Amazing Race - Slash Edition

by Akuma2x1

Summary:

Welcome to the Amazing Race - Slash Edition. Read the pairings mentioned above and you will see ten teams who will race in this special edition of Amazing Race. Please stay tune.

Notes:

One day, I watched Amazing race and wondered what would certain characters do if they were in the race. Since it wouldn't be fair to pair those characters with ordinary teams, I decide to put ten gorgeous teams instead. I decide on these pairings because these are favorite pairings of my two favorite authors. Their works on new fandom usually made me fall into that fandom as well.

Chapter 1: Leg 1 Beginning

A middle aged man with impeccable suit stood in the middle of a vast green park. He was leaning on his black umbrella and addressed twenty guys in front of him. “Welcome to the Amazing Race, Slash Edition. For this edition, there are ten teams to compete. Each team consists of two cool guys in pre-existing relationship. All ten teams will race around the world and complete various tasks to win one million dollars.”

Team 1
Arthur and Merlin
Commoners

“We always enjoy adventure and are curious to see all other countries,” said a guy with short blond hair. Body straight and hands behind his back, he gave a proud smile, “Amazing race is the perfect advanture for us.”

His black haired companion rolled his eyes. “Arthur wants to prove that he can go around the world without first class service.” That got him a slap on the head. “Ow.”

“We are commoners now, Merlin“ hissed Arthur,

Merlin made a bland smile, “Right, commoners.”

Team 2
Daniel and Jack
World Explorers

A short haired guy with spectacle smiled cheerfully. “We have been to many different and beautiful places but I’m bit ashamed to admit that we never got to visit our er....local sceneries.”

“For crying out loud, Daniel, you are the language expert here. “ A white haired guy in late forties sighed, “We will travel around the world. The word you are looking for is ‘global sceneries’ not ‘local sceneries’!”

Daniel grimaced in embarrassment. “Sorry, Jack.”

Team 3
Loki and Thor
Brothers

“I love this world, “ shouted a guy with shoulder-length blond hair. The beard on his face didn’t hide the fact that he was smiling widely. “I would love to see many amazing things and share this adventure with my beloved brother.”

Next to him, a black haired guy with slightly longer hair smiled blandly, “You are meant to say ‘adopted brother’, Thor.”

Thor’s smile diminished slightly. “Our parents never told us that Loki was adopted. We just found out a year ago. Since then, Loki has been trying to distance himself from me. Of course, I wouldn’t have any of it.” Thor put an arm around Loki who looked disinterested. “It is to my sincerest hope that by joining this astounding battle, Loki and I will be as close again as we used to.”

Loki sighed. “It’s a race, not a battle, Thor.”

Team 4
Duncan and Methos
Antique Dealers

“I have been a fan of Amazing Race since its first run, yes.“ said a slender man in English accent, He has short black hair and looked very enthusiastic.

A scruffy guy with long wavy black hair stared at his companion grimly, “I will find out what you are planning with this, Methos.” He has Scottish accent and five o’clock shadow beard.

“There’s no plan, Duncan. I love being able to participate of this race.” Methos said cheerfully. “We can go to many places and snatch one million dollar at the same time. Who knows, we can also find something interesting for your antique shop or for my collection. This is a wonderful game!“

“I thought you didn’t like games, Methos.“ Duncan frowned, “or being chased by other contestants.”

“The games I dislike are the ones which can only have one person as the winner.” Methos waved his hand toward Duncan dismissively. “Also, I believe we have great advantages in this race since we have gone all over the world to find antiques and became quite skilful in several unusual languages.”

Team 5
Adam and Kris
Singers

“Kris and I have been best friends since we met in other reality show, “ A tall guy with black hair and mascara spoke up. “The show has made both of us so famous that we almost don’t have time to talk to each other. We have tried to set up schedule to meet but our works kept getting in the way.”

“So Adam came up with this idea, “ continued Kris, a short and slender guy with dirty blond hair. “Since it was a reality show that helped us build our friendship, why not join another reality show to help maintaining our friendship.”

“This way, we can spend time in each other company and give some entertainments for our fans, “ Adam grinned and hugged Kris, “not to mention this guy likes to go around world.”

Kris smiled, “Yeah, I like it. But honestly man, I never think you will choose to join Amazing Race. There will be no time to put your make up or hair gel while racing, you know. Not to mention what all the physical tasks will do to your nails...”

Adam looked beyond horrified

Team 6
Steve and Tony
Super (rich) Husbands

A man with black goatee smiled then turned to his blond companion. “Steve, we don’t have to do this. No need to go the hard way just to visit other countries. I can have my private jet to take us whenever you want to go...”

“And have you distracted with whatever technologies you can bring along?” The blond man gave Tony a raised eyebrow and said, “No, it’s better to join this race. It forbids us to bring any technologies and to communicate with other people outside the race. With this, you can’t bring any gadgets and can’t contact anyone else. This will be our true holiday.”

“But, ...” Tony started protesting.

Steve touched Tony’s cheek gently. “I want holiday where my husband focus solely on me, Tony.”

Tony folded like a bad card.

Team 7
Draco and Harry
Rival Sportsmen

“Harry and I will win this race, “ A young man with impeccable blond hair stated imperiously. “and show to those incompetents what being a professional player means.”

“Right, maybe we will need to explain further,“ another young man with spectacles and messy black hair coughed a bit. “Draco and I are players from rival team and well,...” The young man hesitated, “...we often quarrel.”

“We are rivals, of course we quarrel!” Draco growled.

Harry looked like he wanted to agree but restrained himself and continued the story. “So one day, some of our colleagues told Draco that no matter how great a player he is, he certainly can’t work together with his rival. So naturally, Draco wanted to prove that he is a professional player who can also work with his rival player to win a race.”

“Because of our exclusive contracts, we have to find other revenue to do the teamwork thing and thus, we choose Amazing Race. This show will give them play by play of how great our teamwork will be,” Draco then pointed to his shorter companion, “and prove that if we lose, it is certainly his fault for not being able to work with me.”

“A good teammate will not blame his team, you know,“ Harry said drily. “Anyway, I think this race is a nice adventure and also great chance to show what a snobbish person you are.”

Draco glared. “Snobbish? You are the whinny one.”

Harry glared back and thus their quarrel began.

Team 8
Clark and Lex
Best Friends

“When I said I would accompany you on your travel to see the world after your high school graduation, “ said a bald man in dry tone, “I never thought you would choose to do this, Clark.”

“Too late to change it, Lex.” A younger man with dark hair said cheerfully. “You promised!”

Lex grimaced, “I can lend you my private plane or get us five star accommodation...”

“I want us to be on equal ground, Lex.” Clark wore a look not unlike a kicked puppy. “I would like to do this together...”

Lex sighed in defeat. “Okay, Clark. We will do this race.”

Clark smiled and brightened like a sun.”With your brain and my strength, we will win this race, Lex.”

“I’ll make sure our win will be legendary, then.”

Team 9
John and Sherlock
Private Detectives

“It’s obvious why we join this race, “ A tall man with curly black hair said haughtily, “ There are puzzles to be solved and challenges to be done. I do hope they won’t give us something easy. It will be boring otherwise. John, on the other hand, is delighted to chase other participants. Shame, there is nothing life threatening, but he will certainly enjoy the adrenaline.”

His companion, a short man with grey hair elbowed the taller man. “With lack of case to have, Sherlock is getting on everybody’s nerves. So I thought why not take a holiday for a while. Of course, it will have to be a holiday where he can still employ his deductive skills. So here we are, in the Amazing Race. I think this the first time a detective join the race”

Sherlock harrumphed, “The first and only consulting detective, John”.

“You are and I am not. So, let’s just stick to private detective, for the general term.” John smiled winningly.

Sherlock pouted.

Team 10
John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts

“I don’t want to do this race!” A man with thin blond hair was sitting on a sofa and was complaining. “I am hypoclycemic and allergic to lemon and bees! How can I be qualified for this race! John must have cheated!”

“I do not.” A man with messy dark hair next to the blond haired man said lazily. He was slouching on the sofa, grinning. “We join this race because Rodney lost the coin toss.“

“I can’t believe John will choose this for our downtime! No wait, I can!“ Rodney pointed his finger accusingly. “Why can’t you pick another more interesting thing to do? You do this to punish me, don’t you?”

The dark haired man rolled his eyes. “You want us to join Mythbuster team if you win the toss, Rodney. Don’t you have enough of science?”

“I want to point out the errors they made during their experiments,” Rodney said haughtily.

“So send them emails, “ John said dismissively. “Anyway, this race will be a good exercise for your body and also teach you not be too dependent on technologies. ”

“What kind of idiots forbid the use of technologies, “ Rodney complained again. “I have studied the previous seasons of the race. Do you know what kind of moronic things they will have us do during the race?! It’s horrible!”

“We have seen the beauty of our planet from the space. This is a good way to be know its beauty from closer point of view.“ John pointed out. “Also, you lost the toss. Just take it like a man, Rodney.”

Rodney sputtered, “You, you...”

-----------------Amazing Race Song Theme-----------------

“Welcome, I’ll be your host for this edition of Amazing Race. My name is Mycroft.” The man with the umbrella smiled unperturbedly, ignoring glares from two contestants of the race. “Amazing Race, Slash Edition will start in the city of Perth, Australia. Now that the ten teams have gathered, we will start the race here, at the Kings Park’s Synergy Parkland.”

“On count three, the teams will race to their travelling bags and pick up the clue envelope on top of their bags.” Mycroft straightened and lifted his umbrella above his head with one hand. “One, remember that each team has to stay close within twenty feet of each other.”

“What!” Draco is the only one who protested.

Mycroft’s other hand touched the handle of his umbrella. “Two, you may not hinder other team’s performance.”

“What a shame, “ said Loki and Methos simultaneously.

“Young men this day, “ Jack shook his head mockingly. “Try fighting this old man fair and square.”

Mycroft ignored the exchange and opened his umbrella. “Three!”

Twenty guys went into motion. The first team to reach their backpacks was Sherlock and John, the private detectives. Sherlock took the yellow envelope and ripped it open. He took out a sealed red sheet and announced “Roadblock.“

Roadblock was a task that only one person might perform. There was a question given as a clue. Based on this clue, the team decided who would perform the task. Once decided, it couldn’t be taken back.

“Who enjoys DNA challenge?” Sherlock read the clue and smiled, “I’ll do it.”

“Be my guess,“ John said as he shouldered his backpack.

Sherlock ripped the seal on the red sheet to read full description of the task. “Go to DNA tower, located within this park, and climb to the top to find half a clue. The other half of the clue will be given to you once you told the tower guard the total stairs on this DNA tower.” He gave the clue to John. “Acceptable. Come on, John.” He took to a run.

John chased after him. “Sherlock, wait up, will you!”

Loki and Thor
Brothers

“I enjoy the challenge!” Thor boomed joyously.

Loki raised an eyebrow “I bet you don’t know what DNA is, Thor.”

Thor ripped the sealed red sheet eagerly.

Loki sighed, “Nevermind.”

Draco and Harry
Rival Sportsmen

“What’s a DNA?” asked Draco.

“I’ll do it.” Harry rolled his eyes.

Jack and Daniel
World Travellers

“DNA? That is so not my forte.” Jack shoved the red sheet to his partner.

“I’ll do it, then.” Daniel accepted the sheet and opened the seal.

Clark and Lex
Best Friends

“DNA? I’ll do the challenge then,” said Lex. He tore the envelope and made a pleased sound. “I know this tower, come on, Clark. Do you know that it was inspired by a double staircase in a Chateau at Blois in France? The tower was commissioned... ”

Clark nodded and followed his lecturing friend happily.

Methos and Duncan
Antique Dealers

“DNA challenge? Not quite what I hope...” Methos pursed his lips.

“I’ll do it.” Duncan decided.

Methos tore the seal. “Ah, I saw the tower when we came here”

“You show me the way.”

Adam and Kris
Singers

“You want to do the challenge?” Kris asked.

Adam hesitated. “I don’t know.”

Kris flexed his hand. “Let’s do paper, rock, scissor, then.”

Adam lost.

Steve and Tony
Super Husbands

“Who enjoys DNA challenge?” Steve grimaced and gave the sheet to Tony.

“I’ll be delighted, dear.” Tony said drolly and tore the seal.

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts

“DNA challenge? Me me me ME ME!!” said Rodney

John just shrugged obligingly and watched Rodney tear down the seal.

“WHAT? I have to climb the stairs!?” shrieked Rodney.

“And the other team mate must wait on the ground near the tower.” John grinned. “Nice.”

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners

“I’ll do the challenge, “ said Arthur confidently.

Merlin just muttered something about a certain prat who can’t ignore the word ‘challenge’

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

All teams now raced toward DNA tower which was located 1,5km east of Synergy Parkland. Aptly named, the tower staircases resembled the double helix shape of DNA. Teams could choose one of the two stairs to climb up and the other one to climb down.

Draco and Harry
Currently in 1st place

“Hah, we are the first. Get straight to it, Harry.”

Harry dropped his backpack and ran to the stairs.

“Don’t forget to count!” Draco shouted at him.

Sherlock and John
Currently in 2nd place

“Amazing” Sherlock watched the tower “the double helix of deoxyribonucliec acid shape...”

“Sherlock, now it’s not the time to be mesmerized.” John pushed his tall companion. “Go already.”

Sherlock stepped into the other stairway.

Duncan and Methos & Loki and Thor
Currently in 3rd and 4th place

“You follow us, don’t you?” Methos said to Loki as they ran toward the tower. Loki just grinned.

“Here it is, “ Methos showed with flourish. “Climb up, Duncan.”

“Aye.” Duncan said and was suddenly passed by Thor. He chose to take the other stairway.

Thor quickly stepped into the stairway the same as Harry. It turned out that the stairway shook when people climbed on it.

A couple of stairs above, Harry held onto the safety fences, “Whoaa!”

“This is fun!” Thor kept on climbing merrily, not scared at all.

“Fascinating, “ Sherlock said as he kept climbing despite the shaking caused by Duncan below.

Clark and Lex
Currently in 5th place

“I should have given this task to you, Clark. “ Lex said ironically.

“You can’t change your decision, Lex.” Clark pointed out cheerfully.

Adam and Kris
Currently in 6th place

“One of the sportsmen is almost to the top. One of the brothers is gaining on him.” Adam pointed out

“You better hurry up, then, ” said Kris

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in 7th place

“We are not the first!” Arthur said in dismay.

Merlin rolled his eyes and waved a small map. “Of course not, you wanted to see Arthur Playground first. It’s a good thing I decide to find a map of this place first and have a look of it. Do you know that playground is 2,5 km from here? If you go there, we will lose the race for sure.”

“Any person will be curious to see the Playground with his name.” Arthur huffed.

“You can go back later if you want.” Merlin said and looked up at the tower. “Oh, I am so glad I am not the one doing this.”

Arthur just glared and started climbing the now non-stop shaking stairs

Jack and Daniel
Currently in 8th place

“Can you walk faster, Jack?” asked Daniel.

“I am an old man, Daniel.” Jack walked in fast pace but refused to run.

Daniel glared, “You like to appear weak, don’t you, Jack?”

Jack just grinned back. They reached the tower and lowered their backpack. “I’ll just wait here, shall I.” Jack sat down and made himself at home.

Daniel already raced toward the stairs.

John and Rodney
Currently in 9th place

“I saw the tower, Rodney” John jogged easily. “We are close.”

Rodney was panting as he followed John and refused to look up. He only lifted his head to see the tower when they arrived nearby.

“Oh, no!” Rodney moaned as he saw the shaking stairs.

“Stop moaning and just do it.” John took Rodney’s backpack and pushed his protesting team mate toward the stairs.

Steve and Tony
Currently in 10th place

“We got held up because Steve noticed a boy being pushed into the nearby pond.” Tony announced when they arrived last. “He almost dove in to help but thankfully the boy shouted that he could swim.” The black haired man then ran toward the stairs.

Steve just blushed as he waited on the ground, being stared by half of other teams.

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

“Come on, Harry. Don’t let that blond baboon get pass you!” Draco shouted

“That baboon is my brother, you know.” Loki pointed out.

“Adopted, right? You are different, then.” said Draco

Loki looked pleased.

“Oh Sherlock, stop checking the dynamic of the stairs, will you!” John shouted exasperatedly.

“So your name is John too, huh.” The John with dark hair said.

“Why don’t we call you Black John and White John, “ said Jack.

“Or Old John and Young John?” Methos joined in.

“I am not that old, “ White John said.

“And I am not that young.” Black John said.

“Black and White John, it is.” Jack decided by himself.

“Hey look, one of them is coming down already.” Clark pointed out. “The blond brother. Wow, he is fast.”

The shaking tower was filled with furious cries and shouts as Thor barrelled his way down. He waved half a clue merrily and was stopped by the tower guard. Something the guard said changed his face into horror.

“I would take a wild guess and said that your brother forgot to count the stairs.” Black John drawled.

“Of course, he did.” Loki sighed.

Thor was back climbing the stairs, this time he climbed slower and started counting.

Harry was already down the stairs, followed by Duncan. Sherlock was taking his time on the tower’s top.

“Oh, Adam got passed by a blond man.” Kris said and turned to Merlin. “I think that’s your friend. “

Merlin looked up. “Yeah, Arthur is talented in physical exercise.”

“He passed Lex too and reached the top. Wow, Lex must be fuming” Clark said.

“Sherlock, get down now!” White John shouted.

Sherlock went down, followed by Arthur, Adam, and Lex. Meanwhile, Daniel almost reached the top while Tony was gaining on Rodney from different staircase.

“You better get it right, Harry!” Draco shouted as Harry reached the ground.

Harry gave 202 as the total number of stairs and got the other half of clue.

Draco let out a big whoop and together they opened the yellow envelope. This time there was a blue sheet inside.

Harry read the clue. “Go to London Court and search the area for a clue box.”

“Let’s go!” Draco shouted.

“Do you know where it is?” Harry shouted as they ran.

“England, “ said Draco

“I don’t think so, ” Harry countered. “Let’s ask the locals.”

Duncan also had given the correct answer and received the other half of the clue.

“London Court?” Methos said.

“Do you know where it is?” Duncan asked.

Methos shook his head. “The one in England, yes. Here, no. Let’s find a tourist information centre, yes?”

Arthur arrived before Sherlock but he gave the wrong answer so he had to take the stairs once again. Sherlock gave the correct answer and went to find the next clue with White John.

“I can’t believe you count it wrong, Arthur.” Merlin shouted merrily.

“Shut up, Merlin!” Arthur shouted back.

“You don’t seem upset with his mistake. “ Steve pointed out.

Merlin grinned. “No, I enjoy pointing out his mistakes.”

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

Draco and Harry asked a passer-by and were directed to take a cab or blue cat. Draco asked what a blue cat is and was explained by the passer by that it is a Central Area Transit bus. At both Harry and Draco's looks of confusion, the passerby told them to search for a grey bus with blue strip and a black cat logo. After saying thanks, both boys raced to find blue cat or a cab, whichever they found first.

Methos found city area map and studied it while Duncan wondered whether they could reach the Court by foot. Methos said it would take thirty minutes by foot so they definitely will take a cab.

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

“I really hope Adam will get it right. “ Kris said as Adam reached the ground, followed by Lex.

Thankfully Adam did. Kris hugged him and off they went searching for the next clue.

Lex got it right too. He met with Clark and opened the clue. “London Court, I have been there.”

Clark followed him, carrying both their backpacks with no trouble at all.

Daniel reached the landing then while Tony and Rodney were still climbing down. Thor just reached the the top.

“About time, Daniel.” Jack stood up and gave applause when Daniel got it right. “That’s my Danny boy.”

“Cut it out, Jack.” Daniel took his backpack and gave Jack the clue to read. “Let’s go.”

Tony reached the landing at the same time as Rodney from different staircases. Tony reached the tower guard first, so he and Steve got the clue first.

“You got it right!” Steve smiled at Tony.

Tony raised one eyebrow. “You doubt my genius brain?”

Steve answered by throwing one backpack to Tony and picked up the other one. “I trust your brain will find the direction to our next clue.”

Rodney also got it right and gave John the clue. John opened his mouth to say something but Rodney beat him to it. “Do you really think I want to make some errors that will force me to climb the stairs twice? Hello, genius here! I calculate the height of one stair and the tower’s height.”

John grinned. “I know, 202, right?”

“You , you....” Rodney sputtered as John pulled him away.

“Just you and me now.” Loki said to Merlin.

“Arthur may come last but he will not give up, “ Merlin spoke with confident.

Thor finally made it back to the ground for the second time, followed closely by Arthur. Both of them got the total number right this time.

“I made it, Brother!” Thor raced toward Loki who took the clue from Thor and ripped it open.

“London Court?” Loki mused, “That sounds interesting.”

Thor beamed and dragged his brother to find the court.

Arthur ripped open the clue and read it. “We have to find London Court.” He looked up and watched as his companion already left. “Merlin!!”

“Hurry up, Arthur!”

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

Sherlock and John got into a cab and quickly asked the driver to take them to London Court. John looked worried but Sherlock pointed out calmly they were the third to leave so no hurry. John said he was worried they would get lost as the contestants of the race often did. Sherlock looked affronted and stated he would not get lost. He had memorized the city map, appropriated from the airport when they landed here last night. Now John was worried whether memorizing the map before the race began was breaking the rules or not.

Adam and Kris, the lucky pair, managed to get to blue cat stop and had to wait less than a minute before the bus arrived.

Daniel and Jack passed Lex who was complaining up to a tree. It appeared that Clark was climbing the tree to bring down a stuck kitten. Lex was trying to get Clark to just ignore the kitten and concentrate on the race. Jack looked at Daniel, who looked back at Jack. They gave their running a boost.

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

Draco and Harry managed to get a cab and arrived at London Court without any problem. They went straight to the obviously located clue box beneath the big clock and took out the clue. They ripped it out and took out another blue sheet.

“Team has to take a picture with Sir Walter Raleigh with the camera provided. On the picture, each member of the team has to be shown holding two different items which can represent Australia.” Draco frowned after reading it. “Who is Sir Walter Raleight?”

“That’s our task, then, “ said Harry, “We also have to find two items that can represent Australia.”

“Let’s find out who this nobleman is first.” Draco decided.

Harry nodded. “Let’s ask some people here.”

Methos and Duncan arrived not long after them and took out the clue.

“Items that can represent Australia?” Duncan wondered.

“Boomerang, didgeridoo, or other aboriginal stuff.” Methos said. “On second thought, let’s find some koalas and kangaroos.” He made a beeline to certain direction.

Duncan chased after him. “Methos! You are not serious, are you!? And what about finding Sir Walter?”

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

Clark and Lex, Steve and Tony, and John and Rodney got into cabs with a few minutes difference between the teams. Loki and Thor and Arthur and Merlin managed to get into the next blue cat bus.

Sherlock and John arrived at London Court and read the clue. Sherlock hmmed and hawed then leaned back onto the wall. He closed his eyes and his hands were doing some motions as if taking out and putting away some things. John explained that this was Sherlock’s way to access his photographic memories. No doubt he had heard about Sir Walter Raleigh, but he didn’t remember where or when. Meanwhile, John looked around and thought about what item to represent Australia.

Adam and Kris hopped down the blue cat bus, right in front of London Court. They took out the clue and bent their head to plan. They then went to charm a group of girls who willingly took out their mobiles and checked Sir Walter Raleigh online.

Daniel and Jack stepped down from their cab and went for the clue box. Jack decided to find the items first while Daniel pondered who could Sir Walter Raleigh be. They went deeper into the alley of London Court.

After asking several shopkeepers at London Court about Sir Walter Raleigh, Draco and Harry found a toy shop owned by an old man with long white beard. The man took them out of his shop and pointed at a knight statue positioned high on the southern gate of the court. Draco and Harry were ecstatic. Now they just had to find some items representing Australia. The old man raised his white eyebrows and gestured inside his shop, full of toys and of course some specialized to show Australia uniqueness. Draco and Harry grinned.

Methos, to Duncan’s relief, had bought small koala and kangaroo stuffed toys. Methos then noticed Adam and Kris who just finished thanking a group of girls. He made beeline to them and asked them whether they want to work together, pointing out Duncan and he had got the items. Kris grinned and agreed immediately. Adam was more reserved but went with it when Kris pointed out they would save time and didn’t have to ask someone else to take a picture for them.

So Adam and Kris got their picture with the statue of Sir Walter Raleigh taken by Duncan. Adam was holding the stuffed koala and Kris was holding the stuffed Kangaroo. Kris then took a picture of Duncan and Methos. Methos was holding both the stuffed toys while Duncan was standing next to him. Then both teams went to present their camera to person in charge for this task. In exchange for their cameras, they got another clue.

Methos and Adam ripped their respective clues and took out another blue sheet. This time the team were asked to fly to Singapore and locate Chomp Chomp Hawker Center. Both teams quickly rushed out to find a cab to head to nearest airport.

Not long after the first two teams’ departure, Draco and Harry exchanged their camera for their clue. Their picture was taken by the kind old shopkeeper, showing Draco holding a toy boomerang and Harry holding a stuffed koala.

A few minutes before that, Clark and Lex had arrived. Lex read the clue and said he knew where Sir Walter Raleigh was, so all they had to do was looking for the Australian items. Clark grinned proudly at his teammate.

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

Sherlock smirked and opened his eyes. Knowing the sign, John gestured at the food store he had noticed earlier. Sherlock nodded and both of them went into the store to find some Australian food. They came out with a bottle of vegemite and a box of lamington. They took their mandatory picture with the items and went to exchange their clue.

Loki and Thor stepped down from the blue cat bus, followed by Arthur and Merlin. They went for the clue box and read their clue on separate places.

Arthur was pleased and said he knew where Sir Walter Raleigh was. Merlin muttered that of course the prat remembered noblemen’s names. Arthur ignored his teammate and decided to look for the required items. They saw Sherlock and John holding the food and decided to get the same items.

Loki and Thor had read their clues and decided to find the items first. They found a souvenir shop and Loki let Thor decide which items to they will pick to represent Australia. Meanwhile, Loki found the shopkeeper and had a seemingly polite talk which turned into Loki skilfully insinuating that the shopkeeper was a man ignorant of his own people. Affronted, the man boasted that he knew most of famous people. Loki looked in disbelief and told the shopkeeper he would believe him if the man could tell him where Sir Walter Raleigh was. The man grinned triumphantly and told Loki.

Loki admitted the man was knowledgeable. Thor then bounced up to them and handed out five items instead of two. When Loki and Thor later exchanged their picture with their clue, the picture showed Thor holding a replica of Emu egg in one hand and a boomerang in the other hand. He was also wearing a cape with Australian flag design. Meanwhile Loki was holding a kangaroo scrotum keychain and a letter opener with aboriginal design.

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

John and Rodney ripped the clue envelope and read the clue. In no time, John managed to charm a beautiful woman who passed by and asked her kindly whether he could check something using her phone. Rodney stood a bit far from John and grumbled something about Captain Kirk. But hey, John got the information in no time. After thanking the woman, John and Rodney set to find Australian item and bumped into Daniel and Jack who had found an Australian flag and a scarf with aboriginal pattern.

Jack and John seized each other silently while Rodney and Daniel exchanged information. They then decided to work together. John led them to the location of Sir Walter Raleigh and took picture of Daniel wearing aboriginal scarf and Jack waving Australian flag. Then, Daniel took a picture of John waving the flag and Rodney sniffing the scarf suspiciously.

Steve and Tony arrived almost at the same time as John and Rodney but opened their envelope at different location. They met with Clark and Lex who were on their way to exchange their picture for the clue. Clark was holding a Granny Smith apple while Lex was holding a bag of ANZAC biscuits. Steve asked politely whether they would give them a clue about Sir Walter Raleigh. Clark smiled and told them before Lex could stop him. Lex muttered something about boy scouts which get him a sympathetic look from Tony.

Steve and Tony went into the souvenir shop and took their picture with Steve holding a boomerang and Tony holding a miniature bottle of Bundaberg Rum.

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

Methos and Duncan arrived at the airport and went to the ticket counter. They were followed by Adam and Kris then Draco and Harry. John and Sherlock arrived a bit later because they stopped on a travel agent to issue their tickets. The four of them were now on the same flight to Singapore using Singapore Airline and would arrive at 3.00 PM.

Arthur and Merlin, followed by Loki and Thor arrived next. They were on the same flight using Qantas Airline and would arrive at 3.10 PM

The other teams arrived one by one, either going to the ticket counter or already issuing their tickets with travel agents. Clark and Lex, Daniel and Jack, John and Rodney, and Steve and Tony would be on the same flight using Jet Star Asia and would arrive at 3.30 PM.

They had a spare time of half an hour before the flight so they sat down to rest. Merlin, much to his curiosity, opened the bottle of vegemite they had bought and tried for a taste. The expression of his face after tasting the vegemite made Arthur snigger and commented what a girl Merlin was. The blond man took the vegemite bottle from Merlin and had a taste as well. He coughed and closed the bottle quietly. Merlin sniggered.

Their exchanged made Thor curious enough to ask them for a bottle and tried the iconic food of Australia. He was kind enough to offer Loki to taste first but was declined by the black haired man. Thor then took a taste, made a happy sound, and gobbled up the rest of vegemite. Merlin stared at Thor and commented no wonder the cashier said you would either love or hate it.

Merlin then opened the lamington cake, which thankfully tasted good. It was a sponge cake, layered with chocolate and sprinkled with desiccated coconut. Arthur took a bite as well and offered some to Loki who accepted it.

Meanwhile, Sherlock, who had watched Merlin, Arthur, then Thor tasting the vegemite, felt intrigued as well. He opened his own vegemite and tasted it. He scrunched up his face and was about to bin the bottle when John saved it. It wasn’t clear who started it but the vegemite became an instrument of a dare between the first four teams. Draco refused to eat it. Harry and Methos enjoyed it. The rest went for their water bottle to wash the foul taste off their tongues. Meanwhile Sherlock had opened the lamington cake. He commented that it would go well during tea time. The cake was then split around.

The last four teams were in a different boarding room. Clark was eating his one and only Granny Smith apple while Lex kept the ANZAC biscuit as emergency food for his always-hungry companion.

Notes:

So we are halfway through leg 1. I hope you like the story. I am actually not sure which team I have to eliminate but I can't keep all ten of them during the whole race. That's why, I would like to ask your opinion. Will you put the name of one team you want to stay in competition in the comment box? *imitating Phil Keoghan* The team which gains the least of comment MAY be eliminated. I will see you again next week.

Chapter 2: Leg 1 End

Notes:

Thank you for voting. Please enjoy the rest of the first leg.

All the ten teams were now on the flight to Singapore. They would have to find Chomp Chomp Hawker Center to get their next clue. The first flight to Singapore dispatched four teams.

John and Sherlock
Private Detectives

“Sherlock, where are you going? “ John asked as Sherlock ran toward opposite of exit sign.

“To find internet terminal.” Sherlock said, “Singapore Airport gives free internet access in the building.”

“So?” John followed though his face showed his confusion.

“Don’t be obtuse, John.” Sherlock said impatiently. “We can check the location of next clue online.”

Sherlock only needed two minutes on the computer. “Found it. Let’s go John.” And off they went to find a cab.

Meanwhile the other teams went outside and toward the taxi stand.

Duncan and Methos
Antique Dealers

“My good man, do you know where Chomp Chomp Hawker Street is?” Methos asked the cab driver.

“Chomp Chomp? Yes, yes I know.” said the driver eagerly.

“Lead the way, then.” Methos gestured at Duncan to get into the cab.

Draco and Harry
Rival Sportsmen

“Chomp Chomp Hawker Street, “ said Draco as he got into the cab. “We need to hurry.”

“Fast?” asked the driver.

“Yes, as fast as you can.” said Harry as he joined Draco on the back seat.

Adam and Kris
Singers

“Do you know where Chomp Chomp Hawker Street?” asked Kris

“Chomp Chomp?” said the driver slowly. “I have GPS.”

“Good enough, “ Kris got into the cab, followed by Adam.

The next plane arrived ten minutes later and dispatched two more teams.

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners

“Find a cab, Merlin!” shouted Arthur.

“Commoner doesn’t take order from other commoner, Arthur, “ Merlin replied but he stopped a cab anyway.

“Good afternoon, where to?” said the cab driver when they had settled into the back seat.

“Chomp Chomp Hawker Street, Sir, “ said Arthur, “and be quick.”

“please, “Merlin added with a nudge at Arthur.

“please, “ replied Arthur awkwardly.

Merlin looked back toward the airport. “Where are the brothers? I don’t see them.”

“I saw the blond brother got held during the custom check.” Arthur said as he watched the road in front.

Loki and Thor
Brothers

“Thor, I’m going to kill you, “ Loki said calmly.

Thor ignored his brother in favour of searching his passport frantically.

Twenty minutes after that, the last four teams arrived in Changi Airport.

Steve & Tony
Super Husbands

“Wish we can buy the first class seats, “ Tony moaned, “The regular seat is bad for my bad.”

“You are spoiled, “ Steve commented and took out both of their backpacks from the conveyer belt. “Let’s go.”

Clark & Lex
Best Friends

“Hey look, Thor and Loki are still here, “Clark pointed out.

Lex watched the brothers and steered Clark from them. “Thor seems to lose his passport. Let them be, Clark.”

“But, “ Clark protested.

“You don’t help a rival team.” Lex said sternly and headed to the custom queue.

Clark followed him but not before he caught Thor’s eyes and gestured at the backpack’s side pocket.

Thor let out a ‘aha’ and dug out his passport.

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts

“Taxi, taxi, taxi!!” Rodney shouted and waved his hand madly.

John followed after him sedately. Rodney shoved him into the taxi and said “Chomp Chomp Hawker Street! Fast! What? You don’t know where it is? Gimme your phone and I’ll have its location in seconds. Oh my God! What kind of phone is this? Have we travelled back into pre historic age?? This phone is ancient!! Wait, let me fix this phone! Aha!! 20 Kensington Park Road! Got the address! Go here!”

John just slouched back and took a nap.

Daniel and Jack
World Explorers

“Another English speaking country? This is not much a challenge, “ Jack commented as they waited for the cab.

“Donbee cocky la. English in dees country has evolved olreedee,” spoke Daniel

Jack stared at Daniel, “What kind of alien language is that?”

Daniel grinned. “It’s Singlish.”

“Singlish?”

“Singaporean English.”

Jack stared a little longer and shook his head. “I don’t want to know. That’s our taxi, let’s go!”

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

The first cab arrived and dispatched a tall man with black hair and his shorter companion.

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 1st place

Adam and Kris ran to the obviously placed clue box and took out an envelope. Adam ripped the envelope and took out a yellow sheet.

“Detour, “ said Adam and Kris at the same time.

“Chilli crab or carrot cake, “ Kris read on.

A Detour gave the team a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. In this detour, the team could choose between Chilli Crab or Carrot Cake.

In Chilli Crab, the team would be asked to peel1 kg of chilli crab meat then ate it.

In Carrot Cake, the team would be asked cook black carrot cake. First, they had to buy the additional ingredients at the nearest food market, cooked the food, and then ate it.

Adam and Kris looked at each other.

“Carrot Cake?” Adam asked.

“Carrot Cake.” Kris confirmed. He took out the additional ingredients list. “We will need to buy Chai Poh, eggs, minced garlic, fish sauce, vegetable oil, white pepper, chilli sauce, Rose brand thick sweet sauce, spring onions, and coriander leaves.”

“What is Chai Poh?” Adam asked, stunned.

“We also can’t ask for the shopkeeper’s help to find the items.” Kris finished reading.

Adam grimaced. “This is harder than I thought.”

They went out to hunt for their ingredients.

Duncan and Methos
Currently in the 2nd place

“Chilli crab or carrot cake?” asked Duncan.

“Chilli crab” Methos said merrily.

They went toward the chilli crab stall and sat down at one table. A Chinese man quickly put a big plate of chilli crab, two crab crackers, and an empty bowl.

“This looks delicious, “ Methos tied his napkin up eagerly.

Sherlock and John
Currently in the 3rd place.

Sherlock opened the envelope eagerly. “We are doing carrot cake.” He said after reading the yellow sheet.

John looked up from reading the sheet. “Sherlock! Can you cook?”

“How hard could it be?” Sherlock said as he went to the find the ingredients. John stared incredulously at him as he followed after his taller companion.

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 4th place.

“Chilli crab or carrot cake?” asked Merlin.

“Chilli crab, “ Arthur said. “I never cook before and I am not going to start now.”

“Commoners usually cook their own food, you know, “ Merlin pointed out. Arthur ignored him.

Draco and Harry
Currently in the 5th place.

“We are not the first!” Draco looked affronted.

“Be glad the cab driver didn’t get us lost, “ said Harry as he took out the clue and ripped it open. The boys read the instruction and looked at each other.

“I don’t want to cook, “ said Harry.

“We shall do the chilli crab, then, “ decided Draco.

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

Adam and Kris were in the food market, in front of a shelf filled with rows of bottles with Chinese letters on them. They were trying to determine which one Chai Poh was with little success. They opted to ask the customers around. Thankfully one of them was kind enough to point which bottle was that. They then found the other ingredients without troubles.

Sherlock and John entered the food market not long after Adam and Kris. Sherlock quickly picked the ingredients and seemed to have no troubles locating Chai Poh among those many bottles. John wondered out loud how could Sherlock know which one it was. Sherlock mumbled something about experimenting the use of various seasonings to mix poison. John looked alarmed.

Draco watched Harry separated the crab from its shell. He turned green as he saw the inside revealed. Harry took one look at his teammate and told Draco he would do the separating and cleaning, Draco could do the cracking and peeling.

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

Clark and Lex
Currently in the 6th place

“We will do carrot...” Lex paused as he looked at Clark.

Clark looked at Lex with his puppy eyes. “It’s a rare chance for me to eat crab.”

Lex sighed. “Okay, let’s do chilli crab.”

Loki and Thor
Currently in the 7th place

“Crab!” Thor said cheerfully.

“No, we are doing carrot cake.” Loki intervened. Thor opened his mouth to protest but Loki beat him to it. “You have to peel 1 kg crab meat before eating it. I don’t think your brutish paw can do delicate peeling of the crab.”

“But chilli crabs sound tasty.” Thor said.

“Carrot cakes are tasty as well.” Loki said back. “I’ll do the cooking. You can eat the whole portion when I finish cooking it.”

Thor brightened and followed Loki to the food market eagerly.

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 8th place

“Let’s do chilli crab.” Tony spoke up. “It might be a bit messy but it better than us blowing the place trying to cook.”

Steve grimaced at the mention of blowing incident. “You will have to do the heavy lifting. My big fingers aren’t built for peeling crabs.”

“Oh don’t worry, “ Tony grinned. “You’ll do the shells breaking and cleaning.”

John and Rodney
Currently in the 9th place

“Chilli crab!?” Rodney said in horrified expression. “Nonono, absolutely NO! There are lemons in there!”

John nodded. “We will do carrot cake, then.” He read the required ingredients once again. “Most of ingredients are fairly common but we have to find what Chai Poh is.”

“That’s easy!” Rodney snapped his fingers. “We can check it online. I still have the taxi driver’s mobile.” He waved the said mobile. “It’s a good thing we asked our taxi to wait for us.”

“Okay, check it quickly. Then we will go to pay our taxi fare.”

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 10th place

“Let’s do the crabs, ” Jack announced merrily. “I love seafood.”

Daniel followed in agreement.

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

Halfway through the peeling task, Draco complained about the messy job they did. His blond hair and also his clothes had splatters of red chilli sauce, courtesy of cracking the crab‘s pinchers too hard. Harry was not as messy as his companion but that might be due to his dark hair. Their white table was littered with crab shells and spilled red sauce. They were working fast, though.

On the other table, Methos and Duncan were peeling in slower pace. Duncan scolded Methos for having a taste every now and then. He said that they would never get 1 kg of crab meat if Methos kept eating them.

Adam and Kris had returned from food market, followed by John and Sherlock. They quickly went to their assigned stoves and started preparing the ingredients.

Adam happily cut the carrot cake which didn’t have even any carrots in it and was actually turnip cake. Kris started preparing other ingredients. It looked like they were used to cooking together. No doubt, they had done this on their first reality tv show.

John let Sherlock do the cooking and requested just one thing. That was for Sherlock not to turn carrot cake into poison. Sherlock harrumphed and got to work. John opted to preparing the plate for when Sherlock finished cooking.

John and Rodney were fast in locating their ingredients and returned less than five minutes after Sherlock and John. Unfortunately, they had to go back because they bought Rose brand thin sweet sauce instead of the thick one. Rodney started berating John but John pointed out Rodney was the one who picked the sauce. Rodney snapped his mouth shut and looked chastened. He gruffly said sorry. John just grinned, smacking the back of Rodney’s head lightly and saying that Rodney should make it up to him later.

Draco moaned that he didn’t want to see any crabs again after this. He had enough crabs in a lifetime.

Arthur yelped when the crab’s pincher he was trying to crack bounced against the table and hit his forehead. Merlin laughed merrily and broke his own crab’s pincher easily. Arthur narrowed his eyes on Merlin and flicked some sauce on his crab pincher toward his companion. Merlin, of course, retaliated. It would degenerate into food fight if the manager didn’t stop them.

Loki and Thor were back from food market and went to their assigned stove. Loki told Thor to sit tight and let him cook, but Thor wanted to help. Unfortunately, he was more a hinder than helping. Soon, Loki’s yell and the banging of cookery could be heard from their section.

Jack looked at the brothers’ antic and snickered. He commented that they had pinky and the brain in this race. Daniel asked Jack to behave. Daniel and Jack were surprisingly fast in peeling crabs. They didn’t look frantic and seemed more at home, peeling the crabs. Jack commented he often ate crabs when he went fishing. Daniel took the bowl filled with crab meat and put it on the scale. The scale pointed at 700 grams. Daniel took the bowl back and told Jack they only had 300 grams to go.

John and Rodney had returned from their second trip to food market and started cooking. Well, John cooked while Rodney shouted out the direction, which John mostly ignored. But hey, they were having progressed despite of it.

Clark and Lex were slower in peeling the crabs. Mostly because Lex didn’t want have any crab’s sauce flung on his clothes. Meanwhile, Clark happily broke and cleared the crabs for Lex to peel. He didn’t seem to be squeamish in getting his hands dirty.

The same could be said for Steve, who was also cheerfully breaking and cleaning the crabs. Unlike Lex, Tony had no compulsion in getting his clothes dirty. The dark haired man had chilli sauce splatters here and there while his fingers deftly peel the crab meat. Steve was seen wiping Tony’s face with the edge of table’s napkin now and then.

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

Draco and Harry finally peeled 1 kg of crab meat. They were given an OK by the task manager and sat back on their table to eat their hard work. Draco grimaced when he chewed the meat and encountered something hard. Harry also grimaced as his teeth met something sharp. It seems the boys didn’t peel the crab meat neatly so their meat contained quite many broken crab’s shells and bones.

Harry muttered something about you reap what you sow. Draco barked that it was Harry’s fault. Harry retaliated and said it was Draco who was horrible in peeling crabs. Surprisingly, they still continued eating amid their bickering.

Adam and Kris finished cooking carrot cake. After being given an OK from the task manager, they sat down to eat their handiwork. Adam moaned that Chinese food was bad for his weight. Kris said that Adam had nothing to worry about and put more carrot cake on Adam’s plate. The tall singer looked nauseated.

Daniel and Jack also finished peeling 1 kg of crab meat and started eating it. They seemed to have peeled their crab meat cleaner as they didn’t encounter any problems in consuming it.

Sherlock finished cooking and put the carrot cake on the prepared plate. John brought it to the task manager and got an OK. They sat down to eat. John took a bite and was surprised at the taste. It was amazing, so he told Sherlock. Sherlock raised his eyebrow and said it was just a matter of mixing chemistry. John told him that from now on, Sherlock should cook for their lunch and dinner but Sherlock refused, saying it would be boring.

Methos surprisingly looked quite clean when they finished peeling the crabs while Duncan had some of chilli sauce on his wavy hair. Now the antique dealers were eating their portion.

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

Surprisingly, Jack and Daniel were the first one to finish their detour task. The task manager gave them a clue which they promptly ripped open. Daniel took out the blue sheet inside and read it.

"Go to Singapore Flyer and ride up in one of the carts. There was a suitcase inside each cart which contains money. Count the money and enter the sum on the provided laptop. If you enter the sum incorrectly, the laptop will freeze for ten minutes." Daniel frowned as he read. "The flyer needs 30 minutes to do the full rotation. If you haven't finished your task by then, you will have to ride the flyer again for another 30 minutes."

"We have to count money?" Jack looked non-plussed.

Daniel nodded. “In foreign currency.”

“At least, it’s still in dollar.” Jack shouldered his backpack. “Lead the way, Danny boy.”

John and Sherlock finished eating their carrot cake and got their clue.

“Where is this Singapore Flyer?” John frowned.

“It should be something famous, “ Sherlock mused, “The cab driver should know.” He made a beeline toward the road. John chased after him.

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

Tony and Steve finished peeling the crab and were eating the said crab.

Lex and Clark also had finished peeling their crab. While eating their portion, Lex told Clark that Singaporean usually eats the chilli crab with mantau as compliment. At Clark’s confused expression, Lex explained that Mantau was Chinese bread. It was torn into smaller pieces and dipped into the crab’s chilli sauce.

Loki also finished cooking the carrot cake despite Thor’s interruption. He then let Thor feast upon it. With a wide grin, Thor took a big bite. His grin quickly turned into wrinkles as he scrunched his face and coughed. Thor said it was too spicy. Loki wore a confused innocent look while hiding an empty bottle of chilli sauce behind his back.

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

Adam and Kris finished eating the carrot cake and received their clue. While the singers shouldered for their backpack, Duncan and Methos also finished with their crabs. Both teams left Chomp Chomp Hawker Street almost at the same time.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Merlin finally finished peeling their crabs and started eating. John and Rodney also finished cooking. Rodney hesitantly ate the first spoonful and chewed it slowly. He then brightened and quickly spooned more carrot cake into his waiting mouth. John raised one eyebrow and told Rodney he better left John some or there would be hell to pay.

Tony and Steve finished eating their crab and were reading their clue. Tony brightened when the clue mentioned about ‘laptop’, Steve then pointed out that the laptop could only be used to enter the money amount. Tony smirked but refrained from saying anything more.

Draco and Harry were still bickering while eating their crabs, wincing now and then when they bit down on crab shells.

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

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 1st place

“Wow, this guy is enormous, “ Jack whistled as he looked up at the giant wheel.

Daniel stared at the wheel for some times before dragging Jack inside. They received a suitcase from the task manager and got into the waiting cart where a laptop had been placed in the wide seat. While they were sitting down, they saw another team got into the cart after theirs.

“Ah, the detectives, “ Jack watched the other team.

John and Sherlock
Currently in the 2nd place

John quickly opened the suitcase once they were in the cart. The suitcase contained a lot of Singaporean dollars in different value and coins.

“This could take some times, “ John commented.

Sherlock stared at the money in consternation. “This is boring.” He went to the laptop and entered certain number. The laptop beeped and its screen turned red. There was a white text appeared on the center of the screen. “You have to count the money first - Mycroft.” Sherlock glared as a ten minutes countdown started below the white text.

“That’s ridiculous, “ Sherlock muttered as he started typing.

 

The laptop beeped twice and the white text changed. Sherlock snarled at it which made John look at the screen.

“Any attempts at hacking the program will get twenty minutes penalties – Mycroft.” The countdown timer now showed ‘29:11 remaining’

John sent Sherlock an exasperated look. “Now we only have one chance to type the number. If our count is false, we will get another ten minute penalty and have to ride this flyer for another 30 minutes.” John pointed toward the suitcase. “Let’s start counting. We better get the count right in the first try.”

Sherlock grumbled and pouted but he sat down and started helping John.

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

Lex and Clark finished their crab and got their clue. They shouldered their backpacks and went to find taxi.

Not long after that, Draco and Harry also finished eating their crab meat plus shell. They haven’t stopped bickering though and continued it during their way to Singapore Flyer.

Thor took another bite of his super spicy carrot cake and then downed a big glass of water. He grinned and said the taste was worth the spiciness. Loki looked dejected.

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

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 3rd place

The singers entered the card and opened their suitcase. Their eyes widened at the amount of money contained inside.

“Let’s hope we finish counting it in thirty minutes, “ Kris said hopefully.

Adam just nodded hesitantly.

Duncan and Methos
Currently in the 4th place

Methos opened the suitcase and whistled. “It’s a good thing we deal with various foreign currencies while buying our antiques, “ Methos said cheerfully. He sat down and worked fast in sorting the money.

Duncan sat in front of him and started helping.

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

Arthur and Merlin finished eating their crabs and quickly headed toward Singaporean Flyer. They were soon followed by Rodney and John who had finished their carrot cake. Rodney blubbered eagerly about having a laptop but John ignored him.

A few minutes later, Loki and Thor also left Chomp Chomp Hawker Street.

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

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 5th place

Steve and Tony entered their cart. Tony quickly came upon the provided laptop while Steve set down the suit case on the table.

“Let’s count the money, Tony.” Steve said as he opened the suitcase.

“Don’t worry about it, I will hack this silly program.” Tony started fiddling with the laptop.

“Tony, don’t...” Steve started to warn when The laptop beeped loudly and show red screen.

A white text appeared on the red screen. “You have to count the money first - Mycroft.”

“Oh, you think you are clever, aren’t you?” Tony glowered and typed on the keyboard vigorously.

The laptop beeped twice and the white text changed “Any attempts at hacking the program will get twenty minutes penalties – Mycroft.” Twenty minutes were added to the countdown timer. It now showed ‘29:16 remaining’

“Why you...!” Tony snarled and typed again.

The laptop beeped third and the text changed again. “Pressing keys other than number keys will get another ten minutes penalty – Mycroft. PS : FYI, this program is designed by Reed Richard with added security by Samantha Carter and Hank McCoy.”

“Fuuuuuck.” Tony said as another ten minutes were added to the countdown timer which now showed ‘39:09 remaining’. The black haired man turned to his companion and gave a sheepish look. “Sorry?”

“Well, at least we don’t have to count the money hurriedly, “ Steve said blandly. ”We have an hour after all.”

Tony winced.

Draco and Harry
Currently in the 6th place

“This currency has too many different values, “ Draco complained.

“Less speaking more counting, Draco.” Harry said distractedly as he tried to concentrate in counting.

“Hey look, sugar daddy and his boy toy have arrived.” Draco pointed at Lex and Clark who entered the cart next to theirs.

“Draco! Do not call them that!” Harry look scandalized.

“Okay, Billionaire and farm boy, then.”

Harry glared at his teammate.

Clark and Lex
Currently in the 7th place

“The sportsmen are bickering again, “ Lex sounded amused, “A pity. They can work fast together but bickering will be their downfall.”

“If you are finished with your observation, “ Clark said, “ can we start with our task?”

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 8th place

“You count the money.” Arthur said imperiously.

“Why should I do it alone?” Merlin stared at his teammate suspiciously. “Are you saying you are bad in counting?”

“Of course, not!” Arthur glared. “I’m terrific in counting.”

Merlin gave a mocking look. “I don’t believe you.”

“Fine, I’ll count, “ Arthur sat down and grabbed a handful of money to count. He missed the sly look on Merlin’s face.

John and Rodney
Currently in the 9th place

“Oooh, laptop.” Rodney made a beeline toward the laptop but was stopped by John.

“No hacking, Rodney.” John warned his teammate.

“But...,” Rodney protested, “Hacking the program will require less time than counting the money.”

“We still have to stay 30 minutes until this cart returns to its original position, “ John pointed out, “ Finishing early doesn’t gain us anything and might gain us penalties instead.”

“But, “ Rodney protested again but was interrupted by John smacking the back of Rodney’s head lightly. “Ow, abuser, barbaric, neanderthal...”

“Start counting, Rodney.”

“Tyrant...” Rodney groused.

Loki and Thor
Currently in the 10th place

“Are you going to count the money or not, Thor?” Loki said exasperatedly.

Thor was flitting from one side to other side of the cart, watching the view in wonder. “This ride is great. Look brother, Singapore at night looks very beautiful.”

“On second thought, I better do this by myself, “ Loki said as he sat down and started counting the money, “ If left to my buffon of brother, we will be here all night.”

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

Daniel and Jack entered the sum incorrectly on the first try so they had to wait ten minutes before trying again. They got it right on the second try. It was still within thirty minutes duration, so when their cart finished rotating, they could get out and received their next clue.

“Go to Merlion Park which is the pit stop for this first leg. Hurry, the last team to arrive maybe eliminated.” Jack finished reading.

“Finally, “ Daniel said.

“Feeling tired, Daniel?” Jack asked mockingly.

“I’m concerned about your wobbly knees, Jack, “ Daniel replied drolly.

Jack snorted and gestured Daniel to go.

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

Sherlock entered the number correctly, just a few seconds before the cart completed the rotation.

“We are lucky, “ John said happily as he ripped open the clue they got.

“That’s no luck, John, “ Sherlock responded. “My count is never wrong.”

“Pit stop, “ John said happily, “So glad I can rest my legs for the night. Let’s go, Sherlock.”

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

The other teams which entered the number correctly during thirty minutes were Duncan and Methos, Clark and Lex, John and Rodney, and Loki and Thor. For the last team, it was more of Loki got it right and Thor being useless, entranced as he was with the view from above.

Steve and Tony also got it right but since they had forty minutes penalty in total, they still had to ride the cart for the second rotation.

The other teams entered the number incorrectly more then twice and passed the thirty minutes limit. They had to ride the Singapore Flyer once again until they got the number right. There were several burst out and curses during this second rotation.

“You must have counted wrong, Harry!“

“Me? It’s you, Draco!”

“Adam, I found a coin beneath the table.”

“Fuck, Kris. No wonder we kept getting it wrong.”

“Tony, stay away from the laptop. We don’t need another penalty after we got it right.”

“Steveeee.”

“Arthur, that’s 50 cents, not a dollar!”

“What kind of currency is this? Why is the 50cent coin bigger than a dollar coin!?”

Nevertheless, the last four teams entered the correct number during the second rotation and one by one left the Singapore Flyer for the pit stop.

The first six teams were already in their respective cabs, heading toward Merlion Park.

“The detectives are on our tails, Jack.”

“I think we will come neck to neck with them. Let’s hope my wobbly legs can beat White John’s legs”

“Jack and Daniel are ahead us, Sherlock.”

“Looks like we have a race, John.”

“Faster, faster!” Rodney shouted, “You have to beat the cab in front of you. I’ll pay you more.”

“I think the cab driver’s eyes just turned green, Rodney.”

“The geeky astronauts are gaining on us.”

“They just passed us, Duncan. Their cab driver looked obsessed.”

“Lex, watch out!”

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

Right before the Merlion statue, Mycroft was leaning on his umbrella. He was accompanied by a Singaporean lady. There was a red carpet illustrated with a picture of world map. From the point of entry, two teams were running toward them. Sherlock was running ahead, followed by Daniel. Jack and John were neck to neck, chasing after their respective partner.

Sherlock stepped first onto the red carpet, Daniel second. Jack followed, beating John by a second.

“Way to go, Jack.” Daniel beamed and put an arm around Jack’s shoulders.

“Not bad for an old man, huh, “ Jack panted and hugged back.

“Sorry Sherlock, “ John wheezed, out of breath.

“Not your fault, John.” Sherlock tugged John and let him lean on his tall body.

The Singaporean lady greeted the four of them.

“Welcome to Singapore.”

“Thank you,“ All of them replied back.

“Daniel and Jack, “ Mycroft greeted them. “You are the first team to arrive. For winning this leg, you get an express pass. It can be used to skip any one task of the team’s choosing.”

“Thanks.” Daniel smiled. Jack patted the younger man in satisfaction.

“Sherlock and John, “ Mycroft greeted the second team. “As you know, you are the second team to check in, congratulation.”

After the first two teams left the red carpet, John and Rodney checked in as the third team. Duncan and Methos followed as the fourth team and Thor and Loki as the fifth team

Almost thirty minutes passed before Tony and Steve made to the red carpet as the sixth team. They were followed five minutes later by Adam and Kris as the seventh team.

Another ten minutes passed when Draco and Harry arrived as the eighth team, followed by Arthur and Merlin as the ninth team.

Mycroft waited for the last team to arrive. It was almost twenty minutes later when the last team checked in. “Clark and Lex, you are the last team to arrive.”

Clark and Lex smiled, resigned but quite happy.

“I am told there was an accident on your way here.” Mycroft commented.

“The car in front of us suddenly lost control and swerved into the opposite lane, hitting another car.” Lex explained. “We decided to stop and help the passengers.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Mycroft said. “But unfortunately, we can’t give any compensation for the time you lost. I’m sorry to tell you that you have been eliminated from the race.”

“It’s okay, “ Clark said, “I don’t regret losing the race for helping the injured persons.”

“And you, Lex?” Mycroft asked.

“I agree with Clark. If we don’t stop to help, Clark will surely regret not helping the passengers for the rest of his life.” Lex spoke. “Moreover, now that we lost the race, I can take Clark wherever he wants to go without any constraints.”

