Just a reminder that this is in fact that third chapter posted today. Chapter 11 where the story picks up where it left off (four years ago? yikes, my bad) and acts as the Official Ending. This chapter here is the second Alternate Ending to Total Drama Wally and I hope you all enjoy it.

Everything was one big chaotic mess. Everyone was running every which way, turning on a dime whenever Chris would announce that someone new had grabbed the case. Everyone grabbing at every advantage, no matter how insane it might be, in order to get ahead.

Everything was a blur, right up until the end.

Tyler had the prize. He didn't know how. There'd been a scrimmage near the cabins, a mob of pointy elbows and soft midsections as they all fought for control of the precious. One second his hands had been empty, and the next they'd reached out and plucked that beautiful silver case from the air. And then he was running.

And everyone else was running behind him.

But Tyler was fast and, desperate as he was, he was surprisingly stable. He made good time for the docks.

Wally was hampered by the crowd, but managed to break free with enough time to catch up. At this point he wasn't even thinking about being careful or about his speed, he just wanted to win. He ripped the case from Tyler's grip and kept going for the end.

And then he was there, just a few steps away from the end of the dock, holding the million dollar briefcase. For a split-second he knew he'd won.

And then more than half the cast tackled him from behind, tossing him to the side as they continued off the end of the pier and sixteen teenagers of all kinds crashed down into the water below.

For a smattering of seconds, Wally and the remaining contestants waited on the dock with baited breath as one by one those in the water began to surface and…

…the case was lost.

Once the chaos had subsided, once the teens had surfaced and breathed in heavy gulps of oxygen and their pulses stopped racing long enough for them to think, that was the only real thought available to them.

The prize was gone. Tossed into the water and eaten by a shark for good measure.

Wally could only watch from the docks as the other contestants surfaced in the water or slowly gathered behind him.

They were so stunned they didn't even try to get back to the dock for almost a full minute. Their brains were frozen, unable to accept this horrible reality that all they had worked and suffered for was for nought.

And then Chris began to speak.

"Wow! What a nail-biter!" He cheered, the cameras behind him capturing every moment. "A ten, twelve... sixteen way tie. What an upset!"

It was over. They'd lost. Chris was the one true winner of the island.

"Congratulations to the lot of you!" He went on. "In order to finally decide on our winner, you'll all be competing in Season Two!"

What?!

"What?!" Twenty-two voices echoed in unison. Sixteen in the water and six more on the dock. Season 2?

"That's right," Chris went on, an intern handing him a stack of papers for his perusal. "I believe that if you'll all check your contracts, you'll see... 'in the event of a tie, a tiebreaker must be completed in order to decide the winner, the tiebreaker being decided by the producers of 'Total Drama''. Our producers have decided to go big or go home and have just announced a whole new season to decide our winner! Isn't that wonderful?"

On the docks, those who had not made the cut for the second season were conflicted. On the one hand, they'd lost the money. On the other hand... they were done. No more Chris, no more Chef and no more 'Total Drama'.

In the water, those who had made the cut were decidedly less conflicted.

They might be persuaded to compete in one last challenge, but an entire season?

Wally could only sigh in relief. At least he was not among them. Unlike the others, he was going home.

"NOOOOO!"

Heather's echoing wail reached the mainland. So was she.

Beth, Bridgette, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Geoff, Gwen, Izzy, Justin, Leshawna, Lindsay, Owen, Trent and Tyler. Sixteen teens now conscripted for a second season of totally dramatic variations on a simple theme of pain and humiliation.

They and the other former contestants of TDI were given a mere week to return home before the second season was due to begin.

Ezekiel, Heather, Katie, Noah, Sadie and Wally were those fortunate enough to not be invited back to compete, but Chris assured them that they might be needed and that they would have to remain onsite. A quick check of the contracts revealed that, in the event of a tie, all TDI contestants were required to see it through to the end, even if they were no longer in the running for the million.

Wally was disappointed, but at the very least sated. A season of watching from the sidelines was not something he looked forward to, but it was far better than competing. And at least this time there would not be cameras on him 24/7, so he would have free reign to do and go as he wished.

