Author's Note: To clarify Violet's quandary, the reason I called the confessionals, talking heads, was because I wanted to bring something that was a staple in the reality show world--the confessional--and bring a little "Office" flair into it by borrowing the element from the TV show known as the talking head. Hopefully that clears that up.
Thanks so much for the comments so far, and enjoy Part 2.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Office or The Mole, although I'd very much like to.
Episode One - The Adventure Begins
Part Two - It's Okay to Get a Little Dirty
It's a new day for the players as they awaken to find themselves landing in Cape Town, South Africa. Pam nervously looks up into the sky and feels Jim's hand onto hers.
"Landing's always the roughest part of flying," Jim assured Pam as the plane's wheels skidded and landed on the tarmac.
"Yeah," Pam smiled at him, slightly amazed that Jim seemed to have read her mind. She laid her head on his chest and waited for them to disembark from the plane.
An hour later, the players were off the plane, through customs and immigration, and out of the airport, where sure enough, Jon Kelley was waiting for them.
"As soon as I saw Jon standing there, I was like, 'Oh, my God!'" Kelly rolled her eyes in her talking head. "We just got off the plane, and we're going into another mission."
"I hope you all had a nice sleep on the flight over. I know I did," Jon tried to joke with them.
Angela rolled her eyes and she yawned from the little sleep she got. "I don't sleep well on public transportation," Angela revealed in her talking head. "I'm always cautious that some hoodlum will steal my belongings."
"I'm not here to introduce you guy's next mission," Jon assured them. "Instead, I'm sending you guys to Cape Grace Hotel, a five-star hotel at the V&A Waterfront."
"When I heard that we were staying at a five-star hotel, I was really excited," Phyllis smiled in her talking head. "Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, would have really loved to stay here."
"I've got all the room keys right here, and each room will have three of you; all three must be of the same sex," Jon explained, passing the keys out to Michael, Stanley, Meredith, and Pam. "Once you make yourselves at home at the hotel, get yourselves ready for a day of gardening."
Jim raised an eyebrow at the possibility of gardening, and Angela's spirits were lifted by this. After Jon left and the players were at the hotel, the issue of who was staying with who was turning into a big debate.
"So let me get this straight," tried to understand what everyone was saying, "Kelly definately wants to room with Holly, but not with Pam. Meredith doesn't want Kelly at all in her room. Stanley doesn't want Michael in his room, and Andy made it clear that he doesn't want to room with Dwight."
"That sounds about right," Pam clarified, twirling her room key in her finger.
"We're not limited to having the people with room keys being in that room," Oscar pointed out. "So Pam and Meredith could be in the same room."
"All right, so let's see...Kelly, Holly, and...Phyllis will be in one room. Does that satisfy you all?" Jim decided for them. "And in another room, Stanley, Andy, and Oscar."
There were murmurs of approval from the fellow players, and Jim smiled at being able to effectively lead them to their rooms and no fighting. "Okay, so let's get to our rooms and get ready for today."
"I liked Jim helping us all out with rooms," Meredith said in her talking head. "That was so much more helpful than picking straws."
Once everyone was in their rooms, they started to get dressed in jeans, old shirts, and hats. They were all ready to get dirty. Well, maybe not one person...
"Oh, I can't wait!" Phyllis put on a wide-brim hat that blocked the sunlight away from her face. "Gardening is so much fun." Phyllis looked towards her fellow roommates and asked, "Isn't gardening fun?"
"Ugh, no way!" Kelly groaned. "I don't want to get dirty. The only shoes I brought were these Manolo Blahnik's," Kelly showed her designer shoes to her roommates.
"It was a strategy to room up with the Mole--I mean, Holly," Kelly revealed in her talking head. "That way, I can keep an eye on her for whole time we're here."
"So once we were all changed and ready to go," Pam began to say in her talking head. "We were driven out to Kirstenbosch, a really famous botanical garden in South Africa."
A gardener is leading the group of players through the gardens, even showing them how to plant some of the more exotic flora. Everyone is calm and happy that they aren't in a mission, and it's all peaceful.
"Ew, I'm all dirty!" Kelly squealed at her skirt having dirt on it. "Ugh, gardening sucks."
"It's okay to get a little dirty," Angela knelt beside her and planted a beautiful purple flower.
