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"First, Omar, J.J., Michael, Crispin, Chayne and William..." Ludwig lists. "...You will each cast a vote, and whoever wins the majority between your six votes will be worth one of the eleven points. Arron, John, Zakee and Andrew have the remaining four each. Those points will add up to the results of the six challenges we played earlier on, for a total of eleven. Whoever gets a majority of that, wins the title of American Mustelid Alpha and the $250,000 that come with it..." he says. "All clear?"

"Let's award a bitch, aight?" Z replies, grinning.

The host cracks a smirk. "Stay classy, Zakee," he chuckles. "Okay Crispin, you're up first..."

The tattooed lutrine doesn't need to be told twice. He stands up and gets the Alpha token from Ludwig's paws, then walks all the way to the voting booth - two big urns with Eddie and Kenneth's names printed on it having been set on top of a table, out of the sight of both jurors and finalists.

Without a thought, the lutrine slips his silver token into the giant otter's urn, turning to the camera to state his preference. "My vote is for Eddie because I feel he played this game better than anyone else. He came into this thing fully set on dominating anyone who stood in his way, and I feel it's clear to everyone in the jury that he did - even though some are obviously too pissed off to admit it in front of everyone else," he says. "And to be honest, what really nailed this for me is when he straight up told Andrew he's been playing for me every step of the way. He did say he'd see the end of this shit for me too, and he managed to stay true to the promise. I can accept losing to someone with such a resolve any day of the week, and I'd be making a disservice to the whole game if I were to turn my back on him only because he sent me packing," he says, briefly turning back and shooting a glance to the jury bench in the distance. "So yeah, Eddie, don't let anyone over there tell ya your resolve is not strong enough. Own this like the Alpha you are, and know you've won a lifelong friend in me whatever happens. And yeah... I hope you win this, take home the prize, and above all I hope you rub it in Kenneth's face."

Without a word, the lutrine walks back to the jury bench - immediately trading places with Omar as the marbled polecat sets to cast his own vote. One by one, all mustelids are shown getting to the voting booth - some walking to the area in a resolute manner, others heavily pondering as they look at the two urns before them.

Chayne stands in front of both booths, looking at his token. "Do you tip the bartender that gave you the nice drink or the stripper that gave you a hell of a lap dance..." the blonde marten mulls his thoughts for a hefty while, before moving forward to deposit his final vote.

"Now William, in the case the group vote ends in a tie, you will be the decider. Think well..." Ludwig nods, offering the personal trainer his token.

The weasel enters the booth, his eyes hovering over both names, knowing full well his vote could sway the will of the five that went before him. "Y vaya con Dios..." he huffs, depositing his vote after what he felt was a lifetime of inner debate.

"We have the vote of the group tallied and their point accounted for..." Ludwig nods. "The rest of the final six, it's your turn, and remember... you each account for a whole point," he says, motioning to the four golden tokens still in their case. "Arron, you're up..."

The honey badger walks to the voting booth, biting his lip as he sees the two urns before slipping his token into Kenneth's without much thought. "Shouldn't have lied your way to the top, brother..." Arron whispers through gritted fangs, gently patting the lid of Eddie's urn before turning towards the camera. "But enough about him, for this is a moment of rejoicing... Kenneth, you might have come into AMA with your own inner demons, but who I see today is someone that will make every mustelid from all across the globe proud. You decimated this game how it should be, and above all, you kept strong convictions, you saw others as your equals, and you did all of this honorably. And to close this... 'These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.'... That's John 15:11, and right now you're the most deserving of joy in this room. Go at 'em, brother..." the firefighter says, beating over his heart with a clenched fist.

After the honey badger is done, it's Andrew's turn to express his preference - soon followed by John, the stoat not passing on the chance to snarl at the two finalists on his way to the booth. Finally, Greasy Z is the last mustelid to get the token from Ludwig's paws and cast his vote for the winner - the mechanic gingerly bouncing on his feet as he prances towards the two urns.

"Now y'all two better not be grudgin' after my vote, y'all is still invited to the shop to chill out and brawl a bit, alright?" Z asks both finalists before stepping in the booth.

"Okay, we officially have a winner," Ludwig smiles at the two finalists as the hog badger returns from casting his vote. "Time to go see who it is, right?" he chuckles, many contestants cracking a nervous smirk as the stoat host heads to the booth to inspect the content of the urns.

"I worked against all odds since day one, and made it work up until the bitter end. I feel I owned everything I did and was completely honest with these guys. The Gauntlet I am confident I conquered enough challenges in there, but there's so much in the air at the moment and the expectation is killing me. There's nothing more I want more than this, and I'm praying it all fell in my favor."