“I see, “ Mycroft nodded. “Good luck to both of you, then.”

Notes:

Please vote for your favorite team. Like the previous chapter, the team with the least voting will be eliminated.

Chapter 3: Leg 2 Beginning

Mycroft stood in front fo Merlion statue and said “Singapore is an island country made up of 63 islands. It is one of the most prosperous nations with third highest per capita income in the world. This is the first pit stop of the race. I am your host, Mycrost. Welcome to Amazing Race – Slash Edition”

-----------------Amazing Race Song Theme-----------------

Daniel and Jack (World Explorers)
1st to depart at 10.00 AM

Being the winner of the first leg, Daniel and Jack and was the first team to depart after the mandatory rest. They were in front of the Merlion statue, where they had checked in last night.

Jack ripped the yellow envelope open and read the clue. “Go to Orchard Road and find an ice cream stand on the road which sells ice cream for one dollar. Request durian flavoured ice cream for each of you. You must eat the ice cream before receiving your next clue.”

“Durian ice cream?” Daniel mused. “Hopefully it tastes nice.”

“What is durian?” asked Jack.

“It’s a fruit, Jack. “ Daniel answered. “South-east Asian people call it king of fruit. The smell and taste is so strong that either you will love it or hate it.”

“Let’s hope we love it, then.” Jack said. Both of them then went to hail a cab.

Sherlock and John (Private Detectives)
2nd to depart at 10.01 AM

“Ice cream!” John exclaimed. “That sounds nice.”

“Taxi!” Sherlock already ran to get a taxi.

“Oh, Sherlock, wait!” John said exasperatedly.

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

Both team arrived at Orchard road almost at the same time. The road was very crowded both by cars and tourists.

“For crying out loud, how can we find the 1$ ice cream stand?” Jack groaned when he saw how many people and stalls were on the road.

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

John and Rodney (Geeky Astronauts)
3rd to depart at 10.05 AM

“Ice cream? Durian? I hope there isn’t citrus in it.” Rodney moaned

“Don’t worry, Rodney, “ John patted his teammate’s shoulder. “I have epipen ready for your allergy.”

“I hate you, John.”

Duncan and Methos (Antique Dealers)
4th to depart at 10.07 AM

“Durian? It has been long time since I ate one.” Methos commented.

“I don’t like durian, “ Duncan grumbled.

Methos raised his eyebrows. “This is from a Scotsman who enjoys eating sheep’s insides called haggis?”

Thor and Loki (Brothers)
5th to depart at 10.10 AM

“Ice cream!!” Thor shouted happily and looked at Loki imploringly.

Loki snorted. “No, you can’t have my portion.”

Thor looked crestfallen.

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

“Do you sell ice cream for 1$?” Jack asked Häagen-Dazs ice cream stand and got negative headshake.

“Clearly, this is a local ice cream, Jack.” Daniel mused. “Let’s try the street across.”

“Wait, I see the detectives ahead us.” Jack pointed at certain direction. “I think they found it.”

“Let’s go, then.” Daniel jogged toward the detectives.

The 1$ ice cream stand consisted of an umbrella and an ice cream box. Behind the seller, there was a board with 1$ sign on it. They arrived just in time to see Sherlock and John received their ice cream portion. The ice cream was placed on a slice of colourful bread, which then folded in half.

“Hello, White John, “ Jack greeted the greyish blond haired man.

“Hello, Jack.” John smiled.

“White John?” Sherlock raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll explain later. Let’s tuck in, “ John said and took a bite. He made a face but gamingly chewed on his ice cream.

“How’s the taste?” Daniel looked intrigued. The same look that Sherlock gave his teammate.

“Strange, sweet, cold.” John commented. “It’s bearable.”

Sherlock took a bite while Jack went on to order their ice cream. The curly haired man coughed and placed his hand on his mouth.

“Alright, Sherlock?” John asked

Sherlock swallowed. “Fine. The taste is interesting. “ He looked intrigued.

John took a look at Sherlock’s expression and waved his hand warningly. “Oh, no you don’t. You may not do experiment on this. I don’t want our flat to smell like this.”

Sherlock pouted and looked at Jack and Daniel, who were taking their first bite.

Jack made a face. “Better than I expected.”

Daniel ate cheerfully. “This is quite good, you know. I have had worse.”

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

“How can we find ice cream stand among this mess, “ Rodney watched the busy street, horrified.

John snorted. “Ever hear of asking, Rodney?”

“No, I don’t.” Rodney snapped. “Many people often give incorrect information. I much prefer my tablet and google it!”

“Ah, but you don’t have the tablet at the moment, “ John pointed out, “so we have to do it the old fashion way.” He strolled to a group of teens and conversed with them for a few moments. The teens pointed out at one direction and voila, John and Rodney found the direction to their ice cream stand.

Meanwhile, Duncan and Methos’ cab took an alternative way to arrive at Orchard and got stuck in the traffic.

Thor and Loki were luckier. Their cab driver knew where the ice cream stand was and deposited them at the building in front of the stall.

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

“Hey look, Pinky and Brain are here.” Jack pointed out.

“Jack, be nice.” Daniel scolded the older man.

“Greeting, friends.” Thor came upon the first two team, dragging his brother behind. “Such a nice day to have an ice cream!”

The other team gave their greetings and finished their ice cream as Thor cheerfully ordered their portion. They watched in amazement as Thor consumed the ice cream in four bites. “Another!!”

Loki, who was just into his first bite, made a face. “No, Thor. You only have to eat one portion.”

Thor gave him a kicked puppy look.

“Well, there’s no rule to say he can’t have two or more, “ Daniel commented.

Thor beamed, “You heard the man, Loki. Let me have another.”

“No, “ said Loki.

“It’s just one dollar, “ Thor wheedled.

Loki sighed and surrendered one dollar to his ecstatic brother, who proceeded to order a corn flavoured ice cream.

“You wished you could give your portion to him, didn’t you?” Jack asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “In spite of my preservation, no. I won’t give it to him. This ice cream tastes heavenly.”

Jack just stared at the brothers and mumbled something about weirdo brothers.

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

Tony and Steve (Super Husbands)
6th to depart at 10.43 AM

“I know where Orchard Road is, “ Tony said. “I have been there a few times for business. But I don’t remember any 1$ ice cream stand.”

“I don’t think your business partner will bring you to eat 1$ ice cream, Tony, “ Steve pointed out.

Adam and Kris (Singers)
7th to depart at 10.48 AM

“Oh goodie, ice cream.” Kris said cheerfully.

“Durian?” Adam looked hesitant. “I don’t think it will taste good.”

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

“We are done, “ John announced as he and Sherlock finished their ice cream. They received their next clue.

“Fly to Philippine,” read Sherlock. “Team now must travel to Manila, capital of Philippine, one of the most crowded city in the world. Team must travel by taxi to the market district of Kiapo and find the marked stall in Miranda Plaza to receive their next clue.

“Alright, “ John answered readily. “To the airport, then.”

Jack and Daniel also finished their ice cream. They received their clue and read it.

“So our next destination is Philippine?” Jack said.

“Oo, tara na,” replied, Daniel.

Jack looked at Daniel, “What kind of alien language is that?”

“It’s Tagalog, Philippine language,” Daniel grinned. “You get your wish, Jack. We are going to non-English speaking country.”

“That’s where your linguistic skills can be put to use.” Jack pointed out. “Let’s go.” He passed Thor and grinned at the hulking blond man. “Hey, Thor, catch.”

Thor caught whatever Jack threw with one hand while his other hand was still holding the last bit of his corn flavoured ice cream. “What is this? “

“That’s another one dollar to buy more ice cream. “ Jack shouted as they left Thor and Loki. Thor smiled happily while Loki was glaring dagger on Jack’s retreating back.

“Jack!” Daniel scolded the older man. “Why did you give them our money? You do know we are only given limited money on this race.”

“That’s a strategy, Danny boy.” Jack laughed. “Loki almost finished his ice cream. I figure giving Thor another ice cream can stall them for a while.”

“That plan will work if Thor needs more than ten seconds to inhale his ice cream, “ Daniel pointed out.

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

John and Rodney arrived at the ice cream stall and received their ice cream. John took a first bite, chewed it for a while and swallowed. “Taste foul.”

“Your face didn’t exactly show how foul this is.” Rodney protested.

“Suck it up and eat it, Rodney.” John ordered. “No lemon in it.”

Rodney grumbled and hesitantly took a bite. “Hey, it’s good.” He proceeded to demolish his ice cream in record time.

Meanwhile, Thor finished his third ice cream. Loki already had their clue and after reading it, they went to find a cab to bring them to the airport.

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

Draco and Harry (Rival Sportsmen)
8th to depart at 10.58 AM

“Go to Orchard Road, “ Draco read. “The task seems easy. We only have to eat the ice cream.”

“Let’s go, then, “ said Harry.

Arthur and Merlin (Commoners)
9th to depart at 11.02 AM

“Eating ice cream?” Merlin said, “I think I love this task.”

“Have you ever eaten Durian, Merlin?” asked Arthur

“No, but it’s ice cream, Arthur,” Merlin said, “Ice cream is great, no matter what the taste.”

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

Rodney and John had just finished their ice cream and read the clue when Methos and Duncan arrived. While the astronauts hurried to catch a cab to airport, Methos and Duncan got their ice cream.

“Let’s tuck in, “ Methos happily ate his ice cream. Duncan, as stated by him earlier, ate the ice cream with distaste clearly shown on his face.

While Methos was halfway through his ice cream, Tony and Steve arrived. Tony went to get their ice cream while Steve watched Methos and Duncan.

“How does the ice cream taste?” Steve asked.

“It’s disgusting, “ said Duncan.

“It’s nice,” said Methos.

“Those were really opposite statements, ” Steve looked confused.

“You either like durian or dislike it, “ Methos said as he finished his ice cream. Duncan still had halfway to go. When Tony approached them and gave Steve his ice cream, Methos gestured to them, “eat and experience the taste for yourself.”

Tony and Steve took a bite.

“Nice, “ said Tony and munched on his ice cream happily.

“Not....nice...” Steve grimaced but forced himself to eat it, albeit with much slower pace.

Adam and Kris arrived not long after. The singers bit into their ice cream. They both didn’t like it. Adam looked about to throw up. Kris shoved a bottle of water to Adam’s face and told him to wash the taste with it.

Duncan finally finished his ice cream and the antique dealers quickly left the place.

Draco and Harry arrived next. A bite into their ice cream found both sportsmen sputtering.

“What the devil is this?” Draco asked.

“Oh God, it tastes foul, “ Harry looked green.

Tony watched the sportsmen in amusement as he finished the last bit of his ice cream. Steve, Adam, and Kris sent them commiserated looks.

Arthur and Merlin finally arrived as well. Merlin took a bite of his ice cream and swore.

“Do you want to revise your statement about ice cream?” Arthur inquired.

“This is not ice cream, “ Merlin stated. “This is torture.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, “Stop being a girl, Merlin.”

“I don’t see you eating yours, “ Merlin pointed out.

“Fine, I think you are just exaggerating, “ Arthur took a bite and coughed.

“You were saying?” Merlin raised his eyebrows.

Arthur looked irritated, “Just eat it, Merlin, “

Merlin threw a smug look at his teammate.

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

One by one, the remaining teams finished their ice creams. Tony and Steve went out first, followed by Draco and Harry. Adam and Kris went out next and followed by Arthur and Merlin. All of them headed toward the airport.

Sherlock and John arrived at the airport and managed to book a 2.10 PM flight to Manila. Daniel and Jack arrived second and were in the same flight. They would arrive at 5.45 PM.

The next two teams, Loki & Thor and John & Rodney were on the second plane to Manila, departing at 2.20 PM. They were due to arrive at 5.55 PM.

The rest of the teams were on the 2.50 PM plane, due to arrive at 6.35 PM

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

Arriving in Manila, the two teams scrambled to get a cab. Sherlock and John got the cab first and off they went to Miranda Plaza.

Daniel and Jack got their cab as well. During the journey, Daniel tried to converse with the driver using his basic Tagalog skill. Jack put a stop on it, saying that Daniel was distracting the driver.

Ten minutes later, the next two teams arrived. Loki and Thor raced with John and Rodney to find cab.

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

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 1st place

Daniel and Jack reached Miranda Plaza and found the marked stall. They received their yellow envelope and ripped it open. There was a blue sheet with another task for them.

“Each team must eat 8 Balut, a local delicacy, “ Daniel read, “Balut are fertilised duck egg embryos that are boiled and then eaten.”

“More food?” Jack stood by the table where a pile of big eggs placed on. “I hope the taste is better than that durian ice cream.”

Daniel took an egg and cracked it open. He made a face. “I think the problem is not about the taste, Jack.”

“What do you mean?” Jack looked at Daniel.

Daniel showed him the half opened egg.

Jack blanched when he saw the yolk and the duck embryo inside the egg. “We have to eat this!?”

Daniel nodded, “All eight of them.”

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

Sherlock and John
Currently in the 2nd place

Sherlock and John had arrived. After reading their clue, they went toward their table and peeled the eggs.

“Oh God, “ John looked green when he saw what was inside the egg.

“Really, John, “ Sherlock commented. “You have seen many corpses in your profession. Why does this one get to you?”

“I don’t have to eat the corpses, Sherlock.” John retorted. “Oh God, that another image I don’t need at the moment.”

Sherlock took a bite. “It tastes like chicken.”

“Oh God, “ John said again.

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

Thor and Loki
Currently in the 3rd place

Loki and Thor arrived at Miranda Plaza and easily found the assigned location because many people had gathered around the tables reserved for the teams. They were watching the first two teams trying to eat the eggs. Loki took one look at how John struggled to eat the egg and shoved Thor toward their table, promising Thor that he could eat all the eggs.

 

John and Rodney
Currently in the 4th place

John and Rodney arrived a little bit later after Rodney finished berating his cab driver for not being fast enough. John was just thankful the cab driver still took them to the right place. They received their clue and read it. At first, Rodney was ecstatic because he loved eggs but once he peeled the egg, he went green around the edge. John surreptitiously nudged a throw up bucket given to them.

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

“John, let me do it, “ Sherlock said as John still struggled to finish his first egg. “The rule doesn’t specify that we both have to eat the eggs. It only says that the team has to eat eight of them.”

“Thank you, Sherlock.” John sounded very relieved. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“I look forward to it.” Sherlock quirked an eyebrow. “They say this balut is believed to be aphrodisiac.”

John blushed from head to toe.

Sherlock smirked and swallowed his third Balut. The crowd cheered on him.

Loki, who was on the table next to Sherlock and John, went pale at the mention of aphrodisiac. He warily watched his brother who was happily eating the eggs.

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

Rodney was throwing up in the bucket while John stonily chewed his egg.

The same expression could be seen on Jack as he worked on his egg. Daniel’s way to eat the egg was bite, drink water, and then swallow.

While the four teams were dealing with the eggs, the third plane had landed and the remaining five teams were making their way to Miranda Plaza.

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

Methos and Duncan
Currently in the 5th place

“Team must eat Balut, “ Duncan read.

“Never heard of Balut before, “ Methos looked thoughtful. “This will be a learning experience for us, then.”

“I just hope it doesn’t taste like Durian, “ said Duncan.

“Since it’s embryo egg, I would say the taste will be more similar to your haggis, “ Methos pointed out.

They arrived at their tables and peeled the eggs. Duncan hesitated when he saw the inside. Methos had no such compunction, he bit into the egg and chewed it. “Not too bad.” Noticing Duncan’s look, he gestured with his half eaten egg, “Just try it.”

Duncan hesitantly bit on the egg and chewed it. “Okay, the taste is not so bad, but the look is ....”

“Just close your eyes and think of one million dollars, Duncan, “ said Methos.

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

Thor and Loki finished their eggs. Well, it was more of Thor finished the egg and Loki gave him water. The gathering crowd cheered them and Thor smiled at them, enjoying the cheers. They received their next clue, another route info, where they were instructed to go Daraga, a village located south of Manila. They had to go to the bus station and signed up for one of the three charter buses, each departing half an hour apart. The journey would take about ten hours. Once there, they would have to find the snake charmer who would hand out their next clue. Still chewing the last of the egg, Thor dragged his wary brother to find the bus station.

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

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 6th place

Tony blanched when he saw the eggs. Steve grimaced but still managed to eat the eggs. Tony still had trouble eating his first egg but still striving to eat it. Steve said no need to be stubborn. Tony replied that it was not about stubbornness but more about the aphrodisiac. Steve blushed and let Tony struggle with his egg.

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 7th place

Kris closed his eyes and put his hands on his face when he saw the inside of the egg. He opened his eyes and looked from between his fingers. Yep, the eyes were still there and so was the little feet. He was so not eating this one. He looked at Adam who happily ate the egg and declared the egg was tasty. Kris wondered how Adam could easily eat the Balut while he was struggling with Durian ice cream. Adam said that the look didn’t bother him. He was used to eating Sushi with so many variations and looks. The most important thing was the taste. Kris looked at the egg again, grimaced, and decided he would be better keeping a bucket near him.

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

Sherlock finished the eggs and John happily went to get the next clue. Sherlock drank while John read the clue. Sherlock perked up at the mention of snake charmer and predicted that they would be asked to touch the snake. John just hoped that the snake wasn’t poisonous. After tidying their backpack, they went to find the bus station.

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

Draco and Harry
Currently in the 8th place

“I can’t eat this, “ Draco protested.

“Don’t be a coward, Draco.” Harry took a bite. He grimaced and took a drink, swallowing the whole thing.

Draco glared at Harry then at the egg. He made a face, closed his eyes, and chucked the whole egg inside his mouth. He then quickly drank the water, following Harry’s example.

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 9th place

“Oh God, this is another torture.” Merlin moaned.

“Suck it up, Merlin.” Arthur said gloomily.

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

Duncan and Methos finished the eggs and got their clue.

Rodney was throwing up again. Kris followed after him. Draco was actually fine until he saw Kris threw up and he also threw up. Harry looked up despairingly, trying to hold his own bile from coming up.

Meanwhile, Merlin was moaning about torture but kept eating the eggs. Arthur pointed this out and Merlin retorted that commoners couldn’t be choosers. He could eat anything but it didn’t mean he liked it.

Adam and Kris finished their eggs by then and got their clue. Adam’s face turned dreamy when he read about snake charmer. Kris shook his head at Adam fondly and stated that at least, they would have no problem dealing with snake charmer. Adam was his own snake charmer.

Daniel and Jack were also finished and got their clue. Daniel stated that he felt full, drinking too much water and sluggishly followed Jack to find the bus station.

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

Thor and Loki arrived at the bus station and got their names booked for the first bus. Sherlock and John followed after. There was twenty minutes before the bus departed. Loki said to just wait in the empty bus. Thor agreed but he shut the bus’ door right after he got in, leaving Sherlock and John outside. The detectives heard Loki shouting in surprise and some thumping followed afterward. John was worried and tried to open the door but before he managed it, Sherlock dragged him away and said it was time to make it up for him.

The third team to arrive was Adam and Kris, only a few minutes apart from Methos and Duncan. Adam and Kris were surprised themselves to manage to arrive earlier. Adam chalked it up to their cab driver driving like maniac. Kris shuddered when he remembered the journey and crossed himself. Since there could only be three teams per bus, Methos and Duncan had to board the second bus, departing half an hour after the first one. Thankfully Thor and Loki had finished whatever they were doing inside the bus and let Adam and Kris in. Sherlock and John were nowhere to be seen.

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

John and Rodney finally finished eating the eggs. John dragged Rodney to find the bus station while Rodney was clutching into his water bottle like it was his lifeline, moaning about him being scarred for life. John said that he had been scared for life long time ago and stopped whining.

Tony and Steve were also finishing up, followed by Arthur and Merlin. When the two teams left for the bus station, Harry and Draco still needed to eat their last egg.

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

Daniel and Jack arrived at the bus station and checked their names in the second bus. Duncan welcomed them to the bus. Jack looked around and asked where Pinky and the Brain. Daniel said something about them being Jack’s favourite. Methos told them that the first bus had departed.

The remaining teams trickled in one by one after that.

So the first bus consisted of Thor & Loki, Sherlock & John, and Adam & Kris.

The second bus consisted of Methos & Duncan, Daniel & Jack, and John & Rodney

The third bus consisted of Steve & Tony, Arthur & Merlin, and Draco & Harry.

They all now were on their way to Daraga village, ten hours from Manila. They would arrive there in the morning.

Meanwhile, on the first bus, Adam and Kris were singing with Thor joining in merrily. Sherlock wished he had brought his violin. John was thankful the violin had stayed at home. Loki stole Thor’s Australian cape and used it as a blanket.

On the second bus, Rodney was complaining about sleeping in the bus was bad for his back. John held up a Balut he had managed to take from the task. Rodney went pale and started rutting for a paper bag. Daniel and Methos were happily conversing in various languages. First latin, then French, and so on. It appeared some world travellers and antique dealers had quite grasps of language, thanks to their professions. When Jack asked whether Duncan could also speak so many languages, Duncan said he could only speak Japanese and German. Jack said that was already two more languages than what he could speak.

On the third bus, Tony was wishing he could have time alone with Steve to test the effect of Balut he had swallowed. Merlin was trying to muffle Arthur’s snore. Draco and Harry were trying to hold up their stomach, still upset from the Balut experience.

Notes:

Please vote for the teams you would like to win the race. It counts :)

Chapter 4: Leg 2 End

Notes:

Thank you for all the comments and votes. I'm glad you enjoy the stories.

The first bus arrived around 8 AM at Cagsawa Ruins, Daraga. Sherlock and John left the bus, Adam and Kris followed after the detectives. Loki was still trying to wake the still snoring Thor up.

John and Sherlock found the snake charmer standing behind the ruins. The man was bare-chested and wearing traditional pants. He had a snake wrapped along his arm and waist. His hand was holding the snake’s head.

“Hello, “ John greeted the snake charmer. “Do you have a clue for us?”

The snake charmer used his free hand to gesture at his snake. “Touch first.”

“I have to touch the snake?” John looked at the snake a little apprehensively. “It’s not poisonous, is it?”

The snake charmer just grinned.

“Obviously, he is not going to tell you, John” Sherlock spoke up. “The unknown will add to your trepidation. That’s what he is after. Here, let me do it.” Sherlock then quickly reached out and touch the snake’s head. He rubbed the scaly skin for a few seconds before withdrawing his hand.

The snake charmer gestured at John, “Both!”

John sighed and reached his hand tentatively. The snake charmer thrust the hand holding the snake suddenly, surprising John and causing him to pull back his hand quickly. “What are you doing?”

The snake charmed grinned wider.

“He is trying to frighten you, John. “ Sherlock pointed out.

Cursing softly, John reached out again and stood his ground when the snake charmer tried his trick again. He touched the snake’s head and quickly drew his hand back. “Is that enough?”

The snake charmer nodded and took out the clue from behind his pants. Sherlock received it but his attention was still at the snake.

“Sherlock, read the clue.” John nudged at his teammate. “What are you thinking?”

“The snake is native to this area, it’s quite rare in Europe.” Sherlock turned to the snake charmer. “I want a sample of his poison.”

“Add please, “ John instructed out of habit. He then realized what Sherlock was saying . “ No, Sherlock, absolutely not. You will surely be held by the custom for trying to smuggle the poison.”

Sherlock pouted. The snake charmer looked a bit worried for his snake’s safety.

John ripped the envelope and took out a yellow sheet. “Detour,” He read. “Jig or Pig.”

Detour was a choice between two tasks. For this detour, team must choose between Jig or Pig. In Jig, teams needed to perform traditional Ibalong Festival dance to the satisfaction of two judges while in Pig, teams were required to catch four oiled pigs and brought them to the farmer.

“We are doing Pig.” Sherlock quickly decided.

“Ah, yes, “ John agreed, “Dancing is so not our talents.”

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

Adam and Kris had reached the snake charmer a few seconds after John and Sherlock. Once John and Sherlock finished the task, Adam quickly stepped forward and pet the snake, cooing how nice his scales and how good it would be if he could make shoes with its skin.

The snake charmer looked more worried than before.

“Adam, look at the poor man. You are frightening, him.” Kris pushed Adam aside and grinned sheepishly at the snake charmer. “Sorry about that.” He then touched the snake and was quickly given the clue by the snake charmer who then hurriedly retreated to the other side of the ruins.

Kris ripped the clue open and read the instruction. Once finished, he looked at Adam. “Jig or Pig?”

“Jig, please.” Adam looked pleadingly.

“Not Pig?” Kris grinned.

Adam grimaced. “It’s oily, Kris.”

Kris grinned wider. “I was about to suggest Jig too, actually. I think with your history as a dancer, you can complete this task easily. The problem is with me, of course.”

“Nonsense, you just need more confidence.” Adam put his hand on Kris’ back and ushered the smaller man toward the Jig area. “I have seen you dance, remember. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

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

Loki had managed to roust Thor and together they found the snake charmer. The man tried to do his scarring trick but it did nothing to Thor who petted and praised the snake like it was a puppy. Loki rubbed the snake’s head and said that it was way smaller than his pet snake at home. Sulkily and not a little insulted, the snake charmer gave them the clue.

Loki opened the clue and read about the detour. “Jig or Pig?”

“You can choose, Loki.” Thor said magnanimously

“Thank you, brother. “ Loki said drily and read the details. “In Jig, we have to wear the dance costumes as well while in Pig, we have to catch two pigs each. “ Loki paused, “Here I thought I could leave the pig catching to you alone...”

“Let’s do Jig! I want to try their dance costume!” Thor said eagerly.

“What happened to ‘you can choose, Loki’?” Loki asked drily.

“I know you don’t want to do the pigs, brother.” Thor pointed out.

“Sadly, that is true, “ Loki looked a bit sulky.

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

John and Sherlock
Private Detectives

“Come here, piggy.” John approached the pigs in the round pen but they quickly scattered. John managed tackled the slowest one but it struggled and managed to slip out of John’s hold. The pen was quite a wet patch and by tackling down, John now had brown mud pasted on his front.

“You are quite a sight, John.” Sherlock said amusedly from outside the pen. They had to change turn to catch the pigs. The locals were standing around the pen, watching and sometimes cheering John.

“Just wait until your turn, Sherlock.” John grumbled and went to target another pig.

Adam and Kris
Singers

“The dance is not too difficult, “ Adam commented as he followed the dance instructor. Both the singers were sporting fluffy headdresses and bright green vests.

“Speak for yourself, Adam, “ Kris awkwardly lifted his hands as instructed, trying to keep with the traditional drum’s rhythm played on the background.

Thor and Loki
Brothers

“So this is an ancient tribal dance that portrays your superheroes’ battle?” Thor’s voice boomed merrily as he thumped his foot on the ground as instructed. “This is an excellent tribute for them! I approve!”

“They don’t need your approval, Thor.” Loki pointed out

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

John tackled another pig. This time he managed to hold onto it and carried it to the farmer. He then had to change place with Sherlock. The taller man had had a chance to study the pigs and now he slowly walked toward the pigs near the fence. He slowly leaned down and within a heartbeat, quickly caught one of the pigs before it could react. John glared at him for not telling him the trick. Sherlock said he didn’t know it would work at the first try, but now that it did, John could use the trick to catch pigs more easily.

Adam was waiting for Kris to remember all the steps of the dance. They let Thor and Loki, who had finished their rehearsal, dance in front of the judges first. Thor and Loki failed, because Thor was too enthusiastic and overdid the steps. They were asked to rehearse the dance once again.

Now it was Adam’s and Kris’ turn to dance in front of the judges. They did the arm raising and feet thumping thing. The judges watched them solemnly from their chairs. Not a hint of approval or disapproval could be seen on their faces. Adam and Kris hopped to the left and hopped to the right. They twirled around and ended the dance with one arm braced above the head and the other one braced forward. Their feet were apart and their body were leaning forward, as if preparing to charge into enemy line.

They whooped and Kris jumped happily when the judges gave them applauses for the approvals. The judges then gave them their next clues. Kris ripped it open and took out a blue sheet. “Travel by marked Jeepney to Luyang Beach in Misibis Bay to find your next clue.”

“Jeepney?” Adam asked in confusion.

“I think it’s like a jeep?” Kris hesitated.

Thankfully, they found the Jeepney without problem. It was a car, decorated with colourful illustration. Adam looked delighted. Kris was just thankful they didn’t have to drive the car. They loaded their backpacks into the Jeepney, climbed inside, and off they went to the next destination.

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

John and Sherlock finally finished their task and received their clue. John was covered from head to toe in mud while Sherlock escaped the messy fate with only muddy legs and arms. Sherlock looked at John and said he would treasure this image in his memory palace. John just gave him a mud dripping glare and gestured to Sherlock to open the clue.

After reading the clue, they cleaned themselves at the nearby water pump then went to find a marked Jeepney

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

Thor and Loki danced again but the Judges shook their heads in disapproval. Loki sighed and said they should change the task because it would take too long to calm Thor down so he could dance as the judges requested. They removed their costumes and went to catch pigs.

Thor was delighted when he saw the little pigs. He charged towards the herd and scooped one using his right arm and another one using his left arm. The crowd around the pen cheered as Thor carried the two pigs toward the farmer. Loki opted to catch the pigs one by one, using tactic much similar to Sherlock’s

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

The second bus arrived and discharged another three teams. Methos and Duncan found the snake charmer first. Duncan didn’t react when the snake charmer tried his trick and just touched the snake blandly. When it was Methos’ turn to touch the snake, he commented that snake meat was quite delicious. The snake charmer was alarmed and quickly gave them the clue.

Daniel and Jack had waited for their turn with the snake charmer. Once Duncan and Methos got their clue, they stepped up and Jack said to not playing the trick on them The snake charmer looked stubborn until Daniel explained that both Jack and he didn’t like snake. They hated snakes so much that they could cut the snake’s head in reflect if provoked. Cowed, the snake charmer dutifully gave his snake to be touched and then surrendered the clue.

Rodney, however, shrieked when he realized he had to touch a snake. The snake charmer perked up quickly at Rodney’s sputtering. He tried his trick and got a manly shriek from Rodney. Suffice to say, Rodney was the snake charmer’s favourite victim.

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

Loki gave his second pig to the farmer, thus completing their tasks. He dragged Thor away from where the blond man was cooing at his captive pigs. They read their clue, cleaned up, and went to Luyang Beach by the marked Jeepney.

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

Duncan and Methos
Antique Dealers

Methos and Duncan chose to do Jig and went to put on their costume. They didn’t seem to have troubles following the steps and managed to memorize the whole steps in short time. They danced in front of the judges but didn’t get the approval in their first try. Methos commented that they must have missed some steps somewhere.

Daniel and Jack
World Travellers

Daniel and Jack were choosing Pig. Jack went into the pen first. The pigs scattered when he approached, causing him to curse. The crowd booed at him. Jack raised an eyebrow at the boos and looked at Daniel who appeared amused at Jack’s predicament.

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts

Rodney didn’t want to do Pig but when John asked him whether he wanted to dance instead, Rodney quickly capitulated. John joined Jack in the pen. The older man still hadn’t caught any pigs. They eyed each other and decided to help each other. John would herd the pigs to Jack, who then caught one of them. Jack then herded the pigs toward John, lugging his captive pig with him. Both men surrendered the pigs to the farmers and watched their teammates took their turns.

Daniel and Rodney had a very different approach in catching the pigs. Daniel approached his targeted pig slowly, rubbed it slowly, and gently scooped it up into his arms. Rodney, on the other way, approached his targeted pig with the fineness of a bull in china shop. The pig ran away before he was anywhere within ten feet of it.

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

Duncan and Methos got the judges’ approvals on their second attempt of the dance. Methos took the clue and ripped it open. He smiled when he read about using the jeepney to go to Luyang beach. Duncan commented wryly that of course Methos would like riding something as eccentric as himself.

Jack managed to catch his pig, thanks to Rodney unintentionally scaring the pigs away from him and toward Jack. He shooed the pigs toward Rodney who leaned down and tried to catch one of the pigs. Unfortunately, the pig was slippery enough to escape Rodney’s hold. Cursing a blue streak, Rodney stalked another pig. Meanwhile, Jack gave the third pig to the farmer and exchanged place with Daniel.

Daniel did his slow rubbing and gentle scooping and managed to catch the fourth pig. He gave it to the farmer and received their clue. Daniel shouted encouragement at Rodney as they left the place, looking for the marked Jeepney to take them to Luyang Beach.

John shouted at Rodney to try using the method he used to do to frighten the junior astronauts into obedience. Rodney change tactic then, murmuring threats and how much he enjoyed bacon at a certain pig. The pig stood still, as if frozen in terror. Rodney made a loud HA! and scooped the pig. John cheered.

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

The third bus arrived at Casagwa ruins and discharged the last three teams.

Steve and Tony
Super Husbands

Steve and Tony stepped down first and found the snake charmer. They touched the snake as requested and stayed calm despite the snake charmer’s effort to get them shrieking like his previous victim. They got their clue and quickly chose Pig.

Draco and Harry
Rival Sportsmen

Draco and Harry approached the snake charmer next. Draco brightened at the sight of the reptile. The snake charmer swore he only let his attention wander for a few seconds or so, but within those seconds, the snake had moved from his hand and body to wind up with Draco, who was cooing and petting the snake. The blond sportsman wanted to bring the snake home as a pet, much to the snake charmer distress. The snake charmer turned to Harry for help and was dismayed when he saw Harry was petting the snake’s tail which was wound up on Draco’s waist. It seemed snakes were one thing the other sportsman could agree with.

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners

It took Arthur’s and Merlin’s protest to let them have their turn with the snake charmer for the sportsmen to relish the snake back to the snake charmer. The poor man then clutched his snake and shoved the clue to the sportsmen. They read the clue together. Harry suggested they did the Pig one but Draco protested about being dirty, so they went to do the Jig.

When it was Arthur’s and Merlin’s turn, they only needed to touch the snake for a second before getting the clue shoved to their faces. It seemed the snake charmer wasn’t going to take any chances of losing his snake. Arthur read the clue while Merlin watched the snake charmer hightailed from the ruins. Arthur chose pig and dragged Merlin who warned that commoners had to wash their dirty clothes on their own.

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

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 1st place

The singers arrived at the beach. They had changed their clothes and worn beach pants.

“I will freckle, “ Adam moaned.

“I like freckles.” Kris said.

Running along the beach, they several clues stabbed into the sands, next to ropes, knives, several bamboo logs and empty plastic drum. Kris pulled one out and read the clue. “Build a raft using only the tools provided and paddle across the bay to Mosboron Beach, the pit stop of this leg.”

“Finally, pit stop!” Adam cried out in delight.

“We have to build the raft first, “ Kris pointed out, “using bamboos, drums, and ropes.”

Adam looked at the bamboo sticks, empty drums, and ropes. He then looked at Kris blankly. “We are going to sink, aren’t we?”

Kris snorted and picked up the bamboo sticks. “Stop being pessimists, Adam.”

“I have never built a raft in my life!” Adam moaned.

John and Sherlock
Currently in the 2nd place

“Leave your backpacks with the beach keeper.” John read the additional details on the clue. “He will take them to the pit stop.” John and Sherlock arrived not long after Adam and Kris. They also had changed into swimming trunks. Sherlock looked intrigued at the materials and started picking up the bamboo sticks.

“Have you ever done this before, Sherlock?” John asked

“No, but it will be interesting to find the right balance to keep it afloat.” Sherlock said.

John foresaw a lot of sinking in the near future.

Sherlock harrumphed at John’s wary expression. “It’s simple physic, don’t worry.”

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

Back to Daraga village, Steve had just stepped inside the pen, just as Rodney finished terrorizing John’s and his last pig in submission. Rodney was moaning about parasites, virus, and worms while he washed the mud off. John, much cleaner than Rodney and therefore finished cleaning faster, just rolled his eyes and dumped the rest of his water on Rodney. Not long after that, one dry astronaut and one wet sputtering astronaut left for their next destination.

Steve had caught his pig without problem. He gave the pig to the farmer and turned back toward the pen. He blinked when he saw the pen was empty save for Arthur who had just stepped into the pen. He looked around to find his teammate and saw him near the crowd. As he got near to Tony, he could hear Tony trying to bribe the locals into catching the pigs for him. It was useless though since the locals didn’t understand English and Tagalog wasn’t one of the languages Tony ever learnt. Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at Tony in disapproval. Tony grinned sheepishly and raised his hands in defeat. The dark haired man finally resigned himself to entering the pig, competing with Arthur to catch the pigs. Steve waited near the pen’s gate with Merlin, who was moaning about not being able to bring camera with him to produce blackmail photos.

Draco and Harry were still practicing the dance steps. Having never been taught to dance, Harry’s movements seemed awkward. Draco saw this and told Harry to just treat the movements as a warming up exercise.

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

Thor and Loki
Currently in the 3rd place

The brothers arrived at Luyang beach and changed their clothes. Thor changed into swimming trunks while Loki wore short pants and green thin shirt. Loki read the clue and stared at provided materials in dismay.

“What are you worrying, Loki?” Thor asked, “This is a good challenge for us.”

“I’m worrying about how the raft can support your monstrous weight.” Loki answered.

“I’m not overweight!“ Thor protested and accidentally broke a bamboo stick by stepping on it.

Loki rested his case.

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

Arthur tackled down his pig to secure it. As the result, his front was covered with mud. Merlin was delighted but it quickly turned into a grimace when he realized it was his turn. He tried to scoop up the pig, the way Steve did before. But his lanky body couldn’t be compared with Steve muscled one. Different in body meant different in strength. While Steve could handle the pig’s struggle, Merlin couldn’t. Merlin lost his holds on the oily pig when it struggled. He was forced to tackle the pig down and hugged the pig to his chest as he headed toward the gate.

Tony, while not as muscled as Steve, still had enough strength to secure a pig. He then changed place with Steve. The blond man quickly secured their third pig.

Draco and Harry were now dancing in front of the judges. Arms raised, feet thumped. Hopped to the left, hopped to the right. Then, it was judgement time from the judges. Despite the sportsmen’s reservations, the judges gave them applauses. Draco and Harry grinned and hugged in delight. They received their clue and went to find the jeepney.

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

Methos and Duncan
Currently in 4th place

Methos and Duncan arrived at the beach and changed into their beach pants. Methos was wearing white T-shirt while Duncan was bare-chested. After reading the clue, they quickly went to work on building the raft. It seemed this wasn’t the first time they had to build a raft.

“We studied ancient rafts.” Methos pointed out. “We should able to mimic some of their construction.”

“Hey, look, the brothers have finished their raft.” Duncan pointed out.

Thor and Loki indeed had finished their raft. Thor pushed it into the sea and jumped on it before Loki managed to stop him. It promptly sank down. Thor came up sputtering while Loki looked exasperated and shouted expletive about having a buffoon for a brother.

Methos raised his eyebrow. “What did Jack say about them? Ah, Pinky and the Brain.”

Daniel and Jack
Currently in 5th place

“Building a raft?” Jack said and looked at the materials provided. “At least, we don’t have to find our own materials.”

“Let’s make sure our raft doesn’t end up like Thor’s and Loki’s.” Daniel pointed at where Thor was dragging the sunken raft back to the beach. Loki was berating his brother about how the raft was not for jumping but for climbing.

Jack looked at the brothers fondly.

“Hey Jack, there’s a warning on the clue. If our raft sinks down or breaks before we reach Mosboron Beach, we will have to start from Luyang Beach again.” Daniel pointed at the lower part of the clue.

“We better make sure the raft stay afloat, then.” Jack said.

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

In Daraga village, the last two teams were finishing up their tasks.

Tony and Steve finished catching four pigs before Arthur and Merlin. They quickly found the jeepney and went to Luyang Beach to join the other teams.

Meanwhile, because their fronts were splattered with mud, Arthur and Merlin needed more time to clean up before they could go

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

Adam and Kris had completed their raft. They built the raft in length like a banana boat. Kris climbed up on the front. Adam climbed up on the back, lost his balance, and fell down in a splash. He came up sputtering and tried to climb again. This time he was successful. The singers started paddling toward the pit stop, then.

“Sherlock, hurry up. The first team have departed.” John spoke up.

Sherlock looked up from where he was slicing the rope. He watched the singers’ raft then focused back on his work. “Don’t worry, John. They don’t have enough drum to keep them afloat. They will sink soon.”

Right on cue, John watched as the singers’ raft sank down. Luckily they were not far from the beach.

“Oh dear,“ John said. He moved to help them but Sherlock pulled him back.

“They both can swim, John.”

“That’s great.”

“Can you ask the local how far from here to Morocon Beach?”

“What for, Sherlock?”

“I need to calculate the distance.”

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

For the team whose raft just sunk, Adam and Kris didn’t look too disappointed.

“That is a lesson learnt.” Kris smiled sheepishly

“I did say we are going to sink, didn’t I?” Adam moaned.

“At least we now know we need to add more drums.” Kris pointed out.

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

John and Sherlock had finished their raft and pushed it to the sea. The raft was shaped like rectangle. Sherlock sat on the left side and John on the right side. Together, they started paddling against the wave.

“You’re sure it will float, Sherlock?

“No.”

“What!”

“It takes too much time to balance the raft. I have calculated the distance and the time this raft have before it sinks. Don’t worry, there will be enough time to reach the pit stop.”

“I do worry, Sherlock!”

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

John and Rodney
Currently in the 6th place

“Can you build the raft, Rodney?” John asked.

“What kind of a stupid question is that??” Rodney looked insulted. “I build our spaceship, John! This raft is child’s plaything for a genius like me!” He started assembling a raft in a flurry.

“So I will leave you to it, then.” John lay back on the white sand and got a coconut thrown on his stomach by his incensed teammate.

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

Methos and Duncan pushed their raft into water. Their raft’s construction had a pole in the middle. Methos’ T-shirt had been turned into a flag for the pole.

“Is the flag pole necessary?” Duncan asked

“No,” Methos said, “But it’s fun building it.”

“Methos! You wasted our time for unnecessary flag pole!” Duncan looked like he wanted to choke his teammate.

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

Draco and Harry
Currently in the 7th place

“Do you ever build a raft?” Draco asked.

“No, you?” Harry asked back.

Draco shook his head in negative.

“This will be a first for us, then.” Harry said. “Let’s start.”

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

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 8th place

“A raft? Not too much a challenge” Tony grinned when he finished reading about the task. “They should ask us to build a robot!”

“Not everyone is an engineer like you, Tony.” Steve pointed out. “A raft will do for now.”

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

Merlin and Arthur
Currently in the 9th place

“Oh, I am so glad we are not the only one left!” Merlin cried as he saw there were still many teams on the beach.

“We have to build a raft, Merlin.” Arthur raised the opened clue. “It will take time.”

“Have you ever built a raft, Arthur?” Merlin asked.

“No, but how hard it could be?” Arthur said

“We are doomed.” Merlin moaned.

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

“Sherlock, look!” John squinted his eyes at the beach way ahead of them. “I think that’s Mycroft waiting on the beach.”

 

“Uhm, John...” Sherlock said hesitantly.

John recognized the tone and looked at his teammate. Sherlock looked like he just ate something acidic. “What is it, Sherlock?”

“I miscalculate.” He gestured at the raft which struggled to stay above sea surface.

John blinked. “Miscalculate... you mean we are going to sink down?!”

“Yes, the raft will sink in fifteen seconds. Not enough time to paddle to the beach. We have to swim there. ”

“Swim??”

“Don’t worry, John. We will still be the first to arrive.”

“Oh, Sherlock, “ John sighed. “You didn’t read the clue completely, did you?”

Sherlock narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?

“The clue stated that we have to start back at Luyang Beach if our raft sinks down before we reach the pit stop.”

“What!?” Sherlock glared at the beach ahead. “I’m going to kill Mycroft!”

“No, you are not. We are going to swim back to Luyang beach and build a raft again.” John pointed out.

Sherlock sulked.

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

John and Rodney finished their raft and started paddling. They were followed by Steve and Tony. Both teams sat on their raft side by side.

“Look Steve, there’s another team ahead.” Tony pointed out at John and Rodney. “Let’s over take them!”

Rodney looked back and saw Steve and Tony. He shouted at John to paddle faster.

Tony let a whoop when they are getting closer to John and Rodney.

Rodney snarled while John looked back and started paddled faster, not wanting to be beaten.

“What the...!” Tony’s shout drew Rodney’s attention.

He looked back just in time to see another raft overtook theirs, having passed Tony and Steve’s raft.

“Greetings, friends!” Thor boomed. He was paddling on a raft alone. Rodney started to ask where Loki was when Loki passed him by, sitting on a smaller raft, tethered by rope to Thor’s.

“That...” Rodney looked speechless.

Loki just smirked and waved to them, like a king carriage passing, pulled by Thor. Loki left both teams staring after him.

“Can...can they do that?” Rodney sputtered.

“I don’t know.” Tony said, their raft was close to Rodney and John’s now. “You have to admit, that is an ingenious idea to get over their weight imbalance.”

“But surely there is a way to build a raft that can balance their weight.” Rodney scorned. “They can add more drums on Thor’s side.”

“True but it will take time to calculate how many drums Thor’s weight requires. The raft also has to be test first.” Tony responded. “By dividing the raft into two sections, Loki doesn’t need to do precise calculation to keep the raft afloat.”

“No, but how can Thor paddle faster alone than the two of us?” Rodney pointed out “Loki must have built something to accelerate the speed.”

“You maybe right, “ Tony mused. “Do you reckon...”

“Oh, yes maybe....”

As Tony and Rodney felt into technical engineering debate, John and Steve exchanged exasperated glances. Their raft now was side by side, sailing at the same speed. Rodney and Tony had forgotten their earlier rivalry. They were still paddling fast but not as if chased by the devil itself. John and Steve agreed silently to keep at the current speed.

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

Daniel and Jack finished their raft and started paddling. Adam and Kris also finished repairing their raft and went out to the sea for the second time.

The last two teams, Draco & Harry and Arthur & Merlin, were still trying to build their rafts.

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

“Duncan, paddle faster!” Methos shouted. “I see Pinky approaching us!”

“Pinky?” Duncan looked blankly for a second, “Oh you mean Thor.” He paddled faster. “Wait, just Thor? Where’s Loki?”

“I didn’t see him when I turned back to look. Maybe he was behind Thor, hidden by the big boy’s body.” Methos said. “I don’t want to look back, now. Focus on paddling, Duncan.”

“You know, I just remembered that white flag means surrender, Methos”

“That’s my T-shirt on the pole, not a flag. Keep paddling, Duncan.”

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

Draco and Harry finished their raft and pushed it to the sea. They got onto it and started paddling, but five minutes later, the raft sank down. They groaned and dragged it back to the beach.

Arthur and Merlin complete theirs and pushed it to the sea. It sank down before they managed to climb onto it.

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

John and Sherlock were back on Luyang beach. Sherlock wanted to start his calculation but John said, he had a better idea. The shorter man approached a local and through hand gesture and basic English, he managed to ask the Filipino man to help him build the raft.

“Genius!” Sherlock stared at John.

“That’s called social skill, Sherlock.”

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

“I’m nearing the raft with white flag, Loki!”

“Good, try to get pass them, Thor!”

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

“How much longer we have to paddle, Daniel?” Jack asked

“The locals say it will take an hour, Jack.” Daniel replied.

Jack groaned. “My bones will protest tonight.”

“Poor old man, “ Daniel teased, “I’ll give you a massage later.”

“You betcha!”

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

“The raft seems okay, this time. “ Kris announced when they had been paddling for half an hour.

Adam grimaced. “please don’t jinx it, Kris.“

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

Mycroft stood on the beach. A woman in Philippine traditional garb stood next to him. They were waiting for the first team to arrive.

Methos and Duncan and Thor and Loki reached the beached almost at the same time. However since Loki’s raft was separated to Thor, he needed more time to get out of his raft.

It was Methos and Duncan who reached Mycroft first. The woman next to Mycroft smiled and said, “Mabuhai, welcome to Philippine.”

“Thanks,” Duncan and Methos said, panting from their run.

“Duncan and Methos, “ Mycroft greeted the men. “You are the first team to arrive.”

“That’s great!” Duncan said, his Scottish accent heavier at his joy.

“As the winner of this leg, you receive a week holiday package to Bora-Bora, complete with five-star accommodation and pocket money, worth $10.000.”

“Bora-Bora, here we come, “ Methos grinned.

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

“Loki and Thor, you are the second team to arrive.” Mycroft announced.

“Thank you, “ Thor replied while Loki inclined his head.

“A little bit faster and you could be the first one to arrive. How do you feel?” Mycroft inquired.

“I love this race, “ Thor beamed and hugged Loki. “We will get to be first, next time.”

“As long as the next leg was more physically challenging, “ Loki muttered

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

“Hey, Arthur. The detectives are asking the locals to help them.” Merlin pointed out.

“Is it allowed?” Arthur asked.

Merlin read the clue and the following rules. “Nothing in the rules said it isn’t allowed...”

“Go ask a local to help us, then!”

“Me? Why don’t you?”

“Because I am...” Arthur hesitated.

“A commoner?” Merlin said smugly.

Arthur grumbled and went to ask for help.

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

“Draco, look.”

“I know. Let’s ask the locals, Harry.”

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

Steve and Tony checked in as the third team.

John and Rodney checked in as the fourth team.

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

John and Sherlock finished their second raft with the locals’ help. After thanking the kind men, they braved the sea once again.

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

Daniel and Jack checked in as the fifth team.

“You went from first on the previous leg to the fifth, gentlemen.” Mycroft said. “What happened?”

“It’s the balut.” Jack said, grimacing at the memory of eating those eggs. “Never ever again.”

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

Draco and Harry finished their raft, followed by Merlin and Arthur. They thanked the locals who had helped them and paddled with all their might, competing against each other.

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

“No jinx, “ Kris stated once they reached the beach.

Adam smiled and together, they checked in as the sixth team.

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

“Sherlock, I see Mycroft. You better tell me the raft will keep afloat until we reach the beach.”

“It will, John.”

They reached the beach with the raft intact and went to Mycroft. After the Filipino woman had given her greeting, it was Mycroft’s turn.

“John and Sherlock, “ Mycroft said, “Almost number one.”

Sherlock glared. John sighed.

“Gentlemen, you are team number seven. You are safe.”

“Thank you, Mycroft.” John said and dragged the still glaring Sherlock away.

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

“Keep paddling, Merlin!” Arthur shouted. “We can’t lose!”

“Come on, Harry! Faster.” Draco shouted.

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

Mycroft waited as the last two teams approaching the beach. One team was slightly ahead of the other. They left the raft and ran toward Mycroft. Mycroft smiled in greeting when their feet touched the mat before him.

“Arthur and Merlin. You are team number eight.”

“Thank God, “ Merlin huffed out.

Draco and Harry stepped beside them.

“Draco and Harry, you are the last team to arrive.” Mycroft paused here and looked at the two young sportsmen. Their faces looked hopeful. “I am sorry to say that this is a predetermined elimination leg. You journey ends here.”

Draco and Harry looked disappointed but nodded their acceptance.

“Thank you for letting us race, “ Harry shook Mycroft’s hand.

Merlin and Arthur hugged each of them,

“I will never forget a strong rival team such as yours, “ Arthur said to Draco, “Harry and you have an excellent teamwork.”

Draco smiled slightly. “So are you and Merlin.”

Arthur inclined his head.

Harry hugged Draco then and together they left the race hand in hand.

Notes:

This is the end of leg 2. Please vote to keep your favorite teams in the race for leg 3. I really appreciate all the votes and comments ^_^

Chapter 5: Leg 3 Beginning

Misibis Bay was a 20 hectar luxury island playground for riches and famous. This was the second pit stop on the race around the world and the start of the third leg.

Duncan and Methos
Antique Dealers
1st to depart at 4.05 AM

Being the first team to check in, Duncan and Methos departed first at 4.05 AM. They ripped open their clue and took out the blue sheet.

“Fly to Invercargill, New Zealand, “ read Methos, “Once there, search for marked vehicles on the parking spot which will contain your next clue.”

“So we are going to New Zealand, “ Duncan shouldered his backpack. “Better put warmer clothes before your bones freezing up, Methos.”

“Don’t worry, Duncan. That’s what I bring you for, ” Methos replied cheekily. “Now let’s find our jeepney driver so he can take us to the airport.”

Loki and Thor
Brothers
2nd to depart at 4.06 AM

“New Zealand!” Thor beamed. “Do you know where it is, Loki?”

“It’s on another continent, “ Loki frowned at the clue. “Not only that, the city they chose is not the capital city. We will have to travel again once we arrive there. This destination is so far that I think their main goal in choosing this location is to tire us down.”

“Have no worry, I won’t tire so easily.“ Thor promised solemnly.

“I never doubt your stamina, brother “ Loki said in a way that clearly showed he had much doubts on Thor’s other abilities.

Steve and Tony
Super Husbands
3rd to depart at 4.18 AM

“New Zealand? I have been there, “ Tony said enthusiastically.

“On what occasion?” Steve asked as he shouldered his backpack.

“Oh it’s the birthday party of my… “ Tony trailed off and looked sheepishly at Steve. “…never mind.”

“I’m aware you have a lot of lovers before we met, Tony.” Steve looked amused. “So where was this birthday party?”

“Uhm, somewhere cold?”

Steve sighed. “I don’t think your experience in New Zealand will help us much, then.”

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts
4th to depart at 4.19 AM

“Fly to Invercargill, New Zealand, “ John read.

“New Zealand! That’s too far, “ Rodney protested, “What is this moron of a producer thinking? We will lose a day flying around to reach that place! It’s bad for my back.”

“Insulting the show producer won’t accomplish anything, “ John pointed out. “Let’s get moving.”

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

Methos and Duncan arrived at the Legazpi airport. Methos looked at the small size of airport and the single runway it had and concluded they wouldn’t leave this country from this airport. He was right. After checking and finding out there were only two destinations available, Methos and Duncan bought tickets for the earliest flight to Manila at 8.25 AM.

Loki and Thor were queuing behind Duncan and Methos since there was only one ticket counter. Once the antique dealers finished their transactions, Loki quickly asked the ticket officers to issue the same flight for them.

Methos commented something about lazy brothers. Loki smirked at said it was clever, not lazy.

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

Daniel and Jack
World Travellers
5th to depart at 4.33 AM

“New Zealand? That’s English speaking country, right?” Jack asked

“Yes, Jack. Unless you want to try speak Māori, “ Daniel said.

“Māori?”

“It’s the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand.”

“Let’s stick to English, Daniel.”

Adam and Kris
Singers
6th to depart at 4.40 AM

“New Zealand, oh yeah!” Kris grinned.

“From warm climate to cold climate, “ Adam commented. “It’s bad for our skins.”

“At least, you don’t have to worry about your freckles this time, Adam.”

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

Steve and Tony arrived at the airport and were welcomed by Thor, who quickly blabbed the flight schedule despite Loki and Methos trying to silence him.

John and Rodney arrived not long after Steve and Tony finished buying the tickets. Loki managed to silence Thor. However, it was Steve who blabbed the flight schedule this time. Methos and Loki glared at Tony who quickly raised his hands in protest of his innocence. Rodney, however, didn’t believe Steve and checked and rechecked the flight schedule with the harassed looking ticket officer. In the end, Rodney and John ended with the same flight as the other teams.

John dragged Rodney to join where the other teams had gathered.

“Got a better flight?” Methos asked.

“No, “ Rodney said bitterly.

“You should have listened to Steve, “ Duncan said.

“How can I be sure he was telling the truth, “ Rodney pointed at Steve. “I have watched the show before and there were always teams who would lie about opening times or flight schedules.”

“That’s true, “ Loki smirked.

Rodney looked at Loki distrustfully.

Methos, Tony, and John made a note to ask Thor rather than Loki if they ever needed information from them.

Daniel and Jack arrived then. Methos and Loki tried to silence Thor and Steve but Tony told them it was useless. He knew that the last team wasn’t too far behind, which meant all the teams would catch up with 8.25 AM departure time and would have the same flight schedule.

With that reasoning, Methos and Loki grudgingly let Thor and Steve did their good deeds. Thor told Daniel and Jack. Steve later told Adam and Kris.

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

John and Sherlock
Private Detectives
7th to depart at 5.09 AM

“We are going to New Zealand, Sherlock.” John said eagerly.

“I wonder if we can acquire a kakapo while there, “ Sherlock commented.

“A kakapo?”

“It’s also called owl parrot. It’s a critically endangered species, so it’s rare.” Sherlock explained. “I want one.”

“You do know what critically endangered means, right, Sherlock?”

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners
Last to depart at 5.27 AM

“Fly to New Zealand,” Arthur read. “I have been there. It’s a beautiful country.”

“Really? Where was I at that time? Why didn’t you take me with you?” Merlin looked affronted.

“We haven’t met yet, Merlin, “ Arthur looked exasperated. “I went there for winter vacation when I was a child.”

Merlin muttered something about how improbable it was for a commoner child to go to New Zealand for winter vacation.

