me back, Z." Link reassured, running his fingers through Zelda's hair. The princess just giggled.

Mario & Luigi, 9th to depart, 4:48 AM

"Let's-a gooooo!" Mario shouted.

"Um, Mario?" Luigi raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"Hee hee. Sorry. Just wanted to say that for old time's sake." Mario admitted.

"So," Luigi changed the subject. "What do you think Corneria City's going to be like?"

"I just hope they have cheese there."

"…What?"

Mario didn't answer; he just continued to look out the window of the tram, probably thinking about cheese.

Wolf & Leon, Last to depart, 4:55 AM

"You have 148 coins for this leg of the race." Leon read.

"It's all here. Come on! We've gotta catch up!" Wolf urged.

-----------------------------

"Whoa, you're all still here?" Wolf questioned.

"Yup." Kirby replied. "So much for our lead." He said audibly.

"Oh, quit complaining." Luigi sighed.

"Yeah, easy for you to say!" Falco retorted. "We were in second!"

"EVERYBODY QUIET!" Bowser roared.

All the other racers stare at him.

"Whoa. That worked." Bowser said. "Uh, I mean, of course it worked."

"Why don't you make us?" Roy challenged.

"WHAT! Why you little twerp!" Bowser lunged at his offender, and the two got into a scuffle to the amusement of the others. Marth and Bowser Jr. clutch their foreheads.

-----------------------------

6:00

"Move out!" Fox chanted. "Gotta get to the airline desk!"

"Out of my way, Roy!" Link elbowed the Fire Emblem fighter out of his way, adding another bruise to Roy's face. Bowser chuckled as he ran past.

"Mess with me again and there's more where that came from!" he laughed.

"This is easy!" yelled Kirby as he floated over the crowd.

"Kirby! Um, a little help?" his flightless partner beckoned.

"Come on, Waddle Dee, hurry up!" Kirby laughed.

"Kirby!"

"There's the airline desk, Yoshi!" Koopa yelled. He sprinted for it, pulling Yoshi along with him. The duo managed to get there first.

"Hi." Koopa panted. "We'd like tickets to Corneria City, please."

"Okay, an I. Flight is it?" the clerk asked. "For all of you?"

"Uhhh…" Koopa looked into the group to see some angry faces and some begging faces. Bowser showed a fist to Koopa and he understood. "Yeah, for all of us." He said quickly.

"OK. Your flight leaves at 7:20 and arrives at 5:00 PM." The flight attendant issued twenty tickets for the group.

"All teams are flying to Corneria on the same flight. When they land, they'll need to find a hovertaxi to take them to the statue of Kit, where their next clue is waiting."

Corneria City

"Taxi!" Peach above the roar of the crowd. "Taxi!"

"This is awesome!" Fox yelled. "We know this city like the back of our hands!"

"Come on, Jr! Get the lead out!" Bowser beckoned.

"Hey, there's a taxi!" Diddy pointed. "Hey! Over here!"

The taxi driver pulled over and opened the door. "Where to?"

"Do you know where Kit is?" Diddy asked.

"Yeah, hop in."

"OK!" DK said triumphantly.

-----------------------------

"Zelda, look! The Mario brothers just got a taxi!" Link shouted.

"Luigi, hurry up before…oh no, Link and Zelda are coming this way!" Mario tried to force his brother inside.

"Scoot over, Mario!" Link snorted, pushing him into the cab. Zelda soon followed suit.

"Ack!" Luigi, on the far side, was being sandwiched between Mario and the door. "Just take us to Kit, and hurry!"

"You got it." Answered the taxi driver The taxi floated off, with two teams in tow.

-----------------------------

Marth was gesticulating wildly for the taxis to stop. "Why won't they stop!"

"Cause they think you're crazy, now cut it out!" Roy protested.

"They're never going to get a taxi the way they're going." Yoshi observed, shaking his head.

"Well, right now, we've got our own problems." Koopa said. "Hey, there's a taxi! Hey! Hey!"

"No way! That was the taxi I was trying to get!" the blue haired swordsman started jumping up and down.

"Gee, I wonder why they didn't…" Roy said sarcastically.

-----------------------------

"There are no taxis anywhere!" Bowser Jr. whined.

"Someone will show up soon." His father growled.

