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Previously on part one of the Amazing Race Grand Finale, our teams dug up some carrots and dove underwater for a mystery cooking element. Two alliances were formed and both crumbled under the pressure of the race. Chris finally admitted to Zack about his true feelings. Felix & Toby bounced back and came in first. And although Donna tried to get rid of the officers, it was the marines who came in last and were sent home. And there was no rest for the weary; the race raced right on.

Which team will make it to the finish line first? Time to find out, right here on the explosive second part of the Grand Finale of... the Amazing Race.

***

"Welcome back to BunnyBurrow, somewhere in the country," Toner introduces. "Our Final Three teams have collected their train tickets and are en route to the final destination in the entire race: Zootopia! One of the largest, diversely rich cities in the whole world. It's home to almost one billion people (among those, a few million rats). Once teams arrive at Savanna Central, they'll find the next tip box right outside."

All three teams are on board the train that is heading for Zootopia. At this point, this is anyone's game. "I can see us winning this whole thing," Toby says. Him and Felix look out the window as the world passes by. "Imagine that, we'd be legendary, being the first time to win after being eliminated."

"I guess," Felix sighs. "Though I'm a little bummed we didn't do more to help Chris or Zack. It feels like it's our fault." After Felix completed the Roadblock earlier, he didn't think about helping Zack with the task. All he could think at the time was "we're in first, let's keep it up".

Toby wraps an arm around his partner. "Look on the bright side," he says, "They finally fell for each other. To me, that's a personal victory."

Meanwhile near the middle of the train, the drivers are a bit giddy yet exciting about the final course of the race. "The other teams are kidding themselves if they think they're going to win," Donna says. "We hold the record for most wins; take that Tammy!" She refers to the previous record holder from last season. "But we've also seen her mistakes last year. She and her partner got in a fight which is why she ended up losing. This year, it's going to be different." The vixen snickers to herself.

"We may have quarreled a little," Vito says, "but we know why we came this far in the competition. We're here to win."

Donna rolls her eyes. "We know, lame brain, what do you think I was just saying?" She folds her arms and counts to five to herself; a little exercise her mom taught her to calm herself. "Our only real problem is the officers. They're good players, they don't know when to quit. I've got to give them a few props for coming this far.

"However, there's only one more elimination between now and the million. And I will do whatever it takes to make sure they lose." Once again, all Donna needs is a plan. She's good at thinking on her feet; it's how she got the YouTubers eliminated.

Our third and final team sits near the back. Nick is feeling confident about the final leg. Him and Judy have made it so far to give up now. But one problem is still there... "Nothing would give me more satisfaction than seeing the cab drivers get the boot," the sly fox says.

"I can understand that," Judy says. "After they betrayed us, I feel like getting revenge." Nick likes where this is going until she adds, "But stooping down to their level is exactly what gets people cut. So... leave them alone for now."

Hours later, the sun is past the highest point in its arc. The train slows down in Savanna Central. Once the doors open, people of all sizes hustle on and off the train, making it hard for our teams to even exit. Luckily, the friends with benefits manage to squeeze out, taking first. The officers use their small size to their advantage, allowing them to slip through easier. As for the drivers... well... let's say Donna looks stronger than she appears when she shoves people out of her way. "Move! We're in a race!" Some growl make a comment back as she does.

Although Felix has wanted to come to Zootopia for a long time, he stairs and outside where it seems billions are milling about. With Toby on his heels, he quickly locates the clue box, grabbing the first tip of the last leg. "It's a One-Way," the brown fox observes. "'Who is ready to face the Food Chain'."

For this One-Way, teams must drive one of three provided police karts and use a map to find their way to one of the tallest skyscrapers in Zootopia. Once they arrive, they'll have to climb over 100 flights of stairs to reach the roof, where they will find their next clue attached to one of three hand-gliders, moving one step closer to the final checkpoint and the million dollar prize.

"'Known fact'," Judy continues, "'the last team to arrive WILL be eliminated. Good luck'."

"The karts!" Felix points out. The teams rush over, fumbling to start them up and drive to the center of town.