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

The last two teams arrived at the airport with warm welcome from the other teams. All teams were now on the same flight from Legazpi to Manila. They arrived at Manila airport at 11.55 AM and went separately to find the next flight to Invercargill, New Zealand. After half an hour of asking politely (Steve, White John, Daniel, Duncan), flirting (Black John, Tony, Adam), ordering (Arthur, Jack), pleading with puppy looks (Kris, Merlin, Thor), insulting (Sherlock), shouting (Rodney), and listening to other teams’ discussion (Methos, Loki), they got the tickets for their next flight and reconvened at the boarding room.

“No direct flight to Invercargill?” Steve asked the other teams

“Forget Invercargill, they don’t even have direct flight to Wellington or Christchurch.” Rodney responded, still looking affronted.

“We get as far as Christchurch with two connecting flights, “ White John volunteered the information.

“Us too, “ Daniel said. “Manila to Sydney to Christchurch.”

“That’s our flight route as well, “ said Kris.

“The ticketing officer said that we can only book flight from Christchurch to Invercargill once we arrive there.” Duncan said.

“So it’s a race to get the earliest flight to Invercargill.” Loki surmised.

“May the best team win, “said Arthur.

All the teams grinned and declared their team would win.

Now all the teams were on the same flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. They departed at 12:40 PM and landed on Christchurch at 6:00 AM the next day.

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

Once the team got their baggage, they ran as fast as they could in search for the ticketing office. Arthur started to run as well but then he realized that his teammate was nowhere to be seen. Looking back, he saw Merlin standing far behind.

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted. “Hurry up!”

Merlin looked back in confusion and shouted. “Why are you running there?”

“To find the ticketing office, of course!” Arthur looked like he was happy to strangle Merlin. He stomped back toward Merlin and was about to drag his idiot teammate when Merlin pointed to the left. The ticket office was right there! Arthur looked conflicted while Merlin looked smug when he took in that no one else realized they had passed the ticketing office. Because of Merlin, they managed to secure the earliest flight to Invercargill before the other teams found them in front of the ticketing office.

Three other teams, John & Sherlock, Adam & Kris, and Steve & Tony also managed to secure the same flight as Merlin and Arthur before the seats were full. The rest had to be content with the second flight, departing an hour later. Arthur looked happy that they were not the last one this time.

There was an hour of waiting before the first flight. During that time, it turned out that Daniel and Jack managed to get friendly with some other passengers, a bald black man and a blonde woman. Those passengers were on the first flight and when Daniel told them that they were in a race, the couple were willing to exchange flight with them. Daniel looked very grateful and Jack shook hands with the couple, thanking them sincerely.

Rodney tried to get the other passengers to exchange flight with them as well, but he got reprimanded and later told if he harassed another passenger, he would be kicked out. Rodney was still protesting that he was asking, not harassing while John dragged him away.

Five teams were now on the first flight to Invercargill, due to arrive at 10:00 AM. The other three teams, Duncan & Methos, Thor & Loki, and John & Rodney, would arrive an hour later.

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

10:00 AM
Invercargill, New Zealand

Ten men carrying backpacks were racing toward airport’s parking area. They all had put on sweaters or coats and were searching for marked cars containing their clues. The difficulty in finding the cars was that the cars were not ordinary cars. They were RV motorhomes, which could accommodate four people sleeping in the back.

The first one to find the car was a blond man and his dark haired companion.

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 1st place

“When they said car, I imagine something sleek and fast, “ Tony commented, “Not a bulky thing like this.”

“It’s nice, “ Steve said. “Looks homey.”

“Of course, you will like it, “ Tony rolled his eyes as he took the clue which was slipped on the left wiper. It had a blue sheet containing route info. Tony read the instruction. “Drive yourself to Te Anau Lake and find a local fisherman nearby to receive your next clue.”

“By any chance, do you know where Te Anau Lake is?” Steve asked

“If I have my cell phone, I do, “ said Tony.

“You don’t know then.” Steve said without missing a beat. “We will have to buy a map somewhere.”

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 2nd place

“Drive yourself to Te Anau lake, ” Arthur read and turned to Merlin, “You drive, I’ll be the navigator.”

“I have to drive this monstrous thing?” Merlin got in and looked at the RV’s control sceptically. He managed to move the RV forward but scratched some sign board when he made a turn.

“Merlin!”

“I’m trying, Arthur!”

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 3rd place

“Who wants to drive this?” Kris asked, shivering a bit as the cold wind blew toward him.

“I’ll drive, “ Adam said as he pasted his fur clad warm body to Kris, ”you are better in asking direction and reading the map.”

“You sure you can drive it, Adam?”

“How hard could it be?” Adam said as he started the car.

It stalled.

John and Sherlock
Currently in the 4th place

“I’ll drive, “ Sherlock declared eagerly.

“Not a chance.” John pushed him aside and quickly climbed onto the driver seat. “I don’t want to spend the whole journey praying for our safety.”

Sherlock went to the passenger seat, pouting.

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 5th place

“Daniel, you drive. I want to take a nap.” Jack said and jumped into the long seat on the back. “This is nice!”

“We don’t know how to get there, Jack. “

“Just follow the detectives, Daniel. I’m sure they will figure it out.“ Jack yawned and snuggled comfortably into the seat.

Daniel looked at his teammate and shook his head fondly. “Lazy old man.”

“I heard that!”

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

One by one, the five teams drove out of the parking lot and toward Te Anau Lake, 157 km from Invercargill Airport.

Arthur urged Merlin to drive faster but Merlin said he wasn’t about to go over the speed limit. Behind them, Tony was cursing at how slow the first car was. Because the traffic was quite full, he couldn’t overtake them easily, not to mention the RV wasn’t easy to drive. Steve said to be patient and just wait until they were in the highway. He appreciated the slow speed as it was since it made reading the map easier.

Kris had Adam stop at the nearest gas station and went to ask for direction so they were a bit behind the others. But about fifteen minutes later, Adam said that he saw the other cars ahead. They were in the slow moving lane so Adam took the other lane and managed to pass them. A few minutes later, they were in the highway. Kris cheered and hoped they would be the first. Adam just hoped the car wouldn’t stall again.

Once they were on the highway, Arthur finally lost his patience and hit Merlin on the shoulder, shouting for him to go faster. Grumbling and telling Arthur to take responsibility later if they were stopped by the police, Merlin stepped on the gas.

Because the sudden change in speed, Tony, who was about to overtake Merlin, was forced to slow down and went back to the previous lane. He cursed and was about to step on the gas again when police siren wailed loudly behind them.

Merlin and Arthur also heard the siren and looked at each other. Merlin thought they just broke the speed limit and delightedly told Arthur to take responsibility. Arthur looked betrayed. However, much to their surprise, the police stopped Tony and Steve’s car, not theirs. Perplexed but not about to question his lucky star, Merlin stepped on the gas and quickly left the police and the other team behind. Arthur shouted and was forced to hold onto the dashboard since Merlin dashed forward without any warning.

John, who was not far behind them, overtook Tony. Sherlock waved smugly from the passenger seat at Tony, who glared back at him silently. Daniel and Jack followed after them. Jack was sleeping with head tilted up and mouth slightly open.

Tony groaned as he saw the other cars pass them by. He waited as the police approached them and put on his not guilty smile, asking what the problem was. It helped that Steve was greeting the police sincerely. The police stated that they drove too slowly for the highway. Tony gaped as the police reprimanded them for their slowness. After that, the police let them go. Tony moaned that he never thought he would ever be reprimanded for driving too slow. Never. He would never live this down. Steve just patted his shoulder in sympathy.

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

11.00 AM
Invercargill, New Zealand

The second flight, which brought the last three teams to Invercargill, had arrived Rodney & John, Thor & Loki, and Duncan & Methos charged toward the parking lot, looking for the marked cars.

Duncan and Methos
Currently in the 6th place

“Nice car, “ Methos placed his hand on the RV.

“Drive yourself to Te Anau Lake” Duncan read, “Who is going to dri...”

“Let’s go, Duncan!” Methos said merrily, already settling on the passenger seat.

Duncan sighed and sat behind the driver seat. “Do you know where we are going, Methos?”

“Not at all, “ Methos said. “We’ll ask somebody along the way or follow the other teams.”

“I was afraid you will say that.” Duncan said as he started the car

Thor and Loki
Currently in the 7th place

“The lake is about 150km from here, “ Loki said as he studied the Invercargill map Thor had managed to procure at the Christchurch airport. “It will take about two hours to reach it. They really want to tire us out.”

“Let me drive, brother!” Thor said.

“Yes, you will. “ Loki said, “If I let you navigate, we will never reach the lake.”

John and Rodney
Currently in the last place

“I’m driving!” Rodney said.

“I still want to live, Rodney, “ John stirred the sputtering Rodney toward the passenger side.

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

Out of the three teams, John seemed to be the most comfortable driving the RV. They kept to each other during their way out of Invercargill airport.

As the three teams got into the highway, John pushed on the gas and easily passed Duncan and Thor. Rodney yelled in excitement. John told him to be quiet and tried to confirm the route with the map they just bought from the mart.

Once John passed the other teams, Methos just told Duncan to follow the astronauts and he settled down for sightseeing. Loki also told Thor to follow John’s car and he would check the map later when they neared the destination.

Rodney asked John to lose the two trailing teams but Thor enjoyed the chasing and Duncan was quite competent driver. They followed John and Rodney persistently, much to Rodney’s annoyance.

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

Te Anau Lake
12.09 PM

A lone man with fishing gears stood alone near the lake. Adam and Kris found him easily once they got there. When they asked for the clue, the fisherman pointed at the floater about 20 meters into the lake. Several clues were tied on it.

“We have to swim there to get the clue?” Kris asked in disbelief, “In this cold weather?”

The fisherman shook his head, “No, no.” Kris just looked relieved when the man continued, “the one who drove the car is the one who has to swim.”

Adam looked like he ate something sour.

“It is too cold to swim!” Kris protested.

“We will provide hot drinks and blankets for the swimmers.” The fisherman replied.

Kris tried to protest again but Adam stopped him.

“I’ll do it. 20 meters is quite short for a swim, “ Adam said gamely.

“But, Adam...” Kris started to say but Adam hugged him.

“Just wait for me with the hot drink and blanket, okay?”

Kris mumbled his acquiescence into Adam’s chest.

So Adam changed into T-shirt and swimming pants and went into the lake. He grimaced as he was submerged into the cold water, swam quickly toward the floater, and took one of the clues. Kris shouted encouragement from the edge of the lake, hot drink and blanket in both hands.

Once Adam reached the land, Kris quickly covered him with the blanket and gave him the hot drink. Adam took the drink in one hand and snagged Kris with the other hand. He ran toward the car, got in, and proceeded to hug Kris, shivering all the way. Kris turned on the car’s heater and snuggled back to Adam, offering his warmth. After Adam’s shivering subsided, Kris opened the clue Adam had taken and ripped it open.

Inside was another blue sheet. This time they were instructed to go to Pillan's Paddock at Kingston. Adam started to move to the driver’s seat but Kris stopped him and told him to rest. It was his turn drive. Adam smiled and snuggled into Kris’ side during their journey.

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

Te Anau Lake
12.12 PM

Merlin and Arthur arrived when Adam was swimming toward the floater.

“I’ll do the swimming. “ Arthur said.

“You can’t. The one who drove here is the one who has to do it. “ The fisherman explained.

“Oh, great. “ Merlin grimaced. “Just my luck.”

Arthur looked at the lake and back at Merlin. “No, I won’t allow it.” He said vehemently.

“You won’t?” Merlin said in astonishment.

“I won’t.” Arthur confirmed. “The lake is too cold for your skinny body. You’ll get sick.”

“You know we will get two hours penalty if we don’t complete this task, “ said Merlin.

“I don’t care. “ Arthur said, “You are not going in. I forbid it.”

Merlin stared at Arthur long enough that the blond man snapped a ‘What?’. Merlin smiled then and took hold of Arthur’s face with both his hands gently.

“For a prat, you are quite adorable, “ Merlin said and kissed Arthur lightly. “Don’t worry, I’m no weakling. Swimming in cold water is not a hardship for me, you know.”

Arthur tried to protest but Merlin ignored him and got into the lake. Once he had got a clue from the floater and swam back, Arthur bundled him in blanket and carried him toward the car, muttering what a skinny bone Merlin was. Though shivering, Merlin sent fond look at Arthur. He sent Arthur back for a hot drink and for once, Arthur didn’t complain about being ordered.

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

Te Anau Lake
12.17 PM

“The lake is quite cold but don’t worry, the hypothermia will happen only if you stay in the lake longer than thirty minutes.” Sherlock commented.

“I am aware of that, Sherlock, “ John said as he shed his jumper, “I am a doctor, after all.”

John jumped into the lake and swam toward the floater. He got the clue and swam back toward the edge. To his surprise, Sherlock lifted him out of the water and quickly divested him of his clothing.

“Sherlock!” John said but his voice was then muffled by the blanket wrapped around him. He shoved the blanket down to free his mouth and found a hot drink shoved in front of him.

“Drink, “ said Sherlock.

John drank first because he was cold and the drink was heavenly warm. Then he asked Sherlock why the taller man removed his clothes. Sherlock said the wet clothes would slow John from getting warmth. John bowed down to pick his strewn clothes but Sherlock beat him to it. He wait until John finished his drink then he stirred John toward the passenger side of the RV.

“No, “ John protested “I still can drive, Sherlock!”

“No, you won’t” Sherlock said back.

“Why not?” John let out a yawn

“Because you will fall asleep soon.” Sherlock pointed out.

“Sherlock! Did you just drug my drink!!” John shouted, appalled and yawned again.

“You won’t let me drive otherwise, “ Sherlock said and stirred John inside the RV.

“If I wake up in hospital or jail, “ John said, eyes closing despite his effort to keep them open. “You will be very very sorry, Sherlock.”

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

Te Anau Lake
12.25 PM

“I enjoy swimming.” Tony said, “Hell, I enjoy skinny dipping as well but I certainly don’t enjoy swimming in cold water.”

Steve looked guilty. “I should have driven the car...”

“Oh, no” Tony pointed accusingly at his husband. “Don’t you dare feeling guilty, Steve.”

“But..” Steve said and changed his mind when Tony thrust his finger forward in warning, “We can take the penalty, I don’t mind.”

“I may be whinging a lot but I am not fragile.” Tony grunted, “I expect a lot of pampering after this, though.”

Steve indeed pampered Tony once the dark haired man finished the task. He dried and bundled Tony with a blanket. Tony was milking every second of it, of course. He asked to be taken to their car and decreed a substantial amount of cuddling needed to warm his body.

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

Te Anau Lake
12.27 PM

“No, Daniel.”

“Jack, be reasonable.”

“No.”

“Jack.”

“Daniel.”

“Jack!”

“Daniel!”

“Jack, stop being childish,” Daniel looked exasperated.”It’s just a quick swim.”

“I have felt the water, “ Jack said stubbornly, “It’s cold as hell, Daniel.”

“Hell is hot, not cold, Jack.” Daniel said and shed his outer clothes. “Anyway, I’m going.”

“Don’t blame me when you are sneezing all day, “ Jack shouted as Daniel started swimming toward the floater. He scowled when Daniel ignored him and turned to the fisherman. “Blanket and drink! Now!”

Daniel smiled when he got out of the lake and found Jack hovering with blanket and drink. “Thanks, Jack.”

Jack just grunted as he gave Daniel the hot drink and wrapped the blanket around Daniel’s shivering body. “I am driving next.”

“Sure, Jack.”

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

Te Anau Lake
12.57 PM

The last three teams arrived at the lake almost at the same time and faster than the previous five teams, thanks to the high speed chase they engaged during the highway.

When he heard about the task, Rodney protested loudly and shouted how inhuman the task was. While he was harassing the fisherman, John slipped away and swam toward the floater. He managed to get the clue and was about to swim back to the edge when Rodney realized what had happened and shouted what a suicidal idiot he was. Rodney then frantically grabbed the blanket and hot drink, just in time to meet John who just got out of the lake. He berated John again about being suicidal while wrapping John with the blanket. John commented that he was surely suicidal enough to let Rodney’s drive after this. Rodney stared at John and asked whether it was an insult or a trust given to him. John just smiled.

Thor jumped into the lake in joy and caused the water to splash on Loki’s face, who sputtered and cursed at his brother. Loki went to find the blanket and took a hot drink for himself. When Thor finished the task, Loki threw a couple of blankets to Thor and was forced to share his hot drink when Thor looked at him pleadingly. They were back in the RV with Loki behind the wheel this time. They were the first of the three teams to leave the lake. Thor shouted his farewell to the other two teams.

Duncan got into the lake right after Thor. He swam without any complains while Methos went to try the hot drink. Despite taking his time, Methos was up and ready with the blanket when Duncan finished the task. Methos bundled the Scot into the blanket and shoved him into the passenger seat. They followed Rodney and John out of the lake area.

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

Pillan’s Paddock, Kingston
02.14 PM

Adam and Kris arrived at Pillan’s Paddock and found the clue box waiting for them in front of the gate. Above the clue box was a yellow sign with plus symbol. It was an intersection symbol where one team must team up with another team to do the task. The first team had to wait until the other team arrived to open the clue envelope together.

“This is intersection, “ Kris pointed at the symbol. “Guess we will have to wait for another team to show up.” He sat down in front of the clue box. “What do you think the task will be?”

“I don’t know but I was told that intersection tasks usually involved something physically demanding, “ Adam said, standing next to his teammate.

“Let’s hope the next team will be the super husbands or the commoners, “ said Kris, “Steve or Arthur, with their muscles, will surely be tremendously helpful in finishing the task.”

“I am not worried, I have my own muscles here, “ Adam said and smiled fondly at Kris, “Albeit pocket sized but strong nevertheless.”

Kris whacked Adam’s leg. “I’m in normal size, Adam. You are the giant one.”

“Oh, looks like your hope will be dashed, Kris, “ Adam squinted at the distance, “One tall, one short. I think those are the detectives.”

Sure enough, Sherlock and John ran toward them and stopped short before Adam. Sherlock looked only a little winded but John was panting and needed a while to steady his breath.

“Are you okay?” Kris said worriedly as he stood up

John waved his concern in reassurance and straightened up. “I’m fine.”

“Intersection, ” Sherlock commented.

“Oh is that so? Shall we work together then?” John looked at Kris and Adam, who nodded in agreement.

“Delighted, “ Adam smiled.

Sherlock took out a clue from the box and ripped it open. “Team must team up with other team and use two-man saw to cut six slices off of a log. Each team member can only pair up with the same person once.”

“Sawing?” Adam grimaced as they walked toward where carpenters and big logs were waiting for them.

“The rule forces us to have equal turns in sawing, “ Sherlock commented, “Each of us will have to take three turns, with different person each.”

“So who are going to pair up first?” John asked.

“Let me and Adam go first. You two can rest a bit, “ Kris said and approached one of the carpenters.

They were given a big saw with handles on each end. Putting the saw on the log to be cut, Adam looked at Kris imploringly, obviously not knowing what to do.

“Push Adam, “ Kris instructed. “You push, I pull. I push, you pull.”

Adam pushed and saw the saw grazing the outer layer of the log. “This is going to take quite some time, Kris.”

“If we can find our sawing rhythm, it will go much smoother.” Kris said.

Sherlock watched as they worked on the sawing while John cheered them on.

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

Pillan’s Paddock, Kingston
02.21 PM

Arthur and Merlin had arrived not long after Sherlock and John but they were forced to wait for another team to show up before they could open their clue.

“Just my luck, “ Merlin grumbled and sat down on the grass, “You should have let me sleep longer.”

Arthur kicked lightly at Merlin. “You have slept for almost two hours, Merlin. And snoring too. I think that’s very generous of me.”

After waiting for several minutes, they saw Jack and Daniel approaching. They quickly agreed to work together and went to join the first two teams.

“Looking good, boys, “ said Jack as they passed Adam and Kris who had sawed more than a quarter of their first slice. The singers nodded in greeting and kept on sawing.

After a quick discussion, Arthur and Daniel decided they would pair up first and let Merlin and Jack have later turns. Jack looked at Merlin who looked back at him. They both wore a sceptical look as they assessed each other’s strength.

“We will be the slowest pair combination, won’t we?” Merlin said.

Jack nodded. “Don’t have muscles like them.” He gestured at Arthur and Daniel who was slowly gaining on Adam and Kris.

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

Pillan’s Paddock, Kingston
02.26 PM

“Intersection!” Tony groaned. “We will have to wait for another team to show up. We are screwed!”

“Don’t be such a pessimist, Tony. “ said Steve, “We are not the last.”

“We ARE the last of the first flight team, Steve, “ Tony said, “I saw there were four cars already when we arrived. That means, we will have to wait until the fastest of the second flight teams arrived. ” Tony moaned. “We will lose our one hour lead on them.“

“That can’t be helped.” Steve said. “We left the lake later than them.”

“I should have stopped our cuddling much sooner, “ Tony said reluctantly.

“I don’t regret the cuddling, “ Steve gestured Tony to come with him. “In fact, you can have more cuddling while we wait for the other team.”

“Oh, I like your idea, honey, “ Tony followed Steve eagerly back to the car.

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

Adam and Kris finished cutting the first slice. Sherlock stood up and replaced Adam. Both tall men started sawing while Kris and John watched them, entranced.

“Nice view, isn’t it?” John said.

“Oh, yeah, “ Kris agreed.

Their enraptured gazes seemed to work much better than their cheers as evident from how Sherlock and Adam flicked their eyes toward their partners and went back to saw faster.

Arthur and Daniel also finished their first slice a few minutes after that. Daniel stepped back and Arthur gestured Merlin to replace him.

“Push when I pull and pull when I push, Merlin!” Arthur shouted.

“Easy for you to say, “ Merlin grunted.

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

Pillan’s Paddock, Kingston
02.45 PM

“Tony, the other team is here.” Steve pushed Tony from his lap and quickly got out of the car.

“What? That soon? Wait, Steve.” Tony followed Steve out of the car. “Who are they?”

“The brothers, “ Steve answered.

Thor and Loki got out of their car and approached them.

“Greeting, friends!” hailed Thor.

Steve greeted him back and explained about the intersection to them. Thor beamed and quickly agreed to work together. Both blond men went to get the clue while their dark haired companions followed after them.

“Sawing a log?” Tony read the task. “This is a perfect task for you, Steve. Now you can show off your strength.”

“This is a perfect job for Thor as well, “ Loki commented.

They went to join the other teams and got their saw. Steve and Thor paired up first. Being two of the most muscled guys among the team, they did the sawing with ease, faster than anyone else.

Tony and Loki looked smug.

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

Pillan’s Paddock, Kingston
02.47 PM

“We have to wait?” Rodney protested.

“It’s intersection, Rodney, “ John said. “But thankfully, you don’t have to wait this time.”

“Yes, it’s a good thing we manage to catch up with you, isn’t it?” Methos commented as he and Duncan came to them.

“Your driving is quite acceptable.” Rodney groused. “C’mon let’s open the clue.”

“Wait, let me clear my head a bit, “ Duncan groaned. “I saw my whole life flashing too many times during these two hours.”

“Poor Duncan, “ Methos cooed.

Ignoring the two men, Rodney took the clue from the box and ripped it open. He read the clue and made a protesting sound. “Sawing!? They are trying to kill us!”

“Stop exaggerating, Rodney.” John said and took the clue, reading it loudly for Methos and Duncan. They then discussed and agreed to start with Duncan and Methos as the first pairing.

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

Now that all of them had gathered in the same place, all four tag-teams strived hard to be the first one to finish the task. Some combinations put certain tag-team in the lead while other combinations slowed them down. Kris-John was quite slow in sawing. Merlin-Jack was also lagging behind. Tony-Loki wasted their breaths hurling sarcasms back and forth. Rodney complained at every turn he had but gamely kept sawing. Thor had an advantage in strength and saved their tag-team much time at his turns (Loki just pretended he was sawing and let Thor saw alone when it was his and Thor’s turn).

Still cutting the thick log was no easy thing. By the time the teams reached the last slice, several team members had appeared exhausted and ready to collapse while some others were sweating profusely. Merlin sprawled on the grass after his last turn. White John was leaning against a tree and so was Jack. Kris was wiping his sweat-drenched face and body.

The sun was quite low on the horizon when the first tag team finished the task. The two teams were given separated clues, signalling the intersection had finished and they could go separately.

Loki opened the clue envelope and took out a yellow sheet. It was a detour. “Plunge or Swing. In Plunge, each team member must make a bungee jump from a height of 134 metres above the Nevis River. In Swing, both team members will be seated side by side and swing from a platform 300 metres.”

“Let’s do the Swing!” Thor beamed.

Loki looked at Thor who was still sweating a bucket. “Alright, I’ll drive first while you got some rest. We will take turn later.”

“Thank you, brother.” Thor beamed and hugged Loki, who of course shouting about him being sweaty and smelly.

“To do the detour, drive to Nevis River, Otago.” Steve read the detail.

“We still have to drive?” Tony groaned. “I love driving, I do. But we have had 20 hours flight, 2 hours driving, swimming in cold lake, another 2 hours driving, and sawing. When will we have a break?”

“What a whiny kid you are, “ Loki commented.

“Better than having brother complex, “ Tony shouted back.

“Stop it.“ Steve spoke up, “Tony, I’ll drive, You can rest.”

“We are doing Plunge or Swing?” asked Tony.

“Since the other team will do the Swing, let’s do Plunge.”

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

The next tag-team to finish was Arthur & Merlin and Daniel & Jack.

“We will do the Plunge.” Arthur said once he finished reading the clue. “Next destination is Nevis River.”

“We still need to drive?” Merlin plopped back onto the ground. “Please kill me now.”

“Don’t be a girl, Merlin.” Arthur nudged him. “Get up, you are driving.”

“Slave driver, “ Merlin didn’t budge from his place. ”I demand a raise.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows. “I will raise your physical training session once we finish the race.”

“I’m driving, you said? “ Merlin hurriedly stood up. “Let’s go.”

Daniel and Jack read their clue on the other side of the paddock.

“Plunge or Swing?” asked Daniel.

Jack looked thoughtful. “Swing maybe. Let’s see once we arrive there. Hey it’s a river, maybe there was another task involving fishing there?”

“Keep hoping , Jack.”

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

Not long after the second tag-team finished, Adam & Kris and John & Sherlock finished cutting their sixth slice.

“Plunge or Swing, “ Kris read.

“Oh, let’s do Swing. We can do it together, “ Adam sighed, “I hope it will be a pit stop after the detour.”

“Doubtful, we haven’t had any roadblock yet.” Sherlock pointed out

John looked surprised, “We haven’t? I feel we have been on this leg quite long.”

“That’s because they design this leg with long flight and long driving, ” Sherlock said, “Conserve your strength, John. I predict we will need all the strength we have to finish this race.”

Kris looked at Adam, who was ready to wilt. “I really hope we will have a break soon.”

“So what are we gonna do, Sherlock?”

“Take the Swing. Doing the task together will save more time.”

“Swing it is, then.”

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

The last tag-team to finish was John & Rodney and Duncan & Methos.

“Nonononono, I won’t do it, “ Rodney threw the clue, which was picked up by John.

“Bungee jump from a height of 134 metres or swing from a platform 300 metres,“ John read and grinned wickedly at Rodney, “We will do the Plunge.”

“No! This is torture!” Rodney shouted as John dragged him toward the car. ”I won’t do it!”

“I think Swing is much more enjoyable, “ Methos commented as he looked at the retreating team. He then turned toward his teammate, “Right, we will follow... Duncan, what are you doing?”

Duncan shouted from where he was approaching the carpenters. “I want to ask them for a map, Methos. I don’t want to follow the crazy astronauts and risk my life more than necessary.”

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

So now all the teams were heading toward the detour location, Nevis River in Otago. It was about an hour journey to the north from Pillan’s Paddock.

It was quite dark when the first team arrived at their destination and they discovered that the place operated from 8:00AM to 5:00PM. There were ticket numbers next to the hour of operation sign so each team could take a number which then would determine their turn for the tasks tomorrow morning.

Not wanting to drive into nearby town and find a hotel to spend the night, all teams decided to sleep inside the RV. Most of the teams slept well, possibly exhausted from today’s tasks. Well, Arthur objected to Merlin’s hoarding the blanket. Rodney complained about his back. Loki complained he was not a teddy bear. Tony wanted to sleep naked but gave up soon when he found his teeth chattering.

The other four teams thankfully slept undisturbed, snuggling into each other (John drugged Sherlock as his revenge and gained uninterrupted sleep, killing two birds with one stone).

Notes:

So here we are in the middle of leg 3. Hope you enjoy the race. Who will be eliminated and who won't? It's up to your vote. Comment and vote for your favorite pairing, it will help them get to the finish line ^_^

Chapter 6: Leg 3 End

Notes:

Thank you for the votes. I hope you will enjoy the end of this leg. Some votes for Kris and Adam came on the right time. Kradam fans, I'm glad you enjoy Kris and Adam adventure in this story.

Nevis Highwire Platform, Nevis River, Otago
8.00 AM

All teams had now gathered and were waiting for their turns. Tony and Steve, being the first to arrive, got the first turn to do the Plunge. Thor and Loki arrived second and were the first to do the Swing.

After preparation was finished, Tony gave a hoot and jumped down from the bungee platform 134 meters above Nevis River. He was grinning all the way down. At the same time, Thor and Loki were on the Swing platform, being pushed down from a platform 300 metres above Nevis River. Thor shouted in delight and hugged Loki tightly as they made a wide swung. For once, Loki looked genuinely enjoying himself and shouting along with Thor.

Now it was Steve’s turn to do the jump. While he was being prepared, Thor and Loki got their next clue. Thor ripped open the envelope and took out a sealed red sheet with a short clue on the front. It was a roadblock.

“Who likes black sheep?” Loki read, “I’ll do it.” He gestured Thor to open the seal.

Thor read the instruction. “Separate three black sheep from a flock of 15 sheep to get your next clue.”

“I thought I would be required to find some lost sheep.” Loki looked a bit annoyed and turned around. “Let’s go to this sheep location.”

“Wait, brother, there is another detail, “ Thor waved the sheet, “It says there is a Yield ahead.”

“Wonderful, “ Loki smirked, “Now, I can have a little fun.”

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

While Loki and Thor were leaving the Nevis Highwire Platform, Steve did his jump safely without any fanfare. He and Tony received their clue. When reading the clue about black sheep, Steve looked at Tony fondly and said he would do the roadblock.

The third team that arrived the day before was Arthur and Merlin but since they chose to do the Plunge, they had to wait until Steve and Tony finished their plunge. Jack and Daniel, who came fourth, were the second team to do the Swing.

“Hold on tight, Daniel, “ Jack said, just before they were pushed down. Daniel buried his face on Jack’s shoulder as they made a wide arch.

“Hell, yeah!” Jack hooted.

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

Arthur and Merlin meanwhile had finished their preparations to jump. Merlin was to go first. He stepped on the jumping platform, looked down and took a step back.

“Merlin! Jump already.” Arthur said behind him, waiting for his turn.

“It’s very far to fall, Arthur!” Merlin said back. He swallowed, took a step forward, and stepped back again.

“Merlin!” Arthur said impatiently.

“I want my mommy...” Merlin moaned.

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

Jack and Daniel, who had finished their detour, received their clue and read about the roadblock.

“I have done the first roadblock, “ Daniel said, “It’s your turn.”

“Alright, alright.” Jack said.

“There is a Yield ahead as well.” Daniel added.

“Who are we going to Yield?” Jack asked, “Pinky and the Brain? Bert and Ernie?”

Daniel blinked. “Bert and Ernie? Which team is that?”

“The detectives, one tall, one short.” Jack said.

“The singers are also one tall and one short, “ Daniel pointed out.

“Eh, but they don’t share a house.”

“How do you know the detectives share a house?”

“Had a chat with White John last night. Do you know that both the Johns had a career in military? The Boy Toy was also in military.”

“I don’t get why you feel the need to nickname everybody, “ Daniel sighed, “Who is the Boy Toy?”

“The one with Sugar Daddy.”

“Jack!”

Jack rolled his eyes. “It’s Steve.”

“Keep using those nicknames and it will be us being yielded by them all.” Daniel muttered.

“Not if we get there first, “ Jack grinned and slapped Daniel’s shoulder. “Come on, Danny boy.”

They went to their next destination while the fifth team, Sherlock and John, did the Swing.

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

John gulped as he looked 300 meters down. “Sherlock, is this safe?”

“There is always a possibility of accident, “ Sherlock said, “But it’s very small in percentage, so you don’t need to worry.”

“That doesn’t assure me much, ” John pointed out.

Sherlock grinned, “Trust me, John.”

“Trusting you is aaaaaaaaa, “ John shouted as they were pushed down. Halfway in the arch of swinging, his surprise shout turned into exhilarated yell.

When they finished, John’s eyes were as bright as Sherlock.

“Should we do it again?” Sherlock asked.

“I would love to, “ John quickly answered.

Of course they weren’t allowed to repeat the Swing, unless they wanted to wait until the other teams finished the detour task. So they accepted their next clue and ripped it open.

“Who likes black sheep?” Sherlock read and gave the clue to John, “You do it, John.”

“Me? Why should I do it?”

“I remember they had similar task on earlier seasons. It will require you to separate black sheep from the white ones.”

John looked dubious at his partner as he opened the seal and read the further instruction. “Okay, you are right. I have to separate three black sheep from the flock. Let’s go”

“Excellent, maybe I can study some sheep while I wait for you.”

“Not sheepnadping, Sherlock!”

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

“Merlin, you are holding us up!” Arthur shouted.

“This is my life I’m wagering here, “ Merlin shouted back.

Merlin kept hesitating over doing the bungee. Finally, after the fourth time he took a step back, Arthur lost his patience and pushed Merlin down. Merlin went down with a loud yell.

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

“Did I just hear screaming?” Adam looked behind him as he and Kris were fitted with the swing belts.

“I think it’s Rodney...” Kris said. “He complained all night about doing bungee jumping.”

“I thought he was complaining about his back.”

“That too, “

“He must have a great vocal chord for his voice to reach us here, “

Krin grinned, “What? Are you thinking about recruiting him as your background singer?”

“You are kidding, “ Adam laughed. “I can’t have my scream beaten by him.”

“I like your scream, “ Kris said.

“While singing or while....” Adam made a lewd gesture.

Kris blushed. “While singing, of course!”

Adam laughed out loud and with that, they were pushed down to swing. Adam hugged his teammate tightly and proved that he had great lung capacity to yell his joy. Kris held on onto Adam and enjoyed the swing.

Once they got their clue, Kris said he would do the roadblock since Adam did the first one.

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

“You are not going to push me like that, you hear me!” Rodney said to John while they watched Arthur take a plunge after Merlin. “No pushing!”

“I won’t, “ John took a pause to smirk, “As long as you jump.”

“You are a bully!” Rodney screeched. “I want a new partner!”

Merlin, who was removing his gear near them, looked at Rodney. “I want a new partner as well. Mine is a prat!”

John laughed, “If you know him in the real life, you will know he is the bully, not me.”

“Hey!” Rodney protested.

“He is always demanding the best accommodation and overworking his subordinate, ” added John.

“Hey!” Rodney said again, louder.

“Been there, done that, “ Merlin muttered

“He also has some allergies and phobias.” John added more.

Merlin looked at Rodney dubiously. “Maybe I should stick with my current partner.”

“Hey!”

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

When Arthur climbed back on the platform after his jump, he found an amused looking John, a grumbling Rodney, and a dubious looking Merlin who then turned and glared at him. “You are a prat!”

“If I don’t do it, we will be here until sunset, “ Arthur stated calmly and concentrated on reading their next clue. “Who likes black sheep?” Arthur gave the red sheet to Merlin. “You do it.”

“Why me?” Merlin protested as he read the detail.

“Because I have done the first one. Now it’s your turn.” Arthur said and dragged Merlin away. “Let’s go!”

“Hey, it says here that there’s a yield ahead, “ Merlin pointed at the sheet.

“We are not going to yield anyone.” Arthur said, “We will race fair and with honour.”

Merlin followed Arthur, muttering something about honourable prat.

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

“This is taking a long time, “ Methos commented from where he and Duncan were waiting for their turns.

“I think some teams are having trouble overcoming their fear of heights, “ Duncan said.

“Too bad we can’t overtake them yesterday during the car journey.”

“They all drive like crazy.” Duncan grimaced.

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

“Nonononoo, “ Rodney said and stepped back from jumping platform, “I can’t jump.”

“Yes, you can.” John said from where he was standing behind Rodney.

“No pushing!” Rodney said.

John raised his hands, “Not doing any pushing, Rodney. I just want to point out that we are only 134 meters above the river.”

Rodney looked back at his teammate suspiciously. “only 134 meters?”

John tried to look innocent. “If you want to change to Swing, it’s 300 meters above the river.”

Rodney gulped and turned his head forward. “If I die here, I will haunt you forever.”

“I expect no less.” John grinned.

Rodney took a breath, closed his eyes, and plunged down, screaming all the way down.

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

Methos cocked his head and listened. “Is that a banshee?”

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

If Rodney screamed during the bungee jumping, John did it with flourish, grinning the whole way down. After John finished his turn, they got the clue. Rodney read the clue and quickly assigned John to do the task. Once they read the detail, Rodney said that being a shepherd was a fitting task for John.

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

“Is it safe?” Duncan looked down at the river.

“Of course, it is safe, “ Methos said as he finished putting his gear. “Don’t be rude, Duncan. These gentlemen had made sure it’s safe for us to do the bungee jumping.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, “ Duncan protested. “It’s just that...it’s quite high.”

Methos laughed at his teammate. ”Don’t tell me you are afraid of height, Duncan.”

“Of course not, “ Duncan looked insulted.

Methos stared at Duncan, who started squirming. Comprehension dawned, Methos stepped close to Duncan and hugged the Scotsman. “I’ll be fine, Duncan.” He then jumped, enjoying the freefalling while Duncan looked a bit worried.

Thankfully, everything went fine and Duncan took his turn. After Duncan’s turn, they got their clue. Methos grinned and gave Duncan the clue. “I think sheep is your area, Duncan.”

“Just because I’m a Scot doesn’t mean I’m familiar with sheep, Methos, “ Duncan said but he didn’t protest the task assignment.

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

About an hour from Nevis River, there was a vast pasture, divided with fences into several pens. Each pens had sheep in it. One by one, the teams arrived here to do the roadblock.

Loki and Thor
Currently in the 1st place.

They came upon the Yield sign. Grinning, Loki took out Steve and Tony photo and pasted it on the sign. He took out a smaller photo of Thor and him and pasted it on the square marked as the one who gave the Yield.

“Steve and Tony will not be happy, brother.“ Thor said.

“That’s the point, Thor. Now watch our bags while I do the roadblock.”

Loki was ushered into a pen where 12 white sheep and 3 black sheep awaited. On the other end of the pen was a smaller pen with a gate. He would have to shepherd the three black sheep into that smaller pen.

“Go into that pen, “ Loki said at a black sheep and pointed imperiously.

The sheep wasn’t impressed and kept grazing.

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

Steve and Tony arrived at the pasture and found their photo on the Yield sign. Being the one who got yielded, they would have to wait for fifteen minutes before they could continue. Tony cursed while Steve stoically turned the hourglass to start their waiting time.

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

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 2nd place

“Oh Pinky and Brain yielded Sugar Daddy and Boytoy, “ Jack chuckled as he saw the sign.

“Jack, seriously, stop with the nickname.” Daniel said, “You don’t want them to give us nickname as well, do you?”

Jack shrugged and entered his assigned pen. “What kind of nickname they can give us anyway?”

“Sugar Daddy and Boytoy can apply to us, “ Daniel said.

“I’m not rich, “ Jack said, “Now do you know how to herd the sheep, Daniel?”

“Uhm, you can try using your jacket....”

Jack waved his jacket at one black sheep, which evaded him and mingled back with the other white sheep. He tried it again but it only caused the sheep to move to another place in group.

“Any better ideas, Daniel!?”

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

John and Sherlock
Currently in the 3rd place

“Good sheepy, will you go inside the pen?” John said as he approached one black sheep.

“The sheep can’t understand you, John.” Sherlock pointed out.

“I know, Sherlock! It’s the soothing tone that I’m after.” John shouted and caused sheepy to run away. John sighed.

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

“Jack, steer them all into the small pen and take out the white ones.” Daniel shouted.

“Now why I didn’t think of that.” Jack said as he waved his jacket like a matador. All the sheep willingly entered the small pen and Jack quickly closed the gate. Now all he had to do was kicking the white ones out. They proved to be stubborn, though.

“For crying out loud!” Jack groaned as the white sheep bunched themselves into a corner.

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

Loki finally cornered one black sheep. He tried to push the sheep into the smaller pen but halfway, the sheep sat down and refused to budge. Loki tried to push the sheep’s posterior but it stubbornly stayed down. Loki made a disgusted face and looked around. He saw how Jack had all the sheep inside the small pen and went to copy Jack’s trick.

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

“John, follow Jack’s lead!” Sherlock shouted.

“On it, Sherlock!” John shouted back. He went to work and managed to get all the sheep in the small pen. He poked some white sheep with his forefinger. “Nice sheepy, will you get out of this pen, sheepy?”

Sheepy decided it liked snuggling into its black friend.

Sherlock was torn between amusement and irritation.

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

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 4th place.

The waiting time was up for Tony and Steve so Steve proceeded to do the roadblock while Tony kept an eye on their bags.

“Beat them all, Steve!” Tony shouted.

Steve tried to chase one black sheep which ran away every time he got closer. He circled the pen twice, chasing the sheep, before trying a different tactic.

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

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 5th place

“Go Kris!” Adam cheered on Kris, “Show them not to underestimate Arkansas boy!”

Kris had seen what the others were doing and quickly rounded the sheep the same way.

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

Jack was trying to get the single remaining white sheep out of the small pen but one of the black sheep decided it was bored and quickly followed its white friend. Jack let out a loud curse and went to chase his straying black sheep.

Daniel sighed and said Jack would have to herd all the sheep into the small pen again.

Meanwhile, Loki was having trouble with one particularly stubborn white sheep which had settled itself in the corner of the pen and refused to budge. “You are a mere animal! How dare you make me look like a fool!” Loki shouted and tried to pull the sheep but it wouldn’t budge. “Thor, lift this imbecile out of my pen!”

“I’m sorry, brother. According to the rule, I’m not allowed to help you,” Thor said mournfully while Tony laughed and laughed, shouting something about karma.

John was still trying to politely get his sheepy out of the pen. Sherlock told him to get a twig to herd them out.

Steve had taken out his roadblock clue and reread it again. “No, we are not allowed to tackle the sheep,” Steve sighed and slipped the clue back to his pocket. He decided to copy what others did.

Surprisingly, Kris was fast in herding his sheep in and out the pen. He now only had three black sheep and two white sheep inside the pen. Adam cheered like a mad man.

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

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 6th place

“You better know how to herd sheep, Merlin!” Arthur shouted.

“Even though I’m a country boy, I never ever herd any farm animals in my life!” Merlin shouted back. He went into the pen and squeaked when all the sheep started heading toward him. “What are they doing?!” He dodged them to the right but the sheep changed their course and followed him. Merlin found himself running as the sheep followed him. “Help!”

“Merlin, the sheep whisperer!” Arthur said in amusement. “Lead them all to the small pen, Merlin!”

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

Kris finally managed to drive the last white sheep out and completed his roadblock. Adam jumped in joy and hugged his partner once Kris returned with the clue.

“What did you do to make them obedient?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know man.” Kris said, “I just kind of ..uhm..whistled and they followed my voice...”

“Whistle?” Adam repeated, “You whistled?” Adam laughed and hugged Kris tighter. “Way to go, Kris!”

They opened their clue and got a blue sheet of route info. “Go to Dimrill Dale. Be prepared for some remarkable coldness.” Kris read and flipped the sheet. “That’s it? No other details?”

“That’s quite short.” Adam commented, “Let’s check the map.”

Several minutes of checking the map and found nothing about Dimrill Dale, Kris commented. “Maybe it’s not in New Zealand.”

“I don’t think so, “ Adam commented, “I think we are close to the pit stop. It should be nearby.”

“Well, let’s try asking somebody, then.”

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

Loki, finally fed up, removed the lock on the fences making the corner where the stubborn sheep was. He was able to detach the corner and pushed the sheep out. Thor whooped while Loki was locking the fences back. Tony protested that it was an illegal move but he was overruled.

So Loki got his clue and returned to where Thor was. After reading the clue, Loki decided they needed to check internet or ask some locals before getting back on their car. He had studied the map and he was sure there was no mention of Dimrill Dale anywhere on the map.

They met with Kris and Adam who had asked several people in the farm but yielded no result. Both team decided to drive out and find the nearest internet access.

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

Using the twig he found as a shepherd stick, John finally managed to steer the white sheep out of the small pen. He received the clue and returned to Sherlock to read it together.

“Dimrill Dale? Do you know where it is, Sherlock?” John asked.

Sherlock frowned. “I never heard of this place. It’s not on the map.”

“Really? Finally something you can’t recognize or remember?” John looked thoughtful. “It must be some pop culture references, astrology, or some other things you think as useless data…”

Sherlock glowered. “It is useless! What use is it to know that the earth orbits around the sun? Or how many planets are there? It doesn’t affect anything in our life.”

“Nevermind that. Does this mean your memory palace won’t be helpful?“ John asked.

“No, “ Sherlock admitted reluctantly. “We need to borrow a cell phone and check it online.”

“As long as,” John paused when he realized his taller friend was already striding far ahead him. He chased after Sherlock, shouting “As long as it really is ‘borrowing’ not ‘stealing.’ You hear me, Sherlock!?”

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

John and Rodney
Currently in the 7th place

“Hah! I’m right! The task is about shepherding!” Rodney looked smug.

John dumped his backpack on Rodney and went to do some shepherding.

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

Steve and Jack had herded all their sheep into the small pen and started steering the white ones out.

Merlin found out that his sheep were attracted to the red shawl he wore. He unwound the shawl and used it to draw the white ones out of the pen. He finished his roadblock but had to forfeit his red shawl to a stubborn white sheep which refused to budge until he had got his teeth on Merlin’s shawl. Merlin looked mournfully at the red shawl now munched by the white sheep.

“Have I told you how similar you are to a girl, Merlin?” Arthur poked his friend. “Stop weeping over a mere shawl. I’ll buy you a new one later. Now let’s figure out where this Dimrill Dale is.”

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

Kris and Adam stopped at a house near the road and asked the resident about Dimrill Dale. One of the residents in the house, a red haired teenage girl, said she didn’t know what or where Dimrill Dale was but she lent the singers her phone.

Adam quickly opened the search engine and got the result within seconds. The result told them that Dimrill Dale was located outside Moria on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains. That confused them since there were no Moria or Misty Mountains on the map. They read the whole article and realized Dimrill Dale was a fictional location created by J.R.R. Tolkien in his Lord of The Ring universe.

The red haired girl, however, was not confused at all. Now that she knew it was one of Lord of the Ring places, she excitedly told them that the Lord of the Ring shooting location had mostly been in New Zealand.

Kris asked Adam to enter ‘Dimrill Dale’ and ‘New Zealand’ as the keywords in search engine. They got their answer on the first return result. Apparently, the film used The Remarkables to portray Dimrill Dale. The girl dragged Adam and Kris out of her house and pointed at the mountain range far ahead.

She said there was The Remarkables Ski Resort up there. Thrilled, Adam and Kris kissed the girl on the cheeks, took pictures with her, and then drove toward the mountain. The girl waved them off and went back to her life, not realizing when the show aired, she would be the envy of both Adam and Kris fans for the years to come.

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

Duncan and Methos
Currently in the 8th place

“Ah some teams are still here, “ Methos said. “That’s good.”

“Not for long, “ Duncan observed the teams which were steering the white sheep out from the small pens. “We have to hurry.”

“Yes, be a good shepherd, Duncan.” Methos grinned and waved Duncan away. “Bring those lambs back into your grace.”

Duncan gave Methos a look. “First, these are no lambs, Methos. They are full grown heavy sheep.”

“Semantic, “ Methos said dismissively.

“Second, “ Duncan persisted, “’my grace'? I am no Jesus.”

“Of course not, Jesus only does the resurrection once, ” Methos pointed out. Duncan opened his mouth to comment but Methos interrupted him with “Daylight is wasting, Duncan. Hurry up!”

Growling, Duncan went to do the roadblock.

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

John and Sherlock went to the nearest gas station. They arrived there just as Loki and Thor were leaving. Thor waved at them with one hand as he and Loki passed them by. Entering the express store, John asked about Dimrill Dale to the clerk, who said he just checked the info for the previous customer. The clerk gave them the answer, which was The Remarkables and pointed the way for them. John was happy and thanked the clerk. Sherlock pouted because he didn’t get a chance to ‘borrow’ the clerk’s phone,

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

Steve and Jack had finished their roadblock and returned to their respective partners. Tony didn’t know about Dimrill Dale but Steve, having had read Lord of the Ring trilogy novels, recognized the name. Once he told Tony about it, Tony surmised that Dimrill Dale clearly was a term or a nickname someone would give to certain area of New Zealand. They decided they would need to find internet corner or ask someone who knew about Lord of The Ring.

Daniel, being the bookish type also recognized the name. He knew further than Steve and told Jack that its film version was shot on New Zealand. Dimrill Dale was a valley near Misty Mountains in the story. Jack surmised that the shooting location must be near the mountain too. He opened the map and scoured the mountain area near them. He grinned when he found The Remarkables mountain range printed on the map.

“The clue did say to be prepared for some remarkable coldness, “ Jack said as they got into their car. “Quite subtle.”

Arthur and Merlin were still at the pasture, trying to solve the clue. Arthur watched Daniel and Jack drive out and on his rarely found wisdom or maybe laziness, decided to just follow them.

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

Thor and Loki passed Adam and Kris on their way to the Remarkables mountain range. Adam wanted to overtake them but Kris asked him to just keep to the current speed because one, Adam was driving RV not Maserati and two, the road had become slippery with ice as they neared the mountain.

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

Sherlock wanted to stop to take a look at a bird he saw perched on a tree.

John kept on driving.

“I think it’s kakapo, John!”

“Since you kindly tell me that they are critically endangered species, let them live in peace, Sherlock.”

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

Rodney yelled encouragement as John steered the last white sheep out of the small pen. John was lucky that his sheep were all in best behaviour, allowing him to finish the task quickly. He returned to Rodney with the clue. Rodney was ecstatic when he read it. He knew exactly what Dimrill Dale was and which area represented it. John commented that really showed who the geekier geek in the team was. Rodney sniffed disdainfully and said he was the geekiest geek in the world and was proud of it.

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

Steve and Tony went to the next door farm. With his polite and earnest way, Steve managed to charm the house owner, an elderly lady, to let them borrow her computer. Tony quickly went to work on it while Steve chatted with the elderly lady.

It was just a few minutes of work for Tony to get the information they wanted and confirmed the route they needed to take. However, the elderly lady worked much quicker in that she managed to insert casually that she had three pretty granddaughters and mentioned they were all single and available. Tony, who heard the conversation, quickly finished his searching.

Blushing, Steve said he was gay. The lady didn’t bat an eyelash and mentioned she had a nephew and a grandson who were also gay. And single. Did she mention they were single as well?

While Steve attempted to be polite in refusing, Tony plopped down on his lap and kissed him.

“You should have told this pretty lady that you are married, Steve, “ Tony said after the kiss and turned toward the elderly lady. “I’m sorry but he isn’t available.”

“That’s alright, “ The elderly lady said with aplomb, “Do you have any brothers who are available, young man?”

“Tell you what, “Tony said, “I’ll give you Fury’s number. He is a strong and dedicated man, who needs someone to take care of him. I’m sure he will appreciate your call.”

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

Thor and Loki arrived first at the Remarkable Ski Resort. They got their clue out of the clue box and ripped it open for the next task. This time, it said to get inside the lodge where each team member had to make one putiputi.

“Putiputi? Is that some kind of food?” Thor asked excitedly.

“I don’t know, “Loki replied, “The clue says that the instruction to make it will be provided inside the lodge.”

They entered the lodge and were directed to a table covered with long green grass blades called flax. It turned out that putiputi was Māori’s term for flower. Their task was to fold the flax into a flower as instructed on the paper given to them. A picture of finished putiputi was included in the instruction.

Aside from that one picture, the instruction only contained text which the team had to follow in order to construct the putiputi. Each team member had to make one approved putiputi to get their next clue.

Loki read the paper which contained 15 steps and looked at his brother with a lot amount of doubts.

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

Duncan ushered the last white sheep out of the small pen and returned to Methos with the clue. He found his teammate relaxing under the tree and eating cheese.

“How can you eat cheese at the time like this?” Duncan said in consternation.

“Relax, Duncan. I know our next destination.” Methos said, “Here, try it. It’s made from sheep milk and very nutritious.”

“No, thank you, “ Duncan refused. Methos shrugged and ate the cheese.

“What do you mean you know our next destination? We haven’t read the clue, yet.” Duncan waved the sealed clue.

Methos stood up and patted his pants. “I overheard one of the geeks claiming to know where it is, so I paid attention to what he said.”

“Paid attention, “ Duncan gave Methos a look and a raised eyebrow, “You mean you eavesdropped on them.”

“Semantic,” Methos wiggled his hand. “Now let’s open the clue for the ceremonial purpose and then we can go to the next destination, yes?”

Duncan sighed and surrendered the clue.

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

One by one, the teams found their ways toward The Remarkables Ski Resort. When they found out what the next task was, their reactions and performances were many and varied.

Loki didn’t have problem making putiputi but he was interrupted constantly by having to watch and instruct Thor in making his. Thor bungled his putiputi by ripping the flax blade mid way so he had to redo it again.

Adam weaved the flax with ease, delighted that for once, it didn’t require much physical strength. Kris agreed and both enjoyed weaving the flax into the flowers.

Sherlock read the instruction and declared it was boring. John said that he had to make the putiputi nevertheless. Sherlock was more interested in the notice that the flax residue could make human sick if the weaver didn’t wash his hands after the weaving completed. John made a note to check Sherlock bag later for any smuggled flax.

Daniel looked happy weaving the blade into a flower, telling Jack that it was a nice to experience the indigenous culture. Jack grumbled and squinted at the instruction, muttering something about fishing.

Arthur said this was easy and weaved the flax confidently. Halfway into it, he realized his ‘flower’ didn’t look like flower at all. Merlin laughed at Arthur but his ‘flower’ looked no better in the end. They both had to redo their work.

Having read the note about the flax residue, Rodney refused to touch the flax with bare hands and wore his gloves, which of course made weaving it more difficult. John put his foot down and removed Rodney’s gloves, much to Rodney’s protest and appal.

Tony read the guide sheet and followed the first few steps but got frustrated following the instructions. Steve took the guide sheet from him and told Tony to just copy his steps.

Methos commented that this was like origami but was much more challenging because they weren’t given step by step pictures. Duncan nodded in agreement and worked on his own putiputi.

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

The first team to finish their putiputi was Adam and Kris. Adam held up his putiputi proudly as they went to get their next clue.

The clue contained a blue sheet which told them to go to the pit stop, located 100 meters behind the lodge. Adam and Kris whooped and ran to the pit stop.

Mycroft was waiting for them with his loyal umbrella. Next to him was a woman in thick coat of fur. She greeted them as they stepped on the check in mat, welcoming them to New Zealand.

“Adam and Kris, congratulations.” Mycroft greeted Adam and Kris, ”You are number one.”

Laughing, Adam and Kris hugged and patted each other on the back.

“As the winner of this leg, “ Mycroft continued, “You win a trip for two to the Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas.“

“Thank you,” Kris said, “That’s great.”

“Yes, what a nice present. I love beaches, “ Adam beamed.

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

After Kris and Adam, the second team to reach Mycroft was Sherlock & John. They were followed by Thor & Loki, Daniel & Jack, and John & Rodney.

Arthur and Merlin arrived as the sixth team and Steve and Tony as the seventh team.

Methos and Duncan arrived last. Mycoft welcomed them to the mat and told them they had been eliminated.

Duncan nodded and slung his arm around Methos’ shoulder. “It has been great.”

“You don’t seem too disappointed, “ Mycroft

“Yeah, I kind of expected it when I realized we wasted a lot of time waiting to do the bungee.“ Methos said, “But doing the bungee was fun. I have no regret”

“Me too.” Duncan said. ”It’s nice travelling with Methos again after staying in one place for quite a long time. Too bad it ended abruptly.”

“Who said this is the end?“ Methos said, “We have our next destination.”

“We do?” Duncan blinked.

“Yes, we are going to Bora-Bora.” Methos grinned and turned to Mycroft, “I almost forgot, I have a present for you.”

“For me?” Mycroft raised an eyebrow.

Methos grinned and took out his putiputi, “We are told that the first putiputi we have should be given to someone.” He gave the putiputi to the bemused Mycroft and dragged Duncan to the airport for their next adventure.

Notes:

Thanks again for the votes. It's hard for me to choose which team to be eliminated because I love all the pairings in this story. That's why I ask your help to vote and also to know who is the favorite team is so I can keep them racing until the final leg. So with that note, please vote for your favorite team ^_^

For you who is curious of how to make a putiputi : http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Maori/Putiputi/

Chapter 7: Leg 4 Beginning

Notes:

We are now on the Leg 4. Thank you for the comments and your supports on each team. I really appreciate all of them. It seems Kradam vote is on the lead this time.