~Kenneth, 24, American Badger, Roofer/CrossFit Instructor

"After being up for about a day and a half, it's crazy to know we're about to see the end of this." *the lutrine is shown standing next to the badger, both waiting for the host to come back* "Even after the questioning round, I'm confident that I got enough support to win this convincingly. Kenneth put up a fight, but I got him where it mattered." *chuckles*

~Eddie, 32, Giant Otter, Demolition Foreman

"Okay, guys... Eddie, Kenneth, the time has come to declare the winner," Ludwig says, walking back to his podium. "First of all, I want to thank you all for coming down here and contributing to this amazing season. I believe each and everyone of you twelve has managed to represent and stand for his own facet of what being Alpha means, and to be fair, that's all I could hope for," he says, most of the jurors nodding along. "In the end, though, we can only have a winner. And believe me, it couldn't have gotten any closer... The Alpha Gauntlet was decided by a score of six points against five."

"I want to commend both of you for completing this journey all the way into the top. I have to say you two have proven you sure that the future holds only the greatest things for both of you, and you both proved yourselves as excellent carriers of the title of the first ever American Mustelid Alpha..." the host says.

"Eddie. you came into this competition with a fire and a purpose from day one, and no matter what stood in the way, you have shown that you achieved what you set your mind to. You have confirmed, you still have all that strength you had as a Navy SEAL, and will continue for a long time..."

"Kenneth, you went from being someone who had every single of his guards up, who had so much... struggle to integrate his talents into the challenges to a smart, cunning, strong young man that kicked every inner demon he had out to the curb, standing here as the badger we knew you could be...:"

"But only one of you can win this. So... who is it?" Ludwig keeps the suspense, making sure everyone is silent before continuing to reveal the final verdict. He takes a long pause as the two finalists stand side by side, eyes locked up at him. "The first ever American Mustelid Alpha is..."

...

...

...

...

...

...

"KENNETH GEIB: !!!"

The badger's mouth opens in shock, the entire jury exploding in a ruckus as his name is called out, barely able to make a sound, looking at Ludwig in disbelief before throwing his paws in the air - fists clenched and arms tensed up as a cathartic roar finally escapes his throat.

"Oh my God, Kenneth!" Andrew exclaims, clapping loudly.

"LET'S GO BROTHER!!!!" Arron yells, immediately jumping off his seat to go hugging his friend.

Kenneth attempts to process what just happened, the cacophony of the celebrating crowd keeping him positively stunned as the rest of the mustelids throw him around, happy to celebrate his win.

"Kenneth! You made it!" Willliam calls, snapping the badger from his euphoric stupor.

"THIS IS FUCKING CRAZY AND INSANE AND...." Kenneth finally vocalizes his feelings, tears welling in his eyes, finally bursting in happiness and basking in the euphoria.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" *the badger laughs, hugging his fellow finalists* "I just see EVERYTHING I envisioned since signing on to this show coming true. My future in my passion, my investment in all of this paying off, my future becoming clearer... it's so overwhelming, I can't even..." *he chokes, flailing his hands around* "I DID IT MOM! I'M THE TOP MUSTELID OF ALL!"

~Kenneth, 24, American Badger, Roofer/CrossFit Instructor

All the while, Eddie stands in shock beside the badger, his brown eyes wide open and stunned as most of the cast huddles around the winning mustelid; Crispin being the first to come to his side instead.

"I fucking failed. I don't know where, but something has gone horribly wrong down the road. Going through this, a whole month of blood, sweat and downright war, only to lose to HIM of all people..." *the otter looks away, struggling to contain tears* "I just can't... fucking live with this. I know you'll try to sugar the pill, but honestly? Second place is the first loser. I've taken a lot of shit in my life, I saw through hell and came back to tell it, but this..." *looks away* "I can't fucking explain why it mattered this much. I just can't."

~Eddie, 32, Giant Otter, Demolition Foreman

"Look at me..." Ludwig tells a dejected Eddie, standing on the side while Kenneth is taking in the praise of all others. "You got nothing to be ashamed about, sailor. You're a force to be reckoned with, and I got high hopes for you," he says as he pulls him into a hug, the giant otter still in shock and unresponsive to the host's acknowledgement long after he's walked away to congratulate the winner.

"I am a quarter million badger! I'm a big fucking deal now! This is the biggest achievement I've ever won. It was grueling, it hung me dry, it exposed me to the entire nation..." *the badger shakes his head, flailing* "But it was WORTH IT!"

~Kenneth, 24, American Badger, Roofer/CrossFit Instructor

"America's Mustelid Alpha, KENNETH!" the host raises the badger's paw in a typical boxing winner gesture. Meanwhile, Zakee is quick to bring out a champagne bottle - uncorking it and pressing his firm thumb over the hole to spray and douse the winner in the cool liquid.

