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Only six players are left in the house. Two of them are in the shower, making out and washing each other of dirt on their fur. Three of them are in the living room, playing video games and nibbling on popcorn slowly. However, the last one is his his bedroom, chugging down a can of whipped cream while holding Blake's blanket close to his face.

Scott misses his best friend and possible mate on the outside. Ever since the tiger slipped outside yesterday and had to leave, he's all the chubby fox has been able to think about. It's all he ever wants to think about. People have come and gone from the room, trying to give him sympathy to make him feel better, but nothing works.

Alex, Johnny, and Sandy came in to give him a baked pie to try to lift his spirits. Yet surprisingly, the fox rejected it. "I just want to stay here and nom on some cream," he said. Alex could have sworn that Scott's ears had drooped further after that little visit.

An hour later, Boomer and Joe came in to see how he was holding up. The polar bear give him some blankets from the living room and some leftover cake from the party yesterday. Scott rejected it, covering himself with the quilt him and Blake shared and said, "Can I just be alone for a little while?"

"Of course you can," Joe said.

While in the shower with Boomer, the little fox/skunk keeps thinking about the depressed fox. Walter & Roger are gone, thankfully. The problem at the moment is that the other three in the house are in an ultimate trio that wants to send them home. Scott is their only hope at getting to the Final Three.

"Everything ok, honey?" Boomer asks, rubbing his shoulders and bringing his paws up to the smaller canine's neck.

Joe sighs. "I'm ok." He turns around and shuts off the water, taking his towel to dry the two of them off. "I just... I'm worried about Scott like the rest of the house. But this affects us in two ways. Scott's not only our good friend, but he's our only other ally in the game. Those wolves out there are probably out there plotting against us as they play their little video game. If we don't get Scott back on board with our alliance, we're going to go down badly."

Boomer nods. "I understand," he says. "But you have to think from his side too. He just lost one of his greatest friends. Not just in the house; Scott has known Blake for most of his life. To know that a lifelong friend is now waiting in the hospital for a fractured femur to heal is a scary thought." The bear likes that Joe is so focused on the game. However, every now and then, it seems that he needs to bring him back into the reality of situations. That sometimes things happen and they need to be there for people who have suffered a loss.

The two spend the next few moments drying off and getting their clothes back on. (For some reason, it was unusually cool today. The thermometer said it was a comfortable sixty-eight degrees fahrenheit so the boys dress is casual clothes.)

In the living room, all three wolves (brown and red) are in the living room. Alex and Johnny fight each other in a go kart video game and Sandy lies down on the floor next to the couch, toes splayed out in front of the register as cool air blasts between his toes. "I'm gonna get you!" Alex says.

"Oh no you don't!" Johhny retorts. His kart is only several seconds in front of Alex's. Both of them are close to the finish line but one of them outraces the others. The younger wolf throws his arms up in victory. "I won! Again! A new family record!" He even lets out a little celebratory laugh.

Alex tosses his controller on the cushion on the adjacent couch. "I don't get it!" he says. "How do you manage to beat me every single time?"

"I have no idea, but I'm glad I can do it." Johnny's laugh dies down before he hands his bigger brother his controller. "Best ten out of twenty-one?"

The bigger wolf shakes his head. "Absolutely not!" Johnny shrugs and plays the game as a solo player. "But I do want to talk about the whole Scott-Blake situation." Alex leans over and grabs the bowl of popcorn. A few popped kernels are still left at the bottom. Sandy perks his ears up. "I think that we ought to propose an arrangement with Scott to get Boomer and Joe out of the house."

"What makes you so sure that he'll take the deal?" Sandy asks. "I mean, we tried to be nice to him earlier today and it only resulted in him rejecting our pie then going back to eating whipped cream."

"I get that. But maybe we'll need to approach him a different way. Think about it, Blake didn't really want those two to stay in the game, right?" Johnny shrugs his shoulders. Sandy looks towards the ceiling, thinking about a few days ago before the tiger fell into the pool. He thought he saw Scott and Blake talking to Joe by the pool before the incident.