"But what if they don't and we get eliminated?"

"Grr…A TAXI BETTER STOP BY RIGHT NOW OR ELSE!" Bowser roared.

Instantly, a taxi pulled up.

"W-where too, your Grumpiness?" the trembling driver asked.

"Wow!" Bowser exclaimed. "I've never been called that by anyone other than Kammy. Hey, how'd you like to consider working for me?"

"Papa, the Race?" Jr. said.

"Oh, right! Um, take us to Kit." Bowser said. "Uh, now!" he added.

-----------------------------

"Sweet ride! A black hovertaxi!" Falco said. The taxi was quietly humming along with the lifelong friends in tow.

"State-of-the-art, too. It pays to know people." Fox, said as he relaxed in the leather seats.

"Hey, can this thing go any faster?" Falco asked.

"Ho ho!" The driver chuckled. "Faster's what you want? Hold on to your skeletons!" And with that, the taxi zoomed off at a speed to rival any F-Zero racer.

-----------------------------

"Ugh, everyone's probably gotten taxis by now." Peach whined.

"No sense in giving up." Samus reasoned. Besides, we haven't seen Kirby and Waddle Dee since the airport. Maybe they got lost.

Peach took a deep breath. "You're right. You're right. Maybe we'll get lucky."

-----------------------------

"This-seems-kinda-dangerous!" Waddle Dee yelled as he flapped in the wind.

"Just-hold-on-and-don't-let-go!" Kirby shouted back, bouncing with each word.

"Do you hear something?" Diddy asked from inside the taxi. The faint thump-thump-thump of Kirby and Waddle Dee hitting the taxi could be heard. "It's probably the suspension or something. These ARE hovertaxis after all." Diddy dismissed. Kirby and Waddle Dee held on to their free ride for dear life.

"OK! OK!" DK suddenly pointed.

"What is it, big guy?" Diddy looked in the direction DK was pointing. A large statue of a cat in front of an even larger building could be seen. "Hey, is that Kit?"

"Yep." The taxi driver answered. "I believe this is your stop."

"Can you wait here?" Diddy asked. The taxi driver shrugged.

"Sure, but the meter will still run."

The two apes were already halfway up the steps to the statue. The clue box was hanging from the statue's base.

"Here's the clue box." Diddy said, pulling out a clue. "Let's see…it's a Roadblock, wow. Who can climb in record time?"

"A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform, and no team member can perform more than six on the entire Race. In this Roadblock, that team member must go inside this palace, built to honor Kit's service in the military. Inside, they'll find and exact replica of the rock face that Kit climbed. It is 100 feet tall, and teams must use the grooves in the face as footholds. Once they reach the top, they can grab the clue hanging from the ceiling."

"Oh, man. I think that's gonna be you, big guy." Diddy said, putting DK on the back.

"OK!" the bigger ape trotted into the palace, Diddy following close behind.

"Hi!" the instructor greeted. "Let's get this harness on you so you don't fall."

DK seemed to take offense to this comment, but nonetheless waited patiently as she attached all of the hooks and straps as Diddy watched. "All right, get to it!" she said.

Meanwhile, outside, Kirby and Waddle Dee had also waited patiently. For their unknowing tow trucks to dissapear.

"Come on. They're gone." Waddle Dee said. The two floated up the steps and ripped open the clue. 'Who can climb in record time?'" Waddle Dee read.

"I'll do it, I guess." Kirby said. "'Climb a 100-foot rock face to grab a clue hanging from the ceiling." Kirby took a breath. "Great." He huffed.

When the pink balloon arrived inside, DK was already about a third of the way up the cliff.

"DK!" Diddy called. "Puffball alert!"

"Looks easy enough." Kirby observed, ignoring Diddy. "Come on, come on, hook me up already!" he motioned to the instructor, impatient.

-----------------------------

"Will somebody explain to me why we CANNOT get a taxi?" Wolf flared.

"Maybe that has something to do with it?" Leon offered.

"Quiet! Now help me flag down a taxi, or hitchhike or something!"

"Like it's my fault there are no taxis here." Leon muttered to himself.

"TAXI!"

-----------------------------

"Looks like our sweet, sweet taxi ride ends here." Falco said, sullen.