Answering a question from the comments I got on the previous chapter : Yes, you can vote for more than one team but note that I will take the first team name you listed on the comment as the priority :)

Welcome to Queenstown, New Zealand. This is The Remarkables, a well-known ski resort in New Zealand, and also the third pit stop in the race around the world.

The seven teams remaining would leave the pit stop after twelve hours of mandatory rest. Adam and Kris, being the first to arrive on the third leg, would depart first.

Adam and Kris
1st to depart at 12:32 AM

Adam ripped the clue envelope with relish and took out the route info. “Go to Ozone Tubing Park and grab more than three flags each while sliding down the hill to get an earlier flight out of Queenstown.”

“Cool!” was Kris’ response. “Let’s go, then.”

“You know where this Ozone Tubing Park is?” asked Adam.

Kris pointed up to the right. “Up the mountain. I read it on the map yesterday afternoon.”

“We have to climb?” Adam looked up in askance.

“Don’t worry, we can use the chair lifts.“ Kris motioned Adam to start moving.

“You got the map when you went out to have some snowball fight, didn’t you?” Adam said as they walked slowly toward the lift.

“Yeah, while you were having your beauty rest.” Kris grinned. “That was awesome, man.”

“Who were in your team? And who were the opponents?” Adam looked curious.

“I played with both Johns, Thor, Steve, and Arthur against a local team.”

Adam blinked. “You got all the athletic ones? Did the local team ever stand a chance at all?”

Kris looked sheepish. “It was over in a matter of minutes. We then decided to divide our team into two since we still wanted to play some more.”

“Now that’s interesting. Who against whom?”

“I was with Steve and Black John. The other team was Thor, White John, and Arthur.”

Adam nodded. “That was quite balanced. Who was the winner?”

“You know what, I had no idea, “ Kris laughed, “halfway through the game, it became free for all.”

“As long as you enjoy it.” Adam smiled fondly. Kris smiled back.

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

John and Sherlock
2nd to depart at 12:39 AM

“We are going sliding, Sherlock!” John grinned.

Sherlock sniffed, “Of course, they can’t let us out of this mountain before trying it once.”

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

When Kris and Adam arrived at the top of Ozone Tubing Park, they were given a round slider each. The park was lit with lamps, bright enough to see all the way to the bottom of the hill.

“We have to slide on this and grab some flags along the way?” Adam sat down on the slider and looked down the hill dubiously. “The flags are quite far to the right and left. I don’t think you can reach both sides, Kris.”

“Well, I’ll just stay on one side, then.” Kris said as he settled on the next track.

They were then pushed down. Kris shouted in excitement while Adam let out a big ‘WHOA’

At the foot of the hill, they counted the flags they managed to grab. Adam got four but Kris only got three. They were given a clue and 7:00 AM flight tickets to Sydney.

“Sorry, Adam, “ Kris looked disappointed.

“Hey, it’s okay, “ Adam hugged his friend. “We will catch up with the others somehow.”

Kris opened the clue and read it. “Now that you got your ticket to Sydney, you can then fly to New Delhi, India. Once there, go to Delhi's Old Fort for your next clue.”

“India? Have you ever been there?” Adam asked.

“No,” Kris shook his head. “I have been to Thailand, though.”

“Let’s hope our next destination will be Thailand, then.” Adam said, “so we can make use of your knowledge during your stay there.”

“I don’t think knowing how to say ‘help’ and ‘thank you’ in Thai will be much of use, “ Kris looked sheepish.

Adam laughed and since there was still some time until their flight, they decided to return to their hotel and slept for a few more hours.

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

Loki and Thor
3rd to depart at 12:48 AM

“Snow sliding!” Thor beamed. “Let’s go, brother.”

Loki complained about the cold, which got him pulled into a snuggle.

Daniel and Jack
4th to depart at 12:49 AM

“Ah, my favourite pairing, “ Jack greeted Loki and Thor when he and Daniel caught the brothers on the chair lifts.

Thor greeted them back while Loki just nodded and huddled into his broad shouldered brother for more warmth.

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

John and Sherlock shouted in exhilaration as they slid down the hill. Each of them managed to grab four flags and both were awarded the clue and 6:00 AM flight tickets to Sydney.

“6:00 AM?” John read the information on the tickets. “We still have five hours to kill.”

“True, “ Sherlock said and waved the clue he had opened. “It said we have to go to India, but we can’t reserve the tickets until we arrive in Sydney.”

“well, maybe we can get a few hours sleep...Sherlock! Where are you going?”

“To the top again, obviously.“ Sherlock answered as he dragged his slider and headed toward the chair lifts. “I want to see whether I can duplicate or fasten the sliding speed.”

“Oh for the...Sherlock, wait for me!” John shouted. “I want to slide too!”

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

John and Rodney
5th to depart at 12:55 AM

“We have to slide down on a cold wet dangerous path!?” Rodney looked apoplectic. “Not to mention, it’s in the middle of the night! Do you know how unsafe it is!?”

“C’mon Rodney” John dragged his partner toward the chair lifts, ignoring his vehement protests.

They met Sherlock and White John when they arrived at the chair lifts. Rodney looked horrified as he assumed they had to repeat the sliding but White John explained that he and Sherlock just wanted to have fun instead of catching some sleep.

“So it’s not terrifying?” Rodney asked.

“Not at all.” Sherlock sniffed. “In fact, I’m quite disappointed.”

White John grinned, “It was fun.”

“See, nothing to worry about, “ Black John slapped Rodney’s shoulder, “It will be an easy ride, Rodney.”

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

At the Ozone Tubing Park, it was Thor’s and Loki’s turns to slide down. Thanks to their tall body, they managed to secure nine flags (Thor 5, Loki 4) and were awarded 6.00 AM tickets.

Jack and Daniel managed to grab four flags each on their turns and got the same tickets as Loki and Thor. Both teams decided to go back to their hotel and caught a few hours sleep before they had to go to the airport.

On their way down, they met with Rodney, Sherlock, and both Johns who were on their way up.

Thor shouted good luck to both teams while Jack murmured something about crazy Bert and Ernie.

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

Arthur and Merlin
6th to depart at 01:10 AM

Steve and Tony
7th to depart at 01:11 AM

“I don’t want to get wet.” Merlin complained, “I just dried these pants.”

“Stop complaining, Merlin. You are such a girl, worrying about clothes.”

Merlin glared. “See if I help you dry your pants again.“

“Aww, I will help you dry your pants, darling, “ Tony grinned and made a grabby hand gesture. Merlin squeaked.

Arthur quickly stepped up in front of Merlin and glared at the older man. “Back off.”

“Pleased don’t mind Tony, “ Steve said as he dragged Tony away. After they distanced themselves from the other pair, Steve gave Tony an exasperated look. “Did you really have to do that, Tony?”

“Of course, I did.” Tony smirked and pointed at the other team behind. “Look, he quickly changed from being a bully to being a mother hen.”

Steve raised his eyebrows, “While that is true, I also wonder whether your action has something to do with the fact that you were also worrying about drying your clothes a few hours ago.”

“Hey, one stone, two birds.” Tony grinned. “Genius, here.”

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

“The detectives are liaaaaaaaaaaaaa” was what Rodney shouted during his way down the hill.

“Grab the flags, Rodney!” John shouted as he slid down on the path next to Rodney’s.

“Are you crazy!?” Rodney shouted. His hands were clutching the slider tightly. “I still want to live!”

John rolled his eyes and seemed to decide getting the later flight was better than reviving a comatose partner. He ignored the flags and enjoyed the sliding. It wasn’t faster than 200km/hr but hey, it was enough.

Rodney, of course, disagreed.

White John and Sherlock slid down for the second time while Black John and Rodney read their clue.

“7:00 AM!? That’s still hours away!” Rodney grumbled. “Let’s go back to the nice hotel and sleep.”

Sherlock and both Johns followed him back to the hotel.

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

Tony and Steve arrived at Ozone Tubing Park and slid down without much fanfare. Steve got five flags and Tony got four flags. That earned them 6:00 AM flight ticket.

Merlin screamed but managed to grab some flags on his way down the hill, so it was either he could multitask or he was not that frightened. Arthur got five flags but since Merlin only got three, they got the 7:00 AM flight ticket.

“We have to go to India.” Steve said after they finished reading the clue. “That is like...a third world country, right?”

“Yes, it’s also the second most populated country in the world.” Arthur said. “It was governed by British Kingdom until 1947.”

“British Kingdom, indeed. No wonder you know about it, “ Merlin tidied up their clue. “Any chance you also can speak their language?”

“One of their national languages is English, Merlin.” Arthur said.

“Thank God, for that. “ Merlin sighed in relief.

“Oh boy, “ Tony grinned, “Wait until you hear their version of English, kiddo.”

“Is that something like Singaporean English?” Steve asked curiously.

Tony nodded. “Something like that.”

“Crowded country and weird English, I can live with that.“ Merlin said and turned to Arthur. “I wonder about you, though.”

“I will live.” Arthur said drily.

Both teams then decided to follow the other teams’ footsteps. They went back to the hotel and took a few hours sleep.

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

Fortunately, all teams woke up on time and no one got lost on their way to Queenstown airport. Despite Rodney praying for the plane to be delayed, the 6:00 AM plane departed on time, carrying John & Sherlock, Thor & Loki, Daniel & Jack, and Steve & Tony.

An hour later, Adam & Kris, John & Rodney, and Arthur & Merlin boarded the second plane.

Three hours and fifteen minutes later, the first plane landed on Sydney Airport at 7.15 AM local time.

The first four teams quickly went their separated way to book their tickets to India. John and Sherlock were the first one to reach the ticket counter. Thor and Loki arrived a few seconds later and went to the second ticket counter. Steve and Tony arrived and queued up behind John and Sherlock. Daniel and Jack decided to wait behind Thor and Loki.

“We need to go to New Delhi as fast as possible, “ John talked to the ticket officer, who went to check the flight schedules.

“There’s a flight to Singapore at 8:05 AM and from Singapore to New Delhi, due to arrive at 9:05 PM.“ The officer informed them.

“8:05 AM? That’s less than 40 minutes. Can we still get on that flight?” John asked.

“Yes, it’s still open.” The officer answered.

“Wonderful, “ John beamed.

“Wait, John.” Sherlock interrupted. “Is there another flight with different stop but earlier time arrival?”

The officer checked his computer again. “There is a flight to Kuala Lumpur at 10:55 AM but it will arrive in New Delhi at 9:20 PM.”

“Okay, we will take the one flying to Singapore then.” John decided.

On the next counter, Loki asked their ticket officer to issue them the same flight plan as ‘their friends’.

Once John and Sherlock got their tickets, John shouted good luck to the other teams as he and Sherlock hightailed toward the boarding gate. The information board had shown that their flight number was already boarding.

Thor and Loki got their tickets a few minutes later and also dashed away toward the boarding gate.

Tony and Steve had stepped forward after John and Sherlock and asked to be issued the same tickets as well. However, the seats were full already. Tony groaned in disappointment while Steve asked whether they could be put on standby.

“Shouldn’t we secure the other flight instead? The one to Kuala Lumpur?” Tony asked.

“That flight will depart at 10:55 AM, there’s still plenty of time to secure the seats if we fail to get this one.” Steve reasoned.

Jack and Daniel clearly thought the same and asked to be put on standby as well.

Both teams then went to the boarding gate and were on pins and needles, waiting for their names to be called.

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

Inside the plane, John and Sherlock had settled on their seats. Thor and Loki sat across them.

“Where are the other teams?” asked John.

“I have no idea, my friend.” Thor answered.

“They might run out of seats, “ Sherlock commented.

“That’s unfortunate, “ Thor looked saddened.

Loki rolled his eyes, “No need to be sad. They are only 15 minutes apart from us if they take the other flight to Kuala Lumpur.”

“That’s true, “ Sherlock added, “In fact, all the remaining team have a chance to be in that flight. Its departure time is still three hours later after all.”

“So what do you say?” John said, “We only have 15 minutes lead on the other teams?”

“That’s enough, ” said Sherlock and Loki at the same time.

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

At the boarding gate, Tony and Steve’s names were called up. Tony quickly bounced up to the counter, followed by Steve. They were told there were two seats opened up but they were in business class. Tony looked delighted until Steve pointed up that the rule said they are allowed to buy regular class ticket only. Tony wilted at once. He brightened up again when the officer said the airline had upgraded their tickets for free.

They both got their tickets and were walking toward the plane when they heard the officer informed Jack and Daniel that all the seats on the plane were taken. Steve threw a guilty look back at Jack and Daniel but Jack waved him away. “We will catch later plane and will see you guys in New Delhi soon.”

“Not too soon, I hope “ Tony shouted back. “I want to be the first team to arrive on the mat, for once.”

Jack waited until Tony almost at the exit before calling him. When Tony looked back, Jack waved the express pass they had won on the first leg. It was the pass which would allow them to skip any task once during the race.

Tony’s smug face turned sour as he exited the gate.

“You are evil, “ Daniel pointed out.

Jack put his innocent look. “What? I just want to warn the youngsters not to get ahead of themselves.”

Daniel snorted. “Let’s just secure our tickets, Jack.”

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

Inside the plane, Tony and Steve got furious stares from Loki and Sherlock as they settled on their first class seats at the front row.

“I think we are on Sherlock and Loki’s hit list, “ Steve commented.

“Let them be, “ Tony snuggled into his seat. “I need this comfort after Jack ruined my mood.”

“Serves you right.”

“Hey, I realized I was wrong to thumb my nose on them. Now comfort me, husband.”

“You are so spoiled, “ Steve said but the gentle kiss he bestowed on Tony’s cheek told a different story.

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

On the middle row, John was grateful that he managed to remove the flax from Sherlock’s bag this morning. Judging from how he narrowed his eyes on Steve and Tony, John had no doubt the flax would somehow find its way in Steve and Tony’s backpacks if Sherlock was given a chance.

However, John was still worried about what repercussion would befall the husbands. You see, Sherlock had changed seats with Thor and was busy discussing something with Loki. Their voices were too low for John to hear across the aisle, but John knew it would have something to do with the team on the front seat. A combination of Sherlock’s genius and Loki’s cunning would be disastrous.

“Thor, can you hear what they are saying?” John asked his current seatmate.

Thor leaned his body toward the dark haired pairs but soon straightened his body. “I cannot. They both speak too low.”

John was really really worried.

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

Daniel and Jack were back at the ticket counter. They were just about to confirm their tickets when Kris and Adam arrived at the counter next to them. It seemed the second flight landed a few minutes earlier than the schedule.

“Hey, what’s up?” Kris asked.

“What? What?” Rodney said as he and John arrived at the counter as well, followed by Merlin and Arthur. Jack waited until they all gained their breaths before telling them about how they missed the first flight and were in the process of securing their tickets for the 10:55 AM to Kuala Lumpur and then to New Delhi.

“However, the officer doesn’t recommend this flight since we only have an hour to clear the customs and confirm our seats in Kuala Lumpur.” Daniel added.

“What if you miss the connecting flight in Kuala Lumpur?” John asked.

“We will not miss.” Jack said confidently.

“Yeah, yeah, but what if WE miss?” Rodney asked.

“If you miss, the next flight will be in the morning after.” Daniel answered.

“So we either swim or sink. “ Adam pointed out.

“We can make it, “ Arthur said.

Merlin looked dubiously at his blond partner and turned back to Daniel. “There’s no other flight?” he asked.

“We have checked. There is a 11:15 AM flight to Singapore, “ Daniel answered, “We have an hour and 25 minutes to change plane but it will arrive in New Delhi an hour later than the first flight”

“Shouldn’t we choose that safer flight?” Merlin asked, “All teams will arrive at night. There might be hours of operation in effect at the Old Fort place. So, it won’t matter whether we are 15 minutes or an hour late because we all will start at the same time in the morning.”

“We can’t assume there will be hours of operation. The place might be open 24 hours, “ John said, “We have to risk catching the earlier flight.”

“Exactly my thought, “ Jack said and turned back to the counter to issue their tickets.

“Wait, wait, “ Kris interrupted, “Let me check this one first.” He turned to his counter officer . “Can you please check whether there is a direct flight from here to Bangkok, Thailand and from Bangkok to New Delhi?”

“One moment, Sir. “ said the officer.

Kris explained to the others while waiting the officer to finish checking. “I have been to Thailand and I remember it’s close to India. There should be planes to New Delhi but I’m not sure whether Sydney has direct flight to Bangkok. It’s further than Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.”

“Sir, “ The officer called Kris, who quickly focused his attention on her. The others also went silent so they could listen as well.

“There is a 10:00 AM flight to Bangkok, arriving at 4.20 PM, ” The officer said, “You can take the 5.25 PM flight to New Delhi and arrive there at 8:10 PM.”

“What!?”

“Holy Co-”

“That’s fa-“

“Did my ea-“

Everybody spoke at once and all their words were jumbled and became pure noise.

“Silent!” Arthur shouted finally. They all went silent and Arthur quickly turned to Kris. “Please confirm the flight schedule to the kind officer.”

Kris nodded and turned to the officer who looked amused at all of them. “I’m sorry about that. Can you repeat the flight schedule, please?”

The officer repeated the information.

“So you are saying we have an hour and five minutes to change plane in Bangkok and will arrive almost an hour earlier than the first flight?” Kris asked for confirmation, a giddy smile threatening to appear on his face.

“That’s correct, “ The officer confirmed, “but I still won’t recommend it. You only have five minutes extra compared to the flight to Kuala Lumpur so there’s still a possibility you might miss the flight.”

“Well lady, if I am willing to risk a shorter layover and arriving 15 minutes later, “ Jack said, “I’m sure as hell willing to risk the 5 minutes extra layover and arriving one hour earlier.”

There were murmurs of agreement from the other teams. Kris looked at Adam for confirmation. Adam smiled widely and hugged Kris tightly. “You rock, baby! Go get our tickets.”

Kris blushed and went to confirm their tickets.

All the four remaining teams got their tickets on the Sydney – Bangkok – New Delhi route. Since they still had an hour before boarding time, the teams scattered to do some research and buy map or book about India. They also managed to get some time on the free internet kiosk and googled the Old Fort place they were supposed to find later.

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

“Hey Rodney, it says they sell cow urine as a drink in India.” John pointed at the kiosk’s monitor.

“Not listening!” Rodney shouted while his face went deadly pale. He was busy typing at his own monitor.

“It says they also eat pig brain, dog meat, and … red ants, “ John started to look ill. He closed the tourism window and said, “Let’s just pray there won’t be a food challenge in this leg, shall we?”

Rodney resolutely said nothing and kept on typing.

John glanced at Rodney’s monitor and laughed. “Ten tips to Survive Indian Culture? Only you, Rodney.” His face turned soft as he said the last three words.

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

“What do you know about India, Daniel?”, Jack asked. After getting fifteen minutes nonstop explanation about India’s culture, Jack interrupted, “Okay, let me revise that. With your vast knowledge of India, can you predict what kind of tasks we will be getting?”

“The tasks usually have something to do with the country, “ Daniel mulled the question for a while. “India considers cow as a sacred animal. The tasks might involve something to do with the cows…”

“Cows…okay, …at least it’s a common animal…” Jack said, “Any chance it will involve fishing?”

“Keep hoping, Jack.”

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

At 09:30 AM, the boarding call was announced and all four teams stepped into the plane one by one. They would fly for nine and a half hours to reach Bangkok.

“More than nine hours on the plane…” Merlin moaned, “My butt will be numb from sitting so long…”

“Take a walk down the aisle once in a while.” Arthur murmured. “While you are at it, please ask the stewardess for some drinks, would you?”

Merlin huffed but he left his seat anyway. Arthur was reading a tourism book about India and was so absorbed in it that it took a while to realize something was amiss. He looked up some times later and noticed a drink had been placed in front of him. However, the seat next to him, which was supposed to house Merlin, was empty.

Arthur looked for his wayward teammate and found him on an empty row near the back of the plane. Merlin had lifted up all the armchairs and was sprawled across the three seats, sound asleep.

Later when Merlin woke up, he would find a blanket covering him, keeping him warm and comfortable during his sleep. He went back to his original seat and commented how kind the stewardess was to give him a blanket without being asked.

Arthur made some noise while keeping his eyes focused on his reading. Merlin just looked at his teammate knowingly.

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

Changi Airport, Singapore
2:25 PM

Once the three teams cleared the customs, they separated. Sherlock predictably went straight to the internet kiosk and started researching their next destination. John left him there and went to buy some snacks.

Tony found an internet kiosk on different location. He cooed and made a quick job to disable the time counter on it so he could use the station unlimitedly. Steve was standing next to him, making sure he didn’t break any rules in the race while using the computer.

Thor found a free foot reflexology machine and quickly camped there, making some sinful noises as he took advantage of the machine. Loki went to a book store nearby and camped there.

Three hours later, they gathered in the boarding gate and departed for New Delhi, India.

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

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
4:20 PM

The four teams ran out of the plane as quickly as possible and queued at the customs. It was 4:38 when they got out of the arrival hall and tore to through the airport toward the departure hall, trying to catch the plane to New Delhi.

The first team to reach the check in counters was Arthur and Merlin at 4:45 PM. The officer said they were about to announce the last call for the flight’s passengers so they better hurried. Merlin donned his helpless look and asked the officer pleadingly to inform the plane staff to wait for them.

The other teams had arrived at the check in counters as well and were soon busy trying to process their tickets and pleaded for the plane to wait for them.

The officer caved and informed the plane staff that there were eight frantic passengers trying to make it into the plane.

After obtaining their boarding passes, Arthur and Merlin thanked the officer and ran toward the boarding gate. The other teams soon followed after them.

4:59 PM. All the teams made it to the plane and the plane’s door was closed soon after the last team (John and Rodney) entered the cabin. After the obligatory announcement and safety demonstration, the plane took off. All teams collapsed on their seats and did a feeble high five with the others. They were still trying to catch their breaths.

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

Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India
8:10 PM

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners
Currently in the 1st place

Arthur and Merlin went out of the airport and searched for taxi but they were soon directed to a window near the exit door. It turned out that it was the ticket window for prepaid taxi service. There were a lot of people clustering around the counter.

“It seems we have to pay for the taxi fee first.” Melrin commented.

“Okay, where’s the queue line?” Arthur asked in consternation as the people kept bunching up around the ticket window.

“There’s no queue tradition here, Arthur.” Merlin pushed the blond man forward. “Get used to it. We have to fight our way into the front.”

“Ow, somebody shoved me with his elbow!” Arthur said incredulously.

“Shove them back, “ Merlin said as he shoved the man in front of him. “Just don’t break them.”

“This is foul!” Arthur said but he cleared the path for Merlin, who proceeded to buy their taxi service. He had to shout to be heard since the people around him were shouting and pushing. Merlin told Arthur to keep an eye on their backpacks while he focused on their taxi. After a shouting match not unlike the haggling often found in a market, Merlin got the receipt for their taxi and paid 400 rupees for it.

“400 rupees? How much is that in dollar” Arthur asked.

“About eight dollars.” Merlin said.

“That’s cheap.”

“Careful, Arthur. Your root is showing.”

Arthur huffed.

Kris and Adam
Singers
Currently in the 2nd place

“Hey look, it’s Arthur and Merlin outside.” Kris pointed out as they exited the airport. Both Arthur and Merlin looked a bit harried but they greeted Kris and Adam when they got near.

Adam greeted them back and saw Merlin clutching the taxi receipt. “You have got your taxi, then?”

“Yeah, “ Merlin answered and pointed at a counter, almost invisible from how many people crowding around it. “You should get yours as well. It’s quite a jungle there.”

“It’s uncivilized!” Arthur held their backpacks tightly. “They are like hungry hyenas or something.”

“Uhm, “ Kris hesitated and waved his receipt weakly, “I guess no one told you that the receipts could be bought INSIDE the airport?”

Both Merlin and Arthur looked stunned. It took a few seconds for Arthur to snap out of it and turned to his teammate. “Merlin!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault,” Merlin said, obviously anticipating Arthur’s reaction. “You were the one who wanted to get out of the airport as if the devil was on your tail.”

Arthur looked about to protest.

“I did shout that we should ask first but you ignored me.” Merlin pointed out.

Arthur gritted his teeth but relented. “Fine, next time we will stop for confirmation first.”

Merlin raised his hands up to the sky and said dramatically. “He finally learned to think before he acts. Praise the Lord!” He got a cuff from Arthur for his cheekiness.

As much as he enjoyed Arthur and Merlin’s interaction, Adam was having a problem of his own. Some Indian men were already gathering around them and staring at them unabashedly. Most of them were staring at Adam, which was the tallest of the four of them.

Several men came forward and said something while patting Adam’s arms. When Adam smiled weakly at them, the men beamed and the patting continued. Adam murmured to Kris. “What are they saying?”

Kris looked bemused. “It sounds like a marriage proposal to me…”

“What!?” Adam squeaked.

“They think you are a very masculine woman because of your mascara and painted nail, “ Kris pointed out.

Daniel and Jack
World Explorers
Currently in the 3rd place

“Adam & Kris and Arthur & Merlin are ahead of us.” Daniel said after they completed their taxi order and stepped out of the airport. “There, they are.”

“They are surrounded by Indian men.“ Jack noted, “Adam looked flabbergasted.”

“What?” Daniel approached their friends and heard a man saying something to Adam, “Oh, no no.” He continued saying something in Hindi and soon the men stopped patting and relented. Daniel quickly dragged all of them away and approached the taxi port.

“What did you say to them?” Adam asked.

“Basically, I said you are a taken woman. “ Daniel grinned.

Adam squeaked again but made no protest.

“Hey, wait, John and Rodney aren’t here, yet.” Kris said.

“Leave them, “ Jack said, “Rodney is still haggling with the taxi counter agent for cheaper price.”

“Somehow, he read that everything with price tag can be negotiated in India.”

“Including a prepaid taxi service?” Kris asked in wonder.

“Rodney seems to think so, “ Daniel shrugged. “We got it for 330 rupees, the same price as yours. So I figure that’s a fixed price.”

“Oh, no. Rodney definitely is right, “ Merlin grimaced.

The other teams looked at him in question.

“We got our taxi for 400 rupees.” Merlin explained.

“Huh, “ Jack said, “Now I wonder how much money Rodney is able to save from his haggling…”

Still, the three teams decided not to wait on Rodney and John and piled into their respective taxi.

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts
Currently in the 4th place

“300 rupees! No more!” Rodney

The ticket agent gave up and surrendered the taxi receipt for 300 rupees.

Rodney crowed in triumph and snatched the receipt.

“Congratulation, “ John said drily as they got into their taxi. “You basically managed to save 50 cents dollar but got us 10 minutes behind the other teams.”

“It’s not a problem.” Rodney waved his hand dismissively and started pestering his taxi driver to go fast. The taxi driver either didn’t understand English or was feeling lazy. However, he was quick to push down his gas pedal when Rodney waved 20 rupees in front of his face.

John murmured something about 10 rupees equals to 20 cents.

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

Old Fort (Purana Qila), New Delhi
8:50 PM

The first taxi dispatched Rodney and John. They found the clue box in front of the fort’s entrance and took a clue out. The other teams were right behind them, scrabbling for their own clues.

“Go inside the fort and find the shooting location. There, you will be given a script in Hindi which you have to perform together to the director’s satisfaction.” Rodney read and looked at John in consternation. “I don’t speak Hindi!”

“Neither do I, “ John said. “Let’s find this shooting location first, then we will figure it out from there.”

They entered the fort, followed by the other teams. Once they found the shooting location, they were directed to a changing room where they were told to put on an Indian costume, usually worn by dancer in Bollywood film. The costume consisted of a vest (inner shirt optional) and a lungi, which was called sarong in other countries (“It’s a skirt!” Rodney protested).

John got a combination of shiny blue and orange colored costume while Rodney got a yellow and bright green one. They were then given the script, which thankfully had the pronunciation and translation in English written below the Hindi text.

Daniel got a green and blue costume while Jack had a red and white one. When they were handed the script, Jack commented that this was Daniel’s forte. Daniel grinned and rattled of the script flawlessly. Now he just had to get Jack up to the speed.

Adam turned around and showed off his shiny green and silver costume. Kris, wearing a purple and yellow one, looked in amusement. Adam read the script translation. The scene was about Sanjay telling his friend, Abdullah, about his problematic life. Sanjay would then cry and Abdullah had to console him. Adam said he would do Sanjay while Kris did Abdullah. Kris nodded in agreement, commenting that Adam’s previous occupation came in handy now.

Arthur had a red and gold costume while Merlin had a red and blue one. Arthur grimaced when he read the Hindi script and quickly assigned Merlin as Sanjay. Merlin looked intrigued.

All the teams were given some times to practice before they went in front of the camera in turns.

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

Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India
9:05 PM

Steve and Tony
Super Husbands
Currently in the 5th place

“First class, first to get out, “ Tony sang as they headed toward the prepaid taxi counter. “We are number one.”

“Don’t let Loki and Sherlock hear you, “ Steve admonished, “they are already fuming as it is.”

“Not our problems, “ Tony grinned and ordered a taxi for them. He paid 330 rupees and took the receipt, whistling on their way out of the airport.

“What goes around, comes around.” Steve warned Tony.

“I heartily agree, “ Tony said as they got into their taxi, “This is payback since Loki has us yielded on the previous leg.”

Steve just shook his head as their taxi left the airport.

John and Sherlock
Private Detectives
Currently in the 6th place

Sherlock went into the prepaid taxi counter and ordered a minivan for their transport to Old Fort.

“Why do we need a minivan?” John asked in bewilderment.

“For Loki and Thor, “ Sherlock said.

“Oh are we sharing our cab, then?” John deducted correctly. “That’s great, We can save some money by sharing.”

Loki and Thor
Brothers
Currently in the last place

“Did you get it?” Loki asked as he and Thor approached Sherlock and John at the counter.

“Yes, “ Sherlock waved the taxi receipt. “Got it for 500 rupees.”

Loki paid half the fare and all of them got into the big taxi. Sherlock quickly rattled off some street names, which were the shortest route toward Old Fort. He had the streets memorized during their stopover in Singapore. The taxi driver nodded and off they went.

“This will be a splendid ride for us!” Thor said merrily.

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

Old Fort (Purana Qila)
New Delhi
9.20 PM

The first four teams were now queuing for their turn on the camera. Rodney and John went first but Rodney bungled his script halfway through so the director shouted cut and they had to go to the end of the queue line to try again.

Jack and Daniel breezed through the script but the director wasn’t satisfied with Daniel’s acting as Sanjay. They were told to retake the scene again. While they were waiting for their next turn, Jack commented that maybe the director wanted Daniel to cry a river during the scene instead of the hiccups Daniel did. Daniel said he would need to rub onions on his eyes for that.

Merlin’s hysterical crying got a thumb up from the director, but Arthur’s awkward attempt to console his friend sent them in to the back of the line to try again.

Adam and Kris, surprisingly, got an okay from director on their first try and were given their next clue. They wished the others good luck and changed their clothes. Adam wondered whether he could have a similar costume on his next concert while Kris ripped open their clue. This time it had a yellow sheet on it.

“Detour, “ Adam read, “Pull or Poo.”

Kris read the details. “In Pull, you have to go Jabbar and Laallu's Dairy in Bhalswa and take turn milking a cow. You need to collect half a litre of milk each in exchange for the next clue.

“In Poo, you go to the same place but instead of milking, you need to mix some cow dung and hay into round patties, using your hands only. After you make 50 dung patties stick on the wall, you will receive the next clue.”

Kris looked at Adam who had looked green around the gills at the mention of cow dung. “Pull?”

Adam nodded frantically.

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

Inside the fort, Rodney managed not to bungle his sentences this time, but the director wasn’t pleased with John’s acting as Sanjay. He got compared to a robot. Rodney thought it was hilarious.

Daniel copied Merlin’s hysterical crying and got an okay from the director. They got their clue and went to change their clothes.

Merlin did his crying thing marvelously but Arthur was still awkward in delivering his lines. They joined John and Rodney, queuing for the third take of their scene.

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

“Thankfully we don’t have to resort to onions, “ Jack said when they finished changing. They opened the clue and read the details.

“You’re right, Daniels. The tasks involve some cows…”

“I never thought they would have us do this cow patties thing, though, “ Daniel said. “These patties are usually used to build a house wall or as a fuel.”

“A fuel? Really?” Jack looked interested, “Let’s do that one, then.“

While they were waiting for taxi in front of the fort, a big taxi stopped in front of them and discharged two teams.

“Hello guys, “ Jack grinned when he saw four stunned faces of Sherlock, John, Thor, and Loki.

“How…” Sherlock started but then he stated flatly. “You got an earlier flight.”

Jack nodded, still grinning. Daniel, meanwhile, got into the taxi the two teams had just come out of and spoke to the driver.

“I take it the teams on later flight from Queenstown to Sydney were also with you on that flight?”

“Go inside and see for yourself, “ Jack waved and got into the taxi.

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

On their third retake, John and Rodney got an approval from the director. They received their clue and went into the changing room, where they met Sherlock & John and Thor & Loki.

“Hey guys, “ John said to the older John, who was wearing a black and yellow costume.

“Hello, I see you guys get ahead of us, “ White John said while waiting for Sherlock to finish putting his purple and pink costume on.

“Thanks to Kris finding an alternative flight route, “ Rodney said grudgingly.

Loki, who was wearing a gold and green costume, said, “Well, we know now who the last team is.”

Sherlock smirked.

“Hey, don’t any of you feel very awkward wearing the skirt?” Rodney asked as he removed his costume.

“Skirt?” White John said, “I thought this is a sarong?”

“Sarong, skirt, same thing, “ Rodney said.

“It’s quite comfortable, “ was White John’s opinion.

“Rodney here is afraid he looks a bit girly, ” Black John explained.

“Hey!” Rodney protested.

“You are saying he looks girly?” Loki asked as he pointed at Thor who just finished putting on his grey and red costume. Thor had forgone the inner shirt and only wore a vest for his upper body, which showed his perfectly sculpted body.

Rodney was forced to admit there was nothing girly at all about wearing a sarong.

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

Arthur managed to deliver his line this time but Merlin ruined it by bursting out laughing at the end of Arthur’s line. They had to retake the scene again. Since there were no more team in queuing line, they could do the retake straight away. This time, they managed to do the scene without any hitches and got their clue.

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

Old Fort (Purana Qila)
New Delhi
9.43 PM

Steve and Tony arrived at the Old Fort and opened the clue box to get their clue.

“Hey, there is only one clue in here, “ Tony said, “This can’t be right. There can only be one clue if we are the last team to arrive…”

Steve was about to say something but he stopped when he noticed Rodney and John running out of the fort’s gate. “Hey, is that…”

“Taxi taxi taxi!!” Rodney shouted for the taxi Steve and Tony had used, which was just about leaving. It stopped. Rodney quickly dove into the taxi and had a loud discussion with the driver.

“How, “ Tony started

“You better hurry inside, “ John said as he got into the taxi as well.

Rodney shouted for the driver to go now and off the taxi went, peeling into the road.

Tony and Steve stared after them, then looked at each other.

“We are the last team, aren’t we?” Tony asked plaintively.

“What goes around comes around, “ was Steve’s solemn reply. He gestured Tony to get inside the Old Fort.

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

“Have you decided which task we will do?” John asked Rodney in the taxi.

“What kind of stupid question is that? We are doing Pull, of course! “ Rodney said. “Kneading cow dung is so unhygienic,” he shuddered. “Better try milking the cow tits, at least I have experience with tits.”

“Oh, “ John narrowed his eyes, “you do?”

“You are jealous? Oh my God! You are!!” Rodney gapped. “That was a long time ago! Before we have met, even!”

John remained silent.

“No no no, you don’t get to be jealous!” Rodney pointed his finger accusingly. “Need I remind you how many women you have slept with before we got together, Mr. Casanova?”

John pouted.

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

“We are doing the Pull.” Arthur decided once they finished reading their clue.

“Are you afraid of getting dirty with cow dung, Arthur?” Merlin teased.

“Of course not, “ Arthur looked insulted, “I figure we will be able to see the white milk easier than the brown black manure during this time of the day.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that. Judging from how they set up the lights at the tubing park this morning, oh God, it was still this morning, wasn’t it? I thought we have gone a day longer and... “

“Merlin, focus!”

“Right, as I was saying, have no worry. I bet they also had hundreds of lights set up at our detour location.”

“You are sure?” Arthur asked.

“That or the place will have hours of operation which will force us to wait until morning” Merlin said confidently.

“Sometimes you are not as stupid as you pretend to be, Merlin, “ Arthur commented.

“Hey! I am never stupid!” Merlin protested.

“Tell me why you think we better take Poo than Pull, “ Arthur decided to ignore the last comment.

“I didn’t say Poo is better.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows. “So your explanation about light and hours of location is not a subtle hint for me to choose Poo? “

“You don’t know what subtle is even if it hits you in the head…” Merlin muttered.

“I beg your pardon?” Arthur’s tone had a warning in it.

“Nothing.” Merlin put on his cheerful look. “About Pull, we are dealing with cows here. Cows are fickly animals. They are lazy and sleep a lot.”

“Not too different from you, then.”

“Hey!”

Arthur gestured Merlin to continue which Merlin did grudgingly at him. “Now imagine if your sleep is disturbed by some strangers in the middle of the night, who want to take advantages of your body, ”

“Don’t make it sound so lewd, Merlin.” Arthur interrupted.

“then you will get a cranky cow in your possession.” Merlin ignored the interruption. “They might not want to part with the milk and mooed in protest.”

“Okay, so we will do Poo, then.” Arthur said.

“ Great!” Merlin beamed.

“Don’t think I don’t know that you just want to see me getting my hands dirty with cow dung, Merlin.”

“Who? Me?” Merlin widened his eyes and put his hand on his heart solemnly, “I only have your best interest in my mind, Arthur.”

Arthur just rolled his eyes, obviously used to Merlin’s ploys.

Notes:

Okay , the boys are in India now. Does your team preference stay the same or is it changing? Please let me know and vote for your favorite team ^_^

Chapter 8: Leg 4 End

Notes:

Thank you again for the votes! I'm happy to see each team has their own supporters. I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)

Seven teams were now in New Delhi, India. Four teams had finished taking a part in a Bollywood film while the other three teams were preparing for their own debuts.

Steve and Tony, the last team to arrive at the Old Fort, entered the changing room and quickly changed into their costumes. Tony got a combination of gold and red costume while Steve got a blue and white one. They went to find the director and saw Sherlock & John and Thor & Loki were still practicing their lines.

Loki and Sherlock threw Tony a smirk, which made Tony sulk until Steve pointed out they could surpass the other two teams if they got their lines and acts approved by the director first.

Meanwhile, John was having trouble spelling some of the Hindi lines even though the English pronunciation had been written below the text.

“Uh thus mah taengurb ow, “ John grimaced and touched his self-bitten tongue, “This is bloody difficult.”

“That word requires a little trick with your tongue to produce it. Put your tongue like this.” Sherlock opened his mouth and showed the tongue position.

“My tongue is not as nimble as yours, Sherlock, “ John grumbled. “Close your mouth, please. You are distracting me.”

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

Loki and Thor finished practicing their lines and went for the shooting first. Thor acted as Sanjay, the one who cried over his friend’s shoulder. Loki had no problem with that, but right in the middle of the crying scene, Thor hugged Loki tightly, buried his head on Loki’s shoulder, and started blubbering about how he wanted to be as close to Loki as the time when they were children and how Loki didn’t believe his love for Loki would never change.

Loki’s face flitted around embarrassment, exasperation, and conciliatory. He tried to get Thor to stop bawling by pushing the big blond away but Thor just hugged him tighter and bawled louder. Finally, Loki patted Thor hesitantly and said he believed Thor.

“Really?” Thor stopped bawling and sniffled into Loki’s neck. “We will always be together?”

Loki sighed. “Yes, brother, always.”

“You believe I love you?” Thor nuzzled Loki’s neck

“Yes, I do.” Loki said, “Now will you cease your bawling?”

Thor lifted his head and beamed like a sun, “I love you, brother!”

Loki looked stunned for a second before he pointed furiously at Thor, “You tricked me!”

“Friend Natasha told me I had to this if I wish for confirmation of your feeling.” Thor explained.

“No one tricked me! I’m the master of trickery!!” Loki let out a roar and struggled to get out of Thor’s hug, but Thor held on and kept whispering ‘I love you, Loki’ until Loki ceased his struggling and slumped resignedly on Thor.

There was a few seconds of silence before an unnecessary ‘cut’ was shouted by the director, who then told Thor and Loki that while he appreciated the emotions they displayed, they didn’t play according to the script. The director then asked them to queue behind Tony and Steve and wait for their turn again.

Thor just nodded and shuffled toward the end of the line, still hugging the compliant Loki in his arms.

“Way to go, buddy.” Tony slapped Thor in congratulatory manner while John and Sherlock got up to the stage.

“Thank you, “ Thor said while Loki sent death glare toward Tony.

“I’m happy for you two, “ Steve said earnestly. “Now I know how powerful a hug can be for a reconciliation.”

“Thank you. Friend Tom enlightened me that Loki was just lonely and needed a hug.” Thor said.

Loki, who was silent during this conversation, let out another furious roar. “I am not lonely! And I don’t need a hug!” He struggled wildly and managed to escape Thor’s arms, storming off somewhere. Thor chased after him, shouting his apology and tried to hug Loki again.

Steve stared after them in horror.

Tony whistled. “Let it be known that I’m not the one who is responsible for this mess.”

Steve made a mournful noise. “I am a family wrecker.”

“Nothing that drastic, love. “ Tony patted him consolingly. “Don’t worry, Thor will get Loki back. The blondie is as stubborn as a bull.”

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

Sherlock cried beautifully. He even let out real tears. John , meanwhile, was trying not to roll his eyes. It looked like it was not the first time Sherlock faked crying in front of his partner. John thankfully managed to deliver his speech without getting tongue tied. They got an okay from the director, who then gave them their next clue.

While Sherlock and John went to change their clothes, Tony and Steve took to the stage. Tony had no problem with being the dramatic Sanjay. Steve, it turned out, was once a stage actor. Together, they had no problem with acting but they stumbled a bit at their lines and had to repeat the scene again.

Since Thor and Loki still hadn’t returned, they were allowed to do the retake straight away. Fortunately, they managed to deliver the lines to the director’s satisfaction this time. The director made a thumb up and gave them their next clue.

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

“Pull or Poo, Sherlock?” John asked

“Milk is boring.” was Sherlock’s answer.

“Poo it is, then.” John decided. “But hear this, Sherlock. I will sell your skull if you dare taking the poo home.”

“It’s for scientific research, John.”

“Choose skull or poo.”

Sherlock pouted.

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

Tony and Steve opened their clue and read it.

“Pull or Poo?” Steve asked.

Tony grimaced. “How about neither?”

“Let me choose, then.” Steve quickly decided. “We will do the Pull.”

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

Thor, who managed to soother Loki’s ruffled feathers, came back to the stage with Loki in tow. They repeated their scene and this time Thor kept to the script and they finished without any problems. The director nodded his approval and gave them their next clue.

“Nothing says that both team members have to do 25 pieces each on the cow patties, “ Loki read the detail of the task. He looked satisfied and pointed at Thor. “You will do all of them as your penance.”

Thor nodded readily, “Will you allow me to hug you after I finish this penance, brother?”

“Maybe.”

Thor looked like someone had just kicked his puppy.

“Oh for…” Loki sighed, “Alright…”

Thor beamed. “I won’t disappoint you, brother!”

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

Jabbar and Laallu's Dairy
10:20 PM

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 1st place

The good thing about being in the night time was that Adam and Kris found the location immediately. Just like the ski field, the dairy was illuminated inside and outside. They just followed the light from the edge of the street and found the dairy.

Having chosen to do the Pull, Kris and Adam headed inside the barn where the cows were. They were asked to choose a cow, the task Adam immediately delegate to Kris. “Please pick the mildest one.” Adam looked at Kris pleadingly. “Preferably the one who has been lobotomized.”

“I am not a cow whisperer, Adam.” Kris rolled his eyes. He approached the row of cows and finally just pointed at random. “This one.”

An Indian man, who turned out to be the task handler, gave them a bowl with two white lines scratched inside the bowl. The first line was in the middle of the bowl while the second one was closer to the rim. “One of you fills the bowl with milk until it reaches the first line, then the other does the milking until the second line.”

“I’ll go first, “ Kris decided. He sat on the short stool next to the cow and put the bowl on the ground. Slowly, he reached for the hanging teats and pulled on one of them. The cow mooed and kicked the bowl. “Ooops, easy now.”

Adam went to retrieve the kicked bowl and returned it to Kris. “Maybe you should try your whistling thing?”

“I don’t think that works on cows, Adam.”

He started milking the cow again but this time, he held the bowl with one hand while the other hand did the pull.

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

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 2nd place

“So we have to make some patties and stick them to the wall like this one?” Jack pointed at the wall where several brown discs were hanging on it.

“Yes, we have to mix the dung with the hay, first.” Daniel folded his shirt up to the shoulders and started mixing the dung and the hay with his bare hands.

Jack wrinkled his nose but he followed Daniel’s example. “Hope the smell will come off later.” He helped Daniel kneading the dung then took a small amount of it and shaped it into a thick disc. “I feel likes making burger…just with worse smell.”

“Thanks for the image, Jack.” Daniel grimaced, “I don’t think I will eat burgers in near time after this.”

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

“Merlin, there are people sleeping on the street. “ Arthur looked appalled. “Some of them are children.”

“Yeah, I think they are homeless people.” Merlin replied. “The taxi driver takes us through the slum area. Look how small the houses here are. I suddenly have a lot of appreciation for my tiny bedroom.”

“The children live like this?” Arthur sounded aghast. “That can’t be healthy. Oh my God, they slept next to the thrash container! Stop the taxi!”

“Arthur, what are you doing? No, no, keep going. Don’t stop!” Merlin instructed the driver while holding onto his teammate.

“Let go, Merlin. We need to help them.” Arthur said.

“By doing what, exactly?” Merlin asked. “Giving them what little money we have is only a temporary solution which will leave us stranded in foreign country.”

Arthur looked stubborn. “We can take them to British embassy…”

“Are you crazy? While the embassy might recognize you, they won’t be able to care for these Indian children without causing problem with Indian government.”

“We can’t just leave them there.” Arthur said angrily.

“Arthur, “ Merlin grabbed Arthur’s right hand, “we will come back.”

“Merlin…”

“We will come back through proper channel. There are hundreds, thousands of them living like this, Arthur. You can’t help them all in one night.” Merlin spoke earnestly. “There will be chaos if we just help some of them while leaving the others to fend for themselves. That’s not fair for them and that can also undermine the Indian government. We need to help these people through proper channel.”

Arthur looked torn and let out a frustrated noise. “Stop the car.”

“Arthur!”

Arthur raised his left hand to stop Merlin. “I hear you, Merlin.” He turned to the taxi driver and said politely. “Stop the car, please.”

“Arthur…”

“Just…just let me do this once.” Arthur pulled their backpacks toward him and took out the sleeping blankets Merlin had packed for the occasion where they had to sleep on the street. He went towards the nearest sleeping children and covered them with the blankets without waking them. Then, Arthur went back to the taxi and asked the driver to continue. Merlin held his hand during the rest of their journey and whispered how proud he was of Arthur.

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

John and Rodney
Currently in the 3rd place.

“Hello guys,” John greeted Kris and Adam when he and Rodney arrived at the barn. Adam and Kris greeted them back.

John chose their cow and nudged Rodney forward to go first.

“Is this cow safe?” Rodney inched slowly toward the seemingly docile cow. “Shouldn’t we wash our hands first?”

“Just sit down and start milking, Rodney.” John pushed Rodney to go faster.

Grumbling, Rodney sat down and started milking the cow. Lucky for them, the cow was really docile and Rodney had no problem milking it. He did comment that John was always good at picking females, though, which earned him a slap on the head from John.

“You are going to be portrayed as an abusive partner!”

“Keep milking it, Rodney.”

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

“Hey, hey, hey, where are you going?” Tony asked when their taxi made a turn toward the gas station.

“I think he needs to fill his gas, Tony.” Steve said, noting the fuel indicator at its lowest position.

Tony groaned and buried his face on the headrest in front of him. “Just our luck.”

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

John and Sherlock
Currently in the 4th place

“Ah, Bert and Ernie are here.” Jack commented.

“Stop calling them that, Jack.” Daniel said as he concentrated in shaping their seventeenth patty.

Sherlock and John had arrived at their designated wall. John started mixing cow dung with dry hay. Sherlock, however, was fascinated with the dung and mentioned something about methanol gas conversion. John’s exasperated sigh could be heard by Jack and Daniel.

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

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 5th place

“Our taxi obviously took the longer route, “ Merlin commented when he saw Sherlock and John was already there. “Either that or those detectives are ninja.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m glad the driver took that route.” Arthur stepped to their designated wall, next to Jack and Daniel.

“Judging from how fascinated Sherlock was with the dung, I think we can catch up, “ Merlin said as he stepped next to Arthur. Together, they started combining the dung with hay.

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

Kris, meanwhile, had finished milking until the first line of the bowl. He changed placed with Adam, who commented that his friend Brad would laugh his ass off if he ever saw Adam milking female tits to get some fluid out of it. Kris blushed.

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

Loki and Thor
Currently in the 6th place

“Aaaw, Pinky and the Brain are also here.” Jack said, “It looks like my favorite pairings are choosing the same tasks. Let’s see if Sugar Daddy and his Boytoy choose this task as well.”

“Jack, concentrate, please. “ Daniel sighed.

Loki and Thor had indeed arrived at their designated wall, next to John and Sherlock. Loki gestured to the pile of dung near the wall. “All yours, Thor.“

Thor readily grabbed two handfuls of manure and mixed it with hay. His strength helped him got the patties mixed quickly.

Loki meanwhile caught Sherlock’s eyes. The tall detectives approached Loki. John looked just right in time to see something changed hands from Loki to Sherlock. He got more suspicious when Sherlock now gladly mixed the patties and dirtied his hands while before that, he was still nitpicking at the pile and muttered incomprehensible words.

“What are you and Loki planning, Sherlock?” John whispered as he shaped their sixth patty.

“I have no idea what are you talking about, John.“ Sherlock said with his usual aplomb.

John was not convinced. Not at all.

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

Rodney finished with his part and called John to take his turn. He put down the milk bowl and stood up. Suddenly, the very docile cow started mooing and kicking at random. One of his hind legs grazed the bowl, causing it to wobble and spill some of it.

“Rodney, the bowl!” John said in alarm.

Cursing, Rodney snatched the milk bowl from under the cow. It only spilled a little but Rodney would have to redo the milking until it reached the first line again. There was a string of curses accompanied Rodney as he worked.

John meanwhile gave the now docile cow a speculative look. “I think the cow like you milking it, Rodney.”

Rodney answered with more creative curses.

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

Steve and Tony
Currently in the last place

“Strike three, “ Jack grinned as Steve and Tony trod into the area.

Daniel, doing the fortieth patty, decided to ignore Jack.

Steve and Tony actually arrived at the barn to do the milking task but Steve reconsidered when he heard loud mooing and cursing inside the barn. Deciding it must be a difficult task, Steve quickly switched to the other task. Tony was game either way since he was not fond of either task.

Steve, like Thor, had his strength at advantage here. He was quick in making the mixture and started shaping the patties. After watching the other team’s progress, Tony went to help and said they could catch up since Loki was not helping Thor.

Loki disliked being dirty and smelly, however he disliked losing more. When he saw Tony and Steve gaining on Thor, he quickly joined the dirty foray.

“Brother, you come to help me at last.” Thor beamed and made a gesture to hug Loki.

“No hug until you are finished, ” Loki said as he stepped away from manure dripping hands of Thor. “, and until you have those hands cleaned.“ Loki amended.

Thor looked slightly crestfallen but he got back to his wall making with extra speed.

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

Rodney finished milking and stood up. The cow decided to moo in protest again.

“Oh no, you don’t, “ Rodney tried to sooth the cow. “Nice cow, pretty cow, stay calm, okay. Uncle John will take care of you.”

The cow mooed and kicked out her hind legs.

“I think she wants her uncle Rodney still, “ John commented.

Rodney made some noises and turned to the task handler. “Can we change cow?”

The task handler denied his request.

“Spoiled cow, “ Rodney muttered, “My cat is not as spoiled as you, “ He ended up on the other side of the cow, petting her while John did the milking.

The cow decided it was time for her to pee.

Rodney let out another curse.

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

The milk in Adam and Kris’ bowl had reached the second line. Delighted, Adam brought the bowl toward the task handler. “Is it okay?”

“We don’t need to drink it, do we?” Kris asked anxiously.

The task handler inspected the bowl and nodded in acquiescence. Kris let out a whoop while Adam sighed in relief. They were given their next clue which they ripped open with relish.

“Go to Bharat Driving and Maintenance School at Jaipur by train.” Adam read.

“So we are going to the train station then.”

Adam looked at his watch. “It’s ten past 11 PM now. Do you think it’s still open?”

“We will know when we get there.” Kris then turned toward their cow and thanked her for the milk.

The cow mooed in return.

“I think she is saying ‘you’re welcome’. “ Adam grinned.

They walked out of the Dairy and were delighted to see their cab was still there. Kris asked the driver to take them to the nearest train station.

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

“Fifty!” Jack said and slapped the last patty on to the wall.

Daniel called their task handler and asked her to look at their work. The old Indian woman studied the wall and smiled. She held out a clue, which Jack took, with his manure covered hand.

“Jack, wash your hands first, “ Daniel said as he headed toward the washbasin.

“Too late, Danny boy, ” Jack waved the clue. However, he did wait until Daniel finished washing and gave the clue to Daniel. While Daniel removed the manure from the clue envelope, Jack went to wash his hands. When he returned, Daniel had ripped the envelope and dumped it as a lost cause.

“We are going to Jaipur, Jack.” Daniel said.

“Where in the world is that?”

“Still in India, but it’s quite far.” Daniel studied the clue. “It says we have to take the train to go there.”

“Well, our next destination is the train station, then.”

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

Arthur and Merlin finished next. Merlin moaned that he would never get the dung smell out of his clothes. Arthur told him to stop whining and dragged Merlin toward the washbasin to clean both their hands.

“Where is the train station?” Merlin asked after he finished washing his hands.

Arthur was studying the map. “According to this map, it’s less than 2 km from here. Let’s walk.“

“What? Walking in the middle of the night in an unknown city in foreign country? Arthur, we can get accosted!”

“Don’t be a coward, Merlin. We will take the main street. It will be fine.” Arthur said and started walking toward where the station would be.

“That was what you said when we went hunting and you got bitten on the as...“

“We agree not to talk about that ever again, Merlin!”

“I will not talk if I get to ride on a cab, “ Merlin said stubbornly. “Look , there’s one approaching us.”

“Alright, fine! We will take a cab!” Arthur growled and hailed the cab.

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

When Adam and Kris arrived at New Delhi Railway Station, they were surprised at how big the station was. There were still many people there despite the late hour. After finding the ticket counter, Kris inquired about the ticket to Jaipur. The ticket agent told him that the earliest train to Jaipur would be at 6.05 in the morning.

“We have a lot of time to get some sleep, then.” Adam said, looking pleased.

“Wait, I want to make sure that’s the earliest train.” Kris asked the ticket agent again and got the confirmation that that was the earliest train in this station.

“This station?” Kris repeated, “Does that mean the other station may have an earlier train to Jaipur?”

“Yes, Old Delhi station has earlier trains.” The agent said in his thick Indian accent.

“Can you please check what time the earliest train is in that station?” Kris asked politely.

The agent went to check and came back with ‘1:40’ answer.

“In the morning?” Adam squeaked.

At the agent’s confirmation that yes, the train would leave at 1:40 AM, Kris hurriedly thanked the agent and he and Adam hightailed toward the old Delhi station.

“I can’t believe they schedule a train at 1:40 AM, “ Adam said when they were in the cab. “Good bye, my beauty sleep.”

“I am worried about the other teams, “ Kris said, “They may make the same mistake coming to that station but they don’t realize there is an earlier train.”

“Well, I suppose we will see who will have the sound mind to inquire further like you and who will be satisfied with the 6:05 AM departure.”

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

“Finally!” Rodney crowed as the milk in their bowl reached the second line. “Stop, John. We have had enough.”

“Let’s make sure of it, Rodney.” John milked some more milk so the surface completely covered the second line. John then slowly lifted up their bowl and held it to the task master for inspection.

The cow mooed in protest when Rodney left to join John and receive their clue. Rodney pointed indignantly at the cow. “Bad cow!”

The cow mooed again.

“No, you don’t get to protest. I have petted you. I have brush your smelly fur. What more do you want?”

“Leave the cow alone, Rodney. “ John said. “We have to go to Jaipur now.”

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

Outside the barn, Loki and Thor had finished their wall and were waiting for the approval from their task handler. After studying the wall for a minute, the handler smiled and held out a clue for them. Thor beamed and was about to take the clue but Loki stopped him and asked the woman to keep the clue while they cleaned their hands first. Of course, once his hands were clean, the first thing Thor did was hug Loki while the younger man objected loudly.

