Note: I technically don't own anything in this story. Except for my persona, but it's named after something someone else owns, so…

Note 2: If you want to check out PrincessPeachAndDaisy or Luigenius just look them up as they are. If you're looking for collete11, search for NaraTemari011. If you're looking for Greenleafprince, go to Cybertronian-Star.

Note 3: In the first leg, the teams had to find Pennington to get their next clue. The real name of the character is Herringway… fail.

Note 4: I noticed mid-leg 5 that on GLP's profile, her true gender is female… and this whole time I thought she was a guy… I'm so sorry, GLP! So I edited the previous chapters.

Note 5: To all of you out there with a strong liking of any three teams, check out my page! I've got a poll. Leave a comment too; I'll give you virtual cake if you agree with me. DON'T JUST VOTE FOR ME BECAUSE I'M THE AUTHOR!

Note 6: Last leg, I said that the times for the last four teams were 12 something AM. Due to my stupidity, I didn't remember that after 11:59 AM comes 12:00 PM _. Bear with me here folks.

The Amazing Race: Super Mario Super Edition

Leg Six: This is Like, Epic Showtime Two

AN: I'm gonna try this kind of introduction. In your review, tell me if you prefer this type of introduction, or the type that is narrated by Tumble and McBallyHoo. Thanks!

Last time, on the Amazing Race…

Teams took a trip to the racing center of the Mushroom World…

"Okay, now we've gotta fly to Mario Circuit City," Goombaria read.

…where they had a time-deteriorating first task…

"No!" Yoshi shouted. "That dang box gave me a red shell!"

…after which they got to drive their own carts…

"This is so cool!" squealed Dot as she slid into the passenger's seat.

…and drove to a breathtaking Roadblock…

"Cool," said DP. He quickly read over the description. "VERY cool!" he said, and ran inside.

"Wow! Look at this!" Luigenius said, walking a few yards into one of the mini-caves.

…which gave them a pleasant surprise.

"LUIGI!" Luigenius shouted. "LUIGI, YOU ARE NOT GONNA BELIEVE WHAT I JUST GOT!"

Teams were introduced to the Merge…

"So dat means we'll have to wait for de next team den," said Frankie.

"Great," said Francesca, sighing.

…where three teams split, each member to join one of the other six.

"They wanna split up teams?" asked c11.

"No way, collete is like a sister to me," said GLP.

"Hell yeah!" said c11, hugging her 'sister'.

"You two are actual sisters, and we don't want to split that either," said Tippi.

Mega-teams then had to do a Detour. Most teams chose 'Cardinal'.

"Okay, we've gotta find five cardinals, right?" asked Dot.

"We have to find six," said Luigenius.

"Five, six, what's the difference?" Dot said.

Collete11 and Greenleafprince chose to do 'Ordinal', much to Tippi's chagrin.

"I'm ready to go home," said Tippi.

Tippi wasn't the only one with troubles. DonPianta accidently changed the settings to a device inside a pipe, locking him, PrincessPeachAndDaisy, and Goombaria in.

"Well how are we gonna get out?" shouted PPAD.

"I DON'T KNOW!" DP shouted.

After the Detour, teams were sent to the leg's pit stop…

"Okay, we'd better hurry up and read this clue," said Tippi. She opened it. "Make your way to Coconut Mall."

…where married couple Frankie and Francesca got their first win…

"Frankie and Francesca, and Goombario, you're team number one!"

"YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!" said Francesca.

…and split teams were re-united.

"Goombaria, since Goombario arrived at 11:46, you and him form team number three," said McBallyHoo.

Vivian, Marilyn, and Thoreau suffered when the Pixl broke a rule…

"Thoreau went over 20 feet from his partners, therefore, your team has a thirty minute penalty," McBallyHoo said.

"Thoreau! What is wrong with you?" asked Vivian.

"I'm sorry!" Thoreau replied, snapping.

…and Tippi and Thoreau suffered a more thorough punishment…

"The average time between Tippi's and Thoreau's arrival would have been 12:25, but, since Thoreau caused the problem, fifteen minutes of penalty time are added to his and Tippi's time," said McBallyHoo.

…putting the Pixls in last place.

"I'm sorry to tell you you've both been eliminated from the race," he finished.

"Yeah…" said Tippi.

"Welcome back to… the Amazing Race!" said Tumble.

The Amazing Race theme song played.

"Frankie and Francesca, arriving at 11:46 AM, will depart at 11:46 PM," said McBallyHoo.

Frankie and Francesca, Currently in First

"Alright, Francesca, we got dis," said Frankie, as Tumble handed him the clue. "'Make your way to de Dimensional Vortex…'"

Teams now have to travel 7,364 miles to reach the city of Dimentia, the access point to all worlds of other dimensions. At Dimentia, they'll find the Dimensional Vortex, which will send them to the 2.5-dimensional town of Flipside. Once there, they'll have to travel to the top of Flipside Tower to get their next clue.

"Well, Francesca, it looks like we get to go between dimensions!" said Frankie.

"That sounds scary!" said Francesca.

"Nah, it'll be alright. Come on; let's get back to de airport."

"Dot and Deb will be leaving at 11:47 PM," said McBallyHoo. "They've declined to use their Crossover Rod."