He shakes his head. "I don't know, guys," Sandy says. "It looked to me that they were making up. If that's the case, we're definitely screwed come the next few weeks."

Alex let out a frustrated groan. If Joe already beat him to the punch, that means that neither side will have the advantage in numbers. The only guaranteed way to eliminate Joe this week is to gain more than him during the next six days. With this in mind, the wolf gets up and walks into the kitchen to get more snacks.

Eventually, one of the bedroom doors open and Scott treks out of the room, down the hall and into the kitchen to get something to take care of his parched throat. He sees Alex nomming on some potato chips as he goes into the fridge. The fox pulls down the orange juice from the top shelf. When he closes the door, he sees Alex holding out a small glass for him.

Scott sniffles slightly. "Thank you," he says. He proceeds to pour himself a small cup and puts the carton back in the fridge.

While the fox sips down on the juice, Alex sets the chips down and licks his lips clean. "So, how're you feeling buddy?" he asks. "You've been gone quite a while and most of the house is worried about you."

"I know," Scott answers. "I just... needed some time alone since my best friend of over ten years is gone because of something that could've been prevented." He sniffles, feeling the tears threaten to come back and stream down his face.

Alex hushes him gently and wraps his arms around him. "Calm down, little fox," he coos. "I know what it's like to be separated from a loved one. When Sandy was first voted off, I was devastated but you know what I did?" Scott shook his head. "I got right up and fought my ass off to stay in the house and look what happened?" He shakes his head again. "I won immunity twice in a row. So trust me, don't be down in the dumps now that Blake is gone. Use this as an opportunity to rise up and dominate this game like there's no tomorrow."

For whatever reason, the fox smiles into the wolf's shoulder and says, "Ok, wolfy, you got me." They let go of each other. Scott gulps down the rest of his juice and sets the glass into the sink. "So, you think I should fight?"

"Absolutely," Alex says. "It's what I did and look at me: I'm still in the house eligible to win. If you take my advice, you'll be in the finale before you know it."

***

Joe sits on the kitchen counter, picking at his claws as he waits for the oven to go off. Inside is just a dozen blueberry muffins. Nothing special. As he waits, he thinks back to a couple days ago when he thought he saw Scott and Alex handing out together in the pool. If those two become friends, that's not good, Joe thinks. It means the balance has been tipped over and the numbers are not in his favor.

But Boomer reassured him that he will find a way to get Scott back on their side. "You and I are here because you were smart enough to get out of a tough situation," the polar bear said. "Especially after Walter outed you out to the entire house, which was shady of him."

It indeed was shady, Joe thought. Which is the reason Walter is sitting in the loser's house right now instead of being here in the Final Six. Still, a seventeen percent chance of winning a million dollars and Joe can almost taste it. His biggest threat, of course, is Alex. Not only is the wolf getting bigger by the day, but he's also got a really good social game working for him, which is why he managed to escape a couple votes.

Another big thing to think about is Sandy. He already had his chance to win the million dollars in this game, but he lost it. Now because the fans wanted him back, he gets another chance. To Joe, that's unacceptable. Then, that thought is hypocritical because Joe lost the Amazing Race in 15th back in season two. Technically, he shouldn't have been given a second chance, but yet, here he is, skating by and on his way to the finale.

The timer on the oven hits five minutes. The smell of blueberries flood the room and spreads throughout the house. Seconds later, Johnny walks in, yawning from a nap he took. Joe shifts uncomfortably on the counter and looks down towards the floor.

The younger wolf reaches up into the cupboards for a glass. "What're you doing in here?" he asks Joe. His nose picks up a familiar scent. "What have you got cooking?"