During that time, John and Sherlock finished their wall, followed a few seconds later by Tony and Steve. After both teams washed their hands and read the clue, they raced out of the dairy to find the train station.

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

“Where is everyone else?” Jack raised both hands in question. “I’m so sure the singers were ahead of us.”

“Maybe they are lost somewhere?” Daniel mussed. ”Hey, I think there they are.” He pointed at the entrance and when Jack looked there, he saw Kris and Adam running toward the ticket counter.

Jack approached the singers. Daniel followed after him. Since Kris was busy with the ticket agent, Jack turned to Adam. “Were you two walking to this station? We got here fifteen minutes ago.”

“We went to the new station and almost bought the 6:05 AM ticket there.” Adam said, panting slightly. “Thankfully, Kris checked for earlier departure and we quickly went here. You get your tickets for 1:40 AM?”

“Yeah, “ Jack patted his breast pocket where he kept the tickets.

“How come you two know this station?” Adam asked.

“We didn’t, “ Daniel answer, “We just asked our cab driver to take us to the station where we can board the earliest train to Jaipur.”

“Next time, “ Kris said, having finished his transaction, “we need to ask the taxi driver which station to go instead of asking him to go to the nearest station.”

Adam nodded while Jack said, “You do that, kiddo.”

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

“You said it was less than 2 km, “ Merlin said accusingly.

“It is!” Arthur said.

We have traveled more than 4 km and still no sight of the station.“ Merlin pointed out. ”You read the map wrong.”

“I read the map correctly. “ Arthur said stubbornly. “The driver must have taken another route.”

“Well, whether you read the map wrong or the driver takes different route, I’m so glad we are not walking right now.” Merlin said.

As it turned out, they were both right. When Arthur and Merlin met with Jack, Daniel, Kris, and Adam in the station, they found out that Arthur did read the map correctly, but with New Delhi station as destination while the taxi driver took them to the Old Delhi station.

“Phew, we are lucky, “ Merlin said. Arthur nodded grudgingly.

“That is what I’m afraid of, “ Kris said, “Some teams will not be as lucky as we are.”

“If they have sharp mind, they will be suspicious when the first three teams are not in the same station as them.” Jack pointed out.

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

“Where’s the cab when you need it?” Tony sighed.

“They must have taken off. It’s past midnight already.” Steve said.

They, along with Sherlock, John, Loki, and Thor had been waiting for a cab to pass the street for fifteen minutes or so.

“John, “ Sherlock tugged John’s arm. “Let’s go.”

“Sherlock, where are we going?” John asked.

“To the station, John. Obviously. “ Sherlock sniffed. “It’s not far from here.”

“No, Sherlock. It’s the middle of the night and we are in the foreign country. We don’t know how dangerous the street is.” John said.

“Don’t worry, “ Loki said right behind them, making John jump in surprise. “Thor can be the bodyguard.”

Sherlock nodded and fastened his walk. John hurried after him while Loki and Thor, with their long legs, had no problem following the tall detectives.

“Hey, where are you all going?” Tony shouted and turned to Steve. “Steve, let’s follow them.”

Sherlock looked over his shoulder at Tony then looked at Loki questioningly.

Loki made a nod

“No, Sherlock.” John said sternly as he obviously recognized Sherlock’s expression.

“Run, John.” Sherlock said as he took to running.

“Oh, not again! Sherlock, wait!” John said exasperatedly as he ran after Sherlock. Loki and Thor followed them readily.

“Hey!” Tony shouted and started running as well, followed by Steve.

“I don’t think they want us to follow them, Tony.” Steve said.

“Tough luck, we are following them!” Tony shouted.

Several Indians later told their friends that there were six crazy foreigners running on the street in front their houses in the middle of night, carrying their backpacks. Unfortunately, those foreigners ran so fast that the Indians didn’t have time to snap a picture of them.

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

“Oh my God, there are so many people here, “ Rodney said as he and John went against the human current to reach the ticket counter.

“I think several trains just arrived and full of passengers,” John observed.

Rodney grunted and forced his way to the ticket counter. After a few minutes trying to bargain, Rodney grudgingly gave the ticket agent the price as requested. It seemed the bargaining rule didn’t apply to train tickets.

“We got ticket for 6:05 AM. Now we can find a cheap hotel and have five hours rest, “ Rodney stated and looked at John, who was frowning. “What is it? Why are you frowning? I get us the tickets here!”

“Something is not right.” John said, still frowning.

“What? What are you saying?” Rodney asked while he stuffed the train tickets into his bag.

“There are no other teams here, Rodney.”

“Well, maybe they have gone to find a hotel for the night, which we should do as well.” Rodney said.

“No, …” John frowned deeper and seemed to have made a decision. “Wait here.”

“Where are you going?” Rodney asked

John just made a signal for Rodney to stay there and braved the human current to go back to the ticket counter.

Rodney did stay where he was. At first he looked confused but then slowly his face turned enraged. When John came back, Rodney was furious and pointed his finger at his teammate accusingly. “You were flirting with the ticket agent!”

John snorted. “I just asked him a question, Rodney. Let’s go.“

“What? Where?” Rodney asked.

“The ticket agent told me that there were two foreigners here before us but they left to catch an earlier train at the other station.”

“What? Wait, that train doesn’t pass this station?!”

“Apparently not. “

“This is ridiculous!“ Rodney sputtered.

They went out to find a cab but there were so many people who also wanted a cab. Rodney and John found themselves shoving and being shoved for quite some time until they finally managed to secure a taxi for themselves.

“This country had no manners!” Rodney looked harried.

John muttered something about pot and kettle.

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

The six crazy foreigners had finally arrived at the train station. Four of them were panting while Thor and Steve only looked slightly winded.

“You are like a leech, “ Sherlock addressed the comment to Tony.

Tony smirked. “Now I believe there is another upside of being dragged to do morning jog other than watching Steve’s ass while he does the running.”

Steve blushed. John blushed too.

Loki rolled his eyes and straightened. “We should secure our tickets.”

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

“No sign of other teams?” Kris asked as they prepared to board the train.

Adam looked around then shook his head.

“There are still fifteen minutes before we depart, “ Daniel pointed out, “maybe they will make it.”

“Even if they don’t make it, I’m sure they will catch up with us somehow. They are strong teams.” Arthurs said.

All teams settled in one car. Jack was in the look out to see whether the other teams made it to the train.

Five minutes before the train departed, Jack exclaimed. “Lucky devils! Here here!”

John and Rodney jumped into the same car and were welcomed warmly. The train then let out a whistle and off they went to Jaipur.

“The others?” John asked, still panting. Rodney had collapsed on the nearest seat, sweating profusely. Merlin and Kris were fanning him with their tickets.

“They didn’t make it.” Jack said.

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

Indeed, the last three teams didn’t make it. They did become suspicious when they saw no other teams in the New Delhi station. After a few inquiries by Sherlock, Loki, and Tony, they found out about the earlier train and hurriedly went there.

Unfortunately, by the time they arrived at the Old Delhi station, the train was already leaving. Fortunately, there was another train departing at 4:25 AM from the station. They all bought the tickets for it.

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

The journey by train took about 5 hours and 20 minutes. The teams were divided into two trains which would arrive at 7:00 AM and 9:45 AM respectively. Between the long flight and all the running they did, the teams fell asleep one by one, not long after the trains departed.

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

Jaipur
7:00 AM

Four teams got off the train in different states of sleepiness. Some were wide awake (Arthur, John, and Jack), some were in need of coffee (Adam, Kris, and Daniel), and some were sleepwalking (Rodney and Merlin).

“Taxi, we need taxi, “ Adam said blearily to an Indian man.

“Taxi, yes, me taxi, “ The man nodded eagerly and escorted Adam to his taxi. “Up up”

Adam stared at the taxi in front of him. It had one wheel in front and two wheels at the back and looked nothing like a car. He blinked and wondered whether he was still dreaming and sleeping in the train. But no, the ‘taxi’ was still in front of him.

“Uhm, Kris…” Adam said hesitantly.

“I believe it’s called tuk-tuk, Adam.” Kris said with amused sleepiness. “It’s a traditional transportation.”

“I don’t think I can fit in there,” Adam looked at the tuk-tuk dubiously.”Isn’t there a normal taxi, here?”

“There is but it’s rarer than tuk-tuk, “ Daniel said. “Considering the hour and the street population, I will suggest you take the tuk-tuk.”

“You should listen to him, “ Jack made a salute and got inside the tuk-tuk, letting Daniel negotiate the price with the driver.

“Come on, Adam.” Kris gestured from where he had settled inside the tuk-tuk.

“This is one of the times where I’m so glad you’re pocket size, Kris.” Adam bent down and entered the tuk-tuk. However, because of his height plus his brushed up hairstyle, he was forced to bend forward during the ride. It was not a comfortable ride for poor Adam.

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

On the other side of the road, Arthur was staring at the tuk-tuk as if it was an alien. Merlin was drooling on his right shoulder.

“Is this really safe?” Arthur asked.

“Oh yes, very very safe.” said the driver. The man got into his tuk-tuk and pulled some cable to start the vehicle. “See, safe!”

Arthur eyed the black smoke coming from the tuk-tuk’s exhaust. ”Not safe for the ozone, obviously.”

By some self preservation instinct, Merlin awoke just in time to stop Arthur from doing the bargaining with the tuk-tuk driver. He elbowed Arthur aside and started bargaining until he reached an agreement with the driver.

“I can do the bargaining.” Arthur muttered as they got into the tuk-tuk.

“You will spend all our money if I let you do it.”

Meanwhile, John had thrust a grumpy-just-awakened Rodney toward the tuk-tuk driver to do the bargaining. Suffice to say, the driver was cowed and took Rodney and John toward their destination.

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

The first team to arrive at the Bharat Driving and Maintenance School was John and Rodney. They saw cars parked in a line in front of the school. Rodney went toward the entrance door and found that it was closed. There was a sign hang on it, proclaiming the opening hours were 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

Rodney let out an indignant noise while John sighed and made a camp in front of the door.

Five minutes later, another team came in and found the sign.

“Oh, they have hours of operation in Jaipur but not in Delhi?” Merlin said sceptically. Rodney grumbled in assent.

Arthur looked at his watch and sat down against the school’s wall. “We have an hour and a half to kill. Let’s just conserve our energy.”

“Right!” Merlin plopped down next to Arthur and closed his eyes. He began snoring a few seconds later.

Daniel and Jack arrived a few minutes later, followed by Adam and Kris in tow. Arthur told them about the hours of operation.

“I’m glad I can rest my old bones for a while, “ Jack sat down and groaned.

“You just like to play your old card to get underestimated, “ Daniel pointed out.

Meanwhile, Adam was digging through his backpack.

“Adam, what are you doing?” Kris asked.

“Looking for my mirror and brush.” Adam said.

Kris looked at Adam’s flattened hair and snickered. “You hit your head on the tuk-tuk’s door when we passed some bumps on the street, didn’t you?”

“It’s not funny, Kris “ Adam pouted. “This is a nightmare.”

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

On the second train to Jaipur, John was woken up by a bloodcurling scream. He quickly straightened and looked around. Sherlock and Loki were smirking while Tony was being held back by Steve. Thor was nowhere to be seen.

John blinked and rewound what he had seen.

Tony was being held back by Steve. He was waving something. Something which looked like ….a human finger.

John groaned.

Later when Steve had managed to appease Tony, John dragged Sherlock away and demanded the full story.

It turned out that Loki had managed to ‘appropriate’ the finger prop from the movie set where they did the acting task. Loki transferred the fake human finger to Sherlock, who this morning had distracted Steve and slipped the finger into the hotdog Steve bought for Tony. Both Sherlock and Loki then watched gleefully as Tony took a bite and discover a dismembered finger.

John sighed. “That’s a bit of no good, Sherlock.”

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

At 9:00 AM, the entrance door to Bharat Driving and Maintenance School was opened from inside. A man came out, bringing the clues for the waiting teams.

Each team ripped their clues open and took out a red sheet. It was roadblock with ‘Who is the fast learner?’ written on the front page.

“Me!” Rodney said.

“Him, “ Jack pointed to Daniel.

“I’ll do it, “ Arthur said.

Adam and Kris played rock, paper, scissor before Kris declared, “Me.”

Their task for this roadblock was to pass the Indian driving test, using the cars provided in front of the school. However, before that, they had to complete a briefing about Indian traffic rules.

So Rodney, Daniel, Arthur, and Kris entered the classroom and sat behind the desks while an instructor explained about the Indian traffic rules and symbols.

Merlin peeked his head at the classroom’s window and looked at the row of symbols. Snickering, he went back to the other waiting partners. “I am so glad Arthur is the one who does this.”

Jack and John heard Merlin’s comment, looked at each other, and silently agreed to take a peek at the window. They returned with a smirk on their faces. Adam unfortunately couldn’t get to the window without being caught since he was too tall for the excursion.

Inside the class, Rodney looked at a hundred symbols on the wall and demanded, “You expect us to remember all of this in fifteen minutes?”

“I hate to say this but there is no way I can’t remember these many symbols.” Arthur looked he had eaten something sour.

“Seconded.” Kris raised his hand.

“Ah, don’t worry.” The instructor said in his thick Indian accent. ”If you break the rules, you won’t be fined.”

“Really?” Daniel looked surprised.

“But you can get an accident.” The instructor finished with a satisfied air.

There was a silent for a few seconds in the classroom.

“That doesn’t make me feel better, “ Kris grimaced.

Rodney was too apoplectic to say something for once.

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

After the theory, Rodney, Daniel, Arthur, and Kris would drive a car with instructor seating next to them while their respective partner sat on the backseat.

“Have you remembered all the symbols?” Adam asked as he settled on the backseat.

“Not a thing, man.” Kris said and put his seatbelt on. “I’m going to wing it.”

Adam gulped and hurriedly put his own seatbelt.

The instructor sat down next to Kris and instructed him to start the car. With his guide, Kris arrived at the main street which was busy with people, vehicles, and animals, all moving in different directions.

“Wow, how am I gonna drive through this street?” Kris looked stunned while the instructor looked smug.

A motorcycle zoomed past them in high speed and swerved to dodge the cow lying on the side walk.

Adam wondered whether he needed to wear chainmail or something.

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

“This is crazy!” Arthur shouted as he dodged another tuk-tuk coming from opposite way. He turned to his instructor. “I’m on the right side, aren’t I?”

The instructor nodded calmly.

“Why doesn’t this tuk-tuk know which side of the road to drive?” Arthur asked.

“Tuk-tuk can go everywhere, “ was the instructor’s insightful answer.

Merlin closed his eyes and put his hands over them. “I think it’s safer not to watch you drive, Arthur.”

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

“Daniel, go faster, will ya!?” Jack shouted as Daniel drove the car at 30km per hour and braked every ten seconds.

“I can’t, Jack. “ Daniel shouted back. “There’s a cow walking in front of me.”

Jack poked Daniel’s instructor. ”Can you do something about the cow?”

“Cow is a sacred animal for us. You should be grateful that he deigns to lead you,” said the instructor.

Jack threw his hands up in frustration.

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

“Move, move, move!” Rodney shouted and pressed on the horn repeatedly. The motorcycle in front of him swerved to the right and Rodney pressed on the pedal to go forward. He quickly veered to the right to overtake the slow moving tuk-tuk and veered to the left to evade the incoming car. All the time, he never stopped pressing on the horn.

John looked at the white-faced instructor next to Rodney and smiled. “Are you afraid?”

The instructor nodded his head repeatedly.

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

The second train had arrived at Jaipur and discharged the last three teams. Each of them managed to secure a tuk-tuk and told the driver to head toward Bharat Driving School.

Although Thor and Loki’s tuk-tuk was the first one to leave the station, it was soon overtaken by Sherlock and John’s tuk-tuk. Meanwhile, Steve and Tony’s tuk-tuk took a different route entirely.

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

The first one to arrive back at the driving school was Rodney. His instructor hurriedly jumped out of the car and threw their next clue to them. John caught the thrown clue and ripped it open. This time it was the blue route sheet. John read the written instruction. “Drive yourself to Hawa Mahal where Mycroft is waiting.”

“Finally!” Rodney said in satisfaction and turned the car around in a screech.

John moved to the passenger seat. “Do you know where we are going, Rodney?”

“It’s on the street we had passed before. I know there’s a reason why the instructor pointed out that building before.”

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

The second team arrived ten minutes later. Arthur received the clue from his instructor and poked Merlin to open his eyes.

Merlin opened his eyes and sighed in relief. “Thank God, it’s over.”

Arthur had finished reading the instruction and said they now had to drive to Hawa Mahal.

Merlin whimpered.

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

Tony and Steve arrived at the Bharat Driving and Maintenance School ahead of Sherlock, John, Thor, and Loki. Steve ripped open the clue given to them and read the question. “Who is the fast learner?”

“That will be me, “ Tony said

Right at that time, Adam and Kris arrived back at the school. “Hello guys, glad to see you again, ” Kris greeted them while Adam received their clue from the instructor.

“So my task is to drive this old junk?” Tony gestured at the car, “Not much of a challenge.”

Kris grimaced. “The challenge is not about the car.”

Tony wanted to ask further but the arrival of Sherlock and John, followed by Thor and Loki, prevented him from doing it. Tony hurriedly went to the provided cars, intending to choose a car and start the task immediately. However, he was directed to the classroom where he had to learn bout the traffic rules first. Loki and Sherlock joined him in the classroom, which made him bitter because he lost whatever lead he had on the two teams.

Meanwhile, Kris and Adam read their clue and groaned when they knew they had to drive through that busy street again.

“Once more unto the breach.” Adam muttered and checked his seatbelt.

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

“You must slow down if there is a person comes from side road, “ The class instructor explained, “so that if there is a foolish person come from that direction, he will hit you.“

“Seriously, we have to learn all these craps?” Tony moaned

Sherlock frowned. “This makes no senses.”

Loki poked both of them. “Just be quiet so we can get out of here faster.”

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

Daniel and Jack arrived back at the school and received their clue.

“So the pit stop is at Hawa Mahal,” Daniel said, “We have passed it before, Jack. It’s a palace with almost a thousand windows where the royal ladies can sit and watch the outside world.”

“I remember, Daniel. It’s where the sacred cow decided to take a rest for fifteen fucking minutes, “ Jack growled.

“Jack, look. Your favourite teams are all here.”

Jack looked up and saw Tony, Loki, and Sherlock ran out of the classroom and headed toward where the cars being parked.

“Oh boy, they caught up to us.” Jack waved toward the teams and shouted his encouragement. “Pray for the sacred cow, kiddo.”

“Jack, that isn’t nice.”

“I’m not trying to be nice, Daniel. Now let’s go to the pit stop.”

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

Tony, Loki, and Sherlock were following their instructor’s guide and arrived at the main street, one behind the other.

Sherlock actually was in the front. He got a glint on his eyes when he saw how chaotic the street was. John recognized the glint and was about to tell Sherlock not to do anything crazy but Sherlock had pressed on the gas pedal and jumped into the chaotic street.

Tony, who was right behind Sherlock, quickly followed Sherlock. Whatever crazy maneuver Sherlock did, Tony could follow at ease. After all, he had done crazier thing with his superior cars. At first, Steve was cautioning Tony to slow down and be careful of the walking people around them. But later, Steve was forced to keep reassuring Tony’s instructor that no, Tony didn’t have a death wish and yes, this was how he usually drove the car.

In the front car, John was doing the same reassuring with Sherlock’s instructor. He also added that this was the reason why they never bought a car and always took cab. They couldn’t afford the speeding tickets Sherlock would accumulate if given a car. Though, if they won the race and got one million dollars, John was amenable to use Sherlock’s portion to pay the fines.

Following behind Tony and Steve were Loki and Thor. Loki seemed to have no problem following Tony and ignored his frantic instructor who asked him to slow down. At the backseat, Thor was looking right and left, enjoying the city immensely.

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

Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds)
Jaipur

Mycroft was waiting in the center of the courtyard with his loyal umbrella. The check in mat was spread before him.

The first team to arrive was John and Rodney, followed by Arthur and Merlin a few minutes later.

Another four minutes, Adam and Kris arrived on the mat.

Daniel and Jack reached the mat six minutes later.

There was almost twenty minutes break before the last three teams came in, all at the same time. They all ran at the full speed toward Mycroft, shoving and elbowing the other teams.

“Run, John!” Sherlock said.

“Let’s go, brother.” Thor shouted.

“Stay strong, Tony.” Steve cheered.

John made a tackle.

Loki jumped.

Tony slid forward like a professional baseball player.

They all collided on the mat, blowing up the dust around them.

Mycroft had taken a few steps back when he noticed the three teams racing toward him. He had even managed to open his umbrella and thus, shielding him from the collision dusts. When dusts had settled, Mycroft peeked from his umbrella.

The three teams were tangled and piling over each other.

“We win…” Tony said weakly from the bottom of the pile.

Mycroft straightened and closed his umbrella. “Well, gentlemen. I’m glad I don’t have to sort the rank out this time.”

“What do you mean?” Loki demanded from somewhere within the pile.

Mycroft reached into his suit and took out three yellow envelopes. “I am afraid this leg is not over yet. This is your next clue, gentlemen.”

“What!”

“What?”

“I knew it!”

Notes:

So as you can see, this is actually a double-length leg so no team is eliminated this time. However, we WILL see another team go on the next leg. So if you don't want to see your favorite team go, please keep voting on them. It will keep them running thorough the race :)

Chapter 9: Leg 5 beginning

Notes:

I'm sorry it took longer than usual to get a new chapter up. I wanted to get the teams into a certain country but I wasn't satisfied with the team doing the tasks done in that country in the real Amazing Race. So I did a little bit research first.

“I knew it!” Sherlock shouted. “That last clue was worded differently.”

“Should have told us sooner, Sherlock.“ John said as he tried to extract himself from the human pile. However, considering Thor was draped over him, it was a futile effort.

“Before we continue this discussion, can you all move away? I’m feeling like a flattened pancake, here.” Tony said from the bottom of the pie.

“My apology, friend Tony.” Thor rolled away and stood up. He then pulled Loki away from the pile.

Sherlock and John also removed themselves from the pile, leaving Steve on top of Tony.

“Well, hello there,” Tony said a bit breathless from his experience as a flattened pancake. “For you, I don’t mind being on the bottom.”

Steve blushed and raised himself on all four. “Are you okay, Tony?”

Tony put his arms around Steve’s neck. “Never better.“

“Tony, behave. “ Steve said, still blushing.

“I’m behaving.” Tony rubbed against Steve, “See, this me behaving--”

“As much as I don’t mind you two getting on here, gentlemen, “ Mycroft interrupted, “I would like to point out that the other teams have taken off.”

“What?” Tony lifted his head up and saw Sherlock, John, Thor, and Loki running out of the palace. “Oh damn, we should go!”

Steve stood up and took the clue from Mycroft. He ripped the clue open and gave the blue route sheet to Tony.

“Drive yourself to Jaipur market and search for the clue at its entrance.” Tony read. “Oh crap, I still have to drive that old junk?”

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

“Brother, do you know where we are going?” Thor asked as the car swerved to the right.

“No idea, I’m following Sherlock. “ Loki said.

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

Sherlock and John arrived at Jaipur market and quickly abandoned their car in search for the clue box. Thor and Loki skidded to stop next to their car and quickly followed them.

Sherlock found the clue box first and took out a clue. He ripped it open and took out a red sheet.

“Another roadblock, “ Sherlock commented. He read the clue with narrow eyes then huffed, handing the clue to John.

Confused, John looked down, “The one who did the previous roadblock may not do this one,” John read and looked at Sherlock,” Oh, so that means I have to do this one.”

Sherlock huffed again. John decided to ignore his pouting partner and opened the roadblock’s detail. There was a picture of a bottle slipped inside. It was quite like a jam bottle. The detail told him to go inside the market and buy a 250g Chyawanprash as shown on the picture.

According to the clue, John had to bargain and buy at the Chyawanprash at the lowest price he could get. After finishing the roadblock, he would be rewarded with the plane tickets to go to the next destination. The departure time would depend on how much he had to pay for that Chyawanprash.

John let Sherlock read the detail, which also told that the remaining member of the team had to wait at the specified place near the market entrance. The ones who did the roadblock would meet them there after they finished the task.

Next to them, Loki, who had also read taken a clue out of the box, looked like he had swallowed a lemon when he realized Thor was the one who had to do the bargaining.

Sherlock, who had finished reading the whole detail, summarized, “This means the lower the price you get, the faster we will be able to go to our next destination.” Sherlock turned to John. “Bargain for a quarter of the price they give you, John.”

John gaped. “A quarter!? Are you serious, Sherlock?”

“I never joke, John. “ Sherlock said impatiently and pushed John toward the market, “Hurry, we have to make up some times. Remember a quarter of the price.”

John looked dubiously at Sherlock before going inside the market. Sherlock turned and saw Loki trying futilely to advise Thor how to bargain. Thor just nodded and smiled, telling Loki to count on him. The blond man then went inside the market.

Sherlock waited for Loki to approach him and together they went to the specified waiting location.

“You don’t think Thor will be able to bargain for a low price.” Sherlock stated, rather than asked.

Loki snorted. “I would be surprise if that bloody oaf did any semblance of bargaining at all.”

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

When Sherlock and Loki arrived at the waiting spot, they were surprised to see Rodney, Daniel, Arthur, and Kris were still there, waiting for their respective partner.

“Here I thought you all would have gone already, “ Loki commented.

“We should, but John must have decided to take his own sweet time doing the task, “ Rodney grumbled. “I should be the one to do this roadblock.”

“Speak for yourself. Merlin is the perfect man for this job.” Arthur looked satisfied.

“Your perfect man also hasn’t returned, “ Daniel pointed out.

“Yeah, well, “ Arthur huffed, “He must be distracted…”

“I wonder what is taking Adam so long, “ Kris mussed. “Maybe he’s sidetracked by glittering necklaces or something.”

“Jack won’t be sidetracked, but he might have trouble finding this Chyawanprash.” Daniel said.

“Appease my curiosity if you will, “ Sherlock spoke up. “Who was the unlucky team to arrive first at the mat but get no prize?”

Kris, Daniel, and Arthur pointed at Rodney, who looked thunderous.

“Do you know what that umbrella holding crook said to me and John?” Rodney demanded and continued without giving the others a chance to answer, “He said that as the first team to arrive on the mat, we have won the right to keep racing.”

“My condolence, “ Sherlock smirked.

Rodney was about to retort but he was interrupted by Tony who joined them. The man looked happy to see all of them while Sherlock and Loki looked sourly at him.

“We caught up, “ Tony grinned. “That’s good. It will be better if Steve finishes this task quickly.”

“Don’t be so sure, “ Sherlock said, “Finishing quicker doesn’t mean you get the earlier plane tickets.”

“I’m not talking to you, scarecrow,“ Tony pointed at the tall detective warningly.

Sherlock clacked his teeth as if he would bite Tony’s pointed finger. Tony quickly withdrew his finger and grimaced. “It’s not funny for the first time and not funny for the second time either.”

“What are you talking about?” Kris asked curiously.

The question made Tony describe his misery at the hands of Sherlock and Loki. In return, the accused two men made a defense and told their side of story about how Tony was an irritating smug bastard. The other four men were all so fascinated with the arguments that they failed to notice that one of the partners had returned.

“What a warm welcome I got here, “ Black haired John drawled.

“John!” Rodney looked triumphant. “What took you so long?”

“Try going to five different stalls and get five different prices for the same item.” John said irritatedly, “One of them even tried to charge me almost twice the price of the other stall.”

“I told you that you have to bargain hard. You did get that chawanthrash, didn’t you?”

“Chyawanprash, “ Daniel corrected.

“Yes, that.” Rodney waved his hand dismissively.

“Yeah, I got it.” John lifted up the item. “He first charged me for 300 rupees. I really have to bargain hard.”

“Good, “ Rodney dragged John to the task handler to get their next clue. “Here, he got the chawanthrash.”

“How much did you pay for the Chyawanprash?” The handler asked John while shooting a dark look at Rodney’s mispronunciation.

“90 rupees.” John answered.

The handler nodded. “Very well. For that price, you will get the second plane’s tickets.”

“Second!?” Rodney gaped. “Not the first?”

“You need to get less than 75 rupees to get the first plane’s tickets.” The handler said and gave them the tickets and also their clue.

Rodney was about to protest but John quickly dragged him away. They opened their clue and got the route info which told them to make their way back to New Delhi by train and board their assigned plane for Paris, France. When they arrived in Paris, they had to make their way to Gym Louvre and search inside for the clue box.

“We are going to Paris!” Rodney said excitedly. “Let’s go, John.”

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

“So the price of Chyawanprash is supposed to be less than 75 rupees.” Daniel said after they all heard Rodney and John’s result.

“That’s less than two dollars, isn’t it?” Kris asked.

“That’s very cheap.” Arthur said.

“So cheap that our partner will never think of bargaining that low, ” Sherlock pointed out sourly. “I should have told John to bargain for a tenth of the price.” He then noticed Loki was keeping mum and narrowed his eyes at him.

“Yes?” Loki raised one eyebrow in question.

“You are not worried, “ Sherlock stated rather than asking. “You should be worried considering your brother is not known for his astuteness. No, you must have done something....what is it?”

“That remains to be seen, “ Loki said impassively.

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

The second partner to return was Jack. He got the Chyawanprash for 100 rupees, which got them the second plane tickets, same as Rodney and John.

“Well, I never have patience to do bargaining so second plane it is, ” Jack lifted up the bottle. “What is this, anyway?”

“Oh, “ Daniel said eagerly, “It’s a mixture of herbs and spices like amla, ashwagandha, kudzu, sandalwood, ghee, chebulic myrobalan, car–“

“In English, Daniel, “ Jack interrupted.

Derailed from his explanation, Daniel blinked several times. “Oh, uhm...it’s a ...multivitamin.”

“Very good, ” Jack nodded and stored it in his bag.

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

Merlin returned a few minutes later, holding up his 65 rupee Chyawanprash triumphantly. Arthur grinned proudly as they received the first plane tickets which would arrive 30 minutes earlier than the second plane.

“You must have been bargaining like a fishwife in the market.” Arthur commented.

Merlin just shot him a dirty look.

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

Kris just started worrying about Adam when the tall singer returned with the Chyawanprash and an additional purchase.

“Adam, that’s...” Kris started.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Adam cooed over his purchase.

“How much did you pay for that?” Kris pointed at the purchase, aghast.

“Don’t worry, I manage to get the seller to lower the price from 2000 to 1200 rupees.“ Adam held up his glittering snake ring. Its eyes consisted of a pair of small emerald stones while his body was adorned with small diamonds. “I’m going to paint my nails green and wear this later.”

“The stones were obviously fake, but the work is quite detailed for a fake. “ Sherlock commented.

“That’s good, “ Kris sighed in relief, “I thought you spent all our money on it.”

“Do give me more credits, Kris.” Adam looked affronted. “I know it’s fake, but I can’t resist this beauty.”

“Okay, good. Where’s the Chyawanprash?” Kris asked.

“Oh, here. I got it for 90 rupees.” Adam held up the white and red bottle. They were rewarded with second plane tickets and their clue.

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

After Kris and Adam’s departure, Tony, Sherlock, and Loki were the only ones left at the waiting location. Tony eyed the other two men distrustfully. It was wasted on Sherlock who was frowning at Loki.

Before any of them could break the silence, Thor did that for them by stomping into the waiting location and bellowed for Loki.

“Brother, I have finished the task!“ Thor held up his acquisition proudly. “It’s a hard and difficult passage, but I preserve.”

“I know you are good for something, “ Loki looked satisfied. He pushed Thor toward the task handler where Thor proudly announced that he got the Chyawanprash for 50 rupees.

“50!” Sherlock hissed. Tony just gaped.

The task handler blinked in surprise, but he quickly straightened and awarded Thor and Loki with first plane’s tickets and a clue.

“How can you make Thor bargain so low?“ Tony asked bewilderedly.

Sherlock narrowed his eyes at Loki. “You had expected Thor not to do the bargaining, yet you somehow could limit Thor’s spending….oh, brilliant.”

“Figured it out?” Loki smirked.

“Of course, “ Sherlock looked insulted. “It’s so simple. Thor couldn’t spend what he didn’t have.”

“Correct, “ Loki looked smug.

“Oooh, you mean you only gave Thor 50 rupees and no more? That’s a good move actually. Thor will have to find a merchant who fell for his puppy look and willing to accept the low price because the poor puppy has no more money. Of course, this is a great gamble. If the item only values for 5 rupees, 50 rupees would be overspending on Thor’s part.” Tony made a deduction by his own, earning dirty looks from Sherlock and Loki. “What? You are not the only genius here.”

“Oh, you have got your match, Sherlock?” John said as he arrived at the waiting location.

“Don’t be an idiot, John. No one is my match, “ Sherlock looked affronted, “How much did you get for the Chyawanprash?”

“Oh goodness, do you know how devious the merchants here are? They really don’t feel guilty about giving unreasonable price and—“

“John, “ Sherlock interrupted his partner impatiently, “how much did you get?”

John huffed. “I bargain for a quarter of the price as you instructed and got it for 75 rupees.”

Sherlock made a pained noise.

“What is it?” John looked bewildered, “Are you hurt?”

“No, he just realized he was a rupee away from first plane’s tickets, “ Tony snickered while Loki and Thor made their exit.

Sherlock grumpily received his and John’s second plane’s tickets and their clue. They departed soon after they finished reading the clue, leaving Tony alone at the waiting location.

Three minutes passed and Tony began to fidget. At six minutes mark, Tony was pacing around and considering several scenarios in which Steve got lost or detained. Ten minutes passed, he was ready to climb the walls. Luckily Steve returned before Tony decided it was a good thing to reassemble their backpacks.

“Steve!” Tony shouted in relief and bounded up toward the blond man. “You are back! What took you so long?”

“There was a pickpocket trying to mug an old lady…” Steve began.

Tony raised his hand. “Said no more. I should have known. Just tell me you didn’t forget to buy the Chyawanprash, please.”

Steve looked at Tony in a mixture of expiration and fondness. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you care more about a bottle of jam rather than a poor old lady.”

“Perish the thought, “ Tony tried to say it solemnly but ruined it by continuing with. “Now, the Chyawanprash? I know you won’t have the heart to bargain really low. Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter if we get the second plane’s tickets becau--”

Steve interrupted by holding out the Chyawanprash bottle and said. “Here, I got it for 30 rupees.”

Tony froze.

“Tony? What’s wro-mph?” Steve started asked and got kissed thoroughly by an ecstatic Tony. He was still reeling from the kiss when Tony dragged him to get their first plane’s tickets and the clue.

Later when they were on their way to train station, it occurred to Tony to ask how Steve could get such a very low price. Steve then told him about how the old lady he helped apparently had a nephew selling Chyawanprash in that market and she told her nephew to give it to Steve for free. Steve refused to take it for free so the old lady told him to just pay 30 rupees to her nephew.

Tony shook his head and looked at Steve fondly. “Only you would refuse a free gift.”

“I helped the old lady because that’s the right thing to do, not because I hoped to be compensated.” Steve said stubbornly.

“I know, “ Tony smiled warmly. “That’s what I like about you, darling.”

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

It turned out that the train to New Delhi was at 4:10 PM which gave Tony and Steve plenty of time to catch up with the rest of the teams at the train station. Most of the teams welcomed them warmly but of course there were some teams which were unhappy with their success at securing the first plane’s tickets. Well, some half of the teams anyway.

“John, give me my harpoon.” Sherlock glared at the smirking Tony.

“It’s in London, Sherlock.” White John responded with relish. “You still haven’t cleaned the pig blood from it.”

“They must be cheating!” Rodney shrieked.

“Don’t be a sore loser, Rodney,” Black John rebuked Rodney and gave him a light smack on the head.

Loki would have joined Sherlock and Rodney but he was busy corralling Thor from wandering out of the station.

When 4:10 PM arrived, all teams boarded the same train. Some of them went to sleep within a few minutes while some stayed awake and watched the view. Tony’s reason to stay awake was of course to avoid a repeat of Sherlock and Loki’s prank. Meanwhile, Thor made friend with some locals and their children, who had brought a traditional board game called Langa Katta.

The children tried to teach Thor how to play. ’Tried’ being the keyword since Thor didn’t understand Indian and the children spoke very little English. Thankfully, an interested Daniel joined them and translated the rules for Thor. Both of them were soon happily playing with the children. Loki and Jack were just glad that the children version of this board game didn’t involve any money bet since Thor and Daniel lost spectacularly in every round.

The train finally arrived back at New Delhi at night. All the teams went to the airport and waited for their flights. Arthur & Merlin, Thor & Loki, and Tony & Steve boarded the first plane while the rest of the teams boarded the second plane which went on different route and would arrive thirty minutes later than the first plane.

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

After nine and a half hours flying, the first plane landed in Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris at 8:00 AM the next day. It discharged the first three teams.

Loki and Thor
Brothers

“We are the first team to go out, brother!” Thor said excitedly as he looked back at the other two teams which were still dealing with their cabs.

“Yes, that will give us some lead.” Loki commented and addressed the cab driver. “Can you take us to Gym Louvre, please.”

“Do you think we are going to do something involving the Gym, Loki?” Thor asked.

“Possibly. If the task involves body building or other sport-related activities, it will be right up your alley.” Loki said.

The cab driver, who luckily spoke decent English and was a bit of busybody, threw a look at Loki through his rear mirror. “You two do know what Gym Louvre is, don’t you?”

Loki looked curious. “Judging from your reaction, it’s not a fitness center, is it?”

“Well, you definitely can improve your fitness in certain areas there, “ The driver said wryly.

“Oh, please do tell us what this Gym Louvre actually is, “ Loki said, looking more interested while Thor looked disappointed that it wasn’t a gym for him to play at.

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

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners

“There is something you are not telling me, “ Arthur stated after Merlin and he were safely ensconced in the taxi.

“Wh…what do you mean?” Merlin stuttered.

“You fell silent and fidgeted after you conversed with the black haired woman in the plane.” Arthur said, “You said you were doing some data gathering on our next destination but I think you must be flirting.”

“I wasn’t flirting!” Merlin protested. “I was asking her about …uhm…”

“About what? You ARE flirting with her, aren’t you?” Arthur accused.

“I’m asking about the Gym, you prat!”

“What’s it about the Gym that made that woman blushed red?”

“Uhm…” Merlin hesitated.

Arthur looked ready to throw tantrum. “You know, you are acting really suspicious right now.”

“That’s because the gymisayseclub…” Merlin mumbled.

“It’s a WHAT?”

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

Steve and Tony
Super Husbands

The cab which carried Steve and Tony had managed to get ahead of Merlin and Arthur. Tony whooped happily. The cab driver seemed cheered by this and passed Loki and Thor’s cab as well. Tony made a gleeful sound as they passed by but much to his consternation, Loki and Thor didn’t realize. They seemed too focused on what their driver was telling them.

“This sucks, “ Tony grumbled.

“I wonder what did their cab driver tell them that interested them so much, “ Steve mussed.

They found out later when they arrived at Gym Louvre.

At first glance, Tony saw a lot of gym equipments scattered around like a normal gym as they searched for the clue box inside the building. Then they arrived at the red zone where there were a lot of small rooms and everything was literally red. The sofas and doors were red and the lights had red shades. Tony first noticed a poster with ‘gaydar’ written on it. He read the rest of the poster and looked around with a new light.

“Steve, I think this is a …” Tony started to say but then realized Steve was far ahead of him. The blond man was opening one of the rooms. “Steve, no!”

Tony’s warning was too late, though. Steve took a look inside and promptly flushed red. He stuttered apology and slammed the door close. Tony hurriedly went to him.

“Tony, what is this place? There is a couple making out in there.” Steve looked bewildered.

“Well, judging from the poster there,” Tony pointed at the poster where it promoted Gym Louvre features. One of the features was ‘sex zone’. “I think this is a—“

“--sex club.” Loki, who had caught up to Steve and Tony, finished Tony’s speculation.

“Loki, Thor“ Steve greeted the second team, face still red. “You made it.”

“Indeed, “ Thor said, “Our benevolent driver told us about this place. I think it’s good that they provide place for some men to meet and have fun. Steve, my friend, are you okay? You look flushed.”

“Eh, don’t worry about that, “ Tony said, “Steve just got a little culture shock.”

“Indeed,” Loki drawled, “And judging from your empty hands, you haven’t found the clue box.”

“Could it be in one of these rooms, brother?” Thor said gestured at the rows of red doors.

“Why don’t you open it and find out?” Loki said.

Thor did just that. He opened and closed the doors excitedly. Some doors let out a stream of moans or a shout of surprise. Loki and Tony took a peek into each room. They would have done more than a peek but Steve quickly closed the door, babbling apology to the couples inside. Some other doors showed empty rooms which relieved Steve. When Thor had opened the last door, the clue box was still nowhere in sight.

“It’s not here.” Loki said. “Let’s try the bathhouse, Thor.”

“Oh goodie, this place has bathhouse as well?” Tony perked up.

Steve made a strangled sound.

After searching the bathhouse, they found the clue box in one of sauna rooms. Well, Tony found it. Steve was too busy averting his eyes from naked men sprawling on the benches while Loki was trying to stop an eager Thor from divesting his clothes and jumping into the hot pool in the middle of the bathhouse. Tony took one clue out of the box and dragged Steve back toward the entrance.

“Thank you.” Steve mumbled, face still slightly red.

“You’re welcome, “ Tony said automatically and blinked. “Why do you thank me again?”

“I know you like places like this. I’m glad you aren’t tempted to stay and try some of the facilities here.” Steve said earnestly.

“Oh Steve, “ Tony cooed, “This is one of few advantages of having a wild past. I have seen and tried everything it can offer. Nothing in there can faze me. But hey, if you are interested, we can go back here after the race is over and book one of the rooms. Though, I think our private room in Malibu is much grander and more lavished than---”

“I don’t want to go back, “ Steve hurriedly interrupted. They have arrived at the entrance of the building. “Just read the clue, Tony.”

“Spoilsport, “ Tony gave a fake sigh. He ripped open the clue and took out a blue sheet containing route info. “Go to Le Cordon Blue and sign up for the cooking class. If the chef is satisfied with the taste and the look of your cooking, you will receive your next clue. However if you fail to meet the chef’s expectation, you will have to eat your own failure.” Tony finished reading the instruction and waved the sheet toward Steve. “This is your area, darling.”

Steve took the sheet and read the instruction detail. “It says we have to cook it together so you better take part in this too, Tony.”

“Can cheering be counted as taking a part? No? How about being a tester?”

Steve gave Tony a stern look. “You can boil water at the least.”

“We’ll see.”

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

“Arthur, come on!” Merlin said exasperatedly. They were in front of Gym Louvre.

“I’m not going into a sex club, Merlin, “ Arthur crossed his arms and stood mulishly.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you what this Gym is about.” Merlin groused, “Don’t be a prude. I’m sure they are not asking you to participate in any kind of sexual activities.“

Arthur opened his mouth to retort but he was interrupted by the sight of Tony and Steve coming out of the building. Merlin quickly seized the chance.

“Look, Tony and Steve have already got their clue. We only have to get in and grab the clue. It won’t take a long time.”

“Steve is blushing, “ Arthur pointed out.

“Steve blushed as often as Kris at the mere hint of dirty acts. I happen to know you are not as gullible as them. ” Merlin said.

“That’s not the point.” Arthur glared at Merlin. ” I don’t want to give impression that I frequent this kind of place. I have an image to hold.”

“Your image right now is a prudish and prattish guy.” Merlin said.

Thor and Loki chose that time to come out, heavily drenched with water.

Arthur did a double take at them. “What happened to you?”

“The oaf here dragged me to the pool.” Loki spat out the answer.

Thor appeared to look contrite. “I thought you want to join me, brother. The pool is so warm.”

Loki gave Thor a chilling look and stomped out of the place. Thor chased after him, dripping water all the way.

Arthur and Merlin watched them in bafflement for a while. Merlin then snapped out of it. “We are the last of the first three teams now. We need to get inside and get our clue, Arthur.”

“I am still not going, “ Arthur said stubbornly.

“This is so not the time to act noble, “ Merlin berated his blond teammate. “You just look like a coward now.”

“I am not a coward, “Arthur snapped.

“Then let’s go inside and take our clue. The men inside won’t bite you in the ass.” Merlin taunted.

“Fine.” Arthur marched inside. Merlin followed after him, giving Arthur exasperated look and muttering something which sounded like ‘clotpole’.

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

Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
8:30 AM

The second plane landed on time and the last four teams scrambled to get a cab.

John and Sherlock
Private Detectives

Sherlock and John managed to grab the first cab and the first to arrive at Gym Louvre. John made out several exclamations and apologies as they searched for the clue box while Sherlock scoured the rooms singlemindedly, not caring what or who was inside.

They found the clue box and read their clue. John expressed his doubt at cooking considering the only cooking he did was boiling water for their teas. Sherlock commented it could not be that much different from doing his experiment, which unfortunately reassured John not one bit.

Daniel and Jack
World Explorers

Jack and Daniel were the third team to leave the airport but the second to arrive at Gym Louvre. It was mostly due to Daniel spoke fluent French and was polite in asking their cab driver to go fast. It also helped that Rodney and John’s cab went very slow. Jack speculated it was because Rodney irritated the cab driver with his rude hassling, thus making the driver drive slowly. Daniel said it could be because the driver was a very careful and a stickler to the rule. Whatever the reason was, Daniel and Jack got there before Rodney and John.

Daniel looked perplexed when the cab driver wished them for a good time and gave them a wicked grin. They met with Sherlock and John who were on their way out and found out what kind of place Gym Louvre was from them. Daniel flushed slightly. Jack looked chagrined but gamely went inside and searched for the clue box.

As Jack decided to investigate the bathhouse first rather than red zone, they found the clue box quite fast. After reading the clue, Daniel and Jack looked at each other dubiously. None of them had talents in cooking after all.

“We are going to eat a lot of our cooking, aren’t we?” Jack said deprecatingly.

Daniel nodded in agreement.

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts

Daniel was actually correct in assuming that the cab driver was a stickler to the rule and drove the cab slowly. No matter how much Rodney complained and told (demanded) the driver to go fast, it was of no use. Their driver unfortunately was quite old, a little weak in hearing, and didn’t understand English. He replied with ‘oui’ for every sentence Rodney spewed. Although amused, John finally had to run interference when Rodney looked about to brain the clueless cab driver. He distracted Rodney by pulling him into a kiss. A glance at the rear mirror showed the cab driver giving John a thumb up. John grinned and proceeded to keep Rodney busy during the whole journey.

They finally arrived at Gym Louvre after Sherlock & John and Jack & Daniel left the premise. A breathless Rodney perked up when he realized what the gym was and made beeline to one of the empty red rooms, demanding John to finish what he started. John tried to protest and reminded Rodney that they were in a race, no time to relax. Rodney said he just needed ten minutes and they would make up the difference on the later tasks. John relented and said if they lost the race it would be Rodney’s fault.

Rodney’s answer was to pounce on John.

It took them six minutes to finish their side business (apparently it didn’t take John much effort to satisfy Rodney) and another five minutes to find the clue box. Rodney ripped open their clue with great relish while John stood next to him, looking a little disheveled.

Adam and Kris
Singers

Adam and Kris was the last team to arrive at Gym Louvre. Last because they had to take the train instead of taxi to save money. Kris had announced that they were on tight budget after buying Adam’s snake ring. Adam looked a little guilty and promised Kris that he would make it up to Kris.

Kris smiled to show he didn’t mind and said this was just a precaution. He also said that if they were really really short on money, Kris would make Adam perform on street and Kris would collect the money. It was the last resort though since it would attract a lot of attentions to them.

They arrived at Gym Louvre after walking for ten minutes from the nearest train station. Once they were inside and took in the atmosphere, Adam let out a squeal of delight while Kris blushed red.

“No wonder the people gave us weird stares when we asked them the direction to Gym Louvre, “ Kris mumbled. He let Adam do the opening and closing of the doors in the red zone and averted his eyes when they found the clue box in the sauna room.

“We definitely have to come back here after the race, “ Adam said after they got out of the building.

“No, we don’t.” Kris said, still blushing. He opened the clue and read the instruction together with Adam.

Adam grimaced. “I can’t cook.”

“Well, it’s a good thing my mama made me cook when I was a kid.” Kris said wryly.

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

Le Cordon Blue Cooking School
Paris

Steve and Tony were the first to arrive. They had to sign up for cooking class which would start every 30 minutes. The first shift would start at 9:30 AM.

Tony looked at his watch. “We arrive just in time. It will start in ten minutes.”

“Will the other two teams make it?” Steve wondered.

“Merlin and Arthur are still outside Gym Louvre when we left. They won’t make it here in ten minutes.” Tony said. “Loki and Thor, well...if Loki manages to drag Thor away from the pool quickly, they may make it. I hope he doesn’t though. That way, we will be the only team in the first shift. It will be a good advantage for us.”

However, against Tony’s wish, Loki and Thor arrived two minutes before the first shift started. Steve gave them a warm greeting while Tony looked at them sourly. Noticing Tony’s look, Loki smirked. “Do you miss us?”

Tony grimaced. “I really hope you were three minutes late.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, “ Loki said though his expression said he wasn’t sorry at all.

The two teams were given white aprons and chef hats and were ushered into the kitchen where the head chef would supervise them. There was a recipe placed on each cooking station. It was the recipe for making six cups of soufflé, one of the most difficult French pastries. Steve and Loki read the fifteen complicated steps on the recipe and looked at their respective partner dubiously.

“What?” Tony said, hat askew. Thor was still trying to get his hat to stay in place.

Steve decided to assign Tony to separate the eggs. He had to demonstrate how to do it first, though. Loki, on the other hand, made Thor sit down and watch him.

Tony managed to separate two eggs before dropping the third egg yolk into the bowl of egg whites. He broke the yolk while trying to scoop it out, causing the ruined yolk to be more difficult to scoop out. Tony was soon swearing blue streak. Steve was just glad the swearing did the eggs no harm.

Loki relented after Thor gave him puppy eyes for fifteen minutes. He gave him the task of whipping the white eggs which Thor got into eagerly. Noticing Thor did the tasks quickly, Loki continued using Thor as his human mixer.

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

Arthur and Merlin arrived fifteen minutes after the first shift began. They had to wait for another fifteen minutes before the next shift began. During that time, Sherlock and John arrived. When the second shift started at 10:00 AM, the two teams were ushered into the second kitchen and were given their aprons and chef hats.

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

Soufflé was one of the most difficult pastries to make because it required precision. Leaving a little egg yolk in the white mixture and whipping the eggs too fast actually affected the outcome. Steve and Loki realized this when their soufflés came out gooey and spilled around the cup instead of rising out softly. The head chef quickly rejected all soufflés they made.

Steve and Tony divided the soufflés and each ate three cups of it.

“Hey, this actually tastes great, “ Tony commented as he took a bite.

Steve nodded, “I think the challenge is in making it rise and look nice.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Loki said. He ate one cup and gave the rest to a happily munching Thor.

After finished eating, Steve and Loki went back to work. This time. Steve assigned Tony to do the measurement which Tony could do more accurately than Steve did. Meanwhile, Loki told Thor to just sit still while he cooked. Thor protested that he wanted to help. Loki said Thor could do the baking process later. Thor readily agreed, not knowing that all he had to do was watch the oven until the baking was done.

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

At the other kitchen, Sherlock got fascinated the egg whites and kept whisking it until they were too stiff. John had to dump the egg whites and started over again. Arthur and Merlin made a mistake of using margarine instead of butter. Their head chef binned their soufflé mixture even before it got to baking, much to Arthur’s consternation.

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

The last three teams had arrived at Le Cordon Blue and were waiting for their shift to begin. When the clock reached 10:30 AM, they were ushered to the third kitchen.

After putting on his apron and chef hat, Rodney picked up the recipe and made a happy noise when he saw no lemon involved in the cooking. He told John to separate the eggs while he handled cooking the milk and sugar. The recipe said to cook in low temperature but Rodney was too impatient and set it too high. The sugar promptly burnt and turned into caramel. The head chef dumped Rodney’s caramel coated saucepan into the sink and told him to wash and restart the recipe again.

Jack read the recipe and declared it was all Greek to him. Daniel grimaced and took the recipe. While he could follow the instructions written on it, Daniel had little experience in cooking something other than instant noodles. He had no idea how to separate the eggs and neither did Jack. It was a very slow going process for them.

Meanwhile, Kris took to the task like a duck to water. He started on the mixture while telling Adam to butter the soufflé molds just like how he painted his nails. Adam made a note to send Kris’ mama a thank you gift for giving her boy cooking lessons.

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

After they painstakingly follow the recipe to the letter, despite having to collar their straying partner from modifying the oven to bake quicker (Tony) or opening the oven too fast (Thor), Steve and Loki finally got their soufflés right.

Steve and Tony presented their soufflés to the head chef first while Loki was still trying to protect his soufflés from Thor’s grubby hands. The head chef tasted the presented soufflé and nodded in approval. Tony whooped and gave Steve a smooch. A blushing Steve took out their next clue and gave it to Tony who ripped it open. The clue contained a yellow sheet of Detour.

“Art or Fashion, “ Tony read the clue. “In Art, you have to go to Louvre museum and locate four art pieces in order to get your next clue. In Fashion, you have to go to Anatomy Fashion Studio and made a shirt to the fashion designer’s satisfaction. What are we going to do, Steve?” Tony glanced at Steve and noticed his blue eyes had turned dreamy. “What am I saying? Of course we will pick Art. There is no way Steve will skip going to Louvre museum.”

As Steve and Tony went outside to get taxi, Loki presented his soufflé and received the next clue. He let Thor devour the rest of soufflés while reading the clue. Not liking the prospect of Thor running amuck in a place as big as Louvre museum, Loki decided they would do the Fashion.

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

The next team to get their soufflés right was Sherlock and John. They decided to do the Art since none of them had a lick of sewing skill.

Arthur and Merlin botched their soufflés so they had to eat all six failed soufflés and made another batch.

The fourth team to finish the cooking task was Adam and Kris. They were also the only team who managed to get the task done in first try. Even though the head chef had given them their clue, Adam opted to stay and eat two cups of Kris heavenly soufflé. Kris looked pleased that for once, Adam was too consumed with eating to worry about gaining weight. After they opened their clue and read the detour options, Adam quickly decided on Fashion. Kris said wryly that the next task was the time for Adam to shine.

Daniel and Jack failed to make their soufflé rise. Each ate three soufflés and went back to the kitchen to try again. Daniel said it would be difficult since they didn’t know what they did wrong.

Rodney and John actually managed to get their mixture right but when it came to baking time, Rodney was too impatient to wait for the soufflés to rise perfectly and opened the oven too early. All six soufflés deflated at once. John sent a lot of glares at Rodney as they ate their failed soufflés. Rodney huffed and said the next one would be perfect. John said he would make certain of that by tying Rodney to the chair while the soufflés were being baked.

Notes:

Okay, I have to stop here because this chapter's votes (and the previous chapter's) will affect the team rank for the rest of the leg. So please keep the votes coming if you want to see your favorite team go up in rank. Of course, we have to say goodbye to the least voted team *sniffs*

Chapter 10: Leg 5 End

Notes:

Thank you for the votes! It's a close race between two teams but in the end, one of them lost to the votes. I hope their fans are not too disappointed with how it ends. This chapter is quite long and took some time to write, mainly because none of the teams wanted to be in the last place. I hope you will enjoy the end of this leg. Happy reading and happy weekend.

Louvre Museum
Palais Royal, 75001 Paris, France

Tony and Steve
Currently in the 1st place

Tony and Steve arrived at the museum’s entrance where seven curators were waiting for the teams. . According to the detail of this task, each team had to pick a curator and took him or her to where the art was located at. Tony picked the female curator on the left and she gave them a sheet with four empty circles on it and a title below each circle.

“Each title is a hint for each art.” The curator explained. “If you show me the correct art, I will stamp the corresponding circle. You will get your next clue if you get four stamps on this sheet.”

Steve nodded in understanding and read the listed titles. “So we have to find The Young Beggar, Psyche and Cupid Standing, Charles VI's Helmet, and An Artist Holding a Thistle.”

“Those are the hints? They sounds easy to find, “ Tony said with a dubious expression.

The curator smiled sweetly, “If you think it’s easy finding four items among 35 thousands art objects, be my guest.”

“35 thousands!? We are looking for a needle in a hay stack. Well, four needles.” Tony grimaced and looked at Steve whose look turned dreamy again at the mention of 35 thousands art objects. “And I also have to prevent my partner from getting stuck admiring certain arts. Oh boy.”

Anatomy Fashion Studio
48 rue du Fg. Saint Honore Paris, France

Loki and Thor
Currently in the 2nd place

Loki and Thor arrived at the studio and were shown to their work table where a naked mannequin sat by. Another mannequin wearing a white shirt stood in the center of the room. It has long sleeves and a certain cut on the bottom of the shirt. Loki and Thor had to use the given tools and clothes to produce a similar shirt for their mannequin to wear.