Dot and Deb, Currently in Second

"Okay, sis, we've gotta get to this Dimentia," said Deb.

"It sure ain't an amazing race without inter-dimensional travel!" said Dot.

"It figures. First we have to Merge, THEN we have to find birds, and now they want us to go to another dimension!" said Dot, throwing her hands into the air. "They do a bad job of acting like they don't make money off us!"

"Shut it, please, and let's get going," said Deb.

"Goombario and Goombario will depart at 11:49 PM," said Tumble.

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in Third

"Oh. My. Gosh!" said Goombaria. "WE GET TO TRAVEL BETWEEN DIMENSIONS!"

"WHAT? Isn't that inherently dangerous?" Goombario asked.

"Must not be, or we wouldn't be doing it," said Goombaria. She began to run out to the curb to look for a taxi.

"DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy will be leaving at 11:52 PM," said Tumble.

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in Fourth

"Alright, now we're goin' to Flipside," said DP.

"Are you serious? That's the two-and-a-half-dimensional city in Super Paper…" PPAD began, before DonPianta blocked her mouth.

"Does the term 'fourth wall' mean anything to you?" DP said, before shaking his head and heading to the mall's exit.

"Urgh!" said PPAD.

"No whining, P-Pad," said DP.

"FOR THE LOVE OF THE SECOND COMING OF JOHTO! IT'S NOT P PAD! IT'S A FREAKIN' P, A FREAKIN' P, A FREAKIN' A, AND A FREAKIN' D! WHAT FREAKING PART OF FREAKING P P A D DO YOU NOT FREAKING UNDERSTAND?" yelled PPAD.

"…"

"Luigi and Luigenius will be departing at 11:55 PM," said McBallyHoo.

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fifth

"Oh, man, we getta go to Flipside!" said Luigenius, wooting.

"Yeah, I've already been to Flipside, so, no big deal there for me," said Luigi.

"It seems as though Luigi has been everywhere we're going. Except Geldsburg, but who the hell ever heard of THAT?" said Luigenius.

"Well, regardless, we must catch a trolley and head to the airport. Maybe in the loo they've got a telly," said Luigenius, using every British term he knew.

Luigi rolled his eyes, exiting the mall (quickly) before his accentual partner.

Frankie and Francesca, Currently in First

"Okay…" said Francesca, entering the airport. She ran over to the first counter she could find. "Hi! Could please get us two tickets on a flight to Dimentia?" she asked the Goomba at Shroom Air. He nodded back, and typed into the computer before him. Out came two tickets, which he set on the counter.

"Um, what time are these for?" asked Francesca.

"…" said the Goomba.

"You alright?" asked Frankie. The Goomba just looked at him.

"I think he's mute," whispered Francesca. She looked at the tickets, seeing '5:00 A' printed on it. "Is this the first flight out of here?" she asked. The Goomba nodded. Francesca sighed, rolling her head over to glance at her equally discouraged partner.

"I guess we go wait," said Frankie. They found their terminal and went to take a nap in some nearby chairs.

Dot and Deb, Currently in Second

"Something tells me we'll be here a while," said Dot.

"Hmm, could it be the sleeping couple on the chairs in the nearest terminal, perhaps?" Deb suggested.

"That seems to be a feasible conclusion," said Dot. Looking to her left instead of right as Francesca had, Dot found a nearby Shell Air stand. Behind the counter was a Koopa, talking on her cell phone.

"Omigosh, girl, I was like, 'Hey, D'Vonne! How you doin'?' You know, girl? Like, yah!" she said. Dot and Deb silently waited for her to finish. "Yo, girl, I got me some customers, so give me a sec', 'kay?" The Koopa put her cell phone down. "Welcome to Shell Air! How can I help you, girl?"

"Hi, can we please get two tickets on the first flight out to Dimentia?" asked Deb.

"Girl, the only flights we got is indirec', you know, they go through like other cities. But we got one at five o'clock, girl, it goes through like Shelldon, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, 'kay?" said the Koopa.

"Are there any other airlines with flights that get there faster?" asked Deb.

The Koopa shook her head, upset. "Girl." She frowned as she typed into her laptop, her false fingernails clacking on the keys. "Well, here you go. That POW Air stand oveh theyeh, they got a flight that leaves at 4:15, girl. It goes through a town call' Linelandi, but girl, it's a little far. I guess it get there first," she said.

"Um, okay, thanks," said Dot, quickly following Dot away from the Shell Air stand.

"Omigod, girl, you are not gonna believe what just happen."

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in Third

The first stand the Goombas could see had a Koopa chatting away on a cell phone, so they decided to go to a stand a few counters down, to the first employeed counter they could get.

"Hi! What can I help you with?" a Toad woman said.

"Can we get on the fastest flight to Dimentia?" asked Goombario.

"Well, our flight is likely the fastest. It goes straight there… but it doesn't leave until 4:30 AM," the Toad said.

"Is that the earliest flight in the whole airport?" asked Goombaria.

"There's one that leaves 15 minutes sooner, but it's indirect," the Toad said.

Goombario looked at Goombaria and then the two shrugged. "I guess we'll take yours then," he said, thanking the Toad as she handed him the tickets.

