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Previously on the Amazing Race, our navigating teams had a blast going through the forest towards dusk. Well, sort of. Afterwards it was a race to get many textiles retrieved from the museum. The cab drivers won. AGAIN. Thanks to the shop owners, Karen & Carol, the actors learned two lessons: one, it's always fun to let loose and two, let loose too much and you end up losing the race. Only thirteen teams are left in this crazy competition. Will any of them survive? Probably not today. It's time for... the Amazing Race.

***

"Bonjour, mes viewers!" Toner greets. "If you're reading/watching this, then it's time to say goodbye to beautiful Guatemala. Up first, cab drivers..."

Vito steps up to the clue box and reads the tip to his partner. "We're going to Houston, Texas."

Howdy; the teams get to travel to good-old country-style Texas. Houston is known for being an ever-growing metropolis, as well as being home to NASA's training facility. The ironic thing is that this leg of the race will have nothing to do with that. Once they arrive at the airport, they'll find the tip box with the task of the day.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Donna asks enthusiastically. The two run off. Soon, all twenty-six racers race as fast as they can to the airport. However, six teams are unfortunate to get stuck on flight two while the other seven are on flight number one.

***

In the back of the second plane, the YouTubers try to get some shut-eye. The haters, though, not so much. "I told you we were doing better because of me," Josee argue.

Ryan rolls his eyes. "Oh, please. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have made it out of the forest. Besides, you kept giving the other teams the squares we needed to win!"

"I told you that was an accident!"

Father and son hear all that, just when they were about to go to sleep as well. "Son, promise me we'll never fight like that." Kaleb yawns. Mac nods and goes back to facing the window, watching the sky go by as they fly.

In another part of the aircraft, Carla is up, pacing back and forth while hugging her arms around herself. "Girl, if you keep doing that, it'll do nothing but make us look weak," Carrie claims. "Sit down and enjoy the ride."

"How can I?!" Carla panics. "Our only friends are gone! You know what that means? It means that we're completely alone!" She sits down next to her friend. "Plus, those two were good at keeping me calm during tough situations. What if no one else can do that? What if-?"

Carrie slaps her across the cheek. "Ok. You need to take a massive chill pill. Just because Karen & Carol are gone doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Try to think positive and maybe something good will happen. You never know."

"Something positive, huh? I can try." Carla rubs her forehead as her brain thinks of the things she enjoys: Abercrombie & Fitch, acting, makeup, other stuff that 20-year-old female actors love.

Suddenly the intercom goes off with the captain's voice saying, "Hello folks, looks like we've got a little tailwind and are going to land fifteen minutes ahead of schedule." Carla smiles. So it does work, she thinks.

Which is good, because that means they're only thirty minutes behind the first flight, which has landed. All seven teams exit the airport and find the tip box with no problem. "It's a Detour," Sally observes.

"'Strike or Scrub'?" Felix asks.

With every Detour comes a choice between two difficult tasks. In this case, teams may either take taxis all the way to Minute Maid Park where both members must hit one baseball pitched from the fastest pitcher in the world: the Cuban Missile (for the purposes of this version of the Amazing Race, the Cuban Missile will be represented by a red and brown wolf wearing Cincinnati Reds gear). Either that or make their way to the Chevron Global Aviation building on Louisiana Street and wash an entire column of windows from top to bottom. Complete either task and they must make their way to the Houston Community College Central, where the checkpoint and Toner will be waiting for them. Last team to arrive could be out of the race.

The seven teams split up, each going their separate ways with their own intentions. The only two teams that head towards Chevron are the marines and engaged couple. Everyone else speeds towards Minute Maid. As usual, the cab drivers and friends with benefits fight for the lead. "Remind me why we chose baseball even though I'm horrible at it?" Felix asks.

"Because I'm not exactly comfortable with the whole heights and out in the open situation." Toby blushes and chuckles nervously but the fox gets it; he's been afraid of heights for a long time.

The first taxi to arrive at the park contains the cab drivers, Vito & Donna. Both of them grab helmets and a baseball bat, thinking this will be a piece of cake. Vito, being the stronger of the two physically steps up to the home plate first just as Felix & Toby, Sindy & Sally, Max & Lucius, and Cinnamon & Pepper arrive. "Watch and learn, people," Vito mocks.

The Cuban Missile playfully tosses a ball between his paws. He lets his arm back and throws it hard towards Vito. However, the fox misses by an inch when he tries to swing. "What was that about learning?" Sindy asks. "So basically we should do what you didn't?" The others laugh minus Donna.