“No sewing machine?” Loki asked and was given a needle by their task handler. “Great, we have to do it manually.”

“This task looks daunting, brother, “ Thor commented.

“Not as daunting as chasing you around 650 thousands square feet of Louvre.” Loki said and got to work. He assigned Thor to pin the pattern on the cloth then cut the cloth.

Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School
8 Rue Léon Delhomme 75015 Paris, France

On the second try, all six of Arthur and Merlin’s soufflés came out listed to one side. Merlin tried to straighten one of them but succeeded in collapsing it, instead. Arthur tried straightening another soufflé but he ended cutting the top part. The head chef of course rejected all six of them. Merlin ate his three failed soufflés happily while Arthur ate his with a suspicious look thrown at Merlin.

In the other room, John made good of his promise to immobilize Rodney during the baking process. Their soufflés rose evenly and were baked to perfection.

The head chef approved of their result and gave them the next clue. John freed Rodney from the chair where he was tied to and together they read the clue. Since none of them had skills in sewing, they chose to do Art. John tried to leave right away but Rodney wanted to sit down and enjoy their perfect soufflés.

“We don’t have time for, Rodney.” John said.

“But, “ Rodney started but John quickly interrupted.

“You promise you will make it up to me for the time you spent at Gym Louvre.”

“Yeah, but—“

“No but, Rodney. Consuming another batch of soufflé will take quite some time.” John said sternly. “We have to go now.”

“But!”

“Now, Rodney or no more repeat of Gym Louvre for a month.”

“Oh alright, “ Rodney groused. “Slave driver”

John turned around to get his backpack and fast as lightning, Rodney snatched one of their perfect soufflés and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Rodney, move it!”

“Immcommmg” was Rodney’s responded. Supposed it meant ‘I’m coming’ but with Rodney, everything was possible.

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

Jack watched as John and Rodney (mouth full of soufflé) left the room. He turned to Daniel and said, “We are in trouble.”

Daniel looked down at a gooey mass that were their soufflés. “Sure we are. I think our timing was off.”

“Ya think?” Jack grimaced. “Can we eat John and Rodney’s soufflés instead of ours?”

“I don’t think the head chef will allow us to do it, Jack.”

Grumbling, Jack sat down to eat their failed soufflés.

“Should we use our express pass?” Daniel said tentatively.

“I am considering it.” Jack eyed his spoonful of soufflé in distaste but gamely ate it. “One more time, Daniel. If we fail again, we will use our express pass.”

“Okay, Jack.”

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

Louvre Museum
Ground Floor

“Young Beggar , where are you?” Tony looked around. “Or WHAT are you?”

“I think it’s a painting. Here, ” Steve gave Tony a brochure. “I picked up a free brochure before we got in. It has got Louvre floor plans.”

“Wonderful, let me determine where we are now.” Tony studied the map on the brochure. “Okay, we are on ground floor. This brochure is quite good, you know, it shows the photos of several arts on each floor. And look what I fin—Steve? Steve, where are you?” Tony looked around frantically among the crowd of visitors. “Don’t tell me I lost you to art within five minutes. I will never live it down.”

The curator snorted. Tony looked at her and asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you?”

The curator shrugged. “Sorry, I’m not allowed to help any teams.”

“Figured,” Tony went to search and found Steve gazing at the statue of Aphrodite. “There you are!” He grabbed Steve’s arm and didn’t let go. “Don’t go wandering around, honey. I’m feeling neglected here.”

“Sorry, Tony.” Steve said sheepishly. “It’s just that…”

“Eh, I understand, “ Tony waved his apology. “Look, we can go back here after the race and you can spend a week here if you want. But for now, you want to be in a race, so we have a work to do. Steve, you hear me? Steve?”

Steve’s eyes had turned glassy with the promise of a week in Louvre museum. He shook his head to clear it and smiled sheepishly at an amused Tony. “Sorry?”

“It’s okay. Now please stay focused on me, “ Tony pointed at himself, “Eyes on me, lover boy.”

“That’s easy, “ Steve smiled.

Tony grinned and leaned forward.

The curator coughed.

“Right, not an appropriate time to flirt.” Tony straightened. “Look, this brochure has a picture of Psyche and Cupid and it said it’s located on this floor, should we take a look?”

Steve looked at the photo on the brochure. “This statue is not standing, Tony. Our hint said ‘Psyche and Cupid standing.”

“There might be some other statues of Cupid and Psyche near it?” Tony suggested.

Steve nodded. “Very possible. Let’s go, then.”

-----------------
Louvre Museum
Entrance

John and Sherlock
Currently in the 3rd place

“Welcome to musee de louvre, “ said the curator.

Sherlock started murmuring something about the curator having a quarrel with his lover this morning, spoiling his two cats, forgetting his umbrella, and--John elbowed him at the side to stop Sherlock’s deduction.

The curator gave them a baleful look and said. “We have been given a brief description for each team. I believe I can assume you are Sherlock and John.”

John nodded in confirmation while Sherlock muttered something about any first grade could deduce that of them.

“We are also given instruction to tell additional warning to you. There will be no running inside the museum.” The curator said and gave them their hint sheet.

Sherlock harrumphed while John nodded again.

“No worries there, I don’t think Sherlock knows where to run, anyway.” John glanced teasingly at Sherlock. Art is not his strong point.”

“That’s where your deduction is so very very wrong, John.” Sherlock said and tapped the sheet. “The Young Beggar, an oil painting by Bartolome Esteban Murillo. It depicts a barefoot young street urchin clad in torn, patched-up rags, relaxing after what appears to have been a light lunch of shrimp and apples. The painting is also called The Louse-Ridden Boy because the boy is delousing himself.”

John gaped. “How do you know that?”

“Why John, “ Sherlock smirked, “I do appreciate art. I know what is good when I see it”

“No, you don’t. Not the art with astronomy theme, at least.” John pointed out

“Astronomy is useless.” Sherlock sniffed in disdain.

“I really really wish a task in this race will involve astronomy and you will be forced to twiddle your thumbs.”

Sherlock didn’t deign to respond to John and turned around, heading toward the lift.

“Sherlock, where are you going?” John chased after him.

“To find the louse-ridden boy, obviously.”

“The who?”

“The Young Beggar, John. Do pay attention.” Sherlock said as he stabbed the lift button.

“I’m too shocked to remember that long explanation, “ John groused but entered the lift as its doors opened. “Anyway, do you know where the painting is?”

“No.”

“Then why are we going up?” John asked in dismay.

“The paintings are in the first and second floor according to this brochure, “ Sherlock held up a museum brochure.

“Where did you get the brochure?” John asked in suspicion. “Please don’t tell me you pick it from someone’s bag, Sherlock.”

“My lips are sealed then.”

“Sherlock, really!!”

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

Anatomy Fashion Studio

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 4th place

The singers arrived at the studio and were ushered to their work table. Adam happily cut the cloth and asked Kris to help with the needlework. At first, Adam had confidence they would finish before Loki and Thor but then he was distracted by the sight of an adorable Kris squinting at the cloth and trying to sew. Adam shook his head and focused back to his own work.

“Ouch, “

Adam turned around and saw Kris grimacing. “Sorry Adam, I’m not good with needle work.” The shorter man then put his stabbed finger on his mouth and sucked the blood.

Adam whimpered and said goodbye to his concentration.

Meanwhile, Loki put the cut cloth on Thor and told him to be quiet while he sewed the cloth. Thor fidgeted and got a needle on his ass as the result. He tried to move again but the needle stabbed close to his groin this time. Out of preservation for his manhood, Thor resignedly stayed still and played mannequin for Loki.

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

Louvre Museum
Ground Floor

“This is Psyche and Cupid, “ Tony pointed at the marble statue, which is also shown on the brochure he held. It depicted a male and a female. The male had wings on his back and a quiver of arrows slung on his shoulder while the female was lying on the rock, being lifted by the male into his embrace.

The curator shook her head.

“No? The brochure clearly said it is Psyche and Cupid, “ Tony waved the brochure meaningfully.

“Sorry, it’s not it,” said the curator.

“Now what should we do, Steve?” Tony turned to his teammate and saw Steve gazing at the statue, enraptured. He poked Steve on the ribs, causing the blond man to jump. “Focus, darling.”

“Sorry, Tony “ Steve said sheepishly. “You were saying?”

“This is not the statue of Psyche and Cupid we are looking for. Any idea how to find the correct one?”

“The hint said ’ Psyche and Cupid standing’ so we should find the same couple but in standing position,“ Steve pointed out. “They should be in the same room, probably.”

Tony raised his eyebrows and pointed at something behind Steve. “This one, then?”

Steve turned around and gaze up.

The statue had the same male and female in standing position. The male was leaning against the woman, wingless and naked while the woman stood straight.

“Oh yes....” Steve trailed off as he studied the statue.

“Okay, you can gaze at them while I get a stamp from our curator. I have no worry you will stray and start dreaming about Cupid. Honestly, he is very ‘small’” Tony emphasized on the last word as he turned to the curator next to him.

She was throwing him a reproached look.

“Hey, that’s the fact, lady.” Tony then gestured at the statue. “This is it, right?”

The curator nodded and stamped Tony’s sheet with more force than necessary.

Tony then dragged Steve to find the next art. “Let’s find the king’s helmet.”

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

Louvre Museum
First Floor

“This is the painting, correct?” White John pointed at the painting of a boy sitting on the floor and delousing himself. A remains of his lunch scattered near him.

The curator nodded in confirmation and stamped their sheet.

“That’s good. What shall we find next?” John asked Sherlock, who was looking at the illegally acquired brochure.

“We are going to find the portrait of an artist holding a thistle.”

“Wait, how do you know it’s a portrait?”

“It says here on the brochure, “ Sherlock pointed at the certain part of the brochure, where some of the arts were highlighted.

John looked at it and furrowed his eyebrows. “The title of this painting is Self-Portrait, Sherlock.“

“Do be more observant, John. Look at the picture, the artist is holding a thistle.”

John squinted at the brochure. “The picture only shows the bloody top of the plant. Only you can recognize it as a thistle, I think.”

“Actually, the plant only resembles the thistle. Its name is eryngium amethystinum. It’s used in medicine and regarded it as an aphrodisiac.” Sherlock rattled the information quickly.

“You have experimented with this plant, haven’t you?” John gave Sherlock a thoughtful look.

“I put some essence of it in your tea two months ago.” Sherlock said without showing any remorse.

“Sherlock, I’m so telling Lestrade to do another drug bust on you!”

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

Louvre museum
Ground Floor

John and Rodney
Currently in the 5th place

“What’s a thistle?” Rodney asked. He was holding the hint sheet. The curator they picked was humming instead of answering the question.

John shrugged. “I know as much as you do, Rodney.”

“We are never going to find any of the arts at this rate.” Rodney moaned.

“Don’t be a pessimist.” John looked around. “Okay, you wait here and let me find someone to guide us.”

“You just want a chance to flirt!” Rodney shouted at John’s retreating back.

John’s respond was a gesture to stay. His hazel eyes promised retribution if Rodney dared to move from his place. Grumbling, Rodney settled down and tracked John’s progress around the room. Ten minutes later, John returned with a mature lady in tow.

“Rodney, meet Tessa. She is kind enough to tell us where to find the arts we are looking for.”

“Well, this is a good way to show how well an art dealer knows her own trade, “ Tessa smiled winningly.

Rodney studied Tessa suspiciously. “Yeah well, let’s see if you are good enough to find these ouch.”

John had stepped on Rodney’s foot deliberately while giving Tessa an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Rodney is not educated as well as you.”

“Hey!” Rodney protested.

“It’s okay. You have the right to doubt my skill” Tessa’s eyes gleamed. “How about this? If I can show you these arts correctly without getting lost, you will have to buy a piece of art from me.”

Rodney sputtered. “We don’t have enough money.”

“Oh, I don’t mean now. “ Tessa said. “Someday when you are famous and rich, I will come to collect.”

Rodney turned to John. “I take it back. You were not flirting. You are getting us a loan shar--ouch!”

John stepped on Rodney’s other foot and took over the conversation slash transaction. “If we ever win a million dollar prize, we will certainly buy a piece of art from you, Tessa.”

“It’s a deal.” Tessa gave them a happy grin, not unlike a shark about to catch its prey.

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

Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 6th place

By miracle or other divine intervention, Daniel and Jack managed to get their soufflés correctly.

“Finally!” Jack said when he saw the soufflés rise evenly.

“How is that possible?” Daniel said. “I’m sure we are doing the same thing as the previous batch.”

“Maybe we whisk the egg whites correctly this time or maybe the cooling down time is right this time, who knows.” Jack shrugged. “The most important thing is that we completed the task.”

“Okay, here is our next clue, “ Daniel said as he accepted the clue from the head chef. He opened the clue and read the detail. “Art or Fashion? Oh we get to visit Musée du Louvre!”

“Musee de what?”

“Ah, it’s Louvre museum. Let’s do Art, Jack.” Daniel said eagerly.

“Art, of course. I remember you saying about growing up in museum.” Jack said indulgingly as they got their backpacks.

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

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 7th place

In the other kitchen, Arthur and Merlin finally managed to get their soufflés right on the third try.

Arthur gave Merlin another suspicious look. “Did you deliberately ruin the previous batches just so you can eat the soufflés, Merlin?”

“You insult me, Arthur” Merlin started giving Arthur a scolding look but it soon turned into a thoughtful look. "Wait no, did you just complement me? You think I’m good enough a cook to be able to make soufflés without any failure?”

“I certainly did not!” Arthur denied.

“You didn’t insult me?”

“I didn’t complement you!”

“Oh, so you do insult me, then.” Merlin’s dropped his shoulders and gave kicked puppy’s eyes.

Arthur made a frustrated noise. “Okay, fine! I’m sorry for doubting your motive. Happy?”

“Very.” Merlin perked up, no trace of puppy eyes and dropped shoulders. “See, making apology is not hard, is it?”

“Just read the clue, Merlin.” Arthur grumbled as he shoved the clue he got from the head chef.

“Art or Fashion? “ Merlin read the clue. “Considering we don’t have any knowledge on both departments, let’s go with the task that has part of your name, shall we?”

“I’m not bad in Fashion!” Arthur protested.

Merlin raised his eyebrows. “Do you know how to make a cloth? Can you sew?”

Arthur made a moue expression. “Let’s go with my namesake, then.”

“I said it has a part of your name not that you are not named after it.”

“Shut up, Merlin.”

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

Anatomy Fashion Studio

“Brother, can I move now?” Thor said pleadingly.

“Stay still for a little longer, Thor. I’m almost done.” Loki said as he continued to sew on the cloth.

“You said that an hour ago.”

“I said it ten minutes ago, not an hour ago. Don’t be a baby, Thor.”

“I’m not a baby! I’m a warrior!”

“Prove it by enduring this challenge, then.”

Thor sighed but gamely stood still much to Loki’s satisfaction.

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

“Ow!” This time it was Adam who stabbed himself with the needle. The reason he stabbed himself was of course because he was distracted by the sight of Kris sticking a little bit of his tongue out while doing the sewing.

“Adam, are you okay?” Kris said worriedly. “Oh, your finger is bleeding. We need to clean it.”

The shorter man took Adam’s bleeding finger and put it in his mouth to clean the wound.

Adam expired on the spot.

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

Louvre Museum

Through asking (Steve) and flirting (Tony), Tony and Steve managed to locate the parade helmet of Charles VI. They ran into Sherlock and John in front of the lift and had a talk. When they found out that each team had found two pieces of art which were different from the other team, they all agreed to exchange information. Well, Steve and John agreed. Sherlock and Tony threw a distrust look at each other.

“If you give us false information, I will avenge it in the next leg.” Tony promised solemnly.

“I can say the same.” Using his greater height, Sherlock looked down at Tony. “I’m curious, though. Does your husband know that you consumed alcohol this morning?”

Steve’s head lifted up from where he has it bowed to exchange information with John. “Tony!”

“Oh, two can play this game, scarecrow. After all it takes one addict to know the other. Tell me, does John know you have two patches beneath your sleeve?”

“Sherlock!” John said scoldingly.

“He started it!” Sherlock sulked.

“Now you blame me!? Listen scare—oh, hi Steve.” Tony greeted Steve who had stepped in front of him, arms crossed in front of his chest and face set in disapproval.

“Of course I am blaming you. You are--- John, don’t block my sight.” Sherlock said as John stepped in front of him, frowning.

“Tony, you promised not to drink in the morning .“ Steve said in sombre tone.

“Sherlock, do you remember what the consequence of using patches ever again?“ John asked sternly.

Both Tony and Sherlock winced.

Tony tried feebly to give his reason while Sherlock tried to reason with John. Nevertheless, their teammates were too used to their excuses and started telling them off.

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

During the time used for Tony and Sherlock to placate their irate partners, Black John and Rodney sailed through their task with the help of Tessa. The woman did know her trade very well and managed to guide Rodney and John into collecting all four requested items quickly.

“Not bad for an art dealer, huh?” Tessa said to Rodney as they waited for the curator to stamp the hint sheet.

“Not bad at all. Perhaps I will consider buying your art piece even though I didn’t win one million dollars.“ Rodney replied, too happy with completing the task to grumble properly.

“What he means is ‘thank you for your great assistance, Tessa’, “ John chose to paraphrase Rodney’s words.

Tessa gave them a smile and left them to continue their race.

The curator took the full stamped hint sheet and exchanged it with their clue. Rodney took the clue and ripped it open. It has a red sheet inside.

“Another roadblock? We are having double roadblock in this leg.” Rodney groused and read the clue on the front of the sheet. “’Who likes skulls?’ Not me obviously. Here, you do it.”

John accepted the red sheet and read the detail. “Enter Catacombs of Paris and navigate through the tunnels which hold the remains of six million people until you find the exit. The other team member will travel by taxi to the exit and wait there.”

“Six millions!?” Rodney gaped. “I’m really glad you are the one who does this roadblock, John.”

“I am glad too. Between screaming and passing out from manly fear, you will take forever to navigate through the long tunnels.” John said in a drawl.

“Hey! I only passed out from manly hunger, not fear. And I did it only once. ONCE!”

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

Anatomy Fashion Studio

Much to Thor’s relief, Loki finally finished with the shirt. The blond man hurriedly removed the finished shirt and put it in the provided mannequin.

“Please tell me it’s to your satisfaction, dear Lady. “ Thor threw their task handler a pleading look.

Whether the handler was moved with Thor’s puppy look or Loki managed to sew the shirt to her satisfaction was unknown, but the dear Lady did gave them their next clue.

“Who likes skulls?” Loki read the clue.

“Let me do it, brother.” Thor said quickly, eager for something to do other than staring at the soufflés and being a mannequin.

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

Despite an adorable distraction in a form of Kris, Adam managed to finish sewing the shirt and together they presented it to their task handler. After giving her approval, the task handler gave the next clue to a whooping Kris and a delighted Adam.

Adam opened the clue and took out the red sheet. “Roadblock. Who likes skulls?” He looked at Kris in question.

“I think you should do this one, Adam. “ Kris said hesitantly.

“Okay, I will do it.” Adam opened and read the clue.

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

Louvre Museum

“We are here.” Arthur said and went toward the standing curators.

“I think we passed Jack and Daniel’s taxi back then.” Merlin commented as he followed Arthur.

“That’s good. Now we are ahead of one team at least. Let’s pick our curator and find the arts.”

Arthur picked an old curator with shoulder length white hair. “Can you come with us, Sir?”

The old curator nodded and gave them the hint sheet. Merlin took it and read the content. “So we need to find four items hinted here. Any idea what should we search first?”

“Let’s search for the king’s helmet first. I know Charles VI is a French king around 14th century. Now we just have to find a map to see in which location the 14th century French art was stored. They gave us a free map last time I came here.”

“Of course you know what king reigned in what year, “ Merlin muttered as they went to look for the free map.

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

Not long after Merlin and Arthur entered the museum, Jack and Daniel arrived and picked their curator. Daniel read the hint sheet then looked at Jack. “Psyche and Cupid is a 17th century statue and Charles VI helmet should be in French section of museum. I am not sure about the other two pieces. I think they are paintings.”

“Okay, let’s look for the ones you are sure of, first.” Jack said.

“Let’s find a brochure. Every museum should have one with a map on it.” Daniel suggested.

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

Tony finally managed to appease Steve by promising to abstain from any kind of alcohol for a month. They went to search for the last two pieces, leaving Sherlock at John’s mercy.

Sherlock of course didn’t want to lose from Tony. He quickly gave John all nicotine patches he had and let John pat him from top to bottom to confirm all the patches were now in John’s possession. They then went to find the helmet and the sculpture. Thanks to their power walk, John and Sherlock managed to find the two items before Steve and Tony.

Sherlock opened the clue given by their curator and read the clue. “Who likes skulls? I do.” He read the detail of the task and hummed, eyes gleaming in delight.

John read next to him. ‘“—navigate through the tunnels which hold the remains of six million people?’ Oh that’s not good.”

“Six millions, John.” Sherlock grinned widely. “Six millions skulls!”

“You are never getting out of those tunnels, aren’t you?” John said despairingly.

One floor below them, Steve and Tony had completed their detour task as well and received their clue. Tony ripped the yellow envelope open and read the clue. “Who likes skulls?”

Steve glared at the clue as if it had committed a grievous crime.

“Not Steve obviously. I’ll do this one.” Tony said.

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

Catacombs of Paris

John and Rodney
Currently in the 1st place

Rodney dropped John in front of the entrance to Catacombs. “You have got your headlight with you, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I got it Rodney.”

“Okay, make sure not to touch any of the skulls in there. No telling what kind of germs or diseases are on them. And also—“

“Just go, Rodney. I’ll meet you at the exit.” John waved and told the taxi driver to take Rodney to the catacombs’ exit.

Rodney wiggled his head out of the car’s window and shouted. “And don’t flirt with the deads!”

John rolled his eyes and made his way down the hundred spiraling stairs to the catacombs.

Loki and Thor
Currently in the 2nd place

Thor and Loki arrived at the entrance, not long after John’s descent. Loki dropped Thor and gave him a flashlight. “If you are lost, just go along the left wall. “

“I’ll do that, brother.” Thor beamed and took the stairs down to the catacombs.

Thor had to duck in several low ceiling tunnels, twisted around a hallway of mortared stone, and passed through a cave with carved walls and building sculptures. The building was some kind of palace or fort. Entranced with the wonderful work, Thor reached out to touch one of building’s walls. It crumbled slightly at his touch. Thor hurriedly withdrew his hand and looked around guiltily.

Nothing happened and no one came to scold him. Thor sighed in relief and hurriedly continued his journey, vowing not to touch anything again.

He managed to keep his vow for a whole ten minutes.

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 3rd place

Adam and Kris arrived a few minutes after the taxi carrying Loki departed. Adam took some times to fasten his headlight on his head.

“I hope you won’t have problem down there.” Kris peered at the entrance.

Adam smiled winningly. “Underworld is my kind of world, Kris. Don’t worry.”

“I will always worry about you, Adam.” Kris hugged Adam then left with the taxi.

Adam walked through the same path as John and Thor. He looked at the sculptures left and right but never stopped walking until his headlight caught Thor standing before a stone portal.

“Thor, it’s nice to see you again.” Adam greeted the blond man.

Thor turned around and beamed. “Friend Adam! I’m happy to see you too.”

“Why are you standing there?” Adam asked.

“I’m trying to read the text here.“ Thor directed his flashlight above the portal. There was ‘Arrête! C'est ici l'empire de la Mort ‘carved on the wall. “I don’t understand what it is saying.”

“Neither do I, “ Adam admitted. “I think it’s just a greeting in French for the visitors.”

“Do you think so, my friend?” Thor looked relief. “I was afraid it’s saying that this is an exit. The clue said there would be tunnel of bones but I haven’t encountered any skulls this far.”

“Let’s walk together. The skulls might be near.” Adam said. Thor nodded in agreement and stepped first through the stone portal.

They walked together and to Thor’s relief, they came upon a tunnel covered from top to bottom with skulls and bones.

“Wow.” Adam said, impressed. “This will surely be an inspiration for my next song.”

“It’s really remarkable.” Thor said in agreement. He stepped forward and waved his flashlight around, eyes following the light. Distracted as he was with the surrounding, he didn’t notice he had stepped on uneven and slippery ground and lost his balance. Thor flailed his hands and managed to regain his balance by touching the nearest wall regain his balance. Unfortunately for the blond man, his flailing made his flashlight flung away. It hit the other wall, causing one skull to drop from the wall. Its light bulb was broken when it dropped to the floor.

“Thor, are you okay? Where are you?” Adam blinked as he searched for the blond man in the suddenly darkening the tunnel. The only light source now came from Adam’s headlight.

“I’m fine, friend Adam.” Thor’s voice came from Adam’s right side.

Adam turned to toward the voice and saw Thor straightened from the wall.

“The ground here is slippery.” Thor said wryly. “I think I lost my flashlight.”

“Just stay with me, Thor. We will walk to the exit together.”

“Thank you, friend Adam. You have my deepest gratitude. Someday I will repay your kindness.” Thor said solemnly.

“It’s okay. No string attached, big guy.” Adam grinned.

Thor looked at Adam in confusion. “I don’t understand. What string are you talking about? Where is it attached to?”

“It’s an expression. It means I help you without expecting anything in return. Well…I expect Kris will be proud of me, though.” Adam explained. “You are not from America, are you?”

“No. Loki said to tell anyone who asked that we came from some small country in Europe.” Thor said.

“Loki told you to say that?” Adam looked curious. “So where are you actually from?”

“We are from a small country in Europe.” Thor looked apologetically as he answered the question.

“Right, I got the message. Let’s just continue our journey then?”

Thor beamed. “Thank you, my friend. Please lead the way.”

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

Louvre Museum

Daniel and Jack
Currently in the 6th place

Daniel and Jack had managed to find the king’s helmet and the sculpture. Now they were on the first floor, asking the visitors about the Young Beggar and the Artist. They met with a young artist who directed them to the wing where the Young Beggar was showcased.

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 7th place

On the floor below them, Arthur and Merlin have managed to find Charles VI’s helmet. Now they were trying to find out what kind of art Young Beggar was. As they walked toward the escalator, Merlin noticed a sign with ‘information’ written on it. He quickly made a beeline toward it, dragging Arthur with him.

The man on the information desk was more than willing to tell them where to find the remaining three art pieces. Arthur wondered if asking the information was against the rule but Merlin pointed out that their curator didn’t forbid them so it must be okay.

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

At the exit of Catacombs of Paris, Rodney was pacing around. The exit was actually a small house in residential area. Rodney’s pacing was drawing the attention of some residents and pedestrians. Luckily, Loki arrived before Rodney managed to insult them and caused international incident.

“You know, I thought you would be the one to do this roadblock.” Rodney commented. “You look comfortable with the skulls.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Why should I do the hard part when I have my willing brother with me? While the skulls did catch my interest, the long one hour journey navigating through it is just a nuisance.”

“It’s an hour walk?” Rodney said in incensed tone.

“So my taxi driver told me.”

“My ass is going to freeze while waiting for John here!”

Loki also didn’t seem to fancy waiting for Thor in the cold weather. “I see a café not far from here, “ Loki offered, “How about we go there for a bite?”

“God yes, I’m hungry!” Rodney followed Loki eagerly

A few minutes later, Kris arrived and found the exit void of people.

“I am the first one here?” Kris said in bewilderment and looked around. “At the least, Loki should have been here before me. Did I arrive at the wrong location?”

Kris asked a passerby whether this was really the exit for the catacombs. When told it was the exit, Kris leaned against the fence surrounding the exit and pinched himself. Kris couldn’t believe Adam and he managed to be the first team to arrive at the roadblock.

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

Sherlock & John and Tony & Steve were trying to urge their respective taxi cab to go faster and beat the other taxi. Well Sherlock and Tony were the ones who did the urging for their team. John and Steve had decided to just enjoy the scenery and let their very competitive partner do the work. John had to intervene once when Sherlock told their taxi cab to run down some poor pedestrians though.

Halfway through the unofficial car race, Sherlock’s cab driver managed to stay ahead and kept John and Sherlock in the lead. A disgruntled Tony asked his cab driver to follow the other cab and not to lose it.

John and Sherlock
Currently in the 4th place

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 5th place

Sherlock was vibrating with joy of anticipation when they arrived at the entrance to Catacombs of Paris. He stepped out of the taxi, already holding his flashlight. Steve and Tony’s cab stopped behind their cab.

John leaned his head out of the cab’s window and looked at the eager Sherlock. “Sherlock, maybe we should take 4-hour penalty for this roadblock. I think it will take longer than that to drag you out of the catacombs.”

“Don’t even think of it, John.” Sherlock shot John a warning look.

“What’s this?” Tony said as he and Steve approached the detectives. “You will take hours to do this roadblock? Good for me, then.”

Sherlock glared the shorter man. “Rest assured, I won’t lose to you.”

“Oh good, thank you for your competitive streak.” John said gratefully. “I’ll be waiting at the exit, Sherlock. Keep in mind that you already have one skull waiting for you in London. Don’t cheat on her.”

Sherlock already strode toward the entrance. Not wanting to be left behind, Tony gave Steve a peck and hurriedly went after the tall detective.

“Good luck, Tony.” Steve said before returning to his waiting cab.

Both Tony and Sherlock descended through the spiralling staircase, passed the room with sculptured and came to the stone portal.

“Arrête! C'est ici l'empire de la Mort.” Sherlock read the text above the portal in flawless French.

“Halt! This is the empire of Death.” Tony said in English. It earned him an irritated look from Sherlock. Tony looked back with a smirk. “You are not the only one who can speak French.”

“No, you can speak Chinese, Russian, and French fluently and you also can speak in three other languages at conversational level.” Sherlock said as he passed through the stone portal.

“How do you know that?” Tony said.

Sherlock suddenly stopped still, causing Tony to almost collide into him. “Hey, don’t stop suddenly like that. Why do you stop, anyway?” Tony stepped around and saw they were now surrounded by walls, decorated with human bones from top to bottom. “Holy molly!”

“Exceptional, “ Sherlock almost purred as he gazed around the tunnel. He approached the left wall and studied one of the skulls hanging on there. “A rich middle-aged woman, born in 18th century. Killed by an impact to her head by a blunt object.”

“You are making that up.” Tony said in disbelief.

Sherlock snorted. “This is elementary. No need to make it up.”

“Right, just like I think how making a fully functional robot is elementary.” Tony said.

Sherlock just hummed and started on another skull, whispering all the information he could glance from a piece of skull.

“Okay, you can flirt with the rich lady there all you like. No harm’s done.” Tony said as he inched to the next tunnel. “As a matter of fact, I approve what you are doing. Just keep on doing that.”

“You are not getting rid of me so easily.” Sherlock reluctantly detached himself from the wall and followed after Tony.

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

Black John arrived at a tunnel which was supported by thick pillars. A short pillar supporting a stone bowl was standing between the middle of two pillars.

John was approaching the bowl when he felt something wet touch his nape. Startled, John whirled around, one hand clasped on the back of his neck. He blinked when he saw no one behind him. He looked around, making sure his headlight illuminate the concealed parts. That was when he felt something wet from above touched his nose. He jumped and looked above. There was a shimmer of water leaking on the roof. John realized then it was the water drop that touched his nape and sighed in relief.

“Rodney would so totally freak out in here.” John said to no one. He peered into the bowl out of curiosity and found it held some shallow body of water. “Well, something else to see other than bones.”

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

“Ow!” Thor cried out as his head hit the ceiling for the third time.

“You need to duck lower, big guy.” Adam said from the front.

“I think the ceiling is getting lower in some part of the tunnel, friend Adam.” Thor rubbed his forehead.

They had passed a cavernous room with a cross buried among the skulls and bones. Now they were entering the low-ceiling tunnels.

Unfortunately for them, Thor and Adam were taller than usual people, especially Thor. Both of them were forced to bend their head and body so they could pass through the tunnel without hitting the ceiling. Adam with his brushed up hair was actually have to bend lower than Thor if he wanted to preserve his hairstyle.

“This is one of the rare moments where I wished I was Kris’ size.” Adam commented, in wishful tone.

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

Daniel and Jack had finally found all the pieces of art. They exchanged their fully stamped hint sheet with their next clue. “Who likes skull?” Jack read upon opening the envelope. “I don’t but I will do the task.”

“Jack, I should be the one to do it. I think I know what this task is about.” Daniel protested even as Jack opened the clue’s detail.

“Navigate through the tunnels which hold the remains of six million people, “ Jack read, “There is no way I will let you in this Daniel. You will make a camp there and commune with the skulls.”

“I’m not that bad.” Daniel disputed.

“You ARE that bad.” Jack said. “You even wanted to stay in a life-threatening fragile building just to have a chance to decipher the ancient words carved inside it.”

“But Jack—“

“No.”

“Jack, I can—“

“No. Daniel.”

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

Not long after Daniel and Jack finished their detour, Merlin and Arthur also managed to complete theirs.

“Who likes skulls?” Merlin read the clue and scrunched his nose. “Not my thing. You should do it, Arthur.”

“You are such a scaredy cat, Merlin.” Arthur looked his own haughty self.

“Yeah well, “ Merlin commented after they read the clue detail. “I will willingly admit I am a scaredy cat if it get me out of walking through those millions of bones.” u

It was Arthur’s turn to give Merlin a dirty look.

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

White John and Steve arrived at the catacombs’ exit and found a lone Kris pacing around to keep himself warm.

“I’m so glad you guys coming.” Kris greeted both men.

“There are only three of us?” John asked. “I thought there would be more.”

“I thought Thor or Loki would be here since they left the detour before us but you guys are the first two I have encountered so far.” Kris said.

Steve looked around and squinted at certain direction. “I think I have found the other two.” He pointed at the two figures walking toward them.

Kris was excited. “That’s Rodney and Loki.”

Indeed, it was a stuffed Rodney and a satisfied Loki who came toward them. Steve, John, and Kris greeted both of them.

“You decided to take a walk? Are you short on money?” John asked them.

“Of course not, “ Rodney gestured at their surroundings. “I needed something to warm my freezing body so Loki and I decided to get something warm to drink.”

“You also ate two croissants and one quiche, “ Loki pointed out.

“So you two are the first ones to arrive here.” Kris worked out the timeline. “I knew it was too good to be true for us to be the first team to arrive.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Kris.” Steve said. “You and Adam have a good teamwork. Tony and I had come with the first plane but you who arrived thirty minutes after us managed to get ahead of us.”

“Anything can happen in there, “ John pointed out. “We don’t know the situation in the catacombs. I’m 100% certain Sherlock won’t be the first to reach the exit though. The skulls are big temptation for him. He probably will spend hours in there if not days.”

“Don’t worry John, I’m sure Tony will not leave Sherlock stranded.” Steve tried to reassure John.

‘He totally will’, Loki mouthed to Rodney, who nodded in agreement.

Kris, who noticed the exchange, decided not to say anything.

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

“This sucks.” Tony said as he tried to walk as fast as possible. It was quite difficult because of the tunnels setting. “The ceiling is low, the ground is uneven and slippery, and I couldn’t seem to shake my irritating shadow off.” Tony had to keep his head duck as he passed through the low-ceiling tunnels.

“If you remove your modified sport shoes, you will be able to go faster than me.” Sherlock commented from behind him, ducking much lower than Tony. “I don’t see any use in wearing lifts.”

“I’m so not going to ask how you knew about my lifts.” Tony grumbled.

“Your shoes’ bottom is too thick. They are similar to the ones John once considered buying them online.”

“I am not asking for explanation but do tell me, did John finally buy them?”

“No, I manage to convince him that his natural height is nothing to be ashamed of.” Sherlock sounded smug.

“Hey, wait a minute. I’m not ashamed of my height. I use the lifts for the style.”

“At the moment, the lifts are nothing but a liability for you. As matter of fact, I can safely say that you--”

“Hey look, there are more strange skulls on your right side.”

Whatever Sherlock wanted to say was forgotten in lieu of studying the new batch of skulls.

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

Daniel arrived at the catacombs’ exit, followed by Merlin within a minute.

“Oh good, all the teams are here. “ Merlin looked relief.

“Half of each team, actually.” Daniel said.

“You two made it, “ Kris welcomed the last two men. “Now we are all on the waiting game.”

“I really hope John will come out soon.” Rodney said and started his frantic pacing again. “It’s been almost an hour. Does he get trapped? Or there’s a cave in?”

“Maybe he is lost?” Loki suggested. “Or he finds some frightened ladies that he had to give a hand to?”

Rodney looked thunderous at the mention of later possibility.

“You are not helping calming him down,” Merlin pointed out when Rodney started ranting about John being typical captain kirk.

Loki shrugged nonchalantly.

“Well, at least he is not worried anymore, “ Steve commented.

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

“Stop! Here is the empire of death.” Arthur murmured his translation of the phrase carved above the stone portal. He gazed around as and studied the surrounding which was hit by his headlight. That was when he heard a surprised exclamation coming from somewhere ahead him and followed by the sound of something heavy hit the ground and something broken.

Arthur hurriedly stepped through the stone portal and headed toward the sound. He could hear someone cursing now and when he came into a large tunnel decorated with human bones all over the walls, his headlight fell on Jack, who was sprawling on the ground.

“Who is it?” Jack raised his hand to cover his eyes from Arthur’s headlight.

“It’s Arthur.” Arthur said as he knelt next to Jack. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. I think I stepped on the slippery part of the floor.” Jack grunted and started to stand. He let out an expletive when his left knee gave out causing him to pitch forward. He would have faceplanted on the ground if Arthur didn’t catch him.

“Thanks.” Jack grunted and tried to stand up again. This he managed it with Arthur’s help but he was clearly favouring his left leg. “I think I twisted my ankle.”

“Can you walk?” Arthur asked him. He was still supporting Jack with one arm around Jack’s waist.

“Yeah, of course.” Jack tried to walk and let out a grunt. He managed to stay standing so Arthur withdrew his arm. Jack looked around. “Did you see my flashlight around?”

Arthur looked around and found the flashlight near the tunnel’s entrance. Arthur retrieved it and handed it to Jack. “It’s broken.”

“No kidding.” Jack looked at the broken light bulb and shoved the flashlight on the back of his pants. He started limping slowly along the tunnel.

A worried Arthur followed after him.

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

After taking two wrong turns and had to trackback, Black John finally arrived at the exit. He saw the clue box next to the exit door and took out one. When he emerged from the building, Rodney let out a loud exclamation and hurriedly went to him.

“What took you so long? Did you flirt with the girls down there? Hey, what happened to your hair?” The last question was delivered with a horrified look at John’s soggy and flattened hair.

“Seriously, stop being jealous. I didn’t even meet any single living human down there. And to answer your last question, the low ceiling happened, Rodney.” John answered with a drawl.

“Uh oh, Adam’s hair will have the same fate then.” Kris said from behind Rodney.

Rodney meanwhile had noticed the yellow envelope John held. “Is that the clue? Give it to me.”

John slapped Rodney’s eager hand away from the clue.

“Ow, abuser.” Rodney said accusingly.

“You deserve it, considering how suspicious you are. “ John said and ripped open the envelope and read the clue. “Congratulation on crossing the empire of the death. You now can go to the pit stop, located in front of the iron lady.”

“Iron lady? Who is that?” Rodney said in dismay.

Daniel looked ready to answer but Loki suddenly asked him about what was French for empire of the death, thus successfully distracting him.

“I don’t think it’s a person. It should be a known statue or something, “ John answered instead. “We probably should find a cab and asked the driver.”

“Or we can find an internet café and do some researches. “ Rodney looked eager.

John nodded. “We will do that if the cab driver doesn’t know about the iron lady.” He lifted his backpack which had been left with Rodney earlier. “Let’s go, Rodney.”

The other teams watched the first team left. Daniel and Loki fell into deep discussion about empire of death, which was joined by Merlin. White John was fretting, hoping Sherlock’s competitiveness will win over his curiosity. Steve and Kris were content just leaning against the fence and looking at the surrounding view.

Fifteen minutes past before the next team came out of the exit.

Kris noticed the newcomer and bound happily toward the tall man. “Adam, you made it!”

“Thank God,” Adam sighed in relief and tried futilely to bring up his wilted hair.

“Did you meet anyone down there?” Kris asked.

“Oh, yes. I met Thor.” Adam turned to Loki, who paused in his conversation with Merlin and Daniel. “He was right behind me, but he got fifteen minutes penalty for breaking a skull.”

Loki looked irritated. He marched toward the exit and shouted. “Thor, you big oaf!”

“I’m sorry, brother.” Thor shouted back pitifully from beyond the exit.

While Loki berated his brother, Adam and Kris left the pack and went to find the iron lady.

It was another fifteen minutes before a sodden and contrite Thor showed up after his penalty time was up. He was followed by a cheerful Tony.

“Tony!” Steve welcomed his partner with a warm hug while Loki shoved Thor into the cab he had managed to wave down while Thor sat out his penalty.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked.

“I’m peachy, “ Tony beamed and hugged back.

“Sorry to interrupt, but did you see Sherlock down there, Tony?” John asked apologetically.

“Oh I saw him alright. One time I thought I managed to ditch him but he resolutely stuck to my back.” Tony said, still beaming.

“Why are you happy?” Steve asked at the same time as John asked, “Where is Sherlock, then?”

“Ah, the answer to both questions is the same, “ Tony said. “It appeared there’s a body search conducted before we were allowed to exit the catacombs. It’s performed to make sure the tourists don’t appropriate something from the catacombs.”

“Oh no, “ John moaned. “He tried to smuggle the skulls, didn’t he?”

“You got it right, John. Sherlock got twenty minutes penalty time because of it.” Tony beamed. He turned to Steve and gave the blond man the clue he had collected. “Here, you read it, Steve.”

Steve read it and said that they had to find the iron lady where the pit stop was. Tony grinned and said he knew the lady. Together they went to find a cab.

John meanwhile stood at the exit and tried to scold Sherlock but Sherlock seemed happy with the penalty, taking his time to study the skulls around him. “Sherlock, you better come out when the time is up!” John shouted in exasperation.

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

“I’m slowing you down, “ Jack said as he leaned against the wall. “Why don’t you go first? I’ll take a break here.”

“And leave you here in the dark?” Arthur grabbed Jack’s arm and put it around his shoulder. “Let’s walk together.”

“I can walk by myself, “ Jack protested.

“You are barely able to walk, Jack. Now don’t be a stubborn old man and lean on me.”

“Have someone told you that you should have respect for your elder?”

“I will respect my elder if the said elder acts like an adult and admits he needs help.”

“I thought Merlin would be the smartass one, not you.”

“Well, he is contagious.”

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

Black John and Rodney’s cab driver had nodded when John asked him about the iron lady. Now the driver was dropping them at the Paris’s famous attraction.

“This is the iron lady?” Rodney pointed up at the tall structure in front of him.

“Yes, this is the iron lady.” The driver said with heavy French accent.

“I really hope you are telling the truth.” John said as he paid the cab driver.

They spend a few minutes looking and going around the tower before they finally found a familiar figure standing with his ever present umbrella.

Rodney let out a hoop and charged toward Mycroft. John followed after him. They stepped onto the check in map and were greeted by the lovely young French lady standing next to Mycroft.

“Bienvenue à Paris,” said the lady.

“Merci, “ said John and Rodney. It’s probably the only French word they managed to remember aside from ‘rapide’.

“You better announce us as the first team this time.” Rodney gave Mycroft a glare. “I haven’t got a good long sleep in proper bed. Sleeping in the plane and the train is back for my back, you know and if you say this is triple length leg, I wi—.”

“John and Rodney, you are team number one.” Mycroft announced, interrupting Rodney’s tirade.

“Oh yeah,” John grinned while Rodney grumbled a ‘finally!’.

He looked pleased though. Pleased enough to inquire, “So what do we win?”

Mycroft raised his chin slightly. “Did you bring the skull to exchange it with your prize?”

“What what? What skull?” Rodney said in alarm. “Oh my God John, did you drop your skull?”

“Rodney, calm down.” John said to Rodney and addressed Mycroft, “There is no instruction about bringing any skull to the pit stop.”

“Indeed, there isn’t, ” Mycroft paused to smirk. “Congratulations, gentlemen. You have won a trip for two to the Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas.”

Rodney was too speechless from the combined irritation and excitement so John was the one who thanked Mycroft for the prize.

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

Back at the catacombs’ exit, Sherlock’s penalty time was finally up. However, White John had to spend a couple of minutes to cajole Sherlock to come out before they managed to continue with the race. When John asked Sherlock what the iron lady was, Sherlock just muttered about it’s being elementary.

“There were two representations of the iron lady, “ Sherlock said, “It refers to Margaret Thatcher and the Eiffel Tower. In this case, I believe it will be the Eiffel Tower.”

“That’s great, Sherlock. Let us depart, then.”

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

At the Eiffel tower, the second team to arrive was surprisingly not Adam and Kris.

“Bienvenue à Paris,” said the welcoming lady.

“Enchanté.” Tony replied.

“Tony and Steve, “ Mycroft said. “You are team number two.”

“That’s great!” Steve said, pleased. “We are supposed to be number four, though. What happened to the previous two teams?”

“I believe you can ask one of them soon, “ Mycroft gestured behind them where a team was running toward them. “Can you make a room for them?”

Steve and Tony shuffled aside and let the third team stepped on the mat.

“Adam and Kris, you are team number three.” Mycroft announced.

“That’s good, “ Kris beamed.

“What happened to you guys?” Tony asked.

“Our cab driver doesn’t know what iron lady is, so we have to find internet café first to look up the information.” Kris explained.

“We found out that the iron lady refers to Margaret Thatcher and we searched for her residence.” Adam added. “The wikipedia said she resides at Chester Square.”

“in London, “ Kris added.

“Ouch, you didn’t go there, did you?”

“Of course not. We browsed further and found the other meaning for the iron lady.” Kris said and gestured with his palm. “So here we are.”

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

Loki and Thor arrived at the Eiffel tower ten minutes later. Their cab was taking a different route from Tony and got stuck in the traffic. Loki had to be satisfied with them being the fourth team. Thor was just glad they weren’t the last. Loki would be impossible to placate, otherwise.

There was a lull for about twenty minutes before Sherlock and John checked in as the fifth team.

Then it was quite a long wait for Mycroft before the last two teams checked in. Arthur and Merlin checked in first and followed by a limping Jack and Daniel who had replaced Arthur as Jack’s crutch.

“Arthur and Merlin, you are team number six. Congratulation, you are still in the race, “ Mycroft toward them before turning to Jack and Daniel. “Jack, what happened to you?”

“Jack got an accident in the catacombs, “ Daniel answered for Jack. “Arthur waited for him and helped him finish the roadblock. Thank you again, Arthur“

“It’s nothing, “ Arthur looked uncomfortable. “I’m just doing what everyone else will do in that situation.”

“That’s noble of you, Arthur.” Mycroft said.

“That he is.” Jack agreed.

“I’m not noble…” Arthur tried to protest.

“Not everyone will help their rival to finish when they know there is a million dollars at stake.” Merlin pointed out.

“Well, they should.” Arthur said mulishly.

Merlin just looked at Arthur fondly.

Mycroft cleared his throat to get their attention back. “I’m glad it’s not a serious injury, Jack. However, because of the injury, you and Daniel are the last team to arrive.”

“We are?” Jack said.

“No need to be sarcastic, Jack.” Daniel said. “Really, it’s okay. I have been happy to be able to do this race with you.”

“We lose the race because of me, Daniel.”

“It’s okay, Jack. I’m just thankful you are okay.”

“Gentlemen, “ Mycroft spoke again and threw an apologetic look.

“It’s okay Mycroft. Let’s get it over.” Daniel said.

Mycroft nodded. “Daniel and Jack, I’m sorry to say that you have been eliminated.”

Merlin sighed in regret while Arthur looked stony. Daniel and Jack nodded in acceptance.

“However, “ Mycroft continued.

“There is a ‘however’?” Merlin sputtered. Arthur quickly silenced him using his hand.

“However, “ Mycroft repeated, “Since you didn’t use your express pass, you can change the pass for a holiday for two in Loch Lamond, Scotland, The holiday consists of five nights stay at Cameron House hotel and a free pass to use their fishing boat during your stay there.”

“Oh, that’s great! Thank you, Mycroft.” Daniel smiled happily. “Jack finally gets a chance to fish.”

“And you get a chance to study the highlanders there.” Jack said.

“Good for you, Jack.“ Merlin piped up, having removed Arthur’s hand from his mouth.

“Congratulation, Jack.” Arthur said.

“Thanks again, kiddo.” Jack smiled slightly. “Maybe later you can join us at Loch Lamond? I know you live in the same country.”

Arthur smiled. “We’ll see.”

Notes:

Okay, I hope you like the story so far. The voting board has been reset to zero. Please vote so your favorite teams can keep racing to the finish line.

Chapter 11: Leg 6 Beginning

Notes:

Thank you again for the votes and the comments. I also get a wonderful suggestion from one of you which I can't wait to incorporate on the next chapter ;)

Eiffel Tower was located in Paris, France. Standing at 320 metres tall, it was the most-visited paid monument in the world and also the fifth pit stop for the race around the world. The six remaining teams would depart from here after the mandatory rest period.

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts
1st to depart at 2:48 AM

Rodney ripped open the envelope with relish and read the route info. “Go to Palace of Versailles and search inside for Marie Antoinette who will give you your next clue.”

“So, we are still racing in Paris.” John commented.

“We are going to a palace.” Rodney said excitedly. “And we have to find the beautiful French queen. This is great!” His thrilled expression turned alarmed as something passed through his mind. Rodney then whirled to John and pointed at him warningly. “No flirting with the queen!”

John just gave Rodney a dirty look before dragging him to find a cab.

They arrived at the palace thirty minutes later only to find it was closed and would be opened at 9:00 AM. Rodney moaned how injustice it was and now all the teams would catch up with them. John just shrugged and rolled out their sleeping bag, intending to catch a few hours sleep.

As Rodney had predicted, the other teams arrived one by one. Some followed John and Rodney’s doing and rolled out their sleeping bags. The later teams opted to just sit down and cuddle. The last team, Merlin and Arthur, arrived almost one and a half hour later. As they sat down and waited for the seven o’clock to arrive, Merlin commented how ironic it was for Arthur to be camping outside a palace. Arthur dumped his backpack on Merlin to stop him from talking further. Merlin struggled with two backpacks and muttered something about clotpole.

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

Palace of Versailles
9:00 AM

As the guards opened the big gate, all the teams charged inside and spread around to find the famous ‘Marie Antoinette’.

The first team to find her was Thor and Loki, though the other teams were not far behind. The pretty lady who answered to the name of Marie Antoinette was wearing the 18th century styled royal dress and sitting primly on the settee in a big waiting room. Thor bowed down and kissed her hand politely.

“Greetings, my lady. Do you have clue for us?” Thor asked.

The lady smiled and gave him the clue. Thor received it reverently and thanked the lady again. Loki then dragged him away to let the other teams had their turns. At the corner of the room, Thor opened the clue and read it. “You and your partner must learn the dance Marie Antoinette used to do during her famous parties and perform the dance in front of her. If you perform correctly, you will get the plane ticket to your next destination. The order the teams finish this task in will be the order for the helicopter ride after they land.”

“So the faster we manage to complete this dance, the faster we will get to ride the helicopter, “ Loki surmised. He took the clue from Thor and read the detail. “We have to wear the 18th century court costumes? This will be interesting.”

Loki revised his opinion from interesting to be very interesting after he found out that the costumes prepared for each team were a pair of male and female costume, meaning that one of them had to crossdress.

Loki seemed to have no qualm dressing as a female. He took to wearing the gown like a duck to water, putting on whole set of female costume and donned a pouf styled towering wig with ease. Meanwhile, Thor was struggling to put on his knee-length breeches and coughed when he put his powdered wig on.

The other teams’ reactions, however, were varied and indeed very interesting to watch.

“We have to what!?” Rodney shouted from the other end of the room and quickly offered John to the stylist to be the female one.

“We have to put on a corset?” Merlin, who Arthur had kicked toward the female costume, squeaked.

“Oooh, high heels.” Adam said as he made a beeline toward the shiny shoes. Kris sighed in relief and went toward the male section.

“You can wear the breeches and the powdered wig, dear.” Tony pushed Steve toward the male section. “I’ll be the bearded lady.”

“Uhm, Sherlock, “ White John began hesitantly while his eyes looked at the female section in apprehension.

Sherlock smirked, “Don’t worry. I’ll do the female part, John.”

“Oh good, “ John exhaled in relief.

“You will owe me, of course.”

John looked like he had to choose between the lesser of two evils.

After half an hour of complaining (Rodney), yelping (Merlin), stoic silent (Black John, Arthur), delight (Tony, Adam, Thor), fascination (Sherlock, Loki) and a lot of blushing (Steve, Kris, White John), the six teams gathered in the dance room, ready to learn the French dance. A dance instructor and a dancing couple were standing in front of them. The instructor explained the dance steps and the couple then demonstrated the dance. However, the teams were distracted with taking each other’s appearance.

The male costume consisted of a pair of knee-length breeches, mid thigh waistcoat, and coat, topped with powdered wig. The female costume consisted of a chemise, a corset, and frilly gown, topped with pouf styled wig.

Rodney was the epitome of wealthy French gentleman with his slightly chubby built while Steve, Thor, and Arthur were like the gentlemen usually depicted on the cover of historical romance novel (if they removed their powdered wig, of course).

While the other pairs were quite equal in height, the combination of Kris and White John small stature and their respective partner’s high heels made Adam and Sherlock towering over them like giantesses. Despite their ‘women’ being taller than them, Kris and White John treated their partners like a real lady and looked quite besotted to them, much to Adam’s and Sherlock’s amusement.

Tony had taken a fan to cover his beard and enjoyed teasing Steve to do some dastardly deeds to him. Suffice to say, Steve never stopped blushing.

Loki surprisingly made a very convincing lady. It kept Thor’s attention solely on his brother but also distracted Thor from learning the dance. Loki’s expression cycled between satisfaction and exasperation.

Rodney moaned why John couldn’t be as convincing as Loki, getting him a smack from his insulted ‘lady love’.

Arthur meanwhile had to endure being stepped on with Merlin’s high heels many times. He muttered that he knew Merlin was clumsy but never thought Merlin was THIS clumsy. Merlin made an ‘oops’ sound and stepped on Arthur again.

Watching the six couples’ antics, the dance instructor sighed and resigned herself to a long dance lesson. She now knew why she was paid handsomely to teach these six pair of clowns.

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

The plane carrying the six teams departed from Paris airport at 3 PM.

7600 kilometres, one stop, and thirteen hours later, the plane entered Seychelles territory. It landed on Mahe Island at 7:00 AM and discharged the six teams, now wearing their normal clothes. Well, normal for them anyway. Most of them wore cotton shirt and short pants, considering the tropical nature of Seychelles.

The teams walked leisurely to the helipad, not racing since the order of which they took the helicopter had been decided by the previous task. The helicopter would depart in five minutes interval, taking the teams to La Digue island.

The first team to complete the dance task, thus the first to depart was Adam and Kris. They waved to the other teams as their helicopter rose up from the helipad.

“Wikipedia said that Seychelles is a collection of 115 islands. It will be awesome to view some of the islands from above.” Kris said excitedly. As their helicopter flew above the islands, he let out an impressed noise.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Adam commented huskily.

Kris could only nod. He was mesmerized by the view of beautiful blue transparent sea and the white sand beach. Adam was also captivated at the natural beauty stretching wide below them.

They were interrupted by the helicopter’s crew, though.

“Time to go down, gentlemen,” said the crew.

“Down?” Adam repeated in confusion and looked down at the blue sea below them. “Now?”

The crew gave a grin and threw a rope ladder down. “You are required to swim to the beach. Your next clue will be waiting on top of your backpacks on the beach.”

“What?”

“What?”

Five minutes later, the helicopter left a flabbergasted Adam and a stunned Kris flapping their arms to stay afloat in the middle of the sea.

“I wished they gave us a jet ski.” Adam muttered.

Meanwhile Kris had got over his shock and flapped his arms and legs happily. “The water is warm and we can almost see to the bottom. This is great of them to give us a chance to swim.” He started swimming toward the beach and saw their helicopter hovering at the beach. “Look, the helicopter dropped something on the beach. It must be our backpacks. Come on, Adam.”

“It’s a good thing my mascara is waterproof.” Adam sighed as he swum after Kris, saying goodbye to his carefully spiked hair. All the hair gel in the world couldn’t withstand the power of saltwater.

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

The second team to get dropped in the sea was Arthur and Merlin.

“This is not how I envision the start of this race.” Merlin moaned and swam halfheartedly.

“Put your back into the swimming, Merlin.” Arthur said from behind him and squinted toward the beach. “I think those two black spots are Adam and Kris. Let’s take over them.”

Merlin decided it was more fun to float on his back.

“Merlin!”

Merlin closed his eyes and enjoyed the sunshine.

“MERLIN! You better start swimming or I’m going to make you swim every morning with me after this race, winter or not.”

“Slave driver.” Merlin muttered. He flipped himself and started following Arthur.

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

The third team was John and Sherlock.

“Sherlock, let’s swim.” John pulled on the taller man. “No matter how interested you are in the sea life, you can’t dive without oxygen tank!”