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in Fourth

"Look; that Koopa girl is hanging up! Go! Go! Go!" chanted PPAD, running to the Shell Air stand.

"Hey, girl! How can I help you taday?" the Koopa asked.

"…" said DP, unknown to the Koopa, as PrincessPeachAndDaisy was asking…

"When is the first flight out to Dimentia?"

"Girl, we got a flight that goes through Shelldon, it leaves at like five, girl. It's the fastest flight we got," the Koopa replied. DonPianta looked at PrincessPeachAndDaisy.

"Um, are there any flights that get there faster?" DP asked.

"Mm mm mm," the Koopa said, shaking her head in discontent. "Yeah, they got one at POW Air that go through Linelandi, but it's like far away. What's this…? Yeah, there's one I didn't see earlier. Warm Heart In'ernat'nal, they got on that's direc' at 4:30."

"Thanks for your help!" said PPAD. She and DonPianta ran to get the Warm Heart tickets.

Yoshi and Birdo, Departing at 12:03 AM

"Well, looks like I get to see what Peach was talking about in Flipside," said Yoshi.

"?" said Birdo.

"Peach told me about going to Flipside, and she said there was this small cook's shop, and the cook helped heal her. I'd like to see it," Yoshi explained.

"Peach is a good friend of mine, and I don't think it's such a bad thing that I want to meet the people who helped her out, just to thank them, you know?" said Yoshi.

"Well, we'd better not take too long," said Birdo. "We'll have to head right to Flipside Tower."

"Right, I know. Come on, we're pretty fast! It's not like we'll get last place or anything."

"Well, if we'd have done better prior to today, I'd believe you," said Birdo. "We need to do whatever we can to win this."

"As you're saying this, we're wasting time standing here."

"…"

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fifth

"Look! There's a Shroom Air stand with a Goomba!" said Luigenius.

Luigi quickly approached the Goomba. "Hi, can we please get two tickets on your first flight to Dimentia?" The Goomba nodded. He printed two tickets, showing them that the flight was direct, leaving at five.

"Can you talk?" asked Luigenius. The Goomba gave him a does it look like I can talk look. "Oh. Well… thanks."

Yoshi and Birdo, Currently in Sixth

"Alright, here's the airport," said Birdo. "It looks like there are only four people standing behind counters?"

"Well, it is almost a quarter past midnight," Yoshi replied. He walked to the nearest counter, with a Goomba behind.

"…" said the Goomba.

"…" said Yoshi and Birdo.

"…?" said the Goomba.

"Um, can we get tickets to Dimentia?" asked Birdo. The Goomba nodded, quickly preparing and handing her the tickets.

"It looks like we have to wait until five," said Yoshi. "At least it's direct. Thanks."

Collete11 and Greenleafprince, Departing at 12:17 AM

"Awesome! We get to go to that place from Super Paper Mario!" said c11.

"Spoiler alert much?" said GLP. "I haven't played Super Paper Mario yet, smart one!"

"I've been keeping track of all her stupid sayings in my journal. I call them 'Sayings of the Smart One known as collete11', or 'Smart Ones' for short. That's Smart One number 63," said GLP.

"Chillax, I'm not dumb JUST because I don't know what video games you have and haven't played."

"Yes, you are. You should know that about me; we're partners, remember?"

"…Whatever. Let's just get to the airport quickly."

Collete11 and Greenleafprince, Currently in Seventh

"You'd think that it would take longer to get to the airport, considering all of the traffic in this HUGE city," said c11.

"It is midnight," said GLP. She then whispered, "Smart One 64."

"What was that?" said c11.

"Nothing! Nothing at all, that's what that was!" said GLP.

Shaking her head, collete11 walked over to the closest stand, a POW Air one. "I'm guessing we didn't go in the main entrance," she said.

"Does it matter? Just ask the nice young Shy Guy for some tickets," said GLP.

"Yeah, can we get two tickets to Dimentia?" asked c11.

"Your best bet is to get on OUR flight, see…" said the Shy Guy, looking up info in a biased manner. "Here you go! Two tickets for Linelandi, then to Dimentia! It leaves at 4:15, so you've got four hours to do whatever you want."

"Omigosh we should totally go back to Peach Beach and drive around those rings again!" said c11.

Elimination Station

"Something horrible just happened," said Tippi.

Collete11 and Greenleafprince, Currently in Seventh

"Thanks so much for the tickets!" said GLP, accepting them. "No, I don't want to risk missing our flight."

Elimination Station

"Something wonderful just happened," said Tippi.

"…" said the others.

"What is wrong with you?" said Thoreau.

Vivian and Marilyn, Departing at 12:33 AM

"Okay, we have to go to Dimentia, which'll lead us to Flipside," Vivian said, scanning the Route Info.

"Guh guh guh guh guh?" Marilyn asked.

"I don't think so, but it'll be really weird!" said Vivian.

"Guh guh guh guh guh," said Marilyn.

"No, Marilyn," said Vivian. Shaking her head, she floated out of the mall.

