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Previously on the Amazing Race, after gorging themselves, our Final Four teams started to "horse" around on the track; some more than others. Vito knocked his way into first place for the drivers. The marines came in last, but it was the strippers who took the fall as Cinnamon took a few hooves to the chest. Yikes. But since it was non-elimination, they got to bring back another team to replace them in the finale. And they chose... Felix & Toby, our favorite brown fox and orange tiger duo are back.

And so begins another finale with our Semi-Finalists; the drivers, the marines, the officers, and the friends with benefits. These four teams have raced all over the continent of North America for nearly a month. But today, it all comes to a conclusion.

From here on out, it's a non-stop race to the finish; teams who cannot keep up, will be going down. Welcome to part one of the finale of the greatest adventure on SoFurry... the Amazing Race.

***

"We're back in Lexington," Toner introduces, "where yesterday's winners are the first ones to hit the clue box."

The drivers, Vito & Donna step up to the plate with the latter of the two grabbing the tip. Before she reads, she says, "This will be the ultimate victory yet. We've already broken the record for most wins in a single race."

"Eight wins overall," Vito counts. "And we're only getting stronger."

"The other teams don't stand a chance. Felix & Toby? They don't have a strong bone in their bodies. They're only back here by luck. Nick & Judy?" Donna scoffs. "Yeah, right. Neither can keep their lunches down long enough to finish first. And then we have those lovestruck marines."

"Did they even come in first at all during this race?" Vito teases. "They've come in 4th so many times that it's laughable." He giggles. Donna joins in on the laughs, but it gradually turns into a pair of evil hysteria.

They snap out of it long enough for Donna to read the first tip. "Looks like we're flying to... Bunnyburrow?"

It may seem like BunnyBurrow is only another rural city, but their rich food industrialization makes the town a popular tourist spot. It's home to over 81 million people (and counting); funny enough we'll hardly even see them. Teams must fly via cropduster to a local carrot field to find their next tip.

The other three teams quickly grab the clue and head out of the race track. But Vito & Donna are still in the lead. Outside of the track, four crop-dusting planes sit ready for flight. The drivers hop into the first one, firing the place up and soaring off into the air.

Our second place officers get in the next one over. "You know how to fly, right?" Judy asks.

"I'm going to say yes," Nick says. "But only because you got to drive a train once."

"Fair enough."

Soon, all four teams are in the air, heading northeast towards the town. In third place is the returning team. "I'm still in shock; it's hard to believe we're back in the race!" Felix squeals. "But the cost of it is very sad."

Toby nods in agreement. "Yeah. I hope Cinnamon will be okay. You think we should split the money with them if we end up winning?"

"I wouldn't be against it."

In dead last are the marines. Chris flies the plane as Zack is still in shock over what happened yesterday. All night, Chris heard Zack murmuring in his sleep about how the accident was "his fault". It's sad to see him so broken like this. Perhaps telling him how he feels about him will cheer him up. Anything to get my special fox back up on his feet, Chris thinks.

He looks behind him, seeing Zack lean against the side of the plane, ears down and tail limp. His eyes are slightly dead, staring off into space. "Hey," Chris says, "how are you holding up, bud?"

"I'm fine. But thanks to me, Cinnamon has a crushed chest and a broken shoulder."

"Perhaps an alliance with Toby & Felix might cheer you up?" Zack doesn't answer. Chris gets more worried. Without his partner focusing on the race, they'll end up in 4th again; only this time, they'll be sent home for good. He can't have that, not when he's so close to winning.

Hours later, the teams arrive in the fields of BunnyBurrow safe and sound. Except Nick accidentally bumps into the driver's plane upon landing. "Why does this always happen?!" Donna growls.

"That never stops getting funny," Nick snickers. The officers hop out of the plane and rush over to the clue box. "'One-Way: Keep Calm and Carrot On'?" For this task, teams must work together to harvest two whole baskets of carrots from the field. They then must hand them over to a local farmer (whose name Toner never bothered to learn) then head over to a nearby lake to receive their next tip.