"That's what she said!" Michael laughed, continuing the long tradition of the joke.
Holly giggled at Michael's remark, but stopped when Michael looked at her sternly.
"I still haven't forgiven Holly for lying to us," Michael said in his talking head. "She's going to have to pull a major in order to make me trust her again."
Once Michael turned away, Holly sighed and followed the group into a clearing, where a stranger was sitting on a park bench. The figure got up to reveal to everyone that that person was--
"We're going to this clearing in the gardens," Meredith began in her talking head, "And Jon was there."
"OMG!" Kelly groaned at the sight of Jon.
"What, aren't you guys happy to see me?" Jon looked hurt at some of the player's reactions to seeing him.
"When you're here, that usually means something big's going to happen," Andy answered.
"You guys are catching on, and it's only the second day," Jon rubbed his chin. "I'm impressed."
"Anyone would be when they meet a Cornell grad," Andy beamed, proud at himself.
Jon ignored Andy's comment and said, "We're here at Kirstenbosch, one of eight National Botanical Gardens in the country of South Africa, and I hope you all have enjoyed the gardens."
"Yes," Angela smiled.
Kelly scoffed and showed Jon her dirty skirt. Jon chuckled at Kelly's disapproval and continued to say, "I hope you enjoyed the gardens because we're now going to another popular destination in Cape Town, the top of Table Mountain," Jon pointed to the top of mountain.
"We're not going to be climbing that, are we?" Phyllis asked, scared of the challenge ahead of her.
"Yes, you are," Jon replied. "And this journey will be your second mission. We're calling this mission, 'No Mountain High Enough.'"
"That's cruel, Jon," Meredith crossed her arms, not ready at all for the task ahead of her.
"Don't worry, you all will have two hours to make it to the top of the mountain, and you will earn 40,000 if you all make it to the top," Jon tried to comfort them. "However..."
"Ugh, what more?" Kelly grimaced.
"You all won't be going together. There are three different trails to make it to the top of the mountain. Some are harder to climb, but are shorter, while some are easier to climb, but are much longer," Jon explained. "So, I need five people who take the easy way out, four who take the middle of the road, and three who takes the hard way."
"Easy!" Kelly rose her hand and shouted. Four more hands quickly rose up; Stanley, Phyllis, Meredith, and Holly.
"I'll volunteer for the hard way," Jim rose his hand. No one else really wanted to join him, but Jim was stuck with Pam and Dwight since the other four--Oscar, Michael, Andy, and Angela--wanted the middle of the road.
"We got it, Jon," Michael told Jon, ready for them to tackle the mission.
"We're all in a group?" Jon clarified. Once he received enough nods, he pulled out three different maps and passed one to each group. Specifically, to Kelly, Michael, and Jim.
"These will be your trails for this mission," Jon explained. "You cannot deviate from this trail, or else your group will be disqualified. For every group that makes it to the top, you will earn 10,000. If all three of you make it to the top, 40,000 will be added to the pot.
"Slackers," Jon pointed to the quintet. "You will be taking the novice trail called the Pipe Track. It's level ground all the way to the top, so this should be really easy. But, you all will have to hustle because this trail is the longest trail starting from Kirstenbosch, all the way to the top.
"Middles," Jon pointed to the quartet. "You will be taking an amateur trail called Smuts Track, in honor of late Prime Minister, Jan Smuts. There's a little bit of climing involved, but it's not as long as the Pipe Track.
"And lastly," Jon turned to the trio. "You will you be rock climbing all the way to the top with only your body. Since Table Mountain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, no bolting equipment can be used. You'll only have to climb a little bit of ways before reaching level ground all the way to the top. Your trail is the shortest one."
"When I heard we had to rock climb, I was really scared," Pam said in her talking head. "Especially when we were told that we weren't going to have any real safety equipment."
"Is everyone ready to begin?" Jon asked.
"As ready as we'll ever be," Stanley mumbled.
"Your two hours starts now!" Jon started the timer, and got out of the way as the players ran towards the mountain. After a minute or so of running, the three groups split up onto their respective paths.
Kelly's group were jogging, trying to make up for the very long distance to climb the mountain. After only a few minutes of jogging, Phyllis and Stanley were already tired.