The officers, having the advantage of driving these karts before, have the advantage, taking the lead. Our cab drivers fall into last place, worrying the vixen inside. "How long are we going to stick in last place until you learn to speed up?" Donna asks, with a hint of a growl in her voice.

Vito rolls his eyes. "Woman, we can't go too fast! This city is more packed than a bear on Thanksgiving." She growls in frustration.

Judy has control over the wheel while she let Nick do the navigating. Every now and then, he clenches his teeth and winces, rubbing the back of his head. Apparently, Donna hit him too hard earlier today and has given him a minor concussion. Nick will be fine one moment, but then a small migraine will come up and attack his head.

The rabbit reaches over and pats him on the knee. "How're you feeling? Does it still hurt?"

"It hurts when I think too hard," he answers. "Other than that, it feels like the right side of my brain is asleep." And it's all thanks to Donna; the crazy vixen he's been wanting out for weeks. He swears the second he gets the chance he's going to...

He holds his head in his paws. The headache returns.

"I'm really worried," Judy confesses. "If the pain is that bad just sitting down, I don't want to imagine what the rest of this finale would be like; knowing Toner." She rolls her eyes.

"I'll be fine," Nick interjects. "Now, just keep going straight but be prepared to make a sharp right turn."

Back in the back, Donna leans out the side of the cart as they head north, going 40 mph. Up ahead she can see the outlines of Toby & Felix about 300 feet ahead. She can see the tiger driving. Smart move, she thinks. Felix would probably be confused since roads and cars in America are mirrored compared to where he's from.

Slowly, she gets an idea to mess with them and nudges her partner. "See if you can ram them to the side," she suggests.

Vito does a double take, staring at her like she's crazy. "Have you gone mad?" he asks. "We can't just-"

"Listen. To me." At the sound of her demanding tone, Vito shuts his mouth, slightly out of fear. "We're in last and if we don't pass them, we're never going to win. So you can either continue to drive like my grandfather, or you can be a true racer and speed by them. And if you crash them, that'll be a bonus."

Vito shakes his head. "No way. I'd rather stay alive if that's okay with you." Suddenly, Donna grabs the steering wheel.

"Then let me drive then."

"No!"

Both foxes fight over the wheel, making them swerve slightly to the left and right. A couple people they pass honk at them or yell but they don't notice. Vito's foot unknowingly presses down on the accelerator as they fight, speeding them up.

Toby doesn't hear them, but at the sound of a fast approaching vehicle, Felix's ears perk up. One glance into the rearview mirror and he can see the drivers coming up behind them. Too fast, he'd like to add. "Toby! Look out!!!" The fox grabs the wheel and turns it sharply to the right, to the side of the road.

As they turn, the other kart bashes into theirs, making them spin. And while the drivers have jumped into second place, Felix helps Toby jump out of their kart right before it hits the curb and flips onto its side.

A couple bystanders approach and help the two onto their feet. Brushing themselves off, both boys look to see their kart slightly destroyed. No way are they going to be able to drive that all the way to the tower. "What do we do now?" Toby asks. He rubs his eyes and forehead. "I can tell we're already going to be eliminated."

"Perhaps I can help." Felix & Toby look up to see a slender female canine with black fur, a white t-shirt, and ripped jeans. Something about her seemed familiar. Felix knows he has seen that face before and has heard that voice from somewhere. But where? "Where do you need a lift to?"

Toby points to a tall skyscraper. "That tower," he says. "We're in a race so-"

"Wait." She holds up a paw, cutting the tiger off. "Race? As in the Amazing Race?" The boys nod in unison. "I was on that show two years ago!" The boys look at each other, still not recognizing this strange chick. She growls, "I'm Seven! I was partners with Stuart."

Felix snaps his fingers. "Oh! That's where I've seen you before!" he says. "I didn't really watch season one but I knew I recognized you! How is Stuart, by the way?"

Seven shrugs. "He's got the flu so I've been motorcycling around the country. Speaking of which..." She nods behind her to where a black cycle looking freshly polished sits on the curb several yards away. "... how about I give you boys a lift. I'm a huge fan of you guys and I want to help."

"Sweet! Let's do this!" Toby shouts.