Each racer slips into a pair of jean overalls (to keep up with the style of the city) and grabs a harvesting basket provided nearby. Vito & Donna go off on their own while the marines stick close to the friend with benefits.

After they were sent home, Toby & Felix saw exactly what was going on behind the scenes. Chris is clearly in love with Zack; head over heels! But it's he still hasn't told him the truth yet. So when they see the marines working on the task close to them, Toby nudges his partner, saying, "You think we should try to get them together?"

The brown fox scratches the back of his neck. "Either way, Zack is going to find out by the end of the day," Felix contemplates. "But I would hate to be the one to deliver the news instead of Chris himself."

"A better way to go about it is to talk to them individually. Perhaps they'll open up if they're separated."

"Worth a shot." The boys grab their baskets and scoot over to where the marines are at work. "Hey, Zack, you want to work over there?" Felix points to a random spot behind him.

"But we're on different teams," he points out. Chris clears his throat, trying to point out that this could be an opportunity to work with another team. Zack then corrects himself. "I mean, sure. Why not?" Though confused, he follows Felix to another part of the field.

Toby then plants himself next to the wolf. "Before you get any ideas," Chris says, "we just want to form an alliance so we can knock out the drivers. That and because Zack has been upset all day."

"Because of the whole Cinnamon ordeal? I know. When me and Felix heard about that, we were pretty shocked. Who knew horses can be so angry?" This is it, the tiger tells himself. Time to dig into his brain. "But I do have a question: why start caring about Zack's feelings now? You were treating him like a pet at the beginning of the season."

Chris blushes. "Can we not talk about that right now?" The wolf picks up the pace digging the carrots out of the ground. Anything to distract him from confessing his feelings.

But Toby continues to push. "Are you sure about that? To me, it almost sounds like you-"

Chris slaps a paw over his maw. "Don't say that!" he hisses. He glances over his shoulder to make sure no one heard them. Taking his paw off slowly, Chris whisper, "Listen, you're right; I have a major crush on Zack and I have for two years. But every time I try to tell him, I end up messing things up and I start yelling at him. Deep down, I would do anything to make him happy."

"Don't worry," Toby says. "I'm going to help you admit your feelings for him." Chris' heart drops but also flips. Zack is going to find out about his love for him either way since Ren threatened to spill the beans at the finale.

The wolf turns to the tiger. "Fine." Because I really need help, he adds to himself.

Meanwhile, Donna & Vito dig up carrots rather quickly. You can see the determination in her eyes. So when she looks up and sees Chris, Felix, Toby, and Zack working together, her mind starts turning the gears. An alliance will only threaten her game. One glance at the officers and an idea clicks into place.

"You keep working," Donna says to her partner. "I'll be right back." She gets up and quietly tip-toes over to where Nick & Judy are working on the task.

They looks up and see her working next to them. "What are you doing here?" Nick asks. "Can't you go over and bother your own partner?" He jabs at Vito with his thumb. The finale is the fastest part of the race. He cannot afford to have Donna slowing him down. Or trying to.

The vixen rolls her eyes. "Here's the deal; the marines and friends are forming an alliance over there." She nods towards them. "We can't let that happen. As much as I would love to send you and your precious bunny home," she stretches out the p-word, "I need your help eliminating the marines."

"Didn't the marines come in 4th eight times in a row?" Judy asks.

"You're missing the point. Underdogs can make a comeback. Unless we, as the top dogs, can crush them!" Neither of the officers budge on her offer. "Look, after one of them is gone, we can go back to hating each other. I just need to see one of them lose."

Nick & Judy exchange a few glances. The longer it takes, the more it seems like a crazy idea to trust Donna. "What did you have in mind?" Judy asks out of curiosity.

"I'm thinking, you and Vito continue to yank carrots out of the ground. Me and Nick will find some way to destroy their supply."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Nick asks. Donna looks around. Both Zack and Felix have their backs turned. Stupidly, they have their near-full baskets sitting on the sidelines.