"Guys, can we take a break?" Phyllis begged, taking a sip from her water bottle.
"We have to keep going, Phyl," Holly refused. "It's only been a few minutes anyway."
"Not all of us can be a fit and trim as you, Holl," Phyllis retorted, getting back up on her feet and ready to go.
Holly crossed her arms at Phyllis' comeback and walked ahead of the group. Phyllis walked alongside Stanley and decided to convide with him. "I really don't trust Holly."
"Me neither," Stanley replied in his monotone voice.
"Is she going to be one of your suspects on the quiz?" Phyllis asked, curious.
"No," Stanley answered.
"I'm not choosing Holly as a suspect, because that move for the exemption was too suspicious," Stanley told the camera in his talking head. "If she was the Mole, then she wouldn't have attracted so much attention to herself already."
Phyllis nodded her head, agreeing with him. "I see what you mean. She's going out of her way to act like the Mole, so she can't be the Mole."
"Mmm-hmm."
"Hey, guys!" Kelly called back to Stanley and Phyllis. "We've got to hustle. We have ninety minutes to go, and we're not even making any ground!"
Stanley rolled his eyes and joined Phyllis as they tried to jog with the group up the mountain.
For the quartet of Angela, Andy, Michael, and Oscar, the climb was going smoothly. No one was complaining that much with the trail except for...
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Michael hopped on one foot, holding his other foot in his hand. "Ow!"
"Michael!" Andy rushed over to his boss and helping him onto the trail.
"What's wrong?" Angela asked, annoyed at Michael's overreaction.
"I got a pebble in my shoe!" Michael exclaimed, ripping his shoe off to find a rock in it. "I hate those things!"
"Michael, we don't have time to worry about a rock in your shoe," Oscar rolled his eyes. "Worry about that later."
"But I can't. It hurt so much!" Michael started to massage his foot. "Oh, that feels better."
"You heard the man," Andy turned to the other two. "He could have been severely hurt. We'll have to wait until he gets better."
"Ugh, I would kill for a foot bath," Michael lied on the trail, his arms and legs spread out.
"Does your foot still hurt?" Andy grabbed Michael's ailed foot. "Maybe the rock cut your foot up."
"Don't encourage him," Angela warned Andy. "Michael, just get up and let's get going."
"You can't rush a recovery, Angela," Michael placed some venom in his voice upon saying her name.
Angela rolled her eyes and joined Oscar in beginning the ascent up the mountain. "We're going to keep walking. Come up when you actually want to win this challenge instead of worrying about yourself."
"We'll only earn money if we all make it up there," Michael reminded her. "So you might as well wait."
Angela took a deep breath and replied, "Michael, the only way for you to get off your behind and get to the top is if you see how ahead we are and want to finish before us, or, if we carry you to the top, and I don't feel up to the task."
"Jeez, you don't have to be so demanding," Michael got on his feet and brushed the dirt off of his clothing. "Look, I'm all better."
"For now," Angela shot daggers at Michael with her glare.
"Pookie, don't you think you're being too harsh on him?" Andy asked her.
"No," Angela answered as the four of them once again began their ascent.
On another face of the mountain, Jim, Dwight, and Pam were currently climbing the rocks, using their hands and feet. Dwight is up ahead, with Jim bringing up the rear.
"I don't know if I can make it up there," Pam gulped, seeing an opening for her foot, even though it was a little high up.
"It'll be okay, Pam," Jim assured her. "Just take your time."
Pam looked down at Jim and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Jim gave her a kind smile. "If something happens, I'll be here to catch you."
Pam smiled back and looked back up at the rockface. She took a deep breath and swung her right foot into the foot hole, and climbed up onto a ledge, where she stood up to take a break.
"Jim, I did it!" Pam told him, triumphantly.
"Good job, Pam!"
"The climb ends up here," Dwight called down to them from above. "About twenty more feet, and then it's level ground."
"Oh, thank goodness," Pam sighed, relieved at this strenuous task ending soon.
"You ready to keep going?" Jim asked her, nearing the ledge was Pam was standing on.
"Yeah," Pam prepared herself to tackle the rock face once more. After that little leap of faith, she could tackle this twenty feet easily. Piece of cake.
