Alright, I'll get to the review response shortly. For now, I want to say a few quick things. Stick around until the end because it has some important details on my next project(s). Like I said in the last chapter, Sammy is the official (and canon) winner. But, it's Total Drama, and it's tradition to have an alt. ending.
Amit and Gman: Read until the end for what I have in store
GoatedReads: Thank you for all your reviews. I'm honored that you think so highly of my series.
Matias: Thank you for your reviews too. I don't like Sierra as a character, but I thought making her feral would've been fun. Though I understand why some may not like it. Her main point of existing was for Cody to realize what a hypocrite he was being towards Gwen.
Lupo: Shame about Tyler. I really, REALLY wished I could've done more for him, but with everything else going on, he kinda fell back. Thank you for the detailed review too. Chris and Don's rivalry was also fun to explore.
KirbyStar: I was so glad I was able to bring back Macarthur. I was originally going to have it be Owen and Noah, but I wanted an all-female finale. Duncan was definitely one of my favorite characters to write. Thanks a ton for your continued support.
Jo sprang out of the water, gasping for air. She quickly took off her helmet and threw it to the side. She tried catching her breath, but her adrenaline was spiking. She was about to scream some profanities at a certain pair of cadets, when…
"And the winner of Total Drama Legends is...Jo!" Chris announced.
The Jockette suddenly forgot to be angry. She froze for a second, before suddenly seeing the golden ring, hanging off her forearm. She picked it up and held it in front of her face. Her mouth was agape.
From his platform, Chris leaned over to Chef. "You know? I thought she'd be a little more...what's the word?"
"Braggadocious?" Chef shrugged.
"Yeah, that. I figured she'd be-"
"YEAH, BABY!" Jo raised her arms, and the ring, in celebration. "WHO GETS THE FIVE MILLION?! I DO! WHO DESERVED IT MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE! ME!" She turned around. "WHO-" The Jockette froze again. Sammy had just resurfaced. She had taken her helmet off and was looking a little disappointed. Jo saw this and grinned. "What do ya think, Bluebell? How does it feel to come so close, yet still fall short? Don't beat yourself up too much, though. You didn't stand a chance!" With that, she cackled.
Sammy, however, did something that Jo wasn't expecting. She smiled. "Congratulations, Jo. You deserve it."
The Jockette immediately stopped laughing. Seeing the Twin smiling at her had completely thrown her off track. She thought about what she had said. "Umm…" She stammered. "You...I...Thank you…?" She paused, still trying to gather her thoughts. "And...I...you actually did pretty good. I...I almost thought I was going to lose...at one point." She stopped, unsure of what to say next.
Thankfully, she didn't have to. "Thank you, Jo. That really means a lot." She was about to swim back to her platform, but looked back. "I'm sure Ambie's really proud of you too." With that, she swam away, leaving Jo by herself.
The Jockette looked down at her ring and she gave a huge smile. "Oh, I bet she is..." She said under her breath.
Sammy climbed back onto her platform. She quietly looked down at the floor. Jasmine and Leshawna carefully walked up.
"How ya feeling, Sam?" Jasmine asked.
"If you want to cry, no one would blame you." Leshawna added.
Sammy didn't respond immediately. Eventually though, she looked up, giving a small smile. "Thanks, guys, but...I think I'll be alright."
Her two friends stared blankly, first to each other and then to the girl that looked a lot like Sammy. "You're...not upset?" Leshawna questioned.
The Twin shrugged. "I mean…a little, but I don't think it was about winning." She turned and looked at Jo, who was still heading towards her platform. "It was about proving myself." She faced her friends again. "Jo nearly lost to me today. Me." She chuckled. "I mean, if I can go toe-to-toe with a tough as nails girl like her, that says a lot about me."
Jasmine smiled proudly to her close friend. Leshawna, on the other hand, was still confused. "But...what about the money?"
Sammy walked forward, still smirking. "I mean, it would've been nice, but...I'll live."
Jasmine followed her friend, but Leshawna seemed to be contemplating something. "But...five million dollars...I could've opened a dance studio." Still upset, the Sistah followed her two friends towards Chris and the chopper.