Seven hops on the cycle first and revs up the engine. Toby gets in behind her and Felix on top of the tiger. "Hang on tight, boys!" she yells over the sound of the engine. Without warning, she zooms forward down the street with the friends with benefits trying to hold on for dear life.

Meanwhile, Judy can see the tower within her sights. Up ahead, though, a grey wolf wearing an orange helmet and vest holds up a stop sign. Behind him, a few workers are in the road. "What?" she asks. "What is going on?!"

"Sorry, Ma'am," the wolf says. "We're repaving the roads today."

"But we have to get around. See that tower over there?" The rabbit points to her destination. "We need to get there ASAP."

"Sorry, again. Looks like you're going to have to take the detour." He points to the left where most traffic is heading. But the tower is literally only three blocks away. Taking the detour would add an extra five minutes to what could be a few minute walk.

Judy steers the wheel right and parallel parks on the side of the road. Luckily, repavement hasn't blocked the sidewalks. "Get up, Nick," she says, getting frantic, "We're walking." She pulls the red fox out of the kart and to the side of the road. Together, the jog their way up the street towards the tower.

Behind them, Vito slams on the brakes when he sees the blocked off street. "Are you kidding me?!" he shouts angrily. "Who repaves roads in the middle of summer? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Donna slumps back in her seat, facepalming, when she looks up and sees the bushy red tail of Nick Wilde. She bolts upright. "The officers ditched their kart," she points out. "We'll have to do the same." Vito tries to object but she slaps a paw over his mouth. "If you do not get your lazy ass out of the kart and get moving, I will tell the viewers at home your secret."

"You wouldn't dare." He narrows his eyes at her.

Donna looks straight into the camera, looking testy. "When Vito was four years old, he was babysat by his femboi neighbor and he used to let him put on makeup."

"I'm warning you, Donna!"

She completely ignores him. "Ever since then, he used to buy lipstick and mascara off Amazon and-" Vito slaps her maw shut and giggles nervously.

"Fine! We'll go." But only because that secret is the most embarrassing thing about him. Now that it's mostly out, he's never going to live it down at home.

At the tower, Seven stops her motorcycle in the front. "Whew! That was one fast ride! Sorry it wasn't faster. There's some stuff going on in the middle of town and traffic is redirecting other ways. But how was that?!" Though Toby seems unaffected by the fast speed, all of Felix's fur is standing and messed up. Both of them hop off the cycle. "Catch you later, dudes. I hope you win!"

Once she's gone, Toby helps Felix brush out his fur the best he can. The tiger takes a look around and notices that no other karts have arrived. "Awesome, we're in first place!" he exclaims. "To the roof!"

He lifts the fox onto his shoulders and runs inside for the stairwell. By the time the boys are on the 40th floor, the officers and drivers spit out of the street towards the front doors. "See you later, losers!" Donna shouts as her and Vito disappear up the stairs. "Boy, do I looooove victory!" And it tastes like gold.

Just like at the beginning of the race, Judy & Nick run out of breath nearly halfway up. But hearing Donna's words have motivated them like it hasn't before. Soon they push themselves up each step. Floor by floor until they reach the roof.

The door to the roof opens for Toby & Felix first. The wind blows at them hard at this height, making them slide slightly the other way. Felix shivers and wraps his arms around himself. "Brrrrr! It's chilly up here!"

"There are the gliders!" Toby slowly walks over to where three purple hand-gliders sit, tied down to the ground. Attached to the bar is their next clue. Toby pulls it off and reads, "'Glide your way down into the city to the midpoint at the... ZPD'."

You heard the cat. Teams must fly down towards the Zootopia Police Department and hand the clue over to Toner in order to move on to the next challenge. But if they're the last team to arrive, they are OUT. Eliminated. Finished; their chances of winning the money terminated. (Pretty smart doing the midpoint at a Police Department, right? Let's see these people try to freak out NOW :P )

Felix unties the glider from the ground, but begins to slip, the wind pulling him forward. Toby grabs ahold of the bar, keeping it steady. Together, they use the wind to get a running start and jump off the edge of the roof, soaring through the sky towards the ground below. "Where's the ZPD?!" Felix asks.