The vixen takes the bat from her partner and shoves him aside. She growls, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, you're going to get served today," the Missile says. He pitches another baseball as hard as he can. This time, Donna hits it on her first try and it goes soaring back they way it came. Only further.

"That's how it's done, folks," Donna teases.

Towards the Aviation building, the marines arrive first. They run inside and into an available elevator. Just as the doors are about to close, Ren & Cal slip inside; just in time. "How come you guys didn't do the baseball thing?" Zack asks.

Ren shrugs. "Maybe because the other teams decided on that one. We are literally the only two teams in the building so... less competition."

Ding! Once they arrive at the top floor, the race for first on that side of the Detour is on. Chris finds the door to the roof and is greeted with high winds at the top. When Zack looks over the edge and down below, he instantly gets disoriented and nauseous. He clings onto Chris, shivering; even his teeth clattering. "What is wrong with you?" Chris pulls his fellow marine off of him.

"I'm sorry," Zack apologizes. "I'm just... afraid of heights. It's why I don't really go on most roller coasters."

"Well you might want to get over it because we're falling behind again." Chris points to the other team, who have already hopped onto a window washer platform and began the task. The wolf/husky jumps onto the platform, looking back up to see the still nervous fox. He sighs then holds his arms out. "Come on, fox! I've got you!"

Zack takes a deep breath, then jumps straight into Chris' arms. "Am I still alive?" he asks.

"Of course you are. Now let's wash the windows already!"

As our first seven teams get settled into the task, the second plane has landed, meaning it's still anyone's game. Those six hurriedly grab the clue and split up with some going to Minute Maid (magicians, haters, YouTubers, and officers) and a couple going to Chevron (father/son and actors).

Meanwhile at Minute Maid, all five teams that were there originally are still struggling. While Toby managed to hit a homerun on his second try, Felix still can't hit the ball once. Both Cinnamon and Pepper aren't able to hit one of the Missile's baseballs after trying twice. By the time Sindy takes a turn, she looks at the Cuban Missile, who reminds her of Bert, which makes her think of Arnold. She puts her game face on and grips the bat hard. When the ball comes, she knocks it out of the park.

Sally's jaw drops. "I thought you hated sports," she says.

"I do," Sindy explains. "But my dad and my mom encouraged it when I was a kid and I guess I', still pretty good. Except for sports that involve my feet. I'm terrible at soccer and football."

Sally goes next; but fails. The emperor's try next yet the Cuban Missile isn't going easy on them (or any of them) and they both miss.

Max rolls his eyes. "How is anyone supposed to complete this task?" he asks. When he turns to Lucius, he says, "I think we should've done the window thing."

"Hold on there, hun," the wolf says. "Nobody has finished this part of the Detour and washing fifty windows might take just as long. Maybe even longer. So, can we try this one more time?" His fox husband is about to say something, but Lucius continues. "If we fail again, we'll switch tasks."

"Deal," Max agrees. Everyone looks up when they see teams from the second flight arrive. It also drives their panic up the wall because it means that now everyone is in the city so anyone can go home at this point.

The haters get the first turn. As Ryan steps up, his ex-girlfriend shouts, "You better not blow this!"

He grunts and shoots back, "Stop telling me what to do, woman!" The wolf turns to the Missile and pays very close attention to the ball in his paw. He throws it as hard as he can in timing with Ryan's swing. The ball connects with the bat, but it goes to the ground and rolls a few feet. It doesn't matter though, since they only hat to hit the ball, not miss. "Oh yeah! See if you can beat that, crazy!"

Josee growls as she goes to bat. However for her, she misses. Ryan laughs when he sees this so Josee hurls the bat right at him, hitting him between the legs. "Why must that woman always aim there?" Ryan squeaks.

The officer take their turn next. "Umm... have ever held a bat before, Carrots?" Nick asks when he sees Judy having trouble holding one.

"Not recently," she says. "But I'm sure I can handle it."

"You sure about that, Jude?" Pepper calls out. "This the Cuban Missile! His right hook tosses those balls at over one hundred miles per hour!"

Judy still steps up to the plate. "Bye-bye, bunny," the Missile strikes as he hurls one at her. Though the baseball doesn't hurt her, it does knock the bat out of her paws.

"That's it." Nick picks the bat off the ground and gently moves his partner to the side. "Let's dance, Missile." The fox brings the bat over his shoulder as the wolf hurls another ball at him. At a split second, Nick swings and hits, sending the ball towards one of the seating areas.

Back at the Aviation building, those who chose the wash windows have made it to the roof. "Why couldn't we baseball?" Kaleb asks.

"Because you're bad at it," Mac says. The wolves hop onto one of the platforms to find a red bucket of soapy water and two squeegees.