"It's now been ninety minutes for the players," Jon said in a voiceover, as the players jogged up the mountain. "And the slackers are behind the clock."
"We have to hurry!" Kelly yelled at her teammates. "We're behind!"
"Just shut up and keep going," Holly told her, passing her.
"Hey!" Kelly stomped her foot and walking up to Holly. "You can't talk to me like that."
"Sorry, but complaining about being behind won't help us," Holly apologized half-heartedly.
Kelly was shocked at Holly's boldness and crossed her arms. "Whatever, Mole."
Holly shrugged her shoulders and continued walking.
"I know it's Holly. It's just gotta be," Kelly said in her talking head. "She's really making this game easy for me. You might as well give me the money now."
"It says here that we only have two kilometers to go," Meredith inspected the map.
"How long's a kilometer?" Kelly asked her, confused.
"It's shorter than a mile, Einstein," Stanley answered, wiping his forehead. "How much longer do we have?"
"Only about twenty minutes," Kelly looked at her watch. "We've gotta go then!"
The slackers tried to pick up the pace, as well as the other teams as they made their way up the mountain. Time ticked away, and Jon was standing at the summit, awaiting any of the players to arrive.
With ten minutes to go, Pam is breathing hard and is keeling over with exhaustion. "Guys, I don't know if I can keep going."
"You can, and you must," Dwight refused to hear her.
"Let's take a little break," Jim told Dwight, stopping with Pam.
Dwight looked down at his watch and said, "One minute. Then we run the rest of the way up. We're almost there."
Pam nodded her head and sat on the ground, trying to catch her breath. "This is torture."
"I hear you," Jim agreed. "It's just a few hundred feet. We can make it."
"Yeah," Pam gasped, trying to slow down her breathing. "If I climbed to this point and we lose, I will throw Jon off this mountain."
Jim chuckled and said, "I'll join you."
"One minute's up," Dwight told them. "Let's get moving."
Jim helped Pam up and they once more began their ascent.
Five minutes remained in the task, and not one player has reached the top yet. Except for...
"Woohoo!" Andy whooped in the air as he joined Jon at the summit.
Angela and Oscar were close behind, with Michael limping up. "My foot still hurt, so we could have made it up sooner."
"Limp or no limp, you made it to the top," Jon said to them. "And you just put 10,000 into the pot."
"Yeah!" Andy high-fived Angela (he tried too, but she wouldn't resort to that), Oscar, and Michael. "We rock!"
One minute later, Dwight, Jim, and Pam joined the other four at the summit.
"You made it!" Jon greeted them, shaking their hands.
"Just barely," Pam gasped, plopping down on the ground, exhausted.
"That's 20,000 for the pot. Now if the other group can make it to the top in three minutes, we'll put 20,000 more into the pot," Jon looked at his watch.
"Come on!" Andy shouted down the mountain, thinking that they'll hear him from the top.
A minute passed and there was only 1:48 left on the clock. The players were beginning to think that Kelly's group wouldn't reach the top in time.
Then they heard the sound of footsteps.
"It's them!" Andy shouted. "Hurry up! Time's almost up!"
The footsteps got faster, and with only a minute to spare, Holly made it to the top. Close behind were Kelly and Meredith, and bringing up the rear were Phyllis and Stanley. "Did we make it?" Kelly asked them.
"Yes, you all did. Congratulations," Jon told them.
The players whooped and celebrated their victory and conquer of Table Mountain.
"It felt so good reaching the top," Pam said in her talking head. "Plus we got 40,000 put into the pot. That feels even better."
"The pot now stands at 40,000, not bad for the opening round of the game," Jon smiled at them. "Let's get you all down and back to your hotel rooms. Get ready, because tomorrow will be your first quiz. And one of you...will be executed."
"You're such a Debbie Downer," Michael tried to lighten the mood.
"I'm not nervous at all about this quiz," Kelly said in her talking head. "I'm confident you will see me stay here longer."
"It looks like the lift is here," Jon pointed to a lift that would take the players down the mountain. "Let's get going."
The players joined Jon in the lift and made their way down the mountain and back to the hotel, ready as they'll ever be. The twelve of them were happy that they won their second mission, but for one of them, it would be their last mission.
Author's Note: Get ready everyone! The quiz and execution is coming up! Please review and tell me how you all feel so far.