"Over there!" Toby points.

The friends with benefits lean in that direction as they maintain the lead. Meanwhile, the drivers leap out onto the roof next, a blast of wind chilling them to the bone. "There's the next clue!" Vito shouts over the howling wind. Him and Donna work the glider off of the ground with the latter eventually using her claws.

"To the ZPD!" Donna hollers. She locates the building quickly and grabs ahold of the bar. As they get ready to jump, the officers come out so she slows down so she can taunt, "So long, suckers!"

"Come on, Carrots," Nick inhales. 100 stories of running up stairs and he's completely exhausted. Pain seeps up his legs and arms. "We can't let them win, not this time." He carries Judy over to the remaining glider and slices it free using his claws.

He hoists it up in the air and Judy grabs on too, a little weaker. But seeing the ground over 100 floors below makes the rabbit grip onto the glider harder. Much harder. The officers jump down, plunging into the city. Like the others, the shout.

The wind works in many different ways. The drivers somehow veer way off course, nearing the ZPD but gliding right past, heading west. The officers somehow land across the street from the front doors. However, they collapse from the exhaustion of the entire day combined; the carrot picking, the running, the stair climbing. Judy has never felt pain like this in her life (except for maybe at the Academy).

In front of them, Toby & Felix land safely on their feet. Together, they run into the building where Toner waits at the midpoint rug in front of the dispatch, Officer Clawhauser. The cheetah was showing the host a video of his favorite music artist, Gazelle, when the friends run up to him.

"Well, looks like Team #1 has arrived," he says. Toby hands him the clue, checking them in. "One question, though, how did you keep the tip on you as you were plummeting down a 100 story building?" Toby blushes and indicates his purple shorts, which has nothing on underneath...

Toner, appalled, tosses the clue away in horror. "Forget I asked!" he says. "You're next clue is over there; good luck." He points blindly behind him as he digs out paw sanitizer, feeling disgusted.

Felix & Toby run over to the clue box on the other side of the lobby with the former of the two reading the tip. "It's another One-Way: 'Ice to meet your finish'. Uh-oh."

When Zootopian scientists thought they had discovered a new element under Tundratown, they raced to dig a hole deep enough to retrieve it. After two years of digging, they discovered that what they found was only graphite covered in a mysterious sludge.

Teams must make their way to Tunratown to find the 3-mile deep hole. Once there, one partner stays at the top with a locked briefcase and lowers the other down into the pit using a giant fishing pole. After they reach the bottom, that partner must then sift through hundreds of rocks with the possible combination edged into it and read it to their partner using a headset. Once they get their briefcases open, the partner on the surface must then reel their teammate back up where they will find the final clue of the entire race inside the case, giving them directions to the finish line.

The friends with benefits leave the building out the back way, hailing a taxi to Tundratown. Meanwhile, the drivers have landed several blocks away from the Police Department, but that doesn't stop them. "We'll have to run," Donna says.

"Whaaaaaaat?" Vito complains. "But my ankles! They can only take so much running in one day."

The vixen grabs him by the shirts and pulls him forward. "I. Said. Run!!"

Nick & Judy have rested for a few minutes. And although everything still hurts, Judy gathers up enough strength to push herself onto her feet. "Come on," she groans. "The midpoint is right inside." She grabs Nick by the arm and drags him to the front steps. Her ears flicker up when she hears the distant sound of Donna's angry voice.

"Hurry!"

"Uh-oh," the rabbit says. "Here come the drivers!" Two pairs of synchronic running feet come closer and closer. Judy tries to pull Nick up the stairs but cannot seem to get him even up the first step. Donna looks less than 100 meters away.

"Almost!" the vixen gasps. "There!"

Nick groans as he wakes up, realizing where he is. "I can't carry you up the stairs," Judy pants. "Looks like we're done."

The red fox looks up to see his arch rivals getting closer every second, seeming to get faster. Several yards away and coming towards them, someone else more familiar strolls towards them. A tiger in blue looking groggy, semi-ready for an afternoon shift. "Maybe not," Nick says. "Fangmeyer!" He gets the tiger's attention; the officer looking down at them confused. "Hey, buddy, we need to get inside!"