Still, he spent his week at home deeply enjoying the precious gift of being permitted to wear whatever he damn well pleased. After months of wearing the same uniform day in and day out, but for when he was swimming or sleeping, the freedom of choice in regards to his clothes was welcomed and enjoyed.

He spoke with a great many people in that week. He spoke to Bruce and Barry, confirming that his identity was still safe. Apparently Dick had been charged with answering his fan mail until Total Drama was done with, in order to assure the public that Kid Flash was alive and well. Barry had spread the story that Kid Flash had broken a leg in battle and was still healing, a deed for which Cheshire had gladly taken the credit.

He also spoke with Iris, giving her an interview about his experiences on the show. Central City was excited to have a home grown celebrity in their midsts that wasn't a superhuman, even if it was only a reality TV star that they were likely to lose interest in in the coming weeks.

Artemis came out to visit him for the week and they did their best to make up for lost time. Under the eyes of the public, he was not able to make use of the Zeta-tubes or speed off in order to visit other members of the League or the Team, and too many visitors might arouse suspicion, so he only spoke with them over the phone.

He didn't really have any close civilian friends, but he found that several of his classmates tried to reach him during the break. Many of them wanted to know about his cast mates from the show and he was surprised to learn that there were three people from his school who had claimed to be the 'Dick' he had spoken of on the show in an attempt to gain attention from the public.

Wally refused to comment on these impostors. None of them were people he knew well. One of them was, in fact, someone he'd never even met.

The person he was most surprised to hear from was Chris himself.

The Host had also changed out of his Total Drama uniform. Rather than the khaki shorts and polo shirt he had worn on the island, he was instead wearing jeans and a casual shirt, a satchel over his shoulder. High quality, as was his want, but casual enough that he clearly wasn't expecting any cameras.

"What do you want?" Wally's eyes narrowed at the older man at his door. Glancing behind the Host, Wally saw that the driver who had brought him was not Chef, to his great relief. Still, his father was at work and his mother had taken Artemis to the grocers. It was only tomorrow that he would be going back to Canada, and as a sendoff they were planning a feast of his favourites to say goodbye.

"Whoa, calm yourself, brah," Chris held his arms out in surrender. "I bring good news. We want you back."

"I'm not interested."

"At least hear me out, man," Chris smiled genially. A charming grin that was one of the few things that kept him in business. "We did a little research, took some polls and it turns out you were one of the most popular contestants on TDI, so it's not gonna be great for ratings if you're on the sidelines all season."

"I'm not competing," Wally told him bluntly, arms crossed in defiance. "I read the contracts. I wasn't tied to win. You can't make me."

"You'd be surprised what we can and can't do," Chris shrugged. "But that's neither here nor there. We considered it, of course, but the producers had a different idea."

Wally frowned. To date, he had enjoyed none of the producers ideas for the show. The only parts of the show he had liked were the parts between episodes, where the producers held no influence.

"Look," Chris sighed. "Can we do this inside?" He glanced around idly, scanning for reporters or other observers. "This offer is kinda sensitive and we'd rather it not get out. Spoilers and all."

Wally scowled at the thought of letting the man into his home, but reluctantly allowed it.

A minute later and they were seated at the kitchen table where the West family most often took their meals. The polite thing to do might have been to offer a drink or something to eat, but Wally did not wish to show such courtesy.

"We've only got sixteen kids this season," Chris explained. "So we need to pad the episodes a bit. The producers decided to make an Aftermath show to fill in the blanks- y'know, losing contestants'll get a chance to share their thoughts with the world, cuss out whoever got them eliminated and be asked uncomfortable questions about the things they did on the show. Should give us another four or five episodes to fill out the season. You and the rest of last season's losers will be there as a peanut gallery- y'know, to chat and make comments with the losers- but we need someone to host it."

"Obviously, I can't," Chris told him. "So there goes the first choice. And the producers don't really want to bring in another professional. Could mess with the show's formula, y'know? Take the attention away from me. So we thought, 'why not have our cake and eat it too?' You host the Aftermath show. The fans get to see more of you without you having to compete. We get a host and drama. And you get paid."