"Not quite. Hey, pal, I'll give you 15 extra coins to stay here." Fox offered.

"Mushroom Kingdom coins?" the driver asked.

"Well, yeah."

"HA! They're not worth that much here, sonny boy!" he hooted. "But I suppose I'll do it for 30 coins.

To Fox and Falco, it seemed like a fortune. Fox agreed anyway.

"What are you nuts!" Falco shouted.

"Just move." Fox half-yelled.

(rip)

"Roadblock. 'Who can climb in record time?'" Falco read. "That's me. That's definitely me." He said confidently.

-----------------------------

"Come on DK! Just a little more!" Diddy urged. DK was moving along at a fast pace. Krby, on the other hand, was halfway up the cliff when started running out of steam.

"You're doing great Kirby!" Waddle Dee cheered. "Don't stop! Keep going!"

"Don't tell me how to do the Roadblock!" Kirby snapped.

"I was just trying to help!" his partner shouted back.

"Look, when you're up here, you can tell me off however you want! But right now, I'm up here!" Kirby said simply.

Waddle Dee looked at the entrance just in time to catch Fox and Falco rushing in. "Hey guys," he greeted, amiably as ever. "What's up?"

"Hey WD." Falco grunted as he rushed past. "So what, we need the harness?" he asked.

"Duh." Waddle Dee groaned.

Before Falco could get his harness on, DK managed to grab one of the envelopes hanging from the ceiling. He grunted in happiness as he let go and let the harness carry him down.

"Great job, DK!" Diddy shouted. "Now what's that clue say?"

(rip)

"'Travel by taxi to Persimmon's, and search the grounds for your next clue.'" Diddy said.

"Teams must travel approximately 19 miles to this place. Persimmon's Aeronautics. This is the most recent building of the 60-year-old business, the only one of its kind on Corneria. This Arwing manufacturing plant is where teams will find their next clue."

"All right, let's go." Diddy said, turning his head. "Looks like we just missed the rush." He added, as three taxis drove toward the palace.

"Hey Diddy. Hey DK." Yoshi greeted as he passed them on the steps.

"Yoshi, there's no time for that! Look! Bowser's right behind us!" Koopa shouted.

"GRAR! Outta my way!" Bowser roared.

"Papa, PLEASE calm down!" Jr. said, frustrated.

"I'm not gonna calm down, OK!"

"Come on, Peach!" Samus beckoned. We can catch them while they're arguing!"

"'Roadblock," Koopa said. "Who can climb in record time? Yoshi, do it." He decided.

"Think you're up for it, Junior?" Bowser asked. His son recoiled, surprised, but nodded anyway.

"'Who can climb in record time?'" Samus read. "I'll go."

"Well, OK…" Peach agreed.

-----------------------------

"TAXI!" Wolf yelled for the millionth time.

"Oh, we're going to be eliminated." Leon groaned.

"Look, I will not have this kind of negativity, all right!" Wolf fumed.

"OK, OK." Leon said, backing off. "Hey, is that a taxi? Quick, flag it down!"

Wolf quickly did so, even jumping into the middle of the street to do it. As they opened the door, the taxi driver gave a short reprimand to Wolf.

"Geez, buddy, are you trying to get yourself killed?" he asked.

"Put a cork in it." Wolf said gruffly. "Just take us to the statue of Kit. And hurry."

"Not until you admit you were wrong." the taxi driver folded his arms.

The only thing stopping Wolf from strangling the taxi driver was the glass pane that Leon rolled up.

"JUST TAKE US THERE!" he exploded.

"All right, all right, sheesh. Guy can't even admit his own faults." The driver shook his head before speeding off.

-----------------------------

"OK, it's official." Luigi said, throwing his hands in the air. "We're lost."

Link tapped the taxi driver on the shoulder. "Hey, do you know where you're going?" he asked, the only one still calm in the backseat.

"Of course he doesn't." Zelda snapped. "Why do you think we've been going around in circles for the past hour?

"Z, sweetie, can you let me handle this?" Link asked.

"Fine, whatever." Zelda waved Link off.

"Do you know where we're going?" Link repeated.

"Uhhh, just let me get some quick directions." The taxi driver said as he pulled over into a nearby gas station.

"What? Directions!" Mario yelled at a screeching pitch. "We're sunk. We're totally sunk." He moaned.