“I can hold my breath for almost two minutes, John.”

“That’s not the point.” John pushed Sherlock toward the beach. “We need to get to the beach. There will be time to study aquatic life later.”

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

The fourth team to get the helicopter ride was Tony and Steve.

“It’s beautiful. I wished I had time to sketch it.“ Steve sighed longingly.

Tony made a note to buy the islands.

Steve looked at Tony and said disapprovingly. “Tony, no.”

“What? I didn’t say anything.” Tony tried to look innocent.

“I know that look. You are not buying me anything.”

“Of course not, Steve.”

Tony amended the note to bringing Steve back to Seychelles with their private jet.

Ten minute later, after they have been dropped into the sea, Tony made an additional note to also bring their private yacht and jet ski. Oh and a submarine as well, maybe…

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

The fifth team to find their wet fate was Thor and Loki. Thor happily splashed around, much to Loki’s irritation.

“I can see Steve and Tony ahead, brother.” Thor said.

Loki perked up at the mention of his rival. “Good, try beating them, Thor.”

Thor smiled. “As you wish, brother.”

Loki snagged Thor’s shirt and let himself as light as he could, letting Thor pull him toward the beach.

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

The last team was John and Rodney.

“Go down? Here? Are you crazy? There could be sharks in there!” Rodney glared at the helicopter’s crew.

“You are safe to swim, gentlemen.” The crew spoke.

“I notice you didn’t deny about the sharks’ existence.” Rodney said. “Oh my god, I’m going to die.”

“Move your ass, Rodney. We are already in the back. Don’t make any delay.” John said and pushed Rodney toward the rope ladder.

“Wait, John! It’s dangerous!”

John rolled his eyes. “It’s not. Stop fussing and get down there.”

“I’m not fussing! It’s—“

Sighing, John pushed his teammate, forgoing the rope ladder.

Rodney’s scream was followed by a splash. John jumped down as well, splashing Rodney who just broke to the surface.

“You are crazy! You could kill me!” Rodney sputtered. “What if I can’t swim? Ever think about that?”

“I know you can swim, Rodney. But in case you can’t, I asked the crew for this.” John held up a pair of arm floaties.

“I hate you.”

“Oh I think I see a shark fin just now.”

Rodney made a small shriek and hurriedly swam toward the beach. John followed after him with a wide grin.

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

Two Seychellois women were walking along the Anse Union beach. One of them glanced toward the sea and let out a sharp intake when she saw a golden haired man emerging from the waves. His wet shirt was sticking to his obviously toned body and when the man shook his head to get rid of the excessive sea water, she felt her heart beating furiously. Without looking away from the delicious sight, she prodded her friend to stop her walking and saw what she was walking. Oh look, another dark haired handsome man was emerging behind the golden one.

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners

“We managed to beat Kris and Adam.” Arthur said in satisfaction as he approached his and Merlin’s backpacks.

Merlin was a few steps behind him, shaking his head to get rid of the clinging water. “I want a raise.”

“You don’t need a raise if you win this race.” Arthur said and lifted their clue from the top of the backpacks. He ripped opened the envelope and took out a blue route sheet. “Go to L’Union Estate using the marked transportation.”

“Uh oh…” Merlin said.

“I don’t like that sound, Merlin.” Arthur looked at Merlin. “What are you implying?”

“I read that people in La Digue use bicycle or ox cart as their means of transportation.” Merlin paused. “What do you think our chance to be provided the bicycle instead of the other one?”

“None.” Arthur said as he pointed at the row of ox carts waiting at the pavement.

“Well, in that case, I hope you can pick an ox as good as you pick a horse.” Merlin said.

“I have a good eye and a good taste, Merlin. Unlike you.”

“Prat. “ Merlin muttered.

“I heard that, MERlin!”

The two Seychellois women watched the bickering pair move away, zeroing on their backside shamelessly. The first woman was about to follow after them when she saw a movement from the corner of her eyes. She managed to wrench her eyes from the men and looked at the sea just in time to see another dark haired tall man emerging from the waves, followed by his brown haired shorter companion. The two women let out a delight sound at the sight. When they realized there would be more appearance of fine looking men, they settled down on the beach and happily watched the shirt plastered men parading on their beach.

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

Adam and Kris
Singers

The singers opened their clue and made their way toward the ox carts. Kris picked one of the carts and dumped their backpacks on the back of the cart. “Climb up, Adam.” Kris jumped to the front of the cart.

Adam wrinkled his nose as he approached the other side of the cart. “It’s smelly.”

“Of course it is. It’s an ox.” Kris said cheerfully. “Wait until you saw them taking a dump.”

“Please don’t.” Adam said pleadingly as he settled next to Kris. “They can’t do it if they are walking, right?”

“They sure can, “ Kris grinned and swung the rein to get their ox to start walking.

The ox walked calmly at first and trod faster at Kris’ encouragement.

“Slow down, Kris.” Adam yelped as he held onto the side bar.

“You ride jet ski faster than this, Adam. I know you like the high speed.” Kris said, still smiling.

“Well, jet ski has a brake. This one doesn’t!” Adam shouted. The ox took his shout as another encouragement and trod faster.

“Cool!” Kris shouted in delight. “Hey, look! That’s Merlin and Arthur, we can get pass them!”

Adam was too busy clinging on the side bar to make a response.

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

John and Sherlock
Private Detectives

“We can run faster than this.” Sherlock said in disgust as their ox cart trod lazily.

John tried to snap the rein on the ox’s back but the ox made no response. Sherlock vaulted down from the cart and disappeared into the trees on the side of the road.

“Sherlock! What are you doing?” John shouted and pulled at the rein. The ox proved immune to the rein and kept walking at his lazy pace. “Sherlock, come back here! I can’t stop the cart!”

Sherlock reappeared, much to John’s relief. The relief turned to apprehension when he saw Sherlock was holding a long tree branch. “What is that for?” He asked as Sherlock climbed back onto the seat.

Sherlock’s response to his question was a smirk. “I’m sure you know what this is for.”

“Oh no, no whipping the animal, Sherlock.” John protested but it was too late. Sherlock had already swung his arm up and brought the branch down on the ox’s backside. The slapping sound was loud and followed by a rumbling sound from the ox. Next thing John knew, he was clinging on Sherlock for dear life as their ox cart turned into a speed racer.

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

Merlin kept silent when Kris and Adam overtook them. However, when Sherlock and John went by them, he turned to Arthur who was trying to get their ox walking faster. “Good eye and good taste, huh?”

Arthur’s face was red. “Shut up, Merlin.”

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

Steve and Tony
Super Husbands

“Seriously, they don’t drive any cars here?” Tony looked scandalized as he climbed into their chosen ox cart. “That is a so wrong!”

“I like it.” Steve said as he took the rein. “It’s so peaceful.”

Tony made a note to smuggle a car or make a robot ox for their trip back to this island.

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

Loki and Thor
Brothers

Loki and Thor were actually not far behind Steve and Tony. Thor took the rein joyfully and their chosen ox seemed willing to chase after the cart before him.

Tony glanced to the back and let out a curse when he saw Thor and Loki coming. He shouted to Steve to get their ox walk faster. However, despite Steve’s urging, the ox slowed down instead.

Loki let out a smug grin when their ox managed to get head to head with Tony’s ox. Tony threw him a dirty look. After a minute of staying head to head, Loki got bored and prodded his brother.

“Leave them in dust, brother.” Loki commanded to Thor.

Thor snapped the rein in response. “I have been trying, brother, but this wonderful creature refuse to step up his pace.”

Incensed, Loki took over the rein from Thor and tried to control the ox but the ox refused to budge. It stepped to the side, bringing their cart closer to the other cart. Loki muttered a few curses at the animal.

Meanwhile, Tony was delighted at Loki and Thor’s predicament. He turned to Steve. “It’s our chance to leave them behind, Steve.”

“I’m trying, Tony.” Steve tried to coax their ox to go faster but to no avail. “He is keeping the same pace with the other ox.”

Tony looked ahead and saw that their ox was nuzzling the other ox. “Oh great, just our luck to pick a gay ox.”

“I believe this is a touching gesture.” Thor watched proudly as their ox nuzzled the other ox back.

Steve nodded in agreement.

Loki and Tony just looked disgusted. The disgust turned into annoyance when John and Rodney caught up to them. Fortunately for them (unfortunately for John and Rodney), the two gay oxen blocked the road so John and Rodney couldn’t get pass them.

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

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts

“Stupid oxen, move already!” Rodney shouted at the other two teams’ oxen. “This is not time for public display of affection. Especially when you are only an ox!”

“Rodney, they might get insulted, “ John sounded amused despite their road got blocked.

“Oxen can get insulted. Just when we get an acceptable ox, this kind of thing happened.” Rodney grumbled. He then sniffed and squeaked when their ox decided to give Rodney a cake of its own. “Oh my god, our ox is taking a dump! Ew, the smell is foul!” Rodney tucked his feet into his chest to avoid the ox poo.

“Good boy.” John said to the ox.

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

L’Union Estate was nestled among the palm trees and covered with lush green grass. The first team to reach the estate was Adam and Kris, thanks to their obliging ox. They scrambled down from the ox cart and went to get the clue box waiting for them at the area entrance. Kris took one clue from the box and ripped it open. It has yellow sheet.

“It’s a detour.” He said and read the detail on the sheet. “Turtle Toodle or Batty Gobble. In Turtle Toodle, teams have to use a banana to lure a 100-year-old Aldabra Giant Tortoise across a marked path on a lawn. In Special Gobble, each teammate must eat a plate of bat curry, a La Digue specialty dish. ”

“Bat curry?” Kris repeated as he read the clue again. “They cook bats for food here? Do you want to try, Adam?”

Adam looked hesitant. “Let’s try the turtle first.”

They went toward the designated area and saw wooden cages. Each cage has a giant turtle in it. In front of each cage was a marked path where Adam and Kris had to lure their turtle to take on. There were some turtles walking free on the enclosed area next to them. One of the turtles was even carrying a boy on its shell with ease.

“This turtle is huge.” Adam said as he watched the child carrying turtle toddling around.

“Just be careful not to get your hand bitten when luring it with banana.” Kris cautioned. He peeled the banana he got from the task handler and gestured to Adam to open one of the cages. “Nice turtle, I got you some treat.”

The turtle had withdrawn into its shell when Adam opened its cage so Kris waved the banana in front of the shell. “Can turtle smell?”

“I think so.” Adam held on to the cage’s door. He watched as Kris held the banana and waved it toward the turtle.

“Here is a yummy treat. Look it’s long and sweet. Don’t you want to try it?” Kris made a slurping noise to lure the turtle.

Adam’s breathing turned heavier and his face got flushed.

Kris looked up at his friend. “Adam, are you okay?”

“Fine, “ Adam rasped and kept staring at the banana in Kris’ hand.

The turtle chose that time to stick his head out and bit into the banana.

Adam’s face turned pale as he crossed his legs instinctively. Fortunately for Adam, Kris was oblivious to his friend’s predicament.

“He likes the banana, Adam!” Kris let out an encouraging noise and pulled back, making a slurping noise to lure the turtle out of the cage. The turtle followed after him and bit into the banana viciously.

Adam made a garbled noise.

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

“Batty Gooble.” Sherlock announced eagerly.

John just grimaced. “Can’t we just do the turtle, Sherlock.”

“Don’t be a coward, John. This is a chance to try something new.” Sherlock said as he dragged John toward the Plantation House framed by giant granite boulders where the bat curry will be served.

They came upon a row of tables and sat down on one of them. Soon, a server came and placed two plates on the table. The plates contained identical dishes of white rice and red curry bat meat.

John looked at the dishes warily as the server put down two spoons on the table and a bucket next to the table.

John took one of the spoons and stared at the bucket. “What’s the bucket for?”

“I believe it’s to anticipate our stomach’s disagreement with the dishes.” Sherlock answered.

John looked even more warily at the bat curry. Sherlock meanwhile cheerfully pulled one of the plates toward him and took a taste. John watched his partner for any reaction.

Sherlock coughed. “It’s quite spicy.” He took another bite and coughed again. “But it tastes good.”

“Don’t you want to change task, Sherlock?” John asked. His tone had a little bit of desperation in it.

“No, it really tastes good, John. Try it.”

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

“We are doing Turtle Toodle.” Arthur said.

“I’m hungry.” was Merlin’s reply.

“Turtle.” Arthur said again. The tone in his voice brooked no argument. He went toward the turtle cage.

Merlin, however, ignored the hinted warning. “C’mon, bats are not so different from rats, are they?”

Arthur stopped in his track and turned his head toward Merlin, throwing him a suspicious look. “Is there any reason you compare bats with rats?”

“Um, of course not.” Merlin said quickly.

“Merlin…” Arthur said threateningly and turned his whole body toward Merlin. “You swear those were not rat meatballs that were served to me when I visited that certain country!”

“On second thought, I’m not that hungry. Let’s do the turtles.” Merlin ignored Arthur’s increasingly red face and hurriedly went toward the turtle area.

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

“We are doing Turtle Toodle, “ Loki decided once he realized he couldn’t give his portion of bat curry to Thor.

“Afraid of little bats?” Tony taunted Loki then turned to Steve. “Let’s do Batty Gobble, Stevie.“

Steve nodded gamely while Thor looked disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to eat.

“Turtle, definitely turtle!” Rodney declared. “No knowing what they put inside that bat curry. What if it causes me to get new allergy?”

“You have no objection from me Rodney.” John said easily.

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

At the Turtle Toodle area, Kris and Adam’s turtle was halfway to the finish when Merlin and Arthur joined them.

Arthur chose the biggest and meanest looking turtle and had a satisfied look on his face when Merlin got his fingers bitten when trying to lure the said turtle with banana.

Later, when Kris and Adam’s turtle three quarters to the finish, Loki, Thor, Rodney, and John joined them.

Thor saw a child riding a giant turtle and wanted to try riding his turtle. Loki was forced to spend several minutes to discourage Thor from flattening their giant turtle.

Rodney and John’s turtle was eager to chase the banana Rodney held out to it but much to Rodney’s dismay, the turtle couldn’t walk on the straight path. That caused it to take longer time to finish the path tan Adam and Kris’ turtle but the turtle’s wavy path walking amused John for some reason.

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

At the Batty Gobble area, Sherlock and John were joined by Steve and Tony. Sherlock was almost halfway through his plate while John’s plate was still quite full.

Steve greeted John and Sherlock politely and saw John’s full plate. “Not quite to your preference, John?” Steve asked sympathetically.

John grimaced. “Not really.”

“Just imagine it’s a new kind of chicken curry.” Sherlock said. “It tastes quite the same.”

“That’s not the point, Sherlock.” John sighed. “I would prefer if they didn’t mention what kind of meat they used for the curry.”

“This is a task designed to exercise your mind over matter, “ Tony commented. He and Steve had sat down and were given two plates of the same dishes as John and Sherlock’s. Steve was eyeing the bucket placed next to him in confusion.

Sherlock threw Tony a grumpy look. “I don’t want to agree with you but it is what it is, mind over matter.”

“No wonder you are excelling at this task, “ John muttered.

“He is not the only one, “ Tony said confidently and took a bite. He coughed immediately.

“Tony, are you okay?” Steve hovered worriedly.

Tony waved Steve off. “It’s just a strong curry.”

Sherlock smirked. “Too strong for you?”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Of course, not.”

Steve and John ate their food slowly and calmly while Tony and Sherlock gobbled up the bat curry, throwing challenging look at each other.

Sometimes later, much to Steve’s and John’s amusement, both Sherlock and Tony had to make use of their respective buckets. It was not because of the bat element but because they ate too quickly and their stomaches protested at the flood of strong curry sauce.

Notes:

I hope you all enjoy reading the boys racing on tropical islands (with their shorts and open shirt, showing their yummy muscles). And don't forget to vote for your favorite teams to keep them racing. ^_^

Chapter 12: Leg 6 End

Notes:

This is the end of leg 6, hope you all will enjoy reading it. I also would like to answer a question from previous chapter : Shadowlvrk, yes she is Tessa Noel. I should have put TWT (Timeline, what timeline?) tag for this fic though because all the characters' timeline are totally off. I put her in only for a cameo though. There are several other characters making cameo in each chapter but Tessa is the only one I wrote down the name for. The others you will have to figure out by their description.

L’Union Estate was a rich plantation area on La Digue Island. There, six teams were doing their detour task. The first team to finish this detour task was Adam and Kris, thanks to their well-mannered giant turtle. Kris opened their next clue happily while Adam calmed himself after Kris’ unintentionally teasing. Their giant turtle was napping next to them, stomach full.

Kris took out the blue route info sheet and read the instruction. “Go back to your ox cart and make your way to Anse Patates. You need to find one of six Love Nuts buried in the marked area to get your next clue.”

“Love Nut?” Kris asked, perplexed. “What is that? Some kind of nuts?”

“Maybe?” Adam said weakly as his mind was imagining a different kind of nut.

“We will find out what it is once we dig it out, I suppose.” Kris said optimistically. “Let’s go back to our ox.”

“Do you know where Anse Patates is?” Adam asked as he followed Kris.

“No idea. We will need to ask around.” Kris said.

Ten minutes and a dose of Kris’ puppy eyes later, they got the direction from a local woman and headed toward their next destination.

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

The next team to finish the detour was Merlin and Arthur. Their turtle was aggressively chasing Merlin, not needing Merlin to tempt it with a banana.

“The turtle loves you, Merlin.” Arthur mocked his dark haired companion.

Glowering at Arthur, Merlin took their next clue and hurriedly went to the other edge of the area to get away from the aggressive turtle. Arthur followed at a more leisure pace.

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

Despite having used the bucket, Sherlock and Tony finished ahead of their partners. Sherlock tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for John to finish his batty meal. Once John was finished, Sherlock snatched their next clue.

“What is a Love Nut?” John asked in bewilderment.

“It’s an interesting species of coconut.” Sherlock explained during their ox cart ride. “The shape of its fruit is like a woman's buttocks.”

“Are you serious?” John sent his tall partner a sceptical look.

Sherlock looked affronted. “I’m always serious, John.”

“You are not planning to take it home, are you?”

“Don’t be silly, John. It’s too big for me to carry it during the race.”

John blinked at the last sentence. “How big is this coconut we are talking about?”

“It’s twice bigger than a normal coconut. The heaviest fruit is recorded at 42kg.” Sherlock answered.

“We are looking for a giant coconut!?” John said, aghast.

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

Steve finished his meal a few minutes later and received their next clue. Tony snatched the clue and hurriedly opened it.

“Not another ox ride, “ Tony whined. “I have enough of ox nuzzling to last me my whole life.”

“There won’t be any nuzzling if Thor and Loki have finished their task faster than us.” Steve pointed out.

“There is no way they will finish faster than us. They are dealing with turtles, Steve. Turtles.” Tony said. “Turtles are slow. Very slow.”

“Remember the tale of a tortoise and a hare, Tony?” Steve asked.

“That’s only a tale, Steve.” Tony waved dismissively. “It’s written to cheer up the hopelessly slow readers.”

“The moral of the story is to remind us not to underestimate any opponents, Tony. “Steve scolded him.

Tony chose to ignore the scolding and urged their ox to hurry up and leave before its gay partner came after them.

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

Loki and Thor actually had an easy task of luring their turtle after Loki managed to prevent Thor from the riding the turtle. They got their clue and left the detour area ahead of Rodney and John, whose turtle was still unable to walk in straight path.

Their ox looked eager to go and walked hurriedly once Loki and Thor let him. Thor shouted encouragement at the ox while Loki threw it a dubious look.

“Why so glum, brother?” Thor asked in between his encouraging shouts to the ox.

“Because I know we won’t get any faster than this.” Loki answered.

Thor looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that.” Loki pointed at the cart ahead of them.

Thor could hear some cursing and recognized the voice. “It’s Tony, brother.” He said cheerfully. “We caught up with them again.”

“I know.” Loki said gloomily. “And we couldn’t’ get ahead of them because our ox won’t run faster now that he has caught up with his boyfriend.”

“That’s an incredible feat.” Thor patted his ox proudly.”I support you wholeheartedly, my ox friend.”

Loki just snorted and resigned for the slow ride. He brightened up a little when John and Rodney caught up with them and couldn’t get pass them because, to borrow Rodney’s words, ‘the gay oxen couple blocked the road. AGAIN!’.

John decided it was a good time to take a nap and left a fuming Rodney to hold the rein.

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

According to the local woman Kris asked, Anse Patates was a beach located 2,5 km from L’Union Estate. With their faithful ox, the singers reached the beach in about 15 minutes.

“Look at the beach, it’s beautiful.” Kris said in admiration. He spent a few minutes enjoying the view before hopping out and looking around. “Where is the marked area?”

Adam brought his hand up to cover his eyes from the sun and squinted at the far away left. “I see yellow and red markers there.”

They headed left and found the marked area. It was a 40x20 meter of white sands with yellow and red flag on each corner.

“This is quite a large area.“ Kris worried his lips. “It will take us a long time to find a Love Nut. We don’t even know what kind of nut that is.”

Adam looked at the vast sand and looked at his manicured hands. “We have to dig the sand with our bare hands?”

“No, they give us shovels.” Kris waved two shovels he had picked up from a pile near the marked area and gave one to Adam.

Adam stared at the pink plastic shovel in his hand. It would be more accurate for Kris to call them toy shovel instead of the actual shovel. Adam compared his hand with the shovel.

“My hand is bigger than the shovel.” Adam commented.

“I think the shovel is optional.” Kris said. He knelt on one corner of the marked area and tried digging using his yellow shovel. A few minutes later, he abandoned the shovel and used his hands instead.

Adam meanwhile faithfully used his pink toy shovel to dig in the sand. It was obvious that he didn’t make as much progress as Kris.

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

Merlin and Arthur arrived at the beach a few minutes after Kris and Adam.

“This is too much.” Merlin moaned when he saw how big the area was.

“Just pretend you are looking for a treasure.” Kris said as he cheerfully kept digging in.

“Right, “ Merlin sighed. “This is for a million dollar treasure.”

“You can use a shovel to help you.” Adam offered and pointed them toward the pile of colourful shovels.

Arthur eyed the pink shovel in Adam’s hand doubtfully.

Merlin made a beeline toward the shovel pile and chose two shovels, one red and one yellow. He threw the red one to Arthur. “They even prepare a shovel in your favourite colour, Arthur.”

Arthur caught the red shovel, looked at it, and abandoned it right away. “This shovel is not going to work. I better use my hands.”

“Suit yourself.” Merlin followed Arthur to another corner of the area, distancing themselves from Kris and Adam. “How deep we have to dig in anyway?”

“Until we find the Love Nut.” Arthur answered.

“That’s not helping at all.” Merlin gave Arthur a dirty look. “We have no idea how big or small the Love Nut is. This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“It’s a one million needle.” Arthur flicked some sand he just dug to Merlin. “You better start working your lazy ass off, Merlin.”

Merlin sputtered as the flicked sand hit him.

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

When Sherlock and John arrived at the beach, none of the first two teams had managed to find the Love Nut. The detectives quickly joined them. Sherlock chose a purple shovel and started shovelling merrily while John told the other teams about the Love Nut.

“Giant coconut? That’s not difficult to find, then.” Merlin looked relief.

“It can be if they buried them deep in the sand. “ Arthur pointed out.

Merlin looked balefully at his blond partner. “You suck at encouragement, Arthur. “

“How deep are we supposed to dig anyway?” Adam stabbed his shovel in the sand and straightened up, groaning at his bones making a popping sound. “This is a devilish task. We could be digging at the right spot but not deep enough so we moved away to dig at another spot.”

“We keep trying, Adam.” Kris said with optimistic tone. “Once one team finds the Love Nut, we will know how deep we should dig.”

Adam and Merlin brightened.

“That’s assuming the coconuts are buried in the same depth.” Sherlock remarked.

Adam and Merlin wilted.

John threw an apologetic look at Arthur and Kris while he pushed Sherlock toward the still untouched sand area.

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

The last three teams arrived at the same time, due to the lovey dowey gay oxen. Thor embraced the task wholeheartedly and used both hands to dig the sand, shoving them between his feet, not unlike a dog trying to make a hole to bury its bone. Loki unfortunately was kneeling behind him when Thor started digging and got half buried in the sand.

Tony commented wryly that the task basically told them to play in a giant sandbox. Steve said wistfully that he never got a chance to play in sandbox during his childhood because of his asthma. This quickly prompted Tony to drag Steve toward the ‘sandbox’. He chose a blue shovel for Steve and a red one for him. Steve only managed to dig a few times before his blue shovel broke down. He looked around guiltily while Tony just rolled his eyes affectionately and buried the evidence of Steve’s crime deep in the sand.

Rodney’s first action when he arrived at the beach was to dig through his backpack and unearthed his self-made 100SPF sun screen. He lathered his face and hands generously while John found them the last two shovel. One yellow and one green.

For the next five minutes, all teams worked on their chosen areas. Mutters, complaints, and encouragements could be heard from them. It was their sound that attracted the locals. Soon, the marked area was surrounded by locals who avidly watched as the twelve strangers played in the giant sandbox. Most locals were women, for the understandable reason.

Another five minutes passed before Rodney let out a triumphant sound and pulled out a coconut.

“He found it already?” Arthur asked in disbelief.

“This is not fair. We are here first.” Merlin lamented.

“Lucky bastard, “ was Tony’s comment.

Sherlock watched Rodney wave the coconut around and shook his head. “No, he got it wrong. That’s a normal coconut.”

“Are you sure, Sherlock?” White John asked.

Sherlock just gestured toward Rodney who was showing his coconut to the task handler. All teams watched the task handler shook his head and rejected Rodney’s coconut.

“What do you mean ‘this is incorrect’?” Rodney’s protest could be heard as John dragged him back toward their digging site.

The other teams sighed. Some relief and some resigned.

“So there are also normal coconuts buried in here.” Loki said. “The task is just getting harder.”

“Have no worries, brother.“ Thor spoke in full confident. “I shall preserve.”

The teams went back to work, shovelling the sand. Some moved to another spot after they had dug until three feet deep while some kept digging until only their head visible on the surface.

Another normal coconut was found by Sherlock, who quickly threw it away without any fanfare.

The real Love Nut was unearthed a few minutes later by Steve. It was the size of two human heads and pressed together into a shape of female buttock.

Steve had been digging almost four feet deep when he found it. Tony, who was digging at another hole, quickly abandoned his spot and peppered Steve with kisses. “I’m a lucky bastard.” Tony announced proudly between kisses.

Steve blushed as he carried both the Love Nut and Tony, who had glomped onto him, toward the task handler. The other five teams watched as the task handler nodded and gave Steve a yellow envelope which contained their next clue.

“So we have to dig at least four feet deep.” Black John surmised.

“At the least. “ Arthur responded. “As Sherlock said, they could be buried in different depth. “

Rodney moaned about his back.

Adam said goodbye to his manicured hands and abandoned his pink shovel.

Merlin kept muttering about one million dollar needle.

Thor was still digging enthusiastically.

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

“Roadblock time, “ Tony said as he took out a sealed red sheet from the yellow envelope. “Who likes to venture under the sea?”

“I’ll do it.” Steve said.

“Okay then.” Tony opened the seal and read the clue inside. “One team member has to dive under the sea and take five pictures to complete the roadblock. Pick one of the boats provided on the beach to travel to the diving spot. Ask the boat crew for the camera and view the movie stored in it for further detail.

“You know how to use a camera, right?” Tony asked Steve as they headed toward the row of boats.

“Of course I know, Tony.”

“Just checking, babe.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “I can use digital camera, Tony.”

Tony raised his hands, placating. “I believe you, Steve.”

“No, you don’t. “ Steve countered.

“No, I don’t.” Tony agreed. “Oh come on, you know that you are sometimes technologically challenged.”

Steve threw Tony a look as he climbed onto the boat. “Using a real canvas and paint instead of Photoshop doesn’t mean I can’t use the program.”

“It’s Photoshop, Steve.” Tony protested as he followed Steve onto the boat.

Whatever Steve’s response was interrupted by the boat crew shoving a camera in front of his face. Steve took the camera and turned it on. “The clue said we have to watch the movie in here for further detail, didn’t it?”

“Yeah. “ Tony said. “The movie button is on the right top corner, by the way.”

“I know that, Tony.”

Steve switched the camera to movie mode and played the video. The display monitor was black in the beginning then faded into a teenage boy standing awkwardly in the middle of a plush living room

“Peter!” Tony and Steve said simultaneously.

The boy waved to the camera hesitantly. “Hi Dad. Hi Pops.“ He hesitated and looked to the left. “Do I have to do this? I much prefer to be behind the camera.” A toy arrow hit his forehead. “Ow, okay. No need to get physical.”

Tony looked at Steve. “Clint?”

“Clint.” Steve said.

“Okay, “ The teenager said again. “I suppose I can update you about home situation. Uncle Clint took me to--” Another arrow hit the teenager again. “Ouch, okay, no uncle Clint update, got it.”

“I’m so going to interrogate Peter to where Clint had taken him to once we are home.” Tony said. Steve nodded solemnly.

“Aunt Natasha--” Peter started and yelped when a short knife went pass him. “Right, okay. Uncle Bruce then?”When nothing happened, the teenager relaxed slightly. “Actually, there is nothing to tell about uncle Bruce. He eats, he does research, he meditates, and he goes to sleep. With no Dad to annoy and poke at him, I think he is enjoying this break. Really, it has been quite boring here since you two left for the race.”

A hand entered the screen and held up a sign ‘He finally got kissed’.

Peter looked at the sign, squeaked, and quickly hid the sign with his body. “That’s just a joke! Don’t believe him. Anyway, I’m supposed to tell you that the pictures you are looking for are stored in your camera. Go look for them! I gotta go now. See you!” The teenager waved hurriedly and ran out of the screen.

Tony and Steve blinked.

“Oh Peter, we are so going to talk later.” Tony grinned.

“Yes, we are, “ Steve said in agreement.

Tony took the camera from Steve. “Now let’s see what kind of pictures we have in here.” He brought up the gallery mode.

Steve looked at the gallery and saw five pictures of sea creatures lined up. “I guess those are the pictures I should take.”

“You are probably right.” Tony gestured to their surrounding water. While they were viewing the movie, the boat had taken them further into the sea and stopped in the middle of nowhere. “I guess this is where you should dive.”

Steve nodded and went to change into the provided diving gear. Tony replayed the movie once again and watched it with a fond smile.

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

Back at the giant sand box, Merlin let out a crow as he dug up a Love Nut. “One million dollar needle!” He announced proudly.

Arthur let out a laugh and slapped Merlin’s back proudly. “I know I have you for a reason, Merlin.” He then took the Love Nut, ignoring Merlin’s protest, and exchanged it for their next clue.

“Who likes to venture under the sea?” Arthur read.

“I’ll do it.” Merlin said hurriedly.

Arthur frowned at Merlin. “If the task involves something under water, I’ll be the better choice here, Merlin.”

“No, you don’t.” Merlin said as he read the further detail. “You almost drowned the last time you went swimming in the lake.”

“We agree that never happened.” Arthur glared. “Moreover, it’s more Sop…a certain girl’s fault than mine.”

“It’s because you were thinking with your dick.” Merlin said. He finished reading the clue and headed toward the boats, ignoring Arthur’s demand to retract his last sentence.

Once they were safely on the boat, Merlin played the movie from the digital camera the boat crew gave them. The black screen faded out to an image of a dark skinned girl wearing a lovely yellow blouse and white skirt.

“Gwen, “ Merlin and Arthur said warmly.

“Your Ma—uhm Arthur and Merlin, I hope this video will get to you.” The girl named Gwen spoke up. “I have no doubt you two are having a pleasant holiday.” There was an inaudible whisper which caused Gwen to turn her head to the left. “Oh I couldn’t possibly say that.” There was another whisper and Gwen sighed. “Oh, alright. Arthur, your sister said you didn’t have to come back. She enjoyed acting in your stead.”

“She can dream.” Arthur snorted.

“Oh, I have a message from your godfather, Merlin.” Gwen continued. “He said to that he would disown you if you return without some foreign herbal plants but I’m sure he is joking.”

“Oh god, I forgot it completely.” Merlin moaned.

“You might want to ask Sherlock for some of his smuggled items.” Arthur said.

“Lastly, I’m asked to tell you that the pictures you are looking for are stored in your camera.” Gwen smiled then. “I look forward to your triumphant return. We all miss you two here. The pal- the place is too quiet without you two around.”

Merlin and Arthur were smiling at the end of the video. They checked the pictures on the camera and guessed correctly that those were the pictures Merlin needed to take.

Their boat stopped not far away from Steve’s and Tony’s boat. Tony waved at them from the deck where he was reclining lazily. Arthur nodded in response then focused on helping Merlin putting his diving gear.

Steve was under the water already. He was still getting used to moving in the water and the gorgeous view around him.

He almost missed a giant turtle swimming above him. He remembered that the turtle was included in the photo gallery in his camera. He grappled with his waterproof digital camera and quickly snapped the picture.

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

The third team to find the Love Nut was Thor and Loki. Thor was the one to unearth it, of course. Loki was content to stay aside while Thor ran around carrying the coconut above his head with their local watchers applauding him.

Despite being able to swim, Loki was not too keen of water so he appointed Thor to do the roadblock. Loki then played the movie on the digital camera they received from their boat crew.

“It’s Darcy.” Thor said joyfully as a picture of brown haired woman appeared on the camera screen.

“What is the woman doing on this screen?” Loki looked at her, sneering.

“Hello Thor, Hi Loki.” Darcy chirped. “You, especially Loki, must be wondering why I am the one who appeared here. This video is supposed to display your close kin or friend. However since none of your family can be reached at the moment, one of the race producers-- “ Darcy put one hand to cover her left eye and rolled her right eye. “--settled to the closest co-worker slash friend you two have in common. It was a toss between Jane and me but hey, I won the coin toss so I have the pleasure to chat with you and also—“

“This woman never shuts up.” Loki commented while Darcy kept babbling on the video.

“That’s Darcy for you.“ Thor said fondly.

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

Under the sea, Merlin was trying to escape a suckerfish which seemed eager to attach itself on him. The suckerfish was about 3 feet in length and swam around Merlin playfully.

Steve was torn between taking picture or helping Merlin lose the sea creature. Suckerfish was also featured in their camera gallery after all.

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

“Adam, I got it!” Kris shouted in joy and pulled out his newfound Love Nut.

“Oh, thank God.” Adam heaved a sigh.

Once they got their clue, Kris decided he would be the one to do the task. Adam had no complaint. His hair had just dried and he would like to keep it dry a little longer.

They played the video as instructed on their clue and were surprised when the screen showed two middle aged woman sitting side by side on a sofa.

“Mama.” Kris said while Adam said “Mum.”

“Hello Kris, Hello Adam. I hope you two are taking care of each other.” Kris’ mother spoke up. “Leila and I were delighted to be asked to do this video. Kris, I know this is a race but make sure you eat regularly and get enough sleep.”

“Mama, “ Kris flushed in embarrassment.

“When Kim said sleep, it was literally to sleep, not doing other activities in bed. Do remember that, Adam.” Adam’s mother added with a smirk on her face.

“This is a torture,“ Adam groaned. “Mum, I love you but please don’t say something like that on the video.”

Their mothers still had a lot to say though. “Remember to wear warm clothes if you go to somewhere cold, Kris. Adam, please make sure he doesn’t wear the same plaid shirt for the whole course of the race.“ Kim said.

“Don’t worry Kim, I’m sure Adam will help Kris in that regard. Now Kris, you know Adam is still trying to do his unnecessary diet. Please let him know he is fine the way he is now. I like my son to be a little plumber actually.”

“Can we fast forward the video?” Adam asked pleadingly.

“The clue said to watch the video until the end. “ Kris said resignedly.

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

Thor was having fun under the sea. There were a lot of amazing things to do. He swam with a school of fish, knocked on giant clam, and chased after giant turtles. His delightful under water adventure was interrupted when a spear flew down in front of him. With a gargle of surprise, he swam above to find his attacker and surfaced next to his boat.

Loki was waiting for him, a spear in hand.

“Brother, did you just attack me with a spear?” Thor asked in bewilderment after he removed his regulator.

“Have you taken the required pictures, Thor?” Loki asked with a fake sweet tone while caressing his spear.

Thor gulped, having totally forgotten his original purpose of diving. “I’ll do that now, brother.”

“Make sure you do or I will send more spears after you.”

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

“I found it, John.” Sherlock spoke from the depth of his fifth hole.

White John sighed in relief and climbed out of his own hole, following Sherlock to the task handler. When Sherlock read the clue to the roadblock, John quickly decided to do the task.

“Are you sure, John?”

“Yes, you have your turn with the skulls. Now it’s my turn with the fish.”

Sherlock’s lips turned downcast. “What am I going to do during your adventure under sea then?”

“I believe you will be able to entertain yourself, Sherlock.” John said cheerfully.

Sherlock sighed and played the video on their camera. The screen showed them a picture of a grumpy pepper haired man.

“Lestrade?” John said in bewilderment.

The man on the screen started talking. “Sherlock, John, I have no idea where you are and what is going on with you two. I just want to state that I do this under duress. Your brother is a terrible person. I can’t believe that I would prefer to deal with you than him.”

Sherlock smirked.

An umbrella entered the screen and nudged the man who proceeded to slap the offending umbrella away. “Really, you two are self-centered, arrogant, and terrible in manners.”

“You make me blushing, Lestrade.” Sherlock said blandly.

“I’m really sorry, Lestrade, “ John said apologetically. “But I can only handle one brother. The other brother is yours.”

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

“We are last. Dead last.” Rodney moaned when Sherlock found the Love Nut.

“We will catch up with them.” Black John promised and dug the sand faster.

Thankfully they managed to find their Love Nut not long after Sherlock and White John departed. Rodney exclaimed loudly and snatched the Love Nut from John’s hand. He hurriedly went toward the task handler and exchanged it with their clue.

“’Who likes to venture under the sea?’ That’s definitely John.” Rodney shoved the clue to John and gestured for him to open the seal quickly.

John ripped open the seal and read it quickly before giving it back to Rodney. Then they went toward the last boat on the shore and received their digital camera. When they played the video, the screen faded into a man wearing glasses, hair disarrayed. The man said something in foreign language.

“What’s Zelenka doing here?” Rodney pointed at the camera’s screen accusingly. “He better not abandon my very important experiments.”

“Hello Rodney, it seems it’s not enough I’m being burdened by your experiments while you are having the time of your life, I also have to spare my time to do this silly video. Lovely.” The man said in sarcastic tone.

“You are just jealous, Zelenka.” Rodney sniffed haughtily.

The man on the video squinted toward the camera, as if looking at something behind the camera. “I have to give Rodney a clue? No, absolutely not. I want him to fail so he can return quickly and take this responsibility off me. As a matter of fact, “ The man loomed over the camera. “Rodney, come back this instant! You should be the one who took care of the new intakes, not me!”

Three men entered the screen. Two of them grabbed Zelenka and dragged the protesting man out of the screen. The remaining man turned to the screen. “The pictures you are looking for are stored in your camera, Si...John.” The man made a face at his last word. He took a breath then continued gamely. “If you two win this race, I demand a share of your winning.”

“What!?” Rodney screeched.

“You two owe me that much for babysitting two whole divisions and doing the paperwork.” The man stared the camera impassively.

“So...” John said when the video was over. “It looks like Zelenka and Lorne aren’t happy with us taking long holiday.”

“That’s an understatement.” Rodney groused.

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

“Steveeee, are you done yet?” Tony shouted into the water, despite knowing Steve couldn’t hear him. “All the team are here now. You better be the first one to come up. I so want to win this round.”

Someone surfaced near his boat. Tony brightened at once but soon turned into disappointment. “You are not Steve.”

“Sorry, no.” Merlin said, having removed his regulator.

“Are you finished? How come you finish quicker than Steve?” Tony demanded.

“Unfortunately, I am not finished. I’m trying to lose my stalker.” Merlin told him. He was about to explain further but was interrupted by a shout.

“Merlin, are you taking a break?” Arthur sounded outraged.

“Am not!” Merlin shouted and put his regulator back. He made a wave and sank under, leaving Tony confused.

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

Under the sea, Steve took picture of the suckerfish which had lost sight of Merlin and went to find his next target.

About twenty feet from him, Thor was chasing his third picture, a blue triggerfish. It was about 50cm in length and has blue strokes all over its body.

The fish was nimble and swam quickly, but Thor maintained his distance with the fish, not wanting to spook it. Thor needed it to reduce its speed so he could take its picture. However, if he got too close, the fish would turn around and bit him. Its bite thankfully wasn’t strong enough break through the diving suit and hurt him. Thor thought fondly that the fish was quite similar to Loki.

Not far from Thor, Kris was taking his first picture of pink soft coral with enthusiasm. He wondered whether he could pick some of the corals. Adam would have loved them.

White John was getting his bearing under water when Black John finally joined the underwater team. Unlike White John, Black John was faster in getting his bearing, having done a lot of beach sport during his younger years. When White John swam toward his first target, Black John was not far behind him. They both went after the same fish, a round-faced batfish. It was quite older, almost 60 cm in length.

Both Johns took a picture of the fish then parted way, trying to find the other four pictures. Kris meanwhile was trying to chase a big turtle for his second picture.

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

Above the water, six teammates were waiting for their respective partner. Some were anxious (Rodney, Adam), some were glaring dagger toward the water as if willing their partners quickly resurface (Arthur, Loki), and some were eminently bored (Sherlock, Tony).

Several minutes passed in silence before Tony gave up waiting and was pacing along the deck. He tried tinkering with the boat controller but was quickly kicked out by the crew and told to stay put on the deck to wait for his partner’s arrival. He was trying to modify a diving mask and helm into a reversed periscope to enable him to spy under the water when Steve emerged and climbed onto the boat.

“Steve!” Tony quickly abandoned his tinkering. “You finished?”

Steve nodded and gave the camera to boat crew. While the crew checked the pictures, Steve removed his diving gear.

“You are the first to come up so if the next one is the pitstop location, we are almost guaranteed to win this leg.” Tony announced happily.

“Maybe, “ Steve said as he removed his fins. “I think Thor is about to finish as well.”

“We better move quickly then.” Tony turned toward the crew checking Steve’s pictures and demanded their clue.

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

Steve’s assumption about Thor was actually correct. Less than a minute after Steve resurfaced, Thor also resurfaced. Loki quickly demanded for the camera, which Thor gave without hesitation. While Thor pulled himself onto the boat, Loki had given the camera to the boat crew to be verified.

The crew scrolled through the pictures then declared that all five pictures were correct. They were given their next clue. Thor removed his helm and mask and ambled toward Loki who had ripped the clue open and was taking out a blue sheet.

“Ask the boat captain to take you to Anse Source d’Argent. Somewhere on its shore is the pit stop for this leg.” Loki read.

“Pit stop!” Thor said happily. “Let us depart, brother.”

“You finish removing your gear. I’ll go to the captain.” Loki said.

Their boat moved away from the gathering spot just a few seconds later than the boat carrying Tony and Steve. Loki asked the boat crew to chase after the first boat and soon they were almost neck to neck with the other boat.

“There’s no way I’m going to let you win, “ Tony yelled and asked his own boat captain to picked up the speed. He tried to bribe the captain to go over the speed limit but it didn’t go well since he currently had no money to back up his offer.

The two boats raced toward Anse Source d’Argent, another beach in La Digue Island. Tony and Steve’s boat was still slightly ahead of Thor and Loki.

Loki moved toward the edge of the deck and looked toward the shore.

“Are you looking for something, brother?” Thor asked. He just finished changing into his own clothes.

“I’m trying to find the umbrella man.” Loki said.

Thor squinted toward the far distance. A few seconds later, he pointed toward a certain direction. “I think he is near the giant rock formation there, brother.”

Loki nodded and asked the boat captain to adjust their course toward the giant rock.

Steve also spotted Mycroft on the beach and told Tony who then asked their captain to adjust the boat course.

Anse Source d’Argent was one of the well known beaches on the island. Mycroft could be seen waiting with a local Seychellois man near the biggest rock. Both boats reached its shore at the same time so it was a foot race toward the finish for the two teams.

Thor and Steve stepped on the mat at the same time. Tony, however, stepped a second later than Loki.

“Aw, fuck, that was so close.” Tony panted. Steve patted his back in consolation.

Loki smiled smugly while Thor hugged him in celebration.

Mycroft let the Seychellois man greeted the two teams before addressing them.

“Thor and Loki, congratulation. You are team number one for this leg.” Mycroft announced. “

“Thank you.” Thor said happily while Loki nodded his acceptance.

“That makes you team number two, Steve and Tony.” Mycroft turned toward Tony and Steve.

“Again.” Tony groused.

“Indeed, second place twice in a row. That’s quite an accomplishment, gentlemen.” Mycroft’s tone turned placating. “You always placed in the top five so far so I am confident you will reach first place, soon.”

“Not as much accomplishment as the first place.” Tony refused to be mollified.

“Of course. That reminds me that I haven’t told the first placed team what they accomplished for winning this leg. “ Mycroft address Thor and Loki. “Congratulation, gentlemen. You have won a trip for two to Alaska where you can take a trip into the Artic and experience Alaska’s native culture.”

“That’s good. I prefer somewhere cold than warm.” Loki looked pleased.

“I am fine either way, as long as Loki is with me.” Thor grinned.

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

Several minutes passed on the pit stop before another team stepped onto the welcoming mat.

“Adam and Kris, you are team number three.” Mycroft announced. “This is the third time in a row that you place third. Do you think you can reach higher position on the next leg?”

Kris laughed. “We will surely try our best. But I have to say that all the contestants are very competitive. If not for Merlin needing to escape a certain enamoured fish, we would have fallen into the fourth place.”

“Speaking of Merlin, here they come.” Mycroft gestured. “Can you make a room for them, gentlemen?”

Adam and Kris shuffled to the left, allowing Merlin and Arthur to step onto the mat.

“Arthur and Merlin, you are team number four.” Mycroft greeted them. “That’s a good climb from the last place.”

“That’s good.” Merlin said in relief. “Now can we try some coconuts? I heard their water is nice to drink. I’m very thirsty after all the hard work.”

“You only need to swim and take some pictures, Merlin.” Arthur snorted. “That’s not a hard work.”

“It is when you have to fend off a fish from pasting its shameless self on you.” Merlin groused. “Oh hey, can we try the Love Nut? It’s edible, right?”

“We have some batty gobble left if you want.” Mycroft said coolly.

Merlin grimaced. “Uhm no, thanks. I think I’ll pass.”

“Oh no, I think that’s a good idea.” Arthur had a gleam on his eyes as he dragged the protesting Merlin away.

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

With four teams already departed, Rodney was getting worried and worried as seconds ticked by. “Come on, John. You better use any beach or marine skills you have there.” He muttered.

Sherlock meanwhile was completely silent and watching the water surface intensely as if willing his own John to resurface at his will.

There were a few minutes of tense silence before one diver resurfaced.

“You better be my John.” Rodney shouted.

Another diver a few seconds later.

“John.” Sherlock spoke up this time.

Black John, who had resurfaced first, quickly climbed onto the boat. Rodney quickly shouted for the boat captain to leave, pointing at the direction the other boats had taken off.

Sherlock also told his boat captain to go once White John plopped down on the deck.

White John said. “I am sorry it took me quite long to finish the task.”

“Nonsense John. I knew Black John would have advantage over you. He is clearly on his element.” Sherlock said. “He has been living near the beach or ocean for the past four years or so.”

“You have deducted it since the first time you saw the teams, haven’t you.” John said, not really surprised.

“Of course.” Sherlock sniffed.

On the other boat, Rodney was bullying the crew to hurry up and finish checking the photo gallery. The said crew threw a glare at Rodney but gave him the clue nevertheless .

“It’s a pit stop.” Rodney stated once he opened the clue.

“That’s good.” Black John said as he removed the last of his diving gear. “Be ready for a foot race, Rodney.”

“Hello? How long have you known me? I’m not a runner. That’s Ronon’s department.” Rodney said. “Our odd to not to lose will be much better if our boat arrive first. I don’t think I can beat those detectives if we arrive at the same time.”

Black John had to agree with Rodney’s assessment. He quickly went to the boat captain to tell their exact destination and also to ask him to pick up the speed.

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

On the shore, Mycroft was watching the two boats approaching. One boat reached the shore first. Rodney and Black John jumped down from it and ran toward him. Behind them, the second boat had just touched the shore. Sherlock and White John quickly disembarked and ran after Rodney and White John.

While the detectives made a good time chasing after the astronauts, they didn’t manage to overcome Rodney and Black John. Sherlock and John arrived at the pit stop a few seconds after Rodney and John touched the mat.

Mycroft announced that John and Rodney as team number five before turning to Sherlock and John.

“Sherlock and John, that makes you the last team to arrive.”

“Obviously.” Sherlock glared at Mycroft.

“Sherlock, don’t be rude.” John tapped the taller detective.

“Just get this over, Mycroft.” Sherlock said.

Mycroft nodded. “Sherlock and John, I’m sorry to say that you have been eliminated.”

Sherlock and John nodded gravely in acceptance.

“I had hoped you two would be one of the three teams to compete in final.” Mycroft actually looked regretful.

“It appears that we weren’t as lucky as the other teams when it came to a task that involved chances and possibilities.” White John said. “But I’m glad I have an opportunity to do this roadblock. The view under there is very beautiful.”

“I guess now that we are out of the race, we can bring that Love Nut home.” Sherlock commented.

“I’m not going to have a woman buttock shaped nut in our apartment, Sherlock.” White John disagreed. ”What would our landlady say!”

“You should have let Sherlock do this roadblock.” Rodney barrelled on and got an elbow from Black John for his insensitive comment.

“Oh no, “ White John gestured at Sherlock. “I know we were going to be later than this if Sherlock was the one to do this task. He would get preoccupied with everything in there and lost track of time.”

Sherlock just harrumphed.

“We are sorry to see you two go, “ Black John said and shook White John’s hands. “I’m back to plain ‘John’, I guess. No more Black or White John.”

“I can call you Black John if you want, not that I ever call you that during this race. But if you miss your long separated-different father and mother-twin, I can always ow—“ Rodney got a smack for his trouble.

“Don’t ruin the moment, Rodney.” Black John said.

White John’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “He doesn’t. Sherlock is more bad-mannered than Rodney. I would say I’m used to it.

“Hey.” Rodney protested. “I’m well mannered!”

“My manner is impeccable.” Sherlock said haughtily. “I just don’t use it often.”

White John rolled his eyes while Black John snorted. They then ushered their respective partner toward the rest area.

Notes:

Another pair of gorgeous men leaving the race. I'm sad to see them go. This pairing has had some votes but unfortunately they got the least vote of all other pairings.

Now the voting board has been reset to zero once again. Please vote to keep your favorite pairing racing.

PS : to a certain anonymous, I hope you don't mind I incorporate your idea slightly different. I know you are asking for a baby Peter but I can't find any justification how Steve and Tony left their baby to have holiday for themselves, thus teenage Peter make an appearance.

Chapter 13: Leg 7 Beginning

Notes:

Sorry for the delay. I hadn't got time to write for the past week. That said, here is the start of leg 7. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Seychelles represents an archipelago of legendary beauty which lies east of Africa and a melting pot of different races, traditions and religions from the four corners of the earth. It was also the sixth pit stop in the race around the world. The fifth remaining teams would depart from here after the mandatory rest period.

Loki and Thor
1st to depart at 1:02 AM

Having won the last leg of the race, Loki and Thor departed first while Tony and Steve would have to wait for a minute interval.

Thor opened their first clue of the day and read it eagerly. “Fly to Istanbul, Turkey and search for your clue at Kabatas Ferry Terminal.“

“I was hoping for somewhere colder, “ Loki commented and took the clue from Thor to read the detail.

“We need to make haste to the airport, brother.” Thor said as he shouldered his backpack.

“We will have to take a helicopter to Mahe island and then a taxi to the airport.” Loki said after reading the detail. “First, we have to find the helipad on this island. “

Steve and Tony
2nd to depart at 1:03 AM

“Turkey, not bad.“ Tony said after Steve finished reading the clue. “I think you will love the architecture there, Steve.”

Steve smiled. “We’ll see. Now, we have to find the helipad.”

“Where is it? How to find it in the middle of the night?” Tony looked at the darkness around him dubiously.

Steve looked around and pointed at the row of bicycles not far from them. “I think we can use those bicycles.”

The bicycles were old models and had back seat installed on each of them. Loki and Thor were seen approaching the bikes as well.

“Well, at least it’s not an ox.” Tony sighed and made a note to invent a portable scooter sometimes later.

They reached the bikes and watched as Thor and Loki struggled to ride their bicycles.

“Seriously?” Tony grinned. “You two never rode a bicycle before? From what a planet are you from?”

Loki shot Tony a dark look while Thor was getting the hang of his bicycle.

Tony grinned wider and waved cockily as he rode his bicycle passed them.

“Remember the hare and the tortoise, Tony.” Steve reminded his partner.

“Yesterday is just a fluke.” Tony said in dismissal. “Don’t you watch Looney Tunes, Steve? Bugs Bunny always wins!”

“I know Bugs Bunny, it was born in Brooklyn, after all.” Steve said and pedalled on his bike. “Anyway, it’s a cartoon, Tony. Its rival is a duck, not a tortoise.”

“Duck or tortoise, it’s the same.” Tony said and rode the bicycle merrily.

However, much to Tony’s dismay, Thor was already zooming on the road with his bicycle a few minutes later, thanks to his superb physical coordination. Loki smirked at Tony from the back seat, having dumped his bicycle and chose to ride with Thor instead.

“Not fair!” Tony shouted as he pedalled his bicycle faster, trying to catch up with the brothers.

Steve just threw an ‘I told you so’ look at Tony’s back.

Adam and Kris
3rd to depart at 1:09 AM

“Bicycle bicycle bicycle, “ Kris sang as he pedalled his bicycle. “I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle.”

“You are singing a Queen’s song.” Adam said, charmed. “You are singing a Queen’s song, in the middle of the night.”

Kris grinned at Adam and kept singing. “You say black I say white. You say bark I say bite.”

“Will you marry me?” Adam asked reverently.

Kris just laughed.

Arthur and Merlin
4th to depart at 1:11 AM

Arthur planned for them to ride their own bicycles. However, after watching Merlin flailing to steady his bicycle, Arthur ordered him to ride behind him.

Merlin happily plopped his butt on the back seat of Arthur’s bicycle and enjoyed the night air as Arthur rode the bicycle.

Soon Merlin was snoring on Arthur’s back with his hands around Arthur’s waist

“You are the worst serv…partner ever, Merlin.” Arthur said in exasperated fondness.

Merlin made some noise and continued sleeping.

“You better not drooling or I’m going to dock your pay for my ruined shirt.” Arthur muttered.

John and Rodney
Last to depart at 1: 20 AM

“Oh god! Slow down, Watch out for the bush!” Rodney shouted from the back seat. “This contraption is not designed to run 200 miles per hour!”

“Relax, Rodney!” John said from where he was pedalling on the front and made a sharp turn at the intersection.

Rodney shrieked. “I should have ridden my own bicycle!”

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

Seychelles International Airport
3:00 AM

The teams arrived at the airport and found out that the airport was still closed. They huddled together at the closed main entrance and waited for it to open.

At 4:30 AM, a guard came from inside and opened the door for the team. All five teams hurried toward the ticket counters and started planning their route. Since Seychelles was quite removed from other continents, the flights offered were limited. The teams had to make a connecting flight to Dubai or to Doha. Either flight would arrive at Istanbul at 5.35 PM.

Loki & Thor and Steve & Tony took the last seats on the flight to Dubai so the remaining teams took the flight to Doha.

Unlucky for the first two teams, their flight from Dubai to Istanbul was delayed for fifteen minutes due to one passenger arriving late. Loki and Tony took turns pranking the said passenger during the flight, locking him at the toilet (Loki) and messing his entertainment monitor (Tony). Steve gave them a half heartedly scolding while Thor slept the whole trip away.

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

Ataturk International Airport
5:35 PM

The first team to clear the airport custom was John and Rodney.

“Taxi, taxi, taxi!” Rodney said as he hurriedly headed toward the exit door. He was stopped by John, who pulled him toward opposite direction. “John, what are you doing!? We have to hurry!”

“We are taking the train, Rodney.” John said. “Kaan said it’s faster during the rush hours.”

“Kaan? That’s the boy you were flirting with on the plane, right?” Rodney asked accusingly. “You believe a scatterbrain like him?”

“Considering he has been living his whole life in Istanbul, yes I believe him.” John dragged Rodney toward the underground train platform. “And lay off the flirting accusation or I won’t help you with your next experiment.”

“I’m attempting to curt your flirting.” Rodney grumbled. “I can always knock you cold, I don’t need you conscious for my experiment….”

John narrowed his eyes. “Rodney…”

“Just kidding!”

At the train stop, they were joined by Arthur and Merlin, who had gotten the travel tip from the passenger sitting next to him.

“I don’t see Kris and Adam, “ Rodney said after looking around.

“I think I saw them heading toward taxi stand, “ Arthur responded.