Wally blinked, surprised by the offer. For a moment he was silent as he considered the idea. He would be returning to the show whether he liked it or not, but this at least sounded interesting.

"How much?" He asked. Now that his chance at the million was gone, money was one of the first things on his mind.

"Standard fair for this kind of thing," Chris shrugged. "You'll only be doing four or five episodes, so it won't be a lot. Maybe ten thousand? I don't know. It's been a while since I did anything small time."

Wally frowned. Even ten thousand was a lot of money for something he'd have to be involved with anyway.

"I want to see the contract," he told the other man firmly. "I'm not getting trapped in again."

Chris smiled, reaching into the satchel he'd brought with him. "Thought you might say that."

He pulled out a sheaf of papers, a contract. "It's pretty standard. Pretty similar to mine, actually. You'll be locked in for at least four episodes once you sign. Depending on how the season goes, we might add another one or two in on the fly, so you'll be on call until a winner's declared and the cameras stop rolling. You'll have to do some marketing jazz, a couple interviews and press talks..."

Wally ignored the man as he reached for the contracts, quickly scanning them, his eyes roaming the paper far faster than any ordinary human could. Within a minute he'd read the entire thing, not that he'd understood all of it. Much of the legal jargon was lost to him, but it seemed pretty straightforward. He'd have to get a lawyer to read over it before he signed though.

There was one thing in particular that caught his attention.

"Co-host?" He read aloud, curious about the phrasing. Chris grinned a sheepish grin.

"You aren't the only one the fans want more of," he told the younger boy. "The producers seem to think you and Heather will be a good mix. You bring the sugar and she brings the spice, and in the end the show winds up all kinds of nice."

"Heather?" Wally repeated blankly. She was one of the most hated contestants in the game. Even her allies wanted her gone. "She's a fan favourite?"

"She brings the drama," Chris told him airily. "I keep telling you kids, the fans want drama. Why do you think we brought everyone back for the final? After you and Heather were gone, everyone was just so buddy-buddy. There was no conflict on the show! Our last three episodes had the worst ratings of the entire season! If we hadn't brought you all back, no one would've cared who won!"

Wally rubbed at his eyes. "So, she stirs up the drama while I get people to talk? Good cop, bad cop?"

"Exactly," Chris said, exasperated. "It's not that hard, and that way we get more viewers interested and keep them interested. First law of showbiz, kid. Give the people want they want and trust me when I tell you that what the people want is pain. Nothing they like more."

"That's sick," Wally told him.

"That's human nature," Chris replied. "The Germans even have a word for it. 'Schadenfreude'. People laugh at the misery of others."

Wally supposed he couldn't argue.

"So," Chris asked him. "You in?"

Wally was hesitant, but relented. "Let me let my lawyers look over this first." He gestured with the contract. "Like I said, I'm not getting trapped again. And I'm not going to torture anyone."

"That's fine," Chris agreed with a nod. "That's what Heather's for."

And so we reach the end... y'know, I think I came up with this particular ending about a year or so after I first dropped this story. The idea of retelling Total Drama Action but with Wally the same way I'd done with TDI didn't appeal to me that much, but this was something different. I think the idea that I had was that there would only be five or six chapters covering TDA, with one chapter covering pre-show stuff and four chapters each showing a different episode of the Aftermath, where we would get a condensed version of what was going on in the alternate TDA as Wally and Heather developed an odd rivalry that would kind of mirror Geoff and Bridgette's only without the romance.

Heather would get way too into the torturing the contestants thing and Wally would struggle with reigning her in while keeping the shows ratings up, mainly just so that he would still get paid without hurting any of his friends. I think it would have been a lot of fun and could have segued into World Tour, where Wally would finally get the chance to win the million. Unfortunately, I didn't have the skill or the drive to write this way back when I was posting this story and these days I just don't have the same interest in Total Drama that I once did.

Maybe if Total Drama ever comes back (for real, not that weird Kindergarten thing they're doing) , I'll get whacked over the head by the old muse, but until then I think I'm going to close the door on this particular story. I hope you all enjoyed it and I thank you for sticking with me on this.

Also, seriously, sorry about that four year wait.