Jo climbed up onto her platform, soaking wet, but with a big smile. Sanders walked up to her. "I can't say you deserve it, but I don't think you really care." She said.
The Jockette scoffed. "Of course I deserve it. I outlasted everyone here. You're just upset that your sabotage didn't work." She looked over at the second air helmet.
Sanders rolled her eyes. "Jo, no one sabotaged you. Besides, even if that was the case, you still won. Doesn't that make your victory a little sweeter?"
Jo thought about that for a moment, then smirked. "I guess you're right. So, technically, I beat five people today." She let out a triumphant laugh, while Sanders let her have her moment.
Chris walked up to the Jockette, briefcase in hand. "Congratulations, Jo. The five millions dollars is yours. As well as all the bragging rights that come with it. I'm sure you'll use that sparingly." He gave a wink, before presenting the case to the winner.
The Jockette swiped it from his hands and held it up victoriously. Chris turned and walked off. Sanders watched Jo celebrate, but something else caught her attention. "Macarthur? Are you okay?"
Jo stopped gloating and looked at where Sanders was staring. Macarthur slowly walked up to the two. She had clearly been crying. The Jockette smirked. "What? Is my victory too glorious for you to handle?"
The burly cadet wiped her nose with her arm. "That's not why I'm crying." Macarthur sobbed. She looked back at the water. "I...I had to let Mr. Coconut go."
Jo and Sanders shared a confused glance, before turning back to the burly Cadet. "You...you what?" The Jockette asked
Macarthur suddenly dropped to her knees and started bawling. "He told me 'it's where he belongs!' I tried convincing him to stay, but he kept telling me he needed to go back home. So I put him back in the ocean...where he belongs." She wrapped her arms around her knees and continued sobbing.
Jo was still trying to understand what was going on. "But it's just a coconu-"
A hand rested on her shoulder. "Don't." Sanders shook her head. "I've learned a long time ago that the less you know about what Macarthur's doing, the better."
The Jockette had several questions, but figured Sanders was right, so said nothing at all. Instead she took another look at her briefcase. She immediately perked up. "I did it, babe." She whispered.
After a while, everyone was back on the chopper. Jo was still reveling in her victory, Leshawna and Jasmine were talking to one another and Sanders was greeting her friend.
"Sorry you didn't win, Sammy." She gave the Twin a hug. "Honestly, I would've much preferred you over…" She glanced at the Jockette, who was still gloating. "...her."
Sammy chuckled. "Thanks, Mikayla. I would've shared the prize with you and Macarthur if I could."
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think giving that kind of money to Macarthur would be a good idea. She was hard enough to deal with, with only a single million."
The two shared a laugh. Meanwhile, Leshawna had finished her chat with Jasmine and was now stuck with another cadet.
"Y'know, Leshawna?" Macarthur started. "If it wasn't Sammy or Jo in the finale, I would've hoped it was you."
The Sistah was surprised. "Oh...thanks...Macarthur, was it?"
"Valentina, actually. It's not something I tell most people."
Leshawna blinked, but decided not to question it. "Ok, well...Valentina. That means a lot. You're pretty cool yourself. Honestly, I thought you were too far into your own head, but you're actually-"
"And I really wanted it too, after your abysmal performance in World Tour. I mean I was already hoping you would win in season one and then the whole voted off by a parrot' thing happened. Then you were outcast by your own teammates in Action, and let's not even go into how you were manipulated in season three." She paused. "Actually, never mind, I'll talk about it…"
As the burly Cadet rambled, she failed to see Leshawna's content expression fall.
Confessional (Leshawna): She sighed. "I know she probably meant well, but…that cadet is a lot to deal with."
Static.
Sammy took a seat near a window and looked out. The chopper was close to taking off and she had a lot on her mind. Despite her saying that she was content with Jo winning over her, she still felt uneasy. She thought about everything that had happened leading up to the finale. Her entire team turned against her, almost getting eliminated, making new friends and watching them get eliminated. Maybe I should call Dawn. She thought. I never got to say goodbye. Wait...does she own a phone? Then another thought struck her. Mom's probably just happy to have me home. She chuckled to herself.