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently in Eighth (Last)

"It seems that the only other people here are the other teams and four airline representatives," said Vivian. She looked at the four, seeing which looked best. Her eyes first laid on the Goomba of Shroom Air. He looked all depressed, so she decided he lacked self confidence. "No," she said. She then looked at the Shell Air Koopa. She was blabbing away on her cell phone, using a strangely devolved form of Ebonics. "A-definitely not." Then, she spotted a Shy Guy at the POW Air stand. His face… well, she couldn't see his face. So she was left to the Toadette standing at the Warm Hearts stand. "Now that sounds nice," she said, and entered the airport, completely ignoring the Koopa and the Goomba.

"Hi, how can I help you today?" the Toad asked.

"Hi, can we please get two tickets on the first flight out to Dimentia?" asked Vivian. The Toad smiled.

"If you want the first flight, POW Air's leaves at 4:15. But our flight arrives a bit sooner, and it leaves at 4:30. Would you like two of our tickets?" she said.

"Yes, that sounds good," said Vivian. The Toad handed her two freshly printed tickets. "Thank you!"

"Thank you for your service!" the Toad said, waving at the Sirens as they hunted down their flight.

On the 4:15 POW Air flight through Linelandi are sisters Dot and Deb and friends collete11 and Greenleafprince.

On the 4:30 Warm Hearts International direct flight are siblings Goombario and Goombaria, friends DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, and sisters Vivian and Marilyn.

On the 5:00 Shroom Air direct flight are married couple Frankie and Francesca, friends Luigi and Luigenius, and dating couple Yoshi and Birdo.

The 4:30 flight, arriving in Dimentia at 12:47 PM

"I would have thought that this town would be a bit more… interesting," said Goombario.

"You're right. There's just like five houses," said DP.

"This one says 'SUBCON' on it," said PPAD. "I guess we have to find the one that says 'FLIPSIDE'."

"That one over there says it!" said Vivian, pointing to a house about a hundred yards away.

"I was blessed with amazing eyesight, I've got like 20x300 vision! Or is it 300x20 vision?" said Vivian.

The six ran to the house, ready to take a crazy trip into another dimension. "Are they sure this is safe?" asked Goombaria.

"It must be," said Goombario, "or else they couldn't have gone there and set up the clues."

"I guess that's true," said Goombaria.

"Who wants to enter the inter-dimensional house first?" asked PPAD. Nobody said anything.

"I guess that means you have to," said DP, smiling.

"I hate this game," PPAD said to herself.

"Go on," said DP.

PrincessPeachAndDaisy took a huge breath, and opened the door. "WHOA!" everyone shouted when they saw the inside of the house. All they could see was a huge, dark blue-violet portal. "Whoa," they said, afterwards.

"There was no way that I was going through THAT," said PPAD.

"Well, looks like a lot of fun for you!" said DP, smiling again.

"This is so not fair," said PPAD to herself. Screaming as she jumped into the portal, everything went silent. The other five looked into the portal, shocked.

"I still can't believe we're doing this," said DP. Shaking his head, he slowly walked into it, too. "Oh my g…" he began, until the others couldn't see him.

"Well, this looks totally safe," said Vivian. She floated in without hesitation.

"Guh guh guh?" Marilyn asked.

"Um, after you," said Goombario.

"Guh," Marilyn said, frowning. She slowly floated over, directly before the portal. Her breathing began to speed up. Nervous, she looked back at the Goombas, who blankly looked back at her. She silently walked into the portal.

"You first," said Goombaria.

"After you," said Goombario, simultaneously with his sister.

"…" they both said.

"Rock paper scissors?" Goombaria suggested. Goombario nodded.

"Rock, paper… scissors!" they shouted. They looked at each other.

"We don't have hands," said Goombario.

"…" they said.

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in First

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently in Second

The two teams appeared in a small, dark room. "I guess this is some house," said DP.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have a clue to find!" said PPAD, epically pointing onward and upward. Nodding in synchronization, the others followed her out the door.

They appeared in a dark tunnel, the first level underground of Flipside. The one thing that they just now realized was…

"Holy crap, we're tiny!" said DP, looking up at the huge, nearby person walking into the huge, nearby coffee shop.

"You must be with the race," said a voice from behind them. Turning around, the four saw another being as small as them. It was a girl, a floating circle with several rectangles extending. She was purple, blue, and lime, and had dark, square eyes. "Hi, my name is Dottie," she said.

"Can we help you?" asked Vivian.

"No, I'm here to help you," Dottie replied. She circled quickly around the group, and slowly, all five grew to normal size.

"Whoa!" said DP and PPAD.

"That was amazing!" said Vivian.

"Guh guh guh!" said Marilyn.

"Well, good luck!" said Dottie. She shrunk back to tiny size and waited by the small house.

"I guess now we head onto Flipside Tower," said PPAD.

"Look! There's an elevator right there," said DP, pointing to a red arrow on the wall right past the coffee shop. They all ran inside, quickly rising to the main level of Flipside.

"Over there!" said PPAD, noting the huge, obvious, white tower.

"Did you find that all by yourself?" said DP. PrincessPeachAndDaisy shoved him in response.

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in Third

After a minute of silence, the Goombas decided to pass through the vortex together. They quickly exited the building, and saw the Pixl that matched them in size.

"Hey, how is it that we're all small when everything else is so big?" asked Goombaria. Dottie smiled and laughed, and began to fly around them, quickly speeding up. The next thing they knew, they were the same size as any other Flipside Goomba.