One platform over are the actors. Carrie starts scrubbing their first window with no problem. When she looks over, she sees Carla reluctant to use a sponge. "Everything ok?" Carrie asks.

Carla shakes her head. "Not really. Why are we doing this task and not baseball? We came in third in Jamaica when I had to play Cricket."

"This one seemed easier. The Cuban Missile is the fastest pitcher in the world. Besides, I'm not good at baseball. Now come on," she reaches into her bag and brings out two rubber gloves (just in case), "put these on if it makes you feel better. You might want to hurry; I think we're in last place."

Cal & Ren have already made it halfway down the building. A few floors up are the marines. Their strategy was to start one each end of one window and work towards the center. It's a strategic approach. "Doing great, man, we're nearly there." Chris groans with each of Zack's pep talks.

As the fox gets close to the center, the platform begins to creak and moan. It tilts to the side slightly and their bucket of water begins to slide. Chris reaches down to grab it, but the platform tilts further, prompting Zack to run to the other end to balance it out. "Dude, I think this thing is gonna..." The bucket slips off the side and gravity pulls it downwards.

That is until it lands directly on Ren. "Ahh! I've got soap in my eyes!" he cries. The black fox throws the bucket off the side of his platform and rubs his eyes, trying to make the stinging sensation go away.

"Great," Chris says. "We just lost our water and one of our squeegees. How are we going to finish the task in time?"

Zack shrugs but then realizes that a couple of his friends are the ones who caught their bucket. Maybe they can help. The fox reaches out for the controls and lowers them down slightly until they're in level with Ren & Cal. "Hey, neighbors!" he shouts and waves.

"Hi, Zack!" Cal waves back.

Chris looks up at his teammate. "Whatever it is you're thinking, I'm not up for it."

"We don't have a choice," Zack argues. He walks over and climbs over both railing to join his friends. "Hey guys, we kinda need your help. We don't have water any more and we only have one squeegee. Think you can help?"

"Hmm..." Ren thinks. The tip said that each team had to wash one column of windows. It never said each team has to do their own. "Ok. Hop on." Zack pulls Chris onto their platform.

"That's great that you're going to help us," Chris says. "But in case you haven't noticed, because of our delay, the other teams are catching up." He points upwards where Kaleb & Mac and Carla & Carrie are only a few floors away. "So unless you guys have some brilliant plan to beam us into first place, we're pretty much doomed."

Cal looks at his reflection in the window. His body width has to be at least forty percent of how wide each window is. "I have a plan!" the bear exclaims. "It can help us all finish the task right now!"

"Spill it, big guy. What do you have?" Zack asks.

Cal rips his shirt off, exposing his large body, takes his and Ren's water where he proceeds to dump it down himself. He presses himself up against the glass of the window and says, "Zack, drop us!"

The orange fox reaches for the controls and hits "down". At a fast pace, the four of them begin to descend at a fast pace due to their combined weight. As they go down, the windows above appear shiny and sparkling. After fifteen stories, the group crash into the ground. "That. Was. Awesome!" Zack exclaims. "Let's do that again!"

"No." Chris pulls his partner to his feet. "Let's catch taxis before we fall behind again."

Ren sees one in the distance and whistles loud. "Taxi!" The yellow and black vehicle stop in front of them and they pile into the back. (Chris was reluctant to share one, but Zack pointed out that they had just helped them complete the task.)

The baseball tasks gets easier after a while. After Majira fails, Echo takes a turn. Because of her physical fitness, she swings hard. The ball, however, ends up right back where it started: into the paw of the Cuban Missile. However, the wolf can feel his wrist tingle up and feel weird. "Dang it, fennec, you just sprained my pitching paw!"

"My bad!" Echo calls out.

The magicians go next. Chloe somehow turns her magic wand into a baseball bat before everyone's eyes (they stare in awe). When she sees the ball approach, she hits it with all she has at it goes flying out of the park. With Parker, the Missile has a hard time throwing as fast as he was before, so the black tiger comes out victorious.

"That was easier than I thought," Parker says.

"I know, right?" Chloe asks. She takes his paw and they head back out onto the street.

The cab drivers are back up. Donna sits on the side, gnawing on her claws as Vito takes another shot at bat. He sees the baseball approaching. When he swings, he feels something connect with the bat and it goes soaring. "Yes!" Donna cheers. "Nice job, Vito!"

***

Toner watches as one cab pulls up to the college and is surprised to see two teams in it at once. The four race out onto the pavement for the race or first. One team outruns the other and they slide onto the rug with such precision. "Nice job marine furs," the host says. "You're in first place."