"I'm making muffins," Joe answers. His gears start turning. Out of all the wolves, Johnny is the weakest at the moment. If I can somehow change his targets, the fox/skunk thinks, then maybe it will get me and Boomer by another week. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Johnny perks his ears up. His brother warned him about Joe and his smart mouth, so whatever he has to say, he's prepared to go against it. Joe clears his throat. "Listen, I know that whatever Walter said on the way on the door made you think that I'm the bad guy, but I'm not. I'm just another guy like you who is trying to win the money." He hops off the counter and slowly walks up to him. "But if you ask me, I'm not a very strong player. Look at me, I still look like I'm two-hundred pounds, do I not?"

Johnny nodded. "Yes, you do."

"Exactly! So, who knows where my weight rests at this moment. Because I'm younger and have more energy, I burn more calories, which is why I don't look much bigger compared to the start of the game." Joe wraps an around Johnny's shoulder, thinking that the wolf is starting to get his message. "If you ask me, I think that you ought to go for another target."

But the wolf shakes his head. "If you will ever think that I will go after my brother or his boyfriend, then you're crazy."

"Absolutely not!" Joe scoffs. "Yet, here's how I think of things: you and your brother came into this game together, right? Well, now all of a sudden, Alex has this third wheel to your party. Tell me, John, once you three get to the finale and the last immunity is granted, who do you think Alex would take to the Final Two, you or him?"

Johnny just stands there, speechless, unable to turn things over in his mind. He hates Joe just as much as his brother does, but he cannot help that this crazy hybrid is right. The little wolf has no idea what Alex would do: choose his brother, or choose his boyfriend.

Joe continues. "Also, think of it this way: if Sandy were to win the last immunity, who would he take to the Final Two: you or Alex?"

"Alex," Johnny answers softly because he knows it's true.

I have him right where I want him, Joe thinks. "Ok then. So, how about you and I make a little deal," he suggests. "Everyone knows that I would rather happily take Boomer to the end. But there's the possibility that he gains the least amount and is cut automatically. If that happens, though, I will happily take you to the Final Two. You have my word on that." And he meant it, too.

Boomer is a great guy and a tough eater. However, in this game, there's always a chance that he won't be there in the finale. With this deal, though, Joe is securing himself in the house for next week. That way, if Scott leaves the game this week, Johnny will be confused about the vote since his brother made a bad decision.

"I get it, if you think that this deal is too risky," Joe says when Johnny only gave out crickets. "I'm just saying, your brother might not be the ticket to the Final Two. But I, on the other hand, am. Think wise about this one, John."

The oven dinged.

***

During that talk with Joe in the kitchen, Alex and Sandy sit outside in the pool with no clothes on. (It's definitely past that part of the game where clothes are being tossed aside in exchange for their birthday suits.) The big brown wolf has his sunglasses on, looking up towards the sky as the cool water in the pool makes him think about the game.

Currently, half of the house is on his side. But the other half are deadset on getting them out of the game. The only wildcard, though is Scott. Ever since his partner left, he's been a little unstable. Hopefully, that talk they had earlier this week made him change his mind and want to join his team.

"What's going to happen this week?" Sandy asks.

Alex lifts his glasses and looks down at the red wolf. "I have no idea," he says. "Next week, though, there's a vote off. Everyone knows that. That means that it will take two votes to flip the house around to get Joe out. Or, if he leaves this week, to get Boomer out."

"So, why would we have to worry about that?"

"Because, if one of us leaves this week and another gets marked for elimination, we need that extra vote, otherwise it's game over for our game." The thought of coming this far only to be told you can't have any money really stinks. After all that Alex has suffered through in the two weeks Sandy has been gone, he isn't about to give up the million to some fox who happened to still be here because of luck and his smart mouth.

The back door opens. A bright yellow fox comes out with a beach towel and some sunblock (fur friendly). Scott smiles when he sees Alex taking a dip in the pool. He lays his towel out and lies down on his stomach, head inches away from the rim of the pool. "What're you guys talking about?" he asks.