"We're not out yet." Link reassured. "We still have each other!"

"What is this, Happy Hour at the Mushroom Diner?" Luigi snorted.

Link sighed. "I meant that as long as we're together, we know we still have at least one team with us."

Silence.

"Right?" Link offered.

Some groans from the other three could be heard.

"Man, this Race can bring out the worst in people." Link stated.

-----------------------------

"That's it, Falco!" Fox yelled. "You're dead even with Kirby!"

"Climb, Yoshi, climb! You're doing great, man!" Koopa whooped.

"Samus, go faster, the others are miles ahead of you!" Peach yelled.

"Shut up, Peach!" Samus called back.

"I was just trying to help!"

"You call that helping!"

Bowser chose to stay silent and just let his son do the work.

The miniature Koopa King was scuttling up the rock easily, quickly catching up with the frontrunners Kirby and Falco.

"OH HOLY-FALCO! GET THE LEAD OUT!" Fox yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Huh?" Falco looked down to see Bowser Jr, quickly zeroing in his position. "AAAH!"

The two scrambled for position, Kirby falling behind.

"Got it!" Falco said.

"YES!" Bowser Jr. squealed.

"Rrr…" Falco glowered.

"At least you got it." Fox said.

"Just go, fast!"

"Finally!" Kirby gasped.

"Come on, we're just a little behind! We can catch up!" Waddle Dee said.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do about a taxi?" Kirby asked.

"All the more reason to hurry! Come on!"

-----------------------------

(rip)

"'Travel by taxi to Persimmon's'" Fox yelled, putting the emphasis on the name.

"'-and search the grounds for your next clue.'" Bowser finished. "Uhhh, let's just follow them, they probably know where it is." He mused, climbing into his taxi. "Just follow that black one!" he told the driver. The two taxis sped off, stranding Kirby and Waddle Dee.

"Now what, genius?" Kirby asked sardonically.

"Look, just get another one!" Waddled Dee yelled.

The pair dashed off in the direction of the other cabs.

-----------------------------

"That's it! That's gotta be!" Roy yelled, pointing at the statue.

"Pull over." Marth said.

(rip)

"Roadblock, Who can climb in record time?" Marth read. Roy looked at his partner expectantly.

"All right, all right, I'll do it." He said, rolling his eyes.

-----------------------------

"Persimmon's!" Diddy said. "Hey, stop!"

"OK!" the taxi driver said.

"O-" DK started.

"Don't even think about it." Diddy interrupted.

DK dashed off in search of the clue box.

"All right, you look around here. I'll go around back." Diddy took off in search for the clue box. For a while, he found nothing. But when he looked at the Persimmon's sign…

"DK, look! In the "O"! There it is!"

"OK!"

(rip)

"Detour: Water or Air."

"A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. In this Detour, teams must choose between Water and Air. In Water, teams must travel on foot to the Corneria beach, on the east end of the city. There, teams must put on scuba gear and pry open clamshells to look for a yellow and red flag with an N on it, the symbol, of the Amazing Race: Nintendo Edition. Not all of the 55 clamshells near the beach will contain a flag, however. Once they bring the flag to the mariner on the beach, he will hand them their next clue. Getting the clamshells open can be tough, but teams with strength, and a little luck could finish quickly. In Air, teams must go inside Persimmon's, a hangar for aircraft. There, they must enlist a pilot's help and climb into an Arwing. They will ascend to 3000 feet and try and spot a yellow and red flag with an N on it on the ground. That spot marks a place where the flags can be retrieved. They must land there, get a flag, and fly back to Persimmon's. When they do, the head pilot will give them their next clue. Flying around the city requires no strength, but teams must have good eyes to spot the flag in the 800-square mile city."

"Oh, man. It's gotta be water." Diddy nodded. "Right, let's go."

"Urr!" DK said in agreement.

"Right."

500-meters later…

"There! That must be the beach!" Diddy shouted. DK sprinted on all fours toward it.

"All right, why don't you put on this here scuba gear." The mariner said.

After some struggling, the pair was ready to go.

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Reviewer's Corner

Orange Sora: Hey, thanks for the review. I have already picked the winner, and everyone's ranks (randomly). Whatever happens, happens. ;)