"Thanks!" said Goombario.

"Good luck," said Dottie, shrinking again.

"So the tower is around here somewhere?" said Goombaria.

"How can there be a tower here? This is like a sewer," said Goombario, scanning the landscape for anything that might signify a tower. "What's this?" he said, noticing a red upward arrow on a wall. He walked over to it, inspecting it.

"What's that?" said Goombaria, following him.

"I don't know," he said. He tapped it, and suddenly, a portion of the wall opened. "Whoa!" he said. "It's an elevator!"

"Well, then, get in! I wanna find this tower," said Goombaria.

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in First

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently in Second

The four quickly reached the tower, awed by its large height. "Wow," said PPAD.

"I think we should stop staring in awe and start entering the elevator," said DP.

"Yeah, I think you're right," said PPAD. They continued to look up at the elevator though.

"Come on, Marilyn, we should probably get going," said Vivian. She and her sister still looked up.

"No, I think we should really go," said DP. He grabbed PrincessPeachAndDaisy and pulled her towards the elevator. Vivian and Marilyn quickly followed.

"Look! There's the Goombas!" said Vivian, seeing them running towards the elevator.

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in Third

"Look at that, they just went up without us!" said Goombario.

"We should have just run right in the portal and not waited around so long," said Goombario.

"Well, we'll just wait for it to come back down!" Goombaria replied. She sat down in front of the tower, looking up. "Gosh, that's really tall!"

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in First

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently in Second

"Look! There's the clue box!" said PPAD, pointing to the end of the top of the tower opposite the group. They ran towards it, pulling out a white envelope.

"What's it say?" asked DP. PrincessPeachAndDaisy tore it open, pulling out two folders.

"We've got a Detour," she said, looking at the orange one. "Sammer or Slammer?"

A Detour is a choice between two tasks, one of which must be completed by each team. In Sammer, teams will enter the door to Sammer's Kingdom, where they must best ten opponents to receive their next clue. The travel is shorter, but weaker teams may be waiting a long time. In Slammer, teams will enter the door to the Downtown of Crag, where they will be given two authentic Crag hammers, which have a striking resemblance to the famous Pixl Cudge. They must make their way to the highest point in the Downtown of Crag, Craffer Point, at which there will be large blocks of granite. Teams will smash their way through them to receive a gem, which they'll trade in for their next clue. This option is physical as well and requires more distance, but doesn't need much strategy.

"Well?" said PPAD.

"Isn't it obvi? We pick Slammer!" said DP.

"Awesome!" said PPAD, following DonPianta into the Crag door.

-MidNote: I just want you to know, I'm changing my name format- the authors will always be abbreviated, except in the bold titles.-

"Guh guh guh?" asked Marilyn.

"Have you seen your muscles recently? Slammer, for sure!" said Vivian.

"Guh!" said Marilyn.

"Guh guh guh? Guh uh uh guh guh uh uh guh!" said Marilyn.

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in Third

The Goombas eventually reached the top of the tower. "Okay, Detour: Sammer or Slammer?" Goombaria read.

"I think we should go with Sammer; I suck at hammers," said Goombario.

"Agreed," said Goombaria, entering the door.

"Yeah… wait, what?" said Goombario. He facepalmed.

Sammer Kingdom (Sammer)

"Wow," said Goombario.

"I didn't expect that the challenge was right beyond the door," Goombario said.

"This looks fun!" said Goombaria. She plowed right through the first Sammer Guy.

"…" said Goombario.

"Why do I even bother trying?" Goombario said.

The next three 'battles' continued the same way, with one of the two siblings KO'ing the opponent in a way so simple that it was almost painful to endure. "UGH!" said Goombaria. "This is too EASY!" She walked on, looking at Goombario, until she bumped into the fifth Sammer Guy. He was a lot taller than her.

"…" said Goombaria.

Craffer Point (Slammer)

"You'd think that this place would be quite a bit harder to reach," said PPAD.

"Agreed," said Don. Shrugging, he and PPAD lifted their hammers, and began to beat the crap out of one of the blocks.

"…" they said. They'd made almost no progress after one minute.

"This might be a while," said PPAD.

Soon after they noticed their failure, the two noticed something else. "Hey," said Don to Vivian and Marilyn as the sirens lifted their hammers at another block.

"Oh god," said Vivian, noting the true difficulty involved.

"Guh!" said Marilyn, laughing at her sister.

"Well I'm not exactly like you!" said Vivian.

"Guh guh guh guh guh!" said Marilyn.

"I don't like eggs!" Vivian replied.

"?" said Don and PPAD. Shrugging, returning to the arduous task.

The 5:00 flight, arriving in Dimentia at 1:19 PM

"We'd better hurry and somehow find how the heck we get to Flipside," said Luigenius (Luig).

"Maybe it's in that building that says 'Flipside' on it," Luigi replied. Luig facepalmed.

"Excuse me, princess," Luig said. Luigi rolled his eyes and ran into the building. Without stopping for a breather, he ran right into the portal. "Whoa whoa WHOA there!" Luig said, stopping short.