"Nothing much," Sandy says. The red wolf then gets his serious face on. "But we are talking about how we're going to get Joe out of the game." This intrigued Scott a little bit. His perks his ears up to show he was listening and Sandy continues. "If Boomer leaves this week, I'd honestly feel sorry for him."

"Why?" Alex asks as if it was an insult to say that. "Boomer is guilty by association with Joe. The two are not only in love, but they have already competed in a game show and lost."

"I know that, Joe is still in high school. Teenagers can be very clever sometimes and we just don't even know it. He's made multiple alliances and even split the house in half. He's the reason I went home the first time; he's the reason Joel & Victor went home; and he's the reason Walter & Roger left the game.

"What has Boomer done this whole time? Nothing. All he did was sit back and eat while his little boyfriend did all the dirty work. Because of that fox, he got him and his partner a one in six shot of redemption. The polar bear did nothing wrong. In fact, if none of us won, I'd be happy if Boomer won the million. If Joe gets the title of winner, however, I'm going to blow a casket at the finale."

Inside the door, a certain, sneaky fox observes the three talkers quietly before slipping into one of the bedrooms where his mate lies on the bed with his fingers in the jelly jar, getting himself and the bedsheets sticky. When Boomer notices, he stops what he's doing and blushes. "Sorry about that," he apologizes. "I was just a little hungry and I wanted to get a quick bite before I went to bed and-"

"It's fine," Joe says. "I just saw Alex and Sandy talking with Scott outside. But, I wouldn't worry about it." He sits down at the foot of their bed. When Boomer asks why not, all he says is, "Because I think I just caused a rift on the other side." He smiles evilly.

***

At the end of the week, the time everyone in the house dreads, everyone sits on the couch waiting for Toner to appear on the TV to begin the elimination process. Boomer snakes his paw over to hold Joe's, giving it a firm squeeze. Alex smiles at Sandy, then looks over to his brother. But Johnny gives him a confused look, which makes Alex slightly concerned. All Scott does it wrap his arms around himself, wishing Blake were there to comfort him.

Right on cue, the TV turns static and the red dog appears on screen. "Hello Final Six!" he greets. He's greeted by by six "Hello Toner"s. "Well, I've got to say that I loved this week so much that I decided that no one shall be eliminated."

"Really?" Sandy asks, perking his ears up and sitting on the edge of the couch. Like everyone else, his hopes are high for someone playing in a competition hosted by Toner.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you," Toner kids. "Someone is going home. As for who that is, that all depends on how much y'all have gained over the last two weeks. But first; Sandy, what's is like being back at the house after being gone for two weeks?"

"It's hard to say," he answers. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I missed everyone a bunch. But it seems like the only thing that's really changed in this house is the number of people. Everyone here is pretty much the same as they were when I first went home."

"Interesting." The host then turns to the chubby yellow fox. "Scott, how are you holding up now that your best bro is out of the house?"

"I'm going fine," Scott says. "I've got a lot of people here to support me and they support him as well. Because of that, I'm going to continue fighting to get to the end for him."

Toner nods. "Probably a great way of putting it. Speaking of 'to the end', it's time to send another one of you packing back to... wherever you all came from." The six housemates groan that they have to keep suffering through this every week. "Too bad you guys. This week, things will work a little differently. Since we didn't go over the scores from last week, your score this week will be combined with last week's. The person with the least total combined score will be the one going home this week. Alex, you're going up first."

The large Alex gets up and walks into the hallway where the large scale sits. It's been a while, he thinks. He stands up on it and sees his weight. 809 pounds; a gain of eleven since the last time he checked.

As he gets off, Johnny passes by him in the hall to take his turn on the scale. When he gets on, the number surprises him. "Wow," he whispers. 543 pounds; seventeen more since the last time he checked.