Then she froze. Thinking about her mom reminded her of her sister. What does she think about all of this? Is she happy I didn't win or could she be...upset? Maybe that's just wishful thinking. I guess if she does want to make things up, I'll know it's not for the money.
She glanced out the window, still deep in thought. I've met so many cool people since I got here. Leshawna, Dawn, Mikayla. Even Duncan. She couldn't help but smile. It was never about the money...it was about making a name for myself...and I think I did a pretty good job at that.
"How ya holding up, Sammy?"
The Twin turned to see her old friend, Jasmine. She wore a soft, sympathetic expression. "I know you said you were okay, but...are you sure that's how you feel?"
Sammy thought about that for a moment. She didn't want to lie, but also wasn't sure how to respond. Eventually though, she had an answer. "I mean, I'm a little upset about not winning, but...I think I'll get over it." She gave a genuine smile. "Besides, even if I didn't get the money, I still have a ton of things to be happy about." She paused. "So, to answer your question, I'm doing great."
Jasmine beamed at the sight of her friend. Sammy got off her seat and the two shared in a soft hug.
The chopper flew away from the sunken island. Chris stood at an open doorway, as the double rotor helicopter flew next to the camera.
The host smiled. "Well, it looks like it's time to say goodbye, yet again. Will we be back for another season?" He shrugged. "Who knows? What we do know is that this season definitely lived up to its name. This is Chris McLean, your host, signing off. We thank you for sticking with us for this epic season. One last time, this has been...Total...Drama...LegeAAAAAAAAA…"
Just as he was about to finish his final line, Chris was shoved out the door by Jo, Macarthur and Sanders. They watched him fall and disappear into the water. They all shared in a laugh.
"That's for earlier, McLean!" Jo shouted.
"Oh, crap." Macarthur butt in. "Last line of the episode. Ummm…" She looked at the camera. "Danders is OTP, season two is overrated and Courtney should've won All-Stars. She had everything going for her and the producers-" Macarthur's was cut off by the sound of whirring blades.
The chopper picked up speed and flew towards the setting sun. Chris emerged from the water, a few seconds later, shaking his fist at the helicopter.
And...done.
This is my first fully published fanfiction and I'm so proud of how it came out. I'm not good at speeches, so I'll try to wrap it up quickly. Let's get right into the thank yous.
Thank you, Knifez, KirbyStarWarrior and Whattheheck23 for all having amazing fanfics that helped me with inspiration for my own series. Also, thank you for all your reviews.
Thank you to GoatedReads, MatiasND, Gman5846, Deadakus and Infinity Wizard for being regular reviewers on this story. Especially to the last one for the amount of detail and care that was put into each review. And to everyone who I didn't mention that left a review, thank you as well.
Lastly, even though I doubt he's ever going to see this, thank you to Patwhit01. His Mansion McLean story was the one that inspired me to look into making my own series.
Alright, now for the fun stuff. While Total Drama Legends is over, I can't say the same for some of its characters. I'm currently working on a project that'll be a sequel series to TDL. Currently, I have seven stories planned (though that number may change). I'm not giving away the title yet, but it's one I'm proud of. I hope to release this new series soon. I'm already working on the first story.
Before that begins, I'm going to rewrite a few chapters. Mainly the ones that don't have proper spacing. Nothing major will change, I can assure you, other than making it more professional and easier to read.
I also have another competition series in the works.
And I think I'll leave it at that. Take care and I hope to hear from you guys soon.
This is MarkLevins, signing off.
Oh, and let's aim for 200 reviews.
Placement:
22nd: Sierra
21st: Lightning
20th: Tyler
19th: Cody
18th: Heather
17th: Alejandro
16th: Owen
15th: Macarthur
14th: Scott
13th: Courtney
12th: Dawn
11th: Jasmine
10th: Leshawna
9th: Noah
8th: Gwen
7th/6th: Mike
6th/7th: Zoey
5th: Amy
4th: Sanders
3rd: Duncan
2nd: Sammy (Alt. Runner-up)
1st: Jo (Alt. Winner)