“Let’s see who will arrive first, then.” Merlin said eagerly. “I hope there will be a task involving Turkish Delights. I’m starving!”

Arthur snorted. “You are always starving, Merlin.”

“Why didn’t you ask for another serving on the plane? Their lamb is great.” Rodney patted his stomach meaningfully.

“Lamb? You got lamb? Why did I only get chicken?” Merlin asked in consternation and turned to Arthur with accusing look.

“I asked for chicken for both of us.” Arthur admitted freely without any ounce of guilt.

Merlin looked murderous. “Where was I during this decision making?”

“You were drooling on my shoulder.” Arthur raised an eyebrow while Merlin looked sheepish. “And when I tried to wake you, you mumbled ‘whatever’ and continued drooling on my shirt.”

“Well, considering the thick muscles you have there, you must be a great pillow.” Rodney patted Arthur’s shoulder and gave it calculating look. “Too bad, John’s is too bony to be a comfortable pillow.”

“Hey, no touching my pillow.” Merlin protested and patted Arthur’s shoulder possessively.

Meanwhile, John narrowed his eyes and dragged Rodney away from Arthur.

The train arrived a few minutes later and took the two teams away toward their next destination, the Kabatas Ferry Terminal.

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

Above the ground, Adam and Kris were in a taxi. They had left the airport district and entered the metropolitan area. A few minutes later found them stuck in the traffic jam.

“Why so many traffic?” Adam looked at his watch and groaned. “Don’t tell me. It’s rush hour.”

Their taxi driver nodded in confirmation.

“I hope the other teams are also stuck in the traffic.” Adam sighed.

“They might have taken the train. We haven’t since them after clearing the custom.” Kris pointed out. He turned toward their driver. “Is it faster to go by train to Kabatas Ferry Terminal?”

“yes yes, at this hour, yes.” The taxi driver answered.

“Is there a train station near here?” Kris asked.

The driver nodded and gestured to his left. “About one hundred meter.”

“We should get into the train then.” Kris decided and paid the taxi driver, giving him a lot of extra tip. “We are really sorry to leave you in the traffic, but we are in a hurry.”

“Iyi sanslar (good luck)” The taxi driver waved them away, obviously happy with his tip.

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

Back at the airport, the plane from Dubai finally landed and discharged the last two teams. Both teams headed toward the train platform, thanks to Loki and Steve’s information gathering during the flight. At the same time, a certain late passenger was still stuck inside the plane, having been unable to detach his safety belt and was forced to ask for help.

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

The first two teams, Rodney & John and Arthur & Merlin arrived at Kabatas Ferry Terminal.

“That’s the clue box!” Rodney shouted with enthusiasm and pointed at the clue box near the building’s pillar.

Both team hurriedly went there and took out a yellow envelope. It contained a blue sheet, another route info for the team.

“Welcome to Europe, now make your way back to Asia.” Rodney read. “What? Back to Asia!?”

“Take the ferry to Uskudar Terminal and search for another clue there.” Arthur said as he finished reading the clue. “They are leading us on a merry chase for this leg.”

“So we have to take the ferry from here.” John studied his surrounding then leaded the way toward the ferry terminal entrance. He asked the ferry crew when the ship would depart and was told it would depart in five minutes.

“Reckon, Kris and Adam will make it?” Merlin asked as they stood at the ferry’s deck.

“Maybe, if the traffic is not too horrible.” John replied.

However, Kris and Adam didn’t make it. They arrived just as the ferry left the dock, Merlin and the others waving at them from the ferry.

“They obviously took the train.” Adam said as they waved back to the other teams.

“Let’s see when the next ferry will depart.” Kris said.

Luckily for them, there was another ferry which would depart in ten minutes. They got onto the ferry and found out they were the only passengers for the trip. “This is like an exclusive ferry just for us. “ Kris grinned and enjoyed the sea view. He moved toward the ship’s bow and threw his arms wide open.

“I’m the king of the world! “ Kris shouted.

“I take my proposal back.” Adam said between his laughs. “I don’t want to marry someone so corny.”

“Corny? Titanic is a very romantic movie, Adam.”

“Wait, your mama let you watch it?” Adam asked in surprise. “How old were you at that time? Twelve?”

“Of course, not.” Kris blushed. “I watch it years later, with Cathy.”

“Aw, I bet you remember the whole lyric of Celine’s song, don’t you, Kris?”

“Shut up, Adam.”

“Every night in my dreams, “ Adam sang, “I see you, I feel you.”

“You know the lyric!” Kris said in surprise.

Adam gave him a grin and kept singing. “That is how I know you go on”

Kris melted. “Your voice is very nice, Adam.”

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

On the first ferry, Rodney was hanging onto the side of the ship and poured his stomach’s content.

Merlin looked ill around the gills and quickly left John to take care of Rodney.

“Why are you only now getting sea sick? You were fine when we were in Seychelles yesterday.” John wondered as he held onto Rodney, keeping him from getting overboard.

“How should I know?” Rodney moaned and clutched onto the side deck.

“This maybe the lamb’s revenge, Rodney.”

Rodney managed to level a death glare at John before he turned his head toward the sea and threw up again.

“Rodney doesn’t look too good.” Merlin commented as he sat down next to Arthur.

“That might slow them down.” Arthur looked thoughtful.

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

Tony & Steve and Loki & Thor arrived at the ferry terminal not long after Kris and Adam departed. They have to wait for several minutes before the next ferry would take them to the Asia side of Istanbul.

“This is a great way to travel!” Thor boomed and watched as their ferry left the dock.

“Yes, it is.” Steve agreed with Thor as they stood side by side and enjoyed the sea breeze. Tony mumbled that his ship was better than this but quickly shut up when Steve elbowed his side.

Meanwhile, Loki had opted to stay inside and persuaded the crew to go faster. His pleas (lies) seemed to work as the ferry ran faster than usual.

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

Uskudar Ferry Terminal
Asia side of Istanbul, Turkey

Arthur and Merlin
Commoners

Arthur and Merlin jumped down from the ferry first and quickly headed toward the clue box they had seen before the ferry finished docking.

Merlin took out a yellow envelope from the clue box and ripped it open. It contained another route info.

“Go to Misir Carsisi and search for the marked ice cream stall nearby. Ask the vendor for an ice cream and eat it to get your next clue.” Merlin read.

“Misir Casisi must be a place. Let’s find a cab and ask the driver to take us there.” Arthur said.

They managed to get a cab quite easily. From the driver, they found out that Misir Casisi was a large shopping complex.

“There must be a lot of ice cream vendor, there.” Arthur pondered. “We have to make sure to find the marked one.”

“I don’t mind if we get it wrong. More ice cream for me, “ Merlin looked dreamy.

Arthur slapped his partner back to the real world.

John and Rodney
Geeky Astronauts

Rodney and John jumped down the ferry a few minutes behind Arthur and Merlin, due to Rodney needing some time to get his bearing back. He totally recovered when he read the clue. “Ice cream! I don’t mind eating ice cream!”

“I just hope it’s not durian flavoured again, “ John made a face at the remembered taste.

It took them a while to find a cab and by the time they arrived at Misir Carsisi and found the marked ice cream stall, Merlin and Arthur were already in the process of gobbling down their ice cream.

“You just got here?” Rodney asked in surprise. “I thought you are finished with the ice cream already.”

“Ask for the ice cream and you will see.” Arthur said.

“No weird flavours?” John asked dubiously.

“Mmno, “ Merlin said between his licks. “Mine is pistachio and caramel.”

John made a face. Arthur gave him a sympathetic look.

“You can choose among eight flavours, “ Arthur gestured at the stall. It has eight barrels on it and the merchant was stirring a long rod in one of the barrels.

Rodney quickly looked at each hole which contained different flavour. “Give me the chocolate and avocado, then.”

The merchant grinned. “As you wish.” He twirled his rod. The rod has a shovel like scooped on one end and he used it to scoop the ice cream and put it on a cone. He gave it to Rodney who extended his hand eagerly. When Rodney grasped the cone, the merchant pulled the ice cream back using the rod, leaving an empty scone on Rodney’s hand.

“Hey!” Rodney protested.

“Ah my bad, “ The merchant smiled. He put the ice cream back on the cone and turned it upside down.

“It’s going to fall!” Rodney hurriedly extended both hands to catch the ice cream.

However, the ice cream didn’t fall. It was glued to the cone as the merchant twirled it upside down in teasing manner.

“Stop joking.” Rodney looked irritated and made a grab for his ice cream. The merchant pulled back and inserted his rod back into one of the barrels.

“Give me my ice cream now!” A rapidly purpling Rodney demanded.

The merchant gave him a very apologetic look and pulled his rod. This time he took out the entire ice cream dough with the rod and held the taffy liked dough out to Rodney.

John watched the ice cream trick in amusement. “So this is what took you quite long.”

Arthur and Merlin nodded as they watched Rodney getting more and more aggravated as the merchant moved the ice cream away every time Rodney made a grab for it. Thankfully the merchant could read Rodney’s limit and finally gave him his ice cream. Rodney quickly clutched his ice cream tightly near his chest and moved away from the evil merchant.

John stepped forward then and asked for his ice cream. Apparently, the merchant only did one trick per team so John got his ice cream straight away, much to Rodney’s dismay.

Adam and Kris
Singers

Adam and Kris arrived at the ice cream vendor just as Arthur and Merlin finished their ice cream. They asked for their ice cream and watched as the merchant performed his trick. Kris laughed when the merchant pulled his ice cream back and left him an empty scone. Adam looked worried when the merchant gave him the entire dough of ice cream.

“We don’t have to eat it all, do we?” Adam said warily.

The merchant laughed and put the whole dough back into its barrel. Adam let out a relief sigh. After a few more tricks, the merchant finally gave them the ice cream. Adam and Kris gave the merchant applause then settled to enjoy their ice cream.

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

Steve and Tony
Super Husbands

At Uskudar Ferry Terminal, Steve and Tony had taken their clue and managed to get a cab first.

“Another task involving ice cream? I hope the flavour is much more improved this time.” Tony commented.

“My feeling says that the flavour won’t be the problem here.” Steve gave his two cents.

Loki and Thor
Brothers

Thor and Loki was the last team to leave the ferry but they managed to get a cab not long after Steve and Tony. Loki gave the cab driver some extra money and soon they were right behind the husbands.

“We are coming, my dear ice cream!” Thor bellowed.

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

Back at Misir Carsisi, Merlin and Arthur had received their next clue and opened it. This time it contained a yellow sheet.

“It’s a Detour. “ Merlin said excitedly.

Arthur took out the sheet and read the instruction. “Simit or Scrub. In Simit, teams have to stack 200 simit breads and deliver them to three nearby locations using traditional method. In Scrub, teams have to pick up their bathing equipment and went to Turkish bathhouse where teams will be cleansed by the bath attendants.”

“Let’s do Scrub!” Merlin decided. “I want to know how it feels to be attended while bathing!”

“There’s nothing special about that.” Arthur said.

Merlin gave him a look. “For you, maybe. For me, this is a rare occasion. Now where should we pick our bathing equipment?”

Arthur read the clue details. “According to this, we have to find shop number 14 inside Misir Carsisi.”

“Let’s do it, then.”

The shopping complex was quite large and it took them a while to find stall number 14. However, the seller looked confused when Arthur asked for bathing equipment.

Merlin looked at the rows of sweets and spices in front of the shop. “I don’t think this is the right shop, Arthur.”

“It is, Merlin.” Arthur said stubbornly. “It’s said so in the clue.”

“Let me see the clue, again.” Merlin reached out to take the clue from Arthur but the shop merchant interrupted them.

“Turkish delight?” The merchant said as he held up a box full of sweets.

“No, thank you.” Arthur said distractedly as he opened the clue back.

”That looks delicious.” Merlin said, salivating.

“Only for ten liras!” The merchant stated eagerly.

“Ten liras …” Merlin contemplated the price. “How about two box for ten liras.”

The merchant looked affronted. “This is a high quality product.”

“I know.” Merlin said placatingly. “So two box for ten liras?”

The merchant gave him a dirty look.

“This is no time for shopping, Merlin.” Arthur scolded him.

“There is time while you found out where you read the detail wrong.” Merlin pointed out. “We do need to buy some souvenir for people at home, so why not now.”

Arthur grumbled but focused on the clue detail while Merlin resumed his haggling with the merchant. He reread the instruction and made an affronted noise when he came upon one particular detail.

“Found your mistake?” Merlin asked as he gave ten liras to the merchant who reluctantly gave him two boxes of Turkish Delight.

“Not a mistake, just a slight confusion.” Arthur said. “It’s stall number 41, not 14.”

“Hah! You made a mistake, admit it!” Merlin said as he stuffed his purchase into his backpack.

“Shut up, Merlin!” Arthur said.

Their ‘slight’ caused them some time in which Rodney and John caught up at them. Having chosen to do Scrub as well, John and Rodney arrived at stall number 41 at the same time as Arthur and Merlin.

“You just arrived? Were you lost?” Rodney said.

“Nah, Arthur just had a slight confusion.” Merlin said and got poked on the ribs by Arthur for his cheekiness.

After receiving their bathing equipments and getting the detail of their next location, both teams raced out of the shopping complex and back to their waiting cabs.

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

Tony & Steve and Thor & Loki arrived at the ice cream stall just as Kris and Adam finished reading their clue.

The singers decided to do the Scrubs and went inside the shopping complex to gather their bathing equipment.

At the stall, Tony studied the ice cream flavours. “Caramel, pistachio, chocolate, vanilla, nothing special. Kaymak, that’s unique, I’ll try that one. Oooh, they have coffee as well. Okay, kaymak and coffee please!”

“Tony, do you know what kaymak is?” Steve asked warily.

“Not at all, but it sounds good.” Tony said.

The merchant scooped Tony’s chosen flavours with his long rod and started doing his tricks. At first, Tony looked entertained but he soon got bored. “Look, I’ll pay you double if you give the ice cream to me right now.”

“Tony, no! Let him finish his performance.“ Steve protested.

“This is just some cheap tricks, Steve.” Tony said.

“I like it.” Steve defended the merchant. “And also, you can’t waste our money like that. We are on a budget.”

“Budget…never thought I would be on budget…” Tony sighed. “Oh very well, do go on, Sir.”

The merchant sent a glare at Tony before giving a beaming smile at Steve. After his performance, Tony got a miniscule scoop while Steve got a big scoop from him. And if the merchant performed a little longer than usual, no one called him on it.

While Steve and Tony enjoyed their ice cream, Loki and Thor took their turns.

The merchant was ready to do his last performance and had decided to do all the big tricks. He was disappointed though, because just as he was about to twirl his ice cream, Thor’s hand shot out and managed to grab the ice cream cone and detached it from the rod.

“I got it, brother! Just like you say.” Thor said happily.

“Good, now get another one for me, “ Loki said. “Let’s see if our ice cream vendor can do his trick properly this time.”

The ice cream merchant narrowed his eyes and twirled his rod in answer for the challenge. Ten seconds later, he watched Loki licked the ice cream in dismay. Thor had managed to snatch the second ice cream before he began his tricks.

“You can’t trick a trickster, “ Loki smirked and enjoyed his ice cream.

“I have finished my ice cream, brother!” Thor said. “It’s really delicious. I want another!”

“You can have extra if you can get it from our slow vendor, “ Loki said.

The ice cream merchant growled and stepped up to the challenge.

Fifteen seconds later found Thor happily licking his second ice cream while the merchant looked depressed. Steve patted the merchant’s back in consolation while Tony made a note never to do physical challenge with Thor.

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

The first two teams arrived at their destined bathhouse. Outside, it looks like a restaurant with waiting chairs in front of the main door. It was totally different in the inside, though. The floor was covered with marbles. The roof was shaped like a large dome decorated with small glass windows that created a half-light. It also contained a large marble stone at the centre of the room and niches with fountains in each corner.

When the four men came inside, they were welcomed by ten young male attendants, standing in a row. All of them only had a towel wrapped on their lower bodies, leaving their upper bodies bare.

“Oh, wow. “ Merlin said in excitement. “You must be our bath attendants. What a sight for sore eyes.”

Arthur sent Merlin a dangerous look at the comment. He looked back at the male attendants and pointed at the slender and plain looking guy. “You will attend Merlin.”

“Hey, I can choose for myself.” Merlin protested.

“This is not up for negotiation.” Arthur pushed Merlin toward the thin attendant while picking another attendant randomly for him.

Rodney meanwhile was studying each of the attendants critically. “I need to choose someone who is an expert and can give me skilled massage.”

John ruined his observation by dumping their sacks on two most left attendants. “Let go with them, Rodney.”

“What? I haven’t finished studying them!”

“It will take you half a day to decide your perfect attendant and you won’t still be satisfied with him. We don’t have time for that.” John said and gestured toward the attendants. “What should we do now?”

The attendants stepped forward and opened the sacks that contained their bathing equipment. They took out a brown towel and gave them to Rodney and John. “Please remove your clothes and use this towel to cover your lower body.”

“We have to be naked?” Rodney said, aghast.

“It is called a bath, Rodney.” John drawled.

“This is sexual harassment! “ Rodney protested as he was pushed toward the changing room.

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

Misir Carsisi
Istanbul Turkey

Having chosen to do Scrub, Tony and Steve were scouring the shopping complex for stall number 41. They got to the stall with record time and received their bathing equipment without any problem. It was when they had gotten out of the shopping complex that they encountered a problem.

“Where is our cab?” Tony looked around.

“I don’t see it.” Steve responded, also looking around.

They walked around and looked for their cab for a few minutes but they didn’t find it.

“I don’t believe this, “ Tony said. “The driver bailed on us!”

“He said he would wait for us, “ Steve looked disappointed.

Tony looked at the blond man warily. “You didn’t leave anything in the cab, did you, Steve?”

“No, I put all our stuff in my backpack here.” Steve used his chin to gesture at the backpack on his shoulder.

“Oh, uhm..” Tony hesitated. “Is this a good time to say that I may have left something in the cab?”

Notes:

Someone asked whether there would be a epilogue where all casts can relax and discover each other's identities. I would say it's a big possibility for the epilogue. But first, let's finish the race. As with the previous legs, your votes for your favorite pairing will help them keep on racing. Look forward to your votes and comments ^_^

Chapter 14: Leg 7 End

Notes:

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm sorry for the late posting. I was busy in RL during the holiday and only a few days ago got access of my computer and internet. I hope you will enjoy the conclusion of this leg. Happy reading!

Steve and Tony
Currently in the 4th place

“You left something in the cab?” Steve repeated in disbelief. “You brought your backpack with you.” Steve gestured at the backpack on Tony’s shoulders. “What did you leave instead?”

“Remember the small plastic bag I carried from the airport? I bought something on the plane at the last minute and didn’t have time to stuff it into my backpack, so I hand carried it all this time.”

“What’s in the bag?” Steve asked.

Tony looked shifty at the question. “It’s just some souvenir I bought on a whim.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “You left it in the cab so it wouldn’t attract my attention.”

“Of course not, “ Tony protested weakly. “I just don’t want to carry it around, it’s quite fragile.”

“Fragile and something I might disapprove? It’s a drink, isn’t it?” Steve guessed.

Tony’s wince told that Steve had guessed it correctly.

“In that case, it’s good thing the cab made away with it.” Steve said solemnly. “Justice is served.”

“There’s no justice in this case, “ Tony protested. “I paid good money for that small bottle of wine.”

“I’m sure it’s just a small pocket change for you, Tony.” Steve showed total lack of sympathy to Tony’s lose. “Now let’s concentrate on the race. We need to find a new cab.”

Tony grumbled but followed Steve anyway.

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

Adam and Kris
Currently in the 3rd place

The singers arrived in the bath house just in time to hear Rodney’s shriek. “It’s cold! Are you trying to freeze my heart!?”

“Don’t be a baby, Rodney. Antartica is much colder than this.” John’s voice trailed out.

“I had triple heat layer clothes while we were in Antartica. Now, my only protection is just a flimsy excuse of cloth.” There was a splash of water, followed by Rodne’s squeal. “Can’t you heat the water before splashing me with it?!”

“I’m enjoying this. “ Merlin’s voice joined Rodney and John. “No wonder Arthur likes to ask for a bath massage. This is really a great way for relaxation.”

“You should learn from them, Merlin. They give better massage than you.” Arthur spoke up.

“I’m not a masseur. You can import one of them from here, if you are so inclined.” Merlin let out a satisfied groan. “Yes, right there. Push it harder.”

Arthur made an objecting noise but it was soon lost among the splashing sounds.

Adam and Kris had gone to the changing room during the conversation. Kris stepped out first with the towel wrapped around him waist. Adam had to stay behind calm his raging hard on at the sight of Kris’ bare chest.

Kris meanwhile was oblivious to his friend’s drooling. He looked excited, swaying slightly in his eagerness. “Let’s go, Adam. This task sounds fun!”

Adam reluctantly stepped out of the changing room and tried to look everywhere but at a half naked Kris. “I really hope it’s not as cold as Rodney said.”

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

Loki and Thor
Currently in the last place

While he liked cold weather, Loki didn’t like getting wet if not necessary. His preference led him and Thor to choose the other side of detour, Simit. They had found the bakery rather easily and quickly started the task. They had to arrange Simit bread on the required position before being allowed to deliver them to the three assigned locations. Loki decided to do the stacking while Thor was distracted trying to see how many Simit breads he could stuff in his mouth.

It was obvious that Loki was in his element as he stacked the Simit bread quickly without tipping the stack over. He finished the stacking less than three minutes.

After the Simit seller approved of his arrangement, Loki called Thor to him and ordered him to carry the breads on his head. Thor lifted the round tray containing 200 Simit breads easily and placed it on his head. The seller gave the three delivery locations to Loki and off they went to deliver the Simits.

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

Arthur and Merlin
Currently in the 1st place

“Are we done?” Merlin asked in disappointed tone when the bath attendant asked him to stand up from where he was lying on the marble stone in the center of the room.

His attendant shook his head in negative and gestured toward one of the fountains in the corner, saying. “Rinsing first.”

“This is not my favorite part of this bathing thing.” Merlin stood up reluctantly and held onto his towel to keep his modesty. He stood near the fountain and braced himself. The attendant scooped the cold fountain water with a washbasin and splashed Merlin with it from head to toe.

“It’s really cold, “ Merlin said with chattering teeth.

Arthur, who had joined Merlin for rinsing, threw him a superior look. “You don’t have enough fat to warm yourself. You are too thin, MERlin.”

Arthur’s attendant chose that time to pull Arthur’s towel and dump cold water on Arthur’s groin.

Arthur jumped and yelped loudly.

Merlin sniggered. “I guess that part of yours is quite thin, then?”

John snickered at the comment.

Arthur glared at Merlin, at his bath attendant, at John, and at the other occupants inside, daring them to say another word.

Kris and Adam looked away from the scene and pretended they didn’t hear the exchange.

Rodney was totally oblivious to all of this. He was busy complaining every squeeze and pull his bath attendant made.

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

Loki managed to charm a teenage girl and get her to draw a map to three locations. To be honest, the girl was torn between staring at Loki and ogling Thor. She settled for doing both alternately as she drew the map.

Loki waited patiently as the girl drew the map and let her hug Thor as their thank you before whisking Thor and the Simit breads stacked above his head to their first drop off point.

“Thor, you are not touching any Simit on your head.” Loki warned as he navigated through the streets.

Behind him, Thor withdrew his reaching hand guiltily and put it back to steady the bread tray. “Just one, brother.”

“No, I’m not going back to the seller just because we are short of one Simit.” Loki looked back and shot Thor a stern look.

Thor gave his brother a puppy look.

“It’s still a no.” Loki warned.

“I don’t think one less Simit will matter, brother.” Thor cajoled his brother

“It will matter, “ Loki said then stopped in front of an old house. "This is our first delivery. Get in, Thor.”

The house had a small door. Thor, with his tall body, had to squat down and be very careful so that the Simits above his head could pass through the door.

Once inside, Loki gestured for Thor to put the bread tray on the table where an old guy was waiting.

“Delivery for you, Sir, “ announced Loki.

“I’ll have to count them, “ said the old guy. He started taking the Simits one by one and transferred them to a basket. “One, two, three…”

Thor watched mournfully as his stack of Simits getting lower and lower.

“58, 59, 60. Okay, that’s it.” The old guy announced.

Loki gave him the receipt he received from the Simit seller. It had three empty boxes and the words ‘Simit Delivery’ on top of it. The old guy put his stamp on the first box and waved them away.

Thor quickly snatched his tray and put it back on his head, afraid the old man would change his mind and took more.

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

Tony and Steve arrived at the bathhouse with their new cab and met Arthur, Merlin, John, and Rodney who were just finishing their baths.

“Are there other teams still in there?” Steve asked.

“The singers are, “ Arthur answered.

“Anything we should know?” Tony asked.

“Beware of the water, “ Merlin said, grinning.

Tony threw him a doubtful look.

“They are trying to give us pneumonia, “ Rodney griped.

Tony and Steve looked at each other and decided to see for themselves. They chose their bath attendants and continued into the inner rooms while the other teams were putting on their clothes.

Inside, they met Kris and Adam who greeted them then yelped as their bath attendants splashed the singers with water.

“That cold?” Tony raised an eyebrow in disbelief and sputtered when his own bath attendant splashed him with cold water.

Having watched his teammate, Steve politely and sternly asked his bath attendant to not splash him with the water. He didn’t like cold water and would like it better if the water was in normal temperature.

The bath attendant just tilted his head and threw the cold water at him. Steve sputtered and retreated far from his bath attendant’s reach.

Kris looked at him apologetically. “They only understand basic English.”

“Beside, you don’t think we have tried asking nicely?” Adam said and shuddered as he got his own douse of cold water. “It didn’t work.”

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

The day turned dark as Loki waited impatiently for the second Simit seller to finish counting his portion. Thor meanwhile looked at his rapidly dwindling Simit bread forlornly. This second seller had taken 70 breads, leaving 70 Simit breads on the tray. Thor was really worried that the third seller would require 70 breads. That meant he would get none of the breads. He looked around and noticed Loki was busy waiting for the guy to put a stamp on the receipt.

Deciding Loki’s attention was fully on the seller, Thor reached out, intending to take one Simit. Just one little Simit....

“Thor!” Loki said sternly.

Thor looked back at his brother, his expression as guilty as a kid caught with his hand in cookie jar.

Loki narrowed his eyes. “No means no.”

Thor shuffled back and hung his head repentantly.

“Honestly, haven’t you had enough Simit breads while I was doing the stacking before?” Loki said in irritation.

“Those breads are the only sustenance I have since we left Seychelles. Have a heart, brother.”

“That’s your own fault for sleeping through the flight.” Loki had no sympathy for Thor’s plight. “Now mind the bread. We only have one more place to deliver.”

“I’ll pray for this last seller’s benevolence that he will leave some Simits for me.” Thor said as he put the Simit tray back on his head.

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

Outside the bathhouse, Rodney and John ripped open the clue they received from their bath attendant. Rodney took out the blue route sheet and read it loudly. “Now it’s time to explore the Europe side of Turkey. WHAT!? We have to go back to Europe side!? I’m not going back on that horrible ferry!!”

While Rodney broadcasted his ire loudly, John kept reading the clue. “Go to Rumeli Castle and search for your next clue. Caution, yield ahead. Hm, ” John mused, “Another yield. Should we use it?”

“Forget about the yield. I’m not going back on that ferry! Do you hear me, John? I’m not going back!“ Rodney exclaimed.

“The clue doesn’t give us any travel restriction, Rodney.” John waved the clue at him. “I’d say it’s safe to take a cab to go there.”

“Oh, thank god.” Rodney heaved in relief and quickly dragged John away, shouting, “Taxi, taxi, taxi!”

Not far away from them, Arthur and Merlin also had finished reading the clue.

“Should we take ferry or keep using the cab?” Merlin asked.

“Of course we are using the cab. Why are you even asking?” Arthur said.

“Careful, your snobbishness is showing, Arthur.” Merlin pointed his finger to Arthur. “And I’m asking because we were given advice to take train at the airport due to heavy traffic. If the traffic situation is still the same, don’t you think it will be smarter for us to use ferry instead?”

Arthur frowned. “You have a point.”

“I usually do.” Merlin said drolly.

“And your point usually sucks.”

“Did not! You just won’t admit my point is very helpful for you!”

“Shut up, Merlin.” Arthur gathered their backpacks. “Ask the cab to take us back to the ferry terminal.”

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

Loki finally got the third seller to put the final stamp on his receipt. To Thor’s delight, the seller only took 50 Simits, leaving Thor with 20 Simits which he quickly stuffed into his mouth. Sighing in exasperation, Loki dragged his busily chewing brother back toward the bakery to exchange the receipt with their next clue.

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

“Adam, “ Kris poked the boneless Adam. “Adam, come on. Stand up.”

Adam moaned from the marble stone he was sprawled upon, face down. “Don’t wanna.”

Kris chuckled. “You enjoyed the massage, didn’t you? Too bad, time is up. Come on, get up.”

Adam grumbled but he finally got up and shuffled toward one of the fountains. His bath attendant was there already, a bucket of cold water in hand. Adam gritted his teeth and stood still as the cold water hit him.

“Really, how can you bear that silently?” Tony watched from where he was just getting his massage and gestured at Steve. “Even the tough guy here yelped when splashed with the cold water.”

“Maybe he likes the cold water, Tony.” Steve said. He was back to his laid-back self now that no cold water was involved.

Adam didn’t like the cold water but he was thankful because the coldness helped him control a certain part of his body which usually betrayed him when offered the view of half naked Kris. So no, Adam wouldn’t be complaining about cold water.

Kris meanwhile took the cold water like it was a fun experience, laughing and shaking the water off him.

Adam stared at Kris’ water dripped body then gestured to his bath attendant to hit him with cold water again.

Five minutes later, he and Kris finished the bathing task and waved their goodbye to Steve and Tony.

“It’s dark outside.” Adam exclaimed as he and Kris got out of the bathing house.

“It’s evening already, “ Kris checked out his watch. “8.05 PM, as a matter of fact. I hope the pit stop it’s not far from here.”

Adam held out the clue they received from their bath attendants. “If this contains a roadblock, then pit stop usually is not far behind.”

Kris took the clue and ripped it open.

“We are going back to the Europe side. “ Kris exclaimed.

“Back to the ferry terminal, then?” Adam asked, looking around to find their waiting cab.

Once they were in the cab, Kris read the clue’s further details. “Adam, look. There is no mention here that we have to board the ferry.”

“Should we go there with our cab?” Adam gave the choice to Kris.

Kris asked the cab driver whether he knew Rumeli Castle and whether he could drive them there. The driver’s answer to both questions was a yes so Kris asked the driver to take them there.

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

Loki exchanged his receipt for the clue and dragged Thor out of the bakery before Thor had time to consume more Simit in there.

Thor looked disappointed but he was soon distracted, opening the clue Loki gave to him.

Once they finished reading the clue, Loki had them quickly back into their waiting cab and headed toward the ferry terminal.

They arrived at the ferry terminal and boarded the ferry boat. While waiting for the boat to depart, they were joined by Steve and Tony who had finished their bathing task.

Loki and Tony studied each other while Steve and Thor exchanged their detour experience during the ferry ride.

“Trying to find a way of getting ahead and giving us a yield again?” Tony drawled.

Loki looked at Tony as if he was simpleminded. “I would if I could. Too bad each team can only use yield power once.“

Tony brightened. “What a wonderful news. I’ll be the one to yield you, then.”

“That’s assuming you are the first to arrive at the yield post.” Loki smirked, “I recalled Steve said you were the last one to leave the bathhouse. It’s almost guaranteed the other teams will have used the yield by the time you get there.”

Tony smirked back. “I know for sure that the other three teams are the peace loving guy so I’m 99% positive they wouldn’t use the yield.”

“Is that what you are banking on?” Loki threw Tony a disdainful look. “They are all competitive people. One of them will use it.”

Tony held his smirk in place. “We shall see, shan’t we?”

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

Rumeli Castle
Europe side of Turkey

Arthur and Merlin arrived at Rumeli Castle and searched for the clue box. They found it near the back entrance. The clue box had a yield sign above it. Arthur approached the clue box while Merlin prattled next to him.

“Which team do you think we should yield?” Merlin said, “Thorki or Stony?”

“Thorki? Stony? What are you talking about Merlin?” Arthur frowned.

“Thorki is Thor and Loki. Stony is Steve and Tony.

“I thought Thor and Loki were Pinky and the Brain and Steve and Tony are Sugar Daddy and Boytoy?”

“My version of nickname is shorter.” Merlin announced proudly. “It’s more effective this way.”

Arthur raised his eyebrow in doubt. “So what do you call Adam and Kris?”

“Kradam, “ said Merlin, beaming.

“John and Rodney?” asked Arthur.

“Err...geeks?”

Arthur’s eyebrow rose even higher in response.

“Joro??Johnney?” Merlin offered other alternatives. “I honestly haven’t found the suitable combination of their names. I personally think ‘geeks’ suits them better.”

“You are horrible in naming.” Arthur stepped in front of the yield sign.

“So which team should we yield?” Merlin asked again eagerly.

“We choose not to yield anyone.” Arthur said primly.

“What? Oh come on, Arthur!” Merlin complained.

“I have said it before. I want to race in fair and honourable way, Merlin.”

“This is not you being fair nor honourable. This is you being a goody two shoes you usually are.” Merlin complained further.

“We don’t need to yield anyone, Merlin.” Arthur opened the clue box. “Look, there are still a lot of clues in there. I think we are the first one here.” He took a clue out and opened it.

“Inside the castle, there is a Turkish lamp which you can exchange for your next clue. However, you have to go pass two oil wrestlers who guard this lamp. Good luck!” read Arthur.

“Oil wrestlers?” Merlin made a face. “That doesn’t sound good.”

They went inside the castle and into the courtyard. It was lit with what felt like a thousand lamps, brightening the place as if it was daylight instead of night time. A Turkish lamp was placed on the table in middle of the courtyard and ten oil wrestlers were standing guard around it. They wore short tights only, showing the muscled chest and toned body.

“This really doesn’t look good.” Merlin said as he took the situation.

Arthur ignored him and chose two wrestlers at random as opponents.

Fifteen minutes later found Merlin half naked, dripped with oil from head to toes and squished down by a 200 pound oil wrestler.

“This is a horrible task.” Merlin mumbled.

“You suck, Merlin.” Arthur said in fond exasperation. He was also half naked, wearing only knee length black tights. His chest was gleaming with oil and he was busy evading the other wrestler.

Merlin struggled, trying to overthrow the wrestler above him, but the wrestler didn’t budge an inch. Merlin plopped back down like a dead fish. “You are on your own in this task, Arthur.”

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

Outside the castle, John and Rodney arrived at the clue box.

“The yield is still empty!” Rodney exclaimed happily. “We are the first one here!”

“There could be a possibility that the other teams chose not to yield anyone, “ John pointed out.

“In the beginning of the race, maybe, but this close to the last leg? I doubt it.” Rodney said scornfully. “Usually, there are only two yields during the race. That means this is the last yield. Only a stupid team will miss the chance to use it!”

“So does that mean we are going to use it?” John asked.

“Of course, we are.” Rodney said while riffling through photos of other teams.

“Which team are we going to yield?”

“This one!” Rodney said in satisfaction and pasted the photo of Arthur and Merlin on the yield sign. “They are close to our heels, so we definitely should yield them.”

“I don’t think that is a wise choice.” John pointed out but didn’t make a move to stop Rodney.

After pasting their own photo as the yielders, Rodney and John headed inside the castle. Rodney’s triumphant expression evaporated immediately upon seeing Merlin and Arthur in the middle of the courtyard.

“That is your stupid team, Rodney.” John drawled.

Rodney made a sound not unlike a pig in distress.

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

“Remind me why I brought you in this race again, Merlin?” Arthur said as he did fancy footwork and tried to get pass the persistent wrestler.

“Because I’m the only one who could stand your prattish attitude.” Merlin mumbled, still squished beneath his own wrestler. “Hey look, John and Rodney are here.” He made a wave toward John and Rodney, who was complaining about the violence of the task.

“You should feel grateful that I chose you, MERlin.” Arthur said and with a quick twist, managed to get away from the wrestler far enough to snatch the Turkish lamp on the table.

“Oh hey, “ Merlin said when the wrestler above him stood up and released him. “Are we done already?”

“Yes, we are done, Merlin.” Arthur spoke sneeringly, “No, thanks to you.”

“Are you telling me you need my help, Arthur?“ Merlin asked in faked innocent tone.

“Of course, not.” Arthur scoffed.

“Great, then there is no problem, isn’t there?” Merlin declared then hurriedly went to wipe down the oil on his body, leaving Arthur fuming silently.

After putting on their clothes back, they went to exchange the lamp with their next clue.

Next, it was John and Rodney’s turn with the oil wrestler.

“Do we have to get half naked for this?” Rodney said in consternation.

“Unless you want to be pulled by your clothes, yes we do.” John said and poured oil over Rodney.

“Hey! What are you doing!?” Rodney protested.

“This will make you difficult to catch. “ John said and poured the oil over himself. He then pushed Rodney forward. “Now you go distract them, while I aim for the lamp.”

“Are you making me as the bait again?” Rodney demanded. “It didn’t work the last time we tried this! You ended up shoumph.”

John looked at Rodney’s sternly and kept his hand over Rodney’s mouth. “No detail, Rodney.”

Rodney made a disgruntled noise but nodded anyway.

“Good, “ John said and removed his hand from Rodney’s mouth. “Now, move it.”

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

At one corner of the courtyard, Arthur and Merlin opened their next clue. It was a red sheet.

“It’s a roadblock, “ said Merlin.

“Who wants to give a whirl?” Arthur read. “Merlin does.”

“Hey!” Merlin protested but Arthur ignored it and opened the detail.

“Go to Darüzziyafe Restaurant where you will need to perform a meditational dance called Whirling Dervishes for ten continuous minutes in order to get your next clue, ” read Arthur.

“I am going do dance?” asked Merlin, aghast.

“This will be fun, “ said Arthur, grinning.

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

While Arthur and Merlin put on their clothes back, Adam and Kris had arrived at the castle and found the clue box.

“Look , Arthur and Merlin being yielded.” Adam pointed at the yield sign.

“By Rodney and John.” Kris whistled. “Rodney is sure merciless.”

“There are no signs of Arthur and Merlin waiting, though.”

Adam studied the hourglass perched next to the yield sign. “The hourglass is unused. They haven’t arrived yet.”

“That’s not possible, “ Kris frowned in confusion. “They are way ahead of us.”

Right at that time, Arthur and Merlin got out of the castle and met them. Kris commented that they were very fast , considering they had been yielded.

That comment brought confused looks on both Arthur and Merlin. Adam pointed at the yield sign as the explanation. Arthur realized then that they were yielded and commended Rodney and John for purposely putting the already arrived team on the yield, therefore rendering the yield unusable for the rest of them.

Merlin was more sceptical and commented that Rodney and John just assumed Arthur and he were still behind them.

“Don’t think the worst of everybody, MERlin,” Arthur said and dragged Merlin away. On their way to find a cab, they met with Steve & Tony and Thor & Loki. Both teams didn’t stop at the sight of them and kept running toward the castle.

“Looks like they are focused on something.” Arthur commented.

“My guess is that something began with letter ‘Y’.” Merlin said.

Kris and Adam had just read their clue and were about to enter the courtyard when the last two teams came charging toward them. Well, Loki and Tony did the charging, Steve and Thor were lagging behind. Tony reached the yield sign first and clutched on it.

“Wow, you are sure in hurry, “ Kris commented.

“Those are the last two teams, we better hurry.” Adam pulled Kris into the castle.

“It has been taken already?” Tony asked in consternation while staring at the yield sign with Arthur and Merlin’s photo pasted on it.

“Too bad for you, “ Loki said smugly.

Tony threw him a dirty look.

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

Adam and Kris arrived inside the courtyard, just in time to see an oil wrestler grappled John and threw him down, before plopping above him. The other wrestler was chasing a panicking Rodney around.

“Get the lamp, Rodney, “ grunted John, trying to overthrow the wrestler.

“Easy for you to say!” shouted Rodney. He flapped his hands as he ran and squealed when the wrestler tried to catch him, sounding not unlike a baby seal.

“Uhm, “ was all Kris said.

Adam looked resigned. “My hair is not going to survive this, is it?”

“Look at the bright side,” Kris patted Adam’s back in condolence, “your hair will be super shiny with oil when we are done.”

As they went to change their clothes, Tony & Steve and Thor & Loki arrived at the courtyard. They watched John and Rodney struggling with the oil wrestlers for a moment.

“Well, this will be easy peasy for Steve,” said Tony cheerfully.

“It is child play for Thor, “ Loki commented.

Adam and Kris come out then, clad with tight pants only.

Tony whistled, causing Kris to blush while Adam glared dagger at him. Tony raised his hands in placating gesture. “Hey, just enjoying the view. You can look at mine, if you want.” He removed his shirt right then and there and would have removed his pants as well if Steve didn’t haul him into the changing room.

“This is not the time to show your narcissistic side, Tony.” Steve scolded Tony once they were in the changing room.

“How about I show your body instead?” Tony patted Steve chiselled abs fondly. “They all will be green with envy when they see this perfect specimen. Not that they are allowed to touch, oh no, that privilege belongs solely to me.”

Steve reddened.

“Perfect?” Loki, who had followed Steve and Tony to change as well, scoffed, “In your eyes only, maybe.”

“Hey, “ Tony whirled to face Loki, an annoyed look on his face. “Steve’s body is the perfect example of an ideal man. There is no ounce of fat in his...” Tony trailed off when he realized Loki had stopped paying attention to him. He turned to see what had distracted Loki and was presented with the sight of half naked Thor, who had perfectly chiselled abs, tall body, and muscled back.

“Okaaay, “ Tony torn his eyes away and stared at Steve, eyes going soft. “We all have our own perfect someone, I guess.”

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

On the courtyard, one oil wrestler finally managed to catch Rodney, who proceeded to thrash around and managed to slip out of the wrestler’s grab, thanks to the oil covering his body. He bumped into the table where the Turkish lamp was, causing it to tumble into his laps.

“I got it?” Rodney asked, disoriented. He then straightened and clutched the lamp. “I got it! John, I got it!”

“Rodney has got it, “ Adam commented as he evaded the grabby hands of his chosen wrestler.

“Congrats, “ Kris shouted as he ducked and rolled over to avoid their other wrestler.

Rodney and John went to exchange theirs for their next clue while Adam and Kris were still trying to grab their lamp, which had been placed on the same table as Rodney and John’s when they joined the wrestling.

A few minutes later, Steve and Tony came out of the changing room and chose two wrestlers from the remaining four wrestlers in line. Thor and Loki also finished changing and took the remaining two wrestlers to join the fray. Two more lamps were placed on the table, joining Kris’ and Adam’s lamp.

It was really an easy task for Steve and Thor. They just pushed their wrestler backward until they were near enough to grab the lamp. Those wrestlers weren’t strong enough against Steve and Thor. They both grabbed their respective lamp at the same time. Tony, who was grappling with his own wrestler, let out a cheer while Loki just stood at where he first started, not even making an attempt to grapple with his wrestler.

Kris and Adam watched the two teams leave right away then turned to look at each other from where they were squished beneath their own wrestlers.

“We are in trouble.” Kris surmised.

Adam was too busy trying to breath from beneath a 200 pound wrestler to response.

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

Having done their task, John and Rodney read their hard earned clue.

“Who wants to give a whirl?” Rodney read.

“You do it.” John responded.

“Me? Why me?” Rodney protested.

John raised an eyebrow. “I have done four roadblocks, you did only two.”

“Oh alright, “ Rodney groused and read the roadblock’s detail.

After letting Rodney rant about doing mumbo jumbo dance for a minute, John dragged him to find their ever loyal taxi driver.

They found the taxi but not the driver.

“Where did that driver go?” Rodney asked in consternation.

“Maybe he went to find a toilet?” John said as he looked around.

They searched around but found no head of tail where the driver went.

“Let’s just find another taxi, “ Rodney fumed.

“We haven’t paid him yet, Rodney. “ John pointed out. “You are the one who told me there is taxi karma in this race. If you do something bad to one taxi, you will encounter bad luck with another taxi somewhere.”

“But we can’t possibly wait for him!”

“No need, “John squinted at certain direction. “I think that’s him.”

It was indeed their taxi driver, who had gone out to buy dinner for himself.

Upon catching the smell of the driver’s takeaway, Rodney quickly made a proposal for him. “I’ll pay ten liras for whatever you bought there.”

“Rodney, that’s his dinner.” John pointed out, not exactly scolding.

Rodney ignored him. “Well, ten liras?”

The driver looked at him shrewdly. “Twenty five liras.”

“What! That’s absurd!”

The driver shrugged. “Let’s go, then.”

“No, wait. Fifteen liras!”

“Twenty five. Now, where should we go?” The driver got into his taxi and started the engine.

“You are not bargaining at all, “ Rodney complained.

“Because I’m not.” The driver answered and looked at the clue John showed to him.

“Do you know this Darüzziyafe Restaurant?” John asked.

The taxi driver nodded and turned to the front, ready to press the gas when Rodney exploded.

“Here’s your goddamn twenty five liras! Now give me my dinner.”

Five minutes later, the taxi was already on its way to the restaurant. Rodney was happily consuming his dinner while the driver was twenty five liras richer now. John took half portion of the dinner, citing it was his money too that Rodney used to buy dinner, ignoring Rodney’s howl of protest.

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

“Who wants to give a whirl?” Tony read then sent Steve a questioning look.

Steve gave the clue a dubious look. “I have no idea what the task is. Some kind of dance?”

“Dance? I’m an expert in horizontal dance.” Tony grinned. “Let me try.”

Steve gave Tony a stern look that was lost on him.

Meanwhile, Loki had decided he would do the task once he finished reading the clue. Thor tried to protest, saying he was good in whirling but Loki said if he took this task, he might not be able to do the later more exciting tasks. Thus, Thor conceded the task to Loki.

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

Daruzziyafe Restaurant
Old city area of Turkey

Arthur and Merlin arrived at the restaurant without any hitches. Inside, there were several men in white robes whirling around, following the slow haunting music played by some musicians in one corner of the room.

Five men were standing in a row near the door, facing them expectantly.

Arthur plopped down on the floor and put his backpack down. “All yours, Merlin. I’ll wait for you, here.”

Merlin glared at Arthur and put down his backpack next to Arthur’s a little heavily, before approaching the standing men. Since the clue said to pick one of them to be the team’s instructor, Merlin picked one at random.

He was given a white robe with black wide belt and flowing skirt was instructed to fold his arms on his breast. Then he had to approach his instructor, bow, kiss his hand, then spin out onto the floor.

“Open your arms and hold your right hand palm-up to receive the blessings of heaven and hold your left hand palm-down to transfer the blessings to earth.” The instructor said and demonstrated the posture.

“Giving back to earth what you received from heaven. That’s a nice gesture, “ Merlin commented and mimicked his instructor. “Like this?”

Arthur snickered but had enough intelligent to quickly fall silent, less he insulted the Turkish.

“This is a spiritual and holy dance, please keep quiet.” The instructor shot a warning look at Arthur then turned his attention back to Merlin. “Now you can practice the whirling then join the dancers.”

Merlin tried to whirl around and promptly tripped on his own feet, causing him to fall down.

“Ow, “ was Merlin’s comment.

Arthur couldn’t help but snicker again and got warning look from all five instructors.

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

At Rumeli Castle, Kris and Adam finally managed to get pass their wrestlers. Actually Kris passed his wrestler while Adam tried to hold back both wrestlers. He managed to do that for two seconds, which all the time Kris needed to whiz forward and took the lamp.

“Finally!” Adam sighed in relief and plopped down on the grass.

Kris plopped next to him a few seconds later.”Rest?”

“Rest, “Adam confirmed.

“Two minutes?”

Adam whined pitifully. “Five, please.”

“You, big baby, you.” Kris said fondly.

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

John and Rodney arrived at Daruzziyafe Restaurant and found Arthur standing outside the entrance door.

“What didn’t you go inside? Did they ask the other partner to stay outside?” Rodney threw the questions.

Arthur grunted. “They kicked me out.”

“For what?” John asked in confusion.

“Get in and you’ll see, “ mumbled Arthur.

John raised his eyebrows at the comment but gamely followed Rodney inside. Fifteen minutes later, John got kicked out of the restaurant.

“Now you understand, “ Arthur said, keeping a straight face.

“It’s worth it. “ John stated with equally straight face.

A few seconds later, they burst out snickering.

“Merlin has two feet, “ Arthur stated between his snickers.

“Rodney isn’t good in balance.” was John response.

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

Inside the restaurant, Merlin was sprawled on the floor, mumbling. “The world is going round and round…”

Meanwhile, Rodney was whining about how sore his butts were from his last fall.

Their instructors were looking upward, either praying for patience or divine punishment, no one knew.

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

Twenty minutes later, Loki, Thor, Steve, and Tony reached the restaurant. John and Arthur watched they enter the restaurant. They waited expectantly and fifteen minutes later, they got rewarded by the scene of Thor getting kicked out.

John patted Thor’s shoulder in commiseration. “They kicked you out too, huh.”

“Welcome, comrade. “ Arthur said solemnly.

Thor made a mournful sound.

“I never thought you would laugh on Loki, though.” John commented.

“I didn’t. I cheer on him.” Thor said with sad puppy look.

“Ah, “ John said, “That explains it.”

“You might want to cheer at him silently, “ Arthur patted Thor’s other shoulder in consolation.

Fortunately for John and Arthur, the arrival of two teams managed to spur Merlin and Rodney on finishing their task. Merlin closed his eyes and started whirling while Loki and Tony received their instructions. Rodney also stood up and gamely started whirling, albeit less elegant than Merlin.

As the only partner not getting kicked out, Steve sat down on one corner and watched Tony receiving his instruction. Tony caught him looking and twirled in his robe, throwing Steve a kiss. Steve promptly blushed.

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

Merlin finally managed to twirl for ten consecutive minutes and grabbed the offered clue on his way out. He left the restaurant, stumbling left and right.

“Merlin!” Arthur looked surprised and stood up from where he was sitting with Thor and John. “You finished already?”

“Doubt me, did you?” Merlin tried to snark but it came out weak and followed with a moan. He started to fall forward and would have hit the floor with his face if not for Arthur’s quick reflex in catching him.

“Uh, “ Merlin mumbled, “You might want to carry me. The world is spinning too fast for me.”

“You can rest while I read the clue.” Arthur dumped Merlin on the floor.

“This is the thank I get for finishing the task first?” Merlin said in indignation but kept himself horizontal, less the world spun out of control.

“Thank you, Merlin.” Arthur said flatly then read the clue. “Travel on foot to the pit stop at Istanbul University.”

“We have to walk? Really?” Merlin moaned from somewhere near Arthur’s feet.

Arthur nudged his partner. “Stand up, your rest time is up.”

“I haven’t rested yet!” Merlin protested.

“You can rest at the pit stop.” Arthur said as he hoisted Merlin up. “Now move your lazy ass!”

Merlin mumbled something about clotpole and royal prat.

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

Adam and Kris arrived at the restaurant just as Merlin and Arthur left it. The singers stopped at the entrance when they saw John and Thor.

“One of us has to stay here?” Kris asked, confused.

John studied them. “I don’t think you two will have any problems inside.” He gestured at the entrance door. “You might want to hurry. You are the last team to arrive.”

“We know, “ Adam said grimly and stepped inside. Kris followed after him and went to sit next to Steve while Adam prepared himself for the task.

“You made it.” Steve greeted Kris.

“Yeah, we saw Arthur and Merlin leaving, “ said Kris.

Steve nodded. “They are the first team to complete the roadblock.”

Kris watched the dancers and pointed at a figure twirling very very slowly. “Is that Rodney?”

“Yes, he is.”

“He is doing it very slowly.” Kris said in bewilderment as he watched Rodney completed a whirl in twice longer than Loki and Tony did.

“That’s the fastest he could twirl without losing his balance and falling down.” Steve explained.

Kris made an understanding noise and watched some more before commenting, “I think Loki is the most elegant of all at the moment.”

“I agree, “ Steve said. “Tony is more like a drunk man than a dancer.”

“I heard that!” Tony said.

“No speaking while doing the dance ritual, “ His instructor scolded him. “You have to restart the dance again.”

“Oh, come on!” Tony groaned.

Loki smirked and kept on twirling. He managed to accomplish the task on his first attempt. Ignoring Tony’s glare, Loki took his clue and walked steadily outside.

“Brother, “ Thor turned buoyant at the sight of Loki exiting the restaurant. “Did you finish the task already?”

“It’s child play.” Loki sniffed and opened the clue. “Next is the pit stop.”

“Fabulous! Let us depart, brother!” Thor announced.

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

Istanbul University had thousands of teaching staff and almost seventy thousands students every year.. The main campus with its landmark gate used to be the Ottoman ministry of war.

Mycroft was standing in front of its main entrance, accompanied by a Turkish man in traditional garb. Some big lighting equipment were scattered around the place, lighting up the place. One of the lights was focused on a carpet depicting the world map, which was placed in front of Mycroft and the Turkish man.

It was where Arthur dragged the staggering Merlin on.

“Merhaba, “ greeted the Turkish man.

Arthur nodded and replied the greeting. “Merhaba”

“Hi, “Merlin addressed the Turkish man and leant onto Arthur, looking exhausted. “I’m so glad to see you and Mycroft.”

“Arthur and Merlin, “ Mycroft greeted them. “I am very pleased to tell you that you are team number one.”

“As it should be.” Arthur looked pleased while Merlin mumbled something that sounded like arrogance prat to Arthur’s shoulder.

“As the winner of this leg, “ Mycroft continued, “you two have won ten thousand dollars.”

Merlin squealed and straightened up, coming completely alive.

“Each.” Mycroft added.

“Wow,” Merlin shouted in excitement. “Thank you, Mycroft. That makes the whirling totally worth it! My mum is going to have kittens!”

Mycroft nodded and turned to Arthur. “How do you feel, Arthur?”

“I’m already pleased with being number one, Mycroft.”

“Uh oh, I don’t like how it sounds,“ Merlin looked at Arthur imploringly, “you are not going to do what I think you are going to do.”

“Shut up, Merlin.”

“No, really. Don’t do it.”

“It’s my prize money. I can do what I want with it.” Arthur said.

“You can give it to me.” Merlin muttered.

Arthur sent Merlin a warning look before turning to Mycroft. “I would like to donate the ten thousand dollars for the welfare of Indian kids.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Mycroft said.

“And make me look like a bad guy, “ Merlin grumbled.

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

The second team to arrive was Loki and Thor. Mycroft and the Turkish man greeted them and sent them to the pit stop rest.

A few minutes passed before the next two teams came. They appeared at the university within seconds of each other. Rodney and John ran all the way from restaurant to the university in order stay ahead of the other team, who chased after them.

“E..emergency….” Rodney panted, plopping down on the world map carpet. “can’t…breathe…”

“Don’t be …a baby, Rodney. “ John said, also panting.

“John and Rodney, you are team number three.” Mycroft announced their rank and turned to the other team. “That makes you team number four, Steve and Tony.”

Tony staggered forward, panting as well. “Beaten…by the geeks…oh..the humiliation…”

“You really look like a drunk elderly.” Steve commented, looking totally at ease and only panting a little.

“You try running …after twirling for …fifteen minutes.” Tony grunted and sat down.

“Better than consuming liquor and getting hangover, “ Steve said.

Tony groaned.

Mycroft waited until all of them, minus Steve, regained their breaths and sent them to the pit stop rest area. He only had to wait for a few minutes before the last team reached the carpet in front of him.

“Adam and Kris, “ Mycroft greeted them.

“Hi, “ Kris said, smiling weakly while Adam still tried to steady his breathing.

“You are the last team to arrive, “ said Mycroft.

“Yeah, we know.” Kris responded. “Adam here is awesome. He finished the roadblock in one go. However, it wasn’t enough to make up for the time difference with the other teams.”

“We got held up by the oil wrestlers on the previous task.” Adam said mournfully.

Mycroft sent them a regretful look. “I am afraid I have no other choice…”

Kris put on his steadfast look and hooked an arm around Adam’s back. “Just give it to us fast.”

“Like ripping a band aid, “ Adam added, putting his arm around Kris’ shoulder.

“Adam and Kris, “ Mycroft addressed them, “I am afraid ….”

Kris looked resigned.

“…you still have to bear with me a little longer.” Mycroft finished.

“What!?” Kris blinked while Adam gave Mycroft a hopeful look.

Mycroft smiled. “This is a non elimination leg. Therefore, you are safe.”

“Oh thank god, “ Adam said and hugged the laughing Kris tightly.

“We are safe, Adam!” Kris grinned and hugged his taller friend back.

“Of course, you will have speed bump that only you have to complete on the next leg.” Mycroft warned them.

“Bring it on, “ Kris grinned from within Adam’s arms.

“As long as it’s not another oil wrestler, “ Adam added.

Notes:

As some of you requested, this is the predetermined NEL (Non Elimination Leg). The voting board is still going to Leg 8 so please keep voting for your favorite team ^_^