Donna grabs an empty basket. "Nick, you distract them. And make it a long one." Both sneaky foxes get up to execute their plan. Although Judy is completely against it, she knows that Nick will wear her down because he thinks it'll be the best move for the team.

Felix wipes some sweat off of his forehead. "Sweet. We're nearly done."

"And it's about time too," Zack says. The sun beats down on both foxes. Both of their ears perk up when they see Nick walk in front of them. "What are you doing over here?"

"Oh just wondering what you guys are up to," he answers.

"What does it look like?" Felix asks. "We're doing the challenge."

"And yet your partners are over there." Nick points to Chris and Toby.

Behind them, Donna sneaks up and switches Zack's full basket with an empty one. Maliciously, she does the same to Felix's. "It's a free country," Zack responds. "Besides, there's no rule saying that we can't work with other people in this race."

"Boy, do I know it." Nick snickers as he walks away.

Felix places more carrots in his basket, only to see that the whole thing is suddenly empty! "Huh? What gives? What happened to our carrots?" He hears evil snickering behind him. The drivers and officers carry four full baskets of carrots to the farmer. "Darn it!"

"What happened?" Chris asks when him and Toby jog over, arms full.

"Donna stole our carrots," Zack explains. "We're gonna be eliminated!" He covers his eyes, whimpering.

Toby looks down at the two full baskets they have. He places the one he was carrying into Zack's paws. "Not on my watch," he says. "You two go on ahead, we'll catch up."

"Seriously?" Chris asks. Toby nods. "Alright then. Let's go." Even though they feel bad for taking what wasn't theirs, the marines head over to turn the carrots in, taking third place. Which means our last place friends with benefits take the other empty baskets to start over again.

The drivers and officers reach the lake first. A few crates of oxygen tanks and scuba gear ring a few bells to the racers. Donna reaches the clue box first. "It's a Random Roadblock. 'Whoever is holding this tip must search for Ingredient X'?"

After redeeming himself of his good nature, local baker, Gideon Grey, opened up his own pie shop here in town. Racers must dive into the lake and search for his secret ingredient, which will be in small vials at the bottom of the 200-ft lake. Once they find one vial of the stuff, they must swim back up to the surface, hand it over to Gideon himself, then run along the train tracks to the first mid-point checkpoint of the Grand Finale at the train station. Three teams will continue on; the last team to arrive... will be cut from the race.

Donna and Nick get into their swimming gear with some help from their partners. "We should find extra vials and hide them somewhere. Imagine how confused they will be." She giggles from the thought.

"We have done enough sabotage for one leg," Judy says. "I would like if we can finish this without having to mess with the others."

Donna sighs. "She's right." but as she jumps into the water, all she wanted to do was push her in as well. Nobody tells her what to do. Perhaps a nudge into last place will set that rabbit straight.

The marines arrive next, with Zack grabbing the tip. Immediately, he coils up, shivering. "I don't know if I can do that," he says. "I have a slight phobia of costumes I cannot get out of." It's true. In seventh grade he had to wear skin tights for a play (don't ask) and when it came time to take it off, he had a panic attack trying to escape the costume.

"You know you can do this." Chris place a paw on his shoulder. "I know you can. Here, I'll help you get into the suit." So the wolf helps him into the diving suit, which, like Zack predicted, is very snug against his skin. Out of instinct, he reaches up to try to unzip it.

"Get me out of this thing!" Zack whimpers.

Chris grabs ahold of his paws. "Listen to me; I know you can do this. You're one of the toughest marines I know."

"Really?" His ears perk up.

"Really. Now hurry! We're in third place." Zack jumps into the water, splashing those waiting for them. Slowly, the fox sinks to the bottom where Donna and Nick are looking around for vials of... whatever it is. Only 200 feet below the surface can cut off some of the sunlight.

When the last place friends arrive, Felix gets fitted for the scuba diving suit. "Why did I grab the clue?" he asks himself. Toby snaps on his partner's helmet and oxygen tank and guides him into the lake.

"This will be a snap," he says. "You've got this."