"Guys..." Kenneth addresses the group. "Thank you all you eleven crazyass competitors, you made this shit so fucking difficult...." he says, stumbling his words in a stupor of happiness. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. No one else would make this victory worthwhile. And now... this badger can change his life!"

"All over America, mustelids and not..." *Kenneth leans towards the camera* "If you ever want proof that fighting for your dreams is worth it, look no further. I gave all I got to chase this dream, and this started way, way before I decided to lock myself into a big villa with these crazy folks. I'm here to tell ya - there's no reason why the same can't happen to you. 'Cause it happened to me. I fought for it, and I conquered it." *chuckles as he gets up from his confessional booth and physically grabs the camera, smiling directly at the lens* "I am the Alpha."

~Kenneth, 24, American Badger, American Mustelid Alpha

Omar: "I had a hunch you were gonna go far when we were in the camps. Cool, calm, collected, that's how an Alpha should behave, and that's what I want to reward. Go get that medal, commander." *votes for Eddie*

J.J.: "From the very first day I got in Apopka, me and the other younger otters settled that we should do anything in our power to make sure a lutrine won the title. I'm happy I can keep true to that resolve." *votes for Eddie*

Michael: "It's hard to believe that you entered this competition as a whiny brat, but look at you now. You've grown yourself into the role, and if there's something I respect, it's forging oneself into a deadly weapon. Go get it, Philly." *vote for Kenneth*

Crispin: "Don't let anyone over there tell ya your resolve is not strong enough. Own this like the Alpha you are, and know you've won a lifelong friend in me whatever happens." *votes for Eddie*

Chayne: "Y'all two are great, let me tell you. Eddie, you've been cool with me ever since day one, and mad props someone like you has opened to me that way. But Kenny.... boy... you gave me straight frat boy vibes first, but I was happy to know there's more to you than just the Greek letters. You got passion, you got strength, and c'mon... my inner reality TV fanatic loved your moves. You got this, bitch." *votes for Kenneth*

William: "Ughhhh... this is the hardest choice ever, and the fact my vote is a potential decider for the whole bottom six only makes it worse. I must say it's rather obvious that the jury is nearly equally split, both because of past alliances and the high level of the two remaining competitors." *sighs* "I must say this questioning part has made me revalue Kenneth's character. I really feel this was an experience of maturity and growth for him, and I'm happy he managed to put it into display in front of us all. I know with time he's gonna make a great Alpha mustelid." *briefly ponders before slipping his token into Eddie's urn* "However, I'm not here to judge what it can be, but rather what it is now. For the entire time Eddie's had everyone gunning for his rudder, and not only he refused to surrender - he beat others into submission and even managed them to play along with schemes in order to further his own game. People might not agree with his tactics, but he's true when he says that it's only because he was the only one who had the balls to play that way - and to be honest, as long as it stays in the game, I feel that's the mark of a true Alpha. Eddie, my utmost respect to you, and I hope we can reconnect once the game is over." *votes for Eddie*

Arron: "You decimated this game how it should be, and above all, you kept strong convictions, you saw others as your equals, and you did all of this honorably." *votes for Kenneth*

John: "Not enthused either way, but you, sailor, got blood on your paws, and left the trail on the way to the final. Voting for you's the least I could do for someone who went through all that trouble and bullshit the other assholes threw at you, and scraped it off just like that. Have my vote, you dirty sneak." *votes for Eddie*

Greasy Z: *turns towards the jury bench in the distance* "AY LUDWIG, CAN I WRITE MY NAME IN?" *chuckles inwardly, then frowns at the two urns* "Okay, let's be serious for a darn moment. I think you two are quite evenly matched, and even in this Gauntlet you've fought wheel-to-wheel to the very last corner. I feel this boils down to the... uhhh... message I wanna give with this decision, and that's why I asked what I asked and how that got to make my mind up. Eddie was here to prove himself in this game, but you, Kenny, were here to prove yourself in the game of life. And I know this quarter million's gonna make it a bit easier and sweeter, for you and Cassie alike." *winks* "Besides, you stuck out for me when I had it the hardest, and it just wouldn't feel right for this hog not to return the favor." *votes for Kenneth*

Andrew: "Eddie, I really wanted to give you the chance and the vote, but you could never EVER bring yourself to drop your superiority complex. My dad always says a man is only as good as his word, and well... I get this is a game and you played it like a fiddle, but you were all too happy to exploit that technicality." *shrugs his shoulders as he casts his vote for the badger* "Kenneth, you owned up to piggybacking on my strategy. At the end of the day, your game was pretty solid and you really found your gear in the final stretch. Well done." *votes for Kenneth*