"Yes!" Chris & Zack squeal and hugs each other tight.

"Ren & Cal. That makes you second place. Again."

"I can deal with second," Cal remarks.

Ten minutes later, the cab drivers arrive at the community college, thinking that they've beat the magicians. "Cabbies," when Donna hears that word, she already knows they didn't win, "third place."

"Again?" Vito asks. "You've got to be joking!"

"You're right. I am," Toner says with a smug expression. "The magicians got here waaaaaaay before you two did."

Chloe & Parker appear with strawberry milkshakes in paw. When Donna sees this, it makes her realize one thing: they came in fourth. If she has shown rage while being called a "cabbie", she unleashes a twister of anger when she sees this.

As she screams and throws stuff around, Vito pulls the camera aside and explains the situation to the viewers. "She'll be fine. The reason she doesn't like the number four is that she's been told once that she's cursed with that number and it's been proven true. For example, Every time she tries to go for Cab Driver of the Month, she always comes in fourth and the winner is always her worst enemy: Veronica Seymour. So, you can understand why she hates being in her position now, right?"

Nick & Judy- 5th place

Max & Lucius- 6th place

Sindy & Sally- 7th place

Kaleb & Mac- 8th place

Cinnamon walks up to bat, ready to face what's coming to him. There are only three teams left at the park so he needs to get this. Pepper already has and Josee's looking like a monster at this point. The Missile tosses a baseball, feeling his wrist becoming weaker with each pitch. The brown fox hits it and jumps for joy.

When it's Josee's turn, she growls and raises the bat. The beast locks eyes with the pitcher man and lets out a huff through her nose like a bull. The Missile hurls one at her as she throws all her strength into hitting it. And she succeeds. "Yes! I. Am. A machine!"

"Great. Now can we head to the checkpoint, now?" Ryan asks.

Echo & Majira- 9th place

Josee & Ryan- 10th place

Cinnamon & Pepper- 11th place

The leaves the actors, who are frantically trying to scrub the last of their windows, and the friends with benefits, who still depend on Felix to finish the task. "I don't know if I can, though, the fox says.

"Hey, don't you quit on me," Toby motivates. "You think Fletcher would enjoy seeing you like this? C'mon hun, you can do this. For me and for all your friends back home." The tiger kisses him on the cheek.

"You know what Toby?" Felix asks. "I think that's all I need for now." He steps back to home plate, planting his feet firmly to the ground. Bat gripped tightly, he maintains all his focus on the pitcher and the baseball that's going to be coming. The Missile throws again. When he sees it at the right moment, Felix swings and hit it towards the sidelines.

Toby runs up and grabs his paw. "That was great. We've got to go." They run towards the street, both thinking the same thing: please not be last.

At the Aviation building, Carrie makes sure to get any spot they missed on the last window before she says, "Finished. Now let's go check in."

Carla pulls off her rubber gloves and runs with her to find a cab. They spot one and waves their paws out to stop it. "To the Community College," Carla instructs. "And hurry!" The driver steps on the gas and they zoom forward. While they're passing the city by, Carrie rubs her arms nervously. Her partner reaches out to her and says, "Hey, Carrie?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want you to know that if we get cut today, I had a lot of fun with you in this game."

Carrie smiles. "I had a lot of fun too."

***

It's a mad dash to the checkpoint. Both cabs stop at the corner of the street at the same time, both teams coming out running up towards Toner. "It's gonna be a close one folks," Toner announces. "Twelfth place officially goes to..." The actors speed up, passing the beneficial friends, but they slow down when Carla holds onto her chest and slows to a walk.

"Oh my god, are you ok?" Carrie asks. She stops to help her friend by putting an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Carla says. "Though, I just blew it for us, didn't I?" Toner nods in answer while Felix & Toby hug each other on the carpet (12th place). "I'm sorry Carrie. I guess sometimes my asthma catches up to me. I get it from my dad."

"It's ok."

***

As the actors walk away from the college, they look back on all they've done in the race. "I hope I never have to touch a sponge again," Carla shudders. "But I loved seeing the Carribean up close. We definitely have to go see Jamaica again."

"What about St. Kitts?" Carrie asks. "That was pretty exciting."

"Nah. Florida, maybe. They're beaches are pretty awesome too."

"Funny; we came here to win the race and make our lives better, but I think we already accomplished that. Karen & Carol are definitely going to be your life coach from now on." Carla rolls her eyes playfully. "Now come on, let's go home and see if there's any TV roles open."

"Oooh! I heard there's a spot available for the fourth season of The 100!"

"Yes!"