Soon, in ran Frankie and Francesca- with a little bit too much ambition. "Augh!" shouted Luig, as Frankie bumped him into the vortex. Frankie, clumsy, fell in during his attempt to stand.

"Frankie!" said Francesca, diving in after him.

"Wow," said Birdo, seeing this. "This is like, Epic Showtime Two." Yoshi looked at Birdo confused, before slowly backing into the vortex. Birdo grabbed a hold of his arm and went in with him.

"Here you go!" said Dottie, flying quickly around the six new arrivers. They quickly grew to the size of average Flipside residents, and Dottie shrank again.

"Thank you!" said Francesca.

"Where's dis Flipside Tower?" said Frankie.

"There's an elevator over there," Luig whispered to Luigi.

"I think we should spread out," said Luigi. "Frankie, Francesca, you look over there," he said, pointing in the direction of an arcade. "Birdo, Yoshi, you look over there," he continued, pointing to a wall far from the elevator, "and we'll go that way," he finished, nodding in the direction of the elevator.

"As soon as Luigi split us up to find out how to get to this tower, I got pretty suspicious," said Francesca.

Thinking that the others had begun to search, Luig and Luigi slipped aboard the elevator. One set of eyes was still watching them, though.

"I knew it," said Birdo.

"Over there," Birdo whispered to Yoshi. Yoshi nodded.

"Where did they go?" Yoshi said aloud.

"What?" Frankie said.

"They're gone," said Birdo.

"Dey've found de elevator!" said Frankie. The four duped players ran in the direction the two had gone.

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fourth

"That probably got us a very short, yet hopefully significant lead," said Luig.

"I hope so. I know where the tower is, so just keep up," Luigi replied.

The elevator soon reached the main level of Flipside, and Luig didn't need Luigi's help to find the tower.

"That… is… HUGE!" Luig said.

"I know it is. Come on; let's get on before they have the chance!" Luigi said. The two ran over to the tower and boarded the elevator for the long trip up.

"Now we shouldn't have to worry," said Luig.

"Not too much."

Sammer Kingdom (Sammer)

"This… hurts… a lot…" said Goombaria, throwing herself weakly into the seventh opponent.

"Why?" said Goombaria.

"We don't have another option," said Goombario.

"Let's just skip it and take the penalty," said Goombaria.

"I was getting to the point where I really thought we couldn't do it anymore," Goombaria said.

"Excuse me, can you just let us through?" said Goombario.

"No! You must win!" said the Sammer Guy.

"We're not doing the Detour!" said Goombaria.

"Whatever," said the Sammer Guy. "Losers," he muttered.

"WHAT?" Goombaria yelled. Summoning her anger, she plowed through him. "O.O"

"Goombaria, we're so doing this."

Craffer Point (Slammer)

"We'd worked very hard to show that… we were hardly any closer to that gem," said Don.

"This is useless!" said PPAD.

"You mean we're useless," said Don, pointing to the rock, which was still about 2/3 of its original size.

"We're not useless, this is just… tiring," said PPAD.

"Look at them!" said Don, gesturing to Vivian and Marilyn, who were just beating the frick out of their block.

"Let's just keep doing this," said PPAD.

"Fine," said Don, swinging his hammer again.

Marilyn whacked the block one last time, and it corroded, leaving a pile of gray and ash, centered by a small turquoise light. "Guh!" she said, picking it up.

"That's beautiful!" Vivian said, admiring the stone. "Let's go!"

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fourth

"Detour time, Luigi! Should we pick 'Sammer' or 'Slammer'?" Luig read.

"We could do both, I'm sure, but I think Sammer would take less time," said Luigi.

"Sounds good!" said Luig, running into the Sammer's Kingdom door.

Yoshi and Birdo, Currently in Fifth

Frankie and Francesca, Currently in Sixth

The two teams were unhappily standing at the base of the tower, waiting for the elevator to come back down.

"I can't believe them," said Francesca.

"Sugar biscuit, dis is a race. Dey have to try to trick us because dey want to win. It's de whole point," said Frankie.

"Whatever," said Francesca.

"Francesca needs a big reality check," said Birdo.

After about a minute, the elevator doors slowly began to open. The four pile-drove their way in and the doors slowly shut again.

All four doo bee doo bee dooed on the way up. "This is literally the slowest elevator in the history of the universe," said Yoshi.

"It'll get there eventually," said Francesca. And then, it stopped.

"There's no way we're all the way up yet," said Birdo.

"We're not," said Yoshi, peering out the window. The elevator was frozen, halfway up the tower. "We're stuck."

"No!" said Francesca.

Sammer Kingdom (Sammer)

Luig and Luigi had bested the first six opponents, and were onto their seventh. "This isn't too bad," said Luigi, jumping on the opponent.

"Look! We're catching up to the Goombas!" said Luig, pointing to Goombario and Goombaria, who were at the last enemy.

"Yes! You did it, bro!" said Goombaria. The two approached Sammer, standing behind the fallen 10th Sammer Guy, and took their clue. "Thank you!"

"It says, 'Make your way to Merlee's Mansion…'"

Teams now have to travel back to Flipside, from where they can enter another door to reach Merlee's Mansion, the oldest (and only) building in Gloam Valley. Once inside, they'll have to search through the basement to find Merlee, who'll give them their next clue.