Just as Fangmeyer is about to ask why they can't walk in themselves, Donna & Vito push him to the side and leap over the officers fallen on the stairs. "So long, coppers!" the vixen exclaims.

That was enough for the tiger.

Fangmeyer picks both Nick and Judy up and starts running after them. It doesn't take a genius to know where they need to go; over to where a red dog stands on a brown carpet with the number ½ on it. Fangmeyer passes the drivers just in the lick of time.

Once on the carpet, Toner looks up at the tiger. "Who are you and what are you doing on my carpet?" he asks. Fangmeyer places Nick & Judy on the ground right in front of them, the rabbit prepared to hand over the clue. "Ah. Receiving outside help?" He shrugs. "Whatever. There's no rules on that. Which means... officers... you're Team #2."

"Yes!" Judy cheers.

But as she and Nick run off, Donna slides to the carpet on her knees, having overheard everything. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Donna & Vito's shouts disrupt everything everyone inside is doing. People, police and criminals alike stop in their tracks and look in their direction.

"Drivers," Toner taunts, "looks like you're the last team to arrive. I am sooooo not sorry to say this but you're cut from the competition." Donna can feel her blood boil and her fists clench up. Like Tammy and Claudia, she can feel a freakout coming. But before she can do anything, Toner interjects, "But before you two can try anything disastrous... Enzo! Raffie!"

Two large, muscular brown bears come up behind them and pick them up to their feet. "Meet my new personal body guards," Toner introduces. "If I've learned one thing in the past three years of this show is that the team that gets cut in 3rd place always freaks out. Not this time! Ha!" He then turns his attention to his hired bears. "Boys, take them to the finish line... the loser's section."

Donna growls in anger as she and Vito are dragged away.

***

"I suppose we should have learned our lesson," Vito says as they're in a cab towards the finish. "Bad guys never win this race. Tammy and Claudia pretty much prove that. And now... we're bad guys."

"Maybe using negative attitude wasn't the best approach to the competition," Donna admits. "On the outside, I'm not really like this. Normally, I just hate it when arrogant people rub stuff in my face. That's when I get mean and play dirty."

"Perhaps if we tried being a little nicer, we would still be in the competition."

Donna sighs. "You're probably right. Maybe when we get home, we can try this being nice gig?"

Vito smiles and wraps an arm around her. "I would love that."

***

While our eliminated drivers are finally cut from the competition (and are discussing their future behavior), the friends with benefits are the first team to reach Tundratown and the infamous Ice Hole. At the surface, two pairs of headsets, two briefcases, and two sets of harnesses sit on the side. "It's pretty obvious I have to lower you down," Toby says, holding up one harness. "You don't have the upper-body strength to pull me back up."

Felix looks down at the hole. Tossing a chunk of ice in, he doesn't hear it hit the bottom. At all. A shiver runs up his spine and it isn't from the cold. "Fine," he says. "But only because I want to maintain our lead."

It takes a moment to get the headsets working and to hook the brown fox onto the fishing pole, but once they do, Felix jump in and Toby lowers him down slowly. "Can you hear me just fine?" the tiger asks.

"Loud and clear," his partner replies. As Felix goes down, foot by foot, meter by meter, the place around him begins to get darker, scarier. Luckily flashlights (or in his case they're called "torches") were provided just in case.

Halfway down, Toby sees another taxi park outside. In a way, he really doesn't mind which team he will be facing off against. As long as they play nice the whole way. Coming out towards the Ice Hole are the officers. "Hey guys!" the tiger greets. His tail lashes around and his heart jumps. He almost wasn't expecting them to come through. "What happened to the drivers?"

"Long gone," Nick explains happily. "They're finally... gone." His own tail gives a sharp flick.

"Awesome!" Toby exclaims. "It'll be an epic superteam reunion challenge!" Nick & Judy nearly forgot that they were in the intersection challenge with this same team; the same team that was eliminated that same day. But they're back and now, instead of working together, they're the enemy.

Felix reaches the bottom with no problem, now all he has to do is give numbers for Toby to put into the briefcase up top. Inside awaits the directions for the finish line of the entire race: Gazelle's Stage, where Toner and all 32 losing racers are waiting. The first team to cross the water moat and climb to the top of the center stage will win; One. Million. Dollars!