All four players are in the lake. But it takes a while to try and find the ingredient. At the bottom are solid rocks, but even after Donna lifts them, she cannot seem to find anything. To Nick, the lake seems to expand forever; the fish swimming around making the challenge harder than it needs to be. Felix has a slight encounter with a sting-ray, swimming away from it fast.

Zack, on the other hand, manages to find one of the four vials, but it's caught between the claws of a lobster. What are crustaceans doing in the middle of the continent anyways? Don't they live in the ocean? He reaches for the vial, getting his fingers around it before the lobster wakes up and snaps its other claws at him.

The second of the four vials is hidden underneath a blowfish. But whenever Nick gets close enough, the fish puffs up, making it disappear from sight. He gets an idea to punt the fish away. But as soon as he gets ready to grab it and take first, an electric eel comes along and wraps itself around the vial. So close.

Felix thinks he's outswam the sting-ray and takes a breather. But when he turns around, he comes face to face with it again. He trembles, backing up a few steps when he spots one of the four vials on its back. He balls his fists up as the ray comes closer to him. Leaning back, he throws a punch at the stingray's nose, bumping him back a few feet. The clever fox swipes the vial away from him and swims back up to the surface.

As soon as he breaks through the water, he holds the vial up. "I knew you could do it!" Toby cheers. "First place all the way!" The tiger pulls Felix out of the lake and getting him out of the suit.

"This is insane," Felix says. "We went from being eliminated to being in first place!" The fox shakes the body suit off of his legs, jogging to catch up with Toby at the railroad tracks. Nearby, a few changing racks stand with their told clothes sitting by.

Toby tosses the overalls away and slips back on his purple glitter shorts. And Felix puts back on his favorite green t-shirt and jeans shorts. Nearly a mile up the tracks is the train station and waiting next to the carpet is the host himself. A wave of excitement fills the two boys as they step onto the carpet.

"Toby, Felix, you're in first place." Toner digs into his pocket. "But as you know, the race doesn't end here." He pulls out two golden tickets for first class.

Toby takes them and reads the next destination. "Sweet! We're going to Zootopia!" Him and Felix hug it out before walking off the carpet.

One team down, three are left but only two of them can get seats on the next train out.

Nick gets an idea to get the eel away from the vial. He swats at it with a plant he dug up from the ground. Right as the eel swims up to shock him, the fox darts out of the way and clenches his fist around the vial.

Donna finally finds one herself. But while nobody is looking, she stuffs a dense rock into her pocket for "later use". Both her and Nick reach the surface at the same time, taking off their helmets to breath in real air. "See? It's not so bad when you're not so focused on sabotaging the others," Judy says.

"I guess you could be right," Donna says. But the rock in her pocket says otherwise. Vito helps her change out of her suit. When he sees the rock she brought from the lake, he's about to say something but she clamps her paw over his mouth. "Shhh; I have a plan." A plan to make the officers lose.

But the officers and drivers run neck-and-neck towards the changing racks. Chris gnaws on his fingertips, worried about Zack. And their game. He cannot see what's going on at the bottom thanks to the depth. "Oh, why didn't I grab the tip?"he says to himself. "I should have known that he would be too scared to do something like this. I should have told him how I felt ages ago. Ren was right, I need to tell him. Otherwise, I'm going to end up a sad old man when I grow up. Why couldn't I just tell him that I love him?"

"You... what?"

Chris snaps up and turns around to see Zack floating in the surface, holding a lobster, which is holding one of the missing vials. His muzzle turns a bright shade of red. Zack tosses the lobster aside and climbs out of the water to meet his partner. "You... love me?" he asks again.

Chris is about to break down into tears. He could try to deny everything that he heard, but it would only make things even worse. No more lying.

No more.

"Yes!" he shouts. "I fucking LOVE you! Ever since we first met, I've been deeply in love; thinking about you day and night! The way you're so unprofessional and bubbly, the way your tail wags when you're happy and how your ears twitch when you're asleep against my shoulder! I! Love! You! Zack!!!"