"Okay, I think I know her from my travels with Mario!" said Goombario.

"You know everyone from your travels with Mario," said Goombaria.

"Oh, right, I forgot," Goombario replied.

The two ran backwards, past all the random Sammer Guys. They totally ignored Luig and Luigi, acting as though they didn't see them.

"That's nice," said Luigi.

"I think Luigi is getting a bit worried about the race," said Luig.

"I'm not worried!" Luigi replied. "Well, we were last once."

"Don't worry about it, just keep fightin'!" said Luig, punching the ninth Sammer Guy in the face.

Craffer Point (Slammer)

"Yes! We're done!" said Vivian, glomping her sister.

"Guh! Guh guh guh!" said Marilyn, returning the glomp.

"Congratulations," said the random Crag, handing the two the clue.

"Okay," said Vivian, after reading it over. "We have to find this mansion!"

"Guh guh guh!" said Marilyn, leading the way to Downtown of Crag. Don and PPAD were blown over by the flying past of the sirens.

"Ouch," said Don, standing up.

"Wow," said PPAD, walking the ¼ mile back to the block, with which they were almost done.

"I should have done more lifting before I came," said Don.

"You lift?" said PPAD.

"Yeah, I lift!" Don replied. PPAD rolled her eyes.

"Man, I'm tired," said Don.

"Aw, quit your whining!" said PPAD, grabbing and whacking the rock with both hammers. It shattered.

"…" said Don and PPAD. Don facepalmed.

"Come along now, little man," said PPAD, waving her hand to show Don the direction of travel.

"I know where you're going," said Don. He followed PPAD to the clue, and she made him read it. "To Merlee's Mansion."

"Come along, Don, I can't wait for you all day!" PPAD said. Don rolled his eyes.

The 4:15 AM flight, arriving in Dimentia at 1:26 PM

"We'd better hurry ourselves up if we wanna stay in this freakin' thing," said GLP.

"Yeah, let's find this Flipside place," said c11.

"It's obviously right there," said Dot, pointing to the white building reading 'FLIPSIDE'.

"Thanks, we couldn't figure that out on our own," said Deb. Dot rolled her eyes, and Deb laughed.

The two teams entered the house and, oblivious of the portal, ran right through to Flipside.

"Holy CRAP we're tiny!" said c11.

"IKR!" said GLP, leading c11 to facepalm.

"Hello! Welcome to Flipside!" said a Pixl, about the size of the heads of the racers. "I'm Dottie, and I'm here to help you out."

"Hi!" said Dot. Dottie spun quickly around the four, and they grew to the size of other Flipside citizens.

"Have a good day!" said Dottie.

"Bye!" said c11.

"Thank you!" said Deb.

The two teams found the elevator faster than the prior teams had, and they couldn't miss the tower.

"Hmm, I wonder how long the elevator'll be," said Dot. The two teams stopped before they reached the door.

"What the…" said GLP.

"No way," said c11. The elevator was totally still, halfway up the tower. Several maintenance vehicles blocked the tower.

"When did THIS happen?" said GLP to a random, nonworking worker.

"Like ten minutes ago," said the worker.

"This sucks!" said c11.

Sammer Kingdom (Sammer)

"Okay, we'll need some intense strategizing on this one," said Luig, pointing to the intensely obese Sammer Guy that stood between them and Sammer himself.

"How about this HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" yelled Luigi, plowing through the Sammer Guy- literally.

"O.O" said Luig and Sammer.

"That's not good," said Sammer. Staring at the remains of the Sammer Guy, Sammer began to well up with tears. He flipped out his cell. "Hey! Sammer Guy 56! Ten is down; you need to come replace him!" Luig and Luigi facepalmed, taking their clue.

"Merlee's Mansion," said Luig.

"I joined the party a little after that, so, I'm as confused as you," said Luigi. Luig facepalmed again.

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in First

"Hey! Look!" said Goombaria. Goombario, joining his sister in running through Gloam Valley, saw something that made him a bit nervous.

"It's the sirens!" he said.

"I know!" said Goombaria.

"I would've thought we were farther ahead…" said Goombaria.

"Well, we can't worry or stare! Just keep running!"

"Okay!"

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently in Second

"Come on! If we hurry we'll beat them!" said Vivian.

"Guh! Guh! Guh!" said Marilyn, close behind her sister.

"Yes you can!"

"Guh…"

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in Third

"I wonder how far ahead Marilyn and Vivian are," said Don, running pretty quickly through the Gloam Valley.

"They can't be too far!" said PPAD. The two epically jumped over a lake.

"…" they said, surprised at their skillz.

"Did the author just put a 'z' at-" PPAD began.

"SHUSH! Don't break it!" Don replied.

"Break wha-" PPAD began.

"NOTHING!" Don yelled, running ahead to hide his face, which showed how awkward the situation was.

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fourth

"Isn't it weird?" asked Luig, looking around at the top of Flipside Tower.

"Isn't what weird?" Luigi asked.

"We haven't seen Frankie and Francesca or Yoshi and Birdo," Luig replied.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird," Luigi replied. Shrugging it off, the two entered the door to Gloam Valley.