***

"Dude, this is so awesome!" Max says to his husband, Lucius. "One team is about to win everything. This is the most exciting moment of my life!"

Lucius chuckles and pulls the fox closer to him. "This show is his favorite."

"The sex friends versus the officers?" Daisy asks. "Seems a little odd if you ask me."

"How come we aren't out there right now?" Sa'mone chimes in. "We would've made the finale pretty interesting."

Carrie wraps an arm around her best friend. "Are you mad we didn't make it to the finals, Carla?" she asks.

She gets a hard head shake in response. "Yeah, right. There's absolutely no way you could've gotten me to do some of the stuff like jumping off a building or lifting a car. Leave that stuff to the big, sweaty people." Yep, Carrie thinks, typical Carla.

"I'm rooting for the officers all the way," Cal says about the finalists. "They kicked some serious ass after we left. I feel like Felix & Toby didn't really do much and they came back unfairly."

Ren only shrugs about the matter. "I'm mostly happy that the marines finally told each other how they felt." He looks over and sees Chris & Zack affectionately nuzzling each other.

Majira, though, is slightly tense. "I saw exactly what happened after I left. The drivers not only got us kicked off the show, they took my strawberry! So seeing them get eliminated earlier... it was satisfying." He sits back, kicking his feet up.

"I hate this finale," Donna growls, "the others did absolutely nothing to keep themselves in the game. They're only in the finals because of dumb luck."

Vito shakes his head. "I agree, real disappointment. But, if I had to choose one team, I'd pick the friends with benefits." Donna glares at him evilly. "What?! I'm just saying! They did pretty good as far as comebacks go."

"Whatever."

***

Judy offered to reel Nick down the Ice Hole in order to let him rest up. It takes a few moments for him to reach the bottom but once he does, he turns on his light and looks around. All over the pit floor are a bunch of paw-sized rocks with numbers written on them. "Are you at the bottom?" Judy asks through his headset.

"I am," he answers. "I don't understand why Toner has to make everything extremely complicated for us."

"Just start looking for some numbers." Nick grabs the first one he sees and reads it out loud. 635. "Nope. It didn't work. Keep trying."

Felix has delved into his own pile of numbers, reading them out one by one to Toby. 134. 820. 471. So far, none of them have worked. But Toby swears that he felt something click in the suitcase at the number 471. "Try finding numbers beginning with 4," the tiger suggests.

"Toby, I don't know if I've ever said this but I have a slight fear of the dark," the fox confesses. "I can't help but think that something is going to come out and scare me." A spider lands onto his back, making his jump and pat his shoulder hard. "I can't do this anymore, please pull me back up!"

"Felix! Calm down. We have a second chance to win the entire thing. Not only did we go from losers to being on top, but we're in your most favorite city in the whole world! Don't let a little thing like fear drag you down right now. You know how awesome it would be to win?" Felix doesn't say anything, but his ears stand back up and his tail wags. His partner is right.

"All right," the fox says. "I can do this." He jumps back into the pile, searching for the number 4 at the start.

The search for the final clue of the season is getting deep; the gloves are off, people. Nick just picks up random numbers that he finds, frustrated every time Judy says it's incorrect. 789. 491. 300. 856. 522. Wrong. Nope. Try again. Felix & Toby continue on their "four" strategy. 450. 420 (LOL). 444. 418. But none of them seem to work. So the brown fox goes back to the random picking of numbers.

It isn't as fun for those at the bottom than it is for those at the top. Toby and Judy are freezing out in Tundratown without any jackets or other winter clothing to wear. It doesn't help that Toby only wears his purple shorts all the time. With shaking fingers, both of them turn the numbers on the briefcases but without any luck. Judy begins to suspect that the locks on the cases are frozen shut due to the cold weather when she hears a shout.

"YES!" It sounds like Toby. "The case is open! I'm bringing you back up!" His arms grip the winder and he reels Felix back up as fast as he can.

"Nick! Hurry up, the other team is already finished," Judy urges.