Before the fox can say anything back, Chris thrusts forward and presses his lips against his. He presses his paws against the base of his back, not wanting to let him go. Zack tenses up for a second before letting himself relax into the kiss. It might even be his imagination but Zack... kisses back!

When they pull apart, they breathe heavily against each other. "Is that why you were mean to me?" Zack asks. "Because you were afraid of admitting your feelings?"

Chris nods. "Absolutely. But from now on, I'll try to be a better person to you. I swear." He licks Zack on the nose. "Now, how about you and me win this thing already?" The fox nods. The wolf helps him out of the scuba suit and they head over to the changing racks.

This might be a new chapter between us, he thinks.

***

Only three teams are still racing to get to the train station. Who will stay? And who is going to get left behind...?

Nick & Judy quickly slip back into their casual clothes. Donna tucks the rock into her shoe, which will be easy to reach into. The marines arrive just in time, throwing off their clothes and getting back into their normal outfits. Right as Zack hangs his dog tags around his neck, the officers take off down the tracks with the drivers right on their tails.

Back and forth, both teams switch between being the front runners while the marines run up behind them, trying to catch up. When Nick passes the drivers for the fourth time, Vito gives a subtle nod. Donna reaches into her show and hurls the rock at them as hard as she can. It strikes Nick in the back of the head and he goes stumbling onto the tracks, allowing them to take the lead.

Chris & Zack run past the officers, debating whether or not to help them. Because seriously, that's low even for Donna. Right when Nick helped her win the first task? What was wrong with her?

Judy pulls her partner to his feet, hooking her arms around his and lifting him off the ground. He weighs a lot more than she does; her arms strain to keep him on her back. Once she has a good grip on him, she starts jogging down the track as well, picking up speed.

The marines are shocked and horrified to see the bunny catch up so quickly. And she even makes it up behind the drivers. "How is that possible?!" Donna shouts.

"Run!" Vito squeaks.

The teams run as fast as they can down the tracks towards the station. Chris has a worried look on his face, Judy has a slight angered one. Toner comes into their sights as well as the rug. Donna & Vito push themselves to inch even a little past the officers. Closer and closer, they get. Boots and paws stomp on the train platform and...

"Drivers come in second," Toner announces. "Officers come in third." Judy sets Nick on the ground in time to see him wake up.

"Wha-? What happened?" He winces and holds the side of his head. "Ow... what did I hit my head on?"

Judy points towards the drivers. "I believe they are responsible for that."

Nick narrows his eyes at them and growls, "So, even after I try to help you, you stab us in the back? How could you?!"

Donna passes him off. "Say whatever you'd like. You're only mad because I'm still in the race. And as long as I am, there will be nothing you and Officer Hopps are going to do about it so.. HA!"

Toner hands the teams their train tickets before a fist fight breaks out, even though he's love to see one right about now. "Yes!" Judy cheers. "We're going to Zootopia!" We're going to nail this one, she thinks. Both teams head inside of the station to wait for the train to arrive.

Meanwhile, Toner heads over to the last team that stands on the carpet. "It's bittersweet," he says to the marines, "that right as you two admit your feelings for each other, you've come in last place. It pains me to say that you guys are officially cut from the competition."

Zack reaches over and squeezes Chris' paw, looking up at him with bright eyes. The two hug each other once again and seal their loss with a kiss.

***

"This has been the greatest experience of my entire life," Chris says as they walk away.

"I'm sorry that I blew the lake challenge," Zack apologizes. "I tried so hard, but that lobster wasn't giving up the vial anytime soon."

"That's ok. You did very awesome. Despite everything I ever said and everything I've ever done to you, I'm so proud to acknowledge that you're my partner. And I guess we're mates now too."

Zack nuzzles him on the cheek. "Aww thanks. Besides, I'd take you over money any day of the week. Who knew that all we really needed was a little push for us to become this close?"

"Speaking of which, when we go home, do you want to share a bunk together?"

"Absolutely." The fox jumps into Chris' arms.

***

3 teams remain in the running for one million dollars. Who will win it all? The only way is to stick around for the final episode of the greatest show on SoFurry. A.K.A.... the Amazing Race.