Yoshi and Birdo, Currently in Fifth/Sixth

Frankie and Francesca, Currently in Fifth/Sixth

"This is the most suckish thing ever!" said Birdo.

"Well, hopefully someone's flight is delayed or somethin'," said Frankie.

"We were the last flight to depart," said Yoshi.

"But… one of the flights was indirect," said Francesca. "Maybe we got here before them!"

"How do you know… aw, it doesn't matter. At least we're still in dis!" said Frankie.

"It felt good to know dat dere was at least two teams behind us," said Frankie.

"I'm just hoping this starts up again. NOW," said Birdo. Yoshi rolled his eyes.

Dot and Deb, Currently in Seventh/Eighth

Collete11 and Greenleafprince, Currently in Seventh/Eighth

"SNOOORE!" said c11, faking sleep on the ground.

"HOOONK-SHOOO!" said GLP, faking sleep on c11's stomach. Dot facepalmed.

"At least they look like they're trying to make progress," said Deb.

"Not really," said Dot, "all they're doing is being there and making noise and raising ladders that are way too short."

"Unfortunately… you're correct."

"I'm always correct."

Deb chuckled lightly.

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in First

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently in Second

By now, Vivian and Marilyn were practically running side-by-side with the Goombas. "Hey!" said Vivian.

"Hey," said Goombario. He seemed to be slightly irked.

"We're pretty close," said Vivian, nodding to the nearby mansion.

"It's still like a quarter of a mile," said Goombario.

"Yeah, but it's not like it's another hour," said Vivian.

"I see," said Goombario.

"Um…" said Vivian.

"Well, good luck!" said Vivian, passing the Goombas.

"Guh guh guh," said Marilyn, apologetically, leaving the Goombas confused.

"What just happened?" said Goombaria. Goombario would've shrugged if they weren't running. If he had shoulders.

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in Third

"Look… the mansion… only a mile away!" said Don. PPAD facepalmed.

"As if… that's a short distance?" PPAD asked.

"It is… if you're ME!" said Don. PPAD facepalmed again.

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fourth

"Hey!" said Luig. "I can see the mansion over the horizon!"

"That's not the horizon! If it was, it would be forever until we got there!" Luigi replied.

"Well, I can see it over the hill, okay?" said Luig.

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently in First

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently in Second

The two teams finally stepped aboard the eloquent deck of the ornate mansion. Gawking at it up close, it took them a short time to remember the race and enter. To their complete surprise, they saw…

"TUMBLE?" all four said at once.

"Hello, teams. Currently, there's a technical fail beyond our control, which is halting four teams from advancing. I'm sorry to inform you that the race is being paused until the fail is solved," said Tumble. "Once the problem is cleared, you'll go on based on your time."

Vivian and Marilyn, Currently Frozen- 2:18 PM

Goombario and Goombaria, Currently Frozen- 2:18 PM

"Good luck," said Tumble. "You may rest here as you wish."

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently in Third

The duo made it to the mansion about nine minutes later. The beauty of it didn't appeal to them, so they simply rushed in.

"WHOA!" they said, sliding and halting directly before Tumble.

"DonPianta, PrincessPeachAndDaisy, I'm sorry to inform you a technical fail has made it impossible for several teams to advance. You will be frozen here, and when the problem is solved, you'll be released at a staggered time, based on when other, previously-arriving teams made it here," Tumble explained.

DonPianta and PrincessPeachAndDaisy, Currently Frozen- 2:29 PM

"Wow," said Don.

"That sucks," said PPAD.

"Join the club," said Vivian.

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fourth

The two ran at about the fastest speed they'd ever run before. "Almost… there… good…" Luigi said.

"Ugh…" said Luig.

When they finally succeeded in arriving, they collapsed onto the deck.

"Let's just… wait…" said Luigi.

"Yeah…" said Luig.

Dot and Deb, Currently in Seventh/Eighth

Collete11 and Greenleafprince, Currently in Seventh/Eighth

The four yawned, lying on the ground. "We've been here for at least an hour," said Dot, looking at her sister's watch.

"Yeah, an hour and twenty nine minutes," said c11, looking at her watch.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it," Deb replied.

"Except sleep," said the random worker from before. The group facepalmed.

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently in Fourth

"Come on, let's go," said Luig, standing up. Luigi slowly followed, entering the open door. What they saw inside woke them up- fully.

"?" they said.

"Luigi, Luigenius, unfortunately, there's been a technical fail out of our control…"

Luigi and Luigenius, Currently Frozen- 3:05 PM

"This sucks…" said Luig. Walking over to where three other teams were waiting, he lied down and returned to sleep.

Frankie and Francesca, Currently in Fifth/Sixth

Yoshi and Birdo, Currently in Fifth/Sixth

The four felt a bump, and stood up quickly. "It's moving up again!" said Francesca.

"YES!" said Birdo, hugging Yoshi. Frankie decided that this would be a good time to hug Francesca. He was correct, of course.

"Dis is great!" said Frankie. "Sort of."

Then, it wasn't great. The elevator halted after fifteen seconds.

"UGH!" all four said.

Author's Note: I hate to say it, but this technical fail will take too long to repair for the rest of the leg to be in this chapter But I will come back when they fix this elevator!