+18 pounds: Joe

+17 pounds: Sandy

+6 pounds: Boomer, Scott

After all six of them check their weight, Toner comes back to announce the results; which, thanks to the delay of the weigh-in, nobody knows how it will end up. "Alright gentlemen. I have the scores and we have a winner. Before I do, I will say that whomever has the highest score will not only win immunity, but will also get to go to a restaurant of their choice with one person of their choosing. With that being said, today's winner is..." Alex crosses his fingers. Joe squeezes Boomer's paw right back. Scott just sits back and stays chill. "... Joe!"

"Yes!" the hybrid shouts before he kisses his partner right on the muzzle, not caring about the others who are slightly growling at him.

"Everyone else is on the edge." Toner reminds them that no one else is safe yet. The other five turn their attention back to the screen. "Now, we have an interesting tie for last place. Boomer, Scott, both of you only gained six pounds over the last two weeks. However, it's not enough." Joe's celebration is cut short. His heart pounding harder than before. "As you know, in the result of a tie, we look at the previous scored to determine who gets the boot.

"This week, according to the results of week seven, our lucky loser is..." Scott keeps his relaxed look on, knowing that it's not worth panicking. Joe, on the other hand, is panicking like never before. If Boomer leaves the game, it'll be worse than HIM leaving. "... Scott."

The chubby fox smiles and gets up off the couch. "Well," he says. "It's been getting knowing you all. I wish you the best of luck in the rest of the game. Looks like it's time for me to meet my end." He looks towards Alex and Johnny and smiles wider, his tail swaying a little. They'll do fine, he thinks.

He walks over to the front door and keeps his chill and he exits. The door slowly closes behind him, leaving the Final Five to think about what to do next.

***

Scott walks down the steps of the porch carefully before heading across the yard where Toner sits, waiting for him. Both canine outstretch their paws and shake them. "It's good to meet you, man," the fox greets.

"The pleasure is all mine," Toner says. They take a seat on their respective chairs before the interview begins. "Well, seeing you play this game was definitely one of the most interesting things I've seen in both seasons of the game. At first, you were the party boy who just wanted to have some fun. Then as the weeks progressed, it seemed that you started to become more serious before you hit rock bottom this week. Where do you think it all went wrong?"

Scott sighs. "Where to begin? First, Joe talked me and Blake into joining that alliance with Walter and Roger. Sure, we dominated greatly, but then Walter revealed a big secret about Joe and then all of us were after him. Is you ask me, our biggest mistake was letting Joe manipulate our game. If me and Blake had changed our vote that week, we both would've probably still have been in the house."

"A lot of people have been talking about Joe in the last few weeks after Walter's dramatic exit. What exactly is Joe doing to make the rest of you upset?" Toner asks, curiously as if he wasn't watching the whole time.

"Let's see. He organized three eliminations, tried to be the puppetmaster for most of the players in this game, and for all I know, he could be talking to others in there to save his sorry ass. I doubt it though. Alex, Johnny, and Sandy seem like a solid pact that will hopefully take down Boomer and Joe. If they don't, then I'm going to throw a hissy fit."

"You mentioned Joe, but what do you honestly think of Boomer?"

Scott smiles again. "Boomer is a sweet guy; very nice and very cuddly. The only issue is that because he is in heavy association with Joe and the fact that he competed in one of the most famous reality shows on SoFurry, it makes him a target. If he leaves the house, I'll honestly be heartbroken because he didn't do anything wrong. He deserves to win. It's his partner that's bringing him down."

"Who do you hope wins this entire competition?"

"I definitely think that Alex has a real chance. I also hate to admit it, but if this were a competition where brains went into who wins this game, I'd say that Joe has a real shot of winning. But this is a game where you get fat, not one to show off your intelligence and manipulation skills."

Toner reaches out his paw where they shake again. "It's been nice knowing you, Scott. But for you, the game ends now."

"Likewise," the fox replies. He gets up out of his chair and walks the other direction to head towards the loser's house.

"Well, that's fifteen down, and only five remain," Toner declares. "Which one will be sent out of the door next week? Only one way to find out is to keep on the lookout for the next chapter of... Gainer's Paradise."