"Give it up, Carrots! We may have gotten a get-out-of-jail-free card with Fangmeyer to get to the Final Two, but there's no way I can find the code out of ALLLLLL these numbers down here!" The red fox slumps onto the ground. "Face it. We. Lost."

Judy looks over at the tiger. Although beads of sweat show on his forehead, the line is close to halfway up. "Nick, please," the rabbit begs, "just try."

He sighs. "Fine. But I don't see any point in it." He picks up one random rock. "2-6-7." Judy tries in the numbers and the case clicks open.

"Yes! We got it! I'm pulling you back up!" The rabbit grips the crank, reeling her partner back up as fast as she can. Inside the case, the final clue (which is a bright shade of gold), sits there, mocking both contestants as they race to get their partners back to the top.

As expected, Felix rises out of the Ice Hole first. Toby scrambles to get him out of the harness, adrenaline making his fingers fumble over the clip. He pulls the fox into his grip and they run out. The Final Clue tells them to take one of two provided police karts and drive themselves to the Stage in Savannah Central.

Judy gets Nick to the surface a full minute behind. "Come on, we can still win this whole thing," she says. The officers run out to the parking lot and find the other kart. Nick takes the wheel, speeding out towards the center of the city. "I can see the other team!"

"Shoot!" the red fox exclaims. "I can see the stage too!"

"Faster, Nick, faster!"

It's a mad dash to the finish line. After 21 legs and 17 eliminations, it all comes down to this. Nick & Judy come up beside Felix & Toby as they get closer to the center stage. Toner stands there with the million dollar briefcase in his paws. Closer and closer they get as they park their karts at the edge of the moat and rush to get into the water.

The crowd of the 32 losers cheer on their favorite team. Nick & Judy get closer to the stage itself but have no idea how they will reach the platform. Before they can decide, Toby jumps into the water; the resulting wave sending both of them upwards. Instinctively, they hold onto each other as they're flung into the air.

The crowd stands onto their feet. The tension of the whole race tugs on their chests.

Right as Toby & Felix reach up to grab onto the edge of the platform, Nick & Judy fall back down.

Directly in front of Toner.

"The officers win!" the host declares.

Judy sits up upon hearing this. "Yes!!!" she cheers. "We did it! And it's all thanks to you, Nick!" She hugs her partner tight, never feeling as proud of him as he does now. His ears fold back, but the smile on his face shows how excited he feels.

He returns the embrace.

***

Toby & Felix float in the water that surrounds the stage. "Personally, I never thought we would make the Final Two to begin with," Toby admits. "When we were told we were going to come back into the race, it was thrilling but I knew that we weren't going to win."

"I was hoping we would," Felix says. "But I'm happy being the runner-up this year. We had some fun over the past day; over the past few weeks, even. There's no one else I'd rather travel the world with."

"Awww. Thanks. Most people would've prefered doing something like this with their mates but I think you and I did pretty good." He sits up at the edge, pulling the fox out of the water. "But the real question is what we're going to do now that the whole thing is over."

"Who knows? Either way, I had fun." Felix lets himself get snuggled by the tiger.

***

"I'll be honest," Judy confesses, "I am very surprised that we won."

Nick looks at her, confused. "Really? I knew we were going to win from the start. Look at us; everyone else became partners for the race. We ARE partners. Even in our lowest times, we were there for each other and we came right back on top."

Judy scratches the back of her neck. "I don't know, I guess with all the conflict and pressure as we got closer to the finish, I didn't think that we would get this far. It was a miracle that we got to the Final Three in the first place. We aren't exactly the strongest team here."

"We may not have strength on our side, but I've seen more willpower in you than I've seen in anyone else. Before this race, I didn't think we would have a fighting chance. Now... you just proved me wrong once again."

"Thanks, Nick." Both officers hug each other.

***

All of this years racers join Nick & Judy on the stage as they celebrate their hard-earned victory. Toner, only having one thing left to do, turns to the viewers. "Well, that's a wrap on the third season of the show. Thank you for watching/reading this wild adventure around the continent. Will there be a season four? Only time will tell. Until then, keep watching... the Amazing Race